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Late Cretaceous chronology of large, rapid sea-level changes: Glacioeustasy during the greenhouse world

K.G. Miller·P. J. Sugarman·J.V. Browning·M.A. Kominz·J.C. Hernandez·R.K. Olsson·J.D. Wright·M.D. Feigenson·W. Van Sickel
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Abstract

We provide a record of global sea-level (eustatic) variations of the Late Cretaceous (99-65 Ma) greenhouse world. Ocean Drilling Program Leg 174AX provided a record of 11-14 Upper Cretaceous sequences in the New Jersey Coastal Plain that were dated by integrating Sr isotopic stratigraphy and biostratigraphy. Backstripping yielded a Late Cretaceous eustatic estimate for these sequences, taking into account sediment loading, compaction, paleowater depth, and basin subsidence. We show that Late Cretaceous sea-level changes were large (>25 m) and rapid (??? m.y.), suggesting a glacioeustatic control. Three large ??18O increases are linked to sequence boundaries (others lack sufficient ??18O data), consistent with a glacioeustatic cause and with the development of small (<106 km3) ephemeral ice sheets in Antarctica. Our sequence boundaries correlate with sea-level falls recorded by Exxon Production Research and sections from northwest Europe and Russia, indicating a global cause, although the Exxon record differs from backstripped estimates in amplitude and shape.

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K.G. Miller, P. J. Sugarman, J.V. Browning, M.A. Kominz, J.C. Hernandez, R.K. Olsson, J.D. Wright, M.D. Feigenson, W. Van Sickel. 2003. Late Cretaceous chronology of large, rapid sea-level changes: Glacioeustasy during the greenhouse world. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2003)031%3C0585%3Alccolr%3E2.0.co%3B2

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