Collapsed paleocave system in Upper Triassic peritidal cycles from the Panormide Carbonate Platform, Sicily (Italy)

Multi-scale dissolution events in Western-Tethyan peritidal carbonates close to the Triassic/Jurassic boundary

The stratigraphical and sedimentological study of uppermost Triassic-lowermost Jurassic sections of peritidal carbonates, in north-western Sicily, allows to differentiate multi-scale dissolution events that affected the carbonate platform interior during the uppermost Rhaetian. The Triassic cycles show extensive phenomena of stratabound dissolution that can be differentiated in three main types: vug, moldic and “spongy-like”. The dissolution horizons are particularly concentrated in the subtidal members of cycles. The creation of different type of porosity seems to be mainly controlled by the textural characters of the host-rock. In particular the cm-scale bioturbation in muddy sediments, p…