Article
Geography, Physical
Louisa Dent, Leon Normore, Nicholas B. Sullivan, Yong Yi Zhen, Anne Forbes
Summary: This study presents new stable carbon isotope data from the Lower-Middle Ordovician in Western Australia, providing insight into the global distribution of dissolved inorganic carbon. The analysis of core samples from petroleum well Olympic 1 in the Canning Basin offers valuable information on isotopic trends and correlation with other regions, contributing to a better understanding of major oceanographic events and the larger Ordovician world.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Chloe E. A. Amberg, Stewart G. Molyneux, Jan A. Zalasiewicz, Thijs R. A. Vandenbroucke
Summary: This study examines chitinozoan assemblages from the North and South Wales in order to correlate and determine the age of the Arenig Series. The results suggest that the South Wales succession is correlated with the upper Floian Stage, while the North Wales succession is correlated with the Dapingian and Darriwilian stages.
GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Aicha Achab, Joerg Maletz
Summary: This study redefines the age of the Euconochitina symmetrica Zone found at the G locality in Levis and provides revisions on the correlation with the graptolite zones. It reveals that the age of E. symmetrica is different from what was initially suggested and gives a better positioning of the Lower Ordovician Laurentian chitinozoan zones on the Ordovician time scale.
REVIEW OF PALAEOBOTANY AND PALYNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geology
Maria Giovanna Corriga, Carlo Corradini, Monica Pondrelli, Hans-Peter Schonlaub, Lorenzo Nozzi, Rossana Todesco, Annalisa Ferretti
Summary: A detailed biostratigraphic investigation of the Valentintorl cliff in the Carnic Alps of Austria revealed a condensed upper Silurian section, with continuity of all conodont biozones observed from the lowermost Ludlow to the upper Pridoli. The study also describes three new conodont species, pending further specimen collection, and presents a general discussion on the hiatus between Ordovician and Silurian sequences in the Carnic Alps.
NEWSLETTERS ON STRATIGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
B. Starijas Mayer, A. Zeh, E. Krenn, A. Gerdes, F. Finger
Summary: A study of metasedimentary rock units in the Krndija region of Croatia suggests that they underwent three major tectonometamorphic imprints during the Middle Ordovician, early Carboniferous, and Cretaceous periods. The ages of these metamorphic phases were determined through U-Th-Pb dating of monazite grains and Lu-Hf garnet-whole-rock isochron age dating. The findings reveal the presence of a well-preserved piece of the cryptic Sardic orogen called the Kutjevo Zone. The metamorphic events indicate subduction-related processes and contact metamorphism caused by magmatism. In addition, the study suggests a connection between the Krndija region and the Strona-Ceneri Zone in the western Alps.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Geology
Yan Liang, Olle Hints, Jaak Nolvak, Peng Tang
Summary: Due to unclear illustrations and descriptions, identifying chitinozoans has become complicated and the description of new species has decreased significantly. Building an open-access database and restudying poorly documented specimens using advanced techniques can help solve the problems in chitinozoan research and facilitate progress in the fields of systematics, evolution, biostratigraphy, paleogeography, and the biological affinity of chitinozoans.
ESTONIAN JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Ge Zhu, Qiao Lyu, Minghao Du, Weihui Wang
Summary: This study utilized computational fluid dynamics to construct simplified computer models of 92 Ordovician chitinozoan species and assessed the long-term changes in hydrodynamic properties. The results show that chitinozoans gradually increased their floating ability during evolution, consistent with the idea of increased planktonic diversity during the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event (GOBE). It was also found that structural innovations in chitinozoans were influenced by hydrodynamics, indicating the importance of hydrodynamic pressure in the evolution of Ordovician microplankton.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Olle Hints, Leho Ainsaar, Aivo Lepland, Merlin Liiv, Peep Mannik, Tonu Meidla, Jaak Nolvak, Sigitas Radzevicius
Summary: This study establishes a biostratigraphic and chemostratigraphic reference section for the late Katian to Rhuddanian stages in the Baltic region based on the Likenai 396 drill core in northern Lithuania. The main focus is on the Hirnantian carbon isotopic event (HICE) interval and the late Katian Paroveja excursion. The Likenai core is a suitable reference section for the Paroveja excursion and the falling limb of the HICE in the Baltoscandia region.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Xin Jin, Marco Franceschi, Rossana Martini, Zhiqiang Shi, Piero Gianolla, Manuel Rigo, Corey J. Wall, Mark D. Schmitz, Gang Lu, Yixing Du, Xiangtong Huang, Nereo Preto
Summary: This paper investigates sea-level fluctuations during the Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE) and provides important insights into the timing and global scale of sea-level changes during this period. The study also highlights a Tethys-wide crisis and recovery of microbial carbonate production and sheds light on commonalities with other geological times when similar transformations in carbonate systems were linked to ocean acidification.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Mansoureh Ghobadi Pour, Leonid E. Popov, J. Javier Alvaro, Arash Amini, Vachik Hairapetian, Hadi Jahangir
Summary: The litho-and biostratigraphic framework of the Alborz, Kopet-Dagh, and the East-Central Iranian blocks during the Ordovician period is outlined and updated in this study. The study identifies four tectono-stratigraphic units in northern Iran, each with varying lithology, facies, fossil record, and sedimentary record completeness. The Ordovician strata in the eastern Alborz and Kopet-Dagh Mountains are characterized by rifting volcanism within an active horst-and-graben palaeotopography. Biogeographical affinities with South China and the Mediterranean peri-Gondwana are noted, with zircon populations suggesting continental sources from the Arabian-Nubian Shield of the western Arabian Peninsula and northeastern Africa.
BULLETIN OF GEOSCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Mark W. Hounslow, Samuel E. Harris, Krystian Wojcik, Jerzy Nawrocki, Kenneth T. Ratcliffe, Nigel H. Woodcock, Paul Montgomery
Summary: Magnetostratigraphic studies of the Ordovician provide evidence for the nature of core-mantle boundary interactions, and the new data contribute to a near-complete magnetic polarity chronostratigraphic scale through the Middle and Upper Ordovician. The magnetic signal is carried by both haematite and magnetite, with correlations between lithologies and local magnetic susceptibility, providing validation of a primary palaeomagnetic signal. The reversal frequencies for the mid and late Ordovician are estimated to be 1.7 and 1.5 Myr (-1) respectively.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geology
Jaak Nolvak, Yan Liang, Olle Hints
Summary: The global Spinachitina fragilis Chitinozoan Biozone is considered the lowermost Silurian zone. Despite its wide geographical occurrence, confusion in taxonomy and distribution of the species exists due to the poor documentation in its type region. Restudied material from the type locality and supplementary sections in the East Baltic region suggests that the S. fragilis Biozone coincides with the late Hirnantian age, leading to a revision of the latest Ordovician chitinozoan biozonal scheme for the region. Globally, the S. fragilis Biozone may span across the Ordovician-Silurian boundary.
ESTONIAN JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Mohammad Ghavidel-Syooki, Mohammad Hossein Piri-Kangarshahi
Summary: A siliciclastic succession in eastern-central Iran was analyzed to determine its age and paleogeographic position. The results indicate that during the Late Ordovician, Iran was part of the peri-Gondwana domain. This is supported by the presence of well-known chitinozoan species in the sedimentary succession.
REVIEW OF PALAEOBOTANY AND PALYNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Morteza Derakhshi, Richard E. Ernst, Sandra L. Kamo
Summary: This study reports for the first time a series of voluminous intraplate volcanic events in Iran, which may be a key factor contributing to the Late Ordovician mass extinction (LOME). The volcanic events occurred during the initial rifting of the Paleotethys Ocean and have been identified through fieldwork and dating techniques. The researchers suggest that these volcanic activities represent remnants of a newly proposed Large Igneous Province (LIP) and played a significant role in the environmental and climatic changes associated with LOME.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Farzad Poursalehi, Gustavo G. Voldman, Ali Bahrami, Maria Jose Salas, Hamed Ameri
Summary: There are Ordovician marine sedimentary sequences in Iran, and the Katkoyeh Formation is one of them. This study analyzed the formation using microfossil sampling and compared it with other regions. Two new species of ostracods were also discovered.
BULLETIN OF GEOSCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Pedro Correia, Zbynek Simunek, Christopher J. Cleal, Bruno Vallois, Ruben Domingos, Artur A. Sa
Summary: A new species of the calamitalean fossil-genus Annularia von Sternberg, Annularia noronhai sp. nov., from the Douro Basin in Portugal was discovered, characterized by lanceolate leaves with elongate mucro. The closest known species to this new discovery is Annularia spinulosa. The taxonomic status of A. spinulosa was reevaluated through comparisons with its type specimen and specimens from the Douro Basin.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Pedro Correia, Zbynek Simunek, Artur A. Sa
Summary: Equisetales is a diverse and abundant group of articulate plants that thrived in the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic times, consisting of 12 families with mostly extinct late Paleozoic families and one living family, the Equisetaceae. The new equisetalean fossil-genus and species Iberisetum wegeneri represents an endemic species for the Douro Basin in northwestern Portugal, displaying a unique combination of morphological features within the Equisetales. The evolutionary novelty in the foliar sheaths of Iberisetum wegeneri suggests an adaptation to the specific climatic and ecological conditions of the intramontane environments of the Douro Basin.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Letter
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Emmaline Montserrat Rosado-Gonzalez, Artur A. Sa, Jose Luis Palacio-Prieto
Article
Paleontology
Sofia Pereira, Jorge Colmenar, Jan Mortier, Jan Vanmeirhaeghe, Jacques Verniers, Petr Storch, David Alexander Taylor Harper, Juan Carlos Gutierrez-Marco
Summary: This study describes the first macrofossiliferous Hirnantia Fauna assemblage found in Belgium, indicating a survival of this fauna into the Silurian period, possibly due to delayed post-glacial effects of rising temperature and sea-level. The assemblage shares characteristics with another known example from Rhuddanian rocks in England, suggesting a connection between these regions during the Late Ordovician-early Silurian.
JOURNAL OF PALEONTOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Francesc Xavier Ferraro, Diego Irazabal, Carlos Guerrero, Robert W. King, Manuel Enrique Schilling, Artur Abreu Sa, Oriol Oms
Summary: The survey reveals that while the majority of the community is aware of tourist sites in their area, fewer recognize the geology or geosites of the territory. The main focus of tourism is on economic development and tourism in natural areas, with geodiversity and geotourism playing subsidiary roles. There is also a level of resignation in the community regarding the territory's development, with education on geological and environmental risks being identified as a key priority.
Article
Plant Sciences
Maria Edenilce P. Batista, Maria Iracema B. Loiola, Arlete A. Soares, Alexandra A. Mastroberti, Artur A. Sa, Daniel Rodrigues Nascimento, Wellington Ferreira Silva Filho, Lutz Kunzmann
Summary: This study describes a new species of fossil Araucaria plant found in the Araripe Basin and identifies mucilage cells in the leaves. The discovery suggests new insights into plant evolution within the Araucariaceae family.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PLANT SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Maria Edenilce Peixoto Batista, Ariel Milani Martine, Antonio Alamo F. Saraiva, Flaviana Jorge de Lima, Olga Alcantara Barros, Artur A. A. Sa, Maria Iracema Bezerra Loiola
Summary: The study reviewed the current knowledge of Brachyphyllum from the Araripe Basin, indicating the diversity of this fossil genus and its xeromorphic characteristics, likely adaptive responses to the local arid and saline conditions.
JOURNAL OF SOUTH AMERICAN EARTH SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Russell D. C. Bicknell, James D. Holmes, Stephen Pates, Diego C. Garcia-Bellido, John R. Paterson
Summary: The Cambrian explosion marked the rapid development of complex marine ecosystems on Earth due to predator-prey interactions, which led to the evolution of biomineralised exoskeletons and shell-crushing predators. Injured trilobite specimens from Kangaroo Island, South Australia show evidence of attacks mostly on the posterior thorax, suggesting predators attacked from behind. Larger individuals were more likely to survive attacks and exhibit healed injuries, indicating smaller individuals were likely consumed during an attack.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Pedro Correia, Sofia Pereira, Marco Cavaleiro, Miguel Correia, Artur A. Sa, Andre Nel
Summary: This article describes a new species of cockroach, Poroblattina anadiensis sp. nov., which is the first record of the Poroblattinidae family from Portugal. The new species is similar to other Poroblattina species found in Euramerica, but differs in wing size and morphology. This discovery supports the connection between insect faunas in North America and Western Europe during the late Carboniferous and early Permian and highlights the potential of paleontological studies in the region.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Enrique Villas, Eduardo Mayoral, Ana Santos, Jorge Colmenar, Juan Carlos Gutierrez-Marco
Summary: Recent research has revealed a similar parasitic biotic interaction between annelids and brachiopods in fossil collections from Peru and Wales, indicating the same spionid annelid species as the probable producers of the borings. Transported across great transoceanic distances by the Southern Westerlies current, the larvae of these annelids and brachiopods formed a successful biotic relationship over time.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biology
Diego C. Garcia-Bellido, Juan Carlos Gutierrez-Marco
Summary: The Late Ordovician Tafilalt Biota of the Moroccan Anti-Atlas provides valuable insights into the diversity of soft-bodied organisms and mineralized taxa during that time. The discovery of new palaeoscolecid taxa with unique preservation patterns suggests a polar gigantism phenomenon in this region. Furthermore, the presence of Wronascolex in the Late Ordovician extends the known range of this genus, highlighting its long evolutionary history.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Eduardo S. Guimaraes, Artur A. Sa, Rafael C. Soares, Paulo Felipe R. Bandeira, Helena Moreira, Jaqueliny R. S. Guimaraes, Francisco do O. de Lima Junior, Ronaldo C. D. Gabriel
Summary: This article analyzes the effort index and biomechanical overload of natural trails in the Araripe UNESCO Global Geopark in Brazil using a network analysis methodology. The results indicate strong connectivity and centrality of certain variables, such as altimetric variation and surface characteristics, in the effort index.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jesus Enrique Martinez-Martin, Pilar Ester Marinoso, Emmaline M. Rosado-Gonzalez, Artur A. Sa
Summary: UNESCO Global Geoparks are excellent territories for educational activities on the international stage. Their educational potential, multidisciplinarity, and importance for non-formal and informal teaching activities have attracted attention from institutions, organizations, and governments of many countries. Currently, there are 177 UGGps in 46 countries, continuously increasing to promote quality education as part of the 2030 Agenda. Each UGGp has unique educational proposals and activities, maintaining key values that distinguish them from one another. This study examines the visibility and relevance of educational proposals in Spanish and Portuguese UGGps before visiting the territories.
Article
Geography
Artur A. Sa, Sofia Pereira, Isabel Rabano, Juan Carlos Gutierrez-Marco
Summary: The giant Ordovician trilobites from the Canelas quarry in Arouca UNESCO Global Geopark are the most iconic symbol internationally. Studies in paleontology have highlighted the importance of this fossil site for understanding the social behavior of marine arthropods and their interactions with other invertebrate fossil groups. Despite the tectonic expansion contributing to the large size of the fossils, the scientific significance of this site is undeniable.
GEOCONSERVATION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Eduardo S. Guimaraes, Ronaldo C. D. Gabriel, Artur A. Sa, Rafael C. Soares, Paulo Felipe R. Bandeira, Isabella Hevily S. Torquato, Helena Moreira, Michel M. Marques, Jaqueliny R. S. Guimaraes
Summary: This study explored the potential for promoting green exercise and geotourism in the Araripe UNESCO Global Geopark, highlighting the importance of central variables in maintaining network stability through analyzing connectivity and strength.
