Magmatic rocks from the Dolomites, Carnic and Julian Alps, Italy, have been sampled to investigate the origin and geodynamic setting of Triassic magmatism in the Southern Alps. Basaltic, gabbroic and lamprophyric samples have been characterized for their petrography, mineral chemistry, whole-rock major and trace elements, and Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic compositions. Geothermobarometric estimates suggest that the basaltic magmas crystallized mostly at depths of 14–20 km. Isotopic data show variable degrees of crustal contamination decreasing westwards, probably reflecting a progressively more restitic nature of the crust, which has been variably affected by melting during the Permian period. Geochemical and isotopic data suggest that the mantle source was metasomatized by slab-derived fluids. In agreement with previous studies and based on geological evidence, we argue that this metasomatism was not contemporaneous with the Ladinian–Carnian magmatism but was related to previous subduction episodes. The lamprophyres, which likely originated some 20 Ma later by lower degrees of melting and at higher pressures with respect to the basaltic suite, suggest that the mantle source regions of Triassic magmatism in the Dolomites was both laterally and vertically heterogeneous. We conclude that the orogenic signatures of the magmas do not imply any coeval subduction in the surrounding of Adria. We rather suggest that this magmatism is related to the Triassic rifting episodes that affected the western Mediterranean region and that were ultimately connected to the rifting events that caused the break-up of Pangea during the Late Triassic – Early Jurassic period.

Based on dust storm frequency (DSF) data from the China Meteorological Administration, Arctic sea-ice concentration (SIC) data from the Hadley Centre, and atmospheric reanalysis data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), temporal variations and regime shifts of East Asian DSF and Arctic SIC during 1961–2015 are revealed, and the possible relationship between them is explored. The results show that East Asian DSF in spring is closely associated with the preceding winter SIC from the northern Greenland Sea to the Barents Sea (20° W–60° E, 74.5° N–78.5° N). In the past half-century, both East Asian DSF and Arctic SIC have shown significant declining trends, with consistent regime shifts in the early 1980s. Further statistical analyses indicate that the abrupt decrease of East Asian DSF in spring may be attributed to the concurrent sharp loss of Arctic SIC in the preceding winter. It is the loss of Arctic SIC that causes the atmospheric circulation anomalies downstream by stimulating a Rossby wave train, resulting in decelerated wind speed, dampened vertical wind shear and restrained synoptic-scale disturbances over the dust source region, eventually leading to the decline in East Asian DSF over decadal timescales.

The Pleistocene development of the Vasilikos River exemplifies the interaction of focused, tectonically induced surface uplift and climate-influenced changes. The resulting sediments are well exposed in Vasilikos Quarry and in the main river catchment further east. An important erosional surface incises the highest-level (oldest) fluvial conglomerates, down into Late Pliocene – Early Pleistocene open-marine mudrocks (Nicosia Formation), allowing integration with the circum-Cyprus sedimentary–geomorphic development (F1–F4 stages). To determine where the quarry deposits lie in relation to the Vasilikos river catchment, the fluvial deposits were mapped and valley profiles were constructed, revealing four main episodes, each associated with incision and distinctive fluvial deposition. Source lithology strongly influenced channel morphology, infill and adjacent slope-sediment (colluvium) composition. Palaeosols, particularly red-brown terra rossa, developed on abandoned fluvial terraces and adjacent hillslopes, especially overlying F3 surfaces. The combined evidence allows close correlation of the Vasilikos river and quarry deposits. Relatively coarse (chalky conglomerate/breccia) and fine-grained colluvium (calcareous silt – Cyprus harvara) developed especially on lower hillslopes following incision (mainly above F2 and F3 surfaces). Based on regional comparisons, overall sediment aggregation ended during the Early Pleistocene. The F1–F2 surfaces and deposits are inferred to be Middle Pleistocene, the F3 ones later Middle Pleistocene and the F4 ones near the Middle–Late Pleistocene boundary. Geomorphology and deposition were tectonically forced during strong, focused Early–Middle Pleistocene surface uplift. Coarse clastic ruff-off and palaeosol development (terra rossa) and related sediment aggradation are inferred to have increased during warm, humid periods. Late Pleistocene geomorphology and deposition were more influenced by climatic change, with semi-perennial streamflow, rapid sediment aggradation and palaeosol (terra rossa) development during warm, humid periods (interglacials). Cooler (glacial) periods enhanced fluvial-incision, sediment-bypassing and hillslope colluvial processes (e.g. frost shattering, downslope creep and mass flow) when sediment transport (bypassing) exceeded sediment supply. Neotectonic faulting affected the catchment but did not greatly affect geomorphology or sediment supply. Although climate / climate change (and eustatic sea-level change) had an important influence, tectonics is interpreted as the fundamental driver of geomorphological development and fluvial sedimentation, with implications for other areas, regionally to globally.

The Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE, c. 182 Ma) represents a major perturbation of the carbon cycle marked by widespread black shale deposition. Consequently, the onset of the T-OAE has been linked to the combined effects of global warming, high productivity, basin restriction and salinity stratification. However, the processes that led to termination of the event remain elusive. Here, we present palynological data from Arctic Siberia (Russia), the Viking Corridor (offshore Norway) and the Yorkshire Coast (UK), all spanning the upper Pliensbachian – upper Toarcian stages. Rather than a ‘dinoflagellate cyst black-out’, as recorded in T-OAE strata of NW Europe, both the Arctic and Viking Corridor records show high abundance and dinoflagellate diversity throughout the T-OAE interval as calibrated by C-isotope records. Significantly, in the Arctic Sea and Viking Corridor, numerous species of the Parvocysta and Phallocysta suites make their first appearance in the lower Toarcian Falciferum Zone much earlier than in Europe, where these key dinoflagellate species appeared suddenly during the Bifrons Zone. Our results indicate migrations of Arctic dinoflagellate species, driven by relative sea-level rise in the Viking Corridor and the establishment of a S-directed circulation from the Arctic Sea into the Tethys Ocean. The results support oceanographic models, but are at odds with some interpretations based on geochemical proxies. The migration of Arctic dinoflagellate species coincides with the end of the T-OAE and marks the arrival of oxygenated, low-salinity Arctic waters, triggering a regime change from persistent euxinia to more dynamic oxygen conditions.

The arthropod Sidneyia Walcott, 1911 is a remarkable animal of the Burgess Shale biota (Cambrian Miaolingian, Wuliuan; British Columbia, Canada), which has not been confidently reported from other Cambrian Konservat-Lagerstätten. Here we report the discovery of Sidneyia cf. inexpectans from the Wuliuan Mantou Formation of North China, which substantially expands the known palaeogeographical distribution of this genus. Our discovery suggests that Sidneyia had much greater dispersal ability than hitherto thought. It also confirms the presence of exceptionally preserved fossils in the Wuliuan Mantou Formation, one of the rare Burgess Shale-type deposits of North China.

New whole-rock geochemical analyses along with laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry U–Pb zircon ages of the granite–rhyolite from the Karakoram Batholith, exposed along the Shyok Valley, NW India, have been performed to understand the timing and geochemical evolution of these magmatic bodies and their implications for the geodynamic evolution of the Karakoram Batholith. New geochronological data on granites and rhyolites along with previously published geochronological data indicate that the Karakoram Batholith evolved during Albian time (~110–100 Ma) owing to the subduction of Tethys oceanic lithosphere along the Shyok Suture Zone. This region witnessed a period of no magmatism during ~99–85 Ma. Following this, the Kohistan–Ladakh arc and Karakoram Batholith evolved as a single entity in Late Cretaceous and early Palaeogene times. Late Cretaceous (~85 Ma) rhyolite intrusions within the Karakoram Batholith show calc-alkaline subduction-related signatures with a highly peraluminous nature (molar A/CNK = 1.42–1.81). These intrusions may have resulted from c. ~13.8 % to ~34.5 % assimilation of pre-existing granites accompanied by fractional crystallization during the ascent of the magma. The contamination of mantle wedge-derived melts with crust of the active continental margin of the Karakoram most likely enhanced the high peraluminous nature of the rhyolite magma, as has been constrained by assimilation fractional crystallization modelling. Two granite samples from the contact of the Shyok Metamorphic Complex and Karakoram Batholith indicate that the post-collisional Miocene magmatism was not only confined along the Karakoram Fault zone but also extends ~30 km beyond the Shyok–Muglib strand.

The East Kunlun Orogen (EKO) is the NW part of the Central China Orogenic Belt, which records the evolutionary history of the Proto- and Palaeo-Tethys Oceans from the Cambrian to the Triassic. An Early Palaeozoic eclogite belt has been recognized in recent years, which extends discontinuously for ∼500 km as three eclogite-bearing terranes. In this study, we report an integrated study of zircon grains from mica-schists accompanying the eclogites, in terms of mineral inclusions, U–Pb age systematics and P–T conditions. The presence of coesite is identified, as inclusions within the metamorphic domain of zircons, which provides unambiguous evidence for subducted terrigenous clastic rocks of the Proto-Tethys Ocean exhumed from coesite-forming depths. U–Pb dating of the metamorphic zircons yields a concordia age of 426.5 ± 0.88 Ma, which is likely to be the time of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in the Kehete terrane. P–T calculations suggest that metapelite may have experienced a clockwise P–T path with peak P/T conditions of 685 ± 41 °C and >28 kbar, and equilibrated at 482–566 °C and 5.6–8.9 kbar during subsequent exhumation. The high-pressure – ultrahigh-pressure (HP-UHP) metamorphic belt within the EKO may have formed by collision between the Qaidam Block and the South Kunlun Block, as a consequence of the closure of the Proto-Tethys Ocean.

The study of the petrogenesis of some magmatic rocks with special geochemical attributes provides effective information for us to explore the deep geodynamic background of their formation. A series of granitic porphyry dykes have been found in the mélange zone of the Asa region in southern Tibet, whose genesis may be closely related to the evolution of the Meso-Tethyan Ocean. Regional geodynamic evolution is investigated by whole-rock geochemical analysis, zircon U–Pb dating and Lu–Hf isotopic analysis of two porphyritic granites. The Asa porphyritic granites have high SiO2 (74.29–78.65 wt %) and alkalis (Na2O + K2O = 6.51–9.35 wt %) contents, and low Al2O3 (11.60–14.51 wt %), CaO (0.04–0.19 wt MgO (0.01–0.10 wt %) contents. They are enriched in Zr, Nb, Ce, Y and Hf and depleted in Ti, Ba, Sr and P, consistent with A-type granites. The samples are relatively rich in LREEs, with LREE/HREE ratios of 1.73–3.04. They display negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.24–0.28) and obvious Ce anomalies in some samples. Zircon U–Pb analyses show that the porphyritic granites formed in late Early Cretaceous time, 107.4 to 105.5 Ma. Zircon εHf(t) values are in the range of 6.9 to 12.0. These data indicate that the porphyritic granites were sourced from interaction between mantle-derived and juvenile lower crust-derived melts, with the addition of oceanic sediment-derived melts. This occurred when the subducting Bangong–Nujiang oceanic crust split to create a slab window. Rising asthenosphere triggered re-melting of lower crust basalts, resulting in the formation of the late Early Cretaceous A-type granites around Asa.

The Wulanba granite, consisting of biotite monzogranite and syenogranite, is located in the southern part of the Great Xing’an Range, NE China. Whole-rock major- and trace-element geochemistry suggests the Wulanba granite is a high-K–shoshonitic, slightly peraluminous and highly differentiated I-type granite. The Sr–Nd–Hf isotopes indicate that it originated from partial melting of juvenile crust derived from the depleted mantle with a minor input of old crust. The relatively young T2DM and tDM2 ages indicate it was most likely derived from a Late Neoproterozoic to Early Palaeozoic source. We have demonstrated that the biotite monzogranite is the ore-related intrusion of the Haobugao Zn–Fe mineralization based on the following geological, geochronological and geochemical evidence: (1) the chalcopyrite/pyrite in the biotite monzogranite and the continuous mineralization of drill core ZK2508; (2) the consistence of the emplacement age of the biotite monzogranite (~141–140/138 Ma) with the skarn mineralization age (~142 Ma); and (3) the presence of rich ore-forming elements (Fe–Zn–Cu) in the biotite monzogranite, and the similar Pb compositions of the sulfides from the Haobugao deposit and the biotite monzogranite. Compared to the barren syenogranite, the fertile biotite monzogranite is more oxidized, while the edges of the apatite grains in the biotite monzogranite are more oxidized than the centres. The average F/Cl ratio of the fertile biotite monzogranite (~123.45) is much higher than that of the barren syenogranite (~73.98). We conclude that these differences reflect unique geochemical signatures, and the geochemical composition of the apatite can be used to infer the economic potential of granites.

Atmospheric supply of iron (Fe) to the ocean has been suggested to regulate marine productivity in large parts of the world’s ocean. However, there are still large uncertainties regarding how the atmospheric inputs of dissolved Fe (DFe) influence the seawater DFe concentrations and thus net primary production (NPP). Here, we use an atmospheric chemistry model and two ocean biogeochemistry models with high (Model H) and low (Model L) sensitivities to atmospheric sources of DFe to explore the responses of ocean biogeochemistry to different types of atmospheric inputs of DFe: mineral dust and combustion aerosols. When both Fe content in mineral dust of 3.5% and Fe solubility of 2% are prescribed in sensitivity simulations, the ocean models overestimate DFe concentration in the surface ocean downwind from the North African and East Asian dust plumes. Considering different degrees of atmospheric Fe processing reduces the overestimates of DFe concentration in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. The two ocean biogeochemistry models show substantially different magnitudes of responses to the atmospheric input of DFe. The more detailed Model H shows a much higher sensitivity of NPP to the change in combustion aerosols than to mineral dust, regardless of relative inputs of the sedimentary sources. This finding suggests that pyrogenic Fe-containing aerosols are more important sources of atmospheric bioavailable Fe for marine productivity than would be expected from the small amount of DFe deposition, especially in the Pacific and Southern oceans.

A geochemical and biostratigraphic approach has been applied to investigate the spatial and stratigraphic variability of Palaeogene sandstones from key wells in Taranaki Basin, New Zealand. Chronostratigraphic control is predominantly based on miospore zonation, while differences in the composition of Paleocene and Eocene sandstones are supported by geochemical evidence. Stratigraphic changes are manifested by a significant decrease in Na2O across the New Zealand miospore PM3b/MH1 early Eocene zonal boundary, at approximately 53.5 Ma. The change in Na2O is associated with a decrease in baseline concentrations of many other major (MnO, CaO, TiO2) and trace elements, and is interpreted to reflect a significant change in sandstone maturity. Paleocene sandstones are characterized by abundant plagioclase (albite and locally Na–Ca plagioclase), significant biotite and a range of heavy minerals, while Eocene sandstones are typically quartzose, with K-feldspar dominant over plagioclase, low mica contents and rare heavy minerals comprising a resistant suite. This change could reflect a change in provenance from local plutonic basement during the Paleocene Epoch to relatively quartz- and K-feldspar-rich granitic sources during Eocene time. However, significant quartz enrichment of Eocene sediment was also likely due to transportation reworking/winnowing along the palaeoshoreface and enhanced chemical weathering, driven in part by long-term global warming associated with the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum. The broad-ranging changes in major-element composition overprint local variations in sediment provenance, which are only detectable from the immobile trace-element geochemistry.

The Kuqa Depression in the northern Tarim Basin, NW China, is characterized by fault-controlled anticlines where natural fractures may influence production. Natural fractures in the Lower Cretaceous tight sandstones in the depression have been studied using seismic profiles, borehole images, cores and thin-sections. Results show that thrust faults, two types of opening-mode macrofractures and two types of microfractures are present. Thrust faults were generated during Cenozoic N–S-directed tectonic shortening and have hydraulically linked Jurassic source rocks and Cretaceous sandstones. Opening-mode fractures can be subdivided on the basis of sizes, filling characteristics and distribution patterns. Type 1 macrofractures are barren or mainly calcite-lined. They have straight traces with widths (opening displacements) that are of the order of magnitude of 10 μm, suggesting that their primary role is that of migration channels. Type 2 macrofractures are calcite-filled opening-mode fractures. They have an elliptical or tabular shape with sharply tapering tips. Transgranular microfractures are lens-shaped and open or filled mostly by calcite; maximum widths range between 0.01 mm and 0.1 mm. Intragranular microfractures are the most common microfracture type. They are filled by calcite, feldspar or quartz. The macrofractures and transgranular microfractures have regular distributions, while most intragranular microfractures are irregularly distributed owing to their inherited origin. The results imply that natural fractures in the tight sandstones were formed as tectonic, diagenetic and natural hydraulic origins. In situ stress and cementation analyses suggest that Type 1 macrofractures and their genesis-related microfractures have controlled the present flow system of the tight sandstones.

The 161-ka Kos Plateau Tuff (KPT) eruption deposited widespread unwelded ignimbrites, but the Dikeos and Sympetro mountains on the SE of Kos Island blocked all but the most energetic pyroclastic flows. KPT remnants north of Sympetro mountain comprise reworked tuffite containing pumice and lithic clasts that petrologically and geochemically resemble those found in KPT unit E tephra, and reworked accretionary lapilli similar to those in KPT unit F. Tuffite is found only downslope from a 375-m-high pass between the Dikeos and Sympetro mountains, which was breached at the eruption climax by pyroclastic flows that then accelerated down the 10° north slope of Sympetro. The tuffite crops out in the palaeocliffs of a prominent terrace at an elevation of 75 m, interpreted as the transgressive ravinement surface of the first interglacial marine highstand after the KPT eruption during marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e. A similar ravinement surface cuts KPT deposits in central Kos at elevations of up to 135 m and implies post-MIS 5e uplift rates of 0.7–1.0 m ka−1, confirmed by the elevation of a previously reported raised beach beneath the KPT. A Holocene raised beach on the east coast of Kos contains pumice clasts from the Yali-4 eruption at 4–3 ka. Its elevation of 2 m above sea level is consistent with the elevation of the local MIS 5e terrace. Its present erosion results from the blocking of discharge from ephemeral streams by human infrastructure. Our study provides the first integrated chronologic and neotectonic interpretation of the prominent plateau and terrace surfaces on Kos Island.

New δ13Ccarb and microfacies data from Hereford–Worcestershire and the West Midlands allow for a detailed examination of variations in the Homerian carbon isotope excursion (Silurian) and depositional environment within the Much Wenlock Limestone Formation of the Midland Platform (Avalonia), UK. These comparisons have been aided by a detailed sequence-stratigraphic and bentonite correlation framework. Microfacies analysis has identified regional differences in relative sea-level change and indicates an overall shallowing of the carbonate platform interior from Hereford–Worcestershire to the West Midlands. Based upon the maximum δ13Ccarb values for the lower and upper peaks of the Homerian carbon isotope excursion (CIE), the shallower depositional setting of the West Midlands is associated with values that are 0.7 ‰ and 0.8 ‰ higher than in Hereford–Worcestershire. At the scale of parasequences the effect of depositional environment upon δ13Ccarb values can also be observed, with a conspicuous offset in the position of the trough in δ13Ccarb values between the peaks of the Homerian CIE. This offset can be accounted for by differences in relative sea-level change and carbonate production rates. While such differences complicate the use of CIEs as a means of high-resolution correlation, and caution against correlations based purely upon the isotopic signature, it is clear that a careful analysis of the depositional environment can account for such differences and thereby improve the use of carbon isotopic curves as a means of correlation.

In the past ten years, a great deal of geological study has been reported on the magmatic rocks exposed in the central and western region of the Kuluketage Block, while similar research in the eastern region has rarely been reported. In this paper, we report zircon U–Pb geochronological, zircon Lu–Hf isotopic, whole-rock elemental and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic data for the Dapingliang intermediate-acid intrusive rocks in the eastern Kuluketage Block, in order to evaluate its petrogenesis and tectonic significance. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) zircon U–Pb dating provided a weighted mean 206Pb/238U age of 735 ± 3 Ma for the albitophyre (D1), 717 ± 2 Ma for the granite porphyry (D2) and 721 ± 1 Ma for the diorite porphyrite (D3). Geochemical analyses reveal that D1 and D2 belong to Na-rich alkaline A-type granites, and D3 shows the features of high-K calc-alkaline I-type granite. D1 and D2 are characterized by light rare earth element (LREE) enrichment and relative depletion of high field strength element (HFSE), with relatively flat heavy rare earth element (HREE) patterns and obviously negative Eu anomalies. D3 is characterized by the enrichment of LREE and depletion of HFSE, with negative slope HREE patterns and slightly negative Eu anomalies. In tectonic discrimination diagrams, D1 and D2 fall in the within-plate granite (WPG) field, indicating a rift setting. Although D3 falls within the volcanic arc granite (VAG) field, it most likely formed in a rift setting, as inferred from its petrology, Sr–Nd–Hf isotopes and regional tectonic evolution. Based on pronounced εNd(t), εHf(t), Pb isotopic data, TDM2 and high (87Sr/86Sr)i and elemental compositions, D1 was derived from the partial melting of basement amphibolites of the old lower crust. D2 originated from a mixture of the old lower crust and depleted mantle-derived magmas and was dominated by partial melting of the basement amphibolites of the lower crust. D3 could have been formed by partial melting of K-rich hornblende in the lower crust. Combining previous studies, we think that the c. 745–710 Ma magmatic rocks were formed in a continental rift setting. A partial melting scheme, triggered by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas, is proposed to interpret the formation of c. 745–710 Ma A-type and I-type granitoids, mantle-derived mafic dykes, bimodal intrusive rocks, adakitic granites and volcanic rocks. These magmatic activities were probably a reflection of the break-up of the Rodinia supercontinent.

Reconstructing the provenance of siliciclastic marine sediment is important for understanding sediment pathways and constraining palaeoclimate and erosion records. However, physical fractionation of different size fractions can occur during sediment transport, potentially biasing records derived from bulk sediment. In this study, records of radiogenic Sr and Nd isotopic composition and K/Al ratio of the separated clay fraction, as well as bulk grain size, are presented, measured from deep-sea sediments recovered from International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Sites U1456 and U1457 in the Arabian Sea. These new records are compared with published bulk sediment records to investigate the influence of sediment transport on these proxies and to constrain provenance evolution and its relationship to climate variability since middle Miocene time. Correlations between grain size and the bulk sediment isotopic composition confirm that transport processes are influencing the bulk sediment record. This relationship, although present, is not as strong in the clay-fraction isotopic records. Heterogeneity of bulk sediment likely drives differences between bulk and clay records, thought to be largely controlled by sediment transport processes. The isotopic records reveal variations in provenance that correlate with climatic change at 8–7 Ma, as well as an increase in overall provenance variability beginning at c. 3.5 Ma, likely linked to monsoon strength and glacial–interglacial cycles. The clay-fraction records highlight the potential value of measuring proxy records from multiple size fractions to help constrain provenance records as well as investigate sediment transport and/or weathering and erosion processes recorded in deep-sea sediment archives.

Knowledge about marine reptile diversity and disparity during the Late Jurassic is increasing. This contribution describes marine reptile skeletal elements (ichthyosaur and plesiosaur) from Kingofjeld mountain in NE Greenland. The assemblage is early Late Oxfordian (Late Jurassic) in age, and consists of c. 100 disarticulated skeletal elements. The location is of biogeographic importance as it was at the time situated between the Boreal realm and the Tethys Sea and is promising in terms of future prospecting.

The Ghaleh-Dezh metagranites in the northern Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone (SaSZ) in western Iran are found in a 0.5 km long by 0.3 km wide unit emplaced within the older Precambrian basement. New zircon U–Pb ages confirm that crystallization and emplacement of the protolith of the metagranites occurred at 312 ± 10 Ma and 298 ± 17 Ma in the Upper Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) – Early Permian, which is consistent with the ages of recently discovered Palaeozoic granites in the northern SaSZ. The studied metagranitic body has been metamorphosed at lower greenschist facies and deformed in ductile–brittle regime due to subsequent reheating events during the Mesozoic. The rocks are metaluminous to slightly peraluminous granites with an A2-type affinity. Initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios and εNd(t) contents vary from 0.7037 to 0.7130 and −0.70 to 0.34, respectively. 143Nd/144Nd(i) values for the granitic rocks are fairly uniform at ∼0.5123. The geochemical and isotopic evidence indicates that these rocks were generated from a mantle magma with crustal contamination and fractional crystallization. Rb–Sr isochron and 40Ar/39Ar K-feldspar ages are 274 Ma and 60–70 Ma, respectively. The older event, c. 270 Ma, was likely related to the opening of Neotethys, whereas the younger ages likely relate to collisional events in the region during the closure of Neotethys.

Fossil material from the Maastrichtian part of the Scollard Formation is identified as belonging to an acanthomorph fish. An articulated specimen, preserved in part and counterpart, is a member of the paracanthopterygian order Percopsiformes, based on it having a full neural spine on the second preural centrum and two epurals in the caudal skeleton (both paracanthopterygian characters), as well as six branchiostegal rays and an anterodorsal excavated margin on the opercle (percopsiform characters). We name this as a new genus and species, Lindoeichthys albertensis. A phylogenetic analysis with no prior constraints recovered a single most-parsimonious tree with the new taxon placed as the sister group to a clade containing the Palaeocene Montana genus Mcconichthys + Percopsidae. However, this analysis did not recover the traditional percopsiforms (including Aphredoderidae and Amblyopsidae) as monophyletic. A second analysis, in which we constrained the traditional members of the Percopsiformes to be monophyletic, resulted in the new species being placed as the sister group to Percopsis. The articulated percopsiform specimen from the Pisces Point locality allows isolated dentaries from vertebrate microfossil localities to be identified as being from a member of that group. These isolated elements first appear in the late Campanian Judith River Group of Alberta and the Kaiparowits Formation of Utah, documenting that percopsiform fishes were present in the Western Interior of North America at least 75 Ma ago.

The terrestrialization of life has profoundly affected the biosphere, geosphere and atmosphere, and the Geological Magazine has published key works charting the development of our understanding of this process. Integral to this understanding – and featuring in one of the Geological Magazine publications – is the Devonian Rhynie chert Konservat-Lagerstätte located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Here we provide a review of the work on this important early terrestrial deposit to date. We begin by highlighting contributions of note in the Geological Magazine improving understanding of terrestrialization and Palaeozoic terrestrial ecosystems. We then introduce the Rhynie chert. The review highlights its geological setting: the Caledonian context of the Rhynie Basin and its nature at the time of deposition of the cherts which host its famous fossils. There follows an introduction to the development of the half-graben in which the cherts and host sediments were deposited, the palaeoenvironment this represented and the taphonomy of the fossils themselves. We subsequently provide an overview of the mineralization and geochemistry of the deposit, and then the fossils found within the Rhynie chert. These include: six plant genera, which continue to provide significant insights into the evolution of life on land; a range of different fungi, with recent work starting to probe plant–fungus interactions; lichens, amoebae and a range of unicellular eukaryotes and prokaryotes (algae and cyanobacteria); and finally a range of both aquatic and terrestrial arthropods. Through continued study coupled with methodological advances, Rhynie fossils will continue to provide unique insights into early life on land.