Evolving ideas about the Cretaceous climate and ocean circulation

Hay, William W.

doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2008.05.025

Cited by 316 publications

(145 citation statements)

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“…Conflicting interpretations of the origins of lamination in the two cores (Kitchell et al, 1986;Stoffyn-Egli, 1987) have now been resolved by scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies, and a strongly seasonal flux sequence is present in both cores ). The preservation of lamination is consistent with the anoxic bottom waters of a silled Arctic basin with only shallow water connections to the world ocean through the Turgay Strait, the Fram Strait and the narrowing Western Interior Seaway (Hay, 2008). The slightly older, shallower water, coastal and shelf sequences in Canadian Arctic Islands show evidence for widespread diatom productivity and the presence of a vigorous marine ecosystem (Chin et al, 2008;Witkowski et al, 2011).…”

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confidence: 58%

Late Cretaceous seasonal palaeoclimatology and diatom palaeoecology from laminated sediments

Davies

Kemp

2016

Cretaceous Research

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Laminated diatom-rich marine sediments from California and the Arctic Ocean provide a window into the seasonal climate and oceanography of the mid-and high-latitude Late Cretaceous. These remarkable shallow-buried sediments constitute palaeo-sediment traps that record exceptionally well-preserved sequential biogenic and lithogenic flux events. Many of the diatom laminae are composed of a few dominant taxa, and we use a species-based approach for palaeoecological interpretation. Contrary to many earlier interpretations, results indicate that both sites preserve a major flux of taxa adapted to exploit a strongly stratified ocean. The uppermost Maastrichtian Marca Shale of California records a seasonal cycle initiated with a spring bloom flux of diatom resting spores followed by a summer lithogenic sediment input likely driven by monsoonal storms providing river runoff and aeolian input. This is followed by a dominant diatom flux of species that thrived in the summer stratification in deep chlorophyll maxima and were sedimented in the fall when this stratification broke down. Dominant taxa comprising this group include Hemiaulus, Stephanopyxis, Stellarima and Rhizosolenia. The uppermost Campanian CESAR 6 core from the Arctic Alpha Ridge, records a spring bloom flux of resting spores followed by a more dominant summer and fall flux of diatom vegetative cells which were likely concentrated in subsurface summer blooms that generated a "summer export pulse" and by the breakdown of stratification in the fall that gave massive flux of deep chlorophyll maxima species in the fall dump. The dominance and diversity of Hemiaulus in the CESAR 6 core together with widespread evidence of N 2 -fixation may indicate that some diatom blooms were powered by intracellular N 2 -fixing cyanobacteria as in the modern oligotrophic ocean. Thin lenses of fine lithogenic sediment that occur mostly in the spring layer represent rafting by winter sea ice and support other evidence that suggests intermittent winter freezing in the Late Cretaceous Arctic.Keywords: Late Cretaceous; Diatom blooms; Paleoecology; California; Arctic; Sea Ice 3 1.Introduction Laminated pelagic and hemipelagic marine sediments often constitute "palaeosediment traps" that preserve sequential flux events from which the ancient seasonal flux cycle may be reconstructed. They commonly preserve both the biogenic flux events from surface ocean productivity and also the terrigenous sediment input common in hemipelagic or marginal settings. Within rare, exceptionally well-preserved Cretaceous sediments, fossil diatom algae record the seasonal cycle of marine production and flux to the sea bed. In the modern ocean diatom algae are the dominant, bloom-forming phytoplankton in many environments and are key players in the marine biological carbon pump. The relative contribution of diatoms to total primary production has been estimated to range from 35% in the oligotrophic oceans to 75% in the coastal zone and in the Antarctic (Nelson et al., 1995), while their contribution...

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confidence: 58%

Late Cretaceous seasonal palaeoclimatology and diatom palaeoecology from laminated sediments

Davies

Kemp

2016

Cretaceous Research

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“…That is especially true if the Earth lacks vast ice covers (BERGER, 1989). Although Upper Cretaceous was long regarded as ice-free, Maastrichtian-Danian most probably saw the development of occasional continental ice sheets MILLER et al, 1999MILLER et al, , 2005CARPENTER, 2003;BORNEMANN et al, 2008;HAY, 2008). BARRON et al (1985) suggested that MILANKO-VITCH astronomical forcing caused changes in monsoons which in turn induces changes in Cretaceous sediment record.…”

Section: Precession Versus Obliquitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Hunting for the 405-kyr eccentricity cycle phase at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary in the Aïn Settara section (Kalaat Senan, central Tunisia)

Hennebert¹

2012

Carnets De Géologie (Notebooks on Geology)

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Abstract:The Aïn Settara section (Kalaat Senan, central Tunisia) shows a continuous and well exposed marl-limestone alternation, extending from the Upper Maastrichtian to the basal Danian. The section reveals the superposition of several cycles, which correspond to the combined astro-climatic effect of both eccentricity and precession. Based on the ~100-kyr eccentricity and the ~21-kyr precession cycles, a floating chronometric scale is proposed. Thanks to this scale, the sedimentary and biological events of the section are dated with respect to the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary taken as the reference. Highlighting the very stable 405-kyr eccentricity cycle allows on one side to confirm the relevance of the established time scale and on the other side to determine the phase of this important signal with respect to the K-Pg boundary event.

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“…During the Late Cretaceous, it is probable that no boundaries were present between the shelf areas and the pelagic realm (shelf fronts) due to high sea-level stands (Hay 1995(Hay , 2008, in contrast to the present-day situation. Typical sediments of Late Cretaceous temperate to Boreal shelf areas are thus pelagic carbonates (calcareous nannofossils and foraminiferal ooze, i.e.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The reasons for the onset of the widespread Late Cretaceous chalk deposition are still controversial. A massive rise of sea-level, changes in ocean circulation and ocean chemistry, as well as evolutionary developments, probably contributed to the specific chalk setting (e.g., Hay 1995Hay , 2008Stanley et al 2005;Giorgioni et al 2015).…”

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confidence: 99%

The benthic macrofauna from the Lower Maastrichtian chalk of Kronsmoor (northern Germany, Saturn quarry): taxonomic outline and palaeoecologic implications

Engelke

Esser²,

Linnert

et al. 2016

Acta Geologica Polonica

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The benthic macroinvertebrates of the Lower Maastrichtian chalk of Saturn quarry at Kronsmoor (northern Germany) have been studied taxonomically based on more than 1,000 specimens. Two successive benthic macrofossil assemblages were recognised: the lower interval in the upper part of the Kronsmoor Formation (Belemnella obtusaZone) is characterized by low abundances of macroinvertebrates while the upper interval in the uppermost Kronsmoor and lowermost Hemmoor formations (lower to middleBelemnella sumensisZone) shows a high macroinvertebrate abundance (eight times more than in theB. obtusaZone) and a conspicuous dominance of brachiopods. The palaeoecological analysis of these two assemblages indicates the presence of eight different guilds, of which epifaunal suspension feeders (fixo-sessile and libero-sessile guilds), comprising approximately half of the trophic nucleus of the lower interval, increased to a dominant 86% in the upper interval, including a considerable proportion of rhynchonelliform brachiopods. It is tempting to relate this shift from the lower to the upper interval to an increase in nutrient supply and/or a shallowing of the depositional environment but further data including geochemical proxies are needed to fully understand the macrofossil distribution patterns in the Lower Maastrichtian of Kronsmoor.

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Evolving ideas about the Cretaceous climate and ocean circulation

Cited by 316 publications

References 210 publications

Late Cretaceous seasonal palaeoclimatology and diatom palaeoecology from laminated sediments

Late Cretaceous seasonal palaeoclimatology and diatom palaeoecology from laminated sediments

Hunting for the 405-kyr eccentricity cycle phase at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary in the Aïn Settara section (Kalaat Senan, central Tunisia)

The benthic macrofauna from the Lower Maastrichtian chalk of Kronsmoor (northern Germany, Saturn quarry): taxonomic outline and palaeoecologic implications

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