[1] Hu Keyi, Qi Yuping, Nemyrovska Tamara I., 2019. Mid-Carboniferous conodonts and their evolution: new evidence from Guizhou, South China. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 17(6), 451-489. https://doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2018.1440255
Abstract
We studied details of the conodont assemblages in two deep-water sections spanning the mid-Carboniferous boundary at Guizhou, South China. Forty-six species/subspecies were identified belonging to 13 genera, including Lochriea, Gnathodus, Declinognathodus, Idiognathoides, Idiognathodus, Neognathodus, Neolochriea, Swadelina, ‘Streptognathodusii’, Cavusgnathus, Adetognathus, Rhachistognathus and Hindeodus. The evolutionary relationships among the species of Gnathodus, Neognathodus, Declinognathodus, Idiognathoides, Idiognathodus and Swadelina are discussed based on their P1 and P2 elements, as well as those of the species of Lochriea and Neolochriea. The early Pennsylvanian species of Declinognathodus are specifically studied with a focus on their taxonomy and evolution because of their biostratigraphical significance. These species can be distinguished as being part of the ridged or nodose groups by the parapet features of their P1 elements. The ridged group comprises D. praenoduliferus, D. bernesgae, D. lateralis, the newly recognized taxa D. tuberculosus sp. nov. and D. intermedius sp. nov., and D. cf. pseudolateralis. The nodose group includes D. inaequalis, D. noduliferus and D. japonicus. The number of rostral-ventral nodes of the Declinognathodus P1 elements are gradually reduced stratigraphically. Declinognathodus tuberculosus sp. nov. is considered to be the ancestor of the other ridged Declinognathodus species following a reduction in the number of rostral-ventral …

[2] Kalvoda Jiří, Kumpan Tomáš, Qie Wenkun, Frýda Jiří, Bábek Ondřej, 2019. Mercury spikes at the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary in the eastern part of the Rhenohercynian zone (central Europe) and in the South China block. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 531, . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.05.043
Abstract
Mercury (Hg) chemostratigraphy is an efficient tool for tracing distal volcanism, as suggested in many recent studies. In our research, we focused on Hg and other trace element contents in two Devonian-Carboniferous boundary sections from two different and spatially distant areas. The Lesní lom section (Czech Republic) was located in the south-eastern part of the Laurussia plate and the Duli (Guangxi, China) section in the South China Plate. In both studied sections, the highest Hg, Hg/Fexs or Hg/Al values occurred at the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary. In Lesní lom, organic matter remineralization was connected with origin of pyrite which sequestered a part of the Hg content. The decoupling of Hg and TOC within the Duli section strata and the significant correlation with Al and Fe may suggest that Hg is hosted primarily by clay particles, derived from the landmass into the marine realm. Mercury was also incorporated into pyrites but the poor correlation between Hg and TS (total sulfur) indicates a possible loss of S during oxygenation events. In the Lesní lom section, and partly in the Duli section, Fe and Mn redox cycling may have played an important role in sediment Hg content. Both sections were influenced by widespread hydrothermal and volcanic activity, indicated by positive Eu anomalies, MSI, Fe/Ti, Zr/Al2O3 and Ti/Al2O3 values...

[3] Kuleshov V. N., Sedaeva K. M., Gorozhanin V. M., Gorozhanina E. N., 2019. Hypostratotype of the Bashkirian Stage of the Carboniferous System (Askyn River, Bashkortostan): Lithology, Isotopes (δ13C, δ18O), and Carbonate Depositional Settings. Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 26(6), 93-116. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0869593818060047
Abstract
The isotopic composition and lithology of the hypostratotype of the Bashkirian Stage (Pennsylvanian) in the Askyn River section (Bashkortostan, western slope of the South Urals) are studied. The isotopic study (σ13C, σ18O) was conducted taking the carbonate lithology into account. The succession studied is composed of Upper Serpukhovian, Bashkirian, and Lower Moscovian carbonates of various lithological types, changeable throughout the section. The Serpukhovian carbonates are characterized by a relatively light carbon isotopic composition (negative values of (σ13C), whereas the Bashkirian and Moscovian sediments have a heavy composition (mainly positive values of (σ13C). The carbon isotope anomaly of the first order, fixed at the Mississippian–Pennsylvanian boundary and having a global distribution, is recorded in the studied hypostratotype section slightly higher than the uniformly accepted boundary level. This may indicate that the section contains “transitional beds” at the base of the Bashkirian. In the studied carbonates, a dependence (of the second order) of the isotopic composition of carbon and oxygen on the lithological type of rocks is sometimes recorded. The variation in the values of (σ13C and σ18O in carbonates reflects changes in the conditions in which they were formed (temporary and local changes in paleotemperature, bioproductivity, desalination) and epigenetic changes.

[4] Nikolaeva Svetlana V., Alekseev Alexander S., Kulagina Elena I., Gatovsky Yury A., Ponomareva Galina Yu, Gibshman Nilyufer B., 2019. An evaluation of biostratigraphic markers across multiple geological sections in the search for the GSSP of the base of the Serpukhovian Stage (Mississippian). Palaeoworld , 1-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2019.01.006
Abstract
This paper aims to evaluate potential biostratigraphic markers for the Viséan–Serpukhovian boundary in sections of Europe and Asia, to help identify the base of the global Serpukhovian Stage, which is a high priority task for Carboniferous biostratigraphy. Sections in the Serpukhovian stratotype area in the Moscow Basin contain a gap at the base of the Tarusian Regional Substage (basal in the classical Serpukhovian), so the traditional boundary defined in these sections cannot be precisely correlated with other successions worldwide. The IUGS Task Group to establish a GSSP close to the traditional Viséan–Serpukhovian boundary focused on the search for a new boundary marker, primarily on the first appearance datum (FAD) of the conodont Lochriea ziegleri in the lineage Lochriea nodosa to Lochriea ziegleri, considering it to be a suitable biostratigraphic event. The FOD (first occurrence datum) of L. ziegleri has been recognized in many successions worldwide, although only in a few sections the supposed evolutionary lineage of L. ziegleri was inferred. There are serious impediments to the FAD of L. ziegleri being universally accepted as the boundary marker. This paper presents a review of the FOD levels of L. ziegleri documented so far from multiple sections along with other correlatable markers (foraminifers and ammonoids) that...

[5] Rosa Eduardo L. M., Vesely Fernando F., Isbell John L., Kipper Felipe, Fedorchuk Nicholas D., Souza Paulo A., 2019. Constraining the timing, kinematics and cyclicity of Mississippian-Early Pennsylvanian glaciations in the Paraná Basin, Brazil. Sedimentary Geology 384, 29-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2019.03.001
Abstract
Ice-contact deposits emplaced by Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA) glaciers are rarely exposed due to a low degree of preservation and their capping by thick glaciomarine deglaciation sequences. In this paper, we present new data on glacial cyclicity, relative age constraints and paleoice flow interpretations for an ice-contact succession of the lowermost Itararé Group in eastern Paraná Basin (Brazil). The 80m-thick ice-contact complex rests over the Itararé Group basal unconformity and comprises four stacked informal stratigraphic units regarded as the depositional/ deformational record of three ice lobes advance/retreat cycles. Glacial cycle 1 comprises a sheet of massive diamictite resting on striated pavements carved on Devonian sandstones and topped by grooved/fluted surfaces, which indicate subglacial emplacement from a northward flowing ice lobe. The glacial cycle 2 succession was deposited in a proglacial to ice-marginal marine setting and subsequently deformed due to minor ice margin fluctuations of awestward/southwestward flowing grounded ice lobe. Glacial cycle 3 is interpreted as a thick overridden push moraine composed of grounding-line fan deposits capped...

[6] Tian Xiaoxu, Chen Jitao, Yao Le, Hu Keyi, Qi Yuping, Wang Xiangdong, 2019. Glacio-eustasy and δ13C across the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian boundary in the eastern Paleo-Tethys Ocean (South China): Implications for mid-Carboniferous major glaciation. Geological Journal , 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.3551
Abstract
A positive carbonate δ13C excursion (by ~1.5–3.0‰) has been reported across the Mississippian–Pennsylvanian boundary (MPB) from Euramerican epicontinental seas, implying a coeval atmospheric pCO2 decrease and Gondwanan glaciation at that time. This excursion was mainly observed in carbonate platforms which experienced repeated subaerial exposure. The South China Block was located in the middle of the Paleo‐Tethys Ocean and the Panthalassic Ocean during the Carboniferous and contains well‐preserved carbonate slope strata across the MPB. Four lithofacies were defined in the studied Naqing, Narao, and Dianzishang sections, including thinbedded lime mudstones, laminated wackestones to packstones, normally‐graded packstones, and slumped limestones. Immediately above the MPB, a bed of normally‐ graded packstones or slump masses occurs in the studied sections, which together with coeval subaerial‐exposure features in shallow‐water carbonate platform of South China, suggests a significant sea‐level fall across the MPB. Carbonate δ13C records show a consistent value of ~3.0‰ below the MPB in the Naqing and Narao sections...

[7] Wang Xiangdong, Hu Keyi, Qie Wenkun, Sheng Qingyi, Chen Bo, Lin Wei, Yao Le, Wang Qiulai, Qi Yuping, Chen Jitao, Liao Zhuoting, Song Junjun, 2019. Carboniferous integrative stratigraphy and time scale of China. Science China Earth Sciences 62(1), 135-153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-017-9253-7
Abstract
The Carboniferous period lasted about 60 Myr, from ~358.9 Ma to ~298.9 Ma. According to the International Commission on Stratigraphy, the Carboniferous System is subdivided into two subsystems, i.e., Mississippian and Pennsylvanian, including 6 series and 7 stages. The Global Stratotype Sections and Points (GSSPs) of three stages have been ratified, the Tournaisian, Visean, and Bashkirian stages. The GSSPs of the remaining four stages (i.e., the Serpukhovian, Moscovian, Kasimovian, and Gzhelian) have not been ratified so far. This paper outlines Carboniferous stratigraphic subdivision and correlation on the basis of detailed biostratigraphy mainly from South China, and summarizes the Carboniferous chronostratigraphic framework of China. High-resolution biostratigraphic study reveals 37 conodont zones, 24 foraminiferal (including fusulinid) zones, 13 ammonoid zones, 10 brachiopod zones, and 10 rugose coral zones in the Carboniferous of China. The biostratigraphic framework based on these biozones warrants the precise correlation of regional stratigraphy of China (including 2 subsystems, 4 series, and 8 stages...

[8] Zhenzhu Wan, Thomas J. Algeoa, Patricia G. Gensel, Stephen E. Scheckler, William E. Stein, Walter L. Cressler III, Christopher M. Berry, Honghe Xu, Harold D. Rowe, Peter E. Sauer, 2019. Environmental influences on the stable carbon isotopic composition of Devonian and Early Carboniferous land plants. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology , .
Abstract
Systematic analysis of the stable carbon isotopic composition of fossil land plants (δ13Cp) has the potential to offer new insights regarding paleoclimate variation and plant-environment interactions in early terrestrial ecosystems. δ13Cp was measured for 190 fossil plant specimens belonging to 10 genera of Early to Late Devonian age (Archaeopteris, repanophycus, Haskinsia, Leclercqia, Pertica, Psilophyton, Rhacophyton, Sawdonia, Tetraxylopteris, and Wattieza) and 2 genera of Early Carboniferous age (Genselia and Rhodeopteridium) collected from sites located mainly in the Appalachian Basin (22–30°S paleolatitude). For the full carbon-isotopic dataset (n=309), δ13Cp ranges from −20.3‰ to −30.5‰ with a mean of −25.5‰, similar to values for modern C3 land plants...

[9] Algeo, Thomas J, Herrmann, Achim D, 2018. An ancient estuarine-circulation nutrient trap: The Late Pennsylvanian Midcontinent Sea of North America. Geology 46(2), 143-146.
Abstract
The Late Pennsylvanian Midcontinent Sea (LPMS) of North America, which existed during glacioeustatic highstands of the late Paleozoic ice age, was an immense (>1 × 106 km2) cratonic interior sea exhibiting large-scale estuarine circulation, with a low-salinity surface plume overlying a high-salinity, anoxic, deep water mass. As in river estuaries, these conditions resulted in trapping and recycling of nutrients and organic-reactive elements (e.g., trace metals such as Mo, U, and Zn) in the subpycnoclinal water mass, leading to total organic carbon (TOC) to 40% and peak trace metal enrichment factors (EFs) of 540 (Mo), 73 (U), and 75 (Zn) in the black shale facies of the Hushpuckney Shale. Trace metal EFs increase gradually from distal (Oklahoma) to proximal (Iowa) areas of the Midcontinent Shelf before decreasing abruptly in the Illinois Basin, located to the east of the Mississippi River Arch (MRA). Owing to similar productivity (TOC) and redox (FeT/Al) proxy values on both sides of this arch, the large differences in trace metal EFs are interpreted to reflect divergent deep-water chemistries; specifically, much larger aqueous trace metal inventories on the Midcontinent Shelf than in the Illinois Basin. This condition implies that...

[10] Chen Jitao, Montañez Isabel P, Qi Yuping, Shen Shuzhong, Wang Xiangdong, 2018. Strontium and carbon isotopic evidence for decoupling of pCO2 from continental weathering at the apex of the late Paleozoic glaciation. Geology 46(5), 395-398.
Abstract
Earth’s penultimate icehouse (ca. 340–285 Ma) was a time of low atmospheric pCO2 and high pO2, formation of the supercontinent Pangaea, dynamic glaciation in the Southern Hemisphere, and radiation of the oldest tropical rainforests. Although it has been long appreciated that these major tectonic, climatic, and biotic events left their signature on seawater 87Sr/86Sr through their influence on Sr fluxes to the ocean, the temporal resolution and precision of the late Paleozoic seawater 87Sr/86Sr record remain relatively low. Here we present a high-temporal-resolution and high-fidelity record of Carboniferous– early Permian seawater 87Sr/86Sr based on conodont bioapatite from an open-water carbonate slope succession in south China. The new data define a rate of long-term rise in 87Sr/86Sr (0.000035/m.y.) from ca. 334–318 Ma comparable to that of the middle to late Cenozoic. The onset of the rapid decline in 87Sr/86Sr (0.000043/m.y.), following a prolonged plateau (318–303 Ma), is constrained to ca. 303 Ma. A major decoupling of 87Sr/86Sr and pCO2 during 303–297 Ma, coincident with the Paleozoic peak in pO2, widespread low-latitude aridification, and demise of the pan-tropical wetland forests, suggests a major shift in the dominant influence on pCO2 from continental weathering and organic carbon sequestration (as coals) on land to organic carbon burial in the ocean.

[11] Chen Jitao, Sheng Qingyi, Hu Keyi, Yao Le, Lin Wei, Montañez Isabel P, Tian Xiaoxu, Qi Yuping, Wang Xiangdong, 2018. Late Mississippian glacio-eustasy recorded in the eastern Paleo-Tethys Ocean (South China). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology , .
Abstract
Long-lived and extensive glaciation during the Carboniferous and early Permian has been the focus of many studies over the past decade revealing systematic changes in sea level and climatic conditions. The nature of the inception of Carboniferous glaciation, however, remains poorly resolved with uncertainty regarding the timing and dynamics of buildup of continental ice sheets. Here we present detailed sedimentary facies and depositional cycles from Upper Mississippian shallow-water platform and contemporaneous carbonate slope successions from the eastern Paleo-Tethys Ocean region (South China) to reveal systematic variations that provide insight into the sedimentary response to the onset of Carboniferous glaciation. Based on detailed sedimentological logging and facies analysis, four upper Visean cycles and four Serpukhovian cycles were identified from the carbonate platform Yashui section, bounded by either subaerial surfaces or zones, or transgressive surfaces. The cycle tops roughly correspond to intervals rich in normally graded bioclastic wacke- to packstones and with distinct rises (~1‰) in conodont δ18OPO4 in the carbonate slope Naqing section. In particular, the four Serpukhovian cycles correlate well to depositional cycles defined in the Lower Yangtze Platform succession of South China and in the cyclothemic successions in the Donets Basin, ...

[12] Fang Qiang, Wu Huaichun, Wang Xunlian, Yang Tianshui, Li Haiyan, Zhang Shihong, 2018. Astronomical cycles in the Serpukhovian-Moscovian (Carboniferous) marine sequence, South China and their implications for geochronology and icehouse dynamics. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 156, 302-315.
Abstract
The Late Paleozoic Ice Age (ca. 335–260 Ma, LPIA) has long been considered as an analogy for the Cenozoic ice age since the Oligocene. The impact of astronomical forcing on the LPIA glaciation has been hampered due to the low-resolution (multi-million year scale) time framework. In the present study, high-resolution cyclostratigraphy based on magnetic susceptibility (MS), covering the Serpukhovian to late Moscovian icehouse climate, has been investigated in the Luokun section of South China. Power spectral analysis of the MS series reveals 3.44–4m, 0.8–1.07 m, 0.3–0.32 m, and 0.17–0.19m thick sedimentary cycles. Based on the available biostratigraphic constraints, calibrating the 3.44–4m cycles to the 405 kyr eccentricity cycles indicates short eccentricity (136 and 100 kyr), short obliquity (34 kyr), and precession (19 and 15.9 kyr) orbital bands in addition to long eccentricity (405 kyr) band. We assigned the basal Serpukhovian and Moscovian stages in Luokun with the numerical ages from Geological Time Scale 2012 to construct two floating time scales ranging from 331.55 ± 0.5 Ma to 323.2 ± 0.5 Ma, and from 315.34 ± 0.35 Ma to 310.17 ± 0.35 Ma, respectively. The modulation of main obliquity (s4–s3 term) has a main periodicity of ∼1200 kyr. The modulation of ∼100 kyr eccentricity (g4–g3 term) shows a main periodicity of ∼2400 kyr with subordinate periodicities of ∼1620 and ∼1200 kyr for the Serpukhovian, and a main periodicity of∼1600 kyr for the Moscovian. ...

[13] Fang Qiang, Wu Huaichun, Hinnov Linda A, Tian Wenqian, Wang Xunlian, Yang Tianshui, Li Haiyan, Zhang Shihong, 2018. Abiotic and biotic responses to Milankovitch-forced megamonsoon and glacial cycles recorded in South China at the end of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age. Global and Planetary Change , .
Abstract
At the end of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA) from late Early Permian to early Late Permian, the global climate was impacted by a prevailing megamonsoon and Gondwanan deglaciation. To better understand the abiotic and biotic responses to Milankovitch-forced climate changes during this time period, multi-element X-ray fluorescence (XRF) geochemistry analyses were conducted on 948 samples from the late Earlylate Middle Permian Maokou Formation at Shangsi, South China. The Fe/Ti, S/Ti, Ba/Ti and Ca time series, which were calibrated with an existing “floating” astronomical time scale (ATS), show the entire suite of Milankovitch rhythms including 405 kyr long eccentricity, 128 and 95 kyr short eccentricity, 33 kyr obliquity and 20 kyr precession. Spectral coherency and cross-phase analysis reveals that chemical weathering (monitored by Fe/Ti) and upwelling (captured by S/Ti and Ba/Ti) are nearly antiphase in the precession band, which suggests a contrast between summer and winter monsoon intensities. Strong obliquity signal in the Ba/Ti series is proposed to derive from changes in thermohaline circulation intensity from glaciation dynamics in southern Gondwana. The abundance of foraminifer, brachiopod and ostracod faunas within the Maokou Formation were mainly controlled by the ~1.1 Myr obliquity modulation cycle. The obliquity-forced high-nutrient and oxygen-depleted conditions generally produced a benthic foraminifer bloom, but threatened the brachiopod and ostracod faunas.

[14] Frey Linda, Rücklin Martin, Korn Dieter, Klug Christian, 2018. Late Devonian and Early Carboniferous alpha diversity, ecospace occupation, vertebrate assemblages and bio-events of southeastern Morocco. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 496, 1-7.
Abstract
The Late Devonian was a time of dramatic environmental perturbations affecting marine ecosystems. Both the Kellwasser (latest Frasnian) and the Hangenberg crises (latest Famennian) are primarily reported as phases of drastic decreases in marine diversity while the Hangenberg Crisis is also described as a bottleneck in vertebrate evolution. Fossil-bearing localities with Upper Devonian strata are of great interest to assess variations in the effects of environmental perturbations on biodiversity. For this purpose, we examined changes in alpha diversity and ecospace utilization of 21 Famennian (Late Devonian) and early Tournaisian (Early Carboniferous) invertebrate associations containing 9828 specimens from Madène el Mrakib and Aguelmous (southern Maïder Basin, northeastern Anti-Atlas, Morocco), where some layers yield exceptionally preserved gnathostome remains. Both the invertebrate and vertebrate associations contain predominantly opportunistic and pelagic taxa indicating oxygen depletion near the seafloor in this region. Nevertheless, the ecospace extension was fluctuating and correlated with regional and/or global sea-level changes and oxygenation of bottom waters. ...

[15] Ganai Javid A, Rashid Shaik A, Romshoo Shakil A, 2018. Evaluation of terrigenous input, diagenetic alteration and depositional conditions of Lower Carboniferous carbonates of Tethys Himalaya, India. Solid Earth Sciences 3(2), 33-49.
Abstract
Geochemical and isotopic signatures from Lower Carboniferous Limestone of the Lipak Formation of Spiti region, Tethys Himalaya (for the first time) have been studied for palaeo-climatic reconstruction of the region and to evaluate the influence of terrigenous input into the Tethyan Ocean. The principal component analysis (PCA) suggests that CaO exhibits different modes of origin as compared to other elements. The low and relatively constant Al/Si ratio (0.19e0.46) of Lipak limestone suggests that Si has multiple sources besides clay minerals. Higher Al2O3 of the limestone than siliciclastic-contaminated carbonates (1.59%) as well as comparable Y/Ho ratio to terrestrial material suggests terrigenous input into the basin. The Er/Nd ratio ranges from 0.07 to 0.18 which further indicates the influence of detrital input (in normal seawater Er/Nd is 0.27). ...

[16] Hogancamp Nicholas, Barrick James, 2018. Morphometric analysis and taxonomic revision of North American species of the Idiognathodus eudoraensis Barrick, Heckel, & Boardman, 2008 group (Missourian, Upper Pennsylvanian Conodonts). Bulletins of American Paleontology 395-396, 35-69.
Abstract
The platform landmark analysis (PLA) for Idiognathodus is used to analyze morphological variability in the I. eudoraensis group and compare it with the I. simulator and I. magnificus groups. The I. eudoraensis group comprises four species, I. eudoraensis, I. centralis n. sp., I. abdivitus n. sp., and I. aff. I. luganicus, based on analysis of material from New Mexico and Iowa. Idiognathodus abdivitus n. sp. has the same distinct feature as I. simulator (the index of the base of the Gzehlian Stage) the isolated caudal adcarinal ridge, but the two species are differentiated on the basis of platform and adcarinal ridge shape. Another species of Idiognathodus, I. sweeti n. sp., occurs with the I. eudoraensis group, but does not have an eccentric groove and is assigned to the I. magnificus group. All four species of the I. eudoraensis Zone show the same style of P1 element asymmetry observed in the I. simulator and I. magnificus groups. This style of asymmetry is named simulator-style asymmetry and is identified by the sinistral element having a broadly curved rostral platform margin that has a more dorsal location of the curvature maxima, and the dextral element having a wider, tapered rostral margin with a more ventral location of the curvature maxima. The shared character of platform asymmetry style across multiple species with different platform structures (lobes, grooves, ridges) suggests that ...

[17] Javier SANZ-LÓPEZ, Silvia BLANCO-FERRERA, C. Giles MILLER, 2018. Morphologic variation in the P1 element of Mississippian species of the conodont genus Pseudognathodus. SPANISH JOURNAL OF PALAEONTOLOGY 33, 185-203.

[18] Liu Feng, Kerp Hans, Peng Huiping, Zhu Huaicheng, Peng Jungang, 2018. Palynostratigraphy of the Devonian–Carboniferous transition in the Tulong section in South Tibet: A Hangenberg Event sequence analogue in the Himalaya-Tethys zone. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology , .
Abstract
Palynological assemblages from the Tulong succession in South Tibet enabled the recognition of three miospore biozones within the Zhangdong and ‘Yali’ formations. In ascending order, they are the Retispora lepidophyta–Verrucosisporites nitidus (LN) Biozone, the Vallatisporites vallatus–Foveosporites pellucidus (VP) Biozone and the Rugospora polyptycha–Tricidarisporites arcuatus (PA) Biozone. The LN Biozone in the Tulong section can be correlated to the LN Biozone of Western Europe, based on the first and last appearances of many index miospore species. However, Tournaisian palynological assemblages of Western Europe and South Tibet show compositional differences. The VP and PA biozones of South Tibet are correlated tentatively to the VI–HD and BP–TC biozones of Western Europe based on the occurrences of rare miospore index species in both regions. The Zhangdong and ‘Yali’ formations are now dated as Famennian to possibly earliest Visean. This age assessment is supported by rare conodonts and ammonoids recovered from intercalated limestones in the basal part of ‘Yali’ Formation. In the Everest region, the Devonian–Carboniferous boundary is now placed c. 10m above the lower boundary of the ‘Yali’ Formation, which was originally suggested by Lin and Qiu (1985) to be position of the D–C boundary. Unlike western Gondwana, i.e. Bolivia and Brazil, the Himalaya-Tethys zone at the northeastern margin of Gondwana does not show obvious lithological evidence for glaciations. ...

[19] Liu Jiangsi, Algeo Thomas J, Qie Wenkun, Saltzman Matthew R, 2018. Intensified oceanic circulation during Early Carboniferous cooling events: Evidence from carbon and nitrogen isotopes. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology , .
Abstract
The Early Carboniferous was a climatic transition interval from a mid-Paleozoic greenhouse world into the Late Paleozoic Ice Age. It was marked by a long-term cooling trend that was punctuated by short glaciations in the Tournaisian and Visean (early to mid-Early Carboniferous). Here, we generated organic carbon and nitrogen isotope profiles for two widely separated Lower Carboniferous sections (Arrow Canyon Range, Nevada, and Namur-Dinant Basin, Belgium) in order to assess the global nature and timing of changes in the carbon‑nitrogen cycles linked to oceanic productivity and redox conditions during this climatic transition interval. The carbon and nitrogen isotope profiles of both study sections record major perturbations during the mid-Tournaisian and Visean. A mid-Tournaisian event (TICE) is marked by increases in δ13Ccarb, δ13Corg, and δ15Nbulk at Arrow Canyon (from +0.6 to +7.0‰, −25.2 to−23.7‰, and –0.6 to +8.9‰, respectively) and Namur-Dinant (from−0.3 to +4.7‰, −27.9‰to −22.2‰, and –5.7 to +5.2‰, respectively). An early Visean event (VICE; named herein) is marked by increases in δ13Ccarb, δ13Corg, and δ15Nbulk at Arrow Canyon (from −0.6 to +3.1‰, −28.4 to −23.6‰, and +1.4 to +9.4‰, respectively) and Namur-Dinant (from +2.1 to +4.3‰, −26.7 to −25.0‰, and –1.4 to +3.3‰, respectively). ...

[20] Lucas Spencer G., 2018. The GSSP Method of Chronostratigraphy: A Critical Review. Frontiers in Earth Science , .
Abstract
The use of boundary stratotypes to define chronostratigraphic units began in the 1960s, and, in the 1980s, these were called Global Stratotype Sections and Points (GSSPs). Approximately two-thirds of the GSSPs of the bases of the Phanerozoic stage (71 of 102 in September 2018) have been ratified by the International Commission on Stratigraphy. However, this apparent progress toward precise definition of a Phanerozoic chronostratigraphic timescale is underlain by multiple problems of philosophy and methodology that include: (1) inconsistency in how chronostratigraphic units are being named and defined; (2) arbitrary decisions as to GSSP level, many based on arbitrarily chosen points in hypothetical chronomorphoclines of microfossils; (3) hierarchical reductionism, which makes the stage base the same as the base of the series, system, erathem and eonothem, thereby trivializing the significance of the boundaries of these larger chronostratigraphic units; (4) stability achieved by the non-scientific process of designating a GSSP once ratified as immutable; (5) the unworkable concept of a standard set of global stages; (6) the fallacy that a GSSP location can somehow define a recognizable (correlateable) global time line; (7) imprecision in GSSP correlation because the primary signals are largely single taxon biotic events that are inherently diachronous due to the limitations of fossil distributions by sampling, facies and provincialism; and...

[21] Machado Gil, Vavrdova Milada, Fonseca Madalena, Fonseca Paulo Emanuel, Rocha Fernando, 2018. Stratigraphy and palynology of the Pennsylvanian continental Bucaco Basin (NW Iberia). Geobios 51, 507-516.
Abstract
The Buc¸aco Basin is a Pennsylvanian continental basin located along an important NNW–SSE strike structure (Porto-Tomar-Ferreira do Alentejo shear zone) that separates the Ossa-Morena and Central Iberian Zones of the Iberian Variscan Fold Belt in central western Portugal. The shear zone controlled the sedimentation in the basin and probably its post-sedimentary evolution. Sedimentation is initially alluvial with characteristic red sandstones, breccias and conglomerates. A gradual change to a fluvial (and probably lacustrine) type of sedimentation is observed with finning-upward cycles of gravel conglomerates, sandstones and organic-rich mudstones with occasional coal seams. Three representative sections were sampled for palynology and seventeen samples yielded sporomorphs with moderate to poor preservation. The palynological content from the alluvial sediments shows low diversity and poorly preserved assemblages dominated by Triquitrites spp., Densosporites spp., Laevigatosporites spp., and other taxa associated with siliciclastic environments or rheophytic mires. The fluvial and lacustrine sediments show a dramatic increase in diversity with an abundant, typical peatland microflora including sporomorphs such as Endosporites spp., Lycospora spp. and Monoletes spp., ...

[22] Tamara I. NEMYROVSKA, Keyi HU, 2018. Conodont association of the Bashkirian-Moscovian boundary interval of the Donets Basin, Ukraine. SPANISH JOURNAL OF PALAEONTOLOGY 33(1), 105-128.
Abstract
Ten sections spanning the Bashkirian-Moscovian boundary interval were studied in the Donets Basin. Six of them contain most representative conodont and foraminifer associations. In this paper we focused on three the most complete sections that include stratigraphically important conodont species, which belong to the Declinognathodus, Idiognathoides, Idiognathodus, Neognathodus, “Streptognathodus”, Mesogondolella and Diplognathodus genera. The majority of those species are widely distributed, which makes the correlation to other areas reliable. Two biotic events in conodont evolution were discovered in these sections. Two conodont lineages established here are considered as potential markers for the definition of the lower boundary of the Global Moscovian Stage: D. marginodosus – D. donetzianus and Id. sulcatus sulcatus – Id. postsulcatus. The conodonts D. donetzianus and Id. postsulcatus, both proposed before as potential markers for the defi nition of the GSSP at the Bashkirian-Moscovian boundary, are described and compared to those from the other areas. The entry of D. donetzianus is updated and confi rmed to the top of the limestone K1 in both sections, the Zolota Valley and the Malo-Mykolaivka sections. The other proposals for the defi nition of the lower Moscovian boundary by conodonts are discussed. ....

[23] Xing Huang, Markus Aretz, Xionghua Zhang, Yuansheng Du, Wenkun Qie, Qin Wen, Changnan Wang, Tengfei Luan, X.‐d. Wang, 2018. Pennsylvanian–early Permian palaeokarst development on the Yangtze Platform, South China, and implications for the regional sea‐level history. Geological Journal 53, 1241-1262.
Abstract
The Pennsylvanian to lower Permian succession at Madiyi, South China, represents a nearshore mixed siliciclastic‐carbonate system characterized by cyclic sedimentation patterns along a depth gradient from continental siliciclastics to marine open platform carbonates. Various palaeokarst features related to subaerial exposure are widely distributed. Additionally, pedogenesis was pervasive. The identification of twenty‐eight sedimentary cycles grouped into five sequences allows the reconstruction of a relative sea‐level curve. The cycles represent higher frequency changes superimposed on the long‐term evolution. After the initial transgression, the sea level remained relatively low in the late Bashkirian to early Moscovian. Then, it rose stepwise until a major drop occurred in the late Moscovian. Afterwards, the sea level rose again, but marine sedimentation ceased during at least the early Kasimovian. The area was flooded in the late Kasimovian, and the sea level rose until a late Gzhelian sea‐level drop. The subsequent marine sequence contains uppermost Gzhelian to upper Asselian deposits, which are capped by lower Permian continental facies associated with a major regional regression. Shallow to deeper marine sedimentary settings recorded high‐frequency sea‐level changes throughout South China during the late Bashkirian to Asselian. ...