Dolomitized tidal cycles in the Agua de la Mula Member of the Agrio Formation (Lower Cretaceous), Neuquén Basin, Argentina

Maisa A.  Tunik; Pablo J.  Pazos; Agnes  Impiccini; Darío  Lazo; María Beatriz  Aguirre-Urreta

Autores/as

Maisa A. Tunik Laboratorio de Tectónica Andina, Universidad de Buenos Aires. CONICET. Actualmente en: CIMAR - Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Av. Buenos Aires 1400, Neuquén. Argentina.
Pablo J. Pazos Universidad de Buenos Aires. Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón 2, 1428 Buenos Aires. Argentina.
Agnes Impiccini Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Av. Buenos Aires 1400, Neuquén, Argentina.
Darío Lazo Laboratorio de Bioestratigrafía de Alta Resolución. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón 2, 1428 Buenos Aires. Argentina.
María Beatriz Aguirre-Urreta Laboratorio de Bioestratigrafía de Alta Resolución. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón 2, 1428 Buenos Aires. Argentina.

Palabras clave:

Ooids; Dolomitization; Tidal environment; Agua de la Mula Member; Neuquén Basin

Resumen

The Agrio Formation (Valanginian to early Barremian) is a siliciclastic and carbonate unit of the Neuquén Basin in west central Argentina. A conspicuous 20 m

thick dolomitized section near the top of the upper Agua de la Mula Member of the Agrio Formation was identified for the first time in this unit. The analyzed section is composed of dolostones with scarce siliciclastic intercalations. A tidal flat environment with highfrequency cycles is suggested for the measured section. Petrography, SEM, X-Ray, EDAX and cathodoluminiscence analyses showed two different dolomitization processes. The first one comprises early mimetic and non mimetic dolomitization on ooids, bioclasts and early marine cements. The second one reveals precipitation of dolomite cement. The mimic dolomitization indicates that this process took place before the inversion from aragonite to calcite, or from low magnesium calcite to high magnesium calcite. The dolomitization

should have been soon after the deposition. The presence of dolomite cement is probably related to a high concentration of Mg²⁺ coming from sea water flushing into highly porous sediments mixed with fresh waters from the continent. This is suggestive of a change of diagenetic environment from marine to meteoric, probably during sea level changes. A model that explains these processes is the shallow seawater dolomitization model. This model proposes that dolomitization is triggered by the drive of large amount of seawaters through the sediments.

Citas

Aguirre-Urreta, M.B., P.F. Rawson, G.A. Concheyro, A. Bown and E.G. Ottone, 2005. Lower Cretaceous (Berriasian-Aptian) biostratigraphy of the Neuquén Basin. In G.D. Veiga, L.A.

Spalletti, J.A. Howell and E. Schwarz (Eds.), The Neuquen Basin, Argentina: A Case Study in Sequence Stratigraphy and Basin Dynamics. Geological Society, London, Special Publication 252:57-81.

Aguirre-Urreta, M.B., F.A. Mourgues, P.F. Rawson, L.G. Bulot, and E. Jaillard, 2007. The Lower Cretaceous Chañarcillo and Neuquén Andean basins: ammonoid biostratigraphy and correlations. Geological Journal 42, 143-173.

Bathurst, R.G., 1975. Carbonate sediments and their diagenesis. Developments on Sedimentology 12, 658 pp., Amsterdam.

Beaumont, E., 1837. Application du calcul a l’hypothèse de la formation par epigenie des anhydrites, des gypses et des dolomies. Société Géologique de France, Bulletin 8:174-177.

Bone, Y., 1991. Population explosion of the bryozoans Membranipora aciculata in the Coorong Lagoon in late 1989. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences 38:121-123.

Bone, Y. and R. Wass, 1990. Sub-Recent bryozoan-serpulid buildups in the Coorong Lagoon, South Australia. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences 37:207-214.

Budd, D.A., 1997. Cenozoic dolomites of carbonate islands: their attributes and origin. Earth-Science Reviews 42:1-47.

Carballo, J.D., L.S. Land and D.E. Miser, 1987. Holocene dolomitization of supratidal sediments by active tidal pumping, Sugarloaf Key, Florida. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 57:153-165.

Corsetti, F.A., D.L. Kidder and P.J. Marenco, 2006. Trends in oolite dolomitization across the Neoproterozoic-Cambrian boundary: A case study from Death Valley, California. Sedimentary Geology 191:135-150.

Dawans, J.M. and P.K. Swart, 1988. Textural and geochemical alternations in Late Cenozoic Bahamian dolomites. Sedimentology 35:385-403.

Di Paola, E., 1987. Glauconita de la sección basal de la Formación Agrio, cerro El Marucho, provincia de Neuquén. Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina 41:168-176.

Di Paola, E., 1990. Microfacies de la Formación Agrio. Petrografía y diagénesis. Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina 65:260-271.

Dickson, J., 1965. A modified staining technique for carbonates in thin section. Nature:205-287.

Dunham, R.J., 1964. Classification of carbonate rocks according to depositional texture. American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Memoir 1:108-121.

Freitas, M.C., M. Cachao, L. Cancela da Fonseca, C. Caroça and P.K. Galopim de Carvalho, 1994. Unusual co-occurrence of serpulids and Bryozoa in a lagoonal system (Albufeira Coastal Lagoon - Portugal). Gaia 8:39-46.

Gulisano, C.A. and A.R. Gutiérrez Pleimling, 1988. Depósitos eólicos del Miembro Avilé (Formación Agrio, Cretácico Inferior) en el norte del Neuquén. II Reunión Argentina de

Sedimentología. Actas:120-124. Buenos Aires.

Gregg, J.M. and D.F. Sibley, 1984. Epigenetic dolomitization and the origin of xenotopic dolomite texture. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 54:908-931.

Hardie, L.A., 1987. Dolomitization: a critical view of some current views. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 57:166-183.

Kaldi, J. and J. Gidman, 1982. Early diagenetic dolomite cements; examples from the Permian Lower Magnesian Limestone of England and the Pleistocene carbonates of the Bahamas. Journal of Sedimentary Research 52:1073-1085.

Kidwell, S. and D. Bosence, 1991. Taphonomy and Time-Averaging of marine shelly faunas. In P. Allison and D. Briggs (Eds.), Taphonomy: Releasing the data locked in the fossil record, Volume 9 of Topics in Geobiology, Plenum Press, New York, 115-209.

K?rmac?, M. 2008. Dolomitization of the Cretaceous-Paleocene platform carbonates, Gölköy (Ordu), eastern Pontides, NE Turkey. Sedimentary Geology 203:289-306.

Land, L., 1985. The origin of massive dolomite. Journal of Geological Education 33:112-125.

Leanza, H. and C. Hugo, 2001. Cretaceous red beds from southernNeuquén basin (Argentina): age, distribution and stratigraphic discontinuities. VII International Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems. Asociación Paleontológica Argentina, Publicación Especial 7:117-122. Buenos Aires.

Legarreta, L. and E. Kozlowski, 1981, Estratigrafía y sedimentología de la Formación Chachao, provincia de Mendoza. VIII Congreso Geológico Argentino, Actas I:521-543. San Luis.

Legarreta, L. and C. Gulisano, 1989. Análisis estratigráfico secuencial de la Cuenca Neuquina (Triásico superior-Terciario inferior, Argentina). In Chebli, G. and Spalletti, L. (Eds.), Cuencas Sedimentarias Argentinas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Serie Correlación Geológica 6:221-243.

Lucia, F., 1999. Carbonate reservoir characterization. Springer. Berlin, 226 pp.

Lucia, F. and R. Major, 1994. Porosity evolution through hypersaline reflux dolomitization. In B. Purser, M. Tucker and D. Zenger (Eds), Dolomites. A Volume in Honour of Dolomieu, International Association of Sedimentologist. Special Publication 21:325-341.

Machel, H., 2004. Concepts and model of dolomitization: a critical reappraisal. In C. Braithwaite, C. Rizzi, and G. Drake (Eds.), The geometry and petrogenesis of dolomite hydrocarbon reservoirs. Geological Society, London. Special Publication 235:7-63.

Machel, H. and E. Mounjoy, 1986. Chemistry and environments of dolomitization - a reappraisal. Earth Science Reviews 23:175-222.

Mastandrea, A., E. Perri, F. Russo, A. Spadafora and M. Tucker, 2006. Microbial primary dolomite from a Norian carbonate platform: northern Calabria, southern Italy. Sedimentology 53:465-480.

Mazzullo, S., W. Bischoff and C. Teal, 1995. Holocene shallow dolomitization by near-normal seawater, northern Belice. Geology 23:341-344.

Melim, L., P. Swart and R. Maliva, 1995. Meteoric-like fabrics forming in marine waters: implications for the use of petrography to identify diagenetic environments. Geology 23:755-758.

Meyers, W., 1980. Compaction in Mississippian skeletal limestones, Southwestern New Mexico. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 50:457-474.

Misik, M., 1993. Carbonate rhombohedra in nodular cherts: Mesozoic of the west Carpathians. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 63:275-281.

Montañez, I.P. and J.F. Read, 1992. Eustatic control on early dolomitization of cyclic peritidal carbonates: Evidence from the Early Ordovician Upper Knox Group, Appalachians. Geological Society of America Bulletin 104:872-886.

Moore, C. and E. Heydari, 1993. Burial diagenesis and hydrocarbon migration in platform limestones: conceptual model based on the Upper Jurassic of the Gulf Coast of the USA. In: A. Horbury and A. Robinson (Eds.), Diagenesis and basin development. Studies in Geology 36, 213-229.

Morrow, D., 1982. Diagenesis 2. Dolomite - Part 2: dolomitization models and ancient dolostones. Geocience Canada 9:95:107.

Murray, R., 1960. Origin of porosity in carbonate rocks. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 30:59-84.

Oldershaw, A., 1971. The significance of ferroan and nonferroan calcite cements in the Halkin and Wenlock limestones (Great Britain). In O.P. Bricker (Ed.), Carbonate Cements: Baltimore, Md., Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, p. 225-232.

Pazos, P.J., G. Lazo and M.B. Aguirre Urreta, 2007. Tetrapod and invertebrate trace fossils in marginal marine facies, Agrio Formation, Neuquén Basin. V Reunión Argentina de Icnología y III Reunión de Incología del MERCOSUR. Abstracts: 28.

Patterson, R.J. and D. Kinsman, 1982. Formation of Diagenetic dolomite in Coastal sabkha along Arabian (Persian) Gulf. American Association of Petroleum Geologist Bulletin 66:28-43.

Pierre, C., L. Ortlieb and A. Person, 1984. Supratidal evaporitic dolomite at Ojo de Liebre lagoon: Mineralogical and isotopic arguments for primary crystallization. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 54:1049-1061.

Purser, B., M. Tucker and D. Zanger, 1994. Dolomites. Special Publication. International Association of Sedimentology: 21, 464 pp.

Reid, P. and I. Macintyre, 2000. Microboring versus recrystallization: further insight into the micritization process. Journal of Sedimentary Research 70:24-28.

Rossi, G., 2001. Arenisca Avilé: facies, ambientes sedimentarios y estratigrafía de una regresión forzada del Hauteriviano inferior de la cuenca Neuquina. Ph.D. Thesis. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de la Plata, Argentina. Vol I: 231 pp. Vol II: 101 pp.

Saller, A., 1984. Petrologic and geochemical constraints on the origin of subsurface dolomite, Enewetak Atoll: an example of dolomitization by normal seawater. Geology 12: 217-220.

Sibley, D. and J. Gregg, 1987. Classification of dolomite rock textures. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 57:967-975.

Spalletti, L., D. Poire, D. Pirrie, S. Matheos and P. Doyle, 2001. Respuesta sedimentológica a cambios en el nivel de base en una secuencia mixta clástica-carbonática del Cretácico de la Cuenca Neuquina, Argentina. Revista de la Sociedad Geológica de España 14:57-74

Strasser, A., 1986. Ooids in Purbeck limestones (lowermost Cretaceous) of Swiss and French Jura. Sedimentology 33:711-727.

Sun, S., 1995. Dolomite reservoirs: porosity evolution and reservoir characteristics. American Association of Petroleum Geologist Bulletin 79:186-204.

Swart, P., D. Cantrell, H. Westphal, R. Randford and C. Kendall, 2005. Origin of Dolomite in the Arab-D Reservoir from the Ghawar Field, Saudi Arabia: Evidence from Petrographic and Geochemical Constraints. Journal of Sedimentary Research 75:476-491.

Taylor, P.D., D.G. Lazo and M.B. Aguirre-Urreta, 2009. Early Cretaceous bryozoans from Argentina: a ‘by-catch’ fauna from the Agrio Formation (Neuquén Basin). Cretaceous Research

:193-203.

Tucker, M. and V. Wrigh, 1992. Carbonate Sedimentology, Blackwell, Oxford, 482 pp.

Vahrenkamp, V. and P. Swart, 1994. Late Cenozoic dolomites of the Bahamas: metastable analogues for the genesis of ancient platform dolomites. In B. Purser, M. Tucker and D. Zenger (Eds), Dolomites. A Volume in Honour of Dolomieu, International Association of Sedimentologist. Special Publication 21:133-153.

Vasconcelos, C., R. Warthmann, J. McKenzie, P. Visscher, A. Bittermann and Y. van Lith, 2006. Lithifying microbial mats in Lagoa Vermelha, Brazil: Modern Precambrian relics? Sedimentary Geology 185:175-183.

Veiga, G.D., L.A. Spalletti and S. Flint, 2002. Fluvial/aeolian interactions and high-resolution sequence stratigraphy of a non-marine lowstand wedge: the Avilé Member of the Agrio Formation (Lower Cretaceous), central Neuquén Basin, Argentina. Sedimentology 49:1001-1019.

Warren, J., 2000. Dolomite: occurrence, evolution and economically important associations. Earth-Science Reviews 52:1-81.

Weaver, C., 1931. Paleontology of the Jurassic and Cretaceous of West Central Argentina. Memoirs of the University of Washington 1:1-595.

Weyl, P., 1960. Porosity through dolomitization: conservation-of mass requirements. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 30:85-90.

Wheeler, C., P. Aharon and R. Ferrell, 1999. Successions of Late Cenozoic platform dolomites distinguished by texture, geochemistry, and crystal chemistry: Niue, South Pacific, Journal of Sedimentary Research 69:239-255.