The Mesozoic structural evolution of the Gorgon Platform,North Carnarvon Basin,Australia

The Gorgon Platform is located on the southeastern edge of the Exmouth Plateau in the North Carnarvon Basin, North West Shelf, Australia. A structural analysis using three-dimensional (3D) seismic data has revealed four major sets of extensional faults, namely, (1) the Exmouth Plateau extensional fault system, (2) the basin bounding fault system (Exmouth Plateau–Gorgon Platform Boundary Fault), (3) an intra-rift fault system in the graben between the Exmouth Plateau and the Gorgon Platform and (4) an intra-rift fault system within the graben between the Exmouth Plateau and the Exmouth Sub-basin. Fault throw-length analyses imply that the initial fault segments, which formed the Exmouth Plateau–Gorgon Platform Boundary Fault (EG Boundary Fault), were subsequently connected vertically and laterally by both soft- and hard-linked structures. These major extensional fault systems were controlled by three different extensional events during the Early and Middle Jurassic, Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, and illustrate the strong role of structural inheritance in determining fault orientation and linkage. The Lower and Middle Jurassic and Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous syn-kinematic sequences are separated by unconformities.     

Mesozoic transtensional basin history of the Eastern Cordillera, Colombian Andes: Inferences from tectonic models

Backstripping analysis and forward modeling of 162 stratigraphic columns and wells of the Eastern Cordillera (EC), Llanos, and Magdalena Valley shows the Mesozoic Colombian Basin is marked by five lithosphere stretching pulses. Three stretching events are suggested during the Triassic–Jurassic, but additional biostratigraphical data are needed to identify them precisely. The spatial distribution of lithosphere stretching values suggests that small, narrow (<150 km), asymmetric graben basins were located on opposite sides of the paleo-Magdalena–La Salina fault system, which probably was active as a master transtensional or strike-slip fault system. Paleomagnetic data suggesting a significant (at least 10°) northward translation of terranes west of the Bucaramanga fault during the Early Jurassic, and the similarity between the early Mesozoic stratigraphy and tectonic setting of the Payandé terrane with the Late Permian transtensional rift of the Eastern Cordillera of Peru and Bolivia indicate that the areas were adjacent in early Mesozoic times. New geochronological, petrological, stratigraphic, and structural research is necessary to test this hypothesis, including additional paleomagnetic investigations to determine the paleolatitudinal position of the Central Cordillera and adjacent tectonic terranes during the Triassic–Jurassic. Two stretching events are suggested for the Cretaceous: Berriasian–Hauterivian (144–127 Ma) and Aptian–Albian (121–102 Ma). During the Early Cretaceous, marine facies accumulated on an extensional basin system. Shallow-marine sedimentation ended at the end of the Cretaceous due to the accretion of oceanic terranes of the Western Cordillera. In Berriasian–Hauterivian subsidence curves, isopach maps and paleomagnetic data imply a (>180 km) wide, asymmetrical, transtensional half-rift basin existed, divided by the Santander Floresta horst or high. The location of small mafic intrusions coincides with areas of thin crust (crustal stretching factors >1.4) and maximum stretching of the subcrustal lithosphere. During the Aptian–early Albian, the basin extended toward the south in the Upper Magdalena Valley. Differences between crustal and subcrustal stretching values suggest some lowermost crustal decoupling between the crust and subcrustal lithosphere or that increased thermal thinning affected the mantle lithosphere. Late Cretaceous subsidence was mainly driven by lithospheric cooling, water loading, and horizontal compressional stresses generated by collision of oceanic terranes in western Colombia. Triassic transtensional basins were narrow and increased in width during the Triassic and Jurassic. Cretaceous transtensional basins were wider than Triassic–Jurassic basins. During the Mesozoic, the strike-slip component gradually decreased at the expense of the increase of the extensional component, as suggested by paleomagnetic data and lithosphere stretching values. During the Berriasian–Hauterivian, the eastern side of the extensional basin may have developed by reactivation of an older Paleozoic rift system associated with the Guaicáramo fault system. The western side probably developed through reactivation of an earlier normal fault system developed during Triassic–Jurassic transtension. Alternatively, the eastern and western margins of the graben may have developed along older strike-slip faults, which were the boundaries of the accretion of terranes west of the Guaicáramo fault during the Late Triassic and Jurassic. The increasing width of the graben system likely was the result of progressive tensional reactivation of preexisting upper crustal weakness zones. Lateral changes in Mesozoic sediment thickness suggest the reverse or thrust faults that now define the eastern and western borders of the EC were originally normal faults with a strike-slip component that inverted during the Cenozoic Andean orogeny. Thus, the Guaicáramo, La Salina, Bitúima, Magdalena, and Boyacá originally were transtensional faults. Their oblique orientation relative to the Mesozoic magmatic arc of the Central Cordillera may be the result of oblique slip extension during the Cretaceous or inherited from the pre-Mesozoic structural grains. However, not all Mesozoic transtensional faults were inverted.     

渤海湾盆地临清坳陷东部上侏罗统—下白垩统剥蚀量恢复与原型盆地*

渤海湾盆地临清坳陷东部自中生代以来经历了多次构造运动,不同构造时期盆地性质也不相同。本次研究对临清坳陷东部自晚侏罗世以来的构造演化历史进行了分析,恢复了上侏罗统—下白垩统的地层剥蚀量和原始地层厚度,在此基础上结合同一时期的断裂系统图,对盆地发育特征进行了初步研究。结果表明：临清坳陷东部晚侏罗世—早白垩世处于断陷盆地发育阶段;地层剥蚀程度的强弱主要受燕山晚期运动所形成的各种构造的控制,剥蚀厚度呈NE向大小相间分布;晚侏罗世—早白垩世盆地展布方向为NNE向,地层展布主要受断层控制,厚度中心均位于断层上盘。     

攀西古裂谷钠质碱性岩锆石SHRIMP U-Pb年龄及地质意义--以红格、白马和鸡街岩体为例

用SHRIMP测定攀西古裂谷内钠质碱性岩锆石的U Pb年龄 :红格酸性碱性岩 (钠闪石花岗岩 )锆石U Pb年龄为 2 39Ma,白马中性碱性岩 (碱长石英正长岩 )锆石U Pb年龄为 2 2 5Ma和鸡街超基性碱性岩 (霞辉岩 )锆石U Pb年龄为 2 0 4Ma等 ,其年龄变化范围在 2 39～ 2 0 4Ma ,相当于中三叠世—晚三叠世 ,属于印支期。在成岩时间上显示先酸性、后基性。结合近期对其裂谷作用有关的镁铁—超镁铁层状侵入体和峨眉山玄武岩等定年的结果 ,暗示其裂谷强烈的张裂时间是在晚二叠世—晚三叠世 (2 5 9～ 2 0 4Ma)。     

Stratigraphic and structural evolution of the Blue Nile Basin,Northwestern Ethiopian Plateau

The Blue Nile Basin, situated in the Northwestern Ethiopian Plateau, contains ∼1400 m thick Mesozoic sedimentary section underlain by Neoproterozoic basement rocks and overlain by Early–Late Oligocene and Quaternary volcanic rocks. This study outlines the stratigraphic and structural evolution of the Blue Nile Basin based on field and remote sensing studies along the Gorge of the Nile. The Blue Nile Basin has evolved in three main phases: (1) pre‐sedimentation phase, include pre‐rift peneplanation of the Neoproterozoic basement rocks, possibly during Palaeozoic time; (2) sedimentation phase from Triassic to Early Cretaceous, including: (a) Triassic–Early Jurassic fluvial sedimentation (Lower Sandstone, ∼300 m thick); (b) Early Jurassic marine transgression (glauconitic sandy mudstone, ∼30 m thick); (c) Early–Middle Jurassic deepening of the basin (Lower Limestone, ∼450 m thick); (d) desiccation of the basin and deposition of Early–Middle Jurassic gypsum; (e) Middle–Late Jurassic marine transgression (Upper Limestone, ∼400 m thick); (f) Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous basin‐uplift and marine regression (alluvial/fluvial Upper Sandstone, ∼280 m thick); (3) the post‐sedimentation phase, including Early–Late Oligocene eruption of 500–2000 m thick Lower volcanic rocks, related to the Afar Mantle Plume and emplacement of ∼300 m thick Quaternary Upper volcanic rocks. The Mesozoic to Cenozoic units were deposited during extension attributed to Triassic–Cretaceous NE–SW‐directed extension related to the Mesozoic rifting of Gondwana. The Blue Nile Basin was formed as a NW‐trending rift, within which much of the Mesozoic clastic and marine sediments were deposited. This was followed by Late Miocene NW–SE‐directed extension related to the Main Ethiopian Rift that formed NE‐trending faults, affecting Lower volcanic rocks and the upper part of the Mesozoic section. The region was subsequently affected by Quaternary E–W and NNE–SSW‐directed extensions related to oblique opening of the Main Ethiopian Rift and development of E‐trending transverse faults, as well as NE–SW‐directed extension in southern Afar (related to northeastward separation of the Arabian Plate from the African Plate) and E–W‐directed extensions in western Afar (related to the stepping of the Red Sea axis into Afar). These Quaternary stress regimes resulted in the development of N‐, ESE‐ and NW‐trending extensional structures within the Blue Nile Basin. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

1D PetroMod software modeling of the Basrah oil fields, Southern Iraq

1D (Petromod) hydrocarbon charge modeling and source rock characterization of the Lower Cretaceous and Upper Jurassic underlying the prolific Cretaceous and Tertiary reservoirs in the Basra oilfields in southern Iraq. The study is based on well data of the Majnoon, West Qurna, Nahr Umr, Zubair, and Rumaila oil fields. Burial histories indicate complete maturation of Upper Jurassic source rocks during the Late Cretaceous to Paleogene followed by very recent (Neogene) maturation of the Low/Mid Cretaceous succession from early to mid-oil window conditions, consistent with the regional Iraq study of Pitman et al. (Geo Arab 9(4):41–72, 2004). These two main phases of hydrocarbon generation are synchronous with the main tectonic events and trap formation associated with Late Cretaceous closure of the neo-Tethys; the onset of continent–continent collision associated with the Zagros orogeny and Neogene opening of the Gulf of Suez/Red Sea. Palynofacies of the Lower Cretaceous Sulaiy and Lower Yamama Formations and of the Upper Jurassic Najmah/Naokelekan confirm their source rock potential, supported by pyrolysis data. To what extent the Upper Jurassic source rocks contributed to charge of the overlying Cretaceous reservoirs remains uncertain because of the Upper Jurassic Gotnia evaporite seal in between. The younger Cretaceous rocks do not contain source rocks nor were they buried deep enough for significant hydrocarbon generation.     

Sedimentary basins of Yemen: their tectonic development and lithostratigraphic cover

This paper describes the updated stratigraphy, structural framework and evolution, and hydrocarbon prospectivity of the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic basins of Yemen, depicted also on regional stratigraphic charts. The Paleozoic basins include (1) the Rub’ Al-Khali basin (southern flanks), bounded to the south by the Hadramawt arch (oriented approximately W–E) towards which the Paleozoic and Mesozoic sediments pinch out; (2) the San’a basin, encompassing Paleozoic through Upper Jurassic sediments; and (3) the southern offshore Suqatra (island) basin filled with Permo-Triassic sediments correlatable with that of the Karoo rift in Africa. The Mesozoic rift basins formed due to the breakup of Gondwana and separation of India/Madagascar from Africa–Arabia during the Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous. The five Mesozoic sedimentary rift basins reflect in their orientation an inheritance from deep-seated, reactivated NW–SE trending Infracambrian Najd fault system. These basins formed sequentially from west to east–southeast, sub-parallel with rift orientations—NNW–SSE for the Siham-Ad-Dali’ basin in the west, NW–SE for the Sab’atayn and Balhaf basins and WNW–ESE for the Say’un-Masilah basin in the centre, and almost E–W for the Jiza’–Qamar basin located in the east of Yemen. The Sab’atayn and Say’un–Masilah basins are the only ones producing oil and gas so far. Petroleum reservoirs in both basins have been charged from Upper Jurassic Madbi shale. The main reservoirs in the Sab’atayn basin include sandstone units in the Sab’atayn Formation (Tithonian), the turbiditic sandstones of the Lam Member (Tithonian) and the Proterozoic fractured basement (upthrown fault block), while the main reservoirs in the Say’un–Masilah basin are sandstones of the Qishn Clastics Member (Hauterivian/Barremian) and the Ghayl Member (Berriasian/Valanginian), and Proterozoic fractured basement. The Cenozoic rift basins are related to the separation of Arabia from Africa by the opening of the Red Sea to the west and the Gulf of Aden to the south of Yemen during the Oligocene-Recent. These basins are filled with up to 3,000 m of sediments showing both lateral and vertical facies changes. The Cenozoic rift basins along the Gulf of Aden include the Mukalla–Sayhut, the Hawrah–Ahwar and the Aden–Abyan basins (all trending ENE–WSW), and have both offshore and onshore sectors as extensional faulting and regional subsidence affected the southern margin of Yemen episodically. Seafloor spreading in the Gulf of Aden dates back to the Early Miocene. Many of the offshore wells drilled in the Mukalla–Sayhut basin have encountered oil shows in the Cretaceous through Neogene layers. Sub-commercial discovery was identified in Sharmah-1 well in the fractured Middle Eocene limestone of the Habshiyah Formation. The Tihamah basin along the NNW–SSE trending Red Sea commenced in Late Oligocene, with oceanic crust formation in the earliest Pliocene. The Late Miocene stratigraphy of the Red Sea offshore Yemen is dominated by salt deformation. Oil and gas seeps are found in the Tihamah basin including the As-Salif peninsula and the onshore Tihamah plain; and oil and gas shows encountered in several onshore and offshore wells indicate the presence of proven source rocks in this basin.     

Mesozoic exhumation history of the Grenvillian Oaxacan Complex,southern Mexico

We present the first fission‐track results from the Grenvillian Oaxacan Complex, southern Mexico. Time–temperature modelling of the data indicates that two significant Mesozoic cooling episodes are recorded in the Oaxacan Complex and these are interpreted as resulting from exhumation. The older cooling event took place from the Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic and is possible linked to the break‐up of Pangea (including the initial opening of the Gulf of Mexico during the Jurassic). The younger exhumation period in the Early Cretaceous is contemporaneous with the final stages of rifting of the Gulf of Mexico. Key stratigraphic records also provide independent evidence for these exhumation episodes. In our view, both Mesozoic rapid exhumation events were controlled by the activity of the Caltepec Fault Zone and the Oaxaca Fault. Our data suggest that both these large fault systems have remained active since, at least, the Late Triassic.     

湘中地区穹盆构造:褶皱叠加期次和成因

研究认为湘中地区存在三套不整合面,划分了四个构造变形期次:加里东期、印支早期、印支晚期和燕山期,并对各个构造期次的变形特征作了详细的论述。加里东期与印支早期分别为近东西向的褶皱,印支晚期为一近似平行于祁阳弧断裂的弧形构造,燕山期则以北东—北北东向的左旋走滑为主。通过分析各构造期次的复合叠加特征,本文提出:湘中地区的穹盆构造是由于加里东期褶皱与印支期褶皱叠加而形成的,并在燕山期时受到北东—北北东向的左旋走滑断层的改造。     

中国东南部侏罗纪—第三纪陆相地层沉积特征

系统分析、总结了中国东南部地区中新生代地层的分布状况、沉积作用、构造特征 ,反映出地层分布总体上具 NE走向、SE— NW的分带现象 ,现今盆地的面貌有五种不同类型及相应的几何形态。分析认为 ,中国东南部早、中侏罗世普遍为拉张裂陷沉积环境 ,在赣南、粤北、闽西一带发育双峰式火山岩 ;稍后可能受到区域性挤压 ,如皖南、浙西、赣东北等地有南东向北西逆冲的压性构造 ;早白垩世为火山喷发高峰期 ,研究区均不同程度发生了火山喷发 ,其中东南沿海发育大面积的火山岩 ;早白垩世以后华南全区转为拉张 ,发育大量中、小型断陷盆地等伸展型盆地 ;晚白垩世—第三纪地壳继续处于拉张松弛环境 ,形成以裂谷环境为主要特征的火山—沉积岩石组合。这些结果表明 ,早—中侏罗世受古特提斯构造域和太平洋构造域的共同影响 ,中侏罗世之后太平洋板块占主导 ,上述现象主要系太平洋板块在晚中生代不同阶段对中国东南部俯冲作用的方位、俯冲速率、俯冲角度有所变化所导致     

Aspects of the structural evolution of the Lusitanian Basin in Portugal and the shelf and slope area offshore Portugal

The study provides a regional seismic interpretation and mapping of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic succession of the Lusitanian Basin and the shelf and slope area off Portugal. The seismic study is compared with previous studies of the Lusitanian Basin. From the Late Triassic to the Cretaceous the study area experienced four rift phases and intermittent periods of tectonic quiescence. The Triassic rifting was concentrated in the central part of the Lusitanian Basin and in the southernmost part of the study area, both as symmetrical grabens and half-grabens. The evolution of half-grabens was particularly prominent in the south. The Triassic fault-controlled subsidence ceased during the latest Late Triassic and was succeeded by regional subsidence during the early Early Jurassic (Hettangian) when deposition of evaporites took place. A second rift phase was initiated in the Early Jurassic, most likely during the Sinemurian–Pliensbachian. This resulted in minor salt movements along the most prominent faults. The second phase was concentrated to the area south of the Nazare Fault Zone and resulted here in the accumulation of a thick Sinemurian–Callovian succession. Following a major hiatus, probably as a result of the opening of the Central Atlantic, resumed deposition occurred during the Late Jurassic. Evidence for Late Jurassic fault-controlled subsidence is widespread over the whole basin. The pattern of Late Jurassic subsidence appears to change across the Nazare Fault Zone. North of the Nazare Fault, fault-controlled subsidence occurred mainly along NNW–SSE-trending faults and to the south of this fault zone a NNE–SSW fault pattern seems to dominate. The Oxfordian rift phase is testified in onlapping of the Oxfordian succession on salt pillows which formed in association with fault activity. The fourth and final rift phase was in the latest Late Jurassic or earliest Early Cretaceous. The Jurassic extensional tectonism resulted in triggering of salt movement and the development of salt structures along fault zones. However, only salt pillow development can be demonstrated. The extensional tectonics ceased during the Early Cretaceous. During most of the Cretaceous, regional subsidence occurred, resulting in the deposition of a uniform Lower and Upper Cretaceous succession. Marked inversion of former normal faults, particularly along NE–SW-trending faults, and development of salt diapirs occurred during the Middle Miocene, probably followed by tectonic pulses during the Late Miocene to present. The inversion was most prominent in the central and southern parts of the study area. In between these two areas affected by structural inversion, fault-controlled subsidence resulted in the formation of the Cenozoic Lower Tagus Basin. Northwest of the Nazare Fault Zone the effect of the compressional tectonic regime quickly dies out and extensional tectonic environment seems to have prevailed. The Miocene compressional stress was mainly oriented NW–SE shifting to more N–S in the southern part.     

Campanian-Maastrichtian chalks of southwestern Arkansas: Petrology,paleoenvironments and comparison with other North American and European chalks

Chalk was deposited in southwestern Arkansas during the Campanian and Maastrichtian. The Saratoga Formation was deposited in a middle-shelf environment during a transgression, with deposition of a condensed facies during the initial transgressive pulse, followed by deposition of sandy chalk and marly chalk. The Annona Formation, which was deposited in a middle- to outer-shelf environment, was also deposited during a transgression, with initial deposition of a condensed facies followed by local accumulation of calcarenitic chalk and then deposition of a substantial thickness of chalk-marly chalk.The Saratoga and Annona, deposited in the western portion of the Late Cretaceous Mississippi embayment, are comparable in lithology to the Campanian-Maastrichtian Demopolis and Prairie Bluff Formations, found on the eastern side of the embayment. The sandy chalk facies is perhaps more conspicuous in the Mississippi embayment than in any other area of Late Cretaceous chalk deposition. In general, North American chalk is characterised by relatively greater input of terrigenous detritus than European chalk. Because of greater dilution by terrigeneous detritus, North American chalk generally was deposited in restricted areas only in periods of transgressive maxima during the worldwide Late Cretaceous transgression.     

Detrital-zircon record of major Middle Triassic–Early Cretaceous provenance shift,central Mexico: demise of Gondwanan continental fluvial systems and onset of back-arc volcanism and sedimentation

New stratigraphic and petrographic data and zircon U–Pb geochronology from sandstones and volcanic rocks in the states of Queretaro and Guanajuato in central Mexico indicate an important provenance change between Late Triassic and latest Jurassic–Early Cretaceous time. The Upper Triassic El Chilar Complex consists of pervasively deformed, deep-marine olistostromes, and debris-flow deposits of arkosic and subarkosic composition. Detrital-zircon populations range from latest Palaeoproterozoic (1.65 Ga) to Middle Triassic (240 Ma), all predating the depositional age of the strata. The detrital-zircon populations are similar to those previously reported from turbidites of the Potosi fan complex of north-central Mexico and interpreted as derived from Grenville and Pan-African (Maya block) basement and Permo-Triassic arc of continental Mexico directly to the east of the basin. A single sample with a dominant Proterozoic population at ～1.65–1.30 Ga was likely derived either from the Rio Negro-Juruena province of the Amazonian craton or from a local source in the Huiznopala Gneiss, and indicates that El Chilar strata were likely deposited in the proximal part of a submarine-fan system separate from the Potosi fan.

Uppermost Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous strata of the San Juan de la Rosa Formation unconformably overlie the El Chilar Complex and likewise consist of deep-marine olistostromes, slump deposits, debris-flow deposits, and proximal fan-channel fills, but are volcanogenic litharenites with abundant felsic and vitric volcanic lithic fragments. Detrital-zircon populations are dominated by Early Cretaceous grains (150–132 Ma) with no known sources in eastern Mexico. Abundant young grains indicate a maximum depositional age of ～134 Ma (Valanginian–Hauterivian). The San Juan de la Rosa Formation is overlain by deepwater carbonates with interbedded siliciclastic beds of the Peña Azul Formation, which contains detrital-zircon ages as young as ～130 Ma, indicating possible equivalence with similar strata of the Las Trancas Formation, with a maximum depositional age of ～127 Ma and lying to the east in the Zimapan Basin, now part of the Sierra Madre Oriental fold and thrust belt. Decreasing content of volcaniclastic strata eastward indicates a volcanic source to the west. Upper Cretaceous marine strata in the Mineral de Pozos area to the northwest in the state of Guanajuato contain litharenites with a maximum depositional age near 92 Ma, and are thus part of a younger depositional system.

Composition and detrital-zircon content of the Upper Triassic and Lower Cretaceous successions in central Mexico indicates an important shift from Gondwanan continental sediment sources in the Triassic to western volcanic sources, probably on the edge of the newly opened Arperos basin, by the end of the Jurassic. This important sediment-dispersal change records the break-up of Pangea and concomitant development of arc-related sedimentary basins on the western edge of Mexico.     

The International Union of Geological Sciences' Commitment to International Geology Review

A prominent Western specialist on the geology of the oil and gas deposits of Russia provides an interpretation of the genesis of the West Siberian basin, relying, in part, on most recent Russian studies as well as information made available in 1994 evaluating the reserves of Russia's most important producing province. From Late Carboniferous through Middle Jurassic time, the region of West Siberia passed through orogenic, rift, and early platform stages. A domal high was present in the region during the orogenic stage, arising from cratonization of the Ural-Mongolian fold belt. Early Triassic rifting was part of a global rifting event and was a precursor to the subsequent crustal sagging that produced the West Siberian basin. The Early-Middle Jurassic was a time of cyclical marine and continental deposition, the sea moving back and forth from the north. The Talinskoye oil field occurs in Lower-Middle Jurassic sandstones that have the form of a river channel that extends more than 200 km. The Priobskoye field is associated with a Lower Cretaceous clinoform that has been traced N–S for more than 300 km. It is suggested that: (a) the oil in the Lower Cretaceous Neocomian sandstones was sourced by bituminous clays that interfinger with these sandstones on the west; and (b) that Upper Cretaceous Cenomanian gas was sourced in part by deeply buried Paleozoics and by overlying Upper Cretaceous Turonian clays. Predicted discoveries in West Siberia include several thousand small fields with reserves of less than 10 million tons, 250 to 300 medium-sized fields, and several large fields with 30 to 100 million tons.     

Tithonian–Early Valanginian evolution of deposition along the proto-Caribbean margin of North America recorded in Guaniguanico successions (western Cuba)

In the Guaniguanico Mountains of western Cuba, the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous limestones occur in three stratigraphic successions, which have accumulated along the proto-Caribbean margin of North America. The Late Jurassic subsidence and shallow-water carbonate deposition of the Guaniguanico successions have no counterpart on the northeastern Maya block, but some distant similarities with the southeastern Gulf of Mexico may exist. Four facies types have been distinguished in the Tithonian–Lower Valanginian deposits of the Guaniguanico tectonic units. Drowning of the Late Jurassic carbonate bank of the Sierra de los Organos occurred at the Kimmeridgian/Tithonian boundary. During this boundary interval, sedimentation in the west Cuban area and southwestern margin of the Maya block (Mexico) has evolved in a similar way in response to a major second-order transgression.The Lower Tithonian ammonite assemblages of the Guaniguanico successions indicate, in general, the neritic zone. Presence of juvenile gastropods and lack of adult specimens suggest unfavorable environment for these molluscs, probably related to low oxygenation levels. The Early Tithonian transgressive phase terminated about the lower boundary of the Chitinoidella Zone. The Late Tithonian “regressive” phase is weakly marked, whereas the latest Tithonian–earliest Berriasian strata were deposited during a deepening phase. The latter transgressive phase has ended in the Late Berriasian Oblonga Subzone. We correlate the bioturbated pelagic biomicrites of the Tumbitas Member of the Guasasa Formation with a significant fall of the sea level during the latest Berriasian–Early Valanginian. The average sedimentation rate for the Tumbitas Member biomicrites was about three times faster than for the Berriasian Tumbadero Member limestones. Sedimentation rates for the Tumbitas Member and the Valanginian limestones at the DSDP Site 535 in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico were similar. In the Los Organos succession, the Late Valanginian transgressive interval is associated with radiolarian limestones and black chert interbeds in the lower part of the Pons Formation. In the Southern Rosario succession, the pelagic limestones pass into the radiolarian cherts of the Santa Teresa Formation indicating a proximity of CCD during Late Valanginian–Hauterivian times.     

How global are the Jurassic–Cretaceous unconformities?

The reality of the global‐scale sedimentation breaks remains controversial. A compilation of data on the Jurassic–Cretaceous unconformities in a number of regions with different tectonic settings and character of sedimentation, where new or updated stratigraphic frameworks are established, permits their correlation. Unconformities from three large reference regions, including North America, the Gulf of Mexico, and Western Europe, were also considered. The unconformities, which encompass the Jurassic‐Cretaceous, the Lower–Upper Cretaceous and the Cretaceous–Palaeogene transitions are of global extent. Other remarkable unconformities traced within many regions at the base of the Jurassic and at the Santonian–Campanian transition are not known from reference regions. A correlation of the Jurassic–Cretaceous global‐scale sedimentation breaks and eustatic curves is quite uncertain. Therefore, definition of global sequences will not be possible until eustatic changes are clarified. Activity of mantle plumes is among the likely causes of the documented unconformities.     

The Tanlu Fault Zone and Gold Ore Metallogenesis in Eastern China

The Tanlu Fault Zone (TFZ) is a large NE-trending fault system in eastern China that is the locus of several significant gold deposits. At different periods of its evolution and in different zones along its length, the TFZ has distinct geological features that control gold mineralization. In the northeastern part of the TFZ, early-stage faulting activity (from the Jurassic to Cretaceous) is associated with abundant calc-alkaline volcanic rocks, reflecting the compressive structural setting in the Jurassic and Cretaceous. However, activities in the late stage (Cenozoic) produced alkali basalts, indicating a mainly extensional tectonic regime. In the middle and southern segments of the TFZ, early-stage (Jurassic) activity was characterized by calc-alkalic granite intrusions, followed later (Cretaceous) by partial alkalic and alkalic volcanic-intrusive complexes, and in the latest stage (Cenozoic) by alkalic volcanic eruptions.

The TFZ system controls the distribution of gold metallogenic provinces in eastern China, and periods of mineralization of gold ore deposits coincide with the major stages of faulting. Gold ore deposits in eastern China are products of the evolution of the TFZ. During the early evolution of the TFZ, gold ore deposits related to calc-alkalic granite intrusions were formed—e.g., of the quartz-vein and altered-rock types. Gold deposits of the interlayer–sliding fault breccia type were formed along the margin of the extensional basin during the middle period of TFZ evolution. Finally, epithermal gold deposits related to alkalic magmatism were formed during the latest stage of TFZ evolution.     

The bivalve Anopaea (Inoceramidae) from the Upper Jurassic–lowermost Cretaceous of Mexico

In Mexico, the Upper Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous La Casita and coeval La Caja and La Pimienta formations are well-known for their abundant and well-preserved marine vertebrates and invertebrates. The latter include conspicuous inoceramid bivalves of the genus Anopaea not formally described previously from Mexico. Anopaea bassei (Lecolle de Cantú, 1967), Anopaea cf. stoliczkai (Holdhaus, 1913), Anopaea cf. callistoensis Crame and Kelly, 1995 and Anopaea sp. are rare constituents in distinctive Tithonian–lower Berriasian levels of the La Caja Formation and one Tithonian horizon of the La Pimienta Formation. Anopaea bassei was previously documented from the Tithonian of central Mexico and Cuba, while most other members of Anopaea described here are only known from southern high latitudes. The Mexican assemblage also includes taxa which closely resemble Anopaea stoliczkai from the Tithonian of India, Indonesia and the Antarctic Peninsula, and Anopaea callistoensis from the late Tithonian to ?early Berriasian of the Antarctic Peninsula. Our new data expand the palaeogeographical distribution of the high latitude Anopaea to the Gulf of Mexico region and substantiate faunal exchange, in the Late Jurassic–earliest Cretaceous, between Mexico and the Antarctic Realm.     

Paleoceanographic changes at the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary in the Western Tethys, northeastern Mexico

Mexico is usually considered to have formed the western end of the Tethys during Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous times. The circumstances of the opening of the Gulf of Mexico Basin towards the Tethys and the exact stratigraphic timing, however, are not clear. Four sections covering this time interval, located in northeastern Mexico, have been measured and sampled in detail, in order to clarify their stratigraphic position during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous time interval and the paleogeographic and oceanographic changes that accompanied this opening. Our studies include microfacies, micro- and macropaleontology, whole rock and clay-mineral x-ray diffraction and stable isotopes analyses. Our data indicate that the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary, as defined by the Lyon-Neuchâtel Colloquium of 1973, cannot be determined precisely in northeastern Mexico due to the near-absence of calpionellids and endemism of ammonite taxa. In the lower and upper Berriasian sediments, we detected Mediterranean ammonite taxa so far unknown from Mexico, corresponding to the appearance of typical calpionellid-rich facies. These faunas allow direct biostratigraphic correlation with European ammonite and calpionellid zones.We propose that a major oceanographic change occurred in the upper part of calpionellid Zone B of the Early Berriasian. At this time, sediments in northeastern Mexico present increasingly pelagic facies, a dramatic appearance of Tethyan microfossils (calpionellids) and ammonites, changes in stable isotopic values, whole rock and clay-mineral mineralogy. We suggest that these changes are due to a global sea-level rise that connected directly northeastern Mexico to the European Tethys and ended the endemic, semi-restricted and anoxic environment of the Late Jurassic La Casita and equivalent La Caja and La Pimienta Formations.     

Regional tectonic framework,structure and evolution of the western marginal basins of India

The Kutch-Saurashtra, Cambay and Narmada basins are pericontinental rift basins in the western margin of the Indian craton. These basins were formed by rifting along Precambrian tectonic trends. Interplay of three major Precambrian tectonic trends of western India, Dharwar (NNW-SSE), Aravalli-Delhi (NE-SW) and Satpura (ENE-WSW), controlled the tectonic style of the basins. The geological history of the basins indicates that these basins were formed by sequential reactivation of primordial faults. The Kutch basin opened up first in the Early Jurassic (rifting was initiated in Late Triassic) along the Delhi trend followed by the Cambay basin in the Early Cretaceous along the Dharwar trend and the Narmada basin in Late Cretaceous time along the Satpura trend. The evolution of the basins took place in four stages. These stages are synchronous with the important events in the evolution of the Indian sub-continent—its breakup from Gondwanaland in the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic, its northward drifting during the Jurassic-Cretaceous and collision with the Asian continent in the Early Tertiary. The most important tectonic events occurred in Late Cretaceous time. The present style of the continental margins of India evolved during Early Tertiary time.The Saurashtra arch, the extension of the Aravalli Range across the western continental shelf, subsided along the eastern margin fault of the Cambay basin during the Early Cretaceous. It formed an extensive depositional platform continuous with the Kutch shelf, for the accumulation of thick deltaic sediments. A part of the Saurashtra arch was uplifted as a horst during the main tectonic phase in the Late Cretaceous.The present high thermal regime of the Cambay-Bombay High region is suggestive of a renewed rifting phase.