Aragonite cycles: diagenesis caught in the act

Organic biomarker and nannofossil assemblages are used in combination with sedimentary petrology to identify the role of diagenesis for the formation of a rhythmic calcareous succession. A record from the Early Pliocene of the Maldives (Ocean Drilling Program, ODP Leg 115) is presented containing precession and eccentricity cycles expressed as variable aragonite content. Additional sub‐Milankovitch cycles are caused by rhythmic precipitation of calcite cement in the lower part of the interval. Comparison with palaeo‐productivity indicators (nannofossils, chlorin, total organic carbon) suggests that cementation occurs preferentially in intervals characterized by increasing or decreasing productivity. The coupled variability in productivity and carbonate diagenesis is attributed to the effect of organic matter degradation in the sediment. The observed combination of primary and diagenetic factors hampers the interpretation of the cyclicity on Milankovitch and sub‐Milankovitch scales. Diagenetically stable proxies for palaeo‐productivity, such as nannofossil assemblage data, were used to distinguish between palaeoclimate and diagenetic influences.     

Upper Oligocene-Lower Miocene shallowing-upwardlacustrine sequences controlled by periodic and non-periodic processes(Ebro Basin, northeastern Spain)

The lacustrine facies from two sections (Candasnos and Fraga) ofthe Oligocene-Miocene Torrente de Cinca lithostratigraphic Unit in thecentral part of the Ebro Basin (Spain) have been analysed to determine theinfluence of orbital parameters in lacustrine sedimentation. The unit ispredominantly composed of limestones and marls, and represents a shallowlacustrine freshwater system. The sedimentological features of the faciesstudied demonstrate that the lower part of the Candasnos section representsoffshore lacustrine subenvironments whereas the upper part, and the whole ofthe Fraga section, characterise marginal lacustrine areas. Series of stratalthickness variations of limestone, marl, and limestone/marl couplets fromboth sections have been analysed using spectral analysis. This shows thatinformation corresponding to periodic cycles only appears in the offshorefacies, that is to say, in the lower part of Candasnos section, and disappearsin the marginal facies where non-periodic cycles exist. Furthermore, thespectral analysis of the offshore facies highlights the existence of a peak inthe power spectrum with a period of around 7 (6.8 to 7.8) that can berecognised in the field as shallowing-upward lacustrine sequences.Magnetostratigraphic data from the Candasnos section allow us to establish atime span of 2,808 years for the limestone/marl couplet from the lower partof this section, and between 19,000 and 22,000 years for the periodic cycleidentified, thus representing the climatic precession cycle. Shallowingsequences from marginal areas do not correspond with any periodiccycle.     

Authigenic carbonate precipitates from the NE Black Sea: a mineralogical,geochemical, and lipid biomarker study

Carbonate precipitates recovered from 2,000 m water depth at the Dolgovskoy Mound (Shatsky Ridge, north eastern Black Sea) were studied using mineralogical, geochemical and lipid biomarker analyses. The carbonates differ in shape from simple pavements to cavernous structures with thick microbial mats attached to their lower side and within cavities. Low δ¹³C values measured on carbonates (−41 to −32‰ V-PDB) and extracted lipid biomarkers indicate that anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) played a crucial role in precipitating these carbonates. The internal structure of the carbonates is dominated by finely laminated coccolith ooze and homogeneous clay layers, both cemented by micritic high-magnesium calcite (HMC), and pure, botryoidal, yellowish low-magnesium calcite (LMC) grown in direct contact to microbial mats. δ¹⁸O measurements suggest that the authigenic HMC precipitated in equilibrium with the Black Sea bottom water while the yellowish LMC rims have been growing in slightly ¹⁸O-depleted interstitial water. Although precipitated under significantly different environmental conditions, especially with respect to methane availability, all analysed carbonate samples show lipid patterns that are typical for ANME-1 dominated AOM consortia, in the case of the HMC samples with significant contributions of allochthonous components of marine and terrestrial origin, reflecting the hemipelagic nature of the primary sediment.     

Hydrocarbon Inclusion Characteristics in the Cambrian-Ordovician Carbonates of the TS2 Well: Implication for Deep Hydrocarbon Exploration in the Tahe Oilfield,Tarim Basin,Northwest China

Going deep has been the strategy for the sustainable development of the Tahe Oilfield.Following the TS1 well in block 1,which revealed excellent combinations of hydrocarbon generation,migration and accumulation in the deeper parts of the Tarim Basin,the TS2 well was drilled to learn more about the prospectivity in the deeper parts of the main blocks of the Tahe Oilfield.Seventeen core samples were collected to perform fluid inclusion studies,including petrography,fluorescence microspectrometry,and microthermometry.The results show that the deeper parts of the Tahe Oilfield have a good hydrocarbon potential.The Cambrian source rocks can supply sufficient oil for not only the Cambrian reservoirs,but also for the Lower Ordovician reservoirs.The CambrianOrdovician carbonates reservoirs experienced at least three oil charging events and one late gas charging event.Oil accumulations formed in the early stage of basin evolution were likely destroyed in the late stage with deep burial,tectonic movements,or invasion of hydrothermal fluids.Therefore,the deep hydrocarbon exploration of the Tahe Oilfield,even the whole Tarim Basin,should focus on gas accumulations,although oil accumulations,especially in Cambrian reservoirs,cannot be neglected.     

颗石藻与海洋、环境关系之探讨

笔者在20年的研究中相继发现,自中元古代和古生代以来海相钙质超微浮游生物－颗石藻的新属种达180余种,通过对颗石藻在海洋中分布状态与固碳特征的研究,证明颗石藻乃是海洋中重要的基础生产者,它和海洋碳酸盐及相关生物存在着密切的关系,其能借助光合作用,吸收海水中的CO2,而释放出氧气．对减少全球温室效应与保护地球生态环境平衡,有相当重要的贡献。     

Isotopic Composition of Dissolved Carbonates Meromictic Soda Lake Doroninskoe(Eastern Transbaikalia,Russia)

正1 Introduction Meromictic soda Lake Doroninskoe localized in the intermountain area,filled with continental sediments of the Mesozoic,in the upper basin of the river Amur.Coordinates of its location are N51°14'42"E112°14'40",     

Magnetic susceptibility variations of the Edicaran cap carbonates in the Yangtze platform and their implications for paleoclimate

1 INTRODUCTION One of the most intriguing phenomena in the late Neoproterozoic (~750 to 543 Ma) is the globa occurrence of thin carbonates that directly overlie glacial deposits in almost every continent (Kennedy 1996; Hoffman et al., 1998; Hoffman and Schrag 2002; Brasier and Shields, 2000; James et al., 2001 Jiang et al., 2003; Nogueira et al., 2003). These “cap carbonates”, commonly several to tens of meters thick, have attracted enormous interests because o their unusually negati…     

青藏高原北缘哈拉湖近800年来 湖泊沉积及其环境意义*

文章以青藏高原北缘高山祁连山湖泊——哈拉湖作为研究对象,利用放射性核素²¹⁰ Pb和¹³⁷ Cs测年资料,通过对此高海拔湖泊沉积碳酸盐氧碳同位素、碳酸盐含量、总有机碳含量、磁化率等环境代用指标的分析,揭示了这一地区近800年来的气候环境变化过程。分析表明哈拉湖记录的气候环境变化经历了3个阶段:1206~1700A.D.环境较为寒冷、湿润,并有持续变湿的趋势;1700~1920A.D.环境由冷湿的状况趋向温暖干旱,1771年之后,环境保持相对稳定;1920~2002A.D.是自1206年以来最为温暖干旱的阶段。     

Seismic and stratigraphic evidence for reef expansion and onset of aridity on the Northwest Shelf of Australia during the Pleistocene

Modern reef (the Great Barrier Reef and Ryukyu Reef) distribution in the Indo-Pacific region is strongly controlled by warm currents (East Australian and Kuroshio Currents) that radiate from the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool. The modern distribution of reefs (south of 15°S) on the Western Australian shelf is related to the presence of the warm Leeuwin Current. However, the age of the reefs south of 15°S, and hence their temporal relationship to the Leeuwin Current, has been largely unknown. Seismic and subsurface stratigraphic data show that reef growth and expansion on the Northwest Shelf of Australia began in the Middle Pleistocene (∼0.5 Ma). The oldest ooids in the region are approximately synchronous with reef growth. We suggest a two stage process for the spread of reefs to higher latitudes on the Western Australian coast; first an increase in Leeuwin Current activity at approximately 1 Ma brought warm waters and a tropical biota to the region; and second, increased aridity after ∼0.6 Ma led to a decline in clastic input and increased alkalinity, triggering ooid formation and reef expansion to higher latitudes associated with the switch to higher amplitude glacio-eustatic cycles at the end of the Middle Pleistocene Transition. The timing and mechanisms for reef expansion south along the Western Australian coast has implications for the origin of the Eastern Australian Middle Pleistocene Great Barrier Reef, the New Caledonia Barrier Reef and Japanese Ryukyu Reef systems.     

Magnetic properties of the remagnetized Middle-Ordovician limestones of the Ponón Trehué Formation (San Rafael Block,central-western Argentina): Insights into the Permian widespread Sanrafaelic overprint

The widespread Sanrafaelic remagnetization reset most of the early Cambrian to mid-Ordovician carbonate platform of the Argentine Precordillera and the calcareous units of the San Rafael Block. We conducted a detailed rock-magnetic study on the Middle-Ordovician limestones of the Ponón Trehué Formation at both limbs of a tight anticline exposed in the San Rafael Block (Mendoza province, central-western Argentina) that are carriers of a syntectonic magnetization of Permian age. We found that the magnetic overprint in the Ponón Trehué Formation is carried by both pyrrhotite and magnetite, with goethite and subordinate haematite likely related to weathering. Hysteresis parameters, frequency dependence of magnetic susceptibility, Cisowski and modified Lowrie-Fuller tests suggest the presence of ultrafine particles of chemical origin. Demagnetization of natural remanent magnetization and of three-axis isothermal remanence confirm pyrrhotite and magnetite as important contributors to the remanence. Both minerals carry the same magnetic syntectonic component suggesting a coeval or nearly coeval remanence acquisition and therefore mineral formation. This and the results of the magnetic fabric analyses indicate an authigenic origin of the magnetic minerals during folding associated with the Sanrafaelic tectonic phase (ca. 280 Ma). Although the chemically active (oxidizing?) fluids expelled from the orogen as it developed in the early Permian is a viable explanation for the Sanrafaelic remagnetization, the role of the nearly coeval magmatism in Precordillera and the San Rafael Block remains to be properly evaluated.