Albian

Stratigraphic definitions

The Albian Stage was first proposed in 1842 by Alcide d'Orbigny. It was named after Alba, the Latin name for River Aube in France.

A Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), ratified by the IUGS in 2016, defines the base of the Albian as the first occurrence of the planktonic foraminiferan Microhedbergella renilaevis at the Col de Pré-Guittard section, Arnayon, Drôme, France.

The top of the Albian Stage (the base of the Cenomanian Stage and Upper Cretaceous Series) is defined as the place where the foram species Rotalipora globotruncanoides first appears in the stratigraphic column.

The Albian is sometimes subdivided in Early/Lower, Middle and Late/Upper subages or substages. In western Europe, especially in the United Kingdom, a subdivision in two substages (Vraconian and Gaultian) is more often used.

Examples

Examples of Albian sedimentary rock are: the phosphorite beds of the Argonne and Bray areas in France; the Flammenmergel of northern Germany; the lignites of Utrillas in Spain; the Upper Nubian Sandstones, and the Fredericksburg beds of North America.

Climate

Over the course of the Albian, the area in what is now the Liupanshan Basin, China became progressively hotter and drier.

References

Notes

Literature

• ; 2004: A Geologic Time Scale 2004, Cambridge University Press.
• ; 2004: The Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Cenomanian Stage, Mont Risou, Hautes-Alpes, France, Episodes 27, pp. 21–32.
• ; 1842: Paléontologie française: Terrains crétacés, vol. ii.

References

1. (2017). "Some key Lower Cretaceous sites in Drôme (SE France)".
2. (2017). "The Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Albian Stage, of the Cretaceous, the Col de Pré-Guittard section, Arnayon, Drôme, France". Episodes.
3. (March 2004). "The Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Cenomanian Stage, Mont Risou, Hautes-Alpes, France". Episodes.
4. For a detailed geologic timescale, see Gradstein ''et al.'' (2004)
5. (2017). "The Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Albian Stage, of the Cretaceous, the Col de Pré-Guittard section, Arnayon, Drôme, France". Episodes.
6. See Kennedy ''et al.'' (2004) for a description of the GSSP for the Cenomanian
7. {{EB1911. John Allen. Howe
8. (17 June 2023). "Long-term arid and hot climate during early Mid-Cretaceous indicate by unvaried Cheirolepidiaceae-dominant palynoflora from the Liupanshan Basin, China". [[Geological Journal]].