Cotillon, Pierre; Rio, Michel (1984): Calcium carbonate, isotopes and Rock-Eval pyrolysis at DSDP Holes 77-535 and 77-540 [dataset publication series]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.809136, Supplement to: Cotillon, P; Rio, M (1984): Cyclic sedimentation in the Cretaceous of Deep Sea Drilling Project Sites 535 and 540 (Gulf of Mexico), 534 (Central Atlantic), and in the Vocontian Basin (France). In: Buffler, RT; Schlager, W; et al. (eds.), Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, Washington (U.S. Govt. Printing Office), 77, 339-376, https://doi.org/10.2973/dsdp.proc.77.106.1984
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Abstract:
At DSDP Sites 534 (Central Atlantic) and 535 and 540 (Gulf of Mexico), and in the Vocontian Basin (France), Lower Cretaceous deposits show a very pronounced alternation of limestone and marl. This rhythm characterizes the pelagic background sedimentation and is independent of detritic intercalations related to contour and turbidity currents.
Bed-scale cycles, estimated to be 6000-26,000 yr. long, comprise major and minor units. Their biological and mineralogic components, burrowing, heavy isotopes C and O, and some geochemical indicators, vary in close correlation with CaCO3 content. Vertical changes of frequency and asymmetry of the cycles are connected with fluctuations of the sedimentation rate. Plots of cycle thickness ("cyclograms") permit detailed correlations of the three areas and improve the stratigraphic subdivision of Neocomian deposits at the DSDP sites.
Small-scale alternations, only observed in DSDP cores, comprise centimetric to millimetric banding and millimetric to micrometric lamination, here interpreted as varvelike alternations between laminae that are rich in calcareous plankton and others rich in clay. The laminations are estimated to correspond to cycles approximately 1,3, and 13 yr. in duration.
The cyclic patterns appear to be governed by an interplay of continental and oceanic processes. Oceanic controls express themselves in variations of the biogenic carbonate flux, which depends on variations of such elements as temperature, oxygenation, salinity, and nutrient content. Continental controls modulate the influxes of terrigenous material, organic matter, and nutrients derived from cyclic erosion on land.
Among the possible causes of cyclic sedimentation, episodic carbonate dissolution has been ruled out in favor of climatic fluctuations with a large range of periods. Such fluctuations are consistent with the great geographic extension shown by alternation controls and with the continuous spectrum of scales that characterizes limestone-marl cycles. The climatic variations induced by the Earth's orbital parameters (Milankovitch cycles) could be connected to bed-interbed alternations.
Project(s):
Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP)
Coverage:
Median Latitude: 23.748267 * Median Longitude: -84.467733 * South-bound Latitude: 23.708000 * West-bound Longitude: -84.516200 * North-bound Latitude: 23.828800 * East-bound Longitude: -84.370800
Date/Time Start: 1980-12-29T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 1981-01-19T00:00:00
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC-BY-3.0)
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3 datasets
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Datasets listed in this publication series
- Cotillon, P; Rio, M (1984): (Appendix A) Calcium carbonate at DSDP Holes 77-535 and 77-540. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.809132
- Cotillon, P; Rio, M (1984): (Appendix B) Oxygen and carbon isotope composition at DSDP Holes 77-535 and 77-540. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.809133
- Cotillon, P; Rio, M (1984): (Appendix C) Carbonate, organic carbon, and Rock-Eval pyrolysis at DSDP Hole 77-535. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.809134