Geochemical and organic petrological characterization of the organic matter of lacustrine Eocene oil shales (Prinz von Hessen, Germany): reconstruction of the depositional environment

Abstract

Optical and geochemical techniques were applied to sedimentary organic matter from the profundal area of the Eocene Lake Prinz von Hessen, which formed in a pull-apart basin on the Sprendlinger Horst, near Darmstadt, Germany. Variations in total sulphur content (S tot) and total organic carbon content (TOC), hydrogen index (HI), oxygen index (OI) and δ13C values of the organic matter were used to reconstruct the lake’s filling history. Following an initial rapid deepening phase, open lake conditions developed with HI reaching more than 500 mg HC/g TOC and TOC values up to 40%. The productivity of the lake was probably high and organic matter preservation was enhanced by a stratified water column. As the lake began to fill with sediment and became shallower, TOC and HI values declined, as the lake water was better oxygenated and preservation conditions declined. δ13C values between −31 and −27‰ are controlled by the mixing of aquatic (algae and microbial mats) and terrigenous organic matter (wood, spores, pollen and cuticles). Following a rapid drop in lake level, shallow lake conditions alternated with swamp deposits (lignites) in the basin center. The organic matter preserved during this stage is strictly terrigenous in nature and experienced oxic degradation (HI ∼ 100 mg HC/g TOC). δ13C values between −26 and −24‰ are typical for Eocene terrigenous matter. The inferred lake level fluctuations are interpreted to have been controlled by tectonic as well as climatic processes.