Paleoceanographic Model of Neogene Phosphorite Deposition, U.S. Atlantic Continental Margin

Abstract

The Neogene stratigraphic section of the southeastern U.S. continental shelf-coastal plain system is characterized by (i) a series of major regional phosphogenic episodes; (ii) a strong spatial relationship between the structural or topographic framework and phosphate deposition; and (iii) distinct cyclical and regional patterns of deposition of the terrigenous, carbonate, and phosphate lithofacies. The complex depositional patterns are explained by a paleoceanographic model based upon the interaction of glacial eustatic sea-level fluctuations, associated changes in climate, and the dynamics of the Gulf Stream in response to the bathymetric configurations of the continental margin during the past 20 million years.