Permian stratigraphy and paleogeography of Central Siberia (Angaraland) – A review

This paper presents an overview of the space and time distributions of Permian strata and biotas in the Tunguska, Lena-Yenisei, Vilyuy, Taimyr, and Verkhoyanian basins of Siberia. The Permian strata in each of these basins are documented by and characterized on the basis of a key section comprised of a succession of local stratigraphic units and biostratigraphic zones. In particular, independent but correlatable stratigraphic scales for the Permian deposits of Verkhoyanie, Siberian Platform, and Taimyr are highlighted. Stage-level correlation of these Permian successions with the international Permian chronostratigraphic scale is possible only for Verkhoyanie based on ammonoid and bivalve faunas and limited geochronology; for other regions (Siberian Platform and Taimyr), stage-level correlation with the international Permian timescale is achievable via Verkhoyanie through the use of a combination of both marine (including ammonoids, brachiopods, marine bivalves) and plant fossils. On the basis of the synthesized and updated stratigraphic framework and using sedimentological and paleontological indicators, four stage-level regional paleogeographic reconstruction maps are provided: the Sakmarian–Early Artinskian and Roadian intervals represent times of transgression maxima that have been traced in Central Siberia, and the other two intervals (Late Kungurian and Late Capitanian) demonstrate times of regression maxima that are characterized by thick coal accumulations in many Late Paleozoic coal-bearing basins of Central Siberia.