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Carbonate Platform Facies Models PDF

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544 views21 pages

Carbonate Platform Facies Models PDF

Uploaded by

Angel Saldaña
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Carbonate Platform Facies Models’ J. FRED READ* ABSTRACT Various types of carbonate platforms are characterized by distinctive profiles, facies, and evolutionary sequences. Ramps may be homoclinal or distally steepened, and may have fringing or barrier shoal-water complexes of ooid- pellet sands or skeletal banks. Homoclinal ramps pass sea- ‘ward into deeper water without major break in slope, and nck deep-water breccias. Distally steepened ramps may be low energy, and characterized by widespread, shallow, subwave-base mud blankets, or high energy with coastal beach/dune complexes and widespread skeletal sand blan- kets. Slope facies may contain abundant breccias of slope- derived clasts. Rimmed shelves have relatively flat tops, and marked break in slopes at the high energy, shallow-shelf edge where they 10 deep water. Such shelves may be ggraded with peritidal facies extending over much of the shelf, or incipiently drowned, depending on magnitude of sea level fluctuations. They may be uceretionary, or bypass types that include gullied slope, escarpment, and high- relief erosional forms. Intrashelf basins occur on some shelves, controlling distribution of reservoir and source beds. Isolated platforms are surrounded by deeper water and may be located on rifted continental margins, or on submarine volcanoes. Most have high-relief rimmed ‘margins. Platforms that have been subjected to rapid sea level rise may be incipiently drowned, and characterized by raised rims, elevated patch or pinnacle reefs, and wide- spread subwave-base carbonate or fine clastic blankets. ‘Completely crowned shelves develop where the shelf is submerged to subphotie depths, terminating shallow water deposition, and commonly resulting in blanketing of the shelf by deeper water facies. Some margins show extensive down-to-basin faulting that is contemporaneous with carbonate deposition, or associated with thick pro- ‘grading clastic sequences. ‘The various types of platforms change in response to ‘variations in sedimentation, subsidence or sea level rise, and may form distinctive evolutionary sequences. The rel atively few models presented appear to accommodate ‘©Copyright 1985. The American Association of Petroleum Geog ll rights cores "Maruca received, October 27,1963, accepled, May, 1964 “Deparment of Geciogial Soles, Virgina Pelvtchnie Intute and State Divers Blacksourg, Vega 24081 "Thi papers an ougrowth of notes propae ox AAPG Fal Education Con. erence shor courses. Mary peope kdl provceareprns a propin, Js- tlssion and eas, ncuding WM A Me Brady 8. Coling [Link]. Creve, FN. Ginsburg, [Link],C.G. St. ©. Kendal 8. W Logan, H.T Mulins,©, Neumann, W Schlager. Wendie, L Wisor, and my sudens pst and present thank Doma Wiliams (yping] ang Morn Es (eating) "he papr was proparod ring tenure ot grants EAR 7917219 and 3108577 trom Natal Soance Foundation ‘most geological examples, some of which contain major reservoir facies. INTRODUCTION Carbonate platform models are important aids in understanding distribution of carbonate facies and to a lesser extent, primary porosity distribution, preservation of which largely is a function of diagenetic history. Many ofthe zerms that are commonly used to describe the differ ‘ent platforms have various meanings to geologists. This lack of uniformity of usage has hampered the geologic application of platform facies models and has inhibited ur understanding of the different facies sequences. This paper outlines major types of carbonate platforms, their facies distribution and criteria for their recognition, and examines influence of sea level and tectonies on platform evolution. The models outlined here are end members of a spectrum of carbonate-platform types, and are useful because relatively few types accommodate most geologic ‘examples, However, real examples should not be forced to fit the model, because it is commonly the difference between the real example and the model that provides insight into platform evolution. The classification of platform margins outlined here is based on that used by Ahr (1973) who recognized differ- ences between rimmed shelves and ramps; Ginsburg and James (1974), who outlined characteristics of rimmed and drowned shelves; and Wilson (1975) who provided the first comprehensive model of platform margins. The clas- sification outlined in Read (1982) uses the terms platform {a general term), ramp, rimmed shelf, isolated platform, and drowned platform to describe geomorphic, two- dimensional features (Figure 1). The following facies are briefly described to avoid later repetition, Tidal-flat compler.—Facies ate generally arranged in cyclic, upward shallowing units 1-10 m (3-33 ft) thick. Sequences in humid zones are mainly subtidal-intertidal ‘burrowed limestone with supratidal cryptalgal laminites, and may have inland freshwater algal marsh deposits, coal, or siiciclastics. Sequences in arid zones have bur- rowed to nonburrowed lagoonal limestone and cryptalgal heads, overlain by abundant intertidal sheetlike cryptalgal Jaminites, supratidal evaporites, or eolian-fluvial clastics. Lagoonal facies (present behind barrier complexes). — ‘These are mainly bedded pellet limestone or lime mud- stone, or cherty, burrowed skeletal packstone to mudstone, with local biostromes of colonial metazoans. Minor, thin interbeds of peritidal fenestral or cryptalgal carbonates reflecting periods of shallowing of lagoon to tide levels. ‘Shoal-water complex of banks, reefs, and ooid/pellet shoals. —These may occur as shallow-tamp skeletal banks 2 Carbonate Platform Facies Models. PERSIAN GULF SHARK BAY _ ss AMAS GREAT CHAGOS. ° 50 KM sof | VE =100 se Mie dor FT TS Cogs Figure 1—Profiles of carbonate ramps, rimmed shelves, and drowned platforms plotted at same scale. Persian Gulf and Shark Bay are homoclinal ramps. Yucatan is distally steepened ramp with local buildups on outer platform. Florida and Queensland are rimmed shelves, andthe Bahamas and Great Chagos are isolated platforms. Note Queensland and Great Chagos also reflect incipient drown ing. Queensland transect oblique to shelf trend. Blake Plateau is a drowned shelf. ‘or lime-sand shoals, or shelf-edge skeletal reefs and lime sands, to be described in detail later. These may pass grad- ually downslope into deep-ramp facies. On steeply sloping shelf edges, they pass downslope into foreslope and stope deposits marginal to deep shelf or basin. Deep shelf and ramp facies.—These consist of chert modular bedded, skeletal packstone or wackestone, with abundant whole fossils and diverse open-marine biota. ‘They may have upward-fining, storm-generated beds. Water depths range from 100 40 m (33to 130‘). The lith- otope is largely below fair-weather wave base, but it may be influenced by storm waves. Slope and basin facies.— Adjacent to steeply sloping platforms, foreslope and slope deposits have abundant breecias and turbidites interbedded with periplatform lime and terrigenous muds. Adjacent to most ramps, slope and basin deposits are thin-bedded, peripiatform lime and ter- rigenous muds that generally have few sediment-gravity flow deposits. Basinal deposits in Paleozoic rocks com monly are shale, with carbonate content increasing toward the platform. Basinal deposits in Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks may be shale or pelagic limestone. Slope and basin floor may be anoxic and lacking benthic organisms; thus, deposits will be laminated and nonburrowed. Where slope and basin waters are oxic, deposits may be burrowed and fossiliferous. ‘CARBONATE RAMPS Carbonate ramps (Figures 1, 2) have gentle slopes (gen- erally less than 1°) on which shallow wave-agitated facies of the nearshore zone pass downslope (without marked break in slope) into deeper water, low-energy deposits (Ahr, 1973). They differ from rimmed shelves in that con- tinuous reef trends generally are absent, high-energy lime sands are located near the shoreline and deeper water brec-

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