Discrimination between primary magmatic biotites, reequilibrated biotites and neoformed biotites

The ternary diagram TiO₂–FeO*–MgO (FeO* = FeO + MnO) is proposed as a quantitative objective tool for distinguishing between primary magmatic biotites and those that are more or less reequilibrated, or possibly neoformed, by or within a hydrothermal fluid. The limit of the domains of the primary magmatic biotites, the reequilibrated biotites and the neoformed biotites were determined on the basis of optical, paragenetic and chemical criteria. To cite this article: H. Nachit et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Albian extrusion evidences of the Triassic salt and clues of the beginning of the Eocene atlasic phase from the example of the Chitana-Ed Djebs structure (N.Tunisia): Implication in the North African Tethyan margin recorded events, comparisons

In the northern part of Tunisia, close to Testour/Slouguia, new observations and updated biostratigraphy make it possible to highlight the relation between the Triassic saliferous mass and the surrounding Mesozoic beds (T. M.). Near the (T. M.) boundary, the formations observed consist dominantly of Triassic evaporites reworked in the Early and Late Albian deep-water sedimentary deposits. Throughout the studied area, Jurassic rocks are absent. We propose to interpret the Chitana-Ed Djebs structure originally emplaced as gravitational stretch masses in a passive margin in the same way as the salt bodies of widespread salt province in the Gulf of Mexico. A reconstructed schematic position of the Chitana-Ed Djebs salt body displays a scenario of setting of the salt mass on a submarine palaeo-slope. Moreover, the starting clues of the paroxysmal event of the Late Mesozoic tectonic inversion clearly fossilized through the discordance of the Middle Eocene–Early Lutetian limestone on the Albian series.     

The dynamics of turbulent, transitional and laminar clay-laden flow over a fixed current ripple

Most aqueous sedimentary environments contain varying concentrations of fine‐grained, often clay‐rich, sediment that is transported in suspension and may modify the properties of the flow and underlying mobile bed. This paper presents results from a series of laboratory experiments examining the mean and turbulent properties of clay‐laden (kaolinite) flows, of various volumetric sediment concentrations between 0·046% and 12·7%, moving over a fixed, idealized current ripple. As the kaolinite concentration was raised, with flow velocity and depth constant, four flow types were observed to occur: (i) turbulent flow, in which flow separation is dominant in the leeside of the ripple; (ii) turbulence‐enhanced transitional flow, in which turbulence in the leeside separation zone region is enhanced; (iii) turbulence‐attenuated transitional flow, in which turbulence along the separation zone shear layer and in the free flow above it becomes damped, eventually leading to a reduction in the size of the separation zone wake region; and (iv) laminar plug flow, in which turbulence is damped and flow is almost stagnant in the lee of the ripple. Such modulation of turbulence by increasing clay concentrations suggests that many paradigms of flow and bedform dynamics, which have been based on extensive past work in clear water flows, require revision. The present results highlight a need to fully characterize the boundary conditions for turbulence modulation as a function of clay type and applied flow conditions, and the effects of such flows on fully mobile cohesionless beds.     

Eclogite and pyroxenite xenoliths from off-craton kimberlites near the Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa

Mantle xenoliths brought to the surface by kimberlite magmas along the south-western margin of the Kaapvaal craton in South Africa can be subdivided into eclogites sensu stricto, kyanite eclogites and orthopyroxene eclogites, all containing omphacite, and garnet clinopyroxenites and garnet websterites characterised by diopside. Texturally, chemically (major elements) and thermally, we observe an evolution from garnet websterites (T_EG = 742–781 °C) towards garnet clinopyroxenites (T_EG = 715–830 °C) and to eclogites (T_EG = 707–1056 °C, mean value of 913 °C). Pressures calculated for orthopyroxene-bearing samples suggest upper mantle conditions of equilibration (P = 16–33 kb for the garnet websterites, 18 kb for a garnet clinopyroxenite and 23 kb for an opx-bearing eclogite). The overall geochemical similarity between the two groups of xenoliths (omphacite-bearing and diopside-bearing) as well as the similar trace element patterns of clinopyroxenes and garnet suggest a common origin for these rocks. Recently acquired oxygen isotope data on garnet (δ¹⁸O_gnt = 5.25–6.78 ‰ for eclogites, δ¹⁸O_gnt = 5.24–7.03 ‰ for garnet clinopyroxenites) yield values ranging from typical mantle values to other interpreted as resulting from low-temperature alteration or precursors sea-floor basalts and associated rocks. These rocks could then represent former magmatic oceanic rocks that crystallised from a same parental magma as plagioclase free diopside-bearing and plagioclase-bearing crustal rocks. During subduction, these oceanic rock protoliths equilibrated at mantle depth, with the plagioclase-bearing rocks converting to omphacite and garnet-bearing lithologies (eclogites sensu largo), whereas the plagioclase-free diopside-bearing rocks converted to diopside and garnet-bearing lithologies (garnet websterites and garnet clinopyroxenites).     

Hydrochemical baseline condition of groundwater at the Mizunami underground research laboratory (MIU)

Hydrochemical conditions up to depths of 1000 m below ground level around the Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory were investigated to construct a “baseline condition model” describing the undisturbed hydrochemical environment prior to excavation of the underground facilities at Mizunami, Gifu, Japan. Groundwater chemistry in this area was classified into a Na–Ca–HCO₃ type of groundwater in the upper part of sedimentary rock sequence and a Na–(Ca)–Cl type of groundwater in the deeper part of the sedimentary rock sequence and basement granite. The residence time of the groundwaters was estimated from their ¹⁴C contents to be approximately 9.3 ka in the middle part of the sedimentary rock and older than 50 ka in the deep part of the granite. The evolution processes of these groundwaters were inferred to be water–rock interactions such as weathering of plagioclase, dissolution of marine sulphate/sulphide minerals and carbonate minerals in the Na–Ca–HCO₃ type of groundwater, and mixing between “low-salinity water” in the shallow part and “higher-salinity water” in the deeper part of the granite in the Na–(Ca)–Cl type of groundwater. The source of salinity in the deeper part of the granite was possibly a palaeo-hydrothermal water or a fossil seawater that recharged in the Miocene, subsequently being modified by long-term water–rock interaction. The Cl-depth trend in granitic groundwater changes at a depth of −400 m below sea level. The hydrogeological properties controlling the groundwater flow and/or mixing processes such as advection and diffusion were inferred to be different at this depth in the granite. This hydrochemical conceptual model is indispensable not only when constructing the numerical model for evaluating the hydrochemical disturbance during construction and operation of the MIU facility, but also when confirming a hydrogeological model.     

Sedimentary thickness variations and deformation intensity during basin inversion in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia

The central and northern parts of the Adelaide fold belt in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia, consist of a sequence of Neo-Proterozoic–Cambrian sediments overlying a Meso-Proterozoic basement complex, both of which were mildly deformed in an intracratonic setting during the 500 Ma Delamerian orogeny. The fold belt lies within a prominent heat flow anomaly (average heat flows of 90 mWm⁻²) reflecting extraordinary enrichments in heat producing elements in the Meso-Proterozoic basement, suggesting that anomalous thermal regimes may have been significant in localising Delamerian deformation. However, spatial variations in deformation intensity correlate more closely with variations in the thickness of the sedimentary sequence than with observed variations in heat flow, suggesting that the thickness of the sedimentary blanket plays a crucial role in localising Delamerian deformation during basin inversion. We use simple numerical models of lithospheric strength to investigate the potential role of sedimentary thickness variations on the distribution and style of deformation, focussing on the impact of a variable thickness sediment pile deposited above a ‘radioactive’ basement. We show that for thermal parameters appropriate to the Flinders Ranges, Moho temperatures may vary by 25–30°C for every additional kilometre of sediment. For a ‘Brace–Goetze’ lithospheric rheology, controlled by a combination of temperature-dependent creep processes and frictional sliding, the observed variations in thickness of the sedimentary pile are sufficient to cause dramatic reductions in the vertically-integrated strength of the lithosphere (by many orders of magnitude), thereby providing a plausible explanation for observed correlation between sediment thickness and deformation intensity during basin inversion.     

A Late Glacial–Holocene Tephrochronology for Glacial Lakes in Southern Ecuador

Despite the presence of numerous active volcanoes in the northern half of Ecuador, few, if any, distal tephras have been previously recognized in the southern one third of the country. In this article, we document the presence of thin (0.1–1.0-cm-thick) distal tephras comprising glass and/or phenocrysts of hornblende and feldspar in sediment cores from five glacial lakes and one bog in Las Cajas National Park (2°40′–3°00′S, 79°00′–79°25′W). The lake cores contain from 5 to 7 tephras, and each has a diagnostic major element geochemistry as determined from electron microprobe analysis of 710 glass shards and 440 phenocrysts of feldspar and hornblende. The loss of sodium with exposure to the electron microbeam causes a 10±7 wt.% (±1σ) reduction in Na content, which we empirically determined and corrected for before correlating tephras among the sediment cores. We use a similarity coefficient to correlate among the sediment cores; pair-wise comparison of all tephras generally yields an unambiguous correlation among the cores. Six tephras can be traced among all or most of the cores, and several tephras are present in only one or two of the cores. Twenty-six accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C dates on macrofossils preserved in the sediment cores provide the basis for establishing a regional tephrochronology. The widespread tephras were deposited 9900, 8800, 7300, 5300, 2500, and 2200 cal yr B.P. The oldest tephras were deposited 15,500 and 15,100 cal yr B.P., but these are not found in all cores. Two of the tephras appear correlative with volcaniclastic strata on the flanks of Volcán Cotopaxi and one tephra may correlate with strata on the flanks of Volcán Ninahuilca; both volcanoes are in central Ecuador. The absence of tephras in sediment cores correlative with the numerous eruptions of active volcanoes of the past two millennia implies that the earlier eruptions, which did deposit tephras in the lakes, must have been either especially voluminous, or southerly winds must have prevailed at the time of the eruption, or both.     

Cretaceous stratigraphy and palaeoenvironments of the Southern Petén Basin, Guatemala

The Cretaceous deposits of the Southern Petén Basin, an oil-producing province, are located to the south of the Yucatan Platform and to the east of the Chiapas Carbonate Platform of Mexico. The succession in the southern part of this basin has been studied both in wells and at outcrop by microfacies analysis. It is composed of 5000 m of shallow marine carbonates and evaporites with a few thin layers of pelagic limestones rich in organic carbon and planktic foraminifera deposited during peak transgressions or maximum flooding. The sedimentation of this thick succession was not continuous, and the section is punctuated by subaerial erosional bounding surfaces and a single hardground which marks the final drowning of the carbonate platform during the late Maastrichtian. New age determinations have been obtained on the basis of planktic and benthic foraminifera from the Aptian to Santonian Cobán Formation, D, C, B and A Members. Cobán C (Albian) and B (Cenomanian) Members are the present oil reservoirs. The rudist and alveolinid limestones of late Campanian and Maastrichtian age referred to the Campur Formation in the Southern Petén Basin are here reassigned to the Angostura Formation, as recognized in the Chiapas area. The Actela Formation is defined here to encompass the limestone breccia deposits that occur at the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary and extend into the Parvularugoglobigerina eugubina Zone of early Danian age. The D, C, B and A Members of the Cobán Formation and the Angostura Formation represent second order transgressive and regressive trends in a passive margin area where the deposits indicate a succession of various environments, including fluviatile, salinas, shallow marine carbonate platform, outer shelf and intrashelf basin. High subsidence rates, sea-level changes and tectonic uplift controlled the sedimentation.

Abstract

Les formations crétacées du sud-est du Bassin du Petén, région pétrolière du nord du Guatemala, sont situées au Sud du Yucatan et à l'Est du Chiapas au Mexique. Ces sédiments ont été étudiés à la fois dans deux puits et à l'affleurement par l'analyse des microfaciès. Cet ensemble sédimentaire est composé de 5000 m de carbonates de plate-forme de faible profondeur et d'évaporites, dans lesquels s'intercalent de minces couches de calcaires pélagiques riches en matière organique et en foraminifères planctoniques. Ces calcaires pélagiques se sont déposés lors des maximums de transgressions. La sédimentation de cette épaisse série n'est pas continue et est ponctuée par quelques surfaces d'érosion sub-aérienne et une surface durcie qui souligne l'ennoyage définitif de la plate-forme carbonatée au Maastrichtien terminal. De nouvelles datations ont été obtenues sur la formation Cobán et ses membres D, C, B et A qui s'étagent de l'Aptien au Santonien. Les membres C (albien) et B (cénomanien) constituent les réservoirs productifs. Les calcaires à rudistes et à alveolinidés du Campanien supérieur–Maastrichtien ont été appelés à tort au Petén formation Campur. Ils doivent, selon nous, être attribués à la formation Angostura comme au Chiapas voisin, où affleurent des faciès comparables et de même âge. Une nouvelle formation est créée (formation Actela) pour les brèches calcaires de la limite Crétacé–Tertiaire et de la Zone à Eugubina du Danien inférieur. Les membres D, C, B, A de la formation Cobán et la formation Angostura représentent des cycles transgressifs–régressifs de deuxième ordre. Sur cette marge passive du Petén, les dépôts correspondent à des environnements variés comme des terres émergées soumises à une altération karstique et à des dépôts fluviatiles, des salinas, des plates-formes carbonatées marines, des shelf externes et des bassins intra plate-forme. La sédimentation a été, ici, contrôlée par une forte vitesse de subsidence, les variations du niveau marin et des soulèvements tectoniques.     

HP–LT Variscan metamorphism in the Cubito-Moura schists (Ossa-Morena Zone, southern Iberia)

Multi-equilibrium thermobarometry shows that low-grade metapelites (Cubito-Moura schists) from the Ossa–Morena Zone underwent HP–LT metamorphism from 340–370 °C at 1.0–0.9 GPa to 400–450 °C at 0.8–0.7 GPa. These HP–LT equilibriums were reached by parageneses including white K mica, chlorite and chloritoid, which define the earliest schistosity (S₁) in these rocks. The main foliation in the schists is a crenulation cleavage (S₂), which developed during decompression from 0.8–0.7 to 0.4–0.3 GPa at increasing temperatures from 400–450 °C to 440–465 °C. Fe³⁺ in chlorite decreased greatly during prograde metamorphism from molar fractions of 0.4 determined in syn-S₁ chlorites down to 0.1 in syn-S₂ chlorites. These new data add to previous findings of eclogites in the Moura schists indicating that a pile of allochtonous rocks situated next to the Beja-Acebuches oceanic amphibolites underwent HP–LT metamorphism during the Variscan orogeny. To cite this article: G. Booth-Rea et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Metallogenesis of the Carajás Mineral Province, Southern Amazon Craton, Brazil: Varying styles of Archean through Paleoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic base- and precious-metal mineralisation

The Itacaiúnas Belt of the highly mineralised Carajás Mineral Province comprises ca. 2.75 Ga volcanic rocks overlain by sedimentary sequences of ca. 2.68 Ga age, that represent an intracratonic basin rather than a greenstone belt. Rocks are generally at low strain and low metamorphic grade, but are often highly deformed and at amphibolite facies grade adjacent to the Cinzento Strike Slip System. The Province has been long recognised for its giant enriched iron and manganese deposits, but over the past 20 years has been increasingly acknowledged as one of the most important Cu–Au and Au–PGE provinces globally, with deposits extending along an approximately 150 km long WNW-trending zone about 60 km wide centred on the Carajás Fault. The larger deposits (approx. 200–1000 Mt @ 0.95–1.4% Cu and 0.3–0.85 g/t Au) are classic Fe-oxide Cu–Au deposits that include Salobo, Igarapé Bahia–Alemão, Cristalino and Sossego. They are largely hosted in the lower volcanic sequences and basement gneisses as pipe- or ring-like mineralised, generally breccia bodies that are strongly Fe- and LREE-enriched, commonly with anomalous Co and U, and quartz- and sulfur-deficient. Iron oxides and Fe-rich carbonates and/or silicates are invariably present. Rhenium–Os dating of molybdenite at Salobo and SHRIMP Pb–Pb dating of hydrothermal monazite at Igarapé-Bahia indicate ages of ca. 2.57 Ga for mineralisation, indistinguishable from ages of poorly-exposed Archean alkalic and A-type intrusions in the Itacaiúnas Belt, strongly implicating a deep magmatic connection.A group of smaller, commonly supergene-enriched Cu–Au deposits (generally < 50 Mt @ < 2% Cu and < 1 g/t Au in hypogene ore), with enrichment in granitophile elements such as W, Sn and Bi, spatially overlap the Archean Fe-oxide Cu–Au deposits. These include the Breves, Águas Claras, Gameleira and Estrela deposits which are largely hosted by the upper sedimentary sequence as greisen-to ring-like or stockwork bodies. They generally lack abundant Fe-oxides, are quartz-bearing and contain more S-rich Cu–Fe sulfides than the Fe-oxide Cu–Au deposits, although Cento e Dezoito (118) appears to be a transitional type of deposit. Precise Pb–Pb in hydrothermal phosphate dating of the Breves and Cento e Dezoito deposits indicate ages of 1872 ± 7 Ma and 1868 ± 7 Ma, respectively, indistinguishable from Pb–Pb ages of zircons from adjacent A-type granites and associated dykes which range from 1874 ± 2 Ma to 1883 ± 2 Ma, with 1878 ± 8 Ma the age of intrusions at Breves. An unpublished Ar/Ar age for hydrothermal biotite at Estrela is indistinguishable, and a Sm–Nd isochron age for Gameleira is also similar, although somewhat younger. The geochronological data, combined with geological constraints and ore-element associations, strongly implicate a magmatic connection for these deposits.The highly anomalous, hydrothermal Serra Pelada Au–PGE deposit lies at the north-eastern edge of the Province within the same fault corridor as the Archean and Paleoproterozoic Cu–Au deposits, and like the Cu–Au deposits is LREE enriched. It appears to have formed from highly oxidising ore fluids that were neutralised by dolomites and reduced by carbonaceous shales in the upper sedimentary succession within the hinge of a reclined synform. The imprecise Pb–Pb in hydrothermal phosphate age of 1861 ± 45 Ma, combined with an Ar/Ar age of hydrothermal biotite of 1882 ± 3 Ma, are indistinguishable from a Pb–Pb in zircon age of 1883 ± 2 Ma for the adjacent Cigano A-type granite and indistinguishable from the age of the Paleoproterozoic Cu–Au deposits. Again a magmatic connection is indicated, particularly as there is no other credible heat or fluid source at that time.Finally, there is minor Au–(Cu) mineralisation associated with the Formiga Granite whose age is probably ca. 600 Ma, although there is little new zircon growth during crystallisation of the granite. This granite is probably related to the adjacent Neoproterozoic (900–600 Ma) Araguaia Fold Belt, formed as part of the Brasiliano Orogeny.Thus, there are two major and one minor period of Cu–Au mineralisation in the Carajás Mineral Province. The two major events display strong REE enrichment and strongly enhanced LREE. There is a trend from strongly Fe-rich, low-SiO₂ and low-S deposits to quartz-bearing and more S-rich systems with time. There cannot be significant connate or basinal fluid (commonly invoked in the genesis of Fe-oxide Cu–Au deposits) involved as all host rocks were metamorphosed well before mineralisation: some host rocks are at mid- to high-amphibolite facies. The two major periods of mineralisation correspond to two periods of alkalic to A-type magmatism at ca. 2.57 Ga and ca. 1.88 Ga, and a magmatic association is compelling.The giant to world-class late Archean Fe-oxide Cu–Au deposits show the least obvious association with deep-seated alkaline bodies as shown at Palabora, South Africa, and implied at Olympic Dam, South Australia. The smaller Paleoproterozoic Cu–Au–W–Sn–Bi deposits and Au–PGE deposit show a more obvious relationship to more fractionated A-type granites, and the Neoproterozoic Au–(Cu) deposit to crustally-derived magmas. The available data suggest that magmas and ore fluids were derived from long-lived metasomatised lithosphere and lower crust beneath the eastern margin of the Amazon Craton in a tectonic setting similar to that of other large Precambrian Fe-oxide Cu–Au deposits.     

Determination of the interstitial velocity field in the swash zone by Ultrasonic Doppler Velocimetry (UDV)

The experimental study of the hydrodynamics of the sediments and the physical analysis of the process of exchange at the water-sediment interface in a zone of swash are essential for the understanding of the sedimentary transport processes in coastal environments, in particular to control and forecast the evolution of the coastline. The objective of this study was to exploit the technique of Ultrasonic Doppler Velocimetry (UDV) to examine the evolution of the velocity field at the water-sediment interface in a zone of swash in various conditions of incidental regular waves in a wave flume. The velocities were measured in different conditions of the swash within the sediment bed, and in the fluid vein at the swash edge. These measurements show: an exponential distribution of velocities inside the sediment bed; a difference in the velocity gradient at the water-sediment interface, between the velocity in the water vein at the swash edge and the interstitial flow in the swash. The measurements obtained in the wave flume made it possible to observe an evolution of the velocity profiles according to the phases of the swash, which are characterized by a phase shift between the free flow at the swash edge and the interstitial flow during the two phases of the swash: uprush and backwash.     

Experimental identification of CO2–water–rock interactions caused by sequestration of CO2 in Westphalian and Buntsandstein sandstones of the Campine Basin (NE-Belgium)

Geological sequestration of CO₂ is one of the options studied to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Although the feasibility of this concept is proven, apart from literature data on modelling still little is known about the CO₂–water–rock interactions induced by CO₂-injection.To evaluate the effect of CO₂–water–rock interactions on three sandstone aquifers in NE-Belgium an experimental setup was built. Eighteen experiments were performed in which sandstones were exposed to supercritical CO₂. CO₂–water–rock interactions were deduced from the evolution of aqueous concentrations of 25 species and a thorough characterisation of the sandstones before and after treatment. The results show that dissolution of ankerite/dolomite and Al-silicates could enhance porosity/permeability. The observed precipitation of end-member carbonates could increase storage capacity if it exceeds carbonate dissolution. Precipitation of the latter and of K-rich clays as observed, however, can hamper the injection.     

2D model of the crust and uppermost mantle along rift profile, Siberian craton

A two-dimensional model of the crust and uppermost mantle for the western Siberian craton and the adjoining areas of the Pur-Gedan basin to the north and Baikal Rift zone to the south is determined from travel time data from recordings of 30 chemical explosions and three nuclear explosions along the RIFT deep seismic sounding profile. This velocity model shows strong lateral variations in the crust and sub-Moho structure both within the craton and between the craton and the surrounding region. The Pur-Gedan basin has a 15-km thick, low-velocity sediment layer overlying a 25-km thick, high-velocity crystalline crustal layer. A paleo-rift zone with a graben-like structure in the basement and a high-velocity crustal intrusion or mantle upward exists beneath the southern part of the Pur-Gedan basin. The sedimentary layer is thin or non-existent and there is a velocity reversal in the upper crust beneath the Yenisey Zone. The Siberian craton has nearly uniform crustal thickness of 40–43 km but the average velocity in the lower crust in the north is higher (6.8–6.9 km/s) than in the south (6.6 km/s). The crust beneath the Baikal Rift zone is 35 km thick and has an average crustal velocity similar to that observed beneath the southern part of craton. The uppermost mantle velocity varies from 8.0 to 8.1 km/s beneath the young West Siberian platform and Baikal Rift zone to 8.1–8.5 km/s beneath the Siberian craton. Anomalous high Pn velocities (8.4–8.5 km/s) are observed beneath the western Tunguss basin in the northern part of the craton and beneath the southern part of the Siberian craton, but lower Pn velocities (8.1 km/s) are observed beneath the Low Angara basin in the central part of the craton. At about 100 km depth beneath the craton, there is a velocity inversion with a strong reflecting interface at its base. Some reflectors are also distinguished within the upper mantle at depth between 230 and 350 km.     

Triassic synthems of southern South America (southwestern Gondwana) and the Western Caucasus (the northern Neotethys), and global tracing of their boundaries

Global tracing of the key surfaces of Triassic deposits may contribute significantly to the understanding of the common patterns in their accumulation. We attempt to define synthems – disconformity-bounded sedimentary complexes – in the Triassic successions of southern South America (southwestern Gondwana, Brazil and Argentina) and the Western Caucasus (the northern Neotethys, Russia), and then to trace their boundaries in the adjacent regions and globally. In southern South America, a number of synthems have been recognized – the Cuyo Basin: the Río Mendoza–Cerro de las Cabras Synthem (Olenekian–Ladinian) and the Potrerillos–Cacheuta–Río Blanco Synthem (Carnian–Rhaetian); the Ischigualasto Basin: the Ischichuca-Los Rastros Synthem (Anisian–Ladinian) and the Ischigualasto–Los Colorados Synthem (Carnian–Rhaetian); the Chaco–Paraná Basin: the Sanga do Cabral Synthem (Induan), the Santa Maria 1 Synthem (Ladinian), the Santa Maria 2 Synthem (Carnian), and the Caturrita Synthem (Norian); western Argentina: the Talampaya Synthem (Lower Triassic) and the Tarjados Synthem (Olenekian?). In the Western Caucasus, three common synthems have been distinguished: WC-1 (Induan–Anisian), WC-2 (uppermost Anisian–Carnian), and WC-3 (Norian–lower Rhaetian). The lower boundary of WC-1 corresponds to a hiatus whose duration seems to be shorter than that previously postulated. The synthem boundaries that are common to southwestern Gondwana and the Western Caucasus lie close to the base and top of the Triassic. The Lower Triassic, Ladinian, and Upper Triassic disconformities are traced within the studied basins of southern South America, and the first two are also established in South Africa. The Upper Triassic disconformity is only traced within the entire Caucasus, whereas all synthem boundaries established in the Western Caucasus are traced partly within Europe. In general, the synthem boundaries recognized in southern South America and the Western Caucasus are correlated to the global Triassic sequence boundaries and sea-level falls. Although regional peculiarities are superimposed on the appearance of global events in the Triassic synthem architecture, the successful global tracing suggests that planetary-scale mechanisms of synthem formation existed and that they were active in regions dominated by both marine and non-marine sedimentation.     

Calpionellid zonation of the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition in North-Atlasic Tunisia. Updated Upper Jurassic stratigraphy of the ‘Tunisian trough’ and regional correlations

The analysis of calpionellid associations from jebels Amar and Jédidi sections in North-Atlasic Tunisia provides, for the first time, a precise biozonation of the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition succession. In the light of the new data obtained and considering recently published results, the age of Upper Jurassic formations is clarified, allowing correlations with the Tunisian ‘Dorsale’ and the North–South Axis successions. Within the Maghrebides' range, sections from the external zones correlated to the Tunisian successions are quite distinctive from their equivalent in the internal zones. Both have evolved in different palaeogeographic domains related to the early structuration of the northwestern and southwestern Tethys margins. To cite this article: M. Boughdiri et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

First U–Pb SHRIMP age of the Hauterivian stage, Neuquén Basin, Argentina

A high-resolution ion-microprobe (SHRIMP) U–Pb zircon age from a tuff layer intercalated in the ammonoid bearing sedimentary succession of the Neuquén Basin in Argentina provides a robust geochronologic date to add to the absolute ages and to improve the relative chronology of the Early Cretaceous Hauterivian stage. The tuff layer appears interbedded between shales of the upper member (Agua de la Mula) of the Agrio Formation within the Spitidiscus riccardii ammonoid zone (base of the Late Hauterivian) yielding a date of 132.5 ± 1.3 Ma. This date confirms and supports an accurate correlation between the ammonoid biostratigraphy of the Neuquén Basin with the Western Mediterranean Province of the Tethys during the Early Cretaceous and matches with the most recently published time scale. It also casts doubts on the validity of K–Ar ages on glauconite-grains recently reported from the Lower Cretaceous of the Vocontian Basin of France.     

Apport de la gravimétrie à l'étude des structures profondes du Sahel de Tunisie (cas de la région de Kairouan–Sousse–Monastir)

The monotony of the surface and of the deep structure of the Sahel domain in eastern Tunisia (low topographic area covered by a Quaternary series) induces the possible existence of an important subsiding collapsed block and associated faulted zones. Gravity data analyses have permitted the reconnaissance of the crustal and gravimetric setting of the northern part of the Sahel domain and the discussion of main outlines of subsurface structures. The deep structure of a particular zone (Kairouan–Sousse–Monastir area) demonstrates the existence of an east-west en-doigt-de-gant crustal thinning confirmed by the gravity data. This deep structuring is perfectly showed by the high-resolution second-order enhanced analytic signal technique developed to image geologic boundaries such as contacts and faults. This technique, correlated with the distribution of all seismic events in the last century, has permitted to define an important east–west Kairouan–Sousse–Monastir tectonic corridor (CKSM). This corridor corresponds to major faults oriented east-west, were some folded structures can be developed. To cite this article: H. Gabtni, C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Multimode migration of scattered and converted waves for the structure of the Hikurangi slab interface, New Zealand

Reflectivity imaging of local earthquake seismograms has revealed the structure of the Hikurangi subduction interface at the location of two strong earthquakes that occurred in 1990. The earthquakes originated within the continental plate of the North Island of New Zealand and below in the subducting Pacific slab. We used seismograms from 500 well-located events in two earthquake sequences recorded by a small temporary seismograph deployment to directly image the structure and multiphase reflectivity of the plate interface. Synthetic tests of the imaging method show the effects of the poor 3-d geometric coverage afforded by the seismometer array. Kirchhoff summation image sections computed from synthetics show accurate depth imaging of backscattering interfaces. Phase-converting interfaces imaged with forward-scattered waves are smeared by poor ray coverage to 5-km depth inaccuracy and are only imaged over a small range of their horizontal extent. From the data, we computed image sections for P–P, P–S, S–P and S–S scattering. We mitigated imaging artifacts due to poor ray coverage with an obliquity factor, an antialiasing criterion and enhancement by resampling statistics. Imaging used a sharply layered velocity model. We tested for the effects of imaging with first-arriving headwaves by imaging through smoothly varying velocity models. For our ray geometry, early-arrival headwaves contribute little to the images.The plate interface appears as a 3–5-km thick P–P and possibly S–S backscatterer with 5° NW dip, offset 5 km down-to-the-NW above a normal fault in the slab. When illuminated from below, a wedge of the interface on the downdip side of the slab fault forms a very prominent P–P forward scatterer. The edges of the wedge forward-scatter some S–P and S–S energy, but an order of magnitude less than the P–P forward scattering. The imbalances between forward scattering of P and S energy suggest a wedge of subducted sediment retaining significant porosity but with rigidity close to that of surrounding rocks.     

A High-Resolution Sea-Surface Temperature Record from the Tropical South China Sea (16,500–3000 yr B.P.)

The timing and magnitude of sea-surface temperature (SST) changes in the tropical southern South China Sea (SCS) during the last 16,500 years have been reconstructed on a high-resolution, ¹⁴C-dated sediment core using three different foraminiferal transfer functions (SIMMAX28, RAM, FP-12E) and geochemical (U^k′₃₇) SST estimates. In agreement with CLIMAP reconstructions, both the FP-12E and the U^k′₃₇ SST estimates show an average late glacial–interglacial SST difference of 2.0°C, whereas the RAM and SIMMAX28 foraminiferal transfer functions show only a minor (0.6°C) or no consistent late glacial–interglacial SST change, respectively. Both the U^k′₃₇ and the FP-12E SST estimates, as well as the planktonic foraminiferal δ¹⁸O values, indicate an abrupt warming (ca. 1°C in <200 yr) at the end of the last glaciation, synchronous (within dating uncertainties) with the Bølling transition as recorded in the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP2) ice core, whereas the RAM-derived deglacial SST increase appears to lag during this event by ca. 500 yr. The similarity in abruptness and timing of the warming associated with the Bølling transition in Greenland and the southern SCS suggest a true synchrony of the Northern Hemisphere warming at the end of the last glaciation. In contrast to the foraminiferal transfer function estimates that do not indicate any consistent cooling associated with the Younger Dryas (YD) climate event in the tropical SCS, the U^k′₃₇ SST estimates show a cooling of ca. 0.2–0.6°C compared to the Bølling–Allerød period. These U^k′₃₇ SST estimates from the southern SCS argue in favor of a Northern Hemisphere-wide, synchronous cooling during the YD period.     

SEM–EDS analysis of western Mediterranean obsidians: a new tool for Neolithic provenance studies

The contents of Na, Al, Si, K, Ca and Fe of 99 obsidians from the western Mediterranean islands of Lipari, Palmarola, Pantelleria and Sardinia were determined with the energy-dispersive spectrometer of a scanning electron microscope (SEM–EDS). The Na and in a lesser way other elements contents characterize any obsidian source-island. In Sardinia (80 samples), the four Monte Arci obsidian geochemical types can be discriminated from binary diagrams of element contents or by a discriminant analysis based on the six elements measured. It is concluded that SEM–EDS offers a new option for Neolithic obsidian provenance studies in this region. To cite this article: F.-X. Le Bourdonnec et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).