Impact crater versus bioherm on the Nullarbor Plain, Australia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matej Lipar ◽  
Mateja Ferk ◽  
Andrej Šmuc
Keyword(s):  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Impact Crater ◽  
Tectonic Deformation ◽  
Exposed Rock ◽  
Late Middle Miocene ◽  
Aeolian Activity ◽  
German Aerospace ◽  
Impact Events ◽  
Geomorphological Features

<p>The Nullarbor Plain is ~200,000 km<sup>2</sup> large planar karst surface in southern Australia, composed of middle Cenozoic shallow-water limestones of Eucla Group. The youngest formation, covering the top of the plain, is middle Miocene extremely fossiliferous sub-tropical Nullarbor Limestone. In the late Middle Miocene the area was uplifted and exposed to terrestrial denudation and erosion since. Although the plain is in general considered extremely flat, the present geomorphological features indicate a relatively complex geomorphology formed by a combination of tectonic deformation, fluvial and aeolian activity and karst denudation. Due to the absence of orogenesis and only minor influence of post-Miocene sediment deposition, the geomorphology of the Nullarbor preserved footprints of Earth processes through a long, middle Miocene-to-present, time span.</p><p>The presence of dry climate and consequent lack of vegetation also aided for numerous meteorite findings, but no visible impact deformations have been recorded. The latter, in combination with capability of the plain to inherit/imprint old geomorphological features, and accessibility of recently built 0.4 arc sec TanDEM-X-DEM by the German Aerospace Centre, motivated the search of a possible meteorite craters with spatial analysis of the plain. The analysis of DEM images revealed a single geomorphological feature with circular uplifted rim (diameter: 1200 m – 1300 m; height: 7 m in relation to outer elevation; width: 200 – 450 m), central uplift (diameter: 500 m; height: 10 m in relation to outer elevation), and a circular trough in between (2 – 3 m higher than outer elevation). Its morphology differs from other geomorphological features observable on the Nullarbor Plain, and represents a unique phenomenon, which cannot be explained as a part of tectonic, volcanic, fluvial, karst or aeolian processes.</p><p>This feature is therefore a candidate for a possible relict of a meteorite crater, which occurrence is supported by topographical characteristics including uniqueness of the shape compared to other features on the plain. On the other hand, geological characteristics of the exposed rock within the “crater” lack any of the general diagnostic evidence for impact events (e.g., shocked quartz, brecciation), but rather indicate presence of boundstones with frame-builders preserved in in-situ position and thus suggesting the preservation of a bioherm. The occurrences of bioherms, however, are seldom individual (unlike impact craters) and more likely occur in clusters. The question remaining for this conference discussion is whether dissolutional imprinting of an impact crater could denude any of the characteristic impact structures whilst preserving the shape, or are we looking at a single bioherm preserved as a primary marine depositional feature?</p><p>ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: We acknowledge the financial support of Slovenian Research Agency (P6-0101; I0-0031; N1-0162), the Australian Speleological Federation Karst Conservation Fund and TerraSAR-X / TanDEM-X (DEM_GEOL2288).</p>

scholarly journals Diversity of gobioid fishes in the late middle Miocene of northern Moldova, Eastern Paratethys – part I: an extinct clade of Lesueurigobius look-alikes

PalZ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bettina Reichenbacher ◽  
Alexander F. Bannikov
Keyword(s):  
Middle Miocene ◽  
New Genera ◽  
Monophyletic Clade ◽  
Eastern Paratethys ◽  
Dorsal Fin ◽  
Late Middle Miocene ◽  
Western Asia ◽  
Stem Lineage ◽  
Gobioid Fishes

AbstractStudies of otoliths suggest that Gobioidei, which are among the most species-rich groups of modern-day vertebrates, were prominent elements of late middle Miocene (early Sarmatian sensu lato) fish faunas in Europe and Western Asia. However, few complete skeletons have come to light. Here, we report an assemblage of six marine gobiid species, based on skeletons preserved with otoliths in situ, from the lower Volhynian (lower Sarmatian s.l.) of Karpov Yar, Naslavcea, northern Moldova (Eastern Paratethys). Previously only one of these species had been reported from the Central Paratethys, based on its otoliths alone. Five new species representing four new genera are described: †Katyagobius prikryli gen. et sp. nov., Pseudolesueurigobius manfredi gen. et sp. nov., †Sarmatigobius compactus gen. et sp. nov., †Yarigobius decoratus gen. et sp. nov., and †Y. naslavcensis gen. et sp. nov. All six species share the following set of characters, suggesting that they represent a monophyletic clade: 27–29 vertebrae (of which 10 are abdominal); spines of first dorsal fin distally filamentous; second dorsal fin with spine and 14–16 soft rays; anal fin with spine and 13–15 soft rays; caudal fin longish-to-lanceolate; otoliths (sagittae) with rounded, trapezoid-to-squarish shape. Their skeletal features suggest that they are closely related to Lesueurigobius Whitley, 1950, but the otoliths preserved in situ do not support such a classification. The new fossils most likely represent a stem lineage of the European Aphia lineage, and indicate that the diversity of gobiid lineages 12 million years ago differed clearly from that observed today.

scholarly journals VRTBY ICHNORODU GASTROCHAENOLITES JAKOŽTO ŽIVOTNÍ PROSTOR MLŽŮ Z LOKALITY BORAČ-PODOLÍ (KARPATSKÁ PŘEDHLUBEŇ, ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA)

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Šamánek ◽  
Radek Mikuláš ◽  
Nela Doláková ◽  
Šářka Hladilová
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Water Transport ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
The State ◽  
Secondary User ◽  
Hiatella Arctica ◽  
Fossil Material ◽  
The Town ◽  
Hard Substrates

In 2015 the locality Borač-Podolí was newly examined. The locality is situated 8 km NW from the town of Tišnov. A large amount of shallow-water fossils of middle Miocene (Badenian) age was collected. The state of preservation of the material enabled us bivalve borings of ichnogenus Gastrochaenolites which were bored into colonies of hermatype corals and other calcareous hard substrates. In some of these borings, bivalves were found in situ. The borings were determined as Gastrochaenolites isp., Gastrochaenolites orbicularis, Gastrochaenolites lapidicus, Gastrochaenolites dijugus and Gastrochaenolites torpedo. The in situ bivalves were determined as Gastrochaena cf. intermedia, Rocellaria cf. dubia, Hiatella arctica and Cardita calyculata. The first three species probably represent primary borers while Cardita calyculata is probably a secondary user (squatter). Based on an analysis of fossil material, we can assume that borings were created aft er the death of corals during the repeated transport of these bioclasts. It led to colonizing of the whole surface of coral bioclasts. The bioclasts were then moved to deeper water. Transport to water with clay sedimentation enabled the preservation of the bivalves in situ in borings.

scholarly journals The distribution of <i>Triebelina raripila</i> and <i>Carinocythereis carinata</i> (Ostracoda) from the Middle Miocene of the Central Paratethys and their palaeogeographic implications

1998 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Szczechura
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Early Miocene ◽  
Central Paratethys ◽  
Eastern Paratethys ◽  
Main Species ◽  
Late Middle Miocene ◽  
The Mediterranean

Abstract. Late Middle Miocene (Upper Badenian) strata of the Fore-Carpathian Depression of Poland yield a shallow-water ostracod fauna which contains the species Triebelina raripila (G. W. Müller, 1894) and Carinocythereis carinata (Roemer, 1838). The palaeobiogeographic distribution of the two main species suggests, that in the late Middle Miocene, Central Paratethys was still connected to the Mediterranean, although still separated from the Eastern Paratethys and from southeastern Eurasia. The continuous occurrence of Triebelina raripila and Carinocythereis carinata in the Mediterranean basins, from the Early Miocene to Recent, indicates that marine conditions existed throughout, thereby allowing them to survive the Late Miocene salinity crisis.

Patchy bedrock explained: Tectonic fracture control on landscape evolution patterns in south-Central Chile 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Lodes ◽  
Dirk Scherler ◽  
Hella Wittmann ◽  
Renee Van Dongen
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Weathering ◽  
Landscape Evolution ◽  
Tectonic Deformation ◽  
Fracture Density ◽  
Rock Fracturing ◽  
Central Chile ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Denudation Rates ◽  
South Central

&lt;p&gt;Rock fracturing induced by tectonic deformation is thought to promote faster denudation in more highly fractured areas by lowering grain size and directing the flow of water. That the density and pattern of fractures in a landscape play a role in controlling erosion and landscape evolution has been known for over a century, but not until recently do we have tools, like cosmogenic nuclides, to quantify erosion rates in places with varying fracture densities. In the Nahuelbuta Range in south-central Chile, we observed that &gt;30-m thick regolith exists next to patches of unweathered bedrock. We hypothesize that the density of fractures dictates the pace and patterns of chemical weathering, regolith conversion, and erosion in the Nahuelbuta Range. To test this, we used in situ cosmogenic &lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt;Be to obtain denudation rates from amalgamated samples of bedrock, corestones and soils, and measured fracture density and orientation, as well as hillslope boulder size in several sites in the Nahuelbuta Range. We found that more highly fractured areas indeed have higher denudation rates than less fractured areas, and that bedrock denudation rates are ~10 m/Myr while soil denudation rates are ~30 m/Myr, suggesting that soil-covered areas may be sites of higher fracture density at depth. Fractures have orientations that match mapped faults across the Nahuelbuta range, and thus are considered to be tectonically-induced. In addition, both fracture and fault orientations match the orientation of streams incising the range, suggesting that fractures control stream channel orientation by weakening bedrock and thus directing flow.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Herpetological phylogeographic analyses support a Miocene focal point of Himalayan uplift and biological diversification

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Xu ◽  
Wen-Jie Dong ◽  
Ting-Ting Fu ◽  
Wei Gao ◽  
Chen-Qi Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Himalayan Region ◽  
The World ◽  
Early Paleocene ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
The Himalaya ◽  
Exact Timing

Abstract The Himalaya are among the youngest and highest mountains in the world, but the exact timing of their uplift and origins of their biodiversity are still in debate. The Himalayan region is a relatively small area but with exceptional diversity and endemism. One common hypothesis to explain the rich montane diversity is uplift-driven diversification–that orogeny creates conditions favoring rapid in situ speciation of resident lineages. We test this hypothesis in the Himalayan region using amphibians and reptiles, two environmental sensitive vertebrate groups. In addition, analysis of diversification of the herpetofauna provides an independent source of information to test competing geological hypotheses of Himalayan orogenesis. We conclude that the origins of the Himalayan herpetofauna date to the early Paleocene, but that diversification of most groups was concentrated in the Miocene. There was an increase in both rates and modes of diversification during the early to middle Miocene, together with regional interchange (dispersal) between the Himalaya and adjacent regions. Our analyses support a recently proposed stepwise geological model of Himalayan uplift beginning in the Paleocene, with a subsequent rapid increase of uplifting during the Miocene, finally give rise to the intensification of the modern South Asia Monsoon.

scholarly journals Intercomparison of midlatitude tropospheric and lower-stratospheric water vapor measurements and comparison to ECMWF humidity data

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (22) ◽  
pp. 16729-16745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Kaufmann ◽  
Christiane Voigt ◽  
Romy Heller ◽  
Tina Jurkat-Witschas ◽  
Martina Krämer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Climate Impact ◽  
Cloud Formation ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Stratospheric Water Vapor ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
Quality Of Water ◽  
Research Aircraft ◽  
German Aerospace

Abstract. Accurate measurement of water vapor in the climate-sensitive region near the tropopause is very challenging. Unexplained systematic discrepancies between measurements at low water vapor mixing ratios made by different instruments on airborne platforms have limited our ability to adequately address a number of relevant scientific questions on the humidity distribution, cloud formation and climate impact in that region. Therefore, during the past decade, the scientific community has undertaken substantial efforts to understand these discrepancies and improve the quality of water vapor measurements. This study presents a comprehensive intercomparison of airborne state-of-the-art in situ hygrometers deployed on board the DLR (German Aerospace Center) research aircraft HALO (High Altitude and LOng Range Research Aircraft) during the Midlatitude CIRRUS (ML-CIRRUS) campaign conducted in 2014 over central Europe. The instrument intercomparison shows that the hygrometer measurements agree within their combined accuracy (±10 % to 15 %, depending on the humidity regime); total mean values agree within 2.5 %. However, systematic differences on the order of 10 % and up to a maximum of 15 % are found for mixing ratios below 10 parts per million (ppm) H2O. A comparison of relative humidity within cirrus clouds does not indicate a systematic instrument bias in either water vapor or temperature measurements in the upper troposphere. Furthermore, in situ measurements are compared to model data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) which are interpolated along the ML-CIRRUS flight tracks. We find a mean agreement within ±10 % throughout the troposphere and a significant wet bias in the model on the order of 100 % to 150 % in the stratosphere close to the tropopause. Consistent with previous studies, this analysis indicates that the model deficit is mainly caused by too weak of a humidity gradient at the tropopause.

scholarly journals New record of Neosaimiri (Cebidae, Platyrrhini) from the late Middle Miocene of Peruvian Amazonia

2020 ◽  
Vol 146 ◽  
pp. 102835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Marivaux ◽  
Walter Aguirre-Diaz ◽  
Aldo Benites-Palomino ◽  
Guillaume Billet ◽  
Myriam Boivin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Record ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Late Middle Miocene ◽  
Peruvian Amazonia

Chapter 6 The Loyalty Islands and Ridge, New Caledonia

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Maurizot ◽  
J. Collot ◽  
D. Cluzel ◽  
M. Patriat
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
New Caledonia ◽  
Tectonic Deformation ◽  
Sea Level Changes ◽  
Volcaniclastic Rocks ◽  
Carbonate Deposits

AbstractThe Loyalty Ridge lies to the east and NE of the Norfolk Ridge. The three main Loyalty Islands (Maré, Lifou and Ouvéa) emerge from the ridge at the same latitude as Grande Terre. The islands are uniformly composed of carbonate deposits, except for Maré, where Middle Miocene intra-plate basalts and associated volcaniclastic rocks form restricted outcrops. Miocene rhodolith limestones constitute the bulk of the carbonate cover of the three islands. On Maré, these platform accumulations are locally topped by a dolomitic hardground, which, in turn, is covered by Pliocene–Pleistocene coral-bearing formations. These coral reef constructions are preserved as elevated rims over all three islands and define an atoll stage in their development. The Pleistocene–Holocene palaeoshoreline indicators include fringing bioconstructions and marine notches and record both eustatic sea-level changes and tectonic deformation. The ridge has been in the forebulge region in front of the active Vanuatu subduction zone since the Pliocene and each of the three islands has been uplifted and tilted to varying degrees. Offshore, the Loyalty Ridge continues northwards to the d'Entrecasteaux Zone and southwards to the Three Kings Ridge. Although typically volcanic, the nature of the deep Loyalty Ridge remains unknown.

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