Sedimentological and paleontological analysis of the Lower Jurassic part of the Zatrnik Formation on the Pokljuka plateau, Slovenia

The uppermost Ladinian to Lower Jurassic Zatrnik Formation is the lithostratigraphic unit of the Mesozoic deeper marine Bled Basin. The uppermost part of the Zatrnik Formation and the transition into the overlying Ribnica Breccia was logged at the Zajamniki mountain pasture on the Pokljuka mountain plateau in the Julian Alps. The lowermost part the section belongs to the “classical” Zatrnik Formation and is dominated by beige micritic limestone and fine-grained calcarenite. Foraminifers Siphovalvulina, ?Everticyclammina, ?Mesoendothyra and ?Pseudopfenderina are present, indicating Early Jurassic age. The beige limestone is followed by light pink limestone of the uppermost Zatrnik Formation. Slumps are common in this interval, and crinoids are abundant. Alongside some species already present in beds lower in the succession, Meandrovoluta asiagoensis Fugagnoli & Rettori, Trocholina sp., Valvulinidae, small Textulariidae, Lagenida, and small ?Ophthalmidium alsooccur in this interval. Resedimented limestone predominates through the studied part of the Zatrnik Formation, indicating deposition on the slope or at the foot of the slope of the basin. The switch to crinoid-rich facies within the slumped interval of the Zatrnik Formation may reflect accelerated subsidence of the margins of the Julian Carbonate Platform in the Pliensbachian. The Zatrnik Formation is followed by the formation of the Pliensbachian (?) Ribnica Breccia. Impregnations of ferromanganese oxides, violet colour, and an increase in clay content are characteristic. The foraminiferal assemblage consists of Lenticulina, small elongated Lagenida, and epistominids. Individual beds of the Ribnica Breccia were deposited via debris flows. Enrichments in ferromanganese oxides point to slower sedimentation.

Fossil-bearing Citalang Formation, Sumedang-Majalengka, West Java

The Citalang Formation in Sumedang-Majalengka area comprises of various lithological units, including coarse-grained sandstones to conglomerates, greenish grey to dark grey claystone with sandstone and tuff interbeds, and pumice-bearing tuffaceous sandstones and tuff. All these units occur in the lower part of the formation and the contacts with older, underlying rock units are unconformable in several places.Vertebrate fossil fragments are frequently found in the lowermost part of the formation, especially within the coarse-grained sandstones to conglomerates unit. This unit also holds stone tools artefacts, which were made from different kind of stones and show quite simple or primitive shape. The age of Citalang Formation is not yet resolved and still needs to be researched. Some published literatures suggest Pleistocene while there are others that suggest Pliocene.

Transgressive nature and chilled margins of the Upper Zone in the western Bushveld Complex, South Africa

ABSTRACT The Upper Zone of the Bushveld Complex has long been known to have formed from a major influx of magma into the chamber that caused large-scale erosion of the chamber floor cumulates. The most dramatic manifestations of this process are two major gap areas (Northern and Southern) in the western Bushveld Complex in which the Upper Zone appears to have eroded away the underlying cumulates down to the very base of the Complex. However, due to almost complete lack of outcrops in the gap areas, no direct field observations have ever been reported to confirm the transgressive nature of the Upper Zone. Here, we present for the first time such observations from the Kameelhoek chromite mine located at the margin of the Northern Gap. In the open pit we have documented several transgressive depressions (up to 40 m in width) in the orthopyroxenite and chromitites of the Lower Critical Zone that are filled in with magnetite gabbro of the Upper Zone. The magnetite gabbro is chilled against the sidewalls of the depressions, forming glassy and fine-grained textured rocks with plagioclase laths arranged in radial clusters. Mineralogically and chemically, the magnetite gabbro correlates with cumulates from the lowermost part of the Upper Zone at its normal position in the complex. Three major points that have emerged from this study are: (1) the Critical Zone has been eroded away by magma that was parental to the Upper Zone, (2) this eroding magma was not the one that initiated formation of the Pyroxenite Marker, but rather the evolved melt that replenished the chamber at some later stage, and (3) the melt was phenocryst-free and likely derived from a deep-seated staging chamber. Our study thus supports a recent notion that even during the formation of the Upper Zone, the Bushveld chamber had still been operating as an open system that was replenished by melts from deeper magma sources.

Sedimentology and ichnology of the mid-Cretaceous succession of Ouled Nail Mounts (Eastern Saharan Atlas, Algeria)

Shallow marine deposits characterize the upper Albian – lower Cenomanian deposits of Northern Algeria. In Djebel Azzeddine (Ouled Nail Mounts), the corresponding sediments have been subdivided into three distinctive units A to C. The first discovered ammonite fauna from the Bou Saada area allowed the attribution of a part of the mid-Cretaceous post-Continental Intercalaire deposits to the upper Albian. The ammonite-bearing level indicates a maximum flooding surface and could be correlated with similar levels from Northern Algeria. The studied succession is characterized by a low ichnodiversity containing eight ichnotaxa with abundant Thalassinoides, common Skolithos, and rare Gyrolithes, Oichnus, Planolites and cf. Tisoa. This ichnoassemblage is dominated by domichnion, fodinichnion and praedichnion trace fossils, and is attributed to the Skolithos and Glossifungites ichnofacies. These traces are produced mainly by decapod crustaceans, polychaetes and naticid gastropods. The sedimentological and ichnological data suggest shoreface to backshore environments with mixed tide/storm energy, and long subaerial exposures indicated by Lofer cyclothems in the lowermost part and dinosaur footprints in the upper part of the section.

Origin of Critical Metals in Fe–Ni Laterites from the Balkan Peninsula: Opportunities and Environmental Risk

As the global energy sector is expected to experience a gradual shift towards renewable energy sources, access to special metals in known resources is of growing concern within the EU and at a worldwide scale. This is a review on the Fe–Ni ± Co-laterite deposits in the Balkan Peninsula, which are characterized by multistage weathering/redeposition and intense tectonic activities. The ICP-MS analyses of those laterites indicated that they are major natural sources of Ni and Co, with ore grading from 0.21 to 3.5 wt.% Ni and 0.03 to 0.31 wt.% Co, as well as a significant Sc content (average 55 mg/kg). The SEM-EDS analyses revealed that fine Fe-, Ni-, Co-, and Mn-(hydr)oxides are dominant host minerals and that the enrichment in these elements is probably controlled by the post-formation evolution of initial ore redeposition. The paucity of rare earth element (REE) within the typical Fe–Ni laterite ore and the preferential occurrence of Co (up to 0.31 wt.%), REE content (up to 6000 mg/kg ΣREE), and REE-minerals along with Ni, Co, and Mn (asbolane and silicates) towards the lowermost part of the Lokris (C. Greece) laterite ore suggest that their deposition is controlled by epigenetic processes. The platinum-group element (PGE) content in those Fe–Ni laterites, reaching up to 88 μg/kg Pt and 26 μg/kg Pd (up to 186 μg/kg Pd in one sample), which is higher than those in the majority of chromite deposits associated with ophiolites, may indicate important weathering and PGE supergene accumulation. Therefore, the mineralogical and geochemical features of Fe–Ni laterites from the Balkan Peninsula provide evidence for potential sources of certain critical metals and insights to suitable processing and metallurgical methods. In addition, the contamination of soil by heavy metals and irrigation groundwater by toxic Cr(VI), coupled with relatively high Cr(VI) concentrations in water leachates for laterite samples, altered ultramafic rocks and soils neighboring the mining areas and point to a potential human health risk and call for integrated water–soil–plant investigations in the basins surrounding laterite mines.

The response of calcareous nannoplankton to the latest Pliensbachian-early Toarcian environmental changes in the Camino section (Basque Cantabrian Basin, North Spain)

Quantitative analysis performed on latest Pliensbachian-early Toarcian calcareous nannofossil assemblages from the Camino section (Basque Cantabrian Basin), allowed to decipher their response to the environmental changes recorded during this time interval, characterized by an extinction event. The results were introduced within a principal component analysis and compared to the stable isotope and total organic carbon curves. During the latest Pliensbachian, the Mirabile and the lowermost part of the Semicelatum Ammonite Subzones, Schizosphaerella, Bussonius prinsii, Biscutum finchii, Calcivascularis jansae and Similiscutum avitum, taxa that probably thrived in rather cold waters, dominated the calcareous nannofossil assemblages. Coinciding with the warmer and probably wetter conditions, which probably led to an increase in surface water fertility, recorded slightly below the extinction boundary, the mesotrophic taxa B. novum, L. hauffii and Calyculus spp. were dominant. Nevertheless, T. patulus and C. jansae, which became extinct just below the extinction boundary, show preferences for oligotrophic conditions. Salinities similar to those of modern oceans have been inferred around the extinction boundary, considering the coupling between the abundances of Calyculus spp. and the species richness, and the absence of black-shales. After the extinction boundary, nannofossil assemblages were dominated by the deep-dweller C. crassus and the shallow-dweller Lotharingius species, interpreted as opportunistic taxa. This work confirms that calcareous nannofossils are a useful tool for palaeoceanographic and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, especially in terms of climatic changes.Supplementary material at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5481527

Benthic foraminifera from the Albian shallow-marine limestones in the Geyik Dağı area (Central Taurides), southern Turkey

Cretaceous carbonates in the Geyik Dağı area (Central Taurides, southern Turkey) are represented by two successions with different paleoenvironmental settings: open shelf to slope succession of Cenomanian to Danian age and inner platform succession of Albian to Maastrichtian age, which is interrupted by a post-Cenomanian disconformity. Outcropped lowermost part of the platform-type one is composed of rudistid limestones corresponding to the Urgonian-type carbonates and belongs to the Geyik Dağı Unit (=Anamas-Akseki Carbonate Platform). It contains a rich assemblage of larger benthic foraminifera including orbitolinid, chrysalidinid, cuneolinid, nezzazatid, and miliolid taxa, which has been illustrated and documented here for the first time from the upper Albian of the Tauride Carbonate Platform. The occurrence of such a diversified foraminiferal fauna indicates a prominent high diversity that took place in the Tauride Carbonate Platform during the late Albian time, which corresponds to a major emersion period in some parts of the platform.

Geological study in Tal - Talekhu section of Manang District along the Besisahar – Chame Road

The section between Tal to Talekhu of Manang District lacks the detailed geological study. The geological mapping in the scale of 1:50,000 followed by the preparation of geological cross-section and lithostratigraphic column has been done in the present study. The studied area lies partially in the Higher Himalayan Crystalline and the Tibetan Tethys Sequence. The units of the Higher Himalayan Group from Tal to Talekhu consists mainly of vigorous to faintly calcareous gneiss, migmatitic gneiss, quartzite, granite, etc. They are named as the Calc. Silicate Gneiss and Paragneiss and the Orthogneiss and Granite units. The lowermost part of the Tibetan Tethys consisted of metamorphosed calcareous rocks containing silicates and feldspar, so this unit is termed as the Marble and Calc. Gneiss. The section is about 9 km in thickness and is highly deformed with presence of igneous rocks at many places.

Gabbronorite from Jijal Complex, Kamila Amphibolite Belt and Chilas Complex, Northern Pakistan: Implications for Arc Genesis

Rocks of gabbronoritic composition occur in three principal tectono-stratigraphic units forming the lower andmiddle parts of the Kohistan Island arc (KIA). These include the Jijal complex (JC), the Kamila Amphibolite belt (KAB)and the Chilas complex (CHC). The Jijal complex constitutes the lowermost part and hence is regarded as the root zoneof KIA. Its north-eastern part adjacent to KAB contains gabbronorite as a minor component in the form of small irregularpatches and layers within garnet granulite. The JC gabbronorite is sub-equigranular, medium to coarse grained, largelymassive and consists of variable amounts of plagioclase (53-71 %), orthopyroxene (14-27 %) and clinopyroxene (11-19%) as essential constituents and accessory to minor amounts of amphibole (1-9 %), opaque ore (1-6 %) and orthoclase(1-4 %). The occurrence and distribution of biotite, epidote, chlorite, clay, sericite, muscovite, quartz and actinolite inthe studied samples suggest their formation through alteration and/ or reaction between pre-existing minerals. In manycases, these minerals are disposed such that a variety of simple and complex corona structures are produced. The principalpetrographic features (modal composition, optical properties of the major mineral phases, exsolution in pyroxenes,products of alteration and reactions and the resulting corona textures) of the JC gabbronorite are broadly similar togabbronorites from both the KAB and CHC. Although the observed similarities could reflect identical physico-chemicalconditions during subsolidus or metamorphic re-equilibration, the possibility of a genetic relationship amonggabbronorites from all the three tectono-magmatic units of the KIA (i.e. the JC, KAB and CHC) cannot be ruled out.

Identification and Origin of Jurassic (~182 Ma) Zircon Grains from Chromitite within the Peridotite of the Jijal Complex, Kohistan Arc in North Pakistan

The Jijal ultramafic–mafic complex in Pakistan probably preserves the most complete fragments of the petrological Moho. However, a few studies argue for multiple origins (including petrogenetic speculations and tectonic reconstructions) for different lithologies. One of the main reasons for this dispute is the lack of direct age information of the ultramafic rocks. Zircon grains, despite generally being exotic in ultramafic rocks, can provide significant insights into the petrogenetic process of the host ultramafic rocks. This study reports the first zircon U–Pb age and Lu–Hf and trace element data for zircon grains separated from chromitite lenses within the peridotite, which is commonly considered the lowermost part of the Jijal complex. These zircon grains yield concordant 206Pb/238U ages of ~182 ± 3 Ma, which is much older than the late Early Cretaceous age (<120 Ma) of the Jijal complex, and lying above it, the other complexes of the Kohistan paleo-arc. Furthermore, these Jurassic zircon grains present radiogenic εHf(t) values (+9.7 to +6.0) which are obviously lower than the values for the Cretaceous zircon grains of the Kohistan arc. From integrated analysis of the zircon trace element signatures (e.g., high Th, U, Th/U, and U/Yb ratios) and regional geology, we speculate that these zircon grains came from a ‘missing’ Early Jurassic arc akin to the Gangdese belt to the east, and entered the mantle by oceanic subduction processes. Although these Jurassic zircon grains cannot actually constrain the formation age of the chromitite as well as the peridotite, it reminds us that some cryptic pre-Cretaceous complexes and geodynamic processes were incorporated in building the oceanic crust of the Jijal intra-oceanic arc, or the mantle section (at least part of it) should probably belong to the Indus ophiolite mélange. Further research, particularly chronological studies on mantle (or ultramafic) rocks, as well as detailed geological mapping, should be carried out in the future for solving this issue.