Sequence Stratigraphy of the Lower Upper Cretaceous Elbtal Group (Cenomanian–Turonian of Saxony, Germany)

Abstract

Sequence-stratigraphic analyses of the lower Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian–Turonian) successions of the Elbtal Group (Saxonian Cretaceous) have been conducted. The repeated stacking patterns of decametre-scale sedimentary units, composed of retrograding marly–calcareous Pläner intervals and progradational sandstone packages separated by sedimentary unconformities, provide important clues for elucidating early Late Cretaceous sea-level changes in the basin. Seven depositional sequences of middle Cenomanian–late Turonian age and their bounding unconformities (sequence boundaries SB Ce 4 and 5, SB Tu 1–5) have been identified in the Saxonian Cretaceous. They are also reported from coeval sections around the Mid-European Island (e.g., Münsterland Cretaceous Basin, Lower Saxonian, and Danubian Cretaceous), suggesting that third-order eustatic sea-level changes were the main cause of the sequence stratigraphic architecture of the Elbtal Group. However, tectonic processes began to affect the global sea-level signal from the (middle) Turonian onward (the onset of inversion at the Lausitz Fault).KeywordsCenomanian–TuronianSedimentary unconformitiesSea-level changesCorrelation