Time constraints on hydrocarbon migration and caprock formation recorded by calcite spar in a Carboniferous–Permian carbonate-evaporite succession, Finnmark Platform, Barents Sea

Abstract

Abstract A late Carboniferous to early Permian carbonate and evaporite succession from the Finnmark Platform (southern Barents Sea) contains nodules of anhydrite partially to fully replaced by calcite spar and native sulfur genetically linked to hydrocarbon migration and/or oxidation, analogous to processes observed in salt diapir caprocks in the Gulf of Mexico. In situ U-Pb dating of this calcite spar therefore has the potential to directly date hydrocarbon migration and provide further insight into the geochemical and temperature conditions during this event when coupled with traditional stable and clumped isotope ratios (δ13C, δ18O, and Δ47). Results indicate calcite formed ca. 50–15 Ma, postdating host-rock deposition by 250–285 m.y. Strongly negative δ13C values in the calcite spar (mean = −15‰) are consistent with a major contribution of carbon from hydrocarbons, and Δ47 paleothermometry indicates a mean precipitation temperature of 46 ± 11 °C. These geochemical results are consistent with the local burial history and suggest protracted hydrocarbon migration and/or oxidation and caprock formation spanning ~35 m.y.