Evaluation of a siliciclastic diamictite from the Maya Mountains of Belize

A diamictite unit 9.2 m thick and 1.5 × 1.0 km in aerial extent lies unconformably on siliciclastics of the Santa Rosa Group in the Maya Mountains of Belize. The diamictite has an irregular scour base with 1.5 m of erosional relief. Matrix accounts for 24–27% of the deposit and consists of coarse sand to clay-sized particles of lithics and mineral grains of various origins. Clasts are granule to boulder in size, sub-rounded, poorly sorted, matrix-supported, oriented randomly and lack grading. Clasts are composed exclusively of sandstone, siltstone and shale lithologies derived from the Santa Rosa. Trace element concentrations are relatively higher in the Santa Rosa sediments, but Cu and Zn are elevated in the diamictite. Some clasts exhibit alteration rinds related to post-depositional hydrothermal processes. The age of the diamictite is unknown, it overlies the latest Pennsylvanian to Middle Permian Santa Rosa Group, and has a present-day erosional top of the unit which prevents further age refinements. The diamictite is interpreted to be of sediment-gravity flow origin related to tectonic activity on the Northern Boundary fault. However, this study points to the potential for future re-evaluation of the deposit with refinement of the depositional models themselves. The diamictite deposit also allows for further interpretation of the broader geologic history of Northern Central America.     

Glaciation and deglaciation of the Libyan Desert: The Late Ordovician record

Detailed outcrop studies at the flanks of Al Kufrah Basin, Libya, reveal the nature of glacially-related sedimentation and post-depositional deformation styles produced in association with the Late Ordovician glaciation, during which ice sheets expanded northward over North Africa to deposit the Mamuniyat Formation. At the SE basin flank (Jabal Azbah), the Mamuniyat Formation is sand-dominated, and incises interfingering braidplain and shallow marine deposits of the Hawaz Formation. The glacially-related sediments include intercalations of mud-chip bearing tabular sandstones and intraformational conglomerates, which are interpreted as turbidite and debrite facies respectively. These record aggradation of an extensive sediment wedge in front of a stable former ice margin. An increase in mudstone content northward is accompanied by the occurrence of more evolved turbidites. A widespread surface, bearing streamlined NW–SE striking ridges and grooves, punctuates this succession. The structures on the surface are interpreted to have formed during a regional north-westward ice advance. Above, siltstones bearing Arthrophycus burrows, and Orthocone-bearing sandstones beneath tidal bars testify to glaciomarine conditions for deposition of the underflow deposits beneath. By contrast, the northern basin margin (Jabal az-Zalmah) is appreciably different in recording shallower water/paralic sedimentation styles and major glaciotectonic deformation features, although facies analysis also reveals northward deepening. Here, a siltstone wedging from 8 to 50 m toward the north was deposited (lower delta plain), succeeded by climbing ripple cross-laminated sandstones up to 60 m in thickness (distal through proximal delta mouth bar deposits) with occasional diamictite interbeds. These rocks are deformed by thrusts and > 50 m amplitude fault-propagation folds, the deformation locally sealed by a diamictite then overlain by conglomeratic lag during ultimate deglaciation. Integrating observations from both basin margins, a model of fluvial-dominated delta systems feeding a pulsed debrite and turbidite fan system in a shallow proglacial shelf is proposed.     

Highstands during Marine Isotope Stage 5: evidence from the Ironshore Formation of Grand Cayman,British West Indies

The Ironshore Formation on Grand Cayman is formed of six unconformity-bounded packages (units A–F). Units A, B, C, and D, known from the subsurface in the northeastern part of Grand Cayman, formed during Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 11(?), 9, 7, and 5e, respectively. Unconformities at the tops of units A, B, and C are highlighted by terra rossa and/or calcrete layers. Strata in core obtained from wells drilled in George Town Harbour and exposed on the west part of Grand Cayman belong to unit D, and the newly defined units E and F. Corals from unit E yielded Th/U ages of ∼104 ka whereas conch shells from unit F gave ages of ∼84 ka. Unit E equates to MIS 5c whereas unit F developed during MIS 5a.Th/U dating of corals and conchs from the Ironshore Formation on the western part of Grand Cayman shows that unit D formed during the MIS 5e highstand whereas units E and F developed in association with highstands at 95–110 ka (MIS 5c) and 73–87 ka (MIS 5a). Unit E, ∼5 m thick in the offshore cores, is poorly represented in onshore exposures. Unit F, which unconformably overlies unit D at most localities, is formed largely of fossil-poor, cross-bedded ooid grainstones. The unconformity at the top of unit D, a marine erosional surface with up to 2.5 m relief, is not characterized by terra rossa or calcrete in the offshore cores or onshore exposures. Unit D formed with a highstand of +6 m asl, whereas units E and F developed when sea level was +2 to +5 asl and +3 to +6 m asl, respectively. Thus, the highstands associated with MIS 5e, 5c, and 5a were at similar elevations.     

Geology and geochronology of type Chasicoan (late Miocene) mammal-bearing deposits of Buenos Aires (Argentina)

The late Miocene Chasicoan mammal-bearing deposits exposed along the lower reach of Arroyo Chasicó are composed of cross-bedded, very fine sandstones interpreted as a channel-bar deposit (lithofacies association 1) grading upward into sandy siltstones (lithofacies association 2), probably accumulated through relatively high-density flows in a marginal channel and/or floodplain environment. The uppermost levels are dominantly composed of mudstones and sandy siltstones (lithofacies association 3) deposited in generally low-energy conditions of sedimentation in a swampy environment. Several paleosols (lithofacies P) are present, indicating that the succession was the result of episodic fluvial sedimentation. The volcaniclastic composition (primary and reworked pyroclastics) suggests that the fluvial system drained the westward region by the Andean foothills. An impact event dated at 9.23 ± 0.09 Ma and recorded by impact glasses (escorias) during deposition of lithofacies Sp enables the fine tuning of the chronology of the deposits through high-resolution magnetostratigraphic profiles, which indicate that the approximately 9.4 m thick succession recorded by lithofacies association 1 and 2 accumulated between 9.43 and 9.07 Ma. The lithofacial arrangement of the succession does not support the current differentiation of the Arroyo Chasicó Formation into the Vivero and Las Barrancas members. Previous biostratigraphic interpretations contain significant inconsistencies in light of the revised stratigraphy proposed here.     

The role of slump scars in slope channel initiation: A case study from the Miocene Jatiluhur Formation in the Bogor Trough,West Java

This paper investigates slope channel initiation by seabed irregularities that were initially formed by slump scars in the lower to middle Jatiluhur Formation, part of the middle- to late Miocene successions in the Bogor Trough, West Java. This Miocene succession is up to 1000 m thick in the study area, and is interpreted as a prograding slope–shelf system that formed during a period of falling- and lowstand stages in relative sea level. The lower part of the formation is a siltstone-dominated siliciclastic succession, containing slump deposits, slump-scar-fill deposits, and minor channel-fill deposits, which formed in slope and shelf-margin environments. In contrast, the middle part, which gradationally overlies the lower part, is characterized by shallow-marine carbonates.The slump-scars-fill deposits have an overall lenticular geometry, and are 140–480 m wide and 0.4–1.6 m thick. Some have distinct erosional bases, which cut into the underlying siltstones, in association with medium- to coarse-grained sandstones with lateral-accretion surfaces and tractional structures common in channel-fill deposits. The incident link of slump-scar-fill deposits and channel-fill deposits in the prograding slope–shelf succession of the lower to middle Jatiluhur Formation suggests that some slump scars formed incipient seabed irregularities that may have played an important role in the development of slope channels. The present study provides one example of the various potential mechanisms that can result in channel formation in a slope setting.     

Lateglacial to early Holocene multiproxy record from Loch Assynt,NW Scotland

A core, recovered from a water depth of 53 m in Loch Assynt, North-West Scotland, has yielded a 9 m sequence comprising two distinct units, an upper, organic-rich unit (Unit I, ca. 6 m) overlying a sequence of laminated clays, silts and sands (Unit II, ca. 3 m). The upper unit is essentially Holocene in age based upon three bulk AMS radiocarbon dates while a fourth radiocarbon date from Unit II confirms a late-glacial age for that interval and supports a broadly linear age–depth relationship. Distinct variations in the magnetic susceptibility record of the lower unit can be visually correlated to major changes in the Greenland ice core (GISP2), this together with pollen evidence supports the radiocarbon dating suggesting an age of approximately 11,000 to around 17,000 cal. BP for Unit II, with evidence for the Younger Dryas (Loch Lomond) stadial and the Bolling–Allerød climatic phases. Variations in the magnetic susceptibility record of the late-glacial sediments are thought to relate to climatically driven changes in soil cover and erosion rates. The multiproxy record from Loch Assynt indicates relatively continuous, sub-aqueous sedimentation during the last ～17,000 years, providing an approximate age for the initiation of modern Loch Assynt and supporting recent dates of moraine retreat lines in the Loanan Valley from about 14–15 ka BP. Pollen and chironomid sampling provides further insights to the history of this relatively deep water body and compliment existing high-resolution palaeo-precipitation records for the mid to late Holocene interval from speleothem archives within the loch catchment.     

Stratigraphy of the Koobi Fora Formation (Pliocene and Pleistocene) in the Ileret region of northern Kenya

Exposures of Pliocene and Pleistocene deposits in the Ileret region include all eight members of the Koobi Fora Formation and represent at least 533 m of section from the base of the Lonyumun Member to the top of the Chari Mb. This thickness is more than twice that reported by earlier workers (∼260 m) and compares well with the composite section of the Koobi Fora Formation (525 m). Thus the Ileret region provides a very complete and representative outcrop of the Koobi Fora Formation. As Koobi Fora Formation member boundaries are placed at the base of specified tuffs, not all member boundaries can be recognized in the Ileret region. For this reason, the stratigraphy is described in terms of the following members (thicknesses in parentheses): Lonyumun (110 m), undifferentiated Moiti and Lokochot (104 m), Tulu Bor (54 m), Burgi (55 m), KBS (74 m), Okote (45 m), and Chari (93 m). Moreover, the boundary between the Okote Member and the KBS Member in the Ileret region is placed at a prominent caliche which must closely approximate the age of the Okote Tuff in its type section.     

Permo-Triassic volcanics of the Koltogory-Urengoi rift of the West Siberian geosyneclise

The lithologic composition of basalts from the most complex sections of the Koltogory-Urengoi Rift is considered, and their ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages are given: basalts from the lower section of Nikol'skaya BH-1 (Bergamak Formation) — 272.9 ± 10.5 and 249.5 ± 3.0 Ma, basalts from the uppermost section (Voinov Formation) — 247.5 ± 2.9 Ma, and basalts from the lower section of Tyumenskaya SDB-6 (Korotchaevo Formation) — 251.2 ± 2.0 Ma. According to these and the paleomagnetic data, trap magmatism began in the Koltogory-Urengoi Rift in the Permian and ended in the Early Triassic, whereas the paleontological data suggest its beginning in the Early Triassic and its termination in the late Middle Triassic.In Tyumenskaya SDB-6 we have recognized both low-K tholeiitic and medium- to high-K subalkalic and calc-alkalic basalts, which form large alternating packets up to 480 m thick. This section is juxtaposed to the anomalous sections of the Siberian Platform trap formation near the margins of the Tunguska syneclise. The section of Nikol'skaya BH-1 is composed mainly of medium- and high-K subalkaline basalts with scarce flows of low-K ones. The low-K basalts differ from the medium- and high-K varieties in having lower contents of TiO₂, P₂O₅, Ba, Rb, Th, and ΣLREE.The Tyumenskaya SDB-6 basalts are characterized by paleohypergene alterations, up to the development of more than five levels of alumina-ferruginous cuirasses, as well as superposed chloritization, sericitization (hydromication), carbonatization, zeolitization, silicification, and epidotization, whereas the Nikol'skaya BH-1 basalts are subjected mainly to carbonatization, chloritization, and hydromication. We have concluded that the existence of a vast mega-arch above the superplume within the West Siberian geosyneclise in the Permo-Triassic was complicated by the Koltogory-Urengoi Rift. The Triassic rift deposits are both continental and marine sediments (sandstones and siltstones with glauconite, coccolith oozes, spherulitic lavas, and hyaloclastites). The basic volcanism within the rift showed the features of both rift and flood basalts as well as E-MORB.     

One,two or no record of late neoproterozoic glaciation in South-East Cameroon?

Severe climate changes culminating in at least three major glacial events have been recognized in the Neoproterozoic sedimentary record from many parts of the world. Supportive to the global nature of these climatic shifts, a considerable amount of data have been acquired from deposits exposed in Pan-African orogenic belts in southwestern and western Africa. By comparison, published data from the Pan-African belts in Central Africa are scarce. We report here evidence of possibly two glacial events recorded in the Mintom Formation that is located on the margin of the Pan-African orogenic Yaoundé belt in South-East Cameroon.In the absence of reliable radiometric data, only maximum and minimum age limits of 640 and 580 Ma, respectively, can at present be applied to the Mintom Formation. The formation consists of two lithostratigraphic ensembles, each subdivided in two members (i.e., in ascending stratigraphic order the Kol, Métou, Momibolé, and Atog Adjap Members). The basal ensemble exhibits a typical glacial to post-glacial succession. It includes diamictites comprising cobbles and boulders in a massive argillaceous siltstone matrix, and laminated siltstones followed by, in sharp contact, a 2 m-thick massive dolostone that yielded negative δ¹³C values (<?3‰ V-PDB) similar to those reported for Marinoan cap carbonates elsewhere. However, uncertainty remains regarding the glacial influence on the siliciclastic facies because the diamictite is better explained as a mass-flow deposit, and diagnostic features such as dropstones have not been seen in the overlying siltstones. The Mintom Formation may thus provide an example of an unusual succession of non-glacial diamictite overlain by a truly glacial melt-related cap-carbonate.We also report the recent discovery of ice-striated pavements on the structural surface cut in the Mintom Formation, suggesting that glaciers developed after the latter had been deposited and deformed during the Pan-African orogeny. Striations, which consistently exhibit two principal orientations (N60 and N110), were identified in two different localities, in the west of the study area on siltstones of the Kol Member, and in the east on limestones of the Atog Adjap Member, respectively. N60-oriented striae indicate ice flow towards the WSW. Assigning an age to these features remains problematical because they were not found associated with glaciogenic deposits. Two hypotheses can equally be envisaged, i.e., either the striated surfaces are correlated: (1) to the Gaskiers (or Neoproterozoic post-Gaskiers) glaciation and represent the youngest Ediacaran glacial event documented in the southern Yaoundé belt; or (2) to the Late Ordovician Hirnantian (Saharan) glaciation, thereby providing new data about Hirnantian ice flows in Central Africa.     

Stratigraphy,biostratigraphy and C-isotopes of the Permian–Triassic non-marine sequence at Dalongkou and Lucaogou,Xinjiang Province,China

Measured lithostratigraphic sections of the classic Permian–Triassic non-marine transitional sequences covering the upper Quanzijie, Wutonggou, Guodikeng and lower Jiucaiyuan Formations at Dalongkou and Lucaogou, Xinjiang Province, China are presented. These measured sections form the framework and reference sections for a range of multi-disciplinary studies of the P–T transition in this large ancient lake basin, including palynostratigraphy, vertebrate biostratigraphy, chemostratigraphy and magnetostratigraphy. The 121 m thick Wutonggou Formation at Dalongkou includes 12 sandstone units ranging in thickness from 0.5 to 10.5 m that represent cyclical coarse terrigenous input to the lake basin during the Late Permian. The rhythmically-bedded, mudstone-dominated Guodikeng Formation is 197 m and 209 m thick on the north and south limbs of the Dalongkou anticline, respectively, and 129 m thick at Lucaogou. Based on limited palynological data, the Permian–Triassic boundary was previously placed approximately 50 m below the top of this formation at Dalongkou. This boundary does not coincide with any mappable lithologic unit, such as the basal sandstones of the overlying Jiucaiyuan Formation, assigned to the Early Triassic. The presence of multiple organic δ¹³C-isotope excursions, mutant pollen, and multiple algal and conchostracan blooms in this formation, together with Late Permian palynomorphs, suggests that the Guodikeng Formation records multiple climatic perturbation signals representing environmental stress during the late Permian mass extinction interval. The overlap between the vertebrates Dicynodon and Lystrosaurus in the upper part of this formation, and the occurrence of late Permian spores and the latest Permian to earliest Triassic megaspore Otynisporites eotriassicus is consistent with a latest Permian age for at least part of the Guodikeng Formation. Palynostratigrahic placement of the Permian–Triassic boundary in the Junggar Basin remains problematic because key miospore taxa, such as Aratrisporites spp. are not present. Palynomorphs from the Guodikeng are assigned to two assemblages; the youngest, from the upper 100 m of the formation (and the overlying Jiucaiyuan Formation), contains both typical Permian elements and distinctive taxa that elsewhere are known from the Early Triassic of Canada, Greenland, Norway, and Russia. The latter include spores assigned to Pechorosporites disertus, Lundbladispora foveota, Naumovaspora striata, Decussatisporites mulstrigatus and Leptolepidites jonkerii. While the presence of Devonian and Carboniferous spores and Early Permian pollen demonstrate reworking is occurring in the Guodikeng assemblages, the sometimes common occurrence of Scutasporites sp. cf. Scutasporites unicus, and other pollen, suggests that the Late Permian elements are in place, and that the upper assemblage derives from a genuine transitional flora of Early Triassic aspect. In the Junggar Basin, biostratigraphic data and magnetostratigraphic data indicate that the Permian–Triassic boundary (GSSP Level) is in the middle to upper Guodikeng Formation and perhaps as high as the formational contact with the overlying Jiucaiyuan Formation.     

Middle Permian U–Pb zircon ages of the “glacial” deposits of the Atkan Formation,Ayan-Yuryakh anticlinorium,Magadan province,NE Russia: Their significance for global climatic interpretations

The Atkan Formation in the Ayan-Yuryakh anticlinorium, Magadan province, northeastern Russia, is of great interest because of the occurrence of deposits of apparent “dropstones” and “ice rafted debris” that have been previously interpreted as glacial. Two high-precision U–Pb zircon ages, one for an intercalated volcanic tuff (262.5 ± 0.2 Ma) and the other for a boulder clast (269.8 ± 0.1 Ma) within a diamictite of the Atkan Formation, constrain the age of the Atkan Formation as Guadalupian (middle Permian). Sedimentologic study of the Atkan Formation casts doubt on the glacial nature of the diamictites. Deposition of rocks of the Atkan Formation temporally correlates with the Capitanian interglacial event in the southern hemisphere that recently was calibrated with high precision CA-TIMS. The previously proposed climate proxy record based upon warm-water foraminifera, which corresponds closely to global climate fluctuations, is compared with the glacial record of eastern Australia and indicates that the Capitanian was a time of globally warm climate. The sedimentology of Atkan Formation, the record of diversification of both fusulinids and rugosa corals, global sea-water temperature, and sea-level fluctuations agree well with high latitude paleoclimate records in northeastern Russia and eastern Australia. Major components of the Atkan Formation, the volcanic rocks, are syngenetic with the sedimentation process. The volcanic activity in the nearby regions during middle–late Permian was quite extensive.     

Age,provenance and tectonic setting of the Canastra and Ibiá Groups (Brasília Belt,Brazil): Implications for the age of a Neoproterozoic glacial event in central Brazil

The Brasília Belt is one of the best preserved Neoproterozoic orogens in Brazil. It comprises a thick Meso–Neoproterozoic sedimentary/metasedimentary pile including the Canastra and Ibiá Groups, which are the object of this study. The Canastra Group constitutes a regressive sedimentary sequence made mainly of greenschist-facies metapelitic and metapsammitic rocks, including phyllite, sandy metarhythmite and quartzite, with minor intercalations of limestone, as well as carbonaceous and carbonatic phyllite. The Ibiá Group is formed of a basal diamictite followed upwards by phyllites and calc-schists. It rests on an erosional unconformity on top of the Canastra Group.A provenance study based on U–Pb zircon geochronology on a selection of seven samples helped to establish the various source areas and maximum depositional ages of the original sediments. In addition, seven new Sm–Nd analyses are presented and discussed together with previously published data.LAM-ICP-MS U–Pb dating of detrital zircon grains indicates a maximum depositional age of the Canastra and Ibiá Groups of ca. 1030 and 640 Ma, respectively. The provenance signature of the Canastra Group comprises a wide range of detrital zircon ages with a significant Paleoproterozoic component (～1.8 and ～2.1 Ga) and an important Mesoproterozoic source (1.1–1.2 Ga), especially for the Paracatu Formation, indicating the São Francisco–Congo Craton as main source. These provenance data, in particular the absence of Neoproterozoic zircon grains, typical of the active margin of the Brasília Belt, allied with the homogeneous Paleoproterozoic T_DM values are consistent with the previous interpretation that the Canastra Group represents a sedimentary sequence deposited on a passive margin setting.Zircon grains from the diamictite of the Ibiá Group yielded ages ranging from 936 to 2500 Ma. In contrast, the overlying calc-phyllite of the Rio Verde Formation reveals a dominant Neoproterozoic provenance pattern with important peaks at 665, 740 and 850 Ma. The São Francisco-Congo Craton and Goiás Magmatic Arc are, most probably, the two main source regions for the Ibiá Group which may represent, therefore, a former fore- or back-arc sedimentary sequence. Tectonically, therefore, the Ibiá Group is equivalent to the Araxá Group exposed in central Goiás and both represent syn-orogenic sedimentary sequences formed with important detrital contributions derived from the Neoproterozoic Goiás Arc.The provenance data presented here indicate that the Cubatão Formation is most possibly representative of a Marinoan or younger glacial event.     

Magnetostratigraphy across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary in the main Karoo Basin

The end-Triassic mass extinction and the transition and explosive diversification of fauna over the Triassic-Jurassic boundary is poorly understood and poorly represented in the rock record of the Southern Hemisphere. This is despite the rich diversity in both body and trace fossils of Triassic-Jurassic age in southern Africa, which is not found in coeval Northern Hemisphere localities. We report here the first palaeomagnetic polarity zonation of the Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic continental red bed succession (Elliot Formation; Stormberg Group) in southern Africa. The results from 10 partially overlapping sections, with a composite thickness of ~ 280 m, provide a magnetic polarity chronology of the main Karoo Basin in South Africa and Lesotho. Palaeomagnetic analyses reveal that heating samples to between 150 °C and ~ 300 °C removes the secondary, moderately inclined (~ 48°) normal-polarity component of remanent magnetization. This component overlaps with the present-day field and is comparable to the overprint direction expected from Lower Jurassic Karoo dolerite intrusions. In contrast, a likely primary, high unblocking temperature component, of dual polarity, consistently is of steeper inclination (~ 63°). This characteristic remanence passes the reversals test, except where means are based on small sample populations. There are only two resulting polarity zones for the ~ 200 m thick lower Elliot Formation (LEF) with potential for a thin 3rd magnetozone in the uppermost part. The upper Elliot Formation (UEF), in contrast, which was sampled over a thickness of ~ 80 m, has five polarity zones. The failure of the reversal test for the UEF and combined Elliot Formation (LEF + UEF) indicates that the normal polarity samples may be biased by a younger overprint of either the Jurassic normal polarity of the Karoo Large Igneous Province or present day field. The separate poles calculated for the four sites in the LEF and ten sites in the UEF overlap with the Late Triassic and Early to Middle Jurassic Gondwana poles, respectively. The combined Elliot Formation and UEF pole positions are better constrained than the LEF and therefore considered more reliable. Overall the LEF shows considerable overlap with the Late Triassic Apparent Polar Wander Paths (APWP) poles.     

Stratigraphy and facies development of the marine Late Devonian near the Boulongour Reservoir,northwest Xinjiang,China

Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous stratigraphic units within the ‘Zhulumute’ Formation, Hongguleleng Formation (stratotype), ‘Hebukehe’ Formation and the Heishantou Formation near the Boulongour Reservoir in northwestern Xinjiang are fossil-rich. The Hongguleleng and ‘Hebukehe’ formations are biostratigraphically well constrained by microfossils from the latest Frasnian linguiformis to mid-Famennian trachytera conodont biozones. The Hongguleleng Formation (96.8 m) is characterized by bioclastic argillaceous limestones and marls (the dominant facies) intercalated with green spiculitic calcareous shales. It yields abundant and highly diverse faunas of bryozoans, brachiopods and crinoids with subordinate solitary rugose corals, ostracods, trilobites, conodonts and other fish teeth. The succeeding ‘Hebukehe’ Formation (95.7 m) consists of siltstones, mudstones, arenites and intervals of bioclastic limestone (e.g. ‘Blastoid Hill’) and cherts with radiolarians. A diverse ichnofauna, phacopid trilobites, echinoderms (crinoids and blastoids) together with brachiopods, ostracods, bryozoans and rare cephalopods have been collected from this interval. Analysis of geochemical data, microfacies and especially the distribution of marine organisms, which are not described in detail here, but used for facies analysis, indicate a deepening of the depositional environment at the Boulongour Reservoir section. Results presented here concern mainly the sedimentological and stratigraphical context of the investigated section. Additionally, one Late Devonian palaeo-oceanic and biotic event, the Upper Kellwasser Event is recognized near the section base.     

U–Pb dating of zircons from tuff layer,sandstone and tillite samples in the uppermost Liantuo Formation and the lowermost Nantuo Formation in Three Gorges area,South China

Uranium-lead (U–Pb) dating was conducted on zircons in tuff layers and sandstone samples from the uppermost Liantuo Formation and in a tillite sample from the lowermost Nantuo Formation in Three Gorges area, South China, using SHRIMP and LA-ICP-MS techniques. Zircons from these samples yielded age spectrum (within 1000 Ma) of ∼890, ∼830, ∼780, ∼730, and 646 Ma. Zircons from the Liantuo tuffs have a weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 734.1 ± 8.1 Ma (2σ, n = 7, MSWD = 0.48), which was regarded as the best estimation of the upper boundary age of the Liantuo Formation. Combining with previous geochronologic data, the Liantuo Formation was proposed to be a pre-Chang′an glaciation unit, and it is comparable to the middle-upper Banxi/Danzhou Group in South China.     

Quechua II contraction in the Ayacucho intermontane basin: Evidence for rapid and episodic Neogene deformation in the Andes of central Perú

In the Ayacucho basin of central Perú the regional Quechua II contractional deformation is bracketed by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar isotopic age determinations to a maximum duration of about 300,000 years, and probably less than 150,000 years, centered on 8.7 Ma. The strongly deformed Huanta Formation beneath the Quechua II angular unconformity was deposited during a period of extension that began before 9.05 ± 0.05 Ma. Deposition of a thick succession of alluvial fan deposits interbedded with flows of basaltic andesite in the Tingrayoc Member continued up to about 8.76 ± 0.05 Ma with the later part of the sedimentary record reflected by lacustrine deposits of the Mayocc Member. The upper limit on contractional deformation is constrained by an age of 8.64 ± 0.05 Ma on a unit of tuff near the base of the Puchcas volcanics, which in places was deposited upon near-vertical beds of the Huanta Formation. The Ayacucho Formation was deposited, locally unconformably, upon the Puchcas volcanics beginning slightly before 7.65 ± 0.10 Ma.Extended periods of neutral to tensional stress interrupted by rapid well-developed pulses of contractional deformation demonstrate the episodic behavior of Andean orogeny in Perú. The very short duration for the Quechua II event implies that driving forces for episodic deformation may be related to coupling along the orogen boundaries and strain accumulation and release mechanisms in the continental crust instead of much longer-term variations in the configuration of converging plates.     

Ion microprobe U–Pb dating and Sr isotope measurement of a protoconodont

This report describes in situ ion microprobe U–Pb dating of a protoconodont, an early Cambrian phosphate microfossil, using laterally high-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS). On a single fragment of a fossil (approximately 850 μm × 250 μm) derived from a sedimentary layer in the Meishucunian Yuhucun Formation, Yunnan Province, southern China, 23 spots provide a ²³⁸U/²⁰⁶Pb isochron age of 547 ± 43 Ma (2σ, MSWD = 1.9), which is consistent with the depositional age, 536.5 ± 2.5 Ma estimated using zircon U–Pb dating of interbedded tuffs. However, five spots on a small region (approximately 250 μm × 100 μm) in the same protoconodont yield an isochron age of 417 ± 74 Ma (2σ, MSWD = 0.31), apparently younger than the formation age. The younger age might be attributable to a later hydrothermal event, perhaps associated with Caledonian orogenic activity recorded in younger zircon with an age of 420–440 Ma. We also measured ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of the protoconodont by NanoSIMS. In the older domain, 19 spots give the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of 0.71032 ± 0.00023 (2σ), although seven spots on the younger region provide the ratio of 0.70862 ± 0.00045; this is significantly less radiogenic than the older domain. This is the first report of U–Pb age and Sr isotope heterogeneity within a single fragment of micro-fossil (215).     

Chronologic implications of new Miocene mammals from the Cura-Mallín and Trapa Trapa formations,Laguna del Laja area,south central Chile

Recent work in the central Andean Main Range of Chile near Laguna del Laja (∼37.5°S, 71°W) has produced the first mammal fossils for the region. Fossils, locally abundant and well preserved, occur patchily across a wide area southeast of the lake. Mammalian remains are derived from generally strongly folded (kilometer-scale) exposures of the locally ∼1.8 km thick, early to middle Miocene Cura-Mallín Formation; two identifiable specimens have been recovered from the overlying Trapa Trapa Formation as well. Both formations consist primarily of well-stratified (1–5 m thick layers) volcaniclastic and volcanic strata, deposited predominantly in fluviatile systems. The Cura-Mallín Formation is possibly the southern continuation of (or lateral equivalent to) the richly fossiliferous Abanico Formation mapped between ∼32°S and 36°S. Intensive sampling in a series of localities east and south of Laguna del Laja has yielded diverse faunas, in addition to radioisotopically dateable horizons. The new fossil mammal faunas represent as many as six South American Land Mammal “Ages” (SALMAs). Fossils, together with preliminary ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar radioisotopic dates, ranging from ∼9 to 20 Ma across the exposed thickness of the Cura-Mallín Formation and into the overlying Trapa Trapa Formation, provide a robust geochronological framework for middle Cenozoic strata in the Laguna del Laja region. The sequence of directly superposed mammalian assemblages at Laguna del Laja is one of the longest in all of South America, rivaled only by the classic Gran Barranca section of Patagonian Argentina. These data illuminate the geological history of the area and its record of mammalian evolution. The potential to isotopically date these diverse faunas with high precision (error ± 0.5 Ma) presents a rare opportunity to calibrate related portions of the SALMA sequence.     

High energy transgressive deposits from the Late Jurassic of Wagad,Eastern Kachchh,India

The whole sedimentary succession (ca 600 m thick) of Wagad area ranging in age from Callovian to Early Kimmeridgian has been divided in to three Formations namely Washtawa, Kanthkot and Gamdau in ascending order. Prograding Kanthkot Formation was frequently interrupted by transgressions. Field and petrographic investigations revealed that the Kanthkot Formation represents three fossiliferous marker beds corresponding to Transgressive sequence I; Transgressive sequence II and Transgressive sequence III. These transgressive sequences are composed of two lithounits: medium to coarse grained/gritty, graded to massive, sheetlike, fossiliferous calcareous sandstone (storm lag unit I) and fossiliferous mudrocks (swell lag unit II). The thickness of the unit I varies from 5 to 75 cm and contains mostly convexly oriented shell fragments and whole shell of Pelecypods, Cephalopods and Brachiopods. Unit II (5–15 cm) is distinguished by sheetlike, massive or laminated, yellowish colour, soft fossiliferous mudrocks. This unit is intercalated with moderately bioturbated sandy siltstone. Unit I is dominant over Unit II in the sequences.Study suggests that the transgressive units were deposited close to wave base by high energy storm flows followed by low energy marine swells during transgression. The intense storms played a major role in the distribution of siliciclastics and nonclastic materials. Storms are evidenced by the occurrence of two distinctly different types of units (storm lags and swell lags). High energy levels are characterized by sand dominated sequence, abundance of reworked sediment particles, high proportion broken shells with convex up orientation and erosional and sharp nature of basal contacts of units together with well preserved bioclasts. Sudden short term changes from high to low energy during transgression are explained by the occurrence of medium to coarse grained siliciclastics interbedded with moderately bioturbated mudrocks. Moderately bedded individual strata, high content of coarse clastics along with polished granule size quartz and abundance of comminuted shells indicate a significant change in depositional setting, possibly closure approach of the source of terrigenous fraction or source uplift. Synrift sedimentation in the present study is documented by an abundance of coarse clastics and an over all aggradational nature of transgressive sequences.     

Nitrogen isotope chemostratigraphy across the Permian–Triassic boundary at Chaotian,Sichuan, South China

Nitrogen isotopic compositions of upper Permian to lowermost Triassic rocks were analyzed at Chaotian in northern Sichuan, South China, in order to clarify changes in the oceanic nitrogen cycle around the Permian–Triassic boundary (P–TB) including the entire Changhsingian (Late Late Permian) prior to the extinction. The analyzed ca. 40 m thick interval across the P–TB at Chaotian consists of three stratigraphic units: the upper Wujiaping Formation, the Dalong Formation, and the lowermost Feixianguan Formation, in ascending order. The upper Wujiaping Formation, ca. 10 m thick, is mainly composed of dark gray limestone with diverse shallow-marine fossils such as calcareous algae and brachiopods, deposited on the shallow shelf. In contrast, the overlying Dalong Formation, ca. 25 m thick, is mainly composed of thinly bedded black mudstone and siliceous mudstone containing abundant radiolarians, deposited on the relatively deep slope/basin. Absence of bioturbation, substantially high total organic carbon contents (up to 15%), and abundant occurrence of pyrite framboids in the main part of the Dalong Formation indicate deposition under anoxic condition. The lowermost Feixianguan Formation, ca. 5 m thick, is composed of thinly bedded gray marl and micritic limestone with minor fossils such as ammonoids and conodonts, deposited on the relatively shallow slope. δ¹⁵N_TN values are in positive values around +1 to +2‰ in the upper Wujiaping Formation implying denitrification and/or anammox in the ocean. δ¹⁵N_TN values gradually decrease to −1‰ in the lower Dalong Formation and are consistently low (around 0‰) in the middle Dalong to lowermost Feixianguan Formation. No clear δ¹⁵N_TN shift is recognized across the extinction horizon. The consistently low δ¹⁵N_TN values suggest the enhanced nitrogen fixation in the ocean during the Changhsingian at Chaotian. Composite profiles based on previous and the present studies demonstrate the substantial δ¹⁵N variation on a global scale in the late Permian to earliest Triassic; a systematic δ¹⁵N difference by low and high latitudes is particularly clarified. Although the enhanced nitrogen fixation throughout the Changhsingian at Chaotian was likely a regional event in northwestern South China, the composite δ¹⁵N profiles imply that the sea area in which fixed nitrogen is depleted has gradually developed worldwide in the Changhsingian, possibly acting as a prolonged stress to shallow-marine biota.