Chapter 23

Mesozoic Earth History

Mostly Physical Events

Introduction
The Mesozoic began 248 mya and
ended 65 mya
Three periods - Triassic, Jurassic,
Cretaceous
breakup of Pangaea was the major
geologic event
tectonism and sedimentation are used
to classify the Mesozoic in N. America
Note the overlap in three styles of
Cordilleran Orogeny

Tectonism and Sedimentation

Seaway drains

1. The Breakup of Pangaea

The movement of continents during
and after the breakup affected global
climate and oceanic regimes as well
as that of individual continents
ocean basins were created or closed
before new mountain ranges were built
sea-level changes

Pangaea - Early Triassic

Pole to pole and
straddled equator
Panthalassa Ocean
E. coast indent is
Tethys Sea
northern coast was
the southern
coastline of EurAsia
Southern coast N
coasts of Ind
Arabia, Australia
Many mountain
ranges;
topography controls
climates &
sedimentation

Tethys
Panthalassa

Panthalassa

Late Triassic Rifting E Orogeny W

We will consider mostly North America for this lecture

Orogeny

Rift

Better look at Tethys

Pangaea Early Jurassic

E Jurassic Atlantic Rift Shallow

Note offshore Terranes

E Jurassic Another Look

Orogeny

New Sea
Wrangellia

Pangaea Jurassic

Late Jurassic Early Cretaceous

Atlantic Connected with Tethys

Africa rotation closes Tethys

Tethys
Atlantic

Late K Epeiric Sea until 70 mya

Mesozoic Global Climates

Carbonates (for example the stable isotope
index C)reveal large concentrations of
carbon dioxide present in the Mesozoic
atmosphere.
This suggests a greenhouse climate.
No glaciers, no coal, so CO2 abundant.
Greenhouse gasses pass sunlight which hits
the land and sea. Re-radiate heat (IR)
Greenhouse gasses hold the heat, not lost to
space as quickly. Warmer equilibrium.

Global Climates in the Mesozoic

Mesozoic climates were

more equable than
today, lacked the strong
north-south climate
zones.
Mesozoic plant fossils
indicate subtropical
conditions in high
latitude locations

Seasonal differences
were monsoonal

Cycads

Next: Mesozoic Tectonics NA

Cretaceous : global rise in sea level
until 75 -70 mya, vast MOR

Jurassic:
Atlantic opens E,
began building the Cordillera W,
Gulf of Mexico begins to form and
experiences evaporite deposition

Late Triassic: Begin rifting in East

Late Triassic: Rifting opens the Atlantic

The Newark Supergroup documents the
rifting of Pangaea to form the Atlantic
Early Triassic saw coarse detrital
sediments deposited from the erosion of
Appalachian highlands
fault-block basins developed as N. America
separated from Africa and filled with
nonmarine sediment plus dikes and sills
eroded to a flat plain by the Cretaceous

Mesozoic rift basins

Kean University

Structure of the Newark basin

Note how faulting follows sedimentation

Lake cycles, East Berlin formation

Alternating wet and dry climate

due 21000y Milankovitch cycle of tilt axis wobble
Also 100,000 year cycles due to orbit eccentricity

E. Jurassic Gulf Coast Evaporites

200 mya is just outside our door

Restricted Basin
Lots of evaporation

Gulf Coastal Region

First, as continents separate, restricted basin, thick evaporites
formed in the Gulf
Normal marine deposition returned to the Gulf by Late Jurassic, with
transgressions and regressions
thousand of meters of sediments were deposited

Does this cross-section show

a transgression or regression?

Gulf Coast continental margin

Rising Salt Domes

http://www-erl.mit.edu/~jfrank/pubBioPage/work/lu06_timeReversal.pdf

Discussion: Petroleum exploration around salt domes

Next: Western North America

Tectonics
Building the western margin of North
America and the Cordillera

Western Region
Cordilleran Orogeny
Laramide - built the present
day Rockies K-Tertiary
Sevier J-K thrust faulting to
the east
Nevadan - Jurassic batholith
intrusion in the Sierra
Nevada and elsewhere on
the western edge

Displaced terranes Western Cordillera

These terranes overlap in age but have

different rock types, paleolatitudes and
fossils. However, we can deduce when
they accreted from this map.

Arrange the following terranes by

oldest to youngest time of accretion
onto the west coast: Alexander, Cache
Creek, Chugach, Stikine, Taku, Tracy
Arm, Wrangellia,
Details, but you don't need them to do this problem

Western Margin during Orogens

North America drifting west due opening of Atlantic

Westward subduction zones

stopped when continental
crust arrived.
Remember the late Permian Sonoma?
It continued into the Early Triassic

Sonomia docking Late Pm Early Triassic

Late Triassic on, eastward

subduction of Farallon oceanic
crust continues Cordilleran Orogeny
Late J Early K Nevadan Batholiths

Nevadan Orogeny east subduction Farallon

Sierra Nevada Mountains

Nevadan Orogeny:
Subduction formed
batholith cores of
continental
volcanic arc once
as tall as Andes

Mesozoic orogenic events

Thin-skinned tectonics
Cretaceous Sevier Wrangellia docking?
Later moved by transform fault?

K-T Laramide Continental Overide

Bouyant Subduction

Buoyant Subduction Laramide Orogeny

Vertical block uplift

Normal, thin-skinned
Now we understand weird looking Tetons

Approaching Continent pushes

accretionary wedge sediments
into forearc sediments

Sevier thin-skinned deformation

Using the layer colored sky blue, look at the faults.

Is the hanging wall mostly up or down? What kind of faults
are these?

Sevier thrust belt

Precambrian and/or Paleozoic Sediments
thrust over younger Mesozoic rocks

lets look down here

Look in detail at western plate margin

This area has much simpler geology

Franciscan Range, Great Valley Group, and Sierra Nevada Volcanics and Plutonics

Next: Mesozoic Sedimentation on the Craton

Cretaceous
extensive marine
deposition, thin to the
east

Jurassic

Foreland Basin!

clean cross-bedded
sandstones
marine sediments in
the Sundance Sea

Triassic
shallow-water marine
clastics
red beds

North America - Triassic

Marine deposition limited to western margin

Volcanic Arc sends frequent ashfalls eastward

Chinle

Pollen
similar
Note Equator

Newark

Late Triassic Chinle Fm.

Mudstones and Sandstones of stream deposits, volcanic ash,
with fossil trees (the Petrified Forest!)
Texas, New Mexico, northern Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and western Colorado
Pollen studies show that the Chinle is the same age as early Newark Supergroup

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrified_Forest_National_Park

Triassic caliche paleosol- Nova Sc.

Source of carbonates for 13C measurements. Results suggest high CO2 in atmosphere

Similar in Newark Supergroup

North America - Jurassic period

Dry region
in the rain
shadow of the
beginning
Nevadans

Zuni Transgression

Sedimentation
Seaway drains

Evaporites

Jurassic Eolian sandstone

Navaho SS, S. Utah

http://rainbow.ldgo.columbia.edu/courses/v1001/morisson14.html

Jurassic Morrison Formation

Paul Olsen's Dinosaur Course

Stream Deposits, huge sauropods Apatosaurus, also Stegosaurus, carnivore Allosaurus

Fossils of Jurassic dinosaurs

Morrison Formation sandstones, DNM, Vernal, Utah

Late Cretaceous really big epeiric sea

http://www.blm.gov/ak/ak930/cultrl.html
Dinosaurs on the North Slope
Scroll down, open Alaskas Jurassic Park

Land

Land

Did the Sevier Orogenic Belt form before or after the Navaho SS, lower left?
Did the Sevier Orogenic Belt form before or after the Fox Hills SS, upper right?

Western Interior Seaway Regression

Western Interior Seaway Transgression

Dakota Sandstone

Early Cretaceous shallow sea sediments gently folded by Sevier Orogeny.

Then, at 75-70 my, Regression

In Montana the sequence is similar. Above the marine Pierre Shale (ammonites)
and Claggett Sandstone (nearshore and beach) is the Late Cretaceous Judith
River Fm. containing dinosaur bones and conifers in stream deposits. Is this
sequence a transgression or a regression?

Western Interior Seaway Regression

Western Interior Seaway Transgression

75 mya Regression
Mesa Verde Sandstones over Mancos Shale: Coarsening Upward

K-T Boundary

End of Mesozoic Geology