The Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary in turbiditic deposits identified to the bed : a case study from the Skole Nappe (Outer Carpathians, southern Poland)

The Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-T) boundary has been recognized in turbiditic sediments of the Ropianka Formation in the Skole Nappe (Bąkowiec section) on the basis of planktonic foraminiferids with an accuracy of 40 cm. Such precise determination of the K-T boundary for the first time in the Carpathians and in turbiditic flysch sediments in general was possible due to the successive occurrence of the Early Paleocene planktonic taxa of the P1 Zone above the latest Maastrichtian Abathomphalus mayaroensis Zone with the Racemiguembelina fructicosa Subzone. The trends in composition of the latest Maastrichtian foraminiferal assemblages are similar to the Gaj section from the adjacent thrust sheet, probably due to the influence of the same paleoenvironmental factors.