Geochemistry of macrofossil, bulk rock, and secondary calcite in the Early Jurassic strata of the Llanbedr (Mochras Farm) drill core, Cardigan Bay Basin, Wales, UK.
The Llanbedr (Mochras Farm) core (Wales, United Kingdom) yielded a > 1,300 m long mudrock sequence which has excellent potential for establishing an integrated stratigraphic scheme for the entire Early Jurassic Epoch. Lithological variations in the core are predominantly driven by hierarchical changes in carbonate content which also dominate – or may impact upon – many geochemical and physical properties of the core. The bulk carbonate carbon isotope record displays systematic fluctuations the largest of which correspond to previously identified phases of environmental perturbation. The magnitudes of negative carbon isotope excursions in carbonate are inflated compared to equivalents previously described elsewhere due to diagenesis and concomitant loss of primary carbonate.The marine macrofossil record of Mochras reveals biological and isotopic patterns that are generally comparable to other UK basins. Potentially significant differences between Cleveland and Cardigan Bay Basin are observed in the Pliensbachian and Toarcian fossils. This different expression may be related to different habitat structure or palaeoceanographic and water depth differences between these basins. Minima in macrofossil δ18O values generally coincide with peaks in macrofossil wood abundance and sea-level lowstands inferred from sequence stratigraphic interpretation of other UK sections. This relationship points to a possible relative sea-level control on observed oxygen isotope records and sediment provenance.Supplementary material: Analytical data for the Mochras core pertaining to this contribution is available online at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5463508