The Origin of Carbonate Mud

Abstract

Carbonate mudstones are key geochemical archives for past seawater chemistry, yet the origin of carbonate mud remains a subject of continued debate and uncertainty. Prevailing hypotheses have settled on two mechanisms: (1) direct precipitation in the water column and (2) postmortem dispersal of mud‐sized algal skeletal components. However, both mechanisms conflict with geochemical observations in modern systems and are problematic in deep time. We tested the hypothesis that abrasion of carbonate sand during sediment transport might produce carbonate mud using laboratory experiments and a sediment transport model. We documented experimental mud production rates up to two orders f magnitude faster than rates estimated for other mechanisms. Combined with model calculations, these results illustrated that transport and abrasion of carbonate sand is a major source of carbonate mud.

The enigma of Neoproterozoic giant ooids-Fingerprints of extreme climate?

“…H fall and w i both depend on water depth, H. H = 5 m was chosen as a representative water depth; sensitivity tests indicate that varying water depth has a negligible effect on the resulting Ω prediction ( Figure S2). Application of this abrasion model relies on the assumptions (1) that ooid diminution primarily occurs through abrasion of mud-size (<62.5 µm) carbonate particles rather than fragmentation of larger particles, which is consistent with experimental observations of abrasion of carbonate sand (Trower et al, 2019) and limestone pebbles (Attal and Lavé, 2009), and (2) that abrasion rates calibrated for sand-size carbonate particles (Trower et al, 2017) can be extrapolated to pebble-size carbonate particles, which is supported by similarity in modeled rates with experimental rates for limestone pebbles (Attal and Lavé, 2009) ( Figure S3).…”

The Enigma of Neoproterozoic Giant Ooids—Fingerprints of Extreme Climate?

“…H = 5 m was chosen as a representative water depth; sensitivity tests indicate that varying water depth has a negligible effect on the resulting Ω prediction (Figure S2). Application of this abrasion model relies on the assumptions (1) that ooid diminution primarily occurs through abrasion of mud‐size (<62.5 μm) carbonate particles rather than fragmentation of larger particles, which is consistent with experimental observations of abrasion of carbonate sand (Trower et al, ) and limestone pebbles (Attal & Lavé, ), and (2) that abrasion rates calibrated for sand‐size carbonate particles (Trower et al, ) can be extrapolated to pebble‐size carbonate particles, which is supported by similarity in modeled rates with experimental rates for limestone pebbles (Attal & Lavé, ) (Figure S3).…”

Holocene sediment distribution in the Al Wajh platform lagoon (northern Red Sea, Saudi Arabia), a modern analogue for large rift basin carbonate platforms

“…Adjas & Masse, 1990; Chazottes & Le Campion‐Alsumard, 1995; Chazottes et al ., 2002; Perry et al ., 2015), physical erosion from daily waves and during storm events (e.g. Flügel, 2010; Gischler et al ., 2013), and abrasion of carbonate particles during transport (Trower & Lamb, 2017; Trower et al ., 2019). A ternary plot shows only a correlation between CA7 and aragonite content, while other component assemblages show no trend (Fig.…”