Ivanov, M.

The recently selected missions to Venus have opened a new era for the exploration of this planet. These missions will provide information about the chemistry of the atmosphere, the geomorphology, local-to-regional surface composition, and the rheology of the interior. One key scientific question to be addressed by these future missions is whether Venus remains volcanically active, and if so, how its volcanism is currently evolving. Hence, it is fundamental to analyze appropriate terrestrial analog sites for the study of possibly active volcanism on Venus. To this regard, we propose Mount Etna - one of the most active and monitored volcanoes on Earth - as a suitable terrestrial laboratory for remote and in-situ investigations to be performed by future missions to Venus. Being characterized by both effusive and explosive volcanic products, Mount Etna offers the opportunity to analyze multiple eruptive styles, both monitoring active volcanism and identifying the possible occurrence of pyroclastic activity on Venus. We directly compare Mount Etna with Idunn Mons, one of the most promising potentially active volcanoes of Venus. Despite the two structures show a different topography, they also show some interesting points of comparison, and in particular: a) comparable morpho-structural setting, since both volcanoes interact with a rift zone, and b) morphologically similar volcanic fields around both Mount Etna and Idunn Mons. Given its ease of access, we also propose Mount Etna as an analog site for laboratory spectroscopic studies to identify the signatures of unaltered volcanic deposits on Venus.

The early Cenozoic, which is punctuated by several negative carbon isotope excursions (CIEs), was a time of climatic and oceanographic transition from ’Greenhouse’ to ’Icehouse’ conditions. The occurrence of a 0.5& CIE starting at the top of Chron C27n (TC27N) is reconfirmed with stable isotope data from Zumaia (Spain) and Bjala (Bulgaria) localities. Spectral analysis on respective carbonate ⁄magnetic susceptibility proxy records substantiates the orbital cyclostratigraphy allowing correlation to a high-resolution benthic foraminifera isotope record from ODP Pacific Site 1209, that indicates a coeval 2 C transient warming. The hyperthermal event lasts 200 ka, contrasting with other short-lived events from the Eocene, and displays a relatively rapid onset and a longer tailing back to pre-event values similar to the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), though lower in amplitude. That a causal trigger for the TC27N event may be the onset of volcanism in the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP) can be inferred from a 200-m-thick lava pile erupted during C27n ⁄ C26r polarity transition in the E Greenland margin.

The Danian–Selandian (D–S) boundary has been identified for the first time in the Black Sea coast at Bjala (Bulgaria) based on a new integrated bio-, magneto- and cyclostratigraphic study. Several correlation criteria as established for the basal Selandian GSSP from Zumaia (Basque Basin) are evaluated. Noteworthy, is the almost complete lack of calcareous nannoplankton species Braarudosphaera bigelowi in the Bulgarian sections, a sharp decrease of which was indicated as suitable criteria for defining the D–S boundary as it occurred both at Zumaia and in the classical locations of the North Sea basin. Conversely, the second evolutionary radiation of the calcareous nannofossil genus Fasciculithus together with the occurrence of Fasciculithus tympaniformis that define the NP4/NP5 zonal boundary seem to be reliable criteria to approximate the D–S boundary. In detail, however, the best approach is to integrate biostratigraphic data within a magnetostratigraphic and/or cyclostratigraphic framework. Refinements on the placement of chron C27n at Zumaia and robust bed-by-bed correlation between several Basque sections and Bjala indicates that the D–S boundary is located 30 precession cycles (~630 ky) above C27n. In addition to the precession-related marl–limestone couplets and 100-ky eccentricity bundles recognized in the studied sections, expression of the stable 405-ky long eccentricity allows direct tuning to the astronomical solutions. A correlation of the land-based sections with previously tuned data from ODP Site1262 from the Southern Atlantic is challenged. Our choice is consistent with original tuning at Zumaia but shifts one 100-ky cycle older previous tuning from Site 1262 along the interval above C27n. Under the preferred tuning scheme the D–S boundary can be given an age of 61.641± 0.040 Ma on the La04 orbital solution.