Recent and Miocene carbonate sediments from Indonesia. Available in 2 volumes.

Mapping and sediment sampling in reefs of the Pulau Seribu group (southwest Java Sea) shows the existence of ten physiographic zones and subzones represented by seven lithofacies. Reefs in the northern part of the archipelago are smaller, more closely spaced and morphologically sim pler than those in the south. This pattern is attributed to differences in subsidence rate. A th reedimensional model is proposed for the evo lution of these reefs but borehole data are requi red to test this model. Miocene limestones are described in detail from hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Batu Raja Formation of the same area. Brief comparisons a re made with surface outcrops of approximately coeval carbonate developments. The lithofacies developed within these limestones reflect variations in hydrodynam ic regime and basement topography . Ele\le.n diagenetic processes affected the Batu Raja limestones and the dist ribution of these is primarily related to sealevel fluctuations. Early diagenesis was marine and characterised by micritisation and preCipitation of fibrous and bladed cements. Dolomitisat ion occurred in the mixed- water zone and its variable intensity is attributed to the configuration of the carbonate body relative to this zone. Subsequently the limestones were subjected to freshwater phreatic zone diagenesis resulting in dissolution and cementation, and a t a late stage underwent burial compaction. Secondary porosity, which \ar9e1.y determines the suitability of these limestones as hydrocarbon reserVOirs, is a function of the variable intensity of dissolution and cementation, burial compaction, dolomitisation and possibly micrite neomorphism. The sedimentary processes that generated the Batu Raja buildups are inferred f rom comparisons with the Pulau Seribu and other Recent analogues. The contrasting pinnacle form of the Pulau Seribu patch reefs compared with the low relief of the Batu Raja buUdups results from differences in the initial substrate topography and subsequent subsidence rate

Composition of recent carbonate bottom sediments from the Guiana shelf an off the West Africa

This work was based on a study of the upper layer of recent carbonate bottom sediments of the Atlantic Ocean. Biogenic carbonate of recent sediments is represented by metastable and stable minerals. In the ocean metastable phases can exist indefinitely long, but the structure of polymorphism determines inevitability of transformation of metastable phases into stable ones. This transformation occurs in the solid phase. In the absence of a critical point between the two phases of the transition process is not available for study by microscopic methods. It is estimated indirectly by studying the nature and extent of changes in mineral and chemical compositions. With aging of sediments their mineral composition alters in direction of increasing contents of resistant minerals. Fine grained sediments and fractions are subject to more intensive effects of early diagenesis processes, rather than coarse ones; this is reflected in their mineral composition. Regularities of distribution of carbonate minerals in size fractions consistent with the direction of polymorphic transformations in calcium carbonate. Such transformations can occur in a particular dimension of grains. Concrete grain size depends on environmental conditions. This situation explains presence of metastable biogenic carbonates at different depths of the ocean and suggests presence of diagenetic calcite in sediments occurring below expected for each case depth of the transition.

Calcium carbonate content in surface sediments and benthic fauna on Antarctic shelves

We analyzed 214 new core-top samples for their CaCO3 content from shelves all around Antarctica in order to understand their distribution and contribution to the marine carbon cycle. The distribution of sedimentary CaCO3 on the Antarctic shelves is connected to environmental parameters where we considered water depth, width of the shelf, sea-ice coverage and primary production. While CaCO3 contents of surface sediments are usually low, high(> 15%) CaCO3 contents occur at shallow water depths (150-200 m) on narrow shelves of the eastern Weddell Sea and at a depth range of 600-900 m on the broader and deeper shelves of the Amundsen, Bellingshausen and western Weddell Seas. Regions with high primary production, such as the Ross Sea and the western Antarctic Peninsula region, have generally low CaCO3 contents in the surface sediments. The predominant mineral phase of CaCO3 on the Antarctic shelves is low-magnesium calcite. With respect to ocean acidification, our findings suggest that dissolution of carbonates in Antarctic shelf sediments may be an important negative feedback only after the onset of calcite undersaturation on the Antarctic shelves. Macrozoobenthic CaCO3 standing stocks do not increase the CaCO3 budget significantly as they are two orders of magnitude lower than the budget of the sediments. This first circumpolar compilation of Antarctic shelf carbonate data does not claim to be complete. Future studies are encouraged and needed to fill data gaps especially in the under-sampled southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean sectors of the Southern Ocean.

Modern sediments and Pleistocene reefs from isolated carbonate platforms (Iles Eparses, SW Indian Ocean): A preliminary study

Isolated carbonate platforms occur throughout the geologic record, from Archean to present. Although the respective roles of tectonics, sediment supply and sea-level changes in the stratigraphical architecture of these systems are relatively well constrained, the details of the nature and controls on the variability of sedimentological patterns between and within individual geomorphologic units on platforms have been barely investigated. This study aims at describing and comparing geomorphological and sedimentological features of surficial sediments and fossil reefs from three isolated carbonate platforms located in the SW Indian Ocean (Glorieuses, Juan de Nova and Europa). These carbonate platforms are relatively small and lack continuous reef margins, which have developed only on windward sides. Field observations, petrographic characterization and grain-size analyses are used to illustrate the spatial patterns of sediment accumulation on these platforms. The internal parts of both Glorieuses and Juan de Nova platforms are blanketed by sand dunes with medium to coarse sands with numerous reef pinnacles. Skeletal components including coral, green algae, and benthic foraminifera fragments prevail in these sediments. Europa platform exhibits a similar skeletal assemblage dominated by coral fragments, with the absence of wave-driven sedimentary bodies. Fossil reefs from the Last interglacial (125,000 years BP) occur on the three platforms. At Glorieuses, a succession of drowned terraces detected on seismic lines is interpreted as reflecting the last deglacial sea-level rise initiated 20,000 years ago. These findings highlight the high potential of these platforms to study past sea-level changes and the related reef response, which remain poorly documented in the SW Indian Ocean.

Holocene sediments of Wistari Reef: towards a global quantification of coral reef related neritic sedimentation in the Holocene

Wistari Reef. within the southern Great Barrier Reef. is a shallow coral reef platform featuring a very clearly defined leeward accretionary wedge of carbonate sediments. The total global area of shallowly submerged coral reef has been quantified as 255 000 km(2). The question then becomes: What additional area of sediment of significant thickness is associated with the measured shallow reef areas T At Wistari Reef, the leeward sedimentary wedge has an area and a thickness that are roughly equal to the Holocene sediments that have accumulated on the platform. Several important observations can be made from these data. Firstly. the area of significant neritic carbonate sedimentation ( > 1 m/ka) associated with coral reefs is near 500000 km(2). Secondly, the production rate of neritic carbonates at Wistari Reef is almost 50%, less than the accumulation rate needed to obtain the volume of Holocene reef sediments observed. This implies that both production and accumulation neritic carbonate must have been more than a factor of two higher in the early to mid Holocene. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Geochemistry of highly acidic mine water following disposal into a natural lake with carbonate bedrock

Acid mine drainage (AMD) from the Zn-Pb(-Ag-Bi-Cu) deposit of Cerro de Pasco (Central Peru) and waste water from a Cu-extraction plant has been discharged since 1981 into Lake Yanamate, a natural lake with carbonate bedrock. The lake has developed a highly acidic pH of similar to 1. Mean lake water chemistry was characterized by 16,775 mg/L acidity as CaCO(3), 4330 mg/L Fe and 29,250 mg/L SO(4). Mean trace element concentrations were 86.8 mg/L Cu, 493 mg/L Zn, 2.9 mg/L Pb and 48 mg/L As, which did not differ greatly from the discharged AMD. Most elements showed increasing concentrations from the surface to the lake bottom at a maximal depth of 41 m (e.g. from 3581 to 5433 mg/L Fe and 25,609 to 35,959 mg/L SO(4)). The variations in the H and 0 isotope compositions and the element concentrations within the upper 10 m of the water column suggest mixing with recently discharged AMD, shallow groundwater and precipitation waters. Below 15 m a stagnant zone had developed. Gypsum (saturation index, SI similar to 0.25) and anglesite (SI similar to 0.1) were in equilibrium with lake water. Jarosite was oversaturated (SI similar to 1.7) in the upper part of the water column, resulting in downward settling and re-dissolution in the lower part of the water column (SI similar to -0.7). Accordingly, jarosite was only found in sediments from less than 7 m water depth. At the lake bottom, a layer of gel-like material (similar to 90 wt.% water) of pH similar to 1 with a total organic C content of up to 4.40 wet wt.% originated from the kerosene discharge of the Cu-extraction plant and had contaminant element concentrations similar to the lake water. Below the organic layer followed a layer of gypsum with pH 1.5, which overlaid the dissolving carbonate sediments of pH 5.3-7. In these two layers the contaminant elements were enriched compared to lake water in the sequence As < Pb approximate to Cu < Cd < Zn = Mn with increasing depth. This sequence of enrichment was explained by the following processes: (i) adsorption of As on Fe-hydroxides coating plant roots at low pH (up to 3326 mg/kg As), (ii) adsorption at increasing pH near the gypsum/calcite boundary (up to 1812 mg/kg Pb, 2531 mg/kg Cu. and 36 mg/kg Cd), and (iii) precipitation of carbonates (up to 5177 mg/kg Zn and 810 mg/kg Mn: all data corrected to a wet base). The infiltration rate was approximately equal to the discharge rate, thus gypsum and hydroxide precipitation had not resulted in complete clogging of the lake bedrocks. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SIMSAFADIM-CLASTIC: A new approach to mathematical 3D forward simulation modelling for terrigenous and carbonate marine sedimentation

Most sedimentary modelling programs developed in recent years focus on either terrigenous or carbonate marine sedimentation. Nevertheless, only a few programs have attempted to consider mixed terrigenous-carbonate sedimentation, and most of these are two-dimensional, which is a major restriction since geological processes take place in 3D. This paper presents the basic concepts of a new 3D mathematical forward simulation model for clastic sediments, which was developed from SIMSAFADIM, a previous 3D carbonate sedimentation model. The new extended model, SIMSAFADIM-CLASTIC, simulates processes of autochthonous marine carbonate production and accumulation, together with clastic transport and sedimentation in three dimensions of both carbonate and terrigenous sediments. Other models and modelling strategies may also provide realistic and efficient tools for prediction of stratigraphic architecture and facies distribution of sedimentary deposits. However, SIMSAFADIM-CLASTIC becomes an innovative model that attempts to simulate different sediment types using a process-based approach, therefore being a useful tool for 3D prediction of stratigraphic architecture and facies distribution in sedimentary basins. This model is applied to the neogene Vallès-Penedès half-graben (western Mediterranean, NE Spain) to show the capacity of the program when applied to a realistic geologic situation involving interactions between terrigenous clastics and carbonate sediments.

SIMSAFADIM-CLASTIC: A new approach to mathematical 3D forward simulation modelling for terrigenous and carbonate marine sedimentation

Most sedimentary modelling programs developed in recent years focus on either terrigenous or carbonate marine sedimentation. Nevertheless, only a few programs have attempted to consider mixed terrigenous-carbonate sedimentation, and most of these are two-dimensional, which is a major restriction since geological processes take place in 3D. This paper presents the basic concepts of a new 3D mathematical forward simulation model for clastic sediments, which was developed from SIMSAFADIM, a previous 3D carbonate sedimentation model. The new extended model, SIMSAFADIM-CLASTIC, simulates processes of autochthonous marine carbonate production and accumulation, together with clastic transport and sedimentation in three dimensions of both carbonate and terrigenous sediments. Other models and modelling strategies may also provide realistic and efficient tools for prediction of stratigraphic architecture and facies distribution of sedimentary deposits. However, SIMSAFADIM-CLASTIC becomes an innovative model that attempts to simulate different sediment types using a process-based approach, therefore being a useful tool for 3D prediction of stratigraphic architecture and facies distribution in sedimentary basins. This model is applied to the neogene Vallès-Penedès half-graben (western Mediterranean, NE Spain) to show the capacity of the program when applied to a realistic geologic situation involving interactions between terrigenous clastics and carbonate sediments.

Origin of cadmium enrichments in carbonate rocks deposited in the Alpine Tethys area during the Middle-Late Jurassic

ABSTRACTThe pollution of air, soil and water by heavy metals through anthropogenic activities is an object of numerous environmental studies since long times. A number of natural processes, such as volcanic activity, hydrothermal fluid circulation and weathering of metal-rich deposits may lead to an additional and potentially important input and accumulation of heavy metals in the environment. In the Swiss and French Jura Mountains, anomalous high cadmium (Cd) concentrations (up to 16 ppm) in certain soils are related to the presence of underlying Cd-enriched (up to 21 ppm) carbonate rocks of Middle to Late Jurassic age. The aim of this study is to understand the processes controlling Cd incorporation into carbonate rocks of Middle and Late Jurassic age and to reconstruct the sedimentary and environmental conditions, which have led to Cd enrichments in these sedimentary rocks.Cd concentrations in studied hemipelagic sections in France vary between 0.1 and 0.5 ppm (mean 0.15 ppm). Trace-element behavior and high Mn concentrations suggest that sediment accumulation occurred in a well-oxygenated environment. Increases in Cd contents in the bulk-rock carbonate sediments may be related to increases in surface-water productivity under oxic conditions and important remineralization of organic matter within the water column. In platform settings preserved in the Swiss Jura Mountains, no correlation is observed between Cd contents and evolution of environmental conditions. Cd concentrations in these platform sections are often below the detection limit, with isolated peaks of up to 21 ppm. These important Cd enrichments are associated with peaks in Zn concentrations and are present in carbonate rocks independently of facies and age. The high Cd contents in these shallow-water carbonate rocks are partly related to the presence of disseminated, Cd-rich (up to 1.8%), sphalerite (ZnS) mineralization. The basement rocks are considered to be the source of metals for sulfide mineralization in the overlying Jurassic strata, as the sphalerite Pb isotope pattern is comparable to that of granite rocks from the nearby southern Black Forest crystalline massif. The Rb-Sr ages of sphalerite samples indicate that a main phase of sphalerite formation occurred near the boundary between the late Middle and early Late Jurassic, at around 162 Ma, as a result of enhanced tectonic and hydrothermal activity in Europe, related to the opening of the Central Atlantic and to the tectonic/thermal subsidence during spreading of the Alpine Tethys. I therefore propose to use unusually high Cd concentrations in carbonates as a tracer of tectonic activity in the Jura Mountains area, especially in the case when important enrichments in Zn co-occur. Paleoproductivity reconstructions based on records of authigenic Cd may be compromised not only by post-depositional redistribution, but also by incorporation of additional Cd from hydrothermal solutions circulating in the rock.The circulation of metal-rich hydrothermal fluids through the sediment sequence, in addition to specific environmental conditions during sedimentation, contributes to the incorporation of Cd into the carbonate rocks. However, only hydrothermal activity has led to the unusually high concentrations of Cd in carbonate rocks of Bajocian-Oxfordian age, through the formation of sphalerite mineralization.

Textual characteristics of coarse sediments in selected streams of the Niagara Peninsula, Ontario

The streams flowing through the Niagara Escarpment are paved by coarse carbonate and sandstone sediments which have originated from the escarpment units and can be traced downstream from their source. Fifty-nine sediment samples were taken from five streams, over distances of 3,000 to 10,000 feet (915 to 3050 m), to determine downstream changes in sediment composition, textural characteristics and sorting. In addition, fluorometric velocity measurements were used in conjunction with measured -discharge and flow records to estimate the frequency of sediment movement. The frequency of sediments of a given lithology changes downstream in direct response to the outcrop position of the formations in the channels. Clasts derived from a single stratigraphic unit usually reach a maximum frequency within the first 1,000 feet (305 m) of transport. Sediments derived from formations at the top of waterfalls reach a modal frequency farther downstream than material originating at the base of waterfalls. Downstream variations in sediment size over the lengths of the study reaches reflect the changes in channel morphology and lithologic composition of the sediment samples. Linear regression analyses indicate that there is a decrease in the axial lengths between the intial and final samples and that the long axis decreases in length more rapidly than the intermediate, while the short axis remains almost constant. Carbonate sediments from coarse-grained, fossiliferous units - iii - are more variable in size than fine-grained dolostones and sandstones. The average sphericity for carbonates and sandstones increases from 0.65 to 0.67, while maximum projection sphericity remains nearly constant with an average value of 0.52. Pebble roundness increases more rapidly than either of the sphericity parameters and the sediments change from subrounded to rounded. The Hjulstrom diagram indicates that the velocities required to initiate transport of sediments with an average intermediate diameter of 10 cm range from 200 cm/s to 300 cm/s (6.6 ft./sec. to 9.8 ft./sec.). From the modal velocitydischarge relations, the flows corresponding to these velocities are greater than 3,500 cfs (99 m3s). These discharges occur less than 0.01 p~r cent (0.4 days) of the time and correspond to a discharge occurring during the spring flood.