The Nanhua basin in South China hosts well-preserved middle-late Neoproterozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks that are critical for studying the basin evolution, the breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia, the nature ...The Nanhua basin in South China hosts well-preserved middle-late Neoproterozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks that are critical for studying the basin evolution, the breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia, the nature and dynamics of the "snowball" Earth and diversification of metazoans. Establishing a stratigraphic framework is crucial for better understanding the interactions between tectonic, paleoclimatic and biotic events recorded in the Nanhua basin, but existing stratigraphic correlations remain debated, particularly for pre-Ediacaran strata. Here we report new Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry(LA-ICPMS) U-Pb zircon ages from the middle and topmost Wuqiangxi Formation(the upper stratigraphic unit of the Banxi Group) in Siduping, Hunan Province, South China. Two samples show similar age distribution, with two major peaks at ca. 820 Ma and 780 Ma and one minor peak at ca. 910 Ma, suggesting that the Wuqiangxi sandstone was mainly sourced from Neoproterozoic rocks. Two major age peaks correspond to two phases of magmatic events associated with the rifting of the Nanhua basin, and the minor peak at ca. 910 Ma may correspond to the Shuangxiwu volcanic arc magmatism, which represents pre-collision/amalgamation subduction on the southeastern margin of the Yangtze Block. The youngest zircon group from the topmost Wuqiangxi Formation has a weighted mean age of 714.6±5.2 Ma, which is likely close to the depositional age of the uppermost Banxi Group. This age, along with the ages reported from other sections, constrains that the Banxi Group was deposited between ca. 820 Ma and ca. 715 Ma. The age of 714.6±5.2 Ma from the top of the Wuqiangxi Formation is indistinguishable with the SIMS U-Pb age of 715.9± 2.8 Ma from the upper Gongdong Formation in the Sibao village section of northern Guangxi, South China. It is also, within uncertainties, overlapped with two TIMS U-Pb ages from pre-Sturtian strata in Oman and Canada. These ages indicate that the Jiangkou(Sturtian) glaciation in South China started at ca. 715 Ma instead of ca. 780 Ma and support a globally synchronous initiation of the Sturtian glaciation at ca. 715 Ma.展开更多
In South China, the Wuqiangxi Formation of the Banxi Group and its equivalents underlie the early Cryogenian (Sturtian) glacial deposits but their thickness varies from 【200 m to 】2000 m. In the Guzhang section of w...In South China, the Wuqiangxi Formation of the Banxi Group and its equivalents underlie the early Cryogenian (Sturtian) glacial deposits but their thickness varies from 【200 m to 】2000 m. In the Guzhang section of western Hunan, the Wuqiangxi Formation is only 152 m thick, and an ash bed 58 m below the glacial diamictite yielded a SHRIMP U-Pb age of 809.3±8.4 Ma. In contrast, 90 km south of the Guzhang section towards the basin in Zhijiang area where the Wuqiangxi Formation is ~2200 m thick, an age of 725±10 Ma has been reported from the top of this unit, 300 m below the glacial diamictite. These ages provide new evidence for the regional stratigraphic correlation across the Nanhua basin, and suggest unusually large (】2 km) stratigraphic erosion potentially associated with the Sturtian glaciation in South China. The magnitude of erosion may imply significant uplifting and tectonotopography at the onset of the Sturtian glaciation.展开更多
New oxygen and hydrogen isotope ratios of chert from middle, intraformational breccias, and upper breccia members of the Sixtymile Formation(SMF) in eastern Grand Canyon National Park(AZ) yield palaeoclimate estimates...New oxygen and hydrogen isotope ratios of chert from middle, intraformational breccias, and upper breccia members of the Sixtymile Formation(SMF) in eastern Grand Canyon National Park(AZ) yield palaeoclimate estimates between 27 and 33 °C. The isotopic compositions of cherts define a domain approximately parallel to the meteoric water line when plotted on a δD–δ^(18)O diagram; these data indicate that meteoric water was involved during formation of the chert. In thin section, the absence of interlocking mega quartz(>35 lm) and silicafilled fractures and veins, along with preserved micromorphological silica fabrics, suggest that the chert has not been permeated by later hydrothermal fluids. Petrographic observations in thin section such as cyclic silica precipitation phases and glaebular micromorphologic fabrics lend support to the interpretation that meteoric waters were involved during chert precipitation. The post 742 Ma SMF has been correlated with diamictite(transition) beds of the Kingston Peak Formation(CA), which in turn have been interpreted to have been deposited during the Sturtian Ice Age(~750–700 Ma). Absence of facetted and striated clasts and other diagnostic glaciogenic features in the SMF,an unconformable contact with the stratigraphically older Chuar Group, coupled with warm palaeotemperature data inferred from stable isotope values of chert, tentatively suggest that deposition of sediment in the SMF likely did not take place during the Sturtian Ice Age.展开更多
The Kaigas, Sturtian, Marinoan, and Gaskiers glaciations are widely recognized in Neoproterozoic. However, in the South China Block only the Jiangkou (Sturtian) and Nantuo (Marinoan) are symbolized by sedimentary reco...The Kaigas, Sturtian, Marinoan, and Gaskiers glaciations are widely recognized in Neoproterozoic. However, in the South China Block only the Jiangkou (Sturtian) and Nantuo (Marinoan) are symbolized by sedimentary records. The Kaigas, recorded by isotopic and chemical proxies, exhibited likely the nature of cold paleoclimate with local mountain glaciation. The correlation of the Doushantuo Formation with the Gaskiers is indicated by the carbon isotope excursion and the dated age from the interval, however the South China Block was then under non-glacial weather. With no paleomagnetic data, the position of the South China Block during the Sturtian glaciation cannot be determined. The paleolatitudes of the South China Block during the Kaigas and Nantuo glaciations are intermediate, even though the Nantuo was once rendered erratically deduced equatorial. In fact, the paleolatitudes of the South China Block during the Neoproterozoic glaciations are all likely at about 30°―40°.展开更多
基金supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology(No.2011CB808806)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41402026)
文摘The Nanhua basin in South China hosts well-preserved middle-late Neoproterozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks that are critical for studying the basin evolution, the breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia, the nature and dynamics of the "snowball" Earth and diversification of metazoans. Establishing a stratigraphic framework is crucial for better understanding the interactions between tectonic, paleoclimatic and biotic events recorded in the Nanhua basin, but existing stratigraphic correlations remain debated, particularly for pre-Ediacaran strata. Here we report new Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry(LA-ICPMS) U-Pb zircon ages from the middle and topmost Wuqiangxi Formation(the upper stratigraphic unit of the Banxi Group) in Siduping, Hunan Province, South China. Two samples show similar age distribution, with two major peaks at ca. 820 Ma and 780 Ma and one minor peak at ca. 910 Ma, suggesting that the Wuqiangxi sandstone was mainly sourced from Neoproterozoic rocks. Two major age peaks correspond to two phases of magmatic events associated with the rifting of the Nanhua basin, and the minor peak at ca. 910 Ma may correspond to the Shuangxiwu volcanic arc magmatism, which represents pre-collision/amalgamation subduction on the southeastern margin of the Yangtze Block. The youngest zircon group from the topmost Wuqiangxi Formation has a weighted mean age of 714.6±5.2 Ma, which is likely close to the depositional age of the uppermost Banxi Group. This age, along with the ages reported from other sections, constrains that the Banxi Group was deposited between ca. 820 Ma and ca. 715 Ma. The age of 714.6±5.2 Ma from the top of the Wuqiangxi Formation is indistinguishable with the SIMS U-Pb age of 715.9± 2.8 Ma from the upper Gongdong Formation in the Sibao village section of northern Guangxi, South China. It is also, within uncertainties, overlapped with two TIMS U-Pb ages from pre-Sturtian strata in Oman and Canada. These ages indicate that the Jiangkou(Sturtian) glaciation in South China started at ca. 715 Ma instead of ca. 780 Ma and support a globally synchronous initiation of the Sturtian glaciation at ca. 715 Ma.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40621002, 40572019)Ministry of Education of China (Grant Nos. IRT0546, NCET-04-0727, "111" Project B07011)the National Science Foundation of USA (Grant No. EAR 0745825)
文摘In South China, the Wuqiangxi Formation of the Banxi Group and its equivalents underlie the early Cryogenian (Sturtian) glacial deposits but their thickness varies from 【200 m to 】2000 m. In the Guzhang section of western Hunan, the Wuqiangxi Formation is only 152 m thick, and an ash bed 58 m below the glacial diamictite yielded a SHRIMP U-Pb age of 809.3±8.4 Ma. In contrast, 90 km south of the Guzhang section towards the basin in Zhijiang area where the Wuqiangxi Formation is ~2200 m thick, an age of 725±10 Ma has been reported from the top of this unit, 300 m below the glacial diamictite. These ages provide new evidence for the regional stratigraphic correlation across the Nanhua basin, and suggest unusually large (】2 km) stratigraphic erosion potentially associated with the Sturtian glaciation in South China. The magnitude of erosion may imply significant uplifting and tectonotopography at the onset of the Sturtian glaciation.
基金provided by a grant from Chuck Baltzer,Environmental Support Servicesgraciously awarded by Grand Canyon National Park officials
文摘New oxygen and hydrogen isotope ratios of chert from middle, intraformational breccias, and upper breccia members of the Sixtymile Formation(SMF) in eastern Grand Canyon National Park(AZ) yield palaeoclimate estimates between 27 and 33 °C. The isotopic compositions of cherts define a domain approximately parallel to the meteoric water line when plotted on a δD–δ^(18)O diagram; these data indicate that meteoric water was involved during formation of the chert. In thin section, the absence of interlocking mega quartz(>35 lm) and silicafilled fractures and veins, along with preserved micromorphological silica fabrics, suggest that the chert has not been permeated by later hydrothermal fluids. Petrographic observations in thin section such as cyclic silica precipitation phases and glaebular micromorphologic fabrics lend support to the interpretation that meteoric waters were involved during chert precipitation. The post 742 Ma SMF has been correlated with diamictite(transition) beds of the Kingston Peak Formation(CA), which in turn have been interpreted to have been deposited during the Sturtian Ice Age(~750–700 Ma). Absence of facetted and striated clasts and other diagnostic glaciogenic features in the SMF,an unconformable contact with the stratigraphically older Chuar Group, coupled with warm palaeotemperature data inferred from stable isotope values of chert, tentatively suggest that deposition of sediment in the SMF likely did not take place during the Sturtian Ice Age.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40532012 and 40373011)the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX3-SW-141)
文摘The Kaigas, Sturtian, Marinoan, and Gaskiers glaciations are widely recognized in Neoproterozoic. However, in the South China Block only the Jiangkou (Sturtian) and Nantuo (Marinoan) are symbolized by sedimentary records. The Kaigas, recorded by isotopic and chemical proxies, exhibited likely the nature of cold paleoclimate with local mountain glaciation. The correlation of the Doushantuo Formation with the Gaskiers is indicated by the carbon isotope excursion and the dated age from the interval, however the South China Block was then under non-glacial weather. With no paleomagnetic data, the position of the South China Block during the Sturtian glaciation cannot be determined. The paleolatitudes of the South China Block during the Kaigas and Nantuo glaciations are intermediate, even though the Nantuo was once rendered erratically deduced equatorial. In fact, the paleolatitudes of the South China Block during the Neoproterozoic glaciations are all likely at about 30°―40°.
