BayCEER Workshop 2008

δ13Ccarb geochemistry as a stratigraphic tool

High-resolution δ¹³C_carb curves are reported for three lower Aptian marine shallow-water sedimentary successions located in the Maestrat Basin (E- Iberian Chain; E- Spain). The geologic sections studied are assumed to represent continuous sedimentary records and despite a probable diagenetic overprinting, the resulting carbon-isotope data show similar patterns and are interpreted in terms of global δ¹³C_carb trends. These global C-isotope anomalies allowed to correlate the three measured lower Aptian successions by geochemical measures even though they belong to different Maestrat sub-basins and were sedimented in distinct environments. As suggested by several authors, the resulting correlation demonstrates the efficacy of the carbonate carbon-isotope geochemistry as a stratigraphic tool.