Plate tectonic control on the evolution of Cretaceous platform- carbonate production

Abstract

Research Article| March 01, 2002 Plate tectonic control on the evolution of Cretaceous platform- carbonate production Thomas Steuber Thomas Steuber 1Ruhr-Universität, Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Geophysik, Universitätsstrasse 150, D-44801 Bochum, Germany Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2002) 30 (3): 259–262. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2002)030<0259:PTCOTE>2.0.CO;2 Article history received: 09 Jul 2001 rev-recd: 22 Oct 2001 accepted: 19 Nov 2001 first online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Thomas Steuber; Plate tectonic control on the evolution of Cretaceous platform- carbonate production. Geology 2002;; 30 (3): 259–262. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2002)030<0259:PTCOTE>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Carbonate-producing biota on Cretaceous carbonate platforms changed from early Cretaceous aragonitic coral-algal and coral-rudist associations to Turonian-Maastrichtian calcite-dominated rudist associations. Abundance patterns of rudist bivalves examined from a large database show a shift from Barremian- Cenomanian aragonite-dominated to post-Cenomanian calcite- dominated shells. These skeletal-mineral changes agree with a decrease in the Mg/Ca ratio of seawater owing to high rates of production of oceanic crust during the Barremian−early Turonian and its effect on seawater saturation with respect to aragonite and calcite. Increasing Sr concentrations in biotic calcite from the Barremian to the Maastrichtian reflect the shift from aragonite-dominated to calcite-dominated platform sedimentation, because aragonite precipitation is a major sink for seawater Sr. It is speculated that a particularly low Mg/Ca ratio and the corresponding low supersaturation of seawater with respect to aragonite during the middle Cretaceous was a major cue for the radiation of calcite- dominated rudist bivalves, which became important carbonate producers on Turonian-Maastrichtian carbonate platforms. Changing Mg/Ca ratios of seawater are not considered to have caused middle Cretaceous crises in the evolution of carbonate platforms, but seawater composition could have selected for calcite-dominated biota when carbonate production resumed. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.