Effects of early seafloor processes on skeletal carbonate deposits, Ross Sea, Antarctica

Abstract:

Although relatively rare in space and time, skeletal carbonates deposited in glacially influenced settings hold great potential for improving understanding of the oceanography of the high latitudes. Accumulation in an environment where ocean water is close to carbonate undersaturation has major implications for component preservation and thus potential translation into the geological record. To understand the effects of early seafloor processes, we investigate Quaternary deposits of carbonates recovered in piston cores from the Ross Sea, Antarctica. In this setting, unconsolidated skeletal gravels and sands mantle areas of the outer shelf swept by bottom currents and beneath a zone of high primary productivity. Deposits are dominated locally by either stylasterine hydrocorals, barnacles, or bryozoans, comprising assemblages that differ from those living today. Radiocarbon ages indicate that carbonate factories were most prolific during the leadup to the Last Glacial Maximum, when sediment input was minimized, and have been mostly dormant since. Although there is little evidence for dissolution, skeletal debris is highly fragmented, abraded, and intensely bioeroded. The degree of destruction by these processes is highly selective amongst taxa, with skeletal structure influencing resistance to physical and biological breakdown. Overlapping generations of endolithic borings reflect moderate to high nutrient availability and repeated exposure of grains to infestation. Preserved grains are entirely calcitic and lack evidence of inorganic precipitation, implying potential taphonomic loss of aragonitic components. Observations indicate that seafloor processes in this setting combine to destroy a significant amount of carbonate as well as alter original depositional textures of deposits. Interpretations of ancient glaciomarine carbonates must consider the potential for significant biases created by destructive early seafloor processes.