Towards a global stratigraphic scheme for the Campanian - Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous): Calibration of carbon isotope stratigraphy with paleomagnetic chrons and biostratigraphy
Final Report Abstract
Carbon-isotope stratigraphy has proven to be a powerful tool in the global correlation of Cretaceous successions. During this project we generated new, high-resolution carbon-isotope records for the Bottaccione and Contessa sections at Gubbio (Italy) provide a global δ13C correlation between shelf-sea and oceanic sites. The new assembled Gubbio-δ13C record has been correlated with δ13C-stratigraphies of the boreal chalk sea, the tropical Pacific (ODP-Hole 1210B, Shatsky Rise) and the South Atlantic and Southern Ocean (DSDP Hole 525A, ODP Hole 690C). The global correlation allows the identification of significant high-frequency δ13C variations that occur superimposed on prominent Campanian–Maastrichtian events, namely the Late Campanian Event (LCE), the Campanian–Maastrichtian Boundary Event (CMBE), the mid-Maastrichtian Event (MME), and the Cretaceous-Paleogene transition (KPgE). The carbon-isotope events are correlated with the geomagnetic polarity scale recalculated using the astronomical 40Ar/39Ar calibration of the Fish Canyon sanidine. This technique allows the evaluation of the relative timing of base occurrences of stratigraphic index fossils such as ammonites, planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils. The CMBE covers a time span of 2.5 Myr and reflects changes in the global carbon cycle probably related to tectonic processes than to glacio-eustasy. The duration of the high-frequency δ13C variations instead coincides with the frequency band of long eccentricity, indicative of orbital forcing of changes in climate and the global carbon cycle.
Publications
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2011. Calibration of Upper Campanian – Maastrichtian nannofossil and foraminiferal events to carbon isotope stratigraphy and the GPTS. – Plankton biostratigraphy – An EARTHTIME-EU initiative of critical evaluation of biohorizons and biozonations of the last 100 Ma, October 4-7, 2011, Varna
Voigt, S., Gale, A.
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2012. Global correlation of Upper Campanian–Maastrichtian successions using carbon-isotope stratigraphy: development of a new Maastrichtian Timescale. Newsletters on Stratigraphy, 45/1, 25–53
Voigt, S., Gale, A.S., Jung, C. and Jenkyns, H.C.
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2012. The Maastrichtian carbon cycle – tales from shallow shelves and deep oceans. – The Maastrichtian Stage – The current concept, workshop, Maastricht, September 6-8, 2012
Voigt, S., Jung, C., Friedrich, O., Gale, A., Batenburg, S., Thibault, N., Farouk, S.
