<<

Uppermost Campanian–Maestrichtian strontium isotopic, biostratigraphic, and sequence stratigraphic framework of the Coastal Plain

Peter J. Sugarman New Jersey Geological Survey, CN 427, Trenton, New Jersey 08625, and Department of Geological Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903 Kenneth G. Miller Department of Geological Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903, and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964 David Bukry U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, California 94025 Mark D. Feigenson Department of Geological Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903

ABSTRACT boundaries elsewhere in the Atlantic Recent stratigraphic studies have concen- Coastal Plain (Owens and Gohn, 1985) and trated on the relationships between these se- Firm stratigraphic correlations are the inferred global sea-level record of Haq quences, their bounding surfaces (unconfor- needed to evaluate the global significance of et al. (1987); they support eustatic changes mities), and related sea-level changes. The bounded units (sequences). as the mechanism controlling depositional shoaling-upward sequences described by We correlate the well-developed uppermost history of this sequence. However, the latest Owens and Sohl (1969) have been related to Campanian and Maestrichtian sequences Maestrichtian record in New Jersey does recent sequence stratigraphic terminology of the New Jersey Coastal Plain to the geo- not agree with Haq et al. (1987); we at- (e.g., Van Wagoner et al., 1988) by Olsson magnetic polarity time scale (GPTS) by in- tribute this to correlation and time-scale (1991) and Sugarman et al. (1993). Glauco- tegrating Sr-isotopic stratigraphy and bio- differences near the /Paleogene nite beds are equivalent to the condensed stratigraphy. To do this, we developed a boundary. High sedimentation rates in the section of Loutit et al. (1988). By definition Maestrichtian (ca. 73–65 Ma) Sr-isotopic latest Maestrichtian of New Jersey (Shrews- (Van Wagoner et al., 1988), these may be- reference section at Deep Sea Drilling bury Member of the Red Bank Formation long to either the late transgressive systems Project Hole 525A in the southeastern At- and the Tinton Formation) suggest tectonic tract or the early highstand systems tract, lantic Ocean. Maestrichtian strata can then uplift and/or rapid progradation during depending on the location of the maximum be dated by measuring their 87Sr/86Sr com- deposition of the highstand systems tract. flooding surface separating the systems position, calibrating to the GPTS of S. C. tracts. It is unclear where the maximum Cande and D. V. Kent (1993, personal com- INTRODUCTION flooding surface is with respect to the glau- conite sands (i.e., at the base, within, or at ؍ (mun.), and using the equation Age (Ma ؊ 52 639.89 (87Sr/86Sr). Sr-strat- Stratigraphic sequences, consisting of ge- the top of the sands), and assignment to 326.894 37 igraphic resolution for the Maestrichtian is netically related strata bounded by uncon- transgressive systems tract or highstand sys- estimated as ؎1.2 to ؎2 m.y. formities, are well documented for the out- tems tract is equivocal (cf. Fig. 2, columns A At least two unconformity-bounded units cropping Campanian and Maestrichtian and B). The clay-silt and quartz sand facies comprise the uppermost Campanian to beds of the New Jersey Coastal Plain are equivalent to the highstand systems tract Maestrichtian strata in New Jersey. The (Owens and Sohl, 1969). Complete se- (Fig. 2). Lowstand systems tracts have not lower one, the Marshalltown sequence, is quences coarsen and shoal upward, marking been identified in the New Jersey Coastal assigned to calcareous nannofossil Zones vertical transitions from marine-shelf facies Plain, although it is possible that they are CC20/21 (ϳNC19) and CC22b (ϳNC20). It to nearshore-marine and nonmarine facies. locally present as incised valley fills, as they ranges in age from ϳ74.1 to 69.9 Ma based Each sequence is typically a cycle of sedi- are in the Coastal Plain (Mancini on Sr-isotope age estimates. The overlying mentation consisting of a lower glauconite and Tew, 1993). Navesink sequence is assigned to calcareous sand, a middle clay-silt, and an upper quartz Mapping cyclic sequences on the basis of nannoplankton Zones CC25–26 (ϳNC21– sand (Figs. 1 and 2). The sequence bound- lithologic characteristics is simple if enough 23); it ranges in age from 69.3 to 65 Ma aries are recognized in outcrop as distinct outcrops and boreholes are available. How- based on Sr-isotope age estimates. The up- surfaces of erosion that commonly have con- ever, when sharp facies changes occur along per part of this sequence, the Tinton For- siderable relief, overlying lag gravels (in- strike or dip, or components of a complete mation, has no calcareous planktonic con- cluding ripup clasts), bioturbation, and dia- sequence are missing due to erosion, non- trol; Sr-isotopes provide an age estimate of genetic cementation by ground water. Unit deposition, or facies change, tracing of for- Ma (latest Maestrichtian). contacts are generally conformable within a mations may be difficult. The problem is 1.2 ؎ 66 Sequence boundaries at the base and the sequence, whereas the sequence boundaries compounded where lithologies are similar top of the Marshalltown sequence match are sharp and unconformable. and thin. For example, additional sequences

GSA Bulletin; January 1995; v. 107; no. 1; p. 19–37; 17 figures; 3 tables.

19 SUGARMAN ET AL.

Sr-isotope stratigraphy offers another in- dependent means for correlating the Cam- panian-Maestrichtian strata of New Jersey to the GPTS. Sr-isotope stratigraphy re- quires a rapid change in the marine 87Sr/86Sr record and calibration against an independ- ent time variable, which is commonly mag- netostratigraphy (e.g., Miller et al., 1991). Upper Cretaceous Sr-isotope sections have been calibrated with either biostratigraphic, paleomagnetic, or isotopic data in Europe (McArthur et al., 1992a, 1993; N. H. M. Swinburne, A. Montanari, and D. J. De- Paolo, unpubl. data) and the western interior (McArthur et al., 1994) and include Campanian to early Maestrichtian Sr data. Additional studies (Martin and Macdougall, 1991; Nelson et al., 1991; McArthur et al., 1992b) have concentrated on the change in 87Sr/86Sr across the Creta- ceous/Paleogene boundary, generating data on the latest Maestrichtian that are cali- brated with biostratigraphic zonations and limited paleomagnetic data (Martin and Macdougall, 1991). In this study, we examine the uppermost Campanian–Maestrichtian sequences in more detail and calibrate them to the GPTS using Sr-isotopes and biostratigraphy. To correlate independently the New Jersey sections to the GPTS, we developed an uppermost Campa- nian–Maestrichtian Sr-isotope reference sec- tion for Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Figure 1. Generalized stratigraphic column for the outcropping upper Campanian and Hole 525A in the eastern South Atlantic Maestrichtian sediments of the New Jersey Coastal Plain. Molluscan range zones are from (ϳ800 km off the coast of Africa), which con- N. F. Sohl (in Owens et al., 1977, and Owens and Gohn, 1985). Sr-isotope age estimates are tains a reliable magnetostratigraphic record from this study. Differing assignments based on foraminifera (foram) and calcareous (Chave, 1984). We also provide new calcare- Sandy Hook Member, Kml ous nannoplankton biostratigraphic data from ؍ .Hornerstown, S. H ؍ nannoplankton (nanno) are shown. Tht -onshore and offshore sections to compare re ؍ unconformity, Camp ؍ .Marshalltown, unc ؍ Wenonah, Kmt ؍ Mount Laurel, Kw ؍ Campanian. gional correlations. Integration of Sr-isotopic and biostratigraphic studies of the New Jersey uppermost Campanian–Maestrichtian strata may occur in the subsurface that do not crop rapidly in the Cretaceous, enhancing their allows dating and evaluation of processes out in the New Jersey Coastal Plain (Gohn, value for biostratigraphic correlation, their forming sequences. 1992a; Olsson and Usmani, 1992). succession in the Campanian and Maes- To trace accurately sequences and their trichtian is poorly known (Hancock, 1991). STRATIGRAPHIC SETTING sedimentary facies within a basin, and to Because their zonation is developed for iso- establish interregional correlations, some lated basins, correlations with deep-water Three Campanian and Maestrichtian se- method of chronostratigraphic analysis is re- index is generally difficult, leading quences are examined in this study (Fig. 1). quired. Numerous biostratigraphic studies to uncertainties in integrated chronostrati- Detailed descriptions of these sequences have been undertaken on the Upper Creta- graphic sections. and their corresponding formations appear ceous strata of New Jersey; however, there Radiometric ages based on K/Ar dating in Owens and Sohl (1969) and Owens et al. are still problems correlating this section to of glauconite beds have been established (1970). A brief summary is given here. a standard . Planktonic for the Campanian/Maestrichtian strata of The uppermost Campanian sequence, in- index fossils are generally rare, and their New Jersey (Casey, 1964; Owens and Sohl, formally termed the Marshalltown sequence, ranges may be affected by paleoecological 1973; Krinsley, 1973; Obradovich, 1988). includes the Marshalltown, Wenonah, and and paleoclimatologic factors. Calibration Age estimates derived from these and Mount Laurel Formations (Fig. 1). The Mar- of index taxa with the geo- other glauconite dates are considered min- shalltown, a fine-grained, silty, quartzose, glau- magnetic polarity time scale (GPTS) is also imum values and ϳ10% too low (Owens and conite sand, was deposited in middle- to outer- incomplete. Although ammonites evolved Sohl, 1973; Obradovich, 1988). shelf environments (30–200 m) (Olsson,

20 Geological Society of America Bulletin, January 1995 UPPERMOST CAMPANIAN–MAESTRICHTIAN FRAMEWORK, NEW JERSEY

Sandy Hook Member from clayey fine sand to glauconite sand, and its pinching out sev- eral miles to the west of New Egypt (Mi- nard, 1969; Owens and Minard, 1962); and (3) thinning and local absence of the Nave- sink Formation (Owens et al., 1970). Age correlations of the Navesink and Red Bank Formations are based on abundant paleontologic data. Ammonites, including Baculites and Nostoceras, from the lower- most beds of the Navesink in the Atlantic Highlands have been assigned to the latest Campanian (Cobban, 1974) or the very early Maestrichtian (Kennedy et al., 1992). Plank- tonic foraminifera from the lower Navesink have been assigned to the upper part of the lower Maestrichtian Globotruncana tricari- nata or G. subcircumnodifer assemblage Figure 2. Schematic of Cretaceous ‘‘shoaling upward’’ sequence in New Jersey (modified zones (Olsson, 1963; Owens et al., 1977), from Owens and Gohn, 1985, and Sugarman et al., 1993) and corresponding systems tract whereas the upper part of the Navesink has interpretations. Column A has the preferred interpretation in which maximum flooding a somewhat younger assemblage belonging surface correlates approximately with the top of the glauconite sand. Column B interprets to the upper Maestrichtian G. gansseri Zone. the entire New Jersey cycle as a highstand systems tract and links the unconformity and The Red Bank contains a less diverse faunal glauconite sand. assemblage than the Navesink; it includes late ؍ gamma ray log, G ؍ maximum flooding surface. GR Maestrichtian foraminifera such as G. gans- seri, G. contusa, Racemiguembelina fructicosa, 1988). The Wenonah and Mount Laurel For- trichtian Globotruncana tricarinata forami- and Hedbergella monmouthensis (Olsson, mations vary greatly in lithology and thickness. niferal zone (Olsson and Wise, 1987). 1963). The finer grained Wenonah Formation dom- The Mount Laurel is unconformably The Tinton Formation is the uppermost inates the sequence in northern New Jersey, overlain by the Navesink Formation. The Maestrichtian unit in New Jersey. It crops whereas the coarser, massive quartz sand of Navesink Formation is the transgressive, out in a northern belt extending from the the Mount Laurel Formation dominates in the basal, clayey glauconite sand in a coarsen- Atlantic Highlands southwestward to Per- south. ing-upward sedimentary sequence (infor- rineville and reaches a maximum thickness Fossils recovered from the Marshalltown mally named the Navesink sequence in this of 11 m (35 ft) to the west of its type section Formation in southern New Jersey, near study) that also contains the Sandy Hook at Tinton Falls. The Tinton is an unconsol- Auburn (Olsson, 1964), include the plank- and Shrewsbury Members of the Red Bank idated to well-indurated, clayey, feldspathic, tonic foraminifera Globotruncana calcarata, Formation. The contact is marked by a per- glauconite-quartz sand. The contact with a late (Gvirtzman et al., 1989) to latest Cam- vasive reworked zone consisting of a pebbly, the underlying Red Bank may be discon- panian (Caron, 1985) marker, and beds of poorly sorted, glauconite-quartz sand. The formable, although secondary iron oxide Exogyra ponderosa, a macrofossil marker for Navesink is considered to be a middle-shelf staining and siderite cementation of both the late through late Campanian. deposit (Olsson, 1988). Calcareous shells formations hampers observation. Where Cobban (1973) considered the Wenonah are concentrated in large beds and dispersed unaltered, the contact is generally overlain Formation to be upper (but not uppermost) throughout the formation. The Sandy Hook by fine gravel; burrows penetrating the Campanian, on the basis of the ammonite Member of the Red Bank is a massive, dark- boundary into the Red Bank Formation Trachyscaphites pulcherrimus. The presence gray, micaceous, fossiliferous, clayey silt and contain glauconite sand from the overlying of Baculites cf. B. scotti in the Wenonah fine sand that grades upward into the Tinton Formation. Shell beds are scattered Formation correlates with the uppermost Shrewsbury Member, a burrowed, slightly along this contact. A late Maestrichtian age middle Campanian in terms of the United glauconitic, medium to coarse quartz sand for the Tinton Formation is based on the States western interior provincial substages that is unfossiliferous because of leaching. ammonite lobatus (Owens et (Kennedy and Cobban, 1994). Within this sequence, lithologic contacts are al., 1970) and the dinoflagellate Deflandrea The Mount Laurel Formation contains gradational. cretacea (Koch and Olsson, 1977). Belemnitella americana and Exogyra cancel- The Navesink sequence changes dramat- An alternative stratigraphic sequence has lata (Owens et al., 1970). The Belemnitella ically to the southwest along the outcrop been proposed for the latest Maestrichtian americana Zone is considered to be upper belt (Owens and Sohl, 1969; Koch and Ols- to earliest interval in New Jersey Campanian in New Jersey (Richards et al., son, 1977). The major changes include (1) (Olsson, 1960, 1963, 1964; Koch and Olsson, 1962). It contains heteromorph ammonites thinning and pinching out of the Shrewsbury 1977; Olsson and Wise, 1987; Olsson et al., equivalent to the Baculites compressus Member in the New Egypt, New Jersey, area 1988; Olsson and Usmani, 1992). Olsson fauna, which is also upper Campanian (Han- due to erosion or nondeposition (Minard (1963) named the New Egypt Formation for cock, 1991). The subsurface Mount Laurel and Owens, 1962), or a facies change (Koch an outcropping glauconite sand he consid- has been correlated with the lower Maes- and Olsson, 1977); (2) a facies change in the ered to be a deeper water facies equivalent

Geological Society of America Bulletin, January 1995 21 SUGARMAN ET AL.

87Sr/86Sr (20 analyses, 1␴ϭϮ0.000 008, normalized to 86Sr/88Sr ϭ 0.1194) during analysis of Hole 525A samples. Two recent measurements on EN-1, an informal Sr- isotope standard, are 0.709 196 Ϯ 9 and 0.709 186 Ϯ 6. Average internal error (intrarun varia- bility) at Rutgers was Ϯ0.000 009 for the 84 samples analyzed. External error at Rutgers has previously been reported as Ϯ0.000 030 to Ϯ0.000 026 (2␴) for NBS- 987 (Miller et al., 1991); we show a con- servative figure of Ϯ0.000 030 on Figure 7, below. In a recent study from the Rutgers lab, average error of 17 duplicates ana- lyzed was Ϯ0.000 020 (Oslick et al., 1994); this is probably a good estimate for exter- nal precision in this study.

Biostratigraphy

One sample was analyzed for calcareous nannoplankton from approximately every Figure 3. Uppermost Campanian (?) to Maestrichtian magnetostratigraphy, calcareous other section of Hole 525A from cores 40 to nannoplankton and foraminiferal biostratigraphy, South Atlantic Deep Sea Drilling 50. Samples were analyzed for first and last Project Hole 525A. Inclination data from Chave (1984); positive or negative inclinations occurrences of diagnostic species. To eval- indicate normal (shaded) or reversed (open) magnetic polarities. Chron boundary ages are uate latitudinal diachrony, we compared the from S. C. Cande and D. V. Kent (1993, personal commun.). Planktonic foraminiferal nannofossil zones with magnetochronology biostratigraphy is modified from Boersma (1984) by Liu (this study). Differing stage as- (Fig. 3). This approach was prompted by dis- signments based on foraminifera (foram) and calcareous nannoplankton (nanno) are crepancies in event order between recent shown. zonal syntheses and local assemblages. Comparison of local coccolith events to the GPTS makes it possible to determine the most consistent taxa for zonation. For a dis- to the Red Bank and Tinton Formations, each 1.5 m section at DSDP Hole 525A cussion of the many inconsistencies in Maes- although published geologic maps (e.g., Mi- below the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/P) trichtian zonation see Thierstein (1976), nard and Owens, 1962) show this unit to be boundary for Sr-isotope analysis. Forami- Roth (1978), Monechi and Thierstein a transitional facies of the lower Red Bank. nifera were extracted by soaking samples (1985), Perch-Nielsen (1985), Bukry (1973), The Tinton Formation is overlain by the in hydrogen peroxide and sodium meta- Cepek and Hay (1969), and Doeven (1983). Hornerstown Formation, a pure greensand phosphate, washing through a 63 ␮m Different nannofossil zonations are corre- that is 3 m (10 ft) thick. The Hornerstown sieve, and air drying. Approximately 200 lated for reference in later discussions has been dated as either Maestrichtian in its specimens were picked from the Ͼ150- (Fig. 4). Foraminiferal biostratigraphy is basal portion and early in its ␮m-sized fraction, ultrasonically cleaned based on Boersma (1984) and is slightly main body (Koch and Olsson, 1977; Olsson in distilled water for 10 s, and then dis- modified (Fig. 4) to reflect a small change in and Usmani, 1992; Gallagher, 1993), or en- solved in 1.5 N HCl. the position of the first occurrence of Abath- tirely early Paleocene (Owens et al., 1970; Samples were also studied from El Kef, omphalus mayaroensis (Chengjie Liu, Rut- Bybell, 1992). Differences in age assign- Tunisia, and Millers Ferry, Alabama, to gers University, 1993, written commun.). ments generally involve the reworked or in- compare uppermost Maestrichtian strata place nature of Cretaceous fauna at the base from well-documented sections with the Magnetostratigraphy of the Hornerstown. New Jersey Coastal Plain. Foraminifera from El Kef and Millers Ferry were also Magnetostratigraphy is based on data METHODS processed by the same methodology as the from Chave (1984). Hole 525A contains samples from Hole 525A. Forty-three shells an excellent magnetostratigraphic record Isotope Methodology from the New Jersey Coastal Plain were pro- (Figs. 3 and 5), which allows correlations of cessed for analysis as outlined in Sugarman the Maestrichtian to lower Paleocene sec- A Sr-isotope reference section was devel- et al. (1993). Strontium was separated for tion with the GPTS. Age estimates for the oped for Hole 525A drilled in the southeast- analysis on a VG Sector mass spectrometer normal polarity interval from S. C. Cande ern Atlantic Ocean ϳ800 km off the west at Rutgers University by standard ion ex- and D. V. Kent (1993, personal commun.) coast of Africa (lat. 29Њ04.24ЈS; long. change techniques (e.g., Hart and Brooks, are used in our age model (Table 1). Hole 02Њ59.12ЈE). One sample was taken from 1974). We measured NBS-987 as 0.710 255 525A was drilled into basalt basement on

22 Geological Society of America Bulletin, January 1995 UPPERMOST CAMPANIAN–MAESTRICHTIAN FRAMEWORK, NEW JERSEY

0.707 700 to 0.707 854 between 557 m sub- bottom and 453 subbottom, corresponding to a rate of 0.000 166/m (Fig. 5). The rela- tionship between Sr-isotope variations and age at Hole 525A was empirically deter- mined using magnetochronologically deter- mined age estimates; we computed linear (Fig. 6) and higher order regressions. In cal- ibrating the changes in 87Sr/86Sr values with time at our reference section, we chose age as the independent variable and Sr-isotope values as the dependent variable. For a dis- cussion of the statistical methodology and reasoning, see Miller et al. (1991, p. 40). A linear regression for the interval be- tween 73 and 65 Ma (Fig. 6) provides an excellent fit and is in the form

87Sr/86Sr ϭ 0.709 099 011

Ϫ 0.000 018 997 ϫ age (Ma) (1)

r ϭ 0.922, s ϭ 0.000 019,

where r is the correlation coefficient, and s is the standard error of estimate (Draper and Smith, 1981, p. 207). There is no significant improvement in the fit with the use of higher order functions (second order r ϭ 0.922; third order r ϭ 0.922). Stratigraphic age estimates based on 87Sr/ 86Sr composition may be determined by in- verting equation (1) to:

Figure 4. Nannofossil zonations used for late Campanian and Maestrichtian correlation. age (Ma) ϭ 37 326.894 CC and NC zones are used for this study. Marker taxa for CC zonation boundaries are Ϫ 52 639.89ϫ (87Sr/86Sr). (2) abbreviations (see Perch-Nielsen, 1985). CC25 is the Arkhangelskiella cymbiformis Zone. Horizontal lines to the left of CC zones indicate suggested placement of the Campanian/ Equations (1) and (2) are valid from 73.0 Maestrichtian boundary, including Bukry (1993), Burnett et al. (1992), Cande and Kent to 65.0 Ma (Cande and Kent, 1993, personal .commun.) and from 0.707 700 to 0.707 854 ؍Micula murus,Lq؍Nephrolithus frequens,Mm ؍ and Haq et al. (1988). Nf ,(1992) Tranolithus A plot of residuals versus the predicted Sr؍Quadrum trifidum,Tp؍Reinhardtites levis,Qt؍Lithraphidites quadratus,Rl Quadrum sissinghii, (Fig. 7) displays the observed error in the؍Reinhardtites anthophorus,Qs؍Bronsonia parca,Ra؍phacelosus,Bp (Ceratolithoides arcuatus. An ‘‘ * ’’ indicates first occurrence; ‘‘ ** ’’ indicates last regression. Based on 39 points (Table 2 ؍ Ca occurrence. with a standard error of estimate of 0.000 019 (1␴), the regression model is ad- Anomaly 32n, providing a lower age con- equate as indicated by the lack of observed straint on the magnetostratigraphy. trends in the residuals. Residual values from S. C. Cande and D. V. Kent (1993, per- equation (1) show that 35 of 39 points fall TABLE 1. AGE MODEL PARAMETERS, DEEP SEA DRILLING PROJECT HOLE 525A sonal commun.) assigned a revised age of 65 within Ϯ0.000 030 (i.e., within 2␴ error of Ma to the K/P boundary. This age is based the regression). Depth Age Sedimentation Criteria on recent 40Ar/39Ar age dates at the Errors in predicted age from Sr-isotope (m subbottom) (Ma) rate (m/m.y.) boundary in (Swisher et al., 1992). regressions may be computed from the 450.99 64.745 Base C29n An age of 66 Ma was used in the earlier time equation of Draper and Smith (1981, p. 49): 451.71 65.000 2.82 K/P boundary 456.69 65.578 8.62 Top C30n scale of Cande and Kent (1992). age (upper, lower) ϭ 475.15 67.610 9.10 Base C30n 476.40 67.735 10.00 Top C31n 489.35 68.737 12.92 Base C31n RESULTS age0 Ϯ f(ts, b1) 519.95 71.071 13.11 Top C32n.1n 522.61 71.338 9.96 Base C32n.1n 526.24 71.587 4.58 Top C32n.2 Maestrichtian Isotopic Reference Section 2 557.3 Last Sr measurement r(f{age0 Ϫ xto[age]} , 565 73.000 27.43 Still normal 2 Although somewhat variable at Hole ⌺{agei Ϫ xto[age]} Note: Hole bottoms in Anomaly 32N. 525A, 87Sr/86Sr values increase from ϩ f{1, q} ϩ f{1, n}).

Geological Society of America Bulletin, January 1995 23 SUGARMAN ET AL.

Figure 5. Maestrichtian magnetostratigraphy, and Sr-isotope stratigraphy, South Atlantic Deep Sea Drilling Project Hole 525A. Inclination data from Chave (1984); positive or negative inclinations indicate normal (shaded) or reversed (open) magnetic polarities. Chron boundary ages are from S. C. Cande and D. V. Kent (1993, personal commun.). Closed circles are Cretaceous samples; open circles are Paleocene samples. Sr-isotope data are from Table 2.

For one Sr-isotope measurement of an moderately preserved (Alcala-Herrera et lyzed carbonate material consists of some unknown sample, our age regression has an al., 1992), whereas preservation of foram- recrystallized carbonate that contains ambi- uncertainty at the 95% confidence interval inifera is moderate to poor (Boersma, 1984). ent pore water, it is likely that the ratio of of Ϯ1.96 m.y. For Sr-isotope measurements This is to be expected for samples buried 87Sr/86Sr in pore waters is identical to exist- on two samples from the same stratigraphic beneath at least 400 m of sediment ing carbonate material. We believe, based level, the level of uncertainty at the 95% (Koepnick et al., 1988), and older than 65 on comparison with Sr-isotope data from confidence interval is Ϯ1.4 m.y., and it is Ma. We used simple direct methods to eval- the United States western interior (Mc- Ϯ1.2 m.y. for three samples from the same uate preservation, including visual observa- Arthur et al., 1994), western Europe stratigraphic interval. This relatively large tion of tests with the binocular microscope, (McArthur et al., 1993), and the Apennines error factor is the result of a moderate slope and scanning electron microscope views of (N. H. M. Swinburne, A. Montanari, and in the regression (19 ϫ 10Ϫ6/m.y.) and the the wall structure and exterior surface. Some D. J. DePaolo, unpubl. data) that the Hole slightly higher scatter of the Hole 525A data intervals show good preservation (Fig. 9, parts 525A regression is valid, although the higher than previous regressions (e.g., Oslick et al., 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, and 13); others show calcite over- degree of scatter may be due to variable 1994; McArthur, 1993; Fig. 8). growths (Fig. 9, parts 2 and 6). preservation (Fig. 8). The age regression Diagenetic alteration of original 87Sr/86Sr from Hole 525A is a good fit to the data Diagenesis values by exchange with pore fluids and re- from the United States western interior and crystallization during burial is possible at western Europe and gives slightly older val- Measurement of original 87Sr/86Sr ratios Hole 525A in certain intervals of the Cre- ues than the Apennines section. At ca. 72.5 from carbonate material used for Sr-isotope taceous. If the Sr isotopic composition of Ma, the Hole 525A regression falls below correlations and age estimates is a necessary the pore water differs from that of the orig- the other data sets, suggesting that diage- criterion for high-resolution chronostratig- inal carbonate, and reprecipitation of car- netic alteration may be a significant factor at raphy. However, preservation of calcareous bonate material occurs, then measured 87Sr/ the base of Hole 525A, where the oldest sed- microfossils at Hole 525A is not pristine 86Sr values may not be representative of iments may be influenced by exchange with (Fig. 9). Calcareous nannoplankton are original 87Sr/86Sr values. However, if ana- pore waters in contact with the underlying

24 Geological Society of America Bulletin, January 1995 UPPERMOST CAMPANIAN–MAESTRICHTIAN FRAMEWORK, NEW JERSEY

ozoic belemnites, to be ideally suited to gen- erating Sr-isotope profiles. Belemnitella americana specimens appear pristine under the binocular and scanning electron micro- scopes. Analysis of Pycnodonte sp. from the Tinton Formation was a concern because of siderite cement in the enclosing sandstone. Standard X-ray diffraction on the shells showed them to be pure calcite (Lucy Mc- Cartan, U.S. Geological Survey, 1992, writ- ten commun.). Shells of Pycnodonte sp. from the (Fig. 10, part 5) are much thicker than those from the Tin- ton Formation and show the characteristic

TABLE 2. 87Sr/86Sr VALUES FOR CRETACEOUS SAMPLES

Core- Interval Depth 87Sr/86Sr Error Estimated section (cm) (mbsf)* age (Ma)

Hole 525A 40-2 117–119 452.8 0.707 854 11 65.1 40-2 135–137 453 0.707 863 8 65.1 40-4 121–123 455.8 0.707 866 8 65.5 Figure 6. Sr-isotope data versus age, Deep Sea Drilling Project Hole 525A. The line is the 40-5 103–105 457.1 0.707 826 5 65.6 40-5 129–131 457.4 0.707 854 8 65.6 first-order regression through all the data shown. The time scale is from S. C. Cande and 41-2 132–134 462.4 0.707 837 7 66.2 D. V. Kent (1993, personal commun.). The age model used is shown in Table 1. Horizontal 41-3 86–88 463.5 0.707 823 6 66.3 41-4 130–132 464.6 0.707 817 17 66.4 error bars show our estimate of age uncertainties for each estimate of interrun variability 41-5 97–99 466.6 0.707 813 11 66.7 41-6 111–113 468.2 0.707 857 4 66.8 Vertical error bars show our error of age uncertainties for the regression. 42-1 83–85 469.9 0.707 822 6 67.0 .(026 0.000؎) 42-2 118–120 471.8 0.707 811 10 67.2 Error 1 (one sample analysis) is 1.96 m.y.; error 3 (three sample analyses) is 1.16 m.y. 42-3 27–29 472.4 0.707 821 6 67.3 42-4 116–118 474.8 0.707 855 14 67.6† 42-6 75–77 477.4 0.707 805 10 67.8 43-2 90–92 481 0.707 793 8 68.1 basalt, and thereby lowering the original (Fig. 10, parts 1 and 2) are thick walled and 43-3 92–94 482.5 0.707 813 9 68.2 87 86 43-4 126–128 484.4 0.707 804 11 68.4 Sr/ Sr values. well preserved, although some contained 43-6 106–108 487 0.707 788 8 68.6 Macro- and microfossil samples from the bored intervals and were excluded from iso- 44-1 51–54 488.6 0.707 769 6 68.7 44-2 85–87 490.5 0.707 802 7 68.8 New Jersey Coastal Plain are well preserved tope analysis. Veizer (1989) considered 44-5 117–119 495.3 0.707 819 18 69.2 44-6 32–34 496 0.707 781 12 69.2 (Fig. 9, parts 10 and 12; Fig. 10). Exogyra sp. low-Mg calcite, such as that found in Mes- 45-2 119–121 500.3 0.707 785 25 69.6 45-4 68–70 502.8 0.707 743 6 69.7 45-5 90–92 504.6 0.707 781 26 69.9 46-1 95–98 508.1 0.707 729 10 70.2 46-4 131–133 512.9 0.707 763 11 70.5 46-5 108–112 514.2 0.707 748 4 70.6 47-2 122–124 519.3 0.707 774 6 71.0 47-4 77–79 521.9 0.707 741 6 71.3 47-5 16–19 522.8 0.707 726 9 71.4 48-1 91–93 529.3 0.707 739 5 71.7 49-3 88–90 539.5 0.707 747 7 72.0 50-1 89–92 546 0.707 710 9 72.3 50-2 19–21 546.8 0.707 740 12 72.4 50-6 28–30 552.9 0.707 745 16 72.6 51-1 89–92 555.5 0.707 711 17 72.7 51-2 120–122 557.3 0.707 700 5 72.7

Sample interval 87Sr/86Sr Error Estimated age (Ma)

El Kef, Tunisia (K/P) boundary§ 0.707 862 14 65.1 25 cm below K/P boundary 0.707 852 8 65.6 65 cm below K/P boundary 0.707 844 8 66.1 200 cm below K/P boundary 0.707 849 8 65.8 400 cm below K/P boundary 0.707 853 21 65.6

Millers Ferry, Alabama 3 cm below K/P boundary 0.707 853 22 65.6 10 cm below K/P boundary 0.707 851 13 65.7 30 cm below K/P boundary 0.707 849 15 65.8

Note: Core from Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 74, Hole 525A, and uppermost Maestrichtian samples from El Kef, Tunisia, and Millers Ferry, Alabama. K/P ϭ Cretaceous/Paleogene. *mbsf ϭ meters below sea floor. †Poor fractionation. §Only Cretaceous foraminifera were analyzed. Figure 7. Residuals of Sr-isotope data from equation 1.

Geological Society of America Bulletin, January 1995 25 SUGARMAN ET AL.

87Sr/86Sr ratios of 0.707 632–0.707 724 were measured in the Marshalltown Forma- tion in New Jersey and Delaware. This rel- atively large range in 87Sr/86Sr ratios may be a function of diagenetic alteration of Pyc- nodonte shells, which have vesicular wall structures (Fig. 10, part 5). Sr-isotope age estimates generated from the regression of McArthur et al. (1993) give an age range of 74.1–70.9 Ma for the Marshalltown Forma- tion. Age ranges based on comparisons with the United States western interior radiomet- rically dated sections (McArthur et al., 1994; Fig. 8) are 74.5–71.8 Ma. Based on correlating 87Sr/86Sr ratios from New Jer- sey with the Apennines (Fig. 8; N. H. M. Swinburne, A. Montanari, and D. J. De- Paolo, unpubl. data), an age range of 74.8–72.4 Ma is estimated for the Mar- shalltown Formation. The upper part of the Marshalltown se- Figure 8. Comparison of 87Sr/86Sr values versus age from Deep Sea Drilling Project Hole quence, the Mount Laurel Formation, is as- 525A, the United States western interior, the Apennines, and western Europe. The linear signed entirely to nannofossil Subzone regression from Hole 525A data, and the fifth order exponential regression for the entire CC22b (ϳNC20) of the Q. trifidum (CC22) data set, are shown on the figure. Also shown in the lower right hand corner is the age error Zone at the Clayton borehole (Fig. 12). This for the Hole 525A regression (vertical axis), and the external precision (horizontal axis). is based on the presence of R. anthophorous together with R. levis. At the Clayton bore- hole, the CC22b Subzone was recognized at vesicular structure of the Pycnodonteinae Marshalltown Sequence (Marshalltown– the base of the Mount Laurel in a glauco- (Cox et al., 1971). This structure would be Wenonah–Mount Laurel Formations) nitic marl as well as in the typically quartz- more susceptible to diagenetic alteration ose Mount Laurel. A Subzone CC22b due to the increased void space, and may Sr-isotope age estimates for the Marshall- (ϳNC20) assignment was also given to the explain the variation in age estimates for the town sequence are exclusively from the top of the Mount Laurel Formation in out- Marshalltown Formation based on Sr-iso- southwestern New Jersey and northern Del- crop near New Egypt (Figs. 11 and 13) based tope analysis of Pycnodonte (Table 3). aware Coastal Plains. In central New Jersey, on the presence of R. anthophorous with R. Wenonah lithology (clayey silt to fine sand) levis, A. cymbiformis, B. parca, and Calculites dominates the sequence, and no calcareous obscurus. NEW JERSEY COASTAL PLAIN material was recovered. However, to the Sr-isotope age estimates for the Mount CAMPANIAN-MAESTRICHTIAN southwest, Mount Laurel lithology (quartz Laurel Formation are best developed at SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY sand) dominates the sequence and belem- the Clayton borehole; other outcrop and nite horizons in the Mount Laurel Forma- borehole samples expanded our database Results from Sr-isotope analysis of sam- tion provide well-preserved calcareous ma- (Table 3). At the base of the formation ples from Campanian and Maestrichtian terial for Sr-isotope analysis. (152.1 m and 153.6 m), belemnites gave outcrops and boreholes in New Jersey A 38 m (125 ft) section of the Marshall- almost identical age estimates of 70.9 and (Fig. 11, Table 3) yield stratigraphically town sequence was recovered in the Clay- 70.8 Ma, respectively. These ages are for meaningful results; values increase mono- ton borehole for which Sr-isotope age es- the base of a thin (6 m) sandy marl in the tonically upsection (Fig. 12). Ages were timates and nannofossil biostratigraphy lower part of the formation. The top of computed using the revised Cande and Kent were completed (Fig. 11). The clayey glau- this bed is estimated at 70.3 Ma, based also time scale (1993, personal commun.; K/P conite sands (Marshalltown Formation) at on a Sr-isotope age estimate from a boundary of 65 Ma), the regression of the base of the sequence was assigned to belemnite. McArthur et al. (1993) for the Campanian nannofossil Zone CC20–21 (ϳNC19) on The remaining Sr-isotope age estimates to earliest Maestrichtian (ca. 74–70; Fig. 8), the presence of Bronsonia parca and Cera- were measured on belemnites and one shell and the Site 525 regression (Figs. 6 and 8) tolithoides aculeus and the absence of in the coarser grained, quartzose section of for the Maestrichtian (ca. 72.4–65 Ma) Arkhangelskiella cymbiformis and Rein- the Mount Laurel Formation. For the Clay- (Table 3). Because the Hole 525A regres- hardtites levis. Quadrum trifidum, the ton borehole (Fig. 12, Table 3), similar age sion is not applicable to the entire upper CC21/CC22 boundary marker species, is estimates of 69.9 Ma (137.5 m), 69.8 Ma Campanian to lowermost Maestrichtian missing in New Jersey. The outcropping (132 m), and 69.8 Ma (127 m) were obtained Marshalltown sequence, the ages of this se- Marshalltown Formation at Auburn, New in this lithology, suggesting that sedimenta- quence (74–70 Ma) are discussed using the Jersey (Fig. 11) was also assigned to tion rates for the coarser component of regression of McArthur et al. (1993). nannofossil Zone CC20–21. the sequence were rapid compared with the

26 Geological Society of America Bulletin, January 1995 Figure 9. All specimens are from Deep Sea Drilling Project Hole 525A unless otherwise indicated. (1–2) Globotruncana arca (Cushman), 40-2/117–119. (3–4) Rosita fornicata (Plummer), 40-5/129–131, 41-5/97–100. (5–6) Abathomphalus mayaroensis (Bolli), 41-5/97–99. (6) View of antipenultimate of 5. (7–9) Globotruncana ventricosa (White), 46-1/95–98. (10) Gavelinella dumblei (Applin), Marshalltown Formation, Auburn, New Jersey. (11) Gavelinella cayenxi mangshlakensis (Vassilenko), 44-6/32–34. (12) Gavelinella compressa (Slitter), Red Bank ␮m for 2, 4, and 10 ؍ Formation, Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. (13) Globotruncanella petaloidea (Ganfoldi), 42-4/116–118. Scale bar .␮m for 1, 3, 5, and 7–13 100 ؍ scale bar ;6

Geological Society of America Bulletin, January 1995 27 Figure 10. All specimens are from the New Jersey Coastal Plain. (1) Exogyra costata (Say), Navesink Formation, Big Brook; section through right valve. (2) Close-up of right valve of Exogyra costata (Say) showing well-preserved outer prismatic layer over thin bands of complex cross-foliated structures. (3) Section through Belemnitella americana (Morton), Navesink Formation, New Egypt. (4) Close-up of Belemnitella americana (Morton) showing well-preserved smooth prisms of low-Mg calcite. (5) Pycnodonte sp., Marshalltown Formation, Auburn; cross section shows characteristic vesicular structure. Note that MM in figure scales is ␮m.

28 Geological Society of America Bulletin, January 1995 UPPERMOST CAMPANIAN–MAESTRICHTIAN FRAMEWORK, NEW JERSEY

TABLE 3. 87Sr/86Sr VALUES AND CORRESPONDING AGE ESTIMATES FOR CAMPANIAN AND finer grained sediment at the base of the MAESTRICHTIAN FORMATIONS FROM THE NEW JERSEY AND DELAWARE COASTAL PLAIN sequence.

Location/ 87Sr/86Sr Error Age (Ma) Comments Two closely spaced boreholes (GL 913 borehole (mbls)* and 915) situated ϳ15 km south of the Clay- CK† M§ ton borehole (Fig. 11) contain incomplete Tinton Formation sections of the quartz sand within the Mount Tinton Falls, 40Њ18Ј15ЈЈN, 74Њ06Ј05ЈЈW Laurel Formation. A belemnite just below 0.707 841 7 66.2 Pycnodonte 0.707 849 4 65.8 Pycnodonte the Navesink contact at 64 m in GL 913 0.707 853 15 65.6 Pycnodonte yielded a Sr-isotope age estimate of 69.8 Ma Navesink–Red Bank Formations (Table 3), close to the other Mount Laurel Atlantic Highlands, 40Њ24Ј43ЈЈN, 74Њ10Ј20ЈЈW ages. GL 915 contained belemnites from the 0.707 840 8 66.3 Krb, foram. top of the Mount Laurel Formation and had , 40Њ22Ј07ЈЈN, 74Њ07Ј10ЈЈW 0.707 854 4 65.5 Krb, shell age estimates of 69.4 Ma (59.5 m), 69.9 Ma 0.707 848 7 65.9 Krb, shell (61 m), and 70.8 Ma (70 m), again suggest- 0.707 857 5 65.4 Kns, foram. 0.707 863 6 65.1 Kns, foram. ing rapid sedimentation. 0.707 835 9 66.5 Kns, shell 0.707 821 6 67.3 Kns, Pycnodonte Belemnites from the outcrop of the Big Brook, 40Њ19Ј10ЈЈN, 74Њ13Ј20ЈЈW Mount Laurel Formation were sampled in 0.707 832 13 66.7 Kns, Pycnodonte New Egypt from a dense shell bed several 0.707 785 6 69.2 Kns, Exogyra 0.707 791 8 68.9 Kns, Exogyra feet below the contact with the Navesink 0.707 788 8 69.0 Kns, Belemnitella Formation. Three belemnites analyzed for Freehold borehole, 40Њ15Ј16ЈЈN, 74Њ13Ј51ЈЈW; elevation 62.5 m (205 ft) Sr-isotope values (Table 3) averaged 57 m 0.707 852 5 65.6 Krb, shell 67 m 0.707 787 5 69.1 Kns, Belemnitella 0.707 748 Ϯ 6, or 70.1 Ma. A closely similar New Egypt, 40Њ07Ј03ЈЈN, 74Њ33Ј15ЈЈW age of 70.3 Ma resulted from measurements 87 86 0.707 860 11 65.2 Kns, Pycnodonte of two samples (average Sr/ Sr value of 0.707 842 6 66.2 Kns, Pycnodonte 0.707 744 Ϯ 12) from the outcropping Clayton borehole, 39Њ38Ј38ЈЈN, 75Њ06Ј04ЈЈW; elevation 32.9 m (108 ft) Mount Laurel at Mullica Hill, New Jersey, 117 m 0.707 840 4 66.3 Kns, shell 119.5 m 0.707 810 6 67.9 Kns, shell likewise several feet below the Navesink 120 m 0.707 782 5 69.3 Kns, shell contact. To the southwest, at the Chesa- GL 913 borehole, 39Њ46Ј40ЈЈN, 75Њ01Ј33ЈЈW; elevation 36 m (118 ft) peake & Delaware Canal section in Dela- 56 m 0.707 877 4 64.3 Kns, shell ware (Fig. 11), two measurements on one be- Mount Laurel Formation lemnite yielded a 87Sr/86Sr value of 0.707 710 GL 915 borehole, 39Њ46Ј57ЈЈN, 75Њ01Ј05ЈЈW; elevation 34.4 m (113 ft) 59.5 m 0.707 769 5 70.0 69.4 Belemnitella Ϯ 14, for an age estimate of 71.4 Ma. 61 m 0.707 755 4 70.7 69.9 Belemnitella 70 m 0.707 728 4 72.2 70.8 Belemnitella Sr-isotope age estimates suggest that the Marshalltown sequence required a maxi- GL 913 borehole 64 m 0.707 761 5 70.4 69.8 Belemnitella mum of 4.7 m.y. for deposition. Sedimenta- Mullica Hill, 39Њ44Ј08ЈЈN, 75Њ13Ј26ЈЈW tion rate for the glauconite sands at the base 0.707 738 6 71.6 70.4 Belemnitella of the Marshalltown sequence in the Clay- 0.707 749 18 71.1 70.1 Belemnitella ton core are ϳ0.8–5.2 m/m.y. Sedimentation Clayton borehole rates for the marl bed are estimated at 12.8 127 m (416 ft) 0.707 757 4 70.6 69.8 Belemnitella 132 m (433 ft) 0.707 756 12 70.7 69.8 shell m/m.y. Rates for the quartz sands in the up- 137.5 m (451 ft) 0.707 755 5 70.7 69.9 Belemnitella 147.2 cm (483 ft) 0.707 742 22 71.4 70.3 Belemnitella per Marshalltown sequence vary between 24 152.1 m (499 ft) 0.707 728 5 72.2 70.9 Belemnitella 153.6 m (504 ft) 0.707 732 5 72.0 70.8 Belemnitella and 105 m/m.y. This suggests that tectonics and/or rapid progradation were the main New Egypt 0.707 722 10 72.5 71.0 Belemnitella factors controlling deposition of the high- 0.707 750 4 71.0 70.0 Belemnitella 0.707 771 4 69.9 69.3 Belemnitella stand systems tract of this sequence during Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, Delaware, 39Њ33Ј10ЈЈN, 75Њ37Ј30ЈЈW this time. 0.707 715 6 72.9 71.2 Belemnitella 0.707 704 21 73.4 71.6 Belemnitella Marshalltown Formation Navesink Sequence (Navesink–Red Auburn, 39Њ42Ј54ЈЈN, 75Њ22Ј05ЈЈW 0.707 652 9 73.4 Foram. Bank Formations) 0.707 692 5 72.0 foram. 0.707 724 6 72.4 70.9 Exogyra The Navesink–Red Bank Formations in Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, Delaware, 39Њ33Ј10ЈЈN, 75Њ39Ј08ЈЈW 0.707 651 13 73.4 Exogyra the northern New Jersey Coastal Plain con- Clayton borehole stitute a single stratigraphic sequence, the 158.8 m (521 ft) 0.707 698 11 71.8 shell Navesink sequence. The lithologic, biostrat- 160.7 m (527.1 ft) 0.707 632 14 74.1 shell igraphic, and Sr-isotope age data are pre- *mbls ϭ meters below land surface. sented in a combined section (Fig. 14). †Age estimates based on revised time scale of Cande and Kent (1993, personal commun.). Highly fossiliferous parts of these forma- §Age estimates from McArthur and others (1993). tions crop out at Poricy Brook and Big Brook in Monmouth County (Fig. 11).

Geological Society of America Bulletin, January 1995 29 SUGARMAN ET AL.

yielded 87Sr/86Sr values of 0.707 848–0.707 854, and age estimates of 65.9–65.5 Ma, almost identical to those for the upper Navesink Formation. The Red Bank con- tains L. quadratus with N. frequens (Zone CC26). A limited set of data for the Navesink se- quence was collected at the Freehold bore- hole, several miles downdip from Big Brook (Fig. 11). At Freehold, the upper sand facies of the Red Bank Formation is very silty and thinner than in the outcrop (Fig. 14). This represents a facies change from upper to lower shoreface conditions and a deepening paleobathymetry. The glauconite sand at the base of the Navesink sequence (Navesink Forma- tion) in the Freehold borehole has been assigned to the A. cymbiformis (CC25) Zone (Fig. 14). The lower part of this zone (CC25, ϳNC21) is suggested by the presence of L. praequadratus and the absence of C. obscu- rus and L. quadratus.A87Sr/86Sr meas- urement of a Belemnitella at a depth of 67 m, near the base of the Navesink Formation, yielded a value of 0.707 787 (69.1 Ma), whereas a measurement on a shell in the middle of the sequence at the Navesink/Red Bank contact (Fig. 15) yielded a value of 0.707 852 (65.6 Ma, uppermost Maestricht- ian). This is in good agreement with the age estimates from the outcropping composite section at Poricy Brook and Big Brook (Fig. 14).

Tinton Formation

Sr-isotope measurements were made on the type section at Tinton Falls in the north- ern New Jersey Coastal Plain (Fig. 11). Three Pycnodonte shells were collected from Figure 11. Location map of outcrops and boreholes used in this study. Closed circles approximately the same horizon. Sr-isotope indicate sampling locations for Sr-isotope measurements (Table 3); open circle is geo- values range from 0.707 841 to 0.707 849 graphic locality. (Table 3); the age estimates range from 66.2 to 65.6 Ma and support a latest Maestricht- ian age. No calcareous microfossils were The basal half of the Navesink Formation 87Sr/86Sr measurements on shells in this found in the Tinton in this study; however, is exposed at Big Brook (Figs. 11 and 14). A interval are 0.707 821–0.707 835; the corre- the dinoflagellate Deflandrea cretacea, an dense bed of Exogyra costata and Belemni- sponding age estimates are 67.3 Ma for upper Maestrichtian marker, has been iden- tella americana located ϳ3 m above the base the base of the bed (which is also the base tified from the outcrop at Tinton Falls of the Navesink gave 87Sr/86Sr meas- of the Poricy Brook section) and 66.5 Ma for (Koch and Olsson, 1977). urements between 0.707 785 and 0.707 791, the interval ϳ0.6 m above the dense shell In New Jersey, N. frequens marks the up- and age estimates of 69.2–68.9 Ma (Ta- bed. permost nannofossil in the Creta- ble 3). This interval has been assigned to The upper 1.5 m of the Navesink Forma- ceous. We have measured 87Sr/86Sr on fo- Subzone CC25. Five meters above the base tion has scattered shell material and foram- raminifera from the M. prinsii Subzone of the Navesink Formation is a dense Pyc- inifera and yields 87Sr/86Sr values of 0.707 (commonly considered to correlate to the nodonte shell bed. This bed is located in the 857, and a corresponding age estimate of uppermost Maestrichtian; Perch-Nielsen, Rugotruncana subcircumnodifer/Gansserina 65.4 Ma (Table 3). Measurements for the 1985) at El Kef, Tunisia, and Millers Ferry, gansseri foraminiferal zones and is also as- lower Red Bank Formation, which is con- Alabama (Table 2), and obtain values sim- signed to nannofossil Zone CC25 (Fig. 14). formable and transitional with the Navesink, ilar to those of the upper Navesink, Red

30 Geological Society of America Bulletin, January 1995 elgclSceyo mrc ultn aur 1995 January Bulletin, America of Society Geological

Figure 12. Schematic stratigraphic section of upper Campanian, Maestrichtian, and lowermost Paleocene sediments in the borehole at Clayton, New Jersey. Nannofossil zonation is from Perch-Nielsen (1985). NP zones are those of Martini (1971). Sr-isotope data are given in Table 3. Differing stage assignments based on foraminifera (foram) and calcareous nannoplankton (nanno) are shown. Sr-isotope age estimates are from the Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 525 regression, or ,sequence ؍ .Formation, Seq ؍ .Hornerstown, Fm ؍ highstand systems tract, Tht ؍ transgressive systems tract; HST ؍ McArthur et al. (1993) where underlined. TST

.meters per million ؍ .m/m.y 31 SUGARMAN ET AL.

this is associated with the Navesink green- sands. Thus, the significance of this sur- face, which has no discernible hiatus using Sr-isotopes, is uncertain; we tentatively suggest that the Tinton Formation be placed in the Navesink sequence.

Southwest New Jersey Coastal Plain

Fewer Sr-isotope values were measured on the Navesink sequence in southwestern New Jersey. There, the sequence is not as well represented, owing to thinning of the Navesink Formation and thinning or ab- sence of the Red Bank Formation in many of the boreholes. At the Clayton borehole, the Navesink sequence is predominantly glauconite sand, slightly Ͼ6 m thick. It is assigned to upper Maestrichtian calcareous nannoplankton Subzone CC25c (ϳNC22) to Zone CC26 (ϳNC23) (Fig. 12). Two 87Sr/ 86Sr measurements were made on mollusk fragments in the CC25c Zone (upper Zone NC22). An age of 67.9 Ma (0.707 810) was Figure 13. Schematic composite stratigraphic section of outcrops near New Egypt and determined at 119.5 m, and a younger age Auburn, New Jersey. Nannofossil zonation is from Perch-Nielsen (1985). Sr-isotope data estimate of 66.3 Ma (0.707 840) at 117 m. are given in Table 3. For the Marshalltown Formation, Sr-isotope data is from Auburn and An age estimate of 69.3 Ma (0.707 782) was Clayton, New Jersey. Differing stage assignments based on foraminifera (foram) and cal- also estimated for a shell at 120 m in the careous nannoplankton (nanno) are shown. Sr-isotope age estimates are from the Deep Sea reworked transgressive sand at the base of the Navesink sequence. It is possible that ؍ Drilling Project Site 525 regression, or McArthur et al. (1993) where underlined. Ket Wenonah Formation, this shell was reworked from the Mount ؍ Marshalltown Formation, Kw ؍ Englishtown Formation, Kmt -sequence, Fm. Laurel Formation and is therefore unreli ؍ .highstand systems tract, Seq ؍ transgressive systems tract, HST ؍ TST -phosphate horizon. Lithology symbols are able. The rest of this data set compares fa ؍ shell bed, P ؍ glauconite, S ؍ formation, G ؍ defined in the legend in Figure 12. vorably with the Navesink Formation (base of Navesink sequence) in the northern New Jersey Coastal Plain. Bank, and Tinton Formations in New Jer- timates. As with the highstand systems A small set of samples was studied in out- sey. At El Kef, 87Sr/86Sr values from Creta- tract in the Marshalltown sequence, tec- crop near New Egypt (Fig. 11). 87Sr/86Sr ceous foraminifera taken 25–400 cm below tonic movements and/or rapid prograda- measurements on Pycnodonte shells in the the K/P boundary in the M. prinsii Subzone tion appear to be the controlling factors Navesink Formation1m(3ft)above the (Perch-Nielsen et al., 1982) range between during deposition of the highstand systems contact with the Mount Laurel Formation 0.707 844 and 0.707 853 (Table 1). Sr iso- tract in the Navesink sequence. A surface gave Sr-isotope age estimates of 65.2–66.2 topic values from Millers Ferry, Alabama, in at the contact between the Red Bank and Ma (0.707 842–0.707 860). Again, the rela- the M. prinsii Subzone of the N. frequens Tinton Formations (Fig. 14) may be a dis- tively young range of ages may result from Zone(OlssonandLiu,1993),werealsomeas- conformity or a flooding surface, although the vesicular Pycnodonte shells, allowing ured in the Maestrichtian strata just below outcrop sections are not sufficient to doc- pore fluids to circulate easily through the the K/P boundary (Table 2) and yielded sim- ument this unequivocally (see above). A structure. This bed contained the A. cymbi- ilar values (0.707 849–0.707 853) as re- facies change is associated with the con- formis Subzone (CC25a/b; ϳNC21) based corded in the youngest Cretaceous strata of tact from clean, cross-bedded quartz sand on the presence of L. praequadratus but no New Jersey. below to glauconitic quartz sand above, in- L. quadratus or R. levis. Here too, based on No Sr-isotope age differences could be dicating a deepening from the Shrewsbury Sr-isotope age estimates, the base of the measured among the upper Navesink, Red Member of the Red Bank Formation (up- Navesink Formation (and Navesink se- Bank, or Tinton Formations; the entire per shoreface) to the Tinton Formation quence) in the southern New Jersey Coastal section is uppermost Maestrichtian. This (inner-middle neritic); however, there is Plain appears to be younger than in the suggests that the deposition of clastics rep- no detectable unconformity between the northern New Jersey Coastal Plain. How- resented by the Shrewsbury Member of Tinton and Red Bank Formations, and it is ever, the identification of the A. cymbiformis the Red Bank Formation and the Tinton unclear whether the contact represents a Zone at New Egypt suggests that the lower Formation (reaching a maximum thick- disconformity or a flooding surface. It can- Navesink Formation at New Egypt is equiv- ness of ϳ34 m) is geologically almost in- not represent the maximum flooding sur- alent to the Navesink base at Big Brook, stantaneous, based on Sr-isotope age es- face of the Navesink sequence, because suggesting that the Sr-isotope age estimates

32 Geological Society of America Bulletin, January 1995 UPPERMOST CAMPANIAN–MAESTRICHTIAN FRAMEWORK, NEW JERSEY

Figure 14. Schematic composite stratigraphic section from Big Brook, Poricy Brook, and Tinton Falls, New Jersey. Nannofossil data are from S. Moshkovitz (Israel Geological Survey, 1992, personal commun.). Planktonic foraminifera zones are from C. C. Smith (in Owens et al., 1977). Mollusk zones are from N. F. Sohl (in Owens et al., 1977). Sr-isotope data are given in Table 3. Open square is the average value of Sr-isotope measurements in the upper Mount Laurel Formation in southern New Jersey. Differing stage assignments are shown ؍ .Sandy Hook member, Fm ؍ .Mount Laurel, S. H ؍ based on foraminifera (foram) and calcareous nannoplankton (nanno). Kml ,glauconite ؍ flooding surface, G ؍ highstand systems tract, FS ؍ transgressive systems tract, HST ؍ sequence, TST ؍ .Formation, Seq .unconformity. Lithology symbols are defined in the legend in Figure 12 ؍ .sell bed, unc ؍ S are too young. The base of the formation borehole (Fig. 12). At New Egypt, a max- Subzone CC25c (ϳNC22). If we use the may be more condensed at New Egypt; here imum hiatus of 3.1–3.8 m.y. is measurable GPTS of Haq et al. (1988), the hiatus is ϳ3 phosphate nodules formed at the contact (Fig. 13). This corresponds to the nanno- m.y. between the top of the Marshalltown and with the Mount Laurel Formation. At Big assignment of Subzone CC22b from base of the Navesink sequences, based on cal- Brook the reworked zone between the two a dense shell bed containing E. costata and ibration of the absence of Zone NC21. How- formations consists of a coarse quartz sand B. americana (Fig. 13) in the upper Mount ever, this is a minimum age, because the upper and pebble lag. Laurel Formation 1 m below the contact part of Zone NC20 is also probably missing. Clearly, the glauconite sand at the base of with the Navesink Formation, and Zone the Navesink sequence was deposited very CC25 in the Navesink Formation, as pre- DISCUSSION slowly. The sedimentation rate estimates viously indicated. The upper shell bed based on Sr-isotopes ages of glauconite within the Mount Laurel Formation may Sr Isotopes, Chronology, and the sands, 1 m/m.y., suggest that the glauconite- contain reworked shells; 87Sr/86Sr meas- Campanian/Maestrichtian Boundary bed deposition took 3 m.y. The clay-silt fa- urements on three B. americana speci- cies (lower Red Bank Formation) had a mens yielded ages of 71.0, 70.0, and 69.3 At present no stratotype is established for faster sedimentation rate of 5 m/m.y. Ma. If we select the youngest age, 69.3 Ma, the Campanian/Maestrichtian boundary. to indicate when reworking took place, the Consequently, the assignment of certain Age of Marshalltown/Navesink hiatus is ϳ3.1 m.y. strata to the upper Campanian or lower Sequence Boundary At the Clayton borehole (Fig. 12), the hia- Maestrichtian often depends on different tus represented by the unconformity between criteria established for specific fossil groups The duration of the hiatus between the the Mount Laurel and Navesink Formations or depositional basins (Birkelund et al., top of the Marshalltown sequence and the lasted a maximum of 1.9 m.y. Nannofossils 1984; Kennedy et al., 1992; Burnett et al., bottom of the Navesink sequence can be from the top of the Mount Laurel Formation 1992). Two possible boundary datums used approximated only in the outcrop near contain Subzone CC22b (ϳNC20) at 153 m. by Birkelund et al. (1984) are found in New New Egypt (Fig. 13) and in the Clayton The base of the Navesink contains nannofossil Jersey: (1) the last occurrence of N. hyatti

Geological Society of America Bulletin, January 1995 33 SUGARMAN ET AL.

within the base of the Navesink (Cobban, 1974) and (2) the last occurrence of G. cal- carata in the Marshalltown Formation (Ols- son, 1964). Burnett et al. (1992), placed the stage boundary within nannofossil Zone CC23a. Placement of the boundary based on the last occurrence of G. calcarata (Olsson, 1964; Peters, 1977) near the top of the Mar- shalltown Formation establishes the oldest boundary horizon (Fig. 16). G. calcarata has been identified only in the upper part of the Marshalltown Formation in New Jersey (Ols- son, 1964; Peters, 1976, 1977) and Delaware (Houlik et al., 1983). G. calcarata was not identified during this study. Ammonite, bivalve, and calcareous nan- noplankton criteria indicate that the Cam- panian/Maestrichtian boundary lies some- where between the top of the Mount Laurel in the south (or the Wenonah to the north) and the base of the Navesink Formation (Fig. 16). The presence of N. hyatti in the basal part of the Navesink places the stage boundary just above this horizon; however, this ammonite may have been reworked from the Mount Laurel Formation. Calcar- eous nannoplankton criteria (Perch-Nielsen, Figure 15. Schematic stratigraphic section of the Maestrichtian sediments in the Free- 1985) place the boundary between the hold, New Jersey, borehole, nannoplankton zonation, and Sr-isotope age estimates. Dif- Mount Laurel Formation (Zone CC22) and fering stage assignments are shown based on foraminifera (foram) and calcareous nan- the Navesink Formation (Zone CC25); the actual boundary is not represented because ؍ sequence, G ؍ .Formation, Seq ؍ .Mount Laurel, Fm ؍ noplankton (nanno). Kml shell bed. Lithology symbols are defined in the legend in Figure 12. of the unconformity at this contact (Figs. 12 ؍ glauconite, S and 13). In New Jersey, nannofossil Zones CC23 and CC24 are lost in the unconformity between the Mount Laurel and Navesink Formations (Figs. 12 and 13). If the boundary is within Subzone CC23a (Burnett et al., 1992), Sr isotope age estimates (this study) would indicate that the minimum age for the Campanian/Maestrichtian boundary is between 70.6 Ma (Fig. 12) and 69.9 Ma (Fig. 13) using the Hole 525A regression, or 69.8–69.3 Ma using the regression of McArthur et al. (1993). This contrasts with the previous estimates for the boundary of 74.5 Ma based on foraminiferal correlations (e.g., Cande and Kent, 1992).

Integrated Sr-isotopic, Bio-, and Sequence Stratigraphy

Sr-isotopic stratigraphy, in conjunction with calcareous nannoplankton biostratigra- phy, allowed us to evaluate the age of two New Jersey sequences, their duration, and the sedimentation rates involved in their Figure 16. Differing interpretations of the Campanian/Maestrichtian boundary in New emplacement. It has also made it possible to Jersey and the macrofossil and microfossil criteria on which they are based. Lithology estimate the age of and the symbols are defined in the legend in Figure 12. extent of the hiatuses between these se-

34 Geological Society of America Bulletin, January 1995 UPPERMOST CAMPANIAN–MAESTRICHTIAN FRAMEWORK, NEW JERSEY

the boundary between sequences UZA4.4 and UZA4.5 of Haq et al. (1987). Sr-isotope age estimates for the top of the Mount Lau- rel Formation (and top of the Marshalltown sequence) average 70.0 Ma in New Jersey and Delaware, supporting the correlation of the sequence boundary as mapped in New Jersey with the UZA4.4/UZA4.5 boundary of Haq et al. (1987), which has an age esti- mate of 71 Ma. Sr-isotope age estimates clearly docu- ment the variable age of the base of the Navesink sequence and show that it is younger (67.9 Ma) in the southern part of New Jersey (Figs. 12 and 13, Table 3) than it is in the northern part (69.1–69.2 Ma; Figs. 14 and 15). Differing age assignments for the upper part of any formation that is unconformably overlain by a marine unit can be ascribed to differential scouring. However, what could cause differing ages at the base of a formation? One mechanism involves the rate of transgressions; if they are slow, then it is possible that lower ele- vations received sediments while higher Figure 17. Summary figure of the upper Campanian to Maestrichtian sequences in the ones did not. The paleobathymetry of the New Jersey Coastal Plain based on Sr-isotope stratigraphy. Also shown is the eustatic curve Navesink shelf-water interface in the north of Haq et al. (1987). Cycles with an asterisk are from Donovan et al. (1988). Stage bound- may have been shallower than in the south. aries are from CK (S. C. Cande and D. V. Kent, 1993, personal commun.) and Haq88 (Haq Walker and Eyles (1991) mapped an exten- et al., 1988). Horizontal striped box in the stage column shows the age range of the Cam- sive erosion surface in the Upper Creta- panian/Maestrichtian boundary based on calcareous nannofossil zones (Burnett et al., ceous sediments of , and considered 1992) using Sr-isotope age estimates from this study. its morphology to indicate both subaqueous and subaerial erosion during lowering of sea level, modified by shoreface erosion during quences. If the sequence boundaries are the is equivalent to the boundary between At- a subsequent transgression. Possibly the result of eustatic events, then (1) their ages lantic Coastal Plain depositional sequences older age estimates for northern New Jersey should correspond to boundaries elsewhere 5 and 6 of Owens and Gohn (1985). The reflect differential preservation based on in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains, and unconformity is easily recognized in out- a complex relationship of paleotopogra- (2) these events should be correlative with crop, because it occurs below a massive peb- phy, variable erosion rates, and shifting the sequence boundaries of the global sea- bly quartz sand containing sand- to pebble- depocenters. level cycle chart of Haq et al. (1987), pro- sized phosphatic fragments and has a The Maestrichtian record for New Jersey vided the same time scales are used, and the pronounced positive gamma-ray spike in the correlates in part with sequence boundaries sequences are properly identified and subsurface. A basal pebbly phosphatic bed identified by Haq et al. (1987), although correlated. also is recognized at the correlative contact there are differences in timing of one or The base of the Marshalltown sequence is between the Black Creek Group and the more cycles. As noted above, the UZA4.3/ correlated with the base of Atlantic Coastal Peedee Formation in UZA4.4 boundary correlates well with Plain depositional sequence 5 (Owens and (Owens and Gohn, 1985). In South Caro- the base of the Marshalltown sequence Gohn, 1985); it is equivalent with the upper lina, this contact is identified at the Club- (Fig. 17), and the UZA4.4/UZA4.5 bound- Tayloran and lower Navarroan sections of house Crossroads #1 corehole by a positive ary with the Marshalltown and Navesink the Gulf Coastal Plain (Owens and Gohn, gamma-ray spike separating the Donaho sequences within 1 m.y. (Fig. 17). 1985). Estimates of Sr-isotope age near the Creek Formation of the Black Creek Group As noted above, the sequence stratigraph- base of this sequence in New Jersey are a and the Peedee Formation (Gohn, 1992b). ic interpretation near the K/P boundary in minimum 74.1 Ma. The base of the Mar- Because these distinctive facies and un- New Jersey is controversial. A sequence shalltown sequence apparently correlates conformities can be traced over large dis- boundary TA1.1 (ϭ UZA4.6 of Donovan et with the UZA-4.3/4.4 sequence boundary of tances, we concur with Owens and Gohn al., 1988), with an age of 68 Ma, is recog- Haq et al. (1987), which is 75 Ma (Fig. 17). (1985) who considered that sea-level nized in the latest Maestrichtian (Haq et al., This suggests that eustatic processes could changes were an important control in their 1987). However, Olsson and Liu (1993) account for this basal unconformity. creation. show that TA1.1, as recognized in Alabama The unconformity between the Marshall- Olsson (1991) placed the contact of the (Donovan et al., 1988), spans the K/P town sequence and the Navesink sequence Mount Laurel and Navesink Formations at boundary (65 Ma on the CK93 time scale).

Geological Society of America Bulletin, January 1995 35 SUGARMAN ET AL.

Thus, TA1.1 could correlate with the discon- data from the Apennines. Liu and L. Win- Gallagher, W. B., 1993, The Cretaceous/Tertiary mass in the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain: The , v. 5, formity at the top of the Tinton Formation gard produced the SEM photographs. N. F. p. 75–154. Gohn, G. S., 1992a, Preliminary ostracode biostratigraphy of sub- (shown as 65.5 Ma, Fig. 17). This discrep- Sohl provided fossil material from his col- surface Campanian and Maestrichtian sections of the New ancy (65.5 Ma versus 67.5 Ma of Haq et al., lection, reviewed mollusk zonations, and Jersey Coastal Plain, in Gohn, G. S., ed., Proceedings, U.S. Geological Survey Workshop on the Geology and Geohy- 1987) can be attributed to time scale and was always available with guidance and en- drology of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, 1988: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1059, p. 15–21. other correlation problems (e.g., Donovan couragement. He regretfully passed away Gohn, G. S., 1992b, Revised nomenclature, definitions, and cor- relations for the Cretaceous formations in USGS–Club- et al., 1988; Olsson and Liu, 1993). prior to the completion of this manuscript. house Crossroads #1, Dorchester County, South Carolina: We thank T. J. Bralower, Gohn, I. G. Gross- U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1518, 39 p. Gvirtzman, G., Almogi-Labin, A., Moshkovitz, S., Lewy, Z., CONCLUSIONS man, and Olsson for reviewing this manu- Honigstein, A., and Reiss, Z., 1989, Upper Cretaceous high resolution multiple stratigraphy, northern margin of the script, and Associate Editor W. B. Harris for Arabian platform, central Israel: Cretaceous Research, We have integrated Sr-isotope stratig- consolidating the reviews. This study was v. 10, p. 107–135. Hancock, J. M., 1991, Ammonite scales for the Cretaceous System: raphy, magnetostratigraphy, and calcare- supported by National Science Foundation Cretaceous Research, v. 12, p. 259–291. Haq, B. U., Hardenbol, J., and Vail, P. R., 1987, Chronology of ous nannoplankton biostratigraphy to im- grants EAR92–18210 and OCE92-03282 to fluctuating sea levels since the (250 million years prove chronostratigraphic resolution of Miller. ago to present): Science, v. 235, p. 1156–1167. Haq, B. U., Hardenbol, J., and Vail, P. R., 1988, Mesozoic and the Campanian and Maestrichtian se- Cenozoic chronostratigraphy and eustatic cycles, in Wilgus, C. K., Posamentier, H., Ross, C. A., and Kendall, C. G., eds., quences in New Jersey. Enhanced resolu- REFERENCES CITED Sea-level changes: An integrated approach: Tulsa, Okla- tion has improved understanding of the homa, Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralo- Alcala´-Herrera, J. A., Grossman, E. L., and Gartner, S., 1992, gists Special Publication 42, p. 71–108. sedimentary processes operating in the Nannofossil diversity and equitability and fine fraction ␦13C Hart, S. R., and Brooks, C., 1974, Clinopyroxene-matrix partition- across the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary at Walvis Ridge ing of K, Rb, Cs, and Ba: Geochimica et Cosmochimica New Jersey Coastal Plain during the latest Leg 74, South Atlantic: Marine Micropaleontology, v. 20, Acta, v. 38, p. 1799–1806. p. 77–88. Houlik, C. W., Jr., Olsson, R. K., and Aurisano, R. W., 1983, Upper Campanian and Maestrichtian and per- Birkelund, T., Hancock, J. M., Hart, M. B., Rawson, P. F., Re- Cretaceous (Campanian-Maestrichtian) marine strata in the mitted speculation on whether tectonics or mane, J., Robasznski, F., and Surlyk, F., 1984, Cretaceous subsurface of northern Delaware: Southeastern Geology, v. 24, stage boundaries—Proposals: Bulletin of the Geological So- p. 57–65. eustasy shaped the chronostratigraphy and ciety of Denmark, v. 33, p. 3–20. Kennedy, W. J., and Cobban, W. A., 1994, Ammonite fauna from Boersma, A., 1984, Cretaceous-Tertiary planktonic foraminifers the Wenonah Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of New Jer- sedimentary architecture of these se- from the south-eastern Atlantic, Walvis Ridge area, Deep sey: Journal of Paleontology, v. 68, p. 95–110. quences. Eustasy appears to be the main Sea Drilling Project Leg 74, in Moore, T. C., Jr., et al., Initial Kennedy, W. J., Cobban, W. A., and Scott, G. R., 1992, Ammonite reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, Volume 74: Wash- correlation of the uppermost Campanian of western Eu- mechanism controlling the formation of ington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office, p. 525–531. rope, the U.S. Gulf Coast, Atlantic seaboard and western Bukry, D., 1973, Low-latitude coccolith biostratigraphic zonation, interior, and the numerical age of the base of the Maas- an unconformity at the top of the Mar- in Edgar, N. T., Sanders, J. B., and others, Initial reports of trichtian: Geological Magazine, v. 129, p. 497–500. shalltown sequence (top of Mount Laurel the Deep Sea Drilling Project, Volume 15: Washington, Koch, R. C., and Olsson, R. K., 1977, Dinoflagellate and plank- D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office, p. 685–703. tonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy of the uppermost Cre- Formation), and it may be the controlling Bukry, D., 1993, Cretaceous coccolith correlation for Point Loma taceous of New Jersey: Journal of Paleontology, v. 51, Formation outfall test well, San Diego, California: U.S. Ge- p. 480–491. mechanism for the base of the Marshall- ological Survey Open-File Report 93–567, 14 p. Koepnick, R. B., Denison, R. E., and Dahl, D. A., 1988, The Ce- town sequence. However, the remaining Burnett, J. A., Hancock, J. M., Kennedy, W. J., and Lord, A. R., nozoic seawater 87Sr/86Sr curve: Data review and implica- 1992, Macrofossil, planktonic foraminiferal and nannofossil tions for correlation of marine strata: Paleoceanography, chronology of the Maestrichtian strati- zonation at the Campanian/Maestrichtian boundary: News- v. 3, p. 743–756. letters on Stratigraphy, v. 27, p. 157–172. Krinsley, D. H., 1973, Age of the Mount Laurel and Navesink graphic record in New Jersey may or may Bybell, L. M., 1992, Calcareous nannofossils—Their use in inter- Formations at Marlboro, New Jersey from K-Ar meas- preting Paleocene and geologic events in the New urements of glauconite: Geological Society of America Bul- not agree with the sea level curve of Haq Jersey Coastal Plain, in Gohn, G. S., ed., Proceedings, U.S. letin, v. 84, p. 2143–2146. et al. (1987), in part due to time-scale dif- Geological Survey Workshop on the Geology and Geohy- Loutit, T. S., Hardenbol, J., Vail, P. R., and Baum, G. R., 1988, drology of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, 1988: U.S. Geological Condensed sections: The key to age dating and correlation ferences. The record of the New Jersey Survey Circular 1059, p. 9–13. of continental margin sequences, in Wilgus, C. K., Posa- Cande, S. C., and Kent, D. V., 1992, A new geomagnetic polarity mentier, H., Ross, C. A., and Kendall, C. G., eds., Sea-level margin was shaped by slow sedimentation time scale for the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic: Journal of changes: An integrated approach: Tulsa, Oklahoma, Society in the middle shelf during the late Cam- Geophysical Research, v. 97, p. 13 917–13 951. of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Special Pub- Caron, M., 1985, Cretaceous planktic foraminifera, in Bolli, H., lication 42, p. 183– 213. panian (Marshalltown Formation) and again Saunders, J. B., and Perch-Nielsen, K., eds., Plankton stra- Mancini, E. A., and Tew, B. H., 1993, Eustasy versus subsidence: tigraphy: Cambridge, , Cambridge Univer- Lower Paleocene depositional sequences from southern Al- in the early Maestrichtian (Navesink For- sity Press, p. 17–86. abama, eastern Gulf Coastal Plain: Geological Society of mation), punctuated by short, but rapid Casey, R., 1964, The Cretaceous Period, in The Phanerozoic time- America Bulletin, v. 105, p. 3–17. scale—A symposium: Geological Society of London Quar- Martin, E. E., and Macdougall, J. D., 1991, Seawater Sr isotopes pulses of nearshore marine clastic sedimen- terly Journal, v. 120s, p. 193–202. at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary: Earth and Planetary Cepek, P., and Hay, W. W., 1969, Calcareous nannoplankton and Science Letters, v. 104, p. 166–180. tation during the latest Campanian (Mount biostratigraphic subdivision of the Upper Cretaceous: Gulf Martini, E., 1971, Standard Tertiary and Quaternary calcareous Laurel Formation) and late Maestrichtian Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, nannoplankton zonation, in Proceedings, Planktonic Con- v. 19, p. 323–326. ference, 2nd, Rome, 1969: Rome, Italy, Edizioni Tecno- (Shrewsbury Member of the Red Bank For- Chave, A. D., 1984, Lower Paleogene–Upper Cretaceous magne- scienza, p. 739–785. tostratigraphy, Sites 525, 527, 528, and 529, Deep Sea Dril- McArthur, J. M., Thirlwall, M. F., Gale, A. S., Kennedy, W. J., mation and Tinton Formation). ling Project Leg 74, in Moore, T. C., Jr., Rabinowitz, P. D., Burnett, J. A., Mattey, D., and Lord, A. R., 1992a, Strontium and others, Initial reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, isotope stratigraphy for the Late Cretaceous: A new curve Volume 74: Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing based on the English Chalk, in Hailwood, E. A., and Kidd, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Office, p. 525–531. R. B., eds., High resolution stratigraphy: Geological Society Cobban, W. A., 1973, The Late Cretaceous ammonite Trachy- Special Publication 70, p. 195–209. scaphites pulcherrimus (Roemer) in New Jersey and : McArthur, J. M., Burnett, J., and Hancock, J. M., 1992b, Stron- J. P. Owens and G. S. Gohn of the U.S. U.S. Geological Survey Journal of Research, v. 1, p. 696–700. tium isotopes at K/T boundary: Nature, v. 355, p. 28. Cobban, W. A., 1974, Ammonites from the Navesink Formation at McArthur, J. M., Thirwall, M. F., Chen, M., Gale, A. S., and Geological Survey provided samples and Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: U.S. Geological Profes- Kennedy, W. J., 1993, Strontium isotope stratigraphy in the sional Paper 845, 21 p. Late Cretaceous: Numerical calibration of the Sr isotope stratigraphic data from the Clayton core- Cox, L. R., and 24 others, 1971, Treatise on invertebrate paleon- curve, and intercontinental correlation for the Campanian: tology, Part N, 6, Volume 3: Boulder, Colorado, Paleoceanography, v. 8, p. 859–873. hole, Freehold corehole, Poricy Brook, and Geological Society of America (and University of McArthur, J. M., Kennedy, W. J., Chen, M., Thirwall, M. F., and Big Brook. Owens also provided stratigraph- Press), p. 953–1224. Gale, A. S., 1994, Strontium isotope stratigraphy for Late Doeven, P. H., 1983, Cretaceous nannoplankton stratigraphy and Cretaceous time: Direct numerical calibration of the Sr ic advice on the sections. R. K. Olsson and paleoecology of the Canadian Atlantic margin: Geological isotope curve based on the US western interior: Palaeo- Survey of Canada Bulletin 356, p. 1–70. geography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, v. 108, C. Liu provided samples from the Atlantic Donovan, A. D., Baum, G. R., Blechschmidt, G. L., Loutit, T. S., p. 95–119. Highlands, El Kef (Tunisia), and Millers Pflum, C. E., and Vail, P. R., 1988, Sequence stratigraphic Miller, K. G., and Kent, D. V., 1987, Testing Cenozoic eustatic setting of the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in central Al- changes: The crucial role of stratigraphic resolution, in Ferry (Alabama). D. V. Kent (1993, per- abama, in Wilgus, C. K., Posamentier, H., Ross, C. A., and Ross, C., and Haman, D., eds., Timing and depositional Kendall, C. G., eds., Sea-level changes: An integrated ap- history of eustatic sequences: Constraints on seismic stra- sonal commun.) supplied the most recent proach: Tulsa, Oklahoma, Society of Economic Paleontol- tigraphy: Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research unpublished GPTS. N. H. M. Swinburne ogists and Mineralogists Special Publication 42, p. 299–307. Special Publication 24, p. 51–56. Draper, N. R., and Smith, H., 1981, Applied regression analysis: Miller, K. G., Feigenson, M. D., Wright, J. D., and Clement, B. M., generously allowed us to use her Sr-isotope New York, John Wiley, 709 p. 1991, isotope reference section, Deep Sea Drilling

36 Geological Society of America Bulletin, January 1995 UPPERMOST CAMPANIAN–MAESTRICHTIAN FRAMEWORK, NEW JERSEY

Project Site 608: An evaluation of isotope and biostrati- Olsson, R. K., Gibson, T. G., Hansen, H. J., and Owens, J. P., 1988, rado, Geological Society of America Special Paper 190, graphic resolution: Paleoceanography, v. 6, p. 33–52. Geology of the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain: Long Island p. 353–371. Minard, J. P., 1969, Geology of the Sandy Hook quadrangle in to Virginia, in, Sheridan, R. E., and Grow, J. A., eds., The Petters, S. W., 1976, Upper Cretaceous subsurface stratigraphy of Monmouth County New Jersey: U.S. Geological Survey Atlantic continental margin, U.S.: Boulder, Colorado, Ge- Atlantic Coastal Plain of New Jersey: American Association Bulletin 1276, 43 p., 1 map, scale 1:24 000. ological Society of America, Geology of , of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 60, p. 87–107. Minard, J. P., and Owens, J. P., 1962, Pre-Quaternary geology of v. I-2, p. 87–105. Petters, S. W., 1977, Upper Cretaceous planktonic foraminifera the New Egypt quadrangle: U.S. Geological Survey Map Oslick, J. F., Miller, K. M., Feigenson, M. D., and Wright, J. D., from the subsurface of the Atlantic Coastal Plain of New GQ-161, scale 1:24 000. 1994, Testing -Miocene strontium isotopic corre- Jersey: Journal of Foraminiferal Research, v. 7, p. 165–187. Monechi, S., and Thierstein, H. R., 1985, Late Cretaceous–Eocene lations: Relationships with an inferred glacioeustatic record: Richards, H. G., and others, 1958 (v. 1), 1962 (v. 2), The Creta- nannofossil and magnetostratigraphic correlations near Paleoceanography, v. 9, p. 427–443. ceous fossils of New Jersey: New Jersey Bureau of Geology Gubbio, Italy: Marine Micropaleontology, v. 9, p. 419–440. Owens, J. P., and Gohn, G. S., 1985, Depositional history of the and Topography Bulletin 61, 237 p. Nelson, B. K., MacLeod, G. K., and Ward, P. D., 1991, Rapid Cretaceous in the U.S. Atlantic Coastal Plain: Stra- Roth, P. H., 1978, Cretaceous nannoplankton biostratigraphy and change in strontium isotopic composition of sea water be- tigraphy, paleoenvironments, and tectonic controls of sed- oceanography of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, in Ben- fore the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary: Nature, v. 351, imentation, in Poag, C. W., ed., Geologic evolution of the son, W. E., Sheridan, R. E., and others, Initial reports of the p. 644–647. United States Atlantic margin: New York, Van Nostrand Deep Sea Drilling Project, V. 44: Washington, D.C., U.S. Obradovich, J. D., 1988, A different perspective on glauconite as Reinhold, p. 25–86. Government Printing Office, p. 731–759. a chronometer for studies: Paleocean- Owens, J. P., and Minard, J. P., 1962, Pre-Quaternary geology of Sugarman, P. J., Miller, K. G., Owens, J. P., and Feigenson, M. D., ography, v. 3, p. 757–790. the Columbus quadrangle: U.S. Geological Survey Map 1993, Strontium-isotope and sequence stratigraphy of the Olsson, R. K., 1960, Foraminifera of latest Cretaceous and earliest GQ-160, scale 1:24 000. Miocene Kirkwood Formation, southern New Jersey: Geo- Tertiary age in the New Jersey Coastal Plain: Journal of Owens, J. P., and Sohl, N. F., 1969, Shelf and deltaic paleoenvi- logical Society of America Bulletin, v. 105, p. 423–436. Paleontology, v. 34, p. 1–58. ronments in the Cretaceous-Tertiary formations of the New Swisher, C. C., and 11 others, 1992, Coeval 40Ar/39Ar ages of 65.0 Olsson, R. K., 1963, Latest Cretaceous and earliest Tertiary stra- Jersey Coastal Plain, in Subitsky, S., ed., Geology of selected million years ago from Chicxulub crater melt rock and tigraphy of New Jersey Coastal Plain: American Association areas in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania and guide- Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary tektites: Science, v. 257, of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 47, p. 643–645. book of excursions: New Brunswick, New Jersey, Rutgers p. 954–958. Olsson, R. K., 1964, Late Cretaceous planktonic foraminifera from University Press, p. 235–278. Thierstein, H. R., 1976, Mesozoic calcareous nannoplankton bio- New Jersey and Delaware: Micropaleontology, v. 10, Owens, J. P., and Sohl, N. F., 1973, Glauconites from New Jersey– stratigraphy of marine sediments: Marine Micropaleontol- p. 157–188. Maryland Coastal Plain: Their K-Ar ages and applications in ogy, v. 1, p. 325–362. Olsson, R. K., 1988, Foraminiferal modeling of sea level change in stratigraphic studies: Geological Society of America Bulle- Van Wagoner, J. C., Posamentier, H. W., Mitchum, R. M., Vail, the Late Cretaceous of New Jersey, in Wilgus, C. K., Posa- tin, v. 84, p. 2811–2838. P. R., Sarg, J. F., Loutit, T. S., and Hardenbol, J., 1988, An mentier, H., Ross, C. A., and Kendall, C. G., eds., Sea-level Owens, J. P., Minard, J. P., Sohl, N. F., and Mello, J. F., 1970, overview of the fundamentals of seismic stratigraphy, in Wil- changes: An integrated approach: Tulsa, Oklahoma, Society Stratigraphy of the outcropping post-Magothy Upper Cre- gus, C. K., Posamentier, H. W., Ross, C. A., and Kendall, of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Special Pub- taceous formations in southern New Jersey and northern C. G., eds., Sea-level changes: An integrated approach: lication 42, p. 289–297. Delmarva Peninsula, Delaware and Maryland: U.S. Geo- Tulsa, Oklahoma, Society of Economic Paleontologists and Olsson, R. K., 1991, Cretaceous to Eocene sea-level fluctuations logical Survey Professional Paper 674, 60 p. Mineralogists Special Publication 42, p. 39–45. on the New Jersey margin: Sedimentary Geology, v. 70, Owens, J. P., Sohl, N. F., and Minard, J. P., 1977, A field guide to Veizer, Jan, 1989, Strontium isotopes in seawater through time: p. 195–208. Cretaceous and lower Tertiary beds of the Raritan and Sal- Annual Reviews in Earth and Planetary Science, v. 17, Olsson, R. K., and Chengjie Liu, 1993, Controversies on the place- isbury embayments, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland: p. 141–167. ment of the K/P mass extinction of planktonic foraminifera: Washington, D.C., American Association of Petroleum Ge- Walker, R. G., and Eyles, C. H., 1991, Topography and signifi- Palaios, v. 8, p. 127–139. ologists and Society of Economic Paleontologists and Min- cance of a basinwide sequence-bounding erosion surface in Olsson, R. K., and Usmani, P. A., 1992, Upper Cretaceous foram- eralogists, 113 p. the Cretaceous Cardium Formation, , Canada: Jour- inifera in Santonian to Maestrichtian depositional se- Perch-Nielsen, K., 1985, Mesozoic calcareous nannofossils, in nal of Sedimentary Petrology, v. 61, p. 473–496. quences in the New Jersey Coastal Plain, in Ishizaki, K., and Bolli, H. M., Saunders, J. B., and Perch-Nielsen, K., eds., Saito, T., eds., Centenary of Japanese micropaleontology: To- Plankton stratigraphy: Cambridge, United Kingdom, Cam- kyo, Japan, Terra Scientific Publishing Company, p. 301–315. bridge University Press, p. 329–426. Olsson, R. K., and Wise, S. W., 1987, Upper Maestrichtian to Perch-Nielsen, K., McKenzie, J., and He, Quiziang, 1982, Bio- middle Eocene stratigraphy of the New Jersey slope and stratigraphy and isotope stratigraphy and the ‘catastroph- coastal plain, in Blakeslee, J. H., and Whalen, E., eds., Ini- ic’ extinction of calcareous nannoplankton at the MANUSCRIPT RECEIVED BY THE SOCIETY JANUARY 12, 1994 tial reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, Volume 93: Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary, in Silver, L. T., and REVISED MANUSCRIPT RECEIVED JUNE 17, 1994 Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office, Schultz, P. H., eds., Geological implications of impacts of MANUSCRIPT ACCEPTED JUNE 22, 1994 p. 1343–1365. large asteroids and comets on the Earth: Boulder, Colo- LAMONT-DOHERTY EARTH OBSERVATORY CONTRIBUTION 5274

Printed in U.S.A.

Geological Society of America Bulletin, January 1995 37