Calcimicrobes and microbialites in lagoonal sediments from Mississippian Midale Beds, Williston Basin, southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada

Abstract

Carbonates of Mississippian age (Visean) in the Midale Beds, Charles Formation of southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada, produce significant amounts of hydrocarbons. The Midale Beds represent deposition in a shallow-water, periodically restricted, epeiric setting. The sedimentation is characterized by a variety of shallow-water carbonate lithologies ranging from wackestone, packstone, grainstone, to microbial boundstone. Algae, calcimicrobes, and related microbial fabrics are common features in these limestones. Cores and thin sections through the Midale Beds in the Glen Ewen and Midale pools of southeastern Saskatchewan were examined in order to study the contribution of calcimicrobes and microbial fabrics to the sedimentation of Mississippian carbonate rocks in southeastern Saskatchewan. Calcimicrobes and microbial fabrics are the important components in the grainstones and microbial boundstone. The calcimicrobes are commonly found as porostromate forms, including Garwoodia sp. and Ortonella sp., and other forms such as Archaeolithoporella-like, Girvanella-like, Wetheredella-like, and problematic microbes also occur but are not common. Microbial fabrics are characterized by microstromatolites, microbial laminations, thrombolite, clotted peloids, and fenestrate forms. Calcimicrobes stabilized grains and modified and created sediments, and the related syndepositional microbial fabrics affected the development of porosity/permeability of Midale carbonates. Calcimicrobes and microbial fabrics in Midale Beds highlighted a significant account of microbial facies associated with the Mississippian carbonates worldwide.