Pliocene Te Aute limestones, New Zealand: Expanding concepts for cool-water shelf carbonates

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dc.contributor.authorNelson, Campbell S.en_US
dc.contributor.authorWinefield, Peter R.en_US
dc.contributor.authorHood, Steven D.en_US
dc.contributor.authorCaron, Vincenten_US
dc.contributor.authorPallentin, Arneen_US
dc.contributor.authorKamp, Peter J.J.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2008-03-19T05:09:22Z
dc.date.available2007-04-19en_US
dc.date.available2008-03-19T05:09:22Z
dc.date.issued2003-09-01en_US
dc.description.abstractAcceptance of a spectrum of warm- through cold-water shallow-marine carbonate facies has become of fundamental importance for correctly interpreting the origin and significance of all ancient platform limestones. Among other attributes, properties that have become a hallmark for characterising many Cenozoic non-tropical occurrences include: (1) the presence of common bryozoan and epifaunal bivalve skeletons; (2) a calcite-dominated mineralogy; (3) relatively thin deposits exhibiting low rates of sediment accumulation; (4) an overall destructive early diagenetic regime; and (5) that major porosity destruction and lithification occur mainly in response to chemical compaction of calcitic skeletons during moderate to deep burial. The Pliocene Te Aute limestones are non-tropical skeletal carbonates formed at paleolatitudes near 40-42°S under the influence of commonly strong tidal flows along the margins of an actively deforming and differentially uplifting forearc basin seaway, immediately inboard of the convergent Pacific-Australian plate boundary off eastern North Island, New Zealand. This dynamic depositional and tectonic setting strongly influenced both the style and subsequent diagenetic evolution of the limestones. Some of the Te Aute limestones exhibit the above kinds of "normal" non-tropical characteristics, but others do not. For example, many are barnacle and/or bivalve dominated, and several include attributes that at least superficially resemble properties of certain tropical carbonates. In this regard, a number of the limestones are infaunal bivalve rich and dominated by an aragonite over a calcite primary mineralogy, with consequently relatively high diagenetic potential. Individual limestone units are also often rather thick (e.g., up to 50-300 m), with accumulation rates from 0.2 to 0.5 m/ka, and locally as high as 1 m/ka. Moreover, there can be a remarkable array of diagenetic features in the limestones, involving grain alteration and/or cementation to widely varying extents within any, or some combination of, the marine phreatic, burial, and meteoric diagenetic environments, including locally widespread development of meteoric cement sourced from aragonite dissolution. The message is that non-tropical shelf carbonates include a more diverse array of geological settings, of skeletal and mineralogical facies, and of diagenetic features than current sedimentary models mainly advocate. While several attributes positively distinguish tropical from non-tropical limestones, continued detailed documentation of the wide spectrum of shallow-marine carbonate deposits formed outside tropical regions remains an important challenge in carbonate sedimentology.en_US
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dc.identifier.citationNelson, C.S., Winefield, P. R., Hood, S. D., Caron, V., Pallentin, A., & Kamp, P. J. J. (2003). Pliocene Te Aute limestones, New Zealand: Expanding concepts for cool-water shelf carbonates. New Zealand Journal of Geology & Geophysics. 46(3), 407-424.en_US
dc.identifier.doi10.1080/00288306.2003.9515017en_NZ
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10289/221
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherSIR Publishingen_NZ
dc.relation.isPartOfNew Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysicsen_NZ
dc.relation.urihttp://www.rsnz.org/publish/nzjgg/2003/026.phpen_US
dc.rightsThis article has been published in the New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics. (c) 2003 Royal Society of New Zealand.en_US
dc.subjectlimestoneen_US
dc.subjectdiagenesisen_US
dc.subjectaragoniteen_US
dc.subjectnon-tropicalen_US
dc.subjecttectonicsen_US
dc.subjectPlioceneen_US
dc.subjectNew Zealanden_US
dc.titlePliocene Te Aute limestones, New Zealand: Expanding concepts for cool-water shelf carbonatesen_US
dc.typeJournal Articleen_US
pubs.begin-page407en_NZ
pubs.elements-id29450
pubs.end-page424en_NZ
pubs.issue3en_NZ
pubs.volume46en_NZ
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