Abstract
GALLOIS has reported the widespread occurrence of coeval coccolith limestones and oil shales in the Kimmeridge Clay of southern England and Lincolnshire1,2. From the association of these limestones with oil shale horizons he suggested that the organic content of the Kimmeridge Clay was largely derived from phytoplankton blooms whose decay produced the temporary anaerobic bottom conditions necessary to preserve organic matter. However, comparisons with similar Quarternary sediments in the Black Sea and Mediterranean has led us to report here that phytoplankton blooms were not the cause, but rather a symptom of widespread anaerobic bottom conditions, and that preservational factors rather than productivity are the major control on the accumulation of black shales. We believe that the fine grained clastic-bituminous shale–oil shale–coccolith limestone lithologic association characteristic of the type Kimmeridge Clay can be attributed to the vertical movement of the O2: H2S interface in a temporarily stratified water column.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Gallois, R. W. Nature 259, 473–475 (1976).
Gallois, R. W. Rep. 78/13, Inst. Geol. Sci. (1978).
Ioannides, N. S. et al. Micropaleontology 22, 443–478 (1976).
Riley, L. A. thesis, Open Univ. (1974).
Dunn, C. E. Chem. Geol. 13, 217–232 (1974).
Irwin, H., Curtis, C. & Coleman, M. Nature 269, 209–213 (1977).
Ross, D. A. & Degens, E. T. Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol. Mem. 20, 183–198 (1974).
Stanley, D. J. & Maldonado, A. Nature 266, 129–135 (1977).
Thunnell, R. C. et al. Mar. Micropal. 2, 371–388 (1977).
Wall, D. & Dale, B. Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol. Mem. 20, 364–380 (1974).
Pelet, R. & Debyser, Y. Geochim. cosmochim Acta 41, 1575–1586 (1977).
Volkov, I. I. & Fomina, L. S. Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol. Mem. 20, 456–476 (1974).
Dickman, M. & Artuz, I. Nature 275, 191–195 (1978).
Deuser, W. G. Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol. Mem. 20, 133–136 (1974).
Stanley, D. J. Nature 274, 149–152 (1978).
Maldonado, A. & Stanley, D. J. 9th Int. Congr. Sedimentol. 6, 185–194 (1975).
Maldonado, A. & Stanley, D. J. Mar. Geol. 20, 27–40 (1976).
Olausson, E. Rep. Swedish Deep Sea Expedition, 1947–48, 8, 287–387 (1960–61).
Rhoads, D. C. & Morse, J. W. Lethaia 4, 413–428 (1971).
Stanley, S. M. Geol. Soc. Am. Mem. (1970).
Duff, K. L. Palaeontology 18, 443–482 (1975).
Bottema, S. & Van Straaten, L. M. J. U. Mar. Geol. 4, 553–564 (1966).
Trimonis, E. S. Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol. Mem. 20, 279–295 (1974).
Dunn, C. E. thesis, Univ. London (1972).
Milliman, J. D. & Muller, J. Sedimentology 20, 29–45 (1973).
Vail, P. R. et al. in Mesozoic Northern North Sea Symp. (Norwegian Petrol. Soc., Oslo, MNNSS/12, 1–35, 1977).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
TYSON, R., WILSON, R. & DOWNIE, C. A stratified water column environmental model for the type Kimmeridge Clay. Nature 277, 377–380 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/277377a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/277377a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
A 6,000–year sedimentary molecular record of chemocline excursions in the Black Sea
Nature (1993)
-
New aspects on the formation of hydrocarbon source rocks
Geologische Rundschau (1985)
-
On an environmental model for the type Kimmeridge Clay
Nature (1979)