PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY, cilt.441, ss.453-466, 2016 (SCI-Expanded)
This study focuses on the palaeoclimatic evolution and relative sea-level fluctuations of the northern branch of NeoTethys during the late Campanian-early Danian. The studied succession (ismailler Section) is located in the Mudurnu-Goynuk Basin, NW Turkey and dominated by apparently continuous pelagic muddy deposits. Stable isotopic and elemental compositions of the mudrocks are investigated in order to evaluate the palaeoceanographic conditions as well as broad tectonic reconstruction of the basin. The mudrock geochemistry suggests a tectonic reorganization during late Campanian as reflected by a distinct shift from felsic to mafic sediment provenance. In the ismailler Section, five delta C-13 events are identified; four or which are well correlatable with major events in other records around the world, such as the late Campanian Event (LCE), Campanian-Maastrictian Boundary (CMB) and the late Maastrichtian Event (LME). The relative sea-level variations in the basin typically match both short- and long-term global sea-level fluctuations. The remaining globally uncorrelatable delta C-13 event does coincide with tectonic uplift and the abrupt negative delta C-13 shift, and is inferred to be the result of regional factors. The dominance of worldwide events in the records of the relatively restricted ocean branch reflects the strength of global factors. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.