Milankovitch and sub-Milankovitch forcing of the Oxfordian (Late Jurassic) Terres Noires Formation (SE France) and global implications

High-resolution analysis (2277 samples) of magnetic susceptibility (MS) was performed on similar to 700-m-thick Early-Middle Oxfordian marine marls of the Terres Noires Formation, SE France. MS variations within these sediments record sub-Milankovitch to Milankovitch frequencies with long-term eccentricity (405 kyr and similar to 2 Myr) being the most prominent. The 405 kyr cycle was used as a high-resolution geochronometer for astronomical calibration of this poorly constrained interval of Late Jurassic time. The estimated duration of this Early-Middle Oxfordian interval concurs with the current International Geologic Time Scale GTS2004 (similar to 4 Myr), but the estimated durations of the corresponding ammonite zones are notably different. The calibration improves the resolution and accuracy of the M-sequence magnetic anomaly block model that was previously used to establish the Oxfordian time scale. Additionally, the 405 kyr cyclicity is linked to third-order sea-level depositional sequences observed for Early-Middle Oxfordian time. Strong similar to 2 Myr cycles are consistent with long-term eccentricity modulation predicted for the Late Jurassic. These cycles do not match second-order sequences that have been documented for European basins; this raises questions about the definition and hierarchy of depositional sequences in the Mesozoic eustatic chart. Our results require substantial revisions to the chart, which is frequently used as a reference for the correlation of widely separated palaeogeographic domains. Finally, a long-term trend in the MS data reflects a progressive carbonate enrichment of the marls expressing an Early Oxfordian global cooling followed gradually by a warming in the Middle Oxfordian. This trend also records a major transgressive interval likely peaking at the Transversarium ammonite zone of the Middle Oxfordian.