Abstract
The Upper Cambrian Lower Qiulitag Group in the Tarim Basin, NW China, is overwhelmingly composed of cyclic dolomites. Based on extensive field investigations and facies analysis from four outcrop sections in the Bachu-Keping area, northwestern Tarim Basin, four main types of facies are recognized: open-marine subtidal, restricted shallow subtidal, intertidal, and supratidal facies, and these are further subdivided into ten lithofacies. In general, these facies are vertically arranged into shallowing-upward, metre-scale cycles. These cycles are commonly composed of a thin basal horizon reflecting abrupt deepening, and a thicker upper succession showing gradual shallowing upwards. Based on the vertical facies arrangements and changes across boundary surfaces, two types of cycle: peritidal and shallow subtidal cycle, are further identified. The peritidal cycles, predominating over the lower-middle Lower Qiulitag Group, commence with shallow subtidal to lower intertidal facies and are capped by inter-supratidal facies. In contrast, the shallow subtidal cycles, dominating the upper Lower Qiulitag Group, are capped by shallow-subtidal facies. Based on vertical lithofacies variations, cycle stacking patterns, and accommodation variations revealed by Fischer plots, six larger-scale third-order depositional sequences (Sq1–Sq6) are recognized. These sequences generally consist of a lower transgressive and an upper regressive systems tract. The transgressive tracts are dominated by thicker-than-average cycles, indicating an overall accommodation increase, whereas the regressive tracts are characterized by thinner-than-average peritidal cycles, indicating an overall accommodation decrease. The sequence boundaries are characterized by transitional zones of stacked thinner-than-average cycles, rather than by a single surface. These sequences can further be grouped into lower-order sequence sets: the lower and upper sequence sets. The lower sequence set, including Sq1–Sq3, is characterized by peritidal facies-dominated sequences and a progressive decrease in accommodation space, indicating a longer-term fall in sea level. In contrast, the upper sequence set (Sq4–Sq6) is characterized by subtidal facies-dominated sequences and a progressive increase in accommodation space, indicating a longer-term rise in sea level.
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Acknowledgments
This work was funded by National Science and Technology Special Project of China (grant no. 2011ZX0500803) and National Basic Research Project (973 Project grant no. 2012CB214802). Thanks go to Nancy Chow and two anonymous reviewers for their critical and constructive comments in the previous version and to the Chief Editor Maurice Tucker for his patience in handling this paper, inspiring comments and editorial works, all of which improved the manuscript significantly.
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10347_2014_417_MOESM1_ESM.tif
Supplementary material 1 (TIFF 8596 kb) Fig. S1. a Satellite image showing panoramic view on the lower and upper boundaries of the Lower Qiulitag Group at Penglaiba. The lower boundary is distinguished from underlying Awatag Formation of purplish to reddish dolomite-evaporite succession. The upper boundary is marked by a lighter-colored dolomite horizon in the base of Ordovician Penglaiba Formation. Scale bar = 500 m. b Satellite image showing the upper boundary of Lower Qiulitag Group marked by a light-colored limestone succession of overlying Ordovician Penglaiba Formation at Tonggusibulong section. Scale bar = 200 m. c Satellite image showing the upper boundary of Lower Qiulitag Group marked by a light-colored limestone horizon in the base of overlying Ordovician Penglaiba Formation at Keping section. Scale bar = 200 m. d Satellite image showing the upper boundary of Lower Qiulitag Group marked by a light-colored limestone horizon in the base of overlying Ordovician Penglaiba Formation at Yong’anba section. Scale bar = 200 m
10347_2014_417_MOESM2_ESM.tif
Supplementary material 2 (TIFF 1123 kb) Fig. S2. Lithological logs of four measured sections and correlation at Penglaiba, Tonggusibulong, Keping and Yong’anba
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Zhang, Y., Chen, D., Zhou, X. et al. Depositional facies and stratal cyclicity of dolomites in the Lower Qiulitag Group (Upper Cambrian) in northwestern Tarim Basin, NW China. Facies 61, 417 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-014-0417-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-014-0417-1