Organic geochemistry in a sequence stratigraphic framework. The siliciclastic shelf environment of Cretaceous series, SE France

For a better understanding of siliciclastic shelf environments, correlation between sequence stratigraphy and organic geochemistry is used. Our study is focused on the Cretaceous deposits of Marcoule (Gard, France), particularly on a close-packed siltites layer (200–400 m thick), which is well characterized as a marine flooding facies of a single trangressive–regressive cycle. During the Uppermost Albian and the Lower Cenomanian, the stratigraphic data indicate a change in the depositional environment from offshore to shoreface. Organic geochemistry is used in order to characterize origin and variability of the organic matter in relation to the stratigraphic data. The study is carried out on core samples from 2 drill holes (MAR 203 and MAR 501). Analyses of the aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons were performed using GC–MS and focused on biomarker distributions. The biomarkers indicate a contribution of mixed terrestrial and marine organic matter. The changes in molecular signatures are related to variations in the source of organic matter (marine versus terrestrial), preservation conditions (largely influenced by clay and early diagenesis), environmental oxidation-reduction and acidic conditions as well as bioturbation. Various environmental zones, characterized by different molecular signatures, can be distinguished. Resin derived biomarkers can be assigned to higher plant material input and may reflect the evolution and diversity of Gymnospermae versus Angiospermae during the transgressive/regressive cycle. The relative sea-level variations are clearly correlated with the nature and the preservation of the organic matter. For example, the Pr/Ph and Pr/n-C₁₇ ratios as well as the regular steranes distributions underline the maximum flooding surface evidenced by other studies. We observe a good correlation between the organic data and sequence stratigraphy: changes in geochemical signatures reflect the 3rd order depositional cycles.