西藏第三纪有孔虫生物地层及地理环境

西藏南部海相第三系自下而上划分为:基堵拉组、宗浦组和遮普惹组。基堵拉组的归属直接关系到白垩——第三系的界线问题。以往在证据不充分的情况下将基堵拉组归于白垩系。本次工作在该组中找到了具时代意义的化石,有双壳类、介形虫、有孔虫等。通过化石群的研究确定了基堵拉组属于古新世丹宁早期。白垩—第三系界线应位于宗山组与基堵拉组之间。通过基堵拉组的横向对比得出了该组在空间上穿时的结论。浮游有孔虫动物群的发现确定了本区最高海相层为遮普惹组上段,时代属于始新世晚期。 西藏第三纪有孔虫类型丰富。据动物群的古生态研究得出了不同时代的有孔虫生物相:丹宁期为Rotalia生物相和Textularia生物相;朗德期为Miscellanea生物相和Ranikotbalia生物相;伊普尔期至路坦丁期包括Orbitolites生物相、Assilina生物相及冈底斯有孔虫生物相;普里亚波期以Globigerina生物相为特征。据有孔虫生物相的特征及氧碳稳定同位素的测试结果综合得出了西藏南部第三纪包括两次海侵旋回,即古新世和始新世旋回。二者又分别包括两回次一级的旋回,即古新世的丹宁期旋回和朗德期旋回;始新世的伊普尔期至路坦丁期旋回和普里亚波期旋回。     

MARINE SOURCE ROCKS AND THEIR DEPOSITIONAL CONDITIONS OF MESOZOIC—CENOZOIC IN THE GAMBA—TINGRE BASIN,SOUTH TIBET:ORGANIC GEOCHEMICAL STUDY

MARINE SOURCE ROCKS AND THEIR DEPOSITIONAL CONDITIONS OF MESOZOIC—CENOZOIC IN THE GAMBA—TINGRE BASIN,SOUTH TIBET:ORGANIC GEOCHEMICAL STUDY1　FuJiamo ,ShengGuoying ,XuJiayou,et.al.ApplicationofbiologicalmarkersintheassessmentofpaleoenvironmentsofChinesenon marinesediments[J] .OrganicGeochemistry ,1990 ,16 :76 9～ 779. 2　JenkynsHC .Cretaceousanoxicevents:fromcontinentstooceans[J] .JournaloftheGeologicalSociety ,1980 ,137:171～188. …     

对西藏岗巴上白垩统的新认识

在前人研究的基础上对岗巴地区上白垩统的划分做了厘定 ,进一步建立了晚白垩世的 1 2个浮游有孔虫化石带。根据岩性特征及化石带的研究 ,上白垩统被划分为赛诺曼期至土仑早期的冷青热组 ;土仑中期至三冬期的岗巴村口组和康潘期至马斯特里赫特期的宗山组。该区赛诺曼期与土仑期的界线位于冷青热组上部 ,以 H elvetoglobotruncana praehelvetica的初现为标志。     

藏南定日剖面晚白垩世菊石和叠瓦蛤类的首次发现:生物地层和古环境意义(英文)

藏南定日遮普惹山剖面主要是Albian 晚期到古近纪海相沉积, Willems 等( 1996 )对岩石地层和沉积微相进行了详细研究,并通过浮游有孔虫研究建立生物地层格架。在与岗巴地区地层对比基础上,该剖面被认为是整个藏南地区白垩纪—古近纪海相地层的标准剖面。2004 年我们与中国、德国同行一道对该剖面上白垩统地层进行再考察,重点对无脊椎动物化石样品进行采集和研究。与西藏大多数白垩纪剖面一样,尽管沉积环境为陆棚环境,该剖面以前却几乎没有菊石和叠瓦蛤类化石的报道,而同样环境下的世界其他地区剖面含有大量的菊石和叠瓦蛤类化石。藏南定日剖面重新调查后发现了少量的菊石和叠瓦蛤类化石。化石数量少一方面是由于灰泥质灰岩和泥灰质灰岩内化石保存状况差,另一方面采样条件也不理想。还有,当时的环境条件可能不利于大多数无脊椎动物类群的生存,这一点或许从大量存在于岗巴群上部的小个体双壳类碎片可以得到证实。尽管获得的化石分散并且保存差,本次研究仍获得了一些有价值的生物地层数据。岗巴群上部发现的化石Calycoceras?,指示其时代为Cenomanian 晚期,随后出现不能鉴定的desmoceratids类的幼体。之上,菊石Forresteria sp.的发现表明岗巴群顶部地层属于Coniacian下部,这被同一地层内发现的其他化石所支?     

Stratigraphy of the upper cretaceous and lower tertiary strata in the Tethyan Himalayas of Tibet (Tingri area,China)

The 1500-m-thick marine strata of the Tethys Himalaya of the Zhepure Mountain (Tingri, Tibet) comprise the Upper Albian to Eocene and represent the sedimentary development of the passive northern continental margin of the Indian plate. Investigations of foraminifera have led to a detailed biozonation which is compared with the west Tethyan record. Five stratigraphic units can be distinguished: The Gamba group (Upper Albian - Lower Santonian) represents the development from a basin and slope to an outer-shelf environment. In the following Zhepure Shanbei formation (Lower Santonian - Middle Maastrichtian), outer-shelf deposits continue. Pebbles in the top layers point to beginning redeposition on a continental slope. Intensified redeposition continues within the Zhepure Shanpo formation (Middle Maastrichtian - Lower Paleocene). The series is capped by sandstones of the Jidula formation (Danian) deposited from a seaward prograding delta plain. The overall succession of these units represents a sea-level high at the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary followed, from the Turonian to Danian, by an overall shallowing-upward megasequence. This is followed by a final transgression — regression cycle during the Paleocene and Eocene, documented in the Zhepure Shan formation (?Upper Danian - Lutetian) and by Upper Eocene continental deposits. The section represents the narrowing and closure of the Tethys as a result of the convergence between northward-drifting India and Eurasia. The plate collision started in the Lower Maastrichtian and caused rapid changes in sedimentation patterns affected by tectonic subsidence and uplift. Stronger subsidence and deposition took place from the Middle Maastrichtian to the Lower Paleocene. The final closure of remnant Tethys in the Tingri area took place in the Lutetian.     

GEOLOGICAL EVENT ACROSS THE BOUNDARY OF THE LATEST PALEOCENE TO EARLIEST EOCENE IN TINGRI, SOUTHERN TIBET

GEOLOGICAL EVENT ACROSS THE BOUNDARY OF THE LATEST PALEOCENE TO EARLIEST EOCENE IN TINGRI, SOUTHERN TIBET1　DickensGR ,CastilloMM ,WalkerJCG .AblastofgasinthelatestPaleocene :Simulatingfirst ordereffectsofmassivedissociationofoceanicmethanehydrate[J].Geology ,1997,2 5 (3) :2 5 9～ 2 6 2 . 2　GibsonTG ,BybellLM .Paleocene/EoceneboundarystrataandeventsintheU .S .AtlanticCoastalPlains[J].JournalofVertebratePaleontology ,1993,13(3suppl.) :37. …     

西藏岗巴晚白垩世有孔虫动物群与海平面变化

西藏南部岗巴地区上白垩统的有孔虫动物群十分丰富，经鉴定共有52属130种。根据岩性，该地区上白垩统可以划分出三个最基本的岩石地层单位：冷青热组、岗巴村口组及宗山组。依据其中有孔虫的形态结构、生态环境、系统演化及地史分布等特征，可以划分出五个主要的有孔虫动物群，Rotalipora动物群，Whiteinella-Helvetoglobotruncana动物群，Dicarinella-Marginotruncana动物群，Globotruncana-Globotuncanita动物群及Orbitoides-Omphalocyclus动物群。这五个有孔虫动物在晚白垩世相继绝灭，其绝灭与古水深有着十分密切的关系，主要是受海平面变化的影响。     

富饶阶地表地层剖面

黑龙江省嘉荫县乌云镇地区中生代结束前后连续沉积了两套含煤地层,即上部的古新统乌云组和下部的马斯特里赫特阶富饶组。富饶阶相当于富饶组上段地层,但由于其代表剖面顶、底不全,且可参照的钻孔岩心已不复存在,因此有必要在原命名地区寻找新的地表露头剖面。乌云镇西北白头山黑龙江沿岸出露富饶阶上部地层,其上部含有丰富的孢粉化石,自下而上初步确定了两个孢粉组合:杉粉(Taxodiaceaepollenites)-红杉粉(Sequoiapol-lenites)孢粉组合和鹰粉(Aquilapollenites)-肋桦粉(Betulaepollenites)孢粉组合。这两个孢粉组合都有鹰粉类(Aquilapollis)化石,计有5属10多种化石,其中除了小刺鹰粉(Aquilapollenites spinulosus)一种可由上白垩统上延入古近系下部地层外,其他多数出现在环太平洋的上白垩统最上部地层中(马斯特里赫特阶)。由于富饶组下段相当于明水阶(马斯特里赫特阶中、下部),因而富饶组上段,即富饶阶,相当于马斯特里赫特阶的上部。对该剖面下部的流纹质晶屑沉凝灰岩采样进行SHRIMP锆石U-Pb法测年,定年结果为66±1Ma,与上述孢粉生物地层学结论相吻合。由此可以推测白垩系-古近系界线似在乌云组与富饶组之间,即厚层含砾砂岩的底部,但需进一步证实。     

藏南地区海相白垩系富有机质沉积的影响因素浅析

藏南地区白垩纪时期广泛沉积了一套海相富有机质沉积物,而其中与C-T界线缺氧事件有关的黑色页岩引起了广泛关注。但是,其有机碳含量与西特提斯相比明显偏低。因此,有关该区对海相白垩纪富有机质沉积影响机制的认识显得尤为重要。文中选取前人研究程度较高的岗巴宗山Ⅱ剖面、定日贡扎剖面和江孜加不拉剖面、床得剖面,利用其相关数据,定量计算了这些剖面的沉积速率、堆积速率和古生产力值。结果表明,藏南地区沉积速率以C-T界线时期最高,而岗巴、定日地区与江孜地区的沉积速率表现出较大的差异,这主要与沉积环境有关;并且在沉积速率<4cm/ka时,随着沉积速率的增加,有机碳含量随之增加,而沉积速率较大时,则关系不明显。江孜地区初级生产力较低,其缺氧期黑色页岩的形成并不是高生产力的结果,可能与缺氧条件的保存作用相关;对于岗巴和定日地区而言,尽管计算的古生产力较低,但碳同位素正偏以及推测存在的沿岸上升洋流表明,该区白垩纪富有机质沉积拥有高的初级生产力和缺氧的保存条件,表明该区有良好的古海洋条件,富有机质沉积的形成是高生产力、缺氧的保存条件以及低的沉积速率(<4cm/ka)共同作用的结果。而产生有机碳偏低,从而使得计算的古生产力值偏低的原因,则可能与成岩后期强烈的风化作用,导致有机碳的损失有关;另外定日地区C-T期有机碳含量偏低则还与其沉积物粒度有关。     

西藏仲巴地区白垩纪末期—始新世早期海相地层

西藏仲巴县北部地区出露有晚白垩世至古近纪的海相地层 ,本次工作新测制了卓勒剖面 ,并对原错江顶剖面上部地层做了再次研究。地层中化石丰富 ,据有孔虫化石研究结果重新厘定曲下组时代为古新世早期、加拉孜组上段属始新世早期 ,认为该区白垩 /古近纪界线位于曲贝亚组与曲下组之间。在这一界面上 ,古新世磨拉石直接覆于晚白垩世的陆棚碳酸盐台地沉积之上 ,其间存在沉积间断 ,为弧前盆地演化后期的重大沉积转变。古新世早期曲下组为近海相磨拉石沉积 ,古新世晚期至始新世早期加拉孜组为残留海盆沉积。加拉孜组顶部为该区最高海相地层 ,其上为冈底斯群的磨拉石不整合覆盖。冈底斯群的时代应晚于始新世中期。     

DISCOVERY OF THE LATEST MARINE NON-CARBONATE SEDIMENT WESTERN TINGRI, SOUTHERN TIBET

DISCOVERY OF THE LATEST MARINE NON-CARBONATE SEDIMENT WESTERN TINGRI, SOUTHERN TIBET     

A lithostratigraphic revision and palaeoenvironmental assessment of the Cretaceous System exposed in the onshore Cauvery Basin, southern India

The exposed Cretaceous shelf succession of the Cauvery Basin, southeastern India, has provided a world-class record of mid and Late Cretaceous invertebrates, documented in a substantial literature. However, the lithostratigraphy of the succession has been little studied and previously subject to a range of nomenclature. It is revised here, on the basis of intensive regional mapping, to stabilize the definition and nomenclature of lithostratigraphic units. The Uttattur Group is restricted in outcrop to the Ariyalur district and divided into the Arogypapurum Formation (new; Albian), Dalmiapuram Formation (late Albian), and Karai Formation (late Albian–early Turonian) for which the Odiyam and Kunnam Members are recognized. The Trichinopoly Group follows unconformably and is also restricted in outcrop to the Ariyalur district. It is divided into the Kulakkalnattam Formation (Turonian) and Anaipadi Formation (late Turonian–Coniacian). The Ariyalur Group is more widely distributed. In the Ariyalur district, the Sillikkudi Formation (Santonian–Campanian) and its Kilpaluvari Member, the Kallakurichchi Formation (early Maastrichtian), the Kallamedu Formation (mid and Late Maastrichtian) and the Niniyur Formation (Danian) are recognized. The sequence in the Vriddhachalam area consists of the Parur and Patti formations (Campanian), Mattur Formation (late Campanian–earliest Maastrichtian) and Aladi Formation (Maastrichtian). For the Pondicherry district, the Valudavur and Mettuveli formations (Maastrichtian) and Kasur and Manaveli formations (Paleocene) comprise the succession. The interpreted depositional environments for the succession in the Ariyalur district indicate four eustatic cycles in the mid and Late Cretaceous and earliest Tertiary: late Albian–early Turonian, late Turonian–Santonian, Campanian, Maastrichtian, and Paleocene. Overall the Cauvery Basin sequence is arenaceous and relatively labile in terms of framework grain composition, and contrasts with the pelitic assemblage developed on the west Australian margin from which eastern India separated in the Early Cretaceous (Valanginian). The difference is ascribed to palaeoclimate as controlled by palaeolatitude. For the Late Cretaceous, the Cauvery Basin drifted north on the Indian plate from 40 to 30°S. This zone is inferred to constitute Southern Hemisphere horse latitudes for Late Cretaceous time, characterized by an arid climate, physical weathering and the production of labile sands. By contrast, the west Australian margin of matching tectonic history remained in a high palaeolatitude (>40°S) throughout the Late Cretaceous, experiencing a pluvial climate, the dominance of chemical weathering and the production of clays.     

西藏最新非碳酸盐海相沉积及其对新特提斯关闭的意义

西藏南部珠穆朗玛峰北部的定日遮普惹山地区存在一套与过去斩最新海相沉积不同的新地层－朋曲组。它与下伏遮普惹组呈整合接触，与上覆第四系呈不整合，识别的钙质微化石带NP15、NP16和NP20将本区的最高海相层位提高到了始新世普里亚本末期（31Ma），较之过去的认识推了迟16－19Ma，朋曲线为一套非碳酸盐沉积厚约180m，分为下部黄绿色页岩含砂岩和上部紫红色砂页岩两部分，系入海三角洲相。该套最新非碳酸盐海相沉积对东段新特提斯的关闭时间和方式具有重要参考价值，并概括为：（1）始新世鲁帝特期初期（巴基斯坦北部和印度西北部）→（2）普里亚本末期（西藏南部的仲巴－定日）（－岗巴））→（3）渐新世末期（塔里木海湾＋印度－缅甸山岭地区－安达曼岛弧）→（4）中新世早期的末期（巴基斯坦Katawaz残留盆地）。     

Stratigraphy of Upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic deposits of the Bakchar iron ore deposit (southwestern Siberia): New data

The results of complex palynological and microfaunistic studies of Upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic deposits of the Bakchar iron ore deposit are presented. Geochronologically, the age of the deposits varies from Campanian to Quaternary. It was established that the Slavgorod, Gan’kino, and Jurki (?) formations contain four biostratons in the rank of beds with dinocysts and three biostratons in the rank of beds with spores and pollen. The Cenozoic continental deposits contain four biostratons in the rank of beds, containing spores and pollen. As a result of the study, a large stratigraphic gap in the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary deposits, covering a significant part of the Maastrichtian, Paleocene, Ypresian, and Lutetian stages of the Eocene, was established. The remnants of a new morphotype of heteromorphic ammonites of genus Baculites were first described in deposits of the Slavgorod Formation (preliminarily, upper Campanian). The distribution features of the different palynomorph groups in the Upper Cretaceous–Cenozoic deposits in the area of study due to transgressive-regressive cycles and climate fluctuations were revealed.     

Calcareous Nannoplankton Biostratigraphy of the Bartin Province,Western Black Sea,Turkey

Calcareous nannoplankton biostratigraphy has been performed on five sedimentary sections through the marine Akveren Formation from the Bartin region of northern Turkey, on the southern Black Sea coast. This new biostratigraphy provides an age for the formation of the Early Campanian (nannofossil zone UC15aTP) to Early Selandian (nannofossil zone NP5), and highlights the presence of the Campanian/Maastrichtian, Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T), and Danian/Selandian boundaries in this intermediate palaeolatitude location. Micula murus was identified below the K/T boundary, but Micula prinsii and Nephrolithus frequens were not, which implies that the K/T boundary interval is not complete in the study area. These dates are in agreement with previous micropaleontological studies.     

Petreşti-Arini – An important but ephemeral Upper Cretaceous continental vertebrate site in the southwestern Transylvanian Basin,Romania

The Transylvanian region of Romania preserves some of the most unusual and iconic dinosaurs in the global fossil record, including dwarfed herbivores and aberrant carnivores that lived during the very latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) in an ancient island ecosystem (the Haţeg Island). A series of artificial outcrops recently exposed during a hydroelectric project, the Petreşti-Arini section near Sebeş in the Transylvanian Basin, records a 400+ meter sequence documenting the transition from fully marine to terrestrial environments during the Campanian–Maastrichtian. Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy indicates that the lower marine beds in this section, part of the uppermost Bozeş Formation, can be assigned to the CC22 biozone, corresponding to the lower–mid upper Campanian. These beds smoothly transition, via a brackish-water unit, into the fully continental Maastrichtian Sebeş Formation. Dinosaur and pterosaur fossils from the uppermost Bozeş Formation can be assigned a late Campanian age making them the oldest well-dated terrestrial fossils from the Haţeg Island, and indicating that the classic Haţeg dinosaur fauna was becoming established by this time, coincident with the first emergence of widespread land areas. Vertebrate fossils occur throughout the overlying Sebeş Formation at the site and are dominated by the small-bodied herbivorous dinosaur Zalmoxes. The dominance of Zalmoxes, and the absence of many taxa commonly seen elsewhere in Maastrichtian sites in Romania, suggests the possibility that either the Petreşti-Arini section preserves a somewhat unusual near-shore environment, or the earliest Haţeg Island dinosaur communities were structured differently from the more diverse communities later in the Maastrichtian. Alternatively, due to the limited sample size available from the studied succession, it is also conceivable that sampling biases give an incomplete portrayal of the Petreşti-Arini local fauna. Support for any one of these alternative hypotheses requires further data from Petreşti-Arini as well as from the larger Transylvania area.     

西藏岗巴古新世地层及构造作用的影响

西藏岗巴地区出露有完整的晚白垩世至古近纪地层，地层中化石丰富，根据化石研究准确地进行了地层时代的划分，本文认为该区白垩系－古代系界线位于宗山组和基堵拉组之间，以底栖有大孔虫Orbitoides-Omphalocyclus动物群的消亡和Rotalia-Smoutina-Lockhartia动物群的始现为标志。界线上下岩层为假整合接触，期间有一短暂的暴露面。古新世的砂砾岩直接覆于晚白晋世的陆棚碳酸盐岩沉积之上，沉积的重大转变代表一次构造运动，印度大陆北缘与冈底斯南缘直至白垩纪末均具有明显的浅海生物地理分区现象，期间被深海盆地地所阻隔。古新世开始浅海相动物群在该地显示同一生物地理区系特征，说明两大陆间深水盆地的阻隔已消失，南北生物地理区同归于一残留海盆，沉积类型转变和地层古生物特征为印度－亚洲板块的起始碰撞时间研究提供了基础资料，据此推测大陆早期碰撞发生在白晋系－古近系的界线时期（约65Ma)，古新世中一晚期碳酸盐台地遭受不断的挤压与变形，进一步说明大陆的碰撞在古新世之初就已发生。沉积地层的破碎变形和滑塌堆积是持续碰撞与挤压的结果。     

Cretaceous and Tertiary of the Iullemmeden Basin in Nigeria (West Africa)

The Iullemmeden Basin (Mali-Niger-Benin-Nigeria) of tectono-epeirogenic origin was invaded several times by epicontinental transgressions during the Cretaceous and Paleocene.Three major subdivisions are recognized in the Nigerian section of the basin (the “Sokoto Basin”): (1) the lower, continental beds (= Continental Intercalaire) of Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age, (2) intermediate marine and brackish water deposits and (3) “Continental T Terminal” of upper Eocene-Miocene age.The geology of the Iullemmeden Basin is reviewed and updated. The relationships between the “Continental Intercalaire” of francophone authors and the Illo and Gundumi Formations are analysed and the type sections of the latter described. It is suggested that the Illo and Gundumi Formations are lateral equivalents.Detailed information on the formations of the Maastrichtian Rima Group is presented. It is concluded that there is no age difference of consequence between the Paleocene Dange, Kalambaina and Gamba Formations.The epicontinental transgressions are interpreted as coming from the north-east, east of the Hoggar massif during the Cenomanian and Turonian and west of the Hoggar during the Maastrichtian and Paleocene. The Sokoto Paleocene molluscan fauna is considered to be terminal Paleocene to Eocene and somewhat younger than the Ewekoro association of coastal Nigeria.A new interpretation of the Continental Terminal is presented. The structural history of the Sokoto Basin is reviewed and partly re-interpreted in the light of new field evidence.     

古新世特提斯喜马拉雅南亚带石英砂岩成因及其构造意义:以藏南岗巴地区古新统基堵拉组为例

特提斯喜马拉雅南亚带作为印度被动大陆北缘的主要构造单元,相较于其他类似构造单元发育着多套特殊的石英砂岩,意味着被动大陆边缘物源区陆源碎屑供应能力的多次变化,而引起印度被动大陆北缘石英砂岩沉积的构造背景和构造意义尚不明确。以特提斯喜马拉雅南亚带的岗巴地区古新统基堵拉组石英砂岩为例,通过砂岩碎屑成分分析、古流向恢复、重矿物分析和碎屑锆石年代学方法,对基堵拉组石英砂岩的沉积学及物源区特征,以及蕴含的成因和构造意义进行探讨。从沉积相分析结果来看,在早古新世岗巴地区所属的板块为印度被动大陆边缘,处于新特提斯洋的海岸线附近,以滨岸相为主,显示了一种浅海陆棚到陆相的变化。从砂岩岩相学的结果分析,基堵拉组的陆源碎屑物主要是成熟度极高的石英砂岩,同时古水流近NNE方向。从碎屑锆石年代学数据分析结果可知,基堵拉组的碎屑锆石年龄特征与早白垩世德干高原地区相吻合。故认为基堵拉组石英砂岩的形成是由于印度北缘的陆源碎屑供应量突然增多与被动大陆边缘物源区构造抬升导致,而引起被动大陆边缘物源区构造抬升的原因主要与德干大火成岩省形成相关。最终认为石英砂岩的发育成因与印度大陆北缘德干大火成岩省形成时构造隆升所导致的稳定克拉通再活化有关。     

Late Cretaceous – Early Tertiary sedimentation and tectonic inversion in the southern Netherlands

Analysis of the Upper Cretaceous stratigraphy of the Peel Block reveals the basin development of the block to have been influenced by both the inversion of the Roer Valley Graben and Central Netherlands Basin, and the overall Late Cretaceous transgression. Sediments of Santonian to Danian age were deposited on the block. These sediments are compared with the detailed lithostratigraphy of southern Limburg, where Late Cretaceous strata are exposed. Four successions can be recognised in southern Limburg. The two oldest successions, the Santonian Oploo Formation (new name, proposed in the present contribution) and the mainly Early Campanian Vaals Formation, are restricted to the central and northern parts of the block. These siliciclastic formations were deposited under the influence of inversion of the Roer Valley Graben and the Central Netherlands Basin, as well as under the influence of a rising sea level. Towards the north, sands of the Oploo Formation grade into marls and chalks of the Ommelanden Formation. The two youngest successions comprise the largely Late Campanian to Maastrichtian Gulpen and Maastricht Formations and the Danian Houthem Formation. These chalk formations were deposited under the influence of regional subsidence during a sea-level highstand. Subsequent to deposition of the Houthem Formation, a regional regression triggered a change from shallow-marine carbonate to paralic siliciclastic deposition.