Late Cretaceous orbitally-paced carbon isotope stratigraphy from the Bottaccione Gorge (Italy)

A refined astronomical tuning of the upper Albian−lower Campanian is proposed from the Bottaccione reference section (Gubbio, central Italy). Long-term eccentricity cycles filtered from a high-resolution δ13C record were tuned to the highly stable 405 kyr cycles of the new La2010 astronomical solution for the Earthʹs orbital elements. The achieved orbital tuning provides a new precise, and accurate age model for dating biostratigraphic, magnetostratigraphic and carbon isotope events through a ~ 23 Myr long record. Cycles of ~ 8.0, 4.7, 3.4 and ~ 2.4 Myr modulate the entire δ13C record, thus extending their detection from the Cenozoic to ~ 100 Ma and represent primary and stable long-term oscillation modes of Earthʹs climate–ocean system. Although an ultimate driver of these long-term periodicities is lacking, we speculate that specifically the periodicity at 4.7 Myr, represents a homologue of the present eccentricity grand-cycles, evolved by the chaotic behaviour of solar system planets during the Mesozoic. The long-term periodicities potentially reflect an unexplored expression of the low-frequency response of the carbon cycle to global biogeochemical dynamics of major nutrients, particularly phosphorus, associated with modulation of inputs to the ocean in turn triggered by high-order marine transgressions and formation of highly productive shelf seas. This very long-term eccentricity control, modulated by periodic low-energy cycles, is suggested to play a crucial role in carbon cycling, controlling a chain of climate sensitive global biogeochemical processes on the Earth. Finally, these grand-cycles provide a potential tool for geological correlation and provide a robust constraint for accurate calculation of the orbital evolution of the Solar System.