Petrofacies, provenance and diagenesis of the dhosa sandstone member (Chari Formation) at Ler, Kachchh sub-basin, Western India

The sandstones of the Dhosa Sandstone Member of Late Callovian and Early Oxfordian age exposed at Ler have been analyzed for their petrofacies, provenance, tectonic setting and diagenetic history. These sandstones are fine to medium grained and poorly- to well sorted. The constituent mineral grains are subangular to subrounded. These sandstones were derived from a mixed provenance including granites, granite–gneisses, low- and high-grade metamorphic and some basic rocks of the Aravalli Range and Nagarparkar Massif. The petrofacies analysis reveals that these sandstones belong to the continental block-, recycled orogen- and rifted continental margin tectonic regime.The imprints of early and deep burial diagenesis of these sandstones include different stages of compaction, cementation, change in crystal boundaries, cement–cement boundaries, chertification and neomorphism. The sequence of cementation includes precipitation of calcite and its subsequent replacement by Fe calcite and silica cements. The typical intermediate burial (2–3 km depth) diagenetic signatures of these sandstones are reflected in the formation of suture and straight-line boundaries, and triple junctions with straight-line boundaries. The depositional environment, relatively low-energy environment that was below storm wave base but subjected to gentle currents, of the Dhosa Sandstone Member controlled the early diagenesis, which in turn influenced the burial diagenesis of these sandstones.     

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

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

塔里木盆地东部下志留统下砂岩段储层特征

塔里木盆地东部的志留系为一套海相碎屑岩沉积,现今仅保存有下志留统,分布在铁南2井、维马1井以南、阿南1井以北的东西向狭长地带内。下志留统的下砂岩段是油气勘探的主要目的层之一,发育扇三角洲沉积体系。下砂岩段储层岩性为岩屑砂岩,储集空间类型主要为剩余原生粒间孔,压实作用是影响储层物性的主要因素。在下砂岩段储层中,中砂岩的储集性能相对较好,其孔隙度多数在10%以上,是下砂岩段的主要含油气储层。后期的成岩作用改善了局部层段的储层物性。经历了漫长的地质演化后,下砂岩段依然保存有物性条件较好的储层段,可能蕴涵了商业油气储量。     

Textural and geochemical characteristics of the Ajali Sandstone,Anambra Basin,SE Nigeria: Implication for its provenance

This study presents the mineralogical, textural and geochemical characteristics of the regional Maastrichtian Ajali Sandstone in Anambra Basin, SE Nigeria. The intent is to highlight possible constraints on the chemical weathering conditions of the source materials on one hand, and to infer the provenance on the other hand. The investigation approach involved field studies and collection of samples from 12 different outcrop locations, followed by laboratory studies involving grain-size analysis (GSA), major and trace elements analyses using the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) method as well as thin section petrography. Field studies show that the sandstones are friable at all locations and range in color from white in freshly cut stone, to reddish brown on weathering. In addition, the sandstone units are cross-bedded and show graded bedding exemplified by fining upward sequence. Textural examination indicates that the sandstones range from fine to medium sands, constituting about 76 to 99% sand fraction, with graphic mean grain size of 0.23 to 0.53 mm. Standard deviation (sorting) ranges from 0.56 to 1.24 Ø and implies moderately well sorted sediments. Inferred from the textural indices, the depo-environmental discrimination of the Ajali Sandstone revealed a fluvial/river system-dominated sedimentary process. The sandstones are quartz arenite with quartz greater than 90% and less than 5% K-feldspar which indicate a predominant basement source as also revealed by the heavy mineral assemblages. In addition, major elemental oxides shows SiO₂ content greater than 96% for the fresh Ajali Sandstone samples with extreme depletion of mobile oxides such as Na₂O, CaO and the ferromagnesian minerals through weathering and sedimentary processes. Provenance and tectonic setting discrimination using geochemical data and compositional maturity revealed typical felsic igneous-dominated cratonic environment while inter-elemental ratios (such as Zr/Cr, Y/Ni, Th/Sc, La/Sc and La/Co) and ternary plots (e.g. Th–Sc–Zr; La-Th–Sc and Th-Co-Zr) reflect passive continental margin setting for the Ajali Sandstone. Consequently, the source area is constrained to the Precambrian basement rock units of Adamawa-Oban massif areas to the east of the Anambra Basin and the adjacent Abakaliki Anticlinorium.     

Stratigraphic base level and fluvial architecture: Ericson Sandstone (Campanian), Rock Springs Uplift, SW Wyoming, USA

The concept of stratigraphic base level, or the ratio between accommodation and sediment supply (A/S ratio), has been used to analyse the Rusty and Canyon Creek Members of the Campanian Ericson Sandstone in the Rock Springs Uplift, SW Wyoming, USA. The Ericson Sandstone was deposited under fluvial to estuarine conditions in a foreland basin setting influenced both by Sevier-style (thrust belt) tectonism and by more local, Laramide-style, foreland uplifts. The depositional setting was situated several tens to a few hundred kilometres from the nearest shoreline. Therefore, sea level change at the contemporaneous shoreline probably had little, if any, influence on the development of the sedimentary architecture. The Rusty Member shows an alternation between incised valleys filled by multi-storey estuarine channel sandstones showing palaeoflow to the south and delta plain sediments with single-storey channels with no evidence of tidal influence, which show palaeoflow to the east. This cyclicity is interpreted as recording repeated uplift of the Wind River Range to the north, causing valley incision and reduction of the A/S ratio. During quiescent periods, the A/S ratio increased allowing the valleys to fill and delta plain conditions to be subsequently re-established because of increased sediment supply from the thrust belt in the west. A regional unconformity at the base of the Canyon Creek Member truncates the Rusty Member, and represents a significant reduction of the A/S ratio caused by Laramide tectonic uplift. The Canyon Creek Member is a multi-storey, multi-lateral fluvial channel sandstone, where channel preservation and thickness increase upwards, suggesting an increase of the A/S ratio. The Canyon Creek Member channels are interpreted to have been sinuous, meandering channels from the observed sedimentary structures and fill patterns, despite their sand-rich nature. It is argued that grain size is a poor indicator of channel planform, and that there was very low preservation potential for fine material because of a relatively low A/S ratio. The top of the Canyon Creek Member is a regionally correlative surface marking an abrupt increase of the A/S ratio. This surface is termed an expansion surface, denoting an abrupt increase in accommodation. The overlying Almond Formation shows a single-storey alluvial architecture with a very high preservation of fine-grained material. An assumed correspondence in time of the Late Absaroka thrust phase in the Sevier belt to the west and the formation of the sharp top of the Canyon Creek Member suggests that the thrust phase caused a basin-wide abrupt increase of subsidence that changed the alluvial architecture. As an alternative to sequence stratigraphic nomenclature defined for strata controlled by shoreline movements, a scheme relating systems tracts and surfaces to changes in stratigraphic base level is proposed. Such a scheme is useful where correlations to shoreline strata are ambiguous or cannot be made, or where tectonics and climate are important controls.     

A sedimentological model for the continental Upper Triassic Tadrart Ouadou Sandstone Member: recording an interplay of climate and tectonics (Argana Valley; South‐west Morocco)

The continental Upper Triassic Tadrart Ouadou Sandstone Member was deposited in an extensional setting on the Pangaean continent, strongly influenced by a low‐latitude climatic regime (10° to 20° north). Complex interaction of basin subsidence and climatically driven processes led to high facies variability and a lack of correlatable units across the Argana Valley exposures. A process‐orientated approach integrating detailed facies with architectural element analysis was undertaken, which resulted in a multistage depositional model for the Tadrart Ouadou Sandstone Member. The basin‐scale model shows that basal alluvial fan and braided river systems are confined to the centre of the Argana Valley exposures. Aeolian deposits occur throughout the sequence, but dominate in the north. After a phase of playa deposition, prominent basin‐wide fluvial incision of up to 8 m marks the onset of perennial fluvial flow. These well‐sorted, internally complex and locally highly amalgamated fluvial sandstones are widespread throughout the basin and are focused in a north to south (south‐west) flowing channel system. After a final stage of aeolian sedimentation, sandstone deposition of the Tadrart Ouadou Sandstone Member in the Argana Valley is terminated rapidly by the onlap of lacustrine mudstones of the Sidi Mansour Member. The study revealed that, except for one pronounced period of perennial conditions, sedimentation is controlled largely by ephemeral fluvial flow, alternating ground water tables, deflation processes and periods with limited periodic local run‐off. The study highlights that facies architecture in the basin is the result of complex interaction of local syn‐sedimentary tectonics and the climatic regime within the basin, but also the climate of the catchment area to the east. The data suggest a proximal to mid‐distal basin setting in the rain‐shadow to the west of a mountain range (Massif Ancien), which exerted a strong control on the depositional environments of Triassic deposits exposed in this part of South‐west Morocco.     

泌阳凹陷核三下亚段砂岩成岩作用及储集性

泌阳凹陷东部核三下亚段砂岩储层由辨状河三角洲成因的长石砂岩及岩屑长石砂岩组成。主要成岩作用包括压实、石英和长石次生加大、晶粒状方解石胶结、溶解、自生绿泥石等，演化程度已达到晚成岩Ｂ亚期。成岩作用使砂岩原生孔隙体系发生强烈变化。各种成岩作用对储集性有不同影响，孔隙度的减少主要与压实及碳酸盐胶结作用有关；石英和长石次生加大及自生粘土衬边经常使喉道堵塞，对渗透率危害较大；溶解作用形成的次生孔隙及喉道对砂     

A tidal-inlet complex in the Cretaceous epeiric sea of North America: Virgelle Member, Milk River Formation, southern Alberta, Canada

The upper portion of the Virgelle Member (Upper Cretaceous Milk River Formation) at Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park of southern Alberta preserves evidence of tidal processes along an otherwise wave-dominated, progradational shoreline in the Cretaceous Interior Seaway of North America. The upper Virgelle Member is underlain by offshore transition to lower shoreface deposits of the Telegraph Creek Member and the lower Virgelle Member, respectively, and is overlain by the non-marine shales and sandstones of the Deadhorse Coulee Member. The sediments of the upper Virgelle Member were deposited along a prograding shoreline and are interpreted here as those of a tidal-inlet complex. Most inlet sections consist of an erosional base overlain by a shale-pebble conglomerate, followed by cross-bedded sandstones which become finer-grained and decrease in scale upwards. Indicators of tidal processes include palaeocurrent distributions, mud couplets, tidal bundles, re-activation surfaces and herringbone cross-beds. The sequence through the tidal-inlet complex can be differentiated, according to prevalent palaeoflow directions and sedimentary structures, as ebb-dominated, flood-dominated, or mixed-tidal influence. Ebb-dominated sections commonly contain lateral accretion surfaces whereas flood-dominated sections contain tidal-ramp deposits. Back-barrier lagoon deposits are dominated by sandstones of an extensive flood-tidal delta with only thin shales preserved locally at the top of the inlet complex. Deposits of ebb-tidal deltas are absent, presumably due to the effective sediment dispersal by waves and wave-induced longshore currents acting on the regionally wave-dominated shoreline.     

豫西石千峰组研究新进展

豫西石千峰组很发育，分布广泛，据钻井的岩芯及化石划为三段，下段：平顶山砂岩段；中段：双壳类泥灰岩段；上段；石膏钙核段。平顶山砂岩段的地质时代为晚二叠世，地层上可同华北石千峰组下部对比，平顶山砂岩段同下伏上石盒子组为整合接触，经陆块南缘局部为不整合，称之海侵超覆，据石千峰组所含化石，说明华北陆块东南部晚二叠世为开阔海环境。     

High‐resolution stratigraphic architecture and lithological heterogeneity within marginal aeolian reservoir analogues

Marginal aeolian successions contain different lithological units with variable geometries, dimensions and spatial distributions. Such variations may result in considerable heterogeneity within hydrocarbon reservoirs developed in successions of this type, which poses a high risk to their efficient development. Here, such heterogeneity is described and characterized at inter‐well (<1 km) scales using two well‐exposed outcrop analogues of ‘end member’ marginal aeolian deposits from the Permian Cedar Mesa Sandstone and Jurassic Page Sandstone of south‐central Utah, USA. The sedimentology and stratigraphic architecture of the Cedar Mesa Sandstone was studied in a 1·2 km² area in the Indian Creek region of southern Utah, where the interval consists of interbedded fluvial and aeolian deposits representative of a fluvial‐dominated erg margin. The Page Sandstone was studied in a 4·3 km² area near Escalante, close to the Utah‐Arizona border, where it consists of interbedded sabkha and aeolian deposits representative of a transitional‐marine erg margin. The three‐dimensional stratigraphic architectures of both reservoir analogues have been characterized, in order to establish the dimensions, geometries and connectivity of high‐permeability aeolian sandstones. Facies architecture of the aeolian‐sabkha deposits is characterized by laterally continuous aeolian sandstone layers of relatively uniform thickness that alternate with layers of heterolithic sabkha deposits. Aeolian sandstones are thus likely to form vertically unconnected but laterally widespread flow units in analogous reservoirs. Facies architecture in the aeolian‐fluvial deposits is more complex, because it contains alternating intervals of aeolian sandstone and fluvial heterolithic strata, both of which may be laterally discontinuous at the studied length‐scales. Aeolian sandstones encased by fluvial heterolithic strata may form small, isolated flow units in analogous reservoirs, although the limited continuity of fluvial heterolithic strata results in vertical connectivity between successive aeolian sandstones in other locations. These architectural templates may be used to condition zonation schemes in models of marginal aeolian reservoirs.     

Fluvial to tidal transition in proximal,mixed tide‐influenced and wave‐influenced deltaic deposits: Cretaceous lower Sego Sandstone,Utah, USA

Facies models for regressive, tide‐influenced deltaic systems are under‐represented in the literature compared with their fluvial‐dominated and wave‐dominated counterparts. Here, a facies model is presented of the mixed, tide‐influenced and wave‐influenced deltaic strata of the Sego Sandstone, which was deposited in the Western Interior Seaway of North America during the Late Cretaceous. Previous work on the Sego Sandstone has focused on the medial to distal parts of the outcrop belt where tides and waves interact. This study focuses on the proximal outcrop belt, in which fluvial and tidal processes interact. Five facies associations are recognized. Bioturbated mudstones (Facies Association 1) were deposited in an offshore environment and are gradationally overlain by hummocky cross‐stratified sandstones (Facies Association 2) deposited in a wave‐dominated lower shoreface environment. These facies associations are erosionally overlain by tide‐dominated cross‐bedded sandstones (Facies Association 4) interbedded with ripple cross‐laminated heterolithic sandstones (Facies Association 3) and channelized mudstones (Facies Association 5). Palaeocurrent directions derived from cross‐bedding indicate bidirectional currents which are flood‐dominated in the lower part of the studied interval and become increasingly ebb‐directed/fluvial‐directed upward. At the top of the succession, ebb‐dominated/fluvial‐dominated, high relief, narrow channel forms are present, which are interpreted as distributary channels. When distributary channels are abandoned they effectively become estuaries with landward sediment transport and fining trends. These estuaries have sandstones of Facies Association 4 at their mouth and fine landward through heterolithic sandstones of Facies Association 3 to channelized mudstones of Facies Association 5. Therefore, the complex distribution of relatively mud‐rich and sand‐rich deposits in the tide‐dominated part of the lower Sego Sandstone is attributed to the avulsion history of active fluvial distributaries, in response to a subtly expressed allogenic change in sediment supply and relative sea‐level controls and autocyclic delta lobe abandonment.     

Diagenesis impact on a deeply buried sandstone reservoir (Es1 Member) of the Shahejie Formation,Nanpu Sag,Bohai Bay Basin,East China

Diagenesis has a significant impact on reservoir quality in deeply buried formations. Sandstone units of the Shahejie Formation (Es₁ Member) of Nanpu Sag, Bohai Bay Basin, East China is a typical deeply buried sandstone with large hydrocarbon accumulations. The methodology includes core observations and thin section studies, using fluorescence, scanning electron microscope (SEM), cathodoluminescence (CL), fluid inclusion and isotope and electron probing analysis as well as the numerical determination of reservoir characteristics. The sandstones consist of medium to coarse-grained, slight to moderate sorted lithic arkose and feldspathic litharenite. Porosity and permeability values range from 0.5 to 30% and 0.006 to 7000 mD, respectively. The diagenetic history reveals mixed episodes of diagenesis and deep burial followed by uplift. The main diagenetic events include compaction, cementation alteration, dissolution of unstable minerals and grain fracturing. Compaction resulted in densification and significantly reduced the primary porosity. Quartz, calcite and clay are the dominant pore-occluding cement and occur as euhedral to subhedral crystals. Alteration and dissolution of volcanic lithic fragments and pressure solution of feldspar grains were the key sources of quartz cement whereas carbonate cement is derived from an external source. Clay minerals resulted from the alteration of feldspar and volcanic lithic fragments. Porosity and permeability data predict a good inverse relationship with cementation whereas leaching of metastable grains, dissolution of cement and in some places formation of pore-lining chlorite enhanced the reservoir quality. The best reservoir is thicker sandstone bodies that are medium to coarse-grained, well-sorted sandstone with low primary ductile grains with a minor amount of calcite cement. The present study shows several diagenetic stages in the Es₁ Member, but the overall reservoir quality is preserved.     

Neogene Billa Kalina Basin and Stuart Creek silicified floras,northern South Australia: a reassessment of their stratigraphy,age and environments

Abstract

Silicified fossil macrofloras of the Willalinchina Sandstone, at Stuart Creek in the Billa Kalina Basin of northern South Australia, are most likely early Miocene–early Pliocene with preference for the younger age, based on reinterpretation of published evidence including basin stratigraphy, paleogeography, isotopic and other dating. The macrofloras include Eucalyptus and occur in fluvial channel sandstones. The Willalinchina Sandstone is equated with the Danae Conglomerate Member of the Mirikata Formation, interpreted as older than the Watchie Sandstone, Millers Creek Dolomite Member and Billa Kalina Clay Member, and here regarded as of upper Neogene age. The Billa Kalina Basin lies between Lake Eyre, Torrens and Eucla basins, and has affinities with all three. The Kingoonya Paleochannel, peripheral to the Eucla Basin, joins the southern margin of the Billa Kalina Basin across the Stuart Range Divide, and contains the Garford Formation of mid-Miocene to Pliocene age (palynological dating), here partly equated with the Mirikata Formation. Interpretations of paleolake Billa Kalina and associated paleochannel environments are made, based on a new assessment of stratigraphic and paleogeographic relationships.

1. KEY POINTS

2. The Billa Kalina Basin sediments in northern South Australia are equated with the later Neogene ‘upper’ Garford Formation of the Kingoonya Paleochannel, which flowed into the Eucla Basin, and depositional processes are clarified.

3. A variety of consistent age data from adjacent basins and the Kingoonya Paleochannel indicate the Stuart Creek ‘silcrete floras’, associated with the Willalinchina Sandstone channel deposits, are Neogene, probably early Pliocene, but the possibility remains that they may be incised into the Watchie Sandstone and therefore late Pliocene.

4. The Billa Kalina Basin was linked to the Kingoonya Paleochannel through much of its history, with flow disrupted by the Stuart Range Divide, local tectonics, and regional tilting.

     

Facies change in upper devonian and lower carboniferous rocks of Southern Ireland

In south-west Ireland 8,000 ft (2,440 m) of marine sandstones and mudstones, the Cork Beds (?Upper Famennian to E Zone, Carboniferous, in age), overlie the Old Red Sandstone. Farther north the Old Red Sandstone is succeeded by thin Lower Limestone Shales overlain by thick Waulsortian bank limestones. A critical section (North Ringabella) west of Cork Harbour, in which 6,500 ft (1,981 m) of Old Red Sandstone and Cork Beds is exposed, is described and divided into ten formations. By comparison with sections to the south the upper beds of the Old Red Sandstone are shown to pass southward into marine sandstones (Cork Beds) of ?Upper Famennian age. The successions in the Cloyne and Cork Synclines are described and reveal the progressive northward change in the Lower Carboniferous from the argillaceous Cork Facies through a zone of isolated bank limestones (Cloyne) to a thick, 4,000 ft (1,219 m), Waulsortian bank complex (Cork). Finally an attempt is made with use of isopachyte maps to reconstruct the palaeogeography of southern Ireland in Upper Devonian and Lower Carboniferous times.     

Fluvial-aeolian interactions: Part II, ancient systems

An understanding of fluvial-aeolian deposition derived from modern case-examples in a previous study is applied to the Permian Cutler Formation and Cedar Mesa Sandstone on the Colorado Plateau. These formations supply an excellent three-dimensional exposure of intertonguing fluvial and aeolian strata. Four distinct facies associations form the bulk of the Cutler Formation and Cedar Mesa Sandstone: (1) aeolian dune deposits; (2) wet interdune deposits; (3) fluvial channel deposits; and (4) overbank-interdune deposits. In addition, two distinctive types of erosion surfaces are found within the Cutler Formation and Cedar Mesa Sandstone: pebble- to granule-rich erosion surfaces (aeolian deflation surfaces) and flood surfaces. Fluvial and aeolian intertonguing result in extensive tabular sheets of aeolian sandstone separated by flood surfaces and overbank-interdune deposits. Fluvial channels are associated with the deposits overlying flood surfaces and are incised into the underlying aeolian sandstones. Overbank-interdune deposits and wet interdune deposits cover flood surfaces and intertongue with overlying aeolian sandstones. The primary characteristics of ancient fluvial-aeolian deposition are overbank-interdune deposits and pronounced extensive erosion surfaces (flood surfaces), which are parallel to underlying fluvial sandstones and thus trend parallel to the palaeoslope and palaeohydrological gradient.     

Phanerozoic stratigraphy and structure of the northern Barrier Ranges,western New South Wales

Devonian strata near Fowlers Gap and Nundooka Stations, northern Barrier Ranges comprise ～2.7 km of sparsely fossiliferous, fluvially deposited sandstones (Mulga Downs Group). These strata are subdivided into the Coco Range Sandstone (oldest, Emsian‐Eifelian) found west of the north‐trending Nundooka Creek Fault, and the Nundooka Sandstone (youngest, ?Frasnian‐Famennian found east of the fault). Eleven stratigraphic units are mapped and two of these in the Coco Range Sandstone are formally named as The Valley Tank Arenite and Copi Dam Arenite Members. The Coco Range Sandstone and Nundooka Sandstone are tentatively correlated with strata in the Bancannia Trough. Deposition of the Coco Range Sandstone and Nundooka Sandstone was, however, separate from that of the Bancannia Trough, probably due to topographic highs which occurred east of the Western Boundary Fault.

The Coco Range Sandstone is cut by northeast‐trending faults splaying from the Nundooka Creek Fault. These faults have vertical planes and are thought to predate deposition of the Nundooka Sandstone. In the Late Cretaceous the Nundooka Creek and Western Boundary Faults became active and areas west of these faults were uplifted to form Coco Range and Bald Hill. This fossil landscape was progressively buried by deposition of the Palaeocene‐Eocene Eyre Formation until it was half covered by strata. During the Oligocene silcrete of the Cordillo Surface formed and was overlain conformably by the sandy Doonbara Formation (Miocene). Since the Miocene, much of the Eyre Formation has been removed by erosion to exhume a Late Cretaceous landscape. Subsequently in the ?Pliocene there was some faulting along the Nundooka Creek and Western Boundary Faults because locally the Cordillo Surface and the Doonbara Formation dip toward the faults at 30–72°. At three localities there is evidence of probable Quaternary activity on the Nundooka Creek and the Western Boundary Faults (downthrow to the east) suggesting a different style of tectonics from that in the Miocene.     

Trace fossil evidence from the Adigrat Sandstone for an Ordovician glaciation in Eritrea, NE Africa

Trace fossils are described here from the Adigrat Sandstone formation of hitherto uncertain Palaeozoic-Mesozoic age in south-central Eritrea. The formation is subdivided into a lower unit, the Adi MaEkheno Member, and an upper informal unit, Member 2. The formation was deposited on the locally mudcracked top of the glacigenic Edaga Arbi Beds, suggesting that these two rock units were formed in a very short time interval. The Adi MaEkheno Member and the lower part of Member 2 contain trace fossils Arthrophycus alleghaniensis (Harlan), Arthrophycus ?brongniartii (Harlan), Didymaulichnus lyelli (Rouault), Palaeophycus tubularis Hall, Taenidium isp., thin winding ridges, winding ridges and furrows, simple cylinders, and ‘stellate’ forms. A. alleghaniensis is distinctively of Ordovician–Silurian (?Early Devonian) age. The trace fossil association belongs to the Cruziana ichnofacies that indicates a shallow marine environment between the normal and storm wave bases. The trace fossil data and stratigraphic relationships indicate that the Adigrat Sandstone formation and the Edaga Arbi Beds in Eritrea are Ordovician–Silurian in age. The Edaga Arbi Beds are correlated with other Upper Ordovician (Hirnantian) glacial units in northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, lending these beds the status of a marker unit in the Lower Palaeozoic stratigraphy of the Horn of Africa. The Jurassic “Adigrat Sandstone” in central-west and eastern Ethiopia cannot be correlated with the Adigrat Sandstone formation in its type area and in Eritrea.     

Geochemistry and detrital modes of Proterozoic sedimentary rocks,Bayana Basin,north Delhi fold belt: implications for provenance and source-area weathering

Bayana Basin, sited along the eastern margin of the north Delhi fold belt of the Aravalli Craton, contains an ～3000?m-thick sequence comprising one volcanic and seven sedimentary formations of the Delhi Supergroup. The sedimentary units are the Nithar, Jogipura, Badalgarh, Bayana, Damdama, Kushalgarh, and Weir formations in order of decreasing age. Petrographic study of the sandstones as well as major and trace elements (including rare earth elements) and bulk-rock analyses of the shales and sandstones allow the determination of their provenance, source-rock weathering, and basinal tectonic setting. The sandstones are quartz rich and were derived mainly from exhumed granitoids typical of a craton interior. Geochemical patterns of the sandstones and shales are similar. However, trace element abundances are low in sandstones, probably due to quartz dilution. The coarser clastic Damdama and Weir sandstones, which occur at higher stratigraphic levels, have strikingly low trace element concentrations compared with the underlying Bayana and Badalgarh sandstones. All samples show uniform LREE-enriched patterns with negative Eu-anomalies (Eu/Eu*?=?0.16–0.23) and are similar to those of post-Archaean Australian shales (PAAS). However, the (La/Yb) _n ratios (averages 11–18) of all the sedimentary units are higher than those of PAAS, except for the Bayana Sandstone, which has low values (average 6.77). The chemical index of alteration (70–78) and the plagioclase index of alteration (87–97) values and the A–CN–K diagram suggest moderate to intense weathering of the source area.

The provenance analyses indicate that basin sedimentation was discontinuous. It received input from a terrain comprising granitoids, mafic rocks, sedimentary sequences, and tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) suites. The Nithar and Badalgarh sandstones received input from a source consisting predominantly of granitoids. The succeeding Damdama and Weir sandstones received debris from granitoids and TTG in different proportions. The Kushalgarh shale was possibly derived from a source consisting granites and mafic rocks with a TTG component. The pre-existing sedimentary formations also contributed intermittently during the different phases of sedimentation.

Bulk-rock geochemical data suggest Mesoarchaean gneisses and late Archaean granites of BGC/BGGC (Banded Gneissic Complex/Bundelkhand Granitic Gneiss Complex) basement as possible source terrains. These data indicate deposition in a continental rift setting. The coeval formation of many rift-related Proterozoic sedimentary basins in the BGC/BGGC terrain suggests that the North Indian Craton underwent major intracratonic extension during Proterozoic time, probably triggering the break up of Earth's first supercontinent.     

The ordovician (caradoc) volcanic rocks of montgomery,Powys, N. Wales

The Ordovician (Caradoc, Soudleyan) rocks of Montgomery, Powys are shales interbedded with locally conglomeratic volcaniclastic sediments composed of andesitic detritus. New formal lithostratigraphic units are proposed: Montgomery Volcanic Group comprising in ascending order: Castle Hill Shale Formation, Castle Hill Conglomerate Formation and Quarry Sandstone and Shale Formation. The volcaniclastic strata are reinterpreted as deposits of a submarine volcaniclastic fan system sourced by contemporaneous andesitic island volcanism. The observed diagenetic sequence is typical of marine volcanic sandstones and was dominated by hydration reactions related to the degradation of abundant unstable volcanic detritus. Diagenesis has resulted in the virtual destruction of original porosity in the volcaniclastic rocks.     

Facies model for a sandy ephemeral stream and clay playa complex; the Middle Devonian Trentishoe Formation of North Devon, U.K.

Sediments in the Trentishoe Formation of the Middle Devonian Hangman Sandstone Group (North Devon, U.K.) provide the basis of a model for sandy ephemeral stream and clay playa deposition. Three types of sequence are found, representing proximal, medial and distal areas on an extensive alluvial plain. The Proximal sequence consists of cross-cutting channel-fill sandstones which represent the deposits of a network of low sinuosity sand bed streams. The Medial sequence comprises upwards coarsening cyclothems which start with relatively distal, thinly bedded sandstone and siltstone flood sheets cut by complexes of silt draped channel-fill sandstones and single channel fill sandstones. The flood sheets coarsen and thicken upwards to more proximal multistorey sheet sandstones. The Distal sequences consist of laminated mudstone and sandstone, cut by desiccation and water escape features, alternating with wave rippled sandstones, and represent playa lakes occasionally incised by high sinuosity channels with laterally accreting sandstones. The three sequence types represent the downslope progression from a low sinuosity channel network which passed into an ephemeral flood deposit complex which in turn drained into clay playas.