Differential Subsidence Rates Research Articles

Reconnaissance to characterisation of land subsidence due to groundwater overdraft and oil extraction in and around Mehsana City, Gujarat, India by long-term hybrid differential interferometric SAR technique

We present a framework for studying reconnaissance to characterisation of land subsidence in the slowly subsiding city of Mehsana, Gujarat, India, due to groundwater overdraft and oil extraction. Considering interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data availability constraints, we first conducted a long-term conventional Differential InSAR (DInSAR) investigation followed by time-series advanced DInSAR analyses by Persistent Scatterer InSAR (PSInSAR). We identified land subsidence in different parts of the study area, with subsidence rates ranging from ≤ -1 cm/yr to ≥ -3 cm/yr. During the entire observation period (2004–2019), the core urban area has been consistently subsiding with differential subsidence rates of −1.7 to −2.1 cm/yr during 2004–2006, −1.6 to −1.7 cm/yr during 2007–2011 and −2.6 to −2.9 cm/yr during 2016–2018 in conventional DInSAR and −2.5 to −3.2 cm/yr in advanced DInSAR. The subsidence measurements by collateral DInSAR observations in multifrequency and/or multi-imaging modes during 2016–2017 agree well in terms of the spatial extent of subsiding areas and the rates of subsidence. We characterised land subsidence in four type areas due to the diverse causes based on the temporal behaviour of land subsidence: (a) densely-populated city centre, (b) dairy plants and other industries in urban/peri-urban areas, (c) emerging urban clusters in peri-urban/rural areas, and (d) oilfields with agri-horticulture farms in the rural areas. We found a consistently increasing land subsidence trend in ‘a’, reducing land subsidence in ‘b’, newly emerging and rapidly growing land subsidence in ‘c’, and spatially-extensive subtle land subsidence in ‘d’. From the temporal nature of groundwater level (GWL) decline and land subsidence, we inferred that the land subsidence has been occurring primarily due to groundwater overdraft associated with urban growth, industry and agri-horticultural farms and secondarily due to oil extraction in the southeastern part of the study area. A comparison of annual rainfall difference from the long-term average vs GWL change vs land subsidence shows that the rainfall deficit during 2–3 consecutive years and groundwater overdraft are primarily related to land subsidence in the study area.

Characterizing Spatiotemporal Patterns of Land Subsidence after the South-to-North Water Diversion Project Based on Sentinel-1 InSAR Observations in the Eastern Beijing Plain

The eastern Beijing plain has been suffering severe subsidence for the last decades, mainly associated with the long-term excessive extraction of groundwater resource. Since the end of 2014, the annual water supply in Beijing plain has reached several hundred million cubic meters because of the South-to-North Water Diversion (SNWD) Project, which has reduced the groundwater exploitation and changed the status of land subsidence. In this work, we first obtain the current spatiotemporal variations of land subsidence in the eastern Beijing plain by using progressive small baseline subsets (SBAS) InSAR time series analysis method with Sentinel-1 SAR data acquired from July 2015 to December 2021. Then, we analyze the correlations between InSAR-derived subsidence and groundwater level change by applying the cross wavelet method. The results show that two major subsidence zones are successfully detected with the maximum deformation rate of −150 mm/yr and maximum cumulative deformation of −950 mm. Besides, the ground deformation at different stages from 2016 to 2021 reveal that the area and magnitude of major deformation significantly slow down, even in the regions with severe subsidence, especially in the year of 2017, which is about two years later than the start time of SNWD Project in Beijing. Further, we find the InSAR-derived subsidence lags groundwater level change with about 1–2-month lagging time, indicating that the dynamic variation of groundwater level fluctuation may be the main factor affecting the uneven subsidence in the severe subsiding zones. Last, differential subsidence rates are identified at both sides of geological faults, such as Nankou-Sunhe fault and Nanyuan-Tongxian fault, from the observed deformation map, which could be explained that the groundwater flow is blocked when a fault is encountered. These findings can provide significant information to reveal the deformation mechanisms of land subsidence, establish the hydrogeological models and assist decision-making, early warning and hazard relief in Beijing, China.

Stratigraphy and depositional evolution of the terminal Ediacaran platform in the central to northern Sichuan Basin, Southwest China

The upper Ediacaran Dengying Formation in the Sichuan Basin provides well-preserved sedimentary records for investigating Precambrian microbialites and platform evolution. However, as previous studies have mainly focused on the broad platform-basin architecture, the depositional evolution of the platform has not been fully illuminated in the central to northern Sichuan Basin, where an intraplatform rift trough developed. Therefore, based on drilling wells and outcrops in the area, 20 lithofacies were identified and grouped into eight lithofacies associations indicating peritidal flat, shallow subtidal flat, lagoon, mixed tidal flat, slope, basin, coast and shallow sea environments. Moreover, two transgressive-regressive depositional cycles (Cycle 1 and Cycle 2) were recognized based on the five shallowing-upward (types A–E) and three deepening-upward (types F–H) cycle types. A ramp-like epeiric platform with a gentle slope developed in Cycle 1. The platform is dominated by shallow subtidal grainstones and peritidal microbialites, and the trough is in a slope environment without deep-water basin facies. In the transgression of Cycle 2, a siliciclastic-dominated environment comprising the coast and shallow sea developed on the shelf. Then a rimmed carbonate platform developed in the regression of Cycle 2, with the accumulation of shoal grainstone and peritidal microbialite in the platform margin, lagoonal dolomudstone in the platform interior, and steep slope rhythmite and basinal chert in the distal rift trough. Eustatic sea-level fluctuation and climatic change controlled the lithological transitions between carbonate and siliciclastic deposits. The platform configuration change is closely related to the evolution of the rift trough, which is the result of intense differential subsidence and sedimentation rates between the trough and platform under the effect of pre-existing basement rifts and coeval growth fault activities. A detailed depositional history of the Ediacaran Dengying Formation around the intraplatform rift trough was finally obtained, providing a good template for the study of the Precambrian microbialite-dominated platform with a similar tectonic setting.

Understanding along-strike variability in controlling mechanisms of paleoenvironmental conditions and stratigraphic architecture: Ordovician successions in the Alborz Mountains of Iran at the northern Gondwana margin

Changes in stacking patterns of facies, stratal architecture and shoreline trajectory along depositional strike are mainly dependent on along-strike differences in factors such as physical processes (rivers, waves, tides), tectonics, eustatic changes, sediment supply, and local physiography. The lower-upper Ordovician successions (Lashkerak Formation) deposited in a Peri-Gondwana shallow continental shelf have been interpreted using the sequence stratigraphic concepts. This approach allowed to highlight main differences along-strike in the co-existing depositional systems (coastal plains, estuaries, deltas, and shoreline to shelf systems) in the Alborz basin along the northern edge of Gondwana. On the basis of sedimentary and ichnological characteristics, the siliciclastic successions are divided into four facies associations: (i) Wave-dominated estuarine, (ii) Wave-dominated shoreface-offshore complex, (iii) Mixed fluvial (F)- and wave (W)-influenced delta (Fw and Wf), and (iv) Tide-dominated, fluvial-influenced delta (Tf). Six third-order depositional sequences (DS1-DS6) were recognized, each of them are bounded by unconformities and pronounced shifts in the facies. Along depositional strike (NE/SW- a distance of c. 150 km), significant intrabasinal changes in sediment supply produced evident lateral changes in the shoreline trajectory and stratal architecture, of the DS1-DS3 (Tremadocian-Floian), may be attributed to differences in physical processes (rivers, waves, tides activity) and topographic irregularities derive probably by different rates of subsidence in the basin. During the deposition of the DS1-DS3, a significant along-strike differences in the composition of ichnological suites and the lifestyle of benthonic organisms, dependent on the relative supremacy of wave, storm, river, and tidal processes. Sedimentary supply and processes are the main controlling factors for the stratigraphic architecture rather than the tectonic activity between Tremadocian and Floian. While during the Darriwilian-Katian interval (DS4-DS6), the tectonic activity predominates with the beginning of extensional phases related to the rifting in the Alborz basin causing the activation of syn-depositional normal faults and the development of block-faulted craton-ward margin. Typically, differential subsidence due to extensional tectonic activity causes the uplift of tectonic blocks west of the Alborz Basin into the emerging areas, on one hand, and simultaneous deepening-upward stacking patterns (i.e., increased subsidence rates) in the hanging-wall depocenters of east of the Alborz Basin, on the other hand. This outcrop-based study suggests that the identification of genetically related depositional units in a larger paleogeographic context is fundamental for understanding along-strike variability in controlling mechanisms of the spatial distribution and stratigraphic architecture of coexisting and linked depositional systems.

Three‐dimensional forward stratigraphic modelling of the sedimentary architecture of meandering‐river successions in evolving half‐graben rift basins

AbstractThe spatial organisation of meandering‐river deposits varies greatly within the sedimentary fills of rift basins, depending on how differential rates of fault propagation and subsidence interplay with autogenic processes to drive changes in fluvial channel‐belt position and rate of migration, avulsion frequency and mechanisms of meander‐bend cut off. This set of processes fundamentally influences stacking patterns of the accumulated successions. Quantitative predictions of the spatio‐temporal evolution and internal architecture of meandering fluvial deposits in such tectonically active settings remain limited. A numerical forward stratigraphic model—the Point‐Bar Sedimentary Architecture Numerical Deduction (PB‐SAND)—is applied to examine relationships between differential rates of subsidence and resultant fluvial channel‐belt migration, reach avulsion and channel‐deposit stacking in active, fault‐bounded half‐grabens. The model is used to reconstruct and predict the complex morphodynamics of fluvial meanders, their generated channel belts, and the associated lithofacies distributions that accumulate as heterogeneous fluvial successions in rift settings, constrained by data from seismic images and outcrop successions. The 3D modelling outputs are used to explore sedimentary heterogeneity at various spatio‐temporal scales. Results show how the connectivity of sand‐prone geobodies can be quantified as a function of subsidence rate, which itself decreases both along and away from the basin‐bounding fault. In particular, results highlight the spatial variability in the size and connectedness of sand‐prone geobodies that is seen in directions perpendicular and parallel to the basin axis, and that arises as a function of the interaction between spatial and temporal variations in rates of accommodation generation and fault‐influenced changes in river morphodynamics. The results have applied significance, for example, to both hydrocarbon exploration and assessment of groundwater aquifers. The expected greatest connectivity of fluvial sandbody in a half‐graben is primarily determined by the complex interplay between the frequency and rate of subsidence, the style of basin propagation, the rates of migration of channel belts, the frequency of avulsion and the proportion and spatial distribution of variably sand‐prone channel and bar deposits.

Land Subsidence in Taiyuan, China, Monitored by InSAR Technique With Multisensor SAR Datasets From 1992 to 2015

Taiyuan city has been suffering significant subsidence during last two to three decades, mainly due to the effects of groundwater withdrawal and urban construction. The purpose of this study is to map the spatial-temporal variations of land subsidence over Taiyuan and analyze the causes of the observed deformations by using the interferometric point target analysis (IPTA) technique with multisensor SAR datasets during 1992 and 2015. The InSAR-derived deformations are then compared to the leveling measurements and groundwater data. The observed deformation based on ERS-1 datasets has mapped regional subsidence rate ranging from 30 to 60 mm/a in the northern and central Taiyuan from 1992 to 1993. InSAR measurements from Envisat ASAR, TerraSAR-X, and Radarsat-2 data reveal land subsidence rate up to 80 mm/a in the southern suburb during 2009 to 2015, whereas a rebound rate more than 10 mm/a in northern Taiyuan from 2004 to 2005. The time series deformation maps from 2009 to 2010 present slight nonlinear periodic variations, which might be caused by the seasonal groundwater fluctuations. The observed InSAR results indicate that the pattern of ground deformation is nearly concentric around locations of intense groundwater withdrawal, and the spatial extent of the subsiding area has been shrinking and moving toward the central and southern Taiyuan after 2003. Furthermore, differential subsidence rates are identified on both sides of Tianzhuang fault from observed deformation maps during the period of 2009–2010, 2012–2013, and 2014–2015, which could be explained that the fault acts as the barrier to the groundwater flow. Our results could provide significant evidence to serve the decision-making on land subsidence mitigation in Taiyuan, China.

Sequence stratigraphy and controls on sedimentation of the Upper Cretaceous in the Afikpo Sub-basin, southeastern Nigeria

Outcrop-based sequence stratigraphic analysis and palynological biofacies were used to define depositional sequences and their bounding surfaces, and build a sequence stratigraphic model for the Upper Cretaceous succession of the Afikpo Sub-basin. Four unconformity-bounded third-order depositional sequences were identified. Sequence 1 comprises the Nkporo Formation and is subdivided into lowstand system tract (LST) representing an incised valley fill and transgressive systems tract (TST) consisting of estuarine and marine shales and mudstones. The base of the sequence is an angular unconformity correlated to the 77.5 Ma sequence boundary (SB) and the maximum flooding surface (MFS) is dated at 76 Ma. Sequence 2 is diachronous and straddles the lithostratigraphic boundary of the Nkporo and Mamu formations. The upper SB is dated at 71 Ma while associated MFS is dated at 73.5 Ma. Sequence 3 consists of the upper Mamu Formation and the Ajali Formation. The upper SB of sequence 3 is at 68 Ma while the MFS is dated at 69.8 Ma. Sequence 4 is the topmost depositional sequence belonging to the Nsukka Formation. The upper SB is placed at 66.5 Ma. The MFS within this sequence is dated at 67.8 Ma. The sequences encompass from tidally influenced bay head delta and central estuarine environments to coastal and shallow marine shelf environments. Stratigraphic architecture and facies types show that sequence development was controlled to a great extent by eustatic sea level variations though differential subsidence rates encouraged differential rates of sediment supply and rates of sea level change along different segments of the shoreline.

Characterization of the source rocks of a paleo-petroleum system (Cameros Basin) based on organic matter petrology and geochemical analyses

The Cameros Basin is a paleo-petroleum system formed in the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula. The basin formed during the Mesozoic Iberian Rift and was later inverted during the Alpine orogeny. Hydrothermal events took place during the post-extensional and inversion stages, producing an important impact on the thermal history of the basin. In order to determine the source rock of the petroleum system of the basin, organic matter characteristics, the petroleum generation potential and the maturity of the basin infill are determined by means of petrology and geochemical analyses.Several organic rich units of the stratigraphic record of the basin are potential source rocks for hydrocarbons generation, although their characteristics differ depending on their location. Organic matter content in the northern sector is scarce and limited to vitrinite, inertinite and solid bitumen particles. The residual total organic carbon (TOC < 1%), the low hydrocarbon potential (S2 < 0.3 mg HC/g rock, HI < 50 mg HC/g TOC), the mature to overmature thermal stages (%Ro from 1.7 to 4.6) and the presence of solid bitumen particles indicate that hydrocarbons have been already generated by these rocks. In contrast, the southern sector of the basin is characterized by abundant organic matter remnants (TOC from 2 to 17%) and immature to early oil-window thermal conditions (0.38–0.75%Ro), indicating a high hydrocarbon potential for these rocks (S2 from 11 to 123 mg HC/g and HI values from 23 to 715 mg HC/g TOC).The different evolution of the source rocks in the basin is the result of the combination of differential subsidence rates, which determine different thermal histories and of the circulation of hydrothermal fluids in the northern-central sector during the evolution of the basin.

The northern coast of the Ottnangian (middle Burdigalian, early Miocene) Molasse Sea in Germany: sediments, foraminiferal assemblages and biostratigraphy

This study provides new data on the litho- and biostratigraphy of the middle Burdigalian (Ottnangian) marine sediments at or close to the former northern coastline of the German Molasse Basin, based on cores from three boreholes (Burgau, Hamlar 2 and Lutzingen) and two outcrops (Haunsheim and Dattenhausen). Methods include quantitative analysis of benthic foraminiferal assemblages (90 samples), studies of planktonic foraminifers and ostracods and investigations of lithofacies. The data indicate that the transgressive–regressive marine sediments of the Upper Marine Molasse (OMM) at Burgau and Hamlar 2 can be subdivided into the well-known lower and middle Ottnangian sedimentation cycles, with the first cycle being represented by the “OMM-Basisschichten” and Kalkofen Formation and the second by the Baltringen and Steinhofe Formations. We show for the first time that also the northernmost marginal-marine OMM facies (Lutzingen, Haunsheim and Dattenhausen) can be correlated with the lower and middle Ottnangian sedimentation cycles. Consequently, our results do not support the presence of a previously suggested third sedimentation cycle within the OMM sediments. Our micropaleontological data reveal regionally diverse depositional environments, reflecting different water depths and co-varying environmental variables. Significant differences in abundance, diversity and species composition of the benthic foraminiferal assemblages demonstrate marginal-marine facies for Lutzingen, Haunsheim and Dattenhausen, nearshore facies for Hamlar 2 and shallow marine basin facies for Burgau. The characteristic lower Ottnangian benthic foraminiferal species exhibit restricted ecological tolerances. Hence, the absence or scarcity of these species in nearshore to marginal-marine deposits has no stratigraphic significance. The presence of two sedimentation cycles in the western German Molasse Basin alone may have resulted from the interplay of regional tectonics and basin development that have led to different rates of subsidence and sedimentation in the western and eastern sectors of the German Molasse Basin.

Sequence stratigraphic analysis of the Lower Jurassic succession, Western Iraq

The Lower Jurassic succession of Western Iraq reflects deposition within various depositional environments. These are fluvial, coastal plain, sabkha, shallow restricted marine, and shallow open marine environments. Several third- and fourth-order cycles were recognized within the studied succession. Facies stacking patterns, cycle thicknesses, and symmetries were the direct result of different effects of the major controlling factors (eustacy, subsidence, rate of carbonate production, and clastic supply) at different locations within the study area of Western Iraq. The different rates of subsidence between the Rutba uplift, Anah Graben, and the unstable shelf area produced different effects on the Lower Jurassic sequence development. In the Rutba uplift where the rate of subsidence was at its minimum, eustacy was the major controlling factor. Tectonic subsidence was the major controlling factor on sequence development of the other sections where high rates of subsidence characterized these areas. The development of the Lower Jurassic basin in Western Iraq was initiated during the early stages of the Neo-Tethys opening. The physiography of this passive margin basin was controlled by the Hail-Rutba Arch and the Anah Graben within the stable shelf area. Facies architecture was controlled mainly by the change in accommodation (eustacy + subsidence). The resultant relative sea level greatly affected the nature of carbonate production and consequently facies stacking pattern.

Quaternary evolution of the largest intermontane basin of the Molise Apennine (central-southern Italy)

An integrated morpho-stratigraphic approach has been used to reconstruct the Quaternary history of the Boiano basin, the largest tectonic depression of the Molise Apennine (Italy). Lacustrine, marshy and fluvial environments alternate all along the investigated infilling succession as a response to tectonic subsidence, volcaniclastic inputs and climate changes, from ca. 500 ka. Two tephra layers 40Ar/39Ar have been dated and referred to the Middle Pleistocene explosive activity of the Roccamonfina volcano, while a younger tephra layer has been related to the Campi Flegrei Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (ca. 15 ka). Pollen analysis has highlighted the vegetation changes related to the 100 ka glacial–interglacial cyclicity, between MIS 13 and 2. From 500 to 350 ka, a strong subsidence led to lacustrine deposition, while between 350 and 250 ka, a decrease in subsidence rates caused the transition to fluvial–marshy conditions and, at a later stage, to floodplain environments. The analysis of palaeosurfaces allowed the geomorphological evolution of the basin to be reconstructed since the Middle Pleistocene and the morpho-sedimentary events to be related to the SW-NE extensional tectonics affecting this sector of the central-southern Apennine. This tectonic behavior is also testified by the differential subsidence rates recorded within the basin through the analysis of two deep cores drilled in the center of the Boiano town.

The long Pleistocene record from the Pego-Oliva marshland (Alicante-Valencia, Spain)

Abstract Seven borehole cores were analysed to reconstruct the Pleistocene evolution of the Pego-Oliva Basin (Mediterranean coast, Iberian Peninsula). A total of 295 samples were recovered for amino acid racemization (AAR) dating, and 77 samples for sedimentological, palaeontological and biomarker determination, with two objectives: (1) to establish a chronological framework (especially for Middle Pleistocene); and (2) to obtain data on the palaeoenvironment. AAR proved that the record covers approximately 650 ka in which no important hiatuses occurred, although minor ones cannot be discarded. AAR provided valuable information on differential subsidence rates, and Marine Isotope Stages (MISs) 15–1 were identified. Litho- and biofacies allowed the identification of distinct palaeoenvironments through time, with the constant presence of a marsh/lagoonal environment with brackish or saline water with continental or marine influence. Remains of marine molluscs allowed the determination of periods of highstand sea level. Biomarkers indicated a constant input from terrestrial plants, and allowed definitions of periods with variable water mass and environmental moisture. As in other Mediterranean littoral areas, facies with a marine influence occurred mainly during odd MISs, indicating periods of highstand sea level. In contrast, alluvial-fan progradation and continental brackish wetlands developed during even MISs.

Very high-resolution seismic stratigraphy of Pleistocene eustatic minima markers as a tool to reconstruct the tectonic evolution of the northern Latium shelf (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy)

This paper analyzes depth variations of seismically detected lowstand features (i.e., paleo–shelf break and lowstand submerged depositional terraces [LSDTs]), in order to define vertical movements along a continental margin. Narrowly spaced, high-resolution two-dimensional reflection seismic data were used, collected along a segment of the continental shelf of Latium (eastern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy). Seismostratigraphic analysis allowed us to identify the six most-recent fourth-order depositional sequences formed in the past ∼500 k.y. They have a different degree of preservation in the outer and middle shelf, with almost no continuation in the inner shelf. Some wedge-shaped bodies interpreted as LSDTs can be identified in these units. The depth of paleo–shelf break and LSDTs of marine isotope stage 12 (ca. 435 ka) was measured, and gradually varies along the margin between ∼220 m and ∼131 m below current sea level. Differential subsidence rates have been estimated for the area, varying from 0 to −0.21 mm/a. The spatial variations agree with studies of uplifted coastal terraces on land, controlled by localized volcanic activity along the Latium section of the Tyrrhenian coast. The comparison of deformation onshore and offshore has proven to be a promising approach for understanding the evolution of uplifting continental margins.

Palaeogeographic Changes at Lake Chokrak on the Kerch Peninsula, Ukraine, during the Mid‐ and Late‐Holocene

This project has reconstructed the palaeogeographic and environmental evolution of Lake Chokrak on the Kerch Peninsula, Ukraine, during the mid‐ and late‐Holocene. This record has been evaluated in association with a regional archaeological data set to explore human–environment interactions over this period. The results show major changes in the palaeogeographic setting of Lake Chokrak since the 3rd millennium B.C., when the postglacial marine transgression had started to fill the study area. Microfaunal analyses reveal the long persistence of an open marine embayment that only became separated from the Sea of Azov when a sand barrier developed during the late 2nd millennium B.C. When colonizing the Black Sea region after the 8th century B.C., the Greek settlers erected a fortification with a small settlement on a promontory that was by then a peninsula‐like headland extending into the lake. The colonists abandoned their settlement at the end of the 1st millennium B.C. when the depth of the surrounding lake decreased from 1.5 m to less than 1 m. Today, Lake Chokrak dries up completely during summer. A detailed relative sea level (RSL) curve for the northern coast of Kerch has been established. Sea level reached its highest position at the present day. Since the 3rd millennium B.C., sea level continuously rose, without any of the previously postulated regression/transgression cycles. The RSL curve indicates differential subsidence rates within short distances in relatively stable areas, exceeding 40 cm per 1000 years. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Chronology of the Lower–Middle Pleistocene succession of the south-western part of the Crotone Basin (Calabria, Southern Italy)

Biostratigraphy based on calcareous nannofossils, integrated by magnetostratigraphic, geochronological and isotopic data, allowed establishing a precise chronological framework for the Pleistocene succession within the south-western sector of the Crotone Basin (Calabria, Southern Italy), where the Pliocene–Pleistocene global stratotype section and point is defined, thus demonstrating that sedimentation was quasi-continuous during most of the Lower and Middle Pleistocene. At a large scale, the Pleistocene succession in this sector of the Crotone Basin is characterized by an evident shallowing-upwards trend, showing facies changes from bathyal to shelfal to littoral/continental. However, comparison between adjacent sectors within the investigated area demonstrates that stratigraphic architectures change vastly on very short distances. Our chronological constraints indicate that such changes in sedimentation styles probably occurred in response to differential subsidence rates, which originated tectonically-controlled synsedimentary structures where accommodation space and sediment yield were allotted unevenly. This articulated physiography led to striking differences in the overall thicknesses and organization of Pleistocene stratigraphies and, eventually, to a distinct diachroneity in the first appearance of shallow-marine deposits. In addition, superimposed are complex interplays between regional and local tectonics, eustasy and orbitally-forced climate changes. These interactions have been highlighted by the oxygen isotope stratigraphy established for a part of the studied succession, which is likely to document almost continuously the interval from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 26 to MIS 17. In its younger part (post-MIS 17), chronological ties are poor, as the succession is dominated by shallow-water to continental deposits showing a prominent organization into cyclothems. Nevertheless, based on the chronology of the underlying units, it is feasible that basin infill ended during MIS 15-MIS 14 times.

Composition and provenance of Neogene sedimentary rocks of Dilj gora Mt. (south Pannonian Basin, Croatia)

The petrographic composition and transport direction of medium and coarse-grained clastic material of Dilj gora Mt. which is located in the south Pannonian basin, show that this area experienced several changes in provenance of arriving detritus through the Neogene. Detritus for the oldest Lower Miocene (Ravan unit) was transported generally from the south and most probably derived from clastic and carbonate sediments and metamorphic rocks of the Internal Dinarides. Detritus of the Lower Miocene–Middle Miocene (Tuk unit) was originated by weathering of acid magmatic and metamorphic rocks with significant input of materials from local sources, primarily from the Internal Dinarides and from Požeska gora and Dilj gora Mts. During the entire Middle Miocene (Zdenci, Dubovik and Glogovica units) and through the older part of the Late Miocene (Croatica and Pavlovci unit) the deposition of siliciclastic gravel and sandy detritus was less significant. Only the Middle Miocene deposits (Kasonja unit) contain clastic detritus derived from granitoids, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks of the hinterland. The source area of this detritus was most probably in the Slavonian Mts. (Papuk, Psunj, Požeska gora Mt.) or the mountains of northern Bosnia (Motajica Mt.). At the time of late Upper Miocene (Andrasevec and Nova Gradiska units) detritus derived from different metamorphic and older sedimentary rocks. The structural and mineralogical maturity of these sediments and their transport directions indicates an Alpine-Carpathian provenance of material. Most of the detritus of the Pliocene sediments (Cernik unit) also belong to an Alpine-Carpathian provenance, however a small part of it is of local origin and came from uplifted and mainly sedimentary rocks.Determinated various textural characteristics and diverse modal compositions and provenance of Neogene clastic material of Dilj gora Mt. can be attributed to differing source rock compositions and locations of source areas, but they are also the product of different controls on sedimentation such as different rates of subsidence and extension of Pannonian Basin interrupted by compressional events, basin water-level fluctuations connected with global sea-level changes and infilling of PB by delta progradation.

The response of two Tethyan carbonate platforms to the early Toarcian (Jurassic) oceanic anoxic event: environmental change and differential subsidence

AbstractChemostratigraphic analyses (87Sr/86Sr, δ13Ccarb) of limestones from two Jurassic platform‐carbonate sequences in Italy (Trento and Campania–Lucania Platforms) illustrate previously established trends found in pelagic sediments and skeletal carbonates from biostratigraphically well‐calibrated sections elsewhere in Europe. Chemostratigraphic correlations between the platform‐carbonate successions and appropriate intervals from well‐dated reference sections allow the application of high‐resolution stratigraphy to these shallow‐water peritidal carbonates and, furthermore, elucidate the facies response to the Early Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE). Lower Jurassic (Toarcian) levels of the western Trento Platform (Southern Alps, Northern Italy) contain spiculitic cherts that appear where rising carbon‐isotope values characterize the onset of the OAE: a palaeoceanographic phenomenon interpreted as driven by increased nutrient levels in near‐surface waters. There is a facies change to more clay‐rich facies at the level of the abrupt negative carbon‐isotope excursion, also characteristic of the OAE, higher in the section. The Campania–Lucania Platform (Southern Apennines, Southern Italy) records a change to more clay‐rich facies where carbon‐isotope values begin to rise at the beginning of the OAE but the negative excursion, higher in the section, occurs within oolitic facies. Although, in both examples, the Early Toarcian OAE can be recognized by a change to more clay‐rich lithologies, this facies development is diachronous and in neither case did the platform drown. Although the Trento Platform, in the south‐west sector studied here, was adversely affected by the OAE, it did not drown definitively until Late Aalenian time; the Campania–Lucania Platform persisted throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous. Differential subsidence rates, which can be calculated using comparative chemostratigraphy, are identified as a crucial factor in the divergent behaviour of these two carbonate platforms: relatively fast in the case of the Trento Platform; relatively slow in the case of the Campania–Lucania Platform. It is proposed that where water depths remained as shallow as a few metres during the OAE (Campania–Lucania Platform), dissolved oxygen levels remained high, nutrient levels relatively low and conditions for carbonate secretion and precipitation remained relatively favourable, whereas more poorly ventilated and/or more nutrient‐rich waters (Trento Platform) adversely influenced platform growth where depths were in the tens of metres range. The stage was thus set for drowning on the more rapidly subsiding western margin of the Trento Plateau and a pulse of oolite deposition post‐dating the OAE was insufficient to revitalize the carbonate factory.

Three-dimensional sequence analysis of a subsurface carbonate ramp, Mississippian Appalachian foreland basin, West Virginia, USA

Well-cuttings, wireline logs and limited core and outcrop data were used to generate a regional, three-dimensional sequence framework for Upper Mississippian (Chesterian), Greenbrier Group carbonates in the Appalachian foreland basin, West Virginia, USA. The resulting maps were used to document the stratigraphic response of the basin to tectonics and to glacio-eustasy during the transition into ice-house conditions. The ramp facies include inner ramp red beds and aeolianites, lagoonal muddy carbonates, mid-ramp ooid and skeletal grainstone shoal complexes, and outer ramp wackestone–mudstone, that grades downslope into laminated silty lime mudstone. The facies make up fourth-order sequences, a few metres to over 90 m (300 ft) thick. The sequences are bounded along the ramp margin by lowstand sandstones and calcareous siltstones. On the ramp, sequence boundaries are overlain by thin transgressive siliciclastics and aeolianites, and only a few are calichified. Maximum flooding surfaces on the outer ramp lie beneath deeper water facies that overlie lowstand to transgressive siliciclastic or carbonate units. On the shallow ramp, maximum flooding surfaces overlie siliciclastic-prone transgressive systems tracts, that are overlain by highstand carbonates with significant grainstone units interlayered with lagoonal lime mudstones. The fourth-order sequences are the major mappable subsurface units; they are bundled into weak composite sequences which are bounded by red beds. In spite of differential subsidence rates across the foreland basin (1 to 3 cm/k.y. up to 25 cm/k.y.), eustatic sea-level changes controlled regional sequence development. Thrust-load induced differential subsidence of fault-blocks, coupled with in-plane stress, controlled the rapid basinward thickening of the depositional wedge, whose thickness and facies were influenced by subtle structures such as arches trending at high angles as well as parallel to the margin.

Overpressure development in rift basins: an example from the Malay Basin, offshore Peninsular Malaysia

The Malay Basin is a Tertiary transtensional rift basin located in offshore Peninsular Malaysia. A study of the subsurface pressure data has revealed at least two major overpressure compartments that are sealed by regional shale units. The main, basin-centre overpressure compartment has a domal shape and, in profile, shows a convex-up top-of-overpressure surface. In the basin centre, the top of overpressure is generally between 1900 m and 2000 m depth, and is confined mainly to a particular stratigraphic unit, the Middle Miocene unit E. It appears that the top of overpressure is influenced by the underlying regional shale seal in unit F, and that the mild overpressure encountered in unit E represents the overpressure transition zone. Due to the convex-upward top-of-overpressure surface, overpressure is generally encountered at shallower depths in the basin centre compared to the basin flanks. A smaller overpressure compartment is also identified on the northeastern flank of the basin. This compartment is sealed by the onlapping, transgressive shale of unit L (Lower Miocene) and occurs at a depth of 2600–3000 m. Hence, regional shale seals have a strong influence on overpressure distribution. Disequilibrium compaction is believed to be the primary causal mechanism for the overpressure in the basin centre. Overpressure development is the consequence of high subsidence and sedimentation rates during basin extension. Low subsidence and sedimentation rates on the basin flanks do not generate overpressure. The domal shape of the top-of-overpressure surface is thus a result of different rates of subsidence and sedimentation across the basin. The basin's overpressure history is simulated by means of a simple model. Modelling results indicate that the basin overpressure developed very early, during the syn-rift phase ( c. 30–21 Ma), when sediment burial rates were very high (&gt;1000 m Ma −1 ). Overpressure build-up occurred rapidly during the syn-rift phase but has started to dissipate gradually since the post-rift phase began 21 Ma ago, when sedimentation rates were well below 1000 m Ma −1 . This suggests that disequilibrium compaction as an overpressure-generating mechanism was effective during only the syn-rift phase of basin development. Sedimentation rates during the post-rift phase (generally less than 500 m Ma −1 ) were not high enough to generate overpressure. The pre-existing overpressure is thus able to dissipate through the sedimentary column, causing the build-up of pore pressure in the post-rift section. Thus, the overpressure in the post-rift strata is probably of secondary origin, derived from excess pressure dissipated from the underlying syn-rift strata. Overpressure generated by disequilibrium compaction during the syn-rift phase has been modified and re-distributed as the basin evolved through the post-rift phase.

LOW-DIVERSITY, LATE MAASTRICHTIAN AND EARLY DANIAN PLANKTIC FORAMINIFERAL ASSEMBLAGES OF THE EASTERN TETHYS

Research Article| January 01, 2004 LOW-DIVERSITY, LATE MAASTRICHTIAN AND EARLY DANIAN PLANKTIC FORAMINIFERAL ASSEMBLAGES OF THE EASTERN TETHYS GERTA KELLER GERTA KELLER Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton NJ 08544, USA Email: gkeller@princeton.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Journal of Foraminiferal Research (2004) 34 (1): 49–73. https://doi.org/10.2113/0340049 Article history received: 28 Oct 2002 accepted: 22 May 2003 first online: 03 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation GERTA KELLER; LOW-DIVERSITY, LATE MAASTRICHTIAN AND EARLY DANIAN PLANKTIC FORAMINIFERAL ASSEMBLAGES OF THE EASTERN TETHYS. Journal of Foraminiferal Research 2004;; 34 (1): 49–73. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/0340049 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyJournal of Foraminiferal Research Search Advanced Search Abstract The eastern Tethys, from Israel to Egypt, experienced unusually adverse environmental conditions for planktic foraminifera during the last two million years of the Maastrichtian, as evident by very low species richness, blooms of opportunistic Guembelitria species in surface waters, dominance of low-oxygen-tolerant heterohelicids in subsurface waters, and near absence of deeper dwelling globotruncanids. Comparison of southern Israel (Mishor Rotem section) with central Egypt (Gebel Qreiya section) reveals that adverse conditions intensified towards the south with foraminiferal assemblages mimicking stress conditions of the early Danian, dominated (75–90%) by Guembelitria blooms. Faunal assemblages indicate an expanded oxygen minimum and dysoxic zone throughout the region, though at the greater depths represented by localities of southern Israel, bottom waters remained aerobic. Primary productivity was extremely low, as indicated by stable isotopes and low total organic content in sediments. These adverse environmental conditions are likely related to the regional paleobathymetry of the tectonically active Syrian Arc that spans Syria to Egypt. The paleorelief of intra-shelf and intra-slope basins of the Syrian Arc, with their differential rates of subsidence and sedimentation, active folding and faulting, likely controlled the intensity of circulation, upwelling, watermass stratification and the extent of the oxygen minimum zone. The late Maastrichtian rapid climate and sea level changes exacerbated these conditions. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.