Hydrocarbon seeps from close to the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary, Svalbard

Hammer, Øyvind, Nakrem, Hans A., Little, Crispin T.S., Hryniewicz, Krzysztof, Sandy, Michael, Hurum, Jørn H., Druckenmiller, Patrick, Knutsen, Espen, and Høyberget, Magne (2011) Hydrocarbon seeps from close to the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary, Svalbard. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 306 (1-2). pp. 15-26.

[img]
Preview
PDF (Published Version) - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives.

Download (3MB) | Preview
View at Publisher Website: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2011.03...
 
92
969


Abstract

Fifteen carbonate bodies, interpreted as having been formed at hydrocarbon seeps, have been found in the Sassenfjorden area of Spitsbergen, Svalbard. The bodies, up to 5 m wide, are found in the siltstones and mudstones of the uppermost Slottsmøya Member, in the Upper Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous Agardhfjellet Formation. The age of the seeps is close to the Volgian–Ryazanian (Jurassic–Cretaceous) boundary, and the Mjølnir impact event in the Barents Sea. The Sassenfjorden area carbonates show complex and heterogeneous structures typical of hydrocarbon seeps, including zoned (botryoidal) cement textures, fissure-infilling sparite, and breccias. Stable isotope analyses show highly negative δ13C values (down to ca. −43‰ VPDB) in the zoned carbonate cements, consistent with authigenic precipitation in a hydrocarbon-rich environment. Oxygen isotopes indicate secondary hydrothermal activity. The species-rich, well-preserved fauna includes at least 13 species of small to medium sized bivalves, some of which are abundant, as well as rarer rhynchonelliform and lingulid brachiopods, gastropods, echinoderms, sponges, and serpulid and probable vestimentiferan worm tubes. Although several bivalves (solemyids, lucinids, and probably Thyasira and Nucinella) had chemosymbionts, the Sassenfjorden seep fauna contains few, if any, seep obligate taxa, consistent with formation in a relatively shallow-water paleoenvironment. The seeps contain the earliest record of thyasirid bivalves, and a species-rich (six) brachiopod fauna including the first lingulid recorded in a seep environment. Ammonites, belemnites and large wood fragments represent ex situ fossils in the seep carbonate bodies.

Item ID: 49588
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1872-616X
Keywords: hydrocarbon seeps; carbonates; Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary; bivalves; brachiopods; Spitsbergen
Additional Information:

This is an open access article published under a CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 license.

Funders: Norwegian Research Council (NRC), Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, Spitsbergen Travel, ExxonMobil, Fugro, Statoil, OMV, Powercontrols, Hydro, National Geographic Society (NGS)
Projects and Grants: NGS grant EC0425-09, NGS grant EC0435-09
Date Deposited: 17 Jul 2017 04:50
FoR Codes: 04 EARTH SCIENCES > 0403 Geology > 040308 Palaeontology (incl Palynology) @ 50%
04 EARTH SCIENCES > 0403 Geology > 040310 Sedimentology @ 30%
04 EARTH SCIENCES > 0403 Geology > 040305 Marine Geoscience @ 20%
SEO Codes: 97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970104 Expanding Knowledge in the Earth Sciences @ 100%
Downloads: Total: 969
Last 12 Months: 87
More Statistics

Actions (Repository Staff Only)

Item Control Page Item Control Page