J.C. Zachos | Geology Reports

USGS1989

Geochemical and paleoenvironmental variations across the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary at Braggs, Alabama

The Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary in southern Alabama occurs in a sequence of interbedded shallow-marine limestones and marls deposited during a Late Maastrichtian regression and subsequent Danian transgression. The presence of a diverse assemblage of Cretaceous and Paleocene benthic micro- and macrofossils has allowed detailed examination of paleoenvironmental changes in this shallow-marine setting at the time of the K/T boundary extinctions. Although extensive diagenesis has resulted in the recrystallization and cementation of whole rock carbonate, a few molluscan macrofossils have retained their original calcitic structure. The oxygen isotopic record of these macrofossils shows a gradual cooling of 2–3°C over a 3 m.y. period which began in the late Maastrichtian and continued into the Danian. The characteristic depletion in δ 13 C across the K/T boundary displayed by planktonic microfossils from pelagic sequences is not recorded at Braggs. Major changes in whole rock trace and minor element chemistry reflect the decrease in terrigenous mineral fluxes to this location brought about by the rapid Early Paleocene transgression.

Alabama↗

USGS1989

Geochemical evidence for suppression of pelagic marine productivity at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary

The normal, biologically productive ocean is characterized by a gradient of the 13 C/ 12 C ratio from surface to deep waters. Here we present stable isotope data from planktonic and benthic micro-fossils across the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary in the North pacific, which reveal a rapid and complete breakdown in this biologically mediated gradient. The fluxes of barium (a proxy for organic carbon) and CaCO 3 also decrease significantly at the time of the major marine plankton extinctions. The implied substantial reduction in oceanic primary productivity persisted for ∼ 0.5 Myr before the carbon isotope gradient was gradually re-established. In addition, the stable isotope and preservational data indicate that environmental change, including cooling, began at least 200 kyr before the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary, and a peak warming of ∼ 3 °C occurred 600 kyr after the boundary event.

Nature↗

USGS1989

Geochemical expression of early diagenesis in middle Eocene-lower Oligocene pelagic sediments in the southern Labrador Sea, Site 647, ODP Leg 105

Geochemical analyses of the middle Eocene through lower Oligocene lithologic Unit IIIC (260-518 meters below sea floor [mbsf]) indicate a relatively constant geochemical composition of the detrital fraction throughout this depositional interval at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 647 in the southern Labrador Sea. The main variability occurs in redox-sensitive elements (e.g., iron, manganese, and phosphorus), which may be related to early diagenetic inability in anaerobic pore waters during bacterial decomposition of organic matter. Initial preservation of organic matter was mediated by high sedimentation rates (36 m/m.Y.). High iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) contents are associated with carbonate concretions of siderite, manganosiderite, and rhodochrosite. These concretions probably formed in response to elevated pore-water alkalinity and total dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations resulting from bacterial sulfate reduction, as indicated by nodule stable-isotope compositions and pore-water geochemistry. These nodules differ from those found in upper Cenozoic hemipelagic sequences in that they are not associated with methanogenesis. Phosphate minerals (carbonate-fluorapatite) precipitated in some intervals, probably as the result of desorption of phosphorus from iron and manganese during reduction. The bulk chemical composition of the sediments differs little from that of North Atlantic Quaternary abyssal red clays, but may contain a minor hydrothermal component. The silicon/ aluminum (Si/Al) ratio, however, is high and variable and probably reflects original variations in biagenic opal, much of which is now altered to smectite and/or opal CT. An increase in the sodium/potassium (Na/K) ratio in the upper Eocene corresponds to the beginning of coarser-grained feldspar flux to the site, possibly marking the onset of more vigorous deep currents. Although the Site 647 cores provide a nearly complete high-resolution, high-latitude Eocene-Oligocene record, the high sedimentation rate and somewhat unusual diagenetic conditions have led to variable alteration of benthic foraminifers and fine-fraction carbonate and have overprinted the original stable-isotope records. Planktonic foraminifers are less altered, but on the whole, there is little chance of sorting out the nature and timing of environmental change on the basis of our stable-isotope analyses.

Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program: Scienti↗