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The Middle Triassic Geli Khana Formation is one of the important formations for the opportunity to study the Anisian-Ladinian facies and depositional environment in northern Iraq. Two sections (outcrop and subsurface) were selected to study the litho- and microfacies of the Geli Khana succession and to interpret its depositional environment. The formation is divided into five lithofacies (A-E) comprising dolomite, dolomitic, and marly limestones; calcareous shaly and marly limestones; limestone with dolomitic and marly limestones; black shales; and evaporites. Five microfacies were recognized, these include mudstone, silty mudstone, graded mudstone, oyster (bioclastic) wackstone, and laminated silty oyster packstone microfacies. Generally, the studied succession represents shallow reducing marine environment with peritidal carbonate facies in which three environments, supratidal, intertidal, and subtidal, were recognized. The deeper subtidal environment dominates in the northern parts of the basin while the shallower supratidal is common in the southern parts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The studied carbonates are present within the middle part of the Tertiary siliciclastic dominated succession in Haddat Ash Sham area. This succession consists of conglomerates, sandstones, siltstones, mudstones, and ironstones arranged in upward coarsening and fining cycles of intermittent depositional environments ranging from fluvial coastal plain to shallow marine. The carbonates represent deposition in slightly restricted depositional environments during periods of very low clastic input. The studied two carbonate sections show a pronounced lateral and vertical changes from predominantly dolostones in the west to mixed dolostones and limestones in the east. Both sections began by egg yellow dolomitic lime mudstones and fine crystalline dolomite which indicate the formation of dolomite by late depositional to early diagenetic recrystallization of precursor Fe and Mg lime mud. During this time period, the western part of the study area continues in the deposition of Fe and Mg lime mud in slightly restricted depositional environments and formation of interbedded fine and coarse crystalline dolostones in coarsening-upward cycles. In the eastern part, the depositional environments become deeper and more circulated with short-lived periods of fluctuation in sea level and hence the deposition of foraminiferal wackestone, bioclastic packstones, and bioclastic rudstone in coarsening and shallowing-upward cycles. Both the western and eastern parts of the study area are terminated by characteristic yellow coarse crystalline phosphatic dolomite which indicate ultimate stages of shoaling and increasing the level and concentration of phosphorous in the restricted water and hence the formation of in situ and reworked phosphatic components. The diagenetic processes affected the dolostones and limestones microfacies associations include: dolomitization of Fe and Mg-rich lime mud, hematitization, calcitization, gypsification, and phosphatization of dolomite. Neophormation and recrystallization of micritic matrix and micritic intraclasts as well as shell fragments are the main diagenetic processes affected the limestones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Platform carbonate sediments of Liassic age cropping out in the area of the Pigadi-Fokianos Gulf (SE of Leonidion, Peloponnesus) have been investigated in order to determine their depositional environment. Facies analysis allowed the recognition of several microfacies types and their cyclic stacking pattern. The carbonates were deposited in a restricted inner platform environment (lagoon-peritidal domain) and are arranged into small-scale shallowing-upward cycles. Palaeosol horizons containing typical pedogenic features are developed on the top of the peritidal facies or are directly superimposed on subtidal deposits, forming diagenetic caps. This implies repeated sea-level fluctuations and periodic emersion episodes. The presence of orbitally forced cyclicity though is mostly probable, cannot be clearly documented by the available data. The studied carbonates are comparable with other coeval analogous peritidal cycles of the same age along the southern margin of the Tethys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Late Albian, Early and Middle Cenomanian in the NW part of the Adriatic Carbonate Platform (presentday Istria) specific depositional systems characterised by frequent lateral and vertical facies variations were established within a formerly homogeneous area, ranging from peritidal and barrier bars to the offshore-transition zone. In southern Istria this period is represented by the following succession: thin-bedded peritidal peloidal and stromatolitic limestones (Upper Albian); well-bedded foreshore to shoreface packstones/grainstones with synsedimentary dliding and slumping (Vraconian-lowermost Cenomanian); shoreface to off-shore storm-generated limestones (Lower Cenomanian); massive off-shore to shoreface carbonate sand bodies (Lower Cenomanian); prograding rudist bioclastic subaqueous dunes (Lower to Middle Cenomanian); rudist biostromes (Lower to Middle Cenomanian), and high-energy rudist and ostreid coquina beds within skeletal wackestones/packstones (Middle Cenomanian). Rapid changes of depositional systems near the Albian/Cenomanian transition in Istria are mainly the result of synsedimentary tectonics and the establishment of extensive rudist colonies producing enormous quantities of bioclastic material rather than the influence of eustatic changes. Tectonism is evidenced by the occurrence of sliding scars, slumps, small-scale synsedimentary faults and conspicuous bathymetric changes in formerly corresponding environments. Consequently, during the Early Cenomanian in the region of southern Istria, a deepening of the sedimentary environments occurred towards the SE, resulting in the establishment of a carbonate ramp system. Deeper parts of the ramp were below fair-weather wave base (FWWB), while the shallower parts were characterised by high-energy environments with extensive rudist colonies, and high organic production leading to the progradation of bioclastic subaqueous dunes. This resulted in numerous shallowing- and coarsening-upwards clinostratified sequences completely infilling formerly deeper environments, and the final re-establishment of the shallow-water environments over the entire area during the Middle Cenomanian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]