Variabilities of carbonateδ13C signal in response to the late Paleozoic glaciations,Long’an,South China

An integrated study of biostratigraphy,microfacies,and stable carbon isotope stratigraphy was carried out on the late Famennian–early Asselian carbonates of the Long’an section in Guangxi,South China.Stable carbon isotope studies in the Long’an section have revealed four major positive shifts ofδ13C values in the Carboniferous strata in South China.The first shift occurred in the Siphonodella dasaibaensia zone in the Tournaisian,with an amplitude of 4.19‰.The second shift occurred near the Visean/Serpukhovian boundary,with an amplitude of 2.63‰.The third shift occurred in the Serpukhovian,with an amplitude of 3.95‰.The fourth shift occurred in the Kasimovian,with an amplitude of 3.69‰.Furthermore,there were several brief positiveδ13C shifts during the late Famennian to early Tournaisian.All of these shifts can be well correlated globally,and each corresponds to sea-level regressions in South China and Euro-America,indicating increases in ocean primary productivity and global cooling events.Chronologically,the four major positive excursions ofδ13C,together with several brief positiveδ13C shifts that were observed during the late Famennian to the early Tournaisian,correspond to the well-accepted Glacial I,II,and III events.

Glaciation-induced features or sediment gravity flows——An analytic review

For more than 150 years, geologic characteristics claimed to be evidence for pre-Pleistocene glaciations have been debated. Advancements in recent decades, in understanding features generated by mainly glacial and mass flow processes, are here reviewed. Detailed studies of data offered in support of prePleistocene glaciations have led to revisions that involve environments of mass movements. Similarities and differences between Quaternary glaciogenic and mass movement features are examined, to provide a more systematic methodology for analysing the origins of more ancient deposits. Analyses and evaluation of data are from a) Quaternary glaciogenic sediments, b) formations which have been assigned to pre-Pleistocene glaciations, and c) formations with comparable features associated with mass movements(and occasionally tectonics). Multiple proxies are assembled to develop correct interpretations of ancient strata. The aim is not per se to reinterpret specific formations and past climate changes, but to enable data to be evaluated using a broader and more inclusive conceptual framework.Regularly occurring pre-Pleistocene features interpreted to be glaciogenic, have often been shown to have few or no Quaternary glaciogenic equivalents. These same features commonly form by sediment gravity flows or other non-glacial processes, which may have led to misinterpretations of ancient deposits. These features include, for example, environmental affinity of fossils, grading, bedding, fabrics, size and appearance of erratics, polished and striated clasts and surfaces(“pavements”), dropstones, and surface microtextures.Recent decades of progress in research relating to glacial and sediment gravity flow processes have resulted in proposals by geologists, based on more detailed field data, more often of an origin by mass movements and tectonism than glaciation.The most coherent data of this review, i.e., appearances of features produced by glaciation, sediment gravity flows and a few other geological processes, are summarized in a Diamict Origin Table.

Unmixing detrital zircon U-Pb ages reveals tectonic and climatic depositional influences on the Carboniferous Ansilta Formation,Calingasta-Uspallata Basin,Western Argentina

The Late Paleozoic Ice Age(LPIA)was a principal control of sedimentation across Gondwana from the late Devonian through early Permian.We assess the hypothesis that glacial to interglacial transitions in western Argentina were the primary control influencing sediment routing patterns among the various Carboniferous-Permian basins in western Argentina.The Carboniferous Ansilta Formation consists of glaciomarine,nearshore,and fluvial systems deposited during the LPIA along the eastern margin of the Calingasta-Uspallata Basin in Argentina.The lower,glacially influenced succession of the Ansilta Formation records at least five glacial advances;the upper succession of consists of progradational shallow marine,deltaic,and fluvial strata.We combine 1225 new U-Pb zircon ages from six samples of the Carboniferous Ansilta Formation in the Calingasta-Uspallata Basin with 5864 U-Pb ages from 147 pub-lished samples in the detrital Pymix forward mixture model to characterize provenance shifts.For the glacially influenced lower Ansilta Formation,sediment was derived locally from the Protoprecordillera,which was a prominent highland with alpine glaciers flowing west and east into the Calingasta-Uspallata and Paganzo basins,respectively.Thus,there was little or no connection between these two basins during Serpukhovian-Bashkirian glaciation.The fluvial/deltaic upper Ansilta had distal sediment sources in the Sierras Pampeanas.Furthermore,our results support the collapse of the Protoprecordillera topographic barrier,enabling drainage patterns connecting the Paganzo and Calingasta-Uspallata basins by late Pennsylvanian-early Permian time.