deep sea carbonates reading the carbon isotope signal the carbon isotope signal in deep sea sediments reflects a mix of 1 global changes in the rates of exchange of the ocean s carbon reservoir with biosphere soil and sediments 2 global and regional changes in surface water productivity 3 internal shifts in water mass structure and circulation basin basin fractionation oxygen minimum development and 4 organism specific fractionation effects due to changes in micro habitat and or ontogenic fractionation vital effects additional complications arise from differential preservation it is impossible to entirely isolate these various factors as a rule of thumb long period signals that are parallel for planktonic and benthic data reflect external global fractionation patterns whilst short period signals are more likely tied to internal patterns water mass fractionation the various approaches to interpretation are illustrated with three case studies the glacial holocene transition the messinian carbon shift and the miocene monterey excursion

carbon isotopes stratigraphy and environmental change the middle upper cambrian positive excursion spice in port au port group western newfoundland canada in many basins upper cambrian carbonate successions display intervals with a positive carbon isotope excursion cie of up to 5 in north america this marks the boundary between the sauk ii iii super sequences a steptoean positive carbon isotope excursion spice locality previously identified in the port au port peninsula western newfoundland has been revisited and an additional potential spice locality found in both locations a cie is found to be associated with a prominent bioherm and sandstone layer within a sequence of carbonate rocks at march point columnar stromatolites occur whereas at felix cove thrombolites can be seen in the latter the sandstone immediately overlies the thrombolites coincident with the cie whereas at march point a dolomitized grainstone occurs above the stromatolites the sandstone at this locality post dates the cie although lower than the spice in some localities a positive cie is present in both sections march point 1 1 and felix cove 1 8 additional

effects of grand cycle cessation on the diagenesis of upper cambrian carbonate deposits in the southern appalachians u s a abstract the vertical transition from the mainly subtidal alternating shale and carbonate units or grand cycles of the conasauga group middle to upper cambrian to the peritidal dolostone of the knox group upper cambrian to lower ordovician marks a major change in the early paleozoic passive margin sedimentation of the southern appalachians the grand cycles represent an interplay between intrashelf shale basin and carbonate platform deposition the end of grand cycle deposition occurred in response to carbonate platform progradation over the infilled intrashelf basin and is associated with a prominent change in diagenetic patterns observed in the uppermost conasauga group strata the maynardville formation the maynardville records upward shallowing from subtidal shale and limestone into peritidal dolostone this change from a subtidal into a peritidal depositional regime influenced the early diagenesis of the maynardville and in conjunction with the changes in the regional facies distribution at the end of grand cycle deposition extended its influence upon the burial diagenesis of these deposits the subtidal deposits of the maynardville contain a variety of calcite cements dolomite is not abundant in these deposits where it occurs mainly as a fine crystalline ferroan phase associated with argillaceous layers and pressure dissolution features the local source for this dolomite during burial was provided by expulsion of pore fluids from interbedded shale deposits diagenesis of clay minerals and pressure dissolution of carbonates ferruginous coatings on hardgrounds in the subtidal deposits provided an additional local source of iron for the formation of replacement saddle dolomite the subtidal deposits also contain saddle dolomite cement associated with mississippi valley type mvt minerals which indicate the involvement of externally derived fluids during late burial diagenesis of these strata the peritidal deposits on the other hand are extensively dolomitized fine crystalline dolomite most likely represents early diagenetic replacement of tidal flat carbonate sediment coarse crystalline replacement dolomite formed during burial by recrystallization of early dolomite and dolomitization by warm burial brines fenestrae desiccation cracks and evaporite dissolution voids are occluded with dolomite cement which is commonly complexly zoned zoned dolomite precipitated during shallow to intermediate burial and is postdated by saddle dolomite cement saddle dolomite in pore centers dissolutional voids and tectonic fractures formed during late burial from warm fluids associated with the migration of mvt brines the effects of changes in the depositional setting on diagenesis are reflected in similar early diagenesis between the subtidal maynardville and the underlying conasauga group carbonate deposits and between the peritidal deposits of the upper maynardville and the rest of the overlying knox group the depositional environments and early diagenesis also affected the burial diagenesis the changes in regional facies distribution caused by carbonate platform progradation at the end of grand cycle deposition resulted in a decrease in the proportion of siliciclastic components this decrease was accompanied by a decline in the amount of ferroan carbonate in the peritidal deposits the maynardville is conformably overlain by carbonate deposits of the knox group this allowed the maynardville knox succession to behave as a single hydrologic unit for the migration of burial fluids in response to the formation of the ordovician foreland sevier basin to the southeast during the conversion from a passive into a convergent continental margin the nolichucky shale separates the maynardville knox succession from the carbonate deposits of the underlying conasauga group which were in contrast affected by the migration of burial fluids from the cambrian intrashelf shale basin to the west

influence of water column anoxia and sediment supply on the burial and preservation of organic carbon in marine shales abstract previous work has suggested that the laminated organic rich and bioturbated organic poor shales of the camp run member of the late devonian early mississippian new albany shale formed under anoxic and oxygenated bottomwater conditions respectively and that the interbedding of the two facies was due to the vertical oscillation of a water column anoxic oxic boundary where it impinged on the basin margin we have extended this analysis by examining the chemical and mineralogical differences between the two shale facies in a single borehole core by seeking evidence for deposition of the laminated shales under bottom water oxia or anoxia and by determining whether the laminated shales formed when the carbon supply to the sea floor was higher the results of this study show that the laminated and bioturbated shales are mineralogically and chemically distinct relative to al an index of the aluminosilicate content si ti fe p na ba co cr cu mo ni v zn and zr are all higher whereas mn ca mg and sr are lower in the laminated compared with the bioturbated shales the differences are due to a higher quartz feldspar titanite ilmenite and zircon content in the laminated shales probably indicating a coarser grain size and the greater abundance of manganoan calcite in the bioturbated shales dissolved oxygen was present in bottom waters during the deposition of some of the laminated shale intervals because of the presence of manganoan calcite a phase that can only form in sediments with an oxic surface in addition the organic matter preserved in the two shale types is isotopically different 13corganic values are 1 9z permil lighter on average in the laminated compared with bioturbated intervals possibly indicating a larger fraction of terrestrial organic matter in the latter 15n values are 1 9z permil lighter on average in laminated compared with bioturbated intervals possibly indicating a larger fraction of terrestrial organic matter in the latter 15n values are 1 9z permil lighter on average in laminated compared with bioturbated intervals suggesting that nutrient drawdown was less during the deposition of the organic rich laminated shales the chemical mineralogical and isotopic contrasts between the two shale facies of the camp run member indicate that the conditions of sedimentation were different during their deposition the difference was possibly related to variations in sea level which would have caused the camp run shoreline to move closer to and farther from the core site causing in turn the deposition of coarser and finer grained sediments that contained different mixtures of marine and terrestrial organic matter bottomwater conditions were anoxic during deposition of most laminated intervals bottom water anoxia or dysoxia led to decreased burial and preservation of the essential nutrient phosphorus in the laminated organic rich shales relative to the rocks deposited beneath better oxygenated bottomwaters increased availability of phosphorus in the water column on long timescales leads to increased productivity and a higher settling flux of organic matter causing bottom water oxygen levels to fall this is consistent with the nitrogen isotope evidence suggesting that production was probably higher during the deposition of the organic rich shales thus production variations coupled with enhanced sedimentary regeneration of phosphorus from sediments related to low oxygen bottom water concentrations provide a general mechanism for the formation of the alternating facies of this member of the new albany shale

sulfur isotope evidence for widespread euxinia and a fluctuating oxycline in early to middle ordovician greenhouse oceans article i nfo despite marine geochemical records indicating widespread oxygenation of the biosphere in the terminal neoproterozoic era late cambrian records point to the persistence of deep water anoxia and potential for development of euxinic conditions the late cambrian spice steptoean positive carbon isotope excursion event however is a globally recognized chemostratigraphic marker that likely represents significant organic carbon burial and subsequent liberation of oxygen to the biosphere here we present high resolution carbon and sulfur isotope profiles from early to middle ordovician carbonate rocks from the argentine precordillera and western newfoundland to constrain oceanic redox conditions in the post spice world marine c isotope profiles record relatively stable behavior excursions b3 that is characteristic of greenhouse climates ma rine s isotope profiles record short term b10 6 yr rhythmic variation superimposed over a longer term

diagenetic stabilization of the upper permian dalan formation persian gulf basin abstract the upper permian dalan formation is a supergiant gas reservoir in the persian gulf basin reservoir quality is controlled by the original facies type dolomitization and anhydrite cementation this study focuses on the texture petrographic analysis bulk stable isotope values and trace element composition in order to identify the original mineralogy of carbonate grains and cements and to assess the synsedimentary and diagenetic processes including the timing and setting of dolomitization the limestone data suggest that the initial precipitation of isopachous acicular to fibrous aragonite cements in the marine phreatic environment was followed by dissolution of aragonite grains and cements in the meteoric phreatic zone and neomorphism and low mg calcite cementation blocky and drusy crystals syntaxial overgrowths in the active freshwater phreatic zone the relatively pristine 18o and 13c values low mn and relatively high sr and na contents indicate that this meteoric diagenesis was relatively limited the remaining porous space was cemented by blocky calcite later during burial four types of dolomites are identified within a complex mixture of texturally and isotopically different dolomites dolomicrite dolomicrosparite dolosparite and saddle dolomite dolomicrite formed syndepositionally from the evaporated permian seawater or by reflux of dense evaporated brines during shallow burial the second major episode of dolomitization dolomicrosparite and dolosparite was driven by reflux of warmer and more saline fluids at greater depth which affected both previously non dolomitized and dolomitized sediments the final diagenetic stabilization during deep burial is associated with extensive pressure solution fracturing vein filling of calcite and dolomite cements and crystallization of saddle dolomite

carbon and oxygen isotope stratigraphy of the lower mississippian kinderhookian lower osagean western united states implications for seawater chemistry and glaciation a positive carbon isotope 1 3 c excursion has been recognized in upper kinderhookian and early osagean carbonates in three sections in southeast idaho and nevada the oldest 1 3 c peak 7 is dated to the isostichaconodont zone and a younger peak occurs in the typicus zone the shifts are recorded in a range of carbonate lithofacies representing various water depths along the shelf lithofacies sampled for 1 3 c and 1 8 o at the samaria mountain section in southeast idaho record the shallowest water conditions indicated by cross bedded skeletal and peloidal grainstones the deepest water conditions are present in the pahranagat range section in eastern nevada which consists mainly of bioturbated lime mudstone and skeletal wackestone the 1 3 c values from these widely separated sedimentary basins show a consistent trend that correlates with early mississippian curves generated from brachiopod calcite in western europe and the midcontinent of north america as well as dolomites in utah and wyoming 1 8 o values become more positive up section generally paralleling the positive trend in 1 3 c during the late kinderhookian no subaerial exposure surfaces are recognized in the sections examined in southeast idaho and nevada and at least the 1 3 c trends are interpreted as primary seawater fluctuations sea level changes occurred near the beginning of the late kinderhookian 1 3 c shift early to middle parts of the isosticha zone and within the peak of the 1 3 c excursion kinderhookian osagean boundary although tectonic changes associated with the antler orogeny have likely modified the eustatic signature

late cambrian steptoean sedimentation and responses to sea level change along the northeastern laurentian margin insights from carbon isotope stratigraphy carbon isotopes are applied as tools for stratigraphic correlation of poorly fossiliferous upper cambrian carbonate strata in the northern u s appalachians upper cambrian steptoean marine carbonate rocks record a significant global positive carbon isotope excursion 13c 4 5 vienna peedee belemnite vpdb the timing of which is well documented in fossiliferous sections elsewhere the steptoean excursion peaks at a sea level lowstand that produced the sauk ii sauk iii sequence boundary on the north american craton in this study this excursion is documented for the first time in the northern u s appalachians in poorly exposed limestone debris flow and olistolith deposits interbedded within 20 m of continental slope shales of the schodack formation these deposits contain the only reported pre elvinia zone steptoean fauna in new york and record 13c values of up to 3 the slope carbonate sediment was mainly derived from the shelf margin and is mixed with common coarse grained silici clastic material these deposits reflect a seaward migration of the siliciclastic source area exposed craton suppressed carbonate platform sedimentation and shelf bypassing during the sauk ii sauk iii sea level fall nonfossiliferous dolostones and dolomitic marbles of the proposed carbonate platform correlatives the pine plains formation in southeastern new york and the stockbridge formation from western massachusetts also contain common coarse siliciclastics however sampled sections do not record elevated 13c values indicating that these strata are probably not of steptoean age this suggests that steptoean time is represented in the carbonate platform to slope succession of the northeastern present day laurentian margin by an extremely condensed stratigraphic interval or even a hiatus

carbon and oxygen isotope records of palaeoenvironmental and carbonate production changes in shallow marine carbonates kimmeridgian swiss jura carbon and oxygen isotope ratios are commonly used to correlate shallow and deep marine successions carbon and oxygen isotope analyses were performed on bulk carbonate samples from two kimmeridgian sections of the swiss jura platform in order to correlate them with biostratigraphically well dated coeval sections in the adjacent basin on the platform a general decrease in 13 c and 18 o values from the base to the top of the studied interval is measured whereas time equivalent pelagic hemipelagic carbonates record an increase in carbon and oxygen isotope ratios moreover the measured 13 c and 18 o values are generally lower than those indicated for the kimmeridgian open ocean and show high frequency variations superimposed on the general trend samples were screened for diagenetic alteration using optical and cathodoluminescence petrography and coupled carbon and oxygen isotope and trace element analyses some observations favour a role for diagenetic alteration but isotopic and elemental trends as well as sedimentological evidence suggest that the more negative values of 13 c and 18 o relative to kimmeridgian seawater are also due to local environmental conditions high frequency changes in 18 o and 13 c values most likely result from variations in salinity and carbonate production and accumulation rates these variations were produced by different water masses that were isolated from the open ocean and developed their own geochemical signatures repeated isolation was induced by high frequency sea level fluctuations and helped by irregular platform morphology consequently carbon and oxygen isotope records in shallow marine carbonates can be used for stratigraphic correlation only if their origin is well known

carbon oxygen and sulphur isotope variations in concretions from the upper lias of n e england carbon oxygen and sulphur isotope data for transects across two pyrite bearmg carbonate concretions and their host sediments from the upper lias of n e england show symmetrical zonation 13cpdb values of the calcite cement 12 9 to 15 4 indicate that most of it originated from organic matter by bacterial reduction of sulphate augmented with marine and to a lesser extent fermentation derived carbonate organic carbon 13cpdb 26 1 to 37 0 reflects the admixture of allochtho nous terrestrial organic matter with marine material and the selective preservation of isotopically light organic material through microbiological degradation two phases of pyrite are present in each concretion the earlier framboidal pyrite formed throughout the sediment prior to concretionary growth and has 34scd values of 22 to 26 indicating formation by open system sulphate reduction the later euhedral phase is more abundant and reaches values of 2 5 to 5 5 at concretion margins this phase of sulphate reduction provided the carbonate source for concretionary growth and occurred in a partially closed system the 13c and 34s data are consistent with mineralogical and chemical evidence which suggest that both concretions formed close to the sediment surface the 18o values of the calcite in one concretion 18opdb 2 3 to 4 8 indicate precipitation in pore waters whose temperature and isotopic composition was close to that of overlying seawater the other concretion is isotopically much lighter 18opdb 8 9 to 9 9 and large 18o differences between concretions in closely spaced horizons imply that local factors control the isotopic composition of pore waters

carbon isotope stratigraphy of the upper kharaib and shuaiba formations implications for the early cretaceous evolution of the arabian gulf region the carbon isotope profiles of shallow marine carbonates from the barremian aptian kharaib and shuaiba formations of the arabian gulf region range between 0 5 and 7 pmil dgr13c pdb peedee belemnite systematic variations can be correlated with isotope profiles reported from tethyan pelagic limestone sequences the detailed correspondence between the isotopic signature of the relatively well dated pelagic limestones and the poorly dated shallow water limestones from the arabian gulf region suggests that global marine carbon isotope changes apparently affected deep sea and shallow water carbonate sediments similarly and at a similar time resolution although oxygen isotopes have been reset during diagenesis carbon isotopes appear to have maintained their primary marine signature through time no evidence has been found to connect carbon isotope trends to subaerial exposure or later meteoric diagenesis in combination with other data the investigated carbon isotope profiles can be used for basin to platform and regional correlations beyond the current resolution of biostratigraphy in shallow water limestones carbon isotope stratigraphy confirms significant hiatuses in the investigated shallow water carbonate sequences using carbon isotope trends as a proxy for sea level fluctuations the carbon isotope cycles of the late early cretaceous of the arabian gulf region may represent four cycles of rising and falling sea level with a duration corresponding to that of third order sea level fluctuations regional correlations derived from isotope trends provide a scenario for the larger scale stratigraphic evolution of the arabian peninsula during the end of the early cretaceous differential rates of aggradation between realms influenced by siliciclastics and those characterized by siliciclastic poor clean carbonate deposition apparently caused the development of a pronounced basin platform topography during the early aptian shuaiba intrashelf basin and platform

three new upper cambrian stages for north america the existing upper cambrian stages for north america are obsolete three new stratotype defined stages are equivalent to and replace three successive biomeres marjuman stage replaces marjumiid biomere lower boundary at base ptychagnostus atavis zone steptoean stage replaces pterocephaliid biomere lower boundary at base aphelaspis zone sunwaptan stage replaces ptychaspid biomere lower boundary at base irvingella major subzone the base of the overlying ibexian series is placed at the base of the eurekia apopsis subzone

comparative analysis of methods used to define eustatic variations in outcrop late cambrian interbasinal sequence development interbasinal correlation of late cambrian cyclic carbonates from the appalachian and cordilleran passive margins the texas craton and the southern oklahoma aulacogen defines six major third order depositional sequences graphic correlation of biostratigraphically constrained strata was used to establish equivalency of stratigraphic sequences between the individual sections relatively isochronous biomere boundaries were used as time datums for lithostratigraphic correlation although the individual sections are composed of different types of meter scale cycles and component lithofacies that reflect the various environmental settings of the localities the overall upward shallowing character of individual sequences is evident the sequences are late cedaria mid crepicephalus late crepicephalus aphelaspis to earliest elvinia elvinia to early saukia and saukia to the cambrian ordovician boundary interbasinal correlation of stratigraphic sequences permits an evaluation of quantitative techniques for determining accommodation history correlation of fischer plots of cyclic successions from separate basins supports a eustatic control of late cambrian sequence development r2 r3 curves derived from subsidence analysis of the late cambrian sections provide good resolution of the second and third order scales of accommodation change and interbasinal correlations of r2 r3 curves also support eustatic control on sequence development comparing the accomodation curves and subsidence analysis with paleobathymetric trends of late cambrian cyclic strata suggests that themore curves may approximate the form of the eustatic sealevel signal a composite eustatic sealevel curve for late cambrian time in north america was created by qualitatively combining the accommodation curves defined by the different techniques for each of the four localities 129 refs 16 figs 3 tabs less

thermodynamic influences on the marine carbon isotope record air sea exchange represents an important controlling factor for the distribution of carbon isotopes in the modern ocean even below the surface mixed layer here we show that this thermodynamic influence varies between water masses with a magnitude which is large relative to the amplitude of typical deep sea sediment 13c records thus changes in air sea exchange processes must be regarded as a significant source of variability for any marine 13c signal

selenium as paleo oceanographic proxy a first assessment abstract selenium se is an essential trace element which with multiple oxidation states and six stable isotopes has been suggested as a potentially powerful paleoenvironmental proxy in this study bulk se concentrations and isotopic compositions were analyzed in a suite of about 120 samples of fine grained marine sedimentary rocks and sediments spanning the entire phanerozoic while the se concentrations vary greatly 0 22 72 ppm the 82 76se values fall in a fairly narrow range from 1 to 1 relative to nist srm3149 with the exception of laminated black shales from the new albany shale formation late devonian which have 82 76se values of up to 2 20 black sea sediments holocene and sedimentary rocks from the alum shale formation late cambrian have se to total organic carbon ratios se toc and 82 76se values close to those found in modern marine plankton 1 72 0 15 10 6 mol mol and 0 42 0 22 for the other sedimentary sequences and sediments the se toc ratios show se enrichment relative to modern marine plankton additional input of isotopically light terrigenous se may explain the se toc and 82 76se data measured in recent arabian sea sediments pleistocene the very high se concentrations in sedimentary sequences that include the cenomanian turonian oceanic anoxic event oae 2 may reflect an enhanced input of volcanogenic se to the oceans as the latter has an isotopic composition not greatly different from marine plankton the volcanogenic source does not impart a distinct signature to the sedimentary se isotope record the lowest average 82 76se values are observed in the oae2 samples from demerara rise and cape verde basin cores 82 76se 0 14 0 45 and could reflect fractionation associated with microbial or chemical reduction of se oxyanions in the euxinic water column in contrast a limiting availability of seawater se during periods of increased organic matter production and burial may be responsible for the elevated 82 76se values and low se toc ratios in the black shales of the new albany shale formation overall our results indicate that to unlock the full proxy potential of marine sedimentary se records we need to gain a much more detailed understanding of the sources chemical speciation isotopic fractionations and cycling of se in the marine environment

the middle late cambrian reef transition and related geological events a review and new view abstract the reefs of the middle late cambrian cambrian epoch 3 furongian have long been simply considered as microbialites that flourished in the aftermath of the archaeocyath extinction thorough review of the reefs in these periods shows however that the cambrian epoch 3 and the furongian actually yield different types of reefs the cambrian epoch 3 reefs are dominated by thrombolites and dendrolites largely constructed by the calcified microbes epiphyton and renalcis on the other hand the furongian reefs consist mainly of maze like maceriate reefs and columnar stromatolites the maceriate reefs most likely formed by siliceous sponges and calcified microbes including girvanella and tarthinia whereas the columnar stromatolites were mainly constructed by girvanella tarthinia and minor siliceous sponges other microbial reefs e g non columnar stromatolites persisted during the cambrian epoch 3 and the furongian mainly as small patch reefs or reefal crusts lithistid sponge microbial reefs initially formed in the cambrian epoch 3 and occurred throughout the furongian but occupied only a minor portion during these periods several geological events occurred across the boundary between the cambrian epoch 3 and the furongian including positive carbon and sulfur isotope excursions a eustatic sea level drop major faunal turnover of trilobites and diversification of new organisms the coincidence of these events and the transition in reefal fabrics suggest that reef ecosystems were significantly influenced by at least some of these events among the events it is likely that sea level change would have affected reefs although further studies are required in order to test whether and how the other events influenced the reef transition epiphyton and renalcis and thrombolites and dendrolites formed by them declined greatly most likely due to sea level fall and thus decreased in shallow marine habitat at the end of cambrian epoch 3 the cambrian epoch 3 thrombolites and dendrolites were gradually replaced by a sponge microbial association of the maze like maceriate reefs and the columnar stromatolites in the furongian coincident with a sea level rise

sabkha facies and the preservation of a falling stage systems tract at the sauk ii iii supersequence boundary in the late cambrian eilean dubh formation nw scotland the durness group of northwest scotland represents a nearly one kilometer thick succession of mid cambrian to lower middle ordovician carbonates these rocks crop out in a narrow belt along the foreland of the caledonian orogen and in the moine thrust zone stretching some 170 km from loch eriboll southwestwards to the isle of skye the cambrian parts of the succession represent deposition on a paleo southeast facing low latitude passively subsiding continental margin situated at around 20 s carbonate deposition in scotland formed part of the extensive great american carbonate bank the sauk ii iii supersequence boundary occurs above an interval of thin meter scale shallowing upward peritidal cycles containing intraclast dolorudstones stromatolites tepees siliciclastic sand and surface karst evidence of former evaporites in the succession comprises pseudomorphs of nodular and bedded anhydrite crystal shaped calcite filled vugs representing growth of sulfate dissolution breccias and local halite casts these features represent sabkha facies arranged into cycles that constitute a preserved falling stage systems tract fsst the top of the fsst is marked by a pronounced karst surface of sandstone filled fissures the section preserves a rare snapshot of a seldom preserved environment on the cambrian laurentian margin its preservation during a time of falling relative sea level under slow tectonic subsidence is discussed

integrated high resolution chemostratigraphy and facies based stratigraphic architecture of the lower cretaceous aptian shu aiba formation saudi arabia high resolution carbon isotope signatures were integrated with core descriptions and gamma ray logs and used as a correlation tool for better age control to refine the sequence stratigraphic framework of the shu aiba formation in saudi arabia the carbon isotope variations of the shallow carbonate shu aiba formation correlate well with the tethyan pelagic record and indicate an original marine signature for the lower cretaceous aptian shu aiba formation carbon isotope values of the shu aiba formation range from 1 5 to 6 with minimal or no diagenetic effects oxygen isotope values range from 2 7 to 6 7 but were reset during diagenesis and cannot be applied for chemostratigraphic analysis the shu aiba strontium isotope records range from 0 707356 to 0 707454 and differ slightly from the standard aptian record because of diagenesis the shu aiba formation platform is a large scale composite sequence 7 m y composed of seven lower aptian high frequency sequences and two additional upper aptian prograding sequences carbon isotope data were calibrated with core descriptions and gamma ray logs to construct two detailed high resolution stratigraphic cross sections carbon isotope data help refine the internal stratigraphic architecture of the shu aiba formation especially on the slope and open marine settings across the lower to upper aptian boundary the carbon isotope values of the hawar dense unit in the base of the shu aiba formation record major depletion corresponding to the global dissociation of methane hydrates followed by major positive excursion associated with the deposition of lithocodium and bacinella facies coeval with the global oceanic anoxic event 1a the rudist buildups on the platform have a value of approximately 4 5 at their base in most wells with a general uniform carbon isotope trend followed by a gradual depletion to the top of the shu aiba formation although some variations are observed in carbon isotope values associated with the lateral facies change from lagoon margin slope open marine and basinal settings carbon isotope trends are still similar and can be correlated fieldwide little evidence exists of meteoric diagenesis associated with the depletion of carbon isotope values however oxygen isotope records were possibly affected by meteoric diagenesis associated with subaerial exposure surfaces but did not get affected by the late aptian hiatus despite the massive karstification observed in cores the good correlation between the original carbon isotope fluctuations and the third order sequence framework of the shu aiba formation fits well with the established carbon isotope curves that have been used as a proxy for global sea level changes during the early cretaceous this study also shows that small scale parasequences fifth order or higher can be calibrated with carbon isotope curves but they most likely represent relative sea level changes with local effects instead of global signatures application of high resolution carbon isotope stratigraphy for the shu aiba formation significantly constrain the stratigraphic framework and will lead to better geologic and simulation models for reservoir characterization and development

upper ordovician mohawkian carbon isotope δ13c stratigraphy in eastern and central north america regional expression of a perturbation of the global carbon cycle abstract the guttenberg carbon isotope excursion gice documented from eastern north america demonstrates the effects that regional geochemically distinct water masses upwelling and ocean circulation have on the carbon isotope record from carbonate platforms late turinian chatfieldian carbonates from oklahoma kentucky virginia and west virginia record a positive carbon isotope excursion 3 0 the gice excursion the gice excursion has relations to established biostratigraphy beginning in the north american midcontinent phragmodus undatus conodont zone and continuing through the plectodina tenuis zone sequence and event stratigraphy previously established models for positive carbon isotope shifts on carbonate platforms have been tested during the gice excursion where geochemically distinct water masses are defined for the upper ordovician a major eustatic sea level rise before the gice promoted a greater exchange of open ocean waters onto the carbonate platform of laurentia however restricted or sluggish circulation and exchange between water masses within the epeiric seas and the adjacent iapetus ocean were still apparent local variations documented in the gice excursion are directly related to upwelling of nutrient rich isotopically light waters increased primary productivity and the subsequent organic carbon production and burial

nutrient enriched waters and the early skeletal fossil record this paper examines the role of stratified oxygen depleted and nutrient enriched water masses new in transforming the fossil record over the precambrian cambrian boundary interval the following may serve as markers for the encroachment of new over low latitude cratons trace element enriched black shales stone coals and hydrocarbon source rocks phosphorites phosphatized shells and organic matter sponge spicule cherts early appearance of silica and phosphatic skeletons appearance of anabarites and coleoloides biofacies peak diversity of phosphatic species occurrence of black shale lagerstatten and light 13 c values of carbonates nutrient depleted waters ndw are inferred over inner cratonic areas and nutrient starved waters nsw may well have developed over deeper waters at times through the later cambrian related to the effects of sea level rise and salinity stratification carbon isotopic fluctuations are suggested to record the history of these water masses with major changes in carbon burial and palaeoproductivity the latter may well imply episodes of greenhouse climate with globally raised levels of carbon dioxide and relatively high ocean temperatures

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

δ18o values 87sr86sr and sr mg ratios of late devonian abiotic marine calcite implications for the composition of ancient seawater abstract late devonian frasnian abiotic marine calcite has been microsampled and analyzed for 87 sr 86 sr ratios 18o and 13c values and minor element concentrations portions of marine cement crystals from the alberta and canning basins have escaped diagenetic alteration and preserve original marine 18o values 4 8 0 5 pdb 13c values 2 0 to 3 0 pdb 87 sr 86 sr ratios 0 70805 3 and sr mg weight ratios 0 04 to 0 05 marine 87 sr 86 sr ratios are globally consistent and can be correlated within the alberta basin and among the alberta canning and williston basins correlation of isotopic and chemical data strengthen the conclusion that marine cements from the leduc formation preserve original marine 18o values which are 3 to 4 lower than those of modern marine cements these low 18o values are best explained by precipitation from 18o depleted seawater and not by elevated seawater temperature or diagenetic alteration for comparison with devonian data analogous data were collected from holocene mg calcite and aragonite marine cements from enewetak atoll marshall islands mg calcite and aragonite marine cements are in isotopic equilibrium with ambient seawater and mg calcite cements are homogeneous with respect to sr and mg contents empirically derived homogeneous distribution coefficients for mg and sr in modern abiotic mg calcite from enewetak atoll are 0 034 and 0 15 respectively an equation describing the dependence of dsr on mg content was based on a compilation of sr and mg data from holocene abiotic marine calcite dsr 3 52 10 6 ppm mg 6 20 10 3 unlike that derived from experimental data this sr mg relation is consistent over a range of 4 to 20 mol mgco3 and may represent precipitation phenomena which are minimally controlled by kinetic effects comparison of sr and mg contents of analogous devonian and holocene marine cements suggests that the mg ca ratio of late devonian seawater was significantly lower and that the sr ca ratio was significantly higher than that of modern seawater

questioning a widespread euxinia for the furongian late cambrian spice event indications from δ13c δ18o δ34s and biostratigraphic constraints results from a high resolution study of 13ccarb 18ocarb 34scas 34scrs and elemental concentrations ca fe mg mn and sr in the furongian kyrshabakty section southern kazakhstan are reported here the investigated interval covers the drumian to jiangshanian stages of the cambrian period respectively the regional ptychagnostus atavus to ivshinagnostus ivshini irvingella major trilobite zones 13ccarb data include the steptoean positive carbon isotope excursion spice with a local peak value of 5 the onset of spice corresponds to the kormagnostus simplex glyptagnostus stolidotus zones and pre dates the base of the paibian stage furongian series 34scas data already increase during the lejopyge armata biozone culminating in three positive excursions prior and after the spice maximum differences in onset peak values and shape of the 13ccarb and or 34scas excursions at kyrshabakty but also in almost all sections characterized by the spice are pointing towards furongian seawater that was low in sulphate concentration and heterogeneous in its carbonate carbon and sulphate sulphur isotopic composition the occurrence of benthic faunal elements in almost all spice related sections strongly supports oxygenated conditions at the seafloor therefore excluding widespread anoxia or euxinia regional anoxic conditions are most probable a positive 18ocarb excursion parallel to the spice could probably be explained by a decline in seawater ph associated with a sea level rise again no euxinic conditions would be mandatory for explaining the spice event

sequestration of 12c in the deep ocean during the early wenlock silurian positive carbon isotope excursion abstract marine carbonates from three biostratigraphically well dated silurian sections from the mid continent of north america were analyzed for carbon isotopic 13 c carb study the early wenlock positive carbon isotope excursion ireviken excursion is recorded in three sections from tennessee iowa and ohio with values of 4 5 this global shift in the carbon isotopic ratio of marine waters began during a protracted extinction event ireviken event that spanned the llandovery wenlock boundary although several oceanographic models have been developed to account for the coincident changes in lithology biology and carbon isotope stratigraphy during this interval of the silurian their proposed causal connections among glaciation oceanography primary productivity and the global carbon cycle remain a matter of debate this investigation provides carbon isotopic and lithologic evidence that the ireviken excursion occurred during a time of relatively oligotrophic conditions a third order transgressive regressive cycle and increased carbonate production throughout the mid continent of north america the ireviken excursion is recorded in relatively pure carbonate sequences and is immediately preceded by a significant unconformity in each of the measured sections it is proposed that the ireviken excursion was the product of sequestration and burial of 12 c in deep water as a result of altered deep ocean circulation

sea level control on facies architecture in the cenomanian coniacian apulian margin western tethys a record of glacio eustatic fluctuations during the cretaceous greenhouse abstract the integrated chemo bio and sequence stratigraphy from the cenomanian coniacian base of slope succession of monte turno abruzzo central italy provides a fine scale calibration of the local sea level curve inferred from the adjacent platform to records of global sea level change our results indicate that regional marine regressions were coincident with episodes of global cooling and sea level fall providing evidences for a causal link between climate changes and sea level changes the presence of small polar ice caps during the assumed ice free cretaceous is a likely explanation for the observed pattern

strontium and carbon isotope stratigraphy of the llandovery early silurian implications for tectonics and weathering abstract a high resolution 87sr 86sr curve and paired 13c carbonate organic data set is generated for the llandovery series from the ikla drill core in estonia a 13c carbonate curve is also presented from the pancake range in nevada observed 87sr 86sr values in the ikla drill core are at a minimum in the early llandovery rhuddanian stage 0 7079 to 0 7080 and then trend to more radiogenic ratios in the basal part of the telychian stage an 87sr 86sr high near 0 7084 is observed in the telychian at the top of the studied section the range of values is in general agreement with the data from previous sample sets of brachiopods and conodonts recovered from localities in north america and europe that record a rising trend in the 87sr 86sr ratio throughout the llandovery from approximately 0 7080 to 0 7084 the major increase in the 87sr 86sr ratio during the late llandovery may be due to weathering of radiogenic source rocks that were uplifted during early silurian continent continent collisions the sr rise potentially coincides with the occurrence of an unusually thick sequence of k bentonite beds representing large magnitude ash falls in the early telychian a previously documented negative 13c excursion in marine carbonates in the lower telychian interval of the ikla core is quasi synchronous with the increase in 87sr 86sr our new organic matter 13c data from the ikla core confirm that this negative 13c carbonate excursion is not a result of diagenesis furthermore a negative 13c excursion in carbonates from the early telychian portion of the pancake range section in nevada seems to confirm the global scope of this carbon cycle perturbation

palaeozoic oil source correlation in the tarim basin nw china a review abstract oil source correlation in the cratonic region of the tarim basin nw china has long been controversial current knowledge of the potential source rock distribution end member selection oil source correlation and impacts of secondary alteration processes have been reviewed two source rock systems from the cambrian lower ordovician o 1 and middle upper ordovician o 2 3 potentially contributed to oil accumulations in the cratonic region geochemical correlations suggest that oils are dominantly derived from the o 2 3 source rocks while geological evidence and sulfur isotopic compositions supports the o 1 source rocks as a main contributor such inconsistency is rooted in the selection of end members and their characterization changes in some biomarker parameters such as sterane distribution gammacerane index and ratio of tricyclic terpanes to pentacyclic terpanes are mainly controlled by thermal maturation and biodegradation rather than source input and depositional environment variation no clear boundary between the two source systems can be established using biomarkers except for a few diagnostic components some o 1 source signatures such as even odd predominance of n alkanes unusual tricyclic terpane distribution unusually enriched 13 c carbon isotopic compositions of oils and kerogens and the occurrence of combustion related polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons largely result from an abnormal heating influence either from igneous intrusion or hydrothermal fluid activity local thermochemical sulfate reduction can also remove most source related signatures these so called markers in currently selected end members result from extensive secondary alteration processes and do not reflect source input differences while more research is needed for full reconstruction of oil source correlation in the cratonic region of the tarim basin the main source rocks most likely reside in the o 1 succession rather than o 2 3

elucidating the relationship between the later cambrian end marjuman extinctions and spice event abstract the late cambrian early ordovician transition contains several discrete marine extinction events the first of these extinctions the end marjuman occurs in two phases and is thought to coincide with the beginning of the steptoean positive carbon isotope excursion or spice a large excursion in the marine carbon isotope record that represents a large perturbation to the carbon cycle during this time additionally the carbon isotope record from the deadwood formation in the black hills of south dakota usa displays a small negative 13c excursion near the end marjuman extinctions here we examine the carbon isotope stratigraphy of the upper cambrian portion of the conasauga group of the southern appalachians usa to determine the relative timing between the extinction events and changes in the carbon cycle represented by excursions within the carbon isotope record previous high resolution biostratigraphic studies have identified a thick stratigraphic record of end marjuman extinctions within the conasauga group making it an excellent target for a high resolution chemostratigraphic study in the conasauga group there is no change in carbon isotope stratigraphy across the first phase of the end marjuman extinctions suggesting no major change occurred in the carbon cycle during this time further a negative 13c excursion is absent in the conasauga group across the interval that contains the end marjuman extinctions this suggests that the excursion in the deadwood formation is either a local oceanographic signal or a diagenetic feature finally the onset of the spice occurs at the same stratigraphic point as the second phase of the end marjuman extinctions and at the appearance of a low diversity potentially low oxygen tolerant trilobite fauna the stratigraphic positions of these biological and geochemical events suggest a role for marine anoxia in the second phase of the end marjuman extinctions

carbon chemostratigraphy of the cambrian ordovician transition in a midlatitude mixed platform montagne noire france the cambrian drumian carbon isotope excursion dice and the steptoean positive carbon isotope excursion spice have been so far reported in subtropical platforms the dice event is a large negative excursion in 13ccarb record that nearly coincides with the beginning of the drumian cambrian series 3 whereas the spice event is a large positive shift in 13ccarb identified close to the base of the paibian furongian series the chemostratigraphic excursions have been recognized in carbonate dominated platforms and their application to mid and high latitude siliciclastic dominated platforms has been problematic this paper offers for the first time a high resolution stratigraphic analysis of this time span in a temperate water platform montagne noire france that recorded episodes of carbonate productivity in nearshore environments two sections were analyzed in detail a complete cambrian series 3 tremadocian succession devoid of carbonate interbeds and paleogeographically located in the distal part of the platform pardailhan nappe and a furongian tremadocian succession which has limestone interbeds and represents the proximal part of the platform minervois nappe the lower part of the la gardie formation in the pardailhan nappe displays background 13corg values of 22 punctuated by a large negative middle languedocian regional substage shift peaking at 24 5 this negative excursion is similar to the dice event reported close to the base of the drumian although the latter is exclusively based on 13ccarb values stable isotopes of 13ccarb and 13corg from both sections also indicate a common chemostratigraphic shift at the onset of the furongian in nearshore deposits of the minervois nappe the 13ccarb background values for the interbedded limestone strata of the val d homs formation gradually increase from 3 to 1 and are punctuated by a sharp increase in 13ccarb values to 3 0 by contrast in basinal shales of the la gardie formation in the pardailhan nappe the 13corg background values decrease from 22 to 27 1 this trend is directly controlled by total organic carbon toc contents and is interpreted to have been initiated by changes in the degree of biodegradation of organic matter sulfate reduction and methanogenesis before or soon after burial despite this overprinting and the very low degree of metamorphism reached by the shales the 13corg background trend is also punctuated by a sharp positive shift in 13corg values to 4 0 similar to the spice event in addition the asymmetric shape of the spice excursion in the montagne noire shows evidence for the herb event a late furongian negative carbon isotope excursion not yet accepted as a worldwide chemostratigraphic anomaly the recognition of both chemostratigraphic shifts in mixed and clayey strata opens new possibilities of chemostratigraphic correlation in mid and high latitude platforms where carbonate factories did not widely develop and strata only contain endemic fauna this implication has a major consequence because the global stratotype section and point gssp of the drumian and paibian stages occurs near the base of both excursions

stable isotope geochemistry of carbonate fracture fills in the monterey formation california abstract carbonate minerals filling fractures in the monterey formation at four locations along the santa barbara channel coast display a 18o smow range from 20 7 to 35 7 and 13c range from 18 6 to 16 6 many fracture fills display a covariation of 18o and 13c and successive generations of carbonate have lower 18o values these isotope systematics can be interpr ted in terms of 18o values that were controlled by crystallization temperatures and the 18o of connate pore water and 13c values that were controlled by depth sequential organic matter degradation reactions each successive generation of carbonate precipitated at progressively higher burial temperatures from isotopically evolving connate pore water these carbonate filled fractures developed during burial and not during uplift using crystallization temperature estimates from fluid inclusion data the change in 18o of conate pore water with increasing temperature in the burial environment is modeled from this model the fracture fill 18o values indicate precipitation over the following temperature intervals 25 70 c carpinteria beach 7 15 c goleta slough beach 45 100 c refugio beach and 53 103 c jalama beach

an extensive erosion surface of a strongly deformed limestone bed in the gushan and chaomidian formations late middle cambrian to furongian shandong province china sequence stratigraphic implications abstract in order to understand sequence development and sea level fluctuations during the late middle cambrian to early furongian on the north china epeiric platform the present study focuses on a unique subtle erosion surface of an extensive approx 100 km strongly deformed limestone bed in the uppermost part of the gushan formation shandong province china the gushan formation and the overlying chaomidian formation consist mainly of shales and a variety of carbonates that were deposited in subtidal environments e g deep subtidal shallow subtidal shoreface shoal subtidal microbial flat and restricted platform interior three third order depositional sequences s1 3 are identified each of which comprises a thin transgressive systems tract tst and a relatively thick highstand systems tract hst each sequence is bounded by a drowning unconformity sb1 a subaerial unconformity sb2 or a surface of submarine erosion sb3 the upper sequence boundary sb2 of sequence 1 s1 is represented by a subtle erosion surface of an extensive deformed limestone bed with a wide variety of soft sediment deformation structures e g lime mudstone breccias chaotic wacke packstone laminae and fragments homogenized oolites and clastic dykes and is overlain by small sporadic microbial buildups and an extensive bioclastic grainstone bed the deformed limestone was formed during early diagenesis by differential deformation processes brecciation liquefaction fluidization and injection which were most likely induced by pore water overpressure during the period of rapid sea level fall despite the lack of subaerial exposure features e g paleokarst paleosol etc the characteristics of the erosion surface cutting well lithified sediment below the missing of a significant geological record the prochuangia biozone and the worldwide correlatable positive carbon isotope excursion collectively indicate that the erosion surface developed under conditions of subaerial exposure after contemporaneous marine cementation of the deformed sediment the missing of the prochuangia biozone is most likely due to non deposition at a subaerial hiatal surface the erosion surface was submerged as a result of subsequent rise in sea level where sporadic microbial buildups formed under suitable conditions freshly deposited winnowed shell dominated transgressive lag deposits containing chuangia trilobite fragments brachiopod shells and abundant glauconite grains formed with continued rise in sea level which became in turn overlain by shale dominated facies the unique combination of the subtle erosion surface sensu stricto a subaerial unconformity and the underlying deformed limestone bed provides an important criterion for recognizing the subtle changes in relative sea level on shallow epeiric platforms

the cenomanian turonian oceanic anoxic event ii palaeoceanographic controls on organic matter production and preservation correlation of the 13c spike with the well dated occurrences of strata rich in organic carbon detailed in schlanger et al this volume indicates that a global episode of intense organic carbon orgc burial took place during the latest cenomanian earliest turonian oceanic anoxic event oae a plenus through i labiatus macrofossil zones and upper r cushmani trz through w archecretacea prz foraminiferal zones over a period of no more than 1 million years m y the shape of the 13c curve indicates that rates of orgc burial gradually increased in the early part of the late cenomanian increased more rapidly in the later cenomanian and levelled off at peak values in latest cenomanian early turonian time during the maximum rate of orgc burial the 13c values decreased nearly to pre late cenomanian levels in the early to middle turonian the decrease in 13c reflects decreasing rates of orgc burial following the cenomanian turonian oceanic anoxic event as well as the probable oxidation and return of significant amounts of orgc to the oceans following regression and re oxygenation of much of the deeper water masses in contact with the seafloor

the lower triassic sedimentary and carbon isotope records from tulong south tibet and their significance for tethyan palaeoceanography abstract the lower triassic sedimentary and carbonate organic carbon isotope records from the tulong area south tibet are documented in their integrality for the first time new age control is provided by ammonoid and conodont biostratigraphy the basal triassic series consists of griesbachian dolomitic limestones similar to the kathwai member in the salt range pakistan and to the otoceras beds in spiti india the overlying thin bedded limestones of dienerian age strongly resemble the lower ceratite limestone of the salt range they are followed by a thick series of dark green silty shales of dienerian early smithian age without fauna that strikingly resemble the ceratite marls of the salt range this interval is overlain by thin bedded light grey fossil rich limestones of middle to late smithian age resembling the upper ceratite limestone of the salt range these are followed by a shale interval of early spathian age that has no direct counterpart in other tethyan sections carbonate production resumes during the late early and middle spathian with the deposition of red bioclastic nodular limestone ammonitico rosso type facies apart from its colour this facies is similar to the one of the niti limestone in spiti and of the spathian nodular limestone in guangxi south china as in other tethyan localities such as spiti the early middle anisian part of the tulong section is strongly condensed and is characterized by grey thin bedded limestones with phosphatized ammonoids as for many other tethyan localities the carbon isotope record from tulong is characterized by a late griesbachian dienerian positive 13ccarb excursion 2 and a very prominent positive excursion 5 at the smithian spathian boundary thus confirming the well documented perturbations of the global carbon cycle following the permian triassic mass extinction event

carbon isotope stratigraphy of upper cambrian steptoean stage sequences of the eastern great basin record of a global oceanographic event a large global positive excursion in 13 c from 0 5 to 4 5 during the late cambrian pterocephaliid biomere steptoean stage aphelaspis elvinia zones is documented at high stratigraphic resolution in three sections in the eastern great basin the excursion which we refer to as the steptoean positive carbon isotope excursion or spice excursion began coincident with a world wide extinction event the 13 c data from the great basin reflect global seawater values in a wide range of lithologies including oolitic grainstones wackestones thrombolitic boundstones and flat pebble conglomerates we use a section at shingle pass in the southern egan range to divide the pterocephaliid biomere into eight isotope steps that represent equal divisions of the 13 c rise and fall 4 this provides a basis for recognition of a revised chronostratigraphic framework for the pterocephaliid biomere steptoean stage strata deposited during the beginning of the spice excursion record a major change in the pattern of sedimentation in the eastern great basin this is reflected in a siliciclastic carbonate transition at shingle pass nevada and a carbonate siliciclastic transition at the house range and lawson cove sections in utah a regional siliciclastic influx recognized throughout the great basin occurs near the peak of the spice excursion carbon isotope analyses from cratonal sections in wyoming provide independent evidence that a major sedimentary hiatus took place on the craton during the time of the spice excursion the correlated changes in 13 c relative sea level and the marine biota during the spice excursion provide remarkably detailed records of a major paleoceanographic event we speculate that changes in sea level climate or tectonics may have triggered the spice excursion and coeval extinction event subsequent burial of organic carbon caused the increase in 13 c and may have led to an interval of global cooling the results of this study lend confidence to carbon isotopic studies of pre mesozoic rocks

kinematics of the chugach metamorphic complex southern alaska plate geometry in the north pacific margin during the late cretaceous to eocene 1 the paleogene plate geometry of the north pacific margin is poorly constrained because all of the plates involved except the trailing pacific plate have been subducted however the kinematic history of the chugach metamorphic complex in southern alaska constrains plate configurations because of its link to ridge subduction we synthesize recent regional mapping of the complex finite strain data and geochronology to show that progressive deformation records the paleogene triple junction interaction occurred over a period of less than 2 m y across 350 km of the margin we document that 140 190 km of distributed dextral shear occurred across the complex during the latest phase of deformation in the complex this analysis suggests dextral motion of at least 70 95 mm yr which can account for most or all of the margin parallel plate motion during a brief period of the eocene we use these results to compare and evaluate possible plate configurations based on older and newer plate motion models using modern plate motion models it is difficult to reconcile a kula farallon ridge subduction model with the available data but our preferred plate geometry model involving a kula resurrection ridge provides a reasonable explanation for our observations

a late cambrian positive carbon isotope excursion in the southern appalachians relation to biostratigraphy sequence stratigraphy environments of deposition and diagenesis abstract a positive carbon isotope excursion is recorded within the upper cambrian sedimentary succession in the southern appalachians that consists of the nolichucky shale the maynardville formation and the copper ridge dolomite the lower part of the succession contains aphelaspis zone fauna early steptoean the extensively dolomitized and poorly fossiliferous nature of the upper part of the succession precludes any detailed biostratigraphic determinations correlation with similar positive carbon isotope excursions in coeval successions elsewhere suggests that this excursion represents a perturbation in the global cycling of carbon comparison of excursions at different localities in north america provides a means for the application of carbon isotope stratigraphy in the southern appalachians the excursion started during deposition of the upper nolichucky shale maximum 13c values 4 to 5o oo pdb are associated with the conformable interval at the maynardville copper ridge dolomite transition which has been interpreted as a correlative conformity in sequence stratigraphic terms the excursion ended during deposition of the lower copper ridge dolomite in western north america the excursion started at the base of the pterocephaliid biomere near the base of the aphelaspis zone this well documented excursion ended prior to the end of the pterocephaliid biomere with the maximum excursion at the sauk ii sauk iii unconformity this supports the correlation between late steptoean dresbachian franconian sea level fall and the sequence boundary at the end of cambrian grand cycle deposition in the southern appalachians the cause of this carbon isotope excursion remains unclear the excursion most likely reflects the enhanced burial of organic carbon promoted by ocean stratification a warm nonglacial climate and a sea level maximum during the early late cambrian the onset of regression may have contributed to the maximum carbon isotope excursion by enhancing sedimentation rates and by increasing organic productivity because of increased nutrient availability the removal of carbon from the ocean surface may have caused a decrease in pco2 of the atmosphere the resulting cooling episode could have triggered an oceanic overturn bringing 12c enriched bottom waters to the surface which in conjunction with oxidation of organic matter during the sea level fall ended the carbon isotope excursion comparison of 13c and 18o values of matrix samples to the associated cement phases provides insights into the relationship between isotope variations and depositional and diagenetic environments 13c values of peritidal dolomicrite define a rather smooth stratigraphic variation curve whereas the values for subtidal micrite have significant scatter resulting from involvement of organic matter in diagenesis fibrous to bladed calcite cement from the subtidal deposits has 13c and 18o values comparable to the associated micrite suggesting precipitation from marine water and similar diagenetic modifications meteoric diagenesis may be responsible for the depletion of 13c and 18o in equant calcite cement relative to the micrite for saddle dolomite cement the depletion of 18o and 13c values similar to those for the peritidal dolomicrite are consistent with formation during burial at elevated temperatures in a rock dominated system this study demonstrates the potential of applying carbon isotope stratigraphy developed in highly fossiliferous successions to stratigraphic intervals with poorly constrained biostratigraphy such studies require evaluation of the effects of depositional environments and diagenesis upon the preservation of marine isotope signatures

the carbon isotopic composition of proterozoic carbonates riphean successions from northwestern siberia anabar massif turukhansk uplift thick carbonate dominated successions in northwestern siberia document secular variations in the c isotopic composition of seawater through mesoproterozoic and early neoproterozoic early to early late riphean time mesoproterozoic dolomites of the billyakh group anabar massif have delta 13c values that fall between 0 and 1 9 permil versus pdb with values in the upper part of the succession yusmastakh formation consistently higher than those of the lower ust il ya and kotuikan formations consistent with available biostratigraphic and radiometric data delta 13c values for billyakh carbonates compare closely with those characterizing early mesoproterozoic carbonates about 1600 1200 ma worldwide in contrast late mesoproterozoic to early neoproterozoic limestones and dolomites in the turukhansk uplift exhibit moderate levels of secular variation only the lowermost carbonates in the turukhansk succession linok formation have delta 13c values that approximate billyakh values higher in the turukhansk succession delta 13c values vary from 2 7 to 4 6 permil with outliers as low as 5 0 permil interpreted as diagentically altered again consistent with paleontological and radiometric data these values compare well with isotopic values from 1200 to 850 ma successions elsewhere five sections measured in different parts of the turukhansk basin show nearly identical patterns of variation confirming that carbonate delta 13c correlates primarily with time and not facies the siberian sections illustrate the potential of integrated biostratigraphic and chemostratigraphic data in the intra and interbasinal correlation of mesoproterozoic and early neoproterozoic rocks

the late cambrian spice δ13c event and the sauk ii sauk iii regression new evidence from laurentian basins in utah iowa and newfoundland carbon isotope data from upper cambrian sections in three laurentian basins in northern utah central iowa and western newfoundland record a large positive d 13 c excursion spice event of up to 1 5 peak d 13 c ratios are well dated by trilobite collections to the middle of the steptoean stage dunderbergia zone and occur during maximum regression associated with formation of the sauk ii sauk iii subsequence boundary on the north american craton max imum regression was marked by an influx of quartz sand into carbon ate platform settings in all three widely separated basins in northern utah this quartz sand formed a thick sequence known as the worm creek quartzite which marks a conspicuous interruption of carbonate deposition during the middle to late cambrian in the region in west ern newfoundland the thickness of the quartz sand unit is much re duced but still marks a brief shutdown of the carbonate factory that is unique to the cambrian shelf succession of the area in the central iowa area of the cratonic interior an upward shallowing carbonate succession culminates in cross stratified trilobite grainstones at the peak of the spice in dunderbergia zone time and the lowest point on the relative sea level curve is associated with the occurrence of coarse quartz sand derived from the encroaching shoreface although it is difficult to determine precisely the departure from baseline d 13 c that marks the beginning of the spice excursion in the stratigraphic successions analyzed our results are consistent with a rise and subsequent fall in d 13 c tracking a major regressive transgressive event recorded across northern laurentia the correlation of a major d 13 c excursion with regression is similar to that described for the late ordovician for which the pattern has been attributed to either in creased carbonate relative to terrigenous weathering rates as ice sheets covered up organic matter containing silicates at high latitudes or high productivity and organic carbon burial driven by oceanic overturn the lack of known steptoean age ice sheets that could have affected the ratio of carbonate to silicate weathering rates suggests that organic carbon burial was the likely cause of the spice event we suggest that increased weathering and erosion rates during relative sea level fall sauk ii iii increased the burial fraction of organic carbon in an expanded region of fine grained siliciclastic deposits in shelf and upper slope environments during the steptoean

highly 13c enriched carbonate and organic matter in the neoproterozoic sediments of the bambuigroup brazil abstract paleontological and radiometric dating methods rb sr k ar and pb pb suggest neoproterozoic ages for sedimentary carbonate rocks of the bambuigroup in the southern part of the sa o francisco basin of central brazil the 13c values for carbonates fall within two ranges 2 to 2 and 10 to 16 for both groups coexisting organic carbon is depleted in 13c by 28 2 relative to the carbonates similar to numerous neoproterozoic examples worldwide secular variations in 13c in the bambuigroup show a significant positive excursion beginning with values near 0 in carbonates immediately above a diamictite and rising to values as high as 16 upsection the sr isotope data for carbonates from the bambuigroup agree with the age inferred from the secular variation in oceanic 13c values the striking feature in this study is that both the carbonate and total organic carbon are considerably more enriched in 13c than previously reported for neoproterozoic carbonates elsewhere it is not clear if these unusual 13c values are caused by primary or secondary processes

oxygen isotope trends and seawater temperature changes across the late cambrian steptoean positive carbon isotope excursion spice event the globally recognized late cambrian steptoean positive c isotope excursion spice is characterized by a 3 5 positive 13 c shift spanning org and pyrite we analyzed 18 o values of apatitic inarticulate brachiopods from three upper cambrian successions across laurentia to evaluate paleotemperatures during the spice 18 o values range from 12 5 to 16 5 estimated seawater temperatures associated with the spice are unreasonably warm suggesting that the brachiopod 18 o values were altered during early diagenesis despite this all three localities show similar trends with respect to the spice 13 c curve suggesting that the brachiopod apatite preserves a record of relative 18 o and temperature changes the trends include relatively high 18 o values at the onset of the spice decreasing and lowest values during the main event and an increase in values at the end of the event the higher 18 o values during the global extinction at the onset of the spice suggests seawater cooling and supports earlier hypotheses of upwelling of cool waters onto the shallow shelf decreasing and low 18 o values coincident with the rising limb of the spice support the hypothesis that seawater warming and associated reduced thermohaline circulation rates contributed to decreased dissolved o 2 concentrations which enhanced the preservation burial of c org causing the positive 13 c shift

carbon isotopic thermometry calibrated by dolomite calcite solvus temperatures abstract the temperature dependence of carbon isotopic fractionations between calcite and graphite and between dolomite and graphite are calibrated by the calcite dolomite solvus geothermometry using marbles collected from the contact metamorphic aureole in the kasuga area central japan the carbon isotopic fractionations 13ccc gr and 13cdo gr systematically decrease with increasing metamorphic temperature the concordant relationships between the fractionations and solvus temperatures are approximately linear with t 2 over the temperature range 400 to 680 c 13ccc gr 5 6 106 t 2 k 2 4 13cdo gr 5 9 106 t 2 k 1 9 these systematic relationships between fractionation and temperature suggest that carbon isotopic equilibria between carbonates and graphite were attained in many cases the equation for the calcite graphite system has a slope steeper than bottinga s 1969 results it is however in good agreement with that of valley and o neil 1981 in the temperature range from 600 to 800 c because of the relatively high sensitivity to temperature these isotopic geothermometers are useful for determining the temperatures in moderate to high grade metamorphosed carbonate rocks

the ireviken event in the lower silurian of gotland sweden relation to similar palaeozoic and proterozoic events abstract for a long time the silurian was thought to represent a time of stable environmental conditions in the greenhouse period that followed the late ordovician glaciation during the past decade knowledge about the silurian has increased markedly and today it is known that the conditions in the silurian were much more variable than previously assumed detailed isotopic investigations have revealed several distinct positive excursions in both carbon and oxygen isotope values in low latitudes these periods of high c and o isotope values are in many cases characterised by the growth of reefs and the formation of extended carbonate platforms the sediments deposited during these excursions contain impoverished fossil assemblages especially with respect to conodonts graptolites and trilobites a conspicuous isotope excursion coincident with facies changes and a marked mass extinction is observed near the llandovery wenlock boundary this event is called the ireviken event after its type locality on the island of gotland sweden jeppsson l 1987 in palaeobiology of conodonts ellis horwood ltd chichester pp 129 145 here isotope data from nine sections at the nw coast of gotland are presented that cover the time interval of the ireviken event the 13c mean values rise from 1 4 to 4 5 and the 18o values increase from 5 6 to 5 0 the relative timing of stable isotope development extinctions and facies development is discussed it is shown that first extinctions precede the isotope excursion this indicates that extinction events and stable isotope development are only indirectly connected but might reflect the same causes other events characterised by similar relationships between positive isotope excursions mass extinctions and facies development are found in younger parts of the silurian late wenlock and ludlow in the late ordovician the late cambrian and with some reservations in the proterozoic the similarities between these events indicate analogous controlling mechanisms for the silurian climatic changes between humid and arid conditions in low latitudes were postulated in an earlier study of the authors a palaeoceanographic climatic model was postulated which is consistent with most of the sedimentological palaeontological and geochemical data here we demonstrate that this model may be applicable also for the older events

carbonate deposition and sequence stratigraphy of the terminal cambrian grand cycle in the southern appalachians u s a abstract the cessation of shale and carbonate deposition of the conasauga group grand cycles middle to upper cambrian and the establishment of the widespread peritidal carbonate deposition of the knox group upper cambrian to lower ordovician represent a prominent change in sedimentation along the early paleozoic passive continental margin in the southern appalachians to evaluate the causes for this change this study focuses on the maynardville formation which is the uppermost carbonate unit of the conasauga group the maynardville consists of 1 a lower subtidal facies succession which is underlain by the nolichucky shale and resembles the rest of the conasauga group carbonate deposits and 2 an upper peritidal facies succession which is conformably overlain by similar peritidal deposits of the copper ridge dolomite knox group deposition of shale and subtidal carbonate took place in deep ramp nolichucky to shallow ramp subtidal shoal and lagoonal settings lower maynardville the carbonate ramp was westward sloping toward the conasauga intrashelf shale basin to the east the ramp was linked to a broad semiarid carbonate tidal flat encompassing a variety of peritidal environments upper maynardville and copper ridge the maynardville is a shallowing upward succession that formed by carbonate platform aggradation and basinward progradation the transition between the maynardville and the copper ridge dolomite is within a conformable peritidal carbonate succession that contains common siliciclastic sand size detritus this interval is interpreted as a sequence boundary correlative with the craton wide late steptoean dresbachian franconian or sauk ii sauk iii unconformity the change from a conasauga to a knox depositional style may be related to distinct stages in passive margin evolution the end of grand cycle deposition in the early late cambrian is coincident with the cessation of tectonic activity along extensional features an intracratonic graben and other fault systems and marks the transition into a mature passive margin setting the mature margin was characterized by decreased rates of thermal subsidence which coupled with the infilling of the conasauga intrashelf basin favored shallow water carbonate deposition the final stabilization of the margin is reflected in the deposition of the thick peritidal carbonate strata of the knox group

stable isotopes of carbon as an invaluable stratigraphic tool an example from the cambrian of the northern appalachians usa this study illustrates the usefulness of carbon isotopes in stratigraphic interpretations of poorly fossiliferous strata beyond the resolution possible by biostratigraphy the upper cambrian strata of the lower gorge formation in northwestern vermont have been interpreted as highly condensed continental slope deposits with a hiatus bracketed by the trilobite fauna of the dunderbergia zone steptoean and the saukia zone upper sunwaptan this interpretation was based on information from two thin fossiliferous intervals the occurrence of one of them being unconfirmed in a recent study carbon isotopes provide a means for testing this interpretation because marine carbonate rocks deposited during the steptoean age of the late cambrian record a large global positive carbon isotope excursion 13 c values of up to 5 relative to the vienna peedee belemnite standard if the proposed age for the lowermost gorge formation is correct these strata should record the start of the excursion and the hiatus should produce an abrupt termination in the record of the excursion near maximum values the determined 13 c values 0 57 to 0 39 indicate that the excursion is not recorded at this locality the results question the age for these strata and suggest that the hiatus is greater than previously recognized encompassing most of the steptoean this major sedimentary hiatus lends supporting evidence for a significant eustatic or pan laurentian sea level event during the steptoean perturbation in the global cycling of carbon

a basin wide record of the late cambrian steptoean positive carbon isotope excursion spice in the amadeus basin australia abstract the cambrian paibian sedimentary succession of the central australian amadeus basin contains a sequence of supratidal to subtidal shallow marine siliciclastic and oolitic stromatolitic limestones and dolostones basin wide sequence stratigraphy in combination with biostratigraphy revealed the g stolidotus zone within a 3rd order transgressive systems tract tst the westward transgression caused changes from a fluvial dominated depositional environment towards a shallow marine oolitic carbonate shoal environment the eastern succession is dominated by stromatolitic oolitic carbonate rocks with 2 to 5 m 5th order shoaling upward cycles with several 4th order cycles the change from tst to hst highstand systems tract is marked by a maximum flooding surface within the goyder formation which coincides with the peak of the steptoean positive carbon isotope excursion spice the spice shows a facies independent synchronous positive 13c excursion of 5 in a 130 m interval in 8 sections across a 460 km transect the spice peak is lowest in the nearshore successions 0 4 13c and highest in the platform succession 4 9 13c and is interpreted to be related to the chemical gradient of seawater and mixing of the dic with atmospheric co2 derived i e terrestrial bicarbonate the recovery from spice is recorded by 4th order shoaling upward cycles that compose the 3rd order hst this is the first time that sequence stratigraphy and biostratigraphy has been combined with carbon isotope chemostratigraphy across the nearshore to subtidal cambrian basin succession in australia

climatic and oceanographic isotopic signals from the carbonate rock record and their preservation stable isotopic data from marine limestones and their constituent fossils and marine cements can provide quantitative evidence for changes in global climate and ocean circulation oxygen isotopic data can indicate changes in temperature and ocean composition whereas stratigraphic variation in carbon isotope ratios may reflect changes in the carbon cycle that can be linked to changes in oceanic productivity and atmospheric greenhouse gases terrestrial carbonates meteoric cements calcretes and speleothems similarly offer significant potential for understanding the evolution of terrestrial climates by providing evidence for the composition of rainwater and the nature of vegetative cover primary environmental isotopic signals may be obscured by the effects of post depositional diagenetic alteration cementation and replacement reactions can take place in a wide range of diagenetic environments the diagenetic history of an individual limestone is determined by a combination of its mineralogical diagenetic potential and depositional setting together with subsequent changes in relative sea level and burial history carbon isotopic values are less prone to alteration during diagenesis than oxygen values but shifts can be significant where organogenic carbon is incorporated linear covariation of carbon and oxygen values is not a reliable indicator of diagenetic alteration water rock interaction and fluid mixing may produce non linear distributions attempts to determine long term changes in climatic and oceanographie conditions through isotope stratigraphy of shallow water limestones must include an assessment of the diagenetic history of the materials analysed petrographic examination using conventional microscopy backed up where appropriate by cathodoluminescence and scanning electron microscopy together with elemental and strontium isotopic analysis can help to identify the effects of diagenetic alteration where material with a range of different degrees of alteration is preserved in the same sediment it may be possible to compare patterns of isotopic and elemental variation and to attempt to unravel the effects of diagenesis in order to determine primary environmental isotopic signals recent research has shown that these techniques can be successfully employed in both phanerozoic and precambrian sediments

evidence of spice related anoxia on the laurentian passive margin paired δ13c and trace element chemostratigraphy of the upper conasauga group central appalachian basin abstract this study reports data from the upper cambrian conasauga group and overlying copper ridge formation of the central appalachian region eastern u s a geochemical isotopic and petrographic analysis of core material was carried out to constrain the extent of marine anoxia and to characterize sediment fluxes on the carbonate platform and continental shelf of laurentia contemporaneous with the steptoean positive carbon isotope excursion spice a late cambrian global marine anoxic event carbonate rocks primarily dolostone record a positive 13ccarb excursion starting in the middle nolichucky formation reaching its peak 4 3 at the boundary between the maynardville and copper ridge formations strontium isotope ratios in the dolostone units are only slightly offset from the expected cambrian seawater values suggesting minimal post diagenetic disturbance of isotopic and trace element systematics selective leaching of carbonate units reveal upward decreasing trends in dissolved redox sensitive trace metals e g u ni v indicative of drawdown from regional and global marine anoxia during the peak of the late cambrian spice event

changes in marine isotopic composition and the late ordovician glaciation well preserved brachiopod shells and marine cements from limestone coquinas which cap carbonate mudmounds in the siljan area of central sweden have the heaviest stable oxygen and carbon isotope values yet reported for lower palaeozoic marine sediments the coquinas formed during the eustatic regression at the onset of the late ordovician glaciation the isotopic compositions reflect simultaneous shifts in both carbon and oxygen more than 5 13 c and up to 2o 18 o away from more normal lower palaeozoic values in similar carbonates from within the mounds oxygen isotope data are consistent with a change in the isotopic composition of the sea water probably accompanied by a decrease in temperature the changes in carbon values suggest enhanced deposition of organic carbon a process which would have decreased p co 2 in the ocean and the atmosphere and thus contributed to rapid global cooling

trilobite extinctions facies changes and the roece carbon isotope excursion at the cambrian series 2 3 boundary great basin western usa the mass extinction of the olenellid trilobites occurred around the cambrian series 2 series 3 boundary like many other crises it coincided with a negative carbon isotope excursion but the associated palaeoenvironmental changes remain unclear to investigate the causal mechanism for this event we report facies changes pyrite framboid petrography and carbon isotope values from cambrian series 2 series 3 traditionally early middle cambrian boundary strata of the carrara formation death valley region california and pioche formation nevada these data reveal regionally changing water depths from high energy nearshore facies oolitic grainstone to more offshore silty marl and finer grained carbonate mudstone in the carrara formation the series boundary occurs within a deepening succession transitioning from high energy nearshore facies oolitic grainstone and oncolitic packstone to offshore marl the latter of which contains pyrite framboid populations indicative of low oxygen dysoxic depositional conditions intermittent dysoxia persisted below sub wave base settings throughout the early and middle cambrian but did not intensify at the time of extinction arguing against anoxia as a primary cause in the olenellid trilobite extinction within both field areas the extinction interval coincided with a minimum in 13ccarb values which we interpret as the regional manifestation of the redlichiid olenellid extinction carbon isotope excursion roece the series 2 series 3 boundary is reported to closely coincide with a large amplitude sea level fall that produced the sauk i ii sequence boundary but the placement of the series 2 series 3 boundary within a transgressive interval of the carrara formation shows that this is not the case the main sequence boundary in the succession occurs much lower in the succession at the top of the zabriskie quartzite and therefore precedes the extinction of the olenellids and roece

marine anoxia and sedimentary mercury enrichments during the late cambrian spice event in northern scotland elevated mercury concentrations in ancient sedimentary rocks are used as a fingerprint for large igneous province lip volcanism because there is a tight association between known lips and coeval sedimentary hg anomalies while nonvolcanic processes of sedimentary hg enrichment including redox variations have been demonstrated in modern settings interpretations of ancient sedimentary hg records have focused on lip volcanism here we document a link between sedimentary hg enrichment and marine redox changes during the late cambrian steptoean positive isotopic carbon excursion spice event a time with no known lip we report a new occurrence of the spice event from the eilean dubh formation of northern scotland which preserves a series of coeval hg enrichments abundant glauconite a redox sensitive iron bearing mineral co occurs stratigraphically with the spice and hg enrichments but is rare to absent from the rest of the section and bioturbation is low in strata spanning the spice we suggest that local hg enrichments were driven by changing marine redox conditions during the spice event rather than emplacement of a lip redox oscillations should be considered as an additional control on hg enrichments in the geologic record

the nature of the δ13c of periplatform sediments implications for stratigraphy and the global carbon cycle the carbon isotopic composition y 13 c of bulk carbonates obtained from a transect of sites drilled through platform and periplatform sediments of holocene to early miocene age has been compared to ascertain whether changes in the y 13 c can be correlated between sediments of equivalent ages and whether such changes can be related to global changes in the y 13 c of the dissolved inorganic carbon in the oceans over this time period five of the sites were drilled during leg 166 of the ocean drilling project 1003 1007 in a transect ranging from five km to 25 km away from the platform margin and penetrating sediments of holocene to oligocene age that are contained in 17 depositional sequences a q two shallow water sites clino and unda were situated on a extension of the same transect on great bahama bank in a water depth of 10 15 m with the exception of unda and clino the y 13 c of the carbonates ranges from 5x in the younger sequences to 1x in the early miocene in each of the sites the y 13 c is strongly positively correlated with the percentage of aragonite as a consequence the y 13 c of sequences a through f is strongly correlated reflecting the decreasing amount of aragonite with increasing depth in the two platform sites the y 13 c is significantly lower in the younger portions of the cores as a result of the influences of meteoric diagenesis during repeated exposure during the pleistocene although the y 13 c of the individual sequences can be correlated in most instances between the odp holes the changes are not related to global changes in the y 13 c of the oceans which in contrast to the y 13 c of the platform sediments become isotopically lower towards the present day instead variations in the y 13 c appear to be related to varying mixtures of y 13 c rich banktop sediments and pelagic material

stable isotope geochemistry of the lower cambrian sekwi formation northwest territories canada implications for ocean chemistry and secular curve generation abstract three curves delineating 13 c variations across the early cambrian sekwi formation carbonate ramp mackenzie mountains northwest territories canada are incorporated into a biostratigraphic and sequence stratigraphic framework that provides a higher resolution temporal and spatial framework for the sekwi formation the three 13 c curves were correlated across a range of depositional environments from tidal flat to deep subtidal on the sekwi carbonate ramp eight 13 c cycles in the curves a h were correlated across the basin complimenting the sequence stratigraphic framework the most complete 13 c curve from the sekwi formation correlates well with a composite early cambrian 13 c curve from the siberian platform however the differing magnitude and absolute timing of some of the correlative isotopic excursions records the influence of regional tectonism sea level changes and diagenesis on the sekwi ramp additionally the sekwi formation 13 c curve has more high frequency variations than the siberian curve due in part to the higher sample density used to construct the sekwi curve the early middle cambrian boundary was not sampled in this study but a large negative isotopic excursion in the very latest early cambrian coincides with a regional drowning that may be correlative throughout western laurentia but recognizing this event globally is problematic

chemostratigraphy versus biostratigraphy data from around the cenomanian turonian boundary a detailed isotopic profile is presented for a stratigraphically expanded cenomanian turonian boundary section in chalk facies exposed at eastbourne sussex and compared with data from pueblo colorado in both sections macro and micropalaeontological markers first appearances and disappearances are well constrained and their relative positions and relationship to the structure of the carbon isotope curve are identical this consistent relationship between two independent phenomena one geochemical the other biostratigraphical is taken as evidence for the likely synchroneity of both the biostratigraphical markers and the carbon isotope excursion in these two areas this interpretation contrasts with suggestions made recently by other authors whose data have been taken to imply a lack of correlation between the carbon isotope excursion in europe and north america

terrestrial marine carbon cycle coupling in 500 m y old phosphatic brachiopods carbon isotope compositions 13c of inarticulate brachiopod shells from upper cambrian sandstone in the cratonic interior of laurentia record a 5 positive excursion that correlates biostratigraphically with the global steptoean positive isotopic carbon excursion a consistent 6 negative displacement in brachiopod 13c relative to carbonate values is interpreted to represent an onshore offshore gradient in the isotopic composition of dissolved inorganic carbon in cambrian seawater thus these 500 m y old chitinophosphatic brachiopod shells preserve evidence for carbon cycle coupling between the ancient atmospheric oceanic and terrestrial reservoirs in the time before embryophytic land plants

modeling of subduction components in the genesis of the meso cenozoic igneous rocks from the south shetland arc antarctica abstract isotope data and trace elements concentrations are presented for volcanic and plutonic rocks from the livingston greenwich robert king george and ardley islands south shetland arc antarctica these islands were formed during subduction of the phoenix plate under the antarctica plate from cretaceous to tertiary isotopically 87sr 86sr o ratios vary from 0 7033 to 0 7046 and 143nd 144nd o ratios from 0 5127 to 0 5129 end values vary from 2 71 to 7 30 that indicate asthenospheric mantle source for the analysed samples 208pb 204pb ratios vary from 38 12 to 38 70 207pb 204pb ratios are between 15 49 and 15 68 and 206pb 204pb from 18 28 to 18 81 the south shetland rocks are thought to be derived from a depleted morb mantle source dmm modified by mixtures of two enriched mantle components such as slab derived melts and or fluids and small fractions of oceanic sediment em i and em ii the isotopic compositions of the subduction component can be explained by mixing between at least 4 wt of sediment and 96 wt of melts and or fluids derived from altered morb

relative sea level change and carbon isotopes data from the upper jurassic oxfordian of central and southern europe studies on cretaceous pelagic limestones have shown a close correspondence between putative sea level curves and the carbon isotope profile suggesting a possible relationship between the two phenomena such a relationship could relate to shelf sea area governing the global burial rate of organic carbon which in turn controls the 13c 12c ratio of dissolved inorganic carbon in the oceanic reservoir in order to see whether or not this relationship might be of more general applicability the major mid oxfordian jurassic transgression is documented to zonal level and appropriate carbon isotope data are presented although the applicability of ammonite zonation to the mid oxfordian is problematic on a regional scale a clear 13c excursion is present in the trunsversariurn zone which is coincident with regional overstep and or evidence of shoreline retreat and or evidence of bathymetric deepening in europe and elsewhere the use of the carbon isotope curve as a proxy for shelf sea area or relative sea level is worthy of further exploration

stable carbon isotope record of shallow marine evaporative epicratonic basin carbonates ordovician williston basin north america secular variations in stable carbon isotope values of marine carbonates are used widely to correlate successions that lack high resolution index fossils various environmental processes however commonly may affect and alter the primary marine carbon isotope signal in shallow epicratonic basins this study focuses on the marine carbon isotope record from the carbonate evaporite succession of the upper katian upper ordovician red river formation of the shallow epicratonic williston basin usa it documents the carbon isotope signal between the two major ordovician positive shifts in 13c the early katian guttenberg and the hirnantian excursions eight 13c stages are identified based on positive excursions shifts from positive to negative values and relatively uniform 13ccarb values a correlation between carbon isotope trends and the relative sea level changes based on gross facies stacking patterns shows no clear relation based on the available biostratigraphy and 13c trends the studied williston basin curves are tied to the isotope curves from the north american midcontinent quebec anticosti island and estonia which confirm the late katian age aphelognathus divergens conodont zone of the upper red river formation the differences in the 13c overall trend and absolute values coupled with the petrographic and cathodoluminescence evidence suggest that the carbon isotope record has been affected by the syndepositional environmental processes in the shallow and periodically isolated williston basin and stabilized by later burial diagenesis under reducing conditions and the presence of isotopically more negative fluids

carbon isotopes time boundaries and evolution the carbon isotope composition of carbonate rocks in time boundary zones is interpreted as a reflection of the variations in the total biomass at mass extinction events better stratigraphic control and identification of hiatuses can be gained by stable isotope stratigraphic methods than with any other type of stratigraphy it is suggested that the use of carbon isotopes can help in solving some of the problems confronting palaeontologists and lead to a better understanding of the evolutionary significance of these events