Biostratigraphy and paleoecology of the Burdigalian-Serravallian sediments in Wadi Sudr (Gulf of Suez, Egypt): comparison with the Central Paratethys evolution

Abstract

Two main Miocene facies were recorded in the Gulf of Suez area: a deep marine and a coastal facies. The analysed sections in the Wadi Sudr area belong to the marine facies. The Lower Miocene (Burdigalian) is represented by coastal, shallow marine sediments, rich in coral, algae, gastropods and large pectinids followed by Langhian open marine sediments and Serravallian lagoonal carbonates. The open marine sediments contain well preserved planktonic and benthic foraminifers and abundant ostracods. The parts of the sections containing foraminifers have been correlated with three planktonic foraminiferal zones (Praeorbulina glomerosa Zone, Orbulina Zone and Globorotalia praemenardiiGloborotalia peripheroronda Zone). Two benthic ecozones were defined (Heterolepa dutemplei-Laevidentalina elegans Zone and Bolivina compressa-Elphidium spp. Zone). Two cycles of sea-level changes can be distinguished and correlated with global sea-level cycles Bur5/Lan1 and Ser1. The first (Langhian) cycle culminated in open marine sublittoral to upper bathyal well aerated sediments. The second (Serravallian) cycle was shallower, littoral suboxic sediments were overlaid by euryhaline carbonates. The studied foraminifera-bearing sediments can be correlated with the lower and Middle Badenian of the Central Paratethys. Though the area of the Gulf of Suez and the Central Paratethys were situated in different climatic zones, and influenced by different tectonic events, the main paleoenvironmental events (sea-level changes, oxygen decrease, salinity changes) are comparable. This correspondence shows that the decisive factors triggering these events were global climatic events.

Timing of Langhian bioevents in the Carpathian Foredeep and northern Pannonian Basin in relation to oceanographic, tectonic and climatic processes

“…Sa lin ity os cil la tions ac com pa nied by salt de po si tion can be de tected all over the Med i ter ra nean re gion (evaporite de pos its in Egypt; Ied et al, 2011) and may be used as a cor re la tion ho rizon in se quences with no in dex taxa.…”

Sequence stratigraphy of the Miocene siliciclastic–carbonate sediments in Sadat Area, north‐west of Gulf of Suez: Implications for Miocene eustasy

“…The Miocene sedimentary rocks in the Gulf of Suez Basin represent one of the essential stratigraphic successions in Egypt, due to the presence of a significant number of seals, reservoirs, and source rock formations (Ayyad, El‐Sharnoby, El‐Morsy, Ahmed, & El‐Deeb, 2018; Hewaidy, Farouk, & Ayyad, 2012; Ied, Holcová, & Abd‐Elshafy, 2011; Schlumberger, 1984; Wescot, Krebs, Dolson, Karamat, & Nummedal, 1996; Wyn Hughes, Abdine, & Girgis, 1992). North‐west of the Gulf of Suez, these rocks are dominated by siliciclastic–carbonate packages, which have formed due to the fluctuations in relative sea‐level, which affect syn‐rift deposition (McNeill, Cunningham, Guertin, & Anselmetti, 2005; Mount, 1984; Richardson & Underhill, 2002; Sallam & Ruban, 2020).…”

Early stages of clastic deposition in the Most Basin (Ohře Rift, Czech Republic, Early Miocene): timing and possible controls

“…However, higher sedimentation rates are usually caused by active subsidence that, in turn, generates a less stable sedimentary environment in which local/autogenic forcing may be superimposed on the climatic control. The most robust approach to distinguishing between local and global forcings is to extend the spatial scale of the research by (i) deciphering the basin architecture (Uličný et al , 2014Valero et al 2017) or (ii) comparing sedimentary archives from remote (tectonically independent) areas (Ied et al 2011). In practice, less robust approaches are usually chosen, such as in the Most Basin, in which the sedimentary strata are so monotonous that archival datasets from geological surveys cannot be used and a complete basin analysis is not affordable.…”