Sedimentology, biostratinomy, and palaeoecology of an Upper Jurassic offshore sand bar complex ( Oxfordian, Milne land, Greenland-east).

Abstract

The Aldinger Elv Member (Upper Oxfordian) of Milne Land, East Greenland, is a wedge-shaped sand body up to 90m thick, intercalated between silty shales. The combination of sedimentological, biostratinomic and palaeoecological data allows a detailed reconstruction of the morphology, genesis, and palaeogeography of the bar complex. Three macrobenthic associations and four ichnocoenoses are distinguished. The former occur in situ as well as in various stages of reworking. Convex-upward shell pavements were formed by currents, while unsorted shell beds were generated by storms. The sand wedge is interpreted as a shallow offshore sand complex separated from the shore by a broad swale and supplied with sediment from the N along a shoal which extended S, while the coastline was deflected in a SW direction by a slow transgression.-from Authors