Magnetostratigraphy of Cretaceous terrestrial successions in China: Recent developments and future prospects

The Cretaceous represents a pivotal interval in Earth history marked by profound environmental, biological, and geodynamic changes. Widespread Cretaceous terrestrial successions in China provide exceptional archives for investigating the “Cretaceous World”. Magnetostratigraphy, a geophysical method used to date and correlate strata based on their magnetic properties, has made pivotal contributions to the chronological study of the Cretaceous in China. Here, we review the history and advancements in Cretaceous magnetostratigraphic studies in China over the past decades, focusing on the representative achievements in areas such as the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, Jehol biota and dinosaur evolution, the age constraint of the Cretaceous Normal Superchron, and key stratigraphic correlations. Additionally, we summarize challenges encountered in magnetostratigraphic studies of Cretaceous terrestrial sediments in China, including remagnetization, remanent magnetization in conglomerates, and high-resolution stratigraphic correlation. Future research should prioritize well-preserved terrestrial successions and integrate magnetostratigraphy with biostratigraphy, isotopic geochronology, and cyclostratigraphy. Such integrated frameworks will improve marine-continental stratigraphic correlation and provide robust chronological constraints for Cretaceous geological events and resource exploration.