Analysis of Marketing and Customer Satisfaction in Base Housing Communities of the Monterey Bay Area

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-01

in Seattle, Washington. The company claims to be based on four basic principles : “exceptional people, strong customer service, market knowledge, and...FtOrd.html Keller, K., & Kotler , P. (2009). A framework for marketing management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Office of...SUBTITLE Analysis of Marketing and Customer Satisfaction in Base Housing Communities of the Monterey Bay Area 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6. AUTHOR(S

Miocene denudation history of Himalaya deduced from IODP Exp. 354 Bengal Fan

Science.gov (United States)

Kohki, Y.; Cruz, J. W.; Osaki, A.; Manoj, M. C.; Hatano, N.; France-Lanord, C.; Spiess, V.; Klaus, A.

2017-12-01

The submarine Bengal Fan is the largest submarine fan on Earth and covers the whole Bay of Bengal. The sediments are fed by the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers reflecting India-Asia plate collision. The sediments recovered from IODP Expedition 354 Bengal Fan record the uplift history of the Himalayan orogenic system. We examined the chemical composition of detrital garnets in the Miocene deposits from Site U1451, where drilling reached to basal horizon of the fan deposits, in order to reveal the detailed denudation history of Himalayan metamorphic rocks. For this purpose, the comparison of chemical composition between detrital garnet in the Bengal Fan deposits and metamorphic garnet in Himalayan metamorphic rocks was carried out. The chemical composition of the metamorphic garnet from Higher Himalayan Crystalline (HHC) in Karnali and Kaligandaki areas, western Nepal, was examined for chemical reference to detrital garnets in Bengal Fan. The metamorphic garnets in "Formation I (Le Fort, 1975)" in HHC are characterized by almandine-rich garnet with high pyrope content. Also, the garnets in "Formation II" are remarked by two types of garnets, i.e., almandine-rich and grandite-rich garnets. Meanwhile, the composition of garnets in "Formation III" is almandine-rich garnet with low pyrope content. In the Bengal Fan deposits, the characteristic garnets, which show the similarity to the metamorphic garnet in HHC, is not found from the Lower Miocene (Burdigalian) deposits. In the Middle and Upper Miocene deposits, the almandine-rich garnets characteristic in Formation I, are normally included. At the basal part of the Middle Miocene (Langhian), almandine-rich garnets with low pyrope content, suggesting the derivation from Formation III, are remarkable. The grandite-rich garnets from Formation II are sporadically found In the Upper Miocene deposits (Tortonian-Messinian). Above chemical comparison between the detrital garnets in Bengal Fan and metamorphic garnets from HHC

Paleo-environment in the upper amazon basin during early to middle Miocene times

Science.gov (United States)

van Soelen, Els; Hoorn, Carina; Santos, Roberto V.; Dantas, Elton L.; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S.; Kim, Jung-Hyun

2014-05-01

The Amazon River has the largest catchment in the world and is responsible for the largest water discharge from land to the ocean. The river system that flows from the Andes to the Atlantic Equatorial Margin exists since the late Miocene, and results from Andean uplift which strongly affected erosion/deposition and major flow patterns in northern South-America. Two outcrop sites from the Solimões basin, Mariñame (17.7-16.1 Ma) and Los Chorros (14.2-12.7 Ma), may shed light on the inland paleo-environmental conditions during a period of active Andean uplift in the early to middle Miocene. Earlier works revealed the Mariñame outcrops to represent a river born in Amazonia. Instead the Los Chorros outcrops are relics of the Amazon River system, characterized by extensive wetlands consisting of swamps, shallow lakes, crevasse splays channels and crevasse-delta lakes (e.g. Hoorn et al., 2010). The freshwater ecosystems alternate with some intervals that are rich in marine palynomorphs (such as dinocysts), mangrove pollen, brackish tolerant molluscs and ostracods, which indicate brackish conditions and a marine influence. It is thought that these marine incursion are related to phases of global sea-level rise and rapid subsidence in the Andean foreland (Marshall & Lundberg, 1996). Still, much remains unknown about the Miocene river systems, like the extent and diversity of the wetland system and the nature of the marine incursions. To get a better understanding of the sources of the (in)organic material, geochemical methods were used. Strontium (Sr) and Neodymium (Nd) isotopes were analyzed on bulk sediments, and used for a paleo-provenance study. The Sr and Nd isotopic signature in the older section (Mariñame) is in general more radiogenic compared to the Los Chorros section. The most radiogenic values are comparable to those found nowadays in the the Precambrian Guyana shield. A Guyana sediment source would suggest a distinctly different flow direction of the major

Carbon-isotope stratigraphy from terrestrial organic matter through the Monterey event, Miocene, New Jersey margin (IODP Expedition 313)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fang, Linhao; Bjerrum, Christian J.; Hesselbo, Stephen P.

2013-01-01

documented from oceanic settings (i.e., lack of positive excursion of carbon-isotope values in terrestrial organic matter through the Langhian Stage). Factors that may potentially bias local terrestrial carbon-isotope records include reworking from older deposits, degradation and diagenesis, as well....../or reworking of older woody phytoclasts, but where such processes have occurred they do not readily explain the observed carbon-isotope values. It is concluded that the overall carbon-isotope signature for the exchangeable carbon reservoir is distorted, to the extent that the Monterey event excursion...... is not easily identifiable. The most likely explanation is that phytoclast reworking has indeed occurred in clinoform toe-of-slope facies, but the reason for the resulting relatively heavy carbon-isotope values in the Burdigalian remains obscure....

Cost Benefit Analysis of the Monterey Pines Golf Course

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Zielinski, Matthew

2000-01-01

..., the government-operated course in the Monterey area. The main purpose of this thesis is to examine the costs and benefits of having a government-operated course in Monterey, where the golf market is extremely competitive, and to examine alternatives...

Crocodilian faunal renewal in the Upper Oligocene of Western Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Antunes, Miguel Telles; Cahuzac, Bruno

1999-01-01

The presence of Tomistomine Crocodilians ( Tomistoma sp.) is first recorded in the Upper Oligocene of Western Europe (Chattian, Saint-Geours-de-Maremne, Aquitaine basin). Immigration, probably of Asiatic origin, occurred ca. 26 Ma, prior to the previously earliest records for Lowermost Miocene. Tomistoma points to warm, at least subtropical environments, in agreement with data on invertebrates and fish fauna. Immigrations to Western Europe of Tomistoma (and of Gavialis, in Miocene times) during Upper Oligocene and Lower-Middle Miocene seem related to climatic warming and eustatic rise events. There was a renewal of the European Crocodilian fauna, much impoverished in Late Eocene and reduced to Diplocynodon.

Isostatic gravity map of the Monterey 30 x 60 minute quadrangle and adjacent areas, California

Science.gov (United States)

Langenheim, V.E.; Stiles, S.R.; Jachens, R.C.

2002-01-01

The digital dataset consists of one file (monterey_100k.iso) containing 2,385 gravity stations. The file, monterey_100k.iso, contains the principal facts of the gravity stations, with one point coded per line. The format of the data is described below. Each gravity station has a station name, location (latitude and longitude, NAD27 projection), elevation, and an observed gravity reading. The data are on the IGSN71 datum and the reference ellipsoid is the Geodetic Reference System 1967 (GRS67). The free-air gravity anomalies were calculated using standard formulas (Telford and others, 1976). The Bouguer, curvature, and terrain corrections were applied to the free-air anomaly at each station to determine the complete Bouguer gravity anomalies at a reduction density of 2.67 g/cc. An isostatic correction was then applied to remove the long-wavelength effect of deep crustal and/or upper mantle masses that isostatically support regional topography.

Two New Mylagaulid Rodents from the Early Miocene of China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoyu Lu

Full Text Available Mylagaulid fossorial rodents are a common component of North American Miocene fossil faunas. However outside of North America, only three species are known from Asia. Here we report two new mylagaulids, Irtyshogaulus minor gen. et sp. nov. and Irtyshogaulus major gen. et sp. nov., recovered from early Miocene sediments in the Junggar Basin in northwestern China. The two new taxa are small-sized, high-crowned promylagauline rodents. Their lower molars possess high metastylid crests, small mesostylids, broad and posterolingually expanded labial inflections, and transversely extending metalophid IIs. The mesoconid is absent in both species. The anterior and posterior fossettids are large and equally developed. Their upper M1-2s possess a square occlusal surface with five deep fossettes. The two new taxa are distinguished from each other mainly by their size, the morphology of fossettes and fossettids, development of mesial and distal lophs, posterior reduction of M3, and the orientation of m2 hypolophid. Our phylogenetic analysis indicates that Irtyshogaulus and Lamugaulus (another early Miocene Asian mylagaulid are sister taxa. The two genera are nested among the North American promylagaulines, and share a common ancestor from North America, indicating early Miocene intercontinental dispersal within this clade of rodents.

Comparison of Monterey pine stress in urban and natural forests

Science.gov (United States)

David J. Nowak; Joe R. McBride

1991-01-01

Monterey pine street trees within Carmel, California and its immediate vicinity, as well as forest-grown Monterey pine within adjacent natural stands, were sampled with regard to visual stress characteristics, and various environmental and biological variables. Two stress indices were computed, one hypothesized before data collection was based on relative foliage...

Provenance of Miocene Hinterland Basins in Ecuador: Implications for the Growth of Topographic Barriers in the Northern Andes

Science.gov (United States)

George, S. W. M.; Horton, B. K.; Vallejo, C.; Nogales, V.

2017-12-01

Establishment of the Eastern Cordillera of Ecuador as an Andean topographic barrier caused significant drainage reorganization, perhaps even as dramatic as the reversal of the Amazon River. Cenozoic growth of this barrier coincided with substantial increases in speciation rates in Andean and Amazonian environments. Situated in the Interandean Depression between the Eastern Cordillera and Western Cordillera of Ecuador, a series of well-preserved Miocene intermontane basins offer a unique opportunity to constrain the along-strike development of the flanking north-trending cordilleras as drainage divides in the Northern Andes. Here were provide detrital zircon U-Pb geochronological results for 17 samples from Ecuadorian hinterland basins (Cuenca, Giron-Santa Isabel, Nabón, Loja, and Vilcabamba), supplemented with measured sections in the Cuenca Basin, to provide insights on orogenic development of the cordilleras of Ecuador during the Miocene. In addition, we characterize the age distributions of basement units to more precisely determine sediment routing patterns through time. Detrital zircon geochronological data yields regional upsection trends throughout Miocene stratigraphic sections marked by: (1) middle Miocene deposits containing a strong syndepositional age peak, with a complementary Eocene-Oligocene peak in varying abundances, and subsidiary low-intensity Paleozoic-Proterozoic age peaks; and (2a) upper Miocene deposits maintaining similar trends to that of the middle Miocene, or (2b) upper Miocene deposits showing a dramatic shutoff of most Cenozoic populations and a switch to Paleozoic-Proterozoic sources, as seen in the Nabón and Loja basins. Syndepositional signatures reflect derivation from the magmatic arc, while varying inputs of Eocene-Oligocene zircons were derived from the Eocene-Oligocene volcanic rocks that comprise the effective basement of much of the Interandean Depression. The late Miocene shift to Paleozoic-Proterozoic sources observed in

78 FR 45964 - Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Monterey Museum of Art, Monterey, CA

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-30

... projectile points, 38 pendants or beads, 3 fire-starters, 4 hand tools, 6 fishing weights, 37 carvings, 1... stone. In the 1978 Deed of Gift to the Monterey Museum of Art, Mr. Holman notes that the objects were...

California State Waters Map Series—Offshore of Monterey, California

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Samuel Y.; Dartnell, Peter; Hartwell, Stephen R.; Cochrane, Guy R.; Golden, Nadine E.; Watt, Janet T.; Davenport, Clifton W.; Kvitek, Rikk G.; Erdey, Mercedes D.; Krigsman, Lisa M.; Sliter, Ray W.; Maier, Katherine L.; Johnson, Samuel Y.; Cochran, Susan A.

2016-08-18

, a secondary fault within the distributed plate boundary, cuts through (and is roughly aligned with) Carmel Canyon, a submarine canyon in the southwest corner of the map area that is part of the Monterey Canyon system. The San Gregorio Fault Zone is part of a fault system that is present predominantly in the offshore for about 400 km, from Point Conception in the south (where it is known as the Hosgri Fault) to Bolinas and Point Reyes in the north.The offshore part of the map area primarily consists of relatively flat continental shelf, bounded on the west by the steep flanks of Carmel Canyon. Shelf width varies from 2 to 3 km in the southern part of the map area, near the mouth of Carmel Canyon, to 14 km in Monterey Bay. Bedrock beneath the shelf is overlain in many areas by variable amounts (0 to 16 m) of upper Quaternary shelf and nearshore sediments deposited as sea level fluctuated in the late Pleistocene. “Soft-induration,” unconsolidated sediment is the dominant (about 63 percent) habitat type on the continental shelf, followed by “hard-induration” rock and boulders (about 34 percent) and “mixed-induration” substrate (about 3 percent). At water depths of about 100 to 130 m, the shelf break approximates the shoreline during the sea-level lowstand of the Last Glacial Maximum, about 21,000 years ago.Carmel Canyon and other parts of the Monterey Canyon system in the map area extend from the shelf break to water depths that reach 1,600 m. Most of the extensive incision of the shelf break and canyon flanks probably occurred during repeated Quaternary sea-level lowstands. The relatively straight floor of Carmel Canyon notably is aligned with the San Gregorio Fault Zone. Mixed hard-soft substrate is the most common (about 51 percent) habitat type in Carmel Canyon; hard bedrock and soft, unconsolidated sediment cover about 40 percent and 9 percent of canyon habitat, respectively.This part of the central California coast is exposed to large North Pacific

Miocene metamorphism of pan-African granites in the Edough Massif (NE Algeria)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hammor, D.; Lancelot, J.

1998-01-01

The Edough Massif is the eastern most crystalline core of the Maghrebides that represents the African segment of the west Mediterranean Alpine belt. U-Pb zircon dating provides upper intercept ages of 595± My and 606±55 My and orthogneiss of the lower unit and a deformed leucogranite of the upper pelitic unit, respectively. These ages suggest emplacement of the two granitoids during the Pan-African orogeny. Monazites from a paragneiss sample gave a 18± My U-Pb age that points to a Miocene age of the high-temperature metamorphism. (authors)

A new baleen whale from the Late Miocene of Denmark and early mysticete hearing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Steeman, Mette Elstrup

2009-01-01

here is a new, almost complete fossil baleen whale Uranocetus gramensis gen. et sp. nov. from the Upper Miocene Gram Formation in South West Denmark. It is the first stem-balaenopterid that has an initial stage of reduction in the mandibular cavity and a rostral configuration that is intermediate...

Miocene Soil Database: Global paleosol and climate maps of the Middle Miocene Thermal Maximum

Science.gov (United States)

Metzger, C. A.

2013-12-01

Paleosols, which record past climatic, biologic, and atmospheric conditions, can be used as a proxy to understand ancient terrestrial landscapes, paleoclimate, and paleoenvironment. In addition, the middle Miocene thermal maximum (~16 Ma) provides an ancient analog for understanding the effects of current and future climate change on soil and ecosystem regimes, as it contains records of shifts similar in magnitude to expected global climate change. The Miocene Soil Database (MSDB) combines new paleosol data from Australia and Argentina with existing and previously uncollated paleosol data from the literature and the Paleobiology Database. These data (n = 507) were then used to derive a paleogeographic map of climatically significant soil types zones during the Middle Miocene. The location of each diagnostic paleosol type (Aridisol, Alfisol, Mollisol, Histosol, Oxisol, and Ultisol) was plotted and compared with the extent of these soil types in the modern environment. The middle Miocene soil map highlights the extension of tropical soils (Oxisols, Ultisols), accompanied by thermophilic flora and fauna, into northern and southern mid-latitudes. Peats, lignites, and Histosols of wetlands were also more abundant at higher latitudes, especially in the northern hemisphere, during the middle Miocene. The paleosol changes reflect that the Middle Miocene was a peak of global soil productivity and carbon sequestration, with replacement of unproductive Aridisols and Gelisols with more productive Oxisols, Alfisols, Mollisols and Histosols. With expansion to include additional data such as soil texture, moisture, or vegetation type, the MSDB has the potential to provide an important dataset for computer models of Miocene climate shifts as well as future land use considerations of soils in times of global change.

Velocity and Attenuation Profiles in the Monterey Deep-Sea Fan

Science.gov (United States)

1987-12-01

a. 11 o n i n and depth. Sol ’^ a 11 e i"i u a 11 o >) a i::> 1 n Ci sediment for each of the f i...i. n c t ion o f f r e q u e n c; y...estimate of sea floor depth was obtained from an oceano - graphic map of the Monterey fan (’Oceanographic Data of the Monterey Deep Sea Fan’, 1st

Study of Integrated USV/UUV Observation System Performance in Monterey Bay

Science.gov (United States)

2017-09-01

EMATT expendable mobile ASW training target MARS Monterey Accelerated Research System MBARI Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute PSD power ...Paula Travis, provided needed support as well. The Naval Postgraduate School faculty and staff are incredibly professional and knowledgeable . The...operation. 9 “The MARS observatory ‘science node’ (shown in orange) has eight ports, each of which can supply data and power connections for

The age of volcanic tuffs from the Upper Freshwater Molasse (North Alpine Foreland Basin) and their possible use for tephrostratigraphic correlations across Europe for the Middle Miocene

Science.gov (United States)

Rocholl, Alexander; Schaltegger, Urs; Gilg, H. Albert; Wijbrans, Jan; Böhme, Madelaine

2018-03-01

The Middle Miocene Upper Freshwater Molasse sediments represent the last cycle of clastic sedimentation during the evolution of the North Alpine Foreland Basin. They are characterized by small-scale lateral and temporal facies changes that make intra-basin stratigraphic correlations at regional scale difficult. This study provides new U-Pb zircon ages as well as revised 40Ar/39Ar data of volcanic ash horizons in the Upper Freshwater Molasse sediments from southern Germany and Switzerland. In a first and preliminary attempt, we propose their possible correlation to other European tephra deposits. The U-Pb zircon data of one Swiss (Bischofszell) and seven southern German (Zahling, Hachelstuhl, Laimering, Unterneul, Krumbad, Ponholz) tuff horizons indicate eruption ages between roughly 13.0 and 15.5 Ma. The stratigraphic position of the Unterneul and Laimering tuffs, bracketing the ejecta of the Ries impact (Brockhorizon), suggests that the Ries impact occurred between 14.93 and 15.00 Ma, thus assigning the event to the reversed chron C5Bn1r (15.032-14.870 Ma) which is in accordance with paleomagnetic evidence. We combine our data with published ages of tuff horizons from Italy, Switzerland, Bavaria, Styria, Hungary, and Romania to derive a preliminary tephrochronological scheme for the Middle Miocene in Central Europe in the age window from 13.2 to 15.5 Ma. The scheme is based on the current state of knowledge that the Carpathian-Pannonian volcanic field was the only area in the region producing explosive calc-alkaline felsic volcanism. This preliminary scheme will require verification by more high-quality ages complemented by isotopic, geochemical and paleomagnetic data.

A partial skeleton of a new lamniform mackerel shark from the Miocene of Europe

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Jürgen Kriwet

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Cenozoic lamniform sharks are mostly represented by isolated teeth and vertebrae, whereas articulated skeletal remains are usually very scarce. Here, we describe a partial skeleton of an extinct lamniform shark consisting of 42 slightly disarticulated teeth, 49 vertebrae, and additional unidentifiable cranial and postcranial remains. The specimen originates from the Miocene mica-clay of Groß Pampau (North Germany, which is of late Langenfeldian age (= Serravallian-Tortonian boundary; middle–late Miocene. A total of 13 measurements of each tooth, as well as morphological features, were used to reconstruct the dentition of this specimen and to provide detailed taxonomic information. Additionally, the total body size and age at death were established using methodologies based on vertebral and tooth measurements and vertebral centra growth ring counts, respectively. The specimen undoubtedly represents the most complete individual of “Carcharodon (= Isurus escheri”, previously known only from a few isolated teeth. The dental pattern (e.g., marked dignathic and monognathic heterodonty patterns; only slightly labio-lingually compressed upper teeth; upper teeth slender with distally inclined or curved main cusps; massive, hook-like upper intermediate tooth; main cusps with crenulated cutting edges; lateral cusplets in teeth of all ontogenetic stages clearly separates this shark from all hitherto known Cenozoic and Recent lamnids and a new genus, Carcharomodus, consequently is introduced. Carcharomodus escheri comb. nov. is a characteristic element of late early Miocene to the Pliocene Western and Central European fish faunas. All previously identified Pacific occurrences represent a different taxon. We estimate that the specimen had a total body length of about 4 m and that it was older than 10 years and thus might have reached maturity before death, as indicated by all available evidence.

Middle Miocene E-W tectonic horst structure of Crete through extensional detachment faults

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Papanikolaou, D; Vassilakis, E

2008-01-01

Two east-west trending extensional detachment faults have been recognized in Crete, one with top-to-the-north motion of the hanging wall toward the Cretan Sea and one with top-to-the-south motion of the hanging wall toward the Libyan Sea. The east-west trending zone between these two detachment faults, which forms their common footwall, comprises a tectonic horst formed during Middle Miocene slip on the detachment faults. The detachment faults disrupt the overall tectono-stratigraphic succession of Crete and are localized along pre-existing thrust faults and along particular portions of the stratigraphic sequence, including the transition between the Permo-Triassic Tyros Beds and the base of the Upper Triassic-Eocene carbonate platform of the Tripolis nappe. By recognizing several different tectono-stratigraphic formations within what is generally termed the 'phyllite-quartzite', it is possible to distinguish these extensional detachment faults from thrust faults and minor discontinuities in the sequence. The deformation history of units within Crete can be summarized as: (i) compressional deformation producing arc-parallel east-west trending south-directed thrust faults in Oligocene to Early Miocene time (ii) extensional deformation along arc-parallel, east-west trending detachment faults in Middle Miocene time, with hanging wall motion to the north and south; (iii) Late Miocene-Quaternary extensional deformation along high-angle normal and oblique normal faults that disrupt the older arc-parallel structures

Regional stratigraphy, sedimentology, and tectonic significance of Oligocene-Miocene sedimentary and volcanic rocks, northern Baja California, Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Dorsey, Rebecca J.; Burns, Beverly

1994-01-01

Upper Oligocene (?) to middle Miocene sedimentary and volcanic rocks in northern Baja California were deposited along the western margin of North America during subduction of the Guadalupe plate and southward migration of the Rivera Triple Junction. Regional mapping and compilation of stratigraphic data reveal a sequence of three regionally traceable stratigraphic units. (1) Oligocene (?) to lower Miocene Mesa Formation: basal quartz-rich fluvial sandstone, grus, conglomerate, and accessory facies, whose detrital compositions reflect the composition of local pre-Tertiary basement rock. (2) Lower to middle Miocene Comondú Formation: laterally variable sequence of volcaniclastic conglomerate, breccia, sandstone, tuff and minor volcanic flow units. (3) Widespread mesa-capping rhyolite tuff, typically welded and crystal-rich, probably upper Miocene in age. The Mesa Formation overlies a highly irregular and deeply dissected erosional surface developed on pre-Tertiary basement rock. The shift from pre-Mesa erosion to widespread (though localized) deposition and valley-filling records the final phase of late Cretaceous to middle Tertiary regional subsidence and eastward transgression that resulted from slow cooling and thermal contraction of Cretaceous arc crust during a temporal gap in magmatic activity along the western Cordilleran margin. Nonmarine sediments of the Mesa Formation were deposited in small, steep-walled paleovalleys and basins that gradually filled and evolved to form through-going, low-energy ephemeral stream systems. The gradational upward transition from the Mesa to Comondú Formation records the early to middle Miocene onset of subduction-related arc magmatism in eastern Baja California and related westward progradation of alluvial volcaniclastic aprons shed from high-standing eruptive volcanic centers. Pre-existing streams were choked with the new influx of volcanic detritus, causing the onset of rapid sediment deposition by stream flows and dilute

Monterey, California Tsunami Forecast Grids for MOST Model

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Monterey, California Forecast Model Grids provides bathymetric data strictly for tsunami inundation modeling with the Method of Splitting Tsunami (MOST) model....

THE RESPONSE OF MONTEREY BAY TO THE GREAT TOHOKU EARTHQUAKE OF 2011

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Carroll

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The response of Monterey Bay to the Great Tohoku earthquake of 2011 is examined in this study. From a practical standpoint, although the resulting tsunami did not cause any damage to the open harbors at Monterey and Moss Landing, it caused extensive damage to boats and infrastructure in Santa Cruz Harbor, which is closed to surrounding waters. From a scientific standpoint, the observed and predicted amplitudes of the tsunami at 1 km from the source were 21.3 and 22.5 m based on the primary arrival from one DART bottom pressure recorder located 986 km ENE of the epicenter. The predicted and observed travel times for the tsunami to reach Monterey Bay agreed within 3%. The predicted and observed periods of the tsunami-generated wave before it entered the bay yielded periods that approached 2 hours. Once the tsunami entered Monterey Bay it was transformed into a seiche with a primary period of 36-37 minutes, corresponding to quarter-wave resonance within the bay. Finally, from a predictive standpoint, major tsunamis that enter the bay from the northwest, as in the present case, are the ones most likely to cause damage to Santa Cruz harbor.

THE RESPONSE OF MONTEREY BAY TO THE 2010 CHILEAN EARTHQUAKE

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Laurence C. Breaker

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The primary frequencies contained in the arrival sequence produced by the tsunami from the Chilean earthquake of 2010 in Monterey Bay were extracted to determine the seiche modes that were produced. Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA and Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD were employed to extract the primary frequencies of interest. The wave train from the Chilean tsunami lasted for at least four days due to multipath arrivals that may not have included reflections from outside the bay but most likely did include secondary undulations, and energy trapping in the form of edge waves, inside the bay. The SSA decomposition resolved oscillations with periods of 52-57, 34-35, 26-27, and 21-22 minutes, all frequencies that have been predicted and/or observed in previous studies. The EEMD decomposition detected oscillations with periods of 50-55 and 21-22 minutes. Periods in the range of 50-57 minutes varied due to measurement uncertainties but almost certainly correspond to the first longitudinal mode of oscillation for Monterey Bay, periods of 34-35 minutes correspond to the first transverse mode of oscillation that assumes a nodal line across the entrance of the bay, a period of 26- 27 minutes, although previously observed, may not represent a fundamental oscillation, and a period of 21-22 minutes has been predicted and observed previously. A period of ~37 minutes, close to the period of 34-35 minutes, was generated by the Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964 in Monterey Bay and most likely represents the same mode of oscillation. The tsunamis associated with the Great Alaskan Earthquake and the Chilean Earthquake both entered Monterey Bay but initially arrived outside the bay from opposite directions. Unlike the Great Alaskan Earthquake, however, which excited only one resonant mode inside the bay, the Chilean Earthquake excited several modes suggesting that the asymmetric shape of the entrance to Monterey Bay was an important factor and that the

Depositional environment, organic matter characterization and hydrocarbon potential of Middle Miocene sediments from northeastern Bulgaria (Varna-Balchik Depression

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Zdravkov Alexander

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The depositional environments and hydrocarbon potential of the siliciclastic, clayey and carbonate sediments from the Middle Miocene succession in the Varna-Balchik Depression, located in the south-eastern parts of the Moesian Platform, were studied using core and outcrop samples. Based on the lithology and resistivity log the succession is subdivided from base to top into five units. Siliciclastic sedimentation prevailed in the lower parts of units I and II, whereas their upper parts are dominated by carbonate rocks. Unit III is represented by laminated clays and biodetritic limestone. Units IV and V are represented by aragonitic sediments and biomicritic limestones, correlated with the Upper Miocene Topola and Karvuna Formations, respectively. Biogenic silica in the form of diatom frustules and sponge spicules correlates subunit IIa and unit III to the lower and upper parts of the Middle Miocene Euxinograd Formation. Both (subunits contain organic carbon contents in the order of 1 to 2 wt. % (median: 0.8 for subunit IIa; 1.3 for unit III, locally up to 4 wt. %. Based on Hydrogen Index values (HI and alkane distribution pattern, the kerogen is mainly type II in subunit IIa (average HI= 324 mg HC/g TOC and type III in unit III (average HI ~200 mg HC/g TOC. TOC and Rock Eval data show that subunit IIa holds a fair (to good hydrocarbon generative potential for oil, whereas the upper 5 m of unit III holds a good (to fair potential with the possibility to generate gas and minor oil. The rocks of both units are immature in the study area. Generally low sulphur contents are probably due to deposition in environments with reduced salinity. Normal marine conditions are suggested for unit III. Biomarker composition is typical for mixed marine and terrestrial organic matter and suggests deposition in dysoxic to anoxic environments.

Evaluation of hypotheses for right-lateral displacement of Neogene strata along the San Andreas Fault between Parkfield and Maricopa, California

Science.gov (United States)

Stanley, Richard G.; Barron, John A.; Powell, Charles L.

2017-12-22

We used geological field studies and diatom biostratigraphy to test a published hypothesis that Neogene marine siliceous strata in the Maricopa and Parkfield areas, located on opposite sides of the San Andreas Fault, were formerly contiguous and then were displaced by about 80–130 kilometers (km) of right-lateral slip along the fault. In the Maricopa area on the northeast side of the San Andreas Fault, the upper Miocene Bitterwater Creek Shale consists of hard, siliceous shale with dolomitic concretions and turbidite sandstone interbeds. Diatom assemblages indicate that the Bitterwater Creek Shale was deposited about 8.0–6.7 million years before present (Ma) at the same time as the uppermost part of the Monterey Formation in parts of coastal California. In the Parkfield area on the southwest side of the San Andreas Fault, the upper Miocene Pancho Rico Formation consists of soft to indurated mudstone and siltstone and fossiliferous, bioturbated sandstone. Diatom assemblages from the Pancho Rico indicate deposition about 6.7–5.7 Ma (latest Miocene), younger than the Bitterwater Creek Shale and at about the same time as parts of the Sisquoc Formation and Purisima Formation in coastal California. Our results show that the Bitterwater Creek Shale and Pancho Rico Formation are lithologically unlike and of different ages and therefore do not constitute a cross-fault tie that can be used to estimate rightlateral displacement along the San Andreas Fault.In the Maricopa area northeast of the San Andreas Fault, the Bitterwater Creek Shale overlies conglomeratic fan-delta deposits of the upper Miocene Santa Margarita Formation, which in turn overlie siliceous shale of the Miocene Monterey Formation from which we obtained a diatom assemblage dated at about 10.0–9.3 Ma. Previous investigations noted that the Santa Margarita Formation in the Maricopa area contains granitic and metamorphic clasts derived from sources in the northern Gabilan Range, on the opposite side of

Direct sampling during multiple sediment density flows reveals dynamic sediment transport and depositional environment in Monterey submarine canyon

Science.gov (United States)

Maier, K. L.; Gales, J. A.; Paull, C. K.; Gwiazda, R.; Rosenberger, K. J.; McGann, M.; Lundsten, E. M.; Anderson, K.; Talling, P.; Xu, J.; Parsons, D. R.; Barry, J.; Simmons, S.; Clare, M. A.; Carvajal, C.; Wolfson-Schwehr, M.; Sumner, E.; Cartigny, M.

2017-12-01

Sediment density flows were directly sampled with a coupled sediment trap-ADCP-instrument mooring array to evaluate the character and frequency of turbidity current events through Monterey Canyon, offshore California. This novel experiment aimed to provide links between globally significant sediment density flow processes and their resulting deposits. Eight to ten Anderson sediment traps were repeatedly deployed at 10 to 300 meters above the seafloor on six moorings anchored at 290 to 1850 meters water depth in the Monterey Canyon axial channel during 6-month deployments (October 2015 - April 2017). Anderson sediment traps include a funnel and intervalometer (discs released at set time intervals) above a meter-long tube, which preserves fine-scale stratigraphy and chronology. Photographs, multi-sensor logs, CT scans, and grain size analyses reveal layers from multiple sediment density flow events that carried sediment ranging from fine sand to granules. More sediment accumulation from sediment density flows, and from between flows, occurred in the upper canyon ( 300 - 800 m water depth) compared to the lower canyon ( 1300 - 1850 m water depth). Sediment accumulated in the traps during sediment density flows is sandy and becomes finer down-canyon. In the lower canyon where sediment directly sampled from density flows are clearly distinguished within the trap tubes, sands have sharp basal contacts, normal grading, and muddy tops that exhibit late-stage pulses. In at least two of the sediment density flows, the simultaneous low velocity and high backscatter measured by the ADCPs suggest that the trap only captured the collapsing end of a sediment density flow event. In the upper canyon, accumulation between sediment density flow events is twice as fast compared to the lower canyon; it is characterized by sub-cm-scale layers in muddy sediment that appear to have accumulated with daily to sub-daily frequency, likely related to known internal tidal dynamics also measured

Hypsodont Myomiminae (Gliridae, Rodentia) from the Miocene and the Oligocene-Miocene boundary interval of Spain

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Daams, R.

1990-01-01

Fifty-one localities from the Oligocene-Miocene boundary interval and the Miocene of Spain have yielded nearly 4000 teeth of hypsodont Gliridae (Armantomys and Praearmantomys). The phylogeny and palaeoecology are discussed. Two new species of Armantomys (A. parsani sp. nov. from Ramblar 1 and A.

The Upper Miocene Lake Pannon marl from the Filijala Open Pit (Beočin, northern Serbia: New geological and paleomagnetic data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ganić Meri

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This work presents major lithological, structural, paleontological and paleomagnetic characteristics of the Upper Miocene Pannonian marl in the Filijala Open Pit of the La Farge Cement Plant near Beočin, northern Serbia. Pannonian marl lies between the underlying heterogeneous Sarmatian deposits and the overlying set of Pontian sand beds and Quaternary sediments. The open pit is located on the NE range of Fruška Gora, a horst structure with a core of Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Paleogene rocks in a complex structural pattern. Pannonian sediments, which are part of a younger structural stage, deposited on the horst limbs. The Pannonian marl strata dip at angles from 12° to 26° (to the NNW, forming a monocline. The strata deformations are a consequence of radial tectonics and are a potential source of landslides. The many mollusks (7 gastropod and 9 bivalve species and ostracodes (27 species and their biostratigraphical position indicate marl deposition throughout the Pannonian age. A paleomagnetic investigation established that the marl has inconsistent remanent magnetization (with bad statistical parameters, which originates from neoformed magnetite.

Paleocene to Middle Miocene planktic foraminifera of the southwestern Salisbury Embayment, Virginia and Maryland: biostratigraphy, allostratigraphy, and sequence stratigraphy

Science.gov (United States)

Poag, C.W.; Commeau, J.A.

1995-01-01

The Paleocene to Middle Miocene sedimentary fill of the southwestern Salisbury Embayment contains a fragmental depositional record, interrupted by numerous local diastems and regional unconformities. Using planktic foraminiferal biostratigraphy, 15 unconformity-bounded depositional units have been identified, assigned to six formations and seven alloformations previously recognized in the embayment. The units correlate with second- and third-order sequences of the Exxon sequence stratigraphy model, and include transgressive and highstand systems tracts. Alloformation, formation, and sequence boundaries are marked by abrupt, scoured, burrowed, erosional surfaces, which display lag deposits, biostratigraphic gaps, and intense reworking of microfossils above and below the boundaries.Paleocene deposits represent the upper parts of upper Pleocene Biochronozones P4 and P5, and rest uncomformably  on Cretaceous sedimentary beds of various ages (Maastrichtian to Albian). Lower Eocene deposits represent parts of Biochronozones P6 and P9. Middle Eocene strata represent mainly parts of Biochronozones P11, P12, and P14. Upper Eocene sediments include parts of Biochronozones P15, P16, and P17. Oligocene deposits encompass parts of Biochronozones. N4b to N7 undifferentiated, P21a, and, perhaps, N4a. Lower Miocene deposits encompass parts of Biochronozones N4b to N7 undifferentiated. Middle Miocene strata represent mainly parts of Biochronorones N8, N9, and N10.Nine plates of scanning electron micrographs illustrate the principal planktic foraminifera used to establish the biostratigraphic framework. Two new informal formine of Praeterenuitella praegemma Li, 1987, are introduced.

Miocene

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

(Malvaceae s.l.), is described from the Sindhudurg Formation. (Miocene) at the ... described along with palynofossils (Phadtare and. Kulkarni 1980a ... D istrict,. Maharash tra,. India, star indicates fossil lo cality; and. ( b. ) litholog o f the. Kalviw adi .... Following collision of the two plates, land connections ... The occur- rence of ...

Multi-scale responses of scattering layers to environmental variability in Monterey Bay, California

Science.gov (United States)

Urmy, Samuel S.; Horne, John K.

2016-07-01

A 38 kHz upward-facing echosounder was deployed on the seafloor at a depth of 875 m in Monterey Bay, CA, USA (36° 42.748‧N, 122° 11.214‧W) from 27 February 2009 to 18 August 2010. This 18-month record of acoustic backscatter was compared to oceanographic time series from a nearby data buoy to investigate the responses of animals in sound-scattering layers to oceanic variability at seasonal and sub-seasonal time scales. Pelagic animals, as measured by acoustic backscatter, moved higher in the water column and decreased in abundance during spring upwelling, attributed to avoidance of a shoaling oxycline and advection offshore. Seasonal changes were most evident in a non-migrating scattering layer near 500 m depth that disappeared in spring and reappeared in summer, building to a seasonal maximum in fall. At sub-seasonal time scales, similar responses were observed after individual upwelling events, though they were much weaker than the seasonal relationship. Correlations of acoustic backscatter with oceanographic variability also differed with depth. Backscatter in the upper water column decreased immediately following upwelling, then increased approximately 20 days later. Similar correlations existed deeper in the water column, but at increasing lags, suggesting that near-surface productivity propagated down the water column at 10-15 m d-1, consistent with sinking speeds of marine snow measured in Monterey Bay. Sub-seasonal variability in backscatter was best correlated with sea-surface height, suggesting that passive physical transport was most important at these time scales.

Carbon transport in Monterey Submarine Canyon

Science.gov (United States)

Barry, J.; Paull, C. K.; Xu, J. P.; Clare, M. A.; Gales, J. A.; Buck, K. R.; Lovera, C.; Gwiazda, R.; Maier, K. L.; McGann, M.; Parsons, D. R.; Simmons, S.; Rosenberger, K. J.; Talling, P. J.

2017-12-01

Submarine canyons are important conduits for sediment transport from continental margins to the abyss, but the rate, volume, and time scales of material transport have been measured only rarely. Using moorings with current meters, sediment traps (10 m above bottom) and optical backscatter sensors, we measured near-bottom currents, suspended sediment concentrations, and sediment properties at 1300 m depth in Monterey Canyon and at a non-canyon location on the continental slope at the same depth. Flow and water column backscatter were used to characterize "ambient" conditions when tidal currents dominated the flow field, and occasional "sediment transport events" when anomalously high down-canyon flow with sediment-laden waters arrived at the canyon mooring. The ambient sediment flux measured in sediment traps in Monterey Canyon was 350 times greater than measured at the non-canyon location. Although the organic carbon content of the canyon sediment flux during ambient periods was low (1.8 %C) compared to the slope location (4.9 %C), the ambient carbon transport in the canyon was 130 times greater than at the non-canyon site. Material fluxes during sediment transport events were difficult to measure owing to clogging of sediment traps, but minimal estimates indicate that mass transport during events exceeds ambient sediment fluxes through the canyon by nearly 3 orders of magnitude, while carbon transport is 380 times greater. Estimates of the instantaneous and cumulative flux of sediment and carbon from currents, backscatter, and sediment properties indicated that: 1) net flux is down-canyon, 2) flux is dominated by sediment transport events, and 3) organic carbon flux through 1300 m in Monterey Canyon was ca. 1500 MT C per year. The injection of 1500 MTCy-1 into the deep-sea represents ca. 260 km2 of the sediment C flux measured at the continental slope station (5.8 gCm-2y-1) and is sufficient to support a benthic community carbon demand of 5 gCm-2y-1 over 300 km2.

15 CFR Appendix A to Subpart M of... - Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Boundary Coordinates

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary... OF COMMERCE OCEAN AND COASTAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY PROGRAM REGULATIONS Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Pt. 922, Subpt. M, App. A Appendix A to Subpart M of Part 922...

Spatial and temporal genetic homogeneity of the Monterey Spanish mackerel, Scomberomorus concolor, in the Gulf of California

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erika Magallón-Gayón

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The genetic homogeneity of the Monterey Spanish mackerel Scomberomorus concolor population in the Gulf of California was confirmed using nine nuclear microsatellite loci in combination with mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences. Samples were collected from the upper and central Gulf areas, representing the two main biogeographical regions of the Gulf. The analyses support the existence of a single panmictic population of S. concolor inhabiting the Gulf of California which in terms of fishery management represents a single genetic stock. Additionally, the contemporary effective population size estimated for the S. concolor population (Ne = 3056.9 was high and similar to another pelagic species. The gene flow seems to be bidirectional between the upper and central Gulf, which coincides with the seasonal movements between both regions related to spawning and feeding activities. A population expansion event was detected, which agrees with a colonization-expansion hypothesis of the S. concolor population in the Gulf.

Sedimentologic indicators of the Miocene tectonic evolution in the Nunchia syncline

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramirez Arias, Juan Carlos; Mora, Andres; Parra, Mauricio

2010-01-01

The study area corresponds to the Nunchia syncline, which is located in the eastern foothills of the eastern cordillera of Colombia. This structure is bounded by the Yopal thrust to the east, and Guaicaramo thrust to the west. This syncline has mostly outcrops of Miocene units, which belong to the Carbonera (C1-C5), Leon and Guayabo formations. Here we use sedimentologic data, especially in the Guayabo Formation, in order to determine the influence of active tectonics during its deposition. Petrographic analyses of sandstones indicate the presence of components associated with upper Cretaceous - Paleocene formations in the eastern cordillera. Paleocurrent orientation shows a preferential trend towards the se during the deposition of most of the studied formations, with a reversal in flow direction towards the W-NW during the deposition of the middle Guayabo Formation preserved in the Nunchia syncline. The collected data allows establishing a structural evolution in the Nunchia syncline which was therefore active during most of the Miocene. This evolution appears to be continuous, although fragmentation of the geological record shows more specific periods of tectonic activity.

Southern Monterey Bay Littoral Cell CRSMP Sensitive Habitat 2008

Data.gov (United States)

California Natural Resource Agency — One of the most important functions of the southern Monterey Bay coastal system is its role as a habitat for a unique flora and fauna. The beaches are habitat for...

Southern Monterey Bay Littoral Cell CRSMP Sensitive Habitat 2008

Data.gov (United States)

California Department of Resources — One of the most important functions of the southern Monterey Bay coastal system is its role as a habitat for a unique flora and fauna. The beaches are habitat for...

The evolving fresh market berry industry in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Tourte

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The fresh market berry industry in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties has contributed significantly to the agricultural vibrancy of the two counties and the state of California. Dramatic growth in strawberry, raspberry and blackberry production has been documented over the last 50 years, and most notably since the 1980s. Factors influencing this growth include innovations in agricultural practices and heightened consumer demand. Here, we review the historical context for the berry industry in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. Organic production, production economics and challenges for the future are also discussed.

Character of the contact and biostratigraphical feature of distribution of the microfauna on border between productive series (PS) and underlying upper Miocene sediments of Absheron oil and gas bearing region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shikhlinsky, S.A.

2002-01-01

Full text: Productive Series (PS) is a basic hydrocarbon object and has a wide distribution in the Absheron Oil and Gas Bearing Region (AOGBR).In the normal stratigraphic sequences PS lays between Akchagylian and Pontian Regiostages (Pontian).From microfauna point of view, PS contains rare native ostracods , fish teeth, otolithes and forams.In situ, in PS, there are 34 of microfauna species present and more than half of them are transitional, which appear in the Upper Miocene and finish the existence in the Akchagylian-Apsheronian sediments.Others taxons are having the strict stratigraphical distribution and very important for the definition of the age of different lithostratones inside PS.Stratigraphical distribution of these species has been tested in numerous natural outcrops and well sections.The large interest for geologists is the boundary between PS and underlying Upper Miocene.The stratigraphic character of the given intermediate complex of sediments depends on paleotectonic conditions and different sections on the way it is expressed differently.In one section, in other-the gradual transition from Pontian to Kalinskaya Suite (KaS).The detailed study of the samples from the numerous old explorationwells drilled before 1972 and from new contract areas located in the Caspian sea, such as Karabakh, Dan Ulduzu, Ashrafi, where sampling was made very detailed, allowed us to discover the characteristic biomarkers and to specify the character of distribution of the microfauna on the Pontian-KaS boundary.The similar contact between KaC and Pontian is observed in the Karabakh field too.KaS here is represented by monotonous carbonated shale, clay and claystone, almost not distinguished from the black Potian shale, with increase at the contact with water.Despite of it, the boundary is precisely beaten by microfauna.In the Pontian sediments we have discovered a characteristic complex of Ostracoda and microscopic Pelecypoda.

Southern Monterey Bay Littoral Cell CRSMP Critical Erosion Sites 2008

Data.gov (United States)

California Natural Resource Agency — PWA and Griggs (2004) defined three risk categories to Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency (MRWPCA) facilities between Marina and Wharf II. These risk...

Southern Monterey Bay Littoral Cell CRSMP Critical Erosion Sites 2008

Data.gov (United States)

California Department of Resources — PWA and Griggs (2004) defined three risk categories to Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency (MRWPCA) facilities between Marina and Wharf II. These risk...

Repeat Mapping in the Lower Monterey Submarine Canyon Sheds Light on Morphological Change During Discrete Sediment Density Flow Events

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, K.; Lundsten, E. M.; Caress, D. W.; Thomas, H. J.; Paull, C. K.; Maier, K. L.; Gales, J. A.; Gwiazda, R.; Talling, P.; Xu, J.; Parsons, D. R.

2017-12-01

The Coordinated Canyon Experiment (CCE), a multi-institutional collaboration effort, was designed to monitor the passage of sediment density flows along the axis of Monterey Canyon, offshore California, between 200 and 1850 m water depth. An array of moorings and sensors were deployed for three 6-month periods from October 2015 to April 2017. Aligned with the CCE deployments, repeat high-resolution multibeam bathymetric surveys of the Monterey Canyon floor were conducted with a mapping AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle). The AUV carried a Reson 7125 multibeam echosounder (vertical precision of 0.15 m and horizontal resolution of 1.0 m). An inertial navigation system combined with a Doppler velocity logger allowed the AUV to fly pre-programmed grids at 3 knots, while maintaining an altitude of 50 m above the seafloor, to obtain a nominal line spacing of 130 m. The floor and lower flanks of the canyon between 200 to 540 m and 1350 to 1880 m water depths were mapped six times during the CCE. These repeat maps are subtracted to create bathymetry difference grids to show morphological change. Coupling the sensor observations with the bathymetric surveys, the CCE successfully documented sediment density flow events as well as the associated changes in seafloor morphology. Between repeat surveys, three sediment density flow events reached the lower canyon, extending to at least 1850 m water depth. On January 15, 2016, a particularly large density flow traveled more than 50 km down Monterey Canyon. Unlike in the upper canyon where this event caused wholesale reorganization of geomorphological features, changes to the lower canyon morphology involved a more moderate re-sculpting of the features. The effect of a sediment density flow of known magnitude and duration on the seafloor morphology has never been documented in a deep-sea setting before.

Southern Monterey Bay Littoral Cell CRSMP Proposed Receiver Site 2008

Data.gov (United States)

California Natural Resource Agency — Given the location of the critical areas of erosion and the need to avoid adverse impacts to local sensitive habitat, the Southern Monterey Bay Coastal RSM Plan...

Southern Monterey Bay Littoral Cell CRSMP Proposed Receiver Site 2008

Data.gov (United States)

California Department of Resources — Given the location of the critical areas of erosion and the need to avoid adverse impacts to local sensitive habitat, the Southern Monterey Bay Coastal RSM Plan...

Monterey Bay Aquarium Volunteer Guide Scheduling Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

2014-12-01

TERMS 15. NUMBER OF Monterey Bay Aquarium, linear programing, network design, multi commodity flow, resilience PAGES 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY...Volunteers fill many roles that include Aquarium guides, information desk attendants, divers, and animal caregivers . Julie Packard, Executive Director of...further analyze the resiliency of the shifts to changes in staffing levels caused by no-shows or drop-ins. 3 While the guide program managers have

The upper Tortonian-lower Messinian at Monte dei Corvi (Northern Apennines, Italy) : Completing a Mediterranean reference section for the Tortonian Stage

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hüsing, S. K.; Kuiper, K. F.; Link, W.; Hilgen, Frederik J.; Krijgsman, W.

2009-01-01

A high-resolution integrated stratigraphy including biostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, tephrostratigraphy and cyclostratigraphy is presented for the upper Tortonian and lower Messinian (Upper Miocene) at Monte dei Corvi. Numerical age control comes from a combination of magnetobiostratigrapic

Coastal currents and mass transport of surface sediments over the shelf regions of Monterey Bay, California

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf, S.C.

1970-01-01

In Monterey Bay, the highest concentrations of medium and fine sands occur nearshore between ten and thirty fathoms. Silt and clay accumulate in greater depths. Contours of median diameter roughly parallel the isobaths. Fine-grained materials are supplied to the bay region from erosion of cliffs which partly surround Monterey Bay, from sediment laden river discharge, and from continual reworking of widespread Pleistocene and Recent sea floor sediments. These sediments in turn are picked up by coastal currents and distributed over the shelf regions by present day current regimes. Studies of bottom currents over the shelf regions and in Monterey Canyon have revealed patterns which vary with seasonal changes. Current patterns during August and September exhibit remarkable symmetry about the axis of Monterey Submarine Canyon. Central Shelf currents north and south of Monterey Canyon flowed northwest at an average rate of 0.2 knots and south at 0.3 knots respectively. On the North Shelf between January and March currents flowed east to southeast at 0.3-0.5 knots with mirror image patterns above the South Shelf during the same period. Irregular current flow in the canyon indicates a complex current structure with frequent shifts in counterclockwise and clockwise direction over very short periods of time. Bottom topography of the canyon complex often causes localization of canyon currents. One particular observation at a depth of 51 fathoms indicated up-canyon flow at a rate of 0.2 knots. Most of the observed currents are related to seasonal variations, upwelling, ocean swell patterns, and to changes in the California and Davidson currents. Changes in current regimes are reflected in the patterns of sediment distribution and transport. Sediment transport is chiefly parallel to the isobaths, particularly on the North and South Shelf regions. Complex dispersal patterns are observed near Monterey Canyon and Moss Landing Harbor jetties. Longshore currents move sediments

Southern Monterey Bay Littoral Cell CRSMP CEMEX Mine Dredge Pond 2008

Data.gov (United States)

California Natural Resource Agency — Location of the CEMEX mine dredge pond at Lapis Sand Plant, Marina, CA. Southern Monterey Bay has been the most intensively mined shoreline in the U.S. Sand mining...

Petrology of the Miocene igneous rocks in the Altar region, main Cordillera of San Juan, Argentina. A geodynamic model within the context of the Andean flat-slab segment and metallogenesis

Science.gov (United States)

Maydagán, Laura; Franchini, Marta; Chiaradia, Massimo; Pons, Josefina; Impiccini, Agnes; Toohey, Jeff; Rey, Roger

2011-07-01

The Altar porphyry Cu-(Au-Mo) deposit (31° 29' S, 70° 28' W) is located in the Andean Main Cordillera of San Juan Province (Argentina), in the southern portion of the flat-slab segment (28-33°S), 25 km north of the world-class porphyry Cu-Mo deposits of Los Pelambres and El Pachón. Igneous rocks in the area have been grouped into the Early Miocene Lower Volcanic Complex -composed of intercalations of lava flows and thin volcaniclastic units that grade upwards to a thick massive tuff- and the Middle-Late Miocene Upper Subvolcanic Suite that consists of a series of porphyritic stocks and dikes and magmatic and hydrothermal breccias. The Lower Volcanic Complex represents an Early Miocene arc (20.8 Ma ± 0.3 Ma; U-Pb age) erupted over a steep subduction zone. Their magmas equilibrated with an assemblage consisting of plagioclase- and pyroxene-dominated mineral residues, and experienced fractional crystallization and crustal contamination procesess. Their radiogenic signatures are interpreted to indicate conditions of relatively thickened continental crust in Altar during the Early Miocene, compared to the south and west. The Upper Subvolcanic Suite represents the development of a Middle-Late Miocene arc (11.75 ± 0.24 Ma, 10.35 ± 0.32 Ma; U-Pb ages) emplaced over a shallow subduction zone. A magmatic gap in Altar area betwen the Lower Volcanic Complex and Upper Subvolcanic Suite correlates with documented higher rates of compression in this period, that may have favored the storage of the USS magmas in cameras within the crust. Magmas of the Upper Subvolcanic Suite require a hornblende-bearing residual mineral assemblage that is interpreted to reflect their higher water contents. The relatively uniform radiogenic isotope compositions of the Upper Subvolcanic Suite magmas suggest a homogeneously mixed crust-mantle contribution in the source region. They have similar REE signatures as other fertile intrusives of the flat-slab. The differences observed in their

Miocene and Pleistocene mollusks from San Andres Island (Caribbean Sea, Colombia) and Paleogeographic considerations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diaz M, Juan Manuel; Garcia Llano, Cesar Fernando

2010-01-01

San Andres Island is the largest emerged portion of the oceanic archipelago of San Andres and Providencia, southwestern Caribbean Sea; it originated as a coralline atoll during Miocene times. The central and highest part of the island consists of a calcareous crest, the San Andres Formation, formed by Neogene lagoonal and reefal deposits. This crest is surrounded by a calcareous platform of Pleistocene age (San Luis Formation) which emerges only along the island coast, whereas its most part is submerged and covered by a Recent reef complex. Fossil material of molluscs from these two formations was collected in various sites throughout the island and taxonomically identified. In the four sites sampled in the San Andres Formation, material belonging to 19 gastropod and 37 bivalve species was obtained, most of them relatively well represented in other geologic formations of the Caribbean region that are stratigraphically situated between the upper Miocene and the middle Pliocene. Some elements occurring in this formation, such as Ostrea haitiensis, Meretrix dariena and Siphocypraea henekeni, were widely distributed in the Caribbean Miocene Province. In the San Luis Formation, material belonging to 18 gastropod and 11 bivalve species was obtained, most of them also represented in the Recent molluscan fauna of the region. The estimated age of this formation is Sangamonian, hence corresponding to similar formations occurring in Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Hispaniola, the Netherlands Antilles and other Caribbean islands, with which it also shows a great similarity in the composition of the molluscan fauna.

Miocene vegetation shift and climate change: Evidence from the Siwalik of Nepal

Science.gov (United States)

Srivastava, Gaurav; Paudayal, Khum N.; Utescher, Torsten; Mehrotra, R. C.

2018-02-01

We reconstruct climate and vegetation applying the Coexistence Approach (CA) methodology on two palaeofloras recovered from the Lower (middle Miocene; 13-11 Ma) and Middle Siwalik (late Miocene; 9.5-6.8 Ma) sediments of Surai Khola section, Nepal. The reconstructed mean annual temperature (MAT) and cold month mean temperature (CMT) show an increasing trend, while warm month mean temperature (WMT) remains nearly the same during the period. The reconstructed precipitation data indicates that the summer monsoon precipitation was nearly the same during the middle and late Miocene, while the winter season precipitation significantly decreased in the late Miocene. The overall precipitation infers increased rainfall seasonality during the late Miocene. The vegetation during the middle Miocene was dominated by wet evergreen taxa, whereas deciduous ones increased significantly during the late Miocene. The reconstructed climate data indicates that high temperature and significantly low precipitation during the winter season (dry season) in the late Miocene might have enhanced forest fire which favoured the expansion of C4 plants over C3 plants during the period. This idea gets further support not only from a recent forest fire in northern India that was caused by the weakening of winter precipitation, but also from the burnt wood recovered from the late Miocene Siwalik sediments of northern India.

Molluscan radiations and landscape evolution in Miocene Amazonia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wesselingh, F.P.

2008-01-01

This PhD study aims to exploit the rich archive provided by the Miocene mollusc fauna of the Pebas Formation and other inland Miocene Amazonian formations to reconstruct landscape evolution and biotic development in lowland Amazonia during the Neogene. Over 160 samples from more than 70 Pebas

A Middle-Upper Miocene fluvial-lacustrine rift sequence in the Song Ba Rift, Vietnam

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lars H., Nielsen; Henrik I., Petersen; Nguyen D., Dau

2007-01-01

The small Neogene Krong Pa graben is situated within the continental Song Ba Rift, which is bounded by strike-slip faults that were reactivated as extensional faults in Middle Miocene time. The 500 m thick graben-fill shows an overall depositional development reflecting the structural evolution...... subsidence rate and possibly a higher influx of water from the axial river systems the general water level in the graben rose and deep lakes formed. High organic preservation in the lakes prompted the formation of two excellent oil-prone lacustrine source-rock units. In the late phase of the graben...... as carrier beds, whereas the braided fluvial sandstones and conglomerates along the graben margins may form reservoirs. The Krong Pa graben thus contains oil-prone lacustrine source rocks, effective conduits for generated hydrocarbons and reservoir sandstones side-sealed by the graben faults toward...

Large mammal burrows in late Miocene calcic paleosols from central Argentina: paleoenvironment, taphonomy and producers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Cristina Cardonatto

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Large cylindrical sediment-filled structures interpreted as mammal burrows occur within the loess-paleosol sequence of the late Miocene Cerro Azul Formation of central Argentina. A total of 115 burrow fills from three localities were measured. They are typically shallowly dipping, subcylindrical, unbranched structures with rounded ends and lacking enlargements. The horizontal diameter of the burrows range between 0.15 and 1.50 m, with most of the burrows in the interval of 0.39 to 0.98 m. Geometric morphometric analysis of transverse cross-sections support their distinct subcircular and elliptical (horizontally flattened shapes. Burrow fills are typically laminated in the lower part and massive in the upper part. The laminated intervals reflect pulses of flowing water entering the abandoned burrow during moderate rains, whereas massive intervals reflect mass flow input of dense sediment-water mixtures during heavy rains that produced sheet floods. Approximately 1% of the burrows contained fragmentary, disarticulated and weathered mammal bones that were introduced in the open burrow by currents along with other sedimentary particles. Analysis of the tetrapod burrow fossil record suggests that Miocene burrows, including those studied herein, reflect a remarkable increase in the average size of the fossorial fauna. We conclude that large late Miocene mammals dug burrows essentially as a shelter against environmental extremes and to escape predation. The simple architecture of the burrows suggests that the producers essentially foraged aboveground. Several mammal groups acquired fossorial habits in response to cold and seasonally dry climatic conditions that prevailed during the late Miocene in southern South America. The considerable range of horizontal diameters of the studied burrows can be attributed to a variety of producers, including dasypodids, the notoungulate Paedotherium minor, Glyptodontidae and Proscelidodon sp.

Evolution and Submarine Landslide Potential of Monterey Canyon Head, Offshore Central California

Science.gov (United States)

Maier, K. L.; Johnson, S. Y.; Hart, P. E.; Hartwell, S. R.

2016-12-01

Monterey Canyon, offshore central California, incises the shelf from near the shoreline to 30 km seaward where axial water depths approach 2,000 m. It is one of the world's most studied submarine canyons, yet debate continues concerning its age, formation, and associated geologic hazards. To address these issues, the USGS, with partial support from the California Seafloor Mapping Program, collected hundreds of kilometers of high-resolution, mini-sparker, single-channel (2009 and 2011 surveys) and multichannel (2015 survey) seismic-reflection profiles near the canyon head. The seismic data were combined with multibeam bathymetry to generate a geologic map of the proximal canyon, which delineates numerous faults and compound submarine landslide headwall scarps (covering up to 4 km2) along canyon walls. Seismic-reflection data reveal a massive ( 100 km2 lateral extent) paleochannel cut-and-fill complex underlying the proximal canyon. These subsurface cut-and-fill deposits span both sides of the relatively narrow modern canyon head, crop out in canyon walls, and incise into Purisima Formation (late Miocene and Pliocene) bedrock to depths of up to 0.3 s two-way travel time ( 240 m) below the modern shelf. We propose that the paleochannel complex represents previous locations of a migrating canyon head, and attribute its origin to multiple alternating cycles of fluvial and submarine canyon erosion and deposition linked to fluctuating sea levels. Thus, the canyon head imaged in modern bathymetry is a relatively young feature, perhaps forming in the last 20,000 years of sea-level rise. The paleocanyon deposits are significantly less consolidated than bedrock in deeper canyon walls, and therefore, are probably more prone to submarine landsliding. Nearby mapped faults occur within the active, distributed, San Andreas fault system, and earthquake-generated strong ground motions are likely triggers for past and future submarine landslides and potential associated tsunamis.

Soft-sediment deformation structures in seismically affected deep-sea Miocene turbidites (Cilento Basin, southern Italy

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Valente Alessio

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Soft-sediment deformation structures (SSDS are widespread in the upper part of the S. Mauro Formation (Cilento Group, Middle-Late Miocene. The succession is represented mainly by thick and very thick, massive, coarse-grained sandstones, deposited by rapid sedimentation of high-density turbidity currents. The most common SSDS are short pillars, dishes, sedimentary sills and convolutions. They occur mostly in the upper parts of sandstone beds. Vertical tubes of 4-5 cm in diameter and up to 50 cm long constitute the most striking structures. They begin in the middle part of sandstone beds, which are basically massive or contain faint dish structures. These tubes can bifurcate upwards and/ or pass into bedding-parallel veins or dikes. The vertical tubes sometimes form sand volcanoes on the then sedimentary surface.

The Miocene carnivore assemblage of Greece

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Koufos, G. D.

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The Miocene carnivore assemblage of Greece includes a great number of taxa, described in numerous articles since the first decades of the 19^th Century. The present article is a revision of all these taxa, providing information about their history, localities, age, as well as their stratigraphic distribution and palaeoenvironment. The Early/Middle Miocene carnivore record of Greece is poor as the available fossiliferous sites and material are rare. However, the Late Miocene one is quite rich, including numerous taxa. The Miocene localities with carnivores and their age are given in a stratigraphic table covering the European Mammal zones from MN 4 to MN 13. The type locality, holotype, and some historical and morphological remarks are given for each taxon. Several carnivore taxa were erected from Greek material and new photos of their holotypes are given. The stratigraphic distribution of the Greek carnivore taxa indicates that they are covering the time span from ~19.0-5.3Ma. The majority of the Miocene taxa (Adcrocuta, Hyaenictitherium, Plioviverrops, Protictitherium, Ictitherium, Indarctos, Dinocrocuta, Promephitis disappeared at the end of Miocene. The composition of the Early/Middle Miocene carnivore assemblage of Greece includes mainly viverrids (Lophocyon, Euboictis, while the hyaenids, percrocutids, felids and mustelids are very few. On the contrary the Late Miocene assemblage is richer, including more subfamilies and species; the hyaenids and mustelids dominate, while the viverrids are absent. The Late Miocene carnivore guild structure is similar to that of the modern Serengeti, indicating a relatively open, savannah-like environment.

La asociación de carnívoros miocenos de Grecia incluye un gran número de taxones, descritos en numerosos artículos desde las primeras décadas del siglo XIX. El presente artículo supone un esfuerzo de síntesis de todos estos taxones, suministrando información sobre su

Deployment of a Long-Term Broadband Seafloor Observatory in Monterey Bay

Science.gov (United States)

McGill, P.; Neuhauser, D.; Stakes, D.; Romanowicz, B.; Ramirez, T.; Uhrhammer, R.

2002-12-01

MOBB (Monterey bay Ocean floor Broad Band project) is a collaborative project between the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory (BSL). Its goal is to install and operate a permanent seafloor broadband seismic station as a first step towards extending the on-shore broadband seismic network in northern California to the seaside of the North-America/Pacific plate boundary, providing better azimuthal coverage for regional earthquake and structure studies. The successful MOBB deployment took place 40km off shore at a water depth of 1000m during three dives on April 9-11, 2002. The seismometer was buried in a 60-cm deep caisson, which was later back filled with glass beads to stabilize the instrument. New tools, including a high-pressure water-jet excavator, were developed for the ROV Ventana to accomplish these tasks. The ocean-bottom MOBB station currently comprises a three-component seismometer package, a current-meter, and a recording and battery package. Data recovery dives, during which the recording and battery package will be exchanged, are planned every three months for the next three years. A differential pressure gauge (DPG) (Cox et al., 1984) will be deployed as part of the recording package during the next data recovery dive in September 2002. The station is currently recording data autonomously. Eventually, it will be linked to the planned (and recently funded) MARS (Monterey Accelerated Research System; rl {http://www.mbari.org/mars/}) cable and provide real-time, continuous seismic data to be merged with the rest of the northern California real-time seismic system. The data are archived at the NCEDC for on-line availability, as part of the Berkeley Digital Seismic Network (BDSN). This project follows the 1997 MOISE experiment, in which a three-component broadband system was deployed for a period of three months, 40km off shore in Monterey Bay. MOISE was a cooperative program sponsored by MBARI, UC

Sr isotope evidence for a lacustrine origin for the upper Miocene to Pliocene Bouse Formation, lower Colorado River trough, and implications for timing of Colorado Plateau uplift

Science.gov (United States)

Spencer, J.E.; Patchett, P.J.

1997-01-01

The upper Miocene to Pliocene Bouse Formation in the lower Colorado River trough, which consists largely of siltstone with basal tufa and marl, has been interpreted as estuarine on the basis of paleontology. This interpretation requires abrupt marine inundation that has been linked to early rifting in the Gulf of California and Salton trough. New strontium isotope measurements reported here from carbonates and invertebrate shells in the Bouse Formation reveal no evidence of marine water, but are consistent with deposition in a lake or chain of lakes fed by the Colorado River. Furthermore, the absence of a southward decrease in 87Sr/86Sr within the Bouse Formation does not support the estuarine model in which low 87Sr/86Sr marine Sr would have dominated the mouth of the hypothetical Bouse estuary. Elevation of originally marine 87Sr/86Sr in the Bouse Formation to its present level, due to postdepositional interaction with ground water, is unlikely because Sr from secondary calcite above, below, and within the Bouse Formation is consistently less radiogenic, not more, than Bouse marl and shells. In contrast to Bouse Sr, strontium from mollusks in tidal-flat and delta-front paleoenvironments in the contemporaneous Imperial Formation in the Salton trough and from the subsurface south of Yuma was derived from sea water and confirms the dominance of marine strontium near or at the mouth of the late Miocene to early Pliocene Colorado River. Inferred post-early Pliocene uplift of the Bouse Formation from below sea level to modern elevations of up to 550 m has been used to support a late Cenozoic uplift age for the nearby Colorado Plateau. This constraint on uplift timing is eliminated if the Bouse Formation is lacustrine.

Geology, geochemistry and {sup 40}K-{sup 40}Ar geochronometry of Miocene magmatism in Algiers area, Northern Algeria; La magmatisme miocene de l`Est Algerois, geologie, geochimie et geochronologie {sup 40}K-{sup 40}Ar

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Belanteur, O; Ouabadi, A; Semroud, B; Megartsi, M H [Algiers Univ. (Algeria). Faculte des Sciences; Bellon, H; Maury, R C; Coutelle, A [Brest Univ., 29 (France); Fourcade, S [Rennes-1 Univ., 35 (France)

1996-12-31

Miocene magmatic rocks outcrop within a narrow coastal strip east of Algiers. They include basaltic and andesitic lava flows and intrusions (Dellys, Cap Djinet), the Thenia granodioritic plug and the dacitic to rhyolitic lavas and pyroclastic flows from Zemmouri El Bahri and El Kerma. Despite the effects of hydrothermal alteration, {sup 40}K-{sup 40}Ar ages coupled with micropalaeontological data lead to recognition of two emplacement events at 16-15 and 14-12 Ma, respectively. All the studied calc-alkaline to potassic calc-alkaline rocks are enriched in highly incompatible elements and display negative Nb anomalies. Acid magmas have a pronounced crustal imprint ({sup 87}Sr{sup 86}Sr{sub i} =3D 0.7082 to 0.7155; {delta}{sup 18}O =3D +9 to +13 per mill) which together with La/Nb ratios argues for the occurrence of upper crustal contamination processes. However, the Nb-depletion of the associated basalts suggest that the studied magmas derive from a mantle source which underwent subduction-related metasomatic enrichments prior to their Miocene emplacement. (authors). 13 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs.

15 CFR Appendix D to Subpart M of... - Dredged Material Disposal Sites Adjacent to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Adjacent to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary D Appendix D to Subpart M of Part 922 Commerce and... SANCTUARY PROGRAM REGULATIONS Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Pt. 922, Subpt. M, App. D Appendix D to... Sanctuary [Coordinates in this appendix are unprojected (Geographic Coordinate System) and are calculated...

Late Miocene volcanic activity in the České středohoří Mountains, Ohře (Eger) Graben, northern Bohemia

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Cajz, Vladimír; Rapprich, V.; Erban, V.; Pécskay, Z.; Radoň, M.

2009-01-01

Roč. 60, č. 6 (2009), s. 519-533 ISSN 1335-0552 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA300130612 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30130516 Keywords : Upper Miocene * České středohoří Mts. * volcanostratigraphy * Štrbice Formation * geochemistry * K-Ar dating * cinder cone * basanite Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 0.963, year: 2009

The early to mid-Miocene environment of Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

Ashworth, A. C.; Lewis, A.

2012-12-01

Paleoecological studies in the Transantarctic Mountains of the McMurdo region provide evidence that the climate was both warmer and wetter in the early to mid-Miocene than it was during the late Miocene. The climate change was accompanied by a shift from wet- to cold-based glaciation in the TAM and the probable growth of the polar ice sheet. Terrestrial and freshwater aquatic fossil assemblages from the Friis Hills (77°S) and the Olympus Range (77°S), with endpoint 40Ar/39Ar ages on tephras of 19.76 Ma and 14.07 Ma, respectively, indicate climatic cooling during the interval. At c.14 Ma, the temperature dropped below the threshold required to support the plants and insects of a tundra biome, and they became extinct. This interpretation is supported by pollen studies from Ross Sea cores. The extinction of the tundra biota on the continent appears to have been time-transgressive, occurring at 12.8 Ma on the Antarctic Peninsula. Evidence of climatic cooling from early to mid-Miocene is based on a decrease in biodiversity. During interglacial phases of the early Miocene, the poorly drained valley of the Friis Hills supported a sexually-reproducing moss community dominated by Campylium cf. polygamum, which today grows on the margins of lakes and in soil between boulders. Wood and leaves of Nothofagus (Southern Beech), and the seeds of at least five other angiosperm species are preserved as fossils. In addition, there are abundant megaspores and spiny, curved leaves of the aquatic lycopod Isoetes (Quillwort), as well as chitinous remains of curculionid beetles and Chironomidae (midges). During glacial phases, the only fossils found are Nothofagus leaves of a species which appears to be different than that associated with the interglacial phases. Pollen supports the interpretation that there was more than one species of Nothofagus in the vegetation. The types and numbers of species indicate that the vegetation was a shrub tundra. The closest modern analog for the fossil

75 FR 59963 - Safety Zone: Monte Foundation Firework Display, Monterey, CA

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-29

...-AA00 Safety Zone: Monte Foundation Firework Display, Monterey, CA AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION... Monte Foundation Firework Display. This safety zone is established to ensure the safety of participants... be completed. Because of the dangers posed by the pyrotechnics used in this fireworks display, the...

Geology, geochemistry and 40K-40Ar geochronometry of Miocene magmatism in Algiers area, Northern Algeria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belanteur, O.; Ouabadi, A.; Semroud, B.; Megartsi, M.H.; Fourcade, S.

1995-01-01

Miocene magmatic rocks outcrop within a narrow coastal strip east of Algiers. They include basaltic and andesitic lava flows and intrusions (Dellys, Cap Djinet), the Thenia granodioritic plug and the dacitic to rhyolitic lavas and pyroclastic flows from Zemmouri El Bahri and El Kerma. Despite the effects of hydrothermal alteration, 40 K- 40 Ar ages coupled with micropalaeontological data lead to recognition of two emplacement events at 16-15 and 14-12 Ma, respectively. All the studied calc-alkaline to potassic calc-alkaline rocks are enriched in highly incompatible elements and display negative Nb anomalies. Acid magmas have a pronounced crustal imprint ( 87 Sr 86 Sr i =3D 0.7082 to 0.7155; δ 18 O =3D +9 to +13 per mill) which together with La/Nb ratios argues for the occurrence of upper crustal contamination processes. However, the Nb-depletion of the associated basalts suggest that the studied magmas derive from a mantle source which underwent subduction-related metasomatic enrichments prior to their Miocene emplacement. (authors). 13 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs

Fluids circulation during the Miocene rifting of the Penedès half-graben, NE Iberian Peninsula

Science.gov (United States)

Baqués, Vinyet; Travé, Anna; Cantarero, Irene

2013-04-01

The Penedès half-graben, located in the north-western part of the Mediterranean, is a NE-SW oriented basin generated during the Miocene rifting. This graben is bounded to the northwest by the SE-dipping Vallès-Penedès fault, which places the Mesozoic rocks in contact with the Miocene basin-fill. The basin is filled with an up to 4 km thick succession of sediments divided into three lithostratigraphic units. From base to top: (1) a lower continental complex, (2) a continental to marine complex and (3) an upper continental complex. These units are covered by Pliocene deposits which onlap a Messinian regional erosive surface. The structural features within the Penedès half-graben allow defining three deformational phases during the Miocene rifting. The first, during the syn-rift, two successive stages of NE-SW normal faults were formed. The second, during the early post-rift, one stage of NE-SW normal faults and one minor compression phase with a dextral directional developed. The third, during the late post-rift, two successive stages of N-S trending extensional fractures (faults and joints) and one minor compression with a sinistral component developed. The fractures related to the syn-rift stage acted as conduits for meteoric fluids both, in the phreatic and in the vadose zone. During the early post-rift, Fe2+- rich fluids precipitated oxides along the NE-SW fault planes. The dextral directional faults served as conduits for meteoric fluids which reequilibrated totally the marine Miocene host rocks under the phreatic environment. The late post-rift stage was characterized by marine fluids upflowing through the N-S fractures, probably derived from the Miocene marine interval, which mixed with meteoric fluids producing dolomitization. The second set of N-S fractures served as conduits for meteoric fluids characterised by δ13C-depleted soil-derived CO2 attributed to precipitation in the vadose zone. The change from phreatic to vadose meteoric environment and the

Climate aberrations during the middle Miocene: evidence from the eastern North Atlantic Ocean

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Quaijtaal, W.; Donders, T.H.; Schouten, S.; Louwye, S.

2013-01-01

During the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO; 17-14.5 Ma) the relatively warm climate of the Miocene reached peak temperatures. After the MMCO, the global climate started cooling through several short-lived cooling events, represented by positive oxygen isotope excursions: the Mi-events (Miocene

An initial examination of carbonate variability in the western equatorial Pacific: XRF results from the lower to middle Miocene of IODP Site U1490

Science.gov (United States)

Valerio, D. A.; Kulhanek, D. K.; Rosenthal, Y.; Holbourn, A. E.

2017-12-01

International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 363 sought to determine the nature of and driving forces behind climate variability in the Western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP) region throughout the Neogene on millennial, orbital, and geologic timescales. Our research focuses on the Miocene (19-9 Ma) sediment record from IODP Site U1490 to examine changes in carbonate production and burial in the WPWP as a record of variations in the regional/global carbon cycle. This interval is of particular interest because it spans the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum, the Middle Miocene Climate Transition, and the late Miocene carbonate crash. Site U1490 is located on the northern edge of Eauripik Rise at 05°58.95'N, 142°39.27'E in the northern part of the WPWP. At 2341 m water depth, today the site is bathed in Upper Circumpolar Deepwater. Miocene sediment at Site U1490 primarily consists of clay-bearing to clay-rich foraminifer-rich nannofossil ooze, although biogenic silica (primarily radiolaria) is a significant component in the lowermost part of the record. The sedimentation rate in the early to middle Miocene was very low (calcium carbonate content of 87 wt% throughout the site, with the most significant variations in the lower to middle Miocene, where contents range from 20 to 85 wt%. We collected X-ray fluorescence (XRF) data at 1 cm resolution along the composite stratigraphic section over the 19-9 Ma interval to obtain a qualitative measure of the bulk chemistry of the sediment. We will use the weight percent calcium carbonate of discrete samples to calibrate the XRF data to generate a high-resolution carbonate record. We observe cyclical variations in the Ca/Ba, which may reflect variations in productivity and/or dissolution through this interval, although additional work is needed to fully interpret these data. Ultimately our research will allow for comparison between records obtained from these cores located in the western equatorial Pacific to those obtained

A major reorganization of Asian climate by the early Miocene

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Z. T. Guo

2008-08-01

Full Text Available The global climate system experienced a series of drastic changes during the Cenozoic. In Asia, these include the climate transformation from a zonal pattern to a monsoon-dominated pattern, the disappearance of typical subtropical aridity, and the onset of inland deserts. Despite major advances in the last two decades in characterizing and understanding these climate phenomena, disagreements persist relative to the timing, behaviors and underlying causes.

This paper addresses these issues mainly based on two lines of evidence. First, we compiled newly collected data from geological indicators of the Cenozoic environment in China as paleoenvironmental maps of ten intervals. In confirming the earlier observation that a zonal climate pattern was transformed into a monsoonal one, the maps within the Miocene indicate that this change was achieved by the early Miocene, roughly consistent with the onset of loess deposition in China. Although a monsoon-like regime would have existed in the Eocene, it was restricted to tropical-subtropical regions. The latitudinal oscillations of the climate zones during the Paleogene are likely attributable to the imbalance in evolution of polar ice-sheets between the two hemispheres.

Secondly, we examine the relevant depositional and soil forming processes of the Miocene loess-soil sequences to determine the circulation characteristics with emphasis on the early Miocene. Continuous eolian deposition in the middle reaches of the Yellow River since the early Miocene firmly indicates the formation of inland deserts, which have been constantly maintained during the past 22 Ma. Grain-size gradients between loess sections indicate northerly dust-carrying winds from northern sources, a clear indication of an Asian winter monsoon system. Meanwhile, well-developed Luvisols show evidence that moisture from the oceans reached northern China. This evidence shows the coexistence of two kinds of

The extinct river shark Glyphis pagoda from the Miocene of Myanmar and a review of the fossil record of the genus Glyphis (Carcharhiniformes: Carcharhinidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Shimada, Kenshu; Egi, Naoko; Tsubamoto, Takehisa; Maung-Maung, Maung-Maung; Thaung-Htike, Thaung-Htike; Zin-Maung-Maung-Thein, Zin-Maung-Maung-Thein; Nishioka, Yuichiro; Sonoda, Teppei; Takai, Masanaru

2016-09-05

We redescribe an extinct river shark, Glyphis pagoda (Noetling), on the basis of 20 teeth newly collected from three different Miocene localities in Myanmar. One locality is a nearshore marine deposit (Obogon Formation) whereas the other two localities represent terrestrial freshwater deposits (Irrawaddy sediments), suggesting that G. pagoda from the Irrawaddy sediments was capable of tolerating low salinity like the extant Glyphis. Glyphis pagoda likely reached up to at least 185 cm in total body length and was probably piscivorous. The fossil species occurs in rocks of Myanmar and eastern and western India and stratigraphically ranges at least from the Lower Miocene (Aquitanian) to the lower Upper Miocene (mid-Tortonian). It has been classified under at least eight other genera to date, along with numerous taxonomic synonyms largely stemming from the lack of understanding of the heterodonty in extant Glyphis in the original description. Our literature review suggests that known Miocene shark faunas, particularly those in India, are manifested with unreliable taxonomic identifications and outdated classifications that warrant the need for a comprehensive taxonomic review in order to evaluate the evolutionary history and diversity pattern of Miocene shark faunas. The genus Glyphis has a roughly 23-million-year-long history, and its success may be related to the evolution of its low salinity tolerance. While extant Glyphis spp. are considered to be particularly vulnerable to habitat degradation and overfishing, the fossil record of G. pagoda provides renewed perspective on the natural history of the genus that can be taken into further consideration for conservation biology of the extant forms.

Life-history traits of the Miocene Hipparion concudense (Spain inferred from bone histological structure.

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Cayetana Martinez-Maza

Full Text Available Histological analyses of fossil bones have provided clues on the growth patterns and life history traits of several extinct vertebrates that would be unavailable for classical morphological studies. We analyzed the bone histology of Hipparion to infer features of its life history traits and growth pattern. Microscope analysis of thin sections of a large sample of humeri, femora, tibiae and metapodials of Hipparion concudense from the upper Miocene site of Los Valles de Fuentidueña (Segovia, Spain has shown that the number of growth marks is similar among the different limb bones, suggesting that equivalent skeletochronological inferences for this Hipparion population might be achieved by means of any of the elements studied. Considering their abundance, we conducted a skeletechronological study based on the large sample of third metapodials from Los Valles de Fuentidueña together with another large sample from the Upper Miocene locality of Concud (Teruel, Spain. The data obtained enabled us to distinguish four age groups in both samples and to determine that Hipparion concudense tended to reach skeletal maturity during its third year of life. Integration of bone microstructure and skeletochronological data allowed us to identify ontogenetic changes in bone structure and growth rate and to distinguish three histologic ontogenetic stages corresponding to immature, subadult and adult individuals. Data on secondary osteon density revealed an increase in bone remodeling throughout the ontogenetic stages and a lesser degree thereof in the Concud population, which indicates different biomechanical stresses in the two populations, likely due to environmental differences. Several individuals showed atypical growth patterns in the Concud sample, which may also reflect environmental differences between the two localities. Finally, classification of the specimens' age within groups enabled us to characterize the age structure of both samples, which is

Numerical Simulation of Recent Turbidity Currents in the Monterey Canyon System, Offshore California

Science.gov (United States)

Heimsund, S.; Xu, J.; Nemec, W.

2007-12-01

The method of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been used, in the form of a 3D numerical model (Flow- 3D®), to perform a full-scale simulation of turbidity currents measured in December 2002 by three moorings in the Soquel and Monterey canyons. The model was verified by simulation of laboratory flows, and was upscaled to the Monterey Canyon system on the basis of high-resolution bathymetric data and flow measurements. The measured velocity profiles were sufficient to assess the flow thickness, initial velocity and duration in the canyon head zone. A computational grid with a highest feasible resolution was used, and both bathymetry and hydrostatic pressure were accounted for. The volumetric sediment concentration and exact grain- size composition of the flows were unknown, and thus a range of values for the initial concentration and bed roughness were assumed and assessed on a trial-and-error basis. The simulations reveal the behavior of a turbidity current along its descent path, including its local hydraulic characteristics (the 3D field of velocity, sediment concentration, shear stress, strain rate, and dynamic viscosity, as well as the magnitude of velocity and turbulent shear). The results confirm that the velocity structure of turbidity current is highly sensitive to variation in seafloor topography. The December 17th flow in the Soquel Canyon appears to have lost capacity by dilution over a relatively short distance and shown significant velocity fluctuations, which is attributed to the rugged topography of the canyon floor. A major loss of momentum occurred when the flow plunged at high angle into the Monterey Canyon, crashing against its bend's southern wall. The December 20th flow in the Monterey Canyon, in contrast, developed a considerably longer body and strongly accelerated towards the canyon's sharp second bend before crashing against its western wall. The mooring data show a down-canyon decline of velocity and suggest gradual waning, but the

Paleofaunal and Environmental Research on Miocene Fossil Sites TVOR SE and TVOR S on Fort Polk, Louisiana, with Continued Survey, Collection, Processing, and Documentation of other Miocene Localities

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Schiebout, Judith

2004-01-01

Focus of paleontological research on the Miocene of Fort Polk is currently the marine locality TVOR SE, which also has yielded large and small terrestrial Miocene vertebrates, and a single Cretaceous...

Miocene tectonic history of the Central Tauride intramontane basins, and the paleogeographic evolution of the Central Anatolian Plateau

Science.gov (United States)

Koç, Ayten; Kaymakci, Nuretdin; Van Hinsbergen, Douwe J. J.; Kuiper, Klaudia F.

2017-11-01

Marine Lower-Upper Miocene deposits uplifted to > 2 km elevation in the Tauride mountains of southern Turkey are taken as evidence for the rise of a nascent plateau. The dynamic causes of this uplift are debated, but generally thought to be a regional dynamic topographic effect of slab motions or slab break-off. Immediately adjacent to the high Tauride mountains lie the Central Tauride Intramontane Basins, which consist of Miocene and younger fluvio-lacustrine basins, at much lower elevations than the highly uplifted marine Miocene rocks. These basins include the previously analyzed Altınapa and Yalvaç basins, as well as the until now undescribed Ilgın Basin. In this paper, we aim to constrain the paleogeography of the Central Tauride Intramontane Basins and determine the role of the tectonics driving the formation of the high Miocene topography in southern Turkey. Therefore, we provide new data on the stratigraphy, sedimentology and structure of the continental Ilgın Basin. We provide an 40Ar/39Ar age of 11.61 ± 0.05 Ma for pumice deposits in the stratigraphy. We provide paleostress inversion analysis based on growth faults showing that the basin formed during multi-directional extension, with NE-SW to E-W dominating over subordinate Nsbnd S extension. We conclude that major, still-active normal faults like the Akşehir Fault also controlled Miocene Ilgın basin formation, with proximal facies close to the basin margins grading upwards and basinwards into lacustrine deposits representing the local depocenter. The Ilgın Basin was a local depocenter, but it may have connected with the adjacent Altınapa Basin during high lake levels in late Serravallian time. The Ilgın Basin and the other continental basins provide key constraints on the paleogeography and tectonic history of the region. These continental basins were likely close to the paleo-coastline during the Late Miocene after which there must have been major differential uplift of the Taurides. We

SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY AND PALEONTOLOGY OF THE UPPER MIOCENE PISCO FORMATION ALONG THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE LOWER ICA VALLEY (ICA DESERT, PERU

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CLAUDIO DI CELMA

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The sequence stratigraphic framework and a summary of the fossil fauna of the upper Miocene portion of the Pisco Formation exposed along the western side of the Ica River (southern Peru is presented through a new geological map encompassing an area of about 200 km2 and detailed chronostratigraphic analyses. Extensive field mapping and sedimentological study of outcrop sections have shown that the Pisco Formation is a cyclical sediment unit composed of at least three fining-upward, unconformity-bounded depositional sequences, designated P0, P1, and P2 from oldest to youngest. In the study area, these sequences progressively onlap a composite basal unconformity from southwest to northeast. Integration of biostratigraphic and tephrochronologic age determinations constrains the ages of the three Pisco sequences within the study area. Based on the age of surrounding sediments, a conservative estimate of the age of P0 suggests deposition of these strata between 17.99 ± 0.10 Ma and 9.00 ± 0.02 Ma, whereas diatom biostratigraphy and calculated 40Ar/39Ar ages converge to indicate that strata of the P1 sequence were deposited sometime between 9.5 Ma and 8.9 Ma and that those of the P2 sequence are younger than 8.5 Ma and older than 6.71 ± 0.02 Ma. Our survey for both vertebrate and macro-invertebrate remains in the three sequences confirms the outstanding paleontological value of the Pisco Formation and contributes to depict regional faunal shifts in the fossil assemblage.

A model study of the first ventilated regime of the Arctic Ocean during the early Miocene

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Bijoy Thompson

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The tectonic opening of Fram Strait during the Neogene was a significant geological event that transferred the Arctic Ocean from a poorly ventilated enclosed basin, with weak exchange with the North Atlantic, to a fully ventilated “ocean stage”. Previous tectonic and physical oceanographic analyses suggest that the early Miocene Fram Strait was likely several times narrower and less than half as deep as the present-day 400 km wide and 2550 m deep strait. Here we use an ocean general circulation model with a passive age tracer included to further address the effect of the Fram Strait opening on the early Miocene Arctic Ocean circulation. The model tracer age exhibits strong spatial gradient between the two major Arctic Ocean deep basins: the Eurasian and Amerasian basins. There is a two-layer stratification and the exchange flow through Fram Strait shows a bi-layer structure with a low salinity outflow from the Arctic confined to a relatively thin upper layer and a saline inflow from the North Atlantic below. Our study suggests that although Fram Strait was significantly narrower and shallower during early Miocene, and the ventilation mechanism quite different in our model, the estimated ventilation rates are comparable to the chemical tracer estimates in the present-day Arctic Ocean. Since we achieved ventilation of the Arctic Ocean with a prescribed Fram Strait width of 100 km and sill depth of 1000 m, ventilation may have preceded the timing of a full ocean depth connection between the Arctic Ocean and North Atlantic established through seafloor spreading and the development of the Lena Trough.

The Oligocene-Miocene stratigraphic evolution of the Majella carbonate platform (Central Apennines, Italy)

Science.gov (United States)

Brandano, Marco; Cornacchia, Irene; Raffi, Isabella; Tomassetti, Laura

2016-03-01

The stratigraphic architecture of the Bolognano Formation documents the evolution of the Majella carbonate platform in response to global and local changes that affected the Mediterranean area during the Oligocene-Miocene interval. The Bolognano Formation consists of a homoclinal ramp that developed in a warm, subtropical environment. Five different lithofacies associations have been identified: Lepidocyclina calcarenites, cherty marly limestones, bryozon calcarenites, hemipelagic marls and marly limestones, and Lithothamnion limestones. Each association corresponds to a single lithostratigraphic unit except for the Lepidocyclina calcarenites that form two distinct lithostratigraphic units (Lepidocyclina calcarenites 1 and 2). These six units reflect alternation of shallow-water carbonate production and drowning. Specifically, two of the three stages of shallow-water carbonate production regard the development of wide dune fields within the middle ramp, one stage dominated by red algae and a sea-grass carbonate factory, whereas the two drowning phases are represented by marly cherty limestones and calcareous marls. A new biostratigraphic framework for Bolognano Formation is presented, based on high-resolution analysis of calcareous nannofossil assemblages, which proved to be very useful for biostratigraphic constraints also in shallow-water settings. Using this approach, we have linked the first drowning phase, late Chattian-Aquitanian p.p. in age, to western Mediterranean volcanism and the Mi-1 event, and the second drowning phase, late Burdigalian-Serravallian in age, to the closure of the Indo-Pacific passage and the occurrence of the global Monterey event. These results permit a new deciphering, in terms of sequence stratigraphy, of the Bolognano Formation that is interpreted as a 2nd-order super-sequence that can be subdivided into 3 transgressive-regressive sequences.

Application of carbon isotope stratigraphy to late miocene shallow marine sediments, new zealand.

Science.gov (United States)

Loutit, T S; Kennett, J P

1979-06-15

A distinct (0.5 per mil) carbon-13/carbon-12 isotopic shift in the light direction has been identified in a shallow marine sedimentary sequence of Late Miocene age at Blind River, New Zealand, and correlated with a similar shift in Late Miocene Deep Sea Drilling Project sequences throughout the Indo-Pacific. A dated piston core provides an age for the shift of 6.2 +/- 0.1 million years. Correlations based on the carbon isotopic change require a revision of the previously established magnetostratigraphy at Blind River. The carbon shift at Blind River occurs between 6.2 and 6.3 +/- 0.1 million years before present. A new chronology provides an age for the evolutionary first appearance datum of Globorotalia conomiozea at 6.1 +/- 0.1 million years, the beginning of a distinct latest Miocene cooling event associated with the Kapitean stage at 6.2 +/- 0.1 million years, and the beginning of a distinct shallowing of water depths at 6.1 +/- 0.1 million years. The Miocene-Pliocene boundary as recognized in New Zealand is now dated at 5.3 +/- 0.1 million years. Extension of carbon isotope stratigraphy to other shallow Late Miocene sequences should provide an important datum for international correlation of Late Miocene shallow and deep marine sequences.

The monterey bay broadband ocean bottom seismic observatory

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R. Uhrhammer

2006-06-01

Full Text Available We report on the installation of a long-term buried ocean-floor broadband seismic station (MOBB in Monterey Bay, California (USA, 40km off-shore, at a water depth of 1000 m. The station was installed in April 2002 using a ship and ROV, in a collaborative effort between the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI and the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory (BSL. The station is located on the western side of the San Gregorio Fault, a major fault in the San Andreas plate boundary fault system. In addition to a 3-component CMG-1T seismometer package, the station comprises a current meter and Differential Pressure Gauge, both sampled at high-enough frequency (1 Hz to allow the study of relations between background noise on the seismometers and ocean waves and currents. The proximity of several land-based broadband seismic stations of the Berkeley Digital Seismic Network allows insightful comparisons of land/ocean background seismic noise at periods relevant to regional and teleseismic studies. The station is currently autonomous. Recording and battery packages are exchanged every 3 months during scheduled one day dives. Ultimately, this station will be linked to shore using continuous telemetry (cable and/or buoy and will contribute to the earthquake notification system in Northern California. We present examples of earthquake and noise data recorded during the first 6 months of operation of MOBB. Lessons learned from these and continued recordings will help understand the nature and character of background noise in regional off-shore environments and provide a reference for the installation of future off-shore temporary and permanent broadband seismic stations.

Ostracods biostratigraphy of the Oligocene-Miocene carbonate platform in the Northeastern Amazonia coast and its correlation with the Caribbean region

Science.gov (United States)

Nogueira, Anna Andressa Evangelista; Nogueira, Afonso César Rodrigues

2017-12-01

Oligocene-Miocene ostracods biozones are proposed for the ∼65 m-thick platform carbonate succession exposed in the Northeastern Amazonia coast, Brazil. Previous biostratigraphic studies based on planktonic foraminifera, nannofossils and palynomorphs are poorly age constrained and have hindered the correlation with other units of the Atlantic Equatorial margin. Tectonic stability of the Northeastern Amazonia coast during Neogene, associated with reduced riverine inflow and continuous sea level rise, allowed the establishment of lagoon/mangroves, tidal channel and shallow platform settings favoring massive proliferation of benthic ostracods. The recurrence of these depositional systems along of entire Oligocene-Miocene succession contributed mainly for the preservation of typical assemblages of lagoonal ostracods. Among thirty-two ostracods genera identified, the most of them are generally polyhalines associated with a mesohaline genus as Perissocytheridea. Rare ostracods genera typical of offshore zone indicate limited oceanic connection with lagoon. Additionally, the rare presence of Cyprideis indicates a relatively stable salinity degree suggesting change in the lagoon dynamic until estuarine conditions. The ostracods comprise more than 100 species, ranging from Upper Oligocene to Lower Miocene with five index species correspondent to a single zone called the Cytherella stainforthi Zone that was subdivided in four sub-biozones: 1) Jugosocythereis pannosa, 2) Quadracythere brachypygaia, 3) Triebelina crumena and 4) Neocaudites macertus. This new zonation was calibrated with the Blow's and Wade's planktonic foraminifers zones (N.3 to N.7 zones corresponding to O6 to M4b of Wade) and with van den Bold's zonation in the Neogene Caribbean region. Ostracod assemblages described here provide an excellent biostragraphic framework for local, intrabasinal and regional correlation for the Oligocene-Miocene deposits of the Northeastern Amazonia coast and Caribbean regions

Reduction in Surface Ocean Carbon Storage across the Middle Miocene

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Babila, T. L.; Sosdian, S. M.; Foster, G. L.; Lear, C. H.

2017-12-01

During the Middle Miocene, Earth underwent a profound climate shift from the warmth of the Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO; 14-17 Ma) to the stable icehouse of today during the Middle Miocene Climate transition (MMCT). Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (pCO2) revealed by boron isotope records (δ11B) link massive volcanic outputs of Columbia River Flood Basalts to the general warmth of MCO. Superimposed on the long-term cooling trend (MMCT) is a gradual pCO2 decline and numerous positive carbon isotope (δ13C) excursions that indicate dynamic variations in the global carbon cycle. Enhanced organic carbon burial via marine productivity, increased silicate weathering and volcanic emission cessation are each invoked to explain the drawdown of pCO2. To better constrain the oceanic role in carbon sequestration over the Middle Miocene detailed records of carbonate chemistry are needed. We present high resolution Boron/Calcium (B/Ca) and δ13C records in planktonic foraminifer T.trilobus spanning 12-17 Ma at ODP 761 (tropical eastern Indian Ocean) to document changes in surface ocean carbonate chemistry. An overall 30% increase in B/Ca ratios is expressed as two stepwise phases occurring at 14.7 and 13 Ma. Cyclic B/Ca variations are coherent with complimentary δ13C records suggesting a tight coupling between ocean carbonate chemistry parameters. Lower resolution B/Ca data at DSDP 588 (Pacific) and ODP 926 (Atlantic) corroborate the trends observed at ODP 761. We employ a paired approach that combines B/Ca (this study) to δ11B (Foster et al., 2012) and an ad hoc calibration to estimate changes in surface ocean dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). We estimate a substantial decrease in surface ocean DIC spanning the Middle Miocene that culminates with modern day like values. This gradual decline in surface ocean DIC is coeval with existing deep-ocean records which together suggests a whole ocean reduction in carbon storage. We speculate that enhanced weathering

Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Oligocene-Miocene deposits of the Tethyan Seaway, Qom Formation, Central Iran

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Dabaghi Sadr, Fatemeh; Schmiedl, Gerhard

2017-04-01

The Cenozoic climate transition from greenhouse to icehouse conditions was associated with major paleogeographic changes in the Tethyan realm. The closure of the Tethyan Seaway and its Iranian gateways during the terminal Paleogene and early Neogene, between approximately 28 and 18 million years, influenced the latitudinal exchange of water masses and energy and is documented in sediment successions of the Qom formation in central Iran. Little is known on the spatial expression and the exact depositional histories of the Qom Formation on orbital time-scales, including a lack of quantitative sea-level reconstructions and studies on the impact of climatic and tectonic changes on marine ecosystems and sedimentation processes. The PhD project focuses on the investigation of lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, paleoecology and paleoenvironmental evolution of the Iranian gateways based on late Oligocene to early Miocene foraminiferal faunas and carbonate facies from selected sediment sections of the Qom Basin. The Qom Formation was deposited in the Central Iranian back-arc basin during the Oligocene-Miocene. In this study foraminiferal faunas and carbonate microfacies were studied based on total 191 samples of two section of Qom Formation. One of them is Molkabad section, which is located northwest of Molkabad mountains, southeast of Garmsar. The section mainly consists of limestones, calcareous marls, marls, and gypsum-bearing marls with a total thickness of 760 meters. The Qom Formation at Molkabad section overlies Eocene rocks with an unconformity and consists of the following lithostratigraphic units (from the lower to upper part): Lithothamnium Limestone, Lower Marl Limestone, Bryozoa Limestone, and Upper Marl Group. The Molkabad fault separates the Qom Formation from the overlying Upper Red Formation. The other section is located at Navab anticline in Qom Formation .The section mainly consist of limestone, marl, and gypsum with a total thickness of 318 meters Navab

11th Annual Mine Warfare Technology Symposium, May 6-8, 2014 - Monterey, CA

OpenAIRE

2014-01-01

The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Program Executive Office Littoral Combat Ships (PEO LCS), OPNAV (N95), and The Consortium for Robotics and Unmanned Systems Education and Research (CRUSER) are pleased to announce the ELEVENTH International Mine Warfare Technology Symposium in Monterey, California, May 6-8, 2014.

Late Miocene magnetostratigraphy in the Mediterranean

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Langereis, C.G.

1984-01-01

Reversals of the geomagnetic field In the geological past are recorded globally in the natural remanent magnetization (NRM) of igneous and sedimentary rock sequences. The accurate and rei iable reconstruction of this record is the basis of magnetostratigraphy. The magnetostratigraphy of Late Miocene

Response of deep-sea benthic foraminifera to Miocene paleoclimatic events, DSDP site 289

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woodruff, F.; Douglas, R.G.

1981-01-01

Changes in the Miocene deep-sea benthic foraminifera at DSDP Site 289 closely correlate to the climatically induced variations in deep and bottom waters in the Pacific Ocean. In early Miocene time, oxygen and carbon isotopes indicate that bottom waters were relatively warm and poorly oxygenated. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages are characterized by various species inherited from the Oligocene. Expansion of the Antarctic icecap in the early middle Miocene, 14-16 m.y. ago, increased oxygen isotope values, produced cold, more oxygenated bottom waters and lead to a turnover in the benthic foraminifera. An Oligocene-early Miocene assemblage was replaced by a cibicidoid-dominated assemblage. Some species became extinct and benthic faunas became more bathymetrically restricted with the increased stratification of deep waters in the ocean. In mid-Miocene time, Epistominella exigua and E. umbonifera, indicative of young, oxygenated bottom waters, are relatively common at DSDP Site 289. Further glacial expansion 5-9 m.y. ago lowered sealevel, increased oceanic upwelling and associated biological productivity and intensified the oxygen minima. Abundant hispid and costate uvigerines become a dominant faunal element at shallow depths above 2500 m as E. umbonifera becomes common to abundant below 2500 m. By late Miocene time, benthic faunas similar in species composition and proportion to modern faunas on the Ontong-Java plateau, had become established. (Auth.)

Thermochronometrically constrained anatomy and evolution of a Miocene extensional accommodation zone and tilt domain boundary: The southern Wassuk Range, Nevada

Science.gov (United States)

Gorynski, Kyle E.; Stockli, Daniel F.; Douglas Walker, J.

2013-06-01

(AHe) and Zircon (ZHe) (U-Th)/He thermochronometric data from the southern Wassuk Range (WR) coupled with 40Ar/39Ar age data from the overlying tilted Tertiary section are used to constrain the thermal evolution of an extensional accommodation zone and tilt-domain boundary. AHe and ZHe data record two episodes of rapid cooling related to the tectonic exhumation of the WR fault block beginning at ~15 and ~4 Ma. Extension was accommodated through fault-block rotation and variably tilted the southern WR to the west from ~60°-70° in the central WR to ~15°-35° in the southernmost WR and Pine Grove Hills, and minimal tilting in the Anchorite Hills and along the Mina Deflection to the south. Middle Miocene geothermal gradient estimates record heating immediately prior to large-magnitude extension that was likely coeval with the extrusion of the Lincoln Flat andesite at ~14.8 Ma. Geothermal gradients increase from ~19° ± 4°C/km to ≥ 65° ± 20°C/km toward the Mina Deflection, suggesting that it was the focus of Middle Miocene arc magmatism in the upper crust. The decreasing thickness of tilt blocks toward the south resulted from a shallowing brittle/ductile transition zone. Postmagmatic Middle Miocene extension and fault-block advection were focused in the northern and central WR and coincidentally moderated the large lateral thermal gradient within the uppermost crust.

A new species of Nyanzachoerus (Cetartiodactyla: Suidae from the late Miocene Toros-Ménalla, Chad, central Africa.

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Jean-Renaud Boisserie

Full Text Available During the latest Miocene and the early Pliocene, tetraconodontine suids were the most predominant large omnivorous mammals in Africa. Yet, new species were often identified on the grounds of limited evidence, a situation impacting their value for biochronological correlations as well as for environmental and biogeographical reconstructions. The description of the most abundant known collection of craniodental remains attributed to the tetraconodontine Nyanzachoerus helps to improve this situation. These specimens were collected in the upper Miocene deposits at Toros-Ménalla, northern Chad, central Africa, by the Mission Paléoanthropologique Franco-Tchadienne. We compared them with Nyanzachoerus from eastern and southern Africa, using extant species as a reference for patterns of morphological variation. Thanks to a large sample of observations, our work focused as much on craniomandibular morphology as on dental morphology and metrics (improved by an index scoring for the complexity of distal third molars and a detailed investigation of premolar-molar ratios. We recognized two taxa at Toros-Ménalla: Nyanzachoerus khinzir nov. sp. and Ny. cf. australis. We also revised the taxonomic status for other species, including: the restriction of Ny. syrticus to its holotype specimen from Sahabi (Libya, the resurrection of the nomen Ny. tulotos, and the synonymy of Ny. kuseralensis with Ny. waylandi. At Toros-Ménalla, Ny. khinzir was the only suid coexisting with the anthracotheriid Libycosaurus and the hominid Sahelanthropus, whereas Ny. cf. australis was associated with a different, probably younger faunal context. Nyanzachoerus. khinzir, which probably had a diversified diet, supports a latest Miocene biogeographical distinction between central Africa and eastern Africa.

The End of Monterey Submarine Canyon Incision and Potential River Source Areas-Os, Nd, and Pb Isotope Constraints from Hydrogenetic Fe-Mn Crusts

Science.gov (United States)

Conrad, T. A.; Nielsen, S.; Ehrenbrink, B. P. E.; Blusztajn, J.; Hein, J. R.; Paytan, A.

2015-12-01

The Monterey Canyon off central California is the largest submarine canyon off North America and is comparable in scale to the Grand Canyon. The age and history of the Monterey Canyon are poorly constrained due to thick sediment cover and sediment disruption from turbidity currents. To address this deficit we analyzed isotopic proxies (Os, Pb, Nd) from hydrogenetic ferromanganese (Fe-Mn) crusts, which grow over millions of years on elevated rock surfaces by precipitation of metals from seawater. Fe-Mn crusts were studied from Davidson Seamount near the base of the Monterey submarine fan, the Taney Seamount Chain, and from Hoss Seamount, which serves as a regional control (Fig.). Fe-Mn crusts were dated using Os isotope ratios compared to those that define the Cenozoic Os isotope seawater curve. Four Fe-Mn crust samples from Davidson and Taney Seamounts deviate from the Os isotopic seawater curve towards radiogenic values after 4.5±1 Ma. Osmium is well mixed in the global ocean and is not subject to significant diffusive reequilibration in Fe-Mn crusts. We therefore attribute deviations from the Os isotope seawater curve to large-scale terrestrial input that ended about 4.5±1 Ma. The two Davidson samples also show more radiogenic Nd isotope values from about 4.5±1 Ma. Lead isotopes in one Davidson Seamount crust, measured by LA-ICPMS, deviate from regional values after 4.5±1 Ma for about 500 ka towards terrestrial sources. The Taney Seamount Fe-Mn crust does not deviate from regional Nd nor Pb isotope values due to its greater distance from Monterey Canyon and the shorter marine residence times of Nd and Pb. Isotope plots of our crust data and compiled data for potential source rocks indicate that the river that carved Monterey Canyon carried sediment with values closer to the Sierra Nevada than to a Colorado Plateau source, with cessation of major riverine input occurring approximately 4.5±1 Ma, an age that we interpret as the end of the Monterey Canyon

The last 1000 years of ocean change in Monterey Bay, California: insights from the marine sedimentary record

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, V.; Addison, J. A.; Carlin, J.; Wagner, A. J.; Barron, J. A.

2017-12-01

In Monterey Bay, seasonal upwelling of cold nutrient-rich waters from the California Current sustains a diverse and abundant marine phytoplankton community, serving as the base of the local marine ecosystem, and contributing to atmospheric CO2 fixation. The response of this productive area to future climate change remains uncertain, thus this study looks to examine the Monterey Bay sediment record over the last millennia to provide perspective on future changes. To accomplish this, we examined biogenic sediment as a proxy for upwelling. While there is no existing sea surface temperature (SST) record for this time frame in Monterey Bay as an independent proxy of upwelling, we compare our data against the Santa Barbara Basin (SBB) alkenone SST record, and the global PAGES Ocean2K SST synthesis products to examine variability associated with the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), the Little Ice Age (LIA), and the recent onset of industrial-era warming. Utilizing a pair of newly acquired sediment cores from the southern nearshore sector of Monterey Bay, PS1410-08GC (36.42°N, 121.54°W, depth 85 m) and PS1410-09GC (36.46°N, 121.51°W, depth 71 m), we performed sedimentological and geochemical analyses including multi-sensor core logging, computerized tomography (CT) scans, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), biogenic silica (opal), and HCNS elemental analysis. Age control for each core was determined by linearly interpolating basal 14C dates, and both sites represent high sedimentation rate areas (PS1410-08GC: 0.75 mm/yr, PS1410-09GC: 1.2 mm/yr). Despite being from a highly productive region, both cores contain relatively low concentrations of TOC, opal, and CaCO3, with total mean biogenic fractions of 7.38% and 6.67% for PS1410-08GC and -09GC, respectively, indicating significant terrigenous input throughout both records. Both cores show a decrease in bulk density and an increase in biogenic material from the MCA into the LIA at 1500 CE. A sharp increase in Monterey Bay bulk

POLYPLACOPHORA FROM THE MIOCENE OF NORTH ITALY. PART 2: CALLOCHITONIDAE, CHITONIDAE, LEPIDOCHITONIDAE, ACANTHOCHITONIDAE AND CRYPTOPLACIDAE

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BRUNO DELL’ ANGELO

2016-10-01

Full Text Available This study completes the description of the chiton fauna (Mollusca, Polyplacophora from deposits of the Miocene marine sequence of North Italy, located in Piedmont and Emilia Romagna regions. This second and final part describes chitons belonging to five families: Callochitonidae, Chitonidae, Lepidochitonidae, Acanthochitonidae and Cryptoplacidae. Nineteen species were identified, of which two are described as new (Chiton sulcomarginatus sp. n. and Craspedochiton brunettii sp. n., and 17 were already known. Craspedochiton mutinocrassus is the new name attributed to the species previously known as Acanthochiton costatus or A. costatus var. mutinocrassa; Chiton sulcomarginatus sp. n., Lepidochitona monterosatoi, L. pliocinerea, and Acanthochitona oblonga, previously known only up to Pliocene, are reported for the first time from the Miocene of Italy. The stratigraphic distribution of numerous species thought to first appear in the Late Miocene (Callochiton doriae, Chiton olivaceus, C. corallinus, Acanthochitona fascicularis, A. crinita, and Craspedochiton altavillensis is here extended to the Early Miocene. The distribution of Cryptoplax weinlandi is extended to the Middle Miocene (Serravallian. In total 35 chiton species (with 3.003 valves were identified in the Italian Miocene (including both parts of this series. Ten species became extinct at the end of the Miocene, six in the Pliocene, two in the Pleistocene, and 17 are extant. Of the extant species nine occur both in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, two exclusively in the Atlantic and six only in the Mediterranean. The number of species reported from the Torino Hill assemblages (Burdigalian? is increased from three listed by Sacco (1897 to nine. Thirty-four of the 35 species (excluding only Lepidopleurus benoisti occur in the Tortonian-Messinian Po Basin. Thirteen (37% of the species are also found in the Miocene Paratethys (Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Ukraine, which

The completed Management Information System for the Monterey Navy Flying Club.

OpenAIRE

Graham, James M.

1987-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution in unlimited. This thesis provides a completed Management Information System for the Monterey Navy Flying Club. The software package was designed to operate upon an IBM PC-XT or PC-AT or 100% compatible microcomputer wjiich has 384K of main memory. Specific hardware requirements are discussed in chapter one. This software package supplies the necessary tools for the club manager to maintain all club records and generate required a...

Paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental records of the Oligocene-Miocene transition, central Jylland, Denmark

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sliwinska, K.K.; Dybkjær, K.; Schoon, P.L.; Beyer, C.; King, C.; Schouten, S.; Nielsen, O.B.

2014-01-01

A multidisciplinary study of the Oligocene/Miocene (O/M) transition was carried in two boreholes (Harre-1 and Horn-1) from the Danish land area in order to improve the understanding of the paleodimatological and environmental changes across the Mi-1, the earliest Miocene cooling event.

Groundwater quality in the shallow aquifers of the Monterey Bay, Salinas Valley, and adjacent highland areas, Southern Coast Ranges, California

Science.gov (United States)

Burton, Carmen

2018-05-30

The Monterey-Salinas Shallow Aquifer study unit covers approximately 7,820 square kilometers (km2) in Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo Counties in the Central Coast Hydrologic Region of California. The study unit was divided into four study areas—Santa Cruz, Pajaro Valley, Salinas Valley, and Highlands. More than 75 percent of the water used for drinking-water supply in the Central Coast Hydrologic Region of California is groundwater, and there are more than 8,000 well driller’s logs for domestic wells (California Department of Water Resources, 2013).

Latent infection by Fusarium circinatum influences susceptibility of monterey pine seedlings to pitch canker

Science.gov (United States)

Cassandra L. Swett; Thomas R. Gordon

2012-01-01

Pitch canker, caused by Fusarium circinatum, is a serious disease affecting Pinus radiata D. Don (Monterey pine) in nurseries, landscapes, and native forests. A typical symptom of pitch canker is canopy dieback resulting from girdling lesions on terminal branches (Gordon et al. 2001). More extensive dieback can result from...

Origin, evolution and sedimentary processes associated with a late Miocene submarine landslide, southeast Spain

Science.gov (United States)

Sola, F.; Puga-Bernabéu, Á.; Aguirre, J.; Braga, J. C.

2018-02-01

A submarine landslide, the Alhama de Almería Slide, influenced late Tortonian and early Messinian (late Miocene) sedimentary processes in the vicinity of Alhama de Almería in southeast Spain. Its 220-m-high headscarp and deposits are now subaerially exposed. The landslide occurred at the northern slope of the antecedent relief of the present-day Sierra de Gádor mountain range. This is a large antiform trending east-west to east-northeast-west-southwest, which has been uplifting since the late Miocene due to convergence of the African and Eurasian plates. During the Tortonian, this relief was an island separated from the Iberian Peninsula mainland by the Alpujarra corridor, a small and narrow intermontane basin of the Betic Cordillera in the western Mediterranean Sea. The materials involved in the slope failure were Triassic dolostones and phyllites from the metamorphic Alpujárride Complex and Tortonian marine conglomerates, sandstones, and marls that formed an initial sedimentary cover on the basement rocks. Coherent large masses of metamorphic rocks and Miocene deposits at the base of the headscarp distally change to chaotic deposits of blocks of different lithologies embedded in upper Tortonian marine marls, and high-strength cohesive debrites. During downslope sliding, coherent carbonate blocks brecciated due to their greater strength. Phyllites disintegrated, forming a cohesive matrix that engulfed and/or sustained the carbonate blocks. Resedimented, channelized breccias were formed by continuing clast collision, bed fragmentation, and disaggregation of the failed mass. The conditions leading to rock/sediment failure were favoured by steep slopes and weak planes at the contact between the basement carbonates and phyllites. Displacement of collapsed rocks created a canyon-like depression at the southeast edge of the landslide. This depression funnelled sediment gravity flows that were generated upslope, promoting local thick accumulations of sediments during

Sand mining impacts on long-term dune erosion in southern Monterey Bay

Science.gov (United States)

Thornton, E.B.; Sallenger, Abby; Sesto, Juan Conforto; Egley, L.; McGee, Timothy; Parsons, Rost

2006-01-01

Southern Monterey Bay was the most intensively mined shoreline (with sand removed directly from the surf zone) in the U.S. during the period from 1906 until 1990, when the mines were closed following hypotheses that the mining caused coastal erosion. It is estimated that the yearly averaged amount of mined sand between 1940 and 1984 was 128,000 m3/yr, which is approximately 50% of the yearly average dune volume loss during this period. To assess the impact of sand mining, erosion rates along an 18 km range of shoreline during the times of intensive sand mining (1940–1990) are compared with the rates after sand mining ceased (1990–2004). Most of the shoreline is composed of unconsolidated sand with extensive sand dunes rising up to a height of 46 m, vulnerable to the erosive forces of storm waves. Erosion is defined here as a recession of the top edge of the dune. Recession was determined using stereo-photogrammetry, and LIDAR and GPS surveys. Long-term erosion rates vary from about 0.5 m/yr at Monterey to 1.5 m/yr in the middle of the range, and then decrease northward. Erosion events are episodic and occur when storm waves and high tides coincide, allowing swash to undercut the dune and resulting in permanent recession. Erosion appears to be correlated with the occurrence of El Niños. The calculated volume loss of the dune in southern Monterey Bay during the 1997–98 El Niño winter was 1,820,000 m3, which is almost seven times the historical annual mean dune erosion of 270,000 m3/yr. The alongshore variation in recession rates appears to be a function of the alongshore gradient in mean wave energy and depletions by sand mining. After cessation of sand mining in 1990, the erosion rates decreased at locations in the southern end of the bay but have not significantly changed at other locations.

Accumulation of cesium-137 and strontium-90 in ponderosa pine and monterey pine seedlings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Entry, J.A.; Rygiewicz, P.T.; Emmingham, W.H.

1993-01-01

Because ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa and Monterey pone (P. radiata D Don) have exceptionally fast growth rates and their abscised needles are not readily dispersed by wind, these species may be valuable for removing radioisotopes from contaminated soils. Ponderosa and Monterey pine seedlings were tested for their ability to accumulate 137 Cs and 90 Sr-characteristic radioisotopes of nuclear fallout-from contaminated soil. Seedlings were grown for 3 mo in 165 cm 3 sphagnum peat moss/perlite (1:1 V/V) in a growth chamber. In Exp. 1, seedling accumulation of 137 Cs and 90 Sr after 1 mo of exposure was measured. In Exp. 2, seedling accumulation of the radioisotopes during different-length exposures was measured. Seedling accumulation of 137 CS and 90 Sr at different concentrations of the radioisotopes in the growth medium was measured in Exp. 3. Ponderosa pine accumulated 6.3% of the 137 Cs and I.5% of the 90 Sr present in the growth medium after 1 mo; Monterey pine accumulated 8.3% of the 137 Cs and 4.5% of the 90 Sr. Accumulation of 137 Cs and 90 Sr by both coniferous species was curvilinearly related to duration of exposure. Accumulation of 137 Cs and 90 Sr by both species increased with increasing concentration in the growth medium and correlated curvilinearly with radioisotope concentration in the growth medium. Large areas throughout the world are contaminated with 137 Cs and 90 Sr as a result of nuclear weapons testing or atomic reactor accidents. The ability of trees to sequester and store 137 Cs and 90 Sr introduces the possibility of using reforestation to remediate contaminated soils

POLYPLACOPHORA FROM THE MIOCENE OF NORTH ITALY. PART 1: LEPTOCHITONIDAE, HANLEYIDAE, ISCHNOCHITONIDAE AND CALLISTOPLACIDAE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BRUNO DELL’ANGELO

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This study describes the chiton fauna (Mollusca, Polyplacophora from deposits of the Miocene marine sequence of North Italy, located in Piedmont and Emilia Romagna regions. This first part of the work describes the chitons pertaining to four families: Leptochitonidae, Hanleyidae, Ischnochitonidae and Callistoplacidae. The studied fossils consist of 377 valves from 13 sites (Sciolze, Valle Ceppi, Rocco di Passerano, Albugnano, Monchio di Sarzano Casina, Villa Monti, Rio di Bocca d’Asino, Sant’Agata Fossili, Vargo, Vigoleno, Montegibbio, Borelli, and Moncucco Torinese ranging from the Early Miocene (Burdigalian to the Late Miocene (Messinian. We identified 16 species, 12 of which were already known, two are identified only at generic level (Stenosemus sp. A & sp. B, and two are described as new: Parachiton statianus sp. n., and Callistochiton borellianus sp. n. Some species found are particularly noteworthy; Lepidopleurus benoisti is the new name attributed to the species previously known as Middendorffia subcajetana or Gymnoplax orbignyi, based on the study of the type material; Leptochiton salicensis, previously known only from the Early Pleistocene of Salice (Messina, Sicily; Hanleya mediterranea is reported for the first time from the Miocene of Italy; Ischnochiton ligusticus, previously known only from the Early Pliocene of Western Liguria; the distribution of Stenoplax paviai, recently described from the Late Miocene (Rio di Bocca d’Asino, is extended to the Early Miocene (Langhian. A complete discussion on the chiton fauna from the North Italian Miocene, consisting of all the species treated in both parts, will be given in the second part of this work.

Paleoecology of benthic foraminifera from the Miocene of the San Jacinto Basin, Colombia

Science.gov (United States)

Poveda, John Sebastian; Fiorini, Flavia; Andres Trejos, Raul; Vallejo, Diego Felipe; Pardo, Andres

2015-04-01

Quantitative benthic foraminifera analysis was conducted on 34 samples collected from a borehole core (393.72m deep) drilled by Colombian Hydrocarbon Agency (ANH) on 2009 in the San Jacinto basin (Northern Colombia). The aims of the research were to define a taxonomical data-bank of Miocene benthic foraminifera for this region, to use the benthic foraminifera assemblages to interpret the paleoenvironment and to identify paleoenvironmental changes. The bottom of the section was dated between lowest Burdigalian to middle Langhian (20.393-17.721 Ma) based on calcareous nannofossils bioevents: LO Helicosphaera ampliaperta, HCO Sphenolithus belemnos and LCO Sphenolithus heteromorphus. The benthic foraminifera fauna identified in the studied samples is composed for the majority of calcareous hyaline tests and is dominated by infaunal taxas. Species belonging to the genera Uvigerina and Lenticulina are commonly occurring in the studied section together with other species typical of outer-shelf upper-bathyal environment. Cibicidoides spp., abundant in the lower part of the section, abruptly decreases in abundance in the upper part. Species belonging to the opportunistic genera Bulimina and Bolivina are more abundant in the upper part of the section. Variability in the abundance of opportunistic species can be associated with tectonic disturbance on the Sinu-San Jacinto fold belt (NW of Colombia) as a result of collision of the Caribbean plate against NW of South America. The tectonics could lead a perturbation on deep ocean sedimentation and circulation.

Migration of sharks into freshwater systems during the Miocene and implications for Alpine paleoelevation

Science.gov (United States)

Kocsis, László; Vennemann, Torsten W.; Fontignie, Denis

2007-05-01

Trace-element and isotopic compositions of fossilized shark teeth sampled from Miocene marine sediments of the north Alpine Molasse Basin, the Vienna Basin, and the Pannonian Basin generally show evidence of formation in a marine environment under conditions geochemically equivalent to the open ocean. In contrast, two of eight shark teeth from the Swiss Upper Marine Molasse locality of La Molière have extremely low δ18O values (10.3‰ and 11.3‰) and low 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.707840 and 0.707812) compared to other teeth from this locality (21.1‰ 22.4‰ and 0.708421 0.708630). The rare earth element (REE) abundances and patterns from La Molière not only differ between dentine and enameloid of the same tooth, but also between different teeth, supporting variable conditions of diagenesis at this site. However, the REE patterns of enameloid from the “exotic” teeth analyzed for O and Sr isotopic compositions are similar to those of teeth that have O and Sr isotopic compositions typical of a marine setting at this site. Collectively, this suggests that the two “exotic” teeth were formed while the sharks frequented a freshwater environment with very low 18O-content and Sr isotopic composition controlled by Mesozoic calcareous rocks. This is consistent with a paleogeography of high-elevation (˜2300 m) Miocene Alps adjacent to a marginal sea.

Miocene oceanographic changes of the western equatorial Atlantic (Ceara Rise) based on calcareous dinoflagellate cysts

Science.gov (United States)

Heinrich, S.; Zonneveld, K. A. F.; Willems, H.

2010-09-01

The middle- and upper Miocene represent a time-interval of major changes in palaeoceanography that favoured the cooling of the climate and culminated in the Northern Hemisphere Glaciation (NHG). The basis for the development of the modern deepwater circulation pattern, e.g. thermohaline circulation, was hereby established. Tectonic events played a key role in the progressing Miocene oceanography, such as the narrowing of the Panama gateway (e.g. Duque-Caro 1990) and the possible linked changes in North Atlantic Deep Water formation (Lear et al. 2003). However, the complex interaction between the closing of the Panama Gateway, the development of NADW, and thus the oceanographic progression towards our present day circulation is far from being fully understood. We want to improve the understanding of these processes by establishing a detailed palaeoceanographic reconstruction of the western equatorial Atlantic Ocean on the basis of calcareous dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) associations. Within this study, we investigated sediment samples from ODP Site 926A by defining the calcareous dinocyst assemblage. Site 926A is located at the southwestern flank of the Ceara Rise, an area of highest sensitivity to global deep water circulation changes. At about 12 Ma, when NADW production increased (e.g. Wright et al. 1992), we see a distinct increase in the absolute abundances of the calcareous dinocysts. This might be related to enhanced productivity or to better carbonate preservation. At 11.3 Ma, Leonella granifera, a species known to be strongly related to terrestrial input occurs. This could be a signal for the initiation of the Amazon River as a transcontinental river with the development of the Amazon fan (11.8 - 11.3 Ma; Figueiredo et al. 2009) in relation to Andean tectonism. References: Duque-Caro, H. (1990): Neogene stratigraphy, paleoceanography and palebiology in Northwest South America and the evolution of the Panama Seaway. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology

Electrical Resistivity Imaging of Seawater Intrusion into the Monterey Bay Aquifer System.

Science.gov (United States)

Pidlisecky, A; Moran, T; Hansen, B; Knight, R

2016-03-01

We use electrical resistivity tomography to obtain a 6.8-km electrical resistivity image to a depth of approximately 150 m.b.s.l. along the coast of Monterey Bay. The resulting image is used to determine the subsurface distribution of saltwater- and freshwater-saturated sediments and the geologic controls on fluid distributions in the region. Data acquisition took place over two field seasons in 2011 and 2012. To maximize our ability to image both vertical and horizontal variations in the subsurface, a combination of dipole-dipole, Wenner, Wenner-gamma, and gradient measurements were made, resulting in a large final dataset of approximately 139,000 data points. The resulting resistivity section extends to a depth of 150 m.b.s.l., and is used, in conjunction with the gamma logs from four coastal monitoring wells to identify four dominant lithologic units. From these data, we are able to infer the existence of a contiguous clay layer in the southern portion of our transect, which prevents downward migration of the saltwater observed in the upper 25 m of the subsurface to the underlying freshwater aquifer. The saltwater and brackish water in the northern portion of the transect introduce the potential for seawater intrusion into the hydraulically connected freshwater aquifer to the south, not just from the ocean, but also laterally from north to south. © 2015, National Ground Water Association.

The significance of marine microfossils for paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Solimões Formation (Miocene), western Amazonia, Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Linhares, Ana Paula; Gaia, Valber do Carmo de Souza; Ramos, Maria Inês Feijó

2017-11-01

Micropalaeontological studies of borehole cores 1AS-7D-AM and 1AS-8-AM, from Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas state, Brazil, support previous evidence for Miocene marine ingressions in Western Amazonia. Three marine incursion events are recorded: the first in the Early/early Middle Miocene (in both cores), the second in the late Middle/early Late Miocene (1AS-8-AM), and the third in the Late Miocene (1AS-7D-AM). The first event is characterized by exclusively mangrove taxa, and the last two present a mixture of marine, fresh, and brackish water taxa. However, at the end of the third event an increase of fluvial influence is demonstrated by the predominance of freshwater taxa. These marine incursions reached the study area through narrow and geographically limited connections, controlled by the tectonic setting, at a time between the Early/early Middle Miocene and late Middle/Late Miocene. Thereafter, fluvial conditions were reestablished before Pliocene times.

A Miocene wave-dominated estuarine system in the Paraíba Basin, northeastern Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Gandini, Rosana; Rossetti, Dilce de Fátima; Netto, Renata Guimarães; Góes, Ana Maria

2017-11-01

A number of publications have documented the effect of the Miocene transgression on several coasts of the world. However, this event is incompletely documented along the Brazilian margin, despite the existence of an impressive record of Miocene deposits exposed mostly as several coastal cliffs along more than 5000 km of distance. The transgressive nature of Miocene deposits, so far recognized only in a few localities of northeastern Brazil, needs to be amplified in order to better characterize the impact of the Miocene transgression in eastern South America. In this work, we provide facies analysis of early/middle Miocene strata exposed in the Paraíba Basin, northeastern Brazil, aiming reconstruct the depositional paleoenvironments and analyze their evolution within the context of relative sea-level fluctuations data. The results revealed deposits characterized by several features that were related to the action of tidal currents, such as alternating thicker/thinner forest packages, abundant reactivation surfaces, mud drapes and oppositely-dipping (herringbone) cross sets. These sedimentary structures were associated with an ichnological assemblage indicative of marine-influenced and brackish water, best represented by Ophiomorpha, Planolites-Palaeophycus-Thalassinoides and Thallassinoides-Planolites-Palaeophycus ichnofabrics. Sedimentation occurred in environments consisting of estuarine channel, estuarine central basin, tidal inlet/tidal channel, tidal delta/washover, tidal flat/shoal and foreshore, which were related to an estuarine setting, at least in part of a wave-dominated type. Analysis of facies stratal patterns led to suggest that the estuarine deposits of the Paraíba Basin reflect a rise in relative sea level probably during the transgressive and/or highstand stage of a depositional sequence formed directly overlying Cretaceous rocks. This rise can be correlated with the worldwide early/mid Miocene marine transgression. However, while the eustatic sea

COMPARING SEA LEVEL RESPONSE AT MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA FROM THE 1989 LOMA PRIETA EARTHQUAKE AND THE 1964 GREAT ALASKAN EARTHQUAKE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. C. Breaker

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Two of the largest earthquakes to affect water levels in Monterey Bay in recent years were the Loma Prieta Earthquake (LPE of 1989 with a moment magnitude of 6.9, and the Great Alaskan Earthquake (GAE of 1964 with a moment magnitude of 9.2. In this study, we compare the sea level response of these events with a primary focus on their frequency content and how the bay affected it, itself. Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA was employed to extract the primary frequencies associated with each event. It is not clear how or exactly where the tsunami associated with the LPE was generated, but it occurred inside the bay and most likely began to take on the characteristics of a seiche by the time it reached the tide gauge in Monterey Harbor. Results of the SSA decomposition revealed two primary periods of oscillation, 9-10 minutes, and 31-32 minutes. The first oscillation is in agreement with the range of periods for the expected natural oscillations of Monterey Harbor, and the second oscillation is consistent with a bay-wide oscillation or seiche mode. SSA decomposition of the GAE revealed several sequences of oscillations all with a period of approximately 37 minutes, which corresponds to the predicted, and previously observed, transverse mode of oscillation for Monterey Bay. In this case, it appears that this tsunami produced quarter-wave resonance within the bay consistent with its seiche-like response. Overall, the sea level responses to the LPE and GAE differed greatly, not only because of the large difference in their magnitudes but also because the driving force in one case occurred inside the bay (LPE, and in the second, outside the bay (GAE. As a result, different modes of oscillation were excited.

Analysis of Civilian Employee Attrition at the Naval Postgraduate School and Naval Support Activity - Monterey Bay

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Valverde, Xavier

1997-01-01

...) and Naval Support Activity-Monterey Bay (NSA-MB) to determine what civilian non-faculty employee jobs are likely to be left vacant in the next three years due to attrition and to identify what training and skills will be needed by personnel whose...

Miocene Antarctic Terrestrial Realm

Science.gov (United States)

Ashworth, A. C.; Lewis, A.; Marchant, D. R.

2009-12-01

The discovery of several locations in the Transantarctic Mountains that contain macrofossils and pollen is transforming our understanding of late Cenozoic Antarctica. The most southerly location is on the Beardmore Glacier (85.1°S) about 500 km from the South Pole. The environment was an active glacial margin in which plants, insects and freshwater mollusks inhabited the sand and gravel bars and small lakes on an outwash plain. In addition to leaves and wood of dwarf Nothofagus (Southern Beech) shrubs, achenes of Ranunculus (Buttercup), in situ cushion growth forms of mosses and a vascular plant, the assemblages contains various exoskeletal parts of carabid and curculionid beetles and a cyclorrhaphan fly, the shells of freshwater bivalve and gastropod species and a fish tooth. Initially the deposits were assigned a Pliocene age (3.5 Ma) but a mid- to early Miocene age is more probable (c. 14 - 25 Ma) based on correlation of fossil pollen from the deposits with 39Ar/40Ar dated pollen assemblages from the McMurdo Dry Valleys locations. The oldest location within the Dry Valleys also involved an active ice margin but was part of a valley system that was completely deglaciated for intervals long enough for thick paleosols to develop. The Friis Hills fossil deposits of the Taylor Valley region (77.8°S) are at least 19.76 Ma based on the 39Ar/40Ar age of a volcanic ash bed. The valley floor during the non-glacial phases had poorly-drained soils and the extensive development of mossy mires. Wood and leaves of Nothofagus are abundant in lacustrine deposits. The silts of shallow fluvial channels contain abundant megaspores and spiky leaves of the aquatic lycopod Isoetes (Quillwort). Fossils of beetles are also present in these deposits. During the glacial phases, proglacial lakes were surrounded by dwarfed, deciduous Nothofagus shrubs. The youngest fossils recovered from the Dry Valleys are from the Olympus Range (77.5°S) with an age of 14.07 Ma. The environment was an

Towards an Accurate Orbital Calibration of Late Miocene Climate Events: Insights From a High-Resolution Chemo- and Magnetostratigraphy (8-6 Ma) from Equatorial Pacific IODP Sites U1337 and U1338

Science.gov (United States)

Drury, A. J.; Westerhold, T.; Frederichs, T.; Wilkens, R.; Channell, J. E. T.; Evans, H. F.; Hodell, D. A.; John, C. M.; Lyle, M. W.; Roehl, U.; Tian, J.

2015-12-01

In the 8-6 Ma interval, the late Miocene is characterised by a long-term -0.3 ‰ reduction in benthic foraminiferal δ18O and distinctive short-term δ18O cycles, possibly related to dynamic Antarctic ice sheet variability. In addition, the late Miocene carbon isotope shift (LMCIS) marks a permanent long-term -1 ‰ shift in oceanic δ13CDIC, which is the largest, long-term perturbation in the global marine carbon cycle since the mid Miocene Monterey excursion. Accurate age control is crucial to investigate the origin of the δ18O cyclicity and determine the precise onset of the LMCIS. The current Geological Time Scale in the 8-6 Ma interval is constructed using astronomical tuning of sedimentary cycles in Mediterranean outcrops. However, outside of the Mediterranean, a comparable high-resolution chemo-, magneto-, and cyclostratigraphy at a single DSDP/ODP/IODP site does not exist. Generating an accurate astronomically-calibrated chemo- and magneto-stratigraphy in the 8-6 Ma interval became possible with retrieval of equatorial Pacific IODP Sites U1337 and U1338, as both sites have sedimentation rates ~2 cm/kyr, high biogenic carbonate content, and magnetic polarity stratigraphies. Here we present high-resolution correlation of Sites U1337 and U1338 using Milankovitch-related cycles in core images and X-ray fluorescence core scanning data. By combining inclination and declination data from ~400 new discrete samples with shipboard measurements, we are able to identify 14 polarity reversals at Site U1337 from the young end of Chron C3An.1n (~6.03 Ma) to the onset of Chron C4n.2n (~8.11 Ma). New high-resolution (<1.5 kyr) stable isotope records from Site U1337 correlate highly with Site U1338 records, enabling construction of a high-resolution stack. Initial orbital tuning of the U1337-U1338 records show that the δ18O cyclicity is obliquity driven, indicating high-latitude climate forcing. The LMCIS starts ~7.55 Ma and is anchored in Chron C4n.1n, which is

MOBB: a permanent ocean floor broadband seismic observatory in Monterey Bay, California

Science.gov (United States)

Uhrhammer, R.; Romanowicz, B.; Stakes, D.; Neuhauser, D.; McGill, P.; Ramirez, T.

2003-04-01

The Monterey ocean bottom broadband station (MOBB) was installed on the seafloor in Monterey Bay, 40 km offshore, and at a depth of 1000m from the sea surface, on April 9-11, 2002. Its success capitalizes on the experience gained in the 1997 International MOISE experiment, conducted under similar conditions. The deployment took place during 3 dives on consecutive days and made use of MBARI's Point Lobos ship and ROV Ventana. The station is currently recording data autonomously. Eventually, it will be linked to the planned (and recently funded) MARS (Monterey Accelerated Research System; \\url {http://www.mbari.org/mars/}) cable and provide real-time, continuous seismic data to be merged with the rest of the northern California real-time seismic system. The data are archived at the NCEDC for on-line availability, as part of the Berkeley Digital Seismic Network (BDSN). The ocean-bottom MOBB station currently comprises a three-component seismometer package, a current-meter, a DPG, and recording and battery packages. The seismic package contains a low-power (2.2W), three-component CMG-1T broadband seismometer system, built by Guralp, Inc., with a three-component 24-bit digitizer, a leveling system, and a precision clock. The seismometer package is mounted on a cylindrical titanium pressure vessel 54cm in height and 41 cm in diameter, custom built by the MBARI team and outfitted for underwater connection. Data recovery dives, during which the recording and battery package will be exchanged are planned every three months for the next 3 years. Three such dives have already taken place, on 06/27/02, 09/20/02 and on 01/07/03. Due to a software problem, data were lost during the time period 07/01/02 and 09/20/02. Many regional and teleseismic earthquakes have been well recorded and the mass position signals indicate that the instruments have progressively settled. Preliminary analysis of data retrieved during the 2002 summer and winter dives will be presented. In particular

Miocene freshwater Mollusca from western Brazilian Amazonia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wesselingh, F.P.; Ranzi, A.; Räsänen, M.E.

2006-01-01

Thirteen species of fossil molluscs are reported from the Solimões Formation of western Brazilian Amazonia. Based on mammalian chronology of the Solimões Formation and radiometric ages reported from coeval deposits in adjacent Peru, the age of the fauna is established as Late Miocene. The fauna

The design and development of a management information system for the Monterey Navy Flying Club.

OpenAIRE

George, Derek R.

1986-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited This thesis provides a Management Information System for the Monterey Navy Flying Club. It supplies the tools necessary to enable the club manager to maintain all club records and generate required administrative and financial reports. http://archive.org/details/designdevelopmen00geor Commander, United States Navy

78 FR 16628 - Gulf of the Farallones and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries Regulations on Introduced...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-18

... Register on October 1, 2009 (74 FR 50740) concerning regulations on the introduction of introduced species... Sanctuaries (ONMS) conducted a joint review of the management plans for Gulf of the Farallones, Monterey Bay and Cordell Bank national marine sanctuaries (hereafter referred to as the ``Joint Management Plan...

Plate tectonic model for the oligo-miocene evolution of the western Mediterranean

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Curtis R.

1980-10-01

This paper outlines a plate tectonic model for the Oligo-Miocene evolution of the western Mediterranean which incorporates recent data from several tectonic domains (Corsica, Sardinia, the Kabylies, Balearic promontory, Iberia, Algero-Provençal Basin and Tunisian Atlas). Following late Mesozoic anticlockwise rotation of the Iberian peninsula (including the Balearic promontory and Sardinia), late Eocene collision occurred between the Kabylies and Balearic promontory forming a NE-trending suture with NW-tectonic polarity. As a result of continued convergence between the African and European plates, a polarity flip occurred and a southward-facing trench formed south of the Kabylie—Balearic promontory suture. During late Oligocene time an E-W-trending arc and marginal basin developed behind the southward-facing trench in the area of the present-day Gulf of Lion. Opening of this basin moved the Corsica—Sardinia—Calabria—Petit Kabylie—Menorca plate southward, relative to the African plate. Early Miocene back-arc spreading in the area between the Balearic promontory and Grand Kabylie emplaced the latter in northern Algeria and formed the South Balearic Basin. Coeval with early Miocene back-arc basin development, the N-S-extension in the Gulf of Lion marginal basin changed to a more NW-SE direction causing short-lived extension in the area of the present-day Valencia trough and a 30° anticlockwise rotation of the Corsica-Sardinia-Calabria—Petit Kabylie plate away from the European plate. Early—middle Miocene deformation along the western Italian and northeastern African continental margins resulted from this rotation. During the early late Miocene (Tortonian), spreading within a sphenochasm to the southwest of Sardinia resulted in the emplacement of Petit Kabylie in northeastern Algeria.

Simulating a Dynamic Antarctic Ice Sheet in the Early to Middle Miocene

Science.gov (United States)

Gasson, E.; DeConto, R.; Pollard, D.; Levy, R. H.

2015-12-01

There are a variety of sources of geological data that suggest major variations in the volume and extent of the Antarctic ice sheet during the early to middle Miocene. Simulating such variability using coupled climate-ice sheet models is problematic due to a strong hysteresis effect caused by height-mass balance feedback and albedo feedback. This results in limited retreat of the ice sheet once it has reached the continental size, as likely occurred prior to the Miocene. Proxy records suggest a relatively narrow range of atmospheric CO2 during the early to middle Miocene, which exacerbates this problem. We use a new climate forcing which accounts for ice sheet-climate feedbacks through an asynchronous GCM-RCM coupling, which is able to better resolve the narrow Antarctic ablation zone in warm climate simulations. When combined with recently suggested mechanisms for retreat into subglacial basins due to ice shelf hydrofracture and ice cliff failure, we are able to simulate large-scale variability of the Antarctic ice sheet in the Miocene. This variability is equivalent to a seawater oxygen isotope signal of ~0.5 ‰, or a sea level equivalent change of ~35 m, for a range of atmospheric CO2 between 280 - 500 ppm.

Navigating the Institutional and Pedagogical Challenges of the Service-Learning Leadership Minor at CSU Monterey Bay

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, Deborah A.

2012-01-01

Despite solid foundations for service-learning at California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB), the economic context of higher education in California, and in particular the CSU system, has created significant challenges for service-learning practitioners. This article provides an overview of the institutional foundations in place at CSUMB…

76 FR 47237 - Notice of Realty Action: Direct Sale of Public Land in Monterey County, CA

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-04

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLCA9300000 L58790000 EU0000; CACA 50168-14] Notice of Realty Action: Direct Sale of Public Land in Monterey County, CA AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of realty action. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM...

Quantitative controls on location and architecture of carbonate depositional sequences: upper miocene, cabo de gata region, se Spain

Science.gov (United States)

Franseen, E.K.; Goldstein, R.H.; Farr, M.R.

1998-01-01

Sequence stratigraphy, pinning-point relative sea-level curves, and magnetostratigraphy provide the quantitative data necessary to understand how rates of sea-level change and different substrate paleoslopes are dominant controls on accumulation rate, carbonate depositional sequence location, and internal architecture. Five third-order (1-10 my) and fourth-order (0.1-1.0 my) upper Miocene carbonate depositional sequences (DS1A, DS1B, DS2, DS3, TCC) formed with superimposed higher-frequency sea-level cycles in an archipelago setting in SE Spain. Overall, our study indicates when areas of high substrate slope (> 15??) are in shallow water, independent of climate, the location and internal architecture of carbonate deposits are not directly linked to sea-level position but, instead, are controlled by location of gently sloping substrates and processes of bypass. In contrast, if carbonate sediments are generated where substrates of low slope ( 15.6 cm/ky to ??? 2 cm/ky and overall relative sea level rose at rates of 17-21.4 cm/ky. Higher frequency sea-level rates were about 111 to more than 260 cm/ky, producing onlapping, fining- (deepening-) upward cycles. Decreasing accumulation rates resulted from decreasing surface area for shallow-water sediment production, drowning of shallow-water substrates, and complex sediment dispersal related to the archipelago setting. Typical systems tract and parasequence development should not be expected in "bypass ramp" settings; facies of onlapping strata do not track base level and are likely to be significantly different compared to onlapping strata associated with coastal onlap. Basal and upper DS2 reef megabreccias (indicating the transition from cool to warmer climatic conditions) were eroded from steep upslope positions and redeposited downslope onto areas of gentle substrate during rapid sea-level falls (> 22.7 cm/ky) of short duration. Such rapid sea-level falls and presence of steep slopes are not conducive to formation of

Petrologic evolution of Miocene-Pliocene mafic volcanism in the Kangal and Gürün basins (Sivas-Malatya), central east Anatolia: Evidence for Miocene anorogenic magmas contaminated by continental crust

Science.gov (United States)

Kocaarslan, Ayça; Ersoy, E. Yalçın

2018-06-01

This study discusses the geochemical features of the Early-Middle Miocene and Pliocene basaltic (SiO2 = 46-52; MgO = 6-10 wt%) to andesitic (SiO2 = 59; MgO = 4 wt%) rocks exposed in the Gürün and Kangal basins (Sivas, eastern part of central Anatolia), respectively. The basaltic rocks are characterized by alkaline to tholeiitic affinities, while the more evolved andesitic samples show calc-alkaline affinity. Trace element variations reveal that they can be evaluated in three sub-groups, each represented by different contents of trace elements for given Nb contents. Primary magmas of each groups were likely produced by different degrees of partial melting ( 1-2, 2-3, 7-10% respectively) from a common mantle source, subsequently underwent different degrees of fractionation and crustal contamination. Derivation from a common mantle source of the primitive magmas of each group is supported by similar Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic ratios. Increasing degrees of partial melting seem to be responsible for the alkaline to tholeiitic variation among the basaltic samples, while higher degrees of crustal contamination (AFC) resulted in calc-alkaline affinity of the more evolved samples. Most primitive Pliocene samples show intra-plate (anorogenic) geochemical features, while the more evolved Miocene calc-alkaline samples resemble geochemically subduction-related (orogenic) magmatic rocks. However, on the basis of detailed geochemical models, we propose that the calc-alkaline affinity among the Miocene samples can also be gained by crustal contamination of their primary magmas which were also anorogenic in character. If this is true, overall, the Miocene and Pliocene basaltic to andesitic rocks in the Gürün and Kangal basins appear to may have formed by variable degrees of partial melting of a common anorogenic mantle that had not been subject to subduction-related metasomatism. This is an alternative approach to the general view assuming the Early-Middle Miocene magmatic activity

A southern North Sea Miocene dinoflagellate cyst zonation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Munsterman, D.K.; Brinkhuis, H.

2004-01-01

An integrated stratigraphical analysis emphasizing organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) distribution has been carried out on multiple boreholes penetrating the Miocene in the subsurface of the Netherlands (southern North Sea Basin). The bulk of the investigated successions is attributed to

Gratkorn - A new late Middle Miocene vertebrate fauna from Styria (Late Sarmatian, Austria)

Science.gov (United States)

Gross, M.; Böhme, M.; Prieto, J.

2009-04-01

Integrated stratigraphic approaches provide precise correlations of global standard stages with regional Paratethys stages. Nevertheless, higher resolution stratigraphic matching of terrestrial deposits remains challenging due to the lack of a practical continental biostratigraphy. The mostly used tool for biostratigraphic correlation of non-marine deposits in the Old World is still the concept of Neogene Mammal-zones (MN-zones). However, at higher biostratigraphic resolution (reptiles (scincids, lacertids, gekkonids, anguids, varanids, colubrids, testudinids, emydids), birds (coliiformes), rodents and lagomorphs (cricetids, glirids, eomyids, sciurids, castorids), insectivores and chiropterans (erinaceids, soricids, talpids), and large mammals (suids, tragulids, moschids, cervids, ?palaeomerycids, equids, chalicotheriids, rhinos, proboscidians, carnivors). Litho- and biostratigraphy (terrestrial gastropods) as well as magnetostratigraphic data and the sequence stratigraphic and geodynamic frame indicate an age of 12-12.2 Ma (early Late Sarmatian s.str., chron 5An.1n) for the locality. Therefore, Gratkorn is one of richest and most complete fauna of the late Middle Miocene of Central Europe and will be confidentially one of the key faunas for a high-resolution continental biostratigraphy and the comprehension of the faunal succession and interchanges near the Middle/Late Miocene transition. Acknowledgements This is a preliminary overview of the Gratkorn vertebrate fauna. Several taxa are still under investigation. We are especially grateful to Gudrun Daxner-Höck, Ursula Göhlich (both Natural History Museum Vienna) and Getrud Rössner (University of Munich) for their comments to the rodents, ruminants, proboscidians and bird remains. References Böhme, M., Ilg, A., Winklhofer, M. 2008. Late Miocene "washhouse" climate in Europe.- Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 275: 393-401. Gross, M., 2008. A limnic ostracod fauna from the surroundings of the Central

Provenance of the lower Miocene of the Gulf of Mexico from detrital zircon double dating

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xu, J.

2013-12-01

The lower Miocene interval of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has recently gained increasing attention from oil and gas industry due to its hydrocarbon potential below the salt canopy. However, it has been less well studied than both the underlying Oligocene and overlying middle Miocene strata. The lower Miocene worldwide is a transitional period of tectonic, climatic, and oceanographic change. In particular, it is a period of major tectonic reorganization in the western interior of North America (Rocky Mountains), involving a shift from the Oligocene thermal phase, with abundant volcanic activity recorded in the thick Frio/Vicksburg succession of the GOM, to the Miocene Basin-Range extensional phase. Climatic conditions also changed from a relatively arid Oligocene to wetter Miocene, resulting in increased sediment yields from exhumed tectonic structures. Previous provenance studies used proportions of quartz, feldspar and lithic fragments and consideration of likely river courses through known paleogeomorphological elements. Only limited detrital zircon (DZ) U-Pb studies on Paleocene strata have been undertaken and there has been no previous U-Pb and (U-Th)/He double dating in the GOM. In this study we apply the latest analytical approaches, such as DZ U-Pb dating to gain robust source terranes ages and more fully elucidate the complex sediment provenance and dispersal history of GOM. We also employ DZ (U-Th)/He (ZHe) dating, combined with DZ U-Pb, to not only define sedimentary provenance but also the exhumation histories of detrital source regions. Samples of lower Miocene outcrop exposures in Texas and Louisiana have been collected to discriminate the varied tectonic and drainage system changes across the basin in lateral. In addition, samples from the Eocene, Oligocene and middle Miocene have been obtained to reveal vertical shift of source terranes contributions. Our initial age data show detrital zircons of lower Miocene sediments come from a wide range of source

The Middle Miocene climate as modelled in an atmosphere-ocean-biosphere model

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M. Krapp

2011-11-01

Full Text Available We present simulations with a coupled atmosphere-ocean-biosphere model for the Middle Miocene 15 million years ago. The model is insofar more consistent than previous models because it captures the essential interactions between ocean and atmosphere and between atmosphere and vegetation. The Middle Miocene topography, which alters both large-scale ocean and atmospheric circulations, causes a global warming of 0.7 K compared to present day. Higher than present-day CO₂ levels of 480 and 720 ppm cause a global warming of 2.8 and 4.9 K. The associated water vapour feedback enhances the greenhouse effect which leads to a polar amplification of the warming. These results suggest that higher than present-day CO₂ levels are necessary to drive the warm Middle Miocene climate, also because the dynamic vegetation model simulates a denser vegetation which is in line with fossil records. However, we do not find a flatter than present-day equator-to-pole temperature gradient as has been suggested by marine and terrestrial proxies. Instead, a compensation between atmospheric and ocean heat transport counteracts the flattening of the temperature gradient. The acclaimed role of the large-scale ocean circulation in redistributing heat cannot be supported by our results. Including full ocean dynamics, therefore, does not solve the problem of the flat temperature gradient during the Middle Miocene.

Sedimentary processes of the lower Monterey Fan channel and channel-mouth lobe

Science.gov (United States)

Klaucke, I.; Masson, D.G.; Kenyon, Neil H.; Gardner, J.V.

2004-01-01

The distribution of deposits, sediment transport pathways and processes on the lower Monterey Fan channel and channel-mouth lobe (CML) are studied through the integration of GLORIA and TOBI sidescan sonar data with 7-kHz subbottom profiler records and sediment cores for ground-truthing. The lower Monterey channel is characterised by an up to 30-m-deep channel with poorly developed levees and alternating muddy and silty muddy overbank deposits. The channel is discontinuous, disappearing where gradients are less than about 1:350. Ground-truthing of the large CML shows that the entire CML is characterised by widespread deposits of generally fine sand, with coarser sand at the base of turbidites. Sand is particularly concentrated in finger-like areas of low-backscatter intensity and is interpreted as the result of non-turbulent sediment-gravity flows depositing metres thick massive, fine sand. TOBI sidescan sonar data reveal recent erosional features in the form of scours, secondary channels, large flow slides, and trains of blocks at the distal end of the CML. Erosion is probably related to increasing gradient as the CML approaches Murray Fracture zone and to differential loading of sandy submarine fan deposits onto pelagic clays. Reworking of older flow slides by sediment transport processes on the lobe produces trains of blocks that are several metres in diameter and aligned parallel to the flow direction. ?? 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Rajang Unconformity: Major provenance change between the Eocene and Miocene sequences in NW Borneo

Science.gov (United States)

Breitfeld, H. T.; Hennig, J.; BouDagher-Fadel, M.; Hall, R.

2017-12-01

The offshore Sarawak Basin NW of North Sarawak is a major hydrocarbon province in SE Asia. A very thick sedimentary sequence of Oligocene to ?Early Miocene age, named Cycle 1, is an important hydrocarbon source and reservoir. Despite numerous wells the stratigraphy and tectonic history is not very well understood. The Nyalau Formation of onshore North Sarawak is the supposed equivalent of the offshore Cycle 1 sequence. The Nyalau Formation is a thick sedimentary sequence of mainly tidal to deltaic deposits. The formation is dominated by well-bedded sandstone-mudstone alternations and thicker sandstones with abundant bioturbation. The sandstones are predominantly arenaceous. Various lithic fragments and feldspar indicate multiple sources and fresh input from igneous and metamorphic rocks. Interbedded thin limestone beds and marls yielded Early Miocene foraminifera for the upper part of the succession. Zircons separated from the sandstones yielded mainly Cretaceous and Triassic ages. The Triassic is the dominant age population. The Nyalau Formation conformably overlies the Buan Shale and the Tatau Formation, and in places unconformably overlies the Belaga Formation. The Belaga Formation is part of the Rajang Group that represents remnants of a large submarine fan deposited in the Late Cretaceous to Eocene in Central Sarawak. In contrast to the Nyalau Formation, the majority of zircons from the Rajang Group have Cretaceous ages. This marks an important change in provenance at the major unconformity separating the Belaga and Nyalau Formations. This unconformity was previously interpreted as the result of an orogeny in the Late Eocene. However, there is no evidence for a subduction or collision event at this time in Sarawak. We interpret it to mark plate reorganisation in the Middle Eocene and name it the Rajang Unconformity. Borneo is the principal source of Cretaceous zircons which were derived from the Schwaner Mountains and West Sarawak. The dominant Triassic zircon

BENTHIC FORAMINIFERAL BIOSTRATIGRAPHY OF MALATYA OLIGO-MIOCENE SUCCESSION (EASTERN TAURIDS, EASTERN TURKEY

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Fatma GEDİK

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The benthic foraminiferal biostratigraphy of Oligo-Miocene aged Muratlı and Petekkaya formations which crop out over wide regions around Akçadağ town, west of Malatya pro- vince in Eastern Taurids were revealed in this study. Systematical sampling was carried out in measured stratigraphical sections in four locations in order to perform stratigraphical and paleontological investigations. Benthic foraminifera taken from 182 hard rock samples were defined and three biozones were determined as; SBZ 21-22, belonging to Oligocene (Rupe- lian - Early Chattian, SBZ 23 (Late Chattian and SBZ 25 belonging to Lower Miocene in shallow marine deposits in the region. It was stated that the assemblage of planktic forami- nifer and nannoplankton which stratigraphically detected within Chattian - Burdigalian units in the succession most probably indicated Aquitanian age. Besides; Oligo-Miocene transition in the region was approved with this study based on biostratigraphical locations of benthic foraminiferal taxa.

Pesticide occurrence and distribution in fog collected near Monterey, California

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schomburg, C.J.; Glotfelty, D.E. (Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD (USA)); Seiber, J.N. (Univ. of California, Davis (USA))

1991-01-01

The authors analyzed pesticides in air and fog in several fog events sampled near Monterey, CA, to determine whether the uptake of pesticides in advected oceanic fog was different from uptake in fog forming under stagnant inversion conditions in California's Central Valley in the winter. Data for several pesticides common to both ares showed that the pesticide content and distribution were remarkable similar in the two locations. The conversion of organophosphorus insecticides to their corresponding oxons, and aqueous-phase enrichment factors, were also very similar. Evidence is presented to support the hypothesis that enhanced pesticide concentration in fogwater is caused by strongly sorptive nonfilterable particles and colloids in the fog liquid that are derived from atmospheric particles.

High resolution biostratigraphy of Oligo-Miocene Leon and Chama Formations: An integrated approach for sequence stratigraphy analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pittelli, R.; Rull, V. (Maraven S.A., Caracas (Venezuela))

1993-02-01

Based on foraminiferal and palynological high resolution studies, a set of Sequence Boundaries (SB) and Maximum Flooding Surfaces (MSF) were identified for the Venezuelan Northwestern Andean Foothills Leon and Chama formations. Changes in abundance patterns of forminifera palynomorphs, in faunal/floral composition and distribution, together with quantitative studies of particulate organic matter allowed picking SB 30, 21 and 15.5 (very low values of fossil abundance and faunal discontinuities, recognized by a rapid stratigraphic change in biofacies and faunal assemblage and the associated mineralogical contents) and MFS 18.5, 16, and 15 (abundant fossils). The Leon Formation represents coastal plain and swamp deposits with some minor fluctuations in the seawater level. The top of the Leon Formation shaly unit is bounded by SB 30, according to Hag B.U. et al (version 1992), marked by a decrease in fossil abundance. An increase in faunal/floral content close to the top of the section coincides with the MFS 18.5. The upper part of the formation is marked by a sandy unit with SB 16.5, characterized again by a decrease in fossil abundance at its top. The Chama Formation was deposited in a transitional environment, with minor seawater level fluctuations. Climate type was tropical humid, with seasonal precipitations, except at the Early Miocene arid or semiarid phase. Mangrove and rain forest vegetation dominated throughout the Early to Middle Miocene. MFS 16 was picked on the basis of a high abundance of microforams and glauconite.

STRONTIUM ISOTOPE STRATIGRAPHY AS A CONTRIBUTION FOR DATING MIOCENE SHELF CARBONATES (S. MARINO FM., NORTHERN APENNINES

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CLAUDIO ARGENTINO

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper provides new data on strontium isotope stratigraphy applied to the Miocene heterozoan shelfal carbonates of the S. Marino Fm. (Marecchia Valley, northern Apennines. Sr isotopic analyses were carried out on oyster shells, bryozoans and bulk-rocks from the lower-middle carbonate portion of the section. In the upper part of the succession that shows evidence of detrital influx,87Sr/86Sr analyses were performed on foraminifera tests, separating planktonic and benthic forms. Results were compared with calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphic data from the same levels, in order to test the reliability of Sr dating in mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sediments. Mean ages obtained from oysters range between 16.9 Ma and 16.3 Ma. Very similar results are obtained using bryozoans (16.5 Ma to 16.1 Ma and bulk-rocks (16.8 Ma to 16.2 Ma. These results allow to better constrain the age of the massive carbonate shelf, referable to the upper Burdigalian. In the upper carbonate-siliciclastic portion of the shelf, numerical ages obtained from planktonic and benthic foraminifera are in good agreement with nannofossil biozones (mean ages respectively around 15.3 Ma and 14.5 Ma although they display wide confidence intervals. These wide age uncertainties depend on the slow rate of change of marine 87Sr/86Sr through time that characterizes the interval between ~15 and ~13.5 Ma.

Larger benthic foraminifera in Miocene carbonates of Indonesia

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Novak, Vibor

2014-01-01

Present day Southeast Asia represents the region that supports the most diverse marine ecosystems on Earth. The origin of this biodiversity is still unresolved, but it is proposed to be present at least since the Early Miocene. Therefore, the data acquired from the fossil assemblages may contribute

Biological marker distribution in coexisting kerogen, bitumen and asphaltenes in Monterey Formation diatomite, California

Science.gov (United States)

Tannenbaum, E.; Ruth, E.; Huizinga, B. J.; Kaplan, I. R.

1986-01-01

Organic-rich (18.2%) Monterey Formation diatomite from California was studied. The organic matter consist of 94% bitumen and 6% kerogen. Biological markers from the bitumen and from pyrolysates of the coexisting asphaltenes and kerogen were analyzed in order to elucidate the relationship between the various fractions of the organic matter. While 17 alpha(H), 18 alpha(H), 21 alpha(H)-28,30-bisnorhopane was present in the bitumen and in the pryolysate of the asphaltenes, it was not detected in the pyrolysates of the kerogen. A C40-isoprenoid with "head to head" linkage, however, was present in pyrolysates of both kerogen and asphaltenes, but not in the bitumen from the diatomite. The maturation level of the bitumen, based on the extent of isomerization of steranes and hopanes, was that of a mature oil, whereas the pyrolysate from the kerogen showed a considerably lower maturation level. These relationships indicate that the bitumen may not be indigenous to the diatomite and that it is a mature oil that migrated into the rock. We consider the possibility, however, that some of the 28,30-bisnorhopane-rich Monterey Formation oils have not been generated through thermal degradation of kerogen, but have been expelled from the source rock at an early stage of diagenesis.

The identification of Oligo-Miocene mammalian palaeocommunities from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, Australia and an appraisal of palaeoecological techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Karen H.; Archer, Michael; Hand, Suzanne J.

2017-01-01

Fourteen of the best sampled Oligo-Miocene local faunas from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, north-western Queensland, Australia are analysed using classification and ordination techniques to identify potential mammalian palaeocommunities and palaeocommunity types. Abundance data for these faunas are used, for the first time, in conjunction with presence/absence data. An early Miocene Faunal Zone B and two middle Miocene Faunal Zone C palaeocommunities are recognised, as well as one palaeocommunity type. Change in palaeocommunity structure, between the early Miocene and middle Miocene, may be the result of significant climate change during the Miocene Carbon Isotope Excursion. The complexes of local faunas identified will allow researchers to use novel palaeocommunities in future analyses of Riversleigh’s fossil faunas. The utility of some palaeoecological multivariate indices and techniques is examined. The Dice index is found to outperform other binary similarity/distance coefficients, while the UPGMA algorithm is more useful than neighbour joining. Evidence is equivocal for the usefulness of presence/absence data compared to abundance. PMID:28674663

Miocene fish faunas from the northwestern Amazonia basin (Colombia, Peru, Brazil) with evidence of marine incursions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Monsch, KA

1998-01-01

New evidence indicates marine influences during the Miocene in the northwestern Amazonia basin. This is the first major survey of the ichthyofauna from this area in the Miocene. Fossil fish remains from taxa such as the Dasyatoidea, Myliobatoidea, Characiformes, Siluriformes and Sciaenidae are

Subsurface and petroleum geology of the southwestern Santa Clara Valley ("Silicon Valley"), California

Science.gov (United States)

Stanley, Richard G.; Jachens, Robert C.; Lillis, Paul G.; McLaughlin, Robert J.; Kvenvolden, Keith A.; Hostettler, Frances D.; McDougall, Kristin A.; Magoon, Leslie B.

2002-01-01

and 1929 to total depths as great as 840 m. At least one pump unit is still standing. Although no lithologic or paleontologic samples are available from the wells, driller's logs indicate the presence of thick intervals of brown shale and sandstone resembling nearby outcrops of the Miocene Monterey Formation. Small amounts of oil and gas were observed in several wells, but commercial production was never established. Oil from the Peck well in Los Gatos is highly biodegraded, contains biomarkers commonly found in oils derived from the Monterey Formation, and has a stable-C-isotopic (d13C) composition of –23.32 permil, indicating derivation from a Miocene Monterey Formation source rock. Preliminary calculations suggest that about 1 billion barrels of oil may have been generated from source rocks within the Monterey Formation in the deepest part of the subsurface sedimentary basin between Los Gatos and Cupertino. Most of this oil was probably lost to biodegradation, oxidation, and leakage to the surface, but some oil may have accumulated in as-yet-undiscovered structural and stratigraphic traps along the complex structural boundary between the Santa Clara Valley and the Santa Cruz Mountains. Although some of these undiscovered accumulations of oil may be of commercial size, future petroleum exploration is unlikely because most of the area is currently devoted to residential, recreational, commercial, and industrial uses.

Petroleum systems of the Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sarmiento, L.F.; Rangel, A. [Instituto Colombiano del Petroleo, Bucaramanga (Colombia). ECOPETROL

2004-03-01

In the Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia, four petroleum systems were identified. Two petroleum systems are located in the Girardot sub-basin and the other two in the Neiva sub- basin. Limestones laterally changing to shales of the lower part of the Villeta Gp, deposited during Albian and Turonian marine flooding events, constitutes the main source rocks of the oil families. These rocks contain 1-4% TOC and type II kerogen. The littoral quartz arenites of the Caballos (Albian) and Monserrate (Maastrichtian) Fms. are the main reservoir rocks. Seal rocks are Cretaceous and Paleocene shales. Overburden includes the Cretaceous rocks and the Tertiary molasse deposited simultaneously with development of two opposite verging thrust systems during Cenozoic time. These deformation events were responsible for trap creation. Except for the Villarrica area, where the source rock reached maturity during the Paleocene, generation occurred during Miocene. Two oil families are identified, each in both sub-basins: One derived from a clay-rich source and the second from a carbonate-rich source rock lithofacies of the lower part of Villeta Gp. Geochemical source-rock to oil correlations are demonstrated for the three of the petroleum systems. Up-dip lateral migration distances are relatively short and faults served as vertical migration pathways. A huge amount of oil was probably degraded at surface, as a result of Miocene deformation and erosion. (author)

Miocene squat lobsters (Decapoda, Anomura, Galatheoidea) of the Central Paratethys - a review, with description of a new species of Munidopsis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hyžný, M; Gašparič, R; Robins, C M; Schlögl, J

2014-10-01

All squat lobsters of the families Galatheidae, Munididae and Munidopsidae from the Miocene of the Central Paratethys are reviewed taxonomically. Based on additional observations emended diagnoses are provided for Agononida cerovensis and Galathea weinfurteri , from the Lower and Middle Miocene, respectively. Munidopsis is represented by two species in the study area; additional data for M. lieskovensis from the Lower Miocene of Slovakia are presented and a new species, M. palmuelleri , from the Middle Miocene of Slovenia is erected. Implications for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions are briefly discussed for each taxon.

Land subsidence and caprock dolines caused by subsurface gypsum dissolution and the effect of subsidence on the fluvial system in the Upper Tigris Basin (between Bismil Batman, Turkey)

Science.gov (United States)

Doğan, Uğur

2005-11-01

Karstification-based land subsidence was found in the Upper Tigris Basin with dimensions not seen anywhere else in Turkey. The area of land subsidence, where there are secondary and tertiary subsidence developments, reaches 140 km 2. Subsidence depth ranges between 40 and 70 m. The subsidence was formed as a result of subsurface gypsum dissolution in Lower Miocene formation. Although there are limestones together with gypsum and Eocene limestone below them in the area, a subsidence with such a large area is indicative of karstification in the gypsum. The stratigraphical cross-sections taken from the wells and the water analyses also verify this fact. The Lower Miocene gypsum, which shows confined aquifer features, was completely dissolved by the aggressive waters injected from the top and discharged through by Zellek Fault. This resulted in the development of subsidence and formation of caprock dolines on loosely textured Upper Miocene-Pliocene cover formations. The Tigris River runs through the subsidence area between Batman and Bismil. There are four terrace levels as T1 (40 m), T2 (30 m), T3 (10 m) and T4 (4-5 m) in the Tigris River valley. It was also found that there were some movements of the levels of the terraces in the valley by subsidence. The subsidence developed gradually throughout the Quaternary; however no terrace was formed purely because of subsidence.

The influence of late Miocene exhumation on the petroleum systems of the greater Caucasus foreland basins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andy, A.; Colin, D.; Sally, H.; Simon, O.

2002-01-01

Full text: Northwards impingement of Arabia during the Cenozoic led to the inversion of the Mesozoic Greater Caucasus Basin and the associated development of areas of enhanced subsidence. However, there is great debate regarding the timing of initiation of thrusting and uplift in the Caucasus region.Traditionally, ages ranging from Middle Eocene through to Middle Miocene have been proposed.More recently. It has become clear that although deformation and flexural subsidence may have initiated during the Late Miocene to Pliocene.The potential causative mechanisms for this late uplift and exhumation did not begin until the Late Miocene to Pliocene.The potential causative mechanisms for this late uplift event have been identified.The late Miocene to Pliocene event influenced a broad region and had important implications for reservoir rock deposition and the generation,migration,trapping and preservation of hydrocarbons in the surrounding basins (e.g. Indolo-Kuban,Terek-Caspian, South Caspian, Kura-Kartli, Rion, Black Sea).One area of particular interest is the development of the Stavropol Arch through time,since foreland basins are presently restricted to the Indolo-Kuban and Terek-Caspian Sub-basins.The Stavropol Arch lies immediately north of the central, most elevated parts of the Caucasus Mountains and separates the main areas of enhanced foreland subsidence.Although in most palaeogeographic reconstructions of the area, the Stavropol Arch is shown as an uplifted massif during much of the Mesozoic and Lower Cenozoic, it seems likely from recent studies that it is a feature of Late Miocene to Pliocene exhumation.One major potential implication is that an Oligocene to Miocene (foreland) succession developed in a major basin across the whole region north of the Greater Caucasus.Much of this was subsequently eroded from the Stavropol Arch during uplift and exhumation, separating the Indolo-Kuban and Terek-Caspian foreland basins.From qualitative section balancing we

Miocene shale tectonics in the Moroccan margin (Alboran Sea)

Science.gov (United States)

Do Couto, D.; El Abbassi, M.; Ammar, A.; Gorini, C.; Estrada, F.; Letouzey, J.; Smit, J.; Jolivet, L.; Jabour, H.

2011-12-01

The Betic (Southern Spain) and Rif (Morocco) mountains form an arcuate belt that represents the westernmost termination of the peri-mediterranean Alpine mountain chain. The Miocene Alboran Basin and its subbasins is located in the hinterland of the Betic-Rif belt. It is considered to be a back-arc basin that developed during the coeval westward motion of the Alboran domain and the extensional collapse of previously thickened crust of the Betic-Rif belt. The Western Alboran Basin (WAB) is the major sedimentary depocenter with a sediment thickness in excess of 10 km, it is bordered by the Gibraltar arc, the volcanic Djibouti mounts and the Alboran ridge. Part of the WAB is affected by shale tectonics and associated mud volcanism. High-quality 2D seismic profiles acquired on the Moroccan margin of the Alboran Basin during the last decade reveal the multiple history of the basin. This study deals with the analysis of a number of these seismic profiles that are located along and orthogonal to the Moroccan margin. Seismic stratigraphy is calibrated from industrial wells. We focus on the interactions between the gravity-driven tectonic processes and the sedimentation in the basin. Our seismic interpretation confirms that the formation of the WAB began in the Early Miocene (Aquitanian - Burdigalian). The fast subsidence of the basin floor coeval to massive sedimentation induced the undercompaction of early miocene shales during their deposition. Downslope migration of these fine-grained sediments initiated during the deposition of the Langhian siliciclastics. This gravity-driven system was accompanied by continuous basement subsidence and induced disharmonic deformation in Mid Miocene units (i.e. not related to basement deformation). The development of shale-cored anticlines and thrusts in the deep basin is the result of compressive deformation at the front of the gravity-driven system and lasted for ca. 15 Ma. The compressive front has been re-activated by strong

Dental care for the underserved children of Monterey County: meeting the challenge.

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, R E

1998-05-01

With its expansive area, and the special needs of agricultural workers, Monterey County held significant challenges for setting up a children's health clinic. Part of the solution to addressing the county's unmet dental needs was the establishment of the Children's Miracle Network dental center in 1995. But working in the fields leaves little time for travel to appointments, so the dental center expanded to a mobile unit that can go where the need is. Understanding the special needs of one's community is crucial to establishing programs that can successfully address the state's needs for children's dental care.

Smilax (Smilacaceae) from the Miocene of western Eurasia with Caribbean biogeographic affinities.

Science.gov (United States)

Denk, Thomas; Velitzelos, Dimitrios; Güner, H Tuncay; Ferrufino-Acosta, Lilian

2015-03-01

• Recent molecular studies provide a phylogenetic framework and some dated nodes for the monocot genus Smilax. The Caribbean Havanensis group of Smilax is part of a well-supported "New World clade" with a few disjunct taxa in the Old World. Although the fossil record of the genus is rich, it has been difficult to assign fossil taxa to extant groups based on their preserved morphological characters.• Leaf fossils from Europe and Asia Minor were studied comparatively and put into a phylogenetic and biogeographic context using a molecular phylogeny of the genus.• Fossils from the early Miocene of Anatolia represent a new species of Smilax with systematic affinities with the Havanensis group. The leaf type encountered in the fossil species is exclusively found in species of the Havanensis group among all modern Smilax. Scattered fossils of this type from the Miocene of Greece and Austria, previously referred to Quercus (Fagaceae), Ilex (Aquifoliaceae), and Mahonia (Berberidaceae) also belong to the new species.• The new Smilax provides first fossil evidence of the Havanensis group and proves that this group had a western Eurasian distribution during the Miocene. The age of the fossils is in good agreement with the (molecular-based) purported split between the Havanensis and Hispida groups within Smilax. The Miocene Smilax provides evidence that all four subclades within the "New World clade" had a disjunct intercontinental distribution during parts of the Neogene involving trans-Atlantic crossings (via floating islands or the North Atlantic land bridge) and the Beringia land bridge. © 2015 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

Sedimentology and biostratigraphy of the Early-Middle Miocene transition in NW Transylvanian Basin (Pâglişa and Dej sections

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Claudia Beldean

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The Early - Middle Miocene transition can be studied in several sections from the north-western Transylvanian Basin, across the boundary between the Hida and Dej Formations. The Pâglişa and Râpa Dracului (Dej locally outcrop sections offer a very good record of the changes in the sedimentary facies and micropaleontological content across the boundary. The lower parts of the sections display the upper Hida Formation with prodelta fine grained sediments covered by coarser grained sediments related to a delta front progradation. Four sedimentary facies associations have been separated based on grain size and associated sedimentary structures. Micropaleontological assemblages are moderately to poorly preserved, with a low abundance and diversity. Planktonic Streptochilus pristinum is the main taxon associated with rare (< 10% calcareous benthic foraminifera (Bulimina, Bolivina, Cibibicidoides. The Dej Formation consists of stacked channel lag deposits associated with lateral accretion bars and crevasse splays followed by fall-out tuffs and redeposited low density tuffites interbedded with low density fine siliciclastics. The deposits of Dej Formation from the investigated areas were separated in four facies associations based on grain size/petrography and primary sedimentary structures. Micropaleontological assemblages contain typical early Badenian planktonic foraminifera (species of Orbulina, Praeorbulina, Globigerinoides, and Globorotalia associated to the main phase of the marine transgresion from the beginning of the Middle Miocene.

Eocene and miocene rocks off the northeastern coast of the United States

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Gibson, T.G.

1965-01-01

A grab sample from a depth of 1675 m at a point south of Cape Cod contains early Eocene planktonic Foraminifera and is correlated with the Globorotalia rex zone of Trinidad. The assemblage indicates a depth comparable to that existing today. Regional relations suggest that the Cretaceous and Eocene deposits deepen to the west toward New Jersey. Two mollusk-bearing blocks dredged from the northern side of Georges Bank are correlative with the Miocene Yorktown Formation. Rocks from two other stations are probably Miocene. Benthonic Foraminifera in one sample indicate deposition in cool temperate waters of less than 60 m depth. ?? 1965.

A Vision in Progress. The Decision To Establish a Public University at Monterey Bay. An Occasional Paper.

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Chance, William

This report describes the decision-making process and problems encountered during the 48 months it took to establish a new university, California State University at Monterey Bay, on the site of Fort Ord, a recently closed military base. After an introduction, the report is organized in four sections, one for each phase of the process. The first…

Miocene squat lobsters (Decapoda, Anomura, Galatheoidea) of the Central Paratethys – a review, with description of a new species of Munidopsis

Science.gov (United States)

Hyžný, M.; Gašparič, R.; Robins, C.M.; Schlögl, J.

2015-01-01

All squat lobsters of the families Galatheidae, Munididae and Munidopsidae from the Miocene of the Central Paratethys are reviewed taxonomically. Based on additional observations emended diagnoses are provided for Agononida cerovensis and Galathea weinfurteri, from the Lower and Middle Miocene, respectively. Munidopsis is represented by two species in the study area; additional data for M. lieskovensis from the Lower Miocene of Slovakia are presented and a new species, M. palmuelleri, from the Middle Miocene of Slovenia is erected. Implications for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions are briefly discussed for each taxon. PMID:26005283

Some observations on the Miocene foraminifera from Kachchh, Western India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Jauhri, A.K.; Khare, N.

The foraminiferal species described from the Miocene sequence exposed at the village Vinjhan of Kachchh are widely distributed in the comparable successions of the Middle East and Greece. They can be used for inter-regional correlation...

Molluscan fauna from the Miocene sediments of Kachchh, Gujarat ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

geological mapping of Kachchh was assigned to. Fedden and Wynne in the late ... Figure 1. Geological map of parts of Kachchh Region, Gujarat State, India; slightly modified after Biswas and Deshpande. Formational boundaries ...... division and correlation of Oligo–Miocene petroleum bearing strata in India and future ...

Palynological Zonation of Oligocene to Early Miocene Sediments of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ADOWIE PERE

2017-12-31

Dec 31, 2017 ... Keywords: Lithozones; Niger delta Basin; Palynomorphs; Oligocene to Early Miocene; Depobelt. The Niger Delta is ... province on the West African continental margin. It lies mainly in the ... Nigeria depends largely on the oil and gas derived from it. ... generation, accumulation and retention of hydrocarbons.

Exceptional preservation of Miocene pollen: plasmolysis captured in salt?

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Durska, W.

2016-07-01

Exceptionally well-preserved Miocene pollen from the Bochnia salt mine of southern Poland is reported herein. The halite deposits within the salt mine belonging to Late Badenian (Miocene) marine evaporites originated in the Paratethys. Rounded and angular structures are present inside pollen grains. On the basis of the similarity with plasmolyzed pollen grains of modern plants, these structures are considered to represent cytoplasms plasmolyzed in the condensed brine prior to fossilization. Two forms of plasmolyzed cytoplasms (concave and convex) can be observed in modern pollen. Both are distinguished in the investigated fossil material. In porate and colporate grains the shape of the plasmolyzed cellular content is concave while in inaperturate it is convex. The plasmolysis form depends on the type of apertures and pollen shape. The percentage of pollen with fossilized cytoplasms within individual taxa is a valuable environmental indicator, as it depends on the proximity of the pollen-producing plant assemblages to the depositional setting. (Author)

Updated chronology for the Miocene hominoid radiation in Western Eurasia

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Casanovas-Vilar, Isaac; Alba, David M.; Garcés, Miguel; Robles, Josep M.; Moyà-Solà, Salvador

2011-01-01

Extant apes (Primates: Hominoidea) are the relics of a group that was much more diverse in the past. They originated in Africa around the Oligocene/Miocene boundary, but by the beginning of the Middle Miocene they expanded their range into Eurasia, where they experienced a far-reaching evolutionary radiation. A Eurasian origin of the great ape and human clade (Hominidae) has been favored by several authors, but the assessment of this hypothesis has been hampered by the lack of accurate datings for many Western Eurasian hominoids. Here we provide an updated chronology that incorporates recently discovered Iberian taxa and further reevaluates the age of many previously known sites on the basis of local biostratigraphic scales and magnetostratigraphic data. Our results show that identifiable Eurasian kenyapithecins (Griphopithecus and Kenyapithecus) are much younger than previously thought (ca. 14 Ma instead of 16 Ma), which casts serious doubts on the attribution of the hominoid tooth from Engelswies (16.3–16.5 Ma) to cf. Griphopithecus. This evidence is further consistent with an alternative scenario, according to which the Eurasian pongines and African hominines might have independently evolved in their respective continents from similar kenyapithecin ancestors, resulting from an early Middle Miocene intercontinental range extension followed by vicariance. This hypothesis, which would imply an independent origin of orthogrady in pongines and hominines, deserves further testing by accurately inferring the phylogenetic position of European dryopithecins, which might be stem pongines rather than stem hominines. PMID:21436034

Combined tide and storm influence on facies sedimentation of miocene Miri Formation, Sarawak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuniarta Ulfa; Nasiman Sapari; Zuhar Zahir Tuan Harith

2011-01-01

This study was conducted on the sedimentary rocks belonging to the Miri Formation (Middle - Late Miocene). The primary objective of the present study is to provide additional interpretation on the stratigraphy of the Miri Formation in the Miri Field based on the new information gathered from new outcrops in the area. Five outcrops were examined in detail on sedimentology and stratigraphy. Based on lithology, sedimentary structures, bedding geometry and traces fossil, the sediments of the Miri Formation were grouped into fourteen lithofacies. Influence of tide and storm during the depositional processes of the formation were indicated by the group of two main facies associations which are: (i) tide-dominated estuary; and (ii) wave-and-storm dominated facies associations. The tide-dominated estuary system of the Miri Formation are includes variety of sub environments: estuary mouth or tidal channel and sand bars (characterized by trough cross-stratified sandstone with mud drapes facies), estuary channel or upper flow regime of sand flat (characterized by parallel stratified sandstone with mud-laminas facies), mixed-tidal flat (characterized by wavy and flaser bedded sandstone facies), and mud-tidal flat (characterized by rhythmic stratified sandstone-mudstone and lenticular bedding facies). The wave-and-storm dominated varied from lower to middle shore face (characterized by hummocky cross-stratified sandstone and rhythmic parallel stratified sandstone and laminated siltstone facies), upper shore face (characterized by swaley cross-stratified sandstone), lower shore face inter bedded to bioturbated sandstone and siltstone facies), and offshore transitional (characterized by bioturbated sandstone and mudstone inter bedding with parallel to hummocky cross-stratified sandstone facies). (author)

Terpenoid Compositions and Botanical Origins of Late Cretaceous and Miocene Amber from China

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Shi, Gongle; Dutta, Suryendu; Paul, Swagata; Wang, Bo; Jacques, Frédéric M. B.

2014-01-01

The terpenoid compositions of the Late Cretaceous Xixia amber from Central China and the middle Miocene Zhangpu amber from Southeast China were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to elucidate their botanical origins. The Xixia amber is characterized by sesquiterpenoids, abietane and phyllocladane type diterpenoids, but lacks phenolic abietanes and labdane derivatives. The molecular compositions indicate that the Xixia amber is most likely contributed by the conifer family Araucariaceae, which is today distributed primarily in the Southern Hemisphere, but widely occurred in the Northern Hemisphere during the Mesozoic according to paleobotanical evidence. The middle Miocene Zhangpu amber is characterized by amyrin and amyrone-based triterpenoids and cadalene-based sesquiterpenoids. It is considered derived from the tropical angiosperm family Dipterocarpaceae based on these compounds and the co-occurring fossil winged fruits of the family in Zhangpu. This provides new evidence for the occurrence of a dipterocarp forest in the middle Miocene of Southeast China. It is the first detailed biomarker study for amber from East Asia. PMID:25354364

Tectonic Evolution of the Çayirhan Neogene Basin (Ankara), Central Turkey

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Behzad, Bezhan; Koral, Hayrettin; İşb&idot; l, Duygu; Karaaǧa; ç, Serdal

2016-04-01

Çayırhan (Ankara) is located at crossroads of the Western Anatolian extensional region, analogous to the Basin and Range Province, and suture zone of the Neotethys-Ocean, which is locus of the North Anatolian Transform since the Late Miocene. To the north of Çayırhan (Ankara), a Neogene sedimentary basin comprises Lower-Middle Miocene and Upper Miocene age formations, characterized by swamp, fluvial and lacustrine settings respectively. This sequence is folded and transected by neotectonic faults. The Sekli thrust fault is older than the Lower-Middle Miocene age formations. The Davutoǧlan fault is younger than the Lower-Middle Miocene formations and is contemporaneous to the Upper Miocene formation. The Çatalkaya fault is younger than the Upper Miocene formation. The sedimentary and tectonic features provide information on mode, timing and evolution of this Neogene age sedimentary basin in Central Turkey. It is concluded that the region underwent a period of uplift and erosion under the influence of contractional tectonics prior to the Early-Middle Miocene, before becoming a semi-closed basin under influence of transtensional tectonics during the Early-Middle Miocene and under influence of predominantly extensional tectonics during the post-Late Miocene times. Keywords: Tectonics, Extension, Transtension, Stratigraphy, Neotectonic features.

Clay mineralogy indicates a mildly warm and humid living environment for the Miocene hominoid from the Zhaotong Basin, Yunnan, China

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Zhang, Chunxia; Guo, Zhengtang; Deng, Chenglong; Ji, Xueping; Wu, Haibin; Paterson, Greig A.; Chang, Lin; Li, Qin; Wu, Bailing; Zhu, Rixiang

2016-01-01

Global and regional environmental changes have influenced the evolutionary processes of hominoid primates, particularly during the Miocene. Recently, a new Lufengpithecus cf. lufengensis hominoid fossil with a late Miocene age of ~6.2 Ma was discovered in the Shuitangba (STB) section of the Zhaotong Basin in Yunnan on the southeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau. To understand the relationship between paleoclimate and hominoid evolution, we have studied sedimentary, clay mineralogy and geochemical proxies for the late Miocene STB section (~16 m thick; ca. 6.7–6.0 Ma). Our results show that Lufengpithecus cf. lufengensis lived in a mildly warm and humid climate in a lacustrine or swamp environment. Comparing mid to late Miocene records from hominoid sites in Yunnan, Siwalik in Pakistan, and tropical Africa we find that ecological shifts from forest to grassland in Siwalik are much later than in tropical Africa, consistent with the disappearance of hominoid fossils. However, no significant vegetation changes are found in Yunnan during the late Miocene, which we suggest is the result of uplift of the Tibetan plateau combined with the Asian monsoon geographically and climatically isolating these regions. The resultant warm and humid conditions in southeastern China offered an important refuge for Miocene hominoids. PMID:26829756

Mid-Miocene C4 expansion on the Chinese Loess Plateau under an enhanced Asian summer monsoon

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Dong, Jibao; Liu, Zhonghui; An, Zhisheng; Liu, Weiguo; Zhou, Weijian; Qiang, Xiaoke; Lu, Fengyan

2018-06-01

Atmospheric CO2 starvation, aridity, fire and warm season precipitation have all been proposed as major contributors to C4 plant expansion during the Late Miocene. However, the driving factors responsible for the distribution of C4 plants in the early and mid-Miocene still remain enigmatic. Here we report pedogenic carbon and oxygen isotope data (δ13Cpedo, δ18Opedo), along with magnetic susceptibility (MS) results, from the Zhuang Lang drilling core on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). Elevated δ13Cpedo values (>-5‰) signal a prominent C4 expansion and substantially increased δ18Opedo and MS values indicate enhanced Asian summer monsoon (ASM) precipitation. Both of these conditions are observed during the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO), 14.5-17 million years ago. The marked increase in C4 plants, associated with warm temperatures and increased precipitation, strongly suggests the control of an enhanced ASM on C4 expansion on the CLP during the MMCO. This finding contrasts with the late-Miocene C4 expansion associated with cooling and drying conditions observed in low latitudes and argues for regionally specific control of C4 plant distribution/expansion.

Microfacies models and sequence stratigraphic architecture of the Oligocene–Miocene Qom Formation, south of Qom City, Iran

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Mahnaz Amirshahkarami

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The Oligocene–Miocene Qom Formation has different depositional models in the Central Iran, Sanandaj–Sirjan and Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic arc provinces in Iran. The Kahak section of the Qom Formation in the Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic arc has been studied, in order to determinate its microfacies, depositional model and sequence stratigraphy. The textural analysis and faunal assemblages reveal ten microfacies. These microfacies are indicative of five depositional settings of open marine, patch reef, lagoon, tidal flat and beach of the inner and middle ramp. On the basis of the vertical succession architecture of depositional system tracts, four third-order sequences have been recognized in the Oligocene–Miocene Kahak succession of Qom Formation. Based on the correlation charts, the transgression of the Qom Sea started from the southeast and continued gradually towards the north. This resulted in widespread northward development of the lagoon paleoenvironment in the Aquitanian-Burdigalian stages. Also, the sequence stratigraphic model of the Oligocene–Miocene Qom Formation has an architecture similar to those that have developed from Oligocene–Miocene global sea level changes.

77 FR 73322 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-10

...EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (MBUAPCD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern opacity standards related to multiple pollutants, including particulate matter (PM) emissions from several different types of sources, ranging from fugitive dust to gas turbines. We are approving a local rule that regulates these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act).

77 FR 73392 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-10

...EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (MBUAPCD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns opacity standards related to multiple pollutants, including particulate matter (PM) emissions from several different types of sources, ranging from fugitive dust to gas turbines. We are proposing to approve a local rule to regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act).

Dynamic Antarctic ice sheet during the early to mid-Miocene

Science.gov (United States)

Gasson, Edward; DeConto, Robert M.; Pollard, David; Levy, Richard H.

2016-03-01

Geological data indicate that there were major variations in Antarctic ice sheet volume and extent during the early to mid-Miocene. Simulating such large-scale changes is problematic because of a strong hysteresis effect, which results in stability once the ice sheets have reached continental size. A relatively narrow range of atmospheric CO2 concentrations indicated by proxy records exacerbates this problem. Here, we are able to simulate large-scale variability of the early to mid-Miocene Antarctic ice sheet because of three developments in our modeling approach. (i) We use a climate-ice sheet coupling method utilizing a high-resolution atmospheric component to account for ice sheet-climate feedbacks. (ii) The ice sheet model includes recently proposed mechanisms for retreat into deep subglacial basins caused by ice-cliff failure and ice-shelf hydrofracture. (iii) We account for changes in the oxygen isotopic composition of the ice sheet by using isotope-enabled climate and ice sheet models. We compare our modeling results with ice-proximal records emerging from a sedimentological drill core from the Ross Sea (Andrill-2A) that is presented in a companion article. The variability in Antarctic ice volume that we simulate is equivalent to a seawater oxygen isotope signal of 0.52-0.66‰, or a sea level equivalent change of 30-36 m, for a range of atmospheric CO2 between 280 and 500 ppm and a changing astronomical configuration. This result represents a substantial advance in resolving the long-standing model data conflict of Miocene Antarctic ice sheet and sea level variability.

Middle Miocene carnivorans from the Monarch Mill Formation, Nevada

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Kent Smith

2016-02-01

Full Text Available he lowest part of the Monarch Mill Formation in the Middlegate basin, west-central Nevada, has yielded a middle Miocene (Barstovian Land Mammal Age vertebrate assemblage, the Eastgate local fauna. Paleobotanical evidence from nearby, nearly contemporaneous fossil leaf assemblages indicates that the Middle Miocene vegetation in the area was mixed coniferous and hardwood forest and chaparral-sclerophyllous shrubland, and suggests that the area had been uplifted to 2700–2800 m paleoaltitude before dropping later to near its present elevation of 1600 m. Thus, the local fauna provides a rare glimpse at a medium- to high-altitude vertebrate community in the intermountain western interior of North America. The local fauna includes the remains of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and 25 families of mammals. Carnivorans, the focus of this study, include six taxa (three of which are new belonging to four families. Canidae are represented by the borophagine Tomarctus brevirostris and the canine Leptocyon sp. indet. The earliest record and second North American occurrence of the simocyonine ailurid Actiocyon is represented by A. parverratis sp. nov. Two new mustelids, Brevimalictis chikasha gen. et sp. nov. and Negodiaetictis rugatrulleum gen. et sp. nov., may represent Galictinae but are of uncertain subfamilial and tribal affinity. The fourth family is represented by the felid Pseudaelurus sp. indet. Tomarctus brevirostris is limited biochronologically to the Barstovian land mammal age and thus is consistent with the age indicated by other members of the Eastgate local fauna as well as by indirect tephrochronological dates previously associated with the Monarch Mill Formation. Actiocyon parverratis sp. nov. extends the temporal range of the genus Actiocyon from late Clarendonian back to the Barstovian. The Eastgate local fauna improves our understanding of mammalian successions and evolution, during and subsequent to the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum

Rapid middle Miocene extension and unroofing of the southern Ruby Mountains, Nevada

Science.gov (United States)

Colgan, Joseph P.; Howard, Keith A.; Fleck, Robert J.; Wooden, Joseph L.

2010-01-01

Paleozoic rocks in the northern Ruby Mountains were metamorphosed during Mesozoic crustal shortening and Cenozoic magmatism, but equivalent strata in the southern Ruby Mountains were never buried deeper than stratigraphic depths prior to exhumation in the footwall of a west dipping brittle normal fault. In the southern Ruby Mountains, Miocene sedimentary rocks in the hanging wall of this fault date from 15.2 to 11.6 Ma and contain abundant detritus from the Paleozoic section. Apatite fission track and (U-Th)/He samples of the Eocene Harrison Pass pluton record rapid cooling that peaked ca. 17–15 Ma, while apatite fission track data from Jurassic plutons east and west of the southern Ruby Mountains indicate near-surface temperatures (pluton to be partially reset rather than to directly record fault slip. Our new data, together with published data on the distribution and composition of Miocene basin fill, suggest that rapid middle Miocene slip took place on the west dipping brittle detachment that bounds the Ruby Mountains and East Humboldt Range for 150 km along strike. This fault was thus active during a period of rapid extension (ca. 17–15 to 12–10 Ma) documented widely across the northern Basin and Range Province.

Global warming and South Indian monsoon rainfall-lessons from the Mid-Miocene.

Science.gov (United States)

Reuter, Markus; Kern, Andrea K; Harzhauser, Mathias; Kroh, Andreas; Piller, Werner E

2013-04-01

Precipitation over India is driven by the Indian monsoon. Although changes in this atmospheric circulation are caused by the differential seasonal diabatic heating of Asia and the Indo-Pacific Ocean, it is so far unknown how global warming influences the monsoon rainfalls regionally. Herein, we present a Miocene pollen flora as the first direct proxy for monsoon over southern India during the Middle Miocene Climate Optimum. To identify climatic key parameters, such as mean annual temperature, warmest month temperature, coldest month temperature, mean annual precipitation, mean precipitation during the driest month, mean precipitation during the wettest month and mean precipitation during the warmest month the Coexistence Approach is applied. Irrespective of a ~ 3-4 °C higher global temperature during the Middle Miocene Climate Optimum, the results indicate a modern-like monsoonal precipitation pattern contrasting marine proxies which point to a strong decline of Indian monsoon in the Himalaya at this time. Therefore, the strength of monsoon rainfall in tropical India appears neither to be related to global warming nor to be linked with the atmospheric conditions over the Tibetan Plateau. For the future it implies that increased global warming does not necessarily entail changes in the South Indian monsoon rainfall.

The late Miocene Phractocephalus catfish (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae from Urumaco, Venezuela: additional specimens and reinterpretation as a distinct species

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John G. Lundberg

Full Text Available Based on additional specimens the fossil pimelodid catfish from the upper Miocene Urumaco Formation, Falcón State, Venezuela originally assigned to the extant species Phractocephalus hemioliopterus is described as a new, extinct species. †Phractocephalus nassi n. sp. is diagnosed by the following combination of characters: 1 posterior half of frontals and anterior half of supraoccipital with elongate, coarse ridges and sulci in addition to reticulating ridges and subcircular pits; 2 very broad and ornamented mesethmoid bone; 3 lateral ethmoid margin convex and eliminating orbital notch but not projecting far anteriorly over palatine condyle; 4 anterior cranial fontanelle closed or represented by a small pit; 5 supraoccipital process rounded laterally and posterolaterally, concave posteriorly and completely concealing Weberian complex in dorsal view; 6 opercle covered with reticulating ridges and pits; 7 cleithrum coarsely ornamented along ventral edge and bulging outward lateral to spine articulation; 8 pectoral spine mostly ornamented with coarse ridges and sulci. †Phractocephalus nassi is compared to modern P. hemioliopterus and an undescribed extinct species from the upper Miocene Solimões Formation, Acre, Brazil. New diagnostic characters of Phractocephalus are presented that apply to the modern and fossil species, including: 1 ornamentation of skull, pectoral girdle and fin spines comprising a coarse meshwork of reticulating ridges surrounding rounded pits plus some elongate ridges and sulci; 2 supraoccipital posterior process greatly expanded laterally and posteriorly behind occipital wall; 3 lateral ethmoid and sphenotic broadly sutured behind eye; 4 anterior cranial fontanelle reduced or completely closed and posterior cranial fontanelle closed; 5 vomerine tooth plate large, roughly pentagonal to triangular in form, and with fine teeth. Today Phractocephalus ranges widely throughout the lowland Orinoco, Amazon and Essequibo basins

Rayleigh and S wave tomography constraints on subduction termination and lithospheric foundering in central California

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Chengxin; Schmandt, Brandon; Hansen, Steven M.; Dougherty, Sara L.; Clayton, Robert W.; Farrell, Jamie; Lin, Fan-Chi

2018-01-01

The crust and upper mantle structure of central California have been modified by subduction termination, growth of the San Andreas plate boundary fault system, and small-scale upper mantle convection since the early Miocene. Here we investigate the contributions of these processes to the creation of the Isabella Anomaly, which is a high seismic velocity volume in the upper mantle. There are two types of hypotheses for its origin. One is that it is the foundered mafic lower crust and mantle lithosphere of the southern Sierra Nevada batholith. The alternative suggests that it is a fossil slab connected to the Monterey microplate. A dense broadband seismic transect was deployed from the coast to the western Sierra Nevada to fill in the least sampled areas above the Isabella Anomaly, and regional-scale Rayleigh and S wave tomography are used to evaluate the two hypotheses. New shear velocity (Vs) tomography images a high-velocity anomaly beneath coastal California that is sub-horizontal at depths of ∼40–80 km. East of the San Andreas Fault a continuous extension of the high-velocity anomaly dips east and is located beneath the Sierra Nevada at ∼150–200 km depth. The western position of the Isabella Anomaly in the uppermost mantle is inconsistent with earlier interpretations that the Isabella Anomaly is connected to actively foundering foothills lower crust. Based on the new Vs images, we interpret that the Isabella Anomaly is not the dense destabilized root of the Sierra Nevada, but rather a remnant of Miocene subduction termination that is translating north beneath the central San Andreas Fault. Our results support the occurrence of localized lithospheric foundering beneath the high elevation eastern Sierra Nevada, where we find a lower crustal low Vs layer consistent with a small amount of partial melt. The high elevations relative to crust thickness and lower crustal low Vs zone are consistent with geological inferences that lithospheric foundering drove

Rayleigh and S wave tomography constraints on subduction termination and lithospheric foundering in central California

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Chengxin; Schmandt, Brandon; Hansen, Steven M.; Dougherty, Sara L.; Clayton, Robert W.; Farrell, Jamie; Lin, Fan-Chi

2018-04-01

The crust and upper mantle structure of central California have been modified by subduction termination, growth of the San Andreas plate boundary fault system, and small-scale upper mantle convection since the early Miocene. Here we investigate the contributions of these processes to the creation of the Isabella Anomaly, which is a high seismic velocity volume in the upper mantle. There are two types of hypotheses for its origin. One is that it is the foundered mafic lower crust and mantle lithosphere of the southern Sierra Nevada batholith. The alternative suggests that it is a fossil slab connected to the Monterey microplate. A dense broadband seismic transect was deployed from the coast to the western Sierra Nevada to fill in the least sampled areas above the Isabella Anomaly, and regional-scale Rayleigh and S wave tomography are used to evaluate the two hypotheses. New shear velocity (Vs) tomography images a high-velocity anomaly beneath coastal California that is sub-horizontal at depths of ∼40-80 km. East of the San Andreas Fault a continuous extension of the high-velocity anomaly dips east and is located beneath the Sierra Nevada at ∼150-200 km depth. The western position of the Isabella Anomaly in the uppermost mantle is inconsistent with earlier interpretations that the Isabella Anomaly is connected to actively foundering foothills lower crust. Based on the new Vs images, we interpret that the Isabella Anomaly is not the dense destabilized root of the Sierra Nevada, but rather a remnant of Miocene subduction termination that is translating north beneath the central San Andreas Fault. Our results support the occurrence of localized lithospheric foundering beneath the high elevation eastern Sierra Nevada, where we find a lower crustal low Vs layer consistent with a small amount of partial melt. The high elevations relative to crust thickness and lower crustal low Vs zone are consistent with geological inferences that lithospheric foundering drove uplift

New sedimentological and palynological data from surface Miocene strata in the central Amazonas Basin area

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Emílio Alberto Amaral Soares

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The scarcity of stratigraphic data has hindered the demarcation of the outcropping area of Miocene deposits of the Amazon Basin, represented informally by the Novo Remanso Formation. Moreover, this unit is characterized by a sparse and irregular geographic distribution due to its sedimentological features and rare fossil content. Miocene deposits cropping out in central Amazonas Basin area were described in sedimentological terms and analyzed palynologically. All analyses were undertaken in samples collected at the Uatumã River banks (Itapiranga and São Sebastião do Uatumã cities. Lithostratigraphic data shows that Novo Remanso Formation consists of sandstones, with subordinate conglomerates and pelites, characteristic of a meandering fluvial paleosystem, with fluvial channel, point bar, floodplain and crevasse splay facies. The palynoflora retrieved from five samples consists exclusively of continental-origin palynomorphs dominated by angiosperms species. Trilete spores are well represented, while gymnosperms pollen grains are minor components. The presence of Psilastephanoporites tesseroporus, Syncolporites poricostatus, Jandufouria seamrogiformis and Polypodiaceoisporites potoniei ensure these deposits fits into the Grimsdalea magnaclavata palynozone (Regali et al. 1974a, b, and the Grimsdalea magnaclavata/Crassoretitriletes vanraadshooveni palynozones of Jaramillo et al. (2011 considered Middle Miocene age. This age is confirmed by the zonation of Jaramillo et al. (2011, based on the LADs of Bombacacidites baumfalki (11.57Ma and Crototricolpites annemariae (12.91Ma; and the FAD of Psilastephanoporites tesseroporus (14.00Ma. With these new data presented herein, it is possible to assume that the Miocene strata represented by the Novo Remanso Formation covers a larger area in the basin than previously considered, and that it may be extended for about 300 km until the Manacapuru village, indicating a Miocene subsidence phase.

The early Miocene balaenid Morenocetus parvus from Patagonia (Argentina and the evolution of right whales

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mónica R. Buono

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Balaenidae (right and bowhead whales are a key group in understanding baleen whale evolution, because they are the oldest surviving lineage of crown Mysticeti, with a fossil record that dates back ∼20 million years. However, this record is mostly Pliocene and younger, with most of the Miocene history of the clade remaining practically unknown. The earliest recognized balaenid is the early Miocene Morenocetus parvus Cabrera, 1926 from Argentina. M. parvus was originally briefly described from two incomplete crania, a mandible and some cervical vertebrae collected from the lower Miocene Gaiman Formation of Patagonia. Since then it has not been revised, thus remaining a frequently cited yet enigmatic fossil cetacean with great potential for shedding light on the early history of crown Mysticeti. Here we provide a detailed morphological description of this taxon and revisit its phylogenetic position. The phylogenetic analysis recovered the middle Miocene Peripolocetus as the earliest diverging balaenid, and Morenocetus as the sister taxon of all other balaenids. The analysis of cranial and periotic morphology of Morenocetus suggest that some of the specialized morphological traits of modern balaenids were acquired by the early Miocene and have remained essentially unchanged up to the present. Throughout balaenid evolution, morphological changes in skull arching and ventral displacement of the orbits appear to be coupled and functionally linked to mitigating a reduction of the field of vision. The body length of Morenocetus and other extinct balaenids was estimated and the evolution of body size in Balaenidae was reconstructed. Optimization of body length on our phylogeny of Balaenidae suggests that the primitive condition was a relatively small body length represented by Morenocetus, and that gigantism has been acquired independently at least twice (in Balaena mysticetus and Eubalaena spp., with the earliest occurrence of this trait in the late

A new age model for the early-middle Miocene in the North Alpine Foreland Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Reichenbacher, Bettina; Krijgsman, Wout; Pippèrr, Martina; Sant, Karin; Kirscher, Uwe

2016-04-01

The establishment of high-resolution age models for sedimentary successions is crucial for numerous research questions in the geosciences and related disciplines. Such models provide an absolute chronology that permits precise dating of depositional episodes and related processes such as mountain uplift or climate change. Recently, our work in the Miocene sediments of the North Alpine Foreland Basin (NAFB) has revealed a significantly younger age (16.6 Myr) for sediments that were thought to have been deposited 18 Myr ago. This implies that a fundamentally revised new age model is needed for the entire suite of lower-middle Miocene sedimentary rocks in the NAFB (20 to 15-Myr). Our new data also indicate that previously published reconstructions of early-middle Miocene palaeogeography, sedimentation dynamics, mountain uplift and climate change in the NAFB all require a critical review and revision. Further, the time-span addressed is of special interest, since it encompasses the onset of a global warming phase. However, it appears that a fundamentally revised new age model for the entire suite of lower-middle Miocene sedimentary rocks in the NAFB can only be achieved based on a 500 m deep drilling in the NAFB for which we currently seek collaboration partners to develop a grant application to the International Continental Deep Drilling Program (ICDP). Reference: Reichenbacher, B., W. Krijgsman, Y. Lataster, M. Pippèrr, C. G. C. Van Baak, L. Chang, D. Kälin, J. Jost, G. Doppler, D. Jung, J. Prieto, H. Abdul Aziz, M. Böhme, J. Garnish, U. Kirscher, and V. Bachtadse. 2013. A new magnetostratigraphic framework for the Lower Miocene (Burdigalian/Ottnangian, Karpatian) in the North Alpine Foreland Basin. Swiss Journal of Geosciences 106:309-334.

The early Miocene balaenid Morenocetus parvus from Patagonia (Argentina) and the evolution of right whales

Science.gov (United States)

Cozzuol, Mario A.; Fitzgerald, Erich M.G.

2017-01-01

Balaenidae (right and bowhead whales) are a key group in understanding baleen whale evolution, because they are the oldest surviving lineage of crown Mysticeti, with a fossil record that dates back ∼20 million years. However, this record is mostly Pliocene and younger, with most of the Miocene history of the clade remaining practically unknown. The earliest recognized balaenid is the early Miocene Morenocetus parvus Cabrera, 1926 from Argentina. M. parvus was originally briefly described from two incomplete crania, a mandible and some cervical vertebrae collected from the lower Miocene Gaiman Formation of Patagonia. Since then it has not been revised, thus remaining a frequently cited yet enigmatic fossil cetacean with great potential for shedding light on the early history of crown Mysticeti. Here we provide a detailed morphological description of this taxon and revisit its phylogenetic position. The phylogenetic analysis recovered the middle Miocene Peripolocetus as the earliest diverging balaenid, and Morenocetus as the sister taxon of all other balaenids. The analysis of cranial and periotic morphology of Morenocetus suggest that some of the specialized morphological traits of modern balaenids were acquired by the early Miocene and have remained essentially unchanged up to the present. Throughout balaenid evolution, morphological changes in skull arching and ventral displacement of the orbits appear to be coupled and functionally linked to mitigating a reduction of the field of vision. The body length of Morenocetus and other extinct balaenids was estimated and the evolution of body size in Balaenidae was reconstructed. Optimization of body length on our phylogeny of Balaenidae suggests that the primitive condition was a relatively small body length represented by Morenocetus, and that gigantism has been acquired independently at least twice (in Balaena mysticetus and Eubalaena spp.), with the earliest occurrence of this trait in the late Miocene�

Deep-sea faunal communities associated with a lost intermodal shipping container in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, CA.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Josi R; DeVogelaere, Andrew P; Burton, Erica J; Frey, Oren; Lundsten, Lonny; Kuhnz, Linda A; Whaling, P J; Lovera, Christopher; Buck, Kurt R; Barry, James P

2014-06-15

Carrying assorted cargo and covered with paints of varying toxicity, lost intermodal containers may take centuries to degrade on the deep seafloor. In June 2004, scientists from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) discovered a recently lost container during a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) dive on a sediment-covered seabed at 1281 m depth in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS). The site was revisited by ROV in March 2011. Analyses of sediment samples and high-definition video indicate that faunal assemblages on the container's exterior and the seabed within 10 m of the container differed significantly from those up to 500 m. The container surface provides hard substratum for colonization by taxa typically found in rocky habitats. However, some key taxa that dominate rocky areas were absent or rare on the container, perhaps related to its potential toxicity or limited time for colonization and growth. Ecological effects appear to be restricted to the container surface and the benthos within ∼10 m. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Mid-miocene cooling in the northern Qilian Shan, northeastern margin of the Tibetan plateau, revealed by apatite fission-track and VR analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

George, A.D.; Wyrwoll, K.-H.; Jie, C.; Yanchou, L.

1999-01-01

Full text: Growth of the Tibetan Plateau along its northeastern margin by crustal shortening and thickening is linked to the Altyn Tagh Fault, a ∼1500 km long sinistral strike-slip fault which has played a significant role in accommodating the convergence of India and Eurasia. The NW-trending Qilian Shan (mountains) that mark the northeastern edge of the plateau rise nearly 5000 m above the adjacent Juice Basin of the Hexi Corridor. The Qilian Shan is a mid-Paleozoic orogenic suture belt composed of numerous thrust slices of deformed Lower Paleozoic (Cambrian-Silurian) metasedimentary and metavolcanic strata. The older Precambrian basement is also exposed in some thrust sheets, as are remnants of Upper Paleozoic-Jurassic strata. Cretaceous fluvial sandstones and conglomerates are locally preserved. The neighbouring Juice Basin contains a thick succession of Neogene-Quaternary fluvial strata (∼3.5 km thick) which unconformably overlies Lower Cretaceous rocks. Adjacent to the Qilian Shan, the oldest Neogene strata in the Juice Basin are Miocene in age overlain by more extensive Pliocene and Quaternary sediments, whereas basal Oligocene strata are exposed on the northern side of the basin. Neogene and Quaternary strata are being actively deformed by thrust-related folding along the margins and within the Jiuxi Basin. Apatite fission-track and vitrinite reflectance data were obtained from Precambrian to Tertiary outcrop samples from the northern Qilian Shan and Juice Basin to provide constraints on timing of exhumation and cooling. All the samples record multiple cooling episodes. Tertiary cooling from peak paleotemperatures (40-120 deg C) beginning sometime between 20 and 10 Ma (mid-Miocene) is common to all samples. This age is significantly older than previous models which proposed initiation of uplift in the Pliocene-Pleistocene, i.e., no older than 5-6 Ma. For any reasonable paleo-geothermal gradient, the degree of mid-Miocene cooling requires km

75 FR 37727 - Disapproval of California State Implementation Plan Revisions, Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-30

...EPA is finalizing disapproval of a revision to the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (MBUAPCD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This action was proposed in the Federal Register on March 22, 2010. This revision concerns opacity standards related to multiple pollutants, including particulate matter (PM) emissions, from a wide variety of sources. Under authority of the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act), this action identifies a deficiency that precludes approval of this SIP revision.

Application of the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean to Phytoplankton Ecology Studies in Monterey Bay, CA, USA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John P. Ryan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available As a demonstrator for technologies for the next generation of ocean color sensors, the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO provides enhanced spatial and spectral resolution that is required to understand optically complex aquatic environments. In this study we apply HICO, along with satellite remote sensing and in situ observations, to studies of phytoplankton ecology in a dynamic coastal upwelling environment—Monterey Bay, CA, USA. From a spring 2011 study, we examine HICO-detected spatial patterns in phytoplankton optical properties along an environmental gradient defined by upwelling flow patterns and along a temporal gradient of upwelling intensification. From a fall 2011 study, we use HICO’s enhanced spatial and spectral resolution to distinguish a small-scale “red tide” bloom, and we examine bloom expansion and its supporting processes using other remote sensing and in situ data. From a spectacular HICO image of the Monterey Bay region acquired during fall of 2012, we present a suite of algorithm results for characterization of phytoplankton, and we examine the strengths, limitations, and distinctions of each algorithm in the context of the enhanced spatial and spectral resolution.

Ecomorphological characterization of murines and non-arvicoline cricetids (Rodentia from south-western Europe since the latest Middle Miocene to the Mio-Pliocene boundary (MN 7/8–MN13

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Ana R. Gomez Cano

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Rodents are the most speciose group of mammals and display a great ecological diversity. Despite the greater amount of ecomorphological information compiled for extant rodent species, studies usually lack of morphological data on dentition, which has led to difficulty in directly utilizing existing ecomorphological data of extant rodents for paleoecological reconstruction because teeth are the most common or often the only micromammal fossils. Here, we infer the environmental ranges of extinct rodent genera by extracting habitat information from extant relatives and linking it to extinct taxa based on the phenogram of the cluster analysis, in which variables are derived from the principal component analysis on outline shape of the upper first molars. This phenotypic “bracketing” approach is particularly useful in the study of the fossil record of small mammals, which is mostly represented by isolated teeth. As a case study, we utilize extinct genera of murines and non-arvicoline cricetids, ranging from the Iberoccitanian latest middle Miocene to the Mio-Pliocene boundary, and compare our results thoroughly with previous paleoecological reconstructions inferred by different methods. The resultant phenogram shows a predominance of ubiquitous genera among the Miocene taxa, and the presence of a few forest specialists in the two rodent groups (Murinae and Cricetidae, along with the absence of open environment specialists in either group of rodents. This appears to be related to the absence of enduring grassland biomes in the Iberian Peninsula during the late Miocene. High consistency between our result and previous studies suggests that this phenotypic “bracketing” approach is a very useful tool.

Ecomorphological characterization of murines and non-arvicoline cricetids (Rodentia) from south-western Europe since the latest Middle Miocene to the Mio-Pliocene boundary (MN 7/8–MN13)

Science.gov (United States)

Kimura, Yuri; Blanco, Fernando; Menéndez, Iris; Álvarez-Sierra, María A.; Hernández Fernández, Manuel

2017-01-01

Rodents are the most speciose group of mammals and display a great ecological diversity. Despite the greater amount of ecomorphological information compiled for extant rodent species, studies usually lack of morphological data on dentition, which has led to difficulty in directly utilizing existing ecomorphological data of extant rodents for paleoecological reconstruction because teeth are the most common or often the only micromammal fossils. Here, we infer the environmental ranges of extinct rodent genera by extracting habitat information from extant relatives and linking it to extinct taxa based on the phenogram of the cluster analysis, in which variables are derived from the principal component analysis on outline shape of the upper first molars. This phenotypic “bracketing” approach is particularly useful in the study of the fossil record of small mammals, which is mostly represented by isolated teeth. As a case study, we utilize extinct genera of murines and non-arvicoline cricetids, ranging from the Iberoccitanian latest middle Miocene to the Mio-Pliocene boundary, and compare our results thoroughly with previous paleoecological reconstructions inferred by different methods. The resultant phenogram shows a predominance of ubiquitous genera among the Miocene taxa, and the presence of a few forest specialists in the two rodent groups (Murinae and Cricetidae), along with the absence of open environment specialists in either group of rodents. This appears to be related to the absence of enduring grassland biomes in the Iberian Peninsula during the late Miocene. High consistency between our result and previous studies suggests that this phenotypic “bracketing” approach is a very useful tool. PMID:28966888

Avian fossils from the Early Miocene Moghra Formation of Egypt ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Avian remains from the Early Miocene (~17 Ma) Moghra Formation of Egypt include new records of 'waterbirds' (storks, herons, pelicans and allies) and a ratite. Only a single avian fossil has been previously reported from Wadi Moghra and, thus, additional knowledge of the avifauna complements previously documented ...

Changing seasonality patterns in Central Europe from Miocene Climate Optimum to Miocene Climate Transition deduced from the Crassostrea isotope archive

Science.gov (United States)

Harzhauser, Mathias; Piller, Werner E.; Müllegger, Stefan; Grunert, Patrick; Micheels, Arne

2011-03-01

The Western Tethyan estuarine oyster Crassostrea gryphoides is an excellent climate archive due to its large size and rapid growth. It is geologically long lived and allows a stable isotope-based insight into climatic trends during the Miocene. Herein we utilised the climate archive of 5 oyster shells from the Miocene Climate Optimum (MCO) and the subsequent Miocene Climate Transition (MCT) to evaluate changes of seasonality patterns. MCO shells exhibit highly regular seasonal rhythms of warm-wet and dry-cool seasons. Optimal conditions resulted in extraordinary growth rates of the oysters. δ 13C profiles are in phase with δ 18O although phytoplankton blooms may cause a slight offset. Estuarine waters during the MCO in Central Europe display a seasonal temperature range of c. 9-10 °C. Absolute water temperatures have ranged from 17 to 19 °C during cool seasons and up to 28 °C in warm seasons. Already during the early phase of the MCO, the growth rates are distinctly declining, although gigantic and extremely old shells have been formed at that time. Still, a very regular and well expressed seasonality is dominating the isotope profiles, but episodically occurring extreme climate events influence the environments. The seasonal temperature range is still c. 9 °C but the cool season temperature seems to be slightly lower (16 °C) and the warm season water temperature does not exceed c. 25 °C. In the later MCT at c. 12.5-12.0 Ma the seasonality pattern is breaking down and is replaced by successions of dry years with irregular precipitation events. No correlation between δ 18O and δ 13C is documented maybe due to a suboptimal nutrition level which would explain the low growth rates and small sizes. The amplitude of seasonal temperature range is decreasing to 5-8 °C. No clear cooling trend can be postulated for that time as the winter season water temperatures range from 15 to 20 °C. This may point to unstable precipitation rhythms on a multi-annual to

Post-collisional magmatism and ore-forming systems in the Menderes massif: new constraints from the Miocene porphyry Mo-Cu Pınarbaşı system, Gediz-Kütahya, western Turkey

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Delibaş, Okan; Moritz, Robert; Chiaradia, Massimo; Selby, David; Ulianov, Alexey; Revan, Mustafa Kemal

2017-12-01

The Pınarbaşı Mo-Cu prospect is hosted within the Pınarbaşı intrusion, which is exposed together with the NW-SE-trending Koyunoba, Eğrigöz, and Baklan plutons along the northeastern border of the Menderes massif. The Pınarbaşı intrusion predominantly comprises monzonite, porphyritic granite, and monzodiorite. All units of the Pınarbaşı intrusion have sharp intrusive contacts with each other. The principal mineralization style at the Pınarbaşı prospect is a porphyry-type Mo-Cu mineralization hosted predominantly by monzonite and porphyritic granite. The porphyry type Mo-Cu mineralization consists mostly of stockwork and NE- and EW-striking sub-vertical quartz veins. Stockwork-type quartz veins hosted by the upper parts of the porphyritic granite within the monzonite, are typically enriched in chalcopyrite, molybdenite, pyrite, and limonite. The late NE- and EW-striking normal faults cut the stockwork vein system and control the quartz-molybdenite-chalcopyrite-sphalerite-fahlore-galena veins, as well as molybdenite-hematite-bearing silicified zones. Lithogeochemical and whole-rock radiogenic isotope data (Sr, Nd and Pb) of the host rocks, together with Re-Os molybdenite ages (18.3 ± 0.1 Ma - 18.2 ± 0.1 Ma) reveal that the monzonitic and granitic rocks of the Pınarbaşı intrusion were derived from an enriched lithospheric mantle-lower crust during Oligo-Miocene post-collisional magmatism. The lithospheric mantle was metasomatised by fluids and subducted sediments, and the mantle-derived melts interacted with lower crust at 35-40 km depth. This mechanism explains the Mo and Cu enrichments of the Pınarbaşı intrusion during back-arc magmatism. We conclude that the melt of the Pınarbaşı intrusion could have rapidly ascended to mid-crustal levels, with only limited crustal assimilation along major trans-lithospheric faults as a result of thinning of the middle to upper crust during regional extension, and resulted in the development of porphyry

Fish vertebra from Miocene beds at Govce, Slovenia

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Vasja Mikuž

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The article discusses a vertebra and a small shark tooth found in the Miocene Govce sandstone near Govce west of Laško in central Slovenia. The vertebra belongs to a shark of the superorder Galeomorphii but we could not determine it with greater precision. The small tooth was assigned to Carcharias cf. taurus Rafinesque, 1810. The nannofossils in the sample are scarce and did not allow dating at biozone precision.

Miocene climate variations in the Moesian Platform sediments based on sedimentology and biomarkers

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Butiseaca, Geanina; Vasiliev, Iuliana; Rabagia, Traian; Dinu, Corneliu; Mulch, Andreas

2017-04-01

During the Miocene the Moesian Platform (southern Romania and northern Bulgaria) had a complicated flexural behavior due to the mobility of the nearby orogens. The different behavior induced varying sediment charges, sediment distribution and sediment types. The northern part of the study area (on which the Dacian Basin is overlaid) is characterized by siliciclastic units with dominantly deep facieses, while the southern part is characterized by carbonate production in shallower basin waters. Since the Miocene, the Dacian and Black Sea basins have been highly sensitive to fluctuations in the hydrological cycle. To establish the dynamic evolution of the basin and the climate variations during the Miocene, we have sampled both northern and southern margins of the basin. To discriminate between the tectonic imprint and the eustatic influence over the sedimentation rate we have chosen a multidisciplinary approach including sedimentology, tectonics and organic geochemistry based reconstructions. The sedimentary succession is interrupted by few unconformities correspondent with the main phases of orogeny (in the Carpathian Foredeep) while the southern part seems to have been exposed more often expressed in the geological record by a higher number of unconformities and paleo-soils levels. The n-alkanes distribution recovered from the lipids extracted from the sedimentary rocks indicates a mixture of terrestrial and marine input in the northern, Romanian, closer to Carpathians, part of the Dacian Basin. Surprisingly, the southern, Bulgarian side, showed a more predominant terrestrial input (with higher contribution of the long chain n-alkanes) at least for the Sarmatian (arround 10 Ma). The estimated paleotemperatures based on branched GDGT's indicate much warmer conditions than present day, up to a value of 20 C mean annual temperatures. We will further investigate the paleoenvironmental changes during the latest Miocene of the Dacian basin, using the biomarker approach

75 FR 13468 - Disapproval of California State Implementation Plan Revisions, Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-22

...EPA is proposing to disapprove a revision to the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (MBAPCD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns opacity standards related to multiple pollutants, including particulate matter (PM) emissions from several different types of sources, ranging from fugitive dust to gas turbine generators. We are proposing action on a local rule that regulates these emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act). We are taking comments on this proposal and plan to follow with a final action.

Late Miocene (Proto-Gulf) Extension and Magmatism on the Sonoran Margin

Science.gov (United States)

Gans, P.; MacMillan, I.; Roldan-Quintana, J.

2003-12-01

Constraints on the magnitude and character of late Miocene (Proto-Gulf) deformation on the Sonoran margin of the Gulf of California extensional province are key to understanding how and when Baja California was captured by the Pacific plate and how strain was partitioned during the early stages of this transtensional rift system. Our new geologic mapping in southwestern Sonora and 40Ar/39Ar dating of pre-, syn-, and post-tectonic volcanic units indicate that late Miocene deformation and volcanic activity were largely restricted to a NW-trending, 100-120 km wide belt adjacent to the coast. Inboard of this belt, NW-SE extension is mainly older (>15 Ma) and occurred in an intra-arc or back-arc setting. Proto-Gulf deformation within the coastal belt was profoundly transtensional, with NW-striking, dextral strike slip faults operating in concert with N-S and NNE-striking normal and oblique slip faults to produce an inferred NW or NNW tectonic transport direction. The total amount of late Miocene NW directed dextral shear within the coastal belt is still poorly constrained, but may exceed 100 km. The locus of deformation and volcanic activity migrated westward or northwestward within the Sonoran coastal belt. in the eastern portion (Sierra Libre and Sierra El Bacatete) major volcanic activity commenced at ˜13.0 Ma and peaked at 12.0 Ma, and major faulting and tilting is bracketed between 12.0 and 10.6 Ma. Further west in the Sierra El Aguaje/San Carlos region, major volcanic activity commenced at 11.5 Ma and peaked at 10.5 Ma, and most faulting and tilting is bracketed between 10.7 and 9.3 Ma. On the coastal mountains northwest of San Carlos, rift related faulting and tilting continued after 8.5 Ma. Voluminous late Miocene (13-8 Ma) volcanic rocks within the Sonoran coastal belt were erupted from numerous centers (e.g. Sierra Libre, Guaymas, Sierra El Aguaje). These thick volcanic sections are compositionally diverse (basalt to rhyolite, with abundant dacite and

Cryptic diversity and deep divergence in an upper Amazonian leaflitter frog, Eleutherodactylus ockendeni

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dávila José A

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The forests of the upper Amazon basin harbour some of the world's highest anuran species richness, but to date we have only the sparsest understanding of the distribution of genetic diversity within and among species in this region. To quantify region-wide genealogical patterns and to test for the presence of deep intraspecific divergences that have been documented in some other neotropical anurans, we developed a molecular phylogeny of the wide-spread terrestrial leaflitter frog Eleutherodactylus ockendeni (Leptodactylidae from 13 localities throughout its range in Ecuador using data from two mitochondrial genes (16S and cyt b; 1246 base pairs. We examined the relation between divergence of mtDNA and the nuclear genome, as sampled by five species-specific microsatellite loci, to evaluate indirectly whether lineages are reproductively isolated where they co-occur. Our extensive phylogeographic survey thus assesses the spatial distribution of E. ockendeni genetic diversity across eastern Ecuador. Results We identified three distinct and well-supported clades within the Ecuadorean range of E. ockendeni: an uplands clade spanning north to south, a northeastern and central lowlands clade, and a central and southeastern clade, which is basal. Clades are separated by 12% to 15% net corrected p-distance for cytochrome b, with comparatively low sequence divergence within clades. Clades marginally overlap in some geographic areas (e.g., Napo River basin but are reproductively isolated, evidenced by diagnostic differences in microsatellite PCR amplification profiles or DNA repeat number and coalescent analyses (in MDIV best modelled without migration. Using Bayesian (BEAST and net phylogenetic estimates, the Southeastern Clade diverged from the Upland/Lowland clades in the mid-Miocene or late Oligocene. Lowland and Upland clades speciated more recently, in the early or late Miocene. Conclusion Our findings uncover previously

The timing of sediment transport down Monterey Submarine Canyon, offshore California

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stevens, Thomas; Paull, C.K.; Ussler, W., III

2014-01-01

luminescence (OSL) ages of quartz sand deposits and accelerator mass spectrometry 14C ages measured on benthic foraminifera to examine the timing of sediment transport through the axial channel of Monterey Submarine Canyon and Fan, offshore California. The OSL ages date the timing of sediment entry...... dates with water depth provides evidence of mixing and temporary storage of sediment as it moves through the canyon system. The ages also indicate that the frequency of sediment transport events decreases with distance down the canyon channel system. The amalgamated sands near the canyon head yield OSL......While submarine canyons are the major conduits through which sediments are transported from the continents out into the deep sea, the time it takes for sediment to pass down through a submarine canyon system is poorly constrained. Here we report on the first study to couple optically stimulated...

Connecting an Ocean-Bottom Broadband Seismometer to a Seafloor Cabled Observatory: A Prototype System in Monterey Bay

Science.gov (United States)

McGill, P.; Neuhauser, D.; Romanowicz, B.

2008-12-01

The Monterey Ocean-Bottom Broadband (MOBB) seismic station was installed in April 2003, 40 km offshore from the central coast of California at a seafloor depth of 1000 m. It comprises a three-component broadband seismometer system (Guralp CMG-1T), installed in a hollow PVC caisson and buried under the seafloor; a current meter; and a differential pressure gauge. The station has been operating continuously since installation with no connection to the shore. Three times each year, the station is serviced with the aid of a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to change the batteries and retrieve the seismic data. In February 2009, the MOBB system will be connected to the Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS) seafloor cabled observatory. The NSF-funded MARS observatory comprises a 52 km electro-optical cable that extends from a shore facility in Moss Landing out to a seafloor node in Monterey Bay. Once installation is completed in November 2008, the node will provide power and data to as many as eight science experiments through underwater electrical connectors. The MOBB system is located 3 km from the MARS node, and the two will be connected with an extension cable installed by an ROV with the aid of a cable-laying toolsled. The electronics module in the MOBB system is being refurbished to support the connection to the MARS observatory. The low-power autonomous data logger has been replaced with a PC/104 computer stack running embedded Linux. This new computer will run an Object Ring Buffer (ORB), which will collect data from the various MOBB sensors and forward it to another ORB running on a computer at the MARS shore station. There, the data will be archived and then forwarded to a third ORB running at the UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory. Timing will be synchronized among MOBB's multiple acquisition systems using NTP, GPS clock emulation, and a precise timing signal from the MARS cable. The connection to the MARS observatory will provide real-time access to

Architecture and growth history of a Miocene carbonate platform from 3D seismic reflection data; Luconia province, offshore Sarawak, Malaysia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zampetti, V.; Schlager, W.; van Konijnenburg, J.H; Everts, A.J.

2004-01-01

Using 3D seismic reflection data and wireline logs we reconstruct in detail the architecture and growth history of a Miocene carbonate platform in the Luconia province, offshore Sarawak, Malaysia. Platform growth started in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene, by coalescence of isolated patch reefs.

Miocene small-bodied ape from Eurasia sheds light on hominoid evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Alba, David M; Almécija, Sergio; DeMiguel, Daniel; Fortuny, Josep; Pérez de los Ríos, Miriam; Pina, Marta; Robles, Josep M; Moyà-Solà, Salvador

2015-10-30

Miocene small-bodied anthropoid primates from Africa and Eurasia are generally considered to precede the divergence between the two groups of extant catarrhines—hominoids (apes and humans) and Old World monkeys—and are thus viewed as more primitive than the stem ape Proconsul. Here we describe Pliobates cataloniae gen. et sp. nov., a small-bodied (4 to 5 kilograms) primate from the Iberian Miocene (11.6 million years ago) that displays a mosaic of primitive characteristics coupled with multiple cranial and postcranial shared derived features of extant hominoids. Our cladistic analyses show that Pliobates is a stem hominoid that is more derived than previously described small catarrhines and Proconsul. This forces us to reevaluate the role played by small-bodied catarrhines in ape evolution and provides key insight into the last common ancestor of hylobatids (gibbons) and hominids (great apes and humans). Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

lower and Middle Miocene Foraminiferal Paleoecology of Southwest Sinai Area, Egypt

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El Ashwah, A.A.E.; Mandur, M.M.; Obeid, F.L.

2005-01-01

The planktonic and benthonic foraminifera content of the lower and middle miocene successions exposed at southwest Sinai in Egypt have been studied. One hundred and thirty three foraminifera species were identified (30 planktonic species and 103 benthonic species). This study aims to contribute in the understanding of the paleoecology, paleobathymetry and tectonic history of these sedimentary sequences. These sediments are subdivided into four rock units, from base to top, as follow: Nukhul, Rudeis, Kareem and Balayim formations. According to the foraminifera content the studied successions are subdivided into five eco zones. The environment of each ec ozone is deduced. These environments point to outer neritic for the Nukhul formation, middle to inner neritic for the Rudeis formation, inner to littoral neritic for the Kareem formation and littoral neritic for the Belayim formation. A proposed paleobathymetric curve is presented. The interpretation of this curve helped to deduce the tectonic history of the lower and Middle Miocene sediments in the studied area

Koristocetus pescei gen. et sp. nov., a diminutive sperm whale (Cetacea: Odontoceti: Kogiidae from the late Miocene of Peru

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Collareta

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Among odontocetes, members of the family Kogiidae (pygmy and dwarf sperm whales are known as small-sized and in many respects enigmatic relatives of the great sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus. Most of the still scanty fossil record of Kogiidae is represented by isolated skulls and ear bones from Neogene deposits of the Northern Hemisphere, with the significant exception of Scaphokogia, a highly autapomorphic genus from late Miocene deposits of the Pisco Formation exposed along the southern coast of Peru. Here we report on a new fossil kogiid from Aguada de Lomas, a site where the late Miocene beds of the Pisco Formation are exposed. This specimen consists of an almost complete cranium representing a new taxon of Kogiidae: Koristocetus pescei gen. et sp. nov. Koristocetus mainly differs from extant Kogia spp. by displaying a larger temporal fossa and well-individualized dental alveoli on the upper jaws. Coupled with a relatively elongated rostrum, these characters suggest that Koristocetus retained some degree of raptorial feeding abilities, contrasting with the strong suction feeding specialization seen in Recent kogiids. Our phylogenetic analysis recognizes Koristocetus as the earliest branching member of the subfamily Kogiinae. Interestingly, Koristocetus shared the southern coast of present-day Peru with members of the genus Scaphokogia, whose unique convex rostrum and unusual neurocranial morphology seemingly indicate a peculiar foraging specialization that has still to be understood. In conclusion, Koristocetus evokes a long history of high diversity, morphological disparity, and sympatric habits in fossil kogiids, thus suggesting that our comprehension of the evolutionary history of pygmy and dwarf sperm whales is still far from being exhaustive.

Seismic stratigraphy and late Quaternary shelf history, south-central Monterey Bay, California

Science.gov (United States)

Chin, J.L.; Clifton, H.E.; Mullins, H.T.

1988-01-01

The south-central Monterey Bay shelf is a high-energy, wave-dominated, tectonically active coastal region on the central California continental margin. A prominent feature of this shelf is a sediment lobe off the mouth of the Salinas River that has surface expression. High-resolution seismic-reflection profiles reveal that an angular unconformity (Quaternary?) underlies the entire shelf and separates undeformed strata above it from deformed strata below it. The Salinas River lobe is a convex bulge on the shelf covering an area of approximately 72 km2 in water depths from 10 to 90 m. It reaches a maximum thickness of 35 m about 2.5 km seaward of the river mouth and thins in all directions away from this point. Adjacent shelf areas are characterized by only a thin (2 to 5 m thick) and uniform veneer of sediment. Acoustic stratigraphy of the lobe is complex and is characterized by at least three unconformity-bounded depositional sequences. Acoustically, these sequences are relatively well bedded. Acoustic foresets occur within the intermediate sequence and dip seaward at 0.7?? to 2.0??. Comparison with sedimentary sequences in uplifted onshore Pleistocene marine-terrace deposits of the Monterey Bay area, which were presumably formed in a similar setting under similar processes, suggests that a general interpretation can be formulated for seismic stratigraphic patterns. Depositional sequences are interpreted to represent shallowing-upwards progradational sequences of marine to nonmarine coastal deposits formed during interglacial highstands and/or during early stages of falling sea level. Acoustic foresets within the intermediate sequence are evidence of seaward progradation. Acoustic unconformities that separate depositional sequences are interpreted as having formed largely by shoreface planation and may be the only record of the intervening transgressions. The internal stratigraphy of the Salinas River lobe thus suggests that at least several late Quaternary

Ground-Water Quality Data in the Monterey Bay and Salinas Valley Basins, California, 2005 - Results from the California GAMA Program

Science.gov (United States)

Kulongoski, Justin T.; Belitz, Kenneth

2007-01-01

-nitrosodimethylamine, 1,2,3-trichloropropane, nitrate, radon-222, and coliform bacteria were detected at concentrations higher than health-based regulatory thresholds. Six constituents, including total dissolved solids, hexavalent chromium, iron, manganese, molybdenum, and sulfate were detected at concentrations above levels set for aesthetic concerns. One-third of the randomized wells sampled for the Monterey Bay and Salinas Valley GAMA study had at least a single detection of a VOC or gasoline additive. Twenty-eight of the 88 VOCs and gasoline additives investigated were found in ground-water samples; however, detected concentrations were one-third to one-sixty-thousandth of their respective regulatory thresholds. Compounds detected in 10 percent or more of the wells sampled include chloroform, a compound resulting from the chlorination of water, and tetrachloroethylene (PCE), a common solvent. Pesticides and pesticide degradates also were detected in one-third of the ground-water samples collected; however, detected concentrations were one-thirtieth to one-fourteen-thousandth of their respective regulatory thresholds. Ten of the 122 pesticides and pesticide degradates investigated were found in ground-water samples. Compounds detected in 10 percent or more of the wells sampled include the herbicide simazine, and the pesticide degradate deethylatrazine. Ground-water samples had a median total dissolved solids (TDS) concentration of 467 milligrams per liter (mg/L), and 16 of the 34 samples had TDS concentrations above the recommended secondary maximum contaminant level (SMCL-a threshold established for aesthetic qualities: taste, odor, and color) of 500 mg/L, while four samples had concentrations above the upper SMCL of 1,000 mg/L. Concentrations of nitrate plus nitrite ranged from 0.04 to 37.8 mg/L (as nitrogen), and two samples had concentrations above the health-based threshold for nitrate of 10 mg/L (as nitrogen). The median sulfate concentration

Oligo-Miocene reservoir sequence characterization and structuring in the Sisseb El Alem-Kalaa Kebira regions (Northeastern Tunisia)

Science.gov (United States)

Houatmia, Faten; Khomsi, Sami; Bédir, Mourad

2015-11-01

The Sisseb El Alem-Enfidha basin is located in the northeastern Tunisia, It is borded by Nadhour - Saouaf syncline to the north, Kairouan plain to the south, the Mediterranean Sea to the east and Tunisian Atlassic "dorsale" to the west. Oligocene and Miocene deltaic deposits present the main potential deep aquifers in this basin with high porosity (25%-30%). The interpretation of twenty seismic reflection profiles, calibrated by wire line logging data of twelve oil wells, hydraulic wells and geologic field sections highlighted the impact of tectonics on the structuring geometry of Oligo-Miocene sandstones reservoirs and their distribution in raised structures and subsurface depressions. Miocene seismostratigraphy analysis from Ain Ghrab Formation (Langhian) to the Segui Formation (Quaternary) showed five third-order seismic sequence deposits and nine extended lenticular sandy bodies reservoirs limited by toplap and downlap surfaces unconformities, Oligocene deposits presented also five third- order seismic sequences with five extended lenticular sandy bodies reservoirs. The Depth and the thickness maps of these sequence reservoir packages exhibited the structuring of this basin in sub-basins characterized by important lateral and vertical geometric and thichness variations. Petroleum wells wire line logging correlation with clay volume calculation showed an heterogeneous multilayer reservoirs of Oligocene and Miocene formed by the arrangement of fourteen sandstone bodies being able to be good reservoirs, separated by impermeable clay packages and affected by faults. Reservoirs levels correspond mainly to the lower system tract (LST) of sequences. Intensive fracturing by deep seated faults bounding the different sub-basins play a great role for water surface recharge and inter-layer circulations between affected reservoirs. The total pore volume of the Oligo-Miocene reservoir sandy bodies in the study area, is estimated to about 4 × 1012 m3 and equivalent to 4 �

Miocene block uplift and basin formation in the Patagonian foreland: The Gastre Basin, Argentina

Science.gov (United States)

Bilmes, A.; D'Elia, L.; Franzese, J. R.; Veiga, G. D.; Hernández, M.

2013-08-01

The intraplate fault-block mountains and intermontane deposits of the Gastre Basin, which are recorded more than 550 km east of the Andean trench in central Patagonia, Argentina, are analyzed. The Gastre Basin is one of the largest Patagonian intermontane basins, limited by uplifted blocks strongly oblique to the Andean chain. It was originated by reverse faulting and inversion of pre-existing normal faults associated with a Mesozoic rift basin and defined by older crustal heterogeneities. The deformational event occurred during the middle Miocene, related to a short contractional episode (16.1-14.86 Ma), probably in response to an eastward migration of the Andean fold and thrust belt. During Pliocene to Quaternary times, neither younger fault-block uplifts nor reconfigurations of the basin occurred. Similarities between the study area and other parts of the Patagonian foreland - such as the presence of Miocene reverse or inversion tectonics, as well as the accommodation of the Miocene sedimentary successions - suggest that the Gastre Basin is part of a major late early to middle Miocene broken foreland system (i.e. the Patagonian broken foreland) that exhumed discrete fault-block mountains and generated contemporary basins along more than 950 km parallel to the Andean trench (i.e. between 40°00' and 48°00' south latitude). Based on recent studies on the southern Andean Margin, this continental-scale contractional episode may be the result of a flat-slab subduction segment. Nevertheless, such a hypothesis is very difficult to support when analyzing such a large flat subduction segment along the entire Patagonian trench. This suggests the need to consider alternative flat-slab trigger mechanisms or other factors in the generation of broken foreland systems.

Results of Hydraulic Tests in Miocene Tuffaceous Rocks at the C-Hole Complex, 1995 to 1997, Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada

Science.gov (United States)

Geldon, Arthur L.; Umari, Amjad M.A.; Fahy, Michael F.; Earle, John D.; Gemmell, James M.; Darnell, Jon

2002-01-01

Four hydraulic tests were conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey at the C-hole complex at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, between May 1995 and November 1997. These tests were conducted as part of ongoing investigations to determine the hydrologic and geologic suitability of Yucca Mountain as a potential site for permanent underground storage of high-level nuclear waste. The C-hole complex consists of three 900-meter-deep boreholes that are 30.4 to 76.6 meters apart. The C-holes are completed in fractured, variably welded tuffaceous rocks of Miocene age. Six hydrogeologic intervals occur within the saturated zone in these boreholes - the Calico Hills, Prow Pass, Upper Bullfrog, Lower Bullfrog, Upper Tram, and Lower Tram intervals. The Lower Bullfrog and Upper Tram intervals contributed about 90 percent of the flow during hydraulic tests. The four hydraulic tests conducted from 1995 to 1997 lasted 4 to 553 days. Discharge from the pumping well, UE-25 c #3, ranged from 8.49 to 22.5 liters per second in different tests. Two to seven observation wells, 30 to 3,526 meters from the pumping well, were used in different tests. Observation wells included UE-25 c #1, UE-25 c #2, UE-25 ONC-1, USW H-4, UE-25 WT #14, and UE-25 WT #3 in the tuffaceous rocks and UE-25 p #1 in Paleozoic carbonate rocks. In all hydraulic tests, drawdown in the pumping well was rapid and large (2.9-11 meters). Attributable mostly to frictional head loss and borehole-skin effects, this drawdown could not be used to analyze hydraulic properties. Drawdown and recovery in intervals of UE-25 c #1 and UE-25 c #2 and in other observation wells typically was less than 51 centimeters. These data were analyzed. Hydrogeologic intervals in the C-holes have layered heterogeneity related to faults and fracture zones. Transmissivity, hydraulic conductivity, and storativity generally increase downhole. Transmissivity ranges from 4 to 1,600 meters squared per day; hydraulic conductivity ranges from 0.1 to 50 meters per day

Groundwater quality in the shallow aquifers of the Monterey Bay, Salinas Valley, and adjacent highland areas, California

Science.gov (United States)

Burton, Carmen

2018-05-30

Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. The shallow aquifers of the groundwater basins around Monterey Bay, the Salinas Valley, and the highlands adjacent to the Salinas Valley constitute one of the study units.

Morphology and distribution of Oligocene and Miocene pockmarks in the Danish North Sea -implications for bottom current activity and fluid migration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andresen, Katrine Juul; Huuse, Mads; Clausen, O.R.

2008-01-01

This study gives the first description of 33 mid-Oligocene and 646 late Miocene pockmarks mapped in the Danish part of the central North Sea. The pockmarks are all highly elongated, with average long- and short axes of 2.5 km and 700 m, and average internal depth of 30 m. The Miocene pockmarks...... the timing and location of the pockmarks. The pockmarks thus tell a story of thermogenic gas venting to the surface and paleo-current scour of the seabed in the eastern part of the central North Sea during the mid Oligocene and late Miocene....

Isotope systematic of contaminant leads in Monterey Bay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flegal, A.R.; Rosman, K.J.R.; Stephenson, M.D.

1987-01-01

Isotopic compositions of stable lead ( 204 Pb, 206 Pb, 207 Pb, and 208 Pb) were utilized to identify a lead slag deposit as the principal source of contaminant lead in Monterey Bay. This point source had been indicated by anomalously high lead concentrations in native mussels (Mytilus californianus) near that deposit, which were orders of magnitude above the base-line concentration of the species (0.5 μg/g). Subsequent analyses revealed that the lead concentrations of both transplanted mussels and intertidal sediments were positively correlated with their proximity to the slag deposit. Complementary lead isotopic compositions substantiated those empirical correlations by demonstrating that the slag was the predominant source of contaminant lead in both the mussels and the sediments. Analyses of the digestive tracts of mussels from the slag deposit indicated that ingested slag particulates accounted for their elevated lead concentrations, while analyses of their gonads indicated that dissolved lead from other industrial sources was also being bioaccumulated by passive adsorption on exposed surfaces. Therefore, this study has demonstrated the potential of lead isotope systematics both to identify sources of lead contamination in marine organisms and to trace its biogeochemical cycle in the marine environment. 26 references, 3 figures, 5 tables

Ferroan dolomites in Miocene sediments of the Xisha Islands and their genetic model

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Hong; Zhang, Weiwei; Wei, Kai; He, Qingkun; Jiang, Yunshui; Xu, Tingting; Jiang, Xuejun; Yan, Guijing; Song, Hongying; Wang, Jianghai

2018-01-01

Carbonate rocks are important reservoirs for global petroleum exploration. The largest oilfield in the South China Sea, Liuhua 11-1, is distributed in the massive carbonate reef area of the Zhujiang (Pearl) River Mouth Basin. Previous studies showed that one 802.17-m-long core from well Xichen-1 in the South China Sea mainly consisted of white and light gray-white organic reefs. Recently, a Miocene whole core (161.9 m long) of well Xiyong-2, near well Xichen-1, was found to contain six layers of yellowish brown, light yellowish gray, iron black, or light yellowish gray-white organic reefs. Scanning electron microscope images of these layers reveal a typical ferroan dolomite rich in Fe (up to 29%), with the high concentrations of Mn, Cu, W, Zn, Cr, Ni, and Co. Systematic X-ray powder diffraction analysis yields a 1.9-6.1 match in phase ratio with ankerite, 5.4-26.9 with dolomite, and zero with calcite, which indicate that the samples can be classified as ferroan dolomite. The iron and heavy metals are inferred to be originated from multiple volcanic eruptions of Gaojianshi Island in the Dongdao Atoll during the middle-late Miocene. These elements were dissolved in seawater, likely as a sol, and carried to Yongxing Island in the Xuande Atoll by sea currents and tides enhanced by prevailing winds, and deposited as a part of the sedimentation process in the study area. The ferroan dolomite has Sr content of (125-285)×10-6, which is lower than the accepted Sr boundary value of dolomite. This finding suggests that dolomitization occurred during large-scale global glacial regression in the late Miocene. The isolated Xisha carbonate platform, exposed to air, underwent freshwater leaching and dolomitization induced by mixed water, and caused the extensive Fe-Mg exchange along the organic reef profile to form ankerite and ferroan dolomite. These results may help to understand paleoceanographic environmental changes in the South China Sea during the Miocene.

Tropical sea surface temperature variability near the Oligocene - Miocene boundary

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Y.; Pagani, M.

2010-12-01

The Oligocene/Miocene (O-M) boundary is characterized by a period of rapid and intense glaciation labeled Mi-1 at ~ 23.1 Ma. An abrupt 1.5‰ increase in the benthic foraminifera oxygen isotope composition that characterizes Mi-1 may indicate a (1) significant deep-water temperature decrease; (2) major ice-sheet expansion, or the combination of both. Current coarse Mg/Ca-based temperature estimations for the early Miocene suggests that deep-ocean temperatures were ~2°C warmer than Today [1, 2]. However, Mg/Ca based temperatures can also be influenced by changes in the carbonate ion concentration, vital effects, and diagenesis. In particular, recent evidence from mid-ocean ridge flank carbonate veins shows dramatic seawater Mg/Ca ratio changes during the Neogene (Mg/Ca from ~2.2 to 5.3, [3]), which further challenges the application of Mg/Ca thermometry. Owing to poor temperature constraints, current ice volume estimations for the late Oligocene/early Miocene range from 125% of the present-day East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) to a nearly complete collapse of the Antarctic glaciers [4]. Here we present tropical sea surface temperatures (SSTs) records based on TEX86 and alkenone UK37 near the O-M boundary. Sediment samples from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 926 in the Ceara Rise (tropical Atlantic) and Site 1148 in the South China Sea (tropical Pacific) were subject to lipid extraction, separation, gas chromatography, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. TEX86-based SST indicates that the tropics were ~3-4°C warmer than today and relatively stable during Mi-1. This suggests that ice-sheet dynamics, rather than temperature, might be responsible for the observed oxygen isotope changes during the O-M boundary. Further, O-M boundary averaged temperatures recorded at site 926 is ~ 0.5°C higher relative to the late Eocene from site 925 (a nearby site [5]). Given late Oligocene benthic δ18O that suggests at least 1‰ enrichment relative to the late

Integrated stratigraphy and 40Ar/39Ar chronology of early Middle Miocene sediments from DSDP Leg 42A, Site 372 (Western Mediterranean)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abdul Aziz, H.; di Stefano, A.; Foresi, L. M.; Hilgen, Frederik J.; Iaccarino, S. M.; Kuiper, K. F.; Lirer, F.; Salvatorini, G.; Turco, E.

2008-01-01

An integrated magneto-biostratigraphic framework is presented for Middle Miocene sediments of DSDP Site 372 located in the Western Mediterranean. Detailed biostratigraphic analysis shows a nearly complete sequence of early Middle Miocene calcareous plankton bioevents in the Mediterranean, including

Rb-Sr geochronology of some Miocene West Australian lamproites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allsopp, H.L.; Scott Smith, B.H.; Danchin, R.V.

1985-01-01

Rb-Sr ages are presented for four lamproite intrusions (Mount North, Old Leopold Hill, Mount Rose and Seltrust Pipe 2) located in the west Kimberley region of West Australia. The data are in agreement with the early Miocene ages previously obtained for the lamproites of this area. The lamproites are characterized by high initial-Sr ratios, indicative of derivation from an enriched source. Localized and regional mantle heterogeneity is indicated by new and existing data

Gulf of Mexico miocene CO₂ site characterization mega transect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meckel, Timothy [Univ. of Austin, Austin, TX (United Staes); Trevino, Ramon [Univ. of Austin, Austin, TX (United Staes)

2014-12-01

This project characterized the Miocene-age sub-seafloor stratigraphy in the near-offshore portion of the Gulf of Mexico adjacent to the Texas coast. The large number of industrial sources of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in coastal counties and the high density of onshore urbanization and environmentally sensitive areas make this offshore region extremely attractive for long-term storage of carbon dioxide emissions from industrial sources (CCS). The study leverages dense existing geologic data from decades of hydrocarbon exploration in and around the study area to characterize the regional geology for suitability and storage capacity. Primary products of the study include: regional static storage capacity estimates, sequestration “leads” and prospects with associated dynamic capacity estimates, experimental studies of CO₂-brine-rock interaction, best practices for site characterization, a large-format ‘Atlas’ of sequestration for the study area, and characterization of potential fluid migration pathways for reducing storage risks utilizing novel high-resolution 3D (HR3D) seismic surveys. In addition, three subcontracted studies address source-to-sink matching optimization, offshore well bore management and environmental aspects. The various geologic data and interpretations are integrated and summarized in a series of cross-sections and maps, which represent a primary resource for any near-term commercial deployment of CCS in the area. The regional study characterized and mapped important geologic features (e.g., Clemente-Tomas fault zone, the regionally extensive Marginulina A and Amphistegina B confining systems, etc.) that provided an important context for regional static capacity estimates and specific sequestration prospects of the study. A static capacity estimate of the majority of the Study area (14,467 mi²) was estimated at 86 metric Gigatonnes. While local capacity estimates are likely to be lower due to reservoir-scale characteristics, the

Large-scale gravity sliding in the Miocene Shadow Valley Supradetachment Basin, Eastern Mojave Desert, California

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, G. A.; Friedmann, S. J.

2005-12-01

The Miocene Shadow Valley basin in the eastern Mojave Desert of California developed above the active west-dipping Kingston Range-Halloran Hills extensional detachment fault system between 13.5 and ca. 7 mybp. Although mass-wasting processes are common phenomena in supradetachment basins, the Shadow Valley basin is an exceptional locale for the study of such processes, especially rock-avalanches and gravity sliding. A score of megabreccias, interpreted as rock-avalanche deposits, and half that number of very large (> 1 km 2, up to 200 m thick), internally intact gravity-driven slide sheets are interbedded with various sedimentary facies. The slide sheets, variably composed of Proterozoic crystalline rocks and Proterozoic, Paleozoic, and Tertiary sedimentary strata, moved across both depositional and erosional surfaces in the basin. Although the majority consist of Paleozoic carbonate rocks, the largest slide sheet, the Eastern Star crystalline allochthon, contains Proterozoic gneisses and their sedimentary cover and is now preserved as klippen atop Miocene lacustrine and alluvial fan deposits over an area > 40 km 2. Estimates of slide sheet runouts into the basin from higher eastern and northern source terranes range from approximately a few km to > 10 km; in most cases the exact provenances of the slide blocks are not known. The basal contacts of Shadow Valley slide sheets are characteristically knife sharp, show few signs of lithologic mixing of upper- and lower-plate rocks, and locally exhibit slickensided and striated, planar fault-like bases. Pronounced folding of overridden Miocene lacustrine and fan deposits beneath the Eastern Star allochthon extends to depths up to 40 m at widely scattered localities. We conclude that this slow moving slide sheet encountered isolated topographic asperities (hills) and that stress transfer across the basal slide surface produced folding of footwall strata. Synkinematic gypsum veins in footwall playa sediments, with fibers

Miocene Fossils Reveal Ancient Roots for New Zealand's Endemic Mystacina (Chiroptera and Its Rainforest Habitat.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suzanne J Hand

Full Text Available The New Zealand endemic bat family Mystacinidae comprises just two Recent species referred to a single genus, Mystacina. The family was once more diverse and widespread, with an additional six extinct taxa recorded from Australia and New Zealand. Here, a new mystacinid is described from the early Miocene (19-16 Ma St Bathans Fauna of Central Otago, South Island, New Zealand. It is the first pre-Pleistocene record of the modern genus and it extends the evolutionary history of Mystacina back at least 16 million years. Extant Mystacina species occupy old-growth rainforest and are semi-terrestrial with an exceptionally broad omnivorous diet. The majority of the plants inhabited, pollinated, dispersed or eaten by modern Mystacina were well-established in southern New Zealand in the early Miocene, based on the fossil record from sites at or near where the bat fossils are found. Similarly, many of the arthropod prey of living Mystacina are recorded as fossils in the same area. Although none of the Miocene plant and arthropod species is extant, most are closely related to modern taxa, demonstrating potentially long-standing ecological associations with Mystacina.

Miocene Basaltic Lava Flows and Dikes of the Intervening Area Between Picture Gorge and Steens Basalt of the CRBG, Eastern Oregon

Science.gov (United States)

Cahoon, E. B.; Streck, M. J.

2016-12-01

Mid-Miocene basaltic lavas and dikes are exposed in the area between the southern extent of the Picture Gorge Basalt (PGB) and the northern extent of Steens Basalt in a wide corridor of the Malheur National Forest, eastern Oregon. An approximate mid-Miocene age of sampled basaltic units is indicated by stratigraphic relationships to the 16 Ma Dinner Creek Tuff. Lavas provide an opportunity to extend and/or revise distribution areas of either CRBG unit and explore the petrologic transition between them. The PGB and the Steens Basalt largely represent geochemically distinct tholeiitic units of the CRBG; although each unit displays internal complexity. Lavas of PGB are relatively primitive (MgO 5-9 wt.%) while Steens Basalt ranges in MgO from >9 to 3 wt.% but both units are commonly coarsely porphyritic. Conversely, Steens Basalt compositions are on average more enriched in highly incompatible elements (e.g. Rb, Th) and relatively enriched in the lesser incompatible elements (e.g. Y, Yb) compared to the Picture Gorge basalts. These compositional signatures produce inclined and flat patterns on mantle-normalized incompatible trace element plots but with similar troughs and spikes, respectively. New compositional data from our study area indicate basaltic lavas can be assigned as PGB lava flows and dikes, and also to a compositional group chemically distinct between Steens Basalt and PGB. Distribution of lava flows with PGB composition extend this CRBG unit significantly south/southeast closing the exposure gap between PGB and Steens Basalt. We await data that match Steens Basalt compositions but basaltic lavas with petrographic features akin to Steens Basalt have been identified in the study area. Lavas of the transitional unit share characteristics with Upper Steens and Picture Gorge basalt types, but identify a new seemingly unique composition. This composition is slightly more depleted in the lesser incompatible elements (i.e. steeper pattern) on mantle normalized

A southern species of the tropical catfish genus Phractocephalus (Teleostei: Siluriformes) in the Miocene of South America

Science.gov (United States)

Azpelicueta, María de las Mercedes; Cione, Alberto Luis

2016-04-01

Catfish bones from Tortonian (Miocene) freshwater beds of central Argentina are here identified as pertaining to a new species of the tropical pimelodid genus Phractocephalus. The new species differs from the other recent and fossil species of the genus in skull, pectoral girdle and spine characters. The material was found in different localities near the city of Paraná, Entre Ríos Province. The bearing horizon is the so-called "Conglomerado osífero" which constitutes the lowermost beds of the fluvial Ituzaingó Formation. The aquatic vertebrate fauna occurring in the bearing bed shows a similar generic composition to several northern South American Miocene units where Phractocephalus remains were found. This report extends the range of Phractocephalus more than 2000 km to the South. The record is in agreement with higher global temperatures and putative ample hydrographic connections of the river basins in the Paraná area with the Amazon basin until at least the early late Miocene.

USE OF CUTTING-EDGE HORIZONTAL AND UNDERBALANCED DRILLING TECHNOLOGIES AND SUBSURFACE SEISMIC TECHNIQUES TO EXPLORE, DRILL AND PRODUCE RESERVOIRED OIL AND GAS FROM THE FRACTURED MONTEREY BELOW 10,000 FT IN THE SANTA MARIA BASIN OF CALIFORNIA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

George Witter; Robert Knoll; William Rehm; Thomas Williams

2005-02-01

This project was undertaken to demonstrate that oil and gas can be drilled and produced safely and economically from a fractured Monterey reservoir in the Santa Maria Basin of California by employing horizontal wellbores and underbalanced drilling technologies. Two vertical wells were previously drilled in this area by Temblor Petroleum with heavy mud and conventional completions; neither was commercially productive. A new well was drilled by the project team in 2004 with the objective of accessing an extended length of oil-bearing, high-resistivity Monterey shale via a horizontal wellbore, while implementing managed-pressure drilling (MPD) techniques to avoid formation damage. Initial project meetings were conducted in October 2003. The team confirmed that the demonstration well would be completed open-hole to minimize productivity impairment. Following an overview of the geologic setting and local field experience, critical aspects of the application were identified. At the pre-spud meeting in January 2004, the final well design was confirmed and the well programming/service company requirements assigned. Various design elements were reduced in scope due to significant budgetary constraints. Major alterations to the original plan included: (1) a VSP seismic survey was delayed to a later phase; (2) a new (larger) surface hole would be drilled rather than re-enter an existing well; (3) a 7-in. liner would be placed into the top of the Monterey target as quickly as possible to avoid problems with hole stability; (4) evaluation activities were reduced in scope; (5) geosteering observations for fracture access would be deduced from penetration rate, cuttings description and hydrocarbon in-flow; and (6) rather than use nitrogen, a novel air-injection MPD system was to be implemented. Drilling operations, delayed from the original schedule by capital constraints and lack of rig availability, were conducted from September 12 to November 11, 2004. The vertical and upper

Use of Cutting-Edge Horizontal and Underbalanced Drilling Technologies and Subsurface Seismic Techniques to Explore, Drill and Produce Reservoired Oil and Gas from the Fractured Monterey Below 10,000 ft in the Santa Maria Basin of California

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

George Witter; Robert Knoll; William Rehm; Thomas Williams

2005-09-29

This project was undertaken to demonstrate that oil and gas can be drilled and produced safely and economically from a fractured Monterey reservoir in the Santa Maria Basin of California by employing horizontal wellbores and underbalanced drilling technologies. Two vertical wells were previously drilled in this area with heavy mud and conventional completions; neither was commercially productive. A new well was drilled by the project team in 2004 with the objective of accessing an extended length of oil-bearing, high-resistivity Monterey shale via a horizontal wellbore, while implementing managed-pressure drilling (MPD) techniques to avoid formation damage. Initial project meetings were conducted in October 2003. The team confirmed that the demonstration well would be completed open-hole to minimize productivity impairment. Following an overview of the geologic setting and local field experience, critical aspects of the application were identified. At the pre-spud meeting in January 2004, the final well design was confirmed and the well programming/service company requirements assigned. Various design elements were reduced in scope due to significant budgetary constraints. Major alterations to the original plan included: (1) a VSP seismic survey was delayed to a later phase; (2) a new (larger) surface hole would be drilled rather than re-enter an existing well; (3) a 7-in. liner would be placed into the top of the Monterey target as quickly as possible to avoid problems with hole stability; (4) evaluation activities were reduced in scope; (5) geosteering observations for fracture access would be deduced from penetration rate, cuttings description and hydrocarbon in-flow; and (6) rather than use nitrogen, a novel air-injection MPD system was to be implemented. Drilling operations, delayed from the original schedule by capital constraints and lack of rig availability, were conducted from September 12 to November 11, 2004. The vertical and upper curved sections were

A NEW RECORD OF MESSAPICETUS FROM THE PIETRA LECCESE (LATE MIOCENE, SOUTHERN ITALY: ANTITROPICAL DISTRIBUTION IN A FOSSIL BEAKED WHALE (CETACEA, ZIPHIIDAE

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GIOVANNI BIANUCCI

2016-03-01

Full Text Available A new partial fossil skeleton of Messapicetus longirostris (Cetacea: Odontoceti: Ziphiidae collected in Cisterna quarry (Lecce from Tortonian (upper Miocene sediments of the "Pietra leccese" is described. It comprises the fragmentary skull (including most of the rostrum, parts of the mandibles, five teeth, the fragmentary right scapula, and one vertebral centrum. This new record, here referred to a juvenile individual, expands our knowledge about the skeletal anatomy of M. longirostris; this species was until now only known by the holotype, an almost complete skull from the same Cisterna quarry. Moreover, the new specimen confirms the distinction between M. longirostris and M. gregarius (late Miocene, Pisco Formation, Peru based on several osteological characters (e.g., the presence of a distinct maxillary tubercle and prominential notch in the latter species. New dating of layers in Cerro Colorado, the type locality of M. gregarius, suggests that M. longirostris and M. gregarius were contemporaneous sister-species with an antitropical distribution (a biogeographical pattern currently shown by two extant ziphiid genera. Unlike extant ziphiids, feeding predominantly on squid and benthopelagic fish in deep waters, the stem ziphiid M. gregarius was recently proposed to have been a raptorial piscivore who may have fed mainly on schools of epipelagic fish. Similarities at the level of the morphology and proportions of the oral apparatus suggest that the two species of Messapicetus may have occupied roughly identical ecological and trophic niches, a hypothesis supported by the characterization of the Pietra leccese environment as neritic.

First hominoid from the Late Miocene of the Irrawaddy Formation (Myanmar.

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Jean-Jacques Jaeger

2011-04-01

Full Text Available For over a century, a Neogene fossil mammal fauna has been known in the Irrawaddy Formation in central Myanmar. Unfortunately, the lack of accurately located fossiliferous sites and the absence of hominoid fossils have impeded paleontological studies. Here we describe the first hominoid found in Myanmar together with a Hipparion (s.l. associated mammal fauna from Irrawaddy Formation deposits dated between 10.4 and 8.8 Ma by biochronology and magnetostratigraphy. This hominoid documents a new species of Khoratpithecus, increasing thereby the Miocene diversity of southern Asian hominoids. The composition of the associated fauna as well as stable isotope data on Hipparion (s.l. indicate that it inhabited an evergreen forest in a C3-plant environment. Our results enlighten that late Miocene hominoids were more regionally diversified than other large mammals, pointing towards regionally-bounded evolution of the representatives of this group in Southeast Asia. The Irrawaddy Formation, with its extensive outcrops and long temporal range, has a great potential for improving our knowledge of hominoid evolution in Asia.

The development of the Amazonian mega-wetland (Miocene; Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia)

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Hoorn, C.; Wesselingh, F.P.; Hovikoski, J.; Guerrero, J.; Hoorn, C.; Wesselingh, F.P.

2010-01-01

The scenery of Western Amazonia once consisted of fluvial systems that originated on the Amazonian Craton and were directed towards the sub-Andean zone and the Caribbean. In the course of the Early Miocene these fluvial systems were largely replaced by lakes, swamps, tidal channels and marginal

Evaluating the Addition of a Dinoflagellate Phytoplankton Functional Type Using Radiance Anomalies for Monterey Bay, CA

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Houskeeper, H. F.; Kudela, R. M.

2016-12-01

Ocean color sensors have enabled daily, global monitoring of phytoplankton productivity in the world's oceans. However, to observe key structures such as food webs, or to identify regime shifts of dominant species, tools capable of distinguishing between phytoplankton functional types using satellite remote sensing reflectance are necessary. One such tool developed by Alvain et al. (2005), PHYSAT, successfully linked four phytoplankton functional types to chlorophyll-normalized remote sensing spectra, or radiance anomalies, in case-1 waters. Yet this tool was unable to characterize dinoflagellates because of their ubiquitous background presence in the open ocean. We employ a radiance anomaly technique based on PHYSAT to target phytoplankton functional types in Monterey Bay, a region where dinoflagellate populations are larger and more variable than in open ocean waters, and thus where they may be viable targets for satellite remote sensing characterization. We compare with an existing Santa Cruz Wharf photo-pigment time series spanning from 2006 to the present to regionally ground-truth the method's predictions, and we assess its accuracy in characterizing dinoflagellates, a phytoplankton group that impacts the region's fish stocks and water quality. For example, an increase in dinoflagellate abundance beginning in 2005 led to declines in commercially important fish stocks that persisted throughout the following year. Certain species of dinoflagellates in Monterey Bay are also responsible for some of the harmful algal bloom events that negatively impact the shellfish industry. Moving toward better tools to characterize phytoplankton blooms is important for understanding ecosystem shifts, as well as protecting human health in the surrounding areas.

Structural and numerical modeling of fluid flow and evolving stress fields at a transtensional stepover: A Miocene Andean porphyry copper system as a case study.

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Nuñez, R. C.; Griffith, W. A.; Mitchell, T. M.; Marquardt, C.; Iturrieta, P. C.; Cembrano, J. M.

2017-12-01

Obliquely convergent subduction orogens show both margin-parallel and margin-oblique fault systems that are spatially and temporally associated with ore deposits and geothermal systems within the volcanic arc. Fault orientation and mechanical interaction among different fault systems influence the stress field in these arrangements, thus playing a first order control on the regional to local-scale fluid migration paths as documented by the spatial distribution of fault-vein arrays. Our selected case study is a Miocene porphyry copper-type system that crops out in the precordillera of the Maule region along the Teno river Valley (ca. 35°S). Several regional to local faults were recognized in the field: (1) Two first-order, N-striking subvertical dextral faults overlapping at a right stepover; (2) Second-order, N60°E-striking steeply-dipping, dextral-normal faults located at the stepover, and (3) N40°-60°W striking subvertical, sinistral faults crossing the stepover zone. The regional and local scale geology is characterized by volcano-sedimentary rocks (Upper Eocene- Lower Miocene), intruded by Miocene granodioritic plutons (U-Pb zircon age of 18.2 ± 0.11 Ma) and coeval dikes. We implement a 2D boundary element displacement discontinuity method (BEM) model to test the mechanical feasibility of kinematic model of the structural development of the porphyry copper-type system in the stepover between N-striking faults. The model yields the stress field within the stepover region and shows slip and potential opening distribution along the N-striking master faults under a regionally imposed stress field. The model shows that σ1 rotates clockwise where the main faults approach each other, becoming EW when they overlap. This, in turn leads to the generation of both NE- and NW-striking faults within the stepover area. Model results are consistent with the structural and kinematic data collected in the field attesting for enhanced permeability and fluid flow transport

Rare earth, major, and trace element composition of Monterey and DSDP chert and associated host sediment: Assessing the influence of chemical fractionation during diagenesis

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, R.W.; Buchholtz ten Brink, Marilyn R.; Gerlach, David C.; Russ III, G. Price; Jones, David L.

1992-01-01

Chert and associated host sediments from Monterey Formation and Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) sequences were analyzed in order to assess chemical behavior during diagenesis of biogenic sediments. The primary compositional contrast between chert and host sediment is a greater absolute SiO2 concentration in chert, often with final SiO2 ≥ 98 wt%. This contrast in SiO2 (and SiAl">SiAl) potentially reflects precursor sediment heterogeneity, diagenetic chemical fractionation, or both. SiO2 concentrations and SiAl">SiAl ratios in chert are far greater than in modern siliceous oozes, however and often exceed values in acid-cleaned diatom tests. Compositional contrasts between chert and host sediment are also orders-of-magnitude greater than between multiple samples of the host sediment. Calculations based on the initial composition of adjacent host, observed porosity reductions from host to chert and a postulated influx of pure SiO2, construct a chert composition which is essentially identical to observed SiO2 values in chert. Thus, precursor heterogeneity does not seem to be the dominant factor influencing the current chert composition for the key elements of interest. In order to assess the extent of chemical fractionation during diagenesis, we approximate the precursor composition by analyzing host sediments adjacent to the chert.The SiO2 concentration contrast seems caused by biogenic SiO2 dissolution and transport from the local adjacent host sediment and subsequent SiO2reprecipitation in the chert. Along with SiO2, other elements are often added (with respect to Al) to Monterey and DSDP chert during silicification, although absolute concentrations decrease. The two Monterey quartz chert nodules investigated, in contrast to the opal-CT and quartz chert lenses, formed primarily by extreme removal of carbonate and phosphate, thereby increasing relative SiO2 concentrations. DSDP chert formed by both carbonate/phosphate dissolution and SiO2 addition from

Application of organic facies in sedimentological-stratigraphical model of the Oligo-Miocene and Miocene of the Campos Basin; Aplicacao da faciologia organica no modelo sedimentologico-estratigrafico do Oligo-Mioceno e Mioceno da Bacia de Campos

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Mendonca Filho, Joao Graciano; Mendonca, Joalice de Oliveira; Oliveira, Antonio Donizeti de; Torres, Jaqueline [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Centro de Ciencias Exatas e da Natureza. Inst. de Geociencias (Brazil)], e-mails: graciano@geologia.ufrj.br, donizeti@lafo.geologia.ufrj.br, joalice@lafo.geologia.ufrj.br, jaqueline@lafo.geologia.ufrj.br; Menezes, Taissa Rego [Centro de Pesquisas da Petrobras (CENPES), RJ (Brazil). P e D em Geociencias. Gerencia de Geoquimica], e-mail: taissamenezes@petrobras.com.br; Santos, Viviane Sampaio Santiago dos; Arienti, Luci Maria [Centro de Pesquisas da Petrobras (CENPES), RJ (Brazil). P e D em Geociencias. Gerencia de Sedimentologia e Estratigrafia], e-mails: vsss@petrobras.com.br, arienti@petrobras.com.br

2010-05-15

This study integrates palynofacies analyses and the sedimentological and stratigraphic model of the Oligo-Miocene/Miocene siliciclastic deposits from the stratigraphic interval of the shallow continental platform up to the slope/basin of the Oligo-Miocene/ Miocene of the Campos Basin proposed. The main objective of the palynofacies study was to characterize the particulate sedimentary organic matter to obtain information about the proximal-distal relationship and the sedimentary organic matter preservation and depositional environmental conditions. The 158 core samples collected in 29 wells of the 9 oil production fields (Albacora, Barracuda, Marlim Sul, Marlim, Voador, Marlim Leste, Moreia and Albacora Leste), were studied. This technique provides information about the proximal-distal relationship and the paleoenvironmental conditions of deposition and preservation of sedimentary organic matter, to facilitate the evaluation and comparisons between the associations of particulate organic components. Thus, the palynofacies technique can be used as another tool in the characterization of depositional systems, based on the spatial and temporal distribution of sedimentary intervals. In general the palynofacies assemblages showed the predominance of the Phytoclast Group (terrestrial derived organic matter) at various degradation stages due to the selective preservation process diagnosed in the studied samples. Some samples, revealed high dinocysts percentages indicative of transgressive depositional conditions. From the obtained data, it was possible to characterize the stratigraphic sequences according to the distribution of particulate organic content (e.g. influence of fluvio-deltaic systems, oxygen system, regressive-transgressive tendencies of each sequence). Additional analyses of Total Organic Carbon (% wt) showed the control of the particulate components from the Phytoclast Group on the TOC (% wt) content, suggesting that the relative sea-level variation curves

Systematics and Evolution of the Miocene Three-Horned Palaeomerycid Ruminants (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla.

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Israel M Sánchez

Full Text Available Palaeomerycids were strange three-horned Eurasian Miocene ruminants known through fossils from Spain to China. We here study their systematics, offering the first cladistic phylogeny of the best-known species of the group, and also reassess their phylogenetic position among ruminants, which is currently disputed. The beautifully preserved remains of a new palaeomerycid from middle Miocene deposits of Spain, Xenokeryx amidalae gen. et sp. nov., helps us to better understand palaeomerycid anatomy, especially that of the nuchal region in the skull, significantly improving our current knowledge on these enigmatic ruminants. Our results show two main lineages of palaeomerycids, one containing the genus Ampelomeryx diagnosed by a characteristic type of cranium / cranial appendages and some dental derived traits, and another one that clusters those forms more closely related to Triceromeryx than to Ampelomeryx, characterized by a more derived dentition and a set of apomorphic cranial features. Xenokeryx branches as a basal offshoot of this clade. Also, we find that Eurasian palaeomerycids are not closely related to North American dromomerycids, thus rejecting the currently more accepted view of palaeomerycids as the Eurasian part of the dromomerycid lineage. Instead of this, palaeomerycids are nested with the African Miocene pecoran Propalaeoryx and with giraffoids. On the other hand, dromomerycids are closely related to cervids. We define a clade Giraffomorpha that includes palaeomerycids and giraffids, and propose an emended diagnosis of the Palaeomerycidae based on cranial and postcranial characters, including several features of the cranium not described so far. We also define the Palaeomerycidae as the least inclusive clade of pecorans containing Triceromeryx and Ampelomeryx. Finally, we reassess the taxonomy of several palaeomerycid taxa.

El Paleoceno-Mioceno de Península Mitre: antefosa y depocentro de techo de cuña de la cuenca Austral, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina The Paleocene-Miocene of Peninsula Mitre: foredeep and wedge-top of the Austral Basin, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

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Pablo J Torres Carbonell

2009-07-01

Full Text Available El sistema de cuenca de antepaís Austral-Malvinas adyacente al orógeno Fueguino comprende sedimen-titas marinas expuestas en el norte de Península Mitre, incluyendo 550 m de la antefosa del Paleoceno tardío-Eoceno temprano, y más de 2.900 m de la subcuenca María Luisa, depocentro de techo de cuña ('wedge-top' del Eoceno medio tardío-?Mioceno. La columna se subdivide en las formaciones La Barca (100 m, Paleoceno superior, Punta Noguera (450 m, Eoceno inferior, Leticia (30 m, Eoceno medio superior, Cerro Colorado (935 m, Eoceno medio superior-Eoceno superior, Puesto José (nom. nov., 1.600 m, Oligoceno y Malengüena (nom. nov., 216 m, ?Mioceno. La microfauna de la Formación Malengüena se distingue por el dominio de Globocassidulina cf brocha, y por su peculiar preservación, ambas características no reconocidas previamente en la porción argentina de la cuenca Austral. Se verifican discordancias sintectónicas entre el límite Paleoceno-Eoceno y el Eoceno medio, asociadas a una etapa de orogénesis regional: en el Eoceno más alto-Oligoceno basal, relacionada localmente con el anticlinal Campo del Medio; en el Oligoceno 'medio', asociada al retrocorrimiento Malengüena; y en el Mioceno ?inferior, relacionada con estructuras profundas de la faja corrida y plegada.The orogenic margin of the Austral-Malvinas foreland basin system is formed by a marine succession exposed at northern Península Mitre, composed of 550 m of the late Paleocene-early Eocene foredeep, and more than 2,900 m of the late middle Eocene-?Miocene María Luisa wedge-top sub-basin. The succession is subdivided in the following formations: La Barca (100 m, upper Paleocene, Punta Noguera (450 m, lower Eocene, Leticia (30 m, upper middle Eocene, Cerro Colorado (935 m, upper middle Eocene-upper Eocene, Puesto José (nom. nov, 1,600 m, Oligocene and Malengüena (nom. nov, 216 m, ?Miocene. The foraminiferal content of the Malengüena Formation is distinguished by the dominance

Miocene to Recent structural evolution of the Nevado de Toluca volcano region, Central Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

García-Palomo, A.; Macías, J. L.; Garduño, V. H.

2000-03-01

Based on aerial photography, satellite imagery, and detailed field work, a geological and structural model of Nevado de Toluca and its surroundings is presented. The Nevado de Toluca volcano is built upon the intersection of three complex fault systems of different age, orientation, and kinematics. These systems from the older to the younger are: (a) The Taxco-Querétaro Fault System (NNW-SSE) with clear expression south of the volcano; (b) The San Antonio Fault System (NE-SW) that runs between the San Antonio and Nevado de Toluca volcanoes; and (c) The Tenango Fault System (E-W) located to the east of Nevado de Toluca volcano. Our field data, supported by previous studies, suggest that these systems have coexisted since the late Miocene. In addition, the stratigraphy, chronology, and kinematics of fault planes point to the existence of at least three main deformation events that have affected the region since the late Miocene. During the early Miocene, an extensional phase with the same deformation style as the Basin and Range tectonics of northern Mexico caused the formation of horsts and grabens south of Nevado de Toluca and allowed the intrusion of sub-vertical dikes oriented NW-SE and NNW-SSE. During the middle Miocene, a transcurrent episode generated NE-SW faults that presented two main motions: the first movement was left-lateral with a σ3 oriented NW-SE and later turned into normal through a counter-clockwise rotation of σ3 up to a N-S position. The latest deformation phase started during the late Pliocene and produced oblique extension ( σ3 oriented NE-SW) along E-W-trending faults that later changed to pure extension by shifting of σ3 to a N-S orientation. These faults appear to control the late Pleistocene to Holocene monogenetic volcanism, the flank collapses of Nevado de Toluca volcano and the seismic activity of the region.

Intra-continental subduction and contemporaneous lateral extrusion of the upper plate: insights into Alps-Adria interactions

Science.gov (United States)

van Gelder, Inge; Willingshofer, Ernst; Sokoutis, Dimitrios; Cloetingh, Sierd

2017-04-01

tectonics of the Eastern Alps, where subduction of the adjacent Adriatic plate beneath the Eastern Alps is debated. Our results highlight that both indentation and subduction of Adria are valid collisional mechanisms to provoke lateral extrusion-type deformation within the Eastern Alps lithosphere, i.e. the upper plate. Moreover, the insights suggest that the Oligocene to Late Miocene structural evolution of the Eastern Alps is best described by phases of oblique and subsequent orthogonal subduction which is in line with Miocene rotations of the Adriatic plate. Furthermore, oblique subduction of the Adriatic plate provides a viable mechanism to explain the rapid decrease in slab length beneath the Eastern Alps towards the Pannonian Basin, also implying that the Adriatic slab can behave and form independently with regards to the adjacent subduction of Adria beneath the Dinarides.

Late Miocene radiolarian biostratigraphy and paleoceanography of Sawai Bay formation, Neill Island, Andamans, India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Gupta, S.M.; Srinivasan, M.S.

Late Miocene radiolarian zones are encountered from mudstone strata of Sawai Bay Formation, Neill Island, Andamans. Percentage data of forty-five coarser taxonomic groups of radiolarians were subjected to Q-mode cluster analysis. Based...

Mastritherium (Artiodactyla, Anthracotheriidae) from Wadi Sabya, southwestern Saudi Arabia; an earliest Miocene age for continental rift-valley volcanic deposits of the Red Sea margin

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Facies architecture of basin-margin units in time and space: Lower to Middle Miocene Sivas Basin, Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Çiner, A.; Kosun, E.

2003-04-01

The Miocene Sivas Basin is located within a collision zone, forming one of the largest basins in Central Turkey that developed unconformably on a foundered Paleozoic-Mesozoic basement and Eocene-Oligocene deposits. The time and space relationships of sedimentary environments and depositional evolution of Lower to Middle Miocene rocks exposed between Zara and Hafik towns is studied. A 4 km thick continuous section is subdivided into the Agilkaya and Egribucak Formations. Each formation shows an overall fining upward trend and contains three members. Although a complete section is present at the western part (near Hafik) of the basin, to the east the uppermost two members (near Zara) are absent. The lower members of both formations are composed of fluvial sheet-sandstone and red mudstone that migrate laterally on a flood basin within a semi-arid fan system. In the Agilkaya Formation that crops out near Zara, alluvial fans composed of red-pink volcanic pebbles are also present. The middle members are composed of bedded to massive gypsum and red-green mudstone of a coastal and/or continental sabkha environment. While the massive gypsum beds reach several 10’s of m in Hafik area, near Zara, they are only few m thick and alternate with green mudstones. In Hafik, bedded gypsums are intercalated with lagoonal dolomitic limestone and bituminous shale in the Agilkaya Formation and with fluvial red-pink sandstone-red mudstone in the Egribucak Formation. The upper members are made up of fossiliferous mudstone and discontinuous sandy limestone beds with gutter casts, HCS, and 3-D ripples. They indicate storm-induced sedimentation in a shallow marine setting. The disorganized accumulations of ostreid and cerithiid shells, interpreted as coquina bars, are the products of storm generated reworking processes in brackish environments. Rapid vertical and horizontal facies changes and the facies associations in both formations reflect the locally subsiding nature of this molassic

Environmental significance of Upper Miocene phosphorites at hominid sites in the Lukeino Formation (Tugen Hills, Kenya)

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Dericquebourg, Perrine; Person, Alain; Ségalen, Loïc; Pickford, Martin; Senut, Brigitte; Fagel, Nathalie

2015-08-01

The Lukeino Formation contains an important sedimentary and fossiliferous record of the late Miocene (6.09-5.68 Ma), which has in particular yielded the fossil remains of the oldest East African bipedal hominid called Orrorin tugenensis. This fluvio-lacustrine sedimentary succession crops out in the Kenyan part of the East African Rift. It is mainly composed of clay to sandy clay deposits intercalated with volcanic ash horizons, and localized layers of carbonates and diatomites. A detailed sedimentological and mineralogical study of the Lukeino Formation was conducted to throw light on the environmental conditions in which the hominids lived. Several centimetric, relatively continuous and indurated phosphatic horizons, of sedimentary origin, were identified at two sites (Sunbarua and Kapcheberek). Mineralogical (XRD) and geochemical analyses as well as observations by SEM, which was coupled with an energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) microprobe, indicate that the autochthonous phosphate layers are composed of a micritic matrix of francolite (38-93%), with incorporation of silicates in variable proportions from one layer to another. The phosphate matrix contains very well preserved and abundant diatom frustules in the basal phosphate layer. These diatoms are identified as Aulacoseira granulata, implying a pH of 7.8-8.2 for freshwaters of the Palaeolake Lukeino. Calcitic tubular structures, linked to a possible bacterial origin, are also observed locally. Phosphate layers occur abruptly within a thick clay-sandy series, associated with an intense runoff phase during the deposition of this interval of the Lukeino Formation. The massive and cyclic input of phosphorus to the lake promoted productivity to the stage where it caused a diatom bloom. The establishment of several phosphate horizons testifies to successive phases of eutrophication of Palaeolake Lukeino. The diatom cells provided some of the organic matter, which was decomposed by bacterial activity at the

EARLY MIOCENE INSULAR VERTEBRATES FROM LAERRU (SARDINIA, ITALY): PRELIMINARY NOTE

OpenAIRE

DANIEL ZOBOLI; GIAN LUIGI PILLOLA

2017-01-01

A new vertebrate assemblage was discovered in an Early  Miocene lacustrine deposit near the village of Laerru (northern Sardinia, Italy). The assemblage is composed by mammals, reptiles and a bird. The mammals are represented by three ruminants (cf. Sardomeryx oschiriensis, Pecora indet. small size and Pecora indet. very small size) and one dormouse (Peridyromys aff. murinus) while reptiles are represented by turtles (Trionychidae?) and crocodiles (cf. Diplocynodon sp.). A bird bone fragment ...

Lower Miocene stratigraphy along the Panama Canal and its bearing on the Central American Peninsula.

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Michael Xavier Kirby

Full Text Available Before the formation of the Central American Isthmus, there was a Central American Peninsula. Here we show that southern Central America existed as a peninsula as early as 19 Ma, based on new lithostratigraphic, biostratigraphic and strontium chemostratigraphic analyses of the formations exposed along the Gaillard Cut of the Panama Canal. Land mammals found in the Miocene Cucaracha Formation have similar body sizes to conspecific taxa in North America, indicating that there existed a terrestrial connection with North America that allowed gene flow between populations during this time. How long did this peninsula last? The answer hinges on the outcome of a stratigraphic dispute: To wit, is the terrestrial Cucaracha Formation older or younger than the marine La Boca Formation? Previous stratigraphic studies of the Panama Canal Basin have suggested that the Cucaracha Formation lies stratigraphically between the shallow-marine Culebra Formation and the shallow-to-upper-bathyal La Boca Formation, the latter containing the Emperador Limestone. If the La Boca Formation is younger than the Cucaracha Formation, as many think, then the peninsula was short-lived (1-2 m.y., having been submerged in part by the transgression represented by the overlying La Boca Formation. On the other hand, our data support the view that the La Boca Formation is older than the Cucaracha Formation. Strontium dating shows that the La Boca Formation is older (23.07 to 20.62 Ma than both the Culebra (19.83-19.12 Ma and Cucaracha (Hemingfordian to Barstovian North American Land Mammal Ages; 19-14 Ma formations. The Emperador Limestone is also older (21.24-20.99 Ma than the Culebra and Cucaracha formations. What has been called the "La Boca Formation" (with the Emperador Limestone, is re-interpreted here as being the lower part of the Culebra Formation. Our new data sets demonstrate that the main axis of the volcanic arc in southern Central America more than likely existed as a

Lower Miocene stratigraphy along the Panama Canal and its bearing on the Central American Peninsula.

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Kirby, Michael Xavier; Jones, Douglas S; MacFadden, Bruce J

2008-07-30

Before the formation of the Central American Isthmus, there was a Central American Peninsula. Here we show that southern Central America existed as a peninsula as early as 19 Ma, based on new lithostratigraphic, biostratigraphic and strontium chemostratigraphic analyses of the formations exposed along the Gaillard Cut of the Panama Canal. Land mammals found in the Miocene Cucaracha Formation have similar body sizes to conspecific taxa in North America, indicating that there existed a terrestrial connection with North America that allowed gene flow between populations during this time. How long did this peninsula last? The answer hinges on the outcome of a stratigraphic dispute: To wit, is the terrestrial Cucaracha Formation older or younger than the marine La Boca Formation? Previous stratigraphic studies of the Panama Canal Basin have suggested that the Cucaracha Formation lies stratigraphically between the shallow-marine Culebra Formation and the shallow-to-upper-bathyal La Boca Formation, the latter containing the Emperador Limestone. If the La Boca Formation is younger than the Cucaracha Formation, as many think, then the peninsula was short-lived (1-2 m.y.), having been submerged in part by the transgression represented by the overlying La Boca Formation. On the other hand, our data support the view that the La Boca Formation is older than the Cucaracha Formation. Strontium dating shows that the La Boca Formation is older (23.07 to 20.62 Ma) than both the Culebra (19.83-19.12 Ma) and Cucaracha (Hemingfordian to Barstovian North American Land Mammal Ages; 19-14 Ma) formations. The Emperador Limestone is also older (21.24-20.99 Ma) than the Culebra and Cucaracha formations. What has been called the "La Boca Formation" (with the Emperador Limestone), is re-interpreted here as being the lower part of the Culebra Formation. Our new data sets demonstrate that the main axis of the volcanic arc in southern Central America more than likely existed as a peninsula

Facies associations, depositional environments and stratigraphic framework of the Early Miocene-Pleistocene successions of the Mukah-Balingian Area, Sarawak, Malaysia

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Murtaza, Muhammad; Rahman, Abdul Hadi Abdul; Sum, Chow Weng; Konjing, Zainey

2018-02-01

Thirty-five stratigraphic section exposed along the Mukah-Selangau road in the Mukah-Balingian area have been studied. Sedimentological and palynological data have been integrated to gain a better insight into the depositional architecture of the area. Broadly, the Mukah-Balingian area is dominated by fluvial, floodplain and estuarine related coal-bearing deposits. The Balingian, Begrih and Liang formations have been described and interpreted in terms of seven facies association. These are: FA1 - Fluvial-dominated channel facies association; FA2 - Tide-influenced channel facies association; FA3 - Tide-dominated channel facies association; FA4 - Floodplain facies association; FA5 - Estuarine central basin-mud flats facies association; FA6 - Tidal flat facies association and FA7 - Coastal swamps and marshes facies association. The Balingian Formation is characterised by the transgressive phase in the base, followed by a regressive phase in the upper part. On the basis of the occurrence of Florscheutzia trilobata with Florscheutzia levipoli, the Early to Middle Miocene age has been assigned to the Balingian Formation. The distinct facies pattern and foraminifera species found from the samples taken from the Begrih outcrop imply deposition in the intertidal flats having pronounced fluvio-tidal interactions along the paleo-margin. Foraminiferal data combined with the pronounced occurrence of Stenochlaena laurifolia suggest at least the Late Miocene age for the Begrih Formation. The internal stratigraphic architecture of the Liang Formation is a function of a combination of sea level, stable tectonic and autogenic control. Based on stratigraphic position, the Middle Pliocene to Pleistocene age for the Liang Formation is probable. The Balingian, Begrih and Liang formations display deposits of multiple regressive-transgressive cycles while the sediments were derived from the uplifted Penian high and Rajang group.

High resolution morphobathymetric analysis and short-term evolution of the upper part of the Capbreton submarine canyon (south-east Bay of Biscay - French Atlantic coast)

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Gillet, Hervé; Mazières, Alaïs; Mulder, Thierry; Cremer, Michel

2013-04-01

The Capbreton Canyon stands out by its deep incision through continental shelf and slope and its present turbidite activity. The head of the canyon is anthropically disconnected from the Adour River since 1310 AD, but is located close enough to the coast to allow a direct supply by longshore drift. Sedimentary processes in upper part of the Capbreton Canyon are poorly documented. Several evidences, including sandy slide scars in the head, suggest that this area plays a major role in triggering downstream gravity currents). However, no modern sedimentary activity in the upper canyon had so far been evidenced. Our study is based on the analysis and comparison of several sets of multibeam bathymetric data acquired in 1998, 2010 and 2012 (up to 1.5 m resolution). The morphobathymetric analysis brought the following key observations: - The upper part of the canyon is characterised by a meandering talweg underlined by two kinds of terraces: (1) small elongated terraces standing only 10 to 15 m above the talweg axis and (2) large terraces standing 45 to 100 m above the talweg axis. - The regular 1° longitudinal slope of the talweg is interrupted by several 10 m high knickpoints. - The floor of the talweg shows some rough areas scattered with transversal bedforms similar to the sediment waves described in the Monterey Canyon upper part (Smith et al, 2005). The morphological evolutions in the upper part of the canyon over the last 14 years especially affect the floor of the talweg: - Between 1998 and 2010, we observe a downstream succession of accretion areas (up to 11m thick) and erosion areas (reaching -25 m). The largest and highest terraces remain stable over this period, whereas the smallest and lowest elongated terraces show active sedimentation (+5 to +8 m). - Difference between 2010 and 2012 DEMs reveals three localized erosion spots corresponding to 200 m backward stepping of the knickpoints. Such observation confirms the active headward erosion in this part of

Acoustic Impedance Inversion To Identify Oligo-Miocene Carbonate Facies As Reservoir At Kangean Offshore Area

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Zuli Purnama, Arif; Ariyani Machmud, Pritta; Eka Nurcahya, Budi; Yusro, Miftahul; Gunawan, Agung; Rahmadi, Dicky

2018-03-01

Model based inversion was applied to inversion process of 2D seismic data in Kangean Offshore Area. Integration acoustic impedance from wells and seismic data was expected showing physical property, facies separation and reservoir quality of carbonate rock, particularly in Kangean Offshore Area. Quantitative and qualitative analysis has been conducted on the inversion results to characterize the carbonate reservoir part of Kujung and correlate it to depositional facies type. Main target exploration in Kangean Offshore Area is Kujung Formation (Oligo-Miocene Carbonate). The type of reservoir in this area generate from reef growing on the platform. Carbonate rock is a reservoir which has various type and scale of porosity. Facies determination is required to to predict reservoir quality, because each facies has its own porosity value. Acoustic impedance is used to identify and characterize Kujung carbonate facies, also could be used to predict the distribution of porosity. Low acoustic impedance correlated with packstone facies that has acoustic impedance value below 7400 gr/cc*m/s. In other situation, high acoustic impedance characterized by wackestone facies above 7400 gr/cc*m/s. The interpretation result indicated that Kujung carbonate rock dominated by packstone facies in the upper part of build-up and it has ideal porosity for hydrocarbon reservoir.

Cold seeps in Monterey Bay, California: Geochemistry of pore waters and relationship to benthic foraminiferal calcite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gieskes, Joris; Rathburn, Anthony E.; Martin, Jonathan B.; Perez, M. Elena; Mahn, Chris; Bernhard, Joan M.; Day, Shelley

2011-01-01

Highlights: → We describe the geochemistry of pore waters in the Clam Flats area of Monterey Bay. → The geochemical data are compared with the δ 13 C chemistry of benthic foraminifera. → Living foraminifera indicate little effects of pore water low δ 13 C (DIC) in the clam bed. → This phenomenon and its implications are discussed in detail. → Implications with regards to paleo-methane seepage are discussed. - Abstract: An extensive geochemical and biogeochemical examination of CH 4 seeps in the Clam Flats area of Monterey Bay provides insight into the character of relationships between seep geochemistry and benthic foraminiferal geochemistry. The area is characterized by sulfide-rich fluids. Sulfide increases are associated with large increases in alkalinity, as well as small decreases in dissolved Ca and Mg. In addition, only small increases in NH 4 are observed, but values of δ 13 C of dissolved inorganic C are as low as -60 per mille at shallow depths ( 4 , which is transported upward by slow seepage of pore fluids. The geochemistry of the pore fluids should be relevant to the geochemistry of the carbonate tests of living and dead foraminifera. However, a profound disequilibrium of approximately an order of magnitude occurs between the δ 13 C values of stained (cytoplasm-containing) foraminiferal carbonate and the C isotope values of ambient pore water dissolved inorganic C. Reasons are unclear for this isotopic disequilibrium, but have important implications for interpretations of foraminiferal carbonate as a paleoenvironmental proxy. Much fine scale work is needed to fully understand the relationships between the biogeochemistry of benthic foraminifera and the geochemistry of the pore waters where they live.

Amazonian Amphibian Diversity Is Primarily Derived from Late Miocene Andean Lineages

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Santos, Juan C; Coloma, Luis A; Summers, Kyle; Caldwell, Janalee P; Ree, Richard; Cannatella, David C

2009-01-01

The Neotropics contains half of remaining rainforests and Earth's largest reservoir of amphibian biodiversity. However, determinants of Neotropical biodiversity (i.e., vicariance, dispersals, extinctions, and radiations) earlier than the Quaternary are largely unstudied. Using a novel method of ancestral area reconstruction and relaxed Bayesian clock analyses, we reconstructed the biogeography of the poison frog clade (Dendrobatidae). We rejected an Amazonian center-of-origin in favor of a complex connectivity model expanding over the Neotropics. We inferred 14 dispersals into and 18 out of Amazonia to adjacent regions; the Andes were the major source of dispersals into Amazonia. We found three episodes of lineage dispersal with two interleaved periods of vicariant events between South and Central America. During the late Miocene, Amazonian, and Central American-Chocoan lineages significantly increased their diversity compared to the Andean and Guianan-Venezuelan-Brazilian Shield counterparts. Significant percentage of dendrobatid diversity in Amazonia and Chocó resulted from repeated immigrations, with radiations at Venezuelan Highlands, and Guiana Shield have undergone extended in situ diversification at near constant rate since the Oligocene. The effects of Miocene paleogeographic events on Neotropical diversification dynamics provided the framework under which Quaternary patterns of endemism evolved. PMID:19278298

Tertiary evolution of the Shimanto belt (Japan): A large-scale collision in Early Miocene

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Raimbourg, Hugues; Famin, Vincent; Palazzin, Giulia; Yamaguchi, Asuka; Augier, Romain

2017-07-01

To decipher the Miocene evolution of the Shimanto belt of southwestern Japan, structural and paleothermal studies were carried out in the western area of Shikoku Island. All units constituting the belt, both in its Cretaceous and Tertiary domains, are in average strongly dipping to the NW or SE, while shortening directions deduced from fault kinematics are consistently orientated NNW-SSE. Peak paleotemperatures estimated with Raman spectra of organic matter increase strongly across the southern, Tertiary portion of the belt, in tandem with the development of a steeply dipping metamorphic cleavage. Near the southern tip of Ashizuri Peninsula, the unconformity between accreted strata and fore-arc basin, present along the whole belt, corresponds to a large paleotemperature gap, supporting the occurrence of a major collision in Early Miocene. This tectonic event occurred before the magmatic event that affected the whole belt at 15 Ma. The associated shortening was accommodated in two opposite modes, either localized on regional-scale faults such as the Nobeoka Tectonic Line in Kyushu or distributed through the whole belt as in Shikoku. The reappraisal of this collision leads to reinterpret large-scale seismic refraction profiles of the margins, where the unit underlying the modern accretionary prism is now attributed to an older package of deformed and accreted sedimentary units belonging to the Shimanto belt. When integrated into reconstructions of Philippine Sea Plate motion, the collision corresponds to the oblique collision of a paleo Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc with Japan in Early Miocene.

Equatorial Precession Drove Mid-Latitude Changes in ENSO-Scale Variation in the Earliest Miocene

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Fox, B.; D'Andrea, W. J.; Lee, D. E.; Wilson, G. S.

2014-12-01

Foulden Maar is an annually laminated lacustrine diatomite deposit from the South Island of New Zealand. The deposit was laid down over ~100 kyr of the latest Oligocene and earliest Miocene, during the peak and deglaciation phase of the Mi-1 Antarctic glaciation event. At this time, New Zealand was located at approximately the same latitude as today (~45°S). Evidence from organic geochemical proxies (δD, δ13C) and physical properties (density, colour) indicates the presence of an 11-kyr cycle at the site. Although it is known that 11-kyr insolation (half-precession) cycles occur between the Tropics, this cycle is rarely seen in sedimentary archives deposited outside the immediate vicinity of the Equator. Records from Foulden Maar correlate well with the amplitude and phase of the modelled equatorial half-precession cycle for the earliest Miocene. High-resolution (50 µm) colour intensity measurements and lamina thickness measurements both indicate the presence of significant ENSO-like (2-8 year) variation in the Foulden Maar sediments. Early results from targeted lamina thickness measurements suggest that ENSO-band variation is modulated by the 11-kyr cycle, with power in the ENSO band increasing during periods of increased insolation at the Equator. This implies that equatorial half-precession had a significant effect on ENSO-like variation in the early Miocene, and that this effect was felt as far afield as the mid-latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere.

A middle Pleistocene through middle Miocene moraine sequence in the central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica

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Balter, A.; Bromley, G. R.; Balco, G.; Thomas, H.; Jackson, M. S.

2017-12-01

Ice-free areas at high elevation in the central Transantarctic Mountains preserve extensive moraine sequences and drift deposits that comprise a geologic record of former East Antarctic Ice Sheet thickness and extent. We are applying cosmogenic-nuclide exposure dating to determine the ages of these moraine sequences at Roberts Massif and Otway Massif, at the heads of the Shackleton and Beardmore Glaciers, respectively. Moraines at these sites are for the most part openwork boulder belts characteristic of deposition by cold-based ice, which is consistent with present climate and glaciological conditions. To develop our chronology, we collected samples from 30 distinct ice-marginal landforms and have so far measured >100 3He, 10Be, and 21Ne exposure ages. Apparent exposure ages range from 1-14 Ma, which shows that these landforms record glacial events between the middle Pleistocene and middle Miocene. These data show that the thickness of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet in this region was similar to or thicker than present for long periods between the middle Miocene and today. The time range represented by these moraine sequences indicates that they may also provide direct geologic evidence for East Antarctic Ice Sheet behavior during past periods of warmer-than-present climate, specifically the Miocene and Pliocene. As the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is the largest ice sheet on earth, understanding its sensitivity to warm-climate conditions is critical for projections of ice sheet behavior and sea-level rise in future warm climates.

A new species of Miocene terrestrial gastropod Gastrocopta from Poland and the validity of 'Pupa (Vertigo) suevica'

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stworzewicz, E.; Prisyazhnyuk, V.A. [Polish Academy of Science, Krakow (Poland)

2006-03-15

We describe Gastrocopta sandbergeri sp. nov. from the Miocene brown coal deposits of the open-cast mine Belchatow (central Poland) and identify it as conspecific with Pupa (Vertigo) suevica Sandberger, 1875 (nomen nudum) from the Miocene of Steinheim. The new species is most similar to Gastrocopta nouletiana (Dupuy, 1850) but differs in having smaller and always slender shell, less convex whorls, much weaker crest on the body whorl (or even absent) and generally rather weakly developed teeth (6-7) in the aperture.

Metasomatized mantle as the source of Mid-Miocene-Quaternary volcanism in NW-Iranian Azerbaijan: Geochronological and geochemical evidence

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Lechmann, Anna; Burg, Jean-Pierre; Ulmer, Peter; Guillong, Marcel; Faridi, Mohammad

2018-04-01

Middle Miocene to Quaternary volcanic rocks cover large areas of the Azerbaijan Province in NW Iran. This study reports two separate age clusters out of 23 new LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon ages: (1) Middle Miocene (16.2-10.6 Ma) and (2) Latest Miocene-Late Pleistocene (5.5-0.4 Ma). Major and trace element bulk rock geochemistry and initial Sr, Nd, Pb radiogenic isotope data on the dated rocks provide new constraints on the Mid-Miocene to Quaternary volcanism in this region. The analyses are distributed over a large compositional range from low-K to high-K calc-alkaline andesites and dacites/rhyolites to more alkaline trachybasalts and dacites with shoshonitic affinities. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns are steep with significant enrichment in LREE and low abundances of HREE indicating a garnet control. Plots of primitive mantle-normalized trace elements show negative Ti and Nb-Ta anomalies indicative of an arc signature. The wide compositional range and the ubiquitous presence of an arc signature reveal that the source mantle is heterogeneous and metasomatically altered. Sr, Nd and Pb radiogenic isotope data further point towards an enriched mantle source and/or crustal contamination. Crustal contamination is best recognized by inherited zircon cores, which yield Late Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian ages typical for the Iranian basement. The occurrence of adakite-like compositions with elevated magnesium numbers, Cr and Ni concentrations argue against a fractionation-driven process but point to a subcrustal origin. Overall, the analyzed lavas show no spatial and temporal relation to a potential subduction zone, confirming the dated volcanics to be post-collisional and not related to singular processes such as slab retreat or delamination of a continuous lower crustal sliver. We propose three hypotheses to explain the reported disparity in distribution, age and composition and favour small-scale sublithospheric convection or incorporation of crustal material into the

Quality and petrographic characteristics of the lacustrine Ermenek coal (early Miocene), Turkey

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Demirel, I.H.; Karayigit, A.I. [Hacettepe Univ., Beytepe-Ankara (Turkey). Dept. of Geological Engineering

1999-05-01

The early Miocene Yenimahalle Formation including alluvial-lacustrine sediments and a mineable coal steam with an average of 5 m in thickness rests unconformably upon the basement and is also unconformably overlain by marine limestones of the middle-late Miocene Mut Formation in the Ermenek coal basin. The coal basin in the present study has been subdivided into two areas, Canakci and Pamuklu-Tepebasi, which are separated by the basement and a fault, in order to determine coal properties in detail. The investigated subbituminous coals with an average of 0.40%Ro huminite reflectance often contain gastropod shells (Planorbidae) which commonly maintain the original aragonite and calcite composition. The coals have similar chemical properties and petrographic composition in the two areas, but their sulphur contents are clearly different. In the Canakci area the coals on an air-dried basis contain distinctly less total sulphur (avg. 1.3%) and organic sulphur contents (0.13--0.15%) than in the Pamuklu-Tepebasi area (avg. 4.5% and 4.25%, respectively). This difference is interpreted to be controlled by mire chemistry and sedimentation during peat formation.

Natural product terpenoids in Eocene and Miocene conifer fossils.

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Otto, Angelika; White, James D; Simoneit, Bernd R T

2002-08-30

Numerous saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons, but not polar compounds, originating from plants and microorganisms (biomarkers) have been reported in sediments, coals, and petroleum. Here we describe natural product terpenoids found in two fossil conifers, Taxodium balticum (Eocene) and Glyptostrobus oregonensis (Miocene). A similar terpenoid pattern is also observed in extant Taxodium distichum. The preservation of characteristic terpenoids (unaltered natural products) in the fossil conifers supports their systematic assignment to the Cypress family (Cupressaceae sensu lato). The results also show that fossil conifers can contain polar terpenoids, which are valuable markers for (paleo)chemosystematics and phylogeny.

ON THE PRESENCE OF PYRAMIODONTHERIUM (MAMMALIA, XENARTHRA, MEGATHERIIDAE IN THE LATE MIOCENE OF NORTHEASTERN ARGENTINA AND ITS BIOGEOGRAPHICAL IMPLICATIONS

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DIEGO BRANDONI

2009-03-01

Full Text Available The biochron of the subfamily Megatheriinae, large to very large terrestrial sloths typified by Megatherium Cuvier, in Argentina extends from the middle Miocene of Patagonia to the late Pleistocene-early Holocene. Megatheriines reached their highest diversity in the lower levels (="conglomerado osífero", late Miocene of the Ituzaingó Formation in Entre Ríos Province, northeastern Argentina. Among the four megatheriines that occur in this unit, the genera Promegatherium Ameghino, Eomegatherium Kraglievich and Pliomegatherium Kraglievich represent relatively small to medium-sized taxa. Here we describe new material assigned to Pyramiodontherium, the largest of the four genera from the same bed and comparable in size to some Quaternary species of Megatherium. Three valid species of Pyramiodontherium have been recognized, all distributed mainly in northwestern Argentina, from the late Miocene in Catamarca Province (and probably also in Tucumán Province, and the late Pliocene in La Rioja Province. The presence of this genus in northeastern Argentina extends its known paleobiogeographical distribution. 

The Middle Miocene Climate Transition in the Central Mediterranean. Geologica Ultraiectina (326)

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Mourik, A.A.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304849383

2010-01-01

The Middle Miocene Climate Transition (~15-13.7 Ma) is one of the major steps in Cenozoic climate evolution. The rapid expansion of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet at ~13.9 – 13.7 Ma caused important climate changes on a global scale. The aim of this PhD research has been to study the effects of the

The Neogene lakes on the Balkan land

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Krstić Nadežda

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Palaeogeographic maps of the lacustrine Miocene and Pliocene have been constructed according to all the known geological data. The Lakes of the Balkan Land, depending on the tectonics, migrated due to causes from the deep subsurface. There are several phases of the Miocene lakes: the lowermost Miocene transiting from marine Oligocene, Lower, Middle, Upper Miocene covering, in patches, the main part of the Land. The Pliocene lakes spread mostly to the north of the Balkan Land and covered only its marginal parts. Other lake-like sediments, in fact freshened parts of the Black Sea Kuialnician (Upper Pliocene, stretched along the middle and southern portions of the Balkan Peninsula (to the south of the Balkan Mt.. Subsequently, the Balkan Peninsula was formed.

The westernmost tarsier: A new genus and species from the Miocene of Pakistan

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zijlstra, Jelle S.; Flynn, Lawrence J.; Wessels, Wilma

2013-01-01

As the closest living sister group of anthropoids, tarsiers (Family Tarsiidae) are an important group in primate evolution. However, their fossil record is poor: only four species have been described, two from the Eocene of China and two from the Miocene of Thailand. All are from outside the range

Sedimentologic development of a Late Oligocene Miocene forearc embayment, Valdivia Basin Complex, southern Chile

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le Roux, J. P.; Elgueta, Sara

2000-01-01

Deposition of Tertiary sediments in the southeastern part of the Valdivia Basin commenced during the Late Oligocene with the rapid incision of rivers draining the Palaeo-Coastal Range. Alluvial fans developing along the steep valley flanks joined gravelly braided streams transporting bedload to the coast. Tectonic and eustatic stability lasting into the Early Miocene subsequently allowed lateral erosion of the valley flanks and the development of extensive fluvial and estuarine peat swamps. This stable period was interrupted briefly by a volcanic eruption at 23.5 Ma. Shortly after 23 Ma, rapid uplift caused by an acceleration in plate convergence resulted in renewed erosion of the landscape, as reflected in the deposition of coarse river gravels. Basin subsidence and marine transgression proceeding up the river valleys subsequently formed still, deep embayments, occasionally disturbed by debris flows and turbidity currents originating on the steep, wooded valley flanks. At the upper limits of the inlets, bayhead deltas, tidal flats and beaches existed. In some areas, fan deltas prograded into the embayments, as reflected in the interfingering relationship between conglomerates and marine mudrocks. In the deeper parts of the embayments, the frequency of debris flows and turbidity currents increased markedly during periods of relative sea-level lowstand. The landscape was eventually inundated by continued subsidence and marine transgression, which lasted until a possibly eustatic sea-level fall in the early Tortonian.

The Late Miocene paleogeography of the Amazon Basin and the evolution of the Amazon River system

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Latrubesse, Edgardo M.; Cozzuol, Mario; da Silva-Caminha, Silane A. F.; Rigsby, Catherine A.; Absy, Maria Lucia; Jaramillo, Carlos

2010-05-01

On the basis of paleontological content (vertebrates and palynology) and facies analysis from river banks, road cuts, and three wells, we have assigned the uppermost levels of the Solimões Formation in western Amazonia, Brazil, to the Late Miocene. The vertebrate fossil record from outcropping sediments is assigned to the Huayquerian-Mesopotamian mammalian biozones, spanning 9-6.5 Ma. Additionally, we present results that demonstrate that deposits in Peruvian Amazonia attributed to Miocene tidal environments are actually fluvial sediments that have been misinterpreted (both environmentally and chronologically) by several authors. The entire Late Miocene sequence was deposited in a continental environment within a subsiding basin. The facies analysis, fossil fauna content, and palynological record indicate that the environment of deposition was dominated by avulsive rivers associated with megafan systems, and avulsive rivers in flood basins (swamps, lakes, internal deltas, and splays). Soils developed on the flatter, drier areas, which were dominated by grasslands and gallery forest in a tropical to subtropical climate. These Late Miocene sediments were deposited from westward of the Purus arch up to the border of Brazil with Peru (Divisor Ranges) and Bolivia (Pando block). Eastward of the Iquitos structural high, however, more detailed studies, including vertebrate paleontology, need to be performed to calibrate with more precision the ages of the uppermost levels of the Solimões Formation. The evolution of the basin during the late Miocene is mainly related to the tectonic behavior of the Central Andes (˜ 3°-15°S). At approximately 5 Ma, a segment of low angle of subduction was well developed in the Nazca Plate, and the deformation in the Subandean foreland produced the inland reactivation of the Divisor/Contamana Ranges and tectonic arrangements in the Eastern Andes. During the Pliocene southwestern Brazilian Amazonia ceased to be an effective sedimentary

Correlating Mediterranean shallow water deposits with global Oligocene–Miocene stratigraphy and oceanic events☆

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Reuter, Markus; Piller, Werner E.; Brandano, Marco; Harzhauser, Mathias

2013-01-01

Shallow-marine sediment records have the strong potential to display sensitive environmental changes in sedimentary geometries and skeletal content. However, the time resolution of most neritic carbonate records is not high enough to be compared with climatic events as recorded in the deep-sea sediment archives. In order to resolve the paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic changes during the Oligocene–Miocene transition in the Mediterranean shallow water carbonate systems with the best possible time resolution, we re-evaluated the Decontra section on the Maiella Platform (central Apennines, Italy), which acts as a reference for the correlation of Oligocene–Miocene shallow water deposits in the Mediterranean region. The 120-m-thick late Oligocene–late Miocene carbonate succession is composed of larger foraminiferal, bryozoan and corallinacean limestones interlayered with distinct planktonic foraminiferal carbonates representing a mostly outer neritic setting. Integrated multi-proxy and facies analyses indicate that CaCO3 and total organic carbon contents as well as gamma-ray display only local to regional processes on the carbonate platform and are not suited for stratigraphic correlation on a wider scale. In contrast, new biostratigraphic data correlate the Decontra stable carbon isotope record to the global deep-sea carbon isotope record. This links relative sea level fluctuations, which are reflected by facies and magnetic susceptibility changes, to third-order eustatic cycles. The new integrated bio-, chemo-, and sequence stratigraphic framework enables a more precise timing of environmental changes within the studied time interval and identifies Decontra as an important locality for correlating not only shallow and deep water sediments of the Mediterranean region but also on a global scale. PMID:25844021

Correlating Mediterranean shallow water deposits with global Oligocene-Miocene stratigraphy and oceanic events.

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Reuter, Markus; Piller, Werner E; Brandano, Marco; Harzhauser, Mathias

2013-12-01

Shallow-marine sediment records have the strong potential to display sensitive environmental changes in sedimentary geometries and skeletal content. However, the time resolution of most neritic carbonate records is not high enough to be compared with climatic events as recorded in the deep-sea sediment archives. In order to resolve the paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic changes during the Oligocene-Miocene transition in the Mediterranean shallow water carbonate systems with the best possible time resolution, we re-evaluated the Decontra section on the Maiella Platform (central Apennines, Italy), which acts as a reference for the correlation of Oligocene-Miocene shallow water deposits in the Mediterranean region. The 120-m-thick late Oligocene-late Miocene carbonate succession is composed of larger foraminiferal, bryozoan and corallinacean limestones interlayered with distinct planktonic foraminiferal carbonates representing a mostly outer neritic setting. Integrated multi-proxy and facies analyses indicate that CaCO 3 and total organic carbon contents as well as gamma-ray display only local to regional processes on the carbonate platform and are not suited for stratigraphic correlation on a wider scale. In contrast, new biostratigraphic data correlate the Decontra stable carbon isotope record to the global deep-sea carbon isotope record. This links relative sea level fluctuations, which are reflected by facies and magnetic susceptibility changes, to third-order eustatic cycles. The new integrated bio-, chemo-, and sequence stratigraphic framework enables a more precise timing of environmental changes within the studied time interval and identifies Decontra as an important locality for correlating not only shallow and deep water sediments of the Mediterranean region but also on a global scale.

Record of Carcharocles megalodon in the Eastern Guadalquivir Basin (Upper Miocene, South Spain

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Reolid, M.

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Tortonian diatomites of the San Felix Quarry (Porcuna, in the Eastern Guadalquivir Basin, have given isolated marine vertebrate remains that include a large shark tooth (123.96 mm from apex to the baseline of the root. The large size of the crown height (92.2 mm, the triangular shape, the broad serrated crown, the convex lingual face and flat labial face, and the robust, thick angled root determine that this specimen corresponds to Carcharocles megalodon. The symmetry with low slant shows it to be an upper anterior tooth. The total length estimated from the tooth crown height is calculated by means of different methods, and comparison is made with Carcharodon carcharias. The final inferred total length of around 11 m classifies this specimen in the upper size range of the known C. megalodon specimens. The palaeogeography of the Guadalquivir Basin close to the North Betic Strait, which connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, favoured the interaction of the cold nutrient-rich Atlantic waters with warmer Mediterranean waters. The presence of diatomites indicates potential upwelling currents in this context, as well as high productivity favouring the presence of large vertebrates such as mysticetid whales, pinnipeds and small sharks (Isurus. These large vertebrates recorded in the Eastern Guadalquivir Basin were potential prey of C. megalodon.Las diatomitas tortonienses de la antigua Cantera de San Félix (Porcuna, Jaén, en el sector oriental de la Cuenca del Guadalquivir, han proporcionado restos aislados de vertebrados marinos entre los que destaca un gran diente de tiburón (123.96 mm desde el ápice hasta la línea basal de la raiz. La altura de la corona (92.2 mm, su forma triangular con bordes aserrados, la presencia de una cara lingual convexa y una labial plana, conjuntamente con la raíz angulosa y robusta, permiten determinar que este diente perteneció a un ejemplar de Carcharocles megalodon. La alta simetría de la pieza

Lineage-Specific Responses of Tooth Shape in Murine Rodents (Murinae, Rodentia) to Late Miocene Dietary Change in the Siwaliks of Pakistan

OpenAIRE

Kimura, Yuri; Jacobs, Louis L.; Flynn, Lawrence J.

2013-01-01

Past ecological responses of mammals to climate change are recognized in the fossil record by adaptive significance of morphological variations. To understand the role of dietary behavior on functional adaptations of dental morphology in rodent evolution, we examine evolutionary change of tooth shape in late Miocene Siwalik murine rodents, which experienced a dietary shift toward C4 diets during late Miocene ecological change indicated by carbon isotopic evidence. Geometric morphometric analy...

The Evolution of Indian and Pacific Ocean Denitrification and Nitrogen Dynamcs since the Miocene

Science.gov (United States)

Ravelo, A. C.; Carney, C.; Rosenthal, Y.; Holbourn, A.; Kulhanek, D. K.

2017-12-01

The feedbacks between geochemical cycles and physical climate change are poorly understood; however, there has been tremendous progress in developing coupled models to help predict the direction and strength of these feedbacks. As such, there is a need for more data to validate and test these models. To this end, the nitrogen (N) cycle, and its links to the biological pump and to climate, is an active area of paleoceanographic research. Using N isotope records, Robinson et al. (2014) showed that pelagic denitrification in the Indian and Pacific Oceans intensified as climate cooled and subsurface ventilation decreased since the Pliocene. They pointed out that a more ventilated warm Pliocene contrasts with glacial-interglacial patterns wherein more ventilation occurs during cold phases, indicating that different mechanisms may occur at different timescales. Our objective is to better understand the nature of the feedbacks between the oceanic N cycle and climate by focusing on the large dynamic range of conditions that occurred during and since the Miocene. We used new cores drilled during IODP Expedition 363 to generate bulk sediment N isotope records at three western tropical Pacific sites (U1486, U1488, U1490) and one southeastern tropical Indian Ocean site (U1482). We find that the N isotope trends since the Pliocene are in agreement with previous studies showing increasing denitrification as climate cooled. In the Miocene, the Indian Ocean record shows no long-term N isotope trend whereas the Pacific Ocean records show a trend that is roughly coupled to changes in global climate suggesting that pelagic denitrification in the Pacific was strongly influenced by greater ventilation during global warmth. However, there are notable deviations from this coupling during several intervals in the Miocene, and there are site-to-site differences in trends. These deviations and differences can be explained by changes in tropical productivity (e.g., late Miocene biogenic

Correction: Ryan, J., et al. Application of the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean to Phytoplankton Ecology Studies in Monterey Bay, CA, USA. Remote Sens. 2014, 6, 1007–1025

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Marcos J. Montes

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Studies of phytoplankton ecology in Monterey Bay, CA, USA, using the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO and other satellite remote sensing and in-situ observations, were presented in [1]. [...

Lineage-specific responses of tooth shape in murine rodents (murinae, rodentia) to late Miocene dietary change in the Siwaliks of Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Kimura, Yuri; Jacobs, Louis L; Flynn, Lawrence J

2013-01-01

Past ecological responses of mammals to climate change are recognized in the fossil record by adaptive significance of morphological variations. To understand the role of dietary behavior on functional adaptations of dental morphology in rodent evolution, we examine evolutionary change of tooth shape in late Miocene Siwalik murine rodents, which experienced a dietary shift toward C4 diets during late Miocene ecological change indicated by carbon isotopic evidence. Geometric morphometric analysis in the outline of upper first molars captures dichotomous lineages of Siwalik murines, in agreement with phylogenetic hypotheses of previous studies (two distinct clades: the Karnimata and Progonomys clades), and indicates lineage-specific functional responses to mechanical properties of their diets. Tooth shapes of the two clades are similar at their sympatric origin but deviate from each other with decreasing overlap through time. Shape change in the Karnimata clade is associated with greater efficiency of propalinal chewing for tough diets than in the Progonomys clade. Larger body mass in Karnimata may be related to exploitation of lower-quality food items, such as grasses, than in smaller-bodied Progonomys. The functional and ecophysiological aspects of Karnimata exploiting C4 grasses are concordant with their isotopic dietary preference relative to Progonomys. Lineage-specific selection was differentially greater in Karnimata, and a faster rate of shape change toward derived Karnimata facilitated inclusion of C4 grasses in the diet. Sympatric speciation in these clades is most plausibly explained by interspecific competition on resource utilization between the two, based on comparisons of our results with the carbon isotope data. Interspecific competition with Karnimata may have suppressed morphological innovation of the Progonomys clade. Pairwise analyses of morphological and carbon isotope data can uncover ecological causes of sympatric speciation and define

Lineage-specific responses of tooth shape in murine rodents (murinae, rodentia to late Miocene dietary change in the Siwaliks of Pakistan.

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Yuri Kimura

Full Text Available Past ecological responses of mammals to climate change are recognized in the fossil record by adaptive significance of morphological variations. To understand the role of dietary behavior on functional adaptations of dental morphology in rodent evolution, we examine evolutionary change of tooth shape in late Miocene Siwalik murine rodents, which experienced a dietary shift toward C4 diets during late Miocene ecological change indicated by carbon isotopic evidence. Geometric morphometric analysis in the outline of upper first molars captures dichotomous lineages of Siwalik murines, in agreement with phylogenetic hypotheses of previous studies (two distinct clades: the Karnimata and Progonomys clades, and indicates lineage-specific functional responses to mechanical properties of their diets. Tooth shapes of the two clades are similar at their sympatric origin but deviate from each other with decreasing overlap through time. Shape change in the Karnimata clade is associated with greater efficiency of propalinal chewing for tough diets than in the Progonomys clade. Larger body mass in Karnimata may be related to exploitation of lower-quality food items, such as grasses, than in smaller-bodied Progonomys. The functional and ecophysiological aspects of Karnimata exploiting C4 grasses are concordant with their isotopic dietary preference relative to Progonomys. Lineage-specific selection was differentially greater in Karnimata, and a faster rate of shape change toward derived Karnimata facilitated inclusion of C4 grasses in the diet. Sympatric speciation in these clades is most plausibly explained by interspecific competition on resource utilization between the two, based on comparisons of our results with the carbon isotope data. Interspecific competition with Karnimata may have suppressed morphological innovation of the Progonomys clade. Pairwise analyses of morphological and carbon isotope data can uncover ecological causes of sympatric speciation

Morphological indicators of growth stages in carbonates platform evolution: comparison between present-day and Miocene platforms of Northern Borneo, Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Pierson, B.; Menier, D.; Ting, K. K.; Chalabi, A.

2012-04-01

Satellite images of present-day reefs and carbonate platforms of the Celebes Sea, east of Sabah, Malaysia, exhibit large-scale features indicative of the recent evolution of the platforms. These include: (1) multiple, sub-parallel reef rims at the windward margin, suggestive of back-stepping of the platform margin; (2) contraction of the platform, possibly as a result of recent sea level fluctuations; (3) colonization of the internal lagoons by polygonal reef structures and (4) fragmentation of the platforms and creation of deep channels separating platforms that used to be part of a single entity. These features are analogue to what has been observed on seismic attribute maps of Miocene carbonate platforms of Sarawak. An analysis of several growth stages of a large Miocene platform, referred to as the Megaplatform, shows that the platform evolves in function of syn-depositional tectonic movements and sea level fluctuations that result in back-stepping of the margin, illustrated by multiple reef rims, contraction of the platform, the development of polygonal structures currently interpreted as karstic in origin and fragmentation of the megaplatform in 3 sub-entities separated by deep channels that precedes the final demise of the whole platform. Comparing similar features on present-day to platforms and Miocene platforms leads to a better understanding of the growth history of Miocene platforms and to a refined predictability of reservoir and non-reservoir facies distribution.

New method to estimate paleoprecipitation using fossil amphibians and reptiles and the middle and late Miocene precipitation gradients in Europe

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Böhme, M.; Ilg, A.; Ossig, A.; Küchenhoff, H.

2006-06-01

Existing methods for determining paleoprecipitation are subject to large errors (±350 400 mm or more using mammalian proxies), or are restricted to wet climate systems due to their strong facies dependence (paleobotanical proxies). Here we describe a new paleoprecipitation tool based on an indexing of ecophysiological groups within herpetological communities. In recent communities these indices show a highly significant correlation to annual precipitation (r2 = 0.88), and yield paleoprecipitation estimates with average errors of ±250 280 mm. The approach was validated by comparison with published paleoprecipitation estimates from other methods. The method expands the application of paleoprecipitation tools to dry climate systems and in this way contributes to the establishment of a more comprehensive paleoprecipitation database. This method is applied to two high-resolution time intervals from the European Neogene: the early middle Miocene (early Langhian) and the early late Miocene (early Tortonian). The results indicate that both periods show significant meridional precipitation gradients in Europe, these being stronger in the early Langhian (threefold decrease toward the south) than in the early Tortonian (twofold decrease toward the south). This pattern indicates a strengthening of climatic belts during the middle Miocene climatic optimum due to Southern Hemisphere cooling and an increased contribution of Arctic low-pressure cells to the precipitation from the late Miocene onward due to Northern Hemisphere cooling.

Dental remains of cebid platyrrhines from the earliest late Miocene of Western Amazonia, Peru: Macroevolutionary implications on the extant capuchin and marmoset lineages.

Science.gov (United States)

Marivaux, Laurent; Adnet, Sylvain; Altamirano-Sierra, Ali J; Pujos, François; Ramdarshan, Anusha; Salas-Gismondi, Rodolfo; Tejada-Lara, Julia V; Antoine, Pierre-Olivier

2016-11-01

Undoubted fossil Cebidae have so far been primarily documented from the late middle Miocene of Colombia, the late Miocene of Brazilian Amazonia, the early Miocene of Peruvian Amazonia, and very recently from the earliest Miocene of Panama. The evolutionary history of cebids is far from being well-documented, with notably a complete blank in the record of callitrichine stem lineages until and after the late middle Miocene (Laventan SALMA). Further documenting their evolutionary history is therefore of primary importance. Recent field efforts in Peruvian Amazonia (Contamana area, Loreto Department) have allowed for the discovery of an early late Miocene (ca. 11 Ma; Mayoan SALMA) fossil primate-bearing locality (CTA-43; Pebas Formation). In this study, we analyze the primate material, which consists of five isolated teeth documenting two distinct Cebidae: Cebus sp., a medium-sized capuchin (Cebinae), and Cebuella sp., a tiny marmoset (Callitrichinae). Although limited, this new fossil material of platyrrhines contributes to documenting the post-Laventan evolutionary history of cebids, and besides testifies to the earliest occurrences of the modern Cebuella and Cebus/Sapajus lineages in the Neotropics. Regarding the evolutionary history of callitrichine marmosets, the discovery of an 11 Ma-old fossil representative of the modern Cebuella pushes back by at least 6 Ma the age of the Mico/Cebuella divergence currently proposed by molecular biologists (i.e., ca. 4.5 Ma). This also extends back to > 11 Ma BP the divergence between Callithrix and the common ancestor (CA) of Mico/Cebuella, as well as the divergence between the CA of marmosets and Callimico (Goeldi's callitrichine). This discovery from Peruvian Amazonia implies a deep evolutionary root of the Cebuella lineage in the northwestern part of South America (the modern western Amazon basin), slightly before the recession of the Pebas mega-wetland system (PMWS), ca. 10.5 Ma, and well-before the subsequent

Geology of the hills in the region of the City of Santiago de Chile: New isotopic constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vergara, M; Lopez-Escobar, I; Palma, J.L; Hickey-Vargas, R

2001-01-01

Geological, geochronological and geochemical data demonstrate that the area where the city of Santiago de Chile is established used to be a huge volcanic field. At present, it is possible to distinguish in the area at least three volcanic cycles, which are geographically superimposed and deeply eroded. The first is Oligocene in age, the second Lower to Middle Miocene and the third is Middle to Upper Miocene. The Oligocene cycle is represented by volcanic and volcanoclastic rocks of the Provincia-San Ramon-Abanico and Conchali belts, and welded tuffs of the San Cristobal and Renca hills. The Lower to Middle Miocene cycle consists of subvolcanic rocks, mostly of basaltic to basaltic-andesite composition, characterized by the presence of clino- and orthopyroxene. The Middle to Upper Miocene cycle is composed predominantly of amphibole-bearing subvolcanic rocks of dacitic composition. The latter are found at the Manquehue hill, which limits the northern part of the city, and the hills at the Rinconada de Conchali. In this communication, we present new Sr-, Nd- and Pb- isotope data obtained from two subvolcanic samples of basaltic composition collected from the San Cristobal hill and at the Santa Lucia hill (Lower to Middle Miocene) and one amphibole-bearing subvolcanic sample of dacitic composition from the Manquehue hill (Middle to Upper Miocene) (au)

Constrained Magnetostratigraphic Dating of a Continental Middle Miocene Section in the Arid Central Asia

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Verena Verestek

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The Neogene succession of the Aktau Mountains in the Ili Basin, southeast Kazakhstan, is a terrestrial archive well suited for researching the role of Central Asia in Miocene climate evolution. We present an integrated approach for dating the well-exposed Bastau Formation, based on magnetostratigraphy and constraints from cyclostratigraphy and biostratigraphy. Stepwise demagnetization yielded characteristic remanence directions that are consistent with those expected for the Miocene in Central Asia. The reddish-colored alluvial floodplain deposits and gray lacustrine deposits show partly complex magnetic behavior with magnetite and hematite as the main magnetic carriers, with variable demagnetization behavior and non-dipolar normal and reverse polarity directions. The observed magnetic properties are best explained by depositional variability and magneto-mineralogical alteration effects of both dissolution and neo-formation of magnetite, including significant secondary magnetization. The mean of reverse polarity directions is flatter than the expected Middle Miocene Earth magnetic field, which is an indicator for the existence of inclination shallowing that supports a primary origin. Detailed rock magnetic analyses are used to analyze the nature of the characteristic remanent magnetization and to discriminate primary and secondary remanence directions in order to obtain a reliable magnetostratigraphic result. The proposed age of 15.3–13.9 Ma for the Bastau Formation corresponds to the known biostratigraphic setting, matches with typical sedimentation rates of foreland basins in Central Asia, and coincides with spectral analysis of geochemical proxies of that section. The resulting age model serves as a robust framework for paleoclimate reconstruction of Neogene climate dynamics in Central Asia.

Cold seeps in Monterey Bay, California: Geochemistry of pore waters and relationship to benthic foraminiferal calcite

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Gieskes, Joris, E-mail: jgieskes@ucsd.edu [Scripps Institution of Oceanography, IOD-0208, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0208 (United States); Rathburn, Anthony E. [Scripps Institution of Oceanography, IOD-0208, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0208 (United States)] [Indiana State University, Department of Earth and Environmental Systems, Terre Haute, IN 47809 (United States); Martin, Jonathan B. [University of Florida, Department of Geological Sciences, Gainesville, FL 32611-2120 (United States); Perez, M. Elena [Indiana State University, Department of Earth and Environmental Systems, Terre Haute, IN 47809 (United States)] [The Natural History Museum, Department of Palaeontology, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD (United Kingdom); Mahn, Chris [Scripps Institution of Oceanography, IOD-0208, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0208 (United States); Bernhard, Joan M. [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Geology and Geophysics Department, MS52, Woods Hole, MA 02543 (United States); Day, Shelley [University of Florida, Department of Geological Sciences, Gainesville, FL 32611-2120 (United States)

2011-05-15

Highlights: > We describe the geochemistry of pore waters in the Clam Flats area of Monterey Bay. > The geochemical data are compared with the {delta}{sup 13}C chemistry of benthic foraminifera. > Living foraminifera indicate little effects of pore water low {delta}{sup 13}C (DIC) in the clam bed. > This phenomenon and its implications are discussed in detail. > Implications with regards to paleo-methane seepage are discussed. - Abstract: An extensive geochemical and biogeochemical examination of CH{sub 4} seeps in the Clam Flats area of Monterey Bay provides insight into the character of relationships between seep geochemistry and benthic foraminiferal geochemistry. The area is characterized by sulfide-rich fluids. Sulfide increases are associated with large increases in alkalinity, as well as small decreases in dissolved Ca and Mg. In addition, only small increases in NH{sub 4} are observed, but values of {delta}{sup 13}C of dissolved inorganic C are as low as -60 per mille at shallow depths (<3 cm). These observations indicate that all these processes are related to the bacterial oxidation of CH{sub 4}, which is transported upward by slow seepage of pore fluids. The geochemistry of the pore fluids should be relevant to the geochemistry of the carbonate tests of living and dead foraminifera. However, a profound disequilibrium of approximately an order of magnitude occurs between the {delta}{sup 13}C values of stained (cytoplasm-containing) foraminiferal carbonate and the C isotope values of ambient pore water dissolved inorganic C. Reasons are unclear for this isotopic disequilibrium, but have important implications for interpretations of foraminiferal carbonate as a paleoenvironmental proxy. Much fine scale work is needed to fully understand the relationships between the biogeochemistry of benthic foraminifera and the geochemistry of the pore waters where they live.

A MIDDLE MIOCENE BALEEN WHALE FROM BELE VODE IN BELGRADE, SERBIA

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PAVEL GOL’DIN

2018-01-01

Full Text Available There was a fauna of baleen whales (Cetacea: Mysticeti in the Central Paratethys, a Miocene water body which covered the area of present-day Central Europe. Most of the fossil baleen whales from the Central Paratethys have been found in strata assigned to the regional Badenian age and comprise endemic forms, known only from this region. Here a new description is provided for a fragmentary skeleton of a whale found in Belgrade, Serbia, and its age context and biological aspects are discussed. This specimen, consisting of a fragmentary horizontal ramus of the mandible and eight caudal vertebrae, is tentatively identified as ?Parietobalaena sp., a globally known Miocene taxon, with related forms having been recorded earlier from the Eastern Paratethys. An early Sarmatian age (i.e., about 12.7-12.4 Ma is proposed for the specimen. Based on epiphyseal fusion of caudal vertebrae, the specimen’s age is identified as a subadult, with a body length of around 2.5 m and an estimated adult body length around 3-3.5 m, which is extremely small for baleen whales. This find represents one of the latest records of baleen whales in the Central Paratethys and one of the latest published records of Parietobalaena-like taxa in the world.

Fish remains from Miocene beds of Višnja vas near Vojnik, Slovenia

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Aleš Šoster

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses fossil teeth of sharks (Elasmobranchii, Neoselachii and porgies (Teleostei, Sparidae fromthe Miocene glauconite sandstones of Vi{nja vas near Vojnik. The remains of fish teeth, mostly tooth crowns, belongto cartilaginous fishes of the genera Notorynchus, Carcharias, Carcharoides, Isurus and Cosmopolitodus and to abony fish genus Pagrus.

The Early Miocene Critical Zone at Karungu, Western Kenya: An Equatorial, Open Habitat with Few Primate Remains

Science.gov (United States)

Lukens, William E.; Lehmann, Thomas; Peppe, Daniel J.; Fox, David L.; Driese, Steven G.; McNulty, Kieran P.

2017-10-01

Early Miocene outcrops near Karungu, Western Kenya, preserve a range of fluvio-lacustrine, lowland landscapes that contain abundant fossils of terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates. Primates are notably rare among these remains, although nearby early Miocene strata on Rusinga Island contain a rich assemblage of fossilized catarrhines and strepsirrhines. To explore possible environmental controls on the occurrence of early Miocene primates, we performed a deep-time Critical Zone (DTCZ) reconstruction focused on floodplain paleosols at the Ngira locality in Karungu. We specifically focused on a single stratigraphic unit (NG15), which preserves moderately developed paleosols that contain a microvertebrate fossil assemblage. Although similarities between deposits at Karungu and Rusinga Island are commonly assumed, physical sedimentary processes, vegetative cover, soil hydrology, and some aspects of climate state are notably different between the two areas. Estimates of paleoclimate parameters using paleosol B horizon elemental chemistry and morphologic properties are consistent with seasonal, dry subhumid conditions, occasional waterlogging, and herbaceous vegetation. The reconstructed small mammal community indicates periodic waterlogging and open-canopy conditions. Based on the presence of herbaceous root traces, abundant microcharcoal, and pedogenic carbonates with high stable carbon isotope ratios, we interpret NG15 to have formed under a warm, seasonally dry, open riparian woodland to wooded grassland, in which at least a subset of the vegetation was likely C4 biomass. Our results, coupled with previous paleoenvironmental interpretations for deposits on Rusinga Island, demonstrate that there was considerable environmental heterogeneity ranging from open to closed habitats in the early Miocene. We hypothesize that the relative paucity of primates at Karungu was driven by their environmental preference for locally abundant closed canopy vegetation, which was likely

The Early Miocene Critical Zone at Karungu, Western Kenya: An Equatorial, Open Habitat with Few Primate Remains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William E. Lukens

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Early Miocene outcrops near Karungu, Western Kenya, preserve a range of fluvio-lacustrine, lowland landscapes that contain abundant fossils of terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates. Primates are notably rare among these remains, although nearby early Miocene strata on Rusinga Island contain a rich assemblage of fossilized catarrhines and strepsirrhines. To explore possible environmental controls on the occurrence of early Miocene primates, we performed a deep-time Critical Zone (DTCZ reconstruction focused on floodplain paleosols at the Ngira locality in Karungu. We specifically focused on a single stratigraphic unit (NG15, which preserves moderately developed paleosols that contain a microvertebrate fossil assemblage. Although similarities between deposits at Karungu and Rusinga Island are commonly assumed, physical sedimentary processes, vegetative cover, soil hydrology, and some aspects of climate state are notably different between the two areas. Estimates of paleoclimate parameters using paleosol B horizon elemental chemistry and morphologic properties are consistent with seasonal, dry subhumid conditions, occasional waterlogging, and herbaceous vegetation. The reconstructed small mammal community indicates periodic waterlogging and open-canopy conditions. Based on the presence of herbaceous root traces, abundant microcharcoal, and pedogenic carbonates with high stable carbon isotope ratios, we interpret NG15 to have formed under a warm, seasonally dry, open riparian woodland to wooded grassland, in which at least a subset of the vegetation was likely C4 biomass. Our results, coupled with previous paleoenvironmental interpretations for deposits on Rusinga Island, demonstrate that there was considerable environmental heterogeneity ranging from open to closed habitats in the early Miocene. We hypothesize that the relative paucity of primates at Karungu was driven by their environmental preference for locally abundant closed canopy vegetation

Shark-bitten vertebrate coprolites from the Miocene of Maryland

Science.gov (United States)

Godfrey, Stephen J.; Smith, Joshua B.

2010-05-01

Coprolites (fossilized feces) preserve a wide range of biogenic components, from bacteria and spores to a variety of vertebrate tissues. Two coprolites from the Calvert Cliffs outcrop belt (Miocene-aged Chesapeake Group), MD, USA, preserve shark tooth impressions in the form of partial dental arcades. The specimens are the first known coprolites to preserve vertebrate tooth marks. They provide another example of trace fossils providing evidence of prehistoric animal behaviors that cannot be directly approached through the study of body fossils. Shark behaviors that could account for these impressions include: (1) aborted coprophagy, (2) benthic or nektonic exploration, or (3) predation.

Pollen analysis of coal-bearing Miocene sedimentary rocks from the Seyitomer basin (Kutahya), western Anatolia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yavuz-Isik, N. [Ondokuz Mayis University, Kurupelit (Turkey). Dept. of Civil Engineering

2007-09-15

The late Early-Middle Miocene sequences of the Seyitomer Basin (western Anatolia) were palynologically investigated. Fifty-five taxa belonging to seven gymnospermous and 48 angiospermous pollen genera were identified in the 19 productive samples. Two pollen zones were recognised based on the changing abundance of individual tree taxa. Zone 1 is characterized by predominance of Pinus and Cedrus. Zone 2 is characterized by predominance of deciduous Quercus and evergreen Quercus and a marked reduction in representation of Taxodiaceae. The differences in the pollen spectra between Zone 1 and Zone 2 may reflect the global Middle Miocene cooling. These results are largely comparable to pollen data derived from the neighbouring areas. The vegetation of the Seyitomer Basin was dominated by trees. This palynological analysis reveals the existence of a swamp-forest developed in a subtropical to warm-temperate humid climate.

Quality and petrographic characteristics of the Lacustrine Ermenek Coal (Early Miocene), Turkey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Demirel, I.H.; Karayigit, A.I.

1999-04-15

The early Miocene Yenimahalle Formation including alluvial-lacustrine sediments and a mineable coal seam with an average of 5 m in thickness rests unconformably upon the basement and is also unconformably overlain by marine limestones of the middle-late Miocene Mut Formation in the Ermenek coal basin. The coal basin in the present study has been subdivided into two areas, Canakci and Pamuklu-Tepebasi, which are separated by the basement and a fault, in order to determine coal properties in detail. The investigated subbituminous coals with an average of 0.40% Ro huminite reflectance often contain gastropod shells (Planorbidae) which commonly maintain the original aragonite and calcite composition. The coals have similar chemical properties and petrographic composition in the two areas, but their sulphur contents are clearly different. In the Canakci area the coals on an air-dried basis contain distinctly less total sulphur (avg. 1.3%) and organic sulphur contents (0.13 0.15%) than in the Pamuklu-Tepebasi area (avg. 4.5% and 4.25%, respectively). This difference is interpreted to be controlled by mire chemistry and sedimentation during peat formation. (author)

Use of Cutting-Edge Horizontal and Underbalanced Drilling Technologies and Subsurface Seismic Techniques to Explore, Drill and Produce Reservoired Oil and Gas from the Fractured Monterey Below 10,000 ft in the Santa Maria Basin of California

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

George Witter; Robert Knoll; William Rehm; Thomas Williams

2006-06-30

This project was undertaken to demonstrate that oil and gas can be drilled and produced safely and economically from a fractured Monterey reservoir in the Santa Maria Basin of California by employing horizontal wellbores and underbalanced drilling technologies. Two vertical wells were previously drilled in this area with heavy mud and conventional completions; neither was commercially productive. A new well was drilled by the project team in 2004 with the objective of accessing an extended length of oil-bearing, high-resistivity Monterey shale via a horizontal wellbore, while implementing managed-pressure drilling (MPD) techniques to avoid formation damage. Initial project meetings were conducted in October 2003. The team confirmed that the demonstration well would be completed open-hole to minimize productivity impairment. Following an overview of the geologic setting and local field experience, critical aspects of the application were identified. At the pre-spud meeting in January 2004, the final well design was confirmed and the well programming/service company requirements assigned. Various design elements were reduced in scope due to significant budgetary constraints. Major alterations to the original plan included: (1) a VSP seismic survey was delayed to a later phase; (2) a new (larger) surface hole would be drilled rather than re-enter an existing well; (3) a 7-in. liner would be placed into the top of the Monterey target as quickly as possible to avoid problems with hole stability; (4) evaluation activities were reduced in scope; (5) geosteering observations for fracture access would be deduced from penetration rate, cuttings description and hydrocarbon in-flow; and (6) rather than use nitrogen, a novel air-injection MPD system was to be implemented. Drilling operations, delayed from the original schedule by capital constraints and lack of rig availability, were conducted from September 12 to November 11, 2004. The vertical and upper curved sections were

Whiting–related sediment export along the Middle Miocene carbonate ramp of Great Bahama Bank.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Turpin, M.; Emmanuel, L.; Reijmer, J.J.G.; Renard, M.

2011-01-01

Modern aragonite needles are present all along the modern leeward margin of Great Bahama Bank (ODP Leg 166), while Middle Miocene sediments contain needles only in more distal areas (Sites 1006 and 1007). In contrast to the rimmed, flat-topped platform topography during the Plio-Pleistocene, the

Fine-scale relief related to late holocene channel shifting within the floor of the upper Redondo Fan, offshore Southern California

Science.gov (United States)

Normark, W.R.; Paull, C.K.; Caress, D.W.; Ussler, W.; Sliter, R.

2009-01-01

Erosional and depositional bedforms have been imaged at outcrop scale in the upper Redondo Fan, in the San Pedro Basin of offshore Southern California in ???600 m water depths, using an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle developed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. The Autonomous Underwater Vehicle is equipped with multibeam and chirp sub-bottom sonars. Sampling and photographic images using the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Remotely Operated Vehicle Tiburon provide groundtruth for the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle survey. The 0??3 m vertical and 1??5 m lateral bathymetric resolution and 0??1 m sub-bottom profile resolution provide unprecedented detail of bedform morphology and structure. Multiple channels within the Redondo Fan have been active at different times during the Late Holocene (0 to 3000 yr bp). The currently active channel extending from Redondo Canyon makes an abrupt 90?? turn at the canyon mouth before resuming a south-easterly course along the east side of the Redondo Fan. This channel is floored by sand and characterized by small steps generally <1 m in relief, spaced 10 to 80 m in the down-channel direction. A broader channel complex lies along the western side of the fan valley that was last active more than 850 years ago. Two distinct trains of large scours, with widths ranging from tens to a few hundred metres and depths of 20 m, occur on the floor of the western channel complex, which has a thin mud drape. If observed in cross-section only, these large scours would probably be misidentified as the thalweg of an active channel. ?? 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation ?? 2009 International Association of Sedimentologists.

Occlusal enamel complexity in middle miocene to holocene equids (Equidae: Perissodactyla of North America.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicholas A Famoso

Full Text Available Four groups of equids, "Anchitheriinae," Merychippine-grade Equinae, Hipparionini, and Equini, coexisted in the middle Miocene, but only the Equini remains after 16 Myr of evolution and extinction. Each group is distinct in its occlusal enamel pattern. These patterns have been compared qualitatively but rarely quantitatively. The processes influencing the evolution of these occlusal patterns have not been thoroughly investigated with respect to phylogeny, tooth position, and climate through geologic time. We investigated Occlusal Enamel Index, a quantitative method for the analysis of the complexity of occlusal patterns. We used analyses of variance and an analysis of co-variance to test whether equid teeth increase resistive cutting area for food processing during mastication, as expressed in occlusal enamel complexity, in response to increased abrasion in their diet. Results suggest that occlusal enamel complexity was influenced by climate, phylogeny, and tooth position through time. Occlusal enamel complexity in middle Miocene to Modern horses increased as the animals experienced increased tooth abrasion and a cooling climate.

Occlusal enamel complexity in middle miocene to holocene equids (Equidae: Perissodactyla) of North America.

Science.gov (United States)

Famoso, Nicholas A; Davis, Edward Byrd

2014-01-01

Four groups of equids, "Anchitheriinae," Merychippine-grade Equinae, Hipparionini, and Equini, coexisted in the middle Miocene, but only the Equini remains after 16 Myr of evolution and extinction. Each group is distinct in its occlusal enamel pattern. These patterns have been compared qualitatively but rarely quantitatively. The processes influencing the evolution of these occlusal patterns have not been thoroughly investigated with respect to phylogeny, tooth position, and climate through geologic time. We investigated Occlusal Enamel Index, a quantitative method for the analysis of the complexity of occlusal patterns. We used analyses of variance and an analysis of co-variance to test whether equid teeth increase resistive cutting area for food processing during mastication, as expressed in occlusal enamel complexity, in response to increased abrasion in their diet. Results suggest that occlusal enamel complexity was influenced by climate, phylogeny, and tooth position through time. Occlusal enamel complexity in middle Miocene to Modern horses increased as the animals experienced increased tooth abrasion and a cooling climate.

A new large squalodelphinid (Cetacea, Odontoceti) from Peru sheds light on the Early Miocene platanistoid disparity and ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Bianucci, Giovanni; Bosio, Giulia; Malinverno, Elisa; de Muizon, Christian; Villa, Igor M.; Urbina, Mario; Lambert, Olivier

2018-04-01

The South Asian river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is the only extant survivor of the large clade Platanistoidea, having a well-diversified fossil record from the Late Oligocene to the Middle Miocene. Based on a partial skeleton collected from the Chilcatay Formation (Chilcatay Fm; southern coast of Peru), we report here a new squalodelphinid genus and species, Macrosqualodelphis ukupachai. A volcanic ash layer, sampled near the fossil, yielded the 40Ar/39Ar age of 18.78 ± 0.08 Ma (Burdigalian, Early Miocene). The phylogenetic analysis places Macrosqualodelphis as the earliest branching squalodelphinid. Combined with several cranial and dental features, the large body size (estimated body length of 3.5 m) of this odontocete suggests that it consumed larger prey than the other members of its family. Together with Huaridelphis raimondii and Notocetus vanbenedeni, both also found in the Chilcatay Fm, this new squalodelphinid further demonstrates the peculiar local diversity of the family along the southeastern Pacific coast, possibly related to their partition into different dietary niches. At a wider geographical scale, the morphological and ecological diversity of squalodelphinids confirms the major role played by platanistoids during the Early Miocene radiation of crown odontocetes.

A new large squalodelphinid (Cetacea, Odontoceti) from Peru sheds light on the Early Miocene platanistoid disparity and ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Bosio, Giulia; Malinverno, Elisa; Villa, Igor M.; Urbina, Mario

2018-01-01

The South Asian river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is the only extant survivor of the large clade Platanistoidea, having a well-diversified fossil record from the Late Oligocene to the Middle Miocene. Based on a partial skeleton collected from the Chilcatay Formation (Chilcatay Fm; southern coast of Peru), we report here a new squalodelphinid genus and species, Macrosqualodelphis ukupachai. A volcanic ash layer, sampled near the fossil, yielded the 40Ar/39Ar age of 18.78 ± 0.08 Ma (Burdigalian, Early Miocene). The phylogenetic analysis places Macrosqualodelphis as the earliest branching squalodelphinid. Combined with several cranial and dental features, the large body size (estimated body length of 3.5 m) of this odontocete suggests that it consumed larger prey than the other members of its family. Together with Huaridelphis raimondii and Notocetus vanbenedeni, both also found in the Chilcatay Fm, this new squalodelphinid further demonstrates the peculiar local diversity of the family along the southeastern Pacific coast, possibly related to their partition into different dietary niches. At a wider geographical scale, the morphological and ecological diversity of squalodelphinids confirms the major role played by platanistoids during the Early Miocene radiation of crown odontocetes.

Geologic models and evaluation of undiscovered conventional and continuous oil and gas resources: Upper Cretaceous Austin Chalk

Science.gov (United States)

Pearson, Krystal

2012-01-01

The Upper Cretaceous Austin Chalk forms a low-permeability, onshore Gulf of Mexico reservoir that produces oil and gas from major fractures oriented parallel to the underlying Lower Cretaceous shelf edge. Horizontal drilling links these fracture systems to create an interconnected network that drains the reservoir. Field and well locations along the production trend are controlled by fracture networks. Highly fractured chalk is present along both regional and local fault zones. Fractures are also genetically linked to movement of the underlying Jurassic Louann Salt with tensile fractures forming downdip of salt-related structures creating the most effective reservoirs. Undiscovered accumulations should also be associated with structure-controlled fracture systems because much of the Austin that overlies the Lower Cretaceous shelf edge remains unexplored. The Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Shale is the primary source rock for Austin Chalk hydrocarbons. This transgressive marine shale varies in thickness and lithology across the study area and contains both oil- and gas-prone kerogen. The Eagle Ford began generating oil and gas in the early Miocene, and vertical migration through fractures was sufficient to charge the Austin reservoirs.

Comments to Middle Miocene closure of the Central American Seaway

Science.gov (United States)

Coates, A.G.; Stallard, Robert F.

2016-01-01

In a recent paper proposing an early (mid-Miocene) closure of the Central American Seaway (CAS), Montes et al. 2015 (1) disregard existing paleogeographic data that invalidate Panama as a source for zircons, and inappropriately ignore the evidence for trans-isthmian marine connections until 4-3 Ma. They also fail to cite previous work (2, 3), that had reconstructed the Central American arc already docked with South America by 12 Ma. Montes et al. 2015 (1) (Fig. 1) disregard the Atrato-San Juan sedimentary basin (3), a shallowing Oligocene to Pliocene, Pacific to Caribbean seaway (3, 4, 5). This deep graben (6) is filled with thousands of meters of Pre-Pliocene marine sediments (3, 5, 6) that now occupy a lowland between the Baudo uplift to the west and the Western Cordillera to the east. The Mande Batholith and numerous Eocene and younger volcanic rocks (4), the most proximal source of the zircons, are situated to the east of this seaway and would have shed zircons eastward towards the Cordillera Central. There is no evidence for any rivers crossing the seaway (3, 5), and thus no Panamanian source of zircons. Instead this seaway is evidence of a significant marine connection between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans into the Pliocene. The authors assume that the middle Miocene closure of the CAS effectively creates a continuous land bridge connecting North and South America and separating the Atlantic from the Pacific. They acknowledge, but then discount, marine connections across the Isthmus until 4-3 Ma even though these satisfactorily explain (Coates and Stallard, 2014 (6)) the oceanographic, molecular and Great American Biological Interchange events ignore unexplained by Montes et al. 2015. Only by conspicuously ignoring these events can they imply that the Isthmus was formed at 15-13 Ma. References 1. C. Montes et al., Middle Miocene closure of the Central American Seaway. Science 348, 226-229 (2015). 2. A. G. Coates, R. F. Stallard, How old is the Isthmus of

Late Eocene to middle Miocene (33 to 13 million years ago) vegetation and climate development on the North American Atlantic Coastal Plain (IODP Expedition 313, Site M0027)

Science.gov (United States)

Kotthoff, U.; Greenwood, D. R.; McCarthy, F. M. G.; Müller-Navarra, K.; Prader, S.; Hesselbo, S. P.

2014-08-01

We investigated the palynology of sediment cores from Site M0027 of IODP (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program) Expedition 313 on the New Jersey shallow shelf to examine vegetation and climate dynamics on the east coast of North America between 33 and 13 million years ago and to assess the impact of over-regional climate events on the region. Palynological results are complemented with pollen-based quantitative climate reconstructions. Our results indicate that the hinterland vegetation of the New Jersey shelf was characterized by oak-hickory forests in the lowlands and conifer-dominated vegetation in the highlands from the early Oligocene to the middle Miocene. The Oligocene witnessed several expansions of conifer forest, probably related to cooling events. The pollen-based climate data imply an increase in annual temperatures from ∼11.5 °C to more than 16 °C during the Oligocene. The Mi-1 cooling event at the onset of the Miocene is reflected by an expansion of conifers and mean annual temperature decrease of ∼4 °C, from ∼16 °C to ∼12 °C around 23 million years before present. Relatively low annual temperatures are also recorded for several samples during an interval around ∼20 million years before present, which may reflect the Mi-1a and the Mi-1aa cooling events. Generally, the Miocene ecosystem and climate conditions were very similar to those of the Oligocene. Miocene grasslands, as known from other areas in the USA during that time period, are not evident for the hinterland of the New Jersey shelf, possibly reflecting moisture from the proto-Gulf Stream. The palaeovegetation data reveal stable conditions during the mid-Miocene climatic optimum at ∼15 million years before present, with only a minor increase in deciduous-evergreen mixed forest taxa and a decrease in swamp forest taxa. Pollen-based annual temperature reconstructions show average annual temperatures of ∼14 °C during the mid-Miocene climatic optimum, ∼2 °C higher than today

Geochemical history of a Lower Miocene lake, the Cypris Formation, Sokolov Basin, Czech Republic

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kříbek, B.; Knésl, I.; Rojík, P.; Sýkorová, Ivana; Martínek, K.

2017-01-01

Roč. 58, č. 2 (2017), s. 169-190 ISSN 0921-2728 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA205/09/1162 Institutional support: RVO:67985891 Keywords : intracontinental Miocene * Czech Republic * geochemistry * organic matter * paleolake evolution Subject RIV: DD - Geochemistry OBOR OECD: Geology Impact factor: 2.017, year: 2016

D/H of late Miocene meteoric waters in Western Australia: Paleoenvironmental conditions inferred from the δD of (U-Th)/He-dated CID goethite

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Yapp, Crayton J.; Shuster, David L.

2017-09-01

Nineteen (U-Th)/He ages were determined for eight samples from a core drilled in an ore-grade channel iron deposit (CID) of the Robe Pisolite (Robe Formation) of Mesa J in Western Australia. With one exception, uncorrected ages of the analyzed aliquots range from 6.7(±0.4) Ma to 30.2(±3.1) Ma, while molar ratios of Th/U range from 0.42 to 5.06. The exception is an aliquot with an apparent age of 2.7 Ma and Th/U of 5.70. A three-component mixing model involving one generation of goethite and two generations of hematite suggests that the age of crystallization of the oolitic goethites is ∼7(±1) Ma. If so, the goethites have effectively been closed systems for ∼7 million years and should preserve a stable hydrogen isotope record of late Miocene rainfall in the vicinity of Mesa J. Cenozoic movement of the Australian continent had placed Mesa J and environs in the subtropics at a paleolatitude of about 29 °S during the late Miocene. Al-adjusted δD values of oolitic goethite in the eight CID samples range from -153‰ to -146‰ and imply that the δD of the late Miocene meteoric waters ranged from -61‰ to -53‰, with an average of -56‰. These relatively negative δD values might indicate that near-coastal, late Miocene rain was derived primarily from summer-season tropical cyclones with storm tracks that extended into the subtropics of western Australia. The postulated late Miocene tropical cyclones would have occurred more often and/or exhibited greater intensity at a paleolatitude of 29 °S than is the case for modern sites at approximately 30 °S on the west coast of Australia (e.g., Perth). Higher fluxes of meteoric water in the Miocene summers would have facilitated dissolution and removal of BIF-sourced silica with concomitant enrichment in oxidized Fe. Moreover, wetter late Miocene summers could have promoted multiple cycles of microbially mediated dissolution and recrystallization of Fe(III) oxides in the aerobic systems. The oolitic textures may

An Early Miocene bumble bee from northern Bohemia (Hymenoptera, Apidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jakub Prokop

2017-10-01

Full Text Available A new species of fossil bumble bee (Apinae: Bombini is described and figured from Early Miocene (Burdigalian deposits of the Most Basin at the Bílina Mine, Czech Republic. Bombus trophonius sp. n., is placed within the subgenus Cullumanobombus Vogt and distinguished from the several species groups therein. The species is apparently most similar to the Nearctic B. (Cullumanobombus rufocinctus Cresson, the earliest-diverging species within the clade and the two may be related only by symplesiomorphies. The age of the fossil is in rough accordance with divergence estimations for Cullumanobombus.

Supra-generic radiolarian transfer function based late Miocene palaeomonsoonal changes in the northeastern tropical Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Gupta, S.M.; Fernandes, A.A.

and PPT changes using % data of the late Miocene radiolarian sequence from the Sawai Bay Formation, Neill Island, Andamans. Estimated SST and salinity during southwest monsoon are not only conformable with the qualitative paleoceanography in terms...

Geological and Hydrodynamical Examination of the Bathyal Tsunamigenic Origin of Miocene Conglomerates in Chita Peninsula, Central Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Tachibana, Toru; Tsuji, Yoshinobu

2011-06-01

A conglomerate appears on a rocky coast called "Tsubutega-ura Coast", located on the southwestern coast near the southern tip of the Chita Peninsula, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan. The conglomerate belongs to Miocene sedimentary rocks termed the Morozaki Group. The conglomerate includes meter-scale boulders, indicating that it was formed by an extraordinary event. In the geological investigation, we observed that the conglomerate shows alternate changes of paleocurrent directions between seaward and landward. This feature is supposed to be formed by tsunami currents. In the hydrodynamical investigation, we obtained following results: (1) the lowest limit of a current velocity to move a boulder of about 3 m in diameter would be about 2-3 m/s, (2) the speed of tsunami currents reproduced by tsunami simulation exceeds 3 m/s at 300 m in depth when the tsunami is generated by a gigantic earthquake with magnitude 9.0 or more, (3) the transport distance of the boulder would be several hundred meters to several kilometers by one tsunami event caused by a gigantic earthquake. We conclude that tsunamis best explain the formation of the conglomerate deposited in upper bathyal environments about 200-400 m depth, both from geological and hydrodynamical viewpoints.

Organic geochemical characteristics and paleoclimate conditions of the Miocene coals at the Çan-Durali (Çanakkale)

Science.gov (United States)

Hoş-Çebi, Fatma

2017-05-01

In this study, n-alkane and isoprenoid, saturated and aromatic biomarker distributions of Miocene coals in the Çan (Çanakkale) region, were studied to investigate organic geochemical characteristics, depositional environment, and hydrocarbon potential of these coals. Çan formation (Middle Miocene) unconformably overlies the basement Çan volcanites (Upper Oligocene-Lower Miocene). This formation is composed of lignite, clayey lignite, and ligniferous clayey levels of various thicknesses interlayering with clay and tuffite. The formation represents sediments of small lacustrine basins that are isolated by faults that are formed contemporaneously with Early-Middle Eocene volcanism. Coaliferous units are overlain by lower agglomerate levels. The Rock Eval analyses show that the average TOC (Total Organic Carbon) content of the coal is 53.71% and the average HI (Hydrogen Index) value is 180.5 mgHC/gTOC. OI (Oxygen Index) values (avg. 22.33 mgCO2/gTOC) show that the depositional environment of peat deposits is suboxic. According to HI-Tmax, S2-TOC classification diagrams and Pr/n-C17vs. Ph/n-C18 diagram, the organic matter is composed of Type II and Type III kerogen mixing and represents a transitional environment. In gas chromatograms, n-alkanes with high, mostly odd-numbered carbons are dominant and they are associated with a slight algal contribution. CPI22-30 (Carbon Preference Index) and TARHC (Terrigenous/Aquatic Ratio) values indicate a dominance of high-carbon numbered n-alkanes, indicating the presence of terrestrial organic matter. Paq (aquatic plant n-alkane proxy) values (0.2; 0.3) indicate a climate with relatively wet conditions or low precipitation, the presence of emergent macrophyteses, and the scarcity of hydrophilic plants. Pwax (vascular plant n-alkane proxy) ratio (0.8; 0.7) shows moderately wet conditions and a relatively low water level. The TOC, ACL (n-alkane average chain length), Qwood/grass, Qwood/plant, and Qgrass/plant values indicate the

High-precision zircon U-Pb geochronology of astronomically dated volcanic ash beds from the Mediterranean Miocene

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wotzlaw, Jörn Frederik; Hüsing, Silja K.; Hilgen, Frederik J.; Schaltegger, Urs

2014-01-01

Several orbitally tuned Miocene sedimentary sequences around the Mediterranean contain abundant intercalated volcanic ash beds. These sequences provide the rare opportunity to directly compare radioisotopic dating methods with independent and accurate deposition ages derived from astrochronology. We

Identification of a new marine algal species Pyropia nitida sp. nov. (Bangiales: Rhodophyta) from Monterey, California.

Science.gov (United States)

Harden, Leeanne K; Morales, Karina M; Hughey, Jeffery R

2016-07-01

An unidentified marine red algal species classified in Pyropia J. Agardh was discovered from Monterey, CA. Morphological, barcode, and complete mitochondrial genome analysis of the alga support its recognition as a new species, Pyropia nitida sp. nov. The species is a high-intertidal, winter annual that is lanceolate in shape, monostromatic, and dioecious. Based on CO1 sequences, P. nitida is closely allied with the P. nereocystis clade. The mitogenome of P. nitida is 35 313 bp in length and contains 53 genes, including two ribosomal RNAs, 24 transfer RNAs, four ribosomal proteins, two ymfs, four ORFs, and 17 genes involved in electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation. The results support the recognition of P. nitida as distinct from the morphologically similar P. lanceolata.

Declining Atmospheric pCO2 During the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene: New Insights from Paired Alkenone and Coccolith Stable Isotope Barometry

Science.gov (United States)

Phelps, S. R.; Polissar, P. J.; deMenocal, P. B.; Swann, J. P.; Guo, M. Y.; Stoll, H. M.

2015-12-01

The relationship between atmospheric CO2 concentrations and climate is broadly understood for the Cenozoic era: warmer periods are associated with higher atmospheric carbon dioxide. This understanding is supported by atmospheric samples of the past 800,000 years from ice cores, which suggest CO2 levels play a key role in regulating global climate on glacial interglacial timescales as well. In this context, the late Miocene poses a challenge: sea-surface temperatures indicate substantial global warmth, though existing data suggest atmospheric CO2 concentrations were lower than pre-industrial values. Recent work using the stable carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of coccolith calcite has demonstrated these organisms began actively diverting inorganic carbon away from calcification and to the site of photosynthesis during the late Miocene. This process occurs in culture experiments in response to low aqueous CO2 concentrations, and suggests decreasing atmospheric pCO2 values during the late Miocene. Here we present new data from ODP Site 806 in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean that supports declining atmospheric CO2 across the late Miocene. Carbon isotope values of coccolith calcite from Site 806 demonstrate carbon limitation and re-allocation of inorganic carbon to photosynthesis starting between ~8 and 6 Ma. The timing of this limitation at Site 806 precedes shifts at other ODP sites, reflecting the higher mixed layer temperature and resultant lower CO2 solubility at Site 806. New measurements of carbon isotope values from alkenones at Site 806 show an increase in photosynthetic carbon fractionation (ɛp) accompanied the carbon limitation evident from coccolith calcite stable isotope data. While higher ɛp is typically interpreted as higher CO2 concentrations, at Site 806, our data suggest it reflects enhancement of chloroplast CO2 from active carbon transport by the coccolithophore algae in response to lower CO2 concentrations. Our new data from ODP Site

3-D seismic characterization of submarine landslides on a Miocene carbonate platform (Luconia Province, Malaysia)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zampetti, V.; Schlager, W.; van Konijnenburg, J.H; Everts, A.J.

2004-01-01

3-D seismic reflection data and a variance cube are used to determine the architecture and investigate the triggering processes of submarine landslides affecting the flanks of a Miocene carbonate platform in the Luconia Province, Malaysia. The slide masses exhibit, in time-slice displays, chaotic,

Two fossil species of Metrosideros (Myrtaceae) from the Oligo-Miocene Golden Fleece locality in Tasmania, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarran, Myall; Wilson, Peter G; Macphail, Michael K; Jordan, Greg J; Hill, Robert S

2017-06-01

The capsular-fruited genus Metrosideros (Myrtaceae) is one of the most widely distributed flowering plant genera in the Pacific but is extinct in Australia today. The center of geographic origin for the genus and the reason for and timing of its extinction in Australia remain uncertain. We identify fossil Metrosideros fruits from the newly discovered Golden Fleece fossil flora in the Oligo-Miocene of Tasmania, Australia, shedding further light on these problems. Standard paleopalynological techniques were used to date the fossil-bearing sediments. Scanning electron microscopy and an auto-montage camera system were used to take high-resolution images of fossil and extant fruits taken from herbarium specimens. Fossils are identified using a nearest-living-relative approach. The fossil-bearing sediments are palynostratigraphically dated as being Proteacidites tuberculatus Zone Equivalent (ca. 33-16 Ma) in age and provide a confident Oligo-Miocene age for the macrofossils. Two new fossil species of Metrosideros are described and are here named Metrosideros dawsonii sp. nov. and Metrosideros wrightii sp. nov. These newly described fossil species of Metrosideros provide a second record of the genus in the Cenozoic of Australia, placing them in the late Early Oligocene to late Early Miocene. It is now apparent not only that Metrosideros was present in Australia, where the genus is now extinct, but that at least several Metrosideros species were present during the Cenozoic. These fossils further strengthen the case for an Australian origin of the genus. © 2017 Botanical Society of America.

Miocene volcanism in the Oaş-Gutâi Volcanic Zone, Eastern Carpathians, Romania: Relationship to geodynamic processes in the Transcarpathian Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Kovacs, Marinel; Seghedi, Ioan; Yamamoto, Masatsugu; Fülöp, Alexandrina; Pécskay, Zoltán; Jurje, Maria

2017-12-01

We present the first comprehensive study of Miocene volcanic rocks of the Oaş-Gutâi Volcanic Zone (OGVZ), Romania, which are exposed in the eastern Transcarpathian Basin (TB), within the Eastern Alpine-Western Carpathian-Northern Pannonian (ALCAPA) block. Collision between the ALCAPA block and Europe at 18-16 Ma produced the Carpathian fold-and-thrust belt. This was followed by clockwise rotation and an extensional regime forming core complexes of the separated TB fragment. Based on petrographic and geochemical data, including Srsbnd Nd isotopic compositions and Ksbnd Ar ages, we distinguish three types of volcanic activity in the OGVZ: (1) early Miocene felsic volcanism that produced caldera-related ignimbrites in the Gutâi Mountains (15.4-14.8 Ma); (2) widespread middle-late Miocene intermediate/andesitic volcanism (13.4-7.0 Ma); and (3) minor late Miocene andesitic/rhyolitic volcanism comprising the Oraşu Nou rhyolitic volcano and several andesitic-dacitic domes in the Oaş Mountains (11.3-9.5 Ma). We show that magma evolution in the OGVZ was controlled by assimilation-fractional crystallization and magma-mixing processes within an interconnected multi-level crustal magmatic reservoir. The evolution of volcanic activity within the OGVZ was controlled by the geodynamics of the Transcarpathian Basin. The early felsic and late intermediate Miocene magmas were emplaced in a post-collisional setting and were derived from a mantle source region that was modified by subduction components (dominantly sediment melts) and lower crust. The style of volcanism within the eastern TB system exhibits spatial variations, with andesitic composite volcanoes (Gutâi Mountains) observed at the margins, and isolated andesitic-rhyolitic monogenetic volcanoes (Oaş Mountains) in the center of the basin.

How We Got to the Northern Hemisphere Ice Ages: Late Miocene Global Cooling and Plate Tectonic CO2 Forcing

Science.gov (United States)

Herbert, T.; Dalton, C. A.; Carchedi, C.

2017-12-01

The evolution of Earth's climate between "refrigeration" of East Antarctica and the onset of cyclic Northern Hemisphere glaciation spanned more than 11 Myr. In the latest Miocene (Messinian) time, approximately half way on this journey, changes on land, ranging from the expansion of arid zones to major floral and faunal ecosystem shifts, accelerated. Recent compilations of marine surface temperatures reveal that global cooling from the Miocene Optimum (14-16Ma) also accelerated in late Miocene (7-5.35 Ma) time to reach temperatures not much above Holocene conditions. Both hemispheres cooled in parallel, with the changes amplified at higher latitudes in comparison to the tropics. Despite the strong circumstantial case for CO2 decline as the dominant cause of late Miocene climatic and evolutionary change, proxy indicators of CO2concentrations paint an equivocal picture of greenhouse forcing. Here we provide evidence that global sea floor spreading (SFS) rates decelerated at exactly the times of major climatic cooling, linking a decline in tectonic degassing (at both subduction zones and mid-ocean ridges) to fundamental shifts in the global carbon cycle. Our work utilizes newly available global compilations of seafloor fabric and marine magnetic anomalies provided by the NSF-funded Global Seafloor Fabric and Magnetic Lineation Data Base Project. Previous global compilations of SFS typically binned estimates over 10 Myr increments, losing critical resolution on the timescale of late Neogene climate changes. We further improve the signal:noise of SFS estimates by incorporating recent advances in the astronomical calibration of the Miocene geomagnetic polarity timescale. We use two approaches to compile spreading rate estimates over the past 20 Myr at each spreading system: optimized finite rotation calculations, and averages of sea floor-spreading derived from the distances of magnetic lineations along flow lines on the sea floor. Weighted by ridge length, we find an 25

Origin of an Assemblage Massively Dominated by Carnivorans from the Miocene of Spain

Science.gov (United States)

Domingo, M. Soledad; Alberdi, M. Teresa; Azanza, Beatriz; Silva, Pablo G.; Morales, Jorge

2013-01-01

Carnivoran-dominated fossil sites provide precious insights into the diversity and ecology of species rarely recovered in the fossil record. The lower level assemblage of Batallones-1 fossil site (Late Miocene; Madrid Basin, Spain) has yielded one of the most abundant and diversified carnivoran assemblage ever known from the Cenozoic record of mammals. A comprehensive taphonomic study is carried out here in order to constrain the concentration mode of this remarkable assemblage. Another distinctive feature of Batallones-1 is that the accumulation of carnivoran remains took place in the context of a geomorphological landform (cavity formation through a piping process) practically unknown in the generation of fossil sites. Two characteristics of the assemblage highly restrict the probable causes for the accumulation of the remains: (1) the overwhelming number of carnivorans individuals; and (2) the mortality profiles estimated for the four most abundant taxa do not correspond to the classic mortality types but rather were the consequence of the behavior of the taxa. This evidence together with other taphonomic data supports the hypothesis that carnivoran individuals actively entered the cavity searching for resources (food or water) and were unable to exit. The scarcity of herbivores implies that the shaft was well visible and avoided by these taxa. Fossil bones exhibit a very good preservation state as a consequence of their deposition in the restricted and protective environment of the chamber. Batallones-1 had another assemblage (upper level assemblage) that was dominated by herbivore remains and that potentially corresponded to the final stages of the cavity filling. PMID:23650542

Variation in the pelvic and pectoral girdles of Australian Oligo–Miocene mekosuchine crocodiles with implications for locomotion and habitus

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Michael D. Stein

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Australian Oligo–Miocene mekosuchines (Crocodylia; Crocodyloidea display wide diversity in cranial shape and inferred hunting strategies. Terrestrial habitus has been inferred for these distinctive predators. A direct morphological signal for locomotion can be expected in the postcrania, particularly the pelvic and pectoral girdles. Here we describe fossil materials of the girdles, which chart their morphological variation in the subfamily from Eocene through to Middle Miocene. Over this period, both girdles undergo significant morphological changes. Notably, an enclosed, ventrally orientated acetabulum in the ilium is developed in one lineage. This recapitulates the erect parasagittal configuration of the pelvic limb seen in many Mesozoic crocodylomorph lineages, suggesting consistent use of erect high-walking in these mekosuchines. Other pelves from the same Oligo–Miocene deposits display morphology closer to modern crocodilians, suggesting a partitioning of locomotory strategy among sympatric mekosuchines. Plesiomorphic and derived pelvic girdles are distinguishable by parsimony analysis, and the earliest examples of the mekosuchine pelvis more closely resemble gavialids and alligatorids while latter forms converge on crown group crocodylids in the morphology of the iliac crest. This suggests that a revaluation of the base relationship of Mekosuchinae within Eusuchia is necessary.

Oceanographic data collected during the Davidson Seamount 2002 expedition on the RV Western Flyer, in the North Pacific Ocean, southwest of Monterey, California from May 17, 2002 - May 24, 2002 (NODC Accession 0072306)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This spring, scientists explored the first "undersea island" to be called a seamount. Davidson seamount, located 120 km Southwest of Monterey, California, is one of...

A new short-rostrum odontocete (Mammalia: Cetacea) from the middle Miocene of the Eastern Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bianucci, G.; Landini, W.

2002-01-01

An incomplete odontocete (Mammalia, Cetacea) skull from Middle Miocene Miste Bed (near Winterswijk in the eastern part of The Netherlands) is described as Vanbreenia trigonia, a new genus and species. The skull exhibits a short rostrum with only two maxillary teeth for each toothrow and with narrow

Differential responses of Miocene rodent metacommunities to global climatic changes were mediated by environmental context.

Science.gov (United States)

Blanco, Fernando; Gómez Cano, Ana Rosa; Cantalapiedra, Juan L; Domingo, M Soledad; Domingo, Laura; Menéndez, Iris; Flynn, Lawrence J; Hernández Fernández, Manuel

2018-02-06

The study of how long-term changes affect metacommunities is a relevant topic, that involves the evaluation of connections among biological assemblages across different spatio-temporal scales, in order to fully understand links between global changes and macroevolutionary patterns. We applied multivariate statistical analyses and diversity tests using a large data matrix of rodent fossil sites in order to analyse long-term faunal changes. Late Miocene rodent faunas from southwestern Europe were classified into metacommunities, presumably sharing ecological affinities, which followed temporal and environmental non-random assembly and disassembly patterns. Metacommunity dynamics of these faunas were driven by environmental changes associated with temperature variability, but there was also some influence from the aridity shifts described for this region during the late Miocene. Additionally, while variations in the structure of rodent assemblages were directly influenced by global climatic changes in the southern province, the northern sites showed a pattern of climatic influence mediated by diversity-dependent processes.

Ancient nursery area for the extinct giant shark megalodon from the Miocene of Panama.

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Catalina Pimiento

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: As we know from modern species, nursery areas are essential shark habitats for vulnerable young. Nurseries are typically highly productive, shallow-water habitats that are characterized by the presence of juveniles and neonates. It has been suggested that in these areas, sharks can find ample food resources and protection from predators. Based on the fossil record, we know that the extinct Carcharocles megalodon was the biggest shark that ever lived. Previous proposed paleo-nursery areas for this species were based on the anecdotal presence of juvenile fossil teeth accompanied by fossil marine mammals. We now present the first definitive evidence of ancient nurseries for C. megalodon from the late Miocene of Panama, about 10 million years ago. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We collected and measured fossil shark teeth of C. megalodon, within the highly productive, shallow marine Gatun Formation from the Miocene of Panama. Surprisingly, and in contrast to other fossil accumulations, the majority of the teeth from Gatun are very small. Here we compare the tooth sizes from the Gatun with specimens from different, but analogous localities. In addition we calculate the total length of the individuals found in Gatun. These comparisons and estimates suggest that the small size of Gatun's C. megalodon is neither related to a small population of this species nor the tooth position within the jaw. Thus, the individuals from Gatun were mostly juveniles and neonates, with estimated body lengths between 2 and 10.5 meters. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We propose that the Miocene Gatun Formation represents the first documented paleo-nursery area for C. megalodon from the Neotropics, and one of the few recorded in the fossil record for an extinct selachian. We therefore show that sharks have used nursery areas at least for 10 millions of years as an adaptive strategy during their life histories.

Repeat Mapping in Upper Monterey Canyon Captures the Effect of Sediment Transport Events of Known Magnitude and Duration on the Seafloor Morphology

Science.gov (United States)

Lundsten, E. M.; Anderson, K.; Caress, D. W.; Thomas, H. J.; Paull, C. K.; Maier, K. L.; Gwiazda, R.; Gales, J. A.; Talling, P.; Xu, J.; Parsons, D. R.

2017-12-01

As part of a multi-institution submarine canyon study, the Coordinated Canyon Experiment (CCE), high-resolution multibeam bathymetric surveys of the floor of Monterey Canyon, offshore California, were conducted to capture the changes in seafloor morphology directly related to the passage of sediment density flows documented during the study. The goals of this study were to monitor the passage of sediment density flows as they move through the axis of a submarine canyon in order to understand the velocity structure of these flows and to document the associated changes in seafloor morphology and the resultant deposits. The CCE consisted of an array of moorings and sensors deployed on the canyon floor during the 18-month period between October 2015 and April 2017. In addition, a mapping AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) repeatedly surveyed two sites along the canyon during the study. Differencing the repeat grids quantified the morphological changes directly related to specifically documented, individual flow events. The AUV carried a Reson 7125 multibeam echosounder (vertical precision of 0.15 m and horizontal resolution of 1.0 m). An inertial navigation system combined with a Doppler velocity logger allowed the AUV to fly pre-programmed grids at 3 knots while maintaining an altitude of 50 m above the seafloor and obtain a nominal line spacing of 130 m. The axial channel between 200 and 540 m water depth was surveyed six times. At least fifteen density flow events were captured by the array of CCE instruments within this AUV survey area. These events caused moorings as well as several large and small instruments to move down canyon significant distances at least 30 times. Difference grids show the canyon experienced erosion and deposition of up to +/- 3 m between surveys. The pair of surveys that straddle a sediment transport event on December 1, 2015 show the seafloor was altered only down to 420 m water depth, consistent with the observations on the CCE

Marine connections of Amazonia: Evidence from foraminifera and dinoflagellate cysts (early to middle Miocene, Colombia/Peru)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boonstra, M.; Ramos, M.I.F.; Lammertsma, E.I.; Antoine, P.-O; Hoorn, C.

2015-01-01

Species composition in the present-day Amazonian heartland has an imprint of past marine influence. The exact nature, timing and extent of this marine influence, however, are largely unresolved. Here we use calcareous tests of foraminifera and marine palynomorphs from Miocene sediments in

Fossil mice and rats show isotopic evidence of niche partitioning and change in dental ecomorphology related to dietary shift in Late Miocene of Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Kimura, Yuri; Jacobs, Louis L; Cerling, Thure E; Uno, Kevin T; Ferguson, Kurt M; Flynn, Lawrence J; Patnaik, Rajeev

2013-01-01

Stable carbon isotope analysis in tooth enamel is a well-established approach to infer C3 and C4 dietary composition in fossil mammals. The bulk of past work has been conducted on large herbivorous mammals. One important finding is that their dietary habits of fossil large mammals track the late Miocene ecological shift from C3 forest and woodland to C4 savannah. However, few studies on carbon isotopes of fossil small mammals exist due to limitations imposed by the size of rodent teeth, and the isotopic ecological and dietary behaviors of small mammals to climate change remain unknown. Here we evaluate the impact of ecological change on small mammals by fine-scale comparisons of carbon isotope ratios (δ(13)C) with dental morphology of murine rodents, spanning 13.8 to ∼2.0 Ma, across the C3 to C4 vegetation shift in the Miocene Siwalik sequence of Pakistan. We applied in-situ laser ablation GC-IRMS to lower first molars and measured two grazing indices on upper first molars. Murine rodents yield a distinct, but related, record of past ecological conditions from large herbivorous mammals, reflecting available foods in their much smaller home ranges. In general, larger murine species show more positive δ(13)C values and have higher grazing indices than smaller species inhabiting the same area at any given age. Two clades of murine rodents experienced different rates of morphological change. In the faster-evolving clade, the timing and trend of morphological innovations are closely tied to consumption of C4 diet during the vegetation shift. This study provides quantitative evidence of linkages among diet, niche partitioning, and dental morphology at a more detailed level than previously possible.

Fossil Mice and Rats Show Isotopic Evidence of Niche Partitioning and Change in Dental Ecomorphology Related to Dietary Shift in Late Miocene of Pakistan

Science.gov (United States)

Kimura, Yuri; Jacobs, Louis L.; Cerling, Thure E.; Uno, Kevin T.; Ferguson, Kurt M.; Flynn, Lawrence J.; Patnaik, Rajeev

2013-01-01

Stable carbon isotope analysis in tooth enamel is a well-established approach to infer C3 and C4 dietary composition in fossil mammals. The bulk of past work has been conducted on large herbivorous mammals. One important finding is that their dietary habits of fossil large mammals track the late Miocene ecological shift from C3 forest and woodland to C4 savannah. However, few studies on carbon isotopes of fossil small mammals exist due to limitations imposed by the size of rodent teeth, and the isotopic ecological and dietary behaviors of small mammals to climate change remain unknown. Here we evaluate the impact of ecological change on small mammals by fine-scale comparisons of carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) with dental morphology of murine rodents, spanning 13.8 to ∼2.0 Ma, across the C3 to C4 vegetation shift in the Miocene Siwalik sequence of Pakistan. We applied in-situ laser ablation GC-IRMS to lower first molars and measured two grazing indices on upper first molars. Murine rodents yield a distinct, but related, record of past ecological conditions from large herbivorous mammals, reflecting available foods in their much smaller home ranges. In general, larger murine species show more positive δ13C values and have higher grazing indices than smaller species inhabiting the same area at any given age. Two clades of murine rodents experienced different rates of morphological change. In the faster-evolving clade, the timing and trend of morphological innovations are closely tied to consumption of C4 diet during the vegetation shift. This study provides quantitative evidence of linkages among diet, niche partitioning, and dental morphology at a more detailed level than previously possible. PMID:23936324

Fossil mice and rats show isotopic evidence of niche partitioning and change in dental ecomorphology related to dietary shift in Late Miocene of Pakistan.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuri Kimura

Full Text Available Stable carbon isotope analysis in tooth enamel is a well-established approach to infer C3 and C4 dietary composition in fossil mammals. The bulk of past work has been conducted on large herbivorous mammals. One important finding is that their dietary habits of fossil large mammals track the late Miocene ecological shift from C3 forest and woodland to C4 savannah. However, few studies on carbon isotopes of fossil small mammals exist due to limitations imposed by the size of rodent teeth, and the isotopic ecological and dietary behaviors of small mammals to climate change remain unknown. Here we evaluate the impact of ecological change on small mammals by fine-scale comparisons of carbon isotope ratios (δ(13C with dental morphology of murine rodents, spanning 13.8 to ∼2.0 Ma, across the C3 to C4 vegetation shift in the Miocene Siwalik sequence of Pakistan. We applied in-situ laser ablation GC-IRMS to lower first molars and measured two grazing indices on upper first molars. Murine rodents yield a distinct, but related, record of past ecological conditions from large herbivorous mammals, reflecting available foods in their much smaller home ranges. In general, larger murine species show more positive δ(13C values and have higher grazing indices than smaller species inhabiting the same area at any given age. Two clades of murine rodents experienced different rates of morphological change. In the faster-evolving clade, the timing and trend of morphological innovations are closely tied to consumption of C4 diet during the vegetation shift. This study provides quantitative evidence of linkages among diet, niche partitioning, and dental morphology at a more detailed level than previously possible.

Eocene and Miocene extension, meteoric fluid infiltration, and core complex formation in the Great Basin (Raft River Mountains, Utah)

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Methner, Katharina; Mulch, Andreas; Teyssier, Christian; Wells, Michael L.; Cosca, Michael A.; Gottardi, Raphael; Gebelin, Aude; Chamberlain, C. Page

2015-01-01

Metamorphic core complexes (MCCs) in the North American Cordillera reflect the effects of lithospheric extension and contribute to crustal adjustments both during and after a protracted subduction history along the Pacific plate margin. While the Miocene-to-recent history of most MCCs in the Great Basin, including the Raft River-Albion-Grouse Creek MCC, is well documented, early Cenozoic tectonic fabrics are commonly severely overprinted. We present stable isotope, geochronological (40Ar/39Ar), and microstructural data from the Raft River detachment shear zone. Hydrogen isotope ratios of syntectonic white mica (δ2Hms) from mylonitic quartzite within the shear zone are very low (−90‰ to −154‰, Vienna SMOW) and result from multiphase synkinematic interaction with surface-derived fluids. 40Ar/39Ar geochronology reveals Eocene (re)crystallization of white mica with δ2Hms ≥ −154‰ in quartzite mylonite of the western segment of the detachment system. These δ2Hms values are distinctively lower than in localities farther east (δ2Hms ≥ −125‰), where 40Ar/39Ar geochronological data indicate Miocene (18–15 Ma) extensional shearing and mylonitic fabric formation. These data indicate that very low δ2H surface-derived fluids penetrated the brittle-ductile transition as early as the mid-Eocene during a first phase of exhumation along a detachment rooted to the east. In the eastern part of the core complex, prominent top-to-the-east ductile shearing, mid-Miocene 40Ar/39Ar ages, and higher δ2H values of recrystallized white mica, indicate Miocene structural and isotopic overprinting of Eocene fabrics.

Analysis of a multiple-well interference test in Miocene tuffaceous rocks at the C-Hole complex, May--June 1995, Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geldon, A.L.; Umari, A.M.A.; Earle, J.D.; Fahy, M.F.; Gemmell, J.M.; Darnell, J.

1998-01-01

A multiple-well interference (pumping) test was conducted in Miocene tuffaceous rocks at the C-hole complex at Yucca Mountain, Nev., from May 22 to June 12, 1995, by the US Geological Survey, in cooperation with the US Department of Energy. This pumping test was conducted as part of investigations to determine the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a potential site for the storage of high-level nuclear waste in a mined geologic repository. During the test, borehole UE-25 c number-sign 3 was pumped for 10 days at an average rate of 17.9 liters per second. Drawdown in 6 observation wells completed in Miocene tuffaceous rocks 29.0--3,525.6 meters from the pumping well ranged from 0 to 0.42 meters 14,000 minutes after pumping started. The spatial distribution of this drawdown indicates that a northwest-trending zone of discontinuous faults might be affecting ground-water movement in the Miocene tuffaceous rocks near the C-holes. No drawdown was observed in a borehole completed in a regional Paleozoic carbonate aquifer 630.0 meters from the pumping well. Consequently, it could not be determined during the pumping test if the Miocene tuffaceous rocks are connected hydraulically to the regional aquifer. Analyses of drawdown and recovery indicate that the Miocene tuffaceous rocks in the vicinity of the C-holes have transmissivity values of 1,600--3,200 meters squared per day, horizontal hydraulic conductivity values of 6.5--13 meters per day, vertical hydraulic conductivity values of 0.2--1.7 meters per day, storativity values of 0.001--0.003, and specific yield values of 0.01--0.2

Late Miocene marine tephra beds : recorders of rhyolitic volcanism in North Island, New Zealand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shane, P.; Black, T.; Eggins, S.; Westgate, J.

1998-01-01

A deep-sea sequence of 72 rhyolitic tephra beds, now exposed at Mahia Peninsula in the Hawke's Bay region of the east coast, North Island, New Zealand, provides a record of Late Miocene volcanism of the Coromandel Volcanic Zone (CVZ): the precursor to large-scale explosive volcanism of the Quaternary Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ). The geochemical signature of the glasses in the Miocene tephra has been protected from hydrothermal alteration and prolonged subaerial exposure that have affected proximal CVZ deposits. The tephra beds are primarily eruption-driven sediment gravity flows that have been emplaced into a trench-slope basin, some 300 km from active volcanoes. Their occurrence is consistent with long-distance fluvial transport followed by a point-source discharge into the deep-sea environment, and has no implications for the paleogeographic location of the basins relative to the volcanic arc. The tephra beds are calc-alkaline rhyolites with SiO 2 contents in the range 72-78 wt% (recalculated on a volatile-free basis), and are broadly similar to glassy rocks of the CVZ. Their major oxide, trace element, and REE compositions are indistinguishable from glasses of TVZ rhyolites. The trace element and REE compositional variability in the Late Miocene tephra beds, which were erupted over an estimated duration of c. 0.5-2.4 m.y. is no greater than that of large silicic eruptives of the last 350 ka, and is suggestive of a long-lived source and/or similar magmatic processes. However, the individual tephra beds are products of discrete homogeneous magma batches. New fission track ages of the Miocene tephra beds suggest the main period of volcaniclastic deposition occurred in the interval c. 9-7 Ma. This corresponds well with the initiation of rhyolitic volcanism in the CVZ at c. 10 Ma, and a major period of caldera formation that took place to c. 7 Ma. The ages suggest a sediment accumulation rate of between 0.23 and 1.2 m/ka (av. 0.4 m/ka), and a frequency of eruption of

Late Miocene extensional systems in northern Tunisia and their relation with SE directed delamination of the African subcontinental mantle lithosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Booth-Rea, Guillermo; Gaidi, Seif; Melki, Fetheddine; Pérez-Peña, Vicente; Marzougui, Wissem; Azañón, Jose Miguel; Galve, Jorge Pedro

2017-04-01

Recent work has proposed the delamination of the subcontinental mantle lithosphere under northern Tunisia during the late Miocene. This process is required to explain the present location of the Tunisian segment of the African slab, imaged by seismic tomography, hanging under the Gulf of Gabes to the south of Tunisia. Thus, having retreated towards the SE several hundred km from its original position under the Tellian-Atlas nappe contact that crops out along the north of Tunisia. However, no tectonic structures have been described which could be related to this mechanism of lithospheric mantle peeling. Here we describe for the first time extensional fault systems in northern Tunisia that strongly thinned the Tellian nappes, exhuming rocks from the Tunisian Atlas in the core of folded extensional detachments. Two normal fault systems with sub-orthogonal extensional transport occur. These were active during the late Miocene associated to the extrusion of 13 Ma granodiorite and 9 Ma rhyodacite in the footwall of the Nefza detachment. We have differentiated an extensional system formed by low-angle normal faults with NE- and SW-directed transport cutting through the Early to Middle Miocene Tellian nappen stack and a later system of low and high-angle normal faults that cuts down into the underlying Tunisian Atlas units with SE-directed transport, which root in the Nefza detachment. Both normal fault systems have been later folded and cut by thrusts during Plio-Quaternary NW-SE directed compression. These findings change the interpretation of the tectonic evolution of Tunisia that has always been framed in a transpressive to compressive setting, manifesting the extensional effects of Late Miocene lithospheric mantle delamination under northern Tunisia.

Effect of ocean gateways on the global ocean circulation in the late Oligocene and early Miocene

NARCIS (Netherlands)

von der Heydt, A.S.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/245567526; Dijkstra, H.A.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/073504467

2006-01-01

We investigate the effect of changes in the tectonic boundary conditions on global ocean circulation patterns. Using a fully coupled climate model in an idealized setup, we compare situations corresponding to the late Oligocene, the early Miocene, and present day. The model results show the

Miocene-Recent sediment flux in the south-central Alaskan fore-arc basin governed by flat-slab subduction

Science.gov (United States)

Finzel, Emily S.; Enkelmann, Eva

2017-04-01

The Cook Inlet in south-central Alaska contains the early Oligocene to Recent stratigraphic record of a fore-arc basin adjacent to a shallowly subducting oceanic plateau. Our new measured stratigraphic sections and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology and Hf isotopes from Neogene strata and modern rivers illustrate the effects of flat-slab subduction on the depositional environments, provenance, and subsidence in fore-arc sedimentary systems. During the middle Miocene, fluvial systems emerged from the eastern, western, and northern margins of the basin. The axis of maximum subsidence was near the center of the basin, suggesting equal contributions from subsidence drivers on both margins. By the late Miocene, the axis of maximum subsidence had shifted westward and fluvial systems originating on the eastern margin of the basin above the flat-slab traversed the entire width of the basin. These mud-dominated systems reflect increased sediment flux from recycling of accretionary prism strata. Fluvial systems with headwaters above the flat-slab region continued to cross the basin during Pliocene time, but a change to sandstone-dominated strata with abundant volcanogenic grains signals a reactivation of the volcanic arc. The axis of maximum basin subsidence during late Miocene to Pliocene time is parallel to the strike of the subducting slab. Our data suggest that the character and strike-orientation of the down-going slab may provide a fundamental control on the nature of depositional systems, location of dominant provenance regions, and areas of maximum subsidence in fore-arc basins.

Fruits and wood of Parinari from the early Miocene of Panama and the fossil record of Chrysobalanaceae.

Science.gov (United States)

Jud, Nathan A; Nelson, Chris W; Herrera, Fabiany

2016-02-01

Chrysobalanaceae are woody plants with over 500 species in 20 genera. They are among the most common trees in tropical forests, but a sparse fossil record has limited our ability to test evolutionary and biogeographic hypotheses, and several previous reports of Chrysobalanaceae megafossils are doubtful. We prepared fossil endocarps and wood collected from the lower Miocene beds along the Panama Canal using the cellulose acetate peel technique and examined them using light microscopy. We compared the fossil endocarps with previously published fossils and with fruits from herbarium specimens. We compared the fossil wood with photographs and descriptions of extant species. Parinari endocarps can be distinguished from other genera within Chrysobalanaceae by a suite of features, i.e., thick wall, a secondary septum, seminal cavities lined with dense, woolly trichomes, and two ovate to lingulate basal germination plugs. Fossil endocarps from the Cucaracha, Culebra, and La Boca Formations confirm that Parinari was present in the neotropics by the early Miocene. The earliest unequivocal evidence of crown-group Chrysobalanaceae is late Oligocene-early Miocene, and the genus Parinari was distinct by at least 19 million years ago. Parinari and other Chrysobalanaceae likely reached the neotropics via long-distance dispersal rather than vicariance. The presence of Parinari in the Cucaracha flora supports the interpretation of a riparian, moist tropical forest environment. Parinari was probably a canopy-dominant tree in the Cucaracha forest and took advantage of the local megafauna for seed dispersal. © 2016 Botanical Society of America.

First fossil occurrence of a filefish (Tetraodontiformes; Monacanthidae) in Asia, from the Middle Miocene in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Miyajima, Yusuke; Koike, Hakuichi; Matsuoka, Hiroshige

2014-04-10

A new fossil filefish, Aluterus shigensis sp. nov., with a close resemblance to the extant Aluterus scriptus (Osbeck), is described from the Middle Miocene Bessho Formation in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan. It is characterized by: 21 total vertebrae; very slender and long first dorsal spine with tiny anterior barbs; thin and lancet-shaped basal pterygiophore of the spiny dorsal fin, with its ventral margin separated from the skull; proximal tip of moderately slender first pterygiophore of the soft dorsal fin not reaching far ventrally; soft dorsal-fin base longer than anal-fin base; caudal peduncle having nearly equal depth and length; and tiny, fine scales with slender, straight spinules. The occurrence of this fossil filefish from the Bessho Formation is consistent with the influence of warm water currents suggested by other fossils, but it is inconsistent with the deep-water sedimentary environment of this Formation. This is the first fossil occurrence of a filefish in Asia; previously described fossil filefishes are known from the Pliocene and Pleistocene of Italy, the Pliocene of Greece, and the Miocene and Pliocene of North America. These fossil records suggest that the genus Aluterus had already been derived and was widely distributed during the Middle Miocene with taxa closely resembling Recent species.

Development of Miocene-Pliocene reef trend, St. Croix, U. S. Virgin Islands

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gill, I.; Eby, D.E.; Hubbard, D.K.; Frost, S.H.

1988-01-01

The Miocene-Pliocene reef trend on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, rims the present southern western coasts of the island and includes accompanying lagoonal and forereef facies. The reef trend was established on a foram-algal bank facies that represents basinal shallowing from the deep-water pelagic and hemipelagic facies of the Miocene Kingshill Limestone. Information on facies distribution and thickness is derived from rock exposures and 22 test wells drilled to a maximum depth of 91 m. The greatest thickness of the reef facies exists in a subsidiary graben on the south coast of St. Croix. The thickness of the reef section in this locality is due to preservation of the section in a downdropped block. Reef faunas include extant corals, as well as several extinct genera. Extant corals (e.g. Montastrea annularis, Diploria sp., and Porites porites) and extinct corals (e.g., Stylophora affinis, Antillea bilobata, and Thysanus sp.) are the main reef frame-builders. Coralline algea and large benthic foraminifera are significant contributors to the sediments both prior to and during scleractinian reef growth. Dolomitization and calcite cementation occur prominantly in an area corresponding to a Holocene lagoon. The spatial distribution of the dolomite suggests that the lagoon is a Tertiary feature directly related to the dolomitization process. Stable isotopic values suggest dolomitization of fluids of elevated salinity.

The Mendel Formation: Evidence for Late Miocene climatic cyclicity at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Nývlt, D.; Košler, J.; Mlčoch, B.; Mixa, P.; Lisá, Lenka; Bubík, M.; Hendriks, B. W. H.

2011-01-01

Roč. 299, 1/2 (2011), s. 363-384 ISSN 0031-0182 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30130516 Keywords : Mendel Formation * Late Miocene * chmate * Antarctic Peninsula Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 2.392, year: 2011

Conditions of formation for carbonaceous silicites of the continental margins

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bazhenova, O.K.

1986-06-01

Carbonaceous silicites occur in virtually all systems in Phanerozoic folded regions. They are of practical interest as concentrators of silver, molybdenum, vanadium, and nickel and as source and occasionally reservoir beds for petroleum. Some small oil pools occur in them in basins in Japan (Niigata and Akita), California, and East Sakhalin. Recently, interest has increased because a major pool was discovered in silicites of the Monterey formation: Point Arguello Hueso in the offshore part of the Santa Maria basin. Here the authors consider carbonaceous silicates in the western part of the Pacific active margin, which include Silurian and Devonian phthanites in the Mongolia-Okhotsk belt, and Triassic and Jurassic phthanites in the Sikhote-Alin area, although these rocks are of fairly local occurrence in the section. The authors have examined silicites in Kamchatka, Sakhalin, and Chukotka: diatomites, tuff-diatomites, and opokas, together with their recrystallized analogs. They occur in the Paleogene, but they are most abundant in the Miocene and Pliocene, as well as in the Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Eocene, particularly in the Miocene of California and Japan. 16 references.

Karst connections between unconfined aquifers and the Upper Floridan aquifer in south Georgia: geophysical evidence and hydrogeological models

Science.gov (United States)

Thieme, D. M.; Denizman, C.

2011-12-01

Buried karst features in sedimentary rocks of the south Georgia Coastal Plain present a challenge for hydrogeological models of recharge and confined flow within the underlying Upper Floridan aquifer. The Withlacoochee River, the trunk stream for the area, frequently disappears into subsurface caverns as it makes its way south to join the Suwannee River in northern Florida. The Withlacoochee also receives inputs from small ponds and bays which in turn receive spring and seep groundwater inputs. We have mapped karst topography at the "top of rock" using ground-penetrating radar (GPR). Up to seven meters of relief is indicated for the paleotopography on Miocene to Pliocene rocks, contrasting with the more subdued relief of the modern landscape. Current stratigraphic and hydrogeological reconstructions do not incorporate this amount of relief or lateral variation in the confining beds. One "pipe" which is approximately four meters in diameter is being mapped in detail. We have field evidence at this location for rapid movement of surficial pond and river water with a meteoric signature through several separate strata of sedimentary rock into an aquifer in the Hawthorn formation. We use our geophysical and hydrological field evidence to constrain quantitative hydrogeological models for the flow rates into and out of both this upper aquifer and the underlying Upper Floridan aquifer, which is generally considered to be confined by the clays of the Hawthorn.

New Odostomia species (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia, Pyramidellidae) from the Miocene Pebas Formation of Western Amazonia (Peru, Colombia)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aartsen, van J.J.; Wesselingh, F.P.

2000-01-01

Odostomia nuttalli spec. nov. and O. coluhensis spec. nov. are described from the Miocene Pebas Formation of Peruvian and Columbian Amazonia. A third pyramidellid snail is also diagnosed. These species are indicators for marine influence in the late Middle to early Late Miocence of Western Amazonia.

Andegameryx andegaviensis Ginsburg, 1971 (Artiodactyla, Ruminantia, from the early Miocene site of Estrepouy (MN3, France

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Morales, J.

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Several dental remains from the Early Miocene of Estrepouy (MN3, France previously reported as Amphitragulus aurelianensis by Roman & Viret (1934 are described in this work and assigned to Andegameryx andegaviensis Ginsburg, 1971. The re-study of this material and the comparison with other remains of A. andegaviensis from several european localities of the early Miocene, including the type locality of the species, have permitted us to confirm the presence of A. andegaviensis in the ruminant fauna from Estrepouy.En esta nota describimos algunos de los restos del yacimiento del Mioceno inferior de Estrepouy (MN3, Francia atribuidos por Roman & Viret (1934 a Amphitragulus aruelianensis, cambiando su asignación a Andegameryx andegaviensis Ginsburg, 1971. El reestudio del material y su comparación con los restos de A. andegaviensis de otras localidades europeas del Mioceno inferior, incluyendo la localidad tipo de la especie, permiten confirmar su presencia entre la fauna de rumiantes fósiles de Estrepouy.

K-Ar Geochronology and isotopic composition of the late oligocene- early miocene Ancud volcanic complex, Chiloe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munoz B, Jorge; Duhart O, Paul; Farmer, G. Lang; Stern, Charles R

2001-01-01

The Ancud Volcanic Complex (Gally and Sanchez , 1960) forms a portion of the Mid-Tertiary Coastal Magmatic Belt which outcrops in the area of northern Chiloe island. Main exposures occur at Ancud, Punta Polocue, Punihuil, Pumillahue, Tetas de Teguaco and Bahia Cocotue. The Ancud Volcanic Complex consists of basaltic to basaltic andesites lava flows and volcanic necks and rhyolitic pyroclastic flows and vitric domes. Previous studies indicate a Late Oligocene-Early Miocene age (Garcia et al., 1988; Stern and Vergara, 1992; Munoz et al., 2000). The Ancud Volcanic Complex covers and intrudes Palaeozoic-Triassic metamorphic rocks and is partially covered by an early to middle Miocene marine sedimentary sequence known as Lacui Formation (Valenzuela, 1982) and by Pleistocene glacial deposits (Heusser, 1990). At Punihuil locality, lava flows are interbedded with the lower part of the marine sedimentary sequence, which includes significant amounts of redeposited pyroclastic components. Locally, the presence of hyaloclastic breccias suggests interaction of magma with marine water (au)

Remarkable preservation of terpenoids and record of volatile signalling in plant-animal interactions from Miocene amber.

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Dutta, Suryendu; Mehrotra, Rakesh C; Paul, Swagata; Tiwari, R P; Bhattacharya, Sharmila; Srivastava, Gaurav; Ralte, V Z; Zoramthara, C

2017-09-08

Plants produce and release a large array of volatile organic compounds that play many ecological functions. These volatile plant metabolites serve as pollinator attractants, herbivore and pathogen repellents and protect plants from abiotic stresses. To date, the geological evolution of these organic compounds remains unknown. The preservation potential of these metabolites in the fossil record is very poor due to their low boiling points. Here we report a series of volatile sesquiterpenoids, including δ-elemene, α-copaene, β-elemene, β-caryophyllene, α-humulene, germacrene D, δ-cadiene and spathunenol, from early Miocene (~17 million year) amber from eastern India. The survival of these unaltered bioterpenoids can be attributed to the existence of extraordinary taphonomic conditions conducive to the preservation of volatile biomolecules through deep time. Furthermore, the occurrence of these volatiles in the early Miocene amber suggests that the plants from this period had evolved metabolic pathways to synthesize these organic molecules to play an active role in forest ecology, especially in plant-animal interactions.

Repeated 1-cm Resolution Topographic and 2.5-mm Resolution Photomosiac Surveys of Benthic Communities and Fine Scale Bedforms in Monterey Canyon

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Caress, D. W.; Hobson, B.; Thomas, H. J.; Henthorn, R.; Martin, E. J.; Bird, L.; Risi, M.; Troni, G.; Paull, C. K.; Rock, S.; Padial, J. A.; Hammond, M. M.

2014-12-01

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has developed a low altitude, ROV-based seafloor mapping system that combines lidar laser ranging, multibeam sonar, and stereo photographic imagery. When operated at a 3-m altitude, this system maps seafloor topography with a 1-cm lateral resolution and simultaneously collects 2.5-mm resolution color photography. We have twice mapped an 80-m by 80-m area of a chemosynthetic clam community located at 2850-m depth in the Monterey Canyon axis. Both the topography and the photomosaics resolve changes in the clam community over a six-month interval. Many individual animals have moved, and tracks of those animals are visible in the lidar topography. No other changes in the seafloor at this site can be discerned. We have also performed single surveys of bedforms and scours at both 1850-m and 2850-m depths in Monterey Canyon. The highest resolution bathymetry data are collected using a 3DatDepth SL1 lidar laser scanner. This system has a 30° field of view and ranges continuously, achieving a 1 cm sounding spacing at a 3 m altitude and 0.3 m/s speed. Bathymetry data are also collected using a 400-kHz Reson 7125 multibeam sonar. This configuration produces 512 beams across a 135° wide swath; each beam has a 0.5° acrosstrack by 1.0° alongtrack angular width. At a 3-m altitude, the nadir beams have a 2.5 cm acrosstrack and 5 cm alongtrack footprint. Dual Prosilica GX1920 2.4 Mpixel color cameras provide color stereo photography of the seafloor. Illumination is provided by dual xenon strobes. The camera housings have been fitted with corrective optics achieving a 90° field of view with less than 1% distortion. At a 3-m altitude the raw image pixels have a 2.5 mm resolution. Position and attitude data are provided by a Kearfott SeaDevil Inertial Navigation System (INS) integrated with a 300 kHz Teledyne RD Instruments Doppler velocity log (DVL). A separate Paroscientific pressure sensor is mounted adjacent to the INS. The INS

Response of Mediterranean circulation to Miocene shoaling and closure of the Indian Gateway : A model study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De La Vara, Alba; Meijer, Paul

2016-01-01

In this regional ocean model study, we explore the effect of the Early to Middle Miocene shoaling and closure of the Indian Gateway on Mediterranean circulation and its exchange with the adjacent oceans. For this we use the regional ocean circulation model "sbPOM" and a collection of bathymetries

Constraints on the Miocene landscape evolution of the Eastern Alps from the Kalkspitze region, Niedere Tauern (Austria)

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Dertnig, Florian; Stüwe, Kurt; Woodhead, Jon; Stuart, Finlay M.; Spötl, Christoph

2017-12-01

In order to unravel aspects of the Miocene landscape evolution of the eastern European Alps, we present geomorphic and isotopic data from the western Niedere Tauern region (Austria). The region is critical for such interpretations, because it is one of the few regions along the topographic axis of the Eastern Alps where the highest peaks (up to 2500 m a.s.l.) are dominated by limestone. As such, the region contains a record of Miocene landscape-forming events that survived the Pleistocene glaciations, not preserved elsewhere in the central Eastern Alps. This record includes karst caves, karstified planation surfaces and crystalline fluvial pebbles (Augenstein Formation) preserved on planation surfaces and in karst caves. Caves in the region occur in three distinct levels that correlate with well-known cave levels in the Northern Calcareous Alps, although they are somewhat higher in the Niedere Tauern. In part, these cave elevations also correlate with three planation surfaces and knickpoints of major streams draining the region, testifying their pre-glacial origin. We report details of a karst cave (Durchgangshöhle) from the highest cave level located at 2340 m a.s.l. In this cave, allochthonous fluvial gravels are present, overgrown by speleothems. One speleothem yielded an early middle Pleistocene U-Pb age (682 ± 17 ka). We regard this as a minimum age for the erosion of the fluvial cave deposits during Marine Isotope Stages 17 or 16. Carbon and oxygen isotope data of these speleothems imply a climate that is consistent with this interpretation. Cosmogenic 21Ne data of fluvial quartz clasts collected from the surface on plateaus of the Northern Calcareous Alps suggest minimum exposure durations of 115 and 262 ka. They probably reflect successive exposure since removal of the sediment cover of the Oligocene Augenstein Formation during the Pleistocene. While our geochronological data fail to record aspects of the earlier Miocene uplift history, they are

On Prophoca and Leptophoca (Pinnipedia, Phocidae from the Miocene of the North Atlantic realm: redescription, phylogenetic affinities and paleobiogeographic implications

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Leonard Dewaele

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Background Prophoca and Leptophoca represent the oldest known genera of phocine seals, dating from the latest early to middle Miocene. Originally, Prophoca rousseaui and Prophoca proxima were described based on fragmentary remains from the Miocene of Belgium. However, several researchers contested the union of Prophoca rousseaui and Prophoca proxima into one genus, without providing evidence. The stratigraphic context of Prophoca remained poorly constrained due to the lack of precise data associated with the original specimens collected in the area of Antwerp (north of Belgium. Methods Prophoca and Leptophoca are redescribed and their phylogenetic position among Phocidae is reassessed using PAUP. Dinoflagellate biostratigraphy has been carried out on sediment samples associated with specimens from Prophoca and Leptophoca to elucidate their approximate ages. Results Whereas the species Prophoca rousseaui is redescribed, Prophoca proxima is considered synonymous to Leptophoca lenis, with the proposal of a new combination Leptophoca proxima (Van Beneden, 1877. Sediment samples from specimens of both taxa have been dated to the late Langhian–early Serravallian (middle Miocene. Following a reinvestigation of Leptophoca amphiatlantica, characters from the original diagnosis are questioned and the specimens of Leptophoca amphiatlantica are considered Leptophoca cf. L. proxima. In a phylogenetic analysis, Prophoca rousseaui and Leptophoca proxima constitute early branching stem-phocines. Discussion Leptophoca proxima from the North Sea Basin is younger than the oldest known find of Leptophoca proxima from North America, which does not contradict the hypothesis that Phocinae originated along the east coast of North America during the late early Miocene, followed by dispersal to Europe shortly after. Morphological features of the appendicular skeleton indicate that Prophoca rousseaui and Leptophoca proxima have archaic locomotory modes, retaining a more

Diagenetic and compositional controls of wettability in siliceous sedimentary rocks, Monterey Formation, California

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Kristina M.

Modified imbibition tests were performed on 69 subsurface samples from Monterey Formation reservoirs in the San Joaquin Valley to measure wettability variation as a result of composition and silica phase change. Contact angle tests were also performed on 6 chert samples from outcrop and 3 nearly pure mineral samples. Understanding wettability is important because it is a key factor in reservoir fluid distribution and movement, and its significance rises as porosity and permeability decrease and fluid interactions with reservoir grain surface area increase. Although the low permeability siliceous reservoirs of the Monterey Formation are economically important and prolific, a greater understanding of factors that alter their wettability will help better develop them. Imbibition results revealed a strong trend of decreased wettability to oil with increased detrital content in opal-CT phase samples. Opal-A phase samples exhibited less wettability to oil than both opal-CT and quartz phase samples of similar detrital content. Subsurface reservoir samples from 3 oil fields were crushed to eliminate the effect of capillary pressure and cleansed of hydrocarbons to eliminate wettability alterations by asphaltene, then pressed into discs of controlled density. Powder discs were tested for wettability by dispensing a controlled volume of water and motor oil onto the surface and measuring the time required for each fluid to imbibe into the sample. The syringe and software of a CAM101 tensiometer were used to control the amount of fluid dispensed onto each sample, and imbibition completion times were determined by high-speed photography for water drops; oil drop imbibition was significantly slower and imbibition was timed and determined visually. Contact angle of water and oil drops on polished chert and mineral sample surfaces was determined by image analysis and the Young-Laplace equation. Oil imbibition was significantly slower with increased detrital composition and faster

Diagenetic Microcrystalline Opal Varieties from the Monterey Formation, CA: HRTEM Study of Structures and Phase Transformation Mechanisms

Science.gov (United States)

Cady, Sherry L.; Wenk, H.-R.; DeVincenzi, Don (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

Microcrystalline opal varieties form as intermediary precipitates during the diagenetic transformation of biogenically precipitated non-crystalline opal (opal-A) to microquartz. With regard to the Monterey Formation of California, X-ray powder diffraction studies have shown that a decrease in the primary d-spacing of opal-CT toward that of cristobalite occurs with increasing diagenesis. The initial timing of opal-CT/quartz formation and the value of the primary opal-CT d-spacing, are influenced by the sediment. lithology. Transmission electron microscopy methods (CTEM/HRTEM) were used to investigate the structure of the diagenetic phases and establish transformation mechanisms between the varieties of microcrystalline opals in charts and porcelanites from the Monterey Formation. HRTEM images revealed that the most common fibrous varieties of microcrystalline opals contain varying amounts of structural disorder. Finite lamellar units of cristobalite-and tridymite-type. layer sequences were found to be randomly stacked in a direction perpendicular to the fiber axis. Disordered and ordered fibers were found to have coprecipitated within the same radial fiber bundles that formed within the matrix of the Most siliceous samples. HRTEM images, which reveal that the fibers within radial and lepispheric fiber bundles branch non-crystallographically, support an earlier proposal that microspheres in chert grow via a spherulitic growth mechanism. A less common variety of opal-CT was found to be characterized by non-parallel (low-angle) stacking sequences that often contain twinned lamellae. Tabular-shaped crystals of orthorhombic tridymite (PO-2) were also identified in the porcelanite samples. A shift in the primary d-spacing of opal-CT has been interpreted as an indication of solid-state ordering g toward a predominantly cristobalite structure, (opal-C). Domains of opal-C were identified as topotactically-oriented overgrowths on discrete Sections of opal-CT fibers and as

First North American fossil monkey and early Miocene tropical biotic interchange

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Bloch, Jonathan I.; Woodruff, Emily D.; Wood, Aaron R.; Rincon, Aldo F.; Harrington, Arianna R.; Morgan, Gary S.; Foster, David A.; Montes, Camilo; Jaramillo, Carlos A.; Jud, Nathan A.; Jones, Douglas S.; MacFadden, Bruce J.

2016-05-01

New World monkeys (platyrrhines) are a diverse part of modern tropical ecosystems in North and South America, yet their early evolutionary history in the tropics is largely unknown. Molecular divergence estimates suggest that primates arrived in tropical Central America, the southern-most extent of the North American landmass, with several dispersals from South America starting with the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama 3-4 million years ago (Ma). The complete absence of primate fossils from Central America has, however, limited our understanding of their history in the New World. Here we present the first description of a fossil monkey recovered from the North American landmass, the oldest known crown platyrrhine, from a precisely dated 20.9-Ma layer in the Las Cascadas Formation in the Panama Canal Basin, Panama. This discovery suggests that family-level diversification of extant New World monkeys occurred in the tropics, with new divergence estimates for Cebidae between 22 and 25 Ma, and provides the oldest fossil evidence for mammalian interchange between South and North America. The timing is consistent with recent tectonic reconstructions of a relatively narrow Central American Seaway in the early Miocene epoch, coincident with over-water dispersals inferred for many other groups of animals and plants. Discovery of an early Miocene primate in Panama provides evidence for a circum-Caribbean tropical distribution of New World monkeys by this time, with ocean barriers not wholly restricting their northward movements, requiring a complex set of ecological factors to explain their absence in well-sampled similarly aged localities at higher latitudes of North America.

The elements of a consumer-based initiative in contributing to positive environmental change: Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program.

Science.gov (United States)

Kemmerly, Jennifer Dianto; Macfarlane, Victoria

2009-09-01

Monterey Bay Aquarium launched the Seafood Watch program in 2000. The program's Seafood Watch pocket guide is a simple tool that visitors can use to identify seafood from environmentally responsible sources. Since its inception, more than 2 million pocket guides have been distributed to Monterey Bay Aquarium visitors and 20 million have been distributed through partnerships across the United States. Partner institutions such as aquariums, conservation organizations, and businesses also conduct outreach and are working to influence their local seafood purveyors. An evaluation conducted in 2003 and 2004 assessed the program's strategies for increasing awareness and shifting consumer buying habits as they relate to sustainable seafood, including use of the pocket guide. Visitors who picked up pocket guides were surveyed immediately after their aquarium visit, and again four months later. The evaluation found that most visitors continued to use the guides and had changed their seafood buying habits in several respects. Those interviewed also reported some barriers to using the guides. The elements that appear to be critical to the success of the strategy with respect to changing consumer purchasing habits include: a focused distribution approach; providing credible and specific information on problems and solutions to increase action-related knowledge; providing a trigger or prompt that is available at the time of purchase; and reducing barriers to action, at the point of action, by working with seafood purveyors and the broader sustainable seafood movement to increase knowledge and available options. In response to the evaluation, Seafood Watch has strengthened these elements and expanded to help meet the needs of the broader sustainable seafood movement. A process of strategic planning, evaluation, cooperation among partners, and adaptability to the movement's natural evolution has proven to be critical to the program's success in contributing to the development of a

The role of changing geodynamics in the progressive contamination of Late Cretaceous to Late Miocene arc magmas in the southern Central Andes

Science.gov (United States)

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

A first possible chameleon from the late Miocene of India (the hominoid site of Haritalyangar): a tentative evidence for an Asian dispersal of chameleons.

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Sankhyan, Anek R; Čerňanský, Andrej

2016-12-01

Miocene rare fossils from India, tentatively attributed to chameleons, are described for the first time. The material consists of a fragment of the left squamosal and an element interpreted as a posterodorsal process of the parietal. The specimens come from a late Miocene site of the Nagri Formation (Middle Siwaliks, ~ 9 Mya) at Haritalyangar, North India. This material presents a possible evidence for a chameleon dispersal to Asia. Based on molecular data, the dispersion of an Asian chamaeleonid lineage from Africa to Arabia/Asia is dated at approximately 13 Mya and its diversification in situ at around 6-8 Mya. However, till now, no Miocene-age fossil record has been described to support crown chamaeleonid presence in this area. The material described herein is very fragmented. If correctly allocated, the Haritalyangar chameleons show the oldest known occurrence of this clade in India, at least approximately 9 Mya ago.

Evolutionary history of the thicket rats (genus Grammomys) mirrors the evolution of African forests since late Miocene

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Bryja, J.; Šumbera, R.; Kerbis Peterhans, J. C.; Aghová, T.; Bryjová, A.; Mikula, Ondřej; Nicolas, V.; Denys, C.; Verheyen, E.

2017-01-01

Roč. 44, č. 1 (2017), s. 182-194 ISSN 0305-0270 Institutional support: RVO:67985904 Keywords : Arvicanthini * coastal forests * late Miocene Subject RIV: EA - Cell Biology OBOR OECD: Biology (theoretical, mathematical, thermal, cryobiology, biological rhythm), Evolutionary biology Impact factor: 4.248, year: 2016

Prey and plastic ingestion of Pacific Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis rogersii) from Monterey Bay, California.

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Donnelly-Greenan, Erica L; Harvey, James T; Nevins, Hannahrose M; Hester, Michelle M; Walker, William A

2014-08-15

Marine plastic pollution affects seabirds, including Pacific Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis rodgersii), that feed at the surface and mistake plastic for prey or incidentally ingest it. Direct and indirect health issues can result, including satiety and possibly leading to inefficient foraging. Our objective was to examine fulmar body condition, identify cephalopod diet to species, enumerate and weigh ingested plastic, and determine if prey number and size were correlated with ingested plastics in beach-cast fulmars wintering in Monterey Bay California (2003, n=178: 2007, n=185). Fulmars consumed mostly Gonatus pyros, G. onyx, and G. californiensis of similar size for both years. We found a significant negative correlation between pectoral muscle index and average size of cephalopod beaks per stomach; a significant increase in plastic categories between 2003 and 2007; and no significant correlation between number and mass of plastic compared with number and size of prey for either year. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CCN Properties of Organic Aerosol Collected Below and within Marine Stratocumulus Clouds near Monterey, California

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Akua Asa-Awuku

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The composition of aerosol from cloud droplets differs from that below cloud. Its implications for the Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN activity are the focus of this study. Water-soluble organic matter from below cloud, and cloud droplet residuals off the coast of Monterey, California were collected; offline chemical composition, CCN activity and surface tension measurements coupled with Köhler Theory Analysis are used to infer the molar volume and surfactant characteristics of organics in both samples. Based on the surface tension depression of the samples, it is unlikely that the aerosol contains strong surfactants. The activation kinetics for all samples examined are consistent with rapid (NH42SO4 calibration aerosol. This is consistent with our current understanding of droplet kinetics for ambient CCN. However, the carbonaceous material in cloud drop residuals is far more hygroscopic than in sub-cloud aerosol, suggestive of the impact of cloud chemistry on the hygroscopic properties of organic matter.

Currents, temperature, conductivity, pressure, sigma-theta, and attenuation data from moorings deployed in Monterey Bay from platforms WILLIAM A. MCGAW, NOAA Ship McARTHUR, and POINT SUR from 1995-05-16 to 1998-08-17 (NODC Accession 0067571)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary data were part of a large, multi-disciplinary experiment to characterize the Sanctuary's geologic environment. These data...

Quantifying the Journey of a Turbidity Current: How Water and Sediment Discharges Vary with Distance in Monterey Canyon

Science.gov (United States)

Chapplow, N.; Talling, P.; Cartigny, M.; Parsons, D. R.; Simmons, S.; Clare, M. A.; Paull, C. K.

2017-12-01

Turbidity currents transport vast quantities of sediment across the seafloor and form the largest sediment accumulations on Earth. Such flows pose a hazard to strategically important seafloor infrastructure and are important agents for the transport of organic carbon and nutrients that support deep-sea ecosystems. It is therefore important to quantify the scale of these flows, how much sediment they transport, and how their discharge evolves over time and space along their flow path. Two modes of flow evolution have been proposed based on experimental and numerical models. The first is termed ignition, where flows entrain seafloor sediment and become more voluminous and powerful and increase in discharge. The second is dissipation, where sediment falls out of suspension, flows decelerate and lose discharge. Field-scale turbidity currents have only been measured at a handful of sites worldwide, however, and never at multiple locations along their full course. Therefore, it has not been possible to determine when, where and why flows diverge into these two modes in the deep sea and how discharge of the flows varies. The ambitious multi-institution Coordinated Canyon Experiment measured turbidity currents at seven instrumented moorings along the Monterey Canyon, offshore California. Fifteen flows were recorded, including the fastest events yet measured at high resolution (>8 m/s). This remarkable dataset provides the first opportunity to quantify down-channel sediment and flow discharge evolution of turbidity currents in the deep sea. To understand whether flows ignite or dissipate, we derive total and sediment discharges for each of the flows at all seven mooring locations down the canyon. Discharges are calculated from measured velocities, and sediment concentrations derived using a novel inversion method. Two distinct flow modes are observed, where most flows rapidly dissipated in the upper reaches of the canyon, while three ran out for the full 50 km array length

Magnetostratigraphy of the Miocene sediments at Háj u Duchcova and Sokolov (West Bohemia)

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Schnabl, Petr; Man, Otakar; Matys Grygar, Tomáš; Mach, K.; Kdýr, Šimon; Čížková, Kristýna; Pruner, Petr; Martínek, K.; Rojík, P.

2017-01-01

Roč. 19, EGU General Assembly 2017 (2017) ISSN 1029-7006. [European Geosciences Union General Assembly. 23.04.2017-28.04.2017, Vienna] R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA16-00800S Institutional support: RVO:67985831 ; RVO:61388980 Keywords : DP-333-09 * JP-585-10 * Burdigalian * spectral analysis * magnetostratigraphy * Miocene Subject RIV: DE - Earth Magnetism, Geodesy, Geography http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2017/EGU2017-19330.pdf

Evolutionary history of the thicket rats (genus Grammomys) mirrors the evolution of African forests since late Miocene

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Bryja, Josef; Šumbera, R.; Kerbis Peterhans, J. C.; Aghová, Tatiana; Bryjová, Anna; Mikula, Ondřej; Nicolas, V.; Denys, C.; Verheyen, E.

2017-01-01

Roč. 44, č. 1 (2017), s. 182-194 ISSN 0305-0270 Institutional support: RVO:68081766 Keywords : Arvicanthini * coastal forests * late Miocene * lowland forests * mountain forests * phylogeography * Plio-Pleistocene climate changes * Rodentia * tropical Africa Subject RIV: EG - Zoology OBOR OECD: Ecology Impact factor: 4.248, year: 2016

Biostratigraphy of the Miocene of Zeven, county of Bremervoerde, based on mollusks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hinsch, W

1969-06-01

Cores from 2 water wells and a gas well, containing a very rich assemblage of fossil mollusks, were used to clarify the biostratigraphy of the Miocene near Zeven, especially in the sands corresponding to the brown coal deposits. The overburden contains the fauna of the Reinbek, the underburden 2 faunas of the Hemmoor, one of brachyhaline and one of euhaline characteristics. A list of the 174 species found, and of those most useful for age determinations, is given. The correspondence between several local nomenclatures in the Helvetian, Burdigalian and Aquitanian formations is tabulated. (12 refs.)

Paleobiogeography of scleractinian reef corals: Changing patterns during the Oligocene-Miocene climatic transition in the Mediterranean

Science.gov (United States)

Perrin, Christine; Bosellini, Francesca R.

2012-02-01

During the Oligocene-Miocene Greenhouse-to-Icehouse climatic transition, the biogeography of reef corals or zooxanthellate-like scleractinian corals was gradually changing from a pan-tropical Tethyan Province in the Eocene to three reef-coral Provinces of the Western Atlantic-Caribbean, Indo-Pacific and Mediterranean. Our REEFCORAL database encompasses updated and homogenized data on paleoenvironmental and systematics of scleractinian corals occurring in the Oligocene and Miocene outcrops from circum-Mediterranean regions, provided by most of relatively recently published data in the literature and by the study of published and unpublished collections of coral specimens from the same area, including the important collections housed at the MNHN (Paris) and our own collections. As there is no validated direct criterion for the identification of the coral-zooxanthellate symbiosis in the fossil record, and considering the difficulty to use the biogeochemical approaches in the context of this study, the subjectivity of the morphological criteria and the relative recent age of the fossil corals we are dealing with, a uniformitarian approach has been used for inferring the symbiotic status of scleractinian genera in REEFCORAL. Among the 158 genera included in our database, 93 can be considered as zooxanthellate and 10 have a doubtful zooxanthellate status. This relatively exhaustive database was used to reconstruct the temporal and spatial distribution of scleractinian corals in the Mediterranean during the Oligocene-Miocene time in order to discuss the interplaying effects of the global cooling at that time, the re-organization of the Tethyan realm resulting from the African, Arabian and Eurasian plate collision and the emergence of the Alpine chains, driving the gradual northward movement of the whole region outside the tropical/subtropical belt. It is shown that the structure of the Mediterranean z-coral Oligocene-Miocene paleobiodiversity was characterized by many

IODP Expeditions 303 and 306 Monitor Miocene- Quaternary Climate in the North Atlantic

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Carlos Alvarez-Zarikian

2006-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction The IODP Expeditions 303 and 306 drilling sites were chosen for two reasons: (1 to capture Miocene-Quaternary millennial-scale climate variability in sensitive regions at the mouth of the Labrador Sea and in the North Atlantic icerafted debris (IRD belt (Ruddiman et al., 1977, and (2 to provide the sedimentary and paleomagnetic attributes, including adequate sedimentation rates, for constructinghigh-resolution isotopic and magnetic stratigraphies.High accumulation rates, reaching 20 cm ky-1, permit the study of millennial-scale variations in climate and in the Earth's magnetic fi eld over the past several million years, when the amplitude and frequency of climate variability changed substantially. Shipboard logging and scanning data (magnetic susceptibility and remanence, density, natural gamma radiation, digital images and color refl ectance and post-expedition x-ray fl uorescence (XRF scanning datahave revealed that the sediment cores recovered on Expeditions 303 and 306 contain detailed histories of millennial-scale climate and geomagnetic fi eld variability throughout the late Miocene to Quaternary epochs. The climate proxies will be integrated with paleomagnetic data to place the records of millennial-scale climate change into a high resolution stratigraphy based on oxygen isotope andrelative paleomagnetic intensity (RPI. The paleomagnetic record of polarity reversals, excursions and RPI in these cores is central to the construction of the stratigraphic template and will provide detailed documentation of geomagnetic fi eld behavior.

Moisture Adsorption and Thermodynamic Properties of California Grown Almonds (Varieties: Nonpareil and Monterey

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Li Zuo Taitano

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Moisture adsorption characteristics of California grown almonds (Nonpareil: pasteurized and unpasteurized almonds; Monterey: pasteurized, unpasteurized and blanched almonds were obtained using the gravimetric method over a range of water activities from 0.11 to 0.98 at 7-50ºC. The weights of almonds were measured until samples reached a constant weight. The relationship between equilibrium moisture content and water activity was established using the Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer model. The diffusion coefficient of water in almond kernels was calculated based on Ficks second law. The monolayer moisture value of almonds ranged from 0.020 to 0.035 kg H2O kg-1 solids. The diffusion coefficient increased with temperature at a constant water activity, and decreased with water activity at a constant temperature. The thermodynamic properties (net isosteric heat, differential enthalpy and entropy were also determined. The net isosteric heat of adsorption decreased with the increasing moisture content, and the plot of differential enthalpy versus entropy satisfied the enthalpy-entropy compensation theory. The adsorption process of almond samples was enthalpy driven over the range of studied moisture contents.

Late oligocene and miocene faulting and sedimentation, and evolution of the southern Rio Grande rift, New Mexico, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Mack, Greg H.; Seager, William R.; Kieling, John

1994-08-01

The distribution of nonmarine lithofacies, paleocurrents, and provenance data are used to define the evolution of late Oligocene and Miocene basins and complementary uplifts in the southern Rio Grande rift in the vicinity of Hatch, New Mexico, USA. The late Oligocene-middle Miocene Hayner Ranch Formation, which consists of a maximum of 1000 m of alluvial-fan, alluvial-flat, and lacustrine-carbonate lithofacies, was deposited in a narrow (12 km), northwest-trending, northeast-tilted half graben, whose footwall was the Caballo Mountains block. Stratigraphic separation on the border faults of the Caballo Mountains block was approximately 1615 m. An additional 854 m of stratigraphic separation along the Caballo Mountains border faults occurred during deposition of the middle-late Miocene Rincon Valley Formation, which is composed of up to 610 m of alluvial-fan, alluvial-flat, braided-fluvial, and gypsiferous playa lithofacies. Two new, north-trending fault blocks (Sierra de las Uvas and Dona Ana Mountains) and complementary west-northwest-tilted half graben also developed during Rincon Valley time, with approximately 549 m of stratigraphic separation along the border fault of the Sierra de las Uvas block. In latest Miocene and early Pliocene time, following deposition of the Rincon Valley Formation, movement continued along the border faults of the Caballo Mountains, Dona Ana Mountains, and Sierra de las Uvas blocks, and large parts of the Hayner Ranch and Rincon Valley basins were segmented into smaller fault blocks and basins by movement along new, largely north-trending faults. Analysis of the Hayner Ranch and Rincon Valley Formations, along with previous studies of the early Oligocene Bell Top Formation and late Pliocene-early Pleistocene Camp Rice Formation, indicate that the traditional two-stage model for development of the southern Rio Grande rift should be abandoned in favor of at least four episodes of block faulting beginning 35 Ma ago. With the exception of

The Nature of The Propagation of Sea Breeze Fronts in Central California

Science.gov (United States)

1990-09-01

propagation vector % ith stations in the southern portion of Monterey Bay shows that the front is curved on the mesoscale. 20 Distribution Availabilit of...solar radiation warms the land more than the adjacent water . The resulting temperature contrast produces a slight variation in pressure. The isobaric...surfaces bend upward over the land, producing an upper-level high. The upper-level air flows seaward increasing the surface pressure over the water . The

New Miocene sulid birds from Peru and considerations on their Neogene fossil record in the Eastern Pacific Ocean

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Marcelo Stucchi

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Boobies and gannets (family Sulidae are the most specialized plunge divers among seabirds. Their fossil record along the Pacific coast of South America extends to the early Middle Miocene. Here we describe three new species of sulids: Sula brandi sp. nov., Sula figueroae sp. nov., and Ramphastosula aguirrei sp. nov., from the early Late Miocene of the Pisco Formation (Peru. Two of them are relatives of the living genus Sula, which represents medium and large-sized boobies. A new species of the extinct genus Ramphastosula is also described, adding to the discussion of possible alternative feeding strategies among sulids. The fossil record suggests that sympatric sulids exhibit different body sizes at least since the Oligocene epoch, a strategy related with resource partitioning. Furthermore, we find current analysis and knowledge of the fossil record unsuitable to evaluate properly seabird diversity changes through time.

Orbitally-paced variations of water availability in the SE Asian Monsoon region following the Miocene Climate Transition

Science.gov (United States)

Heitmann, Emma O.; Ji, Shunchuan; Nie, Junsheng; Breecker, Daniel O.

2017-09-01

Middle Miocene Earth had several boundary conditions similar to those predicted for future Earth including similar atmospheric pCO2 and substantial Antarctic ice cover but no northern hemisphere ice sheets. We describe a 12 m outcrop of the terrestrial Yanwan Section in the Tianshui Basin, Gansu, China, following the Miocene Climate Transition (13.9-13.7 Ma). It consists of ∼25 cm thick CaCO3-cemented horizons that overprint siltstones every ∼1 m. We suggest that stacked soils developed in siltstones under a seasonal climate with a fluctuating water table, evidenced by roots, clay films, mottling, presence of CaCO3 nodules, and stacked carbonate nodule δ13 C and δ18 O profiles that mimic modern soils. We suggest that the CaCO3-cemented horizons are capillary-fringe carbonates that formed in an arid climate with a steady water table and high potential evapotranspiration rates (PET), evidenced by sharp upper and basal contacts, micrite, sparite, and root-pore cements. The CaCO3 of the cemented horizons and the carbonate nodules have similar mean δ18 O and δ13 C values but the cements have significantly smaller variance in δ13 C and δ18 O values and a different δ18 O versus δ13 C slope, supporting the conclusion that these carbonates are from different populations. The magneto-stratigraphic age model indicates obliquity pacing of the arid conditions required to form the CaCO3-cemented horizons suggesting an orbital control on water availability. We suggest two possible drivers for the obliquity pacing of arid conditions: 1) variability in the cross-equatorial pressure gradient that controls summer monsoon (ASM) strength and is influenced by obliquity-paced variations of Antarctic ice volume and 2) variability in Western Pacific Ocean-East Asian continent pressure gradient controlled by the 25-45°N meridional insolation gradient. We also suggest that variations in aridity were influenced by variations in PET and sensible heating of the regional land

New technological developments provide deep-sea sediment density flow insights: the Monterey Coordinated Canyon Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

O'Reilly, T. C.; Kieft, B.; Chaffey, M. R.; Wolfson-Schwehr, M.; Herlien, R.; Bird, L.; Klimov, D.; Paull, C. K.; Gwiazda, R.; Lundsten, E. M.; Anderson, K.; Caress, D. W.; Sumner, E. J.; Simmons, S.; Parsons, D. R.; Talling, P.; Rosenberger, K. J.; Xu, J.; Maier, K. L.; Gales, J. A.

2017-12-01

The Monterey Coordinated Canyon Experiment (CCE) deployed an array of instruments along the Monterey Canyon floor to characterize the structure, velocity and frequency of sediment flows. CCE utilized novel technologies developed at MBARI to capture sediment flow data in unprecedented detail. 1. The Seafloor Instrument Node (SIN) at 1850 meters depth housed 3 ADCPs at 3 different frequencies, CTD, current meter, oxygen optode, fluorometer/backscatter sensor, and logged data at 10 second intervals or faster. The SIN included an acoustic modem for communication with shore through a Wave Glider relay, and provided high-resolution measurements of three flow events during three successive deployments over 1.5 years. 2. Beachball-sized Benthic Event Detectors (BEDs) were deployed on or under the seafloor to measure the characteristics of sediment density flows. Each BED recorded data from a pressure sensor and a 3-axis accelerometer and gyro to characterize motions during transport events (e.g. tumble vs rotation). An acoustic modem capable of operating through more than a meter of sediment enabled communications with a ship or autonomous surface vehicle. Multiple BEDs were deployed at various depths in the canyon during CCE, detecting and measuring many transport events; one BED moved 9 km down canyon in 50 minutes during one event. 3. Wave Glider Hot Spot (HS), equipped with acoustic and RF modems, acted as data relay between SIN, BEDs and shore, and acoustically located BEDs after sediment density flows.. In some cases HS relayed BED motion data to shore within a few hours of the event. HS provided an acoustic console to the SIN, allowing shore-based users to check SIN health and status, perform maintenance, etc. 4. Mapping operations were conducted 4 times at the SIN site to quantify depositional and erosional patterns, utilizing a prototype ultra-high-resolution mapping system on the ROV Doc Ricketts. The system consists of a 400-kHz Reson 7125 multibeam sonar, a 3

Petrology and organic geochemistry of the lower Miocene lacustrine sediments (Most Basin, Eger Graben, Czech Republic)

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Havelcová, Martina; Sýkorová, Ivana; Mach, K.; Trejtnarová, Hana; Blažek, Jaroslav

2015-01-01

Roč. 139, Special issue (2015), s. 26-39 ISSN 0166-5162 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA13-18482S Institutional support: RVO:67985891 Keywords : Most Basin * Miocene * coal facies indices * coal petrology * organic geochemistry Subject RIV: DD - Geochemistry Impact factor: 3.294, year: 2015 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166516214001529#

Early Miocene rapid exhumation in southern Tibet: Insights from P-T-t-D-magmatism path of Yardoi dome

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jia-Min; Wu, Fu-Yuan; Rubatto, Daniela; Liu, Kai; Zhang, Jin-Jiang; Liu, Xiao-Chi

2018-04-01

Reconstructing the evolution of Gneiss domes within orogenic belts poses challenges because domes can form in a variety of geodynamic settings and by multiple doming mechanisms. For the North Himalayan gneiss domes (NHGD), it is debated whether they formed during shortening, extension or collapse of the plateau, and what is the spatial and temporal relationship of magmatism, metamorphism and deformation. This study investigates the Yardoi dome in southern Tibet using field mapping, petrography, phase equilibria modelling and new monazite ages. The resulting P-T-time-deformation-magmatism path for the first time reveals the spatial and temporal relationship of metamorphism, deformation and magmatism in the Yardoi dome: a) the dome mantle recorded prograde loading to kyanite-grade Barrovian metamorphic conditions of 650 ± 30 °C and 9 ± 1 kbar (M2) in the Early Miocene (18-17 Ma); b) the main top-to-the-north deformation fabric (D2) formed syn- to post-peak-metamorphism; c) the emplacement of leucorgranites related to doming is syn-metamorphism at 19-17 Ma. The link between the detachment shear zone in the Yardoi dome and the South Tibetan detachment system (STDS) is confirmed. By comparing with orogen-scale tectonic processes in the Himalaya, we suggest that north-south extension in a convergent geodynamic setting during Early Miocene accounts for formation of the Yardoi dome. In a wider tectonic context, the Early Miocene rapid exhumation of deep crustal rocks was contemporaneous with the rapid uplift of southern Tibet and the Himalayan orogen.

The first fossil brown lacewing from the Miocene of the Tibetan Plateau (Neuroptera, Hemerobiidae

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Qiang Yang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available A new species of Hemerobiidae, Wesmaelius makarkini Yang, Pang & Ren, sp. n. is described from the Lower Miocene, Garang Formation of Zeku County, Qinghai Province (northeastern Tibetan Plateau, China. The species is assigned to the widely distributed extant genus Wesmaelius Krüger (Hemerobiinae. The species represents the first named fossil of this family from China, which sheds light on the historical distribution of Wesmaelius and early divergences within Hemerobiinae.

Lithofacies and sequence stratigraphic description of the upper part of the Avon Park Formation and the Arcadia Formation in U.S. Geological Survey G–2984 test corehole, Broward County, Florida

Science.gov (United States)

Cunningham, Kevin J.; Robinson, Edward

2017-07-18

Rock core and sediment from U.S. Geological Survey test corehole G–2984 completed in 2011 in Broward County, Florida, provide an opportunity to improve the understanding of the lithostratigraphic, sequence stratigraphic, and hydrogeologic framework of the intermediate confining unit and Floridan aquifer system in southeastern Florida. A multidisciplinary approach including characterization of sequence stratigraphy, lithofacies, ichnology, foraminiferal paleontology, depositional environments, porosity, and permeability was used to describe the geologic samples from this test corehole. This information has produced a detailed characterization of the lithofacies and sequence stratigraphy of the upper part of the middle Eocene Avon Park Formation and Oligocene to middle Miocene Arcadia Formation. This enhancement of the knowledge of the sequence stratigraphic framework is especially important, because subaerial karst unconformities at the upper boundary of depositional cycles at various hierarchical scales are commonly associated with secondary porosity and enhanced permeability in the Floridan aquifer system.

Enhanced Continental Weathering on Antarctica During the Mid Miocene Climatic Optima Based on Pb Isotopes

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, E. E.; Fenn, C.; Basak, C.

2012-12-01

Feedbacks between climate and continental weathering can be monitored over geologic time scales using Pb isotopes preserved in marine sediments. During chemical weathering, radiogenic Pb is preferentially released to the dissolved phase, producing weathering solutions with more radiogenic isotopic values than the parent rock. The offset between the composition of the solution and rock tend to increase with the intensity of incongruent weathering (von Blanckenburg and Nägler, 2001; Harlavan and Erel, 2002). The seawater isotopic signal extracted from Fe-Mn oxides on bulk marine sediments is interpreted to represent the composition of local dissolved weathering inputs. For example, increasing seawater Pb isotopes observed during the most recent deglaciation are believed to reflect enhanced weathering of newly exposed glacial rock flour under warm conditions (Foster and Vance, 2006; Kurzweil et al., 2010). For this study we evaluated Nd and Pb isotopes from both the seawater fraction (extracted from Fe-Mn oxides) and parent rock (the detrital fraction of marine sediment) during the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO) and subsequent cooling and East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) expansion (18 to 8 Ma) from Ocean Drilling Program site 744 on Kerguelen Plateau (2300 m; Indian sector) and sites 689 and 690 on Maud Rise (2080 m and 2914 m; Atlantic sector). The absolute value of seawater 206Pb/204Pb and separation between values for seawater and detrital fractions increased during the MMCO, suggesting enhanced weathering in proglacial and deglaciated areas exposed by ice sheet meltback during the warm interval. During the ensuing cooling, seawater values and the offset between the two archives decreased. Similar trends are displayed by 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb, although 207Pb/204Pb detrital values tend to be higher than seawater values. Reconstructions of atmospheric pCO2 in the Miocene have suggested both 1) decoupling between pCO2 and climate with consistently low

The Transylvanian Basin (Romania) and its relation to the Carpathian fold and thrust belt: Insights in gravitational salt tectonics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krezsek, Csaba [SNGN ROMGAZ, 4 Unirii 551025 Medias (Romania); Bally, Albert W. [Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Rice, 6100 South Main Street, Houston, TX 77005-1892 (United States)

2006-05-15

Interpretation of regional seismic profiles, stratigraphic and sedimentologic data improved insights in the evolution of the Transylvanian Basin. The basin evolution was coeval with the post-Mid-Cretaceous to recent deformation of the Carpathian Mts. Four tectonostratigraphic megasequences are differentiated: Upper Cretaceous (rift), Paleogene (sag), Lower Miocene (flexural basin) and Middle to Upper Miocene (backarc sequence dominated by gravitational tectonics). The Mid-Miocene continental collision in the Eastern Carpathians is associated with the rising Carpathians. This uplift enhanced the differential load, which, together with the high heat flow induced by Late Miocene to Pliocene arc volcanism, triggered large-scale Mio-Pliocene gravity spreading of the salt overburden. This 'mega-slide' comprises three structural domains, as follows: extensional weld (upslope), contractional folds (central) and contractional toe thrust (downslope). The diapirs in the east indicate a pre-shortening reactive/passive growth stage. The central folds are mostly the result of late shortening. Basement involved thrusting uplifted the toe thrust domain by the Late Pliocene. The Late Neogene to recent Carpathians uplift, backarc volcanism and gravity spreading are largely coeval. (author)

Evidence for a dynamic East Antarctic ice sheet during the mid-Miocene climate transition

Science.gov (United States)

Pierce, Elizabeth L.; van de Flierdt, Tina; Williams, Trevor; Hemming, Sidney R.; Cook, Carys P.; Passchier, Sandra

2017-11-01

The East Antarctic ice sheet underwent a major expansion during the Mid-Miocene Climate Transition, around 14 Ma, lowering sea level by ∼60 m. However, direct or indirect evidence of where changes in the ice sheet occurred is limited. Here we present new insights on timing and locations of ice sheet change from two drill sites offshore East Antarctica. IODP Site U1356, Wilkes Land, and ODP Site 1165, Prydz Bay are located adjacent to two major ice drainage areas, the Wilkes Subglacial Basin and the Lambert Graben. Ice-rafted detritus (IRD), including dropstones, was deposited in concentrations far exceeding those known in the rest of the Miocene succession at both sites between 14.1 and 13.8 Ma, indicating that large amounts of IRD-bearing icebergs were calved from independent drainage basins during this relatively short interval. At Site U1356, the IRD was delivered in distinct pulses, suggesting that the overall ice advance was punctuated by short periods of ice retreat in the Wilkes Subglacial Basin. Provenance analysis of the mid-Miocene IRD and fine-grained sediments provides additional insights on the movement of the ice margin and subglacial geology. At Site U1356, the dominant 40Ar/39Ar thermochronological age of the ice-rafted hornblende grains is 1400-1550 Ma, differing from the majority of recent IRD in the area, from which we infer an inland source area of this thermochronological age extending along the eastern part of the Adélie Craton, which forms the western side of the Wilkes Subglacial Basin. Neodymium isotopic compositions from the terrigenous fine fraction at Site U1356 imply that the ice margin periodically expanded from high ground well into the Wilkes Subglacial Basin during periods of MMCT ice growth. At Site 1165, MMCT pebble-sized IRD are sourced from both the local Lambert Graben and the distant Aurora Subglacial Basin drainage area. Together, the occurrence and provenance of the IRD and glacially-eroded sediment at these two marine

Age and stratigraphic context of Pliopithecus and associated fauna from Miocene sedimentary strata at Damiao, Inner Mongolia, China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kaakinen, Anu; Abdul Aziz, Hayfaa; Passey, Benjamin H.; Zhang, Zhaoqun; Liu, Liping; Salminen, Johanna; Wang, Lihua; Krijgsman, Wout; Fortelius, Mikael

2015-01-01

Since the discovery of mammalian fossils in Central Inner Mongolia in the beginning of the 20th century, this area has produced a rich and diverse record of Miocene faunas. Nevertheless, the stratigraphy has remained poorly constrained owing to scattered faunal horizons and lack of continuous

The Miocene fish Marosichthys, a putative tetraodontiform, actually a perciform surgeon fish (Acanthuridae) related to the recent Naso

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tyler, James C.

1997-01-01

Marosichthys huismani (de Beaufort, 1926), a fish from the Miocene of the Celebes, was described in the tripod fish family Triacanthidae, Tetraodontiformes. It is shown here to be a valid genus of the surgeon fish family Acanthuridae, Perciformes, and closely related to the Recent genus Naso.

AN ADVANCED FRACTURE CHARACTERIZATION AND WELL PATH NAVIGATION SYSTEM FOR EFFECTIVE RE-DEVELOPMENT AND ENHANCEMENT OF ULTIMATE RECOVERY FROM THE COMPLEX MONTEREY RESERVOIR OF SOUTH ELLWOOD FIELD, OFFSHORE CALIFORNIA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steve Horner

2004-04-29

Venoco Inc, intends to re-develop the Monterey Formation, a Class III basin reservoir, at South Ellwood Field, Offshore Santa Barbara, California. Well productivity in this field varies significantly. Cumulative Monterey production for individual wells has ranged from 260 STB to 8,700,000 STB. Productivity is primarily affected by how well the well path connects with the local fracture system and the degree of aquifer support. Cumulative oil recovery to date is a small percentage of the original oil in place. To embark upon successful re-development and to optimize reservoir management, Venoco intends to investigate, map and characterize field fracture patterns and the reservoir conduit system. State of the art borehole imaging technologies including FMI, dipole sonic and cross-well seismic, interference tests and production logs will be employed to characterize fractures and micro faults. These data along with the existing database will be used for construction of a novel geologic model of the fracture network. Development of an innovative fracture network reservoir simulator is proposed to monitor and manage the aquifer's role in pressure maintenance and water production. The new fracture simulation model will be used for both planning optimal paths for new wells and improving ultimate recovery. In the second phase of this project, the model will be used for the design of a pilot program for downhole water re-injection into the aquifer simultaneously with oil production. Downhole water separation units attached to electric submersible pumps will be used to minimize surface fluid handling thereby improving recoveries per well and field economics while maintaining aquifer support. In cooperation with the DOE, results of the field studies as well as the new models developed and the fracture database will be shared with other operators. Numerous fields producing from the Monterey and analogous fractured reservoirs both onshore and offshore will benefit from the

Effects of pruning in Monterey pine plantations affected by Fusarium circinatum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bezos, D.; Lomba, J. M.; Martinez-Alvarez, P.; Fernandez, M.; Diez, J. J.

2012-07-01

Fusarium circinatum Nirenberg and O'Donnell (1998) is the causal agent of Pitch Canker Disease (PCD) in Pinus species, producing damage to the main trunk and lateral branches as well as causing branch dieback. The disease has been detected recently in northern Spain in Pinus spp. seedlings at nurseries and in Pinus radiata D. Don adult trees in plantations. Fusarium circinatum seems to require a wound to enter the tree, not only that as caused by insects but also that resulting from damage by humans, i.e. mechanical wounds. However, the effects of pruning on the infection process have yet to be studied. The aim of the present study was to know how the presence of mechanical damage caused by pruning affects PCD occurrence and severity in P. radiata plantations. Fifty P. radiata plots (pruned and unpruned) distributed throughout 16 sites affected by F. circinatum in the Cantabria region (northern Spain) were studied. Symptoms of PCD presence, such as dieback, oozing cankers and trunk deformation were evaluated in 25 trees per plot and related to pruning effect. A significant relationship between pruning and the number of cankers per tree was observed, concluding that wounds caused by pruning increase the chance of pathogen infection. Other trunk symptoms, such as the presence of resin outside the cankers, were also higher in pruned plots. These results should be taken into account for future management of Monterey Pine plantations. (Author) 36 refs.

Astrochronology of a Late Oligocene to Early Miocene Magnetostratigraphy from the Northwest Atlantic

Science.gov (United States)

van Peer, T. E.; Xuan, C.; Liebrand, D.; Lippert, P. C.; Wilson, P. A.

2016-12-01

The Oligocene-Miocene Boundary is defined by the geomagnetic polarity reversal C6Cn.2n/C6Cn.2r with an astronomically tuned age of 23 Ma. For late Oligocene to early Miocene reversals, only a few records (mainly from the equatorial Pacific and South Atlantic) integrate magneto- and cyclo-stratigraphy with astronomical tuning. Reversal ages acquired from these records show differences up to 100 kyr. We report new astronomically tuned ages for reversals between 21-26.5 Ma, based on integrated palaeomagnetic and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) data from rapidly accumulated drift sediments (mean sedimentation rate of 2.5 cm/kyr) at Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site U1406 (northwest Atlantic). The natural remanence preserved in the sediments is relatively weak (especially at high demagnetisation steps) and prone to influence from measurement noise. We introduce an optimisation protocol to improve the estimation of component directions used to define the reversals. For each 1-cm interval measurement, the protocol searches for the combination of a fixed number of steps of demagnetisation data that minimises the maximum angular deviation, statistically excluding the noisy measurement steps. For the tuning, we use the logarithm of the calcium over potassium ratio ln(Ca/K) from XRF core scanning data, a proxy of carbonate content in the sediment. Spectral and wavelet analyses of the 140-m long ln(Ca/K) record highlight dominant obliquity (including the 178 and 1200 kyr modulation) and additional eccentricity forcing. Supported by preliminary stable isotope analysis on benthic foraminifera, we tuned ln(Ca/K) minima to obliquity minima and eccentricity maxima. The resulting age model yield new independent ages for all reversals between C6Ar/C6AAn to C8r/C9n. Our results are generally consistent (within an obliquity cycle) with the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1090 age model [Billups et al., 2004], but deviate up to 80 kyr relative to ODP Site 1218 [Pälike et al

Hydrogeological Modelling of Some Geothermal Waters of Ivrindi, Havran and Gönen in the Province Capital of Balikesir, Western Anatolia, Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Özgür, Nevzat; Ugurlu, Zehra; Memis, Ümit; Aydemir, Eda

2017-12-01

In this study, hydrogeological, hydrogeochemical and isotope geochemical features of Havran, Gönen and Ivrindi within the province capital of Balıkesir, Turkey were investigated in detail. The Early Triassic Karakaya formation in the study area of Havran forms the oldest rocks consisting of spilitic basalts, diabases, gabbros, mudstones, cherts and radiolarites. There are limestone blocks in this formation with intercalations with sandstones and with feldspar contents, quartzite, conglomerates and siltstones. Oligocene to Miocene granodiorite intrusions were generated in association with intensively volcanic events in the area. Between Upper Oligocene and Early Miocene, andesitic and dacitic pyroclastic rocks cropped out due to intensively volcanism. Later, conglomerates, sandstones, claystones, marls and limestones as lacustrine sediments formed from Middle to Upper Miocene in the study area. In the study area of Gönen, the Lower Triassic Karakaya formation consists of basalts, diabases, gabbros, mudstones, cherts and radiolarites and forms the basement rocks overlain by Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous sandy limestones. Upper and Middle Miocene volcanics which can be considered intensive Biga Peninsula volcanos outcrop in the area. These andesitic lava flows are of black, gray and red color with intensive fissures. Neogene lacustrine sediments consist of conglomerates, sandstones, marl, claystone and clayey limestones. Upper Miocene to Pliocene rhyolitic pyroclastics and dacitic lava flows are the volcanic rocks which are overlain by Pliocene conglomerates, sandstones and claystones. In the study area of Ivrindi, the Çaldağ limestones are the oldest formation in Permian age. Çavdartepe metamorphic rocks are of Lower Triassic in which can be observed marbles sporadically. The Kınık formation consisting of conglomerates, sandstones, siltstones and limestones are of Lower Triassic age and display a lateral Stratigraphic progress with volcanic rocks. Upper

Controls on facies and sequence stratigraphy of an upper Miocene carbonate ramp and platform, Melilla basin, NE Morocco

Science.gov (United States)

Cunningham, K.J.; Collins, Luke S.

2002-01-01

that bound the upper surface of the ramp and upper surface of the oldest platform parasequence are related to relative falls in sea level induced by local volcanism and associated tectonic uplift. These local relative falls had little influence on a broader-scale rise to stillstand in relative sea level that controlled development of the transgressive and early highstand systems tracts represented in the ramp and platform, respectively. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

K-Ar ages of Early Miocene arc-type volcanoes in northern New Zealand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayward, B.W.; Black, P.M.; Smith, I.E.M.; Ballance, P.F.; Itaya, T.; Doi, M.; Takagi, M.; Bergman, S.; Adams, C.J.; Herzer, R.H.; Robertson, D.J.

2001-01-01

Understanding the temporal and spatial development of the Early Miocene Northland Volcanic Arc is critical to interpreting the patterns of volcanic activity in northern New Zealand through the Late Cenozoic. The northwesterly trending arc is considered to have developed above a southwest-dipping subduction system. The distribution of its constituent eruptive centres is described in terms of an eastern belt that extends along the eastern side of Northland and a complementary broad western belt which includes subaerial and submarine volcanic edifices. Critical examination of all 216 K-Ar ages available, including 180 previously unpublished ages, and their assessment against tectonic, lithostratigraphic, seismic stratigraphic, and biostratigraphic constraints, leads us to deduce a detailed chronology of periods of activity for the various Early (and Middle) Miocene arc-type volcanic complexes and centres of northern New Zealand: Waipoua Shield Volcano Complex (19-18 Ma, Altonian); Kaipara Volcanic Complex (23-16 Ma, Waitakian-Altonian); Manukau Volcanic Complex (c. 23-15.5 Ma, Waitakian-Clifdenian); North Cape Volcanic Centre (23-18 Ma, Waitakian-Altonian); Whangaroa Volcanic Complex (22.5-17.5 Ma, Waitakian-Altonian); Taurikura Volcanic Complex (22-15.5 Ma, Otaian-Clifdenian); Parahaki Dacites (22.5-18 Ma, Waitakian-Altonian); Kuaotunu Volcanic Complex (18.5-11 Ma, Altonian-Waiauan). In general, volcanic activity does not show geographic migration with time, and the western (25-15.5 Ma) and eastern (23-11 Ma) belts appear to have developed concurrently. (author). 123 refs., 9 figs., 1 tab

Palynological and palaeobotanical investigations in the Miocene of the Yatağan basin, Turkey: High-resolution taxonomy and biostratigraphy

Science.gov (United States)

Bouchal, Johannes Martin; Güner, Tuncay H.; Denk, Thomas

2015-04-01

The subject of this study is the palynology (biostratigraphic and taxonomic) and the plant remains of the lignite strip mines of Eskihisar, Salihpasalar, and Tinaz (Muğla province, western Turkey). In the Yatağan basin two Miocene to Pliocene formations are present, the Eskihisar Formation (early to middle Miocene) and the Yatağan Formation (late Miocene to early Pliocene). Both formations represent river and lake deposits consisting mainly of conglomerate, sandstone, claystone, limestone, tuffite, and intercalated lignite; the thickest, actively mined lignite seams occur in the Sekköy member of the Eskihisar Formation. Previous palynological studies of the palynoflora of the Yatağan basin mainly focussed on its biostratigraphic and palaeoclimatic significance, using conventional morphological nomenclature and light microscopy (LM). In this study the "single grain method" is applied. Using this method, the same individual pollen grains are investigated by using both LM and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The resulting high-resolution pictographs enable a much higher taxonomic resolution. The studied palynoflora is very rich and taxonomically diverse. Cryptogams are represented by more than ten spore morphotypes of at least three families (Osmundaceae, Pteridaceae, Polypodiaceae). Gymnosperm pollen is dominated by Cupressaceae, Gnetales (Ephedra), and Pinaceae (Cathaya, Keteleeria, Pinus). Angiosperm pollen can be assigned to 57 different genera belonging to Poaceae, Typhaceae, Altingiaceae, Amaranthaceae (Chenopodieae), Anacardiaceae, Apiaceae (three types), Asteraceae (Asteroideae, Cichoriodeae), Betulaceae (Alnus, Betula, Carpinus, Ostrya) Buxaceae, Campanulaceae, Caprifoliaceae (Lonicera), Caryophyllaceae, Dipsacaceae, Eucommiaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Fagaceae (Fagus, Quercus, Trigonobalanopsis) Geraniaceae, Juglandaceae, Linaceae, Malvaceae (Tilia), Myricaceae, Oleaceae (four different types), Plumbaginaceae, Polygonaceae (Rumex), Rosaceae

A secondary nursery area for the copper shark Carcharhinus brachyurus from the late Miocene of Peru

Science.gov (United States)

Landini, Walter; Collareta, Alberto; Pesci, Fabio; Di Celma, Claudio; Urbina, Mario; Bianucci, Giovanni

2017-10-01

The life history strategies of sharks often include the use of protected nursery areas by young-of-the-year and juveniles. Nursery areas can be primary (i.e., grounds where the sharks are born and spend the very first part of their lives) or secondary (i.e., grounds inhabited by slightly older but not yet mature individuals). Criteria utilized to recognize these strategic habitats include: high concentration of young sharks, high food availability, and low predation risk. Since the fossil record of sharks consists mainly of isolated teeth, identification of paleonurseries involves a series of problems due to difficult application of actualistic criteria. A rich shark tooth-bearing level (ST-low1) has recently been discovered in the upper Miocene deposits of the Pisco Formation exposed at Cerro Colorado (southern coast of Peru). Most of the teeth collected from this level belong to the extant copper shark Carcharhinus brachyurus. These teeth are small and compatible with those of extant juveniles. This observation, coupled with other paleoenvironmental considerations, indicates that the ST-low1 horizon could have represented a nursery ground for juvenile individuals of C. brachyurus. The absence of very small-sized teeth (i.e., referable to young-of-the-year) suggests a secondary nursery ground inhabited by immature copper sharks. Observations on the tooth size of other Lamniformes, Carcharhiniformes, and Myliobatiformes occurring along with C. brachyurus point to a significantly juvenile structure of this elasmobranch assemblage, thus supporting the hypothesis of a communal use of the Cerro Colorado paleonursery.

The role of the Anaxagoras Mountain in the Miocene to Recent tectonic evolution of the eastern Mediterranean

Science.gov (United States)

Colbourne, Mark; Hall, Jeremy; Aksu, Ali; Çifçi, Günay

2014-05-01

The Anaximander Mountains are one of the many enigmatic structures situated along the morphologically and structurally complicated junction between the Hellenic and Cyprus Arcs, in the eastern Mediterranean. Interpretation of ~750 km of marine multi-channel seismic reflection data show that the present day Anaximander Mountains underwent several distinct phases of tectonic activity since Miocene. During the mid-late Miocene, a protracted, contractional tectonic regime produced the east-west trending, south-verging fold-thrust belt observed in the area. The Messinian was a period of relatively low tectonic activity, and is marked by the deposition of an evaporite layer. This phase lasted until the latest Miocene - earliest Pliocene, when a major erosional event associated with the Messinian salinity crisis occurred. Beginning in the early-mid Pliocene-Quaternary a transpressional and rotational tectonic regime prevailed over the area. The Anaximander Mountain (sensu stricto) and Anaximenes Mountain developed in the Pliocene-Quaternary associated with the reactivation, uplift and rotation of a linked, thick skinned pre-Messinian imbricate thrust fan. Back thrusting in the region accentuated the morphology of these mountains. The Anaxagoras Mountain differs both lithologically and morphologically from the Anaximander Mountain (sensu stricto) and the Anaximenes Mountain. It is probably developed associated with the emplacement of the ophiolitic Antalya Nappe Complex. Faulting in the Anaxagoras region is characterized by southwest striking thrust and/or oblique thrust faults. Due to the similarities in morphology between the Isparta Angle of southwestern Turkey and the Anaximander Mountains (sensu lato), it is hypothesized that the tectonic evolution of the two regions are similar in nature. The Anaximander Mountains (sensu lato) can thus be considered the offshore replication of the Isparta Angle, produced by similar mechanisms, but being of a younger age.

Two new species of .i.Prolagus./i. (Lagomorpha, Mammalia) from the Late Miocene of Hungary: taxonomy, biochronology, and palaeobiogeography

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Angelone, Ch.; Čermák, Stanislav

2015-01-01

Roč. 89, č. 4 (2015), s. 1023-1038 ISSN 0031-0220 Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : evolutionary trends * Hungary * isolated species * Late Miocene * P. latiuncinatus sp. nov * Prolagus pannonicus sp. nov Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 1.545, year: 2015

The tide-influenced Pétervására sandstone, early Miocene, Northern Hungary : sedimentology, palaeogeography and basin development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sztanó, O.

1994-01-01

The objectives of this thesis are: - to determine the main sedimentary units, the dominant depositional processes, and to reconstruct the depositional environment of the Lower Miocene Petervasara Sandstone (Chapter 3), - to show the pattern of sediment dispersal in connection with the potential

Carnivores from the Middle Miocene Ngorora Formation (13-12 Ma, Kenya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pickford, M.

2005-12-01

Full Text Available The late Middle Miocene Ngorora Formation has yielded several interesting carnivore fossils. Among these are a huge creodont, Megistotherium osteothlastes, at 12 Ma, possibly the youngest record of the species, an amphicyonid, two species of mustelids (an otter and a honey badger, two kinds of viverrids (one about the size of a civet, one the size of a genet and an extremely small herpestid the size of a dwarf mongoose. It has also yielded remains of a moderate sized percrocutid. Perhaps the most interesting carnivore is a new genus and species of bundont viverrid that is intermediate in size and morphology between Early Miocene Orangictis on the one hand and Plio-Pleistocene Pseudocivetta on the other. This lineage of bundont viverrids appears to have been restricted to Africa.La Formación Mioceno medio final de Ngorora (Kenia ha suministrado carnívoros muy interesantes. Entre los que se encuentran un enorme creodonto, Megistotherium osteothlastes, de 12 Ma, que posiblemente es el registro más moderno de la especie, un amphicyonido, dos especies de mustélidos (una nutria y un melivorino, dos diferentes tipos de vivérridos (uno de la talla de una civeta y el otro de la de una jineta y un herpéstido diminuto de la talla de una mangosta enana. También hay fósiles de un percrocútido de talla moderada. Tal vez el carnívoro más interesante es un nuevo género y especie de vivérrido bunodonto que presenta una talla y morfología intermedia entre Oragictis del Mioceno inferior y Pseudocivetta del Plio-Pleistoceno. Esta línea de vivérridos bunodontos parece estar restringida a Africa.

Stable carbon isotope ratios and intrinsic water-use efficiency of Miocene fossil leaves compared to modern congeners

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marshall, J.D.; Zhang, J.; Rember, W.C.; Jennings, D.; Larson, P. (Univ. of Idaho, Moscow, ID (United States))

1994-06-01

Miocene fossil leaves of forest trees were extracted from the Clarkia, Idaho fossil beds and their stable carbon isotope ratios were analyzed. Fossils had higher lignin concentrations and lower cellulose concentrations that modern leaves due to diagenesis and the HF used to extract the fossils. Therefore, [delta][sup 13]C of extracted fossil lignin was compared to that of modern lignin. Fossil lignin [delta][sup 13]C was significantly different from that of congeneric modern leaves (paired t-test, P<0.0001), but was 1.9% less negative. Gymnosperms (Metasequoia, Taxodium) were less negative than angiosperms (e.g., Magnolia, Quercus, Acer, Persea), but no difference between evergreen and deciduous species was detected. Using published estimates of the concentration and [delta][sup 13]C of atmospheric CO[sub 2] during the Miocene was estimated the CO[sub 2] partial pressure gradient across the stomata (intrinsic water-use efficiency). Intrinsic water-use efficiency was at least 70% higher during this past [open quotes]greenhouse[close quotes] period than at present.

Insights upon upper crustal arhitecture of a subduction zone and its surroundings - Vrancea Zone and Focsani Basin - substantiated by geophysical studies

Science.gov (United States)

Bocin, A.; Stephenson, R.; Mocanu, V.

2007-12-01

The DACIA PLAN (Danube and Carpathian Integrated Action on Processes in the Lithosphere and Neotectonics) deep seismic reflection survey was performed in August-September 2001, with the proposed objective of obtaining new information on the deep structure of the external Carpathians nappes and the architecture of Tertiary/Quaternary basin developed within and adjacent to the Vrancea zone, including the rapidly subsiding Focsani Basin. The DACIA-PLAN profile is about 140 km long, having a roughly NW-SE direction, from near the southeast Transylvanian Basin, across the mountainous southeastern Carpathians and their foreland to near the Danube River. A high resolution 2.5D velocity model of the upper crust along the seismic profile has been determined from a tomographic inversion and a 2D ray tracing forward modelling of the DACIA PLAN first arrival data. Peculiar shallow high velocities indicate that pre-Tertiary basement in the Vrancea Zone (characterised by velocities greater than 5.6 km/s) is involved in Carpathian thrusting while rapid alternance, vertically or horizontally, of velocity together with narrowingly contemporary crustal events suggests uplifting. Further to the east, at the foreland basin-thrust belt transition zone (well defined within velocity values), the velocity model suggests a nose of the Miocene Subcarpathians nappe being underlain by Focsani Basin units. A Miocene and younger Focsani Basin sedimentary succession of ~10 km thickness is ascertained by a gradual increase of velocities and strongly defined velocity boundaries.

Enhanced Structural Interpretation Using Multitrace Seismic Attribute For Oligo-Miocene Target at Madura Strait Offshore

Science.gov (United States)

Pratama Wahyu Hidayat, Putra; Hary Murti, Antonius; Sudarmaji; Shirly, Agung; Tiofan, Bani; Damayanti, Shinta

2018-03-01

Geometry is an important parameter for the field of hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation, it has significant effect to the amount of resources or reserves, rock spreading, and risk analysis. The existence of geological structure or fault becomes one factor affecting geometry. This study is conducted as an effort to enhance seismic image quality in faults dominated area namely offshore Madura Strait. For the past 10 years, Oligo-Miocene carbonate rock has been slightly explored on Madura Strait area, the main reason because migration and trap geometry still became risks to be concern. This study tries to determine the boundary of each fault zone as subsurface image generated by converting seismic data into variance attribute. Variance attribute is a multitrace seismic attribute as the derivative result from amplitude seismic data. The result of this study shows variance section of Madura Strait area having zero (0) value for seismic continuity and one (1) value for discontinuity of seismic data. Variance section shows the boundary of RMKS fault zone with Kendeng zone distinctly. Geological structure and subsurface geometry for Oligo-Miocene carbonate rock could be identified perfectly using this method. Generally structure interpretation to identify the boundary of fault zones could be good determined by variance attribute.

Phylogenetic and paleobotanical evidence for late Miocene diversification of the Tertiary subtropical lineage of ivies (Hedera L., Araliaceae).

Science.gov (United States)

Valcárcel, V; Guzmán, B; Medina, N G; Vargas, P; Wen, J

2017-06-22

Hedera (ivies) is one of the few temperate genera of the primarily tropical Asian Palmate group of the Araliaceae, which extends its range out of Asia to Europe and the Mediterranean basin. Phylogenetic and phylogeographic results suggested Asia as the center of origin and the western Mediterranean region as one of the secondary centers of diversification. The bird-dispersed fleshy fruits of ivies suggest frequent dispersal over long distances (e.g. Macaronesian archipelagos), although reducing the impact of geographic barriers to gene flow in mainland species. Genetic isolation associated with geographic barriers and independent polyploidization events have been postulated as the main driving forces of diversification. In this study we aim to evaluate past and present diversification patterns in Hedera within a geographic and temporal framework to clarify the biogeographic history of the genus. Phylogenetic (biogeographic, time divergence and diversification) and phylogeographic (coalescence) analyses using four DNA regions (nrITS, trnH-psbA, trnT-trnL, rpl32) revealed a complex spatial pattern of lineage divergence. Scarce geographic limitation to gene flow and limited diversification are observed during the early-mid Miocene, followed by a diversification rate increase related to geographic divergence from the Tortonian/Messinian. Genetic and palaeobotanical evidence points the origin of the Hedera clade in Asia, followed by a gradual E-W Asian extinction and the progressive E-W Mediterranean colonization. The temporal framework for the E Asia - W Mediterranean westward colonization herein reported is congruent with the fossil record. Subsequent range expansion in Europe and back colonization to Asia is also inferred. Uneven diversification among geographic areas occurred from the Tortonian/Messinian onwards with limited diversification in the newly colonized European and Asian regions. Eastern and western Mediterranean regions acted as refugia for Miocene and

Chronology of Miocene-Pliocene deposits at Split Mountain Gorge, Southern California: A record of regional tectonics and Colorado River evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Dorsey, R.J.; Fluette, A.; McDougall, K.; Housen, B.A.; Janecke, S.U.; Axen, G.J.; Shirvell, C.R.

2007-01-01

Late Miocene to early Pliocene deposit at Split Mountain Gorge, California, preserve a record of basinal response to changes in regional tectonics, paleogeography, and evolution of the Colorado River. The base of the Elephant Trees Formation, magnetostratigraphically dated as 8.1 ?? 0.4 Ma, provides the earliest well-dated record of extension in the southwestern Salton Trough. The oldest marine sediments are ca. 6.3 Ma. The nearly synchronous timing of marine incursion in the Salton Trough and northern Gulf of California region supports a model for localization of Pacific-North America plate motion in the Gulf ca. 6 Ma. The first appearance of Colorado River sand at the Miocene-Pliocene boundary (5.33 Ma) suggests rapid propagation of the river to the Salton Trough, and supports a lake-spillover hypothesis for initiation of the lower Colorado River. ?? 2007 Geological Society of America.

Influence of leachate on the Oligocene-Miocene clays of the İstanbul area, Turkey

OpenAIRE

ÖZTOPRAK, SADIK; LAÇİN, DAVUT

2018-01-01

Oligo-Miocene clay outcrops on the European side (west and northwest part) of İstanbul were analysed. Formerly, a landfill and sanitary landfill were built on the clay. Mineral liners of the current and extending parts of the İstanbul landfill consist of these clays, since they include a considerable amount of smectite, illite, and kaolinite. With this feature, these clays are also an important candidate for the buffer material of repositories for nuclear wastes of newly planned nuclear power...

Neogene dinocyst zonation for the eastern North Sea Basin, Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dybkjær, Karen; Piasecki, Stefan

2010-01-01

A dinocyst zonation for the Neogene succession in the eastern part of the North Sea Basin (Denmark) is presented. The zonation is based on an extensive database comprising data from more than fifty onshore and offshore boreholes and about twenty five outcrops. Most of the nineteen dinocyst zones......, of the Lower Miocene, and of the Upper Miocene and Pliocene successions. The previous zonation of the onshore Danish Middle Miocene is reconsidered and partly redefined. The zonation is correlated with other biostratigraphic subdivisions of the Neogene succession in the Danish region in addition to litho...

New contribution to the palaeoichnology and taphonomy of the Ahníkov fossil site, Early Miocene, Most Basin (The Czech Republic)

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Ekrt, B.; Mikuláš, Radek; Wagner, J.; Čermák, Stanislav; Procházková, K.; Kadlecová, E.; Fejfar, O.

2016-01-01

Roč. 72, 3/4 (2016), s. 202-214 ISSN 2533-4050 Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : biting traces * bone-mammal interaction * Czech Republic * Early Miocene * Most Basin * palaeoichnology * Sciuridae * taphonomy Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy

Biomonitoring of marine vertebrates in Monterey Bay using eDNA metabarcoding.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth A Andruszkiewicz

Full Text Available Molecular analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA can be used to assess vertebrate biodiversity in aquatic systems, but limited work has applied eDNA technologies to marine waters. Further, there is limited understanding of the spatial distribution of vertebrate eDNA in marine waters. Here, we use an eDNA metabarcoding approach to target and amplify a hypervariable region of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene to characterize vertebrate communities at 10 oceanographic stations spanning 45 km within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS. In this study, we collected three biological replicates of small volume water samples (1 L at 2 depths at each of the 10 stations. We amplified fish mitochondrial DNA using a universal primer set. We obtained 5,644,299 high quality Illumina sequence reads from the environmental samples. The sequence reads were annotated to the lowest taxonomic assignment using a bioinformatics pipeline. The eDNA survey identified, to the lowest taxonomic rank, 7 families, 3 subfamilies, 10 genera, and 72 species of vertebrates at the study sites. These 92 distinct taxa come from 33 unique marine vertebrate families. We observed significantly different vertebrate community composition between sampling depths (0 m and 20/40 m deep across all stations and significantly different communities at stations located on the continental shelf (200 m bottom depth. All but 1 family identified using eDNA metabarcoding is known to occur in MBNMS. The study informs the implementation of eDNA metabarcoding for vertebrate biomonitoring.

Entrapment bias of arthropods in Miocene amber revealed by trapping experiments in a tropical forest in Chiapas, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Solórzano Kraemer, Mónica M; Kraemer, Mónica M Solórzano; Kraemer, Atahualpa S; Stebner, Frauke; Bickel, Daniel J; Rust, Jes

2015-01-01

All entomological traps have a capturing bias, and amber, viewed as a trap, is no exception. Thus the fauna trapped in amber does not represent the total existing fauna of the former amber forest, rather the fauna living in and around the resin producing tree. In this paper we compare arthropods from a forest very similar to the reconstruction of the Miocene Mexican amber forest, and determine the bias of different trapping methods, including amber. We also show, using cluster analyses, measurements of the trapped arthropods, and guild distribution, that the amber trap is a complex entomological trap not comparable with a single artificial trap. At the order level, the most similar trap to amber is the sticky trap. However, in the case of Diptera, at the family level, the Malaise trap is also very similar to amber. Amber captured a higher diversity of arthropods than each of the artificial traps, based on our study of Mexican amber from the Middle Miocene, a time of climate optimum, where temperature and humidity were probably higher than in modern Central America. We conclude that the size bias is qualitatively independent of the kind of trap for non-extreme values. We suggest that frequent specimens in amber were not necessarily the most frequent arthropods in the former amber forest. Selected taxa with higher numbers of specimens appear in amber because of their ecology and behavior, usually closely related with a tree-inhabiting life. Finally, changes of diversity from the Middle Miocene to Recent time in Central and South America can be analyzed by comparing the rich amber faunas from Mexico and the Dominican Republic with the fauna trapped using sticky and Malaise traps in Central America.

Updated chronology for Middle to Late Miocene mammal sites of the Daroca area (Calatayud-Montalbán Basin, Spain)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Dam, Jan A.; Krijgsman, Wout; Abels, Hemmo A.; Álvarez-Sierra, Maria A.; Garci´a-Paredes, Israel; Lo´pez-Guerrero, Paloma; Peláez-Campomanes, Pablo; Ventra, Dario

The micromammal sequence of the Calatayud-Montalbán Basin in Northeast Central Spain is exceptional in terms of its faunal richness and dating accuracy. However, until now, several classical localities with ages close to the Middle to Late Miocene transition have never been directly tied to the

A box model of the Late Miocene Mediterranean Sea: implications from combined 87Sr/86Sr and salinity data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Topper, R.P.M.; Flecker, R.; Meijer, P.Th.; Wortel, M.J.R.

2011-01-01

Under certain conditions the strontium isotope ratio in the water of a semi‐enclosed basin is known to be sensitive to the relative size of ocean water inflow and river input. Combining Sr‐isotope ratios measured in Mediterranean Late Miocene successions with data on past salinity, one can derive

Petrology and geochemistry of the Miocene-Pliocene fluvial succession, Katawaz Basin, Western Pakistan: Implications on provenance and source area weathering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kasi, Aimal K.; Kassi, Aktar Muhammad; Friis, Henrik

Petrology and geochemistry of sandstones and mudstones of the Miocene Dasht Murgha Group (DMG) and Pliocene Malthanai Formation (MF) of the Pishin Belt (Katawaz Basin), northwestern Pakistan have been carried out to find out their provenance and source area weathering. Sandstones of the Dasht...

Distinguishing fluvio-deltaic facies by bulk geochemistry and heavy minerals: an example from the Miocene of Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olivarius, Mette; Rasmussen, Erik S.; Siersma, Volkert Dirk

2011-01-01

Interpretations of seismic profiles, gamma-ray logs and sediment descriptions were used to classify seven facies in Miocene fluvio-deltaic deposits ofDenmark. An impartial approach was adopted by not including analytical data in the facies definition. This approach allowed identification of signi......Interpretations of seismic profiles, gamma-ray logs and sediment descriptions were used to classify seven facies in Miocene fluvio-deltaic deposits ofDenmark. An impartial approach was adopted by not including analytical data in the facies definition. This approach allowed identification...... grain size of quartz and heavy minerals from the channel facies towards the delta shoreface facies and further along the coast to the spit shoreface facies is associated with an increase in sorting and textural maturity. This trend is related to longshore drift. Increasing heavy mineral grain size...... is found from the delta slope facies offshore to the delta toe and shelf facies. This trend is interpreted as a result of sorting by turbidity currents. The mixed origin of the transgressive lag facies is shown by the poorer sorting in this facies. By indicating the amount of alteration the sediments have...

Four new species of deep water agglutinated foraminifera from the Oligocene-Miocene of the Congo Fan (offshore Angola)

OpenAIRE

Kender, S.; Kaminski, M. A.; Jones, R. W.

2006-01-01

Four new species of deep-water agglutinated benthic foraminifera are described from the Oligocene and Miocene of the Congo Fan, offshore Angola. Scherochorella congoensis n.sp., Paratrochamminoides goroyskiformis n.sp., Haplophragmoides nauticus n.sp. and Portatrochammina profunda n.sp. all occur in deep-sea turbiditic shales and sands from the distal section of the Congo Fan.

Megalictis, the Bone-Crushing Giant Mustelid (Carnivora, Mustelidae, Oligobuninae) from the Early Miocene of North America

Science.gov (United States)

Valenciano, Alberto; Baskin, Jon A.; Abella, Juan; Pérez-Ramos, Alejandro; Álvarez-Sierra, M. Ángeles; Morales, Jorge; Hartstone-Rose, Adam

2016-01-01

We describe cranial and mandibular remains of three undescribed individuals of the giant mustelid Megalictis ferox Matthew, 1907 from the latest Arikareean (Ar4), Early Miocene mammal fauna of Nebraska, and Wyoming (USA) housed at the American Museum of Natural History (New York, USA). Our phylogenetic hypothesis indicates that Ar4 specimens assigned to M. ferox constitute a monophyletic group. We assign three additional species previously referred to Paroligobunis to Megalictis: M. simplicidens, M. frazieri, and “M.” petersoni. The node containing these four species of Megalictis and Oligobunis forms the Oligobuninae. We test the hypothesis that Oligobuninae (Megalictis and Oligobunis) is a stem mustelid taxon. Our results indicate that the Oligobuninae form the sister clade to the crown extant mustelids. Based on the cranium, M. ferox is a jaguar-size mustelid and the largest terrestrial mustelid known to have existed. This new material also sheds light on a new ecomorphological interpretation of M. ferox as a bone-crushing durophage (similar to hyenas), rather than a cat-like hypercarnivore, as had been previously described. The relative large size of M. ferox, together with a stout rostrum and mandible made it one of the more powerful predators of the Early Miocene of the Great Plains of North America. PMID:27054570

Rapid diversification of falcons (Aves: Falconidae) due to expansion of open habitats in the Late Miocene.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuchs, Jérôme; Johnson, Jeff A; Mindell, David P

2015-01-01

Understanding how and why lineages diversify is central to understanding the origins of biological diversity. The avian family Falconidae (caracaras, forest-falcons, falcons) has an uneven distribution of species among multiple well-supported clades, and provides a useful system for testing hypotheses about diversification rate and correlation with environmental changes. We analyzed eight independent loci for 1-7 individuals from each of the 64 currently recognized Falconidae species, together with two fossil falconid temporal calibrations, to assess phylogeny, absolute divergence times and potential shifts in diversification rate. Our analyses supported similar diversification ages in the Early to Middle Miocene for the three traditional subfamilies, Herpetotherinae, Polyborinae and Falconinae. We estimated that divergences within the subfamily Falconinae began about 16mya and divergences within the most species-rich genus, Falco, including about 60% of all Falconidae species, began about 7.5mya. We found evidence for a significant increase in diversification rate at the basal phylogenetic node for the genus Falco, and the timing for this rate shift correlates generally with expansion of C4 grasslands beginning around the Miocene/Pliocene transition. Concomitantly, Falco lineages that are distributed primarily in grassland or savannah habitats, as opposed to woodlands, and exhibit migratory, as opposed to sedentary, behavior experienced a higher diversification rate. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Megalictis, the Bone-Crushing Giant Mustelid (Carnivora, Mustelidae, Oligobuninae from the Early Miocene of North America.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alberto Valenciano

Full Text Available We describe cranial and mandibular remains of three undescribed individuals of the giant mustelid Megalictis ferox Matthew, 1907 from the latest Arikareean (Ar4, Early Miocene mammal fauna of Nebraska, and Wyoming (USA housed at the American Museum of Natural History (New York, USA. Our phylogenetic hypothesis indicates that Ar4 specimens assigned to M. ferox constitute a monophyletic group. We assign three additional species previously referred to Paroligobunis to Megalictis: M. simplicidens, M. frazieri, and "M." petersoni. The node containing these four species of Megalictis and Oligobunis forms the Oligobuninae. We test the hypothesis that Oligobuninae (Megalictis and Oligobunis is a stem mustelid taxon. Our results indicate that the Oligobuninae form the sister clade to the crown extant mustelids. Based on the cranium, M. ferox is a jaguar-size mustelid and the largest terrestrial mustelid known to have existed. This new material also sheds light on a new ecomorphological interpretation of M. ferox as a bone-crushing durophage (similar to hyenas, rather than a cat-like hypercarnivore, as had been previously described. The relative large size of M. ferox, together with a stout rostrum and mandible made it one of the more powerful predators of the Early Miocene of the Great Plains of North America.

Giant fossil tortoise and freshwater chelid turtle remains from the middle Miocene, Quebrada Honda, Bolivia: Evidence for lower paleoelevations for the southern Altiplano

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Cadena, Edwin A.; Anaya, Federico; Croft, Darin A.

2015-12-01

We describe the first Miocene turtle remains from Bolivia, which were collected from the late middle Miocene (13.18-13.03 Ma) of Quebrada Honda, southern Bolivia. This material includes a large scapula-acromion and fragmentary shell elements conferred to the genus Chelonoidis (Testudinidae), and a left xiphiplastron from a pleurodire or side-necked turtle, conferred to Acanthochelys (Chelidae). The occurrence of a giant tortoise and a freshwater turtle suggests that the paleoelevation of the region when the fossils were deposited was lower than has been estimated by stable isotope proxies, with a maximum elevation probably less than 1000 m. At a greater elevation, cool temperatures would have been beyond the tolerable physiological limits for these turtles and other giant ectotherm reptiles.

Two flat-backed polydesmidan millipedes from the Miocene Chiapas-amber Lagerstätte, Mexico.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco Riquelme

Full Text Available Two species of fossil polydesmidan millipedes (Diplopoda: Polydesmida embedded in amber are described from Miocene strata near Simojovel, in the Chiapas Highlands, Mexico. Maatidesmus paachtun gen. et sp. nov., placed into Chelodesmidae Cook, 1895, and Anbarrhacus adamantis gen. et sp. nov., assigned in the family Platyrhacidae Pocock, 1895. Morphological data from fossil specimens have been recovered using 3D X-ray micro-computed tomography and regular to infrared-reflected microscopy. Both fossil species are recognizable as new primarily but not exclusively, by collum margin modification and remarkable paranotal and metatergite dorsal sculpture.

Two Flat-Backed Polydesmidan Millipedes from the Miocene Chiapas-Amber Lagerstätte, Mexico

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Riquelme, Francisco; Hernández-Patricio, Miguel; Martínez-Dávalos, Arnulfo; Rodríguez-Villafuerte, Mercedes; Montejo-Cruz, Maira; Alvarado-Ortega, Jesús; Ruvalcaba-Sil, José L.; Zúñiga-Mijangos, Luis

2014-01-01

Two species of fossil polydesmidan millipedes (Diplopoda: Polydesmida) embedded in amber are described from Miocene strata near Simojovel, in the Chiapas Highlands, Mexico. Maatidesmus paachtun gen. et sp. nov., placed into Chelodesmidae Cook, 1895, and Anbarrhacus adamantis gen. et sp. nov., assigned in the family Platyrhacidae Pocock, 1895. Morphological data from fossil specimens have been recovered using 3D X-ray micro-computed tomography and regular to infrared-reflected microscopy. Both fossil species are recognizable as new primarily but not exclusively, by collum margin modification and remarkable paranotal and metatergite dorsal sculpture. PMID:25162220

Discovery of the oldest .i.Gobius./i. (Teleostei, Gobiiformes) from a marine ecosystem of Early Miocene age

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Reichenbacher, B.; Gregorová, R.; Holcová, K.; Šanda, R.; Vukić, J.; Přikryl, Tomáš

2018-01-01

Roč. 16, č. 6 (2018), s. 493-513 ISSN 1477-2019 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA16-21523S Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : Gobiidae * Miocene * comparative anatomy * marine ecosystem * Outer Carpathian flysh zone * Outer Carpathian flysch zone * Ždánice-Hustopeče Formation Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy OBOR OECD: Paleontology Impact factor: 2.963, year: 2016

Coexisting Miocene Alkaline Volcanic Series Associated with the Cheb-Domažlice Graben (W Bohemia): Geochemical Characteristics

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Ulrych, Jaromír; Štěpánková, Jana; Lloyd, F. E.; Balogh, K.

2003-01-01

Roč. 54, č. 1 (2003), s. 53-64 ISSN 1335-0552 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA205/99/0907 Grant - others:Hungarian Academy of Sciences Foundation(HU) T 014961 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z3013912 Keywords : W Bohemia * Miocene volkanism * geochemistry Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 0.397, year: 2003 http://www.geologicacarpathica.sk/src/main.php

Etisus evamuellerae, a new xanthid crab (Decapoda, Brachyura) from the Middle Miocene of Austria and Hungary

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Hyžný, M.; van Bakel, B.W.M.; Guinot, D.

2015-01-01

On the basis of several carapaces, a new species of xanthid crab, Etisus evamuellerae, is described from the Middle Miocene of the Vienna (Austria) and Great Hungarian basins. It differs from the coeval xanthids, Xantho moldavicus and Pilodius vulgaris, in having a distinctly protruding front and comparatively longer carapace. Contrary to those two species, the new one makes up for just a small percentage in the decapod crustacean assemblages studied. PMID:25983383

Formation of early-middle Miocene red beds in the South China Sea: element geochemistry and mineralogy analysis

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Lyu, X.; Liu, Z.

2017-12-01

The formation of oceanic red beds that usually present oxic and oligotrophic conditions with low sedimentation rate has been used to trace depositional paleoenvironment and paleoclimate change. Red beds overlying oceanic basalts were drilled at two adjacent Sites U1433 and U1434 of IODP Expedition 349 in the Southwest Subbasin of the South China Sea. The occurrence of early-middle Miocene red beds may indicate that at that time there was oxic and quiet marine environment in the deep South China Sea. To understand their formation of red-color, local depositional condition, and potential paleoceanographic significance, major elements (XRF), trace and rare earth elements (ICP-MS), Fe chemical speciation (modified sequential iron extraction procedure), and Fe oxic minerals (CBD and DRS) were analyzed. Geochemical and mineralogical data reveal that hematite and goethite are responsible for the reddish color and red beds were deposited under highly oxic, oligotrophic conditions with a little later hydrothermal influence in the South China Sea. Our results indicate that: (1) after treatment using the CBD procedure, the red samples presented a change in color to greenish, showing the iron oxides being responsible for the sediment color; (2) enriched Mn, depleted U, S enrichment factors, and negative Ce anomaly show that the water mass was pre-oxidized before transported to the study location; (3) low primary productivity was inferred from the lower P, Ba enrichment factors in red beds compared to non-red beds; (4) the excess Mo influx at the bottom may come from the later hydrothermal input; (5) the diverse Ca enrichment factors and correlations between Fe and Al suggest different allogenic sources for red beds at our two sites. We conclude that the red beds at Sites U1433 and U1434 despite their diverse sources both developed in externally oxidized water mass and low primary productivity conditions, and partially altered by hydrothermal fluids after their pelagic

Benthic Foraminifers identify the source of displaced sediment from a sediment density flow at 1840 m near the Seafloor Instrument Node of the Monterey Coordinated Canyon Experiment

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McGann, M.; Maier, K. L.; Gales, J. A.; Paull, C. K.; Gwiazda, R.; Barry, J.; Carvajal, C.; Clare, M. A.; Cartigny, M.; Chaffey, M. R.; Parsons, D. R.; O'Reilly, T. C.; Rosenberger, K. J.; Wolfson-Schwehr, M.; Simmons, S.; Sumner, E.; Talling, P.; Xu, J.

2017-12-01

Submarine canyons are found along the slopes of most continental margins and turbidity currents are thought to be the primary mechanism responsible for transporting sediment through them to deep-sea fans. The initiation sites of these flows are difficult to locate with any degree of precision from lithology alone. Fortunately, the presence of allochthonous microscopic remains, such as benthic foraminifers, can aid in the identification of the source of the displaced sediments. In Monterey Canyon, offshore California, a Seafloor Instrument Node (SIN) and adjacent mooring in the Coordinated Canyon Experiment indicate that a February 2017 turbidity current reached 1840 m water depth. In April 2017, one push core was obtained on each of four sides of the SIN just outside its frame and six others from 30-100 m away. Each was cut into 1 cm slices, stained with rose Bengal, washed, and analyzed for their microscopic constituents. Material recovered included terrestrial debris (wood, leaves, seeds, highway safety spheres, and volcanic glass) as well as foraminiferal tests. Dead benthic foraminifers from the estuarine (0-10 m), inner shelf (0-50 m), outer shelf (50-150 m), slope break (150 m), upper bathyal (150-500 m), and middle bathyal (500-2000 m) biofacies were present, suggesting a staged progression of sediment downslope from the continental shelf and slope. Living (rose Bengal stained) foraminifers recovered represent estuarine (Ammonia tepida, Elphidium excavatum), inner shelf (Buccella frigida, B. tenerrima, Buliminella elegantissima, Cibicides fletcheri, Nonionella spp., Rotorbinella turbinata), and upper bathyal (Bolivina pacifica, B. spissa, Epistominella exigua, Uvigerina peregrina) species as well as an in-situ middle bathyal biofacies (Bolivina argentea, B. spissa, Buliminella tenuata, Epistominella pacifica, Globobulimina spp., Uvigerina peregrina, U. hispida). The presence of living allochthonous benthic foraminifers from these shallower biofacies suggests

Nagylengyel: an interesting reservoir. [Yugoslovia

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Dedinszky, J

1971-04-01

The Nagylengyel oil field, discovered in 1951, has oil-producing formations mostly in the Upper-Triassic dolomites, in the Norian-Ractian transition formations, in the Upper-Cretaceous limestones and shales, and in the Miocene. The formation of the reservoir space occurred in many stages. A porous, cavernous fractured reservoir is developed in the Norian principal dolomite. A cavernous fractured reservoir exists in the Cretaceous limestone and in the Cretaceous shale and porous fractured reservoir is developed in the Miocene. The derivation of the model of the reservoir, and the conservative evaluation of the volume of the reservoir made it possible to use secondary recovery.

Fe-Ca-phosphate, Fe-silicate, and Mn-oxide minerals in concretions from the Monterey Formation

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Medrano, M.D.; Piper, D.Z.

1997-01-01

Concentrically zoned phosphatic-enriched concretions were collected at three sites from the Monterey Formation. The following minerals were identified: vivianite, lipscombite, rockbridgeite, leucophosphite, mitridatite, carbonate fluorapatite, nontronite, todorokite, and barite. The mineralogy of the concretions was slightly different at each of the three collection sites. None of the concretions contains all of the minerals, but the spatial distribution of minerals in individual concretions, overlapping mineralogies between different concretions, and the geochemical properties of the separate minerals suggest a paragenesis represented by the above order. Eh increased from the precipitation of vivianite to that of rockbridgeite/lipscombite. The precipitation of leucophosphite, then mitridatite, carbonate fluorapatite and todorokite/Fe-oxide indicates increasing pH. Concretion growth culminated with the precipitation of todorokite, a Mn oxide, and minor amounts of barite along microfractures. Conspicuously absent are Fe-sulfide and Mn-phosphate minerals. The concretions are hosted by finely laminated diatomite. The laminations exhibit little to no deformation around the concretions, requiring that the concretions formed after compaction. We interpret this sediment feature and the paragenesis as recording the evolving pore-water chemistry as the formation was uplifted into the fresh-ground-water zone.

Oligo-Miocene peatland ecosystems of the Gippsland Basin and modern analogues

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Korasidis, Vera A.; Wallace, Malcolm W.; Wagstaff, Barbara E.; Holdgate, Guy R.

2017-02-01

A detailed examination of the brown coal facies preserved in the Latrobe Valley Morwell 1B seam indicates that the type of peat-forming environment and the associated hydrological regime are the main factors influencing the development of lithotypes in brown coal deposits. New palynological data from the Morwell 1B seam suggests that each respective lithotype in the lightening-upwards lithotype cycles was deposited in a particular depositional environment that was characterised by a distinct floral community. The laminated dark lithotype represents a fire-prone emergent marsh that grew on the margins of a coastal lagoon and/or freshwater swamp. This facies grades into the dark lithotype, representing the transition from a meadow marsh to a periodically flooded ombrogenous forested bog. The medium and lighter lithotypes are interpreted as being deposited in an angiosperm-dominated ombrogenous forest bog that was intolerant of fire. These peat-forming environments are interpreted as being largely controlled by moisture and relative depth to water table. Each environment produces distinct lithotypes and lightening-upwards cycles are interpreted as terrestrialization cycles. As the peat grew upwards and above the water table, less moist conditions prevailed and lighter lithotypes were produced. The observed change in colour, from darker to lighter lithotypes, results from the environment evolving from anaerobic/inundated to less anaerobic/less moist settings via terrestrialization. The thin and laterally extensive light and pale lithotypes that top the cycles are interpreted to represent a residual layer of concentrated, oxidation resistant peat-forming elements that result from intense weathering and aerobic degradation of the peats. At a generic level, modern lowland bogs of South Westland in New Zealand have remarkably similar floral/ecological gradients to those of the Oligo-Miocene Morwell 1B brown coal cycles in Australia. This suggests that modern New Zealand

Characterizing a complex aquifer system using geophysics, hydrodynamics and geochemistry: A new distribution of Miocene aquifers in the Zéramdine and Mahdia-Jébéniana blocks (east-central Tunisia)

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Lachaal, Fethi; Bédir, Mourad; Tarhouni, Jamila; Gacha, Ayadi Ben; Leduc, Christian

2011-06-01

The Zéramdine and Mahdia-Jébéniana blocks are located in the Sahel region in east-central Tunisia. Active tectonics have divided the region into numerous sub-units, as result of multiple phases of distension and compression. The Miocene fluvio-deltaic sediment sandy layers have aquiferous capacities but their hydraulic properties are still unknown, due to the lack of investigation wells. This study proposes a new description of the regional hydrogeology of Miocene deposits. Seismic-reflection and wireline logging of petroleum and water wells were used to understand the structure and the geometry of the Miocene reservoirs. The groundwater flow and its relationship to the sedimentary and tectonic context were then identified by studying piezometry and hydrochemistry. Two Miocene deep aquifer systems were identified: (1) Zéramdine-Béni Hassen to the north and (2) Jébéniana-Ksour Essef to the south. These aquifers are separated by the Mahdia graben. Other major tectonic structures, such as the Zéramdine fault corridor, the Moknine graben, and the El-Jem half-graben represent lateral boundaries for these aquifers. Other deeper sandy and clayey-sandy reservoirs were also identified in the area. Their repartition, thickness and depth vary from one block to other. Hydrodynamics of the deep aquifers seems to be controlled by geological structures. Two independent compartments were identified: in the northern block groundwater flows from West to East and from Northwest to Southeast, while in the southern block it flows from Northwest to Southeast. Geochemical facies are of two types: Na-Ca-Cl-SO 4 for the Zéramdine-Béni Hassen deep aquifer and Na-Cl for the Jébéniana-Ksour Essef deep aquifer. The hydrodynamic and geochemical results confirm the sharing of the Miocene sediments into two aquifers.

Latest Miocene-Pliocene Tiliviche Paleolake, Atacama Desert, Northern Chile 19.5°S: Paleoclimatic and Paleohydrologic Implications

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Kirk-Lawlor, N. E.; Jordan, T. E.; Rech, J.; Lehmann, S.

2010-12-01

Endorheic paleolake deposits of diatomite, mudstone, sandstone, and evaporites are exposed in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. This study focuses on a major latest Miocene-Pliocene paleolake system centered at 19.5°S, near Tiliviche. A diatiomite unit, up to 35m thick, composed of 0.2-1.5m thick beds of massive, white diatiomite, free of plant matter and root traces, is interpreted have formed from lacustrine diatom blooms. At its maximum extent, the lake would have had a surface area of roughly 200 km2, based on the extent of the diatomite unit, and might have been 50-100 m deep, as inferred by the relationship between the diatomite unit and modern topography. The Tiliviche paleolake initially formed before 6.4 Ma, and much of its sedimentary record formed under a wetter climatic and hydrologic regime than the present. Prior to 3.5 Ma, the lake had evolved into a groundwater-fed saltpan. Polygonally fractured efflorescent halite evaporite and bedded gypsum and gypsarenite evaporite deposits that overlie the diatomite unit are evidence of this saltpan environment. The modern Atacama Desert is hyperarid, with an average precipitation of 2 mm/yr in the driest areas. The paleosol record demonstrates that hyperarid conditions dominated this region since the middle Miocene, albeit with multiple fluctuations to less arid conditions of short to moderately long duration. This hyperaridity is due to the desert’s latitude, ocean currents and the rainshadow created by the Andes. There is no evidence that the rainshadow effect has diminished since the late Miocene, hence global climate changes affecting ocean temperatures and atmospheric patterns likely caused the wetter periods in the Atacama. In particular, prior workers noted wetter conditions in the region ~6-5 Ma, followed by a return to hyper-arid conditions. The regional Pliocene return to hyperaridity coincided with the desiccation of the Tiliviche endorheic lake system. During the late Miocene (~6-5 Ma) wetter

Triggering of frequent turbidity currents in Monterey Canyon and the role of antecedent conditioning

Science.gov (United States)

Clare, M. A.; Rosenberger, K. J.; Talling, P.; Barry, J.; Maier, K. L.; Parsons, D. R.; Simmons, S.; Gales, J. A.; Gwiazda, R.; McGann, M.; Paull, C. K.

2017-12-01

Turbidity currents pose a hazard to seafloor infrastructure, deliver organic carbon and nutrients to deep-sea communities, and form economically important deposits. Thus, determining the tempo of turbidity current activity and whether different triggers result in different flow modes is important. Identification of specific triggers is challenging, however, because most studies of turbidity currents are based on their deposits. New direct monitoring of flows and environmental conditions provides the necessary temporal constraints to identify triggering mechanisms. The Coordinated Canyon Experiment (CCE) in Monterey Canyon, offshore California is the most ambitious attempt yet to measure turbidity flows and their triggers. The CCE provides precise constraint on flow timing, initiation, and potential triggers based on measurements at 7 different instrumented moorings and 2 metocean buoys. Fifteen turbidity flows were measured in 18 months; with recorded velocities >8 m/s and run-outs of up to 50 km. Presence of live estuarine foraminifera within moored sediment traps suggests that that flows originated in water depths of Turbidity currents are thought to be triggered by processes including earthquakes, river floods and storm waves. Here we analyse seismicity, local river discharge, internal tides, wave height, direction and period data. We identify no clear control of any of these individual variables on flow timing. None of the recorded earthquakes (

Ecomorphological and taphonomic gradients in clypeasteroid-dominated echinoid assemblages along a mixed siliciclastic-carbonate shelf from the early Miocene of northern Sardinia, Italy

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Andrea Mancosu

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Clypeasteroid echinoids are widespread and abundant within Miocene sedimentary sequences of the Mediterranean area within both siliciclastic and carbonate deposits. Herein, three clypeasteroid-dominated echinoid assemblages from the mixed siliciclastic-carbonate succession of the Mores Formation (lower Miocene cropping out within the Porto Torres Basin (northern Sardinia are described. These assemblages were compared to previously described clypeasteroid-bearing deposits from the Miocene of northern Sardinia with the purpose of investigating their palaeoecology and taphonomy along a shelf gradient. These goals are accomplished by various methods including (i logging sedimentary facies, (ii analysing the functional morphology of sea urchin skeletons, (iii comparing the relative abundance of taxa and taphonomic features, and (iv studying associated fauna, flora, and trace fossils. The clypeasteroid-bearing deposits differ greatly with respect to echinoid diversity, accompanying fauna and flora, sedimentological signatures, and taphonomic features. They also show variations in depositional environments and the mechanism of formation of the deposits. Three different shelf settings are distinguished: littoral, inner sublittoral, and outer sublittoral environments. Furthermore, an ecomorphological gradient along the shelf is recognized with respect to echinoid taxa and their morphologies. This gradient ranges from shallow water to a moderately deep shelf and is interpreted with respect to both abiotic and biotic factors as well as the taphonomy of the echinoid tests.

Late Miocene onset of the Amazon River and the Amazon deep-sea fan: Evidence from the Foz do Amazonas Basin

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Figueiredo, J.; Hoorn, C.; van der Ven, P.; Soares, E.

2009-01-01

New biostratigraphic, isotopic, and well log data from exploration wells on the outer continental shelf and uppermost Amazon deep-sea fan, Brazil, reveal that the Amazon River was initiated as a transcontinental river between 11.8 and 11.3 Ma ago (middle to late Miocene), and reached its present

EARLY MIOCENE INSULAR VERTEBRATES FROM LAERRU (SARDINIA, ITALY: PRELIMINARY NOTE

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DANIEL ZOBOLI

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A new vertebrate assemblage was discovered in an Early  Miocene lacustrine deposit near the village of Laerru (northern Sardinia, Italy. The assemblage is composed by mammals, reptiles and a bird. The mammals are represented by three ruminants (cf. Sardomeryx oschiriensis, Pecora indet. small size and Pecora indet. very small size and one dormouse (Peridyromys aff. murinus while reptiles are represented by turtles (Trionychidae? and crocodiles (cf. Diplocynodon sp.. A bird bone fragment is also reported and referred to Palaeortyx cf. brevipes (Galliformes. The assemblage can be related to the “Oschiri fauna”, one of the oldest endemic insular fauna known in the Mediterranean. The age of the Laerru vertebrates is early-middle Burdigalian, between 18.8 and 18.3 Ma, corresponding to the mammal unit of the main land MN3. The predominance of ruminants confirms the good capacity of these mammals to colonize insular environments.

Miocene fossil plants from Bukpyeong Formation of Bukpyeong Basin in Donghae City, Gangwon-do Province, Korea and their palaeoenvironmental implications

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Jeong, Eun Kyoung; Kim, Hyun Joo; Uemura, Kazuhiko; Kim, Kyungsik

2016-04-01

The Tertiary sedimentary basins are distributed along the eastern coast of Korean Peninsula. The northernmost Bukpyeong Basin is located in Donghae City, Gangwon-do Province, Korea. The Bukpyeong Basin consists of Bukpyeong Formation and Dogyeongri Conglomerate in ascending order. The geologic age of Bukpyeong Formation has been suggested as from Early Miocene to Pliocene, In particular, Lee & Jacobs (2010) suggested the age of the Bukpyeong Formation as late Early Miocene to early Middle Miocene based on the fossils of rodent teeth. Sedimentary environment has been thought as mainly fresh water lake and/or swamp partly influenced by marine water. Lately, new outcrops of Bukpyeong Formation were exposed during the road construction and abundant fossil plants were yielded from the newly exposed outcrops. As a result of palaeobotanical studies 47 genera of 23 families have been found. This fossil plant assemblage is composed of gymnosperms and dicotyledons. Gymnosperms were Pinaceae (e.g., Pinus, Tsuga), Sciadopityaceae (e.g., Sciadopitys) and Cupressaceae with well-preserved Metasequoia cones. Dicotyledons were deciduous trees such as Betulaceae (e.g., Alnus, Carpinus) and Sapindaceae (e.g., Acer, Aesculus, Sapindus), and evergreen trees such as evergreen Fagaceae (e.g., Castanopsis, Cyclobalanopsis, Pasania) and Lauraceae (e.g., Cinnamomum, Machilus). In addition, fresh water plants such as Hemitrapa (Lytraceae) and Ceratophyllum (Ceratophyllaceae) were also found. The fossil plant assemblage of the Bukpyeong Formation supported the freshwater environment implied by previous studies. It can be suggested that the palaeoflora of Bukpyeong Formation was oak-laurel forest with broad-leaved evergreen and deciduous trees accompanying commonly by conifers of Pinaceae and Cupressaceae under warm-temperate climate.

Study of fossil wood from the Middle-Late Miocene sediments of Dhemaji and Lakhimpur districts of Assam, India and its palaeoecological and palaeophytogeographical implications

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Mehrotra, R. C.; Bera, S. K.; Basumatary, S. K.; Srivastava, G.

2011-08-01

In order to reconstruct the palaeoclimate, a number of fossil wood pieces were collected and investigated from two new fossil localities situated in the Dhemaji and Lakhimpur districts of Assam. They belong to the Tipam Group considered to be of Middle-Late Miocene in age and show affinities with Gluta (Anacardiaceae), Bischofia (Euphorbiaceae), Bauhinia, Cynometra, Copaifera-Detarium-Sindora, Millettia-Pongamia, and Afzelia-Intsia (Fabaceae). The flora also records a new species of Bauhinia named Bauhinia miocenica sp. nov. The assemblage indicates a warm and humid climate in the region during the deposition of the sediments. The occurrence of some southeast Asian elements in the fossil flora indicates that an exchange of floral elements took place between India and southeast Asia during the Miocene.

Oligocene stratigraphy across the Eocene and Miocene boundaries in the Valley of Lakes (Mongolia).

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Daxner-Höck, Gudrun; Badamgarav, Demchig; Barsbold, Rinchen; Bayarmaa, Baatarjav; Erbajeva, Margarita; Göhlich, Ursula Bettina; Harzhauser, Mathias; Höck, Eva; Höck, Volker; Ichinnorov, Niiden; Khand, Yondon; López-Guerrero, Paloma; Maridet, Olivier; Neubauer, Thomas; Oliver, Adriana; Piller, Werner; Tsogtbaatar, Khishigjav; Ziegler, Reinhard

2017-01-01

Cenozoic sediments of the Taatsiin Gol and TaatsiinTsagaan Nuur area are rich in fossils that provide unique evidence of mammal evolution in Mongolia. The strata are intercalated with basalt flows. 40 Ar/ 39 Ar data of the basalts frame the time of sediment deposition and mammal evolution and enable a composite age chronology for the studied area. We investigated 20 geological sections and 6 fossil localities of Oligocene and early Miocene deposits from this region. Seventy fossil beds yielded more than 19,000 mammal fossils. This huge collection encompasses 175 mammal species: 50% Rodentia, 13% Eulipotyphla and Didelphomorphia, and 12% Lagomorpha. The remaining 25% of species are distributed among herbivorous and carnivorous large mammals. The representation of lower vertebrates and gastropods is comparatively poor. Several hundred SEM images illustrate the diversity of Marsupialia, Eulipotyphla, and Rodentia dentition and give insight into small mammal evolution in Mongolia during the Oligocene and early Miocene. This dataset, the radiometric ages of basalt I (∼31.5 Ma) and basalt II (∼27 Ma), and the magnetostratigraphic data provide ages of mammal assemblages and time ranges of the Mongolian biozones: letter zone A ranges from ∼33 to ∼31.5 Ma, letter zone B from ∼31.5 to ∼28 Ma, letter zone C from ∼28 to 25.6 Ma, letter zone C1 from 25.6 to 24 Ma, letter zone C1-D from 24 to ∼23 Ma, and letter zone D from ∼23 to ∼21 Ma.

New Late Miocene .i.Alilepus./i. (Lagomorpha, Mammalia) from Eastern Europe - a new light on the evolution of the earliest old world Leporinae

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Čermák, Stanislav; Angelone, Ch.; Sinitsa, M. V.

2015-01-01

Roč. 90, č. 2 (2015), s. 431-451 ISSN 1214-1119 Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : Alilepus * Eastern Europe * Late Miocene * phylogeny * Pliocene * taxonomy Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 1.700, year: 2015

Paleomagnetism of the Miocene intrusive suite of Kidd Creek: Timing of deformation in the Cascade arc, southern Washington

Science.gov (United States)

Hagstrum, J.T.; Swanson, D.A.; Snee, L.W.

1998-01-01

Paleomagnetic study of the intrusive suite of Kidd Creek in the southern Washington Cascades (23 sites in dikes and sills) was undertaken to help determine if these rocks are comagmatic and whether they postdate regional folding of the volcanic arc. Fission track and 40Ar-39Ar age determinations indicate an age of ???12.7 Ma (middle Miocene) for these rocks. The similarity of normal-polarity characteristic directions for most samples corroborate the available geochemical data indicating that these rocks are most likely comagmatic. Reversed-polarity directions for samples from four sites, however, show that emplacement of Kidd Creek intrusions spanned at least one reversal of the geomagnetic field. The paleomagnetic directions for the dikes and sills fail a fold test at the 99% confidence level indicating that the Kidd Creek rocks postdate regional folding. The mean in situ direction also indicates that the Kidd Creek and older rocks have been rotated 22?? ?? 6?? clockwise about a vertical or near-vertical axis from the expected Miocene direction. Compression and regional folding of the Cascade arc in southern Washington therefore had ended by ???12 Ma prior to the onset of deformation resulting in rotation of these rocks.

THE BRECCE DELLA RENGA FORMATION: AGE AND SEDIMENTOLOGY OF A SYN-TECTONIC CLASTIC UNIT IN THE UPPER MIOCENE OF CENTRAL APENNINES. INSIGHTS FROM FIELD GEOLOGY

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SIMONE FABBI

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In the NE Simbruini Mountains, the “Brecce della Renga Fm.” is a clastic unit documenting sedimentation controlled by late Miocene extensional tectonics.The unit has been subdivided into three lithofacies and six sublithofacies, based on the arenite/rudite/pelite ratio. Massive and coarser (up to megablock size intervals are interpreted as rockfall deposits (likely induced by earthquakes at the toe of steep submarine escarpments. By contrast, finer levels are interpreted as having been sedimented through avalanching and turbidity flows in more distal settings, and are partly lateral to basinal hemipelagites and siliciclastic turbidites. Pelite lenses, found at various stratigraphic levels, are the result of ponded sedimentation along the clastic margin. Calcareous nannofossils analyses have been performed for age determinations on 60 fossiliferous samples, which were collected in each sublithofacies of the “Brecce della Renga Fm.”. The unit ranges from early Tortonian (MNN8b to early Messinian (MNN11c. The age and field geometries of the older breccias document the existence of a Tortonian extensional phase, which predated the late Messinian thrusting. A progradation of the clastic wedge can be observed in the Tortonian, while Messinian deposits show a fining upwards trend. The distribution curve of clastics over time can, given the number of synsedimentary faults mapped in the area, be put in relation with the seismicity induced by the activity along such faults, which after reaching an acme in the Tortonian gradually reached a quiescent state in the early Messinian, causing the backstepping of clastic facies.

Comment on "Geochemistry of the Early Miocene volcanic succession of Northland, New Zealand, and implications for the evolution of subduction in the Southwest Pacific" by M.A. Booden, I.E.M. Smith, P.M. Black and J.L. Mauk

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schellart, W. P.

2012-01-01

In a recent paper Booden et al. (2011) present new geochemical and petrological data of Early Miocene volcanics from the Northland region (Northland volcanic belt) in New Zealand, and interpret these data to support a particular regional tectonic model. This tectonic model involves Early Miocene

Horizontal drilling in Miocene thin sand of Lake Maracaibo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Partidas, C. [PDVSA Exploration and Production (Venezuela)

1998-12-31

Horizontal drilling in the mature Lake Maracaibo field in Venezuela as a means of stimulating production are discussed. The Miocene sand where the horizontal well technology was applied, presented a number of intervals of unconsolidated sand of varied continuity, pay intervals at ten to twenty feet thickness, and reservoir pressures mostly at hydrostatic or below hydrostatic values. This paper evaluates a horizontal drilling program in the Lagunallis Lago Production Unit of Maracaibo, involving 91 wells to date (since 1995). When assessed in economic terms, results indicate that horizontal wells are a better economic alternative than vertical wells. The same results also showed that drainage from thin sand reservoirs resulted in better production with horizontal well technology than production from vertical wells. Payout was less than two years for 50 per cent of the horizontal wells while 40 per cent had payouts of between two and four years. Profit to investment ratio was greater than two in the case of about 70 per cent of the horizontal wells drilled in 1996. 2 tabs., 10 figs.

Magnetostratigraphy of the Vallesian (late Miocene) in the Vallès-Penedès Basin (northeast Spain)

Science.gov (United States)

Garcés, M.; Agustí, J.; Cabrera, L.; Parés, J. M.

1996-08-01

The magnetostratigraphic analysis of the late Miocene continental deposits from the Vallès-Penedès Basin, combined with its well-documented fossil mammal record, has provided a well-resolved chronology for the upper basin infill. The study is based on the biostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic cross-correlation of 12 sections throughout the alluvial sequences in the western Vallès area. The biostratigraphic framework consists of 21 mammal localities corresponding to the Mammal Neogene MN9 and MN10 units. The composite magnetic polarity sequence is based on 400 paleomagnetic sites. Correlation with the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale (GPTS) has led to an absolute dating of the faunal events and a precise chronostratigraphy of the Vallesian mammal stage in its type area. The Hipparion First Appearance Datum (FAD), at the MN8/MN9 boundary, is dated at 11.1 Ma in the Vallès-Penedès Basin. This age, compared to other radiometrically dated localities in Europe, North Africa and Turkey, is consistent with an isochronous dispersal of this equid through the Mediterranean region. A possible isochrony at a larger geographical scale (Old World, Mesogea) must await more reliable ages of the Hipparion FAD in Asia and Africa. The Cricetulodon FAD ( MN9a/MN9b boundary) is dated to 10.4 Ma, in chron C5n. The Progonomys FAD ( MN9/MN10 boundary), corresponding to the intra-Vallesian faunal crisis, is dated at 9.7 Ma (C4Ar.3r). The Vallesian spans 2.4 Myr, from 11.1 Ma (C5r.1n) to 8.7 Ma (C4An) and correlates to the early Tortonian.

Chronology of Eocene-Miocene sequences on the New Jersey shallow shelf: implications for regional, interregional, and global correlations

Science.gov (United States)

Browning, James V.; Miller, Kenneth G.; Sugarman, Peter J.; Barron, John; McCarthy, Francine M.G.; Kulhanek, Denise K.; Katz, Miriam E.; Feigenson, Mark D.

2013-01-01

Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 313 continuously cored and logged latest Eocene to early-middle Miocene sequences at three sites (M27, M28, and M29) on the inner-middle continental shelf offshore New Jersey, providing an opportunity to evaluate the ages, global correlations, and significance of sequence boundaries. We provide a chronology for these sequences using integrated strontium isotopic stratigraphy and biostratigraphy (primarily calcareous nannoplankton, diatoms, and dinocysts [dinoflagellate cysts]). Despite challenges posed by shallow-water sediments, age resolution is typically ±0.5 m.y. and in many sequences is as good as ±0.25 m.y. Three Oligocene sequences were sampled at Site M27 on sequence bottomsets. Fifteen early to early-middle Miocene sequences were dated at Sites M27, M28, and M29 across clinothems in topsets, foresets (where the sequences are thickest), and bottomsets. A few sequences have coarse (∼1 m.y.) or little age constraint due to barren zones; we constrain the age estimates of these less well dated sequences by applying the principle of superposition, i.e., sediments above sequence boundaries in any site are younger than the sediments below the sequence boundaries at other sites. Our age control provides constraints on the timing of deposition in the clinothem; sequences on the topsets are generally the youngest in the clinothem, whereas the bottomsets generally are the oldest. The greatest amount of time is represented on foresets, although we have no evidence for a correlative conformity. Our chronology provides a baseline for regional and interregional correlations and sea-level reconstructions: (1) we correlate a major increase in sedimentation rate precisely with the timing of the middle Miocene climate changes associated with the development of a permanent East Antarctic Ice Sheet; and (2) the timing of sequence boundaries matches the deep-sea oxygen isotopic record, implicating glacioeustasy as a major driver

Detrital zircon typology and U/Pb geochronology for the Miocene Ladrilleros-Juanchaco sedimentary sequence, Equatorial Pacific (Colombia): New constraints on provenance and paleogeography in northwestern South America

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Osorio-Granada, E.; RESTREPO-MORENO, S.A.; MUÑOZ-VALENCIA, J.A.; TREJOS-TAMAYO, R.A.; PARDO-TRUJILLO, A.; BARBOSA-ESPITIA, A.A.

2017-11-01

Typology and internal texture analyses were performed on detrital zircons obtained from the Miocene sandstones of the Ladrilleros-Juanchaco sedimentary sequence (Colombia, Equatorial Pacific). This analysis was complemented with zircon U/Pb dating to identify typology-age associations as indicators of sediment provenance. Our results show that zircons with S and P dominant typologies have internal structures/zoning indicative of igneous, and potentially also metamorphic, origins. Morphometric results suggest limited transport from source areas. Both typology and U/Pb data point to the western Cordillera as the principal source of detrital materials for this sedimentary sequence. A paleogeographic reconstruction shows that, during the Late Miocene, significant portions of the western Cordillera were uplifted and actively eroding, thereby forming a fluvio-topographic barrier that prevented sediments from the central Cordillera reaching the Pacific basins. Exhumed Miocene plutons located along the axis of the western Cordillera may also have played a role as geomorphologically active massifs. This study demonstrates that typologic analysis on detrital zircon grains is a useful tool for establishing provenance and paleogeography in complex litho-tectonic areas where overlapping U/Pb signatures can lead to contradictory results.

Petrographic And Geochemical Relationships And Environmentally Significant Trace Element Contents Of Miocene Coals in The Çayirli (Erzincan) Area, Eastern Anatolia, Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Yalcin Erik, Nazan

2014-05-01

This study has done related to the petrographic, coal-quality and the environmental influences of the Çayırlı coal field in the Eastern Anatolia. The region is one of the best examples of a continental collision zone in the world and located in a North-south converging collision zone between the Eurasian and the Arabian Plates. The geological units on the North of the basin are the peridotites and on the South, the Upper Triassic to Lower Cretaceous limestone. Tertiary sedimentary units also occupy a significant part of the geological features. Lower Miocene sediments include recifal limestone, marls, green clay and coal seams. The Çayırlı mining area in Eastern Anatolia region, contains these Miocene aged coals. These coals is characterized by high vitrinite and inertinite and low liptinite contents. The coals are Bituminous coal rank, with vitrinite reflectance ranging from 0.53 to 0.58%. Chemically, the coal in this study is characterised by low moisture, ash yield and sulfur content. The Çayırlı coal consist mainly of SiO2 and CaO, with secondary Fe2O3, Al2O3, and minor proportions of TiO2, P2O5 and other oxides. Several trace elements of environmental concern namely As, U and Be in Çayırlı coal are above the world averages, while Ni and Pb concentrations are less than the world average. However, As, Co, Cr, Ni, Pb, U and V contents of this coal are below Turkish averages. It can clearly observed that the concentration of the elements is highest in the high ash coal levels. Among the potentially hazardous trace elements, Be, Co, Ni, Se and U may be of little or no health and environmental concerns, wheras As, Pb, Sb, and Th require further examination for their potential health and environmental concerns. These properties may be related to evaluation of the coal forming environment from more reducing contitions in a marine influenced lower delta plain environment for investigated coals. On the basis of analytical data, there is no possibility that

Surface geology of Williston 7.5-minute quadrangle, Aiken and Barnwell Counties, South Carolina

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willoughby, R.H.; Nystrom, P.G. Jr.; Denham, M.E.; Eddy, C.A.; Price, L.K.

1994-01-01

Detailed geologic mapping has shown the distribution and lithologic character of stratigraphic units and sedimentary deposits in Williston quadrangle. A middle Eocene stratigraphic unit correlative with the restricted McBean Formation is the oldest unit at the surface. The McBean-equivalent unit occurs at low elevations along drainages in the north of the quadrangle but does not crop out. These beds are typically very fine- to fine-grained quartz sand, locally with abundant black organic matter and less commonly with calcium carbonate. The uppermost middle Eocene Orangeburg District bed, commonly composed of loose, clay-poor, very fine- to fine-grained quartz sand, occurs at the surface in the north and southwest of the quadrangle with sparse exposure. The upper Eocene Dry Branch Formation occurs on valley slopes throughout the quadrangle. The Dry Branch is composed of medium- to very coarse-grained quartz sand with varying amounts on interstitial clay and lesser bedded clay. The upper Eocene Tobacco road Sand occurs on upper valley slopes and some interfluves and consists of very fine-grained quartz sand to quartz granules. The upper Middle Miocene to lower Upper Miocene upland unit caps the interfluves and is dominantly coarse-grained quartz sand to quartz granules, with included granule-size particles of white clay that are weathered feldspars. Loose, incohesive quartzose sands of the eolian Pinehurst Formation, Upper Miocene to Lower Pliocene, occur on the eastern slopes of some interfluves in the north of the quadrangle. Quartz sand with varying included humic matter occurs in Carolina bays, and loose deposits of windblown sand occur on the rims of several Carolina bays. Quaternary alluvium fills the valley floors

Dispersals of Hyoscyameae and Mandragoreae (Solanaceae) from the New World to Eurasia in the early Miocene and their biogeographic diversification within Eurasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Tu, Tieyao; Volis, Sergei; Dillon, Michael O; Sun, Hang; Wen, Jun

2010-12-01

The cosmopolitan Solanaceae contains 21 tribes and has the greatest diversity in South America. Hyoscyameae and Mandragoreae are the only tribes of this family distributed exclusively in Eurasia with two centers of diversity: the Mediterranean-Turanian (MT) region and the Tibetan Plateau (TP). In this study, we examined the origins and biogeographical diversifications of the two tribes based on the phylogenetic framework and chronogram inferred from a combined data set of six plastid DNA regions (the atpB gene, the ndhF gene, the rps16-trnK intergenic spacer, the rbcL gene, the trnC-psbM region and the psbA-trnH intergenic spacer) with two fossil calibration points. Our data suggest that Hyoscyameae and Mandragoreae each forms a monophyletic group independently derived from different New World lineages in the early Miocene. Phylogenetic relationships within both tribes are generally well resolved. All genera of Hyoscyameae are found to be monophyletic and they diversified in middle to late Miocene. At nearly the same time, Mandragoreae split into two clades, corresponding to the MT region and the TP region, respectively. Both the phylogenetic relationships and the estimated ages of Hyoscyameae and Mandragoreae support two independent dispersal events of their ancestors from the New World into Eurasia. After their arrivals in Eurasia, the two tribes diversified primarily in the MT region and in the TP region via multiple biogeographic processes including vicariance, dispersal, recolonization or being preserved as relicts, from the mid Miocene to the late Quaternary. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Constraining controls on carbonate sequences with high-resolution chronostratigraphy: Upper Miocene, Cabo de Gata region, SE Spain

Science.gov (United States)

Montgomery, P.; Farr, M.R.; Franseen, E.K.; Goldstein, R.H.

2001-01-01

A high-resolution chronostratigraphy has been developed for Miocene shallow-water carbonate strata in the Cabo de Gata region of SE Spain for evaluation of local, regional and global factors that controlled platform architecture prior to and during the Messinian salinity crisis. Paleomagnetic data were collected from strata at three localities. Mean natural remanent magnetization (NRM) ranges between 1.53 ?? 10-8 and 5.2 ?? 10-3 Am2/kg. Incremental thermal and alternating field demagnetization isolated the characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM). Rock magnetic studies show that the dominant magnetic mineral is magnetite, but mixtures of magnetite and hematite occur. A composite chronostratigraphy was derived from five stratigraphic sections. Regional stratigraphic data, biostratigraphic data, and an 40Ar/39Ar date of 8.5 ?? 0.1 Ma, for an interbedded volcanic flow, place the strata in geomagnetic polarity Chrons C4r to C3r. Sequence-stratigraphic and diagenetic evidence indicate a major unconformity at the base of depositional sequence (DS)3 that contains a prograding reef complex, suggesting that approximately 250 000 yr of record (Subchrons C3Br.2r to 3Br.1r) are missing near the Messinian-Tortonian boundary. Correlation to the GPTS shows that the studied strata represent five third- to fourth-order DSs. Basal units are temperate to subtropical ramps (DS1A, DS1B, DS2); these are overlain by subtropical to tropical reefal platforms (DS3), which are capped by subtropical to tropical cyclic carbonates (Terminal Carbonate Complex, TCC). Correlation of the Cabo de Gata record to the Melilla area of Morocco, and the Sorbas basin of Spain indicate that early - Late Tortonian ramp strata from these areas are partially time-equivalent. Similar strata are extensively developed in the Western Mediterranean and likely were influenced by a cool climate or influx of nutrients during an overall rise in global sea-level. After ramp deposition, a sequence boundary (SB3) in

Petrography and stable isotope geochemistry of Oligocene-Miocene continental carbonates in south Texas: Implications for paleoclimate and paleoenvironment near sea-level

Science.gov (United States)

Godfrey, Conan; Fan, Majie; Jesmok, Greg; Upadhyay, Deepshikha; Tripati, Aradhna

2018-05-01

Cenozoic sedimentary rocks in the southern Texas Gulf Coastal Plains contain abundant continental carbonates that are useful for reconstructing terrestrial paleoclimate and paleoenvironment in a region near sea-level. Our field observations and thin section characterizations of the Oligocene and Miocene continental carbonates in south Texas identified three types of pedogenic carbonates, including rhizoliths, carbonate nodules, and platy horizons, and two types of groundwater carbonates, including carbonate-cemented beds and carbonate concretions, with distinctive macromorphologic and micromorphologic features. Based on preservations of authigenic microfabrics and variations of carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions, we suggest these carbonates experienced minimal diagenesis, and their stable isotopic compositions reflect paleoclimate and paleoenvironment in south Texas. Our Oligocene and Miocene carbonate clumped isotope temperatures (T(Δ47)) are 23-28 °C, slightly less than or comparable to the range of modern mean annual and mean warm season air temperature (21-27 °C) in the study area. These T(Δ47) values do not show any dependency on carbonate-type, or trends through time suggesting that groundwater carbonates were formed at shallow depths. These data could indicate that air temperature in south Texas was relatively stable since the early Oligocene. The reconstructed paleo-surface water δ18O values are similar to modern surface water which could indicate that meteoric water δ18O values also remained stable since the early Oligocene. Mean pedogenic carbonate δ13C values increased - 4.6‰ during the late Miocene, most likely reflecting an expansion of C4 grassland in south Texas. This study provides the first mid- and late Cenozoic continental records of paleoclimate and paleoecology in a low-latitude, near sea-level region.

Physicochemical and biochemical characterization of non-biodegradable cellulose in Miocene gymnosperm wood from the Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse, Southern Belgium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lechien, Valerie; Rodriguez, Christian; Ongena, Marc; Hiligsmann, Serge; Thonart, Philippe [Liege Univ., Walloon Center of Industrial Biology, Gembloux (Belgium); Rulmont, Andre [Liege Univ., Chemistry Dept., Liege (Belgium)

2006-11-15

Specimens of Miocene fossil wood from the Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse karsts (southern Belgium) were examined using physicochemical and biochemical techniques in order to understand the reasons for the exceptional preservation of these fossilized remains after 15 million years. Structural and chemical changes were assessed by comparing the structural features of the fossil samples with those of their modern counterpart, Metasequoia. Solid state {sup 13} C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and microscopic analysis showed good preservation of the cellulose structure in the fossil wood from the Florennes peat deposit. Despite the substantial cellulose fraction available in the fossil tissue, an enzymatic degradation test and a biochemical methane potential assay showed that the fossil cellulose could not be degraded by cellulases and anaerobic microorganisms usually involved in the biodegradation of organic matter. Moreover, the cellulose structure (crystallinity and surface area) seemed to have no effect on cellulose biodegradability in these Miocene fossil wood samples. On the basis of our observations, we suggest that the presence of a modified lignin structure could greatly influence cellulose preservation/biodegradability. (Author)

A new, large-bodied omnivorous bat (Noctilionoidea: Mystacinidae) reveals lost morphological and ecological diversity since the Miocene in New Zealand.

Science.gov (United States)

Hand, Suzanne J; Beck, Robin M D; Archer, Michael; Simmons, Nancy B; Gunnell, Gregg F; Scofield, R Paul; Tennyson, Alan J D; De Pietri, Vanesa L; Salisbury, Steven W; Worthy, Trevor H

2018-01-10

A new genus and species of fossil bat is described from New Zealand's only pre-Pleistocene Cenozoic terrestrial fauna, the early Miocene St Bathans Fauna of Central Otago, South Island. Bayesian total evidence phylogenetic analysis places this new Southern Hemisphere taxon among the burrowing bats (mystacinids) of New Zealand and Australia, although its lower dentition also resembles Africa's endemic sucker-footed bats (myzopodids). As the first new bat genus to be added to New Zealand's fauna in more than 150 years, it provides new insight into the original diversity of chiropterans in Australasia. It also underscores the significant decline in morphological diversity that has taken place in the highly distinctive, semi-terrestrial bat family Mystacinidae since the Miocene. This bat was relatively large, with an estimated body mass of ~40 g, and its dentition suggests it had an omnivorous diet. Its striking dental autapomorphies, including development of a large hypocone, signal a shift of diet compared with other mystacinids, and may provide evidence of an adaptive radiation in feeding strategy in this group of noctilionoid bats.

Eocene to Miocene Out-of-Sequence Deformation in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau: Insights From Shortening Structures in the Sichuan Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Yuntao; Kohn, Barry P.; Qiu, Nansheng; Yuan, Yusong; Hu, Shengbiao; Gleadow, Andrew J. W.; Zhang, Peizhen

2018-02-01

A distinctive NNE trending belt of shortening structures dominates the topography and deformation of the eastern Sichuan Basin, 300 km east of the Tibetan Plateau. Debate continues as to whether the structures resulted from Cenozoic eastward growth of the Tibetan Plateau. A low-temperature thermochronology (AFT and AHe) data set from four deep boreholes and adjacent outcrops intersecting a branch of the shortening structures indicates distinctive differential cooling at 35-28 Ma across the structure, where stratigraphy has been offset vertically by 0.8-1.3 km. This result forms the first quantitative evidence for the existence of a late Eocene-Oligocene phase of shortening in the eastern Sichuan Basin, synchronous with the early phase of eastward growth and extrusion of the Tibetan Plateau. Further, a compilation of regional Cenozoic structures reveals a Miocene retreat of deformation from the foreland basin to the hinterland areas. Such a tectonic reorganization indicates that Eocene to Miocene deformation in the eastern Tibetan Plateau is out-of-sequence and was probably triggered by enhanced erosion in the eastern Tibetan Plateau.

The stratigraphy and regional structure of Miocene deposits in western Amazonia (Peru, Colombia and Brazil), with implications for late Neogene landscape evolution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wesselingh, F.P.; Hoorn, M.C.; Guerrero, J.; Räsänen, M.E.; Romero Pittmann, L.; Salo, J.A.

2006-01-01

A biozonation based on molluscs is proposed for Miocene deposits of western Amazonia (Peru, Colombia and Brazil), commonly referred to as the Pebas Formation. The new zonation refines existing pollen zonations and provides a key for the quick assessment of the stratigraphic position of Neogene

Temperature effect on hydrocarbon generation in the northwestern part of the Nile Delta and its facing offshore area (Egypt)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abdel-Fattah, T.

1990-01-01

Bottom Hole Temperature (BHT) as physical parameter beside depths to both Pliocene and Miocene sections are used in this study. Temperature analysis is based on Hood, Gutjahr and Heacock's and Gretener and Curtis' methods. The results have thrown light on the interrelation between the different rock units forming both Pliocene and Miocene sections as well as their hydrocarbon potential. It is found that, only three wells namely, Abu Qir-1, NAF-1 and Sidi Salim can be hydrocarbon producing, and Abu Madi formation can be classified to be of Upper Miocene as the underlying Quawasim formation for their lithologic similarity. (orig.).

Pleistocene to Miocene Calcareous Nannofossil Biostratigraphy from IODP Expedition 334 Hole U1381A and Expedition 352 Hole U1439A

Science.gov (United States)

Power, M.; Scientists, I. E.; Avery, A. J.

2015-12-01

Samples for this study were collected from drill cores taken during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expeditions 334 and 352 at Sites U1381 and U1439, respectively. Both of these expeditions were focused around subduction zones and, therefore, had priorities to determine time frames for the initiation of subduction. There are two main objectives for this study, the first being to age-date Pleistocene to Miocene sediments from the western offshore continental margin of Costa Rica (IODP Expedition 334) via calcareous nannofossils. The second objective is to age-date the Miocene sediments from the fore-arc of the Izu-Bonin-Mariana system, east of Japan (IODP Expedition 352), using calcareous nannofossils. Shore-based analysis allows for high-resolution study to determine exact biostratigraphic zonations. These zonations reflect specific time frames based on the occurrence or non-occurrence of certain nannofossil species. Once these zonations are determined, scientists can use the data to identify the initiation of seismic processes that often occur in these regions. Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy has now provided zonations for the samples taken from IODP Expedition 334 cores. Samples from core 6R are assigned to the Pleistocene nannofossil Zone NN19 due to the presence ofPseudoemiliania lacunosa and the absence of Emiliania huxleyi. Using the zonal scheme by de Kaenel (1999), this can further be broken down into Event 18 due to the presence of Gephyrocapsa oceanica larger than 4 μm but less than 5 μm, the presence of Calcidiscus macintyrei smaller than 11 μm, and the absence ofGephyrocapsa caribbeanica larger than 4 μm. De Kaenel (1999) has assigned this event datum an age of 1.718 Ma using orbital time scales and oxygen isotope data. Below these samples, an extensive hiatus ranges from the Pleistocene to the early Miocene. Samples from cores 7R through 10R are assigned to nannofossil zone NN5; however, it is impossible to constrain the top of

Stratigraphy, age, and depositional setting of the Miocene Barstow Formation at Harvard Hill, central Mojave Desert, California

Science.gov (United States)

Leslie, Shannon R.; Miller, David M.; Wooden, Joseph L.; Vazquez, Jorge A.

2010-01-01

New detailed geologic mapping and geochronology of the Barstow Formation at Harvard Hill, 30 km east of Barstow, CA, help to constrain Miocene paleogeography and tectonics of the central Mojave Desert. A northern strand of the Quaternary ENE-striking, sinistral Manix fault divides the Barstow Formation at Harvard Hill into two distinct lithologic assemblages. Strata north of the fault consist of: a green rhyolitic tuff, informally named the Shamrock tuff; lacustrine sandstone; partially silicified thin-bedded to massive limestone; and alluvial sandstone to pebble conglomerate. Strata south of the fault consist of: lacustrine siltstone and sandstone; a rhyolitic tuff dated at 19.1 Ma (U-Pb); rock-avalanche breccia deposits; partially silicified well-bedded to massive limestone; and alluvial sandstone and conglomerate. Our U-Pb zircon dating of the Shamrock tuff by SHRIMP-RG yields a peak probability age of 18.7 ± 0.1 Ma. Distinctive outcrop characteristics, mineralogy, remanent magnetization, and zircon geochemistry (Th/U) suggest that the Shamrock tuff represents a lacustrine facies of the regionally extensive Peach Spring Tuff (PST). Here we compare zircon age and geochemical analyses from the Shamrock tuff with those of the PST at Stoddard Wash and provide new insight into the age of zircon crystallization in the PST rhyolite. Results of our field studies show that Miocene strata at Harvard Hill mostly accumulated in a lacustrine environment, although depositional environments varied from a relatively deep lake to a very shallow lake or even onshore setting. Rock-avalanche breccias and alluvial deposits near the base of the exposed section indicate proximity to a steep basin margin and detrital studies suggest a southern source for coarse-grained deposits; therefore, we may infer a southern basin-margin setting at Harvard Hill during the early Miocene. Our geochronology demonstrates that deposition of the Barstow Formation at Harvard Hill extended from before

Differential denudation across the Judea Range, Israel, suggests the persistence of a rain-shadow since mid Miocene

Science.gov (United States)

Ryb, U.; Matmon, A.; Erel, Y.; Haviv, I.; Benedetti, L. C.

2013-12-01

The Judea Range which is composed of a thick sequence of Cretaceous marine carbonate rises up to ~1000 m between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea basins. The western flank of the range faces predominant winds which deliver humidity from the Mediterranean and thus maintains a sub-humid Mediterranean climate (Mean Annual Precipitation (MAP) of 500-700 mm). Over the eastern, leeward side, rain-shadow orographic effect imposes a climatic gradient from Mediterranean near the water divide to hyper-arid near the Dead Sea rift escarpment (MAPMAP values, indicating that chemical weathering is the dominant process of erosion. Long-term denudation rates of interfluves reflect the climatic gradient between the two flanks of the Judea range; over the western, windward, flank of the Judea range, exposed bedrock denude at an average rate of 21×7 mm kyr-1, while over the leeward flank denudation rates drop dramatically, reaching 1-3 mm kyr-1 near the Dead Sea rift escarpment. As a rough measure to the erosion of the Judea Range since it began uplifting in Senonian time, we compare the present envelope-topography (T) of the range with the top-Turonian structural datum (S). We found that over the windward flank topography lay ~300 meters below the datum, while over the leeward flank topography generally follows the datum. Can this difference result from differential denudation, similar to the one observed over 10-1-105 year timescales? S-T values are well correlated with present MAP values, suggesting a positive answer. Assuming that the late Pleistocene denudation pattern calculated from 36Cl data was maintained, ~15 million years are required to form the observed 300 difference between the eastern and western flanks of the range. Indeed, previous studies suggest that by mid Miocene the Judea Range was uplifted to about ~500 m above sea level, while the Mediterranean was the immediate source for humidity in the region as of the early Miocene. The integrated data could

Dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from the THOMAS WASHINGTON in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean from 1991-05-31 to 1991-07-11 (NODC Accession 0115000)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0115000 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from THOMAS WASHINGTON in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary,...

Neogene biostratigraphy and paleoenvironments of Enewetak Atoll, equatorial Pacific Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Cronin, T. M.; Bybell, L.M.; Brouwers, E.M.; Gibson, T.G.; Margerum, R.; Poore, R.Z.

1991-01-01

Micropaleontologic analyses of Neogene sediments from Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands, provide data on the age of lagoonal deposits, stratigraphic disconformities and the paleoenvironmental and subsidence history of the atoll. Benthic foraminifers, planktic foraminifers, calcareous nannofossils and ostracodes were studied from six boreholes, the deepest penetrating 1605 feet below the lagoon floor into upper Oligocene strata. The Oligocene-Miocene boundary occurs at about 1200 ft below the lagoon floor. The early and middle Miocene is characterized by brief periods of deposition and numerous hiatuses. Ostracodes and benthic foraminifers indicate a shallow-marine reefal environment with occasional brackish water conditions. Upper Miocene and lower Pliocene deposits placed in calcareous nannofossil Zones NN9-15 and in planktic foraminifer Zones N16-19 contain species-rich benthic microfaunas which indicate alternating reefal and brackish water mangrove environments. The upper Pliocene contains at least two major depositional hiatuses that coincide with a major faunal turnover in benthic foraminiferal and ostracode assemblages. The Quaternary is characterized by benthic microfaunas similar to those of modern atoll lagoons and is punctuated by at least 11 disconformities which signify periods of low sea level. Atoll subsidence rates during the last 10 Ma averaged 30 to 40 m/m.y. ?? 1991 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. All rights reserved.

Direct Measurements of the Evolution and Impact of Sediment Density Flows as they Pass Through Monterey Submarine Canyon, Offshore California

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Paull, C. K.; Talling, P.; Maier, K. L.; Parsons, D. R.; Xu, J.; Caress, D. W.; Gwiazda, R.; Lundsten, E. M.; Anderson, K.; Barry, J.; Chaffey, M. R.; O'Reilly, T. C.; Rosenberger, K. J.; Gales, J. A.; McGann, M.; McCann, M. P.; Simmons, S.; Sumner, E.

2017-12-01

Sediment density flows flushing through submarine canyons carry globally significant amounts of material into the deep sea to form many of the largest sediment accumulations on Earth. Despite their global significance, these flows remain poorly understood because they have rarely been directly measured. Here we provide an initial overview of the recently completed Coordinated Canyon Experiment (CCE), which was undertaken specifically to provide detailed measurements of sediment density flows and their impact on seafloor morphology and sedimentology. No previous study has deployed as extensive an array of monitoring sensors along a turbidity current pathway. During the 18 months of the CCE, at least 15 sediment density flows were recorded within the axis of Monterey Canyon. Because no external triggers (i.e., earthquakes or floods) correlate with these flows, they must have originated as failures in the canyon floor or canyon flanks. Three flows ignited and ran out for > 50 km from water depths of 1,860 m, reaching velocities up to 8.1 m/s. The rest of the flows died out within the array. During these events, large objects on or in the canyon floor were displaced substantial distances downslope, including a 7.1 km downslope movement of an entire mooring; a 4.6 km displacement of an 860 kg instrument frame followed by repeated down canyon displacements of this same frame after it was entombed in sediment; and multiple depth changes of man-made boulders containing acceleration and pressure sensors. During this same time interval the canyon floor was mapped six times with autonomous underwater vehicles covering the canyon thalweg at the upper and lower end of the instrument array (200-540 and 1350-1880 m water depths). The repeated mapping surveys reveal that flows caused +3 to -3 m bathymetric changes within a continuous clearly defined 200 m wide swath running along the canyon axis in 540 m water depth. This study shows that sediment density flows caused massive

The Sedimentary History of Southern Central Crete: Implications for Neogene Uplift

Science.gov (United States)

Kröger, K.; Brachert, T. C.; Reuter, M.

2003-04-01

The tectonic setting of Crete was largely extensional since Lower Miocene uplift and exhumation of HP/LT rocks. Erosion of uplifted areas resulted in the deposition of terrestrial to marine sediments in the Messara and Iraclion Basins. There are several concurring models that discuss Late Neogene uplift of the basinal margins. Neogene near shore sediments in the south of the Messara Basin record fault movements contemporaneous to sedimentation and sedimentary input from the hinterland. Therefore they provide information on the paleogeographic situation and the resulting amount of subsidence and uplift of mountain areas since the Upper Miocene. The studied sediments consist of terrestrial to shallow marine, floodplain related sediments of the Upper Miocene Ambelouzos Formation that are overlain by platform limestones of the Upper Miocene Varvara Formation. In the Messara Basin these units are overlain by the Pliocene Kourtes Formation. The stratigraphic architecture of these deposits indicates fragmentation of the basinal margin. Proximal boulder conglomerates and reworked blocks of the Ambelouzos formation indicate fault activity during the deposition of the Varvara Formation. Contents of terrigenous clastics, provided by rivers and distributed by longshore currents, are high in the Ambelouzos and the lower Varvara Formations but decrease rapidly upsection within the Varvara Formation. This indicates drowning of the fault bounded blocks and little topography of the hinterland (Asteroussia Mountains) at that time. The Pliocene marls at the southern margin of the Messara Basin contain lithoclasts of the Upper Miocene limestones and thus indicate uplift of the carbonate platform. The modern topographic elevation of formerly drowned fault bounded blocks requires a minimum uplift of 400m. Main uplift occurred at approximately orthogonal NW-SE and SW-NE striking normal to oblique faults. The present elevation of the Asteroussia Mountains indicates net uplift of at least

Provenance evolution in the northern South China Sea and its implication of paleo-drainage systems from Eocene to Miocene

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Y.; Shao, L.; Qiao, P.

2017-12-01

Geochemistry analysis and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology aim to fully investigate the "source to sink" patterns of northern South China Sea (SCS) from Eocene to Miocene. Evolutional history of the surrounding drainage system has been highly focused on, in comparison to sedimentary characteristics of the SCS basins. Rapid local provenances were prevailed while large-scale fluvial transport remained to evolve during Eocene. Since early Oligocene, sediments from the South China were more abundantly delivered to the northeastern Pearl River Mouth Basin in addition to Dongsha volcanism supplement. Aside from intrabasinal provenances, long-distance transport started to play significant role in Zhu1 Depression, possibly reaching western and southern Baiyun Sag, partially. Western Qiongdongnan Basin might accept sediments from central Vietnam with its eastern area more affected from Hainan Island and Southern Uplift. In the late Oligocene, due to drastic sea-level changes and rapid exhumation, mafic to altramafic sediments were transported in abundance to Central Depression from Kontum Massif, while multiple provenances casted integrated influence on eastern sedimentary sequences. Southern Baiyun Sag was also affected by an increased supplement from the west Shenhu Uplift or even central Vietnam. Overall pattern did not change greatly since early Miocene, but long-distance transport has become dominant in the northern SCS. Under controlled by regional tectonic cycles, Pearl River gradually evolved into the present scale and exerted its influence on basinal provenances by several stages. Zhu1 Depression was partially delivered sediments from its tributaries in early Oligocene while northern Zhu2 Depression has not been provided abundant materials until late Oligocene. Meanwhile, although detailed transportation routine remains uncertain and controversial, an impressive paleo-channel spanning the whole Qiongdongnan Basin was presumed to supply huge amount of mafic to

Astronomical tunings of the Oligocene-Miocene transition from Pacific Ocean Site U1334 and implications for the carbon cycle

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Beddow, Helen M.; Liebrand, Diederik; Wilson, Douglas S.; Hilgen, Frits J.; Sluijs, Appy; Wade, Bridget S.; Lourens, Lucas J.

2018-03-01

Astronomical tuning of sediment sequences requires both unambiguous cycle pattern recognition in climate proxy records and astronomical solutions, as well as independent information about the phase relationship between these two. Here we present two different astronomically tuned age models for the Oligocene-Miocene transition (OMT) from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1334 (equatorial Pacific Ocean) to assess the effect tuning has on astronomically calibrated ages and the geologic timescale. These alternative age models (roughly from ˜ 22 to ˜ 24 Ma) are based on different tunings between proxy records and eccentricity: the first age model is based on an aligning CaCO3 weight (wt%) to Earth's orbital eccentricity, and the second age model is based on a direct age calibration of benthic foraminiferal stable carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) to eccentricity. To independently test which tuned age model and associated tuning assumptions are in best agreement with independent ages based on tectonic plate-pair spreading rates, we assign the tuned ages to magnetostratigraphic reversals identified in deep-marine magnetic anomaly profiles. Subsequently, we compute tectonic plate-pair spreading rates based on the tuned ages. The resultant alternative spreading-rate histories indicate that the CaCO3 tuned age model is most consistent with a conservative assumption of constant, or linearly changing, spreading rates. The CaCO3 tuned age model thus provides robust ages and durations for polarity chrons C6Bn.1n-C7n.1r, which are not based on astronomical tuning in the latest iteration of the geologic timescale. Furthermore, it provides independent evidence that the relatively large (several 10 000 years) time lags documented in the benthic foraminiferal isotope records relative to orbital eccentricity constitute a real feature of the Oligocene-Miocene climate system and carbon cycle. The age constraints from Site U1334 thus indicate that the delayed responses of the

A Market Analysis of Publications, Trade Conferences, and Key Events for Fleet Readiness Center Southwest

Science.gov (United States)

2007-12-01

Win and Keep Big Customers. Austin: Bard Press, 2005. Kotler , Philip and Kevin Lane Keller. Marketing Management. Upper Saddle River, NJ...NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA MBA PROFESSIONAL REPORT A Market Analysis of Publications, Trade Conferences...AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE December 2007 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED MBA Professional Report 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE: A Market

Prehnite-pumpellyite facies metamorphism in the Cenozoic Abanico Formation, Andes of central Chile (33°50'S): chemical and scale controls on mineral assemblages, reaction progress and the equilibrium state Metamorfismo de facies prehnita-pumpellyita en la Formación Abanico del Cenozoico, Andes centrales de Chile (33°50'S): controles químicos y de escala sobre las asociaciones minerales, el progreso de la reacción y el estado de equilibrio

OpenAIRE

Marcia Muñoz; Luis Aguirre; Mario Vergara; Alain Demant; Francisco Fuentes; Andrés Fock

2010-01-01

In the El Volcan and Rodeo de los Bueyes areas, Andean Principal Cordillera (east of Santiago; 33°50'S), an Upper Oligocene-Lower Miocene volcanic series belonging to the Abanico Formation (Late Eocene-Early Miocene) is exposed. The rock successions outcropping in both areas, ca. 3,300 m total thickness, have been affected by very low-grade, non-deformative metamorphism in the prehnite-pumpellyite facies. This is represented by the widespread development of secondary mineral assemblages compo...

Prehnite-pumpellyite facies metamorphism in the Cenozoic Abanico Formation, Andes of central Chile (33°50'S): chemical and scale controls on mineral assemblages, reaction progress and the equilibrium state

OpenAIRE

Muñoz,Marcia; Aguirre,Luis; Vergara,Mario; Demant,Alain; Fuentes,Francisco; Fock,Andrés

2010-01-01

In the El Volcan and Rodeo de los Bueyes areas, Andean Principal Cordillera (east of Santiago; 33°50'S), an Upper Oligocene-Lower Miocene volcanic series belonging to the Abanico Formation (Late Eocene-Early Miocene) is exposed. The rock successions outcropping in both areas, ca. 3,300 m total thickness, have been affected by very low-grade, non-deformative metamorphism in the prehnite-pumpellyite facies. This is represented by the widespread development of secondary mineral assemblages compo...

Perseverance of pikas in the Miocene : Interplay of climate and competition in the evolution of Spanish Ochotonidae (Lagomorpha, Mammalia). Geologica Ultraiectina (333)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hordijk, K.

2010-01-01

The sedimentary succession near the village of Villafeliche in the Calatayud-Montalbán Basin (Spain) is well known for its very rich, densely sampled and well dated fossil mammal record of Miocene age and roughly spans the time interval between 17 and 10 million years ago. The exceptional quality of

Peatmoss (Sphagnum) diversification associated with Miocene Northern Hemisphere climatic cooling?

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, A Jonathan; Devos, Nicolas; Cox, Cymon J; Boles, Sandra B; Shaw, Blanka; Buchanan, Alex M; Cave, Lynette; Seppelt, Rodney

2010-06-01

Global climate changes sometimes spark biological radiations that can feed back to effect significant ecological impacts. Northern Hemisphere peatlands dominated by living and dead peatmosses (Sphagnum) harbor almost 30% of the global soil carbon pool and have functioned as a net carbon sink throughout the Holocene, and probably since the late Tertiary. Before that time, northern latitudes were dominated by tropical and temperate plant groups and ecosystems. Phylogenetic analyses of mosses (phylum Bryophyta) based on nucleotide sequences from the plastid, mitochondrial, and nuclear genomes indicate that most species of Sphagnum are of recent origin (ca. Sphagnum species are not only well-adapted to boreal peatlands, they create the conditions that promote development of peatlands. The recent radiation that gave rise to extant diversity of peatmosses is temporally associated with Miocene climatic cooling in the Northern Hemisphere. The evolution of Sphagnum has had profound influences on global biogeochemistry because of the unique biochemical, physiological, and morphological features of these plants, both while alive and after death. 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Accelerated middle Miocene exhumation of the Talesh Mountains constrained by U-Th/He thermochronometry: Evidence for the Arabia-Eurasia collision in the NW Iranian Plateau

Science.gov (United States)

Madanipour, Saeed; Ehlers, Todd A.; Yassaghi, Ali; Enkelmann, Eva

2017-08-01

The Talesh Mountains at the NW margin of the Iranian Plateau curve around the southwestern corner of the South Caspian Block and developed in response to the collision of the Arabian-Eurasian Plates. The timing, rates, and regional changes in late Cenozoic deformation of the Talesh Mountains are not fully understood. In this study, we integrate 23 new apatite and zircon bedrock U-Th/He ages and structurally restored geologic cross sections with previously published detrital apatite fission track data to reconstruct the deformation history of the Talesh Mountains. Our results reveal that slow rock exhumation initiated during the late Oligocene ( 27-23 Ma) and then accelerated in the middle Miocene ( 12 Ma). These events resulted in the present-day high-elevation and curved geometry of the mountains. The spatial and temporal distribution of cooling ages suggest that the Oligocene bending of the Talesh Mountains was earlier than in the eastern Alborz, Kopeh Dagh, and central Alborz Mountains that initiated during the late Cenozoic. Late Oligocene and middle Miocene deformation episodes recorded in the Talesh Mountains can be related to the collisional phases of the Arabian and Eurasian Plates. The lower rate of exhumation recorded in the Talesh Mountains occurred during the initial soft collision of the Arabian-Eurasian Plates in the late Oligocene. The accelerated exhumation that occurred during final collision since the middle Miocene resulted from collision of the harder continental margin.

Paleomagnetic record of a geomagnetic field reversal from late miocene mafic intrusions, southern nevada.

Science.gov (United States)

Ratcliff, C D; Geissman, J W; Perry, F V; Crowe, B M; Zeitler, P K

1994-10-21

Late Miocene (about 8.65 million years ago) mafic intrusions and lava flows along with remagnetized host rocks from Paiute Ridge, southern Nevada, provide a high-quality paleomagnetic record of a geomagnetic field reversal. These rocks yield thermoremanent magnetizations with declinations of 227 degrees to 310 degrees and inclinations of -7 degrees to 49 degrees , defining a reasonably continuous virtual geomagnetic pole path over west-central Pacific longitudes. Conductive cooling estimates for the intrusions suggest that this field transition, and mafic magmatism, lasted only a few hundred years. Because this record comes principally from intrusive rocks, rather than sediments or lavas, it is important in demonstrating the longitudinal confinement of the geomagnetic field during a reversal.

PROPOTAMOCHOERUS SP. (SUIDAE, MAMMALIA FROM THE LATE MIOCENE OF GRAVITELLI (MESSINA, SICILY, ITALY REDISCOVERED

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

GIANNI GALLAI

2006-07-01

Full Text Available This paper describes two casts of a suid from the Late Miocene of Gravitelli (Messina, Sicily, originally described by Seguenza in 1902. The entire Gravitelli faunal collection was lost in the early 1900¡¦s. The recent rediscovery of two casts in the collections of the Museo di Storia Naturale of the University of Florence represent the only available material from this locality (in addition to the original description and illustration by Seguenza. The study of these casts allow a revision of the Gravitelli suid and its attribution to the genus Propotamochoerus. Although a specific determination is not possible, we suggest probable affinities with the species P. hysudricus or P. provincialis.

Evolution of organic carbon burial in the Global Ocean during the Neogene

Science.gov (United States)

LI, Z.; Zhang, Y.

2017-12-01

Although only a small fraction of the organic carbon (OC) that rains from surface waters is eventually buried in the sediments, it is a process that controls the organic sub-cycle of the long-term carbon cycle, and the key for atmospheric O2, CO2 and nutrient cycling. Here we constrain the spatiotemporal variability of OC burial by quantifying the total organic carbon (TOC) mass accumulation rate (MAR) over the Neogene (23.0-2.6 Ma) by compiling the TOC, age model and sediment density data from sites retrieved by the Deep Sea Drilling Program, Ocean Drilling Program, and Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. We screened all available sites which yielded 80 sites with adequate data quality, covering all major ocean basins and sedimentary depositional environments. All age models are updated to the GTS 2012 timescale so the TOC MAR records from different sites are comparable. Preliminary results show a clear early Miocene peak of OC burial in many sites related to high sediment flux which might reflect the orogenic uplift and/or glacier erosion. Places that receive high influx of terrigenous inputs become "hotspots" for Neogene burial of OC. At "open ocean" sites, OC burial seems to be more impacted by marine productivity changes, with a pronounced increase during the middle Miocene "Monterey Formation" and late Miocene - early Pliocene "Biogenic Bloom". Upon the completion of the data collection, we will further explore the regional and global OC burial in the context of tectonic uplift, climate change and the evolution of primary producers and consumers during the last 23 million years of Earth history.

Sediment concentrations, flow conditions, and downstream evolution of two turbidity currents, Monterey Canyon, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Jingping; Octavio E. Sequeiros,; Noble, Marlene A.

2014-01-01

The capacity of turbidity currents to carry sand and coarser sediment from shallow to deep regions in the submarine environment has attracted the attention of researchers from different disciplines. Yet not only are field measurements of oceanic turbidity currents a rare achievement, but also the data that have been collected consist mostly of velocity records with very limited or no suspended sediment concentration or grain size distribution data. This work focuses on two turbidity currents measured in Monterey Canyon in 2002 with emphasis on suspended sediment from unique samples collected within the body of these currents. It is shown that concentration and grain size of the suspended material, primarily controlled by the source of the gravity flows and their interaction with bed material, play a significant role in shaping the characteristics of the turbidity currents as they travel down the canyon. Before the flows reach their normal or quasi-steady state, which is defined by bed slope, bed roughness, and suspended grain size, they might pass through a preliminary adjustment stage where they are subject to capacity-driven deposition, and release heavy material in excess. Flows composed of fine (silt/clay) sediments tend to be thicker than those with sands. The measured velocity and concentration data confirm that flow patterns differ between the front and body of turbidity currents and that, even after reaching normal state, the flow regime can be radically disrupted by abrupt changes in canyon morphology.

Paleocene-middle Miocene flexural-margin migration of the non marine llanos Foreland basin of Colombia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bayona, German; Jaramillo, Carlos; Rueda, Milton; Reyes Harker, Andres; Torres, Vladimir

2007-01-01

A foreland basin is a dynamic system whose depositional systems migrate in response to changes in tectonic uplift patterns, sedimentary filling processes and isostatic rebound of the lithosphere. The Paleocene-middle Miocene foreland system of the llanos foothills and llanos basin of Colombia includes regional unconformities, abrupt changes in lithology/stacking patterns and flooding surfaces bounding reservoir and seal units. Here we integrate a systematic biostratigraphic study, strata architecture and tectonic subsidence analyses, regional seismic profiles, and provenance data to define the diachronism of such surfaces and to document the direction of migration of foreland depozones. Line a flexural-deformed basin, sandstone composition, rates of accommodation and sediment supply vary across and along the basin. we show how a coeval depositional profile in the llanos foothills-llanos foreland basin consists of lithoranites inter b edded with mudstones (seal rock, supplied from the orogenic front to the west) that correlate craton ward with organic-rich mudstones and coal (source rock), and to amalgamated fluvial-estuarine quartzarenites (reservoir rock, supplied from the craton to the east) adjacent to a sub-aerial fore-bulge (unconformity). This system migrated northward and eastward during the Paleocene, westward during the early-middle Eocene, and eastward during the Oligocene. In the lower-middle Miocene succession of the llanos basin, identification of flooding events indicates a westward encroaching of a shallow-water lacustrine system that covered an eastward-directed fluvial-deltaic system. A similar process has been documented in other basins in Venezuela and Bolivia, indicating the regional extent of such flooding event may be related to the onset of Andean-scale mountain-building processes

Precipitation history of the central Atacama Desert since the Miocene as reconstructed from clay pan records of the Costal Cordillera/ N Chile

Science.gov (United States)

Wennrich, V.; Melles, M.; Diederich, J. L.; Fernández Galego, E.; Ritter, B.; Brill, D.; Niemann, K.; Rolf, C.; Dunai, T. J.

2017-12-01

Hyperaridity is a major limitation of Earth-surface processes and biological activity in the Atacama Desert of N Chile, one of the oldest and the driest deserts on Earth. But even the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert of N Chile has experienced sever precipitation events, e.g., during the flash floods in 2015. On geological timescales, the overall aridity that is postulated to have lasted at least since the early Miocene was punctuated by distinct pluvial events. Such wetter conditions, e.g. during the Miocene, caused widespread lake-formation in the Central Depression and Coastal Cordillera, but also caused amplified surface processes, changes in vegetation dynamics, and enabled the dispersal of species. Unfortunately, due to the limited number and heterogeneous appearance of climate archives from the central Atacama, it's longer-scale precipitation history is still a matter of controversy. This study aims to study continuous longterm (Pleistocene-Miocene) paleoclimatic and environmental records from the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert covering the last >10 Ma. Therefor we investigate clay pans records from endorheic basins in the Coastal Cordillera mostly formed by blocking of drainage by tectonic movement. The clay pans under study are located along a latitudinal transect across the hyperarid core of the Atacama, and thus, are assumed to have recorded local and regional precipitation variations on different timescales. The investigated sequences exhibit significant changes in the sedimentological, geochemical, and mineralogical properties due to changes in precipitation, but also in the weathering and erosion in the catchments. Diatom and phytolith remains preserved in these records clearly point to significant water bodies during the wettest periods and a significant vegetation cover. The results shed a new light on the timing, frequency, and the driving mechanisms of the intervening pluvial phases.

Miocene magmatism in the Bodie Hills volcanic field, California and Nevada: A long-lived eruptive center in the southern segment of the ancestral Cascades arc

Science.gov (United States)

John, David A.; du Bray, Edward A.; Blakely, Richard J.; Fleck, Robert J.; Vikre, Peter; Box, Stephen E.; Moring, Barry C.

2012-01-01

The Middle to Late Miocene Bodie Hills volcanic field is a >700 km2, long-lived (∼9 Ma) but episodic eruptive center in the southern segment of the ancestral Cascades arc north of Mono Lake (California, U.S.). It consists of ∼20 major eruptive units, including 4 trachyandesite stratovolcanoes emplaced along the margins of the field, and numerous, more centrally located silicic trachyandesite to rhyolite flow dome complexes. Bodie Hills volcanism was episodic with two peak periods of eruptive activity: an early period ca. 14.7–12.9 Ma that mostly formed trachyandesite stratovolcanoes and a later period between ca. 9.2 and 8.0 Ma dominated by large trachyandesite-dacite dome fields. A final period of small silicic dome emplacement occurred ca. 6 Ma. Aeromagnetic and gravity data suggest that many of the Miocene volcanoes have shallow plutonic roots that extend to depths ≥1–2 km below the surface, and much of the Bodie Hills may be underlain by low-density plutons presumably related to Miocene volcanism.Compositions of Bodie Hills volcanic rocks vary from ∼50 to 78 wt% SiO2, although rocks with Bodie Hills rocks are porphyritic, commonly containing 15–35 vol% phenocrysts of plagioclase, pyroxene, and hornblende ± biotite. The oldest eruptive units have the most mafic compositions, but volcanic rocks oscillated between mafic and intermediate to felsic compositions through time. Following a 2 Ma hiatus in volcanism, postsubduction rocks of the ca. 3.6–0.1 Ma, bimodal, high-K Aurora volcanic field erupted unconformably onto rocks of the Miocene Bodie Hills volcanic field.At the latitude of the Bodie Hills, subduction of the Farallon plate is inferred to have ended ca. 10 Ma, evolving to a transform plate margin. However, volcanism in the region continued until 8 Ma without an apparent change in rock composition or style of eruption. Equidimensional, polygenetic volcanoes and the absence of dike swarms suggest a low differential horizontal stress regime

Evaluating climatic response to external radiative forcing during the late Miocene to early Pliocene: New perspectives from eastern equatorial Pacific (IODP U1338) and North Atlantic (ODP 982) locations

Science.gov (United States)

Drury, Anna Joy; John, Cédric M.; Shevenell, Amelia E.

2016-01-01

Orbital-scale climate variability during the latest Miocene-early Pliocene is poorly understood due to a lack of high-resolution records spanning 8.0-3.5 Ma, which resolve all orbital cycles. Assessing this variability improves understanding of how Earth's system sensitivity to insolation evolves and provides insight into the factors driving the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) and the Late Miocene Carbon Isotope Shift (LMCIS). New high-resolution benthic foraminiferal Cibicidoides mundulus δ18O and δ13C records from equatorial Pacific International Ocean Drilling Program Site U1338 are correlated to North Atlantic Ocean Drilling Program Site 982 to obtain a global perspective. Four long-term benthic δ18O variations are identified: the Tortonian-Messinian, Miocene-Pliocene, and Early-Pliocene Oxygen Isotope Lows (8-7, 5.9-4.9, and 4.8-3.5 Ma) and the Messinian Oxygen Isotope High (MOH; 7-5.9 Ma). Obliquity-paced variability dominates throughout, except during the MOH. Eleven new orbital-scale isotopic stages are identified between 7.4 and 7.1 Ma. Cryosphere and carbon cycle sensitivities, estimated from δ18O and δ13C variability, suggest a weak cryosphere-carbon cycle coupling. The MSC termination coincided with moderate cryosphere sensitivity and reduced global ice sheets. The LMCIS coincided with reduced carbon cycle sensitivity, suggesting a driving force independent of insolation changes. The response of the cryosphere and carbon cycle to obliquity forcing is established, defined as Earth System Response (ESR). Observations reveal that two late Miocene-early Pliocene climate states existed. The first is a prevailing dynamic state with moderate ESR and obliquity-driven Antarctic ice variations, associated with reduced global ice volumes. The second is a stable state, which occurred during the MOH, with reduced ESR and lower obliquity-driven variability, associated with expanded global ice volumes.

A major Early Miocene thermal pulse due to subduction segmentation and rollback in the western Mediterranean region

Science.gov (United States)

Spakman, W.; Van Hinsbergen, D. J.; Vissers, R.

2012-12-01

Geological studies have shown that Eo-Oligocene subduction related high-pressure, low-temperature metasediments and peridotites of the Alboran region (Spain, Morocco) and the Kabylides (Algeria) experienced a major Early Miocene (~21 Ma) thermal pulse requiring asthenospheric temperatures at ~60 km depth. Despite earlier propositions, the cause of this thermal pulse is still controversial while also the paleogeographic origin of the Alboran and Kabylides units is debated. Here, we relate the thermal pulse to segmentation of the West Alpine-Tethyan slab under the SE Iberian margin (Baleares-Sardinia). We restore the Alboran rocks farther east than previously assumed, to close to the Balearic Islands, adjacent to Sardinia. We identify three major lithosphere faults, the NW-SE trending North Balearic Transform Zone (NBTZ) and the ~W-E trending Emile Baudot and North African transforms that accommodated the Miocene subduction evolution of slab segmentation, rollback, and migration of Alboran and Kabylides rocks to their current positions. The heat pulse occurred S-SE of the Baleares where slab segmentation along the NBTZ triggered radially outgrowing S-SW rollback opening a slab window that facilitated local ascent of asthenosphere below the rapidly extending Alboran-Kabylides accretionary prism. Subsequent slab rollback carried the Kabylides and Alboran domains to their present positions. Our new reconstruction is in line with tomographically imaged mantle structure and focuses attention on the crucial role of evolving subduction segmentation driving HT-metamorphism and subsequent extension, fragmentation, and dispersion of geological terrains.

Compositional variations and differential diagenesis in Miocene turbidites from the western coast of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain)

Science.gov (United States)

Felder, Sonja; Westphal, Hildegard; Munnecke, Axel; Mateu Vicens, Guillem

2010-05-01

Compositional variations and differential diagenesis in Miocene turbidites from the western coast of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain) Sonja Felder (1), Hildegard Westphal (1), Axel Munnecke (2), Guillem Mateu Vicens (1,3) (1) MARUM and Department of Geosciences, Universität Bremen, Leobener Straße, 28359 Bremen, Germany (2) GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Loewenichstr. 28, 91054 Erlangen, Germany (3) Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Roma "La Sapienza", Ple Aldo 7 Moro, 5. I-00185 Roma, Italy Cyclic alternations of limestone and marl beds crop out along the western coast of the Island of Mallorca. This Miocene succession is traditionally interpreted to represent more weathering-resistant turbidites interlayered by softer hemipelagic background sediment. However, the cementation patterns that dominate the appearance of the outcrop do not always consistently follow sedimentary layering; locally the cemented beds are systematically oblique to the sedimentary layers. Compositional studies demonstrate that differences in non-carbonate fraction, carbonate concentration and fossil content (e.g. foraminiferal assemblages) trace sedimentary bedding, regardless the diagenetic style. Limestone versus marl lithology, in contrast, is defined by the diagenetic style, tight cementation by calcite cements in the limestones versus low porosity and compaction in the marls. The reason for this striking pattern of diagenetic bedding cross-cutting sedimentary layers is assumed to be related to tectonic fracturing, opening pathways for diagenetic fluids. This example cautions the straight-forward interpretation of limestone-marl alternations as direct witnesses of environmental or climatic variations.

Evolution and classification of Elaphoglossum and Asplenium ferns on Cuba, and discovery of a Miocene Elaphoglossum in Dominican amber

OpenAIRE

Lóriga Piñero, Josmaily

2018-01-01

This dissertation deals with the systematics and evolution of Neotropical ferns of the genera Elaphoglossum and Asplenium, with particular focus on the species of Cuba and the West Indies. It also includes an analysis and description of an Elaphoglossum frond fragment preserved in Miocene Dominican amber. The worldwide genera Elaphoglossum with 600 species and Asplenium with 685 species are the most species-rich groups of leptosporangiate ferns. On Cuba, Elaphoglossum has 34 species and Asple...

Otoliths in situ from Sarmatian (Middle Miocene) fishes of the Paratethys. Part I

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schwarzhans, Werner; Carnevale, Giorgio; Bannikov, Alexandre F.

2017-01-01

to two otolith-based species so far identified from the same time interval in the Paratethys---Atherina austriaca and Atherina gidjakensis. Our correlation of isolated otoliths and otolith in situ documents in this case that A. suchovi is not synonymous to any of the otolith-based species, although...... it appears to be closely related to A. gidjakensis. A list is presented and briefly discussed showing Sarmatian skeleton-based fish records from the Central and Eastern Paratethys with an overview of known and currently studied fishes with otoliths in situ.......Several well-preserved otoliths were extracted from four slabs containing fish specimens of Atherina suchovi. Atherina suchovi is one of the five Atherina species recorded from the Middle Miocene of the Central and Eastern Paratethys established on articulated skeletal remains. This corresponds...

Mineral chemistry of clinopyroxene: guidance on geo- thermobarometry and tectonomagmatic setting of Nabar volcanic rocks, South of Kashan

OpenAIRE

Rezvan Mehvari; Moussa Noghreyan; Mortaza Sharifi; Mohammad Ali Mackizadeh; Seyed Hassan Tabatabaei; Ghodrat Torabi

2017-01-01

Introduction The Nabar area that is a part of the Urumieh- Dokhtar volcano- plutonic belt is located in the south of Kashan. Research works such as Emami (Emami, 1993) and Abbasi (Abbasi, 2012) have been done about the geology of this area. Rock units in the study area contain middle- upper Eocene intermediate to acidic lavas and pyroclastic rocks, green marl, shale and sandy marls of Oligo- Miocene, limestones of Qom formation, intrusive granitoids with Oligo- Miocene age and quaternar...

Late Miocene Pacific plate kinematic change explained with coupled global models of mantle and lithosphere dynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stotz, Ingo Leonardo; Iaffaldano, Giampiero; Davies, DR

2017-01-01

and the consequent subduction polarity reversal. The uncertainties associated with the timing of this event, however, make it difficult to quantitatively demonstrate a dynamical association. Here, we first reconstruct the Pacific plate's absolute motion since the mid-Miocene (15 Ma), at high-temporal resolution....../lithosphere system to test hypotheses on the dynamics driving this change. These indicate that the arrival of the OJP at the Melanesian arc, between 10 and 5 Ma, followed by a subduction polarity reversal that marked the initiation of subduction of the Australian plate underneath the Pacific realm, were the key...... drivers of this kinematic change....

Geochemical constraints on the relationship between the Miocene-Pliocene volcanism and tectonics in the Palaoco and Fortunoso volcanic fields, Mendoza Region, Argentina

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dyhr, Charlotte Thorup; Holm, Paul Martin; Llambias, Eduardo J.

2013-01-01

New 40Ar/39Ar analyses constrain the formation of the volcanic succession of Sierra de Palaoco in the present back-arc of the Andean Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ), near 36°S, to the Late Miocene and assigns them to the Huincán II Formation. The composition of major and trace elements, Sr, Nd and P...

The timing of sediment transport down Monterey Submarine Canyon, offshore California

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens, Thomas; Paull, Charles K.; Ussler, William III; McGann, Mary; Buylaert, Jan-Pieter; Lundsten, Eve M.

2013-01-01

While submarine canyons are the major conduits through which sediments are transported from the continents out into the deep sea, the time it takes for sediment to pass down through a submarine canyon system is poorly constrained. Here we report on the first study to couple optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of quartz sand deposits and accelerator mass spectrometry 14C ages measured on benthic foraminifera to examine the timing of sediment transport through the axial channel of Monterey Submarine Canyon and Fan, offshore California. The OSL ages date the timing of sediment entry into the canyon head while the 14C ages of benthic foraminifera record the deposition of hemipelagic sediments that bound the sand horizons. We use both single-grain and small (∼2 mm area) single-aliquot regeneration approaches on vibracore samples from fining-upward sequences at various water depths to demonstrate relatively rapid, decadal-scale sand transport to at least 1.1 km depth and more variable decadal- to millennial-scale transport to a least 3.5 km depth on the fan. Significant differences between the time sand was last exposed at the canyon head (OSL age) and the timing of deposition of the sand (from 14C ages of benthic foraminifera in bracketing hemipelagic sediments) are interpreted as indicating that the sand does not pass through the entire canyon instantly in large individual events, but rather moves multiple times before emerging onto the fan. The increased spread in single-grain OSL dates with water depth provides evidence of mixing and temporary storage of sediment as it moves through the canyon system. The ages also indicate that the frequency of sediment transport events decreases with distance down the canyon channel system. The amalgamated sands near the canyon head yield OSL ages that are consistent with a sub-decadal recurrence frequency while the fining-upward sand sequences on the fan indicate that the channel is still experiencing events with a 150�

THE BAIKAL RIFT: PLIOCENE (MIOCENE – QUATERNARY EPISODE OR PRODUCT OF EXTENDED DEVELOPMENT SINCE THE LATE CRETACEOUS UNDER VARIOUS TECTONIC FACTORS. A REVIEW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. D. Mats

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The article reviews three typical concepts concerning the age of the Baikal rift (BR which development is still underway: 5 Ma (the BR development start in the Late Pliocene, 30 Ma (Miocene or Oligocene, and 60–70 Ma (the Late Cretaceous. Under the concept of the young BR age (Pliocene–Quaternary [Artyushkov, 1993; Nikolaev et al., 1985; Buslov, 2012], according to E.V. Artyushkov, BR is not a rift, but a graben due to the fact that the pre‐Pliocene structure of BR does not contain any elements that would be indicative of tensile stresses. However, field studies reported in [Lamakin, 1968; Ufimtsev, 1993; Zonenshain et al., 1995; Mats, 1993, 2012; Mats et al., 2001] have revealed that extension structures, such as tilted blocks and listric faults, are abundant in the Baikal basin (BB, and thus do not supportE.V. Artyushkov’s argumentation. The opinion that BR is young is shared by M.M. Buslov [2012]; he refers to studies of  Central Asia and states that only the Pliocene‐Quaternary structure of BB is a rift, while the oldest Cenozoic structures (Upper Cretaceous – Miocene are just fragments of the large Cenozoic Predbaikalsky submontane trough (PBT which are not related to the rift. However, the coeval Cenozoic lithological compositions, thicknesses of sediment layers and types of tectonic structures in PBT and BB have nothing in common. Across the area separating PBT and BB, there are no sediments or structures to justify a concept that BR and PBT may be viewed as composing a single region with uniform structures and formations. The idea of the Pliocene‐Quaternary age of BR should be rejected as it contradicts with the latest geological and geophysical data. Seismic profiling in BB has revealed the syn‐rift sedimentary bed which thickness exceeds 7.5 km. Results of drilling through the 600‐metre sedimentary sequence of Lake Baikal suggest the age of 8.4 Ma [Horiuchi et al., 2004], but M.M. Buslov believes

Oncoplastic Surgery for Upper/Upper Inner Quadrant Breast Cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Joseph; Chen, Dar-Ren; Wang, Yu-Fen; Lai, Hung-Wen

2016-01-01

Tumors located in the upper/upper inner quadrant of the breast warrant more attention. A small lesion relative to the size of breast in this location may be resolved by performing a level I oncoplastic technique. However, a wide excision may significantly reduce the overall quality of the breast shape by distorting the visible breast line. From June 2012 to April 2015, 36 patients with breast cancer located in the upper/upper inner quadrant underwent breast-conservation surgery with matrix rotation mammoplasty. According to the size and location of the tumor relative to the nipple-areola complex, 11 patients underwent matrix rotation with periareolar de-epithelialization (donut group) and the other 25 underwent matrix rotation only (non-donut group). The cosmetic results were self-assessed by questionnaires. The average weights of the excised breast lumps in the donut and non-donut groups were 104.1 and 84.5 g, respectively. During the 3-year follow-up period, local recurrence was observed in one case and was managed with nipple-sparing mastectomy followed by breast reconstruction with prosthetic implants. In total, 31 patients (88.6%) ranked their postoperative result as either acceptable or satisfactory. The treated breasts were also self-evaluated by 27 patients (77.1%) to be nearly identical to or just slightly different from the untreated side. Matrix rotation is an easy breast-preserving technique for treating breast cancer located in the upper/upper inner quadrant of the breast that requires a relatively wide excision. With this technique, a larger breast tumor could be removed without compromising the breast appearance.

Ar-Ar dating and petrogenesis of the Early Miocene Taşkapı-Mecitli (Erciş-Van) granitoid, Eastern Anatolia Collisional Zone, Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Oyan, Vural

2018-06-01

The Early Miocene Taşkapı-Mecitli granitoid that is located in the northern section of the Eastern Anatolia Collision Zone has typical I-type, metaluminous and calk-alkaline characteristics. It also contains mafic microgranular / magmatic enclaves (MMEs). New Ar-Ar dating results show that the age of the Taşkapı-Mecitli granitoid is ∼23 Ma and it crystallised in the Early Miocene, in contrast to its previously known Cretaceous age. Identical crystallisation ages (∼23 Ma), similar mineral assemblages and geochemical compositions, and indistinguishable isotopic compositions of MMEs and host rocks imply that the MMEs are most consistent with a cumulate origin formed at earlier stages of the same magmatic system that produced the Taşkapı-Mecitli granitoid. MELTS modelling suggests that magma of the Taşkapı-Mecitli granitoid was the result of fractionation under a crustal pressure of 4 kbar, with a H2O content of 1.5%. EC-AFC model calculation reveals that the Taşkapı-Mecitli granitoid includes from 0.5% to 2% crustal assimilation rates. These rates indicate that crustal contamination can be negligible when compared to fractional crystallisation in the evolution of the magma beneath the Taşkapı-Mecitli granitoid. The partial melting model calculations and MORB-normalised trace element concentrations of the least evolved samples of the Taşkapı-Mecitli granitoid are consistent with those of mafic melts obtained from partial melting of interacting mantle- lower crust with a melting degree of 18%. The age (23 Ma) of the post- or syn-collisional Taşkapı-Mecitli granitoid suggests that the collision between Arabian and Eurasian plates could be before/around ∼23 Ma (Late Oligocene to Early Miocene).

New gadiform fishes (Teleostei, Gadiformes) from the Miocene of Algeria

Science.gov (United States)

Carnevale, Giorgio

2007-02-01

As part of the completion of studies on the Miocene fishes of the Chelif Basin (north-western Algeria), this paper represents a contribution to the knowledge of the Messinian gadiform diversity of this western Mediterranean, semi-enclosed, Neogene basin. A new genus and species of the family Macrouridae is erected ( Razelainia paradoxa n. gen. et sp.), two specimens are tentatively referred to already existing taxa ( Gadiculus cf. jonas; Merluccius cf. merluccius), and a species formerly assigned to the gadid genus Brosme is transferred to the genus Gaidropsarus ( Gaidropsarus murdjadjensis). The macrourid Razelainia paradoxa n. gen. et sp. is characterized by an unusual combination of: plesiomorphic gadiform features, such as low vertebral number (presumed), well-developed caudal-fin rays, presence of a single continuous dorsal fin originating just posterior to the neurocranium, anal-fin rays slightly longer than dorsal-fin rays; and derived, typically macrourid features, such as the presence of spinoid scales and the anterior anal-fin pterygiophores extending forward over the abdominal wall. A paleoecological analysis reveals that the Messinian gadiform assemblage of the Chelif Basin had a subtropical/warm temperate affinity, with a marked north-eastern Atlantic-Mediterranean biogeographic character.

Chemometric Study of Trace Elements in Hard Coals of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, Poland

Science.gov (United States)

Rompalski, Przemysław; Cybulski, Krzysztof; Chećko, Jarosław

2014-01-01

The objective of the study was the analysis of trace elements contents in coals of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB), which may pose a potential threat to the environment when emitted from coal processing systems. Productive carbon overburden in central and southern zones of the USCB is composed mostly of insulating tertiary formations of a thickness from a few m to 1,100 m, and is represented by Miocene and Pliocene formations. In the data study the geological conditions of the coal seams of particular zones of the USCB were taken into account and the hierarchical clustering analysis was applied, which enabled the exploration of the dissimilarities between coal samples of various zones of the USCB in terms of basic physical and chemical parameters and trace elements contents. Coals of the northern and eastern zones of the USCB are characterized by high average Hg and low average Ba, Cr, and Ni contents, whereas coals of southern and western zones are unique due to high average concentrations of Ba, Co, Cu, Ni, and V. Coals of the central part of the USCB are characterized by the highest average concentration of Mn and the lowest average concentrations of As, Cd, Pb, V, and Zn. PMID:24967424

Enamel microwear texture properties of IGF 11778 (Oreopithecus bambolii) from the late Miocene of Baccinello, Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

L' Engle Williams, Frank

2013-01-01

Late Miocene Oreopithecus bambolii has been posited as a folivore from its pronounced molar shearing crests. However, scanning electron microscopy yields conflicting results with one study of Oreopithecus showing folivory and another indicating a coarser diet was consumed. To address this debate, the dietary proclivities of the well-known IGF 11778 Oreopithecus bambolii specimen are reconstructed by comparing the enamel texture properties of this specimen to extant Alouatta palliata (n = 11), Cebus apella (n = 13), Gorilla gorilla (n = 9), Lophocebus albigena (n = 15), Pan troglodytes (n = 17) and Trachypithecus cristatus (n = 12). Dental microwear is captured by scanning facet 9, a Phase II facet on the hypoconid surface, using white-light confocal microscopy at 100x. The scanning was followed by scale-sensitive fractal analysis, yielding four texture characteristics. These were ranked before ANOVA with post-hoc tests of significance and multivariate analyses were conducted. Oreopithecus specimen IGF 11778 does not match any of the extant taxa consistently but in some analyses is associated with Lophocebus, and secondarily with Pan, Gorilla and Cebus outliers suggesting mixed-fruit and hard-object feeding characterized at least a portion of its diet. The partially open habitat of late Miocene Baccinello may have had resources with mechanically resistant foods, or foods found near ground level were consumed. Hard, brittle foods, insects, and or extraneous grit may have contributed to the greater use-wear complexity of the enamel surface observed in IGF 11778 compared to extant folivores. IGF 11778 does not exhibit the degree of anisotropy characterizing Trachypithecus and Alouatta. The partial resemblance of IGF 11778 to some great ape specimens may indicate intermittent extractive and or terrestrial foraging.

The occurrence of amber and sub-amber (copal) in Costa Rica: the case of San Cristobal de Savegre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarado, Guillermo E.; Brenes, Jorge; Brenes, Jose

2013-01-01

In Costa Rica, small fragments of amber are found in the Miocene shallow marine clastic sedimentary rocks, such as Formacion Punta Judas (Middle Miocene), Formacion Santa Teresa (Middle Miocene), and Formacion Curre (Middle-Upper Miocene). Sub-amber or copal is found in relative abundance in certain localities in the residual soils in the mountains near San Cristobal de Savegre (Aguirre, Puntarenas). The copal samples have sub-rounded or pearly (21.3%), tabular or laminar (29.6%) and troncoidal (30.4%) forms, but some are intermediate or indefinite (18.7%). Its color varies between orange / red (57.4%), followed by yellow (31.0%) and less frequently light yellow to whitish (11.6%); some samples have insects incorporated. The age of the copal is in the age range of 1670-1780 A.D., based on a calibrated 14 C dating. Although these samples of copal seem to have no commercial value, they could be used by local artisans. (author) [es

Changes of deep Pacific overturning circulation and carbonate chemistry during middle Miocene East Antarctic ice sheet expansion

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Xiaolin; Tian, Jun; Ma, Wentao; Li, Ke; Yu, Jimin

2018-02-01

East Antarctic ice sheet expansion (EAIE) at ∼13.9 Ma in the middle Miocene represents a major climatic event during the long-term Cenozoic cooling, but ocean circulation and carbon cycle changes during this event remain unclear. Here, we present new fish teeth isotope (εNd) and benthic foraminiferal B/Ca records from the South China Sea (SCS), newly integrated meridional Pacific benthic foraminiferal δ18O and δ13C records and simulated results from a biogeochemical box model to explore the responses of deep Pacific Ocean circulation and carbon cycle across EAIE. The εNd and meridional benthic δ13C records reveal a more isolated Pacific Deep Water (PDW) and a sluggish Pacific meridional overturning circulation during the post-EAIE with respect to the pre-EAIE owing to weakened southern-sourced deep water formation. The deep-water [CO23-] and calcium carbonate mass accumulation rate in the SCS display markedly similar increases followed by recoveries to the pre-EAIE level during EAIE, which were probably caused by a shelf-basin shift of CaCO3 deposition and strengthened weathering due to a sea level fall within EAIE. The model results show that the ∼1‰ positive δ13C excursion during EAIE could be attributed to increased weathering of high-δ13C shelf carbonates and a terrestrial carbon reservoir expansion. The drawdown of atmospheric CO2 over the middle Miocene were probably caused by combined effects of increased shelf carbonate weathering, expanded land biosphere carbon storage and a sluggish deep Pacific meridional overturning circulation.

Late Miocene volcanic sequences in northern Victoria Land, Antarctica: products of glaciovolcanic eruptions under different thermal regimes

Science.gov (United States)

Smellie, J. L.; Rocchi, S.; Armienti, P.

2011-01-01

Late Miocene (c. 13-5 Ma) volcanic sequences of the Hallett Volcanic Province (HVP) crop out along >250 km of western Ross Sea coast in northern Victoria Land. Eight primary volcanic and six sedimentary lithofacies have been identified, and they are organised into at least five different sequence architectures as a consequence of different combinations of eruptive and/or depositional conditions. The volcanoes were erupted in association with a Miocene glacial cover and the sequences are overwhelmingly glaciovolcanic. The commonest and most representative are products of mafic aa lava-fed deltas, a type of glaciovolcanic sequence that has not been described before. It is distinguished by (1) a subaerially emplaced relatively thin caprock of aa lavas lying on and passing down-dip into (2) a thicker association of chaotic to crudely bedded hyaloclastite breccias, water-chilled lava sheets and irregular lava masses, collectively called lobe-hyaloclastite. A second distinctive sequence type present is characterised by water-cooled lavas and associated sedimentary lithofacies (diamictite (probably glacigenic) and fluvial sands and gravels) similar to some mafic glaciovolcanic sheet-like sequences (see Smellie, Earth-Science Reviews, 74, 241-268, 2008), but including (for the first time) examples of likely sheet-like sequences with felsic compositions. Other sequence types in the HVP are minor and include tuff cones, cinder cones and a single ice-marginal lacustrine sequence. The glacial thermal regime varied from polar, characterised by sequences lacking glacial erosion, glacigenic sediments or evidence for free water, to temperate or sub-polar for sequences in which all of these features are conspicuously developed.

Primate fauna from the Miocene La Venta, in the Tatacoa desert, department of Huila, Colombia Primate fauna from the Miocene La Venta, in the Tatacoa desert, department of Huila, Colombia

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Setoguchi Takeshi

1986-12-01

Full Text Available Los ejemplares aquí descritos aumentan el conocimiento sobre la diversidad de los primates del Mioceno medio de América del Sur. Nótese, sin embargo que se discutirá y se mencionará solo el material que ya ha sido descrito previamente; el resto de fósiles se prepara para otra publicación (SETOGOUCHI y ROSENBERGER, en preparación, razón por la cual no se mencionan en este manuscrito. Estos datos proporcionan un panorama más claro sobre la diversificación de la fauna primatológica durante el Mioceno medio.  En esta área, ahora periférica a la Cuenca del Amazonas, donde los primates platirrinos son muy abundantes, pudieron haber vivido 10 especies, en forma simpátrica, sin tenerse en cuenta las diferencias temporales. El arreglo adaptativo de insectívoros-frugívoros-folívoros que tipifica las comunidades del bosque Neotropical en la actualidad, parece guardar similitud con las comunidades de primates fósiles de La Venta. Estos fósiles también parecen corroborar la hipótesis (ROSENBERGER,1979; DELSON & ROSENBERGER, 1984 de que los géneros de monos vivientes del Nuevo Mundo (Callithrix, AIouatta y Ateles representan una rama filogenética que se separó hace mucho tiempo y que guarda una estrecha relación con los fósiles encontrados en el sitio Kyoto en La Venta, los cuales, posiblemente fueron sus ancentros.The Tatacoa desert in Department of Huila of Republic of Colombia,is one of the richest classical continental South American localitiesyielding Tertiary vertebrate faunas, known as the La Venta fauna. The LaVenta is within the Miocene Honda Group and its fauna has been correlated with Argentine deposits of the Friasian Land Mammal Age, dated at about 14 Ma (million years ago. The original collection yielded three primate species: Neosaimiri fieldsi, Cebu pithecia sarmient oi, and Stirt onia tatacoensis.Other fossil platyrrhine primates are known by four or five additionalgenera from the early Oligocene through early

A new Miocene baleen whale from Peru deciphers the dawn of cetotheriids

Science.gov (United States)

Marx, Felix G.; Lambert, Olivier; de Muizon, Christian

2017-09-01

Cetotheriidae are an iconic, nearly extinct family of baleen whales (Mysticeti) with a highly distinct cranial morphology. Their origins remain a mystery, with even the most archaic species showing a variety of characteristic features. Here, we describe a new species of archaic cetotheriid, Tiucetus rosae, from the Miocene of Peru. The new material represents the first mysticete from the poorly explored lowest portion of the highly fossiliferous Pisco Formation (allomember P0), and appears to form part of a more archaic assemblage than observed at the well-known localities of Cerro Colorado, Cerro los Quesos, Sud-Sacaco and Aguada de Lomas. Tiucetus resembles basal plicogulans (crown Mysticeti excluding right whales), such as Diorocetus and Parietobalaena, but shares with cetotheriids a distinct morphology of the auditory region, including the presence of an enlarged paroccipital concavity. The distinctive morphology of Tiucetus firmly places Cetotheriidae in the context of the poorly understood `cetotheres' sensu lato, and helps to resolve basal relationships within crown Mysticeti.

Anatomy and origin of carbonate structures in a Miocene cold-seep field

Science.gov (United States)

Aiello, Ivano W.; Garrison, Robert E.; Moore, J. Casey; Kastner, Miriam; Stakes, Debra S.

2001-12-01

Miocene calcite concretions resembling modern carbonate structures that form at cold seeps are present in fractured opal- CT porcelanites that are interbedded with mudstones in coastal cliffs at Santa Cruz, California. The morphologies of the carbonate structures differ markedly from conventional concretions and are spatially aligned with orthogonal joints in the porcelanites. The structures contain tubular holes that are identical to fluid and gas conduits in modern carbonate seep structures; the orientations of these tubes suggest that fluid and gas flow was both vertical and horizontal, the latter along extensional joints that formed preferentially in the brittle, silica-rich layers that had enhanced bedding- parallel permeability. Petrographic and isotopic characteristics of the carbonate structures indicate that calcite precipitation occurred in a shallow, subseafloor environment in either the zone of microbial sulfate reduction or of methanogenesis, prior to or possibly simultaneously with the silica phase transformation of opal- A in diatom shells to opal-CT.

Oncoplastic Surgery for Upper/Upper Inner Quadrant Breast Cancer.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph Lin

Full Text Available Tumors located in the upper/upper inner quadrant of the breast warrant more attention. A small lesion relative to the size of breast in this location may be resolved by performing a level I oncoplastic technique. However, a wide excision may significantly reduce the overall quality of the breast shape by distorting the visible breast line. From June 2012 to April 2015, 36 patients with breast cancer located in the upper/upper inner quadrant underwent breast-conservation surgery with matrix rotation mammoplasty. According to the size and location of the tumor relative to the nipple-areola complex, 11 patients underwent matrix rotation with periareolar de-epithelialization (donut group and the other 25 underwent matrix rotation only (non-donut group. The cosmetic results were self-assessed by questionnaires. The average weights of the excised breast lumps in the donut and non-donut groups were 104.1 and 84.5 g, respectively. During the 3-year follow-up period, local recurrence was observed in one case and was managed with nipple-sparing mastectomy followed by breast reconstruction with prosthetic implants. In total, 31 patients (88.6% ranked their postoperative result as either acceptable or satisfactory. The treated breasts were also self-evaluated by 27 patients (77.1% to be nearly identical to or just slightly different from the untreated side. Matrix rotation is an easy breast-preserving technique for treating breast cancer located in the upper/upper inner quadrant of the breast that requires a relatively wide excision. With this technique, a larger breast tumor could be removed without compromising the breast appearance.

A lacustrine record of the early stage of the Miocene Climatic Optimum in Central Europe from the Most Basin, Ohre (Eger) Graben, Czech Republic

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Matys Grygar, Tomáš; Mach, K.; Schnabl, Petr; Pruner, Petr; Laurin, Jiří; Martinez, M.

2014-01-01

Roč. 151, č. 6 (2014), s. 1013-1033 ISSN 0016-7568 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP210/11/1357 Institutional support: RVO:61388980 ; RVO:67985530 ; RVO:67985831 Keywords : cyclostratigraphy * lake sediments * climate dynamics * Milankovitch cycles * early Miocene Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 2.482, year: 2014

MIDDLE EOCENE TO EARLY MIOCENE FORAMINIFERAL BIOSTRATIGRAPHY IN THE EPILIGURIAN SUCCESSION (NORTHERN APENNINES, ITALY

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NICOLETTA MANCIN

2001-11-01

Full Text Available A quantitative biostratigraphical study was performed on the foraminiferal assemblages from 15 stratigraphic sections of the Epiligurian Succession (Middle Eocene-Early Miocene, Northern Apennines, Italy. This study enabled us to identify the presence of some of the standard bioevents and to note that other bioevents are absent or show a different chronostratigraphic range. Other additional bioevents, identified throughout the area, have therefore been utilised to improve the biostratigraphical resolution of the Epiligurian sediments. These bioevents include the massive extinction of the muricate species at the Bartonian/Priabonian boundary; the increasing abundance of Paragloborotalia opima opima near Subzone P21a/P21b and the Rupelian/Chattian boundaries; and the FO of Globoquadrina dehiscens at the Subzone N4a/N4b boundary. 

Bilobate leaves of Bauhinia (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae, Cercideae) from the middle Miocene of Fujian Province, southeastern China and their biogeographic implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Yanxiang; Wong, William Oki; Shi, Gongle; Shen, Si; Li, Zhenyu

2015-11-16

Morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies suggest that the pantropical genus Bauhinia L. s.l. (Bauhiniinae, Cercideae, Leguminosae) is paraphyletic and may as well be subdivided into nine genera, including Bauhinia L. s.s. and its allies. Their leaves are usually characteristic bilobate and are thus easily recognized in the fossil record. This provides the opportunity to understand the early evolution, diversification, and biogeographic history of orchid trees from an historical perspective under the framework of morphological and molecular studies. The taxonomy, distribution, and leaf architecture of Bauhinia and its allies across the world are summarized in detail, which formed the basis for classifying the bilobate leaf fossils and evaluating the fossil record and biogeography of Bauhinia. Two species of Bauhinia are described from the middle Miocene Fotan Group of Fujian Province, southeastern China. Bauhinia ungulatoides sp. nov. is characterized by shallowly to moderately bilobate, pulvinate leaves with shallowly cordate bases and acute apices on each lobe, as well as paracytic stomatal complexes. Bauhinia fotana F.M.B. Jacques et al. emend. possesses moderately bilobate, pulvinate leaves with moderately to deeply cordate bases and acute or slightly obtuse apices on each lobe. Bilobate leaf fossils Bauhinia ungulatoides and B. fotana together with other late Paleogene - early Neogene Chinese record of the genus suggest that Bauhinia had been diverse in South China by the late Paleogene. Their great similarities to some species from South America and South Asia respectively imply that Bauhinia might have undergone extensive dispersals and diversification during or before the Miocene. The fossil record, extant species diversity, as well as molecular phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that the Bauhiniinae might have originated in the Paleogene of low-latitudes along the eastern Tethys Seaway. They dispersed southwards into Africa, migrated from Eurasia to

Stratigraphy and structural development of the southwest Isla Tiburón marine basin: Implications for latest Miocene tectonic opening and flooding of the northern Gulf of California

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Bennett, Scott E. K.; Oskin, Michael; Dorsey, Rebecca; Iriondo, Alexander; Kunk, Michael J.

2015-01-01

Accurate information on the timing of earliest marine incursion into the Gulf of California (northwestern México) is critical for paleogeographic models and for understanding the spatial and temporal evolution of strain accommodation across the obliquely divergent Pacific-North America plate boundary. Marine strata exposed on southwest Isla Tiburón (SWIT) have been cited as evidence for a middle Miocene marine incursion into the Gulf of California at least 7 m.y. prior to plate boundary localization ca. 6 Ma. A middle Miocene interpretation for SWIT marine deposits has played a large role in subsequent interpretations of regional tectonics and rift evolution, the ages of marine basins containing similar fossil assemblages along ~1300 km of the plate boundary, and the timing of marine incursion into the Gulf of California. We report new detailed geologic mapping and geochronologic data from the SWIT basin, an elongate sedimentary basin associated with deformation along the dextral-oblique La Cruz fault. We integrate these results with previously published biostratigraphic and geochronologic data to bracket the age of marine deposits in the SWIT basin and show that they have a total maximum thickness of ~300 m. The 6.44 ± 0.05 Ma (Ar/Ar) tuff of Hast Pitzcal is an ash-flow tuff stratigraphically below the oldest marine strata, and the 6.01 ± 0.20 Ma (U/Pb) tuff of Oyster Amphitheater, also an ash-flow tuff, is interbedded with marine conglomerate near the base of the marine section. A dike-fed rhyodacite lava flow that caps all marine strata yields ages of 3.51 ± 0.05 Ma (Ar/Ar) and 4.13 ± 0.09 Ma (U/Pb) from the base of the flow, consistent with previously reported ages of 4.16 ± 1.81 Ma (K-Ar) from the flow top and (K-Ar) 3.7 ± 0.9 Ma from the feeder dike. Our new results confirm a latest Miocene to early Pliocene age for the SWIT marine basin, consistent with previously documented latest Miocene to early Pliocene (ca. 6.2-4.3 Ma) planktonic and benthic

Paleosoils and pedogenic calcretes formations in Fray Bentos (Oligocene - early miocene) Raigon (late pliocene and middle pleistocene) and Libertad (early - middle pleistocene)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tofalo, O.; Morras, H.; Sanchez-Bettucci, L.

2012-01-01

The Fray Bentos formation is composed by loessic deposits based on paleosoils and pedogenic calcretes (Oligocene - early miocene). In this deposits are tubular and lamellar formations which would have been formed in arid climates.The fluvial origen of Raigon Formation, (late pliocene and middle pleistocene) presents a paleosoil roof which is generated under a subhumid climate.The Libertad Formation during the glacial intervals consisted of loess deposits

Palynology of carcinolites and limestones from the Baunilha Grande Ecofacies of the Pirabas Formation (Miocene of Pará state, northeastern Brazil)

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Antonioli, Luzia; de Araújo Távora, Vladimir; Dino, Rodolfo

2015-10-01

The Pirabas Formation records important transgressive/regressive marine events in northern Brazil during the Miocene. Here, we present the results of a palynological analysis of four samples from finely stratified gray limestone and associated carbonate concretions bearing decapod crustacean remains. These sampled strata are representatives of the Baunilha Grande Ecofacies, and our analysis enhances the knowledge of local biostratigraphy and paleoecology. The palynoflora is dominated by taxa typical of Neogene tropical areas, such as Zonocostites ramonae (the most common species), together with Retitricolpites and Retitricolporites genera. Commonly represented are the smooth and apiculate trilete/monolete spores (Polypodiisporites, Verrucosisporites, Magnastriatites, and Deltoidospora), in conjunction with some freshwater algae (Ovoidites and Botryococcus). Gymnosperm pollen grains were absent. Marine microplankton (dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs and foraminiferal test linings) are scarce, although present in all samples. The presence of the index species, Malvacipolloides maristellae and Pachydermites diederixii, co-occurring with Zonocostites ramonae and Lanagiopollis crassa, suggests that these sediments and concretions belong to the "T-13 Malvacipolloides maristellae" palynozone (Jaramillo et al., 2011), considered as late-Early Miocene in age. Palynological and sedimentological evidence further points to a predominantly continental depositional environment with a weak marine influence, as indicated by the persistent presence of sparse dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs and foraminiferal test linings, typical of a mangrove environment.

The occurrence of an abdominal fauna in an articulated tapir (Tapirus polkensis) from the Late Miocene Gray Fossil Site, Northeastern Tennessee.

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McCONNELL, Shannon M; Zavada, Michael S

2013-03-01

The analysis of samples recovered from the abdominal area of an articulated tapir (Tapirus polkensis) from the Late Miocene (4.5-7 million BP) Gray Fossil Site (GFS) revealed a rich palyno-fauna comprised of about 94% egg/oocyst-like structures and 6% pollen and other palynomorphs. In addition, a group of 6 hickory nuts (Carya) was recovered from the same area suggesting that the samples represent the abdominal contents. The analysis of a sample from immediately outside the tapir produced a sample with 98% pollen and less than 0.5% egg/oocyst-like structures. The size, shape, and general morphology of egg/oocyst-like structures were analyzed with light and scanning electron microscopy and were compared to a variety of intestinal parasites found in extant ungulates, and the Perissodactyla in particular. We also compared fossil structures to the numbers and kind of intestinal parasites recovered from fecal samples from the Baird's tapir (T. bairdii) in Costa Rica and from samples collected from the lowland tapir (T. terrestris) from Ecuador to assess their similarity to our fossil sample. Based on these data, we discuss what role parasites may have played in the biology of T. polkensis during the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene. © 2012 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd, ISZS and IOZ/CAS.

Sedimentologic and palynologic significance of finding tertiary lignites in an ancient rift zone lake (Chingla, Ethiopia). Vol. 2

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Kedamawit, Y.; Bonnefille, R.; Faure, H.; Taieb, M.

1984-01-01

Oligocene-Pleistocene deposits at Chingla apparently lie atop Miocene basalts. The upper cross-section shows numerous lignite interlayers. This paper discusses mineral composition of lignites and enclosing rock. Palynologic analysis of the lignite cross-sections determined 23 layers.

A long-living species of the hydrophiloid beetles: Helophorus sibiricus from the early Miocene deposits of Kartashevo (Siberia, Russia

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Martin Fikácek

2011-09-01

Full Text Available The recent hydrophiloid species Helophorus (Gephelophorus sibiricus (Motschulsky, 1860 is recorded from the early Miocene deposits of Kartashevo assigned to the Ombinsk Formation. A detailed comparison with recent specimens allowed a confident identification of the fossil specimen, which is therefore the oldest record of a recent species for the Hydrophiloidea. The paleodistribution as well as recent distribution of the species is summarized, and the relevance of the fossil is discussed. In addition, the complex geological settings of the Kartashevo area are briefly summarized.

Nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burke, Stephen J.; Weldon, Derik; Sun, Shiliang; Golzarian, Jafar

2007-01-01

Nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NUGB) remains a major medical problem even after advances in medical therapy with gastric acid suppression and cyclooxygenase (COX-2) inhibitors. Although the incidence of upper gastrointestinal bleeding presenting to the emergency room has slightly decreased, similar decreases in overall mortality and rebleeding rate have not been experienced over the last few decades. Many causes of upper gastrointestinal bleeding have been identified and will be reviewed. Endoscopic, radiographic and angiographic modalities continue to form the basis of the diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal bleeding with new research in the field of CT angiography to diagnose gastrointestinal bleeding. Endoscopic and angiographic treatment modalities will be highlighted, emphasizing a multi-modality treatment plan for upper gastrointestinal bleeding. (orig.)

Nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burke, Stephen J.; Weldon, Derik; Sun, Shiliang [University of Iowa, Department of Radiology, Iowa, IA (United States); Golzarian, Jafar [University of Iowa, Department of Radiology, Iowa, IA (United States); University of Iowa, Department of Radiology, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa, IA (United States)

2007-07-15

Nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NUGB) remains a major medical problem even after advances in medical therapy with gastric acid suppression and cyclooxygenase (COX-2) inhibitors. Although the incidence of upper gastrointestinal bleeding presenting to the emergency room has slightly decreased, similar decreases in overall mortality and rebleeding rate have not been experienced over the last few decades. Many causes of upper gastrointestinal bleeding have been identified and will be reviewed. Endoscopic, radiographic and angiographic modalities continue to form the basis of the diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal bleeding with new research in the field of CT angiography to diagnose gastrointestinal bleeding. Endoscopic and angiographic treatment modalities will be highlighted, emphasizing a multi-modality treatment plan for upper gastrointestinal bleeding. (orig.)

Upper Gastrointestinal (GI) Series

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... standard barium upper GI series, which uses only barium a double-contrast upper GI series, which uses both air and ... evenly coat your upper GI tract with the barium. If you are having a double-contrast study, you will swallow gas-forming crystals that ...

Sedimentology, provenance and geochronology of the Miocene Qiuwu Formation: Implication for the uplift history of Southern Tibet

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Jiawei Zhang

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Located on the south of the Gangdese, the Qiuwu Formation has traditionally been considered as Eocene coal-bearing clastic sediments consisting of sandstone, mudstone and conglomerate, unconformably on top of Gangdese batholith. However, its precise age and depositional environment remain ambiguous. Here, we present a newly measured stratigraphic section near the Ngamring County, western Xigaze. Detrital zircon U–Pb ages were also applied to trace the provenance of sediments and to constrain the maximum depositional age of the Qiuwu Formation. Sedimentary facies analyses indicate subaqueous fan and alluvial fan depositional environments. Clast composition of the conglomerate is dominated by magmatic rocks at the lower part, while chert and mafic detritus occur in the upper part, suggesting a southern source. Sandstone modal analyses indicate that the compositions of quartz, feldspar and lithic grains changed from transitional arc to dissected arc, implying the unroofing of the Gangdese arc. Detrital zircon U–Pb ages of the Qiuwu Formation are compared with those from Gangdese magmatic rocks and Yarlung-Zangbo ophiolites, suggesting that the Gangdese arc is a main source of the Qiuwu detritus and that the southern source played a role during the later stage. The major peak of detrital zircon ages is at 45–55 Ma, which corresponds to Linzizong volcanic rocks in southern Gangdese arc. The weighted mean age of the five youngest zircons from the lower part of the section is 21.0 ± 2.2 Ma, suggesting that the Qiuwu Formation was deposited in early Miocene, coeval with other conglomerates exposed along the southern margin of Gangdese. Combining new observations with previously published data, we propose that the provenance of the Qiuwu Formation had shifted from a single northern source to double sources from both the north and the south. Activities of Great Counter Thrust were primarily responsible for the shift by making the south area a

Climate Proxy Signals in the Plio-Pleistocene Chemeron and Miocene Lukeino Formations, Baringo Basin, Kenya

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Deino, A. L.; Kingston, J.; Hill, A.; Wilson, K. E.; Edgar, R.; Goble, E.

2009-12-01

in the Tugen Hills to diatomaceous sequences between ~8-6 Ma that would specifically implicate precessional control as a pervasive factor in the formation of rift lake systems and by inference climate. Reconnaissance in summer ’09 of these older strata have revealed extensive lacustrine deposits indicating that this portion of the rift was inundated by major lake systems during the upper Miocene.

Large landslides, composed of megabreccia, interbedded in Miocene basin deposits, southeastern Arizona

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Krieger, Medora Louise Hooper

1977-01-01

The landslides in the Kearny and El Capitan Mountain quadrangles, Pinal and Gila Counties, Ariz., are tabular or lens like masses of megabreccia enclosed in Miocene basin deposits. The megabreccias within individual slide blocks are composed of pervasively brecciated Precambrian and younger formations that remain in normal stratigraphic sequence, indicating that each landslide moved as a fairly coherent mass. The megabreccias consist of fresh, mostly angular rock fragments in a comminuted matrix of the same composition as the fragments. The matrix ranges in amount from sparse to abundant. Where the matrix is sparse, the fragments fit tightly with little or no rotation. Locally fragments are rotated but not moved far; most units within a slide block are lithologically homogeneous. The Kearny landslides are conformably interbedded in steeply east-dipping playa and alluvial deposits. They form map units from a few tens of meters to nearly 4 km long and from less than 1 to 270 m wide. Narrow ridges expose sections through the landslides at about right angles to the direction of movement. The upper (proximal) ends have been eroded; the lower (distal) ends are buried. The El Capitan landslide dips very gently southward. Although partly dissected during erosion of the enclosing alluvial and lakebed deposits, its approximate original outline is still preserved. It forms a thin sheet, 5-15 m thick and at least 3.8 km long; the maximum outcrop width, near its distal end, is about 1.5 km. The Kearny landslides show little evidence of having exerted differential pressure on the underlying soft playa and alluvial deposits, and the contacts with the underlying sediments have little relief. The distal end of the El Capitan landslide, on the other hand, has considerable relief. As the landslide came to an abrupt stop, the end plowed into the underlying sediments, compressing them into fol9.s and forming sandstone dikes. The source of the El Capitan landslide is a well

Late Miocene ignimbrites at the southern Puna-northern Sierras Pampeanas border (˜27°S): Stratigraphic correlation

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Montero-López, Carolina; Guzmán, Silvina; Barrios, Fabiola

2015-10-01

New field observations and petrographic and geochemical data of pyroclastic deposits exposed along the Las Papas valley (border between southern Puna and northern Sierras Pampeanas, Argentina) and further north, lead us to propose a new stratigraphic correlation and classification of the late Miocene volcanism in this area. We redefine the Las Papas, Las Juntas, Aguada Alumbrera and Rosada ignimbrites and define the Agua Caliente and Del Medio ignimbrites. The whole set of ignimbrites are rhyolites and less frequently dacites of calc-alkaline affinity. In the present contribution we divide ignimbrites into the Agua Negra and Rincón groups, based mainly on their geochemical signature. The Agua Negra Group is formed by the Las Papas and Las Juntas ignimbrites, indurated and welded, lithic-rich, with crystal-poor pumices and crystal-rich matrix. The Rincón Group comprises the Agua Caliente, Aguada Alumbrera, Rosada and Del Medio ignimbrites, with variable welding degrees, lithic and crystal content. The greater enrichment of crystals in the matrix in comparison with the crystal content in pumices indicates significant elutriation during flow transport and thus volume estimations are to be considered lower bounds for the actual erupted volume. The total minimum estimated volume for the ignimbrites of the Agua Negra and Rincón groups is 2.8 km3 (2.3 km3 DRE). Field relationships and new analytical data indicate that the different acid ignimbrites that crop out in this small area are related to at least two different magma chambers. The widespread Quaternary volcanism in this area covers the older deposits, thus making it difficult to recognize the volcanic centers that produced these late Miocene ignimbrites.

PETROFACIES CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SANDSTONES OF THE UPPER MIOCENELOWER PLIOCENE AGED IN THE ULUMUHSİNE-TATKÖY (KONYA AREA

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A. Müjdat ÖZKAN

2000-03-01

Full Text Available In the study area, Upper Miocene-Lower Pliocene aged Ulumuhsine formation, was formed in a shallow, open lake and river environment. The lithologies of this formation are thin-medium bedded, laminated and fossil rich limestone, thin-thick bedded mudstone, thin-thick bedded marl, thin-thick bedded dolomite with stromatolite interbedded limestone, tuffite, chert bands and coal-rich levels. In addition, it includes conglomerates and sandstones of underwater distrubution channels in lacustrine, and channel and bar sediments in stream environments. Red, gray, rarely green colored sandstones are thin-thick bedded, and in some levels well sorting, in some levels proorly sorting. They present sedimentary structures, as graded, herringbone cross-bedding, symmetric ripple-marks, and laminate. Sandstones are named lithic arenite and lithic graywacke and litharenite, feldspathic litharenite and sublithic arenite. These sandstones are rich rock fragments and quartzs, in addition they contain plagioclase, biotite, muskovite, opaque mineral and epidote. Binding materials of sandstones are mainly calcite cements and clay matrix, and iron oxide cement in little amount. From the mineralogical and textural point of view. As a tectonic environment, the main source of sandstones are recycled orogen (thrust, collision and land uplift and recyded lithic fragments.

LOWER TO MIDDLE MIOCENE MOLLUSC ASSEMBLAGES FROM THE TORINO HILLS (NW ITALY: SYNTHESIS OF NEW DATA AND CHRONOSTRATIGRAPHICAL ARRANGEMENT

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MARTA ZUNINO

2009-11-01

Full Text Available The goal of this study is to correlate in chronostratigraphic order the fossil assemblages of selected, historical Lower and Middle Miocene localities of the Torino Hills. More than 18,000 specimens have been classified and assigned to 798 taxa (cf. Tab. I. The compositional analyses mainly concern the 672 listed gastropods, most of which were already described in classical monographies. The critical evaluation of the morphological and architectural shell parameters let to a significant reduction of the species that could be realistically maintained in comparison to those cited in literature from the Torino Hills Miocene. Six localities have been analyzed: Valle Ceppi (VC and Val Sanfrà (VS referred to the middle part of the Burdigalian stage (N7a Biozone, Villa Bertini at the topmost Burdigalian, Villa Allason (VA and Villa Forzano (VF at the early Langhian (N8 Biozone and Monte dei Cappuccini (MC at the late Langhian (N9 Biozone. On the whole, the fossil assemblages show a taxonomic variation of both biochronologic and palaeobiogeographic meaning. Actually, the similarity in specific biodiversity of VC, VS, VB, VA and VS reflects homogeneity among late Burdigalian to early Langhian palaeocommunities. As to MC, its deep difference on VC is correlatable with the eastern closing between the Mediterranean areas and the Tethyan Realm, at the boundary Burdigalian-Langhian, that brought to disjoint evolutions of the Mediterranean and Indo-Pacific palaeocommunities, the former being influenced by oceanic current changes and related climatic variations.