A sedimentary prelude to Marinoan glaciation, Cryogenian (Middle Neoproterozoic) Keele Formation, Mackenzie Mountains, northwestern Canada

Abstract

Continental margin deposition between the Sturtian- and Marinoan-aged global glacial periods is represented in NW Canada by a siliciclastic-to-carbonate grand cycle. The Keele Formation, a 300–600 m thick carbonate and siliciclastic deposit, comprises the upper part of this interglacial cycle. Sedimentary facies in the lower, carbonate-dominated member of the Keele span a broad spectrum of depositional environments, from below storm-wave-base to peritidal to continental, and are disposed across a relatively narrow paleogeographic belt. Lateral arrangement of facies and the gradual stratigraphic transitions between them, suggest deposition in a ramp setting; local slump structures and occasional debrites in deep-water facies imply that the ramp was distally steepened. Fluvial facies are concentrated at a single locality, indicating that terrigenous-clastic sediment was derived from a point source or sources. Most strata of the carbonates are “Bahamian” in character and similar to Phanerozoic warm-water carbonates in that they contain abundant calcite ooids of interpreted original aragonitic mineralogy and have well-developed muddy peritidal facies. Nevertheless, close juxtaposition of deep- and shallow-water facies in Keele rocks indicates high-amplitude sea-level change during deposition, on the order of ∼100 m, suggesting accumulation in a climatic icehouse period. This interpretation implies that although the globe possessed polar and high-altitude glaciers at this time, sea-surface temperature, at least at tropical latitudes, warmed dramatically between Neoproterozoic glacial episodes. The onset of Marinoan glaciation here is heralded by an abrupt shift to nearshore marine siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. These deposits form the upper member of the Keele Formation (informally called the Keele clastic wedge) and directly underlie Ice Brook Formation diamictites. Carbonates are rare and are restricted to mudstones and flat-pebble conglomerates that lack any indication of tropical conditions.