Stratigraphy and sedimentation rates of Upper Cretaceous deep-water systems of the Rhenodanubian Group (Eastern Alps, Germany)

In the Bavarian Alps (Germany), west of the Isar River, the abyssal deposits of the Lower Barremian to Upper Campanian Rhenodanubian Group consist of siliciclastic and calcareous turbidites alternating with hemipelagic non-calcareous mudstones. The up to 1500-m-thick succession, deposited in the Penninic Basin to the south of the European Plate, is characterized by a low mean sedimentation rate (c. 25 mm kyr⁻¹) over 60 million years. Palaeocurrents and turbidite facies distribution patterns suggest that sedimentation occurred on a weakly inclined abyssal plain. The highest sedimentation rates (up to 240 mm kyr⁻¹) were associated with the calcareous mud turbidites of the newly defined Röthenbach Subgroup, which includes the Piesenkopf, Kalkgraben and Hällritz formations (Middle Coniacian to Middle Campanian). These calcareous turbidites prograded from the west, and interfinger towards the east with red hemipelagic claystone. A high sea level presumably favoured pelagic carbonate production and accumulation on the shelves and on internal platforms in the western part of the basin, whereas siliciclastic shelves with steep slope angles have bordered the eastern part of the basin, where a dearth of turbidite sedimentation and increased Cretaceous oceanic red beds deposition occurred. In contrast to the eustatically-induced Middle Coniacian to Lower Campanian Cretaceous oceanic red beds (calcareous nannoplankton zones CC14 to CC18), red hemipelagites of Early Cenomanian age (upper part of calcareous nannoplankton zone CC9) and early Late Campanian age (upper part of zone CC21 and zone CC22) are interpreted as the result of regional tectonic activity.     

福州市马尾地区第四纪地层划分及海相层分析

通过对该区钻孔剖面贡料,结合~(14)C、古地磁、孢粉及微体古生物等资料综合分析研究,对该区第四纪地层提出划分意见和自第四纪晚期以来,地层中存在着典型两期海侵所形成的海相层。     

Eocene-Pliocene time scale and stratigraphy of the Upper Rhine Graben (URG) and the Swiss Molasse Basin (SMB)

We present a general stratigraphic synthesis for the Upper Rhine Graben (URG) and the Swiss Molasse Basin (SMB) from Eocene to Pliocene times. The stratigraphic data were compiled both from literature and from research carried out by the authors during the past 6 years ; an index of the stratigraphically most important localitites is provided. We distinguish 14 geographical areas from the Helvetic domain in the South to the Hanau Basin in the North. For each geographical area, we give a synthesis of the biostratigraphy, lithofacies, and chronostratigraphic ranges. The relationships between this stratigraphic record and the global sea-level changes are generally disturbed by the geodynamic (e.g., subsidence) evolution of the basins. However, global sea-level changes probably affected the dynamic of transgression–regression in the URG (e.g., Middle Pechelbronn Beds and Serie Grise corresponding with sea-level rise between Ru1/Ru2 and Ru2/Ru3 sequences, respectively) as well as in the Molasse basin (regression of the UMM corresponding with the sea-level drop at the Ch1 sequence). The URGENT-project (Upper Rhine Graben evolution and neotectonics) provided an unique opportunity to carry out and present this synthesis. Discussions with scientists addressing sedimentology, tectonics, geophysics and geochemistry permitted the comparison of the sedimentary history and stratigraphy of the basin with processes controlling its geodynamic evolution. Data presented here back up the palaeogeographic reconstructions presented in a companion paper by the same authors (see Berger et al. in Int J Earth Sci 2005).     

中国区域年代地层研究取得重要进展

近10余年来,特别是2000年召开第三届地层会议后,中国年代地层研究得到很快发展。首先,在全国地层委员会主持下,经各断代工作组专家们的共同努力,编制完成了《中国区域年代地层（地质年代）表》,系统建立了从震旦系至第四系中共102个阶（其中包括52个陆相地层区的阶）和新建3个系级单位。从2001年开始,在中国地质调查局的大力支持下,由全国地层委员会主持,组织全国知名地质科研院所、高校和部分地质调查院的专家,围绕中国区域年代地层表,开展了系统的建阶研究。5年来,共涉及45个阶,9个界线层型和2个新建系及2个统级单位的研究,取得重要进展。先后已有4个全球界线层型（GSSPs）被国际地质科学联合会批准建立在中国,还有3～4个全球界线层型正待国际地质学科学联合会批准建立在中国,另有3～4个界线层型剖面有望争取成为全球的界线层型。其他研究所涉及到的阶、系、统等单位,也有明显进展,成熟度明显提高,为《中国区域年代地层（地质年代）表》的广泛应用奠定了重要基础。     

四川盆地西部坳陷晚三叠—早白垩世地层沉积相

对四川盆地西部坳陷区内晚三叠—早白垩世地层、沉积相提出了一些新的认识 ,认为南部存在中侏罗统千佛崖组 ,中南部有较多的三角洲相沉积 ;讨论了沉积相的时空展布规律 ,这对区内上三叠—下白垩统沉积—层控矿产的研究和油气资源勘探均有重要的作用     

The ammonite faunas of the Osmington Oolite Formation (Jurassic, Middle Oxfordian) of the Dorset coast

A detailed study of the lithologies of each of the beds present in the Osmington Oolite Formation of south Dorset is used to allocate numerous loose-collected ammonites to their correct stratigraphic horizons. Much new material has been collected by the author in addition to the limited amount of material available in museum collections. The age of the faunas of the three constituent members of the Osmington Oolite Formation is each assessed and placed into the context of Middle Oxfordian ammonite sequences elsewhere in England and in Europe.     

年轻造山带洋板块地层*

重点分析和总结了由显生宙增生复合体和造山带混杂岩重建的年轻造山带洋板块地层--太平洋洋板块地层,也简要介绍了东古印度洋(东新特提斯洋)和古亚洲洋洋板块地层的重建情况。通过对阿拉斯加南部中生代增生地体、俄罗斯远东和中国东北侏罗纪-早白垩世增生复合体、日本二叠纪-侏罗纪-白垩纪等不同时期的增生复合体、菲律宾侏罗纪增生复合体和美国加州海岸山脉中侏罗世-古新世弗朗西斯卡杂岩体等不同单元的岩石学特征、古生物地层学、年代地层学、因逆冲导致的构造叠置和混杂失序特征及演化阶段的分析,重建了太平洋洋板块地层。其中加州海岸山脉中侏罗世-古新世弗朗西斯卡杂岩体的研究比较深入,对该区俯冲带上叠蛇绿岩(大峡谷群弧前盆地蛇绿岩)和弗朗西斯卡北部马林海岬杂岩体(原岩为洋中脊玄武岩)进行了有效区分,不仅还原了太平洋板块的俯冲碰撞过程,还厘清了与之伴生的弧前盆地裂陷和扩张过程。另外,板块俯冲的滞留和幕式增生在活动时间较短的板块俯冲体系中可能不容易识别。     

Late Cenomanian environmental conditions at the submerged Tatric Ridge,Central Western Carpathians during the period preceding Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 – A palaeontological and isotopic approach

Micropalaeontological and isotopic studies of the upper Cenomanian turbiditic/hemipelagic sediments from the High-Tatric unit (Central Western Carpathians; Polish part of the Tatra Mountains) has been undertaken to characterize the sedimentary conditions in the Tatric basin, a part of the Western Tethys, related to the interval preceding the late Cenomanian oceanic anoxic event (OAE2). The deposition of these sediments, including organic-rich layers (TOC up to 0.7%), corresponds to the Rotalipora cushmani foraminiferal Zone. Microfacial, foraminiferal and palynological analyses show that the sea floor was located at upper bathyal depths and the water column was poorly oxygenated. The intrabasinal carbonate material indicates moderate primary productivity with rare periods of upwellings. The scarcity of marine fossils in redeposited material and features of carbonate lithoclasts suggest very low productivity in the nearshore surface water, most probably due to a low-density hyposaline cap as surface runoff from the southern margin of the basin. The carbon isotopic study documents the negative values of δ¹³C_carb in the whole section as an effect of transfer of isotopically light carbon sourced from various sources. Such negative values of δ¹³C_carb are characteristic of the upper Cenomanian sediments, deposited in relatively shallow water basins, characterized by input of terrestrial organic matter and/or carbonate particles known from the Western Interior sections, the Atlantic coastal plain, the northwestern African margin, the eastern margin of the Apulian Platform and shelf sediments in the NW Europe and Tethyan Himalayas. Most probably, all of these events could be related to the global sea level fluctuations that occurred ca. 95.5–94.5 Ma comparing with the Haq (2014) eustatic curve.     

Status of Stratigraphy Research in China

Scientific research and productive practice for earth history are inseparable from the accurate stratigraphic framework and time framework. Establishing the globally unified, precise and reliable chronostratigraphic series and geological time series is the major goal of the International Commission on Stratigraphy(ICS). Under the leadership of the ICS, the countries around the world have carried out research on the Global Standard Stratotype-section and Points(GSSPs) for the boundaries of chronostratigraphic systems. In the current International Chronostratigraphic Chart(ICC), 65 GSSPs have been erected in the Phanerozoic Eonothem, and one has yet been erected in the Precambrian Eonothem. Based on the progress of research on stratigraphy especially that from its subcommissions, the ICS is constantly revising the ICC, and will publish a new International Stratigraphic Guide in 2020. After continual efforts and broad international cooperation of Chinese stratigraphers, 10 GSSPs within the Phanerozoic Eonothem have been approved and ratified to erect in China by the ICS and IUGS. To establish the standards for stratigraphic division and correlation of China, with the support from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the China Geological Survey, Chinese stratigraphers have carried out research on the establishment of Stages in China. A total of 102 stages have been defined in the "Regional Chronostratigraphic Chart of China(geologic time)", in which 59 stages were studied in depth. In 2014, the "Stratigraphic Chart of China" was compiled, with the essential contents as follows: the correlation between international chronostratigraphy and regional chronostratigraphy of China(geologic time), the distributive status of lithostratigraphy, the characteristics of geological ages, the biostratigraphic sequence, the magnetostratigraphy, the geological events and eustatic sea-level change during every geological stage. The "Stratigraphical Guide of China and its Explanation(2014)" was also published. Chinese stratigraphers have paid much attention to stratigraphic research in south China, northeast China, north China and northwest China and they have made great achievements in special research on stratigraphy, based on the 1:1000000, 1:250000, 1:200000 and 1:50000 regional geological survey projects. Manifold new stratigraphic units were discovered and established by the regional geological surveys, which are helpful to improve the regional chronostratigraphic series of China. On the strength of the investigation in coastal and offshore areas, the status of marine strata in China has been expounded. According to the developing situation of international stratigraphy and the characteristics of Chinese stratigraphic work, the contrast relation between regional stratigraphic units of China and GSSPs will be established in the future, which will improve the application value of GSSPs and the standard of regional stratigraphic division and correlation. In addition, the study of stratigraphy of the Precambrian, terrestrial basins and orogenic belts will be strengthened, the Stratigraphic Chart of China will be improved, the typical stratigraphic sections in China will be protected and the applied study of stratigraphy in the fields of oil and gas, solid minerals, etc. will be promoted. On the ground of these actions, stratigraphic research will continue to play a great role in the social and economic development of China.     

The Valley and Ridge Province of eastern Pennsylvania—stratigraphic and sedimentologic contributions and problems

Many contributions that have led to a better understanding of Appalachian geology have resulted directly from work in the folded Appalachian Mountain and Great Valley sections of the Valley and Ridge physiographic province of eastern Pennsylvania. Disagreements have been common since H.D. Rogers first described the geology of the area in 1858. Many differing opinions still exist regarding the stratigraphy, structural geology, geomorphology, and glacial geology. The rocks in the area, which range from Middle Ordovician to Late Devonian in age, are more than 25000 feet (7620 m) thick. This diversified group of sedimentary rocks was deposited in many different environments, ranging from deep sea, through neritic and tidal, to alluvial. In general, the Middle Ordovician through Lower Devonian strata are a sedimentary cycle related to the waxing and waning of Taconic tectonism. The sequence began with a greywacke-argillite suite (Martinsburg Formation) representing synorogenic basin deepening. This was followed by basin filling and pro-gradation of a sandstone-shale clastic wedge (Shawangunk Formation and Bloomsburg Red Beds) derived from the erosion of the mountains that were uplifted during the Taconic orogeny. The sequence ended with deposition of many thin units of carbonate, sandstone, and shale on a shelf marginal to a land area of low relief. Another tectonic-sedimentary cycle, related to the Acadian orogeny, began with deposition of Middle Devonian rocks. Deep-water shales (Marcellus Shale) preceded shoaling (Mahantango Formation) and turbidite sedimentation (Trimmers Rock Formation) followed by another molasse (Catskill Formation).