Jeffrey F.

Mount
Mixing of siliciclastic and carbonate sediments Department of Geology
in shallow shelf environments University of California
Davis, California 95616

ABSTRACT A) PUNCTUATED MIXING ON RIMMED PLATFORMS

The inhibiting effect that siliciclastic material has on Landward transport of peri- Transport of tidal flat and near-
shore siliciclastic belt sedi-
carbonate-secreting organisms has lead to the generalization that tidal carbonate sediments dur-
ments into deeper, subtidal
ing major storms; formation of Transfer of subtidal te rrigenous
sediments composed of mixtures of carbonate and siliciclastic spillover lobes, erosion of reefs environments by storm-surge-
and carbonate muds onto tidal
and shoals. \ ebb. wind forcing, etc. /
flats by storm tides and waves.
material should rarely form. However, many modern and ancient
shelf deposits contain a spectrum of sediments that are of "mixed"
composition. The processes responsible for this mixing can be
grouped into four categories: (1) punctuated mixing, where sporadic
storms and other extreme periodic events transfer sediments from
one depositional environment to another; (2) facies mixing, where
sediments are mixed along the diffuse boundaries between B) FACIES MIXING ON RIMMED PLATFORMS
contrasting facies; (3) in situ mixing, where the carbonate fraction Mixing occurs along Mixing occurs In narrow
m a r g i n s of reefs a n d zone between nearshore
consists of the autochthonous or parautochthonous death shoals in subtidal inter- siliciclastic belt/tidal flat
Eoiian contribution of
reef, back-reef or fore- environments and deeper
siliciclastic detritus to
assemblages of calcareous organisms that accumulated on or within reef environments. Also subtidal carbonate en-
subtidal and tidal flat
occurs adjacent to patch vironments. C o n t r o l l e d
siliciclastic substrates; and (4) source mixing, where admixtures reefs or reef mounds built primarily by coast-paral-
carbonates.
lel currents and rates of
are formed by the uplift and erosion of nearby carbonate source o n terrigenous mud sub-
strates. lateral facies migration.
terranes. The allochemical constituents of mixed sediments are both
coralgal and foram-mollusc in composition. The foram-mollusc
assemblage is the most common because of the effects of increased
turbidity, unstable substrates, and the clogging of filter-feeding
mechanisms associated with a siliciclastic influx.
C) IN SITU MIXING ON RIMMED PLATFORMS
Precipitation of carbonate cements, formation of algal
mats and in situ accumulation of carbonate allochems
INTRODUCTION and m u d in siliciclastic-dominated subtidal to inter-
tidal environments.
A common theme of sedimentology is that carbonate production in
shallow shelf environments is reduced by the influx of siliciclastic mate-
rial and that, for the most part, the two sediments should not and do not
commingle. This separative view of siliciclastic and carbonate sediments
is best illustrated by the manner in which sedimentology texts are divided
into chapters (with the notable exception of Selley, 1970), the way sedi- Figure 1. Examples of mixing processes on rimmed, siliciclastic-
mentologists tend to classify themselves (carbonate versus "clastic" sedi- influenced carbonate platforms. Similar processes occur on ramps or
rnentologists), and by the lack of a refined nomenclature for sediments or open shelves, although lack of shallow rim on outer shelf will change
their magnitude and distribution. Source mixing, not depicted here, is
rocks that are of mixed composition. However, recent symposia devoted
caused by uplift and erosion of carbonate source terranes and admix-
to the occurrence of mixed siliciclastic and carbonate sediments in both ture of carbonate detritus with siliciclastic material (see text).
the modern and the ancient deposits illustrate that mixed sediment is not
simply the odd exception to the rule, but is actually quite common
(Mcllreath and Ginsburg, 1982; Doyle and Roberts, 1983). general categories: (1) punctuated mixing, (2) facies mixing, (3) in situ
In this paper I identify four sedimentary processes that lead to the mixing, and (4) source mixing.
formation of "mixed" sediments in shallow shelf environments. The term
"mixed" is used here to indicate sediments composed of textural mixtures Punctuated Mixing
of carbonate and siliciclastic material. Interstratified sequences of "pure" The basic concept that voluminous carbonate production does not
carbonate and siliciclastic sediments, although formed by similar proc- occur under the constant influx of siliciclastic sediment remains valid.
esses, are not considered. In addition, I do not attempt to describe facies However, as Ager (1981) and others have pointed out, it may be the rare
dynamics and the effects of changes in sea level or varying sedimentation or catastrophic sedimentation event that ultimately controls the strati-
and subsidence rates. It is perhaps premature to attempt a synthesis of graphic record of a depositional system. This is particularly true for
these variables until the main processes are identified. The conclusions mixed sediments, for two reasons. First, major storm events provide a
presented here are drawn from a review of more than 150 modern and mechanism for the sporadic transfer of large amounts of sediment from
ancient examples of mixed sediments on both open and rimmed shelves one facies to another. For example, storm-generated currents (wind forc-
(not all examples are referenced here). This paper is an initial synthesis ing, storm-surge-ebb) can rapidly transport nearshore siliciclastic sedi-
intended to focus further testing and refinement as more data become ments into deeper water, carbonate-dominated environments (Kreisa,
available. 1981). Conversely, on rimmed platforms, major storms can act to erode
sediments of the reef or shoal complex and redeposit them landward in
MIXING PROCESSES siliciclastic-dominated lagoon environments. Storm processes may also
In shelf environments the formation of sediments composed of mix- cause mixing by supplying sediment from subtidal environments to tidal
tures of siliciclastic and carbonate material involves a variety of biologic flats. Second, the periodicity of mixing plays an important role in the
and sedimentologic processes. Summarized in Table 1 and depicted genesis of mixed sediments. Where the influx of siliciclastic sediments is
schematically in Figure 1, these processes can be grouped into four a rare event (i.e., not associated with typical, seasonal processes), benthic

432 GEOLOGY, v. 12, p. 432-435, July 1984

 TABLE 1. GENESIS OF MIXED SILICICLASTIC AND CARBONATE SEDIMENTS

Type o£ Process Environment Selected Examples

mixing

Red Sea (Friedman, 1982; Roberts

and Murray, 1983)
Erosion of peritidal carbonates Brazilian shelf (Leao, 1982)
or nearshore belt and tidal flat Inner shelf of Venezuela (Weiss
Transfer of sediment siliciclastics. Deposition in et al, 1978)
between contrasting subtidal, carbonate or terri- Carboniferous, Morocco (Kelling
Punctuated depositonal environments genous mud-dominated environments and Mullin, 1975)
during rare, high below fairweather wave-base. Ordovician, Norway (Brenchley et
intensity sedimentation Erosion of shallow subtidal sedi- al, 1979)
events ments and deposition on tidal Cambrian, Western U.S.A. (Sepkos-
flats and in shoals or reefs may ki, 1982; Mount, 1982)
also occur Cambrian, Virginia (Markello and
Read, 1981)
Precambrian, Norway (Tucker, 1982)

Eastern Gulf of Mexico (Holmes

and Evans, 1963; Doyle, 1982)
Mixing along interface between Mahe, Seychelles (Lewis, 1969)
nearshore siliciclastic b e l t — Great Barrier Reef Province (Max-
tidal flat facies and offshore well and Swinchatt, 1970)
Mixing of sediments oc- carbonates. Reef or shoal-derived Brazilian shelf (Milliman and
Facies curs along the diffuse carbonates and tidal flat carbo- Summerhayes, 1975)
borders between contras- nates mix with subtidal, back- English Channel (Larsonneur et
ting facies reef, fore-reef and tidal channel al, 1982)
siliciclastics. Eolian sands mix Miocene of Libya (Selley, 1969)
with nearshore and tidal flat Oligocene of western New Zealand
carbonates (Nelson, 1978)
Cambrian of Sardinia (Colacicchi
and Gandin, 1982)

Brazilian shelf (Milliman and

Mixing takes place dominantly in Summerhayes, 1975)
Mixing occurs through subtidal, terrigenous mud-domi- Inner shelf, Venezuela (Weiss et
the autochthonous ge- nated environments where produc- al, 1978)
In Situ
neration of carbonate tivity is high. Also formed in Puerto Rico shelf (Morelock et
material within silici- subtidal to intertidal environ- al, 1983)
clastic sediments ments by algal binding and by Oligocene of western New Zealand
inorganic precipitation of carbo- (Nelson, 1978)
nate Ordovician of Virginia (Kreisa,
1981)

Erosion of uplifted car- Inner Shelf, Venezuela (Weiss, et

bonate source terranes. Occurs in marginal marine and al, 1978)
Source Admixtures of clastic nearshore environments that are Miocene of Spain (Freeman, et al,
carbonates with silici- proximal to exposed carbonate 1983)
clastic material source terranes Mesozoic continental margin,
Greece (Price, 1977)

communities can become well established, generating abundant car- Kelling and Mullin (1975) and Markello and Read (1981) demonstrate
bonate. When these communities are disrupted by major storm events, that shallow-water carbonate environments can also act as a clastic
they can recover rapidly because relatively little poisoning by siliciclastics source for punctuated mixing. Their work documented the storm delivery
takes place during fair-weather conditions. Examples of this relationship of bioclastic and quartz sands into subtidal environments that were below
may occur on the inner shelf of Venezuela (Weiss et al., 1978) and on fair-weather wave base. The storm flows interstratified and mixed these
some sea-marginal fans of the Red Sea (Friedman, 1982; Roberts and sediments with terrigenous mud and calcisiltite background sediment,
Murray, 1983). eventually producing a deposit of complex composition.
Mixing of sediments by rare, high-intensity events is termed
punctuated mixing here. It is difficult to document this type of mixing in Facies Mixing
the modern sediments because of the present level of understanding of In application of Walther's Law, it might be anticipated that, within
storm processes and the difficulties inherent in observation. In contrast, a vertical succession, mixed sediments would be found that form a record
storm deposits of mixed composition are well known from the rock rec- of the gradational lateral transition between carbonate and siliciclastic
ord. Most of them reflect sedimentation in subtidal environments that facies. Although not reported in great abundance, several modern and
were below normal or fair-weather wave base. The texture and composi- ancient examples of this ideal case occur. The spectrum of environments
tion of the sediments are controlled both by the type of material that is in which "facies mixing" occurs is broad. These environments include
delivered by storm flows and by the "background" sediment that accu- fore-reef, back-reef, and inter-reef settings of reef tracts (Lewis, 1969;
mulates relatively continuously. In his work on late Precambrian storm Milliman and Summerhayes, 1975), the flanks of carbonate shoal com-
deposits of southern Norway, Tucker (1982) demonstrated that the plexes that shelter siliciclastic lagoons (Selley, 1969), where tidal flats
background sedimentation in deeper subtidal environments consisted and nearshore siliciclastic belts interfinger with deeper subtidal car-
primarily of carbonate mud. Fine-grained quartz sands were transported bonates (Maxwell and Swinchatt, 1970), and in coastal dunes and tidal
from the nearshore into this environment by storm surges. These surges flats that receive eolian contributions of contrasting sediment type
eroded and entrained the carbonate and eventually deposited it with the (Shinn, 1973).
quartz sands in mixed, graded beds. Studies of Paleozoic shelf deposits by However, review of the literature assembled for this study indicates

GEOLOGY, July 1984 433

 that the stratigraphic contacts between major siliciclastic and carbonate draulic sorting and the type of siliciclastic supply remain a principal
lithofacies are usually sharp; the gradational contact, predicted by control. However, as with pure carbonate sediments, the ecology and
Walther's Law, appears to be the exception. The paucity of gradational productivity of carbonate-secreting organisms will also influence texture.
contacts may be due to two facets of shelf deposition: (1) Facies changes This is especially true of in situ mixing, where the burrowing activity of
may have taken place through a fundamental alteration in depositional infauna produces bimodally sorted sediments consisting of coarse skeletal
conditions on the shelf, involving either rapid migration of environments fragments floating in terrigenous muds. The impact of organisms is least
or erosion (for example, the Quaternary record of the Belize shelf; Choi important in punctuated mixing and source mixing, where energetic
and Ginsburg, 1982). (2) The lateral transition between coexisting car- hydraulic processes act to sort and abrade carbonate clasts. In facies
bonate and siliciclastic environments was very abrupt and thus not likely mixing, the importance of organisms is variable, depending upon the
to be preserved as a mixed sediment (as seen in modern sediments of the type of facies that are interacting.
east coast of Nicaragua; Murray et al., 1983). Therefore, in light of their The ecologies of the organisms will also be reflected in the skeletal
scarcity, sediments produced by facies mixing are important to focus on composition of mixed sediments. The work of Lees and Buller (1972)
because they provide a rare record of the interaction between contrasting and Lees (1975) showed that modern carbonates occurring between the
facies during their lateral migration (Ball, 1983). equator and lat 60° can be grouped into three principal categories ac-
cording to their skeletal fraction: (1) a chlorozoan assemblage, dominated
In Situ Mixing by green algae and corals; (2) a chloralgal assemblage, composed mostly
In most siliciclastic shelf environments there is relatively continuous of green algae; and (3) a foramol assemblage, consisting mainly of
production of some carbonate sediment. The carbonate is derived foraminifera and molluscs. Their work documented that salinity and
primarily from the autochthonous or parautochthonous death assem- temperature were the principal controls on the occurrence of these as-
blages of calcareous organisms. The formation of mixed sediments semblages. The chlorozoan assemblage is restricted to areas of moderate
through this process is termed in situ mixing because it involves the local salinity and warm temperature, the chloralgal assemblage occurs in
formation of mixed sediment, rather than lateral transfer from one facies waters of high salinity and warm temperature, and the foramol as-
to another. semblage occurs in a broad range of temperatures and salinities.
In situ mixing occurs most commonly in subtidal, terrigenous Variations in salinity and temperature doubtless play an important
mud-dominated environments. In these settings organisms such as role in the allochem composition of mixed sediments, especially for those
molluscs, foraminifera, bryozoans, brachiopods, echinoderms, and cal- that form in temperate waters or in restricted environments. In contrast,
careous algae are incorporated and mixed with terrigenous mud by the where normal marine conditions prevail in tropical waters, the composi-
action of burrowing organisms and weak tidal or oceanic currents. tion of the mixed sediments is probably controlled by the nature of the
Stronger currents can act to hydraulically segregate the mud from the mixing process. Because reefs occur on siliciclastic substrates (Hubbard,
coarser skeletal grains, producing discrete shell lags that contain little or 1982; Ginsburg et al., 1983), sediments typically associated with reefs
no siliciclastic material. The English Channel, for example, contains both (i.e., the chlorozoan assemblage) will inevitably be incorporated as part
muddy, in situ mixed sediments and bioclastic sands that are a product of mixed sediments. However, the literature reviewed for this paper indi-
of winnowing by tide and wave currents (Larsonneur et al., 1982). cates that the skeletal assemblage that most commonly occurs in mixed
Algal mats and algal stromatolites also contribute to in situ mixing. sediments is the foramol or foramol-like assemblage. Chlorozoan and
The ability of the algae to locally produce calcium carbonate as well as chloralgal assemblages are much rarer. This may indicate that the in-
trap and bind clastic material leads to the formation of mixed sediments hibiting effects of increased turbidity, unstable substrates, and the clog-
in shallow subtidal and intertidal environments. Additionally, the inor- ging of feeding mechanisms select against the more terrigenous-sensitive
ganic precipitation of carbonate cements and partial lithification of sub- chlorozoan and chloralgal assemblages and in favor of the more tolerant
tidal and intertidal sediments may lead to the local formation of mixed foramol assemblage. This appears to be the case for all types of mixing
sediments. Erosion and reworking of these sediments produce carbonate- processes, although sediments produced by punctuated mixing show the
rich intraclasts or intraformational conglomerates with a siliciclastic highest proportion of chlorozoan components and those produced by in
matrix (Sepkoski, 1982). situ mixing show the lowest.
Bioturbation of sediments on many shelves is acting to mix modern
sediments with relict sediments of contrasting composition (Swift et al., CONCLUSIONS
1971). This form of in situ mixing, when preserved in the rock record, is The occurrence of mixed carbonate and siliciclastic sediment ap-
probably difficult to distinguish from the mixing of sediments deposited pears to be quite common in both modern and ancient deposits. In this
contemporaneously. generalized survey I have attempted to show that mixed sediments are
generated by rare storms, by mixing along the margins of contrasting
Source Mixing facies, through the in situ accumulation of calcareous organisms, and by
Occasionally, the uplift and erosion of lithified carbonate terranes the uplift and erosion of carbonate source terranes. This list is not in-
will supply abundant clastic carbonate to shelf depositional systems that tended to be all-inclusive or exclusive; mixed sediments may have formed
would otherwise be dominated by siliciclastic sediments. In source mix- by combinations of these processes or by processes not recognized here.
ing the admixed carbonate reflects nothing of the paleoecological condi- The previous lack of attention to this type of sediment is puzzling.
tions of the shelf. Instead, it is only a product of the composition of the Perhaps the concentration of research efforts on isolated platforms like
source terrane and the effects of erosion, transportation, and deposition. the Bahamas has diverted attention from shelves that have a nearby
An example of this occurs in marginal mari ne deposits of the Mesozoic source of siliciclastic material. In addition, Holocene changes in sea level
Gabriani Formation of eastern Greece (Price, 1977). Mixed clastic mate- and the associated disequilibrium of many siliciclastic-influenced car-
rial was derived from nearby tectonically active source terranes that bonate shelves (Ginsburg and James, 1974) may have led some workers
contained metamorphic basement, quartz arenites, and shallow-marine to regard the abundant mixed sediments of modern shelves as simply
limestones. anomalous and not important for the study of the rock record. Whatever
the cause, the diversity and widespread occurrence of modern and
TEXTURE A N D COMPOSITION OF MIXED SEDIMENTS ancient mixed sediments will probably re veal important information
With the exception of source mixing, the controls on the texture of about the dynamics of shelf facies and their response to changes in sea
mixed sediments are more complex than those for pure sediments. Hy- level, sedimentation rates and regional subsidence (see discussions of

434 GEOLOGY, July 1984 433

Kendall and Schlager, 1981; Walker et al., 1983). Additionally, the Lees, A., 1975, Possible influences of salinity and temperature on modern shelf
characteristics of carbonate platforms have certainly changed with the carbonate sedimentation: Marine Geology, v. 19, p. 159-198.
Lees, A., and Buller, A. T., 1972, Modern temperate water and warm water shelf
evolution of various calcareous taxa (Wilson, 1974; Read, 1982; James
carbonate sediments contrasted: Marine Geology, v. 13, p. 1767-1773.
and Mountjoy, 1983). Have the evolving calcareous biota produced a Lewis, M. S., 1969, Sedimentary environments and unconsolidated carbonate sed-
corresponding evolution of mixed sediments? For example, are Protero- iments of the fringing coral reefs of Mahe, Seychelles: Marine Geology, v. 7,
zoic and Phanerozoic mixed sediments equally distributed, and did mix- p. 95-127.
ing take place in the same ways and in the same environments? Perhaps Markello, J. R., and Read, J. F., 1981, Carbonate ramp-to-deeper shale shelf
transitions of an Upper Cambrian intrashelf basin: Nolichucky Formation,
the analysis of the texture and composition of mixed sediments, as well
southwest Virginia, Appalachians: Sedimentology, v. 28, p. 573-597.
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Mcllreath, I., and Ginsburg, R. N., conveners, 1982, Symposium 27: Mixed
deposition of carbonate and siliciclastic sediments, in Abstracts of papers,
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
mentary Geology, v. 13, p. 161-190.
Research supported by American Chemical Society PRF Grant 13360-G2
Kendall, C. G., and Schlager, W., 1981, Carbonates and relative changes in sea
and National Science Foundation Grant EAR-8212375.1 thank Jennifer Dienger
level: Marine Geology, v. 44, p. 181-212.
for helping to accumulate the basic data for this study and for reviewing the
Kreisa, R. D., 1981, Storm-generated sedimentary structures in subtidal marine fa-
manuscript, Stephen Rowland and Debra Gevirtzman for their suggestions, and
cies with examples from the Middle and Upper Ordovician of southwestern
Johnnie N. Moore and Gerald Friedman for especially helpful reviews.
Virginia: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, v. 51, p. 823-848.
Larsonneur, C., Bouyssee, P., and Auffre, J., 1982, The superficial sediments of
the English Channel and its western approaches: Sedimentology, v. 29, Manuscript received November 29, 1983
p. 851-864. Revised manuscript received March 6, 1984
Leao, A. M., 1982, Living coral reefs surrounded by siliciclastic sediments, Abrol- Manuscript accepted March 13, 1984
hos Bank, Bahia, Brazil, in Abstracts of papers, Eleventh International Con-
gress on Sedimentology: Utrecht, International Association of
Sedimentologists, p. 109.

GEOLOGY, July 1984 Printed in U.S.A. 435