Palynological characteristics of Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene deposits on the west of the Sambian Peninsula (Kaliningrad region), Part 2

The results of studying dinocysts in the Upper Cretaceous-Lower Paleogene succession of the Kaliningrad region are considered. Distinguished in the succession are seven biostratigraphic units in the rank of the Palaeohystrichophora infusorioides, Chatangiella vnigrii, Cerodinium diebelii, Alisocysta margarita, Deflandrea oebisfeldensis, Areosphaeridium diktyoplokum, and Rhombodinium perforatum beds and one Charlesdowniea clathrata angulosa Zone. The Lyubavas Formation has not been distinguished on the west of the Sambian Peninsula. Ages of the Sambia, Alka, and Prussian formations are verified.     

Palynology of Upper Cretaceous (uppermost Campanian–Maastrichtian) deposits in the South Yellow Sea Basin, offshore Korea

Forty-seven samples from Upper Cretaceous sections penetrated by the Kachi-1 and Inga-1 wells in the South Yellow Sea Basin have been analysed for their spore and pollen content. Thirty-five species of 18 spore genera and 54 species of 28 pollen genera are documented. One new monotypic genus, Diporocolpopollenites, and its type species, D. kachiensis sp. nov., are erected, and Dilwynites Harris, 1965, and its type species, D. granulatus Harris, 1965, are emended. There are also three new combinations: Ephedripites eocaenicus (Selling, 1944), E. praeclarus (Chlonova, 1961), and Retitricolpites anguloluminosus (Anderson, 1960). Two palynological zones are erected: anAquilapollenites attenuatus Assemblage Zone, which encompasses deposits that are considered to be latest Campanian–Early Maastrichtian in age, and an Aquilapollenites eurypteronus Assemblage Zone for sections that have been dated as Late Maastrichtian. The assemblages are typical of the Yenisey-Amur Subprovince of the Aquilapollenites (floral) Province. Lowland floodplain to shallow, commonly mesotrophic, lacustrine environments of deposition are indicated. The climate was probably wet subtropical, with rainfall being somewhat higher during the Late Maastrichtian than through the latest Campanian–Early Maastrichtian.     

Numerical distribution of Santonian to Danian corals (Scleractinia,Octocorallia) of Southern Limburg,the Netherlands

The stratigraphical occurrence of 35 known species from the Upper Cretaceous and Danian of Southern Limburg is presented based on existing collections and newly collected material. Corals are relatively rare, except in the Meerssen Member of the Maastricht Formation. Two faunas were recognised in the Meerssen Member: a fauna dominated by Cyclolites cancellata at the base of this member – which coincides with the sequence boundary of the third-order sequence cycle TA1.1 of Haq et al. (1988) – and a fauna dominated by mushroom-shaped and encrusting colonies at the top of the transgressive systems tract of the same sequence cycle.     

Upper Cretaceous deposits in the northwest of Saratov region, Part 2: Problems of chronostratigraphy and regional geological history

Problems of geochronological correlation are considered for the formations established in the study region with due account for data on the Mezino-Lapshinovka, Lokh and Teplovka sections studied earlier on the northwest of the Saratov region. New paleontological data are used to define more precisely stratigraphic ranges of some stratigraphic subdivisions, to consider correlation between standard and local zones established for different groups of fossils, and to suggest how the Upper Cretaceous regional scale of the East European platform can be improved. Considered in addition are paleogeographic environments in the study region during the Late Cretaceous epoch and principal stages of the regional geological evolution.     

Upper Cretaceous deposits in the northwest of Saratov oblast,Part 1: Litho- and biostratigraphic analysis of the Vishnevoe section

The work is dedicated to multidisciplinary study of Upper Cretaceous deposits exposed at the day surface in a ravine near the village of Vishnevoe, the Petrovsk district of Saratov oblast. The exposed section includes deposits of the Bannovka, Mozzhevelovyi Ovrag, Mesino-Lapshinovka, Rybushka, Ardym, Lokh formations and of the Borisoglebsk sequence first distinguished in the Volga River basin. Age ranges of the formations studied are confirmed or defined more precisely (the Ardym and Lokh formations) based on fossil faunas of cephalopods, bivalves, radiolarians, planktonic and benthic foraminifers. The middle-upper Coniacian range of the Borisoglebsk sequence is substantiated. Distribution of brachiopods, sponges, radiolarians, ostracodes and calcareous nannoplankton in the section is established. Radiolarian assemblages are used to distinguish biostratigraphic subdivisions corresponding in rank to faunal beds. Based on nannofossil assemblages, zones and subzones of standard zonations after Perch-Nielsen (1985) and Burnett (1998) are established. Stratigraphic ranges of certain radiolarian, ostracode and calcareous nannoplankton taxa are verified.     

Biofacies analysis of Upper Cretaceous deposits in the Ust-Yenisei region: Implications of palynomorphs

The results of palynomorph biofacies analysis in the Upper Cretaceous deposits of the Ust-Yenisei region are presented. The established facies confinement and indicative features of separate palynomorph groups are used, along with identified dinocyst morphotypes and taxa, in paleogeographic reconstructions. Seven palynomorph associations characterizing continental, coastal-marine, shallow-and deep-water facies are distinguished based on quantitative proportions between morphological groupings and individual taxa. As boundaries between distinguishable biostratigraphic and facies subdivisions do not coincide, dinocysts were likely insignificantly dependent in distribution on facies in the West Siberian epicontinental basin at least. On the other hand, distribution trends of particular dinocyst morphotypes and other microphytofossils are correlative with transgressive-regressive cycles and can be used for reconstruction of paleoenvironments.     

Biostratigraphy of the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary deposits in the Arctic region of West Siberia (Implications of Foraminifers)

Benthic foraminifers from borehole sections recovered by drilling in the Yamal Peninsula, West Siberia, characterize the Ceratobulimina cretacea Beds (the upper Campanian-lower Maastrichtian) and the Spiroplectammina variabilis-Gaudryina rugosa spinulosa and Spiroplectammina kasanzevi-Bulimina rosenkrantzi regional zones of the lower and upper Maastrichtian, respectively. The Danian Stage is missing from the sections, which include marine deposits of the Selandian Stage attributed to the Ceratolamarckina tuberculata Beds. Foraminiferal assemblages of the beds include the Siberian endemic species associated with Paleocene foraminifers of the Midway-type fauna of subglobal distribution range. Occurrence of the latter suggests that warm-water surface currents from the North Atlantic reached southern areas of the Kara Sea.     

Calcareous nannofossils from the Santa Marta Formation (Upper Cretaceous), northern James Ross Island,Antarctic Peninsula

This study reports on the most stratigraphically extensive nannofloras yet recovered from the Lachman Crags Member of the Santa Marta Formation, James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula. The productive samples are dated as early Campanian. These ages are in accord with those provided by ammonites, foraminifera, ostracods and radiolarians from the same locality. The consistent and relatively abundant presence of Gephyrobiscutum diabolum throughout the productive part of the section, a species that has previously only been documented from the Falkland Plateau, extends its geographic distribution to higher latitudes, at least to the Antarctic Peninsula area.     

A palynological biozonation for the Maastrichtian Stage (Upper Cretaceous) of South Carolina, USA

Three palynological biozones are proposed for the Maastrichtian Stage of South Carolina. In ascending stratigraphic order, the biozones are the Carolinapollis triangularis (Ct) Interval Biozone, the Holkopollenites chemardensis (Hc) Interval Biozone, and the Sparganiaceaepollenites uniformis (Su) Interval Biozone. Integration of the biostratigraphy with lithologic and geophysical log data suggests that within the study area, the upper and lower boundaries of each zone are bounded by regional unconformities, and that a three-fold subdivision of the Maastrichtian Stage is warranted. The biozonation is based on the analysis of 114 samples from 24 subsurface and three outcrop sections from the Coastal Plain of South Carolina; samples from an additional seven subsurface and 18 outcrop sections from North Carolina and Georgia were examined to evaluate the geographic extent of the biozones. One new genus and five new species of pollen are described, and emendations are presented for two genera and one species of pollen.     

Shell ornament,systematic position and hatching size of Epicymatoceras vaelsense (Nautilida): New insights based on specimens in mould preservation from the Upper Cretaceous of Poland

The fossil record of Nautilida in carbonate facies is skewed towards moulds (steinkerns) in various states of preservation, which complicates assessment of the original shell ornament of many taxa. As a remarkable exception, moulds of Epicymatoceras vaelsense from upper Campanian and lower Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) siliceous limestones (opoka) in Poland retain details of the original shell ornament, allowing conclusions on the original structure of the shell wall, systematic position and hatching size of this nautilid to be drawn. Both external and internal moulds are present in the material studied, which are referred to as taphomorph 1 and 2, respectively. Based on morphology and inferred taphonomy, it is proposed that the external ribbing of E. vaelsense was originally composed of overlapping, tile-shaped lamellae of the outer prismatic layer, a character recently suggested to be a synapomorphy for the cymatoceratid clade. The diameter of the embryonic conch of E. vaelsense is estimated to have been around 30 mm, which is near the maximum range of hatching size recorded for Cretaceous and younger nautilids. On the basis of the inferred shell structure of E. vaelsense, it is speculated that living individuals of this nautilid were covered by a dense periostracal cover similar to that of Recent Allonautilus scrobiculatus. This study demonstrates that nautilid moulds may provide a better source of palaeontological data than conventionally accepted.     

Palynological characterization of Givetian-Frasnian deposits in the reference Borehole section 1-Balneologicheskaya (Southern Timan)

A succession of seven palynological assemblages characterizing the Yuzhnyi Timan, Taman, Ust-Yarega, Domanik, and Vetlosyan formations of the southern Timan is established in the Givetian-Frasnian deposits recovered by Borehole 1-Balneologicheskaya and studied in detail. Five individual zones, which are distinguished within stratigraphic range of the optivus-krestovnicovii miospore zone, can be of basic importance for a high-resolution stratigraphic subdivision of the sedimentation stage under consideration. Phytostratigraphic boundary corresponding to the Frasnian Stage base in the East European platform is substantiated in palynological aspect.     

Isotopic and geochemical characteristics of Upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic flysch sediments of the Kamchatka Peninsula and southern Koryak region

The isotopic and geochemical studies of the Upper Cretaceous-Cenozoic flysch sequences of the Kamchatka Peninsula and southern Koryak region revealed that they were formed at least from two sources: one depleted (T) with low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and high positive Sr_Nd(T) values and one enriched (T) with high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and negative Sr_Nd(T) values. The enriched source was likely represented by complexes of ancient upper continental crust. The subduction-related rocks and, to a lesser extent, basalts of mid-oceanic ridges or back-arc basins could serve as a juvenile source for most of the flysch sediments. The Upper Cretaceous flysch sediments differ from their Cenozoic analogues in composition. The Upper Cretaceous rocks are dominated by enriched upper crustal material. The Cenozoic sequences of the Ukelayat Trough and Paleocene-Eocene sequences of the Kumroch Range contain a substantial amount of island-arc volcanoclastic material; the Eocene flysch of Karaginskii Island is compositionally similar to the Upper Cretaceous flysch sequences.     

Inter-regional correlation of transgressions and regressions in the Cretaceous period

Well investigated platforms have been selected in each continent, and the history of Cretaceous transgressions and regressions there is concisely reviewed from the available evidence. The factual records have been summarized into a diagram and the timing of the events correlated between distant as well as adjoining areas.On a global scale, major transgressions were stepwise enlarged in space and time from the Neocomian, via Aptian-Albian, to the Late Cretaceous, and the post-Cretaceous regression was very remarkable. Minor cycles of transgression-regression were not always synchronous between different areas. Some of them were, however, nearly synchronous between the areas facing the same ocean.Tectono-eustasy may have been the main cause of the phenomena of transgression-regression, but certain kinds of other tectonic movements which affected even the so-called stable platforms were also responsible for the phenomena. The combined effects of various causes may have been unusual in the Cretaceous, since it was a period of global tectonic activity. The slowing down of this activity followed by readjustments may have been the cause of the global regression at the end of the Cretaceous.     

Characteristics and Genesis of the Es_1 Productive Sandstone Reservoir(Paleogene), Nanpu Sag,East China

The Shahejie Formation is a fundamental rock unit for hydrocarbon exploration and production in the Nanpu Sag, Bohai Bay Basin. Methodology including thin sectioning, core observations, fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy, cathodoluminescence, fluid inclusion, laser scanning confocal microscopy and geochemical analysis(C, O isotopes) were all utilized to investigate the reservoir characteristics and origin of the Es_1 Sandstone. Thin section study showed that the reservoir rock consisted of feldspathic litharenite and lithic arkose. The reservoir pores are categorized as intergranular pores, fracture pores, dissolution pores and intergranular cement dissolution pores. The studied sandstone had good porosity(0.05%–35%) and permeability(0.006–7000 m D). The Es_1 reservoir is classified as a fractured reservoir, a primary intergranular pore-associated reservoir and a dissolution reservoir. Deposition, diagenesis and tectogenesis are the main factors that played important roles in the development of the reservoir. Sedimentation is the foundation and assumption for reservoir development, but the effective reservoir is primarily controlled by primary pores, fractures, lithofacies, tectonic elements and dissolution pores. Moreover, compaction, fracture filling and cementation were the primary sources of reservoir densification. The reservoir was progressively formed through the influence of different geological and diagenetic events. The present study provides significant information and references for hydrocarbon exploration and development in the Nanpu Sag.     

Paleogene biostratigraphy of the North Circum-Caspian region (implication of the dinocysts and nannoplankton from the Novouzensk reference borehole), Part 1: Age substantiation and correlation of deposits

Eight zonal dinocyst assemblages and three bio stratigraphic units ranked as “beds with flora” are first distinguished in the Danian—lower Lutetian interval of the Paleogene succession, penetrated by the reference borehole Novousensk no. 1, where eight standard and one local nannoplankton zones are simultaneously recognized. The direct correlation of nannoplankton and dinocyst zones is used to refine the paleon-tological substantiation and stratigraphic position of regional lithostratigraphic units, ranges of hiatuses, and the correlation with the general stratigraphie scale. The nannoplankton of the Danian NP2 Cruciplacolithus tenuis and NP3 Chiasmolithus danicus zones is characteristic of the Algai Formation (Fm). The nannoplankton of the NP4 Coccolithus robustus Zone and dinocysts of the D3a Alterbidinium circulum Zone from the Tsyganovo Fm characterizes the Danian top. The Lower Syzran Subformation (Subfm) corresponds to the upper part of the NP4 Coccolithus robustus Zone (Neochiastizygus junctus local zone) and to the D3b (part) Cerodinium depressum Zone of the Selandian dinocysts. The latter spans part of the Upper Syzran Subformation, whose characteristic nannofossils are the nannoplankton of the NP5 Fasciculithus tympaniformis Zone and the dinocysts of the D3b (part) Isabelidinium? viborgense Zone of the Selandian. The Novouzensk Fm is represented by a succession of the dinocyst Cerodinium markovae Beds and the standard D4c Apectodinium hyperacanthum Zone of the upper Thanetian. The coccolitophorids of the lower Thanetian NP6 Heliolithus kleinpelli Zone occur at the formation base. The Bostandyk Fm includes successive bio stratigraphie units of the Ypresian. In the dinocyst scale, these are the D5a Apectodinium augustum Zone, the Pterospermella Beds (DEla Zone of the North Sea scale), and zones DBlb-c Deflandrea oebisfeldensis, D7c Dracodinium varielon-gitudum, and D8 Dracodinium politum—Charlesdowniea coleothrypta, while units of the nannoplankton scale correspond to the NP12 Martasterites tribrachiatus and NP13 Discoaster lodoensis zones. The Kopterek Fm yields Lutetian nannofossils: the nannoplankton of the NP14 Discoaster sublodoensis Zone and the dinocysts of the Wetzeliella coronata—Areosphaeridium diktyoplokum Beds. Three meaningful hiatuses are established at the Danian base, Selandian top, and in the lower Ypresian.     

A large collection of Presbyornis (Aves,Anseriformes, Presbyornithidae) from the late Paleocene and early Eocene of Mongolia

We describe a large collection of fossil ‘waterfowl’ bones that are referable to the extinct clade Presbyornithidae (Anseriformes). All of these fossils were collected between 1971 and 1994 from Upper Paleocene and Lower Eocene sediments at the Tsagaan Khushuu site in the Gobi Desert of southern Mongolia. The collection includes specimens referred to a new small species within the genus Presbyornis Wetmore, 1926 as well as large numbers of bones that we place in the genus Presbyornis. On this basis of the Tsagaan Khushuu collection we suggest that several species of Presbyornis likely coexisted in this region; indeed, the presence of large numbers of middle‐sized, morphologically consistent but probably ecologically disparate species at the Tsagaan Khushuu site is consistent with the range of variation seen, for example, in taxa of extant dabbling ducks (Anatini). Although the anatomy and phylogenetic position of Presbyornithidae (in particular Presbyornis) are well known, this material from Mongolia further demonstrates the prevalence of these birds in aquatic and semi‐aquatic habitats by the earliest Paleogene. Because presbyornithids are also well documented from the late Cretaceous, their palaeoecology and morphological diversity provides a clue to selective avian survivorship across the Cretaceous‐Paleogene (K‐Pg) boundary. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

松辽盆地北部上二叠统林西组古生物年代学、地球化学特征及地质意义

对松辽盆地北部地区黑富地l井钻遇的上二叠统林西组碎屑岩样品进行微体化石以及主量元素、微量元素和稀土元素测试分析,进而探讨该区林西组时代、地球化学特征、沉积环境及构造背景.获得的Protohaploxypinus fertilis-Piceaepollenites opimus-Alisporites communis孢...     

松辽盆地松科1井上白垩统嫩江组三～五段沉积序列厘米级精细刻画：岩性·岩相·旋回

中国白垩纪大陆科学钻探松科1井连续取嫩江组三～五段岩心长532．07rn,岩心收获率为94．8％,是迄今获取的最连续完整的沉积记录。文章对此进行了厘米级沉积地质描述（分层厚度2～5cm）。嫩三～五段沉积时期与坎潘阶中期对应。通过对松科1井嫩三～五段岩心的精细描述,揭示其岩性一岩相一旋回的沉积序列及其过程。嫩三～五段识别...