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SEDIMENTARY ORGANIC MATTER

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Page 1: Sedimentary Organic Matter Tyson

SEDIMENTARY ORGANIC MATTER

Page 2: Sedimentary Organic Matter Tyson

SEDIMENTARY ORGANIC MATTER

Organic facies and palynofacies

R. V. Tyson Fossil Fuels and Environmental Geochemistry (Postgraduate Institute), University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

ioni CHAPMAN & HALL London· Glasgow· Weinheim . New York· Tokyo· Melbourne· Madras

Page 3: Sedimentary Organic Matter Tyson

Published by Chapman & Hall, 2-6 Boundary Row, London SEt 8HN, UK

Chapman & Hall, 2--6 Boundary Row, London SEI 8HN, UK

Blackie Academic & Professional, Wester Cleddens Road, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow G64 2NZ, UK

Chapman & Hall GmbH, Pappelallee 3, 69469 Weinheim, Germany

Chapman & Hall USA, One Penn Plaza, 41st Floor, New York NY 10119, USA

Chapman & Hall Japan, ITP-Japan, Kyowa Building, 3F, 2-2-1 Hirakawacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102, Japan

Chapman & Hall Australia, Thomas Nelson Australia, 102 Dodds Street, South Melbourne, Victoria 3205, Australia

Chapman & Hall India, R Seshadri, 32 Second Main Road, CIT East, Madras 600 035, India

First edition 1995

© 1995 RV. Tyson

Typeset in 10/12 Palatino by Photoprint, Torquay, Devon

ISBN 0 412 36350 X

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the UK Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may not be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction only in accordance with the terms of the licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK, or in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the appropriate Reproduction Rights Organization outside the UK. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the terms stated here should be sent to the publishers at the London address printed on this page.

The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 94-72660

00 Printed on acid-free text paper, manufactured in accordance with ANSIINISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).

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CONTENTS

A colour plate section appears between pages 462 and 463

Preface

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Units of measurement used in figures and text

1 Introduction: The importance of sedimentary organic matter

1.1 Organic facies and palynofacies

2 The nature of organic matter in sediments

2.1 Refractory versus metabolizable organic matter 2.2 Phases of organic matter degradation 2.3 Formation of humic compounds during diagenesis 2.4 Kerogen: fossil organic matter in sedimentary rocks 2.5 Kerogen formation: humification versus selective biomacromolecule

preservation 2.6 Major kerogen divisions

3 Production and delivery flux of planktonic organic matter

3.1 Primary productivity 3.2 Palaeo-upwelling and source rock prediction: a brief critique 3.3 Carbon flux 3.4 Faecal pellet fluxes 3.5 Carbon flux: the role of temporal variability

4 Biological degradation and consumption of organic matter

4.1 Fermentation 4.2 Oxic degradation (Ox oxic zone) 4.3 Nitrate reduction (NR, suboxic or non-sulphidic post-oxic zone) 4.4 Sulphate reduction (SR, or anoxic sulphidic zone) 4.5 Methanogenesis (Me, or anoxic methanic zone) 4.6 Effects of bioturbation on bacterial diagenesis 4.7 Utilization of organic matter by the metazoan benthos 4.8 Effects of sediment accumulation rates on bacterial diagenesis

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1

2

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7 10 13 16

18 22

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29 34 37 42 45

49

50 50 55 57 66 67 69 75

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vi Contents

5 Abundance of organic matter in sediments: TOe, hydrodynamic equivalence, dilution and flux effects 81

5.1 Total organic carbon 81 5.2 TOC and sediment granulometry 84 5.3 Biogenic pelletization: effective grain size and TOC 88 5.4 Relationship between TOC, sediment grain size and organic matter type 89 5.5 Spatial and bathymetric patterns in sediment TOC distribution 91 5.6 TOC, sediment accumulation rate and organic carbon accumulation rate 94 5.7 Discussion of organic carbon accumulation rates 99 5.8 Planktonic autodilution phenomena 102 5.9 TOC and sediment accumulation rate: preservation or flux effect? 110 5.10 Sediment accumulation rate effects in oxic siliciclastic facies 111 5.11 Sediment accumulation rate effects in dysoxic-anoxic facies 116

6 Organic matter preservation: the effects of oxygen deficiency 119

6.1 Perspective: the extent of marine dysoxic-anoxic conditions 6.2 Oxygen consumption 6.3 Sediment TOC 6.4 Correlations with sedimentary fabric 6.5 Water column effects 6.6 Diagnesis and preservation of organic matter 6.7 Effect on composition of preserved organic matter

7 Origin and nature of the Phytoc1ast Group

7.1 Woody tissues of land plants 7.2 Non-woody, non-epidermal (cortex) tissues of land plants 7.3 Cuticle (epidermal tissues) 7.4 Opaque and semi-opaque phytoclasts 7.5 Fungal tissues 7.6 Marine macrophyte tissues

119 121 122 129 133 134 142

151

155 155 156 159 162 162

8 Origin and nature of the Amorphous Group 169

8.1 Amorphous organic matter (' AOM') 169 8.2 Sources of amorphous organic matter (' AOM') 171 8.3 Resin and amber 174 8.4 Amorphous terrestrial 'humic' materials 176 8.5 Organic petrological terminology for amorphous liptinite 177

9 Origin and nature of the Palynomorph Group, Phytoplankton Subgroup 181

9.1 The Palynomorph Group and Phytoplankton Subgroup 181 9.2 Marine dinoflagellate cysts (Division Pyrrhophyta or Dinophyta) 181 9.3 Prasinophyte algae (Division Prasinophyta or Chlorophyta) 186 9.4 Chlorococcale algae (Division Chlorophyta) 188

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Contents vii

9.5 Acritarchs (Group Acritarcha) 195 9.6 Gloeocapsomorpha prisca (?Order Chroococcales, Division Cyanobacteria) 195 9.7 Celyphus rallus (?Family Rivulariaceae, Division Cyanobacteria) 200 9.8 'Circular bodies' (Rhodophyte algal spores?) 200

10 Origin and nature of the Zoomorph Subgroup, and the origin, nature and distribution of the Zooclast Group 203

10.1 Zoomorph Subgroup (Palynomorph Group) 203 10.2 Origin, nature and distribution of the Zooclast Group 205

11 Distribution of the Phytoclast Group 213

11.1 Particulate organic matter in streams and rivers 11.2 Hydrodynamic behaviour of macrophyte debris 11.3 Terrestrial organic matter in modern estuaries and deltas 11.4 Examples of modern deltas and submarine fans 11.5 Woody phytoclast distribution in other modern marine settings 11.6 Woody phytoclast distribution in ancient sediments 11.7 Distribution of 'cuticle' debris 11.8 Opaque phytoclasts

12 Distribution of the Amorphous Group

12.1 Amorphous organic matter (' AOM') 12.2 Cyanobacteria and thiobacteria 12.3 Resin and amber

13 Distribution of the Palynomorph Group: Sporomorph Subgroup

13.1 Hydrodynamic equivalence effects 13.2 Other proximal-distal (onshore-offshore) trends 13.3 Relationships with flora 13.4 Distribution of fungal spores and sclerotia 13.5 Distribution of reworked palynomorphs

14 Distribution of the Palynomorph Group: Phytoplankton Subgroup, marine dinoflagellate cysts (dinocysts)

14.1 'Absolute' abundance (cysts per gram of sediment) 14.2 Relative abundance (dinocyst:sporomorph ratio) 14.3 Diversity 14.4 Dinocyst assemblage composition

15 Distribution of the Palynomorph Group: Phytoplankton Subgroup, marine prasinophyte phycomata

15.1 Anoxic to dysoxic environments 15.2 Cold water environments

213 215 218 219 228 230 233 239

249

249 251 257

261

261 269 278 279 281

285

285 290 293 295

299

299 301

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viii Contents

15.3 Palaeosalinity controls 15.4 Dispersal of modern Halosphaera viridis phycomata

16 Distribution of the Palynomorph Group: Phytoplankton Subgroup, chlorococcale algae

16.1 Botryococcus 16.2 Pediastrum 16.3 The Botryococcus:Pediastrum ratio

17 Distribution of the Palynomorph Group: Phytoplankton Subgroup, Acritarcha

17.1 Palaeozoic acritarch assemblages 17.2 A review and critique of Cramer's Silurian acritarch provinces 17.3 Mesozoic-Cenozoic acritarchs

18 Distribution of the Palynomorph Group: Phytoplankton Subgroup, cyanobacteria and Rhodophyta

18.1 Gloeocapsomorpha (chroococcale cyanobacteria?) 18.2 Celyphus rallus (rivulariacean cyanobacteria?) 18.3 'Circular bodies' (Rhodophyte spores?)

19 Distribution of the Palynomorph Group: Zoomorph Subgroup

19.1 Foraminiferal test linings 19.2 Chitinozoa 19.3 Scolecodonts

20 Palynological kerogen classification

305 307

309

309 313 315

319

319 320 325

327

327 333 334

335

335 338 339

341

20.1 Introduction 341 20.2 The importance of fluorescence microscopy 341 20.3 Simple classifications for rapid assessment of hydrocarbon potential 343 20.4 Detailed classifications for palaeoenvironmental analysis 347 20.5 A review of published palynological kerogen classifications 351

21 Bulk geochemical characterization and classification of organic matter: elemental analysis and pyrolysis

21.1 Kerogen type classification of the Institut Franc;ais du Petrole (IPF) 21.2 Kerogen type by Rock-Eval pyrolysis 21.3 Revised and expanded classifications of kerogen type 21.4 Correlation with optical data

22 Bulk geochemical characterization and classification of organic matter: carbon:nitrogen ratios and lignin-derived phenols

22.1 Carbon:nitrogen ratios 22.2 Lignin-derived phenols (lignin oxidation products)

367

367 371 374 381

383

383 392

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23 Bulk geochemical characterization and classification of organic matter: stable carbon isotopes (813C)

23.1 813C and the terrestrial fraction (Ft) 23.2 Other sources of variation in bulk 813C data 23.3 Conclusions on the stable carbon isotope method

24 Palynofacies in a sequence stratigraphic context

24.1 A brief summary and review of sequence stratigraphy concepts 24.2 Source rock implications 24.3 Perspective on palynofacies trends in siliciclastic marine sequences 24.4 Systems tracts and phytodast preservation trends 24.5 Conclusions

25 Some practical aspects of palynofacies analysis

25.1 Sampling strategy 25.2 Granulometric and lithological controls 25.3 Standardization 25.4 Data collection 25.5 Phytoclast size and shape 25.6 Measures of frequency used in palynofacies studies 25.7 Percentage data and ratios 25.8 Graphic representation of data 25.9 Which parameters to measure? 25.10 A suggested standard methodology for palynofacies studies

Appendix A Density of particulate organic matter and kerogen and some associated materials

Appendix B Isotopic composition (813C) of organic matter and the organic fraction of some Recent and ancient sediments

Contents

Appendix C Carbon:nitrogen weight ratios of organic matter and some Recent

ix

395

396 398 415

417

417 422 425 425 429

431

431 431 432 432 434 438 439 441 447 455

463

467

and ancient sediments 477

Appendix D Prasinophyte occurrences in dysoxic-anoxic facies of Silurian to Quaternary age (in stratigraphic order) 487

Bibliography 493

Index 591

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PREFACE

This book is intended to be a comprehensive interdisciplinary synthesis of information on the origin, early diagenesis, character, distribution and bulk geochemical composition of sedimentary organic matter. Although I cannot disguise the fact that the book has been written primarily for a geological audience, I have tried to approach the problem in a way which I hope may also appeal to the wider range of earth and environmental scientists with actual or potential interests in modern or ancient sedimentary organic matter. The level of the book is aimed at postgraduate students and at professional scientists in both academia and industry.

The book is organized around the discussion of processes, mechanisms and the nature and distribution of particular organic components, rather than different depositional environ­ments or specific case histories. I believe this approach is more flexible and provides a better overview of the underlying principles. The book could have been organized in many different, but arguably logical, ways; I have opted to organize it on a scientific, rather than a discipline basis, and thus to consider the general principles governing the distribution of organic matter in sediments before the specific factors relating to individual organic components. Chapters 2 to 6 thus deal with general aspects of the character, production, diagenesis and distribution of organic carbon in sediments. Chapters 7 to 11 then go on to deal largely with descriptive information on the biological origin and nature of various specific components of particulate organic matter; Chapters 12 to 19 then deal with information concerning the physical and ecological controls on their distribution in modern and ancient sediments. Following this background, the next few chapters consider the different methods and criteria used in classifying organic matter in sediments. Chapter 20 reviews and discusses the issue of optical (palynological) classification of particulate organic matter in sediments. Chapters 21 to 23 review the most common bulk geochemical methods for characterizing and classifying the organic matter in sediments, with the deliberate intention of demonstrating the value, if not the necessity, of integrating this data with microscopy-based information. Chapter 24 briefly examines the relationship between palynofacies and sequence stratigraphy. Chapter 25 considers some methodological and practical questions related to the palaeo­environmental interpretation of palynofacies data. Most of the emphasis of the book is on marine environments, but specific aspects of lacustrine settings are also dealt with in some detail.

As this book is not intended for 'beginners', I have not attempted to explain all the basic concepts and terms which have been assimilated from different disciplines. However, I have taken a comprehensive approach to referencing in the hope that readers will find this a useful source book to help locate the specific and background information that they may seek. As part of this policy, I have referenced published works down to the individual page number, unless the work is referred to in its entirety. As the study of sedimentary organic matter is such a multidisciplinary pursuit, the relevant data is scattered through the literature of many different fields and is currently being produced at a rate of well over 150 relevant publications

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xii Preface

every year. I hope the extensive bibliography will provide some useful short cuts for those wishing to read outside their own specialist areas; this book is not meant to be an alternative to reading the primary sources.

I have deliberately avoided 'formal' coverage of some subject areas, mostly for the sake of brevity, or because of the prior existence of adequate texts or reviews. These areas include terrestrial Quaternary palynology, taxonomic palaeopalynology, palynological and petrolo­gical preparation techniques, coal petrology, organic maturation, general organic geo­chemistry and general palaeobotany. It is perhaps inevitable that the more one attempts to be comprehensive, the more one can be simultaneously accused of having written too much and of having left out or 'glossed over' other people's favourite topics! Hopefully, however, there is something here for everyone interested in sedimentary organic matter.

This book was written mainly because I perceived the need for a comprehensive single­author volume that would lay down a solid foundation of data and concepts that could then be built upon in subsequent studies. I also wanted to try to break down the largely artificial barriers that exist between the diverse group of scientists interested in sedimentary organic matter. Consequently, this book was not written specifically for palynologists, organic petrologists or organic geochemists, but for those who seek a broad understanding of sedimentary organic matter that is not constrained by single-discipline perspectives. I also hope that this work may indirectly help to promote the wider use of the palynofacies technique within the earth sciences, especially in combination with bulk geochemical studies.

Richard Tyson University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK e-mail: [email protected]. uk

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Janet Baker and Colin Stuart (University College London) for the initial drafting of 140 of the diagrams, and Barbara Brown (NRG, Newcastle) for drafting the other 50 figures and for revising some of the others. I also wish to thank Simon Tull (ex-Chapman & Hall) for originally commissioning this book, and Ruth Cripwell (Chapman & Hall) who took over the editorial task. I would particularly like to express my gratitude to my friends for their invaluable moral support during the four and a half trying years it took to produce this book, especially John and Wilma Aston and Peter and Sue Rawson. The forbearance of my colleagues is also appreciated.

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ABBREVIATIONS

Asterisk indicates abbreviations used in this work; where more than one explanation of the same abbreviation occurs, the most common one is listed first.

*AFDW *AMEX *AmexOC *AOM *AOU AP API BBL *BE BOD BOM *CAM CDT *c!N *C!S COD COM Corg

CPI *CPOM *CTBE *DIC DO DOC *DOM DOM *DSDP *Eh *ENSO EOM *ffs *FOM *FPOM *Ft FTIR GCM

ash-free dry weight amorphous and exinitic kerogen % RNF AMEX/lOO X TOC wt% amorphous organic matter (phytoplanktonic or bacterial) apparent oxygen utilization arboreal pollen American Petroleum Institute (various standard units) benthic boundary layer burial efficiency biological oxygen demand benthic organic matter crassulacean acid metabolism Canon Diablo troilite (FeS meteorite 834S standard) carbon:nitrogen ratio (weight or atomidmolar) carbon:sulphur ratio chemical oxygen demand continental organic matter organic carbon carbon preference index coarse particulate organic matter Cenomanian-Turonian Boundary Event dissolved inorganic carbon dissolved oxygen dissolved organic carbon « 0.5 11m) dissolved organic matter « 0.5 11m) dispersed organic matter Deep Sea Drilling Project redox potential El Nino-Southern Oscillation extractable organic matter first flooding surface Fine organic matter (fine AOM) fine particulate organic matter terrestrial fraction (based on 813C) Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy general circulation model (of planetary atmosphere)

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xvi Abbreviations

*GC-IRMS GC-MS *GI *HC *HI *HST *HTB *K/T *LDP LOM LOP *LSAR *LST *Me *mfs MARS MOM *MPTOC *MSAR MYA NAP *N/C *NP *NR OC *OCAR *OCPF *ODP *01 *OM OML OMT *OMZ OrgC ORM OWM *Ox *pE PDB *PEPC *pH

*PhytOC *POC *POM *POM *PP

gas chromatography-isotope ratio mass spectrometry gas chromatography-mass spectrometry gelification index hydrocarbons hydrogen index highstand systems tract High-TOC base unit Cretaceous-Tertiary (Cenozoic) boundary lignin-derived phenols level of organic maturation lignin oxidation products linear sediment accumulation rate lowstand systems tract methanogenic diagenetic zone maximum flooding surface mass accumulation rate of sediment marine organic matter maximum potential total organic carbon mass sediment accumulation rate million years ago non-arboreal pollen nitrogen:carbon ratio new production nitrate reduction diagenetic zone organic carbon organic carbon accumulation rate organic carbon preservation factor Ocean Drilling Project oxygen index organic matter oxygen minimum layer organic matter type oxygen minimum zone organic carbon organic-rich mudrock organic-walled microplankton oxic diagenetic zone electron potential Pee Dee belemnite (813C standard) phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase Logarithm of the reciprocal of hydrogen ion concentration [H+] (measure of

acidity and alkalinity) % RNF PhytoclastsllOO x TOC wt% particulate organic carbon (>0.5 f.Lm) particulate organic matter (>0.5 f.Lm) palynological organic matter primary productivity

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PPA Pr/Ph *RUBISCO RUBP Rom Ro *RNF *RPD *S/C SCI *SEM *SMST SMOW SOC SOF *SOM SOM SOM SOP *SR SRB TAl *TDS *TEM *TPI TSM *TSS *TST TTl TOC *TOM TOM TOM *UOM *UV *vol% VOM VLM *VPD *VRo *wt% *YBP

percentage particle abundance pristane: phytane ratio ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase

Abbreviations xvii

mean random vitrinite reflectance, non-polarized light, oil immersion vitrinite reflectance under oil immersion relative numeric frequency (%) redox potential discontinuity sulphur:carbon ratio spore colour index scanning electron microscopy shelf-margin systems tract Standard Mean Ocean Water (8180 and 82H standard) sediment oxygen consumption soluble organic fraction sedimentary organic matter structureless organic matter soil organic matter sediment oxygen penetration sulphate reduction diagenetic zone sulphate-reducing bacteria thermal alteration index total dissolved solids transmission electron microscopy tissue preservation index total suspended matter total suspended solids transgressive systems tract temperature time index total organic carbon total organic matter terrestrial organic matter transported organic matter uncharacterized organic matter ultraviolet (fluorescence) per cent by volume (or relative area fraction in cross-section) visible organic matter (in thin or polished sections) vitrinite-like maceral (pre-land plant) vascular plant debris vitrinite reflectance (oil immersion) per cent by weight years before present

See also section 20.5.1(a) and Table 24.1 for other abbreviations related to kerogen types and POM size fractions, respectively.

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UNITS OF MEASUREMENT USED

IN FIGURES AND TEXT

Dimensions Volume Mass Time Density Settling rates Linear accumulation rates Mass accumulation rates

Primary productivity Discharge rates Concentrations Hydrocarbon yields Uptake/consumption rates Temperature Electrochemical potentials

ABSOLUTE AGES

nm; f1m; mm; em; m; km cm-3; 1; m-3

f1g; mg; g; kg; t s; h; d; a; ka; Ma g cm-3

cm S-I; m d-I mm a-I; cm a-I; cm ka-I; m Ma-I f1g cm-2 a-I; mg cm-2 a-I; mg m-2 a-\ g m-2 a-I; g cm-2 ka-I;

g m-2 ka-I

mgC m-2 d-I; gC m-2 a-I m-3 S-I %0; mIl-I; J.lg 1-1; mg 1-1; g m-3; f1M; mM; M mg g-I; kg t- I; 1 t- I mg m-2 h-I; mM m-2 d-I; mM cm-2 a-I °C mV

All absolute radiometric ages (Ma or ka) reported in the text are derived from Harland et al. (1990). The ages cited may be more specific than the named interval; for example, a Campanian-Maastrichtian study may be named only as 'Late Cretaceous', whereas the age range given corresponds to the actual stages studied.