(Table 1) Stratigraphic occurrence and fossil content of fossiliferous horizons in southern north Victoria Land

In contrast to the adjacent parts of the Transantarctic Mountains, the Mesozoic macrofossil record of north Victoria Land remains poorly documented. During the Ninth German Antarctic North Victoria Land Expedition (GANOVEX IX 2005/2006) twelve fossil sites in southern north Victoria Land were discovered and sampled. Fossils from the Triassic to Early Jurassic Section Peak Formation were collected from Archambault Ridge, Anderton Glacier, Skinner Ridge, Timber Peak, Vulcan Hills, Runaway Hills, Section Peak and Shafer Peak. These localities have yielded abundant fossil wood and compressions of horsetails, ferns, and seed ferns. In addition, several beetle elytra were found at Timber Peak. Fossil localities of the overlying Shafer Peak Formation and Exposure Hill-type deposits occur at Shafer Peak and in the Mount Carson area, and have yielded various trace fossils, permineralized wood, leaf compressions, and conchostracans. Two newly discovered fossil sites are associated with the late Early Jurassic Kirkpatrick lava flows. Upright-standing tree trunks have been recorded at Suture Bench, and highly fossiliferous sedimentary interbeds occur at the southwestern end of the Mesa Range. Of special interest is the exquisite fossil preservation at some of the sites. Compression fossils from Timber Peak and Shafer Peak contain well-preserved cuticles, which is very rare in the Antarctic. An Early Jurassic permineralized deposit at Mount Carson contains structurally preserved ferns. Furthermore, the arthropod fossils from sedimentary interbeds at the Mesa Range are preserved in minute detail, including antennae and limb spines of a blattid insect.

Compositional and Geochemical Signatures for the Sedimentary Evolution of the Middle Triassic–Lower Jurassic Continental Redbeds from Western-Central Mediterranean Alpine Chains

Compositional and chemical analyses suggest that Middle Triassic–Lower Liassic continental redbeds (in the internal domains of the Betic, Maghrebian, and Apenninic chains) can be considered a regional lithosome marking the Triassic-Jurassic rift-valley stage of Tethyan rifting, which led to the Pangaea breakup and subsequent development of a mosaic of plates and microplates. Sandstones are quartzose to quartzolithic and represent a provenance of continental block and recycled orogen, made up mainly of Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks similar to those underlying the redbeds. Mudrocks display K enrichments; intense paleoweathering under a hot, episodically humid climate with a prolonged dry season; and sediment recycling. Redbeds experienced temperatures in the range of 100°–160°C and lithostatic/tectonic loading of more than 4 km. These redbeds represent an important stratigraphic signature to reconstruct a continental block (Mesomediterranean Microplate) that separated different realms of the western Tethys from Middle-Late Jurassic to Miocene, when it was completely involved in Alpine orogenesis.

Geology of San Bernardino Mountains north of San Gorgonio Pass,

Cover title.

Geology of the Burro Mountains copper district, New Mexico,

On cover: San Francisco meeting, September, 1915.

Early-Middle Jurassic stratigraphy of the Fortrose-Chaslands region, southernmost South Island, New Zealand

The 40 km of coastline from Fortrose to Chaslands Mistake (southeastern South Island, New Zealand) comprises sediments that are part of the Early-Middle Jurassic of the Murihiku Terrane. The sediments are dominantly fluvial with some marine beds and alluvial fan deposition, and display an evolution of fluvial style which progresses from perennial flow to seasonal flow. The McPhee Cove Conglomerate is a prominent unit to the north. It has been used to separate two formations which would otherwise, on inherent lithological grounds, be difficult to distinguish. This paper discusses several similar conglomerates which occur in the south, but which are separated from the type area of the McPhee Conglomerate by major tectonic disruption. Hence, the existing lithostratigraphic nomenclature to the north, including the McPhee Cove Conglomerate, cannot be simply extended southwards. The Fortrose-Chaslands area appears to consist of two tectonic blocks, the Slope Point Block and the Brothers Block, which are separated from each other and from the adjacent Papatowai Block by major strike faults (or fault zones). A change is proposed to the existing stratigraphy which involves recognising all terrestrial sediments as part of the False Island Formation. Four prominent clast-supported conglomerate horizons are named as members of the False Islet Formation: the White Head Conglomerate, Black Bluff Conglomerate. Hoiho Conglomerate, and Slope Point Conglomerate Members. The latter contains five named conglomerate beds.

Chemical composition of ferromanganese nodules from the Western Sicily Jurassic limestone beds

The stratigraphic study focuses on the description of lithofacies and geological sections of secondary, tertiary and quaternary formations in different parts of western Sicily. The tectonic analysis derived from field studies is used to trace the history and effects of the Alpine orogeny on the geology of Western Sicily. During his field study the author conducted several chemical element analysis on fossil manganese nodules extracted from Jurassic limestone beds.

Sedimentology of a Middle Jurassic Base-of-Slope environment, Cutri Formation, Mallorca

The Cutri Formation’s, type location, exposed in the NW of Mallorca, Spain has previously been described by Álvaro et al., (1989) and further interpreted by Abbots (1989) unpublished PhD thesis as a base-of-slope carbonate apron. Incorporating new field and laboratory analysis this paper enhances this interpretation. From this analysis, it can be shown without reasonable doubt that the Cutri Formation was deposited in a carbonate base-of-slope environment on the palaeowindward side of a Mid-Jurassic Tethyan platform. Key evidence such as laterally extensive exposures, abundant deposits of calciturbidtes and debris flows amongst hemipelagic deposits strongly support this interpretation.

Strontium isotopes and sedimentology of a marine Triassic succession (upper Ladinian) of the westernmost Tethys, Spain

Chemical Stratigraphy, or the study of the variation of chemical elements within sedimentary sequences, has gradually become an experienced tool in the research and correlation of global geologic events. In this paper 87Sr/ 86Sr ratios of the Triassic marine carbonates (Muschelkalk facies) of southeast Iberian Ranges, Iberian Peninsula, are presented and the representative Sr-isotopic curve constructed for the upper Ladinian interval. The studied stratigraphic succession is 102 meters thick, continuous, and well preserved. Previous paleontological data from macro and micro, ammonites, bivalves, foraminifera, conodonts and palynological assemblages, suggest a Fassanian-Longobardian age (Late Ladinian). Although diagenetic minerals are present in small amounts, the elemental data content of bulk carbonate samples, especially Sr contents, show a major variation that probably reflects palaeoenvironmental changes. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios curve shows a rise from 0.707649 near the base of the section to 0.707741 and then declines rapidly to 0.707624, with a final values rise up to 0.70787 in the upper part. The data up to meter 80 in the studied succession is broadly concurrent with 87Sr/86Sr ratios of sequences of similar age and complements these data. Moreover, the sequence stratigraphic framework and its key surfaces, which are difficult to be recognised just based in the facies analysis, are characterised by combining variations of the Ca, Mg, Mn, Sr and CaCO3 contents

Revisiting the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous of the NW South Iberian Basin: new ages and sedimentary environments

The study of the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous deposits (Higueruelas, Villar del Arzobispo and Aldea de Cortés Formations) of the South Iberian Basin (NW Valencia, Spain) reveals new stratigraphic and sedimentological data, which have significant implications on the stratigraphic framework, depositional environments and age of these units. The Higueruelas Fm was deposited in a mid-inner carbonate platform where oncolitic bars migrated by the action of storms and where oncoid production progressively decreased towards the uppermost part of the unit. The overlying Villar del Arzobispo Fm has been traditionally interpreted as an inner platform-lagoon evolving into a tidal-flat. Here it is interpreted as an inner-carbonate platform affected by storms, where oolitic shoals protected a lagoon, which had siliciclastic inputs from the continent. The Aldea de Cortés Fm has been previously interpreted as a lagoon surrounded by tidal-flats and fluvial-deltaic plains. Here it is reinterpreted as a coastal wetland where siliciclastic muddy deposits interacted with shallow fresh to marine water bodies, aeolian dunes and continental siliciclastic inputs. The contact between the Higueruelas and Villar del Arzobispo Fms, classically defined as gradual, is also interpreted here as rapid. More importantly, the contact between the Villar del Arzobispo and Aldea de Cortés Fms, previously considered as unconformable, is here interpreted as gradual. The presence of Alveosepta in the Villar del Arzobispo Fm suggests that at least part of this unit is Kimmeridgian, unlike the previously assigned Late Tithonian-Middle Berriasian age. Consequently, the underlying Higueruelas Fm, previously considered Tithonian, should not be younger than Kimmeridgian. Accordingly, sedimentation of the Aldea de Cortés Fm, previously considered Valangian-Hauterivian, probably started during the Tithonian and it may be considered part of the regressive trend of the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous cycle. This is consistent with the dinosaur faunas, typically Jurassic, described in the Villar del Arzobispo and Aldea de Cortés Fms.

Systematic review of Late Jurassic sauropods from the Museu Geológico collections (Lisboa, Portugal)

The Museu Geológico collections house some of the first sauropod references of the Lusitanian Basin Upper Jurassic record, including the Lourinhasaurus alenquerensis and Lusotitan atalaiensis lectotypes, previously considered as new species of the Apatosaurus and Brachiosaurus genera, respectively. Several fragmentary specimens have been classical referred to those taxa, but the most part of these systematic attributions are not supported herein, excluding a caudal vertebra from Maceira (MG 8804) considered as cf. Lusotitan atalaiensis. From the material housed in the Museu Geológico were identified basal eusauropods (indeterminate eusauropods and turiasaurs) and neosauropods (indeterminate neosauropods, diplodods and camarasaurids and basal titanosauriforms). Middle caudal vertebrae with lateral fossae, ventral hollow border by pronounced ventrolateral crests and quadrangular cross-section suggest for the presence of diplodocine diplodocids in north area of the Lusitanian Basin Central Sector during the Late Jurassic. A humerus collected from Praia dos Frades (MG 4976) is attributed to cf. Duriatitan humerocristatus suggesting the presence of shared sauropod forms between the Portugal and United Kingdom during the Late Jurassic. Duriatitan is an indeterminate member of Eusauropoda and the discovery of new material in both territories is necessary to confirm this systematic approach. The studied material is in according with the previous recorded paleobiodiversity for the sauropod clade during the Portuguese Late Jurassic, which includes basal eusauropods (including turiasaurs), diplodocids and macronarians (including camarasaurids and basal titanosauriforms).

Stratigraphic micropalaeontology of the Upper Jurassic Neritic formations of Portugal and its Tethyan context. I - The Algarve Basin

Publicações inserida na colecção Memórias Geológicas, nº 35

Basin analysis and economic geology of the Northern Mount Isa Basin

The Mount Isa Basin is a new concept used to describe the area of Palaeo- to Mesoproterozoic rocks south of the Murphy Inlier and inappropriately described presently as the Mount Isa Inlier. The new basin concept presented in this thesis allows for the characterisation of basin-wide structural deformation, correlation of mineralisation with particular lithostratigraphic and seismic stratigraphic packages, and the recognition of areas with petroleum exploration potential. The northern depositional margin of the Mount Isa Basin is the metamorphic, intrusive and volcanic complex here referred to as the Murphy Inlier (not the "Murphy Tectonic Ridge"). The eastern, southern and western boundaries of the basin are obscured by younger basins (Carpentaria, Eromanga and Georgina Basins). The Murphy Inlier rocks comprise the seismic basement to the Mount Isa Basin sequence. Evidence for the continuity of the Mount Isa Basin with the McArthur Basin to the northwest and the Willyama Block (Basin) at Broken Hill to the south is presented. These areas combined with several other areas of similar age are believed to have comprised the Carpentarian Superbasin (new term). The application of seismic exploration within Authority to Prospect (ATP) 423P at the northern margin of the basin was critical to the recognition and definition of the Mount Isa Basin. The Mount Isa Basin is structurally analogous to the Palaeozoic Arkoma Basin of Illinois and Arkansas in southern USA but, as with all basins it contains unique characteristics, a function of its individual development history. The Mount Isa Basin evolved in a manner similar to many well described, Phanerozoic plate tectonic driven basins. A full Wilson Cycle is recognised and a plate tectonic model proposed. The northern Mount Isa Basin is defined as the Proterozoic basin area northwest of the Mount Gordon Fault. Deposition in the northern Mount Isa Basin began with a rift sequence of volcaniclastic sediments followed by a passive margin drift phase comprising mostly carbonate rocks. Following the rift and drift phases, major north-south compression produced east-west thrusting in the south of the basin inverting the older sequences. This compression produced an asymmetric epi- or intra-cratonic clastic dominated peripheral foreland basin provenanced in the south and thinning markedly to a stable platform area (the Murphy Inlier) in the north. The fmal major deformation comprised east-west compression producing north-south aligned faults that are particularly prominent at Mount Isa. Potential field studies of the northern Mount Isa Basin, principally using magnetic data (and to a lesser extent gravity data, satellite images and aerial photographs) exhibit remarkable correlation with the reflection seismic data. The potential field data contributed significantly to the unravelling of the northern Mount Isa Basin architecture and deformation. Structurally, the Mount Isa Basin consists of three distinct regions. From the north to the south they are the Bowthorn Block, the Riversleigh Fold Zone and the Cloncurry Orogen (new names). The Bowthom Block, which is located between the Elizabeth Creek Thrust Zone and the Murphy Inlier, consists of an asymmetric wedge of volcanic, carbonate and clastic rocks. It ranges from over 10 000 m stratigraphic thickness in the south to less than 2000 min the north. The Bowthorn Block is relatively undeformed: however, it contains a series of reverse faults trending east-west that are interpreted from seismic data to be down-to-the-north normal faults that have been reactivated as thrusts. The Riversleigh Fold Zone is a folded and faulted region south of the Bowthorn Block, comprising much of the area formerly referred to as the Lawn Hill Platform. The Cloncurry Orogen consists of the area and sequences equivalent to the former Mount Isa Orogen. The name Cloncurry Orogen clearly distinguishes this area from the wider concept of the Mount Isa Basin. The South Nicholson Group and its probable correlatives, the Pilpah Sandstone and Quamby Conglomerate, comprise a later phase of now largely eroded deposits within the Mount Isa Basin. The name South Nicholson Basin is now outmoded as this terminology only applied to the South Nicholson Group unlike the original broader definition in Brown et al. (1968). Cored slimhole stratigraphic and mineral wells drilled by Amoco, Esso, Elf Aquitaine and Carpentaria Exploration prior to 1986, penetrated much of the stratigraphy and intersected both minor oil and gas shows plus excellent potential source rocks. The raw data were reinterpreted and augmented with seismic stratigraphy and source rock data from resampled mineral and petroleum stratigraphic exploration wells for this study. Since 1986, Comalco Aluminium Limited, as operator of a joint venture with Monument Resources Australia Limited and Bridge Oil Limited, recorded approximately 1000 km of reflection seismic data within the basin and drilled one conventional stratigraphic petroleum well, Beamesbrook-1. This work was the first reflection seismic and first conventional petroleum test of the northern Mount Isa Basin. When incorporated into the newly developed foreland basin and maturity models, a grass roots petroleum exploration play was recognised and this led to the present thesis. The Mount Isa Basin was seen to contain excellent source rocks coupled with potential reservoirs and all of the other essential aspects of a conventional petroleum exploration play. This play, although high risk, was commensurate with the enormous and totally untested petroleum potential of the basin. The basin was assessed for hydrocarbons in 1992 with three conventional exploration wells, Desert Creek-1, Argyle Creek-1 and Egilabria-1. These wells also tested and confrrmed the proposed basin model. No commercially viable oil or gas was encountered although evidence of its former existence was found. In addition to the petroleum exploration, indeed as a consequence of it, the association of the extensive base metal and other mineralisation in the Mount Isa Basin with hydrocarbons could not be overlooked. A comprehensive analysis of the available data suggests a link between the migration and possible generation or destruction of hydrocarbons and metal bearing fluids. Consequently, base metal exploration based on hydrocarbon exploration concepts is probably. the most effective technique in such basins. The metal-hydrocarbon-sedimentary basin-plate tectonic association (analogous to Phanerozoic models) is a compelling outcome of this work on the Palaeo- to Mesoproterozoic Mount lsa Basin. Petroleum within the Bowthom Block was apparently destroyed by hot brines that produced many ore deposits elsewhere in the basin.