Subaerial exposure and deposition of shallowing upward sequences: evidence from stable isotopes of Purbeckian peritidal carbonates (basal Cretaceous), Swiss and French Jura Mountains

Purbeckian (lowermost Cretaceous) peritidal carbonates are characterized by open marine, lagoonal, intertidal and lacustrine facies arranged in Milankovitch-type shallowing upward sequences. Shallowing upward sequences typically consist of 2–6 individual beds. The sequences may be (i) complete, (ii) incomplete or (ii) pedogenetically overprinted, reflecting the duration of subaerial exposure and/or the extent of erosion and pedogenetic modification at the cycle tops. The stable isotopic composition of the peritidal micrites reveals homogenous δ¹⁸O values attributed to diagenetic stabilization in a meteoric, water-buffered system. Carbon isotopes show three distinctly different carbon isotope patterns dependent on the completeness of the shallowing upward sequences. Complete shallowing upward sequences consist of 4–6 individual carbonate beds. The carbon isotope values show a facies-dependent pattern: open marine carbonate muds record enriched δ¹³C values of +0·28‰ while lagoonal (−0·82‰), intertidal (−2·46‰) and lacustrine micrites (−2·96‰) are increasingly depleted. This distinct pattern is explained by carbonate mud deposition in environments of differing salinity and marine influence. Incomplete sequences (2–5 carbonate beds) are characterized by depleted δ¹³C values below subaerial exposure surfaces that become progressively enriched in ¹³C with increasing depth. Pedogenetically overprinted sequences (1–3 carbonate beds) show strong ¹³C depletion throughout the sequence with little variation in the carbon isotopic composition. The depleted values (−4·5‰) of the pedogenetically altered micrites suggest that modification during subaerial exposure was associated with equilibration with meteoric solutions enriched in isotopically light soil gas CO₂. The duration of subaerial exposure is the most crucial factor determining the extent of pedogenetic alterations, the completeness of the shallowing upward sequences and the carbon isotope pattern. The recorded patterns clearly illustrate that micrites have a good potential for the preservation of their primary carbon isotopic composition if the duration of subaerial exposure is rather brief. Otherwise, the recorded carbon isotope patterns may support sequence stratigraphic analysis by providing a refinement of the time-stratigraphic interpretation.     

Carbon and oxygen isotopes of Maastrichtian–Danian shallow marine carbonates: Yacoraite Formation, northwestern Argentina

The Maastrichtian–Danian limestones of the Yacoraite Formation (northwestern Argentina) show carbon and oxygen isotopic values consistent with shallow marine conditions. The members of the formation respond to different sedimentary environments and are characterised by distinctive stable isotopes and geochemistry. The basal Amblayo Member is composed of high-energy dolomitic limestones and limestones with positive isotopic values (+2‰ δ¹³C, +2‰ δ¹⁸O). The top of the member reveals an isotopic shift of δ¹³C (−5‰) and δ¹⁸O (−10‰), probably related to a descent in the sea level. The sandy Güemes Member has isotopically negative (−2‰ δ¹³C, −1‰ δ¹⁸O) limestones, principally controlled by water mixing, decreased organic productivity, and compositional changes in the carbonates. The isotopically lighter limestones are calcitic, with a greater terrigenous contribution and different geochemical composition (high Si–Mn–Fe–Na, low Ca–Mg–Sr). These isotopic and lithological changes relate to the Cretaceous–Palaeogene transition. The Alemanía Member, composed of dolomitic limestones and pelites, represents a return to marine conditions and shows a gradual increase in isotopic values, reaching values similar to those of the Amblayo Member. The Juramento Member, composed of stromatolite limestones, shows isotopic variations that can be correlated with the two well-defined, shallowing-upward sequences of the member.     

Relationships between cyclicity and stromatolite form in the Late Proterozoic Bitter Springs Formation, Australia

Stromatolite biostromes and bioherms in the lower two units of the Late Proterozoic Loves Creek Member of the Bitter Springs Formation represent shallowing upward and deepening upward sequences. In the central unit stromatolite form is governed by relative position in an asymmetric shallowing upward sequence. Ooid and/or peloid-intraclast grainstones and small, irregular bulbous and columnar stromatolites characterize the basal, transgressive portion of cycles. Domal, columnar and stratiform stromatolites comprise the bulk of the cycle. These forms accreted in a gradually shallowing epeiric sea. Domal stromatolites predominate in the deeper parts of cycles. Here synoptic relief gradually increases upwards. Columnar and stratiform stromatolites predominate in the shallower parts of cycles, where synoptic relief rapidly diminishes upwards. In thin-bedded dolo-mudstones at the tops of cycles the co-occurrence of desiccation cracks, tepee structures, scalloped dissolution surfaces, gypsum moulds and anhydrite nodule pseudomorphs provides evidence for subaerial exposure. In contrast, stromatolites in a unit at the base of the Loves Creek Member accreted during a gradual rise in sealevel. Stratiform, columnar and domal stromatolitic building blocks of the shallowing upward cycle are present in this deepening sequence, but only the lower half of the shallowing upward cycle is represented. Synoptic relief of the stromatolitic laminae gradually increases upward throughout the basal stromatolitic unit. Recognition of a deepening upward stromatolite sequence at the base of the Loves Creek Member, and a disconformity surface between this sequence and the underlying Gillen Member, permits palaeoenvironmental re-interpretation of the Loves Creek Member as a single ‘large scale’ sea-level cycle.     

Lacustrine stromatolites: Useful structures for environmental interpretation – an example from the Miocene Ebro Basin

The significance of stromatolites as depositional environmental indicators and the underlying causes of lamination in the lacustrine realm are poorly understood. Stromatolites in a ca 600 m thick Miocene succession in the Ebro Basin are good candidates to shed light on these issues because they are intimately related to other lacustrine carbonate and sulphate facies, grew under variable environmental conditions and show distinct lamination patterns. These stromatolites are associated with wave‐related, clastic‐carbonate laminated limestones. Both facies consist of calcite and variable amounts of dolomite. Thin planar stromatolites (up to 10 cm thick and less than 6 m long) occurred in very shallow water. These stromatolites represented first biological colonization after: (i) subaerial exposure in the palustrine environment (i.e. at the beginning of deepening cycles); or (ii) erosion due to surge action, then coating very irregular surfaces on laminated limestones (i.e. through shallowing or deepening cycles). Sometimes they are associated with evaporative pumping. Stratiform stromatolites (10 to 30 cm high and tens of metres long) and domed stromatolites (10 to 30 cm high and long) developed in deeper settings, between the surge periods that produced hummocky cross‐stratification and horizontal lamination offshore. Changes in stromatolite lamina shape, and thus in the growth forms through time, can be attributed to changes in water depth, whereas variations in lamina continuity are linked to water energy and sediment supply. Growth of the stromatolites resulted from in situ calcite precipitation and capture of minor amounts of fine‐grained carbonate particles. Based on texture, four types of simple laminae are distinguished. The simple micrite and microsparite laminae can be grouped into light and dark composite laminae, which represent, respectively, high and low Precipitation/Evaporation ratio periods. Different lamination patterns provide new ideas for the interpretation of microbial laminations as a function of variations in climate‐dependent parameters (primarily the Precipitation/Evaporation ratio) over variable timescales.     

Microfacies and geochemistry of the Ilam Formation in the Tang-E Rashid area, Izeh, S.W. Iran

The Ilam Formation (Santonian–Campanian in age), part of the Bangestan Group, is disconformably overlain by the Sarvak Formation and underlain by the Gurpi Formation in the Tang-E Rashid, Peyon area, Izeh (Zagros), southwest of Iran.Facies analyses indicate that the Ilam carbonates formed in four microfacies belts: tidal flat, lagoon, shoal and open marine, in a platform ramp environment. Major and minor elements and carbon and oxygen isotope values were used to determine the original carbonate mineralogy of the Ilam Formation. Petrographic evidence and elemental and oxygen and carbon isotope values indicate that aragonite was the original carbonate mineralogy in the Ilam Formation. The elemental and isotopic compositions of the Ilam carbonates also illustrate that they have stabilized in the marine phreatic environment. Variations of Sr/Ca and δ¹⁸O values versus Mn suggest that diagenetic alteration occurred in a closed system. Temperature calculation based on the oxygen isotope value of the least-altered sample indicates that the very early shallow burial fluid temperature was around 28 °C.Recognition of the exact boundary between the Ilam and Sarvak Formations is difficult, due to similar lithologies and the absence of the Surgah Formation in the study area. However, elemental and oxygen and carbon isotope analysis were used to determine the boundary between these formations. The δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values, along with elemental results, clearly indicate a subaerial exposure surface, below which meteoric diagenesis affected the sediments.     

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.     

Carbon and oxygen isotope zoning around Carlin-type gold deposits: a reconnaissance survey at Twin Creeks, Nevada

This study was undertaken to determine whether wallrocks around the Twin Creeks Carlin-type gold deposits exhibit oxygen isotope haloes similar to those found around other types of hydrothermal deposits. Mineralization at Twin Creeks is hosted by Ordovician Sequence shales containing some carbonate minerals and by Pennsylvanian–Permian Etchart Formation limestone. Analysis of orthophosphate-soluble carbonate from these rocks shows that oxygen isotope haloes are detectable in Ordovician Sequence shales but not in Etchart Formation limestone. The soluble fraction of Ordovician Sequence shales at Twin Creeks has δ¹⁸O values of 12 to 24‰ and δ¹³C values of 0 to −10‰. Most samples fall along a poorly defined trend that extends from δ¹⁸O of about 24‰ and δ¹³C values of about 0, which are typical of unaltered limestones, toward lower values for both isotope systems, which are typical of rocks that have undergone alteration by hydrothermal fluids. Plots of these values along two sections through the ore body show that δ¹⁸O values of wallrocks are lowest in the ore zone and increase outward, forming a halo several hundred meters in size. In the same plots, δ¹³C values of the wallrocks do not show systematic spatial variations. The soluble fraction of Etchart Formation limestones at Twin Creeks have δ¹⁸O values of 25 to 5‰ and δ¹³C values of 4 to −10‰, but do not show any systematic spatial variation relative to mineralization at the scale of our samples. Failure of the Etchart Formation samples to show detectable haloes is probably related to deposition of post-ore carbonate minerals or lower ore fluid : rock ratios. Material balance calculations used to model the isotopic composition of average Ordovician Sequence shales indicate that changes in temperature and water : rock ratio were probably not sufficient to account for the wide range of isotope compositions observed in these rocks. The most likely additional factor contributing to this range of values was a change in the composition of the altering fluid, probably by mixing of the ore fluid with surrounding meteoric water. These results suggest that Carlin-type gold deposits are surrounded by haloes of low δ¹⁸O values, but that detection of these haloes could be complicated by local compositional variations and post-ore modification of the wallrocks.     

A 37-Meter Record of Paleoclimatological Events from Stable Isotope Data on Continental Molluscs in Valle di Castiglione, Near Rome, Italy

New stable isotope analyses on molluscan shells from a long core drilled in the crater lake of Valle di Castiglione, near Rome, extended the investigated portion of the core to 37 m. The succession of δ¹⁸O‰ values in the core interval 37–2.3 m ranges from −2.8 to +6.9‰ with only six samples below 0‰ _(PDB). These results point to arid climatic phases coupled with the high measured δ¹⁸O values of the biogenic carbonate. In contrast, depleted ¹⁸O samples correspond to wet climatic periods, in agreement with a strong evaporative control on the lake water isotopic composition. The ¹³C content of the shells shows sharp changes controlled by the dissolved inorganic carbon isotope budget. Isotopic data suggest that the whole body of water behaved as a closed system, thus resembling lacustrine systems located in arid and semiarid regions where hydrological control dominates the geochemical parameters.     

The effect of subaerial exposure on the morphology and microstructure of stromatolites in the Cretaceous Sinyangdong Formation,Gyeongsang Supergroup,Korea1

Stromatolite morphology is usually controlled by a number of biological and environmental factors. In the south‐eastern part of the Korean Peninsula, three stromatolite units of the Cretaceous Sinyangdong Formation have been studied with regard to the effect of diagenesis on their morphology. Here, it is proposed that subaerial exposure and meteoric diagenesis are the most significant factors in shaping the stromatolites of the Cretaceous Sinyangdong Formation. Most previous palaeontological and sedimentological studies on stromatolites have concentrated on the environmental and biogenic controls on stromatolite morphology. These include extrinsic factors such as sedimentation rates or current velocities. The main controlling factor on the morphology of the stromatolites in the Sinyangdong Formation is apparently transient subaerial exposure and related meteoric diagenesis. Textural examination of stromatolite samples from three stratigraphic horizons shows a characteristic repetitive pattern of cycles with gradual transition from fibrous calcite to micrite layers, reflecting changes in the hydrological cycle of the lake in which the stromatolites grew. Stromatolite growth was terminated by corroded surfaces indicative of subaerial exposure related to a fall in lake level. The growth pattern of the stromatolites was mostly determined by the morphology of the corroded substrates during subaerial exposure. Furthermore, the internal stromatolite structure was strongly modified by the process of leaching. As a result, growth forms mostly changed from stratiform to columnar mesostructure. This study strongly implies that diagenesis could make a very significant influence on the morphogenesis of lacustrine stromatolites in the geological past.     

Stromatolites of the upper Siyeh Limestone (Middle Proterozoic), Belt Supergroup,Glacier National Park,Montana

Calcareous stromatolites of the upper Siyeh Limestone (ca. 1.1 ° 10⁹ years old) were studied in the central part of Glacier National Park, Montana. The stromatolites, mound- and dome-shaped structures deposited in a shallow, generally submerged, tidally influenced setting, were formed by a combination of in situ carbonate precipitation and organic stabilization of detrital material. Well-developed, 1–4 cm diameter, branched columns occur in a single stromatolite bed.Physical factors, including the size and shape of sediment-surface irregularities upon which the stromatolites developed, the rate of sedimentation between stromatolites, and the water depth, played a major role in controlling stromatolite macrostructure. Deposition of non-organically stabilized detritus on stromatolite growth surfaces inhibited the development of small-diameter columns by smoothing over developing growth features. Columnar structures are absent in stromatolites that contain abundant non-organically stabilized sediment. In contrast, they are well-developed in a stromatolite bed that is relatively deficient in such material.“Molar-tooth” structures are common in the impure dolomitic limestones, and the abundant sheet-shaped forms appear to be sparry-calcite-filled syneresis cracks.     

Dolomite formation in breccias at the Musandam Platform border, Northern Oman Mountains, United Arab Emirates

The presence of dolomite breccia patches along Wadi Batha Mahani suggests large-scale fluid flow causing dolomite formation. The controls on dolomitization have been studied, using petrography and geochemistry. Dolomitization was mainly controlled by brecciation and the nearby Hagab thrust. Breccias formed as subaerial scree deposits, with clay infill from dissolved platform limestones, during Early Cretaceous emergence. Cathodoluminescence of the dolostones indicates dolomitization took place in two phases. First, fine-crystalline planar-s dolomite replaced the breccias. Later, these dolomites were recrystallized by larger non-planar dolomites. The stable isotope trend towards depleted values (δ¹⁸O: − 2.7‰ to − 10.2‰ VPDB and δ¹³C: − 0.6‰ to − 8.9‰ VPDB), caused by mixing dolomite types during sampling, indicates type 2 dolomites were formed by hot fluids. Microthermometry of quartz cements and karst veins, post-dating dolomites, also yielded high temperatures. Hot formation waters which ascended along the Hagab thrust are invoked to explain type 2 dolomitization, silicification and hydrothermal karstification.     

Carbon and Oxygen Isotopic Signatures in Albian-Danian Limestones of Cauvery Basin, Southeastern India

The Albian-Danian limestones of Cauvery Basin show a wide range of d¹³C and d¹⁸O values (–13.2 to +1.1% and –9.0 to –2.5%, respectively). The cement samples show negative carbon and oxygen isotope values (–18.9 to –3.9% and –9.0 to –4.3%, respectively). The petrographic study reveals the presence of algae, molluscs, bryozoans, foraminifers and ostracods as major framework constituents. The limestones have microspar and equant sparry calcite cements. The pore spaces and vugs are filled with sparry calcite cement. The bivariate plot of d¹³C and d¹⁸O suggests that most of the samples fall in the freshwater limestone and meteoric field, while few samples fall in the marine limestone and soil calcite fields. The presence of sparry calcite cement, together with negative carbon and oxygen isotope values, indicates that these limestones have undergone meteoric diagenesis.     

Cyclostratigraphy and high-frequency carbon isotope fluctuations in Upper Cretaceous shallow-water carbonates, southern Italy

Abstract A detailed carbon isotope study has been carried out on a Santonian (Upper Cretaceous) carbonate platform succession that crops out at Monte Sant'Erasmo (southern Italy). Previous centimetre‐scale studies on this succession have shown that high‐frequency eustatic changes, resulting from the Earth's orbital fluctuations, controlled the hierarchical organization of the depositional and early diagenetic features in elementary cycles, bundles (groups of three to five elementary cycles) and superbundles (groups of three or four bundles). The elementary cycles, which correspond to single beds, suggest a control caused by Earth's precession; the bundles and superbundles record the short (≈ 100 kyr) and long (≈ 400 kyr) eccentricity periodicity respectively. The δ¹³C signal of the Monte Sant'Erasmo succession is cyclic in nature and may be considered to be a reliable proxy for the sedimentary evolution (and related sea‐level history) of the analysed sequence. The carbon isotope cyclicity is recorded at bundle and superbundle level, but it is not evident at the scale of the elementary cycles, at least with the sampling interval used in this study. Spectral analysis of the δ¹³C record shows two main peaks corresponding to the short‐ and long‐eccentricity periodicity, whereas the precession signal is not evident in the power spectrum. In addition, lithofacies analysis shows that, in each bundle (and superbundle), higher C isotope values occur in sediments characterized by marine cements, whereas lower values are normally found in more restricted deposits overprinted by early meteoric diagenesis. Early diagenesis, driven by periodic sea‐level fluctuations, developed in either shallow‐subtidal (marine diagenesis) or subaerial‐exposed (meteoric overprint) sedimentary environments and directly influenced the carbon isotope signature. As a consequence, the δ¹³C record at Monte Sant'Erasmo reflects high‐frequency climatic oscillations controlling both environmental and early diagenetic changes. The long‐term isotopic record is similar to that of contemporaneous pelagic sections in England and elsewhere in Italy. It is concluded that the δ¹³C signature of shallow‐water carbonates, such as those of Monte Sant'Erasmo, offers great potential for correlation with coeval sections, including those of the pelagic realm.     

Paleoenvironmental framework of dinosaur tracksites and other ichnofossils in Early Cretaceous mixed siliciclastic-carbonate deposits in the Neuquén Basin,northern Patagonia (Argentina)

The study of the uppermost section of the Early Cretaceous Agrio Formation in northern Patagonia (Neuquén Basin) where dinosaur tracks assigned to cf. Therangospodus pandemicus are exposed (tracksites I and II) evidence mixed marginal marine siliciclastic-carbonate deposits. The succession was divided in two intervals. A lower one containing theropod tracks, recorded on top of subtidal oolithic limestones with tiny wave ripples suggesting shoreline fluctuations and subaerial exposure. Tidal influence is recognised by fining upward and prograding cycles starting with subtidal carbonates and ending with fine-grained siliciclastic deposits at the top, or rarely laminites. Dolomitization affects subtidal deposits generated in an alkaline media stressful for tracemakers. Intertidal facies include abundant heterolithic deposits, coquinas composed of gastropods encrusted by multilayered bryozoans and muddy levels with incipient mud cracking. Invertebrate ichnofossils recognized from tidally dominated deposits include Arenicolites, Kouphichnium, and Rhizocorallium. The upper interval is a transgressive–regressive cycle that starts with dark shales, deficiently oxygenated, and covered by prograding sandstones and finally sand flat deposits. This interval contains Gyrochorte, Hillichnus, and Ophiomorpha documented in wave-influenced sandstones. Dinosaur tracks as well as Hillichnus, attributed to tellinoid bivalves, and Kouphichnium assigned to xiphosurans, imply the activity of producers rarely recorded previously as body fossils in marginal marine deposits of southern South America. Previous paleogeographic schemes are questioned by our analysis, which shows evidence of extremely shallow and tide-controlled sedimentation, sometimes with subaerial exposure, with high cyclicity related to a marginal marine depositional setting and lack of significant erosion by the overlying unit, as traditionally was suggested.     

Oxygen and carbon isotope zonations of wall rocks around the Kamioka Pb---Zn skarn deposits, central Japan: application to prospecting

Mapping of the oxygen and carbon isotopic composition of hydrothermally altered wall rocks was conducted during blind ore prospecting for Pb---Zn skarn deposits in the Kamioka mining district, central Japan. The wall rocks consist of heterogeneous rock units. Oxygen and carbon isotope ratios were determined for 35 limestones and 33 silicate rocks from the area around the Mozumi deposit (3 km × 3 km) in the Kamioka mining district. The results (δ¹⁸O_spsmow of − 1.1 to + 17.3% and δ¹³C_sppdb of − 5.0 to +4.8% for limestones, and δ¹⁸O_spsmow of −0.8 to + 12.5% for silicate rocks) show isotope zonations of the wall rocks, with lighter isotopic compositions toward the center of mineralization. The isotope zonations likely formed by interaction of thermal waters with the wall rocks during skarn mineralization. The isotopically light zone indicates a higher paleotemperature or higher water-to-rock ratios, and occurs in the footwall of the 7Gohi fault. This structure is spatially related to the distribution of orebodies, indicating that the fault was the main conduit of the ore-forming fluids. The oxygen and carbon isotopic compositions of limestones vary regularly across limestone bodies hosted by the silicate wall rocks, suggesting that the thermal waters were pervasive throughout the wall rocks at the time of mineralization.An isotopically light zone was also found in the southeastern corner of the study area, where significant mineralization had yet to be identified. This suggested an extension of the extinct hydrothermal system to this area, and the possibility of hidden orebodies underneath. Recent drilling in this area has intercepted a zone 45 m thick with a grade of 13.4% Zn, 0.03% Pb and 8 g per metric ton at about 380 m depth.     

Reef-capping laminites in the Upper Silurian carbonate- to-evaporite transition, Michigan Basin, south-western Ontario

Silurian pinnacle reefs in the subsurface of the south‐western Ontario portion of the Michigan Basin display a variety of laminated carbonates (laminites) within predominantly muddy reef‐capping facies in the upper part of the Guelph Formation and the overlying A‐1 Carbonate of the Salina Group. Laminites, which are limestone, dolomite or partially dolomitized limestones, have a range of morphologies, from simple planar to a variety of wavy and serrated forms. Individual laminae are composed mainly of micrite, microspar or replacive dolomite, and vary internally from isopachous and continuous over the diameter of the core to non‐isopachous and often discontinuous. Clotted and peloidal micrite, sometimes defining small knobs and chambers, is interpreted as being microbial in origin and occurs within all types of laminites. Fibrous cement locally comprises laminite clasts in breccias or coats clasts in breccias, and also occurs as spherulites in the interparticle spaces in breccias. Although similar laminites have been described from elsewhere in the Michigan Basin and interpreted as caliche, travertine and abiotic subtidal stromatolites, the laminites in south‐western Ontario are most realistically regarded as microbial. The causes for the variations in morphology and characteristics of the constituent laminae are uncertain, although fluctuations in local microenvironmental conditions would have been important, set against a backdrop of an increasingly restricted overall setting. Caliche or travertine origins for these laminites are unlikely in general, except perhaps locally at the subaerial exposure surface at the tops of pinnacle reefs.     

Influence of pH and dissolved Si on Fe isotope fractionation during dissimilatory microbial reduction of hematite

Microbial dissimilatory iron reduction (DIR) has been identified as a mechanism for production of aqueous Fe(II) that has low ⁵⁶Fe/⁵⁴Fe ratios in modern and ancient suboxic environments that contain ferric oxides or hydroxides. These studies suggest that DIR could have played an important role in producing distinct Fe isotope compositions in Precambrian banded iron formations or other marine sedimentary rocks. However, the applicability of experimental studies of Fe isotope fractionation produced by DIR in geochemically simple systems to ancient marine environments remains unclear. Here we report Fe isotope fractionations produced during dissimilatory microbial reduction of hematite by Geobacter sulfurreducens in the presence and absence of dissolved Si at neutral and alkaline pH. Hematite reduction was significantly decreased by Si at alkaline (but not neutral) pH, presumably due to Si polymerization at the hematite surface. The presence of Si altered Fe isotope fractionation factors between aqueous Fe(II) or sorbed Fe(II) and reactive Fe(III), reflecting changes in bonding environment of the reactive Fe(III) component at the oxide surface. Despite these changes in isotopic fractionations, our results demonstrate that microbial Fe(III) oxide reduction produces Fe(II) with negative δ⁵⁶Fe values under conditions of variable pH and dissolved Si, similar to the large inventory of negative δ⁵⁶Fe in Neoarchean and Paleoproterozoic age marine sedimentary rocks.     

Lacustrine carbonates and pedogenesis: sedimentology and origin of palustrine deposits from the Early Cretaceous Rupelo Formation, W Cameros Basin, N Spain

The Berriasian Rupelo Formation of the W Cameros Basin consists of a 2–200 m thickness of marginal and open lacustrine carbonate and associated deposits. Open lacustrine facies contain a non-marine biota with abundant charophytes (both stems and gyrogonites), ostracods, gastropods and rare vertebrates. Carbonate production was mainly biogenic. The associated marginal lacustrine (‘palustrine’) facies show strong indications of subaerial exposure and exhibit a wide variety of pedogenic fabrics. Silicified evaporites found near to the top of the sequence reflect a short hypersaline phase in the lake history. The succession was laid down in a low gradient, shallow lake complex characterized by wide fluctuations of the shoreline. Carbon and oxygen stable isotope analyses from the carbonates show non-marine values with ranges of δ¹³ from ? 7 to ? 11‰and δ¹⁸ from ? 3 to ? 7.5‰. Differences in the isotopic composition of open lacustrine carbonates are consistent with sedimentary evidence of variation in organic productivity within the lake. Analyses from the entire sample suite plot on a linear trend; isotopic compositions become lighter with increasing evidence of pedogenic modification. This suggests progressive vadose zone diagenesis and influence of meteoric waters rich in soil-derived CO². The stable isotope data thus support evidence from petrography and facies relations that ‘palustrine’limestones form through pedogenic modification of lake carbonates.     

Boron isotope composition of geothermal fluids and borate minerals from salar deposits (central Andes/NW Argentina)

We have measured the boron concentration and isotope composition of regionally expansive borate deposits and geothermal fluids from the Cenozoic geothermal system of the Argentine Puna Plateau in the central Andes. The borate minerals borax, colemanite, hydroboracite, inderite, inyoite, kernite, teruggite, tincalconite, and ulexite span a wide range of δ¹¹B values from −29.5 to −0.3‰, whereas fluids cover a range from −18.3 to 0.7‰. The data from recent coexisting borate minerals and fluids allow for the calculation of the isotope composition of the ancient mineralizing fluids and thus for the constraint of the isotope composition of the source rocks sampled by the fluids. The boron isotope composition of ancient mineralizing fluids appears uniform throughout the section of precipitates at a given locality and similar to values obtained from recent thermal fluids. These findings support models that suggest uniform and stable climatic, magmatic, and tectonic conditions during the past 8 million years in this part of the central Andes. Boron in fluids is derived from different sources, depending on the drainage system and local country rocks. One significant boron source is the Paleozoic basement, which has a whole-rock isotopic composition of δ¹¹B=−8.9±2.2‰ (1 SD); another important boron contribution comes from Neogene-Pleistocene ignimbrites (δ¹¹B=−3.8±2.8‰, 1 SD). Cenozoic andesites and Mesozoic limestones (δ¹¹B≤+8‰) provide a potential third boron source.     

Depositional environments and sea-level changes deduced from Middle Weichselian tidally influenced sediments, Arkhangelsk region, northwestern Russia

Deposits from a Middle Weichselian transgression, the Mezen Transgression, are found in coastal sections in the Mezen and Chyorskaya Bays, northwestern Russia. The marine event is bracketed between two ice advances from the Barents and Kara Sea shelves and dated by Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) to around 60 kyr BP. The deposits represent a shallowing upward succession from offshore marine to intertidal coastal environments. Relative sea-level maximum was at least 40 m above the present owing to significant isostatic subsidence. The sedimentary record is dominated by shallow-marine, subtidal deposits bounded below by an erosion surface representing a downward shift in facies and above by subaerial exposure. The succession reflects deposition during forced regression due to isostatic uplift. A rapidly aggrading succession of subtidal deposits at one site suggests a relative sea-level rise or stillstand superimposed on the isostatically controlled sea-level fall. The rhythmic tidal deposits allow identification of semi-monthly to yearly cycles, providing an estimate of the sedimentation rate of 39 cm/year. This implies a high sediment yield and a rapid relative sea-level rise. We correlate this signal with the rapid eustatic sea-level rise at the end of OIS 4 known from deep-sea records.