This text brings together multidisciplinary research and review papers on the Lower Palaeozoic geology of the Sierras Pampeanas and the Precordillera of central west Argentina. It deals with the final stages of assembly of the supercontinent of Gondwana and its tectonic interaction with Laurentia (the North American continent of today).
Explores the tectonics interaction among the exotic terrians between Laurentia and Southwest Gondwana. The authors reveal data that sheds light on pre-Pangea connections between Laurentia and Southwest Gondwana. These data concern the presence of Ollenelus and associated fauna in the Precordillera of central Western South America; the common early Paleozoic paleomagnetic data, the presence of a large early Paleozoic carbo nate platform distinct from the Southwest Gondwanan clastic platforms associated with glacial deposits, and the exotic nature of the Grenville basement of this platform.
The Australide orogen, the southern hemisphere Neoproterozoic to Mesozoic terrane accretionary orogen that forms the palaeo-Pacific margin of Gondwana, is one of the largest and longest-lived orogens on Earth. This book brings together a series of reviews and multidisciplinary research papers that comprehensively cover the Australides from the Tasman orogen of eastern Australia to the Neoproterozoic and Palaeozoic orogens of South America, taking in New Zealand and Antarctica along the way. It deals with the evolution of the southern Gondwana margin, as it grew during a series of terrane accretion episodes from the late Proterozoic through to final fragmentation in mid-Cretaceous times. Global perspectives are given by comparison with the Palaeozoic northern Gondwana margin and documentation of world-wide terrane accretion episodes in the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic and mid-Cretaceous. The Tasmanides of eastern Australia, and the terrane histories of New Zealand and southern South America are given comprehensive up-to-date reviews.
The growth history of a brachiopod is entombed in its shell, but research on fossil and living brachiopods has generated unanswered questions about these marine invertebrates. Several contributors to Brachiopods Past and Present comment on their differing structures and morphological detail. They use these as examples of ontogenetic and evolutionar
The Ordovician was one of the longest of the geological periods, characterized by major magmatic and tectonic activity, an immense biodiversification, swings in climate and sea levels, and the first Phanerozoic mass extinction. ‘A Global Synthesis of the Ordovician System’ is presented in two volumes in The Geological Society, Special Publications. Whereas the first volume (SP532) concentrates on general aspects and a synthesis of the Ordovician geology of Europe, this volume (SP533) includes reviews of Ordovician successions of most other parts of the world. The classic successions of the Ordovician basins of North America are presented, as well as those of China where several of the Ordovician Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points are defined. The volume also includes syntheses of the Ordovician geology of Africa, South America, most regions of Asia from the Near to the Far East along with Central Asia, as well as Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica.
The 1st International Congress on Stratigraphy (STRATI 2013), hold in Lisbon, 1–7 July 2013, follows the decision to internationalize the conferences previously organized by the French Committee of Stratigraphy (STRATI), the last one of which was held in Paris in 2010. Thus, the congress possesses both the momentum gained from an established conference event and the excitement of being the first International Congress on Stratigraphy. It is held under the auspices of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (IUGS) and it is envisaged that this first congress will lead to others being held in the future. This book includes all papers accepted for oral or poster presentation at the 1st International Congress on Stratigraphy. Papers include a short abstract, main text, figures, tables and references. Each paper has been reviewed by two internationally renowned scientists.
Stratigraphy has come to be indispensable to nearly all branches of the earth sciences, assisting such endeavors as charting the course of evolution, understanding ancient ecosystems, and furnishing data pivotal to finding strategic mineral resources. This book focuses on traditional and innovative stratigraphy techniques and how these can be used to reconstruct the geological history of sedimentary basins and in solving manifold geological problems and phenomena.
This book focuses on the geological evolution of Southwest (SW) Gondwana and presents state-of-the-art insights into its evolution. It addresses the diachronic assembly of continental fragments derived from the break-up of the Rodinia supercontinent later amalgamated to build SW Gondwana during the Neoproterozoic–Cambrian transition, which on a global scale includes parts of present-day South America, Africa and Madagascar. The book presents 24 state-of-the-art reviews including the most crucial controversies. Most experienced scientists about the geology of SW Gondwana from Europe, Africa, South America and Australia present contributions on key areas addressing the interactions between the main cratons and fold belts on both sides of the South Atlantic Ocean. Chapters related to the geology of the major Archean- Paleoproterozoic cratons and Neoproterozoic Brasiliano/Pan-African fold belts enable readers to gain an in-depth understanding of the tectonometamorphic and magmatic evolution of SW Gondwana. The book covers a wide range of issues including metallogenetic, sedimentary, paleobiological and paleoclimatic processes and allows a deep insight into this key period of the Earth’s evolution.
Taking a new global approach, this unique book provides an updated review of the geology of Iberia and its continental margins from a geodynamic perspective. Owing to its location close to successive plate margins, Iberia has played a pivotal role in the geodynamic evolution of the Gondwanan, Rheic, Pangea, Tethys s.l. and Eurasian plates over the last 600 Ma of Earth's history. The geological record starts with the amalgamation of Gondwana in the Neoproterozoic succeeded by the rifting and spreading of the Rheic ocean; its demise, which led to the amalgamation of Pangea in the late Paleozoic; the rifting and spreading of several arms of the Neotethys ocean in the Mesozoic Era and their ongoing closure, which was responsible for the Alpine orogeny. The significant advances in the last 20 years have attracted international research interest in the geology of the Iberian Peninsula. This volume presents the most comprehensive, careful and updated description of the variscan cycle in Iberia. This volume focuses in the different geological events since the Cambrian-Early Ordovician rift until the late variscan orocline formations including magmatic and metamorphic evolution.