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Cyclicity and the Storage of Organic Matter in Middle Cretaceous Pelagic Sediments

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Cyclic and Event Stratification

Abstract

Pelagic sediments of Middle Cretaceous age in Umbria (Italy) exhibit a rhythmic pattern of lithological alternations. The most conspicuous feature of these alternations is a regular fluctuation of the carbonate content. Sediment intervals which were deposited during periods with limited renewal of oxygen in deep water, are characterized by relatively high amounts of organic carbon, signs of anoxity during deposition, and a low carbonate content. This pattern is valid for shorter (104 – 105 yr) as well as for longer (106 – 107 yr) time periods.

Stable oxygen isotope fluctuations suggest that the carbonate of the carbonate-rich intervals was formed in water which was cooler than that of the carbonate-poor intervals.

Stable carbon isotope values of carbonate in organic carbon-rich intervals (black shales) show relatively high values as compared to adjacent carbonate-rich lavers with less or hardly any organic carbon. It is suggested that this difference is the result of early diagenetic processes, in this case addition of heavy Co2 set free by bacterial fermentation. A reversed pattern is shown by δ 13C of the organic matter and, in a less pronounced way, by δ 13C of carbonate from series which lack signs of oxygen depletion during deposition. There, δ 13C values are positively correlated with the carbonate content of the relevant samples.

A model is proposed which takes into account climate dependent fractionation effects between ocean and the atmosphere. This model may partly explain the observed δ 13C fluctuations.

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Authors
  1. P. L. deBoer
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Geologie und Paläontologie, Universität Tübingen, Sigwartstraße 10, D-7400, Tübingen, Germany

    Gerhard Einsele  & Adolf Seilacher  & 

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deBoer, P.L. (1982). Cyclicity and the Storage of Organic Matter in Middle Cretaceous Pelagic Sediments. In: Einsele, G., Seilacher, A. (eds) Cyclic and Event Stratification. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-75829-4_34

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-75829-4_34

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-11373-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-75829-4

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