A comprehensive study on the accretion and diagenesis of the Permian–Triassic boundary microbialites is conducive to a better understanding of the ecological community after the end-Permian mass extinction. Here we studied the special microbialite sequences at the Tianba section of Leye isolated carbonate platform, South China Block. The microbialites are shown as small columnar stromatolites, stromatolitic

Data obtained from the calcareous nannofossils, distributed in the upper part of the Pabdeh Formation (Priabonian–Rupelian) and the lower part of the Asmari Formation (Chattian) in the Bid-Zard section, were used to investigate the Eocene to Oligocene palaeoenvironmental conditions in the southwest of Izeh, southwestern Iran (eastern Tethys). The upper part of the Pabdeh Formation was composed of shale

The underpinning problems of deep-water facies still remain unresolved. (1) The Tb, Tc, and Td divisions of the turbidite facies model, with traction structures, are an integral part of the “Bouma Sequence” (Ta, Tb, Tc, Td, Te). However, deposits of thermohaline contour currents, wind-driven bottom currents, deep-marine tidal currents, and baroclinic currents (internal waves and tides) also develop

As a type of non-laminated microbial carbonates, dendrolites are dominated by isolated dendritic clusters of calcimicrobes and are distinct from stromatolites and thrombolites. The dendrolites in the upper part of the Miaolingian Zhangxia Formation at Anjiazhuang section in Feicheng city of Shandong Province, China, provide an excellent example for further understanding of both growth pattern and forming

This contribution focuses on a multidisciplinary research showing the geomorphological evolution and the beach sand composition of the Tyrrhenian shoreline between Capo Suvero promontory and Gizzeria Lido village (Calabria, southern Italy). The aim of the geomorphological analysis was to reconstruct the evolutionary shoreline stages and the present-day sedimentary dynamics along approximately 6 km

This study provides an overview and discussion of controls on the distribution of organic reefs during the Early Ordovican Period, in the Yangtze Platform, a region of epicontinental sedimentary rocks in South China. The Yangtze Platform was located in low latitudes during the Early Ordovician and recorded rich and diverse reefs through that time. During the late Tremadocian Epoch, dolomitic and stratiform

This study provides a combined analysis on the palynology, fossil charcoal and biomarkers of the subsurface coal deposits from a borehole RMB #2 drilled at the Dhulia Coal Block, Rajmahal Basin, India, in attempts to establish the chronology of sedimentation and to propose palaeobotanical as well as geochemical evidence for the occurrence of wildfires in these sediments. The palynological investigation

A new type of polyhalite potassium ore (NTPPO) was found in the Lower Triassic Jialingjiang Formation, NE Sichuan Basin, SW China. It is water soluble, therefore can be exploited using the water-solution method, and is of great potential of economic value and research significance. Based on cores, thin sections, energy spectrum and SEM analyses, its microfeatures, macrofeatures and origin are discussed

The fabrics of microbialites preserved in limestones are generally better than in dolostones. What are the fabrics of the microbialites preserved in heavily dolomitized dolostones? This paper presents an example of a strongly dolomitized Cambrian microbialite profile. The Xiaoerblak Formation (Cambrian Series 2 Stage 3 and lower Stage 4) of the Sugaitblak section in Aksu, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous

As the second common type of volcanic vent on Earth, maar-diatreme volcanoes and their post-eruptive lacustrine sediments are a main focus of volcanology, palaeolimnology, palaeoclimatology and palaeontology. A number of maar-type volcanoes have been found in Leizhou Peninsula, South China, but little is known about their eruption processes and detailed stratigraphy of the post-eruptive sediments.

Bioturbation plays a critical role in sediment mixing and biogeochemical cycling between sediment and seawater. An abundance of bioturbation structures, dominated by Thalassinoides, occurs in carbonate rocks of the Cambrian Series 2 Zhushadong Formation in the Dengfeng area of western Henan Province, North China. Determination of elemental geochemistry can help to establish the influence of burrowing

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Rising sea-levels in tectonically active epicontinental basins often lead to varied depositional settings and palaeogeography, mostly influenced by the net accommodation resulting from mutual interference of the extent and nature of landward encroachment by the sea and the net sedimentation. The Cenomanian Nimar Sandstone Formation, Bagh Group, Narmada rift basin, uniquely portrays the effect of sea-level

Stromatoporoid sponges were very abundant during the middle Palaeozoic Era and are thought to disappear at the end of the Devonian Period in the Hangenberg Crisis. However, there are records of organisms with stromatoporoid-type structure in Carboniferous strata, the subject of this study. The Viséan fossil Labechia carbonaria Smith 1932 has been discussed previously in literature and its affinity

Zircons are abundant in the beach sediments. In this study, surface microtexture, mineralogy, bulk sediment geochemistry, trace element composition and U–Pb isotopic geochronology of detrital zircons collected from the Riachuelos and Palma Sola beach areas, southwestern Gulf of Mexico were performed to infer the sediment provenance and palaeoenvironment. The zircon microtexture was categorized as mechanically-

Although Paleogene warm climatic intervals have received considerable attention for atmospheric and oceanographic changes, the authigenic mineralization associated with these time spans remains overlooked. An extensive review of the literature reveals a close correspondence between the high abundance of glauconite and warm climatic intervals during the Paleogene period. The abundance of phosphorite

The problematic calcareous microfossil Halysis is abundant in the Middle Ordovician Darriwilian Stage of the western edge of the Ordos Basin, North China. The rich and well-preserved specimens of Halysis in this area facilitate detailed studies for its skeletal construction and tube microstructure. Halysis differs from calcified cyanobacteria and calcareous red and green algae in morphology, skeletal

A comprehensive sedimentary and reservoir analysis was conducted based on seismic, well logging, core and relative test data, taking Members 1 and 2 of Shahejie Formation of the early Oligocene in the steep slope belt, eastern Shijiutuo Uplift (STU), Bohai Bay Basin (BBB) as a case. The study indicates that a near-shore mixed fan deposit formed in the study area and developed characteristics and pattern

The Middle Permian Lucaogou Formation in the Jimusar Sag, eastern Junggar Basin, NW China, was deposited in a salt lake within an intracontinental rift basin with intense hydrothermal activity. Hydrothermal-sedimentary dolomite in the form of three types of dolostones, namely, analcime-feldspar dolostone (AFD), silicic dolostone (SD) and buddingtonite-albite dolostone (BAD), related to syn-sedimentary

Sichuan Basin is very famous for the Mesozoic reptiles, especially the Jurassic dinosaurs. Here, we report some isolated plesiosaurian teeth and vertebrae newly excavated from the Middle Jurassic Xintiangou Formation in Yunyang county, Chongqing City, the northeastern region of the Sichuan Basin, southwestern China. The specimens are referred to Pliosauroidea based on the combination of the following

The Permian Taiyuan and Shanxi formations exposed in Shandong Province, eastern North China, contain abundant spores and pollen. In this study, a total of 42 genera and 146 species of spores and pollen from these Permian formations, native to northern China, are identified and related to the three epochs of the Permian Period (Cisuralian, Guadalupian, and Lopingian Epochs) as two assemblages: Assemblage

The use of mineral interfaces, in sand-sized rock fragments, to infer the influence exerted by mechanical durability on the generation of siliciclastic sediments, has been determined for plutoniclastic sand. Conversely, for volcaniclastic sand, it has received much less attention, and, to our knowledge, this is the first attempt to make use of the volcaniclastic interfacial modal mineralogy of epiclastic

Paleosols in an outcrop of fluvial–lacustrine red beds have been recognized in the Upper Cretaceous Yaojia Formation in southern Songliao Basin, Songyuan City, Jilin Province, NE China. They are recognized in the field by pedogenic features, including root traces and burrows, soil horizons and soil structures. Root traces are remnants of small herbaceous plants, elongating and branching downwards in

This study investigates the provenance of sedimentary rocks in Bogda Mountains, NW China, and reconstructs the lithology and unroofing history of the Eastern North Tianshan Suture. Petrographic point counting data of sandstones and compositions of conglomerates of upper Permian-lowermost Triassic Wutonggou low-order cycle from Zhaobishan, North Tarlong, Taodonggou, and Dalongkou sections in the southern

Microbial deposits commonly occur at the transition between carbonate and sulphate facies, and they also abound in the uppermost part of the middle Wuchiapingian Zechstein Limestone in west Poland. These deposits occur as isolated reefs of the basinal zone and in the condensed sequences in most parts of the study area. The deposits of the latter category reflect evaporative drawdown, and the abrupt

A hyperpycnal flow forms when a relatively dense land-derived gravity flow enters into a marine or lacustrine water reservoir. As a consequence of its excess of density, the incoming flow plunges in coastal areas, generating a highly dynamic and often long-lived dense underflow. Depending on the characteristics of the parent flow (flow duration and flow rheology) and basin salinity, the resulting deposits

The middle Miocene Badenian evaporite basin of the Carpathian Foredeep Basin was a saline lake, separated by a barrier from the sea and supplied with seawater seeping through the barrier or overflowing it occasionally in the form of short-lived marine transgressions. Such transgressions could leave behind marine microfossils in marly clay intercalations. One of them (2.3 m thick) occurs in the uppermost

Records of palaeoearthquakes in sedimentary rocks are often debated due to the potential confusion in distinguishing seismic versus aseismic trigger mechanisms causing liquefaction. The present paper documents some unique soft-sediment deformation structures (SSDS), characterized by their extremely large size, complex morphology and preservation in coarse-grained pebbly sandstone. The SSDS are present

Cenozoic sediments form extensive outcrops in the Niger Delta Basin. Detailed palynostratigraphic study was undertaken across Paleogene sequences exposed in Bende–Umuahia Area in up-dip sectors of the Niger Delta Basin, southeastern Nigeria, to establish different palynomorphs assemblage zones, with their corresponding ages. Palynological analysis was carried out on 27 selected outcrop samples, using

This study focuses on Early Cretaceous mudstones from the Shahai and Fuxin formations in the Fuxin continental basin. We analyse chemical weathering, land surface temperatures and palaeoclimates based on chemical weathering indices, and emphasize the implications of continental chemical weathering on nutrient fluxes into lakes and oceans. According to Cr and Ni abundance, Al2O3-TiO2, La/Sc-Th/Co and

Deep-marine and deep-lacustrine reservoirs have been targets for conventional and unconventional oil and gas exploration and development for decades. Thickening-upward cycles in the deep-marine Carboniferous Ross Sandstone Formation outcrops in western Ireland and the deep-lacustrine Triassic Yanchang Formation outcrops in southeast Ordos Basin have been investigated and correlated in this study. Typical

Poorly-sorted conglomerate patches rich in granules or sturdy fossils or both, and reddish mud matrix within the interstices stand out amidst fine-grained siliciclastic shelf sediments of the trangressive systems tract (TST) of the Lower Cretaceous Ukra Member, Kutch Basin, India. The siliciclastic shelf sediments contrast the conglomerates with their remarkable lateral extension. The fossils belong

This study describes a sequence of microbialites and volcanics of the Lower Cretaceous Shipu Group, an example of microbialites influenced by volcanic activity. It is located at Shipu town in eastern Zhejiang Province on the coast of southeastern China. Based on macroscopic outcrop observations, microscopic examination of thin sections, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), field emission scanning electron

Middle Palaeozoic vertebrate fossil occurrences are summarised for Australia, with reference to faunal connections between Asia and East Gondwana, as first indicated by fish distributions of Lower Devonian fossil sites. Major endemic groups discussed are pituriaspid (Australian) and galeaspid (Asian) agnathans, wuttagoonaspids (Australian) and antarctaspid (Antarctic, Australian, Asian) arthrodires

The Cambrian strata in the North China Platform are fully exposed. A wide variety of carbonate oncoids with different shapes occur in the Xuzhuang and Zhangxia formations (Miaolingian Series) from six Cambrian sections in the study area. A comprehensive study involving outcrop description, microscopic observation, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray

Twenty-one outcrop samples collected from a 28-m-thick section from the Safranbolu Formation of the southwestern part of the Safranbolu Basin, Anatolia, Turkey yielded well-preserved benthic foraminifera belonging mainly to the genera Alveolina, Nummulites, Assilina, Rotalia, Disclocyclina and Orbitolites. Alveolina is the most diversified genus that is represented by sixteen species: Alveolina archiaci

A new early Visean coral assemblage has been recorded from turbidite facies in the southern part of the Azrou-Khenifra Basin, northwest of Khenifra, central Morocco. The newly discovered Ba Moussa West (BMW) coral fauna includes Siphonophyllia khenifrense sp. nov., Sychnoelasma urbanowitschi, Cravenia lamellata, Cravenia tela, Cravenia rhytoides, Turnacipora megastoma and Pleurosiphonella crustosa

A combined biostratigraphic study of dinoflagellate cysts and foraminifera was carried out on Early Cretaceous subsurface well cutting sediments from well A (DNG) (2800–2746 m depth) from the Krishna-Godavari Basin, India. The last appearance datum of marker species of dinoflagellate cysts and planktonic foraminifera was considered for the construction of the biostratigraphic framework. The study shows

An earthquake of magnitude M5.7 occurred in Yamutu village, Songyuan City, Jilin Province, NE China (45°16′12″N/124°42′35″E) on May 28, 2018, with a focal depth of 13 km. The epicenter is located at the intersection of the Fuyu/Songyuan-Zhaodong Fault, Second Songhua River Fault and Fuyu North Fault which lies northwest of Tancheng-Lujiang Fault (Tan-Lu Fault). The earthquake-induced widespread liquefaction

Sabellaria alveolata (Linnaeus 1767) is a polychaete able to build bioconstructions of different thickness, size and patchiness, in intertidal and subtidal environments. Its biological features have been the object of numerous studies worldwide. The worm reefs are formed by millions of tubes built by sand and shells (whole or in fragments) bonded together with a strong glue produced by the worm itself

This study investigates the process of formation of ooidal ironstones in the Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene succession in western Siberia. The formation of such carbonate-based ironstones is a continuing problem in sedimentary geology, and in this study, we use a variety of data and proxies assembled from core samples to develop a model to explain how the ooidal ironstones formed. Research on pyrite framboids

The stable isotope (δ13C, δ18O) composition of a collection of Lower Jurassic brachiopods and oysters from the Andean Basin of northern Chile was analyzed. The results allow the first reconstruction of absolute water temperatures for several ammonite zones in the Lower Jurassic of South America. The temperature record starts with comparatively high values in the Late Sinemurian (average: 27.0 °C; Raricostatum

In recent years, in some papers and manuscripts published in and submitted to the Journal of Palaeogeography (Chinese Edition and English Edition), the authors named the rocks or rock types as “microfacies” or “lithofacies”, named the microfeatures in thin-sections under microscope as “microfacies”, and named the macrofeatures of rocks as “macrofacies”. I wrote two short papers “Words of the Editor-in-Chief

In this reply, I respond to 18 issues associated with comments made by Zavala (e.g., inverse- to normally-graded sequence, origin of massive sands, experimental sandy debris flows, tidal rhythmites, facies models, etc.), and 10 issues associated with comments made by Van Loon et al. (e.g., 16 types of hyperpycnal flows, anthropogenic hyperpycnal flow, etc.).

In this paper, we provide two new Triassic palaeomagnetic poles from Winterswijk, the Netherlands, in the stable interior of the Eurasian plate. They were respectively collected from the Anisian (~ 247–242 Ma) red marly limestones of the sedimentary transition of the Buntsandstein Formation to the dark grey limestones of the basal Muschelkalk Formation, and from the Rhaetian (~ 208–201 Ma) shallow

The northern part of the eastern margin of the extensional Neogene Teruel Basin (central-eastern Spain) consists of a non-linear, zigzag fault zone made of alternating ca. 2 km long, NNW-SSE trending segments and shorter NNE-SSW ones. Good outcrop conditions made possible a comprehensive integrated stratigraphic and structural study, especially focused on coarse clastic sediments deposited along the

The Upper Cretaceous (early Cenomanian) Bahariya Formation of Egypt has an outstanding reputation for its wealth of vertebrate remains, including a variety of iconic dinosaurs, like the carnivorous Spinosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus, as well as the herbivorous Aegyptosaurus and Paralititan. Besides these dinosaur fossils, the Bahariya Formation yielded also a wealth of invertebrate and plant remains

Plesiosaurs are one of the common groups of aquatic reptiles in the Mesozoic, which mainly lived in marine environments. Freshwater plesiosaurs are rare in the world, especially from the Jurassic. The present paper reports the first freshwater plesiosaur, represented by four isolated teeth from the Middle Jurassic fluviolacustrine strata of Qingtujing area, Jinchang City, Gansu Province, Northwest

Various microbial fabrics characterize late Moscovian mounds in Houchang Town, southern Guizhou, South China. The dominant components of the mounds are microbial boundstones with stromatolitic structures, irregular oncoid-like forms, and wrinkle structures. Calcimicrobes recognized in the mounds include Girvanella, Ortonella, Wetheredella-like, Palaeomicrocodium-like, and some problematic calcimicrobes

I basically agree with the viewpoints of Shanmugam (Journal of Palaeogeography 7(3):197-238, 2018) and Zavala (Journal of Palaeogeography 8(3), 2019) who cited, refined and interpreted the definitions of hypopycnal flow, homopycnal flow and hyperpycnal flow. I appreciate two typical case studies of hyperpycnal flows induced by the Yellow River and Yangtze River, and the Gaoping River. The former is

In a recent contribution G. Shanmugam (2018) discusses and neglects the importance of hyperpycnal flows and hyperpycnites for the understanding of some sediment gravity flow deposits. For him, the hyperpycnal flow paradigm is strictly based on experimental and theoretical concepts, without the supporting empirical data from modern depositional systems. In this discussion I will demonstrate that G.

A recent review article (“The hyperpycnite problem”) by Shanmugam (Journal of Palaeogeography 7(3):197–238, 2018) in this journal has some shortcomings, comes to scientifically incorrect conclusions, and calls for student education in a way that would significantly diminish the students’ changes for a geological career. Having studied--and still studying--hyperpycnites in the field, it seems only appropriate

The Eocene Epoch passed through multiple hyperthermal events and recorded highest temperatures in the Cenozoic. Very few studies from Eocene palaeotropical sites have recorded changes in shallow marine foraminiferal assemblages. The present study investigates the foraminiferal biofacies of shallow marine successions from a palaeotropical site in western India (Kutch Basin) to understand the palaeoclimate

Microbialites, often considered as a signal of extreme marine environment, are common in the Lower Triassic strata of South China where they flourished in the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction. Early Triassic microbialite facies are known to vary palaeogeographically, perhaps due to differing climates, ocean chemistry, and water depths. This paper provides the first record of a brief, but

Carbonate concretions provide unique records of ancient biogeochemical processes in marine sediments, and have the potential to reflect seawater chemistry indirectly. In fine-siliciclastic settings, they preferentially form in organic-rich mudstones, owing to a significant fraction of the bicarbonate required for carbonate precipitation resulted from the decomposition of organic matter in sediments

Based on a combination of high resolution 3-D seismic, drilling and well logging and core data, this study focuses on describing the depositional features of the Neogene Minghuazhen Formation shallow water delta in Huanghekou area (HHKA), Bohai offshore basin and discussing the evolution and controlling factors of shallow water delta sandbody. An obvious meandering fluvial delta system developed in

Lacustrine stromatolites were widespread in the Miocene Wudaoliang Group (stromatolites of the Wudaoliang Group), northern Tibetan Plateau; but only at one location nearby the Wudaoliang Town, they occurred intensively in thick, laterally traceable beds (Wudaoliang stromatolites). Although deposited in lacustrine environment, the lack of fossils in these rocks hampers determining whether the stromatolites

Inertinite maceral compositions in coals from the Early Cretaceous Erlian, Hailar, and Sanjiang Basins in NE China are analyzed in order to reveal palaeowildfire events and palaeoclimate variations. Although huminite is the dominant maceral group in the studied basins, the inertinite group, as a byproduct of palaeowildfires, makes up a considerable proportion. Occurrence of inertinite macerals indicates

Palaeodrainage basin, as an important component of the source-to-sink system, contains critical information on provenance and palaeoenvironment. Previous studies indicate that the scaling relationships of source-to-sink system components generally follow power laws, and channel-belt thickness represents a reliable first-order proxy for the drainage area. In this study, a database of borehole cores

This paper describes the fossil fruits of Scirpus weichangensis X.Q. Liang, sp. nov. from the early Miocene of Guangyongfa Village, Weichang County, Hebei Province, North China. The fossil fruits are obovate in shape and their lateral sections are plumply trigonous. The cell walls of the surface are straight. The persistent stout bristles have downward-directed barbellae in distal 1/2. The occurrence