The anatomy of a sulphate platform and adjacent basin system in the Leba sub-basin of the Lower Werra Anhydrite (Zechstein, Upper Permian), northern Poland

The Lower Werra Anhydrite (Zechstein, Upper Permian) deposits of the teba area originated in a deep basin setting, in shallow to deep water conditions. Facies changes occur within small distances and suggest fluctuating boundaries between well defined basins and platforms. This pattern of local platforms and adjacent basins developed during deposition. In basinal areas, the sequence is clearly transgressive, whereas on platforms accumulation kept pace with subsidence after an initial transgression. Nodular anhydrite represents a polygenetic deposit which formed at different times with respect to deposition. Massive anhydrite with pseudomorphs after upright-growth gypsum crystals suggest rapid precipitation in a subaqueous environment and/or fluctuating, but generally high, salinity conditions. Massive clastic sulphate originated due to periodic high energy events and resedimentation, or due to brecciation possibly connected with salinity fluctuations and the dissolution of halite. Massive, textureless anhydrite is locally porous and passes upward into breccia, indicating a strongly saline environment. Bedded anhydrite is considered to form in shallow water environments and laminated anhydrite in deep water. Bedded anhydrites contain portions which are graded. Intercalations of sulphate turbidites and upright-growth gypsum suggest fluctuating water depths, with comparatively deep water during turbidite deposition, but shallower conditions during upright-growth gypsum deposition. The sequence observed in slope zones at platform-basin margins, detrital (parautochthonous) sulphate sand to graded beds to basinal laminites, indicates that redistribution processes were important. At the onset of the Lower Werra Anhydrite deposition bathymetric relief existed between the central part of the basin and its margins, where carbonate platforms remained subaerially exposed. Formation of local platforms and adjacent basins required a relatively high subsidence rate, as pre-existing relief cannot account for the total accumulated thickness of the Lower Werra Anhydrite deposits. One implication of this is that the main argument against ‘the shallow water - shallow basin’ evaporite basin model, i.e.,a very fast rate of subsidence, may not be valid for the Łeba Lower Werra Anhydrite basin.     

Deep-water resedimentation of anhydrite and gypsum deposits in the Middle Miocene (Belayim Formation) of the Red Sea, Egypt

The Middle Miocene evaporites in the Red Sea rift were deposited within a complex system of fault-bounded basins that were episodically active during sedimentation. Such a tectonic framework is known to be highly favourable to resedimentation processes. An offshore petroleum well in the north-western Red Sea has cored, below a massive salt unit, an anhydrite-bearing succession which provides an excellent opportunity to study the processes of gravity induced redeposition of Ca-sulphates in a deep basin. Anhydrite deposits, interbedded with siliciclastic layers and thin halite layers, are composed of resedimented facies ranging from fine-grained laminated sediments to coarse-grained breccias. The components derive from the reworking of shelf sediments deposited initially in shallow water to supratidal settings on the surface and edges of structural highs bordering depressions: proximal siliciclastic deposits with interstitial anhydrite (cement patches, nodules) or gypsum and dolostones with early diagenetic anhydrite facies (nodular, chicken-wire) formed in sabkha conditions, interstitially grown gypsum crystals and subaqueous gypsum crusts precipitated in hypersaline ponds, and diatom-rich oozes formed in marine, shallow-water conditions. The homogeneity of the stable isotope composition and petrography of sulphates argue for the initial crystallization of Ca-sulphates within brines of the same origin and in closely interconnected sedimentary settings. The unconsolidated sediments redeposited as slope-foot accumulations were carried both as anhydrite (nodules, soft masses, various fragments, individual grains or crystals released by disintegration of large masses) and gypsum (crystalline aggregates or single crystals) later converted to anhydrite during burial. Layers of chaotic breccia are interpreted as the result of seismic events, whereas the fine-grained deposits could be related to redistribution by nepheloid layers of suspensions of finer grains released by disintegration of the soft anhydrite masses during downslope transport, or of in situ deposits removed by the turbiditic flows.     

Shallowing-upward sequences in Purbeckian peritidal carbonates (lowermost Cretaceous, Swiss and French Jura Mountains)

Purbeckian carbonates in the Swiss and French Jura (Goldberg Formation, lower Berriasian) comprise shallow-subtidal, intertidal, supratidal, low-energy, high-energy, marine, brackish, freshwater, and hypersaline facies. These facies are arranged in small (0–2–1.5 m thick) sequences which display a dominant shallowing-upward component, and which form the fundamental units of the highly structured Purbeckian sedimentary record. Six types of small-scale sequences can be recognized. A: intertidal to supratidal overprinting of shallow lagoonal facies; B: algal-marsh sequence with frequent dolomitization; C: sabkha sequence, often associated with collapse breccia; D: tidal-flat sequence with desiccation features; E: lacustrine sequence; F: terrestrial overprinting of subtidal or intertidal facies. Episodic event deposits such as tempestites are superimposed] Thin transgressive beds which rework elements of the underlying facies are frequently found at the base of the sequences. Green marls and black pebbles are common at the top and indicate long subaerial exposure. The sequences are often incomplete, as subtidal facies may be absent, or their upper part can be eroded. Lateral facies changes are common, which is due to the very shallow and partly emergent Purbeckian platform where various depositional environments were juxtaposed. However, many sequence boundaries are well developed and can be correlated over large parts of the study area. The Purbeckian shallowing-upward sequences were generated by climatically controlled sea-level changes. Autocyclic processes occurred locally, but were overprinted by drops of sea-level affecting the entire platform. The small-scale sequences are most probably related to the 20 000-year cycle of the precession of the equinoxes. Larger sequences with usually well-developed emersion surfaces are attributed to the 100 000 and 400 000-year eccentricity cycles of the Earth's orbit. Identification and correlation of sequence boundaries makes it possible to set up a framework of isochronous surfaces (which often cut across facies boundaries), and thus to interpret in detail the palaeogeographic, sedimentological and diagenetic evolution of the Purbeckian peritidal carbonate environments.     

Messinian deposits and erosion in northern Tunisia: inferences on Strait of Sicily during the Messinian Salinity Crisis

Outcrops, offshore wells, electric logs and seismic profiles from northern Tunisia provide an opportunity to decipher the Messinian Salinity Crisis in the Strait of Sicily. Messinian deposits (including gypsum beds) near the Tellian Range reveal two successive subaerial erosional surfaces overlain by breccias and marine Zanclean clays, respectively. In the Gulf of Tunis, Messinian thick evaporites (mostly halite) are strongly eroded by a fluvial canyon infilled with Zanclean clays. The first erosional phase is referred to the intra-Messinian tectonic phase and is analogous to that found in Sicily. The second phase corresponds to the Messinian Erosional Surface that postdates the marginal evaporites, to which the entire Sicilian evaporitic series must refer. The Western and Eastern Mediterranean basins were separated during deposition of the central evaporites.     

Glauberite–halite association of the Zaragoza Gypsum Formation (Lower Miocene, Ebro Basin, NE Spain)

Glauberite is the most common mineral in the ancient sodium sulphate deposits in the Mediterranean region, although its origin, primary or diagenetic, continues to be a matter of debate. A number of glauberite deposits of Oligocene–Miocene age in Spain display facies characteristics of sedimentologic significance, in particular those in which a glauberite–halite association is predominant. In this context, a log study of four boreholes in the Zaragoza Gypsum Formation (Lower Miocene, Ebro Basin, NE Spain) was carried out. Two glauberite–halite lithofacies associations, A and B, are distinguished: association (A) is composed of bedded cloudy halite and minor amounts of massive and clastic glauberite; association (B) is made up of laminated to thin‐bedded, clear macrocrystalline, massive, clastic and contorted lithofacies of glauberite, and small amounts of bedded cloudy halite. Transparent glauberite cemented by clear halite as well as normal‐graded and reverse‐graded glauberite textures are common. This type of transparent glauberite is interpreted as a primary, subaqueous precipitate. Gypsum, thenardite or mirabilite are absent in the two associations. The depositional environment is interpreted as a shallow perennial saline lake system, in which chloride brines (association A) and sulphate–(chloride) brines (association B) are developed. The geochemical study of halite crystals (bromine contents and fluid inclusion compositions) demonstrates that conditions for co‐precipitation of halite and glauberite, or for precipitation of Na‐sulphates (mirabilite, thenardite) were never fulfilled in the saline lake system.     

Sulphate–borate relations in an evaporitic lacustrine environment: the Sultançayir Gypsum (Miocene, western Anatolia)

Calcium-borates, mainly pandermite (priceite) and howlite, but also bakerite and colemanite, are intercalated within the Sultançayir Gypsum (Miocene, Sultançayir Basin, western Anatolia). This lacustrine unit, represented by secondary gypsum in outcrop, is characterized by: (1) a clear facies distribution of depocentral laminated lithofacies and debris-flow deposits, a wide marginal zone of sabkha deposits, and at least one selenitic shoal located toward the basin margin; (2) evaporitic cycles displaying a shallowing-upward trend; and (3) a diagenetic evolution of primary gypsum to (burial) anhydrite followed by its final re-hydration. The calcium borates precipitated only in the depocentre of the lake and were partly affected by synsedimentary reworking, indicating that they formed during very early diagenesis. The lithofacies, which are made up of a host gypsum (finely laminated) and borates (nodules, irregular masses and discontinuous bands; also fine laminations), indicate that the borates grew interstitially because of the inflow and mixing of borate-rich solutions with basinal brines. Borate growth displaced and replaced primary gypsum beneath a relatively deep depositional floor. Borate formation as free precipitates was much less common. The anhydritization of primary gypsum took place during early to late diagenesis (burial <250 m deep). This process also resulted in partial replacement of pandermite and accompanying borates (bakerite and howlite) as well as other early diagenetic minerals (celestite) by anhydrite. Final exhumation resulted in the replacement of anhydrite by secondary gypsum, and in the partial transformation of pandermite and howlite into secondary calcite.     

Sedimentology of the Cretaceous Maha Sarakham evaporites in the Khorat Plateau of northeastern Thailand

Evaporites of the Cretaceous to early Tertiary Maha Sarakham Formation on the Khorat Plateau of southeast Asia (Thailand and Laos) are composed of three depositional members that each include evaporitic successions, each overlain by non-marine clastic red beds, and are present in both the Khorat and the Sakon Nakhon sub-basins. These two basins are presently separated by the northwest-trending Phu Phan anticline. The thickness of the formation averages 250 m but is up to 1.1 km thick in some areas. In both basins it thickens towards the basin centre suggesting differential basin subsidence preceding or during sedimentation. The stratigraphy, lithological character and mineralogy of the evaporites and clastics are identical in both basins suggesting that they were probably connected during deposition. Evaporites include thick successions of halite, anhydrite and a considerable accumulation of potassic minerals (sylvite and carnallite) but contain some tachyhydrite, and minor amounts of borates. During the deposition of halite the basin was subjected to repeated inflow of fresher marine water that resulted in the formation of anhydrite marker beds. Sedimentary facies and textures of both halite and anhydrite suggest deposition in a shallow saline-pan environment. Many halite beds, however, contain a curious `sieve-like' fabric marked by skeletal anhydrite outlines of gypsum precursor crystals and are the product of early diagenetic replacement by halite of primary shallow-water gypsum. The δ³⁴S isotopic values obtained from different types of anhydrite interbedded with halite range from 14.3‰ to 17.0‰ (CDT), suggesting a marine origin for this sulphate. Bromine concentration in the halite of the Lower Member begins around 70 ppm and systematically increases upward to 400 ppm below the potash-rich zone, also suggesting evaporation of largely marine waters. In the Middle Member the initial concentration of bromine in halite is 200 ppm, rising to 450 ppm in the upper part of this member. The bromine concentration in the Upper Member exhibits uniform upward increase and ranges from 200 to 300 ppm. The presence of tachyhydrite in association with the potassic salts was probably the result of: (1) the large volumes of halite replacement of gypsum, on a bed by bed basis, releasing calcium back into the restricted waters of the basin; and (2) early hydrothermal input of calcium chloride-rich waters. The borates associated with potash-rich beds likely resulted from erosion and influx of water from surrounding granitic terrains; however, hydrothermal influx is also possible. Interbedded with the evaporites are non-marine red beds that are also evaporative, with displacive anhydrite nodules and beds and considerable amounts of displacive halite. The δ³⁴S isotopic values of this anhydrite have non-marine values, ranging from 6.4‰ to 10.9‰ (CDT). These data indicate that the Khorat and Sakhon Nakhon basins underwent periods of marine influx due to relative world sea-level rise but were sporadically isolated from the world ocean.     

Recent, arctic deltaic sedimentation: Olivier Islands, Mackenzie Delta, North-west Territories, Canada

Despite a low tidal range and relatively low wave conditions, the Mackenzie Delta is not prograding seaward but rather is undergoing transgressive shoreface erosion and drowning of distributary channel mouths. In the Olivier Islands region of the Mackenzie Delta the resultant morphology consists of a network of primary and secondary channels separated by vegetated islands. New ground is formed through channel infilling and landward-directed bar accretion. This sedimentation is characterized by seven sedimentary facies: (1) hard, cohesive silty clay at the base of primary channels which may be related to earlier, offshore deposition; (2) ripple laminated sand beds, believed to be channel-fill deposits; (3) ripple laminated sand and silt, interpreted as flood-stage subaqueous bar deposits; (4) ripple laminated or wavy bedded sand, silt and clay, representing the abandonment phase of channel-fill deposits and lateral subaqueous bar deposition from suspension settling; (5) a well sorted very fine sand bed, presumed to result from a single storm event; (6) parallel or wavy beds of rooted silt, sand and clay, interpreted as lower energy emergent bar deposits; and (7) parallel or wavy beds of rooted silt and clay, believed to represent present-day subaerial bar aggradation. The distribution of sedimentary facies can be interpreted in terms of the morphological evolution of the study area. Initial bar deposition of facies 3 and channel deposition of facies 2 was followed by lateral and upstream bar sedimentation of facies 3 and 4 which culminated with the deposition of the storm bed of facies 5. Facies 6 and 7 signify bar stabilization and abandonment. Patterned ground formed by thermal contraction and preserved in sediments as small, v-shaped sand wedges provides the most direct sedimentological indicator of the arctic climate. However, winter ice and permafrost also govern the stratigraphic development of interchannel and channel-mouth deposits. Ice cover confines flow at primary channel mouths, promoting the bypassing of sediments across the delta front during peak discharge in the spring. Permafrost minimizes consolidation subsidence and accommodation in the nearshore, further enhancing sediment bypass. Storms limit the seaward extent of bar development and promote a distinctive pattern of upstream and lateral island growth. The effects of these controls are reflected in the vertical distribution of facies in the Olivier Islands. The sedimentary succession differs markedly from that of a low-latitude delta.     

A palaeoenvironmental interpretation of the Early Proterozoic Malmani dolomite from Zwartkops,South Africa

The Malmani Subgroup northwest of Johannesburg consists of dolomite and chert with only minor clastic sediments.A precise upper intertidal to marginal supratidal analogy and the associated relationship of varied structures suggest that much of the succession represents a tidal flat to intertidal complex formed within differing semiprotected to protected conditions. The dolomites from these environments are recrystallized, reflecting a meteoric influence, and the cherts which are commonly developed within them are also related to prevailing lower pH's. This dolomitization is considered to have been enhanced by the influx of meteoric waters which however resulted in the dolomites having undersaturated iron-manganese ratios. Rare colour-banded dolomites containing columnar stromatolites are thought to represent more steeply shelving intertidal conditions than are normally encountered in the epeiric sea. These dolomites contain quartz crystals rather than chert, suggestive of a lower concentration of silica in the original alkaline solutions. The exposure is part of a very widespread carbonate unit, dated at ca. 2.250 m.y.Subtidal conditions in which large elongate stromatolitic domes developed can be related to a marine transgression across a basal clastic beach sand; and secondly to a progradational tidal flat seawards of which a talus breccia developed on a steepened slope leading down to the subtidal regime. These dolomites formed by interaction with marine waters saturated with respect to iron and manganese, while the absence of chert reflects persisting alkaline conditions.A dark chert-free dolomitic facies with high iron and manganese contents of saturated ratios is considered to have developed in an alkaline lagoonal environment behind a subaqueous bar that is now represented by an overlying thick oolitic unit.The succession contains numerous chert breccias with which shales are associated. The breccias represent subaerial exposure phenomena related to regressions which were followed by periods of short-lived terrigenous influx.     

Sedimentology of a lacustrine fan-delta system, Miocene Horse Camp Formation, Nevada, USA

A 1600-m-thick succession of the Miocene Horse Camp Formation (Member 2) exposed in east-central Nevada records predominantly terrigenous clastic deposition in subaerial and subaqueous fan-delta environments and nearshore and offshore lacustrine environments. These four depositional environments are distinguished by particular associations of individual facies (14 defined facies). Subaerial and subaqueous fan-delta facies associations include: ungraded, matrix-and clast-supported conglomerate; normally graded, matrix- and clast-supported conglomerate; ungraded and normally graded sandstone; and massive to poorly laminated mudstone. Subaqueous fan-delta deposits typically have dewatering structures, distorted bedding and interbedded mudstone. The subaerial fan-delta environment was characterized by debris flows, hyperconcentrated flows and minor sheetfloods; the subaqueous fan-delta environment by debris flows, high- and low-density turbidity currents, and suspension fallout. The nearshore lacustrine facies association provides examples of deposits and processes rarely documented in lacustrine environments. High-energy oscillatory wave currents, probably related to a large fetch, reworked grains as large as 2 cm into horizontally stratified sand and gravel. Offshore-directed currents produced uncommonly large (typically 1–2 m thick) trough cross-stratified sandstone. In addition, stromatolitic carbonate interbedded with stratified coarse sandstone and conglomerate suggests a dynamic environment characterized by episodic terrigenous clastic deposition under high-energy conditions alternating with periods of carbonate precipitation under reduced energy conditions. Massive and normally graded sandstone and massive to poorly laminated mudstone characterize the offshore lacustrine facies association and record deposition by turbidity currents and suspension fallout. A depositional model constructed for the Horse Camp Formation (Member 2) precludes the existence of all four depositional environments at any particular time. Rather, phases characterized by deposition in subaerial fan, nearshore lacustrine and offshore lacustrine environments alternated with phases of subaerial fan-delta, subaqueous fan-delta and offshore lacustrine deposition. This model suggests that high-energy nearshore currents due to deep water along the lake margin reworked sediment of the fan edge, thus preventing development of a subaqueous fan-delta environment and promoting development of a well-defined nearshore lacustrine environment. Low-energy nearshore currents induced by shallow water along the     

中国豫西寒武系馒头组叠层石的沉积特征及其古环境意义

中国豫西寒武系馒头组一、二段共出露9层叠层石,占寒武纪18层叠层石中的50%,且其特征明显、形态多样,可分为圆柱状、波状、半球状和围绕竹叶状砾屑灰岩生长的叠层石等4大类8小类。本文在逐层分析豫西寒武系馒头组一、二段叠层石相序特征的基础上,通过对不同类型叠层石的宏观、中观形态特征及伴生的其它沉积特征进行详细描述,并以巴哈马Highborne Cays现代海相叠层石的生长环境和前寒武纪叠层石的沉积环境等为佐证,建立了豫西寒武系馒头组8小类11种不同叠层石的沉积环境分布模式,其中潮上带以近水平状叠层石为主,少量为缓波状、小柱状和含水平状薄泥层的叠层石;潮间带上部以缓波状、小柱状和含水平状薄泥层的叠层石为主,少量锥柱状叠层石;潮间带中部以圆柱状叠层石为主,含扁平状核形石和竹叶状砾屑,少量为锥柱状和围绕竹叶状砾屑生长的叠层石;潮间带下部至潮下带以含圆形核形石的圆柱状和半球状叠层石为主,少量含核形石的倒锥状叠层石。海平面的变化即水动力条件是叠层石生长类型变化的决定因素。     

Modern halite sedimentation processes and depositional environments,Hutt Lagoon,Western Australia

Abstract

Contemporary layered halite in the Hutt Lagoon, Western Australia, forms distinct precipitational and clastic fades, which are ascribed to seasonal ponding and playa development in the lagoon respectively. Field and laboratory documentation of the halite types and monitoring of surface water chemistry for several annual hydrologic cycles indicate that following evaporative concentration of ponded seawater halite layers, characterized by zoned and clear halite crystal varieties, are developed. During early stages of annual playa development, vadose solution and precipitation appear to be most active within and above the capillary fringe zone, causing diagenetic modification of the halite textures, fabrics and structures. Ultimately, clastic halite facies are produced by wind reworking of the earlier deposits, in response to progressive evaporative drawdown of the brine level in the main depression area of the lagoon.

The co-existence of the halite precipitates and clastites is related to a dynamic equilibrium in the water budget of the Hutt Lagoon. This equilibrium is best exemplified by limitation of brine level fluctuations to a narrow repetitive zone. Identification of similar early diagenetic features, such as vadose solution, precipitation, overgrowth, replacement and mechanical reworking of surface halite sediments, in ancient evaporite deposits may aid in a better understanding of the role of brine level fluctuation on genesis and diagenesis of subaqueous/subaerial halite.     

Sedimentological and geochemical evidence to elucidate an evaporitic–carbonate paleoenvironment, Middle Miocene Red Sea coast, Egypt

Lithologic succession, microscopic examination as well as X-ray diffraction and chemical data revealed that the surface Middle Miocene evaporites of Wadi Quei are composed of anhydrite beds intercalated with carbonate and green shale, whilst the subsurface evaporites of Gemsa locality are composed of gypsum, anhydrite, carbonates and celestite with a rare amount of halite. The anhydrite is found to be formed diagenetically after gypsum. The carbonate is interpreted as having been of biogenic origin. The strong smell of H₂S and golden crystals of pyrite at Wadi Quei beds are indications of the biogenic action of sulphate-reducing bacteria in the presence of organic matter. It is suggested that the evaporite sequence which was deposited in a supratidal sabkha environment is characterized by alkaline-reducing conditions. The presence of nodular gypsum at Gemsa locality is probably deposited in a supratidal environment with oscillation of sea level.     

Gypsum facies transitions in basin-marginal evaporites: middle Miocene (Badenian) of west Ukraine

In the middle Miocene Badenian gypsum basin of the Carpathian Foredeep, west Ukraine, three main zones of gypsum development occur in the peripheral parts of the basin. Zone I consists entirely of stromatolitic gypsum formed in a nearshore zone. Zone II is located more basinward and is characterized by stromatolitic gypsum in the lower part of the section, overlain by a sabre gypsum unit. Zone III occurs in still more basinward areas and is characterized by giant gypsum intergrowths (or secondary nodular gypsum pseudomorphs of these) in the lowermost part, overlain by stromatolitic gypsum, sabre gypsum and then by clastic gypsum units. Correlation between these facies and zones has been achieved using lithological marker beds and surfaces. Of particular importance for correlation is a characteristic marker bed (usually 20–40 cm thick) of cryptocrystalline massive gypsum occurring in zones II and III. The marker was not distinguished in zone I, possibly because this bed is older than the entire gypsum section of that zone. These new results strongly suggest that the deposition of giant gypsum intergrowth facies and stromatolitic gypsum facies was coeval. In some sections of zones I and II, limestone intercalations have been recorded within the upper part of the gypsum sections. Considerable scatter of the δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values of these limestones indicates variable diagenetic overprints of marine carbonates, but a marine provenance of the limestones is confirmed by microfacies analysis. Some of the limestones are coeval with an intercalation of gypsarenitic, mostly laminated gypsum occurring in the sabre gypsum unit of zones II and III. Badenian gypsum formed in extremely shallow‐water to subaerial environments on broad, very low relief areas of negligible brine depth, which could be affected by rapid transgressions. Stable isotope (δ³⁴S, δ¹⁸O) studies of the gypsum demonstrate that the sulphate was of sea‐water origin or was derived from dissolution of Miocene marine evaporites. Investigations of individual inclusions in the gypsum indicate decreased water salinity when compared with modern marine‐derived, calcium sulphate‐saturated water. Groundwater influences are indicated by high calcium sulphate contents of the brines in the evaporite basin. The chemical composition of Badenian waters was thus a mixture of relic sea water (depleted in NaCl), groundwater (enriched in calcium sulphate) and surface run‐off.     

Milankovitch cyclicity in Purbeck peritidal limestones of the Prebetic (Berriasian, southern Spain)

Peritidal carbonate rocks (Purbeck facies) of the uppermost Portlandian to Berriasian in the type section of the Sierra del Pozo Formation in the Prebetic Zone, southern Spain, are divisible into 141 shallowing upward cycles averaging 2 m in thickness. The subtidal facies in these cycles consist of micritic or marly limestones with dasycladacean algae and lituolids; the intertidal facies are micritic limestones containing birdseyes and miliolids; the supratidal facies comprise laminated algal limestones, the tops of which display desiccation cracks and rhizocretions, or more locally palaeosols, calcretes, or palaeokarst surfaces. A statistical study, using power spectra of the Fast Fourier Transform, demonstrates that the periodicity of these cycles is in the Milankovitch frequency band. Most sedimentary cycles correspond to the obliquity cycles; eccentricity and precession cycles have also been recognized. Using a Fischer plot, third-order tectono-eustatic cycles are recognized, which can be correlated with the eustatic curve of the Exxon chart. The shallowing upward sequences are characterized by a distinctive pattern of geochemical parameters. Carbon and oxygen isotopic (δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O) variations, calcium and magnesium carbonate contents and the abundance of organic matter and trace elements (Mn and Sr) all have predictable patterns of distribution within the sequences. The Sr content of the subtidal facies is relatively high whereas the δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O ratios are quite low; in the intertidal facies the Sr and Mn levels fall concomitantly with a rise in δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O. The highest δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values occur in the lower part of the supratidal facies, whereas in the upper part of δ values and Sr contents drop sharply. Cyclic variations in evaporation and in meteoric water influence, determined from oxygen isotopic composition, reveal that the cyclicity of the beds containing the most limestones (supratidal) and those with the most marls (subtidal) is related to climatic changes. The coldest periods are those represented by supratidal deposits, when the sea level was at its lowest. During the warmest periods, when the overall sea level was higher, subtidal deposits accumulated in the region. A genetic model is proposed, according to which the asymmetrical sedimentary cycles occur in response to glacio-eustatic changes with a periodicity similar to that of Plio-Pleistocene sea-level variations, but with a much lower range due to the smaller extent of polar ice caps during the Early Cretaceous. The glacio-eustatic changes involved a rapid sea-level rise and a slow sea-level fall.     

Lower Pleistocene deltaic and marine sediments in boreholes from the central North Sea

Lower Pleistocene sediments recovered in boreholes from the Aberdeen Ground Formation in the central North Sea indicate that the unit was deposited in a delta front to prodelta/shallow, open shelf marine setting. Possible estuarine and clastic nearshore marine deposits have been identified on the western margin of the basin. The delta front sediments consist of interbedded, structureless to laminated sands and muds with organic debris, ferruginous nodules and common soft sediment deformation structures. Sporadic rippled and graded beds, basal scours to beds and starved ripples suggest periodic wave–current reworking. Prodelta/shelf marine sediments are predominantly argillaceous with only occasional thin sand beds and rare phosphatic bands. One exceptionally thick sand body or submarine channel-fill although this remains uncertain. The estuarine/clastic nearshore marine sediments include coarse channel-lag deposits and rippled and laminated subtidal sands. A rich microfossil assemblage recovered from the prodelta/shelf marine sequence indicates that deposition occurred under fluctuating climatic conditions.     

胜利油区早古生代沉积相

早古生代，胜利油区作为华北地台的一部分，接受了一套以海相碳酸盐岩为主的沉积，其沉积相与其他地区既有相似性，又有特殊性。文中首先按沉积岩类型，将沉积相划分为碎屑沉积相系和碳酸盐岩沉积相系。根据岩石的沉积构造、指相矿物、生物化石等，将下古生界沉积相进一步划分为４个相９种亚相，并对各种相的特征进行了简要说明。在单井相分析的基础上，利用单因素和三端元作图法编制了基础图件，结合相序的变化规律和区域地质背景，对区内早古生代不同时期的沉积相展布特征进行了探讨：馒头期—徐庄期，基本为潮上到潮间带；张夏期—崮山期，发育有潮下浅滩和开阔海两种主要沉积相；长山期—早奥陶世，以潮间—潮下带为主；中奥陶世，以浅水的潮上、潮间带与较深水的潮下带间互出现。研究早古生代沉积相，对于评价碳酸盐岩储层和烃源岩有重要意义。     

华北中元古代陆表海氧化还原条件

文石海底沉淀是地球早期大气高CO2浓度、海洋贫氧条件下,CaCO3过饱和而直接沉淀于海底所形成的自生碳酸盐,可反映古海洋贫氧状态.对华北中元古界雾迷山组(ca 1.50～1.45 Ga)碳酸盐岩的研究发现:潮下带下部黑色纹层石由针状文石假晶等厚层与微生物席层交互堆叠而成;潮下带中部凝块石白云岩(A单元)主要由针状文石假...     

Characterization of middle Eocene tide-influenced delta: A study from core samples of Hazad Member,Ankleshwar Formation,South Cambay Basin,India

The Hazad Member (Middle Eocene) of the Ankleswar Formation in Cambay Basin, India, is traditionally reported as deltaic system. Present work documents three major facies associations, namely, (i) sandstone-rich upper delta plain (FA-1) deposits, (ii) sandstone-mudstone heterolithic lower delta plain–delta front (FA-2) deposits, and (iii) shale-dominated prodelta (FA-3) deposits, in an overall coarsening-up to fining-up succession. Tidalites are well preserved in FA-2 and are represented by laterally accreted tidal bundles, tidal beddings and vertically accreted tidal rhythmites, described from drill core samples in this communication. Laterally accreted tidal bundles with reactivation surfaces in sand-dominated heterolithic units indicate time-velocity asymmetry in subtidal condition. Tidal beddings and tidal rhythmites in mud-dominated heterolithic units, associated with asymmetric/symmetric ripple forms and desiccation cracks, indicate periodic subaerial emergence in intertidal flat depositional setting. Systematic analysis of the architecture of the tidalites in different parts of the basin signifies rapid shift in sedimentation from subtidal to intertidal flat within the lower delta plain. Transitions from prodeltaic to tidally (subtidal-intertidal) affected delta front to lower delta plain and fluvial-dominated upper delta plain depositional systems attest to high frequency transgressive-regressive cycles in response to changing accommodation, as a result of sea level fluctuations and basinal tectonisms in the Cambay Basin.     

Microbial deposits in the aftermath of the end‐Permian mass extinction: A diverging case from the Mineral Mountains (Utah,USA)

The Lower Triassic Mineral Mountains area (Utah, USA) preserves diversified Smithian and Spathian reefs and bioaccumulations that contain fenestral‐microbialites and various benthic and pelagic organisms. Ecological and environmental changes during the Early Triassic are commonly assumed to be associated with numerous perturbations (productivity changes, acidifica‐tion, redox changes, hypercapnia, eustatism and temperature changes) post‐dating the Permian–Triassic mass extinction. New data acquired in the Mineral Mountains sediments provide evidence to decipher the relationships between depositional environments and the growth and distribution of microbial structures. These data also help to understand better the controlling factors acting upon sedimentation and community turnovers through the Smithian–early Spathian. The studied section records a large‐scale depositional sequence during the Dienerian(?)–Spathian interval. During the transgression, depositional environments evolved from a coastal bay with continental deposits to intertidal fenestral–microbial limestones, shallow subtidal marine sponge–microbial reefs to deep subtidal mud‐dominated limestones. Storm‐induced deposits, microbialite–sponge reefs and shallow subtidal deposits indicate the regression. Three microbialite associations occur in ascending order: (i) a red beds microbialite association deposited in low‐energy hypersaline supratidal conditions where microbialites consist of microbial mats and poorly preserved microbially induced sedimentary structure; (ii) a Smithian microbialite association formed in moderate to high‐energy, tidal conditions where microbialites include stromatolites and associated carbonate grains (oncoids, ooids and peloids); and (iii) a Spathian microbialite association developed in low‐energy offshore conditions that is preserved as multiple decimetre thick isolated domes and coalescent domes. Data indicate that the morphologies of the three microbialite associations are controlled primarily by accommodation, hydrodynamics, bathymetry and grain supply. This study suggests that microbial constructions are controlled by changes between trapping and binding versus precipitation processes in variable hydrodynamic conditions. Due to the presence of numerous metazoans associated with microbialites throughout the Smithian increase in accommodation and Spathian decrease in accommodation, the commonly assumed anachronistic character of the Early Triassic microbialites and the traditional view of prolonged deleterious conditions during the Early Triassic time interval is questioned.