As a type of non-laminated microbial carbonates, dendrolites are dominated by isolated dendritic clusters of calcimicrobes and are distinct from stromatolites and thrombolites. The dendrolites in the upper part of the...As a type of non-laminated microbial carbonates, dendrolites are dominated by isolated dendritic clusters of calcimicrobes and are distinct from stromatolites and thrombolites. The dendrolites in the upper part of the Miaolingian Zhangxia Formation at Anjiazhuang section in Feicheng city of Shandong Province, China, provide an excellent example for further understanding of both growth pattern and forming mechanism of dendrolites. These dendrolites are featured by sedimentary fabrics and composition of calcified microbes as follows.(1) The strata of massive limestones, composed of dendrolites with thickness of more than one hundred meters, intergrade with thick-bedded to massive leiolites, formimg the upper part of a third-order depositional sequence that constitutes a forced regressive systems tract.(2) A centimeter-sized bush-like fabric(shrub) typically produced by calcified microbes is similar to the mesoclot in thrombolites but distinctive from clotted fabrics of thrombolites. This bushlike fabric is actually constituted by diversified calcified microbes like the modern shrub as a result of gliding mobility of filamentous cyanobacteria. Such forms traditionally include: the Epiphyton group(which actually has uncertain biological affinity), the Hedstroemia group which closely resembles modern rivulariacean cyanobacteria,and the possible calcified cyanobacteria of the Lithocodium–Bacinella group.(3) Significantly, dense micrite of leiolite is associated with sponge fossils and burrows, and is covered by microstromatolite. The Lithocodium–Bacinella group is a controversial group of interpreted calcified cyanobacteria in the Cambrian that has also been widely observed and described in the Mesozoic. Therefore, dendrolites with symbiosis of leiolites in the studied section provide an extraordinary example for further understanding of growing style of bush-like fabrics(shrubs) of the dendrolites dominated by cyanobacterial mats. Furthermore, the present research provides some useful thinking approaches for better understanding of the history of the Early Paleozoic skeletal reefs and the microbe–metazoan transitions of the Cambrian.展开更多
The role of microorganisms in the formation of giant ooids is one of the areas of long-term controversy in ooidal research,but it has not been confirmed conclusively.Abundant giant ooids developed in the Zhangxia Form...The role of microorganisms in the formation of giant ooids is one of the areas of long-term controversy in ooidal research,but it has not been confirmed conclusively.Abundant giant ooids developed in the Zhangxia Formation of the Cambrian Miaolingian Series in North China.Giant ooids in the study area were examined by using Polarized Light Microscopy and Field Emission Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy.The nuclei of the ooids consist of micritic pellets or radial ooids with diameters less than 2 mm and are formed in a weak-agitating seawater environment.Their cortices are concentric,and are characterized by the alternations of the dark laminae of micritic calcite or Girvanella filaments and light laminae of microsparry calcite.In the environments of inter-bank sea with the alternating development of medium and low energy and chiefly weak-agitating conditions,giant ooids were formed under the joint action of Girvanella filamentous growth,biologically-induced calcification and/or biologically-influenced calcification and inorganic calcium carbonate precipitation.The microfossils of Girvanella are distributed in inner and outer cortices of giant ooids,especially dense in the latter.This distinctly indicates that microbes play a significant role in the formation of giant ooids,and also provides a vital example for discussing the microbial origin of giant ooids.展开更多
The Cambrian strata in the North China Platform are fully exposed. A wide variety of carbonate oncoids with different shapes occur in the Xuzhuang and Zhangxia formations(Miaolingian Series) from six Cambrian sections...The Cambrian strata in the North China Platform are fully exposed. A wide variety of carbonate oncoids with different shapes occur in the Xuzhuang and Zhangxia formations(Miaolingian Series) from six Cambrian sections in the study area. A comprehensive study involving outcrop description, microscopic observation, scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDX), X-ray diffraction(XRD), and carbon and oxygen isotope analysis is conducted to determine the facies, morphology, internal structure, and geochemical properties of the oncoids. The oncoids are divided into six types based on their morphology and internal structure.Microscopic and ultrastructural observations reveal typical microbial fossils(Girvanella) and microbially-related sediments(framboidal pyrite), indicating the biogenicity of the oncoids. Additionally, the XRD and carbon and oxygen isotope analysis results suggest that the formational environments of these oncoids are different due to terrestrial influences. Statistical data on the oncoids from the six sections show that there are obvious differences in the types of oncoids and the proportions of different varieties in each section. The spatial differences in the oncoid morphologies are associated with different palaeogeographic settings. The rough oncoid growth patterns developed in nearshore environments were influenced by terrigenous debris and steep terrain, whereas the delicate oncoid growth patterns developed in offshore environments were less affected by terrestrial factors and were featured by more stable depositional processes related to microbial mats.展开更多
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No. 41472090)。
文摘As a type of non-laminated microbial carbonates, dendrolites are dominated by isolated dendritic clusters of calcimicrobes and are distinct from stromatolites and thrombolites. The dendrolites in the upper part of the Miaolingian Zhangxia Formation at Anjiazhuang section in Feicheng city of Shandong Province, China, provide an excellent example for further understanding of both growth pattern and forming mechanism of dendrolites. These dendrolites are featured by sedimentary fabrics and composition of calcified microbes as follows.(1) The strata of massive limestones, composed of dendrolites with thickness of more than one hundred meters, intergrade with thick-bedded to massive leiolites, formimg the upper part of a third-order depositional sequence that constitutes a forced regressive systems tract.(2) A centimeter-sized bush-like fabric(shrub) typically produced by calcified microbes is similar to the mesoclot in thrombolites but distinctive from clotted fabrics of thrombolites. This bushlike fabric is actually constituted by diversified calcified microbes like the modern shrub as a result of gliding mobility of filamentous cyanobacteria. Such forms traditionally include: the Epiphyton group(which actually has uncertain biological affinity), the Hedstroemia group which closely resembles modern rivulariacean cyanobacteria,and the possible calcified cyanobacteria of the Lithocodium–Bacinella group.(3) Significantly, dense micrite of leiolite is associated with sponge fossils and burrows, and is covered by microstromatolite. The Lithocodium–Bacinella group is a controversial group of interpreted calcified cyanobacteria in the Cambrian that has also been widely observed and described in the Mesozoic. Therefore, dendrolites with symbiosis of leiolites in the studied section provide an extraordinary example for further understanding of growing style of bush-like fabrics(shrubs) of the dendrolites dominated by cyanobacterial mats. Furthermore, the present research provides some useful thinking approaches for better understanding of the history of the Early Paleozoic skeletal reefs and the microbe–metazoan transitions of the Cambrian.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Giants No:41872111 and 41902115)。
文摘The role of microorganisms in the formation of giant ooids is one of the areas of long-term controversy in ooidal research,but it has not been confirmed conclusively.Abundant giant ooids developed in the Zhangxia Formation of the Cambrian Miaolingian Series in North China.Giant ooids in the study area were examined by using Polarized Light Microscopy and Field Emission Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy.The nuclei of the ooids consist of micritic pellets or radial ooids with diameters less than 2 mm and are formed in a weak-agitating seawater environment.Their cortices are concentric,and are characterized by the alternations of the dark laminae of micritic calcite or Girvanella filaments and light laminae of microsparry calcite.In the environments of inter-bank sea with the alternating development of medium and low energy and chiefly weak-agitating conditions,giant ooids were formed under the joint action of Girvanella filamentous growth,biologically-induced calcification and/or biologically-influenced calcification and inorganic calcium carbonate precipitation.The microfossils of Girvanella are distributed in inner and outer cortices of giant ooids,especially dense in the latter.This distinctly indicates that microbes play a significant role in the formation of giant ooids,and also provides a vital example for discussing the microbial origin of giant ooids.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41472090 and 40472065)。
文摘The Cambrian strata in the North China Platform are fully exposed. A wide variety of carbonate oncoids with different shapes occur in the Xuzhuang and Zhangxia formations(Miaolingian Series) from six Cambrian sections in the study area. A comprehensive study involving outcrop description, microscopic observation, scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDX), X-ray diffraction(XRD), and carbon and oxygen isotope analysis is conducted to determine the facies, morphology, internal structure, and geochemical properties of the oncoids. The oncoids are divided into six types based on their morphology and internal structure.Microscopic and ultrastructural observations reveal typical microbial fossils(Girvanella) and microbially-related sediments(framboidal pyrite), indicating the biogenicity of the oncoids. Additionally, the XRD and carbon and oxygen isotope analysis results suggest that the formational environments of these oncoids are different due to terrestrial influences. Statistical data on the oncoids from the six sections show that there are obvious differences in the types of oncoids and the proportions of different varieties in each section. The spatial differences in the oncoid morphologies are associated with different palaeogeographic settings. The rough oncoid growth patterns developed in nearshore environments were influenced by terrigenous debris and steep terrain, whereas the delicate oncoid growth patterns developed in offshore environments were less affected by terrestrial factors and were featured by more stable depositional processes related to microbial mats.
