C, O, and Sr Isotope Compositions of Belemnites from the Bajocian–Bathonian of Arctic Siberia: Implications for Global Correlations and Paleogeographic Reconstructions

Abstract

–The Middle Jurassic sedimentary strata of Siberia remain poorly studied chemostratigraphically. We contribute to the knowledge with pioneering C, O, and Sr isotopic data for carbonate material of belemnites from the Yuryung-Tumus Peninsula and the lower reaches of the Lena River, as a basis for comprehensive description of the north Siberian Bajocian and lower Bathonian. The obtained chemostratigraphic constraints, with new 87Sr/86Sr ratios and previous δ13C and δ18O estimates, also include data for the lower Bathonian in the Sokur section (Central Russia). Despite the limited amount of material, chemostratigraphy, along with the available biostratigraphic data, allows reliable correlation of the Boreal sections with the primary standard of Northwest Europe, which is impossible for these strata with any of the two methods alone. The δ13C, δ18О, and 87Sr/86Sr patterns correlate with the records of eustatic, climatic, tectonic, and paleogeographic events. The new δ18O data and the inferred paleotemperatures for the latest early Bajocian and the Bajocian/Bathonian boundary reveal two excursions of notable seawater warming near the Siberian Arctic coast, which were synchronous with episodes of global sealevel rise. It was presumably during the eustatic events that the N–S Komi Strait (first naming) opened twice in the territory of the Russian Plate. The strait connected the Boreal and Tethyan seas and thus changed the oceanic circulation patterns. Specifically, it opened a gateway for a warm current from the south to northern Siberia responsible for the high seawater temperatures recorded in the δ18О patterns of belemnites.