Paleoceanographic environment of Japan Sea deduced from chemical and isotopic features of Miocene-Pliocene sedimentary rocks

Chemical and isotopic analyses (Sr isotopic ratio, major element, trace element, rare earth element, total carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur contents) of rock samples collected from middle Miocene to early Pliocene sedimentary rocks, Oga Peninsula, northern Japan were performed to elucidate the paleoceanographic environment of Japan Sea. The rocks studied include shale from Nishikurosawa, Onnagawa, and Funakawa formations in stratigraphically ascending order. The Onnagawa sedimentary rocks in the lower (ca. 12.6-11.4 Ma), middle (ca. 10.5-9.0 Ma), and upper (ca. 8.3-7.0 Ma) horizons are characterized by high Mo/Al, P/Al, and Ba/Al ratios and total organic carbon content. Positive Eu anomaly, K/Ti ratio and 87Sr/86Sr ratio are also high in the same horizons. These geochemical variations imply that high primary productivity, and reducing condition of deep paleoocean, and formation of petroleum source rocks were caused by an upwelling of deep seawater. The upwelling of deep seawater is considered to have been influenced by strong winds from the Asian continent, which was related to the uplift of Himalayan and Tibetan regions. (author)