Both low-Al and high-Al adakitic andesites erupted at ∼ 114 Ma in the Sulu collisional belt, eastern China, provide evidence for recycling of continental crust into the mantle more than 100 million years after the Triassic (∼ 240 Ma) collision between the North China and Yangtze blocks. These rocks display similar normalized trace element patterns, with enrichments in large ion lithophile elements (LILE), light rare earth elements (LREE) and depletions in Nb, Ta and Ti, and have highly radiogenic Sr and non-radiogenic Nd isotopic compositions (high-Al: 87Sr/86Sr(i)=0.70645–0.70715 and εNd(t)=−20.1 to −19.1; low-Al: 87Sr/86Sr(i)=0.70593–0.70598 and εNd(t)=−17.1 to −15.8). The high-Al (Al2O3 > 15 %) adakitic andesites are compositionally comparable with experimental slab melts, whereas the low-Al series (Al2O3 ∼ 13 %) have higher MgO, Cr and Ni, and higher Sr/Y ratios, and are compositionally comparable with slab melts hybridized by mantle peridotites. Combined major- and trace-element and Sr–Nd isotope data indicate that the two types of adakitic andesites have been derived from a LILE- and LREE-enriched eclogitic lower continental crust; in the case of the high-Al adakitic andesites, the melts underwent insignificant mantle contamination, whereas the low-Al magmas reacted with peridotites. Generation of the two types of late Mesozoic adakitic andesites favours a model of lithospheric delamination, leading to asthenospheric upwelling and extensive melting of lower continental crust, including a delaminated block, in the Sulu belt.

Erosional outliers are an important component of the Ludlow (Late Silurian) stratigraphy of Gotland, Sweden. However, due to the poor degree of exposure, outcrop studies have not revealed a detailed section from any of these outliers. The first complete stratigraphy of such an erosional remnant, the Burgen outlier, is presented here, based on the recently recovered Burgen-1 drillcore. Stratigraphical units encountered are, from oldest to youngest, the uppermost Hemse Group (>35 m), Eke Formation (0.4 m), Burgsvik Formation (3.4 m) and the basal Hamra Formation (12 m preserved). Based on carbon stable isotopes and lithological correlation to nearby outcrops that are zoned by conodonts, it can be concluded that the most profound late Ludlow sedimentary changes took place shortly after the onset of the globally recognized Lau Event (δ13C values reach 8.7 ‰ in the lower Hamra Formation). Sedimentary changes include development of discontinuity surfaces, widespread occurrence of an intraclastic conglomerate, increased microbial activity (Rothpletzella and Wetheredella), and influx of clastics to the basin. These changes are linked to substantial base-level changes during the event. A general comparison with the Prague basin suggests contemporaneous sedimentary changes on Baltica and on cratonic elements from peri-Gondwana during the event.

The Nabwal Hills, northeast of Lake Turkana, contain a record of magmatism associated with the initiation and early development of the East African Rift System in northernmost Kenya. The predominantly volcanic Asille Group, 1400 m thick, directly overlies metamorphic basement and comprises a sequence of basaltic lava flows with significant intervals of rhyolitic pyroclastic units, and minor intercalations of fluviatile sediments. The basement gneisses yield K–Ar cooling ages on biotite of 510 and 522 Ma, typically Pan-African. The 40Ar–39Ar ages on alkali feldspar crystals from the rhyolitic units are concordant and show that the Asille Group spans an interval from at least 34.3 to 15.8 Ma, continuing to at least as young as 13 Ma based on previous measurements. Vertebrate fossil sites, containing primate remains, at Irile and Nabwal are shown to be 17 ± 2 Ma old, Early Miocene, based upon K–Ar age measurements on immediately overlying basalts. Variably reliable whole rock K–Ar ages, determined on basalt samples from low in the sequence, indicate that volcanism commenced as early as 34.8 Ma ago. The overall geochronological results show that magmatism in the Nabwal Hills began about 35 Ma ago in Late Eocene times, interpreted as the time of initiation of crustal extension that led to the development of this segment of the East African Rift System. The Asille Group is tilted about 6° to the SSW. This tilting occurred later than 13 Ma ago, and prior to the eruption of the flat-lying Gombe Group basalts. These basalts may have begun erupting about 6 Ma ago in Late Miocene times, although much of this volcanism occurred between about 3.9 and 4.2 Ma ago in Pliocene times. It is suggested that the main rifting, which continues today, commenced in Late Miocene times, less than 13 Ma ago, and is partly reflected in the tilting of the Asille Group.

The Pelagonian Zone in Greece represents the westernmost belt of the Hellenide hinterland (Internal Hellenides). Previous geochronological studies of basement rocks from the Pelagonian Zone have systematically yielded Permo-Carboniferous ages. In this study we demonstrate, for the first time, the existence of a Precambrian crustal unit within the crystalline basement of the Pelagonian Zone. The U–Pb single-zircon and SHRIMP ages of these orthogneisses vary from 699 ± 7 Ma to 713 ± 18 Ma, which identify them as the oldest rocks in Greece. These Late Proterozoic rocks, which today occupy an area of c. 20 × 100 km, are significantly different from the neighbouring rocks of the Pelagonian Zone. They are therefore interpreted as delineating a terrane, named here the Florina Terrane. During the Permo-Carboniferous, Florina was incorporated into an active continental margin, where it formed part of the basement for the Pelagonian magmatic arc. The activity of this arc was dated in this study by single-zircon Pb/Pb ages as having taken place at 292 ± 5 Ma and 298 ± 7 Ma. During the Alpine orogeny, Florina, together with the Pelagonian Zone, eventually became a constituent of the Hellenides. Geochemically, the Florina orthogneisses represent granites formed at an active continental margin. Because of the Late Proterozoic ages, this Late Proterozoic active continental margin can be correlated to a Pan-African or Cadomian arc. As the gneisses contain inherited zircons of Late to Middle Proterozoic age, the original location of Florina was probably at the northwestern margin of Gondwana. Similar to other Gondwana-derived terranes, such as East Avalonia, Florina approached the southern margin of Eurasia during Palaeozoic times, where it became part of an active continental margin above the subducting Palaeotethys. These interpretations further indicate that terrane accretion was already playing an important role in the early pre-alpine evolution of the Hellenides.

The SW–NE-striking Porongos belt, located between juvenile Neoproterozoic rocks in the west and the Dom Feliciano belt, characterized by intense reworking of older crust, in the east, comprises a greenschist to amphibolite-facies metavolcano-metasedimentary succession (Porongos sequence) of unknown age with some exposures of Palaeoproterozoic gneisses (Encantadas gneisses). High-temperature ductile deformation of the basement gneisses comprises at least two magmatic events followed by three deformational phases including folding and shearing (DT1–DT3) and can be attributed to the Palaeoproterozoic Trans-Amazonian orogeny. The deformation of the Porongos sequence occurred during the Neoproterozoic Brasiliano orogeny and comprises four ductile deformation phases (DB1–DB4), including two phases of isoclinal folding associated with shearing recorded in mylonitic layers, followed by closed NW-vergent folding and thrusting leading to formation of a thrust stack. Uplift of the basement and formation of late tectonic sedimentary basins occurred as a result of semi-ductile to brittle block faulting in a sinistral strike-slip regime. The Porongos sequence can be subdivided into a southeastern and a northwestern part. Trace element analyses as well as Sm–Nd and Rb–Sr geochemical data indicate partial melting and significant contamination by old continental crust for the metavolcanic rocks. The metavolcanic rocks show εNd(t=780 Ma) values of −20.64 and −21.72 (northwestern units) and −6.87 (southeastern sequence). The metasedimentary rocks were derived from late Palaeoproterozoic to Archaean sources, and the data indicate different sources for the northwestern and southeastern rock units of the Porongos sequence. εNd(t=780 Ma) are −6.25 and −6.85 in the southeastern units, with TDM model ages between 1734 and 1954 Ma, and vary between −14.72 and −17.96 in the northwestern parts, which have TDM model ages between 2346 and 2710 Ma. High 87Sr/86Sr(t) values between 0.7064 and 0.7286 confirm reworking of older crust. Isotopic signatures of the Porongos sequence do not show indications for a significant contribution from a Neoproterozoic juvenile source. A passive margin or continental rift environment is suggested for the tectonic setting of the Porongos belt, which is compatible with both deposition of shallow marine to deep marine sediments and stretching of continental crust leading to volcanism which is characterized by significant contamination by old continental crust.

Numerous silicified and calcareous sclerites of various sizes, recovered from the latest Famennian of Thuringia (Germany), allow the description of the first complete growth series of a blind proetoid trilobite: Drevermannia richteri. In addition, the partial ontogenetic development of Drevermannia antecurvata sp. nov. and undetermined species, Drevermannia sp. 1, are described. The proetoid anaprotaspides, associated with D. richteri, illustrate that a marked increase in larval size occurred prior to the terminal Devonian extinction event. Considering the homogeneity of larval size in older Devonian proetoids, it is interpreted as evidence that the developmental strategy of these trilobites was significantly modified. Though largely speculative, two alternative hypotheses are proposed to explain this modification. Finally, all three ontogenetic sequences show that ocular structures never develop externally in Drevermannia, but also illustrate that the development of optical nerves is not completely lost in this group. This suggests that blindness in the Drevermannia lineage followed a centripetal mode of eye reduction.

A 425 ka long record from piston core GIK17925-3 taken in the northeastern South China Sea was used to study the environmental conditions controlling the distribution of the Zoophycos trace fossil. The 12 m long core offers a unique opportunity to study the response of the Zoophycos-producing animal to environmental variations over four glacial–interglacial cycles. The trace fossils show a strong glacial to interglacial variation in their abundance with a special preference for intervals with low sedimentation rates. Additional X-ray radiograph studies of piston cores from the Southeast Asian Marginal Seas show that the trace fossil Zoophycos is widespread in slope and deep-marine sediments, with the highest abundances encountered in low sedimentation rate settings. The preference of the Zoophycos producer for low sedimentation rates in a setting with strong seasonal fluctuations in food supply due to the shift between winter and summer monsoons, is interpreted to be the result of a cache-model behaviour, where food is collected during rich times and squirrelled away for poor times. Core GIK17925-3 also offers an opportunity to assess the impact of Zoophycos bioturbation on various palaeoenvironmental proxies. In this core, more than 30 % of the measured data points were more or less strongly affected by Zoophycos bioturbation. Together with the widespread occurrence this percentage indicates that Zoophycos may pose a serious threat to palaeoclimatic reconstructions in cores from low to moderate sedimentation rate sites.

Dyke swarms traverse Neoproterozoic rocks in the Hawashiya region in the extreme northern part of the Eastern Desert of Egypt. They are a suite of basaltic andesite and andesite mafic dykes, and dacitic and rhyolitic felsic dykes. The mafic dyke suite is more abundant in the younger granites (577 ± 6 Ma) than in the older granitoids (614 Ma), in which the felsic dykes are the most common. The dyke swarms trend predominantly NE–SW, and the felsic dyke suite is older than the mafic dyke suite. Both dyke suites are calc-alkaline (alkaline dykes are rare) and are relatively poor in TiO2 and Nb but enriched in the incompatible elements and HFSE. The felsic dyke suite is enriched in REE and is strongly LREE fractionated relative to the mafic dyke suite. Although the Hawashiya dykes were emplaced at the end of the Neoproterozoic era in an extensional tectonic setting, they have geochemical characteristics that are consistent with a subduction-related regime. These chemical signatures were inherited from the lithospheric rocks that produced their host Hawashiya granitoids. The felsic dyke suite magma may be derived from crustal rocks (essential source component) by partial melting. The mafic dyke suite magma was generated from a lithospheric mantle and has undergone fractional crystallization of plagioclase, amphibole, clinopyroxene and magnetite, as documented by major and trace elements fractionation modelling.