bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Glaciation and tectonics in an active intracratonic basin: the Late Palaeozoic Itararé Group, Paraná Basin, Brazil
Authors: EYLES C. H. , EYLES N. , FRANCA A. B.
Published: June 2006

The Paraná Basin (1 600 000 km2) is the largest intracratonic basin in southern South America and contains a thick (1300 m) Permo‐Carboniferous glacial succession (the Itararé Group). This paper describes over 1700 m of drill core recovered during recent exploration for oil and gas. Itararé Group sediments consist of massive and stratified diamictites interbedded with massive and graded sandstones, and massive and laminated mudstones. Facies are interpreted as the product of sediment gravity flows in a glacially influenced marine basin.

Three stratigraphic formations can be defined across the basin, each consisting of a lowermost sandstone‐rich member overlain by a diamictite‐rich member. Examination of Itararé Group rocks both in core and outcrop shows that depositional processes were influenced by active faulting and downslope resedimentation on relatively steep and unstable substrate slopes. Primary glacial deposits such as tillites and associated striated pavements occur along the present eastern outcrop belt which probably coincided with the eastern basin margin during deposition of the Itararé Group. Ice masses fringing the eastern (southern African) and western (Bolivian) basin margins supplied sediment to the basin in the form of fluvio‐glacial deltas, fans and floating ice tongues. This sediment was then resedimented downslope as debris flows and turbidites.

Both stratigraphic relationships and the regional distribution of facies types identify a clear pattern of basin subsidence and step‐wise expansion by outward faulting within Late Proterozoic mobile belts. The position of successive basin margins can be related to specific lineament structures in the underlying basement. Asymmetric expansion of the Paraná Basin occurred along the northern and southern basin margins during deposition of the Itararé Group; this expansion probably reflects shallow crustal adjustments activated by collisional movements along the Andean margin of South America during the Hercynian Orogeny.
Calcite cementation during bacterial manganese, iron and sulphate reduction in Jurassic shallow marine carbonates
Authors: HENDRY JAMES P.
Published: June 2006

Faunally restricted argillaceous wackestones from the Middle Jurassic of eastern England contain evidence of early diagenetic skeletal aragonite dissolution and stabilization of the carbonate matrix, closely followed by precipitation of zoned calcite cements, and precipitation of pyrite. Distinctive cathodoluminescence and trace element trends through the authigenic calcites, their negative δ13C compositions and the location of pyrite in the paragenetic sequence indicate that calcite precipitation took place during sequential bacterial Mn, Fe and sulphate reduction. Calcite δ18O values are compatible with cementation from essentially marine pore fluids, although compositions vary owing to minor contamination with 18O‐depleted ‘late’cements. Mg and Sr concentrations in the calcites are lower than those in recent marine calcite cements. This may be a result of kinetic factors associated with the shallow burial cementation microenvironments.

Bicarbonate for sustained precipitation of the authigenic calcites was derived largely from aragonite remobilization, augmented by that produced through anaerobic organic matter oxidation in the metal and sulphate reduction environments. Aragonite dissolution is thought to have been induced by acidity generated during aerobic bacterial oxidation of organic matter. Distinction of post‐oxic metal reduction and anoxic sulphate reduction diagenetic environments in modern carbonate sediments is uncommon outside pelagic settings, and early bacterially mediated diagenesis in modern platform carbonates is associated with extensive carbonate dissolution. High detrital Fe contents of the Jurassic sediments, and their restricted depositional environment, were probably the critical factors promoting early cementation. These precipitates constitute a unique example of calcite authigenesis in shallow water limestones during bacterial Mn and Fe reduction.
The origin and fate of silt sized carbonate in subsurface Miocene—Oligocene mudstones, south Texas Gulf Coast
Authors: MILLIKEN K. L. , LAND L. S.
Published: June 2006

Combined petrographic and geochemical data document several kinds of detrital carbonate in subsurface Miocene‐Oligocene mudstones of the Texas Gulf Coast. In the extreme south of Texas, in muddy sediments deposited by ancient precursors to the modern Rio Grande, mudstone carbonate is dominated by extrabasinal detritus derived from Cretaceous limestones of the Edwards plateau. Further north, Oligocene mudstones contain carbonate that is mostly syndepositional skeletal material. Minor amounts of authigenic carbonate are found as replacements of silt sized feldspars in all the mudstones. Depth‐related shifts in δ18Ocalcite and δ13Ocalcite suggest that small amounts of authigenic carbonate also form by replacement of detrital carbonate (‘recrystallization’), although this cannot be demonstrated petrographically. Pervasive carbonate cementation in primary pores in mudstones is not generally observed. Textural evidence of carbonate loss through pressure dissolution is widespread, providing a mechanism for the depth‐related decline in carbonate content observed in many Gulf Coast wells. Carbonate dissolution in mudstones, and export of the CaCO3, implies a massive acid source, probably resulting from silicate reactions within the mudstones during burial diagenesis.
Geolimnology of Freefight Lake: an unusual hypersaline lake in the northern Great Plains of western Canada*
Authors: LAST WILLIAM M.
Published: June 2006

Freefight Lake, Canada's deepest salt lake, is a meromictic, hypersaline lake located in the most arid part of the northern Great Plains. The lake has a distinctive basin morphology, with a large expanse of seasonally flooded mud flats and sand flats adjacent to a deep, flat bottomed perennial waterbody. The mixolimnion, dominated by magnesium, sodium and sulphate ions, has an average salinity of 110 ppt and overlies a monimolimnion of 180 ppt total dissolved salts. The entire water column is strongly supersaturated with respect to a variety of calcium and magnesium carbonate minerals; the lower water mass is also saturated or supersaturated with respect to a number of very soluble sodium, magnesium and sodium + magnesium salts.

The modern sedimentary processes operating in Freefight Lake give rise to six main sedimentary facies: (i) colluvium, (ii) mud flats and sand flats, (iii) algal flats, (iv) delta, (v) slope and debris apron, and (vi) deep basin. The colluvium, mud flats and sand flats, and delta facies are dominated by physical processes and consist mainly of detrital siliciclastic sediment. The algal flats, slope and debris apron, and deep basin facies are dominated by endogenic and authigenic sediments derived mainly by physicochemical and biologically mediated carbonate and evaporite mineral precipitation. As one of very few deep water lakes in the world in which soluble evaporite minerals are forming and being preserved, Freefight Lake occupies an important position within the realm of lacustrine sedimentology. Although many of the sedimentological and geochemical processes taking place in the basin today are unusual, the delineation and evaluation of these processes is essential in order to decipher properly the stratigraphic records of Quaternary lake sediments in this large area of North America, as well as lacustrine sequences from other arid and semi‐arid regions of the world.
Processes of late Quaternary turbidity current flow and deposition on the Var deep‐sea fan, north‐west Mediterranean Sea
Authors: PIPER DAVID J. W. , SAVOYE BRUNO
Published: June 2006

High‐resolution seismic boomer profiles, with a vertical resolution of less than 1 m, together with piston cores and previous side‐scan sonar data, are used to describe late Quaternary sedimentation on the Var deep‐sea fan. Chronological control is provided by foram biostratigraphy and radiocarbon dating in cores, and is extended over the fan by seismic correlation. Regional erosional events correspond to the oxygen isotopic stage 2 and 6 glacial maxima.

Cores and seismic data define a widespread surface sand layer that is correlated with prodelta failure in 1979 and subsequent submarine cable breaks. Numerical modelling constrains the character of this 1979 turbidity current. It originated from a relatively small slide on the upper prodelta that put sufficient material in suspension to form an accelerating turbidity current which eroded sand from the Var Canyon. The turbidity current was only 30 m thick on the Upper Valley, but experienced significant flow expansion in the Middle Valley to thicknesses of more than 120 m, where it spilled over the eastern Var Sedimentary Ridge at a velocity of about 2·5 m s−1. Other Holocene turbidity currents (with a recurrence interval of 1000 years) were somewhat muddier and thicker, but also deposited sand on the levees of the Middle Valley, and are inferred to have had a similar slide‐related origin.

Late Pleistocene turbidity currents deposited thick mud beds on the Var Sedimentary Ridge. The presence of sediment waves and the mean cross‐flow slope inferred from levee asymmetry indicates that some of these flows were many hundreds of metres thick and flowed at velocities of about 0·35 m s−1. This contrast with Holocene turbidites suggests that a slide origin is unlikely. Estimated times for deposition of thick mud beds on the levees are many days to weeks. The Late Pleistocene flows may therefore result from hyperpycnal flow of glacial outwash in the Var River. The variation in the Late Pleistocene to Holocene turbidite sedimentation is controlled more by variations in sediment supply than by sea‐level change.
Biostratigraphy, depositional environments, and diagenesis of the Tamana Formation, Trinidad: a tectonic marker horizon
Authors: ERLICH R. N. , FARFAN P. F. , HALLOCK P.
Published: June 2006

The Tamana Formation of the Central Range of Trinidad was studied in order to determine its importance in the stratigraphical and structural development of north‐eastern South America. Biostratigraphical, petrological and mineralogical data, combined with field mapping show that the Tamana sediments are composed of five distinct lithofacies: inner to outer shelf, burrowed shaley mudstone; outer shelf, Fe‐rich sandy limestone; submarine channel, conglomeratic mudstone; middle shelf to nearshore, algal‐foram packstone/grainstone; and intertidal to nearshore, algal‐stromatolite‐coral boundstone with coral bioherms. Maximum thickness of the Tamana Formation is 244 m.

Deposition of the Tamana limestones occurred between the Praeorbulina glomerosa (latest early Miocene) and Globorotalia fohsi robusta (middle part of the middle Miocene) planktonic foraminiferal zones, and in a more continuous trend than is seen in the current outcrop belt. Detailed biostratigraphy shows that the Tamana Formation is a facies equivalent of the shallow‐ and deep‐water shales of the Brasso Formation, and the deep water turbidites of the Herrera Member of the Cipero Formation.

The early diagenetic history of the Tamana limestones was dominated by the precipitation of authigenic glauconitic smectite, and the dissolution of skeletal grains and carbonate matrix. Late burial diagenesis was dominated by the precipitation of illite and illite/smectite. Comparative mineralogy and textural analyses indicate a minimum range of burial depth for the Tamana Formation at 800–1500m, with a maximum of 2400 m. Alteration of Fe‐bearing minerals to geothite and late fracturing occurred during post‐Pliocene tectonic uplift and unroofing of the Central Range.

The Tamana Formation sediments can be used as a structural and stratigraphical event marker within the Late Tertiary geological history of Trinidad. These units record a phase of the tectonic interaction between the Caribbean and South American plates in the south‐eastern Caribbean, and reflect the onset of contractile deformation in the Central Range.
Entrainment of planktonic foraminifera: effect of bulk density
Authors: OEHMIG REINHARD
Published: June 2006

Depositional hydrodynamics have been studied using settling rate distributions of Norwegian deep sea sediments (between Jan Mayen Island and the Vøring Plateau), together with Shields’ critical shear stress velocities. Planktonic foraminifera are the dominant sand sized component of these sediments. The bulk density of the foraminifera was calculated from their settling velocity, sieve size and shape. Density decreases from 2·39 g cm−3 at 0·05 mm diameter to 1·37 g cm−3 at 0·35 mm diameter. These density and size data were used to construct a threshold sediment movement curve. From the similarity in their Shield's critical shear‐stress velocities and the observed correlation of foraminifera size with decreasing percentage of fine fraction, it is concluded that the two components, the sand size foraminifera and the quartz and carbonate silt, are transport‐equivalent.
Basin inversion: some consequences for drainage evolution and alluvial architecture
Authors: MATHER ANNE E.
Published: June 2006

ABSTRACT Sedimentary basins developed in tectonically active areas commonly display dramatic changes in sedimentation rates, styles and spatial organization of alluvial facies. When deformation rates are relatively high these changes are frequently attributed to deflection and/or ponding of the fluvial systems. This paper examines the indirect modifications that less intense, epeirogenic uplift may instigate, during the latter stages of basin inversion, in the context of a fluvial system adjusting to the deformation. Field evidence is taken from the Sorbas Basin of south‐east Spain and data are employed from both the current drainage pattern and ancient (Plio‐Quaternary) sedimentary sequence. Major provenance and sedimentation changes in the ancient record (in terms of both rates and styles) are attributed to river capture. Intrinsic controls to the system (fan progradation and trenching) and the prevailing (semi‐arid) climate provided the overall framework of fan development (general coarsening upwards sequence and change from sheetflood to braided conditions in the lower part of the sequence). This sedimentation trend was then substantially modified (a change to small meandering channels and a change in provenance) by the capture of the fan feeder by an aggressive subsequent stream. This cut off the connection with the former source area and reduced sediment and water input into the system. Initially the sedimentation rates declined and minor incision was stimulated by the increase in the water to sediment ratio as a result of the reduction in easily erodible sand to the system that resulted from the source area change. This minor incision stimulated a rejuvenation of the streams sourcing the fan, temporarily increasing sediment supply and choking the small channels, leading to a return to unconfined flow conditions. The system rapidly exhausted the sediment from the reduced catchment area leading to a fining upwards and abandonment of the system. This was followed by incision of the modern drainage network stimulated by base level changes in the main Sorbas Basin drainage network, to which the study area was tributary.
Obstacle marks produced by flow around stranded ice blocks during a glacier outburst flood (jökulhlaup) in west Greenland
Authors: RUSSELL ANDREW J.
Published: June 2006

The effects of glacier ice block grounding on the morphology and sedimentology of proglacial fluvial outwash were examined during a glacier outburst flood or jökulhlaup, near Søndre Strømfjord, west Greenland. Observations made during and after the 1987 jökulhlaup both on the surface of an ice contact delta and within a confined valley sandur plain provided information about the formation of ice block obstacle marks and the significance of these bedforms for sandur morphology and sedimentology. Flow directions determined from obstacle mark morphology have been used successfully to chart flow direction changes on the falling limb of the jökulhlaup. Maximum flow depths for scour around stranded ice blocks may be given by 0·5–0·9 times the diameter of the ice block, as estimated from the depth of scour, the height of the obstacle shadow or the extent of ice block meltout sediments. Minimum flow depths can be represented by the height of the obstacle shadow above the mean bed level. The internal composition of the shadow indicates the ability of the flow to transport various sizes of material into the lee of obstacles. Ice block obstacle marks within the distal portion of the sandur initiated waning stage channel change. Proximal and lateral erosion around stranded ice blocks extended downstream from the ice block, forming chute channels which then captured waning stage flows, resulting in significant bar incision with associated deposition of lobate or deltaic deposits. It is suggested that ice block obstacle marks are important in terms of channel morphology, channel morphological change and their usefulness as palaeohydrological indicators.
Anatomy, hydrodynamics and depositional setting of a Westphalian C lacustrine delta complex, West Midlands, England
Authors: GLOVER B. W. , O'BEIRNE A. M.
Published: June 2006

Studies, spanning a 3 year period, of Westphalian C strata exposed in an active quarry have enabled three dimensional reconstruction of a lacustrine delta complex. The sequence exhibits a complex history of lake infilling by sediment introduced by intermittent high energy, low sinuosity distributary channel flows.

Deposition in the small 0.2 km2 lake prior to delta formation was dominated by organic matter and typified rheotrophic swamp conditions. Large lycopods colonized the swamp floor. The lake was filled by a prograding delta which comprised six horizontally and vertically stacked delta lobes. The presence of lycopods aided sediment accumulation.

Fluctuations in river discharge and consequent lake level rise and fall exerted a fundamental control on delta progradation and aggradation. Flooding during low lake levels first produced erosion on the existing lobe followed by a lake level rise which created accommodation for aggradation of a new delta lobe. Further lobe erosion and low stand lobe formation occurred during lake level fall.

The area's proximity to alluvial fans resulted in hyperconcentrated flood flow within the distributary channels. The occurrence upon in‐channel surfaces of plant colonization, including lycopods, testifies to the ephemeral nature of the flow. The lacustrine delta complex formed at the front of a terminal alluvial fan. Northward progradation of the alluvial fan was achieved by the capture and infilling of lakes by northerly flowing distributary channels.
Origin and migration of palaeofluids in the Upper Visean of the Campine Basin, northern Belgium
Authors: MUCHEZ PHILIPPE , MARSHALL JIM D. , TOURET JACQUES L. R. , VIAENE WILLY A.
Published: June 2006

Upper Visean limestones in the Campine Basin of northern Belgium are intensively fractured. The largest and most common fractures are cemented by non‐ferroan, dull brown‐orange luminescent blocky calcite.

First melting temperatures of fluid inclusions in these calcites are around ‐57°C, suggesting that precipitation of the cements occurred from NaCl‐CaCl2‐MgCl2 fluids. The final melting temperatures (Tmice) are between ‐5 and ‐33°C. The broad range in the Tmice data can be explained by the mixing of high salinity fluids with meteoric waters, but other hypotheses may also be valid. Homogenization temperatures from blocky calcite cements in the shelf limestones are interpreted to have formed between 45 and 75°C. In carbonates which were deposited close to and at the shelf margin, precipitation temperatures were possibly in the range 70‐85°C and 72‐93°C, respectively.

On the shelf, the calcites have a δ18O around ‐9.3‰ PDB and they are interpreted to have grown in a fluid with a δ18O between −3.5 and +1.0‰ SMOW. At the shelf margin, blocky calcites (δ18O∼ ‐ 13.5‰ PDB) could have precipitated from a fluid with a δ18O betweenn ‐4.0 and ‐1.1‰ SMOW. The highest oxygen isotopic compositions are comparable to those of Late Carboniferous marine fluids (δ18O= ‐ 1‰ SMOW). The lowest values are more positive than a previously reported composition for Carboniferous meteoric waters (δ18O= ‐7‰ SMOW). Precipitation is likely to have occurred in marine‐derived fluids, which mixed with meteoric waters sourced from near the Brabant Massif. Fluids with a similar negative oxygen isotopic composition and high salinity are actually present in Palaeozoic formations. The higher temperature range in the limestones near the shelf margin is explained by the upward migration of fluids from the ‘basinal’ area along fractures and faults into the shelf.
Grain size distribution in suspension from bed materials
Authors: MAZUMDER B. S.
Published: June 2006

Experimental results show that the grain size distribution of suspended material is related to flow parameters and grain size distribution in the bed. A theoretical model has been developed to compute the suspension grain size distribution on the basis of diffusion equations, taking into account the effect of hindered settling due to the increased concentration in suspension. Fluid velocity closest to the bed is estimated by using the concept of migration velocities of particles in the bed layer. Comparisons of data computed by the proposed method and data from actual observations show generally good agreement.
Laminaset geometries in fine grained shallow marine sequences: core data from the Rannoch Formation (North Sea) and outcrop data from the Kennilworth Member (Utah, USA) and the Bencliff Grit (Dorset, UK)
Authors: CORBETT P. W. M. , STROMBERG S. G. , BRENCHLEY P. J. , GEEHAN G.
Published: June 2006

Sandbodies from storm‐dominated marine and marginal marine environments commonly contain intervals of laminated fine sandstones. A characteristic of such lamination is the presence of low angle cross lamination. In order to model correctly the effects of such lamination on a waterflood of an oil‐bearing shoreface sequence it was necessary to quantify the geometry of the laminaset elements.

This challenge has been greatly complicated by the lack of outcrop of the formation of interest. The Middle Jurassic Rannoch Formation of the North Sea only occurs in the subsurface where it is not possible in core to measure the aspect ratio of laminasets directly. In this study, the laminaset geometry data that can be obtained from core (e.g. apparent set thicknesses) were collected for the Rannoch Formation. These data were compared with similar data from potential outcrop analogues in (1) the Cretaceous Kennilworth Member of the Blackhawk Formation in Utah, USA and (2) the Upper Jurassic Bencliff Grit from the Dorset coast, UK.

A quantitative analysis of laminaset geometries has been used to compare subsurface core with potential outcrop analogues. The Rannoch Formation core is characterized by numerous low angle truncations. We have measured these features in two wells (means of 7.2° and 12.1°). Mean apparent set thicknesses were 0.24 and 0.19 m.

In the outcrop sections studied, truncation angles ranged from 9.6° to 13.4° and mean set thicknesses from 0.24 to 0.34 m. Mean bounding surface dips of 5.8° and 8.6°, and mean laminaset lengths of 2.3 and 4.1 m were also measured. directly in the field and by using photomosaics.

On the basis of this comparison, the Kennilworth Member in Utah was found to be the most suitable and the geometries (i.e. aspect ratios) measured there were used to generate an appropriate geometry of Rannoch laminaset geometries for use in engineering studies: laminaset length, 2.0 m; laminaset thickness, 0.2 m.
River systems and their sediment flux, Indo‐Gangetic plains, Northern Bihar, India
Authors: SINHA RAJIV , FRIEND PETER F.
Published: June 2006

River systems of part of the Himalayan foreland, northern Bihar plains, India, are described in terms of their channel morphology, hydrology and suspended sediment characteristics. A simple classification of the river systems based mainly on the source area characteristics is proposed: (i) mountain‐fed, (ii) foothills‐fed, (iii) plains‐fed and (iv) mixed‐fed rivers. Distinct differences are noted between these classes of river systems. Most rivers show evidence of channel movement, mainly by avulsion, but cut‐offs also occur locally. The mountain‐fed rivers are characterized by very high discharge and low suspended sediment concentration and the plains‐fed rivers have relatively low discharge and high suspended sediment concentration. The foothill‐fed rivers have moderate values of discharge and suspended sediment concentration. The mountain‐fed rivers have built megafans of large extent, whereas the foothills‐fed and plains‐fed rivers have formed muddy interfan areas. Semi‐quantitative estimates of water and sediment flux suggest that about 99·9% of the mass transfer into the plains is water, with the remaining 0·1% being sediment, and that 10% of the latter (0·01% of the total) is retained in the basin, the remainder being transferred to the Bengal Fan.
Sedimentological characteristics and facies of the evaporite‐bearing Kirmir Formation (Neogene), Beypazari Basin, central Anatolia, Turkey
Authors: YAĜMURLU FUZULI , HELVACI CAHIT
Published: June 2006

A thick sedimentary sequence comprising fluvial, lacustrine and volcano‐sedimentary rocks is present in the Neogene Beypazari Basin, central Anatolia. These units display considerable lateral facies variation and interfinger with alkaline volcanic rocks along the north‐eastern margin of the basin. The uppermost Miocene Kirmir Formation contains numerous evaporite horizons. The evaporite sequence is up to 250 m thick and may be divided into four lithofacies. In ascending stratigraphical order these are: (1) gypsiferous claystone facies, (2) thenardite‐glauberite facies, (3) laminar gypsum facies and (4) crystalline gypsum facies. These facies interfinger with one another laterally along a section from the margins to central parts of the basin. The lithological and sedimentological features of the Kirmir Formation indicate fluvial, saline playa mudflat, hypersaline ephemeral playa lake and very shallow subaqueous playa lake depositional environments, which probably were influenced by alternating semi‐arid and evaporative conditions.
The development of small scale bedforms in tidal environments: an empirical model for unsteady flow and its applications
Authors: OOST ALBERT P. , BAAS JACO H.
Published: June 2006

Dimensions and plan morphology of current ripples are generally considered to vary with flow velocity and grain size. Recently, however, it has been shown that for sand of D50=0.095 and 0.238 mm the equilibrium dimensions are identical at all velocities within the stability field of ripples and that the plan form of equilibrium ripples is linguoid. On this basis, an empirical unsteady flow model has been developed and tested with flume experiments in order to predict ripple development in natural depositional environments. The model includes the development of washed‐out ripples and upper stage plane bed. The unsteady flow model explains the development and preservation of small scale bedforms in various tidal environments more accurately than previous models. Such bedforms can serve, therefore, as indicators of prevailing hydrodynamic conditions.
Diagenesis of an Upper Triassic reef complex, Wilde Kirche, Northern Calcareous Alps, Austria
Authors: SATTERLEY ARTHUR K. , MARSHALL J. D. , FAIRCHILD I. J.
Published: June 2006

The Wilde Kirche reef complex (Early‐Late Rhaetian) grew as an isolated carbonate structure within the shallow Kössen Basin. At the Triassic/Jurassic boundary a single brief (c.10–50 ka) period of subaerial exposure occurred. The preserved karst profile (70 m thick) displays a vadose zone, enhanced dissolution at a possible palaeo‐watertable (5–15 m below the exposure surface), and a freshwater phreatic zone. Karst porosity was predominantly biomouldic. Primary cavities and biomoulds were enlarged and interconnected in the freshwater phreatic zone; cavity networks developed preferentially in patch reef facies. Resubmergence of the reef complex allowed minor modification of the palaeokarst surface by sea floor dissolution and Fe‐Mn crust deposition on a sediment‐starved passive margin.

Fibrous calcite (FC). radiaxial fibrous calcite (RFC) and fascicular optic calcite (FOC) cements preserved as low Mg calcite (LMC) are abundant in primary and karst dissolution cavities. FC cement is restricted to primary porosity, particularly as a synsedimentary cement at the windward reef margin. FC, RFC and FOC contain microdolomite inclusions and show patchy non‐/bright cathodoluminescence. δ18O values of non‐luminescent portions (interpreted as near original) are − 1.16 to − 1.82%0 (close to the inferred δ18O of calcite precipitated from Late Triassic sea water). δ13C values are constant (+3 to + 2.2%0). These observations suggest FC, RFC and FOC were originally marine high Mg calcite (HMC) precipitates, and that the bulk of porosity occlusion occurred not in the karst environment but in the marine environment during and after marine transgression. The HMC to LMC transition may have occurred in contact with meteoric water only in the case of FC cement. The most altered (brightly luminescent) portions of RFC/FOC cements yield δ18O=−2.44 to − 5.8%0, suggesting HMC to LMC alteration at up to 34°C. in the shallow burial environment at depths of 180–250 m.

Abundant equant cements with δ18O =−4·1 to −7.1%0 show crisp, uniform or zoned dull luminescence. They are interpreted as unaltered cements precipitated at 33–36°C at 200–290 m burial depth, from marine‐derived fluids under a slightly enhanced geothermal gradient. Fluids carrying the equant cements may have induced the HMC to LMC transition in the fibrous cements.
Neptunian dykes and associated features in southern Spain: mechanics of formation and tectonic implications
Authors: WINTERER E. L. , SARTI M.
Published: June 2006

Neptunian dykes and sills in Jurassic carbonate platform strata of the Betic region of Spain occupy spaces created by wholly mechanical fracturing and displacement of the host strata, and later filled by pelagic sediments from above or by precipitation of calcite from circulating solutions. In some places, joint‐bounded blocks of platform carbonates have been wholly removed, possibly by sliding down submarine slopes, leaving a staircase topography, commonly Fe‐encrusted, that was subsequently filled by pelagic sediments. Other cavities that formed during Cretaceous times were developed by dissolution and current erosion in moderately deep submarine environments, and then filled by pelagic sediments from above.

None of the cavities hosted by either platform or pelagic strata contain evidence for their formation by dissolution in a subaerial environment. The Jurassic and Cretaceous history of subsidence of the Betic margins is thus simpler than in versions requiring repeated emergence to form subaerial karstic cavities.
Discrimination between coastal subenvironments using textural characteristics
Authors: SUTHERLAND ROSS A. , LEE CHEING‐TUNG
Published: June 2006

The objective of this study was to discriminate between modern beach subenvironments based on textural characteristics obtained using the graphical (percentile) method, the moment method, and the log‐hyperbolic distribution (LHD). A total of 126 surface sedimentation units were sampled at the nodes of a 21 x 6 rectangular grid (1000 m2) on a carbonate sand beach, Oahu, Hawaii. Sampling was conducted at low energy conditions from the lower foreshore to the backshore. Non‐parametric discriminant analysis was used as an objective tool in defining distinct subenvironments. Confidence bands around the canonical variates derived from the graphic mean, sorting, skewness and kurtosis indicated four separate subenvironments (lower foreshore, mid‐foreshore, upper foreshore and backshore). Three distinct subenvironments were identified using the mean, sorting (standard deviation) and skewness measures derived by the method of moments. A similar subenvironment distinction was obtained using five statistics of the LHD (gamma, γ; nu ν; delta, δ; tau, τ; and xi, ξ). No significant difference was noted in textural characteristics between the upper foreshore and backshore zones, and these zones were grouped into one subenvironment. These results indicate that different process scenarios would be needed to explain different subenvironment partitioning based simply on the approach adopted. Discriminant analysis indicated that fewer subenvironment samples were misclassified and separation distances between subenvironments in bivariate canonical plots were greater for the standard moment measures compared with the statistics derived from fitting the computationally intensive LHD model. Examination of the mass frequency grain size distributions indicated that the LHD was generally the most appropriate model. These observations were confirmed by the hyperbolic shape triangle which indicated that the LHD rather than the more commonly used log‐normal distribution was generally optimal in describing sediments. These results support the use of the LHD statistical measures in subenvironment discrimination over the graphic‐inclusive measures.
The carbonate factory of Middle Triassic buildups in the Dolomites, Italy: a quantitative analysis
Authors: BLENDINGER W.
Published: June 2006

Middle Triassic carbonate buildups of the Dolomites were high in relief (500–1000m) and small in size (one to a few square kilometres in area). A paradox results from the carbonate platform model that invokes the platform top, including reef rims, as the carbonate factory and flanking beds as talus deposits. Most buildups consist largely of clinoforms (inclined at 10‐50°) whereas massive reef rocks and stratified buildup interiors are poorly developed or absent. Facies and modal analysis of 323 thin sections from buildups of the Marmolada indicate that clinoforms are: (i) predominantly composed of in situ boundstones (56% of all samples); (ii) primarily made up of early cements (37 vol.%), microbial crusts (17 vol.%), micritic intraclasts (10 vol.%) and Tubiphytes (8 vol.%); and (iii) contain diagnostic shallow water grains (dasyclads, coated grains) that are less abundant by 1‐2 orders of magnitude compared with buildup interior facies. These data suggest that the clinoforms themselves were the main carbonate factory of the Triassic buildups. Stratified buildup interior rocks and massive reef rocks were apparently not a prerequisite for buildup growth and clinoform progradation.
Replacement of evaporites within the Permian Park City Formation, Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, USA
Authors: ULMER‐SCHOLLE DANA S. , SCHOLLE PETER A.
Published: June 2006

The Permian Park City Formation consists of cyclically bedded subtidal to supratidal carbonates, cherts and siltstones. Early diagenesis of Park City Formation carbonates occurred under the influence of waters ranging from evaporative brines to dilute meteoric solutions and resulted in evaporite emplacement (syndepositional nodules and cements), as well as dolomitization, silicification and leaching of carbonate grains.

Major differences are seen, however, in the diagenetic patterns of subsurface and surface sections of Park City Formation rocks. Subsurface samples are characterized by extensively preserved evaporite crystals and nodules, and preserve evidence of significant silicification (chert, chalcedony and megaquartz) and minor calcitization of evaporites. In outcrop sections, the evaporites are more poorly preserved, and have been replaced by silica and calcite and also leached. The resultant mouldic porosity is filled with widespread, very coarse, blocky calcite spar.

These replacements appear to be multistage phenomena. Field and petrographic evidence indicates that silicification involved direct replacement of evaporites and occurred during the early stages of burial prior to hydrocarbon migration. Siliceous sponge spicules provided a major source of silica, and the fluids involved in replacement were probably a mixture of marine and meteoric waters. A second period of replacement and minor calcitization is inferred to have occurred during deep burial (under the influence of thermochemical sulphate reduction), although the presence of hydrocarbons probably retarded most other diagenetic reactions during this time interval. The major period of evaporite diagenesis, however, occurred during late stage uplift. The late stage replacement and pore‐filling calcites have δ13C values ranging from 0·5 to ‐25·3%, and δ18O values of ‐16·1 to ‐24·30 (PDB), reflecting extensive modification by meteoric water. Vigorous groundwater flow, associated with mid‐Tertiary block faulting, led to migration of meteoric fluids through the porous carbonates to depths of several kilometres. These waters reacted with the in situ hydrocarbon‐rich pore fluids and evaporite minerals, and precipitated calcite cements.

The Tosi Chert appears to have been an even more open system to fluid migration during its burial and has undergone a much more complex diagenetic history, as evidenced by multiple episodes of silicification, calcitization (ferroan and non‐ferroan), and hydrocarbon emplacement.

The multistage replacement processes described here do not appear to be restricted to the Permian of Wyoming. Similarly complex patterns of alteration have been noted in the Permian of west Texas, New Mexico, Greenland and other areas, as well as in strata of other ages. Thus, multistage evaporite dissolution and replacement may well be the norm rather than the exception in the geological record.
Recrystallization of dolomite: evidence from the Monterey Formation (Miocene), California
Authors: MALONE MITCHELL J. , BAKER PAUL A. , BURNS STEPHEN J.
Published: June 2006

Dolomites from the upper calcareous‐siliceous member of the Miocene Monterey Formation exposed west of Santa Barbara, California, were analysed for geochemical, isotopic and crystallographic variation. The data clearly document the progressive recrystallization of dolomite during burial diagenesis in marine pore fluids.

Recrystallization is recognized by the following compositional and crystallographic variations. Dolomites have decreasing δ18O and δ13C compositions, decreasing Sr contents and increasing Mg contents with increasing burial depths and temperatures from east to west in the study area. δ18O values vary from 5·3‰ in the east to − 5·5‰ PDB in the west and are interpreted to reflect the greater extent and higher temperature of dolomite recrystallization in the west. δ13C values correlate with δ18O and decrease from 13·6‰ in the east to − 8·7‰ PDB in the west. Sr concentrations correlate positively with δ18O values and decrease from a mean of 750 ppm in the east to a mean of 250 ppm in the west. Mol% MgCO3 values inversely correlate with δ18O values and increase from a minimum of 41·0 in the east to a maximum of 51·4 in the west.

Rietveld refinements of powder X‐ray diffraction data indicate that the more recrystallized dolomites have more contracted unit cells and increased cation ordering. The fraction of the Ca sites in the dolomites that are occupied by Ca atoms increases slightly with the approach to stoichiometry. The fraction of the Mg sites occupied by Mg atoms strongly correlates with mol% MgCO3. Even in early diagenetic, non‐stoichiometric dolomites, there is little substitution of Mg in Ca sites. During recrystallization, the amount of Mg substituting for Ca in Ca sites decreases even further. Most of the disorder in the least recrystallized, non‐stoichiometric dolomites is related to substitution of excess Ca on Mg sites.
A coarse grained turbidite system with morphotectonic control (Middle Albian, Ondarroa, northern Iberia)
Authors: AGIRREZABALA L. M. , GARCIA‐MONDÉJAR J
Published: June 2006

The Middle Albian Ondarroa turbidite system is a coarse grained, deep water unit which outcrops in the north‐eastern part of the Basque‐Cantabrian region, west of the Pyrenees. It is about 18 km long and 7 km wide, and shows an unusual ‘L’shape resulting from both a direct morphotectonic confinement and the presence of nearby shallow water carbonate buildups.

Eight main facies have been distinguished within this turbidite system: (1) clast‐supported conglomerates; (2) mud‐supported conglomerates; (3) slump deposits; (4) normally graded pebbly sandstones; (5) cross stratified sandstones; (6) interbedded graded sandstones and mudstones; (7) interbedded non‐graded sandstones and mudstones: and (8) mudstones. Inner system, middle system, outer system and basin plain divisions have been distinguished. The inner turbidite system is characterized by stacked channel fill conglomerates and lesser sandy turbidites and mudstones. The middle system consists of sandy and conglomeratic fining upwards sequences, normally several metres thick. The outer system has alternating non‐channellized sandstones and mudstones, without any predictable vertical arrangement. The basin plain is characterized by mudstone‐siltstone laminations and lesser, randomly occurring thin bedded sandy turbidites.

Three main channel fills make up the inner turbidite system. Although all of them can be compared with the valley channel fills of the modern Mississippi Fan, and thus their bases can be interpreted as sequence boundaries, only the lowermost and the uppermost channel bases are documented as allocyclic boundaries. The Ondarroa turbidite system was deposited in an immature passive margin subjected to transtensional movements. It filled a composite pull apart depression with coarse clastics derived from a narrow platform to the north of the present outcrops which was invaded by fan deltas. A major pattern of sinistral strike‐slip faulting linked to the opening of the Bay of Biscay is invoked to explain the Ondarroa turbidite system appearance and its tectonic confinement.
Origin and diagenesis of Quaternary travertine shrub fabrics, Rapolano Terme, central Italy
Authors: GUO LI , RIDING ROBERT
Published: June 2006

Millimetre to centimetre sized arborescent shrub‐like calcite precipitates are common constituents of hot water travertine shallow pool deposits of Quaternary age at Rapolano Terme, Tuscany, Italy. In the presently forming travertines, the shrubs consist of apparently random associations of (i) micrite aggregates and (ii) subhedral to euhedral rhombic spar crystal aggregates. In thin section, the micrite aggregates appear dark and the spar‐rhomb aggregates light, giving the shrubs a mottled appearance.

Travertines are basically produced by CaCO3 precipitation due to degassing and evaporation of the spring waters, although biological influence may also stimulate precipitation. The formation of masses of erect shrubs, rather than dense crystal crusts that form on slopes, is probably due to limited water flow in the pool environments.

Microbes, including bacteria and diatoms, are important influences on shrub microfabric and external shape. The micrite aggregates are associated with bacteriform bodies, seen as tiny rods and spheres. The micrite precipitates around these bodies and in adjacent biofilm. Spar‐rhomb precipitation appears to be external to the biofilm, and may be related to the presence of diatoms which are locally closely associated with the spar‐rhombs, although an essentially inorganic origin, particularly for the more euhedral rhombs, cannot be ruled out.

In the older Quaternary travertines, the original microfabric of the shrubs has been diagenetically altered. The original mottled appearance of the shrubs has become uniformly dark and micritic, and the evidence for the dual micritic and spar‐rhomb origin of the shrubs is obscured or destroyed. Spar‐micritization of the shrubs is probably due to abiotic, and locally biotic, dissolution. Previous studies did not recognize the diagenetic micritization and attributed shrub formation entirely to bacterial activity.
Magnesite diagenesis in redbeds: a case study from the Permian of the Northern Calcareous Alps (Tyrol, Austria)
Authors: SPÖTL CHRISTOPH , BURNS STEPHEN J.
Published: June 2006

The Upper Permian Gröden Formation of the Northern Calcareous Alps (Austria) is composed of alluvial fan and playa lake sediments that were deposited in intramontane basins. A conspicuous feature of these redbeds is the abundance of magnesite in the form of nodules and discrete layers in mudstones as well as intergranular cement in sandstones. Sedimentological observations indicate that the bulk of these carbonates formed during early diagenesis and were probably syndepositional. Petrographically, most magnesites consist of micrite or, less commonly, microspar. An early non‐ferroan magnesite is post‐dated by later stage ferroan magnesites. Nodules consisting of recrystallized, sparry magnesite were observed only at one location. The general absence of relics of a non‐magnesite precursor mineral and the occurrence of shrinkage features suggest that the fine grained magnesites formed by transformation of a hydrated magnesium carbonate mineral, e.g. hydromagnesite. Carbon, oxygen, sulphur and strontium isotope ratios in conjunction with sedimentological criteria support a model of (hydro)magnesite precipitation in an inland playa lake system, which was fed by run‐off from the surrounding hinterland. The scarcity of evaporites and the dominance of magnesite over calcite and dolomite suggest that the playa lake brines were low in sulphate and had high Mg/Ca ratios. The source for the high magnesium concentrations is thought to be the weathering of Devonian dolostones and associated massive magnesite deposits in the catchment area.
Multiple‐step recrystallization within massive ancient dolomite units: an example from the Dinantian of Belgium
Authors: NIELSEN P. , SWENNEN R. , KEPPENS E.
Published: June 2006

South of the Caledonian Brabant‐Wales Massif a more than 200 m thick Tournaisian to Lower Visean replacive dolomite unit can be followed for several hundred kilometres from the Boulonnais (France) to Aachen (Germany). Field observations, of features such as karst cavities occurring at the top of the Lower Visean dolomite which are filled by Lower Visean crinoidal limestone, indicate that dolomitization and karstification took place during the Early Visean. This early development of the dolomite is in agreement with the presence of stylolites cutting the dolomite fabric. The minor element composition of the majority of the dolomites remains almost uniform throughout the entire studied area. Values for Fe, Mn, Na and Sr are normally in the range 700–4700 ppm, 15–400 ppm, 80–300 ppm and 50–200 ppm, respectively. The δ13C values (range‐0.72 to +5.31%o) mainly reflect the carbon isotopic composition of the precursor limestones. The δ18O values, in contrast, are highly variable: ranging from‐19.15 to +0.85%o. This rather large range of δ18O values is explained by multiple‐step re‐equilibration/recrystallization during progressive burial and subsequent uplift of the dolomites. These processes are also responsible for the high 87Sr/86Sr values of the dolomites which range from about 0.7088 to 0.7098. They are distinctly more radiogenic than Lower Visean marine carbonates (0.7076–0.7078). Correlation, however, of δ18O values or 87Sr/86Sr ratios with dolomite and/or cathodoluminescenec (CL) textures has not been very successful. This suggests that recrystallization may remain unrecognized if only petrographic techniques are used. Nevertheless, certain CL textures can be related to specific interactions with the ambient recrystallizing fluids.