Palaeoproterozoic, rift-related, ¹³C-rich, lacustrine carbonates, NW Russia. Part I: Sedimentology and major element geochemistry

Abstract

The 150-m-thick Kuetsjärvi Sedimentary Formation (KSF) from the Pechenga Greenstone Belt, NW Russia, is one of the key formations in the study of a positive δ¹³C_carb excursion occurring globally in the Palaeoproterozoic. The KSF formed in an intracratonic rift setting and is sandwiched between two, 2-km-thick subaerially erupted volcanic units. The KSF was previously interpreted as shallow marine, but new data reported here indicate that it is a non-marine unit deposited on a deeply subaerially weathered surface mantling the underlying volcanic rocks. The lowermost part of the KSF represents an alluvial–fluvial plain, followed by a laterally and vertically variable succession of variegated to mottled fine-grained siliciclastic rocks and ‘red beds‘, dolostones containing stromatolite sheets, hydrothermal travertine deposits and abundant desiccation features (e.g.tepees, surfical silicified crusts and dissolution cavities), including probable pseudomorphed evaporites. Measured S and C_org concentrations for the carbonate and siliciclastic rocks are low. Combined, these features indicate that the carbonate rocks of the KSF accumulated in a shallow lacustrine setting. Major types of carbonate facies were formed by: (1) biologically-induced precipitation; (2) evaporitic removal of CO₂ in a closed lake environment; and (3) chemical precipitation from thermal springs. Apparently, none of these carbonate facies was in full isotopic equilibrium with atmospheric CO₂. This interpretation shows the importance of taking into account the interplay between global and local depositional factors when interpreting the isotopic signature of the KSF dolostones and its implication for the Palaeoproterozoic carbon isotope excursion