Characteristics and regional implications of a belt of high-energy coastal deposits in the Barremian of Provence (SE France)

Abstract

In the Barremian Orgon limestone of southern Provence, a belt of high-energy coastal deposits of regional extent can be traced over approximately 90 km along an east-west axis from the border of the Massif des Maures to Martigues. In this belt, coarse-grained beach beds are closely associated with muddy protected shallow marine or intertidal deposits. Such an alternation is typical for a system of migrating carbonate spits and their protected lagoons, as observed in the Recent of the Persian Gulf. The Barremian belt of coastal deposits seems not to coincide with an ancient regional shore line. It appears to be controlled by east-west striking structural trends, which have been active in Provence since the Late Jurassic. The formation of this belt anticipates the most conspicuous tectonic event in this area during Cretaceous times - the Albian uplift, known in literature as "Isthme Durancien".