Global geoheritage significance of Ordovician stratigraphy and sedimentology in the Cliefden Caves area,central western New South Wales

Globally significant geoheritage features of the Cliefden Caves area, in the Belubula River Valley between Orange and Cowra in central western New South Wales, comprise a richly fossiliferous shallow-water limestone succession of Late Ordovician age (the Cliefden Caves Limestone Subgroup) overlain by deep-water laminites and allochthonous limestones of the Upper Ordovician Malongulli Formation. Key features of the Ordovician geology of the Cliefden Caves area that have been identified using the Geoheritage Toolkit as being of international significance are the abundance of unique and exceptionally diverse fossils in the Fossil Hill Limestone (forming the lower part of the Cliefden Caves Limestone Subgroup), which supplement detailed interpretation of carbonate-dominated deposition within an Ordovician volcanic island setting. The fossiliferous limestones preserve biostromes and local small bioherms of stromatoporoids and corals, and recurrent in situ and disarticulated/imbricated Eodinobolus shell beds formed in shallow, quiet-water, dominantly muddy carbonate sediments that passed up-sequence to clay-free carbonate environments. These mud-dominated carbonate sediments are interspersed with higher-energy conditions, represented by skeletal, lithoclastic and calcrete-ooid grainstones overlying disconformities, leading to the identification of subaerial disconformities and associated diagenesis in the Fossil Hill Limestone. The Fossil Hill Limestone is succeeded by massive limestones in the middle part of the Cliefden Caves Limestone Subgroup and then, in turn by the Vandon Limestone and the deeper-water graptolitic laminites of the Malongulli Formation—this completes a succession that is rarely preserved in the geological record, further enhancing the geoheritage significance of the Cliefden Caves area.     

Subaerial disconformities,microkarst and paleosols in Ordovician limestones at Bowan Park and Cliefden Caves,New South Wales,and their geoheritage significance

The Ordovician Daylesford Limestone at Bowan Park and the Fossil Hill Limestone at Cliefden Caves have diagenetic and pedogenic features of microkarst, paleosols and calcrete associated with subaerial disconformities in their stratigraphic sequences, all of which, as an ensemble, have global geoheritage significance. The original shelly limestones, lime mudstones, and coralline limestones have selectively dissolved to form vugular limestone whose cavities have filled with sparry calcite and/or crystal silt. The limestones also have been calcretised to develop massive and laminar calcrete and calcrete ooids. Below disconformity surfaces are bleached limestone, crystal-silt and spar-filled fossil moulds and enlarged moulds, micro-breccia-filled moulds and fissures filled with crystal silt, calcrete pellets and calcrete ooids. The disconformity surfaces are irregular or undulating interfaces between lithologies, fissures and fissure-fills, and calcrete. Above disconformities there are limestone lithoclasts, remanié fossils, calcreted limestone, veined limestone, calcrete ooids, laminated calcrete, lithoclast grainstone, or calcrete-ooid grainstone, and lithoclasts with fossils moulds filled with crystal silt and/or spar. The lithological, stratigraphic and possibly landscape differences, make the subaerial diagenesis/pedogenesis in the Daylesford Limestone subtly different to that of the Fossil Hill Limestone. Subaerial disconformities and associated diagenesis/pedogenesis, as recorded in these formations, are not widely reported globally nor well represented in Ordovician limestones. The microkarst features provide insights into the types of subaerial diagenesis/pedogenesis during the Ordovician and into climate, landscape setting, paleohydrology, and groundwater/rainwater alkalinity. Consequently, the story of the Ordovician microkarst, paleosols and calcrete ooids is unique and globally of geoheritage significance as examples of subaerial alteration in an ancient high-rainfall, tropical climate volcanic island environment in a tectonically active region.     

Coronate echinoderms from the Ordovician of the Llanddowror area,South Wales

A large sample of coronates (over 90 specimens) from a narrow horizon in the Upper Ordovician, Sholeshook Limestone, at Talfan Farm, Llanddowror, South Wales allows assessment of variation and growth in a population of these rare Palaeozoic echinoderms. Variation is extensive and we synonymize two previously described species. This occurrence extends the stratigraphic range of Cupulocorona rugosa Donovan and Paul down to Cautleyan, Zone 2. Internal moulds reveal new morphological features, especially of the coronal canals. The flattened blade‐like and kite‐shaped portions support the idea that the coronal canals functioned in respiratory gas exchange by increasing the surface area. We suggest that internal currents flowed up the inner (adoral) canal and down the outer (aboral) canal. Quantitative estimates of flow rate suggest that a volume of coelomic fluid equivalent to the entire body cavity could be flushed through the coronal canals in 10 seconds at most. These coronates probably lived attached by a relatively long stem with a simple, conical holdfast and bent over in gentle currents. They seem to have been characteristic of relatively high‐energy environments and are not generally distributed in the Sholeshook Limestone of South Wales. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

西藏北部永珠地区石炭系永珠组岩石地层和古生物特征

永珠地区位于申扎古生代盆地,区内发育连续的早奥陶世—中二叠世海相沉积序列。石炭系永珠组岩石组合特征为细粒石英砂岩、页岩、粉砂岩,夹多层生物碎屑灰岩,含丰富的生物化石,主要有腕足类、双壳类、牙形刺、珊瑚、苔藓虫、菊石、三叶虫。牙形刺Gnathodusgirtyi—Gnathodustexanus为早石炭世晚期组合;腕足类Productus—Rhipidomellatibetena为早石炭世晚期组合,Choristites—Spirigerella为晚石炭世早期下部组合,Trigonatretacf.paucicostulata—Elivellabaschkirica为晚石炭世早期上部组合。Uncinunellina是典型的冷水习性腕足类,Cyathaxonia是典型的冷水习性珊瑚,表明了全球石炭纪冰期已影响到本区。确定了永珠组的时代为早石炭世晚期—晚石炭世早期,且早石炭世与晚石炭世分界线在第11层与第12层之间。     

Stratigraphy,structure and tectonics of Lower Ordovician and Devonian strata of the central part of the Wonominta Block,western New South Wales

K‐Ar age determinations on granites from Central Queensland support the conclusions of field mapping, that the intrusives of the Anakie High are generally older than the rocks of the Drummond Basin. Results on granites from the Bowen‐Collinsville region indicate that they pre‐date most of the Bowen Basin sediments. Four ages are reported for basement rock from bore‐cores in the Great Artesian Basin. They confirm Precambrian basement to the south of the Mt. Isa‐Cloncurry area, and suggest possible Precambrian in the Long‐reach Spur. Two samples from the Nebine Ridge give Lower Carboniferous results. A previous report of Permian basement in the Surat Basin has been shown to be incorrect.     

South Australian geology and the State Heritage Register: an example of geoconservation of the Naracoorte Caves complex and karst environment

South Australia’s State Heritage Register contains 2294 listed places, the majority of which are from the ‘Built’ environment, ranging from settlers’ huts, community buildings, historical industrial sites to magnificent stone mansions. Only 96 places are linked to the ‘Natural’ environment. The Register listings protect heritage places from alteration, damage or removal without formal prior consultation, compulsory under the South Australian Development Act. ‘Natural’ environments are landscape-based and oriented towards Geological, Archaeological, Palaeontological and Speleological heritage (‘GAPS heritage’). A process to provide a greater balance between ‘Natural’ and ‘Built’ listings has initiated a series of State Heritage ‘Natural’ environment assessments, mostly of single sites. Two individual caves in the Naracoorte Caves National Park are already entered in the State Heritage Register as single sites. However, an innovative broader multiple-site nomination has focused on the many different but significant GAPS features contained within the 25 caves of the Naracoorte Caves National Park, providing a further level of protection for the land and the caves’ exteriors and interiors. The example of the Naracoorte Caves draws attention to the number of important land and coastal karst (limestone) features across South Australia that were generated by steady geological uplift of three large sections of Oligocene–Miocene limestone—the Nullarbor Plain, the Murray Basin and the Gambier Karstfield (which includes Naracoorte and Mount Gambier), resulting in specific karst forms worthy of a broader coordinating management approach across South Australian karst parks.     

Graptolite dating of Ordovician vulcanicity in the Arenig area,North Wales

Graptolite assemblages of multidens Biozone age have been recovered from mudstones immediately above and below the Llyn Conwy Formation, the local representative of the regionally extensive acid tuffs that mark the end of vulcanicity in the south and east of the Harlech Dome. They include several taxa new to Wales and are markedly different to contemporaneous faunas from the Welsh Borders. One new species, Pseudoclimacograptus isknos, is described.     

Structural analysis of the Mystery Bay area,New South Wales

The Ordovician sedimentary rocks of the southeastern Lachlan Fold Belt in the Mystery Bay area are folded into two approximately coaxial and subhorizontally plunging fold series: F₁ and F₂. Regional domains with internally consistent F₁ and F₂ trends are juxtaposed along strike‐slip faults. Locally developed kink bands commonly have a close spatial relationship with the domain boundaries.

A faulted domain boundary is exposed in coastal rocks at Mystery Bay between north‐northeasterly trending turbidites and northwesterly trending complexly deformed cherts and pelites of the Wagonga Beds. South of the boundary fault, F₁ and F₂ trends in the turbidite succession exhibit a segmented 75° counterclockwise rotation about a near‐vertical axis within a 750 m wide zone parallel with the coast, relative to regional trends preserved farther south. The rotation zone hosts prolific subvertical kink bands and crenulations. The turbidite succession youngs towards the east and hence its present position is incompatible with its projected along‐strike position on the western limb of a major anticline exposing the older Wagonga Beds.

At least three generations of faulting are recognized. Within the coastal Wagonga Beds, a set of post‐F₁ faults is subparallel to the tectonic grain and probably had vertical motion. Two systems of post‐F₂ strike‐slip faults include a conjugate system in coastal outcrops, with offsets indicative of layer‐normal shortening; and a series of northerly trending faults, with probable sinistral displacements, recognized from inland exposures.     

顺托果勒奥陶系一间房组超深层灰岩储层类型及储集空间定量表征

顺托果勒地区位于塔里木盆地北部坳陷带顺托果勒低隆起之上。该区中奥陶统一间房组发育台地相碳酸盐岩沉积,地层厚度为168～220m,埋深主要在6300～7850m,超深层储层是研究的关键。经过系统的岩心、铸体薄片、电镜观察和岩心微纳米CT检测分析,发现该套储层以致密灰岩储层为主,包括砂屑灰岩、凝块灰岩、藻粘结灰岩和藻灰岩等岩石类型。储集空间包括生屑遮避孔、铸模孔、粒内孔、晶内孔、微裂缝和溶蚀孔洞,其中粒内孔是主要储集空间类型。物性分析和储集空间的三维定量表征表明,储层以台内滩相亮晶藻屑砂屑灰岩和凝块灰岩为最好,孔隙度主要为2%～4%,少量可达12.14%;其次是藻粘结灰岩和藻灰岩。构造热液交代作用形成蚀变灰岩,发育溶蚀孔洞、微孔隙和微裂缝,构成良好储集空间体系,从而形成优质储层,这对超深层天然气勘探具有重要价值。     

川西南荥经坳陷川荥页1井奥陶系沉积相与古生物特征及地层厘定

对川西南荥经坳陷内三口页岩气井尤其是川荥页1井奥陶系开展了系统的岩心观察和分析。三口钻井在梁山组之下均发育十余米厚的灰黑色泥岩,其中川荥页1井灰黑色泥岩厚近16m。沉积相分析认为灰黑色泥岩为浅水陆棚相,泥岩之下发育的大套砂岩为滨岸近滨亚相,总体向上海水逐渐变深。砂岩中发育丰富的沉积软变形构造及波状交错层理、浪成沙纹层理、平行层理、斜层理等构造。川荥页1井上部泥岩中见大量三叶虫、笔石和腕足等化石及其碎片,鉴定表明含有代表中下奥陶统的常见生物分子,如对笔石(Didymograotus sp.)、大洪山虫(Taihungshania sp.)等。该套砂泥岩组合在沉积相及古生物化石等方面明显区别于荥经坳陷周缘奥陶系五峰组-志留系龙马溪组,与研究区及邻区中下奥陶统红石崖组、湄潭组、大湾组、大官山组中段等层位相当。     

Lithofacies and stratigraphy of the Ordovician Guniutan Formation in its type area,China

The Lower to Middle Ordovician Guniutan (Kuniutan) Formation in the eastern Yangtze Gorges, China has been demonstrated to be similar to the ‘Orthoceratite Limestone’ in Baltoscandia with respect to facies, stratigraphic development and conodont biostratigraphy. Thus the ‘Orthoceratite Limestone’ appears to be a much more widely distributed and characteristically Ordovician facies than has hitherto been assumed. Five lithostratigraphic subdivisions of the Guniutan Formation are here defined in ascending order as the Nanya, Puxi, Wuguixi, Daping and Niangjiafang members. It is shown that these members, which represent considerable spans of time as indicated by their conodont stratigraphy, may be fairly thin but nevertheless regionally extensive. A new conodont zone, with Eoplacognathus crassus as the zonal fossil, is established to accommodate the precise dating of the Wuguixi and Puxi members. Microfacies data from the Guniutan Formation, available for the first time, show that its dominant component particles are sand-sized echinoderm and arthropod debris, as in the Baltoscandian ‘Orthoceratite Limestone’.     

内蒙古阿拉坦合力苏木汗贝布敦昭奥陶纪裸河组 的重新厘定及其意义

2010—2012年在内蒙古东乌旗阿拉坦合力苏木中蒙边境一带开展1∶5万区调时,根据岩性组合、古生物特征及地层对比等,将汗贝布敦昭地区的奥陶纪铜山组重新厘定为裸河组,并划分出3个岩性段。粒度分析等特征表明,裸河组总体上表现为动荡的滨—浅海沉积环境;化石及区域地层对比、沉积物源分析等特征表明,裸河组的形成时代为晚奥陶世。这些成果为兴安地层区奥陶纪地层的研究和对比提供了有价值的基础资料,对探讨西伯利亚板块南缘活动大陆边缘早古生代地质构造演化具有重要意义。     

内蒙古阿拉坦合力苏木汗贝布敦昭奥陶纪裸河组的重新厘定及其意义

2010-2012年在内蒙古东乌旗阿拉坦合力苏木中蒙边境-带开展1：5万区调时,根据岩性组合、古生物特征及地层对比等,将汗贝布敦昭地区的奥陶纪铜山组重新厘定为裸河组,并划分出3个岩性段。粒度分析等特征表明,裸河组总体上表现为动荡的滨-浅海沉积环境;化石及区域地层对比、沉积物源分析等特征表明,裸河组的形成时代为晚奥陶世。这些成果为兴安地层区奥陶纪地层的研究和对比提供了有价值的基础资料．对探讨西伯利亚板块南缘活动大陆边缘旱古生代地质构造演化具有重要意义。     

河北省平泉早奥陶世冶里组碳酸盐风暴沉积

河北平泉地区冶里组碳酸盐岩风暴沉积极为发育,含原地型风暴岩、异地型风暴岩、风暴浊积岩和生物截丘灰岩等4种类型.风暴沉积反映本区冶里组沉积时经历了一个完整的海进-海退旋回,当时区内古地理面貌为北高南低、海水北浅南深.此外,风暴沉积在露头层序地层划分中,对于海进体系域和高水位体系域的识别具有重要的指示作用.     

Middle to Late Ordovician age for the Jindalee Group of the Lachlan Fold Belt,New South Wales: Conodont evidence and some tectonic implications

The first definitive evidence for a late Middle to early Late Ordovician age for the Jindalee Group comes from identification of conodonts, including Periodon aculeatus, preserved in chert from an exposure northeast of Cootamundra, New South Wales. In the Grenfell area, the Hoskins Chert, a constituent formation of the Jindalee Group, also yields conodonts of the same general age, although no diagnostic species have been recognised. Conodonts found in the Jindalee Group, along with a distinctive fossil flora of probable cyanobacterial filaments, are similar to those of the Mugincoble Chert in the vicinity of Parkes. Age correlation of the Jindalee Group with the Girilambone Group is confirmed by the newly found conodonts, but at a much more precise level than previously inferred. However, the tectonic settings of the Jindalee and Girilambone Groups might have been quite distinct, with the Jindalee Group forming in an intra‐arc rift and the Girilambone Group depositing in the backarc Wagga Marginal Basin.     

广西钦州地区侏罗纪地层新资料

钦州、钦州湾盆地的侏罗系划分与对比问题一直存在争议。本文根据钦州地区１／５万区调资料，提出一些新的认识；认为该区侏罗系下部可创建那周尾组，反映其与十万大山地区和桂东的西湾地区下侏罗统在岩性组合上的差异；明确了东兴组的含义及使用范围；首次报道了钦州盆地诛罗纪的孢粉组合并讨论了其地层学意义；根据钦州盆地沉积相序的特点，论述了钦州盆地的沉积背景及沉积环境的演化历史。     

浙赣边区晚奥陶世地层之新见

浙赣两省交界的三山地区（江山、常山、玉山）晚奥陶世Ａｓｈｇｉｌｌ中期的海相沉积主要包括３种岩相：碳酸盐岩相的三衢山组、碎屑岩相的长坞组以及碳酸盐岩和碎屑岩交互相的下镇组；这３种类型的地层在研究区内的横向分布存在一定规律，即从西南至东北大致为下镇组、三衢山组和长坞组。经详细的生物地层和岩石地层研究，建议取消“大桥灰岩”一名，用“下镇组”代替；整合于三衢山组之上的“文昌组”不宜归为Ａｓｈｇｉｌｌ晚期，仍属Ａｓｈｇｉｌｌ中期的沉积。通过系统的生态地层分析，对研究区内各种岩相地层之间的对比也提出了新的意见。     

Electron spin resonance dating of the fossil deposits in the Naracoorte Caves,South Australia

The caves near Naracoorte, South Australia, contain one of the richest and most diverse fossil faunal assemblages on the Australian continent. Three sites were selected for electron spin resonance (ESR) dating because clastic, fossiliferous sediments were sandwiched between speleothem layers. This allows independent age control by highly precise thermal ionization mass‐spectrometry (TIMS) U‐series dating. We find that all ESR results agree within the constraints given by the U‐series dates, and allow further refinement of the age of the fauna analysed, indicating that most of the fauna in the large Victoria Cave Fossil Chamber is twice as old as reported previously. Our dating results, spanning from 280 to 500 ka for the Fossil Chamber, Victoria Cave, to about 125 ka for the Grant Hall, Victoria Cave, and 170 to 280 ka for the Fossil Chamber, Cathedral Cave, indicate little change, if any, in the megafaunal assemblage from the early Middle to the early Late Pleistocene. This changed dramatically after the last interglacial, when a large proportion of the megafauna suddenly disappeared. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stratigraphy,sedimentology, structure and tectonics of Lower Ordovician and Devonian strata of South Mootwingee,Darling Basin,western New South Wales

K‐Ar age measurements using the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar total fusion technique on nephrite from two occurrences in the Great Serpentine Belt southeast of Tamworth yielded ages of 273 ± 5.8 and 280 ± 5.6 m.y. The K‐Ar ages indicate that tectonic emplacement, during which the nephrite was produced as a reaction product between ultra‐mafic rock and country rock, occurred early in the Permian about 275–280 m.y. ago.