Facies model of a sedimentary record for a Pantanal‐like inland wetland

Despite recent advances in wetland studies, ancient wetland deposits are still not well documented, and their facies characteristics are poorly registered. Sedimentary facies and sequence stratigraphic analysis of the Miocene Yecua Formation (Chaco foreland basin, Central Andes, Bolivia) and their c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sedimentology 2020-12, Vol.67 (7), p.3683-3717
Main Authors: Tineo, David Eric, Kwiecien, Ola
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological activity
Carbonates
Climate
Climate change
Deposits
Floodplains
Geological time
Humid climates
Inland wetlands
limnogeology
Lithofacies
Miocene
Pantanal facies model
Rain
Rainfall
Sediment deposits
Sedimentary basins
Sedimentary facies
Sedimentation
Stratigraphy
Tropical climate
Water level fluctuations
Water levels
wetland sedimentology
Wetlands
Yecua Formation
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Summary:Despite recent advances in wetland studies, ancient wetland deposits are still not well documented, and their facies characteristics are poorly registered. Sedimentary facies and sequence stratigraphic analysis of the Miocene Yecua Formation (Chaco foreland basin, Central Andes, Bolivia) and their comparison to Pantanal‐like modern wetlands provide an insight into their variability, suggesting a facies model for large inland wetlands that developed in a tropical–subtropical climate. Sedimentological features show that clastic, chemical and biological processes in these environments lead to distinguishable lithofacies variations. Six architectural elements are described: (i) muddy sublittoral (FA1); (ii) mixed siliciclastic–carbonate shoreface (FA2); (iii) sand‐flat (FA3) and (iv) mud‐flat (FA4) deposits; (iv) floodplain (FA5); and (vi) simple channel deposits (FA6). The succession is composed of shallowing‐upward parasequences with different facies characteristics caused by climatically‐driven changes of the water level over three orders of magnitude and cyclicity. These cyclic changes reflect a climatic control on the sedimentation. A palaeoclimatic interpretation suggests a generally warm, humid climate with marked rainfall regime changes. The aim of this article is to use this dataset to improve the understanding of depositional elements, lithologies and stratigraphy in tropical–subtropical large inland wetlands. The proposed criteria will help in recognizing inland wetland deposits in other sedimentary basins.
ISSN:0037-0746
1365-3091
DOI:10.1111/sed.12766