Facies and Geometry of Mixed Sedimentation on an Isolated

Carbonate Platform: Bocas del Toro Basin, Panama (year 2)

Donald F. McNeill and Anthony G. Coates

Project Purpose
The goal of this project is to provide a case study of an isolated carbonate platform in a
mixed carbonate-siliciclastic setting subjected to uplift. A secondary goal is to evaluate the
influence of early diagenesis on the carbonate facies in a humid, tropical setting.

Scope of Work
Field mapping has produced a baseline geologic map and initial cross-sections across
the platform and platform margin. Additional field mapping will concentrate on
establishing the geometrical relations, specific facies attributes, and chronostratigraphy of
the platform.

Key Deliverables
When complete, this field characterization will provide a case study of an isolated
platform subject to varying amount siliciclastic input. Facies attributes and key geometrical
and stratigraphic relations will be established.

Project Description
The project consists of three main areas:
1. Field mapping data provide a three-dimensional record of tropical reef deposits in a
mixed setting at a reservoir scale (small platform ~10 km wide by ~25 m thick).
2. Reef geometries are expressed as a combination of Pliocene clustered pinnacles
(~200 m in diameter), a broad veneer of Pliocene carbonate shelf deposits (~15 m
thick by 5+ km wide), and an onlapping wedge of Pleistocene reefs in a siliciclastic
matrix.
3. Porosity development is associated with the amount of siliciclastic incorporated in
the reef deposits, the degree of cementation, and the influence of meteoric
diagenesis. The porosity style ranges from recrystallization derived vuggy porosity
to karst sinkhole and incised-valley formation in the carbonate shelf facies.

Summary of Year 1 Results

Mapping in January and February 2003 has suggested that the platform contains two
generations of mixed carbonate and siliciclastic deposition. Likewise, two stages of reef
deposition are proposed:
1. The carbonate platform formed as a shallow shelf adjacent to a topographic
(subaerially exposed) high in the underlying (basal) siliciclastics. The outer edge of
the carbonate shelf consisted of a barrier reef (east coast) series of pinnacle reefs
(north coast). The platform and reefs, although predominantly carbonate, were
subjected to an occasional influx of siliciclastic mud. This mud likely originated
 from the erosion of either the local subaerially-exposed basal siliciclastics, or the
more distal volcanic arc of the proto-Central American Isthmus mainland. The
barrier reef system was dominated by the branching coral Stylophora sp. in a well-
cemented carbonate sand matrix. The pinnacles show thicknesses of about 20-25 m.
Seaward of the reef margin carbonate of the north coast, sands and debris were shed
to the upper slope and are now exposed along the coast and on offshore islands.
Today, the reef and shelf facies are heavily karstified and show extensive sinkhole
development. At one location these sinkholes and caves have extensively collapsed
to form an incised channel through the limestone shelf facies.
2. The second reefal facies consists of a Pleistocene unit of mixed reefs and
siliciclastic sands and mud. This unit onlaps the shelf facies of the oldest limestone
and pinches out at higher elevations. This unit is preserved best on the leeward
(south) side of the island. The reefs in this unit often occurred as small patches (<10
m) that were subjected to the constant influx of siliciclastic sediment. These muddy
conditions resulted in a coral rudstone/floatstone in matrix of siliciclastic fine sand
and mud.

Year 2 Research Plan for Platform Characterization

A preliminary geologic map and section description was completed in January and
February 2003 and two analysis tasks are planned during 2004:
First, the basic geological map and cross-sections will be constructed to characterize the
stratigraphic and facies relationships in this mixed-system example. As part of this,
petrographic and porosity evaluation will be conducted on samples collected during the
2003 mapping effort. Lithofacies analysis will form the basis for the main carbonate facies
characterization, especially between the reef deposits and the calcarenite facies of the
prograding upper-slope facies. Porosity type and diagenetic style will be developed for each
of the main carbonate facies.
Second, a follow-up phase of fieldwork is tentatively planned for Winter-Spring 2004 to
increase the spatial density of field transects and to confirm the stratigraphic relations of the
key lithofacies and their geometries.

Figure 1. Left: Location of the Bocas del Toro basin with general land elevation and shelf bathymetry. Uplift
of the basin is a result of the subduction of the Cocos Ridge on the Pacific side of the isthmus. Right: General
topographic model for the Bocas platform with main reefal facies.