The theropod that wasn't: an ornithopod tracksite from the Helvetiafjellet Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of Boltodden, Svalbard

Hurum, Jørn H.; Druckenmiller, Patrick; Hammer, Øyvind; Nakrem, Hans Arne; Olaussen, Snorre

doi:10.1144/sp434.10

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…The Early Cretaceous climate of Svalbard is debated (Pickton, 1981;Århus, 1991;Maher et al, 2004;Mutrux et al, 2008;Price & Nunn, 2010;Price & Passey, 2013;Vickers et al, 2016Vickers et al, , 2018. However, the presence of ornithopod dinosaur tracks, fossilised deciduous conifers and ginkgo trees, and bituminous coal seams in the Helvetiafjellet Formation point to a warm temperate (mean annual temperatures of 7-10°C) and humid climate in the Barremian to early Aptian (Nemec, 1992;Hurum et al, 2016a).…”

Section: Tectonic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sedimentology and palynology of the Lower Cretaceous succession of central Spitsbergen: integration of subsurface and outcrop data

Grundvåg¹,

Jelby²,

Śliwińska³

et al. 2019

NJG

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The Lower Cretaceous succession in Svalbard is commonly considered as an important analogue to age-equivalent strata on the Barents Shelf which are sporadically targeted by exploration wells. In this study, the stratigraphic and genetic relationship between the Rurikfjellet (open marine), Helvetiafjellet (paralic) and Carolinefjellet (open marine) formations of the Lower Cretaceous succession in Svalbard is evaluated by combining sedimentological outcrop studies with well log and core data across Nordenskiöld Land, central Spitsbergen. Sedimentological characteristics and stratigraphic units are mapped within a refined dinocyst biostratigraphic framework, enabling relatively well-constrained palaeogeographic reconstructions. The Valanginian-lowermost Barremian Rurikfjellet Formation consists of a lower shale-dominated unit of offshore origin which grades upwards into storm-reworked lower shoreface sandstones displaying hummocky cross-stratification. Local occurrences of prodeltaic successions and thick successions of gravity flow deposits containing coal-bearing slump blocks of delta plain origin in some wells, reveal a late Hauterivian progradational pulse which has previously not been recorded in Svalbard. The lower Barremianlower Aptian Helvetiafjellet Formation consists of fluvial braidplain and paralic deposits which rest unconformably on the Rurikfjellet Formation across the entire study area, reflecting regional uplift and widespread subaerial exposure prior to the onset of paralic deposition. The Helvetiafjellet Formation exhibits increased marine influence upwards, and in the investigated cores the uppermost part of the unit consists of wave-reworked mouth-bar deposits which are truncated by a transgressive conglomerate lag dominated by extrabasinal lithic clasts and intraformational siderite clasts. An up to 10 m-thick, regionally extensive, organic-rich (TOC up to 2.1 wt.%) shale unit of early Aptian age marks the base of the overlying Carolinefjellet Formation. The shale accumulated during a regional flooding event which drowned and eventually transformed the Helvetiafjellet Formation coastal plain into a shallow shelf. The organic facies of the shale unit (Type II-III kerogen) and a high Pr/Ph ratio (>2), in combination with abundant long-chained n-alkanes, suggest that the unit was deposited in a suboxic paralic marine environment strongly influenced by input of terrestrial organic matter. The investigated succession exhibits stratigraphic and petrographic resemblance to age-equivalent strata in NE Greenland, suggesting that these successions may have formed part of the same drainage system located on the northwestern margin of the Barents Shelf. Thus, by highlighting the Early Cretaceous palaeogeographic evolution in Svalbard, this study contributes to the regional stratigraphic understanding of the Lower Cretaceous succession on the wider northern Barents Shelf.

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Section: Tectonic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sedimentology and palynology of the Lower Cretaceous succession of central Spitsbergen: integration of subsurface and outcrop data

Grundvåg¹,

Jelby²,

Śliwińska³

et al. 2019

NJG

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“…The formation shows more variable facies associations on Spitsbergen, comprising a mixture of fluvial braid-plain, delta-, coastal and alluvial plain deposits with thin coal seams, mouth bars, barrier islands and estuaries (Steel & Worsley, 1984;Nemec, 1992;Gjelberg & Steel, 1995;Midtkandal & Nystuen, 2009;Grundvåg et al, 2017 and references therein). Dinosaur tracks, coal beds, kaolinitic seat earth, plant fragments and tree trunks (Nemec, 1992;Hurum et al, 2006Hurum et al, , 2016Smelror, 2008) are common features in the Helvetiafjellet Formation on Spitsbergen, suggesting a seasonal and periodic warm, humid climate. Kong Karls Land belongs to a tectonic province that includes large parts of the northern and eastern Barents Sea.…”

Section: Regional Development and Palaeogeographymentioning

confidence: 99%

Mesozoic strata of Kong Karls Land, Svalbard, Norway; a link to the northern Barents Sea basins and platforms

Olaussen¹,

Larssen²,

Helland-Hansen³

et al. 2019

NJG

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Kong Karls Land, easternmost in the Svalbard archipelago, displays a 300 m-thick Upper Triassic (Norian) to Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) succession. The islands are situated within a set of large-scale, NE-SW-trending folds. The sediments are poorly consolidated as a result of relatively shallow burial. Lower Cretaceous plateau lavas and sills cap the islands and have protected older strata from extensive Pliocene and Pleistocene erosion. Correlation between onland exposures and subsea seismic units shows that Kong Karls Land is a key reference area for the Late Triassic to Early Cretaceous development of the northern Barents Sea shelf, but also to the southwestern Barents Sea. The unique exposed succession can be correlated with nearby offshore data, enabling the recognition of key sequence stratigraphic surfaces which define major tectonic events. These enable subdivision of the succession into six tectonic megasequences (TMS 1 to TMS 6) of latest Permian to Early Cretaceous age. The TMS 1 is linked to denudation of the Uralian orogen and includes most of the northwestward prograding Triassic coastline in the northwestern Barents Sea and eastern part of Svalbard. The 200 m-thick estuarine to shoreface deposits of the Rhaetian to Pliensbachian TMS 2 in Kong Karls Land stands in contrast to the 5 to 20 m-thick condensed succession with numerous hiatuses in western Spitsbergen. This significant difference is suggested to be a response to an evolving foreland basin linked to the northern Barents Sea Basin and Novaya Zemlya Fold and Thrust Belt. The four youngest tectonic megasequences are represented by only thin remnants onshore and on the adjacent platform. Outcrop mapping and seismic profiles show high-amplitude weak folding in the Late Jurassic followed by Early Cretaceous reactivation, prior to deposition of the Helvetiafjellet Formation. The volcanism in Kong Karls Land is related to the High Arctic Large Igneous Province and opening of the Amerasian Basin, which resulted in uplift of the northern Barents Shelf and southwards tilting of the Svalbard Platform..

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“…Despite its relatively high palaeo-latitude during the Early Cretaceous (63-66°N), Svalbard had a generally warm-temperate (mean annual temperature of 7-10°C) and humid climate that supported an ornithopod dinosaur population, deciduous conifers, ginkgos and peat accumulations developing into relatively thick coal seams (Steel & Worsley 1984;Nemec 1992;Harland et al 2007;Hurum et al 2016). The warm climate was related to global greenhouse conditions, with the Cretaceous being one of the warmest periods in Earth's history (Hallam 1985).…”

Section: Early Cretaceous Climatementioning

confidence: 99%

Sedimentology of the Lower Cretaceous at Kikutodden and Keilhaufjellet, southern Spitsbergen: implications for an onshore–offshore link

Grundvåg

Olaussen²

2017

Polar Research

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Detailed sedimentological investigations of the Lower Cretaceous succession of southernmost Spitsbergen indicate deposition during a long-term fall and rise in relative sea level. The Rurikfjellet Formation shows an overall regressive development and consists of offshore deposits grading upwards into progradationally stacked shoreface parasequences. The overlying Helvetiafjellet Formation shows a twofold division reflecting an overall transgressive development. The lower Festningen Member represents a lateral extensive sandstone sheet that was deposited in a braid plain setting with sediment dispersal to the southeast. The unit also includes a lower Barremian subaerial unconformity at its base, demonstrating that uplift and shelf erosion also took place in southern Spitsbergen. Clinoforms observed in seismic data from, amongst others, the Lower Cretaceous in the western Bjarmeland Platform suggest a potential link between the onshore unconformity and the offshore clinoforms. The Festningen Member is capped by a coaly shale unit that represents an expansion surface which marks a change into a high-accommodation distributary fluvial system of the overlying and heterolithic Glitrefjellet Member. The overall transgressive development recorded in the Helvetiafjellet Formation eventually resulted in a marine flooding that eroded and drowned the delta plain depositing an offshore mudstone unit, 5-10 m in thickness, that marks the reestablishment of open marine shelf conditions in the basal part of the Carolinefjellet Formation. The succeeding sand-rich part of the Carolinefjellet Formation contain abundant hummocky cross-stratified sandstones deposited in an inner shelf setting, and therefore represents renewed shoreline progradation onto the shallow subaqueous shelf.

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The theropod that wasn't: an ornithopod tracksite from the Helvetiafjellet Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of Boltodden, Svalbard

Cited by 9 publications

References 48 publications

Sedimentology and palynology of the Lower Cretaceous succession of central Spitsbergen: integration of subsurface and outcrop data

Sedimentology and palynology of the Lower Cretaceous succession of central Spitsbergen: integration of subsurface and outcrop data

Mesozoic strata of Kong Karls Land, Svalbard, Norway; a link to the northern Barents Sea basins and platforms

Sedimentology of the Lower Cretaceous at Kikutodden and Keilhaufjellet, southern Spitsbergen: implications for an onshore–offshore link

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