Sedimentary record of the “Austrian” tectonic pulse around the Aptian–Albian boundary in SE France, and abroad

Abstract

A tectonically-controlled forced regression occurred on the western margin of the French subalpine basin around the Aptian-Albian boundary. It nearly emptied the western part of the Vocontian Trough during the early and middle Albian. A compressional pulse associated with vertical movements along the Cevennes fault row and its satellites is inferred. This forced regression is correlated with an inverse transgressive trend, both in the Paris Basin and the northern subalpine chains. The black shales of the early Aptian OAE1a and Albian OAE1b of the Vocontian Trough succession occur within opposite regional sea level trends, transgressive for the former, regressive for the latter. The inferred tectonic pulse is also recorded on a broader scale from literature data. The overall picture also shows outphasings in relative sea level changes on a large scale, likely controlled by tectonics.Résumé. Une régression forcée d'origine tectonique s'est produite sur la marge occidentale de la mer subalpine au passage Aptien-Albien. Elle a vidangé presque complètement la partie ouest de la fosse vocontienne pendant l'Albien inférieur et moyen. Une pulsation tectonique en régime compressif

Integrated stratigraphy of the Jurassic and the Cretaceous: a tribute to Jacques Rey (1940–2018)

“…Chemostratigraphic (δ 13 C) and biostratigraphic correlations between the Poigny borehole (Paris Basin) and other European sections, associated to other data (palynological assemblages, dinoflagellates, clay mineralogy), allow to recognize thirty-three palynological events and show the dominant role of sea-level variations in paleoenvironmental changes during the upper Coniacian-Campanian [Pearce et al, 2022]. The work by Ferry et al [2022] contributes to demonstrate the tectonic control of the forced regression around the Aptian-Albian boundary recorded in the SE France basins, associated to the "Austrian" tectonic pulse. Duarte et al [2022] present a sedimentological, organic, and isotopic study of the Upper Sinemurian of the S. Pedro de Moel section (Lusitanian Basin) that reveal the transgressive context of sedimentation and the impact of diagenetic transformations on δ 13 C variations.…”

Molecular fossils of Aptian–Albian blue marls of the Vocontian Basin (France), depositional conditions and connections to the Tethys Ocean

“…The Jacob Level was deposited during a period of low sea level, which also favoured the delivery of continental OM to the Vocontian Basin [Figure 7d, Supplementary Figure 14;Friès and Parize, 2003]. Nevertheless, the surrection of the west margin of the Vocontian Basin during the late Aptian-early Albian [Ferry et al, 2022] could have further contributed to the increased detrital flux.…”

“…The highest levels of primary productivity and water stratification would have been reached under favourable orbital conditions, at the peak of a long period of progressive warming [Wang et al, 2022. The surrection of the west margin of the Vocontian Basin during the late Aptian-early Albian [Ferry et al, 2022] possibly also contributed to the increased inputs of continental material during this period. The molecular fossil content does not conflict with the influence of terrestrial runoff.…”