Sedimentology and provenance of the Lower Old Red Sandstone Grampian outliers: Implications for Caledonian orogenic basin development and the northward extension of the Midland Valley Basin

2020 ◽  
pp. jgs2020-141
Author(s):  
Z McKellar ◽  
AJ Hartley ◽  
DIM Macdonald ◽  
A Morton ◽  
D Frei
Keyword(s):  
Alluvial Fans ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽  
Red Sandstone ◽  
Provenance Data ◽  
Facies Associations ◽  
Mineral Assemblages ◽  
Supplementary Material ◽  
Sandstone Petrography ◽  
North And South

Reconstructing regional geological histories is challenging where basins have limited and/or fragmentary preservation. Several isolated outlier basins of Lower Old Red Sandstone (LORS) occur on the Scottish Grampian terrane; however, their sedimentology and relationship to other similar-aged LORS deposits has been poorly constrained, as has their significance in the wider Caledonian orogenic framework. Here we present a combination of new sedimentological and multidisciplinary provenance analyses for the LORS outliers at Aberdeen, Cabrach, New Aberdour, Rhynie and Tomintoul. Three facies associations are identified, the deposits of locally derived conglomeratic alluvial fans, which pass upward into fluvial channel and floodplain facies associations. Provenance data from conglomerate clast populations, sandstone petrography, heavy mineral assemblages, and U–Pb detrital zircon geochronology indicate derivation from the surrounding Dalradian Supergroup, with local influence from contemporaneous volcanic or plutonic lithologies. These data suggest a similar provenance to that of the northern Midland Valley Basin LORS, and a direct relationship between the LORS north and south of the Highland Boundary Fault. This indicates that the preserved outliers represent fragments of wider, unpreserved LORS cover that accumulated between the late phases of the Caledonian Orogeny and onset of post-orogenic collapse in the mid-Devonian.Supplementary material:https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5240475

scholarly journals The naming of the Permian System

2021 ◽  
pp. jgs2021-037
Author(s):  
Michael J. Benton ◽  
Andrey G. Sennikov
Keyword(s):  
System Level ◽  
Naming Time ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Red Sandstone ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Permian System ◽  
Urgent Task ◽  
Great Leader ◽  
Supplementary Material ◽  
Access To Documents

The naming of the Permian by Roderick Murchison in 1841 is well known. This is partly because he ‘completed’ the stratigraphic column at system level, but also because of the exotic aspects of his extended fieldwork in remote parts of Russia and Murchison's reputed character. Here, we explore several debated and controversial aspects of this act, benefiting from access to documents and reports notably from Russian sources. Murchison or Sedgwick could have provided a name for the unnamed lower New Red Sandstone in 1835 based on British successions or those in Germany, so perhaps the Imperial aim of naming time from British geology was not the urgent task some have assumed. Murchison has been painted as arrogant and Imperialistic, which was doubtless true, but at the time many saw him as a great leader, even an attractive individual. Others suggest he succeeded because he stood on the shoulders of local geologists; however, his abilities at brilliant and rapid geological synthesis are undoubted. Two unexpected consequences of his work are that this arch conservative is revered in Russia as a hero of geological endeavours, and, for all his bombast, his ‘Permian’ was not widely accepted until 100 years after its naming.Supplementary material:https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5412079

scholarly journals Basin evolution in response to flat subduction in the Altiplano

2021 ◽  
pp. jgs2021-003
Author(s):  
Brook Runyon ◽  
Joel E. Saylor ◽  
Brian K. Horton ◽  
James H. Reynolds ◽  
Brian Hampton
Keyword(s):  
Foreland Basin ◽  
Flat Slab ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Early Oligocene ◽  
Provenance Data ◽  
Thrust Belts ◽  
Fold And Thrust Belts ◽  
Basin Formation ◽  
Supplementary Material

This contribution assesses models for basin formation in the Altiplano. New magnetostratigraphy, palynology, and 40Ar/39Ar and U-Pb geochronology from the central Corque Syncline demonstrate that the 7.4 km-thick section was deposited between 36.7 and 18.7 Ma. The base of the section post-dates exhumation in both the Western and Eastern cordilleras, precluding deposition in a classic retroarc foreland basin setting. Rotated paleomagnetic vectors indicate counterclockwise rotation of 0.8°/Myr since the early Oligocene. Detrital zircon provenance data confirm previous interpretations of Eocene–early Oligocene derivation from the Western Cordillera and a subsequent switch to an Eastern Cordilleran source. Flexural modeling indicates that loads consistent with paleoelevation estimates cannot account for all subsidence. Rather, the timing and magnitude of subsidence is consistent with Eocene emplacement and Oligocene–early Miocene resteepening of a flat slab. Integration of the magmatic, basin, and deformation history provides a coherent model of the effects of flat subduction on the overriding plate. In this model flat subduction controlled basin formation in the upper plate, with subsidence enhanced in front of the zone of flat subduction but reduced over the crest of the flat slab. We conclude that the Altiplano was conditioned for plateau formation by Eocene–Oligocene flat subduction.Thematic collection: This article is part of the Fold-and-thrust belts collection available at: https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/fold-and-thrust-beltsSupplementary material:https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5664345

Evidence from the U-Pb-Hf signatures of detrital zircons for a Baltican provenance for basal Old Red Sandstone successions, northern Scottish Caledonides

2021 ◽  
pp. jgs2020-241
Author(s):  
Rob A. Strachan ◽  
Hugo K. H. Olierook ◽  
Christopher L. Kirkland
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Early Devonian ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Red Sandstone ◽  
Isotopic Signatures ◽  
Supplementary Material ◽  
Detrital Zircon Ages ◽  
Subduction System ◽  
Isotope Analyses

The provenance of Devonian Old Red Sandstone (ORS) continental successions in the northern Scottish Caledonides is poorly known: were they derived locally or from more distal sources? The integration of U-Pb and Hf isotope analyses in detrital zircon crystals reduces potential ambiguities arising from non-unique age populations and yields information on the crustal evolution of source terranes. Samples of basal ORS successions yield zircon U-Pb age groupings of c. 1800–1500 and c. 1200–900 Ma, with minor Neoarchaean, Tonian, Ediacaran and Ordovician contributions. SW Baltica provides the best match for detrital zircon ages and Hf isotopic signatures, and much of the >900 Ma zircon population was probably recycled from Neoproterozoic successions. εHf(t) values in c. 1800–1000 Ma grains reflect the assembly of Nuna, development of a long-lived retreating subduction system along its margin, and Grenville collisional orogenesis. These basal ORS successions were likely deposited within the same regional fluvial system as coeval sedimentary rocks in the Midland Valley, draining an area of positive relief in SW Baltica where continental convergence continued through the Early Devonian.Supplementary material:https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5301780

Detrital zircon geochronology of Late Cretaceous successions in the Ganzhou basin, South China: Evidence of a major tectonic transition

2022 ◽  
pp. SP521-2021-168
Author(s):  
Jun Wang ◽  
Yujie Yuan ◽  
Dexian Zhang ◽  
Su-Chin Chang
Keyword(s):  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
South China ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Pacific Plate ◽  
Eurasian Plate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽  
Tectonic Transition ◽  
Supplementary Material ◽  
Lacustrine Facies

AbstractSituated within the southern segment of the South China Block (SCB), the Ganzhou Basin formed due to subduction of the paleo-Pacific plate beneath to the SCB. Late Cretaceous successions in this basin consist of fluvial and lacustrine facies red beds hosting abundant dinosaur and dinosaur egg fossils. This study reports detrital zircon geochronological data from a crystallized tuff and four sandstones found in the Late Cretaceous Ganzhou Group of the Ganzhou Basin. Age distributions included four major age subpopulations of predominantly Triassic, Devonian-Ordovician, Neoproterozoic and Paleoproterozoic ages. These indicate source material derived from Yanshanian and Triassic granitoids as well as from Kwangsian and Jiangnan orogens. Age signatures generally resemble those recorded in the adjacent Nanxiong Basin but also include distinctive features. Provenance signatures from successive units indicate a tectonic transition from intracontinental extension at ∼120 Ma to compression near the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary. This tectonic transition was probably driven by continent-continent collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates, as well as by a shift in the subduction direction of the paleo-Pacific plate beneath the Eurasian plate.Supplementary material at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5776518

Deep- versus shallow-marine sandstone provenance in the mid-Carboniferous Clare Basin, western Ireland

2021 ◽  
pp. jgs2020-216
Author(s):  
Martin Nauton-Fourteu ◽  
Shane Tyrrell ◽  
David M. Chew ◽  
Foteini Drakou ◽  
Katharina Pfaff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Water ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Heavy Mineral ◽  
The South ◽  
Deep Basin ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Shallow Marine ◽  
Red Sandstone ◽  
Source To Sink ◽  
Supplementary Material

In a ‘source to sink’ sedimentary system, multiple processes have the potential to modify the sediment composition during sediment generation at the source, through transport, deposition and burial. To investigate these issues, a multi-proxy provenance study of deep-water and shallow-marine sandstones from the mid-Carboniferous Clare Basin was undertaken, utilising zircon and apatite U-Pb geochronology, heavy mineral analysis (including apatite trace element data) and petrography. Data from the deep-water submarine fans show a similar provenance signal to the shallow marine sandstones. Data, from across the Clare Basin stratigraphy indicate sands were likely and consistently derived from the south and SW, with a portion of the detritus being recycled from Old Red Sandstone basins to the south. The provenance signal, however, shows spatial and temporal variations across the basin that are explained by fluctuations in the amount of recycled sediments and are linked with the evolving Variscan Orogenic Belt. Heavy mineral data from both shallow marine and deep-water sandstones suggest a basin configuration with a delta system feeding directly into the deep basin.Supplementary material:https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5446739

Volcano-sedimentary processes at Las Derrumbadas rhyolitic twin domes, Serdán-Oriental basin, Eastern Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt

2021 ◽  
pp. SP520-2021-144
Author(s):  
Marie-Noëlle Guilbaud ◽  
Corentin Chédeville ◽  
Ángel Nahir Molina-Guadarrama ◽  
Julio Cesar Pineda-Serrano ◽  
Claus Siebe
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Belt ◽  
Debris Avalanche ◽  
Density Currents ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mexican Volcanic Belt ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Eruptive Episode ◽  
Basin Floor ◽  
Supplementary Material ◽  
Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt

AbstractThe eruption of the ∼10 km3 rhyolitic Las Derrumbadas twin domes about 2000 yrs ago has generated a wide range of volcano-sedimentary deposits in the Serdán-Oriental lacustrine basin, Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Some of these deposits have been quarried, creating excellent exposures. In this paper we describe the domes and related products and interpret their mode of formation, reconstructing the main phases of the eruption as well as syn-and-post eruptive erosional processes. After an initial phreatomagmatic phase that built a tuff ring, the domes grew as an upheaved plug lifting a thick sedimentary pile from the basin floor. During uplift, the domes collapsed repeatedly to form a first-generation of hetero-lithologic hummocky debris avalanche deposits. Subsequent dome growth produced a thick talus and pyroclastic density currents. Later, the hydrothermally-altered over-steepened dome peaks fell to generate 2nd generation, mono-lithologic avalanches. Subsequently, small domes grew in the collapse scars. From the end of the main eruptive episode onwards, heavy rains remobilized parts of the dome carapaces and talus, depositing lahar aprons. Las Derrumbadas domes are still an important source of sediments in the basin, and ongoing mass-wasting processes are associated with hazards that should be assessed, given their potential impact on nearby populations.Supplementary material at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5752296

Jurassic–Cretaceous arc magmatism along the Shyok–Bangong Suture from NW Himalaya: Formation of the peri-Gondwana basement to the Ladakh Arc

2021 ◽  
pp. jgs2021-035
Author(s):  
Wanchese M. Saktura ◽  
Solomon Buckman ◽  
Allen P. Nutman ◽  
Renjie Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Nw Himalaya ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Magmatic Arc ◽  
Basement Rocks ◽  
Ladakh Himalaya ◽  
Accreted Terranes ◽  
Volcaniclastic Rocks ◽  
Supplementary Material ◽  
Depositional Age

The Jurassic–Cretaceous Tsoltak Formation from the eastern borderlands of Ladakh Himalaya consists of conglomerates, sandstones and shales, and is intruded by norite sills. It is the oldest sequence of continent-derived sedimentary rocks within the Shyok Suture. It also represents a rare outcrop of the basement rocks to the voluminous Late Cretaceous–Eocene Ladakh Batholith. The Shyok Formation is a younger sequence of volcaniclastic rocks that overlie the Tsoltak Formation and record the Late Cretaceous closure of the Mesotethys Ocean. The petrogenesis of these formations, ophiolite-related harzburgites and norite sill is investigated through petrography, whole-rock geochemistry and U–Pb zircon geochronology. The youngest detrital zircon grains from the Tsoltak Formation indicate Early Cretaceous maximum depositional age and distinctly Gondwanan, Lhasa microcontinent-related provenance with no Eurasian input. The Shyok Formation has Late Cretaceous maximum depositional age and displays a distinct change in provenance to igneous detritus characteristic of the Jurassic–Cretaceous magmatic arc along the southern margin of Eurasia. This is interpreted as a sign of collision of the Lhasa microcontinent and the Shyok ophiolite with Eurasia along the once continuous Shyok–Bangong Suture. The accreted terranes became the new southernmost margin of Eurasia and the basement to the Trans-Himalayan Batholith associated with the India-Eurasia convergence.Supplementary material:https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5633162

Geochemical evaluation of the in-situ regolith of Madengi hills of Dodoma, Tanzania. Implication on bedrock mapping and delineating gold mineralization target

2021 ◽  
pp. geochem2021-074
Author(s):  
Godson Godfray
Keyword(s):  
Gold Mineralization ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Shear Zones ◽  
Soil Geochemistry ◽  
Residual Soils ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Geochemical Evaluation ◽  
Supplementary Material ◽  
Pathfinder Elements

Successful gold exploration projects depend on a piece of clear information on the association between gold, trace elements, and mineralization controlling factors. The use of soil geochemistry has been an important tool in pinpointing exploration targets during the early stage of exploration. This study aimed to establish the gold distribution, the elemental association between gold and its pathfinder elements such as Cu, Zn, Ag, Ni, Co, Mn, Fe, Cd, V, Cr, Ti, Sc, In, and Se and identify lithologies contributing to the overlying residual soils. From cluster analysis, a high similarity level of 53.93% has been shown with Ag, Cd, and Se at a distance level of 0.92. Au and Se have a similarity level of 65.87% and a distance level of 0.68, hence is proposed to be the most promising pathfinder element. PCA, FA, and the Pearson's correlation matrix of transformed data of V, Cu, Ni, Fe, Mn, Cr, and Co and a stronger correlation between Pb and U, Th, Na, K, Sn, Y, Ta and Be shows that source gold mineralization might be associated with both hornblende gneisses interlayered with quartzite, tonalite, and tonalitic orthogneiss. From the contour map and gridded map of Au and its pathfinder elements, it has been noted that their anomalies and target generated are localized in the Northern part of the area. The targets trend ESE to WNW nearly parallel to the shear zones as a controlling factor of Au mineralization emplacement.Supplementary material:https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5721965

First evidence for tooth-tooth occlusion in a ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota

2021 ◽  
pp. SP521-2021-141
Author(s):  
Chang-Fu Zhou ◽  
Xinyue Wang ◽  
Jiahao Wang
Keyword(s):  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Feeding Strategy ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Tooth Wear ◽  
First Record ◽  
Jehol Biota ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Dimensional Reconstruction ◽  
Supplementary Material ◽  
Ct Data

AbstractCtenochasmatid pterosaurs flourished and diversified in the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota. Here, a partial mandible of Forfexopterus is described based on a three-dimensional reconstruction using high-resolution X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) data. The first nine pairs of functional teeth of the rostral dentition revealed along with their replacements. The functional teeth are evenly arranged with a tooth density of 2.2 teeth/cm. The tooth crown is distinctly reduced from its base to the tip, and framed by two weak ridges, possibly as a pair of vestigial carinae. The replacement teeth are sharp and pointed, and have erupted slightly against the medial surface of the functional teeth. Surprisingly, tooth wear is observed in this specimen, the first record of tooth-tooth occlusion in ctenochasmatids. The wear facets exhibit high-angled lingual and lower-angled labial facets, implying a tooth-tooth occlusion in pterosaur clade. This discovery indicates that the Jehol ctenochasmatids possibly employed a more active feeding strategy than other filter-feeding pterosaurs (e.g. Ctenochasma, Pterodaustro, Gnathosaurus).Supplementary material at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5722060

Late Cretaceous granitoids of the Sikhote–Alin orogenic belt, southeastern Russia: implications for the Mesozoic geodynamic history of the eastern Asian continental margin

2021 ◽  
pp. jgs2021-109
Author(s):  
Igor V. Kemkin ◽  
Andrei V. Grebennikov ◽  
Xing-Hua Ma ◽  
Ke-Ke Sun
Keyword(s):  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Pacific Plate ◽  
Orogenic Belt ◽  
Sikhote Alin ◽  
Asian Continent ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eastern Margin ◽  
Continental Plate ◽  
Supplementary Material ◽  
Cretaceous Magmatism

We present new U–Pb age data for granitoids in the Central Sikhote–Alin orogenic belt in SE Russia, which refute the established opinion about the absence of the Late Cretaceous magmatism at the eastern margin of the Paleo-Asian continent. It was previously thought that a period of magmatic quiescence occurred from 88 to 50 Ma, related to subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate under the eastern margin of the Paleo-Asian continent, although this is inconsistent with evidence from the Sikhote–Alin, Sakhalin, and Japan regions. Three suites of plutonic rocks with different ages were identified in this study. The first suite has ages of 105–92 Ma and formed in a syn-orogenic setting. The second (86–83 Ma) and third (ca. 73 Ma) suites formed during the post-orogenic stage of the Sikhote–Alin orogenic belt. The second and third suites were coeval with Late Cretaceous granitoids that formed in a suprasubduction continental arc known as the Eastern Sikhote–Alin volcanic–plutonic belt (ESAVPB). However, the studied rocks are located far inland from the ESAVPB. The ages of the studied granitoids coincide with the timing of a change in the angle of convergence between the Paleo-Pacific Plate and eastern margin of the Paleo-Asian continent. This change in motion of the oceanic plate with respect to the continental plate was probably caused by a rupture in the subducted slab (i.e., a slab tear), followed by asthenospheric upwelling and partial melting of the overlying crust, which ultimately generated post-orogenic intrusive magmatism.Supplementary material:https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5738616

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