mid cretaceous sequence stratigraphy and sedimentary cyclicity in the western paris basin abstract cenomanian and turonian depositional patterns of the western paris basin are interpreted in terms of sequence stratigraphy a system tract analysis of the epicontinental normandie basin with pelagic chalks and of the maine platform covered by clastics provides evidence for relative changes in coastal onlap various minor uncomformities are related to these changes of sea level the four global cycles uza or zc 2 2 2 5 of haq et al 1987 1988 are recognised while an additional one is proposed for the geslinianum zone in addition periodic rhythmic cycles are commonly registered within the chalk expressed by the repitition of various facies enhanced both by biosedimentary processes and diagenetic alteration these elementary climatic cycles allow accurate lithostratigraphic correlations during this period when the sea level peaked on the tectonically passive border of the armorican block the paris basin appears to record a detailed set of events which can be correlated with those in the atlantic boreal and tethyan provinces

uranium series ages of travertines and timing of the last glaciation in the northern yellowstone area wyoming montana uranium series age determinations by mass spectrometric methods were done for travertines and associated carbonate veins related to clastic deposits of the last glaciation pinedale in the northern yellowstone area dramatic variations in the hydrologic head are inferred from variations in the elevation of travertine deposition with time and are consistent with the expected hydrologic effects of glaciation we determine the following chronology of the pinedale glaciation with the key assumption that travertine deposits and associated carbonate veins perched high above present thermal springs were deposited when glaciers filled the valley below these perched deposits 1 the early pinedale outlet glacier advanced well downvalley between 47 000 and 34 000 yr b p 2 the outlet glacier receded to an interstadial position between 34 000 and 30 000 yr b p 3 an extensive pinedale ice advance occurred between 30 000 and 22 500 yr b p 4 a major recession occurred between 22 500 and 19 500 yr b p 5 a minor readvance deckard flats culminated after 19 500 yr b p and 6 recession from the deckard flats position was completed before 15 500 yr b p this chronology is consistent with the general trend of climatic changes in the northern hemisphere as revealed by recent high resolution ice core records from the greenland ice sheet

age limits on the late quaternary evolution of the upper loire river abstract the loire river is one of the largest rivers in europe draining a basin area of southern france which exceeds 100 000 km 2 despite its significance the loire remains poorly studied and has a very limited amount of chronological control on the deposited sedimentary record of fluvial activity these factors coupled with the availability of a set of 10 radiocarbon dates on younger c

exxon global cycle chart an event for every occasion the basic premise of the recent exxon cycle chart that there exists a globally correlatable suite of third order eustatic cycles remains unproven many of the tests of this premise are based on circular reasoning the implied precision of the exxon global cycle chart is not supportable because it is greater than that of the best available chronostratigraphic techniques such as those used to construct the global standard time scale correlations of new stratigraphic sections with the exxon chart will almost always succeed because there are so many exxon sequence boundary events from which to choose this is demonstrated by the use of four synthetic sections constructed from tables of random numbers a minimum of 77 successful correlations of random events with the exxon chart was achieved the existing cycle chart represents an amalgam of regional and local tectonic events and probably also includes unrecognized miscorrelations it is of questionable value as an independent standard of geologic time

age and significance of sequence boundaries on jurassic and early cretaceous rifted continental margins the age and significance of sequence boundaries on jurassic to early cretaceous rifted continental margins in three ocean basins have been documented the margins are the santos basin in the south atlantic the grand banks in the north atlantic and the beaufort sea in the arctic ocean large industry data bases were used for the interpretation of each area megasequence boundaries separate the major phases of basin evolution for example syn rift and post rift boundaries developed with an average periodicity of 49 m y sequence boundaries define the component parts of each megasequence and developed with a modal periodicity of 10 15 m y out of 27 total boundary ages most 16 are developed on just one margin only two possible age ranges overlap on all three margins ighty percent of the megasequence boundaries and 50 of the sequence boundaries show a direct causal connection with coeval faulting and or folding the rest of the boundaries appear as unstructured surfaces separating transgressive and or regressive sedimentary wedges and are interpreted to result from changes in the rate of basin subsidence sediment input and long term eustatic sea level these data do not support theories advocating synchronous worldwide boundary development resulting from periodic short term falls in global eustatic sea level only in like basins of the same age with identical subsidence and sediment input rates are boundaries likely to develop synchronously hence the concept of global synchroneity of sequence boundary development may well be an illusion creat d by the similarity in age of the majority of basins studied as a result of this study it seems wise discard the global approach to basin analysis

ostracoda and palaeo oxygen levels with particular reference to the upper cretaceous of east anglia abstract it has been shown that the percentage of platycopina the sole remaining group of filter feeding ostracoda since the global extinction of the metacopina in the lower toarcian making up a fossil ostracod fauna can be used as a measure of dissolved oxygen in past oceans high levels of platycopids indicate low oxygen and vice versa a new scale is introduced here based mainly on the environmental oxygen levels of modern oceans and their equivalent percentages of living platycopids in order to evaluate the palaeo oxygen levels of the upper chalk in east anglia the effects of varying oxygen concentrations on the overall simple species diversity of the ostracoda is also shown to have important palaeoenvironmental implications the study is based on 79 samples from the santonian to lower maastrichtian of the trunch borehole and 126 samples from outcrops in suffolk and norfolk ranging from the coniacian to lower maastrichtian the coniacian is shown to have been a time of low to very low oxygen except for its upper part that was much better ventilated the santonian and lower campanian were low to very low in their dissolved oxygen while the upper campanian and particularly the lower maastrichtian had much higher oxygen levels notwithstanding these general trends oxygen levels appear to have fluctuated rapidly throughout the interval during times of both generally low and high oxygenation these variations in oxygenation are thought to have been associated with the oxygen minimum zone and its migrations onto the continental shelf and subsequent retreat to the continental slope this in turn is related to sea level fluctuations and this together with the potential for the application of this technique to sequence stratigraphy are discussed

the structure and evolution of the wessex basin southern england an example of inversion tectonics abstract the wessex basin of southern england consists of four main sub basins each sub basin is thought to be fundamentally controlled by the normal reactivation of hercynian basement thrust and wrench or transfer faults post hercynian polyphase reactivation of both east west thrust and northwest southeast transfer faults tended to compartmentalise the basement thereby leading to the initiation of discrete permian cretaceous depocentres while rifting was confined to the western portions of the area during the permo triassic easterly migration in the mesozoic allowed the initiation of the weald and channel basins the sub basins represent therefore simple sinistral pull apart basins opening along northwest southeast faults this same fault direction is postulated to have also played a major role in controlling and or modifying the development of european basins in general major pre aptian uplift and erosion is largely attributed to the thermal effects and hence the isostatic uplift of the basin associated with continental rifting of the bay of biscay and the north atlantic margins major inversion and hence basin destruction began in the late cretaceous early tertiary with the uplift of the channel weald and vale of pewsey basins and culminated in the oligocene miocene synchronous with the helvetic phase of alpine deformation wessex basin inversion was facilitated by the thrust reactivation of variscan faults above an intracrustal detachment surface the same surface which allowed upper crustal extension and hence basin initiation in the permo triassic the structural development of the wessex basin both during extension basin formation phase and compression inversion phase was ultimately controlled by the plate motion of africa relative to europe such plate motions successfully predict the observed nw se sinistral motion from the stephanian to the aptian e w sinistral motion during the aptian cenomanian and largely nw se dextral motion from the cenomanian to the present day

late quaternary floodplain development along the stung sen river in the lower mekong basin cambodia abstract the stung sen river the biggest tributary to lake tonle sap in the lower mekong basin in cambodia is characterized by large seasonal changes of water discharge under the asian monsoon climate and seasonal changes in water level that reach at least 7 m and are controlled by the water level of the lake the stung sen river floodplain consists of two geomorphic units meander belt along the river channel and backmarsh coupled observations of outcrops along the river channel and arrays of sediment cores across the floodplain north of kampong chheuteal village and kampong thom city c 150 km and c 70 km respectively reveal that floodplain environmental changes at c 11 ka were possibly associated with the holocene onset of the southeast asian monsoon and probably with the emergence of lake tonle sap these observations also show that the present backmarsh meander belt system was established about 5 5 ka along with the unique mekong tonle sap connection characterized by a reversal in flow direction during the monsoon season the meander belt materials are replaced as the river channel shifts on a decadal to centennial timescale backmarsh sediments at sites kampong chheuteal and kampong thom had a constant accumulation rate of about 0 5 mm y during the holocene contrasting with rates of 0 1 mm y during the late pleistocene at around 11 ka a sand layer was deposited over all of the valley around kampong chheuteal while wetlands enlarged around kampong thom probably because of increased rainfall triggered by an enhancement of the asian summer monsoon this 11 ka horizon has since been covered by clayey sediments keeping pace with the accumulation of lacustrine sediments in lake tonle sap

interpreting climate modulated processes of terrace development along the colorado front range using a landscape evolution model flights of terraces that flank range fronts throughout the rocky mountains record episodic stream incision over the past 1 5 ma studies dating terraces in the denver basin along the colorado front range suggest that these high surfaces were formed during glacial intervals and were rapidly incised and abandoned during interglacials modulation of sediment supply or transport capacity associated with climate change related to glacial interglacial cycles have been suggested as possible drivers for the repeated aggradation and abandonment of these high surfaces potential mechanisms for increasing sediment supply and transport in rivers include variations over time in sediment flux from intermittently glaciated major valleys the efficiency of hillslope sediment transport and the magnitude and timing of rainfall intensity and stream flow in this study we use a landscape evolution model to determine whether any of these processes in isolation or in combination is sufficient to explain the observed rates and patterns of terrace formation and abandonment along the colorado piedmont cycles of channel aggradation and incision are apparent in the models when either mean rainfall intensity is varied or a glacial source of sediment is added the models suggest that in the absence of a large addition of sediment to the streams changes in stream power are necessary to allow channel aggradation and the planation of bedrock surfaces and increased sediment flux from hillslopes is necessary to match observations of increased denudation rates that coincide with the deposition of terrace capping gravels

u pb geochronology of the mazinaw terrane an imbricate segment of the central metasedimentary belt grenville province ontario the mazinaw terrane in the central metasedimentary belt of the grenville province comprises volcanic sedimentary and plutonic rocks that were intensely folded and faulted and metamorphosed to as high as upper amphibolite facies u pb geochronology establishes an early period of magmatism and sedimentation at about 1280 1240 ma probably in a marginal basin setting and a multistage rhetamorphic evolution in the period between 1100 and 980 ma which was probably related to crustal thickening by imbrication during compression and wedging of the terrane some of the earliest magmatism formed calc alkalic volcanic rocks of kashwakamak formation at 1276 2 ma an associated sedimentary assemblage was intruded by the helena trondhjemite stock at 1267 5 ma a younger succession formed between 1250 and 1240 ma includes the bimodal volcanic mazinaw lake formation alaskitic granites of the norway lake and abinger plutons and a granodioritic gneiss phase of the cross lake pluton these units were covered

high frequency cyclicity milankovitch and millennial scale in slope apron carbonates zechstein upper permian north east england the upper permian zechstein slope carbonates in the roker formation zechstein 2nd cycle carbonate in north east england consist of turbidites interbedded with laminated lime mudstone studies of turbidite bed thickness and relative proportion of turbidites percentage turbidites in 20 cm of section reveal well developed cyclicities consisting of thinning upward and thickening upward packages of turbidite beds these packages are on four scales from less than a metre up to 50 m in thickness assuming that the laminae of the hemipelagic background sediment are annual allows the durations of the cycles to be estimated in addition counting the number and thickness of turbidite beds in 20 cm of laminated lime mudstone which is approximately equivalent to 1000 years each lamina is 200 m gives the frequencies of the turbidite beds the average thicknesses and the overall sedimentation rates through the succession for 1000 year time slots figures obtained are comparable with modern rates of deposition on carbonate slopes the cyclicity present in the roker formation can be shown to include milankovitch band ca 100 kyr short eccentricity ca 20 kyr precession and ca 10 kyr semi precession cycles and sub milankovitch millennial scale cycles 0 7 to 4 3 kyr eccentricity and precession scale cycles are related to highstand shedding and relative sea level change caused by milankovitch band orbital forcing controlling carbonate productivity the millennial scale cycles which are quasi periodic probably are produced by environmental changes controlled by solar forcing i e variations in solar irradiance or volcanic activity most probable here are fluctuations in carbonate productivity related to aridity humidity and or temperature changes precession and millennial scale cycles are defined most strongly in early transgressive and highstand parts of the larger scale short eccentricity cycles the duration of the roker formation as a whole can be estimated from the thickness of the laminated lithotype as ca 0 3 myr

paleohydrological implications of late quaternary fluvial deposits in and around archaeological sites in syria abstract the importance of fluvial processes to the development of late quaternary landforms in arid regions is well established particularly for the american southwest in contrast much less information exists about past fluvial processes for other arid regions such as arabic countries in the middle east this paper reviews the characteristics of late quaternary fluvial deposits and landforms in syria an arid country with little previous quaternary geomorphic research relatively detailed information has been obtained from areas adjacent to archaeological sites because of collaborative activities with geomorphologists and other geoscientists such activities have resulted in intensive field surveys and associated results of complementary archaeological studies of lithic artifacts are useful for establishing the chronology of fluvial deposits although the number of existing studies is limited the available information points to marked changes in the mode of fluvial processes in response to late quaternary climatic change fluvial sedimentation was enhanced during the wet periods of mis 3 4 the pleistocene holocene transition and the mid holocene in contrast the lgm was characterized by limited fluvial sedimentation under a drier climate as well as enhanced carbonate precipitation near the land surface to form calcrete and oncoids

resolving time space histories of late cenozoic bedrock incision along the upper colorado river usa abstract the upper colorado river basin drains the western slope of the rocky mountains province of north america and hosts a rich record of fluvial terraces and volcanic deposits that provide an archive of bedrock river incision since the late miocene here we present new geochronology from fluvial deposits and associated volcanic units using multiple methods luminescence cosmogenic burial 40ar 39ar basalt and detrital sanidine and u pb detrital zircon to reconstruct a detailed record of bedrock incision in the upper colorado river over timescales ranging from miocene to late pleistocene late miocene ca 11 8 ma basalt flows perched 800 1700 m above the colorado river and the oldest known ancestral colorado river deposits preserved beneath basalt flows on grand mesa provide the basis for average long term 107 yr incision rates rates range from 110 160 m ma between grand junction downstream and glenwood canyon upstream with rates decreasing upvalley intermediate scale 105 106 yr incision rates are 200 320 m m y over the past 1 3 ma and these rates are faster than the average over the past 8 11 ma short term

geochronology and geochemistry of precambrian gneisses metabasites and pegmatite from the tobacco root mountains northwestern wyoming craton montanathis article is one of a series of papers published in this special issue on the theme of geochronology in honour of tom krogh t e krogh deceased april 2008 the middle mountain metamorphic domain of the montana metasedimentary terrane northwestern wyoming craton within the northwestern tobacco root mountains mainly comprises migmatized tonalitic gneiss interlayered with amphibolitic hornblende gneiss both of which are cut by metamorphosed mafic rocks together these gneisses are defined as middle mountain gneiss archean tonalitic gneiss from west of and amphibolitic gneiss from east of the bismark fault give from chemically and air abraded zircon grains u pb id tims ages of 3325 5 1 7 and 3340 ma respectively these results reflect primary magmatic ages and show that the middle mountain gneiss extends into the northern area of the central fault block between the bismark and mammoth faults older crustal processes in the tonalitic gneiss are evidenced by inherited grains the oldest of which is 3460 ma a metabasite hosted in tonalitic gneiss in the bismark fault selvage zone yields a zircon age of 2468 ma which is interpreted as the time of

100 kyr fluvial cut and fill terrace cycles since the middle pleistocene in the southern central andes nw argentina abstract fluvial fill terraces in intermontane basins are valuable geomorphic archives that can record tectonically and or climatically driven changes of the earth surface process system however often the preservation of fill terrace sequences is incomplete and or they may form far away from their source areas complicating the identification of causal links between forcing mechanisms and landscape response especially over multi millennial timescales the intermontane toro basin in the southern central andes exhibits at least five generations of fluvial terraces that have been sculpted into several hundred meter thick quaternary valley fill conglomerates new surface exposure dating using nine cosmogenic 10be depth profiles reveals the successive abandonment of these terraces with a 100 kyr cyclicity between 75 7 and 487 34 ka depositional ages of the conglomerates determined by four 26al 10be burial samples and u pb zircon ages of three intercalated volcanic ash beds range from 18 141 to 936 170 ka indicating that there were multiple cut and fill episodes although the initial onset of aggradation at 1 ma and the overall net incision since ca 500 ka can be linked to tectonic processes at the narrow basin outlet the superimposed 100 kyr cycles of aggradation and incision are best explained by eccentricity driven climate change within these cycles the onset of river incision can be correlated with global cold periods and enhanced humid phases recorded in paleoclimate archives on the adjacent bolivian altiplano whereas deposition occurred mainly during more arid phases on the altiplano and global interglacial periods we suggest that enhanced runoff during global cold phases due to increased regional precipitation rates reduced evapotranspiration or both resulted in an increased sediment transport capacity in the toro basin which outweighed any possible increases in upstream sediment supply and thus triggered incision compared with two nearby basins that record precessional 21 kyr and long eccentricity 400 kyr forcing within sedimentary and geomorphic archives the recorded cyclicity scales with the square of the drainage basin length

the distribution of apparent dose as determined by optically stimulated luminescence in small aliquots of fluvial quartz implications for dating young sediments abstract we noted recently murray et al 1995 that quartz samples taken from in channel fluvial deposits have apparent doses ranging over several orders of magnitude we suggested that these dose distributions are best explained by a mixture of a small number of poorly bleached grains and a larger number of well bleached grains in this paper we examine the distribution of apparent dose in small aliquots each composed of 2000 grains of different particle size fractions 63 90 m 90 125 m 125 180 m 180 212 m 212 250 m diameter from two samples collected from the murrumbidgee river new south wales australia the samples are of known burial age the first being 70 years old and the second being its modern equivalent 0 2 gy the difference in the lowest apparent dose in the two samples is considered to be the result of their different burial times we suggest a method for dating recently deposited

channelling versus inversion origin of condensed upper cretaceous chalks eastern isle of wight uk evidence from regional stratigraphical patterns in santonian campanian chalk is used to infer the presence of a very broad channel system 5 km across with a depth of at least 50 m running nnw sse across the eastern isle of wight only the western part of the channel wall and fill is exposed within this channel were smaller erosional structures

fluvial terrace formation along wyoming s laramie range as a response to increased late pleistocene flood magnitudes abstract this study evaluates the potential climatic mechanisms involved in fluvial terrace genesis along wyoming s laramie range we used optical dating methods to determine depositional ages for fluvial fills and to calculate incision rates for terrace suites along two of the region s larger rivers optical ages were determined for the five lowest terrace levels t5 t1 which were deposited at 59 6 39 2 26 3 22 7 and 18 5 ka and incision rates calculated for the two rivers were 0 29 0 34 m kyr over the last 60 kyr the formation of fluvial terraces in the central rocky mountains is commonly attributed to climatically induced changes in sediment input according to most studies relatively low incision rates existed during the colder periods of the pleistocene due to high stream sediment loads but terraces were formed during warmer interglacial periods when reduced sediment availability facilitated higher incision rates however this conceptual model cannot explain the incision records presented here which show that the streams incised 9 10 m in two to three events during oxygen isotope stage 2 but only 1 2 m during the warmer climates of the last 18 5 ka the stream power model we adapted to this setting suggests that late quaternary streams operated under two basic states during the colder conditions of the pleistocene higher flood magnitudes resulted in higher lateral erosion and incision rates however the lower stream discharge common to the warmer interglacial periods resulted in relatively inactive streams when both lateral erosion and incision rates were lowered this model can explain the high incision rates during the cold conditions of oxygen isotope stage 2 the occurrence of terrace fill ages near cold to warm transitions and the apparent acceleration in incision rates toward the end of the last glacial cycle finally this study suggests that terrace fill ages and incision rates are similar for the distally glaciated laramie river nonglaciated sybille creek and the proximally glaciated streams that drain the wind river range this implies that rivers responded synchronously to late quaternary climate changes regardless of their influence by alpine glaciation

measurement of equivalent doses in quartz from contemporary water lain sediments using optically stimulated luminescence the single aliquot technique and its derivatives are very attractive for the measurement of the very small doses found in young materials because they inherently avoid concerns about low dose non linearity and can offer high precisions a modification is outlined to the single aliquot regeneration and added dose sara protocol mejdahl and botter jensen 1994 quaternary geochronology quaternary science reviews 13 551 5541 to permit its application to sedimentary quartz using the optically stimulated luminescence signal this revised protocol is then used to determine the doses found in several contemporary fluvial sediments and one coastal beach sand thought to be deposi ted by recent wave action two over bank river deposits were both homogeneously well bleached with doses of 0 4 gy although most of the grains in three channel deposits from a range of catchment sizes were also well bleached contamination by a small proportion of very poorly bleached quartz grains prevented the measurement of the dose in the majority the beach deposit was homogeneously bleached and contained a dose of about 0 02 gy it is concluded that over bank sites may provide accurate dates for samples older than a few hundred years but that the heterogeneity of the channel sites limits the accuracy of dates less than a few thousand years

age and origin of the jan lake complex a glimpse at the buried archean craton of the trans hudson orogen the largely buried sask craton is a continental fragment or microcontinent that collided with and underthrust the paleoproterozoic flin flon glennie protocontinent along the pelican decollement zone at 1840 1830 ma rocks of the sask craton are exposed in three tectonic windows those of the pelican window have been named the jan lake complex and comprise 2960 ma arc derived leucocratic orthogneisses migmatitic paragneisses and a tholeiitic within plate igneous suite comprising 2488 ma dioritic to gabbroic rocks and 2450 ma enderbitic and charnockitic rocks including the sahli granite ages of ca 2450 ma are also common from the other two tectonic windows to the sask craton suggesting that emplacement of the igneous suite was widespread and perhaps part of the coeval matachewan igneous event the absence of rocks in the 2960 and ca 2450 ma age ranges on both the adjacent superior and rae hearne cratonic margins makes it improbable that the sask craton was derived by simple fragmentation without large scale tectonic transport the overthrust paleoproterozoic rocks represent a high grade northwestern extension of the flin flon volcanic belt and include 1856 ma leucotonalite and 1843 ma quartz monzodiorite an 1830 ma suite of homogeneous calc alkaline enderbitic rocks which intrude burntwood semipelitic migmatites throughout the kisseynew domain has also been emplaced in mylonites of the pelican decollement zone zircon and monazite ages in the 1812 1803 ma range record a high grade metamorphic event that resulted from collision between the sask craton and flin flon glennie complex

upper cretaceous tectonic disruptions in a placid chalk sequence in the anglo paris basin syn upper cretaceous tectonic movements are recognized along tectonic axes including the portsdown south downs axis sandown pericline kingston anticline the fecamp st valery fault blocks and at the bresle valley axis a spatial relationship is described between surface structures chalk sedimentation and deeper level fault systems identified on seismic sections the ouse valley between lewes and newhaven sussex provides the strongest evidence for this relationship in the chalk of the anglo paris basin the sedimentary features that can be related to tectonic lines are local thickness changes anomalous sequences including scour surfaces such as strahan9s hardground rowe9s flintless belt isle of wight the downend slump sequence portsdown these discordant surfaces and slumps relate to particular tectonic 9hinge lines9 whilst other sedimentary features such as the tilleul hardgrounds appear to have formed flat ramps over blocks these two types of tectono sedimentary feature are used to delineate horst like structures from tilted surfaces or half grabens which underlie the surface periclinal fold belts rejuvenation movements along tectonic axes during the cenomanian to campanian are discussed in relation to the currently recognized sequence stratigraphy and sea level curves for the period

alluvial sequence in the north piedmont of the chinese tian shan over the past 550 kyr and its relationship to climate change abstract a new division of middle and late pleistocene alluvial sequence in the north piedmont of the chinese tian shan based on geomorphologic stratigraphic and chronologic criteria provides a framework for examining their relationship to climate change during glacial interglacial transitions over the past 550 kyr at least four major alluviation episodes occurred within the piedmont along the major river valleys in this region each episode of alluvial fan deposition morphologically correlates with a major river terrace these correlations create a regionally applicable framework for subdivision of the quaternary alluvial sequence in the study area where seven stepped river terraces are defined our new chronology of this fluvial sequence suggests that following intervals of aggradation three highest river terraces and equivalent alluvial fans were abandoned at 530 ka 300 ka and 10 ka respectively paleosols at the base of the loess sequences that directly overlie the older terraces and fans suggest that episodes of aggradation occurred late in the glacial cycles the subsequent incision that caused abandonment stabilization of these terraces and fans occurred near to glacial interglacial transitions a relatively high degree of synchrony in major river incision events across the piedmont despite disruption by several discrete structure zones with asychronous tectonic activities supports the dominant control exerted by climatic conditions on alluvial deposition and terrace creation during the quaternary across the north piedmont of the chinese tian shan

cosmogenic dating of fluvial terraces fremont river utah absolute dating of river terraces can yield long term incision rates clarify the role of climate in setting times of aggradation and incision and establish the rates of pedogenic processes while surface exposure dating using cosmogenic 10be and 26al would seem to be an ideal dating method the surfaces are composed of individual clasts each with its own complex history of exposure and burial the stochastic nature of burial depth and hence in nuclide production in these clasts during exhumation and fluvial transport and during post depositional stirring results in great variability in clast nuclide concentrations we present a method for dealing with the problem of pre depositional inheritance of cosmogenic nuclides we generate samples by amalgamating many individual clasts in order to average over their widely different exposure histories depth profiles of such amalgamated samples allow us to constrain the mean inheritance to test for the possible importance of stirring and to estimate the age of the surface working with samples from terraces of the fremont river we demonstrate that samples amalgamated from 30 clasts represent well the mean concentration depth profiles show the expected shifted exponential concentration profile that we attribute to the sum of uniform mean inheritance and depth dependent post depositional nuclide production that the depth dependent parts of the profiles are exponential argues against significant post depositional displacement of clasts within the deposit our technique yields 10be age estimates of 60 9 102 16 and 151 24 ka for the three highest terraces corresponding to isotope stages 4 5d and 6 respectively the mean inheritance is similar from terrace to terrace and would correspond to an error of 30 40 ka if not taken into account the inheritance likely reflects primarily the mean exhumation rates in the headwaters of order 30 m ma

cosmogenic 36cl and 10be ages of quaternary glacial and fluvial deposits of the wind river range wyoming we measured cosmogenic 36 cl in 56 samples from boulders on moraines and fluvial terraces in the vicinity of the wind river range wyoming we also measured 10 be in 10 of the same samples most of the 10 be ages were in good agreement with the 36 cl ages indicating that rock surface erosion rates were very low the oldest moraine investigated the type sacagewea ridge site yielded only a limiting minimum age of 232 ka the oldest moraines in the type bull lake complex also could be constrained only to 130 ka the main sequence of type bull lake moraines yielded age distributions indicating deposition within the intervals 130 to 100 ka and 120 to 100 ka the best estimates are closer to the upper limits of these ranges and associated uncertainties are in the range of 10 to 15 these uncertainties could permit deposition in either marine isotope stage 6 or stage 5d we found no evidence of glacial deposits dating to marine isotope stage 4 both bull lake age moraines from fremont lake on the opposite side of the wind river range and boulders on a fluvial terrace above the wind river gave age distributions very similar to that of the second oldest bull lake advance ca 130 to 100 ka the distribution of boulder ages for pinedale moraines at bull lake indicated deposition between 23 and 16 ka nearly identical to the distribution of 10 be ages previously reported for the type pinedale moraines at fremont lake

reconstruction of mid cenomanian orbitally forced palaeoenvironmental changes based on calcareous dinoflagellate cysts abstract mid cenomanian precession controlled 21 ka chalk marl couplets of the cap blanc nez section anglo paris basin have been studied with focus on the effects which milankovitch cycles have had on the palaeoenvironment in this paper we present micropalaeontological and lithological proxies that enable the reconstruction of both the cycle architecture and the transformation of the orbitally forced signal into the sediment a palaeoecological reconstruction based on changes in calcareous dinoflagellate cysts c dinocysts assemblages was carried out in which two characteristic ecological assemblages of c dinocysts were identified gradual changes in absolute and relative abundance of the cyst species in these assemblages over several couplets depict a bundling pattern which is interpreted to reflect the modulation of the intensity of the precession cycle by the eccentricity cycle 100 ka the stacking pattern in the natural gamma ray signal and the carbonate and toc content has the same period and provides lithological support of the bundling a shelf basin circulation model is proposed to explain the relation between orbitally forced climate change its palaeoenvironmental consequences and the resulting sedimentary cyclicity variations in surface water circulation are reflected in the sediment by the chalk marl couplets the most distinctive couplets ocurring at the base and top of the bundles while the chalks reflect well mixed surface water conditions the marls particularly those at the bundle boundaries can be interpreted as the sedimentary expression of stratified water masses during deposition of these marls reduced oceanic mixing due to low seasonality during strong precession maxima at the eccentricity maxima caused periods of water column stratification that in turn led to nutrient depletion and decreased productivity in the surface water masses

geochemistry of pelagic and hemipelagic carbonates criteria for identifying systems tracts and sea level change the elemental si ti al mn ca zr and carbon stable isotope 13 c geochemistry of a biostratigraphically well constrained cenomanian turonian upper cretaceous chalk succession on the isle of wight southern england shows systematic variation that corresponds closely to a published sequence stratigraphic model for the cenomanian six sequences and their constituent systems tracts defined elsewhere using sedimentological criteria are clearly distinguishable from bulk sediment elemental profiles and an additional upper cenomanian sequence previously identified in spain is recognized in england from these geochemical data the manganese curve is particularly instructive exhibiting minima around sequence boundaries and through lowstands rising values from the transgressive surfaces through transgressive systems tracts maxima around maximum flooding surfaces and declining values through highstands silica and trace element ti zr aluminium ratios peak around transgressive surfaces and maximum flooding surfaces indicating pulses of increased siliciclastic input positive 13 c excursions are confirmed at the base of the middle cenomanian and spanning the cenomanian turonian boundary but are not evident in other sequences variation in mn is related to bulk sedimentation rate and detrital versus biogenic supply which control the mn flux and the efficiency of the diagenetic mn pump that leads to elevated mn contents in sediments manganese peaks do not generally correlate with positive 13 c excursions and although near coincident mn and 13 c peaks occur around the cenomanian turonian boundary the former is not necessarily linked to the oceanic anoxic event occurring at that time the global oceanic mn flux may have been enhanced during the cenomanian as a result of hydrothermal activity during rapid sea floor spreading and oceanic plateau formation elemental chemostratigraphy provides a new tool for developing sequence stratigraphic models in pelagic and hemipelagic carbonate successions

the evolution of a terrace sequence along the yellow river huanghe in hequ shanxi china as inferred from optical dating abstract investigations of river terraces are often seriously hindered by difficulties in dating the formation of terraces using conventional and well established methods such as 14c dating in this paper recently developed optical dating techniques were applied to a yellow river terrace sequence in the hequ area shanxi province china based on field investigations four terraces were identified systematic sampling for optical dating was carried out on these terrace deposits the single aliquot regenerative dose method was used to determine equivalent dose by analyzing the degree of bleaching of fluvial samples maximum and minimum optical ages were obtained for these samples the minimum optical dates obtained are geomorphologically and stratigraphically consistent with each other suggesting that the dates are reliable the formation ages of the four terraces are 3 4 10 20 25 30 and 90 ka respectively on the basis of these optical dates the geomorphological evolution of the terrace sequence was established and the factors affecting the terrace development discussed

geochemical and palaeontological studies of the δ13c anomaly in boreal and north tethyan cenomanian turonian sediments in germany and adjacent areas in two sections of the upper cenomanian and lower turonian of northwest germany boreal realm north sea basin and southeast germany north tethys regensburg area stable isotopes 13c 18o acid soluble manganese carbonate contents and foraminifera were investigated in addition other sections across norttwest and middle europe are reviewed with respect to the detailed stratigraphy of a positive 13c anomaly which was found earlier to be of global importance in the archaeocretacea foraminiferal zone cenomanian turonian transition the 13c excursion was found to be isochronous with the lower limit marked by the extinction of the foraminiferal genus rotalipora the upper limit is found immediately above the entry of the foraminiferal praeglobotruncana helvetica bolli in the macrofossil zonation the base is marked by the occurrence of the belemnite actinocamax plenus blainville in the upper part the metoicoceras geslinianum ammonite zone the upper limit falls in the watinoceras coloradoense ammonite zone just above the entry of the inoceramid genus mytiloides in some cases the 13c excursion refers to a maximum of a more or less well expressed oscillation of the 13c values with minima in the lowermost cenomanian and the upper turonian in other cases 13c is constant with a marked spike at the position of the anomaly the locally different structures of the 13c trends point to incomplete mixing of water masses between basins in northwest europe a manganese anomaly associated with the 13c excursion in the anglo paris basin was found at a higher position in northwest germany and is apparently absent from the german north tethys in both cases high mn contents appear to be associated with a markedly increased terrigenous input expressed by an increase in grainsize of the acid insoluble residue the stratigraphical value of the mn anomaly is therefore limited the palaeoecological conditions are discussed in terms of foraminiferal diversity and the occurrences of macrofossils a shift to higher 18o values coincident with the 13c excursion is possibly a response to cooling of ocean water for which evidence is provided by a low diversity globular planktonic assemblage the correlation of 18o and foraminiferal diversity is suggested to provide a tool for bathymetric interpretations of sections but needs further investigations

on the origin of cenozoic and mesozoic third order eustatic sequences abstract the origin of third order eustatic sequences is reviewed by comparing recent sequence stratigraphic data to the latest best constrained astronomical model middle eocene to holocene icehouse sequences correspond to 1 2 myr obliquity cycles constraints from oxygen isotope records highlight the link between icehouse sea level lowerings sequence boundaries and 1 2 myr obliquity nodes mesozoic greenhouse sequences show some relation with the 2 4 myr eccentricity cycles suggesting that orbital forcing contribute to sea level change we suggest that during the icehouse large ice sheets associated with significant glacioeustatic changes 25 m up to 120 m changes were mainly governed by obliquity forcing during icehouse worlds obliquity forcing was the stongest control on global sea level and depositional sequences additionally during the middle eocene third order sequences were glacioeustatically driven in tune with 1 2 myr obliquity cycle suggesting that the presence of significant ice sheets is earlier than previously supposed i e early eocene in contrast during greenhouse worlds e g ephemeral small to medium sized or no ice sheets 0 25 m glacioeustatic changes the expression of obliquity in the sedimentary record is weak and intermittent instead the eccentricity signature which is the modulator of climatic precession is documented moreover we presume that greenhouse sequences on the myr scale are global and hence cannot be caused by regional tectonism e g intraplate stress or mantle hot blobs instead the eccentricity link implies a weaker glacioeustatic control because thermoeustasy is too small to explain the sea level changes stratigraphically well documented fourth order sequences may be linked to the astronomically stable strongest amplitude 405 kyr eccentricity cycle and possibly to 160 200 kyr obliquity modulation cycles fifth order sequences to the short 100 kyr eccentricity cycles and finally sixth order sequences to the fundamental obliquity 40 kyr and climatic precession 20 kyr cycles these astronomical cycles could be preserved in the sedimentary record and have been demonstrated to control sea level changes accordingly by placing depositional sequence orders into a high resolution temporal framework i e orbital periodicities standardization of eustatic sequence hierarchy may be possible

a critical evaluation of carbon isotope stratigraphy and biostratigraphic implications for late cretaceous global correlation abstract climate variability is driven by a complex interplay of global scale processes and our understanding of them depends on sufficient temporal resolution of the geologic records and their precise inter regional correlation which in most cases cannot be obtained with biostratigraphic methods alone chemostratigraphic correlation based on bulk sediment carbon isotopes is increasingly used to facilitate high resolution correlation over large distances but complications arise from a multitude of possible influences from local differences in biological diagenetic and physico chemical factors on individual 13c records that can mask the global signal to better assess the global versus local contribution in a 13c record it is necessary to compare numerous isotopic records on a global scale as a contribution to this objective this paper reviews bulk sediment 13ccarb records from the late cretaceous in order to identify differences and similarities in secular 13c trends that help establish a global reference 13c record for this period the study presents a global scale comparison of twenty 13c records from sections representing various palaeo latitudes in both hemispheres and different oceanic settings from the boreal tethys western interior indian ocean and pacific ocean and with various diagenetic overprinting the isotopic patterns are correlated based on independent dating with biostratigraphic and paleomagnetic data and reveal good agreement of the major isotope events despite offsets in absolute 13c values and variation in amplitude between the sites these differences reflect the varying local influences e g from depositional settings bottom water age and diagenetic history whereas the concordant patterns in 13c shifts might represent 13c fluctuations in the global seawater dissolved inorganic carbon the latter is modulated by variations in organic matter burial relative to re mineralization in the global scale formation of authigenic carbonate and in partitioning of carbon between organic carbon and carbonate sinks these variations are mainly controlled by changes in climate and eustasy additionally some globally synchronous shifts in the bulk 13ccarb records could result from parallel variation in the contribution of authigenic carbonate to the sediment formation of these cements through biologically mediated early diagenetic processes is related to availability of oxygen and organic material and thus can be globally synchronized by fluctuations in eustasy atmospheric and oceanic oxygen levels or in large scale oceanic circulation because the influence of early diagenetic cements on the bulk 13ccarb signal can but need not be synchronized chemostratigraphy should not be used as a stand alone method for trans continental correlation and especially minor isotopic shifts have to be interpreted with utmost care nevertheless the observed consistency of the 13c correlations confirms global scale applicability of bulk sediment 13c chemostratigraphy for the late cretaceous including sediments that underwent lithification and burial diagenesis such as the sediments from the himalayan and alpine sections limitations arise from increased uncertainties 1 in sediments with very low carbonate content 2 from larger 13c variability in sediments from very shallow marine environments 3 from unrecognized hiatuses or strong changes in sedimentation rates and 4 in sections with short stratigraphic coverage or with few biostratigraphic marker horizons the combination of chemostratigraphy with biostratigraphy and magnetostratigraphy substantially increases the precision and temporal resolution of inter regional correlations and helps overcome problems that arise from differences in biostratigraphic schemes facies or provincialism of key fossils by using an iterative approach to stepwise increase precision of the correlations isochroneity of first and last occurrences of marker species versus chemostratigraphy is tested which helps to improve biostratigraphic zonations to assess zonal boundary ages and to identify useful criteria for defining late cretaceous stage boundaries many of which are still not formally defined the presented correlations indicate a consistent position for most planktic foraminifer zonal boundaries relative to corresponding isotope shifts during the mid cretaceous sea level high whereas diachroneity appears to be more pronounced during the late campanian and maastrichtian global sea level fall a similar pattern is observed for trans continental consistency in the 13c shifts graphic correlation of isotopic shifts magnetostratigraphic and biostratigraphic events among the compared sections is used to detect hiatuses or relative changes sediment accumulation rates and visualizes consistency or offsets of individual biostratigraphic markers relative to chemo and magnetostratigraphy finally an attempt of a global average 13c stack is presented for the turonian through maastrichtian

flood alluviation and entrenchment holocene valley floor development and transformation in the british uplands the morphology sedimentary properties and sequence of recent coarse grained flood deposits and earlier holocene alluvial fills were investigated in thinhope burn a small 12 km2 catchment in the northern pennine uplands northern england twenty one large flood events are recorded by distinctive cobble boulder bars sheets and splays and boulder berms and lobes lichenometric analysis showed that all but one of these floods dated from the mid eighteenth century the timing of large floods between 1766 and 1960 corresponds with major hydroclimatic trends evident in northern britain and northwest europe over this period discharge estimates suggest that flood magnitudes have decreased since the mid eighteenth century channel and flood plain metamorphosis in late roman times and in the eighteenth century following major valley floor entrenchment locally as much as 8 m would appear to have been caused by increased runoff and flood magnitude this was linked to a shift to a wetter climate with flow augmented by iron age and roman woodland clearance and drainage of the catchment in more recent times results from this study suggest that current models of longer term holocene and pleistocene valley floor development in the british uplands may need to be re evaluated

foraminiferal evidence for cenomanian sequence stratigraphy and palaeoceanography of the boulonnais paris basin northern france abstract a middle to upper cenomanian chalk succession in the northwestern european paris basin escalles section was investigated with respect to its sediment composition biofacies and foraminiferal content most planktic foraminifers exhibit a high frequency cyclicity in their distribution pattern and show little relationship to the sequence stratigraphic subdivision a few characteristic species of benthic foraminifers tritaxia pyramidata ataxophragmium compactum dorothia levis and gavelinella cenomana are related in their frequency distribution to certain systems tracts other benthic foraminiferal species are more evenly distributed through the systems tracts cluster analysis and factor analysis allow the separation of three benthic foraminiferal biofacies domains which exhibit a characteristic frequency distribution pattern with respect to sequence stratigraphy biofacies 1 is dominant in the highstand systems tract hst and biofacies 3 is characteristic for the transgressive systems tract tst biofacies 2 is most abundant around the maximum flooding downlap surface mfs and less abundant around the sequence boundary factor analysis shows that most of the variance in the data set is explained by variables related to plankton productivity variables related to changes in water depth and changes in sea level have minor influence on the variance of the whole data set but have some influence on the variance of the benthic foraminiferal data set the different reaction of benthic and planktic foraminifers to relative sea level changes is also recorded in the total number of foraminifers per gram sediment foraminiferal number and in the ratio between planktic and benthic foraminifers p b ratio the foraminiferal number is highest at the mfs and lowest at the sequence boundaries of the investigated depositional sequences the p b ratio has no correlation with the sequence stratigraphic subdivision but shows a high frequency cyclicity the abundance pattern of planktic foraminifers is controlled by changes in the productivity of calcareous plankton the regular variation in calcareous plankton productivity leads to marl low productivity chalk high productivity cycles that form conspicuous couplets in the section the productivity cycles are also recorded in gamma ray logs in the environmental setting of the escalles section in contrast the abundance patterns of benthic foraminifers are more influenced by relative sea level changes changes in water depth and variations in substrate composition the stacking of probably precession controlled development of couplets lead to a distinct 100 000 year cyclicity that does not match very well with published sequence stratigraphic subdivisions

rainfall patterns and the distribution of coals and evaporites in the mesozoic and cenozoic abstract paleoclimatologists have adequately demonstrated over the last twenty years that the distribution of climatically sensitive sediments can be related to present day climatic zones that are roughly parallel to latitude for example coals were deposited at paleolatitudes that correspond to the present day rainy zones at the equator and at about 55 n and 55 s indicating that those zones were present in the past from this it can be concluded that atmospheric circulation has not been radically different from its present configuration despite some apparently great differences in some climatic parameters such as the equator to pole temperature gradient nevertheless the zonal model for predicting the distribution of climatically sensitive sediments is not wholly adequate although general atmospheric circulation may not have been radically altered from its present pattern it would have differed in some respects because the paleogeography was different from the present geography therefore we have constructed what we believe are more realistic maps of the distribution of rainfall through time these maps are based on maps of atmospheric circulation that have been successfully used to predict the distribution of some petroleum source beds and phosphorites we have compared the predicted distribution of rainfall to the distribution of coals and evaporites for each of seven geologic stages the circulation rainfall maps were more successful than the zonal model for predicting the distribution of evaporites and coals for times when the paleogeography would have maximized the development of a monsoonal circulation which most effectively disrupts the general zonal pattern for times when a monsoonal circulation would not have been important the zonal model adequately predicted the distribution of these rocks

pinwarian 1 50 ga volcanism and hydrothermal activity at the eastern margin of the wakeham group grenville province quebec volcanic belts developed along the southeastern continental margin of laurentia between 1 70 and 1 30 ga and subsequently metamorphosed at high grade are today largely concealed among gneiss complexes of the grenville province at the eastern end of the wakeham group and in the la romaine supracrustal belt to the east four 1 50 ga volcanic centres were found among gneissic synvolcanic intrusions typical of the 1 52 1 46 ga pinwarian continental magmatic arc upper amphibolite to granulite facies rhyolitic to dacitic lavas and coarse lapillistone overlie or are intimately associated with arenites typical of the wakeham group garnetite ironstone carbonate rock calc silicate rock and sillimanite bearing nodules veins and gneiss locally preserving lapilli are also present the distribution paragenesis and modes of most of these latter units differ from those of normal metasediments but are diagnostic of metamorphosed exhalites and hydrothermal alteration zones in the la romaine supracrustal belt

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

initiation and evolution of gullies along the shoreline of lake huron over one hundred gullies are deeply incised into algonquin bluff along the eastern shoreline of lake huron aerial photographs between 1930 and 1992 were used to measure temporal changes in area and length of a sample of forty four gullies regression analysis shows that gully area and length have increased in a linear fashion and that gully initiation occurred in the nineteenth century gully initiation coincides with deforestation and settlement of the area surface drainage was redirected into drainage ditches concentrating the flow and enhancing gully erosion natural processes associated with climatic fluctuations are probably insufficient to cause gully initiation but may contribute to ongoing gully expansion

the phosphatic chalks and hardgrounds of boxford and winterbourne berkshire two tectonically controlled facies in the late coniacian to early campanian cretaceous of southern england the litho and biostratigraphy of boxford quarry and winterbourne pit are described in detail boxford quarry displays a section through parallel bedded soft white chalks and hardgrounds which dip at 25 sse overlain by a chalk melange composed of displaced and deformed blocks of hardground surrounded by calcarenitic chalk the succession is of late coniacian to mid santonian age and is interpreted as being the result of intra upper cretaceous tectonic activity winterbourne pit exposes a late santonian to early campanian sequence of poorly phosphatic chalks and hardgrounds containing an abundant macrofauna this deposit is the same age as and in part similar to the classic phosphatic chalks of northern france to which it is compared however it is best explained as resulting from a continuation of the abnormal tectonic and bottom current conditions indicated by the older atypical chalks of the boxford area

evidence for post 1200 ma pre grenvillian supracrustal rocks in the pinware terrane eastern grenville province at battle harbour labradorthis article is one of a series of papers published in this special issue on the theme of geochronology in honour of tom krogh u pb zircon geochronological investigations at battle harbour in the pinware terrane eastern grenville province show that a cross bedded psammitic rock from battle island was deposited after 1200 ma and prior to grenvillian orogenesis as part of a package of psammitic semi pelitic and calc silicate rocks this represents a major finding as no previous data had indicated any supracrustal rock deposition after ca 1500 ma in the interior eastern grenville province the age is comparable to that obtained from supracrustal units of minor extent elsewhere in the interior grenville province indicating that change in crustal level in these regions was modest during grenvillian orogenesis grenvillian metamorphism at amphibolite facies occurred at 1030 4 ma based on evidence from a concordant mafic rock within the supracrustal assemblage that is interpreted to be a sill grenvillian orogenesis at battle harbour was accompanied by abundant pegmatite injection over an extended period as indicated by cross

numerical modeling of fluvial strath terrace formation in response to oscillating climate many river systems in western north america retain a fluvial strath terrace rec ord of discontinuous downcutting into bedrock through the quaternary their importance lies in their use to interpret climatic events in the headwaters and to determine long term incision rates terrace formation has been ascribed to changes in sediment supply and or water discharge produced by late quaternary climatic fluctuations we use a one dimensional channel evolution model to explore whether temporal variations in sediment and water discharge can generate terrace sequences the model includes sediment transport vertical bedrock erosion limited by alluvial cover and lateral valley wall erosion we set limits on our modeling by using data collected from the terraced wind river basin two types of experiments were performed constant period sinusoidal input histories and variable period inputs scaled by the marine 18 o rec ord our simulations indicate that strath terrace formation requires input variability that produces a changing ratio of vertical to lateral erosion rates straths are cut when the channel floor is protected from erosion by sediment and are abandoned and terraces formed when incision can resume following sediment cover thinning high sediment supply promotes wide valley floors that are abandoned as sediment supply decreases in contrast wide valleys are promoted by low effective water discharge and are abandoned as discharge increases widening of the valley floors that become terraces occurs over many thousands of years the transition from valley widening to downcutting and terrace creation occurs in response to subtle input changes affecting local divergence of sediment transport capacity formation of terraces lags by several thousand years the input changes that cause their formation our results suggest that use of terrace ages to set limits on the timing of a specific event must be done with the knowledge that the system can take thousands of years to respond to a perturbation the incision rate calculated in the field from the lowest terrace in these systems will likely be higher than the rate calculated by using older terraces because the most recent fluvial response in the field is commonly downcutting associated with declining sediment input since the last glacial maximum this apparent increase in incision rates is observed in many river systems and should not necessarily be interpreted as a response to an increase in rock uplift rate

late quaternary stream piracy and strath terrace formation along the belle fourche and lower cheyenne rivers south dakota and wyoming abstract stream piracy substantially affected the geomorphic evolution of the missouri river watershed and drainages within including the little missouri cheyenne belle fourche bad and white rivers the ancestral cheyenne river eroded headward in an annular pattern around the eastern and southern black hills and pirated the headwaters of the ancestral bad and white rivers after 660 ka the headwaters of the ancestral little missouri river were pirated by the ancestral belle fourche river a tributary to the cheyenne river that currently drains much of the northern black hills optically stimulated luminescence osl dating techniques were used to estimate the timing of this piracy event at 22 21 ka the geomorphic evolution of the cheyenne and belle fourche rivers is also expressed by regionally recognized strath terraces that include from oldest to youngest the sturgis bear butte and farmingdale terraces radiocarbon and osl dates from fluvial deposits on these terraces indicate incision to the level of the bear butte terrace by 63 ka incision to the level of the farmingdale terrace at 40 ka and incision to the level of the modern channel after 12 9 ka similar dates of terrace incision have been reported for the laramie and wind river ranges hypothesized causes of incision are the onset of colder climate during the middle wisconsinan and the transition to the full glacial climate of the late wisconsinan pinedale glaciation incision during the holocene of the lower cheyenne river is as much as 80 m and is 3 to 4 times the magnitude of incision at 63 ka and 40 ka the magnitude of incision during the holocene might be due to a combined effect of three geomorphic processes acting in concert glacial isostatic rebound in lower reaches 40 m a change from glacial to interglacial climate and adjustments to increased watershed area resulting from piracy of the ancestral headwaters of the little missouri river

environmental history and tephrostratigraphy at carp lake southwestern columbia basin washington usa sediment cores from carp lake provide a pollen record of the last ca 125 000 years that helps disclose vegetational and climatic conditions from the present day to the previous interglaciation 120 133 ka the core also contained 15 tephra layers which were characterised by electron microprobe analysis of volcanic glass shards identified tephra include mount st helens ye 3 69 ka mazama ash bed 7 54 ka mount st helens layer c 35 50 ka an unnamed mount st helens tephra 75 150 ka the tephra equivalent of layer e at pringle falls oregon 218 ka and an andesitic tephra layer similar to that at tulelake california 174 ka ten calibrated radiocarbon ages and the ages of mount st helens ye mazama ash and the unnamed mount st helens tephra were used to develop an age depth model this model was refined by also incorporating the age of marine oxygen isotope stage is boundary 4 5 73 9 ka and the age of is 5e 125 ka the justification for this age model is based on an analysis of the pollen record and lithologic data the pollen record is divided into 11 assemblage zones that describe alternations between periods of montane conifer forest pine forest and steppe the previous interglacial period is 5e supported temperate xerothermic forests of pine and oak and a northward and westward expansion of steppe and juniper woodland compared to their present occurrence the period from 83 to 117 ka contains intervals of pine forest and parkland alternating with pine spruce forest suggesting shifts from cold humid to cool temperate conditions between 73 and 83 ka a forest of oak hemlock douglas fir and fir was present that has no modern analogue it suggests warm wet summers and cool wet winters cool humid conditions during the mid wisconsin interval supported mixed conifer forest with douglas fir and spruce the glacial interval featured cold dry steppe with an expansion of spruce in the late glacial xerothermic communities prevailed in the early holocene when temperate steppe was widespread and the lake dried intermittently the middle holocene was characterised by ponderosa pine forest and the modern vegetation was established in the last 3900 yr when ponderosa pine douglas fir fir and oak were part of the local vegetation 2000 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

beryllium 10 dating of the duration and retreat of the last pinedale glacial sequence accurate terrestrial glacial chronologies are needed for comparison with the marine record to establish the dynamics of global climate change during transitions from glacial to interglacial regimes cosmogenic beryllium 10 measurements in the wind river range indicate that the last glacial maximum marine oxygen isotope stage 2 was achieved there by 21 700 700 beryllium 10 years and lasted 5900 years ages of a sequence of recessional moraines and striated bedrock surfaces show that the initial deglaciation was rapid and that the entire glacial system retreated 33 kilometers to the cirque basin by 12 100 500 beryllium 10 years

proterozoic southward accretion and grenvillian orogenesis in the interior grenville province in eastern labrador evidence from u pb geochronological investigations abstract this study is a fascinating example from the eastern grenville province of unraveling the triple challenges inherent in the geochronological investigation of any multi orogenic region namely inheritance emplacement and subsequent metamorphism the existence of hitherto unknown pre labradorian crust within allochthonous grenvillian terranes is demonstrated formerly unrecognized spatial relations between labradorian and pinwarian crust are outlined and a new perception of mid grenvillian magmatic and metamorphic events is presented the pre labradorian crust has an age range of 1800 1770 ma and consists of calc alkaline plutonic rocks intruding earlier supracrustal assemblages containing archean and early paleoproterozoic inherited zircons evidence is provided from dated enclaves and inheritance in younger rocks that similar aged pre labradorian crust once existed farther south the geochronologically defined geographic extent of early labradorian crust having a 1680 1655 ma age range is expanded this crust is intruded by the mid labradorian mealy mountains intrusive suite for which new results confirm its 1650 1630 ma time of emplacement pinwarian orthogneiss dated between 1513 and 1496 ma and previously unknown in the region is now recognized to be common sufficient data exist to define for the first time a boundary between labradorian and pinwarian orthogneiss cryptic in the field establishing the presence of pinwarian aged crust to the southwest lacking labradorian inheritance except close to the boundary a belt of layered mafic anorthositic and monzogranitic intrusions is situated close to the boundary current data favour a pinwarian age for emplacement of these rocks mid grenvillian plutonism is demonstrated by 1043 ma ages from two k feldspar megacrystic granodiorite bodies they are situated on either flank of a crustal scale northeast trending northeast closing fold the fold which is 40 km wide and at least 160 km long and exposes pinwarian orthogneiss in its core post dates emplacement of the 1043 ma intrusions the fold probably formed at the peak of grenvillian tectonism in the region between 1030 and 1015 ma and certainly before intrusion of weakly deformed granitoid rocks at 992 ma final activity included the emplacement of late to post grenvillian granitoid plutons between 964 and 951 ma a pluton having a 951 ma age is the youngest known in the eastern grenville province cooling and stabilization was completed by ca 940 ma broader implications of the results in conjunction with existing data are that i the northeasternmost part of the eastern grenville province was only peripherally affected by grenvillian orogenesis ii an east northeast offshore extrapolation of the grenville front as a major tectonic feature does not exist iii high grade metamorphic mineral assemblages in the groswater bay and hawke river terranes are pre grenvillian rather than an eastward expression of a grenvillian high pressure belt and iv the north shore of the eastern st lawrence estuary represents across orogen exposure rather than orogen parallel as previously supposed

incision and morphologic evolution of an alluvial channel recovering from hydraulic mining sediment hydraulic gold mining in the sierra nevada california produced such a large volume of sediment from 1853 to 1884 that channels could not carry a substantial proportion of the delivered sediment the lower bear river aggraded as much as 5 m and underwent a major avulsion during the 1870s channel morphology continues to respond to these changes more than 100 years after the cessation of most hydraulic mining textures of mine tailings and older alluvium are contrasted and channel incision and channel shape changes from 1930 to 1985 are documented unlike the yuba and sacramento rivers the lower bear river had not returned to pre mining base levels by 1950 as sediment loads decreased nor were incision rates or morphological change governed by reduced sediment loads below dams built in 1928 and in the mid 1960s channel stability was due to resistance of a cohesive stratum on the channel bed an episode of channel down cutting was instigated by a moderately large flood in december 1955 that pierced the cohesive layer and was sustained through the 1970s by moderate magnitude floods the 1955 flood did not directly erode large volumes of sediment but it destabilized the channel allowing smaller floods to erode the channel at an accelerated rate episodic channel bed incision is contrasted to progressive morphologic changes cross section shape narrowed and deepened steadily from 1930 through the mid 1970s as the channel was superimposed onto cohesive older alluvium progressive deepening set up a positive feedback that ensured the ultimate penetration of the paved bed channel morphologic readjustment from the avulsion thus was both progressive and episodic

carbon and oxygen isotope stratigraphy of the english chalk and italian scaglia and its palaeoclimatic significance a detailed carbon and oxygen isotope stratigraphy has been generated from upper cretaceous coastal chalk sections in southern england east kent culver cliff isle of wight eastbourne and seaford head sussex norfolk coast and the british geological survey bgs trunch borehole norfolk data are also presented from a section through the scaglia facies exposed near gubbio italian apennines wherever possible the sampling interval has been one metre or less both the chalk and scaglia carbon isotopic curves show minor positive excursions in the mid cenomanian mid and high turonian basal coniacian and highest santonian lowest campanian there is a negative excursion high in the campanian in chalk sections that span that interval the well documented cenomanian turonian boundary spike is also well displayed as is a broad positive excursion centred on the upper coniacian a number of these positive excursions correlate with records of organic carbon rich deposition in the atlantic ocean and elsewhere the remarkable similarity in the carbon isotope curves from england and italy enables cross referencing of macrofossil and microfossil zones and pinpoints considerable discrepancy in the relative positions of the turonian coniacian and santonian stages the oxygen isotope values of the various chalk sections although showing different absolute values that are presumably diagenesis dependent show nonetheless a consistent trend the east kent section which is very poorly lithified indicates a warming up to the cenomanian turonian boundary interval then cooling thereafter regional organic carbon burial documented for this period is credited with causing drawdown of co 2 and initiating climatic deterioration inverse greenhouse effect data from other parts of the world are consistent with the hypothesis that the cenomanian turonian temperature optimum was a global phenomenon and that this interval represents a major turning point in the climatic history of the earth

variations of lateral bedrock erosion rates control planation of uplifting folds in the foreland of the tian shan nw china fluvial planation surfaces such as straths commonly serve as recorders of climatic and tectonic changes and are formed by the lateral erosion of rivers a process that remains poorly understood here we present a study of kilometer wide fluvially eroded low relief surfaces on rapidly uplifting folds in the foreland of the southwestern tian shan a combination of field work digital elevation model analysis and dating of fluvial deposits reveals that despite an arid climate and rapid average rock uplift rates of 1 3 mm yr rivers cut extensive 1 2 km wide surfaces with typical height variations of 2 6 kyr the extent of this beveling varies in space and time such that different beveling episodes affect individual structures between times of planation beveled surfaces are abandoned incised and deformed across the folds in a challenge to models that link strath cutting and abandonment primarily to changes in river incision rates we demonstrate that lateral erosion rates of antecedent streams crossing the folds have to vary by more than 1 order of magnitude to explain the creation of beveled platforms in the past and their incision at the present day these variations do not appear to covary with climate variability and might be caused by relatively small much less than an order of magnitude changes in sediment or water fluxes it remains uncertain in which settings variations in lateral bedrock erosion rates predominate over changes in vertical erosion rates therefore when studying fluvial planation and strath terraces variability of both lateral and vertical erosion rates should be considered

episodic late quaternary slopewash deposition as recorded in colluvial aprons southeastern wyoming abstract colluvial aprons found along fluvial terraces of the laramie river and sybille creek in southeastern wyoming are interpreted as late quaternary slopewash deposits each apron studied contained multiple buried soils interpreted to indicate that slopewash activity was episodic and short lived and was followed by relatively long periods of landscape stability and soil development apron deposits were described and subsequently correlated based on their internal stratigraphy and their relative degree of soil development optical dating was used to chronologically constrain periods of slopewash deposition and based on 17 optical ages taken from five aprons aggradation occurred at 65 56 16 0 12 9 11 8 8 1 7 3 5 0 and 1 7 ka several of these events correspond with climatic transitions such as the termination of heinrich event 1 the onset and termination of the younger dryas and the 8 2 ka event suggesting that apron aggradation was driven by changes in climatic regime although either increased aridity or a change in precipitation regime could result in increased erosion of terrace scarps apron aggradation events do not correlate with regional records of aridity instead periods of increased precipitation intensity and or frequency that occur during climatic transitions most likely drive apron aggradation events

the thermal and mechanical development of the wessex basin southern england summary the wessex basin of southern england is an e w trending late palaeozoic to tertiary extensional basin formed on early palaeozoic variscan crust extension occurred over a protracted period from late carboniferous to cretaceous times resulting in the evolution of four main depocentres or sub basins the channel basin winterborne kingston trough vale of pewsey and weald basins each sub basin was controlled fundamentally by the normal reactivation of basement thrust faults and wrench or transfer faults the basement faults represent primary structures associated with the fold and thrust terrain of the devonian carboniferous variscan orogeny subsequent but synchronous reactivation of both thrust and transfer faults tended to compartmentalize the basement leading to discrete depocentres and the production of general rhomboidal shaped sub basins characteristic of pull apart basins in strike slip terrains to investigate the thermo mechanical properties of the lithosphere during basin formation 50 boreholes within the wessex basin were back stripped to isolate the driving tectonic subsidence responsible for basin formation the resultant driving subsidence is characterized by a gentle sometimes negative exponential form with superimposed rapid discrete subsidence events as the geological development of the wessex basin was characterized by polyphase extension and the utilization of crustal detachments the lithospheric model used to determine crustal extension above the detachment and stretching below the detachment included the effects of depth dependent stretching and finite re rifting from the back stripping analysis the basin wide averaged upper crustal extension and lower crustal sub crustal lithospheric stretching were 11 and 5 respectively the distribution of is strongly influenced by the location of growth faults and hence basement thrust fault reactivation suggesting that is reflecting the brittle failure and collapse of hanging wall blocks repeated slip and block collapse resulted in the polyphase extension responsible for renewed basin subsidence in contrast is uniformly distributed across the basin suggestive of a ductile failure of the lower crust and responsible for the low magnitude thermal subsidence strain compatibility between the upper crust and lower crust sub crustal lithosphere is maintained partly within the basin 5 and partly external to the basin as the variscan basal thrust was the fundamental relay in the sense of wernicke responsible for the wessex basin formation we postulate that strain balancing induced a cumulative essentially thermal isostatic uplift of 60 m under the northern margin of the armorican massif

astronomical calibration of the toarcian stage implications for sequence stratigraphy and duration of the early toarcian oae the toarcian oceanic anoxic event t oae of the early jurassic period involves one of the largest perturbations of the carbon cycle in the past 250 ma recorded by a pronounced negative carbon isotope excursion cie numerous studies have focused on potential causes of the t oae and cie but are hampered by an uncertain timescale here we present high resolution 2 kyr magnetic susceptibility ms measurements from the marine marls of the sancerre couy drill core southern paris basin spanning the entire toarcian stage the ms variations document a rich series of sub milankovitch to milankovitch frequencies precession obliquity and eccentricity with the periodic g2 g5 405 kyr and quasi periodic g g 2 4 myr cenozoic mean periodicity eccentricity terms being the most prominent the ms related g g variation reflects third order eustatic sequences and constrains the sequence stratigraphic framework of the toarcian stage in addition ms variations reveal a modulation of g g by g g eccentricity related cycles suggesting that sea level change was the main control on the deposition of the toarcian sancerre marls in tune with the astro climatic frequencies the stable 405 kyr cyclicity constrains a minimum duration of the toarcian stage to 8 3 myr and the well documented cie associated with the t oae to 300 to 500 kyr the 405 kyr ms timescale calibrates the periodicity of the prominent high frequency c cycles that occur in the decreasing part of the cie to 30 to 34 kyr consistent with the toarcian obliquity period predicted for an earth experiencing sustained tidal dissipation

sedimentology geochemistry and origin of phosphatic chalks the upper cretaceous deposits of nw europe santonian lower campanian and lower maastrichtian phosphatic chalks in northern france southern england and belgium are europe s largest sedimentary phosphatc deposits the stratigraphy sediment ology petrography mineralogy and geochemistry of the lithofacies are reviewed and new data presented depositional and diagenetic models for phosphatic chalk deposits are developed using published experimental work and from observations of modern high and low productivity phosphogenic systems it is concluded that phosphatic chalks were deposited in well oxygenated current swept environments phosphatization required a delicate balance to be maintained between moderate organic carbon and carbonate sedimentation rates reduced bulk sediment accumulation rate and an enhanced rate of bioturbation precipitation of carbonate fluorapatite francolite accompanied the bacterially mediated decomposition of organic matter occurring within centimetres of the sediment seawater interface and taking place preferentially within microbial bodies and coatings in addition to the organically derived component pore water phosphate levels were enhanced by phosphate absorbed on ferric oxyhydroxides which was liberated during iron reduction mineralization was probably a dominantly post oxic process but occurred in a thick sediment mixed layer in which marine organic matter was undergoing intense mixed aerobic and anaerobic microbial degradation phosphogenesis occurred predominantly on the ne margins of the anglo paris basin where shallower sea floors and suitable palaeoceanographic conditions prevailed phosphogenic episodes were limited by sea level fluctuations which controlled the effectiveness of the erosional currents that formed and maintained the phosphatic basins and may have stimulated local productivity

the development and seismic expression of synsedimentary features within the chalk of southern england seismic reflection data acquired onshore to the north of bournemouth southern england image clearly a series of prominent concave up troughs or depressions and concave down mounded structures within the white chalk subgroup the chalk lithostratigraphy in the area of study is established from borehole geophysical log correlations these correlations then provide calibration of the seismic reflection data indicating that the structures are concentrated at levels between the lewes nodular chalk formation and tarrant chalk member and towards the base of the portsdown chalk formation onlap downlap and truncation of reflectors are observed with the most dramatic features forming a stacked series directly overlying faulting of jurassic strata similar stratal geometries have been described from comparable levels in the chalk of the north sea and in outcrop in britain and france to many they represent channels formed by submarine erosion and redeposition of the chalk during relative sea level falls linked to tectonics we also interpret a number of apparently incisive structures and slumped infill sequences described here as being of primary syndepositional origin the slumping and the close association of these features with underlying faults and proximity to nearby major crustal faults may be indicative of submarine erosion of the chalk caused by sea level changes linked to syndepositional fault movements however evidence of toplap downlap pairs is also suggestive of more aggradational mounding or laterally migrating surfaces or facies belts the presence of any such structures implies rapid lateral variations in the chalk that would have implications not only for aquifer management and future storage schemes but also during the processing of seismic reflection data and general studies and correlations of the chalk across southern britain

a milankovitch scale for cenomanian time a detailed cyclostratigraphy is present in the rhythmically bedded cenomanian hemipelagic chalks of the northern anglo paris basin which can be correlated over 100 000 km2 individual decimetre scale couplets probably represent the precession cycle modes at 18 or 23 kyr and can be readily grouped in sets averaging five indicative of the short cycle of eccentricity 100 kyr a composite cyclostratigraphy for the basin is presented here and is used as the basis for a cenomanian time scale 20 and 100 kyr units the total duration of the cenomanian thus obtained 4 4 myr compares well with recent radiometric dates of 4 0 4 5 myr the time scale is used to estimate the length of ammonite inoceramid and planktonic foraminiferal zones the rates of formation of authigenic minerals glauconite sedimentation rates and the duration of transgressions and anoxic events

organic facies of middle cretaceous black shales in deep north atlantic the middle cretaceous black shales of the deep north atlantic consist of alternating layers of sediment rich in total organic carbon toc that contains abundant amorphous types of organic matter and sediment poor in toc that contains mostly woody and coaly types of organic matter the amorphous materials are derived mostly from marine organisms in the eastern north atlantic off africa in the caribbean and on the demerara rise off surinam and from higher land plants in the western north atlantic and off europe marine amorphous material is important off africa because this was an area of upwelling and highly productive surface water amorphous marine organic matter was deposited across the entire north atlantic basin in the cenomanian in response to an ocean wide upwell ng event connected with the opening of the equatorial atlantic the difference between the toc rich and background toc layers reflects deposition of the former under reducing conditions which allowed the preservation of labile amorphous materials of marine and terrestrial orgin and of the latter under oxidizing conditions when nearly all that was preserved was refractory organic material

pleistocene incision rates in the western united states calibrated using lava creek b tephra the lava creek b ash bed erupted from the yellowstone caldera ca 0 64 ma provides a datum for measuring long term fluvial incision west of the mississippi river the ash is widely preserved due to its substantial volume broad initial dispersal and the aggrading environment into which the ash fell drainages incised soon after lava creek b deposition isolating the ash from fluvial erosion and preserving it in fill terraces calculated rates of incision since ca 0 60 ma range from 2 to 30 cm k y 1 rates are high in most areas near the rocky mountains and downstream along rivers draining mountainous terrain and are lowest east of the high plains and along the snake river incision rates along many rivers decrease downstream rates of downcutting increased in the late pleistocene along several major rivers indicating that climate change altered sediment budgets regional and temporal data suggest that fluvial incision records increased middle and late pleistocene runoff from the southern rocky mountains rather than epeirogenic uplift but regional rock uplift cannot be excluded as a significant factor

dating fluvial terraces by 230th u on pedogenic carbonate wind river basin wyoming abstract reliable and precise ages of quaternary pedogenic carbonate can be obtained with 230th u dating by thermal ionization mass spectrometry applied to carefully selected milligram size samples datable carbonate can form within a few thousand years of surface stabilization allowing ages of quaternary deposits and surfaces to be closely estimated pedogenic carbonate clast rinds from gravels of glacio fluvial terraces in the wind river basin have median concentrations of 14 ppm u and 0 07 ppm 232th with median 230th 232th 270 making them well suited for 230th u dating horizons as thin as 0 5 mm were sampled from polished slabs to reduce averaging of long 105 yr and sometimes visibly discontinuous depositional histories dense translucent samples with finite 230th u ages preserve within rind stratigraphic order in all cases ages for terraces wr4 167 000 6 400 yr and wr2 55 000 8600 yr indicate a mean incision rate of 0 26 0 05 m per thousand years for the wind river over the past glacial cycle slower than inferred from cosmogenic nuclide dating terrace wr3 which formed penecontemporaneously with the final maximum glacial advance of the penultimate rocky mountain bull lake glaciation has an age of 150 000 8300 yr indicating that it is broadly synchronous with the penultimate global ice volume maximum

fluvial terrace formation in the eastern fenwei basin china during the past 1 2 ma as a combined archive of tectonics and climate change abstract the key to understanding the fluvial response to climate change and surface uplift is a thorough distinguishing between their roles in terrace formation previous studies have tended to attribute the fluvial behavior of deposit incision alternation to climate cyclicity a preliminary explanation is proposed here for terrace formation in the eastern part of the fenwei basin china the observed fluvial terrace sequence was developed by the yellow river deeply downcutting into the emei platform which was uplifted within the eastern fenwei basin and therefore it probably records the tectonic history of this platform on the basis of the magnetostratigraphy and optically stimulated luminescence osl dating a ca 1 2 ma chronology was established for this terrace sequence pedostratigraphic analysis of the loess deposits accumulated on each tread reveals that the terrace deposits are overlain immediately by a paleosol bed suggesting that the abandonment of these terraces due to fluvial incision occurred at the transitions from glacial to interglacial climates the glacial interglacial climate cycle probably has a temporal control on the fluvial behavior of deposit incision alternation even though the yellow river develops in the subsiding fenwei basin the terrace generation may be sporadic and in the form of unusual stacked pattern before the emei platform was uplifted within the eastern fenwei basin the terrace staircases however formed in synchrony with glacial interglacial climate cycles since this platform began to uplift in the late middle pleistocene this result indicates that uplift may be necessary in large terrace staircase genesis it can force the river system to downcut deeply enough during climatic transitions to separate terrace levels adequately favoring the generation and subsequent preservation of the terrace treads the terrace sequence of the yellow river in the eastern fenwei basin therefore can be considered as a combined archive of climate change and local tectonic activity

cenomanian sequence stratigraphy and sea level fluctuations in the tarfaya basin sw morocco we investigated the sequence architecture of two expanded cenomanian successions along a depth transect in the tarfaya basin sw morocco and correlated these successions to published records from northwest europe and india changes in terrigenous material carbonate and organic carbon content carbonate microfacies and foraminiferal biofacies as well as nondepositional and erosional surfaces were used to define depositional sequences and systems tracts we identified two main transgressive cycles in the lower and middle upper cenomanian separated by a major regression at the early middle cenomanian transition sequence boundary ce 3 this regressive interval is characterized by lagoonal low stand deposits indicating an overall sealevel fall of more than 30 m superimposed on the two main transgressive cycles there are 11 third order depositional sequences that correlate to globally recognized sealevel fluctuations and appear to be paced by long eccentricity variations 400 ka period positive carbon isotope excursions in the middle cenomanian 96 0 ma and latest cenomanian 94 0 ma following sealevel lowstands together with planktonic foraminiferal and ammonite datums provide a robust framework for stratigraphic correlation we suggest that the onset of these excursions was triggered by eccentricity minima during periods of low variability in obliquity nodes which probably coincided with glacioeustatic lowstands

warm saline bottom water in the ancient ocean considerable isotopic evidence indicates that oceanic bottom water was much warmer in the geological past a simple convection model driven by multiple turbulent buoyant plumes and observations of present deep water formation have led to the development of a theory for the formation of warm saline bottom water it is suggested that changes in the size and configuration of marginal seas in net evaporation zones due to lithospheric plate motions and eustatic sea level change caused these seas to become sources of warm saline bottom water evidence from the palaeotemperature record and palaeogeography during the late cretaceous is used to reinforce the hypothesis climatic and chemical consequences of the formation of warm saline bottom water are discussed

cyclostratigraphy of the upper cretaceous niobrara formation western interior u s a a coniacian santonian orbital timescale abstract the turonian campanian niobrara formation of the western interior basin u s a is characterized by decimeter scale rhythmic alternations of chalk and marl beds and decameter scale oscillations of chalky and marly facies this study applies recent advances in quantitative cyclostratigraphic analysis to high resolution geophysical records in order to test for an orbital signal we studied records of the entire formation 85 m from two wells in colorado 40 17 n 104 38 w 40 14 n 104 41 w the study utilized high resolution time series of borehole resistivity measured from formation microimager tools fmi advanced spectral techniques indicate the presence of eccentricity obliquity and precession periodicities throughout the study interval deviations of bundling ratios in the lower fort hays member from those predicted by simple eccentricity modulation of precession previously reported in the literature are likely due to the influence of obliquity deconvolution and frequency tracking of orbital components were used to reconstruct sedimentation rates for the niobrara formation and thus develop a high resolution orbital timescale which permits calculations of accumulation rates for sedimentary components and the duration of inclusive stages substages and in some cases biozones the niobrara formation in the studied cores appears to be hiatus free and therefore provides a continuous record of rhythmic deposition for astronomical timescale development the relationship between carbonate content and sedimentation rate throughout the niobrara formation indicates that the decameter scale oscillations of chalk and marl are dominantly driven by variations in siliciclastic flux dilution the duration derived from the orbital timescale between the turonian coniacian and coniacian santonian boundaries is 3 40 0 13 myr which is generally consistent with radiometric estimates for the coniacian the orbitally derived duration of the santonian stage is 2 39 0 15 myr which is very similar to estimates based on curve fitting between radiometric dates development of high resolution orbital chronometers provides excellent time resolution in intervals that lack radiometric time control or where control points are widely spaced

tectonic subsidence flexure and global changes of sea level tectonic models for the evolution of passive continental margins predict that following rifting sediments should progressively onlap basement at the edge of a margin as the lithosphere cools and increases its flexural rigidity with age the pattern of modelled onlap is strikingly similar to that used by vail and colleagues to estimate sea level rise through geological time this similarity suggests that major portions of stratigraphical sequences at margins may have a tectonic rather than eustatic control the patterns of onlap used by vail and colleagues may be widespread however because several widely separated passive margins rifted at similar times but they are unlikely to be worldwide

a late quaternary multiple paleovalley system from the adriatic coastal plain biferno river southern italy abstract a buried paleovalley system up to 2 km wide and exceeding 50 m in relief made up of multiple cross cutting depressions incised into the lower pleistocene bedrock is reported from the central adriatic coastal plain at the mouth of biferno river through a multi proxy approach that included geomorphological stratigraphic sedimentological and paleontological benthic foraminifers ostracods and molluscs investigations the facies architecture of distinct superposed valley fills is reconstructed and their relative chronology established along a transverse profile with extremely high data density average borehole spacing 75 m regional tectonic uplift appears as the major controlling factor of initial middle pleistocene river down cutting and paleovalley formation in contrast glacio eustatic fluctuations drove fluvial system response over the last 120 ky when valley incision was primarily induced by the last glacial base level lowering and climatic forcing a fragmented record of coastal and shallow marine deposits is available for the lower paleovalley fill which is penetrated by a limited borehole dataset multiple erosion phases probably related to the post mis 5e sea level fall are reconstructed from the upper paleovalley fill where a buried fluvial terrace succession is identified a few tens of meters below the ground surface the flat surfaces of two buried fluvial terraces suggest longer term stepped relative sea level fall and are correlated with fluvial incisions that took place possibly at the mis 5 4 transition and at the mis 3 2 transition respectively a laterally extensive gravel body developed on the valley floor during the last glacial maximum during the ensuing latest pleistocene early holocene sea level rise the biferno paleovalley was transformed into an estuary upstream from the maximum shoreline ingression the vertical succession of well drained floodplain poorly drained floodplain and swamp deposits evidences increasing marine influence in the estuary in response to continuing sea level rise the interfluves were drowned around 8 cal ky bp when brackish conditions developed in the study area decreasing marine influence in the uppermost 15 m of the paleovalley fill suggests the onset of the modern delta when the rate of sea level rise was overwhelmed by sediment supply delta progradation took place

late quaternary alluvial sequence and uplift driven incision of the urumqi river in the north front of the tian shan northwestern china abstract this work focuses on the driving force behind the late quaternary river incision and terrace formation of the urumqi river in the north piedmont of the tian shan northwestern china field investigations on geomorphic surfaces terrace deposits and its underlying bedrock identify four most significant features which creates a local applicable framework for subdivision of the late quaternary terrace sequence in the study area nine stepped river terraces are defined and designated as t 1 to t 9 increasing systematically in elevation morphologically the highest t 9 correlates with the oldest alluvial fan f 1 of the urumqi river river incision and the resultant abandonment of fan f 1 are chronologically constrained at ca 550 ka the stratigraphic geometry of the saerqiaoke anticline a structure developing at the fan end of f 1 reveals the existence of growth strata implying continuous growth of this fold when the f 1 alluvial sediments were deposited in the range front of the urumqi river growth of the saerqiaoke anticline has derived tectonically from uplift and basinward thrusting of the tian shan range such thrusting and basinward extension of the range are expected to force rock uplift of the headwater of the urumqi river with respect to the chaiwopu basin to the north and thus river incision occurring at ca 550 ka during the subsequent period several younger terraces have been formed in response to the further uplift of the saerqiaoke anticline as well as climate changes during glacial interglacial transitions in the present study area the total incision during quaternary comes close to 400 m with about 85 contribution likely attributed to rock uplift of the saerqiaoke anticline

strontium isotope stratigraphy in the late cretaceous intercontinentai correlation of the campanian maastrichtian boundary in the boreal chalk of northwestern europe the base of the maastrichtian stage is defined by entry of the belemnite belemnella in the kronsmoor section in northwestern germany which is a standard section for the european chalk 87sr 86sr at the campanian maastrichtian c m boundary is 0 707723 9 10 an isotopic correlation of this boundary to the us western interior for which a highly refined cephalopod biostratigraphy exists suggests that this boundary as defined at kronsmoor occurs within the baculites jenseni zone this correlationagrees with the latest placement based on biostratigraphic criteria on87sr 86srcriteria the boundary at kronsmoor correlates to the english chalk at trunch norfolk uk at a level 3 5 m lower than its position based on biostratigraphic criteria at kronsmoor 87sr 86sr increases in a quasi linear manner through much of the section suggesting that averaged over intervals of 1 myr the gross sedimentation rate and temporal rate of change of 87sr 86sr were approximately constant through the section for us samples zonally plotted values of 87sr 86sr define a quasi linear trend which suggests a moderate uniformity of zonal duration from the baculites compressus zone 73 2 0 7 ma 10 to the baculites grandis zone 70 1 0 7 ma 10

depositional bias and environmental change important factors in sequence stratigraphy abstract differences among depositional systems here called depositional bias strongly influence sequence patterns siliciclastics and shallow water carbonates for instance shed most of their sediment during opposite phases of a sea level cycle lowstand shedding and highstand shedding respectively furthermore the two systems generate their own system specific relief on the sea floor disperse their sediment load along different avenues and differ in the way they are deactivated reefs and carbonate platforms can be drowned whereas siliciclastic deposition can be shut off and renewed at any depth as a consequence of these differences pronounced unconformities drowning unconformities develop where carbonate platforms are terminated and buried by siliciclastics the siliciclastic to carbonate transition tends to be more gradual drowned platforms and drowning unconformities appeared world wide in great abundance in the miocene cretaceous valanginian turonian jurassic toarcian and devonian frasnian famennian examples of drowning unconformities interpreted as sequence boundaries include those of the early cretaceous platforms off new jersey and off morocco the mid cretaceous unconformity in the gulf of mexico and miocene unconformities on top of reefs in the far east the eustatic cycles postulated from sequence stratigraphy are a very unlikely cause for the mass drownings of reefs and platforms either the rates of rise are an order of magnitude lower than the growth potential of platforms or cycle amplitudes are too small or the cycles are too short and subsidence too slow to remove platforms permanently from the photic zone the critical element in the mass drowning seems to be environmental stress that reduces the growth potential of carbonate systems thus drowning unconformities demonstrate the importance of environmental change as a control on sequence development other examples of dominantly environment controlled sequences include slope deposits shaped by shifting currents e g florida and blake plateau and basin fills that were controlled by changes in sediment input related to tectonic alteration of the drainage in the hinterland e g gulf of mexico environmental change must be considered as a third independent factor that competes with eustatic and tectonically driven regional changes of sea level for control of sequences the definition of sequences and sequence boundaries should be broad enough to include the possibility of non sea level controls

marine carbon burial flux and the carbon isotope record of late cretaceous coniacian santonian oceanic anoxic event iii abstract episodes of widespread distribution of organic rich marine facies within relatively narrow stratigraphic intervals have been interpreted as oceanic anoxic events oaes there are a number of such intervals in the upper cretaceous some of which also exhibit significant positive excursions in carbon isotope records as a result a general model of the relationship between enhanced organic carbon burial and positive c isotope shifts has emerged carbon isotope stratigraphy has therefore developed the dual utility of a chronostratigraphic tool and a means to help identify and define intervals of exceptional organic matter burial and preservation however variations in regional carbon isotope records of globally documented events suggest that the relationship between organic carbon burial flux and magnitude of carbon isotope excursion may not be entirely straightforward for example strata of coniacian santonian age have long been recognized for enhanced organic content in many areas but the designation of oceanic anoxic event iii for this interval has been rather equivocal in the literature mostly due to the weak positive 13 c excursion 0 5 yet in some areas organic carbon accumulation rates for coniacian santonian strata are roughly double that of the older oae ii which is marked by a 2 4 shift in 13 c interestingly the burial flux of carbonate which leads to depletion rather than enrichment of the c isotope signal is also significantly elevated during coniacian santonian time in this study the role of variations in organic carbon and carbonate accumulation rates on carbon isotopic expression are explored through application of data on the composition accumulation rate and areal distribution of end member facies types to the development of a global carbon isotopic mass balance model the results are used to explore the hypothesis that net organic carbon burial during oae iii was not accurately represented in the carbon isotopic record these results have important implications for interpretation of c isotope records related to past perturbations of the global carbon cycle

late cretaceous campanian carbon isotope events sea level change and correlation of the tethyan and boreal realms abstract carbon stable isotope stratigraphy provides unique insights into environmental change during the campanian the longest 83 5 71 3 ma but least well understood stage of the late cretaceous a new carbon isotope 13c profile for a 500 m thick campanian basal maastrichtian tethyan pelagic hemipelagic section near el kef northern tunisia is calibrated using data from a biostratigraphically well constrained succession at kalaat senan the general shapes of the tunisian 13c reference curve and published tethyan 13c profiles from elles tunisia and bidart sw france and a boreal curve for the trunch borehole eastern england are remarkably similar in all three areas a positive carbon isotope event of 0 2 13c in the mid campanian dated at 78 7 ma and a negative excursion of 0 4 in the upper campanian at 74 8 ma can be correlated between tunisia and england a positive excursion of 0 3 at 83 7 ma spans the santonian campanian boundary these isotope events enable precise inter regional correlations that are consistent with published nannofossil data review of campanian sea level data from north africa the middle east and northern europe indicates that major shifts in 13c profiles coincide with changes in eustatic sea level relatively stable 13c values in the lower campanian and their long term fall through the upper campanian reflect high and then falling eustatic sea levels and increased carbonate production short term 600 kyr positive excursions record greater organic productivity and or organic matter preservation and decreased carbonate fluxes during periods of rapid sea level rise and the drowning of carbonate platforms excursions were terminated by falling nutrient supply and increased carbonate deposition associated with epicontinental sea expansion and renewed carbonate platform growth during the late transgression and highstand negative excursions are linked principally to reworking of marine and terrestrial organic matter during rapid sea level fall carbon isotope stratigraphy is a powerful tool for correlation which can be used to test the validity of campanian global biostratigraphic frameworks and improve our understanding of the nature and timing of late cretaceous sea level change

secular variation in late cretaceous carbon isotopes a new δ13c carbonate reference curve for the cenomanian campanian 99 6 70 6 ma carbon stable isotope variation through the cenomanian santonian stages is characterized using data for 1769 bulk pelagic carbonate samples collected from seven chalk successions in england the sections show consistent stratigraphic trends and 13c values that provide a basis for highresolution correlation positive and negative 13cexcursions and inflection points on the isotope profiles are used to define 72 isotope events key markers are provided by positive 13c excursions of up to 2 the albian cenomanianboundary event mid cenomanian event i thecenomanian turonian boundary event the bridgewick hitch wood and navigation events of late turonian age and the santonian campanian boundary event isotope events are isochronous within a framework provided by macrofossil datum levels and bentonite horizons an age calibrated composite 13c reference curve and an isotope event stratigraphy are constructed using data from the english chalk the isotope stratigraphy is applied to successions in germany france spain and italy correlation with pelagic sections at gubbio central italy demonstrates general agreement between biostratigraphic and chemostratigraphic criteria in the cenomanian turonian stages confirming established relationships between tethyan planktonic foraminiferal and boreal macrofossil biozonations correlation of the coniacian santonian stages is less clear cut magnetostratigraphic evidence for placing the base of chron 33r near the base of the upper santonian is in good agreement with the carbon isotope correlation but generates significant anomalies regarding the placement of the santonian and campanian stage boundaries with respect to tethyan planktonic foraminiferal and nannofossil zones isotope stratigraphy offers a more reliable criterion for detailed correlation of cenomanian santonian strata than biostratigraphy with the addition of campanian 13c data from one of the english sections a composite cenomanian campanian age calibrated reference curve is presented that can be utilized in future chemostratigraphic studies the cenomanian campanian carbon isotope curve is remarkably similar in shape to supposedly eustatic sea level curves increasing 13c values accompanying sea level rise associated with transgression and falling 13c values characterizing sea level fall and regression the correlation between carbon isotopes and sea level is explained by variations in epicontinental sea area affecting organic matter burial fluxes increasing shallow sea floor area and increased accommodation space accompanying sea level rise allowedmore efficient burial ofmarine organic matter with the preferential removal of 12c from the marine carbon reservoir during sea level fall reduced seafloor area marine erosion of previously deposited sediments and exposure of basin margins led to reduced organiccarbon burial fluxes and oxidation of previously deposited organic matter causing falling 13c values additionally drowning of carbonate platforms during periods of rapid sea level rise may have reduced the global inorganic relative to the organic carbon flux further enhancing 13c values while renewed platform growth during late transgressions and highstands prompted increased carbonate deposition variations in nutrient supply changing rates of oceanic turnover and the sequestration or liberation of methane from gas hydrates may also have played a role in controlling carbon isotope ratios

dating fluvial terraces with and profiles application to the wind river wyoming abstract fluvial strath terraces provide a record of river incision and the timing of climatic perturbations to the fluvial system dating depositional surfaces like terraces that are older than the range of 14 c however is difficult we employ a cosmogenic radionuclide crn profile technique that addresses a major problem of crn dating on such surfaces nuclide inheritance by measuring 10 be and 26 al profiles we constrain the exposure age and the mean crn inheritance for the deposit the crn profile also yields a self check on the assumptions underlying the method we report our attempts to date terraces along the wind river wy like many sequences of western north american fluvial terraces these are inferred to reflect oscillation between glacial and interglacial conditions in the headwaters previous dating of some of these terraces and the associated terraces and glacial deposits makes this a unique location to compare dating methods dates from five sites along the bull lake glacial correlative terrace wr 3 are 118 125 ka which agrees with dates on bull lake age moraines and independent age estimates on the terrace and is consistent with the model of terrace glacial relationship crn inheritance is significant and highly variable requiring it be considered despite the additional sampling complexity assuming all inheritance in wr 3 deposits arises during exhumation in the headwaters we obtain minimum mean rates of exhumation of 13 130 m my for the source rocks alternatively assuming the crns are inherited during clast transport the time of fluvial transport from source to terrace is 10 ka it increases downstream and is lower for sand than cobbles the crn ages for older terraces wr 7 300 ka and wr 15 510 ka are lower by 50 than previous estimates based on tephrochronology the most plausible explanation is eolian deflation of a once thicker loess cover on the terrace surfaces mean thicknesses of loess of 0 5 1 5 m are required to reconcile these concentrations of crn with the previous estimates of age difficulty in dating the older terraces emphasizes that geologic caution independent estimates of age and multiple sample sites should still be part of dating depositional surfaces with crns even when employing the inheritance correction technique

26al and10be dating of late pleistocene and holocene fill terraces a record of fluvial deposition and incision colorado front range cosmogenic 26al 10be and 14c dating of fluvial fill terraces in steep canyons of the colorado front range provides a temporal framework for analysing episodic aggradation and incision results from boulder canyon show that terrace heights above the modern channel grade can be divided into 1 bull lake 100 ka 20 15 m above grade 2 pinedale 32 10 ka 15 4 m above grade and 3 holocene age 15 m above grade record bull lake deposition well preserved terraces of pinedale age suggest that the range of terrace height above grade reflects short term fluctuations in the river profile during periods of rapidly changing stream load and power net river incision apparently occurred during transitions to interglacial periods soil development and stratigraphic position along with limited cosmogenic and 14c dating suggest that 130 ka terraces in boulder canyon correlate with the louviers alluvium and that 32 to 10 ka fills in the canyon correlate with the broadway alluvium on the adjacent high plains late pleistocene incision rates 0 15 m ka 1 along boulder canyon exceed pre late pleistocene incision rates and are higher than middle to late pleistocene incision rates 0 04 m ka 1 on the high plains this study provides an example of how modern geochronologic techniques allow us to understand better rivers that drain glaciated catchments copyright 2002 john wiley sons ltd

dating ductile deformation using u pb geochronology examples from the gilbert river belt grenville province labrador canada the gilbert river belt in the grenville province in southeastern labrador is a distinctive west northwest trending zone of locally intense deformation and voluminous granitoid plutonism up to 30 km in width in an attempt to directly quantify the timing of deformation in ductile shear zones within the belt rocks interpreted as having been intruded synchronously with ongoing deformation were sampled for u pb isotopic analysis three of these samples are 2 m wide granitic veins that have sharp intrusive contacts that truncate ductile deformation fabrics but are themselves deformed at metamorphic conditions similar to their host rocks and are therefore interpreted as having intruded after the initiation of deformation and fabric development but prior to cessation of this deformation the first vein is syntectonic with respect to amphibolite facies deformation and yielded a zircon age of the second vein intruded synchronously with the development of a zone of amphibolite facies straight gneisses wh

synchronous global sequence boundaries sedimentary sequences in marine basins develop in response to relative changes in sea level sequence development in individual basins may be satisfactorily explained by a combination of tectonic subsidence and long period changes in global sea level it has been argued however that apparently synchronous shoreline shifts in widely separated basins require actual fluctuations in the global sea level curve with a period of 1 10 m y we suggest a mechanism for producing synchronous relative sea level changes in widely separated and geologically independent basins without producing changes in all basins and without requiring short period fluctuations in the global sea level curve the same mechanism can produce nonsynchronous but related shoreline shifts in separate bas ns while the rate of global sea level change remains constant