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Carbonate fabric diversity and environmental heterogeneity in the late Mesoproterozoic Era

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2021

Linda C. Kah Open the ORCID record for Linda C. Kah [Opens in a new window]  and
Julie K. Bartley
Linda C. Kah*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
Julie K. Bartley
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Gustavus Adolphus College, St Peter, MN, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Linda C. Kah, Email: lckah@utk.edu
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Abstract

Time-distinctive features within carbonate rocks, specifically the presence, abundance and distribution of stromatolites, molar-tooth fabric and specific morphologies of marine cement, have been identified as potential indicators of global-scale changes in the chemistry of marine environments. Recently, Cantine et al. (2019) introduced a database approach seeking to quantify spatial and temporal patterns in these carbonate features through the Precambrian. Despite the coarse temporal scale, results support earlier inferences of temporal change in carbonate sedimentation. Here, we use original field notes to dissect late Mesoproterozoic (˜1.3 to 1.0 Ga) carbonate strata at a high resolution, analyse time-distinctive carbonate fabrics within a database context and compare sedimentological patterns within this narrow time range to observations of the Proterozoic as a whole. Late Mesoproterozoic strata contain a variety of features (e.g. stromatolites, seafloor precipitates, herringbone carbonate, molar-tooth carbonate), often in close spatial and temporal proximity, that are commonly considered to be temporally restricted during the Precambrian. The spatial distribution of such features within Mesoproterozoic basins demonstrates the importance of recognizing even rare occurrences of time-distinctive facies and permits inference of environmental drivers that may have interacted to affect carbonate precipitation. Such spatial variability reflects a subtle division of Mesoproterozoic carbonate platform environments driven by globally high sea level, elevated carbonate saturation and a low-oxygen water column. The heterogeneous, mosaic nature of environments appears to be a hallmark of Mesoproterozoic carbonate sedimentation and emphasizes the importance of these basins in understanding longer-term trends in carbonate deposition.

Keywords

Mesoproterozoicstromatolitesseafloor precipitatesherringbone carbonatemolar-tooth structure
Type
Original Article
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 159 , Issue 2: Mesoproterozoic Basins recording Earth’s Middle Age , February 2022 , pp. 220 - 246
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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