A new facies model for the Upper Gypsum of Sicily (Italy): chronological and palaeoenvironmental constraints for the Messinian salinity crisis in the Mediterranean

The Upper Gypsum unit of the Caltanissetta Basin (Sicily) records the last phase of the Messinian salinity crisis comprising the so‐called ‘Lago Mare’ event. A new facies analysis study recognizes nine to ten depositional cycles consisting of seven rhythmically interbedded primary gypsum bodies, and two to three sandstone bodies separated by marly terrigenous horizons showing laterally persistent vertical organization. A basal thin gypsum bed is overlain by a cluster of five thicker gypsum bodies. A marly interval containing two distinct sandstone horizons separates this cluster from the overlying uppermost (seventh) gypsum body. The terrigenous Arenazzolo Formation, in turn followed by the lower Pliocene Trubi Formation, is considered here to form the uppermost part of the Upper Gypsum unit. The rhythmic alternation in the sandy marls and gypsum/sandstone bodies records the response of sediments from shelfal to deltaic systems to precession‐driven arid‐wet climate fluctuations causing cyclical changes of both base‐level and water concentration. During wet climate phases (at insolation maxima) marl and sandstone were deposited in a hypohaline environment as suggested by: (i) the typical Lago Mare faunal assemblage and (ii) the negative δ¹⁸O values. During arid phases (at insolation minima) the reduced meteoric supply, recorded by higher δ¹⁸O values in the carbonate, caused the development of a negative hydrological budget leading to evaporite precipitation. At a basinal scale the Upper Gypsum unit unconformably overlies a mainly clastic evaporite unit containing carbonate breccia (the so‐called ‘Calcare di Base’) and/or clastic gypsum. Towards the basin centres, where the basal contact becomes conformable, a primary gypsum cumulate horizon is present. This layer is interpreted as a possible lateral equivalent of the Halite unit present only in the deepest depocentres. Based on astronomical calibration of the depositional cycles, the Upper Gypsum unit, including the Arenazzolo Formation, spans the interval between 5·33 and 5·53 Ma. This new age calibration allows the deposition of the Halite unit to be dated between 5·6 Ma (top of the Lower Evaporites) and 5·55 Ma (base of the Upper Evaporites) corresponding to isotopic stages TG12 and/or TG14.     

Trace element distribution in Neoproterozoic carbonates as palaeoenvironmental indicator

A first study of REE + Y distribution in a variety of Neoproterozoic (Cryogenian and Ediacaran) carbonates from different settings in the Saldania, Gariep, Damara and West Congo Belts in southwestern and central Africa revealed systematic differences that can be explained by varying palaeoenvironmental factors. The majority of samples display relatively unfractionated, flat shale-normalised REE + Y patterns that cannot be ascribed solely to shale contamination but are interpreted as resulting from the incorporation of near-shore colloids, possibly related to Fe-oxihydroxide scavenging. Only few carbonate units yielded trace element distributions that conform to a typical seawater composition. Those carbonates that were affected by stratiform, syn-sedimentary hydrothermal mineralisation are distinguished by Eu anomalies. Considering the similarity in residence time between REE and carbon, the strong influence of river-born particles on the REE + Y distribution in the analysed carbonates casts considerable doubt over the usefulness of these carbonates for stratigraphic correlation of Neoproterozoic sediment successions based on carbon isotopes.     

Geochemical signature of the Cenomanian to Eocene rocks in Israel -a palaeoenvironmental indicator

Distinctive trace-metal concentrations characterize Cenomanian to Eocene marine carbonates from Israel. The Cenomanian-Turonian platform carbonates, including clayey formations, exhibit low average values ranging between 2 and 29 ppm for Zn, Cr, V, Ni, Cu, U and Co. The Santonian-Campanian and Early to Middle Eocene marine chalks show higher average concentrations of these trace-metals ranging between 3 and 56 ppm. The highest average concentrations of these metals (5–118 ppm) are found in the Maastrichtian and in the Palaeocene marine chalks and marls. The possible relationship between these metal background levels and the lithology, the biogenic productivity, the organic matter content, the iron oxide concentration, the rate of sedimentation of the studied time-rock units as well as the palaeogeographical changes are discussed. The extent of the exposed palaeo-landmasses due to tectonics, the intensity of weathering conditions and the detritus supply into the basin, control primarily the iron and trace-metal content in the studied sediments.     

Rock glaciers in the northern Japanese Alps: palaeoenvironmental implications since the Late Glacial

In order to determine the palaeoclimatic and palaeo‐permafrost conditions in the northern Japanese Alps in central Japan, the ages of rock glaciers were investigated by relative age dating techniques such as weathering‐rind thickness and Schmidt hammer measurements. The results of the relative age dating suggest that the formation of the investigated rock glaciers may have started during the early phase of the Late Glacial or around the onset of the Holocene. The lower limit of current discontinuous permafrost in the northern Japanese Alps, which is indicated by the terminus of the lowest active/inactive rock glacier, lies at 2530 m a.s.l., while that of discontinuous permafrost during the Late Glacial or early phase of the Holocene, which is indicated by the terminus of the lowest relict rock glacier, lies at 2220 m a.s.l. Therefore, the lower limit of discontinuous permafrost during these periods would have been at least about 300 m lower than that of the current discontinuous permafrost. Climatic and geomorphological conditions during the Late Glacial led to a change in the environment from a glacial environment to a periglacial (permafrost) environment in the current alpine zone of the northern Japanese Alps. A large number of cirques were deglaciated and several of them were occupied by active rock glaciers around the onset of the Holocene. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

40Ar/39Ar dating of ignimbrites and plinian air-fall layers from Cappadocia,Central Turkey: Implications to chronostratigraphic and Eastern Mediterranean palaeoenvironmental record

Magmatism forming the Central Anatolian Volcanic Province of Cappadocia, central Turkey, records the last phase of Neotethyan subduction after ∼11 Ma. Thirteen large calc-alkaline ignimbrite sheets form marker bands within the volcano-sedimentary succession (the Ürgüp Formation) and provide a robust chronostratigraphy for paleoecologic evaluation of the interleaved paleosols. This paper evaluates the chronologic record in the context of the radiometric, magnetostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic controls. Previous inconsistencies relating primarily to K/Ar evidence were reason for the initiation of an integrated study which includes ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating, palaeomagnetic and stratigraphic evidence. The newly determined ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar-ages (Lepetit, 2010) are in agreement with Ar/Ar and U/Pb data meanwhile published by Pauquette and Le Pennec (2012) and Aydar et al. (2012). The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar-ages restrict the end of the Ürgüp Formation to the late Miocene. The paleosol sequence enclosed by the ignimbrites is thus restricted to the late Miocene, the most intense formation of pedogene calcretes correlating with the Messinian Salinity Crisis.     

Stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental framework of the Early Permian sequence in the Salt Range, Pakistan

The Early Permian Gondwana regime succession of the Nilawahan Group is exposed only in the Salt Range of Pakistan. After a prolonged episode of non-deposition that spanned much of the Palaeozoic, the 350?m thick predominantly clastic sequence of the Nilawahan Group records a late glacial and post-glacial episode in which a range of glacio-fluvial, marine and fluvial environments evolved and accumulated. The Early Permian succession of the Salt Range has been classified into four formations, which together indicates a changing climatic regime during the Early Permian in the Salt Range region. The lower-most, Tobra Formation unconformably overlies a Cambrian sequence and is composed of tillite, diamictite and fresh water facies, which contain a floral assemblage (Gangamopteris and Glossopteris) that confirms an Asselian age. The Tobra Formation is overlain by marginal marine deposits of the Dandot Formation (Sakmarian), which contain an abundant brachiopods assemblage (Eurydesma and Conularia). Accumulation of the Dandot Formation was terminated by a regional sea-level fall and a change to the deposition of the fluvial deposits of the Warchha Sandstone (Artinskian). The Warchha Sandstone was deposited by high sinuosity meandering, avulsion prone river with well developed floodplains. This episode of fluvial sedimentation was terminated by a widespread marine transgression, as represented by the abrupt upward transition to the overlying shallow marine Sardhai Formation (Kungurian). The Early Permian Gondwana sequence represented by the Nilawahan Group is capped by predominantly shallow shelf carbonate deposits of the Tethyan realm. The sedimentologic and stratigraphic relationship of these four lithostratigraphic units in the Salt Range reveals a complex stratigraphic history for the Early Permian, which is mainly controlled by eustatic sea-level change due to climatic variation associated with climatic amelioration at the end of the major Gondwana glacial episode, and the gradual regional northward drift to a lower latitude of the Indian plate.     

辽西北票地区义县组古气候环境标志及其意义

野外地质调查及综合研究表明,包含中华龙鸟、被子植物等珍稀化石的热河生物群的主要赋存层位为义县组二段湖相沉积岩层。对产于不同地点沉积层中的植物、孢粉化石以及木化石进行了总结研究,分析了它们所反映的古气候环境,认为义县组沉积时期存在大量的喜温湿植物,总体指示温暖湿润的生存环境。同时,一些旱生的买麻藤类植物的普遍存在、本内苏铁类的膜质叶以及松柏类的鳞状叶等的特征反映了存在季节性干旱、半干旱气候的可能性。这种气候状况的出现可能与火山活动有关。     

珠江三角洲中部晚更新世以来的有孔虫记录与古环境演化*

珠江三角洲中部钻孔PRD20和PRD17晚第四纪以来的沉积记录较为完整,尤其是晚更新世海侵记录良好。以其为研究对象,对两孔的有孔虫微体动物群记录和沉积特征进行了分析和对比,并结合前人研究成果,重建珠江三角洲晚更新世以来的古环境演变,并着重分析了晚更新世海侵事件。约44500 cal a BP以前,研究区为河流环境,发育河道砂砾沉积。约44500—21300 cal a BP,发生晚更新世海侵,形成溺谷型河口湾,两孔沉积物中有孔虫的垂直分布记录了水体条件发生的多次变化,可辨识出2次海侵海退次级旋回;其中PRD20孔中有孔虫以滨岸广盐型占绝对优势,PRD17孔中以滨岸广盐型为主、海相—半咸水型有孔虫占有一定比例,表明研究区位于溺谷湾中径流与潮流共同作用的区域,且PRD20孔受径流影响更大。约21300 cal a BP后,受末次冰盛期海退影响,研究区暴露于地表遭受风化剥蚀,风化产物在PRD20孔表现为1层褐红色砂砾,在PRD17孔表现为1层花斑黏土。约8000 cal a BP,海平面回升导致河水滞留形成沼泽环境,PRD20孔发育1层泥炭层。约8000—5500 cal a BP,PRD20孔发育受径流影响较大的河口湾湾头沉积,仅在全新世海侵最盛时含有少量有孔虫记录。约5500 cal a BP后,研究区发育三角洲平原沉积。受构造抬升影响,PRD17孔地势较高,于约4700 cal a BP才开始重新接受沉积,零星出现潮水搬运而来的有孔虫。     

AVA analysis in the eastern Mediterranean

In the context of a reflection seismic AVA (Amplitude vs. Angle) analysis, data from the western Mediterranean Ridge have been analysed to obtain estimates on the reflection coefficient and the AVA gradient. The study put particular emphasis on the role of the Messinian evaporites, which display a characteristic amplitude signature on the AVA-sections. From the seismic attributes obtained from the Zoeppritz equations it could be infered that the material contrast at the salt/sediment interface of the Messinian evaporites is sufficient to generate converted waves, which are strong enough to survive the processes of NMO-correction and CMP stack. This mode conversion could subsequently be modelled by dynamic Ray-tracing to identify which events on the stacked data are likely to be based on converted waves and thus present some pitfalls for an imprudent interpreter.     

Tsunamigenic zones in the Mediterranean Sea

A list of 300 tsunamis and similar phenomena known in the Mediterranean is given. Data reliability and wave intensity are estimated; mechanisms of tsunami generation are indicated and data from literature sources on the coordinates and magnitudes of tsunamigenic earthquakes are cited. Eighteen zones of excitation and manifestation of tsunamis are identified which can be integrated into four groups with respect to the recurrence period and maximum intensity of the tsunamis. The strongest tsunamis are excited in the Aegean Sea, and the Hellenic and Calabrian island arcs. The focal depth of the earthquake-generating tsunamis in the Mediterranean is, on average, less than that in the Pacific. Correspondingly, the magnitude of tsunamigenic earthquakes is lower. According to preliminary estimates, the Mediterranean tsunamis attenuate with distance more rapidly than do those in the Pacific Ocean.     

East-West to North-South in the Mediterranean

The onset of modern history in the sixteenth century coincided with the peaking of the Christian-Islamic East-West confrontation in the Mediterranean and, concurrently, a North-South struggle within Europe. The resulting ascendancy of the innovative North resulted in the subjugation of the old Mediterranean power bases and of the whole region. As the Mediterranean slid into underdevelopment, it became in due course the contesting ground of the Great Powers, whose world interests coincided or clashed with regional interests, while more and more of the region's territory fell under external domination. During the cold war era in particular, the Mediterranean returned to be a major theatre of confrontation between the powers of East and West, that contest intersecting with a widening divide between North and South. The end of the East-West contest has exposed the North-South gulf, and its potential for adversity, for what it is. Does the end of one divide promise to help heal the other, or simply to entrench it further?     

Collisional processes in the eastern Mediterranean

In the eastern Mediterranean the collision of the Erastosthenes and the Anaximander Seamounts with the Cyprus arc results in a unique tectonic setting due to the small size of the eastern Mediterranean basin. As a result of the collision, some of the motion between the African plate and the Eurasian plate is taking place by thrust faulting along the north African passive margin. It seems that the stress at the plate boundary along the Cyprus arc may be transmitted southward to cause the reactivation of a pre-existing fault zone along the passive margin of eastern north Africa.

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Zusammenfassung Im östlichen Mittelmeerbecken hat die Kollision des Erastosthenes und des Anaximander Seamounts mit dem Cypern-Bogen eine spezielle tektonische Situation geschaffen, die durch den engen Raum dieses Beckens bestimmt wird. Als Ergebnis dieser Kollision erscheinen Überschiebungen der Afrikanischen Platte auf Eurasische Platte entlang des passiven nordafrikanischen Randes. Es erscheint möglich, daß das Streßfeld an der Plattengrenze entlang des Zypernbogens südwärts wirkt und dadurch die alte Störungszone entlang des passiven Kontinentrandes von Nordafrika reaktiert wird.

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Résumé En Méditerrannée orientale, la collision des guyots Eratosthène et Anaximandre avec l'arc de Chypre a engendré une situation tectonique particulière, due à la faible dimension du bassin est-méditerrannéen. Cette collision a eu pour conséquence la production de charriages de la plaque africaine sur la plaque eurasiatique le long de la marge passive nord-africaine. Il semble que les contraintes règnant au bord de la plaque le long de l'arc de Chypre se soient transmises vers le Sud pour y provoquer la réactivation d'une zône failleuse préexistante le long de la marge passive du NE de l'Afrique.

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Revisiting the palaeoenvironmental and climatic history of the Cherangani Hills using fungal spores

Fungi are highly sensitive to environmental and climatic changes. Palaeoecological reconstructions utilising tropical African fungal spores, however, are rare and patchy. Here, we show that fossil fungal spores preserved in core KAP-01 from the Cherangani Hills in Kenya tracks critical environmental changes in the African tropics since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), largely synchronous with observations in the pollen record from the same site. Consistent with the pollen record, the presence of fungal taxa in the record, albeit meagre, during the LGM point to an intermittent wetter Cherangani that allowed for the presence of the observed taxa and the prevalence of cool, dry conditions during the last deglaciation. The elevated fungal spore activity during the Late Holocene is evidence for warm, moist environmental conditions and broadly consistent with the pollen record. These different fungal spore taxa, which can be employed to track distinct environmental conditions and processes, provide a dimension that can be overlooked if the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment were to rely solely on pollen. Thus the fungal spore record enables us to affirm the interpretation of the prevalence of warm, moist conditions evident from such as the Holocene pollen record.     

Pervasive autocorrelation of the chemical index of alteration in sedimentary profiles and its palaeoenvironmental implications

The chemical index of alteration has been used widely for reconstruction of the palaeoclimate. However, the mechanisms and environmental factors controlling the chemical index of alteration of sediments are not yet fully understood. In this study, autocorrelations of the chemical index of alteration in nine sedimentary profiles, from both the land and the sea, spanning different geological times, are discussed. The sediments of these profiles have different origins (dust, fluvial or ocean sediments) and are from various climate situations and sedimentary environments. Autocorrelations of chemical index of alteration series are ubiquitously evident in all profiles. It is suggested here that autocorrelations may be caused by post‐depositional changes such as persistent weathering and diagenesis. As a result, the chemical index of alteration may not reflect climatic conditions during the time of sediment deposition. This study strongly recommends the confirmation of the reliability and veracity of the chemical index of alteration before it is adopted to evaluate the weathering degree of parent rocks and to reconstruct the past climate. Significant autocorrelations in loess profiles were specifically observed, suggesting that the existing understanding of loess deposition in terms of climate conditions requires re‐examination, and that previous reconstructions of rapid climate changes (for example, in centennial‐millennial scales) should be treated with caution.     

七大流域水文特性分析

我国东西和南北方向地理跨度大,水文特性差异明显。从气候特征、降雨和径流、暴雨和洪水等方面,分析七大流域的水文特性,总结降雨和径流在上下游、干支流等空间上以及年内和年际等时间上的分布规律,并分析暴雨和洪水在成因、发生时间、空间分布、过程等方面的规律,为径流和洪水成果计算提供了基础,也为水文成果的合理性检验提供了参考。     

Stratigraphy and palaeoenvironmental evolution of the mid- to upper Palaeozoic succession in Northwest Peninsular Malaysia

The stratigraphy of the Devonian to Permian succession in Northwest Peninsular Malaysia is revised. The Timah Tasoh Formation consists of black mudstone containing graptolites and tentaculitids indicating a Pragian or earliest Emsian age. The Sanai Limestone overlies the Timah Tasoh Formation at Sanai Hill B and contains conodonts indicating a Late Devonian (Frasnian to possibly early Famennian) age. In other places, Late Tournaisian chert of the Telaga Jatoh Formation overlies the Timah Tasoh Formation. The overlying Kubang Pasu Formation is predominantly composed of mudstone and sandstone, and can be divided into 3 subunits, from oldest to youngest: (1) Chepor Member; (2) Undifferentiated Kubang Pasu Formation; (3) Uppermost Kubang Pasu Formation. The ammonoid Praedaraelites tuntungensis sp. nov. is reported and described from the Chepor Member of Bukit Tuntung, Pauh. The genus indicates a Late Viséan age for part of the subunit. Dropstones and diamictites from the Chepor Member indicate a glacial marine depositional environment. The Carbo-Permian, undifferentiated Kubang Pasu Formation consists of similar interbedded mudstone and sandstone. The uppermost Kubang Pasu Formation of Kungurian age consists of coarsening upward cycles of clastics, representing a shallow marine, wave- and storm-influenced shoreline. The Permian Chuping Limestone also represents shallow marine, wave- and storm-influenced deposits. A Mid-Palaeozoic Unconformity separating Early–Late Devonian rocks from overlying Late Devonian–Carboniferous deposits probably marks initiation of rifting on Sibumasu, which eventually led to the separation of Sibumasu from Australian Gondwana during the late Sakmarian (Early Permian).     

青海黄河源盆地早更新世以来环境演变

黄河源盆地位于青藏高原东北部,是黄河的源头地区,对环境和气候变化非常敏感。对黄河源盆地中的河湖相沉积物进行了孢粉分析,获得丰富的孢粉数据,结果显示孢粉组合以菊科、蒿科、藜科、禾本科、松、桦等草本和木本植物花粉为主。通过对各类植物的孢粉组合特征分析,揭示了黄河源地区早更新世以来古植被、古气候的演替和变化。其演变经历了4个阶段：第一阶段223.9～90.1万年,为森林草原环境,反映了温暖潮湿的气候;第二阶段90.1～35万年,为灌丛草原环境,反映了总体干冷的气候;第三阶段35～2.8万年,为稀树草甸草原环境,属湿润寒冷的气候;第四阶段2.8～0.8万年,为荒漠草原环境,反应干冷的气候。     

中国含煤岩系古地理及古环境演化研究进展

随着含煤岩系沉积学从最初的旋回层理论到沉积模式,再到现阶段层序地层学理论的发展,中国学者已经在含煤岩系沉积学研究领域取得了显著的成果。(1)层序地层格架下基于可容空间增加速率与泥炭堆积速率之间平衡关系的厚煤层聚集模式受到重视,层序地层学提供了等时性地层单元,用于中国六大聚煤区等时性层序地层格架下岩相古地理的重建,为预测各聚煤期聚煤中心及富煤带的分布起到指导性作用。随着层序地层学理论的深入研究,煤相及沉积有机相的发育特征、研究方法以及划分方案也取得了新的进展。(2)近年来,煤系共伴生矿产已经成为当今煤地质学研究的热点问题之一,含煤盆地的煤层气、页岩气、天然气水合物、铀矿、三稀矿产、石墨等矿产资源具有重要的经济价值,部分共伴生矿产潜在的价值甚至超过煤炭本身。古地理作为研究煤系矿产资源的先决条件,与之联系密切,为这些矿产的研究和勘探提供极大的帮助。(3)煤作为泥炭地的产物和重要的沉积载体,其中蕴藏着丰富的"深时"古气候信息。以米兰科维奇旋回作为地层时间的"度量"工具,可以通过分析煤中碳的聚集速率,进而分析泥炭地的碳聚集速率、净初级生产力以及大气CO2的变化趋势;而随着对煤中惰质组成因的重新认识,蕴含在煤中的古野火信息越来越受到重视,基于煤中惰质组的含量对地质历史中古泥炭地野火事件以及大气氧含量的估算也成为古环境研究的新方向。中国聚煤模式及聚煤古地理今后的研究需进一步加强对不同构造背景下含煤盆地的层序地层模式、各聚煤期的聚煤古地理及聚煤规律、有益煤系共伴生矿产的古地理重建、含煤岩系"深时"古气候信息以及大数据驱动下的含煤岩系古地理定量化研究等方面的探索。     

中上扬子上奥陶统五峰组含放射虫硅质岩与古环境

四川雷波抓抓岩五峰组上部硅质岩含丰富的放射虫化石,表明晚奥陶世五峰期富硅质海水随着第二次海侵进入到扬子克拉通,进而证明了扬子西缘康滇古陆与川中古隆起间存在水道与巴颜喀拉海相通。在分析抓抓岩剖面五峰组沉积序列的基础上,通过含放射虫硅质岩的区域对比,清理了该时期各地区岩性岩相组合及地层接触关系,恢复了中上扬子地区晚奥陶世五峰期的古环境。