Geochemical expression of sequence stratigraphic surfaces: A case from Upper Cretaceous shallow-water carbonates of southeastern Neo-Tethys margin, SW Iran

Providing a chronostratigraphic framework often is problematic in shallow-marine carbonates with poor biostratigraphic resolution. In such cases, an integration of geochemical, sedimentological, and paleontological data can be used to construct a reliable sequence stratigraphic framework. This study focuses on elemental concentrations and isotopic ratios of Cenomanian–Santonian (C–S) neritic carbonates in SW Iran used to construct a sequence stratigraphic framework, asses sequence ages and durations of hiatus. The diagenetic and geochemical expression of two paleoexposure surfaces, representing type-I sequence boundaries (SBs), are discussed. Increase in Fe and Rb concentrations and decrease in Ca content are recorded at and/or below distinct erosional surfaces. Mg content shows a facies-dependent response with former LMC (low magnesium calcite) or aragonitic facies showing increase while HMC (high magnesium calcite) indicates decrease in response to SBs. Mn shows considerable changes apart from sequence surfaces that are strongly facies dependent. Sr concentrations show an increase in HMC and decrease in LMC in samples which experienced semi-closed meteoric diagenesis, far below the SBs. However, in samples characterized by open system diagenesis, directly underlying the SBs, Sr tends to decrease in all components. The Sr/Rb ratio is a reliable tool in detecting erosional SBs, shown as conspicuous negative excursions. C (carbon) and O (oxygen) isotopes show distinct negative excursions at erosional SBs and a slight increase at or around the MFSs. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio shows clear positive excursions at SBs probably due to ⁸⁷Rb decay in incorporated aluminosilicate detritus, which makes it as the most reliable proxy for the detection of SBs in the studied sections. Two main erosional SBs are marked by ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios including the CT-ES (Cenomanian–Turonian boundary exposure surface) and mT-ES (middle Turonian exposure surface) with hiatus durations of 0.53 and 2.7 Myr, respectively. These paleoexposure surfaces are correlated with other neritic sections of C–S sequences in SW Iran.