Lower Palaeozoic unconformities in an intracratonic platform setting: glacial erosion versus tectonics in the eastern Murzuq Basin (southern Libya)

The stratigraphic record of the eastern Murzuq Basin has been importantly influenced by deformation resulting in angular and/or deeply erosional unconformities, though the overall context is intracratonic. Major transgressive events and the Ordovician glaciation are nevertheless documented, allowing the delineation of tectonic-, eustasy- or climate-driven unconformities. Lower Palaeozoic key events and related unconformities that characterize the North Gondwana platform have therefore a signature in the eastern Murzuq Basin. The basement/cover unconformity, also known as the infra-Tassilian surface, truncates all the deformed and metamorphosed Lower Cambrian and older rocks. Above is a ?Middle Cambrian to Lower Ordovician megasequence (Murizidié and Hasawnah Fms.), which is in turn truncated by an intra-Ordovician, angular unconformity. This megasequence is unconformably overlain by a Middle Ordovician (Hawaz Fm.) to Silurian (Tanzzuft and Akakus Fms) megasequence, which includes the Upper Ordovician glaciogenic unit (Mamuniyat Fm.), bounded at the base by a polygenic glacial erosion surface showing corrugated glacial lineations, tillites, and glaciotectonic structures. The Middle Ordovician to Silurian megasequence is finally truncated by a base-Devonian, angular unconformity overlain by fluvial sandstones. Regarding the possibility that those fluvial deposits may be as younger as Late Devonian in the eastern Murzuq Basin based on palaeoflora, the so-called Caledonian unconformity might be here a much younger (mid-Eifelian?) surface, and the occurrence of the Lower Devonian “Tadrart Fm.” is questioned. The Upper Ordovician glacial erosion surface, which is sometimes referred to as the Taconic unconformity, usually truncates Middle Ordovician strata in the Murzuq Basin but reaches significantly deeper stratigraphic levels in places that have been previously involved in the intra-Ordovician deformation event. In the Murizidié (southeastern Murzuq Basin), the infra-Tassilian surface, the intra-Ordovician unconformity, and the Upper Ordovician glacial erosion surface amalgamate together. Here, an estimate of the glacial erosion depth cannot be derived from the stratigraphic hiatus beneath the glacial incision, the main part of which relate to the intra-Ordovician tectonic event. The Upper Ordovician climate-related glacial erosion surface is not a valid unconformity for a sequence hierarchy framework of the Lower Palaeozoic, although it presents most of the physical attributes of tectonic-driven unconformities.     

Ordovician K-bentonites in the upper-plate active margin of Western Gondwana, (Famatina Ranges): Stratigraphic and palaeogeographic significance

Numerous, thin-bedded, tabular pale-yellowish clay bands are interlayered with black shales in a biostratigraphically constrained Early Ordovician volcano-sedimentary succession at Famatina, western Argentina. This region was part of a fairly continuous upper-plate, convergent volcanic chain that fringed western Gondwana. Mineralogy on both clay and non-clay fractions, whole rock chemistry and field observations on these distinctive event-beds indicate that they originated as relatively coarse fallout tephras, altered first into bentonites and later, through burial metamorphism, into K-bentonites (metabentonites). These tephras were deposited as single crystals and glassy dust or pumiceous fragments in a restricted subtidal environment. The region of Famatina has previously been inferred as the source of abundant distal K-bentonites recorded in the adjacent lower-plate allochthonous Precordillera terrane. However, these K-bentonites within the proximal arc site were unknown and rather unexpected since they are generally better preserved like distal deposits, associated either with central vent plinian–ultraplinian eruptions or with accompanying co-ignimbrite ash clouds. Their chemistry and comparison with those K-bentonites in the Precordillera allow tracing an evolution from volcanic arcs into continental crust. K-bentonites described in this paper are much older than those recorded in the adjacent Precordillera terrane and seem to be associated with a first eruptive period along western Gondwana that has no counterpart in the Argentine Precordillera, suggesting a significant longitudinal separation between these two regions by the Early Ordovician.     

Carbon isotope composition of Upper Cambrian to Lower Ordovician carbonate in Korea,and its bearing on the Cambrian–Ordovician boundary and Lower Ordovician paleoceanography

This study presents an example of locating Cambrian–Ordovician boundary in the lower Paleozoic carbonate succession in Korea using carbon isotope stratigraphy. The Yeongweol Unit of the lower Paleozoic Joseon Supergroup comprises the Upper Cambrian Wagok Formation and the Lower Ordovician Mungok Formation in the Cambrian–Ordovician transition interval. Conventionally, the boundary was placed at the lithostratigraphic boundary between the two formations. This study reveals that the boundary is positioned in the basal part of the Mungok Formation based on the carbon isotope stratigraphy coupled with biostratigraphic information of conodont and trilobite faunas. The δ¹³C curve of the Lower Ordovician Mungok Formation shows a similar trend to that of the coeval stratigraphic interval of Argentine Precordillera (Buggisch et al., 2003), suggesting that the δ¹³C curve of the Mungok Formation reflects the Early Ordovician global carbon cycle.     

Ordovician collision of the Argentine Precordillera with Gondwana, independent of Laurentian Taconic orogeny

The Argentine Precordillera, a rifted fragment of Laurentian crust and sedimentary cover, collided with Gondwana in Middle Ordovician time; the time of collision (Ocloyic orogeny) is similar to that of the Taconic orogeny of eastern Laurentia. Three hypotheses have been proposed to explain Ordovician docking of the Precordillera with western Gondwana: (A) the Precordillera microcontinent was rifted from Laurentia in Cambrian time and, following solitary drift, collided with Gondwana, independent of the Laurentian Taconic orogeny; (B) a continent–continent collision of Laurentia with Gondwana, producing a continuous Taconic–Ocloyic orogenic belt, was followed by rifting that left the Precordillera attached to Gondwana; and (C) the Precordillera at the tip of a distal plateau on greatly stretched Laurentian crust collided with Gondwana and subsequently separated from Laurentia.Contrasts in several aspects of Taconic and Ocloyic orogenic history provide for discrimination between the microcontinent and continent–continent-collision hypotheses. Stratigraphic gradients and lithologic assemblages within the synorogenic clastic wedges are incompatible with a single continuous orogenic belt, which, in palinspastic location, places the thin, fine-grained southern fringe of the Taconic clastic wedge adjacent to the thickest and coarsest part of the Ocloyic clastic wedge. Separate temporal and spatial distribution patterns of volcanic ash (bentonite) beds in Laurentia and the Precordillera indicate originally separate dispersal systems. Late Ordovician Hirnantian Gondwanan glacial deposits in the Precordillera indicate substantial latitudinal separation from Laurentia. Post-collision faults with large vertical separation in the Precordillera have no coeval counterparts on the Laurentian foreland. These contrasts indicate originally separate (not initially continuous, and subsequently dismembered) orogenic belts, favoring the microcontinent hypothesis and eliminating the continent–continent-collision hypothesis.Initial Taconic tectonic loading near the southern corner of the Alabama promontory of Laurentia and the lack of post-Taconic extension there are inconsistent with the tectonic history required by the plateau hypothesis, but are consistent with the tectonic history required by the microcontinent hypothesis. Paleobiogeography, distribution of bentonite beds, and the Hirnantian glacial deposits, all indicate wide separation (Iapetus Ocean) between the Precordillera and southern Laurentia at the time of the Ocloyic and Taconic orogenies, further favoring the microcontinent hypothesis.     

Caledonian high-pressure metamorphism in the Strona-Ceneri Zone (Southern Alps of southern Switzerland and northern Italy)

The Strona-Ceneri Zone comprises a succession of polymetamorphic, pre-Alpidic basement rocks including ortho- and paragneisses, metasedimentary schists, amphibolites, and eclogites. The rock pile represents a Late Proterozoic or Palaeozoic subduction accretion complex that was intruded by Ordovician granitoids. Eclogites, which occur as lenses within the ortho-paragneiss succession and as xenoliths within the granitoids record a subduction related high-pressure event (D1) with peak metamorphic conditions of 710 ± 30 °C at 21.0 ± 2.5 kbar. After isothermal uplift, the eclogites experienced a Barrowtype (D2) tectonometamorphic overprint under amphibolite facies conditions (570-630 °C, 7-9 kbar). U-Pb dating on zircon of the eclogites gives a metamorphic age of 457 ± 5 Ma, and syn-eclogite facies rutile gives a ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 443 ± 19 Ma classifying the subduction as a Caledonian event. These data show that the main tectonometamorphic evolution of the Strona-Ceneri Zone most probably took place in a convergent margin scenario, in which accretion, eclogitization of MOR-basalt, polyphase (D1 and D2) deformation, anatexis and magmatism all occurred during the Ordovician. Caledonian high-pressure metamorphism, subsequent magmatism and Barrow-type metamorphism are believed to be related to subduction and collision within the northern margin of Gondwana. Editorial handling: Edwin Gnos     

The Allochthony of the Argentine Precordillera Ten Years Later (1993–2003): A New Paleobiogeographic Test of the Microcontinental Model

Recent and new faunal data from the Cambrian to Silurian rocks of the Precordillera, Famatina and Northwest Argentina basins are used to discriminate between different paleogeographic models, and especially to establish to what extent they are compatible with a previous conclusion that the Precordillera is a Laurentian-derived microcontinent. There is no paleontological evidence to support a para-autochthonous Gondwanan origin of the Precordillera. The strong differences in the Cambrian trilobite faunas and lithologic successions preclude a common origin of the Precordillera terrane, eastern Antarctica and South Africa. Recent discoveries of brachiopods and organisms of the Phylum Agmata strengthened Laurentian affinities during the Cambrian. The latest Cambrian-early Ordovician faunas that inhabited the autochthonous Northwest Argentina basin, including the western Puna volcaniclastic successions, are mostly peri-Gondwanan. The early Ordovician brachiopods, ostracods and trilobites display mixed Laurentian, Baltic and Avalonian biogeographical links supporting a drifting of the Precordillera across the Iapetus Ocean. Increasing Gondwanan elements during the Llanvirn, along with varied geological evidence, indicate that the first stages of collision may have begun at that time, involving a major change in the plate kinematics. The distribution of facies and faunas, basin development, and timing of deformation are interpreted as resulting from a north to south diachronous closing of the remnant basin during the last phases of convergence and oblique collision of the Precordillera terrane with the Gondwana margin. The high level of endemism of Caradoc faunas may be a consequence of the rearrangement and partial isolation of sedimentary areas during the strike-slip movement of the colliding Precordillera plate with respect to the Gondwana margin. Suggested relationships between facies distribution, geographic barriers and faunal migrations before and during the collision are depicted in a series of schematic reconstructions at five time slices from late Cambrian to Silurian.     

K-bentonite,black-shale and flysch successions at the Ordovician–Silurian transition,South China: Possible sedimentary responses to the accretion of Cathaysia to the Yangtze Block and its implications for the evolution of Gondwana

The K-bentonite, black shale and flysch successions at the Ordovician–Silurian transition in South China have been the subject of comprehensive investigations relative to the probable accretion of the Yangtze Block and the questionable Cathaysia Block. First, the geochemical analyses of K-bentonites show that the parent magma originated in syn-collisional, volcanic-arc and within-plate tectonic settings, which produced mainly intermediate-to-felsic series magmas, associated with continuous collision and subduction of paleo-continental blocks/arcs. Further, the regional distribution of K-bentonite thickness indicates that voluminous explosive volcanism was located in the present southeastern shoreline provinces of China. Secondly, northwestwardly migrating, Ordovician–Silurian, transitional flysch successions, and the accompanying diachronous K-bentonite-bearing black-shale interval, as well as the related, overlying, shallowing-upward succession at the interior of the Yangtze Block, developed as an unconformity-bound sequence that mirrors foreland-basin tectophase cycles in the Appalachian basin. The above features suggest that the sequence accumulated in a similar foreland basin, which formed in response to adjacent deformational loading in a northwesterly migrating orogen located to the southeast. Geochemical and paleocurrent data from the turbiditic flyschoid sandstones also support these depositional settings. Accordingly, it seems that all criteria strongly support the presence of an Ordovician–Silurian, subduction-related orogen resulting from collision with a block to the southeast that must have been the original “Cathaysia Block” of Grabau and later workers. The K-bentonite, black-shale and flysch successions can be regarded as distal, foreland responses to the continuous northwestward collision and accretion of the Cathaysia Block to the Yangtze Block. Hence, we prefer to suggest that the suture zone with the sensu stricto Cathaysia Block probably developed along previously identified late Early Paleozoic suture relicts in the shoreline provinces of southeast China. On the other hand, although accretion of fragments with Cathaysian affinities to the Yangtze Block may have begun as early as Middle to Late Proterozoic time, the Ordovician–Silurian orogeny described above probably reflects the final phase of accretion between the two blocks. Moreover, when combined with similar peri-Iapetan orogenic events in other areas during the same period, this accretion event may have been part of a major stage of global tectonic reconstruction in the evolution of Gondwana.     

Distribution of Palaeozoic tectonic superimposed unconformities in the Tarim Basin,NW China: significance for the evolution of palaeogeomorphology and sedimentary response

Seismic and drilling well data were used to examine the occurrence of multiple stratigraphic unconformities in the Tarim Basin, NW China. The Early Cambrian, the Late Ordovician and the late Middle Devonian unconformities constitute three important tectonic sequence boundaries within the Palaeozoic succession. In the Tazhong, Tabei, Tadong uplifts and the southwestern Tarim palaeo‐uplift, unconformities obviously belong to superimposed unconformities. A superimposed unconformity is formed by superimposition of unconformities of multiple periods. Areas where superimposed unconformities develop are shown as composite belts of multiple tectonic unconformities, and as higher uplift areas of palaeo‐uplifts in palaeogeomorphologic units. The contact relationship of unconformities in the lower uplift areas is indicative of truncation‐overlap. A slope belt is located below the uplift areas, and the main and secondary unconformities are characterized by local onlap reflection on seismic profiles. The regional dynamics controlled the palaeotectonic setting of the Palaeozoic rocks in the Tarim Basin and the origin and evolution of the basin constrained deposition. From the Sinian to the Cambrian, the Tarim landmass and its surrounding areas belonged to an extensional tectonic setting. Since the Late Ordovician, the neighbouring north Kunlun Ocean and Altyn Ocean was transformed from a spreading ocean basin to a closed compressional setting. The maximum compression was attained in the Late Ordovician. The formation of a tectonic palaeogeomorphologic evolution succession from a cratonic margin aulacogen depression to a peripheral foreland basin in the Early Caledonian cycle controlled the deposition of platform, platform margin, and deep‐water basin. Tectonic uplift during the Late Ordovician resulted in a shallower basin which was followed by substantial erosion. Subsequently, a cratonic depression and peripheral or back‐arc foreland basin began their development in the Silurian to Early–Middle Devonian interval. In this period, the Tabei Uplift, the Northern Depression and the southern Tarim palaeo‐uplift showed obvious control on depositional systems, including onshore slope, shelf and deep‐water basin. The southern Tarim Plate was in a continuous continental compressional setting after collision, whereas the southern Tianshan Ocean began to close in the Early Ordovician and was completely closed by the Middle Devonian. At the same time, further compression from peripheral tectonic units in the eastern and southern parts of the Tarim Basin led to the expansion of palaeo‐uplift in the Late Devonian–Early Carboniferous interval, and the connection of the Tabei Uplift and Tadong Uplift, thus controlling onshore, fluvial delta, clastic coast, lagoon‐bay and shallow marine deposition. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multiple accretion at the eastern margin of the Rio de la Plata craton: the prolonged Brasiliano orogeny in southernmost Brazil

The Neoproterozoic-Eoplalaeozoic Brasiliano orogeny at the eastern margin of the Rio de la Plata craton in southernmost Brazil and Uruguay comprises a complex tectonic history over 300?million years. The southern Brazilian Shield consists of a number of tectono-stratigraphic units and terranes. The S?o Gabriel block in the west is characterized by c.760?C690?Ma supracrustal rocks and calc-alkaline orthogneisses including relics of older, c. 880?Ma old igneous rocks. Both igneous and metasedimentary rocks have positive ??Nd(t) values and Neoproterozoic TDM model ages; they formed in magmatic arc settings with only minor input of older crustal sources. A trondhjemite from the S?o Gabriel block intruding dioritc and tonalitic gneisses during the late stages of deformation (D₃) yield an U?CPb zircon age (LA-ICP-MS) of 701?±?10?Ma giving the approximate minimum age of the S?o Gabriel accretionary event. The Encantadas block further east, containing the supracrustal Porongos belt and the Pelotas batholith, is in contrast characterized by reworking of Neoarchean to Palaeoproterozoic crust. The 789?±?7?Ma zircon age of a metarhyolite intercalated with the metasedimentary succession of the Porongos belt provides a time marker for the basin formation. Zircons of a sample from tonalitic gneisses, constituting the Palaeoproterozoic basement of the Porongos belt, form a cluster at 2,234?±?28?Ma, interpreted as the tonalite crystallization age. Zircon rims show ages of 2,100?C2,000?Ma interpreted as related to a Palaeoproterozoic metamorphic event. The Porongos basin formed on thinned continental crust in an extensional or transtensional regime between c. 800?C700?Ma. The absence of input from Neoproterozoic juvenile sources into the Porongos basin strongly indicates that the Encantadas and S?o Gabriel blocks were separated terranes that became juxtaposed next to each other during the Brasiliano accretional events. The tectonic evolution comprises two episodes of magmatic arc accretion to the eastern margin of the Rio de la Plata craton, (i) accretion of an intra-oceanic arc at c. 880?Ma (Passinho event) and (ii) accretion of the 760?C700?Ma Cambaí/Vila Nova magmatic arc (S?o Gabriel event). The latter event also includes the collision of the Encantadas block with the Rio de la Plata craton to the west. Collision and crustal thickening was followed by sinistral shear along SW?CNE-trending orogen-parallel crustal-scale shear zones that can be traced from southern Brazil to Uruguay and have been active between 660 and 590?Ma. Voluminous granitic magmatism in the Pelotas batholith spatially related to shear zones is interpreted as late- to post-orogenic magmatism, possibly assisted by lithospheric delamination. It marks the transition to the post-orogenic molasse stage. Localized deformation by reactivation of preexisting shear zones continued until c. 530?Ma and can be assigned to final stages of the amalgamation of West Gondwana.     

Geology and structural history of the southwest Precordillera margin, northern Mendoza Province, Argentina

Rocks and structures in the southwest Precordillera terrane, located in western Argentina, constrain the Paleozoic distribution of continents and the development of the western margin of Gondwana. Detailed mapping of an area in the southwest Precordillera allowed identification of several pre-Carboniferous rock units formed in distinct tectonic environments and were later tectonically juxtaposed. The pre-Carboniferous rock units comprise carbonate metasiltstone, metasandstone, massive diabase, and quartzo-feldspathic gneiss intruded by ultramafic rocks and layered gabbro. Preliminary structural analysis indicates that the present distribution of units is due to two contractional deformation episodes, an east-directed Devonian ductile event and a west-directed Tertiary brittle event. The metasedimentary rocks, which form the structural base of the area and are part of the western Precordilleran passive margin sequence, were juxtaposed along minor ductile shear zones early in the ductile event. Their contact was then folded during continued ductile deformation; at this time the ultramafic/layered gabbro complex and the massive diabase were emplaced over the metasedimentary units along narrow ductile shear zones. Brittle deformation, associated with the Andean orogeny, involved open folding, thrust faulting, and reactivation of some ductile features.     

塔里木盆地奥陶纪碳酸盐岩台地的层序结构演化及其对盆地过程的响应

塔里木盆地奥陶纪的碳酸盐岩台地发育有长达3千余千米的台地边缘带。通过综合大量的地震、钻井及野外剖面的分析,奥陶纪碳酸盐岩系中识别出4个以不整合面为界的复合（二级）层序。它们均显示出从上超的水进沉积到进积或加积的高位域的沉积结构。其内可进一步划分出10个沉积层序或三级层序。它们的组合和分布决定着碳酸盐台地沉积层序结构的基本特征。沉积层序的水进早期或高位域晚期以颗粒灰岩、生物灰岩等沉积相组合为主;而水进期或高位域早期则以泥晶-粉晶灰岩、簿层白云质灰岩等沉积相组合为主。古地貌恢复并结合钻井资料的沉积相分析揭示出,盆地东北部早、中奥陶世的碳酸盐岩台地边缘的分布受到满加尔深水凹陷的边缘斜坡带古构造地貌的控制,形成一向西凸的弧形碳酸盐岩台地边缘带,沿台地边缘发育有礁-滩沉积复合体。中奥陶世的构造古地理变革使盆内的碳酸盐岩台地分异成塔中、塔北、塘南等多个孤立台地,并由深水、半深水的凹陷所分隔。台地边缘的发育和分布常受古隆起边缘的控制。沿台地边缘的礁、滩相带为重要的有利储集层发育带。中奥陶统中央隆起带缺失中奥陶世早期和晚奥陶世早期沉积,并形成了大范围分布的喀斯特岩溶不整合面。喀斯特岩溶体系以发育垂向的、由断裂控制的串珠状洞穴和多层状分布的岩溶洞穴为特征。
     跨盆地不同构造带的井-震结合解释剖面的追踪对比表明,盆内与二级、三级层序对应的海进-海退旋回是同时变化的,并与Haq的海平面变化曲线可对比。这反映出盆地范围的或全球海平面变化对沉积旋回结构的发育具有控制作用。盆地西缘露头剖面和盆内钻井岩心的碳、氧同位素分析也为海平面变化的旋回结构分析提供了制约。主要海平面下降期的氧同位素δ18O都发生了明显的正偏。盆内晚奥陶世的海平面总体是呈上升趋势的,晚奥陶世中期海平面的上升导致了盆内碳酸盐岩台地的总体淹没。     

The passive margin of northern Gondwana during Early Paleozoic: Evidence from the central Tibet Plateau

The central–south domain of the Tibet Plateau represents an important part of the northern segment of Gondwana during the early Paleozoic. Here we present zircon U–Pb, Lu–Hf isotope, and whole–rock geochemical data from a suite of early Paleozoic magmatic rocks from the central Tibet Plateau, with a view to gain insights into the nature and geotectonic evolution of the northern margin of Gondwana. Zircon grains in four granitic rocks yielded ages of 532−496 Ma with negative ε_Hf(t) values (−13.7 to −0.6). Zircon grains in meta–basalt and mafic gneiss yielded ages of 512 ± 5 Ma and 496 ± 6 Ma, respectively. Geochemically, the granitic rocks belong to high–K calc–alkaline and shoshonitic S–type granite suite, with the protolith derived from the partial melting of ancient crustal components. The mafic gneiss and meta–basalt geochemically resemble OIB (Oceanic Island Basalt) and E–MORB (Enriched Mid–Ocean Ridge Basalt), respectively. They were derived from low degree (∼5–10%) partial melting of an enriched mantle (garnet and spinel lherzolite) that was contaminated by upper crustal components. The parental magmas experienced orthopyroxene–dominated fractional crystallization. Sedimentological features of the Cambrian–Ordovician formations indicate that the depositional cycle transformed from marine regression to transgression leading to the formation of parallel/angular unconformities between the Cambrian and Ordovician strata. The hiatus associated with these unconformities are coupled with the peak of the early Paleozoic magmatism in Tibet Plateau, indicating a tectonic control. We conclude that the Cambrian–Ordovician magmatic suite and sedimentary rocks formed in an extensional setting, and we correlate this with the post–peak stage of the Pan–African orogeny. The post–collision setting associated with delamination, orogenic collapse or lithospheric extension along the northern margin of Gondwana, can account for the Cambrian–Ordovician magmatism and sedimentation, rather than oceanic subduction along the external margin. We thus infer a passive margin setting for the northern Gondwana during the Early Paleozoic.     

Proterozoic–Early Paleozoic evolution in western South America—a discussion

The hypothesis of exotic terranes in Perú, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile generated discussions on the mode of transfer and extent of accretional events that may have occurred in the southern Andes during the Late Proterozoic–Early Paleozoic. Initially, a tectogenesis based on autochthonous mobile fold belts was discussed. Following ideas emphasised the fragmentation of the supercontinent Rodinia, Laurentia moving along the West Gondwana border and colliding with the Gondwana western margin. The most important effect of this Laurentia/Gondwana relationship was attributed to the Argentine Precordillera (or Cuyania) terrane splitting off from Laurentia and docking to Gondwana in the Early Paleozoic. In this study, the most cited arguments for this Laurentia/Precordillera relationship are discussed, emphasising paleontological considerations. It is shown that these arguments do not exclude a close original vicinity of the Precordillera terrane to Gondwana.The Precordillera terrane is suggested to be part of a hypothetical platform, which developed between South America, Africa and Antarctica (SAFRAN platform), and which was displaced to its actual position by transcurrent faults. The collisional events in the Sierras Pampeanas ensued from strike–slip movements and were responsible for the S and I type transpressional magmatism along the Pampean and Famatinian terranes. The final result of this continent-parallel movement of terrane slices is similar to that of a terrane split off from Laurentia, but the first-named way of formation easier explains the general continuity of plate convergence at the western border of Gondwana than the Laurentia/Precordillera connection does.     

A Late Ordovician high-energy temperate-water carbonate ramp,southern Quebec,Canada: implications for Late Ordovician oceanography*

The Trenton Group (Late Ordovician), the youngest carbonate unit in the Taconic foreland basin of southern Quebec, is a tripartite unit with a distinctive coarse-grained middle part, the Deschambault Formation. Lithofacies of the Deschambault Formation are dominated by coarse-grained bioclastic/intraclastic limestones; finer-grained lithofacies are ubiquitous but subordinate. The complete spectrum of lithofacies indicates sedimentation ranging from above fairweather- to below storm-wave base. Skeletal components are indicative of the modern temperate-water bryomol association. Non-skeletal elements are represented by peloids and intraclasts. Accretion rates from areas of continuous sedimentation were low (<14 cm/10³ years). From sedimentological and faunal evidence, it is proposed that the Late Ordovician Deschambault ramp was bathed by temperate waters. The model compares favourably with modern cool-water shelves rimming the southern edge of the Australian continent. Palaeomagnetic data locate southern Quebec in a low latitudinal setting during the Late Ordovician. Upper Ordovician facies distribution in eastern Canada and progressive disappearance of some faunal provinces through Late Ordovician time are used to conclude that the initiation of the Late Ordovician glaciation that covered most of Gondwana was instrumental in easing northward movement of cold oceanic currents. This resulted in the rapid contraction of the southern hemisphere warm-water tropical belt from a 30° latitudinal-wide zone in the early Caradoc to a 15° zone in the late Caradoc.     

Early Paleozoic and Andean structural evolution in the Rio Jáchal section of the Argentine Precordillera

In the fold-and-thrust belt of the northern Argentine Precordillera, Early Paleozoic basin and slope sediments are affected by a folding event which was combined with a slight greenschist facies metamorphism. The structural geometries are influenced by the former normal faulted boundary towards the eastern carbonate platform. To the east of the slope, Early Paleozoic marine deposits record a ˜ W-vergent folding without a clear metamorphic overprint. This deformation probably took place in the Devonian to pre-Upper Carboniferous interval while in the west an onset during the Late Silurian is reasonable. During Andean (Late Tertiary) compression, the escarpment was again reactivated as an important, east-directed thrust fault, and the folded strata to the east were juxtaposed along distinct, east-directed high-angle reverse faults with some ˜ N-S fold structures interfering with pre-Tertiary folds. Hence, the present architecture of this part of the orogen was largely influenced by different Early Paleozoic depositional realms and structures of one pre-Tertiary compressional event. The latter can be linked with the collision of the Sierras Pampeanas basement complex at the eastern margin of the Precordillera and be related to the collision with the Chilenia Terrane in the west.     

Conodont geothermometry of the lower Paleozoic from the Precordillera (Cuyania terrane), northwestern Argentina

The thermal history of the Precordillera terrane of northwestern Argentina has been constrained by the conodont colour alteration index (CAI) in combination with previously published paleothermal data (e.g., illite crystallinity and clay mineral assemblages). The pattern of paleotemperatures displays an increase in paleotemperatures to the west and south of the basin. This configuration shows a gradual and continuous transition from diagenesis to low-grade metamorphism, which is apparently not controlled by any of the morpho-structural subdivisions of the Precordillera (i.e., Western, Central, or Eastern). According to our results, the lower Paleozoic sedimentary burial played a secondary role in the heating of the Precordillera. Instead, the predominant component was loading by thrust sheets, which reflects the effects of the Devonian collision of Chilenia, particularly, in the Western Precordillera. Conversely, our paleothermometric data from the easternmost exposures of the Precordillera do not evidence anomalies referable to any of the accretionary events that contributed to the early Paleozoic building of the southern proto-Andean margin of Gondwana. Instead, the expected thermally altered conodonts from the Cuyania accretion are represented by metamorphosed conodont elements transported to the deeper settings of the west. The CAI data also suggest that overburden depth varied from ca. 3.6 km in the shelf region of the Eastern Precordillera to ca. 12 km in the slope to rise deposits of the Western Precordillera, thus providing constrains for the palinspastic restoration across the orogen. On the other hand, the smooth increase of peak paleotemperatures to the south of the Precordillera is associated with the exposure of deeper crustal levels at that sector, probably related to larger shortening due to stronger collisional effects, or alternatively, a weaker mechanical response of its elastic lithosphere.     

Late Pleistocene and early Holocene drainage events in the eastern Fehmarn Belt and Mecklenburg Bight,SW Baltic Sea

The Fehmarn Belt is a key area for the Late Pleistocene and Holocene development of the Baltic Sea as it was a passage for marine and fresh water during its different stages. The pre‐Holocene geological development of this area is presented based on the analysis of seismic profiles and sedimentary gravity cores. Late Pleistocene varve sediments of the initial Baltic Ice Lake were identified. An exceptionally thick varve layer, overlain by a section of thinner varves with convolute bedding in turn covered by undisturbed varves with decreasing thicknesses is found in the Fehmarn Belt. This succession, along with a change in varve geochemistry, represents a rapid ice‐sheet withdrawal and increasingly distal sedimentation in front of the ice margin. Two erosional unconformities are observed in the eastern Mecklenburg Bight, one marking the top of the initial Baltic Ice Lake deposits and the second one indicating the end of the final Baltic Ice Lake. These unconformities join in Fehmarn Belt, where deposits of the final Baltic Ice Lake are missing due to an erosional hiatus related to a lake‐level drop during its final drainage. After this lake‐level drop, a lowstand environment represented by river deposits developed. These deposits are covered by lake marls of Yoldia age. Tilting of the early glacial lake sediments indicates a period of vertical movements prior to the onset of the Holocene. Deposits of the earliest stages of the Baltic Sea have been exposed by ongoing erosion in the Fehmarn Belt at the transition to the Mecklenburg Bight.     

Composition of Ordovician Algoflora of Argentine Precordillera and Its Significance for the Formation of Organic Structures

The Argentine Precordillera, which was part of Gondwana in the Ordovician, is characterized by complex geological evolution, which is reflected in a series of bioevents evident from paleontological data (trilobites, conodonts, brachiopods, graptolites, etc.). An important role also belonged to calcareous algoflora as a major constituent of reefs, which is the main focus of the paper. Some calcareous algae are revised.     

Upper Ordovician facies in the Lac Saint-Jean outlier, Québec (eastern Canada): palaeoenvironmental significance for Late Ordovician oceanography

Upper Ordovician (Caradocian) carbonates of eastern North America were deposited along the Iapetus continental margin and record a transition from warm- to cool-water settings despite this margin having been within the southern hemisphere tropical belt. This event has been documented from Virginia (USA) to southern Québec (Canada) although, not previously from areas close to the palaeoequator. Field, petrographic and major element geochemistry data have been gathered from the poorly-known Upper Ordovician carbonate succession outcropping in the Lac Saint-Jean outlier in central Québec. The succession consists of a lower siliciclastic formation (Tremblay) overlain by three limestone formations (Simard, Shipshaw and Galets) and capped by shales (Pointe-Bleue Shale). From macro- and microfaunal evidence, carbonate sedimentation occurred during the late Caradoc and is younger than the early- to mid-Caradoc carbonate succession present farther south. Relative sea level fluctuations recorded in the sediments suggest an overall sea level rise briefly halted by a minor end-Caradocian sea level fall. The lower limestone formation (Simard) consists of muddy sediments with algal-coral-stromatoporoid boundstones; green algae are abundant. This unit reflects low energy sedimentation on a shallow warm-water carbonate ramp colonized by a diverse chlorozoan fauna. The upper limestone formation (Galets) is typified by coarse-grained bioclastic sediments punctuated by numerous phosphate-rich hardgrounds with evidence for high energy shallow marine conditions. Faunas were dominated by crinoids and bryozoans. This unit represents high energy sedimentation on a cool shallow water carbonate ramp colonized by a brynoderm faunal association. Between both units, a deeper marine (outer shelf) limestone formation (Shipshaw) was developed. In the Lac Saint-Jean area, a transition from warm- to cool-water carbonate ramps occurred in latest Caradoc times and is litho- and biofacies-wise, similar to what is documented for lower Caradocian limestones present farther south. Upwelling of nutrient-rich cool bottom oceanic waters was a probable cause for this transition.     

Synthesis of Palaeozoic deformational events and terrane accretion in the Canadian Appalachians

Plate tectonic theory predicts that most deformation is associated with subduction and terrane accretion, with some deformation associated with transform/transcurrent movements. Deformation associated with subduction varies between two end members: (1) where the tectonic regime is dominated by subduction of oceanic lithosphere containing small terranes, a narrow surface zone of accretionary deformation along the subduction zone starts diachronously on the subducting plate at the trench as material is transferred from the subducting plate to the over-riding plate; and (2) where continent-continent collision is occurring, a wide surface zone of accretionary deformation starts synchronously or with limited diachronism. Palaeozoic deformational events in the Canadian Appalachians correspond to narrow diachronous events in the Ordovician and Silurian, whereas Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian deformational events are widespread and broadly synchronous. Along the western side of the Canadian Appalachians, the Taconian deformational event starts diachronously throughout the Ordovician and corresponds to the north-north-west accretion of the Notre Dame, Ascot-Weedon, St Victor and various ophiolitic massifs (volcanic arc and peri-arc terranes) over cratonic North America. Within the eastern half of the Central Mobile Belt, the Late Cambrian-Early Ordovician Penobscotian deformational event corresponds to the ?south-easterly accretion of the Exploits subzone (various volcanic are and peri-arc terranes) over the Gander Zone (?continental rise). In the centre of the orogen, the Late Ordovician-Silurian Beothukan deformational event corresponds to the south-easterly accretion of the Notre Dame over the Exploits-Gander subzones. Along the south-eastern side of the Central Mobile Belt, the Silurian Ganderian deformational event corresponds to the north-north-east, sinistral transcurrent accretion of the Avalon Composite Terrane (microcontinent) over the Gander-Exploits zones. Along the south-eastern half of the orogen, the Late Silurian-Middle Devonian Acadian deformation event corresponds to the westerly accretion of the Meguma terrane (intradeep or continental rise) over the Avalon Composite Terrane. Affecting the entire orogen, the Late Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian, Acadian-Alleghanian deformational events correspond to the east-west convergence between Laurentia and Gondwana (continent-continent collision).