Linking sedimentation rates and large‐scale architecture for facies prediction in nonmarine basins (Paleogene,Almazán Basin,Spain)

This article focuses on the relationships between the large‐scale stratigraphic architecture of the Almazán basin infill and the sedimentation rates (SR) calculated for precise time intervals. Our aim was to improve the understanding of the timing and causes of the architectural changes, their significance in terms of accommodation space and sediment supply and their relationship with climate and tectonics. The study area includes the Gómara fluvial fan, the main sediment transfer system of the Almazán basin during Paleogene times. Its large‐scale architecture shifted through time between a stacking pattern of low density ribbon‐like and high density sheet‐like channel fills. Laterally to the fluvial system, mudstone and evaporitic mudstone units represented evaporitic mudflats which passed laterally into palustrine/lacustrine limestone units interpreted as lakes and ponds. Stacked calcretes occurred in distal alluvial and distal floodplain settings. A magnetostratigraphy encompassing 2600 m guided by available fossil mammal biochronology has provided a temporal framework that spans the complete Paleogene infill of the basin, from Late Lutetian to Late Oligocene, filling a gap in the Cenozoic chronostratigraphy of Spanish basins. This permits to constrain the kinematics of the structures both in the basin and in its margins, and to provide the timing for the depositional sequences. These data, combined with a magnetostratigraphic map, where magnetic reversals were traced through the Gómara monocline, allow a detailed analysis of the SR variability across the fluvial system and its adjacent depositional environments. The results show that high sedimentation rates (around 30–40 cm kyr^?1) are related to fluvial environments with low density ribbon‐shaped channels, while low SR (around or below 10 cm kyr^?1) are related to high density sheet‐like channels. Laterally, mud dominated environments with high SR (15–20 cm kyr^?1) grade into palustrine/lacustrine carbonated environments with low SR (around 9 cm ky^?1). The lowest SR (about 3 cm kyr^?1) are related to the development of stacked calcrete profiles in distal floodplain and in the connection of distal alluvial and palustrine/lacustrine units.     

Diatomaceous sedimentation in late Neogene lacustrine basins of western Macedonia, Greece

Several lacustrine basins were formed by late Miocene tectonic processes in western Macedonia, Greece. These were occupied by a series of lakes and wetland swamps during the late Miocene and early Pliocene giving rise to diatomaceous claystones, siltstones and diatom-bearing tufa deposits. Diatoms are rare or fragmentary in sandstones and chemical sediments, and are absent in conglomerates. The Fe²⁺-rich phosphate minerals anapaite and vivianite are present in parts of the diatomaceous siltstones. Six major diatom groups were identified using cluster and correspondence analyses, each of which tends to be associated with a particular lithofacies. The floras are indicative of mildly acidic to alkaline water of varying depths. The dominant taxa include Aulacoseira ambigua, A. distans, Cyclotella iris and several of its varieties, C. aegeae, C. castracanei, C. elymaea, C. ocellata, and two unidentified Cyclotella. Fragilariaceae are common, consisting mainly of Fragilaria bituminosa, Pseudostaurosira brevistriata, P. zeilleri, Staurosira construens, Staurosirella leptostauron, and S. pinnata. Locally, chysophycean stomatocysts are common, suggesting more oligotrophic conditions. Nine diatom stages are recognized in the Lower Neogene Series at Kariditsa (Kozani basin), reflecting shallow swamps, small alkaline lakes, and terrestrial settings. The Upper Neogene Series rocks are characterized by Mg-rich carbonates such as hydromagnesite, huntite and magnesite. A detailed stratigraphy was developed for Mio-Pliocene deposits in the Florina basin at Klidi. Parts of this sequence show clear cyclicity in both the sediments and the diatom floras, with shallow-water diatoms repeatedly giving way to taxa indicative of deeper conditions. Larger-scale, shallow-deep cycles are also present and may be related to precession- and eccentricity-forced climate change.     

Event sedimentation in low‐latitude deep‐water carbonate basins,Anegada passage,northeast Caribbean

The Virgin Islands and Whiting basins in the Northeast Caribbean are deep, structurally controlled depocentres partially bound by shallow‐water carbonate platforms. Closed basins such as these are thought to document earthquake and hurricane events through the accumulation of event layers such as debris flow and turbidity current deposits and the internal deformation of deposited material. Event layers in the Virgin Islands and Whiting basins are predominantly thin and discontinuous, containing varying amounts of reef‐ and slope‐derived material. Three turbidites/sandy intervals in the upper 2 m of sediment in the eastern Virgin Islands Basin were deposited between ca. 2000 and 13 600 years ago, but do not extend across the basin. In the central and western Virgin Islands Basin, a structureless clay‐rich interval is interpreted to be a unifite. Within the Whiting Basin, several discontinuous turbidites and other sand‐rich intervals are primarily deposited in base of slope fans. The youngest of these turbidites is ca. 2600 years old. Sediment accumulation in these basins is low (<0.1 mm year^?1) for basin adjacent to carbonate platform, possibly due to limited sediment input during highstand sea‐level conditions, sediment trapping and/or cohesive basin walls. We find no evidence of recent sediment transport (turbidites or debris flows) or sediment deformation that can be attributed to the ca. M7.2 1867 Virgin Islands earthquake whose epicentre was located on the north wall of the Virgin Islands Basin or to recent hurricanes that have impacted the region. The lack of significant appreciable pebble or greater size carbonate material in any of the available cores suggests that submarine landslide and basin‐wide blocky debris flows have not been a significant mechanism of basin margin modification in the last several thousand years. Thus, basins such as those described here may be poor recorders of past natural hazards, but may provide a long‐term record of past oceanographic conditions in ocean passages.     

Controls on fluvial sedimentary architecture and sediment‐fill state in salt‐walled mini‐basins: Triassic Moenkopi Formation,Salt Anticline Region,SE Utah,USA

The Triassic Moenkopi Formation in the Salt Anticline Region, SE Utah, represents the preserved record of a low‐relief ephemeral fluvial system that accumulated in a series of actively subsiding salt‐walled mini‐basins. Development and evolution of the fluvial system and its resultant preserved architecture was controlled by the following: (1) the inherited state of the basin geometry at the time of commencement of sedimentation; (2) the rate of sediment delivery to the developing basins; (3) the orientation of fluvial pathways relative to the salt walls that bounded the basins; (4) spatially and temporally variable rates and styles of mini‐basin subsidence and associated salt‐wall uplift; and (5) temporal changes in regional climate. Detailed outcrop‐based tectono‐stratigraphic analyses demonstrate how three coevally developing mini‐basins and their intervening salt walls evolved in response to progressive sediment loading of a succession of Pennsylvanian salt (the Paradox Formation) by the younger Moenkopi Formation, deposits of which record a dryland fluvial system in which flow was primarily directed parallel to a series of elongate salt walls. In some mini‐basins, fluvial channel elements are stacked vertically within and along the central basin axes, in response to preferential salt withdrawal and resulting subsidence. In other basins, rim synclines have developed adjacent to bounding salt walls and these served as loci for accumulation of stacked fluvial channel complexes. Neighbouring mini‐basins exhibit different styles of infill at equivalent stratigraphic levels: sand‐poor basins dominated by fine‐grained, sheet‐like sandstone fluvial elements, which are representative of nonchannelised flow processes, apparently developed synchronously with neighbouring sand‐prone basins dominated by major fluvial channel‐belts, demonstrating effective partitioning of sediment route‐ways by surface topography generated by uplifting salt walls. Reworked gypsum clasts present in parts of the stratigraphy demonstrate the subaerial exposure of some salt walls, and their partial erosion and reworking into the fill of adjoining mini‐basins during accumulation of the Moenkopi Formation. Complex spatial changes in preserved stratigraphic thickness of four members in the Moenkopi Formation, both within and between mini‐basins, demonstrates a complex relationship between the location and timing of subsidence and the infill of the generated accommodation by fluvial processes.     

Freshwater macroinvertebrate distribution in two basins with different salinity gradients (Guadalete and Guadaira river basins,south-western Spain)

This work reports the results of one year's sampling of aquatic macroinver-brates in various streams with different salinity gradients. The study area was the headwaters of the rivers Guadaíra and Guadalete, located in the same geographical area in south-western Spain. The most interesting feature of the Guadaíra basin is the natural salinity of its waters due to the abundance of gypsum in its headwaters. Lithologically, the headwaters of the Guadalete basin flow over marls, clay, sandstone and limestone. Salinity values in most streams do not reach 1 mS cm^–1. At least at the levels of salinity found in the Guadaíra basin headwaters, the existence of a well-structured community of macroinvertebrates can be claimed. Of the groups studied, Diptera and Coleoptera showed the highest species richness, being distributed preferentially at the ends of the conductivity spectrum. Groups including taxa inhabiting waters of low salinty and taxa inhabiting waters with high salinity could be reliable indicators of salinity.     

Low‐accommodation and backwater effects on sequence stratigraphic surfaces and depositional architecture of fluvio‐deltaic settings (Cretaceous Mesa Rica Sandstone,Dakota Group,USA)

The adequate documentation and interpretation of regional‐scale stratigraphic surfaces is paramount to establish correlations between continental and shallow marine strata. However, this is often challenged by the amalgamated nature of low‐accommodation settings and control of backwater hydraulics on fluvio‐deltaic stratigraphy. Exhumed examples of full‐transect depositional profiles across river‐to‐delta systems are key to improve our understanding about interacting controlling factors and resultant stratigraphy. This study utilizes the ~400 km transect of the Cenomanian Mesa Rica Sandstone (Dakota Group, USA), which allows mapping of down‐dip changes in facies, thickness distribution, fluvial architecture and spatial extent of stratigraphic surfaces. The two sandstone units of the Mesa Rica Sandstone represent contemporaneous fluvio‐deltaic deposition in the Tucumcari sub‐basin (Western Interior Basin) during two regressive phases. Multivalley deposits pass down‐dip into single‐story channel sandstones and eventually into contemporaneous distributary channels and delta‐front strata. Down‐dip changes reflect accommodation decrease towards the paleoshoreline at the Tucumcari basin rim, and subsequent expansion into the basin. Additionally, multi‐storey channel deposits bound by erosional composite scours incise into underlying deltaic deposits. These represent incised‐valley fill deposits, based on their regional occurrence, estimated channel tops below the surrounding topographic surface and coeval downstepping delta‐front geometries. This opposes criteria offered to differentiate incised valleys from flood‐induced backwater scours. As the incised valleys evidence relative sea‐level fall and flood‐induced backwater scours do not, the interpretation of incised valleys impacts sequence stratigraphic interpretations. The erosional composite surface below fluvial strata in the continental realm represents a sequence boundary/regional composite scour (RCS). The RCS’ diachronous nature demonstrates that its down‐dip equivalent disperses into several surfaces in the marine part of the depositional system, which challenges the idea of a single, correlatable surface. Formation of a regional composite scour in the fluvial realm throughout a relative sea‐level cycle highlights that erosion and deposition occur virtually contemporaneously at any point along the depositional profile. This contradicts stratigraphic models that interpret low‐accommodation settings to dominantly promote bypass, especially during forced regressions. Source‐to‐sink analyses should account for this in order to adequately resolve timing and volume of sediment storage in the system throughout a complete relative sea‐level cycle.     

Sedimentary and thermal evolution of the Eocene‐Oligocene mudrocks from the southwestern Thrace Basin (NE Greece)

Paleothermal indicators based on clay mineral and organic matter analyses, were integrated with mudrock geochemistry and stratigraphic data to define the sedimentary evolution of the southwestern Thrace Basin during the Eocene to Oligocene. This multi‐method approach allowed us to reconstruct the burial evolution of the basin in Eocene and Oligocene times and to study the mudrock composition and relate this to their provenance and source area weathering. The studied mudrocks show similar chemical variations. The distribution of some major and trace elements for the studied samples reflect heterogeneous source areas containing both felsic to mafic rocks. In particular, the Light Rare Earth Elements/Transition elements (LREEs/TEs) ratios are very high for the Avdira and Organi samples (on the average between 1.5 and 2.2 for (La + Ce)/Cr and 3.5–8 for (La + Ce)/Ni), suggesting a felsic source(s), and very low for the Samothraki, Limnos, Paterma and Iasmos samples (on the average between 0.4 and 0.6 for (La + Ce)/Cr and 0.6–1 for (La + Ce)/Ni), suggesting a mainly basic source(s). The mineralogical composition coupled with the A‐CN‐K and A‐N‐K plots suggest a complex evolution. The clay mineral data (illite percentage in I/S and the stacking order R and the Kübler Index) coupled to vitrinite reflectance analysis indicate a high to intermediate diagenetic grade for the Middle to Upper Eocene samples (from Iasmos, Gratini, Organi, Paterma, Esimi and Samotraki sections) and a low diagenetic grade for the Upper Eocene to Oligocene samples (from Limnos and Avdira sections). These data helped in interpreting the geodynamic evolution of the studied basins where the magmatic activity plays an important role. In particular, Middle to Upper Eocene sediments show high to intermediate diagenetic grade since they are located in a portion of the basin dominated by Eocene to Oligocene magmatic activity and intrusion of granitoids, whereas, the Upper Eocene to Oligocene sediments are not involved in important magmatic activity and intrusion of granitoids and, thus, show low diagenetic grade. Furthermore, Middle to Upper Eocene sediments experienced deeper burial processes caused by lithostatic load, rather than the uppermost Eocene and Oligocene sediments, in relation of their position along the stratigraphic succession. These data suggest a burial depth of at least 3–4 km with a tectonic exhumation mainly related to the extensional phases of the Miocene age.     

Oligocene to Early Miocene sedimentation and tectonics in the southern part of the Calabrian-Peloritan Arc (Aspromonte, southern Italy): a record of mixed-mode piggy-back basin evolution

The Calabrian-Peloritan Arc (southern Italy) represents a fragment of the European margin, thrusted onto the Apennines and Maghrebides during the Europe-Apulia collision in the late Early Miocene. A reconstruction of the pre-Middle Miocene tectono-sedimentary evolution of the southern part of the Calabrian-Peloritan Arc (CPA) is presented, based on a detailed analysis of the Stilo-Capo ?Orlando Formation (SCO Fm). Deposition of the SCO Fm occurred in a series of mixed-mode piggy-back basins. Basin evolution was controlled by two intersecting fault systems. A NW-SE oriented system delimited a series of sub-basins and fixed the position of feeder channels and submarine canyons, whereas a NE-SW oriented system controlled the axial dispersal of coarse-grained sediments within each of the sub-basins. From base to top, sedimentary environments change from terrestrial and lagoonal to upper bathyal over a timespan of approximately 12 Myr (late Early Oligocene-late Early Miocene). During this interval, extensional tectonic activity alternated with oblique backthrusting events, related to dextral transpression along the NW-SE oriented faults. This produced a characteristic pulsating pattern of basin evolution. Oligocene-Early Miocene evolution of the W. Mediterranean basin was dominated by ‘roll back’ of the Neotethyan oceanic lithosphere. Considerable extension in the overriding European Plate gave rise to the formation of a back arc-thrust system. The initial stages of Calabrian Basin evolution are remarkably similar to the evolution of rift basins in the back arc (Sardinia). The Calabrian basins, which are inferred to have originated as thin-skinned pull-apart basins, were subsequently incorporated into the Apennines-Maghrebides accretionary wedge by out-of-sequence thrusting, and became decoupled from the back arc. Periodic restabilization of the accretionary wedge, resulting in an alternation of backthrusting and listric normal faulting, provides an explanation for the structural evolution of these mixed-mode basins. The basins of the southern part of the CPA may be termed ‘spanner’ or ‘looper’ basins, in view of their characteristic pulsating structural evolution, superimposed upon their migration toward the foreland. This new term adequately accounts for the occurrence of tectonic inversions in long-lived piggy-back basins, as expected in the light of the dynamics of accretionary wedges.     

Testing models of rift basins: structure and stratigraphy of an Eocene–Oligocene supradetachment basin, Muddy Creek half graben, south-west Montana

We examine the basin geometry and sedimentary patterns in the Muddy Creek half graben of south-west Montana by integrating geological mapping, structural and basin analysis, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology, biostratigraphy and reflection seismic data. The half graben formed in late Middle Eocene to early Oligocene (?) time at the breakaway of a regional, WSW-dipping detachment system. Although the structure of the half graben is that of a supradetachment basin, facies patterns and basin architecture do not conform to a recent model for extensional basins above detachment faults. The border fault, the Muddy Creek fault system, consists of three en echelon, left-stepping normal faults separated by two relay ramps. The fault steepens southward toward each en echelon step, ranges in dip from 8 to 60° near the surface, but flattens at depths between 0 and 3 km. A broad ENE-plunging displacement-gradient syncline defines the central part of the half graben and is flanked by narrow SE-and NE-plunging anticlines to the north and south. Fine-grained deposits of the syntectonic basin-fill are thickest in the central syncline and interfinger with footwall-derived conglomerate near the adjacent anticlines. These facies patterns suggest that folding was coeval with extension and sedimentation in the half graben. Pre-extensional volcanic rocks and interbedded conglomerate filled a major ESE-trending palaeovalley along the future axis of the Muddy Creek half graben. Synextensional sedimentary deposits include lacustrine and paludal shale, mudstone and sandstone ponded in the centre of the half graben, and a narrow (typically <1.5 km wide) fringe of coarse alluvial-fan and fan-delta conglomerate and sandstone derived from the footwall. Angular unconformities and rock-slide deposits occur only locally within the syntectonic sequence. These facies patterns agree well with the half-graben depositional model of Leeder & Gawthorpe but not with a more recent supradetachment basin model of Friedmann & Burbank despite the demonstrably low dip-angle of the basin-bounding normal fault. These data show that it may not be possible to differentiate between supradetachment basins and half graben with steeper border faults using the architecture of the associated basin-fill deposits.     

The response of sedimentation in three varved lacustrine sequences to air temperature,precipitation and human impact

Human activity and climatic forcing have influenced sedimentation in three of Finland's deepest lakes during the last centuries. High-resolution sediment sequences of Lake Päijänne, Lake Pääjärvi and Lake Pyhäjärvi represent records of the last 440 years, 839 years and 633 years, respectively. The accumulation rates of dry matter, organic carbon and biogenic silica refer to changes in human activity in the catchments. However, they also reveal the importance of climatic forcing on lake sediment deposition. A significant correlation was found between instrumentally measured records of temperature (163 years) and precipitation (148 years), and varve thickness. Warm winter months indicating a short ice-cover period have the strongest control on varve thickness. This shows that wind-driven resuspension of littoral material is the forcing mechanism of climate on lake sediments. The long-term human-induced erosion pulses observed may even have magnified the climatic signals in some cases. Nevertheless, increased anthropogenic field erosion in the catchment, and the associated leaching of bioavailable nutrients, hampers the observation of climate signals, especially during the last 50 years, in the lakes studied.This is the second paper a series of papers published in this issue on high-resolution paleolimnology. These papers were presented at the Sixth International Palaeolimnology Symposium held 19-April, 1993 at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. Dr A. F. Lotter and Dr. M. Sturm served as guest editors for these papers.     

Tectonic and climatic controls of lacustrine sedimentation in pre-rift and rift settings in the Permian-Triassic of East Africa

Lake sediments in the Ruhuhu Basin, Tanzania, and other East African basins have a similar facies evolution for particular time slices of the Permian and Lower Triassic. The Ruhuhu Basin exhibits three lacustrine phases related partly to climate and partly to tectonic setting. Two pre-rift lacustrine stages — post glacial and swampy lacustrine phases — are followed by major rifting in the Upper Permian. Postgacial lakes developed in pre-Karoo depressions were fed initially by meltwater and later by runoff and grounwater associated with climatic amelioration. The following swampy lacustrine episode developed from fluvial to lacustrine conditions with alternating clastic and organic input. Associated micritic carbonates and gypsum indicate high evaporation, and playa clay mineral associations provide evidence for poor drainage and saline, alkaline lake waters.The Upper Permian lake was characterized by fine clastics and biogenic carbonates. Facies include littoral clastics and turbidites, stromatolites, oolites and deeper water laminites. Early diagenetic cherts, chloritization and the absence of kaolinite indicate highly alkaline lake water during regressive phases. Stable isotopic evidence supports lake differentiation into hydrogeologically open and closed sub-basins.Two phases of rifting (Lower-Upper Permian; Upper Permian-Lower Triassic) are recognized in several Karoo basins. Rift evolution and lake formation are intimately related. The first rifting episode was characterized by local extension of depositional areas. Half-graben basinal asymmetry and permanent lacustrine conditions became established. The second episode was regional, and was characterized by further extension of depositional area, a basal unconformity, and a hiatus between the uppermost Permian and lowermost Triassic units. Climate was the main controlling factor during the Early Permian lake development, whereas structural constraints strongly influenced vertical and lateral facies development in the Late Permian/Early Triassic lakes.     

Middle Eocene‐Oligocene broken‐foreland evolution in the Andean Calchaqui Valley,NW Argentina: insights from stratigraphic,structural and provenance studies

Two end‐member models have been proposed for the Paleogene Andean foreland: a simple W‐E migrating foreland model and a broken‐foreland model. We present new stratigraphic, sedimentological and structural data from the Paleogene Quebrada de los Colorados (QLC) Formation, in the Eastern Cordillera, with which to test these two different models. Basin‐wide unconformities, growthstrata and changes in provenance indicate deposition of the QLC Formation in a tectonically active basin. Both west‐ and east‐vergent structures, rooted in the basement, controlled the deposition and distribution of the QLC Formation from the Middle Eocene to the Early Miocene. The provenance analysis indicates that the main source areas were basement blocks, like the Paleozoic Oire Eruptive Complex, uplifted during Paleogene shortening, and that delimits the eastern boundary of the present‐day intraorogenic Puna plateau. A comparison of the QLC sedimentary basin‐fill pattern with those of adjacent Paleogene basins in the Puna plateau and in the Santa Bárbara System highlights the presence of discrete depozones. These reflect the early compartmentalization of the foreland, rather than a stepwise advance of the deformation front of a thrust belt. The early Tertiary foreland of the southern central Andes is represented by a ca. 250‐km‐wide area comprising several deformation zones (Arizaro, Macón, Copalayo and Calchaquí) in which doubly vergent or asymmetric structures, rooted in the basement, were generated. Hence, classical foreland model is difficult to apply in this Paleogene basin; and our data and interpretation agree with a broken‐foreland model.     

新疆孔雀河北岸72~51 ka BP湖相沉积物的孢粉植物群初步研究

对新疆孔雀河北缘的LX02剖面湖相沉积物开展了OSL测年和孢粉记录研究。结果显示：该剖面湖相沉积自72.4 ka BP延续到51.0 ka BP。这一期间,研究区为针叶、阔叶混交林植被,林下生长灌木和草本,低洼潮湿的地方生长蕨类孢子和藻类。植被的主要类型有松（Pinus）、栎（Quercus）、栗（Castanea）、榛（Corylus）、莎草（Cyperaceae）、蒿（Artemisia）、藜（Chenopodiaceae）、水龙骨科（Polypodiaceae）等,同时还含有少量的山核桃（Carya）和枫杨（Pterocarya）等亚热带的孑遗植物花粉。具体来说,组合带Ⅰ（72.4~66.8 ka BP）、Ⅲ（56.1~51.0 ka BP）对应的沉积期间,研究区阔叶树花粉含量低而灌木和草本花粉含量高;组合带Ⅱ（66.8~56.1 ka BP）对应的沉积期阔叶树花粉含量都较高,而灌木和草本花粉相对较低,揭示72.4~51.0 ka BP研究区气候总体上呈现冷干-暖湿的气候波动特征。这与粘土矿物和地球化学特征所反映的古气候特征及其变化一致,亦与柴达木盆地东部介形类丰度特征研究、柴达木盆地东部古湖泊高湖面光释光年代学研究、北京平原区有机碳同位素研究等结果吻合较好,然而,这一气候变化规律的内部驱动机制还有待进一步的深入研究。     

Late Quaternary palaeohydrology of the Konya Basin, Turkey, based on isotope studies of modern hydrology and lacustrine carbonates

The Konya plain in south central Anatolia, Turkey, which is now largely dry, was occupied around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum by a fresh-oligosaline lake covering more than 4000 km². Sediment cores from three residual water bodies (Pinarbai, Akgöl and Süleymanhaci) within the larger Pleistocene lake basin, have been analysed using a multidisciplinary approach. The sediment sequences are dated as spanning the last 50 Ka years, although breaks in sedimentation mean that there is only partial chronological overlap between them. Carbon and oxygen isotope analyses on lacustrine carbonate from the three cores give contrasting isotope profiles which reflect the different ages and independent hydrological behaviour of different sub-basins through the late Quaternary. Distinguishing changes that are regional from local effects is aided by modern isotope hydrology studies and by comparing the carbonate ¹³C and ¹⁸O values to diatom and other analyses undertaken on the same cores.     

Physicochemical, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics of lacustrine sediments of the Konya Basin, Turkey, and their significance in relation to climatic change

Physicochemical, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics of 279 highly calcareous lacustrine sediment samples obtained from a 30 m drilling core in the western part of the Great Konya Basin, Turkey were studied. The sediments have a predominance of silt and clay fractions with a median diameter of 3–5 μm. Vertical changes of the amounts of water soluble components, gypsum, carbonates, and non-salt minerals such as quartz, feldspars, and layer silicates in the sediments suggest that there were climatic changes in the Konya Basin. The dominant clay mineral is smectite followed by kaolinite, illite, and palygorskite. The oxygen isotopic (δ¹⁸O) ratios of six quartz samples from the Konya sediments, a terra rossa soil beside Lake Bey ehir gölü and paleosols at the foot of Mt. Erciyes Da ranged from +18.1 to +20.6‰. The dominant clay minerals and δ¹⁸O ratios suggest that part of quartz and coexisting layer silicates is of long-range transported and/or local aeolian dust origin from arid and semi-arid regions such as North Africa, Israel, and the surroundings. The relatively high deposition rate might be due to aeolian dust input and/or the sediment input introduced by the rivers such as the Çar amba river from the Toros (Taurus) mountains. The vertical distributions of electro-conductivity, amounts of water soluble and non-salt components, and the gypsum content of the sediments suggest that gypsum-rich layers were formed under shallow, saline waters, possibly associated with warm to hot and dry environments such as the Last Interglacial epoch and the Early Holocene. The sediments characterized by relatively high amounts of non-salt sediments, in which gypsum did not accumulate, could be deeper water phases formed under the cold and/or wet environments such as the Glacial epochs.     

Morphology and origin of major Cenozoic sequence boundaries in the eastern North Sea Basin: top Eocene,near‐top Oligocene and the mid‐Miocene unconformity

Unconformities in sedimentary successions (i.e. sequence boundaries) form in response to the interplay between a variety of factors such as eustasy, climate, tectonics and basin physiography. Unravelling the origin of sequence boundaries is thus one of the most pertinent questions in the analysis of sedimentary basins. We address this question by focusing on three of the most marked physical discontinuities (sequence boundaries) in the Cenozoic North Sea Basin: top Eocene, near‐top Oligocene and the mid‐Miocene unconformity. The Eocene/Oligocene transition is characterized by an abrupt increase in sediment supply from southern Norway and by minor erosion of the basin floor. The near‐top Oligocene and the mid‐Miocene unconformity are characterized by major changes in sediment input directions and by widespread erosion along their clinoform breakpoints. The mid‐Miocene shift in input direction was followed by a marked increase in sediment supply to the southern and central North Sea Basin. Correlation with global δ¹⁸O records suggests that top Eocene correlates with a major long‐term δ¹⁸O increase (inferred climatic cooling and eustatic fall). Near‐top Oligocene does not correlate with any major δ¹⁸O events, while the mid‐Miocene unconformity correlates with a gradual decrease followed by a major long‐term increase in δ¹⁸O values The abrupt increases in sediment supply in post‐Eocene and post‐middle Miocene time correlate with similar changes worldwide and with major δ¹⁸O increases, suggesting a global control (i.e. climate and eustasy) of the post‐Eocene sedimentation in the North Sea Basin. Erosional features observed at near‐top Oligocene and at the mid‐Miocene unconformity are parallel to the clinoform breakpoints and resemble scarps formed by mass wasting. Incised valleys have not been observed, indicating that sea level never fell significantly below the clinoform breakpoint during the Oligocene to middle Miocene.     

Sediment dispersal and redistributive processes in axial and transverse deep‐time source‐to‐sink systems of marine rift basins: Dampier Sub‐basin,Northwest Shelf,Australia

Morphological scaling relationships between source‐to‐sink segments have been widely explored in modern settings, however, deep‐time systems remain difficult to assess due to limited preservation of drainage basins and difficulty in quantifying complex processes that impact sediment dispersals. Integration of core, well‐logs and 3‐D seismic data across the Dampier Sub‐basin, Northwest Shelf of Australia, enables a complete deep‐time source‐to‐sink study from the footwall (Rankin Platform) catchment to the hanging wall (Kendrew Trough) depositional systems in a Jurassic late syn‐rift succession. Hydrological analysis identifies 24 drainage basins on the J50.0 (Tithonian) erosional surface, which are delimited into six drainage domains confined by NNE‐SSW trending grabens and their horsts, with drainage domain areas ranging between 29 and 156 km². Drainage outlets of these drainage domains are well preserved along the Rankin Fault System scarp, with cross‐sectional areas ranging from 0.08 to 0.31 km². Corresponding to the six drainage domains, sedimentological and geomorphological analysis identifies six transverse submarine fan complexes developing in the Kendrew Trough, ranging in areas from 43 to 193 km². Seismic geomorphological analysis reveals over 90‐km‐long, slightly sinuous axial turbidity channels, developing in the lower topography of the Kendrew Trough which erodes toe parts of transverse submarine fan complexes. Positive scaling relationships exist between drainage outlet spacing and drainage basin length, and drainage outlet cross‐sectional area and drainage basin area, which indicates the geometry of drainage outlets can provide important constraints on source area dimensions in deep‐time source‐to‐sink studies. The broadly negative bias of fan area to drainage basin area ratios indicates net sediment losses in submarine fan complexes caused by axial turbidity current erosion. Source‐to‐sink sediment balance studies must be done with full evaluating of adjacent source‐to‐sink systems to delineate fans and their associated up‐dip drainages, to achieve an accurate tectonic and sedimentologic picture of deep‐time basins.