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Burial dolomitization, the genesis of dolomite in the Dapu Formation (Upper Carboniferous), Guixinan area, Youjiang basin, Southwest China: petrologic and geochemical evidence

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Abstract

The genesis of dolomite is an intensively debated and extensively studied problem in the field of carbonate sedimentology. This study focuses on the dolomite of the Dapu Formation in the Guixinan area, with the aim of deciphering the mechanism of dolomitization in the Dapu Formation. Three types of sedimentary environment, including the open marine of inner ramp, the restricted marine of inner ramp, and the shoal of inner ramp, have been identified. Three types of dolostone (DI, DII and DIII) identified in the study area with massive structure had close relationship with fault structures, and contacted with limestone in curved diffuse way on the outcrop. Both of the above points indicated diagenetic dolomite. Three types of dolomite (D1, D2 and D3) displayed similar dark—light purple red luminescence, indicating that the characteristics of their diagenetic fluids were similar. The planar-s to nonplanar dolomite crystals indicated that the temperature was more than 50 °C. The mineral assemblage including D2, D3, and silicate minerals (feldspar, tremolite and actinolite) suggested contact metamorphism and tht the diagenetic fluid was rich in silicon and magnesium. The dolomitization process was not influenced by the leaching of meteoric water in surface or shallow buried environment and hydrothermal fluids, based on the corrected REE characteristics. The range of the δ18O of dolostone samples showed that the burial dolomitization had taken place in high-temperature environment. The lower 87Sr/86Sr ratio of the dolostone samples than the coeval seawater meant that the diagenetic fluid was derived from the alteration of mid-ocean ridge basalt. Based on the geologic setting, it was speculated that the burial dolomitization was driven by the hydro-tectonic processes in the passive margin burial diagenesis hydrologic realm. In brief, magnesium came from the low-temperature alteration of ocean basalts, the thermohaline and compactional flow supplied hydrodynamic condition, and the synsedimentary fault zones-supplied channels.

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Fig. 1

(b Adapted from Kuang et al. 1999. c The chronostratigraphic data comes from All China Commission of Stratigraphy 2001 and Jiao et al. 2003)

Fig. 2

(Modified from Du et al. 2013)

Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

(Data from Allan and Wiggins 1993)

Fig. 9

(Modified from Mei et al. 1997; Warren 2000)

Fig. 10

(Data from Denison et al. 1994)

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Abbreviations

CL:

Cathodoluminescence

REE:

Rare earth elements

ICP-MS:

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

ICP-AES:

Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy

LOI:

Loss on ignition

RMF:

Ramp microfacies

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Acknowledgements

The current study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Number, 41972002, 41572004). We offer our heartfelt thanks to professor Elias Samankassou at the Universities of Geneva (Switzerland). We gratefully thank the technical support staff at the Universities of Geneva (Switzerland) and Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany). We would like to thank LetPub for providing linguistic assistance during the preparation of the initial draft of this manuscript.

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  1. Resources and Civil Engineering College, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, Liaoning, China

    Zhuowei Miao, Enpu Gong, Yongli Zhang, Changqing Guan & Wentao Huang

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  1. Zhuowei Miao
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Miao, Z., Gong, E., Zhang, Y. et al. Burial dolomitization, the genesis of dolomite in the Dapu Formation (Upper Carboniferous), Guixinan area, Youjiang basin, Southwest China: petrologic and geochemical evidence. Carbonates Evaporites 35, 57 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13146-020-00594-5

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