Comparison of Rotliegend sandstone diagenesis from the northern and southern margin of the North German Basin, and implications for the importance of organic maturation and migration

Integration of results from diagenetic investigations and basin modelling indicates that major mesodiagenetic mineral reactions in deeply buried Rotliegend sandstones of the North German Basin are related to the presence or absence of underlying Carboniferous petroleum source rocks. These reactions include the bleaching of red beds, dissolution processes, and growth of cements incorporating reduced iron. Such processes are apparently absent in areas, where red beds were not affected by petroleum migration during burial

Isolation of Hox Cluster Genes from Insects Reveals an Accelerated Sequence Evolution Rate

Among gene families it is the Hox genes and among metazoan animals it is the insects (Hexapoda) that have attracted particular attention for studying the evolution of development. Surprisingly though, no Hox genes have been isolated from 26 out of 35 insect orders yet, and the existing sequences derive mainly from only two orders (61% from Hymenoptera and 22% from Diptera). We have designed insect specific primers and isolated 37 new partial homeobox sequences of Hox cluster genes (lab, pb, Hox3, ftz, Antp, Scr, abd-a, Abd-B, Dfd, and Ubx) from six insect orders, which are crucial to insect phylogenetics. These new gene sequences provide a first step towards comparative Hox gene studies in insects. Furthermore, comparative distance analyses of homeobox sequences reveal a correlation between gene divergence rate and species radiation success with insects showing the highest rate of homeobox sequence evolution

(Table 1) Stratigraphic occurrence and fossil content of fossiliferous horizons in southern north Victoria Land

In contrast to the adjacent parts of the Transantarctic Mountains, the Mesozoic macrofossil record of north Victoria Land remains poorly documented. During the Ninth German Antarctic North Victoria Land Expedition (GANOVEX IX 2005/2006) twelve fossil sites in southern north Victoria Land were discovered and sampled. Fossils from the Triassic to Early Jurassic Section Peak Formation were collected from Archambault Ridge, Anderton Glacier, Skinner Ridge, Timber Peak, Vulcan Hills, Runaway Hills, Section Peak and Shafer Peak. These localities have yielded abundant fossil wood and compressions of horsetails, ferns, and seed ferns. In addition, several beetle elytra were found at Timber Peak. Fossil localities of the overlying Shafer Peak Formation and Exposure Hill-type deposits occur at Shafer Peak and in the Mount Carson area, and have yielded various trace fossils, permineralized wood, leaf compressions, and conchostracans. Two newly discovered fossil sites are associated with the late Early Jurassic Kirkpatrick lava flows. Upright-standing tree trunks have been recorded at Suture Bench, and highly fossiliferous sedimentary interbeds occur at the southwestern end of the Mesa Range. Of special interest is the exquisite fossil preservation at some of the sites. Compression fossils from Timber Peak and Shafer Peak contain well-preserved cuticles, which is very rare in the Antarctic. An Early Jurassic permineralized deposit at Mount Carson contains structurally preserved ferns. Furthermore, the arthropod fossils from sedimentary interbeds at the Mesa Range are preserved in minute detail, including antennae and limb spines of a blattid insect

Reconstruction of the early Mesozoic plate margin of Gondwana by U–Pb ages of detrital zircons from northern Victoria Land, Antarctica

<p>Detrital zircons of eight sandstone samples from the Triassic–Early Jurassic Section Peak Formation (Victoria Group, Beacon Supergroup) in northern Victoria Land, Antarctica, were investigated by U–Pb LA–ICPMS dating. The basin was flanked by the East Antarctic craton, and by a magmatic arc at the palaeo-Pacific margin of Gondwana. It accommodated sandstones ranging from quartzo-feldspathic to volcaniclastic in composition. The detrital zircon age spectra yield pronounced concentrations at <em>c.</em> 190–250 Ma, 500–700 Ma and 800–1200 Ma. The proportion of Triassic–Early Jurassic zircons increases from base to top of the formation, and correlates positively with the abundance of detrital volcanic rock fragments. The youngest zircon ages are close to the stratigraphic age of each sample, indicating contemporaneous magmatic activity along the active margin of Gondwana. Igneous rocks that formed during the Ross Orogeny (<em>c.</em> 470–545 Ma) were a minor source only, suggesting that the Ross Orogen became progressively covered by sediments as the basin expanded. Pan-African (<em>c.</em> 500–700 Ma) and Grenville (<em>c.</em> 800–1200 Ma) age zircons may have been derived from crustal sources currently covered beneath the polar ice sheet, although recycling from Cambro-Ordovician units provides an alternative explanation. </p

Apatite fission crack data from the Eisenhauer Range, Antarctica

The Eisenhower Range is a N-S trending mountain range in the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) adjacent to the NW Ross Sea Embayment. New AFT and apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He (AHe) data from vertical basement profiles supplemented by paleotemperature and pressure estimates derived from Beacon sandstones provide new quantitative results on regional burial evolution and first regional constraints on basin inversion and exhumation processes. AFT ages between 32 ± 2 and 259 ± 18 Ma and AHe ages of 37 ± 3-173 ± 16 Ma correlate positively with sample elevations. Thermal history modeling of these data and complementary thermal indications detect heating of the paleosurface on the Eisenhower Range to temperatures >= 80 °C subsequent to Ferrar magmatism, and constrain Late Eocene rapid cooling. Regression of modeled paleotemperatures against sample elevations refers to a high Jurassic (~ 45 °C/km) and a moderate Cretaceous-Eocene (28 ± 8 °C/km) geothermal gradient. The texture of Beacon sandstones supports strong mechanical compaction that requires a higher overburden than preserved in the stratigraphic record. Modeled paleotemperatures and pressures suggest basement burial that increases from Late Jurassic (0.7-1.1 km) to Eocene (1.8-2.1 km). The overburden comprises 0.7-1.1 km cumulative Beacon/Ferrar rocks and 0.7-1.4 km of post-Ferrar sediments. Rapid cooling of the whole sample suite between ~ 35 and 30 Ma implies fast erosion of the post-Ferrar sediments and (re-) exposure of underlying magmatic rocks. Subsequent differential sample cooling to present-day surface temperature infers ongoing exhumation by glacial incision enhanced by isostatic response to basin inversion. Decreasing amounts of exhumation from the coast (> 3 km) toward the interior (1.5-2.2 km) point to backstepping incision along the fault controlled Priestley Glacier. Substantial exhumation of the Eisenhower Range since the Late Eocene is hence triggered by both tectonic and climatic factors, superimposed by considerable lithological influence during the initial exhumation stage