The oldest mid-oceanic carbonate buildup complex: Setting and lithofacies of the Vendian (Late Neoproterozoic) Baratal limestone in the Gorny Altai Mountains, Siberia

The Baratal limestone in the Gorny Altai Mountains, southern Siberia, occurs as large allochthonous blocks within a Cambrian accretionary complex that developed around the Siberia craton. Before the final accretion to Siberia in the Cambrian, the terrigenous clastic-free Baratal limestone was deposited directly upon a basaltic basement with a geochemical signature identical to that of modern oceanic plateau. The Baratal limestone with 598 ± 25 Ma (Early Vendian) Pb-Pb isochron age consists of three distinct facies; 1) massive lime mudstone with ooids and stromatolites, 2) bedded lime mudstone, and 3) limestone conglomerate/breccia dominated by ooid-bearing lime mudstone clasts. The first represents a shallow marine environment on top of an ancient oceanic plateau, while the latter two represent the deeper slope to bottom-of-slope facies of a plateau. The Vendian Baratal limestone provides the oldest example of a reconstructed shallow marine carbonate buildup complex developed on a plateau/seamount in a mid-ocean.