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Sulphur isotope stratigraphy of drill cuttings and stratigraphic correlation of Permian-Triassic evaporites

Salisbury, Jack; Gröcke, Darren R.; McKie, Tom

Sulphur isotope stratigraphy of drill cuttings and stratigraphic correlation of Permian-Triassic evaporites Thumbnail


Authors

Jack Salisbury jack.salisbury@durham.ac.uk
PGR Student Doctor of Philosophy

Tom McKie



Abstract

The stratigraphy of the European late Permian-Triassic commonly lacks chronostratigraphic constraint due to the scarcity of diagnostic fossils for biostratigraphy. This is particularly true for the United Kingdom, and as a result, stratigraphic correlation within and between sedimentary basins is primarily reliant on lithostratigraphy. Evaporitic sulphate can be used to develop time series of δ34Sevap data that can be utilised for stratigraphic correlation. However, the availability of continuous drillcore is limited, whilst drill cuttings are commonly acquired but are widely overlooked for stable isotope stratigraphy. We derive a δ34Sevap record from drill cuttings from the southern North Sea Basin, and successfully correlate it with an equivalent published δ34Sevap record from a continuous drillcore in the Cleveland Basin, Yorkshire, United Kingdom. We have chosen seven points in the δ34Sevap records for stratigraphic correlation, defining eight packages of isotopically distinct coeval strata. This is significant, as the ubiquity of drill cuttings presents the opportunity to derive δ34Sevap curves with high geospatial resolution. Equivalent gamma ray logs were used for correlation and compared with the δ34Sevap curves. The correlations agree relatively well, however, the δ34Sevap correlation permits the development of more robust chronostratigraphic constraints. Specifically, the δ34Sevap records constrain the age of the Bunter Shale and Bunter Sandstone in the western Southern North Sea to the latest Permian. This has significant implications for understanding the stratigraphy and palaeogeographic evolution of United Kingdom Permian-Triassic sedimentary basins, and may have economic implications, since the Bunter Sandstone is being considered as a potential reservoir for CO2 storage in the United Kingdom sector.

Citation

Salisbury, J., Gröcke, D. R., & McKie, T. (2023). Sulphur isotope stratigraphy of drill cuttings and stratigraphic correlation of Permian-Triassic evaporites. Frontiers in Earth Science, 11,

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 22, 2023
Online Publication Date Aug 11, 2023
Publication Date Jul 11, 2023
Deposit Date Jun 23, 2023
Publicly Available Date Aug 14, 2023
Journal Frontiers in Earth Science: Sedimentology, Stratigraphy and Diagenesis
Publisher Frontiers Media
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 11
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1170357
Publisher URL https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/earth-science/sections/sedimentology-stratigraphy-and-diagenesis

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Copyright Statement
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms






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