ALBERT

Description: Bio-chemostratigraphy of the Barremian–Aptian shallow-water carbonates of the southern Apennines (Italy): pinpointing the OAE1a in a Tethyan carbonate platform Solid Earth Discussions, 3, 789-838, 2011 Author(s): M. Di Lucia, M. Mutti, and M. Parente Low resolution and lack of chronostratigraphic calibration of carbonate platform biostratigraphy hinder precise correlation with coeval deep-water successions. This is the main obstacle when studying the record of Mesozoic oceanic anoxic events in carbonate platforms. In this paper we use carbon isotope stratigraphy to produce the first chronostratigraphic calibration of the Barremian–Aptian biostratigraphy of the Apenninic carbonate platform of southern Italy. According to our calibration, the "Selli level" black shales of epicontinental and oceanic basins corresponds in the southern Apenninic carbonate platform to the interval between the "Orbitolina level", characterized by the association of Mesorbitolina parva and Mesorbitolina texana , and the second acme of Salpingoporella dinarica . The biocalcification crisis of nannoconids corresponds to the interval going from the first acme of S. dinarica to just above the top of the "Orbitolina level". Since these bioevents have been widely recognized beyond the Apenninic platform, our calibration can be used to pinpoint the interval corresponding to the Early Aptian oceanic anoxic event in other carbonate platforms of central and southern Tethys.