The Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary is marked by one of the largest mass extinctions in Earth’s history, with geological evidence for this event being expressed in hundreds of locations worldwide. An extensively studied section located near El Kef, northwestern Tunisia, is characterized by the classic iridium-rich K/Pg boundary layer, abundant and well-preserved microfossils, and apparently continuous sedimentation throughout the early Danian with no previously described structural complication. These features led to its designation in 1991 as the Global Stratigraphic Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Danian (i.e., the K/Pg boundary). However, the outcrop section has become weathered, and the “golden spike” marking the GSSP is difficult to locate. Therefore, the El Kef Coring Project aimed to provide a continuous record of unweathered sediments across the K/Pg transition in cores recovered from five rotary-drilled holes located close to the El Kef GSSP. Here, we present new, high-resolution lithologic, biostratigraphic, and geochemical data from these cores. The recovered stratigraphic successions of each hole (all drilled within ∼75 m of one another) are unexpectedly different, and we identified a formerly unknown unconformity within planktic foraminiferal biozone P1b. Our results provide evidence that sedimentation at El Kef was not as continuous or free from structural complication as previously thought. Despite these challenges, we present a new composite section from the five El Kef holes and an age model correlated to the orbitally tuned record at Walvis Ridge, South Atlantic Ocean, which is critical in placing the paleoenvironmental and paleoecological records from El Kef in a global context.
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Research Article|
January 18, 2023
Stratigraphy of the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary at the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) in El Kef, Tunisia: New insights from the El Kef Coring Project
Heather L. Jones;
Heather L. Jones
1
MARUM−Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany2
Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
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Thomas Westerhold;
Thomas Westerhold
1
MARUM−Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany
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Heather Birch;
Heather Birch
3
School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK
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Pincelli Hull;
Pincelli Hull
4
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, 210 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA
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M. Hédi Negra;
M. Hédi Negra
5
Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, 2092 Tunis, Tunisia
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Ursula Röhl;
Ursula Röhl
1
MARUM−Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany
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Julio Sepúlveda;
Julio Sepúlveda
6
Department of Geological Sciences and Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado Boulder, UCB 450, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0450, USA
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Johan Vellekoop;
Johan Vellekoop
7
Analytical, Environmental, and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium8
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
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Jessica H. Whiteside;
Jessica H. Whiteside
9
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Waterfront Campus, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
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Laia Alegret;
Laia Alegret
10
Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra & Instituto Universitario de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
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Michael Henehan;
Michael Henehan
11
GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
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Libby Robinson;
Libby Robinson
9
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Waterfront Campus, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
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Joep van Dijk;
Joep van Dijk
6
Department of Geological Sciences and Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado Boulder, UCB 450, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0450, USA7
Analytical, Environmental, and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
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Timothy Bralower
Timothy Bralower
2
Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
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Heather L. Jones
1
MARUM−Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany2
Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
Thomas Westerhold
1
MARUM−Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany
Heather Birch
3
School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK
Pincelli Hull
4
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, 210 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA
M. Hédi Negra
5
Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, 2092 Tunis, Tunisia
Ursula Röhl
1
MARUM−Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany
Julio Sepúlveda
6
Department of Geological Sciences and Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado Boulder, UCB 450, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0450, USA
Johan Vellekoop
7
Analytical, Environmental, and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium8
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Jessica H. Whiteside
9
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Waterfront Campus, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Laia Alegret
10
Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra & Instituto Universitario de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Michael Henehan
11
GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
Libby Robinson
9
National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Waterfront Campus, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Joep van Dijk
6
Department of Geological Sciences and Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado Boulder, UCB 450, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0450, USA7
Analytical, Environmental, and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
Timothy Bralower
2
Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Received:
18 Feb 2022
Revision Received:
10 Sep 2022
Accepted:
27 Oct 2022
First Online:
18 Jan 2023
Online Issn: 1943-2674
Print Issn: 0016-7606
© 2023 Geological Society of America
GSA Bulletin (2023)
Article history
Received:
18 Feb 2022
Revision Received:
10 Sep 2022
Accepted:
27 Oct 2022
First Online:
18 Jan 2023
Citation
Heather L. Jones, Thomas Westerhold, Heather Birch, Pincelli Hull, M. Hédi Negra, Ursula Röhl, Julio Sepúlveda, Johan Vellekoop, Jessica H. Whiteside, Laia Alegret, Michael Henehan, Libby Robinson, Joep van Dijk, Timothy Bralower; Stratigraphy of the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary at the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) in El Kef, Tunisia: New insights from the El Kef Coring Project. GSA Bulletin 2023; doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/B36487.1
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Index Terms/Descriptors
- Africa
- Atlantic Ocean
- biostratigraphy
- biozones
- C-13/C-12
- carbon
- Cenozoic
- cores
- Cretaceous
- El Kef Tunisia
- Foraminifera
- isotope ratios
- isotopes
- Leg 208
- lower Paleocene
- Mesozoic
- microfossils
- North Africa
- Ocean Drilling Program
- ODP Site 1262
- Paleocene
- paleoecology
- paleoenvironment
- Paleogene
- paleomagnetism
- planktonic taxa
- South Atlantic
- stable isotopes
- stratigraphic boundary
- stratotypes
- Tertiary
- Tunisia
- Upper Cretaceous
- Walvis Ridge
- K-Pg boundary
- GSSPs
Latitude & Longitude
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