Mapping and geochemical characterization of the Toarcian organic matter in the Mediterranean Tethys and Middle East

Organic matter from Toarcian outcrops and boreholes in several basins around the Mediterranean Sea and Middle East has been studied. Rock-Eval pyrolysis, elemental analyses of kerogens and gas chromatography of chloroform extracts within these different basins have been used to determine the amount, petroleum potential and type of the organic matter. The results have been used to compile a mapping of the organic matter for the Toarcian stage, which shows heterogeneities in the distribution and type of organic matter:

1. (1) Marine organic matter (type II) occurs in different environments of deposition. Whereas high contents (>5% total organic carbon) correspond to thick deposits within the West European realm (Great Britain, North Sea, Paris Basin and Germany), the organic matter is less abundant in the Mediterranean area where lower concentrations (1–2% TOC), preserved in Lower Toarcian thin levels, are limited only to restricted basins (northern Italy, Greece).

2. (2) The predominance of continental organic matter (type III) along the northern margin of the Tethys corresponds to a deltaic environment.

3. (3) There is a predominance of altered organic matter within the carbonated platforms around the Mediterranean Tethys.

These results, supplemented with the data issuing from the literature, add a geochemical dimension to the paleogeography of the Tethys.     

Micropaleontological record of Holocene estuarine stages in the Bahía Blanca estuary,Argentina

Holocene paleoenvironmental changes have been interpreted on the basis of benthic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils recovered in samples from Napostá Grande Stream, Bahía Blanca estuary, southern Buenos Aires Province. Samples are fine sands and clay sediments from a Holocene outcrop and were studied with quantitative techniques. The benthic foraminiferal assemblage is dominated by Ammonia parkinsoniana, Ammonia tepida, Bolivina pseudoplicata, Bolivina striatula, Bolivina sp., Buccella peruviana, and Elphidium spp. The calcareous nannofossil assemblage recovered is a typical cold-water association, dominated by Calcidiscus leptoporus, Coccolithus pelagicus, Emiliana huxleyi and Gephyrocapsa oceanica. A dendrogram classification by cluster analysis was made for each microfossil group. The results of these analyses were coincident, showing a liaison between changes in the assemblages of benthic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils. Those results, jointly with the sedimentological information, lead to the identification of three different paleoenvironments along the Napostá N1 site. The lower part of the succession represents an estuarine environment with larger marine connection. The middle part represents a gradual passage to a more restricted estuarine environment, and the upper part represents the establishment of the modern continental fresh-water environment.     

The Holocene development of Kushu Lake on Rebun Island in Hokkaido, Japan

Diatom assemblages and sulfur content in sediments were analyzed to clarify changes in the sedimentary environment of Kushu Lake, a coastal lake on Rebun Island in Hokkaido, Japan. Salinity variations were assessed by means of a diatom-based index of paleosalinity and the sedimentary sulfur content. This paper discusses the Holocene development of the lake, in relation to Holocene relative sea-level change. For paleoenvironmental interpretation of the lake development, the rationale of the threshold method (Anundsen et al., 1994) was applied.At ca. 8000 yr BP, a coastal embayment (paleo-Kushu Bay) resulted from marine ingression. The threshold elevation at the mouth of the paleo-Kushu Bay kept pace with the rising sea-level, resulting in its enclosure at the culmination of Holocene marine transgression (ca. 6500–5000 yr BP). From predicted relative sea-level at ca. 6000 yr BP for Rebun Island (Nakada et al., 1991), the threshold may have been at least above –3 to –5 m altitude. A freshwater lake environment with strongly anoxic bottom conditions may have occurred from ca. 5500 to 5100 yr BP. After an important episode of marine ingression, the lake was isolated completely from the open sea at ca. 4900 yr BP. The diatom record suggests that the maximum lacustrine extent occurred at ca. 4900–3100 yr BP. Thereafter, water depth decreased at the lake margins.In Kushu Lake, the threshold elevation, due to a build-up of a coastal barrier, prevents us from determining the amplitude of sea-level changes, even though the age of isolation contacts corresponds to periods of regression and climatic deterioration. In spite of isostatic subsidence, the effective protection provided by the well-developed barrier did not allow registration of any relative sea-level fluctuations since its isolation.     

Post-Wisconsinian paleoenvironments at Salinas del Bebedero basin, San Luis, Argentina

We present a climatic reconstruction of Holocene lacustrine episodes in the Salinas del Bebedero basin (Argentina), based on geological and diatom information.Morphological, sedimentological and diatom evidence between 11600 ± 140 yr BP and 325 ± 95 yr BP, allowed us to interpret the paleoenvironments of the basin. Episodes of high energy (sandy levels) are linked to large inflow of meltwater through the Desaguadero River, related to development of glaciers on the Andes. This inflow is characterized by peaks of relative abundance of the brackish water diatom Cyclotella choctawatcheeana Prasad. The values of C. choctawatcheeana decrease in deposits of low energy (clay levels), where it co-dominates with oligohalobous Fragilaria and Epithemia spp.To the last two peaks of large inflow of meltwater, radiocarbon dates corrected to sidereal ages, are AD 1280/1420 and AD 1443/1656. These ages agree with two cold episodes clearly recorded in dendrological studies from the Patagonian Andes and were correlated to the Little Ice Age. Thus, older Holocene episodes of large inflow of water to the basin were correlated with the Neoglacial Advances defined by Mercer (1976) for the Andes.     

A 12,000-Year Pollen Record from Lake Maliq, Albania

Pollen data from Lake Maliq, the first from Albania, contribute new information to the discussion of the vegetational, hydrological, and climatological history of the Balkans since 12,000 yr B.P. During late-glacial time, a perennial lake expanded at Maliq. It was surrounded by a complex vegetation association composed of steppe and mixed forest elements. The highly diverse forest flora suggest that late-glacial forest refugia were more developed here at middle altitude, rather than at higher altitude as previously suggested. The forest developed after 9800 yr B.P., while the water level remained high in the Korçë basin until 5000 yr B.P. Different environmental conditions, characterized by lower available moisture and warmer winters, progressively took place after this date. Human activity in the Korçë basin ca. 4500 yr B.P. was coeval with conditions characterized by an increase in winter temperatures and a decrease in summer moisture.     

渤海西北岸曹妃甸地区晚更新世末期以来古环境恢复

通过孢粉和硅藻分析并结合沉积学以及14C测年等资料,重建了渤海湾西北岸曹妃甸地区晚更新世末期以来的古植被、古气候以及古地理等演变过程,细致刻划了渤海湾西北岸海平面变化和海陆变迁史.曹妃甸地区自晚更新世末期以来的古沉积环境经历了冲积平原或滨海平原、河口或近海湖沼环境、三角洲与砂坝-泻湖沉积环境、废弃三角洲与砂坝-泻湖沉积环境等4个阶段.气候和植被在不同阶段也发生了相应的变化.     

Biogeochemistry and microfossils of the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous,Anabar Bay,Laptev Sea

A detailed analysis of organic matter from the Oxfordian-Lower Valanginian interval of the Nordvik section (Anabar Bay) allows the definition of three geochemical horizons (terpane, diasterene, and hopane), which are characterized by specific geochemical compounds and their ratios. These horizons are correlated with several stages in the evolution of microfossils associated with ecological and geochemical changes in sea paleobasin. Our study shows a good correlation among the variation in many geochemical parameters, the composition of microfossil assemblages, and the transgressive-regressive phases of the paleobasin evolution. Moderately shallow-water facies was reconstructed using micropaleontological, palynological, and lithological data from the upper and lower parts of the section, where the terpane and hopane horizons were identified. Both horizons are characterized by a general dominance of hopanes over other polycyclic biomarkers, the presence of compounds with the biological configuration and organic matter of mixed terrestrial-marine origin, the presence of benzohopanes and retene, an indicator of the conifer resins. This is also reflected in the composition of palynological assemblages, which are dominated by terrestrial palynomorphs, with rare conifer pollen grains. Relatively deep-water facies were identified in the middle part of the section (diasterene horizon). A distinctive geochemical feature of this interval is high relative abundances of diasterenes and 4-methyldiasterenes. The lower subhorizon is characterized by the highest values of the pristane/n-C₁₇ ratio and relatively light δ¹³C values of noncarbonate carbon. The aromatic fractions have anomalously high concentrations of methyltrimethyltridecylchromans (MTTCs), which are interpreted to be derived mostly from chlorophyll of prasinophytes. The terpenoid distribution is marked by the presence of neohop-13(18)-enes, which probably originated from the activity of methanotrophic bacteria. The above geochemical parameters indicate high photic zone productivity (which is confirmed by the composition of palynological assemblages with abundant dinocysts and prasinophytes) that favored the accumulation of organic matter in dysaerobic conditions, which periodically occurred in the bottom of paleobasin. The alternation of dysaerobic and low-oxic bottom water conditions is easily reconstructed from the analysis of microbenthic communities. The analysis of biogeochemical, micropaleontological, paleontological, and palynological data on the Upper Volgian-lowermost Berriasian organic-rich shales revealed a very good source rock potential for this part of the section, as indicated by relatively high concentrations of organic matter of mixed bacterial-algal genesis and stagnant conditions during deposition and diagenesis. However, this potential was not realized because of the extremely “mild” thermobaric conditions that existed within the Mesozoic strata of the present-day Anabar Bay. At the same time, our results and analysis of the available data allow an optimistic assessment of the hydrocarbon potential of Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous deposits on the Laptev Sea shelf.     

Quaternary ontogeny of a pampean ‘laguna’

Our sedimentological study of Lobos Lake sediments has shown that, below modern deposits, there is a clastic and biological record of three different paleoenvironments: two aquatic (freshwater and mixohaline respectively) and one subaereal. This record documents the climatic and geomorphologic changes that affected the basin during its evolution up to its present water level, from the upper Pleistocene to the Holocene.This is the seventh in a series of papers published in this issue on Paleolimnology in Southern South America. Dr. C. A. Fernández served as guest editor for these papers.     

Mammal remains at Rantis Cave,Israel, and Middle–Late Pleistocene human subsistence and ecology in the Southern Levant

Rantis Cave is a recently discovered filled cave in central Israel, displaying a rich faunal accumulation of micromammals, ungulates and carnivores. U–Th dating assigns the beginning of accumulation to ca. 140 ka. The accumulation is culturally assigned to the late half of the Middle Paleolithic (MP) period. Single‐grain optically stimulated luminescence measurements attest to a complex sedimentological history. We present the cross‐disciplinary results of taphonomic and geomorphological analyses, which point to the cave serving as a natural pitfall trap for the large fauna, with little human or carnivore activity. The fauna is dominated by Dama among the ungulates and by Microtus among the micromammals. These data in conjunction with ungulate tooth mesowear analysis suggest a xeric Mediterranean environment on the eastern margin of the southern Levantine foothills. The relative taxonomic abundance of ungulate taxa shows some differences from anthropogenic MP sites, possibly reflecting the prey choice patterns of MP hunters. Overall, the natural accumulation scenario for Rantis Cave provides a rare paleoenvironmental and paleoeconomic reference to the rich anthropogenic MP faunas of the Southern Levant, enabling the reconstruction of a rich and diverse environmental setting for this important human dispersal route. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reconstructing mid-to-recent Holocene paleoenvironments in the vicinity of ancient Amarynthos (Euboea,Greece)

This article examines the shoreline evolution and human occupation in the vicinity of the important archeological site of Amarynthos (Euboea Island, Greece) over the last six millennia. Archeological evidence indicates a continuous occupation of the site from the Bronze Age to the Roman period and the site is well-known, thanks to the existence of a sanctuary dedicated to the goddess Artemis. Based on the study of four boreholes, a paleogeographic reconstruction of the coastal landscape is proposed. Facies were determined based on mollusc identification, and sedimentology based on grain-size measurements (hand sieving for the fraction above 2?mm and LASER technique for particles below 2?mm) and loss-on-ignition. In addition, a series of 12 AMS radiocarbon dates define a reliable chronostratigraphy. Results suggest the presence of a fully marine environment from the early Holocene to ca. 2600–2400?cal. BC, which developed into a brackish environment from ca. 2600–2400?cal. BC to ca. 750?cal. BC due to the deltaic progradation of the nearby stream (Sarandapotamos River). From ca. 750?cal. BC onward, coastal swamps prevailed in the study area. Human-environmental interaction is discussed and particular attention is paid to the paleolandscape configuration of Amarynthos.