CIMPNews/newsletter 71 summer 2007

Transcription

Newsletter
Summer 2007
No. 71
The Kondurovsky
Section (Cisurals,
Russian Federation),
looking east over
Sakmarian strata. The
base of the Sakmarian is
approximately on the
skyline. Palynology may
help to correlate the
basal Sakmarian GSSP
if it is established here.
Commission Internationale de Microflore du Paléozoïque
President: John Marshall
Past President: Florentin Paris
Secretary General & Newsletter Editor: Mike Stephenson
Treasurer: Philippe Steemans
Webmaster: Philippe Steemans
I.F.P.S. representatives: Thomas Servais, Ken Higgs
CIMP homepage:
http://www.cimp.ulg.ac.be
Contents
Opinion: Folksonomy and taxonomy .............................................................................. 2
Message from the President ............................................................................................. 4
Palynos News ..................................................................................................................... 4
Meetings and conferences................................................................................................. 4
ICCP 2007 Nanjing: Review ............................................................................................ 7
Nanjing Conference Excursion A1 .................................................................................. 9
Permian Subcommision Field Excursion to the southern Urals................................. 10
PhD News ......................................................................................................................... 12
News from Argentina...................................................................................................... 14
Palynology in Florida...................................................................................................... 19
Early Carboniferous of the Tarija Basin ...................................................................... 21
CIMP 2010, Poland ......................................................................................................... 23
Participants at Prague 2006 ........................................................................................... 25
CIMP Newsletter Summer 2007
ontology put simply is a knowledge
management system, thus
palynological taxonomy is an
ontology. Some new articles in
Wikipedia - as well as papers in the
ontology field (e.g. Shadbolt, Hall and
Berners-Lee, The Sematic Web
Revisited, IEEE Intelligent Systems
JournalMay/June 2006) - discuss the
value of established biological
taxonomy in representing a ‘headstart’
for the Earth Sciences because
ontology is already partly complete.
Opinion: Folksonomy and taxonomy
Mike Stephenson, mhste@bgs.ac.uk
I am participating in a group at BGS
that is looking at the ‘Semantic Grid’
and computing applications in
geoscience and palaeontology in the
future. For those of you that are
unfamiliar with it, the ‘Grid’ is
portrayed as the next big computing
development where information and
data freely flow through the web,
identified in a way that makes them
accessible and readily useable in
experiments and modelling. The chief
problem with today’s data - we are told
by internet experts – is that they are
not properly identified or described.
The web currently consists mainly of
documents that are designed for
humans to read, while the ‘Grid’ needs
data and information that can be
searched and manipulated by
computers. In effect a more
‘intelligent’ internet is needed. Grid
computing is almost a reality in
biology. Biological research demands
the integration of diverse and
heterogeneous data sets that originate
from distinct communities of scientists
in separate subfields. Biological
scientists working in epidemiology,
genomics and drug trials, for example,
need ways to integrate this data
quickly using as much computer
automation as possible. This is being
done by organising data and
information in systems called
‘ontologies’ by computer scientists.
Computers make sense of these
ontologies and are able to manipulate,
order and analyse data automatically.
Such ontologies are well developed in
biology (see for example
http://obo.sourceforge.net) and are in
the early stages in environmental
science
(http://marinemetadata.org/examples/m
mihostedwork/ontologieswork). An
Computer Science ontologists also
discuss the merits and drawbacks of
‘folksonomies’. These are systems of
labels for data that emerge organically
among user groups to identify data in a
bottom-up rather than top-down way.
In other words there is no controlling
authority. This is already happening on
the web, but as the authors point out
there are dangers in describing data in
an unsystematic way. Shadbolt et al.
(2006) say that folksonomies are very
different from formal ontologies which
are more careful attempts to define the
data world. Articles in Wikipedia (e.g.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folksono
my) suggest that the ‘traditional’ alpha
taxonomy that zoologists, botanists and
palynologists practise is a primary
example of established formal
ontology. Biological and
palaeontological taxonomy are
suggested as exemplars for ontologists
working in other fields.
What struck me reading this and other
recent articles is that computer
scientists or information specialists
might be overestimating the stability
and order in some taxonomies. In my
experience palynological taxonomy,
focussed on differentiation of species
and genera, is frequently chaotic, and
is similar to ‘folksonomy’!
Taxonomists like all ontologists want
similar goals in their classifications,
for example (1) infinite expandability
2
thing. Thus all is done in a very
haphazard way. There is no controlling
authority. Probably in palynology only
a fraction of the species names in
existence are actually used, so many
names are likely to be redundant, and
not because those species have only
been recognised once. Taxonomy at
the species level seems therefore to
work in a consensual way. If people
‘like’ your species they’ll use it. If not
they won’t. Higher parts of taxonomy,
e.g. the Order or the Phylum are more
‘stable’. But in fact it’s the species
level that really matters in new work
like climate change and biodiversity.
of the classification (2) consistency of
rule application with increasing
content, and (3) context independence.
Linnaean classification certainly has
these things, but in its application also
has similarities with folksonomy in
that there are elements of consensus,
organic growth and lack of
organisation. This is because taxonomy
at the species level is mainly done by
specialists who sometimes don’t agree.
There are other problems. For example
taxonomists tend to operate out of
‘schools’, particularly in some periods
in the Palaeozoic. In Permian
palynology there is a ‘South American
school’, an ‘Australian school’ and an
‘Indian school’. Single taxa probably
have several names in the different
areas. Though there is a ‘precedence
rule’, a lot of taxonomy at species level
is such that synonyms are never
recognised. In the worst cases, this
causes exaggeration of the differences
between floras and faunas between
areas. Sceptics have even suggested
that mass extinctions are taxonomic
artifices because different ‘schools’
work on different parts of the
geological column (a species actually
survives a boundary but has a different
name above and below, so it looks like
an extinction).
Carl Linnaeus: the computer ontologists like
his classification
A species name is published in a peerreviewed journal. For the name to be
valid the author has to provide
holotype details, a description, and
comparison with other similar alreadypublished species. If the paper in
which the species is described is
accepted for publication, the species
‘exists’ (or a name for it exists). The
trouble is that the ‘quality’ of the
species – meaning its validity in
biological or stratigraphic terms –can
be very varied and contested freely.
The best test is whether other people
use the species name in new research.
If many people use it, then - more or
less - it is a ‘valid’ name. If people
don’t use the name then the species
might exist on paper but no one
recognises it as a category of living
So my reaction to the computer
ontologists is that the ‘high level’ parts
of an ontology might be stable but the
lower parts - which are the most
important - might actually be very
unstable, shifting, and ‘specialistcentred’. This is surely one of the
problems of geological data in general,
and the ontologists and computer
scientists shouldn’t see some
classifications as stable at all.
3
meeting and think about those
contributions, it will soon be less than
a year away. The website is
http://www.paleontology.unibonn.de/kongress08/index.htm Add
it to your favourites now.
Message from the President
John Marshall, jeam@noc.soton.ac.uk
Hopefully it is a busy palynological
year for all of us. The energy industry
is very buoyant and there is much
interest in Palaeozoic hydrocarbons
exploration. This is translating into a
demand for palynologists that is not
being met. So, let’s hope that
collectively we can turn this into a
sustained growth in research student
numbers. In addition CIMP officers
have been trying to get the
organisation onto a more professional
basis and particularly in regard to the
regular collection of subscriptions. So
please support this activity on the new
website and make sure your
subscriptions are up to date. In
addition, we are debating the best way
we can use our resources to promote
palynology.
Palynos News
PALY NO S
CIMP members are reminded that
PALYNOS, the newsletter of the
“International Federation of
Palynological Societies” (IFPS), is no
longer distributed in hard copy.
However, all issues of PALYNOS are
made available in electronic format on
the IFPS website
http://geo.arizona.edu/palynology/ifps.
html. PALYNOS is published
biannually in June and December.
As you are all aware we have the
Pollen, Spore and Acritarch meeting in
Lisbon this September. There has been
a good response to the call for talks
and posters so please give this meeting
your support.
Meetings and conferences
We have also made the submissions
for CIMP sponsored symposia at the
2008 combined IPC/IOPC meeting in
Bonn. These submissions are for a
symposium on stratigraphical
palynology, another focussed on the
Arabian Plate and a combined session
on Palaeozoic Oceanic and Climate
Change: evidence from palynology and
palaeobotany. The last symposium is
to meet the spirit of the Bonn meeting
which is to integrate palaeobotanical
and palynological disciplines. We will
also be holding the normal subcommission meetings and a CIMP
general assembly. In addition, there are
other proposals being submitted by
IOPC members that include
palynology. So, mark early September
2008 in your diaries for the Bonn
II International conference on
Biosphere Origin and Evolution,
October 28 - November 2, 2007,
Loutraki, Greece
http://www-sbras.nsc.ru/ws/BOE2007/index.en.html
4
P. Fernandes (University of Algarve,
Portugal)
N. Vaz (University of Trás-os-Montes
and Alto Douro, Portugal).
Scientific Committee
G. Clayton (Trinity College, Dublin)
J. Marshall (University of
Southampton)
th
12 International Palynological
Congress
Z. Pereira (INETI-GEOSCIENCES,
Portuguese Geological Survey)
30 Aug - 6 Sept 2008, Bonn, Germany
P. Steemans (University of Liege)
First Flier
R. Wicander (Central Michigan
University)
Topics of the Scientific Programme
Contact Thomas Litt t.litt@unibonn.de
1. Palaeozoic marine microplankton
Contributions on any aspect of marine
microplankton, including acritarchs,
prasinophycean algae and associated
forms.
2. Palaeozoic spores and pollen
Contributions on any aspect of spores,
including cryptospores, microspores,
megaspores and pollen, taxonomy and
biostratigraphy.
Lisbon CIMP Subcommissions meeting
A joint meeting of the Spores/Pollen
and Acritarch CIMP Subcommissions,
organized by INETI-GEOSCIENCES
(Portuguese Geological Survey), will
be held in Lisbon, Portugal from 24 to
28th September 2007. The conference
is opened to all persons interested in
any aspect of the Palaeozoic
palynology. The program will include
a scientific meeting consisting of
contributed papers, poster sessions,
workshops and courses, followed by a
post-conference field trip to Southern
Portugal.
3. Open presentations
Contributions on all aspects of
Palaeozoic palynology, including nonmarine microplankton, kerogen
studies, organic palynofacies, organic
geochemistry, palaeoecology,
palaeoenvironments, palaeogeography,
taphonomy, taxonomy and applied
palynostratigraphy.
Post Meeting Field Trip
The post meeting field trip
“Palynostratigraphy within the context
of the Ossa Morena and Pyrite Belt
geology” will start and end in Lisbon.
For those who want to return via Faro,
there is the possibility to stay in Beja at
the end of the meeting and take a train
to Faro airport. This excursion will
Organizing Committee
Z. Pereira (INETI-GEOSCIENCES,
Portuguese Geological Survey)
J. Tomas Oliveira (INETIGEOSCIENCES, Portuguese
Geological Survey)
5
highlight important fossiliferous midPalaeozoic sections:
Volcano-Sedimentary Complex (VSC)
and the PQ Group units.
Day 1
The Azenhas section situated near
Mértola, in the west margin of the
Guadiana River exposes the Mértola
thrust that is age-controlled by spores.
The Barrancos section. Barrancos
region, Ossa Morena Zone. Roadcuts
in the Barrancos region, near the
Spanish border, exposes almost
continuously Silurian black shales,
Lower Devonian shales and flysch.
This stratigraphic sequence is
considered as a reference for the
middle Palaeozoic geology of the Ossa
Morena Zone in Portugal.
Departure from Barrancos to Mina de
S. Domingos Mine, crossing the Ossa
Morena-South Portuguese Zone
boundary and the Pulo do Lobo
Anticline. Visit to the abandoned mine
open pit, the Pomarão anticline and the
Azenhas (Mértola) sections.
A touristic tour in Mértola, an
important archaeological centre, will
be arranged.
Departure from Lisbon, visit to the city
centre of Évora (UNESCO world
heritage town) and exploration of the
Barrancos section.
Return to Lisbon. For those who want
to return via Faro, overnight at Beja.
Dinner and overnight at Barrancos.
Day 2
Pyrite Belt, South Portuguese Zone:
region between Mina de S. Domingos
mine, Pomarão and Mértola. The best
outcrops of the Portuguese Pyrite Belt
stratigraphy are exposed in this region.
The stratigraphic sequence, from base
to top consists on the Phyllite Quartzite
Group (PQ) of late Devonian age, the
Volcano-Sedimentary Complex (VSC)
of Tournaisian to Late Visean age and
the Mértola Formation (Mt), a flysch
unit of late Visean age.
AASP 40th Annual Meeting,
Smithsonian Tropical Research
Institute, Panama, September 8-12,
2007.
Organizer: Carlos Jaramillo
The Mina de S. Domingos mine was
one of the most important copper
mines in Europe during the world
wars. It was actively worked from
1858 until the end of 1966, extracting
25 million tons of massive sulphides.
We will visit the old mine open pit and
discuss the palynostratigraphic
contributions to the understanding of
the local stratigraphic sequence.
Conference webpage:
http://striweb.si.edu/aasp07
The Pomarão Anticline section, well
exposed along the road from Santana
de Cambas to Pomarão, is a reference
section within the context of the entire
Iberian Pyrite Belt. It shows the
28 July - 3 August, 2007 Cairns,
Australia, XVII INQUA Congress,
Abstract deadline Jan. 31st 2007.
6
Conference Web Page
http://www.aqua.org.au/AQUA/INQU
A2007.html
Nanjing Dongjiao State Guesthouse: excellent
accommodation for the delegates
ICCP 2007 Nanjing: Review
Mike Stephenson
Excellent presentation conditions
The International Carboniferous and
Permian Conference of 2007 was held
in Nanjing, China between 21 and 24
June 2007. In my opinion it was a
brilliant conference, perhaps the best I
have ever attended. The
accommodation and facilities were
superb, and most important of all, the
scientific content and scope of the
conference was outstanding.
The ‘Carboniferous Mafia’ from Prague
Excellent technical help
Lively discussion at poster sessions and
refreshments
7
Liang: Permian-Triassic extinction: its
pattern and causality. This talk neatly
summarized the state of the art in
Permian Triassic palaeobiological and
stratigraphic studies, much of which
are concentrated in China.
H. Kerp: Latest Pennsylvanian and
Permian pteridosperms and putative
pteridosperms from the palaeotropics.
Hans Kerp, in an excellent talk,
summarised research on pteridosperms
from the palaeotropics, showing some
extremely well preserved plant tissues
from Syria that cast doubt on the ways
that stomata have been used in climatic
studies.
E.L. Grossman, T.E. Yancey, T.E.
Jones, P. Bruckschen, B. Chuvashov,
S. J. Mazzullo & H.S. Mii: Glaciation
and aridification in the PermoCarboniferous: the oxygen isotopic
record from low latitudes. Ethan
Grossman gave a summary of the ways
in which isotopic data can be used and
abused in glaciation studies in the
Permo-Carboniferous. His main
message was that variation in δ13O
may be caused as much by
aridification as glacial uptake from the
oceans.
The elegant Nanjing Dongjiao State
Guesthouse
I for one am galvanised with new
energy following the conference.
Perhaps the highlight was the excellent
plenary session on the 21 June. The
choice of talks was farsighted and
thoughtful and the speakers - without
exception - were outstanding and
straight to the point. I include the titles
of the plenary talks below with my
comments, for the benefit of CIMP
members that could not attend.
P.H. Heckel: Overview of
Pennsylvanian glacial-eustatic
cyclothems. Philip Heckel described
the value of cycles in correlation in the
mid-continent USA and illustrated
soon-to-be-published work that
identifies the same cycles in the
Russian Platform.
S.A. Bowring, J. Ramezani,
J.L.Crowley & D. Condon:
EARTHTIME: a community- based
initiative for calibrating geological
time. In this talk Sam Bowring of MIT
discussed the importance of
radiomentric dating for GSSPs and
events, but made clear that ‘big
science’ - dating of events that relate to
the issues of today that are most likely
to be funded and to be developed. His
message to Late Palaeozoic workers
was: think creatively about what you
want to date.
H.W. Pfefferkorn, R.A. Gastaldo,
W.A. Dimichele, A. Kotasa, A.
Kotasowa, T. Migier, A.
Trzepierczynska, A. Zdanowski, E.
Purkynova, Z.Simunek, B.M. Blake,
C.F. Eble, W.H. Gillespie, J.D.
Beuthin & V.F. Shulga: Impact of a
Yin, Q.L. Feng, S.C. Xie, J.N. Tong,
J.X. Yu, W.H. He, X.L. Lai & H.D.
8
glacial interval (icehouse climate) on
tropical vegetation and plant evolution.
Hermann Pfefferkorn gave a superb
summary of relationships between
farfield glaciation and tropical forest
development in the Carboniferous,
concluding mainly that cyclity related
to glacial southern hemisphere
Gondwana glacial changes had little
effect on plant communities, except
when significant thresholds are
encountered.
Nanjing Conference Excursion A1
A one-day visit to the basal Triassic
stratotype at Meishan
Mike Stephenson
During this short excursion ICCP
delegates were given a chance to
inspect the basal Triassic GSSP and
sample the nearby ‘supplementary
sections’, as well as sample the
delights of the new museum at
Meishan.
C.M. Henderson: Definition and
correlation of the Lopingian (Upper
Permian) Global Stratotype Sections
and Points. Charles Henderson gave an
exellent review of the requirements
and processes involved in establishing
GSSPs. He gave examples of the
processes working very well in China
in the establishment of the basal
Triassic GSSP and the basal
Changhsingian GSSP.
Entrance to the basal Triassic stratotype at
Meishan
S.Z. Shen, C.Q. Cao, D.H. Erwin, H.
Zhang, J. Crowley，W.Z. Li, C.M.
Henderson, S.A. Bowring, Y.A. Shen,
L.J. Liu, X.L. Liu, Y.G. Tang, Y. Zeng
& Y.F. Jiang: Rapid deforestation
across the Permian-Triassic boundary
in South China. Shen Shuzhong gave
an interesting account of the changes
in the terrestrial realm across the
Permian-Triassic boundary. Most
information on the boundary was until
recently from marine sections; but
now, thanks to better marinenonmarine correlations, the terrestrial
relam is better understood.
D.H. Erwin: Increasing returns,
ecological feedback and the Early
Triassic recovery. Doug Erwin gave a
very interesting account of recovery
from mass extinction in the Triassic by
referring to modern econometric
theory.
The ‘conodont monument’ at Meishan
9
Apart from the wonders of the museum
the section is extremely well conserved
and well adapted to allow ease of
access. It’s an exemplar for GSSPs
everywhere.
Permian Subcommision Field
Excursion to the southern Urals
Mike Stephenson
A Cisuralian field workshop was held
between the 27 June and 3 July 2007 to
examine the suitability of the Dal’ny
Tulkas, Usolka and Kondurovsky
sections to host GSSPs for the
Sakmarian and Artinskian stages of the
Permian. Detailed studies of the
conodonts of these sections by V.
Chernykh have been published and
studies of the ammonoids and
fusulinids are in progress. Conodonts
are likely to form the framework for
the GSSP correlation worldwide.
Radiometric calibration of the main
Permian sections is being done at the
Permian Research Institute at Boise
State University, including dates for
horizons close to the CarboniferousPermian boundary and other stage
boundaries. The data on these potential
GSSPs will be available to all via the
Paleostrat website
(www.paleostrat.org).
Landscaped gardens close to the GSSP
The ‘conodont gates’ at the entrance to the
GSSP
The provincial government at Meishan
in collaboration with the Nanjing
Institute of Geology and Palaeontology
have produced an outstanding
permanent exhibition at Meishan in a
purpose-built exhibition centre close to
the GSSP. The museum features
sections on Earth History in general as
well as a large room devoted entirely
to the Permian-Triassic extinction. The
highlights of the museum are the
amazing ‘conodont gates’ (see below)
featuring two metre-high conodont
models, and the 3D cinema. On
entering the cinema the observer is
given a pair of 3D glasses and
(ominously) a tissue. What follows is a
3D film portraying Earth history in ten
fun-packed minutes. Water is sprayed
at you (when a large ichthyosaur
‘swims’ past you) and, hilariously, a
spike is pushed mechanically into your
back when the ‘golden spike’ finally
appears.
Dal’ny Tulkas section, Cisurals: candidate for
the GSSP of the base of the Artinskian
10
The approximate position of the base of the
Sakmarian at Usolka
Centimeter thick volcanic ash bed at Dal’ny
Tulkas being excavated by Boise State
University geochronologist Mark Schmitz
The Dal’ny Tulkas section was
sampled for palynology (by the author)
and for conodonts by Charles
Henderson of the University of
Calgary. The conodont sampling was
mainly to ensure reproducibility of
results since the section has already
been studied extensively. Ammonoid
samples were taken and new volcanic
ash beds identified and sampled.
Sulphur springs in the river at Usolka are a
tourist attraction
Usolka is a supplementary or
‘parastratotype’ section for the base of
the Sakmarian Stage which will likely
be based at Kondurovsky. The section
is close to a resort wich offers superb
accommodation, and to sulphur springs
that are popular as a holiday
destination for Bashkirians from the
nearby cities of Ufa and Sterlitamak.
The sulphur-rich mud of the spring is
considered a cure-all and people cover
themselves in mud to improve their
skin.
Tourists covering themselves with sulphur-rich
mud at Usolka
The Kondurovsky section is
spectacular. Situated in a mountainous
part of the southern Urals, the Asselian
and Sakmarian reach great thicknesses
11
and are well exposed on the green,
rolling hills.
Beautiful Urals scenery showing low ridges of
Sakmarian rocks. Artinskian rocks are present
just above the river valley in the background
Close to the base of the Kondurovsky section.
The base of the Sakmarian was traditionally
taken at the crest of the hill, but is now likely
to be defined slightly to the left, a few metres
above the ‘traditional’ base.
Looking east, back over the Sakmarian. The
base of the Sakmarian is approximately on the
skyline.
If you would like more information on
the progress towards the establishment
of the Urals stratotypes contact Charles
Henderson at the University of Calgary
(cmhender@ucalgary.ca) or go to the
Boise University website,
http://pri.boisestate.edu/index.html.
PhD News
Sarah R. de la Rue, Louisiana State University,
sdelarue@geol.lsu.edu
I am continuing work on my PhD,
focusing on the role of biology and
environmental selection pressures on
the responses of Frasnian-Famennian
marine phytoplankton (i.e. acritarchs
and prasinophycean green algae) to
fluctuating paleoceanographic
conditions during the Late Devonian.
This is an integrated study of the
sedimentary organic matter in, and
biogeochemistry of, Upper Devonian
View from the ‘traditional’ Sakmarian base to
the proposed new base where the excursion
participants are gathered.
12
change. A positive δ13CV-PDB shift of
1.1‰ across the boundary is
interpreted to be correlative with the
global Upper Kellwasser Event.
shales utilizing a suite of fully
independent organic and geochemical
proxies extracted from thermally
immature core material with conodont
biostratigraphic control. In particular,
fossil acritarch and green algal
distribution patterns and trace element
data will be compared with ecological
factors required for optimal growth of
extant open-ocean dinoflagellates and
correlative extant green algal genera.
Frasnian conodont Ozarkodina semialternans
Conodonts recovered from the
Bolivian Madre de Dios core (Pando
X-1) have constrained the FrasnianFamennian boundary to a 9 m interval
of intercalated black shales and
sandstones. These conodonts,
commonly occurring with
actinopterygian fish scales and bone
material, have a CAI of 1 and represent
the first recovered from the Devonian
of Bolivia. Jeff Over (SUNY-Geneseo)
first announced this exciting news
during the First International Conodont
Symposium (ICOS) meeting last July
in Leicester, UK, and a poster
coauthored by myself, Over and Peter
Isaacson (U. Idaho) was presented at
Devonian-Mississippian session during
the Geological Society of America
Philadelphia meeting last October (de
la Rue, S.R., Rimmer, S.M., Rowe,
H.D., 2006. Paleoproductivity and
geochemical proxies: Indicators of
water-column conditions, FrasnianFamennian boundary, New Albany
Shale, Indiana. GSA Annual Meeting
Program, Philadelphia, p. 167). A
manuscript is in preparation to be
submitted to Palaeogeography,
Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.
Fammenian conodont Branmehla bohenana
Palynologic and geochronologic results
from the Illinois Basin core are still
preliminary (de la Rue, S.R., Rowe,
H.D., Rimmer, S.M., 2007.
Palynological and bulk geochemical
constraints on the paleoceanographic
conditions across the FrasnianFamennian boundary, New Albany
Shale, Indiana. Int. J. Coal Geol. 71:
72-84) but appear to show abrupt
changes in the geochemical and biotic
proxies for particulate and dissolved
organic matter across the Frasnian Famennian boundary that coincided
with a distinct lithological change from
laminated, brownish-black Famennian
mudstones to unconformably
overlying, alternating, bioturbated and
non-bioturbated, greenish-gray
Frasnian mudstones. Major elemental
and isotopic profiles reflect different
patterns of production, degradation,
and removal of organic carbon in the
two shale facies which may reflect a
change to anoxic conditions in the
Famennian. An abrupt shift from
acritarch- to prasinophyte-dominated
surface waters across the boundary
may also indicate important
bathymetric fluctuations, chemicophysical conditions, anoxia-related
trace metal complexes, and/or nutrient
availability related to eustatic sea-level
Issam Al Barram, University of Sheffield,
I.Albarram@sheffield.ac.uk
I am continuing to work on the
palynostratigraphy of the
Carboniferous-Permian Al Khlata
Formation, Oman and generally on
plant diversity in an ice house world.
13
The Al Khlata Formation shows a
transition from an ice-house world in
the Late Carboniferous to greenhouse
world by the Permian time, affecting
the vegetation community, a feature
which is seen in the spore-pollens
trends. Therefore it offers a great help
in understanding the current global
climate change and how it would affect
the vegetation.
The Al Khlata Formation is glacial
non-marine and oil-bearing sediment
which was accumulated in the Late
Carboniferous- Early Permian in a
large basin in the southeast of Arabian
Peninsula, in Oman (e.g. Levell et al.
1988; Al Belushi et al. 1996;
Stephenson 1998; Stephenson and
Filatoff 2000). The Al Khlata
Formation is underlain unconformably
by Early Palaeozoic sediments, and
conformably bounded at the top by the
Permian Gharif Formation.
However, the current ongoing PhD
examines the palynofacies of the Al
Khlata Formation and how they are
related to the lithofacies. Also, it
examines the possibility of applying
the Al Khlata Formation palaeoenvironment to understand the current
climate change. In addition, it attempts
to carry on building the taxonomy and
the palynostratigraphy of the Al Khlata
Formation and correlate it with the
well defined Gondwanan
palynozonations, for example the
Australian and the African zonations.
Vallatisporites from the Al Khlata Formation
Like many other glacial Late
Carboniferous-Early Permian
Gondwanan systems, the Al Khlata
Formation is difficult to be correlated
using radiometric dating, lithology,
geophysics or chemostratigraphy. In
addition, the Al Khlata Formation
lacks any macro fossils, and only
micro-fossils exist. Thus, palynology is
the only useful tool in mapping and
dating the Al Khlata Formation.
However, correlating the Al Khlata
remains problematic, primarily due to
the high variability in the lithology in
the lateral extensions and also due to
the erosions which may have been
caused by the waxing and waning of
the Gondwanan ice-sheet eliminating
the majority of the deposits. The Al
Khlata Formation is subdivided locally
into three biozones; P1, P5 and P9 (e.g.
Penny and Osterloff 2002; Osterloff et
al. 2004).
News from Argentina
Compiled by Mercedes di Pasquo
medipa@gl.fcen.uba.ar
I have included in this Newsletter
details of progress in palynology in
Argentina. I encourage other
palynologists to send details of
progress in palynology in their country
or in their institution.
Mike Stephenson
Argentinian group
Carlos Azcuy azcuy@ciudad.com.ar,
Mercedes di Pasquo
medipa@gl.fcen.uba.ar, Cecilia R.
Amenábar amenabar@gl.fcen.uba.ar,
Sol Noetinger
snoetinger@gl.fcen.uba.ar) of the
Palynostratigraphy and Paleobotany
Laboratory
(http://palino.gl.fcen.uba.ar)
14
(more isolated and new information)
are updated and discussed by Azcuy et
al. (2007a, b) and a correlation chart is
supported by a list of selected
references. A summary of this work
will be presented in the 4th European
Meeting on Paleontology and
Stratigraphy of Latin American that will
be held in Madrid on September 2007
(Azcuy et al., 2007 b).
Pablo Pazos of the Stratigraphy
Laboratory (pazos@gl.fcen.uba.ar)
from the Department of Geology
(Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y
Naturales (FCEN), Universidad de
Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina).
Biostratigraphy of the Upper
Palaeozoic of South America: first step
to a new chronostratigraphic proposal
References
An important achievement of the
Working Group on Upper Palaeozoic
Chronostratigraphy of South America
that will be published soon (Azcuy et
al., 2007 a), is the first result of the 1st
Meeting of the Upper Palaeozoic
Chronostratigraphy Committee of
South America, held within the
framework of the XI Reunião de
Paleobotânicos e Palinólogos
(Gramado, Brazil, 2004). The meeting
included researchers from Argentina,
Brazil and Uruguay and was
coordinated by Carlos Azcuy. The
meeting constituted the first step to
discuss and establish a regional
chronostratigraphic scheme of the
Upper Paleozoic of South America.
The current scheme established in
Western Europe, Russia and North
America has been defined using fossil
associations that are not common to
the region of Gondwana. All of the
participants agreed that the best way to
establish a regional chronostratigraphy
would be by synthesizing all
systematical, palaeontological, and
radiometrical works of Upper
Palaeozoic basins from South America.
It was agreed to divide the task among
the participants with Dr. Carlos Azcuy,
as Lead Coordinator. The first results
of the project were discussed in the
framework of the XIII Simposio
Argentino de Paleobotánica y
Palinología (Bahía Blanca, Argentina,
2006). The biostratigraphical units
established for the different basins of
South America as well as other data
Carlos Azcuy, Angeles Beri, Mary
E.C. Bernardes-de-Oliveira, Hugo A.
Carrizo, Mercedes di Pasquo, Pamela
Díaz Saravia, Carlos González,
Roberto Iannuzzi,Valesca B. Lemos,
José Henrique G. Melo, Alejandra
Pagani, Rosemarie Rohn, Cecilia
Rodríguez Amenábar, Nora Sabattini,
Paulo A. Souza, Arturo Taboada y
Maria del Milagro Vergel, 2007 a.
Bioestratigrafia del Paleozoico
Superior de América del Sur: Primera
Etapa de Trabajo Hacia una Nueva
Propuesta Cronoestratigráfica
(Biostratigraphy of the Upper
Palaeozoic of South America: first step
to a new chronostratigraphic
proposal). Asociación Geológica
Argentina. Serie Especial. Sent:
12/2006. Accepted: 06/07. Authors in
alphabetical order. In press.
Azcuy, C.L., Beri, A., Bernardes-deOliveira, M.E.C., Carrizo, H.A., di
Pasquo, M., Díaz Saravia, P., González,
C.,. Iannuzzi, R., Lemos, V.B.,. Melo,
J.H.G, Pagani, A., Rohn, R., Rodriguez
Amenábar, C., Sabattini, N., Souza,
P.A., Taboada, A., Vergel, M.M. 2007
b. Cronoestratigrafía del Paleozoico
Superior de América del Sur: primera
etapa de trabajo hacia una nueva
propuesta. 4º European Meeting on
Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Latin
American (Madrid), p. 4.
15
la Formación Malimán (Viseano) en la Sierra
del Volcán, Provincia de San Juan, Argentina.
Resultados preliminares. Revista Brasileira de
Paleontologia 9 (1): 21-32.
Ph.D. News
Cecilia R. Amenábar has defended her
Ph.D. theses, entitled
“Palynostratigraphy and
palaeoenvironment of the Chigua
(Chinguillos Group, Devonian),
Malimán and El Ratón (Angualasto
Group, Lower Carboniferous)
formations, Uspallata-Iglesia Basin.
Comparison and correlation with other
palynofloras and characterization of
the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary
in the region”, on June 21st at the
FCEN-UBA.
Amenábar, C.R, di Pasquo, M.M., Carrizo, H.,
Azcuy, C.L., 2007. Palynology of the Chigua
and Malimán Formations in the Sierra del
Volcán, San Juan province, Argentina. Part 2.
Cavate and pseudosaccate spores. Ameghiniana
44 (In press).
Amenábar, C.R, di Pasquo, M.M., Carrizo, H.A.,
Azcuy, C.L., 2006. Palynology of the Chigua
and Malimán Formations in the Sierra del
Volcán, San Juan province, Argentina. Part 1.
Palaeomicroplankton and acavate smooth and
ornamented spores. Ameghiniana, 43(2): 339375.
Sol Noetinger, biologist from the
Buenos Aires University (UBA),
Buenos Aires, Argentina. During her
undergraduate studies she collaborated
in different areas of botany and time
periods like Mesozoic and recent. Her
main research interests are Devonian
palynology, stratigraphy,
palaeobotany, and palaeoecology of
the north-western Argentinean basins.
The purpose of her current studies is to
improve the knowledge of this
palaeoecological scenario added to the
stratigraphic and chronological
information of the Middle Palaeozoic
Tarija Basin (north of Argentina and
south of Bolivia) and other related
areas of Argentina.
Azcuy, C.L., di Pasquo, M.M. 2005. Early
Carboniferous palynoflora from the Ambo
Formation, Pongo de Mainique, Peru. Review of
Palaeobotany and Palynology 134(3/4): 153184.
Azcuy, C.L., di Pasquo, M.M., 2006. Additional
systematic information of the Early
Carboniferous palynoflora from the Ambo
Formation, Pongo de Mainique, Peru. Revista
Brasileira de Paleontologia, 9(1):15-26.
Carrizo, H. A., Azcuy C. L. 2006. Gilboaphyton
argentinum sp. nov.: a herbaceous lycopod from
the Early Carboniferous of Argentina. Revista
Brasileira de Paleontología 9(1):33-40.
Césari, S.N., Gutiérrez, P.R., Sabattini, N.,
Archangelsky, A., Azcuy, C.L., Carrizo, H.A.,
Cisterna, G., Crisafulli, A., Cúneo, R.N., Díaz
Saravia, P., di Pasquo, M.M., González, C.R.,
Lech, R., Pagani, M.A., Sterrern, A., Taboada,
A.C., Vergel, M.M. 2007. PALEOZOICO
SUPERIOR DE ARGENTINA: UN
REGISTRO FOSÍLIFERO INTEGRAL EN EL
GONDWANA OCCIDENTAL. Ameghiniana,
Volumen especial “50 años de Ameghiniana”. In
press.
She has been working, since April
2006, in the Geology Department at
the Exact and Natural Sciences Faculty
from the same university, on her PhD
theses: “Studies of the Devonian and
Lower Carboniferous microflora from
northwestern Argentina and South of
Bolivia”, supported by a grant from the
National Research Council of
Argentina (CONICET) under the
direction of Dr. M. di Pasquo.
del Papa, C., di Pasquo, MM., 2006.
Palaeoenvironmental interpretation and
palynology of outcrop and subsurface sections of
the Tarija Formation (Upper Carboniferous),
Northwestern Argentina. Journal of South
American Earth Sciences 23: 99-119.
di Pasquo, M.M. 2007 b. Asociaciones
palinológicas presentes en las Formaciones Los
Monos (Devónico) e Itacua (Carbonífero
Inferior) en el perfil de Balapuca, sur de Bolivia.
Parte 2. Formación Itacua e interpretación
estratigráfica y cronología de las formaciones
Los Monos e Itacua. Revista Geológica de Chile
34(2).
Recent publications of the Argentina
group
Amenábar, C.R. 2006. Significado
estratigráfico de palinomorfos retrabajados en
16
di Pasquo, M.M., 2007 a. Asociaciones
palinológicas presentes en las Formaciones Los
Monos (Devónico) e Itacua (Carbonífero
Inferior) en el perfil de Balapuca, sur de Bolivia.
Parte 1. Formación Los Monos. Revista
Geológica de Chile, 34(1):98-137.
Souza, P.A., Taboada, A., Vergel, M.M. 2007.
Cronoestratigrafía del Paleozoico Superior de
América del Sur: primera etapa de trabajo
hacia una nueva propuesta. 4º European
Meeting on Paleontology and Stratigraphy of
Latin American (Madrid), 4 p.
di Pasquo, M.M., 2007. Unidades
estratigráficas del Carbonífero de la Cuenca
Tarija, Argentina. En: Léxico Estratigráfico de
la Argentina. VIII Sistema Carbonífero.
Asociación Geológica Argentina y SEGEMAR
(Sent: 8/98. Accepted: 25/6/99). In press.
http://www.segemar.gov.ar/P_Lexico/index.
htm.
di Pasquo, M.M. 2007. Update and importance
of the Carboniferous and Permian
paleontological records of the Tarija Basin. 4º
European Meeting on Paleontology and
Stratigraphy of Latin American (Madrid), 4 p.
di Pasquo, M.M. 2007. State of the art of the
Devonian palynological records in the northern
Argentina, southern Bolivia and northwestern
Paraguay. Field Meeting of the IGCP 499UNESCO “Devonian Land-Sea Interaction:
Evolution of Ecosystems and Climate”
(DEVEC, San Juan 2007), p. 97-101. Serie
Correlación Geológica, INSUGEO,
Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Special
Issue.
di Pasquo, M.M., 2003. Unidades
estratigráficas del Pérmico de la Cuenca Tarija,
Argentina. En: Léxico Estratigráfico de la
Argentina. VII Sistema Pérmico. Asociación
Geológica Argentina y SEGEMAR.
http://www.segemar.gov.ar/P_Lexico/index.
htm
di Pasquo, M., Amenábar, C.R., Noetinger, S.
2007. The palaeobiogeographical significance
of the spore Grandispora pseudoreticulata
(Menéndez and Pöthe se Baldis) Ottone in the
Middle to Late Devonian of Gondwana. Field
Meeting of the IGCP 499-UNESCO
“Devonian Land-Sea Interaction: Evolution of
Ecosystems and Climate” (DEVEC, San Juan,
2007). Serie Correlación Geológica,
INSUGEO, Universidad Nacional de
Tucumán, Special Issue.
di Pasquo, M, Martínez, M.A., Freije, H. 2007.
Primer registro palinológico de la Formación
Sauce Grande en las Sierras Australes, provincia
de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ameghiniana 44
(In press).
Fasolo, Z., Vergel. M.M., Oller, J., Azcuy, C.
2006 “Nuevos datos palinológicos de la
Formación Kaka (Viseano – Serpukhoviano) en
la Encañada de Beu, Subandino Norte de
Bolivia” Revista Brasileira de Paleontología
9(1): 53-62.
di Pasquo, M.M., 2005. Resultados
palinológicos preliminares de estratos del
Devónico y Carbonífero en el perfil de
Balapuca, sur de Bolivia. XVI Congreso
Geológico Argentino (La Plata). Vol. 3, p.
293-298.
Pazos, P.J., di Pasquo, M.M., Amenabar, R.C.,
2007. Ichnology of the glacial to post-glacial
transition in the El Imperial Formation (Upper
Carboniferous), San Rafael basin, Argentina.
SEPM Special Publication on Ichnology. In
press.
Pazos, P.J., di Pasquo, M.M., Amenabar, C.R.,
2005. La sección basal de la Formación
Malimán (Carbonífero Inferior) en la quebrada
Don Agustín, provincia de San Juan,
Argentina: rasgos sedimentarios y
paleontología. XVI Congreso Geológico
Argentino (La Plata). Vol. 3, p. 167-172.
Recent short communications at
scientific events
Amenábar, C.R., 2007. New palynological
assemblage from the Chigua Formation (Early
Late-Middle Devonian), at Del Chaco creek,
Volcán Range, Precordillera Argentina. Field
Meeting of the IGCP 499-UNESCO
“Devonian Land-Sea Interaction: Evolution of
Ecosystems and Climate” (DEVEC, San Juan
2007), p. 92-96. Serie Correlación Geológica,
INSUGEO, Universidad Nacional de
Tucumán, Special Issue.
Abstracts at scientific events
Amenábar, C.R., di Pasquo, M. 2006. Nuevos
datos palinológicos de la Formación El Ratón,
Provincia de San Juan, Carbonífero Inferior de
Argentina. 13º Simposio Argentino de
Paleobotánica y Palinología (22-25 de Mayo
de 2006, Bahía Blanca). Resúmenes: 20.
UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DEL SUR.
Azcuy, C.L., Beri, A., Bernardes-de-Oliveira,
M.E.C., Carrizo, H.A., di Pasquo, M., Díaz
Saravia, P., González, C.,. Iannuzzi, R.,
Lemos, V.B.,. Melo, J.H.G, Pagani, A., Rohn,
R., Rodriguez Amenábar, C., Sabattini, N.,
17
Paleontología y Bioestratigrafía (Córdoba, 18–
22 de Septiembre), Resúmenes: 157.
Amenábar, C.R., di Pasquo, M.M., Pazos, P.J.,
2006. Nuevos registros paleontológicos de la
Formación Malimán (carbonífero inferior), en
la quebrada Don Agustín, Precordillera de
Argentina. 9º Congreso Argentino de
di Pasquo, M., Azcuy, C. 2006. Información
Micropaleontológica del Carbonífero y
Pérmico de las Cuencas Madre de Dios
(Bolivia Y Perú) y Arizaro (Chile y
Argentina). 13º Simposio Argentino de
Amenábar, C.R., di Pasquo, M.M., Pazos, P.,
Azcuy, C. 2006. Información palinológica
actualizada del Grupo Angualasto
(Carbonífero Inferior), Cuenca UspallataIglesia, Argentina. 13º Simposio Argentino de
di Pasquo, M., Martínez, M.A., Freije, H.
2006. Noticia sobre el primer registro
palinológico de la Formación Sauce Grande en
las Sierras Australes, provincia de Buenos
Aires, Argentina. 13º Simposio Argentino de
Amenábar, C.R., di Pasquo, M.M., Carrizo,
H.A., Pazos, P.J., 2006. Datos paleoflorísticos
de la sección basal de la Formación Malimán
(Carbonífero Inferior) en su localidad tipo,
quebrada La Cortadera, Provincia de San Juan,
Argentina. 9º Congreso Argentino de
Loss, L. y Pazos, P.J., 2006. Arquitectura
depositacional de la Formación El Imperial
(Carbonífero superior), en el Cañon del Atuel,
Cuenca San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina. IV
Congreso Latinoamericano de Sedimentología.
Bariloche 11/2006.
Carrizo, H.A. y Azcuy, C.L. 2006.
Krauselcladus – Asterotheca una Fitozona de
Asociación del Carbonífero Tardío tardío
reconocida en las Cuencas Paganzo y Río
Blanco de Argentina. XIII Simposio Argentino
de Paleobotánica y Palinología. Bahía Blanca
(Argentina). Resúmenes: 30.
Pazos, P., Amenabar, C.R., di Pasquo, M.M.,
Azcuy, C.L., 2005. Are the Late TournaisianViséan sequences in central western Argentina
climatically controlled? The Maliman
Formation data set. 12º Gondwana (Mendoza,
6-11 de noviembre).
Carrizo, H.A., Zamuner Alba, B., Azcuy, C.L.
2006. Pietzschia (Gothan) del Carbonífero
Inferior de Argentina. Primera Cladoxylopsida
anatómicamente preservada registrada en
América del Sur. Jornada Geológica: 16.
Dirección de Geología. Fundación Miguel
Lillo.
Current projects
Members of the Palynostratigraphy
and Paleobotany Laboratory are
involved in several projects (see
below). These projects deal with
taxonomical issues on palynology and
palaeobotany that will allow to
improve the comparison and
correlation of mega and microfloras
occuring in the Devonian to the Early
Permian Basins such as Madre de Dios
(Bolivia), Tarija (southern Bolivia and
northern Argentina), Uspallata/Iglesia,
Paganzo, San Rafael (western
Argentina) and Paraná (Brazil). This
researche contributes to knowledge of
the diastrophic and paleoclimatic
events that generated unconformities in
western Gondwana. These projects
develop expertise through the
di Pasquo, M. 2006. Análisis crítico sobre la
presencia de Retispora lepidophyta (Kedo)
Playford en América del Sur. 13º Simposio
Argentino de Paleobotánica y Palinología (2225 de Mayo de 2006, Bahía Blanca).
Resúmenes: 23. UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL
DEL SUR.
di Pasquo, M.M. 2006. Puesta al día de la
información paleontológica del Carbonífero y
Pérmico de la cuenca Tarija, Norte de
Argentina y Sur de Bolivia. 13º Simposio
Argentino de Paleobotánica y Palinología (2225 de Mayo de 2006, Bahía Blanca).
Resúmenes: 19. UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL
DEL SUR
di Pasquo, M.M., Noetinger, S., 2006. Noticia
sobre el registro palinológico y de plantas en el
Angosto de Alarache (Lochkoviano), Sierra de
San Telmo, Departamento Tarija, Sur de
Bolivia. 9º Congreso Argentino de
18
accomplishment of doctoral theses;
diplomas and degrees and also
encourage other students who
participate in the scientific work.
Palynology in Florida
D.M. Jarzen, dmj@flmnh.ufl.edu
Palynological research at the Florida
Museum of Natural History at
Gainesville, Florida is a part of the
Paleobotany and Palynology
Laboratory
(http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/paleobotany
) and shares facilities and personnel
with that group. Our current faculty
and staff include Professors David
Dilcher and Steven Manchester,
Biological Scientist Terry Lott,
Collection Manager Hongshan Wang
and Courtesy Research Scientists
David M. Jarzen and Elizabeth
Kowalski. In addition to this core
faculty and staff, Professor Chunlin
Sun is a visiting scholar from Jilin
University, Chungchun, China working
with Dilcher on the morphology and
cuticular anatomy of Jurassic age
Ginkgo species of Inner Mongolia.
Dilcher and Manchester are advisors to
a number of graduate students. Iju
(Judy)Chen, a Ph.D. candidate in
Botany, is working with Steve
Manchester on the phylogeny of the
grape family (Vitaceae) based on
morphology of the seeds; Felipe de La
Para, working with Professor Dilcher
and Dr. Jarzen, a Geology Master’s
student, is studying the pollen and
spores across the Cretaceous-Tertiary
boundary in tropical latitudes trying to
understanding the response of tropical
vegetation to a major environmental
crisis; Fabiany Herrera also with David
Dilcher is looking at the paleobotany
and paleoclimate as interpreted from
Paleocene leaves from the low latitude
Cerrejon Formation (Colombia);
Elizabeth O’Leary has just completed
the requirements for a Master’s degree
under the direction of Steve
Manchester studying the fossil history
of winged fruits; Paula Mejia likewise
finished her Master’s thesis under the
direction of David Dilcher, and is
UBACYT Nº X 136. “ANÁLISIS
ESTRATIGRÁFICO SECUENCIAL Y
MONITOREO DE FACIES DURANTE
EPISODIOS GLACIALES EN
DIFERENTES MARCOS
TECTOSEDIMENTARIOS
NEOPALEOZOICOS (CUENCAS TARIJASAN RAFAEL Y RIO BLANCO)”.
Responsable: Pablo Pazos. Staff: Mercedes di
Pasquo, Silvia Japas, Cecilia Rodríguez
Amenábar. Period: 2004-2007.
PICTR2004-00313/03 - "BIODIVERSIDAD
DE LAS DE TAFOFLORAS Y FAUNAS DE
INVERTEBRADOS EN CUENCAS
NEOPALEOZOICAS ARGENTINAS Y DEL
SUR DE AMERICA DEL SUR:
SISTEMATICA, BIOESTRATIGRAFIA Y
CORRELACION". Period: 2005-2008. Project
(AGENCIA). Responsable: Azcuy, Carlos
Leopoldo. Staff: M. di Pasquo, P. Pazoz, M.
Vergel, H. Carrizo. UBA-FCEN and
Fundación Miguel Lillo.
PIP 5518 (2005-2006). “ESTUDIO DE
MICROFLORAS (Y MEGAFLORAS) DEL
DEVONICO Y CARBONIFERO DEL
OESTE Y NOROESTE ARGENTINO Y DE
OTRAS CUENCAS DEL SUR DE
AMERICA DEL SUR”. Responsable: M. di
Pasquo. Staff:: Cecilia R. Amenábar, Pablo
Pazos, Sol Noetinger, Gustavo Holfeltz..
Institutions: UBA-CONICET
Participation on foreign projects
CGL2006-07376/TE (20/7/2006):
“REGISTRO SEDIMENTARIO DE
CAMBIOS CLIMÁTICOS EN EL
CARBONÍFERO DE BOLIVIA:
BIOESTRATIGRAFÍA Y AMBIENTES
SEDIMENTARIOS”. Responsable. Enrique
Díaz Martínez. Staff: Mercedes di Pasquo,
Roberto Iannuzzi, Paulo Souza, Peter Isaacson,
Oscar Arispe, Shirley Lopez, George Grader.
Dirección de Geología y Geofísica.
Institutions: Instituto Geológico y Minero de
España. Period: 2006-2009
19
continuing her studies at the FLMNH
in pursuit of the Ph.D., investigating
the composition of low latitude tropical
ecosystems present in Colombia during
the radiation of angiosperms in the
early Cretaceous.
hiring of D.M. Jarzen on staff as
Collection Manager for the
Paleobotany and Palynology section.
The current Collection Manager
Hongshan Wang has continued the
tradition of careful and complete
specimen documentation. The various
components of the collection include
the following.
The John F. Grayson Library:
Received originally as a donation to
D.M. Jarzen through the courtesy of
the Canadian Museum of Nature
(formerly The National Museum of
Natural Sciences), Ottawa, Canada, the
library has been donated and consists
of about 10,000 reprints, books, maps,
and other materials associated with the
career of John Grayson (Pan American
Petroleum Corporation, Tulsa, OK).
Since the establishment of the Grayson
Library, other palynologists have
donated part or all of their collections
to the FLMNH. These include The Dan
Beju Library of mostly dinoflagellate
papers numbering about 800, The Evan
Kidson Library, S.A.J. Pocock
Photographic Collection, The Don
Engelhardt Library of more than 6,000
entries of papers, reprints, books and
reports, and several donations received
from Professor Emeritus James E.
Canright. Soon the Gerhard Otto
Wilhelm Kremp Library will be
donated to the FLMNH through the
courtesy of Dr. Shya Chitaley and the
Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
These compliment the library of David
Dilcher that consists of about 5,500
books and 28,000 reprints, including
books and reprints donated by Herman
Becker and John Hall to David
Dilcher.
Jarzen and Dilcher examine airborne pollen
Publication is expected this year of the
commemorative volume honoring the
lifetime achievements of David L.
Dilcher and Jack A. Wolfe. The
volume of 20 or so collected papers
follows the celebration last year of the
70th birthdays of both paleobotanists,
held in Gainesville, Florida. Both
Dilcher and Wolfe were born on the
same day, July 10, 1936. This volume
is being published as a special issue of
the Courier Forschungsinstitut
Senckenberg (CFS), under the
editorship of Peter Königshof. David
Jarzen, Gregory Retallack, Steve
Manchester and Susan Jarzen are the
guest editors for the volume.
The Modern Pollen Reference
Collection includes 7,600 prepared
slides of pollen and spores of primarily
tropical regions of the world, used as
reference material in palynological
analyses of Paleogene, Neogene and
The Palynology collections at the
Florida Museum of Natural History are
many and diverse. The collection was
started in earnest in 1997 with the
20
younger fossil assemblages. Jarzen and
Jarzen (2006) just published a paper
detailing the procedures followed in
collecting pollen and spore material
from herbaria. Included with the
collection, is a fine assortment of 600,
Orchidaceae pollinia received as a
donation from Dr. Pamela Burns
Balogh. The FLMNH Modern Pollen
Reference Collection stands as one of
the 5 largest collections of reference
pollen material. Other additions to the
pollen and spore reference collection
include donations from Satish
Srivastava, David Dilcher, Paul &
Hazel Delcourt, Al Loeblich, Warren
Drugg, Gretchen Jones, Vaughn
Bryant and David & Susan Jarzen. A
small collection of Phytolith
preparations donated by the late John
Wrenn, is currently being established,
as a comparative collection. These
collections are totally databased and
may be searched on site. Files of the
original photographs of the illustrated
fern spores published by Alice Tryon
and Bernard Lugardon (Tryon &
Lugardon, 1991) theses light, scanning
and transmission electron microscopy
images were donated by Alice Tryon a
few years ago, and will be catalogued
and eventually made available for
research.
Dilcher, S. Srivastava, S.R.
Manchester, John F. Grayson and
Satish Srivastava.
Fossil Localities: Collections of
prepared slides and unprocessed
samples from 63 fossil localities add to
the value of the palynology collections.
These collections include material
from Paleozoic, Mesozoic and
Cenozoic age rocks, as well as recent
material from lake sediments in Florida
and the Caribbean. Much of the
prepared material is preserved on
microscope slides and/or scanning
electron microscope stubs.
Geographically the material covers all
continental lands and oceanic regions.
Most of this material has been donated
to the FLMNH by D.M. Jarzen, with
other collections received from D.L.
Tryon, A.F. and Lugardon, B. 1991.
Spores of the Pteridophyta. SpringerVerlag, New York, 648pp., with 2797
figures.
Photographic Collection: A modest
collection of about 4,500, 35mm, color
transparencies of localities, pollen and
spore forms, and other items
accompanies the palynology
collections. These slides have been
donated to the FLMNH by D.M.
Jarzen. The photographic collection is
being digitized to increase its utility.
In addition to the palynological
holdings at the FLMNH, the main
collection of more than 300,000 plant
macrofossils from localities around the
world, including many Paleozoic
localities is one of the largest
collections in North America. Use of
the collections or information
regarding specimens of our entire
collection should be addressed to Dr.
Hongshan Wang
(hwang@flmnh.ufl.edu). Specific
questions about the palynological
collections should be made to David
M. Jarzen (dmj@flmnh.ufl.edu).
References
Jarzen, D.M. and Jarzen, S.A. 2006.
Collecting pollen and spores from
herbaria. Palynology, 30: 111-119.
Early Carboniferous of the Tarija
Basin
Mercedes di Pasquo, medipa@gl.fcen.uba.ar
The Tarija Basin embraces the north of
Argentina, the south of Bolivia and the
west of Paraguay. Upper Palaeozoic
deposits mainly crop out in Argentina
and southernmost of Bolivia in the
Subandean Range and, to a lesser
extent in the eastern part of the
21
Cordillera Oriental, and they extend in
the subsurface until the Chaco-Salteña
Plain (Azcuy and di Pasquo, 2000;
Starck and del Papa, 2006).
The Lower Carboniferous in the north
of Argentina and the south of Bolivia
is scarcely represented and studied. It
is attributed to the Saipurú Formation
in the central region of Bolivia, or
Itacua in the South zone (see Súarez
Soruco, 2000) and little palynological
information has been published from
these deposits (see Limachi et al.,
1996). Recently, di Pasquo (2005,
2007 a, b) published new palynological
data collected from pellites
interbedded with diamictites at
Balapuca (22º 31’ 00 S, 64º 26’ 00 W).
This section of around 15 meters thick
appears unconformable over the Los
Monos (Middle Devonian) and below
the Tupambi (Upper Carboniferous)
formations. The assemblage is
composed of around 40 indigenous
species (e.g., Anapiculatisporites
hystricosus Playford,
Apiculiretusispora semisenta
(Playford) Massa, Coquel, Loboziak &
Taugordeau-Lantz, Colatisporites
decorus (Bharadwaj & Venkatachala)
Williams in Neves et al.,
Convolutispora insulosa Playford,
Convolutispora varicosa Butterworth
& Williams, Raistrickia intonsa
(Playford) Playford & Satterthwait,
Dibolisporites microspicatus Playford,
Cristatisporites peruvianus Azcuy &
di Pasquo, Schopfites claviger Sullivan
emend. Higgs, Clayton & Keegan).
Another group of palynomorphs
(spores, acritarchs, prasinophytes,
criptospores, megaspores and
chitinozoans) is interpreted as
reworked from Devonian rocks based
on their stratigraphic range. The
stratigraphic range of selected
indigenous species allow dating of the
assemblage to the early Viséan and the
same age is given to the Itacua
Formation at this locality.
New taxa from the Lower Carboniferous of the
Tarija Basin; magnifications approximate
Until now, this unit is correlated with
the Malimán Formation from the
Argentinean Precordillera (Amenábar
et al., 2006; di Pasquo, 2007 b), and
the Endoculeospora
(Anapiculatisporites) larga Zone from
Australia (e.g. Playford, 1991) based
on several common diagnostic species.
The absence of Cordylosporites
magnidictyus (Playford & Helby) Melo
& Loboziak, diagnostic species from
the late Viséan in Brazil, Peru and
Australia (see di Pasquo, 2007 b)
supports this age as well. This
indigenous assemblage suggests the
development of a shrubby paleoflora
related to humid palaeoenvironments
composed of Pteridophytes (e.g.,
Verrucosisporites, Convolutispora),
Lycophytes (e.g., Cristatisporites,
Densosporites), Sphenophytes (e.g.,
Calamospora) and Pteridosperms (e.g.,
Cyclogranisporites). Nevertheless, no
plant fossils have yet been recorded
from Itacua and Saipurú formations.
On the other hand, most of the
reworked species are recognized in the
assemblages from the underlying Los
Monos Formation in the same outcrop
22
Itacua (Carbonífero Inferior) en el perfil
de Balapuca, sur de Bolivia. Parte 1.
Formación Los Monos. Revista
Geológica de Chile, 34(1):98-137.
(e.g., Geminospora lemurata Balme
emend. Playford, Grandispora
pseudoreticulata (Menéndez & Pöthe
de Baldis) Ottone), including two new
species defined by di Pasquo (2007 a,
see illustrations above). Thus, a hiatus
is registered between both units
spanning the late Frasnian to the
Tournaisian. Based on the absence of
diagnostic species such as Retispora
lepydophyta (Kedo) Playford from the
latest Famennian, a non-depositional
period is interpreted as part of the
hiatus at Balapuca (di Pasquo, 2007 a,
b).
di Pasquo, M.M. (2007 b).
Asociaciones palinológicas presentes en
las Formaciones Los Monos (Devónico)
e Itacua (Carbonífero Inferior) en el
perfil de Balapuca, sur de Bolivia. Parte
2. Formación Itacua e interpretación
estratigráfica y cronología de las
formaciones Los Monos e Itacua.
Revista Geológica de Chile 34(2).
Limachi, R., Goitia, V.H., Sarmiento,
D., Arispe, O., Montecinos, R., Diaz
Martínez, E., Dalenz Farjat, A.,
Liachenco, N., Pérez Leyton, M. y
Aguilera, E. (1996). Estratigrafía,
Geoquímica, Correlaciones, Ambientes
Sedimentarios y Bioestratigrafía del
Silúrico-Devónico de Bolivia. XII
Congreso Geológico de Bolivia. Tarija.
Memorias 12, 183-197.
REFERENCES
Amenábar, C.R, di Pasquo, M.M.,
Carrizo, H.A., Azcuy, C.L. (2006).
Palynology of the Chigua and Malimán
Formations in the Sierra del Volcán, San
Juan province, Argentina. Part 1.
Palaeomicroplankton and acavate
smooth and ornamented spores.
Ameghiniana, 43(2): 339-375.
Playford, G. (1991). Australian Lower
Carboniferous miospores relevant to
extra-Gondwanic correlations: an
evaluation. Courier Forschungsinstitut
Senckenberg, 130: 85-125.
Azcuy, C.L., di Pasquo, M.M. (2000).
Carbonífero y Pérmico de las Sierras
Subandinas, Cordillera Oriental y Puna.
En: Caminos, R. (Ed.). Geología
Argentina. Anales Instituto de Geología
y Recursos Minerales, 26(11): 239-260.
Buenos Aires.
Starck, D., del Papa, C. (2006). The
northwestern Argentina Tarija Basin –
Stratigraphy, depositional systems and
controlling factors in a glaciated basin.
Journal of South American Earth
Sciences, 22: 169-184.
di Pasquo, M.M. (2003). Avances sobre
palinología, bioestratigrafía y
correlación de las asociaciones
presentes en los Grupos Macharetí y
Mandiyutí, Neopaleozoico de la Cuenca
Tarija, provincia de Salta, Argentina.
Ameghiniana, 40(1): 3-32.
Suárez Soruco, R. (2000). Compendio
de Geología de Bolivia. Revista
Técnica Yacimientos Petrolíferos
Fiscales Bolivianos, 18(1-2): 1-213.
di Pasquo, M.M. (2005). Resultados
palinológicos preliminares de estratos
del Devónico y Carbonífero en el perfil
de Balapuca, sur de Bolivia. XVI
Congreso Geológico Argentino. La
Plata. Actas 3, 293-298.
CIMP 2010, Poland
di Pasquo, M.M. (2007 a). Asociaciones
palinológicas presentes en las
Formaciones Los Monos (Devónico) e
We kindly invite you to a CIMP 2010
General Meeting in Poland, in
September 2010. The Institute of
Monika Masiak, mmasiak@twarda.pan.pl
Dear Palynologists,
23
Geological Sciences of the Polish
Academy of Sciences with the
cooperation of the other geological
institutions are pleased to host this
meeting and to showcase a long (since
the beginning of the XIX century) and
ongoing tradition of Polish
palynological research.
palynological slides collections of
CIMP 2010 participants. The
conference language will be English.
The CIMP 2010 General Meeting will
offer an opportunity to meet nearly all
Polish palynologists and foreign guests
working on Palaeozoic strata, to
discuss problems and solutions, to
identify new issues, and to shape
directions and joint projects for future
research.
We propose the capital city of Poland,
Warsaw, as the location for the
meeting. We plan three days of
presentations (lectures and posters) and
a two-day field trip in the Holy Cross
Mountains where we can visit many
outcrops of Palaeozoic deposits.
First Circular
Details on registration fees,
accommodation, and meeting schedule
will be given in the First Circular,
which will be sent later.
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Monika Masiak –
mmasiak@twarda.pan.pl
Marzena Oliwkiewicz-Miklasinska ndmiklas@cyf-kr.edu.pl
Marzena Stempień-Sałek –
mstempie@twarda.pan.pl
Views of the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland
We are also considering a one-day
workshop before the field trip, to
present microscope equipment and to
allow comparative studies of
.
24
Participants at Prague 2006
Sincere apologies for the gaps in the list below. Can anyone help to filling them?
2
1
5
4
3
7
65
29
28
11
10
41
15
13
12
17
16
14
20
21
22
25
46
44
35
47
48
36
49
37
38
51
50
45
52
58
60
56
59
63
61
62
64
1 Ken Higgs
2 Charles Wellman
3 Natalia Zaviolova
4 Catherine Duggan
5 Niall Paterson
6 Kai Jasper
7 Jana Drabkova
8 Alastair Haddow
9 Milada Vavrdova
10 Iskra Lakova
11 Anthony Butcher
12 Randall Penney
13 John Richardson
14 John Marshall
15 Geoff Clayton
16 Ronald Besems
17 Oscar Abbink
18 Tang Peng
19 Herman Jager
20
21
22 Hans Kerp
23 Zelia Pereira
24 Paul Strother
25
26
27 Said Al Hajri
28 Mohammad Ghavidal-syooki
29 Sarah Heal
30 Issam Al Barram
31 Bader Al Belushi
32 Elzbieta Turnau
23
24
34
33
57
19
18
32
30
55
54
9
43
42
40
8
31
27
26
6
33
34 Peter Breuer
35 Thijs Vandenbroucke
36 Jacques Verniers
37 Florentin Paris
38
39 Merrell Miller
40
41 Ken Dorning
42 Reed Wicander
43 Monika Masiak
44 Philippe Steemans
45 Tania Dimitrova
46 Marzena Oliwkiewicz-Miklasinska
47 Anna Górecka-Nowak
48 Mike Stephenson
49 Mary Killing
50 Gordon Forbes
51
52. Pawel Filipiak
53 Monika Jachowicz
54 Ali Daw El-Mehdawi
55 Olda Fatka
56 Rainer Brocke
57 Gary Mullins
58 Lurina
59 Shya Chitaley
60 Jiri Bek
61 Jirina Daskova
62 T. (???) Palacios
63 Olga Tel’nova
64 Elena Raevskaya
65 Gil Machado
25
39
53

CIMPNews/newsletter 71 summer 2007

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