Cyclostratigraphy and chronometric scale in the Campanian - Lower Maastrichtian: the Abiod Formation at Ellès, central Tunisia

The Campanian to Lower Maastrichtian Abiod Formation of the Ellès section, central Tunisia, has been analyzed bed by bed for cyclostratigraphic purpose. Based on the “20 kyr” precession and “100 kyr” eccentricity cycles, sedimentation rate profiles were generated, which were then transformed into cumulative time scales. The resulting synthetic time scale places identified sedimentary and biological events in a new time-based framework floating around the Campanian-Maastrichtian boundary. This new time scale was compared with previously published geological time scales.