Using analyses of the lithology,sequences,paleoenvironment,and tectonic setting,the depositional system of the Carboniferous Huanglong Formation in the eastern Sichuan Basin was identified.The lithological characteris...Using analyses of the lithology,sequences,paleoenvironment,and tectonic setting,the depositional system of the Carboniferous Huanglong Formation in the eastern Sichuan Basin was identified.The lithological characteristics of the Lower Member,Middle Member,and Upper Member were analyzed and classified.Before the use of carbon,oxygen,and strontium isotopes in the analysis,all of the geochemical data were tested for validity.On the basis of the Z values obtained from carbon and oxygen isotopes,the paleoenvironments of the three members were elucidated.Lower Member was dominantly an enclosed marine environment with intense evaporation and little freshwater input into the sea.Middle Member developed in a semi-enclosed to normal marine environment with many rivers.Upper Member was formed in a normal marine environment.The east Sichuan Basin was enclosed by paleouplifts before the deposition of the Huanglong Formation,forming a relatively enclosed depositional setting.Paleogullies developed in the Silurian strata that underlie the Carboniferous rocks;these paleogullies can be identified.On the basis of a comprehensive analysis,we propose that the Huanglong Formation developed in a platform system.Four microfacies were identified：supratidal flat,dolostone flat,grain shoal,and shelf microfacies.The high-permeability and high-porosity characteristics of the grain shoal microfacies are favorable for hydrocarbon accumulation,while the supratidal flat and shelf microfacies developed very few high-quality reservoirs.The paleogullies,in which increased amounts of grain shoal microfacies developed,controlled the distribution of high-quality reservoirs.展开更多
Objective One of major challenges in paleoenvironmental reconstruction using travertine in the Huanglong area is whether one can accurately determinate the age of travertine through high-precision and high-resolution...Objective One of major challenges in paleoenvironmental reconstruction using travertine in the Huanglong area is whether one can accurately determinate the age of travertine through high-precision and high-resolution dating techniques. Previous works of 14C or ESR chronology, however, have shown that the variation of deposition ages of travertine was displayed inconsistent with each other even conflict. For instance, （1） The oldest travertine age （80 ka） located in the middle of this travertine succession is departure from sequential deposition; （2） Top or boundary ages in this sedimentary section, even with the same dating method （14C）, are three times errors, moreover, the age of the depositional sequence is not continuous. We report here the U230Th ages in lowest boundary of travertine in Dawanzhangjia Valley, Huanglong, China, to discuss the effectiveness of U-series dating for cold-water travertine and the significance of age for vicissitude of paleoenvironment.展开更多
Based on a comprehensive study of texture,diagenetic behavior and evolution of dolomite in the Huanglong Formation,trace （e.g.,Fe,Mn and Sr） and rare earth element （REE） geochemistry,andisotopic characteristics （...Based on a comprehensive study of texture,diagenetic behavior and evolution of dolomite in the Huanglong Formation,trace （e.g.,Fe,Mn and Sr） and rare earth element （REE） geochemistry,andisotopic characteristics （e.g.,C,O and Sr）,four types of diagenetic fluids are identified in the Huanglong Formation dolomite reservoirs of the Eastern Sichuan Basin,China：1）：marine-derived pore waters in the marine diagenetic environment,2） sabkha compaction brine conserved in the early shallowburied diagenetic environment,3） strongly-oxidizing low-temperature meteoric water in the seepagesubsurface flow diagenetic environment,and 4） strongly reducing deeply seated mixed hot brine in the middle and deep burial diagenetic environment.The fluids developed hereditarily from one environment to another,which resulted in its respective characteristics.Fluid characteristics play an important role in the development of dolomite reservoirs：1） dolomitization by marine-derived pore water in the quasisyngenetic stage did not form an effective reservoir; 2） early diagenetic burial dolomitization by the sabkha compaction brine formed the basis for reservoir development; 3） meteoric water karstification in the paleo-epidiagenetic stage expanded both the distribution and the size of the reservoirs,and improved the reservoir quality; 4） deep-burial dissolution and tectonic fracturing in the reburial diagenetic stage further improved reservoir porosity and permeability.展开更多
Huanglong is located between 103°44′ -104°3′ Lon. W. of Greenwich, and 32°41′-32°54′ Lat. N. of the Equator, in Sichuan Province, China. It is a neighbor of world-famous Jiuzhaigou, with an are...Huanglong is located between 103°44′ -104°3′ Lon. W. of Greenwich, and 32°41′-32°54′ Lat. N. of the Equator, in Sichuan Province, China. It is a neighbor of world-famous Jiuzhaigou, with an area of 40,000 hectares. The karst landscape of Huanglong is spectacular, with over 3,400 multicolored pools reflecting surrounding peaks, trees and waterfalls in an unending scroll. The 3.5-kilometer yellow-sand road is like a golden dragon flying up the snowy mountain, and from a distance the colored pools look like dragon scales. So, it is called展开更多
Karst rocks from the Huanglong Formation exposed at the margin of the Eastern Sichuan Basin can be divided into four types：slightly corroded, moderately corroded porous, intensely corroded brecciated and intensely co...Karst rocks from the Huanglong Formation exposed at the margin of the Eastern Sichuan Basin can be divided into four types：slightly corroded, moderately corroded porous, intensely corroded brecciated and intensely corroded and replaced secondary calcic karstic rocks. The carbon, oxygen and strontium isotope compositions of the various karst rocks are analyzed systematically and compared to rocks without karst corrosion. The results indicate that（1） the Huanglong Formation in the eastern Sichuan Basin was a restricted bay supplied and controlled by freshwater in which mudmicrite and mud-dolomicrite exhibit low δ13C and δ18O values and high 87Sr/86 Sr ratios;（2） all types of karstic rocks in the paleokarst reservoirs of the Huanglong Formation in the research area are affected by atmospheric freshwater with the δ13C and δ18O values and 87Sr/86 Sr ratios in the original formation approaching those of atmospheric freshwater, which reflects ancient hydrological conditions, fluid properties, isotopic source and the fractionation effect;（3） the intensely corroded and replaced secondary limestone is affected by a variety of diagenetic fluids, often reflected by δ13C and δ18O values, while the 87Sr/86 Sr ratios exhibit the strong degree of the corrosion;（4） after comparing the 87Sr/86 Sr ratios of each type of karst rock, the diagenetic fluids are determined to be mainly atmospheric freshwater, and depending on the strength of corrosion, and the low 87Sr/86 Sr ratio fluids in the layer will participate in the karst process. The carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotopes of different karstic reservoirs can provide meaningful geochemical information for forecasting and evaluating the development and distribution rules of the Huanglong Formation at the margin of the eastern Sichuan Basin in time and space.展开更多
SITUATED in the northwestern part of Sichuan Province, Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area is renowned for its beautiful mountainous scenery, with relatively undisturbed and highly diverse forest ecosystems.
For the past 20 years the modern hu- man origins debate has received a significant amount of attention in paleoanthropological research. Primar- ily supported by the evidence of earlier dates of anatomically modern hu...For the past 20 years the modern hu- man origins debate has received a significant amount of attention in paleoanthropological research. Primar- ily supported by the evidence of earlier dates of anatomically modern human fossils and genetic studies, the “Out of Africa” hypothesis is based on the belief that the ancestor of all modern humans, in- cluding modern Chinese, came from Africa. The op- posite hypothesis “Mutiregional evolution” proposes that continuous evolution occurred on a regional scale, for which human paleontology offers strong support. However, due to the paucity of hominid fos- sils in China between 100 and 50 ka, support to the latter hypothesis is currently weak. This is a report here of five human fossil teeth, and associated stone tools and mammal fossils from a newly discovered cave site, Huanglong Cave, located in Yunxi County, Hubei Province, China. Preliminary studies indicate: (1) the morphological features of the human fossils resemble those of late Pleistocene human fossils from China; (2) the stone tools display patterns of both the southern and northern Paleolithic cultures of China; (3) the mammal fossils represent the “Ailuro- poda-Stegodon” faunal unit which lived in southern China throughout the Pleistocene. ESR and U-series dating on animal teeth and a stalagmite derived from the same layer as the human teeth indicate two possible ages: 103±1.6 ka and 44±12.5 ka. In addi- tion to other evidence presented here, it is believed that hominid occupation of the cave was likely around 100 ka. If this age is further substantiated, Huanglong Cave will be the first late Pleistocene hominid fossilsite in China where anatomically modern humans lived about 100 ka. The human fossils and other re- lated materials from Huanglong Cave will provide important information for research on the origin of modern Chinese.展开更多
Since 2004, three excavations have been carried out at a late Pleistocene human fossil site of Huanglong Cave in Yunxi County, Hubei Province of China, which unearthed seven human teeth, dozens of stone tools, mammal ...Since 2004, three excavations have been carried out at a late Pleistocene human fossil site of Huanglong Cave in Yunxi County, Hubei Province of China, which unearthed seven human teeth, dozens of stone tools, mammal fossils and other evidence indicating human activities. During the third excavation in 2006, in the same layer as the human teeth, we found some patches of black materials embed- ded in the deposit. We doubted that this black deposit layer is the remains of burning or even human use of fire at the cave. To further explore the possibility of human fire use at the Huanglong Cave, we examined samples directly taken from the black deposit layer and compared them with samples taken from several places in the cave using three methods: micromorphology, element content determination and deposit temperature analysis. Our results indicate that the contents of carbon element in the black deposit reach 64.59%―73.29%. In contrast, contents of carbon element of the comparative samples from other parts in the cave are only 5.82%―9.49%. The micromorphology analysis of the black deposit samples reveals a plant structure like axial parenchyma, fibrocyte, uniseriate ray and vessel. High-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements suggest that the stratum possibly underwent a high temperature in the nature. Based on these lab analyses, we are sure that the black layer in the Huanglong Cave is the remains of fire and combustion did occur in the cave 100000 years ago. Taking other evidence of human activities found in the Huanglong Cave into consideration, we believe that the evidence of fire from the Huanglong Cave was caused by the human activities of controlled use of fire.展开更多
基金granted by the National Science and Technology Major Project(2011ZX05004-001)
文摘Using analyses of the lithology,sequences,paleoenvironment,and tectonic setting,the depositional system of the Carboniferous Huanglong Formation in the eastern Sichuan Basin was identified.The lithological characteristics of the Lower Member,Middle Member,and Upper Member were analyzed and classified.Before the use of carbon,oxygen,and strontium isotopes in the analysis,all of the geochemical data were tested for validity.On the basis of the Z values obtained from carbon and oxygen isotopes,the paleoenvironments of the three members were elucidated.Lower Member was dominantly an enclosed marine environment with intense evaporation and little freshwater input into the sea.Middle Member developed in a semi-enclosed to normal marine environment with many rivers.Upper Member was formed in a normal marine environment.The east Sichuan Basin was enclosed by paleouplifts before the deposition of the Huanglong Formation,forming a relatively enclosed depositional setting.Paleogullies developed in the Silurian strata that underlie the Carboniferous rocks;these paleogullies can be identified.On the basis of a comprehensive analysis,we propose that the Huanglong Formation developed in a platform system.Four microfacies were identified：supratidal flat,dolostone flat,grain shoal,and shelf microfacies.The high-permeability and high-porosity characteristics of the grain shoal microfacies are favorable for hydrocarbon accumulation,while the supratidal flat and shelf microfacies developed very few high-quality reservoirs.The paleogullies,in which increased amounts of grain shoal microfacies developed,controlled the distribution of high-quality reservoirs.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (grants No. 41572035, 41472309, 41603041 and 41741026)the Open Funds of State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology (grant No. SKLLQG1620)
文摘Objective One of major challenges in paleoenvironmental reconstruction using travertine in the Huanglong area is whether one can accurately determinate the age of travertine through high-precision and high-resolution dating techniques. Previous works of 14C or ESR chronology, however, have shown that the variation of deposition ages of travertine was displayed inconsistent with each other even conflict. For instance, （1） The oldest travertine age （80 ka） located in the middle of this travertine succession is departure from sequential deposition; （2） Top or boundary ages in this sedimentary section, even with the same dating method （14C）, are three times errors, moreover, the age of the depositional sequence is not continuous. We report here the U230Th ages in lowest boundary of travertine in Dawanzhangjia Valley, Huanglong, China, to discuss the effectiveness of U-series dating for cold-water travertine and the significance of age for vicissitude of paleoenvironment.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.41002033)National Major Science and Technology Specific Project of China(2011ZX05030-003-02)+1 种基金Natural Science Key Project of Education Department in Sichuan(13ZA0058)Foundation for Fostering Middle-aged and Young Key Teachers of Chengdu University of Technology
文摘Based on a comprehensive study of texture,diagenetic behavior and evolution of dolomite in the Huanglong Formation,trace （e.g.,Fe,Mn and Sr） and rare earth element （REE） geochemistry,andisotopic characteristics （e.g.,C,O and Sr）,four types of diagenetic fluids are identified in the Huanglong Formation dolomite reservoirs of the Eastern Sichuan Basin,China：1）：marine-derived pore waters in the marine diagenetic environment,2） sabkha compaction brine conserved in the early shallowburied diagenetic environment,3） strongly-oxidizing low-temperature meteoric water in the seepagesubsurface flow diagenetic environment,and 4） strongly reducing deeply seated mixed hot brine in the middle and deep burial diagenetic environment.The fluids developed hereditarily from one environment to another,which resulted in its respective characteristics.Fluid characteristics play an important role in the development of dolomite reservoirs：1） dolomitization by marine-derived pore water in the quasisyngenetic stage did not form an effective reservoir; 2） early diagenetic burial dolomitization by the sabkha compaction brine formed the basis for reservoir development; 3） meteoric water karstification in the paleo-epidiagenetic stage expanded both the distribution and the size of the reservoirs,and improved the reservoir quality; 4） deep-burial dissolution and tectonic fracturing in the reburial diagenetic stage further improved reservoir porosity and permeability.
文摘Huanglong is located between 103°44′ -104°3′ Lon. W. of Greenwich, and 32°41′-32°54′ Lat. N. of the Equator, in Sichuan Province, China. It is a neighbor of world-famous Jiuzhaigou, with an area of 40,000 hectares. The karst landscape of Huanglong is spectacular, with over 3,400 multicolored pools reflecting surrounding peaks, trees and waterfalls in an unending scroll. The 3.5-kilometer yellow-sand road is like a golden dragon flying up the snowy mountain, and from a distance the colored pools look like dragon scales. So, it is called
基金supported by the National Major Science of China (Grant NO. 2011ZX05030-003-002)Natural Science key project of Education Department in Sichuan (NO.13ZA0058)
文摘Karst rocks from the Huanglong Formation exposed at the margin of the Eastern Sichuan Basin can be divided into four types：slightly corroded, moderately corroded porous, intensely corroded brecciated and intensely corroded and replaced secondary calcic karstic rocks. The carbon, oxygen and strontium isotope compositions of the various karst rocks are analyzed systematically and compared to rocks without karst corrosion. The results indicate that（1） the Huanglong Formation in the eastern Sichuan Basin was a restricted bay supplied and controlled by freshwater in which mudmicrite and mud-dolomicrite exhibit low δ13C and δ18O values and high 87Sr/86 Sr ratios;（2） all types of karstic rocks in the paleokarst reservoirs of the Huanglong Formation in the research area are affected by atmospheric freshwater with the δ13C and δ18O values and 87Sr/86 Sr ratios in the original formation approaching those of atmospheric freshwater, which reflects ancient hydrological conditions, fluid properties, isotopic source and the fractionation effect;（3） the intensely corroded and replaced secondary limestone is affected by a variety of diagenetic fluids, often reflected by δ13C and δ18O values, while the 87Sr/86 Sr ratios exhibit the strong degree of the corrosion;（4） after comparing the 87Sr/86 Sr ratios of each type of karst rock, the diagenetic fluids are determined to be mainly atmospheric freshwater, and depending on the strength of corrosion, and the low 87Sr/86 Sr ratio fluids in the layer will participate in the karst process. The carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotopes of different karstic reservoirs can provide meaningful geochemical information for forecasting and evaluating the development and distribution rules of the Huanglong Formation at the margin of the eastern Sichuan Basin in time and space.
文摘SITUATED in the northwestern part of Sichuan Province, Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area is renowned for its beautiful mountainous scenery, with relatively undisturbed and highly diverse forest ecosystems.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China （Grant Nos. 40472106 , 40572104） the Major Basic Research Projects of Ministry of Science and Technology of China （Grant No. 2006CB806400）.
文摘For the past 20 years the modern hu- man origins debate has received a significant amount of attention in paleoanthropological research. Primar- ily supported by the evidence of earlier dates of anatomically modern human fossils and genetic studies, the “Out of Africa” hypothesis is based on the belief that the ancestor of all modern humans, in- cluding modern Chinese, came from Africa. The op- posite hypothesis “Mutiregional evolution” proposes that continuous evolution occurred on a regional scale, for which human paleontology offers strong support. However, due to the paucity of hominid fos- sils in China between 100 and 50 ka, support to the latter hypothesis is currently weak. This is a report here of five human fossil teeth, and associated stone tools and mammal fossils from a newly discovered cave site, Huanglong Cave, located in Yunxi County, Hubei Province, China. Preliminary studies indicate: (1) the morphological features of the human fossils resemble those of late Pleistocene human fossils from China; (2) the stone tools display patterns of both the southern and northern Paleolithic cultures of China; (3) the mammal fossils represent the “Ailuro- poda-Stegodon” faunal unit which lived in southern China throughout the Pleistocene. ESR and U-series dating on animal teeth and a stalagmite derived from the same layer as the human teeth indicate two possible ages: 103±1.6 ka and 44±12.5 ka. In addi- tion to other evidence presented here, it is believed that hominid occupation of the cave was likely around 100 ka. If this age is further substantiated, Huanglong Cave will be the first late Pleistocene hominid fossilsite in China where anatomically modern humans lived about 100 ka. The human fossils and other re- lated materials from Huanglong Cave will provide important information for research on the origin of modern Chinese.
基金Supported by Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX2-YW-106)National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40772016)+1 种基金National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2006CB806400)International Cooperation Program of MST of China (Grant No. 2007DFB20330)
文摘Since 2004, three excavations have been carried out at a late Pleistocene human fossil site of Huanglong Cave in Yunxi County, Hubei Province of China, which unearthed seven human teeth, dozens of stone tools, mammal fossils and other evidence indicating human activities. During the third excavation in 2006, in the same layer as the human teeth, we found some patches of black materials embed- ded in the deposit. We doubted that this black deposit layer is the remains of burning or even human use of fire at the cave. To further explore the possibility of human fire use at the Huanglong Cave, we examined samples directly taken from the black deposit layer and compared them with samples taken from several places in the cave using three methods: micromorphology, element content determination and deposit temperature analysis. Our results indicate that the contents of carbon element in the black deposit reach 64.59%―73.29%. In contrast, contents of carbon element of the comparative samples from other parts in the cave are only 5.82%―9.49%. The micromorphology analysis of the black deposit samples reveals a plant structure like axial parenchyma, fibrocyte, uniseriate ray and vessel. High-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements suggest that the stratum possibly underwent a high temperature in the nature. Based on these lab analyses, we are sure that the black layer in the Huanglong Cave is the remains of fire and combustion did occur in the cave 100000 years ago. Taking other evidence of human activities found in the Huanglong Cave into consideration, we believe that the evidence of fire from the Huanglong Cave was caused by the human activities of controlled use of fire.
