An ancient linked fluid migration system: cold-seep deposits and sandstone intrusions in the Panoche Hills, California, USA

摘要

In central California, Maastrichtian-Danian shales of the Moreno Formation preserve a fluid migration system that developed along the western margin of the former Great Valley forearc basin. The system consists of a network of interconnected sandstone intrusions linked to overlying fossiliferous carbonates whose geochemistry, fauna, and petrology are characteristic of active cold seeps. The system is approximately 800 m thick and represents episodic migration and seafloor expulsion of fluids over at least 0.5x10(6) years. This locality has the most extensive exposure yet discovered of a complete seep system, from underlying fluid pathways to seep deposits and associated communities. [References: 63]