Abstract The continental shelf of the microtidal Black Sea, with its 4125 km-long coastline, has an average width of c. 40 km and may be subdivided into seven regions, the largest of these being the NW Shelf and the SW Shelf. Palimpsest shelf environments and terrestrially derived siliciclastic sedimentation are dominant. The Marmara Gateway, bisecting the southwestern shelf, controls the influx of Mediterranean-sourced water into the semi-enclosed Black Sea, and has been episodically open during the Quaternary. The best evidence for the most recent marine transgression of the pre-existing and isolated lake is found on the mid- and outer NW Shelf. Radiocarbon dating of marine and non-marine bivalve molluscs and peat indicates the most recent re-connection of the Black Sea with the oceanic reservoir occurred between 8200 and 8600 14 C years BP. Water levels during the transgression in the enclosed lake rose from a level 107 m or more below present values, to above the Bosphorus Sill (−35 m) in about 400 14 C years. However, the transition from low-salinity (0–5‰) lacustrine conditions to near-modern values (18‰) took ≥1000 years, indicated by the progression from freshwater to brackish molluscs and gastropods, dominated by Dreissena , to Mediterranean-derived estuarine taxa (e.g. Mytilus ), suited to nutrient-rich conditions.

Abstract The broad-scale distribution of δ 18 O values of kaolinite developed in weathering profiles in the Yilgarn Craton is interpreted as reflecting their age. As Australia progressively moved from a near-polar latitude in the Permian to lower latitude, with most translation during the past 60 Ma, the imprint of varying oxygen-isotope composition of meteoric water (rainwater and groundwater) has been preserved in weathering minerals such as clays and iron oxides. This correlation, namely δ 18 O values of kaolinite v. palaeo-latitude (and therefore, age), is well understood for eastern Australia. We have applied the same approach to samples widely spaced across the entire Yilgarn Craton and find that kaolinite from the majority of partially dissected weathering profiles displays Neogene δ 18 O ages. There are older profiles, some seemingly of pre-late Mesozoic age, and these are predominantly in the north and east of the craton. There is no evidence within the δ 18 O-derived age pattern for a northern older plateau and a younger southern plateau, at least in terms of their primary age of deep weathering as equated to planation. Instead, the difference between northern and southern areas is that the southern area is more dissected and displays more deeply stripped weathering profiles.

Abstract The Gulf of Carpentaria is a tropical, silled epicontinental sea and may be a modern analogue for ancient cratonic basins. For the purpose of this study, the Gulf of Carpentaria is compared to Pennsylvanian cratonic basins of the United States. During the Pennsylvanian, the North American continent moved from the Southern Hemisphere, through the Equator, into the Northern Hemisphere. Today, the Gulf of Carpentaria–New Guinea region is a few degrees south of the Equator and is moving towards it. During the Pennsylvanian, the world was subjected to major glaciations and associated sea-level changes. The island of New Guinea and the Gulf of Carpentaria have undergone similar processes during the Quaternary. A reconnaissance seismic survey of the gulf conducted by the USGS and the Australian National University (ANU), combined with oil-exploration well data, provided the first step in a systematic evaluation of a modern tropical epicontinental system. During the Cenozoic, the region was dominated by terrestrial sedimentation in a temperate climate. At the same time, carbonates were being deposited on the northern shelf edge of the Australian Plate. During the Miocene, carbonate deposition expanded southward into the gulf region. Then in the Late Miocene, carbonate sedimentation was replaced by terrigenous clastics derived from the developing Central Range of the island of New Guinea, which developed a wetter climate while moving northwards into the tropics. At least 14 basin-wide transgressive–regressive cycles are identified by channels that were eroded under subaerial conditions since about the Miocene. Comparison of the modern Gulf of Carpentaria sequences with those of the Pennsylvanian reveals many similarities.