Orbital Cycles Predict Shale Deposits

Detectable Milankovitch eccentricity cycles leave a sedimentary fingerprint in lake‑bed Jurassic mudstones: high eccentricity produces warmer, wetter conditions and more organic deposition, while low eccentricity produces drier intervals with less organic matter. Mapping these astro‑climatic signals in continental basins can guide where thick, petroleum‑rich shale horizons are concentrated. — If robust, this gives energy firms and governments a new, science‑based tool for locating onshore shale resources and reframes some resource geopolitics as partly driven by orbital‑scale climate forcing.