Sr isotope evolution of Maastrichtian seawater, determined from the chalk of Hemmoor, NW Germany

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Abstract
In 140 metres of Maastrichtian White Chalk (nannofossil chalk) exposed near Hemmoor, NW Germany, values of 87Sr/86Sr increase from 0.707760 in the Belemnella sumensis Zone (Lower Maastrichtian) at the base of the section (‐54.5 m; referred to 0 m at a prominent marl, M900) to 0.707821 in the Belemnella baltica/danica Zone (Upper Maastrichtian) at the top of the section (+84.5 m). A plateau in 87Sr/86Sr occurs between ‐5m and +50m in the section, probably as a result of a very high rate of sedimentation in this interval. A belemnite and associated nannofossil chalk have similar 87Sr/86Sr values, suggesting that there has been little diagenetic alteration of the 87Sr/86Sr ratios in the chalk, which therefore preserves its original 87Sr/86Sr. Comparison of 87Sr/86Sr and nannofossil zonations for sequences at Bidart, France, and DSDP Sites reveals discordance and so possible diachronism of the basal boundaries of nannofossil Zones CC25B and CC25C.