The Early Valanginian ammonite, brachiopod and crustacean fauna of the Mecsek Mts. and its relationships with the embryonic shallow water hydrothermal vent at Zeng?várkony (Mecsek Mts., South Hungary)

Early Cretaceous development of the Mecsek Mts. (South Hungary) is characterized by continental rifting that produced mixed volcano-sedimentary rocks in the Tihonian/Berriasian and built up a volcanic edifice in the earliest Cretaceous of ankaramite-alkaline basalts. During the Valanginian, marl sedimentation occurred in the basinal part containing rich pelagic fauna dominated by ammonites. Beside phylloceratids, lytoceratids and haploceratids, Kilianella roubaudiana, K. lucensis, Sarasinella eucyrta, Thurmanniceras pertransiens, Th. (Clavithurmannia) foraticostata, Busnardoites campylotoxus, Olcostephanus drumensis, O. densicostatus, and Sabbaiceras stefanescui are indicating the Early and Late Valanginian Thurmanniceras pertransiens, Busnardoites campylotoxus and Saynoceras verrucosum zones. The Early Valanginian is also supported by Calpionellites darderi indicating the calpionellid “E” zone. The marl sequence contains a turbidite bed with rich fauna of shallow marine origin from the volcanic slope of lagoonal, reef, and tidal environs, however it contains metasomatized limestone olistoliths of different origin. Source of these olistoliths is the near iron-ore deposit, which is considered an embryonic shallow water hydrothermal vent. It includes a remarkable fauna of rich crustacean coprolite ichnospecies of Favreina dispentochetarius, F. hexaochetarius, F. octoochetarius, Palaxius decaochetarius, P. tetraochetarius, P. triochetarius. In the neighbourhood of the embryonic vent, a remarkable megafauna occurs, which is an almost monospecific brachiopod fauna dominated by Lacunosella hoheneggeri. Other brachiopods as Nucleata veronica, Moutonithyris moutoniana, Karadagithyris sp., and Zittelina pinguicula also occur as stray individuals. Together with benthic megafauna, nektonic elements as Nautiloidea gen. et sp. ind, phylloceratid- and lytoceratid ammonites and echinoid spines of Balanocidaris rysacantha occur.     

The first definite record of a Valanginian ichthyosaur and its implications on the evolution of post-Liassic Ichthyosauria

A complete ichthyosaur rostrum, with 124 associated teeth, was recently discovered in Laux-Montaux locality, department of Drôme, southeastern France. The associated belemnites and ammonites indicate a late Valanginian age (Neocomites peregrinus Zone, Olcostephanus nicklesi Subzone) for this fossil, which consequently represents the first diagnostic ichthyosaur ever reported from Valanginian strata. This specimen also represents the first occurrence of Aegirosaurus outside the Tithonian (Upper Jurassic) lithographic limestones of Bavaria (southern Germany). Tooth morphology and wear pattern suggest that Aegirosaurus belonged to the “Pierce II/ Generalist” feeding guild, which was hitherto not represented in post-Liassic ichthyosaurs. Most Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs actually crossed the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary.     

Direct terrestrial-marine correlation demonstrates surprisingly late onset of the last interglacial in central Europe

An interdisciplinary study of a small sedimentary basin at Neumark Nord 2 (NN2), Germany, has yielded a high-resolution record of the palaeomagnetic Blake Event, which we are able to place at the early part of the last interglacial pollen sequence documented from the same section. We use this data to calculate the duration of this stratigraphically important event at 3400 ± 350 yr. More importantly, the Neumark Nord 2 data enables precise terrestrial-marine correlation for the Eemian stage in central Europe. This shows a remarkably large time lag of ca. 5000 yr between the MIS 5e ‘peak’ in the marine record and the start of the last interglacial in this region.     

Spatial variability of watermass conditions within the European Epicontinental Seaway during the Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian–Toarcian)

In order to constrain spatial variability in watermass conditions within the European Epicontinental Seaway prior to, during and after the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event, carbon (δ¹³C_bel, δ¹³C_carb) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O_bel, δ¹⁸O_carb) isotope records were obtained from three sections in the Grands Causses Basin (southern France). These data were then compared with similar records along a north–south transect across the European Epicontinental Seaway. As the conclusions reached here strongly depend on the reliability of belemnite calcites as archives of palaeoceanographic changes, an attempt was made to improve the understanding of isotope signals recorded in belemnite calcite. Intra‐rostral carbon and oxygen‐isotope data from six belemnite specimens belonging to the genus Passaloteuthis were collected. Intra‐rostral carbon‐isotopes are influenced by vital effects, whereas oxygen‐isotopes reflect relative changes in temperature and salinity. Palaeotemperatures calculated from δ¹⁸O_bel‐isotope records from the Grands Causses Basin confirm relatively low temperatures throughout the Late Pliensbachian. Similar cool water conditions have previously been shown in Germany, England, Spain and Portugal. A temperature increase of up to 6 °C is observed across the Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary. A pronounced negative shift of at least ?3‰ (Vienna‐Pee Dee Belemnite) is recorded in bulk carbonate carbon during the lower Harpoceras serpentinum zone, typical of the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event. Before and after the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event, a good correlation between δ¹³C_carb and δ¹³C_bel exists, indicating well‐ventilated bottom‐waters and normal marine conditions. Instead, data for the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event indicate the development of a strong north–south gradient in salinity stratification and surface‐water productivity for the Western Tethyan realm. This study thus lends further support to a pronounced regional overprint on carbon and oxygen‐isotope records in epicontinental seaways.     

Depth dependency of stress ratios during the sedimentation of NW Gyeongsang Basin (Cretaceous), southeast Korea: Estimate of stress parameters and timing of tectonic episodes

The natural stress state in the lithosphere consists of the vertical load and Poisson ratio, and then additional horizontal compression and extension (denoted by Δσ_H and Δσ_T, respectively) are assumed to be superimposed upon this gravitational stress field. The resulting stress state is composed of the maximum, medium and minimum stresses denoted by σ₁, σ₂, and σ₃, respectively. The stress ratio is given as Φ = (σ₂ − σ₃)/(σ₁ − σ₃). A linear relation is found between Φ or 1/Φ and the vertical load in wrench-faulting and extensional stress regimes, respectively. The slope and intercept of the linear relation result in the additional horizontal stresses and level of (average) paleo-surface, respectively. Stress ratio is also determinable by the stress tensor inversion of fault-slip data. The earliest tectonic event (T_1 Event) in the Cretaceous Gyeongsang Basin consists of coexisting E–W compression and N–S extensional faulting episodes. Plots of Φ or 1/Φ against the burial depth (or vertical load) display several linear trends: two clusters in extensional episodes, and two or three clusters in wrench-faulting episodes. Because Δσ_H is assumed to be null or negligible in the extensional regime, Δσ_T is determinable from the slopes of two linear clusters as being −2.5 to −4.0 MPa. In wrench-faulting episodes, the values of Δσ_H are given to be 61.6–101.4 MPa by applying determined additional horizontal extensions. Determined levels of average paleo-surfaces and those of syndepostional structures illustrate that more than five wrench-faulting or extensional episodes have occurred during the T_1 Event, whose active age, consequently, ranges from the Barremian to the Coniacian. This supports that the coexisting coaxial faulting episodes with the same extension may correspond to the alternation of wrench-faulting and extensional episodes.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987113000297

This paper compiles lithostratigraphic and geochronological data obtained for the Palaeoproterozoic glacial diamictite-bearing successions,and thereby provides insights into understanding the geological processes causing the Huronian Glaciation Event.The majority of evidence for appearances of this glaciation event can be related to the Kenorland supercontinent breakup,allied to significant atmospheric change,as well as blooms of biogeochemical oxygenic photosynthesis.In this paper,the Huronian Glaciation Event is constrained to have occurred synchronously during 2.29-2.25 Ga,accompanied by dramatic environmental changes characteristic of the Great Oxidation Event which includes the pre- 2.3 Ga hydrosphere oxidation and the post-2.3 Ga atmosphere oxygenation.     

Pyrite paragenesis and multiple sulfur isotope distribution in late Archean and early Paleoproterozoic Hamersley Basin sediments

The sulfur isotope record in late Archean and early Paleoproterozoic rocks is of considerable importance because it provides evidence for changes in early Earth atmospheric oxygen levels and potentially constrains the origin and relative impact of various microbial metabolisms during the transition from an anoxic to oxic atmosphere. Mass independently fractionated (MIF) sulfur isotopes reveal late Archean and early Paleoproterozoic sulfur sources in different pyrite morphologies in Western Australia's Hamersley Basin. Multiple sulfur isotope values in late Archean pyrite vary according to morphology. Fine grained pyrite has positive sulfur MIF, indicating a reduced elemental sulfur source, whereas pyrite nodules have negative sulfur MIF, potentially derived from soluble sulfate via microbial sulfate reduction. The Hamersley Basin δ³⁴S–Δ³³S record suggests that the extent of oxygenation of the surface ocean fluctuated through the Late Archean from at least 2.6 Ga, more than 150 million yr before the Great Oxidation Event. In the early Paleoproterozoic, there is less distinction between pyrite morphologies with respect to sulfur isotope fractionation, and pyrite from the Brockman Iron Formation trends toward modern sulfur isotope values. An important exception to this is the strong negative MIF recorded in layer parallel pyrite in Paleoproterozoic carbonate facies iron formation. This may suggest that deeper water hydrothermal environments remained anoxic while shallower water environments became more oxidised by the early Paleoproterozoic. The results of the current study indicate that sulfide paragenesis is highly significant when investigating Archean and early Paleoproterozoic multiple sulfur isotope compositions and sulfur sources.     

Controls on event runoff coefficients in the eastern Italian Alps

Analyses of event runoff coefficients provide essential insight on catchment response, particularly if a range of catchments and a range of events are compared by a single indicator. In this study we examine the effect of climate, geology, land use, flood types and initial soil moisture conditions on the distribution functions of the event runoff coefficients for a set of 14 mountainous catchments located in the eastern Italian Alps, ranging in size from 7.3 to 608.4 km². Runoff coefficients were computed from hourly precipitation, runoff data and estimates of snowmelt. A total of 535 events were analysed over the period 1989–2004. We classified each basin using a “permeability index” which was inferred from a geologic map and ranged from “low” to “high permeability”. A continuous soil moisture accounting model was applied to each catchment to classify ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ initial soil moisture conditions. The results indicate that the spatial distribution of runoff coefficients is highly correlated with mean annual precipitation, with the mean runoff coefficient increasing with mean annual precipitation. Geology, through the ‘permeability index’, is another important control on runoff coefficients for catchments with mean annual precipitation less than 1200 mm. Land use, as indexed by the SCS curve number, influences runoff coefficient distribution to a lesser degree. An analysis of the runoff coefficients by flood type indicates that runoff coefficients increase with event snowmelt. Results show that there exists an intermediate region of subsurface water storage capacity, as indexed by a flow–duration curve-based index, which maximises the impact of initial wetness conditions on the runoff coefficient. This means that the difference between runoff coefficients characterised by wet and dry initial conditions is negligible both for basins with very large storage capacity and for basins with small storage capacity. For basins with intermediate storage capacities, the impact of the initial wetness conditions may be relatively large.     

河北平原沉积物中记录的新仙女木事件

河北平原的高阳、羊二庄、南庄头孢粉剖面和阳原、怀涿盆地的冻融褶皱清楚地记录了冰期向全新世过渡中的新仙女木气候逆转事件.河北平原的新仙女木降温事件以冷干为特征,降温幅度约8℃.     

邻近算法在微地震震源位置和一维速度模型同时反演中的应用

微地震事件的空间分布可以用来监测水力压裂过程中裂缝的发育情况.因此,震源定位是微震监测中重要的环节.震源定位依赖准确的速度模型,而震源位置和速度模型的耦合易导致线性迭代的同时反演方法陷入局部极小值.邻近算法作为一种非线性全局优化算法,能够最大程度地避免陷入局部最优解.本文将邻近算法应用于单井监测的微震定位和一维速度模型...