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Iron bacteria in Devonian carbonates (Tafilalt, Anti-Atlas, Morocco)

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Abstract

A condensed Mid-Upper Devonian succession of the Tafilalt (Anti-Atlas) contains numerous red carbonate intervals. Bioclastic tempestites form a transition between an outer shelf and a hemipelagic setting. The red pigmentation is not related to the abundance of detrital iron oxides, but to the presence of iron bacteria and fungi. They form bioconstructions remarkably similar to those previously described in the Jurassic Ammonitico Rosso from Italy and Spain. Thus, dysaerobic microenvironments are proposed and not oxic conditions for these Fe-poor sediments.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Belgian Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (Project no. 2.4509.03). We are also indebted to A. Freiwald, E. Gischler and P. Königshof for providing remarks that improved the quality of the paper. The authors thank Dr K. Kolo (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) for help during SEM sessions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département des Sciences de la Terre et de l’Environnement, Université libre de Bruxelles, CP160/02, Av. F.-D. Roosevelt, 50, 1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Alain Preat & Bernard Mamet

  2. Institut Scientifique, Université Mohammed V Agdal, Av. Ibn Batota BP703, 10106, Rabat-Agdal, Morocco

    Ahmed El Hassani

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  1. Alain Preat
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  2. Ahmed El Hassani
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  3. Bernard Mamet
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Correspondence to Alain Preat.

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Preat, A., El Hassani, A. & Mamet, B. Iron bacteria in Devonian carbonates (Tafilalt, Anti-Atlas, Morocco). Facies 54, 107–120 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-007-0124-2

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