δ^(13)C_(org) perturbations preserved by the interglacial Datangpo Formation in South China with implications for stratigraphic correlation and carbon cycle

Palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions of the Cryogenian Period have attracted attention in relation to the debated“Snowball Earth”hypothesis and the early evolution of metazoan life.The carbon cycle and redox conditions of the Sturtian-Marinoan non-glacial interval have been subjected to much controversy in the past decades because of the lack of a high-resolution stratigraphic correlation scheme.As one of the typical Sturtian-Marinoan interglacial deposits,the Datangpo Formation was widely distributed in South China with shales continuously deposited.The previous zircon dating data of the Datangpo Formation provide important ages for global constrain of the Sturtian-Marinoan non-glacial interval.Here we present a high-resolution straitigraphic study of the organic carbon isotopes of the Datangpo Formation from a drill core section in northern Guizhou Province.Based on measured episodicδ^(13)C_(org) perturbations,three positive shifts and three negative excursions are identified.Aδ^(13)C_(org)-based chemostratigraphic correlation scheme is proposed herein that works well for the Datangpo Formation regionally.Meanwhile,theδ^(13)C_(org) vertical gradients changed dynamically throughout the formation.This discovery implies that a significant ocean circulation overturn might have occurred in the upper Datangpo Formation,coinciding with the potential oxygenation.

Growth mechanisms and environmental implications of carbonate concretions from the ～ 1.4Ga Xiamaling Formation, North China

Carbonate concretions provide unique records of ancient biogeochemical processes in marine sediments, and have the potential to reflect seawater chemistry indirectly. In fine-siliciclastic settings, they preferentially form in organicrich mudstones, owing to a significant fraction of the bicarbonate required for carbonate precipitation resulted from the decomposition of organic matter in sediments. In the Member IV of the Xiamaling Formation(ca. 1.40–1.35 Ga), North China, however, carbonate concretions occur in organic-poor green silty shales(avg. TOC = ~ 0.1 wt%).In order to elucidate the mechanism of the concretion formation and their environmental implications, a thorough study on the petrographic and geochemical compositions of the concretions and their host rocks was conducted.Macro-to microscopic fabrics, including deformed shale laminae surrounding the concretions, "cardhouse"structures of clay minerals and calcite geodes in the concretions, indicate that these concretions are of early diagenetic origin prior to the significant compaction of clay minerals. The carbon isotope compositions of the concretions(-1.7‰ to + 1.5‰) are stable and close to or slightly lower than that of the contemporaneous seawater, indicating that the bicarbonates required for the concretion formation were mainly sourced from seawater by diffusion rather than produced by methanogenesis or anoxic oxidation of methane(AOM); the rare occurrence of authigenic pyrite grains in the concretions likely indicates that bacterial sulfate reduction(BSR) did not play a significant role in their formation either. Almost all the calcite in the concretions has low Mn–Fe in nuclei but high Mn–Fe in rims with average Mn/Fe ratio close to 3.3. The calcite shows positive Ce anomalies(avg. 1.43)and low Y/Ho ratios(avg. 31). This evidence suggests that Mn reduction is the dominant process responsible for the formation of calcite rims while nitrate reduction probably triggered the precipitation of calcite nuclei.Prominence of Mn reduction in the porewater likely indicates that there was sufficient oxygen to support active Mn-redox cycling in the overlying seawater.