Integrated calcareous plankton biostratigraphy and stable isotopes stratigraphy of Cenomanian-Turonian interval of Breonio and Quero sections (central-western Tethys)

The late Cenomanian-Turonian interval is characterized by major changes in the global carbon cycle, identified by stable carbon isotope excursions with associated climatic variations (e.g., OAE2, Late Turonian Events). These changes are linked to significant paleoceanographic modifications that impacted the biota, especially primary producers (e.g., calcareous plankton), forcing extinctions and evolutionary radiations. A reliable biostratigraphy is an essential tool to correlate both environmental and biotic changes worldwide.

Calcareous nannofossils and planktic foraminifera are well recognized as useful markers for biostratigraphy and paleoecological studies. However, the Cenomanian-Turonian calcareous nannofossil biohorizons are still poorly constrained because the nannofossil assemblages suffer from marked provincialism and taxonomic uncertainty that can blur their biochronological potential.

In order to improve the calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphic scheme of the late Cenomanian-Turonian interval, we present new data from the Breonio section (northeastern Italy), in the southwestern part of the Trento Plateau, and from the Quero section (northeastern Italy), located in the western Belluno Basin (central-western Tethys).

The analyses of calcareous nannofossil and planktic foraminiferal assemblages were integrated with the δ¹³C, δ¹⁸O and CaCO₃ curves. The δ¹³C values highlight several positive, global, stable carbon isotope shifts in both sections. The CaCO₃ signal of the Quero section suggests that the isotopic signal is pristine because the CaCO₃ values are not coupled with δ¹³C isotope shifts. On the contrary CaCO₃ curve seems generally to reflect the lithological signal. On the basis of biostratigraphic data the detected positive shifts have been correlated with the late Cenomanian-Turonian events, specifically, the Oceanic Anoxic Event 2, Holywell, Round down, Pewsey, and Late Turonian Events 1, 2, 3. The stratigraphic position of biohorizons with respect to the globally recognized δ¹³C excursions can provide a valuable mean to evaluate their potential synchronism/diachronism.

Our preliminary data show a good correspondence with the recent calcareous nannofossil-planktic foraminiferal integrated scheme (Geologic Time scale 2020; Gale et al. 2020) for the late Cenomanian-Turonian interval, although some calcareous nannofossil markers were not recorded. Interestingly, some «standard» and additional calcareous nannofossil events are promising proxies for the Late Turonian Events 1 and 2.

 

References

Gale A.S., Mutterlose J. & Batenburg S. (2020). The Cretaceous Period, in Gradstein F.M. et al., eds., Geologic Time Scale 2020: Boston, Elsevier, pp. 1023-1086.