Triassic Pelagic Deposits of Timor: Palaeogeographic and Sea-Level Implications
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Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 160 (2000) 123–151 www.elsevier.nl/locate/palaeo Triassic pelagic deposits of Timor: palaeogeographic and sea-level implications R. Martini a,*, L. Zaninetti a, M. Villeneuve b, J.-J. Corne´e b, L. Krystyn c, S. Cirilli d, P. De Wever e, P. Dumitrica e, A. Harsolumakso f a De´p. de Ge´ologie et Pale´ontologie, Univ. of Geneva, 13 rue des Maraıˆchers, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland b CNRS UPRESA 6019, Univ. de Provence, 13331 Marseille Cedex 03, France c Institute for Paleontology, Univ. of Vienna, 14 Althanstrasse, 1090 Vienna, Austria d Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Univ. of Perugia, 4 piazza Universita`, 06100 Perugia, Italy e Laboratoire de Ge´ologie, Muse´um National d’Histoire Naturelle, 43 rue BuVon, 75005 Paris, France f Department of Geology, Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB), Jalan Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia Received 10 December 1998; received in revised form 5 August 1999; accepted for publication 13 January 2000 Abstract In West Timor, Triassic deposits are found in the Parautochthonous Complex, as well as in the Allochthonous series of Sonnebait. A detailed biostratigraphic investigation, integrating field observations and facies analysis, allowed the reconstruction of a synthetic lithostratigraphic succession for the Upper Triassic; a stratigraphic transition from Carnian shales to Upper Norian–Rhaetian limestones is also shown by this study. The fossil content predominantly originates from an open marine environment; lithostratigraphic Units A–E are dated on the basis of radiolaria and palynomorphs, and Unit H, on ammonites and conodonts. The presence of pelagic bioclasts, together with normal grading, horizontal laminations, and current ripples, is indicative of a distal slope to basin environment. The ammonite rich condensed limestone of Unit H was deposited on a ‘pelagic carbonate plateau’ exposed to storms and currents. The organic facies have been used as criteria for biostratigraphy, palaeoenvironmental interpretation, and sequence stratigraphy. The palaeontological analysis of the Triassic succession of West Timor is based on the investigation of radiolaria and palynomorphs, in the marls and limestones of Units A–E, and also on ammonites and conodonts in the condensed limestone of Unit H. Units A and B are Carnian (Cordevolian) in age, based on the occurrence of the palynomorph Camerosporites secatus, associated with ‘Lueckisporites’ cf. singhii, Vallasporites ignacii, Patinosporites densus and Partitisporites novimundanus. Unit C is considered as Norian, on the basis of a relatively high percentage of Gliscopollis meyeriana and Granuloperculatipollis rudis. Unit D contains significant palynomorphs and radiolaria; the organic facies, characterized by marine elements, is dominated by the Norian dinocysts Heibergella salebrosacea and Heibergella aculeata; the radiolaria confirm the Norian age. They range from the lowermost Norian to the lower Upper Norian. Unit E also contains radiolaria, associated in the upper part with the well-known marker of the Upper Norian, Monotis salinaria. For Unit E, the radiolaria attest to a Lower to Upper Norian age based on the occurrence of Capnodoce and abundant Capnuchosphaera; the upper part is Upper Norian to Rhaetian based on the presence of Livarella valida. Finally, the blocks of condensed limestone with ammonites and conodonts of Unit H allowed the reconstruction of a synthetic stratigraphic succession of Upper Carnian to Upper Norian age. Our stratigraphic data * Corresponding author. Fax: +41-22-320-57-32. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (R. Martini), [email protected] (M. Villeneuve), [email protected] (L. Krystyn), [email protected] (S. Cirilli), [email protected] (P. De Wever) 0031-0182/00/$ - see front matter © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S0031-0182(00)00062-6 124 R. Martini et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 160 (2000) 123–151 lead to the suggestion that the Allochthonous complex, classically interpreted as a tectonic melange of the accretionary prism of the Island Arc of Banda, is a tectonically dismembered part of a Triassic lithostratigraphic succession. © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Ammonoidea; Conodonta; palynomorphs; radiolaria; sedimentology; Timor; Triassic 1. Introduction cal complex of Banda (Fig. 1). Two major geody- namic events are identified: Timor has been considered by previous authors $ the obduction of ophiolitic, metamorphic, and to be part of the Northern Australian margin sedimentary material, known as the (Northeastern Gondwana), during Palaeozoic and Allochthonous complex, on the Australian Early Mesozoic times, before the Middle Jurassic margin in the Late Oligocene, or Early Miocene fragmentation and Cretaceous drifting to the (Sopaheluwakan, 1990); North of the Gondwana marginal fragments. $ the collision, in the Lower Pliocene, between The Permian and Triassic of Timor have long the Australian margin and the volcanic arc of been known because of the abundance and quality Banda (Harsolumakso, 1993; Charlton and of the macrofauna, mostly ammonites, bivalves, and Wall, 1994); this explains the fore-arc position brachiopods (Rothpletz, 1892; Wanner, 1907, 1913, of Timor with respect to the island arc of Banda 1932; Welter, 1914, 1915, 1922; Haniel, 1915; (Fig. 1). Krumbek, 1921; Diener, 1923; Krumbek, 1924; From a structural point of view, the island of Smith, 1927; Grunau, 1953; Krystyn and Siblik, Timor is classically subdivided into three tectonic 1983; Krystyn and Wiedmann, 1986; Cook et al., complexes (Grunau, 1953; De Ward, 1957; 1987; Archbold and Barkham, 1989). Nevertheless, Gageonnet and Lemoine, 1958; Lemoine, 1959; despite the comparatively high number of outcrops, Audley-Charles, 1968; Barber et al., 1977; Rosidi the Triassic deposits of Timor remain poorly et al., 1979; Charlton, 1987; Bird and Cook, 1991; described, at least as far as sedimentology and Harsolumakso, 1993; Sawyer et al., 1993) (Fig. 2): micropaleontology are concerned. This is mostly due $ The Parautochthonous complex, essentially to the tectonic fragmentation of the series, and also composed of thick sedimentary deposits of to the monotony of the dominant basinal Triassic Permian to Oligo-Miocene age. This complex, carbonate facies with radiolaria and filaments. referred to the Australian passive margin, is Our geological research since 1990 in the Allochthonous and Parautochthonous complexes represented by the Kolbano formation of Timor allowed the identification and dating of (Charlton and Wall, 1994) at the extreme south the diVerent Triassic lithological units, especially of the island, the series of Kekneno to the NW the limestones, and reconstruction of a synthetic (Bird and Cook, 1991), and the formations of stratigraphic succession. The analysis of the the NE part of the island (Gageonnet and Triassic depositional conditions and fossil content Lemoine, 1958). is also fundamental for future comparisons with $ The Allochthonous complex, of unknown the Northeastern Gondwana margin and the origin, represented by exotic nappes made of microcontinents of East Indonesia, such as the Jurassic to Oligocene ophiolitic, metamorphic recently defined Banda and Lucipara blocks and sedimentary rocks. The series of Sonnebait (Martini et al., 1997; Villeneuve et al., 1998). (or Bobonaro Scaly Clay), composed of Permian to Oligo-Miocene sedimentary forma- tions, are also part of the Allochthonous; they 2. Geological setting are classically interpreted as the tectonic melange of the accretionary prism of the island The island of Timor is the result of a collision arc of Banda. between the Australian continent and the geologi- $ The Autochthonous complex, which consists of R. Martini et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 160 (2000) 123–151 125 Fig. 1. Location map of the Island of Timor in the Volcanic arc of Banda. Lower Miocene to Recent detritic and volcano- (Rosidi et al., 1979), or in more detail in smaller sedimentary deposits, accumulated after the localities, or short stratigraphic intervals (Gageonnet Oligocene obduction of the Allochthonous and Lemoine, 1958; Audley-Charles, 1968; Kristan- complex on the Australian margin. The Tollmann et al., 1987; Bird and Cook, 1991). Most Autochthonous is essentially represented in the of the studied series are located in anticlines of the central basin of Timor. Parautochthonous Complex, such as the Cribas Mountain in Eastern Timor (Gageonnet and Lemoine, 1958), or the Kekneno (Cook et al., 1987) 3. Triassic in West Timor and Kolbano Mountains (Charlton, 1987; Charlton and Wall, 1994), to the SW. Triassic deposits are found in the In the so-called tectonic melange of the Parautochthonous complex, as well as in the Allochthonous (Sonnebait series), the geological Allochthonous series of Sonnebait. The facies of data concerning the Triassic are far less abundant. the two series are monotonous: they are of the Rosidi et al. (1979) restudied the Triassic while flysch type in the Parautochthonous complex, and establishing the geological map of West Timor to calcareous in the Allochthonous, pelagic in origin the 1:250 000 scale. Charlton (1987) studied in with radiolaria and filaments. Characteristic detail five small areas close to the south coast of Triassic radiolaritic limestones and nodular lime- the island, while Harsolumakso et al. (1995) stones are very common in tectonic subunits or improved the stratigraphy of the Sonnebait