Examining Local Climate Variability in the Late Pennsylvanian Through Paleosols: An Example from the Lower Conemaugh Group of Southeastern Ohio, USA

Three temporally close stratigraphic sections were excavated in Glenshaw Formation of Athens County, Ohio. The described units are Upper Pennsylvanian (Gzhelian, 305–302 Ma) and located in the distal portion of the Appalachian foreland basin. Mudstone units interpreted as paleosols were identified across all three sections. Detailed field and micromorphological studies lead to the recognition of two separate paleosols within the profile. The profile consists of a composite paleosol composed of two cumulative paleosols. The lower paleosol is interpreted as a calcic Vertisol which formed in a seasonally dry environment whereas the upper paleosol is interpreted as a gleyed Inceptisol which formed in a seasonally wet environment. The change in paleosol types is the result of increased precipitation which led to saturation of the soil and surface ponding. Pedogenic carbonate nodules are a common feature throughout the entire profile as are stress cutans. A coalesced carbonate horizon (Bk) was observed approximate 120 cm from the top of the profile in all three sections. This carbonate horizon formed in the Vertisol and later served as a barrier which limited the downward movement of surface water. This limited the gleization of the bottom portion of the overprinted Vertisol resulting in a diffuse boundary with the overlying Inceptisol and producing a composite paleosol

Crayfish fossil burrows, a key tool for identification of terrestrial environments in tide-dominated sequence, Upper Eocene, Sirt Basin, Libya

International audienceThe majority of decapod crustaceans are defined as marine organisms. Crayfish are one of the relatively few known exceptions. They are freshwater-environment adapted decapods that build characteristically large, simple and branched cylindrical morphotype traces in fluvial plains. Their burrows bear lots of special features that make them different from other burrows. Consequently, the identification of true crayfish burrows in the sedimentary record is crucial for the interpretation of depositional environment. The studied interval (45 m thick, exposed in the Dur At Talah escarpment southern Sirt Basin; Fig. 1) represents a case-study which is previously believed to be purely tidal. In this interval, the identification of the crayfish burrows provides a reliable tool for distinguishing terrestrial environments. The crayfish burrows of Dur At Talah are characterized by dimensional, morphological, and especially behavioral aspects that combined, cannot be ascribed to another burrow makers. Essential criteria used to attribute these burrows to the crayfish include: Their length (the depth of penetration into the sed- iments), their regularly circular cross-sectional area, the presence of mid-way enlargement chamber along the burrow vertical axis, as well as the subtle preservation of the burrow chimney. More impor- tantly, these morphological features allow the recognition of some of the crayfish diagnostic behavioral habits. Most significant of these is the one deduced from the interaction of the burrow with the seasonal fluctuation of the paleo groundwater level. Supplementary indications that restrict the studied burrows to terrestrial organism include their occurrences within pedogenically altered strata that bear evident features of prolonged emersion. Of these features, mud cracks and burrows that are filled with conti- nental fossil are the clearest. Few horizons with termite fungus comb are also distinguishable. Although other burrows of the classically known thalassinoide morphotypes are common in the studied outcrop, this article focuses essentially on the relatively (several orders of magnitude) larger cylindrical mor- photypes. This study is based on comparing the field data concerning the studied burrows with those morphometrically similar modern and ancient documented cases