Detrital zircon age constraints on depositional history and provenance of the Murihiku Supergroup,Murihiku Terrane,North Island,New Zealand

In the Murihiku Terrane of New Zealand, U-Pb detrital zircon ages in Murihiku Supergroup sandstones of Late Triassic, Jurassic and possibly earliest Cretaceous age have a marked youngest age component that is close to, and sometimes coincident with, established biostratigraphic ages, thus reflecting contemporary volcanism. However, youngest Huriwai Group samples yield 137–142 Ma zircon age components (earliest Early Cretaceous) in conflict with palynofloras that suggest only a latest Jurassic age. This is resolved if the age of the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary is lowered to ca. 140 Ma. Older, reworked zircons are mainly Early Jurassic, Late Triassic and Late Permian reflecting an enduring exhumed magmatic arc source nearby. This might be in the adjacent Median Batholith but as a Murihiku sediment source its Jurassic, Triassic and Permian elements are not well-matched in terms of extent, age and bulk compositions. A connection between the Murihiku (proximal forearc) and Waipapa Composite (distal accretionary wedge) terranes is probable, with a common magmatic arc, speculatively situated in the New England Orogen, eastern Australia.     

New Zealand's Geological Foundations

New Zealand is a fragment of Gondwana that, before Late Cretaceous sea floor spreading, was contiguous with Australia and Antarctica. Only about 10% of the area of continental crust in the wider New Zealand region (Zealandia) is emergent above sea level as the North and South Islands. No Precambrian cratonic core is exposed in onland New Zealand. The Cambrian to Early Cretaceous basement can be described in terms of nine major volcano-sedimentary terranes, three composite regional batholiths, and three regional metamorphic-tectonic belts that overprint the terranes and batholiths.The terranes (from west to east) are: Buller, Takaka, Brook Street, Murihiku, Maitai, Caples, Bay of Islands (part of former Waipapa), Rakaia (older Torlesse) and Pahau (younger Torlesse). The western terranes are intruded by three composite batholith (>100 km²) sized belts of plutons: Karamea-Paparoa, Hohonu and Median, as well as by numerous smaller plutons. Median Batholith (including the Median Tectonic Zone) is a recently-recognised Cordilleran batholith that represents the site of subduction-related magmatism from ca. 375–110 Ma. Parts of the terranes and batholiths are variably metamorphosed and deformed: Devonian and Cretaceous amphibolite-granulite facies gneisses are present in Buller, Takaka, Median and Karamea-Paparoa units; Jurassic-Cretaceous subgreenschist-amphibolite facies Haast Schist overprints the Caples, Bay of Islands and Rakaia Terranes; Cretaceous subgreenschist facies Esk Head and Whakatane Mélanges bound the Pahau Terrane. In the South Island, small areas (<5 km² total) of Devonian, Permian, Triassic and Jurassic Gondwana sequences have been identified. In the North Island a widespread Late Jurassic overlap sequence, Waipa Supergroup (part of former Waipapa Terrane), has recently been proposed.     

Diagenesis and very low-grade metamorphism of volcaniclastic sandstones from contrasting geodynamic environments, North Island, New Zealand: the Murihiku and Waipapa terranes

Abstract The Mesozoic Murihiku and Waipapa terranes are two accretionary wedges of linked forearc and trench sediments, respectively, that were juxtaposed in the early Cretaceous.
Late Triassic to late Jurassic Murihiku terrane volcaniclastic sediments are folded into a regional syncline and have been diagenetically altered. There is a general relationship between zeolite occurrence, clay mineralogy, vitrinite reflectance and stratigraphic position. Youngest Jurassic sediments contain heulandite, analcime and stilbite, whereas late Triassic to mid-Jurassic sediments have laumontite and heulandite (in detail the zeolite distribution is complicated). Tuffaceous horizons on the eastern limb of the syncline are calcitized rather than zeolitized. Post-diagenetic fractures associated with uplift are laumontite-filled. The inferred geothermal gradient is c. 15° C km⁻¹.
The Waipapa terrane is an accretionary complex dominated by imbricated terrigenous sediments of Triassic and Jurassic age with enclosed Permian to Jurassic pelagic sediments and basalts. Late Jurassic sediments are massive volaniclastic sandstones. The sediments are non-foliated, and metamorphic minerals in the massive sandstones have crystallized in specific domains. The observed metamorphic succession of prehnite-pumpellyite and pumpellyite-actinolite facies assemblages was overprinted in the imbricated rocks during a thermal event that was late in the deformation sequence and broadly coincident with hydraulic fracturing and veining.
The metamorphic successions in the two terranes and their relationships to structural features are in excellent accord with accretionary complex models.     

Depositional history and stratigraphical evolution of the Sakamena group (Middle Karoo Supergroup) in the southern Morondava Basin, Madagascar

The Karoo Supergroup in Madagascar is subdivided into three lithostratigraphical units: the Late Carboniferous-Early Permian Sakoa Group; the Late Permian-Middle Triassic Sakamena Group; and the Triassic-Early Jurassic Isalo Group. The Sakamena Group is fairly well exposed in the southern Morondava Basin, where it is approximately 4000 m thick. The Sakamena Group is separated from the Sakoa Group by an angular unconformity. The Lower Sakamena Formation is characterised by two major facies associations: (1) interbedded muddy conglomerates and coarse sandstones; and (2) interbedded sandstones and mudstones, which were deposited in a rejuvenated rift setting by coarse-grained fluvial systems and debris flows on the rift margins. In the Vatambe area, facies represent fandelta deposition in a saline lake or tongue of the ocean. The Middle Sakamena Formation comprises three major facies: (1) laminated mudstones and sandstones; (2) sandstones; and (3) mudstones. The Middle Sakamena facies were deposited by low gradient meandering streams and in shallow lakes. The Upper Sakamena Formation was deposited in similar environments, except that it is comprised predominantly of red beds. The Isalo Group consists predominantly of coarse-grained sandstones (up to 6000 m thick). These sandstones were deposited by braided streams with the coarse detritus derived from a structural uplift in the east.     

Sedimentary response to the paleogeographic and tectonic evolution of the southern North China Craton during the late Paleozoic and Mesozoic

With the aim of constraining the influence of the surrounding plates on the Late Paleozoic–Mesozoic paleogeographic and tectonic evolution of the southern North China Craton (NCC), we undertook new U–Pb and Hf isotope data for detrital zircons obtained from ten samples of upper Paleozoic to Mesozoic sediments in the Luoyang Basin and Dengfeng area. Samples of upper Paleozoic to Mesozoic strata were obtained from the Taiyuan, Xiashihezi, Shangshihezi, Shiqianfeng, Ermaying, Shangyoufangzhuang, Upper Jurassic unnamed, and Lower Cretaceous unnamed formations (from oldest to youngest). On the basis of the youngest zircon ages, combined with the age-diagnostic fossils, and volcanic interlayer, we propose that the Taiyuan Formation (youngest zircon age of 439 Ma) formed during the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian, the Xiashihezi Formation (276 Ma) during the Early Permian, the Shangshihezi (376 Ma) and Shiqianfeng (279 Ma) formations during the Middle–Late Permian, the Ermaying Group (232 Ma) and Shangyoufangzhuang Formation (230 and 210 Ma) during the Late Triassic, the Jurassic unnamed formation (154 Ma) during the Late Jurassic, and the Cretaceous unnamed formation (158 Ma) during the Early Cretaceous. These results, together with previously published data, indicate that: (1) Upper Carboniferous–Lower Permian sandstones were sourced from the Northern Qinling Orogen (NQO); (2) Lower Permian sandstones were formed mainly from material derived from the Yinshan–Yanshan Orogenic Belt (YYOB) on the northern margin of the NCC with only minor material from the NQO; (3) Middle–Upper Permian sandstones were derived primarily from the NQO, with only a small contribution from the YYOB; (4) Upper Triassic sandstones were sourced mainly from the YYOB and contain only minor amounts of material from the NQO; (5) Upper Jurassic sandstones were derived from material sourced from the NQO; and (6) Lower Cretaceous conglomerate was formed mainly from recycled earlier detritus.The provenance shift in the Upper Carboniferous–Mesozoic sediments within the study area indicates that the YYOB was strongly uplifted twice, first in relation to subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean Plate beneath the northern margin of the NCC during the Early Permian, and subsequently in relation to collision between the southern Mongolian Plate and the northern margin of the NCC during the Late Triassic. The three episodes of tectonic uplift of the NQO were probably related to collision between the North and South Qinling terranes, northward subduction of the Mianlue Ocean Plate, and collision between the Yangtze Craton and the southern margin of the NCC during the Late Carboniferous–Early Permian, Middle–Late Permian, and Late Jurassic, respectively. The southern margin of the central NCC was rapidly uplifted and eroded during the Early Cretaceous.     

Origin of dispersed Permian–Triassic fore-arc basin terranes in New Zealand: Insights from zircon petrochronology

Permian–Triassic fore-arc basin terranes are exposed in New Zealand, but their original positions and tectonic configurations along the eastern Gondwanan margin are not fully understood. To better constrain late Paleozoic and Mesozoic reconstructions, we investigated the provenance of Permian–Triassic marine sandstone units from the Dun Mountain-Maitai Terrane (Maitai Group) and the Kaka Point Structural Belt (Willsher Group). The recognition of abundant volcanic lithic fragments in the sandstone samples, combined with the pattern of detrital zircon ages (unimodal to bimodal 280–240 Ma age distribution), demonstrate that the upper Permian to Middle Triassic volcaniclastic successions were derived from a proximal arc source. The detrital zircon age spectra match magmatic pulses in the adjacent Tuhua Intrusives (Median Batholith), a conclusion similar to that recently proposed for the Brook Street Terrane (Grampian Formation) and Murihiku Terrane (Murihiku Supergroup). Trace-element data from the dated zircon grains provide further evidence for a Median Batholith source and cross-terrane provenance links. The data indicate that 275–230 Ma zircon grains from the Maitai Group, Willsher Group, and Murihiku Supergroup were derived from a common magmatic source, and that the late Permian Longwood Suite (261–252 Ma) in the Median Batholith was a source region for these terranes. Based on the cross-terrane provenance links, we suggest that the Brook Street and Murihiku terranes were deposited in the proximal part of a fore-arc basin, whereas the Dun Mountain-Maitai Terrane represents the distal part of the same basin. Sedimentation in the Maitai Group ceased during the Middle Triassic (∼238 Ma), likely in response to a period of orogenesis at 235–230 Ma (Gondwanide Orogeny) that is widely recognized throughout the southwest Pacific.     

Provenance comparisons between the Nambucca Block,Eastern Australia and the Torlesse Composite Terrane,New Zealand: connections and implications from detrital zircon age patterns

Detrital zircon U–Pb LAM-ICPMS age patterns for sandstones from the mid-Permian –Triassic part (Rakaia Terrane) of the accretionary wedge forming the Torlesse Composite Terrane in Otago, New Zealand, and from the early Permian Nambucca Block of the New England Orogen, eastern Australia, constrain the development of the early Gondwana margin. In Otago, the Triassic Torlesse samples have a major (64%), younger group of Permian–Early Triassic age components at ca 280, 255 and 240 Ma, and a minor (30%) older age group with a Precambrian–early Paleozoic range (ca 1000, 600 and 500 Ma). In Permian sandstones nearby, the younger, Late Permian age components are diminished (30%) with respect to the older Precambrian–early Paleozoic age group, which now also contains major (50%) and unusual Carboniferous age components at ca 350–330 Ma. Sandstones from the Nambucca Block, an early Permian extensional basin in the southern New England Orogen, follow the Torlesse pattern: the youngest. Early Permian age components are minor (<20%) and the overall age patterns are dominated (40%) by Carboniferous age components (ca 350–320 Ma). These latter zircons are inherited from either the adjacent Devonian–Carboniferous accretionary wedge (e.g. Texas-Woolomin and Coffs Harbour Blocks) or the forearc basin (Tamworth Belt) farther to the west, in which volcaniclastic-dominated sandstone units have very similar pre-Permian (principally Carboniferous) age components. This gradual variation in age patterns from Devonian–late Carboniferous time in Australia to Late Permian–mid-Cretaceous time in New Zealand suggests an evolutionary model for the Eastern Gondwanaland plate margin and the repositioning of its subduction zone. (1) A Devonian to Carboniferous accretionary wedge in the New England Orogen developing at a (present-day) Queensland position until late in the Carboniferous. (2) Early Permian outboard repositioning of the primary, magmatic arc allowing formation of extensional basins throughout the New England Orogen. (3) Early to mid-Permian translocation of the accretionary wedge and more inboard active-margin elements, southwards to their present position. This was accompanied by oroclinal bending which allowed the initiation of a new, late Permian to Early Triassic accretionary wedge (eventually the Torlesse Composite Terrane of New Zealand) in an offshore Queensland position. (4) Jurassic–Cretaceous development of this accretionary wedge offshore, in northern Zealandia, with southwards translation of the various constituent terranes of the Torlesse Composite Terrane to their present New Zealand position.     

The Otago schist megaculmination: Its possible origins and tectonic significance in the Rangitata orogen of New Zealand

In South Island, New Zealand, the Otago schist, 30,000 square km in extent, consists mainly of greenschist facies quartzo-feldspathic metagreywacke and meta-argillite with minor metavolcanics and metacherts. Before metamorphism the sediments were probably Carboniferous to Jurassic; the flanking, steeply dipping greywackes are Triassic in the northeast and southeast, and Permian in the west and southwest.Regional metamorphism culminating in the Late Jurassic was accompanied by pervasive deformation generating a variety of interrelated folds on all scales. The scarcity of distinctive reference units makes recognition of macroscopic structures difficult, and much progress has depended on observations of vergence of mesoscopic folds interpreted as defining macroscopic folds having axial plane separation of between 2 km and 6 km.At least two phases of synmetamorphic deformation are distinguishable locally, but regionally have an overlapping multiphase relationship. The regional schistosity structure is an irregular flat-crested antiform trending S and SE. The internal megascopic structure defined by the mesoscopic folds, appears to consist of a stack of nappe-folds facing east and northeast, which pass into reclining isoclinal folds in the west, southwest and north-east, and is interpreted to be a megaculmination. Mineral and textural metamorphic zones were developed during deformation, and a relatively simple regional pattern established at a late stage by continuing recrystallisation.The Otago schist originated in a complex sequence of Paleozoic—Mesozoic plate interactions near the southwest Pacific margin of Gondwanaland. It included part of a volcaniclastic frontal arc-basin assemblage (Murihiku and Caples Terranes) lying north or northeast of an older crystalline foreland, and a quartzo-feldspathic assemblage of plutonic-metamorphic provenance lying further to the northeast (Torlesse Terrane). Parts of these terranes underwent mainly greenschist facies metamorphism during Late Jurassic subduction-collision to form the Haast Schist Terrane of which the Otago schist is a major part.The earliest Torlesse sediments are thought to have prograded as a vast fan complex onto oceanic crust from the southwesterly crystalline foreland in the Carboniferous, then in the Permian were separated from their source by a spreading zone which thereafter isolated them from the sedimentary province of the newly developing arc system. Tectonic recycling of these sediments at a Permian to Jurassic oceanic subduction zone is considered to have developed the westward progradation features and the products of limited vulcanism found in the present Torlesse Terrane. The New Zealand Geosyncline appears to have consisted of a spreading zone between two inwardly facing convergent zones, one flanked by a foreland to the southwest, the other wholly oceanic.The metamorphic climax of the Rangitata Orogeny was the result of the medial spreading zone passing into the westerly subduction zone, so permitting the convergent zones to collide, with the Torlesse sediments caught between them.The mantle system driving the spreading zone appears to have continued to function, and soon after the collisional climax caused Late Jurassic—Cretaceous rifting of the sialic edge of Gondwanaland, igneous activity, differential shear of the New Zealand region, and initiation of the Alpine Fault. It subsequently commenced sea-floor spreading in the Tasman Sea, and later in the southwest Pacific Ocean.     

Diversity of the Woody Vegetation of Gondwanan Southern Africa

The flora of Gondwanan southern Africa is represented in the rock record by micro-fossils, macro-fossils and petrified woods. All these types of fossils are seldom preserved together in any one particular facies because of taphonomic and preservational biases. In order to obtain as accurate a picture as possible of the woody vegetation, both the fossil woods and other macroplant fossils, such as leaf impressions, fructifications and cuticle, of woody plants, have been correlated. This was done for each Formation in the Karoo Supergroup in order to illustrate the changes in diversity of woody vegetation over time. Sediments of the Karoo Supergroup represent the terrestrial fossil record of the period Upper Carboniferous to the Lower Cretaceous when Africa finally separated from South America. In the Upper Carboniferous to Lower Permian (Dwyka Formation) there are at least five described genera of woods from South Africa and Namibia. Early to Middle Permian woods (Ecca Group) are a little more diverse with six genera, representing the glossopterids, cordaitaleans and possibly other seed fern groups. Late Permian to Early Triassic (Beaufort Group) woods show very little change in diversity in spite of the major floral and biotic turnover evident from the rest of the fossil record. Although the Late Triassic (Molteno Formation) macro-flora has been shown to be an example of explosive diversification, the generally poorly preserved woods do not reflect this. Lower Jurassic fossils (Clarens Formation) are also poorly preserved but have araucarian characteristics. Early Cretaceous woods represent the Araucariaceae, Cheirolepidiaceae and Podocarpaceae with a number of species. The diversity of the woods has not changed as much as the rest of the floral components in southern Africa from the Late Carboniferous to the Early Cretaceous. Possible reasons for this apparent stasis are the conservative nature of wood, functional restrictions, limitations of suitable conditions for petrifications and the fact that very little research has been done on southern African woods.     

Triassic–Jurassic granites on the Lord Howe Rise,northern Zealandia

We present U–Pb zircon ages from a phosphate-cemented pebbly sandstone dredged from the central Lord Howe Rise and a 97 Ma rhyolite drilled on the southern Lord Howe Rise. Four granitoid pebbles from the sandstone give U–Pb ages in the range 216–183 Ma. Most detrital zircons in the bulk sandstone are also Late Triassic–Early Jurassic, but subordinate populations of Late Cretaceous and Precambrian zircons are present. The pebbly sandstone's highly restricted Late Triassic–Early Jurassic zircon population indicates the nearby occurrence of underlying basement plutons that are the same age as parts of the I-type Darran Suite, Median Batholith of New Zealand and supports a continuation of the Early Mesozoic magmatic arc northwest from New Zealand. Zircon cores from the southern Lord Howe Rise rhyolite do not yield ages older than 97 Ma and thus provide no information about older basement.     

Mesozoic syncollision siliciclastic sediments of the Bols’shoi Lyakhov Island (New Siberian Islands)

Graywackes and shales of the Bols’shoi Lyakhov Island originally attributed to the Mesozoic were subsequently considered based on microfossils as the Late Proterozoic in age. At present, these sediments in the greater part of the island are dated back to the Permian based on palynological assemblages. In the examined area of the island, this siliciclastic complex is intensely deformed and tectonically juxtaposed with blocks of oceanic and island-arc rocks exhumed along the South Anyui suture. The complex is largely composed of turbidites with members displaying hummocky cross-stratification. The studied mineral and geochemical characteristics of the rocks defined three provenances of clastic material: volcanic island arc, sedimentary cover and/or basement of the ancient platform, and exotic blocks of oceanic and island-arc rocks such as serpentinites and amphibolites. All the rock associations represent elements of an orogenic structure that originated by collision of the New Siberian continental block with the Anyui-Svyatoi Nos island arc. Flyschoid sediments accumulated in a foredeep in front of the latter structure in the course of collision. The Late Jurassic volcanics belonging to the Anyui-Svyatoi Nos island arc determine the lower age limit of syncollision siliciclastic rocks. Presence of Late Jurassic zircons in sandstones of the flyschoid sequence in Bols’shoi Lyakhov Island is confirmed by the fission-track dating. The upper age limit is determined by the Aptian-Albian postcollision granites and diorites intruding the siliciclastic complex. Consequently, the flyschoid sequence is within stratigraphic range from the terminal Late Jurassic to Neocomian. It appears that Permian age of sediments suggested earlier is based on redeposited organic remains. The same Late Jurassic-Neocomian age and lithology are characteristic of fossiliferous siliciclastic sequences of the Stolbovoi and Malyi Lyakhov islands, the New Siberian Archipelago, and of graywackes in the South Anyui area in Chukchi Peninsula. All these sediments accumulated in a spacious foredeep that formed in the course the late Cimmerian orogeny along the southern margin of the Arctic continental block.     

准噶尔盆地南缘侏罗系碎屑成分特征及其对构造属性、盆山格局的指示意义

砂岩碎屑成分分析是进行沉积物源岩石类型、构造属性和盆山演化分析的重要途径。准噶尔盆地南缘侏罗系物源构造属性以“再旋回造山带”、“弧造山带”和部分“岩浆弧”物源为特征,物源岩石类型主要为中酸性岩浆岩、变质岩和沉积岩,岩石成分、重矿物含量及其组合显示东、西剖面在物源上存在一定差异。天山内部侏罗系物源构造属性以“再旋回造山带”、“混合造山带”为主,物源岩石类型主要为中酸性岩浆岩和变质岩,但各剖面的岩石成分、重矿物组合特征及相对含量差异较大。综合天山内部与准噶尔盆地南缘野外剖面沉积特征、岩屑成分及钻井岩心分析表明,天山地区早、中侏罗世盆山格局以盆地沉积范围大、天山正地形较小为特征,不存在地理分割明显的天山山脉,侏罗纪盆地南缘至少存在三个物源体系(西准噶尔山、克拉麦里山和(古)天山);晚侏罗世一早白垩世早期,岩石成分成熟度偏低,砾岩等粗碎屑沉积明显增多,同时不稳定重矿物及其组合稍有增加可能与晚侏罗世天山构造格局分异、构造活动相对活跃有关,天山山脉明显隆升并造就天山南北沉积环境的巨大差异。     

Origin of the Torlesse Terrane and Coeval Rocks,North Island,New Zealand

On the basis of differing areal extent, age, petrographic modes, and bulk chemical composition, the sandstones of the northern quarter of the Torlesse terrane are subdivided into four new petrofacies. A comparison of these petrofacies with existing South Island Torlesse classifications indicates continuation of the Triassic Rakaia subterrane and Late Jurassic–to–early Cretaceous Pahau subterrane into the central part of the North Island (as Axial-A and Axial-B petrofacies, respectively). The Waioeka petrofacies defines a new and provisional Late Jurassic-to–early Cretaceous Waioeka subterrane that is not present in the South Island. The Omaio petrofacies is common to deformed Albian basement sequences in the Torlesse of both islands, and in the Houhora Complex of Northland.

The composite Torlesse terrane evolved by Early Jurassic accretion of allochthonous Rakaia rocks followed by parautochthonous deposition of Pahau and Waioeka sandstones. Waioeka sandstones are compositionally similar to sandstones in the coeval eastern Waipapa terrane, but may have been dextrally displaced from their original depositional site by up to 300 km since the middle Cretaceous.     

Australian provenance for Upper Permian to Cretaceous rocks forming accretionary complexes on the New Zealand sector of the Gondwanaland margin

U–Pb (SHRIMP) detrital zircon age patterns are reported for 12 samples of Permian to Cretaceous turbiditic quartzo‐feldspathic sandstone from the Torlesse and Waipapa suspect terranes of New Zealand. Their major Permian to Triassic, and minor Early Palaeozoic and Mesoproterozoic, age components indicate that most sediment was probably derived from the Carboniferous to Triassic New England Orogen in northeastern Australia. Rapid deposition of voluminous Torlesse/Waipapa turbidite fans during the Late Permian to Late Triassic appears to have been directly linked to uplift and exhumation of the magmatically active orogen during the 265–230 Ma Hunter‐Bowen event. This period of cordilleran‐type orogeny allowed transport of large volumes of quartzo‐feldspathic sediment across the convergent Gondwanaland margin. Post‐Triassic depocentres also received (recycled?) sediment from the relict orogen as well as from Jurassic and Cretaceous volcanic provinces now offshore from southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. The detailed provenance‐age fingerprints provided by the detrital zircon data are also consistent with progressive southward derivation of sediment: from northeastern Queensland during the Permian, southeastern Queensland during the Triassic, and northeastern New South Wales — Lord Howe Rise — Norfolk Ridge during the Jurassic to Cretaceous. Although the dextral sense of displacement is consistent with the tectonic regime during this period, detailed characterisation of source terranes at this scale is hindered by the scarcity of published zircon age data for igneous and sedimentary rocks in Queensland and northern New South Wales. Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic age components cannot be adequately matched with likely source terranes in the Australian‐Antarctic Precambrian craton, and it is possible they originated in the Proterozoic cores of the Cathaysia and Yangtze Blocks of southeast China.     

Quantification of uplift in the Carnarvon Basin based on interval velocities

Sonic velocities in the Toolonga Calcilutite (Upper Cretaceous), the Gearle Siltstone and Haycock Marl (mid‐Cretaceous), and the Muderong Shale (Lower Cretaceous) were each used to independently quantify apparent uplift (height above maximum burial depth) in the Carnarvon Basin. Apparent uplift is given by the difference in depth between the present‐day velocity‐depth trend for a unit in a particular well and the reference trend (unaffected by uplift) of the unit. Apparent uplift results derived from the Toolonga Calcilutite, Gearle Siltstone and Muderong Shale are statistically similar. The consistency of results from carbonate and clastic units suggests that, at the formation and regional scale, overcompaction (i.e. anomalously high interval velocity) in these three units reflects previously greater burial depth, rather than sedimentological and/or diagenetic processes, and validates the use of lithologies other than shale in maximum burial‐depth studies. The proposed magnitudes of apparent uplift are greatest along some of the main structural highs of the Carnarvon Basin. Apparent uplift of approximately 800 m was determined along the Legendre Trend, and along the Barrow Arch. In excess of 900 m of apparent uplift was determined on the Bambra Anticline. The consistency of results from units of Early to Late Cretaceous age suggests that uplift must have post‐dated the youngest (Late Cretaceous) unit analysed.     

U–Pb ages of detrital zircons within the Inthanon Zone of the Paleo-Tethyan subduction zone,northern Thailand: New constraints on accretionary age and arc activity

U–Pb dating of detrital zircons was performed on mélange-hosted lithic and basaltic sandstones from the Inthanon Zone in northern Thailand to determine the timing of accretion and arc activity associated with Paleo-Tethys subduction. The detrital zircons have peak ages at 3400–3200, 2600–2400, 1000–700, 600–400, and 300–250 Ma, similar to the peaks ages of detrital zircons associated with other circum-Paleo-Tethys subduction zones. We identified two types of sandstone in the study area based on the youngest detrital zircon ages: Type 1 sandstones have Late Carboniferous youngest zircon U–Pb ages of 308 ± 14 and 300 ± 16 Ma, older than associated radiolarian chert blocks within the same outcrop. In contrast, Type 2 sandstones have youngest zircon U–Pb ages of 238 ± 10 and 236 ± 15 Ma, suggesting a Middle Triassic maximum depositional age. The youngest detrital zircons in Type 1 sandstones were derived from a Late Carboniferous–Early Permian ‘missing’ arc, suggesting that the Sukhothai Arc was active during sedimentation. The data presented within this study provide information on the development of the Sukhothai Arc, and further suggest that subduction of the Paleo-Tethyan oceanic plate beneath the Indochina Block had already commenced by the Late Carboniferous. Significant Middle Triassic arc magmatism, following the Late Carboniferous–Early Permian arc activity, is inferred from the presence of conspicuous detrital zircon U–Pb age peaks in Type 2 sandstones and the igneous rock record of the Sukhothai Arc. In contrast, only minimal arc activity occurred during the Middle Permian–earliest Triassic. Type 1 sandstones were deposited between the Late Permian and the earliest Triassic, after the deposition of associated Middle–Late Permian cherts that occur in the same mélanges and during a hiatus in Sukhothai Arc magmatism. In contrast, Type 2 sandstones were deposited during the Middle Triassic, coincident with the timing of maximum magmatism in the Sukhothai Arc, as evidenced by the presence of abundant Middle Triassic detrital zircons. These two types of sandstone were probably derived from discrete accretionary units in an original accretionary prism that was located along the western margin of the Sukhothai Arc.     

山西云岗石窟侏罗系地震液化砂岩柱的发现及其大地构造意义

本文主要报道在华北克拉通北缘云岗石窟景区内侏罗系地层中发现的20余个由地震液化形成的砂岩柱。地震导致的砂土液化是非常普遍的自然现象,地震波的震动使埋藏在地下未固结的饱和砂质沉积物迅速变为流体并在巨大压力下喷涌至地表,形成砂火山或泥火山。2008年汶川8. 0级大地震和2012年新西兰6. 2级地震都产生了严重的液化现象,在对地表造成严重破坏的同时,分别在地表形成了一系列的溢出丘和形态完好的砂火山。古地震之后,液化砂质沉积物往往在上涌的通道内固结成岩,形成穿层的岩柱或岩管。近年来,美国科罗拉多大峡谷相继发现很多地震液化形成的中生代巨型碎屑岩柱。2018年,本文作者在云岗石窟景区内的侏罗系云岗组中发现了20多条直径15~20cm左右、高可达2m以上穿层“侵入”的砂岩柱,有的在纵向上呈串珠状排列,有的呈不规则的树枝状自下向上伸展,膨大狭缩、分支复合现象非常明显,砂岩柱内部结构均一,不见任何层理。砂岩柱顶端的泥质围岩石中有明显向上牵引、拖拽的痕迹。这些砂岩柱没有任何硅化木的特征,也不是普通成岩作用形成的结核,与暴雨、泥石流、重力滑塌等作用均无任何关系,是古地震液化作用在地层内保存的遗迹,故称为液化砂岩柱。地震液化砂岩柱发育的层位位于李振宏等人(2014)在宁武—静乐盆地侏罗系云岗组顶部的凝灰质泥晶碳酸盐层位(160 Ma)之下约40m处,初步判定形成这些液化砂岩柱的古地震发生于160. 75 Ma~160 Ma之间的晚侏罗世。古地震的形成过程与燕山运动引起的地壳运动有直接的关联,是华北克拉通内与燕山运动伴生的古地震在地层中留下的最直接证据。     

A new,richly fossiliferous member comprised of tidal deposits in the Upper Cretaceous Maevarano Formation,northwestern Madagascar

A new member of the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Maevarano Formation is proposed to accommodate a distinctive succession of strata exposed along the shores of Lac Kinkony in northwestern Madagascar. The new Lac Kinkony Member overlies fully terrestrial sandstones of the Anembalemba Member of the Maevarano Formation, and is capped by marine dolostones of the Berivotra Formation. In the stratotype section, the base of the Lac Kinkony Member consists of siltstone interbeds that host networks of Ophiomorpha. Siltstone facies pass up-section to distinctive white sandstones packed with dolomitic mud matrix that exhibit rhythmic clay drapes, flaser and wavy bedding, and oppositely-oriented ripples developed on the toes of larger foresets. Thin flat interbeds of microgranular dolostone and claystone comprise the uppermost facies of the Lac Kinkony Member, and a laterally traceable ravinement bed mantled by cobbles of rounded dolostone marks the contact with the superjacent Berivotra Formation. Deposits of the Lac Kinkony Member are interpreted to represent siliciclastic and carbonate tidal flats dissected by tidally-influenced rivers. Vertebrate fossils are abundantly preserved in these coastal deposits, and are locally concentrated in microfossil bonebeds that have the potential to yield thousands of small identifiable specimens. In addition to many taxa already known from the Maevarano Formation, the Lac Kinkony Member has yielded a wealth of phyllodontid albuloid fish skull elements, the distal humerus of a new frog taxon, five vertebrae representing two new snakes, a tooth of a possible dromaeosaurid, and a complete skull of a new mammal. The discovery of several new vertebrate taxa from this new member reflects the fact that it samples a previously unsampled nearshore, peritidal paleoenvironment in the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar.     

Correlation of the Jurassic through Oligocene Stratigraphic Units of Trinidad and Northeastern Venezuela

The Jurassic through Oligocene stratigraphies of Trinidad and the Serrania del Interior of eastern Venezuela exhibit many similarities because of their proximity on the passive continental margin of northeastern South America. A slightly later subsidence in eastern Venezuela, and the generally deeper-water sedimentation in Trinidad, is interpreted to be the result of a serration of the original rift margin, producing an eastern Venezuelan promontory and Trinidadian reentrant. We interpret these serrations to be the result of oblique (NW-SE) spreading of North and South America during Middle and Late Jurassic time. The stratigraphies of northeastern Venezuela and Trinidad contrast in the Hauterivian-Albian interval, with dynamic shallow shelf environments prevailing in the Serrania del Interior and deeper marine submarine-fan deposition in Trinidad. Both areas develop middle to Upper Cretaceous source rocks during a time of eustatic sea level high and widespread oceanic anoxia. A slight lowering of eustatic sea level may have been responsible for the clastic influx represented by the sandstones of the Maastrichtian San Juan and Galera formations, disturbing the previous pelagic and hemipelagic sedimentation. The seaward transport of these sandstones may have been responsible for the localized erosion of the Maastrichtian section in central and southern Trinidad. Sedimentation stabilized with slope and outer-shelf turbiditic deposition during the Paleocene and Early Eocene, before diachronous, west-to-east shallowing occurred. Shallowing from the turbidites to shallow-water limestones and sandstones occurred in eastern Venezuela in the late Middle Eocene, and in the Late Eocene/Early Oligocene in Trinidad. Alhough eustasy and sediment progradation could have influenced the shallowing, its magnitude and rate requires that a tectonic uplift have occurred. Margin buckling, caused by the N-S relative convergence of North and South America, and forebulge uplift ahead of the Caribbean plate both are possible mechanisms. Following the shallowing, both areas subsided rapidly into laterally variable Oligocene to Recent flysch-like sedimentation. This is interpreted to represent the onset of direct interaction of the Caribbean plate with the South American depocenters of Trinidad and eastern Venezuela. Miocene to Recent sedimentation has been strongly influenced by these plate interactions.     

Age of Detrital Zircons from Sandstones of the Mesozoic Flysch Formation in the South Anyui Suture Zone (Western Chukotka)

The South Anyui fold zone (western Chukotka) is considered a suture zone related to closure of the South Anyui oceanic basin and collision of Eurasia with the Chukotka–Arctic Alaska microcontinent in the Early Cretaceous. The existence of a compensatory sedimentation basin (foredeep) during folding in the terminal Jurassic–initial Cretaceous remains debatable. This work presents first data on age estimates of detrital zircons from Upper Mesozoic terrigenous sequences of the South Anyui suture zone obtained by the fission-track method. The distal flysch of presumably Late Jurassic age and the proximal flysch of probably Late Triassic age were sampled in the Uyamkanda River basin. The fission-track dating showed that sandstones from the flysch sections contain detrital zircons of two different-age populations. Young zircon populations from sandstones of distal turbidites in the upper course of the Uyamkanda River (two samples) are 149 ± 10.2 and 155.4 ± 9.0 Ma old (Late Jurassic), whereas those from coarse-grained proximal turbidites sampled in the lower course of the Uyamkanda River (one sample) is 131.1 ± 7.5 Ma old (Early Cretaceous). The data obtained indicate that the Late Mesozoic folding in the South Anyui suture zone was accompanied by the formation of a marginal sedimentary basin. Sediments accumulated in this basin compose tectonic nappes that constitute a fold–thrust structure with the northern vergence.