Characterization of green clay concretions from the Tonggao Formation, South China: Mineralogy, petrogenesis and paleoenvironmental implications1National Natural Science Foundation of China 40825006.

2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 1018-1026 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew R.M. Izawa ◽  
Roberta L. Flemming ◽  
Renbin Zhan ◽  
Jisuo Jin

Enigmatic millimetre-scale micro-concretions with pseudocrystal faces and dominated by green clay minerals occur in unfossiliferous siliciclastic mudstone of the Lower Ordovician (479.0–466.0 Ma) Tonggao Formation, South China. The fossil-free mudstone unit is associated with local biodiversity decline. The mineralogy and mineral chemistry of these concretions were unknown previously, and this study comprises a preliminary investigation. The concretions are dominated by Fe-rich phyllosilicate minerals including glauconite and clinochlore, with minor quartz and traces of magnetite. The textural relations between the micro-concretions and the surrounding matrix, and the preservation of original mudstone laminations within the concretions, point to an origin during early diagenesis. The mineralogy and chemistry of these concretions are consistent with an origin in a restricted, hypersaline, relatively deep-water environment, in accordance with stratigraphical and paleonotological data. These micro-concretions provide clues for a stressed environment with poor water circulation and anomalies of salinity and oxygen.

Author(s):  
Renbin Zhan ◽  
Jisuo Jin

ABSTRACTThe lower Meitan Formation (Floian, upper Lower Ordovician) at the Dajiaosi section, Zunyi District, northern Guizhou Province of South China, contains a moderately rich and diverse Sinorthis Fauna, with 22 species attributable separately to 15 families and seven orders of brachiopods. The fauna can be differentiated into three associations: the Paralenorthis serica, the Sinorthis typica, and the Tarfaya intercalare associations. These occupied a relatively wide palaeoecological range from lower BA3 to upper BA2 settings and from silty to clay substrate conditions. In South China, the Early Ordovician brachiopod radiation was marked by the diversification of the orthide-dominated Sinorthis Fauna, which first appeared and diversified in the middle part (relatively deep water) of the Upper Yangtze Platform in the Didymograptellus eobifidus Biozone, but rapidly declined in the succeeding Corymbograptus deflexus and basal Azygograptus suecicus biozones. During the latest Floian and early Dapingian, it expanded into comparatively shallow-water settings in the onshore direction (Changning area, southern Sichuan), offshore carbonate platform (Yichang, Hubei), and areas adjacent to the submergent Qianzhong Arch (such as the Zunyi area). The first appearance datum of the Sinorthis Fauna in shallower-water settings generally postdates that in the deeper-water environment in the central Upper Yangtze Platform, probably as a result of the fauna tracking a favoured BA3 setting during a gradual marine transgression.


The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362110332
Author(s):  
Tingli Yan ◽  
Kefu Yu ◽  
Rui Wang ◽  
Wenhui Liu ◽  
Leilei Jiang

Beachrock is considered a good archive for past sea-levels because of its unique formation position (intertidal zone). To evaluate sea-level history in the northern South China Sea, three well-preserved beachrock outcrops (Beigang, Gongshanbei, and Hengling) at Weizhou Island, northern South China Sea were selected to examine their relative elevation, sedimentological, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics. Acropora branches with well-preserved surface micro-structures were selected from the beachrocks and used to determine the ages of these beachrocks via U-series dating. The results show that the beachrocks are composed of coral reef sediments, terrigenous clastics, volcanic clastics, and various calcite cements. These sediments accumulated in the intertidal zone of Weizhou Island were then cemented in a meteoric water environment. The U-series ages of beachrocks from Beigang, Gongshanbei, and Hengling are 1712–768 ca. BP, 1766–1070 ca. BP, and 1493–604 ca. BP (before 1950 AD) respectively. Their elevations are 0.91–1.16 m, 0.95–1.24 m, and 0.82–1.17 m higher than the modern homologous sedimentary zones, respectively. Therefore, we concluded that the sea-level in the Meghalayan age (1766–604 ca. BP) was 0.82–1.24 m higher than the present, and that the sea-level over this period showed a declining trend.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. e75425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xie Zhenyu ◽  
Ke Shaowen ◽  
Hu Chaoqun ◽  
Zhu Zhixiong ◽  
Wang Shifeng ◽  
...  

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 446
Author(s):  
Zhiming Xu ◽  
Chengquan Wu ◽  
Zhengwei Zhang ◽  
Jinhong Xu ◽  
Xiyao Li ◽  
...  

Manganese and Fe have similar geochemical properties in the supergene environment. Separation of Mn and Fe is an important process for the formation of high-grade sedimentary manganese deposits. Large-scale manganese carbonate deposits (total reserves of approximately 700 Mt) were formed during the interglacial of the Sturtian and Marinoan in South China. The orebodies are hosted in the black rock series at the basal Datangpo Formation of the Cryogenian period. The Fe contents in ores range from 1.15 to 7.18 wt.%, with an average of 2.80 wt.%, and the average Mn/Fe ratio is 8.9, indicating a complete separation of Mn and Fe during the formation of manganese ores. Here, we present element data of manganese carbonates and sulfur isotopes of pyrite from the Dawu deposit, Guizhou, China, aiming to investigate the separation mechanism of Mn and Fe and the ore genesis. The Fe in ores mainly occurs as carbonate (FeCO3) and pyrite (FeS2). The Mn, Ca, Mg and Fe exist in the form of isomorphic substitutions in manganese carbonate. The contents of FeCO3 in manganese carbonates are similar in different deposits, with averages of 2.6–2.8 wt.%. The whole-rock Fe and S contents have an obvious positive correlation (R = 0.69), indicating that the difference of whole-rock Fe content mainly comes from the pyrite content. The δ34SV-CDT of pyrite varies from 40.0 to 48.3‰, indicating that the pyrite formed in a restricted basin where sulfate supply was insufficient and the sulfate concentrations were extremely low. Additionally, the whole-rock Fe content is negatively correlated with the δ34S values of the whole-rock and pyrite, with correlation coefficients of −0.78 and −0.83, respectively. Two stages of separations of Mn and Fe might have occurred during the mineralization processes. The reduced seawater became oxidized gradually after the Sturtian glaciation, and Fe2+ was oxidized and precipitated before Mn2+, which resulted in the first-stage separation of Mn and Fe. The residual Mn-rich and Fe-poor seawater flowed into the restricted rift basin. Mn and Fe were then precipitated in sediments as oxyhydroxide as the seawater was oxidized. At the early stage of diagenesis, organic matter was oxidized, and manganese oxyhydroxide was reduced, forming the manganese carbonate. H2S was insufficient in the restricted basin due to the extremely low sulfate concentration. The Fe2+ was re-released due to the lack of H2S, resulting in the second-stage separation of Mn and Fe. Finally, the manganese carbonate deposit with low Fe and very high δ34S was formed in the restricted basin after the Sturtian glaciation.


AAPG Bulletin ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 101 (09) ◽  
pp. 1395-1423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baojia Huang ◽  
Weilin Zhu ◽  
Hui Tian ◽  
Qiuyue Jin ◽  
Xianming Xiao ◽  
...  

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