Unusually well preserved casts of halite crystals: A case from the Upper Frasnian of northern Lithuania

Rychliński, Tomasz; Jaglarz, Piotr; Uchman, Alfred; Vainorius, Julius

doi:10.1016/j.sedgeo.2014.05.005

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The apparent absence of halite in the correlative Burke, Revett, and St. Regis Formations to the west could indicate shallower water, above the pycnocline, or there was westward dissipation of the brines closer to the sources of riverine input. Similar zoned halite crystal casts and molds in both siliciclastic and carbonate mudstones associated with crack arrays and other synsedimentary deformation features occur in many other units (e.g., Spencer and Demicco, 1993;Eriksson et al, 2005;Paik and Kim, 2006;Martill et al, 2007;Rychliński et al, 2014). The bathymetric interpretation of some of these merits reconsideration.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Sedimentation, earthquakes, and tsunamis in a shallow, muddy epeiric sea: Grinnell Formation (Belt Supergroup, ca. 1.45 Ga), western North America

Pratt

Ponce

2019

GSA Bulletin

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Interpreting the deposits of ancient epeiric seas presents unique challenges because of the lack of direct modern analogs. Whereas many such seas were tectonically relatively quiescent, and successions are comparatively thin and punctuated by numerous sedimentary breaks, the Mesoproterozoic Belt Basin of western North America was structurally active and experienced dramatic and continuous subsidence and sediment accumulation. The Grinnell Formation (ca. 1.45 Ga) in the lower part of the Belt Supergroup affords an opportunity to explore the interplay between sedimentation and syndepositional tectonics in a low-energy, lake-like setting. The formation is a thick, vivid, red- to maroon-colored mudstone-dominated unit that crops out in northwestern Montana and adjacent southwestern Alberta, Canada. The mudstone, or argillite, consists of laminated siltstone and claystone, with normal grading, local low-amplitude, short-wavelength symmetrical ripples, and intercalations of thin tabular intraclasts. These intraclasts suggest that the muds acquired a degree of stiffness on the seafloor. Halite crystal molds and casts are present sporadically on bedding surfaces. Beds are pervasively cut by mudcracks exhibiting a wide variety of patterns in plan view, ranging from polygonal to linear to spindle-shaped. These vertical to subvertical cracks are filled with upward-injected mud and small claystone intraclasts. Variably interbedded are individual, bundled, or amalgamated, thin to medium beds of white, cross-laminated, medium- to coarse-grained sandstone, or quartzite. These are composed of rounded quartz grains, typically with subangular to rounded mudstone intraclasts. Either or both the bottoms and tops of sandstone beds commonly show sandstone dikes indicative of downward and upward injection. Both the mudcracks and the sandstone dikes are seismites, the result of mud shrinkage and sediment injection during earthquakes. An origin via passive desiccation or syneresis is not supported, and there is no evidence that the sediments were deposited on alluvial plains, tidal flats, or playas, as has been universally assumed. Rather, deposition occurred in relatively low-energy conditions at the limit of ambient storm wave base. The halite is not from in situ evaporation but precipitated from hypersaline brines that were concentrated in nearshore areas and flowed into the basin causing temporary density stratification. Sandstone beds are not fluvial. Instead, they consist of allochthonous sediment and record a combination of unidirectional and oscillatory currents. The rounded nature of the sand and irregular stratigraphic distribution of the sandstone intervals are explained not by deltaic influx or as tempestites but as coastal sands delivered from the eastern side of the basin by off-surge from episodic tsunamis generated by normal faulting mainly in the basin center. The sands were commonly reworked by subsequent tsunami onrush, off-surge, seiching, and weak storm-induced wave action. Although the Grinnell Formation might appear superficially to have the typical hallmarks of a subaerial mudflat deposit, its attributes in detail reveal that sedimentation and deformation took place in an entirely submerged setting. This is relevant for the deposits of other ancient epeiric seas as well as continental shelves, and it should invite reconsideration of comparable successions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Sedimentation, earthquakes, and tsunamis in a shallow, muddy epeiric sea: Grinnell Formation (Belt Supergroup, ca. 1.45 Ga), western North America

Pratt

Ponce

2019

GSA Bulletin

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“…3). The calcar e ous silty arenites in clude well-pre served casts of ha lite crys tals, in di cat ing hypersaline con di tions (Rychliñski et al, 2014). The up per part of the sec tion is dom i nated by dolostones, and marly dolostones with dolomitic mudstone inter ca la tions.…”

Section: Geological Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…The low er most part of the suc ces sion de scribed, in clud ing silty dolostones with haloturbation struc tures and ha lite crys tal casts, lam i nated dolomudstones and bioturbated dolomudstones (lack ing skel etal fos sils) in the up per part of sec tions W and Wk rep re sents hypersaline la goonal de pos its. Wave-rip ple cross-lam i nated coarser-grained de pos its with quartz grains and mica flakes which in ter ca late with dolomudstones were de pos ited prob a bly dur ing storms (Rychliñski et al, 2014). The high amount of terrigenous ma te rial points to the prox im ity of the source area at that time.…”

Section: Interpretation Sedimentary Environmentmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Be sides north ern Lith u a nia, this for ma tion is dis trib uted across west ern and cen tral Lat via (Lukševiès et al, 2012). The lower part of the suc ces sion is dom i nated by al ternat ing dolostones, clayey dolostones and dolomitic marlstones (Paškevièius, 1997;Lukševiès et al, 2012), but sand stone and siltstone interlayers oc cur in the low er most part of the Stipinai For ma tion (Lukševiès et al, 2012;Rychliñski et al, 2014). Dolostones, of ten with skel e tal fos sils (brachi o pods, bryozoans, stromatoporoids and rugose cor als), dom i nate in the upper part of the Stipinai For ma tion (Paškevièius, 1997).…”

Section: Geological Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The lam i na tion is em pha sized by mica flakes and small py rite crys tals. Com monly, the rocks are ce mented by poikilitopic cal cite crys tals (see Rychliñski et al, 2014).…”

Section: Facies Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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