Global InformationHesseltal Formation information
| Hesseltal Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Planerkalk Group |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Marl, limestone |
| Other | Black shale |
| Location | |
| Country |  Germany |
| Extent | North Rhine-Westphalia Lower Saxony |
| Type section | |
| Named by | Hiss, Kaplan & Wiese |
| Year defined | 2007 |
The Hesseltal Formation or Blackcoloured Formation is a Late Cretaceous (late Cenomanian to early Turonian) geological formation from northern Germany. It consists of lithified marls and limestone, with a unique series of black shales deposited in anoxic conditions during the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary event.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
It provides an important record of the fauna of the proto-North Sea basin. The formation's diversity of fossil fish is thought to be due to a consequence of an expanding oxygen minimum zone that caused mass mortalities among different communities of fish, including both those associated with warm surface waters and those associated with colder waters from upwelling. The anoxic conditions allowed for detailed preservation of some of these fish, including bony fish with their stomach contents preserved and even a few partial body fossils of cartilaginous fish.[5][7] Fossil ammonites with preserved soft parts are also known.[8]
The formation's deposition also documents the Plenus Cold Event, an enigmatic, brief but severe cooling event that occurred during the otherwise rapid global warming from the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary event, possibly as a consequence of changing ocean circulation.[5]
- ^ "PBDB Strata Results". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ Voigt, Silke; Aurag, Aissa; Leis, Florian; Kaplan, Ulrich (2007-01-15). "Late Cenomanian to Middle Turonian high-resolution carbon isotope stratigraphy: New data from the Münsterland Cretaceous Basin, Germany". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 253 (1): 196–210. Bibcode:2007E&PSL.253..196V. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2006.10.026. ISSN 0012-821X.
- ^ Diedrich, Cajus G. (2013-04-01). "Facies related phylostratigraphy of the benthic neoselachian Ptychodus from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian/Turonian) of the Pre-North Sea Basin of Europe". Cretaceous Research. 41: 17–30. Bibcode:2013CrRes..41...17D. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2012.10.007. ISSN 0195-6671.
- ^ Hetzel, Almut; März, Christian; Vogt, Christoph; Brumsack, Hans-Jürgen (2011). "Geochemical environment of Cenomanian - Turonian black shale deposition at Wunstorf (northern Germany)". Cretaceous Research. 32 (4): 480–494. Bibcode:2011CrRes..32..480H. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2011.03.004. ISSN 0195-6671.
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
:3was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ van Helmond, N. a. G. M.; Sluijs, A.; Sinninghe Damsté, J. S.; Reichart, G.-J.; Voigt, S.; Erbacher, J.; Pross, J.; Brinkhuis, H. (2015-03-18). "Freshwater discharge controlled deposition of Cenomanian–Turonian black shales on the NW European epicontinental shelf (Wunstorf, northern Germany)". Climate of the Past. 11 (3): 495–508. Bibcode:2015CliPa..11..495V. doi:10.5194/cp-11-495-2015. ISSN 1814-9324.
- ^ Hunt, Adrian P.; Milàn, Jesper; Lucas, Spencer G.; Spielmann, Justin A. (2012). Vertebrate Coprolites: Bulletin 57. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.
- ^ Klug, Christian; Riegraf, Wolfgang; Lehmann, Jens (2012). "Soft–part preservation in heteromorph ammonites from the Cenomanian–Turonian Boundary Event (OAE 2) in north–west Germany". Palaeontology. 55 (6): 1307–1331. Bibcode:2012Palgy..55.1307K. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2012.01196.x. ISSN 0031-0239.