The K–T boundary strata north of Korsnæb, Stevns Klint, Denmark – evolution and geometry revealed in a long, horizontal profile

Abstract

A 460 m long profile of the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–T) boundary strata at Stevns Klint was measured by the late Professor A. Rosenkrantz probably in 1944. The measured profile was inherited by Finn Surlyk around 1974 together with other original boundary data. This material was dug up in a long-forgotten drawer in connection with detailed field work by the co-authors on the boundary succession in the late spring and summer of 2021. The profile illustrates the stratigraphy, geometry and palaeotopography of the boundary strata in unprecedented detail. The part of the cliff illustrated in the profile is today partly covered by beach ridges composed of flint rubble but is situated below the finest section of the lower Danian bryozoan mounds exposed at Stevns Klint. This coastal section is situated immediately adjacent to a large limestone quarry and was planned to be quarried away around 1937, but was saved by A. Rosenkrantz who demonstrated its great scientific and educational value to the authorities.