Geological Society of America

266 The Neoproterozoic Earth and Life Co-evolution (Posters)

This session aims to enhance discussions and foster interdisciplinary collaborations to advance understanding of the Neoproterozoic Earth and life co-evolution. Contributions from paleontologists, geochemists, sedimentologists, Earth system modelers, and related fields are highly encouraged.

Wednesday, 22 October 2025
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
HBGCC, Hall 1

Chemostratigraphy of the Neoproterozoic Kennedy Channel and Ella Bay formations, Ellesmere Island

Paper number: 266-2
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 8:00 AM

Authors

Rizzieri Balestra
Carleton University, Ottawa, ON
Peter Crockford
Carleton University, Ottawa, ON
Darrel Long
Laurentian University, Waterloo, ON
Keith Dewing
Geological Survey of Canada, Calgary, AB
Lyle Nelson Presenting Author
MIT, Cambridge, MA

Abstract

During the Ediacaran Period (635– ~535 Ma) major perturbations in biogeochemical cycling broadly coincided with initial radiations of eumetazoans. In northeastern Ellesmere Island, the lowest preserved stratigraphic units, the Kennedy Channel and Ella Bay formations, were putatively deposited during the Ediacaran, based on the preservation of Cambrian body and trace fossils in the overlying Ellesmere Group. These strata preserve a progradational succession associated with establishment of a NW-facing passive continental margin (modern coordinates). We present carbonate chemostratigraphy and petrographic observations from stratigraphic sections of the Kennedy Channel and Ella Bay formations along a N-S transect, oblique to the paleo-continental margin. Neoproterozoic carbon isotope excursions have been variably attributed to local or diagenetic controls, and the diachroneity of carbonate facies along this transect allow interrogation of δ¹³C-facies-relationships predicted by these hypotheses. These findings refine temporal and stratigraphic correlation of the Kennedy Channel and Ella Bay formations, and contribute to understanding the Neoproterozoic carbon cycle.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-412846

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