Tucker, Ryan T;
King, Michael Ryan;
Delgerzaya, Puntsag;
Freimuth, William J;
Chinzorig, Tsogtbaatar;
Tsogtbaatar, Khishigjav;
Takasaki, Ryuji;
... Zanno, Lindsay E; + view all
(2025)
Protracted intercontinental aridification preserved within the early Late Cretaceous strata of the Eastern Gobi Basin, Mongolia.
Sedimentology
, Article sed.70054. 10.1111/sed.70054.
(In press).
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Abstract
Mongolia's Eastern and Western Gobi Basins preserve a globally significant record of Cretaceous terrestrial vertebrates, yet their biostratigraphic correlations are complicated by a complex geological history. The Eastern Gobi Basin, a northeast‐southwest trending fault‐bounded rift system, includes several minor sub‐basins with distinct sedimentary sequences, notably the Upper Cretaceous Bayanshiree Formation. This formation hosts key localities of iconic taxa, including Segnosaurus , Erlikosaurus , Duonychus , Garudimimus , Amtocephale , Gobihadros and Adocus amtgai , yet previous correlations throughout the area lacked precision. Our sedimentological and stratigraphic campaigns (2022 to 2024) in the Bayanshiree Formation and overlying red‐bed sequences at Baishin Tsav refined these biostratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental frameworks. Field surveys at local (Baishin Tsav) and basin‐wide scales (Unegt and Zuunbayan sub‐basins) revealed a significant erosional unconformity dividing the formation into two distinct palaeoenvironmental stages: lower expansive erg (aeolian dunes) and upper mature fluvial floodplains. Additionally, this study redefines the previously misidentified red‐bed sequences above the Bayanshiree formation as the Javkhlant Formation (formerly Djadokhta or Baruungoyot formations). Taphonomic analyses indicate fossil assemblages were extensively reworked, demonstrating significant time‐averaging. This study provides evidence for climatic shifts through three successive environmental phases (erg, floodplain, alternating palaeosols) within the Bayanshiree and Javkhlant formations. These findings suggest widespread aridification in eastern Asia initiated during the Cenomanian–Turonian transition, contemporaneous with a subtropical high‐pressure shift and onset of the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum, challenging prior assumptions that placed this event later in the Late Cretaceous. This palaeoclimatic interpretation aligns with global records of past hyperthermal events and significantly refines the temporal context for interpreting regional palaeobiodiversity patterns.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Protracted intercontinental aridification preserved within the early Late Cretaceous strata of the Eastern Gobi Basin, Mongolia |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1111/sed.70054 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.70054 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2025 The Author(s). Sedimentology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association of Sedimentologists. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. |
| Keywords: | Bayanshiree Formation, Javkhlant Formation, Cretaceous Thermal Maximum, Northeast Asia, Post-Rift Sedimentation |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Earth Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10217428 |
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