Stratigraphic simulations of the shelf of the Gulf of Lions: testing subsidence rates and sea‐level curves during the Pliocene and Quaternary

Determining the relative importance of factors interacting to control stratigraphic organization is a key issue in sedimentology. The Pliocene‐Quaternary chronostratigraphy on the Gulf of Lions platform is still poorly constrained, giving rise to different interpretations of the evolution of its subsidence through time. This paper examines the Pliocene‐Quaternary sedimentary filling of the Gulf of Lion's shelf with Dionisos, a numerical stratigraphic model. Our results show that a constant subsidence rate accurately reproduces the observed geometries, whereas a varying subsidence rate reproduces them only if the acceleration of subsidence is limited. At this time‐scale, a third‐order eustatic curve is also reappraised: a higher resolution curve (built using δ¹⁸O measurements) gives a more realistic restitution of our stratigraphic markers. Finally, the constant subsidence rate and sediment fluxes implied in these modellings are discussed relative to climate and local factors of sedimentation.