Composition, structure and evolution of a lacustrine carbonate margin dominated by microbialites: Case study from the Green River formation (Eocene; Wyoming, USA)

Séard, Claire; Camoin, Gilbert; Rouchy, Jean-Marie; Virgone, Aurélien

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.04.023

Cited by 40 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…This furthermore means that otherwise 'primary' surface deposits, e.g. travertines, can also develop as 'cements' in cavities of existing non-marine carbonates (Rainey and Jones, 2007), such as microbial build-ups of the Green River Formation (Seard et al, 2013). Where primary precipitation, neomorphism and cementation happen simultaneously, the waters from which initial precipitates form also mediate the first steps of diagenesis.…”

Section: Cementation and Cementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What do we really know about early diagenesis of non-marine carbonates?

Boever

Brasier

Foubert

et al. 2017

Sedimentary Geology

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Non-marine carbonate rocks including cave, spring, stream, calcrete and lacustrine-palustrine sediments, are susceptible to early diagenetic processes. These can profoundly alter the carbonate fabric and affect paleoclimatic proxies. This review integrates recent insights into diagenesis of non-marine carbonates and in particular the variety of early diagenetic processes, and presents a conceptual framework to address them. With ability to study at smaller and smaller scales, down to nanometers, one can now observe diagenesis taking place the moment initial precipitates have formed, and continuing thereafter. Diagenesis may affect whole rocks, but it typically starts in nano-and micro-environments. The potential for diagenetic alteration depends on the reactivity of the initial precipitate, commonly being metastable phases like vaterite, Ca-oxalates, hydrous Mg-carbonates and aragonite with regard to the ambient fluid. Furthermore, organic compounds commonly play a crucial role in hosting these early transformations. Processes like neomorphism (inversion and recrystallization), cementation and replacement generally result in an overall coarsening of the fabric and homogenization of the wide range of complex, primary microtextures. If early diagenetic modifications are completed in a short time span compared to the (annual to millennial) time scale of interest, then recorded paleoenvironmental signals and trends could still acceptably reflect original, depositional conditions. However, even compact, non-marine carbonate deposits may behave locally and temporarily as open systems to crystal-fluid exchange and overprinting of one or more geochemical proxies is not unexpected. Looking to the future, relatively few studies have examined the behaviour of promising geochemical records, such as clumped isotope thermometry and (non-conventional) stable isotopes, in well-constrained diagenetic settings. Ongoing and future in-vitro and in-situ experimental approaches will help to investigate and detangle sequences of intermediate, diagenetic products, processes and controls, and to quantify rates of early diagenesis, bridging a gap between nanoscale, molecular lab studies and the fossil field rock record of non-marine carbonates.

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Section: Cementation and Cementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What do we really know about early diagenesis of non-marine carbonates?

Boever

Brasier

Foubert

et al. 2017

Sedimentary Geology

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“…al., 1995;Dorney et al, 2017) deposits. They form through complex interactions between ground waters and soils (Spötl and Wright, 1992) within interdune or desert-lacustrine settings (Driese, 1985;Platt, 1989;Seard et al, 2013;Parrish et al, 2017), springs and tufa mounds (Dorney et al, 2017), or from marine incursions Mountney, 2010, 2012). Despite being recognized frequently, carbonate deposits within arid continental basins are rarely studied in detail Chan, 1988, 1989;Mountney and Jagger, 2004;Moutney, 2012).…”

Section: Introduction and Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A microfacies analysis of arid continental carbonates from the Cedar Mesa Sandstone Formation, Utah, USA

Pettigrew

Rogers

Clarke

2019

The Depositional Record

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“…Second, as refuge areas for the biosphere, microbialites record the history of life and paleoenvironments in the aftermath of biologic crises (Lee et al, 2010;Saint Martin, 2010;Forel et al, 2013). Finally, lacustrine microbialite formations have been suggested as analogs to some hydrocarbon reservoirs such as those discovered in the South Atlantic (Seard et al, 2013). Lacustrine sedimentary rocks are indeed significant sources of hydrocarbons due to their organic enrichment resulting from an optimal combination of primary production, mean water depth and rates of burial (Bohacs et al, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation of low-T hydrated silicates in modern microbialites from Mexico and implications for microbial fossilization

Zeyen

Benzerara

et al. 2015

Front. Earth Sci.

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International audienceMicrobialitesareorgano-sedimentaryrocksfoundinabundancethroughoutthegeologicalrecordbackto∼3.5Ga.Interpretationsofthebiologicalandenvironmentalconditionsunderwhichtheyformedrelyoncomparisonswithmodernmicrobialites.Therefore,abettercharacterizationofdiversemodernmicrobialitesiscrucialtoimprovesuchinterpretations.Here,westudiedmodernmicrobialitesfromthreeMexicanalkalinecraterlakes:Quechulac,LaPreciosaandAtexcac.Thegeochemicalanalysesofwatersolutionsshowedthattheyweresupersaturatedtovaryingextentswithseveralmineralphases,includingaragonite,calcite,hydromagnesite,aswellashydratedMg-silicates.Consistently,X-raydiffraction(XRD)andFouriertransforminfraredspectroscopy(FTIR)analysesrevealedthatmicrobialitesarecomposedofadiversityofmineralphasesincludingaragoniteandsometimescalcite,hydromagnesite,andmoreinterestingly,apoorly-crystallinehydratedsilicatephase.Couplingofscanningelectronmicroscopy(SEM)withenergydispersiveX-rayspectrometrymicroanalysesonpolishedsectionsshowedthatthislatterphaseisabundant,authigenic,magnesium-richandsometimesassociatedwithironandmanganese.Thismineralphaseissimilartokerolite,ahydratedpoorlycrystallinetalc-likephase(Mg3Si4O10(OH)2·nH2O).Diversemicrofossilswerepermineralizedbythissilicatephase.Someofthemwereimagedin3DbyFIB-tomographyshowingthattheirmorphologywasexquisitelypreserveddowntothefewnm-scale.ThestructuralandchemicalfeaturesofthesefossilswerefurtherstudiedusingacombinationoftransmissionelectronmicroscopyandscanningtransmissionX-raymicroscopy(STXM)atthecarbonandmagnesiumK-edgesandironL2,3-edges.Theseresultsshowedthatorganiccarbonispervasivelyassociatedwithkerolite.Overall,itissuggestedthatthepoorly-crystallinehydratedmagnesium-richsilicateformsinmanyalkalinelakesandhasastrongpotentialforfossilizationofmicrobesandorganicmatter.Moreover,thefrequentoccurrenceofsuchanauthigenicsilicatephaseinmodernlacustrinemicrobialitescallsforareappraisalofitspotentialpresenceinancientrocks

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Composition, structure and evolution of a lacustrine carbonate margin dominated by microbialites: Case study from the Green River formation (Eocene; Wyoming, USA)

Cited by 40 publications

References 47 publications

What do we really know about early diagenesis of non-marine carbonates?

What do we really know about early diagenesis of non-marine carbonates?

A microfacies analysis of arid continental carbonates from the Cedar Mesa Sandstone Formation, Utah, USA

Formation of low-T hydrated silicates in modern microbialites from Mexico and implications for microbial fossilization

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