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Stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Lefkara formation, Cyprus (Palaeogene to early Neogene)

Stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Lefkara formation, Cyprus (Palaeogene to early Neogene)
Stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Lefkara formation, Cyprus (Palaeogene to early Neogene)

The Lefkara Formation in Cyprus, a Tertiary deep water carbonate succession overlying newly formed ocean crust (Troodos ophiolite), has been studied in terms of stratigraphy, depositional environment, sediment transport and provenance, diagenesis and the influence of tectonics on the deposition.

The biostratigraphic work, based on planktonic foraminifera and radiolarians, reveals a Middle Palaeocene to Early Miocene age (P3-N6/7) for the whole succession, with a diachronous onset of the different lithostratigraphic units. Mixing of species from various biozones indicates common reworking.

Micro- and marofacies, faunal and mineralogical studies of the chalks, marls and cherts suggest a deposition of the Lefkara Formation in 2000-3000m water depth, possibly between the CCD and ACD, in a basin margin environment. The sediments were deposited or influenced by pelagic, turbiditic and bottom current processes. An allochthonous component in the sediments was derived from a northern shallow water source (shallow marine organisms) and from neomorphic and weathering processes in perimarine and terrestrial environments (clay minerals palygorskite, sepiolite, smectite, illite, chlorite, clinoptilolite). Sedimentation rates vary between 0.2 and 50m/Ma and consistently reflect differences in sedimentary processes and diagenesis. Most sediments are diagenetically altered and show signs of compaction, pressure-solution, silicification and neomorphism, the degree of which is dependent on the original composition and rate of burial.

Early and Middle Eocene distal biogenic calciturbidites of a basin plain facies were deposited as a carbonate slope apron and were responsible for most of the allochthonous input, with chert developments reflecting times of rapid burial. Lateral changes in turbidite facies indicate a weaker turbidite influence to the west due to a higher topography and a topographic barrier to the north. (DX184243)

University of Southampton
Kähler, Gisela
587336c4-8705-4c16-a5c5-da4c77d590ec
Kähler, Gisela
587336c4-8705-4c16-a5c5-da4c77d590ec

Kähler, Gisela (1994) Stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Lefkara formation, Cyprus (Palaeogene to early Neogene). University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Record type: Thesis (Doctoral)

Abstract

The Lefkara Formation in Cyprus, a Tertiary deep water carbonate succession overlying newly formed ocean crust (Troodos ophiolite), has been studied in terms of stratigraphy, depositional environment, sediment transport and provenance, diagenesis and the influence of tectonics on the deposition.

The biostratigraphic work, based on planktonic foraminifera and radiolarians, reveals a Middle Palaeocene to Early Miocene age (P3-N6/7) for the whole succession, with a diachronous onset of the different lithostratigraphic units. Mixing of species from various biozones indicates common reworking.

Micro- and marofacies, faunal and mineralogical studies of the chalks, marls and cherts suggest a deposition of the Lefkara Formation in 2000-3000m water depth, possibly between the CCD and ACD, in a basin margin environment. The sediments were deposited or influenced by pelagic, turbiditic and bottom current processes. An allochthonous component in the sediments was derived from a northern shallow water source (shallow marine organisms) and from neomorphic and weathering processes in perimarine and terrestrial environments (clay minerals palygorskite, sepiolite, smectite, illite, chlorite, clinoptilolite). Sedimentation rates vary between 0.2 and 50m/Ma and consistently reflect differences in sedimentary processes and diagenesis. Most sediments are diagenetically altered and show signs of compaction, pressure-solution, silicification and neomorphism, the degree of which is dependent on the original composition and rate of burial.

Early and Middle Eocene distal biogenic calciturbidites of a basin plain facies were deposited as a carbonate slope apron and were responsible for most of the allochthonous input, with chert developments reflecting times of rapid burial. Lateral changes in turbidite facies indicate a weaker turbidite influence to the west due to a higher topography and a topographic barrier to the north. (DX184243)

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Published date: 1994

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Local EPrints ID: 458484
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/458484
PURE UUID: 587d05fa-02ca-47fe-98e7-737dc2ffcb1f

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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 16:49
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 18:23

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Author: Gisela Kähler

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