Sedimentation rates in the Late Cretaceous epicontinental basin in the south of the Russian Plate

This paper discusses integrated analysis of sedimentation rates of Late Cretaceous sediments in the south of the Russian Plate. The first map of Late Cretaceous sedimentation rates in this region has been constructed using equal-rate contours; the rates were calculated for ages and epochs at 38 reference sites based on a chronostratigraphic scale and published data and for biostratigraphic zones at 5 sites. The sedimentation rates of pelagic carbonate and siliceous sediments in the Late Cretaceous basin of the Russian Plate ranged from 0.1 to 1 n cm/1000 years with a maximum of 2–3 cm/ka in the Caspian Syneclise. The predominantly terrigenous and siliceous-terrigenous sediments could accumulate in the south of the Ulyanovsk-Saratov basin at a rate of 1–3 m/ka.