A new sedimentary and biostratigraphic framework for the Callovian-Oxfordian transition on the Atlantic margin of Morocco

A major global marine transgression occurred during the Callovian to Early Kimmeridgian, which was interrupted locally by a hiatus during the Late Callovian to Early Oxfordian. The transgression may have been a major driver for extensive coral buildup development in the Oxfordian. The depositional hiatus may be related to a combination of...

Cretaceous climate change evidenced in the Senegalese rock record, NW Africa

Climate change directly impacts the source, mode and volume of sediment generation which can be observed in the rock record. To accurately model source to sink systems, in addition to hinterland geology, tectonics and transport distance, a thorough comprehension of the climate is essential. In this study we evaluate the role of climate on...

Integrated multi-proxy source-to-sink analysis of Late Barremian (Lower Cretaceous) clastic systems in the Essaouira-Agadir Basin

This study investigates the provenance of the continental and marine Late Barremian clastics of the Bouzergoun Formation, exposed in the Essaouira-Agadir Basin (EAB). Thin section petrography, Scanning Electron Micrography, heavy minerals analysis, and detrital zircon dating were conducted and integrated with a large dataset of published Low...

Architecture of Oxfordian coral buildups along the Atlantic margin of Morocco

Oxfordian (Upper Jurassic) coral buildups developed widely in Tethys and Atlantic realms, during a time when paleoclimate potentially swung between greenhouse climate and cold snaps. Buildups were constructed by platy and branching corals, sponges and microbialites. Although their initiation is commonly linked to the Upper Jurassic global...

Identifying local vs. regional drainage using multiproxy provenance tracers: Tracking the Moroccan Late Triassic fluvial system

The Kerrouchen Basin is an understudied rift basin in the Middle Atlas of Morocco, where over 600 m of Triassic stratigraphy is well exposed. It was partially inverted during the Atlasic orogeny whilst preserving the original basin geometry. Within the Kerrouchen Basin, two distinct fluvial systems are present. The first, recorded by the K3...

Early post-rift depositional systems of the Central Atlantic: Lower and Middle Jurassic of the Essaouira-Agadir Basin, Morocco

Passive margins are traditionally regarded as tectonically quiescent, however the increasing recognition of significant post-rift tectonic uplift along their flanks offers an important control on sediment delivery. The most extensive record of the early post-rift succession of the Central Atlantic Margin (CAM) is found in the Lower and Middle...

Syn-depositional Mesozoic siliciclastic pathways on the Moroccan Atlantic margin linked to evaporite mobilisation

Evaporite mobilisation in evaporite-cored anticlines leads to topographic growth that can alter sedimentary routing in shallow marine environments. This paper analyses two evaporite-cored anticlines perpendicular to the NW Africa coast to understand how their tectonic evolution influenced sediment pathways during the Early to Middle Jurassic...

Low-temperature thermochronology as a control on vertical movements for semi-quantitative source-to-sink analysis: A case study for the Permian to Neogene of Morocco and surroundings

Continental passive margins and their hinterlands in the Atlantic realm have been the locus of many Low Temperature Thermochronology (LTT) and time-Temperature (t-T) modelling studies that evidence pre-, syn- and post-rift episodic km-scale exhumation and burial episodes. In this study, we integrate data from over 30 published LTT and t-T...