Upper Miocene deposits from El Ma Labiod (T\'{e}bessa, Northeastern Algeria): Sedimentology, micropaleontology and paleoenvironmental implications

Abstract

The Miocene sediments have been the subject of several studies over the Mediterranean region especially from a bio-lithostratigraphic and geodynamic studies point of views. The Miocene deposits of the El-Ma Labiod located in Tébessa region (Northeastern Algeria) were investigated through the present research. This region is an area that was not extensively studied, and the available findings remain debatable. This study is conducted to clarify paleoenvironment conditions on the basis of a sedimentological approach including grain size, morphoscopy examination, and mineralogical analysis by XRD on the one hand, and by investigating the fauna contents on the other hand. The results reveal that Miocene sediments can display multiple modes of transport according to grain size. The XRD analyses on the clayey fraction have evidenced the presence of three clay minerals groups, mainly consisting of Kaolin-serpentine (kaolinite), minor smectite (Di-smectite), and sepiolite-plagorsikite (sepiolite) reflecting wholly warmer climate while the dominance of kaolinite indicates rather wet paleoclimate exposure. This study reports for the first time, a record of foraminifera and ostracods contents in the upper Miocene from the studied area. Based on these sedimentological and micropaleontological data, the Miocene deposits are more likely linked to a marginallittoral depositional environment.