The correlation and sequence architecture of the Ormskirk Sandstone Formation in the Triassic Sherwood Sandstone Group of the East Irish Sea Basin,NW England

The existing stratigraphic nomenclature applied to the Early and Middle Triassic Sherwood Sandstone Group in NW England has resulted from more than 150 years of geological investigation, but is characterized by a lithostratigraphic system that is insufficiently flexible to allow for variations in lithology and sedimentary facies within a continental depositional system. A revised well correlation based on the detrital mineralogical and chemical composition of the Ormskirk Sandstone Formation in four offshore wells, that is then extended to provide near‐basin‐wide well correlations using a regional shale marker, confirms previously suggested but unproven diachroneity at the top of the Sherwood Sandstone Group. It also reveals the presence of incised valleys filled by stacked amalgamated fluvial channel sandstones and cut into previously deposited aeolian and sandflat sequences as well as older fluvial channel sandstones. The combination of well correlations indicates that the valleys were incised by a fluvial system flowing NW from the Cheshire Basin into the East Irish Sea Basin and then west towards the Peel and Kish Bank basins. The stratal geometry of the upper part of the Sherwood Sandstone Group is suggested to conform to models of climatically mediated alternations of fluvial degradation and aggradation in response to changes in the relationship between sediment flux and stream discharge. This model is supported in the Sherwood Sandstone Group by climatically driven variations in the non‐channelized facies which record upward wetting and drying cycles that can be locally tied to fluvial incision surfaces, and suggest a hierarchy of at least three levels of climatic cyclicity recorded within the sedimentary succession. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Provenance and tectonic setting of the Jurassic Huayacocotla Formation and Alamitos Sandstone,Central Mexico

We present a modified model for the paleogeographic evolution of Mexico during Early and Late Jurassic time that is constrained by the tectonic setting and the weathering conditions of the Early Jurassic Huayacocotla Formation and Late Jurassic Alamitos Sandstone basins in state San Luis Potosí in central Mexico. Framework petrography constrains feldspato-quartzose sandstone (mean of Q₆₈F₂₂L₁₀) and litho-quartzose (mean of Q₇₅F₆L₁₉) sandstone compositions for the two units, respectively. The abundant lithic fragments are totally dominated by volcanic fragments. Quartz cathodoluminescence colours and textures from the Alamitos Sandstone supports a large input of volcanic material, but also indicates the presence of metamorphic quartz. Similarly, the geochemical composition is more mafic for the Huayacocotla Formation (Th/Sc: ˜0.6 and Cr/Th: ˜10) than for the Alamitos Sandstone (Th/Sc: ˜1.1 and Cr/Th: ˜48). Also the weathering conditions were less intense during the Early (CIA: ˜60, PIA: ˜61) than the Late Jurassic (CIA ˜85, PIA ˜97). Well preserved lithic fragments and feldspar grains, particularly in the Huayacocotla Formation, indicate that weathering indeed was minor for this unit. We interpret the difference between the two units as a combined result of climate change and tectonic setting. During the Early Jurassic, transport of volcanic detritus probably dominated from the active Nazas arc in the west. Later, additional sources from the metamorphic basement of Mexico were included. During Late Jurassic time strike-slip faulting related to the opening of the Gulf of Mexico may have re-directed the sediment-transport systems. Finally, the degree of weathering was affected by drastic climatic change from arid to humid tropical conditions during the Middle to Upper Jurassic, possibly related to the first incursions of Gulf of Mexico marine environments linked to the rotation of the Yucatan block.     

Provenance, Tectonic Setting and Geochemistry of Ahwaz Sandstone Member (Asmari Formation, Oligo-Miocene), Marun Oilfield, Zagros Basin, SW Iran

The Asmari Formation deposited in the Zagros foreland basin during the OligoceneMiocene. Lithologically, the Asmari Formation consists of limestone, dolomitic limestone, dolomite, argillaceous limestone, some anhydrite(Kalhur Member) and sandstones(Ahwaz Member). This study is based on the analysis of core samples from four subsurface sections(wells Mn-68, Mn-281, Mn-292 and Mn-312) in the Marun Oilfield in the Dezful embayment subzone in order to infer their provenance and tectonic setting of the Ahwaz Sandstone Member. Petrographical data reveal that the Ahwaz Sandstone comprises 97.5% quartz, 1.6% feldspar, and 0.9% rock fragments and all samples are classified as quartz arenites. The provenance and tectonic setting of the Ahwaz Sandstone have been assessed using integrated petrographic and geochemical studies. Petrographic analysis reveals that mono- and poly-crystalline quartz grains from metamorphic and igneous rocks of a craton interior setting were the dominant sources. Chemically, major and trace element concentrations in the rocks of the Ahwaz Sandstone indicate deposition in a passive continental margin setting. As indicated by the CIW′ index(chemical index of weathering) of the Ahwaz Sandstone(average value of 82) their source area underwent "intense" recycling but "moderate to high" degree of chemical weathering. The petrography and geochemistry results are consistent with a tropical, humid climate and low-relief highlands.     

An ichthyosaur (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) specimen from the Lower Cretaceous (Berriasian) Spilsby Sandstone Formation of Nettleton,Lincolnshire, UK

A fragmentary ichthyosaur specimen collected in situ at Castle Top Quarry in Nettleton, Lincolnshire, UK from exposures of the Lower Cretaceous (Berriasian) Spilsby Sandstone Formation (Subcraspedites ?preplicomphalus Zone) is reported. In general, Early Cretaceous ichthyosaurs from the Berriasian to Barremian are poorly understood. Despite the fragmentary nature of the described specimen, it is the first ichthyosaur reported from this specific zone and adds to the literature another rare ichthyosaur from the Berriasian.     

神木—双山地区太原组桥头砂岩沉积特征及演化

在对砂岩的岩石学、粒度分析、地球化学、沉积构造、垂向层序、测井曲线及沉积体系展布等资料分析的基础上,研究了鄂尔多斯盆地神木-双山地区太原组桥头砂岩沉积特征,探讨了砂体沉积演化过程,建立了桥头砂岩沉积模式。桥头砂岩形成于相对海平面下降时期的辫状河-浅水三角洲沉积体系,陆源碎屑物质被河流不断向南搬运充填入盆地中,形成辫状河、浅水三角洲、障壁砂坝-潟湖-潮坪、陆表浅海在空间上共存的岩相古地理格局。     

Variable character and diverse origin of hybrid event beds in a sandy submarine fan system,Pennsylvanian Ross Sandstone Formation,western Ireland

Hybrid event beds comprising both clean and mud‐rich sandstone are important components of many deep‐water systems and reflect the passage of turbulent sediment gravity flows with zones of clay‐damped or suppressed turbulence. ‘Behind‐outcrop’ cores from the Pennsylvanian deep‐water Ross Sandstone Formation reveal hybrid event beds with a wide range of expression in terms of relative abundance, character and inferred origin. Muddy hybrid event beds first appear in the underlying Clare Shale Formation where they are interpreted as the distal run‐out of the wakes to flows which deposited most of their sand up‐dip before transforming to fluid mud. These are overlain by unusually thick (up to 4·4 m), coarse sandy hybrid event beds (89% of the lowermost Ross Formation by thickness) that record deposition from outsized flows in which transformations were driven by both substrate entrainment in the body of the flow and clay fractionation in the wake. A switch to dominantly fine‐grained sand was accompanied initially by the arrest of turbulence‐damped, mud‐rich flows with evidence for transitional flow conditions and thick fluid mud caps. The mid and upper Ross Formation contain metre‐scale bed sets of hybrid event beds (21 to 14%, respectively) in (i) upward‐sandying bed set associations immediately beneath amalgamated sheet or channel elements; (ii) stacked thick‐bedded and thin‐bedded hybrid event bed‐dominated bed sets; (iii) associations of hybrid event bed‐dominated bed sets alternating with conventional turbidites; and (iv) rare outsized hybrid event beds. Hybrid event bed dominance in the lower Ross Formation may reflect significant initial disequilibrium, a bias towards large‐volume flows in distal sectors of the basin, extensive mud‐draped slopes and greater drop heights promoting erosion. Higher in the formation, hybrid event beds record local perturbations related to channel switching, lobe relocations and extension of channels across the fan surface. The Ross Sandstone Formation confirms that hybrid event beds can form in a variety of ways, even in the same system, and that different flow transformation mechanisms may operate even during the passage of a single flow.     

南京附近高骊山砂岩之再研究

<正> 高骊山砂岩系1931年朱森创名。创名剖面在句容高骊山南坡。详细分层描述见于1935年李毓尧、李捷、朱森著“宁镇山脉地质”一书(209页)。1932年李四光、朱森将和州灰岩(上)和高骊山系(下)代表龙潭一带的下石炭统上部。1956年“中国区域地层表(草案)补编”一书中首称高骊山组。我们认为:高骊山组与高骊山系含义相似,后者为大塘     

Ichnology and Depositional Environment of the Cambrian Nagaur Sandstone (Nagaur Group) Along the Dulmera Section,Bikaner-Nagaur Basin,Rajasthan

Abstract: The Lower Cambrian Nagaur Sandstone (Marwar Supergroup) has yielded trace fossils Treptichnus, Cruziana, serially repeated Rusophycus, Diplichnites, Monomorphichnus, Bergaueria, arthropod swimming traces and leap frogging marks of Cruziana ichnofacies. This ichnofossils assemblage is dominantly preserved in fine to medium grained red sandstone beds of the Mohra Member (Nagaur Sandstone). The presence of graded rip-up clasts, current ripples, dune cross-stratification with mud drapes and tidal bundles indicates a subtidal paleoenvironment for the deposition of Nagaur Sandstone Formation, which is corroborated by the Cruziana ichnofacies trace fossil assemblage.     

Mapping a coastal transition in braided systems: an example from the Precipice Sandstone,Surat Basin

The Precipice Sandstone is traditionally interpreted as a braided fluvial deposit that transitions upwards into meandering channel deposits responding to a rise in base level that eventually deposits the overlying alluvial to lacustrine Evergreen Formation. This study found sedimentary evidence of tidal to marine influence within the Precipice Sandstone coincident with avulsion and diversion of the system from southward to northward-flowing channels as the system was transgressed. The north-flowing channels are interpreted to debouch into a shallow restricted marine embayment with tide and wave influence, which provides an alternative insight into this unit and suggests a Lower Jurassic north or northeasterly marine connection. The Precipice Sandstone is a regional aquifer, in places hosts hydrocarbons and has been considered as a storage unit for CO₂ geosequestration. Outcrop analogues can provide geometries to accompany facies interpreted from sedimentary structures that are observable in core, to assist in characterising reservoir heterogeneity.     

The Carboniferous sequence in the Gloucester‐Myall Lake area,New South Wales

The stratigraphic succession of formations in the Myall district comprises in ascending order the Bunyah Beds, Wallanbah Formation, Kataway Mudstone, Boolambayte Formation (new names), Nerong Volcanics (E'ngel, 1962), Booti Booti Sandstone, Yagon Siltstone, Koolanock Sandstone, Muirs Creek Conglomerate (new names) and Alum Mountain Volcanics (Engel, 1962). The units range in age from possibly Devonian to possibly Permian, most being Carboniferous. The Mograni (new name), Tugrabakh (Voisey, 1940) and Mayers Flat Limestones (new name) are members of the Wallanbah Formation. The Violet Hill Volcanics (new name) is a member of the Yagon Siltstone. The Burdekins Gap Basalt Member and Lakes Road Rhyolite are members of the Alum Mountain Volcanics.

Environments of deposition range from nonmarine (Nerong Volcanics, Alum Mountain Volcanics, Muirs Creek Conglomerate, upper part of Koolanock Sandstone) through shallow marine (Booti Booti Sandstone, lower part of Koolanock Sandstone, calcareous parts of Wallanbah Formation) to deep marine (most other units). Facies relationships indicate a progressive deepening of the sedimentary environment to the east throughout most of the Carboniferous sequence. The Tournaisian sequence is readily correlated with a similar sequence in the Rocky Creek and Belvue Synclines. Higher units are correlated with sequences at Gloucester (Campbell & McKelvey, 1972) and Booral (Campbell, 1962).     

Provenance, diagenesis, tectonic setting and geochemistry of Tawil Sandstone (Lower Devonian) in Central Saudi Arabia

The Tawil Sandstone (Lower Devonian) in Central Saudi Arabia overlies the Sharwara Member of the Tayyarat Formation (Silurian) and succeeded conformly by the Shaiba Member of the Jauf Formation. Petrographical data reveal that the Tawil Sandstone comprises 96% quartz, 3% feldspar, and 1% rock fragments and all samples are classified as quartz arenites. The presence of well sorted, altered to fresh feldspar, and discriminate function analysis suggests that the sediments have been subjected to substartial reworking resulting in a high level of maturity. Modal analysis data (Q–F–L) suggest a stable cratonic provenance for the sediments and accumulation in a passive margin basin is indicated (binary plot of SiO₂ vs K₂O/Na₂O). Diagenetic features include dissolution of feldspar and rock fragments, compaction, reduction of the existing pore space through rearrangements, and rotation and fragmentation of grains resulting in dissolution of quartz grains and cementation.     

Archosaur remains from the Otter Sandstone Formation (Middle Triassic, late Anisian) of Devon, southern UK

A new jaw from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) Otter Sandstone Formation of Devon confirms the existence of a derived archosaur (avesuchian). Numerous isolated teeth and vertebrae had already suggested the presence of archosaurs in the Otter Sandstone Formation, presumed predators on the fauna of temnospondyls, procolophonids, and rhynchosaurs, but the new fossil is the first to show some diagnostic characters. Other elements in the same block as the jaw, but not necessarily from the same animal, include a possible skull or pelvic bone, a slender long bone, a small tooth (perhaps prolacertiform), and two presumed archosaur dermal scutes. An additional scute is present, as well as the probable distal end of a pubis, perhaps from a large poposauroid archosaur like the Anisian-age Bromsgroveia or Arizonasaurus. The jaw and pubis represent animals of very different sizes, some 0.8 m and 3 m long in estimated body length respectively.     

扬子区奥陶纪宝塔组的划分

李四光（１９２４）在长江三峡建立的宝塔石灰岩是一个符合《国际地层指南》原则的组级岩石地层单位,其原始定义应予恢复。那些后来从中肢解出来的牯牛潭组、庙坡组、宝塔组（狭义）、临湘组则应降为次一级的岩石地层单位——段。因为段名与组名不能重复使用,而宝塔一名已被组名所占用,故提出普溪河段代替宝塔段。普溪河段与过去使用的狭义宝塔组定义相同,它的层型剖面在湖北省宜昌县分乡镇北普溪河桥南端     

再论卡以头组

“卡以头组”和“卡以头砂页层”两个岩石地层单位关系密切 ,但含义不完全相同。卡以头组名称在首次公开发表时 ,指明标准剖面符合地层规范要求。在多条剖面上卡以头组下部含有原地保存的植物 Gigantopteris和Pecopteris及中生代孢粉化石 ,故卡以头组下部有二叠纪地层 ,卡以头组是一跨二叠纪—三叠纪的岩石地层单位。     

Sedimentology and depositional environments of the Ordovician Umm Sahm Sandstone Formation in southern Jordan

The Ordovician Umm Sahm Sandstone Formation of Jordan comprises approximately 200-m-thick succession of fluvial quartzarenites with subordinate claystone and siltstone lithologies of shallow marine conditions. The Umm Sahm Formation is characterized by its dark brown color, frequent jointing, and steep scarps. The Umm Sahm Formation is bounded by the marine claystones of Hiswah Formation at the top and the fluvial sandstones of the Disi Formation at the bottom. The Umm Sahm Formation is composed of two main facies: fluvial facies and tidal facies. The fluvial facies constitutes about 93% of the total thickness. The lower few meters of the succession passes upward from the Disi Sandstone Formation into similar massive white sandstone facies exhibiting similar white color, fine- to coarse-grained sandstone, with round-shaped pebbles. Trough and planar cross-bedding show a northwest unidirectional palaeocurrent trend. Light brown colored quartzarenites similar to those of the Cambrian Umm Ishrin Sandstone Formation are most common in the upper part of the succession. The tidal facies occupies three intervals in the middle part of the succession. It is composed of laminated and thin-bedded sandstones, siltstones, and claystones. They are rippled and varicolored with abundant trace fossils (Cruziana, Harlania, ruzophycus). The presence of hummocky cross stratification indicates the earliest short-lived tempestite conditions during the Paleozoic erathem of Jordan. The first appearance of Graptolites in the Ordovician rocks of Jordan was recorded during this study in the tidal facies of the Umm Sahm Formation. The vertical arrangement of both fluvial and tidal facies indicates three successive short-lived transgressions and regressions. These marine incursions indicate the successive shoreline advances of the Tethys Ocean, which was located northward, and inundated the southern braid plain. The three short-lived transgressive events took place, and the Tethys marine margin was displaced southward, giving rise to deposition of tidal facies in an open coast tidal flat. Following the transgressive events, renewed progradation and strandline retreat took place, fed by large amounts of siliciclastics derived from the continent and transported by braided streams across the intertidal zone.     

Review of Lopingian (upper Permian) stratigraphy of the Galilee Basin,Queensland, Australia

The recent increase in exploration activity in the Galilee Basin, Queensland, has highlighted inconsistencies in the usage of Lopingian (upper Permian) stratigraphic nomenclature across the basin. This study utilised peer-reviewed journal, company and government publications to evaluate the current understanding of the naming conventions in use and correlated them to nomenclature in the adjacent Bowen Basin. The prominent misinterpretation is between the stratigraphic relationship and terminology of the northern and western Betts Creek beds and its eastern and southern correlatives the Bandanna Formation and Colinlea Sandstone. The correlation between the units has been assessed from a (1) lithological, (2) sedimentological and (3) coal-seam architectural perspective. The Betts Creek beds appear similar to the Colinlea Sandstone in their lithology and sedimentological character, but increased drilling data suggest the original type-sections no longer fit the heterogeneous lithology of correlated strata bearing that nomenclature. Correlation across the Springsure Shelf into the Bowen Basin suggests that the Betts Creek beds and their subdivisions are in fact equivalent to the Bandanna Formation, the Fort Cooper Coal Measures (the Burngrove and Fair Hill formations) and the Moranbah Coal Measures. A revised stratigraphic column for the Galilee Basin has been proposed to reflect this, and to suggest that a new stratigraphic unit be introduced; the ‘Fort Cooper Coal Measures equivalent’ and its subdivisions the ‘Burngrove and Fair Hill formation equivalents.’     

Caledonide influences on the Old Red Sandstone fluvial systems of the Oslo Region,Norway

Red or buff‐coloured sandstones and siltstones of fluvial origin comprise approximately 80% of the Ringerike Group, a late Silurian Old Red Sandstone (ORS) sequence that crops out extensively in the Oslo Region of southern Norway. These fluvial sediments are lithostratigraphically ascribed to two laterally equivalent formations—the Stubdal Formation (to the north of Oslo) and the Skien Formation (to the south of Oslo). The fluvial strata of each of the two formations have a distinct style of sandbody geometry, facies, provenance, and palaeocurrent direction. Within the Stubdal Formation, shallow channelized sandbodies, low‐ to upper‐flow regime sedimentary structures, a Caledonide provenance and a palaeoflow toward the southeast are evident. Within the Skien Formation, sandbody geometry is entirely sheet form, with upper‐flow regime sedimentary structures, a provenance from Precambrian rocks to the northern and local parts of the Oslo Region and a palaeoflow toward the east. No stratal contact can be seen between the two fluvial formations, due to a 15 km break in exposure between the southernmost Stubdal Formation and the northernmost Skien Formation. Relationships with adjacent formations indicate that they are diachronous, lateral equivalents. Given the abrupt change in sedimentary style between the two formations, it is proposed that a barrier had developed within the foreland basin, diverting the ORS fluvial systems in southern Norway, from a southward (north of Oslo), to an eastward direction (south of Oslo). This diversion had implications for depositional gradient, fluvial regime and provenance, resulting in the differences visible in the deposits of those rivers. The barrier invoked is arguably a Caledonide blind thrust fault that developed a topographic high, running east–west through the vicinity of Oslo, during the late Silurian. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lithostratigraphy and depositional environment of the Permian Nowra Sandstone in the southwestern Sydney Basin,Australia

Lithofacies in the mid‐Permian Nowra Sandstone indicate a middle/upper shoreface to foreshore environment of deposition under the influence of storm‐generated waves and north‐northeasterly directed longshore currents. Palaeogeographic reconstruction for the Nowra Sandstone portrays a sand‐dominated high energy shelf and offshore shoal forming a sequence thickening seaward away from the western shore of the Sydney Basin. The shoal‐crest at the outer edge of the shelf trends north‐northeast. It is characterized by fine‐ to medium‐grained sandstone with upper flow regime structures and a high proportion of conglomerate, whereas coarser sandstone with lower energy bedforms occurs along the seaward side of the shoal. In the deeper water to the east, the lower Nowra Sandstone becomes rapidly thinner as it passes seaward, via bioturbated storm redeposited sandstone beds, into the shelf deposits of the Wandrawandian Siltstone. This sequence accumulated during a regressive event and the base of the formation becomes progressively younger eastward. The sand may have been supplied by rivers along the western coast but the major source was south of the study area. The lower Nowra Sandstone is separated from the upper part of the formation by an extensive ravinement surface overlain by the Purnoo Conglomerate Member. In contrast to the lower unit, the upper Nowra Sandstone forms a westward thickening wedge that represents a backstepping nearshore sand facies that accumulated during a transgression. The upper Nowra Sandstone passes vertically and laterally eastward into the Berry Siltstone. Thus both boundaries of the Nowra Sandstone are diachronous, first younging eastward and then westward as a response to a regressive‐transgressive episode.     

论塔里木盆地“东河砂岩”的地质时代

系统总结了关于近年来塔里木盆地重要储油层——“东河砂岩”年代研究所取得的主要进展 ,包括 1)“东河砂岩”中发现晚泥盆世孢子和胴甲鱼化石 ;　 2 )含砾砂岩段发现晚泥盆世盾皮鱼化石 ;　 3)下泥岩段下部发现晚泥盆世孢子 ;　 4 )下泥岩段上部和生屑灰岩段分别发现石炭纪初期第一、二孢子组合带 ;　 5 )生屑灰岩段发现石炭纪初期的牙形刺 ;　 6 )化学 -生物地层学研究结果指示 ,泥盆系 -石炭系界线应在“东河砂岩”顶面之上。据此 ,“东河砂岩”的时代应为泥盆纪。