Sample records for cretaceous continental deposits
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Proximal Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary impact deposits in the Caribbean
Hildebrand, Alan R.; Boynton, Willam V.
1990-01-01
Trace element, isotopic, and mineralogic studies indicate that the proposed impact at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary occurred in an ocean basin, although a minor component of continental material is required. The size and abundance of shocked minerals and the restricted geographic occurrence of the ejecta layer and impact-wave deposits suggest an impact between the Americas. Coarse boundary sediments at sites 151 and 153 in the Colombian Basin and 5- to 450-meter-thick boundary sediments in Cuba may be deposits of a giant wave produced by a nearby oceanic impact.
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Dong, Shuwen; Zhang, Yueqiao; Zhang, Fuqin; Cui, Jianjun; Chen, Xuanhua; Zhang, Shuanhong; Miao, Laicheng; Li, Jianhua; Shi, Wei; Li, Zhenhong; Huang, Shiqi; Li, Hailong
2015-12-01
The basic tectonic framework of continental East Asia was produced by a series of nearly contemporaneous orogenic events in the late Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. Commonly, the Late Mesozoic orogenic processes were characterized by continent-continent collision, large-scale thrusting, strike-slip faulting and intense crustal shortening, crustal thickening, regional anatexis and metamorphism, followed by large-scale lithospheric extension, rifting and magmatism. To better understand the geological processes, this paper reviews and synthesizes existing multi-disciplinary geologic data related to sedimentation, tectonics, magmatism, metamorphism and geochemistry, and proposes a two-stage tectono-thermal evolutionary history of East Asia during the late Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (ca. 170-120 Ma). In the first stage, three orogenic belts along the continental margins were formed coevally at ca. 170-135 Ma, i.e., the north Mongol-Okhotsk orogen, the east paleo-Pacific coastal orogen, and the west Bangong-Nujiang orogen. Tectonism related to the coastal orogen caused extensive intracontinental folding and thrusting that resulted in a depositional hiatus in the Late Jurassic, as well as crustal anatexis that generated syn-kinematic granites, adakites and migmatites. The lithosphere of the East Asian continent was thickened, reaching a maximum during the latest Jurassic or the earliest Cretaceous. In the second stage (ca. 135-120 Ma), delamination of the thickened lithosphere resulted in a remarkable (>120 km) lithospheric thinning and the development of mantle-derived magmatism, mineralization, metamorphic core complexes and rift basins. The Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous subduction of oceanic plates (paleo-Pacific, meso-Tethys, and Mongol-Okhotsk) and continent-continent collision (e.g. Lhasa and Qiangtang) along the East Asian continental margins produced broad coastal and intracontinental orogens. These significant tectonic activities, marked by
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Cretaceous paleogeography and depositional cycles of western South America
Macellari, C. E.
The western margin of South America was encroached upon by a series of marine advances that increased in extent from the Early Cretaceous to a maximum in the early Late Cretaceous for northern South America (Venezuela to Peru). In southern South America, however, the area covered by the marine advances decreased from a maximum in the Early Cretaceous to a minimum during mid-Cretaceous time, followed by a widespread advance at the end of the period. A series of unconformity-bounded depositional cycles was recognized in these sequences: five cycles in northern South America, and six (but not exactly equivalent) cycles in the Cretaceous back-arc basins of southern South America (Neuquén and Austral, or Magallanes, Basins). Both widespread anoxic facies and maximum flooding of the continent in northern South America coincide in general terms with recognized global trends, but this is not the case in southern South America. Here, anoxic facies are restricted to the Lower Cretaceous and seem to be controlled by local aspects of the basin evolution and configuration. The contrasts observed between northern and southern South America can be explained by differences in tectonic setting and evolution. To the north, sediments were deposited around the tectonically stable Guayana-Brazilian Massifs, and thus registered global "signals" such as anoxic events and major eustatic changes. The southern portion of the continent, on the contrary, developed in an active tectonic setting. Here, the mid-Cretaceous Peruvian Orogeny overprinted, to a large extent, world-wide trends and only the earliest and latest Cretaceous conform to global depositional patterns.
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Chapter D: With or Without Salt-a Comparison of Marine and Continental-Lacustrine Diatomite Deposits
Moyle, Phillip R.; Dolley, Thomas P.
2003-01-01
Diatoms in sedimentary deposits of marine and continental, especially lacustrine, origin have similar nutrient (for example, phosphate, nitrate, and silica) and light requirements; however, their geologic ranges and physiographic environments vary. Marine diatoms range in age from Early Cretaceous to Holocene, and continental diatoms range in age from Eocene to Holocene; however, most commercial diatomites, both marine and lacustrine, were deposited during the Miocene. Marine deposits of commercial value generally accumulated along continental margins with submerged coastal basins and shelves where wind-driven boundary currents provided the nutrient-rich upwelling conditions capable of supporting a productive diatom habitat. Commercial freshwater diatomite deposits occur in volcanic terrains associated with events that formed sediment-starved drainage basins, such as the Basin and Range Province, particularly in Nevada. Marine habitats generally are characterized by stable conditions of temperature, salinity, pH, nutrients, and water currents, in contrast to lacustrine habitats, which are characterized by wide variations in these conditions. Marine deposits generally are of higher quality and contain larger resources, owing to their greater areal extent and thickness, whereas most of the world's known diatomites are of lacustrine origin. Both types of deposit are commonly mined by open-pit methods and subjected to processing designed to remove organic matter, CO2, pore water, and inorganic contaminants in order to produce purified products. The highest quality diatomites, predominantly from marine sources, are used in filtration, although both types of deposit produce filter grades, and additional end uses include fillers, additives, absorbents, and abrasives.
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The uranium potential of the continental Cretaceous of Patagonia
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Olsen, H.; Berizzo, J.
1980-01-01
The geological features of the fluvial sedimentation of the Cretaceous of Patagonia - the Grupo Chubut Formation in the provinces of Chubut and Santa Cruz, underlined this environment as one of high favourability for discovering uranium deposits. The area has been explored by the CNEA who found two outstanding levels of fluvial sediments that are today the target of further studies to find new deposits. The general geological features are given, together with the results of the exploration up to date, distribution of radiometric anomalies, deposits discovered and an estimation of the uraniferous potential of the Formation. (author)
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Sedimentary basin analysis and petroleum potential of the Cretaceous and Tertiary strata in Korea.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Son, Jin-Dam; Kwak, Young-Hoon; Bong, Pil-Yoon [Korea Institute of Geology Mining and Materials, Taejon (KR)] (and others)
1999-12-01
Since 1992 sedimentary basin analysis to assess petroleum potential of the Cretaceous and Tertiary strata in the Korean onshore and continental shelf have been carried out. The Cretaceous non-marine strata mainly occupy the Gyeongsang Basin in southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula and small basins such as Haenam and Gyeokpo depressions in western coastal areas. The Tertiary strata are mostly distributed in Domi, Cheju, Socotra subbasins, and Okinawa Trough in the South Continental Shelf, and Kunsan and Heuksan basins in the West. The basin evolution and petroleum potential for each basins are characterized as follow. The Cretaceous Gyeongsang sediments were deposited in three subbasins including Milyang, Euisung and Yongyang subbasins. The black shales in Nakdong and Jinju formations are interpreted to contain abundant organic matter during the deposition, thermal maturity reaching up to the zone of dry gas formation. Because porosity and permeability are too low, the sandstones can act as a tight gas reservoir rather than conventional oil and gas reservoir. The latest Cretaceous strata of Haenam and Kyeokpo depressions in western coastal area are correlated into the Yuchon Volcanic Group of the Gyeongsang Basin. Petroleum potential of the Early Cretaceous basin in the West Continental Shelf could be relatively high in terms of sedimentary basin filled with thick lacustrine sediments. The Kunsan basin in the West Continental Shelf originated in the Early Cretaceous time expanded during the Paleocene time followed by regional erosion at the end of Paleocene on which Neogene sediment have been accumulated. The Paleocene-Eocene sublacustrine shales may play an major role as a source and cap rocks. South Continental Shelf Basin is subdivided by Cheju subbasin in the center, Socotra Subbasin to the west, Domi Subbasin to the northeast and Okinawa Trough to the East. The potential hydrocarbon traps associated with anticline, titled fault blocks, fault, unconformity
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Paleoenvironments of the Jurassic and Cretaceous Oceans: Selected Highlights
Ogg, J. G.
2007-12-01
There are many themes contributing to the sedimentation history of the Mesozoic oceans. This overview briefly examines the roles of the carbonate compensation depth (CCD) and the associated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, of the evolution of marine calcareous microplankton, of major transgressive and regressive trends, and of super-plume eruptions. Initiation of Atlantic seafloor spreading in the Middle Jurassic coincided with an elevated carbonate compensation depth (CCD) in the Pacific-Tethys mega-ocean. Organic-rich sediments that would become the oil wealth of regions from Saudi Arabia to the North Sea were deposited during a continued rise in CCD during the Oxfordian-early Kimmeridgian, which suggests a possible increase in carbon dioxide release by oceanic volcanic activity. Deep-sea deposits in near-equatorial settings are dominated by siliceous shales or cherts, which reflect the productivity of siliceous microfossils in the tropical surface waters. The end-Jurassic explosion in productivity by calcareous microplankton contributed to the lowering of the CCD and onset of the chalk ("creta") deposits that characterize the Tithonian and lower Cretaceous in all ocean basins. During the mid-Cretaceous, the eruption of enormous Pacific igneous provinces (Ontong Java Plateau and coeval edifices) increased carbon dioxide levels. The resulting rise in CCD terminated chalk deposition in the deep sea. The excess carbon was progressively removed in widespread black-shale deposits in the Atlantic basins and other regions - another major episode of oil source rock. A major long-term transgression during middle and late Cretaceous was accompanied by extensive chalk deposition on continental shelves and seaways while the oceanic CCD remained elevated. Pacific guyots document major oscillations (sequences) of global sea level superimposed on this broad highstand. The Cretaceous closed with a progressive sea-level regression and lowering of the CCD that again enabled
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Carbonate deposition and salt diapirism during the Cretaceous in the Persian Gulf, offshore Iran
U. P. Baaske; M. Mutti; F. Baioni; R. Buonaguro; G. Bertozzi; M. A. Naini; C. M. Krawczyk; P. Kukla; R. Littke; H. Stollhofen; D. Schwarzer;
2004-01-01
The Cretaceous deposits in the Persian Gulf area are part of one of the largest hydrocarbon systems in the world. The stratigraphic evolution of the northern part of the Gulf is, however, poorly constrained. Seismic data from offshore Iran reveal that the shallow water deposition is marked by topographic features like the NNE-SSW trending Qatar-Fars-Arch and salt-related structures (diapirs and salt walls) of smaller scale. These structures were active during the Cretaceous. To examine the ef...
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Li, Gaojie; Wu, Chihua; Rodríguez-López, Juan Pedro; Yi, Haisheng; Xia, Guoqing; Wagreich, Michael
2018-02-01
The mid-Cretaceous constitutes a period of worldwide atmospheric and oceanic change associated with slower thermohaline circulation and ocean anoxic events, possible polar glaciations and by a changing climate pattern becoming controlled by a zonal planetary wind system and an equatorial humid belt. During the mid-Cretaceous, the subtropical high-pressure arid climate belt of the planetary wind system controlled the palaeolatitude distribution of humid belts in Asia as well as the spatial distribution of rain belts over the massive continental blocks at mid-low latitudes in the southern and northern hemispheres. Additionally, the orographic effect of the Andean-type active continental margin in East Asia hindered the transportation of ocean moisture to inland regions. With rising temperatures and palaeoatmospheric conditions dominated by high pressure systems, desert climate environments expanded at the inland areas of East Asia including those accumulated in the mid-Cretaceous of the Simao Basin, the Sichuan Basin, and the Thailand's Khorat Basin, and leading the Late Cretaceous erg systems in the Xinjiang Basin and Jianghan Basin. This manuscript presents evidences that allow to reinterpret previously considered water-laid sediments to be accumulated as windblown deposits forming part of extensive erg (sandy desert) systems. Using a multidisciplinary approach including petrological, sedimentological and architectural observations, the mid-Cretaceous (Albian-Turonian) Nanxin Formation from the Yunlong region of Lanping Basin, formerly considered to aqueous deposits is here interpreted as representing aeolian deposits, showing local aeolian-fluvial interaction deposits. The palaeowind directions obtained from the analysis of aeolian dune cross-beddings indicates that inland deserts were compatible with a high-pressure cell (HPC) existing in the mid-low latitudes of East Asia during the mid-Cretaceous. Compared with the Early Cretaceous, the mid-Cretaceous had
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Goldfarb, R.J.; Ayuso, R.; Miller, M.L.; Ebert, S.W.; Marsh, E.E.; Petsel, S.A.; Miller, L.D.; Bradley, D.; Johnson, Chad; McClelland, W.
2004-01-01
The Donlin Creek gold deposit, southwestern Alaska, has an indicated and inferred resource of approximately 25 million ounces (Moz) Au at a cutoff grade of 1.5 g/t. The ca. 70 Ma deposit is hosted in the Late Cretaceous Kuskokwim flysch basin, which developed in the back part of the are region of an active continental margin, on previously accreted oceanic terranes and continental fragments. A hypabyssal, mainly rhyolitic to rhyodacitic, and commonly porphyritic, 8- ?? 3-km dike complex, part of a regional ca. 77 to 58 Ma magmatic arc, formed a structurally competent host for the mineralization. This deposit is subdivided into about one dozen distinct prospects, most of which consist of dense quartz ?? carbonate veinlet networks that fill north-northeast-striking extensional fractures in the northeast-trending igneous rocks. The sulfide mineral assemblage is dominated by arsenopyrite, pyrite, and, typically younger, stibnite; gold is refractory within the arsenopyrite. Sericitization, carbonatization, and suffidation were the main alteration processes. Fluid inclusion studies of the quartz that hosts the resource indicate dominantly aqueous ore fluids with also about 3 to 7 mol percent CO2 ?? CH4 and a few tenths to a few mole percent NaCl + KCl. The gold-bearing fluids were mainly homogeneously trapped at approximately 275?? to 300??C and at depths of 1 to 2 km. Some of the younger stibnite may have been deposited by late-stage aqueous fluids at lower temperature. Measured ??18O values for the gold-bearing quartz range between 11 and 25 per mil; the estimated ??18O fluid values range from 7 to 12 per mil, suggesting a mainly crustally derived fluid. A broad range of measured ??D values for hydrothermal micas, between -150 and -80 per mil, is suggestive of a contribution from devolatilization of organic matter and/or minor amounts of mixing with meteoric fluids. Gold-associated hydrothermal sulfide minerals are characterized by ??34S values mainly between -16 and
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Zhou, Zhen-Hua; Mao, Jing-Wen; Wu, Xin-Li; Ouyang, Hen-Gen
2015-05-01
The southern Great Xing'an Range (SGXR), located in the southeastern part of Inner Mongolia, China, shows intense Mesozoic tectono-magmatic activity and hosts economically important polymetallic (Cu-Pb-Zn-Sn-Fe-Ag-Au-Mo) mineralization. Here, we present new zircon U-Pb ages, whole-rock geochemical data, Nd-Sr-Hf isotopic data and Re-Os ages for the Taibudai deposit in the SGXR. The Taibudai granitoids show high SiO2 (70.62-72.13 wt.%) and alkali (Na2O + K2O = 7.04-8.60 wt.%) concentrations, low MgO (0.89-1.37 wt.%) and Al2O3 (∼14 wt.%), ASI ratios molybdenite from the deposit yield an ore-forming age of 137.1 ± 1.4 Ma. Re contents range from 4.37 to 41.77 ppm, implying ore material components have a mixed crust-mantle origin. SHRIMP analysis of zircons show that the monzogranitic porphyry and biotite granite in the Taibudai deposit were formed at 137.0 ± 0.9 Ma and 138.3 ± 0.9 Ma, respectively, indicating a temporal link between granitic magmatism and Cu mineralization. This result, combined with the regional geology, tectonic evolution, and age data from the literature, suggests that the Early Cretaceous (∼140 Ma) was the peak metallogenic epoch for the Great Xing'an Range, and the mineralization in this period generally takes the form of porphyry, skarn, or hydrothermal polymetallic ore deposits in an active extensional continental margin environment. The Taibudai porphyry and associated mineralization provides a typical example of magmatism and metallogeny associated with a Paleo-Pacific plate subduction, continental margin, back-arc extensional setting.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Arai, Mitsuru; Lana, Cecilia Cunha [PETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Centro de Pesquisas. Gerencia de Bioestratigrafia e Paleoecologia]. E-mail: arai@cenpes.petrobras.com.br
2004-05-01
Palynostratigraphy of the Brazilian Cretaceous was mainly based on terrestrial palynomorphs (mostly spores and pollen grains) until the end of the nineteen eighties. This was so because, for several decades, petroleum exploration in Brazil was focused on the essentially non marine sediments of the Reconcavo Basin. During the nineteen sixties, PETROBRAS extended oil exploration to the Brazilian continental shelf (offshore areas). Nevertheless, at that time the company did not invest immediately in marine palynostratigraphy, because it was believed that bio stratigraphic schemes based on foraminifera and calcareous nanno fossils would be more efficient than palynology in marine sequences. This belief changed only in the seventies, when commercial oil reservoirs were discovered in the Campos Basin, within the Macae Formation, a rock unit deposited in a carbonate shelf environment. Its environmental conditions were certainly hostile to the development and post-mortem preservation of foraminifera and calcareous nanno fossil-producing algae. As a result, no more than two or three bio zones could be identified in the Macae carbonate section on the basis of such organisms. Besides, carbonate shelf sediments, subject to only minor terrigenous input, are usually poor in terrestrial palynomorphs. On the other hand, the palynological content of some Macae strata consists mainly (up to 100%) of such marine palynomorphs as dino flagellates, acritarchs e palynoforaminifera. Consequently, PETROBRAS recognized the importance of developing a zonal framework based on these organisms. The first Cretaceous dinoflagellate zonation in Brazil was erected in 1976, and since the nineteen eighties, marine Cretaceous palynostratigraphy has made significant advances mainly due to the use of dino flagellates. Hundreds of Cretaceous dinoflagellate index species have been introduced into PETROBRAS databanks, becoming widely applicable to the bio stratigraphy of all Brazilian continental margin
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Milàn, Jesper; Rasmussen, Bo Wilhelm; Bonde, Niels Christensøn
2012-01-01
Two fragmentary coprolites from the Lower Cretaceous Jydegaard Formation of Bornholm, Denmark, represent the first record of coprolites from continental Mesozoic deposits in Denmark. Both specimens contain fish scale bone fragments of unknown affinity. Based on morphology, inclusions and the pote...
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Early cretaceous dinosaurs from the sahara.
Sereno, P C; Wilson, J A; Larsson, H C; Dutheil, D B; Sues, H D
1994-10-14
A major question in Mesozoic biogeography is how the land-based dinosaurian radiation responded to fragmentation of Pangaea. A rich fossil record has been uncovered on northern continents that spans the Cretaceous, when continental isolation reached its peak. In contrast, dinosaur remains on southern continents are scarce. The discovery of dinosaurian skeletons from Lower Cretaceous beds in the southern Sahara shows that several lineages of tetanuran theropods and broad-toothed sauropods had a cosmopolitan distribution across Pangaea before the onset of continental fragmentation. The distinct dinosaurian faunas of Africa, South America, and Asiamerica arose during the Cretaceous by differential survival of once widespread lineages on land masses that were becoming increasingly isolated from one another.
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Salard-Cheboldaeff, M.; Dejax, J.
The succession of spore-pollen assemblages during the Cretaceous and Tertiary, as defined in each of the basin from Senegal to Angola, gives the possibility to consider the intertropical African flora evolution for the past 120 M.a. During the Early Cretaceous, xeric-adapted gymnosperms and various ferns were predominant the flora which nevertheless comprises previously unknown early angiosperm pollen. During the Middle Cretaceous, gymnospers were gradually replaced by angiosperms; these became more and more abundant, along with the diversification of new genera and species. During the Paleocene, the radiation of the monocotyledons (mainly that of the palm-trees) as well as a greater diversification among the dicotyledons and ferms are noteworthy. Since gymnosperms had almost disappeared by the Eocene, the diversification of the dicotyledons went on until the neogene, when all extinct pollen types are already present. These important modifications of the vegetation reflect evolutionary trends as well as climatic changes during the Cretaceous: the climate, firstly hot, dry and perhaps arid, did probably induced salt deposition, and later became gradually more humid under oceanic influences which arose in connection with the Gondwana break-up.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wang Gan; Zhang Bangtong
2005-01-01
Clastic sedimentary rocks of Quantou Formation, Cretaceous in Qing-an area, Songliao basin are mainly composed of sandstone, mudstone and siltstone. The petrological-chemical analysis of clastic sedimentary rocks from Quantou Formation, Cretaceous indicates that their lithology mainly consists of arkose, shale and minor rock debris sandstone and greywacke by chemical classification of bulk elements. REE distribution pattern displays the apparent enrichment of LREE and negative anomaly of Eu and is similar to that of NASC and PAAS. The ratio of trace-element in sedimentary rocks to that of upper crust shows gentle character. All the above features indicate that these sedimentary rocks were slowly deposited under weakly active tectonic setting. They are sediments typical for passive continental margin and active continental margin. It is suggested that material source of clastic sediments of Quantou Formation, Cretaceous in Qing-an area, Songliao basin was originated from Hercynian granite of Zhangguangchai Mountain, and the granite was originated from upper crust. (authors)
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Metallogenic model for continental volcanic-type rich and large uranium deposits
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Chen Guihua
1998-01-01
A metallogenic model for continental volcanic-type rich and large/super large uranium deposits has been established on the basis of analysis of occurrence features and ore-forming mechanism of some continental volcanic-type rich and large/super large uranium deposits in the world. The model proposes that uranium-enriched granite or granitic basement is the foundation, premetallogenic polycyclic and multistage volcanic eruptions are prerequisites, intense tectonic-extensional environment is the key for the ore formation, and relatively enclosed geologic setting is the reliable protection condition of the deposit. By using the model the author explains the occurrence regularities of some rich and large/super large uranium deposits such as Strelichof uranium deposit in Russia, Dornot uranium deposit in Mongolia, Olympic Dam Cu-U-Au-REE deposit in Australia, uranium deposit No.460 and Zhoujiashan uranium deposit in China, and then compares the above deposits with a large poor uranium deposit No.661 as well
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Zapata, S.; Patino, A. M.; Cardona, A.; Mejia, D.; Leon, S.; Jaramillo, J. S.; Valencia, V.; Parra, M.; Hincapie, S.
2014-12-01
Active continental margins characterized by continuous convergence experienced overimposed tectonic configurations that allowed the formation of volcanic arcs, back arc basins, transtensional divergent tectonics or the accretion of exotic volcanic terranes. Such record, particularly the extensional phases, can be partially destroyed and obscure by multiple deformational events, the accretion of exotic terranes and strike slip fragmentation along the margin. The tectonic evolution of the northern Andes during the Mesozoic is the result of post Pangea extension followed by the installation of a long-lived Jurassic volcanic arc (209 - 136 ma) that apparently stops between 136 Ma and 110 Ma. The Quebradagrande Complex has been define as a single Lower Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary unit exposed in the western flank of the Central Cordillera of the Colombian Andes that growth after the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous magmatic hiatus. The origin of this unit have been related either to an oceanic volcanic arc or a marginal basin environment. The existence of such contrasting models reflect the regional perspective followed in published studies and the paucity of detail analysis of the volcano-sedimentary sequences.We integrate multiple approaches including structural mapping, stratigraphy, geochemistry, U-Pb provenance and geochronology to improve the understanding of this unit and track the earlier phases of accumulation that are mask on the overimposed tectonic history. Our preliminary results suggest the existence of different volcano-sedimentary units that accumulated between 100 Ma and 82 Ma.The older Lower Cretaceous sequences was deposited over Triassic metamorphic continental crust and include a upward basin deepening record characterized by thick fan delta conglomerates, followed by distal turbidites and a syn-sedimentary volcanic record at 100 ma. The other sequence include a 85 - 82 Ma fringing arc that was also formed close to the continental margin or
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nibbelink, K.A.; Ethridge, F.G.
1984-01-01
Wyoming-type roll-front uranium deposits occur in the Upper Cretaceous Laramie and Fox Hills sandstones in the Cheyenne basin of northeastern Colorado. The location, geometry, and trend of specific depositional environments of the Oligocene White River and the Upper Cretaceous Laramie and Fox Hills formations are important factors that control the distribution of uranium in these sandstones. The Fox Hills Sandstone consists of up to 450 ft (140 m) of nearshore marine wave-dominated delta and barrier island-tidal channel sandstones which overlie offshore deposits of the Pierre Shale and which are overlain by delta-plain and fluvial deposits of the Laramie Formation. Uranium, which probably originated from volcanic ash in the White River Formation, was transported by groundwater through the fluvial-channel deposits of the White River into the sandstones of the Laramie and Fox Hills formations where it was precipitated. Two favorable depositional settings for uranium mineralization in the Fox Hills Sandstone are: (1) the landward side of barrier-island deposits where barrier sandstones thin and interfinger with back-barrier organic mudstones, and (2) the intersection of barrier-island and tidal channel sandstones. In both settings, sandstones were probably reduced during early burial by diagenesis of contained and adjacent organic matter. The change in permeability trends between the depositional strike-oriented barrier sandstones and the dip-oriented tidal-channel sandstones provided sites for dispersed groundwater flow and, as demonstrated in similar settings in other depositional systems, sites for uranium mineralization
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Soria, Ana R.; Liesa, Carlos L.; Mata, Maria Pilar; Arz, José A.; Alegret, Laia; Arenillas, Ignacio; Meléndez, Alfonso
2001-03-01
Slumps affecting uppermost Méndez Formation marls, as well as the spherulitic layer and basal part of the sandy deposits of the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary clastic unit, are described at the new K-T El Tecolote section (northeastern Mexico). These K-T clastic deposits represent sedimentation at middle-bathyal water depths in channel and nonchannel or levee areas of reworked materials coming from environments ranging from outer shelf to shallower slope via a unidirectional, high- to low-density turbidite flow. We emphasize the development and accretion of a lateral bar in a channel area from a surging low-density turbidity current and under a high-flow regime. The slumps discovered on land and the sedimentary processes of the K-T clastic unit reflect destabilization and collapse of the continental margin, support the mechanism of gravity flows in the deep sea, and represent important and extensive evidence for the impact effects in the Gulf of México triggered by the Chicxulub event.
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Zhang, Lipeng; Zhang, Rongqing; Hu, Yongbin; Liang, Jinlong; Ouyang, Zhixia; He, Junjie; Chen, Yuxiao; Guo, Jia; Sun, Weidong
2017-10-01
The Xishan Sn-W deposit is spatially related to K-feldspar granites in the Yangchun basin, western Guangdong Province, South China. LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating for the Xishan pluton defines an emplacement age of 79 Ma (78.1 ± 0.9 Ma; 79.0 ± 1.2 Ma; 79.3 ± 0.8 Ma), consistent with the mineralization age of the Xishan Sn-W deposit constrained by molybdenite Re-Os isochron age (79.4 ± 4.5 Ma) and LA-ICP-MS cassiterite U-Pb ages (78.1 ± 0.9 Ma and 79.0 ± 1.2 Ma) for the cassiterite-quartz vein. These indicate a close genetic relationship between the granite and Sn-W mineralization. The Xishan K-feldspar granites have geochemical characteristics of A-type granites, e.g., high total alkali (Na2O + K2O = 7.88-10.07 wt.%), high Ga/Al ratios (10000*Ga/Al > 2.6) and high Zr + Nb + Ce + Y concentrations (> 350 ppm). They are further classified as A2-type granites. The whole-rock isotopic compositions of K-feldspar granites (initial 87Sr/86Sr = 0.705256-0.706181; εNd(t) = - 5.4 to - 4.8) and zircon εHf(t) values (- 7.8 to 2.0) suggest a mixed magma source. The low zircon Ce4 +/Ce3 + ratios (12-88) of K-feldspar granites suggest low oxygen fugacities, which is key for enrichment of tin in primary magmas. The K-feldspar granites have experienced strong differentiation as indicated by their high Rb/Sr and K/Rb ratios, and low Nb/Ta and Zr/Hf ratios, which play an important role in ore-forming element transportation and concentration. A-type granite characteristics of the Xishan pluton show that it formed in an extensional environment. The high F and low Cl characteristics of the K-feldspar granite are most probably attributed to slab rollback. In the Late Cretaceous, the Xishan Sn-W deposit was located near the interaction of the circum-Pacific and the Tethys tectonic realms. Late Cretaceous Sn-W deposits, including the Xishan deposit, form an EW-trending belt from Guangdong to Yunnan Province in South China. This belt is in accordance with the direction of the Neo
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Current status and future of developing Upper Cretaceous oil deposits in the Oktyabrskoye field
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Kamyshnikova, A.I.; Lapshin, M.Ye.
1979-01-01
The Upper Cretaceous deposit at the Oktyabrskoye field was discovered in 1966. Fractured, cavernous limestone, similar to the producing rock of many Upper Cretaceous deposits of the Chechen Ingush ASSR, form the reservoir. The deposit is situated toward a narrow anticlinal fold with angles of rock drop 40-45/sup 0/. Its heighth is 950m; the average capacity of the producing part is 400m; the deposit depth is 4200-5150m; the layer temperature is 150-160/sup 0/C. Exploratory work on the deposit is incomplete. The deposit was brought under industrial development in 1974. The development is conducted based on a refined, technological system, that includes contour flooding to maintain layer pressure in the center to edge part of the deposit at 36.0 MPa. This somewhat increases the pressure of the gas saturated oil, as well as the subsequent increase in layer pressure to 45.9 MPa for assuring wide open well flow during the late stages of development. Currently, the amount of oil obtained somewhat exceeds the planned level but the pumping volume is less than that planned. The deposit has not yet been studied sufficiently. Its boundaries have not been established; the locations of the initial and working water/oil edges are conditional; the structural plan is approximate. Data on the degree of waterflooding in the deposit and the magnitude of the actual oil yield coefficient are lacking inasmuch as the amount of oil already extracted at this time exceeds the calculated reserves. To increase the effectiveness of further development of the deposit and acquisition of the necessary data for calculating oil reserves, the deposit will be studied according to a special plan over a number of new drilling wells.
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2012-01-01
occurred during the Cretaceous period. The simulated storm bed for such an extratropical cyclone that lasts 4 days was deposited as deep as 75 m and had...Int. Assoc. Sedimentol. Spec. Publ. (2012) 44, 295-310 Sediment transport on continental shelves: storm bed formation and preservation in...xDept. of Earth Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada ABSTRACT Many storm beds are constructed of silt/sand
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Basement and climate controls on proximal depositional systems in continental settings
Ventra, D.
2011-01-01
This doctoral dissertation discusses the sedimentology and dynamics of selected, modern and ancient clastic depositional systems (alluvial fans and colluvial aprons) at continental basin margins. The focus on single depositional systems gave the opportunity to devote particular attention to
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Cavin, Lionel; Boudad, Larbi; Tong, Haiyan; Läng, Emilie; Tabouelle, Jérôme; Vullo, Romain
2015-01-01
The mid-Cretaceous vertebrate assemblage from south-eastern Morocco is one of the most diversified continental vertebrate assemblages of this time worldwide. The bony fish component (coelacanths, lungfishes and ray-finned fishes) is represented by relatively complete specimens and, mostly, by fragmentary elements scattered along 250 kilometres of outcrops. Here we revisit the bony fish assemblage by studying both isolated remains collected during several fieldtrips and more complete material kept in public collections. The assemblage comprises several lungfish taxa, with the first mention of the occurrence of Arganodus tiguidiensis, and possibly two mawsoniid coelacanths. A large bichir cf. Bawitius, is recorded and corresponds to cranial elements initially referred to 'Stromerichthys' from coeval deposits in Egypt. The ginglymodians were diversified with a large 'Lepidotes' plus two obaichthyids and a gar. We confirm here that this gar belongs to a genus distinctive from Recent gars, contrary to what was suggested recently. Teleosteans comprise a poorly known ichthyodectiform, a notopterid, a probable osteoglossomorph and a large tselfatiiform, whose cranial anatomy is detailed. The body size and trophic level for each taxon are estimated on the basis of comparison with extant closely related taxa. We plotted the average body size versus average trophic level for the Kem Kem assemblage, together with extant marine and freshwater assemblages. The Kem Kem assemblage is characterized by taxa of proportionally large body size, and by a higher average trophic level than the trophic level of the extant compared freshwater ecosystems, but lower than for the extant marine ecosystems. These results should be regarded with caution because they rest on a reconstructed assemblage known mostly by fragmentary remains. They reinforce, however, the ecological oddities already noticed for this mid-Cretaceous vertebrate ecosystem in North Africa.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Plummer, P.S.; Joseph, P.R.; Samson, P.J. [Seychelles National Oil Co., Mahe (Seychelles)
1998-12-31
The Seychelles microcontinent became isolated between the Somali, Mascarene and Arabian basins of the Indian Ocean as a result of the Mesozoic fragmentation of Gondwana. Major rifting events occurred during the Triassic-Middle Jurassic and Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Santonian and Maastrichtian) during which shaly source rock facies accumulated in principally marginal marine/deltaic environments. Between these times, post-rift passive margin deposition within restricted to open marine environments produced shaly source rocks during late Middle Jurasic-Early Cretaceous, Campanian-Maastrichtian and Paleocene times. Recent geochemical analysis of cuttings from the Seagull Shoals-1 well has identified an oil-prone liptinitic (Type II) coaly shale within early Middle Jurassic abandoned deltaic deposits. This coaly source rock is regionally developed, having also been identified in the Majunja and Morondava basins of Madagascar. Oil-prone Type II organic matter has also been identified in the Owen Bank A-1 well within restricted marine shales of late Middle Jurassic age. These shales are part of a thick post-rift source rock sequence that extends into the Early Cretaceous and is in part correlative with the proven Late Jurassic Uarandab Shale of Somalia. Analysis of Campanian marine shales from Reith Bank-1 well identified significant dilution of total organic carbon content in composite, compared to picked, well cuttings samples. This finding supports a published inference that these post-rift shales have source rock potential. (author)
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Candeiro, Carlos Roberto A.; Fanti, Federico; Therrien, François; Lamanna, Matthew C.
2011-05-01
The Albian-Cenomanian Alcântara Formation of northeastern Brazil preserves the most diverse continental vertebrate fauna of this age yet known from northern South America. The Alcântara vertebrate assemblage, consisting of elasmobranchs, actinopterygians, sarcopterygians, turtles, crocodyliforms, pterosaurs, and non-avian dinosaurs, displays close similarities to contemporaneous faunas from North Africa. The co-occurrence of as many as eight freshwater or estuarine fish taxa ( Onchopristis, Bartschichthys, Lepidotes, Stephanodus, Mawsonia, Arganodus, Ceratodus africanus, and possibly Ceratodus humei) and up to seven terrestrial archosaur taxa ( Sigilmassasaurus, Rebbachisauridae, Baryonychinae, Spinosaurinae, Carcharodontosauridae, possibly Pholidosauridae, and doubtfully Bahariasaurus) suggests that a land route connecting northeastern Brazil and North Africa existed at least until the Albian. Interestingly, most components of this mid-Cretaceous northern South American/North African assemblage are not shared with coeval southern South American faunas, which are themselves characterized by a number of distinct freshwater and terrestrial vertebrate taxa (e.g., chelid turtles, megaraptoran and unenlagiine theropods). These results suggest that, although mid-Cretaceous faunal interchange was probably possible between northern South America and North Africa, paleogeographic, paleoclimatic, and/or paleoenvironmental barriers may have hindered continental vertebrate dispersal between northern and southern South America during this time.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Merkulov, A.V.; Yengibarov, V.N.
1984-01-01
Based on a set of various studies, an evaluation of the type of upper Cretaceous reservoir in the Pravoberezhnoe field is given. Compared to other fields in the Chechen Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, the upper Cretaceous productive deposits at this field are characterized by poorer reservoir properties. The set of all data indicates that the upper Cretaceous reservoir is analogous to reservoirs of equal age in existing fields in this republic and are cavernous fissured type.
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Evidence for global cooling in the Late Cretaceous
Linnert, Christian; Robinson, Stuart A.; Lees, Jackie A.; Bown, Paul R.; Pérez-Rodríguez, Irene; Petrizzo, Maria Rose; Falzoni, Francesca; Littler, Kate; Arz, José Antonio; Russell, Ernest E.
2014-01-01
The Late Cretaceous ‘greenhouse’ world witnessed a transition from one of the warmest climates of the past 140 million years to cooler conditions, yet still without significant continental ice. Low-latitude sea surface temperature (SST) records are a vital piece of evidence required to unravel the cause of Late Cretaceous cooling, but high-quality data remain illusive. Here, using an organic geochemical palaeothermometer (TEX86), we present a record of SSTs for the Campanian–Maastrichtian interval (~83–66 Ma) from hemipelagic sediments deposited on the western North Atlantic shelf. Our record reveals that the North Atlantic at 35 °N was relatively warm in the earliest Campanian, with maximum SSTs of ~35 °C, but experienced significant cooling (~7 °C) after this to <~28 °C during the Maastrichtian. The overall stratigraphic trend is remarkably similar to records of high-latitude SSTs and bottom-water temperatures, suggesting that the cooling pattern was global rather than regional and, therefore, driven predominantly by declining atmospheric pCO2 levels. PMID:24937202
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Cao, W.; Lee, C. T.
2016-12-01
Continental arc volcanoes have been suggested to release more CO2 than island arc volcanoes due to decarbonation of wallrock carbonates in the continental upper plate through which the magmas traverse (Lee et al., 2013). Continental arcs may thus play an important role in long-term climate. To test this hypothesis, we compiled geological maps to reconstruct the surface distribution of granitoid plutons and the lengths of ancient continental arcs. These results were then compiled into a GIS framework and incorporated into GPlates plate reconstructions. Our results show an episodic nature of global continental arc activity since 720 Ma. The lengths of continental arcs were at minimums during most of the Cryogenian ( 720-670 Ma), the middle Paleozoic ( 460-300 Ma) and the Cenozoic ( 50-0 Ma). Arc lengths were highest during the Ediacaran ( 640-570 Ma), the early Paleozoic ( 550-430 Ma) and the entire Mesozoic with peaks in the Early Triassic ( 250-240 Ma), Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous ( 160-130 Ma), and Late Cretaceous ( 90-65 Ma). The extensive continental arcs in the Ediacaran and early Paleozoic reflect the Pan-African events and circum-Gondwana subduction during the assembly of the Gondwana supercontinent. The Early Triassic peak is coincident with the final closure of the paleo-Asian oceans and the onset of circum-Pacific subduction associated with the assembly of the Pangea supercontinent. The Jurassic-Cretaceous peaks reflect the extensive continental arcs established in the western Pacific, North and South American Cordillera, coincident with the initial dispersal of the Pangea. Continental arcs are favored during the final assembly and the early-stage dispersal of a supercontinent. Our compilation shows a temporal match between continental arc activity and long-term climate at least since 720 Ma. For example, continental arc activity was reduced during the Cryogenian icehouse event, and enhanced during the Early Paleozoic and Jurassic-Cretaceous greenhouse
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Cai Yuqi; Li Shengxiang; Dong Wenming
2003-01-01
The depositional systems and characteristics of Cretaceous Cover depositional facies are discussed. In combination with logging curves in Xiangyangshan area, two depositional systems (namely, alluvial fan depositional system and alluvial plain depositional system) and five types of depositional facies are distinguished. Results of detailed research are given for each depositional facies in aspects of lithology, depositional structure, logging curve and grain size distribution pattern. Temporal and spatial distribution features of the depositional facies and the development features of interlayer oxidation zones of the second member of Quantou Formation are analyzed. Finally, conclusions on prospects for sandstone-hosted interlayer oxidation zone type uranium deposits in the study area are given in the aspect of depositional facies. (authors)
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Stratigraphic implications of uranium deposits
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Langford, F.F.
1980-01-01
One of the most consistent characteristics of economic uranium deposits is their restricted stratigraphic distribution. Uraninite deposited with direct igneous affiliation contains thorium, whereas chemical precipitates in sedimentary rocks are characterized by thorium-free primary uranium minerals with vanadium and selenium. In marine sediments, these minerals form low-grade disseminations; but in terrestrial sediments, chiefly fluvial sandstones, the concentration of uranium varies widely, with the high-grade portions constituting ore. Pitchblende vein deposits not only exhibit the same chemical characteristics as the Colorado-type sandstone deposits, but they have a stratigraphically consistent position at unconformities covered by fluvial sandstones. If deposits in such diverse situations have critical features in common, they are likely to have had many features of their origin in common. Thus, vein deposits in Saskatchewan and Australia may have analogues in areas that contain Colorado-type sandstone deposits. In New Mexico, the presence of continental sandstones with peneconformable uranium deposits should also indicate good prospecting ground for unconformity-type vein deposits. All unconformities within the periods of continental deposition ranging from Permian to Cretaceous should have uranium potential. Some situations, such as the onlap of the Abo Formation onto Precambrian basement in the Zuni Mountains, may be directly comparable to Saskatchewan deposition. However, uranium occurrences in the upper part of the Entrada Sandstone suggest that unconformities underlain by sedimentary rocks may also be exploration targets
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ali SARI
2012-06-01
Full Text Available - Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Akkuyu formation was deposited in a marine carbonate platform in Central Tarurids. The organic material of the unit is composed of Type III kerogen which is woody material transported from the land. Late Jurassic- Early Cretaceous is an important period which great anoxic events in deep sea bottom occurred due to the primary organic productivity in global sea surface. Use of several trace elements values (Ni, V, U, Cr, Co, Th revealed that Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Akkuyu formation shows oxic, disoxic and anoxic paleoredox conditions. In this period the primary productivity was considerably high. Examination of specimen derived from Akkuyu formation revealed that there exists a very good positive relationship between the major oxides of Al2O3, SiO2, Fe2O3, TiO2, and K2O. These combinations of major oxides indicate a detrital origin of source rock. Chemical weathering evaluations of Central Taurids in the Jurassic-Cretaceous period indicated moderate and strong weathering of source rock. K2O/Na2O versus SiO2; SiO2/Al2O3 versus K2O/Na2O; Al2O3/ SiO2 versus Fe2O3 + MgO ve TiO2 versus Fe2O3 + MgO diagrams indicated that Akkuyu formation was deposited along active and/or passive continental margin and derived from basalt and basalt+granite mixed rocks.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Majid Tashi
2017-07-01
Full Text Available Introduction Iran hosts numerous types of Volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS deposits that occur within different tectonic assemblages and have formed at discrete time periods (Mousivand et al. 2008. The Sabzevar zone hosts several VMS deposits including the Nudeh Cu-Ag deposit (Maghfouri, 2012 and some deposits in the Kharturan area (Tashi et al., 2014, and the Kharturan area locates in the Sabzevar subzone of the Central East Iranian Microcontinent. The Sabzevar subzone mainly involves Mesozoic and Cenozoic rock unites. The Late Cretaceous ophiolite mellanges and volcano-sedimentary sequences have high extension in the Subzone. Based on Rossetti (Rossetti et al. 2010, the Cretaceous rock units were formed in a back-arc setting due to subduction of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic crust beneath the Iranian plate. The exposed rock units of the Kharturan area from bottom to top are dominated by Early Cretaceous, orbitolina-bearing massive limestone, dacitic-andesitic volcanics and related volcaniclastic rocks٫ chert and radiolarite and Late Cretaceous globotrunkana- bearing limestone, paleocene polygenic conglomerate consisting of the Cretaceous volcanics and limestone pebbles (equal to the Kerman conglomerate, and Pliocene weakly-cemented polygenic conglomerate horizon. The Garmabe Paein copper-silver deposit and the Asbkeshan deposit and a few occurrences, are located at 290 km southeast of Shahrood and they have occurred within the Upper Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary sequence in the Sabzevar subzone. The aim of this study is to discuss the genesis of the Garmabe Paein deposit based on geological, textural and structural, mineralogical and geochemical evidence. Materials and methods A field study and sampling was performed during the year 2013. During the field observations, 94 rock samples were collected from the study area, and 45 thin sections were prepared and studied using a polarizing microscope. Also, 5 samples for the XRD method, 21 samples for
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Moratti, G.; Benvenuti, M.; Santo, A. P.; Laurenzi, M. A.; Braschi, E.; Tommasini, S.
2018-04-01
This study is based upon a stratigraphic and structural revision of a Middle Jurassic-Upper Cretaceous mostly continental succession exposed between Boumalne Dades and Tinghir (Southern Morocco), and aims at reconstructing the relation among sedimentary, tectonic and magmatic processes that affected a portion of the Central High Atlas domains. Basalts interbedded in the continental deposits have been sampled in the two studied sites for petrographic, geochemical and radiogenic isotope analyses. The results of this study provide: (1) a robust support to the local stratigraphic revision and to a regional lithostratigraphic correlation based on new 40Ar-39Ar ages (ca. 120 Ma) of the intervening basalts; (2) clues for reconstructing the relation between magma emplacement in a structural setting characterized by syn-depositional crustal shortening pre-dating the convergent tectonic inversion of the Atlasic rifted basins; (3) a new and intriguing scenario indicating that the Middle Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous basalts of the Central High Atlas could represent the first signal of the present-day Canary Islands mantle plume impinging, flattening, and delaminating the base of the Moroccan continental lithosphere since the Jurassic, and successively dragged passively by the Africa plate motion to NE. The tectono-sedimentary and magmatic events discussed in this paper are preliminarily extended from their local scale into a peculiar geodynamic setting of a continental plate margin flanked by the opening and spreading Central Atlantic and NW Tethys oceans. It is suggested that during the late Mesozoic this setting created an unprecedented condition of intraplate stress for concurrent crustal shortening, related mountain uplift, and thinning of continental lithosphere.
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Uranium deposit types and resources of Argentina
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Lopez, L.; Cuney, M.
2014-01-01
The uranium-related activities in Argentina begun in the 1950s and, as a result of the systematic exploration, several types of deposits have been discovered since then: volcanic and caldera-related, sandstone-hosted, vein spatially related to granite (intragranitic and perigranitic) and surficial. The deposits that have been the focus of the most important uranium exploitations are the ones that belong to the volcaniclastic type. These are localized in Permian formations associated with synsedimentary acid volcanism in the Sierra Pintada district (Mendoza province). The volcanic and caldera related type is also present in the Laguna Colorada deposit (Chubut province) located in the San Jorge basin (Cretaceous). Several important uranium mineralisations have been identified in Cretaceous fluvial sandstones and conglomerates, among which the most relevant is the Cerro Solo deposit (Chubut province) that corresponds to the paleochannel structure subtype. Other subtypes of sandstone model have been studied. For instance, the Don Otto deposit (Salta province), located in the Salta Group Basin (Cretaceous - Tertiary), belongs to the tabular U-V subtype. The roll front subtype can be also found in the Los Mogotes Colorados deposit (La Rioja province) which is hosted by Carboniferous continental sandstones. The uranium mineralisations in veins and disseminated episyenites within peraluminous leucogranites of the Sierras Pampeanas (Cordoba and San Luis provinces) represent other types of existing deposits. These granites are Devonian – Carboniferous and the related deposits are comparable to those from the Middle European Variscan. There are also other vein-type uranium deposits located in metamorphic basement in the periphery of high potassium calcalkaline granites (Sierras Pampeanas of Catamarca and La Rioja provinces), where the mineralisation control is mainly structural. The current uranium identified resources of the country are approximately 24,000 tU in the
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mohammad nabi Gorgij
2015-10-01
Full Text Available Introduction The Basiran stratigraphic section is located about 160 km northwest of Nehbandan.The section was measured in detail at 59 06 30 N and 31 52 50 E. Nehbandan area with respect to fourfold geological subdivision of Iran is part of Central Iran that is located in the eastern flank of Lut Block which first time are studied by Stocklin et al.in 1972. Gorgij (2001 stratigraphically and paleontologically investigate Upper Cretaceous deposits in Mighan and Basiran sections. Upper Cretaceous deposits in in this area consists of 275m conglomerate,alternation of conglomerate-sandstone, sandy limestone -marl and limy marl, marl with intercalation of limestone-sandy limestone thin beds and medium-bedded to massive limestone. Microfacies analysis led to the recognition of 9 microfacies that are related to 5 belts; Coast, tidal flat, lagoon, shoal, shallow open marine and deep open marine environments. Main part of the section are deposited in the open marine environment that consist of marl,marly limestone and limestone. The doals of this study are : (1 describing and determining main carbonate and siliciclastic microfacies of late Cretaceous deposits (2 interpreting and providing depositional model for reconstruction of its paleoenvironmental setting based on microfacies characteristics (3 dividing the section based on lithostratigraphic principles and (4 recognizing a sequence stratigraphic model of this successions based on the vertical variation of facies,stratal key beds and stratal packing pattern. Material and Method The Basiran section as a complete stratigraphic section was measured and described. Up to 68 samples (indicated by KB1 to KB68 were collected and 170 thin sections are prepared. Based on field observations, sedimentological characteristics, parasequence stacking patterns, sequence boundary types and other key stratigraphical surfaces are identified and were obtained. Scheme of Dunham (1962 and Embry and Klovan
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Azadeh Bordbar
2015-09-01
Full Text Available  Introduction  The Basiran stratigraphic section is located about 160 km northwest of Nehbandan.The section was measured in detail at 59 06 30 N and 31 52 50 E. Nehbandan area with respect to fourfold geological subdivision of Iran is part of Central Iran that is located in the eastern flank of Lut Block which first time are studied by Stocklin et al.in 1972. Gorgij (2001 stratigraphically and paleontologically investigate Upper Cretaceous deposits in Mighan and Basiran sections. Upper Cretaceous deposits in in this area consists of 275m conglomerate,alternation of conglomerate-sandstone, sandy limestone -marl and limy marl, marl with intercalation of limestone-sandy limestone thin beds and medium-bedded to massive limestone. Microfacies analysis led to the recognition of 9 microfacies that are related to 5 belts Coast, tidal flat, lagoon, shoal, shallow open marine and deep open marine environments. Main part of the section are deposited in the open marine environment that consist of marl,marly limestone and limestone. The doals of this study are : (1 describing and determining main carbonate and siliciclastic microfacies of late Cretaceous deposits (2 interpreting and providing depositional model for reconstruction of its paleoenvironmental setting based on microfacies characteristics (3 dividing the section based on lithostratigraphic principles and (4 recognizing a sequence stratigraphic model of this successions based on the vertical variation of facies,stratal key beds and stratal packing pattern.    Material and Method  The Basiran section as a complete stratigraphic section was measured and described. Up to 68 samples (indicated by KB1 to KB68 were collected and 170 thin sections are prepared. Based on field observations, sedimentological characteristics, parasequence stacking patterns, sequence boundary types and other key stratigraphical surfaces are identified and were obtained. Scheme of Dunham (1962 and Embry
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Azaïez, Hajer; Bédir, Mourad; Tanfous, Dorra; Soussi, Mohamed
2007-05-01
In central Tunisia, Lower Cretaceous deposits represent carbonate and sandstone reservoir series that correspond to proven oil fields. The main problems for hydrocarbon exploration of these levels are their basin tectonic configuration and their sequence distribution in addition to the source rock availability. The Central Atlas of Tunisia is characterized by deep seated faults directed northeast-southwest, northwest-southeast and north-south. These faults limit inherited tectonic blocks and show intruded Triassic salt domes. Lower Cretaceous series outcropping in the region along the anticline flanks present platform deposits. The seismic interpretation has followed the Exxon methodologies in the 26th A.A.P.G. Memoir. The defined Lower Cretaceous seismic units were calibrated with petroleum well data and tied to stratigraphic sequences established by outcrop studies. This allows the subsurface identification of subsiding zones and thus sequence deposit distribution. Seismic mapping of these units boundary shows a structuring from a platform to basin blocks zones and helps to understand the hydrocarbon reservoir systems-tract and horizon distribution around these domains.
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Advokaat, Eldert; Bongers, Mayke; van Hinsbergen, Douwe; Rudyawan, Alfend; Marshal, Edo
2017-04-01
SE Asia consists of multiple continental blocks, volcanic arcs and suture zones representing remnants of closing ocean basins. The core of this mainland is called Sundaland, and was formed by accretion of continental and arc fragments during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic. The former positions of these blocks are still uncertain but reconstructions based on tectonostratigraphic, palaeobiogeographic, geological and palaeomagnetic studies indicate the continental terranes separated from the eastern margin of Gondwana. During the mid-Cretaceous, more continental and arc fragments accreted to Sundaland, including the intra-oceanic Woyla Arc now exposed on Sumatra. These continental fragments were derived from Australia, but the former position of the Woyla Arc is unconstrained. Interpretations on the former position of the Woyla Arc fall in two end-member groups. The first group interprets the Woyla Arc to be separated from West Sumatra by a small back-arc basin. This back arc basin opened in the Late Jurassic, and closed mid-Cretaceous, when the Woyla Arc collided with West Sumatra. The other group interprets the Woyla Arc to be derived from Gondwana, at a position close to the northern margin of Greater India in the Late Jurassic. Subsequently the Woyla Arc moved northwards and collided with West Sumatra in the mid-Cretaceous. Since these scenarios predict very different plate kinematic evolutions for the Neotethyan realm, we here aim to place paleomagnetic constraints on paleolatitudinal evolution of the Woyla Arc. The Woyla Arc consists mainly of basaltic to andesitic volcanics and dykes, and volcaniclastic shales and sandstones. Associated limestones with volcanic debris are interpreted as fringing reefs. This assemblage is interpreted as remnants of an Early Cretaceous intra-oceanic arc. West Sumatra exposes granites, surrounded by quartz sandstones, shales and volcanic tuffs. These sediments are in part metamorphosed. This assemblage is interpreted as a Jurassic
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Biostratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous deposits in north of Birjand, (Shushud section
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
farah jalili
2014-11-01
Full Text Available Introduction: One of the first works about Cretaceous deposits in eastern part of the Lut Block is done by Stocklin et al. (1972. They reported Orbitolina limestones in Shah Kuh area and Maasterichtian siliciclastic and limestone beds which have overlaid the older deposits with a gap. In geological maps of the east of Iran, Upper Cretaceous deposits have been reported (Berthiaux et al., 1990; Eftekharnejad, 1991; Berberian and Soheili, 1992; Alvai Naini, 1983; Guillou et al., 1981 that they have been mostly referred to shallow and relatively deep facies. Moreover, Gorgich (2002, Gorgich et al. (2009 and Motie (2010 reported Maastrichtian deposits in the east of Iran. The study area is located at Geological Quadrangle Map of Qayen (Berthiaux et al., 1990 and Geological Sheet Map of Roum (Shahidi et al., 2000. The measured section is geographically situated at 33o 05′ north latitude and 59o 02′ east longitude. Aims and Method: This paper aims to study lithostratigraphy, identification of foraminifera assemblage, age determination, and biostratigraphy and biozonation of the measured section. The authors hope this research lead to a better understanding of the regional geology and distribution of Cretaceous foraminifera that might describe the degree of lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic precision. In this research 160 samples have been collected which 130 samples were cut and thin sections were prepared. The other samples were disaggregated in dilute H2O2 (10% vol. and washed. The washed residues were dried and picked the isolated forams. Thin sections studied under Olympus microscope and the foraminifera were identified and photographed. The isolated forms were photographed with Scanning Electronic Microscope (SEM device model XL30 Philips in Technical Faculty of Tehran University. Discussion and results (Lithostratigraphy and biostratigraphy: From point of view of lithostratigraphy, the lower contact of the succession is faulted and the
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Jacques-Ayala, C.; Barth, A.P.; Wooden, J.L.; Jacobson, C.E.
2009-01-01
The Upper Cretaceous El Chanate Group, northwest Sonora, Mexico, is a 2.8km thick clastic sedimentary sequence deposited in a continental basin closely related to volcanic activity. It consists of three formations: the Pozo Duro (oldest), the Anita, and the Escalante (youngest). Petrographic study, conglomerate pebble counts, and U-Pb geochronology of detrital zircons were performed to determine the source and age of this sequence, and to interpret its tectonic setting. In the sandstones of all three formations, the most abundant grains are those of volcanic composition (Q38F22L 40, Q35F19L46, and Q 31F22L47, respectively). The Pozo Duro Formation includes well-rounded quartz-arenite clast conglomerates, whereas conglomerates of the two upper units have clasts predominantly of andesitic and rhyolitic composition. The most likely source for these sediments was the Jurassic volcanic arc exposed in northern Sonora and southern Arizona. Zircons from five sandstone samples define two main age groups, Proterozoic and Mesozoic. The first ranges mostly from 1000 to 1800Ma, which suggests the influence of a cratonic source. This zircon suite is interpreted to be recycled and derived from the same source area as the quartz-rich sandstone clasts in the basal part of the section. Mesozoic zircons range from Triassic to Late Cretaceous, which confirms the proposed Late Cretaceous age for the sequence, and also corroborates Jurassic felsic source rocks. Another possible source was the Alisitos volcanic arc, exposed along the western margin of the Baja California Peninsula. Of regional significance is the great similarity between the El Chanate Group and the McCoy Mountains Formation of southeastern California and southwestern Arizona. Both are Cretaceous, were deposited in continental environments, and have similar zircon-age patterns. Also, both exhibit intense deformation and locally display penetrative foliation. These features strongly suggest that both units underwent
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Behrendt, John C.; Wotorson, Cletus S.
1970-01-01
anomalies exist over two Cretaceous basins in the coastal area; a negative Bouguer anomaly exists over one of the basins southwest of Monrovia, as shown by a marine traverse, suggesting that Cretaceous or younger sedimentary rocks fill these basins also. A 50 to 60 mgal positive Bouguer anomaly area exists along the coast from Sierra Leone to Ivory Coast. This anomaly correlates with mafic granulites in the Monrovia region, where the gradient is too steep to be entirely due to crustal thickening at the continental margin and may be related to tectonic activity associated with the basins. The only major break in this positive anomaly above basement rocks along the entire coast of Liberia is over granite gneiss adjacent to (and presumably underlying) the only onshore basins on the Liberian coast. Three seismic reflection profiles support the interpretation of a substantial section of sedimentary rock offshore. A suggested sequence of events indicates tectonic activity in the periods about 2700, about 2000, and about 550 m.y. B.P.; uplift and exposure of deep crustal rocks; deposition of Paleozoic sediments; intrusion of diabase dikes in inland zones; intrusion of 176 to 192 m.y.-old dikes and sills accompanying separation of Africa and South and North America; block faulting along coast and continental shelf, and active sea-floor spreading; filling of basins in Cretaceous and Tertiary(?) time; basaltic extrusion on spreading sea floor and sedimentation on continental shelf and slope.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Li Shengxiang; Chen Zhaobo; Chen Zuyi; Xiang Weidong; Cai Yuqi
2001-01-01
Sequence stratigraphy has been widely used in hydrocarbon exploration and development, and great achievements have been achieved. However, its application to the prospecting for sandstone-type uranium deposits is just beginning. The metallogenic characteristics of sandstone-type uranium deposits and those of oil and gas are compared, and the relationship between sandstone-type uranium metallogenesis and the system tracts of sequence stratigraphy is studied. The authors propose that highest and system tracts are the main targets for prospecting interlayer oxidation zone type sandstone uranium deposits, and the incised valleys of low stand system tracts are favourable places for phreatic oxidation zone type sandstone uranium deposits, and transgressive system tracts are generally unfavorable to the formation of in-situ leachable sandstone-type uranium deposits. Finally, the authors look ahead the application potential of sequence stratigraphy to the prospecting for sandstone-type uranium deposits in continental depositional basins
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Tectonic setting of synorogenic gold deposits of the Pacific Rim
Goldfarb, R.J.; Phillips, G.N.; Nokleberg, W.J.
1998-01-01
More than 420 million oz of gold were concentrated in circum-Pacific synorogenic quartz loades mainly during two periods of continental growth, one along the Gondwanan margin in the Palaeozoic and the other in the northern Pacific basin between 170 and 50 Ma. These ores have many features in common and can be grouped into a single type of lode gold deposit widespread throughout clastic sedimentary-rock dominant terranes. The auriferous veins contain only a few percent sulphide minerals, have gold:silver ratios typically greater than 1:1, show a distinct association with medium grade metamorphic rocks, and may be associated with large-scale fault zone. Ore fluids are consistently of low salinity and are CO2-rich. In the early and middle Palaeozoic in the southern Pacific basin, a single immense turbidite sequence was added to the eastern margin of Gondwanaland. Deformation of these rocks in southeastern Australia was accompanied by deposition of at least 80 million oz of gold in the Victorian sector of the Lachlan fold belt mainly during the Middle and Late Devonian. Lesser Devonian gold accumulations characterized the more northerly parts of the Gondwanan margin within the Hodgkinson-Broken River and Thomson fold belts. Additional lodes were emplaced in this flyschoid sequence in Devonian or earlier Palaeozoic times in what is now the Buller Terrane, Westland, New Zealand. Minor post-Devonian growth of Gondwanaland included terrane collision and formation of gold-bearing veins in the Permian in Australia's New England fold belt and in the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous in New Zealand's Otago schists. Collision and accretion of dozens of terranes for a 100-m.y.-long period against the western margin of North America and eastern margin of Eurasia led to widespread, lattest Jurassic to Eocene gold veining in the northern Pacific basin. In the former location, Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous veins and related placer deposits along the western margin of the Sierra Nevada
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A Triassic to Cretaceous Sundaland-Pacific subduction margin in West Sarawak, Borneo
Breitfeld, H. Tim; Hall, Robert; Galin, Thomson; Forster, Margaret A.; BouDagher-Fadel, Marcelle K.
2017-01-01
Metamorphic rocks in West Sarawak are poorly exposed and studied. They were previously assumed to be pre-Carboniferous basement but had never been dated. New 40Ar/39Ar ages from white mica in quartz-mica schists reveal metamorphism between c. 216 to 220 Ma. The metamorphic rocks are associated with Triassic acid and basic igneous rocks, which indicate widespread magmatism. New U-Pb dating of zircons from the Jagoi Granodiorite indicates Triassic magmatism at c. 208 Ma and c. 240 Ma. U-Pb dating of zircons from volcaniclastic sediments of the Sadong and Kuching Formations confirms contemporaneous volcanism. The magmatic activity is interpreted to represent a Triassic subduction margin in westernmost West Sarawak with sediments deposited in a forearc basin derived from the magmatic arc at the Sundaland-Pacific margin. West Sarawak and NW Kalimantan are underlain by continental crust that was already part of Sundaland or accreted to Sundaland in the Triassic. One metabasite sample, also previously assumed to be pre-Carboniferous basement, yielded Early Cretaceous 40Ar/39Ar ages. They are interpreted to indicate resumption of subduction which led to deposition of volcaniclastic sediments and widespread magmatism. U-Pb ages from detrital zircons in the Cretaceous Pedawan Formation are similar to those from the Schwaner granites of NW Kalimantan, and the Pedawan Formation is interpreted as part of a Cretaceous forearc basin containing material eroded from a magmatic arc that extended from Vietnam to west Borneo. The youngest U-Pb ages from zircons in a tuff layer from the uppermost part of the Pedawan Formation indicate that volcanic activity continued until c. 86 to 88 Ma when subduction terminated.
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Zhang, X.; Zou, C.
2017-12-01
The Cretaceous strata have been recognized as an important target of oil or gas exploration in the Songliao Basin, northeast China. The second borehole (SK-2) of the Chinese Cretaceous Continental Scientific Drilling Project in the Songliao Basin (CCSD-SK) is the first one to drill through the Cretaceous continental strata in the frame of ICDP. It was designed not only to solve multiple scientific problems (including the Cretaceous paleoenvironment and paleoclimate, as well as deep resources exploration of the Songliao Basin), but also to expect to achieve new breakthroughs in oil and gas exploration. Based on the project, various geophysical log data (including gamma, sonic, resistivity, density etc.) and core samples have been collected from Borehole SK-2. We do research on organic-rich source rocks estimation using various geophysical log data. Firstly, we comprehensively analyzed organic-rich source rocks' geophysical log response characteristics. Then, source rock's identification methods were constructed to identify organic-rich source rocks with geophysical logs. The main identification methods include cross-plot, multiple overlap and Decision Tree method. Finally, the technique and the CARBOLOG method were applied to evaluate total organic carbon (TOC) content from geophysical logs which provide continuous vertical profile estimations (Passey, 1990; Carpentier et al., 1991). The results show that source rocks are widely distributed in Borehole SK-2, over a large depth strata (985 5700m), including Nenjiang, Qingshankou, Denglouku, Yingcheng, Shahezi Formations. The organic-rich source rocks with higher TOC content occur in the Qingshankou (1647 1650m), Denglouku (2534 2887m) and Shahezi (3367 5697m) Formations. The highest TOC content in these formations can reach 10.31%, 6.58%, 12.79% respectively. The bed thickness of organic-rich source rocks in the these formations are totally up to 7.88m, 74.34m, 276.60m respectively. These organic-rich rocks in the
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Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic exhumation history of the Malay Peninsula
François, Thomas; Daanen, Twan; Matenco, Liviu; Willingshofer, Ernst; van der Wal, Jorien
2015-04-01
The evolution of Peninsular Malaysia up to the collisional period in the Triassic is well described but the evolution since the collision between Indochina and the Sukhothai Arc in Triassic times is less well described in the literature. The processes affecting Peninsular Malaysia during the Jurassic up to current day times have to explain the emplacement multiple intrusions (the Stong Complex, and the Kemahang granite), the Jurassic/Cretaceous onland basins, the Cenozoic offshore basins, and the asymmetric extension, which caused the exhumation of Taku Schists dome. The orogenic period in Permo-Triassic times, which also formed the Bentong-Raub suture zone, resulted in thickening of the continental crust of current day Peninsular Malaysia due to the collision of the Indochina continental block and the Sukhothai Arc, and is related to the subduction of oceanic crust once present between these continental blocks. The Jurassic/Cretaceous is a period of extension, resulting in the onland Jurassic/Cretaceous basins, synchronous melting of the crust, resulting in the emplacement Stong Complex and the Kemahang granite and thinning of the continental crust on the scale of the Peninsular, followed by uplift of the Peninsular. Different models can explain these observations: continental root removal, oceanic slab detachment, or slab delamination. These models all describe the melting of the lower crust due to asthenospheric upwelling, resulting in uplift and subsequent extension either due to mantle convective movements or gravitational instabilities related to uplift. The Cenozoic period is dominated by extension and rapid exhumation in the area as documented by low temperature thermocrological ages The extension in this period is most likely related to the subduction, which resumed at 45 Ma, of the Australian plate beneath the Eurasian plate after it terminated in Cretaceous times due to the collision of an Australian microcontinental fragment with the Sunda margin in the
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Daniel F. Lazar
2012-01-01
Full Text Available Within the general succession of the Lower Cretaceous deposits from the Vârciorog-Dobreşti area (Pădurea Craiului Mountains, carbonate and terrigenous deposits were identified. The limestones were assigned to two distinctive lithostratigraphic units: the Valea Măgurii and Vârciorog formations. Based on the orbitolinids Palorbitolina lenticularis and Mesorbitolina texana their ages are assigned to the early Aptian, and respectively late Aptian–Albian. The terrigenous facies mainly include fine grained deposits (clays, siltites, marls and, to a lesser extent, coarser ones (glauconitic sandstones and conglomerates, and they are attributed to the Ecleja and Vârciorog formations. The marls of the Ecleja Formation have been observed in a single section. The lack of fossils prevents assigning an age to this marl succession. Based on their relative location, i.e., at the base of the late Bedoulian Valea Măgurii Limestones, they may be assigned to the early Aptian (early Bedoulian. The siliciclastic deposits of Vârciorog Formation cover the largest areas in the region. Their late Aptian–Albian age is established based on the presence of Mesorbitolina texana. Additional arguments are represented by an ammonite fauna assigned to the terminal Bedoulian–early Gargasian. This fauna is located at the base of the Vârciorog Formation. The Lower Cretaceous deposits cropping out in this area have been investigated in seven geological sections. The data interpretation allowed a synthetic reconstruction of the succession and of the depositional environments.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
NICOLAOS CARRAS
2004-03-01
packstone and rudstone (facies H3. These features allow to recognise the following sequence of events: 1 development of a carbonate platform in the Middle and Late Jurassic; 2 its overthrusting onto the ophiolites and its emersion starting from latest Jurassic time, with erosion and deposition of laterites; 3 marine transgression on the Jurassic platform and on the ophiolites during the early Late Cretaceous, and 4 extensional tectonism and platform demise starting in the Cenomanian, with sedimentation of gravity flows and turbidity currents deposits from the Cenomanian to the Campanian- ?Maastrichtian.
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Paleomagnetism of the Cretaceous Galula Formation and implications for vertebrate evolution
Widlansky, Sarah J.; Clyde, William C.; O'Connor, Patrick M.; Roberts, Eric M.; Stevens, Nancy J.
2018-03-01
This study uses magnetostratigraphy to help constrain the age of the paleontologically important Galula Formation (Rukwa Rift Basin, southwestern Tanzania). The formation preserves a Cretaceous vertebrate fauna, including saurischian dinosaurs, a putative gondwanatherian mammal, and notosuchian crocodyliforms. With better dating, the Galula Formation and its fossils help fill a temporal gap in our understanding of vertebrate evolution in continental Africa, enabling better evaluation of competing paleobiogeographic hypotheses concerning faunal exchange throughout Gondwana during the Cretaceous. Paleomagnetic samples for this study were collected from the Namba (higher in section) and Mtuka (lower in section) members of the Galula Formation and underwent stepwise thermal demagnetization. All samples displayed a strong normal magnetic polarity overprint, and maximum unblocking temperatures at approximately 690 °C. Three short reversed intervals were identified in the Namba Member, whereas the Mtuka Member lacked any clear reversals. Given the relatively limited existing age constraints, one interpretation correlates the Namba Member to Chron C32. An alternative correlation assigns reversals in the Namba Member to recently proposed short reversals near the end of the Cretaceous Normal Superchron (Chron C34), a time that is traditionally interpreted as having stable normal polarity. The lack of reversals in the Mtuka Member supports deposition within Chron C34. These data suggest that the Namba Member is no older than Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Campanian), with the Mtuka Member less well constrained to the middle Cretaceous (Aptian-Cenomanian). The paleomagnetic results are supported by the application of fold and reversal tests for paleomagnetic stability, and paleomagnetic poles for the Namba (246.4°/77.9°, α95 5.9°) and Mtuka (217.1°/72.2°, α95 11.1°) members closely matching the apparent polar wander path for Africa during the Late Cretaceous. These
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Li, Zhen; Wang, Xuan-Ce; Wilde, Simon A.; Liu, Liang; Li, Wu-Xian; Yang, Xuemei
2018-03-01
The late Mesozoic igneous province in southeast China provides an excellent opportunity to understand the processes that controlled the growth and evolution of Phanerozoic continental crust. Here we report petrological, whole-rock geochemical and isotopic data, and in situ zircon U-Pb-Lu-Hf isotopic data from granitoids and associated gabbros in the Pingtan and Tong'an complexes, southeast China. Through combining the new results with published datasets in southeast China, we show that the Early Cretaceous magmatic rocks are dominated by juvenile Nd-Hf isotopic compositions, whereas the Late Cretaceous ones display less radiogenic Nd-Hf isotope signatures. Furthermore, Nd-Hf isotope systematics are coupled with decreasing abundance of hydrous minerals and an increase of zircon saturation temperatures. Compiled zircon Hf-O data indicates that the 117-116 Ma granites have zircon δ18O values ranging from mantle values (close to 5.3‰) to as low as 3.9‰, but with dominantly positive initial epsilon Hf (εHf(t)) values. Zircon grains from 105 to 98 Ma rocks have δ18O values plotting within the mantle-like range (6.5‰ - 4.5‰), but mainly with negative εHf(t) values. Zircon grains from ca. 87 Ma rocks have positive εHf(t) values (+ 9.8 to + 0.7) and a large range of δ18O values (6.3‰ - 3.5‰). The variations in Hf-Nd-O isotopic compositions are correlated with decreasing abundance of magma water contents, presenting a case that water-fluxed melting generated large-scale granitic magmatism. Deep-Earth water cycling provides an alternative or additional mechanism to supply volatiles (e.g., H2O) for hydrous basaltic underplating, continental crustal melting, and magmatic differentiation.
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Sauer, K. B.; Gordon, S. M.; Miller, R. B.; Vervoort, J. D.; Fisher, C. M.
2017-12-01
The metasupracrustal units within the north central Chelan block of the North Cascades Range, Washington, are investigated to determine mechanisms and timescales of supracrustal rock incorporation into the deep crust of continental magmatic arcs. Zircon U-Pb and Hf-isotope analyses were used to characterize the protoliths of metasedimentary and metaigneous rocks from the Skagit Gneiss Complex, metasupracrustal rocks from the Cascade River Schist, and metavolcanic rocks from the Napeequa Schist. Skagit Gneiss Complex metasedimentary rocks have (1) a wide range of zircon U-Pb dates from Proterozoic to latest Cretaceous and (2) a more limited range of dates, from Late Triassic to latest Cretaceous, and a lack of Proterozoic dates. Two samples from the Cascade River Schist are characterized by Late Cretaceous protoliths. Amphibolites from the Napeequa Schist have Late Triassic protoliths. Similarities between the Skagit Gneiss metasediments and accretionary wedge and forearc sediments in northwestern Washington and Southern California indicate that the protolith for these units was likely deposited in a forearc basin and/or accretionary wedge in the Early to Late Cretaceous (circa 134-79 Ma). Sediment was likely underthrust into the active arc by circa 74-65 Ma, as soon as 7 Ma after deposition, and intruded by voluminous magmas. The incorporation of metasupracrustal units aligns with the timing of major arc magmatism in the North Cascades (circa 79-60 Ma) and may indicate a link between the burial of sediments and pluton emplacement.
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Recent sediment transport and deposition in the Nazaré Canyon, Portuguese continental margin.
de Stigter, H.C.; Boer, W.; de Jesus Mendes, P.A.; Jesus, C.C.; Thomsen, L.; van den Bergh, G.D.; van Weering, T.C.E.
2007-01-01
Processes, pathways and fluxes of sediment transport and deposition in the Nazaré submarine canyon, Portuguese continental margin, were investigated by water column profiling of suspended particulate matter, recording of near-bottom currents and suspended particulate matter fluxes with benthic
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Wang, Tiantian; Ramezani, Jahandar; Wang, Chengshan; Wu, Huaichun; He, Huaiyu; Bowring, Samuel A.
2016-07-01
The Cretaceous continental sedimentary records are essential to our understanding of how the terrestrial geologic and ecologic systems responded to past climate fluctuations under greenhouse conditions and our ability to forecast climate change in the future. The Songliao Basin of Northeast China preserves a near-complete, predominantly lacustrine, Cretaceous succession, with sedimentary cyclicity that has been tied to Milankocitch forcing of the climate. Over 900 meters of drill-core recovered from the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian to Campanian) of the Songliao Basin has provided a unique opportunity for detailed analyses of its depositional and paleoenvironmental records through integrated and high-resolution cyclostratigraphic, magnetostratigraphic and geochronologic investigations. Here we report high-precision U-Pb zircon dates (CA-ID-TIMS method) from four interbedded bentonites from the drill-core that offer substantial improvements in accuracy, and a ten-fold enhancement in precision, compared to the previous U-Pb SIMS geochronology, and allow a critical evaluation of the Songliao astrochronological time scale. The results indicate appreciable deviations of the astrochronologic model from the absolute radioisotope geochronology, which more likely reflect cyclostratigraphic tuning inaccuracies and omitted cycles due to depositional hiatuses, rather than suspected limitations of astronomical models applied to distant geologic time. Age interpolation based on our new high-resolution geochronologic framework and the calibrated cyclostratigraphy places the end of the Cretaceous Normal Superchon (C34n-C33r chron boundary) in the Songliao Basin at 83.07 ± 0.15 Ma. This date also serves as a new and improved estimate for the global Santonian-Campanian stage boundary.
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Tang, Y.
2009-12-01
Northern South China Sea Margin locates in Eurasian plate,Indian-Australia plate,Pacific Plates.The South China Sea had underwent a complicated tectonic evolution in Cenozoic.During rifting,the continental shelf and slope forms a series of Cenozoic sedimentary basins,including Qiongdongnan basin,Pearl River Mouth basin,Taixinan basin.These basins fill in thick Cenozoic fluviolacustrine facies,transitional facies,marine facies,abyssal facies sediment,recording the evolution history of South China Sea Margin rifting and ocean basin extending.The studies of tectonics and deposition of depression in the Southern Chaonan Sag of lower continental slope in the Norther South China Sea were dealt with,based on the sequence stratigraphy and depositional facies interpretation of seismic profiles acquired by cruises of“China and Germany Joint Study on Marine Geosciences in the South China Sea”and“The formation,evolution and key issues of important resources in China marginal sea",and combining with ODP 1148 cole and LW33-1-1 well.The free-air gravity anomaly of the break up of the continental and ocean appears comparatively low negative anomaly traps which extended in EW,it is the reflection of passive margin gravitational effect.Bouguer gravity anomaly is comparatively low which is gradient zone extended NE-SW.Magnetic anomaly lies in Magnetic Quiet Zone at the Northern Continental Margin of the South China Sea.The Cenozoic sediments of lower continental slope in Southern Chaonan Sag can be divided into five stratum interface:SB5.5,SB10.5,SB16.5,SB23.8 and Hg,their ages are of Pliocene-Quaternary,late Miocene,middle Miocene,early Miocene,paleogene.The tectonic evolution of low continental slope depressions can be divided into rifting,rifting-depression transitional and depression stages,while their depositional environments change from river to shallow marine and abyssa1,which results in different topography in different stages.The topographic evolvement in the study
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Glacial morphology and depositional sequences of the Antarctic Continental Shelf
ten Brink, Uri S.; Schneider, Christopher
1995-01-01
Proposes a simple model for the unusual depositional sequences and morphology of the Antarctic continental shelf. It considers the regional stratal geometry and the reversed morphology to be principally the results of time-integrated effects of glacial erosion and sedimentation related to the location of the ice grounding line. The model offers several guidelines for stratigraphic interpretation of the Antarctic shelf and a Northern Hemisphere shelf, both of which were subject to many glacial advances and retreats. -Authors
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Toniolo, Horacio; Lamb, Michael; Parker, Gary
2006-01-01
The northern continental slope of the Gulf of Mexico is riddled with numerous subsiding diapiric minibasins bounded by ridges, many but not all of which are connected by channels created by turbidity currents. The region is economically relevant in that many of these diapiric minibasins constitute focal points for the deposition of sand. Some of these sandy deposits in turn serve as excellent reservoirs for hydrocarbons. A better understanding of the "fill and spill" process by which minibasi...
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Wet Deposition of Perchlorate Over the Continental United States
Rajagopalan, S.; Jackson, A. W.; Anderson, T. A.
2007-12-01
Natural perchlorate (ClO4-) has been detected in soil, vegetation, food products, and ground and drinking water supplies at various concentrations across the world. For almost a century natural perchlorate has been known to exist in Chilean nitrate deposits that are up to 16 million years old, and recent isotopic evidence has confirmed its source to be predominantly atmospheric. Although the source of natural perchlorate has been attributed to atmospheric deposition, there is almost no data available concerning the deposition rate of perchlorate from precipitation. This research effort, supported by SERDP, was designed to investigate the range of concentrations, and temporal and spatial variations in perchlorate deposition. Sub-samples of precipitation collected through the National Atmospheric Deposition program over a two year period were analyzed for perchlorate. Sample locations included 14 continental states, and Puerto Rico. Perchlorate has been detected (DL= 5 ng/L) in over 65 % of all samples tested with a mean value of 12.60 ± 13.60 ng/L and ranged from 0.5) between ClO4- and other ions (Cl-, NO3-, SO4-2, Na+, K+, Ca+2, Mg+2, and NH4+). Results from this study will have important implications to the national perchlorate issue and may aid in explaining the occurrence of non-anthropogenic perchlorate being reported in arid and semi-arid areas.
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Noiva, João; Ribeiro, Carlos; Terrinha, Pedro; Brito, Pedro; Neres, Marta
2017-04-01
The tectonic uplift of South Portugal in the last 5 Million years (My) was firstly identified on the basis of morphologic criteria by Mariano Feio (1952, "The evolution of the relief of Baixo Alentejo and Algarve", transl.). However, the assessment of continental vertical movements off Portugal and its relation with tectonics was only initiated in the 1990-ies. This work was carried out in the framework of FP6 and FP7 in the domains of Natural Hazards funded by the European Community. The swath bathymetry cartography of the southwest part of the Iberian Peninsula resulted from the effort of European and national projects, of 19 oceanographic surveys, a total of 200 ship time days executed from 2000 to 2006, involving 14 research institutions from 7 European countries. As a result of this effort together with acquisition and interpretation of thousands of km of seismic reflection profiles, the Pliocene-Quaternary uplift of the Alentejo continental margin (SW Portugal) is now widely accepted by the scientific community. This uplift has not been yet quantified but it is possible that can have contributed to erosion and deposition of metallic ores as placers in the continental shelf. This argues in favor of the potential existence of placers in the continental shelf and the need for the detailed investigation that will allow determination of ideal location for placers deposition in the past Pliocene-Quaternary (5 My). The source for metals can arguably be associated to the Iberian Pyrite Belt ores hosted in the Alentejo Paleozoic formations and to the hyper-alkaline intrusions of Sines and Monchique of Late Cretaceous age. Artificial renourishment of beaches with offshore sand has not been assessed for the Alentejo littoral, despite that the coast located to the south of the Sines segment shows high susceptibility to erosion. This has been observed on a regular basis as the beaches are frequently devoid of sand, thus jeopardizing their touristic potential. The detailed
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Föllmi, Karl; Morales, Chloé; Stein, Melody; Bonvallet, Lucie; Antoine, Pictet
2014-05-01
The Early Cretaceous greenhouse world witnessed different episodes of pronounced paleoenvironmental change, which were associated with substantial shifts in the global carbon and phosphorus cycles. They impacted the growth of carbonate platforms on the shelf, lead to the development of widespread anoxic zones in deeper water, and influenced evolutionary pattern in general. A first phase (the Weissert episode) occurred during the Valanginian, which is indicated by a positive shift in the carbon-isotope record, widespread platform drowning, and evolutionary change. The spreading of anoxic conditions was limited to marginal basins and the positive change in carbon isotopes is linked to the storage of vegetal carbon in coal deposits rather than to organic matter in marine sediments. A second phase (the Faraoni episode) of important environmental change is observed near the end of the Hauterivian, where short and repetitive episodes of anoxia occurred in the Tethyan realm. This phase goes along with a decline in platform growth, but is barely documented in the carbon-isotope record. A third and most important episode (the Selli episode) took place in the early Aptian, and resulted in the widespread deposition of organic-rich sediments, a positive carbon-isotope excursion and the disappearance of Urgonian-type carbonate platforms. Often considered to represent short and singular events, these Early Cretaceous phases are in fact preceded by periods of warming, increased continental weathering, and increased nutrient throughput. These preludes in environmental change are important in that they put these three Early Cretaceous episodes into a longer-term, historic perspective, which allow us to better understand the mechanisms leading to these periods of pronounced global change.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chin-Da Huang
2017-01-01
Full Text Available The northern South China Sea (SCS continental margin was proposed to be an active margin during the Mesozoic. However, only a few papers discussed the Mesozoic structural evolution in this region. Here, we provide information based on the seismic profile interpretations with age control from biostratigraphic studies and detrital zircon U-Pb dates of well MZ-1-1 in the western Dongsha-Penghu Uplift of the northern SCS continental margin. The industrial seismic profiles reveal evidence for structural inversion as represented by folds and high-angle reverse faults, formed by reactivation of pre-existing normal faults. The inversion event likely started after the Early Cretaceous, and developed in Late Cretaceous, but ceased before the Cenozoic. The areal extent of the structural inversion was restricted in the western Dongsha-Penghu Uplift and was approximately 100 km in width. Based on the paleogeographic reconstruction of SCS, the structural inversion was likely formed by a collision between the seamount (volcanic islands swarm of the current North Palawan block (mainly the Calamian Islands and the northern SCS continental margin around Late Cretaceous.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Finn Surlyk
2011-12-01
Full Text Available The 331 m long core from the Mona-1 well in the Danish North Sea spans almost the entire Upper Cretaceous Chalk Group but only about 10% of Late Cretaceous time is represented. The succession comprises 14 facies representing pelagic deposition, turbidity flow, and mass-transport processes, including mudflow, debris flow, and slumping. Pelagic deposits vary mainly in terms of the concentration of siliciclastic material, the trace-fossil assemblage, and the presence or ab¬sence of primary sedimentary structures. Pelagic sedimentation was probably punctuated by the deposition of thin turbidites, and the resultant deposits were thoroughly bioturbated if deposited during normal oxygenation at the sea floor. Periodic benthic dysoxia resulted in the preservation of primary structures, as represented by laminated chalk which consists of thin pelagic laminae alternating with thin turbidites. In addition to the thin turbidites in the laminated chalk, four dif¬ferent turbidite facies are interpreted as representing high- to low-energy flows. Clast-supported chalk conglomerates have previously not been differentiated from other turbidites, but are here interpreted to be directly related to the down-slope evolution of debris flows. Debris flows are rep¬resented by matrix-supported conglomerates, which form one of the most common facies in the succession. High-concentration, gravity-driven suspension flows passed into dilute visco-plastic flows during the final stages of deposition and resulted in the deposition of structureless chalks. Limited shear deformation produced distinct quasi-facies from which the precursor facies can be deduced, whereas intense or continued shear deformation produced a shear-banded quasi-facies from which the precursor facies cannot be deduced in all cases. A series of major slump packages (14–18 in total are interpreted, forming over 40% of the succession; debrites appear to be the most common precursor facies involved in
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Continental Arcs as Both Carbon Source and Sink in Regulating Long Term Climate
Jiang, H.; Lee, C. T.
2017-12-01
The long-term variability of atmospheric pCO2 is determined by the balance between the rate of geologic inputs of CO2 (e.g., magmatic/metamorphic degassing, carbonate weathering) and the rate of carbonate precipitation driven by silicate weathering. The Late Cretaceous-Early Cenozoic was characterized by elevated atmospheric pCO2 and greenhouse climate, likely due to increased magmatic flux from mid-ocean ridges and, in particular, continental arcs. However, it has been suggested that continental arc magmatism is accompanied by rapid uplift and erosion due to magmatic/tectonic thickening of the crust, thus continental arcs likely enhance the chemical weathering flux, in turn increasing the carbon sink. To assess the contribution of continental arcs to global carbon inputs and sinks, we conducted a case study in the Cretaceous Peninsular Ranges batholith (PRB) and associated forearc basin in southern California, USA, representing one segment of the Cretaceous Cordillera arc-forearc system. Arc magmatism occurred between 170-85 Ma, peaking at 100 Ma, but erosion of the arc continues into the early Eocene, with forearc sediments representing this protracted arc unroofing. During magmatism, we estimate the CO2 degassing flux from the PRB was at least 5-25*105 mol·km-2·yr-1. By calculating the depletion of Ca and Mg in the forearc sediments relative to their arc protoliths, we estimate the silicate weathering/carbonate precipitation flux to be 106 mol·km-2·yr-1 during Late Cretaceous magmatism, decreasing to 105 mol·km-2·yr-1 by the Early Eocene. We show that during active continental arc magmatism, the CO2 degassing flux is comparable to CO2 consumption driven by silicate weathering in the arc. However, after magmatism ends, a regional imbalance arises in which the arc no longer contributes to CO2 inputs but continued silicate weathering of the arc drives carbonate precipitation such that the arc indirectly becomes CO2 sink. We propose that the development of
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Trap architecture of the Early Cretaceous Sarir Sandstone in the eastern Sirt Basin, Libya
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Gras, R. [Schlumberger GeoQuest, Cedex (France); Thusu, B. [Arabian Gulf Oil Company, Benghazi (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya)
1998-12-31
The Sarir Sandstone is the principal reservoir for oil accumulations in the eastern Sirt Basin in Libya. The main phase of the rifting in this area took place in the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous, during which time the Sarir Sandstone was deposited as a non-marine, intra-continental clastic syn-rift sequence. Although successfully explored from 1959 onwards, the prolific eastern Sirt Basin is in a relatively immature stage of exploration regarding wildcat drilling and 3D seismic data acquisition. The most recent phase of exploration, utilizing 3D seismic techniques, revealed a complex structural development. The trap geometries are often related to E-W trending, basement-controlled fault systems, oblique to the NNW-SSE Sirt Basin trend. The fault systems were active during the Sarir Sandstone deposition, giving rise to structural as well as combined structural-traps. An increased understanding of trap architecture has led to both re-evaluation of older fields and new discoveries. (author)
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Seawater strontium isotopes, acid rain, and the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary
Macdougall, J. D.
1988-01-01
A large bolide impact at the end of the Cretaceous would have produced significant amounts of nitrogen oxides by shock heating of the atmosphere. The resulting acid precipitation would have increased continental weathering greatly and could be an explanation for the observed high ratio of strontium-87 to strontium-86 in seawater at about this time, due to the dissolution of large amounts of strontium from the continental crust. Spikes to high values in the seawater strontium isotope record at other times may reflect similar episodes.
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Neres, Marta; Terrinha, Pedro; Custódio, Susana; Noiva, João; Brito, Pedro; Santos, Joana; Carrilho, Fernando
2017-04-01
Long-lasting and widespread alkaline magmatism is recognized in the west Portuguese margin. Offshore, several volcanic seamounts punctuate the Tore-Madeira Rise and the Estremadura Spur, with known ages between 80 and 100 Ma. Onshore, the major events are the Monchique (69-73 Ma), Sines (75-77 Ma) and Sintra (75-82 Ma) plutons - whose location (aligned along 200 km) and age discrepancy inspired some geodynamic models for Iberia during the Cretaceous - and the Lisbon Volcanic Complex (90-100 Ma). Structural links between them have been proposed but no direct evidence was yet found for it. In this work we present new magnetic data from recent marine magnetic surveys (ROCHEL and MINEPLAT project) conducted off the west Portuguese coast on the continental shelf and slope. A total area of about 3000 km2 between Sintra and Sines was surveyed with line spacing of 1 mile. Very high-resolution multi-channel seismic profiles were simultaneously acquired with the magnetics covering an area of 400 km2 off Sines. Two main primary outcomes arise from these data. On one hand, higher-resolution mapping in regions where magnetic anomalies were already known allows a better understanding of the buried sub-volcanic system. On the other hand, previously unknown NNW-SSE aligned magnetic anomalies were identified along the coast off Sines, possibly corresponding to buried Late Cretaceous alkaline magmatic intrusives. The presence of magmatic bodies was up to now unknown in this region, and these findings reignite the discussion about a structural link connecting the three main on land intrusive complexes, Sintra, Sines and Monchique. In addition to the structural control of the magmatic complexes, seismicity is also an issue as a cluster of seismicity coincident with the Monchique complex has long been known. Smaller clusters coincide with the magnetic anomalies mapped during the ROCHEL and MINEPLAT surveys, as well. We interpret these results in the light of the tectono-magmatism of
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Yu, E.; Wang, C.; Hinnov, L. A.; Wu, H.
2014-12-01
The quasi-periodic, ca. 2-7 year El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon globally influences the inter-annual variability of temperature and precipitation. Global warming may increase the frequency of extreme ENSO events. Although the Cretaceous plate tectonic configuration was different from today, the sedimentary record suggests that ENSO-type oscillations had existed at the time of Cretaceous greenhouse conditions. Cored Cretaceous lacustrine sediments from the Songliao Basin in Northeast China (SK-1 cores from the International Continental Drilling Program) potentially offer a partially varved record of Cretaceous paleoclimate. Fourteen polished thin sections from the depth interval 1096.12-1096.53 m with an age of 84.4 Ma were analyzed by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). ImageJ software was applied to extract gray scale curves from optical images at pixel resolution. We tracked minimum values of the gray scale curves to estimate the thickness of each lamina. Five sedimentary structures were recognized: flaser bedding, wavy bedding, lenticular bedding, horizontal bedding, and massive layers. The mean layer thicknesses with different sedimentary structures range from 116 to 162mm, very close to the mean sedimentation rate estimated for this sampled interval, 135mm/year, indicating that the layers bounded by pure clay lamina with the minimum gray values are varves. SEM images indicate that a varve is composed, in succession, of one lamina rich in coarse silt, one lamina rich in fine silt, one clay-rich lamina with some silt, and one clay-rich lamina. This suggests that a Cretaceous year featured four distinct depositional seasons, two of which were rainy and the others were lacking precipitation. Spectral analysis of extended intervals of the tuned gray scale curve indicates the presence of inter-annual periodicities of 2.2-2.7 yr, 3.5-6.1 year, and 10.1-14.5 year consistent with those of modern ENSO cycles and solar cycles, as well as
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Kierkegaard, Thomas
1998-08-01
The main purpose of this study is to describe the diagenetic alterations occurring in the Cretaceous to Lower Paleocene sedimentary succession of the GANT-1 well, and to determine the diagenetic and detrital factors which control present porosity and permeability. The GANT-1 well is located on north-western Nuussuaq, central West Greenland. The West Greenland margin is a continental margin subdivided into linked basins where Cretaceous to Lower Tertiary and probably older sediments have been deposited. In the Nuussuaq area these sediments are overlain by a succession of Early Tertiary basaltic volcanic rocks which reaches a combined thickness of around 2-2.5 km. Although the reservoir properties of the sandstone intervals in the GANT-1 and GANE-1 wells are generally relatively poor, it is suggested that moderate to good properties may be found in certain intervals within the Maastrichtian-Paleocene succession. However, the reason for the locally enhanced reservoir properties in GANT-1 was not clarified by this study due to the lack of regional petrographical data. (EG) EFP-96. 41 refs., 3 maps
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Cretaceous rocks of the Western Interior basin
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Molenaar, C.M.; Rice, D.D.
1988-01-01
The Cretaceous rocks of the conterminous United States are discussed in this chapter. Depositional facies and lithology are reviewed along with economic resources. The economic resources include coal, hydrocarbons, and uranium
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Buatois, L.A.; Mangano, M.G.; Genise, Jorge F.; Taylor, T.N.
1998-01-01
The combined study of continental trace fossils and associated sedimentary facies provides valuable evidence of colonization trends and events throughout the Phanerozoic. Colonization of continental environments was linked to the exploitation of empty or under-utilized ecospace. Although the nonmarine trace fossil record probably begins during the Late Ordovician, significant invasion of nonmarine biotopes began close to the Silurian-Devonian transition with the establishment of a mobile arthropod epifauna (Diplichnites ichnoguild) in coastal marine to alluvial plain settings. Additionally, the presence of vertical burrows in Devonian high-energy fluvial deposits reflects the establishment of a stationary, deep suspension-feeding infauna of the Skolithos ichnoguild. The earliest evidence of plant-arthropod interaction occurred close to the Silurian-Devonian boundary, but widespread and varied feeding patterns are known from the Carboniferous. During the Carboniferous, permanent subaqueous lacustrine settings were colonized by a diverse, mobile detritus-feeding epifauna of the Mermia ichnoguild, which reflects a significant palaeoenvironmental expansion of trace fossils. Paleozoic ichnologic evidence supports direct routes to the land from marginal marine environments, and migration to lakes from land settings. All nonmarine sedimentary environments were colonized by the Carboniferous, and subsequent patterns indicate an increase in ecospace utilization within already colonized depositional settings. During the Permian, back-filled traces of the Scoyenia ichnoguild record the establishment of a mobile, intermediate-depth, deposit-feeding in-fauna in alluvial and transitional alluvial-lacustrine sediment. Diversification of land plants and the establishment of ecologically diverse plant communities through time provided new niches to be exploited by arthropods. Nevertheless, most ot the evolutionary feeding innovations took place relatively early, during the Late
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Dai Mingjian; Peng Yunbiao; Yang Jianxin; Shen Kefeng
2014-01-01
In recent years, the high-resolution sequence stratigraphy of which reference surface is base level cycle get rapid development. Its biggest advantage is the ability to apply to the continental sedimentary basins controlled by multiple factors, especially applied to the thin layer contrast of the paleochannel sandstone type uranium reservoir. This paper, by using drill core and logging data, has made the high resolution sequence stratigraphy studies on braided river uranium reservoir of Upper Member of Saihan Formation of Lower Cretaceous (Kls2) in Bayanwula deposit and identified the base level cycle interface. The study interval is divided into one long-term cycle and seven mid-term base level cycle, and high-resolution time stratigraphic framework of the deposit is established. Depth analysis is taken for the relationship between the braided river sand body and base level cycles. And the position, distribution, and genesis in vertical of the braided river sand body are discussed in detail. Ore body is mainly hosted in edge of braided bar sand body, which formed in the low accommodation space, and braided channel and the braided bar interchange. So uranium enriched in the mid-term base level cycle MSC2-MSC5 in the study area. (authors)
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Sea water strontium isotopes, acid rain, and the cretaceous-tertiary boundary
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
MacDougall, J.D.
1988-01-01
A large bolide impact at the end of the Cretaceous would have produced significant amounts of nitrogen oxides by shock heating of the atmosphere. The resulting acid precipitation would have increased continental weathering greatly and could be an explanation for the observed high ratio of strontium-87 to strontium-86 in sea water at about this time, due to the dissolution of large amounts of strontium from the continental crust. Spikes to high values in the sea water strontium isotope record at other times may reflect similar episodes. 17 references, 1 figure, 1 table
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Surlyk, Finn
2011-12-01
Full Text Available The 331 m long core from the Mona-1 well in the Danish North Sea spans almost the entire Upper Cretaceous Chalk Group but only about 10% of Late Cretaceous time is represented. The succession comprises 14 facies representing pelagic deposition, turbidity flow, and mass-transport processes, including mudflow, debris flow, and slumping. Pelagic deposits vary mainly in terms of the concentration of siliciclastic material, the trace-fossil assemblage, and the presence or ab¬sence of primary sedimentary structures. Pelagic sedimentation was probably punctuated by the deposition of thin turbidites, and the resultant deposits were thoroughly bioturbated if deposited during normal oxygenation at the sea floor. Periodic benthic dysoxia resulted in the preservation of primary structures, as represented by laminated chalk which consists of thin pelagic laminae alternating with thin turbidites. In addition to the thin turbidites in the laminated chalk, four dif¬ferent turbidite facies are interpreted as representing high- to low-energy flows. Clast-supported chalk conglomerates have previously not been differentiated from other turbidites, but are here interpreted to be directly related to the down-slope evolution of debris flows. Debris flows are rep¬resented by matrix-supported conglomerates, which form one of the most common facies in the succession. High-concentration, gravity-driven suspension flows passed into dilute visco-plastic flows during the final stages of deposition and resulted in the deposition of structureless chalks. Limited shear deformation produced distinct quasi-facies from which the precursor facies can be deduced, whereas intense or continued shear deformation produced a shear-banded quasi-facies from which the precursor facies cannot be deduced in all cases. A series of major slump packages (14–18 in total are interpreted, forming over 40% of the succession; debrites appear to be the most common precursor facies involved in
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mátyás Vremir
Full Text Available We describe a new taxon of medium-sized (wing span ca. 3 m azhdarchid pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Transylvanian Basin (Sebeş Formation of Romania. This specimen is the most complete European azhdarchid yet reported, comprising a partially articulated series of vertebrae and associated forelimb bones. The new taxon is most similar to the Central Asian Azhdarcho lancicollis Nessov but possesses a suite of autapomorphies in its vertebrae that include the relative proportions of cervicals three and four and the presence of elongated prezygapophyseal pedicles. The new taxon is interesting in that it lived contemporaneously with gigantic forms, comparable in size to the famous Romanian Hatzegopteryx thambema. The presence of two distinct azhdarchid size classes in a continental depositional environment further strengthens suggestions that these pterosaurs were strongly linked to terrestrial floodplain and wooded environments. To support this discussion, we outline the geological context and taphonomy of our new specimen and place it in context with other known records for this widespread and important Late Cretaceous pterosaurian lineage.
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Initiation of continental accretion in the Betic-Rif domain
Maxime, Daudet; Frederic, Mouthereau; Stéphanie, Brichau; Ana, Crespo-Blanc; Arnaud, Vacherat
2017-04-01
The Betic - Rif cordillera in southern Spain and northern Morocco, respectively, form one of the tightest orogenic arc on Earth. The formation of this arcuate orogenic belt resulted from the westward migration of the Alboran crustal domain, constituted by the internal zone of the orogeny and the basement of the Alboran back-arc basin, that collided with the rifted margins of Iberia and Africa at least since the early Miocene. This collision is intimately linked to the post-35-30Ma regional slab roll-back and back-arc extension in the western Mediterranean region. The geodynamics of the Betic-Rif domain, which is of great importance for the paleogeographic reconstructions of the Tethys-Altantic and the Mediterranean sea, is still largely debated. Answers will come from a more detailed structural analyses, including refinement of the time-temperature paths and kinematics of the main structural units, which is one of the main objectives of the OROGEN research project, co-financed by BRGM, TOTAL & CNRS. In this study, we focus on the well-developed flysch-type sediments now accreted in the Betics-Rif but initially deposited in a basin, north of the african margin and on the iberian margin from the Early Cretaceous to the Early Miocene. Using low-temperature thermochronology (fission-track and (U-Th)/He analyses) combined with zircon U-Pb geochronology on the flyschs deposited on the most distal part of the margin, we aim to constrain the thermal history of both the source rocks and accreted thrust sheets at the earliest stages of continental accretion. Sample have been collected in flyschs series ranging from Mesozoic, Paleogene to Neogene ages. Additional samples have been collected in the Rif where Cretaceous series are more developed. Combined with a detailed structural analysis, LT thermochronological constraints will refine the kinematics of thrust units when continental accretion started before the final thrust emplacement occurred in the Early Miocene
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Regional setting and geochronology of the Late Cretaceous Banatitic Magmatic and Metallogenetic Belt
Ciobanu, Cristiana L.; Cook, Nigel J.; Stein, Holly
2002-08-01
The 1,500-km-long Banatitic Magmatic and Metallogenetic Belt (BMMB) of Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria is a complex calc-alkaline magmatic arc of Late Cretaceous age. It hosts a variety of magmatic-hydrothermal Cu, Au, Mo, Zn, Pb and Fe deposits, including Europe's only world-class porphyry-copper deposits. Regional metallogeny can be linked to subduction of the Vardar Ocean during the Late Cretaceous, as part of the closure of the Neotethys Ocean that had separated Europe and Africa in the Mesozoic. Porphyry Cu-(Au)-(Mo) and intimately associated epithermal massive sulphides dominate in the central segments of the belt in southernmost Banat (Romania), Serbia and north-west Bulgaria. These districts are the economically most important today, including major active Cu-Au mines at Moldova Nouă in Romania, Majdanpek, Veliki Krivelj and Bor in Serbia, and Elatsite, Assarel and Chelopech in Bulgaria. More numerous (and mostly mined in the past) are Fe, Cu and Zn-Pb skarns, which occur mainly at the two ends of the belt, in Eastern Bulgaria and in Romania. This paper summarises some of the deposit characteristics within the geodynamic framework of terminal Vardar subduction. Heterogeneous terranes of the belt, including the Apuseni Mountains at the western end, are aligned parallel to the Vardar front following continental collision of the Dacia and Tisza blocks. All available geochronological data (numerous K-Ar and some U-Pb and Re-Os ages) are compiled, and are complemented by a new high-precision Re-Os date for the Dognecea skarn deposit, south-west Romania (76.6±0.3 Ma). These data indicate that magmatism extended over at least 25 million years, from about 90 to 65 Ma in each segment of the belt. Within Apuseni Mountains and Banat, where magma emplacement was related to syn-collisional extension in the orogenic belt of Carpathians, ore formation seems to be restricted in time and maybe constrained by a shared tectonic event.
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Turkana Grits - a Cretaceous braided alluvial system in northern Kenya
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Handford, C.R.
1987-05-01
Rather spotty but excellent exposures of the Cretaceous-age Turkana Grits occur near the western shore of Lake Turkana, northern Kenya. These very coarse to pebbly arkosic sandstones and sandy conglomerates were derived from and rest unconformably upon Precambrian metamorphic basement; they are overlain by late Tertiary basaltic flows that comprise much of the volcanics in the East African Rift Zone. The formation ranges up to 2000 ft thick in the Laburr Range. Several outcrops contain sauropod, crocodile, and tortoise remains as well as abundant trunks of petrified wood (Dryoxylon). Five major facies make up the Turkana Grits and record a major episode of continental fluvial deposition in basins flanked by Precambrian basement. Facies 1 is crudely stratified, cobble and boulder conglomerate (clast-supported); Facies 2 is crudely stratified pebble-cobble conglomerate and pebbly sandstone; Facies 3 is trough cross-bedded, very coarse sandstones containing fossils wood and vertebrate remains; Facies 4 is crudely stratified to massive sandstones with ironstone nodules; and Facies 5 is red, purple, and gray mudstone and mud shale with carbonate nodules. Facies 1 through 3 record deposition in proximal to medial braided-stream channel, longitudinal bar and dune complexes. Facies 4 is a lowland, hydromorphic paleosol, and Facies 5 represents overbank and abandoned channel-fill sedimentation in an alluvial plain.
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Phanerozoic Rifting Phases And Mineral Deposits
Hassaan, Mahmoud
2016-04-01
connected with NW,WNW and N-S faults genetically related to volcano-hydrothermal activity associated the Red Sea rifting. At Sherm EL-Sheikh hydrothermal manganese deposit occurs in Oligocene clastics within fault zone. Four iron-manganese-barite mineralization in Esh-Elmellaha plateau are controlled by faults trending NW,NE and nearly E-W intersecting Miocene carbonate rocks. Barite exists disseminated in the ores and as a vein in NW fault. In Shalatee - Halaib district 24 manganese deposits and barite veins with sulphide patches occur within Miocene carbonates distributed along two NW fault planes,trending 240°and 310° and occur in granite and basalt . Uranium -lead-zinc sulfide mineralization occur in Late Proterozoic granite, Late Cretaceous sandstones, and chiefly in Miocene clastic-carbonate-evaporate rocks. The occurrences of uranium- lead-zinc and iron-manganese-barite mineralization have the characteristic features of hypogene cavity filling and replacement deposits correlated with Miocene- Recent Aden volcanic rocks rifting. In western Saudi Arabia barite-lead-zinc mineralization occurs at Lat. 25° 45' and 25° 50'N hosted by Tertiary sediments in limestone nearby basaltic flows and NE-SW fault system. The mineralized hot brines in the Red Sea deeps considered by the author a part of this province. The author considers the constant rifting phases of Pangea and then progressive fragmentation of Western Gondwana during the Late Carboniferous-Lias, Late Jurassic-Early Aptian, Late Aptian - Albian and Late Eocene-Early Miocene and Oligocene-Miocene, responsible for formation of the mineral deposits constituting the M provinces. During these events, rifting, magmatism and hydrothermal activities took place in different peri-continental margins.
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Forshaw, Joline; Jarvis, Ian; Trabucho-Alexandre, João; Tocher, Bruce; Pearce, Martin
2014-05-01
The hypothesised reduction of oxygen within the oceans during the Cretaceous is believed to have led to extended intervals of regional anoxia in bottom waters, resulting in increased preservation of organic matter and the deposition of black shales. Episodes of more widespread anoxia, and even euxinia, in both bottom and surface waters are associated with widespread black shale deposition during Ocean Anoxic Events (OAEs). The most extensive Late Cretaceous OAE, which occurred ~ 94 Ma during Cenomanian-Turonian boundary times, and was particularly well developed in the proto-North Atlantic and Tethyan regions, lasted for around 500 kyr (OAE2). Although the causes of this and other events are still hotly debated, research is taking place internationally to produce a global picture of the causes and consequences of Cretaceous OAEs. Understanding OAEs will enable a better interpretation of the climate fluctuations that ensued, and their association with the widespread deposition of black shales, rising temperatures, increased pCO2, enhanced weathering, and increased nutrient fluxes. The Eagle Ford Formation, of Cenomanian - Turonian age, is a major shale gas play in SW and NE Texas, extending over an area of more than 45,000 km2. The formation, which consists predominantly of black shales (organic-rich calcareous mudstones), was deposited during an extended period of relative tectonic quiescence in the northern Gulf Coast of the Mexico Basin, bordered by reefs along the continental shelf. The area offers an opportunity to study the effects of OAE2 in an organic-rich shelf setting. The high degree of organic matter preservation in the formation has produced excellent oil and gas source rocks. Vast areas of petroleum-rich shales are now being exploited in the Southern States of the US for shale gas, and the Eagle Ford Shale is fast becoming one of the countries largest producers of gas, oil and condensate. The Eagle Ford Shale stratigraphy is complex and heterogeneous
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Cevdet BOZKUŞ
1998-01-01
Full Text Available The rock units formed in Late Cretaceous to recent, outcrop in the investigated area. The oldest rock unit of the suture zone is a flysch (Alıcık formatıon of Upper Cretaceous (Santonıan-Maastrichtıan age containing volcanic intercalations. Ophiolitic melange tectonically set on the flysch. The initial emplacement of the ophioli- tic melange sheets in this area occur between Late Cretaceous and pre early Eocene. Lower-Midlle Eocene aged, fine grained continental to shallow marine sediments (Dağdibi formatıon cover all the units with an angular unconformity. On these sediments, Upper Eocene basic (basalt, basaltic andesite, tuff volcanics (Karataş formatıon are observed. Oligocene aged continental molasse sediments (Narman group which lie on the older units with an angular unconformity are; continental clastics, volcanic products and gypsum at the top displaying a thinning and fining upward motif of sequence. Pliocene-Pleistocene aged conglomerates represent river environments, cover all the units with an angular unconformity. Recent deposits are slope debris and alluvium. All the rocks exposed in the investigated area which take place Pontid /Anatolid suture zone and developed under the control of collisional tectonic processes of these two continents. In Upper Cretaceous age, the flysch is formed in a trench developed along a nortward dipping subductıon zone.. Ophiolitic melange which limits the suture zone at the south, is formed by slicing of oceanic crust and mixing of these slices with trench sediments by means of a tectono-sedimentary system.The collosion of Pontid/Anatolid continents (happened after Late Cretaceous and before Early Eocene. Lower-Mıddle Eocene (Ipresian-Lutetian aged continental, to shallow marine deposits were formed in an asimetric forearc molassic basin which developed along the suture zone. Oligocene aged continental deposits were developed together with volcanics in continental intermountain molassic
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Schulte, Peter; Smit, Jan; Deutsch, Alex; Friese, Andrea; Beichel, Kilian
2010-05-01
Understanding the depositional sequence and composition of impact ejecta is critical for the interpretation of timing and effects of the Chicxulub impact regarding the mass extinction at the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary. Preliminary investigations have shown that the shallow La Popa and Parras foreland basins in northeastern Mexico both feature outstanding and continuous 3D exposures of the Chicxulub ejecta-rich, K-Pg boundary event deposit (Lawton et al., 2005). The m-thick sand-siltstone interval directly underlying the ejecta-rich mass flows shows evidence of slumping and liquefaction, locally leading to complete disorganization and disruption of the pre-impact late Cretaceous sedimentary sequence. The subsequent ejecta-rich sequence consists of an up to one m-thick basal carbonate-rich bed that discontinuously fills a valley-like topography. Besides abundant silicic and carbonate ejecta spherules (up to 50%) that are excellently preserved, this bed includes abundant mollusks and gastropod shells, as well as vertebrate bones and teeth. The conglomeratic bed is overlain by a series of alternating fine- to medium grained calcareous sandstones with shell debris and ejecta that were deposited by repeated currents / mass flow events incorporating varying source areas. Hummocky-cross-stratified strata that mark the return to a normal out-shelf depositional regime conformably overly these sandstones. We interpret this sequence as evidence for presumably seismic-induced sediment liquefaction followed by a series of impact-related tsunami deposits. The specific depositional sequence and Fe-Mg-rich ejecta composition as well as the petrography of the sandstones all closely link the K-Pg boundary sequence in the La Popa and Parras basin to the well-known deep-water K-Pg sites in the Gulf of Mexico (e.g. El Mimbral; Smit et al., 1996; Schulte and Kontny, 2005). Lawton, T.F., et al., 2005, Geology, v. 33, p. 81-84. Smit, J. et al., 1996, GSA Special Paper v. 307, p
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The mid-Cretaceous super plume, carbon dioxide, and global warming
Caldeira, Ken; Rampino, Michael R.
1991-01-01
Carbon-dioxide releases associated with a mid-Cretaceous super plume and the emplacement of the Ontong-Java Plateau have been suggested as a principal cause of the mid-Cretaceous global warming. A carbonate-silicate cycle model is developed to quantify the possible climatic effects of these CO2 releases, utilizing four different formulations for the rate of silicate-rock weathering as a function of atmospheric CO2. CO2 emissions resulting from super-plume tectonics could have produced atmospheric CO2 levels from 3.7 to 14.7 times the modern preindustrial value of 285 ppm. Based on the temperature sensitivity to CO2 increases used in the weathering-rate formulations, this would cause a global warming of from 2.8 to 7.7 C over today's glogal mean temperature. Altered continental positions and higher sea level may have been contributed about 4.8 C to mid-Cretaceous warming. Thus, the combined effects of paleogeographic changes and super-plume related CO2 emissions could be in the range of 7.6 to 12.5 C, within the 6 to 14 C range previously estimated for mid-Cretaceous warming. CO2 releases from oceanic plateaus alone are unlikely to have been directly responsible for more than 20 percent of the mid-Cretaceous increase in atmospheric CO2.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nelepchenko, O.M.; Akhiyarov, V.Kh.
1975-01-01
A number of geophysical studies of the Paleogene and upper Cretaceous deposits in prospecting and exploration boreholes in the northern part of the Tyumen field are described. The studies include, besides the essential ones, neutron logging with thermal neutrons (NKT-50), infrared logging, and lateral logging
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Łapcik, Piotr
2018-02-01
Deep-sea channels are one of the architectonic elements, forming the main conduits for sand and gravel material in the turbidite depositional systems. Deep-sea channel facies are mostly represented by stacking of thick-bedded massive sandstones with abundant coarse-grained material, ripped-up clasts, amalgamation and large scale erosional structures. The Manasterz Quarry of the Ropianka Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Skole Nappe, Carpathians) contains a succession of at least 31 m of thick-bedded high-density turbidites alternated with clast-rich sandy debrites, which are interpreted as axial deposits of a deep-sea channel. The section studied includes 5 or 6 storeys with debrite basal lag deposits covered by amalgamated turbidite fills. The thickness of particular storeys varies from 2.5 to 13 m. Vertical stacking of similar facies through the whole thickness of the section suggest a hierarchically higher channel-fill or a channel complex set, with an aggradation rate higher than its lateral migration. Such channel axis facies cannot aggrade without simultaneous aggradation of levee confinement, which was distinguished in an associated section located to the NW from the Manasterz Quarry. Lateral offset of channel axis facies into channel margin or channel levee facies is estimated at less than 800 m. The Manasterz Quarry section represents mostly the filling and amalgamation stage of channel formation. The described channel architectural elements of the Ropianka Formation are located within the so-called Łańcut Channel Zone, which was previously thought to be Oligocene but may have been present already in the Late Cretaceous.
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Impacts of continental arcs on global carbon cycling and climate
Lee, C. T.; Jiang, H.; Carter, L.; Dasgupta, R.; Cao, W.; Lackey, J. S.; Lenardic, A.; Barnes, J.; McKenzie, R.
2017-12-01
On myr timescales, climatic variability is tied to variations in atmospheric CO2, which in turn is driven by geologic sources of CO2 and modulated by the efficiency of chemical weathering and carbonate precipitation (sinks). Long-term variability in CO2 has largely been attributed to changes in mid-ocean ridge inputs or the efficiency of global weathering. For example, the Cretaceous greenhouse is thought to be related to enhanced oceanic crust production, while the late Cenozoic icehouse is attributed to enhanced chemical weathering associated with the Himalayan orogeny. Here, we show that continental arcs may play a more important role in controlling climate, both in terms of sources and sinks. Continental arcs differ from island arcs and mid-ocean ridges in that the continental plate through which arc magmas pass may contain large amounts of sedimentary carbonate, accumulated over the history of the continent. Interaction of arc magmas with crustal carbonates via assimilation, reaction or heating can significantly add to the mantle-sourced CO2 flux. Detrital zircons and global mapping of basement rocks shows that the length of continental arcs in the Cretaceous was more than twice that in the mid-Cenozoic; maps also show many of these arcs intersected crustal carbonates. The increased length of continental arc magmatism coincided with increased oceanic spreading rates, placing convergent margins into compression, which favors continental arcs. Around 50 Ma, however, nearly all the continental arcs in Eurasia and North America terminated as India collided with Eurasia and the western Pacific rolled back, initiating the Marianas-Tonga-Kermadec intra-oceanic subduction complex and possibly leading to a decrease in global CO2 production. Meanwhile, extinct continental arcs continued to erode, resulting in regionally enhanced chemical weathering unsupported by magmatic fluxes of CO2. Continental arcs, during their magmatic lifetimes, are thus a source of CO2, driving
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Robertson, Alastair H. F.; Collins, Alan S.
2002-02-01
-grade, mixed carbonate/siliciclastic sedimentary rocks that accumulated on the south-Asian continental margin. A structurally associated turbiditic slope/basinal succession records rifting of the Karakoram continent (part of Mega-Lhasa) from Gondwana. Red clastics of inferred fluvial origin ('molasse') unconformably overlie the Late Palaeozoic-Triassic succession and are also intersliced with other units in the suture zone. Reconnaissance further east (north of the Shyok River) indicates the presence of redeposited volcaniclastic sediments and thick acid tuffs, derived from nearby volcanic centres, presumed to lie within the Ladakh Arc. In addition, comparison with Lower Cretaceous clastic sediments (Maium Unit) within the Northern Suture Zone, west of the Nanga Parbat syntaxis (Hunza River) reveals notable differences, including the presence of terrigenous quartz-rich conglomerates, serpentinite debris-flow deposits and a contrasting structural history. The Shyok Suture Zone in the Skardu area is interpreted to preserve the remnants of a rifted oceanic back-arc basin and components of the Asian continental margin. In the west (Hunza River), a mixed volcanogenic and terrigenous succession (Maium Unit) is interpreted to record syn-deformational infilling of a remnant back-arc basin/foreland basin prior to suturing of the Kohistan Arc with Asia (75-90 Ma).
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Moore, W.L.
1976-01-01
The Cretaceous Hell Creek and Paleocene Ludlow Formations of southwestern North Dakota, with the exception of the included lignite beds and minor amounts of concretions and nodules, are almost exclusively clastic sediments and sedimentary rocks. Massive clays, clays alternating with silts and sands, sandstones filling channels and other depressions, sheet sandstones, and lignites are the dominant sediment and rock types present. These sediments and sedimentary rocks were mostly deposited in a continental environment and were largely alluvial, lacustrine or paludal in origin; though marginal marine deposition, in part, is indicated by the occurrence of brackish water faunas in portions of the upper Ludlow Formation. With the possible exception of a persistent lignite near the base, persistent lignites are not present in the Hell Creek Formation. The Ludlow can be subdivided into several informal units, typically coal-bounded, which can be traced laterally over large areas. This informal subdivision permits isolation of stratigraphic units for the study of local environments of deposition. Channel and depression fill sandstones of the Ludlow Formation have a relatively low permeability and a high organic content at the surface and, for this reason, are considered poor prospective uranium host rocks. The lighter colored yellow winnowed sheet sandstones of the Ludlow are more permeable and relatively free of organic matter. They are considered as possible host rocks for uranium occurring in association with an oxidation/reduction interface at shallow depths. The uranium potential is enhanced where the latter sandstones occur along paleodivides which have been overlain by the Oligocene White River Formation, or in local areas where the latter formation is still preserved. Light yellow winnowed sheet sandstones are rare in the Hell Creek Formation, and the chances for uranium prospects in this interval seem correspondingly reduced
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Arctic black shale formation during Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Event 2
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Lenniger, Marc; Nøhr-Hansen, Henrik; Hills, Len V.
2014-01-01
The Late Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE2) represents a major perturbation of the global carbon cycle caused by the widespread deposition of organic-rich black shales. Although the paleoceanographic response and the spatial extent of bottom-water anoxia in low and mid-paleolatitudes are re......The Late Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE2) represents a major perturbation of the global carbon cycle caused by the widespread deposition of organic-rich black shales. Although the paleoceanographic response and the spatial extent of bottom-water anoxia in low and mid...... caused massive organic-carbon burial on the Arctic shelf in general, with important implications for hydrocarbon source-rock distribution in the Arctic region....
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Puglisi Diego
2014-08-01
Full Text Available The occurrence of a Lower Cretaceous flysch group, cropping out from the Gibraltar Arc to the Balkans with a very similar structural setting and sedimentary provenance always linked to the dismantling of internal areas, suggests the existence of only one sedimentary basin (Alpine Tethys s.s., subdivided into many other minor oceanic areas. The Maghrebian Basin, mainly developed on thinned continental crust, was probably located in the westernmost sector of the Alpine Tethys. Cretaceous re-organization of the plates triggered one (or more tectonic phases, well recorded in almost all the sectors of the Alpine Tethys. However, the Maghrebian Basin seems to have been deformed by Late- or post-Cretaceous tectonics, connected with a “meso-Alpine” phase (pre-Oligocene, already hypothesized since the beginning of the nineties. Field geological evidence and recent biostratigraphic data also support this important meso- Alpine tectonic phase in the Sicilian segment of the Maghrebian Chain, indicated by the deformations of a Lower Cretaceous flysch sealed by Lower Oligocene turbidite deposits. This tectonic development is emphasized here because it was probably connected with the onset of rifting in the southern paleomargin of the European plate, the detaching of the so-called AlKaPeCa block (Auct.; i.e. Alboran + Kabylian + Calabria and Peloritani terranes and its fragmentation into several microplates. The subsequent early Oligocene drifting of these microplates led to the progressive closure of the Maghrebian Basin and the opening of new back-arc oceanic basins, strongly controlled by extensional processes, in the western Mediterranean (i.e. Gulf of Lion, Valencia Trough, Provençal Basin and Alboran Sea.
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A Facies Model for Temperate Continental Glaciers.
Ashley, Gail Mowry
1987-01-01
Discusses the presence and dynamics of continental glaciers in the domination of the physical processes of erosion and deposition in the mid-latitudes during the Pleistocene period. Describes the use of a sedimentary facies model as a guide to recognizing ancient temperate continental glacial deposits. (TW)
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mohammad Hassan Karimpour
2013-10-01
Full Text Available Kalateh Ahani is located 27 km southeast of Gonabad within the Khorasan Razavi province. The area is part of Lut Block. Sub-volcanic monzonitic rocks intruded regional metamorphosed Shemshak Formation (Jurassic age. Magnetic susceptibility of less altered monzonitic rocks is 0.6%., As, Pb and Zn > 1%, Au up to 150 ppb and Sn = 133 ppm. The Sn content of vein in the northern part of Kalateh Ahani (Rud Gaz is > 1%. Based on mineralization, alteration and geochemistry, it seems that Sn mineralization is associated with the Cretaceous monzonitic rocks. Zircon U–Pb dating indicates that the age of the monzonitic rocks associated with mineralization is 109 Ma (Lower Cretaceous. Based on (87Sr/86Sri = 0.71089-0.710647 and (143Nd/144Ndi = 0.512113-0.51227 of the monzonitic rocks, the magma for these rocks were originated from the continental crust. This research has opened new window with respect to Sn-Cu mineralization and exploration within the Lut Block which is associated with Cretaceous granitoid rocks (reduced type, ilmenite series originated from the continental crust.
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Tan, Xiaodong
2016-04-01
In the northern Tethys Himalaya, sporadically distributed Cretaceous oceanic red beds (CORBs, the Chuangde Formation) have been described. The sequence was interpreted to be firstly deposited in the outer continental shelf and upper slope, and later slumped into deep basin. Based on this model, and paleomagnetic data of shallow water deposits from the southern Tethys Himalaya, the CORBs were derived from the northern tip of the passive margin of the greater India. If so, the CORBs would provide more accurate record of the northern extent of the greater India, which is an important parameter for estimating the initial time of India-Asia continental collision and the amount of crustal shortening. The well studied and most accessible section is located in the Chuangde village, about 40km east from the Gyangze city. The formation is about 25m thick, ranging from 84 to 75Ma in age according to fossil records of planktonic foraminiferal species. The lower and upper parts are 2 and 5 meter thick marlstones, respectively, and the middle section is dominated by shale with a few layers of centimeter scale marlstones. Fifty cores were collected from the marlstones of the section, and for the purpose of fold test, 30 more cores were collected from the upper part of the formation from a second section located in the Pulong village, ~3km to the northeast of the Chuangde village. All samples were subject to stepwise thermal demagnetization. About 60% of the samples yielded interpretable demagnetization results. The bottom of the upper part of the formation show reversed high temperature component, and the rest of the upper part and the lower part show normal polarity. The Chuangde section data failed reversal test, because the normal polarity direction is likely not fully resolved from overprint component. However, the well resolved reversal direction from the Chuangde village and the normal direction from Pulong pass both reversal and fold tests. The mean paleomagnetic data
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Calcium isotopes offer clues on resource partitioning among Cretaceous predatory dinosaurs.
Hassler, A; Martin, J E; Amiot, R; Tacail, T; Godet, F Arnaud; Allain, R; Balter, V
2018-04-11
Large predators are overabundant in mid-Cretaceous continental dinosaur assemblages of North Africa. Such unbalanced ecosystem structure involves, among predatory dinosaurs, typical abelisaurid or carcharodontosaurid theropods co-occurring with long-snouted spinosaurids of debated ecology. Here, we report calcium (Ca) isotope values from tooth enamel (expressed as δ 44/42 Ca) to investigate resource partitioning in mid-Cretaceous assemblages from Niger (Gadoufaoua) and Morocco (Kem Kem Beds). In both assemblages, spinosaurids display a distinct isotopic signature, the most negative in our dataset. This distinct taxonomic clustering in Ca isotope values observed between spinosaurids and other predators provides unambiguous evidence for niche partitioning at the top of the trophic chains: spinosaurids foraged on aquatic environments while abelisaurid and carcharodontosaurid theropods relied almost exclusively on terrestrial resources. © 2018 The Author(s).
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Trofimenko, Yu.P.
1981-01-01
Presented are results of studies of the abrasiveness and hardness of core material taken from Upper Cretaceous deposits in the process of drilling deep boreholes in the areas of Chechen-Ingushetiya. Based on the studies it is established that the abrasiveness of rock is mainly influenced by the coarseness of the mineral grains in the rock, their mineralogical composition, and the composition of the cement. Given is a system of clasification of the investigated core material with respect to abrasiveness and hardness.
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Mateo, Paula; Keller, Gerta; Adatte, Thierry; Spangenberg, Jorge
2015-04-01
Deep-sea sections in the North Atlantic are claimed to contain the most complete sedimentary records and ultimate proof that the Chicxulub impact is Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary (KTB) in age and caused the mass extinction. A multi-disciplinary study of North Atlantic DSDP Sites 384, 386 and 398, based on high-resolution planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy, carbon and oxygen stable isotopes, clay and whole-rock mineralogy and granulometry, reveals the age, stratigraphic completeness and nature of sedimentary disturbances. Results show a major KTB hiatus at Site 384 with zones CF1, P0 and P1a missing, spanning at least ~540 ky, similar to other North Atlantic and Caribbean localities associated with tectonic activity and Gulf Stream erosion. At Sites 386 and 398, discrete intervals of disturbed sediments with mm-to-cm-thick spherule layers have previously been interpreted as KTB age impact-generated earthquakes destabilizing continental margins prior to settling of impact spherules. However, improved age control based on planktonic foraminifera indicates deposition in the early Danian zone P1a(2) (upper Parvularugoglobigerina eugubina zone) more than 100 ky after the KTB. At Site 386, two intervals of white chalk contain very small (winnowing via distal turbidites. At Site 398, convoluted red to tan sediments with early Danian and reworked Cretaceous species represent slumping of shallow water sediments as suggested by dominance of mica and low smectite compared to in situ deposition. We conclude that mass wasting was likely the result of earthquakes associated with increased tectonic activity in the Caribbean and the Iberian Peninsula during the early Danian well after the Chicxulub impact.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Luo Yi; Zhou Dean; He Yiqiang; Tao Quan; Xia Yuliang; Cui Huanmin; Zhu Deling
1996-03-01
Yanshan-Liaoning area is located in the east part of the northern margin of North-China platform. It is a famous metallogenic region of Mesozoic volcanic hydrothermal type U-Au-polymetallic deposits in the country. The metallogenesis is controlled by a united Late Mesozoic continental taphrogenic volcano-magmatic activity. The metallogenic epochs are concentrated in Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous periods. The metallogenic media are moderate and moderate-low temperature volcanic hydrothermal solutions originated from the mixing of volcano-magmatic water, metamorphic water and atmospheric water. The ore-forming materials are mainly derived from enrichment type upper mantle and lower crust. (8 refs., 5 figs.)
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Bellis, David J.; Satake, Kenichi; Inagaki, Michiko; Zeng, Jiye; Oizumi, Tsuyoshi
2005-01-01
Long-range transport of air pollution from continental Asia is currently an important issue concerning the Japanese environment, especially in regions susceptible to acidification due to low buffering capacity, such as Murakami, Niigata prefecture, located on the west coast of central Japan. Evidence for long-range transport was obtained through lead and lead isotopic analysis of 84 archived precipitation filters, showing seasonal changes in lead deposition from May 1999 to May 2002. Lead deposition was highest in winter and spring (November through May) each year and lowest in summer. Computed 72-h back trajectories showed that in winter air masses were predominantly transported from the northwest, passing over northern China and eastern Russia, whilst in summer air masses predominantly originated from the southeast passing over Japan. Lead isotopic analysis showed higher 208 Pb/ 206 Pb during winter, indicating that lead originated from a different source. A plot of 207 Pb/ 206 Pb vs. 208 Pb/ 206 Pb identified a thorogenic component, which is excess 208 Pb compared to a standard lead growth curve, indicative of certain lead ores and coals in continental Asia. The data provided evidence of long-range transport of lead from continental Asia to Japan. Bark pockets included within the trunks of two Japanese cedar trees harvested near Murakami, dating between 1972 and 1982, exhibited lead isotope ratios indicative of Japanese-sourced lead. In contrast, current (2003) bark showed thorogenic ratios, consistent with a relative decline in Japanese-sourced and increase in continental-sourced lead
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Li, Zhiyang; Schieber, Juergen
2018-02-01
Lower-Middle Turonian strata of the Tununk Shale Member of the greater Mancos Shale were deposited along the western margin of the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway during the Greenhorn second-order sea level cycle. In order to examine depositional controls on facies development in this mudstone-rich succession, this study delineates temporal and spatial relationships in a process-sedimentologic-based approach. The 3-dimensional expression of mudstone facies associations and their stratal architecture is assessed through a fully integrative physical and biologic characterization as exposed in outcrops in south-central Utah. Sedimentologic characteristics from the millimeter- to kilometer-scale are documented in order to fully address the complex nature of sediment transport mechanisms observed in this shelf muddy environment. The resulting facies model developed from this characterization consists of a stack of four lithofacies packages including: 1) carbonate-bearing, silty and sandy mudstone (CSSM), 2) silt-bearing, calcareous mudstone (SCM), 3) carbonate-bearing, silty mudstone to muddy siltstone (CMS), and 4) non-calcareous, silty and sandy mudstone (SSM). Spatial and temporal variations in lithofacies type and sedimentary facies characteristics indicate that the depositional environments of the Tununk Shale shifted in response to the 2nd-order Greenhorn transgressive-regressive sea-level cycle. During this eustatic event, the Tununk shows a characteristic vertical shift from distal middle shelf to outer shelf (CSSM to SCM facies), then from outer shelf to inner shelf environment (SCM to CMS, and to SSM facies). Shifting depositional environments, as well as changes in dominant paleocurrent direction throughout this succession, indicate multiple source areas and transport mechanisms (i.e. longshore currents, offshore-directed underflows, storm reworking). This study provides a rare documentation of the Greenhorn cycle as exposed across the entire shelf setting
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Shettima, B.; Abubakar, M. B.; Kuku, A.; Haruna, A. I.
2018-01-01
Facies analysis of the Cretaceous Bima Formation in the Gongola Sub -basin of the Northern Benue Trough northeastern Nigeria indicated that the Lower Bima Member is composed of alluvial fan and braided river facies associations. The alluvial fan depositional environment dominantly consists of debris flow facies that commonly occur as matrix supported conglomerate. This facies is locally associated with grain supported conglomerate and mudstone facies, representing sieve channel and mud flow deposits respectively, and these deposits may account for the proximal alluvial fan region of the Lower Bima Member. The distal fan facies were represented by gravel-bed braided river system of probably Scot - type model. This grade into sandy braided river systems with well developed floodplains facies, forming probably at the lowermost portion of the alluvial fan depositional gradient, where it inter-fingers with basinal facies. In the Middle Bima Member, the facies architecture is dominantly suggestive of deep perennial sand-bed braided river system with thickly developed amalgamated trough crossbedded sandstone facies fining to mudstone. Couplets of shallow channels are also locally common, attesting to the varying topography of the basin. The Upper Bima Member is characterized by shallow perennial sand-bed braided river system composed of successive succession of planar and trough crossbedded sandstone facies associations, and shallower channels of the flashy ephemeral sheetflood sand - bed river systems defined by interbedded succession of small scale trough crossbedded sandstone facies and parallel laminated sandstone facies. The overall stacking pattern of the facies succession of the Bima Formation in the Gongola Sub - basin is generally thinning and fining upwards cycles, indicating scarp retreat and deposition in a relatively passive margin setting. Dominance of kaolinite in the clay mineral fraction of the Bima Formation points to predominance of humid sub - tropical
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Intense acidic volcanism at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Javoy, M.; Courtillot, V.
1989-01-01
A 87 Sr/ 86 Sr spike in seawater strontium with amplitude 2 x 10 -4 and duration of order 2 Ma is superimposed on longer-term variations at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. The anomaly has been attributed to increased continental runoff due either to meteorite impact-related acid rain or sea-level regression. We speculate here that the spike could have resulted from intense, explosive acid volcanism preceding the development of the Deccan traps. A good model, both in tectonic position and geochemical characteristics, for these as yet elusive acidic products is provided by granites in the Seychelles Islands and particularly Mahe. (orig.)
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Molecular fossils in Cretaceous condensate from western India
Bhattacharya, Sharmila; Dutta, Suryendu; Dutta, Ratul
2014-06-01
The present study reports the biomarker distribution of condensate belonging to the early Cretaceous time frame using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The early Cretaceous palaeoenvironment was inscribed into these molecular fossils which reflected the source and conditions of deposition of the condensate. The saturate fraction of the condensate is characterized by normal alkanes ranging from n-C9 to n-C29 (CPI-1.13), cycloalkanes and C14 and C15 sesquiterpanes. The aromatic fraction comprises of naphthalene, phenanthrene, their methylated derivatives and cyclohexylbenzenes. Isohexylalkylnaphthalenes, a product of rearrangement process of terpenoids, is detected in the condensate. Several aromatic sesquiterpenoids and diterpenoids have been recorded. Dihydro- ar-curcumene, cadalene and ionene form the assemblage of sesquiterpenoids which are indicative of higher plant input. Aromatic diterpenoid fraction comprises of simonellite and retene. These compounds are also indicative of higher plants, particularly conifer source which had been a predominant flora during the Cretaceous time.
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Zhao, Zi-Fu; Liu, Zhi-Bin; Chen, Qi
2017-09-01
Syn-collisional and postcollisional granitoids are common in collisional orogens, and they were primarily produced by partial melting of subducted continental crust. This is exemplified by Mesozoic granitoids from the Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt in east-central China. These granitoids were emplaced in small volumes in the Late Triassic (200-206 Ma) and the Late Jurassic (146-167 Ma) but massively in the Early Cretaceous (111-143 Ma). Nevertheless, all of them exhibit arc-like trace element distribution patterns and are enriched in Sr-Nd-Hf isotope compositions, indicating their origination from the ancient continental crust. They commonly contain relict zircons with Neoproterozoic and Triassic U-Pb ages, respectively, consistent with the protolith and metamorphic ages for ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metaigneous rocks in the Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt. Some granitoids show low zircon δ18O values, and SIMS in-situ O isotope analysis reveals that the relict zircons with Neoproterozoic and Triassic U-Pb ages also commonly exhibit low δ18O values. Neoproterozoic U-Pb ages and low δ18O values are the two diagnostic features that distinguish the subducted South China Block from the obducted North China Block. Thus, the magma source of these Mesozoic granitoids has a genetic link to the subducted continental crust of the South China Block. On the other hand, these granitoids contain relict zircons with Paleoproterozoic and Archean U-Pb ages, which are present in both the South and North China Blocks. Taken together, the Mesozoic granitoids in the Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt and its hanging wall have their magma sources that are predominated by the continental crust of the South China Block with minor contributions from the continental crust of the North China Block. The Triassic continental collision between the South and North China Blocks brought the continental crust into the thickened orogen, where they underwent the three episodes of partial melting in the Late Triassic, Late
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Phanerozoic continental growth and gold metallogeny of Asia
Goldfarb, Richard J.; Taylor, Ryan D.; Collins, Gregory S.; Goryachev, Nicolay A.; Orlandini, Omero Felipe
2014-01-01
The Asian continent formed during the past 800 m.y. during late Neoproterozoic through Jurassic closure of the Tethyan ocean basins, followed by late Mesozoic circum-Pacific and Cenozoic Himalayan orogenies. The oldest gold deposits in Asia reflect accretionary events along the margins of the Siberia, Kazakhstan, North China, Tarim–Karakum, South China, and Indochina Precambrian blocks while they were isolated within the Paleotethys and surrounding Panthalassa Oceans. Orogenic gold deposits are associated with large-scale, terrane-bounding fault systems and broad areas of deformation that existed along many of the active margins of the Precambrian blocks. Deposits typically formed during regional transpressional to transtensional events immediately after to as much as 100 m.y. subsequent to the onset of accretion or collision. Major orogenic gold provinces associated with this growth of the Asian continental mass include: (1) the ca. 750 Ma Yenisei Ridge, ca. 500 Ma East Sayan, and ca. 450–350 Ma Patom provinces along the southern margins of the Siberia craton; (2) the 450 Ma Charsk belt of north-central Kazakhstan; (3) the 310–280 Ma Kalba belt of NE Kazakhstan, extending into adjacent NW Xinjiang, along the Siberia–Kazakhstan suture; (4) the ca. 300–280 Ma deposits within the Central Asian southern and middle Tien Shan (e.g., Kumtor, Zarmitan, Muruntau), marking the closure of the Turkestan Ocean between Kazakhstan and the Tarim–Karakum block; (5) the ca. 190–125 Ma Transbaikal deposits along the site of Permian to Late Jurassic diachronous closure of the Mongol–Okhotsk Ocean between Siberia and Mongolia/North China; (6) the probable Late Silurian–Early Devonian Jiagnan belt formed along the margin of Gondwana at the site of collision between the Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks; (7) Triassic deposits of the Paleozoic Qilian Shan and West Qinling orogens along the SW margin of the North China block developed during collision of South China
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Tektite-bearing, deep-water clastic unit at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in northeastern Mexico
Smit, J.; Montanari, A.; Swinburne, N. H.; Alvarez, W.; Hildebrand, A. R.; Margolis, S. V.; Claeys, P.; Lowrie, W.; Asaro, F.
1992-01-01
The hypothesis of Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary impact on Yucatan, Mexico, predicts that nearby sites should show evidence of proximal impact ejecta and disturbance by giant waves. An outcrop along the Arroyo el Mimbral in northeastern Mexico contains a layered clastic unit up to 3 m thick that interrupts a biostratigraphically complete pelagic-marl sequence deposited at more than 400 m water depth. The marls were found to be unsuitable for determining magnetostratigraphy, but foraminiferal biostratigraphy places the clastic unit precisely at the K-T boundary. We interpret this clastic unit as the deposit of a megawave or tsunami produced by an extraterrestrial impact. The clastic unit comprises three main subunits. (1) The basal "spherule bed" contains glass in the form of tektites and microtektites, glass spherules replaced by chlorite-smectite and calcite, and quartz grains showing probable shock features. This bed is interpreted as a channelized deposit of proximal ejecta. (2) A set of lenticular, massive, graded "laminated beds" contains intraclasts and abundant plant debris, and may be the result of megawave backwash that carried coarse debris from shallow parts of the continental margin into deeper water. (3) At the top, several thin "ripple beds" composed of fine sand are separated by clay drapes; they are interpreted as deposits of oscillating currents, perhaps a seiche. An iridium anomaly (921 +/- 23 pg/g) is observed at the top of the ripple beds. Our observations at the Mimbral locality support the hypothesis of a K-T impact on nearby Yucatan.
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Physical behaviour of Cretaceous calcareous nannofossil ooze
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Buls, Toms; Anderskouv, Kresten; Friend, Patrick L.
2017-01-01
Geomorphic features such as drifts, sediment waves and channels have been documented in the Upper Cretaceous of north-west Europe. These features are interpreted to result from bottom currents and have been used to refine chalk depositional models and quantify palaeocirculation patterns. Chalk...... was first deposited as calcareous nannofossil ooze and geomorphic features are the result of sediment reworking after deposition. There is limited knowledge on the processes that govern nannofossil ooze mobility, thus forcing uncertainty onto numerical models based on sedimentological observations...... of deposition thresholds (τcd) from ca 0·04 to 0·13 Pa reflects the influence of variable suspended sediment concentration and τ0 on settling particle size due to the identified potential for chalk ooze aggregation and flocculation. Additionally, deposition thresholds seem to be affected by the size of eroded...
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Regional metallogenic essential factor of granite-type uranium deposits in Guangdong province
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Pan Yongzheng
1987-12-01
The uranium origin, activation region, red basin, and fault depressed zone constitute the regional metallogenic essential factor of the four united like one granite-type uranium deposits in the post-Caledonian rise area in China. In the development of sub-geosyncline in the Caledonian, the clastic formation with widely deposited carbon, silicon, mud rich bearing organic matter, which drow a great amount of uranium formed the uranium-bearing system in the Sinian-Cambrian period. The magmagranite activation in a large scale in the Indosinian-Yenshanian period caused the continental crust to be suffered strong reformation and the uranium-bearing basement system to be eroded and remelted, and formed the rich uranium granite body. The multiple structure-magmatic movement further made the uranium in the rock body suffered the endogenic, structure, supergene active reformation, and produced mobile uranium concentrated area. Under the dry and hot paleoclimate condition in the Cretaceous-Tertiary period, strong weathering and hot water leaching forced uranium to be concentrated into the 'rock origin activation' type uranium deposits in the fault depressed zone
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Late cretaceous aquatic plant world in Patagonia, Argentina.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
N Rubén Cúneo
Full Text Available In this contribution, we describe latest Cretaceous aquatic plant communities from the La Colonia Formation, Patagonia, Argentina, based on their taxonomic components and paleoecological attributes. The La Colonia Formation is a geological unit deposited during a Maastrichtian-Danian transgressive episode of the South Atlantic Ocean. This event resulted in the deposition of a series of fine-grained sediments associated with lagoon systems occurring along irregular coastal plains in northern Patagonia. These deposits preserved a diverse biota, including aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals. The aquatic macrophytes can be broadly divided into two groups: free-floating and rooted, the latter with emergent or floating leaves. Free-floating macrophytes include ferns in Salviniaceae (Azolla and Paleoazolla and a monocot (Araceae. Floating microphytes include green algae (Botryoccocus, Pediastrum and Zygnemataceae. Among the rooted components, marsileaceous water ferns (including Regnellidium and an extinct form and the eudicot angiosperm Nelumbo (Nelumbonaceae are the dominant groups. Terrestrial plants occurring in the vegetation surrounding the lagoons include monocots (palms and Typhaceae, ferns with affinities to Dicksoniaceae, conifers, and dicots. A reconstruction of the aquatic plant paleocommuniy is provided based on the distribution of the fossils along a freshwater horizon within the La Colonia Formation. This contribution constitutes the first reconstruction of a Cretaceous aquatic habitat for southern South America.
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Late Cretaceous Aquatic Plant World in Patagonia, Argentina
Cúneo, N. Rubén; Gandolfo, María A.; Zamaloa, María C.; Hermsen, Elizabeth
2014-01-01
In this contribution, we describe latest Cretaceous aquatic plant communities from the La Colonia Formation, Patagonia, Argentina, based on their taxonomic components and paleoecological attributes. The La Colonia Formation is a geological unit deposited during a Maastrichtian-Danian transgressive episode of the South Atlantic Ocean. This event resulted in the deposition of a series of fine-grained sediments associated with lagoon systems occurring along irregular coastal plains in northern Patagonia. These deposits preserved a diverse biota, including aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals. The aquatic macrophytes can be broadly divided into two groups: free-floating and rooted, the latter with emergent or floating leaves. Free-floating macrophytes include ferns in Salviniaceae (Azolla and Paleoazolla) and a monocot (Araceae). Floating microphytes include green algae (Botryoccocus, Pediastrum and Zygnemataceae). Among the rooted components, marsileaceous water ferns (including Regnellidium and an extinct form) and the eudicot angiosperm Nelumbo (Nelumbonaceae) are the dominant groups. Terrestrial plants occurring in the vegetation surrounding the lagoons include monocots (palms and Typhaceae), ferns with affinities to Dicksoniaceae, conifers, and dicots. A reconstruction of the aquatic plant paleocommuniy is provided based on the distribution of the fossils along a freshwater horizon within the La Colonia Formation. This contribution constitutes the first reconstruction of a Cretaceous aquatic habitat for southern South America. PMID:25148081
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zhang Wanliang
2002-01-01
Chagandelesu area is situated in the eastern part of Bayangobi basin, Inner Mongolia. In the Early Cretaceous, a detrital rock series (Bayangobi Formation) with a thickness of about 1000 m was formed within a down-faulted basin under the extensional tectonic regime. The Bayangobi Formation is the prospecting target for interlayer oxidation zone sandstone-type uranium deposits, and is divided into three lithologic members: the lower member-- proluvial (alluvial), subaqueous fan or fan-delta facies sediments; the middle member-shallow lacustrine-semi-deep lacustrine-deep lacustrine facies sediments; the upper member-littoral shallow lacustrine or delta facies sediments. The facies order of Bayangobi Formation represents the evolution process of basin water from the shallow (early period) to the deep (middle period) then again to the shallow (late period) level. The Bayangobi Formation composed of a third sequence order reflects respectively a lowstand system tract (LST), a transgressive system tract (TST) and a highstand system tract (HST). The author also makes an analysis on physical properties of psammites of Bayangobi Formation, and proposes that psammites of delta and littoral shallow lacustrine facies are favourable for the formation of interlayer oxidation zone sandstone-type uranium deposits
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Wei Yan
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Diverse and abundant microfossils, such as palynomorphs, algae and Ostracoda, were collected from lower Cretaceous strata of Lishu depression, located in southeastern Songliao basin, and were identified and classified in order to provide relevant, detailed records for paleoclimate research. The early Cretaceous vegetation and climate of southeastern Songliao basin have been inferred from the analysis of palynomorph genera, algae and Ostracoda of the LS1 and SW110 wells. The lower Cretaceous strata include, in ascending stratigraphic order, the Shahezi, Yingcheng and Denglouku formations. Palynological assemblages for each formation, based on biostratigraphic and statistical analyses, provide an assessment of their longitudinal variations. During deposition of the Shahezi Formation, the climate was mid-subtropical. Vegetation consisted of coniferous forest and herbage. During deposition of the Yingcheng Formation, the climate was south Asian tropical. Vegetation consisted mainly of coniferous forest and herbal shrub. In addition, fresh and saline non-marine water dominated the lacustrine setting during deposition of these formations. Deposition of the Denglouku Formation, however, occurred under a hot and dry tropical climate. The vegetation was mostly coniferous forest and lake waters became saline. Palaeoclimate variation is correlated by the lake level change and the development of sedimentary facies. Palaeoclimate contribute to the formation of hydrocarbon source rocks and reservoir.
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Zuo, X.; Chan, L. S.
2015-12-01
The South China continental margin is characterized by a widespread magmatic belt, prominent NE-striking faults and numerous rifted basins filled by Cretaceous-Eocene sediments. The geology denotes a transition from active to passive margin, which led to rapid modifications of crustal stress configuration and reactivation of older faults in this area. Our zircon fission-track data in this region show two episodes of exhumation: The first episode, occurring during 170-120Ma, affected local parts of the Nanling Range. The second episode, a more regional exhumation event, occurred during 115-70Ma, including the Yunkai Terrane and the Nanling Range. Numerical geodynamic modeling was conducted to simulate the subduction between the paleo-Pacific plate and the South China Block. The modeling results could explain the fact that exhumation of the granite-dominant Nanling Range occurred earlier than that of the gneiss-dominant Yunkai Terrane. In addition to the difference in rock types, the heat from Jurassic-Early Cretaceous magmatism in Nanling may have softened the upper crust, causing the area to exhume more readily than Yunkai. Numerical modeling results also indicate that (1) high lithospheric geothermal gradient, high slab dip angle and low convergence velocity favor the reversal of crustal stress state from compression to extension in the upper continental plate; (2) late Mesozoic magmatism in South China was probably caused by a slab roll-back; and (3) crustal extension could have occurred prior to the cessation of plate subduction. The inversion of stress regime in the continental crust from compression to crustal extension imply that the Late Cretaceous-early Paleogene red-bed basins in South China could have formed during the late stage of the subduction, accounting for the occurrence of volcanic events in some sedimentary basins. We propose that the rifting started as early as Late Cretaceous, probably before the cessation of subduction process.
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Jia, Lihui; Mao, Jingwen; Liu, Peng; Li, Yang
2018-04-01
Comprehensive petrological, zircon U-Pb dating, Hf-O isotopes, whole rock geochemistry and Sr-Nd isotopes data are presented for the Xinwei and Sanrao intrusions in the eastern Guangdong Province, Southeast (SE) China, with an aim to constrain the petrogenesis, tectono-magmatic evolution and evaluate the implication for porphyry Cu-Au-Mo mineralization. The Xinwei intrusion is composed of granodiorite and quartz diorite, whilst the Sanrao intrusion consists of granodiorite. Zircon U-Pb ages show that both intrusions were emplaced at ca. 106-102 Ma. All rocks are metaluminous to weakly peraluminous, high-K calc-alkaline in composition, and they are characterized by LREEs enrichment, depletion in Nb, Ta, P, and Ti, and strongly fractionated LREEs to HREEs. The initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios range from 0.7055 to 0.7059, and εNd(t) values range from -3.9 to -3.0. Together with the relatively high εHf(t) values (-3.2 to 3.3) and low δ18O values (4.9‰ to 6.6‰), these data suggest that the Xinwei and Sanrao intrusions were derived from a mixed source: including the mantle-derived mafic magmas and lower continental crustal magmas. Fractional crystallization played an important role in the magmatic evolution of the Xinwei and Sanrao intrusions. The elemental and isotopic compositions of the Xinwei and Sanrao intrusions, as well as the high water content and oxidation state of their parental magmas, are similar to those of the ore-bearing granodiorites of the Luoboling porphyry Cu-Mo deposit in the Fujian Province, neighbouring east to the Guangdong Province, indicating that the late Early Cretaceous granodioritic intrusions in the eastern Guangdong Province may also have Cu-Au-Mo mineralization potential. The late Early Cretaceous magmatic event is firstly reported in eastern Guangdong, and represents a positive response of large-scale lithosphere extension and thinning, triggered by the changing subduction direction of the Paleo-Pacific plate from oblique subduction to
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Chenot, Elise; Deconinck, Jean-François; Pucéat, Emmanuelle; Pellenard, Pierre; Guiraud, Michel; Jaubert, Maxime; Jarvis, Ian; Thibault, Nicolas; Cocquerez, Théophile; Bruneau, Ludovic; Razmjooei, Mohammad J.; Boussaha, Myriam; Richard, James; Sizun, Jean-Pierre; Stemmerik, Lars
2018-03-01
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 (Danish Basin, North Sea, Paris Basin, Mons Basin, Aquitaine Basin, Umbria-Marche Basin and Tunisian Atlas). Significant terrigenous inputs are evidenced by increasing proportions of detrital clay minerals such as illite, kaolinite and chlorite at various levels in the mid- to upper Campanian, while smectitic minerals predominate and represented the background of the Late Cretaceous clay sedimentation. Our new results highlight a distinct latitudinal distribution of clay minerals, with the occurrence of kaolinite in southern sections and an almost total absence of this mineral in northern areas. This latitudinal trend points to an at least partial climatic control on clay mineral sedimentation, with a humid zone developed between 20° and 35°N. The association and co-evolution of illite, chlorite and kaolinite in most sections suggest a reworking of these minerals from basement rocks weathered by hydrolysis, which we link to the formation of relief around the Tethys due to compression associated with incipient Tethyan closure. Diachronism in the occurrence of detrital minerals between sections, with detrital input starting earlier during the Santonian in the south than in the north, highlights the northward progression of the deformation related to the anticlockwise rotation of Africa. Increasing continental weathering and erosion, evidenced by our clay mineralogical data through the Campanian, may have resulted in enhanced CO2 consumption by silicate weathering, thereby contributing to Late Cretaceous climatic cooling.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Oreiro, Sergio Goulart [PETROBRAS S.A., Santos, SP (Brazil). E e P. Ativo de Exploracao Santos - Polo Sul], E-mail: oreiro@petrobras.com.br
2005-11-15
The Continental Shelf of the Cabo Frio Area shows unique features in its tectono-sedimentary evolution when compared to the other areas of the Campos and Santos basins. The presence of a regular pattern of antithetic faults in the basement and in the sin-rift and post-rift sedimentary sections, are some of these features. In addition, the area shows important magmatic events in the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary sequences, which climax took place in the earliest portion of the Middle Eocene. The description of these magmatic events and their influence in the post-rift sedimentation is the main objective of this paper. The analyses of seismic reflection and well log data, in the work area, points to a set of diagnostic features that can lead to the identification of magmatic events and the distinction of intrusive from extrusive rocks, as well as their intercalations with epiclastic sedimentary sequences. Volcanic edifices have preserved their conical shapes when they were formed under submarine conditions; under subaereal conditions, they show irregular shapes due to erosion. In this way, these observations indicate the paleobathymetry for the time of the formation of these edifices. In the case of the work area, the integration of the analyzed data indicates that extrusive events are more widespread than intrusive events. The sedimentary pattern of the work area is similar to that of the Campos Basin. The sedimentary sequences that overlap this volcano-sedimentary section are not directly related to the magmatic pulses in the area; however, they affected the palaeo-relief of the sea floor, which controlled turbiditic deposition. (author)
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Varela, Augusto N.; Raigemborn, M. Sol; Richiano, Sebastián; White, Tim; Poiré, Daniel G.; Lizzoli, Sabrina
2018-01-01
Although there is general consensus that a global greenhouse climate characterized the mid-Cretaceous, details of the climate state of the mid-Cretaceous Southern Hemisphere are less clearly understood. In particular, continental paleoclimate reconstructions are scarce and exclusively derived from paleontological records. Using paleosol-derived climofunction studies of the mid- to Upper Cretaceous Mata Amarilla Formation, southern Patagonia, Argentina, we present a reconstruction of the mid-Cretaceous climate of southern South America. Our results indicate that at 60° south paleolatitude during the Cenomanian-Santonian stages, the climate was subtropical temperate-warm (12 °C ± 2.1 °C) and humid (1404 ± 108 mm/yr) with marked rainfall seasonality. These results are consistent with both previous estimations from the fossil floras of the Mata Amarilla Formation and other units of the Southern Hemisphere, and with the previous observations of the displacement of tropical and subtropical floras towards the poles in both hemispheres. The data presented here show a more marked seasonality and slightly lower mean annual precipitation and mean annual temperature values than those recorded at the same paleolatitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.
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Basement tectonics and flexural subsidence along western continental margin of India
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
D.K. Pandey
2017-09-01
Full Text Available The Paleocene-recent post-rift subsidence history recorded in the Mumbai Offshore Basin off western continental margin of India is examined. Results obtained through 2-D flexural backstripping modelling of new seismic data reveal considerable thermo-tectonic subsidence over last ca. 56 Myr. Reverse post-rift subsidence modelling with variable β stretching factor predicts residual topography of ca. 2000 m to the west of Shelf Margin Basin and fails to restore late Paleocene horizon and the underlying igneous basement to the sea level. This potentially implies that: (1 either the igneous basement formed during the late Cretaceous was emplaced under open marine environs; or (2 a laterally varying cumulative subsidence occurred within Mumbai Offshore Basin (MOB during ca. 68 to ca. 56 Ma. Pre-depositional topographic variations at ca. 56 Ma across the basin could be attributed to the extensional processes such as varied lower crustal underplating along Western Continental Margin of India (WCMI. Investigations about basement tectonics after unroofing of sediments since late Paleocene from this region support a transitional and heavily stretched nature of crust with high to very high β factors. Computations of past sediment accumulation rates show that the basin sedimentation peaked during late Miocene concurrently with uplift of Himalayan–Tibetan Plateau and intensification of Indian monsoon system. Results from basin subsidence modelling presented here may have significant implications for further studies attempting to explore tectono–climatic interactions in Asia.
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Sallam, Hesham M.; O'Connor, Patrick M.; Kora, Mahmoud; Sertich, Joseph J. W.; Seiffert, Erik R.; Faris, Mahmoud; Ouda, Khaled; El-Dawoudi, Iman; Saber, Sara; El-Sayed, Sanaa
2016-05-01
The Campanian and Maastrichtian stages are very poorly documented time intervals in Africa's record of terrestrial vertebrate evolution. Upper Cretaceous deposits exposed in southern Egypt, near the Dakhla and Kharga Oases in the Western Desert, preserve abundant vertebrate fossils in nearshore marine environments, but have not yet been the focus of intensive collection and description. Our recent paleontological work in these areas has resulted in the discovery of numerous new vertebrate fossil-bearing localities within the middle Campanian Qusier Formation and the upper Campanian-lower Maastrichtian Duwi Formation. Fossil remains recovered from the Campanian-aged Quseir Formation include sharks, rays, actinopterygian and sarcopterygian fishes, turtles, and rare terrestrial archosaurians, including some of the only dinosaurs known from this interval on continental Africa. The upper Campanian/lower Maastrichtian Duwi Formation preserves sharks, sawfish, actinopterygians, and marine reptiles (mosasaurs and plesiosaurs). Notably absent from these collections are representatives of Mammalia and Avialae, both of which remain effectively undocumented in the Upper Cretaceous rocks of Africa and Arabia. New age constraints on the examined rock units is provided by 23 nannofossil taxa, some of which are reported from the Duwi Formation for the first time. Fossil discoveries from rock units of this age are essential for characterizing the degree of endemism that may have developed as the continent became increasingly tectonically isolated from the rest of Gondwana, not to mention for fully evaluating origin and diversification hypotheses of major modern groups of vertebrates (e.g., crown birds, placental mammals).
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Poinssot, Ch.; Goffe, B.; Toulhoat, P.
1997-01-01
Mid-Triassic to mid-Jurassic Alpine continental deposits are known all along the former Brianconnais peninsula. They constitutes small karstic pockets on the thick Triassic calcareous series and their chemistry evolves between bauxites s.s. and aluminous argilites. Most of them were deeply buried during the Alpine orogenesis as recorded by HP-LT metamorphism. Only the deposits of the Pre-Alps were submitted to lower PT conditions (diagenesis-anchizone boundary) during their incorporation in the thrust wedge of the 'Prealpes Medianes'. These formations are known for containing traces of light elements (Li, F) and heavy elements (Zn, REE...). In order to understand the possible origin of these elements, we studied the geochemistry (major and trace elements) of two representative deposits, one in Vanoise which underwent a HP-LT metamorphism, the other one in the Pre-Alps, which was only submitted to diagenesis. Trace elements patterns allow us to preclude an autochthonous origin for these formations as well as the intervention of metasomatism, and demonstrate a granitic origin. Moreover, discrimination diagrams for granites indicate an obvious alkaline granitic origin for these deposits. In the framework of the Alpine palaeogeography, we then discuss the possible granitic sources. Two main sources can be invoked: either a Brianconnais s.s. formation (crystalline or sediments), which supposes a more intense erosion as classically admitted, or more distant sources such as the Corso-Sardinian alkaline acid-rocks, which supposes a complex palaeo-hydrography. This confirms the sedimentary origin of the light elements in these rocks and precludes the intervention of light elements-rich hydrothermal fluids migrating through Alpine metamorphic units. (author)
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Fu, Jiangping; Wang, Bo; Chen, Ying; Ma, Qingwei
2018-01-01
The air masses transported from East Asia have a strong impact on the aerosol properties and deposition in the marine boundary layer of the western North Pacific (WNP) during winter and spring. We joined a cruise between 17 Mar. and 22 Apr. 2014 and investigated the changes of aerosol composition and size distribution over the remote WNP and marginal seas. Although the secondary aerosol species (SO42-, NO3- and NH4+) in remote WNP were influenced significantly by the continental transport, NH4+ concentrations were lower than 2.7 μg m-3 in most sampling days and not correlated with non-sea-salt (nss)-SO42- suggesting that the ocean could be a primary source of NH4+. Moderate Cl- depletion (23%) was observed in remote WNP, and the inverse relationship between Cl- depletion percentages and nss-K+ in aerosols suggested that the transport of biomass burning smoke from East Asia might be a vital extra source of Cl-. Both Asian dust and haze events were encountered during the cruise. Asian dust carried large amounts of crustal elements such as Al and Ti to the WNP, and the dusty Fe deposition may double its background concentration in seawater. Differently, a dramatic increase of dry deposition flux of dissolved particulate inorganic nitrogen was observed during the haze event. Our study reveals that the transport of different continental air masses may have distinct biogeochemical impacts on the WNP by increasing the fluxes of different nutrient elements and potentially changing the nutrient stoichiometry.
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Lower Cretaceous smarl turbidites of the Argo Abyssal Plain, Indian Ocean
Dumoulin, Julie A.; Stewart, Sondra K.; Kennett, Diana; Mazzullo, Elsa K.
1992-01-01
Sediments recovered during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 123 from the Argo Abyssal Plain (AAP) consist largely of turbidites derived from the adjacent Australian continental margin. The oldest abundant turbidites are Valanginian-Aptian in age and have a mixed (smarl) composition; they contain subequal amounts of calcareous and siliceous biogenic components, as well as clay and lesser quartz. Most are thin-bedded, fine sand to mud-sized, and best described by Stow and Piper's model (1984) for fine-grained biogenic turbidites. Thicker (to 3 m), coarser-grained (medium-to-coarse sand-sized) turbidites fit Bouma's model (1962) for sandy turbidites; these generally are base-cut-out (BCDE, BDE) sequences, with B-division parallel lamination as the dominant structure. Parallel laminae most commonly concentrate quartz and/or calcispheres vs. lithic clasts or clay, but distinctive millimeter to centimeter-thick, radiolarian-rich laminae occur in both fine and coarse-grained Valanginian-Hauterivian turbidites.AAP turbidites were derived from relatively deep parts of the continental margin (outer shelf, slope, or rise) that lay below the photic zone, but above the calcite compensation depth (CCD). Biogenic components are largely pelagic (calcispheres, foraminifers, radiolarians, nannofossils); lesser benthic foraminifers are characteristic of deep-water (abyssal to bathyal) environments. Abundant nonbiogenic components are mostly clay and clay clasts; smectite is the dominant clay species, and indicates a volcanogenic provenance, most likely the Triassic-Jurassic volcanic suite exposed along the northern Exmouth Plateau.Lower Cretaceous smarl turbidites were generated during eustatic lowstands and may have reached the abyssal plain via Swan Canyon, a submarine canyon thought to have formed during the Late Jurassic. In contrast to younger AAP turbidites, however, Lower Cretaceous turbidites are relatively fine-grained and do not contain notably older reworked fossils. Early
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Paul M. Barrett
2016-08-01
Full Text Available The Cherves-de-Cognac site (Charente, France has yielded a diverse continental microvertebrate fauna of Berriasian (earliest Cretaceous age. Dinosaur remains are rare, but include three teeth that are referrable to an indeterminate sauropod, which might represent either a titanosauriform, a non-titanosauriform macronarian or a non-neosauropod. The small size of these teeth (with a maximum length of 3 mm, as preserved and the almost complete absence of emanel wrinkling suggests that they pertained to embryonic or hatchling individuals. The Cherves-de-Cognac sauropod represents a rare occurrence of sauropod embryos/hatchlings, a new sauropod record from the poorly-known terrestrial Berriasian and another possible instance of the persistence of non-diplodocoid, non-titanosauriform sauropods into the Cretaceous.
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Araçatuba Formation: palustrine deposits from the initial sedimentation phase of the Bauru Basin
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Fernandes Luiz A.
2003-01-01
Full Text Available The Bauru Basin (Upper Cretaceous accumulated an essentially sandy continental sedimentary sequence. In a first desertic phase the basaltic substratum was covered by a widespread and homogeneous aeolian sand unit with minor loess intercalations. The substratum relief favored the formation of an endorheic drainage system under semi-arid climate, a process that started the development of the Araçatuba Paleoswamp. The palustrine deposits (Araçatuba Formation comprise siltstone and tipically greenish gray narrow tabular strata of sandstone cemented by carbonate. Moulds and gypsite and dolomite pseudomorphs were identified. The moulds seem to be genetically associated with desiccation cracks, root marks and climbing ripple lamination levels, that, on the whole, indicate calm shallow saline waters undergoing phases of subaerial exposition. At the boundaries of the study area, sand units may exhibit sigmoidal features and convolute bedding structure, which is characteristic of marginal deltaic deposits. The Araçatuba Formation is enclosed in and later overlaid by the aeolian deposits of the Vale do Rio do Peixe Formation.
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Sames, Benjamin; Wagreich, Michael
2015-04-01
In contrast to the well-understood process of glacial eustasy, controlled mainly by waxing and waning of continental ice sheets, significant short-term, i.e. 10s kyr to a few myr (3rd to 4th order cycles) sea-level changes during the Cretaceous major greenhouse episode remain enigmatic. Such cyclic changes are often explained by the presence of ephemeral ice sheets even during the hottest greenhouse phases ("hothouse periods"), such as the mid-Cretaceous. Though Cretaceous global eustasy involves processes like brief glacial episodes (glacio-eustasy) for which evidence was given - at least for the Early Cretaceous and the late Late Cretaceous - other mechanisms have to be taken into consideration for the "hothouse periods" during which continental ice shields are highly improbable, like the storage and release of groundwater (termed "limno-eustasy" or "aquifer-eustasy"), the possible effect and magnitude of which might have been highly underestimated. Investigation of the timing, the causes, and the consequences of significant short-term (i.e. mainly kyr to 100s of kyr) sea-level changes during the last major greenhouse episode of Earth history, the Cretaceous, is the ultimate goal of the UNESCO IGCP (International Geoscience Programme) project number 609 "Climate-environmental deteriorations during greenhouse phases: Causes and consequences of short-term Cretaceous sea-level changes" (2013-2017; http://www.univie.ac.at/igcp609/). This also comprises the global versus regional correlation and extent of the sequences, their cyclicities, as well as the processes and triggering mechanisms for these, and marine to non-marine correlations. Recent refinements of the geological time scale have made major advances for the Cretaceous to yield a resolution comparable to that of younger Earth history. It is now for the first time possible to correlate and date short-term Cretaceous sea-level records with a resolution appropriate for their detailed analysis. Recognized
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zhang Zilong; Qi Fucheng; He Zhongbo; Li Zhixing; Wang Wenquan; Yu Jinshui
2012-01-01
One of the important ore-concentrated areas of carbonaceous-siliceous-pelitic rock type uranium deposits is the Southeast continental margin of Yangtze plate. Sedimentary-exogenously transformed type and sedimentary- hydrothermal superimposed transformed type uranium deposits are always distributed at or near the edge of down-faulted red ba sins. In this paper, the distributions of the deposits are analyzed with the relation to down-faulted red basins. The connective effect and ore-controlling mechanism are proposed of carbonaceous-siliceous-pelitic rock type uranium deposits with marginal fractures of red basins. (authors)
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Sedimentation on continental margins: An integrated program for innovative studies during the 1990s
Nittrourer, Charles A.; Coleman, James M.; Rouge, Baton; Flood, Roger D.; Ginsburg, Robert N.; Gorsline, Donn S.; Hine, Albert C.; Sternberg, Richard W.; Swift, Donald J. P.; Wright, L. Donelson
Continental margins are of great scientific interest, and they represent the focus of human interaction with the ocean. Their deep structure forms the transition from continental to oceanic crust, and their surface expression extends from coastal environments of estuaries and shorelines across the continental shelf and slope to either the base of a continental rise or a marginal trough. Modern continental margins represent natural laboratories for investigation of complex relationships between physical, chemical, and biological phenomena, which are sensitive to environmental conditions both on the land and in the ocean. The history of these conditions is preserved within the sedimentary deposits of continental margins. The deposits form repositories for much of the particulate material transported off the world's land masses and produced from dissolved components in the world ocean. Past deposits of continental margins have been uplifted to form many mountain ranges and sedimentary terrains of the world, which record details of Earth history and contain valuable natural resources, such as petroleum and natural gas. Modern deposits of continental margins record the more recent events that have influenced Earth and also contain natural resources (for instance, minerals, sand, and gravel), as well as anthropogenic pollutants (for example, heavy metals and pesticides). The fates of many materials beneficial and deleterious to humans are dependent on the pathways followed by sedimentary particles on continental margins.
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From nappe stacking to exhumation: Cretaceous tectonics in the Apuseni Mountains (Romania)
Reiser, Martin Kaspar; Schuster, Ralf; Spikings, Richard; Tropper, Peter; Fügenschuh, Bernhard
2017-03-01
New Ar-Ar muscovite and Rb-Sr biotite age data in combination with structural analyses from the Apuseni Mountains provide new constraints on the timing and kinematics of deformation during the Cretaceous. Time-temperature paths from the structurally highest basement nappe of the Apuseni Mountains in combination with sedimentary data indicate exhumation and a position close to the surface after the Late Jurassic emplacement of the South Apuseni Ophiolites. Early Cretaceous Ar-Ar muscovite ages from structurally lower parts in the Biharia Nappe System (Dacia Mega-Unit) show cooling from medium-grade conditions. NE-SW-trending stretching lineation and associated kinematic indicators of this deformation phase (D1) are overprinted by top-NW-directed thrusting during D2. An Albian to Turonian age (110-90 Ma) is proposed for the main deformation (D2) that formed the present-day geometry of the nappe stack and led to a pervasive retrograde greenschist-facies overprint. Thermochronological and structural data from the Bihor Unit (Tisza Mega-Unit) allowed to establish E-directed differential exhumation during Early-Late Cretaceous times (D3.1). Brittle detachment faulting (D3.2) and the deposition of syn-extensional sediments indicate general uplift and partial surface exposure during the Late Cretaceous. Brittle conditions persist during the latest Cretaceous compressional overprint (D4).
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Early Cretaceous greenhouse pumped higher taxa diversification in spiders.
Shao, Lili; Li, Shuqiang
2018-05-24
The Cretaceous experienced one of the most remarkable greenhouse periods in geological history. During this time, ecosystem reorganizations significantly impacted the diversification of many groups of organisms. The rise of angiosperms marked a major biome turnover. Notwithstanding, relatively little remains known about how the Cretaceous global ecosystem impacted the evolution of spiders, which constitute one of the most abundant groups of predators. Herein, we evaluate the transcriptomes of 91 taxa representing more than half of the spider families. We add 23 newly sequenced taxa to the existing database to obtain a robust phylogenomic assessment. Phylogenetic reconstructions using different datasets and methods obtain novel placements of some groups, especially in the Synspermiata and the group having a retrolateral tibial apophysis (RTA). Molecular analyses indicate an expansion of the RTA clade at the Early Cretaceous with a hunting predatory strategy shift. Fossil analyses show a 7-fold increase of diversification rate at the same period, but this likely owes to the first occurrences spider in amber deposits. Additional analyses of fossil abundance show an accumulation of spider lineages in the Early Cretaceous. We speculate that the establishment of a warm greenhouse climate pumped the diversification of spiders, in particular among webless forms tracking the abundance of insect prey. Our study offers a new pathway for future investigations of spider phylogeny and diversification. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
NONE
1996-02-01
With the aid of a grant from the National Geographic Society, a cooperative agreement with the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and contract with the U.S. Department of Energy, Late Cretaceous and Paleocene geologic and paleontologic field studies were undertaken in Makoshika, State Park and vicinity, Dawson County, Montana. This region was chosen as a study area because of its potential for yielding new fossil localities and extensive exposures both above and below the K/T boundary, as suggested by previous research by David W. Krause and Joseph H. Hartman. Related field studies were also undertaken in areas adjacent to the Cedar Creek Anticline in North Dakota. This work was part of ongoing research to document change in the composition of mammalian and molluscan faunas during the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene and to relate observed patterns to floral and invertebrate changes in composition. This study focuses on the record of mammals and mollusks in the Makoshika stratigraphic section and places old and new observations into a paleomagnetic and palynomorph framework. Of particular interest is the appearance and diversification of archaic ungulate mammals. Simultaneous dinosaur extinction with ungulate radiation has been invoked in gradual, as opposed to catastrophic, models of faunal change at the K/T boundary. However, supposed Cretaceous localities bearing archaic ungulates and other mammals of {open_quotes}Paleocene aspect{close_quotes} may be the product of faunal reworking. Elsewhere in the Williston Basin (e.g., Garfield and McCone Counties, Montana), the molluscan record of uppermost Cretaceous and Paleocene strata indicates the extinction of all of the highly sculptured unionid bivalves just prior to the onset of coal swamps and subsequent coal formation.
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Currie, C. A.; Beaumont, C.
2009-05-01
The origin of deep-seated magmatism (in particular, kimberlites and lamproites) within continental plate interiors remains enigmatic in the context of plate tectonic theory. One hypothesis proposes a relationship between kimberlite occurrence and lithospheric subduction, such that a subducting plate releases fluids below a continental craton, triggering melting of the deep lithosphere and magmatism (Sharp, 1974; McCandless, 1999). This study provides a quantitative evaluation of this hypothesis, focusing on the Late Cretaceous- Eocene (105-50 Ma) kimberlites and lamproites of western North America. These magmas were emplaced along a corridor of Archean and Proterozoic lithosphere, 1000-1500 km inboard of the plate margin separating the subducting Farallon Plate and continental North America Plate. Kimberlite-lamproite magmatism coincides with tectonic events, including the Laramide orogeny, shut-down of the Sierra Nevada arc, and eastward migration of volcanism, that are commonly attributed to a change in Farallon Plate geometry to a shallow-angle trajectory (subduction that places the Farallon Plate beneath the western edge of the cratonic interior of North America. This geometry is consistent with the observed continental dynamic subsidence that lead to the development of the Western Interior Seaway. The models also show that the subducting plate has a cool thermal structure, and subducted hydrous minerals (serpentine, phengite and phlogopite) remain stable to more than 1200 km from the trench, where they may break down and release fluids that infiltrate the overlying craton lithosphere. This is supported by geochemical studies that indicate metasomatism of the Colorado Plateau and Wyoming craton mantle lithosphere by an aqueous fluid and/or silicate melt with a subduction signature. Through Cretaceous shallow-angle subduction, the Farallon Plate was in a position to mechanically and chemically interact with North American craton lithosphere at the time of
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Chen, C.; Ji, Y.; Wei, X.; An, F.; Li, D.; Zhu, R.
2017-12-01
In a rift basin, the dispersal and deposition of sediments is significantly influenced by the paleo-topography, which is highly controlled by the evolution and interaction of normal faults in different scales. To figure out the impact of faults evolution and topographic elements towards sedimentary fillings, we investigated the Lower Cretaceous syn-rift package in Bongor Basin, south of Chad Republic. Constrained with 2D and 3D seismic data, core data and logging information, a sequence stratigraphy architecture and a variety of depositional systems are recognized, including fan delta, braided delta, sub-lacustrine fan and lacustrine system. We also studied the spatial distribution and temporal evolution of clastic depositional systems of the syn-rift complex, and valuable insights into structural controls of sequence architectures and depositional systems are provided. During the evolution of rift basin, marginal structures such as relay ramps and strike-slipping boundary transfer fault are major elements that influence the main sediments influx points. Release faults in the hanging-wall could form a differential evolution pattern for accommodation, and effect the deposition systems in the early stage of rift evolution. Oblique crossing-faults, minor faults that develop on the erosional uplift in the interior foot-wall, would cut the uplifts and provide faulted-through paths for the over-filled sediments in the accommodation space, making it possible to develop sedimentary systems towards the center of basin during the early stage of rift evolution, although the origins of such minor faults still need further discussion. The results of this research indicate that different types of fault interactions have a fundamental control on patterns of sediment dispersal during early stage of rift basins.
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Muller, E.; Ader, M.; Gérard, E.; Virgone, A.; Gaucher, E.; Bougeault, C.; Durlet, C.; Moreira, M. A.; Virgile, R.; Vennin, E.; Agogué, H.; Hugoni, M.
2017-12-01
The Cretaceous Presalt travertinoid deposits of the South Atlantic are usually considered as "strange deposits" having poor equivalents in modern environments. Pastos Grandes Laguna, which is located in a 2.9 Ma caldera on the andean-bolivian Altiplano (at 4450 m), is intersected by active faults with hydrothermal fluids and presents a spherulitic plateform with similar sedimentological facies to the Presalt: halite and bedded evaporites, shrub-shaped calcites, ooids, pisolites and various stromatolites. Pastos Grandes Laguna is certainly one of the best modern analog of the Presalt for investigating the on going processes of carbonate deposition and diagenesis and the influence of biology. During two expeditions, we recovered samples of gas, water and microbial mats from the hydrothermal sources to the evaporating zones on the spherulitic plateform. These samples are being analyzed to determine 1) the influence of the gases emitted at the hydrothermal sources (chemical and isotopic composition) on the chemistry of the Laguna and the mineralogy of its sediments and 2) the role of ecosystems that develop in this environment on carbonate formation. Preliminary results on gas composition, corrected for the atmospheric contribution, indicates a magmatic source of CO2 partly mantellic associated with a small crustal contribution. Other initial results have so far indicated that CO2 gas emissions, evaporation, as well as photosynthesis and respiration play a role on water chemistry and carbonate precipitation. This study will contribute to the overall understanding of the role of organisms in sedimentation and the predictive diagenetic evolution of hydrothermal and lacustrine deposits.
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Coal depositional models in some tertiary and cretaceous coal fields in the US western interior
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Flores, R M
1979-12-01
Detailed stratigraphic and sedimentological studies of the Tertiary Tongue River Member of the Fort Union Formation in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming, and the Cretaceous Blackhawk Formation and Star Point Sandstone in the Wasatch Plateau, Utah, indicate that the depositional environments of coal played a major role in controlling coal thickness, lateral continuity, potential minability, and type of floor and roof rocks. The potentially minable, thick coal beds of the Tongue River Member were primarily formed in long-lived floodbasin backswamps of upper alluvial plain environment. Avulsion of meandering fluvial channels contributed to the erratic lateral extent of coals in this environment. Laterally extensive coals formed in floodbasin backswamps of a lower alluvial plain environment; however, interruption by overbank and crevasse-splay sedimentation produced highly split and merging coal beds. Lacustrine sedimentation common to the lower alluvial plain, similar to the lake-covered lower alluvial valley of the Atchafalaya River Basin, is related to a high-constructive delta. In contrast to these alluvial coals are the deltaic coal deposits of the Blackhawk Formation. The formation consists of three coal populations: upper delta plain, lower delta plain, and back-barrier. Coals of the lower delta plain are thick and laterally extensive, in contrast to those of the upper delta plain and back-barrier, which contain abundant, very thin and laterally discontinuous carbonaceous shale partings. The reworking of the delta-front sediments of the Star Point Sandstone suggests that the Blackhawk-Star Point delta was a high-destructive system. 1 figure, 1 table.
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Awasthi, Neeraj
2017-12-01
In order to understand the provenance and tectono-sedimentary processes occurring in the Andaman Subduction Zone (ASZ), the Late Cretaceous to Oligocene sedimentary records from the Andaman Islands have been studied. These sedimentary records are considered to have preserved the history of the India-Asia collision, evolution of the Himalayas, climatic development and palaeo-drainage reorganizations on the Indian and Asian plates. About 47 sandstones and mudstones (shales and siltstones) samples were analyzed for whole rock major, trace, and rare earth element compositions. The geochemical results suggest mixing of sediments derived from the mafic igneous sources comprising local ophiolites and volcanic arc of the ASZ and an older Archean to Proterozoic age felsic cratonic source with compositions similar to average granodiorite or upper continental crustal sources. The compositions were dominated by sources of the mafic arc during deposition of the Mithakhari Group, whereas they were controlled by continental sources during deposition of the Andaman Flysch Group. The Hope Town Conglomerate unit of the Mithakhari Group was mainly derived from weathering and erosion of the subaerially exposed local ophiolite thrust sheets, whereas its Namunagarh unit contains significant detritus from volcanic arcs. The Andaman Flysch turbidites were deposited with a greater supply of sediments from first-cycle active continental margin sources probably located in the Tibetan and eastern Myanmar region and recycled quartzose sedimentary sources within the nascent Himalayas. The sediments supplied to both the Mithakhari and the Andaman Flysch Groups were characterized by varying values of CIA, PIA and W. These variable values were either due to non-steady state weathering conditions in the sources or the changing climatic conditions owing to the motion of Indian plate with reference to the equator. The uniformly high CIA and W values in the Andaman Flysch rocks can be related to high
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The dilemma of the Jiaodong gold deposits: Are they unique?
Goldfarb, Richard J.; Santosh, M.
2013-01-01
The ca. 126–120 Ma Au deposits of the Jiaodong Peninsula, eastern China, define the country's largest gold province with an overall endowment estimated as >3000 t Au. The vein and disseminated ores are hosted by NE- to NNE-trending brittle normal faults that parallel the margins of ca. 165–150 Ma, deeply emplaced, lower crustal melt granites. The deposits are sited along the faults for many tens of kilometers and the larger orebodies are associated with dilatational jogs. Country rocks to the granites are Precambrian high-grade metamorphic rocks located on both sides of a Triassic suture between the North and South China blocks. During early Mesozoic convergent deformation, the ore-hosting structures developed as ductile thrust faults that were subsequently reactivated during Early Cretaceous “Yanshanian” intracontinental extensional deformation and associated gold formation.Classification of the gold deposits remains problematic. Many features resemble those typical of orogenic Au including the linear structural distribution of the deposits, mineralization style, ore and alteration assemblages, and ore fluid chemistry. However, Phanerozoic orogenic Au deposits are formed by prograde metamorphism of accreted oceanic rocks in Cordilleran-style orogens. The Jiaodong deposits, in contrast, formed within two Precambrian blocks approximately 2 billion years after devolatilization of the country rocks, and thus require a model that involves alternative fluid and metal sources for the ores. A widespread suite of ca. 130–123 Ma granodiorites overlaps temporally with the ores, but shows a poor spatial association with the deposits. Furthermore, the deposit distribution and mineralization style is atypical of ores formed from nearby magmas. The ore concentration requires fluid focusing during some type of sub-crustal thermal event, which could be broadly related to a combination of coeval lithospheric thinning, asthenospheric upwelling, paleo-Pacific plate
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Kirschbaum, Mark A.; Mercier, Tracey J.
2013-01-01
Regional variations in thickness and facies of clastic sediments are controlled by geographic location within a foreland basin. Preservation of facies is dependent on the original accommodation space available during deposition and ultimately by tectonic modification of the foreland in its postthrusting stages. The preservation of facies within the foreland basin and during the modification stage affects the kinds of hydrocarbon reservoirs that are present. This is the case for the Cretaceous Mowry Shale and Frontier Formation and equivalent strata in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. Biostratigraphically constrained isopach maps of three intervals within these formations provide a control on eustatic variations in sea level, which allow depositional patterns across dip and along strike to be interpreted in terms of relationship to thrust progression and depositional topography. The most highly subsiding parts of the Rocky Mountain foreland basin, near the fold and thrust belt to the west, typically contain a low number of coarse-grained sandstone channels but limited sandstone reservoirs. However, where subsidence is greater than sediment supply, the foredeep contains stacked deltaic sandstones, coal, and preserved transgressive marine shales in mainly conformable successions. The main exploration play in this area is currently coalbed gas, but the enhanced coal thickness combined with a Mowry marine shale source rock indicates that a low-permeability, basin-centered play may exist somewhere along strike in a deep part of the basin. In the slower subsiding parts of the foreland basin, marginal marine and fluvial sandstones are amalgamated and compartmentalized by unconformities, providing conditions for the development of stratigraphic and combination traps, especially in areas of repeated reactivation. Areas of medium accommodation in the most distal parts of the foreland contain isolated marginal marine shoreface and deltaic sandstones
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Yassin, Mohamed; Abdullatif, Osman; Hariri, Mustafa
2017-04-01
Sufyan Sub-basin is an East-West trending Sub-basin located in the northwestern part of the Muglad Basin (Sudan), in the eastern extension of the West and Central Africa Rift System (WCARS). The Early Cretaceous Abu Gabra Formation considered as the main source rock in the Muglad Basin. In Sufyan Sub-basin the Early Cretaceous Upper Abu Gabra Formation is the main oil-producing reservoir. It is dominated by sandstone and shales deposited in fluvio-deltaic and lacustrine environment during the first rift cycle in the basin. Depositional and post-depositional processes highly influenced the reservoir quality and architecture. This study investigates different scales of reservoir heterogeneities from macro to micro scale. Subsurface facies analysis was analyzed based on the description of six conventional cores from two wells. Approaches include well log analysis, thin sections and scanning electron microscope (SEM) investigations, grain-size, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the Abu Gabra sandstone. The cores and well logs analyses revealed six lithofacies representing fluvio-deltaic and lacustrine depositional environment. The sandstone is medium to coarse-grained, poorly to moderately sorted and sub-angular to subrounded, Sub-feldspathic arenite to quartz arenite. On macro-scale, reservoir quality varies within Abu Gabra reservoir where it shows progressive coarsening upward tendencies with different degrees of connectivity. The upper part of the reservoir showed well connected and amalgamated sandstone bodies, the middle to lower parts, however, have moderate to low sandstone bodies' connectivity and amalgamation. On micro-scale, sandstone reservoir quality is directly affected by textures and diagenesis.The XRD and SEM analyses show that kaolinite and chlorite clay are the common clay minerals in the studied samples. Clay matrix and quartz overgrowth have significantly reduced the reservoir porosity and permeability, while the dissolution of feldspars
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
C. Knote
2015-01-01
Full Text Available The effect of dry and wet deposition of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs in the gas phase on the concentrations of secondary organic aerosol (SOA is reassessed using recently derived water solubility information. The water solubility of SVOCs was implemented as a function of their volatility distribution within the WRF-Chem regional chemistry transport model, and simulations were carried out over the continental United States for the year 2010. Results show that including dry and wet removal of gas-phase SVOCs reduces annual average surface concentrations of anthropogenic and biogenic SOA by 48 and 63% respectively over the continental US. Dry deposition of gas-phase SVOCs is found to be more effective than wet deposition in reducing SOA concentrations (−40 vs. −8% for anthropogenics, and −52 vs. −11% for biogenics. Reductions for biogenic SOA are found to be higher due to the higher water solubility of biogenic SVOCs. The majority of the total mass of SVOC + SOA is actually deposited via the gas phase (61% for anthropogenics and 76% for biogenics. Results are sensitive to assumptions made in the dry deposition scheme, but gas-phase deposition of SVOCs remains crucial even under conservative estimates. Considering reactivity of gas-phase SVOCs in the dry deposition scheme was found to be negligible. Further sensitivity studies where we reduce the volatility of organic matter show that consideration of gas-phase SVOC removal still reduces average SOA concentrations by 31% on average. We consider this a lower bound for the effect of gas-phase SVOC removal on SOA concentrations. A saturation effect is observed for Henry's law constants above 108 M atm−1, suggesting an upper bound of reductions in surface level SOA concentrations by 60% through removal of gas-phase SVOCs. Other models that do not consider dry and wet removal of gas-phase SVOCs would hence overestimate SOA concentrations by roughly 50%. Assumptions about the water
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MacDonald, I. R.; Asper, V.; Garcia, O. P.; Kastner, M.; Leifer, I.; Naehr, T.; Solomon, E.; Yvon-Lewis, S.; Zimmer, B.
2008-12-01
HyFlux - Part I: Regional modeling of methane flux from near-seafloor gas hydrate deposits on continental margins MacDonald, I.R., Asper, V., Garcia, O., Kastner, M., Leifer, I., Naehr, T.H., Solomon, E., Yvon-Lewis, S., and Zimmer, B. The Dept. of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE/NETL) has recently awarded a project entitled HyFlux: "Remote sensing and sea-truth measurements of methane flux to the atmosphere." The project will address this problem with a combined effort of satellite remote sensing and data collection at proven sites in the Gulf of Mexico where gas hydrate releases gas to the water column. Submarine gas hydrate is a large pool of greenhouse gas that may interact with the atmosphere over geologic time to affect climate cycles. In the near term, the magnitude of methane reaching the atmosphere from gas hydrate on continental margins is poorly known because 1) gas hydrate is exposed to metastable oceanic conditions in shallow, dispersed deposits that are poorly imaged by standard geophysical techniques and 2) the consumption of methane in marine sediments and in the water column is subject to uncertainty. The northern GOM is a prolific hydrocarbon province where rapid migration of oil, gases, and brines from deep subsurface petroleum reservoirs occurs through faults generated by salt tectonics. Focused expulsion of hydrocarbons is manifested at the seafloor by gas vents, gas hydrates, oil seeps, chemosynthetic biological communities, and mud volcanoes. Where hydrocarbon seeps occur in depths below the hydrate stability zone (~500m), rapid flux of gas will feed shallow deposits of gas hydrate that potentially interact with water column temperature changes; oil released from seeps forms sea-surface features that can be detected in remote-sensing images. The regional phase of the project will quantify verifiable sources of methane (and oil) the Gulf of Mexico continental margin and selected margins (e.g. Pakistan Margin, South China Sea
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Development of Budenovskoye Deposit in South Kazakhstan
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Matunov, A.; Niyetbayev, M.
2014-01-01
Budenovskoye deposit was discovered in 1979 in permeable alluvial deposits of the Upper Cretaceous and is the world largest sandstone type deposit. The prospecting and exploration works were started there in 1987 with inferred resources of the southern flank only estimated at about 200,000 tU. Key geology features of the deposit are: • The deposit is located in the maximum submerged part of the depression formed in the Upper Cretaceous period by channel facies; a very complex morphology of mineralisation in plan, large vertical area, multilayer structure, relatively high productivity of the deposits. • High-pressure nature of groundwaters with positive occurrence of piezometric level, very high water conductivity, permeability of horizons and their water abundance, lack of consistent confining layers, and location of the deposit in the artesian basin at the junction with hydrogeological massif of B Karatau Range. • Relatively low concentration of main syngenetic genesis reducing agents in ore-bearing rocks in combination with other factors causes the insufficiently contrastive reducing barrier and extraordinary stretched profile of epigenetic zonation with fuzzy boundaries between separate zones and subzones.
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Evidence of reworked Cretaceous fossils and their bearing on the existence of Tertiary dinosaurs
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Eaton, J.G. (Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (USA)); Kirkland, J.I. (Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln (USA)); Doi, K. (Univ. of Colorado, Boulder (USA))
1989-06-01
The Paleocene Shotgun fauna of Wyoming includes marine sharks as well as mammals. It has been suggested that the sharks were introduced from the Cannonball Sea. It is more likely that these sharks were reworked from a Cretaceous rock sequence that included both marine and terrestrial deposits as there is a mixture of marine and freshwater taxa. These taxa have not been recorded elsewhere after the Cretaceous and are not known from the Cannonball Formation. Early Eocene localities at Raven Ridge, Utah, similarly contain teeth of Cretaceous marine and freshwater fish, dinosaurs, and Eocene mammals. The Cretaceous teeth are well preserved, variably abraded, and serve to cast doubts on criteria recently used to claim that dinosaur teeth recovered from the Paleocene of Montana are not reworked. Another Eocene locality in the San Juan Basin has produced an Eocene mammalian fauna with diverse Cretaceous marine sharks. Neither the nature of preservation nor the degree of abrasion could be used to distinguish reworked from contemporaneous material. The mixed environments represented by the fish taxa and recognition of the extensive pre-Tertiary extinction of both marine and freshwater fish were employed to recognize reworked specimens.
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Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Žítt, Jiří; Bosák, Pavel; Hradecká, L.; Svobodová, Marcela
Colloque sur le Cénomanien/Colloquium on the Cenomanian Stage, - (2001), s. 105-107 ISSN 0766-5946. [Colloque sur le Cénomanien/Colloquium on the Cenomanian Stage. Rouen, 20.10.2001-21.10.2001] R&D Projects: GA ČR GA205/99/1315 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z3013912 Keywords : Upper Cretaceous * Hardgrounds Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy
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Sedimentary environments and hydrocarbon potential of cretaceous rocks of indus basin, Pakistan
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sheikh, S.A.; Naseem, S.
1999-01-01
Cretaceous rocks of Indus Basin of Pakistan are dominated by clastics with subordinate limestone towards the top. These rocks represent shelf facies and were deposited in deltaic to reducing marine conditions at variable depths. Indications of a silled basin with restricted circulation are also present. Cretaceous fine clastics/carbonates have good source and reservoir qualities. Variable geothermal gradients in different parts of basin have placed these rocks at different maturity levels; i.e. from oil to condensate and to gas. The potential of these rocks has been proved by several oil and gas discoveries particularly in the Central and Southern provinces of Indus Basin. (author)
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Gas-charged sediments on the inner continental shelf off western India
Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)
Karisiddaiah, S.M.; Veerayya, M.; Vora, K.H.; Wagle, B.G.
the enormous reserves of methane hydrates in the Arctic (Nisbet, 1989) and elsewhere. Owens et al. (1991) observed that the northern Arabian Sea is an oceanic region of unusually high methane concentrations and fluxes to the atmo- sphere. In view... The western continental shelf of India between IO°N and 22°N is bordered by the Deccan Traps (volcanic rocks) of Cretaceous age towards the north of Goa, whereas Peninsular gneisses, char- nockites and various schistose formations of Archaean age...
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The Hunt for Pristine Cretaceous Astronomical Rhythms at Demerara Rise (Cenomanian-Coniacian)
Ma, C.; Meyers, S. R.
2014-12-01
Rhythmic Upper Cretaceous strata from Demerara Rise (ODP leg 207) preserve a strong astronomical signature, and this attribute has facilitated the development of continuous astrochronologies to refine the geologic time scale and calibrate Late Cretaceous biogeochemical events. While the mere identification of astronomical rhythms is a crucial first step in many deep-time paleoceanographic investigations, accurate evaluation of often subtle amplitude and frequency modulations are required to: (1) robustly constrain the linkage between climate and sedimentation, and (2) evaluate the plausibility of different theoretical astrodynamical models. The availability of a wide range of geophysical, lithologic and geochemical data from multiple sites drilled at Demerara Rise - when coupled with recent innovations in the statistical analysis of cyclostratigraphic data - provides an opportunity to hunt for the most pristine record of Cretaceous astronomical rhythms at a tropical Atlantic location. To do so, a statistical metric is developed to evaluate the "internal" consistency of hypothesized astronomical rhythms observed in each data set, particularly with regard to the expected astronomical amplitude modulations. In this presentation, we focus on how the new analysis yields refinements to the existing astrochronologies, provides constraints on the linkages between climate and sedimentation (including the deposition of organic carbon-rich sediments at Demerara Rise), and allows a quantitative evaluation of the continuity of deposition across sites at multiple temporal scales.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Renata da Silva Schmitt
Full Text Available ABSTRACT: The Cabo Frio Tectonic Domain is composed of a Paleoproterozoic basement tectonically interleaved with Neoproterozoic supracrustal rocks (Buzios-Palmital successions. It is in contact with the Neoproterozoic-Cambrian Ribeira Orogen along the SE Brazilian coast. The basement was part of at least three continental margins: (a 1.97 Ga; (b 0.59 - 0.53 Ga; (c 0.14 Ga to today. It consists of continental magmatic arc rocks of 1.99 to 1.94 Ga. Zircon cores show a 2.5 - 2.6 Ga inheritance from the ancient margin of the Congo Craton. During the Ediacaran, this domain was thinned and intruded by tholeiitic mafic dykes during the development of an oceanic basin at ca. 0.59 Ma. After the tectonic inversion, these basin deposits reached high P-T metamorphic conditions, by subduction of the oceanic lithosphere, and were later exhumed as nappes over the basement. The Cabo Frio Tectonic Domain collided with the arc domain of the Ribeira Orogen at ca. 0.54 Ga. It is not an exotic block, but the eastern transition between this orogen and the Congo Craton. Almost 400 m.y. later, the South Atlantic rift zone followed roughly this suture, not coincidently. It shows how the Cabo Frio Tectonic Domain was reactivated as a continental margin in successive extensional and convergent events through geological time.
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Velocity Model for CO2 Sequestration in the Southeastern United States Atlantic Continental Margin
Ollmann, J.; Knapp, C. C.; Almutairi, K.; Almayahi, D.; Knapp, J. H.
2017-12-01
The sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) is emerging as a major player in offsetting anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. With 40% of the United States' anthropogenic CO2 emissions originating in the southeast, characterizing potential CO2 sequestration sites is vital to reducing the United States' emissions. The goal of this research project, funded by the Department of Energy (DOE), is to estimate the CO2 storage potential for the Southeastern United States Atlantic Continental Margin. Previous studies find storage potential in the Atlantic continental margin. Up to 16 Gt and 175 Gt of storage potential are estimated for the Upper Cretaceous and Lower Cretaceous formations, respectively. Considering 2.12 Mt of CO2 are emitted per year by the United States, substantial storage potential is present in the Southeastern United States Atlantic Continental Margin. In order to produce a time-depth relationship, a velocity model must be constructed. This velocity model is created using previously collected seismic reflection, refraction, and well data in the study area. Seismic reflection horizons were extrapolated using well log data from the COST GE-1 well. An interpolated seismic section was created using these seismic horizons. A velocity model will be made using P-wave velocities from seismic reflection data. Once the time-depth conversion is complete, the depths of stratigraphic units in the seismic refraction data will be compared to the newly assigned depths of the seismic horizons. With a lack of well control in the study area, the addition of stratigraphic unit depths from 171 seismic refraction recording stations provides adequate data to tie to the depths of picked seismic horizons. Using this velocity model, the seismic reflection data can be presented in depth in order to estimate the thickness and storage potential of CO2 reservoirs in the Southeastern United States Atlantic Continental Margin.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yang Du
2015-03-01
Full Text Available This paper studies the lithofacies, sedimentary facies, depositional models and reservoir architecture of the rudist-bearing Sar-3 zone of Cretaceous Sarvak in the Southwest of Iran by utilizing coring, thin section, XRD data of five coring wells and 3D seismic data. Research results include the following: According to lithofacies features and their association, the rudist-mound and tidal flat are the main microfacies in the Sar-3 depositional time. By investigating the regional tectonic setting and seismic interpretation, a depositional model was built for the Sar-3 zone, which highlights four key points: 1 The distribution of the rudist-buildup is controlled by the paleo-high. 2 The build-up outside of the wide colonize stage but reached the wave-base level in a short time by regression and formation uplift, and was destroyed by the high energy current, then forming the moundy allochthonous deposition after being dispersed and redeposited. 3 The tidal flat develops widely in the upper Sar-3, and the deposition thickness depends on the paleo-structure. The tidal channel develops in the valley and fringe of the Paleo-structure. 4 The exposure within the leaching effect by the meteoric water of the top of Sar-3 is the main controlling factor of the reservoir vertical architecture. The Sar-3 zone featured as the dualistic architecture consists of two regions: the lower is the rudist reef limestone reservoir and the upper is the tidal condense limestone interlayer. The thickness of each is controlled by the paleo-structure. The Paleo-high zone is the preferential development zone. Based on reservoir characteristics of the different zones, a targeted development strategy has been proposed. Keeping the trajectory in the middle of the oil-layer in the paleo-high, and in the paleo-low, make the trajectory crossing the oil-zone and then keep it in the lower.
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{sup 210}Pb-Excess and Sediment Accumulation Rates at the Iberian Continental Margin
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Carvalho, F. P.; Oliveira, J. M.; Soares, A. M. [Nuclear and Technological Institute, Sacavem (Portugal)
2013-07-15
Sediments from the continental shelf, slope, and rise at the continental margin of northern Portugal and the adjacent Iberian abyssal basin were analysed for 210Pb, {sup 226}Ra, {sup 137}Cs and {sup 14}C. Pb-210 derived sedimentation rates at the continental shelf off the Portuguese coast were 0.2-0.6 cm/a. In some cores from fine sediment deposits at the outer shelf, the {sup 210}Pb excess continuum was interrupted and sediment layers were missing, suggesting that events such as sediment slides could have occurred. Higher sedimentation rates were determined in locations at the rise of the continental slope, confirming enhanced deposition by sediment slides. In the deeper Iberian Abyssal Basin, using the {sup 14}C age of sediment layers the sedimentation rate was determined at 3.2 cm/ka, thus four orders of magnitude lower than at the continental shelf. The spatial distribution of sedimentation rates determined by radionuclide based chronologies, suggested that fine sediments from river discharges are deposited mainly at the outer continental shelf. These deposits may became unstable with time and, occasionally, originate sediment slides that are drained by the canyons and reach the deep sea. The Iberian abyssal basin receives some advective contribution of these sediment slides and the sedimentation rate is one order of magnitude higher than in other abyssal basins of the NE Atlantic Ocean. (author)
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Early cretaceous zircon SHRIMP U-Pb age of the trachyte and its significances of the Gan-Hang belt
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Liu Feiyu; Wu Jianhua; Liu Shuai
2009-01-01
The Shixi basin was located at Gan-Hang tectonic volcanic uranium deposit of rock-magma belt which belong to a part of the Mesozoic volcanic rocks in the northeastern of China. The appearance of the trachyte in Shixi basin have the majoy elements characteristic of the shoshonite series volcanic rocks. To determine the geological age of trachyte have very important significance on the geodynamics research and the study on the cause of uranium mineralization. The zircons of the trachyte have clear ring and high Th/U ratio which belong to the typical magmatic zircons. The zircon SHRIMP U-Pb dating resules show that 14points' age range is very smaller is 132-144 Ma and the weighted average age is (137.00±0.94)Ma which represents the diagenetic age of volcanic rocks. Accronding to the latest International Stratigraphic Chart the boundary of Jurassic and Cretaceous is (145.4±4.0)Ma. So the trachyte of Shixi Group belong to early Cretaceous. The large-scale acidic volcanic activity occurred in the Early Cretaceous in Southeastern China, and the Volcanic uranium deposit of Gan-Hang tectonic belt relate to Alkali metasomatism Uranium mineralization also occurred in the Early Cretaceous (120-130 Ma). The determined of trachyte in Shixi Group in the Early Cretaceous show that the acidic volcanic activity have connection with magma activity and the early Uranium mineralization consistent with the Alkali magma activity. (authors)
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François, Thomas; Afiq Md, Muhammad; Matenco, Liviu; Willingshofer, Ernst; Fatt Ng, Tham; Iskandar Taib, N.; Kamal Shuib, Mustaffa
2017-04-01
Dismembering large continental areas by post-orogenic extension requires favourable geodynamic conditions and frequently occurs along pre-existing suture zones or nappe contacts as exemplified by the Stong Complex and Taku Schist of northern Peninsular Malaysia. For this particular case we have employed a field and microstructural kinematic study combined with low temperature thermo-chronology to analyse the tectonic and exhumation history. The results show that the late Palaeozoic - Triassic Indosinian orogeny created successive phases of burial related metamorphism, shearing and contractional deformation. This orogenic structure was then dismembered during a Cretaceous thermal event that culminated in the formation of a large scale late Santonian - early Maastrichtian extensional detachment, genetically associated with crustal melting, the emplacement of syn-kinematic plutons and widespread migmatisation. The emplacement of these magmatic rocks led to an array of simultaneously formed structures that document deformation conditions over a wide temperature range, represented by amphibolite-facies mylonites and more brittle structures, such as cataclastic zones and normal faults that formed during exhumation in the footwall of the detachment. The formation of this detachment and a first phase of Late Cretaceous cooling was followed by renewed Eocene - Oligocene exhumation evidenced from our apatite fission track ages. We infer that an initial Cretaceous thermal anomaly was responsible for the formation of an extensional gneiss dome associated with simple shear and normal fault rotation. These Cretaceous processes played a critical role in the establishment of the presently observed crustal structure of Peninsular Malaysia.
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Neogene sedimentation on the outer continental margin, southern Bering Sea
Vallier, T.L.; Underwood, M.B.; Gardner, J.V.; Barron, J.A.
1980-01-01
Neogene sedimentary rocks and sediments from sites on the outer continental margin in the southern Bering Sea and on the Alaska Peninsula are dominated by volcanic components that probably were eroded from an emergent Aleutian Ridge. A mainland continental source is subordinate. Most sediment in the marine environment was transported to the depositional sites by longshore currents, debris flows, and turbidity currents during times when sea level was near the outermost continental shelf. Fluctuations of sea level are ascribed both to worldwide glacio-eustatic effects and to regional vertical tectonics. Large drainage systems, such as the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers, had little direct influence on sedimentation along the continental slope and Unmak Plateau in the southern Bering Sea. Sediments from those drainage systems probably were transported to the floor of the Aleutian Basin, to the numerous shelf basins that underlie the outer continental shelf, and to the Arctic Ocean after passing through the Bering Strait. Environments of deposition at the sites along the outer continental margin have not changed significantly since the middle Miocene. The site on the Alaska Peninsula, however, is now emergent following shallow-marine and transitional sedimentation during the Neogene. ?? 1980.
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The Lower Cretaceous Way Group of northern Chile: An alluvial fan-fan delta complex
Flint, S.; Clemmey, H.; Turner, P.
1986-01-01
Alluvial fan sediments of the Lower Cretaceous Coloso Basin in northern Chile were deposited in a half-graben and derived from andesitic volcanics of a former island arc. Transport directions were towards the east, away from the present-day Peru-Chile trench. Grain flow, density modified grain flow and sheetflow processes were responsible for most of the sediment deposition with cohesive debris flows playing only a minor part. An early phase of conglomerate deposition (Coloso Formation) into a restricted basin records the transition from proximal fan facies with abundant grain flows and remobilized screes to mid-fan facies dominated by sheetflows. Stratiform copper mineralization near the top of the lower conglomerates is related to the unroofing of the Jurassic island arc. This mineralization comprises copper sulphide-cemented sands and gravels and formed by the reaction of mineralized detritus with diagenetic and hydrothermal solutions. A later phase of deposition (Lombriz Formation) includes sandstones, siltstones and conglomerates with a source area different from the Coloso Formation. This change in source may be related to strike-slip tectonics as the basin extended. The Lombriz conglomerates pass distally (eastwards) into red sandstones and purple siltstones with thin limestones deposited under marine conditions. This sequence is interpreted as a major fan delta complex. It passes conformably into marine carbonates of the Tableado Formation signifying the complete drowning of the basin in lower Cretaceous times.
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Dkhaili, Noomen; Bey, Saloua; El Abed, Mahmoud; Gasmi, Mohamed; Inoubli, Mohamed Hedi
2015-09-01
An integrated study of available seismic and calibrated wells has been conducted in order to ascertain the structural development and petroleum potential of the Cretaceous Formations of the Western Gulf of Gabes. This study has resulted in an understanding of the controls of deep seated Tethyan tectonic lineaments by analysis of the Cretaceous deposits distribution. Three main unconformities have been identified in this area, unconformity U1 between the Jurassic and Cretaceous series, unconformity U2 separating Early from Late Cretaceous and known as the Austrian unconformity and the major unconformity U3 separating Cretaceous from Tertiary series. The seismic analysis and interpretation have confirmed the existence of several features dominated by an NE-SW extensive tectonic regime evidenced by deep listric faults, asymmetric horst and graben and tilted blocks structures. Indeed, the structural mapping of these unconformities, displays the presence of dominant NW-SE fault system (N140 to N160) bounding a large number of moderate sized basins. A strong inversion event related to the unconformity U3 can be demonstrated by the mapping of the unconformities consequence of the succession of several tectonic manifestations during the Cretaceous and post-Cretaceous periods. These tectonic events have resulted in the development of structural and stratigraphic traps further to the porosity and permeability enhancement of Cretaceous reservoirs.
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Chen, Sheng-Sheng; Fan, Wei-Ming; Shi, Ren-Deng; Liu, Xiao-Han; Zhou, Xue-Jun
2018-06-01
Understanding the dynamics of Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) is critical to deciphering processes associated with rupturing continental lithosphere. Microcontinental calving, the rifting of microcontinents from mature continental rifted margins, is particularly poorly understood. Here we present new insights into these processes from geochronological and geochemical analyses of igneous rocks from the Tethyan Himalaya. Early Cretaceous mafic dikes are widely exposed in the eastern and western Tethyan Himalaya, but no such rocks have been reported from the central Tethyan Himalaya. Here we present an analysis of petrological, geochronological, geochemical, and Sr-Nd-Hf-Os isotopic data for bimodal magmatic rocks from the center-east Tethyan Himalaya. Zircon U-Pb dating yields six weighted-mean concordant 206Pb/238U ages of 118 ± 1.2 to 115 ± 1.3 Ma. Mafic rocks display MORB-like compositions with flat to depleted LREE trends, and positive εNd(t) (+2.76 to +5.39) and εHf(t) (+8.0 to +11.9) values. The negative Nb anomalies and relatively high 187Os/188Os ratios (0.15-0.19) of these rocks are related to variable degrees (up to 10%) of crustal contamination. Geochemical characteristics indicate that mafic rocks were generated by variable degrees (2-20%) of partial melting of spinel lherzolites in shallow depleted mantle. Felsic rocks are enriched in Th and LREE, with negative Nb anomalies and decoupling of Nd (εNd(t) = -13.39 to -12.78) and Hf (εHf(t) = -4.8 to -2.0), suggesting that they were derived mainly from garnet-bearing lower continental crust. The geochemical characteristics of the bimodal magmatic associations are comparable to those of associations that form in a continental rift setting. Results indicate that Early Cretaceous magmatism occurred across the whole Tethyan Himalaya, named here as the "Tethyan Himalaya igneous province". Separation of the Tethyan Himalaya from the Indian craton may have occurred during ongoing Early Cretaceous extension
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Hofmann, Mandy; Voigt, Thomas; Bittner, Lucas; Gärtner, Andreas; Zieger, Johannes; Linnemann, Ulf
2018-04-01
The Saxonian-Bohemian Cretaceous Basin (Elbsandsteingebirge, E Germany and Czech Republic, Elbtal Group) comprises Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks from Upper Cenomanian to Santonian age. These sandstones were deposited in a narrow strait of the sea linking the northern Boreal shelf to the southern Tethyan areas. They were situated between the West Sudetic Island in the north and the Mid-European Island in the south. As known by former studies (e.g. Tröger, Geologie 6/7:717-730, 1964; Tröger, Geologie von Sachsen, Schweizerbart, 311-358, 2008; Voigt and Tröger, Proceedings of the 4th International Cretaceous Symposium, 275-290, 1996; Voigt, Dissertation, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, 1-130, 1995; Voigt, Zeitschrift der geologischen Wissenschaften 37(1-2): 15-39, 2009; Wilmsen et al., Freiberger Forschungshefte C540: 27-45, 2011) the main sedimentary input came from the north (Lausitz Block, southern West-Sudetic Island). A section of Turonian to Coniacian sandstones was sampled in the Elbsandsteingebirge near Schmilka (Elbtal Group, Saxony, Germany). The samples were analysed for their U-Pb age record of detrital zircon using LA-ICP-MS techniques. The results show main age clusters typical for the Bohemian Massif (local material) and are interpreted to reflect the erosion of uniform quartz-dominated sediments and basement rocks. Surprisingly, these rocks lack an expected Upper Proterozoic to Lower Palaeozoic age peak, which would be typical for the basement of the adjacent Lausitz Block (c. 540-c. 560 Ma). Therefore, the Lausitz Block basement must have been covered by younger sediments that acted as source rocks during deposition of the Elbtal Group. The sandstones of the Elbe valley (Elbtal Group, Schmilka section) represent the re-deposited sedimentary cover of the Lausitz Block in inverse order. This cover comprised Permian, Triassic, Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous deposits, which are eroded already today and cannot be investigated. Within the samples of the
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Holocene limestones of part of the western continental shelf of India
Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)
Nair, R.R.; Hashimi, N.H.; Guptha, M.V.S.
, while those on te upper continental slope (130-180 m) are algal bryozoan limestones. The limestones have a radiocarbon age ranging between 9,000 and 11,000 years. Depositional environmental on the continental shelf during the Holocene appears...
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A new Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystem from Gondwana with the description of a new sauropod dinosaur
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jorge O. Calvo
2007-09-01
Full Text Available A unique site at the northern area of Patagonia (Neuquén, Argentina reveals a terrestrial ecosystem preserved in a detail never reported before in a Late Cretaceous deposit. An extraordinary diversity and abundance of fossils was found concentrated in a 0.5 m horizon in the same quarry, including a new titanosaur sauropod, Futalognkosaurus dukei n.gen., n.sp, which is the most complete giant dinosaur known so far. Several plant leaves, showing a predominance of angiosperms over gymnosperms that likely constituted the diet of F. dukei were found too. Other dinosaurs (sauropods, theropods, ornithopods, crocodylomorphs, pterosaurs, and fishes were also discovered, allowing a partial reconstruction of this Gondwanan continental ecosystem.Um depósito fóssil na região norte da Patagônia (Neuquén, Argentina revela um ecossistema nunca antes registrado a este nível de detalhes em depósitos do Cretáceo Superior. Uma diversidade e abundância extraordinária de fósseis encontra-se concentrada em uma camada de 0,5 m no mesmo sítio, incluindo um novo saurópodo titanossaurídeo, Futalognkosaurus dukei n. gen, n. sp., que é o mais completo dinossauro gigante encontrado até a presente data. Foram descobertas váriasfolhas de plantas indicando a predominância de angiospermas sobre gimnospermas que possivelmente formavam a base da dieta de F. dukei. Outros dinossauros (saurópodes, terópodes, ornitópodes, crocodilomorfos, pterossauros e peixes foram também encontrados possibilitando a reconstrução parcialdeste ecossistema continental do Gondwana.
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Construction of the seawater 87Sr/86Sr curve for the Cenozoic and Cretaceous: supporting data
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Koepnick, R.B.; Burke, W.H.; Denison, R.E.; Hetherington, E.A.; Nelson, H.F.; Otto, J.B.; Waite, L.E.
1985-01-01
We present the data used to construct the Cenozoic and Cretaceous portion of the Phanerozoic curve of seawater 87 Sr/ 86 Sr that had been given in summary form by W.H. Burke and coworkers. All Cenozoic samples (128) and 22 Cretaceous samples are foram-nannofossil oozes and limestones from DSDP cores distributed among 13 sites in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the Caribbean Sea. Non-DSDP Cretaceous samples (126) include limestone, anhydrite and phosphate samples from North America, Europe and Asia. Determination of the 87 Sr/ 86 Sr value of seawater at particular times in the past is based on comparison of ratios derived from coeval marine samples from widely separated geographic areas. The general configuration of the Cenozoic and Cretaceous curve appears to be strongly influenced by the history of plate interactions and sea-floor spreading. Specific rises and falls in the 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of seawater, however, may be caused by a variety of factors such as variation in lithologic composition of the crust exposed to weathering, configuration and topographic relief of continents, volcanic activity, rate of sea-floor spreading, extent of continental inundation by epeiric seas, and variations in both climate and paleo-oceanographic conditions. Many or all of these factors are probably related to global tectonic processes, yet their combined effect on the temporal variation of seawater 87 Sr/ 86 Sr can complicate a direct plate-tectonic interpretation for portions of the seawater curve. (Auth.)
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Pearson, David M.; MacLeod, Douglas R.; Ducea, Mihai N.; Gehrels, George E.; Jonathan Patchett, P.
2017-10-01
Though continental magmatic arcs are factories for new continental crust, a significant proportion of continental arc magmas are recycled from supracrustal material. To evaluate the relative contributions of retroarc underthrusting and trench side partial sediment subduction for introducing supracrustal rocks to the middle and lower crust of continental magmatic arcs, we present results from the deeply exposed country rocks of the Coast Mountains batholith of western British Columbia. Prior work demonstrates that these rocks underwent widespread partial melting that contributed to the Coast Mountains batholith. We utilize U-Pb zircon geochronology, Sm-Nd thermochronology, and field-based studies to document the protoliths and early burial history of amphibolite and granulite-facies metasedimentary rocks in the Central Gneiss Complex. U-Pb detrital zircon data from the structurally highest sample localities yielded 190 Ma unimodal age peaks and suggest that retroarc rocks of the Stikine terrane constitute a substantial portion of the Central Gneiss Complex. These supracrustal rocks underwent thrust-related burial and metamorphism at >25 km depths prior to 80 Ma. These rocks may also be underlain at the deepest exposed structural levels by Upper Cretaceous metasedimentary rocks, which may have been emplaced as a result of trench side underplating or intraarc burial. These results further our understanding of the mechanisms of material transport within the continental lithosphere along Cordilleran subduction margins.
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Cretaceous biota of the Triângulo Mineiro region (Brazil: A review of recent finds
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Candeiro, C. R. A.
2007-06-01
Full Text Available The Bauru Group (Adamantina, Uberaba, and Marília Formations crop out in the Triângulo Mineiro region, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, and yield a rich continental biota. Invertebrate and vertebrate taxa from underlying and overlying strata, as well as biostratigraphical correlations with other fossil sites in Argentina, suggest an Upper Cretaceous age for this biota. The diversity of the fossil assemblage recorded in these formations is summarized here and includes: frogs, lizards, crocodiles, titanosaurs, abelisaurid and carcharodontosaurid dinosaurs. This fossil assemblage provides important clues to understand faunas from other southern landmasses, particularly those from the Cretaceous of the African continent.Los afloramientos del Grupo Bauru (formaciones Adamantina, Uberaba y Marília en la región del Triângulo Mineiro, Provincia de Minas Gerais, Brasil, posee un rico contenido de biota continental. Los taxa de invertebrados y vertebrados de estos estratos, así como las correlaciones biostratigráficas con otros yacimientos fósiles de Argentina, sugieren una edad del Cretácico Tardío. La diversidad de la asociación fósil registrada en las formaciones del Triângulo Mineiro se resume en el presente trabajo e incluye: sapos, lagartos, tortugas, cocodrilianos, titanosaurideos, dinosaurios abelisaurideos y carcharodontosaurideos. Esta asociación es importante para la comprensión de las faunas del sur de América y también de las del Cretácico de África.
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Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Nádaskay, R.; Uličný, David
2014-01-01
Roč. 165, č. 4 (2014), s. 547-575 ISSN 1860-1804 Institutional support: RVO:67985530 Keywords : genetic stratigraphy * well log * Bohemian Cretaceous Basin Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 0.569, year: 2014
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Souza, Pricilla Camões Martins de; Schmitt, Renata da Silva; Stanton, Natasha
2017-09-01
The Ararauama Lagoon Fault System composes one of the most prominent set of lineaments of the SE Brazilian continental margin. It is located onshore in a key tectonic domain, where the basement inheritance rule is not followed. This fault system is characterized by ENE-WSW silicified tectonic breccias and cataclasites showing evidences of recurrent tectonic reactivations. Based on field work, microtectonic, kinematic and dynamic analysis, we reconstructed the paleostresses in the region and propose a sequence of three brittle deformational phases accountable for these reactivations: 1) NE-SW dextral transcurrence; 2) NNW-SSE dextral oblique extension that evolved to NNW-SSE "pure" extension; 3) ENE-WSW dextral oblique extension. These phases are reasonably correlated with the tectonic events responsible for the onset and evolution of the SE onshore rift basins, between the Neocretaceous and Holocene. However, based on petrographic studies and supported by regional geological correlations, we assume that the origin of this fault system is older, related to the Early Cretaceous South Atlantic rifting. This study provides significant information about one of the main structural trends of the SE Brazilian continental margin and the tectonic events that controlled its segmentation, since the Gondwana rifting, and compartmentalization of its onshore sedimentary deposits during the Cenozoic.
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Bensalah, Mohamed Khalil; Youbi, Nasrrddine; Mata, João; Madeira, José; Martins, Línia; El Hachimi, Hind; Bertrand, Hervé; Marzoli, Andrea; Bellieni, Giuliano; Doblas, Miguel; Font, Eric; Medina, Fida; Mahmoudi, Abdelkader; Beraâouz, El Hassane; Miranda, Rui; Verati, Chrystèle; De Min, Angelo; Ben Abbou, Mohamed; Zayane, Rachid
2013-05-01
Basaltic lava flows, dykes and sills, interbedded within red clastic continental sedimentary sequences (the so called "Couches Rouges") are widespread in the Oued El-Abid syncline. They represent the best candidates to study the Jurassic-Cretaceous magmatism in the Moroccan High Atlas. The volcanic successions were formed during two pulses of volcanic activity, represented by the Middle to Upper Jurassic basaltic sequence B1 (1-4 eruptions) and the Lower Cretaceous basaltic sequence B2 (three eruptions). Whether belonging to the B1 or B2, the lava flows present morphology and internal structures typical of inflated pahoehoe. Our geochemical data show that, at least for Jurassic magmatism, the dykes, and sills cannot be considered as strictly representing the feeders of the sampled lava flows. The Middle to Upper Jurassic pulse is moderately alkaline in character, while the Lower Cretaceous one is transitional. Crustal contamination plays a minor role in the petrogenesis of these magmas, which were generated by variable partial melting degrees of a garnet-bearing mantle source. Magmatism location was controlled by pre-existing Hercynian fault systems reactivated during a Middle to Upper Jurassic-Cretaceous rifting event. The associated lithospheric stretching induced melting, by adiabatic decompression, of enriched low-solidus infra-lithospheric domains.
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Brusatte, Stephen L; Averianov, Alexander; Sues, Hans-Dieter; Muir, Amy; Butler, Ian B
2016-03-29
Tyrannosaurids--the familiar group of carnivorous dinosaurs including Tyrannosaurus and Albertosaurus--were the apex predators in continental ecosystems in Asia and North America during the latest Cretaceous (ca. 80-66 million years ago). Their colossal sizes and keen senses are considered key to their evolutionary and ecological success, but little is known about how these features developed as tyrannosaurids evolved from smaller basal tyrannosauroids that first appeared in the fossil record in the Middle Jurassic (ca. 170 million years ago). This is largely because of a frustrating 20+ million-year gap in the mid-Cretaceous fossil record, when tyrannosauroids transitioned from small-bodied hunters to gigantic apex predators but from which no diagnostic specimens are known. We describe the first distinct tyrannosauroid species from this gap, based on a highly derived braincase and a variety of other skeletal elements from the Turonian (ca. 90-92 million years ago) of Uzbekistan. This taxon is phylogenetically intermediate between the oldest basal tyrannosauroids and the latest Cretaceous forms. It had yet to develop the giant size and extensive cranial pneumaticity of T. rex and kin but does possess the highly derived brain and inner ear characteristic of the latest Cretaceous species. Tyrannosauroids apparently developed huge size rapidly during the latest Cretaceous, and their success in the top predator role may have been enabled by their brain and keen senses that first evolved at smaller body size.
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Brusatte, Stephen L.; Averianov, Alexander; Sues, Hans-Dieter; Muir, Amy; Butler, Ian B.
2016-03-01
Tyrannosaurids-the familiar group of carnivorous dinosaurs including Tyrannosaurus and Albertosaurus-were the apex predators in continental ecosystems in Asia and North America during the latest Cretaceous (ca. 80-66 million years ago). Their colossal sizes and keen senses are considered key to their evolutionary and ecological success, but little is known about how these features developed as tyrannosaurids evolved from smaller basal tyrannosauroids that first appeared in the fossil record in the Middle Jurassic (ca. 170 million years ago). This is largely because of a frustrating 20+ million-year gap in the mid-Cretaceous fossil record, when tyrannosauroids transitioned from small-bodied hunters to gigantic apex predators but from which no diagnostic specimens are known. We describe the first distinct tyrannosauroid species from this gap, based on a highly derived braincase and a variety of other skeletal elements from the Turonian (ca. 90-92 million years ago) of Uzbekistan. This taxon is phylogenetically intermediate between the oldest basal tyrannosauroids and the latest Cretaceous forms. It had yet to develop the giant size and extensive cranial pneumaticity of T. rex and kin but does possess the highly derived brain and inner ear characteristic of the latest Cretaceous species. Tyrannosauroids apparently developed huge size rapidly during the latest Cretaceous, and their success in the top predator role may have been enabled by their brain and keen senses that first evolved at smaller body size.
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Park, J.; Gall, H. E.; Niyogi, D.; Rao, S.
2012-12-01
The global trend of increased urbanization, and associated increased intensity of energy and material consumption and waste emissions, has contributed to shifts in the trajectories of aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric environments. Here, we focus on continental-scale spatiotemporal patterns in two atmospheric constituents (nitrate and sulfate), whose global biogeochemical cycles have been dramatically altered by emissions from mobile and fixed sources in urbanized and industrialized regions. The observed patterns in wet deposition fluxes of nitrate and sulfate are controlled by (1) natural hydro-climatic forcing, and (2) anthropogenic forcing (emissions and regulatory control), both of which are characterized by stochasticity and non-stationarity. We examine long-term wet deposition records in the U.S., Europe, and East Asia to evaluate how anthropogenic and natural forcing factors jointly contributed to the shifting temporal patterns of wet deposition fluxes at continental scales. These data offer clear evidence for successful implementation of regulatory controls and widespread adoption of technologies contributed to improving water quality and mitigation of adverse ecological impacts. We developed a stochastic model to project the future trajectories of wet deposition fluxes in emerging countries with fast growing urban areas. The model generates ellipses within which projected wet deposition flux trajectories are inscribed, similar to the trends in observational data. The shape of the ellipses provides information regarding the relative dominance of anthropogenic (e.g., industrial and urban emissions) versus hydro-climatic drivers (e.g., rainfall patterns, aridity index). Our analysis facilitates projections of the trajectory shift as a result of urbanization and other land-use changes, climate change, and regulatory enforcement. We use these observed data and the model to project likely trajectories for rapidly developing countries (BRIC), with a
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Keller, Christina E.; Hochuli, Peter A.; Giorgioni, Martino; Garcia, Therese I.; Bernasconi, Stefano M.; Weissert, Helmut
2010-05-01
During the Cretaceous, several major volcanic events occurred that initiated climate warming, altered marine circulation and increased marine productivity, which in turn often resulted in the widespread black shale deposits of the Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAE). In the sediments underlying the early Aptian OAE1a black shales, a prominent negative carbon isotope excursion is recorded. Its origin had long been controversial (e.g. Arthur, 2000; Jahren et al., 2001) before recent studies attributed it to the Ontong Java volcanism (Méhay et al., 2009; Tejada et al., 2009). Therefore the negative C-isotope excursion covers the interval between the time, when volcanic activity became important enough to be recorded in the C-isotope composition of the oceans to the onset of widespread anoxic conditions (OAE1a). We chose this interval at the locality of Pusiano (N-Italy) to study the effect of a volcanically-induced increase in pCO2 on the marine palaeoenvironment and to observe the evolving palaeoenvironmental conditions that finally led to OAE1a. The Pusiano section (Maiolica Formation) was deposited at the southern continental margin of the alpine Tethys Ocean and has been bio- and magnetostratigraphically dated by Channell et al. (1995). We selected 18 samples from 12 black shale horizons for palynofacies analyses. Palynofacies assemblages consist of several types of particulate organic matter, providing information on the origin of the organic matter (terrestrial/marine) and conditions during deposition (oxic/anoxic). We then linked the palynofacies results to high-resolution inorganic and organic C-isotope values and total organic carbon content measurements. The pelagic Pusiano section consists of repeated limestone-black shale couplets, which are interpreted to be the result of changes in oxygenation of bottom waters. Towards the end of the negative C-isotope excursion we observe enhanced preservation of the fragile amorphous organic matter resulting in increased
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Norman, M.D.; Leeman, W.P.
1989-01-01
Magmatism in the western United States spanned a change in tectonic setting from Mesozoic and early Tertiary plate convergence to middle and late Tertiary crustal extension. This paper presents new major element, trace element, and isotopic (Sr, Nd, Pb) data on a diverse suite of Cretaceous to Neogene igneous rocks from the Owyhee area of southwestern Idaho to evaluate possible relationships between the evolving tectonic regime and temporal changes in igneous activity. The oldest studied rocks are Cretaceous granitic intrusives that probably formed by large-scale mixing of Precambrian crust with subduction-related magmas. Silicic Eocene tuffs are also rich in crustal components, but have isotopic compositions unlike the Cretaceous intrusives. These data require at least two crustal sources that may correspond to domains of significantly different age (Archean vs. Proterozoic). The oldest mafic lavas in the study area are Oligocene andesites and basalts compositionally similar to subduction-related magmas derived from asthenospheric mantle and erupted through thick continental crust. Direct crustal involvement during oligocene time was limited to minor interaction with the mafic magmas. Miocene activity produced bimodal basalt-rhyolite suites and minor volumes of hybrid lavas. Compositions of Miocene basalts demonstrate the decline of subduction-related processes, and increased involvement of subcontinental lithospheric mantle as a magma source. Crustally-derived Miocene rhyolites have isotopic compositions similar to those of the Cretaceous granitic rocks but trace element abundances more typical of within-plate magmas. (orig./WB)
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
LUCA BARALE
2017-08-01
Full Text Available The Provençal and Dauphinois Mesozoic successions cropping out at the southeastern margin of the Argentera Massif (Maritime Alps, NW Italy were deposited at the transition between the Provençal platform and the Dauphinois basin, marked in the study area by a partly preserved Mesozoic palaeoescarpment. These successions show important lateral variations occurring over relatively short distances, probably related to syndepositional tectonics. Different stratigraphic intervals of the pelagic-hemipelagic Dauphinois succession contain resedimented deposits, made up of both intra- and extrabasinal material, which provide a twofold evidence of syndepositional tectonics indicating both tectonically-triggered gravitational processes and a tectonically-driven evolution of the source areas. Two stages of syndepositional tectonics have been recognized: the first in the earliest Cretaceous, which is related to the deposition of carbonate breccias in the Dauphinois succession and to hydrothermal dolomitization of the Middle Triassic-Jurassic Provençal carbonates, and the second in the Late Cretaceous, which triggered the deposition of different detrital lithozones in the Upper Cretaceous Puriac Limestone. The cited evidence indicates that syndepositional tectonics continued to influence the evolution of the Alpine Tethys European passive margin long after the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic syn-rift stage, which caused the differentiation between the Dauphinois basin and the Provençal platform.
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Source rock potential of middle cretaceous rocks in Southwestern Montana
Dyman, T.S.; Palacas, J.G.; Tysdal, R.G.; Perry, W.J.; Pawlewicz, M.J.
1996-01-01
The middle Cretaceous in southwestern Montana is composed of a marine and nonmarine succession of predominantly clastic rocks that were deposited along the western margin of the Western Interior Seaway. In places, middle Cretaceous rocks contain appreciable total organic carbon (TOC), such as 5.59% for the Mowry Shale and 8.11% for the Frontier Formation in the Madison Range. Most samples, however, exhibit less than 1.0% TOC. The genetic or hydrocarbon potential (S1+S2) of all the samples analyzed, except one, yield less than 1 mg HC/g rock, strongly indicating poor potential for generating commercial amounts of hydrocarbons. Out of 51 samples analyzed, only one (a Thermopolis Shale sample from the Snowcrest Range) showed a moderate petroleum potential of 3.1 mg HC/g rock. Most of the middle Cretaceous samples are thermally immature to marginally mature, with vitrinite reflectance ranging from about 0.4 to 0.6% Ro. Maturity is high in the Pioneer Mountains, where vitrinite reflectance averages 3.4% Ro, and at Big Sky Montana, where vitrinite reflectance averages 2.5% Ro. At both localities, high Ro values are due to local heat sources, such as the Pioneer batholith in the Pioneer Mountains.
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Cretaceous Crocodyliforms from the Sahara
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Paul Sereno
2009-11-01
Full Text Available Diverse crocodyliforms have been discovered in recent years in Cretaceous rocks on southern landmasses formerly composing Gondwana. We report here on six species from the Sahara with an array of trophic adaptations that significantly deepen our current understanding of African crocodyliform diversity during the Cretaceous period. We describe two of these species (Anatosuchus minor, Araripesuchus wegeneri from nearly complete skulls and partial articulated skeletons from the Lower Cretaceous Elrhaz Formation (Aptian-Albian of Niger. The remaining four species (Araripesuchus rattoides sp. n., Kaprosuchus saharicus gen. n. sp. n., Laganosuchus thaumastos gen. n. sp. n., Laganosuchus maghrebensis gen. n. sp. n. come from contemporaneous Upper Cretaceous formations (Cenomanian in Niger and Morocco.
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Atmospheric residence times of continental aerosols
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Balkanski, Y.J.
1991-01-01
The global atmospheric distributions of Rn-222 are simulated with a three-dimensional model of atmospheric transport based on the meteorology of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) general circulation model. The short-lived radioactive gas Rn-222 (half-life = 3.8d) is emitted almost exclusively from land, at a relatively uniform rate; hence it is an excellent tracer of continental influences. Lead-210 is produced by decay of Rn-222 and immediately condenses to preexisting aerosol surfaces. It provides an excellent measure of aerosol residence times in the atmosphere because its source is accurately defined by the Rn-222 distribution. Results from the three-dimensional model are compared to measurements of Rn-222 and Pb-210 atmospheric concentrations to evaluate model's long-range transport over oceanic regions and to study the deposition mechanisms of atmospheric aerosols. Model results for Rn-222 are used to examine the long-range transport of continental air over two selected oceanic regions, the subantarctic Indian Ocean and the North Pacific. It is shown that the fast transport of air from southern Africa causes substantial continental pollution at southern mid-latitudes, a region usually regarded as pristine. Air over the North Pacific is heavily impacted by continental influences year round, but the altitude at which the transport occurs varies seasonally. Observations of aerosols at island sites, which are commonly used as diagnostics of continental influences, may be misleading because they do not account for influences at high altitude and because aerosols are efficiently scavenged by deposition during transport. The study of Pb-210 focuses on defining the residence times of submicron aerosols in the troposphere. Scavenging in wet convective updrafts is found to provide the dominant sink on a global scale
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Vertebrate assemblages from the early Late Cretaceous of southeastern Morocco: An overview
Cavin, L.; Tong, H.; Boudad, L.; Meister, C.; Piuz, A.; Tabouelle, J.; Aarab, M.; Amiot, R.; Buffetaut, E.; Dyke, G.; Hua, S.; Le Loeuff, J.
2010-07-01
Fossils of vertebrates have been found in great abundance in the continental and marine early Late Cretaceous sediments of Southeastern Morocco for more than 50 years. About 80 vertebrate taxa have so far been recorded from this region, many of which were recognised and diagnosed for the first time based on specimens recovered from these sediments. In this paper, we use published data together with new field data to present an updated overview of Moroccan early Late Cretaceous vertebrate assemblages. The Cretaceous series we have studied encompasses three Formations, the Ifezouane and Aoufous Formations, which are continental and deltaic in origin and are often grouped under the name "Kem Kem beds", and the Akrabou Formation which is marine in origin. New field observations allow us to place four recognised vertebrate clusters, corresponding to one compound assemblage and three assemblages, within a general temporal framework. In particular, two ammonite bioevents characterise the lower part of the Upper Cenomanian ( Calycoceras guerangeri Zone) at the base of the Akrabou Formation and the upper part of the Lower Turonian ( Mammites nodosoides Zone), that may extend into the Middle Turonian within the Akrabou Formation, and allow for more accurate dating of the marine sequence in the study area. We are not yet able to distinguish a specific assemblage that characterises the Ifezouane Formation when compared to the similar Aoufous Formation, and as a result we regard the oldest of the four vertebrate "assemblages" in this region to be the compound assemblage of the "Kem Kem beds". This well-known vertebrate assemblage comprises a mixture of terrestrial (and aerial), freshwater and brackish vertebrates. The archosaur component of this fauna appears to show an intriguingly high proportion of large-bodied carnivorous taxa, which may indicate a peculiar trophic chain, although collecting biases alter this palaeontological signal. A small and restricted assemblage, the
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Moore, Thomas; O'Sullivan, Paul B.; Potter, Christopher J.; Donelick, Raymond A.
2015-01-01
The Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous part of the Brookian sequence of northern Alaska consists of syntectonic deposits shed from the north-directed, early Brookian orogenic belt. We employ sandstone petrography, detrital zircon U-Pb age analysis, and zircon fission-track double-dating methods to investigate these deposits in a succession of thin regional thrust sheets in the western Brooks Range and in the adjacent Colville foreland basin to determine sediment provenance, sedimentary dispersal patterns, and to reconstruct the evolution of the Brookian orogen. The oldest and structurally highest deposits are allochthonous Upper Jurassic volcanic arc–derived sandstones that rest on accreted ophiolitic and/or subduction assemblage mafic igneous rocks. These strata contain a nearly unimodal Late Jurassic zircon population and are interpreted to be a fragment of a forearc basin that was emplaced onto the Brooks Range during arc-continent collision. Synorogenic deposits found at structurally lower levels contain decreasing amounts of ophiolite and arc debris, Jurassic zircons, and increasing amounts of continentally derived sedimentary detritus accompanied by broadly distributed late Paleozoic and Triassic (359–200 Ma), early Paleozoic (542–359 Ma), and Paleoproterozoic (2000–1750 Ma) zircon populations. The zircon populations display fission-track evidence of cooling during the Brookian event and evidence of an earlier episode of cooling in the late Paleozoic and Triassic. Surprisingly, there is little evidence for erosion of the continental basement of Arctic Alaska, its Paleozoic sedimentary cover, or its hinterland metamorphic rocks in early foreland basin strata at any structural and/or stratigraphic level in the western Brooks Range. Detritus from exhumation of these sources did not arrive in the foreland basin until the middle or late Albian in the central part of the Colville Basin.These observations indicate that two primary provenance areas provided
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Sanchez, J.; Mann, P.
2015-12-01
We have constructed a 1600-km-long transect from northern Honduras to northern Colombia that crosses northeastward-striking crustal blocks using a combination of offshore seismic data, gravity and magnetic data, well subsidence information, nearby outcrop information, and results from previous thermochronological, geochronological, geochemical and paleostress studies. The transect defines three major crustal and structural provinces: 1) Precambrian-Paleozoic, Chortis continental block whose northern edge is defined by the North America-Caribbean plate boundary. Events in this ~20-25-km-thick province include two major unconformities at the top of the Cretaceous and Eocene, associated southeast-dipping thrust faults related to collision of the Great Arc of the Caribbean (GAC) and Caribbean Large Igneous Province (CLIP) with the Chortis continental block. A third event is Eocene to recent subsidence and transtensional basins formed during the opening of the Cayman trough; 2) Late Cretaceous GAC and CLIP of oceanic arc and plateau origin, whose northern, deformed edge corresponds to the mapped Siuna belt of northern Nicaragua. This crustal province has a ~15-20-km-thick crust and is largely undeformed and extends across the Lower Nicaraguan Rise, Hess fault, to the southern limit of the Colombian basin where about 300 km of this province has been subducted beneath the accretionary wedge of the South Caribbean deformed belt of northwestern South America; and 3) Eocene to recent accretionary prism and intramontane basins on continental crust of northern South America, where Miocene accelerated exhumation and erosion of Paleogene and Cretaceous rocks reflect either shallow subduction of the CLIP or the Panama collisional event to the southwest.
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Gateways and Water Mass Mixing in the Late Cretaceous North Atlantic
Asgharian Rostami, M.; Martin, E. E.; MacLeod, K. G.; Poulsen, C. J.; Vande Guchte, A.; Haynes, S.
2017-12-01
Regions of intermediate/deep water formation and water-mass mixing in the North Atlantic are poorly defined for the Late Cretaceous, a time of gateway evolution and cooler conditions following the Mid Cretaceous greenhouse. Improved proxy data combined with modeling efforts are required to effectively evaluate the relationship between CO2, paleogeography, and circulation during this cooler interval. We analyzed and compiled latest Cretaceous (79 - 66 Ma) ɛNd and δ13C records from seven bathyal (paleodepths 0.2 - 2 km) and eight abyssal (paleodepths > 2 km) sites in the North Atlantic. Data suggest local downwelling of Northern Component Water (NCW; ɛNd -9.5 and δ13C 1.7 ‰) is the primary source of intermediate/deep water masses in the basin. As this water flows southward and ages, δ13C values decrease and ɛNd values increase; however, additional chemical changes at several sites require mixing with contributions from several additional water masses. Lower ɛNd ( -10) and higher δ13C ( 1.9 ‰) values in the deep NW part of the basin indicate proximal contributions from a region draining old continental crust, potentially representing deep convection following opening of the Labrador Sea. In the deep NE Iberian Basin, higher ɛNd ( -7) and lower δ13C ( 0.8 ‰) during the Campanian suggest mixing with a Tethyan source (ɛNd -7 and δ13C 0.1 ‰) whose importance decreased with restriction of that gateway in the Maastrichtian. Data from bathyal sites suggest additional mixing. In the SE Cape Verde region, observed ɛNd variations from -10 in the Campanian to -13 and -12 in the early and late Maastrichtian, respectively, may record variations in output rates of Tethyan and/or NCW sources and Demerara Bottom Water (ɛNd -16), a proposed warm saline intermediate water mass formed in shallow, equatorial seas. Pacific inflow through the Caribbean gateway impacts intermediate sites at Blake Nose (ɛNd values -8), particularly the shallowest site during the late
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Hsu, F.; Lin, S.; Wang, C.; Huh, C.
2007-12-01
Terrestrial organic carbon exported from small mountainous river to the continental margin may play an important role in global carbon cycle and it?|s biogeochemical process. A huge amount of suspended materials from small rivers in southwestern Taiwan (104 million tons per year) could serve as major carbon source to the adjacent ocean. However, little is know concerning fate of this terrigenous organic carbon. The purpose of this study is to calculate flux of terrigenous organic carbon deposited in the continental margin, offshore southwestern Taiwan through investigating spatial variation of organic carbon content, organic carbon isotopic compositions, organic carbon deposition rate and burial efficiency. Results show that organic carbon compositions in sediment are strongly influenced by terrestrial material exported from small rivers in the region, Kaoping River, Tseng-wen River and Er-jan Rver. In addition, a major part of the terrestrial materials exported from the Kaoping River may bypass shelf region and transport directly into the deep sea (South China Sea) through the Kaoping Canyon. Organic carbon isotopic compositions with lighter carbon isotopic values are found near the Kaoping River and Tseng-wen River mouth and rapidly change from heavier to lighter values through shelf to slope. Patches of lighter organic carbon isotopic compositions with high organic carbon content are also found in areas west of Kaoping River mouth, near the Kaoshiung city. Furthermore, terrigenous organic carbons with lighter isotopic values are found in the Kaoping canyon. A total of 0.028 Mt/yr of terrestrial organic carbon was found in the study area, which represented only about 10 percent of all terrestrial organic carbon deposited in the study area. Majority (~90 percent) of the organic carbon exported from the Kaoping River maybe directly transported into the deep sea (South China Sea) and become a major source of organic carbon in the deep sea.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sun Zexuan; Li Guoxin; He Fayang; Wei Yunjie
2002-01-01
Yilemen basin is a typical Mesozoic intra-mountain one. The author analyses characteristics of depositional system and the prospect of sandstone-type uranium deposit in the sedimentary cover of the Bayanhua Formation, Lower Cretaceous. Authors suggest that the conglomerate, sandstone-conglomerate and sandstone beds of braided stream and delta are favourable horizons for locating phreatic and interlayer oxidation zone sandstone-type uranium deposits, i.e. the northwestern side of Dalai uplifted zone, the Chagantaigebuqi narrow sag, and the southern area of Baolinbuqi
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Custódio, Michele Andriolli; Quaglio, Fernanda; Warren, Lucas Veríssimo; Simões, Marcello Guimarães; Fürsich, Franz Theodor; Perinotto, José Alexandre J.; Assine, Mario Luis
2017-08-01
Geologic events related to the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean deeply influenced the sedimentary record of the Araripe Basin. As consequence, upper stratigraphic units of the basin record a marine ingression in northeastern Brazil during the late Aptian. The timing and stratigraphic architecture of these units are crucial to understand the paleogeography of Gondwana and how the proto-Atlantic Ocean reached interior NE Brazil during the early Cretaceous. This marine ingression is recorded in the Araripe Basin as the Romualdo Formation, characterized by a transgressive-regressive cycle bounded by two regional unconformities. In the eastern part of the basin, the Romualdo depositional sequence comprises coastal alluvial and tide-dominated deposits followed by marine transgressive facies characterized by two fossil-rich intervals: a lower interval of black shales with fossil-rich carbonate concretions (Konservat-Lagerstätten) and an upper level with mollusk-dominated shell beds and shelly limestones. Following the marine ingression, an incomplete regressive succession of marginal-marine facies records the return of continental environments to the basin. The stratigraphic framework based on the correlation of several sections defines a transgressive-regressive cycle with depositional dip towards southeast, decreasing in thickness towards northwest, and with source areas located at the northern side of the basin. The facies-cycle wedge-geometry, together with paleocurrent data, indicates a coastal onlap towards NNW. Therefore, contrary to several paleogeographic scenarios previously proposed, the marine ingression would have reached the western parts of the Araripe Basin from the SSE.
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High diversity in cretaceous ichthyosaurs from Europe prior to their extinction.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Valentin Fischer
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Ichthyosaurs are reptiles that inhabited the marine realm during most of the Mesozoic. Their Cretaceous representatives have traditionally been considered as the last survivors of a group declining since the Jurassic. Recently, however, an unexpected diversity has been described in Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous deposits, but is widely spread across time and space, giving small clues on the adaptive potential and ecosystem control of the last ichthyosaurs. The famous but little studied English Gault Formation and 'greensands' deposits (the Upper Greensand Formation and the Cambridge Greensand Member of the Lower Chalk Formation offer an unprecedented opportunity to investigate this topic, containing thousands of ichthyosaur remains spanning the Early-Late Cretaceous boundary. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To assess the diversity of the ichthyosaur assemblage from these sedimentary bodies, we recognized morphotypes within each type of bones. We grouped these morphotypes together, when possible, by using articulated specimens from the same formations and from new localities in the Vocontian Basin (France; a revised taxonomic scheme is proposed. We recognize the following taxa in the 'greensands': the platypterygiines 'Platypterygius' sp. and Sisteronia seeleyi gen. et sp. nov., indeterminate ophthalmosaurines and the rare incertae sedis Cetarthrosaurus walkeri. The taxonomic diversity of late Albian ichthyosaurs now matches that of older, well-known intervals such as the Toarcian or the Tithonian. Contrasting tooth shapes and wear patterns suggest that these ichthyosaurs colonized three distinct feeding guilds, despite the presence of numerous plesiosaur taxa. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Western Europe was a diversity hot-spot for ichthyosaurs a few million years prior to their final extinction. By contrast, the low diversity in Australia and U.S.A. suggests strong geographical disparities in the diversity pattern of Albian
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Chure, Daniel; Britt, Brooks B; Whitlock, John A; Wilson, Jeffrey A
2010-04-01
Sauropod dinosaur bones are common in Mesozoic terrestrial sediments, but sauropod skulls are exceedingly rare--cranial materials are known for less than one third of sauropod genera and even fewer are known from complete skulls. Here we describe the first complete sauropod skull from the Cretaceous of the Americas, Abydosaurus mcintoshi, n. gen., n. sp., known from 104.46 +/- 0.95 Ma (megannum) sediments from Dinosaur National Monument, USA. Abydosaurus shares close ancestry with Brachiosaurus, which appeared in the fossil record ca. 45 million years earlier and had substantially broader teeth. A survey of tooth shape in sauropodomorphs demonstrates that sauropods evolved broad crowns during the Early Jurassic but did not evolve narrow crowns until the Late Jurassic, when they occupied their greatest range of crown breadths. During the Cretaceous, brachiosaurids and other lineages independently underwent a marked diminution in tooth breadth, and before the latest Cretaceous broad-crowned sauropods were extinct on all continental landmasses. Differential survival and diversification of narrow-crowned sauropods in the Late Cretaceous appears to be a directed trend that was not correlated with changes in plant diversity or abundance, but may signal a shift towards elevated tooth replacement rates and high-wear dentition. Sauropods lacked many of the complex herbivorous adaptations present within contemporaneous ornithischian herbivores, such as beaks, cheeks, kinesis, and heterodonty. The spartan design of sauropod skulls may be related to their remarkably small size--sauropod skulls account for only 1/200th of total body volume compared to 1/30th body volume in ornithopod dinosaurs.
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François, T.; Md Ali, M. A.; Matenco, L.; Willingshofer, E.; Ng, T. F.; Taib, N. I.; Shuib, M. K.
2017-08-01
Fragmentation of large continental areas by post-orogenic extension requires favourable geodynamic conditions and frequently occurs along pre-existing suture zones or nappe contacts, as exemplified by the Stong and Taku magmatic and metamorphic complexes of northern Peninsular Malaysia. For this case, we have employed a field and microstructural kinematic study combined with low temperature thermo-chronology to analyse the tectonic and exhumation history. The results show that the Late Palaeozoic - Triassic Indosinian orogeny created successive phases of burial related metamorphism, shearing and contractional deformation. This orogenic structure was subsequently dismembered during a Cretaceous thermal event that culminated in the formation of a large scale Late Santonian - Early Maastrichtian extensional detachment, genetically associated with crustal melting, the emplacement of syn-kinematic plutons and widespread migmatisation. The emplacement of these magmatic rocks led to an array of simultaneously formed structures that document deformation conditions over a wide temperature range, represented by amphibolite- and greenschist- facies mylonites and as well as brittle structures, such as cataclastic zones and normal faults that formed during exhumation in the footwall of the detachment. The formation of this detachment and a first phase of Late Cretaceous cooling was followed by renewed Eocene - Oligocene exhumation, as evidenced from our fission track ages. We infer that an initial Cretaceous thermal anomaly was responsible for the formation of an extensional gneiss dome associated with simple shear and rotation of normal faults. These Cretaceous processes played a critical role in the establishment of the presently observed crustal structure of Peninsular Malaysia.
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Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Žítt, Jiří; Vodrážka, R.; Hradecká, L.; Svobodová, Marcela; Šťastný, Martin; Švábenická, L.
2015-01-01
Roč. 56, September/December (2015), s. 293-315 ISSN 0195-6671 Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : phosphatic particle accumulations * organic matter * micropalaeontology * biostratigraphy * condensed sedimentation * Upper Cretaceous Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 2.196, year: 2015
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Sierra-Rojas, M. I.; Molina-Garza, R. S.; Lawton, T. F.
2015-12-01
The Lower Cretaceous depositional systems of southwestern Oaxaquia, in south-central Mexico, were controlled by tectonic processes related to the instauration of a continental arc and the accretion of the Guerrero arc to mainland Mexico. The Atzompa Formation refers to a succession of conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, and limestone that crop out in southwestern Mexico with Early Cretaceous fauna and detrital zircon maximum depositional ages. The sedimentary record shows a transition from early fluvial/alluvial to shallow marine depositional environments. The first stage corresponds to juvenile fluvial/alluvial setting followed by a deep lacustrine depositional environment, suggesting the early stages of an extensional basin. The second stage is characterized by anabranched deposits of axial fluvial systems flowing to the NE-SE, showing deposition during a period of rapid subsidence. The third and final stage is made of tidal deposits followed, in turn, by abrupt marine flooding of the basin and development of a Barremian-Aptian carbonate ramp. We interpret the Tentzo basin as a response to crustal extension in a back-arc setting, with high rates of sedimentation in the early stages of the basin (3-4 mm/m.y), slower rates during the development of starved fluvial to tidal systems and carbonate ramps, and at the top of the Atzompa Formation an abrupt deepening of the basin due to flexural subsidence related to terrane docking and attendant thrusting to the west. These events were recorded in the back-arc region of a continental convergent margin (Zicapa arc) where syn-sedimentary magmatism is indicated by Early Cretaceous detrital and volcanic clasts from alluvial fan facies west of the basin. Finally, and as a response to the accretion of the Guerrero superterrane to Oaxaquia during the Aptian, a carbonate platform facing toward the Gulf of Mexico was established in central to eastern Oaxaquia.
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Ślączka, Andrzej; Gasiñski, M. Adam; Bąk, Marta; Wessely, Godfrid
2009-04-01
Investigations were carried out on foraminiferids and radiolaria from redeposited clasts within the conglomerates of the Konradsheim Formation (Gresten Klippen Zone) in the area of the Pöchlau hill, east of Maria Neustift. These shales and marls are of Middle to Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous age. In the latter clasts, foraminiferal assemblages with Tritaxia ex gr. gaultina as well as radiolaria species Angulobracchia portmanni Baumgartner, Dictyomitra communis (Squinabol), Hiscocapsa asseni (Tan), Pseudodictyomitra lodogaensis Pessagno, Pseudoeucyrtis hanni (Tan), Rhopalosyringium fossile (Squinabol) were found. In one block from the uppermost part of the sequence there is an assemblage with Caudammina (H) gigantea, Rotalipora appenninica and Globotruncana bulloides. However, the brecciated character of this block and occurrence near a fault suggest that it was probably wedged into the conglomerates of the Konradsheim Formation during tectonic movements. In pelitic siliceous limestones below the Konradsheim Limestone radiolarian assemblages of Middle Callovian to Early Tithonian age were found. They enable correlation with the Scheibbsbach Formation. In a marly sequence, above the conglomeratic limestone, the foraminiferal assemblages contain taxa from mid-Cretaceous up to Paleocene. The present biostratigraphic investigation confirmed the previous stratigraphic assignments and imply clearly that the sedimentation of deposits similar to the Konradsheim Formation also occurred at the end of the Early Cretaceous and deposition of conglomeratic limestones within the Gresten Klippen Zone, and especially within the Konradsheim Formation, was repeated several times during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous.
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Heba, Grigor; Prichonnet, Gilbert; El Albani, Abderrazak
2009-04-01
In the central part of the Kruja Platform (Albania) located in the Apulian passive margin, geochemical analyses (calcimetry, Sr, REE and isotopic, δ13C and δ18O) coupled with sedimentological and sequence stratigraphic study were carried out on Upper Cretaceous (CsB4, CsB5, CsB6 Biozones) and Paleocene to Middle Eocene shallow-water carbonates that crop out in the Kruje-Dajt massif (L'Escalier section) and Makareshi massif (La Route section). The lower values in Sr contents, the homogeneous δ18O values in both sections and the covariance between δ13C and δ18O values (La Route section) are attributed to diagenesis influence by a meteoric water-buffer system, supported by petrographic observations. Moreover, a new exposure surface during the Late Cretaceous time (between CsB5 and CsB6 Biozones) may be proposed according to the low or negative excursions of Sr values, the negative excursions of isotopic values in both sections and a positive peak of normalized REE values (La Route section). These variations correlate with the geochemical signal reported by the decreasing strontium isotope values of rudist shells in the Island of Brač carbonate platform (Apulia domain) during the late Middle Campanian (77.3 Ma). Also, this continental exposure is consistent with the global sea-level fall reported from the Boreal Realm, North Atlantic, and the southern Tethyan margin. This geochemical evidence is a complementary tool for the sedimentological analysis and suggests a maximum regression (a sea-level fall) at the transition between the CsB5 and CsB6 Biozones. The high values of Sr content in Middle Eocene carbonates (L'Escalier section) reflect changes in depositional environment from restricted to open marine conditions. REE values increase through transgressive systems tract, characterized by small increase of detrital input. However, anomalies of certain values in both sections suggest disturbances linked either to the changes in clay input and to diagenetic
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Do Campo, Margarita; Bauluz, Blanca; del Papa, Cecilia; White, Timothy; Yuste, Alfonso; Mayayo, Maria Jose
2018-06-01
The continental Paleocene-Eocene sequence investigated in this study belongs to the Salta Group, deposited in an intracontinental rift, the Salta Basin (NW Argentina), that evolved from the lower Cretaceous to the middle Paleogene, and is subdivided into the Pirgua, the Balbuena and the Santa Barbara Subgroups. The Maíz Gordo Formation (200 m thick) is the middle unit of the Santa Bárbara Subgroup, deposited during late post-rift sedimentation. We studied the mineralogy of fine-grained horizons of this formation by X-ray diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) in order to examine the connection between vertical changes in clay mineralogy in alluvial sediments and paleosols, and global paleoclimatic changes registered during the Paleogene. Paleosols vary from calcic vertisols in the lowermost levels, to inseptisols and gleysols in intermediate positions, to gleyed oxisols in the upper section, indicating increased chemical weathering through time. Clay mineral relative abundances vary with a general increase in kaolinite content from bottom to top. However, at one site there are significant variations in kaolinite/muscovite (Kln/Ms) that define five cycles of kaolinite abundance and Kln/Ms. that indicate cyclic patterns of paleoprecipitation and paleotemperature. These are interpreted as several short-lived hyperthermals during the Paleocene-early Eocene in the Southern Hemisphere, which correlate with well-established episodes of warmth documented from the Northern Hemisphere.
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Cretaceous extinctions - Evidence for wildfires and search for meteoritic material
Wolbach, W. S.; Lewis, R. S.; Anders, E.
1985-01-01
The results of analyses of the contents of deposits in the Cretaceous-Ternary (K-T) transition at three sites worldwide are discussed. The study was undertaken to examine the composition of the object which may have struck the earth, causing widespread biotic extinction. The data indicate that most of the parent body was destroyed on impact, a condition which would also hold true for comets, suggesting that comets were not a source of prebiotic life. A four-orders-of-magnitude excess of carbon in the K-T layer is considered in terms of its source, which is suspected to be deposits from wildfires. The consequent extinctions of species are regarded as possibly making the current nuclear winter scenarios too optimistic.
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Dinosaur Footprints and Other Ichnofauna from the Cretaceous Kem Kem Beds of Morocco
Ibrahim, Nizar; Varricchio, David J.; Sereno, Paul C.; Wilson, Jeff A.; Dutheil, Didier B.; Martill, David M.; Baidder, Lahssen; Zouhri, Samir
2014-01-01
We describe an extensive ichnofossil assemblage from the likely Cenomanian-age ‘lower’ and ‘upper’ units of the ‘Kem Kem beds’ in southeastern Morocco. In the lower unit, trace fossils include narrow vertical burrows in cross-bedded sandstones and borings in dinosaur bone, with the latter identified as the insect ichnotaxon Cubiculum ornatus. In the upper unit, several horizons preserve abundant footprints from theropod dinosaurs. Sauropod and ornithischian footprints are much rarer, similar to the record for fossil bone and teeth in the Kem Kem assemblage. The upper unit also preserves a variety of invertebrate traces including Conichnus (the resting trace of a sea-anemone), Scolicia (a gastropod trace), Beaconites (a probable annelid burrow), and subvertical burrows likely created by crabs for residence and detrital feeding on a tidal flat. The ichnofossil assemblage from the Upper Cretaceous Kem Kem beds contributes evidence for a transition from predominantly terrestrial to marine deposition. Body fossil and ichnofossil records together provide a detailed view of faunal diversity and local conditions within a fluvial and deltaic depositional setting on the northwestern coast of Africa toward the end of the Cretaceous. PMID:24603467
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hesse, S.L.; Dunagan, J.F. Jr.
1978-02-01
This report presents an evaluation of the uranium favorability of continental sediments of the Upper Cretaceous Lance, Paleocene Polecat Bench, and lower Eocene Willwood Formations in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming and Montana, an intermontane structural basin of Laramide age. Previous work dealing with the Bighorn Basin was reviewed, and field investigations were carried out in the spring and summer of 1976. Subsurface data were collected and results of surface and subsurface investigations were evaluated with respect to uranium favorability. Precambrian plutonic and metamorphic rocks and Tertiary tuffaceous rocks in the Bighorn Basin and bordering uplifts are considered insignificant as source rocks, although the Wiggins Formation (White River equivalent) cannot be evaluated as a possible source because of a lack of data. Potential host rocks locally show only limited favorability. Lithology of strata exposed along the western and southern basin margins is more favorable than that of rocks in the central and eastern parts of the basin, but there is little organic material, pyrite, or other reducing agents in these rocks. Strata of the Lance, Polecat Bench, and Willwood Formations in the Bighorn Basin are considered generally unfavorable for sandstone uranium deposits
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Environment of deposition of the Awgu Formation (Late Cretaceous ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
PROMOTING ACCESS TO AFRICAN RESEARCH ... The Awgu Formation is a linear NE-SW trending sedimentary deposit ... in the fine arenaceous facies, suggest a shallow marine depositional environment not exceeding 50 m water depth. ... Senegal (6); Sierra Leone (1); South Africa (96); South Sudan (1); Sudan (3) ...
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Rudmin, Maxim; Banerjee, Santanu; Mazurov, Aleksey
2017-06-01
Glauconite occurs either as unaltered greenish or as altered brownish variety in Upper Cretaceous-Palaeocene sediments in the southeastern corner of Western Siberia. Studied section within the Bakchar iron-ore deposit includes Ipatovo, Slavgorod, Gan'kino and Lyulinvor formations, which are represented by sandstones, siltstones, claystones and oolitic ironstones of coastal-marine facies. The origin of unaltered glauconite is explained by the ;verdissement theory;. Transgressions during Lower Coniacian, Santonian and Campanian favored the formation of unaltered glauconites in dysoxic to anoxic conditions. Subaerial exposure of glauconite resulted in leaching of potassium, oxidation of iron and formation of iron hydroxides in Upper Coniacian, Maastrichtian and Palaeocene. Glauconite ultimately converts to leptochlorite and hydrogoethite by this alteration. Abundant microscopic gold inclusions, besides sulphides, sulphates, oxides and silicates characterize this glauconite. Mineral inclusions include precious, rare metals and non-ferrous metals. The concentration of gold in glauconite may be as high as 42.9 ppb. Abundant inclusions of various compositions in glauconites indicate enrichment of marine sediments in precious and non-precious metals. While major element composition of glauconites is affected by subaerial exposure, the broadly similar micro-inclusions in both altered and unaltered varieties are possibly related to the comparatively immobile nature of REE and trace elements.
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Farke, Andrew A; Phillips, George E
2017-01-01
Ceratopsids ("horned dinosaurs") are known from western North America and Asia, a distribution reflecting an inferred subaerial link between the two landmasses during the Late Cretaceous. However, this clade was previously unknown from eastern North America, presumably due to limited outcrop of the appropriate age and depositional environment as well as the separation of eastern and western North America by the Western Interior Seaway during much of the Late Cretaceous. A dentary tooth from the Owl Creek Formation (late Maastrichtian) of Union County, Mississippi, represents the first reported occurrence of Ceratopsidae from eastern North America. This tooth shows a combination of features typical of Ceratopsidae, including a double root and a prominent, blade-like carina. Based on the age of the fossil, we hypothesize that it is consistent with a dispersal of ceratopsids into eastern North America during the very latest Cretaceous, presumably after the two halves of North America were reunited following the retreat of the Western Interior Seaway.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Andrew A. Farke
2017-05-01
Full Text Available Ceratopsids (“horned dinosaurs” are known from western North America and Asia, a distribution reflecting an inferred subaerial link between the two landmasses during the Late Cretaceous. However, this clade was previously unknown from eastern North America, presumably due to limited outcrop of the appropriate age and depositional environment as well as the separation of eastern and western North America by the Western Interior Seaway during much of the Late Cretaceous. A dentary tooth from the Owl Creek Formation (late Maastrichtian of Union County, Mississippi, represents the first reported occurrence of Ceratopsidae from eastern North America. This tooth shows a combination of features typical of Ceratopsidae, including a double root and a prominent, blade-like carina. Based on the age of the fossil, we hypothesize that it is consistent with a dispersal of ceratopsids into eastern North America during the very latest Cretaceous, presumably after the two halves of North America were reunited following the retreat of the Western Interior Seaway.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Waight, Tod Earle; Scott, James M.; van der Meer, Quinten Har Adriaan
2013-01-01
The greater New Zealand region, known as Zealandia, represents an amalgamation of crustal fragments accreted to the paleo-Pacific Gondwana margin and which underwent significant thinning during the subsequent split from Australia and Antarctica in the mid-Cretaceous following opening of the Tasma...... Sea and the Southern Ocean. We present Sr, Nd and Pb isotopes and laser ablation trace element data for a comprehensive suite of clinopyroxene separates from spinel peridotite xenoliths (lherzolite to harzburgite) from the sub-continental lithospheric mantle across southern New Zealand...... composition, age or geographical separation. These isotopic compositions indicate that the sub-continental lithospheric mantle under southern New Zealand has a regionally distinct and pervasive FOZO to HIMU – like signature. The isotopic signatures are also similar to those of the alkaline magmas...... that transported the xenoliths and suggest that most of the HIMU signature observed in the volcanics could be derived from a major source component in the sub-continental lithospheric mantle. Trace element abundances in clinopyroxene are highly heterogeneous and vary from LREE-enriched, relatively flat and MORB...
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Allibon, J.; Monjoie, P.; Lapierre, H.; Jaillard, E.; Bussy, F.; Bosch, D.; Senebier, F.
2008-12-01
The eastern part of the Cordillera Occidental of Ecuador comprises thick buoyant oceanic plateaus associated with island-arc tholeiites and subduction-related calc-alkaline series, accreted to the Ecuadorian Continental Margin from Late Cretaceous to Eocene times. One of these plateau sequences, the Guaranda Oceanic Plateau is considered as remnant of the Caribbean-Colombian Oceanic Province (CCOP) accreted to the Ecuadorian Margin in the Maastrichtien. Samples studied in this paper were taken from four cross-sections through two arc-sequences in the northern part of the Cordillera Occidental of Ecuador, dated as (Río Cala) or ascribed to (Macuchi) the Late Cretaceous and one arc-like sequence in the Chogòn-Colonche Cordillera (Las Orquídeas). These three island-arcs can clearly be identified and rest conformably on the CCOP. In all four localities, basalts with abundant large clinopyroxene phenocrysts can be found, mimicking a picritic or ankaramitic facies. This mineralogical particularity, although not uncommon in island arc lavas, hints at a contribution of the CCOP in the genesis of these island arc rocks. The complete petrological and geochemical study of these rocks reveals that some have a primitive island-arc nature (MgO values range from 6 to 11 wt.%). Studied samples display marked Nb, Ta and Ti negative anomalies relative to the adjacent elements in the spidergrams characteristic of subduction-related magmatism. These rocks are LREE-enriched and their clinopyroxenes show a tholeiitic affinity (FeO T-TiO 2 enrichment and CaO depletion from core to rim within a single crystal). The four sampled cross-sections through the island-arc sequences display homogeneous initial Nd, and Pb isotope ratios that suggest a unique mantellic source for these rocks resulting from the mixing of three components: an East-Pacific MORB end-member, an enriched pelagic sediment component, and a HIMU component carried by the CCOP. Indeed, the ankaramite and Mg
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Nature, diversity of deposit types and metallogenic relations of South China
Zaw, K.; Peters, S.G.; Cromie, P.; Burrett, C.; Hou, Z.
2007-01-01
The South China Region is rich in mineral resources and has a wide diversity of deposit types. The region has undergone multiple tectonic and magmatic events and related metallogenic processes throughout the earth history. These tectonic and metallogenic processes were responsible for the formation of the diverse styles of base and precious metal deposits in South China making it one of the resource-rich regions in the world. During the Proterozoic, the South China Craton was characterised by rifting of continental margin before eruption of submarine volcanics and development of platform carbonate rocks, and the formation of VHMS, stratabound copper and MVT deposits. The Phanerozoic metallogeny of South China was related to opening and closing of the Tethyan Ocean involving multiple orogenies by subduction, back-arc rifting, arc-continent collision and post-collisional extension during the Indosinian (Triassic), Yanshanian (Jurassic to Cretaceous) and Himalayan (Tertiary) Orogenies. The Late Palaeozoic was a productive metallogenic period for South China resulting from break-up and rifting of Gondwana. Significant stratabound base and precious metal deposits were formed during the Devonian and Carboniferous (e.g., Fankou and Dabaoshan deposits). These Late Palaeozoic SEDEX-style deposits have been often overprinted by skarn systems associated with Yanshanian magmatism (e.g., Chengmenshan, Dongguashan and Qixiashan). A number of Late Palaeozoic to Early Mesozoic VHMS deposits also developed in the Sanjiang fold belt in the western part of South China (e.g., Laochang and Gacun). South China has significant sedimentary rock-hosted Carlin-like deposits, which occur in the Devonian- to Triassic-aged accretionary wedge or rift basins at the margin of the South China Craton. They are present in a region at the junction of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi Provinces called the 'Southern Golden Triangle', and are also present in NW Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi, in an area known as
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Houseknecht, D.W.; Bird, K.J.; Schenk, C.J.
2009-01-01
Lower Cretaceous strata beneath the Alaska North Slope include clinoform depositional sequences that filled the western Colville foreland basin and overstepped the Beaufort rift shoulder. Analysis of Albian clinoform sequences with two-dimensional (2D) seismic data resulted in the recognition of seismic facies inferred to represent lowstand, transgressive and highstand systems tracts. These are stacked to produce shelf-margin trajectories that appear in low-resolution seismic data to alternate between aggradational and progradational. Higher-resolution seismic data reveal shelf-margin trajectories that are more complex, particularly in net-aggradational areas, where three patterns commonly are observed: (1) a negative (downward) step across the sequence boundary followed by mostly aggradation in the lowstand systems tract (LST), (2) a positive (upward) step across the sequence boundary followed by mostly progradation in the LST and (3) an upward backstep across a mass-failure d??collement. These different shelf-margin trajectories are interpreted as (1) fall of relative sea level below the shelf edge, (2) fall of relative sea level to above the shelf edge and (3) mass-failure removal of shelf-margin sediment. Lowstand shelf margins mapped using these criteria are oriented north-south in the foreland basin, indicating longitudinal filling from west to east. The shelf margins turn westward in the north, where the clinoform depositional system overstepped the rift shoulder, and turn eastward in the south, suggesting progradation of depositional systems from the ancestral Brooks Range into the foredeep. Lowstand shelf-margin orientations are consistently perpendicular to clinoform-foreset-dip directions. Although the Albian clinoform sequences of the Alaska North Slope are generally similar in stratal geometry to clinoform sequences elsewhere, they are significantly thicker. Clinoform-sequence thickness ranges from 600-1000 m in the north to 1700-2000 m in the south
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Jin, Haofei; Yonezawa, Takahiro; Zhong, Yang; Kishino, Hirohisa; Hasegawa, Masami
2017-03-17
The giant rhinoceros beetles (Dynastini, Scarabaeidae, Coleoptera) are distributed in tropical and temperate regions in Asia, America and Africa. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies have revealed that the giant rhinoceros beetles can be divided into three clades representing Asia, America and Africa. Although a correlation between their evolution and the continental drift during the Pangean breakup was suggested, there is no accurate divergence time estimation among the three clades based on molecular data. Moreover, there is a long chronological gap between the timing of the Pangean breakup (Cretaceous: 110-148 Ma) and the emergence of the oldest fossil record (Oligocene: 33 Ma). In this study, we estimated their divergence times based on molecular data, using several combinations of fossil calibration sets, and obtained robust estimates. The inter-continental divergence events among the clades were estimated to have occurred about 99 Ma (Asian clade and others) and 78 Ma (American clade and African clade), both of which are after the Pangean breakup. These estimates suggest their inter-continental divergences occurred by overseas sweepstakes dispersal, rather than by vicariances of the population caused by the Pangean breakup.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Kalaitzidis, Stavros; Siavalas, George; Christanis, Kimon [Dept. of Geology, University of Patras, 26504 Rio-Patras (Greece); Skarpelis, Nikos [Dept. of Geology and Geoenvironment, University of Athens, 15784 Zografou (Greece); Araujo, Carla Viviane [Petrobras-Cenpes GEOQ/PDEXP, Rua Horacio Macedo n 950, Cidade Universitaria - Ilha do Fundao, 21941-915 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
2010-04-01
The Pera-Lakkos coal located on top of bauxite deposits in the Ghiona mining district (Central Greece), is the only known Mesozoic (Late Cretaceous) coal in the country. It was derived from herbaceous plants and algae growing in mildly brackish mires that formed behind a barrier system during a regression of the sea, on a karstified limestone partly filled in with bauxitic detritus. Petrological, mineralogical and geochemical data point to the predominance of reducing conditions and intense organic matter degradation in the palaeomires. O/C vs. H/C and OI vs. HI plots, based on elemental analysis and Rock-Eval data, characterize kerogen types I/II. This reflects the relatively high liptinite content of the coal. Besides kerogen composition, O/C vs. H/C plot for the Pera-Lakkos coals is in accordance with a catagenesis stage of maturation in contrast with vitrinite reflectance and T{sub max} from Rock-Eval pyrolysis, which indicate the onset of oil window maturation stage. Suppression of vitrinite reflectance should be considered and the high liptinite content corroborates this hypothesis. Despite some favourable aspects for petroleum generation presented by the Pera-Lakkos coal, its maximum thickness (up to 50 cm) points to a restricted potential for petroleum generation. Coal oxidation took place either during the late stage of peat formation, due to wave action accompanying the subsequent marine transgression, or epigenetically after the emergence of the whole sequence due to percolation of drainage waters. Both options are also supported by the REE shale-normalized profiles, which demonstrate an upwards depletion in the coal layer. Oxidation also affected pyrite included in the coal; this led to the formation of acidic (sulfate-rich) solutions, which percolated downwards resulting in bleaching of the upper part of the underlying bauxite. (author)
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Wu, T. J.; Jahn, B. M.
2017-12-01
Adakitic rocks of the Sikhote-Alin area were emplaced during two main periods: the Cretaceous (132-98 Ma) and Eocene (46-39 Ma). These rocks primarily occur in the Khanka Block and, less commonly, in the Sikhote-Alin Orogenic Belt. The adakitic rocks record the following chemical compositions: SiO2 = 57-74%, Al2O3 = 15-18%, Na2O = 3.5-6.1%, K2O = 0.7-3.2%, Na2O/K2O = 1.1-3.9, Sr/Y = 33-145, and (La/Yb)N = 11-53. The HREE and HFSE in these rocks are remarkably depleted. The Early Cretaceous adakites record ɛNd(T) = -1.0 to +3.2 and ISr = 0.7040-0.7090, and the Eocene adakitic rocks record Nd(T) = -2.0 to +2.2 and ISr = 0.7042-0.7058. Adakitic features suggest different modes of magma generation; a comparison of the Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios and geochemical data on Harker diagrams between the two periods of adakitic rocks reveals differences in their petrogenesis. The Cretaceous adakites may have been generated by the partial melting of meta-basic rocks in a subduction zone, accompanied by the emplacement of volcanic arc granitoids. Therefore, the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate beneath the Sikhote-Alin was probably initiated during this time. The Eocene rocks, which record increasing adakitic features with increasing silica content, are most likely the product of andesite that underwent fractionation of mineral assemblage including clinopyoxene, orthopyroxene, garnet and amphibole. These rocks and associated basalts and rhyolite were formed after Cretaceous arc magmatism in the Sikhote-Alin area and were most likely generated by rollback of the subducting Pacific Plate after the Eocene. Abundant adakitic granitoids of Early Cretaceous and Eocene age occur in the Kitakami and Abukuma Mountains of NE Japan. Consequently, it is highly probable that a geological correlation existed between Sikhote-Alin and North Japan, particularly before the opening of the Japan Sea.
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Burial, Uplift and Exhumation History of the Atlantic Margin of NE Brazil
Japsen, Peter; Bonow, Johan M.; Green, Paul F.; Cobbold, Peter R.; Chiossi, Dario; Lilletveit, Ragnhild
2010-05-01
We have undertaken a regional study of landscape development and thermo-tectonic evo-lution of NE Brazil. Our results reveal a long history of post-Devonian burial and exhuma-tion across NE Brazil. Uplift movements just prior to and during Early Cretaceous rifting led to further regional denudation, to filling of rift basins and finally to formation of the Atlantic margin. The rifted margin was buried by a km-thick post-rift section, but exhumation began in the Late Cretaceous as a result of plate-scale forces. The Cretaceous cover probably extended over much of NE Brazil where it is still preserved over extensive areas. The Late Cretaceous exhumation event was followed by events in the Paleogene and Neogene. The results of these events of uplift and exhumation are two regional peneplains that form steps in the landscape. The plateaux in the interior highlands are defined by the Higher Surface at c. 1 km above sea level. This surface formed by fluvial erosion after the Late Cretaceous event - and most likely after the Paleogene event - and thus formed as a Paleogene pene-plain near sea level. This surface was reburied prior to the Neogene event, in the interior by continental deposits and along the Atlantic margin by marine and coastal deposits. Neo-gene uplift led to reexposure of the Palaeogene peneplain and to formation of the Lower Surface by incision along rivers below the uplifted Higher Surface that characterise the pre-sent landscape. Our results show that the elevated landscapes along the Brazilian margin formed during the Neogene, c. 100 Myr after break-up. Studies in West Greenland have demonstrated that similar landscapes formed during the late Neogene, c. 50 Myr after break-up. Many passive continental margins around the world are characterised by such elevated plateaus and it thus seems possible, even likely, that they may also post-date rifting and continental separation by many Myr.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Philippe, S.; Lancelot, J.R.; Girod, M.; Mercadier, H.; Villemaire, C.
1987-01-01
The U deposits of Novazza and Val Vedello are located close to the unconformity with the South-Alpine basement. The ignimbrites adjacent to the Novazza deposit have undergone a pervasive hydrothermal alteration. For this deposit, the study of the micas provides crystallization temperatures ranging from 540 0 C to 350 0 C. These micas do not show a zonal distribution with respect to the mineralized bodies. In the neighbouring barren basin, the mica crystallization temperatures at 200 0 C suggest a post-magmatic evolution very different. The U-Pb data on zircons were made for ignimbrites collected in the Novazza mine and in the barren basin. They allow to propose a multi-episodic evolution model taking into account a mixing of two populations of zircons: a small amount of Precambrian zircons located in basement xenoliths within the ignimbrites, and a large proportion of zircons having crystallized in the ignimbrites, which are supposed to have been emplaced about 280 My ago. The U-Pb data suggest a phase of U concentration, during Cretaceous times. For each deposit, this age does not seem to be related to the ages of fault motions. Different hypothesis concerning the genesis of Novazza and Val Vedello deposits are discussed which take into account the paleotemperature data on micas, the ore paragenesis and the U-Pb data obtained on U-mineralizations [fr
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Zhong, Yuan; Zhou, Lu; Tan, Xiucheng; Guo, Rui; Zhao, Limin; Li, Fei; Jin, Zhimin; Chen, Yantao
2018-04-01
As one of the most important carbonate targets in the Middle East, Upper Cretaceous Mishrif Formation has been highlighted for a long time. Although consensus has been reached on the overall sedimentary background, disputes still exist in understanding the sedimentary environment changes among sub-regions due to relatively limited research, rare outcrop, and incomplete drilled core, which hinders the analysis on sedimentary environment and thus the horizontal and vertical correlation. In this study, taking the Halfaya Oil Field as an example, the sedimentary microfacies analysis method was introduced to comprehensively characterize the cored interval of Mishrif Formation, including Single Layers MC1-1 to MA2. A total of 11 sedimentary microfacies are identified through system identification of sedimentary microfacies and environmental analysis, with reference to the standard microfacies classification in the rimmed carbonate platform. Then three kinds of environments are identified through microfacies assemblage analysis, namely restricted platform, open platform, and platform margin. Systematic analyses indicate that the deposits are mainly developed in the open platform and platform margin. Meanwhile, rock-electricity interpretation model is established according to the electricity response to cored intervals, and is then employed to interpret the uncored intervals, which finally helps build the sedimentary evolution pattern through horizontal and vertical correlation. It is proposed that the Single Layers MC1-1 to MB2-3 were deposited in the open platform featured by low water level, including sub-environments of low-energy shoal within platform and inter-shoal sea; Single Layers MB2-2 to MB1-2B were deposited in the open platform and platform margin, including sub-environments of high-energy shoal on the platform margin, low-energy shoal within platform, inter-shoal sea, and open sea; and Single Layers MB1-2A to MA2 were again deposited in the open platform
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Tracing the Source of Borneo's Cempaka Diamond Deposit
White, L. T.; Graham, I.; Armstrong, R. A.; Hall, R.
2014-12-01
Several gem quality diamond deposits are found in paleo-alluvial deposits across Borneo. The source of the diamonds and their origin are enigmatic. They could have formed in Borneo and be derived from local sources, or they could be related to diamond deposits in NW Australia, and carried with the Southwest Borneo Block after it rifted from Australia in the Late Jurassic. We collected U-Pb isotopic data from detrital zircons from the Cempaka alluvial diamond deposit in southeast Borneo. Two thirds of the zircons that were dated crystallized between 75 Ma and 110 Ma. The other third are Triassic or older (223 Ma, 314-319 Ma, 353-367 Ma, 402-414 Ma, 474 Ma, 521 Ma, 549 Ma, 1135-1176 Ma, 1535 Ma, 2716 Ma). All of the Cretaceous zircons are angular, euhedral grains with minor evidence of mechanical abrasion. Considering their age and morphology they were likely derived from the nearby Schwaner Granites. The Triassic and older grains are rounded to semi-rounded and were likely derived from Australia before Borneo rifted from Gondwana. Some of the zircons have ages that resemble those of the Merlin and Argyle diamond deposits of Australia. The diamonds themselves have delicate resorption features and overgrowths that would potentially be destroyed with prolonged transport. Geochemical data collected from the diamonds implies they were associated with lamproite intrusions. Deep seismic lines and zircons from igneous rocks suggest SE Borneo, the East Java Sea and East Java are largely underlain by thick lithosphere rifted from NW Australia. Based on several lines of evidence, we propose that diamond-bearing lamproites intruded before rifting of SW Borneo from Australia, or after collision with Sundaland of SW Borneo and the East Java-West Sulawesi Blocks during the Cretaceous. Exposure of the source after the Late Cretaceous led to diamond accumulation in river systems that flowed from the Schwaner Mountains.
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Late-stage development of the Bryant Canyon turbidite pathway on the Louisiana continental slope
Twichell, David C.; Nelson, Hans; Damuth, John E.
2000-01-01
GLORIA sidescan imagery, multibeam bathymetry, seismic profiles, and piston cores (3–5 m penetration) reveal the near-surface geology of the Bryant Canyon turbidite pathway on the continental margin of Louisiana. This pathway extends from the continental shelf edge, across the continental slope, to a deep-sea fan on the continental rise. The pathway is narrow (thalweg no longer has a continuous down-slope gradient. Some mini-basin floors along the pathway are now more than 500 m deeper than their basin’s spill point. We propose a 6-stage conceptual model to explain our observations for the evolution of a mini-basin along this turbidite pathway. In this model, an active channel feeds sand to a mini-basin (Stabe B). Once the mini-basin is filled, the sand deposit is entrenched by a bypass channel (Stage C). When the turbidite system shuts off, salt migration oversteepens the mini-basin walls (Stage D) which collapse and create a layer of mass-transport deposits on the mini-basin floor (Stage E). The depositional succession is capped by a layer of highstand hemipelagic drape (Stage F). The Bryant Canyon turbidite pathway provides a recent example of a large turbidite pathway in the Gulf of Mexico that crosses an area of active salt tectonics thus providing a conceptual model for older systems in similar settings. In Bryant Canyon, thick turbidite sands presumably are found in mini-basins however, they are sealed by thick, fine-grained, mass-transport deposits which terminate mini-basin turbidite deposition cycles. The importance of mass-transport deposits in basins along this turbidite pathway is in startling contrast to the Trinity-Brazos pathway whose shallow subsurface expression is virtually free of mass-transport deposits and has undergone minimal deformation by salt movement.
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Biogeography of worm lizards (Amphisbaenia) driven by end-Cretaceous mass extinction.
Longrich, Nicholas R; Vinther, Jakob; Pyron, R Alexander; Pisani, Davide; Gauthier, Jacques A
2015-05-07
Worm lizards (Amphisbaenia) are burrowing squamates that live as subterranean predators. Their underground existence should limit dispersal, yet they are widespread throughout the Americas, Europe and Africa. This pattern was traditionally explained by continental drift, but molecular clocks suggest a Cenozoic diversification, long after the break-up of Pangaea, implying dispersal. Here, we describe primitive amphisbaenians from the North American Palaeocene, including the oldest known amphisbaenian, and provide new and older molecular divergence estimates for the clade, showing that worm lizards originated in North America, then radiated and dispersed in the Palaeogene following the Cretaceous-Palaeogene (K-Pg) extinction. This scenario implies at least three trans-oceanic dispersals: from North America to Europe, from North America to Africa and from Africa to South America. Amphisbaenians provide a striking case study in biogeography, suggesting that the role of continental drift in biogeography may be overstated. Instead, these patterns support Darwin and Wallace's hypothesis that the geographical ranges of modern clades result from dispersal, including oceanic rafting. Mass extinctions may facilitate dispersal events by eliminating competitors and predators that would otherwise hinder establishment of dispersing populations, removing biotic barriers to dispersal. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.
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Modern sedimentary processes along the Doce river adjacent continental shelf
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Valéria da Silva Quaresma
Full Text Available In areas of the continental shelf where sediment supply is greater than the sediment dispersion capacity, an extensive terrigenous deposits and consequently submerged deltas can be formed. The Eastern Brazilian shelf is characterized by the occurrence of river feed deltas in between starving coasts. Herein, modern sedimentary processes acting along the Doce river adjacent continental shelf are investigated. The main objective was to understand the shelf sediment distribution, recognizing distinct sedimentary patterns and the major influence of river sediment discharge in the formation of shelf deposits. The study used 98 surficial samples that were analyzed for grain size, composition and bulk density. Results revealed 3 distinct sectors: south - dominated by mud fraction with a recent deposition from riverine input until 30 m deep and from this depth bioclastic sands dominate; central north - sand mud dominated, been recognized as a bypass zone of resuspended sediment during high energy events; and north - relict sands with high carbonate content. The modern sedimentation processes along the Doce river continental shelf is dominated by distinct sedimentary regimes, showing a strong fluvial influence associated with wave/wind induced sediment dispersion and a carbonate regime along the outer shelf. These regimes seem to be controlled by the distance from the river mouth and bathymetric gradients.
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Huang, Wentao; van Hinsbergen, Douwe J. J.; Dekkers, Mark J.; Garzanti, Eduardo; Dupont-Nivet, Guillaume; Lippert, Peter C.; Li, Xiaochun; Maffione, Marco; Langereis, Cor G.; Hu, Xiumian; Guo, Zhaojie; Kapp, Paul
2015-01-01
The Tibetan Himalaya represents the northernmost continental unit of the Indian plate that collided with Asia in the Cenozoic. Paleomagnetic studies on the Tibetan Himalaya can help constrain the dimension and paleogeography of "Greater India," the Indian plate lithosphere that subducted and underthrusted below Asia after initial collision. Here we present a paleomagnetic investigation of a Jurassic (limestones) and Lower Cretaceous (volcaniclastic sandstones) section of the Tibetan Himalaya. The limestones yielded positive fold test, showing a prefolding origin of the isolated remanent magnetizations. Detailed paleomagnetic analyses, rock magnetic tests, end-member modeling of acquisition curves of isothermal remanent magnetization, and petrographic investigation reveal that the magnetic carrier of the Jurassic limestones is authigenic magnetite, whereas the dominant magnetic carrier of the Lower Cretaceous volcaniclastic sandstones is detrital magnetite. Our observations lead us to conclude that the Jurassic limestones record a prefolding remagnetization, whereas the Lower Cretaceous volcaniclastic sandstones retain a primary remanence. The volcaniclastic sandstones yield an Early Cretaceous paleolatitude of 55.5°S [52.5°S, 58.6°S] for the Tibetan Himalaya, suggesting it was part of the Indian continent at that time. The size of "Greater India" during Jurassic time cannot be estimated from these limestones. Instead, a paleolatitude of the Tibetan Himalaya of 23.8°S [21.8°S, 26.1°S] during the remagnetization process is suggested. It is likely that the remagnetization, caused by the oxidation of early diagenetic pyrite to magnetite, was induced during 103-83 or 77-67 Ma. The inferred paleolatitudes at these two time intervals imply very different tectonic consequences for the Tibetan Himalaya.
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Zhao, Pan; Jahn, Bor-ming; Xu, Bei
2017-09-01
The Sikhote-Alin Orogenic Belt in Russian Far East is an important Late Mesozoic to Early Cenozoic accretionary orogen related to the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate. This belt was generated by successive accretion of terranes made of accretionary prisms, turbidite basins and island arcs to the continental margin of northeastern Asia (represented by the Bureya-Jiamusi-Khanka Block) from Jurassic to Late Cretaceous. In order to study the tectonic and crustal evolution of this orogenic belt, we carried out zircon U-Pb dating, and whole-rock elemental and Sr-Nd isotopic analyses on granites and volcanic rocks from the Primorye region of southern Sikhote-Alin. Zircon dating revealed three episodes of granitoid emplacement: Permian, Early Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous to Early Paleogene. Felsic volcanic rocks (mainly rhyolite, dacite and ignimbrite) that overlay all tectonostratigraphic terranes were erupted during 80-57 Ma, postdating the accretionary process in the Sikhote-Alin belt. The Cretaceous-Paleogene magmatism represents the most intense tectonothermal event in the Sikhote-Alin belt. Whole-rock major and trace elemental data show arc-like affinity for granitoids and volcanic rocks, indicating that they were likely generated in a supra-subduction setting. Their initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios range from 0.7048 to 0.7114, and εNd(t) values vary from +1.7 to -3.8 (mostly < 0). Thus, the elemental and Sr-Nd isotopic data suggest that the felsic magmas were generated by partial melting of source rocks comprising mantle-derived juvenile component and recycled crustal component. In addition to the occurrence in the Sikhote-Alin orogenic belt, Cretaceous to Early Paleogene magmatic rocks are also widespread in NE China, southern Korean peninsula, Japanese islands and other areas of Russian Far East, particularly along the coastal regions of the Okhotsk and Bering Seas. These rocks constitute an extended magmatic belt along the continental margin of NE Asia. The
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Martin, Jake; Lusher, Amy; Thompson, Richard C; Morley, Audrey
2017-09-07
Microplastics are widely dispersed throughout the marine environment. An understanding of the distribution and accumulation of this form of pollution is crucial for gauging environmental risk. Presented here is the first record of plastic contamination, in the 5 mm-250 μm size range, of Irish continental shelf sediments. Sixty-two microplastics were recovered from 10 of 11 stations using box cores. 97% of recovered microplastics were found to reside shallower than 2.5 cm sediment depth, with the area of highest microplastic concentration being the water-sediment interface and top 0.5 cm of sediments (66%). Microplastics were not found deeper than 3.5 ± 0.5 cm. These findings demonstrate that microplastic contamination is ubiquitous within superficial sediments and bottom water along the western Irish continental shelf. Results highlight that cores need to be at least 4-5 cm deep to quantify the standing stock of microplastics within marine sediments. All recovered microplastics were classified as secondary microplastics as they appear to be remnants of larger items; fibres being the principal form of microplastic pollution (85%), followed by broken fragments (15%). The range of polymer types, colours and physical forms recovered suggests a variety of sources. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms influencing microplastic transport, deposition, resuspension and subsequent interactions with biota.
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Bliss, James D.; Williams, S. Jeffress; Arsenault, Matthew A.
2009-01-01
Demand is growing in the United States and worldwide for information about the geology of offshore continental shelf regions, the character of the seafloor, and sediments comprising the seafloor and subbottom. Interest in locating sand bodies or high quality deposits that have potential as sources for beach nourishment and ecosystem restoration is especially great in some regions of the country. The Atlantic coast, particularly New York and New Jersey, has been the focus of these studies for the past 40 years with widely varying results. This study is the first attempt at applying probability statistics to modeling Holocene-age cape-and ridge-associated sand deposits and thus focuses on distinct sand body morphology. This modeling technique may have application for other continental shelf regions that have similar geologic character and late Quaternary sea-level transgression history. An estimated volume of 3.9 billion m3 of marine sand resources is predicted in the cape-and ridge-associated marine sand deposits in three representative regions or tracts on the continental shelf offshore of New York and New Jersey. These estimates are taken from probabilistic distributions of sand resources and are produced using deposit models and Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) techniques. The estimated sand resources presented here are for only three tracts as described below and for Holocene age sand resources contained in cape-and ridge-associated marine sand deposit types within this area. Other areas may qualify as tracts for this deposit type and other deposit types and geologic ages (for example, paleo-stream channels, blanket and outwash deposits, ebb-tide shoals, and lower sea level-stand deltas), which are present on the New Jersey and New York continental shelf area but are not delineated and modeled in this initial evaluation. Admittedly, only a portion of these probable sand resources will ultimately be available and suitable for production, dependent largely on
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Robertson, Alastair
2016-04-01
Accretionary orogens, in part, grow as a result of the accretion of oceanic terranes to pre-existing continental blocks, as in the circum-Pacific and central Asian regions. However, the accretionary processes involved remain poorly understood. Here, we consider settings in which oceanic crust formed in a supra-subduction zone setting and later accreted to continental terranes (some, themselves of accretionary origin). Good examples include some Late Cretaceous ophiolites in SE Turkey, the Jurassic Coast Range ophiolite, W USA and the Early Permian Dun Mountain ophiolite of South Island, New Zealand. In the last two cases, the ophiolites are depositionally overlain by coarse clastic sedimentary rocks (e.g. Permian Upukerora Formation of South Island, NZ) that then pass upwards into very thick continental margin fore-arc basin sequences (Great Valley sequence, California; Matai sequence, South Island, NZ). Field observations, together with petrographical and geochemical studies in South Island, NZ, summarised here, provide evidence of terrane accretion processes. In a proposed tectonic model, the Early Permian Dun Mountain ophiolite was created by supra-subduction zone spreading above a W-dipping subduction zone (comparable to the present-day Izu-Bonin arc and fore arc, W Pacific). The SSZ oceanic crust in the New Zealand example is inferred to have included an intra-oceanic magmatic arc, which is no longer exposed (other than within a melange unit in Southland), but which is documented by petrographic and geochemical evidence. An additional subduction zone is likely to have dipped westwards beneath the E Gondwana margin during the Permian. As a result, relatively buoyant Early Permian supra-subduction zone oceanic crust was able to dock with the E Gondwana continental margin, terminating intra-oceanic subduction (although the exact timing is debatable). The amalgamation ('soft collision') was accompanied by crustal extension of the newly accreted oceanic slab, and
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Diachronism between extinction time of terrestrial and marine dinosaurs
Hansen, H. J.
1988-01-01
The dinosaur eggs of southern France occur in continental, fine-grained red-beds, rich in carbonate. The last eggs in the region occur in the magnetic polarity interval 30 normal. Estimates of the accumulation rate of these sediments on the basis of the magneto-stratigraphy leads to placement of the time of disappearance of the dinosaurs in this region of 200,000 to 400,000 years earlier than the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. In the Red Deer Valley, Canada, estimates of average accumulation rate lead to a time of disappearance of the dinosaurs of 135,000 to 157,000 years earlier than the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. In the central part of Poland, in the Nasilow Quarry, the paleomagnetic pattern shows 7 m of chalk of reversed polarity containing in its upper part the marine Cretaceous-Tertiary biostratigraphic boundary. A greensand deposit contains numerous re-deposited Maastrichtian fossils. The fossils show no signs of wear and are of very different sizes including 1 mm thick juvenile belemnites. The deposit was described as a lag-sediment. Among the various fossils are teeth of mosasaurs. Thus there is coincidence in time between the extinction of mosasaurs and other Cretaceous organisms. This leads to the conclusion, that extinction of terrestrial dinosaurs took place earlier than extinction of marine dinosaurs at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary.
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Mora, J. Alejandro; Oncken, Onno; Le Breton, Eline; Ibánez-Mejia, Mauricio; Faccenna, Claudio; Veloza, Gabriel; Vélez, Vickye; de Freitas, Mario; Mesa, Andrés.
2017-11-01
Collision with and subduction of an oceanic plateau is a rare and transient process that usually leaves an indirect imprint only. Through a tectonostratigraphic analysis of pre-Oligocene sequences in the San Jacinto fold belt of northern Colombia, we show the Late Cretaceous to Eocene tectonic evolution of northwestern South America upon collision and ongoing subduction with the Caribbean Plate. We linked the deposition of four fore-arc basin sequences to specific collision/subduction stages and related their bounding unconformities to major tectonic episodes. The Upper Cretaceous Cansona sequence was deposited in a marine fore-arc setting in which the Caribbean Plate was being subducted beneath northwestern South America, producing contemporaneous magmatism in the present-day Lower Magdalena Valley basin. Coeval strike-slip faulting by the Romeral wrench fault system accommodated right-lateral displacement due to oblique convergence. In latest Cretaceous times, the Caribbean Plateau collided with South America marking a change to more terrestrially influenced marine environments characteristic of the upper Paleocene to lower Eocene San Cayetano sequence, also deposited in a fore-arc setting with an active volcanic arc. A lower to middle Eocene angular unconformity at the top of the San Cayetano sequence, the termination of the activity of the Romeral Fault System, and the cessation of arc magmatism are interpreted to indicate the onset of low-angle subduction of the thick and buoyant Caribbean Plateau beneath South America, which occurred between 56 and 43 Ma. Flat subduction of the plateau has continued to the present and would be the main cause of amagmatic post-Eocene deposition.
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Csiki Sava,Zoltan; Buffetaut,Eric; Ősi,Attila; Pereda-Suberbiola,Xabier; Brusatte,Stephen
2015-01-01
Abstract The Late Cretaceous was a time of tremendous global change, as the final stages of the Age of Dinosaurs were shaped by climate and sea level fluctuations and witness to marked paleogeographic and faunal changes, before the end-Cretaceous bolide impact. The terrestrial fossil record of Late Cretaceous Europe is becoming increasingly better understood, based largely on intensive fieldwork over the past two decades, promising new insights into latest Cretaceous faunal evolution. We revi...
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Sulphur and lead isotopes in strata-bound deposits, ch. 8
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sangster, D.F.
1976-01-01
The use of sulphur and lead isotopes as isotopic tracers in the study of ore deposits containing these elements is reviewed. A discussion of the general theory, including abundance and fractionation of sulphur isotopes, single-stage leads, and anomalous leads (two-stage) is given. Attention is paid to sulphur isotopes enclosed in deposits which are located in marine host rocks and in rocks of continental or near-continental origin, as well as in deposits of the conglomerate-U(-Au) type. The lead isotope content of volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits and carbonate-hosted lead-zinc deposits is discussed
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Mining of phosphorite resources from the Indian continental shelf will help food production
Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)
Qasim, S.Z.; Nair, R.R.
of phosphorite deposits would depend on several technical and economic factors Phosphorites occur in water depths upto 200 meters of the western continental shelf of India These are the areas associated with upwelling The relationship between phosphorite deposits...
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Thyasirid bivalves from Cretaceous and Paleogene cold seeps
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Krzysztof Hryniewicz
2017-11-01
Full Text Available We present a systematic study of thyasirid bivalves from Cretaceous to Oligocene seep carbonates worldwide. Eleven species of thyasirid bivalves are identified belonging to three genera: Conchocele, Maorithyas, and Thyasira. Two species are new: Maorithyas humptulipsensis sp. nov. from middle Eocene seep carbonates in the Humptulips Formation, Washington State, USA, and Conchocele kiritachiensis sp. nov. from the late Eocene seep deposit at Kiritachi, Hokkaido, Japan. Two new combinations are provided: Conchocele townsendi (White, 1890 from Maastrichtian strata of the James Ross Basin, Antarctica, and Maorithyas folgeri (Wagner and Schilling, 1923 from Oligocene rocks from California, USA. Three species are left in open nomenclature. We show that thyasirids have Mesozoic origins and appear at seeps before appearing in “normal” marine environments. These data are interpreted as a record of seep origination of thyasirids, and their subsequent dispersal to non-seep environments. We discuss the age of origination of thyasirids in the context of the origin of the modern deep sea fauna and conclude that thyasirids could have deep sea origins. This hypothesis is supported by the observed lack of influence of the Cretaceous and Paleogene Oceanic Anoxic Events on the main evolutionary lineages of the thyasirids, as seen in several other members of the deep sea fauna.
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Dinosaurs and the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution
Lloyd, Graeme T; Davis, Katie E; Pisani, Davide; Tarver, James E; Ruta, Marcello; Sakamoto, Manabu; Hone, David W.E; Jennings, Rachel; Benton, Michael J
2008-01-01
The observed diversity of dinosaurs reached its highest peak during the mid- and Late Cretaceous, the 50 Myr that preceded their extinction, and yet this explosion of dinosaur diversity may be explained largely by sampling bias. It has long been debated whether dinosaurs were part of the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution (KTR), from 125–80 Myr ago, when flowering plants, herbivorous and social insects, squamates, birds and mammals all underwent a rapid expansion. Although an apparent explosion of dinosaur diversity occurred in the mid-Cretaceous, coinciding with the emergence of new groups (e.g. neoceratopsians, ankylosaurid ankylosaurs, hadrosaurids and pachycephalosaurs), results from the first quantitative study of diversification applied to a new supertree of dinosaurs show that this apparent burst in dinosaurian diversity in the last 18 Myr of the Cretaceous is a sampling artefact. Indeed, major diversification shifts occurred largely in the first one-third of the group's history. Despite the appearance of new clades of medium to large herbivores and carnivores later in dinosaur history, these new originations do not correspond to significant diversification shifts. Instead, the overall geometry of the Cretaceous part of the dinosaur tree does not depart from the null hypothesis of an equal rates model of lineage branching. Furthermore, we conclude that dinosaurs did not experience a progressive decline at the end of the Cretaceous, nor was their evolution driven directly by the KTR. PMID:18647715
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
MICHELE MORSILLI
1997-07-01
Full Text Available The Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Apulia platform margin and the transition to adjacent basinal deposits (inner platform to basin are well exposed in the Gargano Promontory. Detailed field work has allowed to recognize eight main facies associations which reflect various depositional environments, and which document a differentiated zonation, from the inner platform to the basin. A shallow lagoon existed in the internal part of the Gargano Promontory with a transition to tidal flat areas (F1. Oolitic shoals (F2 bordered this internal peritidal area passing seaward to a reef-flat with abundant corals (F3. A reef-front, associated with a coral rubble zone, has been found in some areas (F4. In the external margin zone, massive wackestones with Ellipsactinia occur (F5 and pass gradually to a rudstone facies on the proximal slope (F6. The base-of-slope facies association consists of pelagic sediments interbedded with gravity-displaced deposits (F7 and F8. The depositional profile of the Apulia Platform is typical of the Tethyan Jurassic-Early Cretaceous platforms, with slope declivities in the order of 25°-28°. The remarkable progradation of the platform in the northern tract of the Gargano (Lesina and Varano lakes area and its substantial stability east- and southwards (Mattinata area suggest a possible windward position of the margin in this latter portion and, in contrast, a leeward position of the northern portion.
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Zou, C.; Zhao, J.; Zhang, X.; Peng, C.; Zhang, S.
2017-12-01
Continental Scientific Drilling Project of Songliao Basin is a drilling project under the framework of ICDP. It aims at detecting Cretaceous environmental/climate changes and exploring potential resources near or beneath the base of the basin. The main hole, SK-2 East Borehole, has been drilled to penetrate through the Cretaceous formation. A variety of geophysical log data were collected from the borehole, which provide a great opportunity to analyze thermal properties of in-situ rock surrounding the borehole.The geothermal gradients were derived directly from temperature logs recorded 41 days after shut-in. The matrix and bulk thermal conductivity of rock were calculated with the geometric-mean model, in which mineral/rock contents and porosity were required as inputs (Fuchs et. al., 2014). Accurate mineral contents were available from the elemental capture spectroscopy logs and porosity data were derived from conventional logs (density, neutron and sonic). The heat production data were calculated by means of the concentrations of uranium, thorium and potassium determined from natural gamma-ray spectroscopy logs. Then, the heat flow was determined by using the values of geothermal gradients and thermal conductivity.The thermal parameters of in-situ rock over the depth interval of 0 4500m in the borehole were derived from geophysical logs. Statistically, the numerical ranges of thermal parameters are in good agreement with the measured values from both laboratory and field in this area. The results show that high geothermal gradient and heat flow exist over the whole Cretaceous formation, with anomalously high values in the Qingshankou formation (1372.0 1671.7m) and the Quantou formation (1671.7 2533.5m). It is meaningful for characterization of geothermal regime and exploration of geothermal resources in the basin. Acknowledgment: This work was supported by the "China Continental Scientific Drilling Program of Cretaceous Songliao Basin (CCSD-SK)" of China
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Low-fluorine Stockwork Molybdenite Deposits
Ludington, Steve; Hammarstrom, Jane; Piatak, Nadine M.
2009-01-01
Low-fluorine stockwork molybdenite deposits are closely related to porphyry copper deposits, being similar in their tectonic setting (continental volcanic arc) and the petrology (calc-alkaline) of associated igneous rock types. They are mainly restricted to the Cordillera of western Canada and the northwest United States, and their distribution elsewhere in the world may be limited. The deposits consist of stockwork bodies of molybdenite-bearing quartz veinlets that are present in and around the upper parts of intermediate to felsic intrusions. The deposits are relatively low grade (0.05 to 0.2 percent Mo), but relatively large, commonly >50 million tons. The source plutons for these deposits range from granodiorite to granite in composition; the deposits primarily form in continental margin subduction-related magmatic arcs, often concurrent with formation of nearby porphyry copper deposits. Oxidation of pyrite in unmined deposits or in tailings and waste rock during weathering can lead to development of acid-rock drainage and limonite-rich gossans. Waters associated with low-fluorine stockwork molybdenite deposits tend to be nearly neutral in pH; variable in concentrations of molybdenum (10,000 ug/L); below regulatory guidelines for copper, iron, lead, zinc, and mercury; and locally may exceed guidelines for arsenic, cadmium, and selenium.
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Huang, W.; Van Hinsbergen, D. J. J.; Dekkers, M. J.; Garzanti, E.; Dupont Nivet, G.; Lippert, P. C.; Li, X.; Maffione, M.; Langereis, C. G.; Hu, X.; Guo, Z.; Kapp, P. A.
2014-12-01
Paleolatitudes for the Tibetan Himalaya Zone based on paleomagnetic inclinations provide kinematic constraints of the passive northern Indian margin and the extent of 'Greater India' before the India-Asia collision. Here, we present a paleomagnetic investigation of the Jurassic (carbonates) to Lower Cretaceous (volcaniclastic rocks) Wölong section of the Tibetan Himalaya in the Everest region. The carbonates yield positive fold tests, suggesting that the remanent magnetizations have a pre-folding origin. However, detailed paleomagnetic analyses, rock magnetic tests, end-member modeling of acquisition curves of isothermal remanent magnetization, and petrographic studies reveal that the magnetic carrier of the Jurassic carbonates is authigenic magnetite, whereas the dominant magnetic carrier of the Lower Cretaceous volcaniclastic rocks is detrital magnetite. We conclude that the Jurassic carbonates were remagnetized, whereas the Lower Cretaceous volcaniclastics retain a primary remanence. We hypothesize that remagnetization of the Jurassic carbonates was probably caused by the oxidation of early diagenetic pyrite to magnetite within the time interval at ~86-84 Ma during the latest Cretaceous Normal Superchron and earliest deposition of Cretaceous oceanic red beds in the Tibetan Himalaya. The remagnetization of the limestones prevents determining the size of 'Greater India' during Jurassic time. Instead, a paleolatitude of the Tibetan Himalaya of 23.8±2.1° S at ~86-84 Ma is suggested. This value is lower than the expected paleolatitude of India from apparent polar wander path (APWP). The volcaniclastic rocks with the primary remanence, however, yielded a Lower Cretaceous paleolatitude of Tibetan Himalaya of 55.5±3° S, fitting well with the APWP of India.
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Ramezani, Jahandar; Clyde, William; Wang, Tiantian; Johnson, Kirk; Bowring, Samuel
2016-04-01
Reversals in the Earth's magnetic polarity are geologically abrupt events of global magnitude that makes them ideal timelines for stratigraphic correlation across a variety of depositional environments, especially where diagnostic marine fossils are absent. Accurate and precise calibration of the Geomagnetic Polarity Timescale (GPTS) is thus essential to the reconstruction of Earth history and to resolving the mode and tempo of biotic and environmental change in deep time. The Late Cretaceous - Paleocene GPTS is of particular interest as it encompasses a critical period of Earth history marked by the Cretaceous greenhouse climate, the peak of dinosaur diversity, the end-Cretaceous mass extinction and its paleoecological aftermaths. Absolute calibration of the GPTS has been traditionally based on sea-floor spreading magnetic anomaly profiles combined with local magnetostratigraphic sequences for which a numerical age model could be established by interpolation between an often limited number of 40Ar/39Ar dates from intercalated volcanic ash deposits. Although the Neogene part of the GPTS has been adequately calibrated using cyclostratigraphy-based, astrochronological schemes, the application of these approaches to pre-Neogene parts of the timescale has been complicated given the uncertainties of the orbital models and the chaotic behavior of the solar system this far back in time. Here we present refined chronostratigraphic frameworks based on high-precision U-Pb geochronology of ash beds from the Western Interior Basin of North America and the Songliao Basin of Northeast China that places tight temporal constraints on the Late Cretaceous to Paleocene GPTS, either directly or by testing their astrochronological underpinnings. Further application of high-precision radioisotope geochronology and calibrated astrochronology promises a complete and robust Cretaceous-Paleogene GPTS, entirely independent of sea-floor magnetic anomaly profiles.
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Santantonio, Massimo; Fabbi, Simone; Aldega, Luca
2016-01-01
The sedimentary successions exposed in northeast Calabria document the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous tectonic-sedimentary evolution of a former segment of the European-Iberian continental margin. They are juxtaposed today to units representing the deformation of the African and Adriatic plates margins as a product of Apenninic crustal shortening. A complex pattern of unconformities reveals a multi-stage tectonic evolution during the Early Jurassic, which affected the facies and geometries of siliciclastic and carbonate successions deposited in syn- and post-rift environments ranging from fluvial to deep marine. Late Sinemurian/Early Pliensbachian normal faulting resulted in exposure of the Hercynian basement at the sea-floor, which was onlapped by marine basin-fill units. Shallow-water carbonate aprons and reefs developed in response to the production of new accommodation space, fringing the newborn islands which represent structural highs made of Paleozoic crystalline and metamorphic rock. Their drowning and fragmentation in the Toarcian led to the development of thin caps of Rosso Ammonitico facies. Coeval to these deposits, a thick (> 1 km) hemipelagic/siliciclastic succession was sedimented in neighboring hanging wall basins, which would ultimately merge with the structural high successions. Footwall blocks of the Early Jurassic rift, made of Paleozoic basement and basin-margin border faults with their onlapping basin-fill formations, are found today at the hanging wall of Miocene thrusts, overlying younger (Middle/Late Jurassic to Late Paleogene) folded basinal sediments. This paper makes use of selected case examples to describe the richly diverse set of features, ranging from paleontology to sedimentology, to structural geology, which are associated with the field identification of basin-margin unconformities. Our data provide key constraints for restoring the pre-orogenic architecture of a continental margin facing a branch of the Liguria-Piedmont ocean in the
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Leslie, Andrew B; Glasspool, Ian; Herendeen, Patrick S; Ichinnorov, Niiden; Knopf, Patrick; Takahashi, Masamichi; Crane, Peter R
2013-12-01
Seed cone scales assigned to the genus Schizolepidopsis are widespread in Late Triassic to Cretaceous Eurasian deposits. They have been linked to the conifer family Pinaceae based on associated vegetative remains, but their exact affinities are uncertain. Recently discovered material from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia reveals important new information concerning Schizolepidopsis cone scales and seeds, and provides support for a relationship between the genus and extant Pinaceae. Specimens were collected from Early Cretaceous (probable Aptian-Albian) lignite deposits in central Mongolia. Lignite samples were disaggregated, cleaned in hydrofluoric acid, and washed in water. Specimens were selected for further study using light and electron microscopy. Schizolepidopsis canicularis seed cones consist of loosely arranged, bilobed ovulate scales subtended by a small bract. A single inverted seed with an elongate micropyle is borne on each lobe of the ovulate scale. Each seed has a wing formed by the separation of the adaxial surface of the ovulate scale. Schizolepidopsis canicularis produced winged seeds that formed in a manner that is unique to Pinaceae among extant conifers. We do not definitively place this species in Pinaceae pending more complete information concerning its pollen cones and vegetative remains. Nevertheless, this material suggests that Schizolepidopsis may be important for understanding the early evolution of Pinaceae, and may potentially help reconcile the appearance of the family in the fossil record with results based on phylogenetic analyses of molecular data.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Omidvar, M.; Safari, A.; Vaziri-Moghaddam, H.; Ghalavand, H.
2016-07-01
Upper Cretaceous mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sequences are among the most important targets for hydrocarbon exploration in the Moghan area, located in the eastern Para-Tethys Basin. Despite of their significance, little is known about their facies characteristics and depositional environments. Detailed facies analysis and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of these sequences have been carried out in eight surface sections. Accordingly, four siliciclastic facies, eight carbonate facies and one volcanic facies have been recognized. Detailed facies descriptions and interpretations, together with the results of facies frequency analysis, standard facies models and Upper Cretaceous depositional models of Para-Tethys Basin, have been integrated and a non-rimmed carbonate platform is presented. This platform was affected by siliciclastic influx, in the form of coastal fan delta and submarine fans in the shallow- to deep-marine parts, respectively. This model is interpreted to be shallower in the central and northeastern parts of the Moghan area. Toward the southeast and southwest, this shallow platform turns into deep marine settings along steep slopes without remarkable marginal barriers. (Author)
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Maystrenko, Yuriy Petrovich; Gernigon, Laurent; Olesen, Odleiv; Ottesen, Dag; Rise, Leif
2018-05-01
A 3-D subsurface temperature distribution within the Lofoten-Vesterålen segment of the Mid-Norwegian continental margin and adjacent areas has been studied to understand the thermal effect of late Cenozoic erosion of old sedimentary and crystalline rocks and subsequent deposition of glacial sediments during the Pleistocene. A lithosphere-scale 3-D structural model of the Lofoten-Vesterålen area has been used as a realistic approximation of the geometries of the sedimentary infill, underlying crystalline crust and lithospheric mantle during the 3-D thermal modelling. The influence of late Cenozoic erosion and sedimentation has been included during the 3-D thermal calculations. In addition, the 3-D thermal modelling has been carried out by taking also into account the influence of early Cenozoic continental breakup. The results of the 3-D thermal modelling demonstrate that the mainland is generally colder than the basin areas within the upper part of the 3-D model. The thermal influence of the early Cenozoic breakup is still clearly recognizable within the western and deep parts of the Lofoten-Vesterålen margin segment in terms of the increased temperatures. The thermal effects of the erosion and deposition within the study area also indicate that a positive thermal anomaly exists within the specific subareas where sedimentary and crystalline rocks were eroded. A negative thermal effect occurs in the subareas affected by subsidence and sedimentation. The erosion-related positive thermal anomaly reaches its maximum of more than +27 °C at depths of 17-22 km beneath the eastern part of the Vestfjorden Basin. The most pronounced deposition-related negative anomaly shows a minimum of around -70 °C at 17-20 km depth beneath the Lofoten Basin. The second negative anomaly is located within the northeastern part of the Vøring Basin and has minimal values of around -48 °C at 12-14 km depth. These prominent thermal anomalies are associated with the subareas where
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Brookfield, Michael E.; Hashmat, Ajruddin
2001-10-01
The North Afghan platform has a pre-Jurassic basement unconformably overlain by a Jurassic to Paleogene oil- and gas-bearing sedimentary rock platform cover, unconformably overlain by Neogene syn- and post-orogenic continental clastics. The pre-Jurassic basement has four units: (1) An ?Ordovician to Lower Devonian passive margin succession developed on oceanic crust. (2) An Upper Devonian to Lower Carboniferous (Tournaisian) magmatic arc succession developed on the passive margin. (3) A Lower Carboniferous (?Visean) to Permian rift-passive margin succession. (4) A Triassic continental magmatic arc succession. The Mesozoic-Palaeogene cover has three units: (1) A ?Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic rift succession is dominated by variable continental clastics. Thick, coarse, lenticular coal-bearing clastics were deposited by braided and meandering streams in linear grabens, while bauxites formed on the adjacent horsts. (2) A Middle to Upper Jurassic transgressive-regressive succession consists of mixed continental and marine Bathonian to Lower Kimmeridgian clastics and carbonates overlain by regressive Upper Kimmeridgian-Tithonian evaporite-bearing clastics. (3) A Cretaceous succession consists of Lower Cretaceous red beds with evaporites, resting unconformably on Jurassic and older deposits, overlain (usually unconformably) by Cenomanian to Maastrichtian shallow marine limestones, which form a fairly uniform transgressive succession across most of Afghanistan. (4) A Palaeogene succession rests on the Upper Cretaceous limestones, with a minor break marked by bauxite in places. Thin Palaeocene to Upper Eocene limestones with gypsum are overlain by thin conglomerates, which pass up into shales with a restricted brackish-water ?Upper Oligocene-?Lower Miocene marine fauna. The Neogene succession consists of a variable thickness of coarse continental sediments derived from the rising Pamir mountains and adjacent ranges. Almost all the deformation of the North Afghan
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Rokoengen, Kaare; Frengstad, Bjoern
1999-01-01
Reconstruction of the ice extent and glacier chronology on the continental shelf off mid-Norway has been severely hampered by the lack of dates from the glacial deposits. Seismic interpretation and new accelerator mass spectrometer radiocarbon dates show that the ice sheet extended to the edge of the continental shelf at the last glacial maximum. The two youngest till units near the shelf edge were deposited about 15000 and 13500 BP. The results indicate that the ice sheet partly reached the shelf break as late as 11000 BP followed by a deglaciation of most of the continental shelf in less than 1000 years
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
D. V. Kent
2013-03-01
Full Text Available The small reservoir of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (pCO2 that modulates climate through the greenhouse effect reflects a delicate balance between large fluxes of sources and sinks. The major long-term source of CO2 is global outgassing from sea-floor spreading, subduction, hotspot activity, and metamorphism; the ultimate sink is through weathering of continental silicates and deposition of carbonates. Most carbon cycle models are driven by changes in the source flux scaled to variable rates of ocean floor production, but ocean floor production may not be distinguishable from being steady since 180 Ma. We evaluate potential changes in sources and sinks of CO2 for the past 120 Ma in a paleogeographic context. Our new calculations show that decarbonation of pelagic sediments by Tethyan subduction contributed only modestly to generally high pCO2 levels from the Late Cretaceous until the early Eocene, and thus shutdown of this CO2 source with the collision of India and Asia at the early Eocene climate optimum at around 50 Ma was inadequate to account for the large and prolonged decrease in pCO2 that eventually allowed the growth of significant Antarctic ice sheets by around 34 Ma. Instead, variation in area of continental basalt terranes in the equatorial humid belt (5° S–5° N seems to be a dominant factor controlling how much CO2 is retained in the atmosphere via the silicate weathering feedback. The arrival of the highly weatherable Deccan Traps in the equatorial humid belt at around 50 Ma was decisive in initiating the long-term slide to lower atmospheric pCO2, which was pushed further down by the emplacement of the 30 Ma Ethiopian Traps near the equator and the southerly tectonic extrusion of SE Asia, an arc terrane that presently is estimated to account for 1/4 of CO2 consumption from all basaltic provinces that account for ~1/3 of the total CO2 consumption by continental silicate weathering (Dessert et al., 2003. A negative climate
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New and revised maimetshid wasps from Cretaceous ambers (Hymenoptera, Maimetshidae
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Vincent Perrichot
2011-09-01
Full Text Available New material of the wasp family Maimetshidae (Apocrita is presented from four Cretaceous amber deposits – the Neocomian of Lebanon, the Early Albian of Spain, the latest Albian/earliest Cenomanian of France, and the Campanian of Canada. The new record from Canadian Cretaceous amber extends the temporal and paleogeographical range of the family. New material from France is assignable to Guyotemaimetsha enigmatica Perrichot et al. including the first females for the species, while a series of males and females from Spain are described and figured as Iberomaimetsha Ortega-Blanco, Perrichot, and Engel gen. n., with the two new species Iberomaimetsha rasnitsyni Ortega-Blanco, Perrichot, and Engel sp. n. and I. nihtmara Ortega-Blanco, Delclòs, and Engel sp. n.; a single female from Lebanon is described and figured as Ahiromaimetsha najlae Perrichot, Azar, Nel, and Engel gen. et sp. n., and a single male from Canada is described and figured as Ahstemiam cellula McKellar and Engel gen. et sp. n. The taxa are compared with other maimetshids, a key to genera and species is given, and brief comments made on the family.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Natascha Riedinger
2017-05-01
Full Text Available The interplay between sediment deposition patterns, organic matter type and the quantity and quality of reactive mineral phases determines the accumulation, speciation, and isotope composition of pore water and solid phase sulfur constituents in marine sediments. Here, we present the sulfur geochemistry of siliciclastic sediments from two sites along the Argentine continental slope—a system characterized by dynamic deposition and reworking, which result in non-steady state conditions. The two investigated sites have different depositional histories but have in common that reactive iron phases are abundant and that organic matter is refractory—conditions that result in low organoclastic sulfate reduction rates (SRR. Deposition of reworked, isotopically light pyrite and sulfurized organic matter appear to be important contributors to the sulfur inventory, with only minor addition of pyrite from organoclastic sulfate reduction above the sulfate-methane transition (SMT. Pore-water sulfide is limited to a narrow zone at the SMT. The core of that zone is dominated by pyrite accumulation. Iron monosulfide and elemental sulfur accumulate above and below this zone. Iron monosulfide precipitation is driven by the reaction of low amounts of hydrogen sulfide with ferrous iron and is in competition with the oxidation of sulfide by iron (oxyhydroxides to form elemental sulfur. The intervals marked by precipitation of intermediate sulfur phases at the margin of the zone with free sulfide are bordered by two distinct peaks in total organic sulfur (TOS. Organic matter sulfurization appears to precede pyrite formation in the iron-dominated margins of the sulfide zone, potentially linked to the presence of polysulfides formed by reaction between dissolved sulfide and elemental sulfur. Thus, SMTs can be hotspots for organic matter sulfurization in sulfide-limited, reactive iron-rich marine sedimentary systems. Furthermore, existence of elemental sulfur and iron
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Vascular plants from the Devonian to Lower Cretaceous in southern Africa
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J. M. Anderson
1983-11-01
Full Text Available The succession of pre-angiospermous megafloras in southern Africa from the Devonian to Lower Cretaceous is outlined. Interrelationships between continental drift, global climatic trends, and floral and faunal evolution are emphasized. Data are given on numbers of assemblages sampled; on species diversity; and on relative abundance of each genus per productive ‘formation’. A total of 79 genera and about 250 species are recognized in the 150 assemblages from the 11 horizons considered. Floras are unknown from the Carboniferous and are as yet undescribed from the Jurassic. Aside from these gaps, a good idea of the floral development is obtained. Diversity lows of around 5 to 10 species per ‘formation’ are witnessed in the Devonian, whereas a peak of 112 species is encountered in the Upper Triassic Molteno Formation. Diversity remains around 20 to 30 species for all other ‘formations’.
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Séranne, Michel; Nzé Abeigne, César-Rostand
1999-10-01
Seismic reflection profiles on the slope of the south Gabon continental margin display furrows 2 km wide and some 200 m deep, that develop normal to the margin in 500-1500 m water depth. Furrows are characterised by an aggradation/progradation pattern which leads to margin-parallel, northwestward migration of their axes through time. These structures, previously interpreted as turbidity current channels, display the distinctive seismic image and internal organisation of sediment drifts, constructed by the activity of bottom currents. Sediment drifts were initiated above a major Oligocene unconformity, and they developed within a Oligocene to Present megasequence of general progradation of the margin, whilst they are markedly absent from the underlying Late Cretaceous-Eocene aggradation megasequence. The presence of upslope migrating sediment waves, and the northwest migration of the sediment drifts indicate deposition by bottom current flowing upslope, under the influence of the Coriolis force. Such landwards-directed bottom currents on the slope probably represent coastal upwelling, which has been active along the west Africa margin throughout the Neogene.
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Ben M'barek-Jemaï, Moufida; Sdiri, Ali; Ben Salah, Imed; Ben Aissa, Lassaad; Bouaziz, Samir; Duplay, Joelle
2017-05-01
Late Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous clays of the Jebel Ammar study site were used as raw materials for potential applications in ceramic industry. Physico-chemical characterization of the collected samples was performed using atomic absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry and dilatometry (Bugot's curve). Geotechnical study was also undertaken by the assessment of plasticity and liquidity limits. It was found that high concentrations of silica, alumina with SiO2/Al2O3 ratio characterized the studied clays; its high amounts of CaO and Fe2O3 in the Late Jurassic clays indicated their calcareous nature. In addition, technological tests indicated moderate to low plasticity values for the Late Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous clays, respectively. Clay fraction (<2 μm) reached 50% of the natural clay in some cases. Mineralogical analysis showed that Jurassic clays were dominated by smectite, illite and kaolinite, as clay mineral species; calcite was the main associated mineral. Lower Cretaceous clays were mainly composed of abundant illite accompanied by well-crystallized smectite and kaolinite. Kaolinite gradually increased upwards, reaching 70% of the total clay fraction (i.e. <2 μm). Quartz, calcite and feldspar were the main non-clay minerals. Based on these analyses, the clays meet technological requirements that would allow their use in the ceramic industry and for the manufacturing of ceramic tiles.
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Jurkowska, Agata; Uchman, Alfred
2013-12-01
Jurkowska, A. and Uchman, A. 2013. The trace fossil Lepidenteron lewesiensis (Mantell, 1822) from the Upper Cretaceous of southern Poland. Acta Geologica Polonica, 63(4), 611-623. Warszawa. Lepidenteron lewesiensis (Mantell, 1822) is an unbranched trace fossil lined with small fish scales and bones, without a constructed wall. It is characteristic of the Upper Cretaceous epicontinental, mostly marly sediments in Europe. In the Miechow Segment of the Szczecin-Miechow Synclinorium in southern Poland, it occurs in the Upper Campanian-Lower Maastrichtian deeper shelf sediments, which were deposited below wave base and are characterized by total bioturbation and a trace fossil assemblage comprising Planolites, Palaeophycus, Thalassinoides , Trichichnus, Phycosiphon, Zoophycos and Helicodromites that is typical of the transition from the distal Cruziana to the Zoophycos ichnofacies. L. lewesiensis was produced by a burrowing predator or scavenger of fishes. The tracemaker candidates could be eunicid polychaetes or anguillid fishes.
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Early diagenesis of phosphorus in continental margin sediments
Slomp, C.P.
1997-01-01
Most of the organic material in the oceans that reaches the sea floor is deposited on continental margins and not in the deep sea. This organic matter is the principal carrier of phosphorus (P) to sediments. A part of the organic material is buried definitely. The other part decomposes,
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Amireh, Belal S.
2018-04-01
Detrital framework modes of the NE Gondwanan uppermost Ediacaran-Lower Cretaceous siliciclastic sequence of Jordan are determined employing the routine polarized light microscope. The lower part of this sequence constitutes a segment of the vast lower Paleozoic siliciclastic sheet flanking the northern Gondwana margin that was deposited over a regional unconformity truncating the outskirts of the East African orogen in the aftermath of the Neoproterozoic amalgamation of Gondwana. The research aims to evaluate the factors governing the detrital light mineral composition of this sandstone. The provenance terranes of the Arabian craton controlled by plate tectonics appear to be the primary factor in most of the formations, which could be either directly inferred employing Dickinson's compositional triangles or implied utilizing the petrographic data achieved and the available tectonic and geological data. The Arabian-Nubian Shield constitutes invariably the craton interior or the transitional provenance terrane within the NE Gondwana continental block that consistently supplied sandy detritus through northward-flowing braided rivers to all the lower Paleozoic formations. On the other hand, the Lower Cretaceous Series received siliciclastic debris, through braided-meandering rivers having same northward dispersal direction, additionally from the lower Paleozoic and lower-middle Mesozoic platform strata in the Arabian Craton. The formations making about 50% of the siliciclastic sequence represent a success for Dickinson's plate tectonics-provenance approach in attributing the detrital framework components primarily to the plate tectonic setting of the provenance terranes. However, even under this success, the varying effects of the other secondary sedimentological and paleoclimatological factors are important and could be crucial. The inapplicability of this approach to infer the appropriate provenance terranes of the remaining formations could be ascribed either to the
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Atlantic continental margin of the United States
Grow, John A.; Sheridan, Robert E.; Palmer, A.R.
1982-01-01
The objective of this Decade of North American Geology (D-NAG) volume will be to focus on the Mesozoic and Cenozoic evolution of the U.S. Atlantic continental margin, including the onshore coastal plain, related onshore Triassic-Jurassic rift grabens, and the offshore basins and platforms. Following multiple compressional tectonic episodes between Africa and North America during the Paleozoic Era that formed the Appalachian Mountains, the Mesozoic and Cenozoic Eras were dominated by tensional tectonic processes that separated Africa and North America. Extensional rifting during Triassic and Early Jurassic times resulted in numerous tensional grabens both onshore and offshore, which filled with nonmarine continental red beds, lacustrine deposits, and volcanic flows and debris. The final stage of this breakup between Africa and North America occurred beneath the present outer continental shelf and continental slope during Early or Middle Jurassic time when sea-floor spreading began to form new oceanic crust and lithosophere between the two continents as they drifted apart. Postrift subsidence of the marginal basins continued in response to cooling of the lithosphere and sedimentary loading.Geophysical surveys and oil-exploration drilling along the U.S. Atlantic continental margin during the past 5 years are beginning to answer many questions concerning its deep structure and stratigraphy and how it evolved during the rifting and early sea-floor-spreading stages of the separation of this region from Africa. Earlier geophysical studies of the U.S. continental margin used marine refraction and submarine gravity measurements. Single-channel seismic-reflection, marine magnetic, aeromagnetic, and continuous gravity measurements became available during the 1960s.
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Paleoenvironmental Evolution of Continental Carbonates in West-Central Brazil
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EMILIANO C. OLIVEIRA
Full Text Available ABSTRACT This paper presents a sedimentological and stratigraphical study of Quaternary (Middle to Late Pleistocene/Holocene continental carbonates outcrops inside Pantanal Basin and its surroundings, especially in Serra da Bodoquena, Pantanal do Miranda and Corumbá/Ladário plateau, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, as well as in Serra das Araras, in the state of Mato Grosso. The aim is to understand the depositional paleoenvironments and analyse climate and tectonic influences in their genesis and evolution. The results show that the deposition of these continental carbonates started in the Middle to Late Pleistocene and have continued, with some interruptions, until the present days. Sedimentary successions were identified in the different areas, without complete correlation. Two sedimentary successions separated by an erosional surface were described in Serra da Bodoquena and Serra das Araras. In Corumbá and Pantanal do Miranda, only one succession was described. These successions were deposited in elongated lakes parallel to fault planes; small lakes, related plains and plateaus; springs related to cliffs produced by faulting; rivers conditioned by topographic variation. The climatic interpretation, without proper temporal resolution, obtained by the stable-isotope composition and stratigraphic interpretation, indicates alternation of dry and wet periods. The Neoproterozoic faults with their neotectonics and the subsidence of the Pantanal Basin, are the major control for carbonated water flow and development of depositional areas, gradually turning plateaus into slight tilted areas, allowing the evolution of depositional systems from lakes to rivers.
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Dallanave, Edoardo; Kirscher, Uwe; Hauck, Jürgen; Hesse, Reinhard; Bachtadse, Valerian; Wortmann, Ulrich Georg
2018-06-01
The Rhenodanubian Flysch zone (RDF) is a Lower Cretaceous-lower Palaeocene turbidite succession extending for ˜500 km from the Danube at Vienna to the Rhine Valley (Eastern Alps). It consists of calcareous and siliciclastic turbidite systems deposited in a trench abyssal plain. The age of deposition has been estimated through micropalaeontologic dating. However, palaeomagnetic studies constraining the age and the palaeolatitude of deposition of the RDF are still missing. Here, we present palaeomagnetic data from the Early Cretaceous Tristel and Rehbreingraben Formations of the RDF from two localities in the Bavarian Alps (Rehbrein Creek and Lainbach Valley, southern Germany), and from the stratigraphic equivalent of the Falknis Nappe (Liechtenstein). The quality of the palaeomagnetic signal has been assessed by either fold test (FT) or reversal test (RT). Sediments from the Falknis Nappe are characterized by a pervasive syntectonic magnetic overprint as tested by negative FT, and are thus excluded from the study. The sediments of the Rehbreingraben Formation at Rehbrein Creek, with positive RT, straddle magnetic polarity Chron M0r and the younger M΄-1r΄ reverse event, with an age of ˜127-123 Ma (late Barremian-early Aptian). At Lainbach Valley, no polarity reversals have been observed, but a positive FT gives confidence on the reliability of the data. The primary palaeomagnetic directions, after correction for inclination shallowing, allow to precisely constrain the depositional palaeolatitude of the Tristel and Rehbreingraben Formations around ˜28°N. In a palaeogeographic reconstruction of the Alpine Tethys at the Barremian/Aptian boundary, the RDF is located on the western margin of the Briançonnais terrain, which was separated from the European continent by the narrow Valais Ocean.
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Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Čech, S.; Hradecká, L.; Svobodová, Marcela; Švábenická, L.
2005-01-01
Roč. 80, č. 4 (2005), s. 321-354 ISSN 1210-3527 Grant - others:GA MŽP1(CZ) 1975/630/02 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z3013912 Keywords : Cenomanian * biostratigraphy * Bohemian Cretaceous Basin Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy http://www.geology.cz/bulletin/contents/2005/vol80no4/321_cech.pdf
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Rubert, Rogerio R.; Mizusaki, Ana Maria Pimentel; Martinelli, Agustín G.; Urban, Camile
2017-12-01
The Cretaceous in the Brazilian Platform records events of magmatism, tectonism and sedimentation coupled to the Gondwana breakup. Some of these events are registered as sedimentary sequences in interior basins, such as in the Cretaceous sequence of the Alto Xingu Sub-basin, Parecis Basin, Central Brazil. This article proposes the faciologic characterization and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Cretaceous sequence of the eastern portion of the Parecis Basin and its relation with some reactivated structures as, for instance, the Serra Formosa Arch. Based on both data from outcrops and core drillings a paleoenvironmental and evolutionary reconstruction of the sequence is herein presented. The base of the studied section is characterized by chemical and low energy clastic sedimentation of Lake Bottom and Shoreline, in a context of fast initial subsidence and low sedimentation rate. As the subsidence process decreased, a deltaic progradation became dominant with deposition in a prodelta environment, followed by a deltaic front and deltaic plain interbedded with fluvial plain, and aeolian deposition completing the sequence. The inferred Coniacian-Santonian age is based on vertebrate (fishes and notosuchians) and ostracod fossils with regional chrono-correlates in the Adamantina (Bauru Group), Capacete (Sanfranciscana Basin), and Bajo de la Carpa (Neuquén Group, in Argentina) formations. The formation of a Coniacian depocenter in the Alto Xingu Sub-basin is associated to the Turonian-Coniacian reactivation event in the Peruvian Orogenic Phase of the Andean Orogeny, with the transference of stresses to interplate setting, reactivating Proterozoic structures of the basement.
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Wesolowski, Lindsey J. N.; Buatois, Luis A.; Mángano, M. Gabriela; Ponce, Juan José; Carmona, Noelia B.
2018-05-01
Shorefaces can display strong facies variability and integration of sedimentology and ichnology provides a high-resolution model to identify variations among strongly storm-dominated (high energy), moderately storm-affected (intermediate energy), and weakly storm-affected (low energy) shoreface deposits. In addition, ichnology has proved to be of help to delineate parasequences as trace-fossil associations are excellent indicators of environmental conditions which typically change along the depositional profile. Shallow-marine deposits and associated ichnofaunas from the Mulichinco Formation (Valanginian, Lower Cretaceous) in Puerta Curaco, Neuquén Basin, western Argentina, were analyzed to evaluate stress factors on shoreface benthos and parasequence architecture. During storm-dominated conditions, the Skolithos Ichnofacies prevails within the offshore transition and lower shoreface represented by assemblages dominated by Thalassinoides isp. and Ophiomorpha irregulaire. Under weakly storm-affected conditions, the Cruziana Ichnofacies is recognized, characterized by assemblages dominated by Thalassinoides isp. and Gyrochorte comosa in the offshore transition, and by Gyrochorte comosa within the lower shoreface. Storm-influenced conditions yield wider ichnologic variability, showing elements of both ichnofacies. Storm influence on sedimentation is affected by both allogenic (e.g. tectonic subsidence, sea-level, and sediment influx) and autogenic (e.g. hydrodynamic) controls at both parasequence and intra-parasequence scales. Four distinct types of parasequences were recognized, strongly storm-dominated, moderately storm-affected, moderately storm-affected - strongly fair-weather reworked, and weakly storm-affected, categorized based on parasequence architectural variability derived from varying degrees of storm and fair-weather wave influence. The new type of shoreface described here, the moderately storm-affected - strongly fair-weather reworked shoreface
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Bodego, Arantxa; Agirrezabala, Luis M.
2010-05-01
The Mesozoic Basque-Cantabrian Basin in the western Pyrenees constitutes a peri-cratonic basin originated by rifting related to the Cretaceous opening of the Bay of Biscay. During the mid-Cretaceous the basin experienced important extensional/transtensional tectonics, which controlled the deposition of thick sedimentary successions. Many extensional structures have been documented in the basin but their thin-skinned/thick-skinned character is an unresolved question. In this field-based study, we characterize contemporaneous thin-skinned and thick-skinned deformations that took place during the filling of the mid-Cretaceous Lasarte sub-basin, located in the northeastern margin of the Basque-Cantabrian Basin (western Pyrenees). Most of these extensional structures and associated growth strata are preserved and allow us to characterize and date different deformation phases. Moreover, verticalization and overturning of the successions during Tertiary compression allow mapping the geometry of the extensional structures at depth. The Lasarte sub-basin constitutes a triangular sag bordered by three major basement-involved faults, which trend N, E and NE, respectively. These trends, common in the Variscan fault pattern of Pyrenees, suggest that they are old faults reactivated during the mid-Cretaceous extension. Stratigraphy of the area shows very thin to absent Aptian-Albian (and older) deposits above the upward border blocks, whereas on the downward blocks (sub-basin interior) contemporaneous thick successions were deposited (up to 1500 m). The sub-basin fill is composed of different sedimentary systems (from alluvial to siliciclastic and carbonate platforms) affected by syndepositional extensional faults (and related folds). These faults die out in a southwestward dipping (~4°) detachment layer composed of Triassic evaporites and clays. A NE-SW cross-section of the sub-basin shows NW- to N-trending six planar and two listric extensional faults and associated folds
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Ntamak-Nida, Marie Joseph; Bourquin, Sylvie; Makong, Jean-Claude; Baudin, François; Mpesse, Jean Engelbert; Ngouem, Christophe Itjoko; Komguem, Paul Bertrand; Abolo, Guy Martin
2010-08-01
The Kribi-Campo sub-basin is composed of an Early to Mid Cretaceous series from West Africa's Atlantic coast and is located in southern Cameroon in the Central African equatorial rain forest. It is the smallest coastal basin in Cameroon and forms the southern part of the Douala/Kribi-Campo basin known as Douala basin ( s.l.). Until now, no detailed sedimentological studies have been carried out on the outcrops of this basin located in the Campo area. The aim of this study was to characterise the depositional environments, vertical evolution and tectonic context of these Lower Cretaceous series in order to make a comparison with adjacent basins and replace them in the geodynamic context. Facies analysis of the Lower Mundeck Formation (Lower Cretaceous) indicates the presence of four major, interfigered facies associations, that are inferred to represent elements of an alluvial to lacustrine-fan delta system. The clast lithologies suggest proximity of relief supplying coarse-grained sediment during the deposition of the Lower Mundeck Formation at Campo. The general dip and direction of the bedding is approximately 10°-12°NW, which also corresponds to the orientation of the foliations in the underlying metamorphic basement. The main sedimentary succession is characterised by a major retrogradational/progradational cycle of Late Aptian age, evaluated at about 3 Ma, with a well-developed progradational trend characterised by fluctuations of the recognised depositional environments. Fluctuations in lake level and sediment supply were possibly controlled by active faults at the basin margin, although climatic changes may have also played a role. The consistently W-WNW palaeoflow of sediments suggests that the palaeorelief was located to the east and could be oriented in a NNE-SSW direction, downthrown to the west. Local outcrops dated as Albian, both north and south of the main outcrop, display some marine influence. These deposits are cut by 040-060 faults parallel to
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New Australian sauropods shed light on Cretaceous dinosaur palaeobiogeography
Poropat, Stephen F.; Mannion, Philip D.; Upchurch, Paul; Hocknull, Scott A.; Kear, Benjamin P.; Kundrát, Martin; Tischler, Travis R.; Sloan, Trish; Sinapius, George H. K.; Elliott, Judy A.; Elliott, David A.
2016-01-01
Australian dinosaurs have played a rare but controversial role in the debate surrounding the effect of Gondwanan break-up on Cretaceous dinosaur distribution. Major spatiotemporal gaps in the Gondwanan Cretaceous fossil record, coupled with taxon incompleteness, have hindered research on this effect, especially in Australia. Here we report on two new sauropod specimens from the early Late Cretaceous of Queensland, Australia, that have important implications for Cretaceous dinosaur palaeobiogeography. Savannasaurus elliottorum gen. et sp. nov. comprises one of the most complete Cretaceous sauropod skeletons ever found in Australia, whereas a new specimen of Diamantinasaurus matildae includes the first ever cranial remains of an Australian sauropod. The results of a new phylogenetic analysis, in which both Savannasaurus and Diamantinasaurus are recovered within Titanosauria, were used as the basis for a quantitative palaeobiogeographical analysis of macronarian sauropods. Titanosaurs achieved a worldwide distribution by at least 125 million years ago, suggesting that mid-Cretaceous Australian sauropods represent remnants of clades which were widespread during the Early Cretaceous. These lineages would have entered Australasia via dispersal from South America, presumably across Antarctica. High latitude sauropod dispersal might have been facilitated by Albian–Turonian warming that lifted a palaeoclimatic dispersal barrier between Antarctica and South America. PMID:27763598
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Discussion on metallogenic prospect of sandstone-type uranium deposit in Yabulai basin
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wang Lianshe; Li Xiangping
2003-01-01
Based on characteristics of initial basin type and tectonic reworking process, this article analyses the distribution features of depositional system and subsequent alteration of the target horizon of sandstone-type uranium deposits in Yabulai basin. Guided by prognostic criteria of sandstone-type uranium deposits, authors suggest that the post-depositional tectonic reworking in the basin was quite intense, and uranium metallogenic prospects are unfavorable. However, the Lower Cretaceous in the paleo-slope at the middle of the basin does show certain metallogenic prospects for sandstone-type uranium deposits
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Influence of dynamic topography on landscape evolution and passive continental margin stratigraphy
Ding, Xuesong; Salles, Tristan; Flament, Nicolas; Rey, Patrice
2017-04-01
Quantifying the interaction between surface processes and tectonics/deep Earth processes is one important aspect of landscape evolution modelling. Both observations and results from numerical modelling indicate that dynamic topography - a surface expression of time-varying mantle convection - plays a significant role in shaping landscape through geological time. Recent research suggests that dynamic topography also has non-negligible effects on stratigraphic architecture by modifying accommodation space available for sedimentation. In addition, dynamic topography influences the sediment supply to continental margins. We use Badlands to investigate the evolution of a continental-scale landscape in response to transient dynamic uplift or subsidence, and to model the stratigraphic development on passive continental margins in response to sea-level change, thermal subsidence and dynamic topography. We consider a circularly symmetric landscape consisting of a plateau surrounded by a gently sloping continental plain and a continental margin, and a linear wave of dynamic topography. We analyze the evolution of river catchments, of longitudinal river profiles and of the χ values to evaluate the dynamic response of drainage systems to dynamic topography. We calculate the amount of cumulative erosion and deposition, and sediment flux at shoreline position, as a function of precipitation rate and erodibility coefficient. We compute the stratal stacking pattern and Wheeler diagram on vertical cross-sections at the continental margin. Our results indicate that dynamic topography 1) has a considerable influence on drainage reorganization; 2) contributes to shoreline migration and the distribution of depositional packages by modifying the accommodation space; 3) affects sediment supply to the continental margin. Transient dynamic topography contributes to the migration of drainage divides and to the migration of the mainstream in a drainage basin. The dynamic uplift
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Lower Cretaceous Puez key-section in the Dolomites - towards the mid-Cretaceous super-greenhouse
Lukeneder, A.; Halásová, E.; Rehákova, D.; Józsa, Š.; Soták, J.; Kroh, A.; Jovane, L.; Florindo, F.; Sprovieri, M.; Giorgioni, M.; Lukeneder, S.
2012-04-01
Investigations on different fossil groups in addition to isotopic, paleomagnetic and geochemical analysis are combined to extract the Early Cretaceous history of environmental changes, as displayed by the sea level and climate changes. Results on biostratigraphy are integrated with other dating methods as magnetostraigraphy, correlation and cyclostratigraphy. The main investigation topics of the submitted project within the above-described framework are the biostratigraphic (Lukeneder and Aspmair, 2006, 2012), palaeoecological (Lukeneder, 2008, 2012), palaeobiogeographic, lithostratigraphic (Lukeneder, 2010, 2011), cyclostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic development of the Early Cretaceous in the Puez area. The main sections occur in expanded outcrops located on the southern margin of the Puez Plateau, within the area of the Puez-Geisler Natural Park, in the northern part of the Dolomites (South Tyrol, North Italy). The cephalopod, microfossil and nannofossil faunas and floras from the marly limestones to marls here indicates Hauterivian to Albian/Cenomanian age. Oxygen isotope values from the Lower Cretaceous Puez Formation show a decreasing trend throughout the log, from -1.5‰ in the Hauterivian to -4.5‰ in the Albian/Cenomanian. The decreasing values mirror an increasing trend in palaeotemperatures from ~ 15-18°C in the Hauterivian up to ~25-30 °C in the Albian/Cenomanian. The trend probably indicates the positive shift in temperature induced by the well known Mid Cretaceous Ocean warming (e.g., Super-Greenhouse). The cooperative project (FWF project P20018-N10; 22 international scientists): An integrative high resolution project. Macro- and microfossils, isotopes, litho-, cyclo-, magneto-and biostratigraphy as tools for investigating the Lower Cretaceous within the Dolomites (Southern Alps, Northern Italy) -The Puez area as a new key region of the Tethyan Realm), is on the way since 2008 by the Natural History Museum in Vienna and the 'Naturmuseum S
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Atmospheric Residence Times of Continental Aerosols.
Balkanski, Yves Jacques
The global atmospheric distributions of ^{222}Rn and ^{210 }Pb are simulated with a three-dimensional model of atmospheric transport based on the meteorology of the NASA GISS^1>=neral circulation model. The short-lived radioactive gas ^ {222}Rn (half-life = 3.8d) is emitted almost exclusively from land, at a relatively uniform rate; hence it is an excellent tracer of continental influences. Lead -210 is produced by decay of ^{222} Rn and immediately condenses to preexisting aerosol surfaces. It provides an excellent measure of aerosol residence times in the atmosphere because its source is accurately defined by the ^{222} Rn distribution. Results from the three-dimensional model are compared to measurements of ^ {222}Rn and ^{210 }Pb atmospheric concentrations to evaluate model's long-range transport over oceanic regions and to study the deposition mechanisms of atmospheric aerosols. Model results for ^{222} Rn are used to examine the long-range transport of continental air over two selected oceanic regions, the subantartic Indian Ocean and the North Pacific. It is shown that fast transport of air from southern Africa causes substantial continental pollution at southern mid-latitudes, a region usually regarded as pristine. Air over the North Pacific is heavily impacted by continental influences year round, but the altitude at which the transport occurs varies seasonally. Observations of aerosols at island sites, which are commonly used as diagnostics of continental influences, may be misleading because they do not account for influences at high altitude and because aerosols are efficiently scavenged by deposition during transport. The study of ^{210}Pb focuses on defining the residence times of submicron aerosols in the troposphere. Scavenging in wet convective updrafts is found to provide the dominant sink on a global scale. The globally averaged residence time for ^{210 }Pb-containing aerosols in the troposphere is 7 days. The average increase in residence time
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Guo, Zhi-Xin; Shi, Yuan-Peng; Yang, Yong-Tai; Jiang, Shuan-Qi; Li, Lin-Bo; Zhao, Zhi-Gang
2018-04-01
A significant transition in tectonic regime from extension to compression occurred throughout East Asia during the mid-Cretaceous and has stimulated much attention. However, the timing and driving mechanisms of the transition remain disputed. The Erlian Basin, a giant late Mesozoic intracontinental petroliferous basin located in the Inner Mongolia, Northeast China, contains important sedimentary and structural records related to the mid-Cretaceous compressional event. The stratigraphical, sedimentological and structural analyses reveal that a NW-SE compressional inversion occurred in the Erlian Basin between the depositions of the Lower Cretaceous Saihan and Upper Cretaceous Erlian formations, causing intense folding of the Saihan Formation and underlying strata, and the northwestward migration of the depocenters of the Erlian Formation. Based on the newly obtained detrital zircon U-Pb data and previously published paleomagnetism- and fossil-based ages, the Saihan and Erlian formations are suggested as latest Aptian-Albian and post-early Cenomanian in age, respectively, implying that the inversion in the Erlian Basin occurred in the early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian time). Apatite fission-track thermochronological data record an early Late Cretaceous cooling/exhuming event in the basin, corresponding well with the aforementioned sedimentary, structural and chronological analyses. Combining with the tectono-sedimentary evolutions of the neighboring basins of the Erlian Basin, we suggest that the early Late Cretaceous inversional event in the Erlian Basin and the large scale tectonic transition in East Asia shared the common driving mechanism, probably resulting from the Okhotomorsk Block-East Asia collisional event at about 100-89 Ma.
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Villagómez, Diego; Spikings, Richard; Magna, Tomas; Kammer, Andreas; Winkler, Wilfried; Beltrán, Alejandro
2011-08-01
Autochthonous rocks of the pre-Cretaceous continental margin of NW South America (the Tahami Terrane) are juxtaposed against a series of para-autochthonous rock units that assembled during the Early Cretaceous. Allochthonous, oceanic crust of the Caribbean Large Igneous Province collided with and accreted onto the margin during the Late Cretaceous. We present the first regional-scale dataset of zircon U-Pb LA-ICP-MS ages for intrusive and metamorphic rocks of the autochthonous Tahami Terrane, Early Cretaceous igneous para-autochthonous rocks and accreted oceanic crust. The U-Pb zircon data are complemented by multiphase 40Ar/ 39Ar crystallization and cooling ages. The geochronological data are combined with whole rock major oxide, trace element and REE data acquired from the same units to constrain the tectonic origin of the rock units and terranes exposed in the Western Cordillera, Cauca-Patía Valley and the Central Cordillera of Colombia. The Tahami Terrane includes lower Paleozoic orthogneisses (~ 440 Ma) that may have erupted during the active margin stage of the Rheic Ocean. Basement gneisses were intruded by Permian, continental arc granites during the final assembly of Pangea. Triassic sedimentary rocks were subsequently deposited in rift basins and partially melted during high-T metamorphism associated with rifting of western Pangea during 240-220 Ma. Continental arc magmatism during 180-145 Ma is preserved along the whole length of the Central Cordillera and was followed by an Early Cretaceous out-board step of the arc axis and the inception of the Quebradagrande Arc that fringed the continental margin. Back-stepping of the arc axis may have been caused by the collision of buoyant seamounts, which were coeval with plateau rocks exposed in the Nicoya Peninsular of Costa Rica. Rapid westward drift of South America closed the Quebradagrande basin in the late Aptian and caused medium-high P-T metamorphic rocks of the Arquía Complex to exhume and obduct onto
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Sedimentary features of the Blackhawk formation (Cretaceous) at Sunnyside, Carbon County, Utah
Maberry, John O.
1968-01-01
The Blackhawk Formation at Sunnyside, Utah, was deposited along the western margin of the Western Interior Cretaceous sea during southeastward withdrawal of the sea. Sand was the dominant type of land-derived sediment deposited in the Sunnyside district during the regressive phases. Sand bodies prograded seaward in response to changing sediment supply from a source west of Sunnyside. Where conditions were favorable for the accumulation of vegetable material, peat deposits formed and were later changed to bituminous Coal by diagenesis. Studies of the coal bed show that the coals were formed from accumulation of small, low-growing plants and plant debris that was transported into the area of accumulation. Remains of large plants in the coals are rare. Trace fossils, which are tracks, trails and burrows formed by organisms and preserved in the rock, are extremely abundant in the Blackhawk rocks. These biogenic sedimentary structures are common in Cretaceous deposits throughout the western United States. Trace fossil distribution in the rocks is controlled by the depositional environment preferred by their creators. A study of the trace fossils of a. locality allows a more precise determination of the conditions during deposition of the sediments. Water depth, bottom conditions, salinity, current velocity and amount of suspended nutrients in the water are some of the environmental factors that may be reconstructed by studying trace fossils. The Blackhawk Formation at Sunnyside comprises the members, the Kenilworth Member and the Sunnyside Member. Field studies show that the formation may be further subdivided in the Sunnyside district., according to the precepts of units of mappable thickness and similar lithologic characteristics. The Blackhawk pinches out eastward and north. ward into the Mancos Shale, and names for submembers become meaningless. Names are of value in the region of interest, however, because of the prominence of the named units. Coal mining is the
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Western Continental Margin of India - Re-look using potential field data
Rajaram, M.; S P, A.
2008-05-01
The Western Continental Margin of India (WCMI) evolved as a result of rifting between India and Madagascar that took place during mid Cretaceous (~88Ma).The WCMI is equally important in terms of natural resources as well as research point of view. The major tectonic elements in the western offshore includes the Laxmi and Chagos- Laccadive ridge dividing the WCMI and the adjoining Arabian sea into two basins, Pratap Ridge, Alleppey platform etc. Different theories have been proposed for the evolution of each of these tectonic elements. In the current paper we look at geopotential data on the west coast of India and the western off-shore. The data sets utilized include Satellite derived High Resolution Free Air Gravity data over the off-shore, Bouguer data onland, Champ Satellite Magnetic data, published Marine Magnetic data collected by ONGC, NIO, ground magnetic data over west cost collected by IIG and available aeromagnetic data. From the free air gravity anomaly the structural details of the western offshore can be delineated. The Euler depths of FAG depict deep solutions associated with Pratap Ridge, Comorin Ridge, the west coast fault and the Laxmi Ridge. These may be associated with continental margin and continental fragments. From the aeromagnetic and marine magnetic data it is evident that the West Coast Fault is dissected at several places. The shallow circular feature associated with Bombay High is evident both on the FAG and the analytic signal derived from satellite Magnetic data. The crustal magnetic thickness from MF5 lithospheric model of the Champ appears to suggest that the continental crust extends up to the Chagos- Laccadive ridge. Based on the analysis of these geopotential data sets the various theories for the evolution of the WCMI will be evaluated and these results will be presented.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Luo Yi; Wang Zhengbang; Hou Huiqun; Zhou Dean; Qi Fucheng; Xiao Xiangping
1995-06-01
The study area, an activation zone of the median Massif in Xingmeng geosynclinal area, geologically underwent the multiple tectono-magmatic reworking of granitizations during Shinagan, Caledonia and Hercynian periods and of continental rift volcanism in the Mesozoic-Cenozoic era. It is an important potential area for uranium metallogenesis in volcanic basin in North China. The study identifies that four stages of uranium preconcentration and three phases of hydrothermal superimposed-reworking uranium metallogenesis occurred along with the regional geological elevation process. Studies on the U-Pb isotope and induced fission track of various kinds of basement rocks from the area indicate that the basement composed of crustal source remelting type Caledonian and Hercynian granites is favourable for uranium metallogenesis in volcanic basin, and that the late Jurassic intermediate-acid volcano-rock directly act as the source of uranium and that Cretaceous-Tertiary extension-rift basalt magmatic activation supply an important hydrothermal reworking condition for the uranium metallogenesis in volcanic basin. Based on comparative study on the metallogenetic conditions of typical large-scale volcanic uranium deposits at home and abroad, nine prospecting criteria are summarized, the polygenetic mixing hydrothermal uranium metallogenetic model for penetrable volcano-collapse basin is presented, and the main prospecting targets of uranium deposits are pointed out. (2 figs.)
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Cretaceous Vertebrate Tracksites - Korean Cretaceous Dinosaur Coast World Heritage Nomination Site
Huh, M.; Woo, K. S.; Lim, J. D.; Paik, I. S.
2009-04-01
South Korea is one of the best known regions in the world for Cretaceous fossil footprints, which are also world-renowned. Korea has produced more scientifically named bird tracks (ichnotaxa) than any other region in the world. It has also produced the world's largest pterosaur tracks. Dinosaur tracksites also have the highest frequency of vertebrate track-bearing levels currently known in any stratigraphic sequence. Among the areas that have the best track records, and the greatest scientific significance with best documentation, Korea ranks very highly. Objective analysis of important individual tracksites and tracksite regions must be based on multiple criteria including: size of site, number of tracks, trackways and track bearing levels, number of valid named ichnotaxa including types, number of scientific publications, quality of preservation. The unique and distinctive dinosaur tracksites are known as one of the world's most important dinosaur track localities. In particular, the dinosaur track sites in southern coastal area of Korea are very unique. In the sites, we have excavated over 10,000 dinosaur tracks. The Hwasun sites show diverse gaits with unusual walking patterns and postures in some tracks. The pterosaur tracks are the most immense in the world. The longest pterosaur trackway yet known from any track sites suggests that pterosaurs were competent terrestrial locomotors. This ichnofauna contains the first pterosaur tracks reported from Asia. The Haenam Uhangri pterosaur assigns to a new genus Haenamichnus which accomodates the new ichnospecies, Haenamichnus uhangriensis. At least 12 track types have been reported from the Haman and Jindong Formations (probably late Lower Cretaceous). These include the types of bird tracks assigned to Koreanornis, Jindongornipes, Ignotornis and Goseongornipes. In addition the bird tracks Hwangsanipes, Uhangrichnus, the pterosaur track Haenamichnus and the dinosaur tracks, Brontopodus, Caririchnium, Minisauripus and
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Ponte, Francisco Celso; Asmus, Haroldo Erwin
2004-11-01
Based on distinctive stratigraphic and/or structural characteristics, the brazilian continental margin can be divided into two main provinces : (1)The southeastern-eastern province, extending from the Pelotas to the Recife - Joao Pessoa Basin, presents a tensional tectonic style of Late Jurassic - Early Cretaceous age, paralleling the structural alignments of the Precambrian basement, except in the northeastern segment where the Mesozoic faults of the Recife - Joao Pessoa Basin cut across the east west basement directions. The basin-fill, Upper Jurassic through Recent, consists, where complete, of three stratigraphic sequences, each of a distinct depositional environment: (a) a lower clastic non-marine sequence; (b) a middle evaporitic sequence, and (c) an upper clastic paralic and open marine sequence. (2)The northern province, extending from the Potiguar Basin to the Amazon Submarine Basin, displays both tensional and compressional tectonic styles of Upper Jurassic (?) to Upper Cretaceous age either paralleling or cutting transversally the basement alignments. The stratigraphic column differs from the southeastern - eastern province in lacking the Lower Cretaceous evaporitic rocks. The integration of the stratigraphic and structural data allows one to determine in the eastern Brazilian marginal basins the main evolutionary stages of a typical pull-apart continental margin: a continental pre-rift and rift stage, an evaporitic proto-ocean stage, and a normal open ocean stage. In the northern province it is possible to infer a continental rift valley stage, a marine transform - movement stage and an open ocean stage. The relationship between the rift valley and transform movement stages is not clear. (author)
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Kilop Cretaceous Hardground (Kale, Gümüshane, NE Turkey):description and origin
Eren, Muhsin; Tasli, Kemal
2002-06-01
A hardground surface is well exposed in the Kilop area of Kale (Gümüshane, NE Turkey) which forms part of the Eastern Pontides. Here, the hardground is underlain by shallow water Lower Cretaceous limestones, and overlain by Upper Cretaceous red limestones/marls which contains a planktonic microfauna including Globotruncanidae. In the field, the recognition of the hardground is based on the presence of extensive burrows (especially vertical burrows), the encrusting rudistid bivalve Requienia, neptunian-dykes with infills of pelagic sediments and synsedimentary faults. Skolithos and Thalassinoides-type burrows are present. Some burrow walls show iron hydroxide-staining. The extensive burrowing occurred prior to lithification. On the other hand, the neptunian-dykes and synsedimentary faults, which cut the hard ground, occurred after the lithification. These features indicate the progressive hardening of the substrate. The burrowed limestone consists of an intrabioclastic peloidal grainstone which was deposited in an intertidal to shallow, subtidal, moderate to relatively high energy environment. The peloidal limestone shows little or no evidence of submarine cementation, characterized by only scarce relics of isopachous cement rims of bladed calcite spar. The grainstone cement is composed predominantly of blocky calcite and overgrowth calcite cements on the echinoid-fragments. The origin of this cement is controversial. Biostratigraphic analysis of the limestones demonstrates that there is a marked stratigraphic gap (hiatus), spanning the Aptian to the Santonian, in the Cretaceous of the Kilop area. The formation of the Kilop Hardground is related to the break-up and subsidence of the Eastern Pontides carbonate platform during the formation of the Black Sea backarc basin. Hardground development was initiated in a shallow marine environment of slow sedimentation and with moderate to high energy indicating slow subsidence. Later, the hardground subsided abruptly, as
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Precious metal-bearing epithermal deposits in western Patagonia (NE Lago Fontana region), Argentina
Lanfranchini, Mabel Elena; Etcheverry, Ricardo Oscar; de Barrio, Raúl Ernesto; Recio Hernández, Clemente
2013-04-01
Precious metal-bearing quartz veins occur at the northeastern sector of the Lago Fontana region in southwestern Argentina, within the context of the Andean continental magmatic arc environment. The deposits and their associated alteration zones are spatially related to a Cretaceous calc-alkaline magmatism represented by silicic dikes and hypabyssal intrusions, and hosted by a Late Jurassic to Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary sequence. The veins and related veinlets crop out discontinuously, in general terms in a NW-SE belt. The primary vein mineral assemblage is composed mostly of pyrite ± galena ± chalcopyrite > hematite ± arsenopyrite in silica gangue minerals. Chemical analyses of grab samples from selected quartz veins show as much as 5.7 ppm Au and 224 ppm Ag, as well as elevated Pb, Cu, and Zn. Hydrothermal fluids caused an innermost silicification and adularia-sericite alteration assemblage, and an external propylitic halo. Sulfur isotope values measured for sulfides (δSS from -1.90 to +1.56‰), and oxygen and hydrogen isotopes measured on quartz crystals and extracted primary fluid inclusion waters (δOO = -2.85 to +5.40‰; δDO = -106.0 to -103.4‰) indicate that mineralization probably formed from magmatic fluids, which were mixed with meteoric waters. Also, fluid inclusion data from quartz veins point out that these fluids had low salinity (1.7-4.2 wt% NaCl equiv.), and temperatures of homogenization between 180 and 325 °C. Mineralogical, petrographic and geochemical features for mineralized surface exposures indicate a typical adularia-sericite, low sulfidation epithermal system in the Lago Fontana area that represents a promising target for further exploration programs.
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Garrison, J.R.; Van Den, Bergh; Barker, C.E.; Tabet, D.E.
1997-01-01
This Field Excursion will visit outcrops of the fluvial-deltaic Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) Ferron Sandstone Member of the Mancos Shale, known as the Last Chance delta or Upper Ferron Sandstone. This field guide and the field stops will outline the architecture and depositional sequence stratigraphy of the Upper Ferron Sandstone clastic wedge and explore the stratigraphic positions and compositions of major coal zones. The implications of the architecture and stratigraphy of the Ferron fluvial-deltaic complex for coal and coalbed methane resources will be discussed. Early works suggested that the southwesterly derived deltaic deposits of the the upper Ferron Sandstone clastic wedge were a Type-2 third-order depositional sequence, informally called the Ferron Sequence. These works suggested that the Ferron Sequence is separated by a type-2 sequence boundary from the underlying 3rd-order Hyatti Sequence, which has its sediment source from the northwest. Within the 3rd-order depositional sequence, the deltaic events of the Ferron clastic wedge, recognized as parasequence sets, appear to be stacked into progradational, aggradational, and retrogradational patterns reflecting a generally decreasing sediment supply during an overall slow sea-level rise. The architecture of both near-marine facies and non-marine fluvial facies exhibit well defined trends in response to this decrease in available sediment. Recent studies have concluded that, unless coincident with a depositional sequence boundary, regionally extensive coal zones occur at the tops of the parasequence sets within the Ferron clastic wedge. These coal zones consist of coal seams and their laterally equivalent fissile carbonaceous shales, mudstones, and siltstones, paleosols, and flood plain mudstones. Although the compositions of coal zones vary along depositional dip, the presence of these laterally extensive stratigraphic horizons, above parasequence sets, provides a means of correlating and defining the tops
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Jiang, Jun-Sheng; Zheng, You-Ye; Gao, Shun-Bao; Zhang, Yong-Chao; Huang, Jian; Liu, Jun; Wu, Song; Xu, Jing; Huang, Liang-Liang
2018-05-01
The newly discovered polymetallic Nuocang Pb-Zn skarn deposit is located in the southern Lhasa subterrane, western Gangdese, Tibet. The orebodies occur primarily at the contact zone between the Angjie Formation and the Linzizong volcanic rocks of Dianzhong Formation (LDF) that are dominated by basaltic andesitic tuff and rhyolite. Zircon U-Pb dating for two granite porphyries yield ages of 72.4 ± 0.2 Ma and 73.4 ± 0.9 Ma, which are different from the ages ( 69-60 Ma) of the LDF in the eastern Gangdese. The basaltic andesite tuff at Nuocang exhibits enrichment of MgO, TiO2, LILE, and LREE, with a relative depletion of SiO2, K2O, HFSE, and HREE, low Sr/Y ratios (32.9-38.0), and weak negative Eu anomalies (mean 0.86). They have 87Sr/86Sr(i) from 0.70695 to 0.70807 and εNd(t) values between -4.3 and -5.9. These features are similar to the Linzizong volcanic rocks of Dianzhong Formation in the Linzhou basin, indicating that they were associated with partial melting of mantle wedge mixing with 25-35% ancient Lhasa terrane basement. The rhyolite and granite porphyry show high SiO2 and K2O, and low Sr/Y ratio (1.2-9.9), enrichment of LILE and LREE and strong depletion of the HFSEs. They have pronounced negative Eu anomalies (mean 0.46), and εHf (t) values of the granite porphyry zircons range from -22.0 to -6.0. All these features suggest that they are the product of anatexis of ancient crustal materials heated by mantle-derived magma, the latter derived from Neo-Tethyan slab dehydration mechanisms. Combined with the previous geochronological and geochemical data, we proposed that the Nuocang district of western Gangdese in the southern Lhasa subterrane contains an ancient block, and the igneous rocks here were triggered by the Neo-Tethyan slab rollback starting at 82 Ma. The western Gangdese contains more ancient continental crustal materials and Late Cretaceous-Eocene Linzizong volcanic rocks and coeval intrusions than in the eastern Gangdese. Thus the western
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wang Jinping
2000-01-01
Lower Cretaceous is developed well in the north part of Shanganning basin. The area was widely uplifting vertically after their deposited. Based on the features of lithology, lithophase and Neotectonic forms, two main periods of oxidation-erosion of K2-E1 and N1-present can be distinguished. During these two periods, large scale horizontal oxidation were occurred. It is significant that the ground water oxidation related to the uranium mineralization and has been proved by the field investigation and the data of γ-logging in drill hole for oil. Meanwhile, according to the hydrodynamic features of present Shanganning plateau type artesian basin, it seems that uranium mineralization main related to the ground water oxidation the upper parts of the Lower Cretaceous
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Ma, Mingming; Liu, Xiuming; Wang, Wenyan
2018-03-01
The climate during the Cretaceous Period represented one of the greenhouse states of Earth's history. Significant transformation of climate patterns and a mass extinction event characterised by the disappearance of dinosaurs occurred across the Cretaceous-Palaeogene boundary. However, most records of this interval are derived from marine sediments. The continuous and well-exposed red strata of the Nanxiong Basin (SE China) provide ideal material to develop continental records. Considerable research into stratigraphic, palaeontological, chronologic, palaeoclimatic, and tectonic aspects has been carried out for the Datang profile, which is a type section of a non-marine Cretaceous-Palaeogene stratigraphic division in China. For this study, we reviewed previous work and found that (1) the existing chronological framework of the Datang profile is flawed; (2) precise palaeoclimatic reconstruction is lacking because of the limitations of sampling resolution (e.g. carbonate samples) and/or the lack of efficient proxies; and (3) comparisons of climate changes between marine and continental records are lacking. To resolve these problems, detailed field observations and sampling, as well as environmental magnetic and rare earth element (REE) measurements, were carried out. The results show that (1) more accurate ages of the Datang profile range from 72 to 62.8 Ma based on a combination of the most recently published radiometric, palaeontological, and palaeomagnetic ages; (2) there is considerable evidence of palaeosol generation, which indicates that the red strata formed in a long-term hot, oxidising environment that lacked underwater conditions; (3) haematite was the dominant magnetic mineral in the red strata, and the variation trend of magnetic susceptibility was consistent with the oxygen isotope records from deep-sea sediments, which indicates that the content of haematite was controlled by the global climate; and (4) the palaeoclimate changes from 72 to 62.8 Ma in the
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Geochemistry of trace elements and REE in phosphate deposits of el Sibaiya west AREA, nile valley
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Aly, M.M.; Hussein, H.A.; Elkammar, A.A.; Mahdy, A.I.
1994-01-01
The present work deals essentially with the study of the geochemistry of trace elements and rare earth elements (REE s) patterns in the upper cretaceous phosphate deposit in El Sibaiya west area located on the western side of the River Nile. About 20 Km south from Esna town, upper Egypt. It was evident throughout this study that the average shale normalized pattern of six analyzed rare earth elements indicates that the phosphate deposits under study were deposited under marine environment. In addition some geochemical ratios such as Cl/Br and Na/Br have been proposed as indicators of the paleosalinity of the upper cretaceous tethys compared with the nowadays sea. Uranium equilibrium status of the studied phosphate deposits suggests a remarkably secondary enrichment at the lower horizon at the expense of the upper one due to downward leaching. Such secondary enrichment of uranium is thought to take place under oxidizing vadose conditions by the action of descending meteoric water. 6 fig., 4 tab
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Fan, Jian-Jun; Li, Cai; Sun, Zhen-Ming; Xu, Wei; Wang, Ming; Xie, Chao-Ming
2018-04-01
New zircon U-Pb ages, major- and trace-element data, and Hf isotopic compositions are presented for bimodal volcanic rocks of the Zhaga Formation (ZF) in the western-middle segment of the Bangong-Nujiang suture zone (BNSZ), northern Tibet. The genesis of these rocks is described, and implications for late-stage evolution of the Bangong-Nujiang Tethyan Ocean (BNTO) are considered. Detailed studies show that the ZF bimodal rocks, which occur as layers within a typical bathyal to abyssal flysch deposit, comprise MORB-type basalt that formed at a mid-ocean ridge, and low-K calc-alkaline A-type rhyolite derived from juvenile crust. The combination of MORB-type basalt, calc-alkaline A-type rhyolite, and bathyal to abyssal flysch deposits in the ZF leads us to propose that they formed as a result of ridge subduction. The A-type ZF rhyolites yield LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb ages of 118-112 Ma, indicating formation during the Early Cretaceous. Data from the present study, combined with regional geological data, indicate that the BNTO underwent conversion from ocean opening to ocean closure during the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous. The eastern segment of the BNTO closed during this period, while the western and western-middle segments were still at least partially open and active during the Early Cretaceous, accompanied by ridge subduction within the Bangong-Nujiang Tethyan Ocean.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Mcgregor, E.D.; Nielsen, S.B.; Stephenson, R.A.
Davis Strait is situated between Baffin Island and Greenland and forms part of a sedimentary basin system, linking Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay, developed during Cretaceous and Palaeocene rifting that culminated in a brief period of sea-floor spreading in the late Palaeocene and Eocene. Seismic...... reflection profiles and exploration wells along the Greenland margin of Davis Strait have been analysed in order to elucidate uplift events affecting sedimentary basin development during the Cenozoic with a focus on postulated Neogene (tectonic) uplift affecting the west Greenland continental margin...... tectonic event. An interpretation in which the inferred onshore cooling is related to erosion of pre-existing topography is more consistent with our new results from the offshore region. These results will have important implications for other continental margins developed throughout the Atlantic...
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The origin and early evolution of metatherian mammals: the Cretaceous record
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Thomas E. Williamson
2014-12-01
Full Text Available Metatherians, which comprise marsupials and their closest fossil relatives, were one of the most dominant clades of mammals during the Cretaceous and are the most diverse clade of living mammals after Placentalia. Our understanding of this group has increased greatly over the past 20 years, with the discovery of new specimens and the application of new analytical tools. Here we provide a review of the phylogenetic relationships of metatherians with respect to other mammals, discuss the taxonomic definition and diagnosis of Metatheria, outline the Cretaceous history of major metatherian clades, describe the paleobiology, biogeography, and macroevolution of Cretaceous metatherians, and provide a physical and climatic background of Cretaceous metatherian faunas. Metatherians are a clade of boreosphendian mammals that must have originated by the Late Jurassic, but the first unequivocal metatherian fossil is from the Early Cretaceous of Asia. Metatherians have the distinctive tightly interlocking occlusal molar pattern of tribosphenic mammals, but differ from Eutheria in their dental formula and tooth replacement pattern, which may be related to the metatherian reproductive process which includes an extended period of lactation followed by birth of extremely altricial young. Metatherians were widespread over Laurasia during the Cretaceous, with members present in Asia, Europe, and North America by the early Late Cretaceous. In particular, they were taxonomically and morphologically diverse and relatively abundant in the Late Cretaceous of western North America, where they have been used to examine patterns of biogeography, macroevolution, diversification, and extinction through the Late Cretaceous and across the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg boundary. Metatherian diversification patterns suggest that they were not strongly affected by a Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution, but they clearly underwent a severe extinction across the K-Pg boundary.
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Melankholina, E. N.; Sushchevskaya, N. M.
2018-03-01
The history of the opening of the South Atlantic in Early Cretaceous time is considered. It is shown that the determining role for continental breakup preparation has been played by tectono-magmatic events within the limits of the distal margins that developed above the plume head. The formation of the Rio Grande Rise-Walvis Ridge volcanic system along the trace of the hot spot is considered. The magmatism in the South Atlantic margins, its sources, and changes in composition during the evolution are described. On the basis of petrogeochemical data, the peculiarities of rocks with a continental signature are shown. Based on Pb-Sr-Nd isotopic studies, it is found that the manifestations of magmatism in the proximal margins had features of enriched components related to the EM I and EM II sources, sometimes with certain participation of the HIMU source. Within the limits of the Walvis Ridge, as magmatism expanded to the newly formed oceanic crust, the participation of depleted asthenospheric mantle became larger in the composition of magmas. The role played by the Tristan plume in magma generation is discussed: it is the most considered as the heat source that determined the melting of the ancient enriched lithosphere. The specifics of the tectono-magmatic evolution of the South Atlantic is pointed out: the origination during spreading of a number of hot spots above the periphery of the African superplume. The diachronous character of the opening of the ocean is considered in the context of northward progradation of the breakup line and its connection with the northern branch of the Atlantic Ocean in the Mid-Cretaceous.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Chen Zuyi
2002-01-01
Since the 1980's, after the discovery of numerous sandstone uranium deposits in Middle Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan) many large sandstone uranium deposits have been found in both Russia and Mongolia. So that Asia has become the most concentrated region of sandstone uranium deposits. The known sandstone uranium deposits occur mostly in a arcual tectonic belt constrained from the north by the Siberian continental block, and the Tarim-North China continental block from the south. This belt is named by Russian geologists as the Central Asian Mobile Belt, and some Chinese geologists call it the 'Mongolian Arc'. A lot of large and super large metallic, non-metallic, gold, polymetallic, porphyry copper and gold, massive sulphide and uranium deposits (of sandstone and volcanic types) with different origin and various types concentrated occur in this belt. The abundant and colourful mineral resources in the region are closely associated with the specific geologic-tectonic evolution of the above belt. It is necessary to strengthen the detailed geologic research and uranium prospecting in the region
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Geological studies of the COST No. B-3 Well, United States Mid-Atlantic continental slope area
Scholle, Peter A.
1980-01-01
The COST No. B-3 well is the first deep stratigraphic test to be drilled on the Continental Slope off the Eastern United States. The well was drilled in 2,686 ft (819 m) of water in the Baltimore Canyon trough area to a total depth of 15,820 ft (4,844 m) below the drill platform. It penetrated a section composed of mudstones, calcareous mudstones, and limestones of generally deep water origin to a depth of about 8.200 ft (2,500 m) below the drill floor. Light-colored, medium- to coarse-grained sandstones with intercalated gray and brown shales, micritic limestones, and minor coal and dolomite predominate from about 8,200 to 12,300 ft (2,500 to 3,750 m). From about 12,300 ft (3,750 m) to the bottom, the section consists of limestones (including oolitic and intraclastic grainstones) with interbedded fine-to medium-grained sandstones, dark-colored fissile shales, and numerous coal seams. Biostratigraphic examination has shown that the section down to approximately 6,000 ft (1,830 m) is Tertiary. The boundary between the Lower and Upper Cretaceous sections is placed between 8,600 and 9,200 ft (2,620 and 2,800 m) by various workers. Placement of the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary shows an even greater range based on different organisms; it is placed variously between 12,250 and 13,450 ft (3,730 and 5,000 m). The oldest unit penetrated in the well is considered to be Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) by some workers and Middle Jurassic (Callovian) by others. The Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic parts of the section represent nonmarine to shallow-marine shelf sedimentation. Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary units reflect generally deeper water conditions at the B-3 well site and show a general transition from deposition at shelf to slope water depths. Examination of cores, well cuttings, and electric logs indicates that potential hydrocarbon-reservoir units are present throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous section. Porous and moderately permeable limestones and sandstones have been
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Brown, R.W.; Gleadow, A.J.W.; Rust, D.J.; Summerfield, M.A.; De Wit, M.C.J.
1990-01-01
Apatite fission track ages and confined track length distributions have been determined for rock samples from the south-western continental margin of Africa. The apatite ages fall into two groups, one having early Cretaceous ages and mean confined track lengths of ∼ 14 μm with very few short tracks, and the other having older ages with confined track length distributions containing a significant proportion of strongly annealed tracks (<10 μm). In any particular area the older apatite ages only occur above a critical threshold elevation, forming a regional pattern in the data and indicating cooling of the upper few kilometres of the crust during the early cretaceous. This episode of cooling is shown to have been the consequence of an accelerated phase of erosion associated with the early stages of rifting and break-up of Gondwana, and correlates with sedimentation patterns derived from borehole data for the adjacent offshore basin. (author)
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Brown, R.W.; Gleadow, A.J.W. (La Trobe Univ., Bundoora (Australia)); Rust, D.J.; Summerfield, M.A. (Edinburgh Univ. (UK)); De Wit, M.C.J. (De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd., Kimberley (South Africa))
1990-01-01
Apatite fission track ages and confined track length distributions have been determined for rock samples from the south-western continental margin of Africa. The apatite ages fall into two groups, one having early Cretaceous ages and mean confined track lengths of {approx} 14 {mu}m with very few short tracks, and the other having older ages with confined track length distributions containing a significant proportion of strongly annealed tracks (<10 {mu}m). In any particular area the older apatite ages only occur above a critical threshold elevation, forming a regional pattern in the data and indicating cooling of the upper few kilometres of the crust during the early cretaceous. This episode of cooling is shown to have been the consequence of an accelerated phase of erosion associated with the early stages of rifting and break-up of Gondwana, and correlates with sedimentation patterns derived from borehole data for the adjacent offshore basin. (author).
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Wartes, Marwan A.; Decker, Paul L.; Stanley, Richard G.; Herriott, Trystan M.; Helmold, Kenneth P.; Gillis, Robert J.
2013-01-01
The Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys has an ongoing program aimed at evaluating the Mesozoic forearc stratigraphy, structure, and petroleum systems of lower Cook Inlet. Most of our field studies have focused on the Jurassic component of the petroleum system (this report). However, in late July and early August of 2012, we initiated a study of the stratigraphy and reservoir potential of the Upper Cretaceous Kaguyak Formation. The Kaguyak Formation is locally well exposed on the upper Alaska Peninsula (fig. 25) and was named by Keller and Reiser (1959) for a sequence of interbedded siltstone and sandstone of upper Campanian to Maastrichtian age that they estimated to be 1,450 m thick.Subsequent work by Detterman and Miller (1985) examined 900 m of section and interpreted the unit as the record of a prograding submarine fan.This interpretation of deep-water deposition contrasts with other Upper Cretaceous rocks exposed along the Alaska Peninsula and lower Cook Inlet that are generally described as nonmarine to shallow marine (Detterman and others, 1996; LePain and others, 2012).Based on foraminifera and palynomorphs from the COST No. 1 well, Magoon (1986) concluded that the Upper Cretaceous rocks were deposited in a variety of water depths and environments ranging from upper bathyal to nonmarine. During our recent fieldwork west and south of Fourpeaked Mountain, we similarly encountered markedly varying lithofacies in the Kaguyak Formation (fig. 25), and we also found oil-stained rocks that are consistent with the existence of an active petroleum system in Upper Cretaceous rocks on the upper Alaska Peninsula and in lower Cook Inlet. These field observations are summarized below.
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Medeiros, Manuel Alfredo; Lindoso, Rafael Matos; Mendes, Ighor Dienes; Carvalho, Ismar de Souza
2014-08-01
The fossil taxa of the Cenomanian continental flora and fauna of São Luís Basin are observed primarily in the bone bed of the Laje do Coringa, Alcântara Formation. Many of the disarticulated fish and tetrapod skeletal and dental elements are remarkably similar to the chronocorrelate fauna of Northern Africa. In this study, we present a summary of the continental flora and fauna of the Laje do Coringa bone-bed. The record emphasizes the existence of a trans-oceanic typical fauna, at least until the early Cenomanian, which may be interpreted as minor evolutionary changes after a major vicariant event or as a result of a land bridge across the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, thereby allowing interchanges between South America and Africa. The paleoenvironmental conditions in the northern Maranhão State coast during that time were inferred as forested humid areas surrounded by an arid to semi-arid landscape.
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Metallogenesis and metallogenic model of Nuheting uranium deposit in Erlian Basin
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Li Hongjun; Kuang Wenzhan
2010-01-01
Based on the study on geological characteristics, metallogesis and geochemical features in Nuheting uranium deposit, it is considered that the deposit belongs to syn-sedimentary and epigenetic reworking type. The deposit position was controlled by the lake area developed during Erlian period in Late Cretaceous. The metallognesis has experienced three stages, they are syn-sedimentary metallogenesis, epigenetic reworking metallogenesis and exogenic metallogenesis. The ore-forming ages are respectively 85 Ma, (41±5)Ma and 6-13 Ma. Based on the summary of metallogenic geological features,metallogenesis and geochemical features, the metallogenic model of Nuheting uranium deposit has been established. (authors)
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A transitional snake from the Late Cretaceous period of North America.
Longrich, Nicholas R; Bhullar, Bhart-Anjan S; Gauthier, Jacques A
2012-08-09
Snakes are the most diverse group of lizards, but their origins and early evolution remain poorly understood owing to a lack of transitional forms. Several major issues remain outstanding, such as whether snakes originated in a marine or terrestrial environment and how their unique feeding mechanism evolved. The Cretaceous Coniophis precedens was among the first Mesozoic snakes discovered, but until now only an isolated vertebra has been described and it has therefore been overlooked in discussions of snake evolution. Here we report on previously undescribed material from this ancient snake, including the maxilla, dentary and additional vertebrae. Coniophis is not an anilioid as previously thought a revised phylogenetic analysis of Ophidia shows that it instead represents the most primitive known snake. Accordingly, its morphology and ecology are critical to understanding snake evolution. Coniophis occurs in a continental floodplain environment, consistent with a terrestrial rather than a marine origin; furthermore, its small size and reduced neural spines indicate fossorial habits, suggesting that snakes evolved from burrowing lizards. The skull is intermediate between that of lizards and snakes. Hooked teeth and an intramandibular joint indicate that Coniophis fed on relatively large, soft-bodied prey. However, the maxilla is firmly united with the skull, indicating an akinetic rostrum. Coniophis therefore represents a transitional snake, combining a snake-like body and a lizard-like head. Subsequent to the evolution of a serpentine body and carnivory, snakes evolved a highly specialized, kinetic skull, which was followed by a major adaptive radiation in the Early Cretaceous period. This pattern suggests that the kinetic skull was a key innovation that permitted the diversification of snakes.
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Lü, Junchang; Chen, Rongjun; Brusatte, Stephen L.; Zhu, Yangxiao; Shen, Caizhi
2016-11-01
Oviraptorosaurs are a bizarre group of bird-like theropod dinosaurs, the derived forms of which have shortened, toothless skulls, and which diverged from close relatives by developing peculiar feeding adaptations. Although once among the most mysterious of dinosaurs, oviraptorosaurs are becoming better understood with the discovery of many new fossils in Asia and North America. The Ganzhou area of southern China is emerging as a hotspot of oviraptorosaur discoveries, as over the past half decade five new monotypic genera have been found in the latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) deposits of this region. We here report a sixth diagnostic oviraptorosaur from Ganzhou, Tongtianlong limosus gen. et sp. nov., represented by a remarkably well-preserved specimen in an unusual splayed-limb and raised-head posture. Tongtianlong is a derived oviraptorid oviraptorosaur, differentiated from other species by its unique dome-like skull roof, highly convex premaxilla, and other features of the skull. The large number of oviraptorosaurs from Ganzhou, which often differ in cranial morphologies related to feeding, document an evolutionary radiation of these dinosaurs during the very latest Cretaceous of Asia, which helped establish one of the last diverse dinosaur faunas before the end-Cretaceous extinction.
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Contribution to atmospheric methane by natural seepages on the Bulgarian continental shelf
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Dimitrov, L. [Bulgarian Academy of Science, Varna (Bulgaria). Inst. of Oceanology
2002-07-01
This paper provides an estimation of the atmospheric methane flux from Bulgarian Black Sea continental shelf. Potential gas source rocks include Holocene gas-charged sediments, Quaternary peats and sapropels, and deep-lying Palaeocene and Neogene clays, Cretaceous coals, and other sediments of late Jurassic to early Cretaceous age. These cover almost the whole continental shelf and slope and, together with irregularly developed seal rocks and widespread active and conducting faults, provide good conditions for upward gas migration. A total of 5 100 line kilometers of shallow seismic (boomer) and echo-sounder records acquired during the Institute of Oceanology's regional surveys, and several detailed side-scan sonar lines, have been reviewed for water column targets. Four hundred and eighty-two targets were assigned as gas seepage plumes. It is estimated that a total of 19,735 individual seeps exists on the open shelf. The number of seeps in coastal waters was estimated to be 6020; this is based on available public-domain data, specific research, and results of a specially made questionnaire which was distributed to a range of 'seamen'. More than 150 measurements of the seabed flux rates were made in the 'Golden sands' and 'Zelenka' seepage areas between 1976 and 1991. Indirect estimations of flux rates from video and photo materials, and a review of published data have also been undertaken. Based on these data, three types of seepages were identified as the most representative of Bulgarian coastal waters. These have flux rates of 0.4, 1.8, and 3.51/min. The contribution to atmospheric methane is calculated by multiplying the flux rates with the number of seepages, and entering corrections for methane concentration and the survival of gas bubbles as they ascend through seawater of the corresponding water depth. The estimation indicates that between 45,100,000 (0.03 Tg) and 210,650,000 m{sup 3} (0. 15 Tg) methane yr{sup -1} come
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Dinosaur morphological diversity and the end-Cretaceous extinction.
Brusatte, Stephen L; Butler, Richard J; Prieto-Márquez, Albert; Norell, Mark A
2012-05-01
The extinction of non-avian dinosaurs 65 million years ago is a perpetual topic of fascination, and lasting debate has focused on whether dinosaur biodiversity was in decline before end-Cretaceous volcanism and bolide impact. Here we calculate the morphological disparity (anatomical variability) exhibited by seven major dinosaur subgroups during the latest Cretaceous, at both global and regional scales. Our results demonstrate both geographic and clade-specific heterogeneity. Large-bodied bulk-feeding herbivores (ceratopsids and hadrosauroids) and some North American taxa declined in disparity during the final two stages of the Cretaceous, whereas carnivorous dinosaurs, mid-sized herbivores, and some Asian taxa did not. Late Cretaceous dinosaur evolution, therefore, was complex: there was no universal biodiversity trend and the intensively studied North American record may reveal primarily local patterns. At least some dinosaur groups, however, did endure long-term declines in morphological variability before their extinction.
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Rau, G.H.; Arthur, M.A.; Dean, W.E.
1987-01-01
At two locations in the Atlantic Ocean (DSDP Sites 367 and 530) early to middle Cretaceous organic-carbon-rich beds ("black shales") were found to have significantly lower ??15N values (lower 15N/14N ratios) than adjacent organic-carbon-poor beds (white limestones or green claystones). While these lithologies are of marine origin, the black strata in particular have ??15N values that are significantly lower than those previously found in the marine sediment record and most contemporary marine nitrogen pools. In contrast, black, organic-carbon-rich beds at a third site (DSDP Site 603) contain predominantly terrestrial organic matter and have C- and N-isotopic compositions similar to organic matter of modern terrestrial origin. The recurring 15N depletion in the marine-derived Cretaceous sequences prove that the nitrogen they contain is the end result of an episodic and atypical biogeochemistry. Existing isotopic and other data indicate that the low 15N relative abundance is the consequence of pelagic rather than post-depositional processes. Reduced ocean circulation, increased denitrification, and, hence, reduced euphotic zone nitrate availability may have led to Cretaceous phytoplankton assemblages that were periodically dominated by N2-fixing blue-green algae, a possible source of this sediment 15N-depletion. Lack of parallel isotopic shifts in Cretaceous terrestrially-derived nitrogen (Site 603) argues that the above change in nitrogen cycling during this period did not extend beyond the marine environment. ?? 1987.
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Tribosphenic mammal from the North American Early Cretaceous.
Cifelli, R L
1999-09-23
The main groups of living mammals, marsupials and eutherians, are presumed to have diverged in the Early Cretaceous, but their early history and biogeography are poorly understood. Dental remains have suggested that the eutherians may have originated in Asia, spreading to North America in the Late Cretaceous, where an endemic radiation of marsupials was already well underway. Here I describe a new tribosphenic mammal (a mammal with lower molar heels that are three-cusped and basined) from the Early Cretaceous of North America, based on an unusually complete specimen. The new taxon bears characteristics (molarized last premolar, reduction to three molars) otherwise known only for Eutheria among the tribosphenic mammals. Morphometric analysis and character comparisons show, however, that its molar structure is primitive (and thus phylogenetically uninformative), emphasizing the need for caution in interpretation of isolated teeth. The new mammal is approximately contemporaneous with the oldest known Eutheria from Asia. If it is a eutherian, as is indicated by the available evidence, then this group was far more widely distributed in the Early Cretaceous than previously appreciated. An early presence of Eutheria in North America offers a potential source for the continent's Late Cretaceous radiations, which have, in part, proven difficult to relate to contemporary taxa in Asia.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sajjad Maghfouri
2014-10-01
Full Text Available Introduction The Mn mineralization occurs in the northeastern segment of the Sabzevar zone (SZ, north of the Central Iranian Microcontinent (CIM. This Zone (SZ is located between the CIM fragmentation in the south and the Kopeh dagh sedimentary sequence in the north. The ore deposits of the northeastern segment of the Sabzevar zone can be divided into three groups, each with different metal association and spatial distribution and each related to a major geodynamic event. The first mineralization with associated Ordovician host rock is characterized by Taknar polymetallic (Fe-rich massive sulfide deposit. The Cretaceous mineralization consists of Cr deposits associated with serpentinized peridotites, Cyprus type VMS, Mn deposit in pillow lava, volcano-sedimentary hosted Besshi type VMS and Mn deposit. Paleogene mineralization in eastern segment of the Sabzevar zone began with porphyry deposits, Cu Red Bed mineralization occurs in the Paleogene sandy red marl. Materials and methods A field study and sampling was performed during the autumn of 2012. To assess the geochemical characteristics of 48 systematic samples (least fractured and altered of ore-bearing layers and host rocks were collected from the deposit for polished thin section examination. In order to correctly characterize their chemical compositions, 15 least-altered and fractured samples were chosen for major elements analysis. Results The Late Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary sequence in south-southwest of Sabzevar hosts numerous manganese mineralization. The sequence based on the stratigraphic position, age and composition of the rocks, can be divided into two lower and upper parts. The lower part or K2tv unit mainly formed from marine sediments interbedded with volcanic rocks. The sedimentary rocks of this part include silicified tuff, chert, shale and sandstone, and the volcanic rocks involve pyroclastic rocks of various composition, rhyolite, dacite and andesitic lava. The upper
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Precambrian uranium deposits as a possible source of uranium for the European Variscan deposits
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Mineeva, I.G.; Klochkov, A.S.
2002-01-01
The Precambrian uranium deposits have been studied on the territory of Baltic and Ukrainian shields. The primary Early Proterozoic complex Au-U deposits originated in granite-greenstone belts as a result of their evolution during continental earth crust formation by prolonged rift genesis. The greenstone belts are clues for revealing ancient protoriftogenic structures. The general regularities of uranium deposition on Precambrian shields are also traceable in Variscan uranium deposits from the Bohemian massif. The Variscan period of uranium ore formation is connected with a polychronous rejuvenation of ancient riftogenous systems and relatively younger processes of oil and gas formation leading to the repeated mobilization of U from destroyed Proterozoic and Riphean uranium deposits. (author)
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Houshang Pourkaseb
2017-07-01
with English abstract Ingall, E.D. and Cappellen, P.V., 1990. Relation between sedimentation rate and burial of organic phosphorus and organic carbon in marine sediments. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 54(2: 373-386. Jarvis, I., 1992. Sedimentology, geochemistry and origin of phosphate chalks. The upper cretaceous deposits of NW Europe. Sedimentology, 39(1:55-97. O’Brine, G.W., Harris, J.R., Milnes, A.R. and Veeh, H.H., 1981.Bacterial origin of East Australian continental margin phosphorites. Nature, 294: 442-444. Tzifas, I.Tr., Goldelitsas, A., Magganas, A., Anderoulakaki, E., Eleftheriond, G., Mertzimckis, T.J. and Perraki, M., 2014. Uranium-bearing phosphatized limestone of new Greece. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 143: 62-37.
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Growth of continental crust: Clues from Nd isotopes and Nb-Th relationships in mantle-derived magmas
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Arndt, N.T.; Chauvel, C.; Jochum, K.P.; Gruau, G.; Hofmann, A.W.
1988-01-01
Isotope and trace element geochemistry of Precambrian mantle derived rocks and implications for the formation of the continental crust is discussed. Epsilon Nd values of Archean komatiites are variable, but range up to at least +5, suggesting that the Archean mantle was heterogeneous and, in part, very depleted as far back as 3.4 to 3.5 Ga. This may be taken as evidence for separation of continental crust very early in Earth history. If these komatiite sources were allowed to evolve in a closed system, they would produce modern day reservoirs with much higher epsilon Nd values than is observed. This implies recycling of some sort of enriched material, perhaps subducted sediments, although other possibilities exist. Archean volcanics show lower Nb/Th than modern volcanics, suggesting a more primitive mantle source than that observed nowadays. However, Cretaceous komatiites from Gorgona island have similar Nb/Th to Archean volcanics, indicating either the Archean mantle source was indeed more primitive, or Archean magmas were derived from a deep ocean island source like that proposed for Gorgona
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Growth of continental crust: Clues from Nd isotopes and Nb-Th relationships in mantle-derived magmas
Arndt, N. T.; Chauvel, C.; Jochum, K.-P.; Gruau, G.; Hofmann, A. W.
1988-01-01
Isotope and trace element geochemistry of Precambrian mantle derived rocks and implications for the formation of the continental crust is discussed. Epsilon Nd values of Archean komatiites are variable, but range up to at least +5, suggesting that the Archean mantle was heterogeneous and, in part, very depleted as far back as 3.4 to 3.5 Ga. This may be taken as evidence for separation of continental crust very early in Earth history. If these komatiite sources were allowed to evolve in a closed system, they would produce modern day reservoirs with much higher epsilon Nd values than is observed. This implies recycling of some sort of enriched material, perhaps subducted sediments, although other possibilities exist. Archean volcanics show lower Nb/Th than modern volcanics, suggesting a more primitive mantle source than that observed nowadays. However, Cretaceous komatiites from Gorgona island have similar Nb/Th to Archean volcanics, indicating either the Archean mantle source was indeed more primitive, or Archean magmas were derived from a deep ocean island source like that proposed for Gorgona.
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Growth of continental crust: Clues from Nd isotopes and Nb-Th relationships in mantle-derived magmas
Arndt, N. T.; Chauvel, C.; Jochum, K.-P.; Gruau, G.; Hofmann, A. W.
Isotope and trace element geochemistry of Precambrian mantle derived rocks and implications for the formation of the continental crust is discussed. Epsilon Nd values of Archean komatiites are variable, but range up to at least +5, suggesting that the Archean mantle was heterogeneous and, in part, very depleted as far back as 3.4 to 3.5 Ga. This may be taken as evidence for separation of continental crust very early in Earth history. If these komatiite sources were allowed to evolve in a closed system, they would produce modern day reservoirs with much higher epsilon Nd values than is observed. This implies recycling of some sort of enriched material, perhaps subducted sediments, although other possibilities exist. Archean volcanics show lower Nb/Th than modern volcanics, suggesting a more primitive mantle source than that observed nowadays. However, Cretaceous komatiites from Gorgona island have similar Nb/Th to Archean volcanics, indicating either the Archean mantle source was indeed more primitive, or Archean magmas were derived from a deep ocean island source like that proposed for Gorgona.
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Jones, Rosemary E.; Kirstein, Linda A.; Kasemann, Simone A.; Litvak, Vanesa D.; Poma, Stella; Alonso, Ricardo N.; Hinton, Richard; EIMF
2016-10-01
The tectonic and geodynamic setting of the southern Central Andean convergent margin changed significantly between the Late Cretaceous and the Late Miocene, influencing magmatic activity and its geochemical composition. Here we investigate how these changes, which include changing slab-dip angle and convergence angles and rates, have influenced the contamination of the arc magmas with crustal material. Whole rock geochemical data for a suite of Late Cretaceous to Late Miocene arc rocks from the Pampean flat-slab segment (29-31 °S) of the southern Central Andes is presented alongside petrographic observations and high resolution age dating. In-situ U-Pb dating of magmatic zircon, combined with Ar-Ar dating of plagioclase, has led to an improved regional stratigraphy and provides an accurate temporal constraint for the geochemical data. A generally higher content of incompatible trace elements (e.g. Nb/Zr ratios from 0.019 to 0.083 and Nb/Yb from 1.5 to 16.4) is observed between the Late Cretaceous ( 72 Ma), when the southern Central Andean margin is suggested to have been in extension, and the Miocene when the thickness of the continental crust increased and the angle of the subducting Nazca plate shallowed. Trace and rare earth element compositions obtained for the Late Cretaceous to Late Eocene arc magmatic rocks from the Principal Cordillera of Chile, combined with a lack of zircon inheritance, suggest limited assimilation of the overlying continental crust by arc magmas derived from the mantle wedge. A general increase in incompatible, fluid-mobile/immobile (e.g., Ba/Nb) and fluid-immobile/immobile (e.g., Nb/Zr) trace element ratios is attributed to the influence of the subducting slab on the melt source region and/or the influx of asthenospheric mantle. The Late Oligocene ( 26 Ma) to Early Miocene ( 17 Ma), and Late Miocene ( 6 Ma) arc magmatic rocks present in the Frontal Cordillera show evidence for the bulk assimilation of the Permian-Triassic (P
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Dennen, Kristin O.; Hackley, Paul C.
2012-01-01
An assessment unit (AU) for undiscovered continuous “shale” gas in Lower Cretaceous (Aptian and Albian) and basal Upper Cretaceous (lower Cenomanian) rocks in the USA onshore Gulf of Mexico coastal plain recently was defined by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The AU is part of the Upper Jurassic-Cretaceous-Tertiary Composite Total Petroleum System (TPS) of the Gulf of Mexico Basin. Definition of the AU was conducted as part of the 2010 USGS assessment of undiscovered hydrocarbon resources in Gulf Coast Mesozoic stratigraphic intervals. The purpose of defining the Greater Gulf Basin Lower Cretaceous Shale Gas AU was to propose a hypothetical AU in the Cretaceous part of the Gulf Coast TPS in which there might be continuous “shale” gas, but the AU was not quantitatively assessed by the USGS in 2010.
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Tectonic setting of Cretaceous basins on the NE Tibetan Plateau: Insights from the Jungong basin
Craddock, W.H.; Kirby, E.; Dewen, Z.; Jianhui, L.
2012-01-01
Quantifying the Cenozoic growth of high topography in the Indo-Asian collision zone remains challenging, due in part to significant shortening that occurred within Eurasia before collision. A growing body of evidence suggests that regions far removed from the suture zone experienced deformation before and during the early phases of Himalayan orogenesis. In the present-day north-eastern Tibetan Plateau, widespread deposits of Cretaceous sediment attest to significant basin formation; however, the tectonic setting of these basins remains enigmatic. We present a study of a regionally extensive network of sedimentary basins that are spatially associated with a system of SE-vergent thrust faults and are now exposed in the high ranges of the north-eastern corner of the Tibetan Plateau. We focus on a particularly well-exposed basin, located ~20km north of the Kunlun fault in the Anyemaqen Shan. The basin is filled by ~900m of alluvial sediments that become finer-grained away from the basin-bounding fault. Additionally, beds in the proximal footwall of the basin-bounding fault exhibit progressive, up-section shallowing and several intraformational unconformities which can be traced into correlative conformities in the distal part of the basin. The observations show sediment accumulated in the basin during fault motion. Regional constraints on the timing of sediment deposition are provided by both fossil assemblages from the Early Cretaceous, and by K-Ar dating of volcanic rocks that floor and cross-cut sedimentary fill. We argue that during the Cretaceous, the interior NE Tibetan Plateau experienced NW-SE contractional deformation similar to that documented throughout the Qinling-Dabie orogen to the east. The Songpan-Ganzi terrane apparently marked the southern limit of this deformation, such that it may have been a relatively rigid block in the Tibetan lithosphere, separating regions experiencing deformation north of the convergent Tethyan margin from regions deforming
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Morphology and stratal geometry of the Antarctic continental shelf: Insights from models
Cooper, Alan K.; Barker, Peter F.; Brancolini, Giuliano
1997-01-01
Reconstruction of past ice-sheet fluctuations from the stratigraphy of glaciated continental shelves requires understanding of the relationships among the stratal geometry, glacial and marine sedimentary processes, and ice dynamics. We investigate the formation of the morphology and the broad stratal geometry of topsets on the Antarctic continental shelf with numerical models. Our models assume that the stratal geometry and morphology are principally the results of time-integrated effects of glacial erosion and sedimentation related to the location of the seaward edge of the grounded ice. The location of the grounding line varies with time almost randomly across the shelf. With these simple assumptions, the models can successfully mimic salient features of the morphology and the stratal geometry. The models suggest that the current shelf has gradually evolved to its present geometry by many glacial advances and retreats of the grounding line to different locations across the shelf. The locations of the grounding line do not appear to be linearly correlated with either fluctuations in the 5 l s O record (which presumably represents changes in the global ice volume) or with the global sea-level curve, suggesting that either a more complex relationship exists or local effects dominate. The models suggest that erosion of preglacial sediments is confined to the inner shelf, and erosion decreases and deposition increases toward the shelf edge. Some of the deposited glacial sediments must be derived from continental erosion. The sediments probably undergo extensive transport and reworking obliterating much of the evidence for their original depositional environment. The flexural rigidity and the tectonic subsidence of the underlying lithosphere modify the bathymetry of the shelf, but probably have little effect on the stratal geometry. Our models provide several guidelines for the interpretation of unconformities, the nature of preserved topset deposits, and the
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Morphology and sedimentology of glacigenic submarine fans on the west Greenland continental margin
O'Cofaigh, Colm; Hogan, Kelly A.; Dowdeswell, Julian A.; Jennings, Anne E.; Noormets, Riko; Evans, Jeffrey
2014-05-01
Along the West Greenland continental margin adjoining Baffin Bay, bathymetric data show a series of large submarine fans located at the mouths of cross-shelf troughs. Two of these fans, the Uummannaq Fan and the Disko Fan are trough-mouth fans built largely of debris delivered from ice sheet outlets of the Greenland Ice Sheet during past glacial maxima. On the Uummannaq Fan glacigenic debris flow deposits occur on the upper slope and extend to at least 1800 m water depth in front of the trough-mouth. The debris flow deposits are related to the remobilisation of subglacial debris that was delivered onto the upper slope at times when an ice stream was positioned at the shelf edge. In contrast, sedimentary facies from the northern sector of the fan are characterised by hemipelagic and ice-rafted sediments and turbidites; glacigenic debris flows are notably absent in cores from this region. Further south along the Greenland continental margin the surface of the Disko Fan is prominently channelised and associated sediments are acoustically stratified. Although glacigenic debris flow deposits do occur on the upper Disko Fan, sediments recovered in cores from elsewhere on the fan record the influence of turbidity current and meltwater sedimentation. The channelised form of the Disko fan contrasts markedly with that of the Uummannaq Fan and, more widely, with trough mouth fans from the Polar North Atlantic. Collectively these data highlight the variability of glacimarine depositional processes operating on trough-mouth fans on high-latitude continental slopes and show that glacigenic debris flows are but one of a number of mechanisms by which such large glacially-influenced depocentres form.
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Sinninghe Damsté, J.S.; Tsikos, H.; Karakitsios, V.; Breugel, Y. van; Walsworth-Bell, B.; Petrizzo, M.R.; Bombardiere, L.; Schouten, S.; Erba, E.; Premoli Silva, I.; Farrimond, P.; Tyson, R.V.; Jenkyns, H.C.
2004-01-01
We present new stable (C, O) isotopic, biostratigraphic and organic geochemical data for the Vigla Shale Member of the Ionian Zone in NW Greece, in order to characterize organic carbon-rich strata that potentially record the impact of Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAEs). In a section exposed
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Sharkov, E. V.
2015-12-01
Lower crustal xenoliths occurred in the Middle Cretaceous lamprophyre diatremes in Jabel Ansaria (Western Syria) (Sharkov et al., 1992). They are represented mainly garnet granulites and eclogite-like rocks, which underwent by deformations and retrograde metamorphism, and younger fresh pegmatoid garnet-kaersutite-clinopyroxene (Al-Ti augite) rocks; mantle peridotites are absent in these populations. According to mineralogical geothermobarometers, forming of garnet-granulite suite rocks occurred under pressure 13.5-15.4 kbar (depths 45-54 kn) and temperature 965-1115oC. At the same time, among populations of mantle xenoliths in the Late Cenozoic platobasalts of the region, quite the contrary, lower crustal xenoliths are absent, however, predominated spinel lherzolites (fragments of upper cooled rim of a plume head), derived from the close depths (30-40 km: Sharkov, Bogatikov, 2015). From this follows that ancient continental crust was existed here even in the Middle Cretaceous, but in the Late Cenozoic was removed by extended mantle plume head; at that upper sialic crust was not involved in geomechanic processes, because Precambrian metamorphic rocks survived as a basement for Cambrian to Cenozoic sedimentary cover of Arabian platform. In other words, though cardinal rebuilding of deep-seated structure of the region occurred in the Late Cenozoic but it did not affect on the upper shell of the ancient lithosphere. Because composition of mantle xenolithis in basalts is practically similar worldwide, we suggest that deep-seated processes are analogous also. As emplacement of the mantle plume heads accompanied by powerful basaltic magmatism, very likely that range of lower (mafic) continental crust existence is very convenient for extension of plume heads and their adiabatic melting. If such level, because of whatever reasons, was not reached, melting was limited but appeared excess of volatile matters which led to forming of lamprophyre or even kimberlite.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Premović Pavle I.
2012-01-01
Full Text Available The Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary clays at Højerup and Woodside Creek show anomalous enrichments of iridium compared with the marine sedimentary rocks. For the average iridium content of 465 ppb in CI chondrite the estimate of the carbonaceous chondritic proportions in the decarbonated iridium-rich boundary layers, based on the integrated iridium fluencies, is about 26% at Højerup and 65% at Woodside Creek. These proportions are most likely too high due to a significant Ir influx from the nearby marine or continental site to these sections.
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Savian, J. F.; Jovane, L.; Florindo, F.; Lukeneder, A.
2011-12-01
The Lower Cretaceous (~146 to 100 Ma) represents an enigmatic time interval for paleoclimatic, paleogeography and paleomagnetic evolution of the Earth's history. The climatic changes include global oceanic anoxic events (OAEs), biotic changes, global excursions of carbon and strontium isotopes, rises in eustatic sea level and paleotemperature. Paleoceanography was marked by a rapid rate of ocean spreading in the Atlantic. The opening of the Atlantic Ocean was wide enough to allow significant circulation of masses of waters across the equator. This period is furthermore important for the oceanographic events occurring at the base of the Aptian (Selli Level). This period also present one of the most intriguing geomagnetic events: the long normal Cretaceous superchron, lasted for almost 40 million years. We study here the lower Cretaceous deposits of the Puez section in the Dolomites (northern Italy) which represents a continuous section during this period. The samples collected represent marine sedimentary materials of the Biancone and Puez formations. The Puez section consists essentially of green-grey to red limestones and calcareous marls. We present preliminary results of integrated magnetostratigraphic analysis, including a detailed lithostratigraphy and environmental magnetism. We recognize magnetic behavior that are relative to normal polarity (the normal Cretaceous superchron), with a short reverse interval that might represent the M-1r event. We also recognize a series of normal and reverse polarities (below the normal Cretaceous superchron) which can be referred to the magnetozones M1/M5. The environmental magnetic data consists of magnetic susceptibility (χ), natural remanent magnetization (NRM), anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM), isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) at 900 mT and backfield isothermal remanent magnetization (BIRM) at 100 mT and 300 mT. Derived parameters, such as S-ratio (S300=BIRM300/IRM900) and hard isothermal remanent
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Petrizzo, Maria Rose; Falzoni, Francesca; Huber, Brian T.; MacLeod, Kenneth G.
2015-04-01
Paleoecological preferences proposed for Cretaceous planktonic foraminiferal taxa have traditionally been based on morphological analogies with depth-stratified modern species, on biofacies comparison in continental margin and deepwater settings, and limited oxygen and carbon stable isotope data. These studies concluded that large-sized, keeled and heavily calcified planktonic foraminifera generally lived at deeper levels in the surface waters than small-sized, thinner-walled non-keeled species. Stable isotope data have been used to infer information on paleotemperature, paleoceanography and paleoproductivity of ancient oceans and constrain biological paleo-activities (i.e. photosymbiosis and respiration) of fossil species. These studies have suggested that the depth-distribution model based on analogy with modern taxa might not be fully applicable for Cretaceous species, and found particularly 13C-enriched values in some Maastrichtian multiserial taxa that have been related to the activity of photosymbionts. We have collected about 1500 δ18O and δ13C species-specific analyses on glassy preserved planktonic foraminifera from Tanzania (Tanzania Drilling Project TDP sites 23, 28 and 32) and well-preserved planktonic foraminifera from other mid-low latitude localities (Shatsky Rise, northwestern Pacific Ocean, ODP Leg 198 Hole 1210B; Exmouth Plateau, eastern Indian Ocean, ODP Leg 122, Hole 762C; Eratosthenes Seamount, eastern Mediterranean, ODP Leg 160, Hole 967E; Blake Nose, central Atlantic Ocean, ODP Leg 171B, holes 1050C and 1052E) to investigate Late Cretaceous species paleoecological preferences, life strategies and depth distribution in the surface water column. Our results indicates that several large-sized (> 500 μm) double-keeled species belonging to the genera Dicarinella, Marginotruncana and Contusotruncana, generally interpreted as deep to thermocline dwellers, instead occupied shallow/warm layers of the water column, whilst not all biserial species
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Godet, Alexis; Bodin, Stéphane; Adatte, Thierry; Föllmi, Karl B.
2010-05-01
In the last decades, the anthropogenic increase pCO2atm has been considered as one of the main contributors for the decline of modern coral reefs, and nearly 60% of these marine ecosystems are presently threatened (Bryant et al., 1998). Interactions between anthropogenic change and reef growth can, however, not be reduced to a single factor, and it is essential to look at the Earth's history to understand and counterbalance. During the Early Cretaceous, enhanced pCO2atm may have been responsible, at least in part, for the demise of the carbonate platform along the northern margin of the Tethys through climatic feedback mechanisms. From the Hauterivian to the Early Aptian, increased rainfalls are documented from the clay-mineral association, by a change from a smectite-dominated (most of the Hauterivian), to a kaolinite-dominated assemblage (latest Hauterivian up to the early Late Barremian). This switch is dated to the Pseudothurmannia ohmi ammonozone in the Vocontian Trough of southeastern France (Angles section, Godet et al., 2008). It is immediately followed in time by major nutrient input, as is illustrated by the substantial increase in phosphorus accumulation rates (PAR), not only in this section, but also in the Ultrahelvetic area of Switzerland and in the Umbria-Marche basin of Italy (Bodin et al., 2006). On the other hand, the remainder of the Hauterivian is characterized by PAR mean values characteristic of mesotrophic conditions, whereas the Late Barremian witnesses the return to oligotrophic environments (lower PAR values). Synchronously, these perturbations are mirrored on the platform by changes in the type of carbonate ecosystems. Indeed, a stronger continental runoff, and a subsequent input in the oceanic domain of nutrients (e.g., phosphorus) and clastic material modified marine palaeoenvironmental conditions and triggered changes in ecosystems. A unique archive of the Early Cretaceous carbonate platform is preserved in the Helvetic Alps, where the
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hollis, C.J.; Strong, C.P.; Rodgers, K.A.; Rogers, K.M.
2003-01-01
An integrated study of variation in siliceous microfossils, lithofacies, and other geochemical guides to environmental conditions through the Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary transition at Flaxbourne River and Woodside Creek, coastal eastern Marlborough, indicates that the K/T impact disrupted oceanic conditions along the continental margin of eastern New Zealand for c. 1 m.y. Initial effects of the K/T event were a major reduction in carbonate production, associated with calcareous plankton extinctions, and significant increases in terrigenous clay and biogenic silica content. An absence of radiolarian extinctions or significant negative excursions in paleo-productivity indicators (Ba, delta 13 C at the boundary, followed by rapid increases in the abundance of diatoms and spumellarian radiolarians, indicate that biogenic silica production partly compensated for the collapse in calcareous plankton. The earliest Paleocene recovery of calcareous plankton was short-lived, giving way to a progressive increase in siliceous plankton abundance over c. 500,000 yr, which culminated in a c. 400,000 yr episode of peak biogenic silica production. The dominance of siliceous facies, coupled with the abundance of diatoms and spumellarian radiolarians, indicates climatic or oceanic conditions were significantly cooler than in the Late Cretaceous. Stepped increases in biogenic silica production show c. 100,000 yr periodicity, suggesting that Early Paleocene lithofacies changes were influenced by climate forcing agents at the eccentricity bandwidth. (author). 83 refs., 11 figs., 3 tabs
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M. Aberhan
2002-01-01
Full Text Available The Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Tendaguru Beds (Tanzania, East Africa have been well known for nearly a century for their diverse dinosaur assemblages. Here, we present sedimentological and palaeontological data collected by the German-Tanzanian Tendaguru Expedition 2000 in an attempt to reconstruct the palaeo-ecosystems of the Tendaguru Beds at their type locality. Our reconstructions are based on sedimentological data and on a palaeoecological analysis of macroinvertebrates, microvertebrates, plant fossils and microfossils (ostracods, foraminifera, charophytes, palynomorphs. In addition, we included data from previous expeditions, particularly those on the dinosaur assemblages. The environmental model of the Tendaguru Beds presented herein comprises three broad palaeoenvironmental units in a marginal marine setting: (1 Lagoon-like, shallow marine environments above fair weather wave base and with evidence of tides and storms. These formed behind barriers such as ooid bar and siliciclastic sand bar complexes and were generally subject to minor salinity fluctuations. (2 Extended tidal flats and low-relief coastal plains. These include low-energy, brackish coastal lakes and ponds as well as pools and small fluvial channels of coastal plains in which the large dinosaurs were buried. Since these environments apparently were, at best, poorly vegetated, the main feeding grounds of giant sauropods must have been elsewhere. Presumably, tidal flats and coastal plains were visited by dinosaurs primarily during periods of drought. (3 Vegetated hinterland. Vegetation of this environment can only be inferred indirectly from plant material transported into the other depositional environments. Vegetation was dominated by a diverse conifer flora, which apparently formed part of the food source of large herbivorous sauropods. Evidence from various sources suggests a subtropical to tropical palaeoclimate, characterised by seasonal rainfall alternating with
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Deposits formed by ascending vein water (3 type)
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Komarova, G.V.
1980-01-01
Deposits formed by ascending vein waters (3 type), are considered using uranium-bitumen deposit in red-coloured continental sediments of Permo-Triassic as an example. Geological-structural and hydrogeological conditions of mineralization localization and conditions of deposit formation are discussed. Mineralogic-geochemical features and morphology of ore bodies are characterized. Attention is paid to the problem of epigenetic zone in ore-containing rocks and stages of its formation [ru
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Maffione, Marco; Hernandez-Moreno, Catalina; Ghiglione, Matias C.; Speranza, Fabio; van Hinsbergen, Douwe J. J.; Lodolo, Emanuele
2015-12-01
The southernmost segment of the Andean Cordillera underwent a complex deformation history characterized by alternation of contractional, extensional, and strike-slip tectonics. Key elements of southern Andean deformation that remain poorly constrained, include the origin of the orogenic bend known as the Patagonian Orocline (here renamed as Patagonian Arc), and the exhumation mechanism of an upper amphibolite facies metamorphic complex currently exposed in Cordillera Darwin. Here, we present results of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) from 22 sites in Upper Cretaceous to upper Eocene sedimentary rocks within the internal structural domain of the Magallanes fold-and-thrust belt in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina). AMS parameters from most sites reveal a weak tectonic overprint of the original magnetic fabric, which was likely acquired upon layer-parallel shortening soon after sedimentation. Magnetic lineation from 17 sites is interpreted to have formed during compressive tectonic phases associated to a continuous N-S contraction. Our data, combined with the existing AMS database from adjacent areas, show that the Early Cretaceous-late Oligocene tectonic phases in the Southern Andes yielded continuous contraction, variable from E-W in the Patagonian Andes to N-S in the Fuegian Andes, which defined a radial strain field. A direct implication is that the exhumation of the Cordillera Darwin metamorphic complex occurred under compressive, rather than extensional or strike-slip tectonics, as alternatively proposed. If we agree with recent works considering the curved Magallanes fold-and-thrust belt as a primary arc (i.e., no relative vertical-axis rotation of the limbs occurs during its formation), then other mechanisms different from oroclinal bending should be invoked to explain the documented radial strain field. We tentatively propose a kinematic model in which reactivation of variably oriented Jurassic faults at the South American continental margin controlled
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Geochemistry of sediments of the western Canadian continental shelf
Macdonald, R. W.; Pedersen, T. F.
1991-08-01
Few chemical data exist for the sedimentary environment off the Canadian west coast. Here we define the chemical nature of the shelf sediments by examining the important sources of material (natural and anthropogenic) to the region and processes relevant to diagenesis. Slightly more data exist for the continental shelf to the south (Washington) and north (Alaska), however it is clear that the sedimentary environment of these neighbouring shelves differs importantly from the Canadian portion. The British Columbia shelf receives little modern terrigenous detritus due mainly to isolation from terrestrial sediment sources by fiords, inland seas, or bypassing by shelf canyons. The chemical state of the sediments depends on the rate of supply of material, the energy of the depositional or erosional environment and the organic and inorganic composition of the material. These features in concert with bottom water characteristics control the redox state. Although no basins hosting continuous depositional records for the Holocene on the open British Columbia shelf have been identified or studied in a manner described by BUCKLEY ( Continental Shelf Research, 11, 1099-1122), some coastal embayments and fiords provide valuable historical records of post-glacial sedimentation. Such environments will prove to be increasingly useful in future studies of changes in regional climate and in establishing the chronology of natural disasters and anthropogenic impacts. Recommendations are given for a variety of research projects that would help us to understand better both chemical interactions at the seabed and Late Quaternary depositional history.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Brian A. Atkinson
2016-12-01
Full Text Available Background Cornaceae consists of 58 species, all within the genus Cornus. The Cenozoic record of Cornus is extensive and well documented. Molecular divergence-time studies suggest that crown-group Cornus may have originated by the Late Cretaceous. However, there has been no formal report of Cornus from Cretaceous deposits. Here, we characterize a permineralized fossil fruit assignable to Cornus subg. Cornus from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian Shelter Point locality of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Methods Serial sections of the specimen were made using the cellulose acetate peel technique. Peels were mounted onto microscope slides and studied by light microscopy. Results The fossil fruit consists of a tri-locular woody endocarp with dorsal germination valves. The locules are sub-triangular to ellipsoidal in transverse section and are separated by thin septa. Endocarp tissue consists of elongated and isodiametric sclereids and secretory cavities. Internal vascular tissue was not observed, but is interpreted to have been located along the outer periphery of the septa for some length, common in many cornalean taxa. There is one seed in each locule, one of which was found to have endosperm and a dicotyledonous embryo. Discussion Woody endocarps with germination valves, without central vascular bundles, and with one seed per locule are characteristic of several families within the order Cornales. The interpreted vascular pattern and presence of secretory cavities indicates that the fossil fruit is assignable to Cornus subg. Cornus. Comparative analysis suggests that the fossil is most similar to Cornus piggae, a species described from the Paleocene of North Dakota. This fossil is the first evidence of crown-group Cornaceae from the Cretaceous and sheds light on both the plesiomorphic fruit characters and the timing of the initial diversification of the family and basal asterid lineage, Cornales.
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New understanding in genesis of uranium deposit Bashblak in tarim basin
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Qin Mingkuan; Zhao Ruiquan
2000-01-01
Using metallogenic theory of hydrogenic uranium deposit and theory of oil-gas reduction, the author makes a re-recognition of the metallogenic mechanism of the biggest uranium deposit in Tarim basin--uranium deposit Bashblak in order to give some reference guide in the prospecting for in-situ leachable sandstone-type uranium deposits in the biggest intra-continental basin in China--Tarim basin
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Michael P Donovan
Full Text Available Plant and associated insect-damage diversity in the western U.S.A. decreased significantly at the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg boundary and remained low until the late Paleocene. However, the Mexican Hat locality (ca. 65 Ma in southeastern Montana, with a typical, low-diversity flora, uniquely exhibits high damage diversity on nearly all its host plants, when compared to all known local and regional early Paleocene sites. The same plant species show minimal damage elsewhere during the early Paleocene. We asked whether the high insect damage diversity at Mexican Hat was more likely related to the survival of Cretaceous insects from refugia or to an influx of novel Paleocene taxa. We compared damage on 1073 leaf fossils from Mexican Hat to over 9000 terminal Cretaceous leaf fossils from the Hell Creek Formation of nearby southwestern North Dakota and to over 9000 Paleocene leaf fossils from the Fort Union Formation in North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming. We described the entire insect-feeding ichnofauna at Mexican Hat and focused our analysis on leaf mines because they are typically host-specialized and preserve a number of diagnostic morphological characters. Nine mine damage types attributable to three of the four orders of leaf-mining insects are found at Mexican Hat, six of them so far unique to the site. We found no evidence linking any of the diverse Hell Creek mines with those found at Mexican Hat, nor for the survival of any Cretaceous leaf miners over the K-Pg boundary regionally, even on well-sampled, surviving plant families. Overall, our results strongly relate the high damage diversity on the depauperate Mexican Hat flora to an influx of novel insect herbivores during the early Paleocene, possibly caused by a transient warming event and range expansion, and indicate drastic extinction rather than survivorship of Cretaceous insect taxa from refugia.
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Donovan, Michael P; Wilf, Peter; Labandeira, Conrad C; Johnson, Kirk R; Peppe, Daniel J
2014-01-01
Plant and associated insect-damage diversity in the western U.S.A. decreased significantly at the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary and remained low until the late Paleocene. However, the Mexican Hat locality (ca. 65 Ma) in southeastern Montana, with a typical, low-diversity flora, uniquely exhibits high damage diversity on nearly all its host plants, when compared to all known local and regional early Paleocene sites. The same plant species show minimal damage elsewhere during the early Paleocene. We asked whether the high insect damage diversity at Mexican Hat was more likely related to the survival of Cretaceous insects from refugia or to an influx of novel Paleocene taxa. We compared damage on 1073 leaf fossils from Mexican Hat to over 9000 terminal Cretaceous leaf fossils from the Hell Creek Formation of nearby southwestern North Dakota and to over 9000 Paleocene leaf fossils from the Fort Union Formation in North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming. We described the entire insect-feeding ichnofauna at Mexican Hat and focused our analysis on leaf mines because they are typically host-specialized and preserve a number of diagnostic morphological characters. Nine mine damage types attributable to three of the four orders of leaf-mining insects are found at Mexican Hat, six of them so far unique to the site. We found no evidence linking any of the diverse Hell Creek mines with those found at Mexican Hat, nor for the survival of any Cretaceous leaf miners over the K-Pg boundary regionally, even on well-sampled, surviving plant families. Overall, our results strongly relate the high damage diversity on the depauperate Mexican Hat flora to an influx of novel insect herbivores during the early Paleocene, possibly caused by a transient warming event and range expansion, and indicate drastic extinction rather than survivorship of Cretaceous insect taxa from refugia.
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Continental tectonics and continental kinetics
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Allegre, C.J.; Jaupart, C.; Paris-7 Univ., 75
1985-01-01
We present a model of continental growth which combines the results of geochemical studies and tectonic ideas about the evolution of continents through geological time. The process of continental growth is mainly controlled by surface phenomena. Continental material is extracted from the mantle along subduction zones at the periphery of oceans, and is destroyed in collision zones where it is remobilized and made available for subduction. We derive an equation for S, the portion of the Earth's surface occupied by continents, which reads as follows: dS/dt=a . √(1-S)-b . S. Coefficients a and b depend on the geometry of plates, on their number and on their velocities. We assume that they decrease exponentially with time with the same time-scale α. This model satisfies both geochemical and tectonic constraints, and allows the integration of several current observations in a single framework. (orig.)
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
D.A. Mousa
2014-03-01
Full Text Available Twenty four Cretaceous shale core samples of Gibb Afia-1, Betty-1, Salam-1X and Mersa Matruh-1 wells were mineralogically and geochemically studied using XRD, XRF and Rock Eval Pyrolysis. Kaolinite, smectite and illite are the main clay minerals in addition to rare chlorite, while the non-clay minerals include quartz, calcite, dolomite and rare siderite. The shales were derived through intensive chemical weathering of mafic basement and older sedimentary rocks. These sediments were deposited in a near-shore shallow marine environment with some terrestrial material input. The shales have poor to fair organic content. It is marginally to rarely mature.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gomez Rifas, C.
2012-01-01
This work is about Cretacic tectonics in Uruguay, this formation is characterized by high level cortex because the basament is cratonized since Middle Devonian. There were formed two main grabens such as Santa Lucia and Mirim-Pelotas which are filled with basalt and sediments.
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The first freshwater mosasauroid (Upper Cretaceous, Hungary and a new clade of basal mosasauroids.
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László Makádi
Full Text Available Mosasauroids are conventionally conceived of as gigantic, obligatorily aquatic marine lizards (1000s of specimens from marine deposited rocks with a cosmopolitan distribution in the Late Cretaceous (90-65 million years ago [mya] oceans and seas of the world. Here we report on the fossilized remains of numerous individuals (small juveniles to large adults of a new taxon, Pannoniasaurus inexpectatus gen. et sp. nov. from the Csehbánya Formation, Hungary (Santonian, Upper Cretaceous, 85.3-83.5 mya that represent the first known mosasauroid that lived in freshwater environments. Previous to this find, only one specimen of a marine mosasauroid, cf. Plioplatecarpus sp., is known from non-marine rocks in Western Canada. Pannoniasaurus inexpectatus gen. et sp. nov. uniquely possesses a plesiomorphic pelvic anatomy, a non-mosasauroid but pontosaur-like tail osteology, possibly limbs like a terrestrial lizard, and a flattened, crocodile-like skull. Cladistic analysis reconstructs P. inexpectatus in a new clade of mosasauroids: (Pannoniasaurus (Tethysaurus (Yaguarasaurus, Russellosaurus. P. inexpectatus is part of a mixed terrestrial and freshwater faunal assemblage that includes fishes, amphibians turtles, terrestrial lizards, crocodiles, pterosaurs, dinosaurs and birds.
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Faunal turnover of marine tetrapods during the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition.
Benson, Roger B J; Druckenmiller, Patrick S
2014-02-01
Marine and terrestrial animals show a mosaic of lineage extinctions and diversifications during the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition. However, despite its potential importance in shaping animal evolution, few palaeontological studies have focussed on this interval and the possible climate and biotic drivers of its faunal turnover. In consequence evolutionary patterns in most groups are poorly understood. We use a new, large morphological dataset to examine patterns of lineage diversity and disparity (variety of form) in the marine tetrapod clade Plesiosauria, and compare these patterns with those of other organisms. Although seven plesiosaurian lineages have been hypothesised as crossing the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary, our most parsimonious topology suggests the number was only three. The robust recovery of a novel group including most Cretaceous plesiosauroids (Xenopsaria, new clade) is instrumental in this result. Substantial plesiosaurian turnover occurred during the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary interval, including the loss of substantial pliosaurid, and cryptoclidid diversity and disparity, followed by the radiation of Xenopsaria during the Early Cretaceous. Possible physical drivers of this turnover include climatic fluctuations that influenced oceanic productivity and diversity: Late Jurassic climates were characterised by widespread global monsoonal conditions and increased nutrient flux into the opening Atlantic-Tethys, resulting in eutrophication and a highly productive, but taxonomically depauperate, plankton. Latest Jurassic and Early Cretaceous climates were more arid, resulting in oligotrophic ocean conditions and high taxonomic diversity of radiolarians, calcareous nannoplankton and possibly ammonoids. However, the observation of discordant extinction patterns in other marine tetrapod groups such as ichthyosaurs and marine crocodylomorphs suggests that clade-specific factors may have been more important than overarching extrinsic drivers of faunal
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Aeolian deposition of Arabia and Somalia sediments on the southwestern continental margin of India
Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)
Chauhan, O.S.
Kaolinite, smectite, illite and chlorite as major clay minerals and palygorskite and gibbsite in minor quantities have been recorded from the slope of southwestern continental margin of India. Contribution of kaolinite, smectite and gibbsite is from...
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Late Cretaceous vicariance in Gondwanan amphibians.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ines Van Bocxlaer
Full Text Available Overseas dispersals are often invoked when Southern Hemisphere terrestrial and freshwater organism phylogenies do not fit the sequence or timing of Gondwana fragmentation. We used dispersal-vicariance analyses and molecular timetrees to show that two species-rich frog groups, Microhylidae and Natatanura, display congruent patterns of spatial and temporal diversification among Gondwanan plates in the Late Cretaceous, long after the presumed major tectonic break-up events. Because amphibians are notoriously salt-intolerant, these analogies are best explained by simultaneous vicariance, rather than by oceanic dispersal. Hence our results imply Late Cretaceous connections between most adjacent Gondwanan landmasses, an essential concept for biogeographic and palaeomap reconstructions.
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Barra, Fernando; Valencia, Victor A.
2014-10-01
Two porphyry Cu-Mo prospects in northern Sonora, Mexico (Fortuna del Cobre and Los Humos) located within the southwestern North American porphyry province have been dated in order to constrain the timing of crystallization and mineralization of these ore deposits. In Fortuna del Cobre, the pre-mineralization granodiorite porphyry yielded an U-Pb zircon age of 76.5 ± 2.3 Ma, whereas two samples from the ore-bearing quartz feldespathic porphyry were dated at 74.6 ± 1.3 and 75.0 ± 1.4 Ma. Four molybdenite samples from Los Humos porphyry Cu prospect yielded a weighted average Re-Os age of 73.5 ± 0.2 Ma, whereas two samples from the ore-bearing quartz monzonite porphyry gave U-Pb zircon ages of 74.4 ± 1.1 and 74.5 ± 1.3 Ma, showing a Late Cretaceous age for the emplacement of this ore deposit. The results indicate that Laramide porphyry Cu mineralization of Late Cretaceous age is not restricted to northern Arizona as previously thought and provide evidence for the definition of NS trending metallogenic belts that are parallel to the paleo-trench. Porphyry copper mineralization follows the inland migration trend of the magmatic arc as a result of the Farallon slab flattening during the Laramide orogeny.
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Beilinson, Elisa; Veiga, Gonzalo D.; Spalletti, Luis A.
2013-10-01
The aims of this contribution is to establish a high-resolution sequence stratigraphic scheme for the continental deposits that constitute the Punta San Andrés Alloformation (Plio-Pleistocene) in east-central Argentina, to analyze the basin fill evolution and to identify and assess the role that extrinsic factors such as climate and sea-level oscillations played during evolution of the unit. For the high-resolution sequence stratigraphical study of the Punta San Andrés Alloformation, high- and low-accommodation system tracts were defined mainly on the basis of the architectural elements present in the succession, also taking into account the relative degree of channel and floodplain deposits. Discontinuities and the nature of depositional systems generated during variations in accommodation helped identify two fourth-order high-accommodation system tracts and two fourth-order low-accommodation system tracts. At a third-order scale, the Punta San Andrés Alloformation may be interpreted as the progradation of continental depositional systems, characterized by a braided system in the proximal areas, and a low-sinuosity, single-channel system in the distal areas, defined by a high rate of sediment supply and discharge peaks which periodically flooded the plains and generated high aggradation rates during the late Pliocene and lower Pleistocene.
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Uranium deposits of the Asian sector of Pacific ocean ore belt
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kazanskij, V.I.
1995-01-01
Brief description of three basic types of uranium ore deposits in the Asian sector of the Pacific Ocean ore belt, namely uranium-molybdenum vein deposits in the continental volcanic depressions, proper uranium-molybdenum vein deposits in the mesozoic granites and gold-brannerite deposits of the rejuvenated early-proterosoic fractures is given. Schemes of various deposits are presented, petrological and isotope data (K-Ar method) are considered and petro- and oregenesis are analyzed. refs., 9 figs
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Carbonaceous matter in the Pomozhan deposit
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Piatek, G
1979-01-01
Carbonaceous matter (CM), encountered in the Pomozhan deposit, is coordinate to dolomitic-illitic clay, filling caverns in ore-bearing dolomites. The CM represents a disperse mass with particle sizes up to 2 mm, having a color from dark brown to black. The reflectivity (0.35-0.42%) and classification assignment of the CM to macerals of the vitrinite or dopplerinite group were determined by micropetrographic methods. CM belonging to the type of humic coals, transitional from brown to bituminous coals is an epigenetic formation. Its accumulation in the regions of the Ol'kush ore deposits occurred in the Triassic-Cretaceous or Cenozoic interval. Liassic coal of the Zavertse region or Helvetian coal of Khomentuv and Tarnobzheg could be the source of the CM.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Martin A. Becker
2016-09-01
Full Text Available The Arkadelphia Formation—Midway Group (Maastrichtian—Paleocene contact near Malvern, Arkansas preserves a K-Pg boundary assemblage of turtle species consisting of skull, shell, and non-shell postcranial skeletal elements. The Malvern turtles are preserved within a coquina lag deposit that comprises the basalmost Midway Group and also contains an abundance of other reptiles, as well as chondrichthyans, osteichthyans, and invertebrates. This coquina lag deposit records a complex taphonomic history of exhumation and reburial of vertebrate skeletal elements along a dynamic ancestral shoreline in southwestern Arkansas during the late Cretaceous-early Paleocene. Based on stratigraphic occurrence, the Malvern turtle assemblage indicates that these marine reptiles were living at or near the time of the K-Pg mass extinction and represent some of the latest Cretaceous turtles yet recovered from the Gulf Coastal Plain of the United States.
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Reconstructing Rodinia by Fitting Neoproterozoic Continental Margins
Stewart, John H.
2009-01-01
extensional in origin, supports recognition of the Neoproterozoic fragmentation pattern of Rodinia and outlines the major continental masses that, prior to the breakup, formed the supercontinent. Using this pattern, Rodinia can be assembled by fitting the pieces together. Evidence for Neoproterozoic margins is fragmentary. The most apparent margins are marked by miogeoclinal deposits (passive-margin deposits). The margins can also be outlined by the distribution of continental-margin magmatic-arc rocks, by juvenile ocean-floor rocks, or by the presence of continent-ward extending aulacogens. Most of the continental margins described here are Neoproterozoic, and some had an older history suggesting that they were major, long-lived lithospheric flaws. In particular, the western margin of North America appears to have existed for at least 1,470 Ma and to have been reactivated many times in the Neoproterozoic and Phanerozoic. The inheritance of trends from the Mesoproterozoic by the Neoproterozoic is particularly evident along the eastern United States, where a similarity of Mesoproterozoic (Grenville) and Neoproterozoic trends, as well as Paleozoic or Mesozoic trends, is evident. The model of Rodinia presented here is based on both geologic and paleomagnetic information. Geologic evidence is based on the distribution and shape of Neoproterozoic continents and on assembling these continents so as to match the shape, history, and scale of adjoining margins. The proposed model places the Laurasian continents?Baltica, Greenland, and Laurentia?west of the South American continents (Amazonia, Rio de La Plata, and Sa? Francisco). This assembly is indicated by conjugate pairs of Grenville-age rocks on the east side of Laurentia and on the west side of South America. In the model, predominantly late Neoproterozoic magmatic-arc rocks follow the trend of the Grenville rocks. The boundary between South America and Africa is interpreted as the site of a Wilson cycle
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Durán, Ruth; Canals, Miquel; Sanz, José Luis; Lastras, Galderic; Amblas, David; Micallef, Aaron
2014-01-01
The northern Catalan continental shelf, in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea, extends along 200 km from the Cap de Creus submarine canyon to the Llobregat Delta, in the vicinity of the city of Barcelona. In this paper we present the results of a systematic investigation of this area by means of very high-resolution multibeam bathymetry to fully assess its morphological variability. The causative factors and processes determining such variability are subsequently interpreted. The shelf is divided in three segments by two prominent submarine canyons: the northernmost Roses Shelf is separated from the intermediate La Planassa Shelf by the La Fonera Canyon, while the boundary between the La Planassa Shelf and the southernmost Barcelona Shelf is marked by the Blanes Canyon. These two canyons are deeply incised in the continental margin, with their heads located at only 0.8 and 5 km from the shore, respectively. The seafloor character reflects the influence of external controlling factors on the geomorphology and sediment dynamics of the northern continental shelf of Catalonia. These factors are the geological setting, the volume and nature of sediment input, and the type and characteristics of processes leading to sediment redistribution, such as dense shelf water cascading (DSWC) and eastern storms. The interaction of all these factors determines sediment dynamics and allows subdividing the northern Catalan continental shelf into three segments: the erosional-depositional Roses Shelf to the north, the non-depositional La Planassa Shelf in the middle, and the depositional Barcelona Shelf to the south. Erosional features off the Cap de Creus Peninsula and an along-shelf subdued channel in the outer shelf illustrate prevailing sediment dynamics in the Roses segment, which is dominated by erosional processes, local sediment accumulations and the southward bypass of sediment. The rocky character of the seafloor immediately north of the Blanes Canyon head demonstrates that
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Banerjee, Y.; Ghosh, P.; Halder, K.; Malarkodi, N.; Pathak, P.
2017-12-01
The aftermath of the Himalyan orogeny and subsequent cooling is documented in the deep sea sedimentary record from the Oceanic realm (1). Here we attempt to reconstruct the temperature pattern based on marine gastropods i.e. Turritella sp. which became abundant during the post Cretaceous period and have successfully been used for the reconstruction of climate by measuring the stable isotopic composition (2,3,4). Well preserved specimens of Cretaceous Turritella from the Rajamundry Infratrappean beds and those from the Miocene, Holocene succession of Kutch, western India were analysed along with specimen from the modern time scale (also from Kutch). The Cretaceous, early to mid Miocene, early Holocene and modern shells recorded δ13C variability from 0.36 to 4.94‰, -1.83 to -4.83‰, -3.26 to 0.40‰, -1.47 to -4.70‰ respectively suggesting drop in the productivity during mid Miocene and subsequent period of rapid growth. The Variability in terms of δ18O ranges from -2.28 to -4.99‰, -2.66 to -7.06‰, -2.86 to 0.96‰, -1.05 to -3.23‰ for the Cretaceous, early to mid Miocene, early Holocene and modern shells respectively. Corbula sp. collected from the same strata with that of the early to mid Holocene Turritella showed a similar δ13C and δ18O values denoting similar environmental condition during deposition. Absence of any significant correlation between δ13C vs δ18O support equilibrium precipitation of shell growth bands. We used Epstein oxygen isotope thermometry to derive temperature from the oxygen isotope of carbonate and adopted water isotopic composition (1‰ for the Cretaceous and -0.7‰ for the Miocene) from the literature. Our observation captured an overall cooling trend from the Cretaceous to the Holocene time period (especially in between mid Miocene to Holocene) and a subsequent warming trend in modern time. Validation with other thermometry method will be displayed at the time of presentation. References: [1] Zachos et al., 2001
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Dong-Sheng Yang
2017-03-01
Full Text Available Combined with in-situ laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS zircon UPb geochronology, published and unpublished literature on the Caotaobei uranium deposit in southern Jiangxi province, China, is re-examined to provide an improved understanding of the origin of the main ore (103 Ma. The Caotaobei deposit lies in the Hecaokeng ore field and is currently one of China's largest, volcanic-related uranium producers. Unlike commonly known volcanogenic uranium deposits throughout the world, it is spatially associated with intermediate lavas with a shoshonitic composition. Uranium mineralization (pitchblende occurs predominantly as veinlets, disseminations, and massive ores, hosted by the cryptoexplosive breccias rimming the Caotaobei crater. Zircons from one latite define four distinct 206Pb/238U age groups at 220–235 Ma (Triassic, 188 Ma (Early Jurassic, 131–137 Ma (Early Cretaceous, and 97–103 Ma (Early-Late Cretaceous transition, hereafter termed mid-Cretaceous. The integrated age (134 ± 2 Ma of Early Cretaceous zircons (group III is interpreted as representing the time of lava emplacement. The age data, together with the re-examination of literature, does not definitively support a volcanogenic origin for the generation of the deposit, which was proposed by the previous workers based mainly on the close spatial relationship and the age similarity between the main ore and volcanic lavas. Drill core and grade-control data reveal that rich concentrations of primary uranium ore are common around the granite porphyry dikes cutting the lavas, and that the cryptoexplosive breccias away from the dikes are barren or unmineralized. These observations indicate that the emplacement of the granite porphyries exerts a fundamental control on ore distribution and thus a genetic link exists between main-stage uranium mineralization and the intrusions of the dikes. Zircon overgrowths of mid-Cretaceous age (99.6
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Graham, Alan
2011-03-01
Eight ecosystems that were present in the Cretaceous about 100 Ma (million years ago) in the New World eventually developed into the 12 recognized for the modern Earth. Among the forcing mechanisms that drove biotic change during this interval was a decline in global temperatures toward the end of the Cretaceous, augmented by the asteroid impact at 65 Ma and drainage of seas from continental margins and interiors; separation of South America from Africa beginning in the south at ca. 120 Ma and progressing northward until completed 90-100 Ma; the possible emission of 1500 gigatons of methane and CO(2) attributed to explosive vents in the Norwegian Sea at ca. 55 Ma, resulting in a temperature rise of 5°-6°C in an already warm world; disruption of the North Atlantic land bridge at ca. 45 Ma at a time when temperatures were falling; rise of the Andes Mountains beginning at ca. 40 Ma; opening of the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica at ca. 32 Ma with formation of the cold Humboldt at ca. 30 Ma; union of North and South America at ca. 3.5 Ma; and all within the overlay of evolutionary processes. These processes generated a sequence of elements (e.g., species growing in moist habitats within an overall dry environment; gallery forests), early versions (e.g., mangrove communities without Rhizophora until the middle Eocene), and essentially modern versions of present-day New World ecosystems. As a first approximation, the fossil record suggests that early versions of aquatic communities (in the sense of including a prominent angiosperm component) appeared early in the Middle to Late Cretaceous, the lowland neotropical rainforest at 64 Ma (well developed by 58-55 Ma), shrubland/chaparral-woodland-savanna and grasslands around the middle Miocene climatic optimum at ca. 15-13 Ma, deserts in the middle Miocene/early Pliocene at ca. 10 Ma, significant tundra at ca. 7-5 Ma, and alpine tundra (páramo) shortly thereafter when cooling temperatures were augmented
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Rates of morphological evolution are heterogeneous in Early Cretaceous birds
Lloyd, Graeme T.
2016-01-01
The Early Cretaceous is a critical interval in the early history of birds. Exceptional fossils indicate that important evolutionary novelties such as a pygostyle and a keeled sternum had already arisen in Early Cretaceous taxa, bridging much of the morphological gap between Archaeopteryx and crown birds. However, detailed features of basal bird evolution remain obscure because of both the small sample of fossil taxa previously considered and a lack of quantitative studies assessing rates of morphological evolution. Here we apply a recently available phylogenetic method and associated sensitivity tests to a large data matrix of morphological characters to quantify rates of morphological evolution in Early Cretaceous birds. Our results reveal that although rates were highly heterogeneous between different Early Cretaceous avian lineages, consistent patterns of significantly high or low rates were harder to pinpoint. Nevertheless, evidence for accelerated evolutionary rates is strongest at the point when Ornithuromorpha (the clade comprises all extant birds and descendants from their most recent common ancestors) split from Enantiornithes (a diverse clade that went extinct at the end-Cretaceous), consistent with the hypothesis that this key split opened up new niches and ultimately led to greater diversity for these two dominant clades of Mesozoic birds. PMID:27053742
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Sedimentary uranium deposits in France and French Union
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kervella, F.
1958-01-01
The author gives the actual state of our knowledge on uranium deposits found in recent years. Till now in precambrian formations only one important deposit has been found, at Mounana (Gabon) in a series of conglomeratic sandstones belonging to the 'Francevillien'. The observed mineralization is of the uranium-vanadium type. To the carboniferous formations corresponds in France a series of deposits, among which the most important ones are located at Saint-Hippolyte. Uranium as carburans, organic-bound complexes, is contained in lacustrine schists of Westphalian or lower Stephanian formations. A number of occurrences are also known in permo-triassic formations, particularly in the Vanoise Alps, in the Maritime Alps and in the Herault, where important occurrences have recently been found not far from Lodeve. The cretaceous and tertiary systems contain uranium deposits in phosphate rocks (Morocco, Senegal, Togo, Middle-Congo). Two sedimentary oligocene deposits are known in France. Lastly, the Vinaninkarena deposit in Madagascar, known for a long time, is the only important one reported in the quaternary series. (author) [fr
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alexandr S. Vakh
2016-05-01
Full Text Available The Berezitovoe deposit in the Sergachi volcano-plutonic and metallogenic belt preserves evidence for polymetallic mineralization of multiple stages. The steeply dipping garnet-tourmaline-muscovite-quartz metasomatites (with K-Ar ages of 132 ± 2.9 and 127 ± 4.4 Ma carry two distinct stages of mineralization developed at different times: (1 polymetallic mineralization and (2 gold-quartz. The deposit is located within Paleozoic gneissose granitoids of the Pikansky complex (dated as 379 ± 1.1 Ma by zircon U-Pb method intruded by early Cretaceous porphyry-like granites of the Haikta pluton (dated as 137 ± 0.67 Ma by zircon U-Pb method and late Cretaceous dikes of porphyrites, porphyries, and lamprophyres. Evidence suggests the action of late gold-bearing hydrothermal fluids on the early polymetallic ores and the selective mobilization of some elements from these lead to redeposition together with complex sulphosalts.
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Beilinson, E.; Gasparini, G. M.; Soibelzon, L. H.; Soibelzon, E.
2015-07-01
The coastal cliffs of the Buenos Aires province (Argentina) have been the subject of intense paleontological studies since the XIX century. Therefore, many of the type localities in which is based the late Cenozoic Pampean biostratigraphic/chronostratigraphic scheme are located in this area. In this context, the sedimentites that crop out near the mouth of the Chocorí Creek contain a set of palaeontological sites that, because of their richness and well-preserved fossil content, hold high national and international importance. The aims of the present contribution are: 1) to make a stratigraphic and sedimentological characterization of the study area; 2) to list the fauna outcropped at these palaeontological sites and establish a biostratigraphic framework; 3) to elaborate a palaeoenvironmental model for the area. The study interval was informally subdivided into a lower, middle and upper interval. Interpretation was based on the presence of a number of key features such as architectural elements; channel:overbank ratio and palaeosol occurrence. The first two intervals were interpreted as continental deposits of a fluvio-alluvial nature and are the focus of this paper. The upper interval was related to foreshore marine deposits and will be studied in a future contribution. The lower interval is characterized mainly by overbank architectural elements in which calcisols and argillic protosols were identified. Channel-fill deposits are isolated and surrounded by fine-grained overbank successions and sedimentary structures are suggestive of mixed-load transport. The contact between the lower and middle intervals is an irregular, highly erosive surface characterized by a significant vertical change in the facies. This surface defines the base of multistorey sandbodies which's internal arrangement alongside with the low participation of overbank deposits suggests deposition by a braided fluvial system. Palaeosols and vertebrate fossils were used as palaeoclimatic
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Yu Zhang
2018-01-01
Full Text Available The large Xinqiao Cu–S–Fe–Au deposit in the Tongling ore district, Eastern China, is characterized by a large-scale stratiform orebody, in which garnet is widely distributed as the main gangue mineral associated with mineralization. Xinqiao garnet can be divided into early (Grt1 and late (Grt2 generations based on extensive back-scattered electron (BSE imaging observations. Laser ablation (LA-ICP-MS trace element and U–Pb isotope composition analyses indicate that uranium occurs homogeneously within the Xinqiao garnet, and Grt1 and Grt2 have weighted average 207Pb-corrected 206Pb/238U ages of 137.0 ± 7.8 Ma (Mean standard weighted deviation (MSWD = 4.9 and 129.6 ± 7.1 Ma (MSWD = 1.6, respectively, similar to the zircon U–Pb age (139.6 ± 1.5 Ma of the Jitou intrusion. These garnet U–Pb ages, combined with the low MnO content and various Y/Ho ratios, suggest that the Xinqiao garnet is likely to have a magmatic hydrothermal replacement origin associated with the Jitou stock. Based on previous studies of the Xinqiao deposit, we infer that the Xinqiao stratiform orebody may have formed from the Early Cretaceous magmatic hydrothermal fluids associated with the Jitou stock, and may have been generated by the Early Cretaceous tectono-thermal event in Eastern China.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Huang Jingbai; Li Shengxiang
2007-01-01
In this paper, the paleo-interlayer-oxidation type sandstone-hosted uranium deposits occurred in the Meso-Cenozoic continental basins in China are divided into 3 subtype, they are stratum over lapping buried subtype, structure-uplifting destroy subtype and faulted-folding conserved subtype. The metallogenic characteristics, metallogenic model and exploration prospect for these 3 subtypes uranium deposits are discussed. It is proposed that the paleo-interlayer-oxidation type sandstone-hosted uranium deposits, besides the recent interlayer oxidation type sandstone-hosted uranium deposits, are of great prospecting potential in the Meso-Cenozoic continental basins in China. Therefore, the metallogenic theory of these types uranium deposits should be conscientiously summarized and replenished continuously so as to propel forward the exploration of the sandstone-hosted uranium deposits in China. (authors)
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A basal thunnosaurian from Iraq reveals disparate phylogenetic origins for Cretaceous ichthyosaurs
Fischer, Valentin; Appleby, Robert M.; Naish, Darren; Liston, Jeff; Riding, James B.; Brindley, Stephen; Godefroit, Pascal
2013-01-01
Cretaceous ichthyosaurs have typically been considered a small, homogeneous assemblage sharing a common Late Jurassic ancestor. Their low diversity and disparity have been interpreted as indicative of a decline leading to their Cenomanian extinction. We describe the first post-Triassic ichthyosaur from the Middle East, Malawania anachronus gen. et sp. nov. from the Early Cretaceous of Iraq, and re-evaluate the evolutionary history of parvipelvian ichthyosaurs via phylogenetic and cladogenesis rate analyses. Malawania represents a basal grade in thunnosaurian evolution that arose during a major Late Triassic radiation event and was previously thought to have gone extinct during the Early Jurassic. Its pectoral morphology appears surprisingly archaic, retaining a forefin architecture similar to that of its Early Jurassic relatives. After the initial latest Triassic radiation of early thunnosaurians, two subsequent large radiations produced lineages with Cretaceous representatives, but the radiation events themselves are pre-Cretaceous. Cretaceous ichthyosaurs therefore include distantly related lineages, with contrasting evolutionary histories, and appear more diverse and disparate than previously supposed. PMID:23676653
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Direct evidence for impact winter following the Cretaceous-Paleogene bolide impact
Vellekoop, J.; Sluijs, A.; Smit, J.; Schouten, S.; Sinninghe Damsté, J. S.; Brinkhuis, H.
2012-12-01
The Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary, ~65.5 Ma, marks a mass-extinction event related the impact of a large asteroid on the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico. Model scenarios predict that the explosive injection of dust and sulfate aerosols into the stratosphere blocked incoming solar radiation, resulting in a cooling pulse of months to several decades, a so-called 'impact winter', but thus far, proxy records lack sufficient resolution to evaluate this hypothesis. We report on a major, short-lived drop in sea surface temperatures (SSTs) recorded in an unusually well preserved and stratigraphically expanded K/Pg boundary site in Texas, USA, based on TEX86 paleothermometry. Critically, the cooling directly post-dates impact-related tsunami deposits, and coincides with the deposition of extraterrestrial iridium representing aerosol fall out, restricting the age of the cooling to the first months to decades after impact. We interpret this cooling to reflect the first direct evidence for the "impact winter" at the K/Pg boundary. The combination of darkness and cooling must have been a key contributory element in the extinctions of many biological clades, including the dinosaurs, flying reptiles and marine reptiles.
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The origin of oil in the Cretaceous succession from the South Pars Oil Layer of the Persian Gulf
Rahmani, Omeid; Aali, Jafar; Junin, Radzuan; Mohseni, Hassan; Padmanabhan, Eswaran; Azdarpour, Amin; Zarza, Sahar; Moayyed, Mohsen; Ghazanfari, Parviz
2013-07-01
The origin of the oil in Barremian-Hauterivian and Albian age source rock samples from two oil wells (SPO-2 and SPO-3) in the South Pars oil field has been investigated by analyzing the quantity of total organic carbon (TOC) and thermal maturity of organic matter (OM). The source rocks were found in the interval 1,000-1,044 m for the Kazhdumi Formation (Albian) and 1,157-1,230 m for the Gadvan Formation (Barremian-Hauterivian). Elemental analysis was carried out on 36 samples from the source rock candidates (Gadvan and Kazhdumi formations) of the Cretaceous succession of the South Pars Oil Layer (SPOL). This analysis indicated that the OM of the Barremian-Hauterivian and Albian samples in the SPOL was composed of kerogen Types II and II-III, respectively. The average TOC of analyzed samples is less than 1 wt%, suggesting that the Cretaceous source rocks are poor hydrocarbon (HC) producers. Thermal maturity and Ro values revealed that more than 90 % of oil samples are immature. The source of the analyzed samples taken from Gadvan and Kazhdumi formations most likely contained a content high in mixed plant and marine algal OM deposited under oxic to suboxic bottom water conditions. The Pristane/nC17 versus Phytane/nC18 diagram showed Type II-III kerogen of mixture environments for source rock samples from the SPOL. Burial history modeling indicates that at the end of the Cretaceous time, pre-Permian sediments remained immature in the Qatar Arch. Therefore, lateral migration of HC from the nearby Cretaceous source rock kitchens toward the north and south of the Qatar Arch is the most probable origin for the significant oils in the SPOL.
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NEW ABELISAURID MATERIAL FROM THE UPPER CRETACEOUS (CENOMANIAN OF MOROCCO
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SIMONE D'ORAZI PORCHETTI
2011-11-01
Full Text Available Fragmentary cranial bones of dinosaur origin have been recently recovered from the Kem Kem beds (Upper Cretaceous, Cenomanian of Morocco. They include two incompletely preserved maxillary bones evidencing diagnostic features of abelisaurid theropods. These new finds provide further evidence of Abelisauridae in the Late Cretaceous of Morocco.
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Santos-Cubedo, A.; de Santisteban, C.; Suñer, M.; Galobart, A.
2009-04-01
Ana is one of the several dinosaur bone sites located in the Arcillas de Morella Formation (Aptian, Lower Cretaceous; eastern Iberian Chain, Spain). This site was discovered in 1998, but it remained unexcavated until 2002, when a palaeontologist team formed by members of the Institut Paleontología Miquel Crusafont from Sabadell and the Grup Guix from Vila-real unearthed the first fossil from the locality. Nowadays there are five hundred fossils collected, including vertebrate and invertebrate species. Dinosaur bones (Theropoda and Ornithopoda) are abundant in this assemblage and in the last field season bones determined as Sauropoda were found. Taxonomically, Ana is dominated by disarticulated remains of Ornithopoda, which are usually fragmentary and abraded. Many of the elements may have been reworked (spatial averaging and/or time averaging), and the fossil concentration constitutes an autochthonous to parautochthonous association, in a spatial sense. The remains found in the Ana fossils site are placed in sandstones and limes containing marine autochthonous fauna. These deposits were formed during the transgressive infilling of an incised valley. Sedimentological features indicate that fossils were finally deposited in starved shallow estuarine environment. Mineralogically, the sediment including the fossils contains grains of quartz, illite/mica, kaolinite/clorite, K-feldspar and plagioclase, distributed in two mainly grain populations, a silty-clay and a coarse sand size grain, indicating that the sediments were bedded in a low-medium energy depositional environment. Nowadays we identified in Ana, teeth of Theropoda indet. and Baryonychinae indet., and bones of Iguanodon sp. Herein, we report new fossil findings from Ana site. These materials have been determined as Iguanodontia, Titanosauriformes and Theropoda. These new findings will help to understand the dinosaur fauna present in the Lower Cretaceous of Els Ports (Castellón, Spain). Acknowledgments This
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Gutierrez, E. G.; Horton, B. K.; Vallejo, C.
2017-12-01
The tectonic history of the Oriente foreland basin and adjacent Subandean Zone of Ecuador during contractional mountain building in the northern Andes can be revealed through integrated stratigraphic, geochronological, structural, and provenance analyses of clastic sediments deposited during orogenesis. We present new maximum depositional ages and a comprehensive provenance analysis for key stratigraphic units deposited in the western (proximal) Oriente Basin. Detrital zircon U-Pb ages were obtained from Upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic clastic formations from exposures in the Subandean Zone. The sampled stratigraphic intervals span critical timeframes during orogenesis in the Ecuadorian Andes. Cenozoic formations have poorly defined chronostratigraphic relationships and are therefore a primary target of this study. In addition, the newly acquired U-Pb age spectra allow clear identification of the various sediment source regions that fed the system during distinct depositional phases. Maximum depositional ages (MDA) were obtained for five samples from three formations: the Tena (MDA=69.6 Ma), Chalcana (MDA=29.3 Ma), and Arajuno (MDA= 17.1, 14.2, 12.8 Ma) Formations, placing them in the Maastrichtian, early Oligocene, and early-middle Miocene, respectively. Detrital zircon U-Pb ages identify clear signatures of at least four different sources: craton (1600-1300 Ma, 1250-900 Ma), Eastern Cordillera fold-thrust belt (600-450 Ma, 250-145 Ma), Western Cordillera magmatic arc (age spectra of the Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene type sections allow us to recognize variations in the contribution of each recognized source over time. We identify recycled material with two dominant peak ages (1250-900 Ma and 600-450 Ma), material derived from the adjacent uplifted orogen or recycled from foredeep sediments incorporated into the deforming wedge. Finally, an apparent unroofing event is inferred from a 250-145 Ma age peak in the Plio-Pleistocene Mesa-Mera Formation revealing the
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Denudation of the continental shelf between Britain and France at the glacial–interglacial timescale
Mellett, Claire L.; Hodgson, David M.; Plater, Andrew J.; Mauz, Barbara; Selby, Ian; Lang, Andreas
2013-01-01
The erosional morphology preserved at the sea bed in the eastern English Channel dominantly records denudation of the continental shelf by fluvial processes over multiple glacial–interglacial sea-level cycles rather than by catastrophic flooding through the Straits of Dover during the mid-Quaternary. Here, through the integration of multibeam bathymetry and shallow sub-bottom 2D seismic reflection profiles calibrated with vibrocore records, the first stratigraphic model of erosion and deposition on the eastern English Channel continental shelf is presented. Published Optical Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and 14C ages were used to chronometrically constrain the stratigraphy and allow correlation of the continental shelf record with major climatic/sea-level periods. Five major erosion surfaces overlain by discrete sediment packages have been identified. The continental shelf in the eastern English Channel preserves a record of processes operating from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 to MIS 1. Planar and channelised erosion surfaces were formed by fluvial incision during lowstands or relative sea-level fall. The depth and lateral extent of incision was partly conditioned by underlying geology (rock type and tectonic structure), climatic conditions and changes in water and sediment discharge coupled to ice sheet dynamics and the drainage configuration of major rivers in Northwest Europe. Evidence for major erosion during or prior to MIS 6 is preserved. Fluvial sediments of MIS 2 age were identified within the Northern Palaeovalley, providing insights into the scale of erosion by normal fluvial regimes. Seismic and sedimentary facies indicate that deposition predominantly occurred during transgression when accommodation was created in palaeovalleys to allow discrete sediment bodies to form. Sediment reworking over multiple sea-level cycles (Saalian–Eemian–early Weichselian) by fluvial, coastal and marine processes created a multi-lateral, multi-storey succession of
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Mellett, Claire L; Hodgson, David M; Plater, Andrew J; Mauz, Barbara; Selby, Ian; Lang, Andreas
2013-12-01
The erosional morphology preserved at the sea bed in the eastern English Channel dominantly records denudation of the continental shelf by fluvial processes over multiple glacial-interglacial sea-level cycles rather than by catastrophic flooding through the Straits of Dover during the mid-Quaternary. Here, through the integration of multibeam bathymetry and shallow sub-bottom 2D seismic reflection profiles calibrated with vibrocore records, the first stratigraphic model of erosion and deposition on the eastern English Channel continental shelf is presented. Published Optical Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and 14 C ages were used to chronometrically constrain the stratigraphy and allow correlation of the continental shelf record with major climatic/sea-level periods. Five major erosion surfaces overlain by discrete sediment packages have been identified. The continental shelf in the eastern English Channel preserves a record of processes operating from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 to MIS 1. Planar and channelised erosion surfaces were formed by fluvial incision during lowstands or relative sea-level fall. The depth and lateral extent of incision was partly conditioned by underlying geology (rock type and tectonic structure), climatic conditions and changes in water and sediment discharge coupled to ice sheet dynamics and the drainage configuration of major rivers in Northwest Europe. Evidence for major erosion during or prior to MIS 6 is preserved. Fluvial sediments of MIS 2 age were identified within the Northern Palaeovalley, providing insights into the scale of erosion by normal fluvial regimes. Seismic and sedimentary facies indicate that deposition predominantly occurred during transgression when accommodation was created in palaeovalleys to allow discrete sediment bodies to form. Sediment reworking over multiple sea-level cycles (Saalian-Eemian-early Weichselian) by fluvial, coastal and marine processes created a multi-lateral, multi-storey succession of
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Climax-Type Porphyry Molybdenum Deposits
Ludington, Steve; Plumlee, Geoffrey S.
2009-01-01
Climax-type porphyry molybdenum deposits, as defined here, are extremely rare; thirteen deposits are known, all in western North America and ranging in age from Late Cretaceous to mainly Tertiary. They are consistently found in a postsubduction, extensional tectonic setting and are invariably associated with A-type granites that formed after peak activity of a magmatic cycle. The deposits consist of ore shells of quartz-molybdenite stockwork veins that lie above and surrounding the apices of cupola-like, highly evolved, calc-alkaline granite and subvolcanic rhyolite-porphyry bodies. These plutons are invariably enriched in fluorine (commonly >1 percent), rubidium (commonly >500 parts per million), and niobium-tantalum (Nb commonly >50 parts per million). The deposits are relatively high grade (typically 0.1-0.3 percent Mo) and may be very large (typically 100-1,000 million tons). Molybdenum, as MoS2, is the primary commodity in all known deposits. The effect on surface-water quality owing to natural influx of water or sediment from a Climax-type mineralized area can extend many kilometers downstream from the mineralized area. Waste piles composed of quartz-silica-pyrite altered rocks will likely produce acidic drainage waters. The potential exists for concentrations of fluorine or rare metals in surface water and groundwater to exceed recommended limits for human consumption near both mined and unmined Climax-type deposits.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ryan, W.B.F.; Farre, J.A.
1983-01-01
Mass wasting, an erosional process, has recently been active at deepwater waste disposal sites on the mid-Atlantic margin of the United States. On the continental slope there is a subsea drainage network consisting of canyons, gullies, and chutes, and there are meandering channels, erosional scars, and debris aprons present on the continental rise. Fresh-looking blocks of 40 to 45 million-year-old marl and chalk (from cobble to boulder size) are strewn among canisters of low-level radioactive wastes. Some of the blocks have traveled from their original place of deposition for distances in excess of 170 km. Waste containers on the continental slope and rise cannot be considered to be disposed of permanently. The drainage network of the slope provides a natural process for collecting wastes over a catchment area, and for concentrating it with interim storage in canyons. Erosion by slumping, sliding, and debris flows ultimately will transport the wastes from the continental slope and disperse it over potentially large areas on the continental rise and abyssal plain. If it is desirable that the wastes be buried in the seafloor and isolated from the environment, then the continental slope and rise are not attractive repositories. If, however, it is deemed beneficial that the wastes ultimately be dispersed over a wide area, then the continental slope could be used as a disposal site
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wei Sanyuan; Qin Mingkuan; Li Yuexiang; He Zhongbo; Chen Anping; Shen Kefeng; Cao Jianying
2006-01-01
Various mineral resources in a basin are associated with its tectono-sedimentary evolution. Based on the analysis of the tectono-sedimentary evolution of Erlian basin, three evolutional stages of Erlian basin are classified, they are: the continental extensional down-faulting stage, the transitional stage from down-faulting to down-warping in Early Cretaceous, and slightly compressional differentiated uplifting-subsidence since Late Cretaceous. According to the mechanism of sandstone-hosted uranium metallogenesis it is suggested that the grey clastic rock series deposited at the stage of down-faulting down-warping transition must be the important target for uranium prospecting, and the differentiated uplifting-subsidence offers necessary conditions for sandstone-hosted uranium ore-formation. Then, types of uranium mineralization that could occur in Erlian basin are discussed, and uranium metallogenic model has been preliminarily summarized. (authors)
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Geomorphology and Sediment Stability of a Segment of the U.S. Continental Slope off New Jersey.
Robb, J M; Hampson, J C; Twichell, D C
1981-02-27
The morphology of complex deposits of Pleistocene sediments covering the upper continental slope between Lindenkohl Canyon and South Toms Canyon results from both depositional and erosional processes. Small slump or slide features were detected primarily on the flanks of canyons or valleys and were observed to occur only within Pleistocene-aged sediments. Eocene to Miocene sediments are exposed over much of the mid- and lower slope in this area.
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Ways of distinguishing epigenetic types of gray-colored rocks in sheet-infiltration deposits
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Rasulova, S.D.; Yashunskii, Yu.V.
1994-01-01
At an infiltration deposit of uranium in Upper-Cretaceous sandy-clay alluvial deposits (Central Kyzylkum), six stages of postsedimentation epigenetic transformations were distinguished. The genesis of altered rocks was determined mostly by mineralogical methods. A new methodological technique is suggested, which calls for analysis of the textural, structural, and mineral correspondence of ferruginous components of gray-colored and oxidized rocks in the region of their contact and makes it possible to typify epigenetic changes in conditions of repeated change in the direction of geochemical processes
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Antunes, Rogerio Loureiro [PETROBRAS S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Centro de Pesquisas (CENPES). Gerencia de Bioestratigrafia e Paleoecologia], E-mail: rlantunes@petrobras.com.br
2007-07-01
The study of calcareous nanofossils occurring in the deposits on the Brazilian continental margin began in the late 1960s, undertaken solely by PETROBRAS. Instead of presenting an academic outlook, the purpose of these investigations is first to formulate a biostratigraphic framework to apply to oil well samples. The initial result was the first zoning for the Brazilian continental margin, which considered the deposits formed between the Aptian and Miocene series. Since the 1960s to date, many papers have been written either with details of that original zoning or applying nanofossil biostratigraphy to solve stratigraphic problems. Regardless of all the papers and studies undertaken, little attention has been paid to the Quaternary, since these deposits are normally of no interest to petroleum geology stricto sensu, especially in a large part of the Brazilian margin. On the other hand, there are a few articles and some Master's dissertations and PhD theses that were written and/or are in progress in Brazilian universities. On the other hand, elsewhere in the world, Quaternary nanofossils have been thoroughly investigated in terms of biostratigraphy and paleoceanography. It is, therefore, very clear that there is a gap between what is being done elsewhere in the world and what has been done in Brazil. In fact, this gap is not larger simply because of a few researchers in Brazilian universities who are studying this topic. The intention of this paper is to contribute toward a richer study of Quaternary nanofossils. It, therefore, contains illustrations and taxonomic descriptions of many species observed in the younger strata of the Brazilian margin basins. This article not only aspires to portray and disseminate the potential of nanofossils for the marine Quaternary study but is also an invitation to students (under and post-graduates) and university researchers - an invitation to learn a little more about the subject and spend some time studying these real gems
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Antunes, Rogerio Loureiro [PETROBRAS S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Centro de Pesquisas (CENPES). Gerencia de Bioestratigrafia e Paleoecologia], E-mail: rlantunes@petrobras.com.br
2007-07-01
The study of calcareous nanofossils occurring in the deposits on the Brazilian continental margin began in the late 1960s, undertaken solely by PETROBRAS. Instead of presenting an academic outlook, the purpose of these investigations is first to formulate a biostratigraphic framework to apply to oil well samples. The initial result was the first zoning for the Brazilian continental margin, which considered the deposits formed between the Aptian and Miocene series. Since the 1960s to date, many papers have been written either with details of that original zoning or applying nanofossil biostratigraphy to solve stratigraphic problems. Regardless of all the papers and studies undertaken, little attention has been paid to the Quaternary, since these deposits are normally of no interest to petroleum geology stricto sensu, especially in a large part of the Brazilian margin. On the other hand, there are a few articles and some Master's dissertations and PhD theses that were written and/or are in progress in Brazilian universities. On the other hand, elsewhere in the world, Quaternary nanofossils have been thoroughly investigated in terms of biostratigraphy and paleoceanography. It is, therefore, very clear that there is a gap between what is being done elsewhere in the world and what has been done in Brazil. In fact, this gap is not larger simply because of a few researchers in Brazilian universities who are studying this topic. The intention of this paper is to contribute toward a richer study of Quaternary nanofossils. It, therefore, contains illustrations and taxonomic descriptions of many species observed in the younger strata of the Brazilian margin basins. This article not only aspires to portray and disseminate the potential of nanofossils for the marine Quaternary study but is also an invitation to students (under and post-graduates) and university researchers - an invitation to learn a little more about the subject and spend some time studying these real gems of
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Highly specialized mammalian skulls from the Late Cretaceous of South America.
Rougier, Guillermo W; Apesteguía, Sebastián; Gaetano, Leandro C
2011-11-02
Dryolestoids are an extinct mammalian group belonging to the lineage leading to modern marsupials and placentals. Dryolestoids are known by teeth and jaws from the Jurassic period of North America and Europe, but they thrived in South America up to the end of the Mesozoic era and survived to the beginnings of the Cenozoic. Isolated teeth and jaws from the latest Cretaceous of South America provide mounting evidence that, at least in western Gondwana, dryolestoids developed into strongly endemic groups by the Late Cretaceous. However, the lack of pre-Late Cretaceous dryolestoid remains made study of their origin and early diversification intractable. Here we describe the first mammalian remains from the early Late Cretaceous of South America, including two partial skulls and jaws of a derived dryolestoid showing dental and cranial features unknown among any other group of Mesozoic mammals, such as single-rooted molars preceded by double-rooted premolars, combined with a very long muzzle, exceedingly long canines and evidence of highly specialized masticatory musculature. On one hand, the new mammal shares derived features of dryolestoids with forms from the Jurassic of Laurasia, whereas on the other hand, it is very specialized and highlights the endemic, diverse dryolestoid fauna from the Cretaceous of South America. Our specimens include only the second mammalian skull known for the Cretaceous of Gondwana, bridging a previous 60-million-year gap in the fossil record, and document the whole cranial morphology of a dryolestoid, revealing an unsuspected morphological and ecological diversity for non-tribosphenic mammals.
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Late Cretaceous seasonal ocean variability from the Arctic.
Davies, Andrew; Kemp, Alan E S; Pike, Jennifer
2009-07-09
The modern Arctic Ocean is regarded as a barometer of global change and amplifier of global warming and therefore records of past Arctic change are critical for palaeoclimate reconstruction. Little is known of the state of the Arctic Ocean in the greenhouse period of the Late Cretaceous epoch (65-99 million years ago), yet records from such times may yield important clues to Arctic Ocean behaviour in near-future warmer climates. Here we present a seasonally resolved Cretaceous sedimentary record from the Alpha ridge of the Arctic Ocean. This palaeo-sediment trap provides new insight into the workings of the Cretaceous marine biological carbon pump. Seasonal primary production was dominated by diatom algae but was not related to upwelling as was previously hypothesized. Rather, production occurred within a stratified water column, involving specially adapted species in blooms resembling those of the modern North Pacific subtropical gyre, or those indicated for the Mediterranean sapropels. With increased CO(2) levels and warming currently driving increased stratification in the global ocean, this style of production that is adapted to stratification may become more widespread. Our evidence for seasonal diatom production and flux testify to an ice-free summer, but thin accumulations of terrigenous sediment within the diatom ooze are consistent with the presence of intermittent sea ice in the winter, supporting a wide body of evidence for low temperatures in the Late Cretaceous Arctic Ocean, rather than recent suggestions of a 15 degrees C mean annual temperature at this time.
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Uranium-series dating of Quaternary deposits
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Schwarcz, H.; Gascoyne, M.
1984-01-01
In view of the interest in the problem of time scales in geomorphology it is fortunate that there exists a number of geochronometers applicable to the measurement of the age of such young deposits. This paper is specifically devoted to those which arise from the disequilibrium between the daughter isotopes of U-238 and U-235, and their respective parents. The authors describe applications to Quaternary continental deposits that can give information about climatic change (travertine, lacrustine limestones, pedogenic carbonates, detrinal sediments, volcanic rocks). (Auth.)
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The mid-Cretaceous North Atlantic nutrient trap: black shales and OAEs
Trabucho Alexandre, J.; Tuenter, E.; Henstra, G.A.; Zwan, C.J. van der; Wal, R.S.W. van de; Dijkstra, H.A.; Boer, P.L. de
2010-01-01
Organic-rich sediments are the salient marine sedimentation product in the mid-Cretaceous of the ocean basins formed in the Mesozoic. Oceanic anoxic events (OAEs) are discrete and particularly organic-rich intervals within these mid-Cretaceous organic-rich sequences and are defined by pronounced
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Palynological and iridium anomalies at Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, south-central Saskatchewan
Nichols, D.J.; Jarzen, D.M.; Orth, C.J.; Oliver, P.Q.
1986-01-01
The Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in south-central Saskatchewan is marked by coincident anomalies in abundance of iridium and fern spores at the extinction level of a suite of Cretaceous pollen taxa. Evidence of disruption of the terrestrial flora includes the fern-spore abundance anomaly and local extinction of as much as 30 percent of angiosperm species. The reorganized earliest Tertiary flora is made up largely of surviving species that assumed new roles of dominance. Persistence of climatically sensitive taxa across the boundary indicates that if paleoclimate was altered by the terminal Cretaceous event, it returned quickly to the pre-event condition.
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Tyrant dinosaur evolution tracks the rise and fall of Late Cretaceous oceans.
Loewen, Mark A; Irmis, Randall B; Sertich, Joseph J W; Currie, Philip J; Sampson, Scott D
2013-01-01
The Late Cretaceous (∼95-66 million years ago) western North American landmass of Laramidia displayed heightened non-marine vertebrate diversity and intracontinental regionalism relative to other latest Cretaceous Laurasian ecosystems. Processes generating these patterns during this interval remain poorly understood despite their presumed role in the diversification of many clades. Tyrannosauridae, a clade of large-bodied theropod dinosaurs restricted to the Late Cretaceous of Laramidia and Asia, represents an ideal group for investigating Laramidian patterns of evolution. We use new tyrannosaurid discoveries from Utah--including a new taxon which represents the geologically oldest member of the clade--to investigate the evolution and biogeography of Tyrannosauridae. These data suggest a Laramidian origin for Tyrannosauridae, and implicate sea-level related controls in the isolation, diversification, and dispersal of this and many other Late Cretaceous vertebrate clades.
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Dong, Xin; Zhang, Ze-ming; Klemd, Reiner; He, Zhen-yu; Tian, Zuo-lin
2018-04-01
The Lhasa terrane of the southern Tibetan Plateau participated in a Mesozoic Andean-type orogeny caused by the northward subduction of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere. However, metamorphic rocks, which can unravel details of the geodynamic evolution, are rare and only exposed in the south-eastern part of the Lhasa terrane. Therefore, we conducted a detailed petrological, geochemical and U-Pb zircon geochronological study of the late Cretaceous metamorphic rocks and associated gabbros from the Nyemo inlier of the southern Lhasa terrane. The Nyemo metamorphic rocks including gneisses, schists, marbles and calc-silicate rocks, experienced peak amphibolite-facies contact metamorphism under P-T conditions of 3.5-4.0 kbar and 642-657 °C with a very high geothermal gradient of 45-50 °C/km, revealing a distinct deflection from the steady-state geotherm during low-pressure metamorphism. Inherited magmatic zircon cores from the metamorphic rocks yielded protolith ages of 197-194 Ma, while overgrowth zircon rims yielded metamorphic ages of ca. 86 Ma. Whole-rock chemistry and zircon Hf isotopes suggest that the protoliths of the gneisses and schists are andesites and tuffs of the early Jurassic Sangri Group, which were derived from a depleted mantle source of a continental arc affinity. The coeval intimately-associated gabbro (ca. 86 Ma) crystallized under P-T conditions of 3.5-5.3 kbar and 914-970 °C, supplying the heat flux high enough to cause the contact metamorphism of the Sangri Group rock types. We propose that the intrusion of the gabbro and a simultaneous pressure increase of up to 4.0 kbar, which is related to crustal thickening due to crustal overthrusting and the intrusion of mafic material, resulted in the late Cretaceous metamorphism of the early Jurassic Sangri Group during an Andean-type orogeny. Furthermore the Nyemo metamorphic rocks, which have previously been considered to represent slivers of the Precambrian metamorphic basement of the Lhasa terrane
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Normal-Faulting in Madagascar: Another Round of Continental Rifting?
Wysession, M. E.; Pratt, M. J.; Tsiriandrimanana, R.; Andriampenomanana Ny Ony, F. S. T.; Nyblade, A.; Durrheim, R. J.; Tilmann, F. J.; Rumpker, G.; Rambolamanana, G.; Aleqabi, G. I.; Shore, P.
2017-12-01
Analyses of seismicity and seismic structure within Madagascar suggest the current occurrence of crustal extension, which may be related to continental rifting associated with a diffuse boundary between the Somalia and Lwandle tectonic plates. Madagascar has participated in two major rifting events as part of the break-up of Gondwana: the break-away of Greater India (Madagascar, India, the Seychelles) away from mainland Africa during the Jurassic and the break-away of India from Madagascar during the Cretaceous. Seismic activity and the structures obtained from it, using data from the 2-year (2011-2013) MACOMO project, suggest that this break-up may not be finished, and that continental rifts may be developing again. There are fairly high levels of intraplate seismicity within Madagascar: over 800 events located during the 22 months of the deployment. For comparison, a 2-year deployment of seismometers within the upper Midwest of the U.S. yielded just 12 intraplate earthquakes. While the Madagascar seismicity occurs across the island, it is strongly concentrated in the central region, where Cenozoic volcanism has occurred through the Holocene, and earthquakes align along N-S-trending lineations associated with N-S-trending pull-apart graben structures. The thickness of the crust is still >40 km in this region, but it is underlain by a large low-velocity structure within the lithosphere and asthenosphere that is observed in our studies of surface-wave, body-wave, and Pn-phase tomography. Normal faulting is not observed everywhere on the island, however; seismicity in the north is largely strike-slip, and seismicity in the south appears to be largely reverse faulting. Several studies have suggested that the diffuse boundary between the Somalia and Lwandle plates runs roughly E-W across Madagascar. Extensional faulting seems to predominate only within central Madagascar, likely associated with the current volcanic activity, which also appears to be associated with the
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Geology and Ore Deposits of the Uncompahgre (Ouray) Mining District, Southwestern Colorado
Burbank, Wilbur Swett; Luedke, Robert G.
2008-01-01
The Uncompahgre mining district, part of the Ouray mining district, includes an area of about 15 square miles (mi2) on the northwestern flank of the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado from which ores of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc have had a gross value of $14 to 15 million. Bedrock within the district ranges in age from Proterozoic to Cenozoic. The oldest or basement rocks, the Uncompahgre Formation of Proterozoic age, consist of metamorphic quartzite and slate and are exposed in a small erosional window in the southern part of the district. Overlying those rocks with a profound angular unconformity are Paleozoic marine sedimentary rocks consisting mostly of limestones and dolomites and some shale and sandstone that are assigned to the Elbert Formation and Ouray Limestone, both of Devonian age, and the Leadville Limestone of Mississippian age. These units are, in turn, overlain by rocks of marine transitional to continental origin that are assigned to the Molas and Hermosa Formations of Pennsylvanian age and the Cutler Formation of Permian age; these three formations are composed predominantly of conglomerates, sandstones, and shales that contain interbedded fossiliferous limestones within the lower two-thirds of the sequence. The overlying Mesozoic strata rest also on a pronounced angular unconformity upon the Paleozoic section. This thick Mesozoic section, of which much of the upper part was eroded before the region was covered by rocks of Tertiary age, consists of the Dolores Formation of Triassic age, the Entrada Sandstone, Wanakah Formation, and Morrison Formation all of Jurassic age, and the Dakota Sandstone and Mancos Shale of Cretaceous age. These strata dominantly consist of shales, mudstones, and sandstones and minor limestones, breccias, and conglomerates. In early Tertiary time the region was beveled by erosion and then covered by a thick deposit of volcanic rocks of mid-Tertiary age. These volcanic rocks, assigned to the San Juan
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Hajek, E. A.; Heller, P.
2009-12-01
A primary goal of sedimentary geologists is to interpret past tectonic, climatic, and eustatic conditions from the stratigraphic record. Stratigraphic changes in alluvial-basin fills are routinely interpreted as the result of past tectonic movements or changes in climate or sea level. Recent physical and numerical models have shown that sedimentary systems can exhibit self-organization on basin-filling time scales, suggesting that structured stratigraphic patterns can form spontaneously rather than as the result of changing boundary conditions. The Ferris Formation (Upper Cretaceous/Paleogene, Hanna Basin, Wyoming) exhibits stratigraphic organization where clusters of closely-spaced channel deposits are separated from other clusters by intervals dominated by overbank material. In order to evaluate the role of basinal controls on deposition and ascertain the potential for self-organization in this ancient deposit, the spatial patterns of key channel properties (including sand-body dimensions, paleoflow depth, maximum clast size, paleocurrent direction, and sediment provenance) are analyzed. Overall the study area lacks strong trends sand-body properties through the stratigraphic succession and in cluster groups. Consequently there is no indication that the stratigraphic pattern observed in the Ferris Formation was driven by systematic changes in climate or tectonics.
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Mitchell, Jonathan S; Roopnarine, Peter D; Angielczyk, Kenneth D
2012-11-13
The sudden environmental catastrophe in the wake of the end-Cretaceous asteroid impact had drastic effects that rippled through animal communities. To explore how these effects may have been exacerbated by prior ecological changes, we used a food-web model to simulate the effects of primary productivity disruptions, such as those predicted to result from an asteroid impact, on ten Campanian and seven Maastrichtian terrestrial localities in North America. Our analysis documents that a shift in trophic structure between Campanian and Maastrichtian communities in North America led Maastrichtian communities to experience more secondary extinction at lower levels of primary production shutdown and possess a lower collapse threshold than Campanian communities. Of particular note is the fact that changes in dinosaur richness had a negative impact on the robustness of Maastrichtian ecosystems against environmental perturbations. Therefore, earlier ecological restructuring may have exacerbated the impact and severity of the end-Cretaceous extinction, at least in North America.
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High 210Po atmospheric deposition flux in the subtropical coastal area of Japan
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tateda, Yutaka; Iwao, Kenji
2008-01-01
Bulk atmospheric deposition fluxes of 210 Po and 210 Pb were measured at three coastal regions of Japan, the Pacific Ocean coastal area of the Japanese mainland (Odawa Bay), the Chinese continental side of Japanese coastal area (Tsuyazaki), and an isolated island near Okinawa (Akajima). Wet and dry fallout collectors were continuously deployed from September 1997 through August 1998 for periods of 3 to 31 days depending on the frequency of precipitation events. Annual 210 Pb deposition fluxes at Odawa Bay (35 o N 139 o E), Tsuyazaki (33 o N 130 o E) and Akajima (26 o N 127 o E) were 73.3 ± 8.0, 197 ± 35 and 78.5 ± 8.0 Bq m -2 y -1 , respectively. Higher 210 Pb deposition was observed at the Chinese continental side of Japanese coast than at the Pacific Ocean coastal site. The high 210 Pb atmospheric flux at the Chinese continental side coast was thought to be attributable to 222 Rn-rich air-mass transport from the Chinese continent during the winter monsoon. In contrast, the annual 210 Po deposition fluxes at the three study sites were 13.0 ± 2.3 (Odawa Bay), 21.9 ± 4.4 (Tsuyazaki) and 58.4 ± 7.7 (Akajima) Bq m -2 y -1 , respectively, indicating unusual high 210 Po deposition at Akajima during winter. Anomalous unsupported 210 Po input was observed during summer 1997, suggesting unknown source of 210 Po at this area
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Lawton, T. F.; Molina-Garza, R. S.; Barboza-Gudiño, R.; Rogers, R. D.
2013-05-01
Major sediment dispersal systems on western Pangea evolved in concert with thermal uplift, rift and drift phases of the Gulf of Mexico Basin, and were influenced by development of a continental arc on Pangea's western margin. Existing literature and preliminary data from fieldwork, sandstone petrology and detrital zircon analysis reveal how major drainages in Mexico changed from Late Triassic through Late Jurassic time and offer predictions for the ultimate destinations of sand-rich detritus along the Gulf and paleo-Pacific margins. Late Triassic rivers drained away from and across the present site of the Gulf of Mexico, which was then the location of a major thermal dome, the Texas uplift of recent literature. These high-discharge rivers with relatively mature sediment composition fed a large-volume submarine fan system on the paleo-Pacific continental margin of Mexico. Predictably, detrital zircon age populations are diverse and record sources as far away as the Amazonian craton. This enormous fluvial system was cut off abruptly near the Triassic-Jurassic boundary by extensive reorganization of continental drainages. Early and Middle Jurassic drainage systems had local headwaters and deposited sediment in extensional basins associated with arc magmatism. Redbeds accumulated across northern and eastern Mexico and Chiapas in long, narrow basins whose locations and dimensions are recorded primarily by inverted antiformal massifs. The Jurassic continental successions overlie Upper Triassic strata and local subvolcanic plutons; they contain interbedded volcanic rocks and thus have been interpreted as part of the Nazas continental-margin arc. The detritus of these fluvial systems is volcanic-lithic; syndepositional grain ages are common in the detrital zircon populations, which are mixed with Oaxaquia-derived Permo-Triassic and Grenville age populations. By this time, interior Pangea no longer supplied sediment to the paleo-Pacific margin, possibly because the
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Lee, C.-T.A.; Morton, D.M.; Kistler, R.W.; Baird, A.K.
2007-01-01
Mesozoic continental arcs in the North American Cordillera were examined here to establish a baseline model for Phanerozoic continent formation. We combine new trace-element data on lower crustal xenoliths from the Mesozoic Sierra Nevada Batholith with an extensive grid-based geochemical map of the Peninsular Ranges Batholith, the southern equivalent of the Sierras. Collectively, these observations give a three-dimensional view of the crust, which permits the petrogenesis and tectonics of Phanerozoic crust formation to be linked in space and time. Subduction of the Farallon plate beneath North America during the Triassic to early Cretaceous was characterized by trench retreat and slab rollback because old and cold oceanic lithosphere was being subducted. This generated an extensional subduction zone, which created fringing island arcs just off the Paleozoic continental margin. However, as the age of the Farallon plate at the time of subduction decreased, the extensional environment waned, allowing the fringing island arc to accrete onto the continental margin. With continued subduction, a continental arc was born and a progressively more compressional environment developed as the age of subducting slab continued to young. Refinement into a felsic crust occurred after accretion, that is, during the continental arc stage, wherein a thickened crustal and lithospheric column permitted a longer differentiation column. New basaltic arc magmas underplate and intrude the accreted terrane, suture, and former continental margin. Interaction of these basaltic magmas with pre-existing crust and lithospheric mantle created garnet pyroxenitic mafic cumulates by fractional crystallization at depth as well as gabbroic and garnet pyroxenitic restites at shallower levels by melting of pre-existing lower crust. The complementary felsic plutons formed by these deep-seated differentiation processes rose into the upper crust, stitching together the accreted terrane, suture and former
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Initiation of continental accretion: metamorphic conditions
Clement, Conand; Frederic, Mouthereau; Gianreto, Manatschal; Adbeltif, Lahfid
2017-04-01
The physical processes involved at the beginning of the continental collision are largely unknown because they are transient and therefore hardly identifiable from the rock record. Despite the importance of key parameters for understanding mountain building processes, especially the formation of deep mountain roots and their impacts on earthquakes nucleation, rock/fluid transfers and oil/gas resources in the continental crust, observations from the earliest collision stages remain fragmentary. Here, we focus on the example of Taiwan, a young and active mountain belt where the transition from oceanic subduction, accretion of the first continental margin to mature collision can be followed in space and time. We present preliminary results and provide key questions regarding the reconstruction of time-pressure-temperature paths of rocks & fluids to allow discriminating between rift-related thermal/rheological inheritance and burial/heating phases during convergence. Previous studies have focused on peak temperatures analyzed by Raman Spectrometry of Carbonaceous Matter from the deeper structural layers exposed in the Central Range of Taiwan. In the pre-rift sediments, these studies reported a positive gradient from West to Est, and values from geothermal gradients (up to 60°C/km) known in the region, and higher temperature closer to the pre-rift units. Cross sections and maps with high resolution peak temperatures are in process as well as pressure estimations to determine how the sediments were metamorphosed. In addition to this work, we report a few inherited temperatures in the 390-570 °C range, indicating recycling of organic matter from metasediments that recorded HT events, likely originated from higher grade metamorphic units of mainland China, which have been eroded and deposited in the post-rift sediments.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nivedita Chakraborty
2018-04-01
Full Text Available The Cretaceous (Albian–Cenomanian Dalmiapuram Formation is one of the economically significant constituents in the hydrocarbon-producing Cauvery rift basin, SE India that opened up during the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous Gondwanaland fragmentation. The fossil-rich Dalmiapuram Formation, exposed at Ariyalur within the Pondicherry sub-basin of Cauvery Basin, rests in most places directly on the Archean basement and locally on the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian–Aptian Basal Siliciclastic Formation. In the Dalmiapuram Formation, a facies association of tectonically-disturbed phase is sandwiched between two drastically quieter phases. The early syn-rift facies association (FA 1, records the first carbonate marine transgression within the basin, comprising a bar–lagoon system with occasionally storms affecting along the shore and a sheet-like non-recurrent biomicritic limestone bed on the shallow shelf that laterally grades into pyrite–glauconite-bearing dark-colored shale in the deeper shelf. Spectacular breccias together with varied kinds of mass-flow products comprise the syn-rift facies association (FA 2. While the breccias occur at the basin margin area, the latter extend in the deeper inland sea. Clast composition of the coarse clastics includes large, even block-sized limestone fragments and small fragments of granite and sandstone from the basement. Marl beds of quieter intervals between tectonic pulses occur in alternation with them. Faulted basal contact of the formation, and small grabens filled by multiple mass-flow packages bear the clear signature of the syntectonic activity localized contortions, slump folds, and pillow beds associated with mega slump/slide planes and joints, which corroborates this contention further. This phase of tectonic intervention is followed by another relatively quieter phase and accommodates the late syn-rift facies association (FA 3. A tidal bar–interbar shelf depositional system allowed a
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Johnson, Ronald C.
2007-01-01
Detailed measured sections and regional stratigraphic cross sections are used to reconstruct facies maps and interpret paleogeographic settings for the interval from the base of Upper Cretaceous Mesaverde Formation to top of lower member of the Paleocene Fort Union Formation in the Wind River Basin, Wyoming. The Mesaverde Formation spans the time during which the Upper Cretaceous seaway retreated eastward out of central Wyoming in Campanian time and the initial stages of the Lewis transgression in earliest Maastrichtian time. This retreat stalled for a considerable period of time during deposition of the lower part of the Mesaverde, creating a thick buildup of marginal marine sandstones and coaly coastal plain deposits across the western part of the basin. The Lewis sea transgressed into the northeast part of Wind River Basin, beginning in early Maastrichtian time during deposition of the Teapot Sandstone Member of the Mesaverde Formation. The Meeteetse Formation, which overlies the Teapot, was deposited in a poorly-drained coastal plain setting southwest of the Lewis seaway. The Lewis seaway, at maximum transgression, covered much of the northeast half of the Wind River Basin area but was clearly deflected around the present site of the Wind River Range, southwest of the basin, providing the first direct evidence of Laramide uplift on that range. Uplift of the Wind River Range continued during deposition of the overlying Maastrichtian Lance Formation. The Granite Mountains south of the basin also became a positive feature during this time. A rapidly subsiding trough during the Maastrichtian time formed near the presentday trough of the Wind River Basin in which more than 6,000 feet of Lance was deposited. The development of this trough appears to have begun before the adjacent Owl Creek Mountains to the north started to rise; however, a muddy facies in the upper part of Lance in the deep subsurface, just to the south, might be interpreted to indicate that the
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Sheth, Hetu; Pande, Kanchan; Vijayan, Anjali; Sharma, Kamal Kant; Cucciniello, Ciro
2017-07-01
The Sarnu-Dandali alkaline complex in Rajasthan, northwestern India, is considered to represent early, pre-flood basalt magmatism in the Deccan Traps province, based on a single 40Ar/39Ar age of 68.57 Ma. Rhyolites found in the complex are considered to be 750 Ma Malani basement. Our new 40Ar/39Ar ages of 88.9-86.8 Ma (for syenites, nephelinite, phonolite and rhyolite) and 66.3 ± 0.4 Ma (2σ, melanephelinite) provide clear evidence that whereas the complex has Deccan-age (66 Ma) components, it is dominantly an older (by 20 million years) alkaline complex, with rhyolites included. Basalt is also known to underlie the Early Cretaceous Sarnu Sandstone. Sarnu-Dandali is thus a periodically rejuvenated alkaline igneous centre, active twice in the Late Cretaceous and also earlier. Many such centres with recurrent continental alkaline magmatism (sometimes over hundreds of millions of years) are known worldwide. The 88.9-86.8 Ma 40Ar/39Ar ages for Sarnu-Dandali rocks fully overlap with those for the Indo-Madagascar flood basalt province formed during continental breakup between India (plus Seychelles) and Madagascar. Recent 40Ar/39Ar work on the Mundwara alkaline complex in Rajasthan, 120 km southeast of Sarnu-Dandali, has also shown polychronous emplacement (over ≥ 45 million years), and 84-80 Ma ages obtained from Mundwara also arguably represent post-breakup stages of the Indo-Madagascar flood basalt volcanism. Remnants of the Indo-Madagascar province are known from several localities in southern India but hitherto unknown from northwestern India 2000 km away. Additional equivalents buried under the vast Deccan Traps are highly likely.
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Nakashole, Albertina N.; Hodgson, David M.; Chapman, Robert J.; Morgan, Dan J.; Jacob, Roger J.
2018-02-01
Establishing relationships between the long-term landscape evolution of drainage basins and the fill of sedimentary basins benefits from analysis of bedrock river terrace deposits. These fragmented detrital archives help to constrain changes in river system character and provenance during sediment transfer from continents (source) to oceans (sink). Thick diamondiferous gravel terrace deposits along the lower Orange River, southern Namibia, provide a rare opportunity to investigate controls on the incision history of a continental-scale bedrock river. Clast assemblage and heavy mineral data from seven localities permit detailed characterisation of the lower Orange River gravel terrace deposits. Two distinct fining-upward gravel terrace deposits are recognised, primarily based on mapped stratigraphic relationships (cross-cutting relationships) and strath and terrace top elevations, and secondarily on the proportion of exotic clasts, referred to as Proto Orange River deposits and Meso Orange River deposits. The older early to middle Miocene Proto Orange River gravels are thick (up to 50 m) and characterised by a dominance of Karoo Supergroup shale and sandstone clasts, whereas the younger Plio-Pleistocene Meso Orange River gravels (6-23 m thick) are characterised by more banded iron formation clasts. Mapping of the downstepping terraces indicates that the Proto gravels were deposited by a higher sinuosity river, and are strongly discordant to the modern Orange River course, whereas the Meso deposits were deposited by a lower sinuosity river. The heavy minerals present in both units comprise magnetite, garnet, amphibole, epidote and ilmenite, with rare titanite and zircon grains. The concentration of amphibole-epidote in the heavy minerals fraction increases from the Proto to the Meso deposits. The decrease in incision depths, recorded by deposit thicknesses above strath terraces, and the differences in clast character (size and roundness) and type between the two
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Tectonics and sedimentary process in the continental talud in Uruguay
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
De Santa Ana, H.; Soto, M.; Morales, E.; Tomasini, J.; Hernandez-Molina, F.; Veroslavsky, G.
2012-01-01
The morphology and evolution of the continental margin of Uruguay is due to the interaction of an important set of sedimentary processes. The contourite and turbiditic are the most significant processes which are associated with the development of submarine canyons as well as the gravitational mass respect to major landslides. These processes generate erosional and depositional features with a direct impact on different areas of application, which have potential environmental risks (gravitational landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis) and potential economic resources
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Silva-Romo, Gilberto; Mendoza-Rosales, Claudia Cristina; Campos-Madrigal, Emiliano; Morales-Yáñez, Axél; de la Torre-González, Alam Israel; Nápoles-Valenzuela, Juan Ivan
2018-04-01
In the northeastern Mixteco terrane of southern Mexico, in the Ixcaquixtla-Atzumba region, the recycling of Amazonian detrital zircons records the paleogeography during the Mesozoic period in the context of the breakup of Pangea, a phenomenon that disarticulated the Sanozama-La Mora paleo-river. The clastic units of southern Mexico in the Ayuquila, Otlaltepec and Zapotitlán Mesozoic basins, as well as in the Atzumba Cenozoic basin, are characterized by detrital zircon contents with ages specific to the Amazonian craton, ranging between 3040 and 1278 Ma. The presence of zircons of Amazonian affinity suggests a provenance by recycling from carrier units such as the La Mora Formation or the Ayú Complex. In the area, the Ayú and Acatlán complexes form the Cosoltepec block, a paleogeographic element that during Early Cretaceous time acted as the divide between the slopes of the paleo-Gulf of Mexico and the paleo-Pacific Ocean. The sedimentological characteristics of the Jurassic-Cenozoic clastic successions in the Ixcaquixtla-Atzumba region denote relatively short transport in braided fluvial systems and alluvial fans. In this way, several basins are recognized around the Cosoltepec block. At the southeastern edge of the Cosoltepec block, the Ayuquila and Tecomazúchil formations accumulated in the Ayuquila continental basin on the paleo-Pacific Ocean slope. On the other hand, within the paleo-Gulf of Mexico slope, in the Otlaltepec continental basin, the Piedra Hueca and the Otlaltepec formations accumulated. The upper member of the Santa Lucía Formation accumulated in a transitional environment on the southwestern shoulder of the Zapotitlán basin, as well as on the paleo-Gulf of Mexico slope. In the Ayuquila basin, a marine transgression is recognized that advanced from south to north during the Late Jurassic. At the northeastern edge of the Cosoltepec block, we propose that the Santa Lucía formation attests to a transgression from the paleo-Gulf of Mexico
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NURE uranium deposit model studies
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Crew, M.E.
1981-01-01
The National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Program has sponsored uranium deposit model studies by Bendix Field Engineering Corporation (Bendix), the US Geological Survey (USGS), and numerous subcontractors. This paper deals only with models from the following six reports prepared by Samuel S. Adams and Associates: GJBX-1(81) - Geology and Recognition Criteria for Roll-Type Uranium Deposits in Continental Sandstones; GJBX-2(81) - Geology and Recognition Criteria for Uraniferous Humate Deposits, Grants Uranium Region, New Mexico; GJBX-3(81) - Geology and Recognition Criteria for Uranium Deposits of the Quartz-Pebble Conglomerate Type; GJBX-4(81) - Geology and Recognition Criteria for Sandstone Uranium Deposits in Mixed Fluvial-Shallow Marine Sedimentary Sequences, South Texas; GJBX-5(81) - Geology and Recognition Criteria for Veinlike Uranium Deposits of the Lower to Middle Proterozoic Unconformity and Strata-Related Types; GJBX-6(81) - Geology and Recognition Criteria for Sandstone Uranium Deposits of the Salt Wash Type, Colorado Plateau Province. A unique feature of these models is the development of recognition criteria in a systematic fashion, with a method for quantifying the various items. The recognition-criteria networks are used in this paper to illustrate the various types of deposits
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Dust deposition and ambient PM10 concentration in northwest China: Spatial and temporal variability
Aeolian dust transport and deposition are important geophysical processes which influence global bio-geochemical cycles. Currently, reliable continental deposition data are scarce in central Asia. Located in the eastern part of central Asia, Xinjiang Province of northwestern China has long played a ...
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Breitfeld, H. Tim; Hall, Robert; Galin, Thomson; BouDagher-Fadel, Marcelle K.
2018-07-01
The Kuching Zone in West Sarawak consists of two different sedimentary basins, the Kayan and Ketungau Basins. The sedimentary successions in the basins are part of the Kuching Supergroup that extends into Kalimantan. The uppermost Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) to Lower Eocene Kayan Group forms the sedimentary deposits directly above a major unconformity, the Pedawan Unconformity, which marks the cessation of subduction-related magmatism beneath SW Borneo and the Schwaner Mountains, due to termination of the Paleo-Pacific subduction. The successions consist of the Kayan and Penrissen Sandstones and are dominated by fluvial channels, alluvial fans and floodplain deposits with some deltaic to tidally-influenced sections in the Kayan Sandstone. In the late Early or early Middle Eocene, sedimentation in this basin ceased and a new basin, the Ketungau Basin, developed to the east. This change is marked by the Kayan Unconformity. Sedimentation resumed in the Middle Eocene (Lutetian) with the marginal marine, tidal to deltaic Ngili Sandstone and Silantek Formation. Upsequence, the Silantek Formation is dominated by floodplain and subsidiary fluvial deposits. The Bako-Mintu Sandstone, a potential lateral equivalent of the Silantek Formation, is formed of major fluvial channels. The top of the Ketungau Group in West Sarawak is formed by the fluvially-dominated Tutoop Sandstone. This shows a transition of the Ketungau Group in time towards terrestrial/fluvially-dominated deposits. Paleocurrent measurements show river systems were complex, but reveal a dominant southern source. This suggests uplift of southern Borneo initiated in the region of the present-day Schwaner Mountains from the latest Cretaceous onwards. Additional sources were local sources in the West Borneo province, Mesozoic melanges to the east and potentially the Malay Peninsula. The Ketungau Group also includes reworked deposits of the Kayan Group. The sediments of the Kuching Supergroup are predominantly
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Mapping the spatial distribution of chloride deposition across Australia
Davies, P. J.; Crosbie, R. S.
2018-06-01
The high solubility and conservative behaviour of chloride make it ideal for use as an environmental tracer of water and salt movement through the hydrologic cycle. For such use the spatial distribution of chloride deposition in rainfall at a suitable scale must be known. A number of authors have used point data acquired from field studies of chloride deposition around Australia to construct relationships to characterise chloride deposition as a function of distance from the coast; these relationships have allowed chloride deposition to be interpolated in different regions around Australia. In this paper we took this a step further and developed a chloride deposition map for all of Australia which includes a quantification of uncertainty. A previously developed four parameter model of chloride deposition as a function of distance from the coast for Australia was used as the basis for producing a continental scale chloride deposition map. Each of the four model parameters were made spatially variable by creating parameter surfaces that were interpolated using a pilot point regularisation approach within a parameter estimation software. The observations of chloride deposition were drawn from a literature review that identified 291 point measurements of chloride deposition over a period of 80 years spread unevenly across all Australian States and Territories. A best estimate chloride deposition map was developed from the resulting surfaces on a 0.05 degree grid. The uncertainty in the chloride deposition map was quantified as the 5th and 95th percentile of 1000 calibrated models produced via Null Space Monte Carlo analysis and the spatial variability of chloride deposition across the continent was consistent with landscape morphology. The temporal variability in chloride deposition on a decadal scale was investigated in the Murray-Darling Basin, this highlighted the need for long-term monitoring of chloride deposition if the uncertainty of the continental scale map is
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Klein, F.; Humphris, S. E.; Guo, W.; Schubotz, F.; Schwarzenbach, E. M.; Orsi, W.
2015-12-01
Subseafloor mixing of reduced hydrothermal fluids with seawater is believed to provide the energy and substrates needed to support autotrophic microorganisms in the hydrated oceanic mantle (serpentinite). Despite the potentially significant implications for the distribution of microbial life on Earth and other water-bearing planetary bodies, our understanding of such environments remains elusive. In the present study we examined fossilized microbial communities and fluid mixing processes in the subseafloor of a Cretaceous 'Lost City'-type hydrothermal system at the passive Iberia Margin (ODP Leg 149, Hole 897D). Brucite and calcite co-precipitated from mixed fluids ca. 65m below the Cretaceous palaeo-seafloor at temperatures of 32±4°C within steep chemical gradients (fO2, pH, CH4, SO4, ΣCO2, etc) between weathered, carbonate-rich serpentinite breccia and serpentinite. Mixing of oxidized seawater and strongly reducing hydrothermal fluid at moderate temperatures created conditions capable of supporting microbial activity within the oceanic basement. Dense microbial colonies are fossilized in brucite-calcite veins that are strongly enriched in organic carbon but depleted in 13C. We detected a combination of bacterial diether lipid biomarkers, archaeol and archaeal tetraethers analogous to those found in brucite-carbonate chimneys at the active Lost City hydrothermal field. The exposure of mantle rocks to seawater during the breakup of Pangaea fueled chemolithoautotrophic microbial communities at the Iberia Margin during the Cretaceous, possibly before the onset of seafloor spreading in the Atlantic. 'Lost City'-type serpentinization systems have been discovered at mid-ocean ridges, in forearc settings of subduction zones and at continental margins. It appears that, wherever they occur, they can support microbial life, even in deep subseafloor environments as demonstrated in the present study. Because equivalent systems have likely existed throughout most of Earth
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ehinola, O. A.; Badejoko, T.A.; Ekweozor, C.M.; Adebowale, K. O.
2003-01-01
An assessment, based on organic facies characteristics, have been carried out on the middle Cretaceous black shales, in order to determine their hydrocarbon source potential, thermal maturity, and depositional environments. The methods employed include evaluation of organic carbon content, rockeval pyrolysis, extractable organic matter, maceral composition and biomarker distributions.Organic facies criteria such as TOC, HI, Tmax, liptinite content, SOMIFOC and SHC/AHC indicate that Albian to middle Cenomanian shales are could only generate gas. The late Cenomanian to early Turonian shales are characterized by Type I/II kerogen, mature and could generate both oil and characterized by Type III kerogen, immature and could generate gas with little oil. The biomarker distributions indicate immature to mature source rock, moderately biodegraded and with reduced marine environment prevailing during the deposition of the lack shales. The late Cenomanian to early Turonian black shales show the highest source-rock potential
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Uranium-series comminution ages of continental sediments: Case study of a Pleistocene alluvial fan
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Lee, Victoria E.; DePaolo, Donald J.; Christensen, John N.
2010-04-30
Obtaining quantitative information about the timescales associated with sediment transport, storage, and deposition in continental settings is important but challenging. The uranium-series comminution age method potentially provides a universal approach for direct dating of Quaternary detrital sediments, and can also provide estimates of the sediment transport and storage timescales. (The word"comminution" means"to reduce to powder," reflecting the start of the comminution age clock as reduction of lithic parent material below a critical grain size threshold of ~;;50 mu m.) To test the comminution age method as a means to date continental sediments, we applied the method to drill-core samples of the glacially-derived Kings River Fan alluvial deposits in central California. Sediments from the 45 m core have independently-estimated depositional ages of up to ~;;800 ka, based on paleomagnetism and correlations to nearby dated sediments. We characterized sequentially-leached core samples (both bulk sediment and grain size separates) for U, Nd, and Sr isotopes, grain size, surface texture, and mineralogy. In accordance with the comminution age model, where 234U is partially lost from small sediment grains due to alpha recoil, we found that (234U/238U) activity ratios generally decrease with age, depth, and specific surface area, with depletions of up to 9percent relative to radioactive equilibrium. The resulting calculated comminution ages are reasonable, although they do not exactly match age estimates from previous studies and also depend on assumptions about 234U loss rates. The results indicate that the method may be a significant addition to the sparse set of available tools for dating detrital continental sediments, following further refinement. Improving the accuracy of the method requires more advanced models or measurements for both the recoil loss factor fa and weathering effects. We discuss several independent methods for obtaining fa on individual samples
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Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This shapefile was created to show the proximity of the Continental Divide to the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail in New Mexico. This work was done as part...
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Madden, Gary T.; Schmidt, Dwight Lyman; Whitmore, Frank C.
1983-01-01
A lower jaw fragment with its last molar (M/3) from the Baid formation in Wadi Sabya, southwestern Saudi Arabia, represents the first recorded occurrence in the Arabian Peninsula of an anthracotheriid artiodactyl (hippo-like, even-toed ungulate). This fossil is identified as a primitive species of Masritherium, a North and East African genus restricted, previously to the later early Miocene. This identification indicates that the age of the Baid formation, long problematical, is early Miocene and, moreover, shows that the age of the fossil site is earliest Miocene (from 25 to 21Ma). The Wadi Sabya anthracothere is the first species of fossil mammal recorded from western Saudi Arabia, and more important, it indicates an early Miocene age for the volcanic deposits of a continental rift-valley that preceded the initial sea-floor spreading of the Red Sea.
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Characteristics and model of sandstone type uranium deposit in south of Songliao basin
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Yu Wenbin; Yu Zhenqing
2010-01-01
Through analyzing the uranium deposit tectonic environment, upper cretaceous sequence stratigraphy, depositional system, evolutionary characteristics of sand bodies, the effect of subsequent transformation and the characteristic of uranium deposit, the sandstone type uranium deposit in southern basin is different from typical interlayer oxidation zone sandstone type uranium deposit. The formation and evolution of sandstone-type uranium deposit are controlled by structure fensters; the favorable sedimentary facies type is braided river facies, and the ore body is braided river sand body. The size of uranium deposits is controlled by the local oxidation zone with the characteristics of sandstone type uranium deposit in partial oxidation zone. Uranium ore bodies which distribute in the roof wings of structure fenstes, and occur in gray layers between the upper and lower oxidation zone, showing tabular, and the plate of uranium ore body is controlled by the local oxidation zone. Based on the geological features of sandstone-type uranium deposits, the metallogenic model of local oxidation zones sandstone-type uranium deposits has been set up in the south of Songliao Baisn. (authors)
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Schwarzenbach, Esther M.; Gill, Benjamin C.; Gazel, Esteban; Madrigal, Pilar
2016-05-01
Ultramafic rocks exposed on the continent serve as a window into oceanic and continental processes of water-peridotite interaction, so called serpentinization. In both environments there are active carbon and sulfur cycles that contain abiogenic and biogenic processes, which are eventually imprinted in the geochemical signatures of the basement rocks and the calcite and magnesite deposits associated with fluids that issue from these systems. Here, we present the carbon and sulfur geochemistry of ultramafic rocks and carbonate deposits from the Santa Elena ophiolite in Costa Rica. The aim of this study is to leverage the geochemistry of the ultramafic sequence and associated deposits to distinguish between processes that were dominant during ocean floor alteration and those dominant during low-temperature, continental water-peridotite interaction. The peridotites are variably serpentinized with total sulfur concentrations up to 877 ppm that is typically dominated by sulfide over sulfate. With the exception of one sample the ultramafic rocks are characterized by positive δ34Ssulfide (up to + 23.1‰) and δ34Ssulfate values (up to + 35.0‰). Carbon contents in the peridotites are low and are isotopically distinct from typical oceanic serpentinites. In particular, δ13C of the inorganic carbon suggests that the carbon is not derived from seawater, but rather the product of the interaction of meteoric water with the ultramafic rocks. In contrast, the sulfur isotope data from sulfide minerals in the peridotites preserve evidence for interaction with a hydrothermal fluid. Specifically, they indicate closed system abiogenic sulfate reduction suggesting that oceanic serpentinization occurred with limited input of seawater. Overall, the geochemical signatures preserve evidence for both oceanic and continental water-rock interaction with the majority of carbon (and possibly sulfate) being incorporated during continental water-rock interaction. Furthermore, there is
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Luciano do Nascimento, Diego; Batezelli, Alessandro; Bernardes Ladeira, Francisco Sérgio
2017-11-01
This is the first report of trace fossils potentially associated with insect social behavior in sandy and well-drained paleosols of the Upper Cretaceous continental sequence of Brazil. The trace fossils consist of dozens of lobed and vertical structures cemented by CaCO3 and preserved mainly in full relief in paleosols of the Marilia Formation (Bauru Basin) in the state of Minas Gerais. The described ichnofossils are predominantly vertical, up to 2 m long, and are composed of horizontal lobed structures connected by vertical tunnel-like structures that intersect in the center and at the edges. The lobed structures range from 3 to 15 cm long and 2-6 cm thick. Two different hypotheses are analyzed to explain the origin of the trace fossils; the less probable one is that the structures are laminar calcretes associated with rhizoliths and rhizoconcretions. The hypothesis involving social insects was considered because the trace fossils described herein partially resemble a modern ant nest and the ichnofossil Daimoniobarax. The micromorphological analysis of the lobed and tunnel-like structures indicates modifications of the walls, such as the presence of inorganic fluidized linings, dark linings and oriented grains, supporting the hypothesis that they are chambers and shafts. The architecture and size of the reported nests suggest the possibility that social insect colonies existed during the Maastrichtian and are direct evidence of the social behavior and reproductive strategies of the Cretaceous pedofauna.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Miecznik, J.B.; Strzelecki, R.
1979-01-01
The Sudety Mts represent a part of the Bohemian Massif which is one of the richest uranium-bearing regions in Europe. The possibilities of occurrence of uranium in most interesting sedimentary formations of the Sudety Mts are analysed. The sedimentary formations which originated during the platform stage of evolution of these Mountains, after formation of Variscan endogenic mineralization, were recognized as perspective here. Sandstone-type uranium deposits and uraniferous black shales were assumed to be the most important in that area. Sandstone-type uranium deposits are related to continental uppermost Carboniferous (Glinik Beds - Westphalian C-D and, possibly, lowermost Stephanian) of the Central Sudety (Intra-Sudetic Depression). They closely resemble uranium deposits known from continental clastic Permo-Carboniferous sections of several parts of Europe. Westphalian D and Stephanian rocks developed in similar lithofacies in the western Sudety Mts (North-Sudetic Depression) may be also characterized by increased content of uranium. Attention is also paid to the possibilities of occurrence of uranium mineralization in shallow-marine sandstones and continental deposits of the Cenomanian as uranium deposits are known from similarly developed Cenomanian in the North Czech Upper Cretaceous Table area, i.e. in the direct neighbourhood of the Sudety Mts. Traces of uranium mineralization were found in black shales of the Lower Silurian section in the Kaczawa Mts (western Sudety Mts) and Bardo Mts (Central Sudety). The recorded concentrations (up to several hundred ppm) may be compared with uranium occurrences known from Lower Silurian sections of the Barrandian (CSSR) and Thuringia (GDR). (author)
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Current oil and gas production from North American Upper Cretaceous chalks
Scholle, Peter A.
1977-01-01
Production of oil and natural gas from North American chalks has increased significantly during the past five years, spurred by the prolific production from North Sea chalks, as well as by higher prices and improved production technology. Chalk reservoirs have been discovered in the Gulf Coast in the Austin Group, Saratoga and Annona Chalks, Ozan Formation, Selma Group, Monroe gas rock (an informal unit of Navarro age), and other Upper Cretaceous units. In the Western Interior, production has been obtained from the Cretaceous Niobrara and Greenhorn Formations. Significant, though subcommercial, discoveries of natural gas and gas condensate also have been made in the Upper Cretaceous Wyandot Formation on the Scotian Shelf of eastern Canada. All North American chalk units share a similar depositional and diagenetic history. The chalks consist primarily of whole and fragmented coccoliths with subordinate planktonic and benthonic Foraminifera, inoceramid prisms, oysters, and other skeletal grains. Most have between 10 and 35 percent HCl-insoluble residue, predominantly clay. Deposition was principally below wave base in tens to hundreds of meters of water. The diagenetic history of a chalk is critical in determining its reservoir potential. All chalk has a stable composition (low-Mg calcite) and very high primary porosity. With subsequent burial, mechanical and chemical (solution-transfer) compaction can reduce or completely eliminate pore space. The degree of loss of primary porosity in chalk sections is normally a direct function of the maximum depth to which it has been buried. Pore-water chemistry, pore-fluid pressures, and tectonic stresses also influence rates of cementation. Oil or gas reservoirs of North American chalk fall into three main groups: 1. Areas with thin overburden and significant primary porosity retention (for example, Niobrara Formation of Kansas and eastern Colorado). 2. Areas with thicker overburden but considerable fracturing. Here primary
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Dim, Chidozie Izuchukwu Princeton; Onuoha, K. Mosto; Okeugo, Chukwudike Gabriel; Ozumba, Bertram Maduka
2017-06-01
Sequence stratigraphic studies have been carried out using subsurface well and 2D seismic data in the Late Cretaceous and Early Paleogene sediments of Anambra and proximal onshore section of Niger Delta Basin in the Southeastern Nigeria. The aim was to establish the stratigraphic framework for better understanding of the reservoir, source and seal rock presence and distribution in the basin. Thirteen stratigraphic bounding surfaces (consisting of six maximum flooding surfaces - MFSs and seven sequence boundaries - SBs) were recognized and calibrated using a newly modified chronostratigraphic chart. Stratigraphic surfaces were matched with corresponding foraminiferal and palynological biozones, aiding correlation across wells in this study. Well log sequence stratigraphic correlation reveals that stratal packages within the basin are segmented into six depositional sequences occurring from Late Cretaceous to Early Paleogene age. Generated gross depositional environment maps at various MFSs show that sediment packages deposited within shelfal to deep marine settings, reflect continuous rise and fall of sea levels within a regressive cycle. Each of these sequences consist of three system tracts (lowstand system tract - LST, transgressive system tract - TST and highstand system tract - HST) that are associated with mainly progradational and retrogradational sediment stacking patterns. Well correlation reveals that the sand and shale units of the LSTs, HSTs and TSTs, that constitute the reservoir and source/seal packages respectively are laterally continuous and thicken basinwards, due to structural influences. Result from interpretation of seismic section reveals the presence of hanging wall, footwall, horst block and collapsed crest structures. These structural features generally aid migration and offer entrapment mechanism for hydrocarbon accumulation. The combination of these reservoirs, sources, seals and trap elements form a good petroleum system that is viable
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Williamson, Thomas E; Brusatte, Stephen L
2014-01-01
Studying the evolution and biogeographic distribution of dinosaurs during the latest Cretaceous is critical for better understanding the end-Cretaceous extinction event that killed off all non-avian dinosaurs. Western North America contains among the best records of Late Cretaceous terrestrial vertebrates in the world, but is biased against small-bodied dinosaurs. Isolated teeth are the primary evidence for understanding the diversity and evolution of small-bodied theropod dinosaurs during the Late Cretaceous, but few such specimens have been well documented from outside of the northern Rockies, making it difficult to assess Late Cretaceous dinosaur diversity and biogeographic patterns. We describe small theropod teeth from the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico. These specimens were collected from strata spanning Santonian - Maastrichtian. We grouped isolated theropod teeth into several morphotypes, which we assigned to higher-level theropod clades based on possession of phylogenetic synapomorphies. We then used principal components analysis and discriminant function analyses to gauge whether the San Juan Basin teeth overlap with, or are quantitatively distinct from, similar tooth morphotypes from other geographic areas. The San Juan Basin contains a diverse record of small theropods. Late Campanian assemblages differ from approximately coeval assemblages of the northern Rockies in being less diverse with only rare representatives of troodontids and a Dromaeosaurus-like taxon. We also provide evidence that erect and recurved morphs of a Richardoestesia-like taxon represent a single heterodont species. A late Maastrichtian assemblage is dominated by a distinct troodontid. The differences between northern and southern faunas based on isolated theropod teeth provide evidence for provinciality in the late Campanian and the late Maastrichtian of North America. However, there is no indication that major components of small-bodied theropod diversity were lost
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Chen, Lei; Yan, Zhen; Wang, Zongqi; Wang, Kunming
2018-06-01
The dioritic dikes distributed in the Shanyang-Zhashui area of the South Qinling region play an important role in understanding the deep magmatic processes and tectonic evolution during the orogenic process. The zircon Usbnd Pb ages of the dioritic dikes indicate that they were emplaced at ∼144 Ma and therefore postdate the dikes that formed in the intracontinental orogenic background after the continental collision between the North China Block (NCB) and the South China Block (SCB). The dioritic dikes have SiO2 contents of 56.86-64.93 wt%; K2O contents of 1.65-3.21 wt%; low MgO (1.50-2.66 wt%), Y (14.4-25.5 ppm) and heavy rare earth element (HREE) contents; low Mg# values (39.9-49); high Sr contents (528-4833 ppm); and high Sr/Y ratios (32.8-189). They exhibit highly fractionated REE and flat HREE patterns, strong enrichment in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs; e.g., Rb, Ba, and U) and depletion in high field strength elements (HFSEs) (e.g., Nb), as well as positive Sr and negative Ti anomalies. Furthermore, these dioritic dikes exhibit (87Sr/86Sr)i ratios ranging from 0.7048 to 0.7083, εNd(t) values ranging from -3.3 to -1.4, and εHf(t) values ranging from -4.1 to 1.6. The geochemical patterns of the dioritic dikes indicate that they possess adakitic characteristics. Moreover, the low MgO contents, Mg# values, Ni contents, Th/Ce ratios, and Srsbnd Ndsbnd Hf isotopic features all indicate that these dioritic dikes were generated by the partial melting of thickened mafic lower crust. The high La/Yb and Sr/Y ratios, low Y and Yb contents, absence of significant Eu anomalies, flat HREE patterns, and low Nb/Ta ratios of these rocks suggest that the adakitic melts were derived from the melting of garnet-bearing amphibolite. The geochronologic, elemental and isotopic evidence suggests that the dioritic dikes may have formed in a locally extensional environment within an overall N-S compressional setting or during the transition from compressional to extensional
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Mohammad Ali Jazi; Mohammad Hassan Karimpour; Azadeh Malekzadeh Shafaroudi
2015-01-01
Introduction The Baqoroq Cu-Zn-As deposit is located northeast of the town ofAnarak in Isfahan province, in theeast central areaof Iran. Copper mineralization occursin upper cretaceous carbonate rocks.Studyof thegeologyof the Nakhlak area, the location ofa carbonate-hosted base metaldeposit, indicatesthe importance of stratigraphic, lithological and structural controls in the placement of this ore deposit. (Jazi et al., 2015).Some of the most world’s most important epigenetic, stratabo...
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Dhraief, Wissem; Dhahri, Ferid; Chalwati, Imen; Boukadi, Noureddine
2017-04-01
The objective and the main contribution of this issue are dedicated to using subsurface data to delineate a basin beneath the Gulf of Tunis and its neighbouring areas, and to investigate the potential of this area in terms of hydrocarbon resources. Available well data provided information about the subsurface geology beneath the Gulf of Tunis. 2D seismic data allowed delineation of the basin shape, strata geometries, and some potential promising subsurface structures in terms of hydrocarbon accumulation. Together with lithostratigraphic data obtained from drilled wells, seismic data permitted the construction of isochron and isobath maps of Upper Cretaceous-Neogene strata. Structural and lithostratigraphic interpretations indicate that the area is tectonically complex, and they highlight the tectonic control of strata deposition during the Cretaceous and Neogene. Tectonic activity related to the geodynamic evolution of the northern African margin appears to have been responsible for several thickness and facies variations, and to have played a significant role in the establishment and evolution of petroleum systems in northeastern Tunisia. As for petroleum systems in the basin, the Cretaceous series of the Bahloul, Mouelha and Fahdene formations are acknowledged to be the main source rocks. In addition, potential reservoirs (Fractured Abiod and Bou Dabbous carbonated formations) sealed by shaly and marly formations (Haria and Souar formations respectively) show favourable geometries of trap structures (anticlines, tilted blocks, unconformities, etc.) which make this area adequate for hydrocarbon accumulations.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alijan Aftabi
2017-03-01
Full Text Available The Irankuh mining district is located 20 km southwest of Isfahan and is geologically situated in Sanandaj - Sirjan zone and the lower Cretaceous sequence of Isfahan-Malayer ore mineralization area. The ore minerals are emplaced in the faulted contact of Jurassic shale and Cretaceous carbonates and include pyrite, galena, sphalerite, calcite, barite, dolomite, quartz as well as minor marcasite, smithsonite, cerussite, gypsum, malachite, hematite and goethite. The mineralization is mainly occurred as hydrothermal veins and veinlets associated with fractures and faults, suggesting the deposit is likely to be of epigenetic type. A comparison between geothermometric results obtained from calcite twins and fluid inclusions showed a similar temperature range for the mineralization (less than 170ºc. Fluid inclusion studies indicate the temperature, salinity and density ranges of 80-166ºc, 5.39-20.94 wt.% NaCl and 0.95-1.12, respectively. The obtained data share many similarities with those of the MVT deposits
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Qi Fucheng; Zhang Zilong; Li Zhixing; He Zhongbo; Wang Wenquan
2012-01-01
It is proposed that there are four types of ore-forming systems about carbonaceous-siliceous-pelitic rock type uranium deposit in China based on systematic study on structural environment and distribution regularity of uraniferous construction of marine carbonaceous-siliceous-pelitic rock in China: continental margin rift valley ore-forming systems, continental margin rifting deep fracture zone ore-forming systems, landmass boundary borderland basin ore-forming systems and epicontinental mobile belt downfaulted aulacogen ore-forming systems. It is propounded definitely that it is controlled by margin rift valley ore-forming systems and continental margin rifting deep fracture zone ore-forming systems for large-scale uranium mineralization of carbonaceous-siliceous-pelitic rock type uranium deposit in China, which is also controlled by uraniferous marine carbonaceous-siliceous-pelitic rock construction made up of silicalite, siliceous phosphorite and carbonaceous-siliceous-pelitic rock, which settled down accompany with submarine backwash and sub marine volcanic eruption in margin rift valley and continental margin rifting mineralizing environment. Continental mar gin rift valley and continental margin rifting thermal sedimentation or exhalation sedimentation is the mechanism of forming large-scale uraniferous marine carbonaceous-siliceous-pelitic rock construction Early Palaeozoic Era in China or large-scale uranium-polymetallic mineralization. (authors)
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Hartman, J.H.; Roth, B.; Kihm, A.J.
1997-08-11
Late Cretaceous, Paleocene, and early Eocene geologic and paleontologic studies were undertaken in western North Dakota, eastern and south-central Montana, and northwestern and northeastern Wyoming. These study areas comprise the Williston, Bighorn, and Powder River Basins, all of which contain significant lignite resources. Research was undertaken in these basins because they have the best geologic sections and fossil record for the development of a chronostratigraphic (time-rock) framework for the correlation of lignite beds and other economic resources. A thorough understanding of the precise geologic age of the deposition of sediments permits a powerful means of interpreting the record of geologic events across the northern Great Plains. Such an understanding allows for rigorous interpretation of paleoenviromnents and estimates of resource potential and quality in this area of economically significant deposits. This work is part of ongoing research to document change in the composition of molluscan fossil faunas to provide a paleoenvironmentally sensitive independent means of interpreting time intervals of brief duration during the Late Cretaceous, Paleocene, and Eocene. This study focuses on the record of mollusks and, to a lesser extent, mammals in the (1) Hell Creek-Tullock Formations, which include the Cretaceous-Paleocene boundary, in the western portion of the Williston Basin, Montana; (2) uppermost Cretaceous, Paleocene, and lowermost Eocene strata in western North Dakota, which -includes the last interior seaway in North Dakota; (3) upper Paleocene and lowermost Eocene of the northern portion of the Bighorn Basin of south-central Montana and northwestern Wyoming; and (4) Powder River Basin of northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana. The geologic record provides different physical and paleontological information to aid in interpreting the geologic record through the study interval.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Korprobst, J.; Chazot, G.
2016-10-01
An ultramafic/mafic complex is exposed on the sea floor at the foot of the Galicia Margin (Spain and Portugal). It comprises various types of peridotites and pyroxenites, as well as amphibole-diorites, gabbros, dolerites and basalts. For chronological and structural reasons (gabbros were emplaced within peridotites before the continental break-up) this unit cannot be assigned to the Atlantic oceanic crust. The compilation of all available petrological and geochemical data suggests that peridotites are derived from the sub-continental lithospheric mantle, deeply transformed during Cretaceous rifting. Thus, websterite dykes extracted from the depleted MORB mantle reservoir (DMM), were emplaced early within the lithospheric harzburgites; subsequent boudinage and tectonic dispersion of these dykes in the peridotites, during deformation stages at the beginning of rifting, resulted in the formation of fertile but isotopically depleted lherzolites. Sterile but isotopically enriched websterites, would represent melting residues in the peridotites, after significant partial melting and melt extraction related to the thermal erosion of the lithosphere. The latter melts are probably the source of brown amphibole metasomatic crystallization in some peridotites, as well as of the emplacement of amphibole-diorite dykes. Melts directly extracted from the asthenosphere were emplaced as gabbro within the sub-continental mantle. Mixing these DMM melts together with the enriched melts extracted from the lithosphere, provided the intermediate isotopic melt-compositions - in between the DMM and Oceanic Islands Basalts reservoir - observed for the dolerites and basalts, none of which are characterized by a genuine N-MORB signature. An enriched lithospheric mantle, present prior to rifting of the Galicia margin, is in good agreement with data from the Messejana dyke (Portugal) and more generally, with those of all continental tholeiites of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Michele Saroli
2015-03-01
Full Text Available The Roveto Valley is a narrow, elongated, NW-trending depression filled with continental Plio-Quaternary deposits that outcrop at different topographic elevations. A morpho-lithostratigraphic succession of the continental deposits has been defined in order to reconstruct the geological Quaternary evolution of the area. These deposits do not contain materials suitable for biostratigraphic dating; therefore, in order to determine their chronology, three different units were sampled for magnetostratigraphic investigations. Paleomagnetic results demonstrated that standard demagnetization techniques are effective in removing secondary remanence components and in isolating the characteristic remanent magnetization, allowing us to determine, for each cycle, whether it was deposited before or after the Brunhes-Matuyama geomagnetic reversal at 781 ka. Preliminary rock magnetic analyses indicated that magnetite is the main magnetic carrier and that hematite, which gives the pink colour to the matrix, is in the superparamagnetic grain-size range and thus does not retain any paleomagnetic remanence.
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Cretaceous choristoderan reptiles gave birth to live young
Ji, Qiang; Wu, Xiao-Chun; Cheng, Yen-Nien
2010-04-01
Viviparity (giving birth to live young) in fossil reptiles has been known only in a few marine groups: ichthyosaurs, pachypleurosaurs, and mosasaurs. Here, we report a pregnant specimen of the Early Cretaceous Hyphalosaurus baitaigouensis, a species of Choristodera, a diapsid group known from unequivocal fossil remains from the Middle Jurassic to the early Miocene (about 165 to 20 million years ago). This specimen provides the first evidence of viviparity in choristoderan reptiles and is also the sole record of viviparity in fossil reptiles which lived in freshwater ecosystems. This exquisitely preserved specimen contains up to 18 embryos arranged in pairs. Size comparison with small free-living individuals and the straight posture of the posterior-most pair suggest that those embryos were at term and had probably reached parturition. The posterior-most embryo on the left side has the head positioned toward the rear, contrary to normal position, suggesting a complication that may have contributed to the mother’s death. Viviparity would certainly have freed species of Hyphalosaurus from the need to return to land to deposit eggs; taking this advantage, they would have avoided intense competition with contemporaneous terrestrial carnivores such as dinosaurs.
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Problems and prospects of Kumkol deposit development
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Salamatov, M.G.
1997-01-01
Kumkol deposit's petroleum balance supply situated in Southern-Turgaj depression makes up 153.2 million tones, extracted supply by C 1 category includes 89.4 million tones. Petroleum of cretaceous and sediments by its physico-chemical content are light (density 0.835 g/sm 3 ), high-paraffin (12-15 %), low-sulphur content one (0,5 %). Content of light fractions under temperature 300 deg C is up to 45 %, gasoline one is up to 25 %. Gas content of stratum petroleum and saturation pressure substantially is changing by productive horizons. Rational system of Kumkol deposit development with sustaining of reservoir pressure for increase of petroleum extraction rate from bed and increase its output is presented. Technological and economical parameters of the Yuzhneftgas Joint Stock Company operation in condition of market economy and urgent problems on increase of petroleum production are considered
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Smith, Douglas P.; Busby, Cathy J.
1993-10-01
Paleomagnetic data from Albian to Turonian sedimentary rocks on Cedros Island, Mexico (28.2° N, 115.2° W) support the interpretation that Cretaceous rocks of western Baja California have moved farther northward than the 3° of latitude assignable to Neogene oblique rifting in the Gulf of California. Averaged Cretaceous paleomagnetic results from Cedros Island support 20 ± 10° of northward displacement and 14 ± 7° of clockwise rotation with respect to cratonic North America. Positive field stability tests from the Vizcaino terrane substantiate a mid-Cretaceous age for the high-temperature characteristic remanent magnetization in mid-Cretaceous strata. Therefore coincidence of characteristic magnetization directions and the expected Quaternary axial dipole direction is not due to post mid-Cretaceous remagnetization. A slump test performed on internally coherent, intrabasinal slump blocks within a paleontologically dated olistostrome demonstrates a mid-Cretaceous age of magnetization in the Valle Group. The in situ high-temperature natural remanent magnetization directions markedly diverge from the expected Quaternary axial dipole, indicating that the characteristic, high-temperature magnetization was acquired prior to intrabasinal slumping. Early acquisition of the characteristic magnetization is also supported by a regional attitude test involving three localities in coherent mid-Cretaceous Valle Group strata. Paleomagnetic inclinations in mudstone are not different from those in sandstone, indicating that burial compaction did not bias the results toward shallow inclinations in the Vizcaino terrane.
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Reviews on the metallogenic and geological features of sandstone-type uranium deposits in Japan
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Pei Chengkai; Huang Xianfang; Zhang Baoju
2006-01-01
Regional geologic settings of sandstone-type uranium deposits in Japan are firstly analyzed. The regional tectonic evolution characteristics of 'Green tuff region' and 'Non green tuff region' and their relationship with uranium mineralization are elaborated in depth. Based on those mentioned above, the uranium sources of sandstone-type uranium deposits in Japan are discussed deeply and the most favorable uranium sources are considered to come from the basement and the surrounding granites. Their intrusive epochs range from Later Cretaceous to Palaeogene (about 60 to 70 Ma ago). The characteristics of ore-bearing host rocks, matter compositions of the deposits, ore formation enrichment factors, the hydrogeologic conditions and so on are described by taking Ningyo-Toge and Tono deposits as examples. Finally, the prospecting measures for the palaeo-channel sandstone-type uranium deposits (basal type) are reviewed. (authors)
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
López K Jesús M.
2006-12-01
Full Text Available This paper describes the results from a study of the Florencia gold-telluride deposit in Central Cuba, including mineralogical, petrographical, microprobe and chemical analysis. Valuable information is provided for the exploration, mining and processing of gold ores from other nearby deposits with similar characteristics. Results highlight changes in the mineralogical composition of the ores between the north and south sectors of the deposit, as reflected in metallurgical concentrates after beneficiation and flotation of samples from these sectors.
It is shown that gold deposits of the Cretaceous Volcanic Arc of Cuba largely consist of native gold, telluride and pyrite, where arsenopyrite is almost absent. Traces of lead, zinc and cadmium are present in the periphery of the main ore zones. -
Depositional Environments of Late Danian Plant Localities: Chubut Provice, Patagonia, Argentina
Comer, E.; Slingerland, R. L.; Wilf, P.
2010-12-01
Diverse, well-preserved macroflora are observed within Cretaceous and Paleocene sediments of Chubut Province, Patagonia, Argentina. These macroflora are the most well preserved early Paleocene flora from Gondwana and add new insight into the diversity and environments of that epoch. Two major sites of fossil preservation, Palacio de los Loros and Parque Provincial Ormachea, sit near the top of the Late Danian (65.5-61.7 Ma) Salamanca Formation. Understanding the depositional history of the Salamanca is important in characterizing paleoenvironments in which these flora lived and relating these Patagonian macroflora to concurrent Paleocene flora within the Gondwanan supercontinent. During a two week field season, twenty stratigraphic sections were measured along the outcrop belt at Palacio de los Loros and Ormachea Park as well as two minor sites; Las Flores, and Rancho Grande. Photo mosaics, laser ranger data, and stratigraphic columns were merged with elevated geologic maps and imported into Fledermaus to generate a 3-D visualization of facies relationships. Rock samples were also collected and will be thin sectioned and analyzed for petrography and grain size. The Salamanca Fm. consists of 7 facies, listed here in stratigraphically ascending order: 1)Transgressive sands, 2)Wispy-bedded claystone, 3)Banco Verde, 4)White Cross bedded sandstone, 5)Accretion set siltstone, 6)Transitional silty claystone and 7)Banco Negro. Based on these facies, the Salamanca Fm. is interpreted as a marine-shelf to brackish, tide-dominated, estuarine deposit. The base of the Salamanca Fm. rests on an unconformity representing a marine flooding surface and lower sections of the Salamanca, facies 1 and 2, contain abundant glauconite and fossils indicative of a marine shelf environment. These facies give way upwards to bi-directional trough cross bedded sandstones interspersed with flaser bedded sandy siltstones (facies 3 and 4) indicating a less marine estuary with strong flow regimes
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Seabed geology of the Canadian eastern continental shelf
Piper, David J. W.
1991-08-01
The physiography of the continental shelf off eastern Canada is irregular, developed by glacial erosion of a previously fluvially-dominated landscape. Northern shelves are deeper than southern shelves. Most surficial sediments on the shelf are relict or palimpsest. The principal modern source of sediment to the northern shelves is ice rafting and iceberg scour reworking of Quaternary sediments. Southern shelves receive sediment through erosion of Quaternary sediments; only small amounts of fine-grained sediment derived from coastal erosion and rivers escape from the coastal zone. Regional maps of sediment texture, carbonate content and heavy mineralogy consequently show differences between the northern and southern shelves. Large areas of the shelf show little net deposition. On the northern shelves, there is a surface veneer up to 0.5 m thick derived from ice rafting and iceberg turbation of underlying Quaternary sediment, modified by south-flowing currents [ WOODWORTH-LYNASet al. (this issue) Continental Shelf Research, 11, 939-961]. The overall effects of former iceberg turbation may extend to a depth of 10 m sub-bottom. On the southern shelves, bioturbation and perhaps storm-related currents rework exposed Quaternary sediments more slowly. Muds accumulate in deep basins on the shelves at rates of about 0.5 m per 1000 years; this accumulation is probably episodic and related to major storms reworking sediment from the surface sediment veneer in shallower areas of little net deposition. In water depths less than 110 m sand and gravel have formed as a result of reworking in the coastal zone during the post-glacial transgression. Over large areas of Georges Bank, the eastern Scotian Shelf and the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, such sands are mobilized during storms to form a wide suite of bedforms [ AMOS and JUDGE (this issue) Continental Shelf Research, 11, 1037-1068]. Elsewhere, particularly in deeper water, sandy surfaces appear moribund or inactive and large
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Bertrand, G.
2012-12-01
The genesis of many types of mineral deposits is closely linked to tectonic and petrographic conditions resulting from specific geodynamic contexts. Porphyry deposits, for instance, are associated to calc-alkaline magmatism of subduction zones. In order to better understand the relationships between ore deposit distribution and their tectonic context, and help identifying geodynamic-related criteria of favorability that would, in turn, help mineral exploration, we propose a paleogeographic approach. Paleogeographic reconstructions, based on global or regional plate tectonic models, are crucial tools to assess tectonic and kinematic contexts of the past. We use this approach to study the distribution of porphyry copper deposits along the western Tethyan and Andean subductions since Lower Cretaceous and Paleocene, respectively. For both convergent contexts, databases of porphyry copper deposits, including, among other data, their age and location, were compiled. Spatial and temporal distribution of the deposits is not random and show that they were emplaced in distinct clusters. Five clusters are identified along the western Tethyan suture, from Lower Cretaceous to Pleistocene, and at least three along the Andes, from Paleocene to Miocene. Two clusters in the Aegean-Balkan-Carpathian area, that were emplaced in Upper Cretaceous and Oligo-Miocene, and two others in the Andes, that were emplaced in late Eocene and Miocene, are studied in details and correlated with the past kinematics of the Africa-Eurasia and Nazca-South America plate convergences, respectively. All these clusters are associated with a similar polyphased kinematic context that is closely related to the dynamics of the subductions. This context is characterized by 1) a relatively fast convergence rate, shortly followed by 2) a drastic decrease of this rate. To explain these results, we propose a polyphased genetic model for porphyry copper deposits with 1) a first stage of rapid subduction rate
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Basement control in the development of the early cretaceous West and Central African rift system
Maurin, Jean-Christophe; Guiraud, René
1993-12-01
The structural framework of the Precambrian basement of the West and Central African Rift System (WCARS) is described in order to examine the role of ancient structures in the development of this Early Cretaceous rift system. Basement structures are represented in the region by large Pan-African mobile belts (built at ca. 600 Ma) surrounding the > 2 Ga West African, Congo and Sao Francisco cratons. Except for the small Gao trough (eastern Mali) located near the contact nappe of the Pan-African Iforas suture zone along the edge of the West African craton, the entire WCARS is located within the internal domains of the Pan-African mobile belts. Within these domains, two main structural features occur as the main basement control of the WCARS: (1) an extensive network of near vertical shear zones which trend north-south through the Congo, Brazil, Nigeria, Niger and Algeria, and roughly east-west through northeastern Brazil and Central Africa. The shear zones correspond to intra-continental strike-slip faults which accompanied the oblique collision between the West African, Congo, and Sao Francisco cratons during the Late Proterozoic; (2) a steep metamorphic NW-SE-trending belt which corresponds to a pre-Pan-African (ca. 730 Ma) ophiolitic suture zone along the eastern edge of the Trans-Saharian mobile belt. The post-Pan-African magmatic and tectonic evolution of the basement is also described in order to examine the state of the lithosphere prior to the break-up which occurred in the earliest Cretaceous. After the Pan-African thermo-tectonic event, the basement of the WCARS experienced a long period of intra-plate magmatic activity. This widespread magmatism in part relates to the activity of intra-plate hotspots which have controlled relative uplift, subsidence and occasionally block faulting. During the Paleozoic and the early Mesozoic, this tectonic activity was restricted to west of the Hoggar, west of Aïr and northern Cameroon. During the Late Jurassic
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Albarracín, Silvia; Alcántara-Carrió, Javier; Barranco, Andrés; Sánchez García, María José; Fontán Bouzas, Ángela; Rey Salgado, Jorge
2013-04-01
The focus of this study is the analysis of coastal sand barriers and associated coastal lagoons on the inner continental shelf of the Gulf of Valencia (western Mediterranean), based on two W-E seismic profiles recorded seaward of the Albufera de Valencia coastal lagoon. Seismic facies identified include a number of coastal sand barriers with landward lagoons draped by contemporary continental shelf deposits. The barrier systems have been grouped into two sedimentary systems tracts, the older one corresponding to a prograding/aggrading highstand systems tract involving at least four paleo-coastal sand barrier/lagoon systems, followed landward by a transgressive systems tract comprising three such systems. All the systems have been allocated a Tyrrhenian age, the formation of individual barrier systems having been associated with successive sea-level stillstands, and their present-day position being explained by the very high regional subsidence rate. In summary, this study demonstrates that the Quaternary stratigraphic record of the Gulf of Valencia inner continental shelf is composed of littoral sand facies, in particular coastal sand barrier and lagoon deposits. These findings are in agreement with corresponding observations on other continental shelves of the western Mediterranean, showing that the formation of coastal sand barriers was a characteristic feature of this region during the Quaternary.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wilpolt, R.H.; Simov, S.D.
1979-01-01
Africa is not only known for its spectacular diamond, gold, copper, chromium, platinum and phosphorus deposits but also for its uranium deposits. At least two uranium provinces can be distinguished - the southern, with the equatorial sub-province; and the south Saharan province. Uranium deposits are distributed either in cratons or in mobile belts, the first of sandstone and quartz-pebble conglomerate type, while those located in mobile belts are predominantly of vein and similar (disseminated) type. Uranium deposits occur within Precambrian rocks or in younger platform sediments, but close to the exposed Precambrian basement. The Proterozoic host rocks consist of sediments, metamorphics or granitoids. In contrast to Phanerozoic continental uranium-bearing sediments, those in the Precambrian are in marginal marine facies but they do contain organic material. The geology of Africa is briefly reviewed with the emphasis on those features which might control the distribution of uranium. The evolution of the African Platform is considered as a progressive reduction of its craton area which has been affected by three major Precambrian tectonic events. A short survey on the geology of known uranium deposits is made. However, some deposits and occurrences for which little published material is available are treated in more detail. (author)
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Qin, M.; Xu, Q.; Liu, W.; Song, J.; Chen, D.; Wei, S.
2014-01-01
The palaeochannel, which is classified as basal and interformational types on the basis of geological setting, is an important host for the sandstone type uranium deposit. Diversities exist in development conditions and uranium minerogenetic potential of the two types of palaeochanneles. The Erlian basin, about 105 km"2 and adjacent to channel-type uranium deposit provinces in Russia and Mongolia, is one of main uraniferous basins in the north of China. It is significant to research into development conditions of palaeochannels for uranium mineral exploration in the Erlian basin. 1. Geological background: The Erlian basin consists of five depressions which divide the basin and form alternations with uplifts and depressions. Sedimentary capping strata of the basin mainly is the Lower Cretaceous Bayanhua group (K1b) which consists of the Aershan group (K1ba), Tenger group (K1bt) and Saihan group (K1bs) from bottom to top. The Saihan group, which is the product in the phase of depression, is the most important uranous strata in the Erlian basin. 2. Development characteristic and condition of the longitudinal palaeochannel of the Saihan formation: Large-scale longitudinal multi-palaeochannels are identified in the center and northeast of the basin, such as the QiHaRiGeTu-SaiHanGaoBi palaeochannel (CH01), BaYanWuLa palaeochannel (CH02) and GaoLiHan palaeochanne l(CH03), et al., which character the length from several 10s of km to 100 km, width of several 10s of km and thickness of sand bodies from 20 m to 130 m, more or less. Palaeochannels of the Saihan formation are interformational type because the underlay is argillite at the top of the Tenggeer formation. Restrictive geological environments and conditions are necessary to form longitudinal channels and mainly are as follows: (1) the basin in the sustained step of depression; (2) sharp gradient (>5°?) in parts of sub-depressions and sufficient sedimentary supply from the upstream; (3) elongate erosional lowlands or
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Diverse dinosaur-dominated ichnofaunas from the Potomac Group (Lower Cretaceous) Maryland
Stanford, Ray; Lockley, Martin G.; Weems, Robert E.
2007-01-01
Until recently fossil footprints were virtually unknown from the Cretaceous of the eastern United States. The discovery of about 300 footprints in iron-rich siliciclastic facies of the Patuxent Formation (Potomac Group) of Aptian age is undoubtedly one of the most significant Early Cretaceous track discoveries since the Paluxy track discoveries in Texas in the 1930s. The Patuxent tracks include theropod, sauropod, ankylosaur and ornithopod dinosaur footprints, pterosaur tracks, and miscellaneous mammal and other vertebrate ichnites that collectively suggest a diversity of about 14 morphotypes. This is about twice the previous maximum estimate for any known Early Cretaceous vertebrate ichnofauna. Among the more distinctive forms are excellent examples of hypsilophodontid tracks and a surprisingly large mammal footprint. A remarkable feature of the Patuxent track assemblage is the high proportion of small tracks indicative of hatchlings, independently verified by the discovery of a hatchling-sized dinosaur. Such evidence suggests the proximity of nest sites. The preservation of such small tracks is very rare in the Cretaceous track record, and indeed throughout most of the Mesozoic.This unusual preservation not only provides us with a window into a diverse Early Cretaceous ecosystem, but it also suggests the potential of such facies to provide ichnological bonanzas. A remarkable feature of the assemblage is that it consists largely of reworked nodules and clasts that may have previously been reworked within the Patuxent Formation. Such unusual contexts of preservation should provide intriguing research opportunities for sedimentologists interested in the diagenesis and taphonomy of a unique track-bearing facies.
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Urlaub, M.; Krastel, S.; Geersen, J.; Schwenk, T.
2017-12-01
Numerous studies invoke weak layers to explain the occurrence of large submarine landslides (>100 km³), in particular those on very gentle slopes (translational, such that failure takes place along bedding-parallel surfaces at different stratigraphic depths. This suggests that failure occurs along weak layers, which are deposited repeatedly over time. Using high resolution seismic reflection data we trace several failure surfaces of the Cap Blanc Slide complex offshore Northwest Africa to ODP-Site 658. Core-seismic integration shows that the failure surfaces coincide with diatom oozes that are topped by clay. Along Northwest Africa diatom-rich sediments are typically deposited at the end of glacial periods. In the seismic data these oozes show up as distinct high amplitude reflectors due to their characteristic low densities. Similar high-amplitude reflectors embedded into low-reflective seismic units are commonly observed in shallow sediments (<100 m below seafloor) along the entire Northwest African continental slope. The failure surfaces of at least three large landslides coincide with such reflectors. As the most recent Pleistocene glacial periods likely influenced sediment deposition along the entire Northwest African margin in a similar manner we hypothesize that diatom oozes play a critical role for the generation of submarine landslides off Northwest Africa as well as globally within subtropical regions. An initiative to drill the Northwest African continental slope with IODP is ongoing, within which this hypothesis shall be tested.
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Explosive Radiation of Malpighiales Supports a Mid-Cretaceous Origin of Modern Tropical Rain Forests
Wurdack, Kenneth J.; Jaramillo, Carlos A.; Davis, Charles; Webb, Campbell O.; Donoghue, Michael J.
2005-01-01
Fossil data have been interpreted as indicating that Late Cretaceous tropical forests were open and dry adapted and that modern closed-canopy rain forest did not originate until after the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T) boundary. However, some mid-Cretaceous leaf floras have been interpreted as rain forest. Molecular divergence-time estimates within the clade Malpighiales, which constitute a large percentage of species in the shaded, shrub, and small tree layer in tropical rain forests worldwide, p...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Iftikhar Ahmed Abbasi
2014-06-01
Full Text Available The Batain coast along the northeastern margin of Oman between Ra’s Al-Hadd and Ra’s Jibsch, is comprised of Permian to Late Cretaceous complex stratigraphy in a tectonically deformed area recording Permian rifting to late Cretaceous Tethys closure events. These rocks are thrust over Mesozoic and older autochthonous sedimentary cover in the form of a major nappe structure known as the Batain Nappe. The uppermost part of the Batain nappe is comprised of isolated outcrops of early Maastrichtian siliciclastic Fayah Formation dominated by gravity flow deposits. The Fayah Formation in the Jabal Fayah area is over four hundred meters thick and comprised of five distinct facies associations; namely, i coarsening-up sandstone, ii conglomerate, iii debris- flow, iv turbidite, and v inter-bedded sandstone and shale lithofacies. These lithofacies associations are repeated many times in the section. The sandstone lithofacies association exhibits a coarsening-upward trend making sequences tens of meters thick in various parts of the formation. Waterscape structures are common along with occasional sandstone dykes and convolute bedding, reflecting fluidized conditions of deposition. The conglomerate lithofacies association is comprised of a series of interbedded coarsening-upward pebble to gravel size conglomerates containing chert, limestone, granite and volcanic clasts ranging a few mm to cm in diameter. Occasionally these are interbedded with sandstone lithofacies. The conglomerate lithofacies was deposited by a high-energy channelized flow in a sub-aqueous setting. The debris-flow lithofacies association is a matrix supported chaotic mixture of clay and boulders of granite, limestone and volcanic rocks, some of which are meter-sized in diameter, and possibly derived from the nearby basement rocks such as the Jabal Ja’alan basement rocks. It constitutes the most dominant part of the formation. These sediments were deposited along a slope setting
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Upper Cretaceous chalk facies and depositional history recorded in the Mona-1 core, Mona Ridge
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Anderskouv, Kresten; Surlyk, Finn
2011-01-01
, including mudflow, debris flow, and slumping. Pelagic deposits vary mainly in terms of the concentration of siliciclastic material, the trace-fossil assemblage, and the presence or absence of primary sedimentary structures. Pelagic sedimentation was probably punctuated by the deposition of thin turbidites...... slump packages (14–18 in total) are interpreted, forming over 40% of the succession; debrites appear to be the most common precursor facies involved in slumping. The vertical succession of facies records an earliest Cenomanian facies shift from dominantly siliciclastic to chalk deposition...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dhraief Wissem
2017-04-01
Full Text Available The objective and the main contribution of this issue are dedicated to using subsurface data to delineate a basin beneath the Gulf of Tunis and its neighbouring areas, and to investigate the potential of this area in terms of hydrocarbon resources. Available well data provided information about the subsurface geology beneath the Gulf of Tunis. 2D seismic data allowed delineation of the basin shape, strata geometries, and some potential promising subsurface structures in terms of hydrocarbon accumulation. Together with lithostratigraphic data obtained from drilled wells, seismic data permitted the construction of isochron and isobath maps of Upper Cretaceous-Neogene strata. Structural and lithostratigraphic interpretations indicate that the area is tectonically complex, and they highlight the tectonic control of strata deposition during the Cretaceous and Neogene. Tectonic activity related to the geodynamic evolution of the northern African margin appears to have been responsible for several thickness and facies variations, and to have played a significant role in the establishment and evolution of petroleum systems in northeastern Tunisia. As for petroleum systems in the basin, the Cretaceous series of the Bahloul, Mouelha and Fahdene formations are acknowledged to be the main source rocks. In addition, potential reservoirs (Fractured Abiod and Bou Dabbous carbonated formations sealed by shaly and marly formations (Haria and Souar formations respectively show favourable geometries of trap structures (anticlines, tilted blocks, unconformities, etc. which make this area adequate for hydrocarbon accumulations.
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Mesozoic dinosaurs from Brazil and their biogeographic implications.
Bittencourt, Jonathas S; Langer, Max C
2011-03-01
The record of dinosaur body-fossils in the Brazilian Mesozoic is restricted to the Triassic of Rio Grande do Sul and Cretaceous of various parts of the country. This includes 21 named species, two of which were regarded as nomina dubia, and 19 consensually assigned to Dinosauria. Additional eight supraspecific taxa have been identified based on fragmentary specimens and numerous dinosaur footprints known in Brazil. In fact, most Brazilian specimens related to dinosaurs are composed of isolated teeth and vertebrae. Despite the increase of fieldwork during the last decade, there are still no dinosaur body-fossils of Jurassic age and the evidence of ornithischians in Brazil is very limited. Dinosaur faunas from this country are generally correlated with those from other parts of Gondwana throughout the Mesozoic. During the Late Triassic, there is a close correspondence to Argentina and other south-Pangaea areas. Mid-Cretaceous faunas of northeastern Brazil resemble those of coeval deposits of North Africa and Argentina. Southern hemisphere spinosaurids are restricted to Africa and Brazil, whereas abelisaurids are still unknown in the Early Cretaceous of the latter. Late Cretaceous dinosaur assemblages of south-central Brazil are endemic only to genus or, more conspicuously, to species level, sharing closely related taxa with Argentina, Madagascar, Indo-Pakistan and, to a lesser degree, continental Africa.
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Cukur, Deniz; Um, In-Kwon; Chun, Jong-Hwa; Kim, So-Ra; Lee, Gwang-Soo; Kim, Yuri; Kong, Gee-Soo; Horozal, Senay; Kim, Seong-Pil
2018-04-01
This study investigates sediment transport and depositional processes from a newly collected dataset comprising sub-bottom chirp profiles, multibeam bathymetry, and sediment cores from the northeastern continental margin of Korea in the East Sea (Japan Sea). Twelve echo-types and eleven sedimentary facies have been defined and interpreted as deposits formed by shallow-marine, hemipelagic sedimentation, bottom current, and mass-movement processes. Hemipelagic sedimentation, which is acoustically characterized by undisturbed layered sediments, appears to have been the primary sedimentary process throughout the study area. The inner and outer continental shelf (shallow-marine sedimentary processes. Two slope-parallel canyons, 0.2-2 km wide and up to 30 km long, appear to have acted as possible conduits for turbidity currents from the shallower shelf into the deep basins. Bottom current deposits, expressed as erosional moats immediately below topographic highs, are prevalent on the southern lower slope at water depths of 400-450 m. Mass-movements (i.e., slides/slumps, debris flow deposits) consisting of chaotic facies characterize the lower slope and represent one of the most important sedimentary processes in the study area. Piston cores confirm the presence of mass-transport deposits (MTDs) that are characterized by mud clasts of variable size, shape, and color. Multibeam bathymetry shows that large-scale MTDs are chiefly initiated on the lower slope (400-600 m) with gradients up to 3° and where they produce scarps on the order of 100 m in height. Sandy MTDs also occur on the upper continental slope adjacent to the seaward edge of the shelf terrace. Earthquakes associated with tectonic activity and the development of fluid overpressure is considered as the main conditioning factor for destabilizing the slope sediments. Overall, the sedimentary processes show typical characteristics of a fine-grained clastic slope apron and change down-slope and differ within each
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Hildebrand, Robert S.; Whalen, Joseph B.; Bowring, Samuel A.
2018-06-01
In the standard paradigm, continental crust is formed mainly by arc magmatism, but because the compositions of magma rising from the mantle are basaltic and continental crust is estimated to contain about 60% SiO2 and much less MgO than basalt, the two do not match. To resolve this paradox, most researchers argue that large amounts of magmatic fractionation produce residual cumulates at the base of the crust, which because arcs are inferred to have magmatically thickened crust, form eclogites that ultimately founder and sink into the mantle. Not only are there problems with the contrasting bulk compositions, but the standard model also fails because prior to collision most modern arcs do not have thick crust, as documented by their eruption close to sea level, and in cases of ancient arc sequences, their intercalation with marine sedimentary rocks. Our study of Cretaceous batholiths in the North American Cordillera resolves the crustal composition paradox because we find that most are not arc-derived as commonly believed; but instead formed during the waning stages of collision and consequent slab failure. Because the batholiths typically have silica contents >60% and are derived directly from the mantle, we argue that they are the missing link in the formation of continental crust. Slab failure magmas worldwide are compositionally similar to tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite suites as old as 3.8 Ga, which points to their collective formation by slab failure and long-lived plate tectonics. Our model also provides (1) an alternative solution to interpret compiled detrital zircon arrays, because episodic peaks that coincide with periods of supercontinent amalgamation are easily interpreted to represent collisions with formation of new crust by slab failure; and (2) that models of early whole-earth differentiation are more reasonable than those invoking progressive growth of continental crust.
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Trace element characterisation of Cretaceous Orange Basin hydrocarbon source rocks
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Akinlua, A.; Adekola, S.A.; Swakamisa, O.; Fadipe, O.A.; Akinyemi, S.A.
2010-01-01
Research highlights: → Vanadium and nickel contents indicate that the rock samples from the Orange Basin have marine organic matter input. → The organic matter of the Orange Basin source rocks were deposited in reducing conditions. → Despite the similarities in the organic matter source input and depositional environment of the samples from the two well, cross plots of Co/Ni versus V/Ni and Mo/Ni versus Co/Ni were able to reveal their subtle differences. → Cluster analysis classified the samples into three groups based on subtle differences in their .thermal maturity. - Abstract: Trace elements in the kerogen fraction of hydrocarbon source rock samples from two wells obtained from the Cretaceous units of the Orange Basin, South Africa were determined using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, in order to determine their distribution and geochemical significances. The concentrations of the elements (As, Ce, Co, Cu, Fe, Mo, Ni, Pb and V) determined ranged from 0.64 to 47,300 ppm for the samples analysed. The total organic carbon (TOC) values indicate that the samples are organic rich but did not show any trend with the distribution of the trace metals except Ce, Mo and Pb. Dendrogram cluster analysis discriminated the samples into three groups on the basis of their level of thermal maturity. Thermal maturity has a significant effect on the distribution of the trace metals. Cobalt/Ni and V/Ni ratios and cross plots of the absolute values of V and Ni indicate that the samples had significant marine organic matter input. The V and Ni contents and V/(V + Ni) ratio indicate that the organic matter of the source rocks had been deposited in reducing conditions. Despite the similarities in the organic matter source input and depositional environment of the organic matter of the samples from the two well, cross plots of Co/Ni versus V/Ni and Mo/Ni versus Co/Ni were able to reveal subtle differences. Cluster analysis of the samples was also able to reveal the subtle
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Marine reptiles from the Late Cretaceous of northern Patagonia
Gasparini, Z.; Casadio, S.; Fernández, M.; Salgado, L.
2001-04-01
During the Campanian-Maastrichtian, Patagonia was flooded by the Atlantic and reduced to an archipelago. Several localities of northern Patagonia have yielded marine reptiles. Analysis of several assemblages suggests that the diversity and abundance of pelagic marine reptiles in northern Patagonia was higher by the end of the Cretaceous than previously thought. Several plesiosaurids, including Aristonectes parvidens and the polycotylid Sulcusuchus, and the first remains of mosasaurinae have been found. The Cretaceous marine reptile record from South America is scanty. Nevertheless, materials described here suggest that Tethyan and Weddelian forms converged in northern Patagonia, as seen with invertebrates.
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Bauxite and Kaolin Deposits of the Irwinton district, Georgia
Lang, Walter B.; Warren, Walter C.; Thompson, Raymond M.; Overstreet, Elizabeth F.
1965-01-01
The Irwinton district is in the central part of Georgia at the inner margin of the Coastal Plain province. The oldest rocks exposed in the district are crystalline rocks of the Piedmont province. They are unconformably overlain by nonmarine sedimentary strata of Late Cretaceous age, including gravel, micaceous sand, and lenses of kaolin. Bauxite has been found in a few of the kaolin lenses near the top of the sequence of these strata. During a long period prior to deposition of the over- lying marine beds of the Claiborne and Jackson Groups (middle and upper Eocene), the Upper Cretaceous strata were subjected to subaerial erosion. The bauxite deposits are considered to have formed during this period. They range in thickness from a few inches to more than 10 feet and occupy areas ranging from a few square feet to more than 5 acres. Most of the known bauxite deposits lie along the valleys of Commissioners Creek and Big Sandy Creek in Wilkinson County. The kaolin lenses are much larger than the bauxite deposits; some of the lenses underlie more than 200 acres and are more than 20 feet thick. Bauxite was discovered in the district in 1907 and was mined from 1910 to 1928. A few additional carloads of ore were shipped in 1941 and 1942, but no ore has been mined since that time. Reserves of high-grade bauxite are very small. Reserves of all grades of bauxite plus bauxitic clay may be about 400,000 long tons. The Irwinton district is the principal source of high-grade kaolin in the United States. The presence of kaolin here has been known since early colo- nial time, and it has been mined continuously since 1897. Production in 1959 was 1,940,279 short tons. The reserves of kaolin are very large but have never been adequately measured. Reserves of first and second grade kaolin may be 67 to 84 million short tons. Kaolin of lower grade is present in larger quantity.
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Flores, Romeo M.; Myers, Mark D.; Houseknecht, David W.; Stricker, Gary D.; Brizzolara, Donald W.; Ryherd, Timothy J.; Takahashi, Kenneth I.
2007-01-01
Stratigraphic and sedimentologic studies of facies of the Upper Cretaceous rocks along the Colville River Bluffs in the west-central North Slope of Alaska identified barrier shoreface deposits consisting of vertically stacked, coarsening-upward parasequences in the Schrader Bluff Formation. This vertical stack of parasequence deposits represents progradational sequences that were affected by shoaling and deepening cycles caused by fluctuations of sea level. Further, the vertical stack may have served to stabilize accumulation of voluminous coal deposits in the Prince Creek Formation, which formed braided, high-sinuosity meandering, anastomosed, and low-sinuosity meandering fluvial channels and related flood plain deposits. The erosional contact at the top of the uppermost coarsening-upward sequence, however, suggests a significant drop of base level (relative sea level) that permitted a semiregional subaerial unconformity to develop at the contact between the Schrader Bluff and Prince Creek Formations. This drop of relative sea level may have been followed by a relative sea-level rise to accommodate coal deposition directly above the unconformity. This rise was followed by a second drop of relative sea level, with formation of incised valley topography as much as 75 ft deep and an equivalent surface of a major marine erosion or mass wasting, or both, either of which can be traced from the Colville River Bluffs basinward to the subsurface in the west-central North Slope. The Prince Creek fluvial deposits represent late Campanian to late Maastrichtian depositional environments that were affected by these base level changes influenced by tectonism, basin subsidence, and sea-level fluctuations.
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A new genus and species of enantiornithine bird from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ismar de Souza Carvalho
Full Text Available The fossil record of birds in Gondwana is almost restricted to the Late Cretaceous. Herein we describe a new fossil from the Araripe Basin, Cratoavis cearensis nov. gen et sp., composed of an articulated skeleton with feathers attached to the wings and surrounding the body. The present discovery considerably extends the temporal record of the Enantiornithes birds at South America to the Early Cretaceous. For the first time, an almost complete and articulated skeleton of an Early Cretaceous bird from South America is documented.
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Larger miliolids of the Late Cretaceous and Paleogene seen through space and time
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Vlasta Ćosović
2002-12-01
Full Text Available Spatial and temporal occurrences of the larger (complex miliolids are discussed to give more light on biostratigraphy and paleobiogeographic provinces distribution. Seven generaand 47 species from the Late Cretaceous to Oligocene inhabited shallow marine settings in the Indo-Pacific, Tethyan and Caribbean regions. Of all genera only four (Idalina, Periloculina, Pseudolacazina, Lacazina widespread throughout Tethys in theLate Cretaceous and Paleogene. Single occurrence of Lacazina was recorded further to east (Moluccas. By now the Late Cretaceous genus Adrahentina is known only from the Spain. The newcomer’s Eocene genera were Fabularia and Lacazinella. Fabularia reachedhigh diversity in species term in the Central and Western Tethys and occured as unique genus in Caribbean realm, too. Conversely, during the same period, Lacazinella spread over the southern border of Neo-Tethys reaching New Guinea.On the Adriatic – Dinaric Carbonate Platform, larger miliolids occurred from the Late Cretaceous to Cuisian, having the same biostratigraphically trends and distribution as contemporaneous larger miliolids from the Tethys.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Wei An
2016-01-01
Full Text Available The mass burial of dinosaur bone fossils in the Late Cretaceous Wangshi Group in Zhucheng, Shandong Province has been a research focus in recent years. However, the provenance of the dinosaur bone fossils and the accurate depositional age of the bone beds remain ambiguous. Through U–Pb dating of detrital zircons collected from six conglomerate samples from the dinosaur bone beds, we found that the youngest single grain age (YSG of sample 090414-24-D was 77.3 Ma, representing the maximum depositional age of the dinosaur fossil beds and sediments. This also indicates that the Hongtuya Formation was deposited during the Campanian. Dating results revealed an age peak of 120–110 Ma, which corresponds with the peak age of volcanic rocks of the Lower Cretaceous Qingshan Group. The volcanic rocks of the Qingshan Group are mainly exposed in Laiyang, to the north of Zhucheng, although a few also appear to the south and northwest. Through analysis of conglomerate composition and palaeocurrents in the sediments containing the bone beds, we found that the three different data sets of gravel compositions of the conglomerates were mainly composed of volcanic or pyroclastic rocks. Three different data sets of palaeocurrents suggested that the main sediment source of the Wangshi Group dinosaur bone beds was from the north−northwest of the Basin. Only one data set had a provenance south of the basin. This study revealed that the areas of Laiyang and the Yishu Fault Zone were the main provenance areas of both the dinosaur bone fossils and the sediments of the Wangshi Group in Zhucheng. The southern margin of the Zhucheng Basin may be a secondary source area. This research provides an important basis for judging the deposition time and the sediment source of fossil layers in the Wangshi Group, as well as reconstructing the palaeogeography of the Wangshi Group in the Jiaolai Basin.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Berner, U.; Scheeder, G.; Kus, J. [Section Geochemistry of Petroleum and Coal, BGR, Hannover (Germany); Voigt, S.; Schneider, J.W. [Geological Inst., TU Bergakademic Freiberg (Germany)
2009-09-15
Along the northern foothills of the Turkestan-Alai Range (SW Kyrgyzstan), a 1000 to 1500m thick succession of Mesozoic deposits is exposed recording regional changes of the paleo-landscape during Triassic to Cretaceous times. Detailed litho- and biofacies analyses, conducted by the TU Bergakademie Freiberg since 2006, provided for the first time a nearly complete columnar section of the continental Triassic Madygen Formation of Kyrgyzstan. Organic petrographical and organic geochemical methods (including RockEval pyrolyses, and biomarker analyses) have been applied to a suite of terrestrial sedimentary rocks of Triassic age with the intention to identify the depositional environment. Our investigations suggest that the potential source rocks of the terrestrial pluvial Madygen Formation might generate predominantly gaseous hydrocarbons at higher maturities. (orig.)
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Geologic evolution of the SE.23 Sheet - Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Pereira, A.D.C.; Fonseca, E.G. da; Braz, E.R.C.
1987-01-01
The aim of this paper is to present a synthesis of the geologic evolution in the Belo Horizonte Sheet comprising an area about 281.210 Km 2 . Rb-Sr and K-Ar isotope dating methods are used for age estimation of geologic deposits. The geologic evolution of the cratonic area is reflected by a stable central nucleus surrounded by marginal orogenic belts. In the central area were recognized greenstone belts structures involved by granite terrains and bordered by a granulitic region. The framework of the Sao Francisco Craton involves events of metamorphism, granitogenesis, sedimentary, volcanism and plutonism developed in the Early to Late Proterozoic. The stratigraphic column is complemented by Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous continental deposits belonging to Parana-Basin. (M.V.M.)
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Ruthenium concentrations in geological boundary deposits and their correlation with Iridium by RIMS
Xu, X. Y.; Xin, X. B.; Ji, W. X.; Mao, X. Y.; Chai, C. F.
1995-04-01
The reason the biological mass extinctions in the earth history is a great concern of geologists. A method using RIMS to determine the concentration of Ru has been developed. The Ru/Ir concentration ratios favour the impact model of extraterrestrial material on the earth to explain the dinosaur extinction at the end of the Cretaceous. This is the first data on Ru abundances in geological boundary deposits analyzed by RIMS.
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Ruthenium concentrations in geological boundary deposits and their correlation with Iridium by RIMS
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Xu, X. Y.; Xin, X. B.; Ji, W. X.; Mao, X. Y.; Chai, C. F.
1995-01-01
The reason the biological mass extinctions in the earth history is a great concern of geologists. A method using RIMS to determine the concentration of Ru has been developed. The Ru/Ir concentration ratios favour the impact model of extraterrestrial material on the earth to explain the dinosaur extinction at the end of the Cretaceous. This is the first data on Ru abundances in geological boundary deposits analyzed by RIMS
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Alves, Tiago M.; Cupkovic, Tomas
2018-05-01
Depositional facies resulting from footwall degradation in extensional basins of SE Crete are studied based on detailed geological maps, regional transects, lithological columns and outcrop photos. During an extensional episode affecting Crete in the late Miocene-early Pliocene, depocentres trending N20°E and N70°E were filled with fan deltas, submarine mass-wasting deposits, sandy turbidites and fine-grained hemipelagites sourced from both nearby and distal sediment sources. Deposition of proximal continental and shallow-marine units, and relatively deep (marine) turbidites and mass-transport deposits, occurred within a complex mosaic of tectonically controlled depocentres. The new geological maps and transects in this work reveal that depositional facies in SE Crete were controlled by: a) their relative proximity to active faults and uplifting footwall blocks, b) the relative position (depth and relative height above sea level) of hanging-wall basins, and c) the nature of the basement units eroded from adjacent footwall blocks. Distal sediment sources supplied background siliciclastic sediment ('hemipelagites'), which differ markedly from strata sourced from local footwalls. In parallel, mass-transport of sediment was ubiquitous on tectonically active slopes, and so was the presence of coarse-grained sediment with sizes varying from large blocks > 50 m-wide to heterolithic mass-transport deposits and silty-sandy turbidites. We expect similar tectono-sedimentary settings to have predominated in tectonically active Miocene basins of the eastern Mediterranean, in which hydrocarbon exploration is occurring at present, and on rifted continental margins across the world.
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A review of silver-rich mineral deposits and their metallogeny
Graybeal, Frederick T.; Vikre, Peter
2010-01-01
Mineral deposits with large inventories or high grades of silver are found in four genetic groups: (1) volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS), (2) sedimentary exhalative (SEDEX), (3) lithogene, and, (4) magmatichydrothermal. Principal differences between the four groups relate to source rocks and regions, metal associations, process and timing of mineralization, and tectonic setting. These four groups may be subdivided into specific metal associations on ternary diagrams based on relative metal contents. The VMS deposits rarely contain more than 15,600 t Ag (500 Moz). Grades average 33 g/t Ag. Variable Ag- Pb-Zn-Cu-Au ± Sn concentrations are interpreted as having been derived both from shallow plutons and by leaching of the volcanic rock pile in regions of thin or no continental crust and the mineralization is syngenetic. Higher silver grades are associated with areas of abundant felsic volcanic rocks. The SEDEX deposits rarely contain more than 15,600 t Ag (500 Moz). Grades average 46 g/t Ag. Silver, lead, and zinc in relatively consistent proportions are leached from sedimentary rocks filling rift-related basins, where the continental crust is thin, and deposited as syngenetic to diagenetic massive sulfides. Pre-mineral volcanic rocks and their detritus may occur deep within the basin and gold is typically absent. Lithogene silver-rich deposits are epigenetic products of varying combinations of compaction, dewatering, meteoric water recharge, and metamorphism of rift basin-related clastic sedimentary and interbedded volcanic rocks. Individual deposits may contain more than 15,600 t Ag (500 Moz) at high grades. Ores are characterized by four well-defined metal associations, including Ag, Ag-Pb-Zn, Ag-Cu, and Ag-Co-Ni-U. Leaching, transport, and deposition of metals may occur both in specific sedimentary strata and other rock types adjacent to the rift. Multiple mineralizing events lasting 10 to 15 m.y., separated by as much as 1 b.y., may occur in a single basin
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Lamellaptychi from the Lower Cretaceous of south-east Spain (Murcia and Jaen provinces)
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Vašíček, Zdeněk; Company, M.; Měchová, L.
2015-01-01
Roč. 276, č. 3 (2015), s. 335-351 ISSN 0077-7749 Institutional support: RVO:68145535 Keywords : Lower Cretaceous * aptychi * ammonite zonation * Betic Cordillera Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 0.719, year: 2015 http://cretaceous.ru/files/pub/temp3/vasicek_et_al_2015_lamellaptychi.pdf
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Marca-Castillo, M. E.; Armstrong-Altrin, J.
2017-12-01
The textural analysis, mineralogy and geochemistry of two sediment cores recovered from the deep water zone of the southwestern part of the Gulf of Mexico ( 1666 and 1672 m water depth) were studied to infer the provenance and depositional behavior. The textural analysis revealed that both cores are dominated by silt, which occupy more than 50% in both samples and the clay occupy 40%. The petrographic analysis revealed remains of biogenic origin sediments and lithic fragments with an angular shape and low sphericity, indicating a low energy environment and therefore a low level of weathering in the sediment, which suggests that the sediments were not affected by transport and derived from a nearby source rock. In both cores quartz fragments were identified; also volcanic lithic and pyroxenes fragments, which are rocks of intermediate composition and are generally associated with the volcanic activity of the continental margins. SEM-EDS studies showed that the analysed samples have concentrations of minerals such as barite, gibbsite, kaolinite, grossular, magnetite, plagioclase and chlorite, which are probably derived from the mainland to the deep sea zone. In the trace element analysis it was observed a low Sc content, while Co, Ni, V and Cu are slightly enriched with respect to the upper continental crust; this enrichment is related to sediments from intermediate sources. The sediments are classified as shale in the log (SiO2 / Al2O3) - log (Fe2O / K2O) diagram. The fine particles of the shale indicate that a deposit occurred as a result of the gradual sedimentation due to relatively non-turbulent currents, which is consistent with the petrographic analysis. The geochemical features of major and trace elements suggest sediments were derived largely from the natural andesite erosion of coastal regions along the Gulf of Mexico. High values of Fe2O3 and MnO are observed in the upper intervals, reflecting the influence of volcanic sediments. The major element
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A complete skull of an early cretaceous sauropod and the evolution of advanced titanosaurians.
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Hussam Zaher
Full Text Available Advanced titanosaurian sauropods, such as nemegtosaurids and saltasaurids, were diverse and one of the most important groups of herbivores in the terrestrial biotas of the Late Cretaceous. However, little is known about their rise and diversification prior to the Late Cretaceous. Furthermore, the evolution of their highly-modified skull anatomy has been largely hindered by the scarcity of well-preserved cranial remains. A new sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil represents the earliest advanced titanosaurian known to date, demonstrating that the initial diversification of advanced titanosaurians was well under way at least 30 million years before their known radiation in the latest Cretaceous. The new taxon also preserves the most complete skull among titanosaurians, further revealing that their low and elongated diplodocid-like skull morphology appeared much earlier than previously thought.
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Zeng, Qingdong; He, Huaiyu; Zhu, Rixiang; Zhang, Song; Wang, Yongbin; Su, Fei
2017-08-01
The Haigou lode deposit contains 40 t of gold at an average grade of 3.5 g/t, and is one of the largest deposits in the Jiapigou gold belt located along the eastern segment of the northern margin of the North China Craton. The deposit comprises 15 gold-bearing quartz veins hosted in a Carboniferous monzonite-monzogranite stock. Cretaceous dikes consisting of diorite, diabase, and granodiorite porphyries are well developed in the deposit. The diorite porphyry dikes (130.4 ± 6.3 Ma) occur together with gold-bearing quartz veins in NNE- and NE-striking faults. Gold-bearing quartz veins crosscut the diorite porphyry dikes, and the veins are in turn crosscut by E-W-striking 124.6 ± 2.2 Ma granodiorite porphyry dikes. The mineralization mainly occurs as auriferous quartz veins with minor amounts of sulfide minerals, including pyrite, galena, chalcopyrite, and molybdenite. Gold occurs as either native gold or calaverite. Common gangue minerals in the deposit include quartz, sericite, and calcite. The deposit is characterized by various types of hydrothermal alteration, including silicification, sericitization, chloritization, potassic alteration, and carbonatization. Three stages of hydrothermal activity have been recognized in the deposit: (1) a barren quartz stage; (2) a polymetallic sulfide (gold) stage; (3) a calcite stage. Fluid inclusions in hydrothermal pyrites have 3He/4He ratios of 0.3 to 3.3 Ra and 40Ar/36Ar ratios of 351 to 1353, indicating mixing of fluids of mantle and crustal origin. Hydrothermal quartz yielded δ18O values of -1.3‰ to +7.2‰ and δD values of fluid inclusions in the quartz vary between -80‰ and -104‰. These stable isotope data also suggest mixing of magmatic and meteoric fluids. Noble gas and stable isotopic data suggest that the ore fluids have a predominant mantle source with a significant crustal component. Based on the spatial association of gold-bearing quartz veins with early Cretaceous intrusions, and the H-O-He-Ar isotopic
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Phanerozoic environments of black shale deposition and the Wilson Cycle
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J. Trabucho-Alexandre
2012-02-01
Full Text Available The spatial and temporal distribution of black shales is related to the development of environments in which they accumulate and to a propitious combination of environmental variables. In recent years, much has been done to improve our understanding of the mechanisms behind the temporal distribution of black shales in the Phanerozoic and of the environmental variables that result in their deposition. However, the interpretation of ancient black shale depositional environments is dominated by an oversimplistic set of three depositional models that do not capture their complexity and dynamics. These three models, the restricted circulation, the (open ocean oxygen minimum and the continental shelf models, are an oversimplification of the variety of black shale depositional environments that arise and coexist throughout the course of a basin's Wilson Cycle, i.e. the dynamic sequence of events and stages that characterise the evolution of an ocean basin, from the opening continental rift to the closing orogeny. We examine the spatial distribution of black shales in the context of the Wilson Cycle using examples from the Phanerozoic. It is shown that the geographical distribution of environments of black shale deposition and the position of black shales in the basin infill sequence strongly depend on basin evolution, which controls the development of sedimentary environments where black shales may be deposited. The nature of the black shales that are deposited, i.e. lithology and type of organic matter, also depends on basin evolution and palaeogeography. We propose that in studies of black shales more attention should be given to the sedimentary processes that have led to their formation and to the interpretation of their sedimentary environments.
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Tan, X.; Gilder, S.; Chen, Y.; Cogné, J. P.; Courtillot, V. E.; Cai, J.
2017-12-01
Large northward translation of central Asian crustal blocks has been reported from paleomagnetism of Cretaceous and Tertiary terrestrial sediments. This motion was initially taken as evidence of deformation occurred in the Asian interior as a result of indentation of the Indian Plate. However, because the amount of motion is far greater than geological observations, accuracy of the paleomagnetic record has become a controversial issue. To solve the problem, it has been shown that the latitudinal offset can be entirely attributed to inclination shallowing during deposition and compaction processes (Tan et al., 2003; Tauxe and Kent, 2004). On the other hand, coeval volcanic rocks from central Asia did record steeper paleomagnetic inclinations than terrestrial rocks (Gilder et al., 2003). To extend the effort of solving the controversy, we report paleomagnetic results of Cretaceous limestones from western Tarim basin. Our results show that the majority of our collections have been overprinted. Fortunately, a special type of limestones preserved stable characteristic remanence. Fold tests suggest a primary origin of the magnetization. Comparison of the paleomagnetic direction with the coeval expected direction from reference poles indicates a negligible amount of northward movement consistent with previous result of inclination correction based on magnetic fabrics, and a pattern of clockwise rotation symmetric with the style observed in the western flank of the Pamir ranges. Rock magnetic data will also be presented to support the accurate paleomagnetic record.
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Jess, S.; Stephenson, R.; Brown, R. W.
2017-12-01
The elevated continental margins of the North Atlantic continue to be a focus of considerable geological and geomorphological debate, as the timing of major tectonic events and the age of topographic relief remain controversial. The West Greenland margin, on the eastern flank of Baffin Bay, is believed by some authors to have experienced tectonic rejuvenation and uplift during the Neogene. However, the opposing flank, Baffin Island, is considered to have experienced a protracted erosional regime with little tectonic activity since the Cretaceous. This work examines the thermal evolution of the Cumberland Peninsula, SE Baffin Island, using published apatite fission track (AFT) data with the addition of 103 apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) ages. This expansion of available thermochronological data introduces a higher resolution of thermal modelling, whilst the application of the newly developed `Broken Crystals' technique provides a greater number of thermal constraints for an area dominated by AHe age dispersion. Results of joint thermal modelling of the AFT and AHe data exhibit two significant periods of cooling across the Cumberland Peninsula: Devonian/Carboniferous to the Triassic and Late Cretaceous to present. The earliest phase of cooling is interpreted as the result of major fluvial systems present throughout the Paleozoic that flowed across the Canadian Shield to basins in the north and south. The later stage of cooling is believed to result from rift controlled fluvial systems that flowed into Baffin Bay during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic during the early stages and culmination of rifting along the Labrador-Baffin margins. Glaciation in the Late Cenozoic has likely overprinted these later river systems creating a complex fjordal distribution that has shaped the modern elevated topography. This work demonstrates how surface processes, and not tectonism, can explain the formation of elevated continental margins and that recent methodological developments in the field of
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Metal sources in Jurassic to miocene ore deposits of Ecuador
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Chiaradia, M.; Fontbote, L
2001-01-01
The Ecuadorian crust is a mosaic of NNE-SSW-trending terranes representing different geotectonic domains. These terranes, composed by oceanic and continental crust, were formed during the Triassic separation of the North and South American continents and were accreted to the Amazon craton during subduction of the Farallon/Nazca plate, from Early Cretaceous to Early Tertiary (Litherland et al., 1994). In the southwestern part of Ecuador, EW-striking crustal-scale faults, related to the Huancabamba deflection, mark the transition between the Central and Northern Andes. In this study we discuss more than 200 lead isotope compositions of ores as well as magmatic and metamorphic rocks of Ecuador. The interest of carrying out a large-scale isotope survey in the Northern Andes derives from a geotectonic evolution characterized by multi-accretionary episodes which is not recognized in the Central Andes (au)
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Dumont, Thierry; Schwartz, Stéphane; Matthews, Steve; Malusa, Marco; Jouvent, Marine
2017-04-01
The tectonic contact separating continental and oceanic units is preserved at outcrop in many locations within the Western Alps. The contact has experienced prolonged and progressive deformation during Oligocene collision and subsequent 'extrusive' contraction which is approximately westerly-directed (Dumont et al., 2012). Despite variable metamorphic grade, this tectonic contact displays a relative consistency of tectonostratigraphic and structural characteristics. Removal of the Oligocene and younger deformation is a critical requirement to allow assessment of the kinematic evolution during the Eocene continental subduction phase. The best preserved relationships are observed near the base of the Helminthoid Flysch nappes, in the footwall of the Penninic thrust, or in the external part of the Briançonnais zone. Here, the oceanic units are composed of detached Cretaceous sediments, but they are underlain locally by an olistostrome containing basaltic clasts. Further to the east, the internal boundary of the Briançonnais zone s.l. (including the 'Prepiedmont units'), is frequently marked by breccia or megabreccia, but is strongly affected by blueschist-facies metamorphism and by approximately easterly directed backfolding and backthrusting. At one locality, there is compelling evidence that the oceanic and continental units were already tectonically stacked and metamorphosed (together) 32Ma ago. Some megabreccias of mixed continental/oceanic provenance can be interpreted as a metamorphic equivalent of the external olistostrome, products of the initial pulses of tectonic stacking. The overlying units are composed dominantly of metasediments, containing distributed ophiolitic megaboudins (Tricart & Schwartz, 2006). Further east again, the tectonic contact separates the Dora-Maira continental basement from the Mt. Viso units which are predominantly composed of oceanic lithosphere. Both the Dora-Maira and Mt. Viso units are eclogitic, but the HP peak is apparently
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40Ar/39Ar dating of the Late Cretaceous
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gaylor, Jonathan
2013-01-01
As part of the wider European GTS Next project, I propose new constraints on the ages of the Late Cretaceous, derived from a multitude of geochronological techniques, and successful stratigraphic interpretations from Canada and Japan. In the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, we propose a new constraint on the age of the K/Pg boundary in the Red Deer River section (Alberta, Canada). We were able to cyclo-stratigraphically tune sediments in a non-marine, fluvial environment utilising high-resolution proxy records suggesting a 11-12 precession related cyclicity. Assuming the 40 Ar/ 39 Ar method is inter-calibrated with the cyclo-stratigraphy, the apparent age for C29r suggests that the K/Pg boundary falls between eccentricity maxima and minima, yielding an age of the C29r between 65.89 ± 0.08 and 66.30 ± 0.08 Ma. Assuming that the bundle containing the coal horizon represents a precession cycle, the K/Pg boundary is within the analytical uncertainty of the youngest zircon population achieving a revised age for the K/Pg boundary as 65.75 ± 0.06 Ma. The Campanian - Maastrichtian boundary is preserved in the sedimentary succession of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation and has been placed 8 m below Coal nr. 10. Cyclo-stratigraphic studies show that the formation of these depositional sequences (alternations) of all scales are influenced directly by sea-level changes due to precession but more dominated by eccentricity cycles proved in the cyclo-stratigraphic framework and is mainly controlled by sand horizons, which have been related by auto-cyclicity in a dynamic sedimentary setting. Our work shows that the Campanian - Maastrichtian boundary in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin coincides with 2.5 eccentricity cycles above the youngest zircon age population at the bottom of the section and 4.9 Myr before the Cretaceous - Palaeogene boundary (K/Pg), and thus corresponds to an absolute age of 70.65 ± 0.09 Ma producing an 1.4 Myr younger age than recent published ages
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Tunheim, Ragnhild Johanne
2015-01-01
The Permian to Jurassic stratigraphy of the Colorado Plateau includes a number of units that were deposited under arid depositional conditions. These units each show distinctive weathering characteristics which cannot solely be attributed to variation in depositional environment or burial history. The stratigraphic units are the Permian Cutler Formation, the Triassic Chinle Formation, the Jurassic Wingate Sandstone, the Kayenta Formation, the Navajo Sandstone, the Slickrock Member and the Moa...
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The debate over the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary
Alvarez, W.; Asaro, F.; Alvarez, L. W.; Michel, H. V.
1988-01-01
Large-body impact on the Earth is a rare but indisputable geologic process. The impact rate is approximately known from objects discovered in Earth-crossing orbits and from the statistics of craters on the Earth's surface. Tektite and microtektite strewn fields constitute unmistakable ejecta deposits that can be due only to large-body impacts. The Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary coincides with an unusually severe biological trauma, and this stratigraphic horizon is marked on a worldwide basis by anomalous concentrations of noble metals in chondritic proportions, mineral spherules with relict quench-crystallization textures, and mineral and rock grains showing shock deformation. These features are precisely compatible with an impact origin. Although only impact explains all the types of K-T boundary evidence, the story may not be as simple as once thought. The original hypothesis envisioned one large impact, triggering one great extinction. Newer evidence hints at various complications. Different challenges are faced by the occupants of each apex of a three-cornered argument over the K-T event. Proponents of a non-impact explanation must show that the evidence fits their preferred model better than it fits the impact scenario. Proponents of the single impact-single extinction view must explain away the complications. Proponents of a more complex impact crisis must develop a reasonable scenario which honors the new evidence.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Valentin Fischer
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Ichthyosauria is a diverse clade of marine amniotes that spanned most of the Mesozoic. Until recently, most authors interpreted the fossil record as showing that three major extinction events affected this group during its history: one during the latest Triassic, one at the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary (JCB, and one (resulting in total extinction at the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary. The JCB was believed to eradicate most of the peculiar morphotypes found in the Late Jurassic, in favor of apparently less specialized forms in the Cretaceous. However, the record of ichthyosaurs from the Berriasian-Barremian interval is extremely limited, and the effects of the end-Jurassic extinction event on ichthyosaurs remains poorly understood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Based on new material from the Hauterivian of England and Germany and on abundant material from the Cambridge Greensand Formation, we name a new ophthalmosaurid, Acamptonectes densus gen. et sp. nov. This taxon shares numerous features with Ophthalmosaurus, a genus now restricted to the Callovian-Berriasian interval. Our phylogenetic analysis indicates that Ophthalmosauridae diverged early in its history into two markedly distinct clades, Ophthalmosaurinae and Platypterygiinae, both of which cross the JCB and persist to the late Albian at least. To evaluate the effect of the JCB extinction event on ichthyosaurs, we calculated cladogenesis, extinction, and survival rates for each stage of the Oxfordian-Barremian interval, under different scenarios. The extinction rate during the JCB never surpasses the background extinction rate for the Oxfordian-Barremian interval and the JCB records one of the highest survival rates of the interval. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: There is currently no evidence that ichthyosaurs were affected by the JCB extinction event, in contrast to many other marine groups. Ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs remained diverse from their rapid radiation in the Middle
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Fischer, Valentin; Maisch, Michael W.; Naish, Darren; Kosma, Ralf; Liston, Jeff; Joger, Ulrich; Krüger, Fritz J.; Pérez, Judith Pardo; Tainsh, Jessica
2012-01-01
Background Ichthyosauria is a diverse clade of marine amniotes that spanned most of the Mesozoic. Until recently, most authors interpreted the fossil record as showing that three major extinction events affected this group during its history: one during the latest Triassic, one at the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary (JCB), and one (resulting in total extinction) at the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary. The JCB was believed to eradicate most of the peculiar morphotypes found in the Late Jurassic, in favor of apparently less specialized forms in the Cretaceous. However, the record of ichthyosaurs from the Berriasian–Barremian interval is extremely limited, and the effects of the end-Jurassic extinction event on ichthyosaurs remains poorly understood. Methodology/Principal Findings Based on new material from the Hauterivian of England and Germany and on abundant material from the Cambridge Greensand Formation, we name a new ophthalmosaurid, Acamptonectes densus gen. et sp. nov. This taxon shares numerous features with Ophthalmosaurus, a genus now restricted to the Callovian–Berriasian interval. Our phylogenetic analysis indicates that Ophthalmosauridae diverged early in its history into two markedly distinct clades, Ophthalmosaurinae and Platypterygiinae, both of which cross the JCB and persist to the late Albian at least. To evaluate the effect of the JCB extinction event on ichthyosaurs, we calculated cladogenesis, extinction, and survival rates for each stage of the Oxfordian–Barremian interval, under different scenarios. The extinction rate during the JCB never surpasses the background extinction rate for the Oxfordian–Barremian interval and the JCB records one of the highest survival rates of the interval. Conclusions/Significance There is currently no evidence that ichthyosaurs were affected by the JCB extinction event, in contrast to many other marine groups. Ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs remained diverse from their rapid radiation in the Middle Jurassic to
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Determination of depositional beryllium-10 fluxes in the area of the Laptev sea
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Strobl, C.; Schulz, V.; Schaeper, S.; Molnar, M.; Baumann, S.; Mangini [Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Heidelberg (Germany); Kubik, P.W. [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)
1997-09-01
A huge amount of continental {sup 10}Be is delivered to the Arctic Ocean through the rivers. Our investigations show that the most extensive part of it is deposited directly in the shelf areas. The determined sedimentation flux densities in the continental slope and in the Central Arctic Ocean are in the range of the assumed atmospheric input of {sup 10}Be and therefore clearly lower than in the shelf areas. (author) 1 fig., 2 refs.
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The cretaceous/tertiary-boundary impact and its global effects with reference to Australia
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sutherland, F.L.
1996-01-01
Considerable evidence exists for a major meteoritic impact at Chicxulub, Mexico, and its effects at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary (KTB). It includes a buried crater, subglobal ejecta, and global fireball deposits that incorporate shocked minerals and non-terrestrial spinels. Platinum-group-element enrichments (Ir anomaly) and marked C- and O-isotope shifts at the KTB coincide with an extinction event. Australia contributes little to the KTB impact story as far, but was isolated from the severest impact and extinction effects. A Chicxulub strike (C- or L-chondrite impactor) explains many KTB features, but does not satisfy all KTB studies. Continuing KTB impact debates include the size of Chicxulub crater, the extent of heterogeneous spinels. The role of KTB plume volcanism (whether impact-induced or not) and the nature of KTB extinctions (whether caused by climatic cooling or warming and whether sharp, gradual or latitudinally reduced) are also in debate. This synthesis suggests that the Chicxulub impact produced a crater 180 km wide and possibly induced tsunamigenic activity; that compositional differences between impact deposits might reflect more that one impact coinciding with the KTB; that the Deccan volcanism predates the KTB in India; and that several KTB studies tentatively suggest maximum impact and subordinate volcanic effects within lower latitudes. 98 refs., 4 figs
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The genesis of Kurišková U-Mo ore deposit
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Demko, R.; Biroň, A.; Novotný, L.; Bartalský, B.
2014-01-01
The U-Mo ores of the known uranium deposit Kurišková located in the Huta volcano-sedimentary complex (HVC) of lower Permian age belongs to the Petrova Hora Formation of the North-Gemeric tectonic unit (Western Carpathians). The HVC is built up by volcanic rocks of bimodal basalt-rhyolite association, intercalated with sandstones, mudstones and claystones. Based on the sedimentary facies reconstruction, it is supposed paleoenvironment of seasonally flooded shallow lakes of continental fluvial plain with transition to estuaries and shallow marine facies of continental shelf in the upper part of HVC.
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Benthic oxygen consumption on continental shelves off eastern Canada
Grant, Jonathan; Emerson, Craig W.; Hargrave, Barry T.; Shortle, Jeannette L.
1991-08-01
The consumption of phytoplankton production by the benthos is an important component of organic carbon budgets for continental shelves. Sediment texture is a major factor regulating benthic processes because fine sediment areas are sites of enhanced deposition from the water column, resulting in increased organic content, bacterial biomass and community metabolism. Although continental shelves at mid- to high latitudes consist primarily of coarse relict sediments ( PIPER, Continental Shelf Research, 11, 1013-1035), shelf regions of boreal and subarctic eastern Canada contain large areas of silt and clay sediments ( FADER, Continental Shelf Research, 11, 1123-1153). We collated estimates of benthic oxygen consumption in coarse (<20% silt-clay, <0.5% organic matter) and fine sediments (20% silt-clay, 0.5% organic matter) for northwest Atlantic continental shelves including new data for Georges Bank, the Scotian Shelf, the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and Labrador Shelf. Estimates were applied to the areal distribution of sediment type on these shelves to obtain a general relationship between sediment texture and benthic carbon consumption. Mean benthic oxygen demand was 2.7 times greater in fine sediment than in coarse sediment, when normalized to mean annual temperature. In terms of carbon equivalents, shelf regions with minimal fine sediment (Georges Bank, the Grand Banks of Newfoundland-northeast Newfoundland) consumed only 5-8% of annual primary production. Benthos of the Gulf of Maine (100% fine sediment) and the Scotian Shelf (35% fine sediment) utilized 16-19% of primary production. Although 32% of the Labrador Shelf area contained fine sediments, benthic consumption of pelagic production (8%) was apparently limited by low mean annual temperature (2°C). These results indicate that incorporation of sediment-specific oxygen uptake into shelf carbon budgets may increase estimates of benthic consumption by 50%. Furthermore, respiration and production by large
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Schulz, Klaus J.; Woodruff, Laurel G.; Nicholson, Suzanne W.; Seal, Robert R.; Piatak, Nadine M.; Chandler, Val W.; Mars, John L.
2014-01-01
Magmatic sulfide deposits containing nickel (Ni) and copper (Cu), with or without (±) platinum-group elements (PGE), account for approximately 60 percent of the world’s nickel production. Most of the remainder of the Ni production is derived from lateritic deposits, which form by weathering of ultramafic rocks in humid tropical conditions. Magmatic Ni-Cu±PGE sulfide deposits are spatially and genetically related to bodies of mafic and/or ultramafic rocks. The sulfide deposits form when the mantle-derived mafic and/or ultramafic magmas become sulfide-saturated and segregate immiscible sulfide liquid, commonly following interaction with continental crustal rocks.
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High-resolution leaf-fossil record spanning the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary
Johnson, K.R.; Nichols, D.J.; Attrep, M.; Orth, C.J.
1989-01-01
THEORIES that explain the extinctions characterizing the Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary1-3 need to be tested by analyses of thoroughly sampled biotas. Palynological studies are the primary means for stratigraphic placement of the terrestrial boundary and for estimates of plant extinction4-12, but have not been combined with quantitative analyses of fossil leaves (megaflora). Megafloral studies complement palynology by representing local floras with assemblages capable of high taxonomic resolution13, but have previously lacked the sample size and stratigraphic spacing needed to resolve latest Cretaceous floral history5,14-18. We have now combined megafloral data from a 100-m-thick composite K/T boundary section in North Dakota with detailed palynological analysis. Here the boundary is marked by a 30% palynofloral extinction coincident with iridium and shocked-mineral anomalies and lies ???2 m above the highest dinosaur remains. The megaflora undergoes a 79% turnover across the boundary, and smaller changes 17- and 25-m below it. This pattern is consistent with latest Cretaceous climatic warming preceding a bolide impact. ?? 1989 Nature Publishing Group.
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The development of continental crust through geological time: the South African case
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Dia, A.; Allegre, C.J.; Erlank, A.J.
1990-01-01
Nd isotopic compositions and 147 Sm/ 144 Nd ratios were measured in fifty-eight South African shales and greywackes with depositional ages ranging from 0.2 to 3.3 b.y. Elements such as the rare earths, which are poorly soluble in water and not fractionated during exogeneous processes, preserve the signature of the original crustal source. The 147 Sm/ 144 Nd ratios appear to be approximately constant throughout the time interval sampled. We calculated Nd model ages of crustal differentiation. Knowing that the shales represent a true blend of different continental areas we consider these model ages representative of the mean ages of their primitive continental sources. Then, using the inverse technique developed by Allegre and Rousseau in 1984, we computed a growth curve for the continental crust in South Africa. Two periods of important crustal genesis (Archaean and around 1.5 b.y.) can be compared with the observed geology and with other continental crust growth curves obtained in previous studies in southern Africa and in Australia. The observation of large variations in the MgO content and Ni, Cr, U and Th concentrations between Archaean South African shales and post-Archaean samples compared to the constancy of the 147 Sm/ 144 Nd ratios leads us to propose that the Archaean crust was composed of both granite (70.5%) and a mafic component (29.5%) which could have been komatiite. The small dispersion of 147 Sm/ 144 Nd ratios suggests that erosion and sedimentation processes yielded homogeneous Archaean shales. The present-day continental crust is much more heterogeneous, because it has undergone several episodes of recycling. Thus recent shales are characterized by more variable 147 Sm/ 144 Nd ratios. (orig.)
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ZUO, Xuran; CHAN, Lung
2015-04-01
The southern South China Block is characterized by a widespread magmatic belt, prominent NE-striking fault zones and numerous rifted basins filled by Cretaceous-Eocene sediments. The geology denotes a transition from an active to a passive margin, which led to rapid modifications of crustal stress configuration and reactivation of older faults in this area. In this study, we used zircon fission-track dating (ZFT) and numerical modeling to examine the timing and kinematics of the active-passive margin transition. Our ZFT results on granitic plutons in the SW Cathaysia Block show two episodes of exhumation of the granitic plutons. The first episode, occurring during 170 Ma - 120 Ma, affected local parts of the Nanling Range. The second episode, a more regional exhumation event, occurred during 115 Ma - 70 Ma. Numerical geodynamic modeling was conducted to simulate the subduction between the paleo-Pacific plate and the South China Block. The modeling results could explain the observation based on ZFT data that exhumation of the granite-dominant Nanling Range occurred at an earlier time than the gneiss-dominant Yunkai Terrane. In addition to the difference in geology between Yunkai and Nanling, the heating from Jurassic-Early Cretaceous magmatism in the Nanling Range may have softened the upper crust, causing the area to exhume more readily. Numerical modeling results also indicate that (1) high slab dip angle, high geothermal gradient of lithosphere and low convergence velocity favor the subduction process and the reversal of crustal stress state from compression to extension in the upper plate; (2) the late Mesozoic magmatism in South China was probably caused by a slab roll-back; and (3) crustal extension could have occurred prior to the cessation of plate subduction. The inversion of stress regime in the continental crust from compression to crustal extension has shed light on the geological condition producing the red bed basins during Late Cretaceous
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Cornejo, Paula; Matthews, Stephen
2001-01-01
We present geochronological and petrological data for extrusive and intrusive rocks in the Inca de Oro and El Salvador sheets (in prep.), and the Potrerillos (Tomlinson et al., 1999) and Salar de Maricunga sheets (Cornejo et al., 1998), III Region, Chile (26 o -27 o S). Most of these data were collected as part of the SERNAGEOMIN regional mapping programme. Additionally, we include published data for El Salvador and Potrerillos districts (Cornejo et al., 1997; Marsh et al., 1997; Gustafson et al., 2001). The dataset includes K/Ar, Ar/Ar and U-Pb mineral ages, which have been carefully selected for quality. The area is underlain by Carboniferous-Permian granitic basement rocks, which are covered by Triassic to Early Upper Cretaceous volcanic and sedimentary successions, including both marine and continental sequences (Cornejo et al., 1993). The period studied in this paper includes extrusive and intrusive rocks of Maastrichtian to Oligocene age, which are of particular interest since they record the 'preparation' of the lithosphere prior to, during, and after the mid-Eocene Incaic deformation and associated porphyry copper event. Shortening in the early-upper Cretaceous (95-85Ma; e.g. Mpodozis and Ramos, 1989; Arevalo and Grocott, 2000) deformed large areas of northen Chile, and marked the transition from the dominance of intra-arc extension to that of shortening punctuated by periods of extension. We recognise seven tectono-magmatic periods from the uppermost Cretaceous to Oligocene, comprising a volcanic sedimentary event contemporaneous with an extensional tectonic regime in the Upper Cretaceous, associated with graben formation, followed by an important compressive event at the beginning of the Tertiary. The middle Paleocene was again dominated by voluminous volcanic activity (collapse calderas) in an extensional regime. During the lowest Eocene the magmatic activity in the area shows a gradual transition from pyroxene-bearing to amphibole-bearing lithologies
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Caricchi, C.; Lucchi, R. G.; Sagnotti, L.; Macrì, P.; Morigi, C.; Melis, R.; Caffau, M.; Rebesco, M.; Hanebuth, T. J. J.
2018-01-01
Paleomagnetic and rock magnetic data were measured on glaciomarine silty-clay successions along an E-W sediment-core transect across the continental shelf and slope of the Kveithola paleo-ice stream system (south of Svalbard, north-western Barents Sea), representing a stratigraphic interval spanning the last deglaciation and the Holocene. The records indicate that magnetite is the main magnetic mineral and that magnetic minerals are distinctly less abundant on the shelf than at the continental slope. The paleomagnetic properties allow for the reconstruction of a well-defined characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) throughout the sedimentary successions. The stratigraphic trends of rock magnetic and paleomagnetic parameters are used for a shelf-slope core correlation and sediment facies analysis is applied for depositional processes reconstruction. The new paleomagnetic records compare to the PSV and RPI variation predicted for the core sites by a simulation using the global geomagnetic field variation models SHA.DIF.14k and CALS7K.2 and closest PSV and RPI regional stack curves. The elaborated dataset, corroborated by available 14C ages, provides a fundamental chronological framework to constrain the coupling of shelf-slope sedimentary processes and environmental changes in the NW Barents Sea region during and after deglaciation.
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Chen, Xin; Xu, Rongke; Schertl, Hans-Peter; Zheng, Youye
2018-06-01
In the North Qaidam ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic belt, impure marble and interbedded eclogite represent a particular sedimentary provenance and tectonic setting, which have important implications for a controversial problem - the dynamic evolution of early Paleozoic subduction-collision complexes. In this contribution, detailed field work, mineral chemistry, and whole-rock geochemistry are presented for impure marble to provide the first direct evidence for the recycling of carbonate sediments under ultrahigh-pressures during subduction and collision in the Yuka terrane, in the North Qaidam UHP metamorphic belt. According to conventional geothermobarometry, pre-peak subduction to 0.8-1.3 GPa/485-569 °C was followed by peak UHP metamorphism at 2.5-3.3 GPa/567-754 °C and cooling to amphibolite facies conditions at 0.6-0.7 GPa/571-589 °C. U-Pb dating of zircons from impure marble reveals a large group with ages ranging from 441 to 458 Ma (peak at 450 Ma), a smaller group ranging from 770 to 1000 Ma (peak at 780 Ma), and minor >1.8 Ga zircon aged ca. 430 Ma UHP metamorphism. The youngest detrital zircons suggest a maximum depositional age of ca. 442 Ma and a burial rate of ca. 1.0-1.1 cm/yr when combined with P-T conditions and UHP metamorphic age. The REE and trace element patterns of impure marble with positive Sr and U anomalies, negative high field strength elements (Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, and Ti), and Ce anomalies imply that the marble had a marine limestone precursor. Impure marble intercalated with micaschist and eclogite was similar to limestone and siltstone protoliths deposited in continental fore-arc or arc setting with basic volcanic activity. Therefore, the Yuka terrane most likely evolved in a continental island arc setting during the Paleozoic. These data suggest that metasediments were derived from a mixture of Proterozoic continental crust and juvenile early Paleozoic oceanic and/or island arc crust. In addition, their protoliths were likely
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Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Roček, Zbyněk
2008-01-01
Roč. 29, č. 4 (2008), s. 577-591 ISSN 0195-6671 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30130516 Keywords : Amphibia * Anura * Gobiatidae * Cretaceous * Cretaceous (Mongolia) Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 0.938, year: 2008
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Befus, K.S.; Hanson, R.E.; Miggins, D.P.; Breyer, J.A.; Busbey, A.B.
2009-01-01
Eocene intrusion of alkaline basaltic to trachyandesitic magmas into unlithified, Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) to Eocene fluvial strata in part of the Trans-Pecos igneous province in West Texas produced an array of features recording both nonexplosive and explosive magma/wet-sediment interaction. Intrusive complexes with 40Ar/39Ar dates of ~ 47-46??Ma consist of coherent basalt, peperite, and disrupted sediment. Two of the complexes cutting Cretaceous strata contain masses of conglomerate derived from Eocene fluvial deposits that, at the onset of intrusive activity, would have been > 400-500??m above the present level of exposure. These intrusive complexes are inferred to be remnants of diatremes that fed maar volcanoes during an early stage of magmatism in this part of the Trans-Pecos province. Disrupted Cretaceous strata along diatreme margins record collapse of conduit walls during and after subsurface phreatomagmatic explosions. Eocene conglomerate slumped downward from higher levels during vent excavation. Coherent to pillowed basaltic intrusions emplaced at the close of explosive activity formed peperite within the conglomerate, within disrupted Cretaceous strata in the conduit walls, and within inferred remnants of the phreatomagmatic slurry that filled the vents during explosive volcanism. A younger series of intrusions with 40Ar/39Ar dates of ~ 42??Ma underwent nonexplosive interaction with Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene mud and sand. Dikes and sills show fluidal, billowed, quenched margins against the host strata, recording development of surface instabilities between magma and groundwater-rich sediment. Accentuation of billowed margins resulted in propagation of intrusive pillows into the adjacent sediment. More intense disruption and mingling of quenched magma with sediment locally produced fluidal and blocky peperite, but sufficient volumes of pore fluid were not heated rapidly enough to generate phreatomagmatic explosions. This work suggests that
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Desa, Maria Ana; Ismaiel, Mohammad; Suresh, Yenne; Krishna, Kolluru Sree
2018-05-01
The ocean floor in the Bay of Bengal has evolved after the breakup of India from Antarctica since the Early Cretaceous. Recent geophysical investigations including updated satellite derived gravity map postulated two phases for the tectonic evolution of the Bay of Bengal, the first phase of spreading occurred in the NW-SE direction forming its Western Basin, while the second phase occurred in the N-S direction resulting in its Eastern Basin. Lack of magnetic data along the spreading direction in the Western Basin prompted us to acquire new magnetic data along four tracks (totaling ∼3000 km) to validate the previously identified magnetic anomaly picks. Comparison of the synthetic seafloor spreading model with the observed magnetic anomalies confirmed the presence of Mesozoic anomalies M12n to M0 in the Western Basin. Further, the model suggests that this spreading between India and Antarctica took place with half-spreading rates of 2.7-4.5 cm/yr. The trend of the fracture zones in the Western Basin with respect to that of the Southeastern Continental Margin of India (SCMI) suggests that SCMI is an oblique transform margin with 37° obliquity. Further, the SCMI consists of two oblique transform segments separated by a small rift segment. The strike-slip motion along the SCMI is bounded by the rift segments of the Northeastern Continental Margin of India and the southern margin of Sri Lanka. The margin configuration and fracture zones inferred in its conjugate Western Enderby Basin, East Antarctica helped in inferring three spreading corridors off the SCMI in the Western Basin of the Bay of Bengal. Detailed grid reconstruction models traced the oblique strike-slip motion off the SCMI since M12n time. The strike-slip motion along the short northern transform segment ended by M11n time. The longer transform segment, found east of Sri Lanka lost its obliquity and became a pure oceanic transform fault by M0 time. The eastward propagation of the Africa
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A new Early Cretaceous eutherian mammal from the Sasayama Group, Hyogo, Japan.
Kusuhashi, Nao; Tsutsumi, Yukiyasu; Saegusa, Haruo; Horie, Kenji; Ikeda, Tadahiro; Yokoyama, Kazumi; Shiraishi, Kazuyuki
2013-05-22
We here describe a new Early Cretaceous (early Albian) eutherian mammal, Sasayamamylos kawaii gen. et sp. nov., from the 'Lower Formation' of the Sasayama Group, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Sasayamamylos kawaii is characterized by a robust dentary, a distinct angle on the ventral margin of the dentary at the posterior end of the mandibular symphysis, a lower dental formula of 3-4 : 1 : 4 : 3, a robust lower canine, a non-molariform lower ultimate premolar, and a secondarily reduced entoconid on the molars. To date, S. kawaii is the earliest known eutherian mammal possessing only four premolars, which demonstrates that the reduction in the premolar count in eutherians started in the late Early Cretaceous. The occurrence of S. kawaii implies that the relatively rapid diversification of eutherians in the mid-Cretaceous had already started by the early Albian.
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Rib fracture in Prognathodon saturator (Mosasauridae, Late Cretaceous)
Schulp, Anne S.; Walenkamp, G. H I M; Hofman, P.A.M.; Rothschild, B. M.; Jagt, J. W M
2004-01-01
Two unusual bumps occur on the internal surface of a rib of the marine reptile Prognathodon saturator from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Maastricht, The Netherlands. These bumps are interpreted as stress fractures, possibly related to agonistic behaviour.
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Elling, R. P.; Stein, C. A.; Stein, S.; Kley, J.; Keller, G. R.; Wysession, M. E.
2017-12-01
Continental rifts evolve to seafloor spreading and are preserved in passive margins, or fail and remain as fossil features in continents. Rifts at different stages give insight into these evolutionary paths. Of particular interest is the evolution of volcanic passive margins, which are characterized by seaward dipping reflectors, volcanic rocks yielding magnetic anomalies landward of the oldest spreading anomalies, and are underlain by high-velocity lower crustal bodies. How and when these features form remains unclear. Insights are given by the Midcontinent Rift (MCR), which began to form during the 1.1 Ga rifting of Amazonia from Laurentia, but failed when seafloor spreading was established elsewhere. MCR volcanics are much thicker than other continental flood basalts, due to deposition in a narrow rift rather than a broad region, giving a rift's geometry but a LIP's magma volume. The MCR provides a snapshot of the deposition of a thick and highly magnetized volcanic section during rifting. Surface exposures and reflection seismic data near Lake Superior show a rift basin filled by inward-dipping flood basalt layers. Had the rift evolved to seafloor spreading, the basin would have split into two sets of volcanics with opposite-facing SDRs, each with a magnetic anomaly. Because the rift formed as a series of alternating half-grabens, structural asymmetries between conjugate margins would have naturally occurred had it gone to completion. Hence the MCR implies that many passive margin features form prior to seafloor spreading. Massive inversion of the MCR long after it failed has provided a much clearer picture of its structure compared to failed rifts with lesser degrees of inversion. Seismic imaging as well as gravity and magnetic modeling provide important insight into the effects of inversion on failed rifts. The MCR provides an end member for the evolution of actively extending rifts, characterized by upwelling mantle and negative gravity anomalies, to failed
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Liu, Di; Chiappe, Luis M; Zhang, Yuguang; Bell, Alyssa; Meng, Qingjin; Ji, Qiang; Wang, Xuri
2014-11-14
We describe a new ornithuromorph bird species, Gansus zheni from the Lower Cretaceous lacustrine deposits of the Jiufotang Formation (Jehol Group), Liaoning Province, China. A cladistic analysis resolves Gansus zheni as the sister taxon of the roughly contemporaneous Gansus yumenensis (Xiagou Formation, Gansu Province), and together as the most immediate outgroup to Ornithurae. Gansus zheni is the most advanced bird known today for the Jehol Biota. Its discovery provides the best-documented case of inter-basinal correlations (Jehol and Changma basins of Liaoning and Gansu provinces, respectively) using low-taxonomic clades of fossil birds. The existence of close relatives of Ornithurae in deposits formed at about 120 million years ago helps to mitigate the long-standing controversy between molecular and paleontological evidence for the temporal divergence of modern birds (Neornithes).
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alexandre Cunha Ribeiro
Full Text Available The eastern Brazilian coastal drainages are of great biogeographical significance, because of their highly endemic fish faunas. Phylogenetic patterns suggest a close biotic relationship between the rivers that flow into the Atlantic and those on the adjacent upland crystalline shield. However, little has been said on the dynamics of the geological processes causally related to the cladogenetic events between these areas. Distributional and phylogenetic patterns suggest a close association with the geological history of the passive continental margin of South America, from the Cretaceous to the present day. In this area megadome uplifts, rifting, vertical movements between rifted blocks and the erosive retreat of the South American eastern continental margin are hypothesized as the main geological forces controlling the distribution of freshwater fishes. The tectonic activity associated with the break-up of Gondwana and separation of South America and Africa formed six megadomes that control most of the current courses of the main crystalline shield river basins. Except for basins located at the edges of such megadomes, these river systems developed long, circuitous routes over the ancient Brazilian crystalline shield before emptying into the recently opened Atlantic Ocean. Initial cladogenetic events between upland crystalline drainages and Atlantic tributaries were probably associated with vicariant processes, and some ancient basal sister-groups of widespread inclusive taxa are found in these coastal hydrographic systems. Later, generalized erosive denudation resulted in an isostatic adjustment of the eastern margin of the platform. These, along with reactivations of ancient rifts led to vertical movements between rifted blocks and gave rise, in southeastern Brazil, to taphrogenic (rift related basins. These basins, such as the Taubaté, São Paulo, Curitiba and Volta Redonda basins, among others, captured adjacent upland drainages and fauna
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Climatic controls on arid continental basin margin systems
Gough, Amy; Clarke, Stuart; Richards, Philip; Milodowski, Antoni
2016-04-01
Alluvial fans are both dominant and long-lived within continental basin margin systems. As a result, they commonly interact with a variety of depositional systems that exist at different times in the distal extent of the basin as the basin evolves. The deposits of the distal basin often cycle between those with the potential to act as good aquifers and those with the potential to act as good aquitards. The interactions between the distal deposits and the basin margin fans can have a significant impact upon basin-scale fluid flow. The fans themselves are commonly considered as relatively homogeneous, but their sedimentology is controlled by a variety of factors, including: 1) differing depositional mechanisms; 2) localised autocyclic controls; 3) geometrical and temporal interactions with deposits of the basin centre; and, 4) long-term allocyclic climatic variations. This work examines the basin margin systems of the Cutler Group sediments of the Paradox Basin, western U.S.A and presents generalised facies models for the Cutler Group alluvial fans as well as for the zone of interaction between these fans and the contemporaneous environments in the basin centre, at a variety of scales. Small-scale controls on deposition include climate, tectonics, base level and sediment supply. It has been ascertained that long-term climatic alterations were the main control on these depositional systems. Models have been constructed to highlight how both long-term and short-term alterations in the climatic regime can affect the sedimentation in the basin. These models can be applied to better understand similar, but poorly exposed, alluvial fan deposits. The alluvial fans of the Brockram Facies, northern England form part of a once-proposed site for low-level nuclear waste decommissioning. As such, it is important to understand the sedimentology, three-dimensional geometry, and the proposed connectivity of the deposits from the perspective of basin-scale fluid flow. The developed
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Rare earth elements distribution in clay zones of sedimentary formation, Pondicherry, south India
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tirumalesh, K.; Gursharan Singh
2012-01-01
Concentrations of five rare earth elements (REE) were measured in clay samples of a deep bore hole comprising major aquifers of Pondicherry region, south India in order to investigate the geochemical variations among various litho-units. Clay samples from Cretaceous formation show distinct gray to black color whereas Tertiary deposits have clays with color varying from pale yellow to brown to gray. All measured REEs exhibit lower concentrations than Upper Continental Crust (UCC) average values. Large variations in REEs contents were observed in different sedimentary formations (Tertiary and Cretaceous). Chondrite normalized ratio of La/Lu and Eu/Eu* indicate that the clays are derived from weathering of felsic rock and possibly under humid climate. All the samples showed positive Eu anomaly in North American Shale Composite (NASC) normalized plot which shows plagioclase feldspar as the major contributor to these clays. Positive Eu anomaly is also an indication of reduced condition of the formation. (author)
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Dinosaur trackways from the early Late Cretaceous of western Cameroon
Martin, Jeremy E.; Menkem, Elie Fosso; Djomeni, Adrien; Fowe, Paul Gustave; Ntamak-Nida, Marie-Joseph
2017-10-01
Dinosaur trackways have rarely been reported in Cretaceous strata across the African continent. To the exception of ichnological occurrences in Morocco, Tunisia, Niger and Cameroon, our knowledge on the composition of Cretaceous dinosaur faunas mostly relies on skeletal evidence. For the first time, we document several dinosaur trackways from the Cretaceous of the Mamfe Basin in western Cameroon. Small and medium-size tridactyl footprints as well as numerous large circular footprints are present on a single horizon showing mudcracks and ripple marks. The age of the locality is considered Cenomanian-Turonian and if confirmed, this ichnological assemblage could be younger than the dinosaur footprints reported from northern Cameroon, and coeval with or younger than skeletal remains reported from the Saharan region. These trackways were left in an adjacent subsiding basin along the southern shore of the Benue Trough during a time of high-sea stand when the Trans-Saharan Seaway was already disconnecting West Africa from the rest of the continent. We predict that other similar track sites may be occurring along the margin of the Benue Trough and may eventually permit to test hypotheses related to provincialism among African dinosaur faunas.
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Peulvast, Jean-Pierre; de Claudino Sales, Vanda
2004-09-01
From the Parnaiba Basin to the Borborema Plateau (northeastern Brazil), the crystalline and sedimentary highlands and plains of the huge Jaguaribe-Piranhas amphitheatre are intersected seawards by offset elements of a marginal scarp which overlooks coastal lowlands along the Equatorial Atlantic transform margin. Its stepped surfaces are classically related to regional uplift induced by the break-up of the Gondwana supercontinent, supposed to have triggered the formation, until the Plio-Pleistocene, of successively younger planation surfaces below a culminating Cretaceous surface. A reinterpretation of this topography, combined with analyses of palaeolandforms, surface deposits, drainage anomalies, and structural controls on landforms, is used to obtain ages for significant features of the stepped patterns and to propose a morphostratigraphic scheme for the whole area. It is shown that the regional morphology is widely controlled by structures formed during Early Cretaceous continental rifting and later Aptian oceanic opening. Exhumed pre-Cenomanian palaeolandforms—planation surfaces, residual Cretaceous fault scarps—are identified. This study points out the value of the morphostructural approach for revisiting classical problems of geomorphology such as the meaning of stepped landforms (identification of palaeosurfaces of Cretaceous age at various levels), and the age and origin of planation surfaces. Its results are considered as constraining elements for a further tentative reconstruction of the morphotectonic evolution of this margin.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Shahrooz Haghnazar
2016-09-01
Full Text Available The spilli volcanic rocks suite consisting of Basalt- Trachyte- Rhyolite with upper Cretaceous, outcrop in the northern part of Alborz and south of Siahkal area (east of the Guilan province. Based on geochemical data, the studied suite attributed to transitional to alkali series. Negative correlation of Al2O3, CaO, P2O5 and positive correlation of Rb and Th versus SiO2 reveal the occurrence of fractional crystallization process. Also, the negative correlation of Sr versus Y, Sr/Zr versus Sr and CaO/Al2O3 versus SiO2 show that fractionation of plagioclase has played an important role in petrogenesis of the spilli Suite. The hypotheses is supported by the negative anomalies of Eu, Ba and Sr. The overall geochemical evidences indicate that the basic rocks belong to intra-continental rift zone whereas the felsic rocks are classified as A1 type derived from parent basaltic magmas via fractional crystallization in an anorogenic setting. The studied magmatism share many similarities with bimodal magmatism in continental rift zones.
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Metalliferous deposits of the greater Helena mining region, Montana
Pardee, Joseph Thomas; Schrader, F.C.
1933-01-01
characterized by the accumulation of marine sediments and the later by mountain building and erosion. The later period began with folding and elevation in late Cretaceous or early Eocene time, followed by overthrust faulting and the intrusion of the Boulder batholith. Next, there ensued a period of crustal stability, during which erosion reduced the region to a surface of low relief and cut away at least 10,000 feet of strata in the area north of Helena. In Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene (?) time sediments composed of land waste and volcanic ash were deposited, and this event was followed by warping and faulting that elevated the present mountains. During Pliocene and Pleistocene time the mountains were maturely dissected, and in middle and late Pleistocene time local glaciers formed in the higher mountains and large valley glaciers invaded the extreme northern part of the region. The ore deposits include lodes and placers that have yielded gold, silver, lead, copper, and zinc to a value of at least $176,860,000. The placers were formed mostly during interglacial stages of the Pleistocene. They have been almost entirely exhausted. Most of the lodes are classified as regards age in two groups, an older and a younger. The older lodes are related in origin to the Boulder batholith or some of the neighboring intrusive granitic bodies and were probably formed during early Eocene time. The younger lodes were formed after dacite of probable Miocene age was erupted. They are possibly related in origin to some unexposed intrusive granitic rock. For convenience in description the region is divided into three parts districts north of Helena, districts in the Belt Mountains, and districts south of Helena. The districts north of Helena include a 50-mile stretch of the Continental Divide that forms a broad ridge surmounted with considerable areas of flat or gently sloping surface at a general altitude of 7,000 feet. Narrow valleys 1,000 to 2,000 feet deep are cut into this surface and lead
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Pufahl, Peir K.; Grimm, Kurt A.; Abed, Abdulkader M.; Sadaqah, Rushdi M. Y.
2003-10-01
A record of sedimentary, authigenic, and biological processes are preserved within the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Alhisa Phosphorite Formation (AP) in central and northern Jordan. The AP formed near the eastern extremity of the south Tethyan Phosphorite Province (STPP), a carbonate-dominated Upper Cretaceous to Eocene "phosphorite giant" that extends from Colombia, North Africa to the Middle East. Multidisciplinary research of the AP and associated cherts, chalks, and oyster buildups indicate that phosphatic strata formed on a highly productive, storm-dominated, east-west trending epeiric platform along the south Tethyan margin. The onset of phosphogenesis and the accumulation of economic phosphorite coincided with a rise in relative sea level that onlapped peritidal carbonates of the Ajlun Group. Pristine phosphates are associated with well-developed micrite concretionary horizons and contain abundant non-keeled spiral planktic foraminifera and a low diversity benthic assemblage of Buliminacean foraminifera, suggesting that pristine phosphates are a condensed facies and phosphogenesis was stimulated by the effects of a highly productive surface ocean and the suboxic diagenesis of sedimentary organic matter. The bulk sediment composition and absence of Fe-bearing authigenic phases such as glauconite, pyrite (including pyrite molds), siderite, and goethite within pristine phosphates suggests that deposition and authigenesis occurred under conditions of detrital starvation and that "iron-pumping" played a minimal role in phosphogenesis. Authigenic precipitation of phosphate occurred in a broad array of sedimentary environments—herein termed a "phosphorite nursery"—that spanned the entire platform. This is a non-uniformitarian phenomenon reflecting precipitation of sedimentary apatite across a wide depositional spectrum in a variety of depositional settings, wherever the conditions were suitable for phosphogenesis. Sedimentologic data indicate that pristine
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Keller, Christina E.; Hochuli, Peter A.; Giorgioni, Martino; Garcia, Therese I.; Bernasconi, Stefano M.; Weissert, Helmut
2010-05-01
During Cretaceous times, several intense volcanic episodes are proposed as trigger for episodic climate warming, for changes in marine circulation patterns and for elevated marine productivity, which resulted in the widespread black shale deposits of the Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAE). In the sediments underlying the early Aptian OAE1a black shales, a prominent negative carbon isotope excursion is recorded. Its origin had long been controversial (e.g. Arthur, 2000; Jahren et al., 2001) before recent studies attributed it to the Ontong Java volcanism (Méhay et al., 2009; Tejada et al., 2009). Volcanic outgassing results in an increased pCO2 and should lead to a rise in global temperatures. We therefore investigated if the volcanically-induced increase in pCO2 at the onset of OAE1a in the early Aptian led to a temperature rise that was sufficient to affect terrestrial vegetation assemblages. In order to analyse changes in terrestrial palynomorph assemblages, we examined 15 samples from 12 black shale horizons throughout the early Aptian negative C-isotope spike interval of the Pusiano section (Maiolica Formation; N-Italy). These sediments were deposited at the southern continental margin of the alpine Tethys Ocean and have been bio- and magnetostratigraphically dated by Channell et al. (1995). In order to obtain a continuous palynological record of the negative C-isotope spike interval and the base of OAE1a, we combined this pre-OAE1a interval of Pusiano with the OAE1a interval of the nearby Cismon section (Hochuli et al., 1999). The sporomorph assemblages at the base of this composite succession feature abundant bisaccate pollen, which reflects a warm-temperate climate. Rather arid conditions are inferred from low trilete spore percentages. Several tens of thousand years before the onset of OAE1a, C-isotope values started to decrease. Some thousand years later, bisaccate pollen began to decrease, whereas an increase of Classopollis spp. and Araucariacites spp
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Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data represents geographic terms used within the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA or Act). The Act defines the United States outer continental shelf...
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Menges, Daniel; Glasmacher, Ulrich Anton; Hackspacher, Peter; Schneider, Gabriele; Salomon, Eric
2015-04-01
The Kaoko Belt in northwestern Namibia originates in the collision of the Rio de la Plata and Kongo Craton during the Pan-African Orogeny in the Neoproterozoic (1) and represents the northern arm of the Damara Orogen. NW-Namibias continental crust mainly consists of the NE-SW striking intracontinental branch of the Pan-African Damara mobile belt, which separates the Congo from the Kalahari craton. The Damara Orogen is divided into several tectonostratigraphic zones that are bounded by steeply dipping, ductile shear zones. These regional lineaments can be traced at least 150 km offshore (2). The lithostratigraphic units consist of Proterozoic and Cambrian metamorphosed rocks (534 (7) Ma - 481 (25) Ma (3) as well as Mesozoic sedimentary and igneous rocks. From Permo-Carboniferous to Mid Jurassic northern Namibia was affected by deep erosion of the Damara Orogen, Permo-Triassic collisional processes along the southern margin of Gondwana and eastern margin of Africa (4), and the deposition of the Nama Group sediments and the Karoo megasequence (5). Between the Otjihorongo and the Omaruru Lineament-Waterberg Thrust early Mesozoic tectonic activity is recorded by coarse clastic sediments deposited within NE trending half-graben structures. The Early Jurassic Karoo flood basalt lavas erupted rapidly at 183±1 Ma (6). The Early Cretaceous Paraná-Etendeka flood basalts (132±1 Ma) and mafic dike swarms mark the rift stage of the opening of the South Atlantic (7). Early Cretaceous alkaline intrusions (137-124 Ma) occur preferentially along Mesozoic half-graben structures and are called the Damaraland Igneous Province (8). Late Cretaceous alkaline intrusions and kimberlite pipes occur in northern Namibia. Post Early Paleocene siliciclastic sedimentation in Namibia was largely restricted to a 150 km wide zone (9) and is represented by the Tsondab Sandstone Formation (~ 300 m thickness). The oldest part has an age of early Paleocene and the upper part span from middle Miocene
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Navarrete, César; Gianni, Guido; Echaurren, Andrés; Kingler, Federico Lince; Folguera, Andrés
2016-12-01
From Lower Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous, several intraplate compression events affected discrete sectors of Central Patagonia, under a general context of crustal extension associated with Gondwana breakup. This was demonstrated by means of 2D and 3D seismic and borehole data, which show partial inversion of Lower and Middle Jurassic extensional structures of the Chubut and Cañadón Asfalto basins, during the earliest stages of breakup. A comparison with surrounding areas in Patagonia, where similar Jurassic intraplate compression was described, allowed the discrimination of three discrete pulses of subtle compression (C1: ∼188-185 Ma; C2: ∼170-163; C3: ∼157-136? Ma). Interestingly, episodic intraplate compressional events are closely followed by high flux magmatic events linked to the westward expansion of the Karoo-Ferrar thermal anomaly, which impacted on the lithosphere of southwest Gondwana in Lower Jurassic. In addition, we determined the approximate direction of the main compressive strain (σ1) compatible with other Jurassic intraplate belts of South America. These observations led us to propose a linkage between a thermo mechanically weakened continental crust due to LIPs activity, changes in plate motions and ridge-push forces generated by the opening of the Weddell Sea, in order to explain intraplate shortening, interrupted while Karoo LIPs magmatic invigoration took place.
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Klein, T.L.
2004-01-01
Metal deposits spatially associated with the Cretaceous Boulder and Idaho batholiths of southwestern Montana and southern and central Idaho have been exploited since the early 1860s. Au was first discovered in placer deposits; exploitation of vein deposits in bedrock soon followed. In 1865, high-grade Ag vein deposits were discovered and remained economically important until the 1890s. Early high-grade deposits of Au, Ag and Pb were found in the weathered portions of the veins systems. As mining progressed to deeper levels, Ag and Pb grades diminished. Exploration for and development of these vein deposits in this area have continued until the present. A majority of these base- and precious-metal vein deposits are classified as polymetallic veins (PMV) and polymetallic carbonate-replacement (PMR) deposits in this compilation. Porphyry Cu and Mo, epithermal (Au, Ag, Hg and Sb), base- and precious-metal and W skarn, W vein, and U and Th vein deposits are also common in this area. The world-class Butte Cu porphyry and the Butte high-sulfidation Cu vein deposits are in this study area. PMV and PMR deposits are the most numerous in the region and constitute about 85% of the deposit records compiled. Several types of syngenetic/diagenetic sulfide mineral deposits in rocks of the Belt Supergroup or their equivalents are common in the region and they have been the source of a substantial metal production over the last century. These syngenetic deposits and their metamorphosed/structurally remobilized equivalents were not included in this database; therefore, deposits in the Idaho portion of the Coeur d'Alene district and the Idaho Cobalt belt, for example, have not been included because many of them are believed to be of this type.
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Ősi, Attila; Prondvai, Edina; Butler, Richard; Weishampel, David B.
2012-01-01
Background Rhabdodontid ornithopod dinosaurs are characteristic elements of Late Cretaceous European vertebrate faunas and were previously collected from lower Campanian to Maastrichtian continental deposits. Phylogenetic analyses have placed rhabdodontids among basal ornithopods as the sister taxon to the clade consisting of Tenontosaurus, Dryosaurus, Camptosaurus, and Iguanodon. Recent studies considered Zalmoxes, the best known representative of the clade, to be significantly smaller than closely related ornithopods such as Tenontosaurus, Camptosaurus, or Rhabdodon, and concluded that it was probably an island dwarf that inhabited the Maastrichtian Haţeg Island. Methodology/Principal Findings Rhabdodontid remains from the Santonian of western Hungary provide evidence for a new, small-bodied form, which we assign to Mochlodon vorosi n. sp. The new species is most similar to the early Campanian M. suessi from Austria, and the close affinities of the two species is further supported by the results of a global phylogenetic analysis of ornithischian dinosaurs. Bone histological studies of representatives of all rhabdodontids indicate a similar adult body length of 1.6–1.8 m in the Hungarian and Austrian species, 2.4–2.5 m in the subadults of both Zalmoxes robustus and Z. shqiperorum and a much larger, 5–6 m adult body length in Rhabdodon. Phylogenetic mapping of femoral lengths onto the results of the phylogenetic analysis suggests a femoral length of around 340 mm as the ancestral state for Rhabdodontidae, close to the adult femoral lengths known for Zalmoxes (320–333 mm). Conclusions/Significance Our analysis of body size evolution does not support the hypothesis of autapomorhic nanism for Zalmoxes. However, Rhabdodon is reconstructed as having undergone autapomorphic giantism and the reconstructed small femoral length (245 mm) of Mochlodon is consistent with a reduction in size relative to the ancestral rhabdodontid condition. Our results imply a pre
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Relative influence of deposition and diagenesis on carbonate reservoir layering
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Poli, Emmanuelle [Total E and P, Courbevoie (France); Javaux, Catherine [Total E and P, Pointe Noire (Congo)
2008-07-01
The architecture heterogeneities and petrophysical properties of carbonate reservoirs result from a combination of platform morphology, related depositional environments, relative sea level changes and diagenetic events. The reservoir layering built for static and dynamic modelling purposes should reflect the key heterogeneities (depositional or diagenetic) which govern the fluid flow patterns. The layering needs to be adapted to the goal of the modelling, ranging from full field computations of hydrocarbon volumes, to sector-based fine-scale simulations to test the recovery improvement. This paper illustrates various reservoir layering types, including schemes dominated by depositional architecture, and those more driven by the diagenetic overprint. The examples include carbonate platform reservoirs from different stratigraphic settings (Tertiary, Cretaceous, Jurassic and Permian) and different regions (Europe, Africa and Middle East areas). This review shows how significant stratigraphic surfaces (such as sequence boundaries or maximum flooding) with their associated facies shifts, can be often considered as key markers to constrain the reservoir layering. Conversely, how diagenesis (dolomitization and karst development), resulting in units with particular poroperm characteristics, may significantly overprint the primary reservoir architecture by generating flow units which cross-cut depositional sequences. To demonstrate how diagenetic processes can create reservoir bodies with geometries that cross-cut the depositional fabric, different types of dolomitization and karst development are illustrated. (author)
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Carson, Bobb; Seke, Erol; Paskevich, Valerie F.; Holmes, Mark L.
1994-01-01
Point-discharge fluid expulsion on accretionary prisms is commonly indicated by diagenetic deposition of calcium carbonate cements and gas hydrates in near-surface (topographic and lithologic information. We have processed GLORIA imagery from the Oregon continental margin to remove topographic effects. A synthetic side scan image was created initially from Sea Beam bathymetric data and then was subtracted iteratively from the original GLORIA data until topographic features disappeared. The residual image contains high-amplitude backscattering that we attribute to diagenetic deposits associated with fluid discharge, based on submersible mapping, Ocean Drilling Program drilling, and collected samples. Diagenetic deposits are concentrated (1) near an out-of-sequence thrust fault on the second ridge landward of the base of the continental slope, (2) along zones characterized by deep-seated strikeslip faults that cut transversely across the margin, and (3) in undeformed Cascadia Basin deposits which overlie incipient thrust faults seaward of the toe of the prism. There is no evidence of diagenetic deposition associated with the frontal thrust that rises from the dècollement. If the dècollement is an important aquifer, apparently the fluids are passed either to the strike-slip faults which intersect the dècollement or to the incipient faults in Cascadia Basin for expulsion. Diagenetic deposits seaward of the prism toe probably consist dominantly of gas hydrates.
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Multi-model study of HTAP II on sulfur and nitrogen deposition
Tan, Jiani; Fu, Joshua S.; Dentener, Frank; Sun, Jian; Emmons, Louisa; Tilmes, Simone; Sudo, Kengo; Flemming, Johannes; Eiof Jonson, Jan; Gravel, Sylvie; Bian, Huisheng; Davila, Yanko; Henze, Daven K.; Lund, Marianne T.; Kucsera, Tom; Takemura, Toshihiko; Keating, Terry
2018-05-01
This study uses multi-model ensemble results of 11 models from the second phase of Task Force Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution (HTAP II) to calculate the global sulfur (S) and nitrogen (N) deposition in 2010. Modeled wet deposition is evaluated with observation networks in North America, Europe and East Asia. The modeled results agree well with observations, with 76-83 % of stations being predicted within ±50 % of observations. The models underestimate SO42-, NO3- and NH4+ wet depositions in some European and East Asian stations but overestimate NO3- wet deposition in the eastern United States. Intercomparison with previous projects (PhotoComp, ACCMIP and HTAP I) shows that HTPA II has considerably improved the estimation of deposition at European and East Asian stations. Modeled dry deposition is generally higher than the inferential data calculated by observed concentration and modeled velocity in North America, but the inferential data have high uncertainty, too. The global S deposition is 84 Tg(S) in 2010, with 49 % in continental regions and 51 % in the ocean (19 % of which coastal). The global N deposition consists of 59 Tg(N) oxidized nitrogen (NOy) deposition and 64 Tg(N) reduced nitrogen (NHx) deposition in 2010. About 65 % of N is deposited in continental regions, and 35 % in the ocean (15 % of which coastal). The estimated outflow of pollution from land to ocean is about 4 Tg(S) for S deposition and 18 Tg(N) for N deposition. Comparing our results to the results in 2001 from HTAP I, we find that the global distributions of S and N deposition have changed considerably during the last 10 years. The global S deposition decreases 2 Tg(S) (3 %) from 2001 to 2010, with significant decreases in Europe (5 Tg(S) and 55 %), North America (3 Tg(S) and 29 %) and Russia (2 Tg(S) and 26 %), and increases in South Asia (2 Tg(S) and 42 %) and the Middle East (1 Tg(S) and 44 %). The global N deposition increases by 7 Tg(N) (6 %), mainly contributed by South Asia
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Liu Liangying; Wang Jizhong; Wei Gaoling; Guan Yufeng; Zeng, Eddy Y.
2012-01-01
Sediments collected from the continental shelf of China, embracing Yellow Sea, inner shelf of the East China Sea (ECS), and the South China Sea (SCS), were analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The concentrations of anthropogenic PAHs (Σ 18 PAH) were 27–224 ng/g dry weight, with an average of 82 ng/g. Sedimentary PAHs in the continental shelf off China were mainly derived from mixed residues of biomass, coal, and petroleum combustion. Fluvial transport and atmospheric deposition mainly accounted for sediment PAHs in the ECS inner shelf and Yellow Sea (and the SCS), respectively. Furthermore, statistically higher levels of Σ 18 PAH (28–224 ng/g; mean 110 ng/g) in the Yellow Sea sediment than in the SCS sediment (28–109 ng/g; mean 58 ng/g) were probably resulted from higher PAH emissions from coke industry and domestic coal combustion in North China than in South China. - Highlights: ► Coal and biomass combustion was the main origin of PAHs in coastal marine sediment of China. ► Fluvial transport was the main mode for transporting PAHs to the East China Sea inner shelf. ► Atmospheric deposition largely accounted for sediment PAHs in Yellow Sea and the South China Sea. ► Regional energy use pattern in China was responsible for the spatial distribution of PAHs in coastal marine sediment. - Sources, compositions and spatial distributions of PAHs in continental shelf sediments off China are analyzed to estimate anthropogenic influences.
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Herrle, Jens O.; Schröder-Adams, Claudia J.; Galloway, Jennifer M.; Pugh, Adam T.
2013-04-01
Understanding the evolution of Canada's Arctic region, as a crucial component of Earth's climate system, is fundamental to assess short and long-term climate, environmental, and paleogeographic change. However, the stratigraphy and paleoenvironmental evolution of the Cretaceous Arctic is poorly constrained and a detailed bio- and chemostratigraphic correlation of major mid-Cretaceous paleoceanographic turning points such as Oceanic Anoxic Events, cold snaps, and biotic turnovers with key locations of the high- and low latitudes is missing. Here we present for the first time a high resolution bio- and carbon isotope stratigraphy of the Arctic Albian Christopher Formation of the Sverdrup Basin at Glacier Fiord in the southern part of Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian High Arctic. By using these techniques we developed a high temporal framework to record major environmental changes as it is indicated by the occurrence of glendonites and sandstone intervals of our studied Albian succession. The Albian Christopher Formation is a shale dominated marine unit with a thickness of approximately 1200 m. Several transgressive/ regressive cycles can be recognized by prograding shoreface units that break up mudrock deposition. In addition, glendonites are mainly found in the lower part of the Christopher Formation. Glendonites are pseudomorphs of calcite, after the metastable mineral ikaite, and have been often described from high latitude Permian, Jurassic and Cretaceous marine environments from the Canadian Arctic, Spitsbergen and Australia. The formation of glendonites takes place in the uppermost layer of the sediment and requires near-freezing temperatures, high salinity, and orthophosphate-rich bottom water. Although the presence of glendonites implies a range of paleoenvironmental conditions there is a consensus in the scientific literature that they reflect cooler paleoenvironmental conditions. Preliminary bio- and carbon isotope stratigraphic results suggest that the
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A diverse ant fauna from the mid-cretaceous of Myanmar (Hymenoptera: Formicidae.
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Phillip Barden
Full Text Available A new collection of 24 wingless ant specimens from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Albian-Cenomanian, 99 Ma comprises nine new species belonging to the genus Sphecomyrmodes Engel and Grimaldi. Described taxa vary considerably with regard to total size, head and body proportion, cuticular sculpturing, and petiole structure while all species are unified by a distinct shared character. The assemblage represents the largest known diversification of closely related Cretaceous ants with respect to species number. These stem-group ants exhibit some characteristics previously known only from their extant counterparts along with presumed plesiomorphic morphology. Consequently, their morphology may inform hypotheses relating to basal relationships and general patterns of ant evolution. These and other uncovered Cretaceous species indicate that stem-group ants are not simply wasp-like, transitional formicids, but rather a group of considerable adaptive diversity, exhibiting innovations analogous to what crown-group ants would echo 100 million years later.
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New structural data on the Kerkinskiy level of the lower Cretaceous in East Turkmenistan
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Khalylov, M.
1984-01-01
A characteristic feature of the structure in the eastern Turkmenistan regions is the appearance in the lower Cretacecous section (Neocomian) of a salt mass. Comparison of the Neocomian deposits of different areas in East Turkmenistan revealed a difference in the lithological composition of the masses which are included in the red terrigenous formations. The salt deposits in the Neocomian section correlate well among themselves. It is assumed that salts exist in the Neocomian supralevel in the Afghan-Tajik depression. These salt deposits are isolated as the Kerkinskiy level. It is represented by rose rock salt with gypsum clay beds with an admixture of terrigenous material and anhydrite, becoming anhydrite-halite rock in places. Beds of pure salts, alternating with terrigenous materials most often contaminated with salt, were isolated in the Kerkinskiy level. Anhydrite beds were found in the top part of the level. According to the spread of the lower Cretaceous saline Kerkinskiy level, the Predyuzhnogissarskiy trough is outlined in its modern boundaries in the structure of the southeast edge of the Amudarya syneclise and still in the Neocomian. The Kerkinskiy level on the platform and folded-mountainous territory of southeast Turkmeniya is viewed as a major saline geological body. The nature of its interrelationships with the surrounding masses makes is possible to assume the possible appearance of lithological oil and gas traps in the interval between the Gaurdakskiy mass and the Kerkinskiy level, as well as in the zones of substitution of the Kerkinskiy and Shatlyk levels.
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Deep continental margin reflectors
Ewing, J.; Heirtzler, J.; Purdy, M.; Klitgord, Kim D.
1985-01-01
In contrast to the rarity of such observations a decade ago, seismic reflecting and refracting horizons are now being observed to Moho depths under continental shelves in a number of places. These observations provide knowledge of the entire crustal thickness from the shoreline to the oceanic crust on passive margins and supplement Consortium for Continental Reflection Profiling (COCORP)-type measurements on land.
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Palaeomagnetism and the continental crust
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Piper, J.D.A.
1987-01-01
This book is an introduction to palaeomagnetism offering treatment of theory and practice. It analyzes the palaeomagnetic record over the whole of geological time, from the Archaean to the Cenozoic, and goes on to examine the impact of past geometries and movements of the continental crust at each geological stage. Topics covered include theory of rock and mineral magnetism, field and laboratory methods, growth and consolidation of the continental crust in Archaean and Proterozoic times, Palaeozoic palaeomagnetism and the formation of Pangaea, the geomagnetic fields, continental movements, configurations and mantle convection.
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Rhinochelys amaberti Moret (1935, a protostegid turtle from the Early Cretaceous of France
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Isaure Scavezzoni
2018-04-01
Full Text Available Modern marine turtles (chelonioids are the remnants of an ancient radiation that roots in the Cretaceous. The oldest members of that radiation are first recorded from the Early Cretaceous and a series of species are known from the Albian-Cenomanian interval, many of which have been allocated to the widespread but poorly defined genus Rhinochelys, possibly concealing the diversity and the evolution of early marine turtles. In order to better understand the radiation of chelonioids, we redescribe the holotype and assess the taxonomy of Rhinochelys amaberti Moret (1935 (UJF-ID.11167 from the Late Albian (Stoliczkaia dispar Zone of the Vallon de la Fauge (Isère, France. We also make preliminary assessments of the phylogenetic relationships of Chelonioidea using two updated datasets that widely sample Cretaceous taxa, especially Rhinochelys. Rhinochelys amaberti is a valid taxon that is supported by eight autapomorphies; an emended diagnosisis proposed. Our phylogenetic analyses suggest that Rhinochelys could be polyphyletic, but constraining it as a monophyletic entity does not produce trees that are significantly less parsimonious. Moreover, support values and stratigraphic congruence indexes are fairly low for the recovered typologies, suggesting that missing data still strongly affect our understanding of the Cretaceous diversification of sea turtles.
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Dusel-Bacon, Cynthia; Foley, Nora K.; Slack, John E.; Koenig, Alan E.; Oscarson, Robert L.
2012-01-01
the deposits; electrum inclusions occur in Dry Creek sphalerite. Contents and ratios of trace elements in graphitic argillite that serve as proxies for the redox state of the bottom waters in the basin indicate that Dry Creek mineralization took place in suboxic to periodically anoxic bottom waters. Trace element data show higher contents of Tl-Mn-As in pyrite from the Anderson Mountain deposit compared to the Dry Creek or WTF deposits and thus suggest that Anderson Mountain may have formed at lower temperatures or under slightly more oxidizing conditions. No exact modern analogue for the tectonic setting of the Bonnifield VMS deposits is known, although the back-arc regions of the Okinawa Trough and Woodlark Basin satisfy the requirement for a submarine, extensional setting adjacent to a continental margin. Limited occurrences of peralkaline volcanic rocks occur in these two potential analogues, but the peralkalinity of those rocks is much less than that of the Mystic Creek Member metarhyolites in the Bonnifield district. The highly elevated trace element (e.g., Zr, Nb) contents of Mystic Creek metarhyolites suggest that a better analogue may be a submarine rifted continental margin. The calc-alkaline composition of the host rocks to the Anderson Mountain deposit suggests that mineralization there formed in a continental margin arc, outboard of the extended continental margin setting of the peralkaline-hosted Dry Creek and WTF deposits.
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Early Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystems in East Asia based on food-web and energy-flow models
Matsukawa, M.; Saiki, K.; Ito, M.; Obata, I.; Nichols, D.J.; Lockley, M.G.; Kukihara, R.; Shibata, K.
2006-01-01
In recent years, there has been global interest in the environments and ecosystems around the world. It is helpful to reconstruct past environments and ecosystems to help understand them in the present and the future. The present environments and ecosystems are an evolving continuum with those of the past and the future. This paper demonstrates the contribution of geology and paleontology to such continua. Using fossils, we can make an estimation of past population density as an ecosystem index based on food-web and energy-flow models. Late Mesozoic nonmarine deposits are distributed widely on the eastern Asian continent and contain various kinds of fossils such as fishes, amphibians, reptiles, dinosaurs, mammals, bivalves, gastropods, insects, ostracodes, conchostracans, terrestrial plants, and others. These fossil organisms are useful for late Mesozoic terrestrial ecosystem reconstruction using food-web and energy-flow models. We chose Early Cretaceous fluvio-lacustrine basins in the Choyr area, southeastern Mongolia, and the Tetori area, Japan, for these analyses and as a potential model for reconstruction of other similar basins in East Asia. The food-web models are restored based on taxa that occurred in these basins. They form four or five trophic levels in an energy pyramid consisting of rich primary producers at its base and smaller biotas higher in the food web. This is the general energy pyramid of a typical ecosystem. Concerning the population densities of vertebrate taxa in 1 km2 in these basins, some differences are recognized between Early Cretaceous and the present. For example, Cretaceous estimates suggest 2.3 to 4.8 times as many herbivores and 26.0 to 105.5 times the carnivore population. These differences are useful for the evaluation of past population densities of vertebrate taxa. Such differences may also be caused by the different metabolism of different taxa. Preservation may also be a factor, and we recognize that various problems occur in
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Mahoney, C.; März, C.; Wagner, T.
2016-12-01
It is well known that for geochemical studies on ancient rocks, outcrop samples can be compromised by present-day weathering. This raises the fundamental question, if only outcrop samples are available, how reliable can paleoenvironmental reconstructions be? To answer this question, shale samples have been gathered from Cretaceous outcrops of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia, and analysed by XRF and Fe speciation in order to investigate paleo-redox conditions in this margin basin of the Proto-Atlantic. The samples are consistently depleted (relative to average shale) in redox-related trace metals and in total Fe indicating oxic conditions, whereas Fe speciation (highly reactive over total Fe) indicates anoxic conditions. We ask if this depletion in trace metals and total Fe is due to a lack of primary supply from the depositional environment, or if is it caused by modern oxidative outcrop weathering in this tropical mountainous setting? Our results from artificial weathering experiments confirm that certain trace metals U, Zn and Mo are easily leached from the samples, whereas Fe is quantitatively retained in the samples due to conversion of pyrite and siderite to Fe oxides. Pristine samples from wells in the adjacent Middle Magdalena Valley Basin (MMV) also exhibit total Fe depletion, but are up to 2000-fold enriched in Mo. This combined evidence indicates that the depletion of trace metals may be due to contemporary weathering, but there has to be a paleoenvironmental reason behind the low total Fe signature. The Guiana Shield was the probable source of sediment to the Cretaceous basin. The Chemical Index of Alteration suggest the source of detrital material was initially highly weathered (average 83, maximum 95). Ancient laterites have been identified on the Guiana Shield, and retention of Fe in these laterites may explain the low Fe input into the Eastern Cordillera basin. These results confirm that trace metal-based redox proxies may be seriously affected by
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Roban, R. D.; Krézsek, C.; Melinte-Dobrinescu, M. C.
2017-06-01
The mid Cretaceous is characterized by high eustatic sea-levels with widespread oxic conditions that made possible the occurrence of globally correlated Oceanic Red Beds. However, very often, these eustatic signals have been overprinted by local tectonics, which in turn resulted in Lower Cretaceous closed and anoxic basins, as in the Eastern Carpathians. There, the black shale to red bed transition occurs in the latest Albian up to the early Cenomanian. Although earlier studies discussed the large-scale basin configuration, no detailed petrography and sedimentology study has been performed in the Eastern Carpathians. This paper describes the Hauterivian to Turonian lithofacies and interprets the depositional settings based on their sedimentological features. The studied sections crop out only in tectonic half windows of the Eastern Carpathians, part of the Vrancea Nappe. The lithofacies comprises black shales interbedded with siderites and sandstones, calcarenites, marls, radiolarites and red shales. The siliciclastic muddy lithofacies in general reflects accumulation by suspension settling of pelagites and hemipelagites in anoxic (black shale) to dysoxic (dark gray and gray to green shales) and oxic (red shales) conditions. The radiolarites alternate with siliceous shales and are considered as evidence of climate changes. The sandstones represent mostly low and high-density turbidite currents in deep-marine lobes, as well as channel/levee systems. The source area is an eastern one, e.g., the Eastern Carpathians Foreland, given the abundance of low grade metamorphic clasts. The Hauterivian - lower Albian sediments are interpreted as deep-marine, linear and multiple sourced mud dominated systems deposited in a mainly anoxic to dysoxic basin. The anoxic conditions existed in the early to late Albian, but sedimentation changed to a higher energy mud/sand-dominated submarine channels and levees. This coarsening upwards tendency is interpreted as the effect of the
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Chapman, H.J.; Spooner, E.T.C.
1977-01-01
The hypothesis that seawater was the source of the hydrothermal fluid which formed the Upper Cretaceous ophiolitic cupriferous pyrite ore deposits of the Troodos Massif (Cyprus) has been tested by analysing the strontium isotopic composition of thirteen mineralized samples from four mines. Initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios range from 0.7052+-0.0001 to 0.7075+-0.00002, the latter value being indistinguishable from that of Upper Cretaceous seawater at 0.7076+-0.0006 (2 sigma). Hence, the mineralized metabasalt samples have been contaminated with 87 Sr, relative to initial magmatic strontium isotope ratios of the Troodos ophiolitic complex (0.70338+-0.00010 to 0.70365+-0.00005). Since seawater was the only source of strontium available during formation of the Troodos Complex which was isotopically relatively enriched in 87 Sr, the data confirm that seawater was the source of the hydrothermal oreforming fluid. (Auth.)
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Early Cretaceous marine sediments of the Lower Saxony Basin. The Gildehaus Sandstone
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Dellepiane, S.; Weiel, D. [Wintershall Holding GmbH, Barnstorf (Germany); Gerwert, D.; Mutterlose, J. [Bochum Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Geologie, Mineralogie und Geophysik
2013-08-01
During the Early Cretaceous (Berriasian - Aptian) the Lower Saxony Basin (LSB) formed the southernmost extension of the North Sea Basin. Sedimentation patterns of the LSB were controlled by divergent dextral shear movement causing differential subsidence related to early rifting in the North Sea. Up to 2000m of fine grained mudstones accumulated in the basin centre, while marginal marine, coarser grained siliciclastics were deposited along the western and southern margins of the LSB. The western marginal facies, outcropping along the Dutch-German border, is characterised by shallow marine sandstones of Valanginian - Hauterivian age. These units, which are separated by clay rich intervals, include the Bentheim Sdst., the Dichotomites Sdst., the Grenz Sdst., the Noricum Sdst. and the Gildehaus Sdst. These sandstones form a series of overall backstepping units, controlled by a main transgressive trend. Economically important are the Bentheim Sdst. and the Gildehaus Sdst., with a long oil producing history. The Bentheim Sdst. (early Valanginian) has been interpreted as an overall retrograding unit related to an incised valley infill with material mainly coming from the South. Tidal processes dominated the deposition of the Bentheim Sdst. The origin and genesis of the Gildehaus Sdst. (mid Hauterivian) is, however, less well understood. Here we present data from two wells drilled to the Gildehaus Sdst. (Emlichheim oil field) which provide evidence for a two fold subdivision of the unit. A well sorted massive quartz sandstone is followed by an interval composed of reworked coarse clastics of massflow origin. Micropalaeontological evidence suggests a fully marine, hemi-pelagic origin of the mud dominated matrix throughout the Gildehaus Sdst. These findings indicate a depositional environment quite different from that of the Bentheim Sdst. Short termed pulses of substantial input of clastic material from two different sources in the West to Southwest punctuated the overall
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Cenozoic deposits exposed along Rio de la Plata coast in the Canelones Department (Uruguay)
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Goso Aguilar, C.; Spoturno, J.
2004-01-01
This paper allows to know some sedimentological and stratigraphical features of the Cenozoic deposits exposed along Rio de la Plata coast in the Canelones department, Uruguay. The results, mainly collected from metric thickness of local stratigraphical sections and coastal outcrops of that region are presented. Both Tertiary and Quaternary sediments are present, however transitional Pleistocenic deposits of Chuy Formation and continental sediments of Libertad Formation are more dominant [es
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New Mid-Cretaceous (Latest Albian) Dinosaurs from Winton, Queensland, Australia
Hocknull, Scott A.; White, Matt A.; Tischler, Travis R.; Cook, Alex G.; Calleja, Naomi D.; Sloan, Trish; Elliott, David A.
2009-01-01
Background Australia's dinosaurian fossil record is exceptionally poor compared to that of other similar-sized continents. Most taxa are known from fragmentary isolated remains with uncertain taxonomic and phylogenetic placement. A better understanding of the Australian dinosaurian record is crucial to understanding the global palaeobiogeography of dinosaurian groups, including groups previously considered to have had Gondwanan origins, such as the titanosaurs and carcharodontosaurids. Methodology/Principal Findings We describe three new dinosaurs from the late Early Cretaceous (latest Albian) Winton Formation of eastern Australia, including; Wintonotitan wattsi gen. et sp. nov., a basal titanosauriform; Diamantinasaurus matildae gen. et sp. nov., a derived lithostrotian titanosaur; and Australovenator wintonensis gen. et sp. nov., an allosauroid. We compare an isolated astragalus from the Early Cretaceous of southern Australia; formerly identified as Allosaurus sp., and conclude that it most-likely represents Australovenator sp. Conclusion/Significance The occurrence of Australovenator from the Aptian to latest Albian confirms the presence in Australia of allosauroids basal to the Carcharodontosauridae. These new taxa, along with the fragmentary remains of other taxa, indicate a diverse Early Cretaceous sauropod and theropod fauna in Australia, including plesiomorphic forms (e.g. Wintonotitan and Australovenator) and more derived forms (e.g. Diamantinasaurus). PMID:19584929
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New Mid-Cretaceous (latest Albian dinosaurs fromWinton, Queensland, Australia.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Scott A Hocknull
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Australia's dinosaurian fossil record is exceptionally poor compared to that of other similar-sized continents. Most taxa are known from fragmentary isolated remains with uncertain taxonomic and phylogenetic placement. A better understanding of the Australian dinosaurian record is crucial to understanding the global palaeobiogeography of dinosaurian groups, including groups previously considered to have had Gondwanan origins, such as the titanosaurs and carcharodontosaurids. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We describe three new dinosaurs from the late Early Cretaceous (latest Albian Winton Formation of eastern Australia, including; Wintonotitan wattsi gen. et sp. nov., a basal titanosauriform; Diamantinasaurus matildae gen. et sp. nov., a derived lithostrotian titanosaur; and Australovenator wintonensis gen. et sp. nov., an allosauroid. We compare an isolated astragalus from the Early Cretaceous of southern Australia; formerly identified as Allosaurus sp., and conclude that it most-likely represents Australovenator sp. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The occurrence of Australovenator from the Aptian to latest Albian confirms the presence in Australia of allosauroids basal to the Carcharodontosauridae. These new taxa, along with the fragmentary remains of other taxa, indicate a diverse Early Cretaceous sauropod and theropod fauna in Australia, including plesiomorphic forms (e.g. Wintonotitan and Australovenator and more derived forms (e.g. Diamantinasaurus.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Yang Renchao; Han Zuozhen; Fan Aiping; Chang Xiangchun
2006-01-01
High-resolution sequence stratigraphy taking base-level cycles as interface of reference was developed rapidly in recent years. Its greatest predominance lies in that it can be applied to multi-controled continental sedimentary basins and can effectively improve accuracy and distinguishability of sequence stratigraphy analysis. Principles of base-level cycles can also be applied to the research and practice of the exploration and exploitation of sandstone-type uranium deposits as they control the spatial distribution, porosity, the permeability and the sealing ability of sandstone and mudstone, and stacking patterns of strata configuration. Taking Dongsheng uranium deposits as an example, the application of base-level cycles to exploration and exploitation of sandstone uranium deposits was analyzed. It is suggested that favorable strata framework of sandstone and mudstone was developed very well in the fluctuation of base-level cycles. Sand bodies were provided with good connectedness, coarse granularity, high debris content, low matrix content and good porosity-permeability becoming the most important uranium hosted strata. (authors)
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wang Zhengqi; Wu Lieqin; Zhang Guoyu
2007-12-01
The methods following as field geological investigation, trace element geo- chemistry and isotope geochemistry were used in this project. Based on geological and geochemical characteristics of Xiaoshui uranium ore deposits in Zhongdong area, Xiazhuang ore-field, Guangdong province, it could be concluded that: (1) The Provenance of Cretaceous mantle is a enriched mantle; (2) Silicified zone-type and intersection-type uranium ore are distinctness in the metallogenic period and mineralization process, and main metallogenic period of Xiaoshui uranium ore-deposit is 73.5 Ma; (3) The sources of uranium mineralization substance derived from enriched mantle; and (4)The intersection-type high grade uranium deposits were controlled by substances derived from mantle (contain with U, CO 2 , F, et al), tracks of intersection of NWW-across with NNE-trending faults and lithology of diabase. (authors)
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Zhengqi, Wang [East China Inst. of Technology, Fuzhou (China); [Beijing Research Inst. of Uranium Geology, Beijing (China); Lieqin, Wu [Institute No.290, CNNC, Shaoguan (China); Guoyu, Zhang [East China Inst. of Technology, Fuzhou (China)
2007-12-15
The methods following as field geological investigation, trace element geo- chemistry and isotope geochemistry were used in this project. Based on geological and geochemical characteristics of Xiaoshui uranium ore deposits in Zhongdong area, Xiazhuang ore-field, Guangdong province, it could be concluded that: (1) The Provenance of Cretaceous mantle is a enriched mantle; (2) Silicified zone-type and intersection-type uranium ore are distinctness in the metallogenic period and mineralization process, and main metallogenic period of Xiaoshui uranium ore-deposit is 73.5 Ma; (3) The sources of uranium mineralization substance derived from enriched mantle; and (4)The intersection-type high grade uranium deposits were controlled by substances derived from mantle (contain with U, CO{sub 2}, F, et al), tracks of intersection of NWW-across with NNE-trending faults and lithology of diabase. (authors)
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Cretaceous magmatism in North-Eastern India and Gondwanaland ...
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
jsray
Cretaceous magmatism of NEI: Major Objectives. • Age and duration of Sylhet Traps and its connection to Kerguelene hotspot and Gondwanaland breakup? • Age of carbonatite magmatism associated with the traps? • Relationship of basaltic-carbonatite magmatism with. Aptian (~116 Ma) Mass Extinction event? • Nature of ...
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Uranium deposits: northern Denver Julesburg basin, Colorado
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Reade, H.L.
1978-01-01
The Fox Hills Sandstone and the Laramie Formation (Upper Cretaceous) are the host rocks for uranium deposits in Weld County, northern Denver Julesburg basin, Colorado. The uranium deposits discovered in the Grover and Sand Creek areas occur in well-defined north--south trending channel sandstones of the Laramie Formation whereas the sandstone channel in the upper part of the Fox Hills Sandstone trends east--west. Mineralization was localized where the lithology was favorable for uranium accumulation. Exploration was guided by log interpretation methods similar to those proposed by Bruce Rubin for the Powder River basin, Wyoming, because alteration could not be readily identified in drilling samples. The uranium host rocks consist of medium- to fine-grained carbonaceous, feldspathic fluvial channel sandstones. The uranium deposits consist of simple to stacked roll fronts. Reserve estimates for the deposits are: (1) Grover 1,007,000 lbs with an average grade of 0.14 percent eU 3 O 8 ,2) Sand Creek 154,000 lbs with an average grade of 0.08 percent eU 3 O 8 , and 3) The Pawnee deposit 1,060,000 lbs with an average grade of 0.07 percent eU 3 O 8 . The configuration of the geochemical cells in the Grover and Sand Creek sandstones indicate that uraniferous fluids moved northward whereas in the Pawnee sandstone of the Fox Hills uraniferous fluids moved southward. Precipitation of uranium in the frontal zone probably was caused by downdip migration of oxygcnated groundwater high in uranium content moving through a favorable highly carbonaceous and pyritic host sandstone
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Highly derived eutherian mammals from the earliest Cretaceous of southern Britain
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Steven C. Sweetman
2017-11-01
Full Text Available Eutherian mammals (Placentalia and all mammals phylogenetically closer to placentals than to marsupials comprise the vast majority of extant Mammalia. Among these there is a phenomenal range of forms and sizes, but the origins of crown group placentals are obscure. They lie within the generally tiny mammals of the Mesozoic, represented for the most part by isolated teeth and jaws, and there is strongly conflicting evidence from phenomic and molecular data as to the date of origin of both Eutheria and Placentalia. The oldest purported eutherians are Juramaia from the Upper Jurassic of China, and Eomaia and Acristatherium from the Lower Cretaceous, also of China. Based on dental characters and analyses of other morphological and molecular data, doubt has recently been cast on the eutherian affinities of the Chinese taxa and consequently on the date of emergence of Eutheria. Until now, the only tribosphenic mammal recorded from the earliest Cretaceous (Berriasian Purbeck Group of Britain was the stem tribosphenidan Tribactonodon. Here we document two new tribosphenic mammals from the Purbeck Group, Durlstotherium gen. nov. and Durlstodon gen. nov., showing highly derived eutherian molar characters that support the early emergence of this clade, prior to the Cretaceous.
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A diplodocid sauropod survivor from the early cretaceous of South America.
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Pablo A Gallina
Full Text Available Diplodocids are by far the most emblematic sauropod dinosaurs. They are part of Diplodocoidea, a vast clade whose other members are well-known from Jurassic and Cretaceous strata in Africa, Europe, North and South America. However, Diplodocids were never certainly recognized from the Cretaceous or in any other southern land mass besides Africa. Here we report a new sauropod, Leikupal laticauda gen. et sp. nov., from the early Lower Cretaceous (Bajada Colorada Formation of Neuquén Province, Patagonia, Argentina. This taxon differs from any other sauropod by the presence of anterior caudal transverse process extremely developed with lateroventral expansions reinforced by robust dorsal and ventral bars, very robust centroprezygapophyseal lamina in anterior caudal vertebra and paired pneumatic fossae on the postzygapophyses in anterior-most caudal vertebra. The phylogenetic analyses support its position not only within Diplodocidae but also as a member of Diplodocinae, clustering together with the African form Tornieria, pushing the origin of Diplodocoidea to the Middle Jurassic or even earlier. The new discovery represents the first record of a diplodocid for South America and the stratigraphically youngest record of this clade anywhere.