Age of the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary in the Western Interior of the United States

Cretaceous Research
By: , and 

Links

Abstract

High precision 40Ar/39Ar laser-microprobe ages of individual sanidines,40Ar/39Ar plateau age spectra on bulk sanidine concentrates, U-Pb zircon ages, and zircon and apatite fission-track ages from three bentonites bracketing the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary in the Western Interior of the United States suggest an age for the boundary of 93.1 ± 0.3 (2σ. The lowermost bentonite comes from the Upper Cenomanian Sciponoceras gracile biozone, and gives a weighted mean laser-fusion single-crystal 40Ar/39Ar age of 93.50 ± 0.52 Ma (2σ, standard error of the mean, n = 14) for sanidine. The middle bentonite comes from the Upper Cenomanian Neocardioceras juddii biozone, accepted in both North America and Europe as the uppermost Cenomanian ammonite zone; it gives an average single-crystal 40 /39Ar age of 93.33 ± 0.50 Ma (n = 29), a bulk-sample 40Ar/39Ar plateau age of 93.09 ± 0.34 Ma (2σ) for sanidine, and concordant 206Pb/238U and 207 Pb/235U ages of 93.48 ± 0.32 Ma on zircon. The upper bentonite comes from near the base of the Turonian, immediately above the first occurrence of the basal Turonian bivalve Mytiloides and sanidines from it give an average single-crystal 40Ar/39Ar age of 93.46 ± 0.60 Ma (n = 12) and a bulk-sample 40 Ar/39Ar plateau age of 92.87 ± 0.34 Ma. The composition of these Cenomanian-Turonian bentonites from Colorado and Utah, the types of phenocrysts present, and the morphology of included zircons all indicate that the pre-alteration ash was rhyolitic and probably generated in a subduction setting involving a significant crustal component.

Study Area

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Age of the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary in the Western Interior of the United States
Series title Cretaceous Research
DOI 10.1006/cres.1995.1007
Volume 16
Issue 1
Year Published 1995
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) Eastern Geology and Paleoclimate Science Center
Description 21 p.
First page 109
Last page 129
Country United States
State Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah
Other Geospatial Western Interior of the United States
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details