Abstract: Sedimentary Record of Paleoclimate in Carbonate Tidal Flats

R. N. Ginsburg

Of all ancient carbonates, tidal-flat deposits have the largest potentially legible record of paleoclimate. In these deposits physical and organic processes are coupled closely to weather, and syndepositional lithification often preserves primary features that otherwise are obliterated by later diagenesis.

A major distinction in the paleoclimate of tidal-flat carbonates is based on the presence of evaporites (arid) or of thin coals or algal tufa (humid); between these two end members close attention to sedimentary features, both physical and organic, can yield information on local weather and on patterns of atmospheric circulation. Small-scale stratification, thin bedding and lamination, is a selective record of "storm flooding;" form of algal structures and the pattern of syndepositional lithification are influenced strongly by the balance between evaporation and rainfall; amount and composition of silt-sized eolian components (dust) can give information on regional climate and possibly on prevailing wind direction.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90972©1976 AAPG-SEPM Annual Convention and Exhibition, New Orleans, LA