Fluxes of riverine nutrient to the Zhujiang River Estuary and its potential eutrophication effect

The Zhujiang River Estuary is becoming eutrophic due to the impact of anthropogenic activities in the past decades.To understand nutrient dynamics and fluxes to the Lingdingyang water via four outlets(Humen,Jiaomen,Hongqimen and Hengmen),we investigated the spatial distribution and seasonal variation of dissolved nutrients in the Zhujiang River Estuary,based on fourteen cruises conducted from March 2015 to October 2017,covering both wet(April to September)and dry(October to March next year)seasons.Our results showed that riverine fluxes of dissolved inorganic nitrogen(DIN)and dissolved silicate(DSi)into the Lingdingyang water through four outlets varied seasonally due to the influence of river discharge,with the highest in spring and the lowest in winter.However,riverine flux of phosphate exhibited little significant seasonal variability.Riverine nutrients into the Lingdingyang water most resulted through Humen Outlet.The estuarine export fluxes of DIN out of the Zhujiang River Estuary derived from a box model were higher than fluxes of riverine nutrients in May,likely due to the influence of local sewage,while lower than riverine flux in August.The export fluxes of phosphate were higher than the fluxes of riverine phosphate in May and August.In contrast,large amounts of DSi were buried in the estuary in May and August.Although excess DIN was delivered into the Zhujiang River Estuary,eutrophication effect was not as severe as expected in the Zhujiang River Estuary,since the light limitation restricted the utilization of nutrients by phytoplankton.

Radiolarian and Detrital Zircon in the Upper Carboniferous to Permian Bancheng Formation,Qinfang Basin,and the Geological Significance

The Bancheng Formation exposed along the Shift Reservoir nearby Bancheng Town, Qinfang Basin, southern Guangxi, is mainly composed of thin-bedded chert. The radiolarian assemblages in the studied section suggest it was a pelagic setting and the age of the Bancheng Formation is Late Carboniferous to Early Permian. The detrital zircon U-Pb ages from the section are characterized by a Permian peak at -282 Ma. Detrital zircon provenance analysis suggests that the Permian detrital zircons in the Bancheng Formation were likely from volcanic-magmatic arc rocks related to the subducfton of the Paleo-Tethyan Ocean. The long-lived deposition （from Upper Devonian to Middle Permian, about 125 Ma） of the radiolarian cherts in the Qinfang Basin was comparable with that deposited in Ailaoshan Ocean. The radiolarian assemblages in Qinfang Basin show a Tethyan affinity. Together with the Permian subduction-related arc volcanic rocks and the E-MORB type basalts to the northwest of the study area, our data support the existence of a Permian arc-related basin in the Qinfang area.

Permian integrative stratigraphy and timescale of China

A series of global major geological and biological events occurred during the Permian Period. Establishing a highresolution stratigraphic and temporal framework is essential to understand their cause-effect relationship. The official International timescale of the Permian System consists of three series(i.e., Cisuralian, Guadalupian and Lopingian in ascending order) and nine stages. In China, the Permian System is composed of three series(Chuanshanian, Yansingian and Lopingian) and eight stages, of which the subdivisions and definitions of the Chuanshanian and Yangsingian series are very different from the Cisuralian and Guadalupian series. The Permian Period spanned ～47 Myr. Its base is defined by the First Appearance Datum(FAD) of the conodont Streptognathodus isolatus at Aidaralash, Kazakhstan with an interpolated absolute age 298.9±0.15 Ma at Usolka, southern Urals, Russia. Its top equals the base of the Triassic System and is defined by the FAD of the conodont Hindeodus parvus at Meishan D section, southeast China with an interpolated absolute age 251.902±0.024 Ma. Thirty-five conodont, 23 fusulinid, 17 radiolarian and 20 ammonoid zones are established for the Permian in China, of which the Guadalupian and Lopingian conodont zones have been served as the standard for international correlation. The Permian δ13 Ccarbtrend indicates that it is characterized by a rapid negative shift of 3–5‰ at the end of the Changhsingian, which can be used for global correlation of the end-Permian mass extinction interval, but δ13 Ccarbrecords from all other intervals may have more or less suffered subsequent diagenetic alteration or represented regional or local signatures only. Permian δ18 Oapatitestudies suggest that an icehouse stage dominated the time interval from the late Carboniferous to Kungurian(late Cisuralian). However, paleoclimate began to ameriolate during the late Kungurian and gradually shifted into a greenhouse-dominated stage during the Guadalupian.The Changhsingian was a relatively cool stage, followed by a globally-recognizable rapid temperature rise of 8–10°C at the very end of the Changhsingian. The87 Sr/86 Sr ratio trend shows that their values at the beginning of the Permian were between 0.70800,then gradually decreased to the late Capitanian minimum 0.70680–0.70690, followed by a persistent increase until the end of the Permian with the value 0.70708. Magenetostratigraphy suggests two distinct stages separated by the Illawarra Reversal in the middle Wordian, of which the lower is the reverse polarity Kiaman Superchron and the upper is the mixed-polarity Illawarra Superchron. The end-Guadalupian(or pre-Lopingian) biological crisis occurred during the late Capitanian, when faunal changeovers of different fossil groups had different paces, but generally experienced a relatively long time from the Jinogondolella altudensis Zone until the earliest Wuchiapingian. The end-Permian mass extinction was a catastrophic event that is best constrained at the Meishan section, which occurred at 251.941±0.037 Ma and persisted no more than 61±48 kyr. After the major pulse at Bed 25, the extinction patterns are displayed differently in different sections. The global end-Guadalupian regression is manifested between the conodont Jinogondolella xuanhanensis and Clarkina dukouensis zones and the endChanghsingian transgression began in the Hindeodus changxingensis-Clarkina zhejiangensis Zone. The Permian Period is also characterized by strong faunal provincialism in general, which resulted in difficulties in inter-continental and inter-regional correlation of both marine and terrestrial systems.