A molecular stratigraphic approach to palaeoenvironmental assessment and the recognition of organic matter source inputs in marls of the Mulhouse Basin (Alsace, France)

Abstract

Principal components analysis (PCA) has been used to investigate changes in concentrations of the components of the hydrocarbon fractions extracted from 71 marl samples, selected to cover two total organic carbon (TOC) maxima in the lower part of the Salt IV formation, a Lower Oligocene evaporitic sequence from the Mulhouse Basin, France. The analysis indicates that the fractions can be ascribed as lying between two end member distributions. The changes in these distributions are gradual, suggesting that they resulted from fairly gradual changes in the depositional palaeoenvironment. These changes are related to increased algal productivity associated with the evolution of a restricted lacustrine environment through to one with a greater marine influence. Systematic variations in the concentrations of selected components relative to the TOC profile point to a repeated sequential evolution in the biological assemblage during deposition of the sequence.