PALAIOS, 2013, v. 28, p.

568–582
Research Article
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2110/palo.2012.p12-070r

SHAKEN AND STIRRED: SEISMITES AND TSUNAMITES AT THE PERMIAN-TRIASSIC BOUNDARY,

GURYUL RAVINE, KASHMIR, INDIA

M.E. BROOKFIELD,1* T.J. ALGEO,2 R. HANNIGAN,1 J. WILLIAMS,1 and G.M. BHAT 3

1Department of Environmental, Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Massachusetts at Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, Massachusetts 02125, USA,
mbrookfi@hotmail.com, robyn.hannigan@umb.edu, williams.jeremyc@gmail.com; 2Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0013, USA,
Thomas.Algeo@uc.edu; 3Postgraduate Department of Geology, University of Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir State, India, bhatgm@jugaa.com

ABSTRACT are of regional extent at a minimum, as the same beds are present at
Barus, about 10 km to the southeast (GMB, personal observation,
The famous Permian-Triassic boundary section at Guryul Ravine in
2012) and at Pahlgam, 35 km to the east (from 1984 field notes and
Kashmir shows repeated strong disturbances in the uppermost 3 m of the
samples of MB, the exposures are currently covered with landslide
section below the main end-Permian mass extinction horizon. Two one-
debris). From published descriptions, analogous coarse deposits and
meter-thick disturbed beds, with convoluted bedding and fluid escape
erosion surfaces, which can be attributed to the same events, also occur
structures, are interpreted as seismites. Immediately above, three lenticular,
at this horizon on marine shelves and slopes not only throughout the
fining-upward, bioclastic grainstone beds, interbedded with argillites, are
Neotethys (Pakistani-Japanese Research Group, 1985; Cao and Shang,
interpreted as tsunamites. In these beds, hummocky cross-stratification and
1998; Farabegoli et al., 2007; Payne et al., 2007; Brandner et al., 2009)
grading indicate deposition by waning irregular waves at a minimum water
but also worldwide (Waterhouse, 1967; Wignall and Twitchett, 2002a)
depth of 100 m based on physical processes and faunas. Bed grain sizes
where they are currently interpreted as storm-deposited layers within
indicate that the waves needed to move even the coarse sand of the matrix,
quieter-water deposits, incised submarine valley fills, or transgressive-
let alone associated large pebbles up to 20 cm in diameter, range from
regressive units. Coarse deposits, however, should not automatically be
amplitudes of ,40 m for wave periods of 10 s (the upper limit for storm
attributed to sea-level fall, especially as in some shallow-water, latest
waves) to amplitudes of ,3 m for wave periods of 50 to 1000 s (typical of
Permian environments there is little evidence for abrupt shifts in either
large open-ocean tsunamis). Fossil and sedimentary evidence suggests
overall depositional environments or water depth across the P-Tr
lengthy intervals between successive tsunami events, which, together with a
boundary (Wignall and Twitchett, 2002b; Lehrmann et al., 2003).
lack of geochemical evidence for impact, favors terrestrial causes.
Geochemical proxies show that the Guryul Ravine environment remained
oxic or suboxic throughout the P–Tr transition, but that anoxia developed GEOLOGIC SETTING
regionally at the time of the boundary crisis. This paper is the first to
During the late Paleozoic, Kashmir formed part of Gondwana and
propose seismites and tsunamites at the P-Tr boundary, so the geographic
lay on the southern side of the Paleotethys Ocean adjacent to Oman
extent of these deposits is unknown, although analogous deposits occur in
(Fig. 1A). Rifting and eruption of the Panjal Traps flood basalts, now
many sections worldwide from published reports.
dated at 289 6 3 Ma (Sakmarian, early Permian; Shellnutt et al., 2011),
were followed by separation of tectonic blocks from the northern
INTRODUCTION margin of Gondwana, the formation of the Neotethys Ocean, and rapid
thermal subsidence of the Gondwanan margin during the late Permian
The greatest extinction in the geological record took place at the end
and Triassic (Brookfield, 1993; Garzanti et al., 1996). The breakup
of the Permian at 252.28 Ma (Shen et al., 2011), killing over 90% of all
unconformity and subsidence phase is marked by a widespread late
marine and about 70% of all terrestrial species (Erwin, 2006). An
Permian transgression in northern India (Kapoor, 1992; Garzanti et al.,
extraterrestrial impact was proposed as the cause of this event based on
1998). A lithologic transition to black shales with phosphatic nodules
limited occurrences of shocked quartz (Retallack et al., 1998),
(the Kuling shales) reflects the development of anoxic conditions
chondritic meteorite detritus (Basu et al., 2003), extraterrestrial
3He/4He ratios (Becker et al., 2001), and a putative ,250 Ma impact
associated with deeper-water environments in northern Himalayan
exposures (Gaetani et al., 1990; Gaetani and Garzanti, 1991; Bagati,
crater (Becker et al., 2004). Much of this evidence, however, is disputed
1991; Garzanti et al., 1998). At Guryul Ravine, further south toward
(Koeberl et al., 2004; Farley et al., 2005; Müller et al., 2005), and the
the Indian craton (Figs. 1B–C), this transition corresponds to the
consensus, at present, is that environmental changes associated with
contact between the upper Permian Zewan Formation and the
eruption of the Siberian Traps flood basalts were the most likely trigger
uppermost Permian to Lower Triassic Khunamuh Formation and to
for the extinction event(s) (Reichow et al., 2009; Korte et al., 2010). The
a change from a shallow to a relatively deep-ramp setting (Brookfield
case for the Siberian Traps, however, rests almost exclusively on age
et al., 2003; Wignall et al., 2005; Algeo et al., 2007). The end-Permian
correlation with the P-Tr boundary and inferred effects (Renne et al.,
deepening is generally attributed to eustatic sea-level rise (Hallam and
1995; Kamo et al., 2003; Wignall, 2007).
Wignall, 1999), although the active vertical tectonism on the northern
Herein, we present evidence for very large earthquakes and tsunamis Gondwanan margin discussed earlier may have been a sufficient cause.
just below the paleontologically defined P-Tr boundary at Guryul
Ravine (Kashmir, India). Significantly, these seismite-tsunamite depos-
its are found only once in the entire (.150-m-thick) Permian to Middle GURYUL RAVINE SECTION
Triassic succession at Guryul Ravine, and this single occurrence is
General Description
associated closely with the end-Permian mass extinction. These deposits
The Guryul Ravine section, like many P-Tr boundary sections in the
* Corresponding author. Neotethys, shows apparently continuous sedimentation and gradual
Published Online: September 2013 faunal changes across the boundary (Nakazawa et al., 1970; Teichert

Copyright G 2013, SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) 0883-1351/13/0028-0568/$3.00

PALAIOS PERMIAN TRIASSIC SEISMITES AND TSUNAMITES, KASHMIR 569

FIGURE 1—Location maps. A) Late Permian (260 Ma) paleogeography with cited localities (base map courtesy of Ron Blakey). B–C) Location maps for Guryul Ravine in
central Kashmir State, India.

et al., 1970; Nakazawa and Kapoor, 1981; Sheng et al., 1984). This biostratigraphically defined P-Tr boundary are separated by ,0.3 m at
section represents a stratigraphically expanded boundary section Meishan (Yin et al., 2001), whereas these two horizons are separated by
relative to the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) at Meishan, 3.1 m of section at Guryul Ravine, which allows superior resolution of
South China (Yin et al., 2001). The mass extinction horizon and the distinct events during this ,0.11-myr-long interval (Shen et al., 2011).
570 BROOKFIELD ET AL.
FIGURE 2—Guryul Ravine section. Tsunamite beds stick out of outcrop above
massive sandstones of upper Zewan Formation: view to southeast into
Kashmir Valley.
The study section was measured with a Jacob’s staff, aided by the dip
of the strata into the slope of the hill (Fig. 2). Measurements were made
relative to the lithological boundary that separates the Zewan and
Khunamuh formations, i.e., the contact between units D and E of
Nakazawa et al. (1975), which is easily identified in outcrop. This
contact separates the first dark-gray shales of the Khunamuh
Formation from the underlying sandstones and limestones of the
Zewan Formation, although the uppermost bioclastic Zewan limestone
is lithologically indistinguishable from the bioclastic limestone inter-
bedded with the basal Khunamuh shales (Brookfield et al., 2003). The
Unit D–E contact is 3.1 m below the biostratigraphically defined P-Tr
boundary (Fig. 3). Such field measurements, however, are only
reproducible to 610% (Denison, 1972).
Biostratigraphy
The end-Permian mass extinction horizon at Guryul Ravine
coincides approximately with the top of Bed 49 in the lowermost
Khunamuh Formation (Fig. 3). Although fossils are absent in Zewan
Bed D461, a peculiar pseudonodular calcareous sandstone (described
later), late Permian brachiopods and bivalves reappear in beds 47–48 of
Unit E1 of the basal Khunamuh Formation, in which the fauna is
moderately diverse with 14 species. With two exceptions, these species
disappear by the top of Bed 49 (E1). The exceptions, the brachiopod
Marginifera himalayensis and the bivalve Claraia bioni, are thus the
only local survivors, although the bivalve Etheripecten haydeni is found
both above and below this level. Two brachiopod species from Bed 51
(E1), Schellwienalla sp. and Derbiya sp., are represented by single
internal moulds and should probably be disregarded as unidentifiable
and/or reworked, as should solitary shell fragments at the top of Bed 52
(E2) (Fig. 3; Shimizu, 1981). All fossils in the bioclastic limestones of
beds 47–51 (E1) are small due to either current sorting or Lilliputian
dwarfism (Shimizu, 1981; Brookfield et al., 2003; Twitchett, 2006). Only
two Permian species, the bivalve Etheripecten and the gastropod
Warthia, are found in Bed 52, which represents the local recovery phase
(Fig. 3), in which increased species diversity (.9) is mainly due to the
appearance of new species of Triassic mollusks. Bed 52 is the only one
that contains a mixed fauna of late Permian and Early Triassic taxa.
The base of the Lower Triassic is defined by the first appearance of
the hindeodid conodont Hindeodus parvus (Fig. 3; Yin et al., 2001).
Placement of the P-Tr boundary at Guryul Ravine is based on studies
of material collected in the 1970s and earlier, originally by Sweet (1970),
Murata and Matsuda (1975), Murata (1981), and Matsuda (1981, 1982,
PALAIOS
1983, 1984) with later evaluations by Wignall et al. (1996) and Kozur
(2003). The current biostratigraphy for Guryul Ravine assigns: Unit D
to the late Permian changxingensis zone; Unit E1 to the latest Permian
latidentatus-meishanensis zone; Unit E2 to the Early Triassic parvus and
isarcica zones; and Unit E3 to the carinata, kummeli, and lowermost
dieneri zones (Korte and Kozur, 2005). The supposed Early Triassic
ammonoid Otoceras woodwardii has been identified from near the base
of Bed 52 (E2) (Kapoor, 1996), and this ammonoid appears to precede
H. parvus at Meishan (Chen et al., 2005), so its significance for
placement of the P-Tr boundary at Guryul Ravine is unclear. New
studies of microfaunas at Guryul Ravine that are now in progress may
help to refine boundary placement in the future.
The stratigraphic distributions of invertebrate macrofauna and
conodonts, as currently known at Guryul Ravine, compare well with
the Meishan GSSP in China, even though the latter section is much
thinner. Guryul Ravine beds D43 to D46-1 correspond with Bed 24 at
Meishan (although the former have very few fossils), and Guryul
Ravine beds D46-3 to E51 equate with beds 25 to 27 at Meishan (Chen
et al., 2005), although possibly mostly with the internal erosion surfaces
of Bed 27 (Cao and Shang, 1998). At Guryul Ravine, total species
diversity increases slightly from 10 in the D beds to 14 in beds E46-3 to
E49, decreases sharply to 2 in beds E50–51, recovers to 7 in Bed E52,
drops to 4 in beds E53 to E59, and then finally reaches a low of 1 in Bed
F (i.e., the ammonoid, Koninckites sp.) at ,20 m above the base of the
Khunamuh Formation (data from Nakazawa and Kapoor, 1981). A
similar degree of biodiversity loss over roughly the same stratigraphic
interval has been documented at Meishan (Jin et al., 2000; Song et al.,
2009, 2013; Chen et al., 2010). Despite these correspondences in
biostratigraphic patterns, none of the seismite and tsunamite features
documented here for Guryul Ravine have been reported from the
Meishan GSSP.
Water Depths
The water depths represented by the deep-water deposits of the
Khunamuh Formation can be broadly constrained from estimates of
the depth of wave base and the carbonate compensation depth (CCD).
Wave orbital motion diminishes with depth in the water column, with
effectively no motion below a depth equal to approximately half of
wavelength, representing hydrodynamic wave base (Immenhauser,
2009). The ability of wave motion to stir bottom sediments and
produce such bedforms as ripples, however, ceases at a shallower depth
equal to about one-third of wavelength, representing effective wave
base. Wave base varies geographically as a function of wind strength,
fetch, seafloor bathymetry, and other factors and, at any given site, is
deeper during high-energy events such as storms (Cowell et al., 1999). A
recent oceanographic simulation estimated typical open-ocean, fair-
weather and storm wave bases at ,20–30 and 30–40 m, respectively,
with the largest storms lowering wave base to .50 m (Storms, 2003).
Exceptionally strong winds in the roaring forties latitudes of the
Southern Hemisphere, however, can produce long-period swells with
large amplitudes and wave bases as deep as 140 m, which is deeper than
storm wave base (,60 m) in this region (James and Bone, 2011).
Similarly energetic conditions are found in the northwestern Atlantic,
where swells can have wavelengths of 150 m and wave bases of 75 m
(Brooks and Jasper, 1957). These values are in good agreement with the
summary provided by Immenhauser (2009, table 12).
The laminated argillites of the Khunamuh Formation must have
been deposited below fair-weather wave base, although the presence of
interbedded wave-reworked(?) fine sand and silt laminae (see following
section) may indicate deposition above the wave base of larger storms.
Similar deposits can form at much greater water depths, however,
through storm-generated turbidity or deep-water geostrophic currents
(Duke, 1990; Johnson et al., 2001), so the paleodepth information of
these layers is limited. A maximum depth for the Khunamuh
 PALAIOS
PERMIAN TRIASSIC SEISMITES AND TSUNAMITES, KASHMIR
FIGURE 3—Upper Zewan and lower Khunamuh formations at Guryul Ravine. The first appearance datum (FAD) of the conodont Hindeodus parvus marks the base of the Triassic. Fossil ranges are from Nakazawa and Kapoor (1981);

571
interpretations of local extinction, survival, and recovery phases are original to this study. PTB 5 Permian-Triassic boundary.
572 BROOKFIELD ET AL. PALAIOS

TABLE 1—Guryul Ravine mineral fractions (Algeo et al., 2007). Paleoenvironmental Conditions

Quartz Clay CaCO3 Seafloor redox conditions during deposition of the study section can
Sample # Bed (%) (%) (%) be inferred from several proxies (Table 1; Fig. 4). Concentrations of Mo
and U, two trace metals that tend to be strongly enriched under anoxic
19 E2-60 23.7 17.2 59.1
18 E2-56 18.6 81.4 0.0 bottom water conditions (Tribovillard et al., 2006; Algeo and
17 E2-53 19.0 80.9 0.2 Tribovillard, 2009), are uniformly low (,2 ppm and ,3 ppm,
16 E2-52 23.2 76.8 0.0 respectively) throughout the study section, and Th/U ratios are higher
15 E1-50X 10.9 88.0 1.1 than those indicative of anoxic conditions (,3 ppm) (Table 2; Fig. 4;
14 E1-49X 15.2 84.2 0.7
Wignall and Twitchett, 2002a). Rhenium (Re) is highly enriched in
13 E1-48Y 16.6 81.3 2.2
12 E1-48X 22.7 6.9 70.3 reducing sediments (Crusius et al., 1996), but the study section exhibits
11 E1-47Z 25.2 74.4 0.4 average values of Re and other platinum-group elements (Brookfield
10 E1-47Y 29.5 13.4 57.2 et al., 2010). The study section Re/Mo ratios are nearly uniform (3.3 to
9 E1-47X 20.1 79.8 0.1 3.6 3 1024), which is comparable to that of modern seawater and thus
8 D46-1CZ 50.3 6.2 43.6 indicative of oxic to suboxic conditions (Crusius et al., 1996). Trace-
7 D46-1CY 17.6 4.9 77.5
6 D46-1CX 29.3 2.4 68.3
metal proxies thus provide no evidence for reducing seafloor conditions
5 D46-1B 48.7 25.4 26.0 at any time during deposition of the study section (cf. Algeo et al., 2007).
4 D46-1A 37.9 8.2 53.9 Two additional paleoredox proxies yield somewhat varying interpre-
3 D45 33.7 65.7 0.6 tations and, therefore, require comment (Fig. 4). Ce/Ce* values
2 D44 30.0 69.8 0.2 fluctuate between 0.6 and 1.4 but average ,1.0, a value that is
1 D43 27.8 72.2 0.0
indicative of anoxic conditions (German and Elderfield, 1990). Ce has a
sufficiently long residence time in seawater (,50 yr; Nozaki, 2001),
however, that a signal generated in an anoxic region of the ocean can be
Formation argillites is imposed by the presence of well-preserved laterally advected to another, oxic region (cf. Algeo et al., 2008). The
pectinid bivalve shells, which demonstrates deposition above the calcite second proxy, framboidal pyrite, provides evidence of euxinic water-
paleo-CCD. Although the modern oceanic CCD is at .4000 m water mass conditions (Wignall and Newton, 1998; Bond and Wignall, 2010)
depth, the paleo-CCD is thought to have been shallower prior to the but not necessarily at the seafloor: framboids can form along
evolution of coccoliths in the Jurassic, possibly no more than several chemoclines in the water column in both restricted basins and oceanic
hundred meters deep (Van Andel, 1975; Boss and Wilkinson, 1991). In oxygen-minimum zones (Wilkin and Arthur, 2001; Algeo et al., 2010).
view of these considerations, we tentatively estimate the depth of The first appearance of small (,5-mm-diameter) pyrite framboids at
deposition of Khunamuh Formation argillites as 100 m plus or minus a Guryul Ravine is in the lowermost Khunamuh Formation (,+1.0 m,
factor of two (i.e., between 50 and 200 m). Fig. 3; Wignall et al., 2005), coincident with a shift toward darker

FIGURE 4—Stratigraphic variation in sediment mineral fractions and elemental ratios (data from Algeo et al., 2007; mineral fractions are given in Table 1, and selected
inorganic constituents and ratios are given in Table 2).
PALAIOS PERMIAN TRIASSIC SEISMITES AND TSUNAMITES, KASHMIR 573

TABLE 2—Selected Guryul Ravine inorganic constituents and ratios (Algeo et al., 2007).

CaCO3 Al Mo U Th Ba Ba-xs
Sample # Bed (%) (%) (ppm) Mo/Al (ppm) Mo/U (ppm) Th/U (ppm) Ba/Al (ppm)

19 E2-60 61.7 2.2 0.24 0.109 0.54 0.44 5.5 10.2 139 62 45.9
18 E2-56 0.0 9.9 0.18 0.018 1.11 0.16 16.1 14.5 505 51 92.1
17 E2-53 0.2 10.9 0.23 0.021 0.15 1.53 23.5 156.7 577 53 124.8
16 E2-52 0.0 10.0 0.65 0.065 0.15 4.33 21.3 142.0 577 58 163.4
15 E1-50X 1.1 10.6 0.12 0.011 1.13 0.11 20.3 18.0 439 41 0.0
14 E1-49X 0.6 10.2 0.24 0.024 0.40 0.60 20.7 51.8 372 37 0.0
13 E1-48Y 2.1 9.9 0.05 0.005 1.34 0.37 20.2 15.1 431 44 19.8
12 E1-48X 66.8 0.8 0.26 0.325 1.26 0.21 5.6 4.4 116 141 82.2
11 E1-47Z 0.4 9.5 0.15 0.016 1.68 0.09 25.2 15.0 505 53 108.3
10 E1-47Y 58.7 1.7 0.32 0.188 0.19 1.68 11.9 62.6 149 87 77.5
9 E1-47X 0.1 10.5 0.08 0.008 2.17 0.04 28.2 13.0 578 55 141.8
8 D46-3CZ 39.7 0.2 0.38 1.900 2.06 0.18 7.0 3.4 162 775 153.0
7 D46-3CY 80.7 0.6 0.26 0.433 0.73 0.36 7.1 9.7 105 164 78.6
6 D46-3CX 69.0 1.0 0.09 0.090 0.19 0.47 8.6 45.3 106 106 64.4
5 D46-3B 23.4 2.9 0.45 0.155 2.81 0.16 22.4 8.0 168 59 49.8
4 D46-3A 58.2 0.3 0.38 1.267 0.34 1.12 7.6 22.4 149 437 134.5
3 D45 0.6 7.9 1.07 0.135 2.13 0.50 37.6 17.7 336 42 6.9
2 D44 0.2 8.8 0.25 0.028 1.97 0.13 23.3 11.8 500 57 133.9
1 D43 0.0 9.3 0.03 0.003 1.26 0.02 25.8 20.5 659 71 272.8

sediment (from dark gray, N4, to grayish black, N2, on a Munsell color
chart). The Ce/Ce* and pyrite framboid evidence thus are suggestive of
development of an expanded oxygen-minimum zone along the northern
Gondwanan margin (cf. Algeo et al., 2010; Winguth and Winguth,
2012). Such conditions are likely to develop at water depths of ,100–
500 m in the open ocean (cf. Song et al., 2012), so this inference is
consistent with estimated water depths of .100 m for the study section.
There is some evidence for major changes in the provenance of
detrital siliciclastics and organic matter in the study section around the
end-Permian mass extinction horizon. This interval is marked by rapid
fluctuations in Eu/Eu* ratios (Fig. 4), which are primarily an indicator
of sediment provenance (Zhao et al., 2012). While Eu/Eu* ratios
between 0.8 and 1.0 are typical of detrital shales from mixed sources,
ratios .1.0 suggest influx of lower-crustal-derived volcanic material,
possibly having a source in the Siberian Traps (Zhao et al., 2012). The
bioclastic limestones also show transient excursions toward higher
Corg:N and d15N values (Algeo et al., 2007). The base of Bed D46-3
exhibits the most extreme values (Corg:N 5 30–70; d15N 5 +4%o),
implying a mainly terrestrial origin of the organic matter in this bed
(Meyers, 1994), which would be consistent with transport from a
shallow-water area via tsunami backwash (see below).
SEISMITE DEPOSITS
Seismic shaking commonly produces soft-sediment deformation
features due to liquefaction, i.e., loss of sediment cohesion due to the
upward movement of pore waters, causing the sediment-water mixture
to behave as a viscous liquid with greatly reduced shear strength
(Obermeier, 1996; Obermeier et al., 2002; Wheeler, 2002). Deformation
features include ball-and-pillow structures, mud diapirs, upturned and
overturned laminae, flame structures, local lamina-bed thickening or
thinning, brittle fracturing and microfaulting, sediment remobilization
(e.g., intraformational breccias in consolidated sediments to mass
gravity flows in soft sediments), and distorted sedimentary and
ichnological structures (e.g., McLaughlin and Brett, 2004; Brett et al.,
2008). Many ancient examples of seismites have been recognized in
recent years (Bartholomew et al., 2002; Ettensohn et al., 2002; Simms,
2003, 2007; McLaughlin and Brett, 2004; Shi et al., 2007; Brett et al.,
2008).
Two stratal intervals in the upper Zewan Formation have features
consistent with a seismite origin, the 1.6-m-thick beds D44–451 and the
2.5-m-thick Bed D461 (Fig. 3). These intervals consist of heavily
disrupted, sandy limestones or calcareous sandstones with ball-and-
pillow structures at their bases, and containing numerous pseudono-
dules of both sandstone and sandy limestone (Figs. 3, 5). The large
pillows at the base of Bed 44 can reach several meters in size (area to the
left of scale in Fig. 5A). The pseudonodules, which are relicts of the
original bedded strata, are often rotated out of original bedding
alignment and enclosed in massive calcareous sandstones that show
extensive chalcedony replacement, probably accounting for their
greater resistance to weathering (Fig. 5D). The beds located below
(beds D41–43) and between (D452) the seismites consist of less-
deformed sandstones and sparsely fossilifereous fine-grained lime-
stones: they show limited disruption and sediment flow in places
(Fig. 5C). The fabrics of the underlying and interbedded sandstones are
grain supported with interstitial clays and carbonate cement. The fabric
of the massive sandstones consists of irregular masses of dominantly
subangular quartz grains in a finer clay and carbonate matrix separated
by crystalline carbonate, suggesting disruption of fabrics like those of
the grain-supported sandstones followed by carbonate cementation and
chalcedony replacement (Fig. 5B). Although a few folded slump
structures occur in the immediately underlying thin sandstones,
indicating slopes, no other synsedimentary deformation structures are
found anywhere else in the 90-m-thick Zewan Formation (Nakazawa
et al., 1975), emphasizing the uniqueness of the event(s) that produced
these features.
An earlier paleoenvironmental analysis interpreted the upper
Permian Zewan sandy limestones as deep-shelf deposits that had
experienced storm reworking (Brookfield et al., 2003). The disrupted
intervals (beds D44–451 and D461) were described as nodular
calcareous sandstones in which the nodules had weathered faster than
the more resistant matrix. Our present analysis shows that the nodules
are relicts of the original laminated calcareous sandstones (Bed D461)
or sandy limestone (beds D44–451) enclosed in a massive, formerly
fluidized matrix that shows upward-directed flame structures in both
the disrupted and less-disrupted units (Fig. 5C). The structures are
typical of sediments affected by liquefaction processes, which can
produce pseudonodules and relict bedded masses separated by massive
sediments, sometimes with flame-and-pillar structures (Moretti et al.,
1999; Wheeler, 2002; Bowman et al., 2004). In their thickness and
structure, the Guryul Ravine seismites resemble the Plio-Pleistocene
giant seismites of southern Spain (Alfaro et al., 2010).
Seismites can be produced through earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,
and bolide impacts. Although the immediate cause of seismites is rarely
574 BROOKFIELD ET AL. PALAIOS

FIGURE 5—Upper Zewan Formation. A) Contact of beds D43 and D44, showing large pillows (to left and above meter scale) and disrupted layering of D44. B)
Photomicrograph of Bed D44 showing irregular masses of quartz and carbonate grains in micrite matrix cemented by sparite. C) Bed D45 showing sediment flow (arrow)
between slightly disrupted alternating sandstones and limestones (measuring stick is in 10 cm units). D) Base of Bed D461 showing rotated pseudonodules (at level of hammer).

obvious, nearness to contemporaneous active faults (e.g., Bartholomew
et al., 2002) or association with volcanic material or impact ejecta (e.g.,
Shi et al., 2007) can provide clues. There is no evidence of impact ejecta
at Guryul (Brookfield et al., 2010; petrographic analysis by Bruce
Simonson, 2013), but there is evidence of volcanic material in the
overlying sediments.
TSUNAMITE DEPOSITS
Tsunamites are rarely identified in ancient stratigraphic successions
because their characteristics are similar to those of tempestite deposits
of storms (Scheffers and Kelletat, 2003; Nott, 2004; Morton et al., 2007;
Sugawara et al., 2008). Both tsunamites and tempestites occur as high-
energy deposits in otherwise low-energy settings, the environments in
which they are most likely to be preserved. Both types of deposits
commonly consist of sand-sized material showing evidence of rapid
deposition, e.g., an erosional base, normal grading or massive bedding,
and abundant intraclasts or extraclasts (Duke et al., 1991). In contrast
to storms, however, which generally rework material locally, tsunamis
can move material a long way due to their greater wavelength, velocity,
and depth of flow (Kortekaas and Dawson, 2007; Ward, 2011). Thus,
sediments deposited in coastal regions during tsunami runup may
contain the remains of deep-water organisms (Hawkes et al., 2007), and
sediments deposited in deeper water during tsunami backwash may
contain those of shallow-marine organisms (Hieke and Werner, 2000;
Dawson and Stewart, 2007). Such long-distance transport is particu-
larly pronounced for large tsunamites, which exhibit a suite of features
that can be distinct from those of tempestites (Brookfield et al., 2006;
Brookfield, personal communication, 2013). The immediate cause of an
ancient tsunamite is rarely obvious, although association with volcanic
material or impact ejecta can provide clues concerning its trigger (e.g.,
Smit et al., 1992).
At Guryul Ravine, several beds in the uppermost Zewan and
lowermost Khunamuh formations immediately overlying the two
PALAIOS PERMIAN TRIASSIC SEISMITES AND TSUNAMITES, KASHMIR 575

FIGURE 6—Upper Zewan Formation. A) Bed D461, parallel-laminated to ripple cross-laminated top of calcisiltite bed. B) Photomicrograph of D461 showing bioclastic silt
grains with very few quartz silt grains in sparite cement (scale is 0.5 mm). C) Basal tsunamite, top of Bed D463C, calcarenitic intraclasts (arrow) in bioclastic grainstone. D)
Photomicrograph of Bed D463C with large brachiopod fragments in microspar matrix/cement. E) Top of Bed D463C, micrite layer (Cz) sharply overlain by gray shale (Bed
E47). F) Photomicrograph of Bed E47x, composed of shale with thin cross-laminated quartz siltstone laminae.

seismite intervals discussed earlier exhibit features consistent with a
tsunamite origin (Fig. 3). Bed D462 is a ,30-cm-thick unit consisting of
several fine-grained, well-sorted calcareous sandstones or sandy
limestones exhibiting parallel lamination or ripple-drift cross-lamina-
tion with an irregular hummocky cross-stratified top (Fig. 6A) and a
grainstone fabric of quartz and shell sand grains enclosed in a
crystalline carbonate cement (Fig. 6B; Brookfield et al., 2003). The
overlying beds (beds D463, E1-47y, and E1-48y) are bioclastic
carbonate grainstones consisting of coarse, poorly sorted, brachio-
pod-dominated debris (Brookfield et al., 2003). They are hummocky
cross-stratified and graded, and they commonly exhibit lenticularity
due to downcutting into underlying shale beds. The lower bioclastic
limestone (D463) contains lenses of rounded wackestone clasts
(Fig. 6C) and consists of brachiopod fragments in a microspar and
sparite cement (Fig. 6D), capped by fine-grained calcisiltite (Fig. 6E;
Brookfield et al., 2003). The calcisiltite is sharply overlain by gray
argillites (Fig. 6E) that contain thin cross-stratified quartz silt laminae
(Fig. 6F). The middle bioclastic limestone (E1-47y) has well developed,
low-angle hummocky cross-stratification with divergent current direc-
tions (Figs. 7A–B), contains small angular and large rounded limestone
clasts up to 30 cm in diameter (Figs. 7C–D), is a poorly sorted
brachiopod-dominated grainstone (Fig. 7E), and is capped by silty to
fine sandy laminae consisting of small, broken shell fragments. The
upper bioclastic limestone (E1-48y) is thinner and more lenticular
(Fig. 8A) with abundant molluscan fragments (Fig. 8B). The top
contact of this bed shows concave-upward shell fragments indicative of
settling from suspension (Fig. 8D). Overall, the bioclastic limestones of
beds 46–48 show a thinning-upward pattern. Above this level bioclastic
limestones disappear, and the section consists of dark-gray silty shales
and thin calcilutites containing only rare ammonoids and bivalves
(Figs. 8E–F; Brookfield et al., 2003).
Both interbedded with and overlying the bioclastic limestone beds are
dark-gray silty argillites (Fig. 8C) that contain only the bivalves Claraia
and Etheripecten (Nakazawa and Kapoor, 1981; Brookfield et al.,
2003). In Unit E1, these beds are well laminated, lacking even
microbioturbation (,1 mm diameter), which may be indicative of
dysoxic conditions within the sediment (Pike et al., 2001; but see
Paleoenvironmental Conditions section herein). Although Claraia and
Etheripecten have been interpreted as epifaunal benthos in mid- to
deep-continental shelf and slope environments, they possess a byssal
notch that may have served for attachment to such floating material as
seaweed, and the bivalves may have been pseudoplanktonic, especially
in view of their trans-Panthalassic distribution in many diverse
lithofacies (Yang et al., 2001; Fang, 2010; He et al., 2012).
The origin of the bioclastic limestones of beds 46–48 can be inferred
from several considerations. First, these beds are composed of mostly
broken but unrounded shell fragments of benthic organisms (Brook-
field et al., 2003). While breakage demonstrates high-energy conditions,
the lack of rounding is indicative of a transient high-energy episode
rather than continuous reworking. Second, the fossil content of the
bioclastic limestones consists mainly of thick-shelled brachiopods of
shallow-marine origin, but the intercalated shales contain no shallow-
marine fossils and exhibit no bioturbation (Brookfield et al., 2003).
These observations imply that the bioclastic material was derived from
a shallow-marine setting and transported into a normally quiet-water
environment lacking benthos. Third, the bivalves Claraia and
576
FIGURE 7—Lower Khunamuh Formation tsunamite Bed E47y. A) Parallel to low-angle cross-laminated bioclastic grainstone. B) Divergent cross-laminated fine- to medium-
grained bioclastic grainstone. C) Top of bed, consisting of fine-grained bioclastic limestone overlying thin micrite and intraclastic grainstone with angular sand-sized clasts. D)
Large, 20-cm-diameter pebble in intraclastic grainstone (hammer head is 15 cm across). E) Photomicrograph of bioclastic grainstone, matrix dominated by brachiopod
fragments with scattered quartz sand.
Etheripecten are considered to be pseudoplanktonic forms that
accumulate by settling out in relatively deep water (Yang et al., 2001;
Komatsu et al., 2007). These taxa are present neither in the bioclastic
limestones nor in Zewan Unit D with its relatively diverse benthic fauna
(Fig. 3; Shimizu, 1981). They are, however, present in upper Permian
deep-water deposits elsewhere, e.g., in southwestern China (Gao et al.,
2005). Finally, the bioclastic beds show festoon and hummocky cross-
stratification, formed by traction currents under interference waves
(Southard et al., 1990). Movement of the large (up to 30 cm) limestone
clasts and of the centimeter-sized shells and smaller limestone clasts in
these beds requires bottom velocities of ,5 m/s and ,1 m/s, respectively,
and formation of the megaripples and sand waves found in some of the
beds also requires velocities of several meters per second (Allen, 1985).
These velocities are not possible with normal or even storm waves at
water depths of 100 m or greater. These considerations suggest that the
bioclastic material of beds 46–48 was introduced into, and reworked by
waves within, a relatively deep-water environment, probably through the
agency of a tsunami. Although Algeo et al. (2007) invoked a rapid, short-
term, sea-level shallowing to account for the presence of bioclastic
limestones of shallow-water affinity in a deep-water setting, the
tsunamite hypothesis presented here makes such a large eustatic event
unnecessary, as tsunami backwash could account for this anomaly.
The depositional water depths and seafloor wave velocities estimated
herein provide some constraints on the nature of waves influencing
deposition of the bioclastic limestones of beds 46–48. For an orbital
velocity of 1 m/s at the seafloor, i.e., the minimum for traction transport
of coarse sand and granules in the bioclastic limestones, wave
frequencies can be calculated as a function of wave amplitude (A)
BROOKFIELD ET AL. PALAIOS
and ocean depth (h) (Fig. 9; see Hasse and Dobson, 1986, for discussion
of wave transport, and Ward, 2011, for details of calculation). At a
water depth of 100 m, a seafloor orbital velocity of 1 m/s corresponds to
waves with a 40 m amplitude and 10 s periodicity up to waves with a 3 m
amplitude and 500 to 1000 s periodicity (Fig. 9). A 40 m amplitude is
unrealistic for swell or storm waves, except for rare rogue waves that
can have heights .25 m and wavelengths .1000 m, but these are only
very local (Clauss, 2002). A 3 m amplitude and 500 to 1000 s
periodicity, however, are values typical of large tsunamis (Todorovska
et al., 2002; Brookfield et al., 2006). Our minimum water-depth
estimate for Khunamuh Formation argillites (50 m) would yield an
amplitude of 6 to 7 m at a periodicity of 10 s, which might be consistent
with storm waves. The higher orbital velocities (up to 5 m/s) required to
account for wave movement of 20-cm-diameter limestone clasts in Bed
E1-47y, however, would cause all of these amplitude and periodicity
estimates to be revised upward, making tsunami wave motion far more
likely than swell or storm wave motion.
Ward (2011) calculated wave eigenfunctions to illustrate the
distribution of motion in waves of varying frequency (Fig. 10). At
periods of 1500 and 150 s, tsunami waves have wavelengths of 297 and
26 km, respectively. In both cases, the vertical displacement within wave
orbitals is greatest at the ocean surface and drops to zero at the ocean
floor. For the wave with a 1500 s periodicity, every meter of vertical
motion corresponds to ,10 m of horizontal motion at the ocean
surface; while vertical motion decreases to zero at the seafloor, the
horizontal velocity is practically constant (and would drop to zero only
at a depth of 148.5 km, much deeper than any of Earth’s oceans). For a
wave with a periodicity of 150 s, horizontal velocity decreases modestly
PALAIOS PERMIAN TRIASSIC SEISMITES AND TSUNAMITES, KASHMIR 577

FIGURE 8—Lower Khunamuh Formation tsunamite Bed E48y and above. A) Lenticular Bed E47y. B) Bed E48y photomicrograph with recrystallized mollusk (diffuse) and
brachiopod (sharp) fragments in microspar matrix. C) Bed E49, photomicrograph of gray organic-rich shale with quartz silt laminae. D) Top of limestone in C, showing
rounded brachiopod fragments overlain by dark silty shale. (E) Bed E52 gray silty shales. F) Photomicrograph of Bed E52 silty shale.

(,15%) from the surface downward to the seafloor. At a period of 50 s,
wavelength decreases to 3.9 km and wave base to ,2 km (Fig. 10), so
deep-ocean sediments will be unaffected by such short-period waves.
All of the waves described here represent tsunamis having periods and
wavelengths far greater than the maxima (approximately ,20 s and
,640 m) for storm and swell waves. Although both tsunamis and storm
waves can deposit relatively coarse sediments in normally quiet
depositional settings, a tsunamite origin for the bioclastic limestones
in beds 46–48 at Guryul Ravine seems more likely. We reach this
conclusion on the basis of (1) inferred water depths of at least 50 m, and
probably much more, for the interbedded argillites of the Khunamuh
Formation (see earlier section), and (2) estimated wave amplitudes and
periodicities, necessary to generate the seafloor orbital velocities of
$1 m/s needed to move centimeter-sized and larger shell fragments and
clasts, that are more consistent with tsunami than with storm or swell
waves (Fig. 9). An additional, important argument in favor of a
tsunamite origin is that these high-energy bioclastic beds are limited to
a ,1-m-thick stratigraphic interval within an otherwise low-energy
succession of argillites. On shelves and ramps subject to storm activity,
the geographic boundary conditions favoring storm sedimentation are
generally long lasting (i.e., millions of years), resulting in the frequent
occurrence of tempestites through thick stratigraphic intervals (e.g.,
Aigner, 1982; Jennette and Pryor, 1993). Tsunamis are fundamentally
rarer events and can be expected to appear only sporadically in the
stratigraphic record. In the case of Guryul Ravine, the three bioclastic
limestone beds here interpreted as tsunamites are isolated event beds,
which is inconsistent with a tempestite origin. Further, the facts that
these event beds are found only close to the P-Tr boundary and in
association with seismites make an origin through temporally random
tsunamis unlikely. Rather, these beds appear to be an integral part of a
related succession of event beds recording major Earth-surface
disturbances at the time of the end-Permian mass extinction.
578 BROOKFIELD ET AL.
FIGURE 9—Amplitude (A) versus ocean depth (h) for various wave periods. Diagram represents a wave velocity (1 m/s) capable of moving granules up to one centimeter in
diameter (courtesy of Steven Ward; see Clifton and Dingler, 1984, for theory).
EVENT DEPOSITIONAL MODEL
Seismites can form due to earthquakes generated by fault move-
ments, volcanic eruptions, and bolide impacts, whereas tsunamites can
be produced by the same processes as well as by sediment mass gravity
flows into or within the ocean (Ward, 2001; Whelan and Kelletat, 2003;
Dawson and Stewart, 2007). These mechanisms are not necessarily
mutually exclusive—for example, the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary
bolide impact is thought to have triggered a combination of
earthquakes, large-scale submarine slumping, and tsunamis (Smit
et al., 1996; Bralower et al., 1998; Smit, 1999).
FIGURE 10—Tsunami eigenfunction shapes for waves of different periods (s) in a 4-
km-deep ocean basin; wavelengths (l) of waves are given at bottom of figure (from
Ward, 2011, his figure 2).
PALAIOS
An important question is whether the seismite and tsunamite deposits
at Guryul Ravine were triggered by a single disturbance or by a series of
separate events. Because seismites represent deformation of preexisting
sediments, the disturbance(s) that produced the two seismites at Guryul
Ravine (beds D44–451 and Bed D461) must have postdated deposition
of the beds themselves. The two seismites are separated by 1 m of less-
deformed sandstones and sparsely fossilifereous fine-grained lime-
stones, which may imply two separate seismic events, although the
possibility of a single event cannot be categorically ruled out. The upper
seismite is directly overlain by the lowermost tsunamite, which suggests
that these beds, at a minimum, are the product of a single event.
Seismite-tsunamite couplets are known from other stratigraphic
boundaries, e.g., (1) the Triassic-Jurassic boundary in northern Ireland,
where a ,1-m-thick tsunamite overlies a ,4-m-thick seismite (Simms,
2003), and (2) the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary at Arroyo de
Mimbral, Mexico, where a ,1- to 2-m-thick tsunamite overlies several
meters of seismically deformed shale beds (Smit et al., 1996). These
examples suggest that seismite-tsunamite couplets may be a common
response to exceptionally large Earth-surface disturbances.
The significance of the tsunamites at Guryul Ravine depends on
whether they represent one or multiple disturbances. The tsunamites in
beds 46–48 are separated by 10 to 20 cm of fine-grained, laminated
argillite (Figs. 8C, F). These claystone beds cannot have been deposited
en masse, because they lack the floating clasts and internal structure of
mudflows (Lindsay, 1968). Laminated clay layers can accumulate
rapidly from turbulent, mud-rich suspensions, in which settling rates
are one to two orders of magnitude greater than in quiet water (Gratiot
et al., 2005). Several features of the Khunamuh Formation argillites,
however, suggest rather longer depositional intervals, e.g., (1) an
absence of loading at the bases of the bioclastic limestones (Fig. 8A),
implying prior compaction of the underlying argillites, (2) the presence
of thin undeformed silt traction laminae (Fig. 6F), implying horizontal
movement in addition to vertical settling of sediment, and (3) a lack of
PALAIOS PERMIAN TRIASSIC SEISMITES AND TSUNAMITES, KASHMIR
carbonate within the argillites (Table 1; Fig. 4), implying that all
carbonate grains suspended by waves had settled out to form a
bioclastic unit before deposition of the overlying argillite began. Thus,
the bioclastic limestones were probably the product of several separate
disturbances separated by intervals of time possibly on the order of
thousands of years. On the other hand, lack of change in the faunal
content of successive bioclastic limestones implies that the interval of
deposition was not geologically long (i.e., several hundred thousand
years or more). Event recurrence intervals on the order of thousands to
hundreds of thousands of years are compatible with a tsunamite origin.
Although the ultimate trigger for the seismite-tsunamite event
horizons at Guryul Ravine is uncertain, several considerations are
relevant. First, these beds represent a unique series of events that
immediately predate the end-Permian mass extinction and that are not
found at other stratigraphic levels within the upper Permian–Lower
Triassic succession of the study area. If the seismite and tsunamite beds
were the product of regional seismicity (e.g., a nearby subduction zone),
their stratigraphic restriction to the P-Tr boundary interval would
depend upon a remarkable, and improbable, coincidence. Second, the
tsunamite events seem to be separated by some interval of time, perhaps
thousands of years, as judged from the sedimentological characteristics
of the intercalated shale beds. This observation indicates that the P-Tr
boundary perturbations were not due to a geologically short or
instantaneous event such as a bolide impact (cf. Koeberl et al., 2004;
Farley et al., 2005). Our inference of multiple perturbations is
consistent with evidence from other marine P-Tr boundary sections
(Xie et al., 2007; Yin et al., 2012). Third, comparable tsunamite beds
can be recognized at the same horizon from published descriptions, at
least in the Neotethyan region. For example, the Tesero Oolite in the
eastern Alps also contains three main hummocky cross-stratified
bioclastic beds (Brandner et al., 2009), and similar deposits have been
described from Iran (Heydari et al., 2003; Kozur, 2007; Mette, 2008),
western Australia (Thomas et al., 2004), New Zealand (Waterhouse,
1967; Krull et al., 2000; Campbell et al., 2001), and possibly China
(Chen et al., 2006), although sedimentary descriptions are not always
adequate for evaluation. Outside of the Tethyan region, similar deposits
may be present in western British Columbia, Canada (Beatty, 2002) and
in East Greenland (Wignall and Twitchett, 2002a). These consider-
ations suggest that the seismite-tsaunamite event horizons at Guryul
Ravine were the product of a series of disturbances internal to the Earth
system over a geologically short interval (probably ,105 yr) during the
latest Permian.
The most likely trigger for a short-term series of disturbances during
the latest Permian was the eruption of the Siberian Traps large igneous
province (Korte et al., 2010; Shen et al., 2012). These flood basalts
erupted at ,252 Ma, building up, in less than 1 million years, a massive
,1- to 4-km-thick pile over an area of .1 million km2 (Kamo et al.,
2003; Reichow et al., 2009; Korte et al., 2010). The onset of the Siberian
Traps was marked by an explosive pyroclastic phase (Zolotukhin and
Al’Mukhamedov, 1988) followed by a voluminous flood basalt
outpouring (Xu et al., 2007). Even a mega-eruption may not have
released the amount of seismic energy required to trigger earthquakes at
a distance of ,6000 km (i.e., the distance from Siberia to the northern
Gondwanan margin at the P-Tr boundary). Although a mega-eruption
can have a total energy release of ,1021–1022 J (Pyle, 2000), only
,0.1% or 1018–1019 J of this amount is seismic energy. This is
comparable to the seismic energy (,1019 J) of the largest fault-sourced
earthquakes (M ,9.5; Mason et al., 2004), which produce liquefaction
features no more than ,500 km from the earthquake epicenter
(Obermeier, 1996). But, such calculations refer only to the actual
explosive energy of such an event. Accompanying and following such
explosive eruptions are caldera collapses, whose seismic effects have not
been considered except in a few cases of small calderas. For example,
Fernandina volcano in the Galapagos, with a small elliptical (,5-km-
diameter) caldera, generated .M 4.5 earthquakes during caldera
579
collapse (Filson et al., 1973). For a mega-eruption, such as that
producing the Yellowstone caldera (60 3 30 km), the accompanying
earthquakes should be correspondingly larger, though how much larger
is difficult to calculate (Lowenstern et al., 2006). Caldera collapse might
be able to produce large world-encircling earthquakes to form seismites
and trigger submarine slumps to generate tsunamis: and such
earthquakes could repeat a number of times during succeeding caldera
collapses separated by many thousands of years, as were the main
eruptions of the Yellowstone supervolcano (Miller and Wark, 2008).
There is, however, no evidence at the moment that the Siberian Traps
overlie calderas, and more work will be needed to understand the early
eruptive history of the Siberian Traps and whether it could have
produced a series of explosive mega-eruptions that triggered widespread
earthquakes and tsunamis during the latest Permian.
CONCLUSIONS
The Guryul Ravine section (Kashmir, India) contains a 7-m-thick
seismite-tsunamite succession straddling the end-Permian extinction
horizon and P-Tr boundary. Two 2-m-thick sandstone to sandy
limestone containing liquefaction features are interpreted as seismites,
while three lenticular, graded, hummocky cross-stratified bioclastic
grainstones are interpreted as tsunami deposits. The latter were
deposited by waves with amplitudes of ,40 m for periods of 10 s
(the upper limit for storm waves) to amplitudes of ,3 m for periods of
50 to 1000 s (typical of large open-ocean tsunami waves). The presence
of several tsunamites separated by laminated argillites records a series
of discrete disturbances at intervals of (possibly) thousands of years.
The close stratigraphic association of these high-energy deposits with
the P-Tr boundary within an otherwise muddy and low-energy
succession suggests that the events that produced these beds were
causatively linked to the end-Permian crisis. The most likely cause of
widespread earthquakes and tsunamis at that time would have been
massive early explosive eruptions of the Siberian Traps large igneous
province.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
M.E.B. thanks Mihailo Trifunac and Steven Ward (University of
California) for discussions of tsunami generation, and Bruce Water-
house for guidance around the Southland exposures in New Zealand.
Both M.E.B. and G.M.B. thank Ghulam ud-Din Bhat and G.M. Zaki
(both of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir Directorate of
Geology and Mining, courtesy of the Director), Greg Shellnut (IES,
Taiwan), Ms. Sumita Koul, Mr. Vinay Sharma, and Mr. Yudhbir Singh
(Postgraduate Institute of Geology of Jammu University) for help in
collecting samples in Kashmir in 2007 and 2008. T.J.A. gratefully
acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation (EAR-
0618003, EAR-0745574, and EAR-1053449). We thank referees Benoir
Beauchamp, Zhong-Qiang Chen, and Stephen Hasiotis for comments
that greatly improved the manuscript. This paper is a contribution to
IGCP Project 572.
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ACCEPTED JULY 19, 2013