U-Pb dating of calcite cement and diagenetic history in microporous carbonate reservoirs : case of the Urgonian Limestone, France

Microporous carbonates can constitute excellent hydrocarbon reservoirs if their micro-pore and/or nanopore structure is sufficiently developed and continuous. In such deposits, assessing the exact timing of reservoir property stabilization is critical to better understand the postdepositional processes favorable to the creation or preservation of porosity. However, placing reliable and accurate chronological constraints on the formation of microporosity in these reservoirs is a major challenge. In this study we performed absolute U-Pb dating of calcite cements occurring in the Urgonian microporous limestone (northern Tethys margin) of southeastern France. U-Pb ages ranging between 96.7 +/- 4.9 Ma and 90.5 +/- 1.6 Ma were obtained on the major calcitic phase responsible for the cementation, and therefore the stabilization of microporosity, indicating that this diagenetic process occurred synchronously at the regional scale following an extended subaerial exposure. Our results show that (1) the mineralogical stabilization process responsible for the formation of an excellent pervasive microporous network took place relatively early, and (2) the so-acquired reservoir quality was preserved for more than 90 m.y. These observations emphasize the importance of long exposure periods and associated meteoric influx for the formation and preservation of good microporous reservoirs

RESERVOIR PROPERTIES OF BARREMIAN–APTIAN URGONIAN LIMESTONES, SE FRANCE, PART 2: INFLUENCE OF DIAGENESIS AND FRACTURING

International audienc

Post-obduction carbonate system development in New Caledonia (Nepoui, Lower Miocene)

For the first time, depositional models of Lower Miocene carbonate systems from New Caledonia (Southwest Pacific) are proposed, on the basis of a sedimentological and paleoenvironmental study of both cores and outcrops. In the Nepoui area, two distinct stages of carbonate ramp development (Aquitanian Lower Nepoui and Burdigalian Upper Nepoui carbonate systems), separated by a phase of siliciclastic deltaic deposition, are evidenced. The post-obduction marine transgression of the Western New Caledonian margin occurred at approximately 24 Ma and is characterized by the development of an aggrading foraminiferal-coralline algal-scleractinian ramp system ("Chapeau Chinois Limestone") during the early Aquitanian (24-23 Ma). A retrogradational event is evidenced at approximately 23 Ma followed by the development of a shallowing upward carbonate unit (Operculina "Green Sands" and Xuudhen Limestone) during the late Aquitanian. This unit is topped by a major erosional unconformity overlain by conglomeratic deposits ("Pindai conglomerates"), and interpreted to record a significant uplift at around 21-19 Ma. During the Burdigalian, a marine transgression occurred at around 19 Ma, followed by the development of a low-angle carbonate ramp or open platform ("Nepil Limestone") up to the late Burdigalian (19-17 Ma). In both Aquitanian and Burdigalian carbonate ramps, extensive sea-grass meadows are shown to have colonized the proximal ramp environments within the euphotic zone. In the Aquitanian carbonate ramp (Lower Nepoui Formation), carbonate production within sea-grass meadows is dominated by large benthic foraminifera, together with red algae and sparse scleractinians. Mesophotic environments are characterized by large and flat lepidocyclinids, rhodoliths and platy corals whereas in deeper oligophotic settings significant carbonate producers consist mainly of large and flat benthic foraminifera. In the Burdigalian carbonate ramp (Upper Nepoui Formation), porcellaneous foraminifera thriving in sea-grass meadows together with red algae and scattered coral colonies characterize the carbonate production in the euphotic zone. Antecedent topography is regarded as a major factor controlling the extension of carbonate systems at regional and local scale. The thickness and development pattern of Lower Miocene deposits from Nepoui are dominantly controlled by tectonic subsidence. Finally, extensive sea-grass development promoted the dominance of foralgal carbonate production within the euphotic zone

First Discovery of Channel-Levee Complexes In A Modern Deep-Water Carbonate Slope Environment

International audienceNew high-quality high-resolution seismic data along the western slope of the Great Bahama Bank reveals a present-day channel-levee complex developed in a pure carbonate setting. This complex grew over two buried complexes separated by erosion surfaces, suggesting both the continuity of downslope gravity-driven processes along this carbonate slope, and channel migration through avulsion, processes similar to what happens along siliciclastic slopes. Complex morphology and geometry are similar to analogs described in siliciclastic systems, but the size of the presented carbonate complex is smaller by a factor of ten. Integrating high-resolution seismic and core studies shows that this complex was built by the stacking of gravityflow deposits, including turbidites. It presently is inactive and buried by deposits from hemipelagic fallout or low-energy density processes channeled by the gully network; Recent sediments are reworked by along-slope bottom currents dominated by internal tides. The discovery of these channel-levee complexes has implications both on the conceptual models describing the behavior of carbonate slope systems and on hydrocarbon exploration by enhancing the reservoir-bearing potential of carbonate slopes

Convergent evolution of insect hearing organs from a preadaptive structure

Flies of the taxon Emblemasomatini (Sarcophagidae: Diptera) independently evolved an ear with the same anatomy and location as the Ormiini (Tachinidae: Diptera). Both ears represent a first case of convergent evolution of homologous insect ears, which raises the question for a preadaptation. Physiological and anatomical data indicate a preadaptive-sound-insensitive, but vibration-sensitive scolopidial chordotonal organ in non-hearing flies. As selective pressure for the evolutionary transformation from a vibration receiver into a sound receiver, fast and precise cues for the localization and detection of the sound producing hosts can be presumed