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The Badenian/Sarmatian boundary in the Central Paratethyan basins is characterised by a change from open marine conditions during the late Badenian to the assumed brackish conditions during the early Sarmatian. The foraminiferal and palynological results of the Badenian/Sarmatian boundary interval in the Babczyn 2 borehole (in SE Poland) showed that the studied interval accumulated under variable, unstable sedimentary conditions. The Badenian/Sarmatian boundary, as correlated with a sudden extinction of stenohaline foraminifera, is interpreted as being due to the shallowing of the basin. The lack of foraminifera and marine palynomorphs just above the Badenian/Sarmatian boundary can reflect short-term anoxia. The composition of the euryhaline assemblages, characteristic for the lower Sarmatian part of the studied succession, indicates from marine to hypersaline conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The boundary between the two regional Middle Miocene stages (the Badenian and Sarmatian) of the Central Paratethys is associated with the largest faunal turnover event in the Paratethys realm. A recent study performed in the northern Polish Carpathian Foredeep revealed that the Badenian/Sarmatian boundary is coeval with a major change in benthic and planktonic foraminiferal assemblages that occurs a few metres below the beginning of the Anomalinoides dividens Interval Zone in our section. The lowermost Sarmatian biozone is the Elphidium angulatum Partial Range Zone, and its lower boundary corresponds to the disappearance of almost all Badenian foraminiferal species. Detailed analysis of a fully cored borehole in southern Poland using micropalaeontological tools (foraminifera and palynology) and a range of (inorganic and organic) geochemical methods indicated that during the late Badenian and almost the entire profile of Anomalinoides dividens Zone, oxic or suboxic sedimentary conditions prevailed. In the Elphidium angulatum Zone and the lowest part of the subsequent Anomalinoides dividens Zone, suboxic and anoxic conditions dominated the sea bottom. This research indicated that the sudden disappearance of marine Badenian species in the Polish Carpathian Foredeep was caused by a rapid change in basin chemistry although not necessarily it implies open marine conditions changing to brackish water environments. • Anoxic event was related to the Badenian/Sarmatian boundary in the northern Central • Paratethys. • There is no evidence for decrease in water salinity during the earliest Sarmatian. • The earliest Sarmatian environments were characterised by suboxic and anoxic conditions. • There was no climate change at the Badenian/Sarmatian boundary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basinal facies of the Lopingian Zechstein Limestone in SW Poland consists of thin (often less than 1 m thick) limestones and/or dolomites, often containing the Kupferschiefer (few tens of centimetres thick) at their base, and local thick (up to 90 m) reefal carbonates. The δ13C curve of these basal Zechstein deposits strongly suggests that even when the Kupferschiefer is lacking, the thin (condensed) sequences record the entire interval of the Zechstein prior to the onset of evaporite deposition, in contrast to the thick reef sequences which lack the characteristic δ13C curve for the lowermost part of the Zechstein. The calcite samples show considerable ranges of δ18O values. If the maximum δ18O values are considered to be the closest to the pristine original ones and if δ18Owater value = 0 is assumed, then the calculated range of palaeotemperatures for the Kupferschiefer and Zechstein Limestone calcite ranges from 19 to 34 °C. The faunal restriction, common dwarf foraminifers and the predominance of lagenids in the foraminiferal assemblage indicate continual dysaerobic conditions and possibly elevated salinity of seawater during deposition of thin basinal Zechstein Limestone deposits. The mixing of shallow and deeper waters in the stratified Zechstein Basin caused by upwelling could result in prolific carbonate precipitation in reefs located at the slope of the marginal carbonate platform of the Zechstein Limestone and in isolated reefs related to palaeohighs within the basin; however, there is no isotopic record of eventual upwelling. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration ( EBUS- TBNA) is an accurate and minimally invasive technique that has been shown to have excellent diagnostic yield in the diagnosis of mediastinal and hilar lymphadenopathy. However, endoscopic bronchial biopsy ( EBB) and transbronchial lung biopsy ( TBLB) are still the standard method for making a pathologic diagnosis of sarcoidosis. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic yield of EBUS- TBNA and TBLB through a flexible bronchoscope in patients with stage I and II sarcoidosis. Methods A total of 653 patients with suspected stage I and II sarcoidosis were included in this retrospective study. After radiological assessment, patients were qualified to bronchoscopy. Patients underwent sequential EBUS- TBNA followed by TBLB and/or EBB. In all patients, 1056 biopsies from mediastinal lymph nodes group were taken. Results In all of the biopsied lymph nodes, positive results were obtained in 549 patients (84%). In 180 patients with stage II TBLB, a biopsy was taken from affected part of the lung. Positive results were found in 79 patients (43.9%). EBB was performed in 340 patients, with a positive result in 101 (29.7%). Mediastinoscopy was performed in 60 patients (9.2%) with a negative result in EBUS- TBNA, TBLB and/or EBB. Non-caseating granulomas were found in 48 patients. The sensitivity of TBLB technique alone was significantly lower at 43.9% (79/180) ( P < 0.001). The sensitivity of EBB was significantly lower than EBUS- TBNA and TBLB and reached 29.7% (101/340) ( P < 0.0001, P < 0.003). The overall diagnostic accuracy for EBUS- TBNA was 84%, and the combination of EBUS- TBNA with standard bronchoscopic techniques had a diagnostic accuracy of 89%. Conclusion The diagnostic yield of the EBUS- TBNA for stage I and II sarcoidosis is clearly higher than for TBLB and EBB. The combination of EBUS- TBNA with standard bronchoscopic techniques is safe and feasible, and optimizes the diagnostic yield in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis and enlarged intrathoracic lymph nodes. EBUS- TBNA in combination with standard bronchoscopy may be considered to be the first-line investigation in patients with suspected sarcoidosis and enlarged intrathoracic lymphadenopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stromatolite and bryozoan build-ups from the Werra Cycle (Zechstein) of the Southern Permian Basin of Europe meet all definitions given by various authors for reefs and they commonly occur at the shelf edge. In a few places, including western Poland, they are also recorded in the basinal facies. The main part of the reef is formed by fragmented bryozoan zoaria. The reef biota are a typical bryonoderm association indicating cool-water and cold-water environments. A characteristic feature is a large amount of fragmented skeletal remains lacking rigidity. The main part of the reefs is built of rudstones, and only stromatolitic crusts form massive constructions. Remarkable is the mechanism of the origin of clearly morphologically separated reef constructions from the remains of a relatively low potential of fossilization. Zones built of crushed remains dominate over parts representing massive constructions. The colonization of the substrate began very early, as indicated by the interbedding of breccia and bioclastic carbonates in the lowermost part of the Zechstein Limestone in some reef sections. The Zechstein Limestone reefs of western Poland abound in the hemispheroid (botryoid) aragonitic cement that is otherwise common for the Zechstein reefs. The abundance of the cement recorded in Permian reefs is interpreted as the result of an unusually high saturation state of surface seawater because of a number of factors, including prolific carbonate precipitation due to the occasional upwelling of warmer saline waters on shelf environments in the stratified Zechstein Basin. The pervasive carbonate precipitation in the reef area contrasts with a restricted carbonate precipitation in the adjoining basin where very thin sequences have accumulated. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Middle Miocene of East Crimea, gypsum evaporites formed in a shallow basin from mixed seawater–nonmarine waters are overlain by marl, siltstone and claystone which contain a few horizons of stromatolitic limestone. The thickness and abundance of the stromatolitic horizons increase up the section. In the siliciclastic portion of the section, a very poor and taxonomically impoverished assemblage of benthic foraminifers (Jadammina, Nonion, Haynesina, Astrononion and Eponides) is recorded. It is typical for a shallow water marsh or lagoon environment with a lowered salinity. Accordingly, the brackish conditions prevailing during gypsum precipitation in East Crimea continued afterwards, although at the end of evaporite deposition the basin became desiccated and then it was rapidly reflooded by brackish water.The impoverished biota and the occurrence of microbialites in the Ptashkino section indicate extremely unfavourable conditions for most living organisms during the deposition of both the terrigenous and carbonate beds. The water salinity thus was probably not only lowered but also anomalous in composition if compared to normal marine water. The occurrence of carbonate stromatolitic horizons is probably related to the periodic shallowing of the basin caused by a drop of the lake water table driven by climatic factors. The resulted changes allowed for a growth of the bizarre microbial-serpulid communities that gave birth to most of the stromatolites.In Karaganian time, the Eastern Paratethys was a huge lake isolated from the Tethys. This lake responded to any climatic fluctuation that in turn might lead to water level oscillations. In humid climate periods, the lake could be open with a surface outflow and, when it was drier, it could be a closed system without surface outflow. Gypsum evaporites and stromatolitic carbonates are clear evidence of strong evaporation in a dry climate that probably induced water level fall in the whole basin. However, all the time the environmental conditions were predominantly brackish, even during gypsum precipitation as suggested by the chemical composition of fluid inclusions in gypsum. Similar conditions may be expected in other evaporite-hosted, predominantly brackish basins, such as some Messinian basins of the eastern Mediterranean, where some evaporites were deposited in the oligohaline to mesohaline conditions typical of the Lago Mare deposits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Strontium isotope compositions of ancient sulphate deposits not only provide chemostratigraphic information but also offer insight into the system in which the evaporites precipitated. Primary gypsum from two Middle Miocene (Badenian) sections in southern Poland shows steadily higher 87Sr/86Sr ratios than those expected from a marine-derived formation. The ratios are interpreted as the result of increasing inflow into the basin at the time of gypsum precipitation. Palaeogeographic reconstructions suggest that riverine runoff sources were situated in the West and East European platforms (to the north and east, respectively) and the Carpathians (to the south), which are mostly composed of Mesozoic sedimentary rocks; their dissolution cannot be responsible for the higher 87Sr/86Sr ratios recorded. We conclude that Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic igneous and supracrustal rocks of the Ukrainian Shield were the source of the higher 87Sr/86Sr ratios recorded in the Badenian primary gypsum. A distinctive decreasing trend of 87Sr/86Sr ratios from western Ukraine to southern Poland is explained by a consistent direction of brine inflow during gypsum crystallization (typical cyclonic circulation controlled by the Coriolis effect). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planktonic foraminifera are one of the most stratigraphically important groups of organisms for the Cretaceous system. However, standard foraminiferal zonations based mostly on species from the Tethyan bioprovince are hardly applicable in temperate regions where warm-water taxa are scarce or lacking. We propose a foraminiferal zonation based on foraminiferal events recognized in the northern Foraminiferal Transitional Bioprovince, which likely has a high correlation potential at least at a regional scale. Fifteen planktonic foraminiferal zones are distinguished from the upper Albian up to the uppermost Maastrichtian strata in extra-Carpathian Poland and western Ukraine. From the bottom to the top, Thalmanninella appenninica, Th. globotruncanoides, Th. reicheli, Rotalipora cushmani, Whiteinella archaeocretacea, Helvetoglobotruncana helvetica, Marginotruncana coronata, M. sinuosa, Pseudotextularia nuttalli, Globotruncana linneiana, G. arca, Contusotruncana plummerae, Rugoglobigerina pennyi, Globotruncanella petaloidea and Guembelitria cretacea. These zones are calibrated by macrofaunal zonations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Planktonic and benthic foraminiferal assemblages, oxygen stable isotopes, calcium carbonate content and total sulfur and magnetic susceptibility have been studied from the middle Coniacian to middle Santonian interval of the Dubivtsi succession (western Ukraine). At the Coniacian–Santonian boundary significant changes took place in foraminiferal assemblages. Keeled, deep-water forms, which are a common to dominant group in planktonic foraminiferal assemblages in the late Coniacian decline in abundance in the Santonian, where the assemblages are dominated by heterohelicids and Hedbergella. Late Coniacian benthic foraminiferal assemblages dominated by large, calcareous epifaunal (oxic) forms in the early Santonian became dominated by small, thin-walled, infaunal (dysoxic) species with significant increase of agglutinated foraminifers within assemblages. Changes in foraminiferal assemblages correspond with lithological changes from upper Coniacian limestones to lower Santonian marls. An increase in total sulfur in the lower Santonian and increase in magnetic successibility values up the succession are recorded. Changes in foraminiferal assemblages along with decreasing calcium carbonate content and increasing magnetic susceptibility indicate that during the early and middle Santonian the Tethyan connection with the studied part of the south-central European epicontinental sea was partially limited by an area uplifted as a consequence of Subhercynian tectonic movements; thus it constituted a partially restricted basin with sedimentation in an oxygen depleted environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Benthic and planktonic foraminifera from a marly clay intercalation sandwiched between mid-Badenian (Middle Miocene) gypsum deposited in an environment of an evaporitic shoal (<1 m deep) at Borków (southern Poland) indicate a major marine flooding event in the previously isolated Carpathian Foredeep Basin (Central Paratethys). After this very short-term environmental change, benthic foraminifers started to colonize a new niche which was previously defaunated, and the pattern of benthic foraminiferal colonization is similar to that related to the reflooding which terminated the Badenian evaporite deposition. The benthic foraminifer assemblages are composed of pioneer, opportunistic, r-selected species dominated by elphidiids. The connection of the Carpathian Foredeep Basin with the marine reservoir was short-lived. The marly clay intercalations in evaporite sequences originating in bared basins can thus register major environmental changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Traumatic posterior dislocations of the sternoclavicular joint (SCJ) are rare. Multiple case reports, case series, and systematic reviews have been published on the treatment of posterior SCJ dislocations. However, they have usually been of small numbers, described a variety of surgical techniques on a mixture of acute and chronic dislocations, and have not focused on functional recovery or return to sports. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical outcomes and return to sports after SCJ open reduction and reconstruction using a hamstring tendon autograft in patients with an acute first-time traumatic posterior dislocation of the SCJ. We hypothesized that SCJ open reduction and reconstruction would result in high survivorship, good clinical outcomes, and a high rate of return to sports. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: This study included all patients who underwent SCJ open reduction and reconstruction within 14 days of sustaining a first-time traumatic posteriorly dislocated SCJ, with a minimum 3-year follow-up. Patient-reported outcomes were assessed by the following scores: short version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH), Rockwood SCJ, modified Constant, and Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE). Survivorship was defined as no clinical failure, such as instability or recurrent dislocation, and no revision surgery. Return to sports was assessed using a customized questionnaire. Results: A total of 19 patients who underwent surgery were included, with a mean age of 30.8 years (range, 18-52 years). Seventeen patients were available at final follow-up at a mean 94.5 months (range, 37-155 months). At final follow-up, the mean scores were as follows: QuickDASH, 4.3 (range, 0-20.4); Rockwood, 13.9 (range, 12-15); modified Constant, 94.4 (range, 71-100); and SANE, 92.1 (range, 70-100). The construct survivorship was 96%. Of the 14 patients who participated in sports, 12 (86%) returned to their preinjury levels. Conclusion: After an acute first-time traumatic posterior SCJ dislocation, open reduction and stabilization with a hamstring tendon autograft, undertaken within 14 days of injury, provides good clinical outcomes and high rates of survivorship and return to sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluid inclusions in halite and bitumens in rock salt in Upper Permian Zechstein evaporites in West Poland were studied in locations where the evaporites lie above oil and gas reservoir rocks. The samples were taken from halite intercalated within the Basal Anhydrite; this unit lies above the Main Dolomite which serves as both source rock and reservoir. Samples came from a depth of 2.3–3.2 km. A characteristic feature of the fluid (gas-brine) inclusions was their high methane content together with the occasional presence of bitumen globules of near-spherical form. Geochemical analyses of the bitumen in bulk samples of rock salt (including content and distribution of n-alkanes and isoprenoids, and carbon isotope ratios) suggest an algal origin, similar to that of the oil in the underlying source rocks. For comparison, we studied fluid inclusions in halite from Zechstein evaporites in northern Poland, where hydrocarbon accumulations do not occur in underlying strata and where mostly single-phase (brine) inclusions with a low methane content have been recorded. However, published data indicate that similar inclusions to those occurring in the Zechstein of West Poland (comprising brine with a high methane content, bitumen films and/or oil droplets) are present in other salt-bearing sequences, where their origin is related to the thermal degradation of organic material dispersed within the salt itself. Accordingly, such fluid inclusions in an evaporite succession can only be considered to form a geochemical aureole where the bitumens in the rock salt (including those in the fluid inclusions in halite) can be compositionally linked to those in the associated oil accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Modern seawater has a uniform δ 37Cl value (0.0‰), with an exception in the upper current of the Bosphorus (0.4‰). Marine halite ranging in age from Cambrian to Miocene has δ 37Cl values of 0.0±0.9‰, with most of the data in the range 0.0±0.5‰. Mean δ 37Cl values differ measurably between basins, with no evident relationship to basin size or to age. Smaller evaporite bodies have the largest δ 37Cl ranges. Potash facies halite has mean δ 37Cl values lower than those of halite facies salt in the East Siberia and Zechstein basins. The bulk δ 37Cl of bedded halite preserving sedimentary textures cannot be shifted measurably after deposition under plausible natural conditions. During the Phanerozoic, a detectable change in the δ 37Cl values of the oceans is unlikely as a result of Cl fluxes to and from the mantle and evaporites. In halite, the values of δ 37Cl that cannot be explained by fractionation occurring on crystallization are best explained by the addition of non-marine Cl with δ 37Cl≠0.0‰ to evaporite brine. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Middle Miocene Badenian evaporites of the Carpathian region are underlain and overlain by deep-water deposits, the onset of evaporite deposition was sudden but not synchronous in all facies zones and the deposition of evaporites was controlled by the evolution of Carpathian orogen. In the Carpathian Foredeep (and most probably in other basins) the Badenian evaporites represent the lower part of the NN6 zone. Halite and associated deposits in the central part of the Badenian evaporite basin show the same facies successions and marker beds can be traced across and between individual basins. Characteristic marker beds made it possible to correlate various facies zones of the marginal Ca-sulfate platform. These marker beds seem to reflect events that may be related to sudden and widespread changes in water chemistry, which in turn imply major changes in basin hydrology. The onset of the evaporitic deposition in the Carpathian Foredeep was clearly diachronous and the evaporites deposited in the basin centre preceded the beginning of evaporite sedimentation in the marginal basin, however, depositional history in the marginal basin and the basin centre was the same. A general transgressive sequence of evaporites found in the Carpathian Foredeep resulted from the migration of facies zones induced by the nappe movement. Isotopic studies of Badenian foraminifers occurring below evaporites suggest that the interrupted communication of the Paratethys with the ocean was a consequence of eustatic sea-level fall, possibly related to climatic cooling, and it was coupled with a tectonic closure of connection with the Tethys. Thus both tectonics and eustacy have contributed to the origin of salinity crisis. Sedimentological and geochemical data indicate recycling of evaporites throughout most of the evaporite deposition. The recycling at the end of gypsum deposition in the marginal sulfate platform was accompanied by a change in the hydrology of the Central Paratethys that was tectonically-driven, and possibly related to the block tectonic phase manifested in the marginal part of the Carpathian Foredeep Basin. The change in hydrology implied the dilution of brines by inflowing marine water and this terminated the Middle Miocene Badenian salinity crisis. The onset of the Badenian salinity crisis shows great similarities to the onset of the Messinian salinity crisis and the terminations of both crises were different. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Analyses of primary and early diagenetic fluid inclusions in the halite from the Late Ordovician Mallowa Salt, Canning Basin, Western Australia indicate a Ca-rich composition and high concentration of parent brines in the basin which were close to sylvite and carnallite precipitation. The salt-bearing series in the sampled interval was overheated up to 62 °C. The recorded differences in gas compositions result from the input of several gas sources including dispersed organic matter in the salt series and hydrocarbon deposits in the underlying rocks. The high concentration of the brines in fluid inclusions does not allow quantitative reconstruction of the chemical composition of Late Ordovician parent seawater. Using the information from Early Cambrian and Late Silurian basins as a proxy, however, the new data indicate that Late Ordovician seawater was undoubtedly Ca-rich and, in comparison with modern seawater, had a similar K content, considerably lower Mg content ( c. 30%), approximately three times the Ca content and one-third the SO4 content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The upper Permian Zechstein Limestone carbonates in the south-western part of the Polish Zechstein basin contain small quantities of organic matter (usually less than 0.1wt% TOC) and have poor hydrocarbon potential. In contrast, the Kupferschiefer shales have excellent hydrocarbon potential with TOC as high as 10.8wt%, predominantly algal type II kerogen. Generally, thermal maturity of the organic matter is 0.6–0.9% vitrinite reflectance, while locally, is as high as 1.45%. The Kimmerian and Laramian tectonic events significantly influenced the regional burial and thermal history. The main subsidence of the Kupferschiefer–Zechstein Limestone complex took place during the Late Permian–Late Triassic period, with additional burial during the Jurassic and Late Cretaceous. Hydrocarbon generation from the Kupferschiefer source rocks occurred from Middle Triassic to Late Jurassic times, reaching maximum rates during the Jurassic. The Cretaceous subsidence had only a minor influence on the maturity and transformation of organic matter. Expulsion started between Late Triassic (in the western part of the study area) and Early Jurassic (in the eastern part), then ceased by the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous erosion. The total amount of generated and expelled hydrocarbons from source rocks was small because their thickness was limited. Therefore, Kupferschiefer shales cannot be considered as source rocks for liquid hydrocarbons, but may be a potential source for gas accumulated in the Zechstein Limestone and Rotliegend reservoirs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Thirty nine samples of Lower Cambrian marine sedimentary halite with zoned primary fluid inclusions were analyzed using the UMCA method introduced by Petrichenko (1973) [Petrichenko, O.I., 1973. Metody doslidzhennya u mineralakh galogennykh porid. Naukova Dumka, Kyiv, 91 pp.] in order to determine the contents of K+, Mg2+, SO4 2− and Ca2+ ions and to interpret the composition of parent seawater. The analyzed samples were from the giant salt basin of eastern Siberia where five major phases of salt deposition can be distinguished, in the Late Vendian (Danilovo) and Early Cambrian (Usolye, Belsk, Angara, and Litvintsevo) basins. Our samples are all from Early Cambrian basins although the largest data set comes from the Angara Basin. The results indicate that Early Cambrian parent seawater was similar in all studied basins and was characterized by lower Mg2+ and SO4 2−, and higher Ca2+ concentrations relative to modern seawater; the concentration of K+ in Early Cambrian seawater was similar to that of modern seawater. Accordingly, the seawater in the entire Early Cambrian was Ca2+-rich and SO4 2−-poor. The change of composition of seawater–from SO4 2−-rich, Ca2+-poor in the latest Neoproterozoic to Ca2+-rich, SO4 2−-poor recorded throughout the Early Cambrian–probably occurred within a relatively short time span during the earliest Cambrian (Nemakit-Daldynian) time and caused a rise in Ca2+ concentrations in the shelf seas leading to the onset of biocalcification and then the Cambrian explosion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Middle Miocene Badenian evaporitic succession within the Carpathian foredeep (Poland) has been conventionally described as formed in a purely marine basin. Until recently, data from this basin have been used to deduce the sulphate isotopic composition of the ocean during the Miocene and to describe evolution of major elements in seawater. This paper presents a new interpretation proving major continental inputs and ongoing recycling processes. It is based on detailed petrographical/mineralogical studies, X-ray microanalysis of primary fluid inclusions in halite (Cryo-Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)–Energy Dispersive Microanalysis (EDS)), isotopic analysis (δ34S and δ18O in sulphates) and computer-based evaporation models. Two boreholes, Wojnicz intersecting the halite succession in the centre of the basin and Cieszanów borehole cutting through the gypsum units found in the margin of the basin, are used in reconstructing the general palaeohydrological evolution of the basin. Model calculations constrained from experimental data suggest recharge proportions during halite precipitation of between 20−30% seawater and 65−70% continental waters, with 5−10% of the continental waters recycling previously precipitated halite. The isotope signatures measured show average values of δ34SCDT=+24.61‰ (±0.34) and δ18OSMOW=+12.06‰ (±0.40) for Wojnicz borehole and δ34SCDT=+22.74‰ (±0.42) and δ18OSMOW=+12.66‰ (±0.38) for the Cieszanów borehole. These are consistent with an ocean having a sulphate isotope composition similar to Eocene or present day and the scenario of intrabasin recycling processes of previous marine halite successions. The present interpretation for the Carpathian foredeep evaporites argues against the use of these in deducing Miocene seawater composition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Earlier studies of individual fluid inclusions in salt minerals of some Devonian evaporite basins showed that the brines in those basins were of chloride type with a high concentration of Ca2+. The genetic significance of this occurrence was subject to different interpretations. We have studied in detail samples taken from the East European Dnipro-Donets and Prypiac' evaporite basins aiming to establish the chemical composition of fluid inclusions in studied evaporites and then, using other geochemical information, to establish a geochemical model of the Devonian evaporite basins. Our study showed that salt deposition in the Devonian Dnipro-Donets and Prypiac' evaporite basins was because of intensive evaporation of mainly marine brines of chloride type with a relatively high Ca2+ content. In turn, the ratios between Na, K, and Mg corresponded to ratios in recent marine brines. Salt minerals precipitated in bottom water conditions. The occurrence of one-phase fluid inclusions indicates the temperatures of halite- precipitating brines <43°C. Gas content varied from 10 to 300 g/L and was controlled by the pressures existing at the basin bottom during halite growth. The recorded high Ca2+ contents, characteristic of brines in the Dnipro-Donets rift basin, is due to intensive discharge of connate highly mineralized Ca2+-rich solutions; however, the parent marine water was also Ca2+ rich. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benthic foraminiferal assemblages, in contrast to planktic foraminifera, generally did not suffer mass extinctions at the Cretaceous/Palaeogene (K/P) boundary; extinctions were fewer in deeper water. However, the outer shelf, upper bathyal section at Aïn Settara, Tunisia, records a dramatic change in the structure of benthic foraminiferal assemblages across the K/P boundary. At the level of extinction of planktic assemblages and enrichment in Ir and other geochemical anomalies, highly diversified, low-dominance Upper Maastrichtian assemblages with infaunal and epifaunal morphogroups were suddenly replaced by taxonomically impoverished assemblages, strongly dominated by epifaunal morphogroups. This extinction or temporary emigration of most infaunal morphogroups is interpreted to be the result of a sudden breakdown in food supply. This, in turn, is the consequence of a sudden collapse in primary productivity, probably resulting from the impact of the K/P asteroid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study of three halite sections in the Ro¨t Basin from the eastern Netherlands (Twente-Rijn 382 borehole), central Germany (Mardorf 6 borehole) and western Poland (Os´no IG2 borehole) shows that the δ34S values in Ro¨t sulphates of studied samples (27.14–31.98‰) are characteristic of marine sulphates of late Early Triassic. These values fit in the Ro¨t event shift described in the literature. The bromine content in halite is 32–158 ppm. In the Dutch and Polish sections, relics of sedimentary structures—chevron and hopper—are recorded in halite grains. These structures contain fluid inclusions that were analysed using the ultramicrochemical method of Petrichenko (Petrichenko, O.I. 1973. Metody doslidzhennya vkluchen' v mineralakh galogennykh porid. Kiev, Naukova Dumka, 92 pp.). In the German section, no sedimentary halite structures occur. Because the pressure in the inclusions in recrystallized halite is only slightly greater than atmospheric pressure, these inclusions are presumed to be early diagenetic in origin.The analysis of individual brine inclusions, both in sedimentary and diagenetic forms of halite, shows that the Ro¨t brines correspond to the Na-K-Mg-Cl-SO4 (SO4-rich) chemical type, i.e. the same type that characterises modern seawater. However, the Ro¨t brines differ from the composition characteristic of modern concentrated seawater by a decrease in the content of sulphate ion and an increase in the content of potassium ion. On a Ja¨necke diagram, the points of the brine composition during deposition of Ro¨t halite in Poland, Germany and the Netherlands only show a small range. This suggests a stable composition of basinal brines during the deposition of the halite. At the same time, the relative content of sulphate ion in the Lower Triassic Ro¨t Basin was slightly lower than that in Upper Permian evaporite basins, but higher than that in Lower and Middle Permian and Middle and Upper Triassic evaporite basins. The implication is that the content of sulphate ion in seawater was subject to changes in Permian and Triassic times. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Viséan evaporites of the Windsor Group in the Moncton Subbasin at the western limit of the Maritimes Basin of eastern Canada represent an important stratigraphic sequence to study in determining changes in the chemistry of marine brines. Seventeen samples of halite have been selected for fluid inclusion study. The chemical composition of inclusion brines was examined using the Petrichenko method of glass capillaries with applied ultramicroanalytical techniques. The results of the study indicate that the conditions of evaporite deposition in the Windsor Basin differed from those recorded in other Phanerozoic basins and that the history of the Windsor Basin brines was characterized by changes in the chemical composition of the brines. It was also found that there existed continual unfavourable conditions for the day-and-night zonality in chevron halite crystals and for the origin of relatively large (>50 µm) fluid inclusions and that the gas content was low not only during the deposition but also during the diagenesis of potash deposits. The chemical composition of the Viséan waters of the Moncton Subbasin at the beginning and end of deposition of the Windsor Group evaporite sequence was controlled by the predominating waters of nonmarine origin; during the potash deposition the controlling factor was chloride-type marine waters. In general, the geochemical data support the concept of Carboniferous evaporite basins with Na–K–Mg–Ca–Cl-type brines.Les évaporites de Viséan du Groupe de Windsor, dans le sous-bassin de Moncton à la limite ouest du bassin maritime de l'Est du Canada représentent une séquence stratigraphique importante à étudier afin de déterminer les changements dans la chimie des saumures marines. Dix-sept échantillons de halite ont été choisis pour une étude d'inclusion de fluides. La composition chimique des saumures incluses a été examinée en utilisant la méthode de capillaires de verre Petrichenko et des techniques ultramicroanalytiques. Les résultats de l'étude indiquent que les conditions de déposition des évaporites dans le bassin de Windsor différaient de celles enregistrées dans d'autres bassins du Phanérozoïque et que l'historique des saumures du bassin de Windsor était caractérisé par des changements dans la composition chimique. On a aussi trouvé qu'il existait des conditions continuellement défavorables à une zonation diurne et nocturne dans les cristaux de halite en chevrons et pour l'origine des inclusions de fluides relativement grosses (>50 µm) et que le contenu en gaz était faible non seulement au cours de la déposition, mais aussi durant la diagenèse des dépôts de potasse. La composition chimique des eaux viséennes du sous-bassin de Moncton, au début et à la fin de la déposition de la séquence d'évaporites du Groupe de Windsor, était contrôlée surtout par des eaux d'origine non marine; durant la déposition de la potasse, le facteur contrôlant était des eaux marines de type chlorure. En général, les données géochimiques soutiennent le concept de bassins d'évaporites au Carbonifère avec des saumures de type Na–K–Mg–Ca–Cl.[Traduit par la Rédaction] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the middle Miocene Badenian gypsum basin of the Carpathian Foredeep, west Ukraine, three main zones of gypsum development occur in the peripheral parts of the basin. Zone I consists entirely of stromatolitic gypsum formed in a nearshore zone. Zone II is located more basinward and is characterized by stromatolitic gypsum in the lower part of the section, overlain by a sabre gypsum unit. Zone III occurs in still more basinward areas and is characterized by giant gypsum intergrowths (or secondary nodular gypsum pseudomorphs of these) in the lowermost part, overlain by stromatolitic gypsum, sabre gypsum and then by clastic gypsum units. Correlation between these facies and zones has been achieved using lithological marker beds and surfaces. Of particular importance for correlation is a characteristic marker bed (usually 20–40 cm thick) of cryptocrystalline massive gypsum occurring in zones II and III. The marker was not distinguished in zone I, possibly because this bed is older than the entire gypsum section of that zone. These new results strongly suggest that the deposition of giant gypsum intergrowth facies and stromatolitic gypsum facies was coeval. In some sections of zones I and II, limestone intercalations have been recorded within the upper part of the gypsum sections. Considerable scatter of the δ18O and δ13C values of these limestones indicates variable diagenetic overprints of marine carbonates, but a marine provenance of the limestones is confirmed by microfacies analysis. Some of the limestones are coeval with an intercalation of gypsarenitic, mostly laminated gypsum occurring in the sabre gypsum unit of zones II and III. Badenian gypsum formed in extremely shallow-water to subaerial environments on broad, very low relief areas of negligible brine depth, which could be affected by rapid transgressions. Stable isotope (δ34S, δ18O) studies of the gypsum demonstrate that the... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cause of the middle Miocene Badenian salinity crisis in the Central Paratethys is addressed by examining the palaeotemperature evolution of Badenian waters before and after the deposition of evaporites. Selected foraminifer taxa (Globigerinoides spp., Globigerina bulloides, and Uvigerina) characterizing, respectively, the near-surface, intermediate, and bottom layers of the water column, were studied in two boreholes of SW Poland. The δ18O and δ13C values for these taxa show distinct differences which can be explained by the temperature difference between surface and bottom waters during deposition. These values also show temporal changes corresponding to the water temperature evolution in the Badenian basin. Different and quickly changing environmental conditions have been inferred from changes in foraminifer assemblages. They explain why biostratigraphic subdivisions based on well-recognized assemblages are the most accurate approach for determining the biostratigraphy of middle Miocene deposits in the Central Paratethys. The results of isotopic studies indicate that evaporites occur in a part of the Badenian section that was characterized by the lowest temperatures in the studied sections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Routine trace-element geochemistry suggests that components in putative marine halite evaporites may be partly of nonmarine origin, but such interpretations are commonly ambiguous. Stable chlorine isotopes may provide a less-ambiguous marker of chloride origin where δ[sup 37]Cl departs from the range predicted for evaporite formation from seawater. Bedded halite with primary sedimentary textures preserves original δ[sup 37]Cl values. Measurable change in δ[sup 37]Cl can be generated by incongruent dissolution of halite, but only if less than half the original halite remains. Badenian (middle Miocene) halite from the Forecarpathian and from the East Slovakian and Transcarpathian basins has a δ[sup 37]Cl range of – 0.2 to 0.8‰. Two phenomena cannot be explained by simple evaporation of 0.0‰ seawater. At Wieliczka, the Shaft Salt has distinctive δ[sup 37]Cl values (– 0.2 to 0.0‰) relative to neighbouring salt beds (0.2 to 0.6‰), requiring a large, abrupt input of brine with negative δ[sup 37]Cl. Halite with high (0.6 – 0.8‰) δ[sup 37]Cl near the base of the East Slovakian and Transcarpathian evaporites requires a large input of chloride with positive δ[sup 37]Cl into the basins. Expulsion of basin brine with non-0‰ δ[sup 37]Cl into the evaporite basins may account for the nonmarine chloride sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the secular variation in seawater chemistry during the Phanerozoic as indicated by brine inclusions in halite. Analysis of data on chemical composition in primary-bedded halite from many evaporite formations of northern Pangaea; Changes in the compositions of brine which correspond to the chemical evolution of the Phanerozoic ocean.

Polyhalite deposits in the Zechstein (Upper Permian) of northern Poland occur in the Lower Werra Anhydrite. In the Zdrada Sulphate Platform, the polyhalite appears to be a very early replacement of anhydrite. The replacement was caused by the halite-precipitating brines which contained potassium and magnesium ions. The formation of polyhalite was preceded by the syndepositional anhydritization of the original gypsum deposit which has often preserved its primary textures. This anhydritization on the platform and its slopes was a reaction of the precipitated gypsum in a hydrologically open evaporite basin, with brines of salt basins adjacent to the sulphate platform. These brines, when nearly saturated with respect to halite, and potassium and magnesium rich, reacted with anhydrite to precipitate polyhalite along the slopes of the Zdrada Platform. The oxygen and sulphur isotopic compositions of sulphate evaporites indicate that marine solutions were the only source of sulphate ions supplied to the Zechstein basin, and that anhydrite was transformed to polyhalite by reaction with marine brines more concentrated than those that precipitated precursor calcium sulphate minerals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary gypsum is the main evaporite mineral in the middle Miocene (Badenian) of the West Ukraine. The lower part of the gypsum sequence is built of autochthonous gypsum while the upper part is composed of allochthonous gypsum that formed following a major, tectonically induced, change in basin morphology. This change resulted in the destruction of the gypsum deposited on the margins of the basin and formation of redeposition features. Autochthonous gypsum facies were deposited in two main environments: (1) giant gypsum intergrowths precipitated from highly concentrated brines; (2) very shallow subaqueous gypsum deposited in a vast brine pan. The brine pan was characterized by a facies mosaic that reflects an interplay of concentrated brines from the central part of the evaporite basin and diluted brines due to the influx of continental meteoric waters. The facies continuum, microbial gypsum-bedded selenite -- massive selenite -- sabre gypsum, indicates increasing salinity of the brine with time. This type of facies pattern has been established in recent salines that are analogous to Badenian gypsun in their lateral facies changes However, the pattern of facies distribution with respect to the open sea in the Badenian basin is opposite to that found in recent salinas. The pattern of the Badenian gypsum facies in the Ukraine indicates that facies repetition may have been related to climatically controlled salinity changes and not to depth changes, as is commonly used to explain the repetition of sulphate facies in a vertical succession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lower Werra Anhydrite (Zechstein, Upper Permian) deposits of the Leba area originated in deep basin setting, in shallow to deep water conditions. Facies changes occur within small distances and suggest fluctuating boundaries between well defined basins and platforms. This pattern of local platforms and adjacent basins developed during deposition. In basinal areas, the sequence is clearly transgressive, whereas on platforms accumulation kept pace with subsidence after an initial transgression. Nodular anhydrite represents a polygenetic deposit which formed at different times with respect to deposition. Massive anhydrite with pseudomorphs after upright-growth gypsum crystls suggest rapid precipitation in a subaqueous environment and/or fluctuating, but generally high, salinity conditions. Massive clastic sulphate originated due to periodic high energy events and resedimentation, or due to brecciation possibly connected with salinity fluctuations and the dissolution of the halite. Massive, textureless anhydrite is locally porous and passes upward into breccia, indicating a strongly saline environment. Bedded anhydrite is considered to form in shallow water environment and laminated anhydrite in deep water. Bedded anhydrites contain portions which are graded. Intercalations of sulphate turbidities and upright-growth gypsum suggest fluctuating water depths, with comparatively deep water during turbidite deposition, but shallower conditions during upright-growth gypsum deposition. The sequence observed in slope zones at platform-basin margins, detital (parautochthonous) sulphate sand to graded beds to basinal laminites, indicates that redistribution processes were important. At the onset of the Lower Werra anhydrite deposition bathymetric relief existed between the central part of the basin and its margins, where carbonate platforms remained subaerially exposed. Formation of local platforms and adjacent basins required a relatively high subsidence rate, as... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies earthquake-induced resedimentation in the Badenian gypsum of southern Poland. Association between gypsum breccias and laminated gypsum deposits; Stratiform geometry of the breccias; Role of local tectonism.

Dolomitization of the Zechstein (Late Permian) Main Dolomite carbonates of northern Poland was penecontemporaneous and/or very early diagenetic. Well-ordered, stoichiometric dolomites are associated with the basinal facies. The platform dolomites are relatively poorly ordered and usually non-stoichiometric. Most samples are highly enriched in [sup13]C, as in other Zechstein carbonates. δ[sup18]O values show large variations from —5·1%[sub0] to + 7·4%[sub0]. There is an isotope zonation of the examined dolomites. The isotope signature indicates that dolomites formed from variable solutions of meteoric water, seawater, and evaporitic brines of possible marine or continental origin. Once initiated, dolomitization proceeded despite the evolution of dolomitizing brines. This evolution explains the occurrence of lagoonal dolomites with common evidence for dissolution in the lower part of sections compared with well-developed rhombohedra in the upper part. Crystal zoning suggests the initiation of dolomite growth in hypersaline water and progressive dilution by fresh water. There is isotopic evidence for migration of continental waters into the basin, presumably following sea-level fall at the end of the deposition of the Main Dolomite. Influence of fresh water on syndepositional dolomitization, well established in the Main Dolomite, strongly suggests that similar relationships may be characteristic for other evaporite-associated dolomites as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Late Proterozoic Pedro Leopoldo facies (Bambui Group) in the vicinity of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, compriss alternating laminated microsparitic limestones (10-35 mm thick beds) and fibrous limestones (10-55 mm thick). The latter are composed of a mosaic of sparry calcite crystals. These irregularly cross-cut rays and fans are composed of feathery precursor crystal bundles with squared-off growth zones. Ghosts of an original fibrous mineral, hexagonal in cross-section, are visible. The petrographic characteristics, very high strontium content and low magnesium content of the fibrous beds, as well as microspar beds, strongly argue for an original aragonitic mineralogy. The rays are interpreted as having formed by precipitation at the sediment-water interface, whereas the micrite was precipitated from the water column prior to deposition on the sea floor. The lack of emergence features suggests widespread aragonite precipitation under persistently subtidal conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Polish Basin formed at the eastern periphery of the large epicontinental Permian-Mesozoic Central European Basin System. It was filled with several kilometres of siliciclastics, carbonates and thick Zechstein (Upper Permian) evaporites. Its axial part, the Mid-Polish Trough, which is characterised by a particularly thick Permo-Mesozoic sedimentary cover, developed partly above the Teisseyre-Tornquist Zone, a lithospheric-scale boundary located between the East European Craton and the West European Platform. Late Cretaceous-Palaeogene inversion of the Polish Basin was associated with uplift of the Mid-Polish Trough that now forms a large regional anticlinal structure referred to as the Mid-Polish Swell. A qualitative model of the Permo-Mesozoic geologic evolution of the central part of the Polish Basin, constructed using seismic and well data, suggests a significant role of localised extension and subsidence during Rotliegend (Drawa Formation) and Zechstein sedimentation. The Polish Basin was fully inverted during the Late Cretaceous to Palaeogene. Basin inversion within the study area was associated with substantial uplift of the hanging wall block of the Szubin Fault, final formation of the Szubin salt pillow, folding of the Mesozoic supra-salt overburden and formation of the Mid-Polish Swell. The crest of the Mid-Polish Swell was subsequently deeply eroded prior to sedimentation of the Neogene post-inversion cover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fossil staurosporous conidia almost identical to modern conidia of Asterosporium asterospermum were found from three Central European localities ranging from the Late Oligocene (Germany) to Middle/Late Miocene (Poland). Extant A. asterospermum is strictly host-specific and found only on branches or bark of various Fagus species from Europe, Asia and North America. Conspicuous association of conidia of A. asterospermum with numerous macro- and microremains of Fagus were reported from all the localities where fossil conidia of Asterosporium were found confirming the host-specificity of fossil A. asterospermum to ancient beeches. The host-specific relationship of A. asterospermum and beech was presumably established early in the history of the Fagus genus. • Fossils of Asterosporium asterospermum and Fagus from Palaeogene and Neogene. • Host-specifity of Asterosporium asterospermum to Fagus since late Oligocene. • Morphological stasis of Asterosporium asterospermum from late Oligocene. • Emergence of the Asterosporium genus in the late Oligocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case report explores a 34-year-old male diagnosed with mesothelioma who had no known risk factors. The patient initially was treated for empyema with antibiotics but later represented to hospital with worsening symptoms. He underwent a surgical Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery procedure and lung biopsy, which revealed a diagnosis of mesothelioma. The young age of the patient as well as absence of significant risk factors for mesothelioma made the diagnosis unexpected. The patient had total body irradiation (TBI) therapy for leukaemia as a child, which increases the risk of developing cancer. However, there are limited studies exploring the risk of pleural mesothelioma post-TBI. Young patients who represent to hospital, with limited response to initial treatment, and suspicious radiological features should be considered for lung biopsy to reduce the risk of a missed diagnosis. Patients with a background of TBI should also be considered for follow-up to monitor for any subsequent malignancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report fungal ascospores of Potamomyces affinities from four Miocene localities in Poland. The spores are similar to the ones known from extinct species of Potamomyces invaginatus, Potamomyces batii, and Potamomyces pontidiensis, as well as to living Potamomyces armatisporus. Living representatives of Potamomyces are saprophytic, and usually found on decaying wood. They are mainly found in a freshwater or brackish environment, and sometimes also on terrestrial, moist to damp substrates. Therefore, the species of Potamomyces can be classified as a facultative-aquatic or terrestrial-aquatic fungus. Both living and extinct species of Potamomyces prefer a tropical to subtropical, and usually humid climate as their past and recent distribution is mostly confined to the intertropical zone. Fossil record of the Potamomyces ranges from the Lower Miocene to the Holocene, covering all continents with the exception of the Antarctica. Miocene findings of Potamomyces from Poland represent the first known fossil record of this genus from Europe and confirm the warm temperate to subtropical and humid climate during Middle to Late Miocene of present Poland previously inferred from palaeobotanical investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report fungal ascospores of Potamomyces affinities from four Miocene localities in Poland. The spores are similar to the ones known from extinct species of Potamomyces invaginatus, Potamomyces batii, and Potamomyces pontidiensis, as well as to living Potamomyces armatisporus. Living representatives of Potamomyces are saprophytic, and usually found on decaying wood. They are mainly found in a freshwater or brackish environment, and sometimes also on terrestrial, moist to damp substrates. Therefore, the species of Potamomyces can be classified as a facultative-aquatic or terrestrial- aquatic fungus. Both living and extinct species of Potamomyces prefer a tropical to subtropical, and usually humid climate as their past and recent distribution is mostly confined to the intertropical zone. Fossil record of the Potamomyces ranges from the Lower Miocene to the Holocene, covering all continents with the exception of the Antarctica. Miocene findings of Potamomyces from Poland represent the first known fossil record of this genus from Europe and confirm the warm temperate to subtropical and humid climate during Middle to Late Miocene of present Poland previously inferred from palaeobotanical investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a new geochemical tool that could provide temperatures of ancient basins in which massive evaporites were deposited: the oxygen isotope composition of fine crystalline quartz found in large halite bodies. Such quartz is well preserved from post-depositional alterations and it can be relatively easily separated. For the purpose of this study, five halite samples were selected from four various evaporite basins, spanning in age from the Early Cambrian to the Late Jurassic. The obtained isotope temperatures refer to locations where evaporites were deposited, i.e. in subtropical zones of the Earth, as it may be estimated from continental distribution during Phanerozoic times. Reasonable temperatures are obtained, with an assumption for the δ 18 O of brines ranging from − 1‰ to 0‰ during halite deposition. The assumption of higher δ 18 O values leads to unrealistic temperatures, higher than the homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions in halite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of fluid inclusions in Lower Triassic Röt halite from the Rockensussra 2/83 borehole in northern Germany showed the presence of primary and secondary gas-liquid inclusions. The gas phase in inclusions indicates their stretching due to salt overheating at some postsedimentary stage. The homogenization temperature of inclusions indicates the overheating temperature of about 60-70°C. The overheating is additionally indicated by trails of migration of large secondary inclusions occurring inside chevrons. The major-ion (K, Mg and SO) composition of inclusion brines was established with the use of ultramicrochemical analysis (UMCA). The results of chemical analyses of brines of primary inclusions in halite from the Rockensussra 2/83 borehole confirm the earlier results for the Röt halite from the Netherlands and Poland. The bromine content in halite is 78-107 ppm, supporting thus marine origin of halite. Brines of primary gas-liquid inclusions are thus representative samples of trapped evaporite water and they may be used for the reconstruction of the composition of Early Triassic seawater. The comparison of our analytical data with the earlier published data and models of chemical composition of seawater during the Phanerozoic which were constructed with the use of the HMW computer program makes it possible to conclude that the Early Triassic seawater was of the SO-rich type and considering the ratios of major ions it fully corresponded to the Early Permian (Asselian-Sakmarian) seawater. It differed from the present seawater by a slight decrease of Na and Mg ions, a considerable decrease of SO ion (by 31%) and an increase of Ca ion (by 36%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lower Cambrian salt deposits in the eastern Officer Basin occur in troughs along the western and northwestern margin of the Gawler Craton, and are interpreted to have been deposited in marginal to restricted marine environments. The salt horizons in two drillholes [Manya 6 (373554E, 6938478N: GDA94) and Wilkinson 1 (263545E, 6693435N: GDA94)] were studied utilising multiple techniques including mineralogical investigation, fluid inclusion and isotopic analysis. New data on Br values of 19 salt samples provide evidence of marine origin for the salt. Abundant two-phase (gas – liquid) inclusions and poor preservation of primary inclusions indicate intensive post-depositional recrystallisation. Homogenisation studies of fluid inclusions in halite from Manya 6 suggest that the upper part of the salt-bearing strata (Ouldburra Formation) has been heated to 80°C, whereas the lower part reached even higher temperatures. This heating event may be related to the Devonian – Carboniferous Alice Springs Orogeny. The chemical composition of fluid inclusions in Manya 6 and Wilkinson 1 samples indicates that parent brines were Ca-rich and SO 4 -poor, whereas modern seawater is SO 4 -rich and Ca-poor. Such a composition is similar to that recorded in the Lower Cambrian halite from the East Siberia Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Data on chemical composition of brines in primary inclusions of marine halites and on mineralogy of marine evaporites and carbonates lead to the conclusion that during the Phanerozoic two long-term cycles of chemical composition of seawater existed. During each of those cycles, seawater dominantly a Na-K-Mg-Ca-Cl (Ca-rich) type changed to a Na-K-Mg-Cl-SO4 (SO4-rich) type. Recrystallised halite from the uppermost Neoproterozoic Salt Range Formation (ca. 545Ma) in Pakistan, contains solitary inclusions indicating SO4-rich brines. This supports the concept derived from the study on primary fluid inclusions from the Neoproterozoic Ara Formation of Oman; SO4-rich seawater existed during latest Neoproterozoic time (ca. 545Ma). In contrast, samples of recrystallised halite from the Bitter Springs Formation (840–830Ma) in Australia contain inclusion brines that are entirely Ca-rich, indicating that basin brines and seawater were Ca-rich during deposition of central Australian evaporites. These combined data supported by the timing of aragonite and calcite seas suggest that during the Proterozoic, significant oscillations of the chemical composition of marine brines, and seawater, occurred, which are similar to those known to exist during the Phanerozoic. It is suggested that Ca-rich seawater dominated for a substantial period of time (more than 200Ma), at 650Ma, this was replaced by SO4-rich seawater, finally returning to Ca-rich seawater at 530Ma. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sakmarian evaporites which include gypsum, anhydrite, halite, carnallite, kieserite and bischofite occur in the Prypiac'' Trough (Belarus) within the lower and upper parts of one lithostratigraphic unit, the Svaboda Suite. The lower part of Svaboda Suite is up to 143 m thick and is composed of rock salt with interbeds of red claystones–siltstones and potassium–magnesium and magnesium–sulfate salts which are correlated with the lowest potassic salts of the Sakmarian Kramators''k Suite of the Dnipro-Donets Basin. These salts originated from precipitation from marine brines. Salts occur in a very limited area, and the occurrence of sulfate facies is much wider. The upper part of the Svaboda Suite (up to 520 m thick) is composed of interbedded mixed halite–siliciclastic and terrigenous deposits. There were two major sources of solutions flowing into the continental basin in which the subsuite was formed: meteoric (and continental) waters, and brines derived from the dissolution of Devonian salts. The distribution of the mixed halite–siliciclastic facies was related to tectonic dislocations that controlled the depocenter and the outflow, from the underlying Famennian deposits, of the major volume of salt into the intensively growing salt domes. Accordingly, the tectonic framework was the major control on the evaporite basin during deposition of the upper part of the Svaboda Suite. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Information on the associations of clay minerals in Upper Proterozoic and Phanerozoic marine evaporite formations suggests that cyclic changes in the (SO4-rich and Ca-rich) chemical type of seawater during the Phanerozoic could affect the composition of associations of authigenic clay minerals in marine evaporite deposits. The vast majority of evaporite clay minerals are authigenic. The most common are illite, chlorite, smectite and disordered mixed-layer illite-smectite and chlorite-smectite; all the clay minerals are included regardless of their quantity. Corrensite, sepiolite, palygorskite and talc are very unevenly distributed in the Phanerozoic. Other clay minerals (perhaps with the exception of kaolinite) are very rare. Evaporites precipitated during periods of SO4-rich seawater type are characterized by both a greater number and a greater variety of clay minerals—smectite and mixed-layer minerals, as well as Mg-corrensite, palygorskite, sepiolite, and talc, are more common in associations. The composition of clay mineral association in marine evaporites clearly depends on the chemical type of seawater and upon the brine concentration in the evaporite basin. Along with increasing salinity, aggradational transformations of clay minerals lead to the ordering of their structure and, ideally, to a decrease in the number of minerals. In fact, evaporite deposits of higher stages of brine concentration often still contain unstable clay minerals. This is due to the intense simultaneous volcanic activity that brought a significant amount of pyroclastic material into the evaporite basin; intermediate products of its transformation (in the form of swelling minerals) often remained in the deposits of the potassium salt precipitation stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key Clinical Message: We report a case of lung adenocarcinoma‐associated hypercoagulability leading to venous limb gangrene, managed successfully with argatroban and then dabigatran. Use of idarucizumab permitted diagnostic investigations, leading to targeted antineoplastic therapy with crizotinib, surgical resection with curative intent, and continued survival over 2 years after the index event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have demonstrated that cryogenic separation of glauconite and foraminifera from the host rock allows to preserve the integrity of extracted specimens, assures minimal damage and causes no artificial fractionation. The K/Ar dating of two glauconite samples from Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary in the Nasiłów outcrop yields 62.0 and 66.3 Ma. The discrepancy in these dates, much larger than expected from analytical precision, may result from too low %K, which was 5.91 and 5.73, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reserves totaling ~142 BCM (5 TCF) of natural gas trapped in 306 fields and ~22 MTOE (~157 MMBOE) of crude oil in 87 fields have been discovered. The prospection, exploration, and production of hydrocarbons are licensed: an entity interested in these kinds of activities needs to have concession, which is granted by the Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment for 10 to 30 years according to one of two independent ways—international tender or open door procedure. In this review, the most prospective areas for oil and gas exploration in Poland, selected by the Polish Geological Survey, and announced as dedicated for the next 6th tender round, planned in the second half of 2022, are described. These are: Block 413–414, Block 208, Cybinka–Torzym, Zielona Góra West, and Koło areas. The main exploration target of these tender areas is related to conventional and unconventional accumulations of gas and oil in the Carpathian basement, Carpathian Foredeep, and Outer Carpathians (Block 413–414), as well as in the Carboniferous, Permian Rotliegend, Zechstein Main Dolomite (Block 208, Cybinka–Torzym, Zielona Góra West), and in the Mesozoic of the Polish Lowlands (Koło). The second way of granting concession in Poland is the so-called open door procedure, in which an entity may apply for a concession for any other area selected on its own. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Bromine concentrations in halite, sulfate isotopes (δ34S and δ18O), and major ion concentrations in primary fluid inclusions from three boreholes in the Late Permian Zechstein evaporites have revealed sharp variations in marine derived brines within the Polish sector of the European Southern Permian Basin. The base of the Older Halite (Na2), during the latest Permian, registers a change from sulfate-rich brines, similar in composition to modern evaporated seawater, to sulfate-depleted brines (calcium-rich). This change coincides with a drop in δ34S to values close to +9‰, not observed in δ18O counterparts. Opposite isotope (δ34S–δ18O) trends through the Na2 unit cannot be explained by changes in restriction conditions. We propose that the change to sulfate-depleted (calcium-rich) brines during halite deposition of the PZ2 (Stassfurt) cycle is related to the overturn of anoxic sulfidic deep-waters from the Panthalassa stratified superocean coinciding in time with the Permian–Triassic mass extinction event. The reconstruction of chemical changes in brines reveals two major evaporite sequences of increasing concentration that do not match the classic lithostratigraphic cycles. The first evaporite sequence (PZES-1) contain the evaporite units of the PZ1 (Werra) cycle, the PZ2 (Stassfurt) cycle, the Main Anhydrite (A3), and the base of the Younger Halite (Na3) of the PZ3 (Leine) cycle. The second evaporite sequence (PZES-2) is represented by almost the entire Na3 unit and the PZ4 (Aller) cycle. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Evaporites of Middle Miocene Badenian stage occur widely in basins from the Carpathian Mountain region (Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine), but their source and formation process are still debatable. A detailed boron isotope study in combination with previous chlorine isotope and chemistry data of the salt samples from three localities (Wieliczka mine, Trans-Carpathian Basin, East Slovakian Basin) reveal ranges of δ11B (−4.5 to +35.7‰) and δ37Cl (−0.2 to +0.8‰). Modelling calculation indicates that both Rayleigh fractionation and incorporation of fluid inclusion solutes cannot cause such a large shift on δ11B values in halite. Instead, the B and Cl isotope data imply multiple brine sources, including evaporite brine, dissolved diapiric halite and basin brine in addition to the predominant seawater source during the formation of these evaporites. At Wieliczka salt mine, a positive δ11B excursion (from −5‰ to + 30‰) matches the negative δ37Cl variation (from +0.5 ± 0.1‰ to -0.2‰) stratigraphically upwards, which indicate both terrestrial boron and non-marine chloride made significant contributions to the composition of the basin brine during the early development of the basin. In the upper column, the δ11B values are within the marine range, but show influence by the sorption of boron onto clay, whereas the δ37Cl values at +0.5‰ still indicate the presence of non-marine chloride, possibly from recrystallized, diapiric halite. In the Trans-Carpathian Basin, constant δ37Cl (+0.3‰) and δ11B (+15‰) in the middle of the profile are consistent with a dominant marine source, whereas the lower δ11B (+2.2‰) and higher δ37Cl (+0.8‰) in the lower column suggest terrestrial fresh water flowed into the basin during the formation of basal halite. Halites in the upper part of the profile show near 0‰ of δ37Cl, suggesting incorporation of Cl from a mixture of expelled basin brines. In the Slovakian Basin, the δ11B values (+18.1 to +19.1‰) at the base of the profile lie within the marine range, but high δ37Cl values (+0.7 to +0.8‰) require a non-marine chloride source. In the upper part of the profile, boron isotope data indicate a change from marine (+12.2 to +23.4‰) to non-marine (+5.4 to +6.1‰) derivation of B, but the sources of Cl remain marine (+0.0 to +0.5‰). Overall, both B and Cl isotopes show coupled variation in the Middle Miocene Badenian evaporites and suggest multiple sources of B and Cl. • Research Highlights: • Chlorine and boron isotopes in the Badenian evaporites were investigated systematically. • Kinetic isotope fractionation and boron from fluid inclusions induce minor shifts in δ11B in halite. • Multiple sources from seawater, terrestrial water and buried brines to the evaporites were defined. • Evolution processes along the stratum of three evaporite basins were well constrained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a report of a 31-year-old male refugee, who was admitted to Intensive Therapy Unit after being found in severe chest pain after escaping extreme torture from his home country. He was found to have four nails in his thorax. These were removed using a subxiphoid video-assisted thorascopic surgery (VATS) technique. This technique allowed excellent visualization of the right, left and anterior mediastinal part of the chest and therefore preventing damage or injury to surrounding structures. This was particularly useful in a complex case such as this. By avoiding an intercoastal incision and intercostal manipulation, our patient had limited pain post-procedure facilitating an earlier aggressive mobilization program with potential benefit in terms of improved lung expansion, reduction of atelectasis and lung infections. With the right training, the technical challenges of using the technique should be overcome and thus the benefits of subxiphoid VATS will be offered to a larger portion of thoracic surgical patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]