Late Neogene tectonics in northwestern Victoria: Evidence from the Late Miocene–Pliocene Loxton Sand

The Late Miocene–Pliocene Loxton Sand strandplain extends across the western part of the Murray Basin in southeastern Australia. Gamma logging on groundwater bores surrounding Lake Tutchewop, which lies close to the eastern limit of this strandplain, showed that a heavy mineral layer within the Loxton Sand is displaced across the northern extension of the Leaghur Fault. A crevasse splay sand within the overlying Pliocene Shepparton Formation is also displaced, indicating that tectonic activity along the Leaghur Fault occurred in the Early Pliocene. This coincides with the Kosciusko Uplift, a major phase of Neogene tectonism across southeastern Australia, which also resulted in movement along the Danyo, Hindmarsh, Tyrell and Avoca Faults in northwestern Victoria.     

The Late Palaeozoic Rifting on Hainan Island, China

There occurred rifting on Hainan Island in the Late Palaeozoic. Bimodal volcanic rocks composed ofbasalt and rhyolite developed in the Carboniferous. Widespread in the Late Palaeozoic formations are severallayers of fluvial intermontane conglomerates whose distribution is controlled by rift faults. The Late Palaeozoicdeposits dominaled by clastic rocks are, for a major part, of marine facies and of continental facies in the lowerand upper parts. Lithological and lithochemical studies indicate that the detrital rocks were formed in atectonic setting of continental rifting. The evolution of the rifting terminated at the stage of transition form anintra continental rift to an intercontinental one and the rift basin was a bay opening westward to the sea.     

Late Permian-Middle Triassic Sea Level Changes of Yangtze Platform

INTRODUCTIONTheformationofthePangaeainthePenmangreatlyreducedthedimensionofshelf,sothelateStPenmanmarinesedimentaryrecordsespeciallythatofshallowsea,arelackinginmostpartSoftheworld,exceptthatsomeareasaroundthePaleo--TethySrecordedthecontinuousdepositionacrossthePenmanandTriassicboundary(Schopf,1974).DLiringthattimeYangtzewasablockoverWhichcoveredthelargestshallowshelfofthePenman--Triassicinterval,wherethemostcompletesedimentaryrecordofthatintervalispreserVed(Yangetal.,1993).Itisund…     

Late Neanderthals at Jarama VI (central Iberia)?

Previous geochronological and archaeological studies on the rock shelter Jarama VI suggested a late survival of Neanderthals in central Iberia and the presence of lithic assemblages of Early Upper Paleolithic affinity. New data on granulometry, mineralogical composition, geochemical fingerprints and micromorphology of the sequence corroborate the previous notion that the archaeological units JVI.2.1 to JVI.2.3 are slackwater deposits of superfloods, which did not experience significant post-depositional changes, whereas the artifact-rich units JVI.3 and JVI.1 mainly received sediment inputs by sheetwash and cave spall. New AMS radiocarbon measurements on three samples of cut-marked bone using the ultrafiltration technique yielded ages close to, or beyond, the limit of radiocarbon dating at ca. 50 ¹⁴C ka BP, and hence suggest much higher antiquity than assumed previously. Furthermore, elevated temperature post-IR IRSL luminescence measurements on K feldspars yielded burial ages for subunits JVI.2.2 and JVI.2.3 between 50 and 60 ka. Finally, our reappraisal of the stone industry strongly suggests that the whole sequence is of Mousterian affinity. In conclusion, Jarama VI most probably does not document a late survival of Neanderthals nor an Early Upper Paleolithic occupation in central Iberia, but rather indicates an occupation breakdown after the Middle Paleolithic.     

Late cainozoic environments of part of Northeastern South Australia∗

In the Lake Frome area of South Australia there is a sedimentary sequence of non‐marine (or possibly distant marginal marine) pale‐green to grey, fine elastics and carbonates (Namba Formation). The base of these deposits is Medial Miocene in age and they are overlain unconformably by Pleistocene (and ? Pliocene) sediments. The Miocene sequence is equivalent to the Etadunna Formation of the Lake Eyre Basin, and the clay mineralogy is similar.

Combining evidence from mineralogy, palynology, and vertebrate palaeontology, a warm high‐rainfall climate operating on a subdued topography is indicated for the lower part of the Miocene Lake Frome sequence. This caused the illite‐chlorite‐kaolinite suite of the largely Precambrian provenance to be transformed to smectite and randomly‐interstratified clay. A palygorskite‐dolomite assemblage accumulated in alkaline lakes of extreme marginal marine situation during periods of seasonal dry intervals superposed on the previous climate.

A change to illite‐dominated clay, stratigraphically about halfway up the sequence, occurred simultaneously with initial uplift of the Flinders Ranges. These ranges were previously represented by, at the most, a region of low hills. Uplift, without intervention of climatic change, is sufficient to alter the clay mineralogy by promoting increased leaching. Higher in the sequence, and correlated with the major phase of uplift in the Flinders Ranges, smectite re‐appears. In this case the clay suite is believed to have resulted from increased aridity. The smectite‐rich sediments accumulated above the water table in extensive fan and mud‐flow deposits.

The Neogene sequence records a major palaeogeographic change from low energy rivers, swamps, and lakes in a low relief terrain, probably connected to the sea, to a landscape approaching that of the present during Miocene‐Pliocene times. When the Pleistocene Millyera Formation accumulated, the landscape resembled the present, though the ancestral Lake Frome was larger, and rainfall higher.     

Middle and Late Carboniferous Tetracoral Assemblages and Biogeography of China

China is rich in Middle and Carboniferous fossil corals. The coral faunas in different regions have varying characteristics and can be divided into distinct assemblages. The coral fauna in South China is dominated by the order Caninida and contains numerous endemic elements; that in North China has a lot of Middle Carboniferous corals which are monotonous in species, with Late Carboniferous solitary corals being predominant. The coral fauna in Junggar mainly contains large bi-zoned solitary caninids, while that in southern Khingan is similar to that in South China due to the presence of abundant tri-zoned compound corals. In northern Tibet the coral fauna is also similar to that in South China, but in southern Tibet it is of a cold-water type. Therefore, the Middle and Late Carboniferous coral geography of China can be divided into the Tethys, Boreal and Gondwana Realms.     

Late Mesozoic Intracontinental Rifting and Basin Formation in Eastern China

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Late cretaceous Arman’ flora of Magadan oblast: Paleoclimatic interpretation

The Arman’ flora belongs to the formation of the same name in the Arman’ River basin and Nel’khandzha-Khasyn interfluve. It includes about 80 fossil plant species. The similarity of this flora to the reliably dated fossil floras of northwestern Kamchatka and the Pekul’nei Range dates it to being Turonian and Coniacian in age, which is corroborated by isotopic (U-Pb and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar) dating of the plant-bearing layers. The CLAMP method is used to estimate quantitative climatic variables, according to which the Arman’ flora existed in a temperate humid climate with warm summers and mild winters. This climate is especially similar to the conditions reconstructed from fossil plants of the Turonian Penzhina flora and the Coniacian Kaivayam and Tylpegyrgynai floras of Northeast Asia.     

Middle–Late Devonian island-arc volcanosedimentary complexes in northwestern Rudny Altai

A volcanosedimentary complex of Middle–Late Devonian deposits in northwestern Rudny Altai is described. Analysis of sedimentologic processes, the kind of manifestation and specific composition of volcanism, and petrographic and chemical compositions of sedimentary rocks permitted reconstruction of paleogeographic and geodynamic settings, which confirmed the hypothesis of the island-arc nature of the Rudny Altai zone in the Middle–Late Devonian. Also, an alternative variant of its rift nature is considered. The rift buildings are referred to as local isolated complexes confined to positive paleovolcanic structures rising above the bottom in the fore-arc basin. The denudated part of the rift system is formed mainly by slope facies. Clastics of rift buildings, together with fragments of silicite and felsic-volcanics layers, compose widespread olistostrome breccias. We have established the humid type of lithogenesis, which, together with minor sea level fluctuations, favors karst processes and the formation of red-colored and bauxite-like rocks. The coeval volcanics composing lava flows and tuff layers are mainly rhyolites and are often of ultrafelsic composition.     

Were Late Cretaceous extinctions of gastropods selective by generic longevity?

Many gastropod taxa went extinct during the Late Cretaceous.The stratigraphic ranges of 268 genera permit to establish the longevity of extinction victims for each stage of this epoch."Young" taxa (originated within 3 epochs before the extinction) prevailed among victims of the extinctions in all stages.The proportion of "old" taxa(originated before the Cretaceous) that went extinct was the highest in the Cenomanian,and it was the lowest in the Coniacian and the Maastrichtian.It appears that the end-Cretaceous mass extinction affected chiefly "young" taxa.However,the comparison with the earlier time intervals suggests that this pattern of selectivity by generic longevity was not specific for the noted catastrophe,but,in contrast,it was typical for the entire Late Cretaceous.The latest Cenomanian environmental perturbation(OAE2) caused a stronger extinction of "old" taxa,and thus,this biotic crisis was less selective by generic longevity.This hypothesis,however,is not proven by the statistical test.     

High Resolution Element Records in the Late Pleistocene Xifeng Loess Profile

Eighty-one samples were selected from the Late Pleistocene Xifeng loess profile and analyzed for their element abundances using instrumental neutron activation analysis,and for ^10Be using the AMS method.The results show that the variations of element abundance and ^10Be with dept are similar to those of δ^18O in DSDP ,and may be considered as an indicator of climatic and environmental changes.     

Tectonic Evolution of the Junggar Foreland Basin in the Late Carboniferous-Permian

A comprehensive study has been carried out to subdivide and correlate the Upper Carboniferous and Permian sedimentary successions in the Junggar basin based on outcrops and drilling and geophysical data. The study results, combined with geological analyses of the basin's periphery and the basement, as well as studies of the sedimentary rocks within the basin, the unconformities, tectonic geometry, kinematics and geodynamics, lead to the conclusion that the Junggar basin was characterized by the development of foreland basin systems during the Late Carboniferous and Permian. During that period, three foreland basin systems were developed: (1) the northwest foreland basin system, which trended nearly north-south from Mahu to the Chepaizi Palaeo-mountain during its early stage of development and thus it was also referred to as the west foreland basin system; (2) the Karamaili foreland basin system in the east and (3) the Northern Tianshan foreland basin system in the south. These systems are different in s     

On Late Triassic Floras in China and Principles for Palaeophytogeographic Regionalization

A new scheme of Late Triassic palaeophytogeographic regionalization of China is put forward on the basis of three principles given as follows:1. The palaeophytogeographic regionalization should be based on the characters of the various floras themselves. These characters include the types of the dominant floras, compositional patterns of various communities and existence of dominant genera or those genera and species characteristic of a region.2. The palaeogeographic positions of the floras in geologic time should be considered.3. The distribution of the floras was influenced in three directions——latitudinal, longitudinal and vertical——in geological time.Formerly, a number of Chinese palaeobotanists based the palaeophytogeographic regionalization only on the factor of latitude, and neglected the characters of the floras themselves and the effect of their three-directional zonation. However the discovery of the Tianqiaoling flora(located at latitude 43.5°N in NE China) rich in fossils of Dipteridaceae and Cycadophyta, indicating tropic or subtropic conditions, and a comprehensive consideration of assigning the floras of southern Tibet on the basis of palaeomagnetism, plate tectonics, etc., suggest that the palaeophytogeographic regionalization is a rather complicated subject. As the climatic conditions controlling the growth of vegetation changed in three directions one should consider not only the effect of latitudinal change(which usually causes temperature variations from south to north), but also the effect of longitudinal change(which usually brings about variations in humidity from sea to inland) and moreover the effect of vertical or elevation change(which also leads to variations in temperature and humidity). At the same time, it is also necessary to take into consideration the actual palaeogeographic positions of the floras in geologic time.Therefore, it is suggested that the Late Triassic floras in China should be grouped into three floristic regions, namely.(1) the Northern Floristic Region with the Danaeopsis-Symopteris flora,(2) the Southern Floristic Region with the Dictyophyllum-Clathropteris flora, and(3) the Yaflung Zangbo River Floristic Region. It is inferred here that the floral characters of the 3rd region are similar to those of the Dicroidium-Lepidopleris flora growing on Gondwana land at that time.     

Late Triassic–Late Cretaceous accretion/subduction in the Taiwan region along the eastern margin of South China – evidence from zircon SHRIMP dating

To examine the tectonic history of the Taiwan segment of the eastern margin of South China, six rock samples from the Tailuko belt, the metamorphic basement of Taiwan, were selected for zircon SHRIMP dating. The aim was to identify evidence shedding light on the timing of the change from passive to active tectonics for this part of the continental margin since South China separated from the supercontinent of Rodinia. The results lead to two age groups, 190–200 and 88–90 Ma. These age groups, augmented by the previously published age data, suggest that they could have resulted from two Mesozoic accretion/subduction events. In addition, this mid‐late Mesozoic Tailuko belt might have also been reactivated and structurally complicated by the late Cenozoic collision/accretion of the Luzon arc with the Eurasian continent. Records of older tectonic events, such as those derived from the Japanese Islands, are absent in this metamorphic basement. An important finding of this study is the existence of the 191±10 Ma Talun metagranite, the oldest granitic intrusion ever reported in the Taiwan region and along the eastern coast area of South China. In spite of a large age uncertainty, the occurrence of this metagranite is not consistent with the apparent younging trend of Jurassic‐Cretaceous igneous activity toward the coastline in South China, and should be taken into consideration by future studies.     

The Late Proterozoic Trench-Basin-Arc System in the Northeastern Jiangxi-Southern Anhui Region

Proterozoic rocks in the northeastern Jiangxi-southern Anhui may fall into three rock associations whichbelong to different but interrelated tectono-palaeogeographic units. The field geological and petrochemicalcharacteristics of the northeastern Jiangxi-western Zhejiang volcanic zone indicate that it was once an islandarc zone. An analysis of the sedimentary characteristics of Proterozoic turbidites lying north of the zone has re-vealed the history of development of a back-arc basin. According to the type of the Proterozoic rock formationsouth of the zone, it may be deduced that the formation might represent the fore-arc and trench areas. Bymeans of various tectono-palaeogeographic analyses, the relation between the island arc zone and the back-arcbasin is inferred and the Late Proterozoic tectono-palaeogeographic development is discussed by using themodel of the trench-arc-basin system.     

Study on Paleoenvironment since Late GlacialEpoch in Lanzhou Area, China

The Hongzuisi Section in Lanzhou area is used to infer the paleoclimate since the late glacial epoch. Through combined analysis of organic carbon isotope and CaCO3 content, paleoenvironment evolution of Hongzuisi Section since the late glacial epoch is discussed. There were changes in both dry-moist and warm-cold. Especially the climate changes can be compared with synchronous sections of other areas, which provides useful information for our future forecast.     

Late Cretaceous arc igneous activity: the Eğrikar Monzogranite example

The geochemical and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope properties, as well as the Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma and Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U–Pb zircon age, of E?rikar Monzogranite in the eastern Pontides, are primarily investigated in this study with the aim of determining its magma source and geodynamic evolution. The U–Pb zircon age obtained from E?rikar Monzogranite is 78 ± 1.5 Ma, thereby re?ecting the age of monzogranite. The I-type E?rikar Monzogranite comprises quartz, plagioclase (An_35–45), orthoclase, muscovite, and biotite. The geochemical analyses of the E?rikar Monzogranite indicate being medium K calc-alkaline, peraluminous, and resembling magmatic arc granite. The E?rikar Monzogranite is enriched in large ion lithophile elements and light rare earth elements relative to high field strength elements. Chondrite-normalized rare earth element patterns have concave upward shapes (La_N/Yb_N 2.47–8.58) with pronounced negative Eu anomalies (Eu_N/Eu* = 0.29–0.65). Initial εNd_(i) values vary between 1.85 and 2.18 and initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values between 0.7048 and 0.7067. Fractionation of plagioclase, hornblende, and apatite played an important role in the evolution of E?rikar Monzogranite. The crystallization temperatures of the melts ranged from 770°C to 919°C based on zircon and apatite saturation temperatures. The geochemical and isotopic data suggest being generated by the partial melting of ma?c lower crustal sources.     

Paleoecology of Late Carboniferous Phylloid Algae in Southern Guizhou, SW China

Phylloid algae arc important rcef-builders in the late Carboniferous. This paper focuses on the paleoecology of phylloid algae in the Late Carboniferous on well-exposed reefs in Ziyun County, Guizhou Province. Phylloid algae growing closely packed arc attached via holdfast or similar structure to substrate. They were growing in environments such as shallow water, photic zone and below the wave base with medium energy currents. They have a variety of morphological forms, such as single cup-shaped, cabbage-shaped and clustering cup-shaped. The thalli arc of certain tenacity and intensity. In the areas dominated by phylloid algae, other marine orgam＇sms arc relatively scarce. Obviously, phylloid algae arc stronger competitors for living space than other co-occurring organisms.     

Study on Paleoenvironment since Late Glacial Epoch in Lznzhou Area,China

The Hongzuisi Section in Lanzhou area is used to infer the paleoclimate since the late gla-cial epoch.Through combined analysis of organic carbon isotope and CaCO3 content,paleoenvironment evolution of Hongzuisi Section since the late glacial epoch is discussed.Three were changes in both dry-moist and warm-cold.Especially the climate changes can be compared with synchronous sections of other areas,which provides useful information for our future forecast.     

Geological events of the Late Cretaceous–Early Paleogene in Western Kamchatka

The age ranges of Upper Cretaceous lithotectonic complexes of Western Kamchatka—terrigenous Kikhchik, volcanic Irunei, and terrigenous Omgon—are analyzed to reveal their almost simultaneous deposition. The pre-Cenozoic settings of these complexes are reconstructed. Based on analysis of the composition and structural features of Late Cretaceous lithotectonic complexes and on correlation of events, the Late Cretaceous paleogeography is reconstructed. It is found that the formation of the contemporary structure of the studied region would have required significant displacement of the volcanic Irunei complex from west to east and the terrigenous Omgon complex from north to south. It is concluded that the Western Kamchatka continental block (minor lithospheric plate) was independent in the Late Cretaceous.