Pangean (Late Carboniferous-Middle Jurassic) paleoenvironment and lithofacies

Six time interval maps were constructed that depict the plate tectonic conf iguration, paleogeography and lithofacies for Pangea from the Late Carbonif erous through the Middle Jurassic. Generally, the individual maps illustrat e the conditions present during the maximum marine transgressions of higher frequency cyclicity within the Absaroka sequence of Sloss. The relative se a-level cyclicity, chronostratigraphy and regional unconformities provide t he basis to partition the higher frequency depositional cycles into subdivi sions ranging from 11 to 37 my. The Pangean maps illustrate geodynamic evol ution of the Earth from the assembly of Gondwana and Laurussia, during the Late Carboniferous time, through the suturing of Siberia and Kazakhstan dur ing the Permian time, assembly of Asian plates during the Triassic, to the final formation of the supercontinent, just before the Middle Jurassic brea k-up. The maps are named by the most representative stages within the mappe d depositional cycle. The following time-slice maps were constructed: (1) M oscovian-Kasimovian - tentative age range 311-293 Ma, mapped on the 302 Ma plate tectonic reconstruction; (2) Asselian-Kungurian - tentative age range 293-256Ma, mapped on the 285Ma plate tectonic reconstruction; (3) Guadalup ian - tentative age range 256-245 Ma, mapped on the 255 Ma plate tectonic r econstruction; (4) Scythian-Carnian - tentative age range 245-226 Ma, mappe d on the 237 Ma plate tectonic reconstruction; (5) Norian - tentative age r ange 226-205 Ma, mapped on the 225 Ma plate tectonic reconstruction; (6) Si nemurian-Toarcian - tentative age range 205-176Ma mapped on the 195 Ma plat e tectonic reconstruction. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.Y. All rights reserv ed.