Sedimentary Geology 282 (2012) 321–335

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Sedimentary Geology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/sedgeo

Provenance and depositional conditions of Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary

sandstones from northeastern Mexico
Stephanie Rehrmann a, Carita Augustsson a, b,⁎, Rocio Nereyda Izaguirre Valdez c, d,
Uwe Jenchen c, d, Peter Schulte e
a
Institut für Geologie und Paläontologie, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Corrensstrasse 24, 48149 Münster, Germany
b
Institut für Geowissenschaften, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Burgweg 11, 07749 Jena, Germany
c
Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL), Avenida Universidad S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 6645, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, Mexico
d
Facultad de Ciencias de la Tierra, UANL, Hacienda de Guadalupe, Carretera a Cerro Prieto, km 8, C. P. 67700 Linares, Nuevo León, Mexico
e
GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Universität Erlangen, Schlossgarten 5, 91054 Erlangen, Germany

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: We compare Late Maastrichtian siliciclastic sandstone in northeastern Mexico with those representing the
Received 3 February 2012 Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary to reveal differences in provenance and depositional conditions be-
Received in revised form 23 August 2012 tween background sedimentation and K–Pg sand. Lithology and compositional variations are presented for
Accepted 5 October 2012
the deep-water Burgos Basin and the shallow-water La Popa Basin.
Available online 18 October 2012
The Late Maastrichtian sandstones in the Burgos Basin have sharp lower contacts, contain abundant trace fos-
Editor: G.J. Weltje sils and are separated by meter-thick marl layers. They represent sporadic mass flows from coastal areas sep-
arated by long phases of hemipelagic sedimentation. The K–Pg sandstone layers are amalgamated, contain
Keywords: thin marl intercalations only in the uppermost part and trace fossils are present in the top sandstone layer
Mexico only. Also this succession represents mass-flow deposits, but the sand may have been deposited during a
Cretaceous very short period. The La Popa Basin sandstones represent deltaic sedimentation interrupted by submarine
Paleogene channel deposition during the K–Pg boundary transition with abundant rip-up clasts and bioclasts at the base.
Provenance The sandstones of the Burgos Basin are quartz to akosic wacke dominated by quartz (>90%) and some feld-
Geochemistry
spar (b 10%) in calcite cement and matrix. Lithic fragments are rare and dominated by chert and bioclasts.
Cathodoluminescence
Ultra-stable heavy minerals (ZTR = 50–80) and plutonic quartz grains (ca. 40% of the total quartz population)
are particularly common in the K–Pg sandstones. In the Maastrichtian sandstones, metamorphic heavy
minerals, particularly chlorite, clinozoisite, and tourmaline (20–50% of the heavy mineral population), and
metamorphic quartz (80% of the quartz population) have higher abundances. The La Popa sandstones are
subarkose to arkose and arkosic wacke and have a high abundance of feldspar (15–30%) and lithic fragments
(5–20%), mainly of siltstone and carbonate. The sandstones from both basins have chemical compositions
typical for recycling (Zr/Sc = 12–27 and 17–140 in the Burgos and La Popa Basin, respectively) and influences
from mafic source rocks (Th/Sc = 0.4–1.1; Ti/Nb = 350–510). Therefore we suggest that all studied succes-
sions share a common provenance with transport of recycled orogenic metasedimentary components from
northwestern Mexico and magmatic arc material from western Mexico. Subsequently, longshore currents
mixed the detritus with limestone clasts derived from the tectonically active Sierra Madre Oriental, which
probably is the cause for compositional changes in the sandstones. Due to increased sediment input from
western Mexico at the K–Pg boundary, provenance changes cannot be related to the Chicxulub impact.
© 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary represents a sudden
mass extinction most likely caused by the collision of an asteroid with
⁎ Corresponding author at: Institut für Geowissenschaften, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität
Jena, Burgweg 11, 07749 Jena, Germany. Tel.: +49 3641 94 87 24; fax: +49 3641 94 86 22.
E-mail addresses: st.rehrmann@gmx.de (S. Rehrmann),
carita.augustsson@uni-jena.de (C. Augustsson), nereydaizaguirre@gmail.com
(R.N. Izaguirre Valdez), jenchen@fct.uanl.mx (U. Jenchen),
schulte@geol.uni-erlangen.de (P. Schulte).
Earth (e.g., Alvarez et al., 1980; Hildebrand et al., 1991; Pope et al.,
1994; Schulte et al., 2010) that formed the 180 km in diameter Chicxulub
crater on the Yucatán Peninsula in southern Mexico (e.g., Hildebrand et
al., 1991; Fig. 1). Globally, the K–Pg boundary is marked by a thin layer
of red-stained clay with anomalous enrichments of the platinum-group
elements, suggesting an extraterrestrial component (Alvarez et al.,
1980). Shocked minerals and spherules as well as Ni-rich spinels support
an impact event (e.g., Smit, 1999). Closer to the Chicxulub crater, in the
region around the Gulf of Mexico (Fig. 1), the deposit at the K–Pg
boundary is thicker and usually consists of similar sequences of

0037-0738/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2012.10.002
322 S. Rehrmann et al. / Sedimentary Geology 282 (2012) 321–335
26°03‘30“W
26°03‘00“W
2 S1
S2 3
1 Maastrichtian to K–Pg transition sections in the shallow-marine La
26°02‘30“W
100°44‘00“N 100°43‘30“N 100°43‘00“N 100°42‘30“N
500 m
Moscow Landing
Shell Creek
Brazos River
La Popa
Los Ramones
Rancho Nuevo
La Sierrita Loma Cerca
El Peñón El Mulato
La Lajilla
El Mimbral Chicxulub
La Ceiba impact structure
Mexico City
Bochil
600 km
Fig. 1. Selection of localities with K–Pg boundary sequences around the Gulf of Mexico
and the associated Chicxulub impact crater (modified from Smit et al., 1996; Schulte
and Kontny 2005). The white points mark the studied K–Pg sections. The detail shows
the geographical position of the profiles in La Popa on a GoogleEarth image. 1–3 =
this study, S1–S2 = Schulte et al. (2011).
decimeter- to meter-thick siliciclastic sandstone beds, intercalated
within hemipelagic sediments (Smit et al., 1996; Schulte et al., 2010).
In these sites, the deposit commonly also includes abundant ejecta
interpreted to derive from the Chicxulub impact (e.g., spherules and
limestone clasts) and the sandstones bear evidence for high-energy de-
position. Therefore, many studies suggest deposition of the siliciclastic
unit by sedimentary mass flows from the shelf. This transport may
have been ultimately triggered by the energy released by the Chicxulub
impact event, resulting in earthquakes larger than magnitude 10 and
tsunami waves approaching the Gulf of Mexico coastline (e.g., Smit et
al., 1996; Lawton et al., 2005; Schulte et al., 2010). Other studies pro-
pose a volcanic origin for the ejecta (Keller et al., 2009) and that sand
deposition was triggered by sea-level fluctuations and had no correla-
tion with the Chicxulub impact (e.g., Keller et al., 1993, 2003;
Stinnesbeck et al., 1993).
Further clues to the depositional conditions may derive from com-
bined lithological and provenance studies of shallow- and deep-water
K–Pg sandstone beds in northeastern Mexico and a comparison to
late Maastrichtian sandstones in the same basins. Such lithological
and petrographical comparisons have not been conducted before
and may not only be important for K–Pg boundary studies, but also
for the depositional conditions of deep-water sandstones in general.
For the K–Pg boundary deposits in the shallow-marine Parras and
La Popa basins (Fig. 2), Lawton et al. (2009) concluded that detritus
had been transported from source regions as far away as the south-
western United States, about 1500 km from the depositional sites.
On the way to the Sierra Madre foreland basins, which were part of
the Gulf of Mexico, detritus from different source regions, including
recycled orogen, basement and volcanic-arc provenance types, was
mixed by a large fluvial system.
In this study, we reconstruct depositional conditions and the sand-
stone provenance for two geological sections located in the deep-
marine Burgos Basin in northeastern Mexico: the late Maastrichtian
El Cerrito section in Linares (Ekdale and Stinnesbeck, 1998), and the
well-known El Peñón K–Pg section ca. 35 km east of Linares (Fig. 2).
In both sections, decimeter- to meter-scale sandstone beds are in-
tercalated in silty marl. Furthermore, comparison is made to late
Popa Basin northwest of Monterrey (and ca. 170 km northwest of
Linares; Fig. 2). Here, sand and conglomerate beds are intercalated
in silty to sandy siliciclastic units.
The aim of the study is to reveal whether differences in lithology
and detrital components can be correlated to differences in the trans-
portation system and depositional regime for the late Maastrichtian and
K–Pg boundary sand. The focus is on the framework petrographic and
whole-rock chemical composition. Furthermore, cathodoluminescence
(CL) characteristics of quartz, mineralogical, heavy-mineral petrograph-
ical and tourmaline compositions are taken into account for the Burgos
Basin.
2. Geological setting
Northeastern Mexico is part of two geologic provinces: the Sierra
Madre Oriental in the west and the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Province
in the east, a passive continental margin, which includes the Sierra
Madre Oriental foreland basins and consequently also the studied
sedimentological sections (Fig. 2; English and Johnston, 2004). The
Sierra Madre Oriental is a fold and thrust belt that developed during
the Late Cretaceous to Paleogene Laramide orogeny (80 to 55 Ma).
It is part of the North American Cordillera and extends from SW of
the Yucatán peninsula to the Rio Grande along the US-Mexican bor-
der in the north (Weidie and Murray, 1967). The Laramide orogeny
also gave rise to block uplifts in the southwestern United States
(e.g., the Colorado Plateau) and to the Rocky Mountain fold and thrust
belt (English and Johnston, 2004). In the North of the Sierra Madre
Oriental, deformation is dominated by huge folds and numerous
overthrusts from the southwest (Weidie and Murray, 1967; Gray et
al., 2001). Trough-like foreland basins formed to the east during the
Late Cretaceous as a consequence of the rapid uplift of the Sierra
Madre Oriental (e.g., Echanove, 1986; Soegaard et al., 2003). The
shallow-marine Sabinas, La Popa, and Parras basins are located north-
west of Monterrey along the northern part of the Sierra Madre Oriental,
and the deep-marine Burgos Basin is located southeast of Monterrey
(Fig. 2).
In the Sierra Madre Oriental, pre-Mesozoic rocks underwent defor-
mation in late Paleozoic to early Mesozoic time (Weidie and Murray,
1967; Stewart et al., 1999; Goldhammer and Johnson, 2001). During
the Triassic and Jurassic, faulting led to continental redbed deposition
primarily in fault troughs and graben structures. A marine transgression
led to the reestablishment of marine conditions and extensive carbon-
ate deposition during the Late Jurassic (Morán-Zenteno, 1994). During
Late Cretaceous and Paleogene time the Sierra Madre Oriental was
slowly exposed and formed a large land area that promoted a steady in-
flux of terrigenous clastic detritus in the shallow to moderately deep-
water shelf-slope system in the foreland area (Echanove, 1986; Sohl
et al., 1991; Goldhammer and Johnson, 2001; Lawton et al., 2001). Con-
tinued uplift caused the Gulf of Mexico gradually to retreat, so that
eastward-prograding coastlines and delta successions developed in
the foreland basins (Fig. 2).
During the late Maastrichtian, the deep-water Burgos Basin mainly
received fine-grained siliciclastic detritus, represented by the marls of
the Méndez Formation (e.g., Weidie et al., 1972; Echanove, 1986).
Benthic foraminifera assemblages at El Peñón indicate middle bathyal
 S. Rehrmann et al. / Sedimentary Geology 282 (2012) 321–335 323

105°W 100°W

0 500 km
tion Late Maastrichtian
loca shoreline
Map
Early Maastrichtian
shoreline 30°N

600 km
110°W
Caborca
Block

SB
CP LB
PB Monterrey
BB El Cerrito,
Torreón El Peñón
25°N
syntaxis
25°N
Ali
Front of Sierra
sit

Madre orogen

G u lf o f M e x ic o
os
ma
gm
ati
ca
rc

Pacific Ocean
MB

110°W 105°W 100°W

Open-marine, shallow Moderately deep Outer-ramp lime
nearshore medium- to marine mudstone and
fine-grained clastics calcareous shale, shale
siltstone
Magmatic arc
Alluvial,fluvial Subbasins in the
continental clastics Sierra Madre foreland

Fig. 2. Maastrichtian paleogeography of northeastern Mexico with inferred drainage routes. BB — Burgos Basin, CP — Coahuila Platform, LB — La Popa Basin, MB — Magiscatzin Basin,
PB — Parras Basin, SB — Sabinas Basin (after Goldhammer and Johnson, 2001; Lawton et al., 2009).

water depths (600–1000 m) for the marls underlying the K–Pg de-
posit and probably slightly shallower deposition for the shales of the
Paleocene Velasco Formation (Alegret and Thomas, 2001; Alegret
et al., 2001). In the La Popa Basin, Maastrichtian sedimentation is
represented mainly by deltaic sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone of
the Potrerillos Formation that are coeval with evaporite diapirism
(Lawton et al., 2001). The deposits in the uppermost ca. 7 m below the
K–Pg boundary layer and the lowermost meter in the Paleogene have
been interpreted as storm deposits in the lower shoreface (Aschoff and
Giles, 2005).
3. Methods
The Maastrichtian section at El Cerrito near the cemetery in
Linares (24°52″N, 99°33′W), the K–Pg boundary outcrop at El Peñón
(24°58′N, 99°13′W), and three K–Pg boundary sections close to the
El Papalote diapir in the La Popa Basin (26°03′N, 100°43′W) were
mapped and sampled for petrographic and element chemical
analysis. At El Cerrito and El Peñón, 10 and 20 sandstone samples,
respectively, were collected, including two samples from spherule
layers (Fig. 3). In La Popa, 17 samples were collected from the El
Papalote sections, as well as 5 and 3 samples, respectively, from late
Maastrichtian sandstones at San José de la Popa (26°07′N, 100°52′W)
and the Delgado synclinal (25°58′N, 100°48′W).
At least 300 framework grains >63 μm (i. e., a total of 500–1200
points) in each of 27 sandstone samples from the Burgos Basin sand-
stones (by author SR) and 200–270 grains (totally 300–350 points)
from 16 samples from the El Papalote sections in the La Popa Basin
(by author RNIV) were point-counted according to the Gazzi–Dickinson
method (Dickinson, 1970) on standard thin sections that were not
stained for feldspar.
Five of the samples from El Cerrito, 17 from El Peñón and all 25
from La Popa Basin were processed for whole-rock element chemical
analysis. The samples were powdered in an agate mill and analyzed
with ICP-ES (oxides, Ba and Sc) and ICP-MS (trace elements) by Acme
Labs in Vancouver, Canada.
The mineral composition of bulk samples for 27 samples of the
Burgos Basin sandstones was determined at the University of Erlangen
on wet powdered samples (grain size b10 μm obtained with a McCrone
Micromill, see Srodon et al., 2001) with a Siemens D5000 X-ray diffrac-
tometer. Powdered samples were scanned from 5° to 85° 2Θ with steps
of 0.2° and a scanning time of 4 s. The BGMN 5.0 Rietveld refinement
program (Bergmann et al., 1998, #2270) was used for mineral quantifi-
cation and provided very good fits: (i) the observed weighted residual
errors Rwp ranged from 12 to 15.5%, (ii) the weighted residual errors
Rwp are close to the statistically expected values Rexp, indicating good
agreement between the observed and simulated XRD patterns, and
(iii) the calculated quality parameter 1-ρ ranged from 1.6 to 2.4%. To
324 S. Rehrmann et al. / Sedimentary Geology 282 (2012) 321–335

El Peñón (K-Pg transition) El Cerrito (Late Maastrichtian)

cm cm
759 EP11.1 1667
744 EP 10.1
732.5
EP 9.1

683.5
EP 8.1 1367.5 P 8.2
Unit 3 1347
P 8.1

615.5 EP 7.1

EP 6.1
584.5
EP 6.2
567.5 P 6.2
EP 5.1 1073
EP 4.7 P6
540.5 P 6.1
EP 4.8 1041.5

864.5 P 4.3

EP 4.4 P 4.2
Unit 2 EP 4.2

P 4.1
EP 4.5
700

EP 4.3

EP 4.6
563 P 2.3
EP 4.1 P 2.2
EP 3
Danian

148.5 EP 2.1o P 2.1

138.5 EP 2.1 500
Unit 1 120 EP 2.1u
EP 1
90
latest
Maastrichtian

Silt Fine Medium Coarse Silt Fine Medium Coarse

Sand Sand
Sandstone Sandstone Chondrites Horizontal lamination
Spherule (sub-)parallel Sandstone with current Marl and
layer Sandstone laminated with ripples directions shale Burrows Load casts

Trough-type ripples Flaser bedding

Climbing ripples J-shaped structure

Fig. 3. Lithology of the El Peñón and El Cerrito sections in the Burgos Basin. The first number in the sample names represents the bed number. Note that the complete thickness of
beds 1, 7, and 9 at El Cerrito is shown in condensed form. Sample points are shown in gray. See also Stinnesbeck et al. (1993), Keller et al. (1994) and Smit et al. (1996) for the
lithology at El Peñón.

address precision of the XRD analysis, multiple preparations and sub-
sequent analysis of a single sample were conducted, resulting in an
interquartile range of the major mineral phases in the acceptable
range of ca. 0.5–1 wt.%. The accuracy of the Rietveld refinement was
tested by several representative samples spiked with 10 wt.% zincite
(ZnS) as an internal standard. This standard could be recovered satisfac-
torily by all refinements, although a tendency towards higher values is
obvious (ca. 11–12 wt.% recovery). These overestimations are mostly
related to the presence of additional X-ray amorphous components in-
cluding chert.
A total of 470 quartz grains (344 from El Peñón; 125 from El
Cerrito) from the point-counted sandstones were measured for their
CL spectra with a hot CL microscope (HC-1LM) at the Institute for
Geology and Paleontology in Münster. Before measurement, the car-
bonate in the 63–125 μm size fraction, which represents the main
grain size in the sandstones, was dissolved with HCl (20%) during 4 h
on a hotplate (80 °C, which does not affect the CL signal) to avoid
disturbance of the quartz CL signal. The quartz grains were mounted
with epoxy on 1.35 mm thick glass slides, polished to 25 μm thickness,
and coated with carbon. The investigations were carried out as outlined
in Augustsson and Bahlburg (2003) and Augustsson et al. (2011) with
the exception of a sample current of 3.5–4.5 μA. The procedure includes
measuring times of 50 s. Uncertainty in metering the intensity counts
was ca. ±10 counts. With the used settings only minor alteration of
the shape of the spectra that has no relevance for the color assignment
was observed during the complete exposure time (see also Augustsson
et al., 2011; Augustsson and Reker, 2012). We use the CL colors of
quartz as provenance indicators although the efficacy of this method
is debated (e. g., Boggs et al., 2002; Götte and Richter, 2006). Neverthe-
less, correlation of data from detrital quartz and zircon as well as a
reinvestigation of the CL of quartz from various crystalline rocks con-
firm that the colors still can be used as provenance indicators, provided
that their corresponding spectra are evaluated (Augustsson et al., 2011;
Augustsson and Reker, 2012). The discrimination method presented by
 S. Rehrmann et al. / Sedimentary Geology 282 (2012) 321–335 325

Augustsson and Reker (2012) is used here for evaluation. Hence, mainly The zircon–tourmaline–rutile (ZTR; (zircon+tourmaline+rutile)/total
red- and violet-luminescent volcanic quartz were discriminated from non-opaque heavy mineral count) index was determined to estimate the
plutonic, high-temperature metamorphic, and pegmatitic quartz with maturity of the sediments (Hubert, 1962). The provenance-sensitive
bright to medium blue CL as well as from mainly dark blue to brown- apatite–tourmaline (ATi; apatite/(apatite+tourmaline)) and rutile–
luminescent low-temperature metamorphic quartz based on their zircon (RZi; TiO2 group/(TiO2 group+zircon)) indices were calculated
wavelength spectra. The intensities of the two main peaks for quartz because they represent minerals with similar hydraulic behavior that
in visible light (blue: 470–490 nm, red: 600–640 nm) were compared are relatively immune to alteration during the sedimentary cycle
to the intensity in the trough between the peaks to determine the (Morton and Hallsworth, 1994). Therefore, they provide a good
spectral shapes for each analyzed grain. Only the largest grains were reflection of the source rock characteristics.
measured because many spectra have red and blue peak positions at
shorter wavelengths and/or the trough position shifted to longer wave-
lengths than expected (Fig. 4). This is due to disturbance from the 4. Results
surrounding slide glass as an effect of the small grain size. These shifts
do not cause changes in the interpreted color based on the relative 4.1. Lithology
peak intensity (Fig. 4; Augustsson and Reker, 2012).
The 63–125 μm heavy mineral fractions of 27 sandstones from the The lithology of the El Cerrito outcrop is previously undescribed.
Burgos Basin were separated with sodium polytungstate (2.85 g/cm3). Meter-thick silty marl layers of the Méndez Formation intercalated
More than 100 transparent heavy minerals were counted in each with four calcareous mostly massive sandstone beds are exposed
sample. Tourmaline, a mineral that appears in all analyzed samples, (Figs. 3 and 5A). The four sandstone beds are 20–165 cm thick and
was chosen for chemical analysis to reveal their source rock types. The the lower contact always is sharp. Impact ejecta clasts have not
composition of 232 tourmaline grains was analyzed in Münster at the been observed, in agreement with the late Maastrichtian age assigned
Institute for Mineralogy with a JEOL JXA 8900 Superprobe. Operating by Ekdale and Stinnesbeck (1998). The lowermost sandstone bed is
conditions were 15 kV accelerating voltage, 15 nA beam current, and 65 cm thick (Fig. 3) and of fine to medium sand grain size. Bioturba-
a beam diameter of 3 μm. Due to the beam-sensitive character of the tion occurs mainly in the upper part. The second sandstone bed from
samples, counting times were 10 s on the peak and 5 s on the back- the bottom is slightly coarser-grained, 1.65 m thick and has an un-
ground. Detection limits for single spot analysis were between 75 and even base with load casts. Internal subhorizontal bedding is visible
150 ppm (1σ). Standard deviations were typically b1% for concentra- at the top. On the surface, apparently symmetric ripples with NW–
tions >10 wt.% oxides and ≤5% for concentrations of 1–10 wt.% oxides. SE striking undulating crests and numerous trace fossils are present.
One to two centimeter thick, non-branching sand-filled burrows,
probably Ophiomorpha, are most common. The third, overlying, sand-
Glass spectrum stone bed is 32 cm thick and consists of fine-grained sandstone with
Spectrum unaffected by glass
Spectrum affected by glass
flaser bedding and calcite veins. Besides a few Chondrites traces,
reaching as much as 25 cm into the sandstone from the top, no inter-
Counts (not to scale)

nal structures were discernible. The topmost sandstone bed is 20 cm

thick and contains some horizontal lamination (Fig. 3). In the upper
part, clay lenses are common. Here, also frequent bioturbation occurs
as clay-filled mm-sized burrows, which emanate from the surface and
branch out at ca. 1 cm depth. They are most likely of the Chondrites
type (Fig. 5B; cf. Kappel, 2003).
The lithology of the El Peñón K–Pg boundary outcrop has previ-
ously been described in several earlier studies that mostly concen-
trated on the lowest part of the section (e. g., Stinnesbeck et al., 1993;
Keller et al., 1994; Smit et al., 1996). Like most K–Pg boundary outcrops
400 500 600 700 800 in the Gulf Coast region, the sedimentary sequence can be divided into
Wavelength(nm) three units. Unit 1 overlies marl of the upper Maastrichtian Méndez
10
Formation unconformably (Fig. 3). It consists of a discordantly devel-
Spectra without glass signal n = 35 oped 20–60 cm thick layer with mm-sized spherules, abundant calcite
Red peak intensity / trough intensity

Spectra with glass signal clasts, and a few quartz grains. The rock is grain-supported, weakly
cemented, and no grain orientation, sorting, or bioturbation has been
5
observed. A ca. 20 cm thick well-indurated layer of fine- to medium-
red
grained sandstone with a calcareous matrix is intercalated in the
low-T met. & upper part of the unit (Fig. 5C). Unit 2 is composed of 3.9 m thick
mafic plutonic
fine- to medium-grained, massive sandstone in several amalgamated
violet
beds. It overlies unit 1 unconformably with an undulating erosional
brown volcanic contact (Fig. 3). Grain sizes decrease slightly up-section, although the
middle to upper part contains alternating coarser and finer medium
dark felsic plutonic,
1 blue
high-T met. & sand sizes. In the lower part, weak normal grading is caused by interca-
medium bright lated spherules and variably sized marl clasts. In the uppermost 80 cm,
blue blue pegmatitic
sub-parallel lamination and thin layers rich in mm- to cm-sized shale
clasts are present. Trace fossils are absent except for one J-shaped struc-
1 2 3 4 ture, which may represent a burrow, at the base (Figs. 3, 5D). In unit 3,
Blue peak intensity / trough intensity which is 2.2 m thick, about 10 cm thick silty marl layers intercalate with
up to 70 cm thick layers of fine to medium sandstone. Sedimentary
Fig. 4. The effect on quartz CL spectra when measurements include the surrounding
glass illustrated with the actual spectral shape for quartz (above) and the relative inten-
structures include lamination, climbing ripples, and small-scale cross-
sities of the two main peaks for quartz (below; discrimination scheme from Augustsson bedding. Current directions are highly variable. On top of the unit,
and Reker, 2012). both ripples and various burrows are visible, particularly Ophiomorpha
326 S. Rehrmann et al. / Sedimentary Geology 282 (2012) 321–335

Fig. 5. (A) Overview of the topmost two sandstone beds at El Cerrito (hammer for scale). (B) Top of layer 8 at El Cerrito with deep burrows of Chondrites in the otherwise struc-
tureless sandstone beds. (C) Overview of the El Peñón section with the basal spherule deposit (unit 1) and its intercalated sandy limestone layer (SLL), as well as overlying amal-
gamated structureless sandstones of unit 2 (from Schulte et al., 2010). (D) J-shaped structure (burrow?) at El Peñón. (E) Uppermost Maastrichtian Delgado Sandstone Member
(Kmd) of the Potrerillos Formation in La Popa. The Member is ca. 50 m from bottom to top in the image. (F) K–Pg transition sandstone beds of the Delgado Sandstone Member
(person on top of the uppermost bed for scale).

and Chondrites as defined by Smit et al. (1996) and Ekdale and
Stinnesbeck (1998). Unit 3 marks the top of the outcrop hill.
The lithology of the Maastrichtian and K–Pg boundary part of
the Potrerillos Formation in the La Popa Basin has previously been de-
scribed in detail by Aschoff and Giles (2005) and Schulte et al. (2011)
and therefore is only given here briefly. In all three studied profiles,
sandy siltstone of the Middle Siltstone Member is overlain discor-
dantly by 8–13 m sedimentary deposits of the calcareous Delgado
Sandstone Member, which represents the K–Pg transition (Fig. 6).
The lower 4–5 m is dominated by fine sandstone with siltstone and
mudstone intercalations. It is covered by 2–5 m of sandy channel
deposits representing the actual K–Pg boundary (Fig. 6). They are
composed mainly of fine sandstone. At the base (unit 1 of Schulte
et al., 2011), bivalve, gastropod, shark teeth, and other bioclastic re-
mains are abundant. Furthermore, sandstone clasts similar to under-
lying sandstone are present. The uppermost 1–3 m of the Delgado
Sandstone Member is represented by fine-grained sandstone with a
coarsening-upward trend.
4.2. Petrography and mineralogy
The sandstones at El Peñón and El Cerrito can be characterized as
well-sorted quartz wackes or arkosic wackes, according to the rock clas-
sification of Pettijohn et al. (1987). Former carbonate rock fragments
are recrystallized to cement. Therefore, the sandstones are carbonate-
cemented (5–30%), but they also contain a calcareous matrix (20–
50%; Fig. 7). The sandstones are only slightly compacted and cementa-
tion is the only observed diagenetic overprint. Replacement textures
and overgrowths of quartz and feldspar have not been recognized.
Micritic fillings and shell fragments are uncommon and most likely
from bivalves and ostracodes, especially in El Cerrito. Abundant benthic
and planktonic foraminifera also were observed, especially in bed 6 at El
Peñón (cf. Fig. 3). At El Peñón, grain sizes vary distinctly across the sec-
tion from medium-fine to medium and medium-coarse sand, although
no pronounced upward-fining or -coarsening trend is present (Fig. 3).
At El Cerrito, grain sizes vary from fine to medium sand size. Only sand-
stones P4.1 to P4.3 are of medium to coarse sand size.
The mineral grains in both sections are mostly angular. In the
framework, quartz and feldspar mostly occur to 90–100% and up to
10%, respectively (when bioclasts are excluded; Fig. 8). The highest
quartz and lowest feldspar proportions were observed in the El Cerrito
sandstones. Fifty to 90% of the quartz grains are monocrystalline in
both sections (Fig. 9). Of these, 60–80% is non-undulatory. In the poly-
crystalline quartz fraction, >60% contains more than three subgrains.
Among the feldspars, plagioclase dominates with exception of sand-
stone EP 4.5, where potassium feldspar is more prominent (Fig. 9).
Lithic fragments are rare (b1%) and were identified as chert grains.
Additionally, bioclasts are common. The results from the Rietveld
 S. Rehrmann et al. / Sedimentary Geology 282 (2012) 321–335 327

WNW ca. 1 km ESE

Schulte et al. (2011): section 1
m
OS 17
LS
Schulte et al. (2011): section 2 This study: section 1 This study: section 2 16 This study: section 3
15

Upper Mud-
Upper Mud-

Upper Mud-
Upper Mud-

Upper Mud-
m m m OS m

stone Mb.
stone Mb.

stone Mb.
stone Mb.

stone Mb.
9 12
14 14 OS
OS 9 OS OS
8 11
13 13
8
LS
RIV-P1.1 LS 7 10
LS 12 12
7 LS

Delgado Sandstone Mb.

RIV-P3.1
K-Pg
6 RIV-P2.8 9
Delgado Sandstone Mb.

K-Pg 11 BD 11
6
RIV-P1.3 BD LS
5 8
K-Pg 5 10
10

Delgado Sandstone Mb.

BD 4 RIV-P2.7 RIV-P3.2
9 9 K-Pg 7
4 RIV-P1.4

Delgado Sandstone Mb.

LS

Delgado Sandstone Mb.

BD
3 K-Pg 6
8 8
3 OS
RIV-P1.5 LS 2 RIV-P2.6 BD RIV-P3.3
LS 7 5
LS 2 7
OS 1 RIV-P3.4
6 4
OS 1 6
RIV-P1.6 LS LS
LS 0 3
OS 5
stone Mb.
Middle Silt-

0 5 RIV-P3.5
OS OS
stone Mb.
Middle Silt-

-1 OS 2
RIV-P2.5 4 4 LS
OS
LS LS 1
3 3 OS
LS RIV-P3.6 LS
RIV-P2.4 2 0
Mudstone 2

stone Mb.
Middle Silt-
Siltstone OS -1
OS 1
Fine sandstone LS 1
Medium-coarse sandstone OS
RIV-P2.3 LS 0 0
Conglomerate

stone Mb.
Middle Silt-
stone Mb.
Middle Silt-

OS
Macrofossils OS -1
-1
LS
LS

Fig. 6. Lithology of the El Papalote sections in the La Popa Basin (part of the Potrerillos Formation) including two sections from Schulte et al. (2011). K–Pg BD = K–Pg boundary
deposit, LS = lower shoreface, OS = outer shelf.

refinement of the X-ray diffraction patterns corroborate the data
from the petrographic analysis: quartz (ca. 20–50 wt.%) and calcite
(ca. 7–45 wt.%) are the dominant components, followed by feldspars
(mostly albite, 20–41 wt.%, and minor orthoclase, b 2 wt.%). The
Rietveld analysis recorded slightly higher quartz and calcite contents,
and lower feldspar contents for the late Maastrichtian El Cerrito sec-
tion than for the K–Pg El Peñón sandstones. Also, the El Cerrito sand-
stones have higher chlorite contents (up to 10 wt.%), whereas the
El Peñón sandstones generally include more illite (up to 9 wt.%). The
mineralogical composition of the El Peñón and El Cerrito sandstones
reveals only weak stratigraphic trends. At El Peñón, only unit 3 is
marked by a gradual increase in the quartz and plagioclase content
and there is a slight upsection increase in quartz content in the El
Cerrito section (Fig. 9).
The La Popa Basin sandstones are well-sorted subarkoses to arkoses
and arkosic wackes with high carbonate cement (3–25%) and matrix
contents (6–25%). Cementation is the main observed diagenetic over-
print. Micritic fillings and shell fragments (e. g., bivalves) occur. Grain
sizes increase slightly upwards within fine sand in all three profiles.
Similar to the Burgos Basin sandstones, the sand grains are mostly
angular and with a dominance of quartz in the framework (60–80%).
Differently, feldspar, mainly represented by plagioclase, and lithic frag-
ments are more common (15–30% and 5–20%, respectively; Fig. 10).
The lithic fragments are dominated by sedimentary grains of siltstone
and carbonate. Some felsic volcanic grains were encountered.
4.3. Whole-rock geochemistry
With one exception, all sandstones have low SiO2 and Al2O3
contents of 33–70 wt.% and 4–12 wt.%, respectively, due to dilution
with CaO (9–31 wt.%) from carbonate. Corresponding SiO2/Al2O3 of
5–9 and 6–11 in the Burgos Basin and La Popa Basin, respectively, is
typical for sandstones. As can be expected for sandstones dominated
by albite among the feldspars, Na2O concentrations are higher than
K2O percentages, as illustrated by Na2O/K2O ratios of 3–12 and 2–8
in the Burgos Basin and La Popa Basin, respectively (Figs. 9 and 10).
The Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA; Nesbitt and Young, 1982), a
measure of the alteration from feldspar to clay minerals, mainly is be-
tween 50 and 65 (after correction for CaO in carbonate) in both basins,
i. e., values that are typical for low degrees of chemical alteration dur-
ing weathering and diagenesis.
Provenance-indicative trace element ratios generally are similar
for all sandstones. Th/Sc, an indicator for felsic, crustal origin, ranges
from 0.4 to 1.1 and Ti/Nb, a tracer for mafic input, is 350–510, gener-
ally with slightly higher values for the Burgos Basin than for the La
Popa Basin (Figs. 9 and 10). The zircon and recycling indicator Zr/Sc
328 S. Rehrmann et al. / Sedimentary Geology 282 (2012) 321–335

Fig. 7. Thin sections from El Peñón (EP 4.6) and El Cerrito (P 4.3). Qz = quartz, qzp = polycrystalline quartz (>3 subgrains), plg = plagioclase.

is 12–27 in the Burgos Basin and 17–140 in the La Popa Basin. Within 4.4. Cathodoluminescence of quartz
the individual basins, Zr/Sc is somewhat higher in K–Pg transition
sandstones (17–42 and 36–50 in the Burgos and La Popa basins, re- Most quartz grains luminesce in medium and dark blue shades in
spectively) than in Maastrichtian sandstones (12–27 and 17–80 with both sections. They mainly have relative peak intensities for the red
some scatter, respectively). Other indices are not age-discriminative peak between 1.0 and 1.8. At El Peñón, the relative peak intensities
(Figs. 9 and 10). for the blue peak are 1.0–2.0, which is typical for a mixture of meta-
The composition of the two spherule layers in unit 1 at El Peñón morphic and plutonic quartz (Fig. 11). At El Cerrito, low values of
differs from the sandstone composition. Lower SiO2 and Na2O con- b1.5 point to a dominance of metamorphic quartz. Spectra typical
centrations result in low SiO2/Al2O3 of ca. 3 and low Na2O/K2O of ca. for volcanic quartz with red, violet, and blue luminescence and rela-
0.5. CIA (61 and 63) is similar to the sandstones. Th/Sc of 0.2, Ti/Nb tive blue peak intensities above ca. 1.3 are rare (Fig. 11). The applica-
of ca. 800, and Zr/Sc of 8 and 9 also deviate from the sandstones tion of the discrimination diagram of Augustsson and Reker (2012)
(Figs. 9 and 10). A ca. 10 cm thick marl layer in unit 3 at El Peñón leads to 45% and 42% spectra typical for low-grade metamorphic
has a similar composition to the sandstones, however. and plutonic quartz, respectively, from El Peñón and 80% and 20%, re-
spectively, from El Cerrito (Table 1). The remaining b 5% is typical for
volcanic quartz. No distinct quartz cathodoluminescence trends with-
Q El Peñón in the individual sections were observed, except for a slight decrease
(K-Pg)
Craton of metamorphic quartz upsection at El Peñón.
interior El Cerrito
Qm (Late The evaluation of quartz affected by glass signal may lead to an
Maastrichtian) overestimation of the proportion of metamorphic quartz and some
El Papalote 1
Transitional volcanic input may be obscured. The application of optional dis-
continental El Papalote 2
El Papalote 3
crimination lines between plutonic and metamorphic quartz in the
classification scheme, as suggested by Augustsson and Reker (2012),
theoretically may lead to a completely different result with ca. 80%
and 20% plutonic and metamorphic quartz, respectively, in both pro-
files. Nevertheless, only a part of the spectra were affected by glass
Basement signal. Therefore, a dominance of plutonic quartz is unrealistic.
uplift Recycled
orogenic
4.5. Heavy mineral petrography
Magmatic arc
Heavy minerals obtained from both Burgos Basin sections are
F L
predominantly of metamorphic origin, including chlorite (b 38%),
tourmaline (1–19%), clinozoisite (b13%), garnet (b3%), and epidote
F Lt (b1%; Fig. 12). The magmatic minerals zircon (5–62%), apatite (6–
49%), enstatite (b 6%), and hornblende (1–54%) are also abundant.
Fig. 8. Light mineral discrimination schemes after Dickinson et al. (1983). Symbols
with dots represent data from the K–Pg boundary deposit in the La Popa Basin. Q =
Zircon and apatite are significantly more abundant in El Peñón than
total quartz, F = total feldspar, L = lithic fragments, Qm = monocrystalline quartz, in El Cerrito. Therefore, the ATi and specifically the ZTR indices are
Lt = L including polycrystalline quartz. higher for the El Peñón sandstones (ATi: 52–96; ZTR: 50–79) than
 S. Rehrmann et al. / Sedimentary Geology 282 (2012) 321–335 329

EP 11.1
EP 10.1
EP 9.1

EP 8.1
EP 7.1
EP 6.1
EP 6.2 (39)
El Peñón (K-Pg transition)

EP 5.1
EP 4.7
EP 4.8

Na2O/K2O

Zr/Sc

Ti/Nb
Th/Sc
EP 4.4
EP 4.2

EP 4.5

EP 4.3

EP 4.6
EP 4.1
EP 3
EP 2.1o
EP 2
EP 2.1u
EP 1
0.90 0.95 1.0 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.6 0.7 0.8 50 55 60 65 0.2 1 10 100 1000

P 8.2
P 8.1
El Cerrito (Late Maastrichtian)

P 6.2
P6
P 6.1

P 4 .3
P 4.2
P 4.1

P 2.3
P 2.2
P 2.1
Na2O/K2O

Zr/Sc

Ti/Nb
Th/Sc

Plg/Fsp t Qm /Qt
Qt /(Qt+Fsp t) Qm, non-undoulus /Qm Qp(>3 subgrains) /Qp CIA Th/Sc Na2O/K2O Zr/Sc Ti/Nb
0.90 0.95 1.0 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.6 0.7 0.8 50 55 60 65 0.2 1 10 100 1000

Fig. 9. Light mineral framework content and whole-rock chemical composition of El Peñón and El Cerrito sandstones (except sample names in bold referring to spherule layer and
marl). Values for the upper continental crust (McLennan, 2001) are marked in gray. Qm = monocrystalline quartz, Qm, non-undulose = Qm with b5° undulosity, Qp = polycrystalline
quartz, Qp(>3 subgrains) = Qp with >3 subgrains, Qt = total quartz, Fspt = total feldspar, Plg = plagioclase.

for El Cerrito (ATi: 54–79; ZTR: 9–29). Rutile was only observed at El
Peñón (b6%) and there, the RZi is ≤8. In contrast, El Cerrito has a sig-
nificantly higher abundance of hornblende, chlorite, clinozoisite, and
enstatite (Fig. 12).
Generally, the El Peñón sandstones, particularly unit 3, have a
highly variable heavy mineral content with samples EP 6.1 and EP 8.1
having a considerably lower ZTR (36 and 16, respectively) and higher
abundances of apatite and hornblende compared to the enclosing sand-
stones (Fig. 12). In contrast, the El Cerrito section shows only little var-
iation in the heavy mineral content across the section.
(Table 2). The calcium content is generally low (b 3.75 wt.% for El
Peñón and b 4.33 wt.% for El Cerrito).
About 80–85% of the tourmaline grains from El Peñón and 68–82%
from El Cerrito have a chemical composition that is typical for
metasedimentary protoliths of metapelitic composition (fields 4, 5,
9 and 10 in the diagrams of Henry and Guidotti, 1985; Fig. 13). Beside
this metamorphic influence, a considerable amount (>15% for El
Peñón and El Cerrito) of grains has a composition typical for deriva-
tion from magmatic sources (Fig. 13). There are no obvious composi-
tional variations of tourmaline within or between the two sections.

4.6. Chemical composition of tourmaline 5. Provenance

The tourmaline grains are mainly subrounded and commonly bro- The high proportions of quartz in the studied sections are typical
ken. They are generally characterized by a strong pleochroism and a for sandstones derived from recycled orogens (Fig. 8; Dickinson et
brown to olive-green or yellow color. The grains have chemical com- al., 1983). However, local differences in sediment transport and deposi-
positions between the end-members buergerite, schorl, and dravite tional settings can induce strong variations, especially on the amount of
330 S. Rehrmann et al. / Sedimentary Geology 282 (2012) 321–335

RIV-P3.1
EP 3 RIV-P3.2
RIV-P3.3
RIV-P3.4
RIV-P3.5

RIV-P3.6

RIV-P2.8
RIV-P2.7
RIV-P2.6
EP 2

RIV-P2.5
RIV-P2.4

Na2O/K2O
RIV-P2.3

Zr/Sc

Ti/Nb
Th/Sc
RIV-P1.1
RIV-P1.3
EP 1

RIV-P1.4
RIV-P1.5
RIV-P1.6

UJe-14
SJdLP

UJe-13
UJe-12

UJe-05
UJe-04
DS

UJe-03
UJe-02
UJe-01 (0.06)

0.70 0.75 0.800.85 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.6 0.7 0.8 50 55 60 65 0.2 1 10 100 1000
Q t /(Q t+Fspt) Plg/Fspt Q m/Qt CIA Th/Sc Na2O/K2O Zr/Sc Ti/Nb

Fig. 10. Light mineral framework content and whole-rock chemical composition of La Popa sandstones. Sample names from the K–Pg boundary deposit are given in bold. DS =
Delgado Syncline, SJdLP = San José de la Popa, EP = El Papalote profile. See Fig. 9 for further explanation.

lithic fragments. Thus, the frame-work petrography only gives a first

10 impression about possible provenance areas and additional data are
El Peñón, n = 344 Unit 3, n = 118
needed for verification. Nevertheless, the general similarity both in
Red peak intensity / trough intensity

(K-Pg transition) Unit 2, n = 179

light mineral and whole-rock element composition suggests a similar
Unit 1, n = 47
5 origin for the sandstones from both the La Popa Basin and the Burgos
red Basin. Such a similarity can be expected, because the sediment derived
low-T met. & from the same coastal stretch. Source areas with three main rock types
mafic plutonic have to be considered: (1) carbonate, (2) siliciclastic metasedimentary,
violet and (3) plutonic rocks.
brown volcanic
(1) The presence of carbonate shells, matrix, and cement suggests
dark
blue
felsic plutonic, that unconsolidated material from the shelf was mixed with
1 high-T met. &
medium bright siliciclastic detritus during transport. In addition, detrital car-
blue blue pegmatitic
bonate grains as well as chert clasts may have been derived
from the Mesozoic sedimentary rocks of the coevally uplifting
10 Sierra Madre Oriental to the west (Fig. 2). These rocks mainly
El Cerrito, n = 125 layer 8, n = 9 consist of carbonate and chert, evaporite, and to a lesser degree
Red peak intensity / trough intensity

(Late Maastrichtian) layer 6, n = 43 of terrigenous siliciclastic rocks (Weidie and Murray, 1967;
layer 4, n = 71 Avenius, 1982).
5
layer 2, n = 2 (2) The siliciclastic material in the sandstones is strongly indicative
red
of sedimentary recycling. The high Zr/Sc values are rather in
low-T met. &
agreement with recycling than with erosion and transport
mafic plutonic
violet directly from other rocks types. Furthermore, in the Burgos
Basin the high heavy mineral indices ZTR and ATi and the
brown volcanic metapelitic protoliths for most tourmaline grains support
dark felsic plutonic, recycling. The ultimate sources partly were mafic, as indicated
blue
1 high-T met. & both by the geochemical composition (e. g., Ti/Nb values, CIA in
medium bright
blue blue pegmatitic combination with low K2O contents) and the general domi-
nance of plagioclase among the feldspars. Furthermore, the
sandstones in the Burgos Basin with dark CL colors for quartz
1 2 3 4 and their large polycrystalline quartz fraction also indicate
Blue peak intensity / trough intensity
low-temperature metamorphic rocks as ultimate sources, al-
Fig. 11. Relative peak intensities for measured quartz CL spectra (discrimination though plutonic detritus was equally important for the K–Pg
scheme from Augustsson and Reker, 2012). sandstones at El Peñón, as indicated by the CL results. The
 S. Rehrmann et al. / Sedimentary Geology 282 (2012) 321–335 331

Table 1
Origin of quartz grains based on their cathodoluminescence spectra.

Volcanic Plutonica Metamorphicb Total

(#) (%) (#) (%) (#) (%) (#) (%)

Unit 1 1 2% 17 36% 29 62% 47 100%

Unit 2 10 6% 69 39% 100 56% 179 101%
Unit 3 5 4% 60 51% 53 45% 118 100%
Total (El Peñón) 16 5% 146 42% 182 53% 344 100%
Layer 2 – – 2 2
Layer 4 1 1% 13 18% 57 80% 71 99%
Layer 6 – – 10 23% 33 77% 43 100%
Layer 8 – 1 8 9
Total (El Cerrito) 1 b1% 24 20% 98 80% 123 100%
a
Plutonic and high-temperature metamorphic and pegmatitic quartz.
b
Metamorphic and mafic plutonic quartz, excluding high-temperature metamorphic quartz.

source difference is supported by the heavy mineral contents
in the two sections.
The uplifting Sierra Madre Oriental west of the Burgos Basin
poses the closest possible source for siliciclastic material.
Present-day exposures are scarce and restricted to isolated
areas in northeastern Mexico (cf. Gursky, 1996). The Paleozoic
section includes Silurian, Mississippian, and Permian siliciclastic
rocks containing volcanic detritus and intercalations of felsic
volcanic rocks (Stewart et al., 1999). Triassic sandstones con-
tain little volcanic detritus but were fed from mainly felsic
rocks (Barboza-Gudiño et al., 2010). Jurassic–Cretaceous sand-
stones contain too much volcanic detritus and plutonic quartz

El Peñón (K-Pg transition) El Cerrito (Late Maastrichtian)

EP 11.11 n>100

EP 9.1

EP 8.1
P 8.2
EP 7.1 P 8.1

EP 6.1
EP 6.2
EP 5.1
EP 4.7
EP 4.8 P 6.2
P 6.1

P 4.3

P 4.2

P 4.1
EP 4.4

EP 4.2
Zircon
Tourmaline
EP 4.5
Chlorite
Clinozoisite
EP 4.3
Garnet
Hornblende

EP 4.6 Enstatite
Apatite
EP 4.1 Rutile
EP 2.1o Others
EP 2.1u

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 9 0 100
Heavy minerals (%) Heavy minerals (%)

Fig. 12. Heavy mineral content of the El Peñón and El Cerrito sandstones.
332 S. Rehrmann et al. / Sedimentary Geology 282 (2012) 321–335

Table 2
Typical chemical compositions of tourmalinea.

Discrimination fieldb Sample_grain Structural formula

2 EP2.1u_4 (Na0.60Ca0.03 K0.01)(Fe1.82 Mg0.57Al0.42Ti0.02Mn0.01)(Al6.00)(Si6.04)(BO3)3(OH)4

4 (10) EP2.1o_9 (Na0.60Ca0.10 K0.02)(Fe0.93 Mg1.36Al0.19Ti0.22Mnb0.01)(Al6.00)(Al0.22Si5.88)(BO3)3(OH)4
5 (9) EP4.1_11 (Na0.56Ca0.37 Kb0.01)(Fe1.10 Mg1.47Ti0.12Mn0.01)(Fe0.27Al5.83)(Si6.01)(BO3)3(OH)4
6 (10) EP8.1_1 (Na0.73Ca0.24 K0.02)(Fe0.76 Mg2.15Ti0.12)(Fe0.74Al5.26)(Si6.10)(BO3)3(O,F)4
a
Normalization was made on the basis of 29 O.
b
Henry and Guidotti (1985).

(Ocampo-Díaz, 2011). Hence, transport from the Sierra Madre
Oriental probably was restricted to material from the youngest
strata, i. e. Cretaceous limestone detritus.
Low-grade metasedimentary rocks are dominant on the Coa-
huila platform (deformed carbonates) and the Burro Arch
(deformed metasediments) north of both the Burgos Basin
and the La Popa Basin, but these areas were situated below
sea level during late Maastrichtian time (Goldhammer and
Johnson, 2001; Fig. 2). Neither coast-parallel sand transport
contributing metamorphic detritus from South Texas is con-
sidered due to the scarcity of volcanic quartz in the Burgos
Basin sandstones (cf., Ewing and Caran, 1982; Reese et al.,
2000). Instead, the metasedimentary source areas probably
were more distant. The material may have been derived
from the Caborca basement block in northwestern Mexico
and possibly also from Laurentian crustal elements in the south-
western USA (cf. Lawton et al., 2009; Fig. 2). The Caborca block
represents an offset segment of the latest Precambrian to early
Paleozoic metasedimentary Cordilleran passive margin, whereas
Laurentian basement is contiguous to the North American cra-
ton that consists of metamorphic and igneous rocks (Dickinson
and Lawton, 2001).
(3) The plutonic detritus may have derived from a source partly
separate from the metasedimentary one. This is indicated by
the larger amount of plutonic quartz grains and less metamor-
phic heavy minerals in the K–Pg than in the Maastrichtian sand-
stones in the Burgos Basin, results that cannot be explained by
variations in grain size and quartz content. This is also in accor-
dance with the lower chlorite content at El Peñón, as revealed by
the Rietveld analysis. Furthermore, the high ZTR in the Burgos
Basin, as well as the higher Zr/Sc in the K–Pg sections also in
La Popa indicate a higher degree of reworking or recycling. Sim-
ilar to the results from this study, a partial change in source
areas is also given by U–Pb ages of the late Maastrichtian to
K–Pg transition sandstones from the La Popa Basin (Lawton
et al., 2009). Plutonic material may have been derived both
from granitic and sedimentary units of the Caborca basement
(cf. Ferrari et al., 2007; Lawton et al., 2009) and from an exten-
sive magmatic arc province in western Mexico, which existed
during the development of the Sierra Madre Oriental fold and
thrust belt and the foreland basins (Dickinson and Lawton,
2001; Fig. 2). The arc province is the result of arc collision and
accretion on the western flank of Mexico beginning in late
Early Cretaceous time (Dickinson and Lawton, 2001). This
west-facing continental-margin arc-trench system is dominated
by volcanic–plutonic arc mineral assemblages. Pre-Paleogene
plutonic rocks are of dioritic to granitic composition and the
volcanic rocks dominantly are andesitic (Ferrari et al., 2007).
Hence, such a model would imply transport of plagioclase
from mafic volcanic rocks and quartz from plutonites. Most
potassium feldspar from the felsic source rocks must have un-
dergone alteration before deposition.
The provenance interpretation presented here is similar to the
one of Soegaard et al. (2003) and Lawton et al. (2009) for
Upper Cretaceous to lower Paleogene sandstones from the shal-
low La Popa and Parras foreland basins (Fig. 2). Similar to this
study, Lawton et al. (2009) recorded a dominance of plagioclase
among the feldspars and only sparse lithic volcanic fragments
in the sandstones. Based on the framework petrography and zir-
con U–Pb dating, a long-lived northwestern Mexican drainage
system that originated in the area of present-day California,
Arizona, and New Mexico was considered. They suggested that

Ca Ca

El Peñón
Al (K-Pg)
1

El Cerrito
11
(Late Maastrichtian) 9
10 12
2
1 Fe Mg

1. Li-rich granitoid pegmatites and aplites

2. Li-poor granitoids and their associated pegmatites and aplites
3. Fe3+-rich quartz-tourmaline rocks (hydrothermally altered granites)
7 4. Metapelites and metapsammites coexisting with an Al-saturating phase
2 4 5. Metapelites and metapsammites not coexisting with an Al-saturating phase
6. Fe 3+-rich quartz-tourmaline rocks, calc-silicate rocks and metapelites
5 7. Low-Ca meta-ultramafics and Cr-V-rich metasediments
8. Metacarbonates and meta-pyroxenites

3 8 9. Ca-rich metapelites, metapsammites and calc-silicate rocks

10. Ca-poor metapelites, metapsammites and calc-silicate rocks
6 11. Metacarbonates
12. Meta-ultramafics

Fe50Al50 Al50Mg50

Fig. 13. Chemical composition of tourmaline in molecular percentages from El Peñón and El Cerrito. Discrimination fields from Henry and Guidotti (1985).
 S. Rehrmann et al. / Sedimentary Geology 282 (2012) 321–335
this drainage system received sediment from transverse rivers
that presumably flowed parallel to the Sierra Madre Oriental
fold belt and discharged into the Parras and La Popa foreland
basins, presumably at the Torreón syntaxis ca. 300 km west of
Monterrey (Fig. 2). The drainage area west of the Sierra Madre
Oriental probably was smaller than suggested by Lawton et al.
(2009), because the petrographic and geochemical composition
of the Burgos and La Popa Basin sandstones are not in accor-
dance with erosion of all geographical areas that would have
to be passed. Furthermore, it is unlikely that the major part of
western Mexico would drain towards the east during uplift of
the Sierra Madre Oriental.
The detritus of the latest Maastrichtian to K–Pg boundary sand-
stones both in the shallow-marine La Popa Basin and the deep-
marine Burgos Basin derived from similar sources. We infer
transport mainly of metasedimentary detritus from the north-
west that was mixed with igneous material from a transport
system emanating from the magmatic arc province in western
Mexico.
6. Depositional conditions for the Burgos Basin
Schulte et al. (2011) interpret the K–Pg sedimentary rocks in the
La Popa basin as representing shelf sand deposition that was followed
by (hyper-)concentrated density flows within a valley at the actual
K–Pg boundary. Hence, the depositional settings were different for
the latest Maastrichtian sand and the K–Pg boundary sand.
Similar to the La Popa Basin, in the deep-marine Burgos Basin
differences in the depositional conditions prevailed. During the late
Maastrichtian, the dominance of marl sedimentation indicates that
detrital coarse-grained material was effectively shielded from the
deep foreland basins of the Sierra Madre Oriental. The occurrence of
intercalated sandstone beds with sharp lower contacts at El Cerrito
points to sporadic coarser-grained sediment input by local mass
flows derived from shallow coastal areas. This is in accordance with
the upward change from lamination to ripple formation due to waning
current energy within individual sandstone beds, pointing to deposi-
tion by a single turbidite event. The good sorting of the sandstones
can be explained by the dominance of fine-grained sand already in
the coastal source areas. Because of the thick marl layers between
the sandstone beds, the mass flow events probably were separated
by long phases of background sedimentation. This interpretation is
supported by the colonization by burrowers in the topmost part of
the sandstone beds. The causes for the sediment instability that trig-
gered the mass transport may include sediment overload on the
shelf, earthquakes, storm events, and / or recorded late Cretaceous
sea-level fluctuations (Leeder, 1999; Lawton et al., 2001). The in-
creased heterogeneity, most apparent in the increase of quartz, may
be a result of tapping more proximal sources that overstepped storage
on the shelf (Hurst and Morton, 2001). The appearance of apparently
symmetrical ripples as well as both Chondrites and Ophiomorpha may
be in favor of shallower conditions than indicated from foraminifers
(600–1000 m; Alegret and Thomas, 2001; Alegret et al., 2001), al-
though the trace fossils may appear in water depths of several hundred
meters (cf. Heard and Pickering, 2008). However this may imply rapid
sea-level drops for each of the four sandstone layers and equally rapid
sea-level rises after sandstone deposition. The main interpretations
would not be different if shallower water conditions prevailed though.
The results from the El Peñón sandstones support an interpretation
of the K–Pg sandstones as a result of mass transport (cf. Soria et al.,
2001, for a near-by locality). Water-escape features in all three layers
(see Keller et al., 1994; Smit et al., 1996), faint lamination, the general
lack of trace fossils in units 1 and 2, and the relatively good sorting in-
dicate a first phase of rapid deposition by sand-loaded mass flows de-
rived from shallower shelf areas dominated by fine sand. A reworked
shelf origin is also assumed for other NE Mexican K–Pg boundary
333
sections due to mixed bathyal and neritic benthic foraminifera in the
spherule layers (Alegret et al., 2001). The alternation of marl and
sandstone in unit 3 indicates a change in depositional conditions.
Mass flows of the thin, commonly rippled sand layers assume decreas-
ing sediment supply from the shelf. This interpretation is supported by
the high variability and in part opposing current directions recorded
in the sandstones (see also Smit et al., 1996). We assume the opposing
current directions to be the result of a complete system of near-
simultaneous mass flows from different points of origin along the
Gulf of Mexico (cf. Smit et al., 1996; Schulte et al., 2010). In the mass
flow model, the intercalated dm-thick marl layers in unit 3 assume
additional transport from the shelf margin or slope presumably closer
to El Peñón. As a comparison, evidence of joint mass transport of
Méndez Formation marl and unit 1 spherules has been observed at
La Sierrita only 40–50 km northwest of El Peñón (Soria et al., 2001).
The confinement of burrowers to the very top of unit 3 suggests that
colonization took place after deposition of the sandstones, although
some burrows may actually have been established already during
deposition of the uppermost layers. This is in accordance with deposi-
tion of the unit during a very short period (see e. g., Smit et al., 1996;
Schulte et al., 2010). Alternatively, the sedimentological features
of unit 3 can be interpreted in favor of deposition taking place during
a much longer period of time (see e. g., Stinnesbeck et al., 1993; Adatte
et al., 1996) and with the marl layers being the result of background
sedimentation. The sandstones with their varying current directions
would be in accordance with deposition in a coastal realm. This would
assume a rather unrealistic sea-level drop of >500 m from the latest
Maastrichtian, however (cf. Alegret and Thomas, 2001; Alegret et al.,
2001).
Incorporating the heavy mineral data of the El Peñón section
allows for additional constraints on the depositional conditions. Spe-
cifically, the difference in heavy mineral content of unit 2 compared
with the much more complex composition of unit 3 of the El Peñón
section may suggest that mineralogically more heterogeneous mate-
rial was incorporated in the sandstones during deposition of unit 3.
This may, like in El Cerrito, be explained by temporarily tapping of
sediment sources from areas more proximal to the sediment input,
bypassing storage on the shallow shelf (e.g., Hurst and Morton,
2001). In the case of the El Peñón sandstones, this suggests that the
detritus of unit 2 originated from well-mixed shallow shelf areas of
the Burgos Basin northwest of El Peñón. In contrast, the sediments
of unit 3 may alternately have been derived from different coastal
stretches as indicated by the varying current directions, possibly
with partial transport from the shallow La Popa and Parras basins or
the Sabinas foreland basin. The trigger for the deep-marine sandstone
deposition is usually tied to the Chicxulub impact (e. g., Bohor, 1996;
Smit et al., 1996; Schulte et al., 2010). Related earthquakes can ex-
plain the transport, possibly in conjunction with increased shelf insta-
bility due to a low sea level.
7. Conclusions
The petrographic and chemical compositions indicate that the
detritus of the late Maastrichtian and K–Pg boundary sandstone beds
in the Burgos and La Popa basins derived from similar source regions.
Both recycled orogenic and stable cratonic areas contributed to the
composition of the sandstones with a mixture of magmatic, metamor-
phic, and carbonate material. The siliciclastic transport from western
Mexico most likely took place via a stable fluvial system that operated
during the Late Cretaceous and early Paleogene. By the time the fluvial
system encountered the Gulf of Mexico, longshore currents led to
reworking, mixing with calcareous material from the Sierra Madre
Oriental, and redistribution of the material along the coast. The sedi-
ment transport system must have been long-lived to permit for a sim-
ilar provenance for the upper Maastrichtian and the K–Pg sandstone
beds (Lawton et al., 2009, inferred that the river system persisted for
334 S. Rehrmann et al. / Sedimentary Geology 282 (2012) 321–335
at least 30 Ma). Therefore, the change in depositional realm at the
K–Pg boundary in northeastern Mexico from marl to sandstone does
not represent changes in the alluvial transport systems, but rather
suggests mass transport of sediment that was stored along the coast
into deep-water areas.
The change in provenance between uppermost Maastrichtian and
K–Pg boundary sandstones probably is related to tectonic activity of
the Sierra Madre Oriental. The successive uplift may have caused
changes in transportation paths west of the fold and thrust belt. Alter-
natively, igneous activity in the magmatic arc province of western
Mexico may have triggered a change in sedimentation flux. Due to
the increased sediment input from western Mexico at the K–Pg
boundary, the provenance changes cannot be related to the Chicxulub
impact.
Supplementary materials related to this article can be found on-
line at XXX.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by PAICyT (UANL project CT129-09). Jens
Steffahn (Garbsen, Germany) is thanked for his help and ideas during
the field work. We are also grateful to Jasper Berndt (University of
Münster, Germany) for support with the electron microprobe measure-
ments and Stefan Krumm (University Erlangen, Germany) for help with
the XRD samples. Finally, we thank Thomas Götte, John Hooker, as well
as the reviewers Timothy Lawton and Sven Egenhoff for valuable com-
ments on earlier versions of the paper.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2012.10.002.
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