Cretaceous erosion in central South Africa: evidence from upper-crustal xenoliths in kimberlite diatremes
- Hanson, E Kelsey, Moore, John M, Bordy, Emese M, Marsh, Julian S, Howarth, Geoffrey H, Robey, Julian van Aardt
- Authors: Hanson, E Kelsey , Moore, John M , Bordy, Emese M , Marsh, Julian S , Howarth, Geoffrey H , Robey, Julian van Aardt
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144978 , vital:38397 , https://doi.org/10.2113/gssajg.112.2.125
- Description: Twelve Group II and fourteen Group I kimberlite diatremes in central South Africa were examined for upper crustal xenoliths in order to estimate the extent of various lithological units of the Karoo Supergroup in the main Karoo basin at times of kimberlite eruption, the Cretaceous erosional history of the area, and the approximate vertical extent of the kimberlite diatremes prior to erosion. Sandstone and amygdaloidal basaltic lava xenoliths from the Karoo Supergroup were specifically selected as their modal mineralogies and geochemical compositions respectively can be attributed to specific stratigraphic positions within the Karoo Supergroup. Results indicated that, at the time of Group II kimberlite eruption (120 Ma), basaltic lavas of the Drakensberg Group covered the entire area, but by the time of Group I kimberlite eruption (85 Ma), they were restricted to the south-eastern half of the study area.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Hanson, E Kelsey , Moore, John M , Bordy, Emese M , Marsh, Julian S , Howarth, Geoffrey H , Robey, Julian van Aardt
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144978 , vital:38397 , https://doi.org/10.2113/gssajg.112.2.125
- Description: Twelve Group II and fourteen Group I kimberlite diatremes in central South Africa were examined for upper crustal xenoliths in order to estimate the extent of various lithological units of the Karoo Supergroup in the main Karoo basin at times of kimberlite eruption, the Cretaceous erosional history of the area, and the approximate vertical extent of the kimberlite diatremes prior to erosion. Sandstone and amygdaloidal basaltic lava xenoliths from the Karoo Supergroup were specifically selected as their modal mineralogies and geochemical compositions respectively can be attributed to specific stratigraphic positions within the Karoo Supergroup. Results indicated that, at the time of Group II kimberlite eruption (120 Ma), basaltic lavas of the Drakensberg Group covered the entire area, but by the time of Group I kimberlite eruption (85 Ma), they were restricted to the south-eastern half of the study area.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Plant-Arthropod Interactions in the Early Angiosperm History - Evidence from the Cretaceous of Israel, V. Krassilov, N. Silantieva and Z. Lewy (Part I) and L.N. Anisyutkin, V.G. Grachev, A.G. Ponomarenko, A.P. Rasnitsyn and P. Vrsansky (Part II); V. Krassi-lov and A. Rasnitsyn (Eds.) book review
- Prevec, Rosemary, Bordy, Emese M
- Authors: Prevec, Rosemary , Bordy, Emese M
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/452418 , vital:75127 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC32792
- Description: This book is a richly illustrated synthesis and development of knowledge on the wide range of plant-insect associations that has been observed in several collections of Cretaceous megafloras from the Negev of Israel.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Prevec, Rosemary , Bordy, Emese M
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/452418 , vital:75127 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC32792
- Description: This book is a richly illustrated synthesis and development of knowledge on the wide range of plant-insect associations that has been observed in several collections of Cretaceous megafloras from the Negev of Israel.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Possible trace fossils of putative termite origin in the Lower Jurassic (Karoo Supergroup) of South Africa and Lesotho
- Bordy, Emese M, Bumby, A J, Catuneanu, O, Eriksson, P G
- Authors: Bordy, Emese M , Bumby, A J , Catuneanu, O , Eriksson, P G
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6732 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007541
- Description: Complex structures in the sandstones of the Lower Jurassic aeolian Clarens Formation (Karoo Supergroup) are found at numerous localities throughout southern Africa, and can be assigned to five distinct architectural groups: (1) up to 3.3-m high, free-standing, slab-shaped forms of bioturbated sandstones with elliptical bases, orientated buttresses and an interconnecting large burrow system; (2) up to 1.2-m high, free-standing, irregular forms of bioturbated sandstones with 2-cm to 4-cm thick, massive walls, empty chambers and vertical shafts; (3) about 0.15-m to 0.25-m high, mainly bulbous, multiple forms with thin walls (<2 cm), hollow chambers with internal pillars and bridges; (4) about 0.15-m to 0.2-m (maximum 1-m) high, free-standing forms of aggregated solitary spheres associated with massive horizontal, orientated capsules or tubes, and meniscate tubes; and (5) about 5 cmin diameter, ovoid forms with weak internal shelving in a close-fitting cavity. Based on size, wall thickness, orientation and the presence of internal chambers, these complex structures are tentatively interpreted as ichnofossils of an Early Jurassic social organism; the different architectures are reflective of the different behaviours of more than one species, the history of structural change in architectural forms (ontogenetic series) or an architectural adaptation to local palaeoclimatic variability. While exact modern equivalents are unknown, some of these ichnofossils are comparable to nests (or parts of nests) constructed by extant termites, and thus these Jurassic structures are very tentatively interpreted here as having been made by a soil-dwelling social organism, probably of termite origin. This southern African discovery, along with reported Triassic and Jurassic termite ichnofossils from North America, supports previous hypotheses that sociality in insects, particularity in termites, likely evolved prior to the Pangea breakup in the Early Mesozoic.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Bordy, Emese M , Bumby, A J , Catuneanu, O , Eriksson, P G
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6732 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007541
- Description: Complex structures in the sandstones of the Lower Jurassic aeolian Clarens Formation (Karoo Supergroup) are found at numerous localities throughout southern Africa, and can be assigned to five distinct architectural groups: (1) up to 3.3-m high, free-standing, slab-shaped forms of bioturbated sandstones with elliptical bases, orientated buttresses and an interconnecting large burrow system; (2) up to 1.2-m high, free-standing, irregular forms of bioturbated sandstones with 2-cm to 4-cm thick, massive walls, empty chambers and vertical shafts; (3) about 0.15-m to 0.25-m high, mainly bulbous, multiple forms with thin walls (<2 cm), hollow chambers with internal pillars and bridges; (4) about 0.15-m to 0.2-m (maximum 1-m) high, free-standing forms of aggregated solitary spheres associated with massive horizontal, orientated capsules or tubes, and meniscate tubes; and (5) about 5 cmin diameter, ovoid forms with weak internal shelving in a close-fitting cavity. Based on size, wall thickness, orientation and the presence of internal chambers, these complex structures are tentatively interpreted as ichnofossils of an Early Jurassic social organism; the different architectures are reflective of the different behaviours of more than one species, the history of structural change in architectural forms (ontogenetic series) or an architectural adaptation to local palaeoclimatic variability. While exact modern equivalents are unknown, some of these ichnofossils are comparable to nests (or parts of nests) constructed by extant termites, and thus these Jurassic structures are very tentatively interpreted here as having been made by a soil-dwelling social organism, probably of termite origin. This southern African discovery, along with reported Triassic and Jurassic termite ichnofossils from North America, supports previous hypotheses that sociality in insects, particularity in termites, likely evolved prior to the Pangea breakup in the Early Mesozoic.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Enigmatic trace fossils from the Aeolian lower Jurassic Clarens formation, Southern Africa
- Authors: Bordy, Emese M
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6730 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007538
- Description: The Lower Jurassic aeolienites of the Clarens Formation in southern Africa contain unique sedimentary structures that are unlikely to be non-biogenic. They are also unlike any known modern or ancient trace fossils. Here, some nigmatic, horizontal,regularly-oriented sedimentary structures are described, which occur in association with other trace fossils as well as features that were previously nterpreted as nests of termites or termite-like ancient social nsects. These spectacular structures are exposed in enormous profusion as straight, ~5 mm cylinders with strong compass orientation, in parallel alignment with one another and to ancient horizontal bedding planes. Their fill is identical to that of the host rock: clean, well-sorted, very fine- to finegrained quartz-arenite. In cross-section, each structure is defined by a subtle, ~0.1 mm thin, concentric gap. Without comparable modern biogenic structures, the biological origin of the structures is uncertain. Their strong compass orientations are, however, also inconsistent with an inorganic origin, even though they may resemble pipey concretions generated by flowing groundwater. Nonetheless, this paper, based on spatiotemporal distribution patterns of the oriented structures, their locally high abundance and association with obvious trace fossils, as well as other sedimentological and palaeontological lines of evidence, argues that the compass structures may be products of ancient social invertebrates living in a resource-limited, semi-arid to arid environment. Furthermore, the compass structures as well as the accompanying structures of the predominantly aeolian Clarens Formation collectively imply the recurrence of favourable ecological parameters (e.g., moist ubstrates) related to episodic climate fluctuations in the Early Jurassic of southern Pangaea (i.e., southern Gondwana).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Bordy, Emese M
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6730 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007538
- Description: The Lower Jurassic aeolienites of the Clarens Formation in southern Africa contain unique sedimentary structures that are unlikely to be non-biogenic. They are also unlike any known modern or ancient trace fossils. Here, some nigmatic, horizontal,regularly-oriented sedimentary structures are described, which occur in association with other trace fossils as well as features that were previously nterpreted as nests of termites or termite-like ancient social nsects. These spectacular structures are exposed in enormous profusion as straight, ~5 mm cylinders with strong compass orientation, in parallel alignment with one another and to ancient horizontal bedding planes. Their fill is identical to that of the host rock: clean, well-sorted, very fine- to finegrained quartz-arenite. In cross-section, each structure is defined by a subtle, ~0.1 mm thin, concentric gap. Without comparable modern biogenic structures, the biological origin of the structures is uncertain. Their strong compass orientations are, however, also inconsistent with an inorganic origin, even though they may resemble pipey concretions generated by flowing groundwater. Nonetheless, this paper, based on spatiotemporal distribution patterns of the oriented structures, their locally high abundance and association with obvious trace fossils, as well as other sedimentological and palaeontological lines of evidence, argues that the compass structures may be products of ancient social invertebrates living in a resource-limited, semi-arid to arid environment. Furthermore, the compass structures as well as the accompanying structures of the predominantly aeolian Clarens Formation collectively imply the recurrence of favourable ecological parameters (e.g., moist ubstrates) related to episodic climate fluctuations in the Early Jurassic of southern Pangaea (i.e., southern Gondwana).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Re-estimation of erosion levels in Group I and II kimberlites between Lesotho, Kimberley and Victoria West, South Africa
- Hanson, E Kelsey, Moore, John M, Robey, Julian van Aardt, Bordy, Emese M, Marsh, Julian S
- Authors: Hanson, E Kelsey , Moore, John M , Robey, Julian van Aardt , Bordy, Emese M , Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: text , long abstracts
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/132144 , vital:36804
- Description: The estimation of post-emplacement kimberlite erosion in South Africa through the study of upper-crustal xenoliths is relatively unexplored; however the presence of these xenoliths has been recognized for well over a 100 years. Previously postemplacement erosion levels of a small number of kimberlite pipes have been inferred through the study of the degree of country-rock diagenesis, the depth of sill formation and the depth of the initiation of diatreme facies kimberlite.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Hanson, E Kelsey , Moore, John M , Robey, Julian van Aardt , Bordy, Emese M , Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: text , long abstracts
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/132144 , vital:36804
- Description: The estimation of post-emplacement kimberlite erosion in South Africa through the study of upper-crustal xenoliths is relatively unexplored; however the presence of these xenoliths has been recognized for well over a 100 years. Previously postemplacement erosion levels of a small number of kimberlite pipes have been inferred through the study of the degree of country-rock diagenesis, the depth of sill formation and the depth of the initiation of diatreme facies kimberlite.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Sedimentology of the Karoo Supergroup in the Tuli Basin (Limpompo River area, South Africa)
- Authors: Bordy, Emese M
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: River sediments -- South Africa Sedimentology Limpopo river Sedimentology -- Limpopo river Limpopo river (South africa)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4999 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005612
- Description: The sedimentary rocks of the Karoo Supergroup in the Tuli Basin (South Africa) consist of various terrigenous clastic and chemical deposits (parabreccias, conglo-breccias, conglomerates, sandstones, fine-grained sediments, calcretes and silc~etes). Four stratigraphic units were identified: the Basal, Middle and· Upper Units, and the CI~rens Formation. The palaeo-environmental reconstructions of the four stratigraphic units are based on evidence provided by primary sedimentary structures, palaeo-flow measurements, clast size/shape analysis, petrographic studies, palaeontological findings, borehole data and stratigraphic relations. The facies associations of the Basal Unit are interpreted as colluvial fan and low sinuosity, braid~d river channel with coal-bearing overbank and thaw-lake deposits. The interpreted depositional environment implies a cold climate, non-glacial subarctic fluvio-Iacustrine system. The current indicators of the palaeo-river system suggest flow direction from ENE to WSW. The lithologies of the Basal Unit are very similar to the deposits of the fluvial interval in the Vryheid Formation (Ecca Group) of the main Karoo Basin. There is no indubitable evidence for glacial activity (e.g. striated pavements or clasts, varvites, etc.), therefore the presence of unequivocal Dwyka Group correlatives in the Tuli Basin remains uncertain. The sedimentary structures and palaeo-current analysis indicate that the beds of the Middle Unit were deposited by an ancient river system flowing in a north-northwesterly direction. A lack of good quality exposures did not allow the reconstruction of the fluvial style, but the available data indicate a high-energy, perhaps braided fluvial system. The lack of bio- and chronostr~~igraphic control hampers precise correlation and enables only the lithocorrelation of the Middle Unit with other braided river systems either in the Beaufort Group or in the Molteno Formation of the main Karoo Basin. The depositional environment of the Upper Unit is interpreted as a low-sinuosity, ephemeral stream system with calcretes and silcretes in the dinosaur-inhabited overbank area. During the deposition of the unit, the climate was semi-arid with sparse precipitation resulting -iFlhighmagnitude, low-frequency devastating flash floods. The sediments were built out from a distant northwesterly source to the southeast. The unambiguous correspondence between the Upper Unit and the Elliot Formation (main Karoo Basin) is provided by lithological similarities and prosauropod dinosaurs remains. The palaeo-geographic picture of the Clarens Fonnation indicates a westerly windsdominated erg environment with migrating transverse dune types. The ephemeral stream deposits, fossil wood and trace fossils are only present in the lower part of the Formation, indicating that the wet-desert conditions were progressively replaced by dry-desert conditions. Based on lithological and palaeontological evidence, the Formation correlates with the Clarens Formation in the main Karoo Basin. At this stage, it remains difficult to establish the exact cause of the regional palaeo-slope changes during the deposition of the Karoo Supergroup in the Tuli Basin. It is probable that foreland system tectonics, which affected the lower part of the Supergroup (Basal Unit and Middle Unit?), were replaced by incipient continental extension and rift related tectonic movements in the Middle and Upper Units, and Clarens Formation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
- Authors: Bordy, Emese M
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: River sediments -- South Africa Sedimentology Limpopo river Sedimentology -- Limpopo river Limpopo river (South africa)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4999 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005612
- Description: The sedimentary rocks of the Karoo Supergroup in the Tuli Basin (South Africa) consist of various terrigenous clastic and chemical deposits (parabreccias, conglo-breccias, conglomerates, sandstones, fine-grained sediments, calcretes and silc~etes). Four stratigraphic units were identified: the Basal, Middle and· Upper Units, and the CI~rens Formation. The palaeo-environmental reconstructions of the four stratigraphic units are based on evidence provided by primary sedimentary structures, palaeo-flow measurements, clast size/shape analysis, petrographic studies, palaeontological findings, borehole data and stratigraphic relations. The facies associations of the Basal Unit are interpreted as colluvial fan and low sinuosity, braid~d river channel with coal-bearing overbank and thaw-lake deposits. The interpreted depositional environment implies a cold climate, non-glacial subarctic fluvio-Iacustrine system. The current indicators of the palaeo-river system suggest flow direction from ENE to WSW. The lithologies of the Basal Unit are very similar to the deposits of the fluvial interval in the Vryheid Formation (Ecca Group) of the main Karoo Basin. There is no indubitable evidence for glacial activity (e.g. striated pavements or clasts, varvites, etc.), therefore the presence of unequivocal Dwyka Group correlatives in the Tuli Basin remains uncertain. The sedimentary structures and palaeo-current analysis indicate that the beds of the Middle Unit were deposited by an ancient river system flowing in a north-northwesterly direction. A lack of good quality exposures did not allow the reconstruction of the fluvial style, but the available data indicate a high-energy, perhaps braided fluvial system. The lack of bio- and chronostr~~igraphic control hampers precise correlation and enables only the lithocorrelation of the Middle Unit with other braided river systems either in the Beaufort Group or in the Molteno Formation of the main Karoo Basin. The depositional environment of the Upper Unit is interpreted as a low-sinuosity, ephemeral stream system with calcretes and silcretes in the dinosaur-inhabited overbank area. During the deposition of the unit, the climate was semi-arid with sparse precipitation resulting -iFlhighmagnitude, low-frequency devastating flash floods. The sediments were built out from a distant northwesterly source to the southeast. The unambiguous correspondence between the Upper Unit and the Elliot Formation (main Karoo Basin) is provided by lithological similarities and prosauropod dinosaurs remains. The palaeo-geographic picture of the Clarens Fonnation indicates a westerly windsdominated erg environment with migrating transverse dune types. The ephemeral stream deposits, fossil wood and trace fossils are only present in the lower part of the Formation, indicating that the wet-desert conditions were progressively replaced by dry-desert conditions. Based on lithological and palaeontological evidence, the Formation correlates with the Clarens Formation in the main Karoo Basin. At this stage, it remains difficult to establish the exact cause of the regional palaeo-slope changes during the deposition of the Karoo Supergroup in the Tuli Basin. It is probable that foreland system tectonics, which affected the lower part of the Supergroup (Basal Unit and Middle Unit?), were replaced by incipient continental extension and rift related tectonic movements in the Middle and Upper Units, and Clarens Formation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
Sedimentology of the upper Karoo fluvial strata in the Tuli Basin, South Africa
- Bordy, Emese M, Catuneanu, O
- Authors: Bordy, Emese M , Catuneanu, O
- Date: 2001
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6731 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007540
- Description: The sedimentary rocks of the Karoo Supergroup in the Tuli Basin (South Africa) may be grouped in four stratigraphic units: the basal, middle and upper units, and the Clarens Formation. This paper presents the findings of the sedimentological investigation of the fluvial terrigenous clastic and chemical deposits of the upper unit. Evidence provided by primary sedimentary structures, palaeontological record, borehole data, palaeo-flow measurements and stratigraphic relations resulted in the palaeo-environmental reconstruction of the upper unit. The dominant facies assemblages are represented by sandstones and finer-grained sediments, which both can be interbedded with subordinate intraformational coarser facies. The facies assemblages of the upper unit are interpreted as deposits of a low-sinuosity, ephemeral stream system with calcretes and silcretes in the dinosaur-inhabited overbank area. During the deposition of the upper unit, the climate was semi-arid with sparse precipitation resulting in high-magnitude, low-frequency devastating flash floods. The current indicators of the palaeo-drainage system suggest flow direction from northwest to southeast, in a dominantly extensional tectonic setting. Based on sedimentologic and biostratigraphic evidence, the upper unit of the Tuli Basin correlates to the Elliot Formation in the main Karoo Basin to the south.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
- Authors: Bordy, Emese M , Catuneanu, O
- Date: 2001
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6731 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007540
- Description: The sedimentary rocks of the Karoo Supergroup in the Tuli Basin (South Africa) may be grouped in four stratigraphic units: the basal, middle and upper units, and the Clarens Formation. This paper presents the findings of the sedimentological investigation of the fluvial terrigenous clastic and chemical deposits of the upper unit. Evidence provided by primary sedimentary structures, palaeontological record, borehole data, palaeo-flow measurements and stratigraphic relations resulted in the palaeo-environmental reconstruction of the upper unit. The dominant facies assemblages are represented by sandstones and finer-grained sediments, which both can be interbedded with subordinate intraformational coarser facies. The facies assemblages of the upper unit are interpreted as deposits of a low-sinuosity, ephemeral stream system with calcretes and silcretes in the dinosaur-inhabited overbank area. During the deposition of the upper unit, the climate was semi-arid with sparse precipitation resulting in high-magnitude, low-frequency devastating flash floods. The current indicators of the palaeo-drainage system suggest flow direction from northwest to southeast, in a dominantly extensional tectonic setting. Based on sedimentologic and biostratigraphic evidence, the upper unit of the Tuli Basin correlates to the Elliot Formation in the main Karoo Basin to the south.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
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