Geochemical Reconstruction of Lateral Changes in Cenomanian Epicontinental Shelf Water Masses, Northern Germany

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The interaction of sedimentary, physical, chemical and biological processes that are manifested in the rock record of ancient epeiric seas is highly complex. Shallow (neritic) epeiric seawater masses and their carbon cycle are often decoupled from those of deep epicontinental basins and the open ocean. This has implications for the interpretation of global secular trends based on epeiric proxy data. Here we propose a pilot study attempting to analyze and resolve proximal-distal seawater gradients of the epicontinental Cenomanian sea of northern Germany. The tools applied to the strata of the target interval (late Early Cenomanian Mantelliceras dixoni Zone) combine an integrated stratigraphic calibration (bio-, sequence, event and cyclo-stratigraphy) with geochemical (C, O, Sr, trace elements) investigations of low-Mg skeletal calcite and matrix micrite material sampled laterally along well-dated event horizons over proximal-distal transects of up to 150 km. Using this highresolution approach we intend to cross and decipher vertical and horizontal boundaries of seawater masses as documented in the fossil and sedimentary record of Cenomanian strata of northern Germany in order to further enhance our understanding of the structure and water mass dynamics of Boreal epeiric seas.