Neoproterozoic–Devonian stratigraphic evolution of the eastern Murzuq Basin,Libya: a tale of tilting in the central Sahara

The Murzuq Basin is one of the most petroliferous basins of North Africa. Its remote eastern flank has been largely ignored since early reconnaissance work in the 1950s and 1960s. This article presents new stratigraphic and sedimentological data on the Neoproterozoic through Devonian succession from the Mourizidie and Dor el Gussa regions. The Neoproterozoic to Cambrian Mourizidie and Hasawnah formations in the eastern part of the Mourizidie region dip to the east and north‐east, resting directly on late Precambrian metasediments and granitoids. These strata record the initial progradation of sand‐dominated braidplain systems upon peneplained Precambrian basement. Rhyolite clasts in the Hasawnah Formation may record tectonically driven uplift and unroofing in the southern Tibesti Massif or tectonomagmatic rejuvenation to the south of this massif. In the western part of the Mourizidie region, Late Ordovician through Silurian strata (Mamuniyat and Tanezzuft–Akakus formations) directly overlie late Precambrian metasediments and granitoids, and dip at a low angle towards the west into the Murzuq Basin. Elsewhere at the eastern Murzuq Basin flank, in Dor el Gussa, Late Ordovician glaciogenic sediments rest with angular unconformity upon shallow marine sandstones of Cambrian–Ordovician age. This angular unconformity may also occur in the Mourizidie region and indicates widespread tectonism, either as a result of a Middle–Late Ordovician orogenic event, far‐field tectonism related to the opening of the Rheic Ocean along the northern margin of Gondwana or alternatively crustal depression associated with the growth of Late Ordovician ice sheets. Unconformity development was also probably associated with glacial incision. Following ice sheet retreat, isostatic rebound during deglaciation resulted in uplift of tens to hundreds of metres, locally removing all Cambrian and Ordovician formations. Rising sea levels in the Silurian led to deposition of the Tanezzuft Formation on Precambrian basement in the northwestern Mourizidie region.     

The Late Ordovician deglaciation sequence of the SW Murzuq Basin (Libya)

Rocks of Late Ordovician to Silurian age are well exposed on the western rim of the Murzuq Basin (Ghat‐Tikiumit area, Libya) where seismic‐scale exposures allow spectacular insights into the growth and decay of the Late Ordovician (Hirnantian) ice sheet. The final deglaciation left a complex topography with a combination of subglacial morphologies and proglacial depositional systems. This paper documents the glacial and proglacial palaeo‐topography that controls the accumulation of a postglacial transgressive depositional system and the Rhuddanian (Early Silurian) shales. The glacial relief directly contributed to an important hiatus, with the Rhuddanian deposits at the base of the remnant glacial troughs being 3 Ma older than at the top of the topographic highs. The source‐rock in the Murzuq Basin is of Early Rhuddanian age, so it is present only in the deepest part whereas geomorphic traps are formed within the highs of the relict postglacial topography. The transgressive system, recognised for its good reservoir potential, is considered to play a key‐role in the petroleum system, linking the source rock deposited in the ancient topographic lows with the reservoir rocks in the topographic highs. This study aims to demonstrate the importance of palaeo‐glaciological reconstructions for petroleum exploration of the Ordovician–Silurian in North Africa.     

The Neoproterozoic Fiq glaciation and its aftermath, Huqf supergroup of Oman

The <1.5‐km thick Fiq Member of the Ghadir Manqil Formation, Huqf Supergroup, Oman, contains a succession of Marinoan‐age glacially and non‐glacially influenced deposits overlain by a transgressive, ¹³C‐depleted, deep‐water dolostone (Hadash Formation) that deepens up into the marine shales and siltstones of the Masirah Bay Formation. The Fiq Member and Hadash–Masirah Bay Formations are well exposed in the core of the Jebel Akhdar of northern Oman and provide a valuable insight into the processes operating during a Neoproterozoic glacial epoch and its aftermath. The Fiq Member comprises seven stratigraphic units (F1–F7) of proximal and distal glacimarine, non‐glacial sediment gravity flow, and non‐glacial shallow marine facies associations. These units can be correlated over almost the entire Neoproterozoic outcrop belt (ca. 80 km) of the Jebel Akhdar. Four units contain glacimarine rainout diamictites, commonly at the top of cycles beneath strong lithofacies dislocations suggesting flooding. The units are thought to have been generated by combined glacio‐isostatic and glacio‐eustatic forcing caused by changing volumes of terrestrial glacier ice. The lateral persistence and thickness of massive diamictite units increase upwards in the stratigraphy, the youngest (F7) diamictite being abruptly overlain by the Hadash Formation. Correlation of lithofacies associations across the rift basin and palaeocurrents indicate that siliciclastic sediment and glacially entrained debris were derived from both basin margins. Open‐water conditions existed during interglacials, attested to by the presence of wave‐rippled sandstones in the western part of the basin. The Hadash carbonate also exhibits variations between east and west, showing that despite an overall deep‐water depositional setting, rift margin and intrabasinal structure continued to exert a control on facies development during the post‐glacial aftermath. Onlap of basin margins continued through the deposition of the Masirah Bay Formation. The sedimentology and stratigraphy of the Fiq Member and Hadash–Masirah Bay Formations have a number of implications for the Snowball Earth hypothesis. The overall stratigraphic evolution of the Fiq Member suggests a dynamic, temperate/polythermal style of glaciation, perhaps nucleated on uplifted continental or rift margin topography, with marine‐terminating glaciers. Some transgressions coupled to deglaciations within the Fiq glacial epoch were accompanied by minor deposition of carbonate. However, final deglaciation triggered the deposition of a <8‐m thick, deep‐water dolomite contaminated with siliciclastics, with a lithofacies assemblage still reflecting the underlying bathymetric template, followed by relatively deep marine shales and siltstones. The preservation of relatively deep marine Masirah Bay sediments above the Fiq basin margin suggests either tectonic collapse of the rift shoulder or, more likely, rapid eustatic rise accompanying deglaciation.     

Basin evolution of Upper Cretaceous–Lower Cenozoic strata in the Malargüe fold‐and‐thrust belt: northern Neuquén Basin,Argentina

The Andean Orogen is the type‐example of an active Cordilleran style margin with a long‐lived retroarc fold‐and‐thrust belt and foreland basin. Timing of initial shortening and foreland basin development in Argentina is diachronous along‐strike, with ages varying by 20–30 Myr. The Neuquén Basin (32°S to 40°S) contains a thick sedimentary sequence ranging in age from late Triassic to Cenozoic, which preserves a record of rift, back arc and foreland basin environments. As much of the primary evidence for initial uplift has been overprinted or covered by younger shortening and volcanic activity, basin strata provide the most complete record of early mountain building. Detailed sedimentology and new maximum depositional ages obtained from detrital zircon U–Pb analyses from the Malargüe fold‐and‐thrust belt (35°S) record a facies change between the marine evaporites of the Huitrín Formation (ca. 122 Ma) and the fluvial sandstones and conglomerates of the Diamante Formation (ca. 95 Ma). A 25–30 Myr unconformity between the Huitrín and Diamante formations represents the transition from post‐rift thermal subsidence to forebulge erosion during initial flexural loading related to crustal shortening and uplift along the magmatic arc to the west by at least 97 ± 2 Ma. This change in basin style is not marked by any significant difference in provenance and detrital zircon signature. A distinct change in detrital zircons, sandstone composition and palaeocurrent direction from west‐directed to east‐directed occurs instead in the middle Diamante Formation and may reflect the Late Cretaceous transition from forebulge derived sediment in the distal foredeep to proximal foredeep material derived from the thrust belt to the west. This change in palaeoflow represents the migration of the forebulge, and therefore, of the foreland basin system between 80 and 90 Ma in the Malargüe area.     

Sediment Distribution Around Glacially Abraded Bedrock Landforms (Whalebacks) at Lago Tranquilo, Chile

Whalebacks are convex landforms created by the smoothing of bedrock by glacial processes. Their formation is attributed to glacial abrasion either by bodies of subglacial sediment sliding over bedrock or by individual clasts contained within ice. This paper reports field measurements of sediment depth around two whaleback landforms in order to investigate the relationship between glacigenic deposits and whaleback formation. The study site, at Lago Tranquilo in Chilean Patagonia, is situated within the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ice limits. The two whalebacks are separated by intervening depressions in which sediment depths are generally 0.2 to 0.3 m. Two facies occur on and around the whalebacks. These facies are: (1) angular gravel found only on the surface of the whalebacks, interpreted as bedrock fracturing in response to unloading of the rock following pressure release after ice recession, and (2) sandy boulder‐gravel in the sediment‐filled depressions between the two whalebacks, interpreted as an ice‐marginal deposit, with a mixture of sediment types including basal glacial and glaciofluvial sediment. Since the whalebacks have heavily abraded and striated surfaces but are surrounded by only a patchy and discontinuous layer of sediment, the implication is that surface abrasion of the whalebacks was achieved primarily by clasts entrained in basal ice, not by subglacial till sliding.     

Triassic to Early Jurassic climatic trends recorded in the Jameson Land Basin,East Greenland: clay mineralogy,petrography and heavy mineralogy

During the Early Triassic the Jameson Land Basin (Central East Greenland) was located around 30° N, in the Northern arid belt, but by the Early Jurassic was positioned at a latitude of approximately 50° N. This study examines the record of this transition through a largely continental succession using clay mineralogy, sedimentology, petrography and heavy mineralogy. The Jameson Land Basin is aligned north–south and is 280 km long and 80 km wide. Following an Early Triassic marine phase the basin was filled by predominantly continental sediments. The Early‐to‐Late Triassic succession comprises coarse alluvial clastics (Pingo Dal Formation) overlain by a succession of fine‐grained evaporite‐rich playa/lacustrine sediments (Gipsdalen Formation), indicative of arid climatic conditions. The overlying buff, dolomitic and then red lacustrine mudstones with subordinate sandstones (Fleming Fjord Formation) record reduced aridity. The uppermost Triassic grades into dark organic‐rich, and in places coaly, mudstones and buff coarse‐grained sandstones of lacustrine origin that belong to the Kap Stewart Group, which spans the Triassic–Jurassic boundary, and appear to record more humid climatic conditions. Clay mineralogy analyses highlight significant variations in the kaolinite/illite ratio, from both mudstone and sandstone samples, through the Triassic and into the earliest Jurassic. Complementary heavy mineral analyses demonstrate that the variations recognised in clay mineralogy and sandstone maturity through the Triassic–Early Jurassic succession are not a product of major provenance change or the effect of significant diagenetic alteration. The observed variations are consistent with sedimentological evidence for a long‐term trend towards more humid conditions through the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic, and the suggestion of a significant pluvial episode in the mid‐Carnian.     

Sequence hierarchy in a Mesoproterozoic interior sag basin: from basin fill to reservoir scale,the Tombador Formation,Chapada Diamantina Basin,Brazil

The Tombador Formation exhibits depositional sequence boundaries placed at the base of extensive amalgamated fluvial sand sheets or at the base of alluvial fan conglomeratic successions that indicate basinward shifts of facies. The hierarchy system that applies to the Tombador Formation includes sequences of different orders, which are defined as follows: sequences associated with a particular tectonic setting are designated as ‘first order’ and are separated by first‐order sequence boundaries where changes in the tectonic setting are recorded; second‐order sequences represent the major subdivisions of a first‐order sequence and reflect cycles of change in stratal stacking pattern observed at 10² m scales (i.e., 200–300 m); changes in stratal stacking pattern at 10¹ m scales indicate third‐order sequences (i.e., 40–70 m); and changes in stratal stacking pattern at 10⁰ m scales are assigned to the fourth order (i.e., 8–12 m). Changes in palaeogeography due to relative sea level changes are recorded at all hierarchical levels, with a magnitude that increases with the hierarchical rank. Thus, the Tombador Formation corresponds to one‐first‐order sequence, representing a distinct intracratonic sag basin fill in the polycyclic history of the Espinhaço Supergroup in Chapada Diamantina Basin. An angular unconformity separates fluvial‐estuarine to alluvial fan deposits and marks the second‐order boundary. Below the angular unconformity the third‐order sequences record fluvial to estuarine deposition. In contrast, above the angular unconformity these sequences exhibit continental alluvial successions composed conglomerates overlain by fluvial and eolian strata. Fourth‐order sequences are recognized within third‐order transgressive systems tract, and they exhibit distinct facies associations depending on their occurrence at estuarine or fluvial domains. At the estuarine domain, they are composed of tidal channel, tidal bar and overlying shoreface heterolithic strata. At the fluvial domain the sequences are formed of fluvial deposits bounded by fine‐grained or tidal influenced intervals. Fine grained intervals are the most reliable to map in fourth‐order sequences because of their broad laterally extensive sheet‐like external geometry. Therefore, they constitute fourth‐order sequence boundaries that, at the reservoir approach, constitute the most important horizontal heterogeneity and, hence, the preferable boundaries of production zones. The criteria applied to assign sequence hierarchies in the Tombador Formation are based on rock attributes, are easy to apply, and can be used as a baseline for the study of sequence stratigraphy in Precambrian and Phanerozoic basins placed in similar tectonic settings.     

Syntectonic subaqueous mass flows of the Neoproterozoic Otavi Group,Namibia: where is the evidence of global glaciation?

The thick (>1 km) Neoproterozoic Otavi Group of Namibia accumulated after ca. 760 Ma along >700 km of the faulted margin of the Congo Craton. The margin shows a north to south, downbasin transition from a shallow‐water carbonate shelf (Otavi Platform) to offshore deepwater slope (Outjo Basin). Within the latter, the Abenab and Tsumeb Subgroups contain large volumes of poorly sorted breccias, conglomerates and diamictites composed principally of locally derived carbonate. Diamictite facies were reported in the 1930s as tillites left by an ice sheet (although the absence of striated clasts and other key glacial indicators was viewed as problematic). Later workers rejected a glacial origin concluding that Outjo basin facies were deposited as parts of prograding submarine wedges built by mass flows during active rifting. Recently, the Snowball Earth hypothesis has returned to the earlier glacial interpretation; arguing that these strata represent a record of extraordinary late Neoproterozoic glacial and interglacial climates when global temperatures fluctuated by up to 100°C. Facies analysis of breccias, diamictites, conglomerates and sandstone strata of the Otavi Group identifies them as genetically related, subaqueously deposited sediment gravity flows. They lack diagnostic indicators of any one specific climate in source areas. These facies were all deposited in deepwater at the foot of landslide‐prone scarp blocks where debris flows and turbidity currents moved large volumes of coarse, freshly broken carbonate debris produced by faulting. Breccias, diamictites, conglomerates and sandstones occur in composite fining‐ and thinning‐upward bundles that are directly analogous to those reported from many other faulted margins in the Phanerozoic stratigraphic record. These rocks provide no clear sedimentological signature of a glacial source or catastrophic Snowball Earth‐type temperature fluctuations. Instead, they point to a dominant tectonic control on sedimentation related to faulting along the margin of the Congo Craton.     

CHANGES IN ICE-MARGIN PROCESSES AND SEDIMENT ROUTING DURING ICE-SHEET ADVANCE ACROSS A MARGINAL MORAINE

Advance of part of the margin of the Greenland ice sheet across a proglacial moraine ridge between 1968 and 2002 caused progressive changes in moraine morphology, basal ice formation, debris release, ice‐marginal sediment storage, and sediment transfer to the distal proglacial zone. When the ice margin is behind the moraine, most of the sediment released from the glacier is stored close to the ice margin. As the margin advances across the moraine the potential for ice‐proximal sediment storage decreases and distal sediment flux is augmented by reactivation of moraine sediment. For six stages of advance associated with distinctive glacial and sedimentary processes we describe the ice margin, the debris‐rich basal ice, debris release from the glacier, sediment routing into the proglacial zone, and geomorphic processes on the moraine. The overtopping of a moraine ridge is a significant glaciological, geomorphological and sedimentological threshold in glacier advance, likely to cause a distinctive pulse in distal sediment accumulation rates that should be taken into account when glacial sediments are interpreted to reconstruct glacier fluctuations.     

Age,stratigraphy, sedimentology and tectonic setting of the Sigri Pyroclastic Formation and its fossil forests,Early Miocene,Lesbos, Greece

The Petrified Forest of Lesbos comprises silicified tree fossils at multiple stratigraphic levels within the Lower Miocene Sigri Pyroclastic Formation. Our objective was to understand the interplay of tectonic setting, structural evolution, volcanological setting and basin evolution in the preservation of this remarkable natural monument. Sections were logged for lithology, sedimentary structures and hydrothermal alteration. Orientations of fallen fossil trees were measured. Samples were taken for mineralogical and geochemical analysis. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating was carried out on mineral separates from four samples. Widespread andesite‐dacite domes, the Eressos Formation, intrude and overlie metamorphic basement and are overlain by the Sigri Pyroclastic Formation, which comprises several hundreds of metres of pyroclastic flow tuffs (unwelded ignimbrites) interbedded with fluvial conglomerate and volcaniclastic sandstone. The Sigri Pyroclastic Formation ranges in age from 21.5 to 22 Ma, where it overlies the lacustrine Gavathas Formation, to younger than 18.4 Ma. Tuffs and fluvial conglomerates in the Sigri Pyroclastic Formation coarsen eastwards, and petrified trees and soil horizons occur throughout the Formation. The recurrence of pyroclastic flows was approximately one every 20 ka, so destructive flows were relatively infrequent, allowing the development of climax vegetation between most eruptions. Conglomerate‐filled channels show that rivers flowed westwards. Tree fall directions indicate NW to N movement of pyroclastic flows, implying a source near the younger Mesotopos–Tavari caldera to the south. The basin, which formed in a NNE‐trending dextral strike‐slip regime, provided some topographic steering. Following the Sigri Pyroclastic Formation at ca. 18 Ma, there was a rapid increase in the pace of volcanic activity, with the eruption of thick lava sequences and welded ignimbrites, and intrusion of dykes and laccoliths in SW Lesbos. Rapid burial by permeable tuffs, silica from alteration of volcanic ash, and later hydrothermal circulation all contributed to the preservation of the petrified trees.     

Additional evidence of pre-Silurian high-pressure metamorphic rocks in Spitsbergen

It has been previously suggested that the high-pressure metamorphic rock complex of Motalafjclla, central-western Spitsbergen, is older than Lower Silurian. An unconformity has been discovered at the base of a limestone which contains fossils similar to those reported as Lower Silurian from the same massif. This proves that the high-pressure metamorphics represent an older rock complex. The unconformity surface is inverted in the area, and large recumbent folds involving the Silurian Bulltinden Formation have been mapped. These folds are considered to be pre-Carboniferous.     

Detrital zircon geochronology of pre‐ and syncollisional strata,Acadian orogen,Maine Appalachians

The Central Maine Basin is the largest expanse of deep‐marine, Upper Ordovician to Devonian metasedimentary rocks in the New England Appalachians, and is a key to the tectonics of the Acadian Orogeny. Detrital zircon ages are reported from two groups of strata: (1) the Quimby, Rangeley, Perry Mountain and Smalls Falls Formations, which were derived from inboard, northwesterly sources and are supposedly older; and (2) the Madrid, Carrabassett and Littleton Formations, which were derived from outboard, easterly sources and are supposedly younger. Deep‐water deposition prevailed throughout, with the provenance shift inferred to mark the onset of foredeep deposition and orogeny. The detrital zircon age distribution of a composite of the inboard‐derived units shows maxima at 988 and 429 Ma; a composite from the outboard‐derived units shows maxima at 1324, 1141, 957, 628, and 437 Ma. The inboard‐derived units have a greater proportion of zircons between 450 and 400 Ma. Three samples from the inboard‐derived group have youngest age maxima that are significantly younger than the nominal depositional ages. The outboard‐derived group does not share this problem. These results are consistent with the hypothesised provenance shift, but they signal potential problems with the established stratigraphy, structure, and (or) regional mapping. Shallow‐marine deposits of the Silurian to Devonian Ripogenus Formation, from northwest of the Central Maine Basin, yielded detrital zircons featuring a single age maximum at 441 Ma. These zircons were likely derived from a nearby magmatic arc now concealed by younger strata. Detrital zircons from the Tarratine Formation, part of the Acadian foreland‐basin succession in this strike belt, shows age maxima at 1615, 980 and 429 Ma. These results are consistent with three episodes of zircon recycling beginning with the deposition of inboard‐derived strata of the Central Maine Basin, which were shed from post‐Taconic highlands located to the northwest. Next, southeasterly parts of this succession were deformed in the Acadian orogeny, shedding detritus towards the northwest into what remained of the basin. Finally, by Pragian time, all strata in the Central Maine Basin had been deformed and detritus from this new source accumulated as the Tarratine Formation in a new incarnation of the foreland basin. Silurian‐Devonian strata from the Central Maine Basin have similar detrital zircon age distributions to coeval rocks from the Arctic Alaska and Farewell terranes of Alaska and the Northwestern terrane of Svalbard. We suggest that these strata were derived from different segments of the 6500‐km‐long Appalachian‐Caledonide orogen.     

Recalibration of the yellow Rhizocarpon growth curve in the Cordillera Blanca (Peru) and implications for LIA chronology

A new lichen dating method and new moraine observations enabled us to improve the chronology of glacier advances in the Cordillera Blanca (Peru) during the Little Ice Age (LIA). Our results reveal that an early LIA glacial advance occurred around AD 1330 ± 29. However, a second major glacial advance at the beginning of the 17th century overlapped the earlier stage for most glaciers. Hence, this second glacial stage, dated from AD 1630 ± 27, is considered as the LIA maximum glacial advance in the Cordillera Blanca. During the 17th–18th centuries, at least three glacial advances were recorded synchronously for the different glaciers (AD 1670 ± 24, 1730 ± 21, and 1760 ± 19). The moraines corresponding to the two first stages are close to the one in 1630 suggesting a slow recession of about 18% in the total length of the glacier. From the LIA maximum extent to the beginning of the 20th century, the 24 glaciers have retreated a distance of about 1000 m, corresponding to a reduction of 30% in their length. This rate is comparable to that observed during the 20th century. Estimates of palaeo-Equilibrium Line Altitudes show an increase in altitude of about 100 m from the LIA maximum glacial extension at the beginning of the 17th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Because long time series are not available for precipitation and temperature, this glacial retreat is difficult to explain by past climate changes. However, there is a fair correspondence between changes in glacier length and the δ¹⁸O recorded in the Quelccaya ice core at a century timescale. Our current knowledge of tropical glaciers and isotope variations leads us to suggest that this common tropical signal reflects a change from a wet LIA to the drier conditions of today. Finally, a remarkable synchronicity is observed with glacial variations in Bolivia, suggesting a common regional climatic pattern during the LIA.     

Timing of Late Cretaceous shortening and basin development,Little Hatchet Mountains,southwestern New Mexico,USA – implications for regional Laramide tectonics

Laser ablation‐multi collector‐inductively coupled mass spectrometry U‐Pb geochronology, detailed field mapping and stratigraphic data offer improved insights into the timing and style of Laramide deformation and basin development in the Little Hatchet Mountains, southwestern New Mexico, USA, a key locality in the ‘southern Laramide province.’ The Laramide synorogenic section in the northern Little Hatchet Mountains comprises upper Campanian to Maastrichtian strata consisting of the Ringbone and Skunk Ranch formations, with a preserved maximum thickness of >2400 m, and the correlative Hidalgo Formation with a total thickness >1700 m. The Ringbone Formation and superjacent Skunk Ranch Formation are each generally composed of (1) a basal conglomerate member; (2) a middle member consisting of lacustrine shale, limestone, sandstone, and interbedded ash‐fall tuffs; and (3) an upper sandstone and conglomerate member. Basaltic andesite flows are intercalated with the upper member of the Ringbone Formation and the middle member of the Skunk Ranch Formation. The Hidalgo Formation, which crops out in the northern part of the range, is dominantly composed of basaltic andesite breccias and flows equivalent to those of the Ringbone and Skunk Ranch formations. The Laramide section was deposited in an intermontane basin partitioned across intrabasinal thrust structures, which controlled growth‐stratal development. U‐Pb zircon ages from five tuffs indicate that the age range of the Laramide sedimentary succession is ca. 75–70 Ma. U‐Pb detrital‐zircon age data (n = 356 analyses) from the Ringbone Formation and a Lower Cretaceous unit indicate sediment contribution from uplifted Lower and Upper Cretaceous rocks adjacent to the basin and the contemporary Tarahumara magmatic arc in nearby northern Sonora, Mexico. The new ages, combined with published data, indicate that uplift, basin development, and magmatism in the region proceeded diachronously northeastwards as the subducting Farallon slab flattened under northern Mexico and southern New Mexico from Campanian to Palaeogene time.     

Middle Miocene–Pliocene siliciclastic influx across a carbonate shelf and influence of deltaic sedimentation on shelf construction,Northern Carnarvon Basin,Northwest Shelf of Australia

Middle Miocene to Pliocene siliciclastics of the Bare Formation represent a long‐lived (ca. 11 Myr) break in the otherwise carbonate‐dominated shelf of the Northern Carnarvon Basin, Northwest Shelf of Australia. The quartz‐sandstone interval is correlated with the appearance of spectacular clinoform sets mapped on 3D and dense 2D seismic data. Twenty‐seven clinoform sets are interpreted as delta lobes primarily based on their plan‐view morphology (strike‐elongate to lobate features) and their 40–100‐m‐high clinoform amplitudes. The delta lobes were deposited on outer‐shelf to shelf‐edge positions, and the older deltas show evidence of a higher degree wave reworking than the younger deltas. Measurements of the along‐strike (migration) and down‐dip (progradation) movement of these deltas are compared with relative sea‐level behaviour inferred from shelf‐edge trajectory analysis. Delta lobes exhibit greater lateral shifting during relative sea‐level rise, whereas delta lobes are more restricted to dip‐oriented fairways during sea‐level fall, although no major incised valleys have been identified. Long‐term (cumulative) progradation of this delta system and subsequent backstepping correlates with long‐term sea‐level fall and rise during the late middle and late Miocene. In addition, a long‐term northeastward migration trend for these delta lobes was likely a result of localized uplift of an inversion anticline in the Rosemary–Legendre Trend; the growth of this anticline probably steered the fluvial source for the delta system towards the northeast. The Bare Formation siliciclastic influx correlates with other middle Miocene increases in siliciclastic sediment supply worldwide. Global cooling and a shift to more arid conditions, negatively influencing vegetation cover, may have combined with more seasonally variable rainfall to generate the high sediment supply that built the deltas. Retreat of the siliciclastics could correlate with ice‐sheet growth in the Northern Hemisphere and/or increase in the Indonesian Throughflow and Leeuwin Current (ca. 1.6 Ma), which might have modified climate regionally.     

Evolution of the Himalayan foreland basin, NW India

This paper provides new information on the evolution of the Himalayan foreland basin in the under‐reported region of the Kangra and Subathu sub‐basins, NW India. Comparisons are made with the better documented co‐eval sediments of Nepal and Pakistan to build up a broader picture of basin development. In the Subathu sub‐basin, shallow marine sediments of the Palaeocene–lower Lutetian Subathu Formation are unconformably overlain by the continental alluvial Dagshai and Kasauli Formations and Siwalik Group. The start of continental deposition is now dated at younger than 31 Ma from detrital zircon fission track data, thereby defining the duration of this major unconformity, which runs basin‐wide along strike. Final exhumation of these basin sediments, as thrusting propagated into the basin, occurred by 5 Ma constrained from detrital apatite fission track data. In the Kangra sub‐basin, the Subathu Formation is not exposed and the pre‐Siwalik sediments consist of the Dharamsala Group, interpreted as the deposits of transverse‐draining rivers. In this area, there is no evidence of westerly axial drainage as documented for coeval facies in Nepal. Similar to data reported along strike, facies analysis indicates that the sediments in NW India represent the filled/overfilled stages of the classic foreland basin evolutionary model, and the underfilled stage is not represented anywhere along the length of the basin studied to date.     

Using Mesoproterozoic sedimentary geochemistry to reconstruct basin tectonic geography and link organic carbon productivity to nutrient flux from a Northern Australian large igneous Province

The Beetaloo Sub-basin, northern Australia, is considered the main depocentre of the 1,000-km scale Mesoproterozoic Wilton package of the greater McArthur Basin – the host to one of the oldest hydrocarbon global resources. The ca. 1.40–1.31 Ga upper Roper Group and the latest Mesoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic unnamed group of the Beetaloo Sub-basin, together, record ca. 500 million years of depositional history within the North Australia Craton. Whole-rock shale Sm–Nd and Pb isotope data from these sediments reveal sedimentary provenance and their evolution from ca. 1.35 to 0.85 Ga. Furthermore, these data, together with shale major/trace elements data from this study and pyrolysis data from previous publications, are used to develop a dynamic tectonic geography model that links the organic carbon production and burial to an enhanced weathering of nutrients from a large igneous province. The ca. 1.35–1.31 Ga Kyalla Formation of the upper Roper Group is composed of isotopically evolved sedimentary detritus that passes up, into more isotopically juvenile Pb values towards the top of the formation. The increase in juvenile compositions coincides with elevated total organic carbon (TOC) contents of these sediments. The coherently enriched juvenile compositions and TOC the upper portions of the Kyalla Formation are interpreted to reflect an increase in nutrient supply associated with the weathering of basaltic sources (e.g. phosphorous). Possible, relatively juvenile, basaltic sources include the Wankanki Supersuite in the western Musgraves and the Derim Derim–Galiwinku large igneous province (LIP). The transition into juvenile, basaltic sources directly before a supersequence-bounding unconformity is here interpreted to reflect uplift and erosion of the Derim Derim–Galiwinku LIP, rather than an influx of southern Musgrave sources. A new baddeleyite crystallisation age of 1,312.9 ± 0.7 Ma provides both a tight constraint on the age of this LIP, along with its associated magmatic uplift, as well as providing a minimum age constraint for Roper Group deposition. The unconformably overlying lower and upper Jamison sandstones are at least 300 million years younger than the Kyalla Formation and were sourced from the Musgrave Province. An up-section increase in isotopically juvenile compositions seen in these rocks is interpreted to document the progressive exhumation of the western Musgrave Province. The overlying Hayfield mudstone received detritus from both the Musgrave and Arunta regions, and its isotopic geochemistry reveals affinities with other early Neoproterozoic basins (e.g. Amadeus, Victoria and Officer basins), indicating the potential for inter-basin correlations.     

Late Cretaceous‐Palaeogene stratigraphic and basin evolution in the Zhepure Mountain of southern Tibet: implications for the timing of India‐Asia initial collision

This article presents combined stratigraphic, sedimentological, subsidence and provenance data for the Cretaceous–Palaeogene succession from the Zhepure Mountain of southern Tibet. This region records the northernmost sedimentation of the Tethyan passive margin of India, and this time interval represents the transition into continental collision with Asia. The uppermost Cretaceous Zhepure Shanpo and Jidula formations record the transition from pelagic into upper slope to delta‐plain environments. The Palaeocene–lower Eocene Zongpu Formation records a carbonate ramp that is overlain by the deep‐water Enba Formation (lower Eocene). The upper part of the Enba Formation records shallowing into a storm‐influenced, outer shelf environment. Detrital zircon U–Pb and Hf isotopic data indicate that the terrigenous strata of the Enba Formation were sourced from the Lhasa terrane. Unconformably overlying the Enba Formation is the Zhaguo Formation comprising fluvial deposits with evidence of recycling from the underlying successions. Backstripped subsidence analysis indicates shallowing during latest Cretaceous‐earliest Palaeocene time (Zhepure Shanpo and Jidula formations) driven by basement uplift, followed by stability (Zongpu Formation) until early Eocene time (Enba Formation) when accelerated subsidence occurred. The provenance, subsidence and stratigraphy suggest that the Enba and Zhaguo formations record foredeep and wedge‐top sedimentation respectively within the early Himalayan foreland basin. The underlying Zongpu Formation is interpreted to record the accumulation of a carbonate ramp at the margin of a submarine forebulge. The precursor tectonic uplift during latest Cretaceous time could either record surface uplift over a mantle plume related to the Réunion hotspot, or an early signal of lithospheric flexure related to oceanic subduction, continental collision or ophiolite obduction. The results indicate that the collision of India with Asia occurred before late Danian (ca. 62 Ma) time.     

LATE PLEISTOCENE ICE FLUCTUATIONS AND GLACIAL GEOMORPHOLOGY OF THE ARCHIPIÉLAGO DE CHILOÉ, SOUTHERN CHILE

Most of the last glacial maximum (LGM) glacier record west of the southern Andes (40–55° S) is today submerged under the Pacific Ocean and therefore the Archipiélago de Chiloé (42–43° S) provides an unusual opportunity to study local sediment and landform associations to help understand paleoglacial features of the former Patagonian ice sheet (PIS). In this context, this work presents the first comprehensive glacial geomorphologic mapping of the central region of the Archipiélago de Chiloé, which is located in a transitional geomorphic region between the Chilean Lake District (CLD, 39–41° S, 73° W) and northwest Patagonia (～43–48° S, 74° W). The Chilotan glacial geomorphology and sediment associations resulted from a warm‐based glacier that characterizes a typical active glacial temperate landsystem, which in central Chiloé combines deposits and landform units originated in subglacial and subaerial environments. Paleoglacial features that occur in central Chiloé are characteristic of an ice‐sheet style of glaciation, which differentiates it from a typical Alpine glacial style defined previously for the CLD. Therefore, the Archipiélago de Chiloé represents a geographical break point where the PIS became the large ice mass that occupied the Patagonian Andes during the last glacial period (Llanquihue Glaciation). A double ice‐contact slope on the east face of the Cordillera de La Costa provides evidence for the most extensive Early Llanquihue glacial advance on Isla Grande de Chiloé. The most prominent LGM advance in the area occurred at 26 000 cal yr BP, coincident with regional stadial conditions, and is defined by a big moraine along the east coast of the island.     

Thermo‐tectonic evolution of the south‐central Pyrenees from rifting to orogeny: insights from detrital zircon U/Pb and (U‐Th)/He thermochronometry

Constraining the thermal and denudational evolution of continental margins from extensional episodes to early orogenic stages is critical in the objective to better understand the sediment routing during the growth of orogenic topography. Here, we report 160 detrital zircon U/Pb ages and 73 (U‐Th)/He ages from Albian, Upper Cretaceous and Eocene sandstones from the south‐central Pyrenees. All samples show dominant zircon U/Pb age peaks at 310–320 Ma, indicating a primary contribution from Variscan granites of the central Pyrenean Axial Zone. A secondary population at 450–600 Ma documents zircon grains sourced from the eastern Pyrenees. Zircon (U‐Th)/He ages recovered from older samples document, a Triassic age peak at ca. 241 Ma, corresponding to denudation coeval with the initiation of Atlantic rifting. An Early Cretaceous cooling event at ca. 133 Ma appears consistent with rift‐related exhumation and thermal overprint on the Iberian margin. The (U‐Th)/He age peaks from ca. 80 Ma to ca. 68 Ma with decreasing depositional ages are interpreted to reflect the southward‐migrating thrust‐related exhumation on the pro‐wedge side of the Pyrenean orogen. The increase in lag times, from ca. 15 Ma in the Tremp Formation (ca. 65 Ma) to 28 Ma in the Escanilla Formation (ca. 40 Ma), suggests decreasing exhumation rates from 0.4 km Myr^–1 to 0.2 km Myr^–1. The apparent inconsistency with convergence rates is used to infer that rocks cooled at 68 Ma may have resided in the crust before final exhumation to the surface. Finally, the cooling event observed at 68 Ma provides support to the inferred acceleration of convergence, shortening and exhumation during Late Cretaceous times.