Yong-Quan Chen

New carbon isotope stratigraphy of the Ediacaran–Cambrian boundary interval from SW China: implications for global correlation

The Yangtze Platform preserves relatively thick carbonate successions and excellent fossil records across the Ediacaran–Cambrian boundary interval. The intensely studied Meishucun section in East Yunnan was one of the Global Stratotype Section candidates for the Precambrian–Cambrian boundary. However, depositional breaks were suspected in the section and the first appearance of small shelly fossils could not be verified. The Laolin section located in NE Yunnan is more continuous and shows great potential for global correlation of carbon isotope features across the Precambrian–Cambrian boundary. However, the stratigraphic framework and correlations were controversial. We studied and systematically sampled the Laolin section and present here new carbon isotope data for this section. The Laolin section consists of, in ascending order, the Baiyanshao dolostone of the Dengying Formation, the Daibu siliceous dolostone, Zhongyicun dolomitic phosphorite, lower Dahai dolostone and upper Dahai limestone of the Zhujiaqing Formation, and the black siltstone of the Shiyantou Formation. Our data reveal a large negative δ 13 C excursion (−7.2‰, L1′) in the Daibu Member, which matches the previously published data for the Laolin section, and a large positive excursion (+3.5‰, L4) in the Dahai Member, which was not shown in the published data. The excursion L1′ correlates well with the similarly large negative excursion near the first appearance of small shelly fossils in Siberia and Mongolia. Similar magnitude excursions are also known from Morocco and Oman, for which there are no robust fossil constraints but from where volcanic ash beds have been dated precisely at 542 Ma, thus confirming a global biogeochemical event near the Ediacaran–Cambrian boundary. Our data also indicate that deposition was more continuous at the Laolin section compared with the Meishucun section, where there are no records of a comparable negative excursion near the Ediacaran–Cambrian boundary, nor any comparable positive excursion in the Dahai Member. Therefore, the Laolin section has proven potential to be a supplementary Global Stratotype Section for the Ediacaran–Cambrian boundary on the Yangtze Platform.

Re-Os isotopes and PGE geochemistry of black shales and intercalated Ni-Mo polymetallic sulfide bed from the Lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation, South China

The Lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation consists of a thick black shale sequence with a regionally distributed conformable Ni Mo polymetallic sulfide horizon and a chert bed at its basal strata on theYangtze Platform, South China. In this paper, we discuss all available data on Re Os isotopes and Platinum Group Element (PGE) distribution pattern of the Ni Mo polymetallic sulfide ore and its host rocks (black shales, cherts, and phosphorites) from Guizhou and Hunan provinces. Our results show that the black shales and the Ni Mo sulfide ore have a high initial 187 Os/ 188 Os ratio of 0.78～0.86, indicating that the Early Cambrian ocean across the Yangtze Platform had a highly radiogenic Os value. This ratio is slightly lower than but still similar to present day seawater, possibly as a result of high continental weathering at that time. The Ni Mo sulfide ore yields a Re Os isochron of 537±10 Ma (MSWD=11.9), possibly representing the depositional age of the Niutitang Formation. The chondrite normalized PGE pattern, Pt anomaly (Pt/Pt *), Pt/Pd, Ir/Pd, Au/Ir and Re/Mo ratios of the Ni Mo sulfide ore and its host rocks from South China indicate a varying source contribution of the PGE and other metals for different rocks. It is suggested that the cherts and Ni Mo sulfide ore may have a significant proportion of PGE and probably other metals deriving from submarine hydrothermal fluids with a mantle signature.

Paleoceangraphic significance of redox-sensitive metals of black shales in the basal Lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation in Guizhou Province, South China

Abstract Black shales of the Lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation occurwidely on the Yangtze Platform. In this study, we analyzed black shales from two sections (Zhongnan and Zhijin) in Guizhou Province. The redox-sensitive metal concentration and distribution of black shales from the two sections provide good evidence for the anoxic conditions of the basal Cambrian ocean on the Yangtze Platform. Our geochemical data suggest that the black shales from the Zhongnan section may have deposited in a more strongly anoxic environment than the black shales in the Zhijin section.

Pb-Pb isotope dating of black shales from the Lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation, Guizhou Province, South China

Abstract The Lower Cambrian black shales of the Niutitang Formation and their lateral equivalents occur widely on the Yangtze Platform. South China. In this study, we examine two sections of the Niutitang Formation in Guizhou Province. We employ a stepwise acid-leaching technique to obtain Pb-isotope compositions of the black shales. At the Zhongnan section, the black shales display large Pb isotope variations, with 206Pb/204Pb of 20.5396–33.5709, and 207Pb/204Pb of 15.8407–16.5782. In contrast, Pb isotope data show a relatively limited range in 206Pb/204Pb (18.2797–18.5972) and 207Pb/204Pb (15.6813–15.7159) at the Zhijin section. Data for all acid-leached black shale samples from the two sections yield a Pb-Pb isochron age of 531 ± 24 Ma. This age may represent the sedimentary age of the black shales. The initial Pb-isotope composition of the black shales fallsnear the upper-crust evolution curve in a Zartman Pb-Pb evolution diagram. Hence, it is likely that the Pb in the black shales may have been deriv...