Minisauripus―the track of a diminutive dinosaur from the Cretaceous of China and South Korea: implications for stratigraphic correlation and theropod foot morphodynamics

The diminutive (2.5–3.0 cm long), Cretaceous dinosaur track ichnogenus Minisauripus, previously known only from the type ichnospecies, M. chuanzhuensis, from a single locality in Sichuan Province China, is here reported from two new localities in South Korea and one in China. Material from the new Chinese locality is assigned to the new ichnospecies M. zhenshuonani on the basis of its distinctive morphology. Most of the new material is well-preserved, revealing narrow asymmetric tracks with claw traces, long step and phalangeal formula (2-3-4 for digits II, III and IV, respectively), suggesting a theropod track maker rather than an ornithischian, as originally inferred for the Chinese type material.The South Korean samples (eight tracks), from two localities in the Haman Formation, are considered Early Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) in age, whereas the Chinese type material (21 specimens) has been assigned both an Early and Late Cretaceous age. The former age is probably correct as suggested by a new Minisauripus locality (5 specimens) from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian-Albian) of Shandong Province, China.Other diminutive tracks from the Sichuan fauna include Aquatilavipes sinensis (2.5 cm long, a possible junior synonym of Koreanoris hamanensis), Grallator emeiensis (2 cm long) and Velociraptorichnus sichuanensis (10–11 cm), which occur, in various combinations, with Minisauripus at both the new Korean and Chinese localities.In Minisauripus, digit III is very short in comparison with other theropods and provides a striking contrast to G. emeinsis. This difference has significant implications for standard assumptions about theropod track allometry. Based on the classic Early Jurassic forms Grallator and Eubrontes, it has long been inferred that relative digit III length shrank with increasing size (up to foot lengths of 30–40 cm). The reiteration of reduction in relative length of digit III in specimens in the size range of 2–3 cm indicates that the allometric or morphodynamic ‘program’ that influenced development in large theropod clades reiterated fractally in theropod clades a full order of magnitude smaller. This shows that a given allometry can be size-dependent in one clade and size-independent in another. Thus, the developmental program appears ‘contracted’ or morphologically miniaturized by heterochrony to manifest paedomorphically in some clades and peramorphically in others. This strongly suggests that ‘formal’ developmental ‘programs operated’ along similar morphodynamic lines in quite different clades.     

First elaphrosaurine theropod dinosaur (Ceratosauria: Noasauridae) from Australia — A cervical vertebra from the Early Cretaceous of Victoria

Elaphrosaurinae is an enigmatic clade of gracile ceratosaurian theropod dinosaurs known from the Late Jurassic of Africa (Elaphrosaurus bambergi) and Asia (e.g., Limusaurus inextricabilis), and the early Late Cretaceous of Argentina (Huinculsaurus montesi). Elaphrosaurinae is often placed within Noasauridae as the sister taxon to Noasaurinae, a clade of small-bodied theropods that lived in South America, Africa, Madagascar and India throughout much of the Cretaceous. Herein, we report the first evidence of Elaphrosaurinae from Australia: a nearly complete middle cervical vertebra from the upper Lower Cretaceous (lower Albian) Eumeralla Formation of Cape Otway, Victoria, Australia. The fact that this site would have been situated at ~76°S towards the end of the Early Cretaceous (~110–107 Ma) implies that elaphrosaurines were capable of tolerating near-polar palaeoenvironments, whereas its age indicates that elaphrosaurines persisted in Australia until at least the late Early Cretaceous. The new Australian elaphrosaurine, in tandem with the recently described Huinculsaurus montesi from the Cenomanian–Turonian of Argentina, implies that the spatiotemporal distribution of Elaphrosaurinae has heretofore been greatly underestimated. Historic confusion of elaphrosaurines with coelurosaurs, especially ornithomimosaurs, coupled with our generally poor understanding of noasaurid evolution, might explain the apparent dearth of fossils of this theropod clade worldwide.     

Modelling of the oxygen isotope evolution of seawater: implications for the climate interpretation of the δ18O of marine sediments

It is often argued that the δ¹⁸O value of oceanic water was maintained close to 0‰ for hundreds of millions of years, as a consequence of oxygen isotope exchange between oceanic crust and seawater. However, for several decades, the interpretation of the biosedimentary oxygen isotope record has conflicted with the igneous record because, with increasing age, a general trend of decreasing δ¹⁸O values (about 6‰) is observed in most carbonates, cherts and phosphates, especially for the Paleozoic and early Mesozoic. We developed a dynamical model of seawater-crust interaction that computes the δ¹⁸O value in these two reservoirs as function of time. This model takes into account the continuous production of crust at oceanic ridges, its expansion rate, the permeability profile with space and time, the mineralogical mode of the crust, and the kinetics of oxygen isotope exchange between rock-forming minerals and seawater. The model indicates that the δ¹⁸O value of seawater may vary by ±2‰ with a time response ranging from 5 to 50 Ma for expansion rates of 1 to 10 cm.a⁻¹. The variation of ±2‰ is fixed by both integrated water-rock ratio and closure time of the seawater-crust system by sediments. Variations in the oxygen isotope ratio of seawater through time have important implications for the interpretation of the systematically low δ¹⁸O values of pre-Jurassic marine sediments. According to our model, marine paleotemperatures could be up to 10°C lower than those expected when applying the classical hypothesis of an ice-free ocean with a δ¹⁸O value of −1‰.     

Granitoid massif of the Dal’negorsk borosilicate deposit in the Primorye region of Russia: The role of the intrusion in the formation of the boron mineralization

The granitoids of the Dal’negorsk borosilicate deposit are ascribed mainly to the high-K metaluminous rocks of the calcic and alkali-calcic series. The thermo-baro-geo-chemical studies showed that they originated from melts with low contents of water (H₂O < 3.5% H₂O) and CO₂ at 800–850°C and 65–90 MPa. The data on the average contents of elements in the rock-forming minerals and the estimated initial water content in the magma point to the absence of a genetic relation between the intrusion and boron mineralization. The granitoid magma was responsible for the skarn formation and for the mobilization and remobilization of boron under a favorable environment. The K/Ar dating (51.0 ± 10 Ma), the geochemical typification (signatures of within-plate, subduction, and collisional granitoids), and the low water content in the parental melts of the granitoids, in accordance with the scheme of the geodynamic evolution of the region, indicate their formation in the lithospheric plate sliding environment.     

Late Mesozoic Exhumation of the Huangling Massif: Constraints on the Evolution of the Middle Yangtze River

Plate subduction leads to complex exhumation processes on continents. The Huangling Massif lies at the northern margin of the South China Block. Whether the Huangling Massif was exhumed as a watershed of the middle reaches of the Paleo-Yangtze River during the Mesozoic remains under debate. We examined the exhumation history of the Huangling Massif based on six granite bedrock samples, using apatite fission track (AFT) and apatite and zircon (U-Th)/He (AHe and ZHe) thermochronology. These samples yielded ages of 157–132 Ma (ZHe), 119–106 Ma (AFT), and 114–72 Ma (AHe), respectively. Thermal modeling revealed that three phases of rapid cooling occurred during the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous, late Early Cretaceous, and Late Cretaceous. These exhumation processes led to the high topographic relief responsible for the emergence of the Huangling Massif. The integrated of our new data with published sedimentological records suggests that the Huangling Massif might have been the watershed of the middle reaches of the Paleo-Yangtze River since the Cretaceous. At that time, the rivers flowed westward into the Sichuan Basin and eastward into the Jianghan Basin. The subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Asian continent in the Mesozoic deeply influenced the geomorphic evolution of the South China Block.     

Age of titanium deposits of the northeastern part of the eastern European Platform: Rb—Sr data

Doklady Earth Sciences -     

Geochronology of the Birim Supergroup of the West African craton in the Wa-Bolé region of west-central Ghana: Implications for the stratigraphic framework

The Birim rocks of the West African craton comprise belts of greenschist- to amphibolite-grade gneiss and schist, and subparallel basins of greenschist-grade phyllite of volcaniclastic and epiclastic origin, which were intruded by igneous rocks. The granitoids intruded between 2213 and 2060 Ma and overlap with the volcaniclastic units dated between 2211 and 2064 Ma. The simultaneous occurrence of the magmatic events and irregular distribution of the rock ages hamper the formulation of a stratigraphic succession. SHRIMP spot analyses were done on older cores, crystals and rims from 23 rocks from the Bolé-Wa region in west-central Ghana. The crystallization ages range from 2195 to 2118 Ma, the inherited ages from 2876 to 2130 Ma, and metamorphic ages from 2114 to 2090 Ma. Aided by metamorphic, structural and chemical studies an older geotectonic cycle (2195–2150 Ma), containing the Dole and Guropie Suite and Bolé Group, was established. These units were subjected to several orthogonal and shear deformation events. These events were followed by the contemporaneous Sawla calc-alkaline monzonitic plutonism (2132–2126 Ma) and deposition of the epiclastic Maluwe Group (2137–2125 Ma) of calc-alkaline felsic to tholeiitic volcanic origin. Deformation of the basin beds was succeeded by the intrusion of the Tanina Suite granitoids of 2122–2120 Ma, which, themselves, were deformed prior to 2119 Ma. At 2118 Ma syenite and gabbro intruded along conjugate extension fractures. The gabbro and syenite of the Wakawaka Suite were only affected by three events of brittle strike-slip faulting. The first had significant displacement along NNE- to NE-directed shear zones, while the latter only formed conjugate joint systems with limited transport. Palaeo- to Neoarchaean cores, the oldest yet reported in the Baoulé Mossi domain, are restricted to the gneissic Dole Suite biotite granites. The presence of Dole-, Guropie-, Sawla-, and Tanina-aged older cores and grains in younger rocks reflects continuous reworking of the developing crust during successive magmatic episodes. Zircon rim growth between 2105 and 2090 Ma indicates posttectonic crustal thickening. The low Rb/Sr R_o of ～0.7032 of gabbro and monzonite, and the recycling of the Birim-age crust confirm the primary and juvenile nature of the West African craton after ～2195 Ma. With the various ages obtained, it was possible to link deposition, magmatism and deformation to crustal processes, and establish the cyclic geotectonic evolution in the West Africa craton (individual basin opening and closure) over time as part of an intraoceanic arc–back-arc basin system.     

Forecasting of technogenic placer dynamics in the shore zone of the sea on the basis of numerical modeling: The case of the Val’kumei deposit

As natural placer and primary ore deposits are exhausted, the role of technogenic deposits is increasingly growing. In some cases, technogenic components accumulate in the shore zone of the shelf. The proposed numerical dynamic model is based on data concerning the technogenic tin deposit formed as a product of 50 years of operations at the Val’kumei Mining and Concentrating Combine, which disposed of tin ore flotation tailings in the coastal zone of the Chaun Gulf of the East Siberian Sea. The developed model describes adequately the current placer dynamics and forecasts a change in the morphology and geochemical parameters of a technogenic fan, opening the way to modeling behavior of natural geochemical anomalies in the coastal zone under conditions of active lithodynamics.     

Structural control on the topography of the Laji–Jishi and Riyue Shan belts in the NE margin of the Tibetan plateau: Facilitation of the headward propagation of the Yellow River system

The Yellow River system, the largest river system in northern China, generally flows northeasterly through a series of linear mountain belts in the northeastern margin of the Tibetan plateau, the youngest of which are the Laji–Jishi Shan and Riyue Shan ranges, formed during late Cenozoic time due to NE–SW oblique shortening. As the product of the interaction between the tectonic process and the climate, the incision of the Yellow River system is a crucial parameter in models of the scale and timing of the crustal uplift and erosion in northeastern Tibetan plateau. Thus, whether the along-strike topographic feature of the Laji-Jishi Shan that is cut through by the Yellow River system and related streams is controlled by structural deformation or by erosion needs to be constrained. Our mapping shows that the variation in deformation along this mountain belt formed two structural saddles with relative low elevation in late Cenozoic time, through which the Yellow and Yaoshui Rivers cut into the plateau and drained a series of the Tertiary basins. The Yaoshui River is the tributary of the Huangshui River which itself flows into the Yellow River in the Lanzhou area. One saddle is present along the Yaoshui River valley, formed by NW–SE extension along the Riyue Shan Pass (RSP) normal fault, along which the Miocene and Mesozoic rocks were subsided against Proterozoic metamorphic rocks. These deformed rocks in the hanging wall are truncated by a sub-horizontal erosion surface at an elevation of 3200 m, on which terrace deposits are locally present, presumably middle Pleistocene in age. This terrace is incised by the Yaoshui River to an elevation of 3000 m, which yields 300 m of incision. Another saddle is along the Yellow River valley (the Xunhua-Linxia gouge) between the southern tip of the Laji Shan and the northern tip of the Jishi Shan, generated by en echelon folding. This structural saddle is underlain by the lower Cretaceous and Pliocene clastic rocks, which are truncated on the top by a rugged erosion surface at an average elevation of 3000 m. The Yellow River incised into this surface to an elevation of 1900 m, which yields 1100 m of incision. These two saddles, featured by topographic and structural low, were formed in the middle or late Miocene, and facilitated the headward propagation of the Yellow and Yaoshui Rivers, which initiated in early and middle Pleistocene time, respectively.     

Active tectonics of the Ortaköy fissure-ridge-type travertines: implications for the Quaternary stress state of the neotectonic structures of the Central Anatolia,Turkey

Several geothermal fields are located in a NE-SW trend along a structural lineament around the Sivas basin; one of those is the Ortaköy travertines situated 83?km south-west of Sivas. There are eight fissure-ridge-type travertine localities in the area, although eroded-sheet-type travertines constitute many of the travertines of the region. By evaluating the rocks of the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene K?z?l?rmak Formation, it was determined that fissure axes developed within fissure-ridge-type travertines, and that the structural elements obtained from satellite images together with the fissures that form the fissure-ridge-type travertines are shear and tension fissures, and the NE-SW-oriented opening of the fissures, were a result of NW-SE-directed compression, which was also responsible for the formation of the Sivas Backthrust. Ground-penetrating radar studies have shown that the thickness of fissure fills within the fissure-ridge-type travertines of the Ortaköy geothermal field increase with depth, and that the hydrothermal fluids which brought about the formation of the travertines moved surfaceward via fissure systems. The results of U/Th radiometric dating indicate that the youngest travertine in the region is 17,761 (_?268/⁺²⁶⁹) years old and the oldest 128,286 (_?3537/⁺³⁶⁶²) years old. Using the widths of banded travertines within the fissure-ridge-type travertines as well as these age results, the opening rate of the Sivas Basin was determined to be .06 (_?.01/^+.05) mm/year.     

The stress state of the Earth’s lithosphere: Results of statistical processing of the world stress-map data

A method for the statistical processing of the input data on the stress state of the Earth’s lithosphere that takes the initial 3-D position of the principle stress axes into account is elaborated. This approach is based on the calculation of the arithmetic mean value for every six independent tensor components during determination of the average stress in any sampling. When determining the sampling for calculation of the average stress for the current cell of the calculated grid, it is proposed to insert the measurements into the sampling that are spatially located in such a manner where the distance from the measurement point to the cell center is less than some value that is named as a search radius. The latter either was specified as a constant for all cells of the calculated grid or was determined assuming that the dispersion of the average tensor was less than some preset value. The results of the application of this approach are presented based on the example of the processing of the measurements from the World Stress Map (Heidbach et al., 2008). The resultant set of the mean stress-field maps reflects the generalized pattern of the stress distribution in the Earth’s lithosphere.     

Public health in the regions of Russia at the beginning of the twenty-first century: Medical–geographical assessment

Doklady Earth Sciences - The level of public health in the regions of Russia in the years 2002–2012 is characterized based on the indices of life expectancy of men and women, as well as...     

Macro fracture systems of the granites controlled by the tectonism: A case study of the Dangjiasi pluton in the northeastern margin of the Gonghe BasinSCIEI北大核心CSCD

花岗岩中先存裂缝系统的识别、评价与建模,关系到干热岩热能提取的有效性、规模性、安全性,是地热能勘查、开采的难点与关键点。本文对共和盆地东北部干热岩勘察开采示范区紧邻的当家寺岩体开展了详细地质野外调查及综合分析,观测了花岗岩体内裂缝的产状、类型和样式,详细解剖了岩体裂缝系统组成及空间分布,探讨了构造作用对裂缝系统形成的时限、动力学成因的控制。研究发现其宏观裂缝系统以构造破裂缝为主,同时还发育少量的成岩缝。构造缝主要由小尺度断裂、火成岩脉、石英脉、方解石脉及多期节理缝共同构成;在岩体不同分区部位的断裂、脉体及节理等裂缝体系发育差异明显,脉体、节理受临近断层控制,其三者走向具有较好的相似性,且存在明显的多期次性。根据产状、交切关系及应力机制可以划分为5种构造破裂类型:单一应力场形成的节理系、叠加先期形成单向滑移的共轭节理组、持续走滑剪切形成的雁列石英脉与共轭节理组合、拉张形成的岩脉及脉内雁列节理组、多期次叠加形成的网状裂缝。宏观裂缝系统的形成与三叠纪末期碰撞后伸展、侏罗-白垩纪区域性隆升、渐新世-中新世中期走滑断裂活动、中新世晚期以来走滑-逆冲转换等有关。现存大量共轭剪节理形成应力场与现今最大主应力方向(NE)有差异,反映了古走滑剪切构造作用的影响。宏观裂缝系统的差异分布,不仅对花岗岩型干热岩热储层规模、质量、分布有约束,也控制着后期的建储与改造。     

Palynofacies patterns of the Devonian of the Parnaíba Basin,Brazil: Paleoenvironmental implications

To help describe the paleoenvironmental interpretation of one the most extensive marine Devonian successions in Brazil, palynofacies analyses were conducted on 46 samples from the Itaim (Pragian–Givetian), Pimenteira (Givetian–Frasnian) and Cabeças (Famennian) formations of the Parnaíba Basin in north–central Brazil. For the palynofacies analyses, kerogen categories were counted and subjected to cluster analyses. Five palynofacies associations were identified for three studied sections: PseudoAOM palynofacies, which consists of amorphous organic matter (AOM), pseudoamorphous and coenobial algae Quadrisporites; Transl/Nbiostr. palynofacies, which consists of translucent non-biostructured phytoclasts (well-preserved and degraded), cuticles (well-preserved and degraded), Spongiophyton and Botryococcus; Marine microplankton palynofacies, which consists of acritarchs, prasinophytes and translucent biostructured phytoclasts; Opaque palynofacies, which consists of opaque phytoclasts (equidimensional and lath shaped); and Sporomorphs palynofacies, which consists of zoomorphs (e.g., Chitinozoa) and sporomorphs (e.g., spores). The stratigraphic distribution of the five palynofacies associations reflects a continuous terrestrial influx throughout marine succession. At the Pragian–Emsian age, the woody material of Transl/Nbioestr. palynofacies prevails, suggesting a marine depositional paleoenvironment (presence of marine palynomorphs), but under deltaic influence due to the input of terrigenous material. An increasing trend of marine elements of Marine microplankton palynofacies is recorded for the Givetian, which suggests a progressive marine influence. However, during the Frasnian, the highest abundance of marine elements was recorded (Marine microplankton palynofacies). Moreover, a bloom of Maranhites spp. and prasinophytes (e.g., Tasmanites and Cymatiosphaera) was also recorded. The abrupt increase of marine palynomorphs in the Frasnian – here termed the “Maranhites Event” – has been recorded by other authors. Finally, in the Famennian, woody material was most abundant in Transl/Nbiostr. palynofacies and Sporomorphs palynofacies, which reflects a depositional trend that is strongly controlled by fluvial input into a shallow marine environment.     

Magnetostratigraphy and lithostratigraphy of the Laño vertebrate-site: Implications in the uppermost Cretaceous chronostratigraphy of the Basque-Cantabrian Region

Here we present the magnetostratigraphic dating of the Laño locality (Condado de Treviño, northern Iberian Peninsula), one of the most noteworthy Campanian-Maastrichtian vertebrate sites of Europe. A composite section of 75 m thickness (Laño quarry) constructed from multiple, overlapping profiles and a continuous one (Faido) have been sampled for magnetostratigraphy. Thermal demagnetization techniques were systematically applied to 161 standard specimens and allowed characterizing the characteristic remanent magnetism, mostly carried out by magnetite. The palaeomagnetic signal is slightly scattered due to variety of lithologies, but the primary character can be guaranteed, since the normal and reverse directions are pseudo antiparallel; 346, 28 (α₉₅: 11.9°, k: 5.3) and 175, −35 (α₉₅: 16.4°, k: 4.6). Reliable samples allowed us to build the local polarity sequence made of eight magnetozones that has been used to correlate to the Global Polarity Time Scale. The age of the lower part of the Laño-village succession is basal late Campanian (Hoplitoplacenticeras marroti ammonite zone) and fits with the long reversed zone that must correlate to Chron C33r. The pattern of magnetozones allows tracking the section up to C30r at the upper part of the profile. In this correlation, the Laño vertebrate site is regarded as latest Campanian in age as it falls within the C32n (≈72–73.5 Ma). The combined lithostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic analyses have yielded additional conclusions regarding the vertebrate assemblages that are representative of the Late Campanian of the Iberian Peninsula, in addition to highlight an older occurrence in Europe of some vertebrate groups such as salamandrid lissamphians and anguid lizards (or amphisbaenians).