Paleontology and Biostratigraphy of the Terminal Proterozoic and Earliest Cambrian Nama Group, Southern Naimbia

纳米比亚南部元古代末期和最早寒武纪纳马群的古生物学和生物地层学

• 批准号: 9627924
• 负责人: Bruce Runnegar
• 金额: $ 12.98万
• 依托单位: University of California-Los Angeles
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1996
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1996-09-15 至 2001-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9627924&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Paleontology; Biostratigraphy; Terminal; Proterozoic; Earliest

9627924 Runnegar The Cambrian Explosion is the sixth of eight revolutionary advances in the history of life and one with obvious geological effects. The aims of this project are to document the history of life in the poorly understood (Neoproterozoic) stage of the Cambrian Explosion when most innovations were well underway. This will be achieved by using the largely unexplored but appropriately fossileferous Nama Group succession in southern Namibia as the primary source of data. The Nama Group succession is a well-exposed, flat lying, foreland basin succession that contains a variety of fossils (Ediacaran soft bodied fossils, trace fossils, calcareous fossils) at several stratigraphic levels. Equally important, existing knowledge of the sequence stratigraphy, carbon isotope stratigraphy, and U-Pb geochronology makes it possible to relate the biological evolution to environmental events that could be global in character. It may therefore be possible to tease apart the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that were driving or being driven by the Cambrian Explosion of complex multicellular life. Building on reconnaissance work carried out in Namibia in 1993 and 1995, we shall begin to document the biostratigraphy and paleoecology of the Nama Group in the southern Witputs Basin in 1996. This will involve extensive field exploration and observation as well as collecting fossils, measuring sections, tracing formation and sequence boundaries, and sampling for carbon isotope chemostratigraphy. The laboratory work will be completed in the following twelve months so that the results can be sent to press before extending the field work to the northern Zaris Basin in subsequent years. The expected long-term outcomes are: (1) Documentation of the Stratigraphic ranges of the fossils and trace fossils with respect to formations, facies boundaries, sequence surfaces, carbon isotope excursions, and ash beds with precise U=Pb ages. These data will form the framework for a global standard success ion for Neoproterozoic biostratigraphy. (2) A deeper understanding of the evolution of the southern Namibian sedimentary basins through better time control and better environmental interpretations based on information obtained from the integrated data. (3) Documentation of the morphology, taphonomy, and paleoecology of a wide range of fossils and trace fossils, including some significant new soft-bodied organisms found in 1993 and 1995. The data should provide new evidence for the nature of core members of the Ediacara "fauna" such as Pteridinium and Ernietta and their life habits. (4) New sights into the timing and relationships of biological and environmental events at the close of the Neoproterozoic. (5) Development and explanation of a major natural heritage resource for the citizens of the Republic of Namibia.

小行星9627924 寒武纪大爆发是生命史上八次革命性进展中的第六次，也是地质效应明显的一次。这个项目的目的是记录生命的历史，在了解甚少（新元古代）阶段的寒武纪爆炸时，大多数创新都在顺利进行。这将通过使用纳米比亚南部的纳马组继承作为主要数据来源来实现。 纳马群序列是一个暴露良好的、平坦的前陆盆地序列，在几个地层水平上含有各种化石（埃迪卡拉纪软体化石、遗迹化石、钙质化石）。同样重要的是，现有的层序地层学、碳同位素地层学和 U-Pb地质年代学使得将生物演化与具有全球性质的环境事件联系起来成为可能。因此，有可能梳理出驱动或被驱动的复杂多细胞生命寒武纪爆发的内在和外在因素。 在1993年和1995年在纳米比亚进行的勘察工作的基础上，我们将开始记录 1996年，对威特普特盆地南部那玛群进行了生物地层学和古生态学研究。这将涉及广泛的实地勘探和观察，以及收集化石，测量切片，追踪地层和层序边界，并为碳同位素化学地层学取样。实验室工作将在接下来的12个月内完成，以便在随后几年将现场工作扩展到北方Zaris盆地之前将结果发送给新闻界。预期的长期成果是： (1)化石和遗迹化石的地层范围与地层、相边界、层序面、碳同位素偏移和灰层的关系的文件，并提供精确的U=Pb年龄。这些数据将构成新元古代生物地层学全球标准成功的框架。 (2)通过更好的时间控制和根据综合数据获得的信息进行更好的环境解释，更深入地了解纳米比亚南部沉积盆地的演变。 (3)记录了大量化石和遗迹化石的形态学、埋藏学和古生态学，包括1993年和1995年发现的一些重要的新软体生物。这些数据应该为埃迪卡拉“动物群”的核心成员，如Pteridinium和Ernietta及其生活习性的性质提供新的证据。 (4)新元古代末期生物和环境事件的时间和关系的新视野。 (5)为纳米比亚共和国公民开发和解释一项重要的自然遗产资源。