The paleoenvironment of shales can be reconstructed to some extent using the combinations or concentrations of elements that correlate strongly with environmental conditions.In this study,we analyzed rare earth elemen...The paleoenvironment of shales can be reconstructed to some extent using the combinations or concentrations of elements that correlate strongly with environmental conditions.In this study,we analyzed rare earth elements(REEs),major elements,and trace elements in the marine-continental transitional shales(transitional shales for short)of the Shan 2^(3)submember of the Shanxi Formation in the southeastern Ordos Basin.The purpose is to deduce the paleoenvironmental conditions of the shales,encompassing paleoredox,paleoclimate,paleoproductivity,and paleo-provenance.The Shan 2^(3)submember comprises four sections,namely Shan 2^(3)-1,Shan 2^(3)-2,Shan 2^(3)-3,and Shan 2^(3)-4.The Ba/Al,P/Al,and Cu/Al ratios,along with biogenic barium(Babio),indicate that the paleoproductivity of the submember peaked during the Shan 2^(3)-1 deposition and exhibited a downtrend upward in other sections.Trends in the Uau and the Ni/Co,V/Cr,U/Th,and V/Sc ratios suggest that suboxic conditions prevailed during the Shan 2^(3)-1 deposition,with the oxidation level gradually increasing from Shan 2^(3)-1 to Shan 2^(3)-4.C-value and the Sr/Cu vs.Ga/Rb cross-plot indicate a warm and arid paleoclimate during the Shan 2^(3)-1 deposition,which transitioned to cooler,drier conditions during the deposition of other sections.Indicators sensitive to paleoclimate,such as the K/Rb and Th/U ratios,along with the ICV,PIA,and Chemical Index of Alteration(CIA),highlight elevated weathering from Shan 2^(3)-2 to Shan 2^(3)-4,with Shan 2^(3)-1 exhibiting the weakest weathering during its deposition.As suggested by the REE data,the Zr/Sc vs.Th/Sr cross-plot,provenance discriminant functions,and the cross-plots of Hf vs.La/Th,Th vs.Hf-Co,and∑REE vs.La/Yb,the sedimentary provenance for the transitional shales of the Shan 2^(3)submember is of multiple origins,with significant contributions from the Upper Continental Crust(UCC).Discriminant diagrams,including those of Th-Co-Zr/10,Th-Sc-Zr/10,La-Th-Sc,and K_(2)O/Na_(2)O vs.SiO_(2),suggest that the transitional shales of the Shan 2^(3)submember were primarily deposited under tectonic settings such as continental island arcs(CIAs)and passive continental margins(PCMs).展开更多
基金funded by the Science and Technology Cooper-ation Project of the CNPC-SWPU Innovation Alliance(Grant No.2020CX030101)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.51674044).
文摘The paleoenvironment of shales can be reconstructed to some extent using the combinations or concentrations of elements that correlate strongly with environmental conditions.In this study,we analyzed rare earth elements(REEs),major elements,and trace elements in the marine-continental transitional shales(transitional shales for short)of the Shan 2^(3)submember of the Shanxi Formation in the southeastern Ordos Basin.The purpose is to deduce the paleoenvironmental conditions of the shales,encompassing paleoredox,paleoclimate,paleoproductivity,and paleo-provenance.The Shan 2^(3)submember comprises four sections,namely Shan 2^(3)-1,Shan 2^(3)-2,Shan 2^(3)-3,and Shan 2^(3)-4.The Ba/Al,P/Al,and Cu/Al ratios,along with biogenic barium(Babio),indicate that the paleoproductivity of the submember peaked during the Shan 2^(3)-1 deposition and exhibited a downtrend upward in other sections.Trends in the Uau and the Ni/Co,V/Cr,U/Th,and V/Sc ratios suggest that suboxic conditions prevailed during the Shan 2^(3)-1 deposition,with the oxidation level gradually increasing from Shan 2^(3)-1 to Shan 2^(3)-4.C-value and the Sr/Cu vs.Ga/Rb cross-plot indicate a warm and arid paleoclimate during the Shan 2^(3)-1 deposition,which transitioned to cooler,drier conditions during the deposition of other sections.Indicators sensitive to paleoclimate,such as the K/Rb and Th/U ratios,along with the ICV,PIA,and Chemical Index of Alteration(CIA),highlight elevated weathering from Shan 2^(3)-2 to Shan 2^(3)-4,with Shan 2^(3)-1 exhibiting the weakest weathering during its deposition.As suggested by the REE data,the Zr/Sc vs.Th/Sr cross-plot,provenance discriminant functions,and the cross-plots of Hf vs.La/Th,Th vs.Hf-Co,and∑REE vs.La/Yb,the sedimentary provenance for the transitional shales of the Shan 2^(3)submember is of multiple origins,with significant contributions from the Upper Continental Crust(UCC).Discriminant diagrams,including those of Th-Co-Zr/10,Th-Sc-Zr/10,La-Th-Sc,and K_(2)O/Na_(2)O vs.SiO_(2),suggest that the transitional shales of the Shan 2^(3)submember were primarily deposited under tectonic settings such as continental island arcs(CIAs)and passive continental margins(PCMs).
