the continental margin of the mesozoic tethys in the western alps abstract most of the structural units of the western alps were derived from the european continental margin of the ligurian ocean a segment of the mesozoic tethys ocean their mesozoic palaeotectonic and stratigraphic evolution bears witness of the following main stages 1 deposition of the triassic platform carbonates essentially prerift but nevertheless bearing the imprint of some extensional movements 2 the liassic middle jurassic rifting corresponds to the creation of a horst and graben system with especially tilted blocks and hence a shoal and basin palaeogeography but without a preliminary doming event 3 the late jurassic early cretaceous opening and spreading of the ligurian ocean began with a general collapse of the continental margin thermal subsidence latest middle jurassic and earliest late jurassic in this paper emphasis is given to the refting derived structures more especially to the major tilted crustal blocks a few tens of kilometres wide which can be either reconstructed or directly observed the rifting stage lasted roughly 40 m y with the alternation of extensional tectonic phases and of relatively quiet periods during the extensional phases movements along fault planes and related episodes of tilting were followed by sudden and rapid episodes of subsidence the latter may be interpreted as resulting from the isostatic and thermal readjustment that follows a phase of stretching of the crust and of the lithosphere the tectonic evolution of the margin continued but decreased during the late jurassic early cretaceous oceanspreading stage tectonic activity resumed in the late cretaceous this probably resulting from the beginning of contraction of both the ocean and the continental margin leading progressively to the continental collision in the tertiary

slump sheets as a record of regional tectonics and paleogeographic changes in south china abstract slumps of various scales are recognized in the late katian late ordovician mixed carbonate and siliciclastic slope successions in the changshan area western zhejiang province south china in order to understand their deformational processes triggering mechanisms paleo slope orientation and geological implications a detailed sedimentological study was carried out on four outcrop sections in the southern changshan the putangkou zhoutang and shikeng sections we recognized three slumping episodes ca 3 5 m 11 m and 73 m in thickness in stratigraphically ascending order and co occurred debris flows at the sanqushan section 11 5 km north of changshan thirteen slump units each being tens of cm to 6 m in thickness are recognized facies analyses and diagenetic characteristics of these slumps and their internal deformation structures suggest that they formed as a result of plastic and brittle deformation and liquefaction and fluidization during slumping the rip up blocks cracks and ruptured beds in the slumps of southern changshan indicate extensional features whereas recumbent and disharmonic folds in the slumps of northern changshan represent compressional features these spatially different features suggest that the slumps may have been generated on a paleo slope dipping generally to the north the case study of slumps and debris flows from the putangkou section indicates a significant mass flow transition from a slumped mass into debris flow deposits autogenic triggering mechanisms of these slumps e g rapid deposition storm wave loading and tidal shear are ruled out by the results of facies analysis instead the slumps might have been triggered by relative sea level changes or tectonically induced progressively steepening of the slope which is likely related to the contemporaneous kwangsian orogeny

coarse carbonate breccias as a result of water wave cyclic loading uppermost jurassic south east basin france in the uppermost jurassic of the central part of the south east basin of france an association of lime mudstone beds calcarenite beds and coarse carbonate breccia bodies form an informal stratigraphical unit called the barre tithonique in the barre tithonique gradual transitions from lime mudstone or calcarenite to breccia show different stages of deformation leading to progressive brecciation of the original lithologies the study of the breccia facies and the observed gradual transitions as a whole document a new early diagenetic process in carbonate environments resulting from water wave and seabed interaction water wave induced brecciation and its abundance in the barre tithonique indicate that sea seabed interaction was significant comparison with modern studies of the mechanics of wave seabed interaction suggests that water depth was less than 200 m it is demonstrated that sedimentary features such as channel like structures previously interpreted as being the result of erosion and deposition of mud flows were in fact produced by wave induced in situ reworking of lime mud without any significant unidirectional flow or gravity induced displacement

soft sediment deformation structures in cambrian siliciclastic and carbonate storm deposits shandong province china differential liquefaction and fluidization triggered by storm wave loading abstract this paper focuses on soft sediment deformation structures ssds in both siliciclastic and carbonate storm deposits of the cambrian mantou and chaomidian formations shandong province china in order to understand their deformation mechanisms and possible triggers siliciclastic ssds e g sand volcanoes and pillows and carbonate ssds e g sedimentary dykes grainstone matrix breccias deformed cross beddings and marlstone matrix breccias occur exclusively in hummocky cross stratified fine sandstone and peloidal grainstone respectively the siliciclastic ssds formed in porous and permeable surface sediment whereas the carbonate ssds formed under shallow burial conditions when early marine cementation prevailed the various deformation structures resulted mainly from differences between siliciclastic and carbonate sediment conditions and resulting deformation mechanisms sand volcanoes formed by upward extrusion of over pressured fluidized sandy sediment whereas sand pillows resulted from upward injection of lower density muddy sediment into overlying liquefied sandy sediment sedimentary dykes and grainstone matrix limestone breccias formed as a result of differential liquefaction and fluidization of heterogeneously cemented carbonate sediment whereas deformed cross beddings and marlstone matrix limestone breccias developed by the thixotropic liquidization and injection of clayey sediment and further disruption of thin peloidal layers sedimentary facies analysis and analysis of the physical processes indicate that the ssds were most likely caused by cyclic loading of storm waves

molar tooth structures of the neoarchean monteville formation transvaal supergroup south africa i constraints on microcrystalline caco3 precipitation molar tooth mt structures are enigmatic contorted millimetre to decimetre long veins and spheroids of microcrystalline calcite that formed during very early diagenesis in precambrian sediments mt structures in the ca 2 6 ga monteville formation are 600 800 myr older than previously reported occurrences and establish that conditions necessary for mt genesis were met locally throughout much of the precambrian in the monteville formation mt structures were formed shallow subtidally extending to depths near storm wave base in shale host sediments intercalated with storm generated carbonate sand lenses they are filled with microcrystalline calcite and rare pyrite microcrystalline calcite identical to that in mt structures fills other pore space including porosity between grains in carbonate sand lenses moldic porosity in sand grains sheet cracks in columnar stromatolites and shallow cracks on sandy bedding planes relationships in the monteville formation demonstrate that microcrystalline caco3 precipitated in fluid filled cracks and pores microcrystalline calcite characteristics as well as the paucity of carbonate mud in host rocks are inconsistent with injection of lime mud as the origin of mt structures locally mt cracks were filled by detrital sediment before or during precipitation precipitation occurred in stages and mt caco3 evolved from granular cores to a rigid mass of cores with overgrowths allowing both plastic and brittle deformation of mt structures as well as reworking of eroded mt structures as rigid clasts and lime mud crystal size distributions and morphology suggest that cores precipitated through nucleation ostwald ripening and size dependent crystal growth whereas overgrowths formed during size independent crystal growth

sedimentary record of seismic events in the eocene green river formation and its implications for regional tectonics on lake evolution bridger basin wyoming abstract outcrops and cores from the top of the lacustrine tipton member and the base of the wilkins peak member 51 5 ma of the eocene green river formation bridger basin in southwestern wyoming yield a wide variety of sedimentary deformation features many of which are laterally extensive for more than 50 km they include various types of folds load structures pinch and swell structures microfaults breccias and sedimentary dikes in most cases deformation is represented by hybrid brittle ductile structures exhibiting lateral variation in deformation style these occur in low energy profundal organic rich carbonate mudstones oil shales trona beds tuffs and profundal to sublittoral silty carbonate deposited in paleolake gosiute the deformation is not specific to the depositional environment because sedimentary units stratigraphically higher with similar facies show no deformation the studied interval lacks any evidence for possible trigger mechanisms intrinsic to the depositional environment such as strong wave action rapid sediment loading evaporite dissolution and collapse or desiccation so endogenic causes are ruled out thus the deformation features are interpreted as seismites and change in deformation style and inferred increase in intensity towards the south suggest that the earthquakes were sourced from the nearby uinta fault system the 22 levels exhibiting seismites recognized in cores indicate earthquakes with minimum magnitudes between 6 and 7 minimum epicentral intensity mcs of 9 and varying recurrence intervals in the seismic history of the uinta fault system with a mean apparent recurrence period of 8 1 k y using average sedimentation rates and dated tuffs in detail however there are two noticeably active periods followed by relative quiescence the stratigraphic position of these deformed intervals also marks the transition between two distinct stages in lake evolution from the balanced filled tipton member to the overlying underfilled wilkins peak member thus these seismites are evidence for regional scale changes in lacustrine sedimentation of eocene lake gosiute in response to syndepositional tectonic activity analysis of synsedimentary deformation features is therefore a promising yet under utilized tool to trace the tectonic evolution of lacustrine deposits of the green river formation and other tectonically active marine and non marine basins

storm deposits and storm generated coarse carbonate breccias on a pelagic outer shelf south east basin france uppermost jurassic limestones of the south east basin france are organized into four facies associations that were deposited in four distinct zones 1 peritidal lagoonal limestones 2 bioclastic and reefal limestones 3 pelagic lime mudstones 4 lime mudstones calcarenites coarse breccias calcarenite deposits of zone 4 exhibit sedimentary structures that are diagnostic of deposition under wave induced combined flow in subzone 4a both vertical and lateral transitions from lime mudstone calcarenite to breccia indicate in situ brecciation under wave cyclic loading breccias were produced by heterogeneous liquefaction of material previously deposited on the sea floor deposits in subzone 4a record relatively long periods 400 kyr of sedimentation below wave base alternating with periods of deposition under wave induced currents and periods of in situ deformation in this zone storm waves were attenuated by wave sediment interaction and wave energy was absorbed by the deformation of soft sediment with reference to present day wave attenuation water depths in this zone ranged between 50 and 80 m landwards of the attenuation zone in zone 3 storm waves were reduced to fair weather wave heights storm wave base was not horizontal and became shallower landwards as a consequence water depth and wave energy were not linearly related on a small area of the seaward edge of subzone 4a cobbles were removed by traction currents and redeposited in subzone 4b there they formed a 100 m thick wedge which prograded over 3 km and was built up by the stacking of 5 to 20 m thick cross stratified sets of coarse breccia this wedge records the transport and redeposition of cobbles by a high velocity unidirectional component of a combined flow the increase in flow velocity in a restricted area is proposed to result from flow concentration in a channel like structure of the downwelling in the gulf formed by the basin in more distal subzone 4c the hydrodynamic effect of wave induced currents was quasi permanent and brecciation by wave sediment interaction occurred only episodically this indicates that seawards of the attenuation zone hydrodynamic storm wave base was deeper than mechanical storm wave base uppermost jurassic carbonates were deposited and soft sediment deformed on a hurricane dominated ramp of very gentle slope and characterized by a zone of storm wave degeneration located seawards of a zone of sedimentation below wave base

measurements of wave attenuation due to a soft bottom the swamp experiment the sea wave attenuation measurement program swamp was designed to provide measurements of the attenuation of waves as they travel from deep water to relatively shallow water off the mississippi delta the soft bottom was suspected of causing strong attenuation in the area this effect has now been measured a wave staff and electromagnetic current meter were used to estimate directional wave spectra at the cognac platform in 312 m 1025 feet of water and at platform vv in south pass block 27 in 19 m 63 feet of water in addition measurements of vertical bottom motion were made at platform vv seven storm periods from sepember 1979 to february 1981 were studied the directional spectral comparisons showed that the theoretically calculated refraction and shoaling can explain the changes in the spectra when the wave height is low however as the wave height increases a nonlinear attenuation mechanism becomes increasingly strong the attenuation is a strong function of deep water wave height and a weak function of wave frequency the bottom motion measurements showed that the bottom moved downward with small amplitude under wave crests

influence of p t conditions on the style of normal fault initiation and growth in limestones from the se basin france abstract a conventional and cathodoluminescence microscopy stable isotope and fluid inclusion study was undertaken on normal fault zones exposed on vertical cliffs in tithonian limestones of the french se basin the aim was to determine the chronology of deformation and factors controlling normal fault nucleation and evolution in carbonate rocks two models are proposed for fault zone development depending on the depths at which deformation takes place at depths of 3 3 5 km incipient shear zones consist of en echelon veins filled by fibrous calcite and confined to limestone layers bounded by thin clayey interlayers as deformation increases and the layers rotate slip occurs along the clay rich interlayers a system of pull aparts forms allowing displacement to increase pull aparts are commonly filled by fibrous calcite crystals at depths of 1 5 2 km faults initiate as small slip surfaces early nucleating in some limestone layers their propagation is impeded by thin clayey interlayers which enhances fracturing and bending of the limestone layers as slip surfaces propagate they overlap and can connect with one another by means of dilational jogs that are filled by large euhedral calcite crystals in the first case pull aparts are coupled with the solution seams that reuse preexisting rotated clay rich interlayers as they formed they progressively filled and the fluid circulation remained local in the second case longer slip planes connect by dilation jogs that are not immediately filled which enhance the circulation of fluids which show chemical variations it appears that p t conditions strongly control the relative role of brittle processes and solution crystallization mechanisms and the style of the early stages of normal faulting in the same limestone rocks

episodic sedimentation on an early silurian storm dominated carbonate ramp becscie and merrimack formations anticosti island canada the 150 160 m thick lowermost silurian rhuddanian becscie and merrimack formations of anticosti island canada represent continuous deposition on a shallow open marine carbonate ramp several rock types are identified a laminated and homogenous mudstone b laminated and homogenous packstone c argillaceous mudstone and packstone d calcareous shale e laminated calcisiltite f medium to fine grained grainstone and g bio intraclastic rudstone these rock types are arranged into five distinct lithofacies lf1 calcareous mudstone shale lf2 laminated homogenous mudstone lf3 calcareous grainstone shale lf4 laminated mudstone grainstone and lf5 laminated calcisiltite grainstone the sequence reflects deposition on a low energy muddy carbonate to argillaceous ramp subject to short lived episodic high energy storms these events produced fining upwards storm units 5 80 cm thick or tempestites consisting of a sharp scoured base overlain by intra bioclastic rudstone grading upwards into medium grained grainstone finely laminated calcisiltite and mudstone or shale these are interbedded with low energy fairweather mudstones and calcareous shales deposition progressed from a carbonate mud dominated ramp in the becscie formation to an argillaceous mud dominated ramp in the merrimack formation lateral tempestite proximality trends and lithofacies distribution indicate that the anticosti basin deepened to the south east into the iapetus ocean and shallowed towards a sw ne orientated shoreline to the north west vertical tempestite proximality trends and lithofacies changes identify third order eustatic sea level changes after an initial deepening at the base of the formation a shallowing deepening event dominated the sequence several higher order fluctuations defined by lithofacies and tempestite proximality trends are superimposed on these changes the fluctuations identified with the aid of tempestite proximality trends are of an order of magnitude higher than those identified by either lithofacies or palaeontological methods

the ardeche palaeomargin of the south east basin of france mesozoic evolution of a part of the tethyan continental margin geologie profonde de la france programme abstract this paper incorporates the results of seismic and gravity investigations borehole data and studies of sedimentology biostratigraphy sequence stratigraphy and structural geology carried out in the framework of the deep geology of france programme the main purpose of the paper is to define the structure and to reconstruct the evolution of the ardeche palaeomargin of the south east basin of france from the stephanian to the end of the mesozoic the acquisition and processing of three seismic reflection profiles the drilling of two scientific boreholes ba1 and mm1 and subsequent structural modelling with the use of cross section balancing techniques applied to both the depth migrated seismic and geological sections provide new geometrical constraints which lead to the following hypothesis of the geodynamic evolution of the margin 1 1 late palaeozoic extension with the development of high angle basement faults asymmetrical permian half grabens pre extension sedimentary cover 2 2 during the middle triassic a pre rift stage with the creation of small fault blocks and in the late triassic the formation of an e w flexure 3 3 end lias early jurassic to middle jurassic formation of a major detachment in the carboniferous coal measures leading to complete decoupling of the mesozoic sedimentary cover from the basement this episode of extension coeval with the opening of tethys can be related to a phase of episodic rifting between the late sinemurian and the late bathonian i e during 30 ma 4 4 late jurassic to early cretaceous thermal subsidence with regional downwarping of the basement towards the east 5 5 after the late cretaceous the period of maximum burial pyrenean and alpine deformation in the south and east causing progressive uplift of the ardeche palaeomargin as much as two kilometres of mesozoic deposits subsequently being eroded from the section during the tertiary

timing and seismic origin of nixu rock avalanche in southern tibet and its implications on nimu active fault abstract in tectonically active mountain areas the identification dating and determination of origin of large landslides are of special importance in recognizing the seismicity and earthquake magnitude of regional faults reconstructing the prehistoric landscape evolution and estimating the seismic hazards based on field survey high resolution satellite image interpretation and 14c dating of substrate this paper studied the large long runout nixu rock avalanche the nxra in the angang graben of the southern tibetan plateau the study revealed that 1 the deep seated nixu rock avalanche straddles the nimu active normal fault and spreads onto the angang basin with a deposit volume of 47 mm3 and a travelling distance of 4960 m 2 humus samples immediately under the deposit of rock avalanche along the natural river erosion section suggest a 14c age of 820 30 bp 1220 30 calad for the nxra event the age well matches the 1264 ce chubushi earthquake recorded in tibetan documents 3 23 adjacent landslides have been recognized with co seismic distribution features such as clustering and distance effect ridge end amplification effect and slope aspect effect sand liquefaction and peat deformation were discovered in the substrate beneath and at a distance of 300 m away from the avalanche deposit 4 this information indicate that the nxra was triggered most likely by the 1264 chubushi earthquake with a magnitude of mw 7 0 7 2 estimated by empirical equations of keefer 1994 and wells coppersmith 1994 it is suggested that the nimu fault of the yadong gulu rift may be more hazardous than the northern and southern part due to its high susceptibility of large co seismic landslides

initial argon in amphiboles from the chugach mountains southern alaska the 40ar 39ar step heating analyses of three hornblende samples from the border ranges ultramafic mafic assemblage yield plateaus with slightly discordant dates of 180 2 0 7 177 5 0 7 and 181 1 1 7 ma a plot of the plateau temperature data for all three hornblende samples on an 36ar 40ar versus 39ar 40ar diagram reveals the presence of a non atmospheric initial argon component with an apparent 40ar 36ar of 379 16 and yields a date of 175 7 1 0 ma a potassium poor hastingsite from the same complex yields a complicated spectra with dates as high as 900 ma these older dates reflect contamination by argon with an isotopic composition similar to that found for the initial argon in the hornblende and do not record a paleozoic component in the age of the border ranges ultramafic mafic complex hornblende from an eocene tonalite sill in the nearby chugach metamorphic complex also contains an initial argon component 40ar 36ar 314 4 the composition of this initial argon is presumably dictated by the argon isotopic composition of the host rock fluid at the time of amphibole fluid equilibration approximately 2 10 7 cm3 g of this initial argon is sufficient to perturb the 40ar 39ark model plateau dates although 40ar 39ar stepwise degassing at low temperatures removes an additional atmospheric argon component the initial argon in these samples is released at a rate that closely coincides with the degassing rate of radiogenic argon from the amphibole and only through application of the 36ar 40ar versus 39ar 40ar diagram can this nonatmospheric argon component be detected for the border ranges ultramafic mafic and chugach metamorphic complexes the range in k ar amphibole dates could be interpreted as recording differential uplift and an extended duration of intrusive activity respectively the results suggest however that nonatmospheric initial argon contributes significantly to the observed age variations

origin of the vertically orientated clasts in brecciated shallow marine limestones of the chaomidian formation furongian shandong province china numerous shallow marine limestone layers of the furongian late cambrian chaomidian formation in the jiulongshan section shandong province china are breccias some of these breccias show abundant vertical to subvertical clasts typically these clasts end abruptly at the contact plane with the overlying deposit either abutting the overlying sedimentary bed or via an erosional plane that truncates the clasts a few exposures show concentrations of clasts that must have been uplifted to the extent that they transgressed the then sedimentary surface or possibly penetrated the overlying sediment which in this case consists of muds or marls the clasts tend to show clusters with respect to the enclosing fabric all clasts are parallel to each other in a specific cluster while the various clusters may show different orientations of the clasts it is deduced that both the exceptional position and the exceptional orientation of the clasts must be ascribed to the upward movement of the clasts under the influence of pore water escaping under high pressure through fluidized sediment

detailed anatomy of a deep water carbonate breccia lobe upper jurassic french subalpine basin abstract detailed correlations across tithonian carbonate breccia deposits in the drome river area northern part of the so called vocontian through suggest the depositional system was that of an elongated deep water lobe up to 70 km long and 20 to 30 km wide for a thickness reaching 200 m the drome lobe as it is now called is mainly made of slope to basinal mudstones breccias with minor platform components interpreted as debris flow and mud flow deposits associated with slump deposits it is basically a base of slope system whose elongated depositional area implies it was a point sourced gravity system thus perhaps connected to a small canyon cut onto the western slope of the basin but the mostly mudstone material of the breccias also suggests that the walls of this inferred canyon were the main supplier of the lobe not the carbonate platform proper the updip part of the lobe has a complex internal geometry as the deposition of breccia bed packages is interrupted by scourings locally 50 m deep indicating maybe a canyon mouth environment the middle part of the lobe is dominated by pure vertical aggradation of breccia beds with minor intervening erosion in the downdip part of the system a morphological compensation mechanism occurs as breccia beds tend to spread laterally a huge slump carrying large mudstone olistoliths ends the breccia deposition at the beginning of the berriasian this megaslump deposit was mostly emplaced on the right side of the breccia lobe supporting the idea of a depositional relief our observations thus show that previous interpretations as a submarine canyon infilling or as shallow water breccias formed in situ by cyclic loading under attenuating hurricane waves approaching the platform are not consistent with our observations the internal geometry of the system studied brings new data about a poorly studied kind of turbidite systems that of deep water carbonate breccias

geochemistry of a chert breccia a complex history of diagenetic interactions between a siliceous sediment seawater and fresh water is revealed by intraformational chert breccias chert breccias were formed in the campanian mishash formation in israel by practically contemporaneous fracturing of lithified cherty layers followed by silicification and lithification of the matrix pairs of fragments and matrix were compared with respect to their chemical ca sr na k mg li b so4 ba and isotopic 18 o d 11 b composition 11 b was analyzed by ion probe and includes a profile across a fragment matrix contact the epicontinental cherts of the mishash fm are enriched by a factor of 10 to 50 in all elements other than o and si in comparison with deep sea cherts all results are compatible with the proposition that the lithification of the matrix occurred in contact with fresh water as opposed to seawater in which the fragments as well as most of the mishash sediments were formed the strongest evidence for this difference is in the higher concentration of b in the fragments 27 70 ppm vs 11 21ppm in the matrix and higher 18 o 29 to 35 vs 21 to 33 d is a less efficient discriminator though compatible with fresher water diagenesis of the matrix 115 to 76 for hydrogen in the chert of the fragments compared to 141 to 85 for the matrix 11 b in the matrix shows some of the lowest values recorded in sediments 11 b 33 but varies strongly suggesting that the source of boron in the matrix is a mixture of a freshwater and a marine component both seawater and the freshwater that has equilibrated with the cherts underwent varying degrees of evaporation ca sr and so4 are carried by apatite trapped as detritus in the matrix the concentration of lithium in the matrix is high 11 16 ppm whereas in the adjacent fragments it is mostly only within 1 2 ppm li probably enters the matrix from the interstitial solution during the opal 3 quartz transformation the second prolonged transformation takes place in a freshwater flow through open system this allows a much larger mass of li to be scavenged by the transforming silica despite its low concentration in freshwater copyright 2005 elsevier ltd

estimates of large magnitude late cambrian earthquakes from seismogenic soft sediment deformation structures central rocky mountains a variety of unusual early post depositional deformation structures exist in grainstone and flat pebble conglomerate beds of upper cambrian strata western colorado including slide scarps thrusted beds irregular blocks and internally deformed beds thrusted beds up to tens of centimetres thick record thrust movement of a part of a bed onto itself along a moderate to steeply inclined 15 to 40 ramp locally producing hanging wall lenses with fault bend geometries thrust plane orientations are widely distributed and in some cases nearly oppositely oriented in close proximity indicating that they did not form as failures acted upon by gravity forces irregular bedded to internally deformed blocks are isolated on generally flat upper bedding surfaces these features represent parts of beds that detached moved up onto and some distances across the laterally adjacent undisturbed bed surfaces deformation of thin intervals of mud on the ocean floor by moving blocks rules out the possibility of storm induced deformation because the mud was not eroded by high shear stresses that would accompany the extremely large forces required to produce and move the blocks finally internally deformed beds are characterized by large blocks fitted fabrics of highly irregular fragments and contorted lamination which represent heterogeneous deformation such as brecciation and liquefaction the deformation structures were produced by earthquakes linked to the reactivation of mesoproterozoic crustal scale shear zones in the central rockies during the late cambrian analysis of the deformation structures indicates very large body forces and calculated earthquake generated ground motion velocities of ca 1 6 m sec 1 these correspond to moment magnitudes of ca 7 0 or more and a mercalli intensity of x these are the only known magnitude estimates of phanerozoic other than quaternary large intensity earthquakes for the rocky mountain region and they are as large as or larger than previous estimates of proterozoic earthquakes along these major shear zones of the central rockies

soft sediment deformation structures in late albian to cenomanian deposits sao luis basin northern brazil evidence for palaeoseismicity soft sediment deformation structures from the alc ntara formation late albian to cenomanian sao luis basin northern brazil consist of 1 contorted structures which include convolute folds ball and pillow structures concave up paths with consolidation lamination recumbently folded cross stratification and irregular convolute stratification that grades into massive beds 2 intruded structures which include pillars dykes cusps and subsidence lobes and 3 brittle structures represented by fractures and faults displaying planes with a delicate ragged morphology and sharp peaks these structures result from a complex combination of processes mostly including reverse density gradients fluidization and liquefaction reverse density gradients promoted by differential liquefaction associated with different degrees of sediment compaction led to the genesis of convolute folds more intense deformation promoted the development of ball and pillow structures subsidence lobes and sand rolls which are attributed to denser and thus more compacted less liquefied portions that sank down into less dense more liquefied sediments irregular convolute stratification that grades into massive beds would have formed at periods of maximum deformation the subsidence of beds was accompanied by lateral current drag and fluid escape from water saturated sands in addition the fractures and faults record brittle deformation penecontemporaneous with sediment deposition all these mechanisms were triggered by a seismic agent as suggested by a combination of criteria including 1 the position of the study area at the edge of a major strike slip fault zone that was reactivated several times from the albian to the holocene 2 a relative increase in the degree of deformation in sites located closer to the fault zone 3 continuity of the deformed beds over large distances several kilometres 4 restriction of soft sediment deformation structures to single stratigraphic intervals bounded by entirely undeformed strata 5 recurrence through time and 6 similarities to many other earthquake induced deformational structures

the base of slope carbonate breccia system of ceuse tithonian s e france occurrence of progradational stratification in the head plug of coarse granular flow deposits abstract once interpreted as a deep water canyon infilling and later as some kind of tempestite deposit the tithonian breccias of ceuse are here reinterpreted as a small lobe deposit emplaced at the mouth of a gully cutting into a slope between two deep water terraces in the eastern part of the subalpine basin the breccias belong to two basic categories mostly grain supported and occasionally mud supported spectacular large scale oblique geometries apparent lateral accretions are observed in the grain supported breccias both within the infilling of the lower feeder channel and in the updip part of the lobe detailed analyses of these geometries show that they correspond to progradational features both laterally and in a more distal position on the lobe these progradational bodies evolve into a pile of unsorted massive breccias sometimes showing a crude even stratification we thus propose a depositional model for the grain supported breccias linking the two facies as follows the deposition of a gravity flow begins at the toe of slope mouth of the tributary gully by a progradational head which evolves downslope and laterally to a splay of massive or crudely stratified breccia the internal oblique stratification flattens distally over a distance of a few kilometres elementary beds pile up in morphological compensation to build the 100 m thick breccia body of ceuse because the breccias are derived from the gravity reworking of deep water nodular carbonates there is no sand sized material available in the depositional system or only a little probably produced through an erosive clast grain diminution process during transport this explains why the thick breccia beds pass quickly eastward to thin bedded mud turbidites

development patterns of an isolated oligo mesophotic carbonate buildup early miocene yadana field offshore myanmar abstract the development history of an oligo mesophotic early miocene isolated carbonate system 160 m in thickness forming the uppermost part of the oligo miocene yadana buildup northern andaman sea has been evidenced from the integration of sedimentological core studies from 4 wells cumulated core length 343 m well correlations seismic interpretation and analysis of the ecological requirements of the main skeletal components three types of carbonate factory operated on the top of the platform depending on water depth turbidity and nutrient level 1 a scleractinian factory developing under mesophotic conditions during periods of high particulate organic matter supplies 2 an echinodermal factory occupying dysphotic to aphotic area of the platform coevally with the scleractinian factory 3 a large benthic foraminiferal coralline algal factories prevailing under oligo mesophotic and oligo mesotrophic conditions the limited lateral changes in facies between wells together with the seismic expression of the yadana buildup suggest deposition on a flat topped shelf carbonate production and accumulation on the yadana platform was mainly controlled by light penetration nutrient content and hydrodynamic conditions scleractinian rich facies resulted from transport of coral pieces derived from mesophotic environments mounds and deposited in deeper low light mud rich environments in which lived abundant communities of suspension feeders such as ophiuroids changes in monsoonal intensity terrestrial runoff from the irrawaddy river upwelling currents and internal waves activity during the early miocene are likely responsible for significant variations in water turbidity and nutrient concentration in the andaman sea thus promoting the development of an oligo mesophotic incipiently drowned platform

genesis of limestone megabreccias and their significance in carbonate sequence stratigraphic models a review a re appraisal of the factors controlling the deposition of carbonate megabreccias and their sequence stratigraphic significance is presented based on an examination of the mechanisms for instigating carbonate seafloor slope instability and a review of the depositional settings of these distinctive rock deposits limestone megabreccias have classically been interpreted as formed by the catastrophic collapse of high angle metastable oversteepened carbonate platform margins however a review of megabreccia occurrence shows that these deposits formed on a broad range of carbonate slope angles and that metastable oversteepened slopes are not necessary for their genesis a re evaluation constructed from first principles of mechanisms promoting submarine gravitational instability indicates that pore water overpressure of confined aquifer horizons beneath the seafloor rather than slope oversteepening is the critical control on megabreccia deposition catastrophic release of overpressure may initiate gravitational instability of previously kinematically stable slopes the relative importance of endogenic processes intrinsically linked to the depositional system and exogenic processes operating independently in generating megabreccias is assessed two particularly important mechanisms in generating megabreccias are endogenic processes causing overpressure at discrete hydrologically confined horizons beneath the seafloor during relative sea level falls and increases in stress as pore fluid drains from the sediment when the platform top becomes subaerially exposed during relative lowstands of sea level the increased likelihood of megabreccia genesis during relative sea level falls is supported by an empirical trend identified from a review of the stratigraphic distribution of documented megabreccias exogenic causes of gravitational instability with inherently random periodicity especially seismicity may account for the small number of documented megabreccias that do not conform to this underlying trend the proposed endogenic pattern favouring megabreccia deposition during relative sea level falls is important in a sequence stratigraphic context megabreccia deposits may build volumetrically significant toe of slope wedges and aprons during relative lowstands of sea level partially compensating for the decrease loss in the supply of fresh granular sediment as the platform top carbonate factory contracts lowstand wedges and aprons in carbonate systems therefore generally differ in composition from equivalent highstand deposits in being composed not of calciturbidite deposits but of megabreccias cannibalized from the upper slope

geometry and petrophysical parameters of a calcarenitic turbidite lobe barremian aptian pas de la cluse france abstract several bioclastic resedimentation systems late barremian to early aptian in age outcrop in southeastern france the upslope portion of a calcarenitic turbidite lobe outcrops as a cliff 2 3 km wide and up to 45 m high oriented roughly perpendicular to the direction of palaeoflow it has been studied through 31 sections the studied body is point sourced and corresponds to a channel lobe transition located at the toe of slope of a urgonian carbonate platform on the western edge of the vocontian trough french subalpine chains the internal geometry of the lobe is the result of repeated erosion and filling of channels creating well defined stacked units filling phases result in lobe shaped morphology units evolve from base to top in an ordered way first the sediments exported from the platform and deposited in the basin are represented by decimetre thick sheet like and fine grained bouma a e and ab e sequences in this first unit erosion is limited and represented by shallow and symmetrical channels this initial phase of deposition corresponds to the formation of a lobe with a positive morphology the next phase of system development is more erosional and this is dominated by migrating sinuous channels several metres deep filled with coarse grained poorly graded turbidites these channels are first filled through lateral accretion and then sediment spills over to create a sub lobe the mixture of channel and lobe features could be considered as a carbonate equivalent of the channel levee system of siliciclastic deposits finally the system ends with the deposition of a flat based unit this unit extends for more than 2 km and is composed of the southwards lateral accretion of hundreds of metres wide sequences each composed of a debris flow deposit capped by a coarse grained calcarenite bed these sigmoidal bodies could be the ultimate forms of a spreading out phenomenon of the lobe overall the pas de la cluse system is a coarsening upward body as the grain size is related to the nature of the material this coarsening upward implies either an evolution in the nature of the carbonate material produced on the platform from grainy to bioconstructed a displacement of the source sediment from inner platform to margin or a displacement of the channel head through time from distal to proximal the upward evolution from classic turbidites to debris flow deposits can be explained either by the way the platform facies evolved with time in a depositional sequence or through retrogressive erosion by successive slope failures that cut deeper and deeper into the platform slope although its present day porosity is low the size of the system and the fact that it is encased in marls make it an interesting outcrop analogue for hydrocarbon exploration