Palaeokarst, tidal erosion surfaces and stromatolites in the Silurian Eke Formation of Gotland, Sweden

Irregular, scalloped erosion surfaces in the shelf carbonate sequences of the lower Eke Formation (Ludlow Series, upper Silurian) in the east of Gotland, Sweden, comprise series of shallow hollows separated by sharp-crested ridges, and cavities with sculptured, undercut walls, cut into lithified sediment. These represent analogues of the solution basins formed in modern coastal and subaerial karst terrains. Discrete erosional cavities merge on enlargement by breaching of the intervening walls to leave remnant, tapering ridges. Sets of the ridges and basins seen in surface view show an average width of basins of 1–2 m, with relief of 40–50 cm and pronounced N-S axes for the ridges; this alignment may reflect the local drainage direction. The lowermost erosion surface passes laterally into a planar, mineralized horizon at the top of the underlying Hemse Group that was resistant to and forms the base level of erosion. Because of restricted exposure of higher Eke Formation sediments the upper limit of erosion remains unknown. There is no evidence of caliche or subaerial diagenetic textures, but solution vugs are common in the eroded limestones. Marine hard-bottom biota attached to some surfaces, and transition from scalloped to planar surfaces indicate erosion in tidal zones, but subaerial karstic erosion is also inferred. The resubmerged karst-eroded topography is overlain by shallow marine carbonates, including small organic buildups. Finely-layered stromatolitic mats developed over the initial infill, in subtidal environments, and grew to form domed mounds within the erosional cavities. They abut sharply against bounding side walls and overhangs. Some emergence is evident from desiccation features in the upper parts of mounds. Biostratigraphical evidence dating the events from initial uplift and karstic erosion to covering of the drowned relief topography places the whole sequence within upper Ludlow times.