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Facies analysis and correlation of high-order sequences in middle-outer ramp successions: variations in exported carbonate on basin-wide δ13Ccarb (Kimmeridgian, NE Spain)

Bádenas, B.; Aurell, M.; Gröcke, D.R.

Authors

B. Bádenas

M. Aurell



Abstract

Carbonate mud that accumulated in the deep parts of a late Kimmeridgian carbonate ramp (Iberian Basin, NE Spain) was partly derived by resedimentation from shallow water production areas. High-frequency sea-level changes, probably driven by climatic changes in tune with precession and short-eccentricity cycles, affected carbonate production and the amount of exported sediment. Facies analysis and correlation of three outcrops located in middle and outer ramp settings allows a comparison of high-order sequences (bundles of beds and sets of bundles) across a ramp transect and an assessment of the carbonate factory. Analysis of the storm deposits found in middle ramp settings identifies deepening to shallowing high-frequency cycles based on the level of exported carbonate. In outer ramp areas, many of the bundles exhibit a thinning trend, indicating a progressive decrease of carbonate production and hence, carbonate export during periods of high-frequency sea-level rise. δ13Ccarb values show a gradual increase through the studied long-term transgressive interval ranging from 1·5‰ to 2·8‰. Within this long-term evolutionary trend, short-term δ13Ccarb fluctuations occur that correspond with some of the high-order cycles defined from sedimentary facies analysis. These short-term δ13Ccarb shifts are interpreted as shifts in carbonate export from shallow reef regions to the outer ramp. A consequence of this study is that variation in δ13Ccarb can be used for correlation in outer ramp successions, at least on a basin-wide scale.

Citation

Bádenas, B., Aurell, M., & Gröcke, D. (2005). Facies analysis and correlation of high-order sequences in middle-outer ramp successions: variations in exported carbonate on basin-wide δ13Ccarb (Kimmeridgian, NE Spain). Sedimentology, 52(6), 1253-1275. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3091.2005.00740.x

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Dec 1, 2005
Deposit Date Jun 4, 2010
Journal Sedimentology
Electronic ISSN 1365-3091
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 52
Issue 6
Pages 1253-1275
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3091.2005.00740.x
Keywords Carbon isotopes, Carbonate ramp, Cyclicity, Sea-level, Kimmeridgian, Jurassic.