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Late Aptian carbonate platform evolution and controls (south Tethys, Tunisia): response to sea-level oscillations, palaeo-environmental changes and climate

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Abstract

The late Aptian Lower Serdj Formation (LSF) in the Northern Atlas of Tunisia records a mixed carbonate–siliciclastic system from the southern margin of Tethys. Sedimentological investigations of key sections in the Serdj-Bargou area along a NE–SW-platform-to-basin profile reveal five shallow-marine carbonate units (Cu1, Cu2, Cu3, Cu4a and Cu4b), dominated by subtidal deposits, separated by four terrigenous units (T1, T2, T3, T3a). Twelve basic facies are grouped into six facies associations or zones (FZA to FZF), representing particular palaeo-environments from proximal to distal settings. Carbonate units Cu1, Cu2 and Cu4a are dominated by coral algal-Orbitolina facies representative of a homoclinal ramp. However, units Cu3 and Cu4b are dominated by high-energy oolitic facies of a shoaled ramp. The terrigenous deposits (T1 to T4) are dominated by siliciclastics with shale, sandstone/siltstone and marl and have mostly been assigned to off-platform to basinal environments (FZF). The vertical facies changes are closely related to amplitudes of sea-level fluctuations and late Aptian Tethyan climatic perturbations. The terrigenous units were the result of short cooling periods and a humid climate. Moreover, this climate favoured the development of tide-influenced oolitic shoals, with the nuclei of ooids formed by fine quartz grains. Both the oolitic and siliciclastic deposits reflect episodes of maximum platform progradation basin-ward at a time of low accommodation space through the late Aptian period. Overall the new stratigraphic dataset from the southern Tethys margin is interpreted as reflecting the global Late Aptian cooling episode and sea-level lowstand.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is a part of the first author’s PhD thesis (LR18ES07, Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Tunis El Manar). We would like to thank the Tunisian Oil Campany (ETAP) for providing the logistical support for this project. We are grateful to the Editor-in-Chief Maurice Tucker and to Bernard Pittet and J Josep A. Moreno Bedmar, for their extremely helpful comments and detailed reviews that greatly improved the original manuscript. We are grateful to Dr. D. J. Salmouna for the English revision that improved the quality of the first draft of the manuscript. The first author of this work warmly thanks Dr. Robert W. Scott from Oklahoma University (USA) who provided valuable comments and corrections to the early version of the manuscript. Assistance in the field by H. Sayari, A. Hedfi and A. Bechellaoui are very much appreciated.

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  1. Faculty of Sciences, Department of Geology, University of Tunis El Manar, LR18ES07, P. C, 2092, Tunis, Tunisia

    Najeh Ben Chaabane & Mohamed Soussi

  2. Tunisian Oil Company (ETAP), 54 Street Mohamed V, 1002, Tunis, Tunisia

    Fares Khemiri & Ilef Belhaj Taher

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  1. Najeh Ben Chaabane
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Contributions

NBC led the research as well as detailed knowledge on the research target and discussions. NBC wrote the manuscript and created the figures. NBC and FK logged the field sections. FK greatly improved the manuscript and the figures during the revision round, and aided fieldwork planning and logistics. MS contributed significantly to the first steps of scientific progress of the research. IBHT provided knowledge on some stratigraphic questions. All the authors contributed to insightful discussions that formed this article.

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Correspondence to Najeh Ben Chaabane.

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Ben Chaabane, N., Khemiri, F., Soussi, M. et al. Late Aptian carbonate platform evolution and controls (south Tethys, Tunisia): response to sea-level oscillations, palaeo-environmental changes and climate. Facies 67, 26 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-021-00634-z

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