Early Triassic microbialites from the Changxing Region of Zhejiang Province,South China

Microbialites, often considered as a signal of extreme marine environment, are common in the Lower Triassic strata of South China where they flourished in the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction. Early Triassic microbialite facies are known to vary palaeogeographically, perhaps due to differing climates, ocean chemistry, and water depths. This paper provides the first record of a brief, but spectacular development of microbialites in the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction at Panjiazhuang section, Changxing Region of Zhejiang Province (eastern South China). Here, the Upper Permian Changxing Formation comprises typical shallow platform facies rich in calcareous algae and foraminifera, the development of which was terminated by the major end-Permian regression. A 3.4-m-thick microbialite began to form at the onset of the transgression in the earliest Triassic. The microbialite at Panjiazhuang section is composed of thrombolite that contains abundant calcified cyanobacteria, small gastropods, microconchid tubes and ostracods, representing a low-diversity shallow marine community in the aftermath of the end-Permian crisis. The microbialites are succeeded by thin-bedded micrites bearing thin-shelled bivalves, which record a rapid sea-level rise in the Early Triassic. Abundant populations of small pyrite framboids are observed in the upper part of the microbialites and the overlying thin-bedded micrites, suggesting that dysoxic water conditions developed at that time. The appearance of microbialites near the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) at Panjiazhuang section was the result of peculiar marine conditions following the end-Permian regression, whilst their disappearance was due to the increasing water depth and the development of dysoxia.

Evolution of sedimentary facies and fossil communities in the Middle Permian Maokou Formation in Zigui County, Hubei Province,South China

A geological event that happened at the end of the Middle Permian resulted in different levels of erosion in a shallow-water platform of South China, which led to diverse geological records in different sections. The Lianziya section in western Hubei Province of South China has a well-exposed stratigraphic sequence of the late Middle Permian rocks with abundant fossils and sedimentary facies types, providing new evidences for understanding the evolution of marine biota and environment in the late Middle Permian. Our study shows that four fossil communities can be recognized with the change of sedimentary facies in the late Middle Permian: Foraminiferal-algal community, phylloid algal community, bryozoan community and Ungdarella community. The foraminiferal-algal community is dominated by fusulinids and calcareous algae, but was soon replaced by the phylloid algal community. With an increase of terrestrial input, the phylloid algal community was again replaced by the bryozoan community. Near the end of the Middle Permian, with a decrease of terrestrial input, the bryozoan fossil community disappeared while the Ungdarella community became dominant. A 10 cm-thick weathered crust occurred at the top of the Middle Permian limestone, marking a large amplitude fall in sea-level and the beginning of a terrestrial erosion stage. The sedimentary facies and fossil community changes in the Lianziya section indicates that the Middle Permian crisis was a gradual process while the sea-level fall mainly occurred in the latest Middle Permian.