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Bacterial sulphate reduction and calcite precipitation in hypersaline deposition of bituminous shales

Abstract

BITUMINOUS shales of the Ghareb Formation of Maastrichtian age from Nebi Musa (near Jericho, Jordan Valley) were analysed for their texture, mineralogical and chemical composition. The results from the lowermost bed of the formation are of broad interest, and indicate special diagenetic processes affecting sediments rich in organic material deposited in an anaerobic hypersaline environment. Single crystal calcite replacement of gypsum infilling of foraminifera and a predominance of even over odd carbon numbers among C28–C30 n-alkanes indicate sulphate reducing bacterial activity during deposition of bituminous shales in a hypersaline environment.

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SPIRO, B. Bacterial sulphate reduction and calcite precipitation in hypersaline deposition of bituminous shales. Nature 269, 235–237 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/269235a0

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