Colour origin of upper cretaceous pelagic red sediments within the Eastern Pontides, northeast Turkey

 Characteristic samples of Upper Cretaceous pelagic red sediments from different parts of the Eastern Pontides (NE Turkey) have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive analyses (SEM/EDAX). The red sediments are composed of limestone and muddy limestone, and characterized by abundant planktonic foraminifers. Hematite content ranges from 0.5 to 3.0 wt.%. Electron microscope observations suggest that the hematite pigment has a diagenetic origin. The red colour is due to presence of hematite pigment, and indicates oxidizing conditions during early diagenesis in a relatively deep marine environment. Received: 4 January 1999 / Accepted: 8 July 1999     

Insights into rock avalanche emplacement processes from detailed morpho‐lithological studies of the Tschirgant deposit (Tyrol,Austria)

Large, rapid rockslope failures generate deposits with complex morphologies due to a number of causal and influencing factors. To investigate these, we conducted a detailed case study at the carbonate Tschirgant deposit (Tyrol, Austria). It preserved evidence of simultaneous rock sliding (very large, coherent hummocks) and rock avalanche spreading (smaller, more scattered hummocks and ridges). Motion indicators, such as longitudinal ridges furthermore pinpoint the transition between linear sliding and radial spreading. The lithological distribution in the Tschirgant deposit shows that it retained source stratigraphy despite being split into two accumulation lobes by a high bedrock ridge. Furthermore, lithology had a very strong control on the final deposit morphology in that the different lithologic units form individual deposit surfaces. River erosion has created fortuitous outcrops that reveal the basal rock avalanche contact. The underlying valley‐fill sediments (substrates) have been intricately involved in shaping the rock avalanche morphology and, where entrained, highlight internal rock avalanche deformation features. This study shows that intrinsic dynamic properties of granular media (e.g. tendency for longitudinal alignments), emplacement mode, lithology (and source predisposition), runout path topography, and substrates form the quintet of causal factors that shape rock avalanche morphology. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lacustrine and palustrine carbonate petrography: an overview

Lacustrine limestones were formerly identified by their faunistic (limnea, planorbis) and floristic (Charophytes) content. For 30 years, indications of pedogenesis have been found in many lacustrine deposits, and consequently the concept of palustrine limestone was defined.Lacustrine fabrics are not that numerous: varved, laminated, homogeneous, peloidal, brecciated, gravelly, bioturbated (burrows), bioclastic, algal, and stromatolitic. Detrital beds are sometimes present and are interpreted as bottomset deposits. Palustrine fabrics result from exposure and pedogenesis of lacustrine mud. The main processes involved in this evolution are: cracking, with planar, curved, craze and skew planes, colonization by plants resulting in root traces, marmorization (redistribution of iron due to water table fluctuation), and redistribution of carbonates (needles, subspherical or cylindrical vertical nodules, carbonate coatings, early and late diagenetic crystals, Microcodium). Carbonate palustrine features can be associated with other minerals: palygorskite, gypsum, or silica. Alternation of lacustrine sedimentation and exposure/pedogenesis leads to the pseudo-microkarst facies resulting from enlargement of the complex network of root traces and horizontal cracks. The voids in the pseudo-microkarst facies are infilled with a polyphased internal sediment composed of carbonate and vadose silt and phreatic and vadose cements. Traces of exposure and pedogenesis are less in evidence in lacustrine bioclastic sands and algal-stromatolitic limestones. Finally, under certain conditions, the surficial laminar horizon and its associated perlitic crust (ooids) develops on palustrine muds and form a desert stromatolite.     

Fusulinoidean faunal succession of a Paleo–Tethyan oceanic seamount in the Changning–Menglian Belt, West Yunnan, Southwest China: An overview

Abstract   Fusulinoidean faunal succession from Paleo–Tethyan seamount-type carbonates of the Yutangzhai section in the Central zone of the Changning–Menglian Belt of West Yunnan, Southwest China, is presented for the first time. The Changning–Menglian Belt is one of the orogenic belts that represent the closed main Paleo–Tethys in East Asia. The Yutangzhai section is represented by basalts and overlying carbonates, about 1100 m thick. It exhibits a continuous faunal succession composed of 17 fusulinoidean assemblages ranging from the Serpukhovian (late Mississippian/late Early Carboniferous) to Midian/Capitanian (late Middle Permian/late Guadalupian). No significant faunal break can be recognized in this section. The generic and some specific composition of the Yutangzhai assemblages indicates that the faunal succession is similar to those observed in Tethyan and Panthalassan areas and is of tropical Tethyan type although their generic diversity is definitely lower than those of Paleo–Tethyan shelves, such as South China, Indochina, and Central Asia. Throughout the Yutangzhai section, the carbonate rocks are essentially massive, very pure in composition, and devoid of terrigenous siliciclastic inputs. These lithologic characters are identical to those observed in accreted shallow-marine carbonate successions of seamount origin in Permian and Jurassic accretionary complexes of Japan, for example the Akiyoshi Limestone. This evidence further demonstrates the seamount origin of the basalt–limestone succession in the Central zone of the Changning–Menglian Belt from the viewpoint of lithofacies. In middle Mississippian (middle Early Carboniferous) time, oceanic submarine volcanism that was probably related to hot spot activities formed a number of seamounts and oceanic plateaus. It was active not only in the Panthalassa, but also in the Paleo–Tethys.     

Structural controls on non fabric‐selective dolomitization within rift‐related basin‐bounding normal fault systems: Insights from the Hammam Faraun Fault,Gulf of Suez,Egypt

Fault‐controlled dolostone bodies have been described as potential hydrocarbon‐bearing reservoirs. Numerous case studies have described the shape and size of these often non fabric selective dolostone bodies within the vicinity of crustal‐scale lineaments, usually from Palaeozoic or Mesozoic carbonate platforms, which have undergone one or more phases of burial and exhumation. There has been little attention paid, however, to fault‐strike variability in dolostone distribution or the preferential localization of these bodies on particular faults. This study focuses on dolostone bodies adjacent to the Hammam Faraun Fault (HFF), Gulf of Suez. This crustal‐scale normal fault was activated in the Late Oligocene, coincident with the onset of extension within the Suez Rift. Dolomitization in the prerift Eocene Thebes Formation occurred in the immediate footwall of the HFF forming two massive, non facies selective dolostone bodies, ca. 500 m wide. Facies‐controlled tongues of dolostone on the margins of the massive dolostone bodies extend for up to 100 m. The geochemical signature of the dolostone bodies is consistent with replacement by Miocene seawater, contemporaneous with the rift climax and localization of strain along the HFF. A conceptual model of dolomitization from seawater that circulated within the HFF during the rift climax is presented. Seawater was either directly drawn down the HFF or circulated from the hanging wall basin via a permeable aquifer towards the HFF. The lateral extent of the massive dolostone bodies was controlled by pre‐existing HFF‐parallel fracture corridors on the outer margins of the damage zone of the fault. The behaviour of these fracture corridors alternated between acting as barriers to fluid flow before rupture and acting as flow conduits during or after rupture. Multiple phases of dolomitization and recrystallization during the ca. 10 Ma period in which dolomitization occurred led to mottled petrographical textures and wide‐ranging isotopic signatures. The localization of dolomitization on the HFF is interpreted to reflect its proximity to a rift accommodation zone which facilitated vertical fluid flow due to perturbed and enhanced stresses during fault interaction. It is possible that the presence of jogs along the strike of the fault further focused fluid flux. As such, it is suggested that the massive dolostones described in this study provide a window into the earliest stages of formation of fault‐controlled hydrothermal dolostone bodies, which could have occurred in other areas and subsequently been overprinted by more complex diagenetic and structural fabrics.     

吉辽地区新元古代臼齿碳酸盐岩岩相的若干岩石学特征研究

通过研究吉辽地区新元古代地层中一种特殊的沉积构造--臼齿(简称MT)构造,揭示了它的时空分布范围、分类和含该沉积构造岩石的宏观和微观特征,并对该种构造的形成环境进行了简要讨论.吉林辽宁地区的臼齿构造主要发育在新元古代地层中,按其成因可分为原地和异地两类.其中原地MT主要分布在泥晶灰岩、粉屑泥晶灰岩、泥灰岩或泥岩中,按其形态可分为丝状,条带状和瘤状3个亚类,13种微相类型.异地MT主要发育在砂屑灰岩、钙质粉砂岩或粉砂质泥岩中.臼齿碳酸盐岩的岩石学特征指示其形成并发育于稳定克拉通浅海潮下环境,特别是中-深缓坡上部向上变浅旋回的底部.     

Sequence stratigraphy based on microfacies analysis: Mfamosing Limestone,Calabar Flank,Nigeria

Field observations and petrographic analysis allow a sequence-stratigraphic interpretation of the intensely karstified Albian Mfamosing Limestone Formation in the Calabar Flank of the south-eastern Niger Delta. Main criteria for this interpretation are the presence of siliciclastic intercalations, of prominent hardgrounds, of characteristic microfacies including stromatolites and of phreatic and vadose diagenetic patterns. These criteria enable the recognition, from bottom to top in the type section of the Mfamosing Limestone, of a late phase in the formation of a highstand systems tract and of a flooding surface followed by a lowstand systems tract in which erosional features have been developed locally. The succession is topped by a transgressive systems tract. Some of these units and key sequence-stratigraphic boundaries have been traced into other outcrops in the area. In their identification within the heavily karstified outcrops, petrography overprints and vertical sequence patterns play a significant role. A sedimentation model explains the areal differences in development. Siliciclastic shedding influenced the carbonate system. Time-equivalent carbonate bodies occur on either side of the opening South Atlantic Ocean.     

Larger foraminifera distribution and strontium isotope stratigraphy of the La Cova limestones (Coniacian–Santonian, “Serra del Montsec”, Pyrenees, NE Spain)

The Upper Cretaceous La Cova limestones (southern Pyrenees, Spain) host a rich and diverse larger foraminiferal fauna, which represents the first diversification of K-strategists after the mass extinction at the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary.The stratigraphic distribution of the main taxa of larger foraminifera defines two assemblages. The first assemblage is characterised by the first appearance of lacazinids (Pseudolacazina loeblichi) and meandropsinids (Eofallotia simplex), by the large agglutinated Montsechiana montsechiensis, and by several species of complex rotalids (Rotorbinella campaniola, Iberorotalia reicheli, Orbitokhatina wondersmitti and Calcarinella schaubi). The second assemblage is defined by the appearance of Lacazina pyrenaica, Palandrosina taxyae and Martiguesia cyclamminiformis.A late Coniacian-early Santonian age was so far accepted for the La Cova limestones, based on indirect correlation with deep-water facies bearing planktic foraminifers of the Dicarinella concavata zone. Strontium isotope stratigraphy, based on many samples of pristine biotic calcite of rudists and ostreids, indicates that the La Cova limestones span from the early Coniacian to the early-middle Santonian boundary. The first assemblage of larger foraminifera appears very close to the early-middle Coniacian boundary and reaches its full diversity by the middle Coniacian. The originations defining the second assemblage are dated as earliest Santonian: they represent important bioevents to define the Coniacian-Santonian boundary in the shallow-water facies of the South Pyrenean province.By means of the calibration of strontium isotope stratigraphy to the Geological Time Scale, the larger foraminiferal assemblages of the La Cova limestones can be correlated to the standard biozonal scheme of ammonites, planktonic foraminifers and calcareous nannoplankton. This correlation is a first step toward a larger foraminifera standard biozonation for Upper Cretaceous carbonate platform facies.     

High-frequency cyclicity (Milankovitch and millennial-scale) in slope-apron carbonates: Zechstein (Upper Permian), North-east England

The Upper Permian (Zechstein) slope carbonates in the Roker Formation (Zechstein 2nd‐cycle Carbonate) in North‐east England consist of turbidites interbedded with laminated lime‐mudstone. Studies of turbidite bed thickness and relative proportion of turbidites (percentage turbidites in 20 cm of section) reveal well‐developed cyclicities consisting of thinning‐upward and thickening‐upward packages of turbidite beds. These packages are on four scales, from less than a metre, up to 50 m in thickness. Assuming that the laminae of the hemipelagic background sediment are annual allows the durations of the cycles to be estimated. In addition, counting the number and thickness of turbidite beds in 20 cm of laminated lime‐mudstone, which is approximately equivalent to 1000 years (each lamina is 200 μm), gives the frequencies of the turbidite beds, the average thicknesses and the overall sedimentation rates through the succession for 1000 year time‐slots. Figures obtained are comparable with modern rates of deposition on carbonate slopes. The cyclicity present in the Roker Formation can be shown to include: Milankovitch‐band ca 100 kyr short‐eccentricity, ca 20 kyr precession and ca 10 kyr semi‐precession cycles and sub‐Milankovitch millennial‐scale cycles (0·7 to 4·3 kyr). Eccentricity and precession‐scale cycles are related to ‘highstand‐shedding’ and relative sea‐level change caused by Milankovitch‐band orbital forcing controlling carbonate productivity. The millennial‐scale cycles, which are quasi‐periodic, probably are produced by environmental changes controlled by solar forcing, i.e. variations in solar irradiance, or volcanic activity. Most probable here are fluctuations in carbonate productivity related to aridity–humidity and/or temperature changes. Precession and millennial‐scale cycles are defined most strongly in early transgressive and highstand parts of the larger‐scale short‐eccentricity cycles. The duration of the Roker Formation as a whole can be estimated from the thickness of the laminated lithotype as ca 0·3 Myr.