Showing papers in "Sedimentology in 1991"

Microenvironmental controls on mineralogy and habit of CaCO3 precipitates: an example from an active travertine system

Abstract: Analysis of water and associated carbonate precipitates from a small, warm-spring travertine system in SW Colorado, USA, provide an example of the: (i) great variability of the geochemical parameters within these dynamic systems, and (ii) significance of the microenvironment in controlling mineralogy and morphology of carbonate precipitates. Waters emerged from the springs highly charged in CO2, with an initial pCO2 of 1.2 × 105 Pa. Degassing of the CO2 from the waters decreased the pH from 6.1 to 8.0, resulting in an increase of 8%‰ in δ13C values downflow in the total CO2 in solution and an increase in the ISAT from 2.1 to as high as 63 times supersaturation with respect to calcite. Due to changes in the stable isotopic composition of the waters downflow as well as changes in the degree of supersaturation, stable isotopic analyses range greatly from locale to locale within this small system. Near the spring vents, at relatively low ISAT levels, well-developed rhombohedra of calcite formed as biotically induced precipitates around diatom stalks and other algae as well as abiotic crusts. In contrast, near the distal end of the system, very high ISAT levels were reached and resulted in the precipitation of skeletal-dendritic crystals of calcite on copper substrates, floating rafts of laterally linked hemispheres of aragonite crystals, and bimineralic carbonate-encrusted bubbles. Microenvironmental parameters control the mineralogy and habit of these precipitates.

Controls on synorogenic alluvial‐fan architecture, Beartooth Conglomerate (Palaeocene), Wyoming and Montana

Abstract: Late Palaeocene uplift of the Beartooth Range in northwestern Wyoming and southwestern Montana generated the Beartooth Conglomerate along the eastern and northeastern flanks of the range. Systematic unroofing sequences and intraformational unconformities, folds, and faults in the conglomerate attest to deposition during uplift Along the eastern flank, at least three ancient alluvial-fan systems and a braidplain system can be distinguished on the bases of petrofacies and lithofacies. The two southern fans consist of 700 + m of sedimentary-clast conglomerate and subordinate sandstone, dominated by hyperconcentratedflow and stream-flow facies. The next fan to the north is dominated by plutonic and metamorphic clasts and contains abundant mud-matrix-supported debris-flow facies, as well as stream-flow facies. The northernmost depositional system consists of arkosic, channellized fluvial conglomerate and sandstone, overbank mudstone, and crevasse-splay sandstone units. Palaeocurrent data indicate eastward dispersal, away from the Beartooth Range. Outstanding exposure of the Beartooth Conglomerate allows facies to be mapped on lateral photographic mosaics. A seven-fold hierarchy of bounding surfaces and enclosed lithosomes exists in the Beartooth Conglomerate. First- through fourth-order surfaces are analogous to first- through fourth-order surfaces that recently have been documented in sandy fluvial facies, with one exception: sediment gravity flows are bounded by first-order surfaces. Fifth-order surfaces are either erosional (e.g. lateral migration of fanhead trench) or accretionary (e.g. aggradation of fan surface during backfilling of trench, and construction of lobes on lower fan during entrenchment on upper fan). Some fifth-order surfaces coincide with intraformational angular unconformities and are thus the result of long-term fanhead entrenchment following uplift of the upper part of the fan. Sixth-order surfaces bound individual fan packages that are several hundred metres thick and - 10 km2 in area. The enclosed sixth-order lithosomes are distinguishable in terms of petrofacies and lithofacies. A single seventh-order surface bounds the entire Beartooth Conglomerate. Lower-order lithosomes are produced by intrinsic processes of fan construction. Fifth-order lithosomes can be attributed to both extrinsic and intrinsic controls. Sixth- and seventh-order lithosomes are generated by extrinsic controls.

Reconstructing random topography from preserved stratification

Abstract: One of the fundamental problems of interpreting the sedimentary record is reconstructing the original heights of palaeotopographical features such as bedforms or river channels. This requires an understanding of the relationship between topography and set thickness, but at present an exact theory exists only for periodic topography of uniform height. The applicability of this simple theory is severely limited by the random variability characteristic of many sedimentary systems. In this paper, we develop an exact theory for the probability-density function (PDF) of sets generated from topography of random height. We focus on the limiting case of zero net deposition in order to provide a lower bound for the set thickness, and derive an analytical set-thickness PDF that is determined by one parameter of the PDF for topographical height. This parameter, β, measures the breadth of the tail of the topographical PDF. The mean set thickness is 0.8225 β for bedforms and 1.645 β for river channels. If the topographical height is gamma distributed, the preservation ratio, defined as (mean thickness of preserved sets)/(mean topographical height), is 0.8225 r2 for bedforms and 1.645 r2 for river channels, where r is the coefficient of variation (standard deviation/mean) of the generating topography. In a comparison with data from laboratory current ripples, our analytical predictions compare well with observations of both mean set thickness and thickness distribution. The preservation ratio for the ripples is about 0.5, whilst measured dune heights give a preservation ratio of about 0.12. Depth data from two modern braided streams yield preservation ratios ranging from 0.4 to 0.75. As more data on the distributions of topographical height in modern environments become available, calculations such as these should help provide reliable error bounds for quantitative topographical reconstruction.

Reef geometries, erosion surfaces and high-frequency sea-level changes, upper Miocene Reef Complex, Mallorca, Spain

Abstract: The upper Miocene Reef Complex of Mallorca is a 20-km prograding unit which crops out in sea cliffs along the southern side of the island. These vertical and exceptionally clean outcrops permit: (i) identification of different facies (lagoon, reef front, reef slope and open platform) and their geometries and boundaries at different scales, ranging from metre to kilometre, and (ii) construction of a 6-km-long high-resolution cross-section in the direction of reef progradation. This cross-section shows vertical shifts of the reefal facies and erosion surfaces linked to a general progradational pattern that defines the accretional units. Four hierarchical orders of magnitude (1-M to 4-M) of accretional units are identified by consideration of the vertical facies shifts and by which erosion surfaces are truncated by other erosion surfaces. All these orders show similar patterns: horizontal beds of lagoonal facies in the upper part (landward), reefal and slope facies with sigmoidal bedding in the central part, and open-platform facies with subhorizontal bedding in the lower part (basinwards). The boundaries are erosion surfaces, horizontal over the lagoon facies, dipping basinwards over the reef-front facies and connecting basinwards with their correlative conformities over the reef-slope and open-platform facies. The four orders of accretional units are interpreted in terms of four (1-M to 4-M) hierarchies of sea-level cycles because (i) there is a close relation between the coral growth and the sea surface, (ii) there are vertical shifts in the reefal facies and their relation to the erosion surfaces, and (iii) there was very little tectonic subsidence in the study area during the late Miocene. Additionally, all these units can be described in terms of their position relative to the sea-level cycle: (i) the reefs prograde on the open-platform sediments during low stands of sea-level; (ii) aggradation of the lagoon, reef and open-platform facies dominates during sea-level rises, and the lagoonal beds onlap landwards upon the previous erosion surface; (iii) reefal progradation occurs during high stands of sea-level; and (iv) the 2-M sea-level fall produces an off-lapping reef and there is progradation with downward shifts of the reefal facies and erosion landward on the emerged (older) reefal units (A-erosion surfaces); the 3-M and 4-M sea-level falls produce only erosion (B-and C-erosion surfaces). Although precise age data do not exist at present, some speculations upon the frequency of these Miocene relative sea-level cycles can be made by comparisons with Pleistocene cyclicity. There is a good correlation between the Miocene 2-M cycles and the 100-ka Pleistocene cycles. Consequently, the 1-M cycles can be assigned to a fourth order in relation to previously proposed global cycles and the 2-M to fifth-order cycles. All these accretional units could be defined as ‘sequences’, according to the definition as commonly used in sequence stratigraphy. However, they represent higher than third-order sea-level cycles, but are not parasequences. The term subsequence, therefore, is suggested to define ‘a part of a sequence bounded by erosion surfaces (mostly subaerial) and their correlative conformities basinwards'. A hierarchy of subsequences can be established.

Coral−stromatolite reef framework, Upper Miocene, Almería, Spain

Abstract: Stromatolitic crusts on stick-like and platy Porites corals forming Messinian reefs in Almeria played an important role in supporting and binding the brittle corals. The crusts were previously regarded as probable marine cements. However, their clotted, peloidal, and micritic fabrics are directly comparable with those of stromatolites. They accreted allochthonous grains even on vertical faces, and include bushy fabrics closely comparable with those produced by cyanobacterial calcification. They contain numerous fenestrae, exhibit rapid fabric variation, and locally form micro-columns and laminated domes. Their similarities to peloid micrite crusts in Recent reefs suggest that at least some of these Recent crusts are microbial in origin, even though they have widely been interpreted as marine cements. The sedimentary effects of crust development substantially affected both the morphology and relief of the reefs and the generation of reefal clasts. Binding of the reef-frame in the Pinnacle and Thicket zones in the lower and middle parts of the reef created a rigid margin which shed large (commonly up to 5 m) cuboidal blocks of coral-stromatolite frame. The blocks broke along planes of weakness provided by the vertical Porites sticks and were deposited on the Fore-Reef Slope. In the uppermost parts of the reefs crusts dominate the structure, constituting 80% or more of the rock. Veneers up to 15 cm thick encrust thin irregular Porites plates to create a solid Reef Crest Zone which has not been recognized before. The coral-stromatolite framework is associated with echinoids, crustose corallines and halimedacean algae which, together with the scleractinians, indicate normal marine salinity throughout reef growth.

The sedimentary dynamics of active fluvial channels on the Okavango fan, Botswana

Abstract: The 1800-km2 Okavango alluvial fan of northern Botswana represents an unusual depositional setting in which peat-forming perennial swamps (6000 km2) occur in a region of aeolian and semi-arid sedimentation within an incipient graben of the East African Rift. A channel system distributes water and sediment on the fan surface but cannot contain seasonal flood water, which spreads laterally from the channels through permeable channel margins, sustaining the flanking swamps. All sediment introduced is deposited on the fan. A detailed study of sediment movement and associated hydrological conditions in the channels was undertaken to examine sediment dispersal. Bedload greatly exceeds suspended load (at least by a factor of four). Vegetation and peat form permeable levees which confine the channels. In the upper reaches, two-way exchange of water occurs between channel and swamp depending on the season, but on the fan itself, channels lose water to the swamp. Bedload measurements reveal that the channel system is in a state of grade disequilibrium, with interspersed depositional and erosional reaches. Deposition of most of the incoming bedload occurs on the upper portion of the fan in a meandering and anastomosed channel system, but on the midfan, deposition of bedload occurs by channel-bed aggradation, at a rate of up to 5 cm yr–1. Further down slope, the channel enters a large lake where all remaining bedload is deposited. The presently observed sedimentation patterns may be due to a recent disturbance of the fluvial system, either by avulsion or neotectonics.

Lake Hoare, Antarctica: sedimentation through a thick perennial ice cover

Abstract: Lake Hoare in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica is covered with a perennial ice cover more than 3 m thick, yet there is a complex record of sedimentation and of growth of microbial mats on the lake bottom. Rough topography on the ice covering the lake surface traps sand that is transported by the wind. In late summer, vertical conduits form by melting and fracturing, making the ice permeable to both liquid water and gases. Cross-sections of the ice cover show that sand is able to penetrate into and apparently through it by descending through these conduits. This is the primary sedimentation mechanism in the lake. Sediment traps retrieved from the lake bottom indicate that rates of deposition can vary by large amounts over lateral scales as small as 1 m. This conclusion is supported by cores taken in a 3 x 3 grid with a spacing of 1.5 m. Despite the close spacing of the cores, the poor stratigraphic correlation that is observed indicates substantial lateral variability in sedimentation rate. Apparently, sand descends into the lake from discrete, highly localized sources in the ice that may in some cases deposit a large amount of sand into the lake in a very short time. In some locations on the lake bottom, distinctive sand mounds have been formed by this process. They are primary sedimentary structures and appear unique to the perennially ice-covered lacustrine environment. In some locations they are tens of centimetres high and gently rounded with stable slopes; in others they reach approximately 1 m in height and have a conical shape with slopes at angle of repose. A simple formation model suggests that these differences can be explained by local variations in water depth and sedimentation rate. Rapid colonization of fresh sand surfaces by microbial mats composed of cyanobacteria, eukaryotic algae, and heterotrophic bacteria produces a complex intercalation of organic and sandy layers that are a distinctive form of modern stromatolites.

Sedimentation from gravity currents generated by turbulent plumes

Abstract: Sedimentation from radially spreading gravity currents generated at the top of ascending sediment-laden plumes is described by a model which assumes that sediment is dispersed homogeneously by turbulence in the gravity current, resulting in an exponential decrease in the concentration of sediment with time as particles settle out of the lower boundary of the current. For radial spreading this model predicts a Gaussian distribution of sediment accumulation away from the source with an exponential constant, B, which depends on flow rate, Q, and particle settling velocity, v (B=nv/Q). In the experiments described, sedimentation occurs from gravity currents generated by ascent of buoyant, particle-laden plumes of fresh water in a tank of salty water. The sediment accumulation shows close agreement with the theoretical model, and the Gaussian decay constant, B, can be determined from a maximum in the accumulated mass of sediment per unit distance and from the slope of the line In(S/S0) = -Br2, where r is the radial distance, S is the sediment mass flux per unit area and S0 is the value of S at r=0. Data from the dispersal of volcanic ejecta from a large (c. 24 km high) plinian eruption column in the Azores also show good agreement with the theory, confirming that it is general and independent of scale and the nature of the fluid. The experimental data also show a change in sedimentation behaviour at distances from the source corresponding to the corner of the plume where it diverts into a lateral gravity current and there is an abrupt decrease in vertical velocity. Sedimentation of coarse grain sizes, between the source and the corner, occurs from the inclined plume margins and does not behave as predicted by the theoretical model.

Origin of a cool‐water, Oligo‐Miocene deep shelf limestone, Eucla Platform, southern Australia

Abstract: The Abrakurrie Limestone is an areally extensive, bryozoan-rich unit within the Eucla Platform, a Tertiary carbonate shelf which caps the central part of the southern Australian continental margin. The onshore portion, the topic of this study, has been exposed since middle Miocene time and lies beneath the Nullarbor Plain. The rocks are fine-sand- to granule-sized calcarenites, composed of bryozoans, bivalves, benthic foraminifera and echinoids with lesser numbers of brachiopods, solitary corals and serpulids. They conspicuously lack significant numbers of planktonic foraminifera and coralline algae. Most bryozoan remains are from delicate branching cyclostomes although delicate branching, robust branching, foliose, fenestrate, multilaminar encrusting and free-living cheilostomes are variably abundant in specific units. The poorly lithified sequence is punctuated by well-cemented layers with erosional tops, which are interpreted as hardgrounds. The limestone is interpreted as a cool-water, deep shelf deposit which accumulated in water depths generally greater than 50 m on the inner part of the Eucla Platform. A model which involves deposition and cementation on a carbonate shelf swept by open ocean swells is proposed to explain the style of sedimentation. The shelf is envisaged as partitioned by the depth of the zone of wave abrasion. Sediments were produced throughout, but accumulated only below this depth. When the seafloor was above this depth it was an environment of cementation and erosion. The vertical sequence correlates in a general way with the global sea-level model for the mid-Cenozoic. While accumulation rates for southern Australian carbonates are similar to rates of cool-water carbonate deposition elsewhere (c. 2.5 cm kyr-1), the rate of Abrakurrie accumulation is much less, suggesting that significant time periods are represented by the hardgrounds.

Flow properties of turbidity currents in Bute Inlet, British Columbia

Abstract: Bute Inlet, a fiord along the southwestern coast of British Columbia, Canada, includes a sea-floor sedimentation system 70 km in length which resembles those developed on some large submarine fans. Turbidity currents originate at the head of the flord on the submerged delta fronts of the Homathko and Southgate rivers. They move downslope for about 30 km within a single large incised channel, spill onto a depositional area termed the channel lobe complex, and finally spread out over a low-relief distal splay area that passes 55 km downslope into a flat basin floor. During the present study, turbidity currents in Bute Inlet were studied using sea-floor morphology, bottom sediment distribution, and in-situ instrument packages. The mean velocities of the most recent flows, estimated from surface sediment grain size, has varied between 100–120 cm s–1 in the incised channel, 20–50 cms–1 in the channel lobe complex, and < 5 cm s–1 on the basin floor. Velocities based on channel morphology are poorly constrained but are in the range of 160-425 cm s–1 in the upper part of the incised channel and 66 cm s–1 in the lower channel. Calculated flow densities range from 1.049 to 1.028g cm–3. Turbidity flows monitored in 1986 using submerged instrument packages exceeded 32 m in thickness in the upper part of the incised channel, where the maximum measured velocity was 330 cm s–1. At the head of the channel lobe complex the maximum velocity had declined to 75 cm s–1. The density of the monitored flows is estimated at 1.025-1.03g cm–3. The cored sediments and channel morphology yield estimates of mean flow velocities that are generally greater than those measured by the in-situ instrument packages and estimated from modern surface sediments. The former suggest past flow velocities up to 500 cm s–1 in the incised channel, about 20 cm s–1 in spillover deposits along the lower part of the incised channel, and 100-140 cm s–1 in the distal splay. The contrast between the velocities of modern and past flows suggests that past flows may have been considerably larger and more energetic than those presently occurring in Bute Inlet. The size properties of sediments in the monitored turbidity flows suggest a strong vertical size gradient in the suspended load during transport. The surface and cored sediments fine downslope from the channel lobe complex to distal splay area. Distinctive sedimentary sequences are recognized in cores from the spillover lobes, channel lobe complex, distal splay, and basin floor depositional areas. Many individual turbidites grade downslope from massive Ta divisions in the channel lobe complex and probably in the incised channel to Ta divisions overlain by slurried divisions on the distal splay and largely slurried beds on the basin floor. These facies suggest that individual currents commonly evolve from largely cohesionless suspensions in the incised channel and channel lobe complex to dilute cohesive slurries downslope on the distal splay and basin floor. Many flows in Bute Inlet fail to develop a traction state of sedimentation and the resulting turbidites lack well-developed Tb. Tc, and Td divisions.

Significance of molluscan shell beds in sequence stratigraphy: an example from the Lower Cretaceous Mannville Group of Canada1

Abstract: Detailed study of marine shales (the Ostracod zone) within a Cretaceous, third-order transgressive-regressive sequence in the Alberta Foreland Basin reveals a systematic association between shell beds and parasequence-scale flooding surfaces, including surfaces of maximum flooding. The Ostracod zone (a subsurface lithostratigraphic unit known as the Calcareous Member in outcrop) consists of 10-20 m of black shale and bioturbated sandstones with many thin, fossiliferous limestones. Parasequences (shallowing-up cycles 2–3 m thick) were delineated within this transgressive unit based on lithology, sedimentary structures, degree of bioturbation, dinoflagellate diversity, total organic carbon and carbon/sulphur ratios; many flooding surfaces are firmgrounds or hardgrounds. Shell-rich limestones occur in three different positions relative to these flooding surfaces, and each has a distinctive bioclastic fabric and origin. (i) Base-of-parasequence shell beds (BOPs) lie on or just above flooding surfaces in the deepest water part of a parasequence; they are thin (up to a few centimetres), graded or amalgamated skeletal packstones/wackestones composed of well-sorted granular shell, and are interpreted as hydraulic event concentrations of exotic shell debris. (ii) Top-of-parasequence shell beds (TOPs) are capped by flooding surfaces at the top, shallowest water part of a parasequence; they typically are several decimetres thick, are physically amalgamated packstones/grainstones or bioturbated wackestones, and contain abundant whole as well as comminuted shells; these are composite, multiple-event concentrations of local shells. (iii) Mid-sequence shell beds rest on as well as are capped by firmgrounds or hardgrounds, and are intercalated between parasequences in the deepest water part of the larger sequence; they are laterally extensive lime mudstones a few decimetres thick, with sparse shells in various states of dissolution, recrystallization and replacement; these beds are terrigenous-starved hiatal concentrations and record maximum flooding within the Ostracod zone. Offshore sections of the Ostracod zone typically contain several starved mid-sequence shell beds, underscoring the difficulty of identifying a single‘maximum flooding surface’ within a third-order sequence.

Calcretes related to phreatophytic vegetation from the Middle Triassic Otter Sandstone of South West England

Abstract: Carbonate cementation in the Triassic Otter Sandstone of Budleigh Salterton, SW England, occurs in two distinct forms: large, vertical, concentrically zoned cyclinders, and thin subhorizontal sheets. The former represent rhizocretions of the tap roots of phreatophytic plants which colonized bars and abandoned channels on a large braidplain. The sheets represent cementation around ancient water-tables. The precipitation of the rhizocretions took place, at least in part, during the life of the plants and δ13C and δ18O values support the view that evapo-transpiration induced carbonate precipitation. Palaeosol profiles are rare in the Otter Sandstone, reflecting the geomorphological instability of the braidplain surfaces. In contrast, rhizocretionary and sheet calcretes, which formed several metres below the active depositional surface, are abundant because they had a high preservation potential.

Grain sorting in gravel‐bed streams and the choice of particle sizes for flow‐competence evaluations

Abstract: Flow-competence assessments of floods have been based on the largest particle sizes transported, and yield either the mean flow stress, mean velocity, or discharge per unit flow width The use of extreme particle sizes has potential problems in that they may have been transported by debris flows rather than by the flood, it may be difficult to locate the largest particles within the flood deposits, and there are questions concerning how representative one or a few large particles might be of the transported sediments and therefore of the flood hydraulics Such problems would be eliminated for the most part if competence evaluations are based on median grain sizes of transported sediments, or perhaps on some coarse percentile that is established by a reasonable number of grains In order to examine such issues, the gravel-transport data of Milhous from Oak Creek, Oregon, and of Carling from Great Eggleshope Beck, England, have been analysed in terms of changing grain-size percentiles with varying flow stresses A comparison between these two data sets is of added interest because the bed material in Oak Creek is segregated into well-developed pavement and subpavement layers, while such a layering of bed materials is largely absent in Great Eggleshope Beck The analyses show that the trend of increasing sizes of the largest particles in the bedload samples (diameter Dm) with increasing flow stresses is consistent with similar dependencies based on sieve percentiles ranging from the medians (D50) to the 95th percentiles (D95) This indicates that the largest particles are an integral part of the overall distributions of bedload grain sizes, and respond to changing flow hydraulics along with the rest of the size distribution In Oak Creek, the median grain size shows the largest change with increasing flow stresses, followed by D60, and so on to D95 which shows the smallest change The variations in Dm continue this trend, and are similar to those for D95 This systematic variation of grain-size percentiles in Oak Creek is consistent with changes in the overall distributions which tend to be symmetrical and Gaussian for low discharges, but become skewed Rosin distributions for high discharges In contrast, in Great Eggleshope Beck the several percentiles and Dm show the same rate of shift to coarser sizes as flow stresses increase This results in part from differences in sampling techniques wherein the bedload samples from Great Eggleshope Beck represent a complete flood event, while shorterterm samples at a specific flow stage were obtained in Oak Creek As a result of the integrated sampling in Great Eggleshope Beck, the bedload grain-size distributions are more complex, commonly with a bimodal pattern However, after accounting for differences in sampling schemes in the two streams, contrasting patterns in changing grain-size distributions remain, and these are concluded to reflect grain sorting differences as the bedload grain-size distributions approach the distributions of the bed materials It is surprising that if criteria commonly employed to demonstrate the equal mobility of different grain sizes are used in the comparison, then Great Eggleshope Beck is far closer to this condition in spite of its minimal development of a pavement It is concluded that the respective shapes of the bed-material grain-size distributions, in particular their degrees of skewness, are more important to the observed sorting patterns than are the effects of a pavement layer regulating grain entrapment to produce an equal mobility of different grain sizes Therefore, the comparison has established that flow-competence relationships will differ from one stream to another, depending on the pattern of grain sorting which is a function of the bedmaterial grain-size distribution

Amalgamated accumulations resulting from climatic and eustatic changes, Akchar Erg, Mauritania

Abstract: The Akchar Erg of the Sahara of western Mauritania shows a morphology and stratigraphy that can be recognized as the amalgamation of late Pleistocene and Holocene deposits that reflect eustatic and climatic events. Mapping, trenching, and dating by 14C methods and artefacts show that the prominent complex linear dunes (draas) of the Akchar Erg are actually composite features showing at least three constructional and two destructional phases. The constructional phases are represented by three convex-up layers: (i) a modern veneer moulded into superimposed crescentic dunes, which partially mantle the larger linear bedforms; (ii) a middle, partly root-turbated sand deposited sometime during the last 4000 years; and (iii) a core of linear dune sand formed during the last glacial period (13 000–20 000 yr BP), which today shows relict relief, intense root-turbation, and pedogenesis. These constructional phases are separated by super bounding surfaces that coincide with erg destructional phases. Surface 2 bounds the middle aeolian sand, and is marked by a lag surface of small granules. Surface 1 is a very prominent surface with an abundance of Neolithic artefacts, and represents stabilization of the linear dunes during the humid, interglacial period (4000–11 000 yr BP). Interdraa deposits originated during the interglacial period, and consist of continental lacustrine limestones and sandstones, humic sands deposited in marshes, and sabkhas on the coast. The sabkhas originated during interglacial highstand of sea-level when interdraa areas were marine embayments, and subsequently dried during regression. The draa and interdraa sequences, therefore, in spite of being adjacent facies, actually represent different events and were not formed simultaneously. The upwind sand-sheet margin of the Akchar Erg shows exposures of the middle and core aeolian sands (which were previously protected from deflation by vegetation) being progressively cannibilized in the current phase of erg construction, and revealing a crystalline basement rock. In this proximal area, conditions are not favourable for the incorporation of these aeolian accumulations into the stratigraphic record.

Calciturbidite composition related to exposure and flooding of a carbonate platform (Triassic, Eastern Alps)

Abstract: The compositional variation of calciturbidites (Pedata/Potschen Formation), deposited adjacent to the Dachstein Formation carbonate platform in the Triassic Hallstatt Basin, was analysed using detailed field measurements and point-counting of thin sections. The 35 m long section is located in the Northern Calcareous Alps of Austria. Six point-count groups were distinguished separating basinal from platform-derived input. Summary statistics, cluster and correspondence analysis of the point-count data reveals a close relationship between the biota present on the Dachstein carbonate platform and the calciturbidite composition. The variations in turbidite composition are attributed to fluctuations in sea level and resulting flooding and exposure of the platform, which alternately created and destroyed shallow-water habitats on the platform top.

The geochemistry of concretions from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation of southern and eastern England

Abstract: Concretions from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation are of three types: calcareous concretions, septarian calcareous concretions and pyrite/calcite concretions and nodules, which occur within different mudstone facies. Isotopic and chemical analysis of the concretionary carbonates indicate growth in the Fe-reduction, sulphate-reduction and decarboxylation zones. The septarian concretions show a long and complex history, with early initiation of growth and development spanning several phases of burial, each often resulting in the formation of septaria. Growth apparently ceased in the transitional zone between the sulphate-reduction and the methanogenesis zones. Very early growth in the Fe-reduction zones is also seen in one sample. The non-septarian concretions began growth later within the sulphate-reduction zone and have had a simpler burial history while the pyrite/calcite concretions show carbonate cementation in the sulphate-reduction-methanogenesis transition zone. A ferroan dolomite/calcite septarian nodule with decarboxylation zone characteristics also occurs. Development of concretions appears to be indirectly controlled by the sedimentation rate and depositional environment, the latter determining the organic matter input to the sediments. Calcareous concretions predominate in swell areas and during periods of low sedimentation rate in the basins with poor organic matter preservation and deposition of calcareous mudstones. Pyrite/calcite concretions occur in organic-rich mudstones deposited under higher sedimentation rates in the basins, while the ferroan dolomite nodule grew under very high sedimentation rates.

Stratal geometries, facies and sea-floor erosion in Upper Cretaceous chalk, Normandy, France

Abstract: Unusual lenticular stratal geometries and facies of the Upper Cretaceous Chalk of coastal Haute Normandie, France, are described and interpreted. Thirteen facies within these chalks are described and illustrated on the basis of field, thin-section and SEM investigations: nannofossil mudstones, nannofossil hardgrounds, echinoderm wackestones and packstones, echinoderm hardgrounds, bryozoan mudstones and wackestones, bryozoan hardgrounds, bryozoan packstones and wackestones, inoceramid wackestones, inoceramid hardgrounds, sponge hardgrounds, marly chalks, conglomeratic chalks and debris flow chalks. These facies occur within lenticular bedded structures with both concave-up and concave-down geometries which have been previously interpreted as megaripples, mud mounds or tectonic structures. Detailed examination of the structures and the associated facies indicates that the concave-up geometries were formed from submarine erosion, and redeposition in NW-SE longitudinal channels. The concave-down geometries developed between adjacent channels. Assessment of the regional and temporal setting indicates that the erosion occurred in the Armorican-Cornubian straits of the Anglo-Paris Basin during sea-level lowstands. Within these straits channelling is preferentially developed on the positive, south-western block to the Lillebonne-Fecamp-Cotentin Fault.

Dolomite‐rock textures and secondary porosity development in Ellenburger Group carbonates (Lower Ordovician), west Texas and southeastern New Mexico

Abstract: Pervasive early- to late-stage dolomitization of Lower Ordovician Ellenburger Group carbonates in the deep Permian Basin of west Texas and southeastern New Mexico is recorded in core samples having present-day burial depths of 1.5–7.0 km. Seven dolomite-rock textures are recognized and classified according to crystal-size distribution and crystal-boundary shape. Unimodal and polymodal planar-s (subhedral) mosaic dolomite is the most widespread type, and it replaced allochems and matrix or occurs as void-filling cement. Planar-e (euhedral) dolomite crystals line pore spaces and/or fractures, or form mosaics of medium to coarse euhedral crystals. This kind of occurrence relates to significant intercrystalline porosity. Non-planar-a (anhedral) dolomite replaced a precursor limestone/dolostone only in zones that are characterized by original high porosity and permeability. Non-planar dolomite cement (saddle dolomite) is the latest generation and is responsible for occlusion of fractures and pore space. Dolomitization is closely associated with the development of secondary porosity; dolomitization pre-and post-dates dissolution and corrosion and no secondary porosity generation is present in the associated limestones. The most common porosity types are non-fabric selective moldic and vuggy porosity and intercrystalline porosity. Up to 12% effective porosity is recorded in the deep (6477 m) Delaware basin. These porous zones are characterized by late-diagenetic coarse-crystalline dolomite, whereas the non-porous intervals are composed of dense mosaics of early-diagenetic dolomites. The distribution of dolomite rock textures indicates that porous zones were preserved as limestone until late in the diagenetic history, and were then subjected to late-stage dolomitization in a deep burial environment, resulting in coarse-crystalline porous dolomites. In addition to karst horizons at the top of the Ellenburger Group, exploration for Ellenburger Group reservoirs should consider the presence of such porous zones within other Ellenburger Group dolomites.

Neptunian dykes and associated breccias southern alps italy and switzerland role of gravity sliding in open and closed systems

Abstract: Neptunian dykes and sills of Middle Jurassic pelagic limestone within Lower Jurassic shallow-water carbonate host rocks occur at many localities in the Southern Alps of Italy and Switzerland, especially on what were the upper slopes of tilted half-grabens created during the Early Jurassic rifting stage of a passive margin that faced the Middle and Late Jurassic Tethyan Ocean. The host rocks were dilated by cracking, folding, and brecciation during movements of shallow-based gravity-driven slides and slumps of semibrittle platform strata, commonly along decollement contacts between layers of different competence. In most places, the network of cavities in the dilated strata connected to the sea floor, and pelagic sediments trickled from above into the open spaces. In other places, the brittle strata were overlain by somewhat impermeable sediments that formed a partial seal. Sudden dilation of the brittle beds resulted in forceful injection of the overlying weakly consolidated or plastic sediments into open spaces. The filling in both open and closed systems was commonly episodic, resulting in complex internal-sediment stratigraphy and cross-cutting dykes. Stable isotopic data on internal sediments and early-formed cement lie within the field of normal sea water, and none of the sedimentological or stable isotopic data supports a subaerial, dissolution (karst) origin for the Jurassic neptunian dykes of this region.

Rock Varnish in the Sonoran Desert: Microbiologically Mediated Accumulation of Manganiferous Sediments

Abstract: Rock varnish occurs in virtually all environments, most commonly in arid and semi-arid climates, including Antarctica. Rock varnish consists of thin layers of intimately mixed aeolian and chemical sediments often showing botryoidal and more rarely stromatolite-like morphologies. Typical rock varnish samples collected at Twin Peak Mountain Park, near Phoenix, Arizona, consist of abundant quartz, with plagioclase, illite and a mixed layer, Fe-clay mineral, probably corrensite. EDS, SEM (BSE) and TEM analyses revealed that the typical Mn, Fe minerals occur as minute particles; some of these particles and other mineral grains are attached to filaments. XRD and electron diffraction showed that the Mn.Fe-bearing particles are poorly crystalline. The filaments, based on morphological criteria, are virtually indistinguishable from fungal filaments. Most filaments are fragments, probably broken by scraping during sample collection. Coccoid and rod-shaped forms, resembling cyanobacteria and other bacteria, respectively, are also present. Unlike definitive minerals, these filaments disintegrated in the concentrated energy of the SEM electron beam at the instrumental and experimental conditions used. In addition, no filamentous, rod-shaped or coccoid forms were observed in samples hydrolysed with 6 N HCl for 24 h at 100°C. Bacteria and fungi in powdered rock varnish were cultured on four media, incubated aerobically in the dark at 25°C. The culture media yielded dense growths of spore-forming bacteria and filamentous fungi. One fungus and two Bacillus isolates oxidized and concentrated manganese. Control experiments revealed that fungi and bacteria are present on and below the surfaces of rock varnish. Free and hydrolysed, peptide/protein-bound amino acids were identified in the rock varnish. Amino acids showed virtually no racemization with the exception of D/L asp = 0.1. Relatively high molecular weight humic matter was also separated from the rock varnish. High-resolution mass spectrometry revealed non-hydrocarbon moieties, similar to a Suwannee River (FL) humic acid standard. Micro-organisms and their original biochemical compounds do not seem to be preserved for long in the accreting varnish layer. The studies showed that the filaments helped to trap mineral particles of rock varnish, and that bacteria and fungi abetted Mn concentration. Some structures in the layers of rock varnish resemble stromatolites and present definitions would allow them to be termed as such.

Floodplain sedimentology of the Squamish River, British Columbia: relevance of element analysis

Abstract: Element analysis of modern-day floodplains provides a framework for characterizing associations amongst depositional forms, the processes responsible for them and their local depositional environment. From interpretation of the spatial association of elements, mechanisms of floodplain evolution can be analysed. The Squamish River, in southwestern British Columbia, is a high-energy, gravel-based river, which exhibits a distinct downstream gradation in channel planform type. The floodplain sedimentology of this river is evaluated using an element approach. Five elements, defined on the basis of their morphological outline, position within sediment sequences and sedimentological character, describe the floodplain sedimentology: (i) top-stratum, (ii) chute channel; (iii) ridge; (iv) bar platform; (v) basal channel gravels. The sedimentological composition of each element is described. Each of these units relates directly to morphostratigraphic units which make up contemporary bars of the Squamish River. Associations among facies defined at the bedform scale, morphostratigraphic units on bar surfaces and elemental floodplain features are described and explained. The vertical stacking arrangement of elements is analysed in trenches (dug perpendicular to the main channel) and in bank exposures. Two elemental sedimentology models are proposed. In the first model, bar platform sands are discontinuous above basal channel gravels. Chute channel, ridge and proximal topstratum elements form thick sequences above. The second model is characterized by sequences in which distal top-stratum deposits are observed. In these instances, bar platform sands are better preserved beneath the distal top-stratum element, with proximal top-stratum elements above. The applicability of these models is determined primarily by position on the floodplain. Chute channel reworking of floodplain sediments and replacement by top-stratum elements is the dominant process marginal to contemporary bars. Sites in which channel avulsion has resulted in preservation of distal top-stratum deposits in the midsequence of the present-day channel banks determine the occurrence of the second model. Although channel planform style changes down-valley in the study reach from braided to meandering, these two models apply in each reach. It is concluded that processes operative at the element scale, rather than the channel planform scale, determine floodplain sedimentology.

Lateral migration of sand‐bed rivers: examples from the Devonian Glashabeg Formation, SW Ireland and the Cambrian Alderney Sandstone Formation, Channel Islands

Abstract: One mechanism of producing fluvial sheetsand bodies is by the amalgamation of individual channel belts by lateral migration. The lateral migration of sand-bed rivers by periodic avulsion may be assisted by more steady channel combing. Combing occurs by the preferential deposition on accretionary bars on one bank of the river, concomitant with erosion on the other side. We present descriptions and interpretations of the deposits of two different, moderately large, sand-bed rivers that produced extensive sandbodies at least in part by steady lateral migration or combing, which is evidenced by the geometry and directional properties of the preserved bedform and barform structure. Significantly, in both cases lateral migration occurred, or was preserved, in one direction only. Two basic types of model are possible to explain these phenomena. A consistent migration direction in many stacked fluvial cycles may be the product of either (1) the preferential preservation of the deposits of one migration direction in a steady-state system, or (2) perpetual combing of the formative river in one direction during repeated aggradation cycles. Type (1) is the result of position on the floodplain, possibly with a tectonic control; type (2) requires a tectonic control on the palaeomorphology of the floodplain. We prefer a model for both our examples in which tectonic tilting of the floodplain causes combing of the river towards the zone of greatest subsidence. A rise in base level occurs with tilting, and therefore the rivers are also thought to have aggraded during lateral migration thus causing a preservational bias on the directional properties of the resulting fluvial succession.

Geochemistry of meteoric calcite cements in some Pleistocene limestones

Abstract: In this study, the stable isotope and trace element geochemistries of meteoric cements in Pleistocene limestones from Enewetak Atoll (western Pacific Ocean), Cat Island (Bahamas), and Yucatan were characterized to help interpret similar cements in ancient rocks. Meteoric calcite cements have a narrow range of δ18O values and a broad range of δ13C values in each geographical province. These Pleistocene cements were precipitated from water with stable oxygen isotopic compositions similar to modern rainwater in each location. Enewetak calcite cements have a mean δ18O composition of −6.5%0 (PDB) and δ13C values ranging from −9.6 to +0.4%0 (PDB). Sparry calcite cements from Cat Island have a mean δ18O composition of −4.1%0 and δ13C values ranging from −6.3 to + 1.1%0. Sparry cements from Yucatan have a mean δ18O composition of −5.7%0 and δ13C values of −8.0 to −2.7%0. The mean δ18O values of these Pleistocene meteoric calcite cements vary by 2.4%0 due to climatic variations not related directly to latitude. The δ13C compositions of meteoric cements are distinctly lower than those of the depositional sediments. Variations in δ13C are not simply a function of distance below an exposure surface. Meteoric phreatic cements often have δ13C compositions of less than —4.0%0, which suggests that soil-derived CO2 and organic material were washed into the water table penecontemporaneous with precipitation of phreatic cements. Concentrations of strontium and magnesium are quite variable within and between the three geographical provinces. Mean strontium concentrations for sparry calcite cements are, for Enewetak Atoll, 620 ppm (σ= 510 ppm); for Cat Island, 1200 ppm (σ= 980 ppm); and for Yucatan, 700 ppm (σ= 390 ppm). Equant cements, intraskeletal cements, and Bahamian cements have higher mean strontium concentrations than other cements. Equant and intraskeletal cements probably precipitated in more closed or stagnant aqueous environments. Bahamian depositional sediments had higher strontium concentrations which probably caused high strontium concentrations in their cements. Magnesium concentrations in Pleistocene meteoric cements are similar in samples from Enewetak Atoll (mean =1.00 mol% MgCO3; σ= 0.60 mol% MgCO3) and Cat Island (mean = 0.84 mol% MgCO3; σ= 0.52mol% MgCO3) but Yucatan samples have higher magnesium concentrations (mean = 2.20 mol% MgCO3: σ= 0.84mol% MgCO3). Higher magnesium concentrations in some Yucatan cements probably reflect precipitation in environments where sea water mixed with fresh water.

Depositional sequences and correlation of middle(?) to late Miocene carbonate complexes, Las Negras and Nijar areas, southeastern Spain

Abstract: During Serravallian through Messinian time, marine carbonates flanked topographic highs that rimmed Neogene basins in the Western Mediterranean. Middle to upper Miocene carbonate strata in the Las Negras and Nijar areas (southeastern Spain) are 50-150 m thick and display 50-200 m of shelf-to-basin relief over 1-2 km. Detailed studies in those areas document the effects of relative sea-level change on sedimentation, biotic composition, and reef development. We identify three previously unrecognized, regionally correlatable depositional sequences (DS1, DS2, DS3) that occur between the underlying basement and the overlying Terminal Carbonate Complex. The lower depositional sequences (DS1, DS2) are mostly normal marine shelf (ramp) carbonates deposited on the flanks of basement highs. The basal part of DS2 locally contains some megabreccia reef blocks composed of Tarbellastraea and Porites. These blocks are the first evidence of reef growth in the area and represent a previously unrecognized period of reef development prior to the fringing reef development. The reef blocks probably formed as upslope patch reefs that were eroded and transported to distal slope locations. The upper sequence (DS3) is characterized by clinoform strata of a Porites-dominated fringing reef complex that prograded basinward in a downstepping style with successively younger reefs forming in a topographically lower and more basinward position as a result of a net sea-level drop. Regional correlation of Miocene shallow-marine strata between basins in Spain and elsewhere in the western Mediterranean is complicated because basins were semi-isolated from adjacent basins making physical correlation impossible. In addition, age-definitive biostratigraphic markers are poorly preserved in most of the Miocene shallow-water strata; basinal sediments that are more easily dated by microfossils do not typically interfinger with the shallow-marine strata in outcrop. Even where datable microfossils are found, resolution of dating is poor. Our studies in the Las Negras and Nijar areas illustrate the usefulness of integrating sedimentological, geometric and biotic data with locally derived relative sea-level (accommodation space) curves for correlation. The relative sea-level curves for each area show remarkable similarities in shape and magnitude of sea-level changes. These curves indicate several relative sea-level fluctuations during Miocene carbonate deposition prior to the major sea-level drop at the end of DS3 deposition that culminated in the exposure of the basin margin deposits and the deposition of evaporites in basinal areas during the Messinian. The depositional sequences in the Las Negras and Nijar areas may correlate with depositional sequences of similar age throughout the southern Cabo de Gata area, in Mallorca some 600 km to the northeast, and possibly in other Mediterranean locations. The widespread occurrence and possible correlation of the depositional sequences suggest regional processes such as eustacy or tectonism for their formation. The integration of sedimentological, palaeontological and sequence stratigraphic studies, and the construction of relative sea-level (accommodation space) curves may help in the interpretation of depositional histories of shallow-marine carbonate complexes and correlation of these strata between isolated areas. Other dating methods, in addition to microfossil dating, may allow for better age determination of the sequences and aid in identifying the importance of eustacy and tectonism in sequence development.

Shallow-water gravity-flow deposits, Chapel Island Formation, southeast Newfoundland, Canada

Abstract: A remarkable suite of shallow-water, gravity-flow deposits are found within very thinly-bedded siltstones and storm-generated sandstones of member 2 of the Chapel Island Formation in southeast Newfoundland. Medium to thick siltstone beds, termed unifites, range from non-graded and structureless (Type 1) to slightly graded with poorly developed lamination (Type 2) to well graded with lamination similar to that described for fine-grained turbidites (Type 3). Unifite beds record deposition from a continuum of flow types from liquefied flows (Type 1) to turbidity currents (Type 3). Calculations of time for pore-fluid pressure dissipation support the feasibility of such transitions. Raft-bearing beds consist of siltstone with large blocks or‘rafts’ of thinly bedded strata derived from the underlying and adjacent substrate. Characteristics suggest deposition from debris flows of variable strength. Estimates of debris strength and depositional slope are calculated for a pebbly mudstone bed using measurable and assumed parameters. An assumed density of 2.0 g cm-1 and a compaction estimate of 50% gives a strength estimate of 79.7 dyn cm-2 and a depositional slope estimate of 0.77°. The lithologies and sedimentary structures in member 2 indicate an overall grain-size distribution susceptible to liquefaction. Inferred high sediment accumulation rates created underconsolidated sediments (metastable packing). Types of sediment failure included in situ liquefaction (‘disturbed bedding’), sliding and slumping. Raft-bearing debrites resulted from sliding and incorporation of water. Locally, hummocky cross-stratified sandstone directly overlies slide deposits and raft-bearing beds, linking sediment failure to the cyclical wave loading associated with large storms. The gravity flows of the Chapel Island Formation closely resemble those described from the surfaces of modern, mud-rich, marine deltas. Details of deltaic gravity-flow deposition from this and other outcrop studies further our understanding of modern deposits by adding a third dimension to studies primarily carried out with side-scan sonar.

Nodular chert from the Arbuckle group, Slick Hills, SW Oklahoma : a combined field, petrographic and isotopic study

Abstract: Nodular chert from the middle and upper Arbuckle Group (Early Ordovician) in the Slick Hills, SW Oklahoma, was formed by selective replacement of grainstones, burrow fillings, algal structures, and evaporite nodules. Chert nodules are dominantly microquartz with minor fibrous quartz (both quartzine and chalcedony), megaquartz, and microflamboyant quartz. Lepisphere textures of an opal-CT precursor are preserved in many (especially in finely-crystalline) chert nodules. The δ18O values of microquartz chert range from +23.4 to + 28.80/00 (SMOW), significantly lower than those of Cenozoic and Mesozoic microquartz chert formed both in the deep sea and from near-surface sea water. The δ18O values of chert decrease with increasing quartz crystal size. Silicification in the Arbuckle Group occurred during early diagenesis, with the timing constrained by the relative temporal relationships among silicification, burial compaction, and early dolomite stabilization. Silica for initial chert nucleation may have been derived from both dissolution of sponge spicules and silica-enriched sea water. Chert nucleation appears to have been controlled by the porosity, permeability, and organic matter content of precursor sediments. This conclusion is based on the fact that chert selectively replaced both porous grainstones and burrows and algal structures enriched in organic matter. Growth of chert probably occurred by a maturation process from opal-A(?), to opal-CT, to quartz, as indicated by the presence of opal-CT precursor textures in many chert nodules. Although field and petrographic evidence argues for an early marine origin for chert in the Arbuckle Group, the light δ18O values are inconsistent with this origin. Meteoric resetting of the δ18O values of the chert during exposure of the carbonate platform best explains the light δ18O values because: (i) the δ18O values of chert nodules decrease with decreasing δ18O values of host limestones, and (ii) chert nodules from early dolomite, which underwent more extensive meteoric modification than associated limestones, have lighter δ18O values than chert nodules from limestones. Increasing recrystallization of chert nodules by meteoric water resulted in progressive 18O depletion and (quartz) crystal enlargement.

Environmental gradients in carbonate sediments and rocks detected by correspondence analysis: examples from the Recent of Norway and the Dinantian of southwest England

Abstract: Continuous sedimentary gradients are only crudely expressed by standard facies and microfacies methods which are more appropriate to situations where changes occur in relatively discrete steps. In carbonate sediments and rocks, continuous gradients are often represented by the arrangement of component grain types in a relay, that is, a systematic shifting of the relative importance of the components. Subdivision of such relays into (micro)facies can only be arbitrary. Correspondence analysis is shown to be useful for detecting, isolating and describing relays. Particular use is made of the arch effect in which samples and components from data sets with a strong unidimensional structure (a relay) plot in the form of an arch in the plane of the first two factor axes. A relay index, indicating the position of samples in the relay, can be extracted from the analysis and plotted on maps and stratigraphic logs to reveal details of the sedimentary gradient in areal and/or stratigraphic context. Examples are given from: (i) Recent shallow-marine carbonate sediments from northern Norway, illustrating a relatively simple depositional setting where surface sediments are viewed in plan; and (ii) Lower Carboniferous carbonates of southwest England, representing a more complex regional study of a particular stratigraphic interval viewed in cross-section. In both examples the relays can be related to identifiable environmental gradients.

Measurements of turbulence in the benthic boundary layer over a gravel bed and Comparison between acoustic measurements and predictions of the bedload transport of marine gravels

Abstract: Articles originaux : Williams, J.J; Thorne, P.D. & Heathershaw, A.D.(1989a). Sedimentology, 36, 959-971. (1989b). Sedimentology, 36, 973-979.

The diagenesis of the late Dinantian Derbyshire-East Midland carbonate shelf, central England

Abstract: Carbonate cements in late Dinantian (Asbian and Brigantian) limestones of the Derbyshire carbonate platform record a diagenetic history starting with early vadose meteoric cementation and finishing with burial and localized mineral and oil emplacement. The sequence is documented using cement petrography, cathodoluminescence, trace element geochemistry and C and O isotopes. The earliest cements (Pre-Zone 1) are locally developed non-luminescent brown sparry calcite below intrastratal palaeokarsts and calcretes. They contain negligible Fe, Mn and Sr but up to 1000 ppm Mg. Their isotopic compositions centre around δ18O =−8.5‰, δ13C=−5.0‰. Calcretes contain less 13C. Subsequent cements are widespread as inclusion-free, low-Mg, low-Fe crinoid overgrowths and are described as having a‘dead-bright-dull’cathodoluminescence. The‘dead’cements (Zone 1) are mostly non-luminescent but contain dissolution hiatuses overlain by finely detailed bright subzones that correlate over several kilometres. Across‘dead'/bright subzones there is a clear trend in Mg (500–900 ppm), Mn (100–450 ppm) and Fe (80-230 ppm). Zone 1 cements have isotopic compositions centred around δ18O =−8.0‰ and δ13C=−2.5‰. Zone 2 cement is bright, thin and complexly subzoned. It is geochemically similar to bright subzones of Zone 1 cements. Dull Zone 3 cement pre-dates pressure dissolution and fills 70% or more of the pore space. It generally contains little Mn, Fe and Sr but can have more than 1000 ppm Mg, increasing stratigraphically upwards. The δ18O compositions range from −5.5 to −15‰ and the δ13C range is −1 to + 3.20/00. Zone 4 fills veins and stylolite seams in addition to pores. It is synchronous with Pb, Ba, F ore mineralization and oil migration. Zone 4 is ferroan with around 500 ppm Fe, up to 2500 ppm Mg and up to 1500 ppm Mn. Isotopic compositions range widely; δ15O =−2.7 to −9‰ and δ13C=−3.8 to+2.50‰. Unaltered marine brachiopods suggest a Dinantian seawater composition around δ15O = 0‰ (SMOW), but vital isotopic effects probably mask the original δ13C (PDB) value. Pre-Zone 1 calcites are meteoric vadose cements with light soil-derived δ13C and light meteoric δ18O. An unusually fractionated‘pluvial’δ15O(SMOW) value of around — 6‰ is indicated for local Dinantian meteoric water. Calcrete δ18O values are heavier through evaporation. Zone 1 textures and geochemistry indicate a meteoric phreatic environment. Fe and Mn trends in the bright subzones indicate stagnation, and precipitation occurred in increments from widespread cyclically developed shallow meteoric water bodies. Meteoric alteration of the rock body was pervasive by the end of Zone 1 with a general resetting of isotopic values. Zone 3 is volumetrically important and external sources of water and carbonate are required. Emplacement was during the Namurian-early Westphalian by meteoric water sourced at a karst landscape on the uplifted eastern edge of the Derbyshire-East Midland shelf. The light δ18O values mainly reflect burial temperatures and an unusually high local heat flow, but an input of highly fractionated hinterland-derived meteoric water at the unconformity is also likely. Relatively heavy δ13C values reflect the less-altered state of the source carbonate and aquifer. Zone 4 is partly vein fed and spans burial down to 2000 m and the onset of tectonism. Light organic-matter-derived δ13C and heavy δ18O values suggest basin-derived formation water. Combined with textural evidence of geopressures, this relates to local high-temperature ore mineralization and oil migration. Low water-to-rock ratios with host-rock buffering probably affected the final isotopic compositions of Zone 4, masking extremes both of temperature and organic-matter-derived CO2.

Eustatically-controlled sedimentation in the Hettangian-Sinemurian (Early Jurassic) of Poland and Sweden

Abstract: In earliest Jurassic times, terrigenous, continental and marginal marine deposition occurred in a large epeiric basin along the Tornquist Line in Europe. Detailed sedimentological studies allow recognition of palaeoenvironmental fluctuations in space and time. The main earliest Jurassic transgressions occurred in the early Hettangian, early Sinemurian, mid-Sinemurian and latest Sinemurian and formed bounding discontinuities (transgressive surfaces) of considerable correlative significance. There is a step-wise trend of increasing marine extension and influence during the early Hettangian, early Sinemurian, mid-Sinemurian and latest Sinemurian-earliest Pliensbachian transgressions. Four sequences, four transgressive systems tracts, three highstand systems tracts and three levels regarded as equivalents of maximum flooding surfaces are distinguished. In the case of type 2 sequences, when incised valley-fill deposits are not developed and regional erosion is less common, it may be rather difficult to define the sequence boundaries, which are often concealed within the amalgamated fluvial deposits occurring in the neighbouring parts of two adjacent sequences (fluvial/deltaic sediments terminate the highstand systems tracts and in this setting the transgressive systems tracts start with continental deposits prior to the transgressive surfaces). Generally, an exact correlation can be achieved between the sequence stratigraphy of the northeast and northwest European Lower Jurassic and the eustatic curve proposed by EPR (assuming some changes proposed by A. Hallam). The establishment of this correlation hopefully will stimulate future studies of the sequence stratigraphy of poorly dated siliciclastic deposits of marginal basins. In this setting even minor changes in sea-level may cause major changes in facies development over large areas.