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The Rupelian-Chattian boundary in the North Sea Basin and its calibration to the international time-scale

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2016

S. Van Simaeys
S. Van Simaeys*
Affiliation:
Historical Geology, University of Leuven, Redingenstraat 16, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. Fax: +32-16-32-64-01. E-mail:[email protected]

Abstract

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The classical problem of the nature and age of the Rupelian-Chattian (Early-Late Oligocene) unconformity in its type region is here approached using organic walled dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) correlations between the North Sea Basin and well-calibrated central Italian (Tethyan Ocean) sections. Useful Oligocene dinocyst events are the last occurrence of Enneadocysta pectiniformis (~29.3 Ma), and the first occurrences of Saturnodinium pansum (~29.4 Ma), Distatodinium biffii (~27.9 Ma) and Artemisiocysta cladodichotoma (~26.7 Ma).The latter event marks the earliest Chattian. The improved correlations indicate that the Rupelian-Chattian (R-C) boundary is associated with the so-called ‘Oligocene Glacial Maximum’. This phase of important global cooling and glacio-eustatic sea level fall is genetically related to the unconformity between the classic Oligocene stages. Subsequent global warming (so-called ‘Late Oligocene Warming Event’), induced a major sea level rise, leading e.g. to the time-transgressive deposition of the typical basal Chattian glauconitic sands. The oldest of the Chattian units have a GPTS age of-26.7 Ma. It further appears that a hiatus of ~500 kyrs spans the classic Rupelian-Chattian unconformity.

Keywords

biochronostratigraphydinoflagellate cystsNorth Sea BasinRupelian-Chattian boundaryTethyan Ocean
Type
Research Article
Information
Netherlands Journal of Geosciences , Volume 83 , Issue 3 , September 2004 , pp. 241 - 248
Copyright
Copyright © Stichting Netherlands Journal of Geosciences 2004

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