Middle Devonian-Tournaisian rocks and biota on Hainan Island, South China

On the basis of new paleontological data,the sequence and distributions of the Middle Devonian-Tournaisian rocks on Hainan Island have been sorted out for the first time.The Devonian rocks include the Middle Devonian Jinbo Formation and the Upper Devonian Changjiang Formation,which are distributed in northwestern Hainan Island.The Jinbo Formation is represented by631 m of littoral facies deposits,and was intruded by the Yanshanian granite in the base.The presence of chitinozoans Eisenackitina caster,Funsochitina pilosa,and Lagenochitina amottensis indicates the Givetian in age.The Changjiang Formation is made up of 140 m of neritic facies rocks,and contains the Famennian conodonts Palmatolepis gracilis sigmoidalis,Polygnathus germanus,and corals Cystophrentis kalaohoensis.The Devonian-Tournaisian transition beds,the lower part of the Jishi Formation,are composed of 61–129 m sandstone and siltstone,with gastropods Euomphalus spp.and brachiopods,and marked by conglomerate with the underlying Devonian rocks.The middle-upper part of the Tournaisian Jishi Formation consists of 100–251 m clastic and carbonate rocks,containing abundant corals Pseudoularinia irregularis,conodonts Siphonodella isosticha,trilobites Weberiphillipsia linguiformis,and brachiopods.On the basis of the occurrence of Xinanosprifer flabellum and Homotoma sp.,the Nanhao Formation in southern Hainan Island is now regarded as the Lower Silurian,instead of the previously designated Lower Carboniferous.It is confirmed that no Carboniferous rocks occurred in the area south to the Gancheng-Wanning Fault.     

Variations in trace elements,isotopes, and organic geochemistry during the Hangenberg Crisis,Devonian–Carboniferous transition,northeastern Vietnam

The Hangenberg Crisis at the Devonian–Carboniferous boundary is known as a polyphase extinction event that affected more than 45 % of marine and terrestrial genera. As the cause of this event is still debated, analyses were carried out on sedimentary samples from the Devonian–Carboniferous Pho Han Formation in northeastern Vietnam to reconstruct the paleoenvironment around the time of this event using stable carbon isotopes; total sulfur; manganese; vanadium; molybdenum; and sedimentary organic matter, such as dibenzothiophenes, cadalene, and regular steranes. These geochemical signatures provide a high‐resolution redox history for this section and show that transgression‐driven high primary productivity, possibly enhanced by terrestrial input, caused severe oxygen depletion along the continental margin of the South China block during the Hangenberg Crisis.     

A paleomagnetic reinvestigation of the Upper Devonian Perry Formation: evidence for Late Paleozoic remagnetization

In view of the recent recognition of widespread Late Paleozoic remagnetization of Devonian formations across North America, we undertook a reinvestigation of the Upper Devonian Perry Formation of coastal Maine and adjacent New Brunswick. Thermal demagnetization of samples from the redbeds yielded a characteristic direction (D = 166°, I = 4°) that fails a fold test. Comparison of the corresponding paleopole (312°E, 41°S) with previously published Paleozoic poles for North America suggests that the sediments were remagnetized in the Late Carboniferous. After the removal of a steep, northerly component, the volcanics also reveal a shallow and southerly direction ( D = 171°, I = 25° without tilt correction). No stability test is available to date the magnetization of the volcanics; however, similarity of several of the directions to those seen in the sediments raises the suspicion that the volcanics are also remagnetized. Although the paleopole without tilt correction (303°E, 32°S) could be taken to indicate an early Carboniferous age for the remagnetization, scatter in the data suggests that the directions are contaminated by the incomplete removal of a steeper component due to present-day field. Thus, it is more likely that the volcanics were remagnetized at the same time as the sediments. Isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) acquisition curves, blocking temperatures, coercivities and reflected light microscopy indicate that the magnetization is carried by hematite in the sediments and by both magnetite and hematite in the volcanics. It is therefore likely that the remagnetization of the Perry Formation involved both thermal and chemical processes related to the Variscan/Alleghenian orogeny. Our results indicate that previously published directions for the Perry Formation were based on the incomplete resolution of two magnetic components. These earlier results can no longer be considered as representative of the Devonian geomagnetic field.     

The Early Carboniferous paleomagnetic field of North America and its bearing on tectonics of the Northern Appalachians

We have obtained additional evidence for the Early Carboniferous paleomagnetic field for cratonic North America from study of the Barnett Formation of central Texas. A characteristic magnetization of this unit was isolated after thermal demagnetization at four sites (36 samples) out of eight sites (65 samples) collected. The mean direction of declination = 156.3°, inclination = 5.8° (N = 4 ,k = 905 , α₉₅ = 3.0°), corresponds to a paleomagnetic pole position at lat. = 49.1°N,long. = 119.3°E (dp = 1.5° , dm = 3.0°). Field evidence suggests that characteristic magnetization was acquired very early in the history of the rock unit whereas the rejected sites are comprised of weakly magnetized limestones dominated by secondary components near the present-day field direction. Comparison of the Barnett pole with other Early Carboniferous (Mississippian) paleopoles from North America shows that it lies close to the apparent polar wander path for stable North America and that the divergence of paleopoles from the Northern Appalachians noted previously for the Devonian persisted into the Early Carboniferous. We interpret this difference in paleopoles as further evidence for the Northern Appalachian displaced terrain which we refer to here as Acadia, and the apparent coherence of Late Carboniferous paleopoles as indicating a large (～1500 km) motion of Acadia with respect to stable North America over a rather short time interval in the Carboniferous.     

U–Pb zircon age from the radiolarian‐bearing Hitoegane Formation in the Hida Gaien Belt,Japan

The dating of radiolarian biostratigraphic zones from the Silurian to Devonian is only partially understood. Dating the zircons in radiolarian‐bearing tuffaceous rocks has enabled us to ascribe practical ages to the radiolarian zones. To extend knowledge in this area, radiometric dating of magmatic zircons within the radiolarian‐bearing Hitoegane Formation, Japan, was undertaken. The Hitoegane Formation is mainly composed of alternating beds of tuffaceous sandstones, tuffaceous mudstones and felsic tuff. The felsic tuff and tuffaceous mudstone yield well‐preserved radiolarian fossils. Zircon grains showing a U–Pb laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry age of 426.6 ± 3.7 Ma were collected from four horizons of the Hitoegane Formation, which is the boundary between the Pseudospongoprunum tauversi to Futobari solidus–Zadrappolus tenuis radiolarian assemblage zones. This fact strongly suggests that the boundary of these assemblage zones is around the Ludlowian to Pridolian. The last occurrence of F. solidus is considered to be Pragian based on the reinterpretation of a U–Pb sensitive high mass‐resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) zircon age of 408.9 ± 7.6 Ma for a felsic tuff of the Kurosegawa belt, Southwest Japan. Thus the F. solidus–Z. tenuis assemblage can be assigned to the Ludlowian or Pridolian to Pragian. The present data also contribute to establishing overall stratigraphy of the Paleozoic rocks of the Fukuji–Hitoegane area. According to the Ordovician to Carboniferous stratigraphy in this area, Ordovician to Silurian volcanism was gradually reduced to change the sedimentary environment into a tropical lagoon in the early Devonian. And the quiet Carboniferous environment was subsequently interrupted, throwing it once more into the volcanic conditions in the Middle Permian.     

南黄海中部隆起中-古生代地层发育新认识——基于大陆架科学钻探CSDP-02井钻探成果

南黄海中部隆起海相地层埋藏浅,是南黄海盆地油气勘探的重点,但由于缺乏钻井资料约束,中部隆起中-古生界的地层属性一直存在争议.大陆架科学钻探CSDP-02井是南黄海中部隆起第一口钻井,也是南黄海盆地钻遇地层最深的一口全取心井.本文在分析大陆架科学钻探CSDP-02井的岩心、测井和相应多道地震资料基础上,明确了中部隆起中-古生界的地层属性：在新近系充填沉积之下,依次发育三叠系下统青龙组下段、二叠系上统大隆组、龙潭组,二叠系下统孤峰组、栖霞组,石炭系船山组、黄龙组、和州组和高骊山组,泥盆系五通群和志留系高家边组、奥陶系.结合地球物理测井曲线分析与区域地质认识,确定了地震反射界面T2、T8、T9、T10、T11的反射特征与对应的地质界面.中部隆起地层分布特征整体受南黄海构造运动的影响,早古生代地层平缓,断裂不发育,加里东运动造成志留系上统及中下泥盆统沉积缺失,石炭系-二叠系在中部隆起广泛发育,厚度大,二叠系最大沉积厚度约1900 m,中生界残留地层分布局限,主要保存下三叠系,地层厚度变化范围较大.     

Comprehensive constraint on the tectono-sedimentary setting of Late Paleozoic turbidites of the Kamuste area, eastern Junggar, Xinjiang

Petrography and geochemistry, combined with sedimentation analyses allow for a thorough evaluation of the tectono-sedimentary setting of late Paleozoic turbidites of the Kamuste area, eastern Junggar. Sandstones of the Alabiye¹⁾ Formation are composed mostly of volcanic and sedimentary detritus with lesser amounts of plagioclase and quartz. They were derived from an undissected magmatic-arc provenance. The geochemistry of sandstone-mudrock suites indicates a fesic-intermediate igneous provenance, and constrains the Alabiye Formation to have derived from a differentiated oceanic-continental margin island-arc tectonic setting. Likewise, geochemistry and sandstone petrography of the Kamuste Formation reflect a mixed provenance signature dominated by magmatic arc, basement uplift, and subduction-complex sources of a differentiated continental-island arc. Sedimentation analysis indicates that the Alabiye and Kamuste formations are two sets of turbidite sequences deposited on a submarine slope and a submarine fan and basin plain respectively. In conclusion, submarine slope turbidite deposition of the Alabiye Formation records the main sedimentary response to the development of early Devonian back-arc basins of the northern Junggar tectonic belt. Submarine fan and basin plain turbidite and background hemipelagic deposition of the Kamuste Formation record the main sedimentary response to the late Early Carboniferous development of an inter-arc relict ocean basin of the eastern Junggar composite terrane.     

Geochemistry of Devonian–Carboniferous clastic sediments of the Tsetserleg terrane,Hangay Basin,Central Mongolia: Provenance,source weathering,and tectonic setting

The Devonian–Carboniferous Tsetserleg terrane of Mongolia forms part of the complex Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). The Tsetserleg terrane consists mainly of clastic sediments, and is situated in the southern Hangay–Hentey Basin. Internally the terrane is divided into the Erdenetsogt (Middle Devonian), Tsetserleg (Middle‐Upper Devonian) and Jargalant (Lower Carboniferous) Formations. Provenance and tectonic setting of the Hangay–Hentey Basin remains controversial, with proposals ranging from passive margin through to island‐arc. A suite of 94 Tsetserleg sandstones and mudrocks was collected with the aim of constraining provenance, source weathering, and depositional setting, using established petrographic and whole‐rock geochemical parameters. Petrographically the sandstones are immature, with average compositions of Q₂₂F₁₄L₆₄, Q₁₄F₁₇L₆₉, and Q₁₈F₁₂L₇₀ in the Erdenetsogt, Tsetserleg, and Jargalant Formations, respectively. Lv/L ratios range from 0.81 to 1.00 (average 0.95), and P/F from 0.68 to 0.93 (average 0.83). Framework compositions indicate deposition in an undissected or transitional arc. Geochemically, the sandstones are classified as greywackes. Geochemical contrasts between sandstone and mudrock averages in each formation are small, with lithotype means for SiO₂ ranging only from 65.54 to 68.62 wt.%. These features and weak trends on variation diagrams reflect the immaturity of the sediments. Comparison of elemental abundances with average upper continental crust, major element discriminant scores, and immobile element ratios indicate a uniform average source composition between dacite and rhyolite. The maximum value for the Chemical Index of Alteration in the Erdenetsogt Formation is about 78 after correction for K‐metasomatism, indicating moderate source weathering. Lower maximum values (61 and 63, respectively) in the Tsetserleg and Jargalant Formations indicate they were derived from a virtually unweathered and tectonically active source. Tectonic setting discrimination parameters indicate a continental island‐arc environment, similar to several other CAOB suites of similar age. This arc source may have been built on a continental fragment situated within the Mongol–Okhotsk Ocean during Middle Devonian‐Lower Carboniferous time.     

Palaeomagnetism and K/Ar results from the Duncansby volcanic neck,NE Scotland: superimposed magnetizations,age of igneous activity,and tectonic implications

The Duncansby volcanic neck, intruding the Middle Devonian red beds of north Caithness, Scotland, has revealed two significantly different axes of magnetization, yielding pole positions at 149°E, 24°N and 126.5°E, 60°N, respectively. The first pole, which is interpreted as corresponding to the oldest magnetization, is in perfect agreement with Devonian polar estimates from west of the Great Glen Fault. It is tentatively suggested therefore that the Duncansby neck correlates with the Late Devonian volcanism in the nearby Orkney Islands though palaeomagnetism allows an upper age estimate of around Middle Carboniferous. The data support an earlier proposition of there being a palaeomagnetic discordance across the Great Glen Fault that can be interpreted in terms of a large-scale late- or post-Devonian transcurrent movement along this fracture zone. The original (? Late Devonian) magnetization has been nearly completely erased by the second phase of magnetization which, according to its pole position, most likely dates from about the Middle Jurassic. The latter magnetization is thought to be a consequence of burial, the coastal districts of Caithness having participated in the general subsidence of the North Sea area in late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic times. The burial magnetization, involving VPTRM and or TCRM processes, is considered to have been “frozen-in” as a result of uplift in connection with the well-documented mid-Jurassic tectonic phase that affected the northern North Sea basin, including the adjacent Moray Firth area. K/Ar analyses of the Duncansby intrusion give apparent ages ranging from 258 to 239 Ma. These dates, which lie between the two geological events inferred from palaeomagnetism, are not seen as true rock ages but rather as the result of a partial Ar loss during burial reheating.     

The Jinshajiang suture zone: tectono-stratigraphic subdivision and revision of age

Integrated study of rock assemblage, tectonic setting, geochemical feature, fossil contained and isotopic geochronology on the metamorphic mixed bodies, exposed in the Jinshajiang suture zone, suggests that one informal lithostratigraphic unit, the Eaqing Complex, and three tectono-stratigraphic units, the Jinshajiang ophiolitic melange, the Gajinxueshan Group and the Zhongxinrong Group, can be recognized there. It is first pointed out that the redefined Eaqing Complex might represent the Meso- to Neo-Proterozoic remnant metamorphic basement or mi-crocontinental fragment in the Jinshajiang area. The original rocks of it should be older than (1627 ±192) Ma based on the geochronological study. The zircon U-Pb age of plagiogranites within the Jinshajiang ophiolitic assemblage is dated for the first time at (294 ± 3) Ma and (340 ± 3) Ma respectively. The Jinshajiang ophiolite is approximately equivalent to the Ailaoshan ophiolite in the formation age, covering the interval from the Late Devonian to the Carboniferous. Dating of U-Pb age from basalt interbeds indicates that the redefined Gajinxueshan Group and Zhongxinrong Group may be considered Carboniferous to Permian and latest Permian to Middle Triassic in age. In geotectonic terms the Jinshajiang suture zone is thought to be a back-arc basin in the eastern margin of the Paleo-Tethys. This back-arc basin started in the Late Devonian, and formed in the Devonian-Carboniferous. The collision event around the Permian/Triassic boundary to the Middle Triassic led to the closure of the back-arc basin and formation of suture.     

Devonian of the isle of Rügen

Summary In the Rügen area of northern Germany, Old Red Sandstones, ranging from Late Emsian to Givetian in age, unconformably overlie deformed Ordovician strata. The Middle Devonian Old Red passes conformably up into a Late Devonian carbonate facies and then into the Lower Carboniferous, apparently without a break.     

Paleomagnetism of the western Cape Fold belt, South Africa, and its bearing on the Paleozoic apparent polar wander path for Gondwana

In order to test two different proposals for the poorly defined African Paleozoic apparent polar wander path (APWP), a paleomagnetic study was carried out on Ordovician through Carboniferous clastic sediments from the Cape Fold belt, west of the 22nd meridian. One proposal involves a relatively simple APWP connecting the Ordovician Gondwana poles in North Africa with the Late Paleozoic poles to the east of South Africa in a more or less straight line crossing the present equator in the Devonian. The other proposal adds a loop to this path, connecting Ordovician poles in North Africa with poles to the southwest of South Africa and then returning to central Africa. This loop would occur mainly in Silurian time. New results reported herein yield paleopoles in northern and central Africa for Ordovician to lowermost Silurian and Lower to Middle Devonian formations. The best determined paleopole of our study is for the Early Ordovician Graafwater Formation and falls at 28°N, 14°E (k = 25, α₉₅ = 8.8°, N = 28 samples). The other paleopoles are not based on sufficient numbers of samples, but can help to constrain the apparent polar wander path for Gondwana. Our results give only paleopoles well to the north of South Africa and we observe no directions within the proposed loop. Hence, if the loop is real, it must have been of relatively short duration (60–70 Ma) and be essentially of Silurian/Early Devonian age, implying very high drift velocities for Gondwana (with respect to the pole) during that interval.     

Rotation of the Iberian arc: Palaeomagnetic results from North Spain

NRM directions measured from 32 sites in Middle Cambrian, Upper Silurian/Lower Devonian and Lower Carboniferous redbeds follow the trend of the Variscan arc in North Spain. Thermal demagnetisation does not significantly alter this pattern. Fold tests show that the NRM is earlier than the ?₁ folds which form the arc; consistency of angle between bedding and the tilt-corrected NRM inclination (22–28°), similarity of the corresponding palaeolatitudes to Carboniferous values and microscopic evidence of Variscan redistribution of hematite indicates that the magnetisation is post-Lower Carboniferous. A statistical plot of the orientation of ?₁ fold traces against angle between ?₁ fold traces and declination of NRM shows that where these folds curve through 165° the NRM has been rotated through 110°: the arc is an orocline. Restoration of this rotation, and that needed to close the Bay of Biscay, brings the calculated mean palaeomagnetic pole reasonably close to the Upper Carboniferous part of the apparent polar wander path for Europe.     

The Devonian - Permian APWP for the West Sudetes,Poland

Studia Geophysica et Geodaetica - The paper presents the Apparent Polar Wander Path (APWP) for the West Sudetes for the period from Devonian to Carboniferous. The data used for construction of the...     

Coevolution of brachiopod paleobiogeography and tectonopaleogeography during the late Paleozoic in Central Asia

Patterns of brachiopod paleobiogeographic regionalization in Central Asia reveal a coevolution between brachiopod paleobiogeography and tectonopaleogeography during the Early Devonian,Early Carboniferous,Late Carboniferous,Early Permian,and Middle Permian.The coevolutionary relationship reasonably accounts for the formation mechanisms of brachiopod paleobiogeography in this region,and also provides a basis for studies on the location and configuration of oceans and plates(blocks)during the late Paleozoic in Central Asia.     

Paleomagnetism of Devonian and Carboniferous sedimentary rocks of Spitsbergen: to the Paleozoic history of the Barents-Kara basin framing

We present the results of studying the paleomagnetic samples of Carboniferous and Devonian rocks collected in 1986–1987 from the Island of Spitsbergen. The paleomagnetic poles determined from these collections are compared to the poles from the coeval rocks of the Russian Platform. On the basis of these results and the available data of the World paleomagnetic database, the paleogeographic layout of Spitsbergen and the Russian Platform in Early Devonian and Early Triassic are reconstructed. The reconstructions demonstrate a common north-northwestern drift of these units from the southern equatorial latitudes in the Early Devonian to the middle northern latitudes with a small (800 km) convergence, compared to this drift, of Spitsbergen with the Russian Platform by the Early Triassic, which is followed by the subsequent retrograde motion.     

Diverse protolith ages for the Mindoro and Romblon Metamorphics (Philippines): Evidence from single zircon U–Pb dating

Within the north‐eastern part of the Palawan Continental Terrane, which forms the south‐western part of the Philippine archipelago, several metamorphic complexes are exposed that are considered to be rifted parts of the Asian margin in South‐East China. The protolith age(s) and correlations of these complexes are contentious. The largest metamorphic complex of the Palawan Continental Terrane comprises the Mindoro Metamorphics. The north‐eastern part of this metamorphic complex has recently been found to be composed of protoliths of Late Carboniferous to Late Permian protolith age. However, meta‐sediments exposed at the westernmost tip and close to the southern boundary of the exposure of the Mindoro Metamorphics contain detrital zircons and with U–Pb ages, determined by LA–ICP–MS, in the range 22–56 Ma. In addition, zircons as young as 112 Ma were found in a sample of the Romblon Metamorphics in Tablas. As the youngest detrital zircons provide an upper age limit for the time of deposition in meta‐sediments, these results suggest that the Mindoro and Romblon Metamorphics comprise protoliths of variable age: Late Carboniferous to Late Permian in NE Mindoro; Eocene or later in NW Mindoro; Miocene at the southern margin of the Mindoro metamorphics; and Cretaceous or later on Tablas. The presence of non‐metamorphic sediments of Late Eocene to Early Oligocene age in Mindoro (Lasala Formation), which are older than the youngest metasediments, suggests that metamorphism of the young meta‐sediments of Mindoro is the result of the collision of the Palawan Continental terrane with the Philippine Mobile Belt in Late Miocene. Similarities of the age spectra of zircons from the Eocene to Miocene metamorphics with the Eocene to Early Miocene Lasala Formation suggest that the protoliths of the young metamorphics may be equivalents of the Lasala Formation or were recycled from the Lasala Formation.     

The~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar geochronology constraint and geological significance of mylonites in Shangyi-Chicheng fault belt on the north of North China Craton

The Shangyi-Chicheng fault belt extending along the south boundary of the Inner Mongolia axis on the north of the North China Craton was formed in the Middle Proterozoic. This fault has special geological significance1) in the evolution of the North China…     

Late Paleozoic brachiopod faunas of the South Kitakami Belt, northeast Japan, and their paleobiogeographic and tectonic implications

Abstract    Late Paleozoic (Middle Devonian, Early Carboniferous and Middle Permian) brachiopod faunas of the South Kitakami Belt, northeast Japan, are closely related paleobiogeographically to those of the Xinjiang–Inner Mongolia–Jilin region, northwest–northeast China. This relationship suggests that the South Kitakami Belt was part of the trench or continental shelf bordering the northern and eastern margins of North China (Sino-Korea) during the Middle Devonian to Middle Permian times. Among the three models on the origin and tectonic development of the South Kitakami Belt, the strike–slip model is most consistent, but both the microcontinent model and the nappe model have considerable inconsistencies with the above paleobiogeographic and paleogeographic evidence.     

Paleomagnetism of carboniferous formations of the Russian platform: Reinvestigation of old collections

The collections of Carboniferous rocks from sections of the Russian Platform (Gzhelian, Moscovian, Bashkirian, and Visean stages) are studied. The new mean paleomagnetic poles are obtained from the Gzhelian, Moscovian, and Visean layers of the Carboniferous of the Russian Platform. In the redbed Gzhelian and Moscovian rocks, the natural remanent magnetization (NRM) components with the inclination shallowing are revealed, which is due to the presence of the large hematite particles or particle aggregates associated with the interaction between the magnetic and clay particles. Based on the obtained determinations and the results contained in the World paleomagnetic database, the trajectory of the apparent polar wander path (APWP) for the East European Platform is constructed in the interval from the Devonian to Early Permian. The Carboniferous kinematics of the East European Platform is estimated.