The thesis is organized in 7 chapters, including the Introduction and Conclusion.
Chapters 2 to 6 correspond to scientific papers, published in renowned peer–review journals. It is consequently possible that there are some minor redundancies on some parts of this work.
The general content of each chapter is detailed hereafter:
19 The chapter 2 is about the characterization of the Upper Triassic atoll–type carbonates of the Dalnegorsk area (Taukha terrane, Russian Far East) from a sedimentological and biostratigraphic point of view. A theoretical depositional model is proposed and a possible acme of the foraminifer species Parvalamella friedli is evidenced.
The chapter 3 corresponds to the comprehensive diagenetic study of the Upper Triassic shallow–water carbonates from Dalnegorsk (Russian Far East). It focused on various geochemical approaches including analyzes of stable isotopes, traces and ultra–trace elements and U–Pb dating of carbonate cements. Various post–depositional events were identified and a precise reconstruction of the evolution of the carbonate system from its deposit to its accretion has been established.
The chapter 4 examines the microfacies and biostratigraphy of the Upper Triassic shallow–water carbonates from the Idonnappu Zone (Hokkaido Island, Japan) and a theoretical depositional model is proposed. The strong similarities with analogous systems from the Sambosan Accretionary complex (southern Japan) are discussed.
The chapter 5 treats of the birth and death of seamounts in the Panthalassa Ocean from the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic, based on a precise sedimentary and diagenetic synthesis of atoll–type carbonates from Mount Sambosan (Shikoku, southwest Japan). Several evolutionary steps are highlighted and compared with events recorded in the Tethys Ocean.
The chapter 6 consists in the very first paleontological synthesis of green algae occurrence and description in Panthalassa during the Late Triassic. Six new species, possibly endemic of the Panthalassa, are reported as well as other species known before from the Tethys Ocean. Based on these important results, the paleobiogeographic significance of such data and the related diffusion of marine organisms in the Triassic oceans are widely discussed.
The chapter 7 concludes this work and some outlooks are given for the future continuation of the REEFCADE project.
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Chapter 2: Sedimentology and biostratigraphy of Upper Triassic atoll–type carbonates from the Dalnegorsk area, Taukha Terrane, Russian Far East
Abstract
Contrary to their Tethyan counterparts, and despite substantial research, Upper Triassic shallow–water limestone from the Panthalassa Ocean remain poorly known. Their understanding is yet crucial to better constrain past depositional, ecologic, geographic and geodynamic conditions out of the Tethyan domain, and to better assess life evolution and recovery following the greatest Permo–Triassic biological crisis. The Taukha terrane, located in a poorly studied area of the Sikhote–Alin mountain range (Primorsky and Khabarovsk Kraya, Russian Far East) is a key Panthalassan terrane. Near Dalnegorsk City, north–east of Vladivostok, on the northern part of the Taukha terrane, Upper Triassic marine carbonates abound. They show a clear affinity with Panthalassan terranes of both Japan and North America. There, eleven new localities have been extensively sampled, described and interpreted. Based on field observations and facies analysis, eight major facies, corresponding to specific depositional environments within a carbonate platform, have been established. A conceptual depositional model corresponding to a mid–oceanic atoll–type system composed of well–developed lagoon, fringing patch reefs and oolitic shoals is proposed. The foraminiferal assemblages allow refining the age of the carbonate system to the Norian, and locally, exclusively to the lower/middle and the middle parts of the Norian.
A similar version of this chapter has been published in “Global and Planetary Change”, as Peyrotty, G., Rigaud, S., Kemkin, I. & Martini, R. (2020). Sedimentology and biostratigraphy of Upper Triassic atoll–type carbonates from the Dalnegorsk area, Taukha terrane, Russian Far East. Global and Planetary Change, 184.
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1 – Introduction
The Triassic is a pivotal period between two major mass extinction events (i.e., the end–
Permian and end–Triassic extinctions) and is of major importance to understand the recovery of the biosphere in the aftermath of catastrophic biological crises. The Triassic records the origination and first radiation of scleractinian corals. Cradles of life, shallow–water reefal carbonate systems, which represent a key archive for marine life evolution, extensively developed. The Late Triassic, notably, is marked by the development of numerous widely studied reefal carbonate systems in the Tethyan realm (Bernecker, 2005; Buser et al., 1982;
Flügel, 1982; Gale et al., 2015; Gattolin et al., 2005; Jin et al., 2018; Krystin et al., 2009;
Martindale et al., 2014; Schäfer & Senowbari–Saryan, 1982, 1986; Tomašových, 2004). Their Panthalassan counterparts are in contrast poorly known and mostly preserved as isolated bodies within diverse tectonostratigraphic terranes, which accreted along the Circum–Pacific region (Chablais et al., 2010a,b; Martindale et al., 2015; Peybernes et al., 2016b; Stanley, 1979;
Stanley & Senowbari–Daryan, 1986; Zonneveld et al., 2007). The rare outcrops are mostly intensely recrystallized, metamorphosed and/or fractured, making stratigraphic and sedimentological studies difficult (Chablais et al., 2010b; Onoue & Stanley, 2008; Onoue et al., 2009; Peybernes et al., 2015; Senowbari–Daryan et al., 2012). In spite of their poor preservation, these carbonates are precious relics of the Panthalassan domain and are fundamental to constrain the evolution of this gigantic ocean. For more than ten years, a scientific project initiated at the University of Geneva, aimed at improving our knowledge of Upper Triassic carbonate platforms of Panthalassa, which are today accreted on both sides of the Pacific Ocean (Chablais et al., 2010a,b,c, 2011; Heerwagen & Martini, 2018; Khalil et al., 2018; Onoue et al., 2009; Peybernes et al., 2015, 2016a,b; Rigaud et al., 2010, 2012, 2013a,b, 2015a,b, 2016; Rigaud & Martini, 2016; Sano et al., 2012; Senowbari–Daryan et al., 2010a).
An extraordinary amount of Upper Triassic limestone is exposed within the Taukha terrane (Primorsky Region, Russian Far East) in the Sikhote–Alin folded belt. It offers a unique opportunity to further our understanding of Panthalassa and combine the data accumulated in the last decade. These carbonates, showing a general good preservation, are described and analysed in detail for the first time. In this paper, special attention is given to field observations, microfacies descriptions and biostratigraphic interpretations (from foraminiferal assemblages).
Age constraints, palaeobiological implications, and a coherent depositional model are proposed for this unique carbonate system.
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