Clumped isotope record of salinity variations in the Subboreal Province at the Middle–Late Jurassic transition

Results of clumped isotope, oxygen isotope and elemental (Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca) analyses of exceptionally well-preserved belemnite rostra and ammonite shells from the uppermost Callovian–Upper Kimmeridgian (Lamberti–Mutabilis zones) of the Russian Platform are presented. Despite a significant decrease in belemnite δ18O values across the Upper Oxfordian–Lower Kimmeridgian, the clumped isotope data show a constant seawater temperature (ca. 16 °C) in the studied interval. The decrease in belemnite δ18O values and lower δ18O values measured from ammonite shells are interpreted as a result of the salinity decline of the Middle Russian Sea of ca. 12‰, and salinity stratification of the water column, respectively. The postulated secular palaeoenvironmental changes are linked to the inflow of subtropical, saline waters from the Tethys Ocean during a sea-level highstand at the Middle–Late Jurassic transition, and progressive isolation and freshening of the Middle Russian Sea during the Late Oxfordian–Kimmeridgian. The obtained clumped isotope data demonstrate relative stability of the Late Jurassic climate and a paramount effect of local palaeoceanographic conditions on carbonate δ18O record of shallow epeiric seas belonging to the Subboreal Province. Variations in Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios of cylindroteuthid belemnite rostra, which are regarded by some authors as temperature proxies, are, in turn, interpreted to be primarily dependent on global changes in seawater chemistry. The paleoenvironmental variations deduced from clumped and oxygen isotope records of the Russian Platform correspond well with changes in local cephalopod and microfossil faunas, which show increasing provincialism during the Late Oxfordian and the Early Kimmeridgian. Based on the review of literature data it is suggested that the observed salinity decrease and restriction of Subboreal basins during the Late Jurassic played a major role in the formation of periodic bottom water anoxia and sedimentation of organic rich facies

Integrated stratigraphy of the Upper Barremian–Aptian sediments from the south-eastern Crimea

Previous studies made in different parts of the world have shown that Barremian–Aptian times imply many difficulties in deciphering the biostratigraphy, microfossil evolution and correlation of bioevents. In an attempt to improve our knowledge of this period in a particular area of the Tethyan realm, we present the first integrated study of microbiota (including planktonic foraminifera, calcareous nannofossils, ostracods and palynomorphs) and magnetostratigraphy of the upper Barremian–Aptian sediments from south-eastern Crimea. The nannofossils display the classical Tethyan chain of bioevents in this interval, while the planktonic foraminifera demonstrate an incomplete succession of stratigraphically important taxa. Our study enabled the recognition of a series of biostratigraphic units by means of four groups of microfossils correlated to polarity chrons. The detailed analysis of the microfossil distribution led to a biostratigraphic characterization of the Barremian/Aptian transition and brought to light an interval, which may correspond to the OAE1a