Organic Matter Preservation: A Proxy for Turonian Climatic Shifts Recorded during Relative Sea-Level Stillstands

Timothy S. White, Michael A. Arthur, and Walter Dean

We performed analyses of organic matter obtained from cores across Utah, Colorado, and Kansas. The results provide a detailed (30 cm sampling interval) record of organic matter preservation in the Turonian seaway during highstand (HST), lowstand (LST) and overlying transgressive systems tract (TST) deposition in the Western Interior Seaway.

In general, total organic carbon (TOC) and carbonate (CaCO3) percentages ages decrease through the HST, with the highest values obtained from strata deposited during maximum transgression. Organic matter within the early- to mid-HST is dominantly marine algae with dinoflagellate and foraminiferal inputs. The late-HST contains small quantities of TOC and CaCO3, characterized as terrestrial organic debris; early-LST sediments have a signature similar to the late-HST. As one might expect, during sea-level fall the basin records mostly terrestrial inputs, whereas during sea-level rise a marine signature prevails.

A similarity exists between late-LST and early-HST TOC and CaCO3 contents and is noteable for fluctuations between terrestrial and marine organic matter as indicated by Rockeval pyrolyses, organic petrography, and palynology. We surmise that during mid-HST and late-LST (i.e. during times of little or no variation in rate of sea-level change), the basin is poised to record fluctuations between terrestrial and marine-dominated sediment deposition which may be controlled by changes in climate.

AAPG Search and Discover Article #91019©1996 AAPG Convention and Exhibition 19-22 May 1996, San Diego, California