Calcareous nannoplankton, planktonic foraminiferal, and carbonate carbon isotope stratigraphy of the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary section in the Ultrahelvetic Zone (Eastern Alps, Upper Austria)

Ultrahelvetic units of the Eastern Alps were deposited on the distal European continental margin of the (Alpine) Tethys. The Rehkogelgraben section (“Buntmergelserie”, Ultrahelvetic unit, Upper Austria) comprises a 5 m thick succession of upper Cenomanian marl-limestone cycles overlain by a black shale interval composed of three black shale layers and carbonate-free claystones, followed by lower Turonian white to light grey marly limestones with thin marl layers. The main biostratigraphic events in the section are the last occurrence of Rotalipora and the first occurrences of Helvetoglobotruncana helvetica and Quadrum gartneri. The thickest black shale horizon has a TOC content of about 5%, with predominantly marine organic matter of kerogen type II. Vitrinite reflectance and Rock-Eval parameter T_max (<424 °C) indicate low maturity. HI values range from 261 to 362 mg HC/g TOC. δ¹³C values of bulk rock carbonates display the well documented positive shift around the black shale interval, allowing correlation of the Rehkogelgraben section with other sections such as the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) succession at Pueblo, USA, and reference sections at Eastbourne, UK, and Gubbio, Italy. Sediment accumulation rates at Rehkogelgraben (average 2.5 mm/ka) are significantly lower than those at Pueblo and Eastbourne.     

Coalification and thermal histories of Tertiary basins in relation to late Alpidic evolution of the Eastern Alps

The thermal histories of Tertiary basins situated around and within the Eastern Alps are examined using coalification data.Waples' method is used to estimate paleogeothermal conditions. The data suggest that the basins' thermal histories are intimately related to late Alpidic geodynamics of the Eastern Alps.Basins situated near the thrust front (Eastern Alpine foredeep, Vienna basin) are characterized by hypothermal histories and low coalification gradients. This is a consequence of relatively thick crust, high paleosedimentation rates in the Alpine foredeep, and Oligocene to Early Miocene stacking of cool sediments along the southern margin of the Eastern Alpine foredeep. Extension in the Vienna basin region is restricted mainly to shallow crustal levels and did not change the thermal pattern beneath the Alpine nappes. Major hyperthermal events of Oligocene age and local coalification maxima in the central Slovenian basin date from magmatic activity along the Periadriatic lineament, caused by Oligocene subduction. In Miocene times subduction migrated eastward and magmatic activity shifted to the northern Slovenian and Styrian basins, resulting in a strong hyperthermal phase of Ottnangian to Lower Badenian age in these basins.Rapid uplift of the Tauern window in the central part of the Eastern Alps, due to buoyancy, is related to E-W directed crustal stretching and resulted in raised heat flow in Miocene times in the Tauern window region, and in relatively high rank in adjacent Tertiary basins (Wagrain, Tamsweg).Present geothermal patterns are controlled primarily by raised heat flow along the south-eastern margin of the Alps, a consequence of thinned crust beneath the Pannonian basin.

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Zusammenfassung Die Inkohlungsbilder von tertiären Sedimentbecken, die im Bereich der Ostalpen situiert sind, werden hinsichtlich der thermischen Geschichte diskutiert. In einigen Becken erfolgt eine Abschätzung der paläogeothermischen Verhältnisse mit Hilfe derWaples-Methode. Die Inkohlungsbilder der Tertiärbecken belegen eine enge Beziehung zwischen der thermischen Geschichte dieser Becken und der jungalpidischen Geodynamik der Ostalpen.In der Nähe der Überschiebungsfront gelegene Becken (Molassebecken, Wiener Becken) werden durch hypothermische Verhältnisse und geringe Inkohlung charakterisiert. Dies ist eine Folge relativ dicker Kruste, hoher Paläo-Sedimentationsraten in der alpinen Vortiefe und des Übereinanderstapelns kühler Sedimente am Südrand des Molassebeckens während Oligozän und frühem Miozän. Die Extension im Wiener Becken war auf den obersten Krustenabschnitt beschränkt und hat die thermischen Verhältnisse unterhalb der alpinen Decken nicht beeinflußt.Die magmatische Aktivität entlang der Periadriatischen Naht steht in Zusammenhang mit der oligozänen Subduktion und ist für hyperthermische Ereignisse und lokale Inkohlungsmaxima in oligozänen Sedimenten des zentralen Slowenischen Beckens verantwortlich. Im Miozän wanderte die Subduktion ostwärts und die magmatische Aktivität verlagerte sich in das nördliche Slowenische und Steirische Becken. Dadurch wurde in diesen Becken eine starke hyperthermische Phase während Ottnang bis Unterbaden initiiert.Der rasche isostatische Aufstieg des Tauernfensters in den zentralen Ostalpen steht mit miozäner, E-W gerichteter Dehnungstektonik in Zusammenhang. Er ist für erhöhten Wärmefluß im Miozän im Bereich des Tauernfensters und für die relativ hohe Inkohlung des Wagrainer und Tamsweger Beckens verantwortlich.Die heutigen geothermischen Verhältnisse werden vor allem durch erhöhten Wärmefluß am Südostrand der Alpen geprägt. Dieser ist eine Folge der Krustenausdünnung unter dem Pannonischen Becken.

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Résumé La houillification des bassins sédimentaires tertiaires des Alpes orientales est discutée dans la perspective de leur histoire thermique. Les conditions paléogéothermiques sont estimées au moyen de la méthode deWaples. L'étude de la houillification de ces bassins montre une relation étroite entre leur histoire thermique et la géodynamique des Alpes orientales à la fin du Tertiaire.Ces bassins, situés à proximité du front de charriage — il sagit du Bassin molassique et du Bassin viennois —, se caractérisent par leur condition «hypothermique» et leur faible gradient de houillification; cette propriété provient de l'épaississement de la croute terrestre due à une sédimentation rapide en avant des Alpes et à l'empilement tectonique des sédiments froids les uns sur les autres le long de la bordure méridionale du Bassin molassique au cours de l'Oligocène et du Miocène inférieur. L'extension, dans la région du Bassin viennois, s'est limitée à un niveau crustal peu profond et n'a pas influencé la situation thermique dans les nappes alpines.L'activité magmatique le long du linéament périadriatique, due à la subduction oligocène, est contemporaine des événements «hyperthermiques» et des maxima locaux de houillification dans les sédiments oligocènes du bassin central de Slovénie.Pendant le Miocène, la subduction progressa vers l'est et l'activité magmatique se déplaça vers les bassins de Slovénie septentrionale et de Styrie, avec comme conséquence, dans ces bassins, une phase «hyperthermique» marquée à l'Ottnangien et au Badenien inférieur.La montée isostatique rapide de la Fenêtre des Tauern dans la partie centrale des Alpes orientales est en relation avec l'extension tectonique est-ouest au Miocène; elle est responsable d'un flux thermique élevé dans la région de la Fenêtre et d'une houillification relativement importante dans les bassins tertiaires adjacents de Wagrain et de Tamsweg.La géothermie actuelle de la bordure sud-est des Alpes est régie par un flux thermique élevé, conséquence de l'amincissement crustal sous le bassin Pannonique.

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Thermal evolution of an extensional detachment as constrained by organic metamorphic data and thermal modeling: Graz Paleozoic Nappe Complex (Eastern Alps)

Following Early Cretaceous nappe stacking, the Eastern Alps were affected by late-orogenic extension during the Late Cretaceous. In the eastern segment of this range, a Late Cretaceous detachment separates a very low- to low-grade metamorphic cover (Graz Paleozoic Nappe Complex, GPNC) above a low- to high-grade metamorphic basement. Synchronously, the Kainach Gosau Basin (KGB) collapsed and subsided on top of the section.Metamorphism of organic material within this section has been investigated using vitrinite reflectance data and Raman spectra of extracted carbonaceous material. In the southern part of the GPNC, vitrinite reflectance indicates a decrease in organic maturity towards the stratigraphic youngest unit. The remaining part of the GPNC is characterized by an aureole of elevated vitrinite reflectance values and Raman R2 ratios that parallels the margins of the GPNC. Vitrinite reflectance in the KGB shows a steep coalification gradient and increases significantly towards the western basin margin. The observed stratigraphic trend in the southern GPNC is a result of deep Paleozoic to Early Cretaceous burial. This maturity pattern was overprinted along the margins by advective heat and convective fluids during Late Cretaceous to Paleogene exhumation of basement rocks.During shearing, the fault zone was heated up to ca. 500 °C. This overprint is explained by a two-dimensional thermal model with a ramp-flat fault geometry and a slip rate of 1 to 1.5 cm/year during 5 Ma fault movement. The collapse basin above the detachment subsided in a thermal regime which was characterized by relaxing isotherms.     

Wintertime rates of net primary production and nitrate and ammonium uptake in the southern Benguela upwelling system

The elevated levels of primary productivity associated with eastern boundary currents are driven by nutrient- rich waters upwelled from depth, such that these regions are typically characterised by high rates of nitrate-fuelled phytoplankton growth. Production studies from the southern Benguela upwelling system (SBUS) tend to be biased towards the summer upwelling season, yet winter data are required to compute annual budgets and understand seasonal variability. Net primary production (NPP) and nitrate and ammonium uptake were measured concurrently at six stations in the SBUS in early winter. While euphotic zone NPP was highest at the stations nearest to the coast and declined with distance from the shore, a greater proportion was potentially exportable from open-ocean surface waters, as indicated by the higher specific nitrate uptake rates and f-ratios (ratio of nitrate uptake to total nitrogen consumption) at the stations located off the continental shelf. Near the coast, phytoplankton growth was predominantly supported by ammonium despite the high ambient nitrate concentrations. Along with ammonium concentrations as high as 3.6 µmol l^–1, this strongly suggests that nitrate uptake in the inshore SBUS, and by extension carbon drawdown, is inhibited by ammonium, at least in winter, although this has also been hypothesised for the summer.     

Tectonics and sedimentation in the Fohnsdorf-Seckau Basin (Miocene, Austria): from a pull-apart basin to a half-graben

The Miocene intramontane Fohnsdorf-Seckau Basin is situated at the junction of the sinistral Mur-Mürz-fault system and the dextral Pöls-Lavanttal fault system. The basin comprises a 2,400-m-thick coal-bearing fluviodeltaic-lacustrine succession (Lower to Middle Miocene, Upper Karpatian?/Lower Badenian) which is overlain by a 1,000-m-thick alluvio-deltaic conglomeratic succession (Apfelberg Formation, ?Middle/Upper Badenian) in the south. A three-stage model for the basin evolution has been reconstructed from structural analysis and basin fill geometries. During a first pull-apart phase, subsidence occurred along ENE-trending, sinistral strike-slip faults of the Mur-Mürz fault system and NE-SW to N-S-trending normal faults, forming a composite pull-apart basin between overstepping en-echelon strike-slip faults. The Seckau and Fohnsdorf sub-basins are considered as two adjacent pull-aparts which merged into one basin. During the second phase, N-S to NNW-SSE extension and normal faulting along the southern basin margin fault formed a half-graben, filled by wedge-shaped alluvial strata (Apfelberg Formation). During the third phase, after the end of basin sedimentation, the dextral Pöls-Lavanttal fault system reshaped the western basin margin into a positive flower structure.     

Syn- and post-collisional heat flow in the Cenozoic Eastern Alps

The heat flow evolution of a continental collisional zone is exemplified by the Eastern Alps. Heat flow maps for the syn-collision (Oligocene), syn-extrusion (Early/Middle Miocene), and post-extrusion (Late Miocene, Recent) stages are presented, and are discussed in relation to the orogenic evolution. Continental collision during Paleogene time was characterized by extremely low heat flow (<40 mW/m²) along the orogenetic front, and very high heat flow (>150 mW/m²) a few hundred kilometers south of it. The former was a result of crustal thickening and of thermal blanketing due to rapid sedimentation and nappe stacking. The latter was caused by slab break-off and magmatic activity. The Early/Middle Miocene syn-extrusion stage was characterized by rapid exhumation of metamorphic core complexes (Tauern and Rechnitz Windows), and by magmatic activity (Styrian Basin). Both mechanisms caused extremely high heat flow (>200 mW/m²). In contrast, the orogenetic front remained cold. Thereafter, magmatic activity ended and uplift rates decreased. Thus, Late Miocene heat flow is characterized by low to moderately high values. Heat flow values >75 mW/m² were restricted to the transition zone of the Pannonian Basin characterized by thinned crust, and to the Tauern Window area. Recent temperature data indicate a subtle post-Miocene increase in heat flow.     

安徽铜陵凤凰山夕卡岩型铜矿床中辉钼矿Re-Os同位素年龄及其地质意义

铜陵矿集区是我国长江中下游Cu-Au-Fe-Mo成矿带中最重要的有色金属基地之一,凤凰山矿床是铜陵矿集区的重要组成部分,为一个典型的夕卡岩型铜矿床。本文利用Re-Os同位素定年方法对凤凰山铜矿床进行了成矿时代测定,获得了辉钼矿的Re-Os同位素模式年龄范围为139.1±2.4～142.0±2.2Ma,等时线年龄为141.1±1.4Ma,与矿区内石英二长闪长岩和花岗闪长岩SHRIMP锆石U-Pb年龄(144.2±2.3Ma)相吻合,也与铜陵地区其他矿田的成矿时代基本一致,可能为岩石圈减薄事件的成矿响应。     

The birth of the Paratethys during the Early Oligocene: From Tethys to an ancient Black Sea analogue?

Deeper water black shales, overlain by coccolith-bearing marlstones representing the incipient Paratethys (example: Early Oligocene; Austrian Molasse Basin), have sedimentary characteristics similar to those of the Holocene Black Sea since 7500 years bp. Framboid pyrite size, biomarker and C–N-isotope data additionally indicate that isolation of the Paratethys resulted in Black Sea-type characteristics during nannoplankton zone NP 23.In contrast to the estuarine circulation across the Bosphorus since 7500 years bp, marine conditions prevailed in the incipient Paratethys during NP 21/22. Nitrogen was fixed and low organic carbon accumulation rates prevailed. In both settings a vertical density water-column stratification was accompanied by photic zone anoxia, and by anaerobic methane oxidation in the Paratethys. In the Paratethys increased run off, starting in NP 22, led to estuarine circulation during NP 23. During this period cyclic blooms of calcareous nannoplankton resulted in high calcite accumulation rates which diluted the coeval clay sedimentation. Similar sedimentary features in the Black Sea and the Paratethys during the earliest Oligocene are result from opposite paleoceanographic developments, both leading to estuarine circulation patterns. In the Black Sea, permanent photic zone anoxic conditions were established 7500 years bp in response to the first invasion of saline Mediterranean waters into the former freshwater lake. In contrast, brackish surface water in the Paratethys resulted from nutrient-rich freshwater diluting the marine water body.     

Oil-oil and oil-source rock correlations in the Alpine Foreland Basin of Austria: Insights from biomarker and stable carbon isotope studies

The Alpine Foreland Basin is a minor oil and moderate gas province in central Europe. In the Austrian part of the Alpine Foreland Basin, oil and minor thermal gas are thought to be predominantly sourced from Lower Oligocene horizons (Schöneck and Eggerding formations). The source rocks are immature where the oil fields are located and enter the oil window at ca. 4 km depth beneath the Alpine nappes indicating long-distance lateral migration. Most important reservoirs are Upper Cretaceous and Eocene basal sandstones.Stable carbon isotope and biomarker ratios of oils from different reservoirs indicate compositional trends in W-E direction which reflect differences in source, depositional environment (facies), and maturity of potential source rocks. Thermal maturity parameters from oils of different fields are only in the western part consistent with northward displacement of immature oils by subsequently generated oils. In the eastern part of the basin different migration pathways must be assumed. The trend in S/(S + R) isomerisation of ααα-C₂₉ steranes versus the αββ (20R)/ααα (20R) C₂₉ steranes ratio from oil samples can be explained by differences in thermal maturation without involving long-distance migration. The results argue for hydrocarbon migration through highly permeable carrier beds or open faults rather than relatively short migration distances from the source. The lateral distance of oil fields to the position of mature source rocks beneath the Alpine nappes in the south suggests minimum migration distances between less than 20 km and more than 50 km.Biomarker compositions of the oils suggest Oligocene shaly to marly successions (i.e. Schoeneck, Dynow, and Eggerding formations) as potential source rocks, taking into account their immature character. Best matches are obtained between the oils and units a/b (marly shale) and c (black shale) of the “normal” Schöneck Formation, as well as with the so-called “Oberhofen Facies”. Results from open system pyrolysis-gas chromatography of potential source rocks indicate slightly higher sulphur content of the resulting pyrolysate from unit b. The enhanced dibenzothiophene/phenanthrene ratios of oils from the western part of the basin would be consistent with a higher contribution of unit b to hydrocarbon expulsion in this area. Differences in the relative contribution of sedimentary units to oil generation are inherited from thickness variations of respective units in the overthrusted sediments. The observed trend towards lighter δ¹³C values of hydrocarbon fractions from oil fields in a W-E direction are consistent with lower δ¹³C values of organic matter in unit c.     

Depositional environment and hydrocarbon source potential of the Oligocene Ruslar Formation (Kamchia Depression; Western Black Sea)

The Oligocene Ruslar Formation is a hydrocarbon source rock in the Kamchia Depression, located in the Western Black Sea area. Depositional environment and source potential of the predominantly pelitic rocks were investigated using core and cuttings samples from four offshore wells. In these wells the Ruslar Formation is up to 500 m thick. Based on lithology and well logs, the Ruslar Formation is subdivided from base to top into units I–VI. Dysoxic to anoxic conditions and mesohaline to euhaline salinities prevailed during deposition of the Ruslar Formation. Relatively high oxygen contents occurred during early Solenovian times (lower part of unit II), when brackish surface water favoured nannoplankton blooms and the deposition of bright marls (“Solenovian event”). Anoxic conditions with photic zone anoxia were established during late Oligocene times (units III and IV) and, probably, reflect a basin-wide anoxic event in the Eastern Paratethys during Kalmykian times. Organic carbon content in the Ruslar Formation is up to 3%. Autochthonous aquatic and allochthonous terrigenous biomass contribute to the organic matter. Relatively high amounts of aquatic organic matter occur in the lower part of the Ruslar Formation (units I and II) and in its upper part (unit VI). Diatoms are especially abundant in the lower part of unit VI. The kerogen is of type III and II with HI values ranging from 50 to 400 mgHC/gTOC. Units I and II (Pshekian, lower Solenovian) are characterized by a fair (to good) potential to produce gas and oil, but potential sources for gas and oil also occur in the Upper Oligocene units IV–VI.