Sedimentary Environments of Shark Bay, Western Australia

Logan, Brian W.; Cebulski, Donald E.

doi:10.1306/m13369c1

Cited by 50 publications

(28 citation statements)

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“…Flosculinella ) in the marginal lagoon bordering the carbonate ramp investigated in this study, with the southernmost Burdigalian Flosculinella identified in the vicinity of the modern Lake MacLeod, 160 km south of the area investigated here. This supports a warm oceanographic setting during the late Burdigalian, and suggests minimum winter temperatures above 17°C based on comparison with modern Western Australian alveolinids (Logan & Cebulski, 1970).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Early Miocene carbonate ramp development in a warm ocean, North West Shelf, Australia

Riera

Bourget

Allan³

et al. 2021

Sedimentology

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Although carbonate ramps are widely described from the geological record, there is still a debate on the relative influence of water temperature, trophic conditions and type of carbonate factories on their development. The ca 2400 km long Australian North West Shelf is among the largest Cenozoic carbonate provinces worldwide, and records a transition from an early Miocene ramp to a middle Miocene rimmed platform. This change is observable on publicly available seismic data, giving the opportunity to investigate environmental influences on platform evolution. This study combines macroscopic and petrographic descriptions of early Miocene strata cropping out in the Cape Range Anticline (North West Cape, southern end of the North West Shelf) and of time‐equivalent well cuttings from the adjacent, offshore Exmouth Sub‐basin. Particular emphasis is placed on the identification of larger benthic foraminifera at a broad generic level, because differing taxa have a limited range of habitable conditions that serve as environmental proxies. The results show that early Miocene strata are dominantly composed of larger benthic foraminifera with minor coralline algae in the proximal platform, grading to micropackstones in the more distal platform. A ramp margin is inferred from the lithological data on the basis of the lack of framework builders and the presence of open oceanic indicators. Facies shallow upward through individual outcrops, with a proximal to distal trend towards the north‐west. These trends along outcrops are consistent with the seismic interpretations. Identification of taxa with warm, oligotrophic water affinity suggests that the ramp was formed in an oligotrophic and warm ocean, despite the absence of coral reefs. Changes of carbonate facies with depth do not seem to be associated with changes in ramp morphology, and the latter may have been controlled by physical oceanic parameters, such as offshore currents and waves.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Early Miocene carbonate ramp development in a warm ocean, North West Shelf, Australia

Riera

Bourget

Allan³

et al. 2021

Sedimentology

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“…Hamelin Pool, a large inverse estuary (Hetzel et al, 2015) in the south-east of Shark Bay, is approximately 1400 km 2 . It is flanked to the east and south by the Carbla Plateau and to the west by the Nanga Peninsula (Figure 1) (Butcher et al, 1984;Hocking, 1987;Logan & Cebulski, 1970;Playford et al, 2013).…”

Section: Field Setting Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Hamelin Pool coastline is compartmentalised into north-west and north-east-facing bights and north to north-west-facing embayments (Logan & Cebulski, 1970), separated by fault-controlled headlands (Clark, 2010;Playford et al, 2013). Eliot et al (2011) place Hamelin Pool in the southern end of the L'Haridon primary coastal compartment, splitting Hamelin Pool into eastern and western secondary compartments and further identifying tertiary coastal compartments along the eastern coast separated by prominent headlands.…”

Section: Field Setting Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Field Setting Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Circulation in Hamelin Pool is partially restricted from the rest of Shark Bay by the Faure Sill (Burling et al, 1999;Logan & Cebulski, 1970). The Faure Sill is a seagrassstabilised, channelised bank that progressively developed through the Holocene as sea-level fell (Bufarale & Collins, 2015;Logan & Cebulski, 1970). The combination of sealevel fall and bank development reduced oceanic circulation within Hamelin Pool which, combined with high evaporation rates, allowed the development of hypersaline conditions (Logan & Cebulski, 1970).…”

Section: Field Setting Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impacts of Severe Tropical Cyclone Olwyn and the biogeomorphic response, Hamelin Pool, Shark Bay, Western Australia

Morris

Fearns

et al. 2022

The Depositional Record

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Storm disturbance and recovery of the peritidal benthic microbial ecosystem occurs as part of the natural climate regime in Shark Bay. However, tropical cyclone and winter storm frequency and intensity are known to be changing due to climate forcing. Presented here is an analysis of the biogeomorphic response of the benthic microbial ecosystem within the intertidal to upper subtidal zone and the beach face coquina deposits of Hamelin Pool, to the passage of Category 3 Severe Tropical Cyclone Olwyn (13 March 2015). Storm effects (initial response to 40 days post‐event) include: erosional sculpting of sediments, mats and structures; deposition and winnowing of sediments; accumulation of mucilaginous products into flocs, slurries and sludges; along with limited development of new coquina deposits in the beach face. Medium (15 months) term observations include: mat recovery and changes with transformation of mucilage deposits into new subtidal gelatinous mats, intertidal transitional mats and low‐elevation microbial structures. Observations suggest that this disturbance had both positive (the floc‐to‐mat biogeomorphic storm response) and negative feedbacks (enhanced bioturbation), which impact the development of stromatolite forming microbial mats and microbialite structures.

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Wind and tidal mixing controls on stratification and dense water outflows in a large hypersaline bay

et al. 2015

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In Shark Bay, a large inverse estuary in Western Australia, longitudinal density gradients establish a gravitational circulation that is important for Bay-ocean exchange and transport of biological material such as larvae. The relative contributions of energy from wind and tidal mixing on the control of vertical stratification and gravitational circulation were investigated using the three-dimensional baroclinic ocean circulation model (General Estuarine Transport Model, GETM). In this large inverse estuary, the effects of the winds and tides on vertical mixing were found to be of similar magnitude. A critical depth of 15 m was identified that determined whether winds or tides or a combination of the two was required to create vertically mixed conditions. Where it was shallower than the critical depth, either the wind or tide could fully mix the water column. In contrast, a combination of both winds and tides was required to mix the deeper channels. Density-driven circulation peaked 0-3 days after periods of maximum stratification, resulting in a fortnightly modulation of dense water outflows along the seabed following the tidal stage. Salt flux calculations provided new evidence for the predominance of outflow through the deeper northern entrance channel where outflows persisted through all stages of the tide. In contrast, outflows through the western channel were more intermittent with a stronger tidal component. Wind driven lateral circulation between the entrances was also important and could temporarily reverse the circulation during northerly wind events.

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Sedimentary Environments of Shark Bay, Western Australia

Cited by 50 publications

References 0 publications

Early Miocene carbonate ramp development in a warm ocean, North West Shelf, Australia

Early Miocene carbonate ramp development in a warm ocean, North West Shelf, Australia

Impacts of Severe Tropical Cyclone Olwyn and the biogeomorphic response, Hamelin Pool, Shark Bay, Western Australia

Wind and tidal mixing controls on stratification and dense water outflows in a large hypersaline bay

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