Current Progress on the Geological Record of Microbialites and Microbial Carbonates

This paper reviews the current progress and problems in the study of microbialites and microbial carbonates. Microbialites and microbial carbonates, formed during growth of microbes by their calcification and binding of detrital sediment, have recently become one of the most popular geological topics. They occur throughout the entire geological history, and bear important theoretical and economic significances due to their complex structures and formative processes. Microbialites are in place benthic microbial buildups, whereas microbial carbonates can be classified into two categories： stabilized microbial carbonates（i.e., carbonate microbialites, such as stromatolites and thrombolites） and mobilized microbial carbonates（i.e., microbial carbonate grains, such as oncoids and microbial lumps）. Various texture, structures, and morphologies of microbialites and microbial carbonates hamper the systematic description and classification. Moreover, complex calcification pathways and diagenetic modifications further obscure the origin of some microbialites and microbial carbonates. Recent findings of abundant sponge spicules in previously identified ＂microbialites＂ challenge the traditional views about the origins of these ＂microbialites＂ and their implications to reef evolution. Microbialites and microbial carbonates did not always flourish in the aftermath of extinction events, which, together with other evidences, suggests that they are affected not only by metazoans but also by other geological factors. Their growth, development, and demise are also closely related to sea-level changes, due to their dependence on water depth, clarity, nutrient, and sunlight. Detailed studies on microbialites and microbial carbonates throughout geological history would certainly help understand causes and effects of major geological events as well as the coevolution of life and environment.

Microfacies and paleoenvironment of microbialites of the Cambrian(Stage 4)Qingxudong Formation in the Huayuan area,northwestern Hunan Province,southern China

After the extinction of Archaeocyatha(sponges),microbial bioherms were well developed in the lower Cambrian of the Yangtze cratonic basin,especially in the Qingxudong Formation(Cambrian(Stage 4))of the Huayuan area,northwestern Hunan Province,southern China.Herein,four sections from this area were chosen for investigating and analyzing their microfacies and depositional environment.Twelve microfacies types were recognized through petrographic analysis of textural attributes and calcimicrobes(including Epiphyton,Renalcis,Girvanella and Kenella),respectively as:laminated calcareous mudstone(MF1),algal wackestone(MF2),intraclastic grainstone(MF3),algal intrasparrudite(MF4),oolitic algal intrasparrudite(MF5),sparry oolitic grainstone(MF6),Epiphyton framestone(MF7),Renalcis bafflestone(MF8),Kenella bafflestone(MF9),Girvanella boundstone(MF10),thrombolitic boundstone(MF11),and dolomite(MF12).These microfacies represent four major depositional environments:carbonate ramp,carbonate platform,slope and tidal flat.Calcimicrobes played an important role in the transition from carbonate ramp to platform,while the evolution from ramp to tidal flat must be ascribed to sea-level fall during the Cambrian Age 4.

Early Triassic microbialites from the Changxing Region of Zhejiang Province,South China

Microbialites, often considered as a signal of extreme marine environment, are common in the Lower Triassic strata of South China where they flourished in the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction. Early Triassic microbialite facies are known to vary palaeogeographically, perhaps due to differing climates, ocean chemistry, and water depths. This paper provides the first record of a brief, but spectacular development of microbialites in the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction at Panjiazhuang section, Changxing Region of Zhejiang Province (eastern South China). Here, the Upper Permian Changxing Formation comprises typical shallow platform facies rich in calcareous algae and foraminifera, the development of which was terminated by the major end-Permian regression. A 3.4-m-thick microbialite began to form at the onset of the transgression in the earliest Triassic. The microbialite at Panjiazhuang section is composed of thrombolite that contains abundant calcified cyanobacteria, small gastropods, microconchid tubes and ostracods, representing a low-diversity shallow marine community in the aftermath of the end-Permian crisis. The microbialites are succeeded by thin-bedded micrites bearing thin-shelled bivalves, which record a rapid sea-level rise in the Early Triassic. Abundant populations of small pyrite framboids are observed in the upper part of the microbialites and the overlying thin-bedded micrites, suggesting that dysoxic water conditions developed at that time. The appearance of microbialites near the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) at Panjiazhuang section was the result of peculiar marine conditions following the end-Permian regression, whilst their disappearance was due to the increasing water depth and the development of dysoxia.

Diagenesis of the microbialites in the Permian-Triassic boundary section at Laolongdong,Chongqing,South China

An interval of limestone,which generally has a dendroid appearance on outcrops,has been found in several Permian-Triassic boundary(PTB) sections in South China,and interpreted to be microbialites.Previous research has examined the paleontology and sedimentology of the unit,however,little attention has been devoted to its diagenesis.This paper discusses the diagenesis of the microbialites in the PTB section at Laolongdong,Chongqing,South China.Examination of multiple outcrops reveals that the structure in this kind of rock is not always dendroid;in many cases it is irregular in shape,and seldom shows the "up-branching" form.In addition,the speckled interval has also been found beneath the dendroid interval.In outcrop,both the speckled and dendroid rocks consist of the darkercolored areas and the lighter-colored areas.Examination of thin sections reveals that the darker-colored areas on outcrops are actually lighter-colored in thin sections,consist of larger crystals,and are more transparent.The lighter-colored areas in thin sections generally consist of large blocky calcite containing scattered small dirty calcite rhombs and irregular residual limestones,which are the same as the lime mudstones between the lighter-colored areas.It is inferred that the dendroid and speckled rocks have experienced the following diagenetic processes:(1) exposure of the carbonate sediments to the subaerial environment because of a sea level drop;(2) dolomitization caused by the downward migration of fluids formed the dendroid and speckled dolomitic patches;(3) dedolomitization of the dolomitic patches formed dendroid and speckled patches of calcite;(4) dissolution occurred in the interstices between relic dolomite crystals formed spongy pores;and(5) filling of the spongy pores by large blocky calcite.Therefore,even though microbes played a critical role in the formation of these microbialites,diagenesis contributed greatly to the formation of the speckled and dendroid pattern of the microbialites.

Microconchids from Microbialites near the Permian-Triassic Boundary in the Zuodeng Section, Baise Area, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, South China and Their Paleoenvironmental Implications

Abundant microconchid worm tubes were extracted from the microbialites deposit near the Permian-Triassic boundary at the Zuodeng Section, Baise area, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Re- gion, South China. These calcareous worm tubes were studied in both petrographic thin sections and isolated specimens using optical microscope and sensitive electronic microscope （SEM）, respectively. They are categorized into two morphological types： helically coiled and planispirally coiled tubes, which are assignable to Microconchus aberrans （Hohenstein, 1913） and M. utahesis （Zatofi et al., 2013）, respectively. The tube wall ultrastructnre is characterized by laminated micrites, which distinguish the studied microconchids from comparable microgastropods or spirorbid polychaete that usually has shell nltrastructnre of spar texture. The overwhelm majority of microconchids from the microbialite possess the planispirally coiled tubes. The lifestyle of extant, morphologically convergent spirorbids suggests that these planispirally coiled microconchids may have colonized in some local oxygenic oases probably produced by photosynthetic cyanobacteria in the oxygen-poor microbialite ecosystem in which they may have settled densely with high competition among various individuals and with other associated animals for oxygen consumption and food soucres. The deleterious environment condition of the mi- crobialite ecosystem immediately after the Permian-Triassic biocrisis is also indicated by various geochemical signals derived from the same section. Such a deleterious habitat may be inhospitable for most metazoans, but it has some local oxygenic oases that was favorable for opportunistic taxa to dwell.

Modern microbialites and their environmental signifi-cance,Meiji reef atoll,Nansha (Spratly) Islands,South China Sea

Meiji (Mischief) coral atoll, in Nansha (Spratly) Islands, South China Sea, consists of an annular reef rim surrounding a central lagoon. On the atoll rim there are either protuberant 'motu' (small coral patch reefs on the rim of atoll) islets or lower sandy cays that contain modern microbialite deposits on the corals in pinnacles and surrounding bottoms of the atoll. Microbialites, including villiform, hairy, and thin spine growth forms, as well as gelatinous masses, mats and encrustation, developed on coral colonies and atoll rim sediments between 0 and 15 m deep-water settings. The microbialites were produced by natural populations of filamentous cyanobacteria and grew on (1) bulbous corals together with Acropora sp., (2) on massive colonies of Galaxea fascicularis, (3) on dead Montipora digitata, and (4) on dead Acropora teres, some hairy microbialite growing around broken coral branches. This study demonstrates that microbial carbonates are developed in coral reefs of South China Sea and indicates that microbial processes may be important in the construction of modern reef systems. The results have significance in the determination of nature and composition in microorganisms implied in the formation ancient microbialites, and permit evaluation of the importance of microbial deposits in mo-dern coral reefs and of 'microbialites' in biogeochemical cycles of modern coral reef systems. The re-sults also provide evidence of modern analogues for ancient microbialites in shallow-water settings, and combine with sedimentological studies of ancient microbialites to understand their controls.

Oxygenation in carbonate microbialites and associated facies after the end-Permian mass extinction:Problems and potential solutions

Carbonate sediments deposited in normally-oxygenated shallow ocean waters of the latest Permian period, immediately prior to the end-Permian mass extinction, contain well-developed diverse shelly faunas. After the extinction of these skeletal metazoans, the sediments commonly comprise microbialites(regarded by most authors as benthic) and associated facies bearing evidence interpreted by many authors to indicate reduced oxygenation of the shallow ocean waters. However, the evidence of oxygenation state is inconsistent and the sequences have gaps, indicated in the following 5 points:1) Shelly fossils occur commonly in post-extinction shallow marine limestones, and likely to have been aerated in contact with the atmosphere. Nevertheless, although the largest mass extinction in Earth history may have caused reduced body size in shelly organisms, such reduction is arguably due to environmental stress of lowered oxygenation. Discriminating between these controls remains a challenge.2) Abundant pyrite framboids in many post-extinction limestones are interpreted by several authors as indicating dysoxic contemporaneous waters, so the organisms that lived there, now shelly fossils, were dysaerobic. However, verification is problematic because pyrite framboids scattered amongst shelly fossils cannot have formed amongst living organisms, which need at least some oxygen; synsedimentary framboid formation requires anoxic conditions in the redox boundary where sulphate-reducing processes work. Thus, framboids and shelly fossils found together means taphonomic mixing of sediments, destroying original depositional relationships so that it is not possible to determine whether the shells were aerobic or dysaerobic prior to sediment mixing. Furthermore, diagenetic growth of framboids is possible, as is import of previously-formed framboids from deeper water during upwelling. Thus, there is no proof of an environmental link between framboid size and occurrence, and contemporaneous oxygenation in these post-extinction shallow water facies, so we question the validity of this model in those facies, but consider that the model is valid for deeper water facies.3) Some publications provide evidence of oxygenation, from redox-sensitive elements in post-extinction limestones, while others indicate low oxygen conditions. Redox-sensitive geochemistry requires further work to explore this issue at higher resolution of sampling than has been so far applied.4) Biomarkers recorded in some post-extinction facies contain evidence of anoxic conditions(including green sulphur bacteria) but other examples lack these, which may be indicate fluctuations of water oxygenation. However, a key issue that has not yet been resolved is determination of whether biomarkers were imported into the sites of deposition, for example by upwelling currents, or formed where they are found.Thus, there is currently no verification that biomarkers of low oxygen organisms in shallow water settings actually formed in the places where they are sampled.5) The common occurrence of small erosion surfaces and stylolites represents loss of evidence, and must be accounted for in future studies.The oxygenation state of post-end-Permian extinction shallow marine facies continues to present a challenge of interpretation, and requires high-resolution sampling and careful attention to small-scale changes, as well as loss of rock through pressure solution, as the next step to resolve the issue.

The sedimentological characteristics of microbialites of the Cambrian in the vicinity of Beijing,China

With oil and gas exploration transferring to deeper and more ancient marine strata,more researches have been conducted about the Meso—Neoproterozoic and Cambrian microbial carbonate rocks by petroleum geologists.The Cambrian deposits experienced the first transgression of the Paleozoic,with shallow marine facies depositing in most areas,which are favorable for different kinds of biological reproduction.The Lower Cambrian in Beijing area is lithologically dominated by purple red shales interbedded with limestones,the Middle Cambrian is mainly composed of thick oolitic limestones,and the Upper Cambrian consists of thin limestones and flat-pebble conglomerates.Two beds of microbial carbonate rocks were discovered in the Cambrian outcrops in the vicinity of Beijing.One is from the Zhangxia Formation of Middle Cambrian,and the other is from the Gushan Formation of Upper Cambrian.The microbialites are characterized by combination of multiple stromatolites forming different bioherms.The bioherms are mostly in oval shape and with different sizes,which are 3-4 m long,and 1-3 m high.The surrounding strata beneath the bioherms are oolitic limestones.A central core of flat-pebble conglomerates occurred within each bioherm.Wavy or columnar stromatolites grow on the basis of flat-pebble conglomerates,with dentate erosional surfaces.The bioherm carbonate rocks are interpreted as products from a deep ramp sedimentary environment where potential oil and gas reservoirs can be found.The analysis of sedimentological characteristics of bioherm carbonate rocks and its lithofacies palaeogeography has significant implication for petroleum exploration.Research on geological record of microbialites is beneficial to investigating the Earth evolution,biodiversity,palaeoenvironment and palaeoclimate change,as well as biological extinction event during geological transitions.It also gives warning to human beings of modern biological crisis.

Palaeogeographic variation in the Permian-Triassic boundary microbialites:A discussion of microbial and ocean process esafter the end-Permian mass extinction

Shallow marine carbonate sediments that formed after the end-Permian mass extinction are rich in a thin(maximum ca.15 m) deposit of microbialites.Microbial communities that constructed the microbialites have geographic variability of composition,broadly divisible into two groups:1) eastern Tethys sites are calcimicrobe-dominated(appearing as thrombolites in the field),with rare occurrence of sedimentconstructed microbialites and uncommon cements either within microbial structure or as inorganic precipitates,2) other Tethys sites are sediment-dominated structures forming stromatolites and thrombolites,composed of micrites and cements,with some inorganic precipitates.These other Tethys locations include western and central Tethys sites but their palaeogeographic positions depend on the accuracy of continental reconstructions,of which there are several opinions.In contrast to geographic variation of microbialites,the conodont Hindeodus parvus,which appeared after the extinction and defines the base of the Triassic,is widespread,indicating easy lateral migration throughout Tethys.Conodont animals were active nekton,although being small animals were presumably at least partly carried by water currents,implying active Tethyan surface water circulation after the extinction event.Post-extinction ammonoid taxa,presumed active swimmers,show poor evidence of a wide distribution in the Griesbachian beds immediately after the extinction,but are more cosmopolitan higher up,in the Dienerian strata in Tethys.Other shelly fossils also have poorly defined distributions after the extinction,but ostracods show some wider distribution suggesting migration was possible after the extinction.Therefore there is a contrast between the geographic differences of microbialites and some shelly fossils.Determining the cause of geographic variation of post-extinction microbialites is problematic and may include one or more of the following possibilities:1) because calcifying microbial organisms that create calcimicrobes were benthic,they may have lacked planktonic stages that would have allowed migration,2)eastern Tethyan seas were possibly more saturated with respect to calcium carbonates and microbes,so microbes there were possibly more able to calcify,3) significant reduction of Tethyan ocean circulation,perhaps by large-scale upwelling disrupting ocean surface circulation,may have limited lateral migration of benthic microbial communities but did not prevent migration of other organisms,and 4) microbes may have been subject to local environmental controls,the mechanisms of which have not yet been recognized in the facies.The difficulty of distinguishing between these possibilities(and maybe others not identified) demonstrates that there is a lot still to learn about the post-extinction microbialites and their controls.

Macro-and microfeatures of Early Cambrian dolomitic microbialites from Tarim Basin, China

The fabrics of microbialites preserved in limestones are generally better than in dolostones. What are the fabrics of the microbialites preserved in heavily dolomitized dolostones? This paper presents an example of a strongly dolomitized Cambrian microbialite profile. The Xiaoerblak Formation(Cambrian Series 2 Stage 3 and lower Stage 4)of the Sugaitblak section in Aksu, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China is mainly composed of microbial dolostones. Due to strong alteration by diagenesis, their features, formation and environments have not been fully understood. Here, based on detailed observation on outcrops and thin sections, we show that this formation comprises four kinds of microbialites: laminite, thrombolite, thrombolitic laminite, and Renalcis framestone, in five intervals(Interval I to Interval V). We identified three main types of microbialite fabrics, i.e., clotted fabric, laminated fabric and skeletal fabric, and established a high-resolution vertical evolution sequence of the microbialites. The clotted fabric and the laminated fabric were further divided into subtypes. We found that the original fabrics were mainly affected by dolomitization, recrystallization and dissolution, and the alteration degree of the microbialite fabric is stronger in the lower part of this formation. The laminated fabric has the strongest resistance to diagenesis,followed by the clotted fabric. Based on studies of different rock types and sedimentary structures, we concluded that the sedimentary environment of Xiaoerblak Formation consists of three settings: a) Intervals I to III formed in restricted tidal flat environments, b) Interval IV and the lower part of Interval V in restricted deep subtidal environments, and c) upper part of Interval V in shallowing-up open subtidal environments.

Sedimentary characteristics of microbialites influenced by volcanic eruption: a case study from the Lower Cretaceous Shipu Group in Zhejiang Province, East China

This study describes a sequence of microbialites and volcanics of the Lower Cretaceous Shipu Group, an example of microbialites influenced by volcanic activity. It is located at Shipu town in eastern Zhejiang Province on the coast of southeastern China. Based on macroscopic outcrop observations, microscopic examination of thin sections,electron probe microanalysis(EPMA), field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM) imaging analysis, and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry(EDS) analysis, nine microbialite–tuffite assemblages have been recognized in the section. Their thickness increased gradually upwards as volcanism decreased. There are ooids, bioclastic grains,intraclasts and tuffaceous grains in the grain shoal with local dolomitization. Above the grain shoal, microbial reefs develop either individually or conjoining with adjacent ones, and consist of stromatolites and serpulid tubes with common recrystallization. Tubes of serpulids are calcified and the tube wall is micrite. The tube and intertube parts are filled by sparry calcite. Colonial serpulids are surrounded by microbes to form stromatolites. Black layers of stromatolites contain many calcite crystals with fan-shaped growth pattern and preserved organic matter. Microbes are so well preserved in crystal lattices that the original microstructure of the microbes can be clearly observed by FESEM imaging analysis. Microbial reefs develop at a local high point near or above fair-weather wave-base where waves removed fine volcanic ashes. Interreef deposits are coarse tuffite due to physical differentiation. Volcanic activity could provide rich nutrition for microbes, but too much fine volcanic ash inhibits microbial growth. As a result, a moderate supply of volcanic ash favors the development of microbialites.

Different accretion and diagenetic patterns within the fabrics of the Permian–Triassic boundary microbialites on the Leye isolated carbonate platform, South China Block

A comprehensive study on the accretion and diagenesis of the Permian–Triassic boundary microbialites is conducive to a better understanding of the ecological community after the end-Permian mass extinction. Here we studied the special microbialite sequences at the Tianba section of Leye isolated carbonate platform, South China Block. The microbialites are shown as small columnar stromatolites, stromatolitic thrombolites, spotted thrombolites,and domical digitate thrombolites in an ascending order. Thin section analyses, coupled with cathodoluminescence photos and oxygen isotopic data, reveal that all types of microbially-mediated laminae/clots are partly recrystallized.Layers of the Polybessurus-like fossils commonly occur in the recrystallized fabrics of stromatolitic laminae. However,the Polybessurus-like fossils are rare in quantity and generally fragmentary and structureless in stromatolitic clots and spotted clots. Such taphonomic features are likely interpreted as the early decomposition by heterotrophic bacteria in an oxygen-depleted microenvironment caused by rapid accumulations of organic matter in the calm water.More enrichments of ~(13)C in the laminae of stromatolite and in the clots of stromatolitic thrombolite and spotted thrombolite than in adjacent interstitial matrixes signify the photosynthesis-dominated isotopic fractionation during the growth of microbial communities. Rare calcimicrobial structures but many calcite crystal fans were found in the ~(13)C-depleted digitate clots. These phenomena indicate that seawater on the carbonate platform was ~(12)C-enriched and supersaturated, accelerating carbonate precipitations and decompositions of organic matter within the microbial community. Different preservations of the Polybessurus-like fossil revealed the complicated microbiallydominated sedimentation and post-depositional diagenesis in the abnormal seawater after the catastrophe.

Cambrian Reefs in the Western North China Platform,Wuhai,Inner Mongolia

Mid to late Cambrian thrombolites and maze-like maceriate reefs from the western North China Platform, Wuhai, Inner Mongolia, northwestern China, occur in the middle of a succession dominated by thin-bedded lime mudstone-shale/marlstone alternations, and are laterally surrounded by limestone conglomerate and/or grainstone. Thrombolite, characterized by meter-scale lenticular mounds composed of millimeter- to centimeter-scale mesoclots and wackestone matrix, occurs in the lower middle part of the sequence. Thrombolite mesoclots are composed of microstromatolites with alternating dark gray and light gray micritic laminae. The maze-like maceriate reefs occur in the middle to the upper part of the sequence, commonly forming lenticular mounds up to 1 m thick. They are characterized by centimeter- to decimeter-scale branched maze-like structures, whose biogenic portions （maceria） are selectively dolomitized. The maceriae are composed of poorly preserved microstromatolites and siliceous sponges. Inter-macerial sediments consist of lime mud and scattered bioclasts. These Wuhai reefs are generally similar to but older than various other Cambrian reefs previously reported from the Shandong region, northeastern China.

Reservoir geological modeling and significance of Cambrian Xiaoerblak Formation in Keping outcrop area, Tarim Basin, NW China

Take the Cambrian Xiaoerblak Formation in the Keping(Kalpin) outcrop area as an example, a 28 km reservoir scale geological model was built based on description of 7 profiles, observation of more than 1000 thin sections, petrophysical analysis of 556 samples and many geochemical tests. The Xiaoerblak Formation, 158–178 m thick, is divided into three members and 5 submembers, and is composed of laminated microbialite dolomite(LMD), thrombolite dolomite(TD), foamy-stromatolite dolomite(FSD), oncolite dolomite(OD), grain dolomite(GD)/crystalline dolomite with grain ghost and micritic dolomite(MD)/argillaceous dolomite. The petrology features show that its sediment sequence is micro-organism layer – microbial mound/shoal – tidal flat in carbonate ramp background from bottom up. The reservoir has 5 types of pores, namely, framework pore, dissolved vug, intergranular and intragranular dissolved pore and intercrystalline dissolved pore, as main reservoir space. It is found that the development of pore has high lithofacies selectivity, FSD has the highest average porosity, TD, OD and GD come second. The reservoir is pore-vug reservoir with medium-high porosity and medium-low permeability. The dolomite of Xiaoerblak Formation was formed in para-syngenetic to early diagenetic stage through dolomitization caused by seawater. The reservoir development is jointly controlled by sedimentary facies, micro-organism type, high frequency sequence interface and early dolomitization. The classⅠand Ⅱ reservoirs, with an average thickness of 41.2 m and average reservoir-stratum ratio of about 25.6%, have significant potential. It is predicted that the microbial mounds and shoals in the middle ramp around the ancient uplift are the favorable zones for reservoir development.

Microbialite of anoxic condition from Permian-Triassic transition in Guizhou,China

Spherical microfossils are present in the Hindeodus parvus zone of the Lower Triassic in Ziyun,Guizhou Province. They generally range from 0.15 to 0.30 mm across,with micritic wall and filled by micro-sparry calcites,and are evenly scattered in micritic matrix. Their abundance makes the rock as-signed to microbialites. The accompanied organisms include ostracods and algal mat,but no gastro-pods or bivalves. Presence of small (<7 μm) pyrite framboids indicates that this bed formed in anoxic conditions. In some sections,this bed is overlain and underlain by tidal-flat micritic limestone with microgastropods and small burrows. Occurrence only in deposits on reef top indicates that the micro-bial organism was benthic,and needed sunlight in life. The size of the microbial fossil exceeds that of any bacteria or cyanobacteria. Thus,it does not belong to these two phyla. It may belong to lower green algae,and is assigned to a new species in a new genus,Ziyunosphaeridium sinensis gen. et sp. nov. Up to now,the rocks described as microbialites from the Permian-Triassic transition include six types: (1) porous micritic limestone such as that descried from Japan by Sano and Nakashima (1997),(2) limestone with rich globular microfossils such as that described from the Nanpanjiang Basin in China by Lehrmann (1999),(3) dendroidal limestone such as that described from the vicinity of Chongqing by Kershaw et al. (1999),(4) spherical microbial limestone adapted to anoxic environments described from Ziyun,Guizhou reported in this paper,(5) limestone with cyanobacterial fossils such as that described by Wang et al. (2005),and (6) stromatolites. All these microbialites are not reefs in the proper sense,and the argument that Permian reef ecosystems extended into the Mesozoic is incorrect.

Sedimentology of reefal buildups of the Xiannüdong Formation(Cambrian Series 2),SW China

The reefs in the Xiannüdong Formation(Cambrian Series 2) are the oldest archaeocyathan–microbial bioconstructions in China,but the details of their microbial structures have not been previously described.However,a new section at Tangjiahe site,northern Sichuan Province,contains very well-preserved microbial fabrics that provide these details,and is described in this study.The Tangjiahe section contains three levels of reefal buildups that were constructed by a consortium of archaeocyaths and calcimicrobes in varying proportions.The lowest(oldest) reefal buildup is a calcimicrobial biostrome,possibly in the form of a wide mound with a low relief(unconfirmed due to outcrop limitation),which was formed by Epiphyton with rare small archaeocyaths,and is sandwiched by flat-pebble conglomerates.The middle reefal buildup is a high-relief calcimicrobial mound,enclosed by oolites,that was built by intergrown Renalcis and Tarthinia.Archaeocyath fossils are uncommon,and were bound into the framework by microbial carbonates.The uppermost(youngest) reefal buildup is a low-relief archaeocyathan mound lacking calcimicrobes but partly having microbially-clotted textures attached on archaeocyaths.Calcimicrobes built or aided archaeocyaths to form the framework of Tangjiahe reefs.The three buildups formed in low-energy lagoons behind ooid shoals,and the environment was nutrient-rich due to terrigenous influx from adjacent lands.Tangjiahe reefs thus resemble most Early Cambrian reefs,in settings consistent with eutrophic,calm environments,and are characterized by the domination or aid of calcimicrobial components in framework construction.

Final Results and Recommendations of the Last 10 Years IGCP 572 and 630 Field Workshops in South Turkey, Oman, India(Kashmir) and Armenia

Being involved in the organization of IGCP 572 field workshops in Turkey （2009）, in Oman （2010）, as in the following IGCP 630 field workshops in Kashmir （India, 2014） and in Armenia （2017）, I co-wrote for each of them detailed guidebooks and extended reports that can be found and downloaded from ResearchGate website. This paper summarizes the final results obtained by IGCP 572 and 630 members from these four important field workshop sites in the past I0 years, and also attempts to make recommendations for future studies based on these unique localities surrounding the Tethys Ocean. The first field workshop of IGCP 572 was organized in South Turkey in September, 2009, with the logistical support of Dr. Erdal Kosun from the Antalya University. Following the South Turkey field workshop, eight important papers have been published and concerned the well-preserved Permian-Triassic boundary （PTB） microbialites and their ecosystems （including ostraeodes, brachiopods, and many of other clades）. The 3rd IGCP 572 annual field workshop was held during February, 2010 in the Sultanate of Oman, with Dr. Michaela Bernecker and the deep support from the GuTech University in Muscat. More than 15 papers have derived from the P-Tr successions that IGCP 572 members have investigated during this workshop, including the first study on oceanic acidification based on Boron isotopes. New paleontological studies are still on progress, and concern the Smithian ammonoids, Lower Triassic shark teeth and dental remains as well as basal Triassic conodonts, crinoids and ammonoids. The 1st IGCP 630 annual field workshop was held during November, 2014 in Srinagar, Kashmir, and North India, with the helpful assistance of Prof. Ghulam Bhat from Jammu University. This meeting renewed studies on the classic Guryul Ravine and adjacent P-Tr boundary sections in that region, with new geochemical works on carbon isotopes and pyrite framboids as well as a detailed Induan conodont taxonomy and zonatiou. Other new paleontological works concern the palynology of the Guryul Ravine Section as some well-preserved organic eukariotic protist （thecamoebians） that cross without damage the PTB. Lilit Sahakyan, Aymon Baud, and Zhong-Qiang Chen organized the 5th IGCP 630 annual conference and field workshop in Armenia on October 8-14, 2017. Several PTB and Lower Triassic sections have been systematically sampled for biogeochemical and geobiological studies. These Armenian sections provide unique paleoenvironmental settings that have the long- est record, from Griesbachian to Dienerian, of microbial proliferation following the P-Tr mass extinction in the world. The basal Triassic giant sponge-microbial build-ups are encouraging more compre- hensive studies on metazoan-microbial reef developments after the greatest extinction event.

Manganese carbonate stromatolites of the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation in Chengkou,northern Yangtze Craton,China

The origin process of manganese ores remains unsolved worldwide.Exploring the origins of stromatolites that contain manganese may be a key to deciphering the sedimentary environments and metallogenic processes of these deposits.However,only a few manganese stromatolites have been discovered and described until now.Microbialites are well developed in the manganese deposits,located near the top of the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation in Chengkou area of Chongqing,northern Yangtze Craton,but has not been explicitly studied;and whether they are true stromatolites or Epiphyton microbialites remains controversial.Based on field and core observations and thin section microscopy,the characteristics of five types of manganese stromatolites and their growth modes are described in detail in this study.The results show that these stromatolites grew in a biostrome in shoal and lagoon environments and were syngenetic with oncolites and oolites on a carbonate ramp behind the shoal.Manganese stromatolites can be categorized into three forms:(1)stratiform;(2)columnar,which includes branched and columnar types;and(3)stratiform-columnar,which is a transitional type.Based on a criterion that the diameter is less than or greater than 1 mm,columnar stromatolites are further divided into micro-columnar(<1 mm)and columnar(>1 mm)columns,which display synchronous growth and are similar to Pseudogymnosolenaceae.Their shapes are mainly controlled by water depths and hydrodynamic strengths.The greater the water depth,the more columnar the columns tend to be.Excessively strong hydrodynamic conditions decrease the growth rate of stromatolites,and they even stopped growth due to wave damage.Furthermore,pillared laminar textures(not Epiphyton),which consist of dendritic,micro-branched and microcolumnar stromatolites,are a common feature of the larger stratiform,stratiform-columnar and columnar stromatolites.The alternations of laminae with different internal textures record subtle fluctuations in water depths and hydrodynamic strengths,which indicate that stromatolite growth is controlled by tidal cycles at the lamina level.Therefore,it is possible that the vertical evolution of the stromatolites could reveal the changing characteristics of both local and regional sedimentary environments,i.e.,stromatolite shape changes from columnar to stratiform can represent the onset of shallower environments with weak hydrodynamic conditions.In addition,as important reef builders in shallow carbonate ramps,microstromatolites accelerate the development from ramp to platform.Indicators of microbial control on stromatolite shapes and manganese sedimentation processes include the fabric of stromatolite laminae,organic rhodochrosite with a micritic texture that is usually clotted,spherical,tubular,fibrous or dendritic,which suggests that the laminae resulted from microbially induced in situ precipitation.

Permian–Triassic Conodonts from Dajiang(Guizhou, South China) and Their Implication for the Age of Microbialite Deposition in the Aftermath of the End-Permian Mass Extinction

The widespread microbialites deposition that followed the End-Permian mass extinction in the Tethyan realm have been intensively studied because of the evidence they provide on the nature of this crisis and its aftermath. However, the age of the microbialite event remains controversial. New conodont collection across the Permian–Triassic（P–T） transition from Dajiang（Guizhou Province, South China） in this study enable us to discriminate four conodont zones, in ascending order, they are： Hindeodus parvus zone, Isarcicella lobata zone, Isarcicella isarcica zone and Hindeodus sosioensis zone. The age of microbialite in the P–T transition at the Dajiang Section is considered to be within the Hindeodus parvus zone and thus to clearly post-date the main extinction crisis. Reviewing the age of onset of microbialites throughout the Tethyan regions reveals two different ages： a Hindeodus changxingensis zone age is dominant in south-western and westernmost Tethys, whilst most other regions show microbialite deposition began in the Hindeodus parvus zone. Our investigation also indicates that two conodont changes occur at this time： an increase of hindeodid species immediately following a sequence boundary and the mass extinction, and a phase of extinction losses in the earliest Triassic Isarcicella isarcica zone during highstand development.

Ostracod fauna across the Permian-Triassic boundary at Chongyang, Hubei Province, and its implication for the process of the mass extinction

Thirty species of 10 ostracod genera were identified from 440 fossil specimens isolated through the hot acetolysis of the rock samples collected across the Permian-Triassic boundary at Chongyang section. Twenty species of 6 genera are found to occur in the limestone of Changxing Formation, and 11 species of 7 genera above the main faunal mass extinction horizon. The os-tracod assemblages identified at the Chongyang section are obviously different from those previously reported in the contem-poraneous microbialites in Guangxi and Chongqing regions, not only in the ostracod components but also in the abundance of filter-feeding ostracods relative to the deposit-feeding ostracods, an indicator of the oxygen level of the seawater. This spatial difference in ostracod assemblages might reflect the diversity of oceanic environmental conditions after the end-Permian mass extinction. Ostracods disappear at 200 cm below and near the main mass extinction horizon, and on the top of the microbialites, respectively, showing an episodic and gradual collapse process at the Chongyang section. The carbon isotope composition is found to appear at 200 cm below the main mass extinction horizon, indicating the initial deterioration of oceanic environment. Fluctuation of the carbon isotope composition is obviously related with the episodic evolution of ostracod species, but not with the abundance of ostracods.