The start of the Phanerozoic at the northern edge of the East Sahara Craton (Libya): stratigraphy, facies, and process-correlation along the W-Gondwanan shelf

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The intension of the supposed project is to contribute significantly to the international effort for correlation of geological processes and Cambrian units along the W-Gondwanan margin, and to the understanding of one of the most exciting and particular geological time-slices, the Neoproterozoic to early Palaeozoic transitional interval. Very special interest is on the still poorly known land-seainteractions and transitions in the Cambrian especially regarding the internal architecture and structure of sedimentary and biotic systems immediately after the Pan-African Orogeny (what includes the fields of palaeontology, stratigraphy, facies, palaeoecology, and palaeogeography) and their relation to larger-scale factors (as evolutionary levels, depositional and tectonic frame, climate conditions etc.). The Al Qarqaf Arch (Libya, Hasawnah Fm.) represents one of the most suitable areas for such investigation and is chosen due to their excellent outcrop conditions and very prospective preliminary work. Based on the large experience of the applicant and of the scheduled field and laboratory work, the investigation will be focused on the sedimentary, facies and palaeoecological architecture, on palaeontology of trace fossils and biomats, on zircon dating and provenance analysis, as well as on reconstruction of the depositional history and controlling processes, and on stratigraphic and palaeogeographic correlation along the western Gondwanan margin. Conclusions from the expected data will contribute to the understanding of the fundamental change in the evolution of sedimentary and biotic processes and environments and their interactions during the Neoproterozoic-Cambrian transition interval.