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Palaeodepositional conditions of Permian organic-carbon-rich deposits of the Helgeland Basin, offshore mid Norway, based on elemental proxies and core logging

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Abstract

The Permo-Triassic organic-carbon-rich rocks (OCRs) offshore mid Norway have been poorly studied and their depositional conditions are not well understood. This study used core logging and analysis of elemental proxies to investigate these rocks based on core 6611/9-U-01 from offshore mid Norway to understand their depositional conditions. Element concentrations were measured using a portable X-ray fluorescence scanner whereby 23 elements have been linked to depositional conditions, grain size distributions and flow processes. Results show that the analysed interval contains four major fining upward cycles dominated by variable amounts of gravity flow deposits and (hemi-)pelagic mudstones. The combination of elemental distributions and facies suggests that the OCRs were formed during periods of anoxia. The OCRs are contained in parts of the sedimentary sequence with significant slump deposits suggesting sediment reworking. A possible explanation for this is that the slumps might have re-transported the organic-rich sediment to the deeper basinal areas where anoxia was well developed, and consequently resulted in preservation of the organic matter. In this study, the environmental conditions of the OCRs have been identified even when this signal is mixed with the element signal caused by variations of grain sizes. This is shown by independence of the concentrations of redox proxies (S, Pb, and Mo) and palaeoproductivity proxies (Ba, Cu, Ni, and Zn), and grainsize distributions reflected by Nd, Pr, Ce, La, Zr, Rb, Fe, and Cl concentrations. An example to this observation is the variation of S content, which is high in both coarse- and fine-grained intervals implying that redox conditions were not influenced by grain size variations. Similarly, palaeoproductivity, based on Ba values, was more or less uniform across the studied interval despite the observed grain size variations.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by EnPe-Norad under the ANTHEI (Angola Tanzania Higher Education Initiative) scholarship scheme. Comments from Mai Britt E. Mørk, Atle Mørk, Ron Steel and Snorre Olaussen as well as reviewer R.H. Hota and anonymous reviewers helped to improve the manuscript.

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This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies other than a PhD scholarship (EnPe-Norad under the ANTHEI) to the first author.

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  1. School of Mines and Geosciences, Department of Petroleum Science and Engineering, University of Dar Es Salaam, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

    Emily Barnabas Kiswaka

  2. NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

    Emily Barnabas Kiswaka, Maarten Felix & Arve Næss

  3. Equinor Energy AS-Stjørdal, Stjørdal, Norway

    Arve Næss

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EBK: conceptualization, elemental data acquisition, core logging, data analysis, preparation of figures, writing original draft, final review and submission. MF: conceptualization, data analysis, preparation of figures, text editing, final manuscript review, and supervision. AN: conceptualization, text editing, final manuscript review, and supervision.

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Kiswaka, E.B., Felix, M. & Næss, A. Palaeodepositional conditions of Permian organic-carbon-rich deposits of the Helgeland Basin, offshore mid Norway, based on elemental proxies and core logging. J. Sediment. Environ. 9, 217–238 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43217-024-00167-9

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