Deciphering the Importance of Mineralogical Changes in the Neoproterozoic Epeiric Seas through the Sedimentary Succession of Tandilia System: A Brief Review

Abstract

The Neoproterozoic (>1160 to ~540 Ma) sedimentary record of the Tandilia System is reorganized into eight depositional sequences based on a detailed review of published sources and new lithological observations. The main compositional attributes compiled from the studied units were used to indicate changes in lithology regarding their origin. Epiclastic sections reveal supply and sources changes through the succession. Basement detritus was dominant during the deposition of the basal sequences turning drastically to a volcanic affinity dominance. The carbonate sections, dominated by intra-basinal components, were deposited in periods of rare or restricted detrital input. The older, described as a cap-dolostone, was related to bio-induced dolomite precipitation under a deglacial to interglacial context. The younger, a carbonate ramp, reveals to have been built by microbial activity adding high levels of oxygen to seawater correlated to a global oxygenation event. Compositional changes recorded in the shallow marine deposits of Tandilia could have been intricately linked to periods of tectonic and paleo-relief configurations, favoring the detrital supply into the basin, followed by relevant episodic biogeochemical changes. This study shows that the basinal-components progression was controlled by paleoclimate and paleoenvironments associated to the extensive interval between the rupture of the Rodinia to Gondwana paleogeographical framework.