Contact metamorphism of organic-rich mudstones and carbon release around a magmatic sill in the Basque-Cantabrian Basin, western Pyrenees

Organic carbon loss in the aureole was the result of carbon devolatilization and formation of CO2 and CH4 gases. The newly formed CO2 reacted with pore waters to precipitate 13C depleted carbonate minerals in the aureole and in sill fractures. CH4 escaped from the aureole via hydrofractures to the paleoseabed, where methane-derived authigenic carbonates were formed.