Calcareous Nannofossils and Molecular Fossils in Cobalt-rich Crusts and their Response to the P/E Global Event

A biostratigraphic study on calcareous nannofossils from the CM3D06 Co-rich ferromanganese crust from the Magellan seamounts in the northwestern Pacific enabled estimation of depositional age. The bio-imprinting of calcareous nannofossils and other fossil species suggests six age ranges for the nannofossils： late Cretaceous, late Paleocene, （early, middle, late） Eocene, middle Miocene, late Pliocene, and Pleistocene. Gas chromatography （GC） and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MS） were used to test the Co-rich crusts, and a variety of molecular fossils were detected, such as chloroform bituminous ＂A＂ , n-alkane, isoprenoid and sterol. Peak carbon and molecular indices （such as C23-/C24＋, CPI, Pr/Ph, Pr/nC17, Ph/nCxs and j13C） indicate that the parent organic matter is dominated by marine phytoplankton and thallogen whereas there is little input of terrestrial organic matter. Researches on calcareous nannofossils, molecular fossils and molecular organic geochemistry data reveal that the Paleocene/Eocene （P/E） global event is recorded in the cobalt- rich crusts from the northwestern Pacific Ocean. A succession of biomes can be observed near the 85 mm boundary （about 55 Ma）, i.e., the disappearance of the late Cretaceous Watznaueria barnesae and Zigodicus spiralis, and Broisonia parka microbiotas above the P/E boundary, and the bloom of Coccolithus formosus, Discoaster multiradiatus, Discoaster mohleri and Discoaster sp. below the boundary. Typical parameters of molecular fossils, such as saturated hydrocarbon components and carbon-number maxima, Pr/Ph, Pr/C17, Ph/C18, distribution types of sterols, Ts/Tm ratios and bacterial hopane, also exhibit dramatic changes near the P/E boundary. These integrated results illustrate that the biome succession of calcareous nannofossils, relative content of molecular fossils and molecular indices in the cobalt-rich crusts near the 85 mm boundary faithfully record the P/E global event.

Applications of molecular fossils in lacustrine stratigraphy

Biomarkers,or the so-called molecular fossils,are used tentatively in the Eogene lacustrine stratigraphy study in the Jiyang Sub-basin.Notwithstanding the fact that unidentified microfossils or amorphism and acritarchae are widely distributed in lacustrine source rocks,molecular fossils are useful to identify the sources.It is helpful to reconstruct the palaeo-enviroment,palaeo-ecosystem and compartmentalize the stratigraphic sequence by using molecular fossils with which the existence and types of microbes including bacteria,archaea and certain algae can be identified.

Molecular fossils and sources of Cambrian heavy oil of Well Tadong-2 in theTarim Basin,Xinjiang,China

Research on the molecular fossil characteristics of heavy oil from Well Tadong-2 is of great importance to constrain the source of marine crude oils in the Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, China. The authors synthetically applied the isotope mass spectrograph, chromatography and chromatography-mass spectrography to the studies of molecular fossil characteristics of heavy oil from Well Tadong-2 in the Tarim Basin, and the results obtained revealed that heavy oil from Well Tadong-2 is characterized by high gammacerane, high C28 sterane, low rearranged sterane and high C27-triaromatic steroid, these characteristics are similar to those of Cambrian-Lower Ordovician source rocks, demonstrating that Cambrian crude oils came from Cambrian-Lower Ordovician source rocks; condensed compounds (fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, bow, benzo fluoranthene, benzopyrene) of high abundance were detected in heavy oil from Well Tadong-2, and the carbon isotopic values of whole oil are evidently heavy, all the above characteristics revealed that hydrocarbons in the crude oils became densified in response to thermal alteration.

Red Palaeosols Development in Response to the Enhanced East Asia Summer Monsoon since the Mid-Pleistocene in South China: Evidence Derived from Magnetic Properties and Molecular Fossil Records

Although Pleistocene red paleosols are widely distributed in South China, paleoenviron-mental interpretation has proved difficult because of intense weathering. Here we combine data from molecular fossil and magnetic properties to reconstruct a record of changes in pedogenic intensity for red paleosols in Southeast China. Depth distribution pattern of magnetic properties indicates that lower （higher） χ but higher （lower） values of HIRM （hard isothermal remanent magnetization） and SIRM （saturation isothermal remanent magnetization）/χ has tight relationship with the intensity of pedogenesis,especially the occurrence of well-developed net-like veins, which is absolutely responsible for the presence of anti-ferromagnetic minerals at the cost of fine-grained SP （superparamagnetic）/SD （single domain） ferrimagnetic minerals. The carbon distribution pattern of n-alkanes, n-alkanols, and n-alkanoic acids reflects the predominant contributions of microorganisms to the organic matter during pedogenesis, which provide direct evidence for strong microbial activities in response to theextremely hot-humid condition while white coarse net-like veins occurrence. Our results demonstrate that the presence of the enhanced East Asia summer monsoon has played a key role in the oxide-dominated weathering regime, and pedogenesis, and microbial activities. Changes in molecular ratios and magnetic properties are used to show that red paleosols have undergone three stages of soil formation in striking response to the evolution of the East Asia summer monsoon： （1） the most effective since the Middle Pleistocene; （2） moderately effective since 270 ka or so; （3） least effective since the last glacial. Our research provides important evidence to understand how red paleosols espond to global change since the Middle Pleistocene.

Molecular fossils and oil-source rock correlations in Tarim Basin, NW China

The distribution of 'molecular fossils' （bio-markers） of steroid compounds in extracts from some spe-cific geologic age in the Tarim Basin have been analyzed andare used as the fingerprints for the oil-source rock correla-tion. Having been affected by maturation, migration, phasefractionation and biodegradation, not any molecular fossilsrelated to source and environment can be used as the finger-prints for oil-source rock correlation. Some special bio-markers widely existed in the extracts from Cambrian andOrdovician rocks in the Tarim Basin and showed obviousdifference in each stratum, including dinosteranes (C30),4-methyl-24-ethyl-cholestanes (C30) and their aromatizedsteroids, C24-norcholestanes and C28 steranes originated fromdinoflagellates and diatom. Few oils such as the heavy oildrilled in the Cambrian reservoir from Tadong 2 well （TD2）correlated well with the extracts from the Cambrian. Theamazing similarity of the relative contents of these com-pounds between the marine oils produced in Tazhong andTabei uplifts and the extracts from the Upper Ordoviciansuggests that the Middle-Upper Ordovician is the very likelymain source for the marine oils.

Peat molecular fossils recording paleoclimatic change and organism replacement

The occurrence of the dominant C23 n-alkane derived from bryophyte was demonstrated to be related to the cold climate, based on the GC and GC/MS analyses on a 40-cm long peat core, in which this compound exponentially varies in abundance with the depth corresponding to the well-known second Little Ice Age. Both the variation of the chemical components of modern bryophyte resulted from climatic change and the ecological data about the biological growth influenced by climate shed light on the point that the variation of this compound in the peat was related to the cold climate. This was also evidenced by the previously-reported lacustrine data. In addition, the variations of the ratios of ketones/esters and C24 n-alkene/n-alkane (C24:1/024:0) display the trend identical with that of organisms, implicating the replacement between bryophyte and monocotyledon occurring in the peat core.

Oceanic environmental changes of subarctic Bering Sea in recent 100 years: Evidence from molecular fossils

The core sample B2-9 from the seafloor of the subarctic Bering Sea was dated with 210 Pb to obtain a consecutive sequence of oceanic sedimentary environments at an interval of a decade during 1890—1999. A variety of molecular fossils were detected, including n-alkanes, isoprenoids, fatty acids, sterols, etc. By the characteristics of these fine molecules (C27, C28, and C29 sterols) and their molecular indices (Pr/Ph, ∑C+22/∑C?21, CPI and C18∶2/C18∶0) and in con- sideration of the variation of organic carbon content, the 100-year evolution history of subarctic sea paleoenvironment was reestablished. It is indicated that during the past 100 years in the Arctic, there were two events of strong climate warming (1920—1950 and 1980—1999), which resulted in an oxidated sediment environment owing to decreasing terrigenous organic matters and increasing marine-derived organic matters, and two events of transitory climate cooling (1910 and 1970—1980), which resulted in a slightly reduced sediment environment owing to increasing terrigenous organic matters and decreasing marine-derived organic matters. It is re- vealed that the processes of warming/cooling alternated climate are directly related to the Arctic and global climate variations.

Relationships between bacterial-algal proliferating and mass extinction in the Late Devonian Frasnian-Famennian transition:Enlightening from carbon isotopes and molecular fossils

Studies show positive shifts of inorganic and organic carbon isotope values (δ 13Ccarb and δ 13Ckerogen) from +0.43 (‰ V-PDB) to +3.54 (‰ V-PDB) and from ?29.38 (‰ V-PDB) to ?24.14 (‰ V-PDB), respectively, B* (Ba* = Ba/ (Al2O3 X 15%)) values from 0.015 to 0.144, TOC values from 0.02% to 0.21%, V/Cr values from 0.3 to 2.0, Sr/Ba values from 3.20 to 49.50 in the Late Devonian Frasnian Upper rhenana zone to the top linguiformis zone of the Yangdi sec-tion deposited in carbonate slope facies of Guilin, Guangxi, South China, which indicates that biomass, productivity, organic carbon burial and salinity increase and that oxygenation near the boundary between sediments and waters decreases from the Late Devonian Frasnian Upper rhenana zone to the top linguiformis zone. Abundance of molecular fossils increases and normal alkanes, isoprenoid hydrocarbon, terpanes and steranes are dominated from the Late Devonian Frasnian to the bottom of Famennian, which shows that the predecessors of molecular fossils of the Frasnian-Famennian (F-F) transition are dominated by marine phytoplankton, zooplankton and benthic bacteria with no photosynthesis. Therefore, it is considered that the F-F transitional mass extinction with a multistage, selection and global synchronizing was caused by bacte-rial-algal proliferating, continuing deterioration of the shallow marine ecoenvironment of the mid-dle-lower latitudes. A simple cause and effect chain can be expressed as: appearance of seed plants and multi-storied forests → enhanced chemical and biochemical weathering and pe-dogenesis → wide development of soils → increasing riverine nutrient fluxes in epicontinental sea → from superoligotrophic to eutrophic in epicontinental sea → proliferating of marine phyto-plankton and zooplankton → frequent red tide and anoxia → mass extinction of shallow marine organisms in the middle-lower latitudes. It is worth notice that the factor drawdown of atmos-pheric Pco2, climatic cooling and sea level falling caused by eutrophication, anoxia and organic carbon burial increasing may be important for the mass extinction.

Microbial and molecular fossils from the Permian Zoophycos in South China

The trace fossil Zoophycos was enriched in the lower part of the Guadalupian Maokou Formation of Permian in Laibin, Guangxi of South China, and characterized by observable lamellae within its spreiten. Associated with these lamellae are the prolific coccus- and spirillum-shaped microbe fossils. These microbes morphologically identified are 0.4―3.0 μm in diameter or length. Molecular fossils, including normal alkanes (dominated by C18, without an odd-over-even predominance), acyclic isoprenoids (such as pristane (Pr) and phytane (Ph)), extended tricyclic terpanes, pentacyclic triterpanes, steranes, al-kylcyclohexanes, dibenzothiophenes, benzonaphthothiophenes, benzobisbenzothiophenes, were in-strumentally identified in the wackestone characterized by the occurrence of abundant Zoophycos (composite ichnofabric indices are 4) and crowded microbial fossils. The value of the Pr/Ph ratio is less than 1, indicative of a dysoxic condition. The identification of abundant sulfur compounds (the thio-phene series) related to the contribution of reductive sulfur favors the occurrence of sulphate-reducing bacteria. The association of abundant microbial colonies with microbial molecular fossils within the spreiten suggests that trace fossils Zoophycos would be a multifunctional garden carefully constructed by the Zoophycos-producer, where different microbial colonies were orderly and carefully planted and cultured in different minor lamellae within spreiten. Hence, it is proposed that the Zoophycos-producer symbiosed with microbial colonies on the mutual basis of food supply and the redox conditions.

Effects of taxon sampling on molecular dating for within-genus divergence events,when deep fossils are used for calibration

A universal method of molecular dating that can be applied to all families and genera regardless of their fossil records, or lack thereof, is highly desirable. A possible method for eudicots is to use a large phylogeny calibrated using deep fossils including tricolpate pollen as a fixed （124 mya） calibration point. This method was used to calculate node ages within three species-poor disjunct basal eudicot genera, Caulophyllum, Podophyllum and Pachysandra, and sensitivity of these ages to effects such as taxon sampling were then quantified. By deleting from one to three accessions related to each genus in 112 different combinations, a confidence range describing variation due only to taxon sampling was generated. Ranges for Caulophyllum, Podophyllum and Pachysandra were 8.4-10.6, 7.6-20.0, and 17.6-25.0 mya, respectively. However, the confidence ranges calculated using bootstrapping were much wider, at 3-19, 0-32 and 11-32 mya, respectively. Furthermore, deleting 10 adjacent taxa had a large effect in Pachysandra only, indicating that undersampling effects are significant among Buxales. Changes to sampling density in neighboring clades, or to the position of the fixed fossil calibration point had small to negligible effects. Non-parametric rate smoothing was more sensitive to taxon sampling effects than was penalized likelihood. The wide range for Podophyllum, compared to the other two genera, was probably due to a high degree of rate heterogeneity within this genus. Confidence ranges calculated by this method could be narrowed by sampling more individuals within the genus of interest, and by sequencing multiple DNA regions from all species in the phylogeny.

Molecular Records of Primary Producers and Sedimentary Environmental Conditions of Late Permian Rocks in Northeast Sichuan,China

A series of biomarkers were identified in the aliphafic and aromatic fractions of the extracts from Late Permian Dalong （大隆） and Wujiaping （吴家坪） formations in Shangsi （上寺） Section, Northeast Sichuan （四川）, South China, on the basis of the analysis of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MC）. The dominance of lower-molecular-weight n-alkanes throughout the profile suggests the dominant contribution of algae and bacteria to the organics preserved in the marine section. Wujiaping Formation is characterized by the elevated contribution from algae as well as other photoautotrophs such as photosynthetic bacteria as shown by the molecular ratios of hopanes to steranes or tricyclic terpanes as well as the ratio of pristane （Pr） and phytane （Ph） to C17 and C18 n-alkanes. This is in accord with the data from the microscopic measurement on the calcareous algae. In contrast, Dalong Formation is featured by enhanced contribution from bacteria and probably terrestrial organics indicated by the enhanced C24 tetracyclic terpanes relative to tricyclic terpanes. The two formations also show a distinct discrimination in sedimentary environmental conditions including redox condition and salinity. The anoxic condition was only found in the middle of the Dalong Formation as shown by the ratios of Pr/Ph and dibenzothiophene to phenanthrene, consistent with the reported data of Mo and U. An enhanced salinity indicated by the homohopane index is observed at the shallow Wujiaping Formation. On the basis of the composition of primary productivity and the redox condition, Dalong Formation is proposed, herein, to be potential hydrocarbon source rocks in the study site. It is notable that the topmost end-Permian is characterized by a large perturbauce in both the redox condition and salinity, with oxic conditions being frequently interrupted by short-term anoxia, likely showing a causal relationship with the episodic biotic crisis across the Permian-Triassic boundary.

中非Muglad盆地晚白垩世海侵及其对油气勘探的意义

晚白垩世全球大规模海侵被认为仅淹没了非洲大陆北部地区,而位于非洲中部的Muglad盆地则未遭受海侵的影响,且盆地内仅发育一套富有机质的烃源岩,即下白垩统Abu Gabra组湖相泥岩。本次研究采集了下白垩统Abu Gabra组湖相泥岩和上白垩统Darfur群泥岩样品,在上白垩统Darfur群泥岩中检测到完全不同于下白垩统Abu Gabra组湖相泥岩的甲藻甾烷和三环萜烷组成,主要表现为高丰度的甲藻甾烷异构体和C_(23)三环萜烷丰度优势,认为其是海侵作用的产物。依据分析结果,本文首次提出上白垩统Darfur群沉积期可能受到新特提斯洋海水的影响,进一步揭示了晚白垩世全球海侵在非洲大陆的海水淹没范围已抵达中非大陆Muglad盆地。此外,上白垩统Darfur群海相富有机质泥岩的存在,揭示研究区不仅发育下白垩统Abu Gabra组湖相烃源岩,还发育一套潜在的海相烃源岩。而K-1井海相原油的发现进一步证实了上白垩统Darfur群海相烃源岩的生烃潜力,海相原油可能是研究区未来油气勘探的新领域。

生物标志化合物与相关的全球变化

在各种地质体中广泛分布的生物标志化合物在全球变化研究中有着广泛应用 ,特别是在海洋和湖泊沉积物中 ,研究工作已涉及到古植被、古温度、古降水量、古大气CO2 浓度和古季风等的恢复。文章介绍利用气相色谱仪、气相色谱 -质谱联用仪、气相色谱 -热转换 -同位素比质谱仪分析了一个长 40cm泥炭岩芯 (约 2 2 2年 )的生物标志化合物的分布及其单体氢同位素。结果显示 ,不管是生物标志化合物的分布 ,还是其单体稳定同位素特征都记载了气候 (温度 )的变化。正构脂肪酸的碳优势指数 (CPI值 )、正构烷烃C2 3/C31 比值、正构烷烃C2

中国东部第三系陆相沉积中的甲藻甾烷:海侵指相的标志物?

通过对我国东部苏北盆地洪泽凹陷和临清坳陷德州凹陷第三系陆相沉积泥岩中生物标志物分析,检测到了丰富的甲藻甾烷异构体和24-正丙基胆甾烷。结合它们的分布特征与产出的地层微体古生物资料,笔者推断它们可能是海侵作用的产物。

浙江长兴更新世红土中的分子化石及其古环境意义

利用 GC/MS从浙江长兴更新世红土中检测出种类繁多但含量甚微的分子化石 ,主要包括正构烷烃、长链三环萜、五环三萜、一元正脂肪酸、正脂肪醇、正烷基 - 2 -酮等系列。红土中的这些分子化石 ,特别是正构烷烃的特征表明本区的红土是在多水的环境下形成的 ,并且其上发育了以草本植物为主的高等植被。三环萜烷与三萜烷比值 (C2 3 /C3 0 )随地层的变化与红土网纹化程度密切相关 。

分子地质微生物学研究方法述评

微生物在诸如海洋、湖泊、土壤、冰川、洞穴等许多生态系统的地质过程中发挥着重要作用,国际上对一些单个生态系统的地质微生物研究进展及微生物类脂物碳同位素组成与碳循环的关系等已部分地进行了总结。从分子水平上总结了地质微生物研究进展,着重从核酸(16SrRNA、DNA)和类脂物(磷脂酸、藿醇)两大方面评述了分子地质微生物学的研究,重点剖析了地质历史时期的甲烷氧化细菌、绿硫细菌、蓝细菌等一些重要微生物类群的类脂物分子标志化合物特征,揭示了当今分子地质微生物研究领域最新的研究方法及其发展动态,指出单体稳定同位素研究和放射性同位素示踪的结合将使分子地质微生物学研究进入一个崭新阶段。

二叠纪-三叠纪之交地球表层系统的多幕式变化:分子地球生物学记录

以浙江长兴煤山二叠系-三叠系界线剖面为重点,总结了近年来在分子和同位素方面的重要进展。2-甲基藿烷指数反映了蓝细菌繁盛集中在二叠系-三叠系界线附近约1Ma的时间内,对应于第26—37层,并主要以两幕形式出现。第一幕在第26层,第二幕在第29—37层(由多个峰值组成)。海洋有孔虫、腕足类和牙形石等动物的灭绝也主要表现为两幕,分别对应于煤山剖面第25层和第28层。碳酸盐碳同位素出现两幕负偏,分别对应于第24—26层和第29—37层,可以在特提斯海域进行对比。绿硫细菌分子标志化合物指示的海水透光层富H2S事件集中在两个层位,分别出现在第21—24层(由多个峰值组成)和第11—14层,但第一幕(第11—14层)距离动物大规模灭绝时间约1Ma之久。陆地生态系统的崩溃和陆地风化作用的加强也主要表现为双幕式。二叠纪-三叠纪之交生物危机和环境变化均以幕式表现出来,特别是双幕式,反映了当时地球表层系统的变化表现出两个重要特征,即不稳定性和长期性。值得注意的是,奥陶纪-志留纪之交、晚泥盆世弗拉期-法门期之交、二叠纪-三叠纪之交、三叠纪-侏罗纪之交这4次生物大灭绝均表现出双幕式特点,是生物对同一地内事件两种不同状态(如海平面变化中的海退和海进,气候变化中的变暖和变冷等)或者多种地内事件的综合响应,可能是地内事件导致生物危机的一个共同特征,从而区别于地外事件引起的单幕式生物灭绝。

四川剑门关侏罗——白垩系红层分子化石的古环境和古气候意义

利用气相色谱 -质谱仪从四川剑门关侏罗—白垩系红层中检测出包括正构烷烃、类异戊二烯烃、长链三环萜、藿烷及甾烷等系列分子化石 .分析了这些分子化石的分布特征及其来源 ,利用分子化石的多项参数 (如w (C-2 1) /w (C+2 2 ) ,w (Pr) /w (Ph) ,w (Pr) /w (nC17) ,w(Ph) /w(nC18) ,伽马蜡烷指数、甾烷等 )对沉积环境的盐度、氧化 -还原条件、陆相标志等方面作了探讨 .这些分子化石参数证实在中侏罗世—早白垩世 ,剑门关一带的沉积环境应为低盐度淡水、弱氧化的陆相沉积环境 .所研究的陆相样品高碳数正构烷烃均以与木本植物有关的C2 7,C2 9为主峰 ,未出现草本植物的C31主峰 ,反映了研究区总体格局是一种以木本植物占绝对优势、温暖湿润的气候环境 ,与红盆发育的气候条件吻合 ,充分体现了分子化石在恢复古环境。

济阳坳陷古近纪沟鞭藻分子化石的分布与控制因素

济阳坳陷古近纪沟鞭藻化石十分丰富,沟鞭藻为有机质富集层的形成作出了重要贡献。三芳甲藻甾烷和甲藻甾烷是沟鞭藻及其祖先在古代沉积物中两种重要的存在形式,并且它们几乎专一性地由沟鞭藻提供。研究发现,沟鞭藻的不同属种,德弗兰藻属、多刺甲藻属、渤海藻类等,均可以提供丰富的三芳甲藻甾烷和甲藻甾烷,但是三芳甲藻甾烷和甲藻甾烷对沉积环境的变化具有不同的响应。在淡水、半咸水、咸水等不同水介质条件下,三芳甲藻甾烷指数稳定分布在0.50～0.96之间,高丰度的三芳甲藻甾烷与地层中丰富的沟鞭藻化石相一致,因而三芳甲藻甾烷是指示沟鞭藻输入的有效分子化石。甲藻甾烷的丰度与古沉积环境存在密切关系,高盐环境有利于甲藻甾烷的形成和保存,随着盐度的降低甲藻甾烷指数在0.04～0.74这样一个较大的范围内变化,其发育程度与有机质沉降过程中和成岩作用早期遭受的微生物降解作用有关,强烈的生物降解不利于甲藻甾烷的保存。

重大地质突变期生物与环境事件的分子化石记录

随着现代分析测试技术的发展,地质类脂物分子在地球环境和生命过程领域得到了快速的应用。总结了志留纪/奥陶纪、晚泥盆世弗拉期/法门期、三叠纪/二叠纪、侏罗纪/三叠纪、古近纪/白垩纪5次生物集群灭绝期地质类脂物分子记录的生物和环境事件。重点讨论了地质类脂物记录的绿硫细菌和水体透光带富硫化氢事件、甲烷菌与海底天然气水合物释放以及这些事件与生物危机的可能关系。提出了当前的工作应从生物危机向生态危机深入,既能反映生物事件与环境事件的关系,又能体现地质记录和地质过程的结合,这其中,地微生物生态系和陆地生态系工作亟待加强。