Sedimentology of the Old Red Sandstone (Siluro-Devonian) in the Clee Hills area,Shropshire, England

The sequence of approximately 1300 m is divided by a major unconformity (Middle Devonian) into the thick Lower Old Red Sandstone (Siluro-Devonian), resting disconformably on Ludlovian (Silurian) marine strata, and the much thinner Upper Old Red Sandstone (Upper Devonian) overlain by the Carboniferous.The Lower Old Red Sandstone commences with littoral sediments (Downton Castle Formation) followed by tidal mud-flat deposits (Temeside Formation) formed after a brief marine transgression. The predominant remainder of the sequence (Ledbury Formation, Ditton Group, Abdon Group, Woodbank Group), characterized by fining-upwards cyclothems, records the establishment during a marine regression of extensive and persistent alluvial plains. Prior to Ditton Group times, detritus came from relatively distant regionally metamorphosed rocks lying to the north or west of the Clee Hills. Subsequently, apparently as the result of river-capture or drainage-reversal consequent on the commencement of the final (mid-Devonian) phase of Caledonian movement, high-level crustal rocks closer at hand (largely Wales) replaced the metamorphics as the sources of sediment, the earlier Lower Old Red Sandstone itself being recycled. To judge from the calcretes preserved in the alluvial formations, the area lay near the Equator and experienced a relatively dry hot climate.The Upper Old Red Sandstone likewise reveals fining-upwards cyclothems. The overlying Carboniferous rocks evidence the renewed marine transgression of the area, after the removal of the effects of the mid-Devonian movements.     

Facies change in upper devonian and lower carboniferous rocks of Southern Ireland

In south-west Ireland 8,000 ft (2,440 m) of marine sandstones and mudstones, the Cork Beds (?Upper Famennian to E Zone, Carboniferous, in age), overlie the Old Red Sandstone. Farther north the Old Red Sandstone is succeeded by thin Lower Limestone Shales overlain by thick Waulsortian bank limestones. A critical section (North Ringabella) west of Cork Harbour, in which 6,500 ft (1,981 m) of Old Red Sandstone and Cork Beds is exposed, is described and divided into ten formations. By comparison with sections to the south the upper beds of the Old Red Sandstone are shown to pass southward into marine sandstones (Cork Beds) of ?Upper Famennian age. The successions in the Cloyne and Cork Synclines are described and reveal the progressive northward change in the Lower Carboniferous from the argillaceous Cork Facies through a zone of isolated bank limestones (Cloyne) to a thick, 4,000 ft (1,219 m), Waulsortian bank complex (Cork). Finally an attempt is made with use of isopachyte maps to reconstruct the palaeogeography of southern Ireland in Upper Devonian and Lower Carboniferous times.     

The structure of the Taff Gorge area,Glamorgan, and the stratigraphy of the Old Red Sandstone—Carboniferous Limestone transition

Lithostratigraphical and structural mapping of the Taff Gorge area, Glamorgan, has revealed a number of E-W trending folds and thrusts. These were developed during the early stages of the Hercynian deformation as a result of an approximately N-S principal compressive strain. Coeval with the folding, a conjugate set of sub-vertical wrench faults, symmetrical about the principal compressive strain, divided the area into tectonic blocks and to some extent controlled the progressive development of folds and thrusts within the individual blocks. Later Hercynian deformation gave rise firstly to oblique-slip and finally to dip-slip movement on the faults. The lithological transition between the Old Red Sandstone and Carboniferous Limestone is described in detail, including the diagenetic history of the limestones. Marine horizons are shown to be present within the dominantly fluviatile Old Red Sandstone, and the base of the Carboniferous Limestone is defined at the base of the lowest limestone of the continuous marine sequence. Studies of spores, macroplants, conodonts and brachiopods indicate that the whole of the Upper Old Red Sandstone and Lower Limestone Shale in the Taff Gorge are of Tournaisian age.     

Age of the peel sandstone group,isle of man

An Early Devonian age for the continental, red‐bed succession of the Peel Sandstone Group can be defined on the basis of: (1) a derived marine fauna of late Wenlock (Homerian) age, (2) a Scoyenia ichnofacies assemblage (including Beaconites and Diplichnites) characteristic of latest Silurian to Early Devonian (Lower Old Red Sandstone magnafacies) sediments in the British Isles, (3) a microflora of late Lochkovian to Pragian age, (4) a detrital palaeomagnetic remanence that pre‐dates local, Acadian palaeomagnetic directions and coincides with a prominent, southerly, Late Silurian to Early Devonian excursion in the local apparent polar wander path, and (5) a mid‐Devonian palaeomagnetic remanence that overprints (?)Acadian, thrust‐related folding. Data presented in this study confirm previous suggestions (Allen and Crowley 1983) that the Peel Sandstone Group represents a rare example of Early Devonian sedimentation preserved on the northern margin of the former Eastern Avalonia microcontinent. Potential correlations and linkages with other Lower Old Red Sandstone successions exposed in the Anglo‐Welsh Basin are developed and discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Deposits of a near-coastal fluvial plain — the toe head formation (upper devonian) of southwest cork,EIRE

The Toe Head Formation of southwest Cork occurs in a thick, conformable sequence of Upper Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sedimentary rocks. It occupies a position between typical terrestrial “red-beds” and tidal flat and marine shelf sediments. The rocks are predominantly arenaceous and grey-green in colour. The formation is described in terms of five major lithofacies which are: (1) large-scale bedded sandstone facies, (2) rippled sandstone facies; (3) interbedded facies; (4) mudrock facies; and (5) mudcrack association facies. Simple statistical analysis of sequential organisation shows a crude pattern of fining-upwards sequences. The facies are interpreted to represent a spectrum of fluvial channel and flood plain environments, this interpretation being supported by the unidirectional palaeocurrent pattern. In view of the overall stratigraphical succession, a near-coastal fluvial plain is suggested. The formation is shown to be roughly equivalent to the Upper Old Red Sandstone of the Geological Survey (1860–1864) and to extend at least from Seven Heads to Dunmanus Bay.     

Remagnetization and fluid flow in the Old Red Sandstone along the Great Glen Fault, Scotland

The Devonian Old Red Sandstone in the vicinity of the Great Glen Fault (GGF) in Scotland contains two different components residing in hematite: a postfolding Carboniferous CRM1 in the Loch Ness area and a Cretaceous or perhaps Triassic CRM2 near Hilton. The CRM1 could be related to major fluid flow events in the Late Paleozoic which caused hematite authigenesis and remagnetization along other faults in Scotland. The CRM2 near Hilton was also related to a fluid event in the Cretaceous or Triassic which caused hematite authigenesis. The presence of different CRMs residing in hematite along different segments of the GGF is similar to what has been reported for other major faults in Scotland.     

Tectonostratigraphic development of the Trondheim region Caledonides, Central Norway

The metamorphic allochthon of the central Norwegian Caledonides comprises a complex of discrete nappes of metasediments and igneous rocks ranging in age from probable Svecofennian through Vendian to Silurian. This southeastward-translated allochthon overlies a thin cover of autochthonous Vendian to Cambrian sediments deposited upon a crystalline Precambrian basement, and is superseded by late-orogenic, intermontanebasinal sediments of latest Silurian to Middle Devonian age. Stratigraphical sequences in higher allochthonous units are floored by oceanic tholeiitic basalts with rare, subjacent sheeted-dyke and gabbro units, considered as fragments of an ophiolite assemblage which suffered initial eastward transport in pre-Middle Arenig times, an important orogenic event which is well represented in northern and southwestern Norway. The overlying Ordovician—Silurian sequences, disturbed by episodic parorogenic events, embrace a variety of sedimentary facies from shallow-water carbonates to deep-marine terrigenous turbidites and include both island arc and marginal basin lavas and intrusives. Polyphase Middle Silurian metamorphism and deformation resulted in a complex telescoping and dissection of the Lower Palaeozoic rocks and their Precambrian substrate, with nappe translation in the order of several hundred kilometres. Folding and thrusting of Old Red Sandstone molasse sediments attests to continuing tectonism well into Devonian times.     

Stratigraphical relationships and sedimentary environments of the silurian—early Old Red Sandstone of Pembrokeshire

In Pembrokeshire, northward Hercynian thrusting has brought together Silurian and Old Red Sandstone rocks of widely different stratigraphical and sedimentological successions. Five structurally separate blocks are centred from south to north on Freshwater, Marloes, Winsle, Rosemarket and Haverfordwest.     

A magnetic fabric study of Late Whitcliffian (U. Silurian) siltstones from the Welsh Borderland

The uppermost Whitcliffian strata of the Welsh Borderlands record the final phase of marine sedimentation in the Silurian basin and shelf environments. They give way transitionally to the succeeding non-marine Lower Old Red Sandstone. As a contribution to the understanding of the change from marine to continental facies, the magnetic fabric method was used to obtain palaeocurrent data for the uppermost Whitcliffian. The results confirm that the uppermost Whitcliffian palaeocurrent pattern is essentially “Silurian” in character and does not foreshadow the deltaic and littoral patterns of sediment distribution observed in the basal Old Red Sandstone.     

Facies relationships in the Upper Devonian-Lower Carboniferous of southwest Ireland and adjacent regions

In southwest Ireland 2,500 m of Upper Famennian to basal Namurian marine sandstones and mudstones, the Cork Beds, overlie rocks of Old Red Sandstone facies. Coastal exposures of the Cork Beds are interpreted as showing gradual upward change from alluvial strata, through thick subtidal and shelf sediments to pyritic muds. A review of recent palaeontological evidence shows that the thick shallow marine part of the Cork Beds is older than the major development of lime-stones north of the Cork Harbour—Kenmare Une, whose equivalents to the south are in the condensed basinal sediments. The Lower Carboniferous portion of the Cork Facies is shown to be thicker in South Cork than in West Cork. In Lower Carboniferous times a positive area–the Glandore High–separated two sub-basins with different depositional histories. Six palaeogeographic maps are used to demonstrate the progressive shift of facies belts as Lower Carboniferous marine transgression progressed. Finally, brief comparison is made with rocks of the same age in southwest England.     

论塔里木盆地“东河砂岩”的地质时代

系统总结了关于近年来塔里木盆地重要储油层——“东河砂岩”年代研究所取得的主要进展 ,包括 1)“东河砂岩”中发现晚泥盆世孢子和胴甲鱼化石 ;　 2 )含砾砂岩段发现晚泥盆世盾皮鱼化石 ;　 3)下泥岩段下部发现晚泥盆世孢子 ;　 4 )下泥岩段上部和生屑灰岩段分别发现石炭纪初期第一、二孢子组合带 ;　 5 )生屑灰岩段发现石炭纪初期的牙形刺 ;　 6 )化学 -生物地层学研究结果指示 ,泥盆系 -石炭系界线应在“东河砂岩”顶面之上。据此 ,“东河砂岩”的时代应为泥盆纪。     

Comparison of the vertebrate faunas of the Lower Old Red Sandstone of the Anglo-Welsh Basin with contemporary faunas in Scotland

The Lower Old Red Sandstone terranes of the Midland Valley of Scotland and the Anglo-Welsh Basin have been considered as separate realms due to the rarity of fish species common to both areas. Although in the first half of the 19th century the osteostracan Cephalaspis lyelli was thought to occur in both terranes this was shown in be incorrect in the latter part of that century. It was not until 1968 that it was demonstrated that the thelodont agnathan Turinia pagei occurred in both terranes. This species has a much wider distribution across the whole of the Old Red Sandstone continent, but its presence in both realms indicates they were connected either directly or indirectly. In 2012 it was suggested that the osteostracan Janaspis watsoni might be present in both basins and in 2013 the acanthodian Parexus recurvus was shown to definitely occur in both. Here we show that other acanthodian genera and species were present in both regions during the Lochkovian (earliest Devonian). Co-specific plants also occur in both terranes during the Lochkovian. As there is no evidence of a marine connection to the Midland Valley in the Lochkovian, the only logical conclusion is that the connection between the two terranes was fluvial.     

Galena mineralization in the Orcadian Basin,Scotland: Geological and isotopic evidence for sources of lead

Galena and other sulphides are widespread in the Old Red Sandstone (Devonian) Orcadian Basin. Syndiagenetic occurrences are associated with organic-rich sedimentary rocks, especially algal limestones. Epigenetic galenas are often spatially related to these syndiagenetic occurrences, particularly in the vicinity of Permo-Carboniferous igneous intrusions. Mineralization is concentrated about the granite-gneiss basement inlier in southwest Orkney.Orcadian Basin galenas have lead isotope compositions which show a linear trend related to Lewisian granulite facies metamorphism at about 2,700 Ma. The most radiogenic leads must include a component of average orogene or upper crustal lead. The isotopic compositions are notably similar to those of Caledonian granite feldspar leads measured by Blaxland et al. (1979). Granite was probably a source for lead in galena deposits about the basement in south-west Orkney, but away from the basement an average orogene component would have become increasingly important. There was no major input of magmatic lead to the basin during Permo-Carboniferous times, only a remobilization of existing lead.     

Palaeomagnetic re-examination of the basal Caithness Old Red Sandstone; aspects of local and regional tectonics

A palaeomagnetic re-examination of the basal strata of the Caithness Old Red Sandstone has given results that are fully compatible with previous palaeomagnetic findings in this region. After structural correction the dominant remanence component has D = 205°, I = +3°, α₉₅ = 6.4° (N = 27). The existence of this shallow inclined magnetization in the Middle Devonian strata of Caithness invalidates the model, proposed by Van der Voo and Scotese (1981), involving a ca. 2000 km sinistral offset along the Great Glen Fault in the Carboniferous. However, the available data are in favour of a few hundred kilometres sinistral movement along this fracture zone. However, the possibility of there having been a much larger transcurrent shift between Europe and North America in late/post-Devonian times, accumulated along various fracture zones within the Caledonian fold belt, is discussed. On the basis of an inferred overprinted magnetization, it is tentatively concluded that the tectonic deformation of the Old Red Sandstone of Caithness has a mid-Jurassic or younger age.     

Stratigraphy and palynostratigraphy, Karoo Supergroup (Permian and Triassic), mid-Zambezi Valley, southern Zambia

The Karoo Supergroup outcropst in the mid-Zambezi Valley, southern Zambia. It is underlain by the Sinakumbe Group of Ordovician to Devonian age. The Lower Karoo Group (Late Carboniferous to Permian age) consists of the basal Siankondobo Sandstone Formation, which comprises three facies, overlain by the Gwembe Coal Formation with its economically important coal deposits, in turn overlain by the Madumabisa Mudstone Formation which consists of lacustrine mudstone, calcilutite, sandstone, and concretionary calcareous beds. The Upper Karoo Group (Triassic to Early Jurassic) is sub-divided into the coarsely arenaceous Escarpment Grit, overlain by the fining upwards Interbedded Sandstone and Mudstone, Red Sandstone; and Batoka Basalt Formations.Palynomorph assemblages suggest that the Siankondobo Sandstone Formation is Late Carboniferous (Gzhelian) to Early Permian (Asselian to Early Sakmarian) in age, the Gwembe Coal Formation Early Permian (Artinskian to Kungurian), the Madumabisa Mudstone Late Permian (Tatarian), and the Interbedded Sandstone and Mudstone Early or Middle Triassic (Late Scythian or Anisian). The marked quantitative variations in the assemblages are due partly to age differences, but they also reflect vegetational differences resulting from different paleoclimates and different facies.The low thermal maturity of the formations (Thermal Alteration Index 2) suggests that the rocks are oil prone. However, the general scarcity of amorphous kerogen, such as the alga Botryococcus sp., and the low proportion of exinous material, indicates a low potential for liquid hydrocarbons. Gas may have been generated, particularly in the coal seams of the Gwembe Coal Formation, that are more deeply buried.     

湘南下泥盆统源口组孢子组合及其地层意义

通过湖南南部下泥盆统源口组孢子研究,确定源口组为早泥盆世西根阶(Siegenian)。本文图示源口组孢子22属,44种和变种,其中新种3个,即Apiculiretusisporahunanensis,Amocosporites hunanensis和Apiculatasporites yuankouensis。源口组孢子组合可与云南曲靖下泥盆统翠峰山群上部桂家屯组、四川龙门山下泥盆统平驿铺群上部关山坡组和广西横县六景下泥盆统纳高岭组孢子组合比较,亦可与西欧、北美早泥盆世四根阶孢子带对比。源口组孢子组合研究不仅有重要的地层和古生物意义,而且对沉积环境和古地理研究也有重要意义。     

Stream-driven, high-density gravelly traction carpets: possible deposits in the Trabeg Conglomerate Formation, SW Ireland and some theoretical considerations of their origin

Within high-density flood flows a prominent mechanism of gravel transport and deposition is by stream-driven, high-density traction carpet (with a rheology similar to grain flow). These gravel carpets are envisaged to form the basal portion of a bipartite high-density flood flow, decoupled from an overlying sand- and silt-laden turbulent flow. Several examples already documented in the literature are reviewed and an additional case from the Lower Old Red Sandstone of southwest Ireland is presented. Two mechanisms of traction carpet initiation are discussed: by rapid entrainment of gravel into suspension on rising stage, followed by settling into the gravel traction carpet at peak and falling stage; and by overconcentration of a ‘normal’, low-density bedload. Gravel entrainment, suspension and traction carpet development are significantly easier if the flood water already carries a high concentration of sand and silt in suspension. Theoretical consideration further shows that gravelly traction carpets can be maintained in channels of relatively low gradient by the shear stress exerted by the high-density, sand-bearing turbulent flood flow above. This tangential shear stress is converted to dispersive pressure, which aids buoyancy and quasi-static grain-to-grain contacts in the support of the clasts within the gravel carpet. The carpet is thought to have a quasi-plastic rheology but behave much like a viscous fluid at high shear rates. Stream-driven gravelly traction carpets are expected to produce sheet-like units of clast- to matrix-supported conglomerate, characterized by a parallel or an a(p)a(i) clast fabric. These units may be ungraded, normally or inversely graded, depending on the rate of shear, the viscosity of the flow and the celerity of deposition.     

Stratiform manganese mineralisation near Inverness,Scotland: A Devonian sublacustrine hot-spring deposit?

A stratiform manganiferous horizon, up to 4 m thick but localised in aerial extent, occurs 10 km south-east of Inverness in north-east Scotland. It overlies Precambrian Grampian Group schists and is itself overlain by Middle Old Red Sandstone (Devonian) conglomerate, which elsewhere rests unconformably on the schists. The deposit was mined briefly in the early 1920s and is composed principally of fine-grained braunite with minor bustamite. Lower sections of the deposit contain cavities, infilled by late baryte, calcite and rhodochrosite, which resemble stromatactis. This horizon is underlain by a hematite-quartz layer, thought to represent a laterite formed by pre-MORS weathering of the underlying schists. The mineralogy and geochemistry of the manganese ore (enriched in Ag, As, Ba, Bi, Pb, Sb, Sr and Zn) are characteristic of a hydrothermal origin. Such an origin, when considered in conjunction with the outcrop, textures, mineralogy and stratigraphy of the deposit together with the palaeogeography of the region, can only be explained by deposition from hot-springs in a sublacustrine environment. Nearby baryte mineralisation may also have been deposited from the same geothermal system, which had the Caledonian 407 Ma Moy granitoid as heat source. The managanese ore is enriched in gold pathfinder elements and minor detrital gold has been found in the area. Gold mineralisation may therefore have also been deposited in the upper sections of this Devonian geothermal system.     

Review of plant evolution and its effect on climate during the time of the Old Red Sandstone

A substantial decrease in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration during the mid-Palaeozoic is likely to have been the consequence partially of the evolution of rooted land plants. The earliest land plants evolved in the Ordovician but these were small cryptophytes without any roots. Much of the evidence for the evolution of vascular plants comes from the Old Red Sandstone of South Wales and the Welsh Borderland. Plants with large rooting systems evolved during the Middle Devonian and resulted in an increase in chemical weathering of silicate rocks. This, in turn, caused a contemporaneous drop in atmospheric CO₂ concentration from approximately 25 times present concentration in the Cambrian to twice the present concentration by the late Carboniferous. The supposed mechanism for CO₂ removal from the atmosphere involves oceanic carbonate precipitation, enhanced by plant-enhanced chemical weathering of Ca and Mg silicates.