Patterns of geochemical variability in relation to turbidite facies in the Grès d'Annot Formation - Mines Saint-Étienne
Journal Articles Journal Geol. Soc. Spec. Public Year : 2004

Patterns of geochemical variability in relation to turbidite facies in the Grès d'Annot Formation

Abstract

The deep marine Grès d'Annot Formation is one of the best exposed analogues to sand-rich turbidite sub-surface systems. Provenance and reservoir heterogeneities have been investigated through a geochemical study of different areas and facies in this formation. Most compositions may be described as mixtures between carbonate and three clastic end-members, i.e. clay, framework grains and a subset of the heavy minerals (zircon, Tioxide, apatite, monazite). These end-members have a nearly uniform chemistry over the studied area and a granite-dominated provenance consistent with a Corsica-Sardinia source hypothesis. This rather uniform provenance makes the Annot Formation a favourable case for exploring the relationships between facies and geochemistry. Not only do different facies differ in average composition, but chemical variations at the bed scale fingerprint the depositional mechanism: archetypal (graded) turbidites and traction-dominated (over-bank) deposits display contrasting variation trends in geochemical plots. The local-scale variation patterns and the general relationship between grain size and chemistry are tentatively integrated in a single differentiation model, providing a rationale for the use of geochemistry in provenance studies, and a possible way to characterize sedimentary facies.
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Dates and versions

emse-00613154 , version 1 (03-08-2011)

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  • HAL Id : emse-00613154 , version 1

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Daniel Garcia, Philippe Joseph, Benoît Maréchal, Jacques Moutte. Patterns of geochemical variability in relation to turbidite facies in the Grès d'Annot Formation. Journal Geol. Soc. Spec. Public, 2004, 221, pp.349-365. ⟨emse-00613154⟩
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