Lacustrine microbialite pinnacles in the Palaeogene of Patagonia, Argentina: Facies and controls

Alonso-Zarza, Ana María; Cabaleri, Nora Graciela; Huerta, Pedro; Armella, Claudia; Rodríguez‐Berriguete, Álvaro; Monferran, Mateo D.; Gallego, Oscar Florencio; Ubaldón, María Cecilia; Nieto, Diego G. Silva

doi:10.1016/j.sedgeo.2020.105742

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Although this may be evidence to interpret a different water composition for this deposit (Ford & Pedley, 1996;Pentecost, 2005;Pedley, 2009), waters feeding Los Berrazales were not very different from those from Azuaje or Las Temisas, as indicated by the overall geochemical data (SPA-15, 1975). The geochemical values of tufas and travertines from Gran Canaria Island contrast with those of calcretes from the same Island which indicates a significant provenance of calcium (aeolian dust) and a dominant meteoric/pedogenic CO 2 (Alonso-Zarza et al, 2020a).…”

Section: Water Composition In Tufa Deposits From Gran Canariamentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Facies and macroscopic features in Los Berrazales are characteristic of tufas described worldwide which suggest meteogene sourced waters (Pedley, 1990; Ordóñez et al ., 2005; Pentecost, 2005), whereas microscopic features, such as the dendritic encrustations, more common in travertines, suggest deep sourced, CO 2 rich waters (Jones & Renaut, 2010; Gandin & Capezzuoli, 2014; Alonso‐Zarza et al ., 2020b). Although this may be evidence to interpret a different water composition for this deposit (Ford & Pedley, 1996; Pentecost, 2005; Pedley, 2009), waters feeding Los Berrazales were not very different from those from Azuaje or Las Temisas, as indicated by the overall geochemical data (SPA‐15, 1975).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1). In addition to tufas and travertines, Gran Canaria also contains a wide variety of Pleistocene calcretes occurring mostly in the eastern and northern areas of the Island (Alonso-Zarza et al, 2020a). The studied tufa deposits are Las Temisas tufa (Las Pilas Ravine) in the south-east sector, Azuaje tufa (Azuaje Ravine) in the north-east sector, and Los Berrazales tufa (Los Rios Ravine) in the northwest sector (Fig.…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Carbonate tufas as archives of climate and sedimentary dynamic in volcanic settings, examples from Gran Canaria (Spain)

2021

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Three Holocene tufas from Gran Canaria volcanic island were studied with the aim of deciphering their sedimentary evolution through space and time. Las Temisas tufa (south-eastern arid part of the island) is dominantly composed of oncoids, intraclasts, phytoclasts, coated stems, minor thin stromatolites, and a high amount of siliciclastics. It was deposited in a fluvial system with variable flow velocities and palustrine conditions areas, which alternated with high energy events. Azuaje tufa (northern humid part of the island) is composed of coated stems, stromatolites, oncoids and phytoclasts, with relatively low amounts of siliciclastics, suggesting slow-flowing and palustrine conditions and a relatively low incidence of (high energy) floodings. Los Berrazales tufa (north-west of Gran Ganaria, the most humid one), is mainly composed of coated stems and crystalline crusts, formed in a laminar flow regime. Dominant clastic sedimentation in Las Temisas and high calcite growth rates in Los Berrazales led to a poor development of stromatolites in comparison with Azuaje. Las Temisas and Azuaje deposits have similar upward evolution with decreasing trend in siliciclastics and increasing trend in carbonates. However, Las Temisas has higher siliciclastic and lower phytoclastic contents suggesting a less vegetated area and more arid climate than in the other deposits. Additionally, tufas record local events common in volcanic terrains. Azuaje presents three units bounded by erosive discontinuities, which reveal significant erosion by enhanced runoff that could be caused by loss of vegetation due to wildfires related to volcanic eruptions at headwaters. Las Temisas record a possible interruption in sedimentation represented by aligned boulders due to rockfalls from the hillsides. These deposits formed from waters with similar chemistry providing to the carbonates their similar signals in d 13 C-d 18 O stable isotopes and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios like that of the volcanic rocks. This work shows how, in volcanic areas, tufas are unique archives of the climate, vegetation and volcanic-related processes, because all imprint the sedimentary regime of tufa deposition.

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Section: Water Composition In Tufa Deposits From Gran Canariamentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Carbonate tufas as archives of climate and sedimentary dynamic in volcanic settings, examples from Gran Canaria (Spain)

2021

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“…There is an extensive literature on microbialites in non‐marine settings, in modern and ancient lakes (cf. Alonzo‐Zarza et al, 2020; Arp et al, 1999a, 1999b; Burne & Moore, 1987; Burne et al, 2014; Della Porta, 2015; Gierlowski‐Kordesch, 2010; Kempe et al, 1991; Riding, 2000; Sarg et al, 2013; Wright, 2012; and references therein), but the scale of the distribution of those in GSL provides a unique opportunity to assess their key controls. Salinity as stated above is a critical control with the extreme salinity of the north arm preventing benthic microbial mat growth and hence microbialites, and probably also in relation to the halocline.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics and controls on the distribution of sublittoral microbial bioherms in Great Salt Lake, Utah: Implications for understanding microbialite development

Baskin¹,

Porta

Wright

2021

The Depositional Record

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Side‐scan sonar and Compressed High Intensity Radar Pulse mapping of Great Salt Lake, Utah, linked to reprocessing of acoustic data from bathymetric surveys, has enabled the distribution of microbial bioherms to be assessed. Bioherms occupy an estimated area >700 km2 in the south arm and >300 km2 in the north arm. Distributions vary from statistically dispersed to clustered, and in this latter case, are predominantly located on metre‐scale, fault‐controlled topographic highs, with sediment infilling intervening lows between adjacent offsets. Individual bioherms are circular to oblate and range from centimetres to over 2 m in diameter. In some areas, bioherm heights were measured at more than 1.5 m above adjacent substrate. Sublittoral bioherms are made of aragonite, calcite and minor dolomite precipitated due to physico‐chemical, biologically induced and influenced carbonate mineralization processes in association with microbial mats. Bioherm fabrics vary at the millimetre to centimetre‐scale and consist of leiolitic and clotted peloidal micrite‐grade carbonate, sinuous threads of spherulitic fibrous aragonite crystals, laminated micrite boundstone and internal carbonate mud sediment with peloids and ooids. The identification of factors that influence microbial bioherm occurrence and spatial distribution in Great Salt Lake is limited to a set of collinear physical, chemical and biological variables that are confined to a localised closed system, such as salinity, water depth, wave energy, stable substrate and sediment accumulation. Anthropogenic modifications to Great Salt Lake resulting in increased salinity have exceeded the salinity range in which bioherm‐mediating microbial communities can survive, effectively defining an upper limit of salinity for bioherm microbial community viability. The better understanding of the distribution of microbial bioherms has significant implications for managing and protecting the lake ecosystem and may provide insights into the physical and chemical controls that existed during the formation of fossil microbialites in deep time.

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The Miocene lacustrine carbonate factory of the Ñirihuau Formation, Ñirihuau Basin, North Patagonian Andes, Argentina

Santonja,

Benavente,

Suriano

et al. 2024

The Depositional Record

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Facies, microfacies and stable isotope analyses of limestone beds in the northernmost Ñirihuau Basin, North Patagonian Andes, Argentina, document and constrain the past hydrological, sedimentological and climate conditions that prevailed during the deposition of a lacustrine system between ca 15 and 13 Ma. This palaeoenvironment is recorded in the middle section of the Ñirihuau Formation, which holds significance because: (1) It was deposited during a transition from an extensional to a compressional tectonic regime; (2) it spans the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum and the beginning of the Middle Miocene Climatic Transition; and (3) it contains limestone beds interbedded within a 600 m thick interval of mudstones and siltstones, along with intercalated sandstone and volcaniclastic bodies. Two detailed sedimentary logs were surveyed along the Arroyo Las Bayas, at the western and eastern flank of the David Syncline. Limestones from both stratigraphic sections were sampled as well as isolated limestone beds from two other sites. One facies association was defined and interpreted as a perennial lake associated with a deltaic system and dominated by detrital clastic material. It comprises Facies 1 (Marginal lacustrine) and Facies 2 (Lower delta plain); in both, the presence of grainstones and calcimudstones stands out. Through petrography and cathodoluminescence studies of these continental carbonates, nine microfacies were identified: (a) Intraclastic grainstone, (b) Homogeneous calcimudstone, (c) Silty grainstone, (d) Disrupted micrite, (e) Birds eye micrite, (f) Bioclastic mudstone, (g) Calcimudstone with sparse detrital grains, (h) Fenestral micrite, (i) Stromatolitic boundstone. These indicate mainly bio‐induced subaqueous carbonate precipitation and subordinate deposition by tractive flows with short‐distance transport on a littoral lacustrine environment. Most of these microfacies exhibit very early diagenesis (eogenesis) effects. These features, and the geochemistry results, indicate that they were deposited in a palaeolake system under temperate to warm and humid conditions.

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Lacustrine microbialite pinnacles in the Palaeogene of Patagonia, Argentina: Facies and controls

Cited by 4 publications

References 78 publications

Carbonate tufas as archives of climate and sedimentary dynamic in volcanic settings, examples from Gran Canaria (Spain)

Carbonate tufas as archives of climate and sedimentary dynamic in volcanic settings, examples from Gran Canaria (Spain)

Characteristics and controls on the distribution of sublittoral microbial bioherms in Great Salt Lake, Utah: Implications for understanding microbialite development

The Miocene lacustrine carbonate factory of the Ñirihuau Formation, Ñirihuau Basin, North Patagonian Andes, Argentina

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