Trilobite Biostratigraphy of the lower Paleozoic (Cambrian–Ordovician) Joseon Supergroup, Taebaeksan Basin, Korea

In Korea,trilobites are among the most intensively studied fossil groups in the past century and provide invaluable information about lower Paleozoic stratigraphy,paleogeography,and tectonics of the Korean Peninsula. Trilobites occur in the lower Paleozoic Joseon Supergroup of the Taebaeksan Basin which was part of the Sino-Korean Craton in the Paleozoic. The Joseon Supergroup is divided into the Taebaek,Yeongwol,and Mungyeong groups. The Taebaek and Yeongwol groups are richly fossiliferous,while the Mungyeong Group is poorly fossiliferous. Contrasting trilobite faunal contents of the Taebaek and Yeongwol groups resulted in two separate biostratigraphic schemes for the Cambrian–Ordovician of the Taebaeksan Basin. A total of 22 biozones or fossiliferous horizons were recognized in the Taebaek Group; 19 zones were established in the Yeongwol Group; and four biozones were known from the Mungyeong Group. These trilobite biozones of the Taebaeksan Basin indicate the Joseon Supergroup ranges in age from the Cambrian Series 2 to Middle Ordovician and can be correlated well with the formations of North China,South China,and Australia.     

Tectonometamorphic evolution of the Chuncheon amphibolite, central Gyeonggi massif, South Korea

Abstract The Chuncheon amphibolite, part of the Gubongsan Group which overlies the Yongduri gneiss complex, is interlayered with calc-silicate rock, marble, quartzite, biotite schist and quartzofeldspathic gneiss in the central Gyeonggi massif, South Korea. Metamorphic pressures and temperatures estimated from the amphibolite are 5.5–10.6 kbar and 615–714°C. These P—T conditions are close to those defined by the reaction curve between kyanite and sillimanite, and suggest medium-pressure-type metamorphism of the Chuncheon amphibolite. For two metapelites intercalated with the amphibolite, temperatures are estimated to be 607–699° C, consistent with those obtained from the amphibolite. On the other hand, pressures estimated from these metapelites are significantly different, 4–6 kbar and 9–13 kbar, when rim and core compositions of garnet are, respectively, used. These P—T estimates obtained from the amphibolite and metapelite suggest a nearly isothermal decompression of 3–7 kbar during denudation. Rapid decompression is likely on the basis of the results of mineral chemistry, phase equilibria and geothermobarometer. Moreover, in conjunction with the occurrence of kyanite in the adjacent Gyeonggi gneiss complex, P—T estimates of the Chuncheon amphibolite and metapelite suggest a clockwise P—T—t path. This evolutionary path may be related to the amalgamation of continents during the late Proterozoic event which corresponds to the Jinningian orogeny in the Qinling belt of China.     

Late Neoproterozoic (Ediacaran)-Early Paleozoic (Cambrian) acritarchs from the Marwar Supergroup,Bikaner-Nagaur Basin,Rajasthan

Characteristic latest Neoproterozoic and Early Paleozoic acritarchs and associated organic-walled microfossils are recorded from the sediments of Marwar Supergroup encountered in BGW-A well (Bikaner-Nagaur Basin) from 1123–481 m depth. Six distinct acritarch assemblages, broadly comparable with globally known Ediacaran (Vendian) and Cambrian assemblages are recognised. The recovered microfossils provide precise age for different units of the Marwar Supergroup whose ages, till now, were poorly understood due to absence or paucity of invertebrate and other mega and microfossils.     

Tectonometamorphic evolution of the Bohemian Massif: evidence from high pressure metamorphic rocks

The Variscan orogenic belt, of which the Bohemian Massif is a part, is typically recognized for its characteristic low pressure, high temperature metamorphism and a large volume of granites. However, there are also bodies of high pressure rocks (eclogites, garnet peridotites and high pressure granulites) which are small in size but widely distributed throughtout the Massif. Initially the high pressure rocks were considered to be relicts of a much older orogenic event, but the increasing data derived from isotopic and geochronological investigations show that many of these rocks have Palaeozoic protoliths. Metamorphic ages from the high pressure rocks define no single event. Instead, a number of discrete clusters of ages are found between about 430 Ma and the time of the dominant low pressure event at around 320–330 Ma.Most of the eclogite and granulite facies rocks are assigned to allochthonous nappes that arrived close to the end of the low pressure event, but before final granite intrusion. The nappes contain a mixture of different units and the relationship between rocks with high pressure relicts and host gneisses with no apparent signs of deep burial is still problematic. Some of the high pressure rocks retain evidence of multiple stages of partial re-equilibration during uplift. Moreover, it can be shown in certain instances that host gneisses also endured a multistage metamorphic development but with a peak event convergent with one of the breakdown stages in the enclosed rocks with high pressure relicts. It thus appears that the nappe units are composite bodies probably formed during episodic intracrustal thrusting. Fluids derived from prograde dehydration reactions in the newly under thrusting slab are taken to be the catalysts that drove the partial re-equilibrations.On the scale of the whole Massif it can be seen within the units with high pressure relicts that the temperature at the peak recorded pressure and that during the breakdown are variable in different locations. It is interpreted that regional metamorphic gradients are preserved for given stages in the history and thus the present day dismembered nappe relicts are not too far removed from their original spatial distribution in an original coherent unit. From the temperature information alone it is highly probable that the refrigerating underthrusting slab was situated in the north-west. However, this north-west to south-east underthrusting probably represents the major 380–370 Ma event and is no guide to the final thrusting that emplaced the much thinned nappe pile with high pressure relicts.Granite genesis is attributed to the late stage stacking, during the final Himalayan-type collision stage, of thinned crust covered by young, water-rich, sediments — erosion products of the earlier orogenic stages. Regional metamorphism at shallow depths above the voluminous granites was followed by final nappe emplacement which rejuvenated the granite ascent in places. Correspondence to: P. J. O'Brien     

Conodonts from the Sesong Slate and Hwajeol Formation (Guzhangian to Furongian) in the Taebaeksan Basin, Korea

Abundant conodont elements have been recovered from the Hwajeol Formation, to allow five zones to be erected: Proconodontus, Eoconodontus notchpeakensis, Cambrooistodus minutus, Cordylodus proavus, and Fryxellodontus inornatus-Monocostodus sevierensis-Semiacontiodus lavadamensis zones, in ascending order. More confident biozones are recognized in the Sesong Slate and lower Hwajeol Formation in the Makgol section, a part of the southern limb of the Baekunsan syncline, Taebaeksan Basin, Korea, especially focusing on the conodont biostratigraphic boundary of two units, and the subdivision potential of the previous "Proconodontus Zone", lowermost biozone of the Hwajeol Formation. Similarly, only a few conodont elements recovered from upper 14.5 m interval, namely the Furongian portion of the Sesong Slate, in the Makgol section did not allow erection of a biozone. Nevertheless, this part of the unit plus the basal 2.5 m interval of the Hwajeol Formation is characterized by the occurrence of Prooneotodus rotundatus(Druce and Jones), Teridontus nakamurai(Nogami), Phakelodus elongatus(An) and Phakelodus tenuis Müller. This interval marks the early Furongian "Prooneotodus rotundatus Zone". The rest of the measured section yielded relatively abundant conodonts, so three conodont biozones are proposed, based on the successive appearance of key species: Proconodontus tenuiserratus, Proconodontus posterocostatus, and Proconodontus muelleri zones, in ascending order, and thus allowing subdivision of the previous "Proconodontus Zone". The four conodont biozones are correlated with the relevant biozones of North and South China, and North America.     

The Cenerian orogeny (early Paleozoic) from the perspective of the Alpine region

International Journal of Earth Sciences - In the Alps, relicts of pre-Variscan basement are composed of metagreywackes and metapelites (partly migmatic) with intercalated amphibolites and sheets of...     

鄂尔多斯盆地及周缘地区晚古生代沉积演化*

基于笔者多年对鄂尔多斯盆地及周缘地区晚古生代研究成果,结合野外剖面实测、钻井资料分析、地层学与层序地层学、地球化学、年代学等研究结果,从岩性特征、地层厚度、地层接触关系、物源分析、沉积相类型多方面进行对比研究,认为鄂尔多斯盆地及周缘地区上古生界是华北地台的一部分,因此,其沉积充填及沉积演化研究必须置于晚古生代大华北盆地之中。在此研究基础上绘制了晚古生代各组鄂尔多斯盆地及周缘沉积相平面展布图,亮点是向东部和南部进行了扩张,并详述了晚古生代沉积演化过程,为该时期华北地台原始沉积面貌的恢复提供了新的依据。     

Cambrian Stem-group Cnidarians with a New Species from the Cambrian Series 3 of the Taebaeksan Basin, Korea

Five species, Lipopora lissa Jell and Jell, 1976, Lipopora daseia Jell and Jell, 1976, Tretocylichne perplexa Engelbretsen, 1993 from Australia, Cambroctoconus orientalis Park, Woo, Lee, Lee, Lee, Han and Chough, 2011 from China, and Cambroctoconus kyrgyzstanicus Peel, 2014 from Kyrgyzstan, belonging to the Cambrian stem-group cnidarians have been documented in the fossil record. Cambroctoconus coreaensis sp. nov., interpreted here as a stem-group cnidarian, from the Seokgaejae section in the Daegi Formation, Taebaek Group (Cambrian Series 3), Taebaeksan Basin, central-eastern Korean Peninsula, has a slender cup-shaped skeleton. A cladistic analysis produced 21 most parsimonious trees, which invariably placed the six stem-group cnidarians below the crown-group, but their relationships within the stem-group are unresolved. Nine out of the 21 trees suggest a monophyletic relationship for the Cambrian stem-group cnidarians, whereas in six other trees a monophyly of Cambroctoconus and Tretocylichne appeared as the sister-group to the crown-group cnidarians with Lipopora at the most basal branch. This result may reflect the fact that crown-group cnidarians evolved in the Precambrian, and suggests that the diversity of stem-group cnidarians was a result of an independent radiation in the Cambrian.     

Erratum to: The Cenerian orogeny (early Paleozoic) from the perspective of the Alpine region

International Journal of Earth Sciences -     

Tectonometamorphic evolution of the Garevka polymetamorphic complex (Yenisei Ridge)

The Garevka metamorphic complex (GMC), located at the junction of the Central Angara and Isakovka terranes (western part of the Transangarian Yenisei Ridge), was studied in terms of its tectonometamorphic evolution and geodynamic processes in the Neoproterozoic history of the region. Geological, structural, geochronological, and petrological data permitted the recognition of two stages in the GMC evolution, which differ in thermodynamic regimes and metamorphic field gradients. These stages were related to crustal contraction and extension within the Yenisei regional shear zone, a large lineament structure in the region. Stage 1 was marked by the formation of metamorphic complexes in the middle to upper amphibolite facies moderate-pressure regional metamorphic settings at ～ 960 Ma, P = 7.7–8.6 kbar, and T = 582–631 °C. This suggests subsidence of the area to the middle continental crust with dT/dH = 20–25 °C/km. During stage 2, the rocks experienced Late Riphean (～ 880 Ma, SHRIMP II U–Pb and ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar dating) dynamic metamorphism under epidote-amphibolite facies conditions (P = 3.9–4.9 kbar; T = 461–547 °C), indicating a metamorphic field gradient of dT/dH no greater than 10 °C/km, with the formation of blastomylonites in narrow zones of ductile and brittle deformations. In these zones, high-grade GMC blocks were exhumed to the upper continental crust and underwent low-temperature metamorphism. Comparison of the structural, geologic, and other evolutionary features (nearly identical age constraints in view of exhumation rate, similar PT-paths, and different types of metamorphism associated with different geodynamic settings, etc.) of the Garevka and Teya complexes suggests that they constitute a single polymetamorphic complex.     

Tectonometamorphic evolution of an intracontinental orogeny inferred from P–T–t–d paths of the metapelites from the Rehamna massif (Morocco)

New petrographic and microstructural observations, mineral equilibria modelling and U/Pb (monazite) geochronological studies were carried out to investigate the relationships between deformation and metamorphism across the Rehamna massif (Moroccan Variscan belt). In this area, typical Barrovian (muscovite to staurolite) zones developed in Cambrian to Carboniferous metasedimentary rocks that are distributed around a dome‐like structure. First assemblages are characterized by the presence of locally preserved andalusite, followed by prograde evolution culminating at 6 kbar and 620 °C in the structurally deepest staurolite zone rocks. This Barrovian sequence was subsequently uplifted to supracrustal levels, heterogeneously reworked at greenschist facies conditions, which was followed locally by static growth of andalusite, indicating heating to 2.5–4 kbar and 530–570 °C. The ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U monazite age of 298.3 ± 4.1 Ma is interpreted as minimum age of peak metamorphic conditions, whereas the ages of 275.8 ± 1.7 Ma and 277.0 ± 1.1 Ma date decompression and heating at low pressure, in agreement with previous dating of Permian granitoids intruding the Rehamna massif. The prograde metamorphism occurred during thickening and associated horizontal flow in the deeper crust (S1 horizontal schistosity). The horizontally disposed metamorphic zones were subsequently uplifted by a regional scale antiform during ongoing N–S compression. The re‐heating of the massif follows late massive E–W shortening, refolding and retrograde shearing of all previous fabrics coevally with regionally important intrusions of Permian granitoids. We argue that metamorphic evolution of the Rehamna massif occurred several hundred kilometres from the convergent plate boundaries in the interior of continental Gondwanan plate. The tectonometamorphic history of the Rehamna massif is put into Palaeozoic plate tectonic perspective and Late Carboniferous reactivation of (Devonian)–Early Carboniferous basins formed during stretching of the north Gondwana margin and formation of the Palaeotethys Ocean. The inherited heat budget of these magma‐rich basins plays a role in the preferential location of this intracontinental orogen. It is shown that rapid transition from lithospheric stretching to compression is characterized by specific HT type of Barrovian metamorphism, which markedly differs from similar Barrovian sequences along Palaeozoic plate boundaries reported from Variscan Europe.     

A study of igneous rocks related to Zn–Pb mineralization in the Shinyemi and Gagok deposits of the Taebaeksan Basin,South Korea

The Shinyemi and Gagok deposits, located in the Taebaeksan Basin, South Korea, display Zn–Pb mineralization along a contact between Cretaceous granitoids and Cambrian–Ordovician carbonates of the Joseon Supergroup. The Shinyemi mine is one of the largest polymetallic skarn‐type magnetite deposits in South Korea and comprises Fe and Fe–Mo–Zn skarns, and Zn–Cu–Pb replacement deposits. Both deposits yield similar Cretaceous mineralization ages, and granitoids associated with the two deposits displaying similar mineral textures and compositions, are highly evolved, and were emplaced at a shallow depth. They are classified as calc‐alkaline, I‐type granites (magnetite series) and were formed in a volcanic arc. Compositional variation is less in the Shinyemi granites and aplites (e.g., SiO₂ = 74.4–76.6 wt% and 74.4–75.1 wt%, respectively) than in the Gagok granites and aplites (e.g., SiO₂ = 65.6–68.0 wt% and 74.9–76.5 wt%, respectively). Furthermore, SiO₂ vs K/Rb and SiO₂ vs Rb/Sr diagrams indicate that the Shinyemi granitoids are more evolved than the Gagok granitoids. Shinyemi granitoids had been already differentiated highly in deep depth and then intruded into shallow depth, so both granite and aplite show the highly evolved similar chemical compositions. Whereas, less differentiated Gagok granitoids were separated into two phases in the last stage at shallow depth, so granite and aplite show different compositions. The amounts of granites and aplite are similar in the Shinyemi deposit, whereas the aplite appears in an amount less than the granite in the Gagok deposit. For this reason, the Shinyemi granitoids caused not only Fe enrichment during formation of the dolomite‐hosted magnesian skarn but also was associated with Mo mineralization in the Shinyemi deposit. Zn mineralization of the Gagok deposit was mainly caused by granite rather than aplite. Our data suggest that the variation in mineralization displayed by the two deposits resulted from differences in the compositions of their associated igneous intrusions.     

Depositional history and stratigraphical evolution of the Sakoa Group (Lower Karoo Supergroup) in the southern Morondava Basin, Madagascar

The Sakoa Group is the lowermost stratigraphical succession of the Karoo Supergroup and the oldest sedimentary unit in Madagascar, spanning the Late Carboniferous through Early Permian epochs. The Sakoa Group is exposed in the southern Morondava Basin. It is predominantly a siliciclastic sequence comprising seven lithofacies associations: (1) diamictites; (2) conglomeratic sandstones; (3) sandstones; (4) interbedded thin sandstones and mudstones; (5) mudstones; (6) coals; and (7) limestones. These facies represent deposition in the early extensional stages of continental rift development. The sediments were deposited predominantly on alluvial fans, and in braided to meandering stream and overbank environments. Locally lacustrine and coal swamp environments formed in low areas of the basin floor during rift initiation. Subsidence rates remained fairly constant throughout the Early Permian and were accompanied by a gradual reduction in relief of the basin margins and an increased geomorphic maturity of the fluvial systems flowing across the basin floor. Near the end of the Early Permian the southern Morondava Basin was inundated by a marine transgression , which resulted in deposition of the Vohitolia Limestone. Subsequent tectonic uplift and erosion resulted in a regional unconformity between the Sakoa Group and the overlying Sakamena Group.     

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.     

Brunovistulian terrane (Bohemian Massif, Central Europe) from late Proterozoic to late Paleozoic: a review

The Brunovistulian terrane represents a microcontinent of enigmatic Proterozoic provenance that was located at the southern margin of Baltica in the early Paleozoic. During the Variscan orogeny, it represented the lower plate at the southern margin of Laurussia, involved in the collision with the Armorican terrane assemblage. In this respect, it resembles the Avalonian terrane in the west and the Istanbul Zone in the east. There is a growing evidence about the presence of a Devonian back-arc at the margin of the Brunovistulian terrane. The early Variscan phase was characterized by the formation of Devonian extensional basins with the within-plate volcanic activity and formation of narrow segments of oceanic crust. The oldest Viséan flysch of the Rheic/Rhenohercynian remnant basin (Protivanov, Andelska Hora and Horní Benesov formations) forms the highest allochthonous units and contains, together with slices of Silurian Bohemian facies, clastic micas from early Paleozoic crystalline rocks that are presumably derived from terranes of Armorican affinity although provenance from an active Brunovistulian margin cannot be fully excluded either. The development of the Moravo–Silesian late Paleozoic basin was terminated by coal-bearing paralic and limnic sediments. The progressive Carboniferous stacking of nappes and their impingement on the Laurussian foreland led to crustal thickening and shortening and a number of distinct deformational and folding events. The postorogenic extension led to the formation of the terminal Carboniferous-early Permian Boskovice Graben located in the eastern part of the Brunovistulian terrane, in front of the crystalline nappes. The highest, allochthonous westernmost flysch units, locally with the basal slices of the Devonian and Silurian rocks thrusted over the Silesicum in the NW part of the Brunovistulian terrane, may share a similar tectonic position with the Giessen–Harz nappes. The Silesicum represents the outermost margin of the Brunovistulian terrane with many features in common with the Northern Phyllite Zone at the Avalonia–Armorica interface in Germany.     

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon ages of pyroclastic rocks in the Bansong Group, Taebaeksan Basin, South Korea and their implication for the Mesozoic tectonics

The Bansong Group (Daedong Supergroup) in the Korean peninsula has long been considered to be an important time marker for two well-known orogenies, in that it was deposited after the Songnim orogeny (Permian–Triassic collision of the North and South China blocks) but was deformed during the Early to Middle Jurassic Daebo tectonic event. Here we present a new interpretation on the origin of the Bansong Group and associated faults on the basis of structural and geochronological data. SHRIMP (Sensitive High-Resolution Ion MicroProbe) U–Pb zircon age determination of two felsic pyroclastic rocks from the Bansong Group formed in the foreland basin of the Gongsuweon thrust in the Taebaeksan Basin yielded ages of 186.3 ± 1.5 and 187.2 ± 1.5 Ma, respectively, indicating the deposition of the Bansong Group during the late Early Jurassic. Inherited zircon component indicates ca. 1.9 Ga source material for the volcanic rocks, agreeing with known basement ages.The Bansong Group represents syntectonic sedimentation during the late Early Jurassic in a compressional regime. During the Daebo tectonic event, the northeast-trending regional folds and thrusts including the Deokpori (Gakdong) and Gongsuweon thrusts with a southeast vergence developed in the Taebaeksan Basin. This is ascribed to deformation in a continental-arc setting due to the northwesterly orthogonal convergence of the Izanagi plate on the Asiatic margin, which occurred immediately after the juxtaposition of the Taebaeksan Basin against the Okcheon Basin in the late stage of the Songnim orogeny. Thus, the Deokpori thrust is not a continental transform fault between the North and South China blocks, but an “intracontinental” thrust that developed after their juxtaposition.     

Deformation pattern and vein development in Delhi Supergroup rocks, northeastern part of Delhi-Aravalli belt: Implication of late stage dilation

The Delhi Supergroup rocks of Mesoproterozoic age in the north-eastern part of Delhi-Aravalli belt are polydeformed. These rocks show meso and micro-scale stretched quartzo-feldspathic veins in the gneissic rocks in association with marble and amphibolites in contrast to those commonly described from the low grade metamorphic rocks in the northeastern part of the Delhi-Aravalli belt. The textural features of the veins which show stretched crystals in gneisses indicate that these developed in phases episodically in the direction of mineral lineation. The veins occupy tensional cracks without shear component and developed when the fluid pressure was high enough as they form in amphibolite facies of metamorphism.     

The Early Triassic Indosinian orogeny in Vietnam (Truong Son Belt and Kontum Massif); implications for the geodynamic evolution of Indochina

New structural field data at various scale and ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar geochronological results, from the basement rocks in the Truong Son belt and Kontum Massif of Vietnam, confirm that ductile deformation and high-temperature metamorphism were caused by the Early Triassic event of the Indosinian Orogeny in the range of 250–240 Ma. A compilation of isotopic data obtained in other countries along the Sibumasu–Indochina boundary broadly indicates same interval of ages. This tectonothermal event is interpreted as the result of a synchronous oblique collision of Indochina with both Sibumasu and South China, inducing dextral and sinistral shearing along E–W to NW–SE and N–S fault zones, respectively. The collision along Song Ma follows the northwards subduction of Indochina beneath South China and the subsequent development of the Song Da zone which in turn was affected by the Late Triassic Indosinian phase of shortening. Within the Indochina plate, internal collisions occurred coevally in the Early Triassic, as along the Poko suture, at the western border of the Kontum Massif.