Facies arrangement and cyclostratigraphic architecture of the Templet Member and the Kapp Starostin Formation (Permian) on Spitsbergen, Svalbard

Abstract

Because of outstanding outcrops, Spitsbergen (Svalbard archipelago) provides unique opportunities to investigate the whole Upper Palaeozoic succession in great detail. This study can help to interpret the stratigraphic history and depositional evolution at other locations exposing coeval shelf strata along the northern margin of Pangea, e.g., the southern Barents Sea and Arctic Canada. Bed-scale outcrop observations are combined with microfacies studies to interpret the sedimentary settings and depositional environment of the Upper Palaeozoic strata. A sequencestratigraphic analysis has been carried out to evaluate the relative timing of sediment facies deposition in response to sea-level changes. The Early Artinskian to Kazanian successions of the Templet Member and the Kapp Starostin Formation were divided into five parasequences that are superimposed on a long-term, second-order, sea-level fall. These parasequences record a fundamental change of the sedimentary setting, from a restricted-marine, warm-water carbonate platform to an open-marine, cold-water, biosiliceous-carbonate ramp system. A cross-section across Svalbard comprising nine onshore sections shows that during deposition of the Kapp Starostin Formation a major depocentre marked by thick parasequences and a higher proportion of deep-water facies (bedded cherts) is located in the southwest of Spitsbergen (at Akseløya), whereas northeastern Svalbard records shallow-water microfacies. Svalbard was tectonically passive during the Permian; the local differences in accommodation space and facies were most likely linked to the rejuvenation of pre-existing structural elements, inherited from the Carboniferous. A deepening of the depositional environment combined with cold-water climatic conditions as recorded in our study area has also been documented in other Upper Palaeozoic successions around the Arctic, such as the Finnmark Platform (Norwegian Barents Sea) and the Sverdrup Basin (Arctic Canada). This transition in the depositional environment along the northern margin of Pangea is the result of large-scale changes in oceanic circulation patterns and local palaeogeographic changes during the northward movement of Pangea.

Heterozoan carbonates: When, where and why? A synthesis on parameters controlling carbonate production and occurrences

“…At higher paleolatitudes, the innerramp deposits typically show terrigenous-dominated facies (Ordovician, Silurian and Permian; e.g. (Beauchamp & Desrochers, 1997;Blomeier et al, 2013;Jafarian et al, 2017a;Jafarian et al, 2017b;James et al, 2009a;James et al, 2009b;Rogala et al, 2007;Vennin et al, 1998)). The inner ramp of mid-paleolatitude case studies during the Permian shows an intermediate character with varying terrigenous deposits and biota typical of a subtropical climate (i.e.…”

“…A shift in carbonate association from photozoan to heterozoan is observed in relation with the northward drift of Permian continents that brought northern Pangea into higher paleolatitudes (cf. (Beauchamp & Desrochers, 1997;Bensing et al, 2008;Jafarian et al, 2017a;Jafarian et al, 2017b;James & Lukasik, 2010;Reid et al, 2007)). Carbonate deposits at sub-polar paleolatitudes occur within siliciclastic settings in zones where topography or currents restrict terrigenous input and where waters are highly productive (i.e.…”

Synthetic seismic model of a Permian biosiliceous carbonate – carbonate depositional system (Spitsbergen, Svalbard Archipelago)

“…11A). The top of unit L-8 consisting of heterozoan carbonates (e.g., crinoids, bryozoans, brachiopods) correlates with the Vøringen Member researched in this study, and lithological unit L-9 (Templefjorden group) is time and microfacies equivalent to the Kapp Starostin Formation (Jafarian et al, 2017b). In the Finnmark Platform, Colpaert et al (2007) studied the seismic sequence stratigraphy of the Upper Palaeozoic deposits by using 3D seismic data, and detailed lithostratigraphic studies resulting from well logs and cores.…”

“…Lower-order sea-level variations (fourth and fifth-order cycles) or high-energy storms locally disturb parasequences (S2, S3, and S4) and subdivide them into a number of temporally shoaling-upward cycles (Jafarian et al, 2017b) (Fig. 3).…”

“…Since NE Svalbard is located in shallower depth, lower-order sealevel fluctuations associated with overall stormier, high-energy conditions locally disturb chert-dominated third-order sequences by the deposition of single limestone or sandstone beds (Blomeier et al, 2013;Jafarian et al, 2017b) (Fig. 5).…”