New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics abstracts

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Hautotara Formation, Mangaopari Basin, New Zealand: record of a cyclothemic Pliocene-Pleistocene marine to nonmarine transition

P. GAMMON

Geology Department
James Cook University of North Queensland
Townsville, Australia, 4811

Abstract  The late Pliocene - early Pleistocene Hautotara Formation in southeastern Wairarapa, New Zealand, comprises cyclic estuarine and shallow-marine deposits. The formation conformably overlies the fully marine Pukenui Limestone and is overlain by the fluvio-lacustrine Te Muna Formation. Hautotara Formation is a record of a tectonically induced regression from marine to nonmarine conditions. Within the Hautotara Formation, at least five glacio-eustatically controlled cycles are superimposed on this tectonic record. The dual tectonic and glacio-eustatic controls are modified by paleogeographic and hydrodynamic processes, producing a variety of lithofacies. The basal glacio-eustatic cycle possibly represents a preserved lowstand estuary. A reinterpretation of the type section suggests that the top is a faulted repeat of the base of the Hautotara Formation. A new composite standard reference section is described for the Hautotara Formation.

Keywords  Hautotara Formation; Quaternary cycles; New

New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 1995, Vol. 38: 471-481

0028-8306/95/3804-0471 $2.50/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand 1995

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (1085K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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