The Siluro-Devonian clastic wedge of Somerset Island,Arctic Canada,and some regional paleogeographic implications

Upper Silurian and Lower Devonian rocks on Somerset Island were derived from Boothia Uplift, a linear tectonic belt that underwent a pronounced period of positive movement commencing in the Pridolian. The lower part of the clastic wedge is a succession of predominantly intertidal to supratidal dolomite and siltstone 150–400 m thick (Somerset Island Formation). Markov analysis documents the presence of tidal cycles in these rocks. The succession changes eastward, away from the uplift, into subtidal marine limestone indistinguishable from that of the underlying Read Bay Formation. The Somerset Island Formation grades vertically and laterally westward into alluvial deposits of the Peel Sound Formation, which consists of red sandstoné of braided river and possibly eolian origin, and two fanglomerate members. A variety of fluvial fining-upward and thinning-upward cycle types has been documented by Markov analysis of a lower sand member of the formation. The Peel Sound reaches a maximum thickness of 600 m in northern Somerset Island.Paleocurrent analysis of crossbedding indicates eastward transport directions in the fluvial rocks, except for cosets of very large scale crossbeds (up to 6 m thick) in the northwestern part of the island, which indicate northwesterly flow. The large sets are interpreted as the deposits of eolian dunes, or of sand waves in a large trunk river which carried clastic detritus northward, parallel to Boothia Uplift.The Peel Sound Formation and its lateral facies equivalents on Prince of Wales Island, west of Boothia Uplift, contain coarser conglomerates and a higher sandstone/carbonate ratio, indicating deposition under higher energy conditions than are thought to have prevailed in Somerset Island. Relief may have been greater and depositional slope steeper in the west, an asymmetry in Boothia Uplift that is reflected in the present-day structural style of a narrow zone of tilting and reverse faulting in the west, and a broad zone of gentle folding and normal faulting in the east. The similarity in structural and stratigraphic asymmetry indicates a genetic link, which is further suggested by the presence of syndepositional folds and unconformities at a few localities within the clastic wedge.An estimate of the volume of sediment removed from Boothia Uplift indicates that approximately one third can be accounted for in the present clastic wedge on either side of the Uplift. Either the Lower Paleozoic formations were attenuated over the Uplift, or rivers such as the hypothetical trunk river were effective in the dispersal of material beyond the region of the clastic wedge.     

Entropy in Markov chains and discrimination of cyclic patterns in lithologic successions

The concept of Markov chains, applied to stratigraphic sections, is reliable in analyzing cyclic patterns in lithologic successions. Randomness in the occurrence of lithologies repeating in a succession is evaluated generally in terms of entropies which can be calculated for the Markov matrix equated with the succession. Two types of entropies pertain to every state; one is relevant to the Markov matrix expressing the upward transitions, and the other, relevant to the matrix expressing the downward transitions. The latter and the former with respect to a certain state, making an entropy set, correspond to the degree of randomness in its linking with the others which occur as the precursor and the successor, respectively. It is obvious that the entropy sets which are calculated for all state variables serve as a reliable criterion in the discrimination of cyclic pattern of the succession. We are able based on the entropy sets to classify the various patterns into asymmetric, symmetric, and random cycles, which are exhibited also in actual lithologic successions. The entropy sets are calculated for Markov matrices which have been reported from a number of areas in the world, and compared with the cyclic patterns supposed there. Entropy for the whole system of sedimentation also is introduced to discuss variability of the condition in the depositional processes.     

Pendleian (early Serpukhovian) marine carbonates from SW Spain: sedimentology,biostratigraphy and depositional model

The San Antonio–La Juliana tectono‐sedimentary unit contains the only Namurian marine carbonates in the southwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula. The analysis of this unit is fundamental in understanding the sedimentary evolution and tectonic movements which operated during the Namurian in this area. Using foraminifera the succession has been assigned to two biozones (Zones 17 and 18), both occurring in the Pendleian (early Namurian). Seven stratigraphic sections have been analysed: San Antonio, Burjadillo, Lavadero de la Mina, Cornuda, Lozana, Caridad and Via Crucis. The stratigraphic succession of the San Antonio–La Juliana Unit consists of olistolites in the basal part, with common debris‐flow deposits (mainly of carbonates, with minor siliciclastic rocks), and turbidites, all of them embedded in shales. These rocks, interpeted as slope deposits, pass up into shallow‐water platform facies, with sediments characteristic of the inner platform and tidal flats. Above these rocks, terrigenous deltaic deposits occur. Thus, the stratigraphic sections show an overall shallowing‐upward trend. The isolation of some outcrops, and the duplication and absence of some parts of the stratigraphic succession are explained by tectonic movements. Overall, tectonic factors seem to be the main control rather than glacio‐eustatic or autocyclic processes, and sedimentation took place in a strike‐slip regime. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using sedimentology to address the marine or continental origin of the Permian Hutchinson Salt Member of Kansas

The Permian Hutchinson Salt Member of the Wellington Formation of the Sumner Group of Kansas (USA) has multiple scientific and industrial uses. Although this member is highly utilized, there has not been a sedimentological study on these rocks in over 50 years, and no study has investigated the full thickness of this member. Past publications have inferred a marine origin as the depositional environment. Here, this marine interpretation is challenged. The goals of this study are to fully document sedimentological and stratigraphic characteristics of the Permian Hutchinson Salt Member in the Atomic Energy Commission Test Hole 2 core from Rice County, Kansas. This study documents colour, mineralogy, sedimentary textures, sedimentary structures, diagenetic features and stratigraphic contacts in core slab and thin sections. The Hutchinson Salt Member is composed of five lithologies: bedded halite, siliciclastic mudstone, displacive halite, bedded gypsum/anhydrite and displacive gypsum/anhydrite. These lithologies formed in shallow surface brines and mudflats that underwent periods of flooding, evapoconcentration and desiccation. Of note are the paucity of carbonates, lack of marine-diagnostic fossils, absence of characteristic marine minerals and lithofacies, and the stratigraphic context of the Hutchinson with associated continental deposits. The Hutchinson Salt Member was most likely deposited in an arid continental setting. This new interpretation offers a refined view of Pangaea during the middle Permian time.     

A depositional model for storm- and tide-influenced prograding siliciclastic shorelines from the Middle Devonian of the central Appalachian foreland basin, USA

A stratigraphic motif observed in many foreland basins is the development of basinward tapering siliciclastic wedges characterized by various scales of depositional cycles. The Middle Devonian (Givetian) Mahantango Formation in the central Appalachian foreland basin is such an example. It consists of both small-and large-scale thickening- and coarsening-upward cycles; the small-scale cycles are typically less than 10 m thick whereas larger-scale cycles are generally a few tens of metres thick and commonly contain several of the smaller-scale cycles. Outcrop-based facies analyses indicate that the depositional cyclicity resulted from episodic progradation of a regionally straight, tide-dominated shoreline onto a storm-dominated, shallow marine shelf. The depositional model for this ancient shallow marine system consists of a vertical facies succession in which storm-dominated offshore marine mudstone and fine sandstone pass gradationally upward into storm-dominated nearshore marine shelf and shoreface sandstone overlain by, in proximal sections, tide-dominated shoreline sandstone, pebbly sandstone and mudstone. Transgressively reworked lag deposits cap most of the thickening- and coarsening- upward packets. In this model, coarse-grained rocks, rather than implying basinward shifts of facies, are a consanguineous part of the stacked shoaling cycles. Lateral facies relationships show that the dominance of storm- vs. tide-generated sedimentary features is simply a function of palaeogeographical position within the basin; proximal sections contain tidally influenced sedimentary features whereas more distal sections only display evidence for storm-influenced deposition. These results suggest caution when inferring palaeoceanographic conditions from sedimentological datasets that do not contain preserved examples of palaeoshorelines.     

Sedimentary K-Ar signatures in clay fractions from Mesozoic marine shelf environments in Israel

The K-Ar system in clay fractions from shallow marine carbonate shelf environments was investigated on silicate fractions (clay minerals, feldspar) separated from 20 Lower Jurassic to Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks, deposited in the southern Tethys ocean. The range of lithologies investigated included dolomite and chalk [IR (insoluble residue)<10%], marl, shale (IR= 70–85%) and sandstone (IR>90%). The results show that K-bearing clay fractions often have K-Ar ages similar to the suggested age of deposition, which means either supply of land-derived authigenic K-bearing clays or synsedimentary diagenetic authigenesis, or both. This K-Ar synsedimentary signal is recorded in clay fractions from the whole range of studied lithologies and stratigraphic units. Among the clay minerals, the synsedimentary K-Ar signature was recorded and retained in illite/smectite of the <2-um and <0.2-um fractions. A prominent synsedimentary signature is found in K-feldspars, from shaly and especially from calcareous rocks, which is substantiated by their authigenic origin based on idiomorphic crystal morphology and their limited size distribution (4–10 um). Post-depositional closure of the K-Ar system is indicated by ages up to 15 Ma younger than the stratigraphic age in different lithologies from dispersed localities. A distinct late diagenetic (20–25 Ma younger) event is recorded in the formation of authigenic K-feldspar within Upper Cretaceous chalk and shale. In the IR and >10-um fractions the K-Ar ages reflect the contribution of detrital mica and feldspar which accompanies the kaolinite-dominated samples. The overall results differ considerably from K-Ar age patterns observed in deep-sea sediments, a difference which may be connected with the occurrence of brines in these shelf deposits. The findings indicate the potential in the K-Ar dating of fine IR fractions of marine shelf sediments in terms of geochronological-stratigraphic and palaeogeographical aspects as well as in the petrology of clay minerals themselves.     

Tectonic control on fluvial styles: the Balfour Formation of the Karoo Basin, South Africa

The Balfour Formation represents a fully fluvial succession of late Late Permian–earliest Triassic age which accumulated in the foredeep of the Karoo Basin during the overfilled phase of the foreland system. The lack of a coeval marine environment within the limits of the preserved Karoo Basin provides an opportunity to study the stratigraphic cyclicity developed during a time when accommodation was solely controlled by tectonics. The Balfour stratigraphy is composed of a succession of six third-order fluvial depositional sequences separated by subaerial unconformities. They formed in isolation from eustatic influences, with a timing controlled by orogenic cycles of loading and unloading. Sediment accumulation took place during stages of flexural subsidence, whereas the bounding surfaces are related to stages of isostatic uplift. The vertical profile of all sequences displays an overall fining-upward trend related to the gradual decrease in topographic slope during orogenic loading. At the same time, an upward change in fluvial styles can be observed within each sequence, from initial higher to final lower energy systems. The actual fluvial styles in each location depend on paleoslope gradients and the position of the stratigraphic section relative to the orogenic front. Proximal sequences show transitions from braided to meandering systems, whereas more distal sequences show changes from sand-bed to fine-grained meandering systems. The average duration of the Balfour stratigraphic cycles was 0.66 My, i.e. six cycles during 4 My. No climatic fluctuations are recorded during this time, with the long-term climatic background represented by temperate to humid conditions.     

Stratigraphic architecture of the Cenozoic succession in the McMurdo Sound region,Antarctica: An archive of polar palaeoenvironmental change in a failed rift setting

The Victoria Land Basin forms part of the failed West Antarctic Rift, and preserves a Cenozoic succession up to 4 km thick that records the onset of Cenozoic glaciation, and the history of Antarctic glaciation over the past 34 Myr. This succession is relevant both to investigations of modern climate change and to studies of long‐term palaeoclimate change in general. This study provides a sedimentological and stratigraphic review of the Victoria Land Basin succession, based on analysis of several continuous drillcores acquired since the 1970s, and supported by seismic stratigraphic analysis of a large array of seismic reflection data. An array of fifteen lithofacies is recognized within the Victoria Land Basin Cenozoic succession, including fossiliferous and diversely bioturbated mudrocks and diatomites, texturally mature sandstones and conglomerates, mixed mudstones and sandstones with dispersed gravel with restricted bioturbation, and diamictites and associated lithologies. These facies record a variety of marine, glaciomarine, proglacial and subglacial environments. Locally, volcanic and volcaniclastic deposits are interbedded in the succession. Lithofacies are arranged in repetitive vertical stacking patterns (depositional sequences) that record glacial advance–retreat cycles with attendant relative sea‐level changes. Seven varieties of depositional sequences (stratigraphic motifs) are recognized within the succession as a whole, and interpreted to record a range of depositional settings from rifts unaffected by glacial ice (Motif 7), through varying degrees of glacial influence with abundant meltwater contributions (Motifs 6 to 3), to cold, polar glaciated environments such as that of today (Motifs 2 and 1). Overall, there is a gradual trend upward through the succession from Motif 7 at the base towards Motif 1 at the top, but the trend is not monotonic. A significant conclusion of this work is that a record of dynamic climate and glacial conditions is preserved through the entire 34 Myr period of the Cenozoic icehouse, at least in the Victoria Land Basin. Intervals characterized by consistent stratigraphic style (motifs) are recognized throughout the Victoria Land Basin succession. These intervals are of 1 to 6 Myr duration, each containing numerous depositional sequences; they are one to two orders of magnitude longer than glacial–interglacial cycles, and record periods during which environmental conditions varied in an internally consistent manner. These intervals are considered to reflect convolutions of orbital parameters that remained stable for periods of 10⁶ a, and then switched to alternative configurations. Such intervals are directly analogous to 1 to 8 Myr intervals characterized by glaciogenic strata that are preserved within the late Palaeozoic of eastern Australia among other areas, and may be a recurring stratigraphic response to icehouse climate regimes through geological time.     

Markovian models in stratigraphic analysis

A stratigraphic section may be divided into lithologic units which in turn may be divided into beds. This paper gives a mathematical formulation of stratigraphic sections that takes these two levels into account and uses bed properties to yield the thickness and number of beds in lithologic units. The model is a semiMarkov chain in which the succession of lithologic bed types forms a Markov chain and is an independent random variable. The model is tested against stratigraphic data obtained from micrologs. There is close agreement between the observed and calculated thicknesses of lithologic units. Tests for the degree of agreement between observed and calculated numbers of beds in lithologic units are hampered by inability to observe thin beds on micrologs. Some implications of this limitation to stratigraphic analysis are noted.     

Sedimentary formations of the Cretaceous Sakhalin Basin (Far East Asia)

The marine sedimentary formations of the Middle Albian to Maastrichtian in the Cretaceous Sakhalin Basin (CSB) were investigated. These successions of strata consist of interbedded sandy, clayey and calcareous rocks which are underlain by heterogeneous metamorphosed (up to greenschist facies) Paleozoic to Mesozoic (pre-Aptian) rocks. The studied sections display several different facies reflecting geological settings ranging from an inner shelf to a continental slope. Three depositional complexes bound by regional subaerial unconformities are recognized within the marine successions. Since the Albian, the CSB has been a rapidly subsiding marginal part of the Okhotsk Sea plate. The Naiba Valley succession, corresponding to a sublittoral zone, shows extremely high sedimentation rates up to 190 m/Ma. The stratigraphic distribution of lithofacies indicates that the CSB became shallower from the Middle Albian to the Maastrichtian.     

Sedimentology,sequential analysis and clay mineralogy of the lower Eocene sequence at Farafra Oasis area,Western Desert of Egypt

Integrated sedimentological studies, sequential analysis and clay mineralogy on the lower Eocene rocks in the Western Desert provided important information on the reconstruction of the depositional basin, cyclicity, and paleoclimatic conditions. Two formations are recognized; the Esna and Farafra formations, with a gradational contact in-between. The studied sequence exhibits lateral facies changes as revealed from field and microfacies investigations. Eight facies were recognized and summarized in a carbonate ramp model. It represents also a general regressive trend, which records a transition from an outer ramp into a peritidal zone. The facies stacking patterns constitute several kinds of meter-scale, shallowing-upward cycles. Two different types of depositional cycles are here defined. The stratigraphic sections show a hierarchical organization of many cycles defined by five depositional sequences. It is suggested that composite eustatic sea level oscillations caused by cyclic perturbations of the Earth’s orbit played a fundamental role in determining the formation of the observed hierarchical cyclic organization. Summing up, it is believed that the paleotopography had resulted from the impact of the Syrian Arc Folding System. A confusing additional complication is introduced by syndepositional sedimentary structures, especially during the late Cretaceous/Eocene times, coupled by several tensional forces. Clay mineralogy has revealed the presence of smectite, kaolinite and illite. Their origin may be attributed to the gradual increase in the amount of erosion of the newly elevated crystalline source rocks to the south of Egypt, in areas of moderate rainfall and rapid weathering and/or to reworking processes of soils which presumably developed on basement rocks. Changes in source rocks or climatic influence during the early Eocene may account for the observed differences in clay mineral abundances.     

Deglaciation sequences in the Permo-Carboniferous Itararé Group, Paraná Basin, southern Brazil

The Late Carboniferous–Early Permian Itararé Group is a thick glacial unit of the Paraná Basin. Five unconformity-bounded sequences have been defined in the eastern outcrop belt and recognized in well logs along 400 km across the central portion of the basin. Deglaciation sequences are present in the whole succession and represent the bulk of the stratigraphic record. The fining-upward vertical facies succession is characteristic of a retrogradational stacking pattern and corresponds to the stratigraphic record of major ice-retreat phases. Laterally discontinuous subglacial tillites and boulder beds occur at the base of the sequences. When these subglacial facies are absent, deglaciation sequences lie directly on the basal disconformities. Commonly present in the lowermost portions of the deglaciation sequences, polymictic conglomerates and cross-bedded sandstones are generated in subaqueous proximal outwash fans in front of retreating glaciers. The overlying assemblage of diamictites, parallel-bedded and rippled sandstones, and Bouma-like facies sequences are interpreted as deposits of distal outwash fan lobes. The tops of the deglaciation sequences are positioned in clay-rich marine horizons that show little (fine-laminated facies with dropstones) or no evidence of glacial influence on the deposition and likely represent periods of maximum ice retreat.     

Petrography and provenance of the Early Permian Fluvial Warchha Sandstone,Salt Range,Pakistan

The Warchha Sandstone of the Salt Range of Pakistan is a continental succession that accumulated as part of a meandering, fluvial system during Early Permian times. Several fining-upward depositional cycles are developed, each of which is composed of conglomerate, cross-bedded sandstone and, in their upper parts, bioturbated siltstone and claystone units with distinctive desiccation cracks and carbonate concretions. Clast lithologies are mainly of plutonic and low-grade metamorphic origin, with an additional minor sedimentary component. Textural properties of the sandstone are fine- to coarse-grained, poorly to moderately sorted, sub-angular to sub-rounded, and with generally loose packing. Based on modal analyses, the sandstone is dominantly a feldspathoquartzose (arkose to sub-arkose). Detrital constituents are mainly composed of monocrystalline quartz, feldspars (more K-feldspar than plagioclase) and various types of lithic clasts. XRD and SEM studies indicate that kaolinite is the dominant clay mineral and that it occurs as both allogenic and authigenic forms. However, illite, illite-smectite mixed layer, smectite and chlorite are also recognised in both pores and fractures. Much of the kaolinite was likely derived by the severe chemical weathering of previously deposited basement rocks under the influence of a hot and humid climate. Transported residual clays deposited as part of the matrix of the Warchha Sandstone show coherent links with the sandstone petrofacies, thereby indicating the same likely origin. Illite, smectite and chlorite mainly occur as detrital minerals and as alteration products of weathered acidic igneous and metamorphic rocks. Based primarily on fabric relationship, the sequence of cement formation in the Warchha Sandstone is clay (generally kaolinite), iron oxide, calcareous and siliceous material, before iron-rich illite and occasional mixed layer smectite–illite and rare chlorite. Both petrographic analysis and field characteristics of the sandstone indicate that the source areas were characterised by uplift of a moderate to high relief continental block that was weathered under the influence of hot and humid climatic conditions. The rocks weathered from the source areas included primary granites and gneisses, together with metamorphic basement rocks and minor amounts of sedimentary rocks. Regional palaeogeographic reconstructions indicate that much of the Warchha Sandstone detritus was derived from the Aravalli and Malani ranges and surrounding areas of the Indian Craton to the south and southeast, before being transported to and deposited within the Salt Range region under the influence of a semi-arid to arid climatic regime.     

Cyclic sedimentation of the Barren Measures Formation (Damuda Group), Talchir Gondwana basin: Statistical appraisal from borehole logs

The succession of lithofacies of a part of the Barren Measures Formation of the Talchir Gondwana basin has been studied by statistical techniques. The lithologies have been grouped under five facies states viz coarse-, medium-, and fine-grained sandstones, shale and coal for statistical analyses. Markov chain analysis indicates the arrangement of Barren Measures lithofacies in the form of fining upward cycles. A complete cycle consists of conglomerate or coarse-grained sandstone at the base sequentially succeeded by medium-and fine-grained sandstones, shales and coal at the top. The entropy analysis puts the Barren Measures cycles into A-4 type cyclicity, which consists of different proportions of lower, upper and side truncated cycles of lithologic states. Regression analysis indicates a sympathetic relationship between total thickness of strata (net subsidence) and number of cycles and an antipathic relationship between average thickness and number of sedimentary cycles. The cyclic sedimentation of the Barren Measures Formation was controlled by autocyclic process which occurred due to the lateral migration of streams triggered by intrabasinal differential subsidence. In many instances, the clastic sediments from the laterally migrating rivers interrupted the cyclic sedimentation resulting in thinner cycles in areas where the number of cycles are more. Principal component and multivariate regression analyses suggest that the net subsidence of the basin is mostly controlled by the thickness of sandstones, shale beds and coal stringers.     

塔里木盆地北部古生界密集段分布型式与海平面变化的关系

塔里木盆地北部震旦纪－古生代层序地层格架中,发育着６个可作为生油层的大型密集段或复合密集段。密集段在层序格架中有４种叠置型式,即进积组合,退积组合,加积组合和上超组合。不同的叠置型对应于不同的海平面变化过程。相应地,密集段的发育规模及时空展布有着明显的差别,其中,在退积层序组合和进积层序组合中,密集段垂向上相互叠置,侧向上彼此邻接,构成层数与厚度复杂多变的复合密集段,是盆地中的主力生油层。     

Cyclic characteristics of coal-bearing sediments in the Bochumer Formation (Westphal A 2) Ruhrgebiet, Germany

Cyclic characteristics of the Bochumer coal measures have been studied statistically using first-order embedded Markov chain analysis on data from thirty-two boreholes. Separate tally matrices which were made for the Lower, Middle and Upper units by summing the tally matrices for all the boreholes, were used to produce various transition probability matrices, which were then subjected to the chi-square test. Results strongly suggest that the Bochumer succession was deposited by a Markovian mechanism, and that the sequence represents cyclic sedimentation. The preferential upward transition path for lithologic changes that can be derived in the total area and in individual logs is: coal\rightarrow shale\rightarrowsiltstone\rightarrowsandstone\rightarrowsiltstone\rightarrowrooty bed\rightarrowcoal. Among the noteworthy features are a two-way transition between siltstone and sandstone, which implies frequent interbedding of the two lithologies, and the transition, up out of siltstone to rooty beds. There are, however, minor variations, locally, either by way of subsidiary transitions or in the extent to which the above transitions can be followed. When tested for stationarity through time and space, the Markov chain analysis yields results which show the upward sequence of lithologic states (facies) to be stationary at individual localities, but non-stationary when the entire data are tested for the whole area. The relationship of the number of coal-bearing cycles to total thickness of strata and average thickness of coal-cycles is examined using linear regression. Significant positive relationships are present between the number of cycles and total thickness, and significant negative correlations occur between the number of cycles and their average thickness. The results of the study have been used to infer sedimentological evolution of the succession and sediment cyclicity. Environmentally, the Bochumer cycles fit suitably into the concept of deltaic cycles.     

沉积模拟的基本数学模型及其在第四纪研究中的应用

内容提要本文扼要介绍了沉积模拟的基本数学模型,其中包括十种随机模拟数学模型和十种确定模拟数学模型,阐明其简要原理和应用范围,并讨论它们在第四纪研究中的应用现状和前景。本文涉及的应用范围主要为:第四纪沉积环境、第四纪沉积物特征和成因类型。最后讨论了地质过程数学模拟的特点和意义、第四纪沉积过程数学模拟对提高第四纪地质学研究定量化水平的作用,以及进一步开展工作的方向。     

Allochthonous Mesozoic marine sequences of northeastern Asia and western North America: Correlation of the stratigraphic levels and geodynamic depositional settings

The problem of correlating the isolated outcrops of allochthonous Middle Mesozoic deposits developed in northeastern Asia and western North America includes several aspects: (1) the stratigraphic subdivision of the sequences using the radiolarian assemblages and taking into account the complex nappe-thrust structure of the region; (2) the analysis of their facies composition with reconstructing the geodynamic depositional settings; (3) the search for features in common (with respect to the previous two aspects) in all these localities. The first widely applied radiolarian analysis revealed that the Middle Mesozoic marine rocks from separate nappes and slices of tectono-stratigraphic sections in East Asia enclose 20 different-age (Norian to Hauterivian) radiolarian assemblages. The correlation of these assemblages revealed the wide lateral distribution of their host Middle Mesozoic marine sequences in the regions under consideration. The significance of the presented materials is determined by the following facts: (1) using the radiolarian analysis, the Middle Mesozoic marine sequences of northeastern Asia are first subdivided into stage and substage units with defining their analogs in western North America; (2) despite the discrete distribution of Mesozoic allochthons, it is shown that the defined stratigraphic units are widespread in northeastern Asia; (3) it is established that these allochthons consist of rocks formed in different geodynamic depositional settings: ocean floor, island arc, fore-arc, and marginal-sea domains. This spectrum of heterogeneous rocks is traceable practically through the entire northeastern Asia region.     

Probable distribution of Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous deposits on the Laptev Sea shelf and their petroleum resource potential

The analysis of Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous marine sections developed in surrounding structures of the Laptev Sea revealed that all of them are composed of terrigenous rocks, which enclose abundant concretions cemented by calcareous material. The Upper Jurassic portion of the section is the most variable in thickness and stratigraphic range of sediments usually including hiatuses. Its Lower Cretaceous part represented by the Boreal Berriasian (=Ryazanian) and lower Valanginian stages is most complete. The Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous sections are usually composed of fine-grained rocks (clays and mudstones) in the west and coarser cemented varieties (siltstones and sandstones) with rare mudstone intercalations in the east. Practically all the investigated Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous sections include readily recognizable age and facies analogs of the Bazhenovo Formation and Achimov sandstones, which are petroliferous in West Siberia. There are grounds to assume the occurrence of these formations also on the Laptev Sea shelf, which is confirmed by seismic records. Conditions favorable for the formation of potential hydrocarbon reservoirs could exist in the western part of the paleobasin along the Nordvik Peninsula coast and northeastern Tamyr Peninsula margin. Paleotectonic reconstructions presented in this work are well consistent with stratigraphic conclusions.     

Supra-subduction and abyssal mantle peridotites of the Coast Range ophiolite,California

The Coast Range ophiolite (CRO) of California is one of the most extensive tracts of oceanic crust preserved in the North American Cordillera, but its origin has long remained controversial. We present here new data on mineral compositions in mantle peridotites that underlie crustal sections of the ophiolite, and show that these are dominantly refractory harzburgites related to high apparent melting in a supra-subduction zone (SSZ) setting. Abyssal peridotite (characterized by high-Al spinels and relatively high Ti, Na, Nd, Sm, Lu, and Hf in pyroxene) occurs at one location where it is associated with SSZ mantle peridotite and volcanic rocks with both oceanic and arc-like geochemistry. SSZ mantle peridotites (characterized by intermediate-Cr/Al or high-Cr spinels, and by extremely low Ti, Na, Nd, Sm, Lu, and Hf in pyroxenes) are associated with crustal sections containing arc-related volcanic rocks, including boninites. This convergence between conclusions based on crustal lithologies and their underlying mantle sections confirms previous proposals that link the CRO to SSZ processes, and seriously undermines hypotheses that invoke formation of the ophiolite at a mid-ocean ridge spreading center.