Development Of Microbialites Research Articles

Transition of seawater conditions favorable for development of microbial hydrocarbon source – Reservoir assemblage system in the Precambrian

Several commercial Precambrian petroleum systems have been discovered worldwide. The microorganisms found in the Precambrian successions play a significant role in the development of high-quality hydrocarbon source rocks and microbialites with a high reservoir porosity. Yet, it remains unclear regarding issue of environments in which microbial activities can lead to the development of organic-rich hydrocarbon source rocks or reservoirs, and how the microbial source rock and reservoir constitute an effective hydrocarbon source-reservoir assemblage system. During the Edicaran Doushantuo Formation period, high-quality black shale source rocks were widely developed, and the organic matter in the source rocks was mainly derived from microbes including bacteria and algae. The thickness of the source rocks is up to 200 m, and the total organic carbon (TOC) value is ∼ 17.9%. During the Dengying Formation period, thick-layered microbialites, including microbial stromatolite, thrombolite, and botryoidal dolomite were developed extensively, with the abundant primary framework and secondary dissolution pores. During the Precambrian evolution, the transition of the seawater environment controlled the development of microbial source rocks or microbialite reservoirs. In a deep, euxinic reducing seawater condition, microbial organic matter was well preserved and accumulated in fine-grain sediments, thus forming the high-quality microbial source rocks. Meanwhile, under such a reducing condition, a large amount of layered, nodular, granular, and strawberry pyrites were precipitated due to the effect of BSR reaction with extremely positive δ34S values (up to 39.0‰). Meanwhile, in a shallow turbulent high-energy oxidized seawater condition, especially in the intermittent “Dolomite Sea” environment, microbial dolomitization promoted the massive development of microbial dolomite mound/shoal frameworks, constituting the matrix for the development of large-scale microbialite reservoirs. During the later burial evolution processes, the oil and gas generated from the Doushantuo Formation source rocks migrated and accumulated into the overlying Dengying Formation microbialite reservoirs, which constituted an effective hydrocarbon source-reservoir assemblage system. Overall, the areas surrounding the Mianyang, west side of the Chengkou, and northwest side of the western Hubei troughs are considered to be the potentially favorable areas with microbial source rock-reservoir assemblage system. The microbial source-reservoir assemblages in these Precambrian strata worldwide are worth further exploring.

Elemental and isotopic evidence for the presence of a microbial thriving environment during the deposition of Early Cambrian Xiaoerbulake Formation in the Tarim Basin, NW China

Microbial communities regained prominence in the Cambrian after a prolonged downturn in the Neoproterozoic, but the reasons for their revival are unclear. The earliest microbialites formed during this period within the Tarim Basin are well displayed in the Xiaoerbulake Formation in the Keping area. Major, trace, rare earth element (REE) analyses were carried out using samples collected from two sections of the Xiaoerbulake Formation which present two different palaeogeographical settings, namely, the intraplatform and platform margin. The samples were divided into seven groups based on their REE + Y (yttrium) distributions. Among these, the YG3, YG4, and PG3 groups correspond to microbial boom phases. The high contents of Al and other nutrient elements (e.g., P, Ni, U, Cu, Fe, Mn) in these three groups indicate that the microbial booms are controlled by nutrient concentration of different sources. In relatively deep‐water settings, aeolian dust and suspension particles modified the seawater geochemical characteristics to form shale‐like (REE + Y)N patterns. The nutrient‐rich fine‐grained deposits were blown up by storms and released nutrients. This eutrophication ultimately promoted microbial development and is demonstrated by light rare earth element enrichment patterns. In shallow‐water environments, microbes seemed to prefer quiet conditions, with sufficient nutrients provided by fluvial influx. In contrast, excess clastic materials inputs, be they carbonate or terrigenous debris, are unfavourable to the development of microbialites. Hence, it is expected that seawater REE preserved in ancient carbonates are capable of providing information on the impacts of seawater geochemical conditions on the evolution of microbialites.

Microbialite development through the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition in China: Distribution, characteristics, and paleoceanographic implications

Widespread development of microbialites harbors a series of clues about microbial activity, environmental condition, and aquatic chemistry. The Ediacaran-Cambrian transition draws extensive attention on the co-evolution of complex life and Earth's environment but the associated microorganism development has been largely ignored. In this study, we present a high-resolution database with respect to the spatial and temporal distributions of microbialites in China through the terminal Ediacaran to the early Cambrian Period and describe morphological and petrological characteristics of stromatolites and thrombolites in detail to shed light on the evolutionary process of microbial carbonates. Microbialite development experienced two thriving intervals during the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition: latest Ediacaran to early Fortunian, and Cambrian Age 3 to middle Age 4. The columnar and domical stromatolites show no marked morphological changes in the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition, but stratiform stromatolites exhibit a notable decline in Cambrian time, likely caused by increasing bioturbation in the Cambrian shelf environments. Meanwhile, thrombolites evolved to form large and complicated structures in the early Cambrian featured by meter-level mound morphology and columnar-branching microbial forms (fan-like/dendritic structures), likely indicating an improved environmental adaptation (e.g., photosynthesis efficiency and hydrodynamic conditions). Another remarkable change in microbialites is the emergence of large numbers of calcified microbial microfossils preserved within the laminated/clotted mesostructures in Cambrian facies, compared with the Ediacaran forms that lack such unique structural features. For the main control over the Cambrian microbial calcification event, this study stresses again the essential role of seawater chemistry (Mg/Ca molar ratios and Ca 2+ concentrations) in the formation and preservation of calcified microorganisms based on previous insights and elaborate characteristics of their occurrence and microstructures in China. The transition of the Neoproterozoic “aragonite-dolomite sea” to the Cambrian “calcite sea” (likely widely distributed in Age 3) may have promoted to the generation of an original calcite mineralogy in microbial fossils, which has a stronger ability to resist diagenetic dissolution and substitution (e.g., phosphatization and silicification) than that of the aragonite precursor. • We present a high-resolution database with respect to the development of microbialites in China through the E-C transition. • Detailed morphological and petrological characteristics of stromatolites and thrombolites are described. • Microbialite development experienced two thriving intervals in China during the E-C transition. • Thrombolites evolved to form large and complicated structures, likely indicating an improved environmental adaptation. • The primary calcite mineralogical composition is one potential reason for the preservation of the calcified microfossils.

Sedimentary characteristics of microbialites influenced by volcanic eruption: a case study from the Lower Cretaceous Shipu Group in Zhejiang Province, East China

This study describes a sequence of microbialites and volcanics of the Lower Cretaceous Shipu Group, an example of microbialites influenced by volcanic activity. It is located at Shipu town in eastern Zhejiang Province on the coast of southeastern China. Based on macroscopic outcrop observations, microscopic examination of thin sections, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) imaging analysis, and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) analysis, nine microbialite–tuffite assemblages have been recognized in the section. Their thickness increased gradually upwards as volcanism decreased. There are ooids, bioclastic grains, intraclasts and tuffaceous grains in the grain shoal with local dolomitization. Above the grain shoal, microbial reefs develop either individually or conjoining with adjacent ones, and consist of stromatolites and serpulid tubes with common recrystallization. Tubes of serpulids are calcified and the tube wall is micrite. The tube and intertube parts are filled by sparry calcite. Colonial serpulids are surrounded by microbes to form stromatolites. Black layers of stromatolites contain many calcite crystals with fan-shaped growth pattern and preserved organic matter. Microbes are so well preserved in crystal lattices that the original microstructure of the microbes can be clearly observed by FESEM imaging analysis. Microbial reefs develop at a local high point near or above fair-weather wave-base where waves removed fine volcanic ashes. Interreef deposits are coarse tuffite due to physical differentiation. Volcanic activity could provide rich nutrition for microbes, but too much fine volcanic ash inhibits microbial growth. As a result, a moderate supply of volcanic ash favors the development of microbialites.

Composition and biostratinomy of sponge-rich biogenic crusts in submarine caves (Aegean Sea, Eastern Mediterranean)

Submarine caves constitute “natural laboratories” for studying biodiversity, community structure and inter-specific relationship in cryptic habitats. These unique systems are of strategic importance to reconstruct the complex biotic processes developed in cavities of skeletal frameworks through geologic time. In this study, the biogenic crusts in two submarine caves of the Aegean Sea were characterized with regards to the organisms involved in their formation. The crusts were examined with the aim to investigate the possible influence of environmental parameters and/or biotic associations on the framework. The walls and ceilings of the studied Fara and Agios Vasilios Caves (Lesvos Island, Greece) are covered mainly with sponges, coralline algae, scleractinian corals, serpulid polychaetes, and bryozoans. Skeletons of these organisms are often cemented together and form extensive crusts of variable thickness. Optical and electron microscopy were utilized to detect quantitative relationships among skeletal components inside the crusts. Coralline algae and corals dominate close to the opening of the caves, whereas serpulids, bryozoans and sponges are the main crust builders in the innermost cave sectors. Among skeletal components, the micrite (microcrystalline calcite) is a minor component of the crusts and consists mainly of an autochthonous fraction, mineralized directly inside the crust through organomineralization processes. Crusts show abundance of endolithic and insinuating sponges, whose organic tissue decay leaves borings filled with spicules. The abundance of sponges competing with carbonatogenetic bacteria for the same living cryptic spaces prevented the development of microbialites. This competition explains the morphological differences between the studied biogenic crusts and the large biostalactites, which are common in other Mediterranean caves (i.e. Sicily, Apulia and Cyprus) and are characterized by only a few sponges but abundant microbialites.

Petrography and origin of the Lower Ordovician microbial carbonates in the Songzi Area of Hubei Province, middle Yangtze region, China

This study is the first systematic assessment of the Lower Ordovician microbial carbonates in Songzi, Hubei Province, China. This paper divides the microbial carbonates into two types according to growth patterns, namely nongranular and granular. The nongranular types include stromatolites, thrombolites, dendrolites, leiolites and laminites; the granular types are mainly oncolites and may include a small amount of microbiogenic oolite. According to their geometric features, the stromatolites can be divided into four types: stratiform, wavy, columnar and domal. Additionally, dipyramidal columnar stromatolites are identified for the first time and represent a new type of columnar stromatolite. The thrombolites are divided into three types: speckled, reticulated and banded. The grazing gastropod Ecculiomphalus and traces of bioturbation are observed in the speckled and reticulated thrombolites. This paper considers these two kinds of thrombolites to represent bioturbated thrombolites. These findings not only fill gaps in the field of domestic Ordovician bioturbated thrombolites but also provide new information for the study of thrombolites. Based on the analysis of the sedimentary characteristics of microbialites, the depositional environments of the various types of microbialites are described, and the distribution patterns of their depositional environments are summarized. The relationship between the development of microbialites and the evolution and radiation of metazoans during the Early to Middle Ordovician is discussed. Consistent with the correspondence between the stepwise and rapid radiation of metazoans and the abrupt reduction in the number of microbialites between the late Early Ordovician and the early Middle Ordovician, fossils of benthonic grazing gastropods (Ecculiomphalus) were found in the stromatolites and thrombolite of the study area. It is believed that the gradual reduction in microbialites was related to the rapid increase in the abundance of metazoans. Grazers not only grazed on the microorganisms that formed stromatolites, resulting in a continuous reduction in the number of stromatolites, but also disrupted the growth state of the stromatolites, resulting in the formation of unique bioturbated thrombolites in the study area. Hydrocarbon potential analysis shows that the microbialites in the Nanjinguan Formation represent better source rocks than those in the other formations.

Interplay between biotic and environmental conditions in pre-salt Messinian microbialites of the western Mediterranean (Upper Miocene, Mallorca, Spain)

Microbial buildups that predate the Messinian salinity crisis, including one of the few Phanerozoic examples of ‘giant’ microbialites, crop out upon the island of Mallorca (W Mediterranean). Sedimentological and geochemical data from microbialites and associated deposits, both essentially dolomitic, indicate that they grew in shallow marine conditions but relatively restricted from the open marine realm. Two microbialite-bearing sequences occur, both consisting of subtidal to supratidal deposits. Periods of restriction led to evaporative and hypersaline conditions that favored the development of microbialites and local precipitation of sulfates. By contrast, ephemeral periods marked by more open conditions were devoid of microbialites and allowed production of bioclastic deposits. Microbialites range from decameter- to decimeter-scale, reflecting differences in accommodation space. Despite contrasting sizes, all microbialite bodies record similar mesostructure evolution through time, from thrombolites to stromatolites, with a sharp transition between these endmembers. The change from subtidal to shallower, more restricted and saline intertidal environments triggered biotic substitution of thrombolite-generating microbial communities to stromatolite-generating ones. Furthermore, a wide variety of microstructures, from agglutinated to micritic with fossilized microbes, indicates that two main accretion processes occurred: microbially-influenced primary dolomite precipitation and grain trapping and binding, which were controlled by the interaction between microbes and changes in environmental conditions (e.g. grain supply, hydrodynamics and hydrochemistry). Therefore, the diversity of macro-, meso- and microstructures of these microbialites was caused by a complex interplay between depositional, biotic and hydrological parameters, which offers useful insights for the palaeoecological interpretation of other examples, at any scale and throughout geological time.

Microbialite fields developed in a protected rocky coastline: The shallow carbonate ramp of the Aptian Romualdo Formation (Araripe Basin, NE Brazil)

The Aptian Romualdo Formation is a siliciclastic-dominated sedimentary unit recording the last marine ingression within the Cretaceous interior basins of northeastern Brazil. At the western margin of the Araripe Basin, rocks of the Romualdo Formation are mainly represented by carbonates resting abruptly over the Proterozoic crystalline basement. Detailed mapping and stratigraphic analysis revealed two stromatolite fields that were described and discussed for the first time. Several bioherms, biostromes and isolated stromatolites characterized by distinct microbialite morphologies associated with echinoid-rich strata have been identified, suggesting that hypersalinity, water depth and hydraulic conditions were the main factors controlling stromatolite morphogenesis. A cm-thick amalgamated bivalve rudstone, resting directly on the basement and representing a shell concentration formed above the fair-weather wave base was also recorded. Based on the regional distribution of the stromatolite types and associated sedimentary facies, we interpret the depositional environment as a local low-gradient carbonate ramp deepening to the east. Our data robustly indicated that the western rocky shorelines of the Araripe Basin during the Aptian were populated by microbial mats and stromatolites in a condition analogous to the modern world-famous Hamelin Pool, Shark Bay, Western Australia. Finally, the development of stromatolites and echinoid-bearing microbialites at the western margin of the basin may be correlated with the formation of bakevelliid- and cassiopid-rich shell beds in the upper part of the Romualdo Formation at the eastern margin.

Early Triassic microbialites from the Changxing Region of Zhejiang Province, South China

Microbialites, often considered as a signal of extreme marine environment, are common in the Lower Triassic strata of South China where they flourished in the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction. Early Triassic microbialite facies are known to vary palaeogeographically, perhaps due to differing climates, ocean chemistry, and water depths. This paper provides the first record of a brief, but spectacular development of microbialites in the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction at Panjiazhuang section, Changxing Region of Zhejiang Province (eastern South China). Here, the Upper Permian Changxing Formation comprises typical shallow platform facies rich in calcareous algae and foraminifera, the development of which was terminated by the major end-Permian regression. A 3.4-m-thick microbialite began to form at the onset of the transgression in the earliest Triassic. The microbialite at Panjiazhuang section is composed of thrombolite that contains abundant calcified cyanobacteria, small gastropods, microconchid tubes and ostracods, representing a low-diversity shallow marine community in the aftermath of the end-Permian crisis. The microbialites are succeeded by thin-bedded micrites bearing thin-shelled bivalves, which record a rapid sea-level rise in the Early Triassic. Abundant populations of small pyrite framboids are observed in the upper part of the microbialites and the overlying thin-bedded micrites, suggesting that dysoxic water conditions developed at that time. The appearance of microbialites near the Permian–Triassic boundary (PTB) at Panjiazhuang section was the result of peculiar marine conditions following the end-Permian regression, whilst their disappearance was due to the increasing water depth and the development of dysoxia.

The giant stromatolite field at Santa Rosa de Viterbo, Brazil (Paraná Basin) – A new paleoenvironmental overview and the consequences of the Irati Sea closure in the Permian

The city of Santa Rosa de Viterbo, São Paulo State, Brazil, contains an important geological and paleontological site that is part of the Paraná Basin and presents one of the most significant records of Permian microbial life of southwestern Gondwana: the giant stromatolite field, with structures reaching 3 m high and 6 m wide. This work proposes a new overview of the paleoenvironment, focusing on the growth and development of microbial mats and microbialites. The characterization and association of nine facies were performed: intraformational breccia with wackestone matrix, intraformational breccia with grainstone matrix, packstone, wackestone, microbial mats, peloidal wackestone, laminated peloidal wackestone, laminated peloidal packstone and stromatolites. Four lithologic logs were correlated and used to interpret the history of the establishment of microbial communities during the episode of the Irati Sea closure. Field studies were carried out, thin sections were analyzed, and techniques such as SEM/EDS and Raman spectroscopy were applied for compositional analysis and to aid in the identification of associated fossils. This moment in the Paraná Basin's evolution was important due to the noteworthy increase in rates of organic matter deposition and the significant proliferation of microbial life brought about by the closure of the Irati Sea. One hypothesis is that there was more than one attempt to establish microbial communities during the paleoenvironmental evolution, and success was achieved only after a decrease in water depth and energy of the depositional system, as well as after an increase in salinity. As a result of a reconfiguration of paleogeography in the Gondwana supercontinent, the closure of the Irati Sea significantly affected the development and establishment of microbial communities, which gave rise to extensive microbialitic structures such as those at Santa Rosa de Viterbo.

The evolution of microbialite forms during the Early Triassic transgression: A case study in Chongyang of Hubei Province, South China

The widespread development of microbialites in shallow areas of the Tethys Ocean at the start of the Early Triassic reflects the deterioration of marine ecosystems in the aftermath of the extinction that marked the demise of the majority of Palaeozoic marine faunas. Here we present a study of the evolving microbialite forms and associated biotic assemblages of this pioneering microbialite interval from exposures at Chongyang, Hubei Province, China. This research provides a perspective on the effects of eustatic transgression on marine ecosystems as water depths increased at the beginning of Mesozoic, through the study of the changing forms, microfacies and distribution of microbialites. Microbialite forms evolved from stratiform stromatolites to a sequence of tabular thrombolites (with an intercalated layer of columnar stromatolites), followed by domical thrombolites that were overlain, in turn, by oolites. The stratiform stromatolites contain poorly preserved remains of calcified cyanobacteria, but microfossils with chambered structure can also be seen. Metazoan fossils increased from the base of the overlying tabular thrombolite, reflecting increasing biodiversity with deepening of seawater. The occurrence of columnar stromatolites within the tabular thrombolite may indicate a temporary sea-level shallowing. Foraminiferans and other metazoans are absent within the columnar stromatolites, but spherical cyanobacterial remains are extremely abundant. Well-preserved calcified cyanobacteria may reflect an absence of metazoan predation and/or carbonate supersaturation of seawater. As water deepened, domical thrombolites developed and the more complex seafloor relief created varied niches between and within the domes that harboured more ecologically diverse communities. During the process of transgression within the microbialite interval, carbon isotopes exhibit a negative relationship with biodiversity, implying that upwelling of anoxic deep-ocean water, if associated with the negative excursion of carbon isotope values, did not inhibit the diversification of benthic organisms at least on shallow carbonate platforms in the period immediately after the end-Permian mass extinction.

Enhanced development of lacustrine microbialites on gravity flow deposits, Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA

The Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA is a shallow, hypersaline, intracontinental lake hosting extensive microbial deposits. At a large spatial scale, the distribution of these deposits is driven by environmental and geodynamical factors (i.e. water-level fluctuations and a fault-related framework). A detailed mapping of the Buffalo Point area, in the north-western part of Antelope Island, indicates the presence of an anomalous concentration of microbial deposits dated ca. 5.8ka BP and distributed along a lobe-shaped geometry. This uncommon microbial deposit geometry results from an extensive colonization of a conglomerate substrate exhibiting an accumulation of m-sized rounded Cambrian quartzite boulders. We suggest that this conglomerate substrate provides a stable nucleation point that promotes the development and preservation of the lobe-shaped microbial deposits. Microbial deposits may also have protected the conglomerate substrate from erosional processes and thereby increased the preservation potential of the lobe-shaped structure. Based on the characteristics of the conglomerate (e.g. grain size, texture) and its location (i.e. 200m beyond the average shoreline), this lobe-shaped structure likely results from subaqueous debris or a hyperconcentrated density flow that transports sedimentary material from the Buffalo Point slopes downward to the shore. We estimate the age of the conglomerate deposition to be between 21 and 12ka BP. The initiation of the flow may have been triggered by various mechanisms, but the existence of a major active normal fault in the vicinity of these deposits suggests that an earthquake could have destabilized the accumulated sediments and resulted in conglomerate emplacement. The catastrophic 15ka BP Bonneville Flood, which led to a drop in the lake level (approximately 110m), may also provide an explanation for the initiation of the flow.

Microbialite concretions in a dolostone crust at the Permian–Triassic boundary of the Xishan section in Jiangsu Province, South China

Carbonate concretions with structures and fossil groups associated with microbialite developed in a dolostone crust at the Permian–Triassic boundary of the Xishan section in Jiangsu Province, South China. These structures include clotted fabrics and laminated carbonate needles, as well as abundant carbonate crystal fans. Fossil groups associated with microbialite include microconchids, small gastropods, and small foraminifers. These fabrics and fossils suggest that the concretions are carbonate microbialite blocks developed in the dolostone crust. On the basis of the analysis of the microfabrics and the fossil groups together with a comparison to modern analogues, we attribute the formation of the micritic patches in the microbialite concretions to the calcification of cyanobacterial mats via carbonate nanoparticles and we attribute the carbonate crystal fans to the direct recrystallization of micritic carbonates. The sparitic patches were interpreted as either the direct recrystallization of micritic carbonates or the precipitation of carbonate spars in the inter-/intra-spaces of metazoan shells together with the recrystallization of these shells. The similarities to modern stromatolites, both in morphology and in internal texture, suggest that the laminated carbonate needles are stromatolite laminae built by filamentous cyanobacteria. The preservation of these microbialite microfabrics indicates that early lithification by carbonate precipitation was widespread and intense following the end-Permian boundary events. The weak development of microbialites as small concretions may be attributed to the deeper water depth and the lower water energy in the Xishan area during the earliest Triassic.

Multiphase calcification associated with the atmophytic cyanobacterium Scytonema julianum

Scytonema julianum, which is an atmophytic cyanobacterium that lives in small clusters in shaded vadose settings throughout the world, is prone to rapid calcification. Specimens found on cavity walls in an inactive spring tower located in Shiqiang (Stone Wall) in China and cavity walls in a breccia that fills sinkholes in dolostones of the Cayman Formation (Miocene) on Grand Cayman are morphologically identical. The microbes (4–11μm diameter) are encased with thick, well-developed calcified sheaths with external diameters of 11 to 25μm, which developed through the sequential precipitation of amorphous CaCO3 (ACC), acicular calcite crystals, triradiate calcite crystals, and dendrite calcite crystals. The paragenetic relationship of these precipitates to the skeletal rhombic crystals that cover some specimens is unknown. Precipitation probably took place in the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that covered the microbes when they were alive. Critically, the type of crystal evident on the surface of the sheath depends on the thickness of the calcified sheath, which is in accord with the sequential development of the different crystal forms. Available evidence indicates that precipitation was largely “microbially influenced” rather than “environment influenced” and also demonstrates that crystals commonly morphed from one crystal form into another as precipitation progressed. There is, for example, clear evidence that the dendrite crystals developed from the triradiate crystals. S. julianum can play a significant role in the development of microbialites in vadose settings by acting as nuclei for CaCO3 precipitation.

Ostracods (Crustacea) through Permian–Triassic events

Through geological times, the main turnover of marine ostracod group occurred at the Permian–Triassic boundary (PTB) when the Palaeozoic world gave way to Meso-Cenozoic world. As quite all the groups, ostracods intensively suffered of the end Palaeozoic events but they have the particularity to pass the PTB and to be present in quite all marine environments. We have studied the ostracod assemblages from the best preserved marine Permian–Triassic sections through the world. These sections are, for most of them, located along the Palaeo-Tethys margins: South China Block and Tibet (R.P. China), Bükk Mountains (Hungary), Dolomites (Italy), Taurus Mountains (Turkey) and Elbourz Mountains (Iran). These areas present different environmental settings from very shallow water to deep shelf. The biostratigraphy is well constrained by the presence of conodont index.In deep environment from external shelf to slope, all the Permian ostracods disappear slightly before the PTB and are absent from the Early Triassic. The last representatives of palaeopsychrospheric forms occur in the early Anisian.On the platforms, during the Late Permian, the ostracods are abundant and highly diversified everywhere along Peri-Tethyan margins. The typical Palaeozoic forms are mixed with the very first Meso-Cenozoic representatives. The specific extinction rates, in the latest Permian, vary from 74% to 100%. During the earliest Triassic, two different settings have to be considered: with or without microbialitic deposits. The development of microbialites gives favorable ecological conditions to ostracods. During the Griesbachian, the fauna is composed of both new comers and surviving Palaeozoic forms. The reduction of size is frequently observed. This interval is called “survival stage”. During the Dienerian and the Smithian the fauna are very scarce and poor. These two substages represent the maximum of poverty for the ostracod fauna, may be due to the development of anoxia on the platforms. During the Spathian, occurs the beginning of the true recovery. The very last Palaeozoic representatives are found in the earliest Anisian which is the radiation stage of ostracod fauna with typical new comers. The interval of Palaeozoic–Meso-Cenozoic ostracod turnover is quite long (about 15My).

Community replacement of neritic carbonate organisms during the late Valanginian platform demise: A new record from the Provence Platform

The Valanginian is marked by a major platform demise inducing a hiatus in the northern Tethyan neritic carbonate record from the top of the lower Valanginian to the lower Hauterivian. New biostratigraphic and chemostratigraphic data from the Ollioules section (Provence Platform, southern France) are presented here, demonstrating that a large part of the upper Valanginian is preserved in an inner platform environment. The thick, upper Valanginian, aggrading carbonate succession is observed in an aborted rift domain, implying relatively low subsidence. In this context, a relatively long-term sea-level rise was required to sustain a keep-up style of carbonate production. Like the Apulian Platform, the remarkable preservation of the Provence Platform may have been favored by its remoteness from terrigenous source areas, as suggested by the low clastic inputs and low P-accumulation rates. Two main biotic community replacements are observed in Ollioules. The first saw the development of abundant microbialites and algae at the onset of the late Valanginian. A Tubiphytes concentration occurred during the coolest climatic conditions and the transition towards arid conditions, whereas the subsequent Lithocodium–Bacinella and orbitolinids assemblages developed under low nutrient conditions during a warmer interval. Both assemblages may have been triggered by increased alkalinity. The second community replacement saw the installation of coral- and rudist-dominated communities during the latest Valanginian to early Hauterivian. They indicate a change to oligotrophic, open marine conditions. Six medium-scale sequences have been defined in Ollioules, indicating short-term transgressive–regressive trends superimposed on a long-term transgression. Low nutrient inputs and relatively low subsidence in an aggradational context may explain the survival of the isolated Provence Carbonate Platform during a time of widespread drowning episodes and platform demise in the northern Tethyan domain.

Microbes and mass extinctions: paleoenvironmental distribution of microbialites during times of biotic crisis

Widespread development of microbialites characterizes the substrate and ecological response during the aftermath of two of the 'big five' mass extinctions of the Phanerozoic. This study reviews the microbial response recorded by macroscopic microbial structures to these events to examine how extinction mechanism may be linked to the style of microbialite development. Two main styles of response are recognized: (i) the expansion of microbialites into environments not previously occupied during the pre-extinction interval and (ii) increases in microbialite abundance and attainment of ecological dominance within environments occupied prior to the extinction. The Late Devonian biotic crisis contributed toward the decimation of platform margin reef taxa and was followed by increases in microbialite abundance in Famennian and earliest Carboniferous platform interior, margin, and slope settings. The end-Permian event records the suppression of infaunal activity and an elimination of metazoan-dominated reefs. The aftermath of this mass extinction is characterized by the expansion of microbialites into new environments including offshore and nearshore ramp, platform interior, and slope settings. The mass extinctions at the end of the Triassic and Cretaceous have not yet been associated with a macroscopic microbial response, although one has been suggested for the end-Ordovician event. The case for microbialites behaving as 'disaster forms' in the aftermath of mass extinctions accurately describes the response following the Late Devonian and end-Permian events, and this may be because each is marked by the reduction of reef communities in addition to a suppression of bioturbation related to the development of shallow-water anoxia.

Influence of local sedimentary conditions on development of microbialites in the Oxfordian carbonate buildups from the southern part of the Kraków–Częstochowa Upland (South Poland)

During the Late Jurassic, the Kraków–Częstochowa Upland area was situated on a shelf that linked a shallow epicontinental basin with the Tethys Ocean. Locally, carbonate buildups of differentiated size and structure developed on this shelf. The buildups comprise different varieties of microbialites: leiolites, thrombolites and stromatolites of variable properties. Negative Ce anomalies and distinct enrichment in heavy rare earth elements present in all studied microbialites indicate that on the entire Late Jurassic shelf in the Kraków region the sea water was generally well oxygenated and comparable, as far as alkalinity is concerned, to the recent one. Differentiated development of microbialites was controlled by local sedimentary conditions, unrelated to distinct changes of sea water chemistry. It is likely that formation of microbialites was mainly dependent on the content of dissolved amino acids, colloidal organic matter or fine-grained nutrient suspension and the energy of sedimentary environment.

Microbialite development patterns in the last deglacial reefs from Tahiti (French Polynesia; IODP Expedition #310): Implications on reef framework architecture

The widespread occurrence of microbialites in the last deglacial reef frameworks (16–6KaBP) implies that the accurate study of their development patterns is of prime importance to unravel the evolution of reef architecture through time and to reconstruct the reef response to sea-level variations and environmental changes.The present study is based on the sedimentological and chronological analysis (14C AMS dating) of drill cores obtained during the IODP Expedition #310 “Tahiti Sea Level” on the successive terraces which typify the modern reef slopes from Tahiti. It provides a comprehensive data base to investigate the microbialite growth patterns (i.e. growth rates and habitats), to analyze their roles in reef frameworks and to reconstruct the evolution of the reef framework architecture during sea-level rise.The last deglacial reefs from Tahiti are composed of two distinctive biological communities: (1) the coralgal communities including seven assemblages characterized by various growth forms (branching, robust branching, massive, tabular and encrusting) that form the initial frameworks and (2) the microbial communities developed in the primary cavities of those frameworks, a few meters (1.5 to 6m) below the living coral reef surface, where they heavily encrusted the coralgal assemblages to form microbialite crusts. The dating results demonstrate the occurrence of two distinctive generations of microbialites: the “reefal microbialites” which developed a few hundred years after coralgal communities in shallow-water environments, whereas the “slope microbialites” grew a few thousands of years later in significantly deeper water conditions after the demise of coralgal communities.The development of microbialites was controlled by the volume and the shape of the primary cavities of the initial reef frameworks determined by the morphology and the packing of coral colonies. The most widespread microbialite development occurred in frameworks dominated by branching, thin encrusting, tabular and robust branching coral colonies which built loose and open frameworks typified by a high porosity (>50%). In contrast, their growth was minimal in compact coral frameworks formed by massive and thick encrusting corals where primary cavities yielded a low porosity (~30%) and could not host a significant microbialite expansion.

Genesis of microbialites as contemporaneous framework components of deglacial coral reefs, Tahiti (IODP 310)

Deglacial reefs from Tahiti (IODP 310) feature a co-occurrence of zooxanthellate corals with microbialites that compose up to 80 vol% of the reef framework. The notion that microbialites tend to form in more nutrient-rich environments has previously led to the concept that such encrustations are considerably younger than the coral framework, and that they have formed in deeper storeys of the reef edifice, or that they represent severe disturbances of the reef ecosystem. As indicated by their repetitive interbedding with coralline red algae, the microbialites of this reef succession of Tahiti, however, formed immediately after coral growth under photic conditions. Clearly, the deglacial reef microbialites present in the IODP 310 cores did not follow disturbances such as drowning or suffocation by terrestrial material, and are not “disaster forms”. Given that the corals and the microbialites developed in close spatial proximity, highly elevated nutrient levels caused by fluvial or groundwater transport from the volcanic hinterland are an unlikely cause for the exceptionally voluminous development of microbialites. That voluminous deglacial reef microbialites generally are restricted to volcanic islands, however, implies that moderately, and possibly episodically elevated nutrient levels favored this type of microbialite formation.