Correlation between the Warepan/Otapirian and the Norian/Rhaetian stage boundary: implications of a global negative δ13Corg perturbation

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Norian/Rhaetian boundary interval (Late Triassic) is characterised by significant biotic turnover and severe climatic changes. However, this boundary still awaits formal definition. We have investigated the δ13Corg record within a well-preserved marine sequence exposed in the Kiritehere section, North Island, New Zealand. This section was located at higher latitudes (above 60°S) during the Triassic, and is considered the best exposed section representative of the New Zealand Warepan/Otapirian stage boundary. This is a regional boundary pertaining to the Zealandia region of Gondwana; it is described in the New Zealand Geological Timescale (NZGT) and it has been recognised as being correlative with the Norian/Rhaetian boundary. Using an integrated chemo- and biostratigraphic approach, we have identified a negative δ13Corg shift close to the disappearance of the standard-sized monotids (fossil bivalves) in the Kiritehere section. We interpret this negative shift to be the same negative δ13Corg shift that has been proposed to define the base of the Rhaetian. However, the position of the negative δ13Corg shift in the Kiritehere section is ca. 6.40 m below the accepted position of the Warepan/Otapirian boundary, based on biostratigraphy. This δ13Corg isotopic shift, best thought of as a chemostratigraphic event, is regarded here as a global phenomenon.