Biostratigraphy, carbon isotopes and cyclostratigraphy of the Albian-Cenomanian transition and Oceanic Anoxic Event 1d in southern Tibet

Abstract

During the Albian and Cenomanian, the Earth underwent profound climatic and oceanographic changes that were recorded in sedimentary successions on a global scale. Carbon isotope records spanning this time interval have been established in the western Tethys, eastern Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, but not yet in the eastern Tethys Ocean. In this paper, we present biostratigraphic, chemostratigraphic and cyclostratigraphic characteristics of the uppermost Albian–lowermost Cenomanian in an eastern Tethyan section (Youxia, southern Tibet). Based on calcareous nannofossil biozones and the bulk rock δ13C curve, the Albian-Cenomanian boundary interval (ACBI) was identified and correlated to the western Tethys and Atlantic Oceans. In the Youxia section, δ13C values range from approximately 0‰ to +1.3‰ (−0.03‰ to +1.31‰). Four subevents (a, b, c and d) were distinguished in the ACBI carbon isotope curve via correlation with other sections. Based on a spectral analysis of the carbonate content, we recognized Milankovitch short eccentricity (~100 kyr) and precession (22.2 kyr) cycles, suggesting that orbital variations modulated depositional processes. The duration of the ACBI was estimated at ~311 kyr, while OAE 1d lasted for ~233 kyr in the eastern Tethys Ocean, consistent with the duration calculated from Atlantic Ocean records.