A Cretaceous dinoflagellate cyst zonation for NE Greenland

H Nøhr-Hansen,P Alsen,S Piasecki

doi:10.1017/s0016756819001043

H Nøhr-Hansen, P Alsen + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1017/s0016756819001043

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Abstract

AbstractA palynostratigraphic zonation is for the first time established for the entire Cretaceous succession in NE Greenland from Traill Ø in the south to Store Koldewey in the north (72–76.5° N). The zonation is based on samples from three cores and more than 100 outcrop sections. The zonation is calibrated to an updated ammonite zonation from the area and to palynozonations from the northern North Sea, Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea areas. The palynozonation is primarily based on dinoflagellate cyst and accessory pollen. The Cretaceous succession is divided into 15 palynozones: seven Lower Cretaceous zones and eight Upper Cretaceous zones. The two lowermost zones are new. The following five (Lower Cretaceous) zones have already been described. Two of the Upper Cretaceous zones are new. The zones have been subdivided into 20 subzones, 11 of which have been described previously and one of which has been revised/redefined. Nine subzones (Upper Cretaceous) are new. More than 100 stratigraphical events representing more than 70 stratigraphic levels have been recognized and presented in an event-stratigraphic scheme.

Highlights

Mesozoic sediments in East Greenland have been studied for almost 150 years
The ammonite succession was documented by Maync (1949) and Donovan (1964); Surlyk (1978a) provided a middle Volgian (c. middle Tithonian) – Lower Cretaceous ammonite zonation and an Upper Jurassic – Lower Cretaceous Buchia zonation was introduced by Surlyk & Zakharov (1982)
The Heterosphaeridium difficile, Aquilapollenites and Cerodinium diebelii intervals identified in West Greenland were originally not intended to be formal biostratigraphic zones (Nøhr-Hansen, 1996); they do not preoccupy the names for the new Heterosphaeridium difficile (IX), Aquilapollenites (XII) or Cerodinium diebelii (XIII) zones

Summary

Introduction

Mesozoic sediments in East Greenland have been studied for almost 150 years. A detailed historical review of the expeditions in the area between 1870 and 1956 was given by Donovan (1957) and updated by Surlyk (1978a). Cretaceous biostratigraphy and the dating of the Cretaceous successions in East and NE Greenland (Fig. 1) were sparse until the 1990s, especially compared with the studies of the Jurassic strata in the same area. The ammonite succession was documented by Maync (1949) and Donovan (1964); Surlyk (1978a) provided a middle Volgian Middle Tithonian) – Lower Cretaceous ammonite zonation and an Upper Jurassic – Lower Cretaceous Buchia zonation was introduced by Surlyk & Zakharov (1982). MidCretaceous biostratigraphic data were sparse and Upper Cretaceous data were almost missing, despite the large efforts invested in fieldwork over many years (e.g. Ravn, 1911; Koch, 1929a, b, 1935; Frebold, 1932a, b, 1934, 1935; Frebold & Noe-Nyegaard, 1938; Maync, 1949; Donovan, 1949, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1961, 1964, 1972a, b)

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