Abstract
The Baratal limestone in the Gorny Altai Mountains, southern Siberia, occurs as large allochthonous blocks within a Cambrian accretionary complex that developed around the Siberia craton. Before the final accretion to Siberia in the Cambrian, the terrigenous clastic-free Baratal limestone was deposited directly upon a basaltic basement with a geochemical signature identical to that of modern oceanic plateau. The Baratal limestone with 598±25 Ma (Early Vendian) Pb-Pb isochron age consists of three distinct facies; 1) massive lime mudstone with ooids and stromatolites, 2) bedded lime mudstone, and 3) limestone conglomerate/breccia dominated by ooid-bearing lime mudstone clasts. The first represents a shallow marine environment on top of an ancient oceanic plateau, while the latter two represent the deeper slope to bottom-of-slope facies of a plateau. The Vendian Baratal limestone provides the oldest example of a reconstructed shallow marine carbonate buildup complex developed on a plateau/seamount in a mid-ocean.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 422-428 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Proceedings of the Japan Academy Series B: Physical and Biological Sciences |
Volume | 80 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Nov 2004 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Altai
- Carbonate buildup
- Seamount
- Siberia
- Vendian
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Physics and Astronomy(all)