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Open carbonate ramp facies, microfacies and paleoenvironments of the

Gramame Formation (Maastrichtian), Pernambuco-Paraba Basin,
Northeastern Brazil

Article  in  Journal of South American Earth Sciences · July 1999

DOI: 10.1016/S0895-9811(99)00027-9

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 Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433

Open carbonate ramp facies, microfacies and paleoenvironments

of the Gramame Formation (Maastrichtian), Pernambuco±ParaõÂ ba
Basin, Northeastern Brazil
Muftah Saleh M. El gadi*, Michael E. Brook®eld
Land Resource Science, Guelph University, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada

Abstract

The monotonous carbonates of the Maastrichtian Gramame Formation can be divided into 11 microfacies, but these do not
correspond with the ®ve major facies distinguished in the ®eld. The microfacies were grouped into six composite microfacies
which were used to construct a depositional model. In this model, tectonic disturbances of a relatively steeply sloping carbonate
ramp caused apparently random occurrences of coarser and sandier bioclastics and in¯ux of clastic material into generally mid-
outer-ramp environments. Only the central section of the carbonate ramp is exposed in a strike section. Shallower and deeper
facies must be inferred from the transgressive nature of the sequence. Dolomitization is ubiquitous but apparently random. The
closest modern analogy of the Gramame Formation is the relatively steep West Florida ramp. However this does not have fault-
bounded shallows, for which analogies can be found on the shelf of the Arabian Gulf. Combining features from both of these
allows a plausible reconstruction to be made of Gramame Formation environments. We envisage a steeply sloping ramp cut by
horsts and grabens related to the opening of the south Atlantic ocean. # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction The area studied forms part of the coast between

Recife to the south and JoaÄo Pessoa to the north and
The Pernambuco±ParaõÂ ba basin of northeastern is about 100 km long and on average 25 km wide,
Brazil is one of the rift-passive margin basins which with beds dipping gently to the east (Tinoco, 1967)
evolved on the Brazilian continental margin as Africa (Fig. 2).
separated from South America during the opening of the
South Atlantic (Asmus, 1981) (Fig. 1). The
Maastrichtian Gramame Formation is the ®rst open-
2. Geologic setting
marine deposit of the Pernambuco±ParaõÂ ba basin and is
younger than the ®rst marine deposits in other basins.
The Mesozoic±Cenozoic basins of northeastern
The aim of this research was to infer the deposi-
Brazil lie on the elbow junction between the east±west
tional environments of the relatively monotonous
spreading of the South Atlantic and the oblique
Gramame Formation carbonates from detailed micro-
north±north-east to south±south-west spreading of the
facies studies, supplemented by other available sedi-
Central Atlantic (Asmus, 1981; Mabesoone and
mentary, geochemical and fossil evidence, and use
Alheiros, 1988). The basins change from N±S to E±W
these to characterize and reconstruct the evolution of
orientation from south to north. The transition shows
the carbonate platform.
complex fault orientation and control, further compli-
cated by the reactivation of the generally east±north-
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +001-519-824-2654; fax: +001-519-
east trending Precambrian structural grain (Fig. 1).
824-5730. Most of the Brazilian continental margin basins
E-mail address: melgadi@lrs.uoguelph.ca (M.S.M. El gadi). have similar histories (Chang et al., 1988: Ojeda, 1982;

0895-9811/99/$ - see front matter # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 8 9 5 - 9 8 1 1 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 2 7 - 9
412 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433
Fig. 1. Tectonic setting of northeastern Brazilian basins.
Ponte and Asmus, 1978). The extensional phase of
uplift, rifting and basaltic volcanism within
Gondwanaland began along the joined southeastern
Brazilian and southwestern African margins in the
Upper Jurassic±Lower Cretaceous and was followed
by syn-rift subsidence and continental sedimentation,
including lacustrine carbonates. The transitional phase
began during the Aptian, as separation of southeastern
Brazil and southwestern Africa caused the sea to ¯ood
the rift, depositing thick evaporites. The succeeding
separation and thermal subsidence phase began with
transgressive Albian marine carbonates which mark
the development of open marine conditions and pas-
sive margin subsidence. Younger sedimentation was
controlled by the interplay of subsidence, sedimen-
tation, sea-level changes and climate with sea-ward
deepening facies and successions bounded by uncon-
formities.
However, the Pernambuco±ParaõÂ ba basin, at the
junction of the major basin trends, had a rather di€er-
ent history. Intermittent basaltic volcanism and uplift
persisted into the Turonian, while continental sedimen-
tation began in the rift during the Santonian. Marine
¯ooding began in the Maastrichtian with the transgres-
sive carbonates of the Gramame Formation uncon-
formably overlying basement. The top of the
Formation is marked by a coarse tsunami deposit
attributed to the end of Cretaceous meteorite impact
(AlbertaÄo and Martins, 1996). After this, carbonate
sedimentation resumed with the Danian Maria
Farinha Formation. In other basins marginal marine
conditions persisted to Recent times. However in the
Pernambuco±ParaõÂ ba basin, mid-Cenozoic uplift and
erosion was followed by the deposition of thick
Pliocene to Recent non-marine sediments of the
Barreiras Group.
Detailed geophysical studies show that
Pernambuco±ParaõÂ ba and other coastal basins are
divided into fault-blocks which plunge seaward
(Beurlen, 1967; Mabesoone, 1967; Rand, 1967; Tinoco,
1967). Two reactivated Precambrian fault zones,
known as the `Patos' or `ParaõÂ ba' and `Pernambuco'
lineaments partly controlled sedimentation in the
Pernambuco±ParaõÂ ba basin.
 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433 413

Fig. 2. Geological map of Pernambuco±ParaõÂ ba basin and location of studied pro®les.

3. Stratigraphy on late Aptian to Turonian basaltic volcanics and was

The Pernambuco±ParaõÂ ba basin has two main
depositional complexes, the ParaõÂ ba and Barreiras
Groups (Fig. 2). The ParaõÂ ba Group contains the
Beberibe, Gramame and Maria Farinha Formations.
The Beberibe Formation (Santonian±Campanian) Ð
sometimes called the Itamaraca Formation Рconsists
of coarse to ®ne sandy clastics passing towards the
coast into calciferous sandstones. This unit rests partly
deposited in an alluvial fan system in its lower part
and a deltaic fan in its upper part and marks the rift-
ing phase (Ojeda, 1976). The Beberibe Formation is
transgressively overlain by the basal sandy limestones
of the Gramame Formation. Within the transition, or
at its top, are sandy phosphatic limestones with up to
30% P2O5 (Mabesoone et al., 1968).
The Gramame Formation (Maastrichtian) has phos-
phatic sandy limestones at its base passing up into
414 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433

Fig. 3. Field classi®cation for carbonates (after Mabesoone, 1983).

diverse ®ne-grained, fossiliferous, shallow to deep shelf
limestones and marls which mark the marine transgres-
sive phase. The foraminiferal fauna is dominated by
planktonic forms (70±90%) (Mabesoone et al., 1968).
An erosive surface separates the Gramame Formation
from the overlying Maria Farinha Formation.
The Maria Farinha Formation (Paleocene) begins
with a thick, graded bioclastic and intraclastic lime-
stone, interpreted as a tsunami deposit associated with
the end of Cretaceous meteorite impact (AlbertaÄo and
Martins, 1996). Above are ®ne-grained deep shelf lime-
stones, marls and shales similar to those of the
Gramame Formation. However, the foramineral fauna
is dominated by benthonic forms with planktonic
forms always less than 15% and usually less than 5%
(Mabesoone et al., 1968). This suggests that the Maria
Farinha Formation sediments were generally deposited
in shallower water than those of the Gramame
Formation (Koutsoukos and Hart, 1990). The Maria
Farinha Formation closes the sedimentary cycle of the
opening phase of the Atlantic Ocean in this area
(Ojeda, 1982).
 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433
Fig. 4. Pro®les of Gramame Formation.
The Barreiras Group was deposited at the end of
the Pliocene and consists of coarse to ®ne continental
clastics up to 120 m thick. Quaternary sediments are
continental alluvial sands deposited along new valleys
and along the coast.
4. Facies of the Gramame Formation
The Gramame Formation is dominated by monoto-
nous dark to light gray to yellowish, ®ne to medium
grained marly limestones alternating with marl and
with local calcarenites. The sediments are heavily bio-
turbated and contain shells and/or recrystallized frag-
ments of foraminifera, bivalves and other organisms
which locally form the bulk of the rock. Insoluble resi-
dues vary between 10 and 35% and are mostly clay
with some quartz grains.
415
Ten pro®les were studied in natural outcrops and
quarries (Fig. 2). Unfortunately, the pro®les lie
roughly along the strike of the basin and therefore do
not show a consistent onshore±o€shore environmental
variation from pro®le to pro®le (though the more com-
plete individual pro®les do show a rough trend from
shallow to deep to shallower facies). The ®eld classi®-
cation used for these carbonates is shown on Fig. 3.
The pro®les and the distribution of the ®ve facies
(combining six microfacies) are shown on Fig. 4.
1. Sandy limestones contain between 5 and 25% of
detrital sediment, dominated by quartz. They occur
near the base of the formation north of the Goiana
fault, speci®cally at Igarabu, AÂrvore Alta and Cigra
(localities 6,7,8). Sandy limestones contain fossils of
benthic organisms: corals, bryozoans, echinoids,
gastropods and bivalves (Oliviera and Ramos,
1956). Planktonic foraminifera are scarce. The
416 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433
Fig. 5. Detailed microfacies in the Gramame Formation.
sandy limestones were deposited in nearshore, shal-
low areas.
2. Marly limestones contain between 5 and 25% of
detrital sediment dominated by silt and clay and
form the bulk of the Gramame Formation. They
consist of wackestones and mudstones with variable
proportions of benthic macrofauna, benthic forami-
nifera, and planktonic foraminifera and calci-
spheres.
3. Calcareous marls contain between 25 and 40% of
detrital sediment dominated by silt and clay and
occur interbedded with marly limestones and marls
throughout the pro®les. Thicker calcareous marl
sections tend to occur in the southernmost outcrop
interbedded with marls, in the northernnmost out-
crop interbedded with marly limestone, and at the
top of the formation in the most complete sections.
Calcareous marls are mainly mudstones with rare
wackestones (locally packstones are composed of
planktonic foraminera and are really mudstones
hydrodynamically). The dominant fossils are plank-
tonic foraminifera and calcispheres with very minor
amounts of benthic macrofauna (almost entirely
echinoids) and benthic foraminifera.
4. Marls contain between 40 and 60% clastic sediment,
dominantly silt and clay, and are the most detritally
contaminated carbonates found in the Gramame
Formation. They occur interbedded with marly
limestone and calcareous marl, mostly in the central
localities (6 and 7). Thicker beds occur in the
extreme south at Poty (locality 1) throughout that
area. The marls are exclusively mudstones with
abundant microfossils dominated by planktonic for-
aminifera and calcispheres with minor amounts of
echinoid fragments.
5. Pure limestones contain less than 5% of detrital
sediment and are rare in the Gramame Formation,
where they occur interbedded with usually marly
limestones in the middle and upper part of the for-
mation in central localities (nos. 3 to 7). Pure lime-
stones consist of ®ne-grained mudstones with
abundant planktonic foraminifera and calcispheres.
They represent the deepest and most open marine
facies.
The general trend in the Gramame Formation is of a
marine transgression (above the continental Beberibe
Formation) to the middle of the Formation followed
by ¯uctuating conditions in the upper part of the for-
 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433
Fig. 6. Microfacies in Gramame Formation pro®les.
mation: the dominantly planktonic foraminiferal fauna
is suggestive of depths in excess of 100 m (Mabesoone
et al., 1968). There is no sign of an abrupt major re-
gression at the top of the Formation. The overlying
(and similar) Maria Farinha Formation is probably a
tsunami deposit rather than a shallow marine deposit
(AlbertaÄo and Martins, 1996). Nevertheless, the Maria
Farinha Formation is dominated by benthic foramini-
fera suggestive of depths less than 50 m (Koutsoukos
and Hart, 1990).
Detailed facies changes are impossible to reconstruct
within the Gramame Formation: ®rst because neither
top nor bottom is exposed in any of the localities
(except the top at locality 4); second because there are
no persistent horizons to trace; and lastly because
there is no good biostratigraphic control within the
Formation. Nevertheless, some facies changes were
undoubtedly partially controlled by synsedimentary
faulting. The rapid vertical and lateral changes in
northern localities (from 5 to 10) occur in an area cut
by major faults.
417
Simple macrofacies descriptions of the Gramame
Formation are inadequate to determine facies and en-
vironment, since most of the sediments are ®ne-grained
and heavily bioturbated, and because most important
fossils are microscopic. Further detailed microfacies
study was required to determine important constitu-
ents and depositional textures.
5. Microfacies
5.1. Methods of analysis
All facies were collected from the ten studied lo-
calities and thin-sectioned, making a total of 150
samples. The vertical sampling varied according to the
macrofacies changes, ranging between 1.0 m in natural
exposure of calcarenites to 1.2 m in quarries of marls
and limestones.
The 150 thin sections were described focusing on
petrographic components, such as: (1) relative abun-
418 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433
Fig. 7. Photomicrograph of coral boundstones with quartz sand.
dance of principle constituents; (2) type and percentage
of matrix and/or cement; and (3) type of framework
and texture. Applying the methods of Folk (1959),
Dunham (1962) and Carozzi et al. (1973), 11 microfa-
cies were distinguished based on component associ-
ations and classi®ed according to depositional energy.
These were then simpli®ed into six composite microfa-
cies.
5.2. Description of microfacies
The six composite microfacies were arranged in
three levels of decreasing relative energy of deposi-
tional environment (Fig. 5) whose distribution in the
pro®les is shown on Fig. 6. The detailed results from
each section are in Appendix I.
5.2.1. Boundstones: microfacies 1
Boundstones are bimodal and poorly sorted with
very coarse to granular, rounded to subangular grains.
Clastic grains are dominantly of sub-angular quartz
with minor feldspar. Grain packing is closed±normal
and the contacts between the grains are tangential±
straight. Principal grains are corals, rare echinoids,
gastropods, bivalves, worm tubes and benthic forami-
nifera (textularids, rotalids) (Fig. 7) which are bound
together by platy corals. The intergranular space is
®lled with a micrite matrix, locally of micritic±peloidal
composition.
This microfacies is con®ned to the lower part of the
sandy limestone unit at Igaruba (locality 7, Fig. 6).
Similar modern microfacies occur in protected shal-
low-water nearshore areas where marine grasses and
mangrove trees reduce the e€ect of waves and allow
deposition of ®ne-grained sediment in shallow water
(Wilson, 1975).
5.2.2. Sandy packstones: microfacies 2
Sandy packstones are coarse±medium grained and
poorly sorted, with subrounded±subangular grains.
Clastic grains range up to 50% and subangular quartz
dominates feldspar as for the boundstones. Grain
packing is loose and the contacts between grains are
tangential±straight. Principal grains are bioclasts of
bivalves, echinoids, gastropods, corals, benthnic fora-
miniferas (textularids, rotalids) and indeterminate
shells (Fig. 8). The intergranular space is ®lled by
micrite, neomorphized locally to microsparite. More
rarely cementation occurs as a thick non-selective
mosaic in intergranular cavities. This microfacies is
con®ned to the sandy limestone facies at the base of
the sections between Igaruba and Cigra (localities 6±8,
Fig. 6). Similar modern microfacies are deposited in
nearshore shallow water with moderate energy levels
(Wilson, 1975).
5.2.3. Bioclastic packstones: microfacies 3
Bioclastic packstones are medium to very ®ne
 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433
Fig. 8. Photomicrograph of sandy packstone with quartz, feldspar, mollusc and coral grains.
grained and poorly sorted with subrounded to suban-
gular grains. Clastic grains are rarer than in microfa-
cies 1 and 2. Contacts between grains are tangential±
straight and the packing is loose. The di€erences
between `clotted' and peloidal packstones may simply
re¯ect slightly di€erent early diagenesis. The term
`clotted' designates a micrite which tends to crumble
into subrounded elements with very indistinct bound-
aries, which then appear to be partially embedded in a
somewhat coarser crystal mosaic (Fig. 9). The gener-
ally accepted explanation for this texture is that mud
particles disintegrate early and then fuse during com-
paction (Flugel, 1982; p.119). Thus, the micrite matrix
may simply be a `pseudomatrix' formed by the disinte-
gration during compaction of mechanically weak
micritic peloids which locally survive early diagenesis
(Fig. 10). Principal bioclasts of both `clotted' and
peloidal packstones are corals, bivalves, gastropods,
echinoids, benthonic foraminifera (textularids, rota-
lids), and locally small planktonic foraminifera and
fragments of crustaceans. Intergranular space is ®lled
by micrite matrix. Cementation is by a coarse to med-
ium grained non-selective mosaic in intergranular cav-
ities.
This microfacies is con®ned to the lower part of pro-
®les 6 and 8 where it is associated with microfacies 1
and 2. Similar modern microfacies occur where par-
ticles are transported from turbulent areas and depos-
419
ited in less turbulent areas Ð in areas marginal to
shoals, for example. These bioclastic packstones have
much lower percentages of planktonic foraminifera
than microfacies 4 (below).
5.2.4. Wackestones with planktonic microfauna:
microfacies 4
Wackestones with planktonic microfauna are ®ne to
medium grained and moderately sorted with rounded
to subrounded grains. They are fairly diverse, ranging
from bioclastic wackestones through peloidal and
`clotted' wackestones (Figs. 11±13). Clastic grains are
very rare. Grains ¯oat in the matrix and the packing is
loose. The grains are dominantly of planktonic forami-
nifera (globigerinids), calcispheres, and echinoid frag-
ments, with rare benthonic foraminifera (textularids,
rotalids). The intergranular space is ®lled with a
micrite matrix. Replacement by rhombohedral dolo-
mite is common and phosphate commonly replaces
planktonic foraminiferas and micrite matrix (Fig. 11).
This microfacies occurs at the top of pro®le 2, the
lower part of pro®le 6, and the upper part of pro®le 8.
Similar modern microfacies occur in shallow waters
with open circulation at or just below wave base.
However, the dominance of planktonic foraminfera
could indicate much deeper water and sediments simi-
lar to both microfacies 3 and 4 can be formed in deep
water by deep oceanic currents.
420 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433

Fig. 9. Photomicrograph of `clotted' bioclastic packstones with broken bioclasts, corals and molluscs.

Fig. 10. Photomicrograph of peloidal bioclastic packstones with bryozoans, corals and peloids.
 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433 421

Fig. 11. Photomicrograph of wackestones with planktonic microfauna.

Fig. 12. Photomicrograph of mudstones with planktonic microfauna dispersed in a micritic matrix.
422 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433

Fig. 13. Photomicrograph of `clotted' wackestones with planktonic microfauna. The micritic matrix is homogenous to `clotted'.

Fig. 14. Photomicrograph of mudstones with planktonic foraminifera and calcipheres in an micritic matrix.
 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433 423

Fig. 15. Photomicrograph of peloidal mudstones with planktonic microfacies. Peloids are dicult to distinguish from matrix.

Fig. 16. Photomicrograph of `clotted' mudstones with planktonic fauna and dolomite dispersed in a micritic matrix.
424 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433
Fig. 17. Photomicrograph of mud with planktonic foraminifera and calcipheres.
5.2.5. Mudstones with planktonic microfauna:
microfacies 5
Mudstones with planktonic microfauna are ®ne- to
medium-grained and moderately- to poorly sorted but
di€er little from microfacies 4 except in texture. The
dominant grains are planktonic foraminifera and calci-
spheres, with rare benthonic foraminifera (Fig. 14). The
micrite matrix is locally neomorphosed to microsparite.
Dolomitization is common, forming rhombohedral crys-
tals in the matrix, which is also locally phosphatized.
Like microfacies 4, there is a fair variety within this
microfacies with variable content of peloids (and disinte-
grated peloids) forming peloidal and `clotted' mudstones
(Figs. 15 and 16). The proportion of benthonic forami-
nifera tends to decrease from peloidal mudstones
through `clotted' mudstones to mudstones. Also, mud-
stones consist of very ®ne silt-sized grains dispersed in a
micrite matrix with sporadic pyritization (Fig. 14).
This microfacies forms most of the Gramame
Formation and is overwhelmingly dominant in its cen-
tral part during the inferred greatest transgression.
Similar modern microfacies occur in deep shelf and
slope environments below both normal and storm
wave-base (Wilson, 1975).
5.2.6. Muds with planktonic microfauna: microfacies 6
Muds with planktonic microfauna di€er from mud-
stones only in that they have a higher detrital clay con-
tent and are soft (Fig. 17). They possibly accumulated
in local areas of lower carbonate production and/or
higher clay input; and compared to microfacies 5,
probably in deeper water.
6. Mineralogy and chemistry
The sedimentary rocks of the Gramame Formation
have undergone mineralogical and chemical changes
during diagenesis.
Chemical analysis of the 150 samples was done at
the Portland Cement factory at Poty and X-ray dif-
fraction was done at the Energy Department of the
Federal University of Pernambuco (using powdered,
unoriented thin sections) to determine the non-clay
minerals. The chemical and mineralogical trends of
four representative pro®les are shown on Figs. 18 to
21. The samples used for chemical analysis are identi-
cal with the samples used for thin section analysis.
The only consistent trend in mineralogy is a rapid
decrease in quartz upwards in the shallow-water micro-
facies (1 to 3 of pro®les 6 to 8) where the quartz con-
tent averages 30% at the base, but then decreases
upwards to less than 5%. Everywhere else, the quartz
content is very low; less than 2%.
Clay contents vary between 10 and 35%. The clay
minerals are dominantly kaolinite (40±65%) with
lower amounts of illite (15±35%) and montmorillonite
(20±40%) (Mabesoone et al., 1968).
 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433 425

Fig. 18. Chemical and mineralogical composition in pro®le 5.

Dolomite is variable, with no consistent trend except
towards the top of pro®le 7 where dolomite progress-
ively increases from 5 to 50% in the top 6 m of the
section. Elsewhere, dolomite replacement seems to be
random.
Chemical analyses show very little variation and no
surprises. Silica and alumina naturally covary with
clay content (e.g. pro®le 5). Magnesium content natu-
rally covaries with dolomite content.
The bulk mineralogy and chemistry of the Gramame
Formation adds little to the depositional information
obtained from microfacies analysis, though they might
be useful in determining industrial uses for the for-
mation. The signi®cance of the secondary dolomitiza-
tion will be discussed elsewhere (Elgadi, in
preparation).
7. Carbonate ramp interpretation
The tectonic development of the Pernambuco±
ParaõÂ ba basin and stratigraphic, facies and microfacies
426 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433

Fig. 19. Chemical and mineralogical composition in pro®le 6.

analyses indicate that the Gramame Formation was
deposited in a relatively narrow moderate to low
energy carbonate ramp broken into fault blocks. The
scarcity of high energy facies (except in a few localities
related to fault blocks) suggests a mid- to outer ramp
location for most of the localities studied, though
more extensive shallower water facies probably once
existed to the west (Burchette and Wright, 1992).
Local supply of coarser clastics probably came from
tectonically exposed underlying clastic sediments and
basement in shallower o€shore areas. Finer clastics
may have been supplied from land areas to the west.
Moderate energy microfacies (boundstones, sandy
packstones and bioclastic packstones) outcrop only
north of the Goiana Fault and south of the Conde
Fault (localities 6 to 8) where an isolated rift uplift,
known as the Conde/Garapu High occurs (Feitosa and
Feitosa, 1986). To the north and south, these moderate
energy microfacies gradually pass into deeper and qui-
eter water wackestones and mudstones with planktonic
foraminifera and calcispheres.
The Gramame Formation shows a consistent grada-
tional change from shallower to deeper facies upwards
without thick sections of shallow water facies. For
 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433 427

Fig. 20. Chemical and mineralogical composition in pro®le 7.

these reasons, the depositional morphology during de-
position of the Gramame Formation was closer to a
carbonate ramp rather than a carbonate shelf or ramp.
Modern carbonate ramps occur in West Florida,
Yucatan, the Arabian Gulf and South Australia. Only
the ®rst three are in tropical latitudes and climates
comparable to the situation of the Gramame
Formation and have four (idealized) subdivisions
(Burchette and Wright, 1992) (Fig. 22).
1. Inner ramps (above fair weather wave base) have
mostly coarse inter®ngering facies mosaics of shoal,
organic barrier, and shoreface sediments, but with
®ner back-barrier sediments in places.
2. Mid-ramps (between fair weather wave base and
storm wave base) have ®ner-grained, more uni-
formly distributed facies with a variety of storm-re-
lated structures like grading and hummocky cross-
strati®cation. The most rapid net sedimentation
takes place in mid-ramp areas where storm waves
primarily deposit material reworked from inner-
ramp areas. The slope break is thus often between
428 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433

Fig. 21. Chemical and mineralogical composition in pro®le 8.

the mid- and outer ramp.
3. Outer ramps (below storm wave base) have ®ne-
grained more slowly deposited facies dominated by
organic reworking, though storm suspensions may
deposit thin and ®ne-grained graded beds.
4. Basins are the ¯at areas beyond the outer ramp
slope, but the di€erences between them may be
minimal.
The facies and microfacies of the Gramame
Formation, with the exception of the volumetrically
insigni®cant sandy and marly limestones (microfacies
1±3), are dominated by outer-ramp facies. Its shallow-
water sandy and marly limestones have no exact ana-
logies in the simple ramp model but may have been
deposited in shallow water environments around tecto-
nically produced local highs. The ramp must have
been fairly steep for outer ramp facies to be deposited
so close to the late Cretaceous paleoshorefaces.
There is no Recent carbonate ramp which has such
a combination of steep slope and tectonic highs.
However, features of the reasonably well-known shal-
 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433 429

Fig. 22. Modern carbonate ramps, environments and facies (from Burchette and Wright, 1992). A. Modern ramp analogues for the Gramame
Formation and a comparison with the Bahama Bank at the same scale. Black areas shallower than 10 m, stippled areas between 10 and 100 m.
Arrows are dominant wind directions. B. Main subdivisions of an ideal carbonate ramp.
430 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433
Fig. 23. Facies distributions across the West Florida ramp (Mullins et al., 1988; Gardulski et al., 1990).
low shelves and ramps of West Florida, US, and of
the Arabian Gulf can be combined to construct a
depositional model for the Gramame Formation.
The West Florida Ramp, which faces the Gulf of
Mexico, is a relatively smooth and rapidly deepening
slope with no gullies or canyons, and is formed of sea-
ward thickening wedges of dominantly slope sediments
(Fig. 23) (Mullins et al., 1988). Unlike other ramps,
sedimentation is controlled by ocean currents so that
hardgrounds and winnowed sands (composed mostly
of planktonic foraminifera) extend from 200±600 m
depth. On this deep `outer shelf to shelf margin', some
of the lithotypes and their faunas resemble microfaces
1±3 of the Gramame Formation, except that clastic
sand and shallow-water faunas are absent (Ivany et al.,
1994). For example, winnowed sands have reworked
planktonic foraminfera and echinoid and molluscan
fragments in a wackestone matrix: and deep-water coral
framestones have interstices ®lled with planktonic fora-
minifera and pteropods cemented by peloidal wackes-
tone (Mullins et al., 1988). On the mid to outer ramp, at
depths greater than 600 m, pelagic sediments dominate
with rare turbidite deposits. The pelagic sediments con-
sist of soft bioturbated carbonate muds dominated by
planktonic foraminifera and coccoliths, the ubiquitous
bioturbation indicating aerobic environments. The tur-
bidite deposits are volumetrically insigni®cant and tend
to be thin and ®ne-grained. Sand-sized basal grains con-
sist of planktonic foraminifera and fragments of gastro-
pods, bivalves, scaphopods, deep-water corals, echinoid
spines and carbonate and phosphatic peloids. Silt-sized
bases are almost entirely reworked planktonic foramini-
fera. The slope sediments show rhythmic alternations
expressed in sedimentology, mineralogy and chemistry
(Gardulski et al., 1990).
The ®ner grained microfacies of the Gramame
Formation resemble the deep ramp slope lithotypes of
the West Florida ramp. However the coarser grained
Gramame microfacies (with detrital quartz and shal-
low-water corals) are much shallower than the equival-
ent West Florida lithotypes. Shallow-water lithotypes
do, however, occur juxtaposed with deep-water litho-
types on the Arabian Gulf ramp.
The Arabian Gulf is a partially enclosed sea with a
very gentle shelf-slope gradient (Purser, 1974a). It is
never more than 100 m deep, so the entire area was
dry land during the last Ice Age (Sarnthein, 1972). The
Arabian Gulf ramp is thus a poor overall analogy for
 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433 431

Fig. 24. Bathymetry and facies distributions around Abu Thama shoal; a shallow, mid-ramp high in the Arabian Gulf (Purser, 1974b).

the open ocean and steep Gramame Formation ramp.
Nevertheless, the overall character and distribution of
lithotypes are somewhat analogous, though on a large
scale (Sto€ers and Ross, 1979; Uchupi et al., 1996;
Wagner and Van Der Togt, 1974). Furthermore, tec-
tonic and salt-induced movements have formed shal-
low o€shore areas in which erosion of pre-existing
sediments can occur and in which corals and other
shallow marine organisms can live, una€ected by the
variable conditions of nearshore areas (Fig. 24).
432 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433
Fig. 25. Reconstruction of carbonate ramp model for the Gramame Formation.
Around these shallow banks, lithotypes analogous to
microfacies 1±3 of the Gramame Formation are ac-
cumulating, while ®ner-grained marly and mudstone
microfacies (analogous to microfacies 4±6) are ac-
cumulating in deeper water (Purser, 1974b).
Ancient inferred carbonate ramp deposits are also
comparable to those of the Gramame Formation. The
Upper Chalk deposits of western Europe have almost
identical facies (Jarvis, 1980). The predominant wack-
estones and mudstones of the Chalk resemble the
®ner-grained microfacies of the Gramame Formation
(Hakansson et al., 1974). Coarse-grained sediments
like those of microfacies 1±3 of the Gramame
Formation do occur in places marginal to shoal areas
and islands, for example in southwestern England
(Garrison et al., 1987). The Late Campanian±
Maastrichtian marine carbonates of central Iraq also
show almost exactly the same microfacies in the same
tectonic situation, with shallow-water facies on block-
faulted topographic high passing into marly limestones
in intervening basins (Sadooni, 1996). However, of
course, similar inferences from modern processes and
environments have to be made for these as for the
Gramame Formation.
The shelf and shelf-margin models for Tertiary
ramps developed by Buxton and Pedley (1989) rely on
benthic associations and communities. They are of lit-
tle use for the late Cretaceous Gramame ramp, par-
ticularly since they group slope and basin associations
into a single category Ð planktonic foraminifera with
low diversity macrofauna Ð an association which
dominates the bulk of the Gramame Formation.
8. Conclusions
The Gramame Formation consists of 11 detailed
microfacies which could be grouped into six composite
microfacies based on principal components and deposi-
tional texture. These suggest that the Gramame
Formation was deposited on an open relatively steeply
sloping carbonate ramp, on which sedimentation was
greatly a€ected by synsedimentary faulting. The facies
and microfacies characters and distribution in the
Gramame Formation can be readily compared with
other Cretaceous to Recent carbonate ramp environn-
ments. The most plausible reconstruction involves a
steeply-sloping, ocean-facing ramp, like that of West
 M.S.M. El gadi, M.E. Brook®eld / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 12 (1999) 411±433
Florida, broken by tectonically uplifted shoal areas
like those of the Arabian Gulf (Fig. 25).
Acknowledgements
This work is based on an M.Sc. by M. El gadi at
the University of Pernambuco, partly supported by
Petrobras Petroleum Research Center (CENPS) and
supervised by Dr J.M. Mabesoone. M. El gadi wishes
to thank both groups for their support and guidance,
and M. Monteiro and A.R. Spadini for critical
remarks and assistance with the petrographic analysis.
Data on the constituent analysis of Gramame
Formation sections is available from the authors.
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