Facies characterization and depositional environment of Baluti Formation (Late Triassic) from selected sections in the Kurdistan region, Northern Iraq

The Shahrizor Prehistory Project has targeted prehistoric levels of the Late Ubaid and Late Chalcolithic 4 (LC4; Late Middle Uruk) periods at Gurga Chiya (Shahrizor, Kurdistan region of northern Iraq), along with the Halaf period at the adjacent site of Tepe Marani. Excavations at the latter have produced new dietary and environmental data for the sixth millennium B.C. in the region, while at Gurga Chiya part of a burned Late Ubaid tripartite house was excavated. This has yielded a promising archaeobotanical assemblage and established a benchmark ceramic assemblage for the Shahrizor Plain, which is closely comparable to material known from Tell Madhhur in the Hamrin valley. The related series of radiocarbon dates gives significant new insights into the divergent timing of the Late Ubaid and early LC in northern and southern Mesopotamia. In the following occupation horizon, a ceramic assemblage closely aligned to the southern Middle Uruk indicates convergence of material culture with central and southern Iraq as early as the LC4 period. Combined with data for the appearance of Early Uruk elements at sites in the adjacent Qara Dagh region, this hints at long-term co-development of material culture during the fourth millennium B.C. in southeastern Iraqi Kurdistan and central and southern Iraq, potentially questioning the model of expansion or colonialism from the south.

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Geochemical constraints of hydrothermal alteration of dolostones: An example of Lower Cretaceous Qamchuqa Formation, Kurdistan Region, northern Iraq

Marine and Petroleum Geology ◽

10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2021.105337 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 105337

Author(s):

Kareem H. Kareem ◽

Ihsan S. Al-Aasm ◽

Howri Mansurbeg

Keyword(s):

Hydrothermal Alteration ◽

Lower Cretaceous ◽

Kurdistan Region ◽

Northern Iraq ◽

Geochemical Constraints

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New records of basidiomycetous macrofugi from Kurdistan region - Northern Iraq

African Journal of Plant Science ◽

10.5897/ajps2017.1543 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 209-219

Author(s):

Q. Suliaman Sara ◽

O. AL- Khesraji Talib ◽

A. Hassan Abdullah

Keyword(s):

New Records ◽

Kurdistan Region ◽

Northern Iraq

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Global carbon isotope signal in the Middle Triassic on Svalbard

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-15701 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Victoria S. Engelschiøn ◽

Øyvind Hammer ◽

Fredrik Wesenlund ◽

Jørn H. Hurum ◽

Atle Mørk

Keyword(s):

Carbon Isotope ◽

Depositional Environment ◽

Middle Triassic ◽

Barents Sea ◽

Water Productivity ◽

Sedimentary Environment ◽

The Arctic ◽

Late Triassic ◽

Triassic Boundary ◽

Thin Sections

Several carbon isotope curves were recently published for the Early and Middle Triassic in Tethys. Recent work has also been done on the Early Triassic of Svalbard, but not yet for the Middle Triassic. This work is the first to measure &#948;13C for different Middle Triassic localities on Svalbard, which was then part of the Boreal Ocean on northern Pangea. Our aim is to understand the controls on the Svalbard carbon isotope curve and to place them in a global setting.Correlating Triassic rocks around the world is interesting for several reasons. The Triassic Period was a tumultuous time for life, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard has shown to be an important locality to understand the early radiation of marine vertebrates in the Triassic. Much effort is also made to understand the development of the Barents Sea through Svalbard&#8217;s geology.Carbon isotope curves are controlled by depositional environment and global fluctuations. Global factors such as the carbon cycle control the long-term carbon isotopic compositions, while short-term fluctuations may reflect the origin of organic materials in the sediment (e.g. algal or terrestrial matter), stratification of the water column, and/or surface water productivity. Carbon isotopes can therefore be useful to understand the depositional environment and to correlate time-equivalent rocks globally.The dataset was collected through three seasons of fieldwork in Svalbard with localities from the islands Spitsbergen, Edge&#248;ya and Bj&#248;rn&#248;ya. Detailed stratigraphic sampling has resulted in high-resolution &#948;13C curves. These show three strong transitions; 1) on the boundary between the Early and Middle Triassic, 2) in the middle of the formation and 3) at the Middle and Late Triassic boundary. Several Tethyan localities show a possibly similar Early-Middle Triassic signal. Current work in progress is sedimentological analysis by thin sections and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) to further understand the sedimentary environment.

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Constraining the age of the first pulse of continental rifting associated with the breakup of Pangea in Southwest Iberia

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-1346 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Margarida Vilas-Boas ◽

Niall W. Paterson ◽

Zélia Pereira ◽

Paulo Fernandes ◽

Simonetta Cirilli

Keyword(s):

Financial Support ◽

Depositional Environment ◽

Late Triassic ◽

The North ◽

Low Diversity ◽

Southern Portugal ◽

Palynological Study ◽

Algarve Basin ◽

Central Atlantic ◽

Red Bed

The Algarve Basin is a Mesozoic sedimentary basin located in southern Portugal. The basin was initiated by rifting associated with the opening of the North and Central Atlantic Ocean during the initial breakup of Pangea. Sedimentation commenced with continental red beds, which unconformably overlie folded and faulted late Carboniferous strata. The red bed succession (Silves Sandstones) consists mainly of sandstones and conglomerates at the base, overlain by variegated mudstones interbedded with siltstones and dolomites (Silves Mudstones, Siltstones and Dolomites). The sandstones were deposited in alluvial environments, and the mudstones in alluvial to shallow lacustrine environments. Upper Triassic (Carnian to Norian) macrofossils are scarce in the red bed succession, occurring predominantly in the upper beds of the succession above the Silves Sandstones, and do not accurately constrain the age of the beginning of the Algarve Basin.A palynological study of a new road cut outcrop of Silves Sandstones, located in central Algarve, was undertaken in order to ascertain its age. A 3 m thick bed of grey siltstones located ca. 2.5 m above the unconformity yielded age-diagnostic palynomorphs, which date the onset of sedimentation in the basin. Samples from the latter bed yielded a moderately well preserved, low diversity palynomorph assemblage, which is dominated by Aulisporites astigmosus, Converrucosisporites sp. and Tulesporites briscoensis. Other taxa present in the assemblage include Alisporites sp., Calamospora sp., Cycadopites sp., Deltoidospora sp., Ovalipollis cf. ovalis, Triadispora sp., and Vallasporites ignacii.The dominance of A. astigmosus together with V. ignacii is indicative of an early Carnian age based on comparison with independently dated sections described elsewhere in Europe. This new dating evidence thus constrains the beginning of sedimentation in the Algarve Basin to the earliest Late Triassic. The co-occurrence of T. briscoensis and A. astigmosus suggests a mixing of palynofloral elements typical of North American and central European Carnian assemblages respectively, which is consistent with the intermediate position of Portugal between those regions. The dominance of phytoclasts and the absence of marine palynomorphs confirms a continental depositional environment as also suggested by sedimentary lithofacies.AcknowledgementsThe authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Portuguese Foundation of Science and Technology (FCT) with the scholarship with the reference SFRH/BD/144125/2019 and would also like to acknowledge the financial support of the FCT to CIMA through UIDP/00350/2020.

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