No description available.

The continental margin off Nova Scotia (the Scotian margin) forms the northern edge of the North American Basin. The Cenozoic stratigraphy and geological history of the outer margin is not well known. This study examines aspects of the Upper Cretaceous-Cenozoic geological history of the outer Scotian margin addressing the following objectives: 1) determine the geological history of a large deep-water depocenter, 2) investigate processes that led to deep-water unconformity formation in the study area, 3) determine the role of deep-ocean circulation in margin evolution, 4) examine the effects of morphological heritage on subsequent depositional patterns. High quality 2-D and 3-D seismic reflection data along with lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic data from hydrocarbon exploration wells provide the basis for this investigation. The seismic stratigraphy of a large deep-water depocenter along the western Scotian margin was broadly divided into four units. Unit 1 (Upper Cretaceous-Upper Eocene) is attributed to repeated, widespread erosion events interspersed with periods of hemipelagic and pelagic, carbonate-rich sedimentation. Unit 2 (Lower Oligocene-Middle Miocene) consists of a variety of seismic facies overprinted by dense, small-offset faults. Unit 3 (Middle Miocene-Upper Pliocene) is dominated by sediment drift deposition. Unit 4 (Upper Pliocene-present) is characterized by channel development and gravity flow deposition. The processes that led to regional seismic stratigraphic horizons were complex. Both large mass-wasting events and along-slope bottom currents contributed to the formation of unconformities in the study area. Most of the succession preserved in the depocenter belongs to seismic units 2 and 3. These deposits are mainly confined to the area seaward of the Abenaki carbonate bank and landward of shallow salt structures below the slope. Locally, however, modification of the slope profile through mass-wasting and bottom current processes greatly influenced subsequent depositional patterns. The Cenozoic geological evolution of the study area was strongly affected by northeast-to-southwest flowing bottom currents. The earliest indication of bottom current activity was in the Eocene. Upper Miocene and Pliocene sediment drifts represent >50% of the preserved stratigraphic section in the thickest part of the depocenter. It is clear that along-slope sedimentary processes were far more important in shaping the margin than previously understood.

No description available.

With the extension of the Nchwaning Mine shaft complex in the Northern Cape Province, various geological and geotechnical complications needed to be identified in order to ensure correct use of tunnelling methods and support techniques. An understanding of the geological history of the area and the resulting geotechnical nature was important in defining the rock mass quality ahead of shaft development. A total of 12 geotechnical boreholes were drilled, and an additional 18 old boreholes revisited to accurately detennine the stratigraphy, geological structure and associated weathering effects. Various soils and rock testing helped quantify the materials encountered. Sands of the Gordonia Fonnation form the surface cover of this area, and together with the weathered calcrete, calc-arenite, conglomerate and clay, they form part of the Cenozoic Kalahari Group. The 30m thick basal unit of red clay is common throughout this region. This silty clay material is problematic in that it is expansive and hygroscopic. The clay unit rests unconformably on folded, faulted and highly weathered shale of the Proterozoic Lucknow and Mapedi Formations of the Olifantshoek Supergroup. Unconformably below this sequence lies the manganiferous ore deposits of the Hotazel Member, which is contained within the Voelwater Formation of the Griqualand West Supergroup. For the development of the decline shaft through the Gordonia Formation a box cut was excavated to a depth of 25m. The anticipated poor geotechnical conditions for a further 125m below the Gordonia sands called for high quality permanent tunnel support in the upper weathered horizons. Barton's Q-analysis was adopted as a recognized tunnelling quality index to predict and quantify the rock mass characteristics ahead of the shaft. The highly variable and generally low Q-values from borehole core analysis indicated that precast tunnel lining be used for 800m (at 11.5°) through the entire weathered Cenozoic sequence and into the weathered shales immediately below the Red Clay. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

L’Amazonie occidentale héberge une biodiversité actuelle foisonnante. Si l’évolution des biomes tropicaux de basse altitude est mal documentée dans le temps profond, il semble que le Miocène ait été une période clé pour l’émergence des écosystèmes amazoniens modernes. Une phase majeure de surrection des Andes a en effet provoqué la mise en place du drainage actuel de l’Amazone au Miocène supérieur (10,5 millions d’années). Pour mieux connaître les modalités de l’émergence de la biodiversité néotropicale actuelle, acquérir une meilleure connaissance des biomes proto-amazoniens – antérieurs au Miocène supérieur – est donc crucial. Malheureusement, le registre fossile correspondant était jusqu’à présent très restreint, en particulier pour les vertébrés. En analysant l’évolution, l’écologie et la biogéographie de mésoeucrocodiliens fossiles (caïmans, gavials et sébécidés) découverts dans de nouvelles localités d’Amazonie péruvienne, le présent mémoire permet de dépeindre un épisode clé de la vie foisonnante de la “proto-Amazonie” occidentale au Miocène. La faune de crocodiles des gisements de la région d’Iquitos (13-10 Ma), au Nord-est du Pérou, représente à la fois la plus grande diversité taxonomique (sept espèces associées) et la plus grande variété de morphotypes du rostre connues pour une communauté donnée de crocodyliformes (actuels-fossiles). L’hétérogénéité dmorphologique correspondante recouvre la majeure partie du morpho-espace connu pour l’ensemble des crocodyliformes, ce qui reflète les influences conjointes d’une évolution à long terme, d’une grande abondance/variété de ressources alimentaires, et d’une ségrégation de niches dans un écosystème complexe. Outre les caïmans géants Purussaurus et Mourasuchus, tous les autres crocodiliens sont des taxons nouveaux, parmi lesquels un caïman basal—Gnatusuchus pebasensis—présentant une mandibule massive et en forme de pelle, des dents antérieures proclives et postérieures globuleuses, ainsi qu’un diastème de type « mammalien ». Cette espèce très particulière constitue un exemple extrême d’une radiation évolutive de petits caïmans durophages, associée à l’apogée des mollusques proto-amazoniens, au sein du méga-système humide Pebas. Le seul crocodilien longirostre de cette communauté est le gavialoïde le plus basal du bassin amazonien, crucial pour la reconstitution de l’écologie et du morphotype ancestraux des Gavialoidea. Une fois inclus dans des analyses phylogénétiques-morphométriques, ce nouveau taxon permet de démontrer que le patron longirostre des gavialoïdes sud-américains et indiens résulte d’une évolution convergente, dans des habitats fluviatiles.Situées à la périphérie du biome pébasien et contemporaines des assemblages d’Iquitos (fin du Miocène moyen), les localités de l’Arche de Fitzcarrald correspondent à une influence plus marquée des Andes, en termes d’environnements. Cette faune de crocodiliens inclut des sébécidés (Sebecosuchia) au crâne comprimé latéralement et des gavials dérivés et aux yeux proéminents (Gavialoidea), associés à divers caïmans (Mourasuchus, Purussaurus, Paleosuchus et Eocaiman). La composition de cet assemblage suggère la prédominance de milieux terrestres et fluviatiles dans cette région. Le contraste est fort avec la région d’Iquitos, où les faunes de crocodiles, hautement endémiques, apparaissent plutôt liées à l’existence de marécages dysoxiques typiques du méga-système Pebas. La mise en place du système de drainage transcontinental amazonien au début du Miocène supérieur a entrainé la disparition du système Pebas et le déclin de ces faunes crocodiliennes proto-amazoniennes, remplacées par des communautés dominées par des caïmans plus généralistes (notamment Caiman et Melanosuchus) et des gavials très longirostres. Plus généralement, l’essor, la persistance, puis le déclin de ces écosystèmes aquatiques miocènes à forte productivité a laissé une empreinte durable – et encore perceptible – sur la biodiversité amazonienne. / Under the influential role of the Andean range, western Amazonia developed distinctive environmental conditions that ultimately led to divergent, higher biodiversity within the Neotropics. Although this intimate geologic-biotic interaction might have produced similar phenomena in the past, our knowledge about the tropical biotic evolution occurring in close proximity to these rapid growing mountains is poorly documented in the deep time. A pivotal time interval for the emergence of the modern Amazonian ecosystems occurred during the Miocene, when major Andean uplift remodeled the landscape of the foreland basin and fostered the onset of the Amazon River System, at about 10.5 million years ago. Proto-Amazonian biotas just prior to this episode are integral to understanding origins of Neotropical biodiversity, yet vertebrate fossil evidence was extraordinarily rare thus far. By studying the evolution, ecology, and biogeography of fossil mesoeucrocodylians (caimans, gharials, and sebecids) documented in new rich paleontological sites of eastern Peru, this research provides a snapshot of the florishing Miocene life of western proto-Amazonia. The crocodylian assemblage of the Iquitos bonebeds (middle-late Miocene transition) is extraordinary in representing both the highest taxonomic diversity (with up to seven associated species) and the widest range of snout morphotypes ever recorded in any crocodyliform community, recent or extinct. The heterogeneity of snout shapes at the Peruvian Miocene localities covers most of the morphospace range known for the entire crocodyliform clade reflecting the combined influences of long-term evolution, resource abundance and variety, and niche partitioning in a complex ecosystem, with no recent equivalent. Besides the large-bodied Purussaurus and Mourasuchus, all other crocodylians in Iquitos are new taxa, including a stem caiman—Gnatusuchus pebasensis—bearing a massive shovel-shaped mandible, procumbent anterior and globular posterior teeth, and a mammal-like diastema. This unusual species is an extreme exemplar of a radiation of small caimans with crushing dentitions recording peculiar feeding strategies correlated with a peak in proto-Amazonian molluscan diversity and abundance, deep in the so-called Pebas Mega-Wetland System. The sole long-snouted crocodylian in this community is the basalmost gavialoid of the Amazonian basin, a critical taxon that offers evidence for accurately reconstructing the ancestral anatomy and ecology of this clade. Including this new species in phylogenetic-morphometric analyses suggests that the evolution of the similar rostral pattern between South American and Indian gavialoids results from parallel evolution in riverine habitats. As part of the same prevailing Pebas biome, Fitzcarrald localities correspond to coeval paleoenvironments closer to the Andean influence (13-12 Ma). This fauna includes deep-snouted sebecids (Sebecosuchia) and advanced gavialoids (Gavialoidea) with protruding eyes, associated with a wide array of caimans (Mourasuchus, Purussaurus, Paleosuchus et Eocaiman), and further suggesting the presence of terrestrial settings and fluvially-dominated ecosystems. On the other hand, the highly endemic Iquitos faunas evolved within the dysoxic marshes and swamps typical of the long-lived Pebas Mega-Wetland System (early–early late Miocene) and declined with the inception of the transcontinental Amazon drainage, favoring diversification of longirostrine crocodylians and more modern generalist-feeding caimans. Indeed, the end of the Pebas Mega-Wetland System notably resulted in the reduction of the phylogenetic and morphotypical mesoeucrocodylian proto-Amazonian diversity, designating the beginning of the modern Amazonian faunas. The rise and demise of distinctive, highly productive aquatic ecosystems substantially influenced evolution of Amazonian biodiversity hotspots of crocodylians and other organisms throughout the Neogene.

This thesis presents a new calibration of the Ginkgo stomatal index as a proxy for atmospheric CO2 concentrations using leaves from modern Ginkgo biloba herbarium specimens. Scanning electron images were obtained to count stomates and cells on leaves collected between 1829 and 2015. Average stomatal index (SI) was then calculated for each year. SI is defined as #stomates/(#stomates + # epidermal cells)*100. The relationship between stomatal index and atmospheric CO2 can be expressed in an equation following the form recommended by Wynn (2003), as the most likely representation of the physical laws governing CO2 diffusion across stomates. The new fitted equation for determining CO2 from Ginkgo SI is: CO2=205.7+13,630,000 x SI^(-5.224). This new equation is applied to suitably preserved Cenozoic fossil leaves of Ginkgo and results in a downward revision of estimated CO2 levels, while preserving the general shape of greenhouse spikes in the middle Miocene and Eocene. These spikes correlate to climatic warm and wet spikes derived from paleosol evidence during those times. / 10000-01-01

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-01-27Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:33:38Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 franco_aob_me_rcla.pdf: 2573807 bytes, checksum: 574f9f24f539eb53bda347597a2b1d4d (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / A evolução do Arco de Ponta Grossa, na região sudeste brasileira, durante o Meso-Cenozóico, apresenta uma estreita relação com os eventos tectono-magmáticos responsáveis pela abertura do Oceano Atlântico- Sul. A utilização do Método de Datação por Traços de Fissão em apatitas, nessa região, permitiu a identificação de cinco eventos térmicos, responsáveis pela estruturação dessa feição, a partir do Cretáceo. São eles: Evento A - Aquecimento em 130 Ma, relacionado ao evento de ruptura do Gondwana Sul-Ocidental e geração do Oceano Atlântico-Sul; Evento B - Resfriamento em 110 Ma, associado à reativação de antigas zonas de cisalhamento e/ou falhas geradas na ocasião do evento de ruptura do Gondwana Sul-Ocidental; Evento C - Aquecimento em 90 Ma, associado à um soerguimento regional, interpretado como alçamento de isógradas, provavelmente como reflexo do soerguimento do Arco de Ponta Grossa e conseqüente sedimentação correlativa (Grupo Bauru ls, no interior continental, e seqüência inferior da Formação Santos, na Bacia homônima), bem como de intrusões alcalinas; Evento D - Resfriamento em 60 Ma, correlacionado à um evento erosivo, que propiciou a formação de uma extensa superfície de erosão, neste caso a Superfície Sulamericana, amplamente registrada tanto na parte continental como na porção submersa adjacente ao Arco de Ponta Grossa (sob a forma de discordância regional na Bacia de Santos); Evento E - Resfriamento em 30/20 Ma, associado à atuação de ciclos erosivos, instalação de bacias tafrogênicas e, localmente, intrusões alcalinas. / The evolution of Ponta Grossa Arch, in southeastern Brazil, during Mesozoic-Cenozoic, seems to be related to the tectono-thermal events related to South Atlantic opening. The use of Apatite fission Track Method, in this region, allowed the recognition of five thermal events, responsible for the formation of this feature, since Cretaceous, which are: Event A - Heating event in 130 Ma, related to the Southeastern Gondwana break-up and the origin of South Atlantic Ocean; Event B - Cooling event in 110 Ma, associated to the shear zones reactivation and/or faults generated during Gondwana break-up; Event C - Heating event in 90 Ma, associated with a regional uplift, interpreted as uplift isotherms, probably as a reflection of Ponta Grossa Arch uplift and correlated sedimentation (Bauru Group ls, in continent and the inferior sequence of Santos Formation, in Santos Basin), and alkaline intrusions; Event D - Cooling event in 60 Ma, correspondent to an erosional event, that formed an extended erosional surface, in this case, Sulamericana Surface, registered both in continental region and in offshore portion (registered as a regional discordance in Santos Basin); Event E - Cooling in 30/20 Ma, related to erosional cycles, tafrogenic basins origin and, locally, alkaline intrusions.

As bacias de Taubaté e Resende são bacias continentais paleógenas do tipo rift, orientadas segundo a direção NE a ENE e fazem parte do segmento central do Rift Continental do Sudeste do Brasil. Ambas foram instaladas durante o Eoceno, resultantes de um campo de esforços distensivo de direção NW-SE. Este campo reativou zonas de cisalhamento de direção NE do embasamento pré-cambriano como falhas normais, importantes durante a instalação e evolução da bacia. Há também inúmeras estruturas transversais ao eixo da bacia, de direções N-S, NE-SW e NW-SE, as quais compreendem falhas e dobras que estiveram ativas durante diferentes intervalos de tempo, embora seus papeis na evolução da bacia ainda sejam pouco conhecidos. A fim de reconhecer estas estruturas em subsuperfície na Bacia de Taubaté, cinco perfis sísmicos longitudinais ao eixo da bacia foram interpretados, demonstrando o caráter distinto dessas estruturas como falhas normais e inversas, que interceptam diferentes unidades sísmicas, indicando uma deformação tectônica polifásica. A presença de altos estruturais transversais, distinguíveis em perfis sísmicos, ativos durante a abertura da bacia, pode estar relacionada com anticlinais formados na capa das falhas, durante uma evolução relacionada ao crescimento das falhas principais de borda em um regime distensivo de direção NW-SE. Ainda, foram descritas em afloramentos falhas sinsedimentares de componente normal, de direção NW-SE e transversais à Bacia de Resende, dispostas em um alto ângulo com relação à orientação ENE das falhas principais de borda. Estas estruturas foram interpretadas como falhas de alívio formadas no mesmo contexto distensivo. As relações estratigráficas e a análise de paleotensões das populações de falhas indicaram que as estruturas transversais estão relacionadas a quatro eventos deformacionais: compressão NE-SW, provavelmente durante o Mioceno; compressão NW-SE, durante o Pleistoceno Superior; distensão E-W a NW-SE durante o Holoceno; e por fim compressão E-W relacionada ao campo de esforços atual. A evolução da Bacia de Santos na porção adjacente offshore durante o Cenozoico pode estar diretamente relacionada à presença de estruturas transversais, mudanças de campo de estresse e a geração e eventos deformacionais nas bacias continentais do tipo rift. / The Taubaté and Resende are NE-to-ENE-oriented Paleogene continental rift basins of the central segment of the Continental Rift of Southeastern Brazil. Both basins were installed during the Eocene as a result of a NW-SE-oriented extensional stress field. This stress field reactivated NE-trending shear zones of the Precambrian basement as normal faults, which played a major role during the basin installation and evolution. There are also numerous N-S, NE-SW and NW-SE-oriented structures transverse to the NE-trending basin axis. These structures comprise faults and folds that were active at different time intervals, but their role in the basin evolution is poorly understood yet. In order to recognize these structures in the subsurface in Taubaté Basin, five longitudinal seismic profiles were interpreted showing their distinctive character as normal and reverse faults, which intersect different seismic units and indicate a polyphasic tectonic deformation. The presence of transverse structural highs, recognizable in the seismic profiles, which were active during the opening of the basin, can be related to anticlines formed in the hangingwall during an evolution related to the growing of the border master faults in a NW-SE-trending extensional regime. Moreover, syn-sedimentary NW-SE-oriented transverse normal faults oblique to the ENE-orientation of the border master faults were described in outcrops in the Resende Basin. These structures are interpreted as release faults and thus formed in the same extensional context. Stratigraphic relationships and paleostress analysis of fault populations indicate that transverse structures are related to four deformational events: a NE-SW-oriented compression probably during the Miocene, a NW-SE-oriented compression in the Late Pleistocene to Holocene, an E-W-to-NW-SE-oriented extension in the Holocene and lastly, an E-W-oriented compression related to the present-day stress field. The evolution of the adjoining offshore Santos Basin during the Cenozoic has a narrow correlation with the formation and evolution of Taubaté and Resende basins. The migration of depocenters in the Santos Basin during the Cenozoic can be associated with the presence of NW-SE-oriented transverse structures, changes in the stress fields, and generation and deformation events in the continental rift basins

Orientador: Antenor Zanardo / Banca: Norberto Morales / Banca: Jairo Roberto Jiménez-Rueda / Banca: Manoel Carlos Toledo Franco de Godoy / Banca: José Francisco Marciano Motta / Possui um mapa geológico anexo do município de Assis / Resumo: Para a ocupação racional de uma área ou região, de forma a minimizar o impacto ambiental e aproveitar da melhor maneira possível os seus recursos naturais é indispensável um bom conhecimento do meio físico. O objetivo dessa pesquisa foi realizar a caracterização geológica do município de Assis, com a finalidade de se produzir informações e cartografia pertinente, que pudessem orientar, entre outros, a administração municipal na tomada de decisões sociopolíticas e administrativas,no ordenamento territorial do município. Atividades de campo e laboratório resultaram na confecção de um mapa geológico do município em escala 1:50.000, com as seguintes unidades litológicas: Formação Serra Geral, Formação Adamantina, Aloformação Paranavaí - unidade 1; Aloformação Paranavaí - unidade 2, aluviões atuais e uma unidade constituída pela mistura, em proporção variada, de alteração do basalto mais o material arenoso da aloformação. Estas unidades foram caracterizadas com base em observações de campo, análises granulométricas, petrográficas em amostras e frações silte grosso e areia muito fina, difração de raios X na fração fina e química de elementos maiores e alguns menores. Os dados obtidos foram interpretados de forma integrada possibilitando interpretações genéticas e discussão relativas à ocupação espacial. / Abstract: For the rational occupation of an area or region, in order to minimize the environmental impact and make the best possible use of its natural resources, it is essential a sound knowledge of the physical environment. The purpose of this research was to carry out a geological characterization of the municipality of Assis, in order to produce relevant information and mapping, which may be useful, among others, for the municipal administration in decision-making policies for its territorial organization. Activities of field work and laboratory analysis resulted in the preparation of a geological map of the municipality, on scale 1:50.000, with the following lithological units: Serra Geral Formation; Adamantina Formation, Paranavaí Alloformation - Unit 1;Paranavaí Alloformation - Unit 2, present Alluvium and a unit constituted by varied proportion mixture of basalt alteration and sandier material. These units were characterized on the basis of field observations, granulometric and petrographic analyses of samples and thick fractions of silt and very fine sand, X-ray diffraction in the fine fraction and chemistry of elements both larger and smaller. The data were interpreted in an integrated manner making possible genetic interpretations and discussion on space occupation. / Doutor

Resumo: A evolução do Arco de Ponta Grossa, na região sudeste brasileira, durante o Meso-Cenozóico, apresenta uma estreita relação com os eventos tectono-magmáticos responsáveis pela abertura do Oceano Atlântico- Sul. A utilização do Método de Datação por Traços de Fissão em apatitas, nessa região, permitiu a identificação de cinco eventos térmicos, responsáveis pela estruturação dessa feição, a partir do Cretáceo. São eles: Evento A - Aquecimento em 130 Ma, relacionado ao evento de ruptura do Gondwana Sul-Ocidental e geração do Oceano Atlântico-Sul; Evento B - Resfriamento em 110 Ma, associado à reativação de antigas zonas de cisalhamento e/ou falhas geradas na ocasião do evento de ruptura do Gondwana Sul-Ocidental; Evento C - Aquecimento em 90 Ma, associado à um soerguimento regional, interpretado como alçamento de isógradas, provavelmente como reflexo do soerguimento do Arco de Ponta Grossa e conseqüente sedimentação correlativa (Grupo Bauru ls, no interior continental, e seqüência inferior da Formação Santos, na Bacia homônima), bem como de intrusões alcalinas; Evento D - Resfriamento em 60 Ma, correlacionado à um evento erosivo, que propiciou a formação de uma extensa superfície de erosão, neste caso a Superfície Sulamericana, amplamente registrada tanto na parte continental como na porção submersa adjacente ao Arco de Ponta Grossa (sob a forma de discordância regional na Bacia de Santos); Evento E - Resfriamento em 30/20 Ma, associado à atuação de ciclos erosivos, instalação de bacias tafrogênicas e, localmente, intrusões alcalinas. / Abstract: The evolution of Ponta Grossa Arch, in southeastern Brazil, during Mesozoic-Cenozoic, seems to be related to the tectono-thermal events related to South Atlantic opening. The use of Apatite fission Track Method, in this region, allowed the recognition of five thermal events, responsible for the formation of this feature, since Cretaceous, which are: Event A - Heating event in 130 Ma, related to the Southeastern Gondwana break-up and the origin of South Atlantic Ocean; Event B - Cooling event in 110 Ma, associated to the shear zones reactivation and/or faults generated during Gondwana break-up; Event C - Heating event in 90 Ma, associated with a regional uplift, interpreted as uplift isotherms, probably as a reflection of Ponta Grossa Arch uplift and correlated sedimentation (Bauru Group ls, in continent and the inferior sequence of Santos Formation, in Santos Basin), and alkaline intrusions; Event D - Cooling event in 60 Ma, correspondent to an erosional event, that formed an extended erosional surface, in this case, Sulamericana Surface, registered both in continental region and in offshore portion (registered as a regional discordance in Santos Basin); Event E - Cooling in 30/20 Ma, related to erosional cycles, tafrogenic basins origin and, locally, alkaline intrusions. / Orientador: Peter Christian Hackspacher / Coorientador: Antonio Roberto Saad / Banca: Julio Cesar Hadler Neto / Banca: Delzio de Lima Machado Junior / Mestre