Trace Metal Variations through the Tartan and Waipawa Formations: Implications for the Environment of Deposition

Abstract

An inorganic geochemical study of the Late Paleocene organic matter-rich Waipawa and Tartan formations was undertaken in order to investigate the depositional environment. The formation varies in thickness between 2 and 50 metres and is distributed across many of New Zealand’s Cenozoic basins, where it forms an important potential hydrocarbon source rock. This study measured major and trace elements which can be loosely grouped into redox sensitive, biologically influenced, terrestrially sourced, and rare earth elements (REE). The study focused on three sections through the Waipawa and Tartan formations: Angora Quarry in the East Coast Basin, and the Great South Basin hydrocarbon exploration wells Kawau-1A and Pakaha-1. At Angora Quarry, x-ray fluorescence (XRF) was used to measure the major constituents Na₂O, MgO, Al₂O₃, SiO₂, P₂O₅, SO₃, K₂O, CaO, TiO₂, MnO and Fe₂O₃. inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to measure Li, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Ge, As, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Cd, Sn, Sb, Ba, REE, Hf, Tl, Pb, Th and U. For Pakaha-1 and Kawau-1A side wall core samples, ICP-MS was used to measure Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Cd, Sn, Sb, Hf, Ta, W, Tl, Pb, Bi, Th and U. Insufficient sample was available for XRF on these samples. No major changes in oxygen concentration during deposition were recorded by redox-sensitive elements from Angora Quarry and Pakaha-1 sediments; however samples from Kawau-1A and from a section 1 km upstream from Angora Quarry were deposited under somewhat oxygen-depleted conditions. As the anoxic and suboxic indicators show significantly lower variations than under present day anoxic environments, and in Angora Quarry CaO and SO₃ are significantly depleted with higher aluminosilicates a rapid deposition is required to explain the preservation of the organic matter. In the Great South Basin wells, the clay content correlates directly with increased gamma ray levels measured by well logs. Increased influx of terrestrial clays has been linked to marine transgressions in many New Zealand sediments and is been taken to mean the same for the Waipawa and Tartan formations. The oxygen depletion indicates that water depths during deposition exceeded 50 metres. The depositional model proposed here, therefore, is that of a major marine transgression that flooded and eroded near-shore swamps, re-depositing the terrestrial organic matter offshore. The increased nutrients released by this would have stimulated bioproductivity and locally, where conditions were suitable, depleted the oxygen content of the water column. This study also suggests ternary diagrams are valuable for calculating the enrichment of elements affected by two processes, such as Sr, which is related to both detrital Al and related to biological Ca. Ga, Ba and Al content are also related on a ternary diagram indicating the similar terrestrial and biological relationships for Ba and Ga. W was found to behave in a similar way to Bi. Enrichment factors proved less useful than absolute enrichment for Kawau-1A, where detrital input varied greatly and was found to be significantly different in composition to average shale as defined by Wedephol (1971).