Magnetostratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous Reference Section in the Caucasian Mineralnye Vody Region (the Podkumsky Quarry)

Based on the results of paleomagnetic studies, which are part of intergrated bio-, chemo- and magnetostratigraphic studies of the Upper Cretaceous North Caucasus, analogs of magnetic chrons C34n and C33r are identified in the Podkumsky quarry section near the city of Essentuki. The Santonian–Campanian boundary is drawn in the section due to this, by analogy with the limitotype of the Campanian Stage at Bottaccione (Italy), and the early Campanian age of the deposits is substantiated, by analogy with the reference section of the Campanian Stage in the Kudrino village (Crimea). The high paleomagnetic quality makes the Podkumsky quarry a unique section of the Upper Cretaceous in terms of magnetostratigraphy and a prospective target for accurate determining paleomagnetic poles and studying the fine structure of the Late Cretaceous geomagnetic field.