High-resolution clay mineralogy as a proxy for orbital tuning: example of the Hauterivian-Barremian transition in the Betic Cordillera (SE Spain).

11 pages; International audience; The response of clay mineral assemblages to potential orbital forcing is tested in Mesozoic hemipelagic marl- limestone rhythmites of the Río Argos section (Betic Cordillera, Southeastern Spain). Along the section, marls are pervasively enriched in kaolinite and illite, whereas limestones are enriched in smectite-rich illite/smectite mixed-layers, suggesting that marl-limestone alternations are produced by cyclic high-frequency fluctuations of continental runoff. Spectral analyses show that clay mineral assemblages evolve accordingly to precession, obliquity and eccentricity cycles. Durations of ammonite zones are assessed at 535 kyr for the Late Hauterivia…

Formation of microbial organic carbonates during the Middle Oxfordian (North East Amu Darya Basin, Uzbekistan): palaeoenvironmental significance and implications for Jurassic anoxic events

International audience; The Late Jurassic was a period of major global carbon cycle perturbations with episodes of anoxia leading to regional accumulation of organic matter in sediments worldwide. The Tubegatan section (SW Gissar Mountains, Uzbekistan) located in the Northern Tethys, shows atypical organic-rich limestone and marl deposits (up to 6% of total organic carbon) marked by pronounced excursions of δ13Ccarb (amplitude of ca. 12‰) and δ13Corg (amplitude of ca. 4‰) recorded during the Middle Oxfordian (Transversarium Zone). A transdisciplinary approach including sedimentology, palynofacies study, mineralogy, organic and inorganic geochemistry was carried out to elucidate the origin o…

The late Hauterivian Faraoni "Oceanic Anoxic Event" at Río Argos (southern Spain): an assessment on the level of oxygen depletion.

14 pages; International audience; An integrated study of multiple geochemical proxies (TOC, δ13Ccarb, trace metallic elements, iron speciation) on the late Hauterivian Faraoni Oceanic Anoxic Event has been performed along the hemi-pelagic section of Río Argos (south-eastern Spain) in order to better constrain the environmental perturbations linked to this event in the Subbetic domain. In the studied section, the TOC is relatively low (b0.5 wt.%) except for one sample at the base of the Faraoni horizon, where it reaches 1.5 wt.%. The δ13Ccarb signal is characterized by a minor long-term increase, primarily attributed to an enhanced organic matter burial. However, both organic and isotopic si…

Environmental change during the Early Cretaceous in the Purbeck-type Durlston Bay section (Dorset, Southern England): a biomarker approach.

20 pages; International audience; The Purbeck-type section (Durlston Bay, Dorset, UK) exhibits littoral lagoonal to lacustrine facies. It shows a gradual climatic/environmental change from semi-arid conditions associated with evaporites at the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition, to a more humid climate at the end of the Berriasian. Though generally organic-poor (total organic carbon, TOC, <1.3%), the Durlston Bay section shows an organic-rich episode (TOC up to 8.5%) located at the transition from evaporitic to more humid facies. A biomarker study was performed in order to determine the origin of the organic matter (OM) in the section and see if changes in organic sources accompanied the genera…

An orbital floating time scale of the Hauterivian/Barremian GSSP from a magnetic susceptibility signal (Río Argos, Spain).

10 pages; International audience; An orbital floating time scale of the HauterivianeBarremian transition (Early Cretaceous) is proposed using high-resolution magnetic susceptibility measurements. Orbital tuning was performed on the Río Argos section (southeast Spain), the candidate for a Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the HauterivianeBarremian transition. Spectral analyses of MS variations, coupled with the frequency ratio method, allow the recognition of precession, obliquity and eccentricity frequency bands. Orbitallytuned magnetic susceptibility provides minimum durations for ammonite biozones. The durations of well-constrained ammonite zones are assessed at 0.78…

Characterization of Upper Jurassic organic-matter-rich carbonates in the Gissar Mountains (Tubiegatan section, Uzbekistan)

International audience; New investigations are currently underway on the Middle-Upper Jurassic carbonates of the Gissar Mountains in the Amu-Darya Basin. Located in the southwest of the Gissar Mountains (SE Uzbekistan), the Tubiegatan section corresponds to 30-meter-thick limestone, overlain by 10-meter-thick dark limestone and marl interval. These dark, “black shale-type deposits” were also recognized in cores from the subsurface of the Amu-Darya Basin. The organic-rich deposits interval is precisely dated to the Luciaeformis and Schilli Subzones (Transversarium Zone, Middle Oxfordian) by ammonites. A transdisciplinary approach including sedimentology, organic matter characterization (Rock…

Astrochronology of the Valanginian-Hauterivian stages (Early Cretaceous): chronological relationships between the Paraná-Etendeka large igneous province and the Weissert and the Faraoni events.

16 pages; International audience; The Geological Time Scale shows large uncertainties on durations and ages of Berriasian to Albian stages (Early Cretaceous), which impact climate and paleoceanographic reconstructions. Here, we provide a new astrochronology of the Hauterivian Stage anchored on (1) recent biostratigraphically well-constrained published radio-isotopic dates, and (2) a previously published astrochronology of the Valanginian Stage. A new duration of the Hauterivian Stage is assessed here at 5.93 ± 0.41 myr. The retained age model, anchored on a latest CA-ID-TIMS U–Pb age from a tuff level in the Hauterivian of the Neuquén Basin (Argentina), dates the base of the Valanginian Sta…

Astrochronology of the Valanginian stage from GSSP candidates and hypostratotype.

Valanginian; Astrochronology; Gamma-ray spectrometry; Weissert event; Paraná-Etendeka; International audience; The Valanginian Stage currently displays no radiometric age, which severely hampers palaeoceanographic reconstructions for this time interval. An astrochronology of the Valanginian Stage using the stable 405-kyr eccentricity cycle was performed on biostratigraphically well-calibrated standard sections from the Vocontian Basin (southeastern France). High-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry signals were obtained from orbitally driven marl-limestone alternations from five sections in the basin, and they display the same long-term trends. The spectral analyses present the pervasive recor…

Astrochronology of the Valanginian Stage from reference sections (Vocontian Basin, France) and palaeoenvironmental implications for the Weissert Event.

12 pages; International audience; High-resolution gamma-ray measurements performed on five biostratigraphically well-dated reference sections from the Vocontian Basin (south-eastern France) are used to develop a new astrochronology of the Valanginian Stage and its subdivisions (i.e. ammonite and calcareous nannofossil zones and subzones). Spectral analyses show a pervasive dominance of 405-kyr eccentricity cycles with the expression of 100-kyr eccentricity, obliquity and precession. Previous rough estimates of Valanginian Stage duration ranged from 3.9 to 6.5 myr but were generally based on less reliable or indirect methods. This study provides a precise duration of 5.08 myr, tuning the ser…

Formation of microbial organic carbonates during the Late Jurassic from the Northern Tethys (Amu Darya Basin, Uzbekistan): implications for Jurassic anoxic events.

23 pages; International audience; The Late Jurassic was a period of major global carbon cycle perturbations with episodes of anoxia leading to regional accumulation of organic matter in sediments worldwide. The Tubiegatan section (SW Gissar Mountains, Uzbekistan) located in the Northern Tethys, shows atypical organic-rich limestone and marl deposits (up to 6% of total organic carbon) marked by pronounced negative excursions of δ13Ccarb (amplitude of ca. 12‰) and δ13Corg (amplitude of ca. 4‰) recorded during the Middle Oxfordian (Transversarium Zone). A transdisciplinary approach including sedimentology, palynofacies characterization, mineralogy, organic and inorganic geochemistry was carrie…

Origine des carbonates organiques de la Formation Khodjaipak (Oxfordien moyen) dans le Nord-Est du Bassin d’Amu-Darya : signature paléoenvironnementale et impacts sur le cycle du carbone

The marine geochemical record of the OAE 2 (~94 Ma) at high latitude: Example of the IODP Site U1516 (Exp. 369; Mentelle Basin, SW Australia)

The Valanginian isotope event: a complex suite of palaeoenvironmental perturbations.

17 pages; International audience; The Valanginian records a severe crisis of carbonate systems, both on platforms and in the pelagic realm. This crisis is roughly concomitant with the Weissert Event, characterized by a positive δ13C excursion of about 2‰in marine carbonates. However, it is unclear if the response of these two carbonate systems to the global perturbations is contemporaneous, or if they react differently. For this purpose, accumulation rates of pelagic carbonates produced by nannofossils and of platform-derived carbonates have been quantified in a hemipelagic environment (the Vocontian Basin, SE France) that has the potential to record the reaction of both shallow-water and p…