Contemporary and palaeo channel patterns and the late quaternary stratigraphy of Cooper Creek,Southwest Queensland,Australia

Braided and anastomosing channels make up two major coexistent networks in the mud-dominated fluvial system of Cooper Creek, Southwest Queensland. The floodplain is characterized by a system of mud braids operative when floods inundate the whole alluvial surface. Anastomosing channels are inset deeper into the floodplain, operate at modern flows, and transport a traction load of sand. Shallow stratigraphic data show that an underlying sand sheet is unrelated to surface channel patterns and was formed by a system of meandering streams. According to preliminary dates based on thermoluminescence, the change from a sand- to mud-dominated fluvial regime took place between 50 000 and 200 000 years B.P., and probably reflects increasing aridity.     

Stratigraphic Columns Modeling and Cyclicity Analysis of the Misoa Formation,Maracaibo Lake,Venezuela, using Markov Chains

A stochastic characterization of a hydrocarbon reservoir, constituted by a sedimentary sequence of sandstones interbbeded with siltstones and shales, has been performed. The stratigraphic unit studied here mainly comprises the C4 sands of the Misoa Formation, located in the Lama Field, Maracaibo Lake (Venezuela). A Markov Chain algorithm, based on the definition of genetic lithofacies relationships along stratigraphic columns, was developed. The application of the Monte Carlo stochastic method using this algorithm, to log data from 11 wells, allowed the generation of pseudo sequences at 20 new locations. This algorithm was able to properly model pseudo stratigraphic sequences and to quantify the relative facies percentage, showing a 82% confidence level related to the proportional content of sediments at a test well. The net sand map obtained integrating the stratigraphic columns, derived from the well information, and the Markov pseudo-columns, suggests the presence of sand bodies with a northeast-southwest orientation that agree with previous geological studies in the area. This map could help in the definition of prospective zones in the field. The existence of stratigraphic memory along the evaluated columns was recognized after applying the algorithm. The embedded Markov method used in the cyclicity analysis of the whole area indicates cyclic transitions just from sandstones to siltstones and from shales to siltstones. Hence for the study area, on average, fining upward and coarsening upward processes can be identified with the Markovian approach, as was expected for the tide-dominated deltaic system associated to the analyzed reservoir.     

EPR stratigraphy applied to the study of two marine sedimentary sections in southwestern Venezuela

This work explores the application of the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) technique, a high sensitivity spectral method, as a means of characterizing stratigraphic facies and identifying depositional environments. We have studied two marine sedimentary sections, of mid-Cretaceous and mid-Eocene ages, that are located in southwestern Venezuela. The different paramagnetic species (e.g. manganese, free radicals and different forms of Fe) have been identified and their relative concentrations measured from the EPR spectra. These results were then integrated to those from petrographic and magnetic susceptibility analyses (room and high temperature) as well as to some other rock magnetic data such as Q_n and S-ratios. Because Mn²⁺ content seems to be finely tuned to variations of redox conditions, it could serve as a sensitive index of paleoenvironmental changes in stratigraphic columns with large lithological contrasts. Conversely, the presence and concentration of distinct Fe species proves to be quite useful characterizing different depositional environments at those stratigraphic sections that exhibit similar lithologies throughout. The integration of EPR results with rock magnetic data allows the identification of diagenetic events that could have taken place after sediment deposition.     

Tephrostratigraphy of the Pliocene to Middle Pleistocene Series in Honshu and Kyushu Islands,Japan

The Pliocene to Pleistocene Series in each sedimentary basin or area of Japan has been investigated and described; however, their stratigraphic correlation is difficult because of complex geological structures. Regional stratigraphy has therefore been established using many intercalated tephra beds, i.e. by correlating tephra beds between distant areas. A standardized stratigraphic model of the Pliocene to Middle Pleistocene Series in Japan is put forward in this paper on the basis of tephrostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, and biostratigraphy. This stratigraphic model is important for studies of environmental changes and explosive volcanism in this period around the Japanese island‐arc.     

Data-Driven Sequence Stratigraphy of the Cretaceous Depositional System,Punjab Platform,Pakistan

The Punjab Platform is a gently dipping monocline that has been drilled since the 1960s with a low success ratio. Most of the drilling targets in the past were based on the structural interpretation. Furthermore, the exploration focus remained in Paleozoic sequences, and little attention has been paid to the Cretaceous systems. In this paper, a prograding Cretaceous (Sembar-Goru) mega-sequence is subdivided into three sequences using a semi-automated and integrated workflow. A data-driven chronostratigraphic chart is prepared, which revealed several regressive stages in the study area. The sands developed during these stages are laterally sealed by shales and claystones that form a stratigraphic play. The stratigraphic play area lies in a shoreface environment where shoreface sands are expected to be charged by underlying Lower Cretaceous black shales. A prominent gas cap above the proposed stratigraphic play further increases the confidence on the presence of a reservoir. This paper is the first attempt to study the Cretaceous deltaic sequences in the study area, which has remained unexplored for the last six decades.     

Significance of ichnofossils to genetic stratigraphy--Examples from the Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada

Trace fossils represent both sedimentological and paleontological entities, representing a unique blending of potential environmental indicators in the rock record. Trace fossils and trace fossil suites can be employed effectively to aid in the recognition of various discontinuity types and to assist in their genetic interpretation. Ichnology may be employed to resolve surfaces of stratigraphic significance in two main ways: 1) through the identification of discontinuities using substrate-controlled ichnofacies, and 2) through careful analysis of vertical softground (penecontemporaneous) ichnologic successions (analogous to facies successions). Ichnological analysis is a valuable tool in genetic stratigraphic studies. Integrating the data derived from substrate-controlled ichnofacies with paleoecological data from vertical ichnologic successions greatly enhances the recognition and interpretation of a wide variety of stratigraphic surfaces. When this is coupled with conventional facies analysis and sequence stratigraphy, a powerful approach to the interpretation of the rock record is generated.     

江南古陆中元古代地层的划分与对比

江南古陆是扬子板块与华夏板块长期活动拼贴而成,构造极为复杂,地层的划分与对比也是众说纷纭。通过对江南古陆的变质岩的研究,认为江南古陆大地构造可划分三个Ⅰ级构造地层区：扬子地层区、江南古陆地层区及华夏地层区。江南古陆地层区又可进一步划分Ⅱ级构造地层区5个（宜丰-景德镇-歙县构造地层分区、万年构造地层分区、赣东北构造地层分区、怀玉构造地层分区及丰城-鹰潭-龙游构造地层分区）;各构造地层分区之间以构造（蛇绿）混杂岩亚带或韧性剪切带相拼接。双桥山群及周潭岩群仅分别分布在扬子地层区修水-祁门分区及华夏地层区北武夷地层分区内,而且是一套史密斯地层。而江南古陆内则发育非史密斯地层。     

Cosmogenic-nuclide burial ages for Pleistocene sedimentary fill in Unaweep Canyon,Colorado, USA

We applied both single-sample and isochron methods of cosmogenic-nuclide burial dating to determine the age of the sedimentary fill in Unaweep Canyon, western Colorado, USA. This stratigraphic sequence is of interest because it documents capture and diversion of the ancestral Gunnison River by the Colorado River during late Cenozoic incision of the Colorado Plateau. Seven ²⁶Al–¹⁰Be burial ages from sedimentary infill penetrated by a borehole in central Unaweep Canyon, as well as a ²⁶Al–¹⁰Be burial isochron age formed by multiple clasts and grain-size separates in a sample from the stratigraphically lower Gateway gravels, indicate that canyon blockage, initiation of lacustrine sediment accumulation, and presumed river capture, took place 1.41 ± 0.19 Ma. Lacustrine sedimentation ceased 1.34 ± 0.13 Ma.     

Modeling the nature and development of major paleozoic clastic wedges in the Appalachian Basin, USA

The Paleozoic stratigraphic succession of the Appalachian Basin is punctuated by several major clastic wedges of Middle Ordovician to Permian age, which have been interpreted to represent “deltas” in classic literature on the basin. So-called deltas like the Blount, Queenston, Bloomsburg, Catskill, Bedford-Berea, Price-Pocono-Borden, and Allegheny may contain deltaic components, but in fact represent delta complexes or clastic wedges that may have extended laterally more than 1000 km along basin strike and contain a variety of terrestrial, marginal-marine, and open-marine facies. These complexes commonly developed in post-orogenic, compressional, tectonic regimes and are related to them through provenance and the flexurally generated accommodation space, which they filled. Specifically, those complexes that developed in concert with early subduction-type orogenies are characterized by a predominance of marine sediments and one or more, distinctive, four-part, stratigraphic sequences, whereas the final Alleghenian delta complex, which developed during continent-continent collision, is characterized by largely terrestrial sediments that lack the distinctive sequence. Because the timing, character, and distribution of stratigraphic sequences in a delta complex may largely reflect lithospheric flexural responses to deformational loading and relaxation in the adjacent orogen, sequence characteristics can be potentially useful in corroborating the nature and presence of past compressional regimes, as well as the likely intervention of extra-orogenic influences like eustacy.     

Evolution of the Vico lavas,Roman volcanic region,Italy

A petrochemical study of representative lavas from Vico, relative to their established stratigraphic succession, shows that the erupted magma was recurrent in composition. The predominant differentiation trend of the lava suite, illustrated by means of a principal component analysis (Le Maitre, 1968), leads to trachytic residual compositions which can be interpreted in terms of crystal fractionation processes under volcanic pressure regime.     

Late Cenozoic Stratigraphic Sequence and Its Implication to Tectonic Evolution, Hejiakouzi Area, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region

ＩＮＴＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮＨａｉｙｕａｎ Ｔｏｎｇｘｉｎｓｙｎｔａｘｉｓ ,ｗｈｉｃｈｌｉｅｓｏｎｔｈｅｎｏｒｔｈｅａｓｔｅｒｎｅｄｇｅｏｆｔｈｅＱｉｎｇｈａｉ ＸｉｚａｎｇＰｌａｔｅａｕ ,ｗａｓｆｏｒｍｅｄａｎｄｓｅｖｅｒｅｌｙｄｅｆｏｒｍｅｄａｓｆｏｒｅｌａｎｄｂａｓｉｎｄｕｅｔｏｔｈｅｒｉｓｅｏｆｔｈｅＱｉｎｇｈａｉ ＸｉｚａｎｇＰｌａｔｅａｕｓｉｎｃｅｔｈｅＣｅｎｏｚｏｉｃ .Ｉｎｔｈｅａｒｃ ｌｉｋｅｒｅｇｉｏｎ ,Ｃｅｎｏｚｏｉｃｄｅｐｏｓｉｔｓａｒｅｗｉｄｅｌｙｄｉｓｔｒｉｂｕｔｅｄａｎｄｐｅ…     

Distribution,age, and origin of a submarine landslide deposit in the Pleistocene Kiwada Formation,forearc basin fill on the Boso Peninsula,east‐central Japan: Constraints from tephro‐ and biostratigraphy

A mass‐transport deposit named MTD1 (up to 100 m in thickness) is intercalated in the upper Kiwada Formation, a Pleistocene forearc basin fill on the Boso Peninsula, east‐central Japan. The present study aims to examine the origin, age, and distribution of MTD1. MTD1 consists mainly of mudstone blocks containing thin very fine‐ to medium‐grained sandstones, and ranges from tens of centimeters to more than tens of meters in length and thickness. Correlation of marker tuff beds and application of the biostratigraphy of calcareous nannofossils suggest that the blocks in MTD1 were derived from the underlying strata. The total thickness of the stratified blocks from the different stratigraphic horizons exceeds 60 m, implying that MTD1 originated from deeply‐excavated slope failure. The slope failure occurred in a short time interval at ca 1.3 Ma. MTD1 provides an estimate of the height of the escarpment on the basis of the stratigraphic origin of the blocks.     

地层油藏超剥尖灭线夹角定量外推方法模型研究

地层油藏是一种复杂的油藏类型,在地震描述中根据地震反射特征追踪的尖灭线与实际地层油藏的尖灭线常常存在较大的误差,因此精确落实地层超剥线的位置是地层油藏勘探成功的关键,本文通过大量的正演模型和地质统计方法,发现地层油藏超剥尖灭线的误差与地层和不整合面的夹角有关,从而提出了地层油藏超剥尖灭线夹角定量外推这种新方法,通过实际资料的应用,较好地解决了地层油藏超剥尖灭线不准的问题,取得了良好地质效果.     

Refining the OSL age of the last earthquake on the Dheshir fault,Central Iran

In Central Iran there are several cities along the Dehshir fault, which have similar geological conditions to that of the city of Bam prior to the 2003 earthquake (Mw 6.5), during which more than 30,000 lives were lost. Optical stimulated luminescence (OSL) samples were collected from the Dehshir fault in order to place constraints on its seismic history. The single aliquot regenerative (SAR) dose measurement protocol on coarse grained quartz extracts was used for this study. This SAR protocol had to be optimized for the low OSL sensitivity by varying both the preheat temperatures and test doses used. Dose recovery tests showed that given laboratory dose could be successfully recovered. However, replicate palaeodose (D_e) data were scattered and consequently ages based on mean D_e's had large uncertainties. As this is thought to largely reflect poor bleaching conditions prior to sediment burial at the site, various statistical procedures were employed in conjunction with the stratigraphic knowledge of the site to try and extract more refined burial ages from the samples. From this the timing of the last earthquake was estimated around 2.0 ± 0.2 kyr. This refined age suggests that the earthquake catalogue of Iran is incomplete and more paleoseismological investigation is required to recognize and date the previous events of Dheshir fault.     

Re-evaluation of the chronology of the palaeolithic site at Jeongokri,Korea, using OSL and TT-OSL signals from quartz

Seven samples were collected from sediments at the Palaeolithic site of Jeongokri, Korea, known for the first discovery of Acheulian-like handaxes in East Asia. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages obtained from chemically purified quartz from the upper five samples are in stratigraphic order, but the ages of the lower samples are not. The OSL signal of the oldest samples occurs well above the saturation level of the exponential part of the dose response curve; however, the OSL signal has an additional component that grows linearly at high doses, making it possible to calculate a D_e value and thus an age. However the reliability of calculating D_e using this linear component is not clear. In contrast, the thermally transferred OSL (TT-OSL) signal grows linearly with dose up to at least 1600 Gy, thus permitting its use for dating. The TT-OSL ages are in agreement with those from the OSL for the four uppermost samples, but give older ages for the lower three samples. Ages obtained using TT-OSL are in stratigraphic order and indicate that the oldest artefacts have an age of ～195 ka.     

Stratigraphy, chronology, and sedimentology of ignimbrites from the white trachytic tuff, Roccamonfina Volcano, Italy

We describe the stratigraphy, chronology, and grain size characteristics of the white trachytic tuff (WTT) of Roccamonfina Volcano (Italy). The pyroclastic rock was emplaced between 317 and 230 Ma BP during seven major eruptive events (units A to G) and three minor events (units BC, CD, and DE). These units are separated by paleosol layers and compositionally well-differentiated pyroclastic successions. Stratigraphic control is favored by the occurrence at the base of major units of marker layers. Four WTT units (1 to 4) occur within the central caldera. These are not positively correlated with specific extracaldera units.The source of most of the WTT units was the central caldera. Units B and C were controlled by the western wall of the caldera, whereas units D and E were able to overcome this barrier, spreading symmetrically along the flanks of MC. The maximum pumice size (MP) of units increases with distance from the caldera, whereas the maximum lithic size (ML) decreases. MP and ML of the marker layer of unit D (MKDa–MKDp) do not show any systematic variations with respect to the central caldera. In contrast, the thickness of surge MKDa decreases with distance from the source, and MKDp accumulates to the north of MC probably controlled, respectively, by mobility-transport power and by wind blowing northwards.The grain size characteristics of the WTT deposits are used for classifying the units. There is no systematic variation of the grain size as a function of stratigraphic height either among units or within single units. Large variation of components in subunit E1, with repetitive alternation of pyroclastic flow to surge through fallout vs. surge deposits, suggests that the process of eruption took place in a complex or piecemeal fashion.Pumice concentration zones (PCZ) occur at all WTT levels on the volcano, but they are much thicker and pumice clasts are much larger within the central caldera. These were probably originated by the disruption of lava (flow or dome) to pumice fragments and fine ash due to sudden depressurization and interaction with lake waters of the molten lava. Local basal PCZ are, in some cases, similar to the lapilli-rich “layer 1P” that has been described elsewhere, and may have been deposited from currents transitional between pyroclastic surge and flow. Other basal PCZ formed in response to small undulations in the substrate, or can be originated by fallout. Lenticular PCZ within ignimbrite interiors and tops are interpreted to record marginal pumice levees and pumice rafts, some of which were buried by subsequant pyroclastic flows.Lithic concentration zones (LCZ) also occur at various stratigraphic height within the extracaldera ignimbrites, whereas intracaldera LCZ are absent, probably due to the fact that ignimbrite currents are strongly energetic and erosive near vent. LCZ at the top of basal inversely graded layers are formed by mechanical sieving or dispersive pressure in response to variable velocity gradients and particle concentration gradients (a segregation process). Coarse LCZ and coarse lithic breccias (LB), that reside in the interior or tops of pyroclastic flows and that occur in medial to distal areas, are interpreted to be the result of slugs of lithic-rich debris introduced by vent collapse or rockslides into the moving pyroclastic flows along their flow paths. These LCZ become mixed to varying degrees due to differential densities and velocities relative to the pyroclastic flows (desegregation processes).     

Correlation between the bedded chert sequence of southwest Japan and δ13C excursion of carbonate sequence, and its significance to the Permian-Triassic mass extinction

Abstract Stratigraphic productivity variations of radiolarians below the Permian-Triassic boundary are examined with Ishiga Diagrams in bedded chert sequences of southwest Japan. The diagrams of two different outcrops, drawn from the thickness variation of chert beds, show common stratigraphic variation, which indicates the diagram is a useful tool for correlation of bedded chert sequence. The common stratigraphic productivity variation is also well correlated to a compiled δ¹³C excursion of shallow carbonate sequences. Bedded chert records a dramatic extinction event in a shallow surface zone of oceans below the Permian-Triassic boundary. The Permian-Triassic mass extinction is divided into three intervals based on the Ishiga Diagrams, the stratigraphic lithological variation of bedded chert sequences, and the δ¹³C curve. The preceding extinction interval in the late Djulfian stage was not as serious an event and the biosphere soon recovered. The event of the main extinction interval commenced in the Dorashamian stage and caused a serious destruction of the biosphere. An event of the aftermath interval during the Early Triassic caused a delay in the recovery from the main extinction interval.     

A comparative study on the illite crystallinity and the clay mineral reflectance spectral index for subdividing the very low-grade metamorphic belt along the Lizhou-Hekou geological section in the Youjiang sedimentary basin, Guangxi, China

To examine the application potential of hyperspectral remote sensing techniques in classifying very low-grade metamorphic belts, the composition of clay minerals and the cyrstallinity of illite from mudstones were measured using XRD and VIS-SWIR (400-2500 nm) reflectance spectroscopy. Based on the illite cyrstallinity, Kubler Index (KI), the Early Triassic LuoLou Group and the Middle Triassic lower Baifeng Formation were classified as the lower Epizone with KI△2θ° ranging from 0.22 to 0.25, the upper Baifeng Formation as upper anchizone with KI△2θ°ranging from 0.26 to 0.33, and the Hekou Formation as lower anchizone with KI△2θ° ranging from 0.38 to 0.40. According to a KI△2θ° value of 0.43, it is possible that there may exist a local diagenetic zone in the upper strata. The illite cyrstallinity Kubler index and the metamorphic grade increase from the bottom to the top of the stratigraphic sequence. The metamorphic grade boundaries nearly match the stratigraphic boundaries, indicating a burial metamorphism nature for the stratigraphic sequence. From the bottom to the top of the sequence, the spectral absorption band center of clay minerals from fresh rocks is around 2200 nm. The absorption band centers change towards shorter wavelengths: the Luolou Group being at 2220 nm, the Baifeng Formation at 2217-2213 nm, the lower member of the Hekou Formation at 2214-2206 nm, and the upper member of the Hekou Formation at 2205-2197 nm. The spectral absorption band center of illite shows the same change pattern. These results indicate that very low-grade metamorphic belts can be subdivided using spectral indices of clay minerals, which are measured by using field portable spectroradiometers. However, it may not work well with satellite and airborne sensors.     

Aminostratigraphy of surface and subsurface Quaternary sediments,North Carolina coastal plain,USA

The Quaternary stratigraphy and geochronology of the Albemarle Embayment of the North Carolina (NC) Coastal Plain is examined using amino acid racemization (AAR) in marine mollusks, in combination with geophysical, lithologic, and biostratigraphic analysis of 28 rotasonic cores drilled between 2002 and 2006. The Albemarle Embayment is bounded by structural highs to the north and south, and Quaternary strata thin westward toward the Suffolk paleoshoreline, frequently referred to as the Suffolk Scarp. The Quaternary section is up to ～90 m thick, consists of a variety of estuarine, shelf, back-barrier, and lagoonal deposits, and has been influenced by multiple sea-level cycles. The temporal resolution of the amino acid racemization method is tested statistically and with the stratigraphic control provided by this geologic framework, and it is then applied to the correlation and age estimation of subsurface units throughout the region. Over 500 specimens (primarily Mercenaria and Mulinia) from the subsurface section have been analyzed using either gas chromatographic (GC) or reverse-phase liquid chromatographic (RPLC) techniques. The subsurface stratigraphic data are compared with AAR results from numerous natural or excavated exposures from the surrounding region, as well as results from NC beach collections, to develop a comprehensive aminostratigraphic database for the entire Quaternary record within the NC coastal system. Age mixing, recognized in the beach collections, is also seen in subsurface sections, usually where major seismic reflections or core lithology indicate the presence of stratigraphic discontinuities. Kinetic models for racemization are tested within the regional stratigraphic framework, using either radiocarbon or U-series calibrations or comparison with regional biostratigraphy. Three major Pleistocene aminozones [AZ2, AZ3, and AZ4] are found throughout the region, all being found in superposition in several cores. Each can be subdivided, yielding a total of at least eight stratigraphically and statistically distinct aminozones. Kinetic modeling, supplemented with local calibration, indicates that these aminozones represent depositional events ranging from ～80 ka to nearly 2 Ma. Three prominent seismic reflections are interpreted to represent the base of the early, middle, and late Pleistocene, respectively, roughly 2 Ma, 800 ka, and 130 ka. The large number of samples and the available stratigraphic control provide new insights into the capabilities and limitations of aminostratigraphic methods in assessing relative and numerical ages of Atlantic Coastal Plain Quaternary deposits.     

东昆仑中段地层学研究的新进展

东昆仑中段是昆仑山地区基础研究的热点,区内地质构造复杂、地层类型多样。对构造混杂岩地层必须坚持活动论思想,采取以反序方法,有助于正确进行构造古地理的恢复。对成层有序的浅变质砂岩、板岩必须摒弃传统做法．即按一个岩系的自然成因单元结构进行。通过对东昆仑中段构造构混杂岩的万保沟岩群研究,获得了洋岛地层序列的新认识,识别了东昆仑中三叠世希里可特组的存在。对巴颜喀拉山群作了许多新研究,对中新世地层取得丁重大发现,提出了青藏高原隆升的具体时间和一系列特点。