Albo-Cenomanian ambers from Lure Mountain (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), stratigraphic and paleogeographic tool

Nodules of fossil resin or amber, first drifted and then deposited in the marine series with cephalopods, were discovered in several areas of High-Provence. in geological series of the Cretaceous system. These areas arc located around the Mountain of Lure; amber nodules have been found in the upper Albian (Ongles, Revest-des-Brousses) and in the lower Cenomanian (Saint-Etienne-les-Orgues, Aubignosc and Salignac). These ambers have very homogeneous and characteristic FTIR spectra, making it possible to distinguish them not only from more recent ambers of the upper Cretaceous of Provence (Santonian), but also from tertiary ambers of the Baltic sea. These organic matters in marine environment, brought by the currents and deposited in shallow waters of the Ventoux-Lure area, are in agreement with close emerged grounds, which were set tip by the Albo-Cenomanian tectonic movements. (C) 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. Tons droits reserves.