The uncertainties involved in extracting amplitude and frequency of orbitally driven sea-level fluctuations from shallow-water carbonate cycles

Sedimentology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregor P. Eberli
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Sea Level Fluctuations ◽  
Water Carbonate ◽  
Shallow Water Carbonate

Effects of sea level and upwelling on development of a Miocene shallow-water tropical carbonate ramp system, Ponce, Puerto Rico

2021 ◽  
Vol 91 (11) ◽  
pp. 1227-1256
Author(s):  
Diana Ortega-Ariza ◽  
Evan K. Franseen ◽  
Marcelle K. Boudagher-Fadel
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Shallow Water ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Red Algae ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Sea Level Fluctuations ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Water Carbonate ◽  
Shallow Water Carbonate ◽  
And Sea Level

ABSTRACT A Miocene (Langhian–Tortonian, ca. 15–10 Ma) tropical ramp system exposed in southern Puerto Rico is characterized by shallow-water facies consisting of heterozoans, red algae, large benthic foraminifera (LBF), and corals, which occur as isolated corals, segment- and cluster-type reefs, and reworked accumulations. Photozoan association components are limited to corals (Montastraea, Porites, Goniopora, and Agaricia) and LBF (amphisteginids, soritids, gypsinids, miliolids) that have been documented to tolerate elevated nutrients, turbidity, and cooler water conditions. Similar shallow-water carbonate systems are found throughout the Caribbean, and this regional development is thought to have resulted from the well-documented upwelling in the Caribbean during the Miocene. Sea-level fluctuations also exerted a major control on facies distributions and shifts in the Puerto Rico ramp, including a vertical facies pattern that occurs in each of three sequences. Basal parts of sequences, deposited during sea-level rises, are dominantly composed of mollusks, echinoderms, red algae, LBF, bryozoans, and solitary corals that formed in low-energy seagrass-bed environments with local associated higher-energy shoal environments. Coral facies occur only in upper parts of sequences and formed in shallow-water, low- to high-energy environments closely associated with seagrass beds during late highstands and sea-level falls. A similar vertical facies pattern occurs in time-equivalent sequences elsewhere around the Caribbean. Strontium-isotope age data indicate two sequence boundaries reflecting sea-level falls formed at about 12.3 Ma and 11.1 Ma. Correlation with time-equivalent unconformities in other well-dated areas in the Caribbean and to sea-level lows on eustatic curves suggests a global signature for sequence development. The connection between the Caribbean and the Pacific along the Central American Seaway (CAS), impacted by local tectonic episodes and sea-level fluctuations during the Miocene, affected nutrient influx and upwelling in the Caribbean, which may be reflected in the vertical facies pattern in shallow-water carbonate sequences. Times of restricted connection during sea-level falls and lows resulted in reduced nutrients and upwelling, which may have been more conducive to coral development. Time-equivalent tropical carbonate systems in the Mediterranean and Indo-Pacific show similarities to those in the Caribbean, indicating influence of global processes (cooling, temperature gradients, oceanographic circulation). Differences between areas indicates the importance of local and regional controls, which in the Caribbean was dominantly the opening and closure of the CAS.

scholarly journals Depositional environment of Late Cretaceous to Eocene organic-rich marls from Jordan

GeoArabia ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-210
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ali Hussein ◽  
Mohammad Alqudah ◽  
Myrna Blessenohl ◽  
Olaf G. Podlaha ◽  
Jörg Mutterlose
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Anoxic Conditions ◽  
Sea Level Fluctuations ◽  
Central Jordan ◽  
Physical Barriers ◽  
Regional Sea Level ◽  
Oil Shales ◽  
Water Carbonate ◽  
Shallow Water Carbonate

ABSTRACT Oil-shale beds formed under anoxic conditions that were controlled by various local, regional and global factors. The Jordanian oil shales, which were deposited during the Late Cretaceous to Eocene, are considered as an example for the interplay of these factors. Two cores of organic-rich marls were investigated and analyzed with respect to their lithology, ichnofabrics and carbonate microfacies. The first core (OS-01, 183.3 m; South Jordan) is of Late Cretaceous age, the second one (OS-23, 256.3 m; Central Jordan) is of Eocene age. Our studies revealed that the Upper Cretaceous oil shales were deposited in a shallow-water carbonate shelf. Oyster bioherms acted as physical barriers that reduced the water circulation with the open shelf, thereby causing anoxic conditions. The Eocene oil shales also accumulated on a shallow-water carbonate shelf. In this case, however, synsedimentary tectonics caused subsiding grabens and half grabens, which in turn gave way to anoxic conditions. Both deposition and richness of the Jordanian oil shales were affected by regional sea-level fluctuations and global climatic changes.

scholarly journals Shallow water carbonate platforms (Late Aptian–Early Albian, Southern Apennines) in the context of supraregional to global changes: re-appraisal of palaeoecological events as reflectors of carbonate factory response

Solid Earth ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Raspini
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Tectonic Activity ◽  
Sea Level Changes ◽  
Third Order ◽  
Microbial Carbonates ◽  
Composite Section ◽  
Water Carbonate ◽  
Shallow Water Carbonate

Abstract. This paper discusses the palaeoenvironmental significance of the "Orbitolina Level", the microbial carbonates and the Salpingoporella dinarica-rich deposits encased in the Aptian/Albian shallow water carbonate platform strata of Monte Tobenna and Monte Faito (Southern Italy). These facies show a peculiar field appearance due to their color and/or fossil content. In the shallow water carbonate strata, the Late Aptian "Orbitolina Level" was formed during a period of decreasing accommodation space. Microbial carbonates occur in different levels in the composite section. They reach their maximum thickness around the sequence boundaries just above the "Orbitolina Level" and close to the Aptian–Albian transition, and were not deposited during maximum flooding. S. dinarica-rich deposits occur in the lower part of the Monte Tobenna-Monte Faito composite section, in both restricted and more open lagoonal sediments. S. dinarica has its maximum abundance below the "Orbitolina Level" and disappears 11 m above this layer. On the basis of δ13C and δ18O values recorded at Tobenna-Faito, the succession has been correlated to global sea-level changes and to the main volcanic and climatic events during the Aptian. Deterioration of the inner lagoon environmental conditions was related to high trophic levels triggered by volcano-tectonic activity. Microbial carbonates were deposited especially in periods of third-order sea level lowering. In such a scenario, periods of increased precipitation during the Gargasian induced the mobilization of clay during flooding of the exposed platform due to high-frequency sea-level changes, with consequent terrigenous input to the lagoon. This and the high nutrient levels made the conditions unsuitable for the principle carbonate producers, and an opportunistic biota rich in orbitolinids (Mesorbitolina texana and M. parva) populated the platform. In the more open marine domain, the increased nutrient input enhanced the production of organic matter and locally led to the formation of black shales (e.g. the Niveau Fallot in the Vocontian Basin). It is argued that the concomitant low Mg/Ca molar ratio and high concentration of calcium in seawater could have favoured the development of the low-Mg calcite skeleton of the S. dinarica green algae. During third-order sea-level rise, no or minor microbial carbonates formed in the shallowlagoonal settings and S. dinarica disappeared. Carbonate neritic ecosystems were not influenced by the environmental changes inferred to have been induced by the mid-Cretaceous volcanism. The "Orbitolina Level", the microbial carbonates and the Salpingoporella dinarica-rich deposits in the studied Aptian/Albian shallow water carbonate strata are interpreted to be the response to environmental and oceanographic changes in shallow-water and deeper-marine ecosystems.

scholarly journals Sea level, carbonate mineralogy, and early diagenesis controlled δ13C records in Upper Ordovician carbonates

Geology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S. Jones ◽  
R. William Brothers ◽  
Anne-Sofie Crüger Ahm ◽  
Nicholas Slater ◽  
John A. Higgins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Isotope Ratios ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Upper Ordovician ◽  
Element Geochemistry ◽  
Earth History ◽  
Water Carbonate ◽  
Shallow Water Carbonate

Abstract Stratigraphic variability in the geochemistry of sedimentary rocks provides critical data for interpreting paleoenvironmental change throughout Earth history. However, the vast majority of pre-Jurassic geochemical records derive from shallow-water carbonate platforms that may not reflect global ocean chemistry. Here, we used calcium isotope ratios (δ44Ca) in conjunction with minor-element geochemistry (Sr/Ca) and field observations to explore the links among sea-level change, carbonate mineralogy, and marine diagenesis and the expression of a globally documented interval of elevated carbon isotope ratios (δ13C; Hirnantian isotopic carbon excursion [HICE]) associated with glaciation in Upper Ordovician shallow-water carbonate strata from Anticosti Island, Canada, and the Great Basin, Nevada and Utah, USA. The HICE on Anticosti is preserved in limestones with low δ44Ca and high Sr/Ca, consistent with aragonite as a major component of primary mineralogy. Great Basin strata are characterized by lateral gradients in δ44Ca and δ13C that reflect variations in the extent of early marine diagenesis across the platform. In deep-ramp settings, deposition during synglacial sea-level lowstand and subsequent postglacial flooding increased the preservation of an aragonitic signature with elevated δ13C produced in shallow-water environments. In contrast, on the mid- and inner ramp, extensive early marine diagenesis under seawater-buffered conditions muted the magnitude of the shift in δ13C. The processes documented here provide an alternative explanation for variability in a range of geochemical proxies preserved in shallow-water carbonates at other times in Earth history, and challenge the notion that these proxies necessarily record changes in the global ocean.

Late Anisian platform drowning and radiolarite deposition as a consequence of the opening of the Neotethys ocean (High Karst nappe, Montenegro)

2012 ◽  
Vol 183 (4) ◽  
pp. 349-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans-Jürgen Gawlick ◽  
Špela Goričan ◽  
Sigrid Missoni ◽  
Richard Lein
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Carbonate Production ◽  
Neotethys Ocean ◽  
Platform Drowning ◽  
Break Up ◽  
Water Carbonate ◽  
Shallow Water Carbonate

Abstract A short-term radiolarite interval of Late Anisian (Late Illyrian) age was dated by means of radiolarians and conodonts in the Dinarides, Montenegro. The radiolarites, with intercalations of filament-rich limestone layers in the higher part, were deposited in deeper-water shelf areas, as documented by the underlying and overlying shallow-water carbonate succession. This Illyrian radiolarite interval is widespread in the northwestern Tethyan realm, especially in the Dinarides, and was deposited in a phase when the carbonate production decreased. The radiolarite event occurred shortly after the main subsidence pulse and the final break-up of the Neotethys ocean, and was concomitant with a prominent sea-level highstand.

A new tool to detect exposure surfaces in shallow water carbonate depositional environments

2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Mindszenty ◽  
J. Ferenc Deák ◽  
Mária Fölvári
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Depositional Environments ◽  
Water Carbonate ◽  
Shallow Water Carbonate

Cambrian shelf stratigraphy of North Greenland

1997 ◽  
pp. 1-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon R. Ineson ◽  
John S. Peel
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Carbonate Platform ◽  
Outer Shelf ◽  
Early Cambrian ◽  
Middle Cambrian ◽  
Water Trough ◽  
Water Carbonate ◽  
Shallow Water Carbonate ◽  
North Greenland

NOTE: This article was published in a former series of GEUS Bulletin. Please use the original series name when citing this article, for example: Ineson, J. R., & Peel, J. S. (1997). Cambrian shelf stratigraphy of North Greenland. Geology of Greenland Survey Bulletin, 173, 1-120. https://doi.org/10.34194/ggub.v173.5024 _______________ The Lower Palaeozoic Franklinian Basin is extensively exposed in northern Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Islands. For much of the early Palaeozoic, the basin consisted of a southern shelf, bordering the craton, and a northern deep-water trough; the boundary between the shelf and the trough shifted southwards with time. In North Greenland, the evolution of the shelf during the Cambrian is recorded by the Skagen Group, the Portfjeld and Buen Formations and the Brønlund Fjord, Tavsens Iskappe and Ryder Gletscher Groups; the lithostratigraphy of these last three groups forms the main focus of this paper. The Skagen Group, a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic shelf succession of earliest Cambrian age was deposited prior to the development of a deep-water trough. The succeeding Portfjeld Formation represents an extensive shallow-water carbonate platform that covered much of the shelf; marked differentiation of the shelf and trough occurred at this time. Following exposure and karstification of this platform, the shelf was progressively transgressed and the siliciclastics of the Buen Formation were deposited. From the late Early Cambrian to the Early Ordovician, the shelf showed a terraced profile, with a flat-topped shallow-water carbonate platform in the south passing northwards via a carbonate slope apron into a deeper-water outer shelf region. The evolution of this platform and outer shelf system is recorded by the Brønlund Fjord, Tavsens Iskappe and Ryder Gletscher Groups. The dolomites, limestones and subordinate siliciclastics of the Brønlund Fjord and Tavsens Iskappe Groups represent platform margin to deep outer shelf environments. These groups are recognised in three discrete outcrop belts - the southern, northern and eastern outcrop belts. In the southern outcrop belt, from Warming Land to south-east Peary Land, the Brønlund Fjord Group (Lower-Middle Cambrian) is subdivided into eight formations while the Tavsens Iskappe Group (Middle Cambrian - lowermost Ordovician) comprises six formations. In the northern outcrop belt, from northern Nyeboe Land to north-west Peary Land, the Brønlund Fjord Group consists of two formations both defined in the southern outcrop belt, whereas a single formation makes up the Tavsens Iskappe Group. In the eastern outcrop area, a highly faulted terrane in north-east Peary Land, a dolomite-sandstone succession is referred to two formations of the Brønlund Fjord Group. The Ryder Gletscher Group is a thick succession of shallow-water, platform interior carbonates and siliciclastics that extends throughout North Greenland and ranges in age from latest Early Cambrian to Middle Ordovician. The Cambrian portion of this group between Warming Land and south-west Peary Land is formally subdivided into four formations.The Lower Palaeozoic Franklinian Basin is extensively exposed in northern Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Islands. For much of the early Palaeozoic, the basin consisted of a southern shelf, bordering the craton, and a northern deep-water trough; the boundary between the shelf and the trough shifted southwards with time. In North Greenland, the evolution of the shelf during the Cambrian is recorded by the Skagen Group, the Portfjeld and Buen Formations and the Brønlund Fjord, Tavsens Iskappe and Ryder Gletscher Groups; the lithostratigraphy of these last three groups forms the main focus of this paper. The Skagen Group, a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic shelf succession of earliest Cambrian age was deposited prior to the development of a deep-water trough. The succeeding Portfjeld Formation represents an extensive shallow-water carbonate platform that covered much of the shelf; marked differentiation of the shelf and trough occurred at this time. Following exposure and karstification of this platform, the shelf was progressively transgressed and the siliciclastics of the Buen Formation were deposited. From the late Early Cambrian to the Early Ordovician, the shelf showed a terraced profile, with a flat-topped shallow-water carbonate platform in the south passing northwards via a carbonate slope apron into a deeper-water outer shelf region. The evolution of this platform and outer shelf system is recorded by the Brønlund Fjord, Tavsens Iskappe and Ryder Gletscher Groups. The dolomites, limestones and subordinate siliciclastics of the Brønlund Fjord and Tavsens Iskappe Groups represent platform margin to deep outer shelf environments. These groups are recognised in three discrete outcrop belts - the southern, northern and eastern outcrop belts. In the southern outcrop belt, from Warming Land to south-east Peary Land, the Brønlund Fjord Group (Lower-Middle Cambrian) is subdivided into eight formations while the Tavsens Iskappe Group (Middle Cambrian - lowermost Ordovician) comprises six formations. In the northern outcrop belt, from northern Nyeboe Land to north-west Peary Land, the Brønlund Fjord Group consists of two formations both defined in the southern outcrop belt, whereas a single formation makes up the Tavsens Iskappe Group. In the eastern outcrop area, a highly faulted terrane in north-east Peary Land, a dolomite-sandstone succession is referred to two formations of the Brønlund Fjord Group. The Ryder Gletscher Group is a thick succession of shallow-water, platform interior carbonates and siliciclastics that extends throughout North Greenland and ranges in age from latest Early Cambrian to Middle Ordovician. The Cambrian portion of this group between Warming Land and south-west Peary Land is formally subdivided into four formations.

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