Ordovician-Devonian mud rocks from the Rhenohercynian (Mayener Slate, Germany) and the Truchas Basin (Spain) - Deposition and provenance

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Mudrocks contain much of the stratigraphic history within sedimentary successions. Detailed analysis of such successions provides us with a better understanding of the depositional processes responsible for their formation. However, despite their importance, they are generally not incorporated into basin-scale models since they are assumed to contain little diagnostic information. Much work, however, has been carried out in recent years, coincident with their increasing importance as unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs - leading to a recognition of their value. Sedimentological investigations of fine-grained sediments are problematic, mainly due to the lack of obvious sedimentary structures, and thus a multidisciplinary approach will be used, involving both sedimentary techniques as well as geochemical analysis. The mudstone-rich successions within the Truchas Basin (Spain) and the Hunsrück Slate of Mayen (Germany) are the focus of this study. The successions were deposited in distal shelf (or possibly deeper) settings and the main aim of the project is to examine in detail the depositional environments as well as the sediment provenance. The former will involve high-resolution examination of the sediments in order to determine the processes involved within the depositional setting as well as reconstructing the palaeogeography of both locations. The latter aim will use a range of geochemical and isotopic markers to evaluate the source area as well as using proxies to determine other environmental factors (e.g oxygen content).