An Early Cambrian Rift to Post-Rift Transition in the Cordillera of Western North America

The upper Proterozoic and lower Palaeozoic wedge of miogeoclinal strata in the North American Cordillera is widely regarded as evidence for a proto-Pacific passive margin. The rifting history of this margin appears to have been protracted, possibly spanning more than 200 Myr in a tectonic setting that is not well understood. Quantitative subsidence analyses of lower Palaeozoic strata between British Columbia and Utah, however, provide indirect evidence that the transition from rifting to post-rift cooling occurred within a relatively short interval of time, although probably not synchronously, between 600 and 555 Myr. This age is significantly younger than that implied in previous studies. We describe here new field data, which, together with published geological data, provide direct evidence of a latest Proterozoic or early Cambrian age for the rift to post-rift transition. The data support recent arguments for widespread initiation of passive margins around the edge of the North American craton close to the Cambrian-Precambrian boundary

Implications Of The Late Paleozoic Oxygen Pulse For Physiology And Evolution

The late Palaeozoic was marked by significant changes in atmospheric chemistry and biotic composition. Geochemical models suggest a marked increase and then decline of atmospheric oxygen and associated shifts in the concentration of carbon dioxide. Although the actual magnitude of these changes is uncertain, the pulse of oxygen concentration may have reached a maximum of 35% and then dropped to 15% (compared with the present 21%). This oxygen pulse may have influenced the evolution of major groups of organisms.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62968/1/375117a0.pd