Cenozoic Formations Research Articles

The Cenozoic formations in the Peter the Great Gulf, Japan Sea and on its shores: Indicators of a polygenic continent–ocean transition zone

The Cenozoic formations in the Peter the Great Gulf in the Japan Sea and on its shores are part of the activated cover (Triassic to Neogene) of a young platform. They reflect the Cenozoic destruction of continental crust accompanied by active basaltoid magmatism and by transformation of this crust into marginal-sea crust in the near-continental part of the polygenic (Late Cambrian to Cenozoic) Japan-Sea transition zone from continent to ocean. The Cenozoic formations notably include an industrial coal-bearing and a potentially hydrocarbon-bearing group of Paleogene and Early to Middle Miocene formations, as well as a potentially diamond-bearing Late Miocene to Pliocene formation. The existence of these formations shows that continent–ocean transition zones have potential for these mineral resources. The accumulation of industrial coal-bearing Cenozoic formations seems to have occurred in a connected extensive sedimentation basin that was overlain by Paleozoic tectonic blankets, while the evolution of potentially diamond-bearing pipes that are akin to kimberlites occurred during a powerful phase of tectonomagmatic activation.

Preparation and characterization of novel clay/PLA nanocomposites

In this work, the preparation of a polylactide-nanocomposite material using, as a filler, the smectite-rich clay fraction of a Cenozoic formation in Bragança, Portugal, is introduced as a promising and cost-efficient approach to nanocomposite preparation. Nanocomposites of a mixed morphology were achieved, as confirmed via the visual observation of the dispersion and intercalation of the clay layers by TEM imaging; mostly analogous morphologies were achieved through the use of reference clay mineral, montmorillonite SWy-2, for the preparation of similar nanocomposites. With both sets of nanocomposites, TGA results indicated an enhanced thermal stability, as compared to neat PLA. In the case of the nanocomposites prepared using the clay fraction from Bragança, this effect was observed at temperatures at which 25% weight loss was observed. On the other hand, in the case of the SWy-2-based nanocomposites, the improved thermal stability effect was evident at higher temperatures, at which 50% weight loss took place. The complementary thermal stability effects provided by the two sets of nanocomposites prepared, combined with their comparable morphology, are promising results towards a feasible and contemporary approach to nanocomposite preparation, worthy of further research.

Crocodylian Tracks from Lower Oligocene Flysch deposits of the Barail Group, Manipur, India

A marine tidal delta siltstone from Gelmon locality in Northeast India preserved three crocodylian footprints and an elongate depression that appears to be a tail drag mark. Similar drag marks occur in nearby bedding surfaces. The discovery of crocodylian tracks from the basal part of Laisong Formation, Barail Group (Late Eocene–Early Oligocene age) of Manipur, India is noteworthy because of the age and the geographic location. Crocodylian tracks are rare in Cenozoic formations and they have not previously been reported from Asia. The footprints are herein named as a new ichnogenus and ichnospecies, Indosuchipes manipurensis.

Hydraulic and hydrochemical properties of deep sedimentary reservoirs of the Upper Rhine Graben, Europe

AbstractHydraulic and hydrochemical data from several hundred wells mostly drilled by the oil and gas industry within the four deep carbonate and siliciclastic reservoirs of the Upper Rhine Graben area in France and Germany have been compiled, examined, validated and analysed with the aim to characterize fluids and reservoir properties. Due to enhanced temperatures in the subsurface of the Upper Rhine Graben, this study on hydraulic and hydrochemical properties has been motivated by an increasing interest in deep hydrogeothermal energy projects in the Rhine rift valley. The four examined geothermal reservoir formations are characterized by high hydraulic conductivity reflecting the active tectonic setting of the rift valley and its fractured and karstified reservoirs. The hydraulic conductivity decreases only marginally with depth in each of the reservoirs, because the Upper Rhine Graben is a young tectonically active structure. The generally high hydraulic conductivity of the reservoir rocks permits cross‐formation advective flow of thermal water. Water composition data reflect the origin and hydrochemical evolution of deep water. Shallow water to 500 m depth is, in general, weakly mineralized. The chemical signature of the water is controlled by fluid–rock geochemical interactions. With increasing depth, the total of dissolved solids (TDS) increases. In all reservoirs, the fluids evolve to a NaCl‐dominated brine. The high salinity of the reservoirs is partly derived from dissolution of halite in evaporitic Triassic and Cenozoic formations, and partly from the fluids residing in the crystalline basement. Water of all four reservoirs is saturated with respect to calcite and other minerals including quartz and barite.

Formation Mechanism and Petroleum System of Tertiary Sedimentary Basins, Offshore Vietnam

The quantitative aspects of the petroleum system are important criteria in hydrocarbon exploration and production to prevent risk and rank prospects in Vietnamese Tertiary basins. However, formation mechanism and heterogeneous structures are still questionable. For increasing oil recovery, a thorough understanding of the petroleum system to discover new reservoirs in each basin is necessary. The characteristics of petroliferous basins are reviewed, summarized, and updated according to the most recent studies. In this article, Cenozoic basins formation and petroleum systems are discussed.

Provenance of Cored Sediments from Active Margin off Southwestern Taiwan Deduced from Geochemical Constraints

AbstractThe cored sediments sampled by R/V Marion Dufrense in the active margin off southwestern Taiwan on the east side of the Manila Trench are mostly muds consisting mainly of quartz, feldspar, illite, chlorite + kaolinite with a trace amount of montmorillonite. The cored sediments have higher Fe, Ti, Cr, Cs, Li, Ni, and V but lower Ca, Na, Mn, Hf, Nb, Sr, Ta, U and Zr contents when compared with the upper continental crust (UCC, Taylor and McLennan, 1985). The Eu/Eu* ratios of the sediments averaging 0.69 indicate that the recycling effect on the Eu anomaly may be minor and the contribution of mafic source rock was unimportant, which can also be depicted in the La‐Th‐Sc plot (Cullers, 1994) showing a “mixed origin” close to the felsic end member. The chemistry of the cored sediment can be explained by a mixing model designed by Ho and Chen (1996) with four end members i.e., greywacke, shale, quartzite and limestone, which are widely distributed in the Cenozoic formations of southern Taiwan with greywacke as the dominant contributor followed by shale.

Mechanism of long-standing Cenozoic basin formation in central Hokkaido: an integrated basin study on an oblique convergent margin

The basin-forming process along a convergent margin off the eastern coast of Eurasia was pursued on the basis of geological, geochemical, and geophysical approaches. Central Hokkaido has been a site of vigorous tectonic events throughout the Cenozoic reflecting the long-standing subduction of oceanic plates in the region. Geochemical modeling provided an estimate of the eroded Paleogene unit in the study area. Data on the considerable thickness of the missing unit implied continued subsidence of the forearc region and its subsequent exhumation under the emergence of a compressive regime synchronous with the back-arc opening stage. Spatially large facies variety in the Paleogene system suggests that basin compartmentalization occurred as a result of the trench-parallel component of the plate convergence. Right-lateral motion seems to have been the dominant type in Hokkaido and the forearc of northeast Japan since the Late Cretaceous, except for a left-lateral episode during rapid subsidence of the Izanagi Plate around 110 Ma. Numerical modeling demonstrated that dextral slip on a bunch of longitudinal strike-slip faults restored the Neogenedepocenters in central Hokkaido, together with an east-west compressive regime related to an arc-arc collision.

SEDIMENTARY FACIES AND DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS OF CENOZOIC SEDIMENTARY FORMATIONS CROPPING OUT AT THE CENTRAL PART OF THE DOUALA BASIN

The Douala Basin is one of three units of the Cameroonian coastal basin in the Gulf of Guinea, formed from the east-west extension between African and South American plates generated during the opening of South Atlantic in the Early Cretaceous. This basin contains sediments from Lower Cretaceous to present. The Cretaceous depositional environments are well understood whereas there is very little information concerning Cenozoic depositional environments. Facies and their stratigraphical distribution analyses were conducted on Cenozoic formations exposed at the E-W central part of the Douala Basin in the Missole II, Piti, Missole I and Dibamba localities, with an objective to provide details on the depositional environments and to reconstruct the depositional model and their evolution over time. Seventeen (17) lithofacies were identified on the basis of lithology, grain size and sedimentary structures. The facies constitute three (3) main facies associations; the gravelly dominated, the sandy dominated and the fine grained dominated. These facies and facies associations were interpreted and five depositional environments successions were recognized; the fluvial-braided and meandered channel, the delta plain, the continental shelf and the marginal-littoral. The facies distribution shows a progradational succession from a fluvial to delta plain at the axial part of the basin and a storm dominated continental shelf to marginal-littoral at the central part of the basin. The facies stacking patterns depict sedimentation mainly controlled by sag subsidence and probably by climate.

Retracted: Study Hydrogeochemistry Exploration of Thermal Spring in Ramsar Area, (North of Iran)

Ramsar area is located across and between Alborze Mountain and Caspine Sea in North of Iran. About 30 spas are located south of the Ramsar and Sadatshar town. They are almost in between 20 to 70 m elevation. Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Tertiary rocks and alluvial deposit are exposed around the Ramsar area. In tertiary, acidic Plutonism was active and intrusion into the Paleozoic and Cenozoic formations. Quaternary and Alluvium deposits are exposed and extending on the Jurassic formations in Ramsar plain and have thickness lower than 10 m in show springs. The annual precipitation in the Ramsar region is 976 mm. There has not any proper Thermal spring management in Ramsar area yet. This could post some serious problem on improper management of Thermal spring sites, where its environment has been put into jeopardy. This study aims to provide a way to classify the Thermal springs in Ramsar area. The result of this study help in the classification of Thermal spring sites for official planning improvement of administration and sustainable development of natural resources of the area. The study makes use of the Department of Applied Geosciences in Islamic Azad University. GIS data of a total of 9 Thermal springs in the attempt to set up a classification system of Thermal springs in Ramsar area. These data include surface temperature, conductivity, alkalinity, acidity, TDS, pH values, H2S, Ca, Cl, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, SiO2, SO4 contents, their locations, usages and other relevant information. The surface temperature of Thermal springs are between 19oC – 65oC and Na-K-Cageothermometer shows estimated reservoir temperature range from 25 o C – 195 o C. Most of the water from these Thermal springs is relatively turbidness and their composition is sodium choloride. The Thermal springs in this area generally exhibit high SiO2 and Na content; strong smell of sulfur. In addition, there are 9 Thermal springs that show high concentration of Cl, Ca, Na, K and Mg. There are three major criteria used in the classification system in this study, temperature, pH and their usage. On the basis of temperature, there are three classes of Thermal springs in Ramsar area: hyper thermal spring (10 %, 50-99o C); thermal spring (80%, 30-50o C). There is one class achieved on the basis of pH values: all of Thermal springs exhibit weak acids. There are 4 types of usage classification: swimming pools, Tourism, space heating and drying of organic materials.

Fossil legume woods from the Late Miocene, Chiquimil Formation (Santa María Basin), Argentina

The legume fossil record is varied and abundant in the Cenozoic strata, especially throughout the Neogene. In northwestern Argentina there are outcrops of the Santa María Group, including the Miocene and Pliocene continental formations of the Santa María valley. These cenozoic formations contain a great variety of fossil remains (plants, invertebrates and vertebrates). In this paper, a new species of fossil wood, Paraalbizioxylon caccavariae Martínez (Leguminosae, Mimosoideae) nov. sp., from Upper Miocene Argentina, is described. The fossil wood herein described has features of the Mimosoideae subfamily, and particularly of the extant genus Albizia Durazzini and Acacia Miller. The diagnostic features present in the new fossil are: semi-ring to diffuse porous, medium to large diameter vessels, simple perforation plates, alternate and vestured intervessel pits, homogenous rays (generally 2-seriate), scanty paratracheal parenchyma, and diffuse and cristaliferous apotracheal parenchyma. The possible climatic conditions of the Chiquimil Formation were inferred from the xylological features present in the fossil wood described, suggesting a humid forest with a marked season in the localities studied.

From the Adour valley to the Gelise valley (western part of the Gers department): an important occurrence of siliceous raw material of Senonian origin.

This study refers the western part of the “Gers department” which covers the Adour valley, its tributaries (Izaute, Midour and Douze) and the Gelise valley. A geological study was carried out from 2010 to 2012. It allowed us to collect 290 alluvial siliceous pebbles from the Plio-Pleistocene sediments. At the same time, 132 flint artefacts from prehistoric sources in the Gers (Upper Palaeolithic) were collected. Petrographic, sedimentological and palaeontological studies were carried out. They allowed us to distinguish 19 lithological types:- 1 related to the Cenozoic formation;- 2 associated with Flysch deposits from the Pyrenean orogenic belt;- 10 attributed to the Senonian age (from the Coniacian to the Campanian);- 6 imputed to the Upper Maastrichtian with Lepidorbitoides.Then these types were brought together into six groups that show their stratigraphic positions and their palaeogeographic environments at different time periods.- 0.2 % of the alluvial pebbles were related to the Pyrenean Flysch;- 45 % were of Upper Maastrichtian age (Lepidorbitoides);- 54 % were of Senonian age (Coniacian to Middle Maastrichtian).The artefacts collected in the same region show a very similar proportion of siliceous pebbles (49 % of Maastrichtian with Lepidorbitoides).The result of this study is that, up to now, the western part of the Lannemezan Plateau includes alluvial areas of Plio-Pleistocene age, containing a large amount of flint pebbles of Upper Cretaceous age (Senonian and Maastrichtian). The gathering of this siliceous raw material by Palaeolithic communities is obvious. The identification of a new lithic raw material located in the southern Aquitaine Basin will have to be taken into account, while former interpretations probably have to be amended.

The Deposit Features and Comprehensive Information Prospecting Model of Mengyejing Potash Deposits in Yunnan Province

Mengyejing potash deposit lies in brown-red and variedness salting-in nagelfluh formation of Cenozoic Mengyejing formation which is located at the back-foreland basin of Lanping-Simao bidirectional arc zone, and it is one of the few large-scale solid potash deposits in China. By integrated study systematically, Mengyejing Potash Deposit’s different scales of mineralization geological anomalies information:geological, geophysical, geochemical, and salt spring chemistry and remote sensing were extracted. A comprehensive information prospecting model of Mengyejing potash deposit is established. Tentatively identified deposits prospecting model of Mengyejing formation, negative gravity anomaly, salt spring chemical anomaly and geochemical anomalies as the core and is of a positive significance for this type of deposit’s prospecting.

Geodynamic nature of the Baikal Rift Zone and its sedimentary filling in the Cretaceous–Cenozoic: the effect of the far-range impact of the Mongolo-Okhotsk and Indo-Eurasian collisions

The problem of the Late Meso-Cenozoic tectonics and geodynamics of the southern framing of the Siberian Platform is discussed. This area abounds in Late Meso-Cenozoic structures composed of sedimentary deposits. Analysis of voluminous geologo-stratigraphic, geophysical, and geochronological (track dating) data showed that these structures, including the Baikal Rift Zone, resulted from the far-range impact of two collisions related to the prolonged convergence of the North China and Indian continents with Eurasia, which took place in the Late Jurassic–Paleocene and Cenozoic, respectively. The synchronous occurrence of two great tectonic events led to the formation of a complex structure and a sedimentary basin, which are of different geodynamic nature and cannot be united into the same sequence of Late Cretaceous–Cenozoic formation of the Baikal Rift Zone. The Baikal system of shears and conjugate rifts formed in the Pliocene–Quaternary as a result of the far-range impact of the Indo-Eurasian collision. The latter led to the accumulation of the upper layered undeformed seismostratigraphic complex in all three Baikal basins. The sediments in Central Baikal are up to 3 km thick, and in the Selenga River valley they reach 5–6 km in thickness. The active intracontinental rift structures are characterized by zonal sedimentation. The middle layered deformed seismostratigraphic complex 1–1.5 km thick is recognized in all three Baikal basins and is similar to the Upper Oligocene–Lower Pliocene sediments of lacustrine-littoral, deltaic, and lacustrine facies widespread throughout the Baikal and Altai–Sayan regions and in Mongolia, where they formed in the environments of large lake systems. As a result of the deformations caused by the Indo-Eurasian collision, the Upper Oligocene–Lower Pliocene sediments were involved in the Pliocene–Quaternary ramp and unilateral-ramp structures in intermontane basins of the Altai–Sayan region and in Mongolia. The lower seismically transparent seismostratigraphic complex occurs only in South Baikal and Central Baikal. It is 1 km thick in the east and up to 45 km thick in the west. The complex is a fragment of the Late Cretaceous–Paleogene lacustrine-river sediments of the large fore-Baikal piedmont basin, which formed at the final stage of evolution of the vast Mongolo-Okhotsk orogen.

Thermo-tectonic history of the Issyk-Kul basement (Kyrgyz Northern Tien Shan, Central Asia)

Lake Issyk-Kul occupies a large Late Mesozoic–Cenozoic intramontane basin between the mountain ranges of the Northern Kyrgyz Tien Shan. These ranges are often composed of granitoid basement that forms part of a complex mosaic assemblage of microcontinents and volcanic arcs. Several granites from the Terskey, Kungey, Trans-Ili and Zhetyzhol Ranges were dated with the zircon U/Pb method (SHRIMP, LA-ICP-MS) and yield concordant Late Ordovician–Silurian (~456–420Ma) emplacement ages. These constrain the “Caledonian” accretion history of the Northern Kyrgyz Tien Shan in the amalgamated Palaeo-Kazakhstan continent. The ancestral Tien Shan orogen assembled in the Early Permian when final closure of the Turkestan Ocean ensued collision of Palaeo-Kazakhstan and Tarim. A Late Palaeozoic structural basement fabric formed and Middle–Late Permian post-collisional magmatism added to crustal growth of the Tien Shan. Permo‐Triassic cooling (~300–220Ma) of the ancestral Tien Shan was unraveled using 40Ar/39Ar K-feldspar and titanite fission-track (FT) thermochronology on the Issyk-Kul granitoids. Apatite thermochronology (FT and U–Th–Sm/He) applied to the broader Issyk-Kul region elucidates the Meso-Cenozoic thermo-tectonic evolution and constrains several tectonic reactivation episodes in the Jurassic, Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Exhumation of the studied units occurred during a protracted period of intracontinental orogenesis, linked to far-field effects of Late Jurassic–Cretaceous accretion of peri-Gondwanan blocks from the Tethyan realm to Eurasian. Following a subsequent period of stability and peneplanation, incipient building of the modern Tien Shan orogen in Northern Kyrgyzstan started in the Oligocene according to our data. Intense basement cooling in distinct reactivated and fault-controlled sections of the Trans-Ili and Terskey Ranges finally pinpoint important Miocene–Pliocene (~22–5Ma) exhumation of the Issyk-Kul basement. Late Cenozoic formation of the Tien Shan is associated with ongoing indentation of India into Eurasia and is a quintessential driving force for the reactivation of the entire Central Asian Orogenic Belt.

Sedimentary environment deduced from sulfur contents and diatom assemblages in the late Cenozoic formations of Urizura Hill, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

Sedimentary environment deduced from sulfur contents and diatom assemblages in the late Cenozoic formations of Urizura Hill, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

The earliest Pleistocene archaeological sites in western Iberia: Present evidence and research prospects

Archaeological evidence for the earliest human presence in western Iberia is summarised and discussed. Western Iberia is geologically characterised by magmatic and metamorphic rocks (Hesperian Massif) but also by siliciclastic and carbonate Mesozoic and Cenozoic formations. The geological context affects the distribution of Pleistocene archaeological sites, as the most of the archaeological evidence known today is located in river terrace formations or in karst deposits. Very few sites have been fully investigated; the older ones are tentatively dated as middle/late Middle Pleistocene. Recent results have been obtained using an archaeological and geomorphological approach carried out in the Portuguese region of Alto Ribatejo. Dating of the lithic assemblages found in fluvial terraces or in cave deposits indicates that the first human presence in Portugal is not older than the OIS 8–9. However, it remains difficult to explain the long chronological gap between the archaeological evidences in western Iberia and the older sites in central and eastern Iberia, such as those in the Sierra de Atapuerca and Guadix Baxa areas.

Prehnite-pumpellyite facies metamorphism in the Cenozoic Abanico Formation, Andes of central Chile (33°50'S): chemical and scale controls on mineral assemblages, reaction progress and the equilibrium state

Prehnite-pumpellyite facies metamorphism in the Cenozoic Abanico Formation, Andes of central Chile (33°50'S): chemical and scale controls on mineral assemblages, reaction progress and the equilibrium state

Late Cenozoic volcanic activity in western Georgia: Evidence from new isotope geochronological data

The products of volcanic activity from the Kutaisi area and Guria (western Georgia) were studied in terms of isotope geochronology to determine the age of rocks and to confirm their attribution to Cenozoic formations. The results obtained show that the erupted rocks in the Kutaisi area were formed during the three pulses of Mesozoic volcanic activity: the Bajocian, Kimmeridgian-Tithonian, and Turonian-Santonian. It was shown that no displays of Late Cenozoic volcanism occurred in this region of the western Georgia. Because of this, its inclusion into the Central Georgian neovolcanic province, earlier supposed, seems to be improper. By the data of isotope geochronology, Guria is the only region of western Georgia where volcanic activity occurred in post-Paleogene period. Two pulses of young volcanism were revealed: of about 15.5 and 9-7.5 My. The former was related to the introduction of syenite intrusion, and the latter, to subaqueous exudation of subalka- line Neogene lavas. All the outcrops of Neogene rocks we found and dated in Guria fit within the well-pro- nounced sublatitudinal linear band which probably represents the occurrence in the Middle Miocene of a local zone of extension appearing under conditions of total compression during the collision of the Eurasian and Ara- bian lithospheric plates.

Sedimentary formations and main development stages of the western Transbaikal and southeastern Baikal regions in the late Cretaceous and Cenozoic

Upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic formations of the western Transbaikal and southeastern Baikal regions are considered. Molasses and molassoids (molasse-type sediments) were included into these formations in previous works. In our opinion, the following formations are developed in these regions: plain fan formation divided into the terrigenous (Upper Cretaceous) and coaliferous (Upper Oligocene-Lower Pliocene) subformations; plain fine-clastic formation (Paleogene, except the Upper Oligocene); and orogenic molasse formation (Upper Pliocene-Holocene) divided into the lower red-colored and upper gray-colored subformations. Main textural features of these formations are considered. Paleogeographic and paleotectonic settings of their accumulation are reconstructed. It is shown that coarse-clastic sediments of fan formations accumulated in grabens among ancient denudation plains due to the destruction of rocks in near-wall benches. These plains probably hosted in some areas remnants of the mountainous relief. Origination and development of the Baikal rift zone was the main geological event in the Baikal region during the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Based on study of the southeastern Baikal region with the thickest and most representative Cenozoic sections, the prerifting and rifting stages of this zone and correlative events in the adjacent (relatively stable) areas of the western Transbaikal region are characterized.

Subsurface thermal and hydrothermal characterization based on geothermal resources map, drill hole thermal gradients, Curie point depths and hypocenter distribution — Examples of Tohoku district, Japan

Subsurface thermal structure in Tohoku district are characterized by existing data such as geothermal resources maps, drill hole thermal gradients, Curie point depths and hypocenters distribution maps. The collected data are registered in a database system, then, compared in plan view, cross-section and bird's-eye pictures. The comparison indicates that subsurface temperatures extrapolated from drill hole thermal gradients are generally concordant to the Curie point depth, assumed to be 650 °C. Tohoku district is generally divided into 5 type areas; fore arc lowland, fore arc mountain country, Quaternary volcanic terrain, back arc lowland and back arc mountain country. The surface thermal manifestations in Quaternary volcanic terrain are mainly controlled by the magma chambers as heat sources, while, surface thermal features such as hot springs in non-volcanic areas are controlled by degrees of heat flows, and hydrothermal flows in permeable Cenozoic formations and along permeable fault zones.