Summary
An Upper Cretaceous bioclastic oyster limestone bed, exposed at the Red Sea coastal strip, has been investigated for its depositional environment and the early diagenetic modifications affecting its components. The deposition of this stratum body marks the end of prevailed euxinic conditions and the setting up of an oxic milieu. This dramatic change in depositional conditions is related primarily to the change in the position of oxygen minimum zone during sedimentation. The noticeable negative shift in the δ18O-values of the studied skeletal parts (−2.7 to −6.4‰ PDB) are attributed to some habitat-related controls and the dilution of marine water with a great fresh water influx. In addition, mild diagenetic alterations that have affected some of these skeletals, as indicated by their enriched manganese values and orange-colored luminescence, are also- in part-responsible for the δ18O negative shift. Meanwhile, the negative δ13C signatures (−2.2 to −5.6‰ PDB) are probably related to an upward flux of isotopically-light and reduced pore waters to the bottom water where the oysters are thought to have lived and/or to the reducing conditions during which the alteration of these skeletals occurred.
Moldic porosity is quite common although partly or completely occluded by clear equant low-Mg calcite of marine origin. These submarine mosaics are probably formed under oxidizing conditions in the phreatic zone as indicated from their non-luminescence character and stable isotopic values. The wide overlap range between the oxygen and carbon stable isotopic signatures of these mosaics and the skeletal particles may indicate they both are formed under the same conditions provided little effect exerted by the latters.
A promising possibility of hydrocarbon accumulations in the area east of Qusier (off shore) is expected.
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Shaaban, M.N., Holail, H.M., El-Askary, M.A. et al. Environment and diagenesis of an Upper Cretaceous bioclastic oyster limestone bed, Red Sea Coast, Egypt. Facies 33, 121–128 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02537447
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02537447