Methane-derived carbonate conduits from the late Aptian of Salinac (Marne Bleues, Vocontian Basin, France): Petrology and biosignatures

Abstract Peculiar carbonate bodies occur in distinct marl layers of the Marnes Bleues Formation (Aptian–Albian, Vocontian Basin, Southern France). The carbonate conduits exhibit pipe- or sausage-like forms and a central channel. Their sizes range between 30 and 60 cm in length and 5–10 cm in diameter. The conduit carbonates consist of automicrite authigenically formed within the sediment. Millimeter-sized aggregates of framboidal pyrite are abundant within the conduit automicrites, probably representing former colonies of sulfate reducing bacteria. The central channel reflects former pathways of reduced fluids in the carbonate conduit. Ni-enrichments at the margins of the central cavity are…