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Significant carbon isotope excursions in the Cambrian and their implications for global correlations

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Abstract

The existing δ 13C data in the Cambrian from different regions of the world are analyzed here. There are four well-documented carbon isotope excursions with global significance. In ascending order, they are: (1) a large negative excursion, comparable to “BACE” (BAsal Cambrian Carbon isotope Excursion) event, which occurs near the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary with a magnitude of 4‰–10‰ (PDB); (2) the “ZHUCE” (ZHUjiaqing Carbon isotope Excursion) event, a distinct positive excursion (over 5‰) that can be recognized at the Fortunian Stage to Stage 2 transition; (3) another strong negative one, so-called “ROECE” (Redlichiid-Olenellid Extinction Carbon isotope Excursion) event, shifting at the interval between Series 2 and Series 3, peaking at −3‰–−5‰ (PDB); (4) the famous Steptoean positive carbon isotope excursion (SPICE), which has been widely identified at the base of Furongian Series, Paibian Stage, with an amplitude about 4‰ (PDB). The four sharp δ 13C shifts correlate well with coeval paleoceanographic changes and bioevents. Besides, there are some δ 13C excursions from a few sections in previous studies, and more data are required to identify whether they are global or regional ones.

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  1. Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, PetroChina, Beijing, 100083, China

    Ru Fan, ShengHui Deng & XueLei Zhang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil Recovery, Beijing, 100083, China

    Ru Fan & ShengHui Deng

  3. Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir, CNPC, Beijing, 100083, China

    Ru Fan & ShengHui Deng

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Fan, R., Deng, S. & Zhang, X. Significant carbon isotope excursions in the Cambrian and their implications for global correlations. Sci. China Earth Sci. 54, 1686–1695 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-011-4313-z

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