Linking Tarim Basin sea retreat (west China) and Asian aridification in the late Eocene

The Tarim Basin in western China formed the easternmost margin of a shallow epicontinental sea that extended across Eurasia and was well connected to the western Tethys during the Paleogene. Climate modelling studies suggest that the westward retreat of this sea from Central Asia may have been as important as the Tibetan Plateau uplift in forcing aridification and monsoon intensification in the Asian continental interior due to the redistribution of the land‐sea thermal contrast. However, testing of this hypothesis is hindered by poor constraints on the timing and precise palaeogeographic dynamics of the retreat. Here, we present an improved integrated bio‐ and magnetostratigraphic chronological framework of the previously studied marine to continental transition in the southwest Tarim Basin along the Pamir and West Kunlun Shan, allowing us to better constrain its timing, cause and palaeoenvironmental impact. The sea retreat is assigned a latest Lutetian–earliest Bartonian age (ca. 41 Ma; correlation of the last marine sediments to calcareous nannofossil Zone CP14 and correlation of the first continental red beds to the base of magnetochron C18r). Higher up in the continental deposits, a major hiatus includes the Eocene–Oligocene transition (ca. 34 Ma). This suggests the Tarim Basin was hydrologically connected to the Tethyan marine Realm until at least the earliest Oligocene and had not yet been closed by uplift of the Pamir–Kunlun orogenic system. The westward sea retreat at ca. 41 Ma and the disconformity at the Eocene–Oligocene transition are both time‐equivalent with reported Asian aridification steps, suggesting that, consistent with climate modelling results, the sea acted as an important moisture source for the Asian continental interior.     

Structural and depositional controls on Plio‐Pleistocene submarine channel geometry (Taranaki Basin,New Zealand)

High‐quality 3D seismic data are used to investigate the effect of the Parihaka Fault on the geometry of submarine channels in Northern Graben of the Taranaki Basin, New Zealand. The Parihaka Fault comprises of four segments (S1–S4) with variable displacements. As part of the Plio‐Pleistocene Giant Foresets Formation, the older Channel Complex Systems 1 and 2 reveal a two‐stage evolution: (a) a syn‐tectonic depositional stage with channels incising the slope during early fault growth (ca. 4.5 Ma) and (b) a stage of sediment bypass (ca. 3 Ma) leading to the infill of hanging‐wall depocentres. The Channel Complex System 3 is syn‐tectonic relative to segment S3 and was formed at ca. 2.5 Ma. We show that the successive generation of new fault segments towards the north controlled the formation of depocentres in the study area. This occurred in association to rotation and uplift of the footwall block of the Parihaka Fault and subsidence of its hanging‐wall block, with fault activity controlling the orientation of channel systems. As a result, we observe three drainage types in the study area: oblique, transverse and parallel to the Parihaka Fault. This work is important as it shows that relay zones separating the Parihaka Fault segments had limited influence on the geometry and location of channel systems. Submarine channels were diverted from their original courses close to the Parihaka Fault and flowed transversally to fault segments instead of running through relay ramps, contrasting to what is often recorded in the literature. A plausible explanation for such a discrepancy relates to rapid progradation of the Giant Foresets Formation during the Plio‐Pleistocene, with channel complexes becoming less confined, favouring footwall incision and basinward deposition of submarine fans.     

Clinoforms as paleogeographic tools: Development of the Danube catchment above the deep Paratethyan basins in Central and Southeast Europe

The Miocene marine basins of Central and Southeast Europe, once comprising the Paratethys Sea, were gradually filled with sediments during the Neogene and turned to be the catchment area of the proto-Danube and finally that of the modern Danube. Seismic data from various parts of the large Danube catchment area show that these several hundred meter deep basins were filled by lateral accretion of river-transported sediments, appearing as shelf edge scale clinoform sets in seismic profiles. The direction of shelf edge progradation is NW to SE (N to S, W to E) in each basin, except for the Dacian basin where NE to SW direction prevails. The age of the clinoform sets is generally younging downstream: 19–18 Ma in the North Alpine Foreland basin, 14–13 Ma in the Vienna basin, 10–9 Ma in the Danube (Kisalföld) basin, 8.6–4 Ma in the Central Pannonian basin (Alföld), ?9–5 Ma in the Dacian basin, and 6–0 Ma in the Euxinian (Black Sea) basin. In spite of this geographical and temporal pattern, only the Danube (Kisalföld) and the western and central part of the Central Pannonian basin were filled by the proto-Danube shelf accretion. Formation of the Danube, as a longitudinal river of the Alpine foreland that gradually elongated to the east and followed the retreating shoreline of the Paratethys, most probably took place at the beginning of the Late Miocene, ca. 11 Ma ago, thus the Early and Middle Miocene shelf advance in the North Alpine Foreland and Vienna basins, respectively, cannot be attributed to a „paleo-Danube”. The clinoform systems of the Dacian basin are coeval with those of the upstream Central Pannonian basin, indicating that by the time the Danube sedimentary system reached the Dacian basin, it was already a shallow basin. The vast clinoforms of the northwestern Euxinian shelf also significantly overlap in age with the Pannonian basin ones; only the <4 Ma part of the shelf accretion can be attributed to the Danube sensu stricto.     

The end of the Great Khersonian Drying of Eurasia: Magnetostratigraphic dating of the Maeotian transgression in the Eastern Paratethys

Central Eurasia underwent significant palaeoclimatic and palaeogeographic transformations during the middle to late Miocene. The open marine ecosystems of the Langhian and Serravallian seas progressively collapsed and were replaced in the Tortonian by large endorheic lakes. These lakes experienced major fluctuations in water level, directly reflecting the palaeoclimatic conditions of the region. An extreme lowstand of the Eastern Paratethys lake (?300 m) during the regional Khersonian stage reveals a period of intensely dry conditions in Central Eurasia causing a fragmentation of the Paratethys region. This period of “Great Drying” ended by a climate change towards more humid conditions at the base of the Maeotian stage, resulting in a large transgressive event that reconnected most of the Paratethyan basins. The absence of a robust time frame for the Khersonian–Maeotian interval hampers a direct correlation with the global records and complicates a thorough understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Here we present a new chronostratigraphic framework for the Khersonian and Maeotian deposits of the Dacian Basin of Romania, based on integrated magneto‐biostratigraphic studies on long and continuous sedimentary successions. We show the dry climate conditions in the Khersonian start at 8.6–8.4 Ma. The Khersonian/Maeotian transition is dated at 7.65–7.5 Ma, several million years younger than previous estimates. The Maeotian transgression occurs later (7.5–7.4 Ma) in more marginal and shallower basins, in agreement with the time transgressive character of the flooding. In addition, we date a sudden water level drop of the Eastern Paratethys lake, the Intra‐Maeotian Event (IME), at 6.9 Ma, and hypothesize that this corresponds to a reconnection phase with the Aegean basin of the Mediterranean. Finally, we discuss the potential mechanisms explaining the particularities of the Maeotian transgression and conclude that the low salinity and the seemingly “marine influxes” most likely correspond to episodes of intrabasinal mixing in a gradual and pulsating transgressive setting.     

Basin‐scale fluvial correlation and response to the Tethyan marine transgression: An example from the Triassic of central Spain

The relationships between large‐scale depositional processes and the stratigraphic record of alluvial systems, e.g. the origin and distribution of channel stacking patterns, changing architecture and correlation of strata, are still relatively poorly understood, in contrast to marine systems. We present a study of the Castillian Branch of the Permo‐Triassic Central Iberian Basin, north‐eastern Spain, using chemostratigraphy and a detailed sedimentological analysis to correlate the synrift Triassic fluvial sandstones for ~80 km along the south‐eastern basin margin. This study investigates the effects of Middle Triassic (Ladinian) Tethyan marine transgression on fluvial facies and architecture. Chemostratigraphy identifies a major, single axially flowing fluvial system lasting from the Early to Middle Triassic (~10 Ma). The fluvial architecture comprises basal conglomerates, followed by amalgamated sandstones and topped by floodplain‐isolated single‐ or multi‐storey amalgamated sandstone complexes with a total thickness up to ~1 km. The Tethyan marine transgression advanced into the basin with a rate of 0.04–0.02 m/year, and is recorded by a transition from the fluvial succession to a series of maximum flooding surfaces characterised by marginal marine clastic sediments and sabkha evaporites. The continued, transgression led to widespread thick carbonate deposition infilling the basin and recording the final stage of synrift to early‐post‐rift deposition. We identify the nonmarine to marine transition characterised by significant changes in the Buntsandstein succession with a transition from a predominantly tectonic‐ to a climatically driven fluvial system. The results have important implications for the temporal and spatial prediction of fluvial architecture and their transition during a marine transgression.     

Rapid exhumation of basement rocks along the northern margin of the North China craton in the early Jurassic: evidence from the Xiabancheng Basin,Yanshan Tectonic Belt

Early Mesozoic Basins in the Yanshan Fold–Thrust Belt (YFTB), located along the northern margin of the North China Craton (NCC), record significant intraplate deformation of unknown age. In this article, we present evidence for the rapid exhumation of high‐grade basement rocks along the northern margin of the NCC in the Early Mesozoic. U–Pb geochronology of detrital zircons constrains the maximum depositional ages of syntectonic sedimentary units that formed during the unroofing of basement rocks and plutons in the Xiabancheng Basin. In the Early Mesozoic, the Xiabancheng Basin recorded a dramatic transformation in depositional environments, related to a significant change in the regional tectonic setting. In this study, the tectonic evolution of the YFTB is established from paleocurrent data and U–Pb zircon ages of sandstone and granitic gravels of the Xingshikou Formation, Xiabancheng Basin. The paleocurrent direction of meandering fluvial facies in the Triassic Liujiagou and Ermaying Formations are from east to west. In contrast, the overlying Xingshikou Formation consists of alluvial fan facies with paleocurrent directions from north‐northwest to south‐southeast. The lower and middle segments of the Xingshikou Formation record rapid exhumation of basement rocks along the northern margin of the NCC. U‐Pb ages of detrital zircons within the Xingshikou Formation are characterized by three major U–Pb age groups: 2.2–2.5 Ga, 1.7–1.8 Ga and 193–356 Ma. From 193 Ma to 356 Ma, a subsidiary peak occurs at 198 ± 5 Ma, constraining the sedimentation age of the Xingshikou Formation to the Early Jurassic. Zircon from the Wangtufang pluton in the northern portion of the Xiabancheng Basin yields U–Pb ages of 191 ± 1 Ma and 207 ± 1 Ma. Within error, these crystallization ages are identical to detrital zircon ages of 206 ± 1 Ma and 206 ± 2 Ma obtained for granitic gravel clasts in the Xingshikou Formation. Thus, the Wangtufang pluton and surrounding basement rocks must have experienced rapid uplift and exhumation during the Early Jurassic. The onset of exhumation along the northern margin of the NCC occurred at ca. 198–180 Ma.     

Influence of Mediterranean sea-level changes on the Dacic Basin (Eastern Paratethys) during the late Neogene: the Mediterranean Lago Mare facies deciphered

A recently published scenario viewing the Messinian salinity crisis as two evaporitic steps rather than one has led to a search for new indices of the crisis in the Eastern Paratethys. Fluvial processes characterized the southwestern Dacic Basin (Southern Romania, i.e. the Carpathian foredeep) whereas brackish sediments were continuously deposited in its northern part. This is consistent with previously evidenced responses of the Black Sea to the Messinian salinity crisis. High sea‐level exchanges between the Mediterranean Sea and Eastern Paratethys are considered to have occurred just before and just after desiccation of the Mediterranean. This accounts for two successive Mediterranean nannoplankton‐dinocyst influxes into the Eastern Paratethys that, respectively, belong to zones NN 11 and NN 12. Meanwhile, two separate events that gave rise to Lago Mare facies (with Paratethyan Congeria, ostracods and/or dinoflagellate cysts) arose in the Mediterranean Basin in response to these high sea‐level exchanges and located 5.52 and 5.33 Ma (isotopic stages TG 11 and TG 5, respectively), i.e. just before and just after the almost complete desiccation of the Mediterranean). These Lago Mare facies formed independently of lakes with ostracods of the Cyprideis group that developed in the central basins during the final stages of desiccation. The gateway faciliting these water exchanges is not completely identified. A proto‐Bosphorus strait seems unlikely. A plausible alternative route extends from the northern part of the Thessaloniki region up to the Dacic Basin and through Macedonia and the Sofia Basin. The expression ‘Lago Mare’ is chronostratigraphically ambiguous and should be discontinued for this purpose, although it might remain useful as a palaeoenvironmental term.     

Palaeogeography and diachronous infill of an ancient deep‐marine foreland basin,Upper Cretaceous Cerro Toro Formation,Magallanes Basin

The details of how narrow, orogen‐parallel ocean basins are filled with sediment by large axial submarine channels is important to understand because these depositional systems commonly form in through‐like basins in various tectonic settings. The Magallanes foreland basin is an excellent location to study an orogen‐parallel deep‐marine system. Conglomerate lenses of the Upper Cretaceous Cerro Toro Formation have been previously interpreted to represent the fill of a single submarine channel (4–8 km wide, >100 km long) that funneled coarse detritus southward along the basin axis. This interpretation was based on lithologic correlations. New U/Pb dating of zircons from volcanic ashes and sandstones, coupled with strontium isotope stratigraphy, refine the controls on depositional ages and provenance. Results demonstrate that north‐south oriented conglomerate lenses are contemporaneous within error limits (ca. 84–82 Ma) supporting that they represent parts of an axial channel belt. Channel deposits 20 km west of the axial location are 87–82 Ma in age. These channels are partly contemporaneous with the ones within the axial channel belt, making it likely that they represent feeders to the axial channel system. The northern Cerro Toro Formation spans a Turonian to Campanian interval (ca. 90–82 Ma) whereas the formation top, 70 km to the south, is as young as ca. 76 Ma. Kolmogorov–Smirnoff statistical analysis on detrital zircon age distributions shows that the northern uppermost Cerro Toro Formation yields a statistically different age distribution than other samples from the same formation but shows no difference relative to the overlying Tres Pasos Formation. These results suggest the partly coeval deposition of both formations. Integration of previously acquired geochronologic and stratigraphic data with new data show a pronounced southward younging pattern in all four marine formations in the Magallanes Basin. Highly diachronous infilling may be an important depositional pattern for narrow, orogen‐parallel ocean basins.     

Late Eocene–Pliocene basin evolution in the Eastern Cordillera of northwestern Argentina (25°–26°S): regional implications for Andean orogenic wedge development

Important aspects of the Andean foreland basin in Argentina remain poorly constrained, such as the effect of deformation on deposition, in which foreland basin depozones Cenozoic sedimentary units were deposited, how sediment sources and drainages evolved in response to tectonics, and the thickness of sediment accumulation. Zircon U‐Pb geochronological data from Eocene–Pliocene sedimentary strata in the Eastern Cordillera of northwestern Argentina (Pucará–Angastaco and La Viña areas) provide an Eocene (ca. 38 Ma) maximum depositional age for the Quebrada de los Colorados Formation. Sedimentological and provenance data reveal a basin history that is best explained within the context of an evolving foreland basin system affected by inherited palaeotopography. The Quebrada de los Colorados Formation represents deposition in the distal to proximal foredeep depozone. Development of an angular unconformity at ca. 14 Ma and the coarse‐grained, proximal character of the overlying Angastaco Formation (lower to upper Miocene) suggest deposition in a wedge‐top depozone. Axial drainage during deposition of the Palo Pintado Formation (upper Miocene) suggests a fluvial‐lacustrine intramontane setting. By ca. 4 Ma, during deposition of the San Felipe Formation, the Angastaco area had become structurally isolated by the uplift of the Sierra de los Colorados Range to the east. Overall, the Eastern Cordillera sedimentary record is consistent with a continuous foreland basin system that migrated through the region from late Eocene through middle Miocene time. By middle Miocene time, the region lay within the topographically complex wedge‐top depozone, influenced by thick‐skinned deformation and re‐activation of Cretaceous rift structures. The association of the Eocene Quebrada del los Colorados Formation with a foredeep depozone implies that more distal foreland deposits should be represented by pre‐Eocene strata (Santa Barbara Subgroup) within the region.     

Cenozoic tectonic subsidence in the Qiongdongnan Basin,northern South China Sea

A number of major controversies exist in the South China Sea, including the timing and pattern of seafloor spreading, the anomalous alternating strike‐slip movement on the Red River Fault, the existence of anomalous post‐rift subsidence and how major submarine canyons have developed. The Qiongdongnan Basin is located in the intersection of the northern South China Sea margin and the strike‐slip Red River fault zone. Analysing the subsidence of the Qiongdongnan Basin is critical in understanding these controversies. The basin‐wide unloaded tectonic subsidence is computed through 1D backstripping constrained by the reconstruction of palaeo‐water depths and the interpretation of dense seismic profiles and wells. Results show that discrete subsidence sags began to form in the central depression during the middle and late Eocene (45–31.5 Ma). Subsequently in the Oligocene (31.5–23 Ma), more faults with intense activity formed, leading to rapid extension with high subsidence (40–90 m Myr⁻¹). This extension is also inferred to be affected by the sinistral movement of the offshore Red River Fault as new subsidence sags progressively formed adjacent to this structure. Evidence from faults, subsidence, magmatic intrusions and strata erosion suggests that the breakup unconformity formed at ca. 23 Ma, coeval with the initial seafloor spreading in the southwestern subbasin of the South China Sea, demonstrating that the breakup unconformity in the Qiongdongnan Basin is younger than that observed in the Pearl River Mouth Basin (ca. 32–28 Ma) and Taiwan region (ca. 39–33 Ma), which implies that the seafloor spreading in the South China Sea began diachronously from east to west. The post‐rift subsidence was extremely slow during the early and middle Miocene (16 m Myr⁻¹, 23–11.6 Ma), probably caused by the transient dynamic support induced by mantle convection during seafloor spreading. Subsequently, rapid post‐rift subsidence occurred during the late Miocene (144 m Myr⁻¹, 11.6–5.5 Ma) possibly as the dynamic support disappeared. The post‐rift subsidence slowed again from the Pliocene to the Quaternary (24 m Myr⁻¹, 5.5–0 Ma), but a subsidence centre formed in the west with the maximum subsidence of ca. 450 m, which coincided with a basin with the sediment thickness exceeding 5500 m and is inferred to be caused by sediment‐induced ductile crust flow. Anomalous post‐rift subsidence in the Qiongdongnan Basin increased from ca. 300 m in the northwest to ca. 1200 m in the southeast, and the post‐rift vertical movement of the basement was probably the most important factor to facilitate the development of the central submarine canyon.     

Unraveling the Peruvian Phase of the Central Andes: stratigraphy,sedimentology and geochronology of the Salar de Atacama Basin (22°30–23°S), northern Chile

The Salar de Atacama Basin holds important information regarding the tectonic activity, sedimentary environments and their variations in northern Chile during Cretaceous times. About 4000 m of high‐resolution stratigraphic columns of the Tonel, Purilactis and Barros Arana Formations reveal braided fluvial and alluvial facies, typical of arid to semi‐arid environments, interrupted by scarce intervals with evaporitic, aeolian and lacustrine sedimentation, displaying an overall coarsening‐upward trend. Clast‐count and point‐count data evidence the progressive erosion from Mesozoic volcanic rocks to Palaeozoic basement granitoids and deposits located around the Cordillera de Domeyko area, which is indicative of an unroofing process. The palaeocurrent data show that the source area was located to the west. The U/Pb detrital zircon geochronological data give maximum depositional ages of 149 Ma for the base of the Tonel Formation (Agua Salada Member), and 107 Ma for its middle member (La Escalera Member); 79 Ma for the lower Purilactis Formation (Limón Verde Member), and 73 Ma for the Barros Arana Formation. The sources of these zircons were located mainly to the west, and comprised from the Coastal Cordillera to the Precordillera. The ages and pulses record the tectonic activity during the Peruvian Phase, which can be split into two large events; an early phase, around 107 Ma, showing uplift of the Coastal Cordillera area, and a late phase around 79 Ma indicating an eastward jump of the deformation front to the Cordillera de Domeyko area. The lack of internal deformation and the thicknesses measured suggest that deposition of the units occurred in the foredeep zone of an eastward‐verging basin. This sedimentation would have ended with the K‐T phase, recognized in most of northern Chile.     

Late Pliocene–early Pleistocene deep‐sea basin sedimentation at high‐latitudes: mega‐scale submarine slides of the north‐western Barents Sea margin prior to the shelf‐edge glaciations

At high‐latitude continental margins, large‐scale submarine sliding has been an important process for deep‐sea sediment transfer during glacial and interglacial periods. Little is, however, known about the importance of this process prior to the arrival of the ice sheet on the continental shelf. Based on new two‐dimensional seismic data from the NW Barents Sea continental margin, this study documents the presence of thick and regionally extensive submarine slides formed between 2.7 and 2.1 Ma, before shelf‐edge glaciation. The largest submarine slide, located in the northern part of the Storfjorden Trough Mouth Fan (TMF), left a scar and is characterized by an at least 870‐m‐thick interval of chaotic to reflection‐free seismic facies interpreted as debrites. The full extent of this slide debrite 1 is yet unknown but it has a mapped areal distribution of at least 10.7 × 10³ km² and it involved >4.1 × 10³ km³ of sediments. It remobilized a larger sediment volume than one of the largest exposed submarine slides in the world – the Storegga Slide in the Norwegian Sea. In the southern part of the Storfjorden TMF and along the Kveithola TMF, the seismic data reveal at least four large‐scale slide debrites, characterized by seismic facies similar to the slide debrite 1. Each of them is ca. 295‐m thick, covers an area of at least 7.04 × 10³ km² and involved 1.1 × 10³ km³ of sediments. These five submarine slide debrites represent approximately one quarter of the total volume of sediments deposited during the time 2.7–1.5 Ma along the NW Barents Sea. The preconditioning factors for submarine sliding in this area probably included deposition at high sedimentation rate, some of which may have occurred in periods of low eustatic sea‐level. Intervals of weak contouritic sediments might also have contributed to the instability of part of the slope succession as these deposits are known from other parts of the Norwegian margin and elsewhere to have the potential to act as weak layers. Triggering was probably caused by seismicity associated with the nearby and active Knipovich spreading ridge and/or the old tectonic lineaments within the Spitsbergen Shear Zone. This seismicity is inferred to be the main influence of the large‐scale sliding in this area as this and previous studies have documented that sliding have occurred independently of climatic variations, i.e. both before and during the period of ice sheets repeatedly covering the continental shelf.     

Effects of large sea‐level variations in connected basins: the Dacian–Black Sea system of the Eastern Paratethys

Sea‐level changes provide an important control on the interplay between accommodation space and sediment supply, in particular, for shallow‐water basins where the available space is limited. Sediment exchange between connected basins separated by a subaqueous sill (bathymetric threshold) is still not well understood. When sea‐level falls below the bathymetric level of this separating sill, the shallow‐water basin evolution is controlled by its erosion and rapid fill. Once this marginal basin is filled, the sedimentary depocenter shifts to the open marine basin (outward shift). With new accommodation space created during the subsequent sea‐level rise, sediment depocenter shifts backwards to the marginal basin (inward shift). This new conceptual model is tested here in the context of Late Miocene to Quaternary evolution of the open connection between Dacian and Black Sea basins. By the means of seismic sequence stratigraphic analysis of the Miocene‐Pliocene evolution of this Eastern Paratethys domain, this case study demonstrates these shifts in sedimentary depocenter between basins. An outward shift occurs with a delay that corresponds to the time required to fill the remaining accommodation space in the Dacian Basin below the sill that separates it from the Black Sea. This study provides novel insight on the amplitude and sedimentary geometry of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) event in the Black Sea. A large (1.3–1.7 km) sea‐level drop is demonstrated by quantifying coeval sedimentation patterns that change to mass‐flows and turbiditic deposits in the deep‐sea part of this main sink. The post‐MSC sediment routing continued into the present‐day pattern of Black Sea rivers discharge.     

10 Myr evolution of sedimentation rates in a deep marine to non‐marine foreland basin system: Tectonic and sedimentary controls (Eocene,Tremp–Jaca Basin,Southern Pyrenees,NE Spain)

The propagation of the deformation front in foreland systems is typically accompanied by the incorporation of parts of the basin into wedge‐top piggy‐back basins, this process is likely producing considerable changes to sedimentation rates (SR). Here we investigate the spatial‐temporal evolution of SR for the Tremp–Jaca Basin in the Southern Pyrenees during its evolution from a wedge‐top, foreredeep, forebulge configuration to a wedge‐top stage. SR were controlled by a series of tectonic structures that influenced subsidence distribution and modified the sediment dispersal patterns. We compare the decompacted SR calculated from 12 magnetostratigraphic sections located throughout the Tremp–Jaca Basin represent the full range of depositional environment and times. While the derived long‐term SR range between 9.0 and 84.5 cm/kyr, compiled data at the scale of magnetozones (0.1–2.5 Myr) yield SR that range from 3.0 to 170 cm/kyr. From this analysis, three main types of depocenter are recognized: a regional depocenter in the foredeep depozone; depocenters related to both regional subsidence and salt tectonics in the wedge‐top depozone; and a depocenter related to clastic shelf building showing transgressive and regressive trends with graded and non‐graded episodes. From the evolution of SR we distinguish two stages. The Lutetian Stage (from 49.1–41.2 Ma) portrays a compartmentalized basin characterized by variable SR in dominantly underfilled accommodation areas. The markedly different advance of the deformation front between the Central and Western Pyrenees resulted in a complex distribution of the foreland depozones during this stage. The Bartonian–Priabonian Stage (41.2–36.9 Ma) represents the integration of the whole basin into the wedge‐top, showing a generalized reduction of SR in a mostly overfilled relatively uniform basin. The stacking of basement units in the hinterland during the whole period produced unusually high SR in the wedge‐top depozone.     

Strike‐slip tectonics and basin inversion in the Western Mediterranean: the Post‐Messinian evolution of the Alboran Sea

A comprehensive interpretation of single and multichannel seismic reflection profiles integrated with biostratigraphical data and log information from nearby DSDP and ODP wells has been used to constrain the late Messinian to Quaternary basin evolution of the central part of the Alboran Sea Basin. We found that deformation is heterogeneously distributed in space and time and that three major shortening phases have affected the basin as a result of convergence between the Eurasian and African plates. During the Messinian salinity crisis, significant erosion and local subsidence resulted in the formation of small, isolated, basins with shallow marine and lacustrine sedimentation. The first shortening event occurred during the Early Pliocene (ca. 5.33–4.57 Ma) along the Alboran Ridge. This was followed by a major transgression that widened the basin and was accompanied by increased sediment accumulation rates. The second, and main, phase of shortening on the Alboran Ridge took place during the Late Pliocene (ca. 3.28–2.59 Ma) as a result of thrusting and folding which was accompanied by a change in the Eurasian/African plate convergence vector from NW‐SE to WNW‐ESE. This phase also caused uplift of the southern basins and right‐lateral transtension along the WNW‐ENE Yusuf fault zone. Deformation along the Yusuf and Alboran ridges continued during the early Pleistocene (ca. 1.81–1.19 Ma) and appears to continue at the present day together with the active NNE‐SSW trending Al‐Idrisi strike‐slip fault. The Alboran Sea Basin is a region of complex interplay between sediment supply from the surrounding Betic and Rif mountains and tectonics in a zone of transpression between the converging African and European plates. The partitioning of the deformation since the Pliocene, and the resulting subsidence and uplift in the basin was partially controlled by the inherited pre‐Messinian basin geometry.     

Spatial distribution of micrometre‐scale porosity and permeability across the damage zone of a reverse‐reactivated normal fault in a tight sandstone: Insights from the Otway Basin,SE Australia

Knowledge of the permeability structure of fault‐bearing reservoir rocks is fundamental for developing robust hydrocarbon exploration and fluid monitoring strategies. Studies often describe the permeability structure of low porosity host rocks that have experienced simple tectonic histories, while investigations of the influence of faults with multiple‐slip histories on the permeability structure of porous clastic rocks are limited. We present results from an integrated petrophysical, microstructural, and mineralogical investigation of the Eumeralla Formation (a tight volcanogenic sandstone) within the hanging wall of the Castle Cove Fault which strikes 30 km NE–SW in the Otway Basin, southeast Australia. This late Jurassic to Cenozoic‐age basin has experienced multiple phases of extension and compression. Core plugs and thin sections oriented relative to the fault plane were sampled from the hanging wall at distances of up to 225 m from the Castle Cove Fault plane. As the fault plane is approached, connected porosities increase by ca. 10% (17% at 225 m to 24% at 0.5 m) and permeabilities increase by two orders of magnitude (from 0.04 mD at 225 m to 1.26 mD at 0.5 m). Backscattered Scanning Electron Microscope analysis shows that microstructural changes due to faulting have enhanced the micrometre‐scale permeability structure of the Eumeralla Formation. These microstructural changes have been attributed to the formation of microfractures and destruction of original pore‐lining chlorite morphology as a result of fault deformation. Complex deformation, that is, formation of macrofractures, variably oriented microfractures, and a hanging wall anticline, associated with normal faulting and subsequent reverse faulting, has significantly influenced the off‐fault fluid flow properties of the protolith. However, despite enhancement of the host rock permeability structure, the Eumeralla Formation at Castle Cove is still considered a tight sandstone. Our study shows that high‐resolution integrated analyses of the host rock are critical for describing the micrometre‐scale permeability structure of reservoir rocks with high porosities, low permeabilities, and abundant clays that have experienced complex deformation.     

Reconstruction of the Cenozoic deformation of the Bohai Bay Basin,North China

A well‐constrained plate deformation model may lead to an improved understanding of sedimentary basin formation and the connection between subduction history and over‐riding plate deformation. Building quantitative models of basin kinematics and deformation remains challenging often due to the lack of comprehensive constraints. The Bohai Bay Basin (BBB) is an important manifestation of the destruction of the North China Craton, and records the plate kinematic history of East Asia during the Cenozoic. Although a number of interpretations of the formation of the BBB have been proposed, few quantitative basin reconstruction models have been built to test and refine previous ideas. Here, we developed a quantitative deformation reconstruction of the BBB constrained with balanced cross‐sections and structural, stratigraphic and depositional age data. Our reconstruction suggests that the basin formation process was composed of three main stages: Paleocene‐early Eocene (65–42 Ma) extension initiation, middle Eocene‐early Oligocene (42–32.8 Ma) extension climax and post‐Oligocene (32.8–0 Ma) post‐extensional subsidence. The deformation of the BBB is spatially heterogeneous, and its velocity directions rotated clockwise during the basin formation process. The reconstruction supports the interpretation that the BBB formed via strike‐slip faulting and orthogonal extension and that the basin is classified as a composite extensional‐transtensional basin. We argue that the clockwise rotation of the basin velocity field was driven by the counter‐clockwise rotation in the direction of Pacific Plate subduction. The kinematics of the BBB imply that the Pacific Plate may have been sufficiently coupled to the over‐riding East Asian Plate during the critical period of Pacific Plate reorganization. The new reconstruction provides a quantitative basis for studies of deformation processes not only in the vicinity of the BBB, but also more broadly throughout East Asia.     

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.     

Mesozoic–Cenozoic multistage tectonic evolution of the Pamir: Detrital fission-track constraints from the Tajik Basin

Knowledge of the tectonic history of the Pamir contributes to our understanding of both the evolution of collisional orogenic belts as well as factors controlling Central Asian aridification. It is, however, not easy to decipher the Mesozoic–Cenozoic tectonics of the Pamir due to extensive Neogene deformation in an orogen that remains largely understudied. This study reports detrital apatite and zircon fission-track (FT) ages from both the eastern Tajik Basin sedimentary rocks and Pamir modern river sands. These FT data, supported by vitrinite reflectance and zircon and apatite U–Pb double dating, suggest that the majority of the FT ages are unreset and record exhumation stages of the Pamir, which has served as the source terrane of the Tajik Basin since the Cretaceous. Furthermore, we combine the new data with a compilation of published detrital apatite and zircon FT data from both the Tajik Basin sedimentary rocks and Pamir modern river sands, to explore the Mesozoic–Cenozoic tectonic history of Pamir. Deconvolved FT Peak Ages document two major Mesozoic exhumation events associated with the Late Triassic–Early Jurassic Cimmerian orogeny that reflects accretion of the Pamir terranes, as well as the Early–early Late Cretaceous deformation associated with the northward subduction of the Neo-Tethys Ocean beneath Pamir. The compiled data also show significant Late Eocene–Neogene exhumation associated with the ongoing formation of the Pamir, which peaks at ca. 36, 25, 14 and 7 Ma.     

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.