Primary productivity and the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary event in the oceans

Geochemical and paleontological evidence indicate that marine primary productivity decreased rapidly at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary resulting in the selective elimination of those organisms directly dependent upon the flux of organic matter as a food source (filter and suspension feeders). Detritus and deposit feeders, however, suffered relatively fewer extinctions, apparently utilizing the reservoir of organic matter stored within the sediments. Lower rates of oceanic productivity might have continued for at least 1.5 m.y. following the initial decrease despite the rapid evolution of fauna and flora during the early Paleocene. Although these results can be viewed as being compatible with the bolide impact hypothesis, the extended period of low productivity afterwards suggests some longer term effects on the biosphere than predicted by such a model.     

Paleoceanographic changes at the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary in the Western Tethys, northeastern Mexico

Mexico is usually considered to have formed the western end of the Tethys during Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous times. The circumstances of the opening of the Gulf of Mexico Basin towards the Tethys and the exact stratigraphic timing, however, are not clear. Four sections covering this time interval, located in northeastern Mexico, have been measured and sampled in detail, in order to clarify their stratigraphic position during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous time interval and the paleogeographic and oceanographic changes that accompanied this opening. Our studies include microfacies, micro- and macropaleontology, whole rock and clay-mineral x-ray diffraction and stable isotopes analyses. Our data indicate that the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary, as defined by the Lyon-Neuchâtel Colloquium of 1973, cannot be determined precisely in northeastern Mexico due to the near-absence of calpionellids and endemism of ammonite taxa. In the lower and upper Berriasian sediments, we detected Mediterranean ammonite taxa so far unknown from Mexico, corresponding to the appearance of typical calpionellid-rich facies. These faunas allow direct biostratigraphic correlation with European ammonite and calpionellid zones.We propose that a major oceanographic change occurred in the upper part of calpionellid Zone B of the Early Berriasian. At this time, sediments in northeastern Mexico present increasingly pelagic facies, a dramatic appearance of Tethyan microfossils (calpionellids) and ammonites, changes in stable isotopic values, whole rock and clay-mineral mineralogy. We suggest that these changes are due to a global sea-level rise that connected directly northeastern Mexico to the European Tethys and ended the endemic, semi-restricted and anoxic environment of the Late Jurassic La Casita and equivalent La Caja and La Pimienta Formations.     

The Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary in the Apulco area by means of calpionellids and calcareous dinoflagellates: An alternative to the classical Mazatepec section in eastern Mexico

A detailed bed-by-bed sampling within the Pimienta and the Lower Tamaulipas Formations from a section in the Apulco area (Puebla State, Eastern Mexico), allows the delimitation of the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary. The Late Tithonian was identified by the presence of calpionellids of the Crassicollaria Zone (Colomi Subzone) and calcareous dinocysts of the Proxima Zone. The Tithonian/Berriasian boundary was placed at the acme of Calpionella alpina (small forms) between samples MZT 45–46. The Berriasian was divided into two main units, namely the Calpionella Zone, further subdivided into the Alpina, Ferasini and Elliptica subzones, and the Calpionellopsis Zone, within which only the Oblonga subzone was identified. The vertical distribution of calpionellids and their assemblages in the biozones of this Mexican section fit those from other Tethyan areas.     

A preliminary investigation into calcareous dinoflagellate cysts and problematic microfossils from an expanded Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary section at Kulstirenden, Stevns Klint, Denmark

Located to the north of the Stevns Klint Peninsula (Denmark), Kulstirenden shows the transition from Cretaceous chalks to Danian carbonates across the Cretaceous - Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary. The K/Pg boundary at Kulstirenden is represented by the Fiskeler Member (Fish Clay), a streaked marl interval with a smectite rich, red oxidised layer at its base marking the boundary. The Fiskeler Member is important as it includes the iridium concentration linked to the bolide impact which may have caused the end-Cretaceous mass extinction and is at its maximum thickness at Kulstirenden (c.45 cm). Calcareous dinoflagellate cysts (Calciodinelloideae) have been investigated from within the fine fraction (45-125 μm) at Kulstirenden in order to understand the ecological implications of these enigmatic microfossils. Several species were found within the Fiskeler Member, including Orthopithonella collarisWendler et al. (2001, Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 115, 69-77). This species is of particular interest as it demonstrates reduced paratabulation and may indicate a transgressive period immediately after the K/Pg boundary event. O. collaris has been described as a morphotype formed under post-K/Pg environmental conditions and is, therefore, described as a “disaster” taxon that marks the K/Pg boundary at Stevns Klint. The distribution of this taxon is more extensive than previously documented, disappearing as carbonate sedimentation returned in the Cerithium Limestone Member of the Danian. Several calcareous microfossil specimens that were found cannot be associated with the dinoflagellates and display Bolboforma-like features. While the origins of Bolboforma are enigmatic, the current finding expands their stratigraphic range and suggests an appearance of this group of organisms found at Stevns Klint may give an insight into the inception of this group into the earliest Danian.     

Comparison of palynomorph assemblages from the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary interval in Western Europe, northwest Africa and southeast China

The composition of palynomorph assemblages from selected sections through the Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary interval in Western Europe, northwest Africa and China is discussed. Similarities are emphasised and widespread trends noted, including the evolutionary development of the porate group of pollen grains, palynomorph extinctions within the boundary interval, and links with a climatic cooling trend. The comparative analysis revealed numerous taxonomic and nomenclature problems, as a list of 71 forms recorded from five papers on European and North African topics demonstrates. These taxa are considered to be similar or identical to palynomorphs documented in four Chinese papers, despite the fact that almost all of the identifications differ at either generic or specific level, or both.     

The Cretaceous Songliao Basin: Volcanogenic Succession, Sedimentary Sequence and Tectonic Evolution, NE China

The Songliao basin (SB) is a superposed basin with two different kinds of basin fills. The lower one is characterized by a fault-bounded volcanogenic succession comprising of intercalated volcanic, pyroclastic and epiclastic rocks. The volcanic rocks, dating from 110 Ma to 130 Ma, are of geochemically active continental margin type. Fast northward migration of the SB block occurred during the major episodes of the volcanism inferred from their paleomagnetic information. The upper one of the basin fill is dominated by non-marine sag-style sedimentary sequence of siliciclastics and minor carbonates. The basin center shifted westwards from the early to late Cretaceous revealed by the GGT seismic velocity structure suggesting dynamic change in the basin evolution. Thus, a superposed basin model is proposed. Evolution of the SB involves three periods including (1) Alptian and pre-Aptian: a retroarc basin and range system of Andes type related to Mongolia-Okhotsk collisional belt (MOCB); (2) Albian to Companian: a sag-like strike-slip basin under transtension related to oblique subduction of the Pacific plate along the eastern margin of the Eurasian plate; (3) since Maastrichtian: a tectonic inverse basin under compression related to normal subduction of the Pacific plate under the Eurasian plate, characterized by overthrust, westward migration of the depocenter and eastward uplifting of the basin margin.     

Multiple factors in the origin of the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary: the role of environmental stress and Deccan Trap volcanism

A review of the scenarios for the Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary event is presented and a coherent hypothesis for the origin of the event is formulated. Many scientists now accept that the event was caused by a meteorite impact at Chicxulub in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Our investigations show that the oceans were already stressed by the end of the Late Cretaceous as a result of the long-term drop in atmospheric CO₂, the long-term drop in sea level and the frequent development of oceanic anoxia. Extinction of some marine species was already occurring several million years prior to the K/T boundary. The biota were therefore susceptible to change. The eruption of the Deccan Traps, which began at 66.2 Ma, coincides with the K/T boundary events. It erupted huge quantities of H₂SO₄, HCl, CO₂, dust and soot into the atmosphere and led to a significant drop in sea level and marked changes in ocean temperature. The result was a major reduction in oceanic productivity and the creation of an almost dead ocean. The volcanism lasted almost 0.7 m.y.. Extinction of biological species was graded and appeared to correlate with the main eruptive events. Elements such as Ir were incorporated into the volcanic ash, possibly on soot particles. This horizon accumulated under anoxic conditions in local depressions and became the marker horizon for the K/T boundary. An oxidation front penetrated this horizon leading to the redistribution of elements. The eruption of the Deccan Traps is the largest volcanic event since the Permian-Triassic event at 245 Ma. It followed a period of 36 m.y. in which the earth’s magnetic field failed to reverse. Instabilities in the mantle are thought to be responsible for this eruption and therefore for the K/T event. We therefore believe that the K/T event can be explained in terms of the effects of the Deccan volcanism on an already stressed biosphere. The meteorite impact at Chicxulub took place after the onset of Deccan volcanism. It probably played a regional, rather than a global, role in the K/T extinctions.     

The Cretaceous/Palaeogene (K/P) boundary at Aïn Settara, Tunisia: restructuring of benthic foraminiferal assemblages

Benthic foraminiferal assemblages, in contrast to planktic foraminifera, generally did not suffer mass extinctions at the Cretaceous/Palaeogene (K/P) boundary; extinctions were fewer in deeper water. However, the outer shelf, upper bathyal section at Aïn Settara, Tunisia, records a dramatic change in the structure of benthic foraminiferal assemblages across the K/P boundary. At the level of extinction of planktic assemblages and enrichment in Ir and other geochemical anomalies, highly diversified, low-dominance Upper Maastrichtian assemblages with infaunal and epifaunal morphogroups were suddenly replaced by taxonomically impoverished assemblages, strongly dominated by epifaunal morphogroups. This extinction or temporary emigration of most infaunal morphogroups is interpreted to be the result of a sudden breakdown in food supply. This, in turn, is the consequence of a sudden collapse in primary productivity, probably resulting from the impact of the K/P asteroid.     

The Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary in northern Siberia and Boreal-Tethyan correlation of the boundary beds

There is no international consensus regarding the GSSP for the Berriasian, the basal stage of the Cretaceous System. Any of the events discussed by the international expert community can be regarded as a marker of the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary: a phylogenetic change of taxa, paleomagnetic reversal, or isotopic excursion. However, the problem of identification of this level in Boreal sections can be solved only using a combination of data obtained by paleontological and nonpaleontological methods of stratigraphy (bio-, chemo-, magnetostratigraphy, etc.). With any of the accepted markers, the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary in Siberian sections will be within the upper part of the regional Bazhenovo Horizon. The least interval of the uncertainty of the position of this boundary in Siberian sections will be ensured by the selection of one of two markers: biostratigraphic (base of the Pseudosubplanites grandis Subzone) or magnetostratigraphic (base of the M18r magnetozone).     

Stratigraphy,sedimentology and tectonic evolution of the Upper Cretaceous/Paleogene succession in north Eastern Desert,Egypt

The stratigraphy, sedimentology and syn-depositional tectonic events (SdTEs) of the Upper Cretaceous/Paleogene (K–P) succession at four localities in north Eastern Desert (NED) of Egypt have been studied. These localities are distributed from south-southwest to north-northeast at Gebel Millaha, at North Wadi Qena, at Wadi El Dakhal, and at Saint Paul Monastery. Lithostratigraphically, four rock units have been recorded: Sudr Formation (Campanian–Maastrichtian); Dakhla Formation (Danian–Selandian); Tarawan Formation (Selandian–Thanetian) and Esna Formation (Thanetian–Ypresian). These rock units are not completely represented all over the study area because some of them are absent at certain sites and others have variable thicknesses. Biostratigrapgically, 18 planktonic foraminiferal zones have been recorded. These are in stratigraphic order: Globotruncana ventricosa Zone (Campanian); Gansserina gansseri, Contusotruncana contusa, Recimguembelina fructicosa, Pseudohastigerina hariaensis, Pseudohastigerina palpebra and Plummerita hantkenenoides zones (Maastrichtian); Praemurica incostans, Praemurica uncinata, Morozovella angulata and Praemurica carinata/Igorina albeari zones (Danian); Igorina albeari, Globanomanlina pseudomenradii/Parasubbotina variospira, Acarinina subsphaerica, Acarinina soldadoensis/Globanomanlina pseudomenardii and Morozovella velascoensis zones (Selandian/Thantian); and Acarinina sibaiyaensis, Pseudohastigerina wilcoxensis/Morozovella velascoensis zones (earliest Ypresian). Sedimentologically, four sedimentary facies belts forming southwest gently-dipping slope to basin transect have been detected. They include tidal flats, outer shelf, slumped continental slope and open marine hemipelagic facies. This transect can be subdivided into a stable basin plain plus outer shelf in the extreme southwestern parts; and an unstable slope shelf platform in the northeastern parts. The unstable slope shelf platform is characterized by open marine hemipelagic, fine-grained limestones and fine siliciclastic shales (Sudr, Dakhla, Tarawan and Esna formations). The northeastern parts are marked by little contents of planktonic foraminifera and dolomitized, slumped carbonates, intercalated with basinal facies. Tectonically, four remarkable syn-depositional tectonic events (SdTEs) controlled the evolution of the studied succession. These events took place strongly within the Campanian–Ypresian time interval and were still active till Late Eocene. These events took place at: the Santonian/Campanian (S/C) boundary; the Campanian/Maastrichtian (C/M) boundary; the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/P) boundary; and the Middle Paleocene–Early Eocene interval. These tectonic events are four pronounced phases in the tectonic history of the Syrian Arc System (SAS), the collision of the Afro-Arabian and Eurasian plates as well as the closure of the Tethys Sea.     

The Huohua Section: a new Devonian-Carboniferous boundary section The Huohua section: a new Devonian-Carboniferous boundary section of deep-water facies in Ziyun County, Guizhou Province, China

This paper introduces a new section of the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary in Huohua area, Ziyun County, Guizhou Province, South China. The Huohua section of Upper Devonian and Lower Carboniferous is well-outcropped along a new countryside road. In this section, the D-C boundary beds can be grouped into three litho-units: the Daihua Formation, the Changshun Shale and the "Wangyou Formation", from which more than 30 conodont samples were collected and processed. According to our current study, some important conodonts in the Daihua Formation and the Changshun Shale have been recognized, such as Palmatolepis tenuipunctata, Pa. glabra, Pa. marginifera, Pa. gracilis, Polygnathus vogesi and Polygnathus purus purus. A few conodonts have been found from the Wangyou Formation, such as Polygnathus communis and Hindeodella subtilis. Based on the comparison with the Muhua section in Changshun county and the Hasselbachtal section in Germany in lithology, sedimentology and conodont biostratigraphy, the D-C boundary could be temporarily placed between Bed 25 and Bed 26, namely between the Changshun Shale and the Wangyou Formation.     

Biotic effects of environmental catastrophes at the end of the Cretaceous and early Tertiary: Guembelitria and Heterohelix blooms

In this study we report similar biotic response patterns in planktic foraminiferal assemblages, whether in association with volcanism, impacts or climate change at the end of the Cretaceous and early Tertiary. During and after each type of catastrophe two groups dominate high stress assemblages: (1) the small Guembelitria species, which are interpreted as having thrived in eutrophic surface waters where other species rarely survived; and (2) the low oxygen tolerant small Heterohelix species, which thrived at times of an expanding oxygen minimum zone associated with high nutrients and a stratified water column. The ecosystem collapse appears to be primarily the result of high macro- and micronutrient influx (from impacts, volcanism and erosion) leading to eutrophication and phytoplankton blooms (i.e., primary producers) that result in toxic conditions for foraminifera. Once nutrients decrease due to consumption by phytoplankton, the first opportunistic foraminifera, the Guembelitria, appear and graze on phytoplankton, rapidly reproduce (heterochronic acceleration) and increase populations exponentially. With nutrient depletion Guembelitria populations rapidly decrease leading to ecologic niches for other generalists and ecosystem recovery. Small low O₂ tolerant heterohelicid populations mark this second stage, followed by small trochospiral and planispiral species. With further environmental recovery, increasing competition, niche development, and restoration of a well-stratified watermass, oligotrophic conditions are restored opening habitats for large, highly specialized species and a return to normal diverse assemblages. Such highly stressed ecological successions are observed in association with mantle plume volcanism in the Indian Ocean, Andean volcanism in Argentina and shallow inland seas in Egypt and Madagascar during the late Maastrichtian, the K-T impact, volcanism during the early Danian, and intense upwelling and climate extremes. We present a simple model to explain the ecological succession and recovery phases that follow major biotic perturbations.     

The Cretaceous volcanic succession around the Songliao Basin,NE China: relationship between volcanism and sedimentation

With volume ratio of 8:1:1.5 amongst acidic, intermediate and basaltic rocks, the Cretaceous volcanics around the Songliao Basin are a series of high‐K or medium‐K, peraluminous or metaluminous, calc‐alkaline rocks, lacking typical basalts and peralkaline members of typical rift‐related types. Their eruption ages range between 133 and 127 Ma, 124 and 122 Ma and 117 and 113 Ma respectively. They are high in total (Rare earth element) REE contents (96.1–326 ppm), enriched in LREE and depleted in HREE (LREE/HREE = 4.6–13.8), with negative Eu and Ce anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.04–0.88; Ce/Ce* = 0.60–0.97). They have enriched large‐ion lithophile elements (e.g. K, Ba, Th) and depleted high field strength elements (e.g. Nb, Ti and Y), suggesting a subduction‐related tectonic setting. The volcanic activities migrated from south to north, forming a successively northward‐stepping volcanic series and showing a feature significantly different from the overlying sedimentary sequence striking northeast. Thus, an overlap basin model was proposed. Accompanied by opening of the basin, the volcanogenic succession was formed at the block‐faulting stage (131–113 Ma) owing to the closure of the Mongolia–Okhotsk ocean in the Jurassic and early Cretaceous, while the overlying sedimentary sequence was unconformably deposited at the spreading stage (Albian–Maastrichtian) owing to the oblique subduction of the Pacific plate under the Eurasian plate. The volcanic succession constitutes the lower unit of basin filling and is the forerunner of further basin spreading. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Early Cretaceous volcaniclastic and quartzose sandstones from north central Nepal: composition,sedimentology and geotectonic significance

Early Cretaceous sandstones and shales from the Thakkhola region (Chukh and Tangbe Formations) were deposited on the subsiding northern (Tethyan) margin of Gondwana; current directions indicate a source area to the south. Whereas the Berriasian Chukh Formation is dominated by quartz arenites, volcaniclastic sandstones and minor conglomerates dominate the Tangbe Formation of Valanginian to Aptian age. Upsection, the composition of the volcaniclastic components changes from mainly basaltic to dominantly dacitic/rhyolitic. Magmatism was preceded and accompanied by strong uplift in the source area of the Chukh and Tangbe clastics, resulting in the erosion of probably more than several hundred meters of pre-Cretaceous sedimentary, metamorphic and plutonic rocks. A geochemical whole rock analysis of basaltic pebble fragments shows their alkaline character and suggests a within-plate geotectonic setting for the volcanic source. This volcanotectonic event is probably related to rifting between Australia and Greater India, where seafloor spreading began in late Valanginian/Hauterivian times.     

Structural geology and sedimentology of the Heiligenhafen till section, Northern Germany

Three Pleistocene tills can be distinguished in a coastal cliff section near Heiligenhafen, northern Germany, on the basis of structural and petrographic characteristics. The Lower and Middle Tills had previously been ascribed to the Saalian, and the Upper Till to the Late Weichselian. The former two tills are folded, and unconformably overlain by the Upper Till. In this paper, structural and sedimentological observations are used to investigate whether the Lower and Middle Tills belong to one glacial advance, or two separate (Saalian) advances, as was suggested in earlier studies based on fine gravel stratigraphy.From the contact with local rocks to the top of the MT there is a steady increase in allochtonous components (Scandinavian rocks) and decrease in parautochtonous (chalk and flint) and autochtonous components (local Eocene siltstone and meltwater sediments). This is paralleled by a trend towards increasing deformation (finite strain) from the bedrock to the top of the section. The most obvious aspect of this latter trend is the massive appearance of the MT which can be interpreted as the result of homogenization by repeated folding and attenuation of sediment lenses which have been incorporated into the till. This interpretation is supported by macroscopic and microscopic observations of structures in both tills.The structural analysis of the tills is based on the marked contrast in symmetry between sections parallel and perpendicular to the shear direction. Structures on all scales in the LT as well as in the MT indicate E–W (dextral) shearing, except in the western part of the section, where this is overprinted by W–E (sinistral) shearing.The sediment inclusions in the chalk-rich LT are mainly fragments of one or more strongly extended glaciofluvial delta bodies with a depositional direction towards WSW. Locally these delta sediments rest on Eocene siltstone and contain numerous angular fragments of this local bedrock. Boudins and lenses of sorted sediments are incorporated into the till and occur as “islands of low strain” in a high strain homogeneous matrix.It is concluded that the LT and MT do not belong to two stratigraphically separate Saalian advances. The section is alternatively interpreted as one subglacial shear zone (deformation till) with upward increasing strain and allochtonous component content. It probably formed during the Younger Saalian (Warthe) westward advance from the Baltic region. Folding of the two diamicts occurred due to lateral compression near the Late Saalian ice margin. The section was finally overridden by the Late Weichselian Young Baltic advance, eroding the folded LT and MT and depositing the UT.     

Stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Upper Cretaceous to Paleogene Kilwa Group, southern coastal Tanzania

The geology of southern coastal Tanzania has remained poorly understood since the first comments on its stratigraphy were made over 100 years ago. However, new field surveys combined with shallow drilling along the coast between Kilwa and Lindi are beginning to resolve the depositional history and structural evolution of this region over the past 85 Ma. Here we present the first attempt to synthesize the results of these studies to provide a coherent sedimentological, litho- and sequence stratigraphic framework, including new geological maps, for the Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene of the coastal zone.Santonian to Oligocene sediments crop out along a broad coastal belt south of the Rufiji River from the Kilwa peninsula to Lindi Creek in southern Tanzania. During 55 Ma, over 1 km of a broadly homogeneous, mid to outer shelf clay-dominated succession was deposited across the passive margin, which we define here as the Kilwa Group. This lies disconformably across the shelf on Albian marls and is itself unconformably overlain by shallow water Miocene clays and more recent limestones, sands and gravels. Four formations can be identified within the Kilwa Group on the basis of characteristic secondary lithologies and facies, described here for the first time; the Nangurukuru, Kivinje, Masoko and Pande Formations. These formations include conformable stratigraphic intervals through both the Paleocene–Eocene and Eocene–Oligocene boundaries. Within the Kilwa Group, 12 sequence stratigraphic cycles can be identified at present, demonstrating relatively uniform and continual subsidence across the margin from Santonian to Early Oligocene time. A further major bounding surface is present between the Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene, but this may become partly conformable in the Lindi area. Although the principal lithology in all formations is clay or claystone, there are more permeable intervals containing pervasive coarser siliciclastic sediments and these have yielded traces of crude oil which is likely to have migrated from lower in the succession. The Kilwa Group thus also provides important new evidence for petroleum play development in the southern coastal zone.     

The relevance of iridium and microscopic dynamic deformation features toward understanding the Cretaceous/Tertiary transition

Iridium enhancements are associated with the fine particle emanations from present day basaltic and acidic volcanic eruptions but are not associated with impact craters, with one possible exception of Precambrian age. Microscopic dynamic deformation features are associated with structures originating from a meteorite impact, volcanic and internal explosion event(s), and high tectonic strain-rate(s). The Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) distributions of inidium and shocked minerals extend over a stratigraphic interval of a few hundred thousand years, in agreement with the known record of intense volcanism at K/T time but not in accord with the signature expected from a single meteorite impact. The recently studied K/T sections in Haiti add further information on the associations of shocked minerals and iridium enhancements.