sediment borne seeds from sand creek northwestern kansas taphonomic significance and paleoecological and paleoenvironmental implications abstract a study of seeds fruits and reproductive bracts collectively seeds collected during 1986 1988 from recent sediments along a small perennial stream in northwestern kansas was conducted to determine the taphonomic significance of sediment borne seeds and the implications for studies of similar accumulations of fossil plants the samples were collected from sediments in but at the margin of a flowing stream the abundant and diverse assemblage of aquatic and marginal aquatic plants recovered in the sediments shows that the sediment borne seeds accurately reflect the marginal aquatic habitat next to the channel and temperate climate of the region the sediments also contained a wide assortment of other taxa that represented native riparian floodplain and upland habitats as well as cultivated croplands overall these taxa are indicative of temperate grasslands disturbance of the study site by trampling by livestock and perphaps by lowered stream flow during the last year reduced the variety of taxa and numbers of specimens in samples but these influences did not change the marginal aquatic habitat suggested by sediment borne seeds comparison of a late miocene 7 8 m y b p assemblage of seeds from the minium quarry in northwestern kansas with the sand creek results suggests that the habitat nearest the deposition site of the fossils was a marginal aquatic setting similar to that sand creek the comparison alos suggests that the miocene landscape beyond the depositional site was dominated by warm temperate to subtropical grasslands an interpretation supported by faunal evidence

geometry and evolution of salt structures in a marginal rift basin of the gulf of mexico east texas the geometry and distribution of salt structures in the east texas basin shown in an isometric block diagram reveal that a minimum of 1 500 m of mid jurassic louann salt accumulated in a north northeast trending trough floored by thinned continental crust above a threshold thickness of 600 m salt was mobilized by 1 loading beneath a carbonate wedge 2 differential loading by prograding terrigenous clastics and 3 basin edge tilting and erosion salt structures evolved from salt pillows to active diapirs with maximum gross growth rates of 400 to 530 m m y each stage lasted 10 to 30 m y three generations of diapirs were successively activated in different areas by different forces

an isotopic study of soils in chronological sequences of alluvial deposits providence mountains california the carbon sup 14 c and sup 13 c and oxygen isotopic composition of pedogenic carbonate was determined for two soil chronosequences on limestone and granitic alluvium in the providence mountains area in the mojave desert california the measured sup 14 c ages of pedogenic carbonate coating on clasts were interpreted in the light of a diffusion reaction model developed in our recent studies model ages of soil formation calculated from the measured sup 14 c ages of pedogenic carbonate are in correct relative order as determined by geomorphic evidence and are also consistent with model ages from the measured sup 14 c ages of soil organic matter sup 14 c model ages suggest that the order geomorphic surfaces we studied are of late pleistocene age ca 47 17 ka and the younger surfaces formed during the holocene ca 11 4 ka these age estimates of the geomorphic surfaces are older than the previously assigned ages based on a combination of soil development geomorphic relationships and several infrared stimulated luminescence dates but they are within a few thousand years of these other age estimates stable carbon isotopic composition of the soil carbonate indicates either a slight increase in c sub 4 or cam crassulacean acid metabolism plants or a decrease inmore plant density in this area during the holocene both the carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of soil carbonates suggests that the climate in the eastern mojave desert has in general become warmer and drier during the holocene 57 refs 9 figs 5 tabs less

oceanographic and eustatic control of carbonate platform evolution and sequence stratigraphy on the cretaceous valanginian campanian passive margin northern gulf of mexico an integrated sequence stratigraphic study based on outcrop core and wireline log data documents the combined impact of cretaceous eustacy and oceanic anoxic events on carbonate shelf morphology and facies distributions in the northern gulf of mexico the diverse facies and abundant data of the comanche platform serve as a nearly complete global reference section and provide a sensitive record of external processes affecting cretaceous platform development regional cross sections across the shoreline to shelf margin profile provide a detailed record of mixed carbonate siliciclastic strata for the hauterivian to lower campanian stages ca 136 to 80 ma the study window on the slowly subsiding passive margin allows the stratigraphic response to external forcing mechanisms to be isolated from regional structural processes three second order supersequences comprised of eight composite sequences are recognized in the valanginian barremian the aptian albian and the cenomanian campanian the valanginian barremian supersequence transitioned from a siliciclastic ramp to carbonate rimmed shelf and is a product of glacial ice accumulation and melting as well as variable rates of mid ocean ridge volcanism the aptian albian supersequence chronicles the drowning and recovery of the platform surrounding oceanic anoxic events 1a and 1b the cenomanian campanian supersequence similarly documents shelf drowning following oceanic anoxic event 1d after which the platform evolved to a deep subtidal system consisting of anoxic dysoxic shale and chalk in the time surrounding oceanic anoxic event 2 each period of oceanic anoxia is associated with composite sequence maximum flooding termination of carbonate shelf sedimentation and deposition of condensed shale units in distally steepened ramp profiles composite sequences unaffected by oceanic anoxic events consist of aggradational to progradational shelves with an abundance of grain dominated facies and shallow subtidal to intertidal environments because they are products of eustacy and global oceanographic processes the three supersequences and most composite sequences defined in the south texas passive margin are recognizable in other carbonate platforms and published eustatic sea level curves

relation of inversely graded deposits to suspended sediment grain size evolution during the 1996 flood experiment in grand canyon before glen canyon dam was completed upstream from grand canyon floods scoured sand from the channel bed and deposited sand on bars within recirculating eddies after completion of glen canyon dam in 1963 peak discharge of the mean annual floods dropped from about 2600 to 900 m 3 s and 85 of the sediment supply was eliminated under the postdam flow regime sand bars in eddies have degraded in an experiment to study in part the effects of floods in rebuilding these bars a controlled flood was released from glen canyon dam in late march and early april 1996 although fluvial sequences characteristically fine upward the deposits of the experimental flood systematically coarsen upward measurements of suspendedsediment concentration and grain size and of bed material grain size suggest that the upward coarsening results from the channel becoming relatively depleted of fine grained sediment during the seven days of the high flow experiment predam flood beds of the colorado river also coarsen upward indicating that supply limitation and grain size evolution are natural processes that do not require the presence of a dam

correlation of early cretaceous carbon isotope stratigraphy and platform drowning events a possible link the early cretaceous carbonate carbon isotope record is marked by three positive high amplitude 1 5 excursions each covering time spans of more than 106 years they are of late valanginian hauterivian and early and late aptian age in a case study along a transect across the western tethys ocean we identified a coincidence between 13c excursions black shale formation and widespread carbonate platform drowning events we conclude that the 13c excursions reflect a change in partitioning of carbon between the organic and carbonate carbon sinks which was triggered by climate induced ecological changes in cretaceous pelagic and neritic environments episodes of intensified greenhouse climate conditions led to an increase in weathering erosion and runoff rates and to elevated nutrient transfer rates from continents into oceans the resulting increase in oceanic nutrient levels favoured marine phytoplankton production and black shale deposition while conditions for carbonate producing biotas became unfavourable partial choking of carbonate production along river influenced coasts resulted in widespread carbonate platform drowning during times of sea level rise in the valanginian and aptian widespread contemporaneous black shale deposits and drowned carbonate platforms therefore reflect the contrasting response of the marine organic and carbonate carbon pumps to nutrient enhanced phytoplankton productivity the change in marine carbon partitioning is mirrored in a shift of the 13c record towards more positive values the transition to the 13c peak values lasted up to several hundred thousand years the peaks of the excursions also covering a time span of up to several hundred thousand years reflect a new stabilisation of the carbon partitioning between carbonate and organic carbon sinks a renewed intensification of carbonate sedimentation under mesotrophic conditions was facilitated by stabilisation of the sea level rise at a high level decreasing 13c values record increasing carbonate carbon burial rates at constant or decreasing organic carbon accumulation rates these changes contributed to the stabilisation of the marine carbon budget and the global carbon cycle up to millions of years after its initial perturbation

patterns of sedimentation in the contemporary red sea as an analog for ancient carbonates in rift settings abstract patterns of sedimentation in the red sea offer a contemporary analog for carbonate deposition in marine rift settings covering 20 of latitude the sea is sufficiently long to display pronounced climate differences and the clear tropical waters support vigorous coral reef growth and associated production of carbonate sediment six focus areas within the red sea each covering exactly 1 600 sq km illustrate the variability of spatial patterns in reefal and other carbonates in this rift setting five of the focus areas are located on a north south transect along the western margin of the sea 1 gubal straits egypt 2 shalatayn egypt 3 trinkitat sudan 4 dahlak eritrea and 5 halib eritrea and one is from the eastern margin 6 farasan banks saudi arabia using landsat imagery water depth and two marine facies classes reefal frameworks and sediments were mapped lumping these two classes define carbonate bodies that were analyzed for trends in orientation relation to local fault networks and size frequency distribution fault lineaments digitized from the literature are closely related to the orientation of carbonate bodies with areas exceeding 5 sq km smaller bodies do not preferentially align with fault trends water depth and the occurrence of reefal frameworks and sediments for the six focus areas are not systematically related used as an analog these data from the contemporary red sea may provide insight into the orientation and scale of accumulation of carbonates in subsurface marine rift settings

volcanism co2 and palaeoclimate a late jurassic early cretaceous carbon and oxygen isotope record a composite tethyan late jurassic early cretaceous carbon and oxygen isotope curve is presented c isotope data provide information on the evolution and perturbation of the global carbon cycle o isotope data are used as a palaeotemperature proxy in combination with palaeontological information the resulting trends in climate and in palaeoceanography are compared with biocalcification trends and oceanographic conditions favouring or inhibiting biocalcification positive c isotope anomalies in the valanginian and aptian correlate with episodes of increased volcanic activity regarded as a source of excess atmospheric carbon dioxide a major warming pulse accompanies the aptian but not the valanginian c isotope event the observed change in early aptian temperatures could have triggered the destabilization of sedimentary gas hydrates and the sudden release of methane to the biosphere as recorded as a distinct negative carbon isotope pulse preceding the positive excursion both c isotope anomalies are accompanied by biocalcification crises that may have been triggered by p co 2 induced changes in climate and in surface water chemistry elevated nutrient levels in river influenced coastal waters and in upwelling regions further weakened marine calcification these conditions contrast with normal trophic conditions prevailing in the latest jurassic and favouring biocalcification the c and o isotope curves record a stable mode of carbon cycling and stable temperatures we conclude that biocalcification is mostly triggered and inhibited by co 2 conditions in the atmosphere ocean system

changes in hydrologic regime by dams dams have major impacts on river hydrology primarily through changes in the timing magnitude and frequency of low and high flows ultimately producing a hydrologic regime differing significantly from the pre impoundment natural flow regime this paper presents the analysis of pre and post dam hydrologic changes from dams that cover the spectrum of hydrologic and climatic regimes across the united states our overall goals are to document the type magnitude and direction of hydrologic shifts because of impoundment using the entire database for the national inventory of dams nid for dams possessing longstanding u s geological survey usgs gages downstream we identified 21 gage stations that met length of record criteria encompassing an array of types of dams and spanning four orders of magnitude in contributing watershed area to assess hydrologic changes associated with dams we applied a hydrologic model the indicators of hydrologic alteration iha supplemented with orientation statistics for certain hydrograph parameters dams had significant impacts on the entire range of hydrologic characteristics measured by iha for many characteristics the direction and significance of effects were highly consistent across the 21 sites the most significant changes across these sites occurred in minimum and maximum flows over different durations for low flows the 1 day through 90 day minimum flows increased significantly following impoundment the 1 day through 7 day maximum flows decreased significantly across the sites at monthly scales mean flows in april and may tend to decline while mean flows in august and september increase other significant adjustments included changes in annual hydrograph conditions primarily in the number of hydrograph reversals that has generally increased for almost all sites following impoundment the number of high pulses has increased following impoundment but the average length declines the mean rate of hydrograph rise and fall has declined significantly these results indicate that the major pulse of dam construction during the previous century has modified hydrologic regimes on a nationwide scale for large and small rivers

instability in tropical pacific sea surface temperatures during the early aptian the cretaceous has long been recognized as a time when greenhouse conditions were fueled by elevated atmospheric co2 and accompanied by perturbations of the global carbon cycle described as oceanic anoxic events oaes yet the magnitude and frequency of temperature change during this interval of warm and equable climate are poorly constrained here we present a ighresolution record of sea surface temperatures ssts reconstructed using the tex86 paleothermometer for a sequence of early aptian organic rich sediments deposited during the first cretaceous oae oae1a at shatsky rise in the tropical pacific ssts range from 30 to 36 0c and include two prominent cooling episodes of 4 0c the cooler temperatures reflect significant temperature instability in the tropics likely triggered by changes in carbon cycling induced by enhanced burial of organic matter sst instability recorded during the early aptian in the pacific is comparable to that reported for the late albian early cenomanian in the atlantic suggesting that such climate perturbations may have recurred during the cretaceous with concomitant consequences for biota and the marine environment

downstream hydrologic and geomorphic effects of large dams on american rivers abstract the hydrology and geomorphology of large rivers in america reflect the pervasive influence of an extensive water control infrastructure including more than 75 000 dams one hundred thirty seven of the very large dams each storing 1 2 km 3 10 6 acre feet of water or more alter the flows of every large river in the country the hydrologic effects of these very large dams emerge from an analysis of the stream gage records of 72 river reaches organized into 36 pairs one member of each pair is an unregulated reach above a dam whereas the other is a regulated reach downstream from the same structure comparison of the regulated and unregulated reaches shows that very large dams on average reduce annual peak discharges 67 in some individual cases up to 90 decrease the ratio of annual maximum mean flow 60 decrease the range of daily discharges 64 increase the number of reversals in discharge by 34 and reduce the daily rates of ramping as much as 60 dams alter the timing of high and low flows and change the timing of the yearly maximum and minimum flows in some cases by as much as half a year regional variation in rivers dams and responses are substantial rivers in the great plains and ozark ouachita regions have annual maximum mean flow ratios that are 7 times greater than ratios for rivers in the pacific northwest at the same time the ratio of storage capacity mean annual water yield for dams is greatest for interior western ozark ouachita and great plains rivers and least for pacific northwest streams thus in many cases those rivers with the highest annual variability have the greatest potential impact from dams because structures can exert substantial control over downstream hydrology the hydrologic changes by dams have fostered dramatic geomorphic differences between regulated and unregulated reaches when compared to similar unregulated reaches regulated reaches have 32 larger low flow channels 50 smaller high flow channels 79 less active flood plain area and 3 6 times more inactive flood plain area dams also affect the area of active areas the functional surfaces that are functionally connected to the present regime of the river regulated reaches have active areas that are 72 smaller than the active areas of similar unregulated reaches the geomorphic complexity number of separate functional surfaces per unit of channel length is 37 less in regulated reaches reductions in the size of hydrologically active functional surfaces are greatest in rivers in the great plains and least in eastern streams the largest differences in geomorphic complexity are in interior western rivers the shrunken simplified geomorphology of regulated large rivers has had direct effects on riparian ecology producing spatially smaller less diverse riparian ecosystems compared to the larger more complex ecosystems along unregulated reaches of rivers

suitability of biogenic carbonate of lithospermum fruits for 14c dating lithospermum boraginaceae belongs to a small group of plant taxa that accumulate biogenic carbonate in their fruits in this genus carbonate incrustations form in the cells of the epidermis and sclerenchyma of the pericarp fossil lithospermum fruits nutlets with well preserved calcified tissues commonly occur in quaternary sediments and cultural layers we tested the suitability of biogenic carbonate of lithospermum fruits for radiocarbon dating using a total of 15 ams measurement results from four modern and 11 fossil samples the 14 c data from modern samples suggest that lithospermum utilises only atmospheric carbon to synthesise calcite in the nutlets in general the ages determined through 14 c dating of fossil fruitscorresponded well with the absolute age intervals for archaeological sites over the last 5000 yr biogenic carbonate of lithospermum fruits like that of celtis represents a new source of chronological information for late quaternary studies 2006 university of washington all rights reserved

implications of radiocarbon ages of organic and inorganic carbon in coastal lakes in florida for establishing a reliable chronology for sediment based paleoclimate reconstruction coastal lake sediments are valuable paleoclimate archives provided that they can be accurately dated here we report radiocarbon ages of bulk sediment organic matter om plants shells particulate om and dissolved om from coastal lakes in florida bulk sediment om yielded ages that are consistently older than contemporaneous plants and shells indicating significant radiocarbon deficiencies in sedimentary om in these lakes the data show that the om radiocarbon deficiency varies over time and with location making it impossible to determine a proper correction factor for radiocarbon ages of bulk sediments from these lakes as a result we consider ages obtained from bulk sediment om from these lakes unreliable the age reversals in bulk sediment om observed in the sediment cores are likely caused by rapid increases in erosion and sedimentation resulting from large storm events the data also show that sedimentation rate can vary considerably within a given lake implying that an age depth model established for one core cannot be directly applied to other cores despite their close proximity analyses of shells from one of the lakes suggest that fresh brackish water shells may serve as a good substrate for radiocarbon dating owing to a small reservoir effect on inorganic carbon

palaeoclimate analysis using spectral gamma ray data from the aptian cretaceous of southern england and southern france abstract the abundance and half lives of potassium k uranium u and thorium th make these three elements the dominant sources of gamma rays detected in rocks both at outcrop and in the subsurface with the advent of the spectral gamma ray tool sgr the variation shown by these three elements in rocks has been considered to reflect sorting at flooding surfaces and changes in the weathering regime of sediment source lands k and u are considered to be more soluble than th thus elevated th to k or u ratios in soils and eroded clays can reflect hot humid climates and palaeoclimates this study makes an assessment of the usefulness of sgr data to palaeoclimate studies by comparing changing th k and th u ratios from a known period of palaeoclimate change to extensive published and new data from other analytical methods new sgr data from the cretaceous of southern england and southern france compare favourably to outcrop sedimentological facies interpretations and laboratory geochemical data palaeoclimate data from two other sections northern germany northern italy are compared as controls to the study together these analyses suggest that there was a gradual change from semi arid climate in the barremian and early aptian to a semi humid climate in the mid aptian superimposed on this long term rise in humidity were a number of short term ammonite zone length changes in th k and th u ratios and the abundance of climate sensitive materials this study shows that sgr data are more useful than originally thought when problems of overprinting from heavy minerals and diagenesis are overcome outcrop and borehole spectral gamma ray logs from mudstones or the clay rich beds of mixed successions may be used to interpret past patterns of hinterland weathering

stratal architecture of a halokinetically controlled patch reef complex and implications for reservoir quality a case study from the aptian james limestone in the fairway field east texas basin abstract widespread carbonate platform growth in the cretaceous tethys is associated with expansive reef margin and interior patch reef development these reefs and their associated facies have the potential to be significant hydrocarbon reservoirs but characterization is challenging because of complex facies distributions inadequate understanding of biotic communities and processes impacting their development and difficulties delineating timelines in systems that build their own topography other factors that may impact underlying topography such as tectonics or halokinesis further complicate the story this study delves into these complexities in a dataset from the fairway field a large oil and gas field 115 km2 410 million barrels original oil in place that produces from the aptian james limestone in the east texas basin texas usa the field contains a patch reef complex here defined as an assemblage of patch reefs that grew near each other without necessarily being physically connected that has significant lateral and vertical facies heterogeneity previous attempts at characterization have failed to fully recognize the importance of its proximity to four salt domes which modified topography and influenced deposition prior to and during reef development here we reassess the stratal architecture of the fairway field from a sequence stratigraphic perspective with the goal of augmenting understanding of timing of reef development and facies distributions and ultimately building a better stratigraphic framework for a halokinetically influenced patch reef complex core descriptions and core calibrated wireline log correlation across the field yield a model that explains the relationship between halokinetic topography energy regime relative water depth and reef and reef associated facies development porosity and permeability measurements taken across the field are analyzed to determine best reservoir facies and their distribution the new stratigraphic model is useful for predicting facies architecture in other analogous reef complexes such as those elsewhere in the gulf of mexico and in the middle east its tie to reservoir facies distributions also improves its utility for exploration purposes furthermore this work demonstrates that halokinesis has a major impact on carbonate development and necessitates a new generalized model for halokinetically altered carbonate platforms

mid cretaceous step wise demise of the carbonate platform biota in the northwest pacific and establishment of the north pacific biotic province the global spatiotemporal distribution of the cretaceous carbonate platform biota which is characterized by tropical mesogean cretaceous tethys taxa is an important aspect of earth s paleobiogeography all available records of this biota in the northwest pacific japan and sakhalin island are summarized in order to elucidate its stratigraphic distribution patterns and faunal changes with special attention given to the biota of the late aptian early albian this carbonate platform biota flourished from the berriasian to early albian interval in the northwest pacific indicating that the northwest pacific clearly belonged to the tethyan biotic realm at that time a step wise demise of the carbonate platform biota transpired in the latest aptian to middle albian interval mesogean key taxa rudists and dasycladacean algae some mesogean indicators hermatypic corals and stromatoporoids and nerineacean gastropods disappeared at the late aptian to early albian transition following this event other mesogean indicators orbitolinid foraminifers and calcareous red algae and coated grains disappeared at the early to middle albian transition there is no record of carbonate platform biota in the northwest pacific during the long interval between the middle albian and paleocene the step wise demise of the carbonate platform biota in the latest aptian middle albian interval strongly implies a vicariance event which separated the north pacific from the tethyan biotic realm and established the north pacific biotic province 2006 published by elsevier b v

a ground penetrating radar survey of late holocene fluvial sediments in nw namibian river valleys characterization and comparison fine grained terraces and coarse grained channel fills that represent episodes of late holocene valley aggradation are used as geoarchives for palaeohydrological reconstructions in many arid regions of the world e g southwestern usa australia israel and the namib desert in namibia previous work on the sediment texture and facies of these valley fills has led to diverse interpretations of the depositional environment including river end palaeoflood and floodout here we show using ground penetrating radar gpr profiles across four complex river channels to image sedimentological and stratigraphical structures that the gpr images can be grouped into eight radar facies reflection patterns a combination of radar facies analysis and groundcheck exposures boreholes has been used to interpret the radar profiles by considering the geomorphological sedimentological features and age determinations of the fluvial deposits described by earlier researchers and supplemented by our own investigations we explain the late holocene fine grained terraces and coarse grained channel fills as deposits accumulated during floods although the gpr results alone cannot conclusively resolve the fine grained terrace deposits either as river end or as slackwater accumulation the novel combination of gpr geomorphological findings and results from the literature provides evidence for our interpretation

chemostratigraphic correlation of barremian and lower aptian ammonite zones and magnetic reversals based on carbon isotope stratigraphy we correlate the ammonite dated barremian reference section near angles se france with the magneto and biostratigraphically dated succession at cismon northern italy the results confirm the previous correlation of the lower barremian ammonite and magnetostratigraphy by channell et al 1995 and show that the base of cm0 selected as the stage boundary between the aptian and the barremian coincides with the stage boundary defined by ammonite stratigraphy the upper barremian carbon isotope record of the cismon section displays two positive 13c excursions whereas the data from angles show only one shift towards more enriched values the absence of the second upper barremian 13c excursion at angles indicates that up to 50 of the barremian stage is missing in the selected reference section the gap occurs most probably within the giraudi ammonite zone and is related to the 12d maximum flooding surface of jacquin et al 1998

a platform to basin transition for lower aptian carbonates shuaiba formation of the northeastern jebel akhdar sultanate of oman abstract the platform to basin transition of the lower aptian shuaiba carbonate platform throughout a large part of the arabian peninsula has hitherto mainly been documented from subsurface data and has widely been regarded as having been progradational in northeastern jebel akhdar however the shuaiba platform did not prograde and was scarp bounded early lithification accounts for the rigid nature of the scarp a biological framework being nearly absent early exposure surfaces neptunian dykes sills internal breccias and other sediment features as well as the geographic coincidence of the platform scarp with older and younger scarps suggest a tectonic control of margin morphology and dynamics a contemporaneous peak of allodapic sediments and reactivation of older basement structures in adjacent basins also tends to indicate the importance of structural influence on platform margin organization

late wisconsin early holocene vegetation in the bonneville basin abstract woodrat middens from the northern bonneville basin allow a reconstruction of vegetation changes from 14 000 to 9000 yr ago cold montane steppe dominated by sagebrush covered much of the western bonneville basin prior to 13 000 yr ago from 13 000 10 800 yr ago the region was vegetated by limber pine woodlands in lower montane settings and a mosaic of limber pine and sagebrush steppe along basin flour margins these low elevation limber pine woodlands began to retreat upslope after about 11 000 yr ago due to increasingly drier climatic conditions and were replaced by relatively more xeric desert scrub dominated by sagebrush and shadscale the growth of limber pine at low elevations suggests that summer temperatures were as much as 6 c lower than at present this evidence is in apparent conflict with the currently accepted post provo lake bonneville chronology especially the magnitude of the postulated near dessication of lake bonneville from ca 13 000 12 200 yr ago

rudists as gregarious sediment dwellers not reef builders on cretaceous carbonate platforms abstract it has sometimes been claimed that rudist bivalves competitively displaced corals from reef frameworks during the cretaceous this hypothesis combines two assertions 1 that the autecology of rudists was convergent with that of reef building corals and 2 that rudist formations commonly developed as reefs we dispute both assertions and thus reject the hypothesis of competitive displacement we argue instead that mobile sediments rather than frameworks dominated the margins and tops of most of the extensive carbonate platforms of the period and that it was on these non reefal biotopes that the rudists flourished definitions of reefs tend to combine two major elements 1 a robust biogenic framework with accompanying sedimentary and diagenetic components and 2 topographical relief such definitions are clearly rooted in recent coral reefs in which endosymbiotic zooxanthellae permit the extensive growth of colonial coral frameworks in shallow but relatively nutrient poor waters coralline algae and cementation may contribute significantly to the growth of rigid structures and topography is largely the legacy of pleistocene changes in sea level in rudist formations in contrast individual rudist congregations are volumetrically limited relative to sediment they are often loosely constructed and they evidently showed little if any original relief tabular and small lenticular units predominate these differences in structure and palaeoenvironmental situation between rudist and modern coralgal associations reflect the different autecologies of the constituent organisms the clonal growth of corals predisposes them to the development of frameworks projecting above the sediment surface herein termed superstratal growth by contrast the aclonal development of rudists was better suited to the opportunistic occupation of a variety of temporarily available substrata by large numbers of individuals in particular elevator rudists in which the entire commissure exhibited upward growth evidently grew with their shells largely embedded in and supported by the ambient sediment herein termed constratal growth moreover the tolerances and growth responses of rudists to such factors as water turbidity nutrients and current regime were quite different from those of the majority of reef building corals despite repeated assertions in the literature that rudists possessed zooxanthellae only a few species show any evidence for such a symbiosis and other evidence suggests that most lacked them in view of these differences in their preferred biotopes competition between rudists and corals is doubtful even though members of both groups co occur in many areas the relative decline of coral frameworks in the cretaceous was thus probably independently caused

evidence of frugivory and seed dispersal in oligocene tortoises from south dakota fossilized hackberry celtis seeds were found within the shells of two stylemys individuals excavated from oligocene sediments from south dakota the presence of in situ skeletal elements indicates that the tortoises were buried without extensive disarticulation abiotic transport of the seeds into the carcasses is unlikely given the anatomically correct placement of both skeletal elements and seeds and the comparative settling velocities of the encasing sediment versus modern celtis seeds ecological evidence from modern celtis and stylemys analogues suggests that tortoises are commonly seed dispersal agents the fossils are therefore interpreted as enterolites providing the oldest reliable evidence of tortoise frugivory

phosphogenesis carbon isotope stratigraphy and carbonate platform evolution along the lower cretaceous northern tethyan margin we distinguish three different stages in the evolution of the tithonian late jurassic to aptian early cretaceous northern tethyan carbonate platform 1 carbonate production in the coral oolite mode late tithonian to early valanginian early barremian to early aptian 2 carbonate production in the crinoid bryozoan mode early valanginian haute rivian late aptian and 3 platform retrogradation and destruction condensation and phosphogenesis that is platform drowning early valanginian to early hauterivian middle hauterivian late hauterivian to early barremian early to early late aptian and latest aptian to earliest albian transitions from the coral oolite mode to the crinoid bryozoan mode and consequently to platform drowning may have been driven by increases in nutrient levels on the shelf phases of relative sea level rise in times of carbonate production in the coral oolite mode are named constructive because of the observed platform regeneration following phases of widespread emersion during late sea level highstands in contrast phases of relative sea level rise in times of platform drowning are termed destructive the 13 c stratigraphies obtained from valanginian hauterivian and aptian albian hemipelagic successions beyond the platform correlate well with the early cretaceous pelagic 13 c record positive excursions in the pelagic 13 c record correspond in time to episodes of platform drowning this suggests the existence of a coupling mechanism between changes in the global carbon cycle and platform drowning in our view the early cretaceous crises in carbonate platform growth were the consequence of reinforced greenhouse conditions which may have been triggered by episodes of extensive flood basalt volcanism strong greenhouse conditions may have induced the following chain of feedback mechanisms enabling the biosphere to return to normal conditions climate warming sea level rise accelerated water cycle intensified weathering nutrient mobilization platform destruction increased productivity increased phosphogenesis and carbon burial weakened greenhouse conditions

a volcanic co2 pulse triggered the cretaceous oceanic anoxic event 1a and a biocalcification crisis the aptian oceanic anoxic event 1a oae1a ca 120 ma ago is one of the most prominent of a series of geologically brief intervals in the cretaceous characterized by the deposition of organic carbon rich sediments oaes reflect major perturbations in the global carbon cycle evidenced by sedimentary carbon isotope records however the triggering mechanisms for oaes remain controversial here we present a bulk rock and molecular marine and terrestrial bio markers c isotope record at unprecedented time resolution from the cismon section of northern italy that shows that oae1a conditions were reached over a period of several thousands of years through a stepwise perturbation of the carbon cycle the documented sequence of events is most compatible with a trigger associated with increased co 2 emissions possibly leading to a doubling of p co 2 which in turn caused larger c isotope fractionation in marine and terrestrial organisms and a major biotic crisis in the calcareous nannoplankton our data also show that a release of isotopically light carbon from partial methane hydrate dissociation probably played a minor role in the oae1a carbon cycle perturbation

regional ultrahigh pressure coesite bearing eclogitic terrane in central china evidence from country rocks gneiss marble and metapelite the dabie mountains represent a fault bounded coesite bearing eclogite gneissic terrane within the collisional belt between the sino korean and yangtze cratons the following geologic evidence indicates that this terrane has been subjected to regional ultrahigh pressure metamorphism 1 the country rocks have a metamorphic pressure temperature evolution compatible with that of the eclogites on the basis of the occurrence of quartz pseudomorphs after coesite calcite pseudomorphs after aragonite relict high pressure assemblages in different rock types of the country rocks and consistent comparable compositional zonations of garnets in both country rocks and eclogites 2 peak metamorphic pressure temperature conditions consistently decrease both from east to west in the collisional belt and from north to south in the dabie mountains and clockwise pressure temperature paths are common for eclogites over the region 3 layered eclogites interbedded with gneisses and amphibolites contain omphacite kyanite and garnet indicating a minimum pressure of 20 kbar at 600 c for formation of these rocks

formation of the late aptian niveau fallot black shales in the vocontian basin se france evidence from foraminifera palynomorphs and stable isotopes abstract we present paleoceanographic models for the formation of the marlstone facies and the most prominent black shale intervals of the late aptian niveau fallot black shale succession from the vocontian basin se france in the lower part of the succession the composition of benthic foraminiferal assemblages of the niveau fallot 2 and 2 black shales suggests an enhanced burial of organic matter due to more eutrophic conditions and resulting low oxygen conditions at the seafloor in the upper part of the succession including niveau fallot 3 and 4 a third order sea level fall indicated by a decrease in the stable carbon isotope values may have resulted in a reduced water mass exchange between the vocontian basin and the western tethyan ocean this may have led to dysoxic conditions at the seafloor of the vocontian basin and may have favored the formation of organic rich sediments as shown by benthic foraminiferal assemblages decreased evaporation however is proposed as the most important mechanism causing a restriction of deep water formation within the basin which finally led to the formation of the niveau fallot 3 and 4 black shales based on our investigations the formation of the niveau fallot black shales was caused by different factors the most prominent ones include sea level fluctuations increasing productivity and changes in precipitation and evaporation rates furthermore niveau fallot 3 can probably be correlated with the thalmann black shale event in california and a dark horizon at the mazagan plateau dsdp site 545

factors and processes governing the 14c content of carbonate in desert soils epsl elsevier earth and planetary science letters 125 1994 385 405 factors and processes governing the 14c content of carbonate in desert soils ronald amundson a yang wang a oliver chadwick b susan trumbore c leslie mcfadden d eric mcdonald d steven wells e michael deniro f a division of ecosystem sciences 108 hilgard university of california berkeley ca 94720 usa b earth sciences division jet propulsion laboratory pasadena ca 91109 usa c department of geosciences university of california irvine ca 92717 usa d department of earth and planetary sciences university of new mexico albuquerque nm 87131 usa e department of earth sciences university of california riverside ca 92521 usa f department of geological sciences university of california santa barbara ca 93106 usa received 1 september 1993 revision accepted 14 april 1994 abstract a model is presented describing the factors and processes which determine the measured 14c ages of soil calcium carbonate pedogenic carbonate forms in isotopic equilium with soil co 2 carbon dioxide in soils is a mixture of co 2 derived from two biological sources respiration by living plant roots and respiration of microorganisms decomposing soil humus the relative proportion of these two co z sources can greatly affect the initial 14c content of pedogenic carbonate the greater the contribution of humus derived co 2 the greater the initial 14c age of the carbonate mineral for any gwen mixture of co 2 sources the steady state co 2 distribution vs soil depth can be described by a production diffusion model as a soil ages the 14c age of soil humus increases as does the steady state 14c age of soil co 2 and the initial 14c age of any pedogenic carbonate which forms the mean 14c age of a complete pedogenic carbonate coating or nodule will underestimate the true age of the soil carbonate this discrepancy increases the older a soil becomes partial removal of outer and younger carbonate coatings greatly improves the relationship between measured 14c age and true age although the production diffusion model qualitatively explains the 14c age of pedogenic carbonate vs soil depth in many soils other factors such as climate change may contribute to the observed trends particularily in soils older than the holocene 1 introduction r a d i o c a r b o n d a t i n g o f s e d i m e n t a r y d e p o s i t s in d e s e r t s is h i n d e r e d by a lack o f o r g a n i c carbon paradoxically most o f the d e p o s i t s in t h e s e re mk gions a r e b l a n k e t e d with i n o r g a n i c c a r b o n in the f o r m o f p e d o g e n i c c a r b o n a t e since t h e early 1960s 14c ages have b e e n c a l c u l a t e d for t h e s e c a r b o n a t e s 1 fig 1 illustrates t h a t an a p p r o x i m a t e 1 1 r e l a t i o n s h i p exists b e t w e e n 14c ages of soil c a r b o n a t e a n d coexisting o r g a n i c m a t e r i a l s a n d ages d e t e r m i n e d by o t h e r m e a n s see also 2 3 t h e s e r e l a t i o n s h i p s a r e n o t perfect s o m e c a r b o n a t e is y o u n g e r t h a n i n d e p e n d e n t ages sug 0012 821x 94 07 00 1994 elsevier science b v all rights reserved ssdi 0012 821x 94 00097 i

progressive palaeoenvironmental change during the late barremian early aptian as prelude to oceanic anoxic event 1a evidence from the gorgo a cerbara section umbria marche basin central italy abstract during oceanic anoxic event 1a oae 1a 120 ma li et al 2008 organic carbon rich layers were deposited in marine environments under anoxic conditions on a global scale in this study palaeoenvironmental conditions leading to this event are characterised by studying the upper barremian to the lower aptian succession of the gorgo a cerbara section central italy for this an integrated multi proxy approach 13ccarb 13corg 18o phosphorus total organic carbon toc bulk rock mineralogy as well as redox sensitive trace elements rstes has been applied during the late barremian thin organic rich layers occur episodically and associated corg ptot ratios indicate the presence of intermittent dysoxic to anoxic conditions coarse correlations are observed between toc p and biogenic silica contents indicating links between p availability productivity and toc preservation however the corresponding 13ccarb and 18o records remain quite stable indicating that these brief periods of enhanced toc preservation did not have sufficient impact on the marine carbon reservoir to deviate 13c records around the barremian aptian boundary toc enriched layers become more frequent these layers correlate with negative excursions in the 13ccarb and 13corg records possibly due to a warming period as indicated by the 18o record during the earliest aptian this warming trend is reverted into a cooling trend which is then followed by an important warming step near the onset of oceanic anoxic event 1a oae 1a during this time period organic rich intervals occur which are characterised by the progressive increase in rste the warming step prior the onset of oae 1a is associated with the well known negative spike in 13ccarb and 13corg records an important peak in p accumulation rste enrichments and corg ptot ratios indicating the prevalence of anoxic conditions the selli level itself may document a cooling phase rste enrichments and corg ptot ratios confirm the importance of anoxic conditions during oae 1a at this site the gorgo a cerbara section is interpreted to reflect the progressive impact of palaeoenvironmental change related to the formation of the ontong java plate basalt plateau which started already around the barremian aptian boundary and culminated into oae 1a

discovery of ring faults associated with salt withdrawal basins early cretaceous age in the east texas basin abstract the jurassic louann salt in the east texas basin has played a dominant role in influencing the structural and depositional history of the basin particularly during the jurassic and cretaceous periods salt tectonics is closely associated with sandstone distribution depositional facies and reef growth and consequently with petroleum traps in the basin salt withdrawal basins developed during the early cretaceous in response to salt movement and dissolution processes are characterized by the presence of an expanded section of lower cretaceous marine and deltaic sedimentary rocks recognition of fault sets associated with the evolution of these salt withdrawal basins has gone undetected until the recent coherence cubetm processing of a non proprietary 3 d seismic survey conducted by schlumberger in the la rue dome fairway field area henderson county texas images from coherence cube processing aptly exhibit extraordinary sets of concentric ring faults that comprise the periphery of two salt withdrawal basins the fairway oil field is located at the junction of these two sets of ring faults the structural style of these high angle ring faults creates a multitude of possible fault traps in a previously unattractive structural setting early cretaceous age of the ring faults establishes that these faults are a significant element in evaluating petroleum migration patterns and traps in the basin the discovery of early cretaceous ring faults in the east texas basin by coherence cube processing brings new perspectives to development and exploration drilling in this mature petroleum province

lower cretaceous stage durations combining radiometric data and orbital chronology towards a more stable relative time scale abstract we propose an alternative calibration of lower cretaceous stage durations constrained by direct absolute dating of each stage combined with orbital chronology ten glauconitic horizons sampled in the vocontian basin se france from the base of the lower hauterivian to upper albian yielded k ar ages from 123 3 1 7 ma to 96 9 1 4 ma respectively the relative duration of each stage has been derived by cyclostratigraphy previously obtained in the south east france and central and south italy basins using the gl o standard from the albian cenomanian boundary at 95 3 ma as the anchor point a cyclostratigraphic age for each stage boundaries has been extrapolated and thus compared with the k ar ages this shows a very well defined linear correlation which demonstrates the robustness of the proposed durations of the lower cretaceous stages the estimated durations are 5 3 0 4 my 5 1 0 3 my 6 8 0 4 my and 11 6 0 2 my for the hauterivian barremian aptian and albian stages respectively it also shows that glauconite minerals are powerful radiochronometric tools when precisely stratigraphically defined and carefully selected moreover the large discrepancy of the estimated aptian duration of more than 6 my between the most recent published time scale and this study highlights the problem of the radiometric calibration of the m 0 magnetic chron finally the stage durations and boundary ages proposed here bring strong constraints towards the calibration of the lower cretaceous time scale such accurate temporal calibration is required before any relationship between major biological crises and magmatic emplacement for instance could be further investigated

salt diapir influenced shallow marine sediment dispersal patterns insights from outcrop analogs unique outcrop exposures of two salt diapirs a secondary salt weld and associated syndiapiric strata in northeast mexico offer an important perspective on salt influenced petroleum reservoirs by allowing recognition and description of salt related sandstone depocenters spectacular progressive unconformities and halokinetic sequences coupled with laterally continuous exposures permit accurate correlation and interpretation of syndiapiric units analysis of the syndiapiric upper cretaceous delgado sandstone member potrerillos formation delineates regional shoreline sediment dispersal locally impacted by diapiric relief and the distribution and internal character of salt diapir proximal sandstone depocenters sequence stratigraphic correlation defines striking relationships between highstand hst and transgressive systems tracts tst stratal thinning trends and salt diapir relief transgressive systems tract and highstand systems tract strata show thinning and lithofacies shoaling trends toward diapirs however the latter is more pronounced in the hst and occurs at a greater distance from salt diapirs within 1 2 km 0 6 1 2 mi sandstone depocenters roughly 0 5 1 0 km 0 3 0 6 mi wide and 0 5 0 2 km 0 3 0 1 mi thick are present in both tst and hst strata and consist of sandier shallower water facies however depocenters are better developed in tst strata as thicker stratigraphic sections on updip diapir margins we propose that sandstone depocenters formed by preferential sediment reworking and shelf ridge development on landward diapir margins during marine transgression elevated diapir relief and higher subsidence rates adjacent to salt diapirs likely enhanced this process additionally depocenters adjacent to el papalote diapir are smaller and contain deeper water facies than the age equivalent depocenters adjacent to el gordo diapir suggesting that it had higher broader sea floor relief

morphological patterns of aptian lithocodium bacinella geobodies relation to environment and scale lithocodium aggregatum and bacinella irregularis are now extinct shallow marine life forms of unknown taxonomic origin forming part of the tropical platform biota during much of the mesozoic these organisms experienced bloom periods and temporarily replaced rudist coral assemblages during parts of the early aptian within the limitations of time resolution this out of balance facies is coeval with the oceanic anoxic event 1a related black shale deposition in oceanic basins but the triggering factors remain poorly understood here a platform wide comparison of lithocodium bacinella geobodies and morphotypes from the sultanate of oman is presented and placed in its environmental bathymetric and physiographic context lithocodium bacinella geobodies reach from kilometre scale superstructures to delicate centimetre sized growth forms clearly scale matters and care must be taken when drawing conclusions based on spatially limited observational data whilst the factors that cause lithocodium bacinella expansion should probably be considered in a global context regional to local factors affected growth patterns in a more predictable manner here the unresolved taxonomic relationship remains the main obstacle in any attempt to unravel the response of lithocodium bacinella to specific or interlinked environmental parameters as different organisms respond differently to changing environment acknowledging these limitations the following tentative patterns are observed i lithocodium bacinella tolerated a wide range of hydrodynamic levels and responded to differences in energy level or physiographic settings margin intrashelf basin inner platform by obtaining characteristic growth forms ii lithocodium bacinella favoured low sediment input but had the ability to react to higher sedimentation rates by enhanced upward growth a feature perhaps pointing to a phototrophic metabolism circumstantial evidence for continuous growth within the upper sediment column is debated iii the availability of accommodation space had a direct influence on the maximum size of geobodies formed iv fluctuating nutrient levels and sea water alkalinity may have affected the growth potential of lithocodium bacinella understanding the relationship between lithocodium bacinella morphogenesis on a wide range of scales and local environmental parameters allows for better prediction of the spatial distribution of reservoir properties and also results in an improved interpretation of palaeoenvironments this study might represent a useful first step in this direction

integration of subsidence and sequence stratigraphic analyses in the cretaceous carbonate platforms of the prebetic jumilla yecla region spain abstract an integrated analysis of subsidence and sequence stratigraphy of the cretaceous successions of the jumilla yecla region betics se spain is supported by abundant stratigraphical sedimentological and palaeontological data with the aim to document and explain the accommodation changes that controlled the evolution and architecture of the carbonate platforms generated during that time on the southern continental margin of iberia the cretaceous shallow marine carbonates and clastics that extensively crop out in the jumilla yecla region are divided into 11 sequence sets major stratigraphic units bounded by tectonically induced unconformities which can be subdivided into several third order depositional sequences and their constituent system tracts all these genetic units build up a regional chronostratigraphic framework which is herein used to support subsidence calculations from the results of the subsidence analysis seven intervals with characteristic tectonosedimentary patterns were distinguished for cretaceous time from these intervals the first three respectively early tithonian early late berriasian late berriasian late hauterivian and latest hauterivian to earliest late albian were controlled by extensional tectonics strong enough to mask during most part of the time the long term thermal subsidence inherent to the continental margin this tectonism was related to the iberia africa divergence and the opening of the north atlantic later the fourth interval late albian mid cenomanian and the sixth interval late coniacian to late santonian were characterised regionally by overall homogeneous subsidence patterns controlled by thermal subsidence sediment loading and a relative tectonic quiescence finally the fifth and the seventh intervals respectively latest cenomanian early coniacian and campanian maastrichtian were characterised by strong tectonic movements and complex subsidence patterns which were related to changes in intraplate stresses related to the onset of the convergence between africa and iberia and with the evolution of the bay of biscay

depositional diagenetic thermal and maturation histories of cretaceous mishrif formation fateh field dubai rudist reef associated limestones comprising the cretaceous mishrif formation are the major reservoirs in fateh field a giant oil field in offshore dubai in this study mishrif cores from four wells on the western flank of the field were examined to gain insights into the depositional diagenetic thermal and maturation histories of the mishrif formation in this area the wells lowest on the west flank contain relatively deep water lower fore reef facies bounded by two erosional unconformities the upper unconformity marks the laffan mishrif contact and extends over fateh field throughout the region in fateh field the lower intra mishrif unconformity has been identified only on the western flank but is probably present in other locations low on the fateh structure the identification of the lower unconformity indicates two cycles of mishrif sedimentation the cycles are related to deep seated salt movement and epeiric sea level changes fluid inclusion data maturation calculations and burial history modeling indicate that the timing of cementation by blocky calcite spar and oil migration were approximately synchronous and occurred during the oligocene to miocene

palaeoceanographic differences of early late aptian black shale events in the vocontian basin se france abstract a high resolution study focussing on the distribution of calcareous nannofossils and carbon isotopes was carried out to improve the understanding of mid cretaceous black shale formation the studied interval of the early late aptian is characterized by two major black shale couplets the niveau noire 4 nn4 and niveau noire calcaire 2 nnc2 of the serre chaitieu section in the vocontian basin se france breheret 1997 this interval occurs within a long term negative carbon isotope excursion of 1 5 following the early aptian oceanic anoxic event 1a oae1a in contrast to the local nn4 black shales the black shales of nnc2 are of regional significance and occur at the end of the major negative carbon isotope excursion of the early late aptian time equivalent black shales are suggested to be coeval with black shales found in the western tethys and atlantic ocean herrle et al 2004 calcareous nannofossil analyses and carbon isotopes indicate higher surface water productivity mesotrophic warmer surface water and higher sea level during the formation of the nn4 black shales in contrast the formation of the nnc2 black shales took place during a cooler phase lower surface water productivity and lower sea level a sea level fall may cause a restriction of water mass exchange between the open marine western tethys and the vocontian basin this resulted in a longer residence time of the bottom water decreased ventilation and less mixing of surface waters and thus enhanced preservation of organic matter at the sea floor our results indicate that the black shale formation of nn4 and nnc2 was caused by different processes such as increased surface water productivity and enhanced preservation of organic matter at the sea floor thus we emphasize the role of different forcing factors which control the formation of local and regional black shales the most important factors are sea level fluctuations increasing productivity and changes in precipitation and evaporation rates

colorado river sediment transport 2 systematic bed elevation and grain size effects of sand supply limitation the colorado river in marble and grand canyons displays evidence of annual supply limitation with respect to sand both prior to topping et al this issue and after the closure of glen canyon dam in 1963 systematic changes in bed elevation and systematic coupled changes in suspended sand concentration and grain size result from this supply limitation during floods sand supply limitation either causes or modifies a lag between the time of maximum discharge and the time of either maximum or minimum depending on reach geometry bed elevation if at a cross section where the bed aggrades with increasing flow the maximum bed elevation is observed to lead the peak or the receding limb of a flood then this observed response of the bed is due to sand supply limitation sand supply limitation also leads to the systematic evolution of sand grain size both on the bed and in suspension in the colorado river sand input during a tributary flood travels down the colorado river as an elongating sediment wave with the finest sizes because of their lower settling velocities traveling the fastest as the fine front of a sediment wave arrives at a given location the bed fines and suspended sand concentrations increase in response to the enhanced upstream supply of finer sand then as the front of the sediment wave passes that location the bed is winnowed and suspended sand concentrations decrease in response to the depletion of the upstream supply of finer sand the grain size effects of depletion of the upstream sand supply are most obvious during periods of higher dam releases e g the 1996 flood experiment and the 1997 test flow because of substantial changes in the grain size distribution of the bed stable relationships between the discharge of water and sand transport rates i e stable sand rating curves are precluded sand budgets in a supply limited river like the colorado river can only be constructed through inclusion of the physical processes that couple changes in bed sediment grain size to changes in sand transport rates in some rivers the upstream supply of sediment is in equi librium with the upstream supply of water whereas in others the upstream supply of sediment is decoupled either com pletely or partially from the upstream supply of water in the first type of river changes in sediment transport are controlled by changes in the discharge of water whereas in the second and perhaps more common type of river changes in sedi ment transport are also coupled to changes in sediment grain size in this paper we investigate the systematic changes in bed elevation sediment transport and sediment grain size that occur in response to changes in the upstream supply of sand in a river with an intermittent limited supply of sand specifically the colorado river in marble and grand canyons figure 1 to develop an intuitive understanding of the linkage be tween sediment grain size and the upstream supply of sediment in a river it is informative to first examine sediment transport

microfacies biostratigraphy and geochemistry of the hemipelagic barremian aptian in north central tunisia influence of the oae 1a on the southern tethys margin upper barremian lower upper aptian hemipelagic deposits of the hamada formation in the djebel serdj area north central tunisia were studied in detail with regard to microfacies biostratigraphy 13 c stratigraphy and geochemistry our data provide insights into the palaeoenvironmental evolution and sea level fluctuations of the tunisian shelf the unusually expanded deposits consist of mud wacke and packstones which reflect mid and outer ramp depositional environments planktonic foraminifer and 13 c stratigraphy allowed us to establish a detailed time frame and the recognition of the lower aptian oceanic anoxic event 1a oae 1a as well as time equivalent deposits of shallowmarine carbonate platform drowning based on our microfacies studies we subdivide the studied sections into four genetic intervals a pre oae 1a interval an oae 1a and platform drowning equivalent interval and a post platform drowning interval we present a 3rd order sea level curve for the tunisian shelf deriving from the results of our microfacies studies deposits of the oae 1a in the sections investigated are characterised by bioclastic wacke and packstones with high abundances of poorly preserved radiolarians and moderately to well preserved planktonic foraminifers suggesting a transgression and an eutrophication of the upper water column scarceness of benthic macrofossils low abundances of small benthic foraminifers and ostracods possibly suggest dysoxic conditions at the seafloor mudstones of the platform drowning time equivalent deposits directly overlying the oae 1a are partly showing a pronounced drop in carbonate content and are scarce of macrofossils 2008 elsevier b v all rights reserved

a volcanically induced climate warming and floral change preceded the onset of oae1a early cretaceous the aptian oceanic anoxic event 1a oae1a is preceded by a prominent negative c isotope excursion ncie attributed to major volcanism on the ontong java plateau that is supposed to lead to a pco2 increase and a climate change lower aptian sporomorph assemblages in two pelagic sections from the southern tethys margin n italy were analysed in order to test if the postulated climate changes affected the terrestrial vegetation at the base of the ncie the sporomorph assemblages comprise abundant bisaccate pollen reflecting a warm temperate climate several tens of kiloyears ka after the start of the ncie decreasing bisaccate pollen and increasing classopollis spp and araucariacites spp suggest the beginning of a long term temperature rise palynomorphs indicate that maximum temperatures were reached several tens of ka after the end of the ncie and the onset of oae1a the highest temperatures coincide with arid conditions which could reflect a northward shift of the hot arid northern gondwana floral province as a result of an increasing pco2 over 200 ka after the onset of oae1a reduced volcanic activity and or increased black shale deposition allowed for a drawdown of most of the excess co2 and a southward shift of floral belts

the early cretaceous drowning unconformities of the apulia carbonate platform gargano promontory southern italy local fingerprints of global palaeoceanographic events drowning successions which cap carbonate platforms and flanks bear palaeoenvironmental information which is useful for genetic stratigraphy they constitute predictive key markers in regional to global correlations an early cretaceous platform to basin transition has been investigated in apulia southern italy and two drowning unconformities dated as early valanginian and late early aptian have been documented they occur at the base of thick pelagic tongues wedging toward the platform and mark the base of two depositional sequences showing distinct transgressive regressive cycles timing of drowning processes based on biostratigraphy and dynamic stratigraphy allows the correlation of unconformities with global scale palae oceanographic events marked among others by positive spikes of well established 13c curves drowning signatures in the apulia carbonates fit the stratigraphic palaeoecological and possibly geochemical evidence found in global records at the same stratigraphic levels moreover it is proposed that the observed drowning events were caused by palaeoceanographic crises affecting factory productivity

paleoreef maps evaluation of a comprehensive database on phanerozoic reefs to get a better understanding of controls on reef development through time we created a comprehensive database on phanerozoic reefs the database currently comprises 2470 reefs and contains information about geographic position paleoposition age reef type dimensions environmental setting paleontological and petrographical features and reservoir quality of each buildup reef data were analyzed in two qualitatively different ways the first type of analysis was by visualization of paleogeographic reef distribution maps five examples late devonian early permian late triassic late jurassic middle miocene are presented to show the potential of paleoreef maps for paleogeographic and paleoclimatological reconstructions the second type of analysis was a numerical processing of coded reef characteristics to realize major trends in reef evolution and properties of reef carbonates the analysis of paleolatitudinal reef distributions through time shows pronounced asymmetries in some time slices probably related to climatic asymmetries rather than controlled by plate tectonic evolution alone the dominance of particular reef builders through time suggests that there are seven cycles of phanerozoic reef development first curves for the phanerozoic distribution of bioerosion in reefs bathymetric setting and debris potential of reefs are presented the observed pattern in the temporal and spatial distribution of reefs with reservoir quality may assist in hydrocarbon exploration statistical tests on the dependencies of reefal reservoir quality suggest that large size high debris potential low paleolatitude high amount of marine aragonite cement and a platform shelf edge setting favor reservoir quality reefal reservoirs are significantly enhanced in times of high evaporite sedimentation elevated burial of organic carbon low oceanic crust production low atmospheric co2 content and cool paleoclimate as well as when they are present in aragonite oceans

palaeoecology and evolution of marine hard substrate communities abstract marine organisms have occupied hard substrates since the archaean shells rocks wood and sedimentary hardgrounds offer relatively stable habitats compared to unconsolidated sediments but the plants and animals which inhabit them must develop means to gain and defend this premium attachment space hard substrate communities are formed by organisms with a variety of strategies for adhering to and or excavating the substrates they inhabit while mobile grazers organically attached and even soft bodied organisms may leave evidence of their former presence in ancient hard substrate communities a superior fossil record is left by sessile encrusters with mineralised skeletons and by borers which leave trace fossils furthermore encrusters and borers are preserved in situ retaining their spatial relationships to one another and to the substrate spatial competition ecological succession oriented growth and differential utilisation of exposed vs hidden substrate surfaces can all be observed or inferred hard substrate communities are thus excellent systems with which to study community evolution over hundreds of millions of years here we review the research on modern and ancient hard substrate communities and point to some changes that have affected them over geological time scales such changes include a general increase in bioerosion of hard substrates particularly carbonate surfaces through the phanerozoic this is at least in part analogous to the infaunalisation trends seen in soft substrate communities encrusting forms show an increase in skeletalisation from the palaeozoic into the mesozoic and cenozoic which may be a response to increasing levels of predation hard substrate communities considering borers and encrusters together show a rough increase in tiering through the phanerozoic which again parallels trends seen in soft substrate communities this extensive review of the literature on living and fossil hard substrate organisms shows that many opportunities remain for large scale studies of trends through time at the community and clade levels palaeontologists will especially benefit by closer integration of their work with that of neontologists particularly in aspects of ecology such as larval recruitment competition and succession

a genetic classification of carbonate platforms based on their basinal and tectonic settings in the cenozoic abstract this paper reassesses the usefulness of the morphological classification of carbonate platforms into rimmed shelves and ramps whilst the existing classifications have value in describing platform margin morphology at any one time the terms rimmed shelf and ramp are less successful at categorising the entire morphology and stratigraphy of carbonate platforms research on cenozoic carbonate platforms from a range of different tectono stratigraphic settings indicates that the basinal and tectonic setting of a platform can be used to erect a first order genetic classification of carbonate platforms the basinal and tectonic setting of carbonate platforms is shown to control their occurrence the overall 3 d platform morphology the large scale stratigraphic features and depositional sequences climate ocean chemistry and biological evolution control grain types facies and some elements of platform margins but not the larger scale features considered in this new classification from a review of well exposed outcropping and seismically imaged cenozoic platforms it is proposed that eight types of carbonate platform can currently be recognised and characterised based on their basinal and tectonic setting fault block salt diapir subsiding margin offshore bank volcanic pedestal thrust top delta top and foreland margin carbonate platforms these eight types are described using information from cenozoic platforms worldwide and the controls on their development are discussed many platform types e g subsiding margin offshore bank salt diapir thrust top and foreland margin are typical of particular classes of sedimentary basins others e g fault block volcanic pedestal and delta top are more widespread in their occurrence and occur in a range of basin types the value of this classification is that it is genetic rather than morphological the classification reflects the entire morphology and large scale stratigraphy of the platform and the controls on its development in addition the platform models can be used to understand the details of less well exposed or seismically imaged platforms so that they can be characterised and understood in terms of tectono sedimentary processes conversely the classification also provides valuable information on basin evolution as carbonate platforms house information on palaeoenvironments sea level change and are sensitive recorders of the tectonic environment

terrestrial record of methane hydrate dissociation in the early cretaceous reconstruction of changing c isotopic composition of early cretaceous atmospheric co2 from fossilized c3 vascular land plant tissue revealed a brief and striking negative excursion d 25 in atmospheric d 13 c followed by a rapid positive compensation d 15 during the aptian ca 117 ma mass balance calculations show that dissociation of a small amount of methane gas hydrate is the most tenable cause of the negative excursion this would also result in an increased co2 o2 mixing ratio as o2 is consumed during ch4 oxidation to co2 spurring the exponential phase of angiosperm biogeographic expansion

calcareous nannoplankton response to surface water acidification around oceanic anoxic event 1a ocean acidification induced by atmospheric co2 may be a major threat to marine ecosystems particularly to calcareous nannoplankton we show that during the aptian 120 million years ago oceanic anoxic event 1a which resulted from a massive addition of volcanic co2 the morphological features of calcareous nannofossils traced the biological response to acidified surface waters we observe the demise of heavily calcified nannoconids and reduced calcite paleofluxes at the beginning of a pre anoxia calcification crisis ephemeral coccolith dwarfism and malformation represent species specific adjustments to survive lower ph whereas later abundance peaks indicate intermittent alkalinity recovery deepwater acidification occurred with a delay of 25 000 to 30 000 years after the dissolution climax nannoplankton and carbonate recovery developed over 160 000 years under persisting global dysoxia anoxia

evolution of the mg ca ratio of cretaceous seawater implications from the composition of biological low mg calcite abstract for the evaluation of variations in the cretaceous seawater mg ca ratio 12 shells of rudist bivalves ranging in age from the late barremian 112 2 ma to the early campanian 81 4 ma have been analysed for intra shell variations in chemical mg sr fe mn and isotopic 18 o 13 c compositions of low mg calcite preservation of fibrous prismatic ultrastructure low fe and mn concentrations as well as sr concentrations within the range of marine biological calcite indicate only very minor diagenetic alteration in all studied shells mg concentrations and 18 o values show a more or less well defined inverse covariance this pattern is similar to the conditions observed in modern skeletal calcite and interpreted to result from a combination of a temperature effect and an unidentified metabolic control on the incorporation of mg into calcite average mg concentrations in rudist calcite are significantly lower than those of modern bivalves and increase from the barremian albian to the campanian while slopes of 18 o mg regressions are similar to those of modern bivalves assuming that the mg incorporation is linearly dependent on the mg ca ratio of seawater and that mg incorporation into calcite of modern bivalve mollusks follows the same metabolic pathway than in their extinct cretaceous relatives the mg ca molar ratio of cretaceous seawater increased from 1 in the late barremian to 3 in the early campanian this trend matches previous model predictions of seawater composition and experimental results from fluid inclusions in halite a very low mg ca ratio of seawater is confirmed here to have occurred before the onset of the significant mid cretaceous increase of seafloor production rates in the late barremian uncertainties in the secular variations of seafloor spreading are discussed as hydrothermal alteration of young oceanic crust is an important driver of changes in the seawater mg ca ratio

secular oscillations in the carbonate mineralogy of reef building and sediment producing organisms driven by tectonically forced shifts in seawater chemistry the primary mineralogy of oolites and early marine carbonate cements led sandberg nature 305 1983 19 22 to divide the phanerozoic eon into three intervals of aragonite seas and two intervals of calcite seas hardie geology 24 1996 279 283 has shown that these oscillations together with synchronous oscillations in the mineralogy of marine potash evaporites can be explained by secular shifts in the mg ca ratio of seawater driven by changes in spreading rates along mid ocean ridges the hardie model also predicts that high mg calcite should precipitate along with aragonite as it does in today s aragonite sea we have uncovered oscillations in the carbonate mineralogy of hypercalcifying organisms ones that have produced massive skeletons large reefs or voluminous bodies of sediment that correspond to sandberg s aragonite seas and calcite seas and that are predicted by the hardie model particular groups of corals sponges and algae appear to have been dominant reef builders only when favored by an appropriate mg ca ratio in seawater in early and middle paleozoic calcite seas calcite i reefs were dominated by calcitic tabulate heliolitid and rugose corals and calcitic stromatoporoids in contrast during the period of late paleozoic early mesozoic aragonite seas aragonite ii aragonitic groups of sponges scleractinian corals and phylloid algae as well as high mg calcitic red algae were principal reef builders during late cretaceous time at the acme of calcite ii massive rudists displaced aragonitic hermatypic corals in today s aragonite sea aragonite iii scleractinian corals are again dominant reef builders along with high mg calcitic coralline algae major sediment producing algae exhibit temporal patterns similar to those of reef builders calcitic receptaculitids flourished during calcite i whereas aragonitic dasycladaceans did not become dominant rock formers until aragonite ii during calcite ii calcitic nannoplankton formed massive coccolith chalks in warm shallow seas of the late cretaceous after the mg ca ratio of seawater had reached a very low value and calcium concentration a very high value as the mg ca ratio of seawater rose and calcium concentration fell during the cenozoic era individual coccoliths on average became less massive and encrusted cells less thickly by pliocene time during aragonite iii the prominent genus discoaster secreted only narrow rayed coccoliths that covered less than 25 of the cell surface also during aragonite iii the aragonitic green alga halimeda emerged as the dominant skeletal sediment producer in reef tracts the influence of seawater chemistry on skeletal secretion appears to have been especially strong for morphologically simple taxa that exert relatively weak control over their own calcification such groups include algae sponges corals and bryozoans morphological simplicity also permits these groups to adopt vegetative or colonial modes of growth that confer success in competition for space on reefs this linkage in addition to the basic chemical demands of hypercalcification has given the mg ca ratio of seawater strong control over the success of individual reef building taxa more generally this ratio appears to have strongly influenced evolutionary changes in the skeletal mineralogy of sponges and cheilostome bryozoans throughout their history we conclude that throughout phanerozoic time a chain of causation has extended from mid ocean ridge processes via seawater chemistry to the mineralogical and biological composition of reef communities and bioclastic carbonate deposits

plate tectonic control on the evolution of cretaceous platform carbonate production carbonate producing biota on cretaceous carbonate platforms changed from early cretaceous aragonitic coral algal and coral rudist associations to turonian maastrichtian calcite dominated rudist associations abundance patterns of rudist bivalves examined from a large database show a shift from barremian cenomanian aragonite dominated to post cenomanian calcite dominated shells these skeletal mineral changes agree with a decrease in the mg ca ratio of seawater owing to high rates of production of oceanic crust during the barremian early turonian and its effect on seawater saturation with respect to aragonite and calcite increasing sr concentrations in biotic calcite from the barremian to the maastrichtian reflect the shift from aragonite dominated to calcite dominated platform sedimentation because aragonite precipitation is a major sink for seawater sr it is speculated that a particularly low mg ca ratio and the corresponding low supersaturation of seawater with respect to aragonite during the middle cretaceous was a major cue for the radiation of calcite dominated rudist bivalves which became important carbonate producers on turonian maastrichtian carbonate platforms changing mg ca ratios of seawater are not considered to have caused middle cretaceous crises in the evolution of carbonate platforms but seawater composition could have selected for calcite dominated biota when carbonate production resumed

evolution of salt structures east texas diapir province part 1 sedimentary record of halokinesis post aptian post 112 ma strata in the east texas basin were strongly influenced by halokinesis and therefore record the evolution of associated salt structures dome induced changes in patterns of sandstone distribution depositional facies and reef growth indicate that thickness variations in strata surrounding domes were caused by syndepositional processes rather than by tectonic distortion salt domes in the east texas basin exhibit three stages of growth pillow diapir and post diapir each of which affected surrounding strata differently pillow growth caused broad uplift of strata over the crest of the pillows the resulting topographic swell influenced depositional trends and was susceptible to erosion fluvial channel systems bypassed pillow crests and stacked vertically in primary peripheral sinks on the updip flanks of the pillows diapir growth was characterized by expanded sections of shelf and deltaic strata in secondary peripheral sinks around the diapirs lower cretaceous reefs on topographic saddles between secondary peripheral sinks now host major oil production at fairway field post diapir crestal uplifts and peripheral subsidence affected smaller areas than did equivalent processes during pillow or diapir stages documented facies variations over and around domes at different stages of growth enable prediction of subtle facies controlled hydrocarbon traps facies controlled traps are likely to be the only undiscovered ones remaining in mature petroliferous basins such as the east texas basin

paleoclimatic reconstruction using the correlation in δ18o of hackberry carbonate and environmental water north america abstract celtis sp commonly known as hackberry fruits were collected from 101 north american sites located in 13 states and one canadian province between the years of 1979 1994 the biomineralized carbonate endocarp of the hackberry which is a common botanical fossil found throughout the quaternary sediments of the great plains was analyzed for its 18o value and plotted against the 18o value of site environmental water to demonstrate the potential of the hackberry as a paleoclimate indicator this correlation was reinforced by intensive studies on extracted tissue water 18o value and hackberry endocarp carbonate 18o value from three trees in sterling colorado the observed correlation in the large data set between hackberry endocarp carbonate 18o value and environmental water is endocarp 18o 38 56 0 69 environmental water 18o r 0 88 r2 0 78 p value

colorado river sediment transport 1 natural sediment supply limitation and the influence of glen canyon dam analyses of flow sediment transport bed topographic and sedimentologic data suggest that before the closure of glen canyon dam in 1963 the colorado river in marble and grand canyons was annually supply limited with respect to fine sediment i e sand and finer material furthermore these analyses suggest that the predam river in glen canyon was not supply limited to the same degree and that the degree of annual supply limitation increased near the head of marble canyon the predam colorado river in grand canyon displays evidence of four effects of supply limitation 1 seasonal hysteresis in sediment concentration 2 seasonal hysteresis in sediment grain size coupled to the seasonal hysteresis in sediment concentration 3 production of inversely graded flood deposits and 4 development or modification of a lag between the time of a flood peak and the time of either maximum or minimum depending on reach geometry bed elevation analyses of sediment budgets provide additional support for the interpretation that the predam river was annually supply limited with respect to fine sediment but it was not supply limited with respect to fine sediment during all seasons in the average predam year sand would accumulate and be stored in marble canyon and upper grand canyon for 9 months of the year from july through march when flows were dominantly below 200 300 m3 s this stored sand was then eroded during april through june when flows were typically higher after closure of glen canyon dam because of the large magnitudes of the uncertainties in the sediment budget no season of substantial sand accumulation is evident because most flows in the postdam river exceed 200 300 m3 s substantial sand accumulation in the postdam river is unlikely

global environmental controls on cretaceous reefal ecosystems abstract the hypothesis of global environmental control of reefal ecosystems is developed in order to explain the dramatic biotic changes in cretaceous benthic communities during a 30 m y period in the early cretaceous the dominant biota in the reefal ecosystem changed from corals algae and rudists to rudists with minor coral species this change included the reduction of the binder niche which in the early cretaceous was occupied by stromatoporoids and algal cyanobacterial associations the role of bafflers increased during the mid cretaceous as first the radiolitids then the hippuritids diversified and increased in abundance the characteristic encrusters changed from green algae and bryozoans to red algae the orbitolinid foraminifers were replaced by the alveolinids the biotic changes are reflected in the feeding habit substrate niche relationships within the communities and the biotic processes of competition for space and nutrients these changes were closely linked with major though subtle global shifts in oceanographic current systems in water mass chemistry in nutrient levels and in plate positions and oceanic volcanism associated with super plume activity the development of widespread anoxic water masses influenced the composition of the oceans and the atmosphere itself the feedback interactions among these processes may have had an indirect but unalterable affect on the composition and structure of cretaceous reefs particularly the frequency of sea level rise and flooding of the shelf with low oxygen waters increased by two times during the mid cretaceous this increased frequency of stress upon the benthic communities may have crossed the threshold resulting in the biotic changes such as the replacement of corals by rudists as the most abundant reefal group

glendonites as a paleoenvironmental tool implications for early cretaceous high latitude climates in australia glendonites calcite pseudomorphs after the metastable mineral ikaite caco3 6h2o occur in the late aptian interval of the bulldog shale in the eromanga basin australia and in other early cretaceous basins at high paleolatitudes ikaite precipitation in the marine environment requires near freezing temperatures not higher than 4 c high alkalinity increased levels of orthophosphate and high pco2 the rapid and complete transformation of ikaite to calcite at temperatures between 5 and 8 c provides an upper limit on the oxygen isotopic composition of the pore waters 2 6 w 3 4 smow if it is assumed that these pore waters are representative of the shallow eromanga basin the calculated w can be used to reassess belemnite fossil oxygen isotopic paleotemperatures temperature recorded by fauna living in the basin at the time of ikaite precipitation data previously reported as 11 to 16 c assuming w 0 0 smow yield paleotemperatures ranging from 1 to 5 c squarely in the range of ikaite stability the low w indicates hyposaline conditions most likely caused by mixing high latitude meteoric waters with seawater the 18o depleted low temperature waters suggest that the region was at least seasonally colder than previously accepted

impact of early aptian carbon cycle perturbations on evolution of a marine shelf system in the basque cantabrian basin aralar n spain abstract the aptian oceanic anoxic event 1a oae1a ca 120 ma ago is one of the most prominent of a series of geologically brief intervals in the cretaceous reflecting a major perturbation in the global carbon cycle this carbon cycle perturbation is recorded in the c isotope stratigraphy in this study we present a new carbonate and organic carbon isotope record across oae1a from expanded shallow marine sections igaratza and iribas in the basque cantabrian basin n spain the sediments studied were accumulated on a mixed carbonate siliciclastic and carbonate shelf the 13 c carb and 13 c org curves obtained show a pronounced negative spike in the deshayesites weissi zone and a subsequent positive excursion within the newly described d deshayesi d furcata transition zone approximately equivalent to the upper d deshayesi zone of other sections specific changes in facies patterns and a reduction in neritic carbonate production predate the negative c isotope perturbation these changes coincide with global carbonate crises in neritic and pelagic environments corresponding with the beginning of oae1a selli level a condensed interval rich in ammonites is observed this horizon is linked to a major transgression with high biodiversity the ammonite bloom suggests enhanced primary productivity in the surface waters of the basque cantabrian basin at improving environmental conditions for selected biocalcifiers the ultimate recovery of shelf carbonate deposition occurred after oae1a and it coincided in time with the most positive values of the carbon isotope excursion based on carbon isotope stratigraphy it has been deduced that black shales corresponding to selli level are missing in aralar so that anoxia is not recorded in the studied sections of the marine shelf environment an organic rich interval aparein level postdates the early aptian major positive excursion the aparein event should be considered in the future research of oaes

response of early cretaceous carbonate platforms to changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels during the late barremian and early aptian about 120 million years ago intense volcanic degassing and extremely rapid release of methane hydrates contained in marine sediments added high amounts of carbon to the ocean and atmosphere and resulted most probably in rising atmospheric carbon dioxide pressure in order to document the response of the shallow water carbonate producing communities to this pronounced disturbance of the carbon cycle we studied a late barremian to early aptian neritic carbonate succession deposited on the northern tethyan shelf swiss alps the sedimentological and stable carbon and oxygen isotope records of two sections located along a n s transect from proximal to more distal shelf environments were investigated the sediments correspond to outer mid and inner ramp deposits of a homoclinal carbonate ramp vertical facies variations within the two studied sections feature three progradation phases of the platform a highly resolved correlation of the shelf sediments with a pelagic succession from the southern alps northern italy is based on both 13c stratigraphy and biostratigraphy and indicates that the drowning of the helvetic carbonate platform coincided with a pronounced calcification crisis of calcareous nannofossils the biocalcification crisis started before but culminated during the aptian methane event recorded in a negative carbon isotope spike we propose that increased carbon dioxide concentrations in oceans and atmosphere related to volcanic activity and to sudden methane release reduced the marine calcium carbonate oversaturation and the calcification potential of benthic and planktonic organisms carbonate producing shallow water communities on platforms and ramps suffering from additional environmental stress such as extreme temperatures or high nutrient levels could not survive during times of rising sea level and as a consequence carbonate platforms drowned

potential for14c dating of biogenic carbonate in hackberry celtis endocarps abstract hackberry endocarp celtissp contains significant amounts up to 70 wt of biogenic carbonate that is nearly pure aragonite caco3 because of their high mineral content hackberry endocarps are found abundantly in tertiary and quaternary sediments and are very common in many north american archaeological sites we analyzed the14c content of different components of modern hackberries including the biogenic carbonate in hackberry endocarps collected at known times over the past century the14c content of the endocarp carbonate accurately records the14c content of the atmosphere 14c dates of fossil endocarp carbonates compared favorably with dates obtained by other means at archaeological and geological sites ranging in age from the late pleistocene through the early holocene we therefore suggest that hackberry endocarp is a suitable substrate for14c dating provided that its morphological and mineralogical integrity is preserved

evolution of the adriatic carbonate platform palaeogeography main events and depositional dynamics abstract the adriatic carbonate platform adcp is one of the largest mesozoic carbonate platforms of the perimediterranean region its deposits comprise a major part of the entire carbonate succession of the croatian karst external or outer dinarides which is very thick in places more than 8000 m and ranges in age from the middle permian or even upper carboniferous to the eocene however only deposits ranging from the top of the lower jurassic toarcian to the top of the cretaceous can be attributed to the adcp defined as an isolated palaeogeographical entity although the entire carbonate succession of the karst dinarides was deposited within carbonate platform environments there were different types of carbonate platforms located in different palaeogeographical settings carboniferous to middle triassic mixed siliciclastic carbonate deposits were accumulated along the gondwanian margin on a spacious epeiric carbonate platform after tectonic activity culminating by regional middle triassic volcanism recorded throughout adria the african promontory a huge isolated carbonate southern tethyan megaplatform abbreviated as stm was formed with the area of the future adcp located in its inner part tectonic disintegration of the megaplatform during the middle to late early jurassic resulted in the establishment of several carbonate platforms including the adriatic apenninic and apulian separated by newly drowned deeper marine areas including the adriatic basin as a connection between the ionian and belluno basins lagonero basin and the area of the slovenian and bosnian troughs the adcp was characterised by predominantly shallow marine deposition although short or long periods of emergence were numerous as a consequence of the interaction of synsedimentary tectonics and eustatic changes also several events of temporary platform drowning were recorded especially in the late cretaceous when synsedimentary tectonics became stronger leading up to the final disintegration of the adcp the thickness of deposits formed during the 125 my of the adcp s existence is variable between 3500 and 5000 m the end of adcp deposition was marked by regional emergence between the cretaceous and the palaeogene deposition during the palaeogene was mainly controlled by intense synsedimentary tectonic deformation of the former platform area some carbonates mostly eocene in age were deposited on irregular ramp type carbonate platforms surrounding newly formed flysch basins and the final uplift of the dinarides reached its maximum in the oligocene miocene the adriatic carbonate platform represents a part although a relatively large and well preserved one of the broader shallow water carbonate platform that extended from ne italy to turkey although its continuity is somewhat debatable in the area near albanian greece boundary this large carbonate body which was deformed mostly in the cenozoic including a significant reduction of its width needs a specific name and the central mediterranean carbonate platform is proposed abbreviated to cmcp although the local names such as adcp for its nw part should be kept to enable easier communication and to facilitate description of local differences in platform evolution

chlorozoan versus foramol lithofacies in upper cretaceous rudist limestones abstract the study of upper cretaceous limestones of the nurra region northwestern sardinia italy that crop out with open shelf rudist rich deposits has shown that during the early senonian coniacian santonian interval sediments characterized by assemblages dominated by molluscs with variable amounts of red algae bryozoa and echinoids replaced sediments including hermatypic corals green algae and variable amounts of non skeletal grains these latter components were largely dominant in the previous carbonate shelf contexts of the nurra during jurassic early cretaceous times becoming less numerous until they disappeared in the transgressive deposits that followed the tectonically induced middle cretaceous emersion phase a rhodalgal association typical of anomalous tropical areas or transitional ones has been recognized in the replacing limestones that may be more generically considered foramol type deposits this seems to document conditions of stress in the waters impinging on the nurra carbonate platform during the coniacian santonian transition the observation that in the late cretaceous a similar evolutionary trend seems to have characterized many shallow neritic successions from many different areas leads us to hypothesize more general causes of stress e g induced upwellings on the marginal sectors of the shelves increased oceanic overturns and hyperproductivity due to terrestrial runoff on post emersive transgressed substrata peculiar oceanic conditions were able to create depositional contexts that were considerably changed with respect to the previous ones such that the more opportunistic forms of the foramol assemblages flourished the change in dominant assemblages resulted in a different organization of the sediment as a response to the different producing communities the resulting temperate type carbonate shelves were characterized by a low growth potentiality essentially due to a higher dispersion rate and this could have facilitated their drowning

changes in sedimentary patterns of coastal and deep sea successions from the north atlantic portugal linked to early cretaceous environmental change coastal mixed carbonate siliciclastic and carbonate deposits of late barremian to early aptian age from the lusitanian basin portugal are compared with a deep sea succession odp 641 off the coast of portugal the coastal deposits show an abrupt cessation of rudist dominated carbonate deposition marked by an emersion horizon and followed by the deposition of orbitolinid rich marls during the early aptian the subsequent development of the carbonate platform during the late aptian is masked by a hiatus for this time interval shallow water debris deposits of the deep sea succession odp 641 indicate that carbonate production in shallow water areas resume in the early late aptian carbon isotope stratigraphy in combination with available biostratigraphic data is used for intrabasinal correlation and for the correlation of the portuguese with shallow water successions from switzerland france oman and the pacific the correlation reveals that during the early aptian similar changes in their sedimentary patterns occur at the beginning of a marked negative shift of carbon isotope values associated with the global deposition of organic rich black shales in the deep sea oae 1a in all compared sections rudist dominated carbonate deposition is stopped and followed either by orbitolinid rich deposits the deposition of microbial carbonates or by the drowning of the carbonate platform the comparison shows that the deterioration for carbonate platform growth conditions during the early aptian occurred essentially simultaneously at the various localities during this episode the ocean waters were in a preconditioned state of acidification stressing biocalcifying organisms sea level change combined with local effects like elevated nutrient levels and higher temperatures were probably determining the nature of sedimentary change in shallow water environments during the carbonate crisis in the sections studied in portugal the high abundance of orbitolinids overlying rudist limestones indicates that increased nutrient input may have played an important local role among the factors that caused an overall deterioration for carbonate producers during the late early aptian

orbitolina episodes in carbonate platform evolution the early aptian model from se spain abstract among the orbitolininae palorbitolina lenticularis blumenbach is a common facies marker in upper barremian lower aptian shallow water mesogean deposits and was hitherto ascribed to specific but contrasting paleoenvironments within the carbonate platform facies suites the albacete prebetic area se spain illustrates a model in which the palorbitolina facies spread over the whole platform system the development of the palorbitolina sediments coincided with a transgressive trend at the end of an important terrigenous period this model could also be applied to similar middle crotaceous orbitolina facies

rudists and carbonate platforms in the aptian a case study on biotic interactions with ocean chemistry and climate variations in aptian carbonate platform growth and associated turnover among rudists are reviewed and the results synthesized with evidence for climate change to yield an explanatory model extensive platform growth throughout the atlantic tethys low palaeolatitude pacific seamount belt in the earliest aptian was accompanied by prolific rudist diversification especially among the predominantly aragonitic caprinids occupying platform margins it was ubiquitously interrupted in the mid early aptian in tandem with major perturbations of the global carbon cycle that culminated in oceanic anoxic event 1a although the causal linkages remain contentious platform growth terminated along most of the northern tethyan margin and maybe also in the new world meanwhile lithocodium bacinella or similar microbial encrustations became widespread in lower palaeolatitudes recovery of tethyan platforms in the late early aptian was limited to lower palaeolatitudes caprinid rich platform margin facies again prevailed in central and southern tethyan areas but gave way to those dominated by rudists with a thickened calcitic outer shell layer polyconitids and requieniids in marly successions around iberia the end of the early aptian saw the lazarus style disappearance of caprinids and renewed tethyan platform growth in the late aptian was dominated by calcite rich rudists although rudists remained scarce in the new world until the terminal aptian this study postulates that sea water acidification influenced both the mid early aptian platform debacle and the subsequent late early aptian geographical restriction of platform recovery although in contrasting atmospheric regimes at first it was forced by the increasing atmospheric levels of volcanically derived co2 with mitigation in low latitudes from thermal expulsion of aqueous co2 here termed the kettle effect due to greenhouse warming however subsequent cooling due to drawdown of atmospheric co2 by organic carbon burial could have sustained acidification of platform waters in higher latitudes by reducing the protective kettle effect there caprinid susceptibility to such assaults may have been as much due to exposure on their preferred outer platform habitats as to their mineralogy the increased calcite aragonite ratio among rudists through the aptian resulted largely from this taxonomic turnover

improved time control on cretaceous coastal deposits new results from sr isotope measurements using laser ablation sr isotope measurements of unaltered oyster shell calcite using laser ablation multi collector icpms techniques represent a powerful tool capable of establishing a chronostratigraphic framework for fossil near shore deposits this approach is tested on two shoal water successions from the portuguese algarve and lusitanian basins covering late barremian to albian strata 87 sr 86 sr values derived from low mg calcite of oyster shells fluctuate between 0 70717 0 00001 and 0 70746 0 00002 absolute values as well as stratigraphic trends match well with the global open marine seawater signal the new sr isotope results in combination with existing bio and chemostratigraphic records allow for identification of an early aptian biocalcification crisis at both studied localities and show that this event has severely affected coastal environments along the evolving atlantic siliciclastic intervals in the algarve section are interpreted as near shore equivalents of enhanced detrital shedding into shelf and deep sea environments as a consequence of increased chemical weathering rates during humid climate episodes

grand canyon open the floodgates hydrologists are gearing up for a second attempt to restore the altered environment of the grand canyon by letting the colorado river run free kendall powell discovers the lessons learned from the first fruitless flood

evolution of salt structures east texas diapir province part 2 patterns and rates of halokinesis the effects of salt mobilization on aptian and younger post 112 ma strata in the east texas basin can be used to illustrate patterns of dome growth through time and to estimate rates and amounts of salt movement pre aptian domes grew in three areas around the margin of the diapir province apparently in pre aptian depocenters maximum dome growth along the basin axis coincided with maximum regional sedimentation there during the middle cretaceous aptian albian and cenomanian in the late cretaceous the sites of maximum diapirism migrated to the periphery of the diapir province diapirism began after pillows were erosionally breached leading to salt extrusion and formation of peripheral sinks the duration of pillow and diapir stages of growth was subequal ranging from 10 to 30 ma post diapiric stage of growth continued for more than 112 ma in some cases diapirs grew fastest in the early cretaceous when peak growth rates ranged from 150 to 530 m ma 490 to 1 740 ft ma declining in the early tertiary to 10 to 60 m ma 30 to 200 ft ma assuming steady state conditions over periods of 1 to 17 ma strain rates for the rise of the east texas diapirs averaged 6 7 10 16 sec peak gross rate of growth averaged 2 3 10 15 sec similar to slow orogenic rates the evolution of east texas salt domes essentially ended in the early tertiary with uplift rates less than 30 m ma 100 ft ma

a facies distribution model controlled by a tectonically inherited sea bottom topography in the carbonate rimmed shelf of the upper tithonian valanginian southern tethyan continental margin nw sicily italy the upper tithonian valanginian shallow water carbonates outcropping in the palermo mts nw sicily consist of several facies associations reflecting different depositional environments of a carbonate rimmed shelf pertaining to the southern tethyan continental margin the reconstructed depositional model based on the sedimentological features cyclic facies arrangement and biota distribution shows that a wide protected lagoon dominated by algae molluscs and scattered patch reefs was bordered landward by a tidal flat where stromatolitic algal mats were cyclically subaerial exposed and seaward by a marine sand belt and reef complex oolitic packstone grainstone lithofacies cyclically subjected to subaerial exposure suggests the occurrence of a barrier island located nearly to the lagoonal carbonate shoreline allowing the development of narrow embayments with restricted circulation in the outer platform the oolitic lithofacies of the marine sand belt pass landward into the protected lagoon where washover oolite sands occur and seaward into a high energy zone back reef apron gradually merging in the reef complex in the latter coral framestone occupied the inner sector reef flat while the facies association dominated by boundstone with ellipsactinia sp developed in the outer sectors reef wall adjacent to the fore reef and upper slope environments stratigraphic evidence associated with the recognized facies associations helped to reconstruct the geo tectonic setting of the carbonate platform where the distribution of the depositional facies along the shelf and their extension were influenced by the tectonically inherited sea bottom topography in a regime of extensional tectonics localized and thin succession of high energy prograding oolite sand belt depositional facies occupied structural highs footwall uplift while the largely diffused and thick low energy aggrading peritidal to lagoonal depositional facies developed in subsiding hanging wall the reef complex and the fore reef depositional facies exhibiting lateral migration and prograding geometries with clinoforms and downlap stratal terminations developed on a subsident stepped margin adjacent to a faulted shelf break this morphostructural setting can be comprised in a model where the tilted and faulted blocks inner platform and stepped margin outer platform paleo topography inherited from the rifting tectonics was the most important factor controlling the geometry and depositional architecture of a carbonate platform growing on the southern tethyan passive margin

timing and magnitude of early aptian extreme warming unraveling primary δ18o variation in indurated pelagic carbonates at deep sea drilling project site 463 central pacific ocean abstract in order to elucidate early aptian marine paleotemperature evolution across the period of enhanced organic carbon corg burial oceanic anoxic event oae 1a stable isotope analyses were performed on pelagic limestones at deep sea drilling project site 463 central pacific ocean the 18o data exhibit a distinct anomaly by 2 spanning the oae 1a interval i e a 6 m thick phytoplanktonic corg rich unit constrained by magneto bio and 13c stratigraphy elucidation of paleotemperature significance of the 18o shift is made by taking account of recent sr ca evidence at the same section which revealed that geochemical signals in carbonate poor lithologies are relatively unaltered against burial diagenesis by discriminating 18o values from carbonate poor samples caco3 contents 5 30 wt it appears that an abrupt rise in sea surface temperatures ssts by 8 c 1 7 shift in 18o occurred immediately before oae 1a whereas a cooling mode likely prevailed during the peak corg burial in terms of its stratigraphic relationship as to the corg rich interval and to a pronounced negative 13c excursion as well as its timescale the observed sst rise resembles those associated with the paleocene eocene thermal maximum and more strikingly jurassic toarcian oae this observation is consistent with the hypothesis that these paleoenvironmental events were driven by a common causal mechanism which was likely initiated by the greenhouse effect via massive release of ch4 or co2 from the isotopically light carbon reservoir and terminated by a negative productivity feedback

species richness and abundance patterns of tethyan cretaceous rudist bivalves mollusca hippuritacea in the central eastern mediterranean and middle east analysed from a palaeontological database abstract data about the stratigraphical and regional distribution of cretaceous rudist bivalves in the central eastern mediterranean and middle east from the barremian to the maastrichtian have been compiled in a taxonomic databank system the investigated region comprises northern central and southern regions of the cretaceous tethys the regionally different quality of taxonomic data is critically discussed both species richness and abundance number of species records peak in the early aptian late cenomanian and early campanian temporal patterns in species richness are examined in relation to evolutionary innovations of the group crises in species richness and abundance during the early and mid cretaceous were coeval with oceanic anoxia associated with platform drowning also regional emergence affected large parts of the apulian plate and other central tethyan carbonate platforms during the mid cretaceous period of globally high sea level so that these crises can be attributed to regional environmental perturbations induced by either oceanic anoxia or tectonic movements the cenomanian turonian transition marks an important faunal turnover as indicated by the demise of taxonomic groups which are characterised by recumbent ecological morphotypes and predominantly aragonitic shells during the turonian they were replaced by associations dominated by largely calcitic radiolitidae and hippuritidae among which elevator morphotypes dominated the stratigraphy of many post turonian deposits in the studied region is too imprecise for a detailed analysis of late cretaceous distributional patterns and the demise of rudists during the maastrichtian in particular the regional pattern of species richness and abundance is similar throughout most of the investigated region a notable exception is the broad north eastern african shelf from libya to lebanon where rudists were almost completely absent after the coniacian this coincided with shallow water phosphorite and black shale formation on the extended shelf of this region indicating the upwelling of nutrient rich waters and stagnant conditions during this time campanian maastrichtian species rich associations thrived along the north eastern afro arabian margin now exposed in south eastern turkey iran the united arab emirates uae and oman this region forms the single distinct faunal province during the cretaceous in the studied region as indicated by an endemism of 40 at the genus level the low species richness and abundance of hippuritidae on turonian maastrichtian central tethyan carbonate platforms when compared with regions having mixed calcareous siliciclastic sedimentation is interpreted to argue against a widespread photosymbiosis in the group several aspects of this study highlight the importance of regional tectonic and oceanographic controls of distributional and perhaps also evolutionary patterns of rudist bivalves their delineation still suffers from the regionally different quality of stratigraphical and taxonomic data

litho and biofacies of early cretaceous rudist bearing carbonate sediments in northeastern japan abstract carbonate blocks of late aptian lower cretaceous age occur in the lower yezo group of central hokkaido in northeast japan the shallow water carbonates were emplaced by gravity sliding and rock fall into a deep water flysch basin various lithofacies can be distinguished within the blocks including massive wackestone bedded packstone and micro oncoid grainstone containing corals rudists an oyster gastropods calcareous algae and an orbitolinid foraminifer facies and palaeoecological analyses suggest deposition of low energy biostromes and sand banks in open lagoonal and restricted environments with local higher energy shoals and beaches the presence of calcareous sandstones and abundant insoluble residues in limestones suggest deposition in an attached carbonate platform close to a supply of terrigenous material rather than deposition upon seamounts within an oceanic setting a narrow rimmed shelf in tropical subtropical conditions would have been the depositional environment for these carbonates which were subsequently deformed into blocks and transported into deep water as a result of the tectonic collapse of the platform