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Cretaceous strontium isotope stratigraphy using marine barite

¹ Department of Geological and Earth Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
² Department of Geological Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA

The strontium isotope ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) of marine barite microcrystals separated from Cretaceous sedimentary deposits from Ocean Drilling Program and Deep Sea Drilling Project sites from the Pacific and Indian Oceans have been compared to the composite Sr isotope curve of McArthur et al. The barite in these cores accurately recorded the seawater ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio, thereby reaffirming the composite Cretaceous strontium curve. Moreover, marine barite is a more reliable recorder of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr than is carbonate in sedimentary deposits with high clay content, thereby providing an opportunity for Sr isotope stratigraphy and dating in carbonate-poor or diagenetically altered sections. We have used the barite-derived Sr isotope record to refine the biostratigraphic age models of the sites investigated.

Key Words: barite • strontium isotopes • stratigraphy • Cretaceous