Mid-Cretaceous shelf carbonates: The Mfamosing Limestone,Lower Benue Trough (Nigeria)

This study focuses on the microfacies and diagenetic development of the mid-Cretaceous Mfamosing Limestone, a carbonate body which was deposited during marine incursions into the Calabar Flank in the eastern Niger delta hinge zone of the Lower Benue Trough. Microfacies and diagenetic criteria indicate that the carbonates are products of one Albian transgressive cycle only with two periods of relatively rapid crustal deepening. The data strongly supports the conclusion that the carbonates were deposited in a shallow shelf characterized by strong lateral facies variations. High energy submarine bar carbonate sands, patch reefs and algal boundstones are well represented. During the deposition of the shelf carbonates an increasing detrital terrestrial input is documented by an increasing amount of quartz, feldspar and clay minerals. Isopachous rim cements indicate a marine phreatic environment. Locally short-time supratidal conditions are documented by granular meniscus cements.     

Organic preservation of vase-shaped microfossils from the late Tonian Chuar Group,Grand Canyon,Arizona, USA

Vase-shaped microfossils (VSMs) are found globally in middle Neoproterozoic (800–730 Ma) marine strata and represent the earliest evidence for testate (shell-forming) amoebozoans. VSM tests are hypothesized to have been originally organic in life but are most commonly preserved as secondary mineralized casts and molds. A few reports, however, suggest possible organic preservation. Here, we test the hypothesis that VSMs from shales of the lower Walcott Member of the Chuar Group, Grand Canyon, Arizona, contain original organic material, as reported by B. Bloeser in her pioneering studies of Chuar VSMs. We identified VSMs from two thin section samples of Walcott Member black shales in transmitted light microscopy and used scanning electron microscopy to image VSMs. Carbonaceous material is found within the internal cavity of all VSM tests from both samples and is interpreted as bitumen mobilized from Walcott shales likely during the Cretaceous. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and wavelength dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (WDS) reveal that VSM test walls contain mostly carbon, iron, and sulfur, while silica is present only in the surrounding matrix. Raman spectroscopy was used to compare the thermal maturity of carbonaceous material within the samples and indicated the presence of pyrite and jarosite within fossil material. X-ray absorption spectroscopy revealed the presence of reduced organic sulfur species within the carbonaceous test walls, the carbonaceous material found within test cavities, and in the sedimentary matrix, suggesting that organic matter sulfurization occurred within the Walcott shales. Our suite of spectroscopic analyses reveals that Walcott VSM test walls are organic and sometimes secondarily pyritized (with the pyrite variably oxidized to jarosite). Both preservation modes can occur at a millimeter spatial scale within sample material, and at times even within a single specimen. We propose that sulfurization within the Walcott Shales promoted organic preservation, and furthermore, the ratio of iron to labile VSM organic material controlled the extent of pyrite replacement. Based on our evidence, we conclude that the VSMs are preserved with original organic test material, and speculate that organic VSMs may often go unrecognized, given their light-colored, translucent appearance in transmitted light.     

Origin, sequence stratigraphy and depositional environment of an upper Ordovician (Hirnantian) deglacial black shale, Jordan

The upper Ordovician succession of Jordan was located 60°S, less than 100 km from the Hirnantian ice sheet margin. New graptolite dates indicate glaciation ended in Jordan in the late Hirnantian (persculptus Biozone). The succession records two glacial advances within the Ammar Formation and the subsequent deglaciations. Organic-rich black shales (Batra Formation) form part of the final deglacial transgressive succession that in-filled an existing low stand glacial continental shelf topography. The base of the black shale is coincident with the maximum flooding surface. During transgression, interfluves and sub-basin margins were breached and black shale deposition expanded rapidly across the region. The top of the black shales coincides with peak highstand. The “expanding puddle model” (sensu Wignall) for black shale deposition, adapted for the peri-glacial setting, provides the best explanation for this sequence of events.

We propose a hypothesis in which anoxic conditions were initiated beneath the halocline in a salinity stratified water column; a fresher surface layer resulted from ice meltwater generated during early deglaciation. During the initial stages of marine incursion, nutrients in the monimolimnion were isolated from the euphotic zone by the halocline. Increasing total organic carbon (TOC) and δ¹³C_org up section indicates the organic carbon content of the shales was controlled mainly by increasing bioproductivity in the mixolimnion (the Strakhov model). Mixolimnion nutrient levels were sustained by a continual and increasing supply of meltwater-derived nutrients, modulated by obliquity changes in high latitude insolation. Anoxia was sustained over tens to hundreds of thousands of years. The formation of black shales on the north Gondwana shelf was little different to those observed in modern black shale environments, suggesting that it was the nature of the Ordovician seas that pre-disposed them to anoxia.     

Cenomanian–Turonian carbonate and organic-carbon isotope records, biostratigraphy and provenance of a key section in NE Sicily, Italy: Palaeoceanographic and palaeogeographic implications

In eastern Sicily, a series of highly organic-rich black shales occur as exotic blocks (~ 100 m across) floating in tectonized sediments (Argille Varicolori Unit containing olistoliths of Cretaceous–Palaeogene age). A 19-metre section, through one of these blocks near the town of Novara di Sicilia, includes cyclically bedded black shales, marlstones and claystones, which have been dated using planktonic foraminiferal and nannofossil biostratigraphy. On this basis, the section is assigned to the latest Cenomanian and clearly represents a manifestation of the Oceanic Anoxic Event characteristic of that interval. Total organic-carbon values range up to 23% and the relatively high hydrogen indices record the presence of marine organic matter of low thermal maturity. High-resolution carbonate and organic-carbon isotope curves are comparable with those recorded elsewhere in indicating a significant positive excursion and confirm that, in the Novara di Sicilia section, the black shales are latest Cenomanian in age. By comparison with Cenomanian–Turonian black shales exposed elsewhere in Italy (Calabianca section, western Sicily; Livello Bonarelli, Bottaccione Gorge, Gubbio, Marche–Umbria), the section of Novara di Sicilia is different in being more stratigraphically expanded. However, this section from eastern Sicily does resemble extremely closely coeval sediments cropping out in Tunisia and Morocco. This association is taken as evidence that the Argille Varicolori Unit includes elements that were initially deposited on the north African shelf during Cretaceous time.     

Discovery of agglutinated benthic foraminifera in Devonian black shales and their relevance for the redox state of ancient seas

Agglutinated foraminifera are benthic organisms that occur in marginal marine to bathyal environments. Though some taxa can live in oxygen deficient environments, they require at least some oxygen in order to persist at the seafloor. The discovery that they occur widely in Late Devonian black shales has a bearing on the boundary conditions required for episodes of extensive carbon sequestration in marine sediments and their connection to atmospheric composition and global climate. Devonian black shales of the eastern US have been studied extensively to determine the fundamental controls on carbon burial, and a range of mechanisms has been proposed. Finding agglutinated benthic foraminifera in these black shales refocuses the debate about their origin and points to limitations of earlier models.     

Topography and tectonics of the Taconic outer trench slope as revealed through gradient analysis of fossil assemblages

Similarities in stratigraphic sequence, syndepositional topography and tectonics, and regional tectonic setting between the Mohawk Valley, New York, in the Middle Ordovician and the Australian flank of the Timor Trough today support the idea that the Taconic Foreland Basin orginated in an arc-continent collision. The Trenton Group strata studied - a roughly four million year long sequence correlated by bentonite beds along an 83 km downslope transect in the central Mohawk Valley - represent the continental shelf and outer trench slope. Bank limestones pass upward and downslope into deep water black shales in a manner reminiscent of the lateral and vertical sedimentary sequence on the Sahul Shelf and Australian flank of the Timor Trough. In studying topography, relative depth was measured through reciprocal averaging ordination of benthic macroinvertebrate fossil assemblages. Downslope bathymetric profiles show the development of a horst and graben topography coincident with regional tilting and transgression - a pattern associated with downward flexure of the Australian Plate approaching Timor. The net rate of transgression corresponds to an arc-continent convergence rate on the order of 2 cm per year.     

TESTATE AMOEBAE FROM THE EARLY JURASSIC OF THE WESTERN TETHYS,NORTH‐EAST ITALY

Abstract: Fossil testate amoebae and their non‐marine finds are rare so their ecological importance through Earth history is poorly understood. The Lower Jurassic shallow water black‐shales of Trento Platform (north‐east Italy) are rich in micro‐organisms and contain a thecamoebian and ostracod assemblage representing the first known record of Early Jurassic oligohaline forms from the European mainland. The thecamoebians are represented by the genera Difflugia, Pontigulasia and Centropyxis. The present discovery of Lower Jurassic thecamoebians in fine carbonate organic‐rich deposits indicates, for the first time, that these sediments can preserve testate amoebae very well. The occurrence of difflugid testate amoebians confirm a transitional marine‐terrestrial habitat, outside large bodies of water, and suggests occasional eutrophication in ephemeral restricted aquatic environment in the Sinemurian–Pliensbachian Trento Platform.     

Biostratigraphic correlation,paleoenvironment stress,and subrosion pipe collapse: Dutch Rhaetian shales uncover their secrets

A subrosion pipe or sinkhole is a geologic phenomenon that occurs due to dissolution of strata in the subsurface causing the overlying sediments to collapse. The subrosion pipe in the Winterswijk quarry complex in the eastern Netherlands yielded rare, dark-colored shales. Bivalves and palynomorphs indicate that the shales were deposited during the Rhaetian (uppermost Triassic). In addition, detailed correlation with other NW European localities in Great Britain, Austria, and Germany further constrained the age of the shales to the middle of the Rhaetian. The shales were deposited in a near-coastal environment and contained a low diverse macroinvertebrate fauna with bivalves and some brittle stars that lived in a hostile environment, probably caused by low salinity and oxygen levels. These middle Rhaetian shales were mixed with dark-colored middle to late Hettangian sediments, both overlying Middle Triassic (Anisian) strata, which is present in the pipe as well. The presence of Rhaetian sediments in the subrosion pipe reopened the discussion on its age of formation. We suggest that a collapse in the Middle Eocene is most likely. This research expands the knowledge of the marine realms in the uppermost Triassic in Europe, just prior to the Permian–Triassic extinction event.     

Anaerobic Microbial Growth from Components of Cretaceous Shales

Cretaceous rock formations have been shown to harbor extant sulfate-reducing microbial communities. At these sites, microbial activity is concentrated at rock interfaces where there is likely a diffusion of nutrients from low permeability organic rich shales to higher permeability sandstones. This study was undertaken to further characterize this process and to determine the components of shale that provide electron donors for sulfate reduction activity. To this end, samples of Cretaceous sandstones were incubated with ground shales from available depths at the Cerro Negro exploratory drilling site in northwestern New Mexico. Both sulfate consumption as an indicator of sulfate reduction and acetate production were stimulated in the sandstone-shale incubations. The greatest levels of stimulation were observed with shales originally closest to the lower sandstone-shale interface and a strong correlation was observed between shale organic carbon and microbial activity. These results suggested that the organic matter in shale was supplying the needed electron donor for the sulfate-reducing microbial community. Further evidence for this interpretation was provided when a pure culture of Acetobacterium psammolithicum , an acetogen isolated from this site, was stimulated to produce acetate by the addition of autoclaved shales. To investigate the components in shale that were responsible for stimulating microbial activity, we extracted shale organic material. Aqueous extracts and to a lesser extent neutral ether extractions stimulated activity although neither to the same extent as the shale itself. Alkaline aqueous extracts were fractionated using XAD-7 resin. Each of the fractions contributed to some degree, but the greatest stimulation in microbial activity was attributed to both the hydrophilic eluate and to the fulvic acid fraction. These data indicate that a relatively complex group of organic compounds supply electron donors to the sandstone microbial communities.     

Iron and sulfate reduction structure microbial communities in (sub-)Antarctic sediments

Permanently cold marine sediments are heavily influenced by increased input of iron as a result of accelerated glacial melt, weathering, and erosion. The impact of such environmental changes on microbial communities in coastal sediments is poorly understood. We investigated geochemical parameters that shape microbial community compositions in anoxic surface sediments of four geochemically differing sites (Annenkov Trough, Church Trough, Cumberland Bay, Drygalski Trough) around South Georgia, Southern Ocean. Sulfate reduction prevails in Church Trough and iron reduction at the other sites, correlating with differing local microbial communities. Within the order Desulfuromonadales, the family Sva1033, not previously recognized for being capable of dissimilatory iron reduction, was detected at rather high relative abundances (up to 5%) while other members of Desulfuromonadales were less abundant (<0.6%). We propose that Sva1033 is capable of performing dissimilatory iron reduction in sediment incubations based on RNA stable isotope probing. Sulfate reducers, who maintain a high relative abundance of up to 30% of bacterial 16S rRNA genes at the iron reduction sites, were also active during iron reduction in the incubations. Thus, concurrent sulfate reduction is possibly masked by cryptic sulfur cycling, i.e., reoxidation or precipitation of produced sulfide at a small or undetectable pool size. Our results show the importance of iron and sulfate reduction, indicated by ferrous iron and sulfide, as processes that shape microbial communities and provide evidence for one of Sva1033’s metabolic capabilities in permanently cold marine sediments.Subject terms: Microbial ecology, Biogeochemistry     

Trace-element budgets in the Ohio/Sunbury shales of Kentucky: Constraints on ocean circulation and primary productivity in the Devonian–Mississippian Appalachian Basin

The hydrography of the Appalachian Basin in late Devonian–early Mississippian time is modeled based on the geochemistry of black shales and constrained by others' paleogeographic reconstructions. The model supports a robust exchange of basin bottom water with the open ocean, with residence times of less than forty years during deposition of the Cleveland Shale Member of the Ohio Shale. This is counter to previous interpretations of these carbon-rich units having accumulated under a stratified and stagnant water column, i.e., with a strongly restricted bottom bottom-water circulation. A robust circulation of bottom waters is further consistent with the palaeoclimatology, whereby eastern trade-winds drove upwelling and arid conditions limited terrestrial inputs of siliciclastic sediment, fresh waters, and riverine nutrients. The model suggests that primary productivity was high (~ 2 g C m^− 2 d^− 1), although no higher than in select locations in the ocean today. The flux of organic carbon settling through the water column and its deposition on the sea floor was similar to fluxes found in modern marine environments. Calculations based on the average accumulation rate of the marine fraction of Ni suggest the flux of organic carbon settling out of the water column was approximately 9% of primary productivity, versus an accumulation rate (burial) of organic carbon of 0.5% of primary productivity. Trace-element ratios of V:Mo and Cr:Mo in the marine sediment fraction indicate that bottom waters shifted from predominantly anoxic (sulfate reducing) during deposition of the Huron Shale Member of the Ohio Shale to predominantly suboxic (nitrate reducing) during deposition of the Cleveland Shale Member and the Sunbury Shale, but with anoxic conditions occurring intermittently throughout this period.     

Redox heterogeneity of subsurface waters in the Mesoproterozoic ocean

A substantial body of evidence suggests that subsurface water masses in mid‐Proterozoic marine basins were commonly anoxic, either euxinic (sulfidic) or ferruginous (free ferrous iron). To further document redox variations during this interval, a multiproxy geochemical and paleobiological investigation was conducted on the approximately 1000‐m‐thick Mesoproterozoic (Lower Riphean) Arlan Member of the Kaltasy Formation, central Russia. Iron speciation geochemistry, supported by organic geochemistry, redox‐sensitive trace element abundances, and pyrite sulfur isotope values, indicates that basinal calcareous shales of the Arlan Member were deposited beneath an oxygenated water column, and consistent with this interpretation, eukaryotic microfossils are abundant in basinal facies. The Rhenium–Osmium (Re–Os) systematics of the Arlan shales yield depositional ages of 1414 ± 40 and 1427 ± 43 Ma for two horizons near the base of the succession, consistent with previously proposed correlations. The presence of free oxygen in a basinal environment adds an important end member to Proterozoic redox heterogeneity, requiring an explanation in light of previous data from time‐equivalent basins. Very low total organic carbon contents in the Arlan Member are perhaps the key—oxic deep waters are more likely (under any level of atmospheric O₂) in oligotrophic systems with low export production. Documentation of a full range of redox heterogeneity in subsurface waters and the existence of local redox controls indicate that no single stratigraphic section or basin can adequately capture both the mean redox profile of Proterozoic oceans and its variance at any given point in time.     

皖南震旦系蓝田组沉积岩有机碳同位素记录

皖南地区震旦系蓝田组是新元古代冰期后形成的岩石地层,它的中下段以黑色页岩沉积为主,上段为白云质灰岩。黑色页岩段的分析结果表明：底部有机碳同位素数值较低(8^13Corg平均值为-31．9‰),总有机碳(TOC)和总有机氮(TON)含量处于较低值;在底部之上,有机碳同位素数值缓慢升高(从靠近底部的-32．6‰升至顶部的-28．3‰),而TOC和TON含量分别可达17．7％和2．7‰。这一分析结果应归于冰后期在缺氧条件下大量有机质埋藏所致。可以推测,这种变化从一个侧面反映了新元古代全球性大冰期结束后气候变化和生物演化规律：冰期结束之后,海洋中的低等浮游藻类的底栖藻类在温暖气候条件下得以繁盛,伴随着这些还原性有机碳的沉积并大量进入岩石圈中,藻类光合作用产生的氧气进入大气圈,可能正是由于有机碳的沉积导致的氧气含量升高促使了真核多细胞生物在此之后得到了大发展。蓝田组上段白云质灰岩分析结果表明：有机碳同位素和无机碳同位素分别呈现出较强的负漂移(8^13Corg：-26．8‰— -35．3‰;8^13Ccarb：-8．5‰— -10．2‰),而总有机碳(TOC)含量呈现明显降低趋势。这一变化趋势可能主要归之于沉积有机质的氧化作用。可以推测,随着新元古代全球性大冰期结束后气候变暖,海洋藻类大量繁殖,藻类的光合作用产生大量的O2,海水中O2／CO2比值上升,海洋沉积环境由缺氧逐渐向富氧条件转化。     

Comparative studies in biochemical composition of benthic invertebrates (bivalves, ophiuroids) from the Northeast Water (NEW) Polynya

Two species of ophiuroids (Ophiopleura borealis and Ophiacanthabidentata) and bivalves (Astarte crenata and Arctinulagroenlandica) were collected within and adjacent to the Northeast Water Polynya off the northeast coast of Greenland, and analyzed for total moisture, protein, lipid, and ash content. Body composition varied significantly among stations within species. Lipid and protein contents of Astarte crenata were higher in clams collected from the eastern Westwind Trough stations compared to those collected from the western Westwind Trough stations. However, the mean lipid and protein contents were significantly higher in Ophiopleura borealis sampled from the western Westwind Trough compared to the eastern Westwind Trough. Ophiopleura borealis are mobile deposit feeders and scavengers and may not be as directly dependent on sedimentary biogenic material as Astarte crenata and Ophiacanthabidentata. Samples of both Ophiopleura borealis and Ophiacantha bidentata from the Belgica Trough had lower protein and lipid contents compared to those sampled in the western Westwind Trough. Samples of Arctinula groenlandica from two locations on the Ob Bank had significantly different protein levels from each other. These data support previous work, indicating that biogenic materials resulting from primary production in the ice-free western area of the Northeast Water Polynya are advected eastward down the western Westwind Trough and that the Belgica Trough has lower organic input compared to the Westwind Trough. Received: 15 May 1997 / Accepted: 1 October 1997     

Cenomanian to Coniacian ostracodes from the Nkalagu area (SE Nigeria): biostratigraphy and palaeoecology

Ostracode faunas from three sections in the Nkalagu area, including the type section of the Nkalagu Formation, were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. Based on the results, an ostracode zonation is proposed as follows: aCythereis sp. 2 Interval Zone (late Turanian to Coniacian), aCythereis vitiliginosa reticulata Interval Zone (Turonian) and aCytherella spp. Abundance Zone (Cenomanian). This zonation may be only of local (basin wide) character but should allow a micropalaeontological correlation of strata in the Lower Benue Trough. By comparison with sedimentological and palaeontological parameters, aCytherella dominated shelf/depleted oxygen-assemblage can be distinguished from aCythereis/Ovocytheridea dominated upper bathyal/suboxic to oxic-assemblage. The stratigraphic and palaeoecologic characteristics of the ostracode assemblages will be specified and presented in this contribution. Some of the species (Leguminocythereis sp.,Cytherella cf.comanchensis) are assumed to be replaced and to reflect the turbiditic activity in the area, resulting in carbonate deposits of economic significance.     

Palaeoceanographic differences of early Late Aptian black shale events in the Vocontian Basin (SE France)

A high-resolution study focussing on the distribution of calcareous nannofossils and carbon isotopes was carried out to improve the understanding of mid-Cretaceous black shale formation. The studied interval of the early Late Aptian is characterized by two major black shale couplets, the Niveau Noire 4 (NN4) and Niveau Noire Calcaire 2 (NNC2), of the Serre Chaitieu section in the Vocontian Basin (SE France; Bréhéret, 1997). This interval occurs within a long-term negative carbon isotope excursion of > 1.5‰ following the Early Aptian Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a (OAE1a). In contrast to the local NN4 black shales, the black shales of NNC2 are of regional significance and occur at the end of the major negative carbon isotope excursion of the early Late Aptian. Time equivalent black shales are suggested to be coeval with black shales found in the Western Tethys and Atlantic Ocean (Herrle et al., 2004). Calcareous nannofossil analyses and carbon isotopes indicate higher surface water productivity (mesotrophic), warmer surface water, and higher sea-level during the formation of the NN4 black shales. In contrast, the formation of the NNC2 black shales took place during a cooler phase, lower surface water productivity, and lower sea-level. A sea-level fall may cause a restriction of water mass exchange between the open-marine Western Tethys and the Vocontian Basin. This resulted in a longer residence time of the bottom water, decreased ventilation and less mixing of surface waters and thus enhanced preservation of organic matter at the sea floor. Our results indicate that the black shale formation of NN4 and NNC2 was caused by different processes such as increased surface water productivity and enhanced preservation of organic matter at the sea floor. Thus, we emphasize the role of different forcing factors which control the formation of local and regional black shales. The most important factors are sea-level fluctuations, increasing productivity, and changes in precipitation and evaporation rates.     

Environmental hazards of arsenic associated with black shales: a review on geochemistry, enrichment and leaching mechanism

Black shales are high organic matter-rich dark coloured mudstones those are often deposited during ??oceanic anoxia events??. Most of the black shale horizons are rich in arsenic far above their average crustal abundance and are susceptible to weathering eventually leaching high As contents to the surrounding environment causing As enrichment in soil and water which adversely affect the living beings. Numerous arsenic contaminations are being reported from black shale hosted areas globally, hence, making extremely crucial to understand the processes of enrichment, leaching and broader prospective of environmental hazards. Few studies have shown arsenic concentrations as high as 6,000?mg/kg within black shales causing groundwater enrichment up to hundreds mg/L. Arsenic is commonly attached to sulphide mineral structure and partly to organic matter and clay contents during deposition and diagenetic processes. Majority of sulphide bound arsenic becomes available to oxidative dissolution processes in presence of atmospheric oxygen and water which is further triggered by certain microbial community such as Acidophilus ferrooxidans hence, enhancing arsenic release. Physical weathering processes carry the arsenic-rich shale constituents to the depositional site where it is dissolved subsequently. Chemical diffusion and mechanical transport are two prime processes transporting arsenic from black shale horizons to the water bodies or soil columns, while air pollutions are caused by combustions of organic matter-rich coaly shales.     

The Trace Fossil Paleodictyon within The Cruziana Ichnofacies: First Record from The Devonian in Pennsylvania

Offshore marine deposits of hemipelagic dark-gray shales comprising the Middle Devonian Mahantango Formation have yielded the first evidence of the trace fossil Paleodictyon from Pennsylvania. Paleodictyon occurs in conjunction with a diversity of largely deposit-feeding trace fossils belonging to the Cruziana ichnofacies, and documents another example of a shallower-water occurrence of this ichnofossil in Paleozoic rocks.     

A stable and productive marine microbial community was sustained through the end‐Devonian Hangenberg Crisis within the Cleveland Shale of the Appalachian Basin,United States

The end‐Devonian Hangenberg Crisis constituted one of the greatest ecological and environmental perturbations of the Paleozoic Era. To date, however, it has been difficult to precisely constrain the occurrence of the Hangenberg Crisis in the Appalachian Basin of the United States and thus to directly assess the effects of this crisis on marine microbial communities and paleoenvironmental conditions. Here, we integrate organic and inorganic chemostratigraphic records compiled from two discrete outcrop locations to characterize the onset and paleoenvironmental transitions associated with the Hangenberg Crisis within the Cleveland Shale member of the Ohio Shale. The upper Cleveland Shale records both positive carbon (δ¹³C_org) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N_total) isotopic excursions, and replenished trace metal inventories with links to eustatic rise. These dual but apparently temporally offset isotope excursions may be useful for stratigraphic correlation with other productive end‐Devonian epeiric marine locations. Deposition of the black shale succession occurred locally beneath a redox‐stratified water column with euxinic zones, with signs of strengthening denitrification during the Hangenberg Crisis interval, but with an otherwise stable and algal‐rich marine microbial community structure sustained in the surface mixed layer as ascertained by lipid biomarker assemblages. Discernible trace fossil signals in some horizons suggest, however, that bioturbation and seafloor oxygenation occurred episodically throughout this succession and highlight that geochemical proxies often fail to capture these rapid and sporadic redox fluctuations in ancient black shales. The paleoenvironmental conditions, source biota, and accumulations of black shale are consistent with expressions of the Hangenberg Crisis globally, suggesting this event is likely captured within the uppermost strata of the Cleveland Shale in North America.     

Sedimentary facies analysis of the subsurface triassic and hydrocarbon potential in the United Arab Emirates

Summary The Triassic sediments in the subsurface of the United Arab Emirates has been divided into three formations (from bottom to top): Sudair, Jilh (Gulailah) and Minjur. The Sudair Formation consists of four lithofacies units composed mainly of limestones and minor dolomites interbedded with terrigenous shaley mudstones and anhydritic dolomitic limestones. These were deposited in shallow marine supratidal to subtidal settings. The Jilh (Gulailah) Formation has five lithofacies units dominated by anhydritic dolomitic limestone, fine terrigenoclastic sediments and bioclastic and intraclastic limestones. The formation was laid down under lagoonal to supratidal sabkha conditions with little normal marine influence. The Minjur Formation is composed of three lithofacies units characterized by argillaceous quartzitic sandstones, shales, mudstones, dolomitic and ferruginous limestones with thin coal seams. These facies represent deposition in prograding delta lobes, reflecting humid continental to marginal-marine conditions. Diagenesis plays a major role in the reservoir development in the Triassic sediments, the pores are occluded by dolomite and anhydrite. The grains are compacted, leached or cemented by marine cements. Porosity generally ranges from fair to poor with values from 6% to 9% in the carbonates and from 6% to 15% in the clastics. Interparticle and vuggy porosities are the main pore types. The porosity was controlled by diagenesis, depth of burial and lithology. No oil has been discovered so far in the Triassic sediments of the United Arab Emirates but pronounced gas shows have been reported from offshore fields. Western offshore United Arab Emirates is a promising area for potential hydrocarbon accumulations. The Triassic sediments have low to moderate source rock potential; the organic matter is mainly sapropelic kerogen, and the degree of thermal alteration ranges between mature to highly mature stages.