Chalk Group Lithostratigraphy: East Anglia - Little Marl Point Member

The Little Marl Point Member (c. 5-5.6 m thick) equates with the 'White Chalk without Ostrea lunata' and the overlying 'White Chalk with Ostrea lunata' of Brydone (Brydone, 1906; Peake & Hancock, 1970), and is named after Little Marl Point [TG 298 380] on the north Norfolk coast east of Trimingham, where the member forms part of a chalk mass enclosed in glacial drift. The member comprises soft, white chalk with four nodular flint horizons and two thin marls, and is densely packed with the shells of the oyster Ostrea lunata in the upper part (Johansen & Surlyk, 1990). The base of the member is the 'greasy' marl labelled G in Peake & Hancock (1970, fig. 7), and the top is the base of the first, soft grey chalk beds that comprise the overlying Beacon Hill Grey Chalk Member, labelled 'A' by Peake & Hancock (1970, Fig. 7) (Johansen & Surlyk, 1990).

Macrofossil Biozonation: B. occidentalis Zone

Correlation: see Correlation with other UK Chalk Group successions

References

BRYDONE, R M.1906. Further notes on the stratigraphy and fauna of the Trimingham Chalk. Geological Magazine, Vol. 43, 13-22, 72-78, 124-31, 289-300.

JOHANSEN, M B & SURLYK, F.1990. Brachiopods and the stratigraphy of the Upper Campanian and Lower Maastrichtian Chalk of Norfolk, England. Palaeontology, Vol. 33(4), 823-872.

PEAKE, N B & HANCOCK, J M. 1970. The Upper Cretaceous of Norfolk [reprinted with corrigenda and addenda] In LARWOOD, G P & FUNNELL, B M (eds.), The Geology of Norfolk. London & Ashford.