Geology and correlation of the Mersin mélanges, southern Turkey

Our paper aims to give a thorough description of the infra-ophiolitic melanges associated with the Mersin ophiolite. We propose new regional correlations of the Mersin melanges with other melange-like units or similar series, located both in southern Turkey and adjacent regions. The palaeotectonic implications of the correlations are also discussed. The main results may be summarized as follows: the infra-ophiolitic melange is subdivided into two units, the Upper Cretaceous Sorgun ophiolitic melange and the Ladinian-Carnian Hacialani melange. The Mersin melanges, together with the Antalya and Mamonia domains, are represented by a series of exotic units now found south of the main Taurus range, and are characteristic of the South-Taurides Exotic Units. These melanges clearly show the mixed origin of the different blocks and broken formations. Some components have a Palaeotethyan origin and are characterized by Pennsylvanian and Lower to Middle Permian pelagic and slope deposits. These Palaeotethyan remnants, found exclusively in the Hacialani melange, were reworked as major olistostromes in the Neotethys basin during the Eo-Cimmerian orogenic event. Neotethyan elements are represented by Middle Triassic seamounts and by broken formations containing typical Neotethyan conodont faunas such as Metapolygnathus mersinensis Kozur & Moix and M. primitius s. s., both present in the latest Carnian interval, as well as the occurrence of the middle Norian Epigondolella praeslovakensis Kozur, Masset & Moix. Other elements are clearly derived from the former north Anatolian passive margin and are represented by Huglu-type series including the Upper Triassic syn-rift volcanic event. These sequences attributed to the Huglu-Pindos back-arc ocean were displaced southward during the Late Cretaceous obduction event. The Tauric elements are represented by Eo-Cimmerian flysch-like and molasse sequences intercalated in Neotethyan series. Additionally, some shallow-water blocks might be derived from the Bolkardag para-autochthonous and the Taurus-Beydaglari marginal sequences.

Insights into low fish mercury bioaccumulation in a mercury-contaminated reservoir, Guizhou, China.

We examined Hg biogeochemistry in Baihua Reservoir, a system affected by industrial wastewater containing mercury (Hg). As expected, we found high levels of total Hg (THg, 664-7421 ng g(-1)) and monomethylmercury (MMHg, 3-21 ng g(-1)) in the surface sediments (0-10 cm). In the water column, both THg and MMHg showed strong vertical variations with higher concentrations in the anoxic layer (>4m) than in the oxic layer (0-4 m), which was most pronounced for the dissolved MMHg (p < 0.001). However, mercury levels in biota samples (mostly cyprinid fish) were one order of magnitude lower than common regulatory values (i.e. 0.3-0.5 mg kg(-1)) for human consumption. We identified three main reasons to explain the low fish Hg bioaccumulation: disconnection of the aquatic food web from the high MMHg zone, simple food web structures, and biodilution effect at the base of the food chain in this eutrophic reservoir.

Dispersion of natural arsenic in the Malcantone watershed, Southern Switzerland: field evidence for repeated sorption-desorption and oxidation-reduction processes

In recent years, elevated arsenic concentrations have been found in waters and soils of many, countries, often resulting in a health threat for the local population. Switzerland is not an exception and this paper deals with the release and subsequent fate of arsenic in a 200-km(2) mountainous watershed, characterized by crystalline silicate rocks (gneisses, schists, amphibolites) that contain abundant As-bearing sulfide ore deposits, some of which have been mined for iron and gold in the past. Using analytical methods common for mineralogical, ground water and soil studies (XRD, XRF, XAS-XANES and -EXAFS, electron microprobe, extraction, ICP, AAS with hydride generator, ion chromatography), seven different field situations and related dispersion processes of natural arsenic have been studied: (1) release by rock weathering, (2) transport and deposition by water and ice; (3) release of As to the ground and surface water due to increasing pH; (4) accumulation in humic soil horizons; (5) remobilization by reduction in water-saturated soils and stagnant ground waters; (6) remobilization by using P-rich fertilizers or dung and (7) oxidation, precipitation and dilution in surface waters. Comparison of the results with experimental adsorption studies and speciation diagrams from the literature allows us to reconstruct and identify the typical behavior of arsenic in a natural environment under temperate climatic conditions. The main parameters identified are: (a) once liberated from the primary minerals, sorption processes on Fe-oxy-hydroxides dominate over Al-phases, such as Al-hydroxides or clay minerals and limit the As concentrations in the spring and well waters between 20 and 300 mug/l. (b) Precipitation as secondary minerals is limited to the weathering domain, where the As concentrations are still high and not yet too diluted by rain and soils waters. (c) Although neutral and alkaline pH conditions clearly increase the mobility of As, the main factor to mobilize As is a low redox potential (Eh close or below 0 mV), which favors the dissolution of the Fe-oxy-hydroxides on which the As is sorbed. (d) X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) of As in water-logged humic forest soils indicates that the reduction to As III only occurs at the solid-water interface and that the solid contains As as As V (e) A and Bh horizons of humic cambisols can effectively capture As when As-rich waters flow through them. Complex spatial and temporal variation of the various parameters in a watershed results in repeated mobilization and immobilization of As, which continuously transports As from the upper to the lower part of a watershed and ultimately to the ocean. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Contribution to the geology of Southern Turkey: new insights from the Mersin mélanges and from the Lycian and Antalya nappes

Abstract The study of fossil Tethyan continental margins implies the consideration of the oceanic domains to which they were connected. The advent of plate tectonics confirmed the importance of the detection of accretion-related mélanges. Ophiolitic mélanges are derived from both an upper ophiolitic obducting plate and a lower oceanic plate. Besides ophiolitic elements, the mélanges may incorporate parts of a magmatic arc and dismembered fragments of a passive continental margin. As the lower plate usually totally disappears during the obduction process, it can only be reconstructed from its elements found in the mélanges. Because of their key location at active margin boundaries, preserved accretion-related mélanges provide strong constraints on the geological evolution of former oceanic domains and their adjacent margins. The identification of Palaeotethyan remnants as accretionary series or reworked during the Late Triassic Eo-Cimmerian event, as well as the recognition of HugluPindos marginal sequences in southern Turkey and in the external Hellenides represent the main achievements of this work, making possible to establish new palaeogeographical correlations. The Mersin mélanges (Turkey), together with the Antalya and Mamonia (Cyprus) domains, are characterized by a series of exotic units found now south of the main Taurus range and compose the South-Taurides Exotic Units. The Mersin mélanges are subdivided in a Triassic and a Late Cretaceous unit. These units consist of the remnants of three major Tethyan oceans, the Palaeotethys, the Neotethys and the Huglu-Pindos. The definition and inventory of the Upper Antalya Nappes (Turkey) are still a matter of controversies and often conflicting interpretations. The recognition of Campanian radiolarians on top of the Kerner Gorge unit directly overlain by the Ordovician Seydi§ehir Fm. of the Tahtah Dag Nappe outlines a tectonic contact and demonstrates that the Upper Antalya Nappes system is composed of three different nappes, the Kerner Gorge, Bakirli and the Tahtah Dag nappes. Additionally, a limestone block in a doubtful tectonic position at the base of the Upper Antalya Nappes yielded for the first time two middle Viséan associations of foraminifers and problematic algae. The Tavas Nappe in the Lycian Nappes (Turkey) is classically divided into the Karadag, Teke Dere, Köycegiz and Haticeana units. As for the Mersin mélanges, the Tavas Nappe is highly composite and includes dismembered units belonging to the Palaeotethyan, Neotethyan and HugluPindos realms. The Karadag unit consists of a Gondwana-type platform succession ranging from the Late Devonian to the Late Triassic. It belongs to the Cimmerian Taurus terrane and was part of the northern passive margin of the Neotethys. The Teke Dere unit is composed of different parts of the Palaeotethyan succession including Late Carboniferous OIB-type basalts, Carboniferous MORB-type basalts, an Early Carboniferous siliciclastic series and a Middle Permian arc sequence. The microfauna and microflora identified in different horizons within the Teke Dere unit share strong biogeographical affinities with the northern Palaeotethyan borders. Kubergandian limestones in primary contact above the Early Carboniferous siliciclastics yielded a rich and diverse microfauna and microflora also identified in reworked cobbles within the Late Triassic Gevne Fm. of the Aladag unit (Turkey). The sedimentological evolution of the Köycegiz and Haticeana series is in many points similar to classical Pindos sequences. These series originated in the Huglu-Pindos Ocean along the northern passive margin of the Anatolian (Turkish transect) and Sitia-Pindos (Greek transect) terranes. Conglomerates at the base of the Lentas Unit in southern Crete (Greece) yielded a microfauna and microflora presenting also strong affinities with the northern borders of the Palaeotethys. This type of reworked sediments at the base of Pindos-like series would suggest a derivation from the Palaeotethyan active margin. -Résumé (French abstract) L'étude des marges continentales fossiles de l'espace téthysien implique d'étudier les domaines océaniques qui y étaient rattachés. Les progrès de la tectonique des plaques ont confirmé l'importance de la reconnaissance des mélanges d'accrétion. Les mélanges ophiolitiques dérivent d'une plaque supérieure ophiolitique qui obducte, et d'une plaque inférieure océanique. En plus d'éléments ophiolitiques, les mélanges peuvent aussi incorporer des parties d'un arc magmatique, ou des fragments d'une marge continentale passive. Comme la plaque inférieure disparaît généralement complètement durant le processus d'obduction, elle ne peut être reconstruite qu'au travers de ses éléments trouvés dans les mélanges. A cause de leur situation aux limites de marges actives, les mélanges d'accrétion bien préservés permettent de contraindre l'évolution géologique d'anciens océans et de leurs marges. L'identification de vestiges de la Paléotéthys en série d'accrétion ou remaniés lors de l'orogenèse éo-cimmérienne au Trias supérieur, ainsi que l'observation de séquences marginales de Huglu-Pinde en Turquie du sud et dans les Hellénides externes représentent les principaux résultats de ce travail, permettant d'établir de nouvelles corrélations paléogéographiques. Les mélanges de Mersin (Turquie), avec les domaines d'Antalya et de Mamonia (Chypre), sont caractérisés par des unités exotiques se trouvant au sud de la chaîne taurique, et forment les Unités Exotiques Sud-Tauriques. Les mélanges de Mersin sont subdivisés en une unité triasique, et une autre du Crétacé supérieur. Ces unités comprennent les reliques de trois principaux océans téthysiens, la Paléotéthys, la Néotéthys et Huglu-Pinde. L'inventaire et la définition des nappes supérieures d'Antalya (Turquie) sont encore matière à controverse et donne lieu à des interprétations conflictuelles. La découverte de radiolaires campaniens au sommet de l'unité de la Gorge de Kemer, directement recouverts par la formation ordovicienne de Seydisehir de la nappe du Tahtali Dag met en évidence un contact tectonique et démontre que les nappes supérieures sont composées de trois différentes nappes, celle de la Gorge de Kemer, celle du Bakirli et celle Tahtali Dag. De plus, un bloc de calcaire dont la position tectonique demeure incertaine à la base des nappes supérieures a fourni pour la première fois deux associations viséennes de foraminifères et d'algues problématiques. La nappe de Tavas dans les nappes lyciennes (Turquie) est séparée en unités du Karadag, du Teke Dere, de Köycegiz et d'Haticeana. Comme pour les mélanges de Mersin, la nappe de Tavas est composite et inclut des unités appartenant à la Paléotéthys, à la Néotéthys et à Huglu-Pinde. L'unité du Karadag est une plateforme carbonatée de type Gondwana se développant du Dévonien supérieur au Trias supérieur. Elle appartient au domaine cimmérien du Taurus et formait la marge nord de la Néotéthys. L'unité du Teke Dere est composée de différentes écailles paléotéthysiennes et inclut des basaltes d'île océanique du Carbonifère supérieur, des basaltes de ride océanique du Carbonifère, une série siliciclastique du Carbonifère supérieur et un arc du Permien moyen. Les microfaunes et -flores trouvées à différents niveaux de la série du Teke Dere partagent de fortes affinités paléogéographiques avec les marges nord de la Paléotéthys. Des calcaires du Kubergandien en contact primaire au-dessus de la série siliciclastique a donné de riches microfaunes et -flores, également identifiées dans des galets remaniés dans la formation de Gevne du Trias supérieur de l'Aladag. L'évolution sédimentologique des séries de Köycegiz et d'Haticeana sont très similaires aux séries classiques du Pinde. Ces séquences prennent leur racine dans l'océan de Huglu-Pinde, le long de la marge passive nord anatolienne (profil turc) et de la marge de Sitia-Pinde (profil grec). Des conglomérats à la base de l'unité de Lentas au sud de la Crète (Grèce) ont donné des microfaunes et flores partageant également de fortes similitudes avec les bordures nord de la Paléotéthys. Le type de sédiments remaniés à la base d'unités de type Pinde suggère une dérivation depuis la marge active de la Paléotéthys. -Résumé grand public (non-specialized abstract) Au début du 20ème siècle, Alfred Wegener bouleverse les croyances géologiques de l'époque et publie plusieurs articles sur la dérive ou la translation des continents. En utilisant des arguments géographiques (similarités des lignes de côte), paléontologiques (faunes et flores similaires) et climatiques (dépôts tropicaux et glaciaires), Wegener explique qu'il y a plusieurs millions d'années, les terres émergées actuelles ne devaient former qu'un seul et grand continent. La fin du 20ème siècle verra l'avènement de la théorie de la tectonique des plaques suite à la reconnaissance du cycle de Wilson, des rides médio-océaniques, des anomalies magnétiques dans les océans et des sutures océaniques qui représentent les reliques d'océans disparus. Le Cycle de Wilson se caractérise par une suite d'évènements géologiques majeurs pouvant se résumer de la manière suivante : (1) séparation d'un craton continental en deux parties, créant une limite de plaque divergente. C'est ce que l'on appelle un rift; (2) développement et croissance d'un océan entre ces deux blocs. Des roches magmatiques remontent à la surface de la terre et forment une chaîne de montagne sous-marine que l'on appelle ride médio-océanique ou dorsale. L'océan continue de se développer, et des sédiments se déposent à sa surface formant la suite ophiolitique ou trinité de Steinmann; (3) après une phase d'expansion plus ou moins longue, les conditions imposées aux limites des plaques à la surface de la terre changent, et l'océan se met à se refermer par disparition progressive (subduction) de sa croûte océanique sous une croûte continentale par exemple. Ceci crée une nouvelle limite de plaque, convergente cette fois; (4) la subduction de la plaque océanique sous la plaque continentale provoque une remontée de magma formant des chaînes volcaniques à la surface de la Terre ; (5) une fois que la plaque océanique a complètement disparu, les deux blocs préalablement séparés par l'océan font collision, formant ainsi une chaîne de montagne. Les chaînes de montagnes sont de manière générale formées par un empilement plus ou moins complexe de nappes. C'est au coeur de certaines de ces nappes que se trouvent les vestiges de l'océan disparu. Un des objectifs de ce travail était la recherche de ces vestiges dans le domaine téthysien de la Méditerranée orientale. Pour ce faire, nous avons parcourus une grande partie du sud de la Turquie, nous sommes allés à Chypre, dans le Sultanat d'Oman, en Iran, en Crète, et nous avons visités quelques îles grecques du Dodécanèse. La région de la Méditerranée orientale est une zone qui a été tectoniquement très active, et qui continue de l'être de nos jours par des phénomènes de subduction (ex. les volcans de Santorin), et par des mouvements coulissants entre des plaques continentales (ex. la faille nord-anatolienne) qui donnent régulièrement lieu à des tremblements de terre. Pour le géologue, la complexité de ces zones d'étude réside dans le fait que les chaînes de montagne actuelles ne contiennent en général pas seulement les restes d'un océan, mais bien de plusieurs bassins océaniques qui se sont succédés dans l'espace et dans le temps. Les nappes qui se trouvent au sud de la Turquie et dans le Dodécanèse forment un important jalon dans la chaîne alpine qui s'étend depuis les Alpes jusque dans l'Himalaya. L'idée d'un continuum au coeur de ce système se basait principalement sur l'âge des océans et sur la reconnaissance de similarités dans l'évolution des séries sédimentaires. La localisation des vestiges de la Paléotéthys ainsi que l'identification des séries sédimentaires ayant appartenu à l'océan de HugluPinde repris sous forme de nappes en Turquie et en Grèce sont cruciales pour permettre de bonnes corrélations locales et régionales. La reconnaissance, la compréhension et l'interprétation de ces séries sédimentaires permettront d'élaborer un modèle d'évolution géodynamique régional, s'appuyant sur des faits de terrains indiscutables, et prenant en compte les contraintes globales que ce genre d'exercice implique.

The carbon-isotope shift at the Permian/ Triassic boundary in the southern Alps is gradual

Carbon isotope ratios in marine carbonate rocks have been shown to shift at some of the time boundaries associated with extinction events; for example, Cretaceous/Tertiary and Ordovician/ Silurian. The Permian/Triassic boundary, the greatest extinction event of the Phanerozoic, is also marked by a large d13C depletion. New carbon isotope results from sections in the southern Alps show that this depletion did not actually represent a single event, but was a complex change that spanned perhaps a million years during the late Permian and early Triassic. These results suggest that the Permian/Triassic (P/Tr) extinction may have been in part gradual and in part 'stepwise', but was not in any case a single catastrophic event.

Geochemical changes at the Permian-Triassic transition in Southern Alps and adjacent area: a review

Compilation of the recent literature from the Southern Alps and adjacent area confirms the geochemical variations of unusual amplitudes during the Permian-Triassic boundary interval (PTBI). A great attention has been given to the negative δ13C anomaly within the Tesero Member close to the Permian-Triassic boundary. Very detailed geochemical works have been done on the scientific Gartnerkofel core (Gk-1) and on the Slovenian sections. Major minor and rare earth elements (REE) data are reported and show a marked enrichment in alkaline metals and REE of some levels of the boundary interval. But recent studies show that the low Iridium anomalies and the Osmium and Helium isotopes anomalies lack the characteristics of a large extraterrestrial impact.

Eight years experience from a skeletal dysplasia referral center in a tertiary hospital in Southern India: A model for the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases in a developing country.

We report on a series of 514 consecutive diagnoses of skeletal dysplasia made over an 8-year period at a tertiary hospital in Kerala, India. The most common diagnostic groups were dysostosis multiplex group (n = 73) followed by FGFR3 (n = 49) and osteogenesis imperfecta and decreased bone density group (n = 41). Molecular confirmation was obtained in 109 cases. Clinical and radiographic evaluation was obtained in close diagnostic collaboration with expert groups abroad through Internet communication for difficult cases. This has allowed for targeted biochemical and molecular studies leading to the correct identification of rare or novel conditions, which has not only helped affected families by allowing for improved genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis but also resulted in several scientific contributions. We conclude that (1) the spectrum of genetic bone disease in Kerala, India, is similar to that of other parts of the world, but recessive entities may be more frequent because of widespread consanguinity; (2) prenatal detection of skeletal dysplasias remains relatively rare because of limited access to expert prenatal ultrasound facilities; (3) because of the low accessibility to molecular tests, precise clinical-radiographic phenotyping remains the mainstay of diagnosis and counseling and of gatekeeping to efficient laboratory testing; (4) good phenotyping allows, a significant contribution to the recognition and characterization of novel entities. We suggest that the tight collaboration between a local reference center with dedicated personnel and expert diagnostic networks may be a proficient model to bring current diagnostics to developing countries. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Looking for orders of magnitude : five essays in trade and the environment and economic geography

General Summary Although the chapters of this thesis address a variety of issues, the principal aim is common: test economic ideas in an international economic context. The intention has been to supply empirical findings using the largest suitable data sets and making use of the most appropriate empirical techniques. This thesis can roughly be divided into two parts: the first one, corresponding to the first two chapters, investigates the link between trade and the environment, the second one, the last three chapters, is related to economic geography issues. Environmental problems are omnipresent in the daily press nowadays and one of the arguments put forward is that globalisation causes severe environmental problems through the reallocation of investments and production to countries with less stringent environmental regulations. A measure of the amplitude of this undesirable effect is provided in the first part. The third and the fourth chapters explore the productivity effects of agglomeration. The computed spillover effects between different sectors indicate how cluster-formation might be productivity enhancing. The last chapter is not about how to better understand the world but how to measure it and it was just a great pleasure to work on it. "The Economist" writes every week about the impressive population and economic growth observed in China and India, and everybody agrees that the world's center of gravity has shifted. But by how much and how fast did it shift? An answer is given in the last part, which proposes a global measure for the location of world production and allows to visualize our results in Google Earth. A short summary of each of the five chapters is provided below. The first chapter, entitled "Unraveling the World-Wide Pollution-Haven Effect" investigates the relative strength of the pollution haven effect (PH, comparative advantage in dirty products due to differences in environmental regulation) and the factor endowment effect (FE, comparative advantage in dirty, capital intensive products due to differences in endowments). We compute the pollution content of imports using the IPPS coefficients (for three pollutants, namely biological oxygen demand, sulphur dioxide and toxic pollution intensity for all manufacturing sectors) provided by the World Bank and use a gravity-type framework to isolate the two above mentioned effects. Our study covers 48 countries that can be classified into 29 Southern and 19 Northern countries and uses the lead content of gasoline as proxy for environmental stringency. For North-South trade we find significant PH and FE effects going in the expected, opposite directions and being of similar magnitude. However, when looking at world trade, the effects become very small because of the high North-North trade share, where we have no a priori expectations about the signs of these effects. Therefore popular fears about the trade effects of differences in environmental regulations might by exaggerated. The second chapter is entitled "Is trade bad for the Environment? Decomposing worldwide SO2 emissions, 1990-2000". First we construct a novel and large database containing reasonable estimates of SO2 emission intensities per unit labor that vary across countries, periods and manufacturing sectors. Then we use these original data (covering 31 developed and 31 developing countries) to decompose the worldwide SO2 emissions into the three well known dynamic effects (scale, technique and composition effect). We find that the positive scale (+9,5%) and the negative technique (-12.5%) effect are the main driving forces of emission changes. Composition effects between countries and sectors are smaller, both negative and of similar magnitude (-3.5% each). Given that trade matters via the composition effects this means that trade reduces total emissions. We next construct, in a first experiment, a hypothetical world where no trade happens, i.e. each country produces its imports at home and does no longer produce its exports. The difference between the actual and this no-trade world allows us (under the omission of price effects) to compute a static first-order trade effect. The latter now increases total world emissions because it allows, on average, dirty countries to specialize in dirty products. However, this effect is smaller (3.5%) in 2000 than in 1990 (10%), in line with the negative dynamic composition effect identified in the previous exercise. We then propose a second experiment, comparing effective emissions with the maximum or minimum possible level of SO2 emissions. These hypothetical levels of emissions are obtained by reallocating labour accordingly across sectors within each country (under the country-employment and the world industry-production constraints). Using linear programming techniques, we show that emissions are reduced by 90% with respect to the worst case, but that they could still be reduced further by another 80% if emissions were to be minimized. The findings from this chapter go together with those from chapter one in the sense that trade-induced composition effect do not seem to be the main source of pollution, at least in the recent past. Going now to the economic geography part of this thesis, the third chapter, entitled "A Dynamic Model with Sectoral Agglomeration Effects" consists of a short note that derives the theoretical model estimated in the fourth chapter. The derivation is directly based on the multi-regional framework by Ciccone (2002) but extends it in order to include sectoral disaggregation and a temporal dimension. This allows us formally to write present productivity as a function of past productivity and other contemporaneous and past control variables. The fourth chapter entitled "Sectoral Agglomeration Effects in a Panel of European Regions" takes the final equation derived in chapter three to the data. We investigate the empirical link between density and labour productivity based on regional data (245 NUTS-2 regions over the period 1980-2003). Using dynamic panel techniques allows us to control for the possible endogeneity of density and for region specific effects. We find a positive long run elasticity of density with respect to labour productivity of about 13%. When using data at the sectoral level it seems that positive cross-sector and negative own-sector externalities are present in manufacturing while financial services display strong positive own-sector effects. The fifth and last chapter entitled "Is the World's Economic Center of Gravity Already in Asia?" computes the world economic, demographic and geographic center of gravity for 1975-2004 and compares them. Based on data for the largest cities in the world and using the physical concept of center of mass, we find that the world's economic center of gravity is still located in Europe, even though there is a clear shift towards Asia. To sum up, this thesis makes three main contributions. First, it provides new estimates of orders of magnitudes for the role of trade in the globalisation and environment debate. Second, it computes reliable and disaggregated elasticities for the effect of density on labour productivity in European regions. Third, it allows us, in a geometrically rigorous way, to track the path of the world's economic center of gravity.

Evolution of a Ladinian (Middle Triassic) intraplatform basin : stratigraphy, microfacies and palaeoecology of the Meride Limestone (Monte San Giorgio, Canton Ticino, Southern Switzerland)

The Monte San Giorgio (Southern Alps, Ticino, Switzerland) is the most important locality in the world for vertebrates dating back to the Middle Triassic. For this reason it was registered in 2003 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the objectives of this doctoral thesis was to fill some of the cognitive gaps regarding the Ladinian succession, including in particular the San Giorgio Dolomite and the Meride Limestone. In order to achieve this, the entire succession, more than 600 metres thick, was measured and sampled. Biostratigraphic research based on new finds of fossil invertebrates and microfossils and on the palynological analysis of the entire section was integrated with single-zircon U-Pb dating of volcanic ash layers intercalated in the carbonate succession. This enabled a redefinition of the bio-chronostratigraphic and geochronologic framework of the succession, which encompasses a significantly shorter time interval than previously held. The Ladinian section extends from the E. curionii Ammonoid Zone (Early Fassanian) to the P. archelaus Ammonoid Zone (Early Longobardian). The age of the classic fossiliferous levels of the Meride Limestone, rich in organic matter and containing vertebrate fossils which are known all over the world, was defined in both biostratigraphic and geochronologic terms. The presumed stratigraphie significance of the pachypleurosaurid reptiles found in such levels is called into question by new finds. These fossiliferous horizons were found to correspond to the main volcanoclastic intervals of the Buchenstein Formation (Middle and Upper Pietra Verde). Thus, a correlation with the Bagolino Section (Italy) containing the GSSP for the base of the Ladinian was proposed. Bulk sedimentation rates in the studied succession average 200 m/Myr and therefore prove to be 20 times higher than those of the South-Alpine pelagic basins. These values express high carbonate productivity from the surrounding platforms on one hand, and on the other a marked subsidence of the basin. Only in the intervals consisting of laminated limestones did the sedimentation rates drop to average values of around 30 m/Myr. The distribution of organic and inorganic facies appears to be the consequence of relative variations in sea-level. The laminated and organic-matter- rich intervals of the Meride Limestone are linked to a relative sea-level drop which favoured dysoxic to anoxic bottom-water conditions, coupled with an increase in runoff, perhaps due to recurrent explosive volcanic activity. The transient development under dysoxic conditions of monospecific benthic meio-/macrofaunas was documented. Organic matter suggests a predominant origin due to benthic bacterial activity, as can be witnessed in alveolar structures typical of exopolymeric substances secreted by bacteria within microbial mats. A microbial contribution to the carbonate (peloidal) precipitation was documented. The protective effect exerted by these microbial mats is also indicated as the main taphonomic factor contributing to the excellent preservation of vertebrate fossils. A radiolarian assemblage discovered in the lower part of the section (earliest Ladinian, E. curionii Zone) suggests the transient existence of open-marine but not deep-water connections with the tethyan pelagic basins. It shows marked similarities to the faunas typical of the late Anisian, suggesting therefore a low resolution power provided by radiolarian biostratigraphy in recognizing the Anisian/Ladinian boundary. The present thesis describes a new species of conifer (Elatocladus cassinae), a new species of insect (Dasyleptus triassicus) and seven new species of radiolarians (Eptingium danieli, Eptingium neriae, Parentactinosphaera eoladinica, Sepsagon ticinensis, Sepsagon? valporinae, Novamuria wirzi and Pessagnollum? hexaspinosum). In addition, following revision of the type material of already existent taxa, four new genera of radiolarians are introduced: Bernoulliella, Eohexastylus, Ticinosphaera and Lahmosphaera.

Lateglacial evolution of the Brenno glacier (Southern Swiss Alps) : preliminary results

The Lateglacial evolution of the Ticino glacier and tributaries is poorly known because of the lack of research by Quaternary geomorphologists during the last decades. In spite of the interest for the cryosphere reactions during the Lateglacial climate warming, only few scientific studies were carried out about the history of the northern valleys of the Ticino Alps during the deglaciation (e.g. Seiffert 1953, Renner 1982, Hantke 1983). Within the framework of geomorphological investigations on the Lateglacial and Holocene glacier/permafrost evolution in the Ticino Alps, the history of the Brenno glacier (Blenio Valley, Eastern Ticino Alps) during the end of the Pleistocene has been studied. The deglaciation sequence of the Blenio Valley is still not complete (Scapozza et al. 2009). Only the first glacial stadial of the Brenno glacier and the last Lateglacial stadials of the Greina region (northern Blenio valley, see Fontana et al. 2008) and of the upper Malvaglia Valley (eastern Blenio Valley, see Scapozza et al. 2008) have been unequivocally defined. For every stadial, the surface of the palaeoglacier and the depression of the Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA) have been reconstructed on the base of geomorphological mapping. The first individual glacial stadial of the Brenno glacier corresponds to the Biasca stadial of the Ticino glacier defined by Hantke (1983). The ELA depression of 1100-1200 meters and its morphological and glaciological characteristics allow us to correlate this stadial with the Weissbad stadial defined by Keller (1988). In the Greina region, three stadials corresponding to the end of the Lateglacial have been identified, with an ELA depression of 110, 210 and 310-350 meters (Fontana et al. 2008). In the upper Malvaglia Valley, three stadials corresponding to the end of the Oldest Dryas and the Younger Dryas have been identified for the Orino glacier, with an ELA depression of 290, 400-420 and 470-560 meters (Scapozza et al. 2008). If we consider the other (fragmentary) glacial deposits of the Blenio Valley, it is possible to define a regression sequence of the Brenno glacier with 8 stadials, from the Biasca stadial to the end of the Younger Dryas. An attempt of correlation with the model "Gothard" developed by Renner (1982) and Hantke (1983) and with the model "Eastern Swiss Alps" developed by Maisch (1982) is proposed in Table 1. The following chronological conclusions are, therefore, proposed: (1) the Biasca stadial is probably the first stadial after the transition Pleniglacial - Lateglacial; (2) the stadials BRE 7 to BRE 3 are positioned between the beginning of the Lateglacial and the Bølling-Allerød interstadial; (3) the stadials BRE 2 and BRE 1 are assumed to be related to the Younger Dryas event.