Investigating the characteristics of “Calcite eyes” in large benthic foraminifera of the Aptian-Albian carbonate deposits, North and Southwest Neo-Tethys Ocean

Document Type : مقالات پژوهشی

Authors

• Seyyed Mohammad Ali Musavizadeh
• Gholamreza Tajbakhsh

Assistant Professor, Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

10.22067/sed.facies.v13i1.86984

Abstract

Introduction
The Zagros structural zone has undergone part of its evolution and sedimentation trend during the Cretaceous on the northwestern margin of a vast carbonate platform called the Arabian Plate (Sharland et al. 2001; Ziegler, 2001). Darian Formation Lower Cretaceous in age (Aptian-Albain) (Schroeder et al. 2010) is the last formation of the Khami group named by James & Wynd (1965) and is important in terms of hydrocarbon reservoir potential (Habibi et al., 1994; Rahmani et al., 2010). An essential feature of the Darian Formation is the abundance of different species of orbitolina, so that at the beginning of studies, this formation is named "Orbitolina limestone" (James & Wynd, 1965). The study of benthic foraminifers in carbonate sediments of the Dariyan Formation revealed round to oval subjects in Orbitolina tests. Since these subjects have been field by sparry calcite cement, known as “calcite eyes” (Galloway 1933; Schroeder & Cherchi 1979), various theories have been proposed about the mechanism and cause of the formation of "calcite eyes" (Colom, 1955; Mohammed, 1996). The present study tries to provide a report on the characteristics of calcite springs and the process of their changes in terms of frequency, size, and dispersion in Darian Formation sediments. In the following, the hypotheses about the formation mechanism of these structures are examined.
 
Materials and Methods
Banesh and Sangsiah stratigraphic sections were selected based on geological maps. Total 351 samples were collected and named according to Dunham (1962) classification for carbonate rocks. Different species of “calcite eyes” were identified based on Haslett (1992) and Schlagintwait (2007). To investigate the relationship between calcite eyes and adaptive reactions of Orbitolina to the environmental condition such as low oxygen states, the abundance trend of calcite eyes was correlated with early Aptian oceanic anoxic event (OAE1a) (Moosavizadeh et al. 2014) interval.
 
Discussion
Because there are still uncertainties about the mechanism for the formation of these structures, the present study tries to compare the morphology, frequency, and distribution of "calcite eyes" in Orbitolina, the sedimentation, and paleoecological conditions during the formation of sediments of the Daryian Formation with the processes discussed concerning the formation of "calcite eyes" and the best mechanism to specify. The structural features of "calcite springs" include morphology, their position on the orbitolina tests, and their stratigraphic distribution. These structures are seen in two main forms, spherical and oval shapes. However, boring in these two forms has caused irregular shapes in these structures. In terms of stratigraphy, these structures are abundant in the Upper Aptian sediments and are simultaneous with highstand facies of the seawater. On the other hand, in terms of abundant facies and magnificence, "calcite springs" have been observed in elongated orbitolina related to orbitolina rudestone of open marine setting.
 
Conclusion
Investigation in orbitolina of the carbonate sediments of the Dariyan formation revealed the existence of round to oval subjects called "calcite eyes". Examining the structural properties and based on the evidence available, it was found that these objects cannot be created as a result of an adaptive response to environmental changes, and these are, in fact, sponge spicules that form as foreign objects in the tests of benthic foraminifers in the Dariyan formation.
 
Acknowledgment
We want to express our gratitude to Dr. Felix Shclagintweit and Dr. Kurosh Rashidi for their help in providing some references.
 
References
Colom, G. 1955. Jurassic-Cretaceous pelagic sediments of the western Mediterranean zone and Atlantic area. Micropaleontology, 1(2): 109-124.
Dunham, R.J., 1962. Classification of carbonate rocks according to depositional texture. In: Ham, W.E. (ed.), Classification of Carbonate Rocks. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir, 1: 108-121.
Galloway, J.J., 1933. A manual of Foraminifera. Bloomington, Indiana. 1883 p.
Habibi, F., Feiznia, S., & Barzegar, F., 1994. Stratigraphy, sedimentology and reservoir evolution of Upper Dariyan -Kazhdumi Tongue- Lower Dariyan and Gadvan Formations in Dezful South area. National Iranian Oil Company, Unpublished Report.
James, G., & Wynd, J., 1965. Stratigraphic nomenclature of Iranian oil consortium agreement area. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 49: 2245-2182.
Mohammed, M.U., 2016. Micropaleontological aspects of the "Calcite Eyes" phenomenon in the family Orbitolinidae. Iraqi Journal of Science, 57 (2): 1462-1468.
Moosavizadeh, M.A., Mahboubi, A., Moussavi-Harami, R., Kavoosi, M.A., & Schlaginitweit, F., 2015. Sequence stratigraphy and platform to basin margin facies transition of the Lower Cretaceous Dariyan Formation (northeastern Arabian Plate, Zagros Fold Belt, Iran). Bulletin of Geosciences, 90: 145–172.
Rahmani, O., Aali, J., Mohseni, H., Rahimpour-Bonab, H., & Zalaghaie, S., 2010. Organic geochemistry of Gadvan and Kazhdumi formations (Cretaceous (in South Pars field, Persian Gulf, Iran. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 70: 57-66.
Schlagintweit, F., Auer, M., & Gawlick, H., 2007. Reophax? rhaxelloides n. sp., a new benthic foraminifer from Late Jurassic reefal limestones of the Northern Calcareous Alps (Austria). Journal of Alpine Geology, 48, 57-69.
Schroeder, R., & Cherchi, A. 1979. Upper Barremian–Lowermost Aptian Orbitolinid Foraminifers from the Grand Banks Continental Rise, Northwestern Atlantic (DSDP Leg 43, Site 384). In: Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, 43: 575-583.
Schroeder, R., Van Buchem, F., Cherchi, A., Baghbani, D., Vincent, B., Immenhauser, A., & Granier, B., 2010. Revised orbitolinid biostratigraphic zonation for the Barremian–Aptian of the eastern Arabian Plate and implications for regional stratigraphic correlations. GeoArabia, Special Publication, 4: 49-96.
Sharland, P.R., Archer, R., Casey, D.M., Davies, R.B., Hall, S.H., Heward, A.P., Horbury, A.D., & Simmon, M.D., 2001. Arabian Plate sequence stratigraphy. GeoArabia, Special Publication 2: 322-371.
Ziegler, M.A., 2001. Late Permian to Holocene paleofacies evolution of the Arabian Plate and its
hydrocarbon occurrences. Geoarabia, 6: 445-504.

Keywords

• Calcite eyes
• Dariyan Formation
• Large benthic foraminifera
• Orbitolina
• Spongespicules

Main Subjects

• Microfacies and Sedimentary Environments

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