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The rhythmically bedded limestone-marl alternations in the coastal cliffs of Sopelana and Zumaia in the Basque country, northern Spain, permit testing and refining of existing Maastrichtian chronologies (latest Cretaceous). The recently established astronomical time scale for the late Maastrichtian at Zumaia is extended into C31n with the integrated stratigraphy of the Sopelana section. The cyclic alternations of hemipelagic limestones and marls at Sopelana show a strong influence of eccentricity-modulated precession. Together, the Zumaia and Sopelana sections span almost the entire Maastrichtian, and encompass thirteen 405kyr cycles, spanning a total duration of 5.3Myr. From the K/Pg boundary downwards, 405kyr minima in the lithological, magnetic susceptibility and reflectance data records are tuned to successive 405kyr minima in the new La2011 eccentricity solution. Assuming a K/Pg boundary age of 65.97Ma, we present orbitally tuned ages of biostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic events. While the bases of Chrons C29r and C30n were reliably established at Zumaia and are in good agreement with previous studies, new data from Sopelana provide a refinement of the basal age of Chron C31r. Additional planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannoplankton data from Zumaia, and new calcareous nannoplankton data from Sopelana allow for worldwide correlation of the cyclostratigraphy of the Basque country. Supplementary materials: Identification of the 405 kyr minima; Geologic map; Paleomagnetic results; Sopelana data; Redfit 3.8 power spectra (.pdf); data tables (.rtf)

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New clay mineralogical analyses have been performed on Campanian sediments from the Tethyan and Boreal realms along a palaeolatitudinal transect from 45° to 20°N

Detailed facies analysis of a 350 m long core of upper Campanian–Maastrichtian chalk at Stevns Peninsula, eastern Denmark, shows that four mudstone and wackestone chalk facies account for close to 95% of the succession, and that bioturbated mudstone chalk alone accounts for nearly 55% of the sediment. Sedimentation took place in deep water, below the photic zone and storm‐wave base, and is characterized by decimetre to metre‐scale variations in facies and trace fossil assemblages indicating repeated shifts in depositional environment. Integration of facies with published data on sea‐surface temperature and accumulation rates suggests that sea‐surface temperature is the most important parameter in controlling stratification of the water column and thereby, indirectly, the observed variations in depositional facies. However, bioturbated mudstone chalk occurs in all stratigraphic levels independent of accumulation rates and sea temperatures and is interpreted to represent a very broad set of deep water environmental conditions with an ample supply of calcareous nannofossil debris and intense bioturbation. Longer term shifts in deposition are best expressed by distribution of clay, flint and bioturbated micro‐wackestone, bioturbated wackestone and laminated mudstone chalk facies, whereas the trace fossil assemblages appear less useful. The data set indicates overall shallowing over time with two distinctive events of clay influx to the basin during the late Campanian–earliest Maastrichtian and late Maastrichtian.