Research-paper
Santonian to Maastrichtian stratigraphy of some pelagic limestone sections of the Venetian Alps (Northern Italy)
Massari, F.; Medizza, F. ; Channell, J. E. T.
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Abstract
The stratigraphy of three Upper Cretaceous Scaglia Rossa sections of the Venetian Alps (Northern Italy) is discussed. The microfossil content of the Scaglia Rossa formation is abundant and consists mostly of calcareous nannofossils and planktonic foraminifera. Benthic foraminifera, such as Bolivina, Bolivinoides, Aragonia, Neoflabellina, Stensioeina etc., are also present but much less frequent. Macrofossils are rare and mainly represented by Echinoids and Inocerams. The upper part of the Scaglia Rossa is characterized by stratigraphic gaps, generally marked by abrupt changes in lithology, omission surfaces or hardgrounds. A continuous sedimentary sequence cannot be found in any Scaglia Rossa section of the Venetian area. The most important unconformities can be followed on a regional scale and are located at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary and within the Campanian. Biostratigraphic subdivision was primarily based on planktonic foraminifera and, from the Upper Campanian upwards, also on calcareous nannofossils. A detailed magnetostratigraphic study of the sections allowed correlation of the Upper Cretaceous reversal sequence directiy with the planktonic foraminiferal and calcareous nannofossil zonations. Most of the polarity zones found in the magnetostratigraphic type-section of Gubbio are present in the Venetian Alps and can be correlated from one section to another.