Although Variscan terranes have been documented from the Balkans to the Caucasus, the southeastern portion of the Variscan Belt is not well understood. The Strandja Zone along the border between Bulgaria and Turkey encompasses one such terrane linking the Balkanides and the Pontides. However, the evolution of this terrane, and the Late Carboniferous to Triassic granitoids within it, is poorly resolved. Here we present laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U–Pb zircon ages, coupled with petrography and geochemistry from the Izvorovo Pluton within the Sakar Unit (Strandja Zone). This pluton is composed of variably metamorphosed and deformed granites which yield crystallization ages of c. 251–256 Ma. These ages are older than the previously assumed age of the Izvorovo Pluton based on a postulated genetic relationship between the Izvorovo Pluton and Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous metamorphism. A better understanding of units across the Strandja Zone can now be achieved, revealing two age groups of plutons within it. An extensive magmatic episode occurred c. 312–295 Ma, and a longer-lived episode between c. 275 and 230 Ma. Intrusions associated with both magmatic events were emplaced into pre-Late Carboniferous basement, and were overprinted by Early Alpine metamorphism and deformation. These two stages of magmatism can likely be attributed to changes in tectonic setting in the Strandja Zone. Such a change in tectonic setting is likely related to the collision between Gondwana-derived terranes and Laurussia, followed by either subduction of the Palaeo-Tethys Ocean beneath Laurussia or rifting in the southern margin of Laurussia, with granitoids forming in different tectonic environments.

We present a δ13Ccarb chemostratigraphy for the Late Ordovician Hirnantian Stage based on 208 whole-rock samples from six outcrops in the Oslo–Asker district, southern Norway. Our data include the Norwegian type section for the Hirnantian Stage and Ordovician–Silurian boundary at Hovedøya Island. The most complete record of the Hirnantian Isotope Carbon Excursion (HICE) is identified in a coastal exposure at Konglungø locality where the preserved part of the anomaly spans a c. 24 m thick, mixed carbonate–siliciclastic succession belonging to the upper Husbergøya, Langåra and Langøyene formations and where δ13Ccarb peak values reach c. +6 ‰. Almost the entire HICE occurs above beds containing the Hirnantia Fauna, suggesting a latest Hirnantian age for the peak of the excursion. The temporal development of the HICE in southern Norway is associated with substantial shallowing of depositional environments. Sedimentary facies and erosional unconformities suggest four inferably fourth-order glacio-eustatically controlled sea-level lowstands with successively increased exposure and erosion to the succession. The youngest erosional unconformity is related to the development of incised valleys and resulted in cut-out of at least the falling limb of the HICE throughout most of the Oslo–Asker district. The fill of the valleys contains the falling limb of the HICE, and the postglacial transgression therefore can be assigned to the latest part of the Hirnantian Age. We address the recent findings of the chitinozoan Belonechitina gamachiana in the study area and its relationship to the first occurrence of Hirnantia Fauna in the studied sections, challenging identification of the base of the Hirnantian Stage.

For almost 150 years, megascopic structures in siliciclastic sequences of terminal Precambrian age have been frustratingly difficult to characterize and classify. As with all other areas of human knowledge, progress with exploration, documentation and understanding is growing at an exponential rate. Nevertheless, there is much to be learned from following the evolution of the logic behind the biological interpretations of these enigmatic fossils. Here, I review the history of discovery as well as some long-established core members of widely recognized clades that are still difficult to graft on to the tree of life. These ‘orphan plesions’ occupy roles that were once held by famous former Problematica, such as archaeocyaths, graptolites and rudist bivalves. In some of those cases, taxonomic enlightenment was brought about by the discovery of new characters; in others it required a better knowledge of their living counterparts. Can we use these approaches to rescue the Ediacaran orphans? Five taxa that are examined in this context are Arborea (Arboreomorpha), Dickinsonia (Dickinsoniomorpha), Pteridinium plus Ernietta (Erniettomorpha) and Kimberella (Bilateria?). With the possible exception of Dickinsonia, all of these organisms may be coelenterate grade eumetazoans.

The episode of widespread organic carbon deposition marked by peak black shale sedimentation during the Palaeoproterozoic is also reflected in exceptionally abundant graphite deposits of this age. Worldwide anoxic/euxinic sediments were preserved as a deep crustal reservoir of both organic carbon, and sulphur in accompanying pyrite, both commonly >1 wt %. The carbon- and sulphur-rich Palaeoproterozoic crust interacted with mafic magma to cause Ni–Co–Cu–PGE mineralization over the next billion years, and much uranium currently produced is from Mesoproterozoic deposits nucleated upon older Palaeoproterozoic graphite. Palaeoproterozoic carbon deposition has thus left a unique legacy of both graphite deposits and long-term ore deposition.

Oceanic red beds (ORBs) are present in Upper Cretaceous and Danian deep-marine deposits in the Basque–Cantabrian Basin of northern Spain. The presence and regularity of the succession of marl–limestone couplets is exceptional based on the macroscopic, microscopic and geochemical evidence collected. Five types of marl–limestone couplets are identified based on the colour, and a high maximum sedimentation rate (3.6 cm ka–1 ) is noted. The oxidizing activity of deep, cold-water masses is indicated by the oxygen isotope signal in the lower–upper Maastrichtian and Danian sections and the presence of the boreal inoceramid Spyridoceramus tegulatus. In theory, the variation in colour from grey to greenish-yellow, purple and pink up to red tones correlates with the Fe2+/(Fe2++Fe3+) ratio. It is interpreted as the possible palaeoenvironmental transit of particles that sediment out slowly in oxic environments when they circulate through cooler, oxidizing water masses. The colour is considered to be a depositional feature, and hematite, detected by X-ray diffraction, is the main staining agent, without discarding the possible redistribution of previous oxyhydroxides passing to hematite as a final product. The cell filling of the foraminifer shells does not incorporate appreciable amounts of Fe and Mg during diagenesis. Bacterial activity is detected using scanning electron microscopy images, both in the coccolith debris and in the detrital micas, although there is uncertainty as to its importance in the staining process.

Detrital zircon geochronology can help address stratigraphic- to lithospheric-scale geological questions. The approach is reliant on statistically robust, representative age distributions that fingerprint source areas. However, there is a range of biases that may influence any detrital age signature. Despite being a fundamental and controllable source of bias, handpicking of zircon grains has received surprisingly little attention. Here, we show statistically significant differences in age distributions between bulk-mounted and handpicked fractions from an unconsolidated heavy mineral sand deposit. Although there is no significant size difference between bulk-mounted and handpicked grains, there are significant differences in their aspect ratio, circularity and colour, which indicate inadvertent preferential visual selection of euhedral and coloured zircon grains. Grain colour comparisons between dated and bulk zircon fractions help quantify bias. Bulk-mounting is the preferred method to avoid human-induced selection bias in detrital zircon geochronology.

Serpentinization of ultramafic rocks in the sea and on land leads to the generation of alkaline fluids rich in molecular hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4) that favour the formation of carbonate mineralization, such as veins in the sub-seafloor, seafloor carbonate chimneys and terrestrial hyperalkaline spring deposits. Examples of this type of seawater–rock interaction and the formation of serpentinization-derived carbonates in a shallow-marine environment are scarce, and almost entirely lacking in the geological record. Here we present evidence for serpentinization-induced fluid seepage in shallow-marine sedimentary rocks from the Upper Cretaceous (upper Campanian to lower Maastrichtian) Qahlah Formation at Jebel Huwayyah, United Arab Emirates. The research object is a metre-scale structure (the Jebel Huwayyah Mound) formed of calcite-cemented sand grains, which formed a positive seafloor feature. The Jebel Huwayyah Mound contains numerous vertically orientated fluid conduits containing two main phases of calcite cement. We use C and O stable isotopes and elemental composition to reconstruct the fluids from which these cements precipitated and infer that the fluids consisted of variable mixtures of seawater and fluids derived from serpentinization of the underlying Semail Ophiolite. Based on their negative δ13C values, hardgrounds in the same section as the Jebel Huwayyah Mound may also have had a similar origin. The Jebel Huwayyah Mound shows that serpentinization of the Semail Ophiolite by seawater occurred very soon after obduction and marine transgression, a process that continued through to the Miocene, and, with interaction of meteoric water, up to the present day.

The Proterozoic Chotanagpur Granite Gneiss Complex (CGGC) at the northern boundary of the Central Indian Tectonic Zone (CITZ) of the eastern Indian shield preserves relics of fossilized oceanic back-arc crust. We describe the field, petrographical and geochemical characteristics of the mafic rocks comprising pillow basalts and dolerites from the Bathani area of the northern fringe of the CGGC, eastern India. The basalts consist of plagioclase feldspar, hornblende, opaque minerals (Fe–Ti oxide) and chlorite, and the dolerite consists of plagioclase, hornblende and opaque minerals. Our data indicate that the Bathani mafic rocks have tholeiitic to transitional composition and are overprinted by greenschist facies metamorphic conditions; however, REE and fluid immobile elements preserve their primary geochemical signatures. The (La/Sm)N ratios (1.38–2.15) and chondrite-normalized REE patterns point to an enriched mid-ocean ridge basalt (E-MORB) mantle source. Geochemical characteristics indicate a mixed signature of MORB and arc tholeiite with enrichment of Ba, Th, Eu and Sr, similar to that of back-arc supra-subduction zone ophiolites. These mafic rocks are the product of MORB-like magma derived from a depleted mantle corresponding to < 2% partial melting of spinel lherzolite, enriched by subduction-induced slab metasomatism and melting. The Bathani mafic rocks are representative of the upper part of a supra-subduction zone columnar ophiolite section, which was emplaced onto the present-day northern margin of the CGGC during suturing of the northern and southern Indian block at c. 1.9 Ga during the Nuna amalgamation.

Detrital coesite-bearing garnet is the final product of a complex geological cycle including coesite entrapment at ultra-high-pressure conditions, exhumation to Earth’s surface, erosion and sedimentary transport. In contrast to the usual enrichment of high-grade metamorphic garnet in medium- to coarse-sand fractions, coesite-bearing grains are often enriched in the very-fine-sand fraction. To understand this imbalance, we analyse the role of source-rock lithology, inclusion size, inclusion frequency and fluid infiltration on the grain-size heterogeneity of coesite-bearing garnet based on a dataset of 2100 inclusion-bearing grains, of which 93 contain coesite, from the Saxonian Erzgebirge, Germany. By combining inclusion assemblages and garnet chemistry, we show that (1) mafic garnet contains a low number of coesite inclusions per grain and is enriched in the coarse fraction, and (2) felsic garnet contains variable amounts of coesite inclusions per grain, whereby coesite-poor grains are enriched in the coarse fraction and coesite-rich grains extensively disintegrated into smaller fragments resulting in an enrichment in the fine fraction. Raman images reveal that: small coesite inclusions of dimension < 9 µm are primarily monomineralic, whereas larger inclusions partially transformed to quartz; and garnet fracturing, fluid infiltration and the coesite-to-quartz transformation is a late process during exhumation taking place at c. 330°C. A model for the disintegration of coesite-bearing garnet enables the heterogeneous grain-size distribution to be explained by inclusion frequency. High abundances of coesite inclusions cause a high degree of fracturing and fracture connections to smaller inclusions, allowing fluid infiltration and the transformation to quartz, which in turn further promotes garnet disintegration.

Early-middle Ediacaran organic-walled microfossils from the Doushantuo Formation studied in several sections in the Yangtze Gorges area, South China, show ornamented cyst-like vesicles of very high diversity. These microfossils are diagenetically permineralized and observed in petrographic thin-sections of chert nodules. Exquisitely preserved specimens belonging to seven species of Appendisphaera, Mengeosphaera, Tanarium, Urasphaera and Tianzhushania contain either single or multiple spheroidal internal bodies inside the vesicles. These structures indicate reproductive stages, endocyst and dividing cells, respectively, and are preserved at early to late ontogenetic stages in the same taxa. This new evidence supports the algal affiliations for the studied taxa and refutes previous suggestions of Tianzhushania being animal embryo or holozoan. The first record of a late developmental stage of a completely preserved specimen of T. spinosa observed in thin-section demonstrates the interior of vesicles with clusters of identical cells but without any cavity that is diagnostic for recognizing algal cysts vs animal diapause cysts. Various lines of evidence to infer biological affinities of these microfossils – morphology, reproductive characters, spatial arrangement of cells, and biochemical properties of the vesicle wall – are collectively characteristic of algal clades. Recognizing the biological affinities of these microfossils is key to understanding whether animals capable of producing such morphologically complex diapause cysts had an early Ediacaran fossil record (633–610 Ma), or the microfossils were non-animal holozoans or algae as argued herein for Tianzhushania spinosa and other studied microfossils.

Felsic tuff as a direct fallout deposit is known from one small area in the Kyrenia Range, north Cyprus, within deep-sea terrigenous turbidites. Nearby tuffaceous siltstones contain compositionally similar felsic volcanic rocks (c. 5–10%), mixed with terrigenous material. Sedimentary evidence indicates that the fallout tuff was variable reworked locally, whereas the tuffaceous siltstones are interpreted as turbidites mixed with terrigenous material derived from Anatolia. U–Pb dating of zircons that were extracted from a sample of relatively homogeneous tuff yielded a dominant age of 16.64 ± 0.12 Ma (Burdigalian). Zircon trace-element analysis indicates predominant derivation from within-plate-type felsic magma. Whole-rock chemical analysis of the tuffaceous sediments as a whole is compatible with a felsic arc source, similar to the post-collisional magmatism within Anatolia. Regional comparisons suggest that the nearest volcanism of similar age and composition is located c. 500 km away, within the Kırka area (Eskişehir region) of the Western Anatolia Volcanic Province. Evidence of tephra dispersal in the western Mediterranean region and climatic modelling suggests E-wards prevailing winds and therefore tephra transport over southern Anatolia and adjacent areas during early Miocene time. The north Cyprus tuffs could represent powerful Minoan (Plinian)-type eruptions in western Anatolia, coupled with SE-wards tephra transport during and soon after the onset of post-collisional magmatism.

Modern-day ocean circulation behaves as a complex forced convective system that is characterized by the decrease in water temperature but increase in water density with depth. The dissolved oxygen content – which initially decreases due to biological oxygen demand – also increases with depth. In contrast to the present-day scenario, we propose that during the Archaean and Proterozoic eons inverted profiles could have developed such that, with depth, ocean water temperature increased and density and dissolved oxygen decreased. These inverted temperature and density profiles resulted in palaeo-ocean circulation behaving as a free convective system. It is proposed that this free convection, which may have been stable, or chaotic and subject to secondary instabilities, hindered the deep oxygenation of the palaeo-ocean. It may not be coincidental that the great oxygenation event (GOE) and Huronian glaciations are contemporaneous, in a similar way that the Neoproterozoic oxygenation event (NOE) is known to have been associated with glaciations. The global-scale external forcing required to switch the natural convective system to its present-day configuration is suggested to have been associated with Neoproterozoic glaciations and the subsequent lowering of ocean water salinity that accompanied them. We propose that this inverted the ocean water density gradient, allowing the oxygenation of the oceans for the first time. It is beyond the scope of this work to model the complex natural convection system, but we hope that geophysicists and numerical modellers will quantitatively evaluate the hypothesis proposed here to validate or refute our proposition.

The Vindhyan Supergroup represents the largest Proterozoic sedimentary basin fill in the Indian shield. In addition to some significant palaeobiological discoveries, the sedimentary sequence of the Vindhyan, particularly its argillaceous intervals, holds crucial information for our understanding of sedimentation dynamics in Proterozoic clastic shelves. Here we attempt an extensive, although not exhaustive, review of the physical characteristics of six argillaceous (shale) intervals (Arangi, Koldaha, Rampur, Bijaygarh, Rewa and Sirbu shale) from the Son valley sector, Vindhyan Basin, augmented with new observations to unravel the status of current understanding in terms of palaeo-flow dynamics, shelf sedimentation processes and dispersal pattern, depositional cyclicity and basinal tectonics. The sedimentary attributes of Vindhyan shales reveal their deposition largely in relative bathymetry fluctuating from distal shoreface or inner shelf (near to fair-weather wave base) to distal shelf below storm wave base. More often than not, the Vindhyan shelf was storm-infested and the operation of both storm-generated return flow and Coriolis-force-guided geostrophic currents are documented from different stratigraphic intervals of argillaceous successions. The thick arenaceous intervals interrupting the deposits of the Koldaha, Rewa and Sirbu shales at multiple stratigraphic levels indicate the presence of a fan delta and braided fluvial system during intermittent regressive stands of sea level or event deposition during a sea-level highstand, respectively. Based on facies pattern and flow vectors, a rift-related half-graben model is inferred for Arangi and Koldaha shale and a low-gradient stable-shelf model with well-defined energy gradient is proposed for successions from Rampur shale onwards.

Clastic successions in rock shelters commonly host important archaeological findings, especially of prehistoric and protostoric times. The understanding of depositional and post-depositional processes in these environments is crucial to understand the lifestyle settings of humans, as well as the reliability of archaeological data obtained during excavations. Rock shelters are genetically related to caves, but while depositional processes in caves are generally well known, less information is available concerning the depositional processes active in rock shelters.

This paper tries to contribute to this issue, describing the sedimentary succession exposed at the Oscurusciuto rock shelter (Ginosa, Southern Italy). This is one of the most important Middle Palaeolithic sites of the Italian peninsula, and its sedimentary infill hosts witnesses of very late Neanderthal populations that lived in Italy just before their total decline and complete replacement by Modern Humans (MH).

This work presents the results of a sedimentologically based study integrated with an ichnological study of selected beds. The combination of these two methodologies allowed us to: (i) define the main depositional processes active in the rock shelter environment, as well as the relationships between different processes; (ii) discuss the meaning of peculiar ichnofabrics recognized at the site, and (iii) discuss the meaning of structureless strata at an archeological site in the framework of human trampling vs bioturbation as a cause of the obliteration of primary sedimentary structures.

The Emeishan large igneous province (ELIP) in SW China is considered to be a typical mantle-plume-derived LIP. The picrites formed at relatively high temperatures in the ELIP, providing one of the important lines of argument for the role of mantle plume. Here we report trace-element data on olivine phenocrysts in the Dali picrites from the ELIP. The olivines are Ni-rich, and characterized by high (>1.4) 100×Mn/Fe value and low (<13) 10 000×Zn/Fe value, indicating a peridotite-dominated source. Since the olivine–melt Ni partition coefficient (KDNiol/melt) will decrease at high temperatures and pressures, the picrites derived from peridotite melting at high pressure, and that crystallized olivines at lower pressure, can generate high concentrations of Ni in olivine phenocrysts, excluding the necessity of a metasomatic pyroxenite contribution. Based on the Al-in-olivine thermometer, olivine crystallization temperature and mantle potential temperature (TP) were calculated at c. 1491°C and c. 1559°C, respectively. Our results are c. 200°C higher than that of the normal asthenospheric mantle, and are consistent with the role of a mantle thermal plume for the ELIP.

During Messinian time, the Mediterranean underwent hydrological modifications culminating 5.97 Ma ago with the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC). Evaporite deposition and alleged annihilation of most marine eukaryotes were taken as evidence of the establishment of basin-wide hypersalinity followed by desiccation. However, the palaeoenvironmental conditions during the MSC are still a matter of debate, chiefly because most of its sedimentary record is buried below the abyssal plains of the present-day Mediterranean Sea. To shed light on environmental change at the advent and during the early phase of the MSC, we investigated the Govone section from the Piedmont Basin (NW Italy) using a multidisciplinary approach (organic geochemical, petrographic, and carbon and oxygen stable isotope analyses). The Govone section archives the onset of the crisis in a succession of organic-rich shales and dolomite-rich marls. The MSC part of the succession represents the deep-water equivalent of sulphate evaporites deposited at the basin margins during the first phase of the crisis. Our study reveals that the onset of the MSC was marked by the intensification of water-column stratification, rather than the establishment of widespread hypersaline conditions. A chemocline divided the water column into an oxygen-depleted, denser and more saline bottom layer and an oxygenated, upper seawater layer influenced by freshwater inflow. Vertical oscillations of the chemocline controlled the stratigraphic architecture of the sediments pertaining to the first stage of the MSC. Accordingly, temporal and spatial changes of water masses with different redox chemistries must be considered when interpreting the MSC event.

Fieldwork forms the basis of geoscience studies. However, field activities present limitations for people with mental or physical impairments. This aspect can preclude participation in field trips by certain groups of students or limit their experience. In recent years, new types of supporting material and the development of accessible field trips have been a step forward towards the reduction of barriers to inclusion and equal opportunity. In the present work, normal practices of field teaching and potential solutions (and their limitations) to foster inclusion and accessibility to fieldwork are presented.

40Ar/39Ar and U–Pb data from five structural domains constrain the late Neoproterozoic – early Palaeozoic tectonothermal history of the eastern part of the East African–Antarctic Orogen in Sør Rondane. A total of 27 new Ar/Ar ages span 570–474 Ma, roughly corresponding to the age range of three generations of syn- to post-tectonic granitoids. The ages are distinct for the five structural domains. The oldest cooling ages come from the weakly deformed southern part of the SW Terrane of Sør Rondane (SW Terrane S), a sliver of a Tonian island arc, which escaped much of the late Neoproterozoic accretionary deformation. This terrane was intruded by the oldest and largest granitoid complex at c. 640–620 Ma. The oldest Ar/Ar amphibole and biotite ages of 570–524 Ma are from the Main Shear Zone, along the northern margin of the SW Terrane S sliver. It hosts granites of age c. 584–570 Ma strung out along the shear zone. Two younger granitoid phases are recorded in the adjacent four terranes to the west, north and east of the SW Terrane S, and correlate with the younger group of Ar/Ar biotite ages spanning 513–474 Ma. We interpret the magmatic and cooling history of duration > 150 Ma to reflect repeated phases of accretion, magmatism and reactivation, that is, collage-style tectonism, partly pre-dating the incorporation of Sør Rondane into Gondwana. The study area first accreted to the cryptic Valkyrie Craton in Tonian times, was then ‘sandwiched’ between the Kalahari and Indo-Antarctica cratons, and experienced extensional tectonics and elevated heat flux due to lithospheric delamination, which resulted in slow cooling during the Pan-African Orogeny.

Ediacaran rangeomorphs were the first substantially macroscopic organisms to appear in the fossil record, but their underlying biology remains problematic. Although demonstrably heterotrophic, their current interpretation as osmotrophic consumers of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is incompatible with the inertial (high Re) and advective (high Pe) fluid dynamics accompanying macroscopic length scales. The key to resolving rangeomorph feeding and physiology lies in their underlying construction. Taphonomic analysis of three-dimensionally preserved Charnia from the White Sea identifies the presence of large, originally water-filled compartments that served both as a hydrostatic exoskeleton and semi-isolated digestion chambers capable of processing recalcitrant substrates, most likely in conjunction with a resident microbiome. At the same time, the hydrodynamically exposed outer surface of macroscopic rangeomorphs would have dramatically enhanced both gas exchange and food delivery. A bag-like epithelium filled with transiently circulated seawater offers an exceptionally efficient means of constructing a simple, DOC-consuming, multicellular heterotroph. Such a body plan is broadly comparable to that of anthozoan cnidarians, minus such derived features as muscle, tentacles and a centralized mouth. Along with other early bag-like fossils, rangeomorphs can be reliably identified as total-group eumetazoans, potentially colonial stem-group cnidarians.