The Late Cretaceous transgression in the Saxonian Cretaceous Basin (Germany): old story, new data and novel findings

Wilmsen, Markus; Niebuhr, Birgit; Fengler, M.; Püttmann, Tobias; Berensmeier, Michaela

doi:10.3140/bull.geosci.1723

Cited by 13 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…1a, b). The fossiliferous character of the strata of the Elbtal Group enabled the development of a precise high-resolution biostratigraphic framework based on inoceramid bivalves and ammonites, facilitating a detailed chronostratigraphic calibration and correlation of the lithostratigraphic units (e.g., Petrascheck 1902;Seifert 1955;Tröger 1967Tröger , 1969Nagm 2013, 2014;Tröger and Niebuhr 2014;Tröger 2015;Wilmsen et al 2019;Niebuhr et al 2020).…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The first transgression into the Elbe Zone proceeded from the northwest and reached the Oberau-Meißen area in the Early Cenomanian (Klippensandstein; Fig. 1c; Wilmsen et al 2019). However, the main onlap phase started with a first major transgression in the early Middle Cenomanian, reflected by the deposition of the lower part of the marly Mobschatz Formation and its local shallow-water equivalent, the Meißen Formation (Wilmsen et al 2019) as well as the continued backfilling of fluvial valleys with estuarine sediments (bioturbated, so-called "Wurmsandstein" of the upper Niederschöna Formation).…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1c; Wilmsen et al 2019). However, the main onlap phase started with a first major transgression in the early Middle Cenomanian, reflected by the deposition of the lower part of the marly Mobschatz Formation and its local shallow-water equivalent, the Meißen Formation (Wilmsen et al 2019) as well as the continued backfilling of fluvial valleys with estuarine sediments (bioturbated, so-called "Wurmsandstein" of the upper Niederschöna Formation). The second transgressive pulse characterizes the early Late Cenomanian, causing onlap of nearshore sandstones (Oberhäslich Formation) onto the Osterzgebirge (Voigt 1994;Wilmsen 2017) and far into the area of today's Saxonian Switzerland while in the northwestern Dresden-Meißen area, marly-calcareous offshore deposition (upper Mobschatz Formation) prevailed (Wilmsen et al 2019).…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the main onlap phase started with a first major transgression in the early Middle Cenomanian, reflected by the deposition of the lower part of the marly Mobschatz Formation and its local shallow-water equivalent, the Meißen Formation (Wilmsen et al 2019) as well as the continued backfilling of fluvial valleys with estuarine sediments (bioturbated, so-called "Wurmsandstein" of the upper Niederschöna Formation). The second transgressive pulse characterizes the early Late Cenomanian, causing onlap of nearshore sandstones (Oberhäslich Formation) onto the Osterzgebirge (Voigt 1994;Wilmsen 2017) and far into the area of today's Saxonian Switzerland while in the northwestern Dresden-Meißen area, marly-calcareous offshore deposition (upper Mobschatz Formation) prevailed (Wilmsen et al 2019). The third and most important transgressive event occurred in the latest Cenomanian, drowning remaining basement uplifts (Voigt et al 1994(Voigt et al , 2006Wilmsen et al 2011) and establishing the wide facies belts of an open, grain-size-graded shelf (marly-calcareous offshore deposits of the Dölzschen Formation and sandy nearshore facies of the Pennrich Formation; Niebuhr 2020).…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both cores were drilled in the Gröbern area in 1991 for subsurface investigation of a planned landfill site. The lowermost part of the core 2/91 including the contact of the Cretaceous strata to the basement is not anymore available and was replaced in the paper of Wilmsen et al (2019) by an only moderately exposed railway slope cut section ca. one km to the southwest.…”

Section: Gröbern Composite Sectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Depositional setting and limiting factors of early Late Cretaceous glaucony formation: implications from Cenomanian glauconitic strata (Elbtal Group, Germany)

Wilmsen

Bansal

2021

Facies

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Cenomanian strata of the Elbtal Group (Saxony, eastern Germany) reflect a major global sea-level rise and contain, in certain intervals, a green authigenic clay mineral in abundance. Based on the integrated study of five new core sections, the environmental background and spatio-temporal patterns of these glauconitic strata are reconstructed and some general preconditions allegedly needed for glaucony formation are critically questioned. XRD analyses of green grains extracted from selected samples confirm their glauconitic mineralogy. Based on field observations as well as on the careful evaluation of litho- and microfacies, 12 glauconitc facies types (GFTs), broadly reflecting a proximal–distal gradient, have been identified, containing granular and matrix glaucony of exclusively intrasequential origin. When observed in stratigraphic succession, GFT-1 to GFT-12 commonly occur superimposed in transgressive cycles starting with the glauconitic basal conglomerates, followed up-section by glauconitic sandstones, sandy glauconitites, fine-grained, bioturbated, argillaceous and/or marly glauconitic sandstones; glauconitic argillaceous marls, glauconitic marlstones, and glauconitic calcareous nodules continue the retrogradational fining-upward trend. The vertical facies succession with upwards decreasing glaucony content demonstrates that the center of production and deposition of glaucony in the Cenomanian of Saxony was the nearshore zone. This time-transgressive glaucony depocenter tracks the regional onlap patterns of the Elbtal Group, shifting southeastwards during the Cenomanian 2nd-order sea-level rise. The substantial development of glaucony in the thick (60 m) uppermost Cenomanian Pennrich Formation, reflecting a tidal, shallow-marine, nearshore siliciclastic depositional system and temporally corresponding to only ~ 400 kyr, shows that glaucony formation occurred under wet, warm-temperate conditions, high accumulation rates and on rather short-term time scales. Our new integrated data thus indicate that environmental factors such as great water depth, cool temperatures, long time scales, and sediment starvation had no impact on early Late Cretaceous glaucony formation in Saxony, suggesting that the determining factors of ancient glaucony may be fundamentally different from recent conditions and revealing certain limitations of the uniformitarian approach.

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Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gröbern Composite Sectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Depositional setting and limiting factors of early Late Cretaceous glaucony formation: implications from Cenomanian glauconitic strata (Elbtal Group, Germany)

Wilmsen

Bansal

2021

Facies

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LA-ICP-MS U–Pb dating and trace element analyses of detrital rutile from the Elbtal Group (Saxony, Germany): provenance constraints of the Saxonian Cretaceous Basin

Rösel,

Schulze,

Wilmsen

et al. 2024

Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch)

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The steep sandstone cliffs of the Upper Cretaceous Elbtal Group exposed in the Eastern Erzgebirge and the Zittau Sandstone Mountains are impressive remnants of the Saxo-Bohemian Cretaceous Basin. Despite the excellent exposure, little is known about the provenance. Herein, we present LA-ICP-MS U–Pb and trace element data of detrital rutile grains separated from five different formations of the Elbtal Group to characterise and differentiate potential source regions. The Cenomanian samples of the Eastern Erzgebirge (Niederschöna and Oberhäslich formations, lower Elbtal Group) yield an U–Pb rutile age cluster at 320–330 Ma. The source rock lithology is predominantly of metapelitic origin. The Zr-in-rutile temperatures indicate amphibolite- to lower granulite-facies metamorphic conditions. Thus, the Variscan basement exposed in the Erzgebirge is assumed as proto source. The Middle Turonian to Early Coniacian samples from the Zittau Sandstone Mountains (Oybin, Lückendorf and Waltersdorf formations; upper Elbtal Group) yield similar U–Pb rutile ages with a cluster at 320–330 Ma. The source rock lithology is likewise predominantly classified as metapelitic and the Zr-in-rutile temperatures cluster in upper amphibolite- to granulite-facies metamorphic conditions. Exposures with high-grade metamorphic Variscan basement are assumed as likely proto sources for these sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary structures indicate a northerly source and thus contrast with direct input from the Variscan basement located to the south and east. Thus, the most likely sedimentary model is reworking of sediments that were eroded from the Variscan basement prior to the Turonian and deposited within a basin at the northern margin of the Bohemian Massif. Graphical abstract

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Large-sized Late Turonian–Early Coniacian (Late Cretaceous) inoceramid bivalves from Germany: taxonomic issues, temporal framework and palaeoecological implications

Niebuhr

Wilmsen

2022

PalZ

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A systematic-stratigraphic revision of selected large Late Turonian–Early Coniacian inoceramids of the lamarcki group from Germany showed that both historical specimens of Goldfuss (1836), introduced as Inoceramus annulatus and later becoming the types of Late Turonian I. lamarcki stuemckei Heinz, 1928a and Early Coniacian I. annulatus Goldfuss, 1836, respectively, are of Late Turonian age. I. stuemckei Heinz, 1928a, as emended herein, is well represented by its lectotype. Bulky isolated hinges from Upper Turonian strata, used by Heinz (1932a) to erect Heroceramus hercules, are just fragments of contemporaneous large I. stuemckei; H. hercules is thus invalid. The common Late Turonian I. stuemckei occurs facies-independent from near- to offshore settings and its first common appearance is an excellent marker for the substage base. I. annulatus Goldfuss, 1836 was later applied to very large forms first appearing in the mid-Early Coniacian. Thus, I. annulatus sensu Walaszczyk and Wood (1998) is poorly represented by its medium-sized latest Turonian lectotype, causing some nomenclatorial issues. I. stuemckei (heightmax 500 mm) and I. annulatus (heightmax one metre) are characterized by a stratigraphically abrupt shell enlargement and hinge buttressing across the Middle/Upper Turonian boundary and within the Early Coniacian, respectively. This shift to larger sizes, a common passive defense strategy against predation, is accompanied by widespread evidence for increased Late Turonian predation pressure by marine durophages. We thus speculate that the size increase in Late Turonian–Early Coniacian inoceramid bivalves is part of an escalating arms race between prey and predators, ultimately triggering Late Cretaceous inoceramid gigantism.

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The Late Cretaceous transgression in the Saxonian Cretaceous Basin (Germany): old story, new data and novel findings

Cited by 13 publications

References 0 publications

Depositional setting and limiting factors of early Late Cretaceous glaucony formation: implications from Cenomanian glauconitic strata (Elbtal Group, Germany)

Depositional setting and limiting factors of early Late Cretaceous glaucony formation: implications from Cenomanian glauconitic strata (Elbtal Group, Germany)

LA-ICP-MS U–Pb dating and trace element analyses of detrital rutile from the Elbtal Group (Saxony, Germany): provenance constraints of the Saxonian Cretaceous Basin

Large-sized Late Turonian–Early Coniacian (Late Cretaceous) inoceramid bivalves from Germany: taxonomic issues, temporal framework and palaeoecological implications

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