Testing Elemental Salinity Proxies in Paleozoic Epicontinental Deposits of Iran

Abstract

Paleozoic epicratonic formations in Iran, like many similar deposits globally, have traditionally been interpreted as fully marine based on lithology and facies, but recently developed bulk-sediment elemental proxies (B/Ga, excess boron (B_xs), and Sr/Ba) have shown that such inferences may overlook low-salinity conditions and/or salinity variability. Here, we test these proxies against established lithology- and facies-based salinity interpretations in five well-studied formations: the Uppermost Ordovician–Lower Silurian Sarchahan Formation (Fm) (Zagros, S-C Iran), the Upper Devonian Geirud Fm (Alborz, N-C Iran) and Shishto Fm (Tabas, NE Iran), and the Lower Carboniferous Mobarak and Dozdehband Fms (Alborz, N-C Iran). The study formations are variably carbonate-rich, making the Sr/Ba proxy generally unsuitable for salinity analysis, and constraining the utility of the B/Ga proxy to samples with > 2% Al content; B_xs proved to be the most generally applicable proxy to the study units. Our results show freshwater to brackish conditions in shales and marls of the Dozdehband Fm, brackish to marine conditions in limestones of the Geirud, Shishto, and Mobarak Fms, and fully marine conditions in marls of the Sarchahan Fm. These salinity interpretations mostly support existing paleoenvironmental inferences based on sediment lithology and facies analysis, affirming the reliability of elemental paleosalinity proxies, but they yield more detailed assessments of secular changes in salinity than previously achieved, and they provide more nuanced insights into basin-specific patterns of salinity variation (e.g., episodic brackish events linked to restricted seawater inflow into a marginal-marine basin during deposition of the Dozdehband Fm). Our findings underscore the value of a lithology-calibrated multi-proxy approach for paleosalinity reconstruction and validate the utility of salinity data in assessing paleo-environmental conditions in ancient epicratonic basins.

Keywords

B/Ga / excess boron / Sr/Ba / Silurian / Devonian / Carboniferous

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