湖相碳酸盐岩沉积微相类型及沉积模式

巴西大坎波斯盆地下白垩统湖相碳酸盐岩油气资源丰富,但是硅化碳酸盐岩的出现不仅使原始碳酸盐岩沉积微相类型和沉积模式有待系统研究,还给深水油气勘探开发带来了挑战。基于古地貌、壁芯薄片、测井响应等数据,分析了坎波斯盆地东部下白垩统硅化碳酸盐岩原始沉积的古水介质、湖平面变化及沉积微相,厘清了湖相碳酸盐岩发育的主控因素,建立起相应的沉积模式。借助Fischer曲线可将硅化碳酸盐岩发育段划分为一个可容空间由大减小再增大的三级旋回,湖平面表现为先下降后上升;湖盆中央古隆起周缘类似远端变陡缓坡,发育了灰泥坪、藻礁、颗粒滩、滩前前积体和滑塌体等5种沉积微相;古地貌决定了藻礁和颗粒滩发育在构造高部位的相对深水区,同时受湖平面变化而发生垂向互层叠置;该段碳酸盐岩沉积时期,湖平面至少出现过两次下降、三次上升,可以划分为高位湖退、低位湖退、低位湖侵、高位湖侵四个演化阶段。研究成果为湖相碳酸盐岩硅化成因分析、硅化作用过程研究及硅化碳酸盐岩中有利储层的寻找奠定了基础。     

Development of microbial carbonates in the Lower Cretaceous Codó Formation (north‐east Brazil): Implications for interpretation of microbialite facies associations and palaeoenvironmental conditions

The study of microbial carbonates has acquired new significance with the recognition that they retain valuable information related to biomineralization processes associated with microbial activity throughout geological time. Additionally, microbialites have a demonstrated economic potential to serve as excellent hydrocarbon reservoirs. The Lower Cretaceous Codó Formation, located in the Parnaiba Basin of north‐east Brazil, comprises a unique stratigraphic sequence of up to 20 m thick, well‐preserved carbonate microbialites. Deposited in a continental basin during the initial break up and separation of South America from Africa in the Early Cretaceous, this lacustrine carbonate sequence provides an excellent example to investigate the palaeoenvironmental conditions controlling microbialite facies development. Based on macroscopic and microscopic observations of outcrop and drill core samples, four microbialite facies (stromatolite, lamina, massive and spherulite) were defined and distinguished by textures and microbial fossil content. Changes in facies type are related to alternating palaeo‐water depths, as reflected by ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr cycles resulting from fluctuations in the sources of meteoric water. Clumped isotope measurements of stromatolitic fabrics yield precipitation palaeo‐temperatures with an average value of 35°C. The δ¹⁸O values of bulk carbonate (?6·8 to ?1·5‰ Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite) imply precipitation from water with calculated δ¹⁸O values between ?1·6‰ and 1·8‰ Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water, reflecting precipitation from variably modified meteoric waters. The δ¹³C values of bulk carbonate (?15·5 to ?7·2‰ Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite) indicate a significant input of carbon derived from aerobic or anaerobic respiration of organic matter. Combined, the data indicate that the evolution of the Codó Formation occurred in a closed lacustrine palaeoenvironment with alternating episodes of contracting and expanding lake levels, which led to the development of specific microbialite facies associations. The results provide new insights into palaeoenvironmental settings, biogenicity and early diagenetic processes involved in the formation of ancient carbonate microbialites and, by extension, improve the knowledge of the reservoir geology of correlative units in deep waters offshore Brazil.     

Climatic signals in lacustrine deposits of the Upper Yacoraite Formation,Western Argentina: Evidence from clay minerals,analcime, dolomite and fibrous calcite

Authigenic clays are an important control on reservoir quality in lacustrine carbonates but remain challenging to predict. Lacustrine depositional systems respond to climatic variations in rainfall, surface runoff and groundwater input, and evaporation, and result in rapid and frequent changes in lake volume; this is expressed through changing water depth and shoreline position. In the upper portion of the Early Palaeocene Yacoraite Formation of the Salta Basin in Argentina, extensive lacustrine deposits were deposited during the sag phase of rifting. Prior high-resolution stratigraphic studies have suggested that climatic factors control microbial carbonate sequences within a ‘balanced fill’ lake, with variation in the lake level having a major influence on facies association changes. This study characterizes the evolution of facies and mineralogy within the Yacoraite Formation, focusing on the distribution of clay minerals, making a link between the high, medium and low-frequency sequence stratigraphic cycles. The low-frequency transgressive hemicycle of the upper portion of the Yacoraite Formation is comprised of abundant siliciclastic facies, suggesting a wetter period. Microbialites occurring in this interval are coarse-grained and agglutinated. Detrital clay minerals such as illite and chlorite and associated siliciclastic sediments were input to the lake during high-frequency transgressive periods. During high-frequency regressive hemicycles, sedimentation was dominated by carbonate facies with Ca-rich dolomite and the authigenic clays are comprised of chlorite/smectite mixed-layers. By contrast, the low frequency regressive hemicycle records fine-grained agglutinated microbialite with horizons of fibrous calcite, more stoichiometric dolomite, barite and authigenic magnesian smectite. This indicates elevated ion concentrations in the lake under intense evaporation during an arid period. Understanding the conditions that are favourable for formation and preservation of authigenic clays within the lacustrine environment can improve understanding of reservoir quality in comparable economically important deposits.     

塔里木盆地西北缘震旦纪构造-沉积演化特征

本文在对塔里木盆地西北缘震旦系开展野外地质剖面实测工作及室内研究基础上,结合区域构造背景分析认为,塔里木盆地西北缘下震旦统苏盖特布拉克组发育河流相、湖泊相、滨海相及三角洲相碎屑岩沉积,上震旦统奇格布拉克组发育局限台地潮坪亚相、台内滩亚相碳酸盐岩沉积,底部发育混积潮坪相沉积。根据震旦系地层岩石组合特征及C同位素演化趋势,将震旦系划分为3个Ⅲ级层序：ZSQ Ⅰ、ZSQ Ⅱ和ZSQ Ⅲ,每个层序顶部分别对应一个不整合面。在此基础上建立塔里木盆地西北缘震旦纪拉张性裂谷沉积模式,并划分为3个构造沉积演化阶段：初始拉张阶段,对应于早震旦世早期,沉积一套粗碎屑岩堆积;快速拉张阶段,对应于早震旦世晚期,沉积一套湖相、滨海相、三角洲相砂岩,泥岩沉积,同时伴随玄武岩喷发;稳定沉降阶段,对应于晚震旦世,形成碳酸盐岩台地沉积。     

柴达木盆地西部新生界陆相湖盆碳酸盐岩沉积环境与沉积模式*

利用野外露头、岩心、测井录井和分析化验资料,对柴达木盆地西部(简称“柴西地区”)新生界干柴沟组湖相碳酸盐岩进行了研究,划分了其沉积微相类型,研究了其分布规律,分析其形成环境和控制因素,并建立了相应沉积模式。该区湖相碳酸盐岩在垂向上与碎屑岩频繁互层,湖相碳酸盐岩包括颗粒灰岩、藻灰岩、泥晶灰岩和混积岩4大类11种,划分出了灰泥坪、颗粒滩、藻丘(礁)、浅湖湾以及(半)深湖泥灰岩相等5种沉积微相。通过分析不同碳酸盐岩及其微相时空展布特征,认为其发育主要受控于湖盆构造运动、湖平面变化、陆源碎屑注入、古气候与古水介质条件、古地貌与古水深环境,并在此基础上建立了柴西湖相碳酸盐岩的沉积模式。研究认为柴达木盆地西部干柴沟组沉积时期,湖盆为典型咸化湖盆,构造活动相对稳定,湖平面上升达到峰值。碳酸盐岩主要发育在湖侵期,高频湖平面变化形成了碳酸盐岩与碎屑岩频繁互层。在枯水期,盆地坡折处发育碎屑岩滩坝或三角洲前缘沉积;在湖侵期,盆地坡折处发育了鲕粒滩及藻灰岩,盆地洼陷区发育泥灰岩或灰质泥岩。     

Paleoweathering features in the Sergi Formation (Jurassic-Cretaceous), northeastern Brazil,and implications for hydrocarbon exploration

Paleoweathering in the Sergi Formation has been classified and analyzed to ascertain its origin and relationship with stratigraphic evolution. The Sergi Formation belongs to the pre-rift sequence of the Recôncavo Basin (northeastern Brazil) and comprises a complex association of eolian and fluvial sandstones and lacustrine mudstones. This formation can be subdivided into three depositional sequences bounded by regional unconformities. Four paleoweathering types, each one related to a distinct origin, have been described in the Sergi Formation: (1) textural mottling, which is distinguished by alternating rock colors as a result of the iron oxide mobilization within mineral phases that evolved under alternating oxidation (yellowish, brownish and reddish shades) and reduction (grayish or greenish hues) conditions; (2) non-textural mottling, which displays a discoloration pattern that is independent of the original rock texture; (3) carbonate concentrations, usually related to carbonate nodule formation, which display a massive internal structure that reveals their origin through continuous growth or crystallization; and (4) banded carbonates (silicified), associated with the beginning of regular surface formation due to the chemical precipitation of carbonates within lacustrine environments. Both mottling color motifs and carbonate accumulation usually represent groundwater oscillation rather than pedogenesis. Only carbonate intraclasts and banded carbonate (silicified) have their origin ascribed to pedogenesis sensu stricto, although the carbonate intraclasts do not represent soil deposits in situ, but calcretes eroded from areas close to channels, and the banded carbonates (silicified) have strong diagenetic modifications. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that fluvial and meteoric water have controlled paleoweathering evolution as well as deposition, yet both aspects are ruled by the same mechanisms (relief, sedimentation rate and, above all, climate).     

Deep-water stratigraphic cyclicity and carbonate mud mound development in the Middle Cambrian Marjum Formation, House Range, Utah, USA

Abstract In mid‐Middle Cambrian time, shallow‐water sedimentation along the Cordilleran passive margin was abruptly interrupted by the development of the deep‐water House Range embayment across Nevada and Utah. The Marjum Formation (330 m) in the central House Range represents deposition in the deepest part of the embayment and is composed of five deep‐water facies: limestone–argillaceous limestone rhythmites; shale; thin carbonate mud mounds; bioturbated limestone; and cross‐bedded limestone. These facies are cyclically arranged into 1·5 to 30 m thick parasequences that include rhythmite–mound, rhythmite–shale, rhythmite–bioturbated limestone and rhythmite–cross‐bedded limestone parasequences. Using biostratigraphically constrained sediment accumulation rates, the parasequences range in duration from ≈14 to 270 kyr. The mud mounds are thin (<2 m), closely spaced, laterally linked, symmetrical domes composed of massive, fenestral, peloidal to clotted microspar with sparse unoriented, poorly sorted skeletal material, calcitized bacterial(?) filaments/tubes and abundant fenestrae and stroma‐ tactoid structures. These petrographic and sedimentological features suggest that the microspar, peloids/clots and syndepositional micritic cement were precipitated in situ from the activity of benthic microbial communities. Concentrated growth of the microbial communities occurred during periods of decreased input of fine detrital carbonate transported offshore from the adjacent shallow‐water carbonate platform. In the neighbouring Wah Wah Range and throughout the southern Great Basin, coeval mid‐Middle Cambrian shallow‐water carbonates are composed of abundant metre‐scale, upward‐shallowing parasequences that record high‐frequency (10⁴?10⁵ years) eustatic sea‐level changes. Given this regional stratigraphic relationship, the Marjum Formation parasequences probably formed in response to high‐frequency sea‐level fluctuations that controlled the amount of detrital carbonate input into the deeper water embayment. During high‐frequency sea‐level rise and early highstand, detrital carbonate input into the embayment decreased as a result of carbonate factory retrogradation, resulting in the deposition of shale (base of rhythmite–shale parasequences) or thin nodular rhythmites, followed by in situ precipitated mud mounds (lower portion of rhythmite–mound parasequences). During the ensuing high‐frequency sea‐level fall/lowstand, detrital carbonate influx into the embayment increased on account of carbonate factory pro‐ gradation towards the embayment, resulting in deposition of rhythmites (upper part of rhythmite–mound parasequences), reworking of rhythmites by a lowered storm wave base (cross‐bedded limestone deposition) or bioturbation of rhythmites by a weakened/lowered O₂‐minimum zone (bioturbated lime‐ stone deposition). This interpreted sea‐level control on offshore carbonate sedimentation patterns is unique to Palaeozoic and earliest Mesozoic deep‐water sediments. After the evolution of calcareous plankton in the Jurassic, the presence or absence of deeper water carbonates was influenced by a variety of chemical and physical oceanographic factors, rather than just physical transport of carbonate muds.     

Pericontinental petroliferous basins of the South Atlantic Ocean

Sedimentary basins located at Atlantic margins of South America and Africa (Brazil, Congo, and Angola) are composed of thick Cretaceous-Pleistocene rocks (7–9 km). The principal oil-bearing complexes of both regions are dominated by terrigenous rocks. Their accumulation took place at the rifting stage, ended with precipitation of evaporites in the Aptian at the oceanic stage of evolution. Starting with Coniacian and Campanian, the accumulation of terrigenous clastic formations in the Santos and Campos basins was governed by main phases of orogenesis in the Peruvian Andes. In the Angola and Lower Congo basins, the sedimentation was governed by movements related to the development of the East African Rift System. The formation of carbonate and carbonate-clayey sediments prevailed here at early (Albian-Late Eocene) stages of the South Atlantic opening.     

Analcime in lake and lake-margin sediments of the Carboniferous Rocky Brook Formation, Western Newfoundland, Canada

In the Deer Lake Basin of western Newfoundland, Canada, analcime has been found within fine-grained, siliciclastic and carbonate, lake and lake-margin sediments of the Carboniferous Rocky Brook Formation. Analcime is the only zeolite observed in these unmetamorphosed and non-volcanogenic rocks. Microscopic analcime occurs as vug-filling, limpid, isotropic to anisotropic crystals. Microprobe analyses show this type of analcime to be lower in silica than most analcime in sedimentary rocks. A second textural type of finer-grained submicroscopic analcime can be detected from X-ray diffraction spectra of Rocky Brook Formation mudstones, where it is associated with phyllosilicates (illite, interstratified chlorite/smectite, smectite, chlorite), other silicates (quartz, feldspar) and carbonates (dolomite, calcite). Results of this study suggest that the analcime in the Rocky Brook Formation formed either by direct lakewater/porewater precipitation or by reaction of these waters with one or more clay mineral types or plagioclase.     

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.     

巴西坎波斯盆地和桑托斯盆地油气分布差异及主控因素

巴西坎波斯盆地和桑托斯盆地均为典型的被动陆缘盆地。随着勘探程度的增加和近年来在桑托斯盆地深水区盐下油气的重大发现,坎波斯盆地和桑托斯盆地之间的构造-沉积演化和油气地质特征的差异性越来越明显。通过对坎波斯盆地和桑托斯盆地区域地质特征和油气成藏条件差异性的比较,总结出两个盆地油气分布特征的截然不同。研究表明,盐窗比较发育的坎波斯盆地中已发现的油气主要富集于盐上浊积砂岩,而连续盐岩发育的桑托斯盆地已发现的油气则主要富集于盐下湖相碳酸盐岩。对于盐下层系,连续分布的盐岩和圣保罗高地的发育控制了盐下层系油气的分布;对于盐上层系,盐相关构造的发育则为油气垂向运移提供了有利通道,从而控制了盐上油气藏的形成与分布。     

Climatic signals in the Holocene carbonate sedimentary record of Namshi-Nur lake,West Baikal region

A new high-resolution Holocene climate record of the Western Baikal region from the evaporite sediments of one of the small saline lakes with the carbonate type of sedimentation are obtained on the basis of detailed mineralogical and crystallochemical studies of chemogenic carbonates. All carbonate phases occurring in the sediment are identified by decomposition of complex XRD-profiles of carbonates into individual peaks using the Pearson VII function, and the quantitative relationships between them are determined. Mg-calcites provide the major paleoclimatic information. The carbonate record contains data on the stratigraphic distribution of Mg-calcites, in which the number and ratio between the phases of different magnesium contents are determined by the past values of the Mg/Ca ratio, salinity, and total alkalinity of lake water that vary according to climatic cycles and fluctuations of the lake level. The high potential of the approach proposed for paleoclimatic reconstructions is demonstrated.     

巴西坎普斯盆地油气地质特征

坎普斯盆地为典型的被动大陆边缘拉伸裂谷盆地,由前裂谷期(非海相)、同裂谷期(过渡相)及后裂谷期(海相)三个构造层组成.含盐层序为区域盖层,盐下层序泥页岩和盐上层序坎普斯组泥页岩为局部盖层;主要烃源岩为下白垩统拉高亚费耶组湖相黑色钙质页岩;古近系和新近系浊积砂岩为主力储集体,上白垩统浊积岩也是重要储层,下白垩统尼欧克姆阶...     

Upper Aptian mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sequences from Tucano Basin,Northeastern Brazil: Implications for paleogeographic reconstructions following Gondwana break-up

The evolution of the Cretaceous basins of the Brazilian northeastern hinterland was associated with the Gondwana rifting and opening of the South Atlantic Ocean. The first marine ingression in northeastern Brazil occurred in the late Aptian and was recorded as the Santana Group of the Araripe Basin, which is currently an isolated basin, located hundreds of kilometers away from the Brazilian marginal basins. Bellow the first upper Aptian marine deposits, an important section of fossiliferous limestone (Lagerstätte) was deposited and preserved in the Crato Formation transitioning upward into evaporites of the Ipubi Formation. The direction of the marine ingression is controversial, with several possibilities being suggested, mainly due to the absence of other areas of upper Aptian marine sections within the hinterland. Serra do Tonã is a sedimentary mesa with scarped edges where the upper part of the Marizal Formation crops out, displaying laminated limestones, litho- and chrono-correlated with those of the Crato Formation, is preserved. Therefore, this mixed upper Aptian section, at the North Tucano Basin (Serra do Tonã), is a unique occurrence of utmost importance to the definition of sedimentary events and paleogeographical reconstruction of northeastern Brazil during the late Aptian. A detailed stratigraphic analysis allowed the definition and characterization of two upper Aptian depositional sequences bounded by regional disconformities. Both sequences are dominantly transgressive and carbonate-siliciclastic in composition. The lower sequence comprises the basal portion of the Marizal Formation and consists of a succession of fluvial sandstones, ending on a laterally continuous thin interval (<15 m) of interbedded shales and limestones bearing exposure features and paleosols on the top. The limestones show a diversity of microfacies, including microbialites, organized in high-frequency deepening-upward cycles. The recognized sequence stratigraphic architecture resembles the lower part of the Barbalha Formation in the Araripe Basin, positioned in the same palynological zone, suggesting the correlation of the shale-carbonate interval in the Serra Tonã with the Batateira Beds in the Araripe Basin. The upper sequence also exhibits a fining upward pattern, with a vertical succession starting with sandstones and shales deposited in fluvial and deltaic environments, culminating upward in laminated limestones and lacustrine shales. The stratigraphic succession is very similar to the upper portion of the Barbalha Formation in the Araripe Basin, and the laminated limestones are lithostratigraphically classified as the Crato Formation. These limestones also comprise several microfacies, organized in a transgressive-regressive cycle with the maximum flooding surface positioned on relatively deep-water carbonates. Fluvial paleocurrent directions, which are similar to those of the Araripe Basin, suggest that both basins were part of the same continental paleodrainage, flowing to the south, where the South Atlantic proto-ocean was located. Fish fossils found in shales of the Marizal Formation, further south in the Central Tucano Basin and in the same stratigraphic interval of those of the lower sequence, were interpreted as marine forms. Indeed, some of them were considered to have Tethyan affinity, probably coming from an incipient Equatorial Atlantic gateway, supporting the interpretation based on the paleocurrents. The limestones at the top of the Serra do Tonã, which are also found in inselbergs in the Jatobá Basin, are relicts of a once extensive cover of Aptian carbonate deposits, now restricted because of uplifting and erosion events from the Late Cretaceous to the Cenozoic.     

Alluvial-fan-carbonate facies with evaporites, Eocene Guarga Formation, Southern Pyrenees, Spain

Continental carbonates of the basal part of the Guarga Formation, Upper Eocene, have been studied in the field and in the laboratory. Both geographic pattern and vertical sequences served as a basis for sedimentary models. The pattern reveals that carbonate deposition was greater in the western part of the Tremp-Graus Basin than in the eastern part. Studies of slabs and thin sections suggest high energy deposition in the eastern part of the basin and low energy deposition in the western part. Gross lithology, petrography, and faunal/floral associations indicate sedimentary environments which include calcimorphic palaeosoils, caliche nodule zones, solid caliche nodule zones, caliche crusts, fluvial carbonates, paludal carbonates, and pond/lake carbonates. Distribution pattern of the carbonate bodies and lithologies seem to be controlled by alluvial-fan processes. They are typical fining-upward sequences in the sense of Collinson (1978) which furthermore can be assigned to a channel-bound group and a succession independent of fluvial channels. Referring to fan-physiography the sequences can be subdivided into fluvial proximal interchannel, fluvial distal interchannel, lacustrine distal interchannel, nearshore lacustrine-paludine, and lacustrine offshore carbonate facies. The two last categories are distal alluvial plain and/or fan-edge associations. The presence of especially charophyte oogonia adjacent to pseudomorphs of lenticular gypsum in the lacustrine carbonates of the western Tremp-Graus Basin indicates that their depositional environment was that of shallow lakes with alternating salinities. Diagenetic alterations consist of three major phenomena: (a) general cementation of the carbonates by low-Mg calcite, (b) pseudomorphs of lenticular gypsum, and (c) silification. The relationship of gypsum and silica diagenesis to the regional distribution of lacustrine carbonates suggests early diagenetic processes for their formation. Gypsum pseudomorphs are small and are found to be replaced by Fe-calcite throughout the whole area, or are large and replaced preferentially by silica in the west only. There is experimental evidence (Cody, 1979) that distribution of gypsum morphology and crystal sizes can be related to increased salinities and increased organic production in the west. Chert-gypsum fabrics from that area resemble the ‘silex nectique’ of Cayeux (1929). The occurrence of this noteworthy type of chert together with length-slow chalcedony is an indication of relatively early silification of the gypsum. It is suggested that the sediments containing the silicified lenticular gypsum hosted brines of partly marine origin which alternately became brackish or fresh. An attempt was made to check the influence of evaporation during carbonate deposition by determining the stable isotope composition of the carbonates and of the chert. The data show no distinct variations with respect to the presumed palaeoenvironments. The ranges in the carbonates (δ¹³C ? 5,0 to ?7,9; δ¹⁸ O ?4,5 to ?7,7) fit among the data given in the literature. The values derived from chert (δ¹⁸O 26,9 to 31 SMOW) support a concept of alternating salinities. Distribution of carbonate lithofacies indicate a systematic change in sedimentation from fluvial/ephemeral to permanent lacustrine from east to west. Diagenetic alterations suggest an increase of salinities of pore waters in the same direction. In addition the lacustrine limestones in the west were due to frequent changes in pore-water salinity. Similar sequences lacking subtidal and/or lagoonal fossil associations but including pseudomorphs of carbonate and chert after lenticular gypsum were described from the Lower Purbeckian of Dorset (West, 1964, 1975, 1979), and from the Tertiary of the Paris Basin (Fontes, 1968). Guarga limestone environments of especially the western Tremp-Graus Basin probably resembled the modern semi-arid ephemeral saline lakes in Australia (Burne, Bauld & De Dekker, 1980). Gypsum precipitation in these environments can be compared to the one in modern sabkhas from the Mediterranean coast of Egypt (West, Ali & Hilmy, 1979; Ali West & Hilmy, 1980).     

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.     

Authigenic carbonate burial in the Late Devonian–Early Mississippian Bakken Formation (Williston Basin,USA)

Late Devonian (Famennian) marine successions globally are typified by organic-rich black shales deposited in anoxic and euxinic waters and the cessation of shelf carbonate sedimentation. This global ‘carbonate crisis’, known as the Hangenberg Event, coincides with a major extinction of reef-building metazoans and perturbations to the global carbon cycle, evidenced by positive carbon-isotope excursions of up to 4‰. It has been suggested that authigenic carbonate, formed as cements in sedimentary pore spaces during early burial diagenesis, is a significant mass fraction of the total global carbon burial flux, particularly during periods of low oxygen concentration. Because some authigenic carbonate could have originated from remineralization of organic carbon in sediments, it is possible for this reservoir to be isotopically depleted and thereby drive changes in the carbon isotopic composition of seawater. This study presents bulk isotopic and elemental analyses from fine-grained siliciclastics of the Late Devonian–Early Mississippian Bakken Formation (Williston Basin, USA) to assess the volume and isotopic composition of carbonates in these sediments. Carbonate in the Bakken black shales occurs primarily as microscopic disseminated dolomite rhombs and calcite cements that, together, comprise a significant mass-fraction (ca 9%). The elemental composition of the shales is indicative of a dynamic anoxic to sulphidic palaeoenvironment, likely supported by a fluctuating chemocline. Despite forming in an environment favourable to remineralization of organic matter and the precipitation of isotopically depleted authigenic carbonates, the majority of carbon isotope measurements of disseminated carbonate fall between −3‰ and +3‰, with systematically more depleted carbonates in the deeper-water portions of the basin. Thus, although there is evidence for a significant total mass-fraction of carbonate with contribution from remineralized organic matter, Bakken authigenic carbonates suggest that Famennian black shales are unlikely to be sufficiently ¹³C-depleted relative to water column dissolved inorganic carbon to serve as a major lever on seawater isotopic composition.     

Aragonite and calcite preservation in sediments from Lake Iznik related to bottom lake oxygenation and water column depth

This study examines the forcing mechanisms driving long‐term carbonate accumulation and preservation in lacustrine sediments in Lake Iznik (north‐western Turkey) since the last glacial. Currently, carbonates precipitate during summer from the alkaline water column, and the sediments preserve aragonite and calcite. Based on X‐ray diffraction data, carbonate accumulation has changed significantly and striking reversals in the abundance of the two carbonate polymorphs have occurred on a decadal time scale, during the last 31 ka cal bp . Different lines of evidence, such as grain size, organic matter and redox sensitive elements, indicate that reversals in carbonate polymorph abundance arise due to physical changes in the lacustrine setting, for example, water column depth and lake mixing. The aragonite concentrations are remarkably sensitive to climate, and exhibit millennial‐scale oscillations. Extending observations from modern lakes, the Iznik record shows that the aerobic decomposition of organic matter and sulphate reduction are also substantial factors in carbonate preservation over long time periods. Lower lake levels favour aragonite precipitation from supersaturated waters. Prolonged periods of stratification and, consequently, enhanced sulphate reduction favour aragonite preservation. In contrast, prolonged or repeated exposure of the sediment–water interface to oxygen results in in situ aerobic organic matter decomposition, eventually leading to carbonate dissolution. Notably, the Iznik sediment profile raises the hypothesis that different states of lacustrine mixing lead to selective preservation of different carbonate polymorphs. Thus, a change in the entire lake water chemistry is not strictly necessary to favour the preservation of one polymorph over another. Therefore, this investigation is a novel contribution to the carbon cycle in lacustrine systems.     

Early Cretaceous ostracod biostratigraphy of eastern Brazil and western Africa: An overview

Petroleum exploration in the offshore basins of eastern Brazil and western Africa has been aided for the last fifty years by an understanding of the Early Cretaceous ostracod biostratigraphy of the proto-South Atlantic. This review charts the development of the presently accepted zonation from its early development in the Recôncavo–Tucano Basin and recognition as palaeontological evidence for continental drift in the 1960s, to its application over the following five decades in the Brazilian Sergipe–Alagoas, Araripe and Campos basins and the western African Congo, Gabon and Kwanza basins. The distribution of ostracod species in the lakes which formed during the early stages of the opening of the Atlantic during the Early Cretaceous was often extensive, and this has resulted in effectively South Atlantic-wide application for many species, and certainly for the zonation as a whole. Indeed, petroleum companies continue to exploit the predictability of the ostracods in South Atlantic operations due to the fact that they are often able to provide accurate constraints on stratigraphic position for a relatively low cost. However, the ostracod biozonations of the pre-Salt section for several eastern Brazilian basins, such as the Recôncavo–Tucano, Sergipe–Alagoas and Campos, have not been thoroughly revised since the 1980s, and the taxonomy of these remains somewhat outdated. Furthermore, ostracod biozonations for many basins on both coasts (e.g. the Brazilian Espírito Santo and the western African Namibe basins) have never been published. An updated and revised taxonomy of the ostracods of the basins of eastern Brazil and western Africa is presented (Appendix I), as well as a revision of the biozonation on both sides of the modern day Atlantic Ocean. It is hoped that this paper will act as a catalyst for further work in the basins surrounding the modern day South Atlantic, which hold much interest for petroleum companies and micropalaeontologists alike.