Abstract:  The Pinda Group of the Congo basin in the northern Angolan offshore is an overall transgressive supersequence of late Aptian - ? early Cenomanian age. Due to synsedimentary salt tectonics of the underlying Loeme Salt, the original ramp arrangement is split into discrete structures corresponding to many proven, probable and possible oil and gas plays. Where the biostratigraphic information was not destroyed by pervasive dolomitization, the little that remains is not available to the general public because it is treated as proprietary data by the Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola Empresa Pública – Sonangol E.P. Only a limited set of data containing lithostratigraphic information (e.g., some published well logs and photomicrographs of facies) is available. The aim of this paper is to give a little more information about the Pinda stratigraphy. For instance, to be formally defined, this poorly known unit required a type section, a shortcoming that is addressed here. The wireline log signatures of some regional seismic markers are documented because they are used to correlate wells and subdivide the Group into formations. The microfacies corresponding to some key electrofacies as well as the porosity types are also condensed in a microphotograph catalog. Finally, few examples of typical LoC (i.e., Line of Correlation) diagrams are displayed and interpreted.

 Abstract:  Eight macrofacies types (5) plus subtypes (3) were identified while measuring sections along the Mussafah channel profile. These include:
• aeolian sands,
• microbial mat and microbial-laminated sediments,
• gypsum and enterolithic anhydrite, i.e., a diagenetic variation of the previous facies,
• muds with small pelecypods, and • its seagrass meadow version,
• Potamid sands, and • its cemented version, i.e., the Potamid beach-rock,
• washover fan coquina.

A complete set of analyses, including granulometry, mineral composition, clay composition, TOC, and identification of the allochems and the microfossils, was performed on this material. The facies and their genetic setting, i.e., the sequence of facies, provide a perspective on both the environmental and stratigraphical significance of their distribution, both lateral and vertical, and an example of the application of the Walther's law. The lower microbial mat is the mark of a transgression whereas the upper microbial mat is the mark of a forced regression. In conclusion, the sequence of facies allows identification of the last Holocene transgressive-regressive cycle that includes a forced regression, which probably dates back to 6,000 years BP.

 Abstract:  Planktonic and benthic foraminiferal assemblages were used for biostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the marine lower Miocene Chechiș Formation from the Gălpâia section (Sălaj county, Romania) in the northwestern Transylvanian Basin. Planktonic foraminifera suggest an Eggenburgian (Burdigalian) age for the deposits studied and reveal episodes of high primary productivity and mostly cool surface waters. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages indicate paleoenvironmental deepening from outer shelf to upper bathyal settings. Deltaic influences may be observed at the base of the studied section in outer shelf (possibly upper bathyal) environments with oxygenated bottom water and episodic high primary productivity, as a consequence of nutrient input from the land. Changes in paleobathymetry resulted in reduction of primary productivity. The benthic assemblages from the uppermost part of the section are dominated by tubular agglutinated foraminifera and indicate an upper bathyal setting with low organic flux to the sea floor. The sediments of the studied section were deposited during the late stage of the first early Miocene relative sea-level rise in the Transylvanian Basin.

 Abstract:  In this work, we review the ammonites of the Montmell Formation in the Marmellar area housed in the collections of the Museo Geológico del Seminario de Barcelona and the Museu de Geologia de Barcelona. This taxonomic update allows the proper biostratigraphic analysis of the ammonite assemblage and assigns it to the early Albian, Leymeriella tardefurcata Zone. The taxonomic analysis of all the studied material allows us to recognize the presence of the following taxa: Uhligella sp., Parengonoceras bassei, Hypacanthoplites plesiotypicus, Hypacanthoplites milletianus, Hypacanthoplites subelegans, and Hypacanthoplites sp. The current work is a step forward in the chronostratigraphic knowledge of the Salou-Garraf Basin in the Catalan Coastal Ranges.