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The age and regional context of the thanetian

stratotype sections of SE England
a
Robert W.O'B. Knox
a
British Geological Survey , Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, U.K. Fax:
Published online: 09 Dec 2009.

To cite this article: Robert W.O'B. Knox (1994) The age and regional context of the thanetian stratotype sections of SE
England, GFF, 116:1, 55-56, DOI: 10.1080/11035899409546151

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 GFF116 (1994) Meeting proceedings "Stratigraphy of the Paleocene" 55

Table 1. Sample details of the Bradwell Borehole. Fig. 2. Late Thanetian Mart ini Varol
Depth in metres. + indicates the presence of both nannoplankton 19 71 1989 BRADWELL
Paleocene and Cretaceous nannofossils, c indicates zonation schemes. The
the occurrence of Cretaceous nannofossils, and - the NTp mid to low NP9 NTp B
absence of nannofossils.
latitude zonation .D.multiradiatus
tus _i 16 — D.multiradiatus
59.16 - 65.97 + 69.28 + 73.88 _ scheme of Varol A
59.45 - 66.07 + 69.35 + 74.15 c i— H.kleinpelli
(1989) is correlated NTp15
59.74 - 66.47 + 69.40 + 74.35 + with the NP standard i— H.riedelii
60.82 - 66.62 + 69.45 + 74.65 _ NP8
61.05 - 66.80 + c.70.00 + 74.90 + nannoplankton NTp 14
61.30 - 67.05 + 71.15 _ 75.23 . _ zonation of Martini

I
61.35 - 67.25 + 71.25 c 75.55 c (1971). After Varol - B.elegans. Z.clausus
61.40 - 67.57 + 71.40 c 77.35 _ NTp 13
(1989, fig. 12.4). . H.riedelii • D.drieveri •— H.riedelii
61.44 + 68.00 + 71.55 c 77.67 +
63.18 - 68.40 c 71.75 c 77.95 c NTp12
63.49 - 68.60 + 72.08 + 78.17 _ NP7
63.85 - 68.80 + 72.35 c 81.52 _ - F.billii. F.ulii
63.95 + 68.85 72.52 c 81.88 c B
64.31 + 69.00 — 72.63 c 82.19 c . O.mohleri— NTp i D.mohleri. S.anarrhopus
'
64.61 + 69.05 + 73.12 _ 88.27 — 11
A
64.85 + 69.15 73.20 _ NP6 - F.pileatus. F.janii
65.21 + 69.25 + 73.45 - 1
— C.bid ens
i H.kleinpelliU i iNoTp i H.kleinpelli
A
Downloaded by [McGill University Library] at 07:20 03 October 2014

ring at 69.35 m and the first record of H. NP5 NTp 9

reidelii at 69.45 m.
The borehole section at Bradwell thus
provides a valuable biostratigraphic refer-
ence section for the Thanetian in the type
region of southeast England, allowing a
more precise calcareous nannoplankton
zonation than the historical stratotype sec-
tions. The regional significance of this ad-
ditional biostratigraphic data is discussed
more fully in Knox et al. (in press) and in
Knox (1994).
Acknowledgements. - UK Nirex Ltd. are thanked for
permission to publish data from the Bradwell 217
borehole, and Conoco UK Ltd. for the partial funding
of this research. This paper is a contribution to the
IGCP Project 308 "Paleocene-Eocene Boundary
Events".
References
Aubry, M.-P., 1983: Biostratigraphie du Paléogène
de l'Europe épicontinentale du Nord-Ouest, étude
fondée sur les nannofossiles calcaires. Documents
des laboratoires de géologie de Lyon 89,1-317.
Aubry, M.-P., 1986: Paleogene calcareous nanno-
plankton biostratigraphy of northwestern Europe.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoeco-
logy 55,267-334.
Knox, R.W.O'B., 1994:Theageandregional context
of the Thanetian stratotype sections of SE England.
GFF 116,55-56.
Knox, R.W. O'B., Hine, N.M. & Ali, J.R, in press:
New information on the age and sequence strati-
graphy of the type Thanetian of southeast England.
Newsletters on Stratigraphy.
Martini, E., 1971 : Standard Tertiary and Quarternary
calcareous nannoplankton zonation. In A. Farinacci
(ed.): Proceedings of the 2nd Planktonic Confer-
ence, Rome 1970, 739-785. Editizione Techno-
scienza, Roma.
Siesser, W.G., Ward, D. & Lord, A., 1987: Calcareous
nannoplankton biozonation of the Thanetian Stage
(Paleocene) in the type area. Journal of Micro-
palaeontology 6,85-102.
Varol, O., 1989: Paleocene calcareous nannofossil
biostratigraphy. In J.A. Crux & S.E. Van Heck
(eds.): Nannofossils and their applications, 267-
310. Ellis Horwood Ltd.
Wei, W. & Wise, S.W., 1989: Paleogene calcareous
nannofossil magnetobiochronology: results from
South Atlantic DSDP Site 516. Marine Micro-
paleontology 14,119-152.
Nicolette M. Hine, Industrial Palynology Unit,
University of Sheffield, Mappin Building, Shef-
field SI 3JD, UK.

The age and regional context of the Thanetian stratotype sections of SE England
ROBERT W. O'B. KNOX

The Thanetian stratotype sections of Pegwell Bay and Herne Bay
(ThanetFormation)havebeen the subjectof detailed investigations
in recent years, with new information being obtained on their cal-
careous nannoplankton zonation (Siesser et al. 1987) and magneto-
stratigraphy. It is unlikely that further significant biochrono-
stratigraphic data will be obtained from these sections, since the
magnetostratigraphy is now well established (see Ali 1994) and
the sparseness and poor preservation of the calcareous microfauna
and nannoflora would seem to preclude further biostratigraphic
resolution. The relatively detailed palynological subdivision of
the Thanet Formation proposed by Jolley (1993) has not been
tested outside southern England and does not, therefore, assist in
assigning the strata to standard biozones.
A more detailed record of the calcareous nannofossil zonation
of the Thanet Formation has recently been obtained from a cored
borehole at Bradwell, some 50 km northwest of the stratotype
sections. This section has provided the most complete record of
calcareous nannoplankton assemblages yet obtained from southern
England (see Knox et al. in press; Hine 1994). Assemblages are
assigned to the NP zones of Martini (1971) via the NTp zonation
of Varol (1989). They range from NP6 to NP8, with NP7 only
thinly represented because of a non-sequence in the middle part of
the section. In the stratotype sections, this non-sequence occurs at
the base of the Reculver Silts, and zone NP7 may be absent al-
together. The record of a normal polarity section (Chron 26n) at
the base of the Thanet Formation at Pegwell Bay (see Ali 1994) is
confirmed in the Bradwell core. The association of Chron 26n
with the upper part of zone NP6 is in accordance with the bio-
magnetostratigraphic compilation of Wei & Wise (1989).
Three sequences (BD1-3) are defined in the Bradwell section,
each withapebblyglauconite-richunitatthebase. They are believed
to represent events of regional extent, although the full succession
of three sequences has not yet been identified outside the Bradwell
area. Correlation with the stratotype sections equates the base of
sequence BDI with the base at the base of the Bullhead Bed (base
Thanet Formation) and the base of sequence BD2 with the base of
the Reculver Silts.
In the Sizewell Borehole, some 80 km northeast of Bradwell, the
 56 Meeting proceedings "Stratigraphy of the Paleocene"
Central
Denmark North Sea Ormesby Hales Sizewell
FUR SELE WOOLWICH &
FM. FM.
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Downloaded by [McGill University Library] at 07:20 03 October 2014
not to scale J
sandstone-dominated Thanet Formation is represented by a suc-
cession of glauconitic mudstones, assigned to a unit known as the
Ormesby Clay. A red mudstone unit near the base of the Sizewell
succession can be traced southwards into a pinkish siltstone that
occurs near the base of the type Thanet Formation. This indicates
that the basal beds in the two sections are broadly time-equivalent,
an inference confirmed by the identification of Chron 26n at the
base of the Sizewell section. To the north of Sizewell, older beds
enter the succession, so that in the Hales and Ormesby boreholes,
the red mudstone unit occurs near the middle of the succession, as
does Chron 26n. The age of these older sediments cannot be
precisely determined from biostratigraphic data, but they clearly
fall within Chron 26r.
The Ormesby Clay is represented off shore by the Lista Formation.
Over much of the southern North Sea, the Lista Formation rests
directly on Cretaceous chalk. In the Central North Sea it is underlain
by the Maureen Formation, which, in sand-free sections, consists
of grey, non-calcareous mudstones underlain by marls. Lithologi-
cal comparison with the succession in Denmark suggests that the
Maureen Formation is equivalent to the Lellinge Greensand,
Kerteminde Marl and Grey Noncalcareous Clay, and that the Lista
Formation is equivalent to the Holmehus Clay. The base of the
type Thanetian thus probably correlates with a level within the
Holmehus Clay, in the uppermost part of the Danish Selandian.
From regional stage to standard stage: implications for the historical Paleogene stratotypes of
NW Europe
ROBERT W. O'B. KNOX
Although the adoption of historical stage names as standard stage
names may be seen as giving appropriate recognition to the
pioneering work of earlier generations of geologists, it can have
unfortunate consequences in the subsequent application of stage
names to the historical stratotypes. The historical NW European
Paleogene stages were generally related to rock units, often bounded
GFF116 (1994)
Heme Bay / Fig. 1. Correlation of
Bradwell Pegwell Bay Belgium the Thanetian stratotype
sections of SE England
READING BEDS with the stage stratotype
successions of Denmark
and Belgium. Inset map:
shaded area indicates
limit of Thanetian strata.
— R — Red-sediment marker (base)
References
Ali, J.R., 1994: Magnetostratigraphy of the upper Paleocene and lowermost Eo-
cene of SE England. GFF 116, 41-42.
Hine, N.M., 1994: Calcareous nannoplankton assemblages from the Thanet For-
mation in Bradwell Borehole, Essex, England. GFF 116, 54-55.
Jolley, D.W., 1992: Palynofloral association sequence stratigraphy of the Paleo-
cene Thanet beds and equivalent sediments in eastern England. Review of
Palaeobotany and Palynology 74, 207-237.
Knox, R.W.O'B.&Holloway,S., 1992: l.Paleogene. In R.W.O'B. Knox&W.G.
Cordey (eds.): Lithostratigraphic Nomenclature of the UKNorth Sea. 133 pp.
British Geological Survey.
Knox, R.W. O'B., Hine, N.M. & Ali, J.R., in press: New information on the age
and sequence stratigraphy of the type Thanetian of southeast England. News-
letters on Stratigraphy.
Martini, E., 1971: Standard Tertiary and Quaternary calcareous nannoplankton
zonation. In A. Farinacci (ed.): Proceedings of the 2nd Planktonic Conference,
Rome 1970, Volume 2, 739-785. Editizione Technoscienza, Rome.
Siesser, W.G., Ward, D.J. & Lord, A.R., 1987: Calcareous nannoplankton bio-
zonation of the Thanetian Stage (Palaeocene) in the type area. Journal of
Micropaleontology 6, 85-102.
Varol, O., 1989: Palaeocene calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy. In J.A. Crux
& S.E. Van Heck (eds.): Nannofossils and their Applications, 267-310. Ellis
Horwood Ltd.
Wei, W. & Wise, S.W., 1989: Paleogene calcareous nannofossil magnetobiochron-
ology: results from South Atlantic DSDP Site 516. Marine Micropaleontology
14, 119-152.
Robert W.O'B. Knox, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham
NG12 5GG, U.K. Fax: +44-602-363200.
by unconformities, and represented what were perceived as signifi-
cant long-term changes in environment and style of sedimentation
within a restricted geographical area. By contrast, standard stages
are for the most part selected in relation to standard biozones, and
are often defined in areas remote from the eponymous historical
stratotypes. Because the standard biozones may not be well rep-