Forebulge dynamics and environmental control in Western Amazonia: The case study of the Arch of Iquitos (Peru)

The Iquitos Arch corresponds to a broad topographic high in the Western Amazonia. Morphostructural and geophysical data and flexural modeling show that the Iquitos Arch is the present-day forebulge of the Northwestern Amazonian foreland basin. A detailed tectono-sedimentary study of the Neogene and Quaternary deposits of the Iquitos area has been carried out in order to circumscribe the timing of the forebulge uplift and its environmental consequences. The Neogene and Quaternary sedimentary succession of the Iquitos Arch consists of six formations that evolved from tidal to fluvial environments. The first three formations exhibit Late Miocene gliding features and synsedimentary normal faults. Such soft-sediment deformations bear witness to tectonic activity ascribed to the growth of the forebulge. Regional erosive surfaces that separate the Neogene and Quaternary formations recorded the progressive forebulge emersion and the evolution of Amazonian drainage system. This uplift is related to an increase in tectonic activity within the Andes, which has provoked the eastern propagation of the orogenic wedge and caused an orogenic loading stage in the Amazonian foreland basin system. The emersion of the forebulge induced the retreat of the Pebas “marine megalake” nearby the Iquitos area and consequently caused important environmental changes in the Amazonian basin. From the end of the Late Miocene to the Pliocene, the forebulge acted as a barrier inducing the deposition of fluvial deposits in the forebulge depozone and the deposition of the “White Sand” deposits in the backbulge depozone. Since about 6 Ma, the forebulge is incised and crossed over by the modern Amazon River. The Iquitos forebulge is still growing as shown by the faulted Holocene terrace deposits.     

Appalachian structural trends northeast of Newfoundland and their trans-Atlantic correlation

The tectonostratigraphic zones of Newfoundland have been traced to the continental margin northeast of Newfoundland on the basis of detailed geophysical surveys of the area. The structures of the Avalon zone veer eastward offshore, whereas the western platform and marginal zones trend northerly for approximately 400 k tendency to veer eastward. Using reasonable pre-drift reconstructions on North America and Europe, good correlations are found between the Avalonian units of Newfoundland and Iberia, with the European landfall of the Charlie Fracture zone representing the northern limit of Avalon equivalent basement. Despite the good correlation of the eastern units, the geological elements of western and central Newfoundland, northern Ireland and Scotland, between which geological correlation is “classical”, were separated laterally by approximately 900 km prior to opening of the present Atlantic. This offset of western units but continuity of eastern units is compatible with the existence of an eastward bend in the Appalachian system similar to but larger than the bends of the Appalachian system within the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the eastern United States.     

Tethyan, Mediterranean, and Pacific analogues for the Neoproterozoic–Paleozoic birth and development of peri-Gondwanan terranes and their transfer to Laurentia and Laurussia

Modern Tethyan, Mediterranean, and Pacific analogues are considered for several Appalachian, Caledonian, and Variscan terranes (Carolina, West and East Avalonia, Oaxaquia, Chortis, Maya, Suwannee, and Cadomia) that originated along the northern margin of Neoproterozoic Gondwana. These terranes record a protracted geological history that includes: (1) 1 Ga (Carolina, Avalonia, Oaxaquia, Chortis, and Suwannee) or 2 Ga (Cadomia) basement; (2) 750–600 Ma arc magmatism that diachronously switched to rift magmatism between 590 and 540 Ma, accompanied by development of rift basins and core complexes, in the absence of collisional orogenesis; (3) latest Neoproterozoic–Cambrian separation of Avalonia and Carolina from Gondwana leading to faunal endemism and the development of bordering passive margins; (4) Ordovician transport of Avalonia and Carolina across Iapetus terminating in Late Ordovician–Early Silurian accretion to the eastern Laurentian margin followed by dispersion along this margin; (5) Siluro-Devonian transfer of Cadomia across the Rheic Ocean; and (6) Permo-Carboniferous transfer of Oaxaquia, Chortis, Maya, and Suwannee during the amalgamation of Pangea. Three potential models are provided by more recent tectonic analogues: (1) an “accordion” model based on the orthogonal opening and closing of Alpine Tethys and the Mediterranean; (2) a “bulldozer” model based on forward-modelling of Australia during which oceanic plateaus are dispersed along the Australian plate margin; and (3) a “Baja” model based on the Pacific margin of North America where the diachronous replacement of subduction by transform faulting as a result of ridge–trench collision has been followed by rifting and the transfer of Baja California to the Pacific Plate. Future transport and accretion along the western Laurentian margin may mimic that of Baja British Columbia. Present geological data for Avalonia and Carolina favour a transition from a “Baja” model to a “bulldozer” model. By analogy with the eastern Pacific, we name the oceanic plates off northern Gondwana: Merlin (≡Farallon), Morgana (≡Pacific), and Mordred (≡Kula). If Neoproterozoic subduction was towards Gondwana, application of this combined model requires a total rotation of East Avalonia and Carolina through 180° either during separation (using a western Transverse Ranges model), during accretion (using a Baja British Columbia “train wreck” model), or during dispersion (using an Australia “bulldozer” model). On the other hand, Siluro-Devonian orthogonal transfer (“accordion” model) from northern Africa to southern Laurussia followed by a Carboniferous “Baja” model appears to best fit the existing data for Cadomia. Finally, Oaxaquia, Chortis, Maya, and Suwannee appear to have been transported along the margin of Gondwana until it collided with southern Laurentia on whose margin they were stranded following the breakup of Pangea. Forward modeling of a closing Mediterranean followed by breakup on the African margin may provide a modern analogue. These actualistic models differ in their dictates on the initial distribution of the peri-Gondwanan terranes and can be tested by comparing features of the modern analogues with their ancient tectonic counterparts.     

Shallow vs. deep, old vs. recent tectonic movements at the Eastern Carpathians Arc Bend

The seismically most important region of Romania is the Vrancea epicentral area of the Eastern Carpathians Arc Bend (ECAB). The occurrence of earthquakes is here indisputably caused by subduction processes, either relict ones in connection with a “dead” slab, or directly produced by continuous underthrusting or by type A subduction, after a continent/continent collision.In order to investigate the type of subduction process, the authors used structural geological criteria i.e., features of local strike-slip faults and sigmoidal curves of fold axes or of overthrusting lines, already mapped across the area.By use of these criteria, it is concluded that there is an offset directed northwestwards, with an amplitude of 9–12 km, within the Cretaceous-Paleogene flysch and Neogene molasse deposits outcropping at ECAB.If the measured transcurrent movements reflected only the distortions of the sedimentary cover, the offset should be directed SE, because overthrusting processes are larger from SW to NE at ECAB. Instead, the northwestern direction disclosed by the offset vector suggests that the basement movement occurred when the formations were transversally dislocated, after the “charriage” structure at ECAB had been born.This conclusion is consistent with a hypothetical NW movement of the basement of the ECAB foreland.     

An evolutionary model of the western churchill province and western margin of the superior province in Canada and the North-Central United States

Regional-scale geophysical information, which includes aeromagnetic, gravity, seismic refraction, multi-channel seismic reflection and electromagnetic induction data, is used to extend our knowledge of the Canadian Shield beneath the Phanerozoic Williston basin of south-central Canada and the north-central United States. A new tectonic map based on this information shows the Proterozoic Flin Flon-Snow Lake and La Ronge-Lynn Lake volcanic island arcs and their associated fore-arc (Kisseynew belt) and back-arc (Reindeer-South Indian Lakes belt) basins wedged between the Archean Superior craton on the east and the Archean parts of the Churchill and Wyoming cratons on the west. Along the western margin of the Superior craton the Thompson nickel belt, including its extension southwards beneath the Williston basin, is interpreted to have been successively the site of continental rifting and rupturing, an evolving continental margin, a continent-volcanic island arc “suture” zone and eventually a continental-scale strike-slip fault. The North American Central Plains electrical conductivity anomaly and closely related seismic low-velocity zones are explained by the presence in the lower crust of buried slices of hydrated oceanic-type material, situated within the southward extension of the Reindeer-South Indian Lakes remnant back-arc basin and adjoining tectonic units. A new plate tectonic model is proposed for this region that involves the rifting and rupturing of the Archean continents and the opening and closing of one or more oceanic basins. This model is shown to be consistent with most of the geological, geophysical and geochronological data that pertains to the Proterozoic evolution of the exposed Shield and similar geophysical data and subsurface geochronological information from further south.     

Formation of sequential basins along a strike–slip fault–Geophysical observations from the Dead Sea basin

The Dead Sea basin is often cited as one of the classic examples for the evolution of pull-apart basins along strike–slip faults. Despite its significance, the internal structure of the northern Dead Sea basin has never been addressed conclusively. In order to produce the first comprehensive, high-resolution analysis of this area, all available seismic data from the northern Dead Sea (lake)–lower Jordan valley (land) were combined. Results show that the northern Dead Sea basin is comprised of a system of tectonically controlled sub-basins delimited by the converging Western and Eastern boundary faults of the Dead Sea fault valley. These sub-basins grow shallower and smaller to the north and are separated by structural saddles marking the location of active transverse faults. The sedimentary fill within the sub-basins was found to be relatively thicker than previously interpreted. As a result of the findings of this study, the “classic” model for the development of pull-aparts, based on the Dead Sea, is revised. The new comprehensive compilation of data produced here for the first time was used to improve upon existing conceptual models and may advance the understanding of similar basinal systems elsewhere.     

Regional heat flow patterns in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin

The regional geothermal pattern of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin has been studied using available temperature data from wells. Average heat conductivity for various geological formations has been estimated on the basis of net rock studies by Canadian Stratigraphie Services. These data and observations of temperature made in “shut-in holes” in some of the oil pools have been used in heat flow estimations by the Bullard method.The geothermal gradient and heat flow within the basin are exceptionally high in comparison with the other world wide Precambrian platform areas. Especially high geothermal gradient areas are found in the northwestern part of the Prairies Basin in Alberta and British Columbia and most of southeastern and southwestern Saskatchewan. Areas of low gradient are found mainly in the Disturbed Belt of the Foothills, southern and southeastern Alberta, and the Peace River area in British Columbia. Neither the analysis of regional heat conductivity distribution nor the heat generation distribution of the basement rock of the Prairies Basin evaluated on the basis of U, Th and K data after Burwash (1979), explain the observed heat flow patterns of the Prairies Basin. Comparison of heat flow patterns with some of the hydrogeological phenomena suggests the significant influence of fluid flow in the basin formations on geothermal features. Low geothermal gradient areas coincide with water recharge areas and high hydraulic head distribution regions.The phenomenon of upward water movement in the deep strata and downward flow through much of the Cenozoic and Mesozoic strata seems to control the regional heat flow distribution in the basin. The analyses of coal metamorphism in the upper and middle Mesozoic formations of the Foothills Belt and in the central Prairies Basin suggest that the pre-Laramide paleogeothermal heat flow distribution was different from the present one. It is very probable that the Foothills Belt area was characterized by a higher geothermal gradient than the central part of the Prairies Basin, i.e. opposite to the present picture.     

The geologic history of the passive margin off new england and the canadian maritime provinces

The geologic history of the passive continental margin off the east coast of North America from New England to Newfoundland is described using all available geological and geophysical information. “Rift” and “drift” phases of the margin's evolution are recognized, with rifting initiated in Late Triassic and completed by Early Jurassic. The plate decoupling process created a complex block-faulted terrain as a result of uplift and tensional fracturing. The approximate plane of continental separation is marked by a “hinge zone” characterized by a pronounced steepening of basement gradients. Since the Early Jurassic, the margin has undergone continual subsidence in response to cooling and sediment loading. This “drift” sequence attains its maximum thickness in the vicinity of the continental slope and thins both landward and seaward. On the shelf, this unit consists of Mesozoic evaporites, carbonates, and deltaic deposits. Overlying these sediments is a prograding wedge of Cenozoic elastics. On the rise, the Mesozoic sediments are evaporites, hemipelagic limestones and shales and carbonaceous clays. The Cenozoic is dominantly terrigenous material. Separating these two sedimentary provinces is the continental slope, a site of major facies changes and a Mesozoic reef complex.     

Late Palaeozoic to Triassic evolution of the Turan and Scythian platforms: The pre-history of the Palaeo-Tethyan closure

A number of en échelon-arranged, southwest-facing arc fragments of Palaeozoic to Jurassic ages, sandwiched between two fairly straight east-northeast trending boundaries, constitute the basement of the Scythian and the Turan platforms located between the Laurasian and Tethyside units. They have until now largely escaped detection owing to extensive Jurassic and younger cover and the inaccessibility of the subsurface data to the international geological community. These units are separated from one another by linear/gently-curved faults of great length and steep dip. Those that are exposed show evidence of strike-slip motion. The arc units originally constituted parts of a single “Silk Road Arc” located somewhere south of the present-day central Asia for much of the Palaeozoic, although by the late Carboniferous they had been united into a continental margin arc south of the Tarim basin and equivalent units to the west and east. They were stacked into their present places in northern Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Caucasus and the northern Black Sea by large-scale, right-lateral strike-slip coastwise transport along arc-slicing and arc-shaving strike-slip faults in the Triassic and medial Jurassic simultaneously with the subductive elimination of Palaeo-Tethys. This gigantic dextral zone (“the Silk Road transpression”) was a trans-Eurasian structure and was active simultaneously with another, similar system, the Gornostaev keirogen and greatly distorted Eurasia. The late Palaeozoic to Jurassic internal deformation of the Dniepr–Donets aulacogen was also a part of the dextral strain in southern Europe. When the emplacement of the Scythian and Turan units was completed, the elimination of Palaeo-Tethys had also ended and Neo-Tethyan arcs were constructed atop their ruins, mostly across their southern parts. The western end of the great dextral zone that emplaced the Turan and Scythian units horsetails just east of north Dobrudja and a small component goes along the Tornquist–Teisseyre lineament.     

A GPR study of subsidence-creep-fault processes in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

In 1983, inhabitants of the City of Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico, began to observe a series of differential settlements causing damages to constructions along linear trends parallel to a system of regional faults. The same phenomenon occurs in others cities of the Mexican Volcanic Belt (MVB), such as Celaya, Aguascalientes, and Querétaro, and is linked to a structurally controlled subsidence, caused by groundwater withdrawal, and the presence of geological faults. We define this subsidence type as Subsidence-Creep-Fault Processes (SCFP), based on the necessary elements for their generation, and we studied them through geophysical and geotechnical techniques. In Morelia, the geophysical investigations have been carried out using ground-penetrating radar (GPR). GPR profiles, perpendicular to the axis of the surface fault generated by the SCFP were carried out. The common-offset single-fold profiling was used, with a central frequency of 50 MHz. In all cases it has been possible to visualize a fault plane dividing two blocks, the presence of synthetic and antithetic faults, influence zones from 20 m to 40 m, and a maximum “net throw” of 4 m. Exploration trenches followed the same direction of the profiles obtained with GPR (perpendicular to the axis of the surface fault). These trenches exposed a fault plane dividing two blocks with different lithology, generating a maximum “net throw” of 4.40 m; as well they help in the determination of influence zones that varied from 14 m to 40 m.     

Depletion of Appalachian coal reserves — how soon?

Much of the coal consumed in the US since the end of the last century has been produced from the Pennsylvanian strata of the Appalachian basin. Even though quantities mined in the past are less than they are today, this basin yielded from 70% to 80% of the nation's annual coal production from the end of the last century until the early 1970s. During the last 25 years, the proportion of the nation's coal that was produced annually from the Appalachian basin has declined markedly, and today it is only about 40% of the total. The amount of coal produced annually in the Appalachian basin, however, has been rising slowly over the last several decades, and has ranged generally from 400 to 500 million tons (Mt) per year.A large proportion of Appalachian historical production has come from relatively few counties in southwestern Pennsylvania, northern and southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, Virginia and Alabama. Many of these counties are decades past their years of peak production and several are almost depleted of economic deposits of coal. Because the current major consumer of Appalachian coal is the electric power industry, coal quality, especially sulfur content, has a great impact on its marketability. High-sulfur coal deposits in western Pennsylvania and Ohio are in low demand when compared with the lower sulfur coals of Virginia and southern West Virginia. Only five counties in the basin that have produced 500 Mt or more exhibit increasing rates of production at relatively high levels. Of these, six are in the central part of the basin and only one, Greene County, Pennsylvania, is in the northern part of the basin. Decline rate models, based on production decline rates and the decline rate of the estimated, “potential” reserve, indicate that Appalachian basin annual coal production will be 200 Mt or less by the middle of the next century.     

Qualitative analysis of mafic dyke swarms and kimberlites from morphological and geophysical signatures,NW of Proterozoic Cuddapah basin,Eastern Dharwar craton

Widespread distribution of mafic dykes and scanty occurrence of ultrabasic intrusives of kimberlitic affinity around Proterozoic Cuddapah basin, parts of Eastern Dharwar craton of south India has been the focus of attention since their discovery, to understand the structural fabric in relation to their emplacement in geological time. Satellite Imagery, geomorphological, geophysical and radiometric age data of Narayanpet area, northwest of Cuddappah basin, have clearly displayed the alignments and structures of geological significance, such as deep seated fault / fracture / shear zones, stratigraphic / lithological contacts, basic / ultrabasic intrusives and younger granites etc,. Based on the field observations such as emplacement of mafic dykes, their cross cutting relationship, study of morphological and geophysical signatures, inferred linears drawn from satellite imagery, aeromagnetic and gravity maps are arranged in a chronological order. A system of long, narrow and widely spaced dykes trending NW-SE direction conformable to gneissic foliation, typically associated with migmatites in the southwestern part of the study area are the oldest. Followed by E-W dykes, cut across by the sparsely distributed dykes associated with NW-SE and N-S features and in turn off set by dykes of NE-SW trends are the youngest. Kimberlites of Narayanpet area, belongs to hypabysal facies, which are essentially controlled by E-W to ENE-WSW deep seated fault / fracture zone, their intersection with NW-SE, NE-SW to N-S trends, which may have been reactivated during Proterozoic period as indicated by the intrusion of mafic dykes (～2270 to 1701 Ma) and emplacement of kimberlitic magmatism (～1300 to 1100 Ma) suggesting different intrusive episodes. Kimberlite pipes of Narayanpet field, falls in an ellipsoid form trending WNW-ESE direction in the northern part of the area, associated with radial drainage / topographic high and a gravity low. In addition, physical properties such as density and magnetic susceptibilities of mafic dykes and kimberlites, their geophysical signatures, emplacement of kimberlites at the close vicinity of mafic dykes or at their intersections have also been discussed.     

The indigenous origin of Witwatersrand “carbon”

In the Witwatersrand approximately 40% of the gold is intimately associated with so-called “carbon” in “carbon seam reefs”, which occur in over a dozen paleoplacers, many of them concentrated at two stratigraphic levels in the 7000-m-thick succession of Archean siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. This is reduced carbon, present as kerogen admixed in various proportions with derivative (now solid) bitumen(s). Oil generation and migration were active geological processes during Early Earth history. Numerous possible source rocks for oil generation, including the carbon seams themselves, occur within the Witwatersrand basin. In the Witwatersrand ore, oil-bearing fluid inclusions are also present, derived like the bitumen, by thermal maturation of the kerogen. The presence of kerogen and bitumen in the Witwatersrand sedimentary rocks, together with a wealth of observations on the spatial distribution of the carbon seams confirm that the carbon originated in situ from living organisms in microbial mat cover, as opposed to flowing in from elsewhere as liquid hydrocarbons as some researchers have suggested. Paleochannels, which truncated auriferous carbon seams early in the depositional history, are of widespread occurrence, and micro-synsedimentary faults offset carbon seams. The carbon seams are thus indigenous biogenic markers that grew contemporaneously with placer development. The various features highlighting the nature and spatial distribution of Witwatersrand carbon seams provide a classic case where field evidence trumps laboratory data in the reconstruction of geological processes.     

Source Regions and Formation of the Loess Sediments on the High Mountain Regions of Northwestern China

Loess on the high mountains of northwestern China is largely controlled by the topographic features, distributed mainly on the northern slopes of the Tianshan and Kunlun Mountains as well as in the Ili Valley (between the northern and central Tianshan ranges). Loess distributed in different regions has different ages, with the oldest (early Pleistocene) loess occurring in the Ili Valley. Geochemical, mineralogical and granulometric analyses demonstrate that the loess in the three different regions has different provenance. The loess on the northern Tianshan and Kunlun Mountains is mainly derived from the Junggar and Taklimakan Deserts, respectively, whereas the loess in the Ili Valley is derived mainly from the Sary–Ishikotrau Desert located in the Republic of Kazakhstan. However, these deserts serve mostly as holding areas for the silts rather than original source regions. The production of the silt-sized particles is mainly associated with glacial abrasion and tectonic-induced rock denudation. Thus, the loess in the studied regions can be described as “mountainous” loess rather than simply “glacial” loess or “desert” loess. It is unlikely that the mechanisms of loess formation are the same in different regions, given their dependence on specific geomorphological conditions and associated processes.     

Precambrian tectonic evolution of eastern India: A model of converging microplates

The Precambrian formations of the Singhbhum and Chotanagpur region of the Indian Peninsular Shield are tectonically classified and their implications in the context of plate tectonics are reviewed on the basis of the stratigraphic, structural, petrologic, geochemical, geophysical and geochronologic data that have accumulated through extensive research in the region in recent years. It is shown that the essential elements in tectonic settings, geological facies and structural and metamorphic characters of the Singhbhum orogenic belt and the reactivated Chotanagpur plateau are elegantly interpretable in terms of interaction of two converging microplates, named here as the Singhbhum and Chotanagpur plates. A detailed correlation of the tectonic evolution with the different stages of a proposed model of plate motions is attempted in the paper.The study reveals three cycles of plate motions with intervening periods of “quiescence”. During the first cycle (2000-1600 Ma), the Singhbhum plate moved northward and collided with the Chotanagpur plate: this led to the tectonic emplacement of the Dalma ophiolite belt and development of the F₁ folds and thrusts and M₁ metamorphism. During the second cycle (1550-1170 Ma), a clockwise rotation of the Singhbhum plate towards the NE generated the F₂ folds and a transcurrent sinistral shear zone. Obduction of the continental lithosphere of this plate occurred during the third cycle (1000-850 Ma) as a result of its continued impingement on the Chotanagpur plate in the NNW direction; this is documented by the evolution of the F₃ folds, M₃ metamorphism and the Singhbhum thrust zone. The “quiescence” periods allowed time for isostatic readjustments, viz., uplifts, intrusions of basic dyke swarms, erosion and paralic sedimentation.     

Background of a geophysical model of the initiation of the next glaciation

Evidence of (at least) five rapid hemispheric coolings of about 5°C during the last 10⁵ yr has been found, each event spread over not more than about a century, as examples of a global-scale climatic intransitivity. Only some of them lead to a complete glaciation at the northern continents, others ended after a few centuries by a sudden warming (“abortive glaciation”). Starting from a modified version of Wilson's hypothesis of Antarctic ice surges, an air-sea interaction model with realistic geophysical parameters is outlined to interpret the sudden initiation of the North American ice sheet. Special attention is given to the Atlantic section, where the climatic anomalies during the last glaciation appear to have been significantly larger than in other sections.     

Thematic integration of spatial data sets to delineate favourable zones for uranium exploration in Gangpur basin and parts of Kunjar and Darjing basins,Odisha

Surface exploration techniques have been key contributors in discovering mineral deposits over the past three decades. However, in the last decade there has been a growing emphasis on integrating remote sensing, geological, geophysical and geochemical exploration techniques to compliment them in identifying concealed deposits. Successful integrated exploration requires putting mappable petrophysical property contrasts in terms of geological and geochemical process that could be associated with different mineralisation environment. The Precambrian Gangpur basin comprising volcanic free sedimentary sequence is considered as a potential geological setting for hosting uranium mineralisation. The Gangpur basin with metasediments of low to medium metamorphic grade classified as the Gangpur Group are known for hosting manganese, limestone and lead-zinc deposits. Uranium mineralization is reported in limonitic carbonaceous phyllite and sheared quartzite of Kumarmunda Formation at Jhamankele-Bhalulata areas. Several uranium anomalies have been associated with gossan at Kaedarpani, Jamdra and in ferruginised laterite at Badekachar, Jarmal, Jhagarpur, Kadorpani, Karamabahal, Tetelkela & Kumtinunda. In the present study geological, geophysical and remote sensing data sets are processed and integrated with other available data to delineate target zones for uranium exploration. Even though direct detection of uranium mineralisation remains unresolved in exploration strategy, instead it is becoming increasingly instructive to focus on mapping suitable depositional environments. The enhanced satellite imagery is interpreted in terms of thematic layers viz. trend lines, lineaments, faults and geological contacts. The aeromagnetic data is processed and interpreted thematic layers of magnetic breaks and linears from total magnetic intensity (TMI), the reduced to pole (RTP), tilt derivative and amplitude of analytical signal grid images. The radiometric data is processed based on their broad lithology and radio-elemental distribution maps viz. count maps, ratio maps, ternary (%K-eTh-eU) and eU/K ? eU/eTh ? eU images are generated to aid in mapping uranium favourability zones. The favourability image zones with high eU/K, eU/eTh and eU counts zones are classified into class based on statistics and anomalous high zones are picked up as uranium favourable locales. The thematic layers of geological contacts, lineaments and faults interpreted from satellite imagery, magnetic linears interpreted from aeromagnetic data and uranium favourability zone extracted from Airborne Gamma Ray Spectrometric (AGRS) data are overlaid. Based on spatial association of favourable features few locals are delineated for uranium exploration.     

Geophysical constraints on understanding the origin of the Illinois basin and its underlying crust

Interpretation of reprocessed seismic reflection profiles reveals three highly coherent, layered, unconformity-bounded sequences that overlie (or are incorporated within) the Proterozoic “granite–rhyolite province” beneath the Paleozoic Illinois basin and extend down into middle crustal depths. The sequences, which are situated in east–central Illinois and west–central Indiana, are bounded by strong, laterally continuous reflectors that are mappable over distances in excess of 200 km and are expressed as broad “basinal” packages that become areally more restricted with depth. Normal-fault reflector offsets progressively disrupt the sequences with depth along their outer margins. We interpret these sequences as being remnants of a Proterozoic rhyolitic caldera complex and/or rift episode related to the original thermal event that produced the granite–rhyolite province. The overall thickness and distribution of the sequences mimic closely those of the overlying Mt. Simon (Late Cambrian) clastic sediments and indicate that an episode of localized subsidence was underway before deposition of the post-Cambrian Illinois basin stratigraphic succession, which is centered farther south over the “New Madrid rift system” (i.e., Reelfoot rift and Rough Creek graben). The present configuration of the Illinois basin was therefore shaped by the cumulative effects of subsidence in two separate regions, the Proterozoic caldera complex and/or rift in east–central Illinois and west–central Indiana and the New Madrid rift system to the south. Filtered isostatic gravity and magnetic intensity data preclude a large mafic igneous component to the crust so that any Proterozoic volcanic or rift episode must not have tapped deeply or significantly into the lower crust or upper mantle during the heating event responsible for the granite–rhyolite.     

Cenozoic uplift and subsidence in the North Atlantic region: Geological evidence revisited

The topographic evolution of the “passive” margins of the North Atlantic during the last 65 Myr is the subject of extensive debate due to inherent limitations of the geological, geomorphological and geophysical methods used for studies of uplift and subsidence. We have compiled a database of sign, time and amplitude (where possible) of topographic changes in the North Atlantic region during the Cenozoic (65–0 Ma). Our compilation is based on published results from reflection seismic studies, AFT (apatite fission track) studies, VR (vitrinite reflectance) trends, maximum burial, sediment supply studies, mass balance calculations and extrapolation of seismic profiles to onshore geomorphological features. The integration of about 200 published results reveal a clear pattern of topographic changes in the North Atlantic region during the Cenozoic: (1) The first major phase of Cenozoic regional uplift occurred in the late Palaeocene–early Eocene (ca 60–50 Ma), probably related to the break-up of the North Atlantic between Europe and Greenland, as indicated by the northward propagation of uplift. It was preceded by middle Palaeocene uplift and over-deepening of some basins of the North Sea and the surrounding areas. (2) A regional increase in subsidence in the offshore marginal areas of Norway, the northern North Sea, the northern British Isles and west Greenland took place in the Eocene (ca 57–35 Ma). (3) The Oligocene and Miocene (35–5 Ma) were characterized by regional tectonic quiescence, with only localised uplift, probably related to changes in plate dynamics. (4) The second major phase of regional uplift that affected all marginal areas of the North Atlantic occurred in the Plio-Pleistocene (5–0 Ma). Its amplitude was enhanced by erosion-driven glacio-isostatic compensation. Despite inconclusive evidence, this phase is likely to be ongoing at present.     

Creation of the Cocos and Nazca plates by fission of the Farallon plate

Throughout the Early Tertiary the area of the Farallon oceanic plate was episodically diminished by detachment of large and small northern regions, which became independently moving plates and microplates. The nature and history of Farallon plate fragmentation has been inferred mainly from structural patterns on the western, Pacific-plate flank of the East Pacific Rise, because the fragmented eastern flank has been subducted. The final episode of plate fragmentation occurred at the beginning of the Miocene, when the Cocos plate was split off, leaving the much reduced Farallon plate to be renamed the Nazca plate, and initiating Cocos–Nazca spreading. Some Oligocene Farallon plate with rifted margins that are a direct record of this plate-splitting event has survived in the eastern tropical Pacific, most extensively off northern Peru and Ecuador. Small remnants of the conjugate northern rifted margin are exposed off Costa Rica, and perhaps south of Panama. Marine geophysical profiles (bathymetric, magnetic and seismic reflection) and multibeam sonar swaths across these rifted oceanic margins, combined with surveys of 30–20 Ma crust on the western rise-flank, indicate that (i) Localized lithospheric rupture to create a new plate boundary was preceded by plate stretching and fracturing in a belt several hundred km wide. Fissural volcanism along some of these fractures built volcanic ridges (e.g., Alvarado and Sarmiento Ridges) that are 1–2 km high and parallel to “absolute” Farallon plate motion; they closely resemble fissural ridges described from the young western flank of the present Pacific–Nazca rise. (ii) For 1–2 m.y. prior to final rupture of the Farallon plate, perhaps coinciding with the period of lithospheric stretching, the entire plate changed direction to a more easterly (“Nazca-like”) course; after the split the northern (Cocos) part reverted to a northeasterly absolute motion. (iii) The plate-splitting fracture that became the site of initial Cocos–Nazca spreading was a linear feature that, at least through the 680 km of ruptured Oligocene lithosphere known to have avoided subduction, did not follow any pre-existing feature on the Farallon plate, e.g., a “fracture zone” trail of a transform fault. (iv) The margins of surviving parts of the plate-splitting fracture have narrow shoulders raised by uplift of unloaded footwalls, and partially buried by fissural volcanism. (v) Cocos–Nazca spreading began at 23 Ma; reports of older Cocos–Nazca crust in the eastern Panama Basin were based on misidentified magnetic anomalies.There is increased evidence that the driving force for the 23 Ma fission of the Farallon plate was the divergence of slab-pull stresses at the Middle America and South America subduction zones. The timing and location of the split may have been influenced by (i) the increasingly divergent northeast slab pull at the Middle America subduction zone, which lengthened and reoriented because of motion between the North America and Caribbean plates; (ii) the slightly earlier detachment of a northern part of the plate that had been entering the California subduction zone, contributing a less divergent plate-driving stress; and (iii) weakening of older parts of the plate by the Galapagos hotspot, which had come to underlie the equatorial region, midway between the risecrest and the two subduction zones, by the Late Oligocene.