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The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary interval represents one of the most significant mass extinctions and ensuing biotic recoveries in Earth history. Earliest Paleocene fossil mammal faunas corresponding to the Puercan North American Land Mammal Age (NALMA) are thought to be highly endemic and potentially diachronous, necessitating precise chronostratigraphic controls at key fossil localities to constrain recovery dynamics in continental biotas following the K–Pg mass extinction. The Laramide synorgenic sedimentary deposits within the Denver Basin in east-central Colorado preserve one of the most continuous and fossiliferous records of the K–Pg boundary interval in North America. Poor exposure in much of the Denver Basin, however, makes it difficult to correlate between outcrops. To constrain fossil localities in coeval strata across the basin, previous studies have relied upon chronostratigraphic methods such as magnetostratigraphy. Here, we present a new high-resolution magnetostratigraphy of 10 lithostratigraphic sections spanning the K–Pg boundary interval at Corral Bluffs located east of Colorado Springs in the southern part of the Denver Basin. Fossil localities from Corral Bluffs have yielded limited dinosaur remains, mammal fossils assigned to the Puercan NALMA, and numerous fossil leaf localities. Palynological analyses identifying the K–Pg boundary in three sections and two independent, but nearly identical, 206Pb/238U age estimates for the same volcanic ash, provide key temporal calibration points. Our paleomagnetic analyses have identified clear polarity reversal boundaries from chron C30n to chron C28r across the sections. It is now possible to place the fossil localities at Corral Bluffs within the broader basin-wide chronostratigraphic framework and evaluate them in the context of K–Pg boundary extinction and recovery.

We describe a new toxodontid species, Nesodon taweretus sp. nov., from the Aisol Formation in Mendoza Province, central-west Argentina. Nesodon is a frequently found Toxodontidae, member of the Notoungulata, an extinct endemic group of Cenozoic South American mammals that are ecologically similar to current hoofed ungulates. The holotype of N. taweretus sp. nov. is a skull, and we tentatively assign some mandibular fragments and postcranial bones. N. taweretus sp. nov. differs from the other Nesodon species in several cranial and dental features, and close comparisons were made with the Patagonian Nesodon imbricatus, common in the Santa Cruz Formation (Santacrucian Age, Early Miocene). The material is of a similar size to N. imbricatus, with a body mass estimation of about 550 kg. The phylogenetic analysis groups N. taweretus sp. nov. with other species of Nesodon. The absolute age of the Aisol Formation has been established at ca 19.480 ± 0.025 Ma (Burdigalian; Early Miocene) by means of U–Pb zircon dating. The vertebrate association is encompassed by the Santacrucian Age. Latitudinal separation between Mendoza and Patagonia in the south would have favored taxonomic differences, as reflected in the species of Nesodon., Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo

In this paper, sea-level fluctuations during the Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE) are investigated. A revision of published data from multiple successions worldwide indicates a sea-level drop that occurred in different geodynamic settings after the onset of the first of multiple carbon-isotope perturbations that characterize the CPE. New stable isotope data, zircon U-Pb geochronology, carbonate petrology, conodont and foraminifer biostratigraphy from the Carnian of the Sichuan Basin and comparison to the well-dated coeval successions of the Dolomites allow pinpointing with unprecedented precision this sea-level fall and determine that it occurred after the onset of the first, but prior to the third negative delta C-13 shift of the CPE. These lines of evidence indicate that such sea-level oscillation was eustatic. Facies analysis and sequence stratigraphy of units deposited during the ensuing sea-level rise in the Sichuan and Dolomites, further show that a Tethys-wide crisis of microbial carbonate production and drowning of carbonate platforms were followed by a recovery of marine calcification, widely testified by the deposition of oolitic bodies. Whereas a Tethys-wide recovery of microbial carbonate production is documented at the end of the Carnian, this increase in chemical calcification occurred earlier, at the beginning of the Tuvalian, and suggest that global transformations in carbonate systems coincident with the CPE were complex and share commonalities with other times in the geological record when a similar evolution was linked to ocean acidification. (C) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Main Silicics phase of the Afro-Arabian large igneous province preserves some of the largest volcanic eruptions on Earth, with six units totaling >8,600 km3 dense rock equivalent (DRE). The large volumes of rapidly emplaced individual eruptions present a case study for examining the tempo of generation and emplacement of voluminous silicic magmas. We use high-precision 206Pb/238U zircon dating to differentiate individual eruption ages and show that the largest sequentially dated eruptions occurred within a timeframe of 48 ± 34 kyr (29.755 ± 0.023 Ma to 29.707 ± 0.025 Ma), yielding a maximum magma flux of 3.09 x 10-1 km3/yr for 4,339 km3 DRE and making this sequence the highest known flux of silicic volcanism on Earth. The Main Silicics phase of volcanism occurred within a timeframe of 130 ± 150 kyr (29.80 ± 0.80 Ma to 29.67 ± 0.13 Ma), yielding a maximum magma flux of 3.05 x 10-2 km3/yr. We also provide a robust tie-point for calibration of the geomagnetic polarity timescale by integrating recalculated 40Ar/39Ar data with our high-precision 206Pb/238U ages to yield new constraints on the duration of the C11n.1r Subchron.

Uranium-lead (U-Pb) geochronology studies commonly employ the law of detrital zircon: A sedimentary rock cannot be older than its youngest zircon. This premise permits maximum depositional ages (MDAs) to be applied in chronostratigraphy, but geochronologic dates are complicated by uncertainty. We conducted laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and chemical abrasion–thermal ionization mass spectrometry (CA-TIMS) of detrital zircon in forearc strata of southern Alaska (USA) to assess the accuracy of several MDA approaches. Six samples from Middle–Upper Jurassic units are generally replete with youthful zircon and underwent three rounds of analysis: (1) LA-ICP-MS of ∼115 grains, with one date per zircon; (2) LA-ICP-MS of the ∼15 youngest grains identified in round 1, acquiring two additional dates per zircon; and (3) CA-TIMS of the ∼5 youngest grains identified by LA-ICP-MS. The youngest single-grain LA-ICP-MS dates are all younger than—and rarely overlap at 2σ uncertainty with—the CA-TIMS MDAs. The youngest kernel density estimation modes are typically several million years older than the CA-TIMS MDAs. Weighted means of round 1 dates that define the youngest statistical populations yield the best coincidence with CA-TIMS MDAs. CA-TIMS dating of the youngest zircon identified by LA-ICP-MS is indispensable for critical MDA applications, eliminating laser-induced matrix effects, mitigating and evaluating Pb loss, and resolving complexities of interpreting lower-precision, normally distributed LA-ICP-MS dates. Finally, numerous CA-TIMS MDAs in this study are younger than Bathonian(?)–Callovian and Oxfordian faunal correlations suggest, highlighting the need for additional radioisotopic constraints—including CA-TIMS MDAs—for the Middle–Late Jurassic geologic time scale.

The Orosirian Period (2050–1800 Ma) of the Paleoproterozoic Era represents an interval between the Great Oxidation Event and Lomagundi-Jatuli Excursion, and the apparent environmental stability of the late Paleoproterozoic to mid-Mesoproterozoic (1800–1300 Ma). Here, we present stratigraphic data, carbon isotope chemostratigraphy, element abundances, and U–Pb zircon depositional ages from the Belcher Group in subarctic Canada, providing an unparallelled global reference section for the Orosirian Period. U–Pb dates of 2018.5 ± 1.0 Ma and 2015.4 ± 1.8 Ma for two tuffs in the Kasegalik Formation (lowest Belcher Group) provide the first robust age constraints for Earth's earliest unambiguous cyanobacterial fossil, Eoentophysalis belcherensis. A tuffaceous shale ∼4 km stratigraphically higher, at the contact of the Flaherty and Omarolluk formations (1854.2 ± 1.6 Ma), provides an age for foreland basin development associated with the collision of the Superior and Hearne cratons. Carbonate carbon isotope data show smooth fluctuations ranging from −2.3 to +3.6‰, reaching a maximum near ca. 1.88 Ga. This trend toward heavier carbon isotope values is interpreted as the result of global orogenesis during Nuna assembly that elevated nutrient supply and sedimentation rates, leading to an increase in the proportion of organic carbon burial relative to carbonate carbon burial.

Global correlation of strata to the Guadalupian Series (Permian Period) of the International Geologic Time Scale remains provisional due to a lack of the sufficient biostratigraphically constrained radioisotopic ages. Five new high-precision U Pb radioisotopic ages were obtained from tuffs in the lower Midian (upper Wordian) volcano-siliciclastic succession of the Akiyoshi Plateau, southwestern Japan. Two undisturbed and continuous tuffs occur within fusulinid-bearing laminated limestone turbidites, with precise biostratigraphic control. The Colania douvillei and Lepidolina shiraiwensis fusulinid Zones in the Akiyoshi succession provide an early Midian age in the Tethyan provincial time scale. The range of ages (267.46 ± 0.04 Ma to 265.76 ± 0.03 Ma) over 25 m of section including the limestone turbiditic beds suggest that this lower Midian Stage of the Tethyan time scale is correlated with the upper Wordian Stage of the International Geologic Time Scale. The sedimentologic, bio- and geochronologic data affirm the effectively conformable nature of the siliciclastic‑carbonate succession of the Tsunemori Formation at the Shigeyasu Quarry, and the presence of acidic volcanic tuffs are consistent with a forearc basin or trench slope basin depocenter for the Tsunemori Formation.

Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE2; c. 94.5–93.9 Ma) offers insight into the mechanisms of past climate change linked to organic productivity and carbon sequestration. It has been studied extensively, but the vast majority of data come from marine records, thus providing an incomplete view of past climate dynamics. Here we integrate new high-resolution data and published records on depositional environments, the carbon-isotope composition of bulk organic carbon (δ13Corg) and plant cuticles (δ13Ccut), and stomatal-index values, a proxy for pCO2, in well-preserved terrestrial through marginal-marine archives of the initial phase of OAE2. The study area is located on the western margin of the Western Interior Seaway (southwestern Utah). Age constraints are based on a new U-Pb bentonite age and correlation to an orbitally calibrated interval of the Bridge Creek Limestone. n-Alkane abundance suggests predominance of terrestrial contributions to bulk organic carbon for most samples. Despite similarities between carbon-isotope variations and transgressive-regressive shoreline movements, it is argued that δ13Corg and δ13Ccut are not strongly affected by local variables. A series of negative, ~2‰ carbon-isotope excursions is identified and attributed to changes in the size and isotopic value of the atmospheric CO2 reservoir. The temporal spacing of these anomalies (80–120 kyr) is consistent with changes in insolation modulated by orbital eccentricity. A systematic, phase-shifted relationship between the negative carbon-isotope excursions and transgressive increments further suggests a link between carbon-cycle perturbations and meter-scale sea-level change on the 100-kyr time scale. A conceptual model involving insolation-controlled aquifer charge/discharge and biomass burial/degradation in the monsoonal belt is proposed. The framework presented here is available to facilitate further research on the interplay of terrestrial and oceanic carbon reservoirs during OAE2.

Fluorescence from carbon nanodots has been of keen interest over the past decade; however, exploration of radiative pathways including delayed fluorescence (ɑS1) from nanodots have hitherto seen little investigation, thus limiting the scope of nanodot applications. Simple synthesis strategies for ɑS1-emitting nanodots therefore remain necessary. Herein we report an inexpensive, quasi-spherical nanodot structure from combustion-based synthesis exhibiting strong excitation-dependent ɑS1 emission upon aggregation to 100 nm sizes. Interestingly, ɑS1 emission intensity is found to increase with increased temperature. The nanodots also exhibit photostability over multiple heating and cooling cycles, suggesting the possible use of these carbon nanodots as temperature-sensitive luminescence probes.

The Izu–Bonin–Mariana (IBM) forearc contains a record of a widespread and short-lived subduction initiation event in the early Eocene. We present new high-precision ages to determine the rates and length scales of ocean crust production following subduction initiation along the IBM convergent margin. We also explore the implications of these ages for potential causes of subduction initiation and its far-field effects. Zircons extracted from gabbros collected by Shinkai 6500 diving within the ophiolitic sequence exposed in the outer Bonin and Mariana forearcs give crystallization ages (±2σ) of 51.94 ± 0.13 Ma and 51.81 ± 0.03 Ma, respectively, consistent with a near-synchronous seafloor spreading after initiation of subduction along the entire length of the IBM system. 40Ar/39Ar ages of forearc basalts (51.34 ± 0.78 Ma) and boninites (51.27 ± 0.09 Ma to 50.33 ± 0.55 Ma) cored upslope of the Bonin sample gabbro during IODP Expedition 352 further reveal that the outer forearc comprises oceanic lithosphere with MORB to boninite compositions created by seafloor spreading during a remarkably short time period of 0.6–2 Myr at a full-rate of c. 70 mm/yr. This time period is consistent with those of some well-dated ophiolites. Thus, near-trench seafloor spreading to form basalt then boninite lithosphere is an extensive, rapid, but short-lived process after subduction initiation.

Strata in the Huron (2.5–2.0 Ga) and Animikie (2.2–1.85 Ga) basins were deposited on the southern margin of the Archean Superior province. These rocks were deformed during the Penokean orogeny (∼1850 Ma) followed by subsequent accretionary orogens to the south at 1750 Ma (Yavapai) and 1630 Ma (Mazatzal). Strain patterns are unique to each orogenic belt with no far-field effect: Archean Wawa terrane rocks in the Penokean foreland preserve deformation associated with Archean accretion with no younger Penokean, Yavapai or Mazatzal strain overprint. The Penokean orogeny deformed Huron-Animikie basin sediments into a north-vergent fold-and-thrust belt with no Yavapai or Mazatzal strain overprint. Yavapai orogen strains (SW-NE margin-parallel shortening) are unique when compared to the younger Mazatzal shortening (N20°W) shortening, with no strain overprint. Penokean deformation is characterized by shortening from the south including uplifted Archean gneisses and a northerly thin-skinned fold-and-thrust belt, with north-vergent nappes and a gently-dipping foreland. Our study of finite and calcite twinning strains (n = 60) along (∼1500 km) and across (∼200 km) the Penokean belt indicate that this orogeny was collisional as layer-parallel shortening axes are parallel across the belt, or parallel to the tectonic transport direction (∼N-S). Penokean nappe burial near the margin resulted in vertical shortening strain overprints, some of which are layer-normal. The Sudbury impact layer (1850 Ma) is found across the Animikie basin and provides a widespread deformation marker with many local, unique strain observations. We also report new geochronology (U-Pb zircon and apatite) for the gneiss-mafic dike rocks at Wissota (Chippewa Falls, WI) and Arbutus (Black River Falls, WI) dams, respectively, which bears on Penokean-Yavapai deformation in the Archean Marshfield terrane which was accreted during the Penokean orogen. Pseudotachylite formation was common in the Superior province Archean basement rocks, especially along terrane boundaries reactivated by contemporaneous Penokean, Trans-Hudson, Cape Smith and New Quebec deformation. In the hinterland (south), the younger Yavapai orogen (1750 Ma; n = 8) deformation is preserved as margin-parallel horizontal shortening (∼SW-NE) in Yavapai crust and up to 200 km to the north in the Penokean thrust belt as a strain and Barrovian metamorphic overprint. Mazatzal deformation (1630 Ma; n = 16) is preserved in quartzites on Yavapai and Penokean crust with layer-parallel and layer-normal shortening strains oriented N20°W.

The lithologic diversity and protracted geologic history of the Minnesota River Valley (MRV) gneiss terrane at the southern margin of the Archean Superior Province provide key perspectives on the growth and modification of this craton. Innovations in geochronology, specifically the application of the chemical abrasion technique to remove Pb-loss domains in zircon, and the tandem use of in situ geochemistry and precise isotope dilution age analysis for establishing the petrologic context of radioisotopic ages, are yielding new insights into these old rocks. First, U-Pb geochronology on a variety of plutonic to mesoscale intrusive rocks from the Morton and Montevideo blocks of the MRV provide precise constraints on the Neoarchean (2603–2584 Ma) Sacred Heart orogeny, which sutured the Mesoarchean gneisses of the MRV to the southern margin of the Superior craton in an episode of contractional deformation, high-grade metamorphism, and voluminous plutonism. Second, we report the first radioisotopic age constraints on the St. Leo and Taunton belts of greenstone and supracrustal rocks within the Yellow Medicine shear zone, an inferred lithosphere-scale structure juxtaposed between the Morton and Montevideo gneisses. Titanite from a metadiorite intrusion into the St. Leo belt yields igneous (∼2539 Ma) and metamorphic (∼2510 Ma) ages, confirming the Archean provenance of the host greenstones and revealing a latest Neoarchean episode of magmatism and deformation focused along and within the shear zone. Third, a new ∼1781 Ma U-Pb zircon age for one of a number of small granitic plugs in the southern Montevideo block confirms its correlation to the more voluminous East-Central Minnesota Batholith and its origin in the Yavapai orogeny. Again later magmatism was focused along the Yellow Medicine shear zone suggesting the lithosphere-scale significance of that structure. This more resolved history for the Neoarchean to Proterozoic evolution of the southern Superior craton provides new opportunities to test Archean craton correlations and reconstructions, including links to the Wyoming and Slave cratons.

Data sharing between laboratories is critical for building repeatable, comparable, and robust geochronology and geochemistry workflows. Meanwhile, in the broader geosciences, there is an increasing need for standardized access to aggregated geochemical data tied to basic geological context. Such data can be used to enrich sample and geochemical data repositories (e.g., EarthChem, Geochron.org, publisher archives), align geochemical context with other datasets that capture global change (e.g., Neotoma, the Paleobiology Database), and calibrate digital Earth models (e.g., Macrostrat) against geochronology-driven assessments of geologic time.A typical geochemical lab manages a large archive of interpreted data; standardizing and contributing data products to community-level archives entails significant manual work that is not usually undertaken. Furthermore, without widely accepted interchange formats, this effort must be repeated for each intended destination.Sparrow (https://sparrow-data.org), in development by a consortium of geochronology labs, is a standardized system designed to support labs’ efforts to manage, contextualize, and share their geochemical data. The system augments existing analytical workflows with tools to manage metadata (e.g., projects, sample context, embargo status) and software interfaces for automated data exchange with community facilities. It is extensible for a wide variety of geochemical methods and analytical processes.In this update, we will report on the implementation of Sparrow in the Arizona Laserchron Center detrital zircon facility, and how that lab is using the system to capture geological context across its data archive. We will review similar integrations underway with U-Pb, 40Ar/39Ar, SIMS, optically stimulated luminescence, thermochronology, and cosmogenic nuclide dating. We will also discuss preliminary efforts to aggregate the output of multiple chronometers to refine age calibrations for the Macrostrat stratigraphic model.

The Yanchang Formation was deposited during the Middle Triassic in a vast lacustrine basin in the modern Ordos Basin and is a main target for hydrocarbon exploration in Central China. It is divided, based on sedimentary cycles and lithology, into the Chang 10 (the oldest) to Chang 1 (the youngest) members. During the deposition of the Chang 7 Member, the Ordos lake system reached its maximum depth and large volumes of organic-rich sediments were deposited. The evolution of the Ordos Basin sedimentary system during this phase is, however, not completely understood, and uncertainty still exists as for the chronostratigraphy of Chang 7 Member. We acquired palynological markers and palynofacies and a high-resolution δ13Corg record through the entire Chang 7 Member, and a ID-TIMS 206Pb/238U date of 240.95 ± 0.033 Ma from a volcanic ash bed in the middle of this Member. These imply that the maximum deepening phase of the lacustrine system was during the earliest Ladinian. Evidence of marine influence in the Ordos Basin at that time and comparison to the sea-level oscillations observed in Western Tethys suggest that a global eustatic rise and highstand may have played a role in determining lake-level variations.

Impact cratering was a fundamental geological process in the early Solar System and, thus, constraining the timescales over which large impact structures cool is critical to understanding the thermal evolution and habitability of early planetary crusts. Additionally, impacts can induce mass extinctions and establishing the precise timing of the largest impacts on Earth can shed light on their role in such events. Here we report a high-precision zircon U–Pb geochronology study of the Morokweng impact structure, South Africa, which appears to have a maximum present-day diameter of ∼80 km. Our work provides (i) constraints on the cooling of large impact melt sheets, and (ii) a high-precision age for one of Earth's largest impact events, previously proposed to have overlapped the ca. 145 Ma Jurassic–Cretaceous (J–K) boundary. High-precision U–Pb geochronology was performed on unshocked, melt-grown zircon from five samples from a borehole through approximately 800 m of preserved impact melt rock. Weighted mean 206Pb/238U dates for the upper four samples are indistinguishable, with relative uncertainties (internal errors) of better than 20 ka, whereas the lowermost sample is distinguishably younger than the others. Thermal modeling suggests that the four indistinguishable dates are consistent with in situ conductive cooling of melt at this location within 30 kyr of the impact. The younger date from the lowest sample cannot be explained by in situ conductive cooling in line with the overlying samples, but the date is within the ∼65 kyr timeframe for melt-present conditions in footwall rocks below the impact melt sheet that is indicated by our thermal model. The Morokweng impact event is here constrained to 146.06 ± 0.16 Ma (2σ; full external uncertainty), which precedes current estimates of the age of the J–K boundary by several million years.

We present new geochemical, Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope, and 40Ar/39Ar data from Pleistocene basalts of the Western Snake River Plain (WSRP), Idaho, USA to explore their petrogenesis and to investigate the nature of the lithosphere at the western boundary of the North American craton. The basalts are divided into three groups based on their geochemical and isotopic characteristics. Prior to ∼1 Ma, volcanoes in the WSRP erupted iron-rich tholeiites (FeB1), but subsequent volcanism was dominated by concurrent eruptions of mildly alkaline, alumina-rich lavas (AlB) and iron-rich tholeiites (FeB2) with isotopic signatures similar to the AlB lavas. New 40Ar/39Ar dates of AlB and FeB2 basalts range from 0·920 ± 0·049 to 0·287 ± 0·014 Ma. MELTS models of FeB1 differentiation trends indicate that the range of compositions in this suite can be produced by 10–15 % crystallization of olivine and plagioclase at low pressure using the least evolved FeB1 composition as a parental magma; isotopic ratios can be produced via combined assimilation of a Miocene rhyolite and fractional crystallization. Additional modeling suggests that parental magmas at AlB centers were produced by 3–12 % equilibrium melting of a garnet–spinel-enriched mantle source, slightly different from that proposed for the youngest mildly alkaline lavas of the eastern and central Snake River Plain. Our new geochemical, isotopic, and geochronological data for the FeB2 basalts suggests that they are related to AlB-type magmas via a combination of fractional crystallization and assimilation of evolved mafic crust. MELTS models suggest that crystallization of an AlB parental melt at a depth of 6–8 km (2·5 kbar) could produce residual liquids having many of the major oxide characteristics of FeB2 ferrobasalts. Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic signatures of these three suites indicate a dominant contribution from an enriched plume source. FeB1 lavas are probably products of mixing between melts of an enriched plume mantle source (represented by Imnaha and Steens Basalts of the Columbia River Basalt Group) and isotopically heterogeneous sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) that has been isolated from the convecting mantle since the Archean. Isotopic ratios of FeB2 and AlB lavas capture mixing between enriched plume mantle and a more isotopically homogeneous ancient SCLM domain characteristic of the eastern and central Snake River Plain, with a coupled decrease in lithospheric contribution and degree of partial melting through time to the present. Mixtures of enriched asthenospheric reservoirs with lithospheric mantle have been proposed for neighboring volcanic fields to the east along the strike of the Yellowstone–SRP hotspot track, and to the west owing to differences in the mantle underlying the boundary of the North American craton and accreted terranes. Our petrogenetic model for the Pleistocene WSRP basalts suggests that there is also a lateral, across-strike gradient in the geometry and interaction of enriched plume mantle and ancient lithosphere. We reiterate suggestions that the WSRP is a lithosphere-scale conduit connecting initial plume-head impingement in east–central Oregon with the subsequent Yellowstone–SRP hotspot plume-tail track.

Despite the largest explosive eruptions posing significant potential hazards, the recurrence rate of these so called ‘super-eruptions’ remains poorly constrained. The younger portion of the Yellowstone-Snake River Plain province is well-known for large-scale explosive volcanism; however, the older history within the Snake River Plain remains poorly-known and partially obscured by later basaltic volcanism. To address this, we characterised the mineral cargo of four widely spaced rhyolitic ignimbrites found at the margins of the Snake River Plain that reveal a strong compositional similarity in bulk geochemistry, major crystal phases (e.g. pyroxene and ilmenite), and radiogenic isotopes. To test whether these four compositionally similar units may have had a common origin we used a tandem in-situ and isotope dilution method for U/Pb geochronology of zircon crystals. The youngest populations of zircons from all four samples are equivalent in age, and together define a pooled weighted mean 238U/206Pb age of 11.030 ± 0.006 (MSWD = 1.44, n=24). These results reveal an event with a conservatively estimated erupted volume ~1,470 km3, of similar magnitude to the largest Yellowstone eruptions. Numerous widely dispersed tephra deposits found across the western portions of North America with geochemical affinities to the Snake River Plain province hint at the existence of other such voluminous ignimbrites. The improved ability to correlate deposits of an individual eruption shown by this and other recent studies implies that ‘super’ eruptive events are more common than previously thought.

The Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA), one of the best known and prolonged glaciation events in Earth's history, resulted in the deposition of glacial sediments over Gondwana. The terminal deglaciation, a diachronic event starting earlier at the western and later in the eastern part of the continent, caused sea level rise and the widespread deposition of transgressive sedimentary successions. The Paraná Basin is one of these basins recording both glacial influenced (Itararé Group) and post-glacial (Guatá Group) deposits. However, the absence of Carboniferous and Permian guide fossils has motivated a chronostratigraphic approach based on plants and palynomorphs, which associated with sparse radioisotopic ages have suggested that transition between the glacial-influenced and the post-glacial succession would have occurred in the Sakmarian, early Permian (Holz et al., 2010). These results are in conflict with recent studies that indicate LPIA glacial deposits are constrained to the Carboniferous (Cagliari et al., 2016; Griffis et al., 2019). Therefore, in this study we present new high-precision single-crystal CA-ID-TIMS U-Pb radioisotopic ages for the glacial influenced (one samples) and post-glacial (six samples) deposits in the southern Paraná Basin. Along with these new radioisotopic ages, a Bayesian age-depth model was applied to constrain the age of the LPIA demise in the southern Paraná Basin, which also represents the icehouse-greenhouse transition. The resulting age for the Rio do Sul Formation, topmost unit of the Itararé Group, is Ghzelian (Carboniferous). For the Rio Bonito Formation, basal Guatá Group, all samples are Asselian (Permian). The results reinforce that glacial-influenced deposits in the southern Paraná Basin are constrained to the Carboniferous. Based upon the depth-age model, the icehouse to greenhouse transition likely occurred in the Late Carboníferous. The integration between our results and recent published high-resolution U-Pb ages allowed us to detail the Carboniferous-Permian chronostratigraphic framework of the southern Paraná Basin. References:Holz, M., França, A.B., Souza, P.A., Iannuzzi, R., Rohn, R. (2010). A stratigraphic chart of the Late Carboniferous/Permian succession of the eastern border of the Paraná Basin, Brazil, South America. Journal of South American Earth Sciences 29, 381–399.Cagliari, J., Philipp, R.P., Buso, V.V., Netto, R.G., Hillebrand, P.K., Lopes, R.C.L., Basei, M.A.S., Faccini, U.F. (2016). Age constraints of the glaciation in the Paraná basin: Evidence from new U–Pb dates. Journal of the Geological Society 173, 871–874.Griffis, N.P., Montañez, I.P., Mundil, R., Richey, J., Isbell, J., Fedorchuk, N., Linol, B., Iannuzzi, R., Vesely, F., Mottin, T., Rosa, E., Keller, B., Yin, Q. (2019). Coupled stratigraphic and U-Pb zircon age constraints on the late Paleozoic icehouse-to-greenhouse turnover in south-central Gondwana. Geology 47, 1146–1150.

A central prediction of the Snowball Earth hypothesis is that glacial onset should be synchronous at low latitudes, and its termination should be rapid and synchronous globally. High precision U/Pb zircon ages provide supporting evidence for the synchronous onset (within error) of the Sturtian glaciation (ca. 716 Ma) on multiple continents. Successful application of Re-Os techniques on organic rich shales and carbonates allow for the possibility of a globally synchronous Sturtian deglaciation (ca. 660 Ma), but the sparse isotopic age constraints leave this open to debate. Here we report the first high precision U-Pb zircon age of 663.03 ± 0.11 Ma (2σ) for the end Sturtian recorded in the Wilyerpa Formation of South Australia. This age supports previously published ages and is permissive with a globally synchronous deglaciation. In conjunction with the timing of glacial onset, this age reinforces the ca. 58 Myr duration of the Sturtian Snowball.

Despite the potential hazards posed by the largest explosive eruptions, so-called ‘super-eruptions’, their recurrence rate remains poorly constrained. The younger portion of the Yellowstone-Snake River Plain province is well known for large-scale explosive volcanism; however, the older history within the Snake River Plain remains poorly known and partially obscured by later basaltic volcanism. To address this, we characterised the mineral cargo of four widely spaced rhyolitic ignimbrites from the margins of the Snake River Plain that illustrate a strong similarity revealed in compositions of bulk geochemistry, major phases (e.g., pyroxene and ilmenite), and radiogenic isotopes. To test for the synchronous origin and eruption of these deposits, we used a tandem in-situ and isotope dilution method for U/Pb geochronology of zircon crystals. The youngest sampling of zircons from all four samples is equivalent in age, and defines a pooled weighted mean 238U/206Pb age of 11.030 ± 0.006 (MSWD = 1.44, n = 24). These results reveal an event with a conservatively estimated erupted volume ~ 1470 km3, of similar magnitude to the largest explosive events from Yellowstone. Widely dispersed ashfall deposits found across the western portions of North America with geochemical affinities to the Snake River Plain province suggest that other voluminous ignimbrites are awaiting discovery. The improved ability to correlate deposits of an individual eruption shown by this and other recent studies implies that ‘super’ eruptive events are more common than previously thought.

The numerical calibration of the base of the Devonian is poorly constrained due to several factors. Few precise radioisotopic age determinations are available from the late Silurian and Early Devonian, and the limited published data carry large error bars from older analytical methodologies. Volcanic ashfalls suitable for dating occur in the Lower Devonian of the Appalachian Basin, but have not been precisely correlated into the global chronostratigraphical scheme because of limited bio- and lithostratigraphical information. Here, we report a new U-Pb zircon radioisotopic age determination of 417.61 ± 0.12(0.23)[0.50] Ma and improved chronostratigraphical context, including revised biostratigraphy, for an ash bed in the New Scotland Formation, Helderberg Group, from the Lochkovian Stage that was previously identified as the Kalkberg K-bentonite. This new information helps to integrate the classic New York Appalachian Basin succession into global Siluro-Devonian stratigraphy, refine the calibration of the Silurian–Devonian boundary and more precisely estimate the duration of both time periods.

The Sauk transgression was one of the most dramatic global marine transgressions in Earth history. It is recorded by deposition of predominantly Cambrian non-marine to shallow marine sheet sandstones unconformably above basement rocks far into the interiors of many continents. Here we use dating of detrital zircons sampled from above and below the Great Unconformity in the Grand Canyon region to bracket the timing of the Sauk transgression at this classic location. We find that the Sixtymile Formation, long considered a Precambrian unit beneath the Great Unconformity, has maximum depositional ages that get younger up-section from 527 to 509 million years old. The unit contains angular unconformities and soft-sediment deformation that record a previously unknown period of intracratonic faulting and epeirogeny spanning four Cambrian stages. The overlying Tapeats Sandstone has youngest detrital zircon ages of 505 to 501 million years old. When linked to calibrated trilobite zone ages of greater than 500 million years old, these age constraints show that the marine transgression across a greater than 300-km-wide cratonic region took place during an interval 505 to 500 million years ago—more recently and more rapidly than previously thought. We redefine this onlap as the main Sauk transgression in the region. Mechanisms for this rapid flooding of the continent include thermal subsidence following the final breakup of Rodinia, combined with abrupt global eustatic changes driven by climate and/or mantle buoyancy modifications. Extensive flooding of the North American continent during the Cambrian occurred more recently and more rapidly than previously thought, according to analyses of detrital zircons sampled from the Grand Canyon region.

Rhyolitic volcanism in the Yellowstone Volcanic Field has spanned over two million years and consisted of both explosive caldera-forming eruptions and smaller effusive flows and domes. Effusive eruptions have been documented preceding and following caldera-forming eruptions, however the temporal and petrogenetic relationships of these magmas to the caldera-forming eruptions are relatively unknown. Here we present new 40Ar/39Ar dates for four small-volume eruptions located on the western rim of the second-cycle caldera, the source of the 1.300 ± 0.001 Ma Mesa Falls Tuff. We supplement our new eruption ages with whole rock major and trace element chemistry, Pb isotopic ratios of feldspar, and paleomagnetic and rock magnetic analyses. Eruption ages for the effusive Green Canyon Flow (1.299 ± 0.002 Ma) and Moonshine Mountain Dome (1.302 ± 0.003 Ma) are in close temporal proximity to the eruption age of the Mesa Falls Tuff. In contrast, our results indicate a period of volcanism at ca 1.45 Ma within the Yellowstone Volcanic Field, including the eruption of the Bishop Mountain Flow (1.458 ± 0.002 Ma) and Tuff of Lyle Spring (1.450 ± 0.003 Ma). These high-silica rhyolites are chemically and isotopically distinct from the Mesa Falls Tuff and related 1.3 Ma effusive eruptions. The 40Ar/39Ar data from the Tuff of Lyle Spring demonstrate significant antecrystic inheritance, prevalent within the upper welded ash-flow tuff matrix, and minimal within individual pumice. Antecrysts are up to 20 kyr older than the eruption, with subpopulations of grains occurring every few thousand years. We interpret these results as an indicator for the timing of magmatic pulses into a growing magmatic system that would ultimately erupt the Tuff of Lyle Spring, and which we more broadly interpret as the tempo of crustal accumulation associated with bimodal magmatism. We propose a system whereby chemically, isotopically, and temporally distinct, isolated small-volume magma batches are periodically generated and erupted in a low magmatic flux state, which is punctuated by larger volume caldera-forming eruptions.

Neoproterozoic glacial diamictites and rift-related volcanics are preserved throughout the North American Cordillera, yet the nature and timing of both glaciation and rifting are poorly constrained. New geochronological, geochemical, and stratigraphic data from the Cryogenian Gataga volcanics and bounding units at Gataga Mountain, in the Kechika Trough of northern British Columbia, better constrain the age of these rift-related volcanics and suggest that they erupted during glaciation. At Gataga Mountain, three informal sequences are exposed; a basal quartzite, the Gataga volcanics, and an overlying mixed carbonate-siliciclastic succession. The basal quartzite is dominated by cross-bedded sandstone with an intertidal facies assemblage including bidirectional cross-stratification and mud-cracks, indicative of non-glacial deposition. The overlying Gataga volcanics are over one kilometer thick, comprising both mafic and felsic units, with volcaniclastic breccia and interbedded sedimentary units including iron formation and matrix-supported diamictite with exotic clasts. Magmatic ages in the upper Gataga volcanics span 696.2 ± 0.2 to 690.1 ± 0.2 Ma, and detrital zircon from the underlying non-glacial quartzite provide a maximum age constraint on the onset of glaciation