Chemical and Pb Isotope Composition of Phenocrysts from Bentonites Constrains the Chronostratigraphy around the Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary in the Hell Creek Region, Montana

Authors

Ryan B. Ickert
Sean R. Mulcahy, Western Washington UniversityFollow
Courtney J. Sprain
Jessica F. Banaszak
Paul R. Renne

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2015

Keywords

Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, Geochronology

Abstract

An excellent record of environmental and paleobiological change around the CretaceousPaleogene boundary is preserved in the Hell Creek and Fort Union Formations in the western Williston Basin of northeastern Montana. These records are present in fluvial deposits whose lateral discontinuity hampers long-distance correlation. Geochronology has been focused on bentonite beds that are often present in lignites. To better identify unique bentonites for correlation across the region, the chemical and Pb isotopic composition of feldspar and titanite has been measured on 46 samples. Many of these samples have been dated by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar. The combination of chemical and isotopic compositions of phenocrysts has enabled the identification of several unique bentonite beds. In particular, three horizons located at and above the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary can now be traced—based on their unique compositions—across the region, clarifying previously ambiguous stratigraphic relationships. Other bentonites show unusual features, such as Pb isotope variations consistent with magma mixing or assimilation, that will make them easy to recognize in future studies. This technique is limited in some cases by more than one bentonite having compositions that cannot be distinguished, or bentonites with abundant xenocrysts. The Pb isotopes are consistent with a derivation from the Bitterroot Batholith, whose age range overlaps that of the tephra. These data provide an improved stratigraphic framework for the Hell Creek region and provide a basis for more focused tephrostratigraphic work, and more generally demonstrate that the combination of mineral chemistry and Pb isotope compositions is an effective technique for tephra correlation.

Publication Title

Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems

Volume

16

First Page

2743

Last Page

2761

Required Publisher's Statement

Copyright 2015 American Geophysical Union

DOI: 10.1002/2015GC005898

Recommended Citation

Ickert, R., Mulcahy, S.R., Sprain, C.J., Banaszak, J.F., and Renne, P.R., 2015, Chemical and Pb-isotope composition of phenocrysts from bentonites constrain the chronostratigraphy around the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary in the Hell Creek region, Montana, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, v. 16, p. 2743–2761, 10.1002/2015GC005898.

Subjects - Topical (LCSH)

Isotope geology--Montana; Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary--Montana; Subbituminous coal--Montana

Geographic Coverage

Montana

Genre/Form

articles

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf