Shuichang Zhang

Paleozoic oil-source rock correlations in the Tarim basin, NW China

We studied a suite of 40 oils and extracts of purported source rocks from the Tarim basin in NW China. The main group of oils comes from Tazhong and Tabei wells, which sample the largest known petroleum accumulations in the basin. These oils can be statistically correlated with extracts of Ordovician rocks based upon high relative concentrations of 24-isopropylcholestanes and low relative concentrations of dinosteranes, triaromatic dinosteroids, and 24-norcholestanes. In contrast, extracts from Cambrian rocks have low relative concentrations of 24-isopropylcholestanes with high relative concentrations of dinosteranes, triaromatic dinosteroids, and 24-norcholestanes. Although some Tarim basin Cambrian rocks yield high total organic carbon contents, we see little evidence in the analyzed oil samples to suggest that they came from Cambrian source rocks.

Molecular Organic Geochemistry of the Tarim Basin, Northwest China

We conducted organic geochemical analyses on the largest suite of oils and source-rock extracts from the Tarim basin, northwest China, currently available. Statistical cluster analysis of the entire suite of Tarim oils distinguishes at least seven genetic groups of oils. The largest group of oils was collected from the Tazhong and Tabei uplifts and originated from marine Middle-Upper Ordovician anoxic marls that mark slope facies at the margins of structural uplifts. Two other genetic groups most likely originated from marine Middle-Upper Ordovician source rocks, but of distinct facies, with one an oxic shale-rich source west of the Bachu uplift and the other an anoxic shale source at Tazhong.

Sufficient oxygen for animal respiration 1,400 million years ago

Significance How have environmental constraints influenced the timing of animal evolution? It is often argued that oxygen first increased to sufficient levels for animal respiration during the Neoproterozoic Eon, 1,000 million to 542 million years ago, thus explaining the timing of animal evolution. We report geochemical evidence for deep-water oxygenation below an ancient oxygen minimum zone 1,400 million years ago. Oceanographic modeling constrains atmospheric oxygen to a minimum of ∼4% of today’s values, sufficient oxygen to have fueled early-evolved animal clades. Therefore, we suggest that there was sufficient atmospheric oxygen for animals long before the evolution of animals themselves, and that rising levels of Neoproterozoic oxygen did not contribute to the relatively late appearance of animal life on Earth. The Mesoproterozoic Eon [1,600–1,000 million years ago (Ma)] is emerging as a key interval in Earth history, with a unique geochemical history that might have influenced the course of biological evolution on Earth. Indeed, although this time interval is rather poorly understood, recent chromium isotope results suggest that atmospheric oxygen levels were <0.1% of present levels, sufficiently low to have inhibited the evolution of animal life. In contrast, using a different approach, we explore the distribution and enrichments of redox-sensitive trace metals in the 1,400 Ma sediments of Unit 3 of the Xiamaling Formation, North China Block. Patterns of trace metal enrichments reveal oxygenated bottom waters during deposition of the sediments, and biomarker results demonstrate the presence of green sulfur bacteria in the water column. Thus, we document an ancient oxygen minimum zone. We develop a simple, yet comprehensive, model of marine carbon−oxygen cycle dynamics to show that our geochemical results are consistent with atmospheric oxygen levels >4% of present-day levels. Therefore, in contrast to previous suggestions, we show that there was sufficient oxygen to fuel animal respiration long before the evolution of animals themselves.

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

The distribution of “molecular fossils” (biomarkers) of steroid compounds in extracts from some specific geologic age in the Tarim Basin have been analyzed and are used as the fingerprints for the oil-source rock correlation. Having been affected by maturation, migration, phase fractionation and biodegradation, not any molecular fossils related to source and environment can be used as the fingerprints for oil-source rock correlation. Some special biomarkers widely existed in the extracts from Cambrian and Ordovician rocks in the Tarim Basin and showed obvious difference in each stratum, including dinosteranes (C30), 4-methyl-24-ethyl-cholestanes (C30) and their aromatized steroids, C24-norcholestanes and C28 steranes originated from dinoflagellates and diatom. Few oils such as the heavy oil drilled in the Cambrian reservoir from Tadong 2 well (TD2) correlated well with the extracts from the Cambrian. The amazing similarity of the relative contents of these compounds between the marine oils produced in Tazhong and Tabei uplifts and the extracts from the Upper Ordovician suggests that the Middle-Upper Ordovician is the very likely main source for the marine oils.

Geochemistry of petroleum systems in the eastern Pearl River Mouth Basin: evidence for mixed oils

Abstract Detailed analyses of crude oils and source rock extracts indicate the presence of two effective petroleum source rocks in the eastern Pearl River Mouth Basin of the South China Sea region. Oils derived from the lacustrine source rocks in the Eocene Wenchang Formation are characterized by abundant C 30 4-methyl steranes with relatively few C 19 tricyclic terpane and bicadinanes. In contrast, oils from the Eocene-Oligocene Enping Formation source typically contain significant amounts of C 19 tricyclic terpane and bicadinanes, with relatively few 4-methyl steranes and high pristane/phytane ratios. However, the chemical compositions of a large number of oils do not conform to those of the unknown source rocks, consistent with mixing of the two sources. Mixed oils occur mainly in the Huizhou Sag and along its south margin, and the highest proportion of the Enping Formation source in the reservoired mixed oils is estimated to be around 80%. Laboratory mixing experiments using selected end-member oils indicate that, even with 50–80% contribution from the Enping Formation source, the mixtures still display sterane biomarker ratio signatures diagnostic of the Wenchang Formation source. Therefore, the presence of abundant 4-methyl steranes is a necessary but not sufficient indicator for the Wenchang Formation source in the eastern Pearl River Mouth Basin. Although our results support the Wenchang Formation as a major source to the known oil discoveries in the study area, the contribution of the Enping Formation source to traps in the Huizhou Sag and surrounding area cannot be ignored. There is clear evidence for the recharge of Enping Formation derived oils into early-biodegraded oil accumulations to form light oil accumulations.

Orbital forcing of climate 1.4 billion years ago

Significance There is a wealth of evidence pointing to dramatic short-term climate change on Earth over the last few million years. Much of this climate change is driven by variations of Earth’s orbit around the Sun with characteristic frequencies known as Milankovitch cycles. Robust evidence for orbitally driven climate change, however, becomes rare as one descends deep into Earth time. We studied an exceptional record of climate change as recorded in 1.4-billion-year-old marine sediments from North China. This record documents regular changes in subtropical/tropical Hadley Cell dynamics. These changes in dynamics controlled wind strength, rainfall, and ocean circulation, translated into cyclic variations in sediment geochemistry, much like the orbital control on climate today and in the recent past. Fluctuating climate is a hallmark of Earth. As one transcends deep into Earth time, however, both the evidence for and the causes of climate change become difficult to establish. We report geochemical and sedimentological evidence for repeated, short-term climate fluctuations from the exceptionally well-preserved ∼1.4-billion-year-old Xiamaling Formation of the North China Craton. We observe two patterns of climate fluctuations: On long time scales, over what amounts to tens of millions of years, sediments of the Xiamaling Formation record changes in geochemistry consistent with long-term changes in the location of the Xiamaling relative to the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. On shorter time scales, and within a precisely calibrated stratigraphic framework, cyclicity in sediment geochemical dynamics is consistent with orbital control. In particular, sediment geochemical fluctuations reflect what appear to be orbitally forced changes in wind patterns and ocean circulation as they influenced rates of organic carbon flux, trace metal accumulation, and the source of detrital particles to the sediment.

A kind of coccoid dinoflagellates-like fossils gives a new explanation of source of dinosterane in the Early-Middle Cambrian

The coccoid fossils covered with thick gelatinous envelop containing several gametes are discovered in gyps and salt deposits of Cambrian, H4well and chert bed of the base of Yuertus Formation (∈11) of Xiaoerbulake Section. The fossils are described and compared with coccoid dinoflagellates. These fossils may be a coccoid life-cycle stage (vegetative cyst) of coccoid dinoflagellates. If this identification is correct, the coccoid dinoflagellates-like fossils could give a reasonable explanation of the dinoflagellate-specific biomarkers from Cambrian, H4 well, Tarim Basin.

Oxygen, climate and the chemical evolution of a 1400 million year old tropical marine setting

The Xiamaling Formation is an exceptionally well-preserved sedimentary succession deposited on a marine passive margin about 1400 million years ago. We used a multi-proxy approach, including iron speciation, trace metal dynamics, and organic geochemistry, to explore the evolution of ocean chemistry through most of the Xiamaling Formation. This evolution is put in the context of the paleogeography and the sedimentological evolution of the Xiamaling depositional system. Overall, the Xiamaling Formation is informally divided into six units based on both sedimentological and geochemical criteria. Of the six units, we fully explored four of them. Unit 4, the lowest unit we studied, is comprised of deep-water red muds, periodically interrupted by green-colored silt and sandy turbidites. Iron extraction results show that the red muds are enriched in highly reactive iron, indicating a water-column source for the iron. However, the low organic carbon contents, low hydrogen index (HI) values, and the oxidized nature of the reactive iron pool indicate deposition in oxygenated bottom waters. We interpret unit 4 to represent a low-productivity ferruginous oxygen-minimum zone (OMZ) environment, underlain by oxygenated bottom waters. The transition to unit 3 reflects an increase in primary productivity, and the development of a more biologically active OMZ, that supported anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria. Still, in this unit, the bottom waters remained oxygenated. The overlying unit 2 represents the transition to deep-water deoxygenation and anoxic waters at the sediment surface. These waters were ferruginous in the bottom part of the unit and sulfidic (euxinic) towards the top. In the uppermost unit 1, euxinic conditions continued, punctuated by more frequent water-column oxygenation towards the upper part of the unit. We place the evolution of these chemical dynamics in the context of climate and climate change, and in particular, the placement of the Xiamaling Formation in relation to the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and the resulting Hadley Cell dynamics. Also, while our results demonstrate the persistence of anoxic water-column conditions high in the water column during the deposition of the Xiamaling Formation, they also demonstrate bottom water oxygenation near the seafloor during the deposition of three of the four units, and over a time interval extending to 10s of millions of years.

Significance of source rock heterogeneities: A case study of Mesoproterozoic Xiamaling Formation shale in North China

Abstract Taking Mesoproterozoic Xiamaling Formation, Northern China as an example, the heterogeneities of source rock in different scales and hydrocarbon microscopic occurrence are studied based on observation of outcrops and observation with microscopy, and geochemical analysis. The large scale heterogeneities of source rocks are considered to be controlled by the plate movement and paleo-latitude location, while the micro-scale might be controlled by climate changes driven by the astronomical orbit. The constant existence of heterogeneities includes the differences of organic matter, debris sources and porosities. The heterogeneities of source rock should be seriously treated during the evaluation of oil and gas resources, especially the unconventional oil and gas. This kind of heterogeneous source rocks provides excellent source-reservoir assemblage of oil and gas generation, expulsion and accumulation, and new reference indexes for the economic evaluation of unconventional oil and gas. Therefore, quantitative study of the heterogeneity of source rock is of great significance for investigating formation mechanism and resource estimation of unconventional oil and gas.

Reply to Planavsky et al: Strong evidence for high atmospheric oxygen levels 1,400 million years ago

Planavsky et al. (1) argue that variability in the V/Al of soils compromises our ability to detect V depletions and thus oxygenated bottom waters in the Xiamaling Formation. Indeed, because of such variability, we explored trace metal chemistry through several units of the Xiamaling Formation to establish V/Al background values and trace metal behavior. Unit 4 lacks trace metal enrichments, with V/Al values distributed around the crustal average (CA) (Fig. 1 A ), which we take to represent unaltered particles entering the basin. In contrast, unit 3 was enriched in Mo and U, with V/Al either depleted or similar to CA (Fig. 1 A ). These trace metal patterns are, in the modern ocean, uniquely found in organic-rich sediments depositing in oxygenated water (2). In contrast, unit 2 was enriched in V, … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: sczhang{at}petrochina.com.cn. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1