Depositional environment of the Patala Formation in biostratigraphic and sequence stratigraphic context from Kali Dilli Section, Kala Chitta Range, Pakistan
Keywords:
Paleocene; Patala Formation; Foraminifera; Kala Chitta Range; PakistanAbstract
The late Paleocene-early Eocene Patala Formation of the Kala Chitta Range represents a latest Paleocene foraminiferal dominated unit of the low latitude Tethyan carbonate platform benthic community evolution. The latest Paleocene stage is dominated by the Ranikothalia sp. and Miscellanea sp. larger foraminifera with subordinate dasycladacean green algae indicating Shallow Benthic zones 4 & 5 (SBZ4 & SBZ5). The late Paleocene benthic community in the Indus Basin is devoid of any coral taxa. The absence of coral taxa is attributed to the high temperature associated with the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). The hot temperature of the PETM in low latitude hampers the growth of temperature sensitive corals as noted in other low latitude Tethyan sections.
The latest Paleocene foraminiferal dominated unit is composed of 10 sub-microfacies types grouped into 3 microfacies including packstone, wacke-packstone and wackstone. The microfacies types indicate intertidal open marine foraminiferal shoal to intertidal lagoonal environment of deposition.
Microfacies analysis also yields a second order sequence (i.e., ThPat) of the latest Thanetian which is composed of a third order highstand system tract and six vertically stacked parasequences of fourth/fifth order showing aggradation.
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