Albian to Turonian sedimentation and microfossil assemblages in the Northern Western Interior Sea: Peel Plateau region (Northwest Territories, Canada)

Cretaceous sediments in the Northern Interior Plains are widespread and their interbasinal lithostratigraphic correlations indicate several regional disconformities that require biostratigraphic confirmation. This study proposes a new zonation based on benthic foraminifera utilizing the reference section for the Arctic Red and Trevor formations located along the Hume River in the Peel Plateau region (Northwest Territories). Integration of the new temporal framework with detailed sedimentological observations provides an interpretation of the dynamic depositional history for this part of the Western Interior Seaway (WIS).;Strata in the Peel Plateau record deposition of the initial transgression of the WIS in two pulses of relative sea-level rise (Martin House Formation) and subsequent offshore marine sedimentation in a deep foreland basin (Arctic Red Formation). The global eustatic sea-level minimum at the Albian-Cenomanian boundary impacted paleogeography in this region with subaerial exposure and paleosol development. Rapid transgression and anoxic bottom waters during the Early Cenomanian (Slater River Formation) resulted in an interval almost barren of foraminifera. During the Turonian, a time of high eustatic sea-level, the study area marks a relatively shallow site where pulses of prograding shorelines are recorded in upward shallowing parasequences bound by pebble lags and flooding surfaces (Trevor Formation).;East of the Peel Plateau in the Mackenzie Plain area, a disconformity separates Albian Arctic Red from ?late Cenomanian-Turonian strata, there named the Slater River Formation. In order to recognize the significant disconformity associated with the loss of Albian foraminifera we propose the use of the Slater River Formation to describe the strata bounded by the erosional horizon and the first pebble bed marking the base of the interbedded mudstones and sandstones of the overlying Trevor Formation. The Hume River section is proposed as the type section for the Slater River Formation.;Five foraminiferal zones are recognized, using where possible, zonal markers from previously established biostratigraphic frameworks to facilitate regional correlation with surrounding Western and High Arctic regions. The Early Albian Quadrimorphina albertensis Zone is found in the Martin House and lower Arctic Red formations and is well established in other Arctic regions. The upper part of the Arctic Red Formation is correlated with the newly established Middle to Late Albian Gaudryina canadensis Zone. The top of this zone is marked by a paleosol followed by a nearly barren interval. The Slater River Formation is characterized by the occurrence of fish teeth, Inoceramus prisms, algal cysts, and a single occurrence of Textularia alcesensis, which gives combined evidence for an Early Cenomanian age. The Late Cenomanian Gaudryina irenensis Zone extends through the lower part of the Trevor Formation giving way to the Turonian Pseudoclavulina hastata Zone in the upper Trevor Formation.