What do fault patterns reveal about the latest phase of extension within the Northern Snake Range metamorphic core complex,Nevada, USA?

The Northern Snake Range is a classic example of a metamorphic core complex, Basin-and-Range province, United States. It is composed of a plastically deformed footwall and a brittlely deformed hanging wall, separated by the Northern Snake Range low-angle detachment (NSRD). Brittle deformation, however, is not confined to the hanging wall.This paper focuses on exposures in Cove Canyon, located on the SE flank of the Northern Snake Range, where penetrative, homogeneous faults are well exposed throughout the hanging wall, footwall and NSRD, and overprint early plastic deformation. These late-stage fault sets assisted Eocene-Miocene extension. Detailed analysis of the faults reveals the following: (1) The shortening direction defined by faults is similar to the shortening direction defined by the stretching lineation in the footwall mylonites, indicating that the extensional kinematic history remained unchanged as the rocks were uplifted into the elastico-frictional regime. (2) After ∼17 Ma, extension may have continued entirely within elastic-frictional regime via cataclastic flow. (3) This latest deformation phase may have been accommodated by a single, continuous event. (3) Faults within NSRD boudins indicate that deformation within the detachment zone was non-coaxial during the latest phase of extension.     

珠江口盆地珠一坳陷西部中新世早-中期沉积特征及控制因素*

大型海相三角洲分布范围广,沉积动力复杂,其精细层序—沉积构型和演化规律是沉积学领域长期研究的热点。综合岩矿、测井和三维地震资料,充分结合高精度层序地层学和三维地震沉积学分析方法,对古珠江三角洲西侧的恩平地区中新世早-中期沉积特征进行了精细研究,识别出了辫状河道、曲流河道等河控三角洲的主要微相单元,同时也揭示出海岸砂脊等浪控三角洲中发育的典型微相类型。在高精度层序格架约束下,揭示出单一典型层序内古珠江三角洲的演化特征: 低位体系域以河控三角洲为主,发育大型交切状辫状水道;海侵和高位体系域河道规模明显减小,以小规模曲流河道为主,且易于见到海岸砂脊等波浪作用的典型特征。此外,针对恩平地区中新世早-中期沉积相带的系统编图和演化分析,在大约6 ^Ma时间内识别出6次河道大规模改道现象,推测恩平地区沉积演化明显受到自旋回沉积过程的影响。     

柴达木盆地新近纪叠层石中微生物化石组合的发现与钙化方式研究

在柴达木盆地西部新近纪叠层石纹层中第一次明确发现了保存完好的微生物化石,其中包括微米级别的微生物球状构造,亚微米级的生物颗粒构造以及矿化的席状和片状有机组织。结合目前国内外的研究成果可以确定暗层中微米级球状构造为类似于Coccoid的硫还原微生物,亚微米的球状颗粒一方面是叠层石微生物席胞外聚合物质(EPS)的重要组成部分,另一方面也是极端条件下微生物体脱水收缩以后的产物,而片状和席状构造则是矿化的EPS以及微生物膜。通过对亮层和暗层中生物构造、石英、石盐以及方解石矿物的分析,可以确定叠层石的形成过程分为暗层有机主动矿化和亮层无机原地沉淀,其中的暗层矿化则分为上层封闭酸性环境中的光合作用,以及下层相对封闭环境中的硫还原和EPS的降解钙化作用,上部的亮层则主要为原地沉淀无机成因并在成岩过程中受到了暗层中有机质的影响。     

Low-T thermochronometric evidence for post-thrusting (< 11 Ma) exhumation in the Western Outer Carpathians,Poland

Thermal indicators record exhumation of sedimentary units from depths in excess of 6 km over most of the Outer Carpathian fold and thrust belt in Poland. Apatite fission track data, showing cooling ages ranging between 32.1 ± 4.8 and 7.0 ± 0.8 Ma, indicate that exhumation was partially coeval with shortening. However, new thermochronometric information obtained as part of this study allowed us to unravel a previously undetected, post-thrusting exhumation stage. The integration of new field data and structural analysis with low-T thermochronometry suggests that termination of thrusting – at ca. 11 Ma in the area of the present study – was followed by gravity disequilibria within the orogenic wedge. The related extension and denudation phenomena appear to have played a primary role in the recent (< 10 Ma) tectonic evolution of the Western Outer Carpathians, exerting a major control on exhumation processes in this key area of the Alpine–Carpathian mountain system.     

Stratigraphy and paleomagnetism of a 3-km-thick Miocene lava pile in the Mjoifjördur area,eastern Iceland

We have carried out stratigraphic mapping in the Upper Miocene basalt lava pile around the fjords Mjoifjördur and Seydisfjördur, eastern Iceland. The mapping is based on conventional methods including the use of interbasaltic clastic horizons and petrographically distinct lava groups. These units are also used to provide correlations with the Nordfjördur area south of Mjoifjördur. We present a 3-km composite stratigraphic column for the area between Mjoifjördur and Seydisfjördur. The geology of this area shows some differences from the classical model of Walker for the structure of eastern Iceland partly due to the fact that most of Mjoifjördur is not in the vicinity of central volcanoes. Detailed laboratory measurements of remanent magnetization were carried out on oriented core samples from 363 lavas in 10 selected profiles. The local paleomagnetic polarity stratigraphy supports correlations made on the basis of other criteria. Over 20 geomagnetic reversals are recorded in the eastern Iceland lava pile in a period approximately 13-10 Ma ago. The geomagnetic field during this period averages to a central axial dipole field, and its overall statistical properties resemble those obtained in earlier surveys in Iceland.     

A new species of Middle Miocene sperm whale of the genus Scaldicetus (Cetacea; Physeteridae) from Shiga-mura, Japan

Abstract A nearly complete skeleton of a fossil sperm whale from the Middle Miocene age Bessho Formation at Shiga-mura, Nagano Prefecture, the most complete fossil physeterid skeleton found in Japan, is here named Scaldicetus shigensis, new species. Its abruptly tapered rostrum, deep supracranial basin, and high occipital crest are typical of physeterids. Large teeth with crenulate enamel on conical crowns, present in both the palate and mandible, are consistent with the genus Scaldicetus du Bus, 1867, a genus originally based on fossils discovered in the Antwerp Basin, Belgium. Scaldicetus shigensis is relatively primitive, having a relatively long, slender rostrum, large zygomatic arches, large tympanic bullae, prominent occipital condyles, low tooth count and a sloping occipital shield that is deeply emarginated laterally by large temporal fossae. The probable mandibular tooth count is 12, only one more than the primitive eutherian mammalian dentition. Despite its abundant primitive characters, Scaldicetus shigensis has very asymmetrical external nares, comparable to the living sperm whale, Physeter catodon, and is in this way more derived than most of the contemporaneous fossil physeterids. At a time when other sperm whales were more highly evolved, Scaldicetus shigensis retained a primitive occipital shield, large tympanic bullae, and low tooth count, as in primitive Oligocene odontocetes such as Agorophiidae. It was a relict form in Middle Miocene time, and provides an indication of a primitive stage of sperm whale evolution heretofore undocumented. Fossils from elsewhere previously referred to as Scaldicetus, largely on the basis of tooth characters, range in age from Early Miocene to Plio-Pleistocene time. Cranial material that would clarify relationships is lacking for most of these, and this time range seems too long for a cetacean genus. Because of this simplistic approach to identifications, Scaldicetus is probably a grade taxon, not a natural biological grouping. However, the tooth morphology of Scaldicetus shigensis is correct for the genus Scaldicetus, so we provisionally assign it to this genus. Redefinition of the genus Scaldicetus and revision of the Physeteridae are beyond the scope of the present study.     

Magnetostratigraphy and revised chronology of the late Miocene mammal localities of Samos,Greece

The late Miocene mammalian record in Samos Island, Greece, is extremely important for the Eurasian Neogene mammalian history and chronology. However, due to the mixed nature of old fossil collections and controversies on the stratigraphic position of fossil quarries, great confusion has arisen concerning the recognition of distinct faunal assemblages, their age(s) and biostratigraphic significance. This paper presents the magnetostratigraphy of the late Miocene continental deposits of the fossiliferous Mytilinii Basin, Samos Island, Greece. Old and new sites are stratigraphically controlled with accuracy and correlated with each other. The magnetostratigraphy of seven individual sections, covering the entire Mytilinii Formation, provides good correlation with the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale (GPTS). These results, as well as the relocation and precise litho- and magnetostratigraphic correlation of the old and new mammal localities, combined with new and reviewed paleontological data and thorough studying of the numerous radiometric dates, allowed us to define five biostratigraphic horizons. Their correlation with, and implications to the European Neogene mammal chronology ages and zones make up the following discussion and provides a modified determination of the middle Turolian (MN 12) boundaries.Abbreviations GPTS Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale - IPGP Institute de Physic du Globe de Paris - MGL Musée Cantonal de Géologie, Lausanne - MNHA Museum of Natural History of the Aegean, Samos - BMNH Natural History Museum of London - Q quarries - Fm Formation     

Geochronological evidence for pervasive Miocene weathering,Minas Gerais,Brazil

⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar laser incremental‐heating analyses of 22 individual grains of supergene cryptomelane from three weathering pro?les, up to 400 km apart, in the Rio Doce valley and Barbacena regions at Minas Gerais, Brazil, show that the formation of weathering pro?les in these regions is contemporaneous, suggesting a strong weathering event in the Middle to Late Miocene (10–8 Ma). The preservation of these Miocene samples at or near the present surface suggests that either erosion rates have been very low in the region since the Miocene or that a much thicker weathering mantle was present in the region originally. Assuming a constant thickness of weathering pro?les in the region throughout the Tertiary, we may calculate weathering front propagation rates of 4–8 m Myr^?1 during the past 10 Ma. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

柴达木盆地古近纪—新近纪湖相叠层石与藻礁的沉积组合特征与意义

在柴达木盆地发育了各种类型的渐新世—中新世湖相叠层石，其中丘状叠层石具有重要的地质意义，丘状叠层石直接生长在砾岩上，并向上逐渐演化为藻礁，藻礁向上又重新转化为叠层石沉积。通过对内部纹层特征和沉积组分的研究并结合叠层石的同位素、地球化学以及古生物资料分析表明，微生物自身的钙化作用以及微生物引发的沉淀作用形成了这种具有典型内部纹层的丘状叠层石。较高的温度、炎热和干燥的气候条件、坚硬的基底以及较少的藻类干扰作用是叠层石生成的主要因素。总体上，叠层石形成于较为低能的环境中，与高能环境中所形成的藻礁完全不同，而且两者具有明显的相互竞争作用。因此，与气候和水体条件密切相关的后生生物的生长和真核藻类的发育是叠层石在显生宙迅速衰落的主要因素。     

Sequence stratigraphy of the Upper Oligocene–Lower Miocene of eastern Jylland, Denmark: role of structural relief and variable sediment supply in controlling sequence development

The Upper Oligocene–Lower Miocene succession in eastern Jylland can be subdivided into three sequences (A–C from older to younger) deposited on and around the Ringkøbing-Fyn High. The development of the sequences reflects a complex interaction between eustatic sea-level changes, physiography and variable sediment supply. Superimposed on this, frequent storms promoted longshore sediment transport and the development of spit systems adjacent to structural highs. As a consequence, sequence boundaries and flooding surfaces are not always expressed as portrayed in conventional sequence models; sequence boundaries or flooding surfaces may only be marked by subtle changes in depositional environment that can only be revealed by careful integration of sedimentological observations with palynological data. The influence of the topography resulted in the development of brackish water basins that were sufficiently large to permit the deposition of hummocky cross-stratified sands with muds. These deposits are overlain by clean hummocky and swaley cross-stratified sands that were deposited in a fully marine, high-energy environment. This evolution from mud-rich, storm-influenced sediments to sand-dominated shoreface sediments resulted from a rise in sea level and was not the result of shoreface progradation and downstepping during a sea level fall. In addition to the topographic control on sequence development, sediment supply to the study area changed significantly during the deposition of the three sequences. Initially the basin was sediment-starved, favouring the formation of glaucony-rich sediments. The sediment input gradually increased and the influence of structural highs and lows became less significant with time. Consequently, both sequence boundaries and flooding surfaces are characterized by more conventional features in the younger part of the succession, where a basinward displacement of the shoreline resulted in thick lowstand delta deposits.