Shallow burial diagenesis of skeletal carbonates: selective loss of aragonite shell material (Miocene to Recent, Queensland Plateau and Queensland Trough, NE Australia) - implications for shallow cool-water carbonates.

Brachert, T. C. and Dullo, Wolf-Christian (2000) Shallow burial diagenesis of skeletal carbonates: selective loss of aragonite shell material (Miocene to Recent, Queensland Plateau and Queensland Trough, NE Australia) - implications for shallow cool-water carbonates. Sedimentary Geology, 136 . pp. 169-187. DOI 10.1016/S0037-0738(00)00096-8.

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Abstract

In burial environments, carbonate sediments undergo mineralogical stabilization and increasing lithification with depth. As yet, however, little knowledge exists with respect to the corresponding effects on fossil preservation and taphonomic modification of the original sediment composition. Countings of particles (>63 μm) in Miocene to Recent periplatform sediments (ODP Leg 133, NE Australia) exhibit a clear trend of reduction of skeletal aragonite downcore. Low- and high-Mg-calcite grains occur in a continuous order of magnitude over the studied interval (<600 m sub-bottom depth). Original microtextures are retained in high-Mg-calcite biota, although converted to low-Mg-calcite. Thus, the conversion to low-Mg-calcite appears to occur without introducing a significant quantitative bias. Aragonite skeletons (pelagic gastropods), however, exhibit a successive exposure of deeper crystal layers and a chalky preservation with burial depth, which we interpret to result from dissolution. Hints for the originally more numerous existence of aragonite biota exist in soft sediments and chalks by the presence of internal moulds, shells replaced by microspar, and mouldic porosity in early cemented hardgrounds. In deep sections barren of aragonite, the number of casts and replaced shells remains unchanged and is insignificant as compared to aragonitic biota probably originally present within the sediment (<2% in ooze/chalk vs. 30–50% of grains in modern periplatform sediments). Therefore, palaeontological information must be significantly biased through selective removal of aragonite. Rates of preservation and destruction depend on external factors during sediment accretion (sedimentation rates, clay content, total organic carbon content) and rates of fluid flow within the sediment. These observations are relevant with respect to the diagenetic potential and patterns of fossil preservation in little cemented calcitic cool-water carbonates, because they may originally have contained more aragonite biota as important constituents of an ecosystem than is commonly suspected, and calcite/aragonite ratios in ancient carbonate sediments may not necessarily reflect original input signals (climate or sea level).

Document Type: Article
Keywords: periplatform sediments; burial diagenesis; taphonomic bias; cool-water carbonates
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB1 Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics > FB1-P-OZ Paleo-Oceanography
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: Elsevier
Date Deposited: 18 Feb 2008 17:24
Last Modified: 19 Jul 2018 13:19
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/4799

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