Speculations on the genesis of crinoidal limestones in the Tethyan Jurassic

Crinoidal limestones in the Tethyan Jurassic often occur capping reef or carbonate-platform successions, and these bioclastic deposits commonly exhibit a lensoid form. They may also occur in tectonic fissures or as turbidites in basinal sequences. Their age is commonly Liassic, though they may be younger.The crinoidal lenses are here interpreted as sand-waves formed on current-swept pelagic seamounts; and a parallel may be drawn with the Blake Plateau where partly lithified carbonate sand bodies, albeit composed of globigerines and pteropods, have recently been described. The Liassic was a time when many seamounts were formed by block-faulting of reefs and carbonate platforms, and this explains the widespread distribution of crinoidal deposits of this age. Autochthonous crinoidal calcarenites may characterise an early shallow-water phase of seamount evolution.The presence of kaolinite in many of the west Sicilian examples of this rock type is taken as suggesting the former presence of exposed and lateritised areas, oceanic islands, which may also have furnished a food supply for the crinoid gardens.The formation of nodular crinoidal limestones, which occur in some Tethyan localities, is attributed to diagenetic segregation of calcium carbonate.

---

Zusammenfassung Crinoiden-Kalke treten im Jura der Tethys oft im unmittelbar Hangenden von Riff-Komplexen oder Karbonat-Plattformen auf, wobei es sich meist um linsenförmige Gesteinskörper handelt. Außerdem treten diese bioklastischen Sedimente in tektonischen Spalten oder als Turbidite mit Becken-Sedimenten assoziiert auf. In den meisten Fällen sind die Crinoiden-Kalke liassischen Alters, zuweilen finden sie sich aber auch in jüngeren Schichtreihen.Wir möchten die hier beschriebenen Crinoiden-Kalklinsen als sand-waves interpretieren, welche von Strömungen auf seamounts in einem pelagischen Ablagerungsraum gebildet wurden. Sie lassen sich mit Ablagerung des Blake Plateau vergleichen, von wo teilweise lithifizierte Karbonatsande, welche allerdings von Globigerinen und Pteropoden aufgebaut werden, beschrieben wurden. Während des Lias entstanden viele seamounts durch differentielle Absenkung der durch liassische Brüche zerstückelten Riff-Komplexe und Karbonat-Plattformen, und dies mag das gehäufte Auftreten von Crinoiden-Kalken im Lias erklären. Autochthone Crinoiden-Kalkarenite scheinen deshalb für erste, relativ untiefe Absenkungsphasen von seamounts charakteristisch zu sein.Kaolinit tritt in vielen liassischen Crinoiden-Kalken West-Siziliens auf, was für gleichzeitige Emersion und Lateritisierung begrenzter Gebiete, wahrscheinlich in der Form von ozeanischen Inseln sprechen würde. Diese Gebiete hätten gleichzeitig organisches Material zur Ernährung der Crinoiden-Rasen geliefert.Knollige Crinoiden-Kalke, welche ebenfalls im Jura der Tethys vorkommen, werden durch frühdiagenetische Umlagerung von Calciumkarbonat erklärt.

---

Résumé Parmi les dépÔts jurassiques de la Tethys, des calcaires à CrinoÏdes reposent souvent directement sur des récifs ou sur des plateformes carbonatées. Dans la plupart des cas, il s'agit de dépots à extension lenticulaire. En outre, les sédiments bioclastiques sont déposés dans des fissures tectoniques ou ils sont intercalés comme turbidites dans les sequences sédimentaires des bassins. Le plus souvent, leur âge est liasique, plus rarement on les trouve dans des niveaux plus élevés.Les dépÔts lenticulaires à CrÏnoides sont interprétés ici comme des dunes sous-marines («sand-waves») qui se forment sur des plateaux plus ou moins profonds («seamounts») dans le domaine pélagique de la mer. Ils peuvent Être comparés avec des dépÔts actuels sur le Blake Plateau. On y a décrit récemment des sables carbonatés, en partie consolidés, formés par des coquilles de Globigérines et de Ptéropodes. Dans la région méditerranéenne, de nombreux plateaux sous-marins se sont formés pendant les temps liasiques où des récifs et des plateformes carbonatées ont été souvent morcelés par des failles. Ceci peut expliquer la fréquence des calcaires à CrinoÏdes pendant l'époque liasique. Des calcarenites à CrinoÏdes déposés sur place pourraient caractériser une première phase d'approfondissement modéré dans l'évolution des plateaux sous-marins.Dans de nombreux calcaires à CrinoÏdes liasiques de la Sicile occidentale, l'on trouve de la caolinite. On pourrait en déduire que des Îlots océaniques à sol latéritique émergaient dans le voisinage. Ils auraient pu fournir en mÊme temps le matériel organique nécessaire pour alimenter les prairies de CrinoÏdes.La génèse des nodules observés dans les calcaires à CrinoÏdes provenant de plusiers localités dans la Tethys pourrait Être expliquée par un déplacement du calcaire pendant les premières phases de la diagénèse.

---

, , , , . - , . — , sand waves, seamounts . Blake Plateau, , . Seamounts , . , seamounts. — - , , . , , .

     

Foliations and shear sense: A modern approach to an old problem

Argument about shear on foliations began in the mid 19^th century and continues to the present day. It results from varying interpretations of what takes place during the development of different types of foliations ranging from slaty cleavages through differentiated crenulation cleavages, schistosity and gneissosity to mylonites. Computer modelling, quantitative microstructural work and monazite dating have provided a unique solution through access to the history of foliation development preserved by porphyroblasts. All foliations involve shear in their development and most can be used to derive a shear sense. The shear sense obtained is consistent between foliation types and accords with recent computer modelling of these structures preserved within porphyroblasts relative to those in the matrix. The asymmetry of curving foliation into a locally developing new one allows determination of the shear sense along the latter foliation in most rocks. The problem of shear on fold limbs and parallelism of foliation and the flattening plane of the strain ellipse is resolved through the partitioning of shearing and shortening components of deformation into zones that anastomose around ellipsoidal domains lying parallel to the XY plane. Conflicts in shear sense occur if multiple reuse or reactivation of foliations is not recognized and allowed for but are readily resolved if taken into account.     

Cyanobacterially generated peloids in laminated,organic-matter rich,limestones: an unobtrusive presence

The late-Kimmeridgian Southern Jura (France) is a carbonate platform where laminated limestones accumulated locally (notably at Orbagnoux). The two types of laminations encountered result either from particle settling in a very quiet environment or from bacterial mat growth. In the latter case, as revealed by acid etching, the dark-coloured laminae result from filamentous cyanobacteria developments, whereas the light-coloured laminae appear, surprisingly, to comprise packed peloids. These peloids are interpreted as originating from the in vivo or shortly post mortem calcification of sheaths of coccoid cyanobacteria in an environment loaded by temporary excess alkalinity (and possible H₂S emissions). Thus, a simple etching treatment reveals the unsuspected, albeit prominent, role of cyanobacteria in the genesis of the limestones from Orbagnoux. As such facies are widespread in Late Jurassic records, the role of cyanobacteria in their formation deserves re-evaluation.     

Investigation of desaturation in an old tunnel and new galleries at an argillaceous site

A numerical investigation of the desaturation process at the argillaceous Tournemire site has been carried out. This desaturation is initialized by the contact of the saturated rock with the ambient air in excavated openings. The used hydraulical model is based on the Richards’ approximation for unsaturated one phase flow coupled with the deformation of a porous medium with anisotropic linearly elastic behavior. In relation to the extent of the desaturated zone around an excavated opening, the intrinsic permeability and the relative permeability have been identified to be the most important model parameters. The mechanical deformation process itself, the seasonal influences and the tunnel lining are less important for the formation of the desaturated zone. The comparison with measured saturation values bares some difficulties but indicates the principle capacity of the applied finite element codes to simulate the desaturation process. The consideration of seasonal changes in humidity in the ambient air results in a constantly recurring desaturation–resaturation cycle in the near field of the openings. This seasonally influenced zone amount 1–2 m and is nearly independent from time and from a variation of model parameters within a reasonable range. The possibility of material weakening in this zone is of special interest, since claystone is a potential host rock for the disposal of radioactive waste.     

Allometry in the pliocene bivalveAstarte omalii: A new look at an old data set

The relationships between ontogeny and phylogeny have been studied for the bivalve Astarte omaliifrom the Lower, Middle, and Upper Pliocene of Belgium using canonical variates analysis, principal components in the form of multivariate allometry, and bivariate power functions or allometric equations. The results indicate that the three samples represent segments of a single evolutionary lineage which is characterized mainly by paedomorphosis where adult descendants are similar to juvenile ancestors. Recapitulation or peramorphosis is only observed for a single parameter. The Lower and Middle Pliocene samples are considered as Astarte omalii omalii,whereas the Upper Pliocene specimens are placed in A. omalii basteroti.The evolutionary trends most likely reflect changes in the living positions of the bivalves.     

Allometry in the pliocene bivalveAstarte omalii: A new look at an old data set

The relationships between ontogeny and phylogeny have been studied for the bivalve Astarte omaliifrom the Lower, Middle, and Upper Pliocene of Belgium using canonical variates analysis, principal components in the form of multivariate allometry, and bivariate power functions or allometric equations. The results indicate that the three samples represent segments of a single evolutionary lineage which is characterized mainly by paedomorphosis where adult descendants are similar to juvenile ancestors. Recapitulation or peramorphosis is only observed for a single parameter. The Lower and Middle Pliocene samples are considered as Astarte omalii omalii,whereas the Upper Pliocene specimens are placed in A. omalii basteroti.The evolutionary trends most likely reflect changes in the living positions of the bivalves.     

Revisiting the Charnian Supergroup: new advances in understanding old rocks

More than two centuries of study have culminated in work that promises to re-write large parts of the stratigraphy, mode of origin, palaeontology, age and structure of the late Precambrian to early Cambrian 'basement' rocks in Charnwood Forest, UK.     

Present recharge of an aquifer in a semi-arid region: an example from the Turonian limestones of the Errachidia basin, Morocco

 The Errachidia basin is composed of three superposed aquifers (Senonian, Turonian limestones and Infracenomanian). The Liassic limestone of the upper Atlas borders the northern part of the basin. The piezometric map of the Turonian aquifer displays a north-south flow, with an inflow area from the Atlas. This recharge hypothesis is demontrated by a discriminant analysis performed on chemical data: the majority of the spots are of sodium choride and hydrogenocarbonate types, while several boreholes are assigned to a calcium hydrogenocarbonate type Jurassic component. ¹⁸O measurements, using the Atlasic gradient δ¹⁸O=–4.18–0.0027 x elevation to estimate the recharge areas, confirm that the recharge area is the basin itself (<1100 m) on the Turonian outcrops, while in the confined part, the Turonian is recharged higher than 1400 m (corresponding to the Atlas). This contribution ranges from 56 to 85%, according to the situation versus the piezometric inflow area. The remainder represents infiltration and vertical leakage from the Senonian layers.     

新旧水系沉积物测量规范应用对比——以长兴林场工作区为例

为了更好地取得找矿效果,对和龙长兴林场工作区采取了-2 mm(10目)、+0.25 mm(60目)～-2 mm(10目)两个粒级的水系沉积物.测试结果表明,-2 mm与+0.25 mm～-2 mm水系沉积物相比,Sb、Co、Ni、Cu、Zn、Mo元素明显偏高,Ag元素明显偏低,Au、Cr、Pb元素基本不变;聚类分析,若...     

Xenotime in the Lower Buntsandstein of Central Europe: Evidence from cathodoluminescence investigation

Xenotime and zircon in heavy mineral separates of siliciclastic sediments can easily be distinguished by means of cathodoluminescence (CL). All shades of bright blue, yellow and grey to white colours have been reported for zircon while only bottle green to greenish yellow colours have been found in xenotime in heavy mineral separates of Lower Buntsandstein samples as well as in two samples from crystalline rocks from Bahia (Brazil) and the Karpaty Mts. (Slovakia). The CL-spectra of both minerals are commonly dominated by narrow emission bands of rare earth elements, especially Dy³⁺. The two different crystal lattices induce differences in the intensity ratios of the emission lines that are thought to be the reason for the different CL-colours. Additionally, intrinsic broad bands that may occur in the CL-spectra of zircon are missing in the xenotime spectra. The possibility to distinguish minerals with similar optical properties underlines the large potential of cathodoluminescence in sedimentary petrology.     

Diagenetically enhanced bedding in argillaceous platform limestones: stratified cementation and selective compaction

A field and petrographic study has been made of 34 massive beds in argillaceous limestones of open marine platform facies in the U.K. Lithologies include grainstones, packstones, wackestones and lime mudstones. The rocks are of Silurian, Carboniferous and Jurassic ages. Additional information was obtained from other limestones in the U.K., the U.S.A., Canada and continental Europe. The beds are parts of sequences composed of couplets of strata, fissile limestones alternating with hard limestones. In the fissile limestones the effects of mechanical compaction and pressure-dissolution have been concentrated, whereas in the hard limestones they are minimal or absent. Bedding planes visible in outcrop are diagenetic in origin and lie in the middle parts of the fissile limestones where compaction has been most severe. The features produced by pressure-dissolution are dissolution seams and fitted fabric: there are no stylolites. The original carbonate sediments were bioturbated and any structures produced by flowing water were destroyed. The vertical distribution of the bedding planes bears no relation to primary depositional bedding planes which are rare or absent. It is inferred that the strata which were to become the hard limestones were selectively cemented before mechanical compaction had been completed. Thenceforth, mechanical compaction and then pressure-dissolution were concentrated in the less cemented strata: these became the fissile limestones. Pressure-dissolution acted late in the diagenetic history and provided only an insignificant part, if any, of the carbonate for cementation. It is concluded that the orientation of beds (couplets) is parallel to successive sea floors and that the sediments that eventually became single beds accumulated synchronously. Similar couplets in platform limestones of the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian of the U.S.A. extend over thousands of square kilometres. The signal that controlled the initial selective cementation must have been widespread and synchronous and also syndepositional in its timing but otherwise cannot be further defined on the basis of the data so far collected. The presumed order of events was (1) accumulation of carbonate sediment, terrigenous clay and organic matter, (2) hydrodynamic reworking and bioturbation. the latter finally overprinting the former, (3) selective cementation of the more carbonate-rich strata yielding couplets, each consisting of a relatively well-cemented stratum and a poorly cemented stratum, (4) mechanical compaction concentrated in the less cemented strata, (5) pressure-dissolution concentrated in the same strata.     

A new look at an old unconformity: field and geochemical data from James Hutton's original unconformity on the Isle of Arran, Scotland

In the year 1787, while visiting the Isle of Arran in southwestern Scotland, James Hutton made the initial discovery of what is now called an angular unconformity. In his example, Dalradian (Neoproterozoic - Cambrian) metasedimentary rocks are overlain by Early Carboniferous (Dinantian) sedimentary rocks of fluvial origin. The exact position of the plane of unconformity has been uncertain because of the presence of a resistant carbonate-rich zone (cornstone) on the Dalradian paleosurface. Whereas the unconformity was previously placed in an erosional re-entrant beneath the prominent carbonate-rich layer, it should be located at the contact between the Dalradian metasedimentary rocks, including those affected by cornstone formation, and overlying Dinantian pebbly sandstones. A prominent set of joints in the Dalradian rocks is sub-parallel to bedding in the overlying Carboniferous rocks and has contributed to ambiguity concerning placement of the plane of unconformity. A second exposure of Hutton's unconformity, at the SW end of the same small Carboniferous outlier on the Arran coast, displays the contact relationships unambiguously. Geochemical investigation of samples from the new locality shows that the cornstones are enriched in CaO, volatiles (LOI), MgO, and MnO. Formation of the cornstone involved replacement of siliciclastic Dalradian metasediments by dolomite. Relative to the fresh Dalradian rocks, the cornstones are depleted in most trace elements, but display enrichment in Sr, Y, Cu, and REE. The cornstone is enriched in REE in a systematic fashion, with a particularly strong concentration of MREE. A mirror-image pattern in the associated Dalradian rocks suggests that the REE enrichment observed in the cornstone is a result of leaching from the country rocks by groundwater, followed by evaporative concentration.     

Fenestral limestones: Specific features of late Devonian seas in the Timan-northern Ural region

The article is dedicated to the lithological-paleoecological analysis of Upper Devonian fenestral limestones from different areas of the Timan-northern Ural region, which reflect paleogeographic settings from the coastal zone to the marginal part of the shelf. It is established that their main structural elements are represented by fenestrae, peloids, calcispheres, and occasional microzoo- and phytobenthos remains. The presence of a dark micritic envelope on calcispheres is their specific textural feature. The envelope of calcispheres represents mineralized vegetable mucus, which reflects their planktonic type of dwelling. These structures include representatives of radiolarian skeletons, Charophyceae and Chlorophyceae algae, and foraminiferal tests. The trophic system consists of five levels. Carbonate sediments accumulated in relatively shallowwater and lagoonal settings occupied mostly by tidal and shallow-water subtidal microbial mats. In these lagoons, intermittently limited circulation stimulated the formation of anoxic conditions in bottom waters. Development of anoxic conditions in the bottom water layer, sulfate reduction, and freshwater influence determined the formation of a specific paleocoenosis of fenestral limestones, which could not form biogenic frameworks.     

Ubiquitous low-FeO relict grains in type II chondrules and limited overgrowths on phenocrysts following the final melting event

Type II porphyritic chondrules commonly contain several large (>40 μm) olivine phenocrysts; furnace-based cooling rates based on the assumption that these phenocrysts grew in a single-stage melting-cooling event yield chondrule cooling-rate estimates of 0.01-1 K s⁻¹. Because other evidence indicates much higher cooling rates, we examined type II chondrules in the CO3.0 chondrites that have experienced only minimal parent-body alteration. We discovered three kinds of evidence indicating that only minor (4-10 μm) olivine growth occurred after the final melting event: (1) Nearly all (>90%) type II chondrules in CO3.0 chondrites contain low-FeO relict grains; overgrowths on these relicts are narrow, in the range of 2-12 μm. (2) Most type II chondrules contain some FeO-rich olivine grains with decurved surfaces and acute angles between faces indicating that the grains are fragments from an earlier generation of chondrules; the limited overgrowth thicknesses following the last melting event are too thin to disguise the shard-like nature of these grains. (3) Most type II chondrules contain many small (<20 μm) euhedral or subhedral phenocrysts with central compositions that are much more ferroan than the centers of the large phenocrysts; their small sizes document the small amount of growth that occurred after the final melting event. If overgrowth thicknesses were small (4-10 μm) after the final melting event, it follows that large fractions of coarse (>40 μm) high-FeO phenocrysts are relicts from earlier generations of chondrules, and that cooling rates after the last melting event were much more rapid than indicated by models based on a single melting event. These observations are thus inconsistent with the “classic” igneous model of formation of type II porphyritic chondrules by near-total melting of a precursor mix followed by olivine nucleation on a very limited number of nuclei (say, ≤10) and by growth to produce the large phenocrysts during a period of monotonic (and roughly linear) cooling. Our observations that recycled chondrule materials constitute a large component of the phenocrysts of type II chondrules also imply that this kind of chondrule formed relatively late during the chondrule-forming period.     

The Ediacaran fossils of Charnwood Forest: Shining new light on a major biological revolution

Charnwood Forest (UK) hosts some of the oldest and best-preserved macrofossils known from the Ediacaran. It is the counterpoint to the more widely studied fossil sites of south-eastern Newfoundland (Canada), which include the recently-designated UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mistaken Point. Discoveries made in Charnwood Forest since 2008 have the potential to revolutionise our understanding of the evolution of complex macroscopic life and the subsequent development of ‘modern’ (i.e. Phanerozoic) ecosystems. The sites in Charnwood include the holotypes for several iconic Ediacaran taxa, and potentially both the oldest and youngest representatives of the deep-water Avalon Assemblage. These communities provide a unique opportunity to test models of community ecology, biological endemism and environmental sensitivity and adaptability in the Ediacaran. Here, we review the geology of Charnwood Forest and the palaeobiology of its biotas, and we summarise recent scientific advances in the context of our developing understanding of early macroscopic life. We review the application of Reflectance Transformation Imaging to these ancient communities, and signpost exciting new directions for research in Charnwood Forest, almost 170 years after the fossils were first brought to light.     

Disassociated feathers in Burmese amber shed new light on mid-Cretaceous dinosaurs and avifauna

Even in the absence of associated skeletal material, isolated feathers in amber remain of high scientific interest. The remarkable preservation of these delicate structures in amber implies a potential for significantly improving our knowledge of feather evolution and diversity. A large sample set of 150 Burmese amber specimens (Upper Cretaceous, ~99 Ma) containing feathers is herein described. Several structural types can be differentiated, including flight feathers, contour feathers, semiplumes, and filoplumes. In some cases, peculiar pigmentation patterns and structural features can be documented. Additionally, different developmental stages have been captured in this assemblage with some examples of erupting feathers or neoptile plumage. Comparisons with previous studies, including skeletal material described in amber, show that Enantiornithes and non avialan dinosaurs are most likely represented in the assemblage, as well as unknown taxa.     

Feldspar concentrations in lower Cambrian limestones of the Moroccan Atlas: Pyroclastic vs authigenic processes

Carbonate strata containing abundant euhedral feldspar, usually considered as authigenic, are characteristic of some lower Cambrian exposures in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco. Impure limestones are abundant in the Issendalenian Amouslek Formation of the western Anti-Atlas, and in the Banian Lemdad Formation of the southern High Atlas. Some of their limestone beds contain up to 40% acid insoluble residue, of which feldspar comprises as much as 65% in some samples, the remainder consisting of detrital and authigenic quartz, apatite, pyrite, and clay minerals. The host limestones are bioclastic tempestites, ooidal–oncoidal–bioclastic shoal complexes, archaeocyathan-microbial peri-reef settings (mainly flanks but not reef cores), and microbial reefs. A volcanic origin is adopted for the feldspars based on: (i) fluctuations in feldspar concentration paralleling bedding, but unrelated to host-facies (except for the aforementioned archaeocyathan-microbial reef cores that were controlled by turbidity); (ii) the local association with glassy fragments (with feldspars embedded in glass shards); and (iii) the scattered occurrence of gradational lithofacies from silty tuff to tuffitic limestone.The mineral and chemical composition of the host-rock and diagenetic fluids was the determining factor for the kind of feldspar preservation. Although the primary type of K–feldspar replacement is albitization, secondary albite subsequently suffered from illitization, chloritization, and/or replacement by calcite. A direct implication of this work is the possible geochronological dating of both volcanic eruptions and archaeocyath- and trilobite-bearing host-rocks based on radiometric analyses within unaltered K–feldspar pyroclasts extracted after etching.     

AQUAGRID: an extensible platform for collaborative problem solving in groundwater protection

AQUAGRID is the subsurface hydrology computational service of the Sardinian GRIDA3 infrastructure, designed to deliver complex environmental applications via a user-friendly Web portal. The service aims to provide to water professionals integrated modeling tools to solve water resources management problems and aid decision making for contaminated soil and groundwater. In this paper, the AQUAGRID application concept and enabling technologies are illustrated. At the heart of the service are the computational models to simulate complex and large groundwater flow and contaminant transport problems and geochemical speciation. AQUAGRID is built on top of compute-Grid technologies by means of the EnginFrame Grid framework. Distributed data management is provided by the Storage Resource Broker data-Grid middleware. The resulting environment allows end-users to perform groundwater simulations and to visualize and interact with their results, using graphs, 3D images and annotated maps. The problem solving capability of the platform is demonstrated using the results of two case studies deployed.