Microbial deposits in the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction: A diverging case from the Mineral Mountains (Utah, USA)

摘要

The Lower Triassic Mineral Mountains area (Utah, USA) preserves diversified Smithian and Spathian reefs and bioaccumulations that contain fenestral-microbialites and various benthic and pelagic organisms. Ecological and environmental changes during the Early Triassic are commonly assumed to be associated with numerous perturbations (productivity changes, acidification, redox changes, hypercapnia, eustatism and temperature changes) post-dating the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. New data acquired in the Mineral Mountains sediments provide evidence to decipher the relationships between depositional environments and the growth and distribution of microbial structures. These data also help to understand better the controlling factors acting upon sedimentation and community turnovers through the Smithian-early Spathian. The studied section records a large-scale depositional sequence during the Dienerian(?)-Spathian interval. During the transgression, depositional environments evolved from a coastal bay with continental deposits to intertidal fenestral-microbial limestones, shallow subtidal marine sponge-microbial reefs to deep subtidal mud-dominated limestones. Storm-induced deposits, microbialite-sponge reefs and shallow subtidal deposits indicate the regression. Three microbialite associations occur in ascending order: (i) a red beds microbialite association deposited in low-energy hypersaline supratidal conditions where microbialites consist of microbial mats and poorly preserved microbially induced sedimentary structure; (ii) a Smithian microbialite association formed in moderate to high-energy, tidal conditions where microbialites include stromatolites and associated carbonate grains (oncoids, ooids and peloids); and (iii) a Spathian microbialite association developed in low-energy offshore conditions that is preserved as multiple decimetre thick isolated domes and coalescent domes.