The northernmost marine Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary section: Nuussuaq, West Greenland

Abstract

A new northern high-latitude Cretaceous–Tertiary (K–T) boundary section has been studied at Annertuneq on the north coast of Nuussuaq, central West Greenland (Fig. 1). This boundary section (Fig. 2) is the northernmost marine boundary section recognised so far (placed at palaeolatitude 58°N by Smith et al. 1981) and has been studied with respect to palynology, palaeontology, sedimentology, rare earth elements, magnetic susceptibility and carbon isotopes in order to describe and provide the context for the marine floristic changes across the K–T boundary in high northern latitudes (Nøhr-Hansen & Dam 1997; Kennedy et al. in press). The present paper is a summary of a research project on the K–T boundary section at Annertuneq, supported by the Carlsberg Foundation.