Paleoclimate and paleoenvironment reconstruction of paleosols spanning the Lower to Upper Cretaceous from the Rukwa Rift Basin, Tanzania

Orr, Theresa J., Roberts, Eric M., Wurster, Chris M., Mtelela, Cassy, Stevens, Nancy J., and O'connor, Patrick M. (2021) Paleoclimate and paleoenvironment reconstruction of paleosols spanning the Lower to Upper Cretaceous from the Rukwa Rift Basin, Tanzania. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 577. 110539.

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Abstract

The Cretaceous Period is considered the archetypical greenhouse interval, yet there is mounting evidence for intermittent cooler climatic phases throughout this geologic span. Few continental climate histories exist for the Cretaceous south of the paleoequator, and fewer still for Africa during this time. The Cretaceous Galula Formation is one of the few exposed fossiliferous continental sedimentary successions from what is now subequatorial Africa that also contains paleosols and spans both the Early and Late Cretaceous series. Bulk sediment and pedogenic carbonate nodules were sampled from paleosols located throughout ~500 m of the Galula Formation stratotype section, including four from the lower Mtuka Member (Aptian-Cenomanian) and four from the upper Namba Member (Cenomanian-Campanian), to reconstruct the paleoclimate and paleoenvironment of the Rukwa Rift Basin. The Mtuka paleosols developed on channel fill deposits in a semi-arid climate amidst well-defined wet and dry seasons that predominantly generated vertic Calcisols. Geochemical and morphological climofunctions determined that mean annual precipitation (MAP) increased up-section from 454 to 860 mm/yr, whereas the δ18O values of pedogenic carbonates and Bt horizon major-element paleothermometry estimated mean annual temperature (MAT) remained relatively steady, ranging between 12.9 and 13.9 °C throughout the Mtuka Member. The paleosols of the overlying Namba Member formed on channel fill and overbank deposits proximal to the main channels, in a semi-arid to sub-humid climate with little seasonality, forming mostly calcic Argillisols. The Namba paleosols formed under slightly wetter and cooler conditions, recording MAP values between 602 and 987 mm/yr, and MAT estimates between 10.3 and 12.5 °C. These data are consistent with the Mtuka paleosols corresponding to the cool greenhouse period that spanned the Aptian-Albian, with the Namba paleosols corresponding to Late Cretaceous cooling following the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum. This work demonstrates that temperate conditions prevailed in the Rukwa Rift Basin during the mid-Late Cretaceous.

Item ID: 70159
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1872-616X
Keywords: Africa, Cretaceous paleoclimate, Paleosol geochemistry, Pedogenesis, Pedogenic carbonate, Stable isotope
Copyright Information: © 2021 Elsevier B.V.
Date Deposited: 26 Nov 2021 08:14
FoR Codes: 37 EARTH SCIENCES > 3705 Geology > 370509 Sedimentology @ 50%
37 EARTH SCIENCES > 3709 Physical geography and environmental geoscience > 370904 Palaeoclimatology @ 50%
SEO Codes: 19 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND NATURAL HAZARDS > 1905 Understanding climate change > 190599 Understanding climate change not elsewhere classified @ 40%
28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280107 Expanding knowledge in the earth sciences @ 60%
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