Research papers
A latest Cretaceous to earliest Paleogene dinoflagellate cyst zonation from Antarctica, and implications for phytoprovincialism in the high southern latitudes

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2011.11.004Get rights and content

Abstract

The thickest uppermost Cretaceous to lowermost Paleogene (Maastrichtian to Danian) sedimentary succession in the world is exposed on southern Seymour Island (65° South) in the James Ross Basin, Antarctic Peninsula. This fossiliferous shallow marine sequence, which spans the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, has allowed a high-resolution analysis of well-preserved marine palynomorphs. Previous correlation of Cretaceous–Paleogene marine palynomorph assemblages in the south polar region relied on dinoflagellate cyst biozonations from New Zealand and southern Australia. The age model of the southern Seymour Island succession is refined and placed within the stratigraphical context of the mid to high southern palaeolatitudes. Quantitative palynological analysis of a new 1102 m continuous stratigraphical section comprising the uppermost Snow Hill Island Formation and the López de Bertodano Formation (Marambio Group) across southern Seymour Island was undertaken. We propose the first formal late Maastrichtian to early Danian dinoflagellate cyst zonation scheme for the Antarctic based on this exceptional succession. Two new late Maastrichtian zones, including three subzones, and one new early Danian zone are defined. The oldest beds correlate well with the late Maastrichtian of New Zealand. In a wider context, a new South Polar Province based on Maastrichtian to Danian dinoflagellate cysts is proposed, which excludes most southern South American marine palynofloras. This interpretation is supported by models of ocean currents around Antarctica and implies an unrestricted oceanic connection across Antarctica between southern South America and the Tasman Sea.

Highlights

► We propose the first Antarctic Maastrichtian to Danian dinoflagellate cyst zonation. ► We propose a new South Polar dinoflagellate cyst province. ► Modelled ocean currents imply an unrestricted oceanic connection across Antarctica.

Introduction

The shallow marine sedimentary succession exposed in the southern part of Seymour Island in the James Ross Basin, Antarctic Peninsula is an exceptional locality to investigate the nature of latest Cretaceous to earliest Paleogene (Maastrichtian–Danian) climates and sea levels in the high southern palaeolatitudes (Fig. 1; McArthur et al., 1998, McArthur et al., 2000, Crame et al., 2004). The ~ 1100 m stratigraphical succession, located at a palaeolatitude of approximately 65° S (Lawver et al., 1992, Markwick and Valdes, 2004) is at a similar latitude today and has allowed a high-resolution analysis of linked marine and terrestrial palaeoenvironmental proxies during this important interval.

The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) sequence on Seymour Island is highly fossiliferous and includes a well-preserved marine palynomorph record (Askin, 1988a, Thorn et al., 2009). Dinoflagellate cyst assemblages have been described from many Maastrichtian and K–Pg successions in the mid to high southern palaeolatitudes, but imprecise dating and endemism have hampered biostratigraphical correlation. Existing formal biozonations using dinoflagellate cysts for the K–Pg interval in the high southern palaeolatitudes are restricted to New Zealand and southern Australia (e.g. Helby et al., 1987, Roncaglia et al., 1999), with none proposed for Antarctica or southernmost South America. Consequently, until now there has been no framework for comparing Antarctic dinoflagellate cyst assemblages with those across the south polar region for this interval.

This study uses new data from Seymour Island to both refine the age model for this important succession and to address this regional biostratigraphical problem by providing the first formal dinoflagellate cyst zonation for the Antarctic Peninsula based on dinoflagellate cysts. To place the new Antarctic Peninsula biozonation into a wider stratigraphical context, Maastrichtian to Danian marine palynofloras are compared across the mid to high southern palaeolatitudes, and a new South Polar Province is proposed. The implications for Antarctic palaeogeography and south polar oceanic connections are discussed based on models of ocean circulation.

Section snippets

Geological setting

The Maastrichtian–Danian succession in the James Ross Basin is part of the Coniacian to Danian Marambio Group, deposited in mid- and inner-shelf settings in a back-arc basin associated with the Antarctic Peninsula magmatic arc to the west, and open to the Weddell Sea to the east (Hathway, 2000, Crame et al., 2004). The James Ross Basin was bounded to the west by coastal plains on the flanks of the Antarctic Peninsula with a shoreline trending approximately north–northeast to south–southwest.

Age of the succession studied

The K–Pg boundary on Seymour Island was identified by a small iridium anomaly within Zinsmeister's (1998) “Lower Glauconite” in the uppermost López de Bertodano Formation (Elliott et al., 1994). This was confirmed by the strontium isotope dating of a Pycnodonte bivalve (McArthur et al., 1998), and is coincident with noticeable changes in the fossil record, notably in the marine palynomorphs (e.g. Huber, 1985, Askin, 1988b, Zinsmeister et al., 1989, Elliott et al., 1994, Askin and Jacobsen, 1996

Materials and methods

Palynomorph assemblages from 81 sediment samples were studied and counted from the composite section D5.251 (Fig. 2). The samples were analysed approximately every 20 m in the lithologically homogeneous lower 680 m of the section, every 10 m in the glauconitic unit above and every 2–4 m across particularly glauconite-rich horizons and the K–Pg boundary. Bulk sediment was processed using standard quantitative techniques (Wood et al., 1996). Twenty-five grams dry weight of each sample were sieved at

Marine palynology

The marine palynomorphs from the uppermost Snow Hill Island Formation and the López de Bertodano Formation comprise relatively well-preserved dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs and marine algae, which have undergone minimal thermal maturation (Appendix A, Plate I, Plate II). Count data for these marine palynomorphs are provided in the online Supplementary Information. The ranges of selected marine palynomorphs are illustrated in Fig. 2. Other elements are sporomorphs (terrestrial pollen and

Zonation scheme

Species of Manumiella are relatively short-ranging and form the basis of Askin's (1988a) preliminary dinoflagellate cyst zonation scheme for Seymour Island (see also Thorn et al., 2009). Based on the stratigraphical ranges of key dinoflagellate cysts from this section, two new late Maastrichtian zones (including three subzones) and one new early Danian zone are defined. In addition, the latest Maastrichtian to earliest Danian Manumiella druggii Interval Zone is amended, and the top of the

?Late Maastrichtian

The new late Maastrichtian to early Danian dinoflagellate cyst biozonation scheme for the Antarctic Peninsula begins with the assignment of the majority of the oldest strata on southern Seymour Island to three zones. These are the informal Zone 1 of Askin (1988a) and the new Manumiella seymourensis Range Zone and Manumiella bertodano Interval Zone (up to 974 m). These zones correlate well with the late Haumurian (late Maastrichtian) Palaeocystodinium granulatum Interval Subzone of the

Provincialism and palaeogeographical implications for Antarctica

As a consequence of this biostratigraphical study, and in the context of south polar palaeogeography and models of ocean currents, a new South Polar Province based on the distribution of Maastrichtian to Danian dinoflagellate cysts in the mid-high southern palaeolatitudes is proposed (Table 1, Fig. 5).

Conclusions

This palynostratigraphical study, based on the shallow marine sedimentary succession exposed on Seymour Island, proposes the first formal late Maastrichtian to early Danian dinoflagellate cyst zonation scheme for the Antarctic continent. This fills a biostratigraphical gap where previous correlations based on marine palynology relied on remote schemes from New Zealand and southern Australia. This new biozonation has refined the age model for the southern Seymour Island succession, confirming

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Antarctic Funding Initiative Grant NE/C506399/1 entitled ‘Terminal Cretaceous climate change and biotic response in Antarctica’. Fieldwork was supported by the British Antarctic Survey and H.M.S. Endurance. Vanessa C. Bowman thanks the Transantarctic Association and the Antarctic Science Bursary for additional research support, Rosemary Askin (formerly of The Ohio State University, Columbus, USA) and J.

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