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Stellar calcite aggregates infill dissolution cavities of marcasite in Khoman Chalk near K/Pg boundary: implications of diagenesis in open marine Tethys shelf, Egypt

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Abstract

Growth of unusual calcite aggregates within cavities scattered through stratigraphic interval forming the top part of the Khoman Chalk (Late Campanian–Middle Maastrichtian) characterizes one of the outcropping Cretaceous–Paleogene successions, northern Western Desert. Growth pattern of the aggregates within cavities confirms diagenetic origin. To deduce the formation mechanism and composition of the precursor mineral and to relate the spatial distribution of the aggregates in the chalk outcrop to its stimuli, the aggregates and host chalk were analyzed by means of field observations, polarizing, and scanning electron microscopy investigations and X-ray diffraction analysis. The stellate outline and stepped-like ornamentation of the cavities confirm that the studied aggregates infill dissolution cavities of marcasite. The pore water conditions fluctuated between conditions that promoted marcasite dissolution and conditions favorable for its deposition. The precursor marcasite was formed during the early stage of diagenesis in dolomitic and organic-rich chalk that has been deposited in an open marine setting on the southern Tethys shelf in Egypt. Marcasite growth took place only a short distance below the sediment–water interface under low-temperature, acidic (low-pH) water conditions, influx of hydrogen sulfide and high dissolved iron concentration in the pore waters of the host chalk. Dissolution of marcasite yielded cavities that were quickly filled with precipitation of the calcite aggregates. Finding of interval rich in calcite aggregates after marcasite near the top of the Upper Cretaceous Khoman Chalk is accompanied by the existence of the K/Pg Boundary that was also reported from nearby exposures in Egypt and along the southern and northern Tethys margins.

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Acknowledgements

This paper received financial support from the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education and from the Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University (BSU-FSC-0805699). Author gratitude to Prof. Dr. Mohamed Shahien, Head of the Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University for his assistance during the field work and constructive comments. Special gratitude to Mr. Ali Hassan, analytical lab technician at the Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University for his kind assistance during the SEM analysis. The author would like to thank Dr. Eric Reusser, Head of scanning electron microscope and XRD labs for his kind help and permission for using the equipments. Imaging was performed with equipment maintained by the Center for Microscopy and Image Analysis, University of Zurich. The author acknowledges Dr. Anne Greet Biltermann and Dr. Andres Kaech for performing scanning electron microscopy imagining and analyses. The author would like to thank Prof. Oliver Weidlich for his valuable comments during reviewing the manuscript. The thanks extend to Editor Prof. Wolf-Christian Dullo for his kind help and suggestions that improve the manuscript.

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  1. Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni Suef, Egypt

    Hanan S. Badawy

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Badawy, H.S. Stellar calcite aggregates infill dissolution cavities of marcasite in Khoman Chalk near K/Pg boundary: implications of diagenesis in open marine Tethys shelf, Egypt. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 111, 1909–1928 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-022-02207-z

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