Molecular and bulk isotopic analyses of organic matter in marls of the Mulhouse basin (Tertiary, Alsace, France)

Contents of 13C in kerogens and carbonates in 21 samples from a core of the MAX borehole, Mulhouse Evaporite Basin, range from −27.3 to −23.5 and −3.7 to −1.8 vs PDB, respectively. Organic nitrogen in the same samples is enriched in 15N relative to atmospheric N2 by 12.2 15.7 . Hydrogen indices and values for kerogens vary systematically with facies, averaging 493 mg HC/g Corg and −25.7 in the most saline facies (dominated by inputs from aquatic sources) and 267 mg HC/g Corg and −23.7 in the least saline facies (50/50 aquatic/terrigenous). Values of were measured for individual aliphatic hydrocarbons from three samples representing three different organic facies. For all samples, terrigenous inputs were unusually rich in 13C, the estimated value for bulk terrigenous debris, apparently derived partly from CAM plants, being −22.5 . In the most saline facies, isotopic evidence indicates the mixing of 13C-depleted products of photosynthetic bacteria with 13C-enriched products of halotolerant eukaryotic algae. At lower salinities, a change in the producer community is marked by a decrease in the 13C content of algal lipids. The content of 13C in algal lipids increases in the least saline facies, due either to succession of different organisms or to decreased concentrations of dissolved CO2

Occurrence and origin of mono-, di- and trimethylalkanes in modern and Holocene cyanobacterial mats from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

n-Alkanes, highly branched isoprenoids, monomethylalkanes (MMAs), dimethylalkanes (DMAs), and trimethylalkanes (TMAs) are the most abundant components in the hydrocarbon fractions of extracts of four modern and two Holocene cyanobacterial mats (1500 and 5110 ± 170 y ) collected in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). The homologous families of MMAs, DMAs, and TMAs were identified by comparison of mass spectral and relative retention time data with published data. DMAs were also identified by synthesis of authentic standards, 3,9-dimethyltricosane, 5,9-dimethyltricosane, and 11,15-dimethylheptacosane. MMAs, DMAs, and TMAs of the cyanobacterial mats can be separated into two groups on the basis of their distribution patterns and structures. MMAs and DMAs in the C16-C22 range are characterized by methyl substituents mainly located at C-6 (or 6) and C-7 (or 7) and are derived from cyanobacteria. They are relatively abundant components in the modern cyanobacterial mats, but with increasing age of the mats they become much less abundant. On the contrary MMAs, DMAs, and TMAs in the C24-C45 range are exclusively found in the Holocene cyanobacterial mats. Their longest chains mainly contain an odd number of carbon atoms and they always carry the methyl substituents at odd numbered carbon atoms. The similarity in composition of this very specific group of branched alkanes with that encountered in insect epicuticular waxes suggests that these sedimentary hydrocarbons originate from insects, which probably grazed on the cyanobacterial mats

Organic Matter of the Mulhouse Basin, France: A synthesis

The lower Oligocene evaporite sequence of the Mulhouse Basin (France) contains organic matter-rich marl deposits. These marls display an overall cyclic variation of sedimentation rate, organic carbon content, hydrogen index and selected molecular parameters over a 30 m thick stratigraphic interval. The integration of all sedimentological and geochemical parameters has allowed the reconstruction and characterization of the paleoenvironment of deposition. The marls were deposited in a perennial lake that was at times connected to the sea. Two organic facies end members could be assigned to a lake stage with a marine connection and a lake stage that received dominantly continental water input. The overall stratigraphic variation in the organic matter content is interpreted to reflect the adaptation of the Oligocene flora to the changing paleoclimate and environmental conditions