Petrologic characteristics and genesis of dolostone from the Campanian of the SK-I Well Core in the Songliao Basin, China

Abstract

The well SK-I in the Songliao Basin is the first scientific borehole targeting the continental Cretaceous strata in China. Oval concretions, thin laminae and beds of dolostone are found intercalated within mudstone and organic-rich black shale in the Nenjiang Formation of Campanian age. Low ordered ferruginous dolomite is composed of euhedral–subhedral rhombs with cloudy nucleus and light rims formed during the diagenesis, which are typical features of replacement. The heavy carbon isotopes (δ¹³C_PDB – 1.16–16.0) are results of both the fermentation of organic matter by microbes and degassing of carbon dioxide during the period of diagenesis, and the presence of light oxygen isotopes (δ¹⁸O_PDB – 18.53∼−5.1) is a characteristic feature of fresh water influence which means the carbonate may have been altered by ground water or rainwater in the late diagenesis. Marine water incursions into the normally lacustrine basin have been proved by both the salinity of Z value and the occurrence of foraminifera in the same strata where dolomite occurs. Pyrite framboids observed by SEM are usually enclosed in the dolomite crystals or in the mudstones, supporting the sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB). The formation of both dolomite and pyrite are associated with marine water incursions, which not only supply magnesium ion for dolomite, but also result in limited carbonate precipitation in the basin. The presence of pyrite framboids indicates the development of an anoxic environment associated with salinity stratification in the lake. The dolomite in the Nenjiang Formation is the results of marine water incursions, diagenetic replacement of calcareous carbonate and sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB).