Age and correlation of the Calera Limestone in the Permanente terrane of northern California

Sliter, William V.; McGann, Mary

doi:10.3133/ofr92306

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Franciscan OPS sections have an apparent age gap of >10 Ma between the youngest pelagic rocks and the clastic cover, except for the OPS section of the Marin Headlands (Sliter and McGann 1992;Sliter 1984;Murchey and Jones 1984) (Fig. 5b).…”

Section: General Spatial-temporal Relationships Of Franciscan Complexmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural context and variation of ocean plate stratigraphy, Franciscan Complex, California: insight into mélange origins and subduction-accretion processes

Wakabayashi

2017

Prog Earth Planet Sci

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The transfer (accretion) of materials from a subducting oceanic plate to a subduction-accretionary complex has produced rock assemblages recording the history of the subducted oceanic plate from formation to arrival at the trench. These rock assemblages, comprising oceanic igneous rocks progressively overlain by pelagic sedimentary rocks (chert and/or limestone) and trench-fill clastic sedimentary rocks (mostly sandstone, shale/mudstone), have been called ocean plate stratigraphy (OPS). During accretion of OPS, megathrust slip is accommodated by imbricate faults and penetrative strain, shortening the unit and leading to tectonic repetition of the OPS sequence, whereas OPS accreted at different times are separated by non-accretionary megathrust horizons. The Franciscan subduction complex of California accreted episodically over a period of over 150 million years and incorporated OPS units with a variety of characteristics separated by non-accretionary megathrust horizons. Most Franciscan OPS comprises MORB (mid-ocean-ridge basalt) progressively overlain by chert and trench-fill clastic sedimentary rocks that are composed of variable proportions of turbidites and siliciclastic and serpentinite-matrix olistostromes (sedimentary mélanges). Volumetrically, the trench-fill component predominates in most Franciscan OPS, but some units have a significant component of igneous and pelagic rocks. Ocean island basalt (OIB) overlain by limestone is less common than MORB-chert assemblages, as are abyssal serpentinized peridotite slabs. The earliest accreted OPS comprises metabasite of supra-subduction zone affinity imbricated with smaller amounts of metaultramafic rocks and metachert, but lacking a clastic component. Most deformation of Franciscan OPS is localized along discrete faults rather than being distributed in the form of penetrative strain. This deformation locally results in block-in-matrix tectonic mélanges, in contrast to the sedimentary mélanges making up part of the clastic OPS component. Such tectonic mélanges may include blocks and matrix derived from the olistostromes. Franciscan subduction and OPS accretion initiated in island arc crust at about 165-170 Ma, after which MORB and OIB were subducted and accreted following a long (tens of mega-ampere) gap with little or no accretion. Following subduction initiation, a ridge crest approached the trench but probably went dormant prior to its subduction (120-125 Ma), after which the subducted oceanic crust became progressively older until about 95 Ma. From 95 Ma, the age of subducted oceanic crust decreased progressively until arrival of the Pacific-Farallon spreading center led to termination of subduction and conversion to a transform plate boundary.

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Section: General Spatial-temporal Relationships Of Franciscan Complexmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural context and variation of ocean plate stratigraphy, Franciscan Complex, California: insight into mélange origins and subduction-accretion processes

Wakabayashi

2017

Prog Earth Planet Sci

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“…The Black Calera Limestone is rich in organic carbon and recrystallized with occasional thin chert beds. No dateable fossils have been reported from the Black Calera Limestone, and it has generally been assumed (e.g., Sliter and McGann, 1992) to be of Early Cretaceous age (i.e., Barremian or older). In contrast, the White Calera Limestone has not been significantly recrystallized and contains planktonic foraminifera of late Barremian-Turonian age (Sliter, 1989(Sliter, , 1999Sliter and McGann, 1992).…”

Section: Geologic Setting and Sections Studiedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…No dateable fossils have been reported from the Black Calera Limestone, and it has generally been assumed (e.g., Sliter and McGann, 1992) to be of Early Cretaceous age (i.e., Barremian or older). In contrast, the White Calera Limestone has not been significantly recrystallized and contains planktonic foraminifera of late Barremian-Turonian age (Sliter, 1989(Sliter, , 1999Sliter and McGann, 1992). Paleomagnetic data indicate that the White Calera Limestone was deposited at paleolatitudes between ~18°N and ~24°N (Courtillot et al, 1985;Tarduno et al, 1985), suggesting that from the early Aptian onward, the Calera Limestone was situated further north (and possibly further east) than most of the principal DSDP or ODP sites of comparable age (Fig.…”

Section: Geologic Setting and Sections Studiedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mid-Cretaceous oceanic anoxic events in the Pacific Ocean revealed by carbon-isotope stratigraphy of the Calera Limestone, California, USA

Robinson

Clarke

Nederbragt

et al. 2008

Geological Society of America Bulletin

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The paleoceanographic history of the Pacifi c Ocean during the mid-Cretaceous is poorly constrained due to the loss of much of the contemporaneous Pacifi c seafl oor to subduction and diffi culties in recovering chert-rich sediments by ocean drilling. Pelagic sediments that were originally deposited in the Pacifi c Ocean but that have been subsequently accreted during subduction potentially provide an alternative paleoceanographic archive. This study presents micropaleontological and carbon-isotope data from the Calera Limestone, part of the classic Franciscan Complex exposed in Permanente Quarry, central California, USA. In the three stratigraphic sections studied, pelagic limestones with low organic-carbon contents are the dominant lithology. However, two stratigraphic intervals are recognized that contain organic carbon, and these date to the early Aptian and late Albian-early Cenomanian. These time intervals correspond to two mid-Cretaceous oceanic anoxic events (OAEs): early Aptian OAE1a (equivalent to the "Selli level") and late Albian OAE1d (equivalent to the "Breistroffer event"). It is well established that both of these events were associated with signifi cant carbon-isotope excursions, which are also shown to exist in the Calera Limestone. The record of OAE1a from the Calera Limestone complements ocean drilling records by providing further evidence for variability in the sedimentary and stratigraphic record of this event. The carbon-isotope data from the late Albianearly Cenomanian provide the fi rst detailed chemobiostratigraphic record of this period for the Pacifi c Ocean, confi rming that environmental change occurred at this time in the Pacifi c, possibly related to OAE1d.

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“…Evidence from foraminiferal assemblages and radiolarian faunas (summarized by McLaughlin and others, 1996a) indicates that the Calera Limestone ranges in age from Early Cretaceous (Hauterivian or Barremian to early Aptian) to Late Cretaceous (Turonian). The dark limestone within the Calera Limestone is presumably of Barremian or Aptian age and is thought to have been deposited under anoxic conditions that favored the preservation of organic matter (Sliter and others, 1991;Sliter and McGann, 1992). We tested the hydrocarbon-source potential of these rocks by using Rock-Eval pyrolysis of six rock samples collected from fresh excavations in the active Kaiser Cement Corp.'s Permanente Quarry near Cupertino (fi g. 2; table 5).…”

Section: Possible Sources Of Oil In the New Almaden Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Subsurface and petroleum geology of the southwestern Santa Clara Valley ("Silicon Valley"), California

Stanley¹,

Jachens²,

Lillis³

et al. 2002

Professional Paper

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Cataloging-in-Publication data is on fi le with the Library of Congress FRONT COVER Photograph of pump unit atop an oil well in Los Gatos, Calif. The pump unit and well are in a fenced enclosure in the parking lot of a commercial offi ce building on Los Gatos Boulevard near Garden Lane. According to the current owner, the well has not produced oil for many years, but unconfi rmed reports suggest that the well yielded about 8 barrels of oil per day in 1953. Geologic and organic-geochemical information from this and other historical oil wells in the Los Gatos area provide important insights into the subsurface geology and geologic history of the southwestern Santa Clara Valley ("Silicon Valley"); see text for further discussion.

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Age and correlation of the Calera Limestone in the Permanente terrane of northern California

Cited by 9 publications

References 6 publications

Structural context and variation of ocean plate stratigraphy, Franciscan Complex, California: insight into mélange origins and subduction-accretion processes

Structural context and variation of ocean plate stratigraphy, Franciscan Complex, California: insight into mélange origins and subduction-accretion processes

Mid-Cretaceous oceanic anoxic events in the Pacific Ocean revealed by carbon-isotope stratigraphy of the Calera Limestone, California, USA

Subsurface and petroleum geology of the southwestern Santa Clara Valley ("Silicon Valley"), California

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