Table Of ContentReef Diagenesis
Edited by
J. H. Schroeder and B. H. Purser
With 187 Figures
Springer-Verlag
Berlin Heidelberg New York
London Paris Tokyo
Professor JOHANNES H. SCHROEDER
Ph.D. George Washington University, Washington
Technische Universitat Berlin
Institut fur Geologie und Palaontologie
HardenbergstraBe 42
1000 Berlin 12, FR Germany
Professor Dr. BRUCE H. PURSER
Laboratoire de Petrologie
Sedimentaire et Paleontologie
Universite Paris-Sud Orsay
Batiment 504
91405 Orsay Cedex, France
Cover illustration. Zoned sparry calcite cement in Miocene corals from
Khor Eit, NE Sudan (Cathodoluminescence microphotograph Schroeder/
Zinkernagel).
Inner front cover. Left: Marine aragonite needle cement in Recent algal cup
reefs, Bermuda (SEM Schroeder). Right: Calcified algal filament and mi
crite, both high Mg calcite, with aragonite needle cement, all marine;
Recent algal cup reefs, Bermuda (SEM Schroeder).
Inner end cover. Left: Marine aragonite needle cement in subaerially ex
posed boulders from Pleistocene algal reefs, Bermuda (SEM Schroeder).
Right: Low Mg calcite microsparite on aragonite substrate in dead Holo
cene corals, Poe Beach, New Caledonia (SEM Aissaoui).
ISBN-13:978-3-642-82814-0 e-ISBN-13:978-3-642-82812-6
DOl: 10.1007/978-3-642-82812-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. Reef diagenesis. Includes index. I. Dia
genesis. 2. Reefs. 3. Sedimentation and deposition. I. Schroeder, Johannes H., 1939-.
II. Purser, B. H. QE571.R39 1986 551.4'24 86-15604.
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the ma
terial is concerned, specifically those of translation, reprinting, re-use of illustrations, broad
casting, reproduction by photocopying machine or similar means, and storage in data banks.
Under § 54 of the German Copyright Law where copies are made for other than private use
a fee is payable to "Verwertungsgesellschaft Wort", Munich.
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1986
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1986
The use of registered names, trademarks etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the
absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws
and regulations and therefore free for general use.
Typesetting: Fotosatz GmbH, Beerfelden
2132/3130-543210
Contents
Reef Diagenesis: Introduction
J.H. SCHROEDERandB.H. PURSER...................... 1
I Cenozoic Reefs
Regional Distribution of Submarine Cements Within an
Epicontinental Reef System: Central Great Barrier Reef,
Australia
J.F. MARSHALL(With 9 Figures) .................... ..... 8
Model of Reef Diagenesis: Mururoa Atoll, French Polynesia
D. M. AISSAOUI, D. BUIGUES, and B. H. PURSER
(With 12 Figures) ...................................... 27
The Primary Surface Area of Corals and Variations in Their
Susceptibility to Diagenesis
B. R. CONSTANTZ (With 8 Figures) ....................... 53
Variation in Diagenetic Sequences: An Example from Pleistocene
Coral Reefs, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia
W.-C. DULLO(With 7 Figures) .... ....................... 77
Internal Hydrology and Geochemistry of Coral Reefs and Atoll
Islands: Key to Diagenetic Variations
R. W. BUDDEMEIERand J.A. OBERDORFERI
(With 9 Figures) ....................................... 91
Diagenesis of a Miocene Reef-Platform: Jebel Abu Shaar,
Gulf of Suez, Egypt
D. M. AISSAOUI, M. CONIGLIO, N. P. JAMES, and
B.H. PURSER (With 10 Figures) .......................... 112
Diagenetic Diversity in Paleocene Coral Knobs from the Bir Abu
EI-Husein Area, S Egypt
J. H. SCHROEDER (With 9 Figures) ....................... 132
VI Contents
II Mesozoic Reefs
Diagenesis of Mid-Cretaceous Rudist Reefs, Valles Platform,
Mexico
P. ENOS (With 8 Figures) ............................... 160
A Comparative Study of the Diagenesis in Diapir-Influenced Reef
Atolls and a Fault Block Reef Platform in the Late Albian of
the Vasco-Cantabrian Basin (Northern Spain)
J. REITNER(With 8 Figures) ............................. 186
Micrite Diagenesis in Senonian Rudist Build-ups in Central Tunisia
A. M'RABET, M. H. NEGRA, B. H. PURSER, S. SASSI, and
N. BEN A YED (With 8 Figures) ........................... 210
Diagenesis of Upper Jurassic Sponge-Algal Reefs in SW Germany
R. KOCH and M. SCHORR (With 11 Figures) ....... . . . . . . . .. 224
Diagenesis of Upper Triassic Wetterstein Reefs of the Bavarian
Alps
R. HENRICH and H. ZANKL (With 9 Figures) ............... 245
III Paleozoic Reefs
The Upper Permian Reef Complex (EZ 1) of North East England:
Diagenesis in a Marine to Evaporitic Setting
M.E. TUCKER and N. T.J. HOLLINGWORTH (With 12 Figures) 270
Diagenesis of Aragonitic Sponges from Permian Patch Reefs of
Southern Tunisia
M. SCHERER (With 8 Figures) . .... . . ...... . . ... ..... . . ... 291
Facies Relationships and Diagenesis in Waulsortian Mudmounds
from the Lower Carboniferous of Ireland and N. England
J. MILLER (With 10 Figures) .................... ......... 311
Early Lithification, Dolomitization, and Anhydritization of
Upper Devonian Nisku Buildups, Subsurface of Alberta,
Canada
H.-G. MACHEL(With 14 Figures) ........................ 336
Marine Diagenesis in Devonian Reef Complexes of the Canning
Basin, Western Australia
C. KERANS, N.F. HURLEY, and P. E. PLAYFORD
(With 13 Figures) ...................................... 357
Contents VII
Diagenetic History of the Union 8 Pinnacle Reef
(Middle Silurian), Northern Michigan, USA
K.R. CERCONE and K. C. LOHMANN (With 10 Figures) 381
Diagenesis of Silurian Bioherms in the Klinteberg Formation,
Gotland, Sweden
P. FRYKMAN(With 8 Figures) . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 399
Conclusions
The Diagenesis of Reefs: A Brief Review of Our Present
Understanding
B. H. PURSER and J. H. SCHROEDER (With 4 Figures) ....... 424
Subject Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 447
List of Contributors
You will find the addresses at the beginning of the respective contribution
Aissaoui, D.M. 27, 112 Machel, H.-G. 336
Ben Ayed, N. 210 Marshall, J. F. 8
Buddemeier, R. W. 91 Miller, J. 311
Buigues, D. 27 M'Rabet, A. 210
Cercone, K. R. 381 Negra, M. H. 210
Coniglio, M. 112 Oberdorfer, J. A. 91
Constantz, B. R. 53 Playford, P. E. 357
Dullo, W.-C. 77 Purser, B.H. 1,27, 112,
Enos, P. 160 210,424
Frykman, P. 399 Reitner, J. 186
Henrich, R. 245 Sassi, S. 210
Hollingworth, N. T. J. 270 Scherer, M. 291
Hurley, N.F. 357 Schorr, M. 224
James, N.P. 112 Schroeder, J.H. 1,132,
Kerans, C. 357 424
Koch, R. 224 Tucker, M.E. 270
Lohmann, K.C. 381 Zankl, H. 245
Reef Diagenesis: Introduction
J. H. SCHROEDER1 and B. H. PURSER2
1 Introduction
A symposium convened during the Vth International Coral Reef Congress in
Papeete, Tahiti, 1985, encouraged the editors to assemble this volume of case
studies by participating and, especially, by nonparticipating scientists. An
attempt was made to include case studies from various regions and geological
periods, carried out on various scales from regional to ultrastructural. We hope
to present an overall view of reef diagenesis.
Although the volume focuses on reef diagenesis, fields also to be considered
are biology, paleontology, and sedimentary facies distribution, as they provide
the context and, to some extent, encompass the determinants of diagenetic
processes. The scope has been limited to reef diagenesis because we feel that reefs
have relatively clearly defined geometries, which facilitate the evaluation of
diagenetic trends and the definition of diagenetic models. On the other hand,
their many different components make reefs somewhat more complex than other
deposits, and this creates difficulties in deciphering diagenetic histories; the study
of reefs, therefore, is not the simplest manner of solving the many problems
relating to carbonate diagenesis.
An additional reason for evaluating reef diagenesis is the reservoir potential
of these carbonate bodies. To illustrate the point, in the recent collection of 35
case studies of carbonate reservoirs (Roehl and Choquette 1985), reefs were
involved in 15. The emphasis on porosity development in many studies of the
present volume is therefore not of mere academic interest.
Most scientists concerned with reef diagenesis probably aim at presenting the
perfect example showing the three-dimensional distribution of diagenetic
phenomena and porosity, from which a clear understanding of the successive
diagenetic environments and processes can be derived. The "model" can then be
applied to comparable cases. Although only few models are offered in this
volume, each case study with its particular scope and scale is a step toward this
ambitious goal. Therefore the sum of these contributions, rather than one single
study, suggests possible directions and pertinent questions for future research.
1 Institut fiir Geologie und Palaontologie, Technische Universitat Berlin, Hardenbergstr. 42,
1000 Berlin 12, FRGermany
2 Laboratoire de Petrologie Sedimentaire et Paleontologie. Biitiment 504, Universite de Paris-Sud,
91405 Orsay Cedex, France
Reef Diagenesis
Edited by J. H. Schroeder and B. H. Purser
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1986
2 J. H. Schroeder and B. H. Purser
2 Terminology, Concepts, and Historical Aspects
In order to establish a minimal basis of communication, it may be useful to recall
some general definitions, to refer to some general concepts, and to provide a
brief historical perspective.
2.1 Reefs
The AGI glossary (Bates and Jackson 1980) generally serves as a good starting
point. Its definition of an "organic reef" reads: "A ridgelike or moundlike struc
ture, layered or massive, built by sedentary calcareous organisms, esp. corals,
and consisting mostly of their remains; it is wave-resistant and stands above the
surrounding comtemporaneously deposited sediment". Many would debate one
or the other point of this definition, and indeed, the literature includes many
such discussions, which would certainly lead far beyond the scope of this
introduction.
As a next step toward the subject, beyond mere definition, two recent reviews
of James (1983, 1984) provide convenient points of (re-)entry into the study of
reefs; the first is broad and well illustrated, the second concise; both have many
helpful references. From there, the way invariably leads back to neo-classical
papers such as Heckel (1974), Ladd (1969), and Nelson et al. (1962). Even today
a step back to the classics such as Walther (1888) involves more than a nostalgic
scientific experience.
A primary concern of many reef workers has been morphology and internal
framework as well as type and function of frame builders. This approach pro
vides a basis for many concepts and classifications reviewed by Heckel (1974). As
the frame builders evolve through geological time, so the reefs vary in external
morphology and internal structure. However, reefs exist in which no frame
builders appear; Dunham (1970) called them "stratigraphic reefs" in order to
distinguish them from "ecologic reefs" with frame builders.
Another approach views reefs as one in a system of facies belts comprising a
composite profile extending from coast to basin. Wilson (1975) defined the
standard facies, among them the "organic reef of platform margin" whose
"ecologic character varies in response to water energy, steepness of slope, organ
ic productivity, amount of framework construction, binding or trapping, fre
quency of subaerial exposure and consequent cementation". He distinguished
three types, the downslope mud and debris accumulation, the knoll reef, and the
frame-constructed reef rim. Within their respective facies context he traced them
throughout geologic history. On a complementary note, Longman (1981) draws
attention to the important relation between reef growth, sea-level fluctuation and
subsidence.
On a somewhat smaller scale, there is a third approach based essentially on
the morphology of the individual reef body. Maxwell (1968) distinguished reef
patterns based on shape, morphological zonation, and central topography which
reflect the respective "hydrologic, bathymetric and biological balance". Reefs
evolve from an "embryonic colony" through various patterns in response to
Reef Diagenesis: Introduction 3
changes in this balance. In this context an important French contribution comes
to mind which includes many excellent examples of physiographic! ecologic zona
tions of reefs; a very useful reference, although not necessarily the most represen
tative of this work, is the bi-lingual contribution to coral reef terminology
(Clausade et al. 1971).
A fourth approach, with roots in the work of Walther (1888) and of Ginsburg
and Lowenstam (1958), focuses on the sedimentological processes involved
(Schroeder and Zankl1974). Reefs are considered the result of successively effec
tive reef-forming and reef-destroying processes: construction by various or
ganisms, bioerosive and mechanical destruction, internal sedimentation, and
cementation. In a given reef, or any portion thereof, the sequence of processes
may be highly varied. Ultimately, all skeletal structures may be repla~ed by
cemented internal sediment which fills successive borings of various bioerosive
organisms. The processes involved are partly genetic and partly diagenetic.
All four approaches are useful in the sedimentological and reservoir analysis
of reefs, although on different scales; all provide an essential background for the
study of reef diagenesis.
2.2 Diagenesis
The definition of Bates and Jackson (1980) again serves as a starting point; for
diagenesis it reads: "All the chemical, physical, and biological changes
undergone by a sediment after its initial deposition, and during and after its
lithification, exclusive of surficial alteration (weathering) and metamorphism".
An important general review of the term and its use has been presented by
Dunoyer de Segonzac (1968).
Reef diagenesis is treated in two recent review papers by MacIntyre (1984)
and Haley (1984). The former is concerned with preburial processes, both
biological (encrustation, bioerosion, and soft tissue destruction) and geological
(mechanical destruction and cementation). Halley (1984) deals with diagenetic
alteration of original aragonite and high magnesium calcite by freshwater, brine,
mixed water, deep-sea water, and subsurface water, and in some respects ex
pands the process approach presented by Matthews (1974). Even this very brief
summary of these reviews shows that in reef diagenesis, as in reef formation, one
is faced with an interaction of physical, chemical, biological, and geological pro
cesses.
When tracing the history of research on reef diagenesis, one invariably turns
to Cullis' (1904) outstanding study of the Funafuti cores with its wealth of
observation: it remains essential reading for any student of reef diagenesis. One
should not forget, however, that a number of valuable observations concerning
living and raised reefs were collected long before Cullis, in the late nineteenth
century (see Walther 1894 for review).
Interest in the subject decreased at the beginning of our century, but rose
again to considerable heights in the 1960's; this increase was preceded by a
number of important individual studies, among them that of Newell (1955), who
postulated submarine cementation for the Permian Guadelupe Reefs, and that of
