Resolution Guyot (Hole 866A, Mid-Pacific Mountains): facies evolution and sequence stratigraphy

Abstract

Hole 866A on Resolution Guyot, in the Mid-Pacific Mountains, recorded a 1619-m-thick Hauterivian to Albian shallow-water carbonate sequence above volcanic basement, and overlain by a thin late Cretaceous to Cenozoic pelagic cap. Facies organization, geophysical log examination, and sequence stratigraphy interpretation give rise to a detailed history of the interplay of sedimentation and relative sea-level changes, and a comparison with that from other Lower Cretaceous platforms of the northern and southern margins of the Tethys. The Hauterivian to Aptian sequence consists of 19 depositional sequences, each characterized by transgressive systems tract, maximum flooding, and highstand systems tract. The general sedimentary evolution at Hole 866A is similar to that of Tethyan platforms, as the same number of depositional sequences and maximum flooding events could be identified. This indicates that sedimentation on Resolution Guyot was influenced more by global sea-level changes than by local variations in subsidence rates. -from Authors