Middle Triassic pteridosperms (Pinophyta) of the Timan–Pechora basin

The collection of fossil plants sampled by geologists from VNIGRI at the end of the 20th century from Triassic continental sections drilled by many wells and cropping out in several natural localities and stored at the Museum of Petroleum Geology and Paleontology of the same institute was critically revised. The use of the epidermal method for the study of plant remains with consideration of recent publications dedicated to continental sections of Central Europe made it possible to substantially broaden the taxonomic composition of the Triassic flora and first specify the composition of its pteridosperm representatives. Unlike the Triassic floras of Western Europe, the pteridosperms the Pechora region appeared to be relatively diverse. They number 37 species of 11 genera, which are confined to the upper part of the Triassic sequence: Anguran and Naryan-Mar formations and their analogs. The Middle Triassic, mainly, Ladinian, age of these formations is reliably substantiated both by paleontological (vertebrate and palynological) data and by results of the comparative analysis of the Anguran–Naryan-Mar taphofloras and coeval European type floras dated back to the Anisian–Ladinian by marine faunal remains. The stratigraphic significance of pteridospermous plant remains becomes undoubted for continental sections of the Timan–Pechora basin, while the genera Scytophyllum, Kalantarium, and Kirjamkenia may be considered with respect to their diversity and abundance as representing orthostratigraphic taxa.     

济阳坳陷古近纪孢粉与层序地层

在陆相盆地中,基底沉降、沉积物供给和气候控制着基准面变化和层序发育,而气候的变化造成植被的变化,即造成了植被所产生的孢粉组合的变化,层序地层与孢粉组合有着密切的联系。首先根据孢粉母体植物生长的环境来恢复古气候,然后与综合岩性、电性及地震等资料在济阳坳陷古近系划分出的1个一级层序、4个二级层序、10个三级层序相对照。结果表明,利用孢粉组合特征进行层序地层学研究是可行的;牛38井沙三段中连续取芯井段,根据孢粉可以划分出湖侵体系域和湖退体系域2个三级层序,依据主要孢粉属种的变化,进一步划分出17个次级层序,与高精度层序地层对应。在资料丰富的情况下,可以运用孢粉组合变化进行高精度层序地层学分析,以提高区域地层对比的精度。     

Palynostratigraphy of Oligocene-Miocene continental deposits in Southwestern Siberia

Data on spores, pollen, and dinoflagellate cysts studied in composite section of Oligocene-Miocene deposits in southern part of West Siberia are presented. Eleven biostratigraphic units distinguished in the section are ranked as palynozones and beds with palynological assemblages. Palynological data substantiate age of deposits and specify ranges and boundaries of palynozones. Based on dinocyst assemblages first studied in sediments of the Zhuravka and Abrosimovo horizons (upper Oligocene, lower Miocene), the Pseudokomewuia Beds are included into local stratigraphic scheme. According to results of comparative analysis, similar and distinctive features of Oligocene-Miocene dinocyst assemblages from West Siberia, China and North America are elucidated. Based on palynological data, the local stratigraphic scheme of higher resolution is suggested for subdivision of Oligocene and Miocene deposits in southern part of West Siberia (Baraba and Kulunda lithofacies regions).     

Sedimentology,stratigraphy and palynological occurrences of the late Cretaceous Erlian Formation,Erlian Basin,Inner Mongolia,People's Republic of China

The Erlian Basin is one of the non-marine Cretaceous basins of north-east China that developed during the late Mesozoic continental extension in eastern Asia. This basin experienced two major tectonic events: (i) a syn-rift stage that was dominated by a fluvial–lacustrine depositional environment and (ii) a post-rift stage that was dominated by a fluvial environment. A new sedimentological study performed on Erlian Formation drill cores has led to the determination of an architectural model and to the subsequent characterisation of the stratigraphic evolution of this sedimentary unit during the late Cretaceous. The palynological occurrences that were identified in samples provided a possible stratigraphical age for the Erlian Formation.Sediments of the Erlian Formation occur at the top of the Cretaceous stratigraphic column of the Erlian Basin and were deposited during the post-rift stage. Facies architecture and the ideal succession of facies that were identified for this formation exhibit two different members, both dominated by a fluvial depositional environment: (i) the lower member, which is dominated by channels of a braided river system and (ii) the upper member, which is dominated by overbank deposits. The lower member expresses a tectonically induced uplift as indicated by channels clustering under negative accommodation, whereas a period of stratigraphic base-level rise that is associated with an increase of accommodation is identified in the upper member. Therefore the Erlian Formation highlights an alternation of short uplifts that were dominated by braided fluvial channel deposits with periods of stratigraphic base-level rise that were dominated by overbank deposits. This sedimentological architecture has significant metallogenic implications for the origin of confined permeable sandstone layers, which represent adequate host-rocks for roll front-type uranium deposits.The palynological assemblage Exesipollenites, Ulmipollenites/Ulmoideipites, Buttinia and Momipites that were recognised in two samples of the Erlian Formation has revealed a post-late Campanian age therefore more likely indicating a late Cretaceous age of deposition for the sediments of the Erlian Formation.     

Late Weichselian (Valdaian) and Holocene vegetation and environmental history of the northern Timan Ridge, European Arctic Russia

Lake and peat deposits from the Timan Ridge, Arctic Russia, were pollen analysed, reconstructing the vegetation history and paleoenvironment since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) 20–18,000 years ago. The sites studied are located inside the margins of a large paleolake of about 20 km², by us named Lake Timan. This lake developed in the Late Weichselian, more than 30,000 years after the deglaciation of this region, and was formed due to increased precipitation and warmer summers that accelerated the melting of stagnant ice within its catchment. The lake was drained during the early Holocene when the outlet rivers eroded the spillways. A new generation of much smaller lakes formed during the Holocene when the last remnants of buried glacier ice melted away causing the exposed floor of Lake Timan to subside. Since deglaciation, the following regional vegetation development has been recorded: (1) During the initial stage of Lake Timan, the dominant vegetation was discontinuous steppe/tundra, with patches of snow bed vegetation. (2) A dwarf-shrub tundra established during the Late Weichselian interstadial (Allerød), probably reflecting warmer and moister conditions. (3) The Younger Dryas cooling is recognised by a reversal to steppe/tundra and snowbeds on unstable mineral-soils, and higher palynological richness. (4) Soon after the transition into the Holocene, a birch-forest established on the Timan Ridge. (5) A cooling starting around 8200 cal.years BP initiated the deforestation of the exposed hills. In the most protected sites, birch trees persisted until later than 4000 years ago, reflecting a gradual development into the present treeless dwarf-shrub tundra.     

A Late-Eocene palynological record from the Hoh Xil Basin,northern Tibetan Plateau,and its implications for stratigraphic age,paleoclimate and paleoelevation

The Hoh Xil Basin, lying in the central Tibetan Plateau, is key to understanding the Cenozoic tectonics, paleoelevation and paleoclimate changes that have occurred in the Tibetan Plateau since the collision of the Indian and Asian tectonic plates. However, the stratigraphic age and paleoelevation indicated by the sediments of the Hoh Xil Basin remain hotly debated. Here we report on one palynological record from the TTH-C section, extracted from the Yaxicuo Group (the stratigraphic unit between the Fenghuoshan and Wudaoliang groups), and analyze its implications for stratigraphic age, paleoclimate and paleoelevation in the Hoh Xil Basin. The record shows that palynological taxa are mainly dominated by xerophytic Ephedripites, Nitrariadites (Nitrariapollis) and Chenopodipollis, with few ferns and conifers. Rich morphologies correspond well with those in the Xia Ganchaigou Formation (Fm) of the Qaidam Basin to the north. Palynological percentages are well correlated with the middle member of the Xia Ganchaigou Fm in the Qaidam Basin as well as the lower member of the Mahalagou Fm in the Xining Basin to the northeast. The ages of the middle member of the Xia Ganchaigou and lower member of the Mahalagou Fms from these two basins are both identical to the Bartonian Stage (~ 40–37 Ma) of the Late Eocene, according to their respective high-resolution magnetostratigraphic dating. This means that the age of the Yaxicuo Group at least covers the Bartonian Stage. Besides the Qaidam and Xining basins, the palynological assemblages of the TTH-C section are also similar to those of three other sites (the Jiuquan, Tu-ha and Hetao basins), indicating similarly arid climates dominated by a northwestern Chinese subtropical high, and a relatively low paleoelevation in the Hoh Xil Basin (mostly < 2000 m a.s.l.) in the Late Eocene.     

Palynology of Triassic–Jurassic boundary sections in northern Switzerland

A first palynostratigraphic scheme of Upper Triassic deposits in northern Switzerland was established based on spore-pollen associations and dinoflagellate cyst records from the upper part of the Upper Triassic Klettgau Formation and the lower part of the Lower Jurassic Staffelegg Formation. Drill cores from the Adlerberg region (Basel Tabular Jura) and from Weiach (northern part of Canton Zurich) as well as from an outcrop at the Chilchzimmersattel (Basel Folded Jura) were studied and five informal palynological associations are distinguished. These palynological associations correlate with palynological association of the Central European Epicontinental Basin and the Tethyan realm and provide a stratigraphic framework for the uppermost Triassic sediments in northern Switzerland. Throughout the uppermost Triassic to Jurassic palynological succession a remarkable prominence of Classopollis spp. is observed. Besides Classopollis spp. the three Rhaetian palynological associations A to C from the Upper Triassic Belchen Member include typical Rhaetian spore-pollen and dinoflagellate taxa (e.g., Rhaetipollis germanicus, Geopollis zwolinskae, Rhaetogonyaulax rhaetica, and Dapcodinium priscum). Association B differs from association A in a higher relative abundance of the sporomorph taxa Perinopollenites spp. and the consistent occurrence of Granuloperculatipollis rudis and Ricciisporites tuberculatus. Spore diversity is highest in the late Rhaetian palynological association C and includes Polypodiisporites polymicroforatus. A Rhaetian age for the Belchen Member is confirmed by palynological associations A–C, but there is no record of the latest Rhaetian and the earliest Jurassic. In contrast to the Rhaetian palynological associations the Early Jurassic associations W and D include Pinuspollenites spp., Trachysporites fuscus (in association W), and Ischyosporites variegatus. In the view of the end-Triassic mass extinction and contemporaneous environmental changes the described palynofloral succession represents the pre-extinction phase (associations A and B) including a distinct transgression, the extinction phase (association C) associated with a regression, and the post-extinction phase (association W).     

西西伯利亚东南部早凡兰吟期孢粉地层学,古环境和植被再造

分析了西西伯利亚东南地区的下凡兰吟阶的两个剖面的陆相孢粉型化石的分布。依据西伯利亚北部已经定年的剖面中动物群建立起来的孢粉组合的对比,确定了孢粉标志层的定义,并与北方区的菊石带相对应的孢粉组合进行了对比。这一工作为早凡兰吟期与气候变化息息相关的植被和景观的短期变化以及周边古盆地变迁的重建,提供了地层依据。欧亚大陆中部和东部地区凡兰吟期孢粉组合的横向对比显示:西西伯利亚东南地区的植被具有印度欧洲和西伯利亚加拿大两大古植物地理区的过渡性质,显有这两区的典型特征。     

上海地区更新世孢粉组合及其古植被,古气候

通过对上海地区三个钻孔更新世沉积物的孢粉研究,首次结合最优分割、对应分析等计算机数量统计手段,划分出了九个孢粉组合带,反映了该区植被演替、气候波动的九个阶段;丰富了本地区的孢粉学资料,为上海地区进行地层年代划分和对比提供了证据。     

Problems of geological and isotopic age of the Okhotsk-Chukotsk Volcanogenic Belt (OCVB)

The working stratigraphic chart accepted for the Okhotsk-Chukotsk Volcanogenic Belt (OCVB) at the 3rd Interdepartmental Regional Stratigraphic Conference (IRSC) integrated data of the medium-scale geological survey, the established succession of endemic floras of the developing volcanic highland, and the results of palynological and magnetostratigraphic study (Resolutions of the 3rd…, 2003). The OCVB was formed during the middle Albian-Santonian (and initial Campanian probably). Sequences of the belt are attributed to the Buor-Kemyus (early-middle Albian), Arman (late Albian), Amka (Cenomanian), and Arkagala (Turonian-Santonian) phytostratigraphic horizons. The lack of data on relations between the horizons and fauna-bearing marine deposits is a serious obstacle for correlation of regional subdivisions with the general stratigraphic scale. The problem can be solved using geological methods of palynological and tephrochronological research. Isotopic ages of the OCVB rocks were determined applying the K-Ar and Rb-Sr isotopic dating in the early period and the Ar-Ar and U-Pb (SHRIMP) methods in recent years. The subdivision scheme of the OCVB volcanics based on the K-Ar relict and Rb-Sr isochron dates, which is accepted as addendum to the working stratigraphic chart, confirms in general the geological inferences concerning the OCVB age. The Ar-Ar and U-Pb dates (less than 100 determinations in total) obtained for the Okhotsk, Central Chukotsk, and Anadyr sectors of the OCVB external zone provoked opinions that the belt age should be radically revised. Analysis of new isotopic dates showed that they contradict in variable extent to geological data on the Okhotsk and Central Chukotsk sectors, whereas there is no significant discordance between isotopic and geological data on the Anadyr sector. Consequently, it can be empirically concluded that geological factors influenced the isotopic systems (“clock”). There is also a considerable discordance between the Ar-Ar and U-Pb isotopic dates. These uncertainties of the isotopic dating imply prematurity of idea to revise age of the OCVB.     

Provenance composition and features of geological evolution of the Late Vendian foreland basin of the Timan orogen

The provenance composition and geological evolution of different segments in the distal zone of the Late Vendian foreland basin of the Timan orogen were deciphered on the basis of sequence stratigraphic reconstructions and precision geochemical data on the Upper Vendian fine-grained terrigenous rocks from the Southeast White Sea region, Vychegda, Verkhnekama, and Shkapovo-Shikhan basins, and the Kvarkush-Kamennogorsk and Bashkirian meganticlinoriums. The Upper Vendian of the Southeast White Sea region is subdivided into four sequences: Agma, Solza, Zimnie Gory, and Erga. The tracing of sequence boundaries and lateral facies associations from the Southeast White Sea Region to the South Urals made it possible to identify the main stages of the evolution of sedimentary filling of the foreland basin: (I) shallow water epiplatformal basin, (II) isolated basin, (III) lowstand system tract, and (IV) progradation of delta platforms. Position of data points of the Upper Vendian shales, silty mudstones, and mudstones plotted in the diagrams Th-La, Ni-Cr, Gd_N/Yb_N-Eu/Eu*, Sc-Th/Sc, La/Sm-Sc/Th, and Co/Hf-Ce/Cr, together with their REE systematics and data on Nd model ages indicates that the Proterozoic, including Neoproterozoic rocks of the Timan thrust-folded belt served as the main source for fine aluminosiliciclastic material in the distal zones of the Timan foreland basin. Obtained results are consistent with the concept that the Vendian stage of the evolution of the Eastern European platform is related to the intense input of allochthonous material in its peripheral area owing to the activation of orogenic processes in the adjacent mobile belts and allow us to significantly specify the paleogeographical reconstructions.     

Climate characteristics of the eastern Mongolian Plateau,China during the early Early Cretaceous (145–132 Ma): Palynological evidence from the Tongbomiao Formation in Well Hong-6, Hailar Basin

This study identified two palynological assemblages, namely Bayanhuasporites-Cycadopites-Protoconiferus and Cicatricosisporites-Cedripites-Perinopollenites, in the Tongbomiao Formation in the Hongqi Sag in the Hailar Basin, Inner Mongolia, China for the first time. The former is distributed in the lower part of the Tongbomiao Formation and is characterized by abundant gymnosperm pollen and diverse fern spores. Among them, the gymnosperm pollen is dominated by Paleoconifer (4.98%–31.62%) and Cycadopite (8.55%–25.23%) pollen grains and also includes other pollen grains such as Classopollis, Parcisporites, Erlianpollis, Callialasporites, and Jiaohepollis. The fern spores in the former palynological assemblage contain Bayanhuasporite (0–8.96%), Granulatisporites (0.93%–6.97%), and some important Cretaceous genera, such as Cicatricosisporites, Concavissimisporites, Densoisporites, Hsuisporites, Foraminisporis, and Leptolepidites. The Cicatricosisporites-Cedripites-Perinopollenites palynological assemblage is distributed in the upper part of the Tongbomiao Formation. Gymnosperm (77.30%), Pinaceae (31.9%), and Paleoconiferus (19.02%) pollen predominate this palynological assemblage, and Quadraeculina, Erlianpollis, and Jiaohepollis pollen are also common in this assemblage. The fern spores in this palynological assemblage include abundant Cicatricosisporites (4.29%). Besides, Concavissimisporites, Aequitriradites, and Leptolepidites are also common in this palynological assemblage. No angiosperm pollen has been found in both palynological assemblages. The identification of both palynological assemblages provides important evidence for the biostratigraphic correlation between the Hailar Basin and its adjacent areas. It also enables the reconstructions of the Berriasian-Valanginian (Early Cretaceous) vegetation and the paleoclimate on the eastern Mongolian Plateau during 141–132 Ma. The vegetation reconstructed on the palynological data of the represented by Hailar Basin in eastern Mongolian Plateau (141.6–141.4 Ma), form conifer forest or conifer broad-leaved mixed forest to conifer forest with shrubs and grassland, the climate belongs to warm temperate and warm-subtropicalt, the highest temperature is estimated to reach 35–38°C. Form 132.3 Ma, the vegetation type is conifer forest, and its paleoclimate is sub-humid warm temperate, the highest temperature is estimated to reach 24–29°C.©2022 China Geology Editorial Office.     

Problems of phytostratigraphy and the correlation of the Lower Jurassic continental sediments in West Siberia and Kuznetsk and Kansk-Achinsk basins

Paleofloral and palynological records of Lower Jurassic sediments in West Siberia, Kuznetsk (Kuzbass), and Kansk-Achinsk basins and their correlation are discussed. In a number of recent papers dedicated to the Jurassic stratigraphy of Siberia this problem is ambiguously treated. The reference palynological scale has been developed for the Jurassic West Siberian sediments and an uninterrupted succession of floral assemblages associated with it and with regional stratigraphic units has been recognized. On this basis the scheme of the correlation between the Lower Jurassic sediments of the Kansk-Achinsk and Kuznetsk basins and West Siberia permitting a better age estimate of coal-bearing deposits, is proposed.     

Long-distance transported Pinus pollen as a possible chronostratigraphic marker in the Scottish early postglacial

Peaks of Pinus pollen inseveraldetailed early postglacial (Flandrian) pollen diagrams from western Scotland are interpreted as the result of a change in the prevailing wind direction and intensity during climatic amelioration following the Loch Lomond Stadial (Younger Dryas). This origin implies a degree of syn-chroneity in this palynological feature, which if proven would be valuable in the poorly dated early postglacial. The absence of this palynological feature at many sites may be the result of poor sampling or stratigraphic resolution.     

Upper Pleistocene to Holocene peatland evolution in Southern Brazilian highlands as depicted by radar stratigraphy,sedimentology and palynology

Paleoenvironmental interpretation of proxy data derived from peatlands is largely based upon an evolutionary model for ombrotrophic bogs, in which peat accumulates in still environments. Reports on proxies obtained from minerotrophic fens, where hydrologic inputs are variable, are less common. In this study, a highland peatland in southern Brazil is presented through ground penetrating radar (GPR) and sedimentological, palynological and geochronologic data. The radar stratigraphic interpretation suggests a relatively complex history of erosion and deposition at the site since the beginning of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3) interstadial period. In spite of this, radar stratigraphic and palynologic interpretations converge. Electromagnetic reflections tend to group in clusters that show lateral coherence and correlate with different sediment types, while pollen grains abound and are well preserved. As a result, the study of minerotrophic fens provides a source of proxies, suggesting that ombrotrophic bogs are not the only reliable source of data in wetlands for palynological analysis.     

Distribution of sedimentary organic matter in Anisian carbonate series of S Poland: evidence of third-order sea-level fluctuations

The stratigraphic distribution of sedimentary organic matter in Anisian carbonate series of southern Poland is studied with respect to relative sea-level fluctuations. Palynofacies patterns clearly reflect transgressive–regressive trends that are interpreted in terms of third-order cyclicity. Major flooding phases are detected by maximum abundance of marine plankton in the upper Bithynian and Pelsonian. Transgressive and highstand deposits are recognized by changes in the terrestrial input of organic particles and the relative percentages and diversity of the plankton group. The palynological data support the sequence stratigraphic interpretation based on sedimentological features and geochemical signatures. The corresponding eustatic signals of sedimentary and organic facies are discussed. The study highlights the potential of palynofacies analysis for sequence stratigraphical interpretation.     

Age and palynological characteristic of the Dongning Formation (Eastern Heilongjiang,China)

The taxonomic composition of the palynological assemblage of the Dongning Formation is supplemented. The palynological assemblage corresponds to those from the Lipovtsy Formation (Aptian) in the Razdolnaya Basin of Primorye (Russia) and the Muling Formation (Aptian) in the Jixi Basin of eastern Heilongjiang (China). It is found that the age of the Dongning Formation is Aptian. The palynological assemblage is characterized by dominance of spores of Gleicheniaceae; they are accompanied by spores of Cyatheaceae. The most important feature of the palynological assemblage of the Dongning Formation is the presence of angiosperm pollen (Tricolpites sp., T. micromunus, T. vulgaris, Retitricolpites georgiensis, R. vulgaris, Clavatipollenites hughesii, Quercites sparsus, Fraxiniopollenites variabilis).     

New U–Pb isotopic data for detrital zircons from metasedimentary sequences of northwestern Taimyr

This work presents the U–Pb (LA–ICP–MS) data of detrital zircons from metasedimentary sequences of northwestern Taimyr. An analysis of the youngest populations of detrital zircons testifies to the wide distribution of Cambrian sequences in the study area, but not Precambrian sequences as was considered earlier, and the need for a substantial revision of the stratigraphic scheme of this area. The detrital zircon age distribution shows that the Timan margin of the Baltic paleocontinent was a major provenance area of the Cambrian sediments in northern and northwestern Taimyr, as well as the coeval sediments of the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago.     

青海省同仁县古浪堤中上三叠统古浪堤组孢粉组合及其地层意义

经过对青海同仁县古浪堤组实测剖面的17块样品做孢粉分析, 在6个层位样品中见有孢粉化石30属41种, 据此在该剖面自下而上划分2个孢粉组合:Dictyophyllidites-Di-saccus组合和Verrucosisporites-Di-saccus组合.上述孢粉组合中的孢粉的优势属为Dictyophyllidites, Cyathidites, Verrucosisporites和Chasmatosporites, Protopicea, Pinuspollenites.其中, Dictyophyllidites频繁出现于欧亚、北美、大洋州的晚三叠世和早侏罗世组合, Aratrisporites在南半球大量发育于中三叠世, Asseretospora在澳大利亚的分布时期是中三叠世-早侏罗世.前人于黄南的阿龙江上游及柴陇沟北, 古浪堤组产卡尼期的菊石Protrachycerassp.及双壳类Eumorphotis (Asoella) cf.illyrica.综合而言, 该地区古浪堤组时代厘定为中-晚三叠世, 古植物群生长于暖温带-亚热带河控三角洲环境.      

The Permian Kas Formation of SE Turkey—palynological correlation with strata from Saudi Arabia and Oman

The Kas Formation in SE Turkey was deposited as part of the Permian sequence on the northern margin of the Arabian Plate. Its stratigraphic relationship to time‐equivalent strata of the Arabian Plate was mentioned briefly in previous studies, but has not been elaborated and illustrated in detail. This biostratigraphic review of existing palaeontological data has improved the accuracy of age interpretation for the Kas Formation, and the relationship of its excellent palynological record to the international Permian chronostratigraphic units. As a result, this study has identified a number of key palynological species from the Kas Formation, which occur as well as in the ‘Basal Khuff Clastics’ of Saudi Arabia and in the ‘Khuff transition section’ of Oman. All these units have approximately the same age: Wordian to early Capitanian, based on ‘age control’ provided by Foraminifera. This study also demonstrates that, by using key palynological taxa, correlation of strata would be possible across the entire Arabian Plate in this narrow time range. Hence, the ‘Oman and Saudi Arabia Palynological Zone 6’ (OSPZ6) is applicable throughout the Arabian Plate area, including the northern regions of SE Turkey and Iraq. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.