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We present a collection of magnetic field absolute measurements performed by the early Soviet magnetic satellite missions Kosmos-49 (1964) and Kosmos-321 (1970). A total of 17 300 measured values are available for the Kosmos-49 mission, covering homogeneously 75 % of the Earth's surface between 49∘ latitude north and south. About 5000 measured values are available for the Kosmos-321 mission, covering homogeneously 94 % of the Earth's surface between 71∘ latitude north and south. The data are available at PANGAEA (Krasnoperov et al., 2020, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.907927).

The Fennoscandian transition zone, including the Sorgenfrei–Tornquist Zone, constitutes the weakened and faulted bedrock between a craton, including the ancient continent Baltica to the north, and the boundary between Baltica and Avalonia along the Trans-European Fault Zone to the south. Early Permian subsidence in this transition zone resulted in the development of various basins and the initiation of a more or less continuous Permian–Paleogene depositional cycle. In southwestern Sweden, magmatic activity associated with transtensional deformation along the Sorgenfrei–Tornquist Zone prevailed during the Late Carboniferous–Permian. However, the transition zone is dominated by a Mesozoic sedimentary rock succession displaying both hiatuses and great lateral variability in composition and thickness, which can be related to several tectonic events including the progressive break-up of Pangaea. Much of the deposition took place in continental, coastal and shallow-marine settings. Early–Middle Jurassic block faulting and basanitic or melanephelinitic volcanism, as well as Late Cretaceous tectonic inversion along the Sorgenfrei–Tornquist Zone, related to a changeover to a predominantly compressive tectonic regime coeval with the Alpine orogeny, significantly influenced the depositional setting. Subsequent Paleogene–Neogene regional uplift of the southwestern margin of Baltica resulted in significant erosion of the bedrock.

We present a high-resolution airborne radar data set (EGRIP-NOR-2018) for the onset region of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS). The radar data were acquired in May 2018 with Alfred Wegener Institute’s multichannel ultra-wideband (UWB) radar mounted on the Polar6 aircraft. Radar profiles cover an area of ~24000 km2 and extend over the well-defined shear margins of the NEGIS. The survey area is centred at the location of the drill site of the East Greenland Ice-Core Project (EastGRIP) and several radar lines intersect at this location. The survey layout was designed to: (i) map the stratigraphic signature of the shear margins with radar profiles aligned perpendicular to ice flow, (ii) trace the radar stratigraphy along several flow lines and (iii) provide spatial coverage of ice thickness and basal properties. While we are able to resolve radar reflections in the deep stratigraphy, we can not fully resolve the steeply inclined reflections at the tightly folded shear margins in the lower part of the ice column. The NEGIS is causing the most significant discrepancies between numerically modelled and observed ice surface velocities. Given the high likelihood of future climate and ocean warming, this extensive data set of new high-resolution radar data in combination with the EastGRIP ice core will be a key contribution to understand the past and future dynamics of the NEGIS. The EGRIP-NOR-2018 radar data products can be obtained at the PANGAEA Data Publisher (https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.928569; Franke et al. 2021a).

The lesson of the past is that when climate changes, species move. For instance, as the world emerged from the last ice age, temperatures rose dramatically across North America and Europe. Areas that had been frozen under solid ice—outside the niche of virtually any organism—suddenly thawed and supported rich assemblages of life. Less dramatic changes in the tropics led to different climates replacing one another in the space of a few 1000years. Many other climate shifts have occurred throughout the Earth’s history, changing the average climate of the planet and also the living conditions of every place on the planet.

The supercontinent of Pangea formed through the diachronous collision of Laurussia and Gondwana during the late Paleozoic. While magmatism associated with its formation is well documented in the Variscan orogeny of Europe and Alleghanian orogeny of the United States, little is known about the Sonora orogeny of northern Mexico. This paper reports geochronology (U-Pb zircon), whole-rock geochemistry, and Lu-Hf zircon isotope data on basement cores from the western Gulf of Mexico, which were used to develop a tectonomagmatic model for pre- to post-Pangea amalgamation. Our results suggest the existence of three distinct phases of magmatism, produced during different stages of continental assembly and disassembly. The first phase consists of Early Permian (294–274 Ma; n = 3) granitoids with geochemical signatures indicative of a continental arc tectonic setting. This phase formed on the margins of Gondwana during the closure of the Rheic Ocean, prior to the final amalgamation of Pangea. It likely represents a lateral analogue of late Carboniferous–Early Permian granitoids that intrude the Acatlán and Oaxacan Complexes. The second phase of magmatism includes Late Permian–Early Triassic (263–243 Ma; n = 13) granitoids with suprasubduction geochemical affinities. However, Lu-Hf isotope data indicate that these granitoids formed from crustal anatexis, with εHf values and two-step Hf depleted mantle model ages (TDM[Hf]) comparable to the Oaxaquia continental crust into which they intrude. This phase of magmatism is likely related to coeval granitoids in the Oaxaca area and Chiapas Massif. We interpret it to reflect late- to postcollisional magmatism along the margin of Gondwana following the assembly of Pangea. Finally, the third phase of magmatism includes Early–Middle Jurassic (189–164 Ma; n = 2) mafic porphyries, which could be related to the synchronous suprasubduction magmatism associated with the Nazas arc. Overall, our results are consistent with Pangea assembly through diachronous collision of Laurussia and Gondwana during subduction of the Rheic Ocean. They suggest that postorogenic magmatism in the western termination of the Rheic suture occurred under the influence of a Panthalassan subduction zone, before opening of the Gulf of Mexico.

In March 2013, the Springtime Atmospheric Boundary Layer Experiment (STABLE) was carried out in the region of Fram Strait and over Svalbard to investigate atmospheric convection and boundary layer modifications due to interactions between sea ice, atmosphere, and open water. A major goal was the observation of marine cold-air outbreaks (MCAOs), which are typically characterised by a transport of very cold air masses from the ice-covered ocean over a relatively warm water surface, and which often affect local and regional weather conditions. During STABLE, such MCAOs were observed on four days within a period of a strongly northward shifted sea ice edge north of Svalbard and thus with an unusually large Whaler's Bay Polynya. The observations mainly consisted of in situ measurements from airborne instruments and of measurements by dropsondes. Here, we present the corresponding data set from, in total, 15 aircraft vertical profiles and 22 dropsonde releases. Besides an overview on flight patterns and instrumentation, we provide a detailed presentation of the individual quality-processing mechanisms, which ensure that the data can be used, for example, for model validation. A few remarks are also given on data quality and on some characteristics of the MCAOs based on the quality-processed data. All 37 data series are published in the World Data Center PANGAEA (Lüpkes et al., 2021a, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.936635).

The shells of marine invertebrates can serve as high-resolution records of oceanographic and atmospheric change through time. In particular, oxygen and carbon isotope analyses of nearshore marine calcifiers that grow by accretion over their lifespans provide seasonal records of environmental and oceanographic conditions. Archaeological shell middens generated by Indigenous communities along the Northeast Pacific coast contain shells harvested over multiple seasons for millennia. These shell middens, as well as analyses of archival and modern shells, have the potential to provide multi-site, seasonal archives of nearshore conditions throughout the Holocene. A significant volume of oxygen and carbon isotope data from archaeological shells exists, yet is separately published in archaeological, geochemical, and paleoceanographic journals and has not been comprehensively analyzed to examine oceanographic change over time. Here, we compiled a database of previously published oxygen and carbon isotope data from archaeological, archival, and modern marine molluscs from the North American coast of the Northeast Pacific (32° N to 50° N). This database includes oxygen and carbon isotope data from over 550 modern, archaeological, and sub-fossil shells from 8880 years before present (BP) to the present, from which there are 4,845 total δ13C and 5,071 total δ18O measurements. Shell dating and sampling strategies vary among studies (1–118 samples per shell) and vary significantly by journal discipline. Data are from various bivalves and gastropod species, with Mytilus spp. being the most commonly analyzed taxon. This novel database can be used to investigate changes in nearshore sea surface conditions including warm-cool oscillations, heat waves, and upwelling intensity, and provides nearshore calcite δ13C and δ18O values that can be compared to the vast collections of offshore foraminifera calcite δ13C and δ18O data from marine sediment cores. By utilizing previously published geochemical data from midden and museum shells rather than sampling new specimens, future scientific research can reduce or omit the alteration or destruction of culturally valued specimens and sites. The data set is publicly available through PANGAEA at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.932671 (Palmer et al., 2021).

The sequential breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea since the Middle Jurassic is one of the crucial factors that has driven the biogeographical patterns of terrestrial biotas. Despite decades of effort searching for concordant patterns between diversification and continental fragmentation among taxonomic groups, increasing evidence has revealed more complex and idiosyncratic scenarios resulting from a mixture of vicariance, dispersal and extinction. Aquatic insects with discreet ecological requirements, low vagility and disjunct distributions represent a valuable model for testing biogeographical hypotheses by reconstructing their distribution patterns and temporal divergences. Insects of the order Megaloptera have exclusively aquatic larvae, their adults have low vagility, and the group has a highly disjunct geographical distribution. Here we present a comprehensive phylogeny of Megaloptera based on a large-scale mitochondrial genome sequencing of 99 species representing >90% of the world genera from all major biogeographical regions. Molecular dating suggests that the deep divergence within Megaloptera pre-dates the breakup of Pangaea. Subsequently, the intergeneric divergences within Corydalinae (dobsonflies), Chauliodinae (fishflies) and Sialidae (alderflies) might have been driven by both vicariance and dispersal correlated with the shifting continent during the Cretaceous, but with strikingly different and incongruent biogeographical signals. The austral distribution of many corydalids appears to be a result of colonization from Eurasia through southward dispersal across Europe and Africa during the Cretaceous, whereas a nearly contemporaneous dispersal via northward rafting of Gondwanan landmasses may account for the colonization of extant Eurasian alderflies from the south.

Made available in DSpace on 2022-04-28T19:42:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2021-10-01 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft A new petrified calamitalean is described from the Permian Motuca Formation, Parnaíba Basin, central-north Brazil. In contrast to all other three-dimensionally preserved Brazilian species, it represents a semi-self-supporting woody plant characterized by a distinctive branch system and cellular anatomy. Arthropitys buritiranensis sp. nov. is proposed to accommodate the new material. The branch architecture is composed of at least three types of branches: (i) principal woody side branches, (ii) up to three secondary woody branches per node, scattered along the stem or the principal side branches, and (iii) 8–11 leafy twigs per whorl, at every third, rarely the second node, without secondary growth. The wood is segmented into fascicular wedges and interfascicular rays, clearly visible only within the inner wood of the stem and woody branches. The tracheid walls of the secondary xylem have exclusively scalariform pits. Ray parenchyma cells have pitted horizontal walls. The new calamitalean was part of the riparian vegetation of tree ferns, calamitaleans and gymnosperms recorded in a distal fluvial plain setting. The wood shows irregular growth interruptions and, therefore, points to a seasonally dry climate that shaped even low latitude paleofloras of tropical Pangaea. UNESP - Rio Claro Institute of Geosciences and Exact Sciences, Department of Geology, Caixa Postal 178 Museum für Naturkunde, Moritzstraße 20 TU Bergakademie Freiberg Geological Institute, Bernhard-von Cotta Straße 2 In den Birkengärten 30 UNESP - Rio Claro Institute of Geosciences and Exact Sciences, Department of Geology, Caixa Postal 178 CNPq: 141365/2008-0 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft: RO 1273/3-1 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft: RO 1273/4-1

The Guajira Arch is located in the northernmost portion of South America and holds the record of several stages of magmatism and metamorphism. We performed LA-ICP-MS U–Pb zircon geochronology coupled with Lu–Hf isotope geochemistry on 11 samples from a high-grade gneissic basement hosting interleaved complexes of younger meta-granitoids and meta-sediments to unravel its tectono-metamorphic evolution. The oldest rocks correspond to a Rodinia-type basement at ca. 1100-880 Ma, affected by mafic magmatism during the Permian at ca. 272 Ma, anatexis during the Carnian at ca. 230 Ma, updoming and the formation of an extensional detachment fault during the Norian at ca. 224 Ma concluding with Jurassic magmatism since ca. 190 Ma. Trace element geochemistry shows that Triassic zircons are depleted in HREE and yield lower Th/U ratios than Jurassic zircons enriched both in HREE, Yb, and Y. Hf systematics indicates a Triassic to Jurassic evolution towards more radiogenic compositions. The lithological associations, structural setting, U–Pb ages, and Hf isotope geochemistry of the Triassic-Jurassic rocks at the Guajira Arch characterize an active margin setting of a hot orogenic belt in NW-Gondwana, comprising the Central Cordillera of Colombia, the Santa Marta Massif, the Merida Andes, the Perija Range, the Santander Massif and the para-autochthonous terranes south of the Ouachita-Marathon Suture (Oaxaquia, Acatlan, and Maya), and thus vindicate the existence of a conjugate margin with Laurentia until the Late Triassic, preceding the breakup of western Pangaea. The Triassic anatectites and Jurassic granitoids from the Guajira Arch yield Proterozoic Hf TDMi ages which are indistinguishable from the autochthonous Proterozoic basement and thus render an allochthonous origin by terrane accretion highly improbable. Instead, these data point to melting of the continental crust by the incorporation of primitive material reflecting a two-stage process at the boundary of a large underlying mantle convection cell (i) Triassic slab steepening, subduction arrest, updoming anatexis at ca. 230-223 Ma and (ii) Early Jurassic arc-magmatism at ca. 190-165 Ma due renewed convergence. Furthermore, we propose that the structural setting, lithology, and isotope geochemistry of the Guajira Arch units, fit into the style of a cordilleran core-complex emplaced in a roll-back extensional setting preceding Pangaea break-up.

Uwe Schindler,Software-Architekt bei PANGAEA (einem Forschungsdatenrepositorium für Erde- und Umwelt-Daten), berichtete zur ORCID-Integration in das Forschungsdatenrepositorium auf dem 5. ORCID DE Workshop zu ORCID in Publikations- und Informationsinfrastrukturen am 02. Juni 2021.

The Mesozoic era (∼252 to 66 million years ago) was a key interval in Earth's evolution toward its modern state, witnessing the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea and significant biotic innovations like the early evolution of mammals. Plate tectonic dynamics drove a fundamental climatic transition from the early Mesozoic supercontinent toward the Late Cretaceous fragmented continental configuration. Here, key aspects of Mesozoic long‐term environmental changes are assessed in a climate model ensemble framework. We analyze so far the most extended ensemble of equilibrium climate states simulated for evolving Mesozoic boundary conditions covering the period from 255 to 60 Ma in 5 Myr timesteps. Global mean temperatures are generally found to be elevated above the present and exhibit a baseline warming trend driven by rising sea levels and increasing solar luminosity. Warm (Triassic and mid‐Cretaceous) and cool (Jurassic and end‐Cretaceous) anomalies result from pCO2 changes indicated by different reconstructions. Seasonal and zonal temperature contrasts as well as continental aridity show an overall decrease from the Late Triassic‐Early Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous. Meridional temperature gradients are reduced at higher global temperatures and less land area in the high latitudes. With systematic sensitivity experiments, the influence of paleogeography, sea level, vegetation patterns, pCO2, solar luminosity, and orbital configuration on these trends is investigated. For example, long‐term seasonality trends are driven by paleogeography, but orbital cycles could have had similar‐scale effects on shorter timescales. Global mean temperatures, continental humidity, and meridional temperature gradients are, however, also strongly affected by pCO2., Key Points We assess global long‐term climate trends through the Mesozoic era with an ensemble of climate model simulationsVarying carbon dioxide levels cause anomalies around an overall warming trend due to changing paleogeography and increasing insolationSeasonal and zonal temperature contrasts as well as aridity decrease with time, while meridional gradients vary with paleogeography

Tethyan ophiolites have played a major role in the development of the ophiolite concept during the past 200 years, and contributed significantly to the formulations of the suprasubduction-zone (SSZ) ophiolite paradigm and the plate-tectonics theory. Their melt evolution and magmatic construction witnessed the dispersal of the supercontinent Pangaea via continental rifting and seafloor spreading, opening and closure of multiple seaways in an eastward widening, latitudinal ocean basin (Neotethys), and deep mantle recycling processes through subduction-zone tectonics and plume activities. Neotethyan ophiolites are highly diverse in their crustal–mantle structures and compositions, pointing to major differences in their melt sources and tectonic settings of magmatic construction. The papers in this thematic set demonstrate these differences in the Neotethyan ophiolite record through new structural, geochemical, isotopic and geochronological data and interpretations. The Jurassic Western Alpine Ophiolites formed in a narrow basin (Alpine Tethys) that developed between Europe and North Africa–Adria–Iberia. Their peridotites represent exhumed, continental lithospheric mantle. The Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous ophiolites east of Adria formed in different Neotethyan seaways, and their SSZ magmatic construction involved multiple episodes of melting, depletion and refertilization of subduction-modified oceanic mantle. The Late Cretaceous peri-Arabian and peri-Indian ophiolites, which are discontinuously exposed along a c. 9000 km long belt from SW Anatolia to SE Tibet, formed above a Trans-Tethyan subduction–accretion system within Southern Neotethys. Diachronous collisions of Arabia and India with this intraoceanic subduction–accretion system in the latest Mesozoic and the Paleogene (respectively) resulted in diachronous ophiolite emplacement in the Mediterranean and Tibetan–Himalayan orogenic belts. Thematic collection: This article is part of the ‘Tethyan ophiolites and Tethyan seaways collection’ available at: https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/tethyan-ophiolites-and-tethyan-seaways

A silicified gymnospermous wood, Protophyllocladoxylon zhaobishanensis sp. nov., is described from the Induan (Lower Triassic) Jiucaiyuan Formation in Zhaobishan section, Shanshan County, southern Bogda Mountains, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwestern China. The pycnoxylic wood contains thick-walled tracheids and parenchymatous ray cells. It is characterized by uni- to triseriate araucarian radial tracheidal pitting, uniseriate rays, one to two large, simple pits in each cross-field, and uni- to biseriate tangential tracheidal pits. The presence of distinct and extensive growth rings in all fossil woods from the Induan of the research area were probably caused by the seasonal climate with great precipitation variability during the earliest Triassic in the Turpan–Hami Basin. This is also supported by the occurrence of Calcisols, vertic Calcisols, and calcic Argillisols from coeval deposits nearby. The occurrence of fossil wood with anatomical structures from the Induan confirms that woody gymnosperms, probably conifers, were crucial elements on the Early Triassic landscape in northeastern Pangaea. It appears that some gymnosperms had survived the end-Permian biotic crisis based on the continuous records of Protophyllocladoxylon-type woods from the Wuchiapingian (upper Permian) to Norian (Upper Triassic) in Bogda Mountains.

The increasing desertification in the continental interior of Pangaea during the Permian-Triassic transition was of fundamental importance in the Earth landscape and life evolution. In the west-central Pangaea, northern Brazil, acid-saline-lake systems were gradually succeeded by dry aeolian ergs due to intense continentalization in arid climate setting. Detailed facies and architectural analysis were applied in the Permian-Triassic succession of the Parnaiba Basin, and seven facies associations were recognized: (1) ephemeral lake, represented by greenish and reddish gray laminated mudstones interbedded with chert-rich fine-grained sandstones, (2) marginal dune field consisting of fine-to medium-grained sandstones with planar cross-bedding sets, (3) shallow perennial saline lake consisting dominantly of red laminated mudstones with discontinuous layers of sigmoidal sandstones, (4) playa lake/ dry mudflat represented by reddish laminated mudstones interbedded with limestone, marl and gypsum lenses, (5) sand sheet consisting of laterally continuous beds of fine-to medium-grained sandstones with convoluted lamination, synsedimentary faults/microfaults and adhesion structures, (6) dune field formed by fine-to medium-grained sandstones with large-scale cross-bedding sets, and (7) volcanic plain, consisting of basalts interbedded with aeolian sandstones. During middle Permian, the shallow to deep ephemeral lakes occurred in large plains in the tropical zone of western to central Pangaea. The cyclicity of wet and dry lacustrine phases was triggered by changes in the groundwater level, low subsidence rate, and low accommodation space. The prolonged dry stages were characterized by the advance of the marginal dune fields as well as the establishment of large desiccated areas. In the upper Permian, the continuous process of Pangaea amalgamation led to the uplift of central and equatorial regions resulting in the retreat of epicontinental seas. Thereafter, there was the appearance of large-scale closed basins and continental saline environments. The extreme aridity conditions favored the decline of these great lakes and the development of an extensive Triassic Erg. Sand sheets occurred in the marginal areas of the erg, containing abundant ephemeral ponds and dispersed aeolian dunes. Extensive dune fields advanced as a consequence of the sediment availability increase, whereas deflation surfaces were produced by the widespread output of sediments. The total interruption of sediment availability to the erg in the upper Triassic provided an extreme and regional deflation surface overlaid by eoJurassic volcanic rocks, associated with the Pangaea breakup.

The periodic dispersal and assembly of continental fragments has been an inherent feature of the continental crust. Based on the discovery of large-scale supercontinent cycle and the theory of plate tectonics, several supercontinents have been identified, such as Columbia/Nuna, Rodinia, Gondwana and Pangaea. Neoproterozoic magmatic events related to the break-up of Rodinia are globally well preserved. Although Neoproterozoic magmatic events were very weak in the North China Craton (NCC), they are crucial in reconstructing the geometries of the NCC and could facilitate the completion of the Neoproterozoic configuration of the supercontinent. In this study, c. 853–835 Ma magmatic rocks are identified in the western margin of the NCC. Precise zircon U–Pb age determination yields 206Pb/238U average ages of 835.5 ± 5.3 Ma (HL-39) and 853.7 ± 4.5 Ma (HL-30). In situ zircon Hf isotope compositions of the samples reveal that their parental magma was formed by the reworking of ancient crust evolved from Mesoproterozoic mantle. In summary, the discovery of Neoproterozoic magmatic rocks in the western margin of the NCC, and reported synchronous rocks in other parts of the NCC indicate that the NCC might be conjoined with the supercontinent Rodinia during the Neoproterozoic. This discovery is of significant help in unravelling the early Neoproterozoic history of the NCC and the evolution of the supercontinent Rodinia.

The paper reviews analogue missions performed by ESA in the interests of crewed flights to deep space. The following projects are considered here: the CAVES project is designed to study and mature technologies in caves; the PANGAEVA project is designed to work out the programs for geological training of astronauts and the technologies in an impact crater, canyon and volcanic island; the :envihab project is designed to examine humans using multifunctional modular medical research complex; and the ESOL project is designed to develop lunar missions using the complex of artificial lunar counterparts. The objectives, tasks and research lines are analyzed for each project.

An integrated analysis in this study of paleogeographic, paleontologic, seismic and sedimentologic data has been used to explain the effect of the Pangaean megamonsoon on the whole Triassic (especially the Middle–Late Triassic Mungaroo Formation) in the North Carnarvon Basin, Northwest Shelf of Australia. Our results show that the three Triassic formations from bottom to top (Locker Shale, Mungaroo Formation and Brigadier Formation) comprise a complete depositional cycle and correspond to an undeveloped, strong, and weak monsoon periods, respectively. During the strong monsoon period of the Mungaroo Formation, the palynological evidences exhibited mixture spore-pollen characteristics of the hygrophytic assemblage (spore-pollen from the pteridophyte spores, seed ferns and cycads pollen in humid environment of lowlands and coastal plain) and the xerophytic assemblage (pollen from the drought tolerant plants of the interior mountainous areas). The sedimentary evidences of the Mungaroo Formation show low-angle shingled progradational seismic reflection configuration. The highly seasonal variations in precipitation during deposition of the Mungaroo Formation exhibited typical “sandwiched” depositional characteristics of coarse channels sandstone (fining-upward fluvial aggradational cycles (FACs) with poor to moderately sorting and angular to subangular roundness), organic mudstone and coal seam interbedded. Finally, in contrast to today's typical examples of Poyang Lake Delta, a shallow-water braided delta conceptual depositional model of the Mungaroo Formation is formed with a large proximal and distal delta plain, and small delta front. The model results serve mainly to indicate the importance of various climate-forming factors (climate, topography, eustatic), whereas tectonic activity unlikely played any significant role in this process.

Ronchi et al. (in press) comment on the stratigraphic, sedimentological, mineralogical and palaeontological analyses performed in the recently described Coll de Terrers Permian–Triassic terrestrial succession from the Catalan Pyrenees by Mujal et al. (2017a). The comment debates our interpretation of a succession of red-beds as Permian (Upper Red Unit, URU). Instead, the comment infers that the analysed succession is part of the regional upper Buntsandstein facies unit (Triassic), debating the proposed stratigraphic scheme by using the tectonic evolution as the main argument. Here, we clarify and present more details on the interpretation published in Mujal et al. (2017a). Based on this clarification and taking into account the comment, we arrive to the conclusion that the interpretation and inferences presented in Mujal et al. (2017a) are sound and justified. © 2018 Elsevier B.V.

This study reports diverse spiriferellid brachiopods from the Permian rocks of Svalbard and adjacent areas (Arctic Canada and Subpolar Urals of Russia) located at the northern margin of Pangaea. In...

Dinocephalians form an important component of the Guadalupian basal therapsid faunas of Pangaea. Most research undertaken on this clade has focused on the skull while postcranial research has lagge...

The Triassic–Jurassic boundary interval was characterised by the change from warm, semiarid–arid to a hot and humid climate in the Tethyan domain linked to input of greenhouse gases from the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) activity and Pangaea breakup. This study provides the very first outcrop evidences of palaeoclimatic evolution during the Triassic–Jurassic boundary interval in the then southern hemisphere, along the eastern margin of Gondwana facing the western Tethys. In the Tethyan Salt Range of Pakistan a succession of Upper Triassic dolomites, green-black shales (Kingriali Formation) to overlying Lower Jurassic quartzose sandstones, shales, laterites and conglomerates (Datta Formation) represents the sedimentary archives of this critical time interval. Bulk and clay mineralogy of the Upper Triassic shales indicate the presence of mainly illite while kaolinite is a minor component. The kaolinite content, a reflection of the mature stage of chemical weathering and hence hot–humid conditions, increases up-section in the overlying shales and sandstone–shale succession. The following laterite–bauxite horizons lack illite and are entirely composed of kaolinite, boehmite and haematite. The bulk rock geochemistry of the succession confirms a similar trend. The Chemical Index of Alteration (CIAmolar) displays an increasing trend from the Upper Triassic (CIA 68–80) to the overlying Lower Jurassic strata (CIA 90–97). The overall results for the succession reveal an increasing chemical maturity trend from Rhaetian to Hettangian thereby supporting a change from warm-arid to a hot and humid palaeoclimate, probably extreme greenhouse conditions. Similar changes in the clay mineralogy and sediment geochemistry across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary have been reported from basins across Europe. Thus the Salt Range provides sections from the southern hemisphere for correlations across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary.

The Middle–Late Permian reefs were formed in two paleogeographic realms: North Pangaea and Tethyan Realm. The basic reef builders in the first realm were representatives of Calcispongiae and Bryozoa; in the second realm, sphinctozoans, corals, and stromatoporoids. In these realms, various algae and cyanobacteria communities were of importance. Reef construction in the first realm associated with arid climatic conditions, isolation of water basins, and accumulation of salt-bearing sequences came to the end in the early Late Permian. Reef construction in the Tethyan Realm occurred in the Late Permian up to the Permian–Triassic boundary. The termination of reef construction was due to features of the reef ecosystem, which turned out to be unstable against the background of variations in the conditions and mass extinction at the Permian–Triassic boundary and dissociated before the termination of this extinction.

In recent decades the decline of the Arctic sea ice has modified vertical momentum fluxes from the atmosphere to the ice and the ocean, thereby affecting the surface circulation. In the past ten years satellite altimetry has contributed to understand these changes. However, data from ice-covered regions require dedicated processing, originating inconsistency between ice-covered and open ocean regions in terms of biases, corrections and data coverage. Thus, efforts to generate consistent Arctic-wide datasets are still required to enable the study of the Arctic Ocean surface circulation at basin-wide scales. Here we provide and assess a monthly gridded dataset of sea surface height anomaly and geostrophic velocity. This dataset is based on Cryosat-2 observations over ice-covered and open ocean areas of the Arctic up to 88° N for the period 2011 to 2018, interpolated using the Data-Interpolating Variational Analysis (DIVA) method. Geostrophic velocity was not available north of 82° N before this study. To examine the robustness of our results, we compare the generated fields to one independent altimetry dataset and independent data of ocean bottom pressure, steric height and near-surface ocean velocity from moorings. Results from the comparison to near-surface ocean velocity show that our geostrophic velocity fields can resolve seasonal to interannual variability of boundary currents wider than about 50 km. We further discuss the seasonal cycle of sea surface height and geostrophic velocity in the context of previous literature. Large scale features emerge, i.e. Arctic-wide maximum sea surface height between October and January, with the highest amplitude over the shelves, and basin wide seasonal acceleration of Arctic slope currents in winter. We suggest that this dataset can be used to study not only the large scale sea surface height and circulation but also the regionally confined boundary currents. The dataset is available in netCDF format from PANGAEA at [data currently under review].

(1) Background: Fingolimod (Gilenya®) was the first oral treatment for patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Since its approval, the treatment landscape has changed enormously. (2) Methods: Data of PANGAEA and PANGAEA 2.0, two German real-world studies, were descriptively analysed for possible evolution of patient profiles and treatment behavior. Both are prospective, multi-center, non-interventional, long-term studies on fingolimod use in RRMS in real life. Data of 4229 PANGAEA patients (recruited 2011–2013) and 2441 PANGAEA 2.0 patients (recruited 2015–2018) were available. Baseline data included demographics, RRMS characteristics and disease severity. (3) Results: The mean age of PANGAEA and PANGAEA 2.0 patients was similar (38.8 vs. 39.2 years). Patients in PANGAEA 2.0 had shorter disease duration (7.1 vs. 8.2 years) and fewer relapses in the year before baseline (1.2 vs. 1.6). Disease severity at baseline estimated by EDSS and SDMT was lower in PANGAEA 2.0 patients compared to PANGAEA (EDSS difference 1.0 points, SDMT difference 3.3 points). (4) Conclusions: The results hint at an influence of changes in the treatment guidelines and the label on fingolimod patients profiles over time. Patients tended to have lower disease activity at fingolimod initiation, suggesting an earlier intervention. This indicates increased experience in using fingolimod for sub-optimally treated RRMS patients and a change in mindset towards an early treatment optimization.

16 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables, supporting information https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.0c00351.-- All data are available on the public repository PANGAEA: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.927565 (for aerosol particles) and https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.927566 (for seawater), We present ship-borne and land-based measurements of carbohydrate concentrations and patterns in (i) bulk seawater, (ii) sea surface microlayer (SML), and (iii) atmospheric size-resolved aerosol particles (0.05–10 μm) collected in the Western Antarctic Peninsula. In seawater, we find higher combined carbohydrates (CCHO) in both the particulate (PCCHO, 13–248 μg L–1) and dissolved (DCCHO, 14–294 μg L–1) phases than dissolved free carbohydrates (DFCHO, 1.0–17 μg L–1). Moderate enrichment factors are found in the SML samples (median EFSML = 1.4 for PCCHO, DCCHO, and DFCHO). In PM10 atmospheric particles, combined carbohydrates (CCHOaer,PM10 0.2–11.3 ng m–3) were preferably found in particles of two size modes (0.05–0.42 and 1.2–10 μm) and strongly correlated with Na+aer,PM10 and wind speed, hence suggesting oceanic emission as their primary source. In contrast to SML samples, very high enrichment factors for CCHOaer relative to the bulk water (EFaer) were estimated for supermicron (20–4000) and submicron (40–167 000) particles. Notably, the relative atmospheric aerosol monosaccharide compositions strongly differed from the ones sampled in seawater. The prevalence of bacterial monosaccharides (muramic acid, glucosamine) in aerosol particles allows us to suggest a selective consumption and release of polysaccharides by bacteria in the atmosphere. Our results highlight the need to evaluate the role of different ecosystems as aerosol sources around Antarctica, The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation, Projektnummer 268020496−TRR 172) within the Transregional Collaborative Research Center “ArctiC Amplification: Climate Relevant Atmospheric and SurfaCe Processes, and Feedback Mechanisms (AC)3” in subprojects B04. Additional support through the Leibniz Association SAW funding of the project “Marine biological production, organic aerosol particles and marine clouds: a Process Chain (MarParCloud)” (SAW-2016-TROPOS-2) is also gratefully acknowledged, With the funding support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S), of the Spanish Research Agency (AEI)

Hematite is the most abundant surficial iron oxide on Earth resulting from near-surface processes that make it important for addressing numerous geologic problems. While red beds have proved to be excellent paleomagnetic recorders, the early diagenetic origin of hematite in these units is often questioned. Here, we validate pigmentary hematite (“pigmentite”) as a proxy indicator for the Late Triassic environment and its penecontemporaneous origin by analyzing spectrophotometric measurements of a 14.5-My–long red bed sequence in scientific drill core CPCP-PFNP13-1A of the Chinle Formation, Arizona. Pigmentite concentrations in the red beds track the evolving pattern of the Late Triassic monsoon and indicate a long-term rise in aridity beginning at ∼215 Ma followed by increased oscillatory climate change at ∼213 Ma. These monsoonal changes are attributed to the northward drift of the Colorado Plateau as part of Laurentia into the arid subtropics during a time of fluctuating CO(2). Our results refine the record of the Late Triassic monsoon and indicate significant changes in rainfall proximal to the Adamanian–Revueltian biotic transition that thus may have contributed to apparent faunal and floral events at 216 to 213 Ma.

The Beaufort Group of the main Karoo Basin of South Africa records two major extinction events of terrestrial vertebrates in the late Palaeozoic. The oldest of these has been dated to the late Capitanian and is characterized by the extinction of dinocephalian therapsids and bradysaurian pareiasaurs near the top of Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone. Faunal turnover associated with the extinction of dinocephalians is evident in vertebrate faunas from elsewhere in Pangaea but it can be best studied in the Karoo Basin, where exposures of the upper Abrahamskraal and lower Teekloof formations allow continuous sampling across the whole extinction interval. Here we present field data for several sections spanning the Capitanian extinction interval in the southwestern Karoo and discuss recent work to establish its timing, severity, and causes. A large collections database informed by fieldwork demonstrates an increase in extinction rates associated with ecological instability that approach that of the end-Permian mass extinction, and shows significant turnover followed by a period of low diversity. Extinctions and recovery appear phased and show similarities to diversity patterns reported for the end-Permian mass extinction higher in the Beaufort sequence. In the Karoo, the late Capitanian mass extinction coincides with volcanism in the Emeishan Large Igneous Province and may have been partly driven by short-term aridification, but clear causal mechanisms and robust links to global environmental phenomena remain elusive.

The geology of North-East Greenland (70–78°N) exposes unique evidence of the basin development between the Devonian collapse of the Caledonian Orogen and the extrusion of volcanics at the Paleocene–Eocene transition during break-up of the North-East Atlantic. Here we pay special attention to unconformities in the stratigraphic record – do they represent periods of stability and non-deposition or periods of subsidence and accumulation of rocks followed by episodes of uplift and erosion? To answer that and other questions, we used apatite fission-track analysis and vitrinite reflectance data together with stratigraphic landscape analysis and observations from the stratigraphic record to study the thermo-tectonic history of North-East Greenland. Our analysis reveals eight regional stages of post-Caledonian development: (1) Late Carboniferous uplift and erosion led to formation of a sub-Permian peneplain covered by coarse siliciclastic deposits. (2) Middle Triassic exhumation led to removal of a thick cover including a considerable thickness of upper Carboniferous – Middle Triassic rocks and produced thick siliciclastic deposits in the rift system. (3) Denudation at the transition between the Early and Middle Jurassic affected most of the study area outside the Jameson Land Basin and produced a weathered surface above which Middle–Upper Jurassic sediments accumulated. (4) Earliest Cretaceous uplift and erosion along the rifted margin and further inland accompanied the Mesozoic rift climax and produced coarse-grained sedimentary infill of the rift basins. (5) Mid-Cretaceous uplift and erosion initiated removal of Cretaceous post-rift sediments that had accumulated above the Mesozoic rifts and their hinterland, leading to cooling of Mesozoic sediments from maximum palaeotemperatures. (6) End-Eocene uplift was accompanied by faulting and intrusion of magmatic bodies and resulted in extensive mass wasting on the East Greenland shelf. This event initiated the removal of a thick post-rift succession that had accumulated after break-up and produced a peneplain near sea level, the Upper Planation Surface. (7) Late Miocene uplift and erosion, evidenced by massive progradation on the shelf, resulted in the formation of the Lower Planation Surface by incision below the uplifted Upper Planation Surface. (8) Early Pliocene uplift raised the Upper and the Lower Planation Surfaces to their present elevations of about 2 and 1 km above sea level, respectively, and initiated the formation of the present-day landscape through fluvial and glacial erosion. Additional cooling episodes of more local extent, related to igneous activity in the early Eocene and in the early Miocene, primarily affected parts of northern Jameson Land. The three earliest episodes had a profound impact beyond Greenland and accompanied the fragmentation of Pangaea. Younger episodes were controlled by plate-tectonic processes, possibly including dynamic support from the Iceland Plume. Our results emphasise that gaps in the stratigraphic record often reflect episodes of kilometre-scale vertical movements that may result from both lithospheric and sub-lithospheric processes.

Moradisaurine captorhinid eureptiles were a successful group of high-fibre herbivores that lived in the arid low latitudes of Pangaea during the Permian. Here we describe a palaeoassemblage from the Permian of Menorca (Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean), consisting of ichnites of small captorhinomorph eureptiles, probably moradisaurines (Hyloidichnus), and parareptiles (cf.Erpetopus), and bones of two different taxa of moradisaurines. The smallest of the two is not diagnostic beyond Moradisaurinaeincertae sedis. The largest one, on the other hand, shows characters that are not present in any other known species of moradisaurine (densely ornamented maxillar teeth), and it is therefore described asBalearosaurus bombardensisgen. et sp. nov. Other remains found in the same outcrop are identified as cf.Balearosaurus bombardensisgen. et sp. nov., as they could also belong to the newly described taxon. This species is sister to the moradisaurine from the lower Permian of the neighbouring island of Mallorca, and is also closely related to the North American genusRothianiscus. This makes it possible to suggest the hypothesis that the Variscan mountains, which separated North America from southern Europe during the Permian, were not a very important palaeobiogeographical barrier to the dispersion of moradisaurines. In fact, mapping all moradisaurine occurrences known so far, it is shown that their distribution area encompassed both sides of the Variscan mountains, essentially being restricted to the arid belt of palaeoequatorial Pangaea, where they probably outcompeted other herbivorous clades until they died out in the late Permian.

Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya During the Early-Middle Triassic, the biosphere was recovering from the most severe mass extinction event of multicellular life, in the Permian-Triassic transition. Continental basins corresponding to present-day Mallorca (Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean) were located in the equatorial region of the supercontinent Pangaea, in the western peri-Tethys. Its recorded stratigraphic succession can be divided in four alluvial/fluvial formations, formally described here: Punta Roja Formation, Estellencs Formation, Pedra Alta Formation and Son Serralta Formation. Based on an exhaustive review of all available literature and new stratigraphic and palaeontological data, an upper Olenekian-lower Anisian interval is proposed for the whole succession. The richest fossil assemblage is that of Estellencs Formation, with abundant invertebrate and vertebrate trace fossils, and remains of plants, arthropods and rare fishes, which together represent a lotic/riverine ecosystem with a relatively complex food web. Plants and insects show strong biogeographical affinities with those of the Vosges, in central Europe; clam shrimps are similar to those of central Europe and Asia; and tetrapod tracks are also reminiscent to those of Eurasia and North America. Ultimately, integration of all these data provides a comprehensive and multidisciplinary characterisation of one of the oldest Triassic ecosystems of equatorial Pangaea, providing new insights to understand the evolution of palaeoenvironments of Iberian Plate, an area that has historically suffered from severe undersampling.

Earth’s history can be viewed as a series of processes and events that transformed a glowing molten sphere into a habitable planet. This astonishing outcome was the effect of the complex interplay of both normal chemical-physical processes, such as heat loss, gravity and magmatism, and the occurrence of anomalous, sometimes catastrophic events such as gigantic volcanic eruptions and the fall of large meteorites. The primordial Earth was characterised by very high internal and external temperatures related to the heat released by the decay of radioactive isotopes and meteorite impacts. Its heat slowly dissipated to outer space, and the planet solidified and differentiated to a stratified crust, mantle, and core. Solidification released gaseous substances that migrated to the external portions of the Earth and generated a primitive atmosphere rich in nitrogen, water vapour, methane and hydrogen sulphide. When the external temperature dropped, water condensed and fell as rain. The slow but continuous dispersion of heat from inside the Earth led to the cooling and stiffening of the crust that broke up into various rigid blocks and gave birth to an early-stage plate tectonic regime between the Hadean and the Archaean, some 4.0-3.5 billion years ago. Modern-style plate tectonics started around 3.0 billion years ago. Early embryos of continents appeared during the Hadean. These slowly increased in size and began moving across the surface of the Earth, gathering together and then separating several times until the last supercontinent Pangaea was formed about 250 Ma ago. The breakup and disaggregation of Pangaea started about 170 Ma ago and gave rise to various continental blocks that gradually drifted to their present-day position. Some 3.7 Ga ago, the first unicellular prokaryotic organisms appeared in aquatic environments. Successively, cyanobacteria started to proliferate in shallow marine waters and, being capable of performing photosynthesis, they slowly accumulated vast quantities of oxygen in the atmosphere. About 2100 to 1600 million years ago, or perhaps earlier, unicellular eukaryotic cells appeared and successively aggregated into multicellular organisms that used oxygen for metabolism. An explosion of life occurred in the Cambrian. Most Cambrian phyla have survived until the present time, after several mass extinctions that removed a countless number of species, but also favoured the evolution and spreading of the surviving organisms. The arrival of Homo sapiens some 0.3 million years ago had a profound impact on terrestrial life, affecting many animal species. The effects of human activities on the environment are a fundamental concern of modern science.