| Abstract: | Considerable attention has been given to the Carnian (Late Triassic) Pluvial and Reingraben events associated with organic-rich shale accumulation in the Germanic basin, Alps, southern Appenines as well as in northwestern Tethyan margins. Less interest has been shown to the southern Tethyan portion represented by the northern margin of Africa, including Tunisia. Tunisian basins represented by the Tellian domain, Tunisian trough, the ‘Dorsale’, and the North–South Axis (NOSA) belong to the southern Tethyan margin, where northern and central areas record the early Carnian anoxic event within an extensive carbonate platform. This short-lived (~2 million year) period of anoxia ranges within the Aonoides to Austriacum ammonite zones, and corresponds in Tunisia generally to intermediate to shallow water environments marked by organic-rich black limestone, dolomite, and shale. Interestingly, toward the south, the dysaerobic conditions in the Jeffara–southern Dahar basin appear to have prevailed locally also in the early Carnian. Here we review evidence of early Carnian anoxia in Tunisia based on the analysis of more than 17 Triassic sections and wireline logs from several petroleum exploration wells penetrating the black dolomites, limestones, and shales. In addition, biostratigraphic and complete geochemical reviews have been undertaken from published papers and unpublished internal reports to better assess this important and promising hydrocarbon source interval. |
