Selected magnetostratigraphic studies in the main Karoo Basin (South Africa): implications for mass extinction events and the supercontinent of Pangea
- Authors: De Kock, Michiel Olivier
- Date: 2009-01-27T07:18:31Z
- Subjects: Stratigraphic geology , Paleomagnetism , Paleoclimatology , Pangaea (Geology) , Karoo Basin (South Africa)
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:14829 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1953
- Description: M.Sc. , The Late Carboniferous to early Jurassic Karoo Supergroup of South Africa witnessed two of the “big five” Phanerozoic mass extinction events, and the formation and subsequent break-up of the supercontinent Pangea. The closure of the Permian Period witnessed the greatest biotic crisis in the history of life. What is known about the Permian-Triassic boundary (hereafter referred to as the PTB) comes almost exclusively from marine successions in Europe and Asia. Although a major extinction event has been recognized in terrestrial successions, surprisingly little is known about its effects and timing. The exact placement of the PTB in the Karoo basin is not well constrained due to shortcomings of stratigraphic methods employed to date. This has made it extremely difficult to correlate the mass extinction events in the marine and non-marine environments; however, paleomagnetic studies could provide answers to both problems of absolute placement and correlation of the PTB in non-marine and marine successions. The PTB appears to lie within an interval of reversed polarity in many marine successions. A detailed magnetostratigraphic survey across the presumed PTB in the Karoo succession at localities in the north and south of the main Karoo Bain reveal two magnetic chrons, reversed followed by normal (with the boundary close to the reversal), which extends to slightly younger results from a previous study that identified an N/R pattern, thereby identifying a R/N/R pattern. The normal chron might correlate with the long basal Triassic normal polarity interval and the reversed polarity zones above and below it known from marine successions in the Alps, Russia, Pakistan and China. The PTB is thought to be situated coincident with the LAD of Dicynodon and the event bed of Ward et al. (2000), apparently above but not necessarily diachronous with a lithology change from predominantly green- to predominantly red mudstone. This placement falls within a normal polarity interval, but could conceivably have taken place at a time of reverse polarity due to delayed acquisition of magnetic remanence. The idea of an extraterrestrial impact as the cause of the end-Permian mass extinctions is strongly enhanced by a synchronous relationship between them. The configuration of the supercontinent Pangea during this time of earth history has been the matter of debate for the last three decades, with numerous alternative reconstructions to the classic Pangea A1 having been proposed for the time preceding the Jurassic. Paleomagnetic data from the Karoo allow for the definition of a new paleopole for West Gondwanaland, which prove a valuable tool for evaluating these various reconstructions. It is neither consistent with a Pangea B-type not C reconstruction for Pangea during this time interval, because of geological ambiguities. The most likely solution to the problem is that of a persistent non-dipole field contribution to the geomagnetic field during this time. Approximately 50 million years later Pangea was unambiguously in a classic Pangea A1 configuration, and life on earth suffered yet another set back. The end-Triassic mass extinction, which marks the sequence boundary between the Triassic and the Jurassic, has not received as much attention as the other four big Phanerozoic biotic disasters. In the Karoo a pronounced turnover in faunal assemblages from typical Triassic fauna to Jurassic Fauna (dinosaurs) is seen in the Elliot Formation. Magnetostratigraphic study of localities in the north and south of the Karoo Basin provided a magnetic zonation pattern for the Elliot Formation, a tool that has led to the constraining of the sequence boundary to the transition from the lower Elliot Formation to the middle Elliot and added to the hypothesis that the faunal turnover is globally synchronous. The determination of a paleolatitude for the Elliot Formation in combination with characteristically arid lithologies (eolian sandstones) provided the base for the evaluation of the paleoclimate that characterized Pangea during the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic. Key words: Karoo Basin, Magnetostratigraphy, Mass Extinction, Paleoclimate, Paleogeography, Paleomagnetism, Pangea, Permian-Triassic, Triassic-Jurassic
- Full Text:
- Authors: De Kock, Michiel Olivier
- Date: 2009-01-27T07:18:31Z
- Subjects: Stratigraphic geology , Paleomagnetism , Paleoclimatology , Pangaea (Geology) , Karoo Basin (South Africa)
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:14829 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1953
- Description: M.Sc. , The Late Carboniferous to early Jurassic Karoo Supergroup of South Africa witnessed two of the “big five” Phanerozoic mass extinction events, and the formation and subsequent break-up of the supercontinent Pangea. The closure of the Permian Period witnessed the greatest biotic crisis in the history of life. What is known about the Permian-Triassic boundary (hereafter referred to as the PTB) comes almost exclusively from marine successions in Europe and Asia. Although a major extinction event has been recognized in terrestrial successions, surprisingly little is known about its effects and timing. The exact placement of the PTB in the Karoo basin is not well constrained due to shortcomings of stratigraphic methods employed to date. This has made it extremely difficult to correlate the mass extinction events in the marine and non-marine environments; however, paleomagnetic studies could provide answers to both problems of absolute placement and correlation of the PTB in non-marine and marine successions. The PTB appears to lie within an interval of reversed polarity in many marine successions. A detailed magnetostratigraphic survey across the presumed PTB in the Karoo succession at localities in the north and south of the main Karoo Bain reveal two magnetic chrons, reversed followed by normal (with the boundary close to the reversal), which extends to slightly younger results from a previous study that identified an N/R pattern, thereby identifying a R/N/R pattern. The normal chron might correlate with the long basal Triassic normal polarity interval and the reversed polarity zones above and below it known from marine successions in the Alps, Russia, Pakistan and China. The PTB is thought to be situated coincident with the LAD of Dicynodon and the event bed of Ward et al. (2000), apparently above but not necessarily diachronous with a lithology change from predominantly green- to predominantly red mudstone. This placement falls within a normal polarity interval, but could conceivably have taken place at a time of reverse polarity due to delayed acquisition of magnetic remanence. The idea of an extraterrestrial impact as the cause of the end-Permian mass extinctions is strongly enhanced by a synchronous relationship between them. The configuration of the supercontinent Pangea during this time of earth history has been the matter of debate for the last three decades, with numerous alternative reconstructions to the classic Pangea A1 having been proposed for the time preceding the Jurassic. Paleomagnetic data from the Karoo allow for the definition of a new paleopole for West Gondwanaland, which prove a valuable tool for evaluating these various reconstructions. It is neither consistent with a Pangea B-type not C reconstruction for Pangea during this time interval, because of geological ambiguities. The most likely solution to the problem is that of a persistent non-dipole field contribution to the geomagnetic field during this time. Approximately 50 million years later Pangea was unambiguously in a classic Pangea A1 configuration, and life on earth suffered yet another set back. The end-Triassic mass extinction, which marks the sequence boundary between the Triassic and the Jurassic, has not received as much attention as the other four big Phanerozoic biotic disasters. In the Karoo a pronounced turnover in faunal assemblages from typical Triassic fauna to Jurassic Fauna (dinosaurs) is seen in the Elliot Formation. Magnetostratigraphic study of localities in the north and south of the Karoo Basin provided a magnetic zonation pattern for the Elliot Formation, a tool that has led to the constraining of the sequence boundary to the transition from the lower Elliot Formation to the middle Elliot and added to the hypothesis that the faunal turnover is globally synchronous. The determination of a paleolatitude for the Elliot Formation in combination with characteristically arid lithologies (eolian sandstones) provided the base for the evaluation of the paleoclimate that characterized Pangea during the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic. Key words: Karoo Basin, Magnetostratigraphy, Mass Extinction, Paleoclimate, Paleogeography, Paleomagnetism, Pangea, Permian-Triassic, Triassic-Jurassic
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Paleomagnetism of selected neoarchean-paleoproterozoic cover sequences on the Kaapvaal Craton and implications for Vaalbara
- Authors: De Kock, Michiel Olivier
- Date: 2008-08-25T06:27:36Z
- Subjects: Paleomagnetism , Stratigraphic geology , Cratons , Paleogeography
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:3676 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/905
- Description: The Kaapvaal craton of southern Africa and the Pilbara craton of Western Australia, two of the best-preserved Archean cratons in the world, are covered by remarkably similar early Precambrian cover sequences. This has led to the proposal of the so-called Vaalbara hypothesis, which promotes the existence of the two cratons as a single crustal entity, and possibly, Earth’s oldest assembled continent in Neoarchean-early Paleoproterozoic times. Previous studies have failed to prove the existence of Vaalbara conclusively, principally due to a lack of reliable ages or because of uncertainty and gaps in the paleomagnetic record from the Kaapvaal craton. During the present study paleomagnetic samples were collected from selected Neoarchean- Paleoproterozoic cover sequences of the Kaapvaal craton for the establishment of well-defined paleomagnetic poles. In addition, the Hartswater Group of the Ventersdorp Supergroup was sampled for zircon SHRIMP analyses in order to constrain the ages of poles defined from that succession. The paleopoles established here, together with existing paleopoles from the Kaapvaal craton, are used to evaluate the apparent polar wander path of the craton during the Neoarchean-Paleoproterozoic and are compared with poles of similar age from the Pilbara craton as a test of the Vaalbara hypothesis. Regarding the age of the Hartswater Group, zircon SHRIMP ages of 2735 ± 3 Ma and 2724 ± 6 Ma cast doubt on younger ages from the Klipriviersberg Formation, which comprise the base of the Ventersdorp Supergroup. Traditional (younger) age constraints from the Ventersdorp Supergroup do not support the original Vaalbara correlation. A new correlation is suggested here, taking the new ages into account, showing that the Ventersdorp Supergroup overlaps in time with the Fortescue Group of the Pilbara craton. Most importantly, the new ages also provide constraints on the magnetization within the Platberg Group and the Allanridge Formation. Six new paleopoles, of various quality, are added to the existing database from that craton. These poles from the ~2.73 Ga Platberg Group and ~2.7Ga Allanridge Formation of the Ventersdorp Supergroup, the ~2.5Ga lower Transvaal Supergroup, the lower two unconformitybounded sequences of the Waterberg Group (2.05 Ga and ~1.99 Ga) and the upper Soutpansberg Group (~1.76 Ga) have, together with existing poles from the Kaapvaal craton, led to the definition of an APWP for that craton for a period ~2.78 to ~1.76 Ga. Particularly the poles from the Waterberg and Soutpansberg Groups provided the information to identify complexities (looping) in the APWP that have gone unrecognized in the past. The paleomagnetic data gathered and the newly defined APWP could be used in conjunction with geological evidence from the Kaapvaal and Pilbara cratons to evaluate, and validate, the Vaalbara hypothesis. A good match between the APWP’s of the two cratons for the period ~2.78 to ~2.70 Ga and the geological features (lithology and structure) of the two cratons provide the best evidence that Vaalbara existed as a cratonic unit in the late Archean. Paleomagnetic data constrain the position of the Pilbara craton in immediate proximity to the northwest of the Kaapvaal craton (in a Kaapvaal reference frame). The position of the Zimbabwe craton relative to the Pilbara and Kaapvaal cratons is still unresolved, but indications are that it was most likely in a proximal position to the Kaapvaal craton at 2.7 Ga in a configuration not much different from its present day configuration. This would imply that Vaalbara was most probably the Earth’s oldest assembled continent as proposed by earlier workers. The new paleomagnetic data further suggest that Vaalbara did not exist anymore at ~2.0Ga. When evaluated in conjunction with geological evidence a strong argument can be made for the existence of the Vaalbaran continent up until ~2.22 Ga and that the Pilbara and Kaapvaal cratons became separate entities from about ~2.05 Ga. , Prof. NJ Beukes Prof. DAD Evans
- Full Text:
- Authors: De Kock, Michiel Olivier
- Date: 2008-08-25T06:27:36Z
- Subjects: Paleomagnetism , Stratigraphic geology , Cratons , Paleogeography
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:3676 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/905
- Description: The Kaapvaal craton of southern Africa and the Pilbara craton of Western Australia, two of the best-preserved Archean cratons in the world, are covered by remarkably similar early Precambrian cover sequences. This has led to the proposal of the so-called Vaalbara hypothesis, which promotes the existence of the two cratons as a single crustal entity, and possibly, Earth’s oldest assembled continent in Neoarchean-early Paleoproterozoic times. Previous studies have failed to prove the existence of Vaalbara conclusively, principally due to a lack of reliable ages or because of uncertainty and gaps in the paleomagnetic record from the Kaapvaal craton. During the present study paleomagnetic samples were collected from selected Neoarchean- Paleoproterozoic cover sequences of the Kaapvaal craton for the establishment of well-defined paleomagnetic poles. In addition, the Hartswater Group of the Ventersdorp Supergroup was sampled for zircon SHRIMP analyses in order to constrain the ages of poles defined from that succession. The paleopoles established here, together with existing paleopoles from the Kaapvaal craton, are used to evaluate the apparent polar wander path of the craton during the Neoarchean-Paleoproterozoic and are compared with poles of similar age from the Pilbara craton as a test of the Vaalbara hypothesis. Regarding the age of the Hartswater Group, zircon SHRIMP ages of 2735 ± 3 Ma and 2724 ± 6 Ma cast doubt on younger ages from the Klipriviersberg Formation, which comprise the base of the Ventersdorp Supergroup. Traditional (younger) age constraints from the Ventersdorp Supergroup do not support the original Vaalbara correlation. A new correlation is suggested here, taking the new ages into account, showing that the Ventersdorp Supergroup overlaps in time with the Fortescue Group of the Pilbara craton. Most importantly, the new ages also provide constraints on the magnetization within the Platberg Group and the Allanridge Formation. Six new paleopoles, of various quality, are added to the existing database from that craton. These poles from the ~2.73 Ga Platberg Group and ~2.7Ga Allanridge Formation of the Ventersdorp Supergroup, the ~2.5Ga lower Transvaal Supergroup, the lower two unconformitybounded sequences of the Waterberg Group (2.05 Ga and ~1.99 Ga) and the upper Soutpansberg Group (~1.76 Ga) have, together with existing poles from the Kaapvaal craton, led to the definition of an APWP for that craton for a period ~2.78 to ~1.76 Ga. Particularly the poles from the Waterberg and Soutpansberg Groups provided the information to identify complexities (looping) in the APWP that have gone unrecognized in the past. The paleomagnetic data gathered and the newly defined APWP could be used in conjunction with geological evidence from the Kaapvaal and Pilbara cratons to evaluate, and validate, the Vaalbara hypothesis. A good match between the APWP’s of the two cratons for the period ~2.78 to ~2.70 Ga and the geological features (lithology and structure) of the two cratons provide the best evidence that Vaalbara existed as a cratonic unit in the late Archean. Paleomagnetic data constrain the position of the Pilbara craton in immediate proximity to the northwest of the Kaapvaal craton (in a Kaapvaal reference frame). The position of the Zimbabwe craton relative to the Pilbara and Kaapvaal cratons is still unresolved, but indications are that it was most likely in a proximal position to the Kaapvaal craton at 2.7 Ga in a configuration not much different from its present day configuration. This would imply that Vaalbara was most probably the Earth’s oldest assembled continent as proposed by earlier workers. The new paleomagnetic data further suggest that Vaalbara did not exist anymore at ~2.0Ga. When evaluated in conjunction with geological evidence a strong argument can be made for the existence of the Vaalbaran continent up until ~2.22 Ga and that the Pilbara and Kaapvaal cratons became separate entities from about ~2.05 Ga. , Prof. NJ Beukes Prof. DAD Evans
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