Largest Toothed Pterosaur Skull from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Western Liaoning,China, with Comments on the Family Boreopteridae

A new pterosaur Moganopterus zhuiana gen. et sp. nov. is erected based on a complete skull with lower jaws and anterior cervical vertebrae. It is characterized by much elongated upper and lower jaws with at least 62 total, long, curved teeth with sharp tips, a well developed parietal crest extending posterodorsally, forming an angle of 15 degrees with the ventral margin of the skull, the ratio of length to width of cervical vertebrae greater than 5:1. The skull length is 750 mm, and it is the largest toothed pterosaur found so far in the world. Based on this new pterosaur, the Boreopteridae can be divided into two subgroups: Boreopterinae sub-fam. nov. and Moganopterinae sub-fam. nov., which is also confirmed by the phylogenetic analysis.     

内蒙古沙麦钨矿区高分异花岗岩独居石U-Pb定年及成矿意义

兴蒙造山带是中国北方重要的多金属成矿带,产出有一系列的钨多金属矿床。沙麦钨矿位于内蒙古二连浩特—东乌旗成矿带东侧,是兴蒙造山带发育的典型石英脉型钨矿床之一。通过对沙麦矿区出露的花岗岩开展独居石U-Pb测年,总结区域钨矿化的成矿年龄与矿化特征,探讨区域钨矿成矿时序及构造动力学背景。测年结果显示,沙麦矿区中细粒黑云母二长花岗岩、似斑状黑云母二长花岗岩LA-ICP-MS独居石U-Pb谐和年龄分别为(141.6±1.1) Ma和(141.4±0.3) Ma,进一步确认沙麦钨矿形成于早白垩世。而二连浩特—东乌旗成矿带及其邻区钨矿化存在晚石炭世—早二叠世、早白垩世两期,成矿时代分别发生于约300 Ma和140～130 Ma。300 Ma成矿期钨成矿作用受古亚洲洋的影响;140～130 Ma成矿期为区域钨矿成矿作用高峰期,成矿作用受到古太平洋和蒙古—鄂霍次克洋构造体系叠加作用的影响。     

Lateglacial vegetation and palaeoenvironment in W Norway,with new pollen data from the Sunnmøre region

Krüger, L. C., Paus, A., Svendsen, J. I. & Bjune, A. E. 2011: Lateglacial vegetation and palaeoenvironment in W Norway, with new pollen data from the Sunnmøre region. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2011.00213.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Two sediment sequences from Sunnmøre, northern W Norway, were pollen‐analytically studied to reconstruct the Lateglacial vegetation history and climate. The coastal Dimnamyra was deglaciated around 15.3 ka BP, whereas Løkjingsmyra, further inland, became ice‐free around 14 ka BP. The pioneer vegetation dominated by snow‐bed communities was gradually replaced by grassland and sparse heath vegetation. A pronounced peak in Poaceae around 12.9 ka BP may reflect warmer and/or drier conditions. The Younger Dryas (YD) cooling phase shows increasing snow‐bed vegetation and the local establishment of Artemisia norvegica. A subsequent vegetation closure from grassland to heath signals the Holocene warming. Birch forests were established 500–600 years after the YD–Holocene transition. This development follows the pattern of the Sunnmøre region, which is clearly different from the Empetrum dominance in the Lateglacial interstadial further south in W Norway. The Lateglacial oscillations GI‐1d (Older Dryas) and GI‐1b (Gerzensee) are hardly traceable in the north, in contrast to southern W Norway. The southern vegetation was probably closer to an ecotone and more susceptible to climate changes.     

Strike-Slip Faults and Their Control on Differential Hydrocarbon Enrichment in Carbonate Karst Reservoirs: A Case Study of Yingshan Formation on Northern Slope of Tazhong Uplift,Tarim Basin

正Objective Oil and gas are abundant in the Ordovician Yingshan Formation carbonate karst reservoirs on the northern slope of Tazhong uplift in the Tarim Basin,and have extremely complicated oil-gas-water distribution,however.The     

Zur Geologie der Danakil-Senke

Geological and geophysical investigations in the Northern part of Afar-Region were carried out by a group of scientists in 1967 and 1968. The Afar-structure is framed by the Ethiopian Highland in the West, the Somali Plateau in the South and the Danakil horst in the E. Its northern part is occupied by the NNW trending Danakil Depression (Danakil Graben), a branch of the NW trending Red Sea-Graben. The block mosaic border land in the West as well as the Danakil Alps consist of basement overlain by unfolded Mesozoic strata. Within the Afar Depression the pre-Tertiary formations are covered by limnic-fluviatile — in upper portions marine — sediments, Miocene and Pliocene in age, thickening towards the centre of the Depression. These basin fillings indicate a major phase of rift faulting prior to and during their deposition. Marginal extensions of these “Danakil-Formation” on both flanks of the Depression accompany the structural borders of the Danakil Graben, coinciding with the “outer rift structural margin” (Mohr 1967). Evaporites occupy the deepest part of the structure, “the inner Danakil Graben”, downfaulted or opened by major rift movements during Pliocene. A NW trending fault zone cutting through the flat plain north of Dallol covered by gypsum beds, seems to form the Eastern margin of the inner Danakil Graben. In its southeastern prolongation the fault and fissure system of the Amarti Volcanic Range is situated. Still active rift faulting during Quaternary caused the present topographic form of the region. These movements were followed by a marine ingression. Its sediments (Zariga-Formation, 14 C Modell ages 25 000–34 000 y) ring the depression and pass into gypsum beds towards the centre of the basin. The deepest parts of the Depression are hidden beneath the Afrera-Formation (14 C Modell ages 5800 y) framing the Lake Assale/Bakili and the Lake Afrera (soft limestones, clay and gypsum beds). The rift-forming movements in the northern Afar were accompanied by strong volcanic activity. Besides different igneous rocks intruding the pre-Tertiary and Tertiary strata of the rift margin, extensive basaltic lava flows intercalate and locally underly the Danakil-Formation. Potassium-argon age determinations on these “Afar Basalts” yielded Miocene to Pliocene age. In the southern area of the Danakil Graben the Upper Tertiary sedimentary basin fillings are replaced by “Afar Basalts” (plateau-forming flood basalt) flows. They are succeeded by scoriaceous fissure alkali-olivine-basalts and their differentiated lavas forming huge volcanoes aligned parallel to the rift structures. The Central Volcanic Range (Erta Ale volcanic chain) marking the central part of the Danakil Graben, remains active today. Besides the basaltic activity, numerous huge volcanoes display rhyolitic rocks with strong alkaline affinity.     

Comparison Of Three Uncertainty-Analysis Methods To Assess Impacts On Groundwater Of Constituents Leached From Land-Disposed Waste

Assessment of the environmental fate and behavior of constituents that have the potential to leach from waste-disposal pits that are associated with petroleum exploration and production activities is a problem of interest to industry and regulatory agencies. A stochastic modeling approach for the migration of constituents in soil and groundwater was developed to assess the impact on groundwater at receptors that are downgradient from a waste pit. The model evaluates uncertainties in constituent concentrations in groundwater due to uncertainties in waste-composition and hydrogeologic properties of waste sites, and it determines the probability distributions of constituent concentration at receptor points by using Monte Carlo (MC), First-Order (FO), and Point-Estimate (PE) methods. Application of the FO and PE methods to assess probability distributions requires an assumption of the form of the probability density function for concentration at a receptor point. A log-normal distribution is employed here. A comparison of the three uncertainty-analysis methods is performed to evaluate the efficiency and accuracy of the FO and PE methods relative to the MC method. Results suggest that for non-reactive and conservative constituents the level of accuracy provided by FO method is similar to that of the MC method. The computational effort for the FO method is about 1 percent of that for the MC method. For nonconservative constituents, the FO method compared less favorably with the MC results. Thus, the use of the MC method is warranted, for nonconservative constituents or for cases where a higher degree of precision in the probability distribution is needed. RÉSUMÉ: L'industrie et les organismes de contrôle s'intéressent particulièrement au problème de la prédiction du devenir et du comportement environnemental de composés susceptibles de lixivier des pollutants à partir de puits de stockage de déchets associés à des zones d'exploration et de production pétrolières. Une modélisation stochastique de la migration de composées dans le sol et les eaux souterraines est proposée en vue de prédire l'impact sur les eaux souterraines en des points de prélèvement situés en aval-gradient d'un puits de stockage. Le modèle fournit une estimation des incertitudes sur les teneurs des composés dans les eaux souterraines en fonction de la composition des déchets et des propriétés hydrogéologiques des sites de stockage; il détermine les distributions de probabilité de la concentration des composés à des points de prélèvement au moyen des méthodes de Monte-Carlo (MC), du Premier Ordre (PO) et de l'Estimation Ponctuelle (EP). Le recours aux méthodes PO et EP pour prédire les distributions de probabilité impose une hypothèse sur la forme de la fonction de densité de probabilité pour la concentration en un point de prélèvement. Une distrubution log-normale est utilisée ici. Une comparaison des trois méthodes d'analyse de l'incertude a été réalisée afin d'estimer l'efficacité et la précision des méthodes PO et EP par rapport à la méthode MC. Les résultats indiquent que, pour des composés conservatifs, le degré de précision atteint par la méthode PO est comparable à celle de la méthode MC. La puissance de calcul requise par la méthode PO est 1% environ de celle nécessaire pour la méthode MC. Pour des composés non conservatifs, la comparaison avec la méthode MC est moins favorable à la méthode PO. Par conséquent, la méthode MC est préférable pour les composés non conservatifs ou dans les cas où un meilleur degré de précision de la distribution de probabilité est nécessaire. RESUMEN: La evaluación del comportamiento de constituyentes lixiviables desde vertidos de residuos asociados a actividades de exploración y producción petrolífera, así como su posible impacto ambiental, es un problema de interés para la industria y las agencias reguladoras. Se ha desarrollado una modelación estocástica para estudiar la migración de los constituyentes en el suelo y el agua subterránea, con el objetivo de evaluar su impacto en receptores situados aguas abajo de un vertido. El modelo evalúa las incertidumbres en las concentraciones de los constituyentes debidas a las incertidumbre en la composición de los residuos y de las propiedades hidrogeológicas de la zona de vertido y determina las distribuciones de probabilidad de dichas concentraciones en puntos de recepción mediante los métodos de Monte Carlo (MC), Primer-Orden (FO) y Estimación Puntual (PE). La aplicación de los métodos FO y PE para evaluar las distribuciones de probabilidad reqiere suponer conocida la forma de la función de densidad de probabilidad para la concentración en el punto receptor. En este caso, se emplea una distribución log-normal. Se lleva a cabo una comparación entre los tres métodos de análisis de errores para evaluar la eficiencia y exactitud de los métodos FO y PE respecto al MC. Los resultados sugieren que para constituyentes conservativos no-reactivos, el nivel de exactitud suministrado por el método FO es comparable con el del MC. El esfuerzo computacional para el método FO, en cambio, es alrededor del 1% del método MC. Para constituyentes no conservativos, es método FO no compara tan favorablemente frente a los resultados del MC. Por tanto, el uso del método MC está obligado para constituyentes no conservativos y para casos en los que se requiere un alto nivel de precisión en la distribución de probabilidad.     

Sedimentary evolution of a Late Pleistocene temperate red algal reef (Coralligène) on Rhodes,Greece: correlation with global sea‐level fluctuations

Autochthonous red algal structures known as coralligène de plateau occur in the modern warm‐temperate Mediterranean Sea at water depths from 20 to 120 m, but fossil counterparts are not so well‐known. This study describes, from an uplifted coastal section at Plimiri on the island of Rhodes, a 450 m long by 10 m thick Late Pleistocene red algal reef (Coralligène Facies), interpreted as being a coralligène de plateau, and its associated deposits. The Coralligène Facies, constructed mainly by Lithophyllum and Titanoderma, sits unconformably upon the Plio‐Pleistocene Rhodes Formation and is overlain by a Maerl Facies (2 m), a Mixed Siliciclastic‐Carbonate Facies (0·2 m) and an Aeolian Sand Facies (2·5 m). The three calcareous facies, of Heterozoan character, are correlated with established members in the Lindos Acropolis Formation in the north of the island, while the aeolian facies is assigned to the new Plimiri Aeolianite Formation. The palaeoenvironmental and genetic‐stratigraphic interpretations of these mixed siliciclastic‐carbonate temperate water deposits involved consideration of certain characteristics associated with siliciclastic shelf and tropical carbonate shelf models, such as vertical grain‐size trends and the stratigraphic position of zooxanthellate coral growths. Integration of these results with electron spin resonance dates of bivalve shells indicates that the Coralligène Facies was deposited during Marine Isotope Stage 6 to 5e transgressive event (ca 135 to 120 ka), in water depths of 20 to 50 m, and the overlying Maerl Facies was deposited during regression from Marine Isotope Stage 5e to 5d (ca 120 to 110 ka), at water depths of 25 to 40 m. The capping Aeolian Sand Facies, involving dual terrestrial subunits, is interpreted as having formed during each of the glacial intervals Marine Isotope Stages 4 (71 to 59 ka) and 2 (24 to 12 ka), with soil formation during the subsequent interglacial periods of Marine Isotope Stages 3 and 1, respectively. Accumulation rates of about 0·7 mm year^?1 are estimated for the Coralligène Facies and minimum accumulation rates of 0·2 mm year^?1 are estimated for the Maerl Facies. The existence of older red algal reefs in the Plimiri region during at least Marine Isotope Stages 7 (245 to 186 ka) and 9 (339 to 303 ka) is inferred from the occurrence of reworked coralligène‐type lithoclasts in the basal part of the section and from the electron spin resonance ages of transported bivalve shells.     

Geochemistry of Pliocene/Pleistocene basalts along the Central Anatolian Fault Zone (CAFZ), Turkey

Abstract

Pliocene-Pleistocene volcanism accompanied strike-slip-related transtensional deformation along the K?z?l?rmak fault segment of the Central Anatolian fault zone (CAFZ) in the west of ?ark??la (Sivas-central Turkey). These volcanic rocks are represented by alkali olivine basalts. They can be divided into four different sub-groups on the basis of their Zr, Nb, TiO₂ contents. A primitive mantle-normalized incompatible trace element diagram for four subgroups shows close similarity to typical OIB pattern. Some of the incompatible trace element ratios (Ce/Y, Zr/Nb, La/Ba, La/Nb) are also akin to OIB values. Highly fractionated REE patterns (La/Yb_N=24.7–9.2) with no Eu anomaly are the main features of the alkali basalts and are comparable to alkaline volcanism in continental rift zones. On the basis of Al₂O₃/TiO₂, Nb/Y, Zr/Y Zr/Nb ratios, the geochemical differences among four sub-groups can be explained by variable degrees of partial melting of compositionally similar mantle source. Th/Nb, Th/Y, Nb/Y ratios and the primitive mantle-normalized trace element diagram suggests significant amount of crustal involvement for most of the alkali olivine basalts erupted along the CAFZ. Rupture of the continental lithosphere by strike-slip-related transtensional deformation might have caused decompressional partial melting of the asthenospheric mantle and generating alkali olivine basalts in this region. © 2001 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS.     

Geochemistry and Petrogenesis of Intracontinental Basaltic Volcanism on the Northwest Arabian Plate,Gaziantep Basin,Southeast Anatolia,Turkey

Volcanism along the northwest boundary of the Arabian Plate found in the Gaziantep Basin, southeast Turkey, is of Miocene age and is of alkaline and calc-alkaline basic composition. The rare earth element data for both compositional series indicates spinel–peridotite source areas. The rare earth and trace elements of the alkaline lavas originate from a highly primitive and slightly contaminated asthenospheric mantle; those of the calc-alkaline lavas originate from a highly heterogeneous, asthenospheric, and lithospheric mantle source. Partial melting and magmatic differentiation processes played a role in the formation of the petrological features of these volcanics. These rocks form two groups on the basis of their ~(87) Sr/~(86) Sr and ~(143) Nd/~(144) Nd isotopic compositions in addition to their classifications based on their chemical compositions(alkaline and calc-alkaline). These isotopic differences indicate a dissimilar parental magma. Therefore, high Nd isotope samples imply a previously formed and highly primitive mantle whereas low Nd isotope samples may indicate comparable partial melting of an enriched heterogeneous shallow mantle. Other isotopic changes that do not conform to the chemical features of these lavas are partly related to the various tectonic events of the region, such as the Dead Sea Fault System and the Bitlis Suture Zone.