A proposal for the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Pliensbachian Stage (Lower Jurassic)

Meister, C; Blau, J; Dommergues, J; Feist-Burkhardt, S; Hart, M; Hesselbo, S; Hylton, M; Page, K; Price, G

Journal article

A proposal for the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Pliensbachian Stage (Lower Jurassic)

Abstract:: Wine Haven, a coastal exposure at Robin Hood's Bay (North Yorkshire, UK), fulfils the criteria indicated in the Guidelines of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) (Remane et al. 1996) for definition as the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Pliensbachian Stage (Early Jurassic): 1) The succession of about 30m comprises pale grey and buff-coloured sandy mudstones which very gradually pass upward into silty dark grey shales. This marine sequence was deposited during an overall transgression and is relatively expanded stratigraphically. 2) There is absence of unconformities in the Sinemurian-Pliensbachian interval and the exposure is continuous. 3) Ammonites are abundant and well preserved, enabling detailed correlations to be made (see Dommergues and Meister 1992). The ammonite fauna below the boundary interval allows recognition of the Leptechioceras gr. meigeini, Paltechioceras aureolum and Paltechioceras tardecrescens horizons of latest Sinemurian age and, above the boundary, the Bifericeras donovani and Apoderoceras gr. aculeatum horizons of earliest Pliensbachian age. A suitable level for the boundary is defined with the association of the Bifericeras donovani DOMMERGUES and MEISTER and Apoderoceras sp. at the base of bed 73b. Other fossils (palynomorphs, foraminiferas, ostracods, etc) give no precise biostratigraphic information or have not been studied. 4) Complementary results are: a) Strontium-isotope stratigraphy, based on analysis of belemnites which yield a calcite 87Sr/86Sr ratio for the suggested boundary level of 0.707425 and supports an interpretation of continuous sedimentation. b) Belemnite oxygen-isotope data indicate a significant temperature drop (-5 °C) across the boundary at this locality. c) A Transgressive Systems Tract (TST) initiated in the Aplanatum Subzone (uppermost Sinemurian) continues into the Lowermost Pliensbachian (Taylori Subzone): it forms part of a transgressive facies cycle sensu Graciansky et al. 5) The section is well exposed in the cliff and on the foreshore and access is straight forward. 6) Structural complexity and metamorphism are negligible. 7) The locality is the part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and thereby under statutory protection.

Publication status:: Published

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APA Style

Meister, C., Blau, J., Dommergues, J., Feist-Burkhardt, S., Hart, M., Hesselbo, S., Hylton, M., Page, K., & Price, G. (2003). A proposal for the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Pliensbachian Stage (Lower Jurassic). ECLOGAE GEOLOGICAE HELVETIAE, 96(2), 275–297.

MLA Style

Meister, C., et al. “A Proposal for the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Base of the Pliensbachian Stage (Lower Jurassic).” ECLOGAE GEOLOGICAE HELVETIAE, vol. 96, no. 2, 2003, pp. 275–97.

Chicago Style

Meister, C, J Blau, J Dommergues, S Feist-Burkhardt, M Hart, S Hesselbo, M Hylton, K Page, and G Price. 2003. “A Proposal for the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Base of the Pliensbachian Stage (Lower Jurassic).” ECLOGAE GEOLOGICAE HELVETIAE 96 (2): 275–97.
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