Precipitation of dolomite using sulphate-reducing bacteria from the Coorong Region, South Australia: significance and implications

Dolomite was successfully precipitated in culture experiments that simulated microbiogeochemical conditions prevailing during late stages of evaporation in ephemeral, hypersaline dolomitic lakes of the Coorong region, South Australia. Analyses of lake- and pore-water samples document rapid geochemical changes with time and depth in both dolomitic and non-dolomitic lakes. Extremely high sulphate and magnesium ion concentrations in lake waters decline rapidly with depth in pore waters throughout the sulphate-reduction zone, whereas carbonate concentrations in pore waters reach levels up to 100 times those of normal sea water. Ultimately, sulphate is totally consumed and no solid sulphate is recorded in the dolomitic lake sediments. ‘Most probable number’ calculations of lake sediment samples record the presence of large populations of sulphate-reducing bacteria, whereas sulphur-isotope analyses of lake-water samples indicate microbial fractionation in all the lakes studied. Viable populations of microbes from the lake sediments were cultured in anoxic conditions in the laboratory. Samples were then injected into vials containing sterilized clastic or carbonate grains, or glass beads, immersed in a solution that simulated the lake water. Falls in the levels of sulphate and rising pH in positive vials were interpreted as indicating active bacterial sulphate reduction accompanied by increased concentrations of carbonate. Within 2 months, sub-spherical, sub-micron-size crystals of dolomite identical to those of lake sediments were precipitated. It is concluded that bacterial sulphate reduction overcomes kinetic constraints on dolomite formation by removing sulphate and releasing magnesium and calcium ions from neutral ion pairs, and by generating elevated carbonate concentrations, in a hypersaline, strongly electrolytic solution. The results demonstrate that bacterial sulphate reduction controls dolomite precipitation in both the laboratory experiments and lake sediments. It is proposed that dolomite formation, through bacterial sulphate reduction, provides a process analogue applicable to thick platformal dolostones of the past, where benthic microbial communities were the sole or dominant colonizers of shallow marine environments.     

Sedimentology, mineralogy and isotopic analysis of Pellet Lake, Coorong region, South Australia

ABSTRACT Gravity cores of Holocene sediments from a shallow ephemeral lake in the Coorong region (Pellet Lake, southeastern coastal Australia) show a mineral assemblage and sequence particular to its hydrology. The mineralogical sequence above an initial dolomitic siliciclastic sand reflects conditions of increasing salinity in the lower portions of the core (i.e. organic-rich aragonite to magnesite + hydromagnesite + aragonite) followed by a relative decrease in salinity (i.e. magnesite + aragonite + hydromagnesite to aragonite + hydromagnesite) in the upper portions of the core. This sequence is capped by ? 0.4 m of micritic dolomite and minor amounts of hydromagnesite, with the relative abundance of dolomite increasing upwards. Three stratigraphically and spatially distinct dolomite units (upper, lower and margin) are recognized using stable carbon and oxygen isotope data, unit cell calculations and MgCO₃ mole per cent data of the dolomite. Detailed X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses of samples with more than 80% dolomite shows that the dolomite is ordered. Average unit cell parameters, calculated from the XRD patterns, indicate that the upper dolomite unit has crystal lattices expanded in the c_o direction (c_o= 16.09 Å) relative to ideal dolomite (c_o= 16.02 Å) and contracted in the a_o direction (a_o= 4.796 Å) relative to ideal dolomite (a_o= 4.812 Å). The mol fraction of MgCO₃ in the upper dolomite shows up to 4.0 ±M 2.0 mole per cent excess Mg in the dolomite crystal lattice (calculated from XRD). This unusual dolomite crystal chemistry is probably generated by rapid precipitation from solutions which have greatly elevated Mg/Ca ratios. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that the upper dolomite has a heterogeneous microstructure which also suggests rapid precipitation from solution. The modulated microstructure found in calcium-rich dolomite is completely lacking. Dolomite ordering reflections are present in electron diffraction patterns, but are weak. Stable oxygen and carbon isotope values of the upper dolomite are tightly grouped (ave. δ¹⁸O ～+ 7.55%_o, δ¹³C ～+ 4.10%_o), yet show three upward-lightening oxygen cycles. The oxygen cycles correlate with three upward decreases in the calculated Mg content of the dolomite zone. These cycles may indicate the increased importance of rain-water dilution of the brine at times when the water in the lake was at its shallowest levels. Analyses of the lower dolomite and the margin dolomite suggest that these units precipitated more slowly from less evaporitic brines than the upper dolomite unit. The lower dolomite is close to stoichiometric, has less evaporitic stable isotope values than the upper dolomite, and has only a slightly expanded c_o-axis. The margin dolomite is Ca-rich, has a more homogeneous microstructure, and has expanded a_o and c_o axes. The abundance of relatively soluble Mg-bearing phases, such as hydromagnesite and magnesite, may supply additional magnesium for the dolomitization of aragonite and calcite during subsequent diagenesis and burial of the sediment. This process may leave a finely laminated dolomicrite deposit which retains little, if any, evidence of evaporite minerals.     

Eocene spheroidal dolomite from the western Sirte Basin, Libya

Scanning electron micrographs of crypto-crystalline (< 4 μm) dolomites found in cores taken from the lower Eocene Facha Member reservoir of the Zella and Aswad fields in Libya show that they consist of tiny globular bodies mixed with anhedral crystals, producing a chalky texture. The sedimentary sequence indicates deposition in upper intertidal/supratidal arid environments and in saline lagoons. The crypto-crystalline dolomite is facies-controlled and probably formed as a primary precipitate, similar to those reported from present-day subaqueous environments in the Coorong of South Australia and Holocene supratidal crusts off Florida. Such chalky-textured dolomites could form local fluid-migration barriers within hydrocarbon reservoirs.     

Oxygen isotope fractionation during synthesis of CaMg-carbonate and implications for sedimentary dolomite formation

Hydrous CaMg-carbonate was synthesized at temperatures of 40°, 60° and 80°C in the laboratory. This material has very similar mineralogical characteristics to natural disordered dolomite from the Coorong region in South Australia. Besides the dolomite variable amounts of amorphous carbonate are present in all samples. The oxygen isotope compositions of synthesized bulk carbonate samples (e.g., amorphous carbonate plus dolomite) plot significantly lower than the Northrop and Clayton (1966) dolomite-water equilibrium. Fractionated degassing of the samples, however, revealed relatively low oxygen isotope values for fast-reacting (using 100% H₃PO₄) amorphous carbonate. In contrast, slow-reacting dolomite has more positive oxygen isotope values, and calculated carbonate-water oxygen isotope fractionation values are close to strongest known dolomite-water oxygen isotope fractionation published earlier on. Variations of reaction/stabilization temperatures during synthesis gave evidence for dolomite formation from hypersaline solutions by a dissolution/reprecipitation process. It is likely that amorphous carbonate has been a problem in defining the dolomite-water fractionation in the past. Moreover, dolomite-associated amorphous carbonate contents probably led to incorrect speculations about lower oxygen isotope fractionation in a so-called protodolomite-water system.     

Geological significance of Coorong dolomites

Microcrystalline dolomite and related carbonate minerals have been forming throughout the Quaternary in shallow ephemeral alkaline lakes on the coastal plain of the Coorong area in southern Australia. These Coorong dolomites differ significantly from sabkha-type dolomites. They form in areas where evaporation rates during summer months exceed groundwater inflow rates to a series of alkaline lakes. This results in the lakes becoming desiccated during summer months. Brines resulting from this drying phase are then refluxed out of the system into seaward-flowing groundwaters of an unconfined coastal aquifer. Dolomites and other fine-grained carbonates remain behind, whilst saline and sulphate evaporite minerals are flushed out of the system. Progressive restriction by sedimentation in and around the Holocene coastal dolomite lakes results in an upward-shoaling sedimentary cycle. Basal sediments which formed in a restricted marine environment pass upwards to lacustrine dolomites or magnesites exhibiting desiccation and groundwater resurgence structures such as mudcracks and teepees. The upper Proterozoic Skillogallee Dolomite Formation, an early rift basin unit of the Adelaide Supergroup, contains dolomites which show many of the features characteristic of the peculiar groundwater hydrology which plays an important role in Coorong dolomite genesis. These features include aphanitic dolomites which lack relict saline or sulphate evaporite minerals. The Skillogallee Dolomite Formation in some areas overlies an earlier dolomitic unit, informally named the Callanna Beds, typified by abundant pseudomorphs after sulphate minerals. Sabkha style dolomites characterizing the Callanna Beds are replaced up-section by the Coorong-type dolomite of the Skillogallee Dolomite Formation. This implies the development of an increasingly more active groundwater regime. The ultimate source and mode of concentration of the necessary Mg required to form both the modern and ancient dolomites remain imperfectly understood.     

Geological field guides as educational tools: the Coorong,South Australia

The South Australian (SA) Division of the Geological Society of Australia (GSAust) has a working subcommittee responsible for preparation of geological field guides. The target audience for these guides comprises persons who have an interest in natural environments, but who do not necessarily have specialist education in the Earth sciences. Care is taken to avoid excessive and unnecessary use of jargon, but where required, technical terms are used with appropriate explanations; ‘dumbing down’ is avoided and suitable references are cited for those who seek further information. Field guides can be downloaded from the GSAust web site. Later editions may be updated for mobile devices. The over-arching aim of the subcommittee is to contribute to public education. The Coorong is a back-barrier coastal lagoon that, together with Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert, constitute the modern estuary of the River Murray. The Younghusband Peninsula is a Holocene beach-dune barrier that was formed as the rising postglacial sea transported sandy sediment shoreward from the exposed Lacepede Shelf. The peninsula stabilised following culmination of the postglacial marine transgression, at the same time isolating a narrow back-barrier lagoon, the Coorong, from the direct impact of the Southern Ocean. The Coorong is a landscape icon rated highly as a tourist attraction. It has importance for ornithologists and other scientists (including geologists) and is the ancestral home of the Ngarrindjeri people. There is a diverse group of people who might be interested in a well-presented and authoritative field guide to this area. The Coorong and associated features thus provide a landscape that underpins consideration of two major concepts: Earth’s global climate has greatly varied during the Pleistocene; glacial and interglacial climatic events have been widely identified within a consistent chronologic framework; and the present global climate is interglacial. Sea-level is lower during cooler glacial times when increased amounts of water are stored as ice on land, particularly in the polar and highland (alpine) regions; sea-level rises during warmer interglacial times when meltwater from glaciers and ice sheets flows into the oceans; and in the present warm-interglacial climate sea-level is high.     

末次间冰期以来新疆巴里坤湖蒸发盐的沉积环境记录

沉积物岩芯的碳酸盐、石膏等蒸发盐含量和矿物组成的证据显示了新疆巴里坤湖末次间冰期以来一直是一个水位变化频繁的浅水盐湖,有时甚至为间歇式的湖泊,约在34000aB.P.前后巴里坤湖沉积相发生了显著的变化,34000aB.P.之前为泥坪-湖滨相沉积,34000aB．P．之后为成湖相沉积。尽管我们对巴里坤湖34000aB．P．前后的沉积相变难以理解,但是长期处于浅水状态的巴里坤湖沉积物中蒸发盐的含量和矿物组成仍然与气候变化密切相关。在泥坪-湖滨相形成的碳酸盐中白云石相对的增加是地表强烈蒸发的结果。以石膏为主的蒸发盐含量增加是温度和降水增加所致,而其含量减少则是冰川前进致使补给水矿化度降低造成的。这使我们获得了该区古气候变化并不服从于冰期与雨期同步模式的信息。     

Hydromagnesite replacement of biomineralized aragonite in a new location of Holocene stromatolites, Lake Walyungup, Western Australia

Holocene stromatolites are described from Lake Walyungup, a coastal hyposaline lake in south-western Australia. At summer low water, this groundwater-fed depression comprises two permanent shallow water bodies and an ephemeral southern pool, set within an areally extensive littoral zone of variably cemented carbonate crust. Up to 5 m of organic-rich carbonate mud has been deposited within each of these basins in less than 7000 years. Stromatolites rim the water bodies with individual columns up to 2 m tall. Stromatolite-capped tepee structures in subparallel alignment are widespread in the littoral crust, suggesting a linkage between stromatolite growth and zones of groundwater discharge. Lake Walyungup stromatolites, regardless of external morphology and setting, are coarsely laminated and have aragonitic mesoclot microfabrics. These microfabrics are similar to those from lithified portions of active thrombolitic microbialites from nearby Lake Clifton. Hydromagnesite is a minor to subdominant phase (up to 47 wt%) of the carbonate mineral assemblage in Lake Walyungup. It occurs mainly in the littoral zone as a diagenetic replacement of precursor aragonite, particularly within the mesoclot fabric of stromatolites, but also in sediments (strandline and dune sand, crusts) derived mainly from erosion of stromatolites. In contrast with nonreplaced and impermeable inorganic aragonitic cements, stromatolite mesoclots are microper- meable. Micropermeability is inferred to facilitate hydromagnesite diagenesis. Dolomite is also present in minor amounts as a pore fill in stromatolites, and as a subdominant to dominant (up to 100 wt%) phase in thin, mudcracked micrite layers within the crust package. The layered dolomite may be precipitated directly from the lake water. Major element abundance of the lake water is: Na⁺ > Mg²⁺ » K⁺ > Ca²⁺ for cations, and Cl^? » SO₄^2? ≈ HCO₃^? > CO₃^2? for anions. Compared to other nearby coastal lakes, Lake Walyungup has a high pH (> 9·0), and an extremely high molar Mg/Ca ratio of > 90. Groundwater in the area has a Mg/Ca ratio generally less than 1. The unusual Mg/Ca ratio in Lake Walyungup is partially a result of in-lake processes with additional minor contribution of Mg²⁺ sourced from basal marine sand because no Mg-rich bedrock source has been found in the region.     

Modern and Holocene carbonate sedimentology of two saline volcanic maar lakes, southern Australia

The Basin Lakes are two adjacent maar lakes located in the centre of the Western Volcanic Plains District of Victoria, Australia. Both lakes are saline and alkaline; West Basin Lake is meromictic whereas East Basin is a warm monomictic lake. The carbonate mineral suite of the modern offshore bottom sediments of these Basins consists mainly of dolomite and calcite, with smaller amounts of hydromagnesite and magnesite in West Basin and monohydrocalcite in East Basin. The dolomite, hydromagnesite, magnesite, and monohydrocalcite are endogenic in origin, being derived by primary inorganic precipitation within the water columns of the lakes or at the sediment-water interface. The calcite is biologically precipitated as ostracod valves. In addition to the carbonates in the modern offshore (deep-water) sediments, the lakes also contain a girdle of nearshore carbonate hardgrounds. Both beachrock and microbialites (algal boundstones) are present. These modern lithified carbonate units exhibit a wide range of depositional and diagenetic fabrics, morphologies and compositions. In West Basin, the hardgrounds are composed mainly of dolomite, hydromagnesite, and magnesite, whereas dolomite and monohydrocalcite dominate the East Basin sediments. Aragonite, high-Mg calcite, kutnahorite, siderite, and protohydromagnesite also occur in these lithified carbonate units. Stratigraphic variations in the carbonate mineralogy of the Holocene sediment record in the lakes were used to help decipher the palaeochemistry and palaeohydrology of the Basins. These changes, in conjunction with fluctuations in organic remains and fossil content, indicate a pattern of lake level histories similar to that deciphered from other maar lakes in western Victoria.     

Palaeoproterozoic magnesite: lithological and isotopic evidence for playa/sabkha environments

Magnesite forms a series of 1‐ to 15‐m‐thick beds within the ≈2·0 Ga (Palaeoproterozoic) Tulomozerskaya Formation, NW Fennoscandian Shield, Russia. Drillcore material together with natural exposures reveal that the 680‐m‐thick formation is composed of a stromatolite–dolomite–‘red bed’ sequence formed in a complex combination of shallow‐marine and non‐marine, evaporitic environments. Dolomite‐collapse breccia, stromatolitic and micritic dolostones and sparry allochemical dolostones are the principal rocks hosting the magnesite beds. All dolomite lithologies are marked by δ¹³C values from +7·1‰ to +11·6‰ (V‐PDB) and δ¹⁸O ranging from 17·4‰ to 26·3‰ (V‐SMOW). Magnesite occurs in different forms: finely laminated micritic; stromatolitic magnesite; and structureless micritic, crystalline and coarsely crystalline magnesite. All varieties exhibit anomalously high δ¹³C values ranging from +9·0‰ to +11·6‰ and δ¹⁸O values of 20·0–25·7‰. Laminated and structureless micritic magnesite forms as a secondary phase replacing dolomite during early diagenesis, and replaced dolomite before the major phase of burial. Crystalline and coarsely crystalline magnesite replacing micritic magnesite formed late in the diagenetic/metamorphic history. Magnesite apparently precipitated from sea water‐derived brine, diluted by meteoric fluids. Magnesitization was accomplished under evaporitic conditions (sabkha to playa lake environment) proposed to be similar to the Coorong or Lake Walyungup coastal playa magnesite. Magnesite and host dolostones formed in evaporative and partly restricted environments; consequently, extremely high δ¹³C values reflect a combined contribution from both global and local carbon reservoirs. A ¹³C‐rich global carbon reservoir (δ¹³C at around +5‰) is related to the perturbation of the carbon cycle at 2·0 Ga, whereas the local enhancement in ¹³C (up to +12‰) is associated with evaporative and restricted environments with high bioproductivity.     

Spherular modern dolomite from the Coorong area, South Australia

Scanning electron micrographs show that the youngest and apparently least altered of the Coorong dolomite is in the form of spherular bodies about 0.2–1.0 μm in size which themselves are composed of spherules about 100 nm in diameter. Older and more lithified sediments show sharply defined dolomite crystals suggesting an origin as primary dolomite spherules followed by aggregation and diagenetic alteration to well crystallized dolomites.     

Holocene carbonate sedimentation in Lake Manitoba, Canada

The carbonate mineral suite of the modern offshore bottom sediment of the South Basin of Lake Manitoba consists mainly of high magnesian calcite and dolomite with minor amounts of low-Mg calcite and aragonite. The high-Mg calcite is derived from inorganic precipitation within the water column in response to supersaturation brought about by high levels of organic productivity in the basin. Both dolomite and pure calcite are detrital in origin, derived from erosion of the surrounding carbonate-rich glacial deposits. Aragonite, present only in trace amounts in the offshore sediments, is bioclastic in origin. The upward increase in the amount of magnesian calcite in the post-glacial sediment record is attributed to increasing photosynthetic utilization of CO₂ in the lake. Stratigraphic variation in the amount of magnesium incorporated into the calcite lattice is interpreted as reflecting a variable magnesium input to the lake from ground water and surface runoff, and possibly variable calcium removal in the precipitating lake water. The effects of long-term chemical weathering at the source and size segregation explain the changes in dolomite content throughout the section.     

Late Quaternary evolution of Lake Urana,New South Wales,Australia

Lake Urana is a well-preserved relict lake in the semi-arid Riverine Plain of southeastern Australia. A compound lunette at its eastern shoreline consists of a quartz-sand-dominated unit (Bimbadeen Formation), thermoluminescence (TL) dated at 30 ka to 12 ka, and a clay and sand facies unit (Coonong Formation), dated at 55 ka to 35 ka. The intervening period indicates a phase of periodically exposed lake floor and soil formation. The older wet phase conforms well with similar environments recorded from the same period at Lake Mungo. However, the return to high water levels from 30 ka to 12 ka departs sharply from the generally accepted palaeoclimatic model from Australia, which demands severe glacial maximum desiccation and widespread construction of clay lunettes. Although hydrological budgets calculated for Lake Urana and nearby Lake Cullivel require high glacial maximum water levels they do not support higher precipitation.     

Last glacial cycle hydrological change at Lake Tyrrell, southeast Australia

Lake Tyrrell is the largest playa in the Murray Basin of southeast Australia. Optical dating of transverse dune (lunette) sediments extends the lake's radiocarbon chronology to the last interglacial period. The highest lake level was attained 131,000 ± 10,000 yr ago, forming Lake Chillingollah, a megalake that persisted until around 77,000 ± 4000 yr ago. Pedogenesis of its sandy lunette continued until buried by a silty clay lunette deflated from the lake floor 27,000 ± 2000 yr ago. The dated soil-stratigraphic units correlate with the upper Tyrrell Beds and contain evidence that humans visited the lakeshore before 27,000 yr ago. The Lake Chillingollah megalake was synchronous with very high lake levels in monsoon-dominated Australia, yet it was not influenced by tropical monsoon systems. It was filled instead by increased winter rainfall from westerly low-pressure fronts. Greater effective precipitation across Australia is evident, the result of a weakened subtropical high-pressure zone.     

Environmental significance of mid- to late Holocene sapropels in Old Man Lake,Coorong coastal plain,South Australia: An isotopic,biomarker and palaeoecological perspective

The Holocene successions of numerous shallow lakes located along the Coorong coastal plain in South Australia attest to the impact of rising sea level and changing climate on their depositional environment. Old Man Lake is one of the smallest perennial alkaline lakes in the region. Its succession comprises a basal lagoonal sand rich in humic organic matter (OM) overlain by a 3.7 m thick upward shoaling lacustrine mudstone. The latter features three discrete sapropel units deposited between 3270 and 4910 cal yr BP, a time of increasing aridity throughout southeastern Australia. A core taken from the lake’s eastern margin yielded sedimentological, mineralogical, geochronological and micropaleontological data. Coring at five other sites across the lake provided sections of the humic and sapropelic facies (n = 20) for total organic carbon and Rock–Eval analysis; isotopic characterization of their micritic carbonate (δ¹³C_carb, δ¹⁸O_carb) and co-existing OM (δ¹³C_org); and GC–MS and GC–irMS analysis of their free aliphatic hydrocarbons. For each ‘sapropel event’ high productivity of diatoms and green algae was the principal driver of the accumulation and preservation of OM in such high concentrations. The precursor algal blooms were likely triggered by the influx of fresh water following winter rainfall. The combination of kerogen hydrogen index and δ¹³C_carb–δ¹³C_org, previously employed to track secular changes in algal productivity and organic preservation, proved useful in identifying synchronous geographic differences in these processes across the lake. Highly branched isoprenoids (HBI: C_25:1 ≫ C_20:0) are prominent components of the aliphatic hydrocarbons in the sapropels, confirming the significant contribution of diatoms to their OM. The C isotopic signatures of the principal C_25:1 HBI isomer and the co-occurring C₂₃–C₃₁ odd carbon numbered n-alkanes further document the non-uniformity of biomass preservation within and between the three sapropel units. The evidence from this study suggests that seasonal algal blooms and meromixis, although not necessarily an anoxic hypoliminion, were required for sapropel formation in the Holocene lakes of the Coorong region. Higher resolution sampling, dating and comparative analysis (microfossil, biomarker and isotopic) of these sapropels is required to clarify their potential significance as palaeoclimate proxies.     

The Holocene non-tropical coastal and shelf carbonate province of southern Australia

Carbonate-dominant sediments are currently forming and accumulating over the extensive marine shelf of the passive margin of southern Australia. A dearth of continental detritus results from both a very low relief and a predominantly arid climate. The wide continental shelf is bathed by cold upwelling ocean waters that support luxuriant growths of bryozoans and coralline algae, together with sponges, molluscs, asteroids, benthic and some planktonic foraminifera. The open ocean coast is battered by a persistent southwest swell, resulting in erosion of calcrete-encrusted Pleistocene eolianites. Much sediment is reworked and overall shelf sedimentation rates are low. High-energy microtidal beach/dune systems occur between headlands and along the very long ocean beach in the Coorong region. The northern, more arid coastal areas also contain saline lakes that precipitate gypsum from infiltrated sea water, and display marginal facies of aragonite boxwork to fenestral carbonate crusts, with stromatolites and tepee structures. In contrast, the southern, seasonally humid Coorong region, has a predominantly continental groundwater regime where sulphate is rare, and the high summer evaporation precipitates dolomite, magnesite and aragonite muds. Fenestral crusts, breccias, tepees and some stromatolites are also present.

St. Vincent and Spencer gulfs both afford some protection from ocean swell, but tidal amplitude and currents increase, and a depth and inundation-related zonation of plants and animals is established. Muddy carbonate sand accumulates on the sea floor below 30 m, where filter-feeding bryozoans, bivalves and sponges dominate. In shallower regions, seagrass meadows contain a rich fauna that results in rapid accumulation of an unsorted muddy bioclastic sand. Mangrove woodlands backed by saline marsh with cyanobacterial mats are common, and accumulate mud-rich and gastropod-bearing sediment. As tidal amplitude and desiccation increase northward into both gulfs, a supratidal zone bare of vegetation (sabkha) becomes the site for deposition of gypsum-rich and fenestral calcitic mud.     

Microbially mediated carbonates in the Holocene deposits from Sarliève, a small ancient lake of the French Massif Central, testify to the evolution of a restricted environment

Both the mineralogy and facies of lacustrine bio‐induced carbonates are controlled largely by hydrological factors that are highly dependent upon climatic influence. As such they are useful tools in characterizing ancient lake environments. In this way, the study of the sedimentary record from the small ancient Sarliève Lake (Limagne, Massif Central, France) aims to reconstruct the hydrological evolution during the Holocene, using petrographical, mineralogical and geochemical analyses. The fine‐grained marls, mainly calcitic, display numerous layers rich in pristine Ca‐dolomite, with small amounts of aragonite, which are clearly autochthonous. As these minerals are rather unusual in the temperate climatic context of western Europe, the question arises about their forming conditions, and therefore that of the lacustrine environment. Ca‐dolomite prevails at the base of the sequence as a massive dolomicrite layer and, in the middle part, it builds up most of the numerous laminae closely associated with organic matter. Scanning electron microscope observations reveal the abundance of tiny crystals (tens to hundreds of nanometres) mainly organized as microspheres looking like cocci or bacilli. Such a facies is interpreted as resulting from the fossilization of benthic microbial communities by dolomite precipitation following organic matter consumption and extracellular polymeric substance degradation. These microbial dolomites were precipitated in a saline environment, as a consequence of excess evaporation from the system, as is also suggested by their positive ?¹⁸O values. The facies sequence expresses the following evolution: (i) saline pan, i.e. endorheic stage with a perennial lowstand in lake level (Boreal to early Atlantic periods); (ii) large fluctuations in lake level with sporadic freshening of the system (Atlantic); (iii) open lake stage (sub‐boreal); and (iv) anthropogenic drainage (sub‐Atlantic).     

青海湖底沉积物中球状白云石集合体的发现及其地质意义

青海湖为盐度低于海水的微咸水湖。为了探索白云石的成因,在青海湖二浪尖以北约15 km的湖底采集了长25 cm的沉积物柱状样品。对样品所做的X-衍射矿物物相定量分析表明其中含有2.2％的白云石。文献中也曾报道青海湖底沉积物中含有高达10％的白云石矿物。对这些含白云石矿物的湖底沉积物所进行的扫描电镜研究发现了其中呈球状、椭球状,大小1~2 μm的白云石集合体及其伴生的草莓状黄铁矿的存在。其特征与文献中报道的现代近海高盐度泻湖和萨勃哈中发现的微生物成因的白云石极为相似。这是内陆低盐度环境中此类白云石的首次发现,对于探讨不同盐度环境中白云石的形成机理,促进“白云石问题”的深入研究具有重要的理论意义。     

Diatoms and ostracods as mid-Holocene palaeoenvironmental indicators,North Stromatolite Lake,Coorong National Park,South Australia ∗

The Holocene carbonate sequence of perennial North Stromatolite Lake, located adjacent to the Coorong Lagoon near Salt Creek, South Australia, includes a prominent sapropelic unit (7 – 12% total organic carbon), in places more than 2 m thick, that was sampled for the purpose of radiocarbon dating and documenting its diatom and ostracod biostratigraphy. The recovered ostracods were also subjected to carbon and oxygen isotopic analysis. The bulk organic matter at the base of the sapropel yielded an uncalibrated ¹⁴C age of 6080 ± 60 y BP. Diatoms, where preserved, are almost exclusively benthic. Stratigraphic variation of the proportions of key indicator species in diatom assemblages records a marked oscillation between oligosaline and eusaline conditions in the hypolimnion during deposition of the sapropel. Ostracod carbon isotope data indicate that the lake at this time was eutrophic, thereby enriching the dissolved inorganic carbon of the hypolimnion in ¹³C. However, the observed secular variation in δ¹³C implies a mid-sapropel drop in productivity, caused by a freshening of the lake. Ostracod δ¹⁸O values display an overall increase through the sapropel consistent with the rising salinity of the hypolimnion. The existence of a flourishing benthic ostracod community, together with the valve ornamentation of Osticythere baragwanathi, indicates that the bottom waters were well oxygenated. Thus, anoxia was not a prerequisite for sapropel accumulation. The biostratigraphy and chemostratigraphy of the sapropel concur in suggesting a lack of climatic uniformity during its deposition, a period of ～1200 years. This study therefore highlights the potential of diatoms and ostracods in shallow perennial alkaline lakes along the Coorong coastal plain as proxies for short-term (10² – 10³ years) Holocene palaeoenvironmental change in southeastern Australia.     

青藏高原现代湖泊沉积物碳酸盐矿物氧同位素组成特征及影响因素

选择青藏高原14个代表性现代湖泊的表层沉积物为研究对象,它们是冷湖、大苏干湖、小苏干湖、大柴旦湖、小柴旦湖、托素湖、尕海、茶卡湖、唐古拉-1、错鄂、乃日平错、纳木错、空姆错和普莫雍错,探讨这些湖泊碳酸盐矿物组成及相应氧稳定同位素组成的影响因素。XRD结果显示这些湖泊的碳酸盐矿物多以方解石为主,并含白云石。其中冷湖以白云石为主,尕海还含有一定量的文石。碳酸盐氧同位素分析结果显示总碳酸盐δ¹⁸O在-15.9‰到2.6‰范围变化,方解石δ¹⁸O变化范围为-16.2‰～3.9‰,白云石δ¹⁸O变化在-15.3‰～-5.4‰范围内。通过氧同位素与湖区环境因素的相关性分析,认为总碳酸盐δ¹⁸O受湖水δ¹⁸O组成、温度、降水量/蒸发量、盐度、海拔和纬度多种因素影响;方解石δ¹⁸O主要受湖水δ¹⁸O、温度、盐度、海拔和纬度的影响;白云石δ¹⁸O受降水量/蒸发量和盐度的影响。总碳酸盐δ¹⁸O对湖水δ¹⁸O、温度、海拔和纬度的响应是以方解石为载体而体现的;总碳酸盐δ¹⁸O对降水量/蒸发量的响应则归因于白云石δ¹⁸O对其的响应结果;另外总碳酸盐δ¹⁸O通过方解石和白云石δ¹⁸O的叠加作用响应于盐度。该研究初步建立了总碳酸盐、方解石和白云石氧同位素与环境各个指标之间的响应关系,对于揭示过去青藏高原地区环境变化有重要意义。