Planktic Foraminiferal Biostratigraphy of the Cretaceous Oceanic Red Beds in Kangmar,Southern Tibet,China

The planktic foraminifera of the Chuangde Formation （Upper Cretaceous Oceanic Red Beds, CORBs） as exposed at Tianbadong section, Kangmar, southern Tibet has been firstly studied for a detailed for a detailed biostratigraphy elaboration. A rich and well-preserved planktic foraminifera were recovered from the Chuangde Formation of the Tianbadong section and the Globotruncanita elevata, Globotruncana ventricosa, Radotruncana calcarata, Globotruncanella havanensis, Globotruncana aegyptiaca, Gansserina gansseri and Abathomphalus mayaroensis zones have been recognized. The planktic foraminiferal assemblage points to an early Campanian to Maastrichitian age for the CORBs of the eastern North Tethyan Himalayan sub-belt, which also provides a better understanding of the shifting progress of the Indian Plate to the north and the evolution of the Neotethyan ocean. The lithostratigraphy of the Chuangde Formation of the Tianbadong section comprises two lithological sequences observed in ascending succession： a lower unit （the Shale Member） mainly composed of purple （cherry-red, violet-red） shales with interbedded siltstones and siliceous rocks; and an upper unit （the Limestone Member） of variegated limestones. The strata of the Chuangde Formation in the Tianbadong section are similar to CORBs in other parts of the northern Tethyan Himalaya area of Asia （Gyangze, Sa＇gya, Sangdanlin, northern Zanskar, etc.）. The fossil contents of the Chuangde Formation in the sections （CORBs） studied provide a means of correlation with the zonation schemes for those of the northern Tethyan Himalayan sub-belt and the Upper Cretaceous of the southern Tethyan Himalayan sub-belt. Paleogeographic reconstruction for the Late Cretaceous indicates that the Upper Cretaceous Chuangde Formation （CORBs） and correlatable strata in northern Zanskar were representative of slope to basinal deposits, which were situated in the northern Tethyan Belt. Correlatable Cretaceous strata in Spiti and Gamba situated in the southern Tethyan Belt in contrast were deposited in shelf environments along the Tethyan Himalayan passive margin. CORBs are most likely formed by the oxidation of Fe（II）-enriched, anoxic deep ocean water near the chemocline that separated the oxic oceanic surface from the anoxic.

Burial Records of Reactive Iron in Cretaceous Black Shales and Oceanic Red Beds from Southern Tibet

One of the new directions in the field of Cretaceous research is to elucidate the mechanism of the sedimentary transition from the Cretaceous black shales to oceanic red beds. A chemical sequential extraction method was applied to these two types of rocks from southern Tibet to investigate the burial records of reactive iron. Results indicate that carbonate-associated iron and pyrite are relatively enriched in the black shales, but depleted or absent in red beds. The main feature of the reactive iron in the red beds is relative enrichment of iron oxides （largely hematite）, which occurred during syn-depostion or early diagenesis. The ratio between iron oxides and the total iron indicates an oxygen-enriched environment for red bed deposition. A comparison between the reactive iron burial records and proxies of paleo-productivity suggests that paleo-productivity decreases when the ratio between iron oxides and the total iron increases in the red beds. This phenomenon could imply that the relationship between marine redox and productivity might be one of the reasons for the sedimentary transition from Cretaceous black shale to oceanic red bed deposition.

Response of Reactive Phosphorus Burial to the Sedimentary Transition from Cretaceous Black Shales to Oceanic Red Beds in Southern Tibet

The mechanism of sedimentary transition from the Cretaceous black shales to the oceanic red beds is a new and important direction of Cretaceous research. Chemical sequential extraction is applied to study the burial records of reactive phosphorus in the black shale of the Gyabula Formation and oceanic red beds of the Chuangde Formation, Southern Tibet. Results indicate that the principal reactive phosphorus species is the authigenic and carbonate-associated phosphorus （CAP） in the Gyabula Formation and iron oxides-associated phosphorus （FeP） in the Chuangde Formation which accounts for more than half of their own total phosphorus content. While the authigenic and carbonate-associated phosphorus （CAP） is almost equal in the two Formations; the iron oxidesassociated phosphorus is about 1.6 times higher in the Chuangde Formation than that in the Gyabula Formation resulting in a higher content of the total phosphorus in the Chuangde Formation. According to the observations on the marine phosphorus cyde in Modern Ocean, it is found that preferential burial and regeneration of reactive phosphorus corresponds to highly oxic and reducing conditions, respectively, leading to the different distribution of phosphorus in these two distinct type of marine sediments. It is the redox-sensitive behavior of phosphorus cycle to the different redox conditions in the ocean and the controlling effects of phosphorus to the marine production that stimulate the local sedimentary transition from the Cretaceous black shale to the oceanic red beds.

Clay mineral assemblages of the oceanic red beds in the northern South China Sea and their responses to the Middle Miocene Climate Transition

The Middle Miocene Climate Transition(MMCT,~14 Ma)is the largest cooling event in the Cenozoic“Coolhouse”,which significantly impacts the global chemical weathering pattern.In this paper,the responses of the MMCT global cooling event in the deep South China Sea were studied by clay mineral assemblages analysis of the oceanic red beds(ORB)at International Ocean Discovery Program(IODP)Expedition 368 Site U1502.The results show that the clay mineral assemblages of the ORB at Site U1502 are mainly composed of smectite(56–88%),illite(7–29%),and kaolinite(6–20%),without chlorite.The contents of these clay minerals and illite crystallinity show a four-stage variation pattern during early-middle Miocene(22.8–10.8 Ma).Smectite decreased from average 81%during 22.8–16.2 Ma and 16.2–14.4 Ma to average 67%during 13.8–10.8 Ma,with a rapid decrease of~14%during 14.4–13.8 Ma.On the contrary,illite and kaolinite increased rapidly by~8%and~6%,respectively,during 14.4–13.8 Ma.Illite crystallinity increased from average 0.18°Δ2θduring 22.8–16.2 Ma to average 0.19°Δ2θduring 16.2–14.4 Ma,and then decreased rapidly by~0.02°Δ2θduring 14.4–13.8 Ma.The provenance analysis of clay minerals shows that illite and kaolinite mainly originated from South China landmass due to physical erosion,while smectite mainly came from the Luzon arc as the product of chemical weathering.Therefore,smectite/illite ratio and illite crystallinity are used as proxies of chemical weathering intensity in the early-middle Miocene.High values of the ratio and the crystallinity represent the enhanced chemical weathering,whereas low values indicate the weakened chemical weathering or the strengthened physical erosion process.The smectite/illite ratio and illite crystallinity both decreased rapidly during 14.4–13.8 Ma,indicating the chemical weathering in the surrounding area of the South China Sea weakened rapidly,which we believe is the result of the MMCT event forcing.In addition,their values increased slightly during 16.2–14.4 Ma,which is in response to the relatively enhanced chemical weathering during the Middle Miocene Climate Optimum(MMCO).The variation pattern of clay mineral assemblages of the early-middle Miocene ORB in the South China Sea and its rapid transformation during the MMCT reveal that the Cenozoic cooling played a specific role in controlling the chemical weathering of the Earth’s surface.