The Alpine evolution of the Southern Alps around the Giudicarie faults: A Late Cretaceous to Early Eocene transfer zone

Data supporting relevant Late Cretaceous–Early Eocene sinistral displacement along the Giudicarie fault zone and a minor Neogene dextral displacement along the Periadriatic lineament are discussed. The pre-Adamello structural belt is present only in the internal Lombardy zone, located W of the Adamello massif. This belt is unknown in the Dolomites and surrounding areas located to the E of the Giudicarie lineament. Upper Cretaceous–Early Eocene thick syntectonic Flysch deposits of Lombardy and Giudicarie are well preserved along the southern and eastern border of the pre-Adamello belt (S-vergent Alpine orogen). Towards the E, in the Dolomites and in the Carnic Alps and external Dinarides, only incomplete remnants of Flysch deposits, Aptian–Albian and Turonian–Maastrichtian in age, are present. They can be considered as equivalent to those of Lombardy and Giudicarie formerly in connection to each other along the N-Giudicarie corridor. To the S, the syntectonic Flysch deposits are laterally replaced by the calcareous red pelagites of the Scaglia Rossa and by the carbonate shelf deposits of the Friuli (to the E) and Bagnolo (to the S) carbonate platforms. The different location in the southern structural accretion of the eastern and western opposite blocks (the Dolomites versus the pre-Adamello belt) can be related to the Cretaceous–Eocene convergence. In this frame, the N-Giudicarie fault has been considered as part of a former transfer zone, which produced the sinistral lateral displacement of the Southern Alps front for an amount of some 50 km. During the Late Eocene to Early Oligocene the transfer zone was mostly sealed by the Paleogene Adamello batholith. Oligocene to Neogene compressional evolution inverted the N-Giudicarie fault into a backthrust of the Austroalpine units over the South-Alpine chain.     

Revision of the planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy of the Voirons Flysch (Chablais Prealps,Haute-Savoie,France)

The ages obtained from planktonic foraminiferal assemblages retrieved from two exposures in the Gurnigel Flysch and from the re-examination of similar material gathered by previous researchers from the Voirons Flysch reveal only minor discrepancies with previous studies based on nannofossil biostratigraphy. In contrast, major divergences between this work and previous studies on the Voirons Flysch also based on planktonic foraminifera have been identified. They are generally related to distinct approaches in species classification and the use of different zonal schemes. Based on our data, the age of the Voirons Flysch extends from the Early Eocene (planktonic foraminiferal zone P7) to the Middle Eocene (planktonic foraminiferal zone P12). Contrasting with claims made in earlier studies, no specimen of Late Eocene or Early Oligocene age has been observed in the revised material. However, we cannot exclude a younger age (possibly Late Eocene) for the upper portion of this flysch from which we did not revise any sample. Thus, more research and sampling are needed to resolve this question. The palaeogeographic origin of the Voirons-Wägital complex as well as the sedimentation history of these flyschs need now to be re-evaluated in light of this revised biostratigraphic data.     

The age,extent and geomorphological significance of the Sassafras basalt,south‐eastern New South Wales

Basalt at Sassafras was erupted in the Middle Eocene. The K‐Ar ages average 45.3 ± 4.9 Ma on whole rock and 48.4 ± 1.9 Ma on plagioclase. The basalt is not limited to a plateau capping, but extends 150 m down into adjacent valleys. Comparison with nearby Eocene basalts shows that there was in excess of 250 m of local relief in the central Shoalhaven valley by the Early Tertiary. The basalts were extruded at high elevation, and denudation of the coastal margin of the upland was already well advanced. Post‐basaltic denudation has been very slow, and the Early Tertiary landscape is well preserved.     

Petrogenesis of oligocene plutonic rocks in western Anatolia (NW Turkey): Insights from mineral and rock chemistry,Sr-Nd isotopes,and U-Pb,Ar-Ar and (U-Th)/He geochronology

Northwestern Anatolia is characterized by voluminous Paleozoic to Cenozoic granitoid bodies with varying compositions. Most of them are composite plutons emplaced into western Anatolia orogenic crust during the Eocene, Oligocene and Miocene along the İzmir-Ankara-Erzincan suture zone. This paper reports systematic good quality mineral and bulk-rock chemistry, Sr-Nd isotope data, honblend Ar-Ar, zircon U-Pb and first apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) ages to reveal possible source compositions of the Evciler and Eybek granitoids and petrogenetic/geodynamic processes involved during their genesis, and thermochronology of Oligocene magmatism in the NW Anatolia. The Evciler and Eybek granitoids are mainly granodiorite and composed of K-feldspar (usually orthoclase and rarely microcline), plagioclase (albite, oligoclase), hornblende, biotite, quartz and accessory minerals (e.g., titanite, zircon, apatite, opaque), and secondary minerals such as chlorite, sericite and clay minerals. Estimated temperature-pressure conditions are 690–770 ° C at 1.6–2.7 kbar for the Evciler granitoid and 690–760 ° C at 3.2–4.01 kbar for the Eybek granitoid. These two granitoids enriched in LILEs (e.g., U, Th, Rb, and K), LREEs and Pb, and depleted in HREEs (e.g., Nb, Ti) and Sr, Ba and P relative to LILEs, and display small negative Eu anomalies. They belong to calc-alkaline, high-K calc-alkaline and minor shoshonite series, and display metaluminous and I-type character. Their REE patterns show a large fractionation between LREE and HREE ((La/Yb)N = 4.6–21.4) and a small negative Eu anomaly (Eu* = 0.2–0.3). The Evciler granitoid has homogeneous ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.7060−0.7063 and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd = 0.51259−0.51262, and the Eybek granitoid has ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.7060−0.7080 and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd = 0.51243−0.51263. New precise ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age data of hornblende and ²⁰⁶Pb–²³⁸U ages of zircons and (U-Th)/He ages of apatites from the plutons allow a more accurate temporal reconstruction of the Cenozoic magmatism of the western Anatolia. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of hornblendes from the Evciler and Eybek granitoids gave plateau ages of between ca. 28 Ma and 25 Ma. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (LA-ICP-MS) ²⁰⁶Pb-²³⁸Pb ages of euhdral magmatic zircons from the samples of these granitoids yield between ca. 28 and 26 Ma. The new high-temperature age constraints indicate Oligocene emplacement ages for the two intrusive bodies. The closeness of the zircon U-Pb and the hornblende Ar-Ar ages show that they experienced quick post-crystallization cooling. However, the significant difference between the apatite (U-Th)/He ages of 19.8 Ma and 7.6 Ma obtained on the Evciler and Eybek granitoids warns that in the post-Oligocene times the two structural blocks had different exhumation histories.     

Metamorphic evolution of the Naga Hills eclogite and blueschist, Northeast India: implications for early subduction of the Indian plate under the Burma microplate

Tectonic slices and lenses of eclogite within mafic and ultramafic rocks of the Early Cretaceous–Eocene Naga Hills ophiolite were studied to constrain the physical conditions of eastward subduction of the Indian plate under the Burma microplate and convergence rate prior to the India–Eurasia collision. Some of the lenses are composed of eclogite, garnet-blueschist, glaucophanite and greenschist from core to margin, representing a retrograde hydrothermal alteration sequence. Barroisite, garnet, omphacite and epidote with minor chlorite, phengite, rutile and quartz constitute the peak metamorphic assemblage. In eclogite and garnet-blueschist, garnet shows an increase in Mg and Fe and decrease in Mn from core to rim. In chlorite in eclogite, Mg increases from core to rim. Inclusions of epidote, glaucophane, omphacite and quartz in garnet represent the pre-peak assemblage. Glaucophane also occurs profusely at the rims of barroisite. The matrix glaucophane and epidote represent the post-peak assemblage. The Fe³⁺ content of garnet-hosted omphacite is higher than that of matrix omphacite, and Fe³⁺ increases from core to rim in matrix glaucophane. Albite occurs in late stage veins. P – T pseudosection analysis indicates that the Naga Hills eclogites followed a clockwise P – T path with prograde metamorphism beginning at ∼1.3 GPa/525 °C and peaking at 1.7–2.0 GPa/580–610 °C, and subsequent retrogression to ∼1.1 GPa/540 °C. A comparison of these P – T conditions with numerical thermal models of plate subduction indicates that the Naga Hills eclogites probably formed near the top of the subducting crust with convergence rates of ∼ 55–100 km Myr⁻¹, consistent with high pre-collision convergence rates between India and Eurasia.     

Tertiary stratigraphy of Western Australia

This paper is a summary of the present knowledge of the Tertiary stratigraphy of Western Australia. Also included is new information on the Cainozoic of the Carnarvon Basin, a result of petroleum exploration in the area.

Tertiary rocks formed during more than one cycle of deposition in three basins (Eucla, Perth, and Carnarvon), and also as thin units deposited in a single transgression along the south coast. The Tertiary stratigraphy of the Bonaparte Gulf Basin is not well known.

Drilling in the Eucla Basin has encountered up to 400 m of Tertiary in the south central part, with uniform thinning towards the margins. The section begins with a middle‐upper Eocene carbonate unit which represents the dominant event in the Tertiary sedimentation in this basin. More carbonates were deposited in the late Oligocene‐early Miocene and middle Miocene.

Along the south coast, the so‐called Bremer Basin, the Plantagenet Group (up to 100 m) of siltstone, sandstone, spongolite, and minor limestone, was deposited during the late Eocene.

The Perth Basin contains up to 700 m of Tertiary sediment, formed during at least two phases of sedimentation. The upper Paleocene‐lower Eocene Kings Park Formation consists of marine shale, sandstone, and minor limestone, with a thickness of up to 450 m. The Stark Bay Formation (200 m) includes limestone, dolomite, and chert formed during the early and middle Miocene. Events after deposition of the Stark Bay Formation are not well known.

The northern Carnarvon Basin and Northwest Shelf contain by far the most voluminous Tertiary sediment known from Western Australia: 3500 m is known from BOCAL's Scott Reef No. 1. A more usual maximum thickness is 2500 m. Most sediments were laid down in four episodes, separated by unconformities: late Paleocene‐early Eocene; middle‐late Eocene; late Oligocene‐middle Miocene; and late Miocene to Recent.

The Paleocene‐early Eocene cycle consists of about 100–200 m (up to 450 m in the north) of carbonate, shale, and marl of the Cardabia Group containing rich faunas of planktonic foraminifera.

The middle‐late Eocene sediments include diverse rock types. Marine and nonmarine sandstone formed in the Merlinleigh Trough. At the same time, the Giralia Calcarenite (fauna dominated by the large foraminifer Discocyclina) and unnamed, deeper water shale, marl, and carbonate (with rich planktonic foraminiferal faunas) formed in the ocean outside the embayment. Thickness is usually of the order of 100–200 m.

The main cycle of sedimentation is the late Oligocene‐middle Miocene, during which time the Cape Range Group of carbonates formed. This contains dominantly large foraminiferal faunas, of a wide variety of shallow‐water microfacies, but recent oil exploration farther offshore has recovered outer continental shelf facies with abundant planktonic foraminifera. A minor disconformity representing N7 and perhaps parts of N6 and N8 is now thought to be widespread within the Cape Range Group. The last part of this cycle resulted in sedimentation mainly of coarse calcareous marine sandstone (unnamed), and, in the Cape Range area, of the sandstone and calcareous conglomerate of the Pilgramunna Formation. Maximum thickness encountered in WAPET wells is 900 m.

After an unconformity representing almost all the late Miocene, sedimentation began again, forming an upper Miocene‐Recent carbonate unit which includes some excellent planktonic faunas. Thickness is up to 1100 m.

Thin marine sediments of the White Mountain Formation outcrop in the Bonaparte Gulf Basin. They contain some foraminifera and a Miocene age has been suggested.     

X. The Eucla Basin in South Australia

At some time prior to the Ptychagnostus gibbus Zone of the Middle Cambrian the area of deposition of Upper Precambrian (or Lower Cambrian) well‐sorted sands, silts and dolomite was affected by tectonic movements producing uplift of the Tyennan Geanticline and change in the shape of the depositional basin (Spry, Chapter I). Continued tectonic activity and more rapid sinking of the sea floor resulted in a change in sedimentary association from well‐sorted sediments of the orthoquartzite‐limestone suite to poorly sorted sediments of the greywacke suite. Initially siltstone was the main deposit in the Dundas, Huskisson River, Ulverstone, Deloraine and Beaconsfield areas and this has been likened to the initial euxinic phase of geosynclinical development elsewhere (Campana, 1961b).

Silt seems to have been the predominant normal deposit during the Middle and early Upper Cambrian, but siliceous oozes and some limestone were also formed. Carbonaceous, pyritic and calcareous silts were deposited. Inter‐bedded with the silts are poorly‐sorted greywackes and greywacke conglomerates with a disrupted framework and graded bedding. Banks and Jennings interpret these as mostly turbidity current deposits. The proportion of greywacke and conglomerate varies through the successions in a cyclic manner (Carey and Banks, 1954; Banks, 1956) such that a conglomerate‐rich section is followed by a greywacke‐rich section and this by a predominantly lutaceous section. These cycles may be interpreted as due to tectonic instability and variation in height of the source area. Faulting of Upper Middle Cambrian and Lower Dresbachian age has been demonstrated near Ulverstone. Campana and King state: “The proportion of coarse material increases upwards in the Dundas and Huskisson successions at least.”

Turbidity currents brought fragments of grey, red, black and banded cherts, banded slate, quartzite, basalt and golden mica (this last presumably from breakdown of Precambrian mica schist) to the Dundas area. In view of the known distribution of chert in western Tasmania a westerly or north‐westerly source is likely. Turbidity currents deposited fragments of chert, claystone, quartzite, slate, greywacke, quartz mica schist, chloritised basic lava and spilite in the Deloraine area indicating a source area with Precambrian rocks and earlier Cambrian sediments and lavas. Near Rocky Boat Harbour the source area contained dolomite, ultrabasic rocks, granite, and Precambrian quartzites and schists.

A difference between the fauna in the silts and in the greywackes is evident in the Hodge Slate at Dundas and the Kateena Formation near Ulverstone at least. The “dendroids” in the Hodge Slate are in the siltstone and the fragmentary trilobites and cystoids in the greywacke. This suggests that the fossils in the greywackes are thanatocoenotic as might be expected and introduces the possibility of remanié fossils and of shallow water fauna intercalated with deeper water fauna. The bathymetric conditions suggested by Hills and Thomas (1954) for the Cambrian of Victoria may thus not be applicable to Tasmania.

Deposition was also interrupted from time to time by lava flows, some of them, at least, submarine. The Mt. Read Volcanics may be Lower Cambrian but acid and basic lavas and pyroclastic rocks are interbedded with or overlie Middle and Upper Cambrian sediments at Zeehan, Dundas, Ulverstone, Smithton and Beaconsfield. Acid volcanic rocks are commoner near the Tyennan Geanticline and basic rocks further away. Possibly during the Dresbachian ultrabasic rocks were intruded as sheets and dykes into Precambrian and earlier Cambrian rocks and by Franconian time were exposed to erosion at Adamsfield.

Deposition may have commenced later at Smithton (Upper Middle Cambrian), Beaconsfield (Lower Dresbachian) and Adamsfield (Lower Franconian) than at Dundas (Lower Middle Cambrian).

Campana and King express the thoughts of Bradley (1957, pp. 114–115) and the author when they state: “The Dundas Group reflects a eugeosynclinical cyclic sedimentation under unstable tectonic conditions. The group is no doubt a synorogenic suite comparable with the Flysch as it was deposited in the narrow subsiding Dundas Trough which developed along the Mt. Read Volcanic Arc, and which is similar to the present deeps of archipelago areas. Such a comparison is enhanced by the succeeding Ordovician conglomerates and sandstones, comparable in some respects with the molassic deposits which displaced the Flysch sedimentation in the Pre‐Alpine troughs (Fig. 12).”

The Cambrian rocks were folded or tilted at least along the western and northern margin of the Tyennan Geanticline and near New River Lagoon, the Tyennan Geanticline was rejuvenated, the Asbestos Range Geanticline raised and the highland areas near Ulverstone and Zeehan uplifted late in the Cambrian or very early in the Ordovician.     

The first record of Eocene tuff in a Paleogene rift basin near Nantou,Western Foothills,central Taiwan

Microfossils and a U–Pb age dating on zircon grains in the tuff beds exposed in the axial part of the Tsukeng anticline along the Pinglin River in the Western Foothills near Nantou, central Taiwan, show an occurrence of the Eocene volcanics unconformably beneath the uppermost part of the Latest Oligocene Wuchihshan Formation. This is the first discovery of the Eocene tuff exposed in the Western Foothills.The proposed Miocene “Tsukeng Formation” and “Takeng Formation” of Ho et al. (1956) named for sequences exposed in the Nantou area, Western Foothills, have to be abandoned and the standard Oligocene–Miocene lithostratigraphy used commonly in the Western Foothills of northern Taiwan is properly applicable in central Taiwan. The thick pink–brown–green colored volcanics unconformably beneath the uppermost Wuchihshan Formation is named for the first time as the Pinglin Tuff which contains Late Middle Eocene calcareous nannofossils (Zone NP16) consistent with a U–Pb age dating (38.8 ± 1 Ma) on zircon grains in the tuff. The Pinglin Tuff is overlying the Middle Eocene Chungliao Formation which contains indigenous larger foraminifera Discocyclina dispansa ex. interc. sella-dispansa and calcareous nannofossils of Zones NP14–15. The Middle Eocene Pinglin Tuff and Chungliao Formation represent the Paleogene syn-rift sequence unconformably overlain by the Latest Oligocene–Miocene post-rift sequence. This is the first document with conclusive paleontological data and age dating showing an occurrence of Paleogene marine rift basin exposed in the Western Foothills. This study also confirms similar Tertiary basin architecture between the Taiwan Strait–Pearl River Mouth Basin in the NE South China Sea and the Western Foothills onland central Taiwan.     

Tectonics of the ophiolite belt from Naga Hills and Andaman Islands,India

The ophiolitic rocks of Naga Hills-Andaman belt occur as rootless slices, gently dipping over the Paleogene flyschoid sediments, the presence of blue-schists in ophiolite melange indicates an involvement of the subduction process. Subduction was initiated prior to mid-Eocene as proved by the contemporaneous lower age limit of ophiolite-derived cover sediment as against the accreted ophiolites and olistostromal trench sediment. During the late Oligocene terminal collision between the Indian and Sino-Burmese blocks, basement slivers from the Sino-Burmese block, accreted ophiolites and trench sediments from the subduction zone were thrust westward as nappe and emplaced over the down-going Indian plate. The geometry of the ophiolites and the presence of a narrow negative gravity anomaly flanking their map extent, run counter to the conventional view that the Naga-Andaman belt marks the location of the suture. The root-zone of the ophiolite nappe representing the suture is marked by a partially-exposed eastern ophiolite belt of the same age and gravity-high zone, passing through central Burma-Sumatra-Java. The ophiolites of the Andaman and Naga Hills are also conventionally linked with the subduction activity, west of Andaman islands. This activity began only in late Miocene, much later than onland emplacement of the ophiolites; it further developed west of the suture in its southern part. Post-collisional northward movement of the Indian plate subparallel to the suture, also developed leaky dextral transcurrent faults close to the suture and caused Neogene-Quatemary volcanism in central Burma and elsewhere.     

Rare-earth elements in Oligo-Miocenic pelitic sediments from Lagonegro Basin,southern Apennines,Italy: implications for provenance and source area weathering

The Lagonegro Units are a part of the southern Apennines orogenic wedge. The age of the Lagonegro successions ranges from lower–middle Triassic to Oligo-Miocene. During late Cretaceous and Oligocene the deposition of calcareous-clastic sediments occurred interbedded with shales (Flysch Rosso Fm). During Oligocene and early Miocene, in the Mediterranean area, an important variation of the tectonic regime occurred, and siliciclastic sediments of the Numidian Basin unconformably lay on the Meso-Cenozoic units of the Lagonegro Basin. In the Lucanian Apennine, the Aquitanian–Langhian Numidian Flysch Fm overlies the Flysch rosso Fm. The shales of the Flysch rosso Fm have a peculiar geochemical fingerprint relative to typical shales of post-Archean age. The abundance of Ni and Cr is significantly higher and the HREE chondrite-normalized patterns are steep with a (Gd/Yb)_ch>2. A supply of material from the African Archean terranes could be the cause. The palaeo-weathering indices record changes at the source, reflecting variations in the tectonic regime. The oldest samples are derived from an environment in which steady-state weathering conditions prevailed, whereas the youngest samples are related to non-steady-state weathering conditions. This difference could record deformational events that affected the Mediterranean area during the Oligocene and early Miocene. The sample at the top of the studied log has very high silica content and an abundant coarse grain-sized fraction. This suggests that this sample belongs to the Numidian Flysch Fm. The geochemical proxies of this sample are different from those associated with samples from the Flysch rosso Fm, indicating that the source-area of the Numidian Flysch Fm did not include the Archean terranes.     

Cenozoic stratigraphy of the Sahara,Northern Africa

This paper presents an overview of the Cenozoic stratigraphic record in the Sahara, and shows that the strata display some remarkably similar characteristics across much of the region. In fact, some lithologies of certain ages are exceptionally widespread and persistent, and many of the changes from one lithology to another appear to have been relatively synchronous across the Sahara. The general stratigraphic succession is that of a transition from early Cenozoic carbonate strata to late Cenozoic siliciclastic strata. This transition in lithology coincides with a long-term eustatic fall in sea level since the middle Cretaceous and with a global climate transition from a Late Cretaceous–Early Eocene “warm mode” to a Late Eocene–Quaternary “cool mode”. Much of the shorter-term stratigraphic variability in the Sahara (and even the regional unconformities) also can be correlated with specific changes in sea level, climate, and tectonic activity during the Cenozoic. Specifically, Paleocene and Eocene carbonate strata and phosphate are suggestive of a warm and humid climate, whereas latest Eocene evaporitic strata (and an end-Eocene regional unconformity) are correlated with a eustatic fall in sea level, the build-up of ice in Antarctica, and the appearance of relatively arid climates in the Sahara. The absence of Oligocene strata throughout much of the Sahara is attributed to the effects of generally low eustatic sea level during the Oligocene and tectonic uplift in certain areas during the Late Eocene and Oligocene. Miocene sandstone and conglomerate are attributed to the effects of continued tectonic uplift around the Sahara, generally low eustatic sea level, and enough rainfall to support the development of extensive fluvial systems. Middle–Upper Miocene carbonate strata accumulated in northern Libya in response to a eustatic rise in sea level, whereas Upper Miocene mudstone accumulated along the south side of the Atlas Mountains because uplift of the mountains blocked fluvial access to the Mediterranean Sea. Uppermost Miocene evaporites (and an end-Miocene regional unconformity) in the northern Sahara are correlated with the Messinian desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea. Abundant and widespread Pliocene paleosols are attributed to the onset of relatively arid climate conditions and (or) greater variability of climate conditions, and the appearance of persistent and widespread eolian sediments in the Sahara is coincident with the major glaciation in the northern hemisphere during the Pliocene.     

The External Tanger Unit (Intrarif sub-Domain,External Rifian Zones,Morocco): an interdisciplinary study

The External Tanger Unit represents one of the most complete Cretaceous-Miocene successions in the central areas of the Internal Intrarif sub-Domain (External Rif Zones, Morocco). An interdisciplinary study has been carried out to propose a new characterization of this unit which would allow a better comprehension of the confused and complex relationships among different units of the same sub-domain. The results achieved can be summarized as follows: (1) redefinition of the stratigraphic (litho-, bio-, and chrono-) record and introduction of a new, informal lithostratigraphic terminology; (2) recognition of two main depositional sequences (lower-middle Eocene p.p. and lower Oligocene p.p.-lower Miocene p.p.) separated by extended gaps (latest Cretaceous-early Eocene p.p. and middle Eocene p.p.-early Oligocene p.p.); (3) reconstruction of the evolution of the sedimentary realm, and of the relationships between tectonics and sedimentation; and (4) comparison between the upper Cretaceous-Miocene stratigraphic record and tectonic events of the Intrarif, which is located in the western external portion of the Maghrebian Flysch Basin, and the equivalent sedimentary record of the eastern portion of this basin in the Tunisian Tell. More in general, our results allowed (i) a first reconstruction of the Cretaceous-Miocene main tectono-sedimentary events; (ii) a more detailed location of the sedimentary suite in the external African Margin in the context of a wider palaeogeographic framework; and (iii) the definition of the main stages of the geological evolution of the area.     

剑川-兰坪盆地古近纪沉积-构造变革及其区域构造意义

滇西新生代兰坪盆地和剑川盆地分别位于哀牢山–红河断裂带两侧,青藏高原东构造结内,其沉积过程和构造变形对青藏高原东南缘的构造演化有重要的启示意义。通过对这两个盆地古近纪沉积和构造过程的研究,我们发现兰坪盆地和剑川盆地及邻区的构造变形分为三期:始新世早期的强烈挤压变形、始新世中晚期的伸展变形、渐新世的走滑变形。始新世早期的挤压变形主要表现为兰坪地区的褶皱–冲断系统、哀牢山-红河断裂的逆冲活动和剑川盆地的宽缓褶皱。沉积方面,古新统勐野井组(E_1m)较为稳定的细粒滨湖相沉积转变为始新统宝相寺组(E_2b)较粗的具有前陆盆地性质的河流相沉积,特别是宝相寺组底部发育的一套快速堆积的磨拉石建造,可能是对始新世强烈挤压环境下的沉积响应。始新世中晚期伸展变形体现在盆地的构造环境由早期的挤压环境变为伸展环境和该时期大量富钾岩体和岩脉的侵入,沉积学上,下始新统宝相寺组的河流相转变为中始新统金丝厂组(E_2j)具有快速堆积磨拉石特征的曲流河沉积,极可能是对构造体制变革的沉积响应。渐新世的走滑变形则体现在渐新统的缺失和哀牢山–红河断裂的早期左行走滑。因此,我们认为剑川–兰坪地区在始新世中期和渐新世均发生了显著的运动学转换,这一认识也得到了始新世中期兰坪和剑川盆地物源明显变化的支持。结合青藏高原东南部始新世中晚期岩浆的活动,渐新世大型剪切带(崇山剪切带、高黎贡剪切带)的强烈走滑和保山块体的旋转,我们推测青藏高原东南缘古近纪的构造演化为古新世-始新世早期的挤压、始新世中晚期的伸展、渐新世的转换压缩。     

First perissodactyl footprints from Flysch deposits of the Barail Group (Lower Oligocene) of Manipur,India

Two pes imprints of a perissodactyl mammal constituting a single step of a trackway have recently been discovered in Oligocene Flysch deposits of the Barail Group in Manipur, India. The tridactyl, mesaxonic imprints (~7 cm in length) show strong similarities to footprints known from the Paleogene of China and can be attributed to a tapiroid, rhinocerotoid or equoid trackmaker. This is the first record of perissodactyl footprints from the Lower Oligocene of India and the first evidence of mammals in the Barail Group of the age. Remarkable is the occurrence in a marginal marine setting, whereas other known perissodactyl footprints from the Eocene–Oligocene in particular from North America, Europe and China come from fluvio-lacustrine strata.     

The Ligurian Helminthoid flysch units of the Emilian Apennines: stratigraphic and petrographic features,paleogeographic restoration and structural evolution

Abstract

This work deals with the Cretaceous-Tertiary Helminthoid flysch successions of the Emilian Apennines and related basal complexes (Mt. Caio, Val Baganza, Solignano, Mt. Venere-Monghidoro and Mt. Cassio Units): it is based on an integrated approach which included stratigraphic, petrographic and structural observations. Detailed stratigraphic sections measured in the various successions evidenced the specific features of the different flysch formations. The main framework composition analysis of the arenites pointed out a partly ‘oceanic’ alimentation for the Mt. Caio Flysch Fm; the Mt. Venere-Monghidoro, and Mt. Cassio Flysch Fms have been alimented exclusively by a terrigenous detritus mainly derived from continental basement source areas. The heavy mineral assemblage of the Mt. Caio Flysch Fm is characterized by picotite, that of the Mt. Venere-Monghidoro, Solignano and Mt. Cassio Flysch Fms commonly contains straurolite, garnet and chloritoid, generally considered to be typical products of the Adriatic continental margin. The calcareous nannofossils biostratigraphy indicated that the flysch sedimentation started during the Late Campanian and ended between the Paleocene (Mt. Cassio Flysch Fm and Mt. Venere-Monghidoro Fms) and the Middle Eocene (Mt. Caio Flysch Fm). We propose a schematic paleogeographic restoration for the External Ligurian Domain which implies a more internal position for the Mt. Caio succession and a more external one for the Mt. Venere-Monghidoro and Mt. Cassio successions. The Helminthoid flyschs sedimented after and during deformation and subduction phases in perched and fore-arc basins partly overlying the marginal part of the Adriatic plate. The External Ligurian nappes’ stacking consists, in the study area, from the bottom, of the following units: Caio Unit, Val Baganza Ophiolitic Unit, Monghidoro Unit, Cassio Unit. This pile of thrust-nappes, sealed by the Epiligurian succession, has been already realized before Late Eocene. In our opinion it was generated by a frontal west-verging frontal accretion process (offscraping), which let the flysch successions remain, in this phase, quite undeformed. This westverging thrusting phase, starting from the Middle-Late Eocene, has been followed by an important folding event which generated striking hectometric and kilometric ‘Apenninic’ reverse folds, sometimes associated with NE-verging thrust surfaces. The Oligocene and post-Oligocene evolution is characterized by a block-translation of the Ligurian staking over the Subligurian, Tuscan and Umbrian Domains, associated with a new generation of minor thrusts and thrust related Apenninic folds. © 2000 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS     

Collisional emplacement history of the Naga-Andaman ophiolites and the position of the eastern Indian suture

Dismembered late Mesozoic ophiolites occur in two parallel belts along the eastern margin of the Indian Plate. The Eastern Belt, closely following the magmatic arc of the Central Burma Basin, coincides with a zone of high gravity. It is considered to mark a zone of steeply dipping mafic–ultramafic rocks and continental metamorphic rocks, which are the locus of two closely juxtaposed sutures. In contrast, the Western Belt, which follows the eastern margin of the Indo-Burma Range and the Andaman outer-island-arc, broadly follows a zone of negative gravity anomalies. Here the ophiolites occur mainly as rootless subhorizontal bodies overlying Eocene–Oligocene flyschoid sediments. Two sets of ophiolites that were accreted during the Early Cretaceous and mid-Eocene are juxtaposed in this belt. These are inferred to be westward propagated nappes from the Eastern Belt, emplaced during the late Oligocene collision between the Burmese and Indo-Burma-Andaman microcontinents.Ophiolite occurrences in the Andaman Islands belong to the Western Belt and are generally interpreted as upthrust oceanic crust, accreted due to prolonged subduction activity to the west of the island arc. This phase of subduction began only in the late Miocene and thus could not have produced the ophiolitic rocks, which were accreted in the late Early Eocene.     

古近系研究新进展

介绍国际地层委员会古近系分会在全球界线层型剖面和点位( GSSP)工作上的新进展和我国陆相古近系分阶情况。中国陆相古近系分为8个阶:上湖阶(下古新统)、池江阶(上古新统)、岭茶阶(下始新统)、卢氏阶(中始新统下部)、垣曲阶(中始新统上部)、蔡家冲阶(上始新统)、乌兰布拉格阶(下渐新统)和塔本布鲁克阶(上渐新统)。其中,白垩系-古近系界线、古新统-始新统界线和始新统-渐新统界线与国际上相应界线接近或一致。近来,在湖南衡东地区获得碳同位素负向漂移的数据,使得该剖面可与新近国际地层委员会批准的伊普里斯阶层型剖面对比,其余各个阶的界线缺少磁性地层学和同位素地层学的证据,同时也有待于国际上“金钉子”的确立     

Post‐Eocene intensification of deep‐water circulation in the central South Pacific: Micropalaeontological clues from dredged sites along the eastern Manihiki Plateau margin

Reconstruction of early Cenozoic deep‐water circulation is one of the keys to modelling Earth's greenhouse‐to‐icehouse surface evolution, but it has long been hampered by the paucity of information from the central South Pacific. To help overcome this knowledge gap, we present new micropalaeontological data from dredged carbonates (R/V Sonne Expedition SO193) at several eastern volcanic salients of the Manihiki Plateau. Interestingly, despite appreciable longitudinal separations among the dredged sites, ages indicated by the foraminiferal assemblages are consistently around the Middle Eocene (including mixed Turonian [Late Cretaceous]/Eocene at a single site), suggesting widespread post‐Eocene cessation of the pelagic sedimentation. By integrating with independent seismic and chronostratigraphic data (Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 33) for large‐scale erosion of top‐Eocene–Oligocene sedimentary units on the eastern Manihiki Plateau, our results can be viewed as novel physical evidence for the intensification of central South Pacific deep‐water circulation since the Eocene/Oligocene climatic transition.     

Stepwise palaeoclimate change across the Eocene–Oligocene transition recorded in continental NW Europe by mineralogical assemblages and δ15Norg (Rennes Basin,France)

The Eocene–Oligocene transition (EOT, ~34 Ma) is the largest global cooling of the Cenozoic Era and led the Earth's climatic system to change from a greenhouse to an icehouse mode. Although it is well documented in marine settings, the few studies focusing on continental environments have demonstrated regional heterogeneities. The study core CDB1, located in the Rennes Basin (Western France), is a unique terrestrial (lacustrine–palustrine) record comprising well‐preserved and terrestrial‐derived organic‐rich sediments encompassing the EOT. Clay minerals and the first organic nitrogen isotope record (δ¹⁵N_org) of terrestrial origin for this period are used to reconstruct palaeoclimate changes across this key interval. As suggested in worldwide marine and a few continental records, a stepwise transition from warm/humid conditions in the Late Eocene to cooler/drier conditions in the Early Oligocene is confirmed in the area. In addition, an episode of drier conditions in the Late Eocene and humid/dry cycles in the Early Oligocene are suggested.     

Coralline algae from the prang formation (middle-late Eocene) of the Lumshnong Area,Jaintia Hills,Meghalaya

The present paper records nine species of coralline algae from the Prang Formation of middle-late Eocene age from the Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya. The algae are associated with the larger foraminifera including Nummulites, Alveolina and Discocyclina throughout the succession. The temporal distribution of algal species indicates that seven species are known from the Eocene. Of the remaining two, one ranges from the Palaeocene to Eocene and the other is Palaeocene in age. The coralline algae and larger foraminifers are differentiated into two associations, the lower one indicating inner-ramp environment of high energy and the upper one showing deposition in relatively calm waters of deeper ramp environment.