Shallow-water Carbonate Platform Research Articles

Spatial heterogeneity in carbonate-platform environments and carbon isotope values across the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (Tethys Himalaya, South Tibet)

The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ~56 Ma) is a large negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) that testifies to a massive perturbation of the global carbon cycle and has been considered to be an ancient, deep-time analogue for present and future climate change. However, the environmental and carbon isotopic response to the PETM in shallow-water carbonate platforms has remained largely elusive. This study presents new sedimentological, biostratigraphic, and carbon isotopic data to evaluate the impact of the PETM on a shallow-water carbonate platform from more proximal southern parts of the northern Indian continental margin. Detailed biostratigraphy and carbon isotope data indicate that the PETM occurs 3 m below the boundary between nodular and thin-bedded limestones, is maintained up to the thin-bedded limestone and calcareous marl interval, and is followed by recovery at the base of thick-bedded limestone interval. Microfacies analysis testifies to a regression from open to restricted shallow-marine environments at the transition from PETM onset to PETM core, and shallowing continued through the PETM core. Restricted lagoonal deposition was renewed during PETM recovery. These environmental changes were associated with two major turnovers of shallow-water biota. We infer that the first sudden biotic change at the PETM onset may relate to intensified continental weathering, whereas the second biotic change at PETM recovery may have been caused by sea-level fall. The smaller magnitude of the CIE observed in proximal, shallower-water than in distal, deeper-water environments is ascribed to increased primary productivity due to increased nutrients' supply associated with intensified continental weathering. • A regression at the PETM onset from open to restricted shallow-marine environments, and restored to restricted lagoon at the recovery • The sudden environmental changes across PETM were associated with major changes of shallow-water biota • The smaller magnitude of the CIE observed in shallower-water than in deeper-water strata is ascribed to increased primary productivity

238U/235U in calcite is more susceptible to carbonate diagenesis

The uranium isotopic composition (δ238U) of bulk marine calcium carbonates has been extensively explored as a promising paleoredox proxy to track the extent of global oceanic anoxia in deep time. Multiple studies have examined whether primary calcium carbonates can directly capture seawater δ238U and whether bulk measurements of recent and ancient carbonates preserve seawater U isotope signatures. Here we assess the role of diagenesis in altering δ238U signatures in carbonates sediments that have a primary calcitic mineralogy at the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), an interval with rapid global warming and oceanic deoxygenation at ∼56 million years ago.Although primary abiotic and biogenic calcium carbonates (aragonite and calcite) can directly capture seawater δ238U with small offsets (<0.1‰) relative to modern seawater, diagenetic alteration of Bahamian shallow-water platform carbonate sediments that have a predominantly primary aragonitic mineralogy resulted in significantly larger offsets (up to 0.6‰). Since U concentration in primary aragonite is at least one order of magnitude higher than primary calcite (>1 ppm vs. <0.1 ppm), δ238U in calcite should be even more susceptible to diagenesis than that in aragonite.We find strong evidence of this effect in analysis of δ238U in PETM shallow-water carbonate sediments from Drilling Project (ODP) Hole 871C (Limalok Guyot, Pacific Ocean). Our results reveal large fluctuations in bulk carbonate δ238U from −0.69 to +0.71‰ around the PETM boundary but consistently heavier δ238U (between −0.14 and +0.47‰) than modern seawater outside of this interval. The significantly lighter δ238U values than modern seawater were interpreted to result from the operation of a Mn oxide shuttle. The heavier δ238U values are most likely caused by authigenic reductive accumulation of U(IV) in pore waters below the sediment-water interface. We found that carbonate δ238U values higher than modern seawater tend to increase with increasing U/Ca. This relationship is well-explained by an authigenic reductive accumulation model that simply assumes addition to primary calcite during diagenesis of calcitic cements containing isotopically heavier U(IV).Our work confirms expectations that δ238U in primary calcite is more susceptible to the amount of diagenetic cementation compared to primary aragonite, and that variations of δ238U in carbonate sediments with a primary calcitic mineralogy would more dominantly reflect the local redox state of depositional and early diagenetic environments. It is essential to identify the original carbonate mineralogy, the diagenetic history, and constrain the redox state of local deposition environments of sedimentary carbonate rocks when applying bulk carbonate δ238U as a global proxy for oceanic anoxia in deep time.

Proliferation of Chondrodonta in upper Cenomanian shallow-water limestones of the Adriatic Carbonate Platform (Croatia) as a proxy of environmental instability

The occurrence of the opportunistic, oyster-like bivalve Chondrodonta is widely documented in late Cenomanian shallow-water carbonates of the Tethyan Realm. Despite its high abundance and widespread geographic distribution, the precise relationship between the time of its proliferation and the environmental perturbations that precede the Cenomanian – Turonian anoxic event, has not been yet investigated. Stratigraphic and geochemical analyses of the upper Cenomanian Chondrodonta accumulations within the inner platform limestones of the Adriatic Carbonate Platform (AdCP) are performed to assess the timing and the environmental controls on the Chondrodonta proliferation.In the study area, Chondrodonta appears as sparse to common individuals within radiolitid rudist beds and reaches a phase of proliferation and predominance in the benthic community. This biotic event has been correlated via C- and Sr-isotopes to a late Cenomanian environmental stress phase, occurred in shallow-water settings and in the deep counterparts.This environmental stress phase on the AdCP was characterized by high nutrient levels, fluctuating seawater oxygenation, and more terrigenous inputs that favored the flourishment of Chondrodonta and its transient predominance over the less resilient rudists. This bioevent seems to be recurrent at the central Tethys scale, allowing to consider the proliferation of Chondrodonta in shallow-water carbonate platforms as a stratigraphic marker for a late Cenomanian environmental stress phase preceding the anoxic event.

The Cenomanian-Turonian oceanic anoxic event (OAE-2) and continuous drowning up to the Santonian of the Western Valles-San Luis Potosi Platform, Central to Eastern Mexico: Biostratigraphy, chemostratigraphy and paleoenvironments

The Upper Cretaceous stratigraphic succession in the western part of the Valles-San Luis Potosi Platform (central to eastern Mexico) reflect the interaction between various paleo-oceanographic factors including sea-level change, tectonic factors, and the type and supply of sediments. The El Abra Formation is a shallow-water carbonate deposit that is overlain by the hemipelagic-pelagic Soyatal Formation, which represents the transition to a deeper, eutrophic, open marine environment in the latest Cenomanian-earliest Turonian (Whiteinella archaeocretacea Partial Range Zone). This unit is linked to a sea-level rise that occurred on a global scale and flooded the platform, coinciding with the Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE 2). This change is well–marked by faunal assemblages with a low diversity, and environmental stress–resistant species as well as values of delta 13C excursion, total organic carbon (TOC) and trace element signatures. These data suggest that in this time the ocean was oxygen deficient. During the early Turonian the platform was completely drowned, which led to re-establishment of the oligotrophic environment. These conditions favored for development of the planktonic foraminifera of the Helvetoglobotruncana helvetica Total Range Zone with the occurrence of keeled forms (k/strategists) even continuing as far as the late Santonian thus in the Soyatal interval two biostratigraphic zones are also recognized: the Dicarinella concavata Interval Zone (late Turonian-late Coniacian) and Dicarinella asymetrica Total Range Zone (early-late Santonian). This indicates that the studied part of the Valles-San Luis Potosi Platform remained flooded during this time, in contrast with Mediterranean Tethys regions where recovery of the shallow-water carbonate platforms occurred in the latest Turonian to mid-Coniacian. The planktonic foraminiferal assemblages of this interval are diverse, composed of large and complex keeled morphotypes, which indicate an open deep–sea environment.

New insights on the Early Cretaceous (Hauterivian\u2013Barremian) Urgonian lithostratigraphic units in the Jura Mountains (France and Switzerland): the Gorges de l\u2019Orbe and the Rocher des Hirondelles formations

The Hauterivian–Barremian series of the Jura Mountains were measured over more than 60 sections along a 200 km long transect between Aix-les-Bains (Savoie Department, France) and Bienne (Bern Canton, Switzerland), which prompted the need for a revision and improvement of the current lithostratigraphic scheme for this stratigraphic interval. A new formation, the Rocher des Hirondelles Formation, is proposed in replacement of the unsuitable Vallorbe Formation, while the Gorges de l'Orbe Formation is formally described. The Gorges de l'Orbe Formation, equivalent to the well-known “Urgonien jaune” facies, consists of two members, namely Montcherand Member and Bôle Member. The Rocher des Hirondelles Formation, equivalent to the “Urgonien blanc” facies, consists of three members, i.e. Fort de l'Écluse Member, Rivière Member and Vallorbe Member. The marly Rivière and Bôle members appear to present time-equivalent lithostratigraphic units, recording a major sedimentological event affecting contemporarily both formations. This study proposes a new sedimentary model opening a new point of view on the long-living controversies about the age of the Urgonian series from the Jura Mountains. The data point to strong diachronic ages of lithostratigraphic units with a late Hauterivian to early Barremian occurrence of the “Urgonian blanc” facies in the Meridional Jura area versus a latest Barremian age in the Central Jura area, reflecting a general progradation of the Urgonian shallow-water carbonate platform from the present-day Meridional Jura area toward external deeper-water shelf environments of the present-day Central Jura area and Molasse basin.

Early Cretaceous sea surface temperature evolution in subtropical shallow seas

Late Cretaceous sea surface temperatures (SST) are, amongst others, traditionally reconstructed by compiling oxygen isotope records of planktonic foraminifera obtained from globally distributed pelagic IODP drill cores. In contrast, the evolution of Early Cretaceous SSTs is essentially based on the organic TEX86 palaeothermometer, as oxygen-isotope data derived from well-preserved ‘glassy’ foraminifer calcite are currently lacking. In order to evaluate the extraordinary warm TEX86-derived SSTs of the Barremian to Aptian (130–123 Ma) subtropics, we present highly resolved sclerochemical profiles of pristine rudist bivalve shells from Tethyan and proto-North Atlantic shallow water carbonate platforms. An inverse correlation of seasonal ontogenetic variations in δ18Orudist and Mg/Ca ratios demonstrates the fidelity of oxygen isotopes as palaeotemperature proxy. The new data shows moderate mean annual SSTs (22–26 °C) for large parts of the Barremian and Aptian and transient warm pulses for the so-called Mid-Barremian Event and Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a (reaching mean annual SSTs of 28 to 30 °C). A positive shift in mean annual oxygen-isotope values (δ18O: ≤ − 0.3‰) coupled with invariant Mg/Ca ratios at the Barremian–Aptian boundary points to a significant net loss of 16O in Tethyan shallow-marine settings. As the positive oxygen-isotope rudist shell values are recorded immediately beneath a major superregional hiatal surface, they are interpreted to be related to a major cooling phase and potential glacio-eustatic sea-level lowering. Our new sclerochemical findings are in clear contrast to open ocean SST records based on TEX86, which indicate exceptionally warm Barremian to earliest Aptian subtropical oceans and weak meridional SST gradients.

Carbon and nitrogen isotope evidence for widespread presence of anoxic intermediate waters before and during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction

Abstract The largest mass extinction since the advent of animals occurred during the Permian-Triassic (P-Tr) transition, ca. 252 Ma, and is commonly attributed to the eruption of the Siberian Traps large igneous province. However, the direct killing mechanism is still debated. In this study, we investigated marine redox conditions of the intermediate water column that most organisms inhabit with special attention to the time interval before the onset of the mass extinction. The carbon isotope composition of carbonate and organic carbon (δ13Ccarb and δ13Corg) as well as the nitrogen isotope composition of bulk nitrogen (δ15N) were analyzed in four P-Tr boundary sequences (Zhongli, Jianshi, Ganxi, and Chaotian sections), which record a transect from a shallow water carbonate platform to a deep water, lower ramp slope in South China. δ13Ccarb shows a distinct negative shift in all sections and displays a clear, 2–4‰, decreasing gradient accompanying an increase in water depth both before and after the mass extinction. A distinct negative shift in δ15N is observed in the shallow water Zhongli section, whereas a minor negative shift is present in the three deeper water sections. Before the mass extinction, the δ15N values from shallow water sections are higher than those from deeper waters. The low δ15N values close to 0‰ in deeper water sections suggest that microbial nitrogen fixation was the predominant source of biologically available nitrogen before the onset of the mass extinction. Thus, the water depth- dependent gradient in δ13Ccarb and δ15N suggests that an oxygen-deficient intermediate water column was already present before the mass extinction. The uniform δ15N values around 0‰ accompanying the onset of the mass extinction reveal that anoxic intermediate waters expanded into shallow waters. Meanwhile, the distinct positive shift in δ13Corg observed in upper ramp slope sections, i.e., the Jianshi and Ganxi sections, suggests that a euxinic photic zone was at least episodically present in the earliest Triassic. The temporal coincidence between the expansion of intermediate water column anoxia and the onset of the P-Tr mass extinction supports the hypothesis that marine anoxia was a direct killing mechanism.

A new Vandenbroeckia Marie, 1958 (Peneroplidae) adds further data on the survival of shallow-water benthic Foraminifera through the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary

The Cenomanian-Turonian boundary represents a time of biotic changes affecting the diversity of larger foraminifera in shallow-water carbonate platform facies. Apart of the several taxa that suffered extinction, there is an additional cluster showing some stratigraphic occurrences before and after the CTB. Here we report a further example from the Cenomanian of the Mount Pastrik (Albanian-Kosovan boundary) that is represented by a new species within the Peneroplidae, Vandenbroeckia causae sp. nov. So far, representatives of this genus were only reported from the Campanian and Maastrichtian. The retrieval of Vandenbroeckia before CTB suggests that the genus escaped the extinction, re-appearing in the uppermost Cretaceous under a renewed specific status.

Comment on Strauss et al., 2020: Subsidence analysis of salt tectonics‐driven minibasins (Northern Calcareous Alps, Austria)

Comment on Strauss et al., 2020: Subsidence analysis of salt tectonics‐driven minibasins (Northern Calcareous Alps, Austria)

Katian (Late Ordovician) conodonts on the northwestern margin of the North China Craton

AbstractUpper Ordovician strata exposed from the Baiyanhuashan section is the most representative Late Ordovician unit in the northwestern margin of the North China Craton (NCC). In total, 1,215 conodont specimens were obtained from 24 samples through the Wulanhudong and Baiyanhuashan formations at the Baiyanhuashan section. Thirty-six species belonging to 17 genera, includingTasmanognathus coronatusnew species, are present. Based on this material, three conodont biozones—theBelodina confluensBiozone, theYaoxianognathus neimengguensisBiozone, and theYaoxianognathus yaoxianensisBiozone—have been documented, suggesting that the Baiyanhuashan conodont fauna has a stratigraphic range spanning the early to middle Katian. The Baiyanhuashan conodont fauna includes species both endemic to North China and widespread in tropical zones, allowing a reassessment of the previous correlations of the Katian conodont zonal successions proposed for North China with those established for shallow-water carbonate platforms at low latitudes.UUID:http://zoobank.org/7cedbd4a-4f7a-4be6-912f-a27fd041b586

Depositional history of the uppermost Albian–Turonian Sarvak Formation in the Izeh Zone (SW Iran)

The uppermost Albian–Turonian interval has been studied in the south of the Izeh Zone (SW Iran) to investigate the depositional history of the Sarvak Formation in this area. This interval in the Middle East is characterized by the presence of very large shallow water carbonate platforms, surrounding the intra-shelf basins. The expansion of up to 90% hemipelagic strata throughout the studied outcrop proposes that it has been deposited in an intra-shelf basin. Three Cenomanian and one Turonian depositional sequences were distinguished in the studied interval based on the alternation of three microfacies associations including oligosteginid-dominated, oligosteginid-free, and platform-top microfacies. The biostratigraphical calibration by means of the planktic foraminifera indicates that these sequences can be well correlated on a global scale. The simultaneous influence of eustatic, tectonic, and environmental factors on the depositional sequences in the Lar Anticline section makes it difficult to identify the dominance of one over the others. The ability to correlate the sequence boundaries in the studied section with the global events suggests the effect of eustasy on the deposition of this interval. However, the tectonic control by the creation of a paleo-depression, subsidence (during the TST of Sequence 3), and uplift (at the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary (SB4) and mid-Turonian (SB5)) overprinted the eustatic factor. The influx of clay and the black shale formation during OAE2 conditions are the environmental factors that cannot be ignored in the deposition of sequence 1 and sequence 3, respectively.

The Kimmeridgian of the south-western margin of the Holy Cross Mts., central Poland: stratigraphy and facies development. Part I. From deep-neritic sponge megafacies to shallow water carbonates

The stratigraphical interval of the Kimmeridgian between the Bimammatum and the Hypselocylum zones in the SW margin of the Holy Cross Mts. shows a transition from the open shelf deep-neritic sponge megafacies to the shallow-water carbonate platform, including its development and decline. The uniform progradation of the shallow-water carbonate platform occurred at the end of the Planula Chron. Development of the shallow-water carbonate platform was controlled by climatic and tectonic factors. The former induced by orbital cyclicity resulted in changes of sea-level, revealed i.a. by the incoming of open-marine ammonite faunas, the latter were related to the synsedimentary activity of faults which resulted in contrasted facies changes. The episodically occurring strong influx of siliciclastic material was at least partly controlled by the tectonic activity. The newly elaborated formal lithostratigraphic subdivision takes into account the facies development of the succession in relation to climatically and tectonically induced changes. Such is e.g. the Małogoszcz Oolite Formation, corresponding to a single 100-kyr eccentricity cycle from the late Platynota Chron to the earliest Hypselocyclum Chron, bordered from the base and top by two transgressive climatically-controlled levels. The final stage of the shallow-water platform development at the end of the Hypselocyclum Chron was marked by the successive limitation of restricted environments, and the appearance of more open-marine conditions related to tectonic subsidence of the area of study. Comparison between the carbonate platform development of the Holy Cross Mts. in central Poland, and the coeval shallow-water carbonates of the Jura Mts. in northern Switzerland and south-eastern France provides an opportunity to consider similarities in the successions which can be attributed to the climatically-controlled sedimentary cyclicity and/or the wide-ranged tectonic phenomena. The palaeontological part of the study gives comments on the classification and phylogeny of ammonites of the families Ataxioceratidae and Aulacostephanidae.

An integrated biostratigraphic, seismic reservoir characterization and numerical stratigraphic forward modelling approach to imaging drowned carbonate platforms: a case study from eastern Indonesia

Abstract The New Guinea Limestone Group was deposited across much of New Guinea, including the Indonesian provinces of West Papua and Papua, as part of a widespread shallow-water carbonate platform during the Paleogene and Neogene. This platform was drowned beneath deeper-water strata from the Middle to Late Miocene. Review of biostratigraphic and seismic data from the Aru Basin, offshore New Guinea, reveals a drowning succession c. 600 m thick deposited during a drowning event that lasted around 4 Ma. The objective of this study was to create a well-to-seismic tie from a single well in the study area using biostratigraphic, seismic and log data. The well-to-seismic tie was built to constrain a new velocity model to better image the drowned carbonate platform and understand the reservoir potential of the drowning succession in the zone of interest using two complimentary techniques: seismic reservoir characterization and numerical stratigraphic forward modelling. The well-to-seismic tie was achieved by matching significant biostratigraphic events, such as unconformities, with seismic horizons using stratigraphy-to-seismic. Modern stratigraphic and seismic reservoir characterization techniques, including stratigraphy-to-seismic, numerical forward modelling, velocity model building, rock physics and seismic inversion, were applied to predict rock properties such as lithology and porosity within the drowning succession.

Birth and death of seamounts in the Panthalassa Ocean: Late Triassic to Early Jurassic sedimentary record at Mount Sambosan, Shikoku, Southwest Japan

Abstract Mid-oceanic shallow water carbonate platforms are usually characterized by long-term deposition due to the continuous subsidence of the underlying volcanic edifices and thus provide good records of biotic evolution and environmental changes. However, since most of the pre-Jurassic oceanic crust has been subducted, very few remains of Triassic atoll-like platforms are preserved in the Circum-Pacific region. Therefore, it is crucial to precisely document these Triassic carbonate occurrences to better understand the global evolution of climates and ecosystems during the Early Mesozoic in the huge Panthalassa Ocean. In the Sambosan Accretionary Complex (Southwest Japan), several Upper Triassic shallow water limestone blocks are especially well exposed at Mount Sambosan in Shikoku Island. Microfacies analyses associated with biostratigraphic data (reef assemblages, foraminifer associations and conodonts) allow us to reconstruct the geological history of these seamount fragments from the first settlement of reef biota in the Ladinian-Early Carnian to platform growth during the Late Carnian to Rhaetian. Finally, the demise of the carbonate platform occurred during the Latest Triassic to Early Jurassic, followed by platform collapse and accretion to the East Asia margin in the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous. Furthermore, cathodoluminescence microscopy reveals that the Sambosan limestone experienced several diagenetic episodes including early cementation, dissolution and dolomitization. At the global scale, the comprehensive sedimentary record at Mount Sambosan shows that evolution of shallow water ecosystems in the Panthalassa Ocean is consistent with biotic and environmental changes documented in coeval carbonate platforms from the Tethys Ocean.

Cambrian small skeletal fossil and carbon isotope records of the southern Huangling Anticline, Hubei (China) and implications for chemostratigraphy of the Yangtze Platform

Rich small skeletal fossil assemblages are described from the Yanjiahe Formation and Tianzhushan Member of southern Huangling Anticline. The Anabarites trisulcatus– Protohertzina anabarica Assemblage Zone (Small Skeletal Fossil Zone 1) is recognized in the middle to upper Yanjiahe Formation, while the thin topmost conglomeratic limestone unit yielded a mixed assemblage resulting from reworking and redeposition of source material of Small Skeletal Fossil Zones 1 to 3 (including Anabarites trisulcatus, Protohertzina anabarica, P. unguliformis, Watsonella crosbyi, Aldanella attleborensis, Anabarella plana). Our revised biostratigraphic correlation indicates the existence of longer hiatuses in the Yanjiahe Formation and between the Yanjiahe and Shuijingtuo formations. The obtained δ13Ccarb values in our profile deviate in some details from those of some previous reports. Based on the new biostratigraphic correlation, the δ13Ccarb trend records values oscillating between −3 to +4.4‰ in the upper Anabarites trisulcatus - Protohertzina anabarica Assemblage Zone, which is unusual for the Yangtze Platform. This interval of positive δ13Ccarb values in the upper Yanjiahe Formation and the Dahai Member of eastern Yunnan are here interpreted to reflect the impact of a local aquafacies. Moreover, it is here argued that the selection of a carbon isotope peak as a primary index tool in the Laolin section for defining the Cambrian Stage 2 must be treated with caution, as this isotope excursion is influenced by a regional water mass and does not reflect an open marine seawater signature, underlining other technical and theoretic concerns on the general application of chemostratigraphy in Cambrian shallow-water carbonate platforms. Overall we suggest that chemostratigraphic correlations need to be supported by biostratigraphic tools.

Middle Eocene Rhodoliths from Tropical and Mid-Latitude Regions

During the greenhouse conditions prevailing in the early–middle Eocene, larger benthic foraminifers (LBF) spread out on carbonate platforms worldwide while rhodolith beds were scarcely represented. This reduction in rhodolith beds coincided with a relative decrease in coralline algal diversity and with a drastic decline of coral reef abundance. Middle Eocene rhodoliths from two tropical (San Jacinto Fold Belt in northern Colombia and Bahoruco Peninsula in the Dominican Republic) and two mid-latitude (Salinas Menores Ravine and Sierra del Zacatín in Southern Spain) localities were studied. Rhodolith rudstones in the tropical areas accumulated on relatively deep (several tens of meters) platform environments and were also redeposited in deeper settings downslope. In Salinas Menores, rhodoliths are dispersed in planktic foraminifer-rich marls. Miliolids are common in the infilling of constructional voids in these rhodoliths, indicating that they originally grew in shallow-water inner-shelf settings and afterwards they were transported to deeper environments. In Sierra del Zacatín, rhodoliths are scarce and coralline algae mainly occur as crusts attached to and intergrowing with corals. Here, LBF dominated shallow-water carbonate platforms. In terms of taxonomic composition, coralline algae of the order Hapalidiales are the most abundant in the study areas, followed by Sporolithales. The order Corallinales is poorly represented except in Salinas Menores, where it is relatively abundant and diverse. The impact of high temperatures due to high levels of atmospheric CO2 during the Eocene and widespread oligotrophic conditions, which favored formation of LBF-rich lithofacies, might account for the low abundance of rhodolith beds at mid and high latitudes. In contrast, the more productive equatorial regions would have favored the formation of rhodolith beds.

Changhsingian brachiopod communities along a marine depth gradient in South China and their ecological significance in the end-Permian mass extinction

Diversity indices (dominance and evenness) and ecological spatial structure (lifestyles and relative abundances) are important features of Changhsingian brachiopod communities prior to the end-Permian mass extinction (EPME) and could predict temporal and spatial extinction patterns during the EPME. In South China, Changhsingian brachiopod communities show higher diversity than other contemporaneous brachiopod communities in the world and have been reported from a variety of sedimentary environments. In this paper, brachiopods from 18 sections in South China were selected to divide communities and compare their ecological structure. Based on the results of network analysis, cluster analysis and quantitative data from the selected sections, we show that Changhsingian brachiopod communities in South China can be categorized into three assemblages along a marine depth gradient: the Neochonetes–Fusichonetes–Paryphella Assemblage from the shallow-water clastic-rock facies, Spinomarginifera–Peltichia–Oldhamina Assemblage from the shallow-water carbonate platform facies and Fusichonetes–Crurithyris Assemblage from the deep-water siliciclastic intracontinental basin facies. Compared with communities from carbonate platform facies, the communities from siliciclastic facies were characterized by high dominance, low evenness and low lifestyle diversity, which might be important biotic factors leading to earlier extinctions. After the extinction began in all environments, the whole earliest Triassic brachiopod community was first dominated by Fusichonetes and then by Crurithyris. These patterns of domination and replacement could be explained by morphological and ecological advantages. The domination of these two genera, which were already adapted to the oxygen and food-limited deep-water habitat, indicates that the cooler deep-water environment might have been a relatively less stressed habitat after the beginning of the EPME. This suggests that global warming might be the main trigger among the previously proposed synergistic environmental stresses, while anoxia might not, at least for the beginning of EPME.

Sea level, carbonate mineralogy, and early diagenesis controlled δ13C records in Upper Ordovician carbonates

Abstract Stratigraphic variability in the geochemistry of sedimentary rocks provides critical data for interpreting paleoenvironmental change throughout Earth history. However, the vast majority of pre-Jurassic geochemical records derive from shallow-water carbonate platforms that may not reflect global ocean chemistry. Here, we used calcium isotope ratios (δ44Ca) in conjunction with minor-element geochemistry (Sr/Ca) and field observations to explore the links among sea-level change, carbonate mineralogy, and marine diagenesis and the expression of a globally documented interval of elevated carbon isotope ratios (δ13C; Hirnantian isotopic carbon excursion [HICE]) associated with glaciation in Upper Ordovician shallow-water carbonate strata from Anticosti Island, Canada, and the Great Basin, Nevada and Utah, USA. The HICE on Anticosti is preserved in limestones with low δ44Ca and high Sr/Ca, consistent with aragonite as a major component of primary mineralogy. Great Basin strata are characterized by lateral gradients in δ44Ca and δ13C that reflect variations in the extent of early marine diagenesis across the platform. In deep-ramp settings, deposition during synglacial sea-level lowstand and subsequent postglacial flooding increased the preservation of an aragonitic signature with elevated δ13C produced in shallow-water environments. In contrast, on the mid- and inner ramp, extensive early marine diagenesis under seawater-buffered conditions muted the magnitude of the shift in δ13C. The processes documented here provide an alternative explanation for variability in a range of geochemical proxies preserved in shallow-water carbonates at other times in Earth history, and challenge the notion that these proxies necessarily record changes in the global ocean.

Lower Jurassic benthic foraminiferal assemblages from shallow-marine platform carbonates of Mallorca (Spain): stratigraphic implications

The stratigraphic distribution of larger benthic foraminifera and other microfossils, as analysed in thin-sections, has been investigated in three stratigraphic sections from the island of Mallorca (Son Maina, S’Heretat and Cuevas de Arta). These stratigraphic sections represent deposition in a Lower Jurassic shallow-water carbonate platform succession (Es Barraca Member, Soller Formation) of the Llevant Mountains. The microfossil assemblages contain abundant benthic foraminifera and calcareous algae, including the typical Liassic dasycladalean alga Palaeodasycladus mediterraneus (Pia) and the microproblematica Thaumatoporella parvovesiculifera (Raineri), which provide good age constraint of the succession. Three consecutive biozones have been recognized based on the stratigraphic distribution of foraminifera, including the evolutionary bioseries Mesoendothyra—Lituosepta—Orbitopsella spp., which are documented for the first time in the Balearic Basin: Biozone A (interval Zone) is characterized by the occurrence of small Siphovalvulina spp., Mesoendothyra sp. and rare Lituosepta ancestors. Biozone B (lineage Zone), whose lower boundary is defined by the first occurrence of Lituosepta recoarensis Cati and its top by the first appearance of Orbitopsella aff. primaeva (Henson). The uppermost part of biozone B shows an interval with transitional morphotypes between Lituosepta and Orbitopsella, indicating that the change between biozones B and C1 is gradual (B/C1 transition). This interval is characterized by the presence of very primitive forms of Orbitopsella. Finally, Biozone C1 (lineage Zone) is defined by the first occurrence of Orbitopsella aff. primaeva together with L. recoarensis. The upper boundary of the Biozone C1, which is defined by the first occurrence of O. praecursor s.l., is not recorded in the studied sections of the Es Barraca Member. This biostratigraphic zonation is consistent with a Sinemurian age for the Es Barraca Member with its top most likely not extending into the Pliensbachian. The proposed biostratigraphic scheme is comparable with those established for other western Tethyan margins such as the High Atlas of Morocco, the Southern Italian Alps or the Dinaric Alps of Slovenia and Croatia. The reconstruction of a depositional transect across the studied sections shows the progressive loss of the upper biozones towards the northeast, demonstrating the existence of significant hiatuses in some sections of the Llevant Mountains domain. These hiatuses point to an intra-lower Pliensbachian (Carixian) early stage of platform fragmentation, with areas affected by erosion or non-deposition, and areas with marine marly limestone sedimentation followed by deltaic siliciclastic progradation on the north-western part of Mallorca.

Reticulotaberina n. gen. jahrumiana n. sp., a new soritoidean (Praerhapydioninidae) from the Eocene of Iran

A new porcelaneous larger benthic foraminifer, Reticulotaberina jahrumiana new genus and new species, from the latest middle Eocene shallow-water carbonate platform deposits of SW Iran (Jahrum Formation, Zagros Mountains) is described. Its structure is characterized by the development of a thin alveolar layer (exoskeleton) in the marginal area of the chamber lumen and by septula and interseptal pillars (endoskeleton) in the central area. The septula build a network, whereas the interseptal pillars rise from its intersections. The intercameral foramina are concentrically arranged and are intercalated with septula. R. jahrumiana n. sp. displays a strong dimorphism: A-form has a planispiral-uncoiling subcylindrical morphology, whereas the B-form presents a flared shape with oval or compressed outline. The new taxon is included in the Praerhapydioninidae family and is so far known from the south-west of Iran. The age is late Bartonian.