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Paralic Sedimentation on an Epicontinental Ramp Shelf During a Full Cycle of Relative Sea-Level Fluctuation

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Paralic Sedimentation on an Epicontinental Ramp Shelf During a Full Cycle of Relative Sea-Level Fluctuation NORWEGIAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY Paralic sedimentation on an epicontinental ramp shelf 343 Paralic sedimentation on an epicontinental ramp shelf during a full cycle of relative sea-level fluctuation; the Helvetiafjellet Formation in Nordenskiöld Land, Spitsbergen Ivar Midtkandal, Johan Petter Nystuen and Jenö Nagy Ivar Midtkandal, Johan Petter Nystuen & Jenö Nagy. Norwegian Journal of Geology, vol. 87, pp. 343-359.Trondheim 2007. ISSN 029-196X. A depositional model for the development of the Helvetiafjellet Formation in Nordenskiöld Land, Spitsbergen is presented. The formation was deposited into a segment of the large epicontinental Boreal basin that rimmed northern Pangaea during the Early Cretaceous. A wide range of depositional subenvironments are recorded within the succession; including fluvial braidplain, shallow marine bay, delta, coastal plain and fluvial channel. The depositional model approaches a layer-cake style for this part of the basin, caused by the rapid rates of progradation and retrograda- tion made possible by the gentle depositional gradient. An initial period of fluvial deposition arose in response to an early rise in relative sea-level. Following a regional flooding, the progradational to aggradational architecture in the area reflects a balanced rate of increase in accommodation vs. rate of sedimentation (A/S) ratio. This resulted in a heterolithic stacking of sandstone and mudstone. Autogenic variables are thought to have domi- nated the lateral facies variations recorded in the upper and middle parts of the succession. Ivar Midtkandal ([email protected]), Johan Petter Nystuen ([email protected],) Jenö Nagy ([email protected]). Department of Geoscien- ces, University of Oslo, P.O Box 1047 Blindern, NO-0316 Oslo Norway Introduction vial, tidal and wave-induced currents. Autogenic variables such as river avulsions and delta lobe shifts, together with Basin physiography is a major factor controlling sedi- variation in sedimentary regime parameters may con- mentary infill patterns. The relative influence of basin tribute to lateral, as well as vertical variation in deposi- physiography varies between different basin types; tec- tional environment and facies (Swift & Thorne 1991). tonically active or passive, deep or shallow, large or small (Allen & Allen 2005). The present study deals with sedi- The relative influence of allogenic and autogenic fac- ment infill and variation in facies and sedimentary archi- tors on the depositional architectural style is considered tecture in an epicontinental basin with a low-sloping, important in very low-sloping ramp shelf basins, as it wide ramp shelf setting dominated by paralic deposi- influences modelling procedures significantly for this tional environments. type of sedimentary succession. The horizontal scale of variation in depositional architectural elements is fur- The bathymetric profile of an epicontinental basin gen- thermore considered particularly crucial for modelling erally shows a gradual deepening towards the basin cen- epicontinental basin successions, as emphasised for other tre. Shelf breaks may be absent or only weakly developed. types of depositional environments (Miall 1988; Walker However, any topography inherited from the submerged 1992). Modelling studies have also shown that a wide continental plate of such a basin can potentially affect variety of depositional styles may develop with identical drainage and depositional architecture (Fagherazzi et al. sea-level, tectonic and sediment supply histories (Carey 2004). Slope gradients may be an inherited property, or et al. 1999). This complicates any attempt to reconstruct may be caused by tectonic activity during basin devel- sedimentary relationships in basin settings with very low opment. Variations in relative sea-level on low-gradi- resolution of the depositional relief. ent shelves may give rise to long-distance basinward or landward shifts in facies, coupled with total emergence Several large epicontinental basins developed as a result or complete submergence of the shelf. Moderate, high- of a global sea-level rise during the Cretaceous (Grocke frequent sea-level variations do not necessarily cause sig- et al. 2003). One of these was the Boreal basin at the nificant changes in overall facies stacking patterns, due to northern margin of Pangaea, predating the opening of the relatively constant basin floor gradient and tectonic the Polar basin and the northeasternmost Atlantic in the stability of the shelf area. Minor fluctuations in sea-level Late Cretaceous to Early Cenozoic (Torsvik et al. 2002). may trigger changes in coastal morphology, and varia- The object of the present study is to describe deposi- tions in relative impact on sediment partitioning by flu- tional patterns and facies variation within the Barremian 344 I. Midtkandal et al. NORWEGIAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY N n=124 W E Kong Karls Land mean=138˚ SPITSBERGEN S 78 22’ 08’’ Sassenfjorden Janus- 1 fjellet 138˚ Wimanfjellet Criocerasaksla Konusen Log trace Forkastnings- positions fjellet 2 Hanaskogdalen 15 20’ 15 20’ 15 40’ Nordenskiold 500 m Land 250 m Longyearbyen 1000 m Helvetiafjellet 3 km N 78 10’ 15’’ Section 1, Fig. 5 Section 2, Fig. 6 100 m 1 Km Sassenfjorden log traces Hanaskogdalen Fig. 1. Map of Svalbard with the studied field area in central Spitsbergen enlarged. The profiles marked by 1 and 2 correspond to Figs. 5 and 6, respectively and illustrate the difference in scales between the two correlation panels. The rose diagram shows the palaeocurrent directions for the area, with a mean direction of 138˚. Helvetiafjellet Formation of Spitsbergen. This formation Geologic framework and depositional developed in a fluvial to paralic setting during a period models of the Helvetiafjellet Formation of fall and rise in relative sea-level at the ramp margin of the Boreal epicontinental basin in the Svalbard domain. Vertical stacking patterns and lateral variations in facies The study area lies in Nordenskiöld Land on Spitsber- associations, as controlled by processes and factors men- gen, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, Nor- tioned above, form the central theme of this paper. way. Here, several hundred meters of Mesozoic strata are intermittently exposed. Svalbard was located at roughly 60˚N in the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (Steel & Worsley 1984; Torsvik et al. 2002), and formed part of NORWEGIAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY Paralic sedimentation on an epicontinental ramp shelf 345 the Boreal basin, which also included the Sverdrup Basin, overlies an up to 800 m thick mudstone-rich interval, the Alaskan Basin and basins at northern Greenland. the Janusfjellet Subgroup (Fig. 2). The Rurikfjellet For- The area was a shallow epicontinental sea (Harland et al. mation (Parker 1967), being the upper mudstone unit 1984; Torsvik et al. 2002; Nagy 1970), with a low-angle, in this subgroup, was deposited under open marine oxic gradually deepening shelf from shoreline to basin centre. shelf conditions. In its upper part, the Rurikfjellet For- The Boreal basin was, during the Early Cretaceous, mation generally shallows upwards through repeated sets affected by tectonic and magmatic processes associ- of upward-coarsening parasequences of shore-face and ated with the development of a Large Igneous Province delta lobe deposits (Dypvik 1980; Dypvik 1985; Dypvik (LIP) to the north and east, with subaerial lava flows et al. 1991; Mørk et al. 1999). The boundary towards interfingering with Helvetiafjellet Formation sands on the overlying Helvetiafjellet Formation has been a mat- Kong Karls Land (Mørk et al. 1999; Maher 1999). This ter of discussion and is of critical importance for the is a small group of islands about 100 km offshore eastern depositional system of the Helvetiafjellet Formation (see Spitsbergen, exposing the easternmost exposures of the below). Stratigraphically above the Helvetiafjellet Forma- formation (Fig. 1). Volcanic ashes (bentonites) have been tion, the Carolinefjellet Formation (Parker 1967; Nagy recorded in the upper part of the Helvetiafjellet Forma- 1970; Mørk et al. 1999) was deposited after a regional tion at Festningen, western Spitsbergen (Pers. comm. transgression that brought about a return to the condi- Hans Amundsen, Physics of Geological Processes, Uni- tions of an open marine shelf environment. versity of Oslo) and elsewhere in Spitsbergen (Mørk et al. 1999). Dolerite sills intruded the underlying shale suc- Several studies discuss the Helvetiafjellet Formation, its cession (the Janusfjellet Subgroup) in eastern Spitsber- stratigraphy, facies and depositional conditions (Róžycki gen in the Barremian, possibly during the development 1959; Parker 1967; Birkenmajer 1975; Edwards 1976; of the Helvetiafjellet Formation (Miloslavskij et al. 1992). Steel 1977; Edwards 1978; Steel et al. 1978; Edwards 1979; During the Barremian, the climate was humid, support- Edwards et al. 1979; Nemec et al. 1988a, b; Grosfjeld 1992; ing peat (coal) accumulation and a dinosaur population Nemec 1992; Nøttvedt et al. 1992; Gjelberg & Steel 1995; (Nøttvedt et al. 1992; Hurum et al. 2006). Temperature Prestholm & Walderhaug 2000; Steel et al. 2001; Maher et gradients were low, and did not change much during al. 2002; Midtkandal 2002; Maher et al. 2004; Ahokas et the Barremian stages (Fischer 1981; Ziegler et al. 1987; al. 2005; Midtkandal et al. 2005). Nemec 1992). The Helvetiafjellet Formation was named in a description The Helvetiafjellet Formation is a 12-155 m thick shallow- of the Jurassic and Cretaceous
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