Article
Geology
Christoph Kettler, Ricarda Wohlschlagl, Catherine Russell, Lars Scharfenberg, Jean-Francois Ghienne, Daniel Paul Le Heron
Summary: Using satellite maps, this study reveals the presence of glacial deposits in Northern Chad, covering an area of 20,000 km2, which is much larger than previously estimated. The glacial deposits exhibit complex glacial morphological features including glacial lineations and fluvial channels, indicating multiple ice advance-retreat cycles. These findings provide valuable insights into the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age in Chad.
SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Mario G. F. Esperanca Junior, Gabriela B. Cybis, Roberto Iannuzzi
Summary: Glossopteris leaves, the most abundant floristic element in the Gondwanan continent, have conservative morphology that has made them difficult to use for environmental reconstruction and climate change identification. This paper proposes a new rapid method to estimate the venation density of Glossopteris leaves, which has shown significant differentiation between leaves produced in wet and drier ecosystems. This study suggests that environmental stress controlled the vein architecture of Palaeozoic plants, similar to plants in modern ecosystems.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Dillon A. Brown, Martin Hand, Laura J. Morrissey
Summary: The study provides evidence of high pressure metamorphism along the eastern margin of Tasmania, with zircon analysis indicating eclogite formation during the Middle Cambrian and older Mesoproterozoic ages. Mineral compositions, element concentrations, and temperature data reveal the growth history and geological evolution of the eclogites.
Article
Biology
M. Gabriela Mangano, Luis A. Buatois, Beatriz G. Waisfeld, Diego F. Munoz, N. Emilio Vaccari, Ricardo A. Astini
Summary: The study challenges the assumption that trilobites were exclusively fully marine, presenting evidence of their presence in brackish-water settings. Trilobites with tolerance to salinity stress were able to exploit ecological advantages in marginal-marine environments, migrating into tide-dominated estuaries. This exploration into brackish waters reveals independent instances of salinity tolerance among different trilobite groups.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Teal R. Riley, Alex Burton-Johnson, Michael J. Flowerdew, Fernando Poblete, Paula Castillo, Francisco Herve, Philip T. Leat, Ian L. Millar, Joaquin Bastias, Martin J. Whitehouse
Summary: The Antarctic Peninsula has preserved evidence of a long-lived continental margin with various geological units, suggesting a convergent margin setting from the Cambrian to the Cenozoic. Through the use of geochronology and field evidence, along with detailed kinematic reconstructions, the relationships between geological units and tectonic events in Patagonia and the proto-Antarctic Peninsula have been established. The Gondwana/Pangea continental margin experienced crustal block translation, deformation, magmatic pulses, and development of thick accretionary complexes, which were influenced by subducting slab dynamics.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Geology
Johannes Zieger, Mandy Hofmann, Andreas Gaertner, Axel Gerdes, Linda Marko, Ulf Linnemann
Summary: This study presents new data on the sedimentary formations of the Namibian Huab Basin and Kunene area, providing insights into their depositional ages and environmental conditions. The results suggest that the sedimentary transport and homogenization system in southern Gondwana changed over time and depended on the prevailing climate during deposition.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Gilda Lopes, Zelia Pereira, Paulo Fernandes, Marcia Mendes, Joao Marques, Raul C. G. S. Jorge
Summary: The multidisciplinary study of the Muaradzi Sub-basin revealed a vast lowland fluvial setting and characteristic palynological assemblages, providing insights into the geological and paleoecological conditions of the area.
JOURNAL OF AFRICAN EARTH SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Geology
Guillermo Espejo-Bautista, Fernando Ortega-Gutierrez, Luigi A. Solari, Roberto Maldonado, Yuly T. Valencia-Morales
Summary: This paper presents a detailed study of the Sierra de Juarez Complex (SJC) in southern Mexico, revealing different lithological units and corresponding geologic events, indicating its complex geological history and its relation to the geological evolution of NW Gondwana.
INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGY REVIEW
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Alastair H. F. Robertson, Osman Parlak, Timur Ustaomer
Summary: This study investigates the geochemical characteristics of early Carboniferous rocks in the eastern Taurides region of Turkey, providing new insights into the Late Palaeozoic-Early Mesozoic Tethyan development with the analysis of volcanic sediments and metamorphic rocks.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Guido Meinhold, Alexander Bassis, Matthias Hinderer, Anna Lewin, Jasper Berndt
Summary: The study presents a comprehensive detrital zircon U-Pb age dataset from Palaeozoic sandstones of Saudi Arabia, shedding light on the erosion history of the East African Orogen and sediment recycling in northern Gondwana. The zircon age spectra show five main age populations, with some grains likely originating from igneous rocks of the Arabian-Nubian Shield. Additionally, detrital zircons with various ages, including Eoarchaean ages, suggest a complex history of sediment sources in the region.
GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Jack Stack, John-Paul Hodnett, Spencer G. Lucas, Lauren Sallan
Summary: The Carboniferous period saw the appearance of novel but now common ecomorphologies in various lineages of fishes, suggesting a convergence in adaptations to changing marine and freshwater ecosystems and environments. This convergence on bottom-feeding lifestyles may have been a result of the plasticity of early actinopterygians and chondrichthyans in response to environmental shifts during the Carboniferous.
ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Geology
Stephen K. Donovan, Anthony Butcher
Summary: Complete fossils are generally preferred over fragments for most palaeontological studies, but disarticulated specimens can still provide valuable data. Two crinoid pluricolumnals from the lower Palaeozoic are discussed, offering insight for palaeobiological interpretation. These gracile specimens are likely disparids, with one being from the Silurian of Wenlock Edge and the other from the Lower Llanvirn of Powys.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION
(2021)
Article
Paleontology
Victor M. Ghirotto, Edgar B. Crispino, Pedro Chiquetto-Machado, Pedro A. B. A. Neves, Phillip W. Engelking, Guilherme C. Ribeiro
Summary: Stick insects, known for their camouflage specialization, are herbivorous insects that are mostly active at night. The lacking fossil record of stick insects, especially for older taxa, has made it difficult to understand their early evolution. Recent research has uncovered the oldest known fossil of stick insects, providing valuable insights into their evolutionary history.
PAPERS IN PALAEONTOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Bertrand Laloux, Anne-Laure Decombeix
Summary: The fossil record of arborescent lignophytes indicates an increasing anatomical diversity during the Tournaisian, possibly due to the extinction of Archaeopteris. New silicified wood remains found in northeastern Queensland, Australia, show taxonomic affinities to Pitus and Eristophyton and have implications for future studies on Early Carboniferous arborescent lignophytes. The convergence of Eastern Gondwanan and Laurussian floras in wood anatomy and growth rings suggests a possible monsoonal circulation during the Early Carboniferous.
COMPTES RENDUS PALEVOL
(2022)
Article
Geology
Changyoon Lee, Yi Kyun Kwon, Jung Min Yeo, Yoo Jin Kwon, Hyun-Chul Han
Summary: This study investigated the provenances and reconstructed the paleogeography of the eastern Sino-Korean Block by examining U-Pb ages of detrital zircons in lower Cambrian-Ordovician successions. The presence of predominant Paleoproterozoic ages and minor Neoarchean ages indicated the preferred drainage system within the Sino-Korean Block. The different age spectra between the lower quartzites and conformably overlying shale suggests little igneous activity and the influence of external detritus on the region.
INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGY REVIEW
(2021)