The facies distribution in time and space of sedimentary successions is controlled by a complex interplay between physical, chemical biological processes, which are nowadays difficult to construe from the geological record. Numerical models constitute valuable tool identify quantify such controlling factors permitting reliable 3D extrapolation prediction stratigraphic architectures beyond outcr...

The Lower Cretaceous plant assemblage of Bernissart (Mons Basin, Belgium) was studied in detail during the 1900s, but no recent revisions have been performed. taxonomy taxa recovered from this site is updated, which includes one undetermined “aquatic plant” taxon, nine fern (Cladophlebis sp., Hausmannia dichotoma, Phlebopteris dunkeri, Matoniaceae indet., Ruffordia goeppertii, Onychiopsis psilo...

Fossils discovered in Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) rocks in the Tenere Desert of central Niger provide new information about spinosaurids, a peculiar group of piscivorous theropod dinosaurs. The remains, which represent a new genus and species, reveal the extreme elongation and transverse compression of the spinosaurid snout. The postcranial bones include blade-shaped vertebral spines that form a ...

Negative carbon isotope excursions from a new record of terrestrial organic carbon (dCorg= 2.3x) and from marine carbonate (d13Ccarb= 0.8x) were used to calculate a methane hydrate release of 1137 Gt of carbon over ~1 Myr during the early Aptian (Early Cretaceous). We show how the coincident and sudden near-cessation of subduction along the northern boundaries of the Farallon plate resulted in ...

The crab genus Rathhunopon is exclusively known from Cretaceous rocks, mainly from Europe. Here two new European localities are presented: one in the Albian/Cenomanian of northern Spain yielding well-preserved specimens of Rathhunopon ohesum, and one from the lower Aptian at the German-Austrian border yielding Rathhunopon schrattenkalkensis n. sp. Both are found in association with coral reefs....

Ocean Drilling Program Leg 210 was devoted to studying the history of rifting and postrift sedimentation in the Newfoundland–Iberia rift. Drilling was conducted in the Newfoundland Basin along a transect conjugate to previous drilling on the Iberia margin (Legs 149 and 173). This was the first time that deep-sea drilling has been conducted on both sides of a nonvolcanic rift in order to underst...

The Pyrenees are the result of structural inversion a rift general direction N110E, established at articulation European and Iberian plates. This was created by left-lateral transtension with severe crustal thinning during latest Early Cretaceous Mid-Cretaceous. Its inversion, which led to uplifting Pyrenean chain, took place gradually, transpression from east west, Late followed an Eocene coll...

calcareous nannofossils in boundary of tirgan and sarcheshmeh formations at qalezo section have been studied. this section is situated in the west of kopet-dagh basin. in this study 35 nannoplankton species of 17 genera were identified. according to the first occurrence of index species and fossil assemblages two calcareous nannofossil biozones (cc7-cc8) of sissingh (1997) have been recognized....