New Paleoenvironmental Insights on the Miocene Condensed Phosphatic Layer of Salento (Southern Italy) Unlocked by the Coral-Mollusc Fossil Archive
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See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322745278 New paleoenvironmental insights on the Miocene condensed phosphatic layer of Salento (southern Italy) unlocked by the coral-mollusc fossil archive Article in Facies · April 2018 DOI: 10.1007/s10347-018-0520-9 CITATIONS 0 5 authors, including: Alessandro Vescogni Agostina Vertino Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia Ghent University 28 PUBLICATIONS 286 CITATIONS 54 PUBLICATIONS 744 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Francesca R. Bosellini Mathias Harzhauser Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia Naturhistorisches Museum Wien 68 PUBLICATIONS 837 CITATIONS 390 PUBLICATIONS 5,769 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Impact of Oligocene-Miocene climate changes on Mongolian mammals View project The evolution of Paratethys: the lost sea of Central Eurasia View project All content following this page was uploaded by Alessandro Vescogni on 06 April 2018. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Facies (2018) 64:7 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-018-0520-9 ORIGINAL ARTICLE New paleoenvironmental insights on the Miocene condensed phosphatic layer of Salento (southern Italy) unlocked by the coral‑mollusc fossil archive Alessandro Vescogni1 · Agostina Vertino2,3 · Francesca R. Bosellini1 · Mathias Harzhauser4 · Oleg Mandic4 Received: 28 July 2017 / Accepted: 5 January 2018 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract From the Late Oligocene to the Late Miocene, the central Mediterranean area was characterized by the extensive deposi- tion of phosphate-rich sediments. They are usually represented by 10 to 20-cm-thick hardgrounds made of phosphatic and glauconitic sediments containing a rich macrofossil association. This study represents the frst thorough investigation of the biotic assemblage of Mediterranean phosphorites aimed at collecting new information on the environmental factors control- ling their deposition. The Serravallian/Tortonian phosphatic deposits of the Salento Peninsula (“Aturia level”) have been selected for the abundance of fossil remains and special attention is given to the coral–mollusc association. Two diferent facies have been recognized: a basal coral rudstone that includes most of the macrofossils, superimposed by a detrital rudstone made of thin layers mainly composed of phosphatic fragments. These two facies are separated by a phosphatic crust several millimeters in thickness. The coral assemblage contains at least 17 azooxanthellate taxa belonging to four families, while the molluscs are represented by a rich gastropod fauna (26 species), associated with bivalves (18 species) and cephalopods (two species). Four distinct depositional phases have been recognized, with the coral rudstone representing the key-facies to reconstruct the onset of the “Aturia level” and the original environment of its fossil content. The composition of the coral– mollusc association has been reliably compared with present-day analog taxa, suggesting the occurrence of a heterogeneous seafoor formed by rocky substrates and accumulations of soft sediment, at around 100–350-m water depth, and under the infuence of moderate-to-strong bottom currents rich in nutrients and resuspended organic matter. Keywords Phosphatic hardground · Az-corals · Molluscs · Miocene · Central Mediterranean Introduction (Serravallian/Tortonian: Giannelli et al. 1965; Bosellini et al. 1999; Bossio et al. 2002; Föllmi et al. 2015), Matese Apen- Phosphoritic deposits are relatively common in the Mediter- nines (Langhian/Serravallian: Carannante 1982), Maiella ranean basin and known from the Malta archipelago (Chat- mountains (Aquitanian/Burdigalian: Mutti et al. 1997), tian/Tortonian: Pedley and Bennett 1985; Jacobs et al. 1996; Latium-Abruzzi Apennines (Tortonian/Messinian: Brandano John et al. 2003; Föllmi et al. 2008), southeastern Sicily et al. 2009) and from Menorca island, toward the boundary (Chattian/Burdigalian: Föllmi et al. 2008), Salento Peninsula * Alessandro Vescogni 1 Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche E Geologiche, [email protected] Università di Modena E Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 103, 41125 Modena, Italy Agostina Vertino [email protected] 2 Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Ambiente e della Terra, Università di Milano-Bicocca, Piazza Della Scienza 4, Francesca R. Bosellini 20126 Milan, Italy [email protected] 3 Department of Geology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan Mathias Harzhauser 281‑S8, 9000 Ghent, Belgium mathias.harzhauser@nhm‑wien.ac.at 4 Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Burgring 7, 1010 Vienna, Oleg Mandic Austria oleg.mandic@nhm‑wien.ac.at Vol.:(0123456789)1 3 7 Page 2 of 21 Facies (2018) 64:7 with the western Mediterranean (lower Tortonian: Brandano of upwelling currents, fowing into the central Mediterra- et al. 2016) (Fig. 1a). nean from the deeper, eastern region of the basin. From the Despite the diferent ages and locations, these depos- Late Oligocene to the Late Miocene, changes in direction its exhibit quite similar stratigraphic, sedimentary, and and intensity of these bottom currents sustained a com- paleontological features: they are usually represented by plex and variable depositional environment, where areas of 10 to 20-cm-thick, sub-horizontal hardgrounds, made of low sedimentation rate, phosphogenesis and formation of phosphatic and glauconitic sediments, arranged in several hardgrounds, alternated in space and time with areas with thin layers separated by erosion surfaces. Macrofossils are prevalent erosion and reworking of the phosphatic frag- very abundant and their assemblage is composed of corals, ments. The study by Föllmi et al. (2015), as well as the other molluscs, echinoderms, brachiopods, bryozoans, and fsh contributions to the knowledge of Mediterranean phospho- teeth, frequently associated with micritic sediments rich in rites, mainly relies on stratigraphic, sedimentary and geo- planktonic foraminifera. Phosphatic pebbles, derived from chemical features, whereas the macrofossil assemblage, the erosion of older portions of the hardground, can also despite its abundance and diversity, has never been analyzed be present in variable quantities. In some areas (e.g., Malta in detail. The main goal of this study is thus a thorough and south-central Apennines) these fragments constitute the investigation, mainly from a paleontological/paleoecologi- total amount of the phosphatic sediments, forming up to 1-m cal perspective, of the phosphatic deposits of the Salento thick layered accumulations (Carannante 1982; Föllmi et al. Peninsula (Fig. 1b). These are named “Aturia level” (AL) 2008). after the common occurrence of small shells of this cepha- In the past decades, the Mediterranean phosphatic depos- lopod genus (Giannelli et al. 1965) and crop out extensively its have been the subject of several studies, mainly aimed to in the southeastern sector of the Peninsula (Bosellini et al. understand the depositional processes and the mechanisms 1999; Bossio et al. 2002; Föllmi et al. 2015). A recent survey leading to phosphogenesis (Carannante 1982; Pedley and has led to the identifcation of a site where a 25-cm-thick Bennett 1985; Jacobs et al. 1996; Bossio et al. 2002; John hardground rests on a sub-horizontal substrate, cropping et al. 2003; Mutti et al. 1997; Brandano et al. 2009, 2016; parallel to the ground level on a surface of several hundreds Föllmi et al. 2008, 2015; Auer et al. 2016). In particular, of square meters. This favorable setting, allowing the study Föllmi et al. (2015) interpreted the formation of these sedi- of large portions of the phosphatic hardground and a sub- ments as associated with the occurrence of a complex system stantial sampling, represents an ideal context for the study Central Mediterranean a N b phosphatic Milan N Lecce deposits IT Marseilles AL Salento Peninsula Y Cursi Otranto 6 5 Porto Rome Badisco 4 Sardin enlarged area Gallipoli Menorca Castro 3 i 7 a Salento Melissano Marittima Ciolo Sicily Gagliano Algiers cove Tunis 2 200 km 20 km Malta Masseria 1 Leuca Cucuruzzi Fig. 1 a Location map of the central Mediterranean phosphatic mountains (Aquitanian/Burdigalian), 6- Latium-Abruzzi Apennines deposits: 1- Malta archipelago (Chattian/Tortonian), 2- southeastern (Tortonian/Messinian), 7- Menorca island (lower Tortonian); ref- Sicily (Chattian/Burdigalian), 3- Salento Peninsula (Serravallian/ erences in the text. b Close-up of the southern Salento Peninsula; Tortonian), 4- Matese Apennines (Langhian/Serravallian), 5- Maiella arrows indicate the studied localities 1 3 Facies (2018) 64:7 Page 3 of 21 7 of the AL macrofossil assemblage. Here we present the frst result, sedimentation was controlled by sea-level oscillations detailed description of the corals and molluscs associations, of moderate amplitude, that only during the Miocene and which constitute the most signifcant and abundant biotic Early Pliocene led to the partial drowning of the inner areas component of the Salento hardground. In addition, given of the platform (Bosellini et al. 1999). This situation created the particular sensitivity of these organisms to changing in on the Salento Peninsula a complex stratigraphic architecture, environmental conditions, new insights on the paleoenviron- well exposed on its south-eastern margin, along the coast mental settings during the time of the phosphorites deposi- from Otranto to Leuca (Fig. 1b). Sedimentation