ABSTRACT: Diagenesis and Porosity Development Associated with Major Sea Level Fluctuations, Upper Permian, Jameson Land, East Greenland

Peter A. Scholle, Dana S. Ulmer, Lars Stemmerik

The Upper Permian of Jameson Land includes two major carbonate sequences, represented by the Karstryggen and Wegener Halvo formations. The initial Karstryggen transgression led to the development of a shallow marine platform with structurally controlled evaporite basins (salinas) separated by stromatolitic, peloidal, or micritic carbonate depositional areas. The Wegener Halvo sequence reflects more rapid and extensive transgression with the deposition of three subcycles of fully marine, platform, or biohermal carbonates containing minor evaporites near the basin margins. Bioherms (bryozoan-brachiopod-marine cement mounds) show >100 m of relief, indicating that large relative sea level changes were involved. Both the Karstryggen and Wegener Halvo cycles were terminated y major regressions, which led to karstic and/or fluvial incision of the underlying sequences.

Not surprisingly, carbonate and evaporite diagenesis was greatly affected by these regional or eustatic sea level fluctuations. Evaporites dissolved or were replaced by calcite and celestite under the influence of meteoric waters. Limestones show collapse brecciation, grain leaching, soil development, and characteristic vadose and phreatic cements. Most significantly, meteoric flushing led to massive dissolution of botryoidal marine cements (aragonite and probable high-Mg calcite) within biohermal facies on the Wegener Peninsula. This early porosity resurrection led to the preservation of porous bioherm core zones until hydrocarbon migration. Only late (posthydrocarbon), probably hydrothermal fluid flow led to cementation of the bioherm cores while expelling most of the reservoired hy rocarbons.

If the sea level changes affecting the Greenlandic Permian are eustatic, then this study may provide significant clues to porosity development throughout the largely unexplored northern Zechstein basin.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91003©1990 AAPG Annual Convention, San Francisco, California, June 3-6, 1990