Are beds in shelf carbonates millennial-scale cycles? An example from the mid-Carboniferous of northern England…

Tucker, Maurice E.; Gallagher, James J.; Leng, Melanie J.

doi:10.1016/j.sedgeo.2008.03.011

Cited by 64 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 52 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, high-frequency sequences controlled by orbital forcing may develop at scales comparable to, or even smaller than, those of many parasequences (e. g., Strasser et al 1999;Fielding et al 2008;Tucker et al 2009). As such, even cycles as thin as a meter can sometimes be referred to as sequences and be described and interpreted in terms of sequence stratigraphic surfaces and systems tracts (e. g., Posamentier et al 1992a;Strasser et al 1999;Tucker et al 2009). We recommend the use of the sequence stratigraphic methodology to the analysis of any small, meter-scale cycles, as long as they display depositional trends that afford the recognition of systems tracts and diagnostic bounding surfaces.…”

Section: Scale and Stacking Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sequence Stratigraphy: Methodology and Nomenclature

Catuneanu

Galloway

Kendall

et al. 2011

nos

Self Cite

765

460

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. The recurrence of the same types of sequence stratigraphic surface through geologic time defines cycles of change in accommodation or sediment supply, which correspond to sequences in the rock record. These cycles may be symmetrical or asymmetrical, and may or may not include all types of systems tracts that may be expected within a fully developed sequence. Depending on the scale of observation, sequences and their bounding surfaces may be ascribed to different hierarchical orders. Stratal stacking patterns combine to define trends in geometric character that include upstepping, forestepping, backstepping and downstepping, expressing three types of shoreline shift: forced regression (forestepping and downstepping at the shoreline), normal regression (forestepping and upstepping at the shoreline) and transgression (backstepping at the shoreline). Stacking patterns that are independent of shoreline trajectories may also be defined on the basis of changes in depositional style that can be correlated regionally. All stratal stacking patterns reflect the interplay of the same two fundamental variables, namely accommodation (the space available for potential sediment accumulation) and sediment supply. Deposits defined by specific stratal stacking patterns form the basic constituents of any sequence stratigraphic unit, from sequence to systems tract and parasequence. Changes in stratal stacking patterns define the position and timing of key sequence stratigraphic surfaces. Precisely which surfaces are selected as sequence boundaries varies as a function of which surfaces are best expressed within the context of the depositional setting and the preservation of facies relationships and stratal stacking patterns in that succession. The high degree of variability in the expression of sequence stratigraphic units and bounding surfaces in the rock record means ideally that the methodology used to analyze their depositional setting should be flexible from one sequence stratigraphic approach to another. Construction of this framework ensures the success of the method in terms of its objectives to provide a process-based understanding of the stratigraphic architecture. The purpose of this paper is to emphasize a standard but flexible methodology that remains objective.

show abstract

Section: Scale and Stacking Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sequence Stratigraphy: Methodology and Nomenclature

Catuneanu

Galloway

Kendall

et al. 2011

nos

Self Cite

765

460

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…() identified high‐frequency cyclicity producing shallowing‐upward sequences in the Triassic Latemar platform, and Tucker et al . () explained mid‐Carboniferous cyclothems by high‐frequency arid‐humid climate changes that were superimposed on climate and sea‐level changes induced by the orbital precession cycle. These high‐frequency climate changes were possibly controlled by variations in solar activity (Elrick & Hinnov, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Not only orbitally induced processes in the Milankovitch frequency band but also millennial-scale cyclical processes may create laterally consistent bedding planes. For example, Z€ uhlke et al (2003) identified highfrequency cyclicity producing shallowing-upward sequences in the Triassic Latemar platform, and Tucker et al (2009) explained mid-Carboniferous cyclothems by high-frequency arid-humid climate changes that were superimposed on climate and sea-level changes induced by the orbital precession cycle. These high-frequency climate changes were possibly controlled by variations in solar activity (Elrick & Hinnov, 2007).…”

Section: From the Living Platform To The Depositional Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hiatuses and condensation: an estimation of time lost on a shallow carbonate platform

Strasser

2015

The Depositional Record

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

On shallow carbonate platforms, the sedimentary record is highly fragmentary because low accommodation commonly leads to non-deposition, erosion, reworking and condensation. Consequently, it is difficult to quantify the time that is actually recorded and to estimate sedimentation rates. The Berriasian platform in the Swiss and French Jura Mountains offers an opportunity to address this problem. Facies evolution through time displays deepening-shallowing trends of different orders, resulting in a hierarchical stacking of sequences. The sequence-and cyclostratigraphic analysis relates these sequences to orbital cycles with durations of 20, 100, and 400 kyr. Many surfaces in the record of shallow-water carbonates can be interpreted as hiatuses due to nondeposition in the supratidal realm, reactivation of shoals or scouring by currents. Strongly bioturbated intervals and hardgrounds commonly result from sediment starvation. These same processes and products can be observed on modern carbonate platforms, and the duration of the hiatuses or condensed intervals can be inferred (a few hours to a few hundreds of years). Amalgamations and narrow stacking of such surfaces create sequence-boundary zones that can be followed over the entire platform. Time lost or condensed in these zones may correspond to hundreds of thousands of years. Time distribution in the studied sections thus is highly irregular: short periods of sedimentation alternated with long periods of non-deposition, erosion, reworking, and condensation. Furthermore, due to substrate morphology and laterally variable depositional environments, the depositional record of a given time interval varied significantly across the platform. In one example, it can be estimated that -applying modern sedimentation rates -a sedimentary record spanning 800 kyr could have been deposited within 44 kyr if there were no hiatuses or condensations. It becomes clear that, when estimating carbonate production and sediment accumulation rates in ancient records, the shortest possible time spans must be used to minimize the effect of time lost in hiatal surfaces and condensed intervals.

show abstract

“…One of these beds would thus represent 3-4 kyr. Allocycles with shorter frequencies than those of the orbital cycles have been identified for example in the Triassic Latemar platform (Zühlke 2004) or in the Carboniferous of England (Tucker et al 2009). However, these then should leave a platform-wide imprint, which is not the case in the studied Berriasian sections.…”

Section: Facies Evolution Through Space and Timementioning

confidence: 95%

“…Clays can be washed onto the platform when rainfall increases in the hinterland, when relative sea level drops and forces erosion of soils and progradation of deltas, or when sea level rises and remobilizes clays from flooded coastal areas (Tucker et al 2009). Also, clays can be ponded in lagoons if water energy decreases.…”

Section: Small-scale Sequence 13mentioning

confidence: 99%

Allogenic and autogenic processes combined in the formation of shallow-water carbonate sequences (Middle Berriasian, Swiss and French Jura Mountains)

Tresch

Strasser

2011

Swiss J Geosci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sediment production and accumulation on shallow carbonate platforms are controlled by allogenic, externally controlled processes (such as sea level, climate, and/or platform-wide subsidence patterns) as well as by autogenic factors that are inherent to the sedimentary system (such as lateral migration of sediment bodies). The challenge is to determine how and in which proportion these processes interacted to create the observed sedimentary record. Here, a case study of Middle Berriasian, shallowmarine carbonates of the Swiss and French Jura Mountains is presented. Based on vertical facies evolution and bedding surfaces, different orders of depositional sequences (elementary, small-scale, medium-scale) have been identified in the studied sections. The hierarchical stacking pattern of these sequences and the time span represented by the investigated interval imply that eustatic sea-level fluctuations in the Milankovitch frequency band were an important controlling factor. The small-scale and medium-scale sequences relate to the 100 and 400-kyr orbital eccentricity cycles, respectively. The elementary sequences are attributed to the 20-kyr precession cycle. Differential subsidence additionally produced accommodation changes. The present study focuses on one specific small-scale sequence situated at the base of the transgressive systems tract of large-scale sequence Be4, which is identified also in other European basins. This small-scale sequence has been logged in detail at eight different outcrops in the Jura Mountains. Detailed facies analysis reveals that different depositional environments (tidal flats, internal lagoons, open lagoons, carbonate sand shoals) were juxtaposed and evolved through time, often shifting position on the platform. The boundaries of the small-scale (100-kyr) sequence can be followed over the entire study area and thus must have formed through predominantly allogenic processes (eustatic sea-level fall, the effect of which was locally modified by differential subsidence). In two sections, five well-developed elementary sequences constitute the smallscale sequence. In the other sections, the identification of elementary sequences often is difficult because sedimentation was dominated by autogenic processes that overruled the influence of sea-level fluctuations. In low-energy, tidalflat and internal-lagoonal settings, orbitally induced sea-level changes were recorded more faithfully, while high-energy shoals were mainly submitted to autogenic processes and the allogenic signal is masked. Consequently, the studied Jura platform experienced a combination of auto-and allogenic processes, which created a complex facies mosaic and a complex stacking of depositional sequences. Nevertheless, the 100-kyr orbital signal was strong enough to create correlatable sequence boundaries. Within a 100-kyr sequence, however, the unambiguous definition of sequences related to the 20-kyr orbital cycle is often difficult and the prediction of their lateral or vertical facies evolution impossible.

show abstract

Are beds in shelf carbonates millennial-scale cycles? An example from the mid-Carboniferous of northern England…

Cited by 64 publications

References 52 publications

Sequence Stratigraphy: Methodology and Nomenclature

Sequence Stratigraphy: Methodology and Nomenclature

Hiatuses and condensation: an estimation of time lost on a shallow carbonate platform

Allogenic and autogenic processes combined in the formation of shallow-water carbonate sequences (Middle Berriasian, Swiss and French Jura Mountains)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About