Cenomanian through Lower Coniacian events in the Upper Cretaceous of Saxony, Germany

Abstract

The event sequence recognised in the Cenomanian through basal Coniacian (Late Cretaceous) of the Elbe Valley is compared with the event stratigraphic scheme worked out in NW Germany. The following events, recognised originally in Lower Saxony, and subsequently in other Cretaceous areas of north-western Europe, were found in Saxony: Schloenbachia / virgatus eustatoevent (Lower Cenomanian); Chondrites ecoevent, Puzosia eustatoevent and plenus eustatoevent (Upper Cenomanian); hattini ecoevent, Mytiloides ecoevents, hercynicus ecoevent, Hyphantoceras ecoevent, Didymotis ecoevents and waltersdorfensis ecoevent (Turonian); erectus ecoevent, hannovrensis ecoevent, and incostans ecoevent (Lower Coniacian). Both the oxic/anoxic Cenomanian/Turonian boundary event and the facies change at the base of the Metoicoceras geslinianum Zone are recognisable. With the exception of the Mytiloides ecoevents, recorded in all facies types, all the events are well developed only in the marly-silty facies.Local events, specific to the Cretaceous of Saxony are: the Late Cenomanian Pennrich event, known from the Sudetic area, and the Middle Turonian rhynchonellid events, occurring in sandy and transitional facies between Pirna and Bad Schandau.