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Stratigraphy
With 115 Figures
Springer-Verlag
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Budapest
Professor Dr. Pierre Cotillon
Departement des Sciences de la Terre
Universite Claude-Bernard Lyon I
27/43 Boulevard du 11 Novembre
F-69622 Villeurbanne Cedex
France
Translated by
Professor James P.A. Noble
Department of Geology
University of New Brunswick
P.O. Box 4400
Fredericton, N.B.
Canada E3B 5A3
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. In this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names
are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for
general use.
Typesetting: Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong
32/3145 - 5 4 3 2 1 0 - Printed on acid-free paper
Foreword
Jean Aubouin
Preface
Chapter 1
Fundamentals of Stratigraphy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1 Definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 Chronology of Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
3 Principles of Correlation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 2
Elaboration of the Fundamentals of Stratigraphy . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1 Lithostratigraphy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2 Biostratigraphy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.1 Evolution, the Reference System for Age Dating. . . . . . 9
2.2 The Zone Concept of Oppel ....................... 10
3 Chronostratigraphy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 12
3.1 The Concept of the Stage. . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 12
3.2 Event Stratigraphy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 15
3.3 The General Chronostratigraphic Scale. . . . . . . . . . . . .. 17
4 Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Chapter 3
Modern Stratigraphy 19
Chapter 4
From Stratigraphy to Paleogeography ., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 65
Chapter 5
The Major Stages of Earth History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 83
1 The Precambrian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 83
1.1 Boundaries and Subdivisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 83
1.2 Methods of Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 85
1.3 The Geography of the Precambrian ................. 86
1.4 Early Segregation and Establishment
of Fundamental Processes ......................... 87
1.5 Conclusions on the Precambrian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 100
2 The Paleozoic: the Formation of Pangea ............. 100
2.1 Lower Paleozoic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 101
2.2 Upper Paleozoic .................................. 114
3 The Mesozoic and Cenozoic: Breakup of Pangea. . . . .. 132
3.1 The Mesozoic .................................... 133
3.2 The Cenozoic .................................... 155
3.3 Conclusions on the Mesozoic and Cenozoic .......... 171
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 177
1 Definitions
2 Chronology of Events
1 ~ 1
111111\ AlIlIO
)(
X
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l(
J( l(
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® ® ©
f.}' 1
~" +
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2
/'1
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..... .
3
Fig. 2. Local history. A Photographed on Mars by Viking. 1 Old impact crater partially
filled with lava; 2 volcanic cone later than 1; 3 impact crater later than 2. B Regional
observations: the granitic batholith 2 is later than formation 1 and its deformation. The
erosional surface 3 is later than 2 but earlier than the discordant rocks 4. C Observations
under the microscope: the foraminifer 1 included in the fragment 2 is older than it. The
fragments 2, forming part of the rock, were deposited at the same time. The vein 3,
cutting the shell fragment 2 is later than the formation of the rock but earlier than the
vein 4 which cuts and offsets it
w E
-.-------_'!4Permla". ~ easement --
1 - Granite of the basement; 2 - Permian sandstone Infilling depressions of basement reliefs; 3 - The
"Conglom6rat principal" forming the first cuestas of the Paris basin and overlying the Vosges sand-
stones; 4 - Voltzia sandstones and Wellenkalk; 5 - anhydritgruppe; 6 - Upper Muschelkalk (second
cuesta); 7 - Keuper; 8 - Rhetian carbonate sandstones with Avicula contorta; 9 - Levallols marls (Upper
Rhetlan); 10 - Hettangian sandstones (basal Jurassic and third cuesta) (After Pommerol1975)
Fig. 3. Trias section from the Vosges to Lorraine (NE France): 2-3 sandstones; 4-6
dominantly carbonates; 7 evaporites
3 Principles of Correlation
1 Of which the lower sandy part is a continuation of the underlying Permian red beds.
4 Fundamentals of Stratigraphy
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-=cu::u::r:o:u
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------------------------0
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Time
----------- - - - - - -
G
Fig. S. Correlation of events between two points. These events are symbolized by the
beds in which they are expressed (see text)
a) The duration of an event, as well as its beginning and end, can vary
from place to place. For example, a faunal migration will result in
such a variation. Therefore, a stratigraphic correlation is not necess-
arily a time correlation.
b) New events can appear between two areas (C, G), and others can
disappear (E).
c) One event can be laterally replaced by another (lateral facies varia-
tion for example; A, A').
d) Gaps in events (lacunae), due to nondeposition or erosion, can exist
in any lithologic sequence without necessarily being recognizable
(B, E).
e) Evidence for events may also be altered by diagenesis or metamorphism.
Events of limited lateral extent are of little use in correlation. On the other
hand, they can be useful in characterizing the environment. In contrast,
major widespread events are very much sought, for they permit long-
distance correlations, many of which are regarded as time correlative. The
ideal would be a series of events of worldwide extent that are easily re-
cognizable. The search for such a series is one of the major tasks of strati-
graphy, as the history of this science demonstrates. To this end, tectonic,
biological, climatic, eustatic, chemical, and paleomagnetic events have all
been sought; so far, a truly universal stratigraphy has not been possible.
However, the search for worldwide correlations today has the advantage of
plate-tectonic theory, which does consider geologic phenomena and their
causes on a global scale. This theory, if used cautiously, can enrich strati-
graphy by providing new means of correlation.
The value of an event in geochronologic correlation depends also on
its duration. The shorter it is, the less diachronous its beginning and ter-
mination are likely to be. The disappearance of many groups of organisms at
the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary is not as abrupt as one might imagine
from its supposed link with some cosmic cataclysm. This extinction is, in
fact, gradual over a period of several hundreds of thousands of years. And
no proof exists of the perfect synchronism of this event throughout the
globe.
The history of those outer layers of the Earth, capable of being de-
scribed today, can thus be deduced from a juxtaposition of local, more or
less well-correlated histories, allowing the recognition of the most important
events. The latter are fundamental for long distance correlation and for the
construction of a stratigraphic framework necessary for the division of
geologic time. The recognition of these events is a precondition to all
paleogeographic reconstructions. In other words, the task of stratigraphy is
to solve a gigantic three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. The pieces of the same
age must first be assembled before it is possible to reconstruct the successive
pictures of the Earth's history.
Chapter 2
Elaboration of the Fundamentals
of Stratigraphy
1 Lithostratigraphy
The first European stratigraphers set out initially to describe local histories
illustrated by vertical lithologic sequences. Among them, William Smith
(1769-1839) is generally considered the founder of stratigraphy, including
biostratigraphy. He saw in the succession of sedimentary deposits a sort of
representation of the passage of time. He recognized their continuity in
space and was able to use fossils to distinguish lithologically similar beds.
Inspired by this, Quenstedt and Leopold de Buch subdivided the rocks of
the Swabian Jura into three parts: (1) a lower group or "Black Jura" (Lias),
formed of marls and dark shaly limestones; (2) a middle group or "Brown
Jura" (Dogger), consisting of ferruginous layers; and (3) an upper group or
"White Jura" (MaIm), composed of light-colored limestones. In addition,
three superposed sequences of sands were soon distinguished in the Paris
area: lower, middle, and upper sands, separated by shaly or calcareous
formations.
This objective lithologic stratigraphy, or lithostratigraphy, is still the
basis of descriptive sedimentary geology. It is the basis of the measured
section in the field and its representation as a stratigraphic column. It is also
the starting point for sequential analysis. Finally, the cartographer is above
all a lithostratigrapher who attempts to follow previously defined sedimen-
tary units around the land surface. The first European geologic maps, like
those of Guettard (18th century) and those of Dumont (19th century) were
strictly lithologic, without any chronologic significance.
The basic lithostratigraphic unit is the Formation, whose genetic basis
implies deposition under uniform conditions. Its limits are placed where
the lithology changes or where there are significant breaks in the continuity
of the sedimentation. Formations are subdivided into Members and asso-
ciated into Groups. They were originally named in various ways, by figures,
numbers, lithologic character, and names of the places where the units were
particularly well exposed (stratotypes). The present nomenclature is in many
cases inherited from those original names, in spite of the stratigraphic codes
that have since appeared l . Figure 6 shows, for example, the stratigraphic
1 Suggesting the use of lithological characteristics and stratotype locality. Example:
Comblanchian limestone (Bathonian, C6te-d'Or).
8 Elaboration of the Fundamentals of Stratigraphy
PseudolHhographic
Corallian
limestone.
or
(RICHE 1898)
lubcorallian faclel
Spherll. layera
(ENAY 1966)
Dogger
Fig. 6. Lithostratigraphic relations of the Oxfordian sequences in the southern Jura. The
author and date when each lithologic unit was defined are shown in parentheses (After
Enay 1966, with names of authors added)
2 Biostratigraphy
The history of the Earth must be reconstructed in its continuity, but the
successive sedimentary events, arranged in time sequences using lithostra-
tigraphic methods, cannot always be correlated with one another. The
Lithostratigraphy 9
Time
®
Fig. 7. Discontinuity of sedimentary events. A Sedimentary events recorded in a
stratigraphic section: 1 and 2, continuous deposition; 2,3 and 4 are beds separated by
diastems. B The same events in a time framework; 3 slow deposition; 4 rapid deposition;
1 and 2 continuous deposition; 2,3,4 discontinuous deposition; hachures denote lacunae
corresponding to diastems in stratigraphic section
With Oppel (1856), all reference to lithology disappears. Faunas alone are
considered stratigraphically useful, being considered, justifiably, as more
stable than lithologic facies over long distances. Adopting the subdivisions
of Quenstedt and choosing the fossil group showing the most rapid vertical
changes, he proposed 33 ammonite zones for the Jurassic of Wurtemberg
and showed, by 1856, that this zonation is repeated in northern Germany,
England and France. Oppel's biozones can be defined as the volumes of
rock corresponding to the vertical and horizontal ranges of two or more
taxa, each not necessarily occupying the same space. These units are named
from the most typical, frequent or characteristic fossil (index fossil), which
may, however, be locally missing. The best zones are those with the shortest
vertical ranges (high rates of evolution) and the widest horizontal ranges.
Certain Oppel zones have been recognized as far away as Madagascar and
South America.
It was already apparent by the middle of the last century that certain
fossil groups differed markedly in their rates of evolution. Some evolved
rapidly (tachytely), for example the ammonites, especially in the Late
Triassic and Jurassic, and the graptolites, whose taxa tend to be spread
widely and rapidly independently of the nature of the sediments. This wide
distribution is due to a biological cycle which includes a planktonic larval
stage (planktotrophic larvae), and for the ammonites, extensive post-
mortem dispersal of their adult shells by virtue of their buoyancy. For
this reason, correlations using ammonites are considered practically syn-
chronous. Moreover, these zones are almost worldwide in the Lias since
they are recognizable in Europe, North America and the Andes. They
subsequently become more restricted during the course of the Mesozoic
Lithostratigraphy 11
1 "
~
c
.,., .
G; . ""
0
.
"
.,., "
r,{:::;-12 c., '" 0
"~ ~
.. .. '" ""0
.2
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0 a; 0 <.>
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JuraSS IC
J. 1 I \ / \ J
.. ,
TriassIC \ (~
Permian
I J ',
....
•
.
vo' u U' '''<'uu, t!:,'" }}i?j1 I \
Devon ian
Ni W:';': \ I 'V
Sllurta n ;:~{ ( \ I \/
I I I V "" I
V V
Cambria n V
Fig. 9. The Tethyan domain and its faunal provinces (ammonites) from the Upper
Bajocian to the Middle Bajocian (after Cariou et al. 1985). The Phylloceratina dominate
the Mediterranean province of deeper-water environments. Faunas very diversified in the
European Submediterranean province, less diversified in the Ethiopian. J Probable land;
2 epicontinental seas; 3 zones of ocean floor; heavy lines denote boundaries of provinces
3 Chronostratigraphy
Time ®
~
Fig. 10. Change of areas of faunal distribution with time. A Restriction; B spreading; C
displacement
Paleogene
--
Oligocene Helvetan
or Pyrenean - 34
Nummulitic
Paleocene
1======-= == ===== ===== :: ~
Cretaceous
Laramidian
Austrian
--- - 65
Neocimmerian
Andinianor
- I-- - 130
Maim
Nevadian
Mesozoic Jurassic DOJlSer
Lias
Cimmerian - ~ - 204
Triassic
------- -------
-------
Permian
======:- Palatinian
- -- - 245
Devonian
Bretonian - f-- - 360
Paleozoic
Silurian
Caledonian - f-- -400
Ordovician
Taconian - ~ - 425
Salai"r
- ~ - 495
Cambrian
1::-====== ======: ======: t= Assyntican = -- - 530
Precambrian
Fig. 12. Principal subdivisions of the general chronostratigraphic scale. Orogenic phases
from Stille. Radiometric ages after Odin et al. (1982b)
4 Conclusions
3This was not always the case. In 1830, Lyell subdivided the Cenozoic into three systems
(Eocene, Miocene, Pliocene) characterized by an increasing percentage of modem
species.
18 Elaboration of the Fundamentals of Stratigraphy
100m more or less of drilling can have a considerable effect on the budget of
an exploration company, there is a necessity for a finer subdivision of the
stratigraphic scale in order to increase the resolving power of stratigraphy.
This need has also led to the establishment of other scales (micro- and
nannofossil) utilizable in drilling and related where possible to a radio-
chronologic scale. Stratigraphy has also had to redefine its concepts more
rigorously in light of new methods of correlation and dating and contri-
butions from other disciplines.
1.1.1 Radiochronology
A radioactive element A, contained in a mineral at its crystallization, will
disintegrate progressively and be transformed into a daughter element B,
said to be radiogenic. The ratio of concentration AlB will depend on the
time duration of the disintegration and on the half-life T of the element
(time required for the disintegration of half of the element) or on the decay
constant (coefficient of decrease of the element as a function of time).
t = 11l0g(1 + N'IN),
where N' is the number of atoms of the radiogenic element B (daughter
element) and N is the number of atoms of the element A (parent element)
after time t.
Refinement of Concepts and Time Scales 21
Half-life in years
The results of these age dates must be used with great caution, since the
resolving power of the method decreases with increasing age so that the
error can be 50-l00m.y. for the Precambrian. Also, the radiometric age
may correspond to a first event (e.g. formation of a rock) when the chemical
system closed and the radiometric clock was set, or to the latest of its
transformations (metamorphic or deformational) which resets the clock at
zero by reopening the chemical system.
Age dates of plutonic and volcanic rocks are the least problematic.
Many silicates are suitable for radiochronology because their crystallization
usually corresponds to the rock formation. In metamorphic rocks, the date
22 Modern Stratigraphy
+ '-0:::-----_--_--------
+ + -f-=-- Fig. 13. Dating of an
azoic sedimentary
+ + + + + formation by plutonic
+ + + + + rocks. The age of the
+ + + + + formation (2) is later
+ + (j)+ + +
o
than that of the granite
(1) but earlier than that
of the laccolith (3)
Devonian
.40(
I
Silurian '"
'. Devonian., ._ Devonian
Silurian .....~Silurian ~
..... Silurian ? .-
- Silurian
Ordovician
Ordovician
Ordovician Ordovician
Ordovician
-500 ~? ..- .- ~
~ -
...... I~.
-- I
I
CambriaJ!.
: Cambrian I ii
I ..
...... ---
I
Cambrian Cambrian S
......... -
Cambrian
.-' -
.. .
\ .
:-600
~ /
-
Fig. 14. Different geochronologic scales for the Lower Paleozoic, after Gale (1982). Note
the indication of limits of error related to geochemical and analytical techniques for the
latest scale
Fi
Co Sa Sa Sutoniu
7.
90 T ~~.~
~ 91
Ce ~ Ce c -.....
97. 5
100 ~
AI
AI AI AJbiIII
11 0- Ap ~ 11 3
Ha Ap Aptla
n.. Ba 119
12U f - - -
Ha
V Ba Barnmiul
124
Ha liauterlrilll
13o V ~ 131
~
140
f---=-
"
Be
VIIqiniu
Benlullll
138
144
Fig. 15. Different radiometric scales for the
Cretaceous 150
1A reduction of the latter during the last 7000 years has resulted in an increase in the
production of atmospheric 14C from the action of cosmic rays on nitrogen.
24 Modern Stratigraphy
and Gradstein (1985) adopt the following principle for the Jurassic. Based
on a system duration of 64-74 m.y. (according to different authors), they
calculate a duration for each stage proportional to the number of ammonite
subzones it contains. The reliability of this method assumes that all bio-
stratigraphic units are defined homogeneously and that biological evolution
proceeds at a constant rate. Knowledge of stage time durations then allows
recognition of even shorter time spans. In the Toarcian, for example, a stage
duration of 5 m.y. and the recognition of 27 ammonite zones suggests that
an average ammonite zone lasted 185000 years. Many pelagic deposits are
formed of a series of alternating limestone and shale couplets defining global
cycles (see Chap. 3). From the number of cycles in different stages ranging
from Jurassic to the Quaternary it has been possible to calculate the average
time duration, varying from a few thousand years to a few tens of thousands
for each cycle.
1.1.3 Rates
Once time durations are known, it is possible to calculate rates, especially
rates of sedimentation. These are generally average rates, but in the case of
continuously deposited pelagic sediments they are also close to instanta-
neous rates2 • Rates of erosion, uplift, subsidence, and lithification are also
determinable.
2 These are calculable in near-surface sediments by the decrease in the 230 Th/232 Th ratio
compared to this ratio at the surface.
Refinement of Concepts and Time Scales 25
/Sub-
~-+--f--:i~H"f-~ speCieS}
e SpeclesE
.~+-;/,~H'-T--'¥--t Subspecies
_____ 'L _____ _
SpeclesB
A
-dm
A
abc d e
Morphotypes
f dm
Fig. 16. A Cladogenetic evolution and B anagenetic (after Tintant 1972). dm Morphologic
variation; T time; f frequency; A,B,C,D,E distinct species; B,B' ,b,c,d,e subspecies
Transitions. The change from one species to another in a lineage can occur
by continuous transformation (anagenesis; Fig. 16), but the problem is how
this can be used to establish discrete biostratigraphic units, or in the words
of H. Tintant (1972) "how does the continuous flux of the evolution of life
flow within the discontinuous framework of stratigraphic division?" If the
morphologic stages of a lineage represent a succession of barely perceptible
changes, it is only by using numerical indices that biostratigraphic sub-
divisions can be constructed (autochronology). However, a species may also
originate abruptly by the branching of a lineage (cladogenesis; Fig. 16), and
this sudden event is frequently used to define higher-order stratigraphic
units. It should be noted, however, that biostratigraphic units are not all
based on single lineages but may also be based on the succession of species
belonging to different lineages (allochronology).
J J J I
J I I J
I I J Haplophragmoides
I
I I I "ocontionus
I
I I MOUllADE
I I I I
I J I
~ ;,- ----j-----i I Lenticulina
J I ouachensis bartens-
I I I tein; MOULLADE
I I J
I I
iii
I Lenticulina eichen-
I I I bergi BARTENS·
I I TUN el BRAND
I I I
I I
Dorothia zedlerae
I MOUllADE
I I I
I I I
-- Gaudryinella
J
I I I eichenbergi
I I I MOULLADE
I J I
I I
I
:
Dorothia haule-
I J I riviana (MOUllA·
I I
I I de)
I I I I
I Lenliculina bus·
I J I nardo; MOUllA·
I I I HE
I I I
I Lenticulina oua-
I I I
I I chensisouachensis
I J I (SIGAl)
J
I I I
I
-l- I I I- Lenliculina nodo-
I I sa nodosa (REUSS
I I
I I I I
I I I I
:
Frondh'ularia d.
.~ I I I bit/(,IIIDIU
I I I
I I I I CUSHMAN
7 61 5 I 4 1 3 1 2 11 Ammonite Zones
Fig. 17. Comparison between the distribution of the principal foraminifers of the
Ardeche border (thick lines) and of the Vocontian Basin (thin lines) during the
Valanginian (Moullade 1979). 1 Otopeta; 2 Pertransiens; 3 Campylotoxum; 4
Verrucosum; 5 Trinodosum; 6 Callidiscus; 7 Radiatus (After Darmedru 1984)
direction of other species. This allowance for the effect of the environment
on fossil species is necessary before any biostratigraphic subdivision is
attempted; and those index forms too dependent on facies should be
eliminated. The benthonic representatives are especially affected, for
example the nummulites, which favor shallow calcareous facies, and num-
erous small foraminifers of the platform and the basin. In the Valanginian of
southeastern France, for example, several calcareous (Lenticulina) and
agglutinated (Dorothia) species have vertical distributions which differ in
the southern sub-alpine chains (Drome, Hautes-Alpes, Alpes de Haute-
Provence) from those in Ardeche (Fig. 17). These areas correspond re-
spectively to a basin and its border and therefore represent very different
Refinement of Concepts and Time Scales 27
4The latter are very resistant except to metamorphism and prolonged oxidation (red
beds).
=n= :c
x
30 Modern Stratigraphy
Inlerzone
I
_J._ Subzone b
Ir
3
I
Subzone a
I
6
rI YI Upper boundary of taxons
forms, often only two, are considered out of the total present; for instance,
the Rotalipora montsalvensis-Rotalipora cushmani zone, which is the
third subdivision of the Cenomanian according to Porthault (1974), and is
designated Cn3.
Range zones correspond to the vertical and horizontal ranges of a given
taxon (species, genus or family), for example, the Acanthodiscus radiatus
(ammonite) zone of the basal Hauterivian, or more simply the Radiatus
zone. This zonal concept goes back to that of d'Orbigny. If an homophyletic
biostratigraphy is practiced, i.e. one based on the evolution of a single
phylum, as advocated by certain authors, then species in a continuous
evolutionary lineage or clade have to be separated. This is not easy and
often leads to more or less arbitrary zonal boundaries (phylozones). More-
over, the use of range zones assumes that the chosen species had short time
ranges and that their distributions within a formation are perfectly known.
Overlapping range zones are defined by the overlapping parts of ranges
of several taxa. Oppel's zones are of this type. This method uses taxa of
restricted vertical range within the zone. It follows, as we have already
emphasized, that all taxa used in this way are not necessarily present in all
locations and their coexistence may correspond to only the middle part of a
zone.
Abundance zones or acme zones are based on the abundance or maxi-
mum development (acme or hemera) of certain forms independent of their
time range. Clearly, this is somewhat subjective and dependent on the
original environment as well as on the hazards of collecting. Also, the actual
moment of this maximum is often difficult to fix because it does not nec-
essarily correspond to the beds enclosing the most abundant fossils. Finally,
some species are mono, poly, or ahemeric.
Refinement of Concepts and Time Scales 31
_______ Datlngs
Datum
Locations -.............. K/A r P1anea
..
IIquitaine (France)
Provence and • o 5
Corsica
Italy * 6
•
••
Sardinia V
10
Algeria <>
Morocco o
15 15
20 20
25 25
30~--7~0--~6~r~~50~~4~0~3~0--~2±0--~1±0~~030
-400 -300 -200 -100 0 .. 100
Fig. 20. Curves expressing rates of evolution from biometric indices. A represents the
calibration in millions of years of the Scott index, ratio of height to width of the principal
opening of Globigerinoides of the primordius-trilobus line; the index multiplied by 100 in
the abscissa varies from 0-70. B represents the calibration of the gamma index of
Drooger for the Miogypsinidae of the evolutionary assemblage made up of the
Miogypsinoides complanata and Miogypsina gunteri-intermedia groups. The index varies
from -400 to + 100. Points shown by solid symbols correspond to potassium-argon ages;
points with open symbols correspond to datum planes. Different symbols indicate different
geographic locations of samples. The geographic region defined is the minimum area of
validity of the curves (After Gourinard 1984)
5 In the same section, the base of the NP25 zone, defined by the appearance of nanno-
fossils, has a position which can vary up to 45 m according to different authors.
Refinement of Concepts and Time Scales 33
order in which that locality was colonized, and not necessarily the real
chronology of biological events.
3. Selecting the most significant subdivisions of the scale by multivariate
analysis. For example, from 100 species of Jurassic radiolaria determined
in 210 samples coming from 43 localities, Baumgartner (1984) has defined
14 unitary associations distributed among 7 biozones.
4. Establishing correlations with certain confidence limits.
60 55
Million
years
Late Early
Fig. 21. Position of some Paleocene Eocene
stratotypes of the
Paleeocene and Lower (Selandlan) (Ypresian)
Eocene in the
chronostratigraphic scale of _.
Selandlan
the Anglo-French-Belgium Thanetlan --
Lutetian
~ P18
P 17
w
~ P16
2"
u
ow P 15
P14
1
Fig. 22. Ericsonia subdisticha zone in the North Hemisphere, defined by two diachronous
markers. 1 Disappearance of Discoaster barbadiensis and/or of D. saiponensis. 2
Disappearance of Cyclococcolithus formosus (After Cavelier 1979)
E:i9 Platform
carbonate ~
deep
limestone
Platform
~ Conlinental
red beds ~ limestone
and marl
c:
~
~
Fig. 23. Representation of lithologic units of a basin on a space-time diagram on the basis
of seismic and drilling data, offshore West Africa (After Vail 1977)
Fig. 24. Geological map of sediments in contact with the Atlantic Ocean floor (from the
Geological Atlas of the World of Freeman, Lynde and Tharp, in Daly 1984) . Isochronous
bands symmetrical about the mid-oceanic ridge offset by transform faults
.,:::>
o
'"o
~
U
Sandstone
Dolomitic limestone
:ii ' Dolomite and anhydrite
'is
c Limestones and marly
«I
t: intercalations
o
0..
800
o
.,
"r;; Marls and marly limestones
f! Limestones
...,:::>
3 c
«I
Marls and marly limestones
700
"a'
"C
.~
E
E
:.::
c 800
«I ~~.....I----H~+---4l-L,:+--+I-L~----.i+!::=t--+ Limestone and marly limestone
"c
~ Sublithographic limestone
g Valiant-St.Georg.. 1 Grandvilia 101
(/) Gelannes1 Nozay 1 Mailly 102
Fig. 25. Example of electric-log correlations between holes in the Paris basin (After
Perrodon 1968)
abc abc
a
a
b
c
I T7 c
b b
a a Fig. 26. 1 Cyclic and 2
rhythmic sequences a,b,c
1 2 Lithologic units
New Methods of Correlation 41
WEST EAST
Sequences
CONDAT
---
Rhythm C
100
RhythmB2
80
-- -- 60
Rhythm B1
"'!I-f--......~~-+-- __
---
Rhythm A
20
Fig. 27. Sequence correlation (here the rhythms A, B1, B2, C) in the Middle Jurassic of
Quercy (after Delfaud 1972). Ideal sequence: 1 lignitic marl; 2 micrite with gypsum
pseudomorphs; 4 azoic micrite; 5 micrite with algal balls; 6 sparite with ooliths
density, porosity, resistivity and sonic) define for each bed what Serra
(1972a,b 1986) has called an "electrofacies", expressed by the character of
the recorded curves, and may be used in correlation. Especially the elec-
trofacies makes it possible to determine the lithology and the internal
structure of the rocks (beds, rhythms, discontinuities). For example, shales,
porous and full of retained water rich in ions, are much less resistant to
electric currents than a compact limestone. The two are, therefore, easily
separable by a resistivity log. Reference markers such as unconformable
surfaces (enriched in phosphates), cinerites and derived claystones (ton-
steins) are recognizable by radioactive logs. The degree of resolution in the
analysis of strata obviously depends on the resolving power of the various
tools used: lOcm for the more classic methods, 1 cm for dipmeter logs.
A "composite log" combining all types of measurement is a convenient
method of defining a lithologic sequence. These can then be used by com-
paring the shape of the curves and their cyclic character to establish corre-
lations between wells within a basin (Fig. 25). The degree and reliability of
the correlations may be quantified using appropriate coefficients. In sum-
42 Modem Stratigraphy
6 Sequence correlation is possible from England to Germany for the Jurassic (Hallam
1981).
New Methods of Correlation 43
Lorraine
Callovian
IIthoclin.
Upper
Bathonian
Fig. 28. Relations between time units and lithologic units in the Callovian lithocline along
the eastern border of the Paris basin (after Purser 1972). These relations imply a
displacement of the zone of deposition with time
Isochronous line
during the fall of sea level. They are considered as practically isochronous,
regionally, to within a few hundred thousand years. It has been possible to
use such markers for the correlation of biostratigraphic scales established in
different faunal provinces, for example in the Cenomanian between the
Tethys and the temperate zones.
Struck by the similarity in the character of continental margin sub-
mergence when compared by sequential analysis, Vail has proposed a
curve of relative sea-level fluctuations of global scale (Fig. 30) 7 . Super-
imposed on this curve is a true stratigraphic scale of global eustatic cycles
related to the chronostratigraphic scale. Seen from the eustatic point of
view, therefore, the sedimentary sequences may be regarded as tools of
correlation, as well as being useful in dating, but their resolving power
remains rather low. Also, the chronostratigraphic significance of the Vail
curves is refuted by some scientists.
Although traditionally used to solve lithostratigraphic problems, the
sequences are also very useful in the search for economically useful re-
sources such as petroleum and water, and in paleogeographic studies (see
below).
7 Thiscurve has been criticized because it is based mainly on data derived from the
Atlantic margins, which have been appreciably affected by vertical movements.
New Methods of Correlation 45
Plio-Pleistocene ...
1P_ Rising_ _
~ Lowering ~
_ = _ ~;Td.-O
...r:==~M~lo~ce~n~eL:==~_ - -fb- Tc
TERTIARY
......-..,p.?~a;r.IO;~~'!lcne~ene.....;..~_- - -~ _ -= _-_-_-_-_ :-~.:-
s _~_~
______ Kb -100
CRETACEOUS
Ka UJ
I-------+....-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-~·:s'_·-_-_:r- - - - - ,- - - - - ~
~
p:s:(J-1 ~_~~~
JURASSIC M J
TRIASSIC ......---:-I-..:..:..:c-S
---; - - TR - _200 ~
......- - - - - - I - - - I - - - - - - f sea l e v e l . 1!;
~
-----r ..----
S P
8
PERMIAN
" i=
FP 1-:300
PENNSYLVANIAN \. 5
.
o-S
ORDOVICIAN M
t---------ir--r--:I-===:;::~ - - -------- 1-500
~
M
CAMBRIAN COo
PRECAMBRIAN
Fig. 30. Major cycles of global sea-level variations (After Vail et al. 1977)
Fig. 32. Correlation of a bundle of beds and interbeds in the Valanginian of the
Vocontian basin, southeastern France. The sections occur in the deep zone indicated on
the map (After Cotillon et al. 1980)
HELVETIAN
BURDIGALIAN
AQUITANIAN
OLIGOCENE
EOCENE
Fig. 34. Principal mineralogic groups in the detrital subalpine and peri alpine Tertiary
(after Latreille 1969). Gr Gamet; Ep epidote; Gl glaucophane >5%
90
.."
-"
"
"'u
:2.,
0
100
~a;
0
110
~~ 120
~u
8Given the short mixing-time constant of the oceans (less than 1000 years) all chemical
changes of seawater are essentially synchronous in the world's ocean.
New Methods of Correlation 51
9
52 Modern Stratigraphy
IX!
o
a..
o
~
o NORMAL BRUHNES REVERSE MATUYAMA
CD
-co
o 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Depth (m)
-2
Fig. 37. Variation in composition of oxygen isotopes from tests of foraminifera in four
cores from 1 the Caribbean sea; 2 the Indian Ocean; 3 the Mediterranean; and 4 the
Pacific. Time scale in millions of years. On the ordinate, variations of /)180 in parts per
mil relative to PDB (Peedee Belemnite Standard) (after studies by Emiliani 1966;
Shackleton and Opdyke 1973; Be and Duplessy 1976; Cita et al. 1977)
0
1
j l of
~
I0"),+
+-0
C\)
o/~'w
o 0 t
0
0
0
0
00
0 0 : + 00 0
~O+•• O t
1 o
1}ty"'~+"++.o
.. h;\/o
....++ ..
o 0 +'!.o >,\-o 0
2 o ~40 ,\.t •
101801
p
+
I
10
Fig. 38. Temporal variation of the oxygen isotope composition of total carbonate (0) at
two sites in the northeastern Atlantic and planktonic foraminifera ( +) at three sites in the
South Pacific (after Vergnaud-Grazzini 1979). Arrows indicate events
'Ma b
,
10
, jo
, , 6'0
, I I
90
i i i
1!m
,
20 4050 70 80 100 110 120 140
Fig. 39. Change in carbon isotope ratios of pelagic carbonates (total carbonate) since the
Upper Jurassic (After Renard 1985)
and the depth of the euphotic zone. It increases during transgressions and
decreases during regressions. Modifications of the continental and marine
biomass (fixing 12C preferentially) lead to modifications of the 013C of
sediment. For example, sediments enriched in organic matter on the shelves
during transgressions, or significant deposits of coal, increase 013C.
In summary, the isotopic variations of oxygen and carbon in marine
carbonates reflect changes in the temperature, geochemistry, and other
parameters of the environment of formation related more or less directly to
global changes in climate and sea level. These variations are sharp at certain
times and may then be used as stratigraphic markers.
Other isotopic ratios under study may also become tools of correlation.
The 034S curve, expressing changes in the 34SP2S ratio, defines a megacycle
54 Modern Stratigraphy
Paleogen
Cretaceous
Jurassic ,
,--
,
I
Triassic
---- --
Permian
,,-- --
Carbonlfero~'s .. ,
\
,
,- .-
\
Devonian
I
20
60
100
140 I
./
...... J
I
\
",'
--' Tertiary
Cretaceous
Jurassic
180 .......
rn
a::
c(
220
260 \
~ . Triassic
---
w Permian
>- '\
z 300
0 340 ........... Carboniferous
'.
",'
:J
...J
380 I Devonian
<::"">........
~ .~
~ 420 Silurian
w
~ 460 Ordovician
~ 500 Cambrian
540 Precambrian
580 0
...o o
...
o·
01
o
~.
Fig. 41. Change of the strontium isotopic
87 Sr/86 Sr ratio ratio (After Faure 1982)
New Methods of Correlation 55
(Fig. 40), with a minimum value in the Permo-Trias. In general, but not
always, times when evaporites (rich in 34S) were important were also times
when marine waters were enriched in 32S and, therefore, had lower 034S
values. The 87Sr/86Sr ratio reflects the contributions of submarine volcanism,
related to ocean spreading, and continental erosion. When plotted against
time, this ratio varies inversely with the activities of the mid-oceanic ridges,
the lows in the curve corresponding to periods of major oceanic spreading
or, as in the Permian, to periods of major fragmentation (Fig. 41).
diagenesis, the influence of which increases with the age of the sediments,
decreasing the precision of measurements and, therefore, of correlation.
respond to shifts of the magnetic pole of more than 45° of latitude in relation
to their normal position.
Paleomagnetism is also measureable in sediments and sedimentary
rocks, where the preserved permanent magnetism can be attributed to three
principal phenomena:
1. Orientation of magnetic particles at their deposition or shortly after
(detrital remanent magnetism);
2. Magnetization of crystals at their formation during diagenesis or alter-
ation in the Earth's magnetic field (iron oxides and sulphides for example)
creating a secondary magnetization (chemical or crystalline remanent
magnetism) ;
3. Parasitic magnetization (viscous, anhysteretic, etc.).
Only remanent magnetism of the first type (primary signals) can be used as a
stratigraphic tool, and using this a succession of magnetic reversals has been
constructed similar to that derived from volcanic rocks. The other types of
magnetization can be removed in the laboratory by various processes, such
as by heating or by applying alternating magnetic fields.
2.3.3 Magnetostratigraphy
The utilization of paleomagnetism in stratigraphy is difficult. The Earth's
history shows that only two types of magnetic polarity are possible, as
against an infinity of other types of events, especially those nonrepetitive
events related to biological evolution. A magnetic reversal, therefore, has in
itself little chronologic significance, other than allowing conclusions on the
different ages of rocks in different locations by virtue of their different
polarities or similar polarities but different magnetic declinations. However,
stratigraphic information can be greatly improved by reference to a standard
paleomagnetic time scale. Figure 44 illustrates such a time scale with the
superimposed oceanic magnetic anomalies numbered 1 to M29 and several
polarity periods or magnetozones (5 to 22) following the four previously
designated (Bruhnes to Gilbert). Since anomalies and magnetic zones are
correlated with the radiometric time scale, their relative durations are
known and they consequently are valid geochronologic units. In addition,
some higher order groupings are apparent, specifically "disturbed" periods
with numerous reversals of polarity and "quiet" periods, with mainly normal
or mainly reversed polarities. How has this time scale been constructed?
The first succession of magnetic reversals was constructed by Cox et al.
(1963a,b) for the last 7 million years and based on exposed lavas. This time
scale was continued back into the Cenozoic and Mesozoic using positive and
negative magnetic anomalies measured on the seafloor. It is known that the
latter is formed from a continuous supply of basaltic rocks with ferromag-
netic minerals which fossilize the Earth's field as they cool. This takes the
paleomagnetic time scale back to the Upper Cretaceous, on the assumption
New Methods of Correlation 59
."
;;)
0
III
U
~
~ '"'
III
~ '"
u
>-
•
...l
~
III
• NORMAL POLARITY
D REVERSE POLARITY
Fig. 44. Magnetic polarity scale for the Mesozoic and Cenozoic (After Channell 1982;
and, for the Jurassic pre-Kimmeridgian, after Kent and Gradstein 1985)
60 Modern Stratigraphy
- II _ II
K'T
.....0 - - - - - 6 2 5 k m - - -......
~
2 - II 1_ I I
....
0----- 9 5 5 k m - - -.........
3 - III.,.
34 33
Fig. 45. Comparison of different polarity
sequences established for the Upper
... 5 1 5 k m - - -......... Cretaceous. 1 Gubbio limestones (Italy); 2
4 North Pacific (40 N); 3 North Indian Ocean
0
Channell 1982)
of a constant rate (1.9 cm/year) of ocean floor spreading for the South
Atlantic l l . This method has two disadvantages:
1. It is difficult to date the ocean basalt anomalies, the potassium-argon
method being inaccurate beyond 5m.y. This often makes it impossible to
separate radiometrically two adjacent magnetozones.
2. The paleomagnetic signals weaken considerably with the age of the
oceanic crust because of the alteration of its upper part.
The sequence of paleomagnetic polarities has been subsequently compared
with events used in biostratigraphy, such as first and last appearance of taxa,
using sections on land and wells drilled in the ocean. These have made it
possible to extend backwards the magnetostratigraphic time scale. The
Cretaceous has been most studied on land, in central Italy, where it has
been possible to correlate the biostratigraphy with the succession of po-
larities. This vertical sequence is then comparable directly with the hori-
zontal sequence of oceanic magnetic anomalies, to provide them with the
same calibration (Fig. 45). The anomalies should also be datable by micro-
fossils in the sediments immediately overlying the basalts, but this is some-
what inaccurate because of the discontinuities which can exist between the
basalt and this sediment. The data for the Jurassic come from boreholes in
the ocean floor and from sections in Italy and northern Spain. The oldest
oceanic data are from anomaly 29 of Oxfordian age. Before that was a long
period of stability or weak magnetic field, as in the Middle and Upper
Cretaceous, which lasted until the Callovian. This followed a disturbed
11 It has since been shown that this approximation is correct for many sectors of the
world's ocean.
New Methods of Correlation 61
Fig. 46. Example of zonation by calcareous nannofossils in the Paleogene, and relation to
the chronostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic scales (After Aubry 1983)
Ma Moon stratigraphy
0
1000 COPERNICIAN
1800
ERATOSTHENIAN
3000'
IMBRIAN
~OOO NECTARIAN
4?1V1
PRENECTARIAN Fig. 47. Geologic time scale for the Moon (Van
Eysinga 1985)
2.5 Conclusions
Geophysics, geochemistry, mineralogy, sedimentary cycles, and geomor-
phology all now contribute to stratigraphic methodology. This is not to say
that they replace or even compete with classical lithostratigraphy and bio-
stratigraphy, which remain the basic tools, but they are an indispensible
complement, allowing, for example, the correlation of different paleon-
New Methods of Correlation 63
to logic zonation schemes and the testing of the synchronism of the appear-
ance and disappearance of taxa at different latitudes. For instance, the
comparison of various biological events with the paleomagnetic scale shows
that many of them are synchronous to about O.1-0.4m.y. According to
Johnson and Nigrini (1985), the disappearances of species are much more
synchronous than their appearances, based on Cenozoic radiolaria of the
Indo-Pacific region. In this way, a more useful biostratigraphy and litho-
stratigraphy not influenced by facies is slowly being established. Conversely,
biostratigraphy can be used to test the value of a physical or chemical
marker. This reciprocal control by different methods is one of the more
significant factors contributing to the progress in stratigraphic methodology
during the last two decades.
Chapter 4
From Stratigraphy to Paleogeography
1.1 Facies
This term, introduced by Gressly in 1838, refers to all the physical, chemical
and biological characteristics of a sedimentary rock reflecting its depositional
environment. Thus, a facies (or isopic) map is implicitly a paleoenviron-
mental map. Lithofacies and biofacies represent often the two major com-
ponents of a facies, the one physical and chemical, the other biological
(fossils and/or traces). For example:
1. The Triassic red sandstones of the Vosges have characteristics which
suggest a slightly inclined alluvial plain, with meandering rivers and
sparse vegetation (Voitzia, Equisetum), and a climate like modern Sudan
with contrasting wet (when silicate iron dissolves out) and dry (when
ferric iron precipitates on sand grains) seasons.
66 From Stratigraphy to Paleogeography
Fig, 48. 1 Geometric relations of different facies near the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary
(dashed line) in Haute-Provence (Castellane region). 2 Restored section for the beginning
of the Cretaceous, based on facies interpretation. Note the platform carbonate to basin
transition (After Cot ilion 1975)
1 This freshening comes from continental waters brought by the Nile during climatically
wet periods.
Principles and Methods of Paleogeography 67
tions between these two facies show that the transition from one to the other
is both gradational and by interdigitations. The change of facies along a N-S
cross-section suggests the transition from a platform to a basin with signi-
ficant bathymetric variations. In addition, the subfacies within the "Calcaires
Blancs" enable variations in the environment of the platform to be mapped.
1.2 Paleobiogeography
2 Itis now common to assume for the Jurassic a Boreal domain, a Tethyan domain
(with Mediterranean, Indo-Southwest Pacific and East Pacific provinces), and from the
Tithonian an Austral domain (Enay 1980).
68 From Stratigraphy to Paleogeography
\(
~ 30
30
••
60
Fig. 50. Migration of Central Atlantic foraminifera to the South Atlantic in the Albian.
Points represent studied wells (After Moullade and Guerin 1982); arrow denotes direction
of migration
Fig. 51. Facies map of the Upper Cretaceous showing the distribution of continental
basins (vertical hachuring) and the maximum extension of marine sediments (dashed line
and dotted area) in the Rhodanian basin (After Debrand-Passard et al. 1984)
positions. The maps resulting from this unfolding are palinspastic maps
(Fig. 52).
Marine area
Fig. 53. Paleogeographic map of the Upper Jurassic showing the uncertainty regarding
the distribution of oceans of that time (After Furon 1972)
tary and tectonic phenomena. For example, when some detrital sediments
implied the existence of some offshore continental source, subsequently
submerged beneath the ocean, this "source land" could be located and its
extent determined only with great difficulty. Moreover, the great distances
72 From Stratigraphy to Paleogeography
Emerged lands ti"jlTj.YJ Oceanic crust t:X·.:. f Thinned oceanic CruSI ~!aJeolatilude
Thick continental crust AClive Ridge - Fault ~ Ophiolites obdUction
Platform limestone =ffi.. Pelagic limes lone .=-.=- = Clay
:: >..':' Sand lone AI: Albonn B : B~onnai. K : Klbylil L: Lom_ LA.: Lower AUlbo.aJpine
MAa : Middle A.I_.pine 101M : Morroclll 101.... OM: OrIll... M.....
SI: Sila ST) : Stilo TA: Tatra. TR : Triclentin UAa :. Upper Au._a1pin.
VL: Valoi.
•
.. • 0'
.
:::::', ','. : .. :.. " .
~.
, ..... :.
... . . .
0°,·,' •
:,': : : : .. . '. ,.
'.'
',' ,"'
Fig. 55. Paleogeographic map of the Oxfordian constructed from outcrops on the
continents (after Hallam 1975). Interpreted area of continental inundation is probably
maximal, especially in Europe
Sea level
•
Tithonian
Kimmeridgian
Oxfordian
Callovian
Bathonian
?
Bajocian
Aalenian
Toarcian
Pliensbachian
Sin em urian
Fig. 56. Variation of average sea level on
the continents in the Jurassic (After
Hettangian Hallam 1978)
Factors of Paleogeographic Evolution 75
E 8000
.~ 6000
"C
.a
~ Present marine 0
2000
E 4000
Fig. 57. Hypsometric curve representing .S 6000
the percentage area of land above a given
sea level. A Present area; B area in the
g.
.t::.
8000
0
Upper Cretaceous 0 10 30 50 70
Fig. 58. Model of winter atmospheric circulation in the North Hemisphere in the
Tithonian (After Parrish and Curtis 1982)
its formation, but also the continental margins and cratonic regions. It also
influences the loci of sedimentary basins and their evolution. Finally,
epeirogenesis appears also to effect continents as a group. According to
Worsley et al. (1984), the thermal tumescence of continental masses, which
are weak conductors of heat, is proportional to their surface areas and
inversely proportional to their rate of displacement above the asthenos-
phere. Under these conditions, the supercontinents of the Pangea type
would not be invaded by seas because of their relatively high mean eleva-
tions. Epeirogenic movements result also from isostatic adjustments. The
lithosphere, overloaded by an ice sheet, sediments or lavas, sinks into the
asthenosphere, indicating that a part of the subsidence of basins is due to
the weight of sediments. Periodic volcanic eruptions (the Hawaiian islands,
for example) similarly create a sagging of the lithosphere, thereby reducing
a part of the former relief. Conversely, a lessening of the load on the
lithosphere leads to its uplift. When the Wiirm ice sheet covering northern
Europe began to melt, Scandinavia rose. This movement began 12000 years
ago and continues today. The maximum uplift, centred on the Gulf of
Bothnia, reached about 400m. Unloading of the lithosphere can also result
from erosion of its upper part. Since the intensity of this process is generally
a function of its elevation, it follows that an elevation of the lithosphere by
thermal tumescence will tend to increase the effect of erosion.
they are deposited. This continental transfer of material from the continents
to the oceans should eventually flatten the continents. It has been calculated
that in only 50 million years the continents would disappear in spite of
isostatic readjustments due to this unloading. Such a scenario appears to be
reflected in the peneplains which are developed at the end of orogenic
cycles, before the transgression which initiates the following cycle advances
over the erosional surface. However, as long as the internal motor of the
Earth remains active and therefore capable of deforming its crust, the
destruction of all continental relief can only be transitory for any given area
and cannot be a condition of the whole globe at anyone time.
Submarine relief also seems to be largely due to mechanical and
chemical erosion, as direct observations from submersibles have recently
revealed.
Sedimentation acts in a sense opposite to that of erosion. It fills basins
and can in some situations lead to emergence. In the marine environment,
this may occur only in the relatively shallow epicontinental regions. This is
illustrated in nearshore areas by the progradation of deltas and coastal spits
and the construction of barrier reefs. Beyond the continental platform,
sedimentation plays an important morphologic role at the base of the
continental slope, where submarine deltas are built in front of large rivers.
2.4 Eustasy
Fig. 59. Influence of eustacy on oceanic detrital sedimentation. 1 High sea level; 2 low
sea level
90W
2.6 Conclusions:
the Earth in Relation to Other Planets of the Solar System
1 Precambrian Time
We will define the Precambrian as the period of time from the formation of
the Earth to the lower boundary of the Cambrian, although a narrower
definition starts the Precambrian from the first dated rocks (3800m.y.). This
traditional term is not the best because it does not fit with the names of later
eras, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic. Thus, some people prefer the term
Archeozoic.
The Precambrian is five times as long as all the other eras combined,
which are commonly grouped into a single chronostratigraphic higher-order
unit (eon) named the Phanerozoic. The Precambrian should, therefore, be
regarded as the first, or even first two eons of geologic history.
I~
EONS PROTEROZOIC ARCHEAN
o o o • 0 • '0' 0 • 0 • 0 " 0
~ o It)
8.... o
GO
o
GO
o
o
0
It)
000
0 It) 0
o
It)
0
0
I
- - N N ~ M ..
USA
Late Proterozoic Middle Proterozoic
Late Middle
Early Proterozoic :t.rchean~rcheanl
I Early
Archean
I
Mexico
Scan- Vare
Daslandian Gothian Svecocarelian Presvecocarelian
dinavia gian
Eo-
France cam- Brioverlan Pentevrlan Icartian
brian
WAfrica Pharusian Suggarlan
Edla-
Australia ca- Adelaidian
rian
Ven·
I
USSR Riphean Karelian Byelomorian Katarchean
dian
Eo- Paleo-
~ g~Fa~ Epiprotozoic Neoprotozoic pr::::~i~ protozoic
Katarchean
---~~~------------~------~~----~------~I~------~
~ Pha-
;;j Eons ~~I~ Protozoic EozolC
.. c: c:
"c: >
.!! ..
'e."
";::
....
~~
00..
.
c: c:
.!!!
~
.~
o c: ::I
~ o
o Phanerozoic
fZ:iJ Proterozoic Fig. 62. Distribution of
_ Archean Precambrian cratons of Pangea in
the Permian (After Windley
1984)
majority of the old massifs. The map in Fig. 62 shows the distribution of
shields and platforms in the Permian Pangea. A famous section is that of the
Grand Canyon of Colorado (Fig. 63) where two major unconformities are
visible. One between the Archean and the Proterozoic, the other between
the Proterozoic and the Cambrian (Huronian unconformity).
composed largely of the lighter elements such as Si, K, Na and Ca. The
subsequent history is still being debated. One possible scenario, according to
Kroner (1984) is as follows. From the stage when a crust was established
above a mantle, an embryonic plate tectonics began to operate. The mantle,
undoubtedly hotter than at present, would be stirred by vigorous convection
currents. At the surface where these currents emerged, the crust would be
thinned and broken into rigid fragments, much like one sees today in lava
lakes. These plates would be rapidly recycled in the underlying mantle, into
which they would sink by virtue of their high density, or under the impact of
meteorites whose maximum effect was between 4500 and 4000m.y. From
4000m.y. the heat flux and temperature of the mantle diminished, the
primitive crust therefore persisted longer, and the volcanism resulting from
partial melting of the upper mantle was able to thicken certain plates and
thus make them more buoyant.
The first silica crust, composed essentially of granitoid plutons, then
developed progressively at the expense of subcrustal magmatic differentia-
tions. The end result was a relatively light crust composed of two consti-
tuents: at the base, high-grade gneiss complexes and at the top, a mixture of
volcanics and granitoid intrusions. When this crust emerged above sea level,
erosion produced the first sediments, some of which are believed to be still
extant: for example, the gneisses of the Limpopo belt in South Africa, dated
at 3800m.y. (Fig. 64). The evolution of the continental nuclei into blocks
too light to be assimilated into the mantle occurred slowly by vertical
accretion, leading to thickening of their roots. This scenario therefore
suggests vertical accretion as the mechanism for the formation of primitive
continental crust, which was perhaps 25 - 30 km thick by 3500 m. y. It also
rejects the uniformitarian explanation of marginal accretion during collision,
although it seems to be valid for Phanerozoic times.
Fig. 64. Simplified mantle plume model for the origin and growth of primitive continental
crust. Arrows denote movements of convection (Kroner 1984, after Condie 1980)
N2
O2
CO 2
CO
H 2O
H2
He
Ne
NH3 ----
CH4
Fig. 65. Principal atmospheric constituents of the planets in the solar system
1 In the Archean, many lavas were peridotitic komatiites derived from the deep mantle.
These types disappear in the Proterozoic.
Precambrian Time 91
B c 1l1li.................
o
\( E
T .ripnou. ledimentl, Malic: 10 u1tr.101ic RICO
biotenic c.bonate. or oc_ floor llllnity
+ •
..
Fig. 66. Dynamics of the Archean lithosphere. A Evolution after small-scale convection
in the upper mantle. B-E Different stages of formation of a green stone belt (After
Kroner 1983a)
cooling. This latter process is estimated to have formed 85% of the crustal
section between 2800 and 2500m.y.
In the Lower and Middle Proterozoic (2500-900m.y.), the strongly
cratonized continental masses were relatively stable, with large basins which
became filled with volcano-sedimentary sequences, especially in West
Africa, Brazil and Canada. These basins sometimes developed along rifts or
aUlacogens. These fold belts always arise, according to Kroner (1983b),
from an intracrustal or ensialic tectonism, implying weak plate movements
92 The Major Stages of Earth History
A <~ ~
+ - +.. .. .. ~ ~.... Continental cru~
-----~C Subcrustallithosphere
.. , ... 'It.
I {
II
II Asthenosphere
B
c -"
Fig. 67. Formation of orogenic belts "'+'"5'"".j'?!~ - + + + + +
folded by intracrustal (or ensialic) ...... -----:~- - p
1-
tectonism. A Rifting; 8 stretching and
delamination of the lithosphere; C
continental subduction (or ensialic)
resulting in shortening and orogeny
(After Kroner 1983b)
The principal effects of the dynamic evolution of the Earth during the
Precambrian were as follows:
1. The thermal flux decreased gradually from the Archean when it was 2.5
times as high as at present.
2. The crust increased its heterogeneity as well as its thickness and rigidity,
mainly in the Archean with the formation of granulites. Related to this,
the cratons grew in size and stabilized to their final dimensions by the
94 The Major Stages of Earth History
C
A
o
o
M
I
A
N
o
R
o
G
E
N
scattered across the shields and which denote local high thermal fluxes
could be due to such impacts (Fig. 70).
The Precambrian ended with a series of more or less contemporaneous
orogenies: Assyntic, Cadomian, Baikalian and Pan-African, during which
the continents were displaced significantly before coming back together
(Fig. 71). These movements affected Australia, China and North America,
initially joined (Eisbacher 1985), then separated during a phase of rifting
between 800 and 700m.y.
3 According to another hypothesis (Kempe and Degens 1985), the oceans were sodic,
therefore very alkaline, with low concentrations of Ca and Mg. Only after l000m.y. did
they become chlorine-rich from the leaching of oceanic crust.
-
96 The Major Stages of Earth History
Pan-African range
Fig. 71. The Pan-African chain at about 6OOm .y. (After Black 1978)
The first red beds, with iron oxide, appeared about 2000m.y.
(±200m.y.) in the Lower Proterozoic, together with some free oxygen in
the atmosphere. They subsequently became more abundant, with hematite
(Fe203) and goethite (FeO-OH) gradually replacing siderite (FeC0 3) in the
sediments but especially in the paleosoils. Also, certain gold and uranium
minerals requiring a reducing atmosphere for their bacterially controlled
formation disappeared after the Lower Proterozoic.
It is possible that at about 1S00m.y. (beginning of the Upper
Proterozoic) the atmospheric oxygen content reached the Pasteur level (1/
100 of today's concentration) and by the end of the Cambrian, one-third of
the present level.
The first abundant evaporite deposits indicate that the seas were becom-
ing more chlorine and sulphate-rich (towards the end of the Proterozoic).
Carbonate deposits never formed in the Archean because of the acidity
of the oceans, but they accumulated in the Proterozoic, implying a reduction
of atmospheric CO 2, The relative abundance of dolomites is explained by a
higher Mg/Ca ratio and a CO 2 concentration in sea water higher than today,
allowing a direct precipitation of dolomite.
Oxygen isotope ratios of siliceous rocks indicate a lowering of sea-water
temperature to about 30-40°C at the end of the Eocambrian. This gradually
produced a climatic zonation.
Tillites, however, show that marked climatic deterioration occurred
eight times, leading to glaciations, some of which were of near-global extent
(Fig. 72), with their glacial deposits useful as stratigraphic markers. The
duration of these different cooling periods seems to be of the order of a few
Precambrian Time 97
n
6816 ± 30 -600 u ~ 580 Sinian glaciation
EOCAMBRIAN Soha,lan Inlandsls. South pole 610 ~ 610 . 650 } Var.ngi.n
close to NW AI,lca coosts 660 · 720 glaciation
750
0 758
LATE 6777 ± 40 • 775 eB 790 \ Sturtian
800 glaciation } Generalized
PROTEROZOIC
6950
0 820
850 I
II!! 820 Lower Congo
iii 870 Glaciation
marks
on continents
50 • 900
4 glaciations
EARLY
.2300
02000
2200
North America
PROTEROZOIC
n 2450
u 2750
ARCHEAN South America. Transvaal
Fig. 73. Precambrian glaciations. Dates with triangles from Steiner and GriIImair (1973),
with solid squares from Crowley (1983), with open rectangles from Salop (1979), with
crosses in squares from Hambrey and Harland (1985)
tens of millions of years (Fig. 73) . These events are very distinctive and are
unlike Quaternary glaciations in the following respects:
1. Their universal character;
2. Their higher ambiant temperatures, more or less equally distributed
across the Earth's surface.
Their origins must, therefore, be sought outside the Earth, perhaps
in a temporary reduction of solar heat due either to variation in solar
98 The Major Stages of Earth History
The first chapter of the Earth's history is very distinctive. It is very long and
the rocks which represent it are badly altered and mostly azoic, making its
history difficult to unravel. Appropriate stratigraphic methods are necessary
and precision is low. Thus reconstructions of this earliest stage in the Earth's
history are still conjectural, and based mainly on the recognition of certain
events indicative of some internal geodynamic event, some compositional
change in the Earth's fluid envelopes, or some biological evolution. One of
these events was the rapid decrease in heat flow at the end of the Archean, a
period characterized by intense basaltic magmatic activity and the rise of
heavy metals to the Earth's surface. Another event was the change from a
reducing to an oxidizing atmosphere at about 2000m.y., significantly affect-
ing the mobilization of iron and the course of evolution. Finally, it appears
that plate tectonics of the Phanerozoic type only started when the crustal
blocks had become sufficiently large and thick in comparison with the
intensity of heat flow. This dramatically significant moment (about 900 m. y.)
separates a primitive unstable world from one organized and predictable,
where life could establish itself and contribute significantly to the geo-
chemical evolution of the atmosphere and hydrosphere.
STAGES
Orogenic
• lab
Systems Subsystems Europe North America stages
400 39'"
S ""'"Ardenian
A Cayugan
L LUDLOVIAN
Late 0
p
I Niagarian
SILURIAN A
N
WENLOCKIAN
423
LLANDOVERIAN
Early Taconian
425 435
~ Medinlan I
Ashgillian
430 Cincinnattian.
Late CARADOCIAN
445 450
LLANDEILIAN
455
Champlain ian
LLANVIRN IAN
ORDOVICIAN
------
Early ARENIGIAN
SKIDDAVIAN Canadian
480
TREMADOCIAN
495 1,- Sardinian
SHIDERTINIAN
Late Crolxian
TUORIAN
51S
MAYIAN
CAMBRIAN Albertian
Middle AMGIAN
LEN IAN
54G
Cadomian
530 570 -!...-
Fig. 74. Subdivisions of the Lower Paleozoic. Two radiometric age scales: a according to
Odin et al. (1982b); b according to Van Eysinga (1985)
considerably and the continental crust had stabilized. However, the prin-
cipal focus of activity took place at the boundaries between the continents
and the oceans. Sediments, augmented by significant contributions of bio-
genic origin, spread across the broadening shelves and became much more
diverse, although detrital sediments remained dominant because continents
still lacked vegetation. Biological evolution, stimulated by the growing
amounts of oxygen in the atmosphere, initiated its major future patterns,
while living organisms utilized all marine ecologic resources as well as
setting foot, for the first time, on the continents.
2
Fig. 75. Distribution of the continental masses in the Lower Paleozoic. 1 Cambrian; 2
Silurian (After Seyfert and Sirkin 1979)
1....-_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
•
1a: Scotland
Pacific trilobites
1b: England
o Atlantic trilobites
2a: NW Newfoundland
2b: E Newfoundland 3: Nova Scotia 4: New Britain
Fig. 77. Pacific and Atlantic faunal provinces on both sides of the Protoatlantic, or
Iapetus, at the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary (After Windley 1984)
--
Dalradian basin Midlands Uplands Iapetus Lake District
-==- --
··:·.·.:.:.-::.:-.-.~~.r ...
1
Irish sea horst
Grampian Iapetus Skiddaw f
~~~M
2
Grampian Iapetus Snowdon
Fig. 78. Evolution of the British Caledonides (After Watson and Dunning 1979)
Its maximum width in the Lower Ordovician is still debated, but estimates
vary between 1000 and 3500 km. This ocean spread transgressively on to the
continental margins as a shallow sea depositing thick sequences of sands and
tidal and subtidal carbonates up to 3000 m thick in the Appalachians.
An immense carbonate platform, which Rodgers (1970) has compared
to that of the Bahamas, extended from Texas to Newfoundland in the
Appalachians, then into northwest Europe and eastern Greenland. On the
continental slope and base of slope, thick detrital sediments (up to 15000 m)
accumulated, including some flysch and volcanics. On the margin of the
American continent, there were marginal seas isolated by microcontinents,
the Piedmont and Avalon terranes in the Appalachians, and the Southern
Upland terrane in the Caledonides. Certain margins rapidly became active,
for example, in northern Great Britain and at the Atlantic border of the
United States (Figs. 78, 79). Evidence for a subduction zone in the Mid-
Cambrian of the Midlands of Scotland can be seen in the blue schists and
The Paleozoic: the Formation of Pangea 107
1 o/t.N.A~rica;0WJ Alrl~ 5
,~5>
....,.7,~rm""~~_7%lJ'-"",?~_ _-.zlJC"'lrlca
Late Precamblan
Ordovician - Silurian
2 ~,A;;lca
-
Late Precamblan
6 @l)22* ~=~~77.
Devonian
-
EBR-P CB,(:SB
3 ~;'rtamDNLL QAirica
~ CB CS8
7 lfI,77J%'17.7#J13~~~~~~z=i~~C8
Late Precambrian - Early Cambrian
4 lJJTI7J2b", zzz=-C;
a ()
4».
Carboniferous - Permian
MolasseV&R BZ
~ ~ ---..: 8 1Zti+*¥5i'I~~c.
l'Ig. 1':1. bVOlUtJOn 01 me eastern margm of North America between the Grenville (Upper
Precambrian, 9OOm.y.) orogeny and the formation of the Appalachians (Permo-
Carboniferous). EBR Eastern Blue Ridge; P Piedmont; CB Charlotte Belt; CSB Carolina
Slate Belt; BR Blue Ridge; V and R Valley and Ridge; BZ Brevard zone (after Hatcher
and Odom 1980). This interpretation does not take into account the Pangea stage at
6OOm.y. subsequent to the Pan-African and Cadomian orogenies. 2 to 4 Opening of the
Protoatlantic; 5 to 8 closing of the Protoatlantic, then collision of Africa and America.
Continental crust hachured, oceanic crust in black
mineralized (Pb, Zn, Au, Ag) ophiolites forming the Ballantrae Complex.
Instability of the margin is documented by megabreccias derived from the
platform and resedimented in the marginal ocean basin. In the Ordovician,
the marginal seas closed with collision of the American continent and the
microcontinents . At the beginning of this period, the ophiolites at Ballantrae
were obducted onto the continent and a volcanic arc was initiated. A strong
deformation (Grampian phase) affected the basin to the north. At the
same time, a volcanic arc appearing in the southern Appalachians and the
"Dunnage Melange" of Newfoundland, consisting of an olistostrome
with sedimentary and volcanic components resting on ophiolites, was em-
placed thus signifying the emplacement of a northwest-dipping subduction
zone. It is associated with copper and iron mineralization. All the early
deformations, dated as Lower and Middle Ordovician, define a first Taconic
phase. In the Lower Ordovician, a second subduction zone symmetrical to
the first occurred along the southeastern margin of the Protoatlantic in the
Caledonian domain, resulting in the closure of this ocean. In the Upper
Ordovician, the faunal provinces began their first exchanges. A consequence
of this subduction was the appearance of an andesitic volcanic arc in North
Wales and mineralization of gold and copper. The Ballantrae region was
uplifted several thousand metres at this time and partly eroded, yielding a
thick flysch sequence. In the Appalachians, the collision of the American
continent with the Piedmont microcontinent defines the second Taconic
phase (Middle and Upper Ordovician), characterized by metamorphism,
northwest-thrusting, including slices of crystalline Precambrian basement,
108 The Major Stages of Earth History
~
~
CJ Reefal belts enclosing evaporite basins
Fig. 80. Paleogeography of the Upper Silurian in northeastern United States (After
Alling and Briggs 1961)
2.1.3.2 Sedimentation
Depositional environments of the platform contrasted with deep-water
zones corresponding to the continental slope and base of slope environments
(marginal ocean basins).
The truly oceanic pelagic environments have left few traces, having
mostly disappeared by subduction: but some obducted formations, always
metamorphosed (schists, greywackes, volcanics) and deformed, do exist, for
example in the interior zones of the Caledonides.
The platforms were covered by shallow seas which often advanced far
onto the land during transgressions, as on the Russian, American and
Gondwana platforms. Several transgressive sequences are known from the
Lower Paleozoic. The most widespread, in the Cambro-Ordovician, consists
of basal sandstones (often glauconitic), shales, and limestones and dolomites
at the top attesting to very shallow environments (shelly limestones, oolites,
stromatolites, desiccation cracks). Frequently found on or at the margins of
continents, this sequence may sometimes be replaced by detrital sediments
(Andes, Cap region), or by carbonates (Canadian Cordillera). On the
shelves, areas of active subsidence sometimes accumulated carbonates up
to thousands of metres thick in marginal cratonic basins (Appalachian,
The Paleozoic: the Formation of Pangea 111
conquest of the terrestrial environment may have coincided with the for-
mation of an ozone layer in the high atmosphere, sufficiently effective to
protect the Earth's surface from UV radiation damaging to life.
Fig. 81. It is not possible to construct a unified biostratigraphic scale based on fossil
plants for separate coal basins fonned at different altitudes (After Bouroz, in Pomerol
and Babin 1977)
6The actual type region is not Devon, where the rocks are very defonned and meta-
morphosed, but the Ardennes.
116 The Major Stages of Earth History
No STAGES Orogenic
• b Systems Subsystems
EUROPE North America stages
245 23
Palatinlan
Tartarlan
Late Thuringian Late
Kazanlan
258 24().
----.....!SJ!!tg~
Saxonian
260. Permian
Artinskian ~saallan
Early Early
Autunian
Sakmarian
290 :zao
Orenburg Ian
Late Stephanian ~ Czellan
300 190- r------ 0
~
Late Middle
~
:;
"c
Westphalian ~
Moscovlan
Pennsylvanian Asturian
u;
A
310 315
Baskhlrian
Carboniferous
r------ C
Namurian
•
,- Namurian
320 325 - c
A
Mississippian ~Sudetian
Early Visean
355 335 Early ~co
c
is Tournalsian
360 345 ~Bretonian
l>t[l!!lilln
Famennian Chantanquian
Late Senecian
Frasnian
375 360
Givetian Erian
Middle
Devonian Couvinian Elfelian-
385 370 _Zlichovian _
Emsian
Praguian
Early Slegenian Ulsterian
Lochkovian
Gedinian Ardenian
400 395
Fig. 82. Subdivisions of the Upper Paleozoic. Two radiometric scales; a according to
Odin et al. (1982b); b according to Van Eysinga (1985)
east of America as well as the oceanic areas of middle Europe (Fig. 84).
These latter aspects will be considered in more detail.
Fig. 83. Paleogeography of the Upper Carboniferous about 300 m. y. ago, showing the
formation of Pangea (Daly 1984, after Irving 1977). Note the difference between this and
Matte's reconstruction (Fig. 84). Dashed lines indicate boundaries between oceans and
epicontinental seas
A B
Fig. 84. The Hercynian orogenic cycle and its principal motor, the approach of
Gondwana and the North American-Eurasian (or Laurussian) block. A The situation in
the Silurian before the beginning of the cycle; B in the Permian at the end of the cycle. 1
Caledonian orogen; 2 Appalachian orogen; 3 Hercynian orogen; 4 Mauritanian orogen; 5
Ural; a Iapetus; b Paleotethys (After Matte 1986)
This molasse filled the basin by progradation, slowly pushing the sea
westwards.
----
~~
......
-;~
'
I
2
3
.
+++•• 5
¥ 6
~
7
/ "
B
?
A: Rhenohercynian zone
B: Saxolh urlnglan zone
C: Moldanubian zone
Fig. 85. Structural elements of the Variscan chain of Europe (after Matte 1986), with
paleogeographic zones. 1 Principal thrust faults; 2 internal crystalline nappes and
ophiolitic sutures; 3 domains of flow cleavage or foliation ; 4external basins of Devonian-
Carboniferous age; 5 platforms or blocks with little or no Variscan deformation; 6
direction of transport of nappes and verging directions of major recumbent folds; 7 major
ductile transcurrent faults
•••••
~££ . . .}::\. . . . : :. J~.• .·.• :.{.~L. . . L.
' • • • ~'i ...... "
1 '.:-'
I:::: I Mantle
B Continental crust
B Oceanic crust
330MA
? 190 200Km
D Paleozoic deposits
!
2
Fig. 86. Evolution of the Variscan chain in Europe as seen in an Ardennes-Massif Central
transverse section (after Matte 1986). 1 Silurian, initial stage, closure of the Rheic ocean
(to the north) and Galicia-Massif Central (to the south) by subduction of oceanic crust. 2
Lower Carboniferous, final stage, hypercoliision with intracrustal thrusting
sediments of the Devonian are limestones such as the Griotte marble. This
facies continued until the Lower Carboniferous in Asturia, then early paralic
sedimentation, still influenced by the marine environments of Asturia, was
established.
In the Pyrenees, the Upper Carboniferous tends to be detrital and of
flysch facies below the Permian beds.
7 Other authors assume only a single middle European ocean between a peri-Gondwanian
platform and Laurussia.
The Paleozoic: the Formation of Pangea 121
8A study (ECORS = Etude des Continents et des Oceans par Reflexion Sismique) of the
continents and oceans by reflection and refraction seismic, undertaken by several French
research organizations, has demonstrated the presence of the Dinant Nappe, transported
more than 100 km and limited to the north by the Midi Fault, which is also found in North
America as the Frontal Thrust of the Appalachians.
122 The Major Stages of Earth History
between Africa and North America). The rotation of Africa towards the
west may have resulted in the opening of a Paleotethys, until then non-
existent to the south of Europe. According to another model, the West
African craton, acting as a ram against the North American craton, may
have caused the European craton to slide sinistrally to the northeast along
the Great Glen fault (Sect. 2.1.2.2, this Chap.). Recent paleomagnetic
measurements allowing more precise fixing of relative movements of the
continents may enable this question to be resolved. Finally, it is worth
noting that the Variscan chain, in contrast to the Caledonian chain, is
particularly rich in mineralizations: Pb, Zn in the platform limestones; Cu,
Pb in the rifts (Silesia, Rio-Tinto); Sn, W, V in the Carboniferous granitic
plutons of Cornwall, Brittany, Central Massif, Germany, and Siberia.
Fig. 87. Distribution of climatic zones on Pangea at the end of the Paleozoic as proposed
by Hay et at. (1981)
Lower and Middle Devonian. The climate was warm and rather dry. Reefs
flourished in the oceans up to 40° latitude; the continents were somewhat
dry with little vegetation covering the high relief of the Caledonian
mountains. The continent of the Old Red Sandstone, therefore, had a
tropical semiarid climate of the Chad type. In fact, evaporite basins formed
at this time in North America.
Upper Carboniferous. The humidity, together with the other factors men-
tioned above, caused the development of mountain glaciation in Europe and
Australia as well as the expansion of forests. The equator was at this time
located in the southern United States and in southern Europe, where the
The Paleozoic: the Formation of Pangea 125
Hercynian relief had just been created, with evaporite subtropical zones at
the present high latitudes. The Northern Hemisphere was slightly warmer
than the southern one, as shown by minor reefs in Japan at a paleolatitude
of 650 N.
Stephanian. This was the epoch of the major Gondwanian glaciation (Fig.
88), traces of which have been found north of the 65 0 S paleolatitude
in Brazil, Argentine, Uraguay, Falklands, South Africa, Oman, Dekkan,
Malaysia, Pakistan, and Australia. The structure of wood, from that time
provided with annular rings, demonstrates the appearance of distinct
seasons. This climate contrast may be related to the general lowering of sea
level caused by the glaciation.
Carboniferous. A new eustatic rise in sea level took place in the Dinantian,
leading to one of the most widespread transgressions in geologic history,
126 The Major Stages of Earth History
Fig. 89. Europe in the Permian (After L ..... _. _.. ___ ..... _. ___ ~I
with its maximum in the Visean. In Europe, the Old Red Sandstone con-
tinent was everywhere covered except in Ireland and Scotland. However,
between the Lower and Middle Carboniferous the transgression was halted
by the Sudetic orogenic phase, causing central Europe to emerge and the
Tethys to withdraw southwards. Faunas became reduced in the Namurian
because of the shrinking seas which continued into the Middle and Upper
Carboniferous with the uplift of the Variscan mountains. The Asturian
orogenic phase was manifested in the emergence of southern Europe, North
Africa, Himalayas, eastern Siberia, and China. It should also be remembered
that the Permo-Carboniferous glaciation, superimposed on the orogenic
effects, resulted in a net eustatic character of sea-level changes. The retreat
of ice also caused a slight rise in sea level beginning in the Autunian.
Permian. The seas withdrew again from the continents. Was this the effect
of an emergence of Pangea due to a heat flow not easily dissipated, as
suggested by Worsley et al. (1984)? In any case, the epicontinental seas
were reduced at this time, and in the arid environments many dried up
The Paleozoic: the Formation of Pangea 127
2.2.3.2 Sedimentation
The importance of detrital sedimentation in the Upper Paleozoic should first
of all be noted. There are three possible causes:
1. The absence of vegetation on the continents during the Devonian Old
Red Sandstone;
2. A marked aridity in the Permian, reducing the vegetation cover;
3. The frequency and importance of orogenic movements: these were asso-
ciated, as in previous periods, with highly significant sediments such as
molasse, widely deposited in the foreland basins of the mountain belts, or
flysch, more proximal and earlier, as seen, for example, in the culm
facies with graded sequences. Most of the time, this material was derived
from island arcs or the edges of uplifting platforms, and was widely
distributed. But chemical and biochemical sediments are also well re-
presented, especially in the Devonian, a period of warm seas, and
especially in the Tethys where temperatures remained mild in spite of
the climatic vicissitudes. There were several periods of limestone and
dolomite deposition, sometimes reef deposits, especially in the Lower
Devonian, Lower Carboniferous, and Upper Permian. Of the chemical
deposits, evaporites were important from the Upper Devonian to the
Permian, but especially in the Permian during the final stages of for-
mation of Pangea. The largest known salt deposits date from this time:
1500 m thick in southeast New Mexico and 1500 m thick near Stassfurt,
Germany.
The sedimentary environments were distinct, and quite comparable to those
of modern times. The cratonic areas, often largely covered by shallow seas,
mainly deposited chemical sediments but also reworked detrital sediments.
Sometimes these sediments are immature, indicating local tectonic move-
ments at the time of their deposition. The continental margins had platform
environments that were generally limited oceanwards by barrier reefs, and
deeper environments in the marginal ocean basins, where the sediments
were detrital and included some volcanics. For example, in the Lower
Carboniferous, the margin of the European continent was a carbonate
platform bordered by a reef rimming a deep basin of culm facies. Marginal
ocean basins were present offshore of most of the principal continents,
North America, Eurasia, and Gondwana, and they were generally filled
with more or less coarse detrital sediments. Occasionally, graptolitic shales
(western American Cordilleran belt) or even cephalopod limestones
(Permian of Timor) were deposited.
128 The Major Stages of Earth History
Lower Devonian. At the edges and on the platforms of North America and
Eurasia, carbonates and shales were dominant, with occasional terrigenous
debris eroded from the Old Red Sandstone continents, as in western
Europe. From Poland and Scotland, where they formed the Rhenish facies,
these sediments passed southwards and oceanwards into the more carbonate-
rich sometimes reef Hercynian facies. Around Gondwana the platform
sediments were dominantly sandy.
Permian. The typical Permian sequence is: detrital quartz and clay rich
sediments; followed by limestones and dolomites; and finally evaporites,
seen especially in the Urals and Europe. Very often incomplete, this
sequence represents a progressive reduction in tectonic activity, a growing
aridity of climate and perhaps also a general uplift of Pangea (see above).
Arms of seas extending onto the land tended, therefore, to be cut off and
become supersaline. The Zechstein sea is a very good example of this
(Fig. 89). The Castile Sea in the southwest United States shows a similar
evolution.
1. Paleomagnetic data prove it, and are compatible with several hypotheses
for the particular mode of assembling of the continents.
2. The glaciation in Gondwana. The evidence for this is now dispersed on
continents which are very far apart. The reconstruction of an ice sheet of
reasonable dimensions, therefore, implies that all these continents were
joined in the Upper Carboniferous and Permian (Fig. 88). A particular
flora, the Glossopteris flora, was associated with this glaciation and,
though more widespread than the glacial sediments, its distribution leads
to the same conclusion.
3. Distribution of terrestrial faunas. A Pangea implies the existence of
homogenous terrestrial faunas cosmopolitan over very wide areas. For
example, the Permian reptile Mosasaurus, adapted to fresh water and a
poor swimmer, is found in Brazil and South Africa. These areas, there-
fore, must have been joined in the Permian, for it would have been
impossible for the mosasaurs to have swum 5000 km across the South
Atlantic as it is today.
4. Structural continuity. The juxtaposition of the now fragmented orogenic
belts also leads to the same conclusion that there was a single large
continent. In this way, it is possible to reconstruct an Upper Paleozoic
belt stretching from South Africa to Australia across Antarctica. Simi-
larly, the joining of northwestern Europe and northern Africa shows
the alignment of the Grenville-Gothide (Precambrian), the Caledonian-
Taconic, and the Acadian-Hercynian orogenic belts.
130 The Major Stages of Earth History
2.2.4.1 Sedimentation
Devonian. The Old Red Sandstone continent was a remarkable paleo-
geographic entity, covering Spitzbergen, northwestern Russia, eastern
Greenland, western Norway, and Scotland. The products of erosion from
the Caledonian chain (arkosic sands, silts, shales, conglomerates) were
spread over extensive alluvial plains with deltaic deposits where cross-
stratification, current ripples, and mud cracks have been recognized.
Lacustrine deposits were also formed, in Scotland for example. In places
these sediments were very thick in intermontane and extramontane basins.
Their bright colors (red and white sandstones and varicolored shales) attest
to the predominantly arid climate, as do facetted pebbles, frosted sand
grains, aeolian dunes, and desert crusts. It should be noted, however, that
the first coals were formed in northern Russia. The Old Red Sandstone
facies is also known from the Siberian platform (Angara), from Kamtchatka
and from China. The deposition of the "Lower Continental beds" in the
Sahara, consisting of detritus distributed across a vast slope, drew to a close
in the Lower Devonian, having started in the Cambrian.
Permian. Marine regression and a climate once again arid created con-
ditions similar to those of the Devonian. In Western Europe, erosion of the
Variscan chain leads to the deposition, below 40° latitude, of red molasse
(New Red Sandstone), often with evaporites, in intermontane basins. These
were relatively restricted in size, rapidly subsiding, and often localized along
The Paleozoic: the Formation of Pangea 131
Starting about 230-245 m.y. ago, Pangea once more fragmented into several
blocks, broken off during rifting phases and separating from one another
during ocean spreading. The variable times of opening of the oceans and the
finite surface of the Earth meant that the opening of one ocean had to be
counteracted by the closing of another ocean. The fact that certain openings
that began in the Jurassic are still continuing today means that we have at
our disposal oceanic sediments which have never been emergent, and which
reflect, in the most direct way, the entire history of the Mesozoic and
Cenozoic oceans (see for example Chap. 3, Fig. 24). This is not possible for
older sediments because they have all been incorporated into emerged
continents.
The Alpine cycle is closely related to the evolution of the Tethys which
consisted of an initial opening phase, then a phase of closure due to the
juxtaposition of the Eurasian landmass and several Gondwana elements.
The end result was a succession of mountain chains, collectively called the
Alpine system, which stretch from Spain to the Himalayas and which are
aligned to the east with the Indonesian and peri-Australian belts. This cycle
extended over two eras as follows:
1. Mesozoic, corresponding to the initial dispersal of continents, to the
opening of the Atlantic, and to the first movements of the Alpine
orogeny.
2. Cenozoic, characterized by the uplift of the Alpine chain and a slow
deterioration of climate leading to the late Tertiary and Quaternary
glaciations.
This last page in the Earth's history seems at first glance to be the richest in
variety of events, as indicated for example by its finer subdivisions of
geologic time. However, in reality this merely reflects the greater and more
detailed knowledge that we have of post-Permian time, and which pro-
gressively increases towards the Quaternary.
The Mesozoic and Cenozoic: Breakup of Pangea 133
p5
0 Albian Vraconnian
07 Gault
110 S Aptian ansayes pn
12 Early Gargaslan Urgonlan
U Barremian
14 120 0 Bedoulian
S Hauterivian Wealdlan
19 Z Neo- Valanginian
--
26 130
0 cornian
Berriasian Purbecklan Neocimmeria.
30 140 I Portlandian Volglan Tithonian
35 J Vlraulian-
Late Maim Kimmeridgian
40 150 C U I-Pleroceroan_
C~~ ___
Oxfordian
50 160 R [uslt8ni8n
Callovisn
A
70
170 Middle Dogger f--- Bathonlan_ Vesulian
S Bajocian
81 S
- ~~g~~~::~=
95 180 Charmouthian e"an-
I ~ptlensbachlan Carlxlan-
Early Lias Sinemurlan
01 Lotharingl~
190 C
Hettangian
04 ~meria
Rhetian
00
20 Norian
Late Keuper
29 10 Carnian
33 TRIASSIC
Ladinian
20 Middle Muschelkalk
Anisian Vlrglorlan
39
nn Early Scythian Wertenlan Buntsandstein
Fig. 90. Subdivisions of the Mesozoic. Two radiometric age scales: a according to Odin et
al. (1982b); and b according to Van Eysinga (1985)
Fig. 91. Paleogeography of 1 the Triassic and 2 the Upper Jurassic about 200 and
150m.y. ago . Fragmentation, then dispersion of Pangea (Daly 1984, modified from Irving
1977). Dashed line indicates boundary between oceans and epicontinental seas
IOThe Trias refers to the three major lithological assemblages which constitute it in
Europe, the Jurassic to the region where this system is particularly well represented , and
the Cretaceous to the chalk facies so common in its upper part.
The Mesozoic and Cenozoic: Breakup of Pangea 135
From the Paleotethys to the Neotethys. The Tethys of the Paleozoic con-
tinued into the Trias as a gulf between Gondwana and Eurasia opening to
the Pacific in the east and closed to the west somewhere in Asia Minor. This
was the permanent Tethys (Aubouin et al. 1980) or Paleotethys.
To the south of this region, the Neotethyan ocean gradually opened
from the SE to the NW beginning in the Trias (Fig. 92) with a classical
rifting stage (subsidence of continental crust) and then spreading (with
formation of oceanic crust). The Cimerian continent (Tibetan), extending
westwards as Iran and Afghanistan, broke away from Gondwana during this
opening, drifted north, and so first reduced the Paleotethys then closed it by
collision with Asia. This closure, complete by Dogger time l l , is recorded in
the Indosinian suture running from northern Iran to China. These events,
together with major volcanic outpourings on the Siberian platform, can be
11 In another scenario two openings are envisaged; the Mesotethys and the Neotethys,
producing two continents (North and South Tibet), and leading to two collisions with
Asia, the later one occurring between the Upper Jurassic and the Neocomian.
136 The Major Stages of Earth History
Fig. 93. Tethys in the Upper Jurassic (after Bernouilli and Lemoine, 1980). 1 Caribbean
Tethys; 2 Central Atlantic; 3 Liguro-Piemontain ocean; 4 open Tethys due to drift of the
Cimmerian oceans; 5 margin of northwestern Australia. A Apulian block; EM East
Mediterranean; P possible remnant of Paleotethys
related to the Cimerian tectonic phase culminating at the end of the Trias
and known from Iran, the Balkans, and southeast Asia. In the Upper Trias,
the Neotethyan rifting spreads to the submerged East Mediterranean plat-
form, fragmenting the thick limestones which had been deposited on it into
large blocks.
Further west, i.e. from the western Mediterranean, the rifting began
also in the Upper Trias but was conditioned by the earlier formation of
SW-NE Variscan faults. The rifting here also affected the emerged land
bordering the future Central Atlantic, including Morocco, northwestern
Africa (Liberia , Sierra Leone), and the eastern border of North America.
These grabens, generally accompanied by basic intrusions, functioned as
continental basins filled with sediment which formed the base of most
Mesozoic sequences. A tensional phase of tectonism also occurred in
northern Africa, Spain, southeastern France (Cevenole margin), and in the
Pyrenees region (outpourings of ophites) .
The Jurassic Tethys. After the Trias, rifting continued but generally affected
structures different from the preceding ones. Evidence for this is seen in the
tilted blocks, which affect the Trias but also the earliest Jurassic platform
deposits of northern Africa, southeastern France, the Subbetic domain, and
the Apennines, for example. Following this rifting, there was plate move-
ment and the formation of oceanic crust. To the east of the Adriatic
promontory (Apulian block), rifting began early during the Lias, while to
the west (Fig. 93) it was not until the end of the Dogger that two Neotethyan
segments, separated by the Maghrebian-Ligurian transform domain,
(Bernouilli and Lemoine 1980) began to open as the Liguro-Piemontais
The Mesozoic and Cenozoic: Breakup of Pangea 137
Middle Jurassic
Oxfordian to Kimmeridgian
2
~r
Ocean and the Central Atlantic Ocean. As a result, the American block was
displaced to the west relative to northern Eurasia and there were two
further consequences:
1. The opening, at the beginning of the Upper Jurassic, of the westernmost
Tethyan segment, comprising the Gulf of Mexico to the north and the
Caribbean to the south, separated by a transform zone between the two
Americas.
2. An activation of subduction in the East Pacific region at the western
margin of the American Plate. According to Aubouin et al. (1986) this
subduction was to the west during the Jurassic and resulted in collision
between the West-American margin, passive since the Paleozoic, and a
volcanic island arc (American-Mexican block corresponding to the Sierra
Nevada, Klamath Mountains, and Blue Mountains). The American
margin was overridden by this block in the Upper Jurassic (Nevadan
phase), while the Franciscan intra-arc basin was formed (Roure and
Blanchet 1983; Roure et al. 1986; Fig. 94). Further north, on the other
hand, it appears that the Pacific was subducted under Alaska. Finally,
ophiolites were obducted on to the Canadian margin in the Lower and
Middle Jurassic.
Other World Events. From the Upper Trias to the Dogger, fractures and
associated basaltic extrusives were generated between the Africa-South
America and Madagascar-India-Antarctica-Australia blocks and in South
Africa (Triassic basalts of Drakensberg). These groups became separated
at the end of the Jurassic, giving rise to the Mozambique Basin and to
the Indian Ocean. In the Upper Jurassic, deformation was widespread.
Apart from the already mentioned Nevadan phase in the North American
Cordillera, an Andean phase in the Kimmeridgian affected the western
margin of South American. Finally, at the end of the Jurassic, the Tethys
was subjected to compression, especially at its two extremities, probably a
consequence of the initial opening of the South Atlantic (see below). To
138 The Major Stages of Earth History
Formation of the Great Southern Ocean (Fig. 95). The Atlantic Ocean
opened gradually from south to north during the Cretaceous and part of the
Tertiary. In fact, the separation of South America and Africa had already
begun in the Upper Jurassic following the phase of rifting. The basaltic
volcanism associated with this is seen up to the Upper Valanginian at the
continental margins of Brazil and Namibia. The sea invaded this rupture, in
the Oxfordian to the south, in the Aptian to the north. In the Middle
Albian, marine pelagic faunas were able to pass from the Central to the
South Atlantic, a movement facilitated by the higher sea level characteristic
of this epoch (Fig. 50). At the end of the Cretaceous, the South Atlantic was
3000 km wide. The opening of the Atlantic, from south to north, reached
the Tethys near the Central Atlantic and enlarged the latter from the Middle
Albian. Beyond this area, i.e. north of the Maghrebian-Ligurian transform
The Mesozoic and Cenozoic: Breakup of Pangea 139
Tithonian to Neocomian
Post-tectonic plutonism
Fig. 96. Evolution of the western margin of North American in the Cretaceous (After
Roure and Sosson 1986)
domain, the Atlantic opened between Eurasia and North America, where
already since the Upper Trias an arm of a northern epicontinental sea had
spread into the rift valleys. It is probable that opening took place near
offshore Spain from the Upper Aptian, following rifting initiated at the
beginning of the Cretaceous. That would explain the cutting off of western
Europe from the Tethys and its final dependence on the North Sea and
the Atlantic, beginning in the Albian. At the beginning of the Upper
Cretaceous, a rupture appeared between Greenland and Europe with only
minor subsequent separation until the Paleocene, when the opening of the
North Atlantic to the Arctic ocean was completed. However, also in the
Upper Cretaceous, another passage was opened between the Baffin and
Labrador seas.
~ 190
Initial Closure of the Tethys. This also was probably a consequence of the
opening of the South Atlantic, which pushed Africa and Arabia against
Eurasia. This compression began in the latest Jurassic (see above), and in
the Cretaceous it led to oceans closing and sometimes to the obduction
of ophiolites. Two paroxysmal periods have been noted, the Albian and
the Maestrichtian. However, no major volcanism occurred outside the
Carpathians and the Balkan-Caspian magmatic arc. The closure of the
Tethys was apparently complex and variable, but it did not prevent a
reopening in the Valaisan-Carpathian basin and in the East Mediterranean
basin in the Lower Cretaceous, for instance. Major compression began in
the Aptian, when the North Atlantic opened and when the eastern part of
the Arabian-African block exerted greater pressure against Eurasia (Fig.
97). Principal consequences were as follows:
1. Resorption of oceanic crust by subduction and overthrusting by ob-
duction. These are preserved today in the strongly tectonized blueschist
ophiolitic belts. An example can be seen in the belt stretching from the
Alpine arc (earliest metamorphism of high pressure-low temperature
type, dated at 80m.y.) to Iran and northern Pakistan 12 •
2. Calc-alkaline volcanism at active margins, as seen in the Balkans and
southern Carpathians.
12The mechanics of this obduction in the Oman region, where it is of Upper Cretaceous
age, have been discussed in the classic works of Boudier and Michard (1981).
142 The Major Stages of Earth History
... ....
110
~----- ...
Fig. 98. Relative movement of Spain in relation to Europe from the Aptian (110m.y.) to
the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary (65m.y.). Arrows indicate sense of transcurrent
movement of the North Pyrenees (After the paleogeographic maps of Dercourt et al.
1985)
13 This sinistral movement along the North Pyrenean Fault created pull-apart basins in the
Albian, and associated crustal thinning as indicated by high temperature metamorphism
and the emplacement of massive peridotites (lherzolites).
The Mesozoic and Cenozoic: Breakup of Pangea 143
All these events appear to have affected the course of biological evolution,
as we will see below. However, according to Plaziat and Ellenberger (1982),
no exact synchronism between biological breaks, regression, and tectonic
movements can be demonstrated at the end of the Cretaceous.
The Mesozoic climate was warmer on average than that of the Paleozoic,
a possible consequence of the absence of major orogenies and the non-
coincidence of poles and emerged land. The evolving climate on the con-
tinents was controlled partly by the apparent shift of the poles, which from
the Trias was in a meridian containing the Earth's present axis of rotation.
The widespread occurrence of Triassic red beds reflects tropical climates and
contrasting seasons. The Upper Trias was somewhat arid, especially in
Europe, as is shown by a band of evaporites stretching into North Africa
between 10° and 40° of latitude. In the Jurassic, the breaking up of Pangea
and the eustatic rise in sea level created a more humid climate in general,
with subtropical conditions existing between the 60th parallels north and
south. The warm seas favored the formation of carbonates and reefs 14 .
However, from the Pliensbachian, a Boreal province and a Tethyan province
can be distinguished on the basis of ammonites. Well established in the
Jurassic, they persisted into the Cretaceous. The Boreal province was
dominated by siliciclastic sedimentation, the Tethyan province by carbon-
ates. On the continents bauxites were widespread, while coal-forming
forests flourished in the Boreal province (e.g., Siberia, Greenland, and
Spitzberg). Some aridity is recorded in Upper Jurassic sediments of southern
Eurasia (Hallam 1984), and the American continents. In the Cretaceous, the
equator was 20° from its present position and the climate was always warm
with less contrasting seasons than today because of a weaker latitudinal
thermal gradient 15 • However, it appears that the climate in general had
become a little cooler (shown by a decline in the madrepores) and a little
drier; although, according to Hallam, the reverse tendency occurred in the
Atlantic and Tethyan regions where bauxites formed. In the north hemi-
sphere, the Tethys, open at both extremities, played an important role. A
warm surface current flowed westwards, promoting the formation of plat-
form carbonates. The closure of this sea in the Upper Cretaceous, and the
access of cooler water from the South Pacific to the Central Atlantic when
the South Atlantic opened, resulted in a narrowing of climatic zones and an
increase in humidity. Europe, Russia, and North America thus became
more temperate. The northern hemisphere probably cooled gradually during
the Mesozoic, but especially at the end of the Cretaceous, in contrast to the
southern hemisphere which very quickly rid itself of its Paleozoic glaciers.
Some authors do not share this point of view, believing that the highest
temperatures were concentrated in the Cretaceous (Crowley 1983), with a
high in the Albian to Turonian period. An appreciable cooling, however, is
generally accepted from the Campanian.
14 A reef complex 300 km long stretched between the Ardennes and Morvan in the Paris
Basin in the Upper Oxfordian.
15 10 ± 3°C average annual temperature at 85° N latitude in the Albo-Cenomanian
according to recent studies, but an equatorial zone warmer than it is today.
146 The Major Stages of Earth History
BATHONIAN
~ Basement
11km
L - -_ _....J
lookm
Fig. 100. Graben subsidence of the European margin after the Dogger in the Alps (After
Argyriadis et al. 1980)
3.1.3.1 Trias-Jurassic
SE NW
Stable platform
Marginal oceanic basin Continental margin Marginal cratonic basin (Paris basin. England.
(Tethyan Ocean) Europe)
Calc-shisls with radiolarites Condensed deposlte with Palagic successions with Maris and limestones -
and ophiolites •Ammonitico-rosso' lacies alternallng mari and limestone Reefal lacies - Lagoonal
tayers (several thousand lacies (Purbecklan) at the
meters thick) top of the Jurassic
Fig. 102. Facies variations in the Jurassic from the Tethys (Piemontain Ocean) to the
western European platform
3.1.3.2 Cretaceous
The importance of tectonism in the Cretaceous is such that sedimentary
domains are best classified according to their stability.
Fig. 103. Upper Cretaceous transgression in West Africa (After Kogbe 1976)
,---,
\ , ,"
I '.. __
,
'---- .. ,
Fig. 104. The West European archipelago in the Santonian. Horizontal lines, land; dotted
line, deep-water subalpine zone and its Valaisan continuation; dash-dotted line, plate
boundaries
The Mesozoic and Cenozoic: Breakup of Pangea 151
this connection was lost and the Sahara was covered by Cenomanian
evaporites over an area of 340000 km2 • A second transgression from the
Maestrichtian to the Paleocene followed the same route and spread onto the
Arabian platform to the east. In central China, a lacustrine environment
was established in the Jurassic and Cretaceous.
Cratonic Margins. The sediments here are totally or partially marine and
many have been tectonically deformed, as in the following:
1. Western Europe: marine conditions were permanent from the Jurassic
to the Cretaceous in the relatively deep Subalpine domain (Vocontian
basin, Dauphinois zone, Helvetic zone), with broad connections to the
Tethys ocean (Fig. 104). Sediments are thick, up to 2000m, pelagic
to hemipelagic and predominantly marly and marly-calcareous. The
Barremo-Bedoulian, consistently more massive and calcareous, passes
into the Urgonian reef complex at the margins of the Vocontian basin.
An unconformity within the Aptian separates it from the Gargaso-Albian
"blue marls". The latter resemble somewhat, in their facies, the "black
shales" of the Atlantic Mid-Cretaceous, which indicate an anoxic event 17
at the same time as a renewal of continental erosion marking the begin-
ning of a "Middle Cretaceous crisis" contemporaneous with the opening
of the North Atlantic. The Upper Cretaceous is represented by a
shallowing sequence contemporaneous with a tectonism of the basin:
marly-calcareous at the base (Cenomanian) and limestones at the top,
terminated by an emergence beginning at different times, depending on
the location, between the Cenomanian and Maestrichtian. Extending to
the west and southwest from this Subalpine sea, the Cretaceous trans-
gression spread during latest Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous time to the
peripheral lagoonal environments (Purbeckian facies in the Jura and in
Provence), then to the fluviatile and deltaic environments (Wealdian
facies of the Paris basin and southern England, and also of the eastern
United States). The centre of the Paris basin was reached in the Aptian,
joining a north-south arm of the Boreal sea. In the Albian, the trans-
gression reached England. The sediments are predominantly carbonates
and bioclastic with minor shaly and sandy beds (Albian). The trans-
gression continued in the Upper Cretaceous, transforming Europe into
an archipelago and making connection with the Atlantic. From the
Cenomanian to the Maestrichtian, chalk sedimentation dominated all
other facies in the Paris basin, England and Northern Europe, while
17With little exchange between deep and surface waters, sediments were enriched
in organic matter. Four anoxic crises have been recognized in the Atlantic: Cailovo-
Oxfordian, Gargaso-Albian, Cenomanian-Turonian boundary, and Coniacian-Santonian.
The three older ones also affected the Alpine Tethys. Bituminous shales in the Lower
Toarcian (Western Europe) and Upper Devonian (Europe, North America) indicate
older anoxic events.
152 The Major Stages of Earth History
Coast
+ + +
i'tTi'
+ + + T +
i'+ + T T
o
~ deep saa fans Progradation prism 1:--:1 Open marine deposits
~ Nearshore and shore deposits IIi1 Salt It::-" 1fluviatile deposits
D lacustrine and fluviatile delta deposits o Palustrine then lacustrine deposits
1
0 0 0 001' Piemont deposits (alluvial fans) - Discontinuities
Fig. lOS. Sediments of the West African continental margin (Gulf of Guinea). I Upper
Jurassic to Neocomian; Il Aptian to Oligocene; III Neogene and Quaternary (After
Delteil et al. 1975, see also Moullade and Nairn 1978, p. 393)
2 3 4 5
----,-.-:~ ; ~ .~ -
'-' '. ...... q ~""II "'" It /I "
Oceanic crust -~~v
'~""!- ...."-== If.;::; __
II ~ ==
\I = _ --::i!,::3:==~~::::::::~
'III II
. . :.
L...... ;;...0" ___
--- ,,,
..... ....... - -"""'..,.., ~
Fig. 106. The West American margin (California) in the Middle Cretaceous (After Roure
1981)
The truly marine beds, sands and shales, although intercalated with con-
tinental sands, begin in the Cenomanian.
Active margins. In the Tethys domain, the often very intense defor-
mation of most of the continental margin has made it difficult, if not
impossible, to reconstruct the Cretaceous paleogeography. However, facies
sequences restored to their approximate original positions permit the fol-
lowing zones to be distinguished.
1. Highs, often called ridges, with carbonate deposits, either neritic or reefs
(South Alps, Carpathians, Hellenides, Dinarides, Appeninnes), or
relatively deep slope deposits (for example the condensed and incom-
plete deposits of the Brianc;onnais).
2. Deep zones where pelagic sequences, submarine breccias, and flysch
sediments were deposited. The latter are of varied ages like the defor-
mations which gave rise to them. In the Lower Cretaceous, they can
be followed from Gibralter to the Balkans via the Maghrebides, the
Appennines, the Alps, and the Carpathians, marking a narrow structural
zone of nappes and the boundary between the external and internal
zones of the mountain chain. These deep zones became widespread in
the Middle Cretaceous (Maghrebides, Pyrenees, Ligurian domain), and
were still common in the Upper Cretaceous (Dinarides, Hellenides,
external Carpathians, Alps with Helminthoides flysch 18).
In the Circum-Pacific domain, the Cretaceous history of the active margins
of the western Americas has been reconstucted in some detail. For example,
from the formations of the Coast Ranges in California it is possible to
recreate, for the Middle Cretaceous, the following succession from west to
east (Fig. 106; Roure 1981): (1) a subduction trench marked by thick detrital
deposits, turbidites, and conglomerates; (2) a volcanic arc; and (3) the
118 Whichfollows schistes lustres deposited from the Kimmeridgian to the Upper
Cretaceous.
154 The Major Stages of Earth History
as the destabilization of the food chains whose bases are formed by these
plankton.
3. Continental fragmentation and dispersion, which reduced the possibilites
for migration of various organisms, terrestrial and marine and, therefore,
intensified biological competition.
4. Intense volcanicity in India, contributing to acid rain, has also been
suggested as a cause.
Q Holocene Versillan
0,01 ~
U Tvrrhenan
0,2
A Milazzlan
0,4 Normal
T ~-------
Bruhnel
0,6 E Sicilian
~
R
0,8
Pleisto- Emilian
N
I cene
A
1,2 ReversE R
Calabrlan
1,4 Matuyama
Y
Villafranchian
1,6
Normal Valachian
Oldwai Astian
1,8 f----
NOiiiiif N
3
Plalsanclan Rhodanian
~ E Pliocene f----
4 ReverSE Zanclean
Gilbert 0 Ruscinian
(Tablanlan)
5 - G
Messinian Pontlan
Attican
10
T E Late
1~1~~1:~ Turollan
ills an ._
E N Middle SerravaRran ,.... Marernmia!!_ J.--.... Styrlan
15 Miocene LaiiQiifan Vindobonian
R E
C Burdigalian
20 Early Girondian
T Aquitanian
E """,,"Savian
23 25 I
N
P Late Chattlan
30 A
0 A Oligocene
34 R
35 Z Early Stampian
L Sannoisian
Y
0 Lattorfian
40 E Late Bartonian f-M!-r~~!~~an Asschian Pyrenean
39 I
45 0 w~~~:~n Biarrl17i> n
C Eocene Middle Luletian Ledian
G BruxeJf,an
45 50 uisian
E Early Ypresian Sparnacian
52 55
N Landenian
Late Selandian
60 E Vitroliian
Paleocene
Early Danian
6< 65 Laramldlan
Fig. 107. Subdivisions of the Cenozoic, Two radiometric age scales: a according to Odin
et al. (1982b); b according to Van Eysinga (1985)
Fig. 108. Paleogeography of 1 the Lower Eocene and 2 the Upper Oligocene about 50
and 25m.y. ago: Complete opening of the North Atlantic (Daly 1984, modified after
Irving 1977). Dashed lines indicate boundaries between oceans and epicontinental seas
2°The origin of most of these grabens goes back to the Upper Eocene when they were
associated more with the dynamics of transtension than extension.
21 Resulting in a sinistral movement of Arabia in the Middle East (grabens) and the
formation of the Antilebanon chain. The accretion of oceanic crust in the centre of the
Red Sea began only in the Pliocene.
22 A mega pull-apart appeared in the Upper Oligocene in a shear zone between the North
American and Eurasian plates.
160 The Major Stages of Earth History
Suture zone
km
~ Siwallks IT2J Gangetic Quaternary [s:;:J Middle Country series ~ Tibet Slab
II:II High Country series and nappes Issued from the Indian margin
am
_ Ophiolitic nappes
IIlDIDJ Nappes Issued Irom the Indian margin loot Nappes Issued Irom the subduction complex
B Fore-arc series l'Ji!I Series 01 southern Tibet block l±:±l Leucogranltes lI!J Volcanic rocks
Fig. 110. Interpretive structural section of the Himalayas (after Mascle 1985). 1 Sub-
Himalayas; 2 Low Himalayas; 3 Upper Himalayas; 4 Trans-Himalayas
There followed a salinity crisis (see below) which did not end until the
beginning of the Pliocene with the opening of the Straits of Gibraltar.
2. Major deformations. These mainly concern the Tethyan chains. Large
nappes, which may have been transported more than 100 km, were
emplaced in North Africa (where they originated from internal zones,
now submerged, of the eastern Mediterranean chains), in the Hellenides,
and in the Himalayas where the main thrusting was to the south from the
Upper onto the Lower Himalayas (Fig. 110). These emplacements were
accompanied by uplifts, by metamorphism and by the deposition of
molasse. Folding and thrusting also affected the Internal and External
Alps (the latter affected also by metamorphism), the Jura, the Appenines,
the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. In the Carpathians there was also
some volcanism, still active in the Pliocene.
3. Folding, volcanism, and/or plutonism characterize the major part of the
peri-Pacific belt: in New Zealand, where the movement on the Alpine
Fault was beginning; the Aleutians; the West Pacific Island Arc (collision
The Mesozoic and Cenozoic: Breakup of Pangea 161
between the volcanic arc of Luzon and the Chinese passive margin);
Indonesia (continuation of the collision between the Indian, Eurasia, and
Pacific plates); the Coast Ranges; and the Andes. The latter region was
affected by a latest Miocene phase (Sub andean thrust sheets of Bolivia
and Peru, and the East Cordillera of Colombia). A reduced activity
(uplifts, extension and volcanism defining the "Basin and Range" phase)
occurred in the West American Cordillera (Great basin, Rocky
Mountains, and Mexican Sierra Madre).
In the Plio-Pleistocene, the compression between the Arabian-African
block and Eurasia continued, welding Arabia firmly to Asia and forming the
Zagros Chain. In the Lower Pliocene, significant deformation involving the
molasse basins was localized in the Apennines and in the External Alps.
The squeezing of India against Asia is still active (5 cm/year), producing the
most external overthrusts of the Himalayas (the Lower Himalayas onto the
Siwaliks and the latter onto the Indo-Pakistan Shield; Fig. 110). In total,
2000 km of shortening has resulted from the collision between India and
Asia.
In the Upper Pliocene, the Alpine and Maghrebian domains were
subjected to a regime of extension. Uplifts resulted in the Alps, for example
those of the external crystalline massifs, causing some folding and thrusting
in the external zones. The Jura was also uplifted, including the Bresse
region. Conversely, the Po Plain subsided. These vertical movements,
still discernible today, also affected areas more distant, as seen in the
rejuvenation of the French Central Hercynian Massif and the basaltic
volcanism of that region 23 • However, the extension affected particularly the
Mediterranean domain with NW-SE and NE-SW directions, giving it the
following essential characteristics: those of an intermontane sea created
partly by major rifting (for example the Tyrrhenide sea, with the formation
of the modern Western Mediterranean), which appears oblique to the
Alpine structures. Zones of compression remain, however, as seen in the
Tyrrhenian and Aegean Arcs, implying a subduction and destruction of
oceanic crust (Fig. 111).
In the Pliocene, vertical and strike-slip movements occurred also in the
peri-Pacific belt, with very noticeable effects in the western Americas. These
include basaltic outpourings in the Rockies, the Canadian Cordillera, and
British Columbia; transcurrent movement of the San Andreas Fault System,
one result of which was the northern drift of the peninsula of Baja
California, until then joined with Mexico (Tardy et al. 1986); uplift in the
Rockies, the Great Basin, and the Andes, where interior grabens were
formed.
In the Quaternary, a compressive neotectonism, initiated in the terminal
Pliocene, has deformed recent deposits of the Mediterranean rim. The
23The latest manifestations of which occurred between 35000 and 40000 years ago.
162 The Major Stages of Earth History
Ophiolitic scar
• • Thrusting front
Fig. 111. Mediterranean chains resulting from the collision of Africa and Eurasia (after
Aubouin 1984). 1 West Mediterranean chain; 2 Middle Mediterranean chain (with
hypercollision of the eastern Alps); 3 East Mediterranean chain; a Tyrrenian arc; b
Aegean arc
',-, --·'--x
\
I
"/ '
."
... ::':0'
.:"
Fig. 112. Western Europe in the Upper Eocene (inspired by Pomero11973; stereographic
support from Smith and Briden 1977). Horizonta/lines, land; dotted lines, zones of open
communication at other times (between the North Sea and the Paris basin in the Middle
Eocene, and between the North Sea and the Tethys via the Rhenan trough in the
Oligocene)
3.2.3.1 Platforms
In the Paleogene, the last major marine transgressions in global history
encroached upon the emerged continents of the terminal Cretaceous.
Western Europe was the scene of numerous marine invasions from the
permanent seas of the Tethys, the North Sea, covering Denmark at that
time and the North Atlantic. These transgressions and regressions were
largely controlled by deformations affecting the platforms, due to the
activities of orogenic belts nearby. The three oceans were able to com-
municate temporarily (Fig. 112) across the Paris Basin, the Channel, the
Rhenan Trough, the peri-Alpine depression (in the Oligocene only), North
Germany, Poland and the Russian platform. The marine facies were diverse:
sands, shales, marls and limestones generally organized into sedimentary
cycles related to marine oscillations, and always rich in fauna (molluscs and
164 The Major Stages of Earth History
Fig. 113. Europe in the Tortonian (lOm.y.). 1 Perialpine depression; 2 Pannonian basin;
3 Dacian basin; 4 Pontic basin; 5 Aralo-Caspian basin (Inspired by Dercourt et al. 1985)
24The Levant area probably represents a passive margin created in the Upper Trias when
an ocean opened between the Levant and the Taurides block.
The Mesozoic and Cenozoic: Breakup of Pangea 167
3.2.4.1 Paleogene
The global cooling at the end of the Cretaceous was succeeded by a
sequence of contrasting climates, with cold periods in the Middle Paleocene,
Middle Eocene, and at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, and warm humid
periods in the Lower and Upper Eocene, the latter periods notable for the
deposits of laterite and the absence of polar ice. Distinct climatic belts were
established with an Antarctic zone, an Arctic-tertiary temperate zone ex-
tending over the nordic countries, and a tropical zone, between 500 Nand S,
including in particular Europe. The first detectable general cooling occurred
at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary. This was a significant event, well
recorded because of its abrupt nature, by the evolution of the mammals (the
"Great break" of Stehlin), by an important renewal of marine micro-
organisms, and by a lowering of the CCD, indicating a reduction in general
ocean fertility including the platform regions. Several competing causes have
been suggested:
1. The beginning of an important exchange of waters between the North
Atlantic and the Arctic and Antarctic regions. This is placed generally at
35 m.y. when the Walvis-Rio Grande and Iceland barriers disappeared.
2. The formation of the first glaciers and the first sea ice in the Antarctic
region, as well as the establishment of the great circum-polar current
carrying cold deep waters (5-6°C) to the Pacific and Atlantic.
168 The Major Stages of Earth History
3. The arrival of arctic waters in the North Atlantic and part of the Pacific.
4. The reduction in exchange of waters between the Tethys and the Atlantic
by weakening of its E-W current.
5. The appearance of the mountain chains, the Alps and the Himalayas, at
the end of the Eocene, the result being a drop of 4°C in average ocean
temperature and a drier climate during the Oligocene. This climate was
warm-temperate in Europe (evaporites in the fault troughs). In the
Upper Oligocene, a decrease in the 0 180 of the oceans indicates a
warming followed by the melting of a certain quantity of ice.
3.2.4.2 Miocene
The average elevation of the emerged lands increased. The Antarctic ice
cap formed in the Lower or Middle Miocene, while the total opening of
the Drake Straits between South America and Antarctica allowed un-
hindered ciculation of the cold circumpolar current, thus thermally isolating
Antarctica. The temperature of the ocean bottom waters dropped from an
average of 9 to 4°C. The lowering of the Greenland-Faroes-Scotland Ridge
in the Upper Miocene also allowed a regular flow of Arctic water into the
North Atlantic. The first glaciers were formed in Alaska. Finally, from the
end of the Miocene to the beginning of the Pliocene the isthmus of Panama
was emergent, increasing the flow of the Gulf Stream and the warmth and
humidity associated with it, towards the north where rain and snowfall
intensified. This led to the first glaciers in Greenland (first traces of icebergs
are about Sm.y. in the Baffin Sea). In Europe, the climate became warm
and wet with an average annual temperature of lS-20°C. A first important
glacio-eustatic drop in sea level was responsible, at least partly, for the
isolation of the West Mediterranean (see above).
3.2.4.3 Pliocene
In the orogenic belts the relief continued to increase. The average global
temperature dropped again, reaching 12-15°C in France. At about 3m.y.,
the Arctic ice caps were formed at the same time as the peri-Antarctic ice
pack. Already the glacial-interglacial cycles were beginning, with an alter-
nation of temperate warm stages and mild winters with stages more humid,
seasons more contrasting and winters dry and severe.
.. ",: " .', . " : . :.: : :: : . ",:. ' , ' . ':::: ::;>..~
... : .....
. . . '. - . '''.: .... . ',' . . : .... :.:. '. ' . ~. .. ' "', : .. .. : . .
. ' . ' .. ' . ' -. ',' "
..
. :', . " :',,, .
'
. ..
.'
: '::.' .:.', ~ ... '. .
. . ',:"" " " " -. " " . . ,. "...' , '. , .' ..
" .. . ' . . . • ,' .•. :: i.' •••.••..•• '. ,', '.:
Fig. 114. The major Wiirm glaciations 18000 years ago (after Lorius and Duplessy 1977).
Note the differences in continental contours from today due to a drop of sea level of
120m
pluvial and dry alternations in the tropics and variations in glaciation at high
altitudes may be related, but it has not yet been clearly established25 .
The Riss marked the furthest advance (as far as Lyon) of the Alpine
glaciers and of the northern European ice sheets which covered the London
Basin, Holland, and Germany. In the Wiirm, the European and American
ice sheets reached their largest size; 8 x 106 km 3 for an area of 6 x 106 km2
in Europe, 30 x 106 km 3 for an area of 12 x 106 km 2 in North America. Sea
level was 120 m below the present and icebergs travelled as far as PortugaL
The consequences of the glaciations were significant and varied. The
ocean temperature fell by 2 to 3°C and the lowered sea level resulted in
increased fluvial erosion on the continents and the buildings of large sub-
marine fans at the base of the continental margins. Many submarine canyons
also date from this period. The coastlines and the drainage patterns were
appreciably altered (Fig. 115). Cryoturbations, deposition of loess and the
development of cold steppes and tundras were also characteristic of these
cold periods. The disappearance of Wiirm ice resulted in a recent acceleration
of the rate of rotation of the Earth and an isostatic readjustment of regions
25 During the Upper Pliocene and Pleistocene pluvial phases of Africa, the Nile dis-
charged enormous volumes of fresh water into the eastern Mediterranean, causing a
stratification of waters, the formation of deep anoxic water, and the deposition of
sapropels (Sect. 2.2.4, Chap. 3).
170 The Major Stages of Earth History
26 According to Arthur (1979), the number of volcanic ash beds deposited per 1000-year
interval increased from the Oligocene to the Quaternary.
The Mesozoic and Cenozoic: Breakup of Pangea 171
It appears that regular cycles have always been and still are a part of the
Earth's history. They affect orogenies, the dispersion of the continental
crust (Wilson cycles of 400-500m.y.), sedimentation, climate, and bio-
logical evolution. These cycles lend some credibility to the idea that the
Earth's system is in permanent disequilibrium about a mean state. They also
allow predictions to be made about the Earth's history. Certain events, the
equivalents of which can be observed today, have occurred repeatedly.
These include the formation of black shales in marine environments (Upper
Cambrian, Lower Ordovician, Lower Silurian, Devonian, Toarcian, Callovo-
Oxfordian, and Middle Cretaceous), the precipitation of abundant evap-
orites, significant deposition of coal (Carboniferous, Permian, Cretaceous,
and Eocene), and successions of orogenies in the same locations, especially
near the sites of major N-S collisions (between Gondwana and Eurasia) and
E-W collisions (between Africa, Europe, and America). The volumes and
surface areas of continental and oceanic crust also seem to have been stable,
at least for 2500m.y., which is contrary to the theory of an expanding crust.
In short, uniformitarianism is still a valid concept for the Earth's history.
Nevertheless, shifts in the values of certain parameters through geologic
time make the evolution of the Earth irreversible. They affect the length of
the day, the chemical composition of the oceans and the atmosphere, and
the thermal flux. For example, during the Precambrian, ferrous iron and
siliceous deposits of the platform were irreversibly replaced by red beds
and carbonates.
In addition, there are the events due to chance, more or less abrupt,
related to climate (glaciations), geomagnetism, chemistry of seawater
174 The Major Stages of Earth History
(isotopic ratios), ocean openings, ocean currents, and the biological ex-
tinctions observed in the Eocambrian, at the end of the Lower Cambrian,
and in the Ordovician, Permian, Trias, and Cretaceous. These events
make the Earth's history nongradual and noncontinuous as believed by
uniformitarianists.
In summary, therefore, it is a complex history which the entrenched
dogmas of former times are not able to explain.
Setting aside those events which appear totally unpredictable and totally
contingent, the history of the Earth appears as a logical sequence of inter-
dependent events. This has become very apparent from the study of global
tectonics. For instance, the internal geodynamic forces of the Earth in-
fluence the external geodynamics and both influence biological processes.
Volcanism plays a major role in these relationships in the following ways:
1. By ejecting material into the atmosphere, it can modify the climate
(cooling, if sulphate aerosols, which reflect the sun's rays, are introduced
into the high atmosphere, warming if the atmosphere is enriched in
CO2), and, therefore, the ocean dynamics and sedimentation. Even life
can be affected, for example the acid rain resulting from sulphate aerosol
fallout can cause deforestation. In contrast, an excess of CO2 stimulates
the productivity of marine plankton and terrestrial plants, thereby in-
creasing the deposition of organic matter.
2. By controlling the volume of oceanic ridges, volcanism is also a determin-
ing factor in eustasy. Transgressions cause warming and humidification,
while promoting faunal exchanges and adaptive radiations. In contrast,
cooling, dry climates, isolation of marine populations, speciation, and
sometimes extinction are associated with regressions.
The movements and deformation of the plates are also a primary cause
underlying relationships between the Earth's internal and external geo-
dynamics and biological phenomena. The amalgamation of cratons into
supercontinents results in a lowering of sea level, the creation of continental
relief (therefore possible barriers for the migration of faunas), and a cooling
trend which could initiate glaciation. In addition, marine areas are reduced
and CO2 in the atmosphere decreases. Geological history has included four
or five such glacial eras lasting from 20-200m.y. and generally coinciding
with the major orogenies. During times of continental dispersion, the
opposite effects are produced. Among others, the possibilities for circulation
and exchange of faunas are increased in marine environments. Another
notable interaction occurs between the processes in the Earth's core and
General Conclusions 175
Since it is not always possible to precisely define these causes, attempts are
being made to at least localize them. The cyclic nature of the phenomena
and their interdependence have allowed some progress in this direction. For
example, the correlation between periods of magnetic calm and periods of
active ocean expansion during the Earth's history suggests that the origin of
variations in the activity of the ocean ridges is connected with the boundary
between the mantle and the core, or even the core itself. The variations of
solar heat flux reaching the Earth's surface are responsible for the climatic
cycles, well illustrated in the Quaternary and recorded in the sediments.
These variations depend on the oscillations of the Earth's axis of rotation
and characteristics of its orbit. Life, which is undoubtedly the most sensitive
and fragile system of the Earth, has also probably been influenced by more
distant phenomena. The passage of the sun and its planets across the
galactic plain, every 32 m.y., for instance, may be the cause of biological
crises, especially mass extinctions. During these periods, cosmic radiation
is intensified and the frequency of meteorite impacts increases, thereby
generating a screen of dust which temporarily lessens solar radiation at the
Earth's surface. Biological evolution, therefore, may have depended not
only on the Earth itself but also on its environment near and far.
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Subject Index