Spatio-temporal evolution of a Tertiary carbonate platform margin and adjacent basinal deposits

The variability in low to moderate energy carbonate platform margins is poorly known from the geological record. Here, the spatial and temporal evolution of platform margin and adjacent basinal deposits is evaluated from the little known Tertiary Kedango Limestone that developed in a semi-enclosed m...

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Main Authors: Wilson, Moyra, Chambers, J., Manning, C., Nas, D.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier Science BV 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7837
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author Wilson, Moyra
Chambers, J.
Manning, C.
Nas, D.
author_facet Wilson, Moyra
Chambers, J.
Manning, C.
Nas, D.
author_sort Wilson, Moyra
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The variability in low to moderate energy carbonate platform margins is poorly known from the geological record. Here, the spatial and temporal evolution of platform margin and adjacent basinal deposits is evaluated from the little known Tertiary Kedango Limestone that developed in a semi-enclosed marine embayment in SE Asia. The hypothesis here is that platform margin development will reflect regional and perhaps global influences, such as tectonics, eustasy or biotic change, rather than windward-leeward effects and storms that typically impact strongly upon open oceanic platforms.The development of the carbonate platform was determined through logging, petrography, facies evaluation, provenance and high-resolution dating studies. Eleven carbonate facies were identified from the 30 km long western margin of the > 600 m thick platform and its adjacent slope and basinal deposits. Larger benthic foraminifera and coralline algal packstones and wackestones dominated in shallow waters. During the Oligo-Miocene, coral patch reef-related floatstones, rudstones and less commonly boundstones were also present on the platform top. Perhaps surprisingly for a low energy platform there was considerable variation along the platform margin and much reworking of material into slope and basinal deposits during the Oligo-Miocene. Reworked material includes shallow water bioclasts, clasts from older siliciclastics, fresh feldspars, lithified slope and platform top carbonate clasts, some of the latter showing evidence for karstification. The western platform margin varied laterally over a few kilometres from a gently sloping unrimmed platform, to a probable bank top, with in places coral-fringed, bypass and erosional faulted escarpment margins. Eustasy may have influenced shallowing and deepening trends on the platform top, but apparently had little impact on mass wasting. Instead platform margin development was strongly impacted by tectonics (including active faulting), terrestrial runoff, together with changes in carbonate producers and local variability on the platform top.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-78372017-09-13T16:02:38Z Spatio-temporal evolution of a Tertiary carbonate platform margin and adjacent basinal deposits Wilson, Moyra Chambers, J. Manning, C. Nas, D. Tertiary Facies Carbonate platform margin evolution Bank SE Asia Tectonics The variability in low to moderate energy carbonate platform margins is poorly known from the geological record. Here, the spatial and temporal evolution of platform margin and adjacent basinal deposits is evaluated from the little known Tertiary Kedango Limestone that developed in a semi-enclosed marine embayment in SE Asia. The hypothesis here is that platform margin development will reflect regional and perhaps global influences, such as tectonics, eustasy or biotic change, rather than windward-leeward effects and storms that typically impact strongly upon open oceanic platforms.The development of the carbonate platform was determined through logging, petrography, facies evaluation, provenance and high-resolution dating studies. Eleven carbonate facies were identified from the 30 km long western margin of the > 600 m thick platform and its adjacent slope and basinal deposits. Larger benthic foraminifera and coralline algal packstones and wackestones dominated in shallow waters. During the Oligo-Miocene, coral patch reef-related floatstones, rudstones and less commonly boundstones were also present on the platform top. Perhaps surprisingly for a low energy platform there was considerable variation along the platform margin and much reworking of material into slope and basinal deposits during the Oligo-Miocene. Reworked material includes shallow water bioclasts, clasts from older siliciclastics, fresh feldspars, lithified slope and platform top carbonate clasts, some of the latter showing evidence for karstification. The western platform margin varied laterally over a few kilometres from a gently sloping unrimmed platform, to a probable bank top, with in places coral-fringed, bypass and erosional faulted escarpment margins. Eustasy may have influenced shallowing and deepening trends on the platform top, but apparently had little impact on mass wasting. Instead platform margin development was strongly impacted by tectonics (including active faulting), terrestrial runoff, together with changes in carbonate producers and local variability on the platform top. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7837 10.1016/j.sedgeo.2012.05.002 Elsevier Science BV restricted
spellingShingle Tertiary
Facies
Carbonate platform margin evolution
Bank
SE Asia
Tectonics
Wilson, Moyra
Chambers, J.
Manning, C.
Nas, D.
Spatio-temporal evolution of a Tertiary carbonate platform margin and adjacent basinal deposits
title Spatio-temporal evolution of a Tertiary carbonate platform margin and adjacent basinal deposits
title_full Spatio-temporal evolution of a Tertiary carbonate platform margin and adjacent basinal deposits
title_fullStr Spatio-temporal evolution of a Tertiary carbonate platform margin and adjacent basinal deposits
title_full_unstemmed Spatio-temporal evolution of a Tertiary carbonate platform margin and adjacent basinal deposits
title_short Spatio-temporal evolution of a Tertiary carbonate platform margin and adjacent basinal deposits
title_sort spatio-temporal evolution of a tertiary carbonate platform margin and adjacent basinal deposits
topic Tertiary
Facies
Carbonate platform margin evolution
Bank
SE Asia
Tectonics
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7837