Michael A. Arthur

Carbon Isotope Fluctuations in Cretaceous Pelagic Limestones: Potential Stratigraphic and Petroleum Exploration Tool

Significant short-term carbon isotope fluctuations are present in Cretaceous pelagic limestones from widely distributed onshore sections in the Circum-Atlantic-western Tethyan region. More than 1,000 closely spaced samples were analyzed during this study. At least seven major ^dgr13C excursions can be correlated from section to section. The most important heavy events occur near the Aptian-Albian and Cenomanian-Turonian boundaries, whereas light events are near the Jurassic-Cretaceous, Albian-Cenomanian, Turonian-Coniacian, and Cretaceous-Tertiary boundaries. The association of events with stage boundaries and the consistent correlation of events between stratigraphic sections provides a significant new tool for time-rock correlation independent of stan ard biostratigraphic techniques. The temporal association of these carbon isotope events with stage boundaries (faunal and floral events), global eustatic sea-level variations, and oceanic anoxic events demonstrates the potential usefulness of carbon isotope studies in interpreting variations in paleo-oceanic circulation. Furthermore, the association of carbon isotope variations with anoxic events is potentially useful for evaluation of the precise timing and the magnitude of preservation of organic matter in deep-sea and continental-margin sediments. Thus, isotopic studies may aid in estimating potential hydrocarbon resources in largely unexplored oceanic basins or along continental margins.

Cretaceous paleoceanography of the western North Atlantic Ocean

In this paper we summarize available information on the Cretaceous lithostratigraphy and paleoceanography of the western North Atlantic. The data and some of our interpretations draw in large part on papers published in the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) volumes. We have attempted to cite relevant references when possible, but space limitations make it difficult to give proper credit to all sources; we apologize for any omissions. n nOrganic carbon (Corg) and carbonate (CaCO3) analyses were tabulated for each site from papers in the DSDP Initial Report volumes and other published works (e.g., Summerhayes,1981). Corg, CaCO3, and non-CaCO3 mass accumulation rates (MARS) were calculated using core by core averages of component percentages for the more continuously cored sites; core averages for wet bulk density and porosity (from DSDP data files); biostratigraphies of de Graciansky and others (1982), Roth and Bowdler (1981), and Cool (1982); and the time scales of the Decade of North American Geology (Palmer, 1983; Kent and Gradstein, this volume) or Harland and others (1982; see Plate 1). n nBacktracked paleodepths for western North Atlantic DSDP Sites from Tucholke and Vogt (1979) with the revised stratigraphy of de Graciansky and others (1982) were used in plotting Corg and CaCO3 in Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 (see also Thierstein, 1979). n nBacktracking curves of seafloor paleodepth versus age (Sclater and others, 1977; Tucholke and Vogt, 1979) for selected western North Atlantic DSDP sites. Average CaCO3 concentrations per core are shown by code number