Linda A. Hinnov
Professor of Geology
Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences
George Mason University

The Cretaceous Songliao Basin of China

The continental Cretaceous Songliao Basin of NE China is located within one of the largest Cretaceous landmasses, and acted for about 100 million years as an intra- continental sediment trap. The SK-1 core recovered Late Cretaceous sediments and K/T boundary; SK-II cores sampled mid-Cretaceous events; and the proposed SK-III core will focus on the Lower Cretaceous including the J/K boundary, and evolution of the Jehol Biota.

Funding sources include:

International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP)
Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China (MOST)
Ministry of Land and Resources of the People's Republic of China
National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)

Participants:
Full list of principal investigators and partners.

Major objectives:

1. Development of a terrestrial integrated stratigraphic framework for the Cretaceous that can be correlated with global standard sequences.
2. Documentation of the terrestrial sedimentation response to major geological events and climate change throughout the Cretaceous Period.
3. Investigation of the relationship between climate change and occurrence of major terrestrial carbon-rich deposits during the Cretaceous.