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USGS · 70010497

Methane-derived marine carbonates of pleistocene age

J.C. Hathaway·E.T. Degens
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Abstract

In some calcium carbonate-bearing sandstones from the edge of the continental shelf off the northeast United States, the δC 13 range is from -30 and -60 per mil for both aragonite and high-magnesium calcite. The δC 13 of co-existing shells of Modiolus sp. is normal (+ 1.7 to -2.7 per mil). The δO 18 values of around + 3.5 per mil in all samples suggest deposition at temperatures around 0°C. Quaternary methane oxidized either chemically or microbiologically to carbon dioxide is the probable source of carbon in these carbonates.

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J.C. Hathaway, E.T. Degens. 1969. Methane-derived marine carbonates of pleistocene age. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.165.3894.690

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