“Geochemical Characterisation of the Pliensbachian-Toarcian Boundary During the Onset of the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

“Geochemical Characterisation of the Pliensbachian-Toarcian Boundary During the Onset of the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event “Geochemical characterisation of the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary during the onset of the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event. North Yorkshire, UK” Najm-Eddin Salem A thesis submitted to Newcastle University In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Science and Agriculture School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University, UK. February 2013 I ABSTRACT The lower Whitby Mudstone Formation of the Cleveland Basin in North Yorkshire (UK) is a world renowned location for the Early Toarcian (T-OAE). Detailed climate records of the event have been reported from this location that shed new light on the forcing and timing of climate perturbations and associated development of ocean anoxia. Despite this extensive previous work, few studies have explored the well-preserved sediments below the event that document different phases finally leading to large-scale (global) anoxia, which is the focus of this project. We resampled the underlying Grey Shale Member at cm-scale resolution and conducted a detailed multi-proxy geochemical approach to reconstruct the redox history prior to the Toarcian OAE. The lower Whitby Mudstone Formation, subdivided into the Grey Shale Member overlain by the Jet Rock (T-OAE), is a cyclic transgressive succession that evolved from the relatively shallow water sediments of the Cleveland Ironstone Formation. The Grey Shale Member is characterised by three distinct layers of organic rich shales (~10-60 cm thick), locally named as the ‘sulphur bands’. Directly above and below these conspicuous beds, the sediments represent more normal marine mudstones. Further upwards the sequence sediments become increasingly laminated and organic carbon rich (up to 14 wt %) representing a period of maximum flooding that culminated in the deposition of the Jet Rock (T-OAE). Detailed analyses of the Grey Shale Member, with a focus on the sulphur bands, for TOC and total sulfur concentrations, microscopy, iron speciation (FeHR/FeT, FePyrite/FeHR), trace element concentrations, molecular biomarkers, and bulk carbon and sulphur isotopes confirm highly variable redox conditions prior to the Toarcian OAE, with repeated anoxia/euxinia during periods of sulphur band deposition. Cm-scale geochemical records from the lower sulphur band actually suggest significant, short term variations in redox within the bed, with one full cycle from anoxia/euxinia to oxic conditions and back. We speculate that these cyclic variations in redox during and possibly also between sulphur band formation were driven by orbital forcing, however, better chronological information is necessary to validate this interpretation. The bioturbated mudstones between and below the sulphur bands show less enrichment of TOC, reactive iron and trace elements, but still suggest conditions close to the Fe-proxy threshold characteristic of anoxia (FeHR/FeT = 0.38). Further up the section in the bioturbated mudstones, highly reactive iron and trace elements are significantly depleted, indicating a return to more oxic conditions, which persisted up the top laminated unit of the Grey Shale. This observation challenges the general concept that anoxia/euxinia was limited to the Toarcian OAE, at least in the Cleveland Basin of North Yorkshire. This thesis discusses the detailed dynamics of redox variations and biogeochemical elemental cycling in the run-up to this major event in Earth history. The mechanisms behind the short redox events documented in the sulphur bands may have had some similarities to those proposed for the small hyperthermals post-dating the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) and other OAE’s. Enhancement of run off from land via enhanced hydrological cycling could have temporarily created conditions in the Jurassic Cleveland II Basin that favoured stratification, high productivity, and development of extreme (euxinic) redox condition with high sulphur and carbon burial. The increasing amplitude of perturbations from the first sulphur band to the T-OAE, and their progressive spatial expansion from proximal to global, may argue for a unifying causal connection, orbital forcing. Further work will have to validate these conclusions and assumption. III DECLARATION I hereby certify that the work described in this thesis is my own, except where otherwise acknowledged, and has not been submitted previously for a degree at this or any other university. Najm-Eddin Salem IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank family and friends who have been very supportive throughout the entire PhD. Without you all, it would not have been possible to juggle the extensive work which this PhD entailed. I especially thank my parents and my lovely wife for their unfailing support throughout the duration of this PhD. I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to my supervisors, Professor Simon Poulton and Professor Tom Wagner, for their guidance during the entire PhD. I would also like to thank Al-Zawia University and the Libyan Cultural affairs department (London) for their funding and support of this project. I would like to acknowledge the technical assistance provided by several people at Newcastle University, namely Phil Green, Paul Donohoe, Ian Harrison, Bernie Bowler and Rob Hunter V TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION 1.1 General Overview .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Overview of the Lower Jurassic .................................................................................................. 6 1.2.1 Paleogeography and Geological Framework ................................................................ 6 1.3 Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event ................................................................................................ 11 1.3.1 Causes and mechanisms for the Toarcian Carbon Isotopic Excursions ...................... 15 1.3.1.2 Locally driven mechanisms .................................................................................. 15 1.3.1.1 Globally driven mechanisms. ............................................................................... 16 1.4 Aims and Objectives ................................................................................................................... 18 CHAPTER 2 – TRACKING OCEANIC REDOX CONDITIONS 2.1 Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 19 2.2 Existing models for anoxia ......................................................................................................... 22 2.2.1 The silled basin model................................................................................................. 22 2.2.2 The upwelling model ................................................................................................... 27 2.3 Characteristics of euxinic environments ................................................................................... 28 2.4 An overview of palaeoredox indicators .................................................................................... 30 2.4.1 Sedimentological and palaeoecological indicators of anoxia ..................................... 30 2.4.2 Carbon–sulphur relationships ...................................................................................... 33 2.4.3 Framboidal pyrite distributions ................................................................................... 34 2.4.4 Iron geochemistry ........................................................................................................ 36 2.4.4.1 Determining highly reactive iron content (FeHR) ................................................ 38 2.4.4.2 Iron recycling, enrichment, and the shelf-to-basin iron shuttle ............................ 39 2.4.5 Redox-sensitive trace metals ....................................................................................... 45 VI 2.4.5.1 Trace metal sources and fixation mechanisms ..................................................... 45 2.4.5.1 Mo geochemistry .................................................................................................. 46 2.4.6 Molecular palaeoredox indicators ............................................................................... 47 2.4.6.1 Pristane/Phytane ratio ........................................................................................... 47 2.4.6.2 Isorenieratane ........................................................................................................ 48 CHAPTER 3 – GEOLOGICAL SETTING, MATERIALS AND METHODS 3.1 Geological setting ........................................................................................................................ 51 3.2 Sampling ....................................................................................................................................... 58 3.3 Analytical Methods ..................................................................................................................... 61 3.3.1 Bulk Geochemistry ...................................................................................................... 63 3.3.1.1 Total Organic Carbon (TOC) Determination ....................................................... 63 3.3.1.2 Total Carbon and Total Sulphur (TC & TS) Determination ................................ 63 3.3.1.3 Isotopic analysis ..................................................................................................
Recommended publications
  • Geology of the Yorkshire Coast 4. Staithes
    05/03/2013 Geology of the Yorkshire Coast Dr Liam Herringshaw - [email protected] 4. Staithes – of Sand and Iron Early Jurassic Staithes Sandstone Formation Cleveland Ironstone Formation 1 05/03/2013 Staithes to Old Nab Simplified cliff section Rocks get younger towards south and east: RMF-SSF-CIF-WMF 2 05/03/2013 Staithes Sandstone Formation •Early Jurassic: Middle Pliensbachian Key features Sandstones with cross-stratification Burrowed siltstones 3 05/03/2013 Hummocky cross-stratification Fine-grained storm deposits 4 05/03/2013 Burrowed siltstones •After each storm, organic-rich silts deposited in quieter conditions Cleveland Ironstone Formation Transition from SSF to CIF, Penny Nab 5 05/03/2013 Oolitic ironstones Cleveland Ironstone Formation Modern oolites Warm, wave-agitated waters 6 05/03/2013 Stratigraphy Fossils 7 05/03/2013 Old Nab Ironstone burrows 8 05/03/2013 Siderite – iron carbonate Grows in sediment Needs low oxygen, low-sulphide conditions with iron and calcium Normally grey; turns red when oxidized Cleveland ironstone environment Fossils = marine conditions Ooids = high energy environment Primary iron-rich ooids = iron-rich waters Burrow scratches = firm sediments Shallow sea, wave-agitated, lots of runoff from land (with iron-rich soils?) 9 05/03/2013 Jet-powered Whitby Early Jurassic Whitby Mudstone Formation Grey Shales Black Shales Alum Shales Whitby Mudstone Formation 10 05/03/2013 Whitby Mudstone Formation Late Early Jurassic – Toarcian 5 subdivisions, mostly muddy Common features - sediments Finely laminated,
    [Show full text]
  • Decapod Crustaceans from the Middle Jurassic Opalinus Clay of Northern Switzerland, with Comments on Crustacean Taphonomy
    0012-9402/04/030381-12 Eclogae geol. Helv. 97 (2004) 381–392 DOI 10.1007/s00015-004-1137-2 Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, 2004 Decapod crustaceans from the Middle Jurassic Opalinus Clay of northern Switzerland, with comments on crustacean taphonomy WALTER ETTER Key words: Decapoda, Peracarida, Jurassic, Switzerland, ecology, crustacean taphonomy ABSTRACT ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Four species of decapod crustaceans from the Middle Jurassic Opalinus Clay Aus dem Opalinuston (Mittlerer Jura, Aalenian) der Nordschweiz werden vier (Aalenian) of Northern Switzerland are described. Of these, Mecochirus cf. Arten von decapoden Krebsen beschrieben. Von Aeger sp., Eryma cf. bedelta eckerti is the most common one, while Eryma cf. bedelta, Glyphea sp. and und Glyphaea sp. wurden nur ganz wenige Exemplaren gefunden, während Aeger sp. were present as individuals, or only a few specimens. The preserva- Mecochirus cf. eckerti etwas häufiger ist. Die Erhaltungsbedingungen waren tion of these crustaceans ranges from moderate to excellent, reflecting the während der Ablagerung des Opalinustones günstig, was sich in einer geringen favourable taphonomic conditions of the depositional environment. An inter- Disartikulations- und Fragmentationsrate der Krebse widerspiegelt. Ein in- esting aspect of the taphocoenosis in the Opalinus Clay is that the decapod teressanter Aspekt der Taphocoenose ist die deutliche Dominanz der Klein- crustaceans are by far outnumbered by small peracarid crustaceans (isopods krebse (Peracarida: Isopoden und Tanaidaceen). Dies dürfte die Zahlenver- and tanaids). This is interpreted as reflecting the original differences in abun- hältnisse der ehemaligen Lebensgemeinschaft widerspiegeln. In den meisten dance. Yet this distribution is not frequently encountered in sedimentary se- Ablagerungen dominieren jedoch die decapoden Krebse, wogegen Peracarida quences where decapods (although rare) are far more common than isopods äusserst selten sind.
    [Show full text]
  • Marine Reptiles
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Institutional Research Information System University of Turin Geobios 39 (2006) 346–354 http://france.elsevier.com/direct/GEOBIO/ Marine reptiles (Thalattosuchia) from the Early Jurassic of Lombardy (northern Italy) Rettili marini (Thalattosuchia) del Giurassico inferiore della Lombardia (Italia settentrionale) Reptiles marins (Thalattosuchia) du Jurassique inférieur de la Lombardie (Italie du nord) Massimo Delfino a,*, Cristiano Dal Sasso b a Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, Via G. La Pira 4, 50121 Firenze, Italy b Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Corso Venezia 55, 20121 Milano, Italy Received 24 May 2004; accepted 3 January 2005 Available online 28 February 2006 Abstract The fossil remains of two small reptiles recently discovered in the Sogno Formation (Lower Toarcian) near Cesana Brianza (Lecco Province), represent the first mesoeucrocodylians reported for Lombardy and some of the few Jurassic reptiles from Italy. Due to the absence of diagnostic skeletal elements (the skulls are lacking), it is not possible to refer the new specimens at genus level with confidence. Although the well devel- oped dermal armour would characterise Toarcian thalattosuchians of the genera Steneosaurus (Teleosauridae) and Pelagosaurus (Metriorhynch- idae), the peculiar morphology of the osteoderms allow to tentatively refer the remains to the latter taxon (cf. Pelagosaurus sp.). The small size, along with the opening of the neurocentral vertebral sutures and, possibly, the non sutured caudal pleurapophyses, indicate that the specimens were morphologically immature at death. These “marine crocodiles” confirm the affinities between the fauna of the Calcare di Sogno Formation and coeval outcrops of central Europe that also share the presence of similar fishes and crustaceans.
    [Show full text]
  • Geol. Quart. 49 (3)
    Geological Quarterly, 2005, 49 (3): 317–330 The Ciechocinek Formation (Lower Jurassic) of SW Poland: petrology of green clastic rocks Paulina LEONOWICZ Leonowicz P. (2005) — The Ciechocinek Formation (Lower Jurassic) of SW Poland: petrology of green clastic rocks. Geol. Quart., 49 (3): 317–330. Warszawa. The Lower Jurassic Ciechocinek Formation from the Czêstochowa-Wieluñ region of SW Poland comprises greenish-grey muds and silts as well as poorly consolidated mudstones and siltstones with lenticular intercalations of fine-grained sands, sandstones and siderites. Analysis of a mineral composition indicates that the detrital material was derived mainly from the weathering of metamorphic and sedi- mentary rocks of the eastern Sudetes with their foreland and of the Upper Silesia area, and that this material underwent repeated redeposition. The Fe-rich chlorites which give the green colour to the mudstones of the Ciechocinek Formation are most probably early diagenetic minerals, genetically linked with the deposition in a brackish sedimentary basin. Paulina Leonowicz, Institute of Geology, University of Warsaw, ¯wirki i Wigury 93, PL-02-089 Warszawa, Poland, e-mail: [email protected] (received: June 8, 2004; accepted: March 3, 2005). Key words: Lower Jurassic, Cracow-Silesian Upland, provenance, petrology, sandstones, mudstones. INTRODUCTION and Wieluñ (Fig. 2). Its main purpose is recognition of the provenance of clastic material in these rocks, based on their mineral composition, and investigation of the origin of the The Ciechocinek Formation (Pieñkowski, 2004), earlier characteristic green colour of the mudstones, generally consid- known as the Lower £ysiec, Gryfice, Ciechocinek or Estheria ered as the characteristic feature of the Ciechocinek Formation.
    [Show full text]
  • Back Matter (PDF)
    Index Note: Page numbers in italic denote figures. Page numbers in bold denote tables. Abel, Othenio (1875–1946) Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Robert Plot 7 arboreal theory 244 Astrodon 363, 365 Geschichte und Methode der Rekonstruktion... Atlantosaurus 365, 366 (1925) 328–329, 330 Augusta, Josef (1903–1968) 222–223, 331 Action comic 343 Aulocetus sammarinensis 80 Actualism, work of Capellini 82, 87 Azara, Don Felix de (1746–1821) 34, 40–41 Aepisaurus 363 Azhdarchidae 318, 319 Agassiz, Louis (1807–1873) 80, 81 Azhdarcho 319 Agustinia 380 Alexander, Annie Montague (1867–1950) 142–143, 143, Bakker, Robert. T. 145, 146 ‘dinosaur renaissance’ 375–376, 377 Alf, Karen (1954–2000), illustrator 139–140 Dinosaurian monophyly 93, 246 Algoasaurus 365 influence on graphic art 335, 343, 350 Allosaurus, digits 267, 271, 273 Bara Simla, dinosaur discoveries 164, 166–169 Allosaurus fragilis 85 Baryonyx walkeri Altispinax, pneumaticity 230–231 relation to Spinosaurus 175, 177–178, 178, 181, 183 Alum Shale Member, Parapsicephalus purdoni 195 work of Charig 94, 95, 102, 103 Amargasaurus 380 Beasley, Henry Charles (1836–1919) Amphicoelias 365, 366, 368, 370 Chirotherium 214–215, 219 amphisbaenians, work of Charig 95 environment 219–220 anatomy, comparative 23 Beaux, E. Cecilia (1855–1942), illustrator 138, 139, 146 Andrews, Roy Chapman (1884–1960) 69, 122 Becklespinax altispinax, pneumaticity 230–231, Andrews, Yvette 122 232, 363 Anning, Joseph (1796–1849) 14 belemnites, Oxford Clay Formation, Peterborough Anning, Mary (1799–1847) 24, 25, 113–116, 114, brick pits 53 145, 146, 147, 288 Benett, Etheldred (1776–1845) 117, 146 Dimorphodon macronyx 14, 115, 294 Bhattacharji, Durgansankar 166 Hawker’s ‘Crocodile’ 14 Birch, Lt.
    [Show full text]
  • Local Geodiversity Action Plan for Oxfordshire’S Lower and Middle Jurassic
    Local Geodiversity Action Plan for Oxfordshire’s Lower and Middle Jurassic Supported by Oxfordshire’s Lower and Middle Jurassic Geodiversity Action Plan has been produced by Oxfordshire Geology Trust with funding from the ALSF Partnership Grants Scheme through Defra’s Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund. Oxfordshire Geology Trust The Geological Records Centre The Corn Exchange Faringdon SN7 7JA 01367 243 260 www.oxfordshiregt.org [email protected] © Oxfordshire Geology Trust, June 2006 Lower and Middle Jurassic Local Geodiversity Action Plan, Edition 1 Page 1 of 25 © Oxfordshire Geology Trust March 2007 Contents Introduction 3 What is Geodiversity? 4 The Conservation of our Geodiversity National Geoconservation Initiatives 5 Geoconservation in Oxfordshire 6 Local Geodiversity Action plans – Purpose and Process The Purpose of LGAPs 7 The Geographical Boundary 7 Preparing the Plan 8 Geodiversity Audit 8 Oxfordshire’s Lower and Middle Jurassic Geodiversity Resource Lower Lias 10 Middle Lias 11 Upper Lias 12 Inferior Oolite 12 Great Oolite 12 Oxford Clay 16 Fossils 16 Geomorphological Features 17 Building Stone 18 Museum Collections 18 History of Geological Research 19 Implementation Relationships with other Management Plans 21 Future of the LGAP 22 The Action Plan 23 Lower and Middle Jurassic Local Geodiversity Action Plan, Edition 1 Page 2 of 25 © Oxfordshire Geology Trust March 2007 Introduction Oxfordshire’s geology has long been admired by geologists and utilised by industry. In fact, it was a driving force for the industrialization of the nation through the exploitation of ironstone. Our geodiversity however, extends beyond our exposures of rocks and fossils to include landscape and geomorphology, building stones, museums collections and soils.
    [Show full text]
  • Horizontal Fracture-Fault Network Characterization of Pavement Imagery of the Whitby Mudstone
    Horizontal fracture-fault network characterization of pavement imagery of the Whitby Mudstone Q.D. Boersma Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands A Msc Thesis First Supervisor: Prof. dr. M.R. Drury (Utrecht University) Second Supervisor: dr. N.J. Hardebol (TU Delft) Third Supervisor: dr. M.E. Houben (Utrecht University) 1 Abstract Natural fractures play an important role in the hydrocarbon production from tight reservoirs. The need for fracture network pathways by fraccing matters particularly for shale gas prospects, due to their nano to micro darcies matrix permeabilities. The study of natural fractures from outcrops helps to better understand network connectivity and possibility of reactivating pre-existing planes of weakness, induced by hydraulic stimulation. Microseismicity also show that natural fractures are reactivated during fraccing in tight gas reservoirs and influence the success of the stimulation. An accurate understanding of natural fracture networks can help in predicting the development of fracture networks. In this research we analyze an outcrop analogue, the Whitby Mustone Formation (WMF), in terms of its horizontal fracture network. The WMF is the time equivalent of the Posidonia Shale Formation (PSF), which on itself is the main shale gas prospect in the Dutch subsurface. The fracture network of the WMF is characterized by a system of steep dipping joints with two dominant directions with N-S and E-W strike. The network was digitized from bird-view imagery of the pavement with a spatial extent of ~100 m at sub-cm resolution. The imagery is interpreted in terms of orientation and length distributions, intensity and fractal dimensions.
    [Show full text]
  • Source Rock Investigations of a Middle Jurassic Posidonia Marl of the Ionian Zone of Albania
    Source rock investigations of a Middle Jurassic Posidonia marl of the Ionian Zone of Albania 1 1 1 2 1 1 NEUMEISTER S. , GAWLICK H.J. , BECHTEL, R. , HOXHA, L. , MISSONI, S. , GRATZER, R. 3 & DUMITRICA, P. 1 University of Leoben, Department for Applied Geosciences and Geophysics, Prospection and Applied Sedimentology, Peter-Tunner-Straße 5, 8700 Leoben, Austria; 2 Geological Survey of Albania, Tirana, Albania; 3 Dennigkofenweg 33, 3073 Guemligen, Switzerland The understanding of genesis and source rock potential of sediments deposited in the course of the sedimentary history of development (trench formation, passive continental margin, active continental margin) and which build the orogenic belts today is of significant importance. Regarding the Ionian Zone of the Albanides in particular different potential source rocks in Jurassic successions should be connected with global anoxic events (OAE; e.g., Toarcian - JENKYNS 1988). Therefore we investigated in this study a Jurassic source rock of the Ionian Zone of southern Albania, estimated to be deposited in Toarcian (e.g., MECO & ALIAJ 2000), because these rocks have not been investigated in detail until now. In Late Early Jurassic (Toarcian) a slight deepening was interpreted as cause of the general sea- level rise in the Toarcian (e.g., MECO & ALIAJ 2000) or interpreted as attributed to a local rifting event (KARAKITSIOS 1995). According to KARAKITSIOS (1995) the deposition of deep-water sediments and also the accumulation of organic matter in the Ionian Zone should be directly related to the geometry of a synrift period of the “Ionian Basin”. He distinguished Lower (Toarcian) and Upper (Tithonian; resp. Callovian to Tithonian) Posidonia beds.
    [Show full text]
  • Martin A. Whyte & Mike Romano. Dinosaur Footprints Associated With
    Dinosaur footprints associated with an ephemeral pool in the Middle Jurassic of Yorkshire, UK Martin A. Whyte & Mike Romano Sheffield Dinosaur Track Research Group, Department of Geography, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK. ABSTRACT - A thin mudstone intercalation within channel sandstones of the Saltwick Formation (Middle Jurassic) of the Cleveland area of Yorkshire shows a succession of invertebrate traces followed by dinosaur tracks and then shrinkage cracks. The tridactyl prints, all made by the same type of small bipedal dinosaur, show an interesting range of morphologies, includ- ing imprints of the metatarsal area, consistent with their having been made in soft cohesive mud of varying moisture content. Some of the tracks indicate that the foot was moved backwards during withdrawal. Such foot movement can also be observed in modern emu locomotion. The pattern of shrinkage cracks is partly controlled by the prints. This sequence is comparable to the sequence of traces and structures which have been observed in a recent ephemeral pool and is interpreted as having formed in a similar environment. Uniquely for the Yorkshire area, the prints and cracks are infilled by small, now sideritised, pellets possibly of invertebrate faecal origin. Keywords: dinosaur, footprints, preservation, Jurassic, England, emu, faecal pellets. INTRODUCTION 1993), led to an erosional break between the Lower Jurassic (Whitby Mudstone Formation; Toarcian) and the basal Mid- Tracks are the commonest type of dinosaur fossil dle Jurassic (lower Aalenian) Dogger Formation, which is a and provide important evidence of the gait, speed, habit and thin, clastic marine unit (fig. 2). The overlying Ravenscar facies preference of these animals; evidence which often Group (Aalenian to Bathonian) is a predominantly non- cannot be obtained from other sources.
    [Show full text]
  • A Synoptic Review of the Vertebrate Fauna from the “Green Series
    A synoptic review of the vertebrate fauna from the “Green Series” (Toarcian) of northeastern Germany with descriptions of new taxa: A contribution to the knowledge of Early Jurassic vertebrate palaeobiodiversity patterns I n a u g u r a l d i s s e r t a t i o n zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines Doktors der Naturwissenschaften (Dr. rer. nat.) der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald vorgelegt von Sebastian Stumpf geboren am 9. Oktober 1986 in Berlin-Hellersdorf Greifswald, Februar 2017 Dekan: Prof. Dr. Werner Weitschies 1. Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Ingelore Hinz-Schallreuter 2. Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Paul Martin Sander Tag des Promotionskolloquiums: 22. Juni 2017 2 Content 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 4 2. Geological and Stratigraphic Framework .................................................................................... 5 3. Material and Methods ................................................................................................................... 8 4. Results and Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 9 4.1 Dinosaurs .................................................................................................................................. 10 4.2 Marine Reptiles .......................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • International Journal of Coal Geology 165 (2016) 76–89
    International Journal of Coal Geology 165 (2016) 76–89 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Coal Geology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijcoalgeo Microstructures of Early Jurassic (Toarcian) shales of Northern Europe M.E. Houben a,⁎,A.Barnhoornb, L. Wasch c, J. Trabucho-Alexandre a,C.J.Peacha,M.R.Drurya a Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, PO-box 80.021, 3508TA Utrecht, The Netherlands b Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, PO-box 5048, 2600GA Delft, The Netherlands c TNO, Princetonlaan 6, 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands article info abstract Article history: The Toarcian (Early Jurassic) Posidonia Shale Formation is a possible unconventional gas source in Northern Received 7 January 2016 Europe and occurs within the Cleveland Basin (United Kingdom), the Anglo-Paris Basin (France), the Lower Sax- Received in revised form 4 August 2016 ony Basin and the Southwest Germany Basin (Germany), and the Roer Valley Graben, the West Netherlands Accepted 4 August 2016 Basin, Broad Fourteens Basin, the Central Netherlands Basin and the Dutch Central Graben in The Netherlands. Available online 06 August 2016 Outcrops can be found in the United Kingdom and Germany. Since the Posidonia Shale Formation does not out- crop in the Netherlands, sample material suitable for experimental studies is not easily available. Here we have Keywords: Posidonia Shale investigated lateral equivalent shale samples from six different locations across Northern Europe (Germany, Whitby Mudstone The Netherlands, The North sea and United Kingdom) to compare the microstructure and composition of Clay microstructure Toarcian shales. The objective is to determine how homogeneous or heterogeneous the shale deposits are across Ion-beam polishing the basins, using a combination of Ion Beam polishing, Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray diffraction.
    [Show full text]
  • Stratigraphical Framework for the Middle Jurassic Strata of Great
    Stratigraphical framework for the Middle Jurassic strata of Great Britain and the adjoining continental shelf Geology and Landscape Programme Research Report RR/11/06 BRITISH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY RESEARCH REPORT RR/11/06 The National Grid and other Stratigraphical framework for the Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database rights 2012. Ordnance Survey Licence Middle Jurassic strata of Great No. 100021290 Britain and the adjoining Key words Geology, stratigraphy, lithostratigraphy, Inferior Oolite continental shelf Group, Great Oolite Group, Ravenscar Group, Great Estuarine Group, Sutherland Group, Ancholme Group, Jurassic. A J M Barron, G K Lott, J B Riding Front cover Hilltop Quarry, Leckhampton Hill, Cheltenham, Glos.: the Birdlip Limestone Formation overlain by the Aston Limestone Formation. (P775213, A J M Barron) Bibliographical reference BARRON, A J M, LOTT, G K, AND RIDING, J B. 2012. Stratigraphical framework for the Middle Jurassic strata of Great Britain and the adjoining continental shelf. British Geological Survey Research Report, RR/11/06. 187pp. ISBN 978 0 85272 695 2 Copyright in materials derived from the British Geological Survey’s work is owned by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and/or the authority that commissioned the work. You may not copy or adapt this publication without first obtaining permission. Contact the BGS Intellectual Property Rights Section, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, e-mail [email protected]. You may quote extracts of a reasonable length without prior permission, provided
    [Show full text]