Speijer Robert.Pdf
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
GEOLOGICA ULTRAIECTINA Medede1ingen van de Facu1teit Aardwetenschappen Universiteit Utrecht No. 124 Extinction and recovery patterns in benthic foraminiferal paleocommunities across the CretaceouslPaleogene and Paleocene/Eocene boundaries 27-01~ CIP-GEGEVENS KONINKLIJKE BIBLIOTHEEK, DEN HAAG Speijer, Robert Pieter Extinction and recovery patterns in benthic foraminiferal paleocommunities across the CretaceouS/Paleogene and Paleocene/Eocene boundaries / Robert Pieler Speijer. Utrecht: FacuIteit Aardwelenschappen, Universiteit Utrecht. - (Geologica Ultraieclina, ISSN 0072-1026 ; no. 124) Proefschrift Universiteit Utrecht. - Met lit. opg. - Met samenvatting in het Nederlands. ISBN 90-71577-78-3 Trefw.: foraminifera; paleo-ecologie; Tethys Extinction and recovery patterns in benthic foraminiferal paleocommunities across the Cretaceous/Paleogene and Paleocene/Eocene boundaries Extinctie en herstel patronen in fossiele gemeenschappen van benthonische foraminiferen over de Krijt/Paleogeen en PaleoceenlEoceen grenzen (met een samenvatting in het Nederlands) Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universtiteit Utrecht. op gezag van de Rector Magnificus. Prof. Dr. I.A. van Ginkel, ingevolge het besluit van het College van Dekanen in het openbaar te verdedigen op woensdag 23 november 1994 des voormiddags te 10.30 uur door Robert Pieter Speijer geboren op 13 september 1963 te Ve1dhoven PROMOTORES: PROF. DR. J.E. MEULENKAMP PROF. DR. G.J. VAN DER ZWAAN to the late H.G. Foppe Contents Summary 9 Samenvatting 11 Acknowledgements 13 Chapter I. Introduction. 15 Chapter II. Extinction and survivorship patterns in southern 19 Tethyan benthic foraminiferal assemblages across the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary. Chapter III. Globanomalina luxorensis, a pelagic marker for the 65 Paleocene/Eocene boundary. Chapter IV. The late Paleocene benthic foraminiferal extinction as 77 observed in the Middle East. Chapter V. The impact of Paleocene/Eocene boundary events on 91 shallow water benthic foraminiferal assemblages from Egypt. Chapter VI. The differential effect of the PIE boundary event on 121 extinction and survivorship in shallow to deep water Egyptian benthic foraminiferal assemblages. Chapter VII. Synthesis. 169 Appendix References. 177 Curriculum Vitae 191 Most chapters will appear in (or be submitted to): Marine Micropaleontfogy (Ch. II, V, VI) Micropaleontology (Ch. III) Bulletin de la Societe BeIge de Geologie (Special Issue: PaleocenelEocene boundary events; Ch. IV) Summary In this thesis Late Cretaceous to Early Paleogene (66-54 Ma) benthic foraminiferal distribution patterns in the southern Tethys (northern margin of Africa) are discussed. We focus in particular on extinction and recovery patterns in middle neritic (50-100 m) to upper bathyal (200-600 m) benthic foraminiferal paleocommunities across the Cretaceous/Paleo gene (KIP; 65 Ma) and PaleocenelEocene (PIE; 55 Ma) boundaries. The studied material is largely derived from the more or less well-known profiles of EI Kef (Tunisia), Gebel Duwi, Gebel Oweina, Wadi Nukhl (all Egypt), and Nahal Avdat (Israel). As in the recent situation, also Late Cretaceous to Early Paleogene communities were distinctly arranged along a depth gradient. Related gradients in nutrient supply (decreasing with depth), sea-floor oxygenation, and environmental stability (both generally increasing with depth) determined the major differences between the various neritic and bathyal habitats. Shallow water communities were often oligotypic and strongly dominated by only a few species, whereas upper bathyal communities consisted of a highly diverse mixture of deep and shallow water species. This study documents two major reorganizations of foraminiferal distribution patterns and paleocommunity composition, associated with important paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic events that coincided with the KIP and PIE transitions. During both "mass" extinctions all studied bathymetric compartments were affected, although to a variable extent: at the KIP boundary mainly the shallower domain was affected, whereas the deeper water assemblage was changing most across the PIE boundary. During both events the intermediate (upper bathyal) domain of the southern Tethys was severely perturbed; consequently, Late Cretaceous and early Eocene upper bathyal assemblages are very dissimilar, having few species in common. The KIP transition was marked by sudden widespread oxygen and nutrient deficiency in intermediate Tethyan waters. For some 100 kyr, a suite of shallow water species (better able to resist the adverse conditions) replaced the Late Cretaceous upper bathyal community. Eventually, a relatively impoverished Paleocene upper bathyal community returned, indicating ameliorated bottom conditions. Meanwhile, many species with higher nutrient demands, in particular those with elongate ("endobenthic") test shapes, had suffered extinction, whereas most oligotrophic deep-sea species were hardly affected. This extinction selectivity is explained by the enormous decrease in nutrient supply to the sea floor, following the collapse of pelagic primary production, that characterizes the KIP boundary event. The PIE transition was marked by sudden widespread (perhaps global) oxygen deficiency in deep and intermediate watermasses, which caused the extinction of many cosmopolitan deep-sea species, in particular the ones with bi-convex ("epibenthic") test shapes. Although generally considered as a deep-sea phenomenon, the PIE boundary dysoxic event affected southern Tethyan shallow water communities as well. However, due to more effective oxygen deficiency survival strategies, most shallow water species were able to survive the period of enhanced oxygen stress. Within this period, a few opportunistic species were able to settle in the deeper parts of the basin, temporarily replacing the bathyal community. After some 50 kyr, a relatively impoverished Eocene upper bathyal community gradually returned, indicating re-establishement of more normal 9 conditions. We propose a comprehensive paleoceanographic-paleoclimatic model for the Late Cretaceous to Ear1y Paleogene, which may explain the main patterns of benthic foraminiferal distribution and the boundary tumovers. Both events were associated with widespread bottom oxygen deficiency. We infer that during these events ventilation was severely reduced, due to sudden inhibition of deep and/or intermediate water formation. At the KIP boundary the formation of low latitude saline intermediate water was blocked, due to sudden cooling and decreasing wind-stress in the (sub)tropics, possibly related to the impact of a large asteroid. During the ear1iest Paleocene a cooler (high latitude) deep watermass penetrated into intermediate depths of the Tethys and eventually replaced the saline Tethyan water. This situation persisted until the end of the Paleocene, when polar warming, possibly induced by excessive volcanic CO2 output, blocked the formation of these high latitude cool deep and intermediate waters. At the same time, deep and intermediate water formation in the Tethys was (re-)installed, resulting again in an oceanic circulation reversal. During both transitions from one circulation mode to the other, ventilation of intermediate Tethys waters became temporarily reduced. The sum of the effects of both events is a stepwise extinction of many successful lineages that originated in the Cretaceous; however at the same time new habitats were created leading to the development of more advanced Cenozoic lineages, many of which persist to the present day. 10 Samenvatting In dit proefschrift worden de Laat Krijt tot Vroeg Paleogene (66-54 Ma) distributie patronen van benthonische foraminiferen in de zuidelijke Tethys (de huidige noordelijke rand van Afrika) besproken. In het bijzonder wordt aandacht besteed aan extinctie en herstel patronen in midden neritische (50-100 m) tot boven bathyale (200-600 m) fossiele gemeenschappen van benthonische foraminiferen op de Krijt!Paleogeen (KIP; 65 Ma) en Paleoceen/Eoceen (PIE; 55 Ma) overgangen. Het bestudeerde materiaal is voornamelijk afkomstig van de (deels zeer bekende) secties van EI Kef (Tunesie), Gebel Duwi, Gebel Oweina, Wadi Nukhl (allen Egypte) en Nahal Avdat (Israel). Evenals in de huidige situatie waren gemeenschappen tijdens het Laat Krijt tot Vroeg Paleogeen gerangschikt volgens een diepte gradient. De hieraan gekoppelde gradienten in nutrienten toevoer (afnemend met diepte), zuurstof concentratie en stabiliteit van milieu factoren (beide normaliter toenemend met diepte) bepaalden de belangrijkste verschillen tussen de diverse neritische en bathyale biotopen. Ondiep water associaties waren veelal oligotypisch en werden sterk gedomineerd door slechts enkele soorten, terwijl boven bathyale associaties een zeer divers mengsel bevatlen van diep en ondiep water soorten. Deze studie documenteert twee grote reorganisaties in distributie patronen van foraminiferen en in de samenstelling van fossiele gemeenschappen; deze reorganisaties zijn geassocieerd met de lwee belangrijke paleoceanografische en paleoklimalologische gebeurtenissen, die samen vielen met de KIP en PIE overgangen. Tijdens deze "massa" extincties werden aile bathymetrische compartimenten be'invloed, zij het in zeer verschil lende mate: op de KIP overgang werd vooral het ondiepere domein getroffen, terwijl op de PIE overgang juist de diepwater associaties de grootsle veranderingen ondergingen. Tijdens beide gebeurtenissen werd het intermediaire (boven bathyale) domein van de