The Rollrock Section in the Sverdrup Basin, Arctic Canada, is one of the northernmost outcrops where the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition is accessible. The over 500 m thick sedimentary succession exposes the Oxfordian to Valanginian Ringnes and Deer Bay formations. Macrofauna from 15 discrete horizons includes ammonites, Buchia bivalves and belemnites. These fossils improve the biostratigraphy of the Tithonian and Berriasian in the Sverdrup Basin, provide correlation to the remainder of the Boreal Realm and set reliable calibration points. The occurrence of Buchia rugosa in the Ringnes Formation moves the upper formation boundary of from the top of the Kimmeridgian into the lower Tithonian. Dorsoplanites maximus and D. sachsi document the middle Tithonian Dorsoplanites maximus Zone in Arctic Canada for the first time. The late Tithonian to early Berriasian Buchia terebratuloides is considered to be the best approximate indicator of the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition in the Rollrock Section. The middle early Berriasian Praetollia maynci and the late early Berriasian Borealites fedorovi tie the respective horizons to the successive Chetaites sibiricus and Hectoroceras kochi zones. Two species of the belemnite Arctoteuthis, collected from an interval with glendonites, suggest a Valanginian age for the upper Deer Bay Formation. The dearth of Late Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous macrofossils in the Sverdrup Basin is inferred to be predominantly a function of diagenetic carbonate loss. Abundant dropstones and glendonites in the middle Tithonian to middle Valanginian interval suggest cold climatic conditions, and make the Rollrock Section a prime candidate for studying the Arctic environmental perturbations of this time.
The Kimmeridgian Alcobaça Formation of the Lusitanian Basin forms a mixed carbonate–siliciclastic unit between basinal deposits of the Abadia Formation, and fluvial–terrestrial strata of the Lourinhã Formation. This study presents >2.5 km of detailed logs of nine outcrop sections of the Alcobaça Formation in its type region. Eight of these sections encircle the Caldas da Rainha Diapir, which was a prominent, emergent, passive salt diapir during the time of deposition. Palaeoenvironments of the unit form a complex mosaic of low- to high-energy, carbonate- or siliciclastic-dominated shallow shelf settings; coastal embayments and lagoons; and coastal plains with rivers, lakes and playas. In the strata, abundant microfauna is often joined by a rich macrofauna, usually dominated by bivalves. Locally, corals, calcareous sponges or oysters form meadows or patch reefs. These autochthonous to parautochthonous remnants of former communities are assigned to 35 benthic macrofaunal associations. The integration of palaeoecological analysis of these associations with microfaunal and sedimentological data provides constraint on their salinity ranges, which range from slightly hypersaline to freshwater. Frequent temporal and spatial salinity fluctuations are attributed to variations in relative sea-level, salt tectonics or climate. The NNE-trending Caldas da Rainha Diapir induced pronounced facies differentiation. Predominantly, non-marine siliciclastic facies in the northwest and carbonate to siliciclastic, marine to brackish facies in the southwest are contrasted by shallow-marine carbonate facies east of the diapir. Comprehensive exposure and well-preserved fossils make the Alcobaça Formation an excellent showcase to demonstrate how biofacies analysis can help to disentangle the interplay of climate changes, sea-level fluctuations and salt tectonics. Based on the improved characterisation of the unit, the Alcobaça Formation is formally defined, and seven members are established.
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