Storm-generated accumulation of nummulite banks in Eocene of Cairo, Egypt
Nummulite banks which are common in neritic and shelf-edge facies in many parts of the Tethyan Eocene have been mainly regarded as reef-type buildups so far. However, stratification and biofabrics of such banks in the middle Eocene around Cairo demonstrate the importance of physical processes in molding nummulitic sediment bodies. Initiation of a nummulite bank at the Giza Pyramids Plateau is localized by a preexisting paleohigh, inherited from Late Cretaceous tectonism. On this submarine swell (about 1 x 1.5 km wide), ecological conditions were optimal for a flourishing Nummulites gizehensis-community, resulting in greater sediment production than in adjacent environments. Growth of the nummulite bank into a sediment body over 30 m (98 ft) in thickness and more than 1 km (.62 mi) in length is strongly enhanced by mechanical concentration of nummulite tests into coquinal packstones. These are interpreted to be a product of storm-generated winnowing. Paleoecological evidence shows that nummulite banks are largely an in-situ lag deposit. Periods of nummulite settlement are episodically disturbed by catastrophic storm events, which result in winnowing and local accumulation of the heavier bioclasts. During shallowing, patch reefs and a back-bank lagoon formed on the landward side of the bank. This facies association may be regarded as a model for hydrocarbon reservoirs. The high intraparticle porosity in nummulite tests (54%) makes the banks a potential reservoir, while adjacent and overlying lagoonal mudstone and wackestone may serve as source and cap rocks.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Miami, FL
- OSTI ID:
- 6184568
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-8304200-
- Journal Information:
- Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States), Vol. 67:3; Conference: Annual AAPG/SEPM/EMD/DPA convention, Dallas, TX, USA, 17 Apr 1983
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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