Glacial Units Research Articles

Chapter 67 Neoproterozoic glacial deposits of central Australia

Abstract There are two distinct stratigraphic levels of Neoproterozoic glacigenic deposits in central Australia, both Cryogenian in age, spread over an area greater than 2.5×10 6 km 2 . They were deposited in a once continuous intracratonic sag basin and are now preserved in four major structural basins: the Officer, Amadeus, Ngalia and Georgina Basins. In all four basins there are units that correlate with the (older) Sturt Tillite and equivalent glacial deposits in the Adelaide Rift Complex – the Sturt glaciation ( Preiss et al. 2011 ) – and with the (younger) Elatina Formation (Fm.) and equivalents – the Elatina glaciation ( Williams et al. 2008 , 2011 ). The clearest evidence for glacial activity is the occurrence of diamictites that contain clasts of lithologically diverse origin which are often striated, faceted and polished, and the occurrence of dropstones. Most glacial deposits were deposited in shallow marine to fluvio-lacustrine palaeoenvironments. In all basins, the Elatina glacial deposits are overlain (at least locally) by dolostone units that mark the onset of post-glacial transgression and contain unique sedimentary and geochemical features. The cap dolomite units are distinct from dolomite beds within glaciogenic sediments, and those that occur near the top of Sturt glacial units in the Amadeus (Areyonga Fm.) and eastern Officer Basins (Chambers Bluff Tillite). None of the central Australian glacial units have direct geochronological constraints. There are, however, radiometric dates for a Sturt glacial unit in the Adelaide Rift Complex (Wilyerpa Fm.) and post-glacial shales in the Amadeus Basin (Aralka Fm.), Stuart Shelf (Tapley Hill Fm.) and Adelaide Rift Complex (Tapley Hill Fm.) that indicate a c. 660 Ma age for the Sturt glaciation in Australia ( Kendall et al. 2006 , 2007 ; Fanning & Link 2008 ). The age of the Elatina glaciation in Australia is constrained only by the age of the Sturt glaciation and the presence of the Ediacara fauna in overlying strata of all the basins except the Ngalia Basin. Consequently, correlations have been mainly established by means of lithostratigraphy, chemostratigraphy, palynology, and to a lesser extent, stromatolite biostratigraphy, mainly on the successions above and below the glacial units. Results from each of the above techniques show a remarkable consistency, and indicate that the two major Cryogenian glacial episodes are of similar age across Australia.

Chapter 25 Glacial deposits of the Nichatka Formation, Chara River basin and review of Upper Precambrian diamictites of Central Siberia

Abstract Outcrops of the Nichatka Formation are located in the southern centroclinal part of the marginal Berezovskaya basin of the Siberian craton. Deposits of the gently sloping southeastern limb of the asymmetrical basin are unaltered, whereas those of the steep, partly overturned western limb exhibit cleavage and are locally slightly metamorphosed. In the Late Precambrian the Berezovskaya basin was a shallow marine area of the passive margin of the Siberian craton. The Nichatka Formation is the basal unit of the Dal'nyaya Tayga Group of the Patom Supergroup. On the southeastern limb of the Berezovskaya Basin, the formation is composed of massive and bedded diamictites, conglomerates, sandstones and thin-bedded rocks with dropstones. The diamictites contain erratic blocks of different size and roundness. The formation thins out eastward. On the western limb, the formation is represented predominantly by graded-bedded and less frequently massive diamictites, sandstones and rare thin bedded members with dropstones. The diamictites contain clasts with glacial facets and striae. The formation unconformably lies on the Ballaganakh Group of the Patom Supergroup or older rocks and grades into a marker member of thin-bedded red dolomitic marls and dolomites. Overlying carbonate-terrigenous formations of the Patom Supergroup are characterized by two negative (down to –6 and –10.5‰) δ 13 C anomalies and one positive (up to 3.9‰) anomaly. 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios in the carbonates above the Nichatka Formation increase upsection from 0.70725 in the overlying deposits to 0.70837 in the Nemakit-Daldyn (Fortunian) horizon of the early Cambrian. The Nichatka Formation as well as the host deposits are assigned to the Lower Vendian (Late Cryogenian) by reliable geological and isotopic correlations to biostratigraphically better studied Upper Precambrian sequences of the Ura Uplift in the Lena River basin. Stratigraphically similar glacial units were traced along the margins of the Baikal-Patom Highland up to the southern end of Lake Baikal and further to the NW towards East Sayan. The Siberian Craton was the main source area for these glacial units, which points to the existence of the great inland glaciers at the southern part of this craton. Some older Upper Precambrian diamictites of unclear age and genesis are also recorded in Central Siberia.

Würmian deglaciation of western Lake Geneva (Switzerland) based on seismic stratigraphy

Western Lake Geneva (le Petit-Lac) was filled during the Quaternary over a major erosion surface truncating the cemented, folded and thrusted Tertiary sediments of the foreland Alpine basin. The carving of the lake occurred during Quaternary glaciations with ice originating from the Rhone valley catchment basin flowing in two branches oriented SW and NE over the Swiss Plateau. Lake Geneva is situated on the South-Western branch of this paleo ice-cap. For the first time, a dense grid of high-resolution seismic profiles (airgun 5-inch 3, airgun 1-inch 3 and echosounder) has imaged the whole Quaternary sequence, providing a paleoenvironmental interpretation and a detailed reconstruction of the Rhone glacier retreat stages during glacial events that led to the formation of western Lake Geneva. The Quaternary sequence filling up the bedrock valley is exceptionally thick with up to 220 m of deposits and consists of glacial, glacio-lacustrine and lacustrine sediments. Fourteen seismic units have been defined (units U1–U14). Unit U1 represents the remnants of glacial deposits older than the last glacial cycle, preserved in the deepest part of the lake and in secondary bedrock valleys. Unit U2 represents gravel and sands deposited by meltwater circulation at the bottom of the glacial valley. Unit U3 is a thick, stratified unit marking the beginning of the deglaciation, when the Rhone glacier became thinner and buoyant and allowed the formation of a subglacial lake. Younger glacial units (units U4, U5, U7, U9, U11) are acoustically chaotic sediments deposited subglacially under the water table (undermelt tills), while the glacier was thinning. These glacial units are bounded by synform erosion surfaces corresponding to readvances of the glacier. The transition from a glacial to a glacio-lacustrine environment started with the appearance of a marginal esker-fan system (unit U6). Esker formation was followed by a small advance–retreat cycle leading to the deposition of unit U7. Then, the ice front receded and stratified sediments were deposited in a glacio-lacustrine environment (units U8, U10 and U12). This retreat was punctuated by two readvances – Coppet (unit U9) and Nyon (unit U11) – producing large push moraines and proglacial debris flows. Finally, a lacustrine environment with a characteristic lake current pattern and mass movement deposits took place (units U13 and U14). Except for unit U1, the sedimentary sequence records the Würmian deglaciation in a fjord-like environment occupied by a tidewater glacier with a steep, calving ice front. The presence of an esker-fan system reveals the importance of subglacial meltwater flow in continental deglaciation. Push-moraines and erosion surfaces below the glacier indicate at least 5 readvances during the deglaciation thus revealing that oscillations of ice front are the key process in deglaciation of perialpine fjord-lakes. The dating of these continental glacier fluctuations would allow correlation with oceanic and ice records and help to understand the climatic mechanisms between oceans and continents.

Time constraints from 230Th and 231Pa data in late Quaternary, low sedimentation rate sequences from the Arctic Ocean: an example from the northern Mendeleev Ridge

Due to the lack of ‘conventional’ oxygen isotope stratigraphies, the setting of unquestionable time frames in Late Quaternary records from low sedimentation rate settings of the Arctic Ocean often encounters difficulties. Here we use HOTRAX cores raised from the Mendeleev Ridge (multicore HLY0503-12, ∼1600 m water depth; multicore and trigger weight core HLY0503-11, ∼2500 m water depth) to demonstrate that U-series data may supply reliable time constraints and sedimentation rate estimates. Grain size, mineralogical, geochemical (C org, C inorg) and isotopic ( 210Pb, 238U, 234U, 232Th, 230Th, 231Pa) measurements were made on ground bulk sediment, whereas isotopic ( 13C, 14C, 18O) measurements were performed on planktonic foraminifers when present. The two multicores present remarkably similar profiles despite their >1 km-bathymetric difference. Both show three majors units. The top (0–8 cm) and bottom (26–38 cm) units have high clay and carbonate contents, whereas the intermediate unit (8–26 cm) shows high sand and low clay and inorganic carbon contents. An apparently short event with higher clay and inorganic content is recorded at ∼17 cm. 230Th-excess and 231Pa-excess are observed down to 35 and 27 cm, respectively, thus locking minimum ages of ∼340 ka and ∼140 ka at these depths. Age-model estimates allowed us to assign the top unit to the Marine Isotopic Stages (MIS) 1–3 interval, and the bottom unit to the Termination III-MIS 7 interval. The intermediate unit would represent the last two glacial cycles, interrupted by a short Termination II-MIS 5e “excursion”. Data from the TWC allow this stratigraphy to be extended to MIS 13. Glacial units correspond to very low sedimentation rates essentially linked to ice rafting deposition, as indicated by their high sand content. This study suggests a mean sedimentation rate of about 1.5 mm ka −1 for this sector of the Mendeleev Ridge, which supports the very low sedimentation rate suggested by 10Be data in a nearby site from other studies.

A composite C-isotope profile for the Neoproterozoic Dalradian Supergroup of Scotland and Ireland

Abstract: The Neoproterozoic Dalradian Supergroup is a dominantly siliciclastic metasedimentary succession in the Caledonian orogenic belt of Scotland and Ireland. Despite polyphase deformation and greenschist- to upper amphibolite-facies metamorphism, carbonate units distributed throughout the Dalradian record marked δ 13 C carbonate excursions that can be linked to those associated with key environmental events of Neoproterozoic time. These include: (1) tentative correlation of the Ballachulish Limestone with the c . 800 Ma Bitter Springs anomaly; (2) the presence of the pre-Marinoan Trezona anomaly and 635 Ma Marinoan-equivalent cap carbonate sequence in rocks of the middle Easdale Subgroup; (3) the terminal Proterozoic ( c . 600–551 Ma) Wonoka–Shuram anomaly in the Girlsta Limestone on Shetland. These linkages strengthen previously inferred correlations of the Stralinchy–Reelan formations and the Inishowen–Loch na Cille–MacDuff ice-rafted debris beds to the respectively 635 Ma Marinoan and 582 Ma Gaskiers glaciations, and suggest that the oldest Dalradian glacial unit, the Port Askaig Formation, represents one of the c . 750–690 Ma Sturtian glacial episodes. These δ 13 C data and resulting correlations provide more robust constraints on the geological evolution of the Dalradian Supergroup than anything hitherto available and enhance its utility in helping refine understanding of Neoproterozoic Earth history.

Neoproterozoic timescales and stratigraphy

Abstract The Infracambrian is a term for mostly Neoproterozoic successions in North Africa and areas to the east. Its base lies within the middle Neoproterozoic period, or Cryogenian, includes the youngest Neoproterozoic period, or Ediacaran, and continues into the early Cambrian to the level at which trilobites first appear. The Cryogenian lacks any biostratigraphic zonation; and no global biostratigraphic schemes exist for the Ediacaran. The formal classification of the Neoproterozoic is currently under review. The Cryogenian–Ediacaran (CE) interval includes at least three prominent diamictite horizons that are clearly linked to penecontemporaneous glaciations. The oldest is ‘Sturtian’, next oldest is ‘Marinoan’ (probably the most extensive), both names are Australian in origin but are used internationally. The Gaskiers glaciation is the youngest and probably the least extensive. There are important unresolved problems of the precise number, age, extent and nomenclature of the Neoproterozic glaciations in Australia. Several palaeomagnetic poles in the age range 600–550 Ma place glacial deposits of that age range in Australia in tropical latitudes. These data, together with older poles from Laurentia, gave rise to the notion of the Snowball Earth, in which the Earth froze over completely, but the profound refrigeration required appears to have had very little effect on biological evolution. Biostratigraphic zonation with the precision attainable throughout the Phanerozoic does not appear possible for the CE interval. Thus, most correlations are based on about 40 U–Pb and Re–Os dates. These confirm the existence of at least three glacial sequences (sequence is used here as an informal term), but it is possible that the Sturtian and Marinoan were essentially one glacial unit. Deglaciation was accompanied by the unique ‘cap carbonates’. The glacial sequences all show a characteristic δ 13 C pattern, but present knowledge is inadequate to use these patterns for detailed global correlation. The most reliable chemostratigraphic correlations are likely to be based on strontium isotope variations. Black shale horizons commonly follow deglaciation. A few basins produce Neoproterozoic hydrocarbons; others are potential producers. As a whole, the Neoproterozoic represents both a scientific and an exploration frontier.

New chronological and stratigraphical data on the Ivrea amphitheatre (Piedmont, NW Italy)

The Ivrea amphitheatre (IA) in NW Italy has been studied since 1850, on pedostratigraphic and morphological bases. Three stratigraphic groups of glacial sediments were distinguished. Newly recognized stratigraphic boundaries are based on interstadial/interglacial units, palaeosols and lacustrine organic layers interbedded with glacigenic deposits, and on pedostratigraphy. Mapping of morphological features and associated marginal and sub-glacial deposit facies was used to characterize and reconstruct glacial margin fluctuations. Based on the field evidence, the stratigraphical limits recognized at single sites can be interpolated over the whole amphitheatre. Ten stratigraphic units (referred to as alloformations: Afs) were distinguished and mapped. They are related to at least as many glacial episodes ranging in age from the end of the Early Pleistocene to the Late Pleistocene. The youngest three glacial units (Serra Af, Piverone Af and Ivrea Af) and one interstadial level (Alice Superiore Unit between Serra and Piverone Afs) are discussed in detail. Based on biostratigraphical and pedological, as well as sedimentological and morphological data, the Serra Af can be attributed to MIS 6 and Piverone Af to MIS 4. The 10Be surface exposure ages from two boulders (27.9±3.1, 32.4±4.0 kyr) on the Serra d’Ivrea moraine provide only a minimum age for moraine construction. The alignment of typical ice marginal landforms (moraines and kame terraces) for the more recent unit (Ivrea Af) has allowed recognition of 12 principal stadials during the LGM and Lateglacial; 6 stadials in the amphitheatre and 6 stadials in Dora Baltea Valley, and reconstruction of the nature of the last glacial retreat from the amphitheatre to the cirques. 10Be exposure ages from three boulders related to Ivrea Af are 13.1±1.0, 17.4±2.6 and 20.8±1.5 ka. The latter two ages indicate that the Dora Baltea Glacier deposited the Ivrea Af in the IA during MIS 2. The 10Be exposure ages of 14.6±1.2 and 14.0±0.9 ka from a polished bedrock surface some 15 km upstream from the amphitheatre provide a minimum age for ice decay.

Neoproterozoic basin evolution in Fennoscandia, East Greenland and Svalbard

Neoproterozoic successions of Fennoscandia, East Greenland and Svalbard are related to crustal extension and formation of sedimentary basins along the margins of northern Baltica (Fennoscandia) and eastern Laurentia (East Greenland and Svalbard), preceding final break-up of Rodinia. The early rift stage (late Tonian-Cryogenian) is characterized by up to 16 km thick sedimentary successions of deep-marine sandstones and conglomerates linked to rift and strike-slip basins. Pericratonic basins expanded during Cryogenian-Cambrian coastal onlap. Cryogenian tropical climate is reflected by carbonate and evaporitic formations, most of which predate Cryogenian-Ediacaran glaciations. Glacial units, collectively referred to the Varanger Ice Age, may be equivalent to the Marinoan (c. 630 Ma) and the Gaskiers (c. 580 Ma) glacial periods. The final stage in break-up of Rodinia commenced with the emplacement of dolerite dyke swarms along the Baltoscandian margin at c. 600 Ma and the opening of the Iapetus Ocean and other sea ways. No such dyke swarms have been recorded along the East Greenland segment of the Laurentian margin. Several Tonian-Cambrian tectonic and magmatic events recorded within the Kalak Nappe Complex in northern Finnmark make this unit an exotic terrane relative to the autochthonous Baltoscandian platform.

A New Framework for the Pleistocene Stratigraphy of the Central St. Lawrence Lowland, Southern Québec

For three decades, a stratigraphic framework involving one glaciation with two major ice advances (represented by the Bécancour Till and Gentilly Till), separated by one brief interstade (represented by the St. Pierre Sediments), has been invoked to explain the lithostratigraphic succession of Pleistocene sediments exposed in the St. Lawrence Lowland of southern Québec. New exposures found along the bluffs of the St. Lawrence River and recent borehole data provide evidence that the Pleistocene depositional sequence is the result of three glacial advances and two nonglacial events, each represented by organic-bearing units. Two lithostratigraphic units (Lotbinière Sand and Lévrard Till) and three climatostratigraphic units (St. Lawrence Stade, Grondines Interstade and Les Becquets Interstade) are introduced in the stratigraphie nomenclature. No definite age can be assigned to the lowermost till (Bécancour?) but it is now believed to be pre-Sangamonian. Field observations and geochronological data suggest the lower and upper interstadial sediments, and an intervening glacial unit represent brief but severe environmental changes that occurred at the beginning of the Wisconsin Glaciation, ca. 90-70 ka BP. This sequence may correlate with marine isotope stage 5a, stage 4, and the earliest part of stage 3. The age of the onset of the last glacial advance (Gentilly Till) is problematic, possibly ranging from 60 to 30 ka BP.

Seismostratigraphy of the Middle St. Lawrence Esturary: A Late Quaternary Glacial Marine to Estuarine Depositional/Erosional Record

A buried bedrock trough 350 m deep extends 100 km above Saguenay Fjord beneath the North Channel of the middle estuary. Four of five regional seismostratigraphic units are recognized in and adjacent to the trough; unit 1 (glacial ice-contact) and older sediments might also be present beneath the largely unpenetrated trough axis. Units 2 and 3 represent thick glacial marine sediments deposited in the >550 m deep waters of the Goldthwait Sea after glacial withdrawal ca. 13 ka BP: lower draped muds 10-20 m thick (unit 2) suggest deposition proximal to a retreating ice margin, while upper onlapping muds > 290 m thick (unit 3) record distal basin-filling; lateral transition to a coarse-grained proximal wedge 5*260 m thick (unit 2) is indicated by unit 3 reflectors rising and strengthening towards the Saguenay entrance, where a stable ice-margin ca. 13-11 ka BP supplied sediment to the lower and middle estuary. Unit 4 corresponds to lobes over 30 m thick on both sides of the upper North Channel, recording marginal input from glacial fluvio-deltaic sources. Unit 5 (estuarine sands, gravels and muds =£30 m thick) unconformably overlies glacial units. A smooth unconformity surface records erosion (at least 15 m, to axial depths >150m) by strong currents; irregular relief above depths of 25-50 m might relate to relative sea levels below present ca. 7-6 ka BP. Sand bedforms (apparently inactive) occur at the estuary floor, and possibly buried beneath estuarine muds; buried bedforms would imply an early Holocene genesis. Greatest thicknesses of estuarine mud coincide with adjacent fluvial discharges. Sandy/gravelly veneers form the estuary floor in most places. Mass displacement has disturbed units 3 and 5 along the northern, and locally southern, walls of the North Channel.

Direct dating of the Sete Lagoas cap carbonate (Bambuí Group, Brazil) and implications for the Neoproterozoic glacial events

AbstractThe end of the Neoproterozoic is punctuated by glacial deposition, but the chronology of these deposits is hindered presently by the paucity of geochronological data. Here, we present new radiometric dating for the basal Sete Lagoas cap carbonate deposits that overlie glacial units in the São Francisco craton. Six samples from aragonite‐pseudomorph crystal‐rich facies, showing pristine textures and constant 87Sr/86Sr ratios around 0.7075, yielded a Pb–Pb isochron age of 740 ± 22 Ma, which is interpreted as the depositional age for these remarkably preserved rocks. This age can be used to infer a low‐to‐moderate palaeolatitude of 20–30° for carbonate (and glacial) deposition. In addition, as it overlaps the ages obtained for the oldest Neoproterozoic glacial successions, our result reinforces the idea of a long‐standing ‘Sturtian’ interval, suggesting that this event represents either different discrete glaciations or a protracted event encompassing almost 80 Ma.

Neoproterozoic glaciation in the Earth System

The Neoproterozoic contains severe glacial intervals (750–580 Ma) including two extending to low palaeomagnetic latitudes. Paucity of radiometric dates indicates the need for chronostratigraphic tools. Whereas the marine 87 Sr/ 86 Sr signatures show a steady rise, δ 13 C fluctuates, the most reproducible variations being negative signatures in carbonate caps to glacial units, but more diagenetic work is needed. Four conceptual models for the icehouse conditions are contrasted: Zipper-Rift Earth (diachronous glaciation related to continental rift margins), High-tilt Earth (high-obliquity and preferential low-latitude glaciation), Snowball Earth (extreme glaciation related to runaway ice–albedo feedback) and Slushball Earth (coexistence of unfrozen oceans and sea-level glaciers in the tropics). Climate models readily simulate runaway glaciation, but the Earth may not be able to recover from it. The Slushball state requires more extensive modelling. Biogeochemical models highlight the lack of CO 2 buffering in the Neoproterozoic and the likely transition from a methane- to a CO 2 -dominated climate system. Relevant processes include tropical weathering of volcanic provinces, and new land biotas stimulating both clay mineral formation and P delivery to the oceans, facilitating organic C burial. Hence a step change in the Earth System was probably both facilitated by organisms and responsible for moderating Phanerozoic climate.

Palaeolatitude of glacial deposits and palaeogeography of Neoproterozoic ice ages

At the end of the Neoproterozoic, the Earth may have experienced important environmental changes, with a transition between two supercontinents (from Rodinia to Gondwana), extensive glaciations with ice caps reaching the Equator and the beginning of metazoan diversification. In such a context, the palaeomagnetic record can be used to constrain both the palaeogeography and the palaeoclimate (palaeolatitudinal distribution of glacial deposits). Here we present an up-to-date geochronological and palaeomagnetic database for the Neoproterozoic glacial deposits, including poles recently obtained on ‘cap carbonates’ from China, Oman, and Amazonia. The database comprises ten poles (from eight different cratons), obtained directly on the glacial deposits or on the overlying ‘cap carbonate’, and two other palaeolatitudes derived from reference poles coeval to well-dated glacial units in the same craton. The occurrence of glacial deposition at low latitudes (<30 °) is attested by some good-quality poles, two of them well dated at ∼740 and ∼635 Ma. Based on these poles and on reference poles obtained on igneous rocks, tentative palaeogeographic reconstructions for ∼750, ∼620, and ∼580 Ma (ages for which the database has limited but still sufficient entries) were performed in order to investigate the tectonic context within which the glacial events were produced.

Neoproterozoic diamictite-cap carbonate succession and δ13C chemostratigraphy from eastern Sonora, Mexico

Despite the occurrence of Neoproterozoic strata throughout the southwestern U.S. and Sonora, Mexico, glacial units overlain by enigmatic cap carbonates have not been well-documented south of Death Valley, California. Here, we describe in detail the first glaciogenic diamictite and cap carbonate succession from Mexico, found in the Cerro Las Bolas Group. The diamictite is exposed near Sahuaripa, Sonora, and is overlain by a 5 m thick very finely-laminated dolostone with soft sediment folds. Carbon isotopic chemostratigraphy of the finely-laminated dolostone reveals a negative δ 13C anomaly (down to − 3.2‰ PDB) characteristic of cap carbonates worldwide. Carbon isotopic values rise to + 10‰ across ∼ 400 m of section in overlying carbonates of the Mina el Mezquite and Monteso Formations. The pattern recorded here is mostly characteristic of post-Sturtian (ca. ≤ 700 Ma), but pre-Marinoan (ca. ≥ 635 Ma) time. However, the Cerro Las Bolas Group shares ambiguity common to most Neoproterozoic successions: it lacks useful radiometric age constraints and biostratigraphically useful fossils, and its δ 13C signature is oscillatory and therefore somewhat equivocal.

Deglaciation sequences in the Permo-Carboniferous Itararé Group, Paraná Basin, southern Brazil

The Late Carboniferous–Early Permian Itararé Group is a thick glacial unit of the Paraná Basin. Five unconformity-bounded sequences have been defined in the eastern outcrop belt and recognized in well logs along 400 km across the central portion of the basin. Deglaciation sequences are present in the whole succession and represent the bulk of the stratigraphic record. The fining-upward vertical facies succession is characteristic of a retrogradational stacking pattern and corresponds to the stratigraphic record of major ice-retreat phases. Laterally discontinuous subglacial tillites and boulder beds occur at the base of the sequences. When these subglacial facies are absent, deglaciation sequences lie directly on the basal disconformities. Commonly present in the lowermost portions of the deglaciation sequences, polymictic conglomerates and cross-bedded sandstones are generated in subaqueous proximal outwash fans in front of retreating glaciers. The overlying assemblage of diamictites, parallel-bedded and rippled sandstones, and Bouma-like facies sequences are interpreted as deposits of distal outwash fan lobes. The tops of the deglaciation sequences are positioned in clay-rich marine horizons that show little (fine-laminated facies with dropstones) or no evidence of glacial influence on the deposition and likely represent periods of maximum ice retreat.

Trace fossil evidence from the Adigrat Sandstone for an Ordovician glaciation in Eritrea, NE Africa

Trace fossils are described here from the Adigrat Sandstone formation of hitherto uncertain Palaeozoic-Mesozoic age in south-central Eritrea. The formation is subdivided into a lower unit, the Adi MaEkheno Member, and an upper informal unit, Member 2. The formation was deposited on the locally mudcracked top of the glacigenic Edaga Arbi Beds, suggesting that these two rock units were formed in a very short time interval. The Adi MaEkheno Member and the lower part of Member 2 contain trace fossils Arthrophycus alleghaniensis (Harlan), Arthrophycus ?brongniartii (Harlan), Didymaulichnus lyelli (Rouault), Palaeophycus tubularis Hall, Taenidium isp., thin winding ridges, winding ridges and furrows, simple cylinders, and ‘stellate’ forms. A. alleghaniensis is distinctively of Ordovician–Silurian (?Early Devonian) age. The trace fossil association belongs to the Cruziana ichnofacies that indicates a shallow marine environment between the normal and storm wave bases. The trace fossil data and stratigraphic relationships indicate that the Adigrat Sandstone formation and the Edaga Arbi Beds in Eritrea are Ordovician–Silurian in age. The Edaga Arbi Beds are correlated with other Upper Ordovician (Hirnantian) glacial units in northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, lending these beds the status of a marker unit in the Lower Palaeozoic stratigraphy of the Horn of Africa. The Jurassic “Adigrat Sandstone” in central-west and eastern Ethiopia cannot be correlated with the Adigrat Sandstone formation in its type area and in Eritrea.

The Sklinnadjupet slide and its relation to the Elsterian glaciation on the mid-Norwegian margin

The Sklinnadjupet Slide Scar is a large buried feature on the continental slope southeast of the Vøring Plateau. The mass-flow occurred ca. 250,000 years ago on a slope angle of ca. 0.5°, and removed glacial debris from the up to 350-m-thick Naust S sequence on the upper slope. This part of the mid-Norwegian margin appears to have been fairly stable throughout the last 2.8 million years. Naust S represents the third last glacial unit in the Skjoldryggen region, and was deposited during the Elsterian (ca. 400–200 ka BP). During this glaciation, a wide depression was formed on the continental shelf between Haltenbanken and Trænabanken, with the strongest glacial erosion in the west-trending Sklinnadjupet palaeo-trough. This trough leads directly towards the deep, 90-km-wide slide scar, indicating that a local depocentre was formed here before the mass-flow occurred. The shallowest crest of the Helland-Hansen Arch is located below the southern part of the slide scar, and two large craters were formed on the surface of this anticlinal structure. Our model suggests that the deposition of glacial sediments above the Helland-Hansen Arch caused high excess pore pressures along the shallowest crest of this structure and formed a high pore-pressure gradient towards the sea floor on its western flank. An earthquake possibly triggered the initial slide where the slope was steepest west of the crest. Most of the slide scar was already formed when the slide finally eroded into the anticline. High excess fluid pressure subsequently mobilised the diatomaceous oozes in the Helland-Hansen Arch and formed the craters. Much of this material flowed down-slope without being totally disintegrated, and was deposited as levee ridges and mounds above slide deposits from the first phase of the mass-flow. They have previously been wrongly interpreted as diapirs.

Late Quaternary sedimentary processes and variations in bottom-current activity in the Ulleung Interplain Gap, East Sea (Korea)

A detailed facies analysis of core sediments from the Ulleung Interplain Gap (UIG) reveals ten sedimentary facies which reflect a variety of sedimentary processes: volcaniclastic high-concentration sediment gravity flows, low-density turbidity currents, pelagic settling under either well or poorly oxygenated bottom-water conditions, marine fallout of tephra, hampered sedimentation by bottom currents, top-truncation of turbidites by bottom-current reworking, and Mn-carbonate precipitation under changing bottom-water oxygenation states. Distribution of the facies in the cores, integrated with echo characters of high-resolution subbottom profiles, delineates spatial and temporal changes in sedimentary processes, influenced by variations in bottom-current activity during the late Quaternary. The glacial (> ∼15 ka) sediment units from the Ulleung Interplain Channel (UIC), an erosional axial channel system in the UIG, consist mainly of manganiferous and muddy contourites, interbedded with coarse-grained volcaniclastic turbidites or debrites and non-bioturbated pelagites. This indicates prevalent activity of bottom currents, rarely interrupted by volcaniclastic high-concentration sediment gravity flows and deep-water stagnations which resulted in anoxic bottom-water conditions. On the other hand, the glacial units of the southeastern margin of the UIC, where upslope migrating sediment waves developed, are generally dominated by alternating fine-grained turbidites and bioturbated or non-bioturbated pelagites. This suggests that frequent turbidity currents derived from upslope mass wasting were responsible for the generation of the sediment waves. The post-glacial (< ∼15 ka) units from both the UIC and its southeastern margin consist mostly of muddy contourites or bioturbated pelagites with basal manganiferous contourites. They correspond to an acoustically transparent layer which occurs as an elongate mound parallel to the UIC in the southeastern margin. These features are suggestive of bottom-current-controlled sedimentation, hampered sedimentation in the UIC axis by stronger bottom-current activity and focused accumulation of resuspended sediments in the southeastern margin. The post-glacial bottom-current activity was initiated by renewed circulation with open ocean at ∼ 15 ka, probably more vigorous than that of the present. The bottom-current activity seems to have been augmented by enhanced bottom-water formation by colder sea-surface temperature.

A negative fold test on the Lorrain Formation of the Huronian Supergroup: Uncertainty on the paleolatitude of the Paleoproterozoic Gowganda glaciation and implications for the great oxygenation event

Previous paleomagnetic studies of the glaciogenic Gowganda and Lorrain formations have identified several low-inclination magnetic components of high thermal stability, which suggest low-latitude glaciation during deposition of the Huronian Supergroup, Canada. While extraordinary claims demand extraordinary proof, prior authors have been unable to support their interpretations of these components conclusively with any of the classic field stability tests (e.g., conglomerate, fold, and baked contact) capable of demonstrating that the magnetization was acquired at or soon enough after the time of deposition to be used to constrain the paleolatitude of the Gowganda or Lorrain formations. We report here the results of a fold test from the “purple siltstone” member of the Lorrain Formation near the town of Desbarats, Ontario, which indicate that none of the reported components dates to the time of deposition. Hence, the paleolatitude of the Gowganda glaciation is uncertain.Comparison of the lithostratigraphic, paleomagnetic, and radiometric constraints on the Huronian sequence and the Transvaal Supergroup of Southern Africa implies that the one verified low-latitude Paleoproterozoic glacial event (the Makganyene glaciation, Transvaal Supergroup, South Africa) is younger than the three glacial units of Canada. With this correlation, the physical rock record indicates that the ‘great oxygenation event’ began in the time interval between the Gowganda and Makganyene glaciations. These data are consistent with the sudden evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis destroying a methane greenhouse and thereby triggering the first Snowball Earth event in Earth history.

Toward a Neoproterozoic composite carbon-isotope record

Research Article| September 01, 2005 Toward a Neoproterozoic composite carbon-isotope record Galen P. Halverson; Galen P. Halverson 1Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, 20 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138-2902, USA, and Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Building 54-1126, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Paul F. Hoffman; Paul F. Hoffman 2Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, 20 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138-2902, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Daniel P. Schrag; Daniel P. Schrag 2Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, 20 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138-2902, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Adam C. Maloof; Adam C. Maloof 2Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, 20 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138-2902, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar A. Hugh N. Rice A. Hugh N. Rice 3Department of Geological Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GSA Bulletin (2005) 117 (9-10): 1181–1207. https://doi.org/10.1130/B25630.1 Article history received: 03 May 2004 rev-recd: 17 Jan 2005 accepted: 25 May 2005 first online: 02 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 Galen P. Halverson, Paul F. Hoffman, Daniel P. Schrag, Adam C. Maloof, A. Hugh N. Rice; Toward a Neoproterozoic composite carbon-isotope record. GSA Bulletin 2005;; 117 (9-10): 1181–1207. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/B25630.1 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 SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Glacial deposits of Sturtian and Marinoan age occur in the well-studied Neoproterozoic successions of northern Namibia, South Australia, and northwestern Canada. In all three regions, the Marinoan glaciation is presaged by a large negative δ13C anomaly, and the cap carbonates to both glacial units share a suite of unique sedimentological, stratigraphic, and geochemical features. These global chronostratigraphic markers are the bases of a new correlation scheme for the Neoproterozoic that corroborates radiometric data that indicate that there were three glacial epochs between ca. 750 and 580 Ma. Intraregional correlation of Neoproterozoic successions in the present-day North Atlantic region suggests that glacial diamictite pairs in the Polarisbreen Group in northeastern Svalbard and the Tillite Group in eastern Greenland were deposited during the Marinoan glaciation, whereas the younger of a pair of glacials (Mortensnes Formation) in the Vestertana Group of northern Norway was deposited during the third (Gaskiers) Neoproterozoic glaciation. Gaskiers-aged glacial deposits are neither globally distributed nor overlain by a widespread cap carbonate but are associated with an extremely negative δ13C anomaly. The chronology developed here provides the framework for a new, high-resolution model carbon-isotope record for the Neoproterozoic comprising new δ13C (carbonate) data from Svalbard (Akademikerbreen Group) and Namibia (Otavi Group) and data in the literature from Svalbard, Namibia, and Oman. A new U-Pb zircon age of 760 ± 1 Ma from an ash bed in the Ombombo Subgroup in Namibia provides the oldest direct time-calibration point in the compilation, but the time scale of this preliminary δ13C record remains poorly constrained. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.