scholarly journals Brittle tectonics and fluids overpressure during the early stage of the Bay of Biscay opening in the Jard-sur-Mer area, (northern Aquitaine Basin, France)

2020 ◽  
Vol 191 ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Pierre Strzerzynski ◽  
Louise Lenoir ◽  
Paul Bessin ◽  
Loic Bouat
Keyword(s):  
Early Stage ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
Bay Of Biscay ◽  
High Permeability ◽  
The North ◽  
Impermeable Layer ◽  
Aquitaine Basin ◽  
Inherited Faults ◽  
Basin Boundaries

Ba, F, Pb, Ag, Zn mineral deposits are widespread at the northern and eastern boundaries of the Aquitaine Basin. In most cases, they are hosted within high permeability carbonates that rest over the Hercynian basement and below an impermeable layer. Such a position suggests a Mississippi Valley Type (MVT) model for the formation of these deposits. This model is characterized by the lateral flow of sedimentary fluids expelled from the deeper part of the basin and mixed with other sources of water as they reach the basin boundaries. In the Jard-sur-Mer area, which sits in the north of the Basin, these deposits are also found higher in the sedimentary series suggesting that fluids have flown through the impermeable layer. Our field observations demonstrate that a brittle deformation episode, compatible with an upper-Jurassic N-S direction of extension, occurred as the mineralizing fluids were over pressured. The overpressure was the result of a large input of hydrothermal water ascending along inherited faults affecting the Hercynian basement and released at the onset of the tectonics event. When compared with the rest of the basin, these new results at the northern boundary suggests that the Aquitaine Basin recorded several stages of fluid overpressure both at the onset and during the opening of the Bay of Biscay.

GEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN BIGHT

1969 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
R. Smith ◽  
P. Kamerling
Keyword(s):  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
The South ◽  
The West ◽  
Offshore Area ◽  
North West ◽  
Carbonate Sedimentation ◽  
The North ◽  
Great Australian Bight

Geophysical exploration carried out in the Great Australian Bight since 1966, combined with geological fieldwork in the adjacent land areas, has made it possible to outline the broad geological framework of the area.The "basement" consists of two major units, an offshore extension of the locally metamorphic Cambrian Kanmantoo Group in the south-east and the extension of the West Australian Archaean shield in the north-west. The boundary is thought to follow a trend extending westerly from the Cygnet-Snelling fault zone on Kangaroo Island.In two areas the basement has been downfaulted, thus creating depositional areas for thick sequences of sediments, namely the Elliston trough to the west of Eyre Peninsula and the Duntroon basin, south of Eyre Peninsula and west of Kangaroo Island.The geological setting of the Duntroon basin appears to be comparable with the Otway basin and a Jurassic- Cretaceous age is assumed for the folded sequence of sediments overlying the basement and underlying the Tertiary with angular unconformity. The basin was possibly partially and temporarily closed to the south and open to marine influences from the west.In the Elliston trough the lower part of the section which has low to medium velocity seismic character, is probably Mesozoic, as is evidenced by the Upper Jurassic encountered in its onshore extension. Proterozoic-Cambrian sediments may overlie the basement in the eastern part of the trough. Deformation of the Mesozoic is limited to the mouth of the trough where there is indication of a base- Tertiary unconformity. This trough was probably also open to marine influences to the west.Along the continental margin between the basins and also south of the Eucla basin a thin Mesozoic section, conformably underlying the Tertiary, is probably present, gradually thickening towards the continental slope.In the onshore area Tertiary sedimentation started with local deposition of clastics during the Middle Eocene, which also may have been the case off the Eucla basin, in the Elliston trough and in the Duntroon basin. Carbonate sedimentation took place from the Middle-Upper Eocene onwards, to reach its widest areal extent during the Lower Miocene. A hiatus during the Oligocene may have occurred in the western part of the Bight as is the case in the Eucla basin.Only weak deformation of the Tertiary in the offshore area has been observed. This generally occurs over Mesozoic structures in the Duntroon basin and as draping over topographic basement highs at the mouth of the Elliston trough.No significant hydrocarbon indications are known from the surrounding land areas, but the well-documented bitumen strandings along the coast point to offshore seepages indicating generation of hydrocarbons in the general area.At this stage prospects must be regarded as speculative.although a folded probable Mesozoic sequence forms an objective in the Duntroon basin while prospective Mesozoic-Tertiary section appears to be present in the Elliston trough, where structural evaluation is still at a relatively early stage.

Some remarks on the continental margins in the Aquitaine and French Pyrenees

1984 ◽  
Vol 121 (5) ◽  
pp. 407-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Boillot
Keyword(s):  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Continental Crust ◽  
Oceanic Crust ◽  
Late Eocene ◽  
Continental Margins ◽  
Bay Of Biscay ◽  
Transform Faults ◽  
The North ◽  
Transform Zone ◽  
Aquitaine Basin

AbstractFrom the Triassic to the Late Eocene, the Iberian Peninsula underwent three successive rotations with respect to the stable European plate, (a) Prior to the Late Aptian, a nearly 150 km southwestward motion resulted in stretching and thinning of the continental crust beneath the North Pyrenean zone, the Aquitaine Basin and the Bay of Biscay continental margins (rifting). Distensive structures trended 90° N to 130° N, and were shifted by 30° N to 50° N transform faults. (b) During the Late Aptian to Santonian interval, an approximately 400 km southeastward motion resulted in the opening of the Bay of Biscay and sinistral slipping of Iberia along the North Pyrenean transform zone (drifting), (c) During palaeocene–Eocene time, a 150 km northwestward convergent motion resulted in limited subduction of the oceanic crust of the Bay of Biscay beneath the Iberian plate, and folding of the Pyrenean chain. The folded belt resulted from squeezing of the former European and Iberian margins (rifted or transform margins, depending on the segment considered).

Geometries and source-to-sink analysis of a retro-foreland basin during its late to post-orogenic evolution: the case example of the Pyrenees / Aquitaine Basin / Bay of Biscay from 38 to 0 Ma

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Ortiz ◽  
François Guillocheau ◽  
Eric Lasseur ◽  
Cécile Robin ◽  
Justine Briais ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foreland Basin ◽  
Bay Of Biscay ◽  
Massif Central ◽  
Isostatic Rebound ◽  
The North ◽  
Source To Sink ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Global Increase ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
Aquitaine Basin

<p>The purpose of this study is to understand the "source-to-sink" evolution of the Pyrenees system and its retro-foreland basin, the Aquitaine basin and its deep equivalent, the Bay of Biscay during the Cenozoic. This work required (1) a biostratigraphic re-evaluation, (2) an analysis in terms of seismic stratigraphy and quantification of preserved sediment volumes, (3) a quantification of eroded volumes from the Massif Central, (4) a quantification of the eroded volumes from the Pyrenees, (5) a synthesis of all these data.</p><p>In the Aquitaine basin, the transition from the orogenic to the post-orogenic phase occurs between 27.1 and 25.2 Ma. The orogenic period is divided into two phases, (1) up to 43.5 Ma (Lutetian), is characterized by a strong subsidence at the front of the North-Pyrenean-Thrust, (2) from 43.5 to 27.1 Ma, is characterized by the subsidence migration toward the basin, in sub-basins controlled by the thrusts and the inverted structures activity. The post-orogenic is identified by the succession of three erosional surfaces that fossilize the entire compressive structures period. This period is divided into two phases, (1) from 25.2 to 16 Ma approximately, corresponds to the establishment of the isostatic rebound in the Aquitaine basin, (2) between 16 and 10.6 Ma, corresponds to an uplift of the whole system. This latter phase corresponds to a West European event undoubtedly linked to a mantle activity.</p><p>The total quantity of rocks preserved in the Aquitaine basin and the Bay of Biscay is 92 200 km3. The distribution of sediments preserved over time evolves in favour of the Aquitaine basin between 66.0 and 33.9 Ma and in favour of the Bay of Biscay between 5.3 and 0 Ma. This balance is due to the different stages of evolution of the subsidence / uplift in the Aquitaine basin. The sedimentation rates show two periods of increase in sedimentary fluxes, the first at the Eocene-Oligocene limit in the two basins, which we relate to both the period of Pyrenean paroxysmal exhumation and to contemporary global cooling. The second, at 5.3 Ma exclusively in the Bay of Biscay, seems to correspond to the global increase of fluxes, whose climatic origin is favoured by the authors.</p><p>From the inversion of the extensive thermochronological dataset in the Pyrenees and the geomorphological analysis of the planation surfaces of the French Massif Central, we obtained the total amount of eroded rock which is 34 335 km3. The difference observed between the sedimented volumes and the eroded volumes can be explained by the contribution of sediments resulting from the currents from the Pliocene, the not taking into account the volumes coming from the Cantabrian massifs, an underestimation of the eroded volumes and of the terrigenous carbonate fraction in the two basins.</p>

Determinacy of fecundity in sole (Solea solea) from the Bristol Channel

1990 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 803-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Horwood ◽  
M. Greer Walker
Keyword(s):  
Bay Of Biscay ◽  
English Channel ◽  
Potential Fecundity ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
The North ◽  
Size Frequency ◽  
Solea Solea ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Common ◽  
Common Sole

Ovaries of the common sole (Solea solea (Linnaeus)) were collected prior to, or at the beginning of, spawning from the spawning grounds in the Bristol Channel. Size frequency distributions of oocytes over 100 μm are presented. They clearly show a break in the size frequency distributions, at about 170 μm, indicating that the production of new oocytes to be spawned that season had ceased. It indicates that the sole is a determinate spawner and that, at least for this population, an annual potential fecundity can be measured. Estimated annual fecundity at length of Bristol Channel sole is calculated, and values are compared with those found for sole from the North Sea, eastern English Channel and the Bay of Biscay.

scholarly journals Rates of consumption of atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> through the weathering of loess during the next 100 yr of climate change

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Goddéris ◽  
S. L. Brantley ◽  
L. M. François ◽  
J. Schott ◽  
D. Pollard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Reaction Front ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Atmospheric Co2 ◽  
Co2 Production ◽  
Depth Interval ◽  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
The South ◽  
The North ◽  
The Future

Abstract. Quantifying how C fluxes will change in the future is a complex task for models because of the coupling between climate, hydrology, and biogeochemical reactions. Here we investigate how pedogenesis of the Peoria loess, which has been weathering for the last 13 kyr, will respond over the next 100 yr of climate change. Using a cascade of numerical models for climate (ARPEGE), vegetation (CARAIB) and weathering (WITCH), we explore the effect of an increase in CO2 of 315 ppmv (1950) to 700 ppmv (2100 projection). The increasing CO2 results in an increase in temperature along the entire transect. In contrast, drainage increases slightly for a focus pedon in the south but decreases strongly in the north. These two variables largely determine the behavior of weathering. In addition, although CO2 production rate increases in the soils in response to global warming, the rate of diffusion back to the atmosphere also increases, maintaining a roughly constant or even decreasing CO2 concentration in the soil gas phase. Our simulations predict that temperature increasing in the next 100 yr causes the weathering rates of the silicates to increase into the future. In contrast, the weathering rate of dolomite – which consumes most of the CO2 – decreases in both end members (south and north) of the transect due to its retrograde solubility. We thus infer slower rates of advance of the dolomite reaction front into the subsurface, and faster rates of advance of the silicate reaction front. However, additional simulations for 9 pedons located along the north–south transect show that the dolomite weathering advance rate will increase in the central part of the Mississippi Valley, owing to a maximum in the response of vertical drainage to the ongoing climate change. The carbonate reaction front can be likened to a terrestrial lysocline because it represents a depth interval over which carbonate dissolution rates increase drastically. However, in contrast to the lower pH and shallower lysocline expected in the oceans with increasing atmospheric CO2, we predict a deeper lysocline in future soils. Furthermore, in the central Mississippi Valley, soil lysocline deepening accelerates but in the south and north the deepening rate slows. This result illustrates the complex behavior of carbonate weathering facing short term global climate change. Predicting the global response of terrestrial weathering to increased atmospheric CO2 and temperature in the future will mostly depend upon our ability to make precise assessments of which areas of the globe increase or decrease in precipitation and soil drainage.

Mineralization of the South Pennine Orefield, UK—A Review

2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.D. Ford ◽  
N.E. Worley
Keyword(s):  
Wall Rock ◽  
Hydraulic Gradient ◽  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
The South ◽  
The North ◽  
East Midlands ◽  
Ore Minerals ◽  
Placer Deposits ◽  
Fractured Limestone ◽  
Host Rocks

This review of the South Pennine Orefield (SPO) draws together the findings from many years of underground field observations and petrographical study. Mineralization is of the Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) and is concentrated within an area of some 200 km2, mainly along the eastern margins of a large inlier, the Derbyshire High, in Carboniferous platform carbonate host rocks. The inlier covers some 390 km2, forms an up-dip promontory of a larger structure, the East Midlands Shelf, and is surrounded by shales and sandstones of the Millstone Grit and Pennine Coal Measures groups. Mineralization probably began during the late Westphalian (Moscovian, Mid Pennsylvanian), when subsidence due to thermal sag resulted in the limestone being buried to depths of c. 4 km beneath younger strata. A palaeohydraulic reconstruction is presented from analysis of mineralized palaeokarst features, which are interpreted as representing hypogenic or deep-seated karst formed by the interstratal circulation of hydrothermal water in a mostly confined hydrodynamic setting. It is reasoned that Variscan inversion of N–S faults to the east of the SPO resulted in erosion of Namurian and Westphalian (Upper Mississippian–Middle Pennsylvanian) rocks and created a hydraulic gradient inclined towards the south-west. Acidic F-Ba-Pb-Zn enriched fluid evolved in the Namurian basinal rocks and migrated into fractured limestone. The resultant wall-rock dissolution along existing wrench faults led to the formation of a maze of stratiform mineral deposits (flats) and more irregular spongework-shaped structures (pipes). The presence of hydrocarbon accumulations in the limestones and evidence from fluid inclusions indicates that the mineralizing fluids were chloride/fluoride-rich and compositionally typical of oilfield brine. Isotope evidence demonstrates a sulphate evaporite source of sulphur, mainly from the Chadian (Visean, Middle Mississippian) Middleton Anhydrite Formation. By the late Cenozoic, karstification of exposed carbonate rocks began and the current pattern of epigenic karst drainage started to develop as the regional hydraulic gradient reversed, assuming its present eastward inclined attitude. The mineralized hypogenic karst was overprinted by later drainage systems as the hydraulic gradient changed, and placer deposits were formed from the erosion of existing mineralization. This was accompanied by circulation of meteoric water and resulted in the supergene weathering of the sulphide ore minerals. Eastward underflow of meteoric groundwater also exploited the same mineralization flow paths. There is evidence that pre-mineralization hypogenic karst was also significant in the formation of orebodies in the North Pennine Orefield and the Halkyn–Minera Orefield of NE Wales.

scholarly journals Tectonic reconstruction of Uda-Murgal arc and the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous convergent margin of Northeast Asia–Northwest Pacific

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 273-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. D. Sokolov ◽  
G. Ye. Bondarenko ◽  
A. K. Khudoley ◽  
O. L. Morozov ◽  
M. V. Luchitskaya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Northeast Asia ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
Island Arc ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
Northwest Pacific ◽  
Island Arcs ◽  
The South ◽  
Convergent Margin ◽  
Tectonic Zone ◽  
The North

Abstract. A long tectonic zone composed of Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous volcanic and sedimentary rocks is recognized along the Asian continent margin from the Mongol-Okhotsk fold and thrust belt on the south to the Chukotka Peninsula on the north. This belt represents the Uda-Murgal arc, which was developed along the convergent margin between Northeast Asia and Northwest Meso-Pacific. Several segments are identified in this arc based upon the volcanic and sedimentary rock assemblages, their respective compositions and basement structures. The southern and central parts of the Uda-Murgal arc were a continental margin belt with heterogeneous basement represented by metamorphic rocks of the Siberian craton, the Verkhoyansk terrigenous complex of Siberian passive margin and the Koni-Taigonos Late Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic island arc with accreted oceanic terranes. At the present day latitude of the Pekulney and Chukotka segments there was an ensimatic island arc with relicts of the South Anyui oceanic basin in a backarc basin. Accretionary prisms of the Uda-Murgal arc and accreted terranes contain fragments of Permian, Triassic to Jurassic and Jurassic to Cretaceous (Tithonian–Valanginian) oceanic crust and Jurassic ensimatic island arcs. Paleomagnetic and faunal data show significant displacement of these oceanic complexes and the terranes of the Taigonos Peninsula were originally parts of the Izanagi oceanic plate.

scholarly journals The Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation in north-central New Mexico–Linking Colorado Plateau stratigraphy to the stratigraphy of the High Plains

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 117-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spencer Lucas
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Colorado Plateau ◽  
Far East ◽  
River System ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Morrison Formation ◽  
Southern High Plains ◽  
North Central ◽  
The North

Most study of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation has focused on its spectacular and extensive outcrops on the southern Colorado Plateau. Nevertheless, outcrops of the Morrison Formation extend far off the Colorado Plateau, onto the southern High Plains as far east as western Oklahoma. Outcrops of the Morrison Formation east of and along the eastern flank of the Rio Grande rift in north-central New Mexico (Sandoval, Bernalillo, and San­ta Fe Counties) are geographically intermediate between the Morrison Formation outcrops on the southeastern Colorado Plateau in northwestern New Mexico and on the southern High Plains of eastern New Mexico. Previous lithostratigraphic correlations between the Colorado Plateau and High Plains Morrison Formation outcrops using the north-central New Mexico sections encompassed a geographic gap in outcrop data of about 100 km. New data on previously unstudied Morrison Formation outcrops at Placitas in Sandoval County and south of Lamy in Santa Fe County reduce that gap and significantly add to stratigraphic coverage. At Placitas, the Morrison Formation is about 141 m thick, in the Lamy area it is about 232 m thick, and, at both locations, it consists of the (ascending) sandstone-dominated Salt Wash Member, mudstone-dominated Brushy Basin Member, and sandstone-dominat­ed Jackpile Member. Correlation of Morrison strata across northern New Mexico documents the continuity of the Morrison depositional systems from the Colorado Plateau eastward onto the southern High Plains. Along this transect, there is significant stratigraphic relief on the base of the Salt Wash Member (J-5 unconformity), the base of the Jackpile Member, and the base of the Cretaceous strata that overlie the Morrison Formation (K unconfor­mity). Salt Wash Member deposition was generally by easterly-flowing rivers, and this river system continued well east of the Colorado Plateau. The continuity of the Brushy Basin Member, and its characteristic zeolite-rich clay facies, onto the High Plains suggests that localized depositional models (e.g., “Lake T’oo’dichi’) need to be re-eval­uated. Instead, envisioning Brushy Basin Member deposition on a vast muddy floodplain, with some localized lacustrine and palustrine depocenters, better interprets its distribution and facies.

scholarly journals Decomposition of dinosaurian remains inferred by invertebrate traces on vertebrate bone reveal new insights into Late Jurassic ecology, decay, and climate in western Colorado

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9510
Author(s):  
Julia B. McHugh ◽  
Stephanie K. Drumheller ◽  
Anja Riedel ◽  
Miriam Kane
Keyword(s):  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
Site Formation ◽  
Morrison Formation ◽  
Bone Surface ◽  
The North ◽  
Western Colorado ◽  
Burial Rates ◽  
Minimum Residence Time ◽  
Taphonomic Analysis

A survey of 2,368 vertebrate fossils from the Upper Jurassic Mygatt-Moore Quarry (MMQ) (Morrison Formation, Brushy Basin Member) in western Colorado revealed 2,161 bone surface modifications on 884 specimens. This is the largest, site-wide bone surface modification survey of any Jurassic locality. Traces made by invertebrate actors were common in the assemblage, second in observed frequency after vertebrate bite marks. Invertebrate traces are found on 16.174% of the total surveyed material and comprise 20.148% of all identified traces. Six distinct invertebrate trace types were identified, including pits and furrows, rosettes, two types of bioglyph scrapes, bore holes and chambers. A minimum of four trace makers are indicated by the types, sizes and morphologies of the traces. Potential trace makers are inferred to be dermestid or clerid beetles, gastropods, an unknown necrophagous insect, and an unknown osteophagus insect. Of these, only gastropods are preserved at the site as body fossils. The remaining potential trace makers are part of the hidden paleodiversity from the North American Late Jurassic Period, revealed only through this ichnologic and taphonomic analysis. Site taphonomy suggests variable, but generally slow burial rates that range from months up to 6 years, while invertebrate traces on exposed elements indicate a minimum residence time of five months for carcasses with even few preserved invertebrate traces. These traces provide insight into the paleoecology, paleoclimate, and site formation of the MMQ, especially with regards to residence times of the skeletal remains on the paleolandscape. Comprehensive taphonomic studies, like this survey, are useful in exploring patterns of paleoecology and site formation, but they are also rare in Mesozoic assemblages. Additional work is required to determine if 16.174% is typical of bulk-collected fossils from Jurassic ecosystems in North America, or if the MMQ represents an unusual locality.

Middle, Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous sedimentary environments of the Djebel Nefusa region, northwestern Libya

1977 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 45-49
Author(s):  
Richard J. Hodgkinson ◽  
Christopher D. Walley
Keyword(s):  
Sedimentary Basin ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
Fault Scarp ◽  
The West ◽  
Sedimentary Environments ◽  
The North ◽  
Clastic Sediments ◽  
Stratigraphic Nomenclature ◽  
Saharan Platform ◽  
North Western

Carbonate and clastic sediments of Jurassic and Cretaceous age are exposed along the fault-scarp of Djebel Nefusa in north-western Libya. Previous geological investigations have been mainly restricted to the eastern sector of the scarp. Recent studies by the authors in the western sector of Djebel Nefusa and on equivalent sediments in southern Tunisia have allowed the first regional interpretation of these rocks.The area studied lies geographically and geologically at the edge of the Saharan Platform, a large cratonic block, composed of rocks of Precambrian-Palaeozoic age. To the north and east lies a downfaulted sedimentary basin (Gabes-Sabratha Basin) containing a large thickness of Mesozoic sediments. The location of the sections measured along Djebel Nefusa are depicted in Fig.1.The stratigraphic nomenclature of the rock succession of Djebel Nefusa was first established in the east and continued laterally towards the west by later workers. Difficulties in the application of this nomenclature are presented by the recognition of facies changes previously overlooked by earlier investigators. However, as a framework for understanding these changes and the sedimentary processes which caused them, the stratigraphy erected by Magnier (1963) is adopted.

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