Stratigraphy and Sedimentology of Middle Jurassic Sequence of Chorar Island,Patan District,Kachchh Basin,Gujarat

Chorar Island exposes ～109 m thick middle Jurassic (Bathonian-Callovian) succession in the eastern most part of the Kachchh Basin, Patan District, Gujarat and is divided into two, Khadir and Gadhada formations. It mainly comprises of mixed siliciclastic-carbonate sediments and limestones; the shales dominate the lower part of the succession while the top of the succession is marked by ferruginous sandstone which also forms the vast, prominent peripheral zone of the Chorar dome. The field and laboratory analysis of the succession reveals nine lithofacies which includes ferruginous sandstone, cross bedded white sandstone, micritic sandstone, allochemic sandstone, sandy micrite, mudstone, sandy allochemic limestone, coralline limestone and shale. The mix siliciclastic-carbonate sediments and ferruginous facies are fossiliferous in nature and display sedimentary structures, like ripple marks, cross- and planar- lamination with biogenic sedimentary structures. Coralline limestone facies comprise of large size (>1m diameter) corals, which are diagenetically modified severely and have lost its original internal structures. The sediment characteristics and associated bioclasts indicates low to moderate wave and current energy in shoreface-offshore subsequently changing to wave dominated shoreface during the deposition of the middle Jurassic sediments of the Chorar Island.     

Stratigraphy and geological history of the Malvern,Abberley and Ledbury Hills

A revised stratigraphy of the Malvern, Abberley and Ledbury Hills is given. The Silurian succession is considered in detail and shows a series of five major sedimentary rhythms or cycles between an initial Llandovery transgression and regression at the close of the Silurian period. The succession exhibits an alternation of shale with either limestones and/or terrigenous clastics, and the rhythmic nature of the sequence suggests a periodic change in base level. A number of different lithological facies can be distinguished in the limestone formations, particularly in the Wenlock limestone. A detailed faunal list is given for most of the Silurian sequence. From the evidence of the stratigraphic succession, an attempt has been made to decipher the complex geological history of the area.     

Subsurface lithofacies analysis of the Fluvial Early Permian Warchha Sandstone, Potwar Basin, Pakistan

The Early Permian Warchha Sandstone is well preserved in subsurface in the Potwar Basin and the Punjab Plain of Pakistan. However, this succession is only exposed in the Salt Range, and within this region, only a modest number of the many outcrops are of sufficient quality to enable the preparation of lateral and vertical log profiles. From the subsurface, data from five wells drilled in the Salt Range and Potwar Basin have been analysed. Although they are of restricted coverage, these subsurface data — which take the form of gamma ray logs and well cuttings — provide a valuable addition to the outcrop dataset of the Warchha Sandstone as they provide useful information about vertical textural changes, type and thickness of bedding and the nature of sandbody contacts with underlying strata. Overall, the Warchha Sandstone succession is composed of repeated fining-upwards cycles indicative of a meandering fluvial succession. Sub-components of each cycle are themselves classified into six subsurface sedimentary facies. Through comparison with outcropping parts of the succession, the origin and significance of these subsurface facies can be related to specific architectural elements within the meandering fluvial system responsible for generating the Warchha Sandstone succession.     

Calibration of modelled mixing patterns in loess grain-size distributions: an example from the north-eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, China

Genetically meaningful decomposition (unmixing) of sediment grain-size distributions is accomplished with the end-member modelling algorithm. Unmixing of the loess grain-size distributions of a Late Quaternary loess–palaeosol succession from the north-eastern Tibetan Plateau indicates that the loess is a mixture of three end-members representing very fine sandy, coarse silty and medium silty loess. The unmixing approach potentially enables the unravelling of sediment fluxes from multiple dust sources, opening the way to significant advances in palaeoclimatic reconstructions from loess grain-size distribution data. However, as laser-diffraction size analysis is a volume-based technique, the proportional contributions of the modelled end-members might deviate (significantly) from weight proportions. Hence, calibration of the end-member volume proportions to weight proportions must be established before one can calculate the source-specific dust fluxes. This paper reports the findings of a sediment-mixing experiment which enables calibration of the modelled mixing patterns established for the Tibetan loess–palaeosol succession.     

Sheetflow fluvial processes in a rapidly subsiding basin, Altiplano plateau, Bolivia

Although facies models of braided, meandering and anastomosing rivers have provided the cornerstones of fluvial sedimentology for several decades, the depositional processes and external controls on sheetflow fluvial systems remain poorly understood. Sheetflow fluvial systems represent a volumetrically significant part of the non‐marine sedimentary record and documented here are the lithofacies, depositional processes and possible roles of rapid subsidence and arid climate in generating a sheetflow‐dominated fluvial system in the Cenozoic hinterland of the central Andes. A 6500 m thick succession comprising the Late Eocene–Oligocene Potoco Formation is exposed continuously for >100 km along the eastern limb of the Corque syncline in the high Altiplano plateau of Bolivia. Fluvial sandstone and mudstone units were deposited over an extensive region (>10 000 km²) with remarkably few incised channels or stacked‐channel complexes. The Potoco succession provides an exceptional example of rapid production of accommodation sustained over a prolonged period of time in a non‐marine setting (>0·45 mm year⁻¹ for 14 Myr). The lower ≈4000 m of the succession coarsens upward and consists of fine‐grained to medium‐grained sandstone, mudstone and gypsum deposits with palaeocurrent indicators demonstrating eastward transport. The upper 2500 m also coarsens upward, but contains mostly fine‐grained to medium‐grained sandstone that exhibits westward palaeoflow. Three facies associations were identified from the Potoco Formation and are interpreted to represent different depositional environments in a sheetflow‐dominated system. (i) Playa lake deposits confined to the lower 750 m are composed of interbedded gypsum, gypsiferous mudstone and sandstone. (ii) Floodplain deposits occur throughout the succession and include laterally extensive (>200 m) laminated to massive mudstone and horizontally stratified and ripple cross‐stratified sandstone. Pedogenic alteration and root casts are common. (iii) Poorly confined channel and unconfined sheet sandstone deposits include laterally continuous beds (50 to >200 m) that are defined primarily by horizontally stratified and ripple cross‐stratified sandstone encased in mudstone‐rich floodplain deposits. The ubiquitous thin‐sheet geometry and spatial distribution of individual facies within channel sandstone and floodplain deposits suggest that confined to unconfined, episodic (flash) flood events were the primary mode of deposition. The laterally extensive deposition and possible distributary nature of this sheetflow‐dominated system are attributed to fluvial fan conditions in an arid to semi‐arid, possibly seasonal, environment. High rates of sediment accumulation and tectonic subsidence during early Andean orogenesis may have favoured the development and long‐term maintenance of a sheetflow system rather than a braided, meandering or anastomosing fluvial style. It is suggested here that rapidly produced accommodation space and a relatively arid, seasonal climate are critical conditions promoting the generation of sheetflow‐dominated fluvial systems.     

Transgression of an estuarine channel and tidal flat complex: the Lower Triassic of Barles, Alpes de Haute Provence, France

The Lower Triassic succession of Barles, Alpes de Haute Provence, France, comprises an unconformable quartz arenite sand body of 90m thickness. The succession may be informally divided into (i) lower channellized cross-bedded member overlain by (ii) an upper fining upward member. The lower member comprises vertically stacked, subtidal channel units separated into five major sand bodies by thin developments of fine grained channel margin and shoal deposits. Subtidal channel fill deposits are dominated by varying scales of cross bedding. These scales vary systematically from the base to the top of the member, with large scale planar sets dominating the lowest channel sand body (sand body 1), medium scale planar and trough cross bedding characterizing sand bodies 2-4, the largest scale planar sets in the highest sand body (sand body 5). This upward change in cross bedding scale is concomitant with a decrease in both the relief of major channel sand body erosion surfaces, and the proportion of preserved interchannel shoal deposits. The succeeding fining upward member comprises small scale tidal channel units overlain by channel shoal and tidal flat deposits. Tidal flat sequences are characterized by parallel laminated, wave and current rippled sandstones separated by bioturbated, fine grained siltstones and mudstones. The vertical variation in facies of the Lower Triassic succession suggests two main periods of deposition. The lower member is considered to preserve successively more seaward components of a transgressive estuarine complex. The overlying upper member records the seaward progradation of tidal channel, shoal and tidal flat environments. The unconformity bounded nature of the lower member, combined with its systematic variation in facies, suggests it may represent an incised valley-estuarine fill developed in response to an early Triassic relative sea level fall and subsequent rise. Succeeding tidal channel and tidal flat deposits forming the upper fining upward member reflect a change in sediment supply and/or rate of relative sea level rise comparable with a progradational shoreline. It is unclear whether this final depositional episode represents a period of highstand progradation or a later lowstand shoreline system developed following a further period of relative sea level fall and rise.     

Markov chain analysis applied to an ancient alluvial plain succession

Markov chain analysis is a comparatively simple statistical technique for the detection of repetitive processes in space or time. Coal measure cyclothems or fluvial fining-upward cycles are good examples of sedimentary successions laid down under the control of Markovian processes. Analyses of stratigraphic sections commence with a transition count matrix, a two-dimensional array in which all possible vertical lithologic transitions are tabulated. Various probability matrices may be derived from this raw data, and these are then subjected to chi-square tests to determine the presence or absence of the Markov property. This technique is applied to four types of stratigraphic succession which occur in the Devonian rocks of Prince of Wales Island, Arctic Canada. (1) A conglomerate succession of alluvial fan origin. Markov analysis is of little or no assistance in the interpretation of these rocks, in which only two principal lithologies are present. (2) A conglomerate-sandstone succession. Fluvial fining-upward cycles are detectable by visual examination of the sections and are strongly indicated by Markov analysis. (3) A sandstone-carbonate succession, of marginal marine origin, and including both marine and non-marine strata. Cyclicity is weak in these rocks, but analysis suggests that regressions took place much more rapidly than transgressions during their period of deposition. (4) A succession in which the relative proportions of the various lithologies vary markedly with age. The varying nature of the cyclic tendencies is emphasized in this case by dividing the succession into two subintervals, for the purpose of analysis.     

Facies analysis and sequence stratigraphy of neoproterozoic Platform deposits in Adrar of Mauritania, Taoudeni basin, West Africa

The Neoproterozoic and Palaeozoic Taoudeni basin forms the flat-lying and unmetamorphosed sedimentary cover of the West African Craton. In the western part of this basin, the Char Group and the lower part of the Atar Group make up a 400-m-thick Neoproterozoic siliciclastic succession which rests on the Palaeoproterozoic metamorphic and granitic basement. Five erosional bounding surfaces of regional extent have been identified in this succession. These surfaces separate five stratigraphic units with lithofacies associations ranging from fluvial to coastal and fluvial-, tide-, or wave-dominated shallow marine deposits. Owing to their regional extent and their position within the succession, the erosive bounding surfaces correspond to relative sea-level falls, and accordingly the five stratigraphic units they bound represent allocyclic transgressive–regressive depositional sequences (S₁–S₅). Changes in the nature of the deposits forming the transgressive–regressive cycles reflect landward or seaward shifts of the stacked sequences. These successive relative sea-level changes are related to the reactivation of basement faults and tilting during rifting of the Pan-Afro-Brasiliano supercontinent 1000 m.y. ago. The stromatolite bearing carbonate-shale sequences which form the rest of the Atar Group mark the onset of a quiet period of homogeneous subsidence contemporaneous with the Pan-African I oceanization 800–700 m.y. ago.     

Sedimentology of a Devonian fault-bounded braidplain and lacustrine fill in the lower part of the Skrinkle Sandstones, Dyfed, Wales

The Upper Devonian to Lower Carboniferous Skrinkle Sandstones of the Pembroke Peninsula are predominantly continental deposits from the post-Caledonian synrift succession at the southern margin of the Upper Palaeozoic Welsh Landmass. The lower part of the Sandstones record deposition in the 30 × 10 km Tenby–Angle fault block, from which a 6- to 68-m-thick interval is described and interpreted as a lacustrine deposit succeeded by a high-energy sandy braidplain succession. The lacustrine deposit is dominated by red mudstones and ripple cross-laminated sandstones. Interbedded quartzose sandstones form a coarsening-upward sequence from the red mudstones in the basin centre, suggesting a deltaic origin, and a smooth-fronted braidplain delta model is proposed. The sequence introduces the braidplain succession, composed of groups of horizontal/low-angle laminated and trough cross-bedded sandstones. These are compared with recent ephemeral stream and sheetflood sediments and their characteristics used to depict a system of mutually erosive sheetflood and channel bodies, the latter produced during the rising and falling stages of flood events, which alternate to produce a thick multistorey sandstone. Palaeocurrent data indicate an axial drainage system from the north-west, running parallel to the main faults of the area. This is supported by the maturity and sandy nature of the sediments. Basin closure towards the south and the postulated Bristol Channel Landmass is inferred.     

Heavy minerals of the Barakar Formation,Talchir Gondwana Basin,Orissa

Heavy mineral analysis has been carried out in the Barakar Formation of the Talchir Gondwana Bbasin, Orissa. The characteristic heavy minerals are garnet, zircon, tourmaline, rutile, biotite, chlorite, pyroxenes, hornblende, staurolite, sillimanite, apatite, epidote, sphene, spinel and siderite including opaques and leucoxene. These heavy minerals are divisible into four groups on the basis of principal component analysis and suggest derivation of Barakar sediments from pegmatite, acid and basic igneous as well as low- and high-rank metamorphic rocks lying to the south of the Talchir Gondwana Basin. Though the heavy mineral suites of all the sandstone samples are by and large similar, differences have been noticed in the frequencies of many heavy minerals in vertical succession. Cyclic nature and vertical fluctuation of heavy mineral frequencies can be ascribed to variation of the relief of the source area, sudden release of some of the minerals in the source region and/or existence of favourable geochemical condition to escape partial dissolution.     

Lithofacies and sequence development on an Upper Devonian mixed carbonate-siliciclastic fore-reef slope, Canning Basin, Western Australia

Detailed sedimentological and stratigraphical analysis coupled with conodont biostratigraphy of a fore-reef slope succession in the Napier Range (Napier Formation) is used to develop a depositional model and relative sea-level history for late Frasnian to late Famennian reef evolution in the Canning Basin of north-western Australia. Changes in sedimentary style on the slope, reflecting differing rates of carbonate production on the platform, are linked to third- and higher order relative sea-level fluctuations. Overlapping slope aprons accumulated along the base of a steep-walled platform margin. Coarse carbonate debris was deposited adjacent to the margin as talus breccias (via rockfall) and debris-flow breccias. Depositional slopes up to 45°, and locally steeper, are demonstrated using rotated geopetal cavity fills. The predominance of channel-filling lithofacies throughout the slope succession indicates the highly channelized nature of the aprons. The middle slope is dominated by sandy oolitic-peloidal turbiditic grainstones interpreted as sediment exported from an active platform. The turbidites and associated debris-flow breccias contrast with condensed carbonate intervals and deep-water, non-fenestral stromatolites that record times of very low platform production. Lower slope turbidites and associated intraclastic breccias indicate widespread redeposition of sediment eroded from lithified and semi-lithified limestones higher up the slope. Several third-order sequences are recognized in the fore-reef succession and these are composed primarily of transgressive and highstand deposits. Carbonate production was severely restricted in the early Famennian coinciding with development of onlapping siliciclastic aprons during a relative sea-level lowstand. Evidence for a subaerial exposure event is also preserved within the siliciclastic strata. Controls on sequence development are difficult to constrain. Although two sequence boundaries can be correlated with falls on the global sea-level curve, the reef complexes evolved in an active extensional regime and it is highly likely that tectonism, in conjunction with eustasy, controlled accommodation on the platform and therefore carbonate productivity.     

Middle Pleistocene magnetostratigraphy and susceptibility stratigraphy: data from a carbonate aeolian system,Mallorca, Western Mediterranean

This study shows that successions of Pleistocene carbonate aeolian deposits can be placed successfully in a geochronologic framework using magnetostratigraphic and susceptibility stratigraphic analysis supplemented by luminescence dating, studies of wave-cut platforms, and biostratigraphic evidence. The investigated aeolian system covers a significant part of southernmost Mallorca and is exposed in impressive coastal cliff sections.At the study site at Els Bancals the aeolian system has a maximum thickness of 16 m and is composed of alternating dark red colluvial deposits and greyish red aeolian dune and sand-sheet deposits forming seven cyclostratigraphic units. Each cyclostratigraphic unit represents landscape stabilisation, colluviation, and soil formation followed by dunefield development, when marine carbonate sand was transported far inland by westerly or north-westerly winds. The aeolian system is located on top of a wave-cut marine platform 12–14 m a.s.l. This platform probably formed during a sea-level highstand in Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 (427–364 ka), and renewed marine activity probably later in MIS 11 is indicated by the formation of beach deposits.Two sections at Els Bancals were sampled for a paleomagnetic study; additional samples were taken to detect variations in magnetic susceptibility (MS). The characteristic remanent magnetisation has been recovered for the most part of the succession in spite of diagenetic overprinting. There is evidence for two probably three reversal polarity excursions, possible connected to the Levantine, CR1 and CR0/Biwa III episodes. If this correlation is correct, the sampled succession represents a time interval in the Middle Pleistocene between ca 410 and ca 260 ka. This age estimate is supported by the MS study and by luminescence dates of 333±70 ka (aeolianite from lower part of the succession) and 275±23 ka (aeolianite from the top of the succession).The nature of the succession suggests deposition during alternating warm and moist (colluvial deposition; soil formation) and cold, dry and windy conditions (dunefield formation). The susceptibility signal can be correlated with the insolation signal at 65°N suggesting that environmental variation on Mallorca was linked to orbitally forced climate change, and it seems that aeolian activity and dunefield formation were linked to glacial or stadial periods.     

The nature and field relations of the Ordovician Maumtrasna Formation,County Mayo,Ireland

The nature and field relationships of the Maumtrasna Formation of the Partry Mountains, Co. Mayo, show that the formation underlies the regionally mappable Glenummera Formation, which is of Llanvirn age, and it is laterally equivalent to the Rosroe and Derrylea Formations, also of Llanvirn age. The formation rests unconformably on two different volcanic domains, the basic volcanics of the Bohaun Volcanic Formation to the northwest (of unknown age) and the largely acidic volcanics and sediments of the Tourmakeady Volcanic succession to the southeast (Arenig). It is not the youngest formation in the Ordovician succession of the South Mayo Trough, as was previously thought. This largely conglomeratic unit forms a coarsening upward sequence deposited on alluvial fans which were inundated by a marine transgression at the base of the Glenummera Formation. Clasts in the conglomerates are mainly of granite and porphyry with a minor metamorphic component. The source is interpreted as an arc rooted on a metamorphic basement which lay to the south and east. The suggestion that this area was present day Connemara finds little support. This area may expose some of the ‘hidden’ geology of the Midland Valley of Scotland.     

Geological and geophysical exploration of the groundwater aquifers of As Suqah area, Makkah district, Western Arabian Shield, Saudi Arabia

As Suqah area is a NW–SE trending wadi present in the west central part of the Arabian Shield. It comprises Precambrian–Cambrian basement rocks, Cretaceous–Tertiary sedimentary succession, Tertiary–Quaternary basaltic lava flows, and Quaternary–Recent alluvial deposits. The magnetic anomalies indicated the presence of many recent local buried faults. These affected the distribution of the clastic sedimentary succession and seem to have controlled the deep groundwater aquifers. Groundwater movement is towards the west and northwest, following in general the surface drainage system. Hydraulic gradient varies greatly from one point to another depending on the pumping rates and cross-sectional area of the aquifer in addition to its transmissivity. The detailed results of the resistivity and seismic measurements were integrated with those obtained from test holes drilled in the study area. Groundwater occurs mainly in two water-bearing horizons, the alluvial deposits and within the clastic sedimentary rocks of Haddat Ash Sham and Ash Shumaysi formations. The shallow zone is characterized with a saturated thickness of 3–20 m and water is found under confined to semi-confined conditions. Water levels were encountered at depths varying from 3 to 16 m in the alluvial wadi deposits and from 18 to 62 m in the sedimentary succession. The combinations of vertical electrical sounding, horizontal electrical profiling, and drilling led to the identification of groundwater resources in the study area. Resistivity soundings clearly identified the nature of the lithological depth and proved useful at identifying water-bearing zones. Significantly, the majority of the groundwater was found within the deep confined aquifer gravelly sandstone, rather than in the shallow unconfined aquifer.     

祁连山北缘旱峡早白垩世下沟组-中沟组沉积相研究

祁连山北缘旱峡地区发育完整的下白垩统下沟组-中沟组沉积序列;以陆源碎屑岩为主,发育砾岩、砂岩、钙质粉砂岩和页岩等;其中砾石分选差、磨圆一般、成分以灰白色砂岩为主,砂岩成分、结构成熟度中等-差。岩石组合、沉积序列和综合沉积特征研究表明,下沟组和中沟组主要由湖泊、扇三角洲、河流等3种类型沉积相、亚相与微相类型组成,发育了一系列重力流成因的沉积类型;湖泊沉积主要发育在下沟组底部和中沟组,扇三角洲沉积分布在下沟组中-上部,中沟组发育河流沉积。研究区早白垩世中期古流向以EN向为主,早白垩世晚期以W向为主,表明沉积沉降中心也由早期的旱峡西移至研究区西南侧。在综合分析的基础上,建立了研究区下白垩统下沟组-中沟组沉积相模式。     

Nagthat Formation: An example of a progradational,tide-dominated Proterozoic succession in Kumaun Lesser Himalaya,India

The Proterozoic Nagthat Formation of the Krol-belt succession, in the Nainital area, is composed mainly of fine- to coarse-grained quartzarenite with a subordinate amount of purple to grey sandstone, siltstone-shale and conglomerate horizons. The association with spilitic lava flows, variable palaeocurrent trends and the restricted lateral extent of the Nagthat Formation within the Krol-belt succession imply an active role for tectonism in the basin of deposition. In the upward coarsening succession of the Nagthat Formation, six major lithofacies have been identified: medium- to coarse-grained gravelly quartzarenite (Lithofacies A), planar cross-bedded, medium-grained quartzarenite (Lithofacies B), horizontally laminated, fine-grained quartzarenite (Lithofacies D), interbedded sandstone-shale (Lithofacies E) and matrix-supported conglomerate (Lithofacies F). The constituent lithofacies are repetitive in nature, forming upward fining unit cycles and interpreted to reflect deposition as upper shore-face, shoals and bars, barrier-beachface, tidal channels (inlets), intertidal–sandflat–mixedflat environments and, occasionally, in the form of gravity flows in subtidal channels. The general upward coarsening succession of the Nagthat Formation represents deposition in a progradational (regressive) barrier island system. The palaeocurrent pattern in the Nagthat Formation is distinctly polymodal and indicates sediment distribution across the roughly NW–SE trending shoreline, in response to a dominating flood tidal current system. The palaeocurrent pattern shows higher variability in the upper shore-face deposits than in the tidalflat domain. A recycled metasedimentary terrain served as the source for the Nagthat Formation, probably supplying the sediments from E, NE and S directions.     

Aspects of the sedimentology,palynology and palaeobotany of the Upper Devonian of southern Kerry Head,Co. Kerry,Ireland

The uppermost 220 m of Upper Devonian sedimentary rocks of southern Kerry Head are described in terms of three lithofacies associations. Facies association 1 (about 49 per cent of succession) comprises fine to medium grained sandstones, with basal erosion surfaces and intraformational breccias, dominantly cross-stratified, and usually displaying a multistorey character. They are interpreted as deposits of laterally migrating and aggrading single-channel rivers, flowing in a southerly direction. Facies association 2 (43 per cent) comprises interbedded fine to very fine grained sandstones and siltstones, displaying a diversity of sedimentary structures, rapid lateral and vertical facies transitions, and occurring as broad sheets or channel-filling sequences. They are interpreted as crevasse, levee, and channel-fill deposits. Association 3 (8 per cent) is dominantly siltstone, with lenses and sheets of very fine sandstone, interpreted as the floodbasin deposits of a semi-arid alluvial plain. Macrofloras and spores occurring in association 2 indicate: (1) major plants (woody seed ferns) grew in areas very close to palaeochannel margins; (2) a phytogeographic location within the Munster Basin comparable with Hook Head; and (3) a Late Devonian age for the succession.     

Neoproterozoic environmental change recorded in the Port Askaig Formation,Scotland: Climatic vs tectonic controls

The snowball Earth hypothesis suggests that the Neoproterozoic was characterized by several prolonged and severe global glaciations followed by very rapid climate change to ‘hot house’ conditions. The Neoproterozoic Port Askaig Formation of Scotland consists of a thick succession of diamictite, sandstone, conglomerate and mudstone. Sedimentological and stratigraphic analysis of Port Askaig deposits exposed on the Garvellach Islands was carried out to establish the nature of Neoproterozoic palaeoenvironmental change preserved in this thick succession. Particular emphasis was placed on identifying and distinguishing between climatic and tectonic controls on sedimentation.Port Askaig Formation diamictite units are attributed to deposition by sediment gravity flow processes or ‘rainout’ of fine-grained sediment and ice-rafted debris in a glacially influenced marine setting. Associated facies record various depositional processes ranging from sediment gravity flows (conglomerate, massive sandstone and laminated mudstone) to deposition under other unidirectional currents (cross-bedded and horizontally laminated sandstone). The Port Askaig Formation is also characterized by abundant soft sediment deformation features that occur at discrete intervals and are interpreted to record episodic seismic activity.Stratigraphic analysis of the Port Askaig Formation on the Garvellach Islands reveals three phases of deposition. Phase I was dominated by sediment gravity flow processes and sedimentation was primarily tectonically controlled. Phase II was a transitional phase characterized by continued tectonic-instability, an increased supply of sand to the basin and the preservation of current-generated facies. In the third and final phase of deposition, the interbedded units of sandstone and diamictite are interpreted to reflect development of large sandy bedforms and ice margin fluctuations in a tectonically stable marine setting.Sedimentological and stratigraphic analysis of the Port Askaig Formation demonstrates that tectonic activity had a significant influence on development of the lowermost parts of the succession. Climatic influences on sedimentation are difficult to identify during such phases of tectonic activity but are more easily discerned during episodes of tectonic quiescence (e.g.,, Phase III of the Port Askaig Formation). The thick succession of diamictite interbedded with current-deposited sandstone preserved within the Port Askaig Formation is not consistent with deep freeze conditions proposed by the snowball Earth hypothesis.     

The Ediacaran volcanosedimentary succession of Gabal Abu Had,North Eastern Desert,Egypt: geological study,facies analyses,and depositional setting

Gabal Abu Had is an exposure of a volcanosedimentary succession in the North Eastern Desert Basement Complex. This succession includes intercalation of two major rock units, which are Dokhan Volcanics and Hammamat Group with different styles of formation, deposition environments, and genesis. Gabal Abu Had succession (GHS) is a northward dipping, c. 700-m-thick volcanosedimentary succession that rests on metavolcanic and old granitoid rocks with erosion unconformity. The lower part of GHS is dominated by volcaniclastic mass flow deposits and andesitic lava with interbedded gravely sandstone, whereas the upper sequence is composed of pyroclastic flow deposits including welded to no welded ignimbrite intercalated with gravely sandstone and massive clast-support conglomerate toward the top. Facies analysis study of GHS presented eight lithofacies types, which grouped into five lithofacies associations. The GHS basin started with effusive eruption of silica-poor volcanic center, which produced andesitic lava. A part of lava underwent hyaloclastic fragmentation due to the presence of fluvial water in places producing the volcaniclastic mass flow deposits. Later, an explosive silica-rich volcanic center affected the GHS basin and created the pyroclastic plain deposits (ignimbrite and bedded tuff). The fluvial braided river is still in action since the first eruption, producing gravely sandstone, which is intercalated with the volcanic sequence. The upper GHS is characterized by thick, massive, and clast-supported conglomerate (well rounded clasts up to 100 cm) of alluvial fan facies. Several silica-rich and silica-poor subvolcanic intrusions were emplaced in the GHS. The GHS development displays a cycle from low- to high-energy sedimentation under humid climatic conditions, in addition to extension and down faulting of basin shoulders. In comparison with Gabal El Urf, located to the north of GHS and was studied by El-Gameel (2010), the GHS is a lava-rich succession rather than Gabal El Urf succession which is mainly pyroclastic rich.     

Petrofacies,provenance, and paleocurrent analysis of Pachmarhi sandstone (Early Triassic), Satpura basin,Central India

The Satpura Gondwana basin hosts a ～5 km thick siliciclastic succession that unconformably overlies the Precambrian basement. The Gondwana sequence in this basin starts from Early Permian (Talchir Formation) to Lower Cretaceous (Jabalpur Formation). The aim of this study is to (1) identify the source rock (provenance) for Early Triassic Pachmarhi sediments in the Satpura Gondwana succession and (2) to understand the relative role of tectonics and climate in determining the sandstone composition. These sandstones are medium to coarse-grained, moderately to moderately well sorted, subangular to subrounded, of moderate sphericity, and composed of several varieties of quartz, feldspar, rock fragments, and micas. Petrographically, the Pachmarhi sandstones are mostly quartzarenite and subarkose. The petrofacies in Qt–F–L and Qm–F–Lt triangular diagrams show that the bulk of the Pachmarhi was derived from continental (cratonic) source, especially from craton interior. Petrofacies, together with paleocurrent data, suggest that Pachmarhi Formation was deposited by a network of braided river system, which flowed dominantly from southeast to northwest. The study suggests that the sediments were mostly derived from Precambrian granites, gneiss, and metasedimentary basement rocks straddling the southern margin of the basin. Paleocurrent data also corroborates this contention.