Abstract
The Muhua section of Guizhou Province, South China is one of three candidates for the Devonian/Carboniferous international boundary stratotype1. Although palaeontological and stratigraphical data have been published2,3, no stable isotope study has previously been made. Detailed δ13C and δ18O analyses from the Muhua section reveal a significant short-term δ13C negative anomaly of 8–9‰ at the base of the Siphonodella crenulata conodont zone. This is the first δ13C negative anomaly found near the Devonian/Carboniferous boundary, and is similar to δ13C anomalies reported from the Permian/Triassic, Cretaceous/Tertiary, and Precambrian/Cambrian boundaries4,5. We suggest, therefore, that the δ13C anomaly at Muhua section provides evidence for major rapid changes in ocean–atmospheric chemistry, and may reflect an important event in geological history.
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Dao-Yi, X., Zheng, V., Qin-Wen, Z. et al. Significance of a δ13C anomaly near the Devonian/Carboniferous boundary at the Muhua section, South China. Nature 321, 854–855 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/321854a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/321854a0
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