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Redox condition during Ediacaran–Cambrian transition in the Lower Yangtze deep water basin, South China: constraints from iron speciation and δ 13Corg in the Diben section, Zhejiang

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  • Geology
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Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

Cherts of the Piyuancun Formation and black mudstones of the Hetang Formation in Diben Town, Kaihua County, Zhejiang were deposited in a deep water basin of the Lower Yangtze area during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition (E–C transition), offering an opportunity to reconstruct the ancient redox condition of the deep water basin. Total 53 samples were collected and analyzed for iron speciation, including pyrite iron (FePy), carbonate associated iron (FeCarb), iron oxide and hydroxide (FeOx), magnetite iron (FeMag) and total iron (FeT) as well as δ 13Corg to gain a deeper understanding of specific redox condition during the period. The results show that (1) most samples have pyrite concentration <1 %, with the FePy/FeHR ratio ranging from <0.01 to 0.81 (mostly <0.5), and the FeHR/FeT ratio between 0.39 and 0.93 (mostly >0.5). (2) The E–C boundary in the Diben section occurred at the maximum negative excursion of organic carbon isotope within the Piyuancun Formation, which can be correlated with other sections by using δ 13Corg. We thus concluded that the relatively high content of highly reactive iron and low content of pyrite iron in the Diben section indicate a minor occurrence of H2S and a predominance of anoxic and ferruginous environment, which is similar to other reported sections such as the Longbizui and Yanwutan sections, western Hunan. In addition, oxygen concentration in sea water showed an increasing trend in the interval corresponding to the bottom and upper layer of the Hetang Formation as indicated by the FeHR/FeT ratio, which decreased from 0.7 to 0.38, however, it was not great enough to oxidize the whole deep water. Therefore, during the E–C transition deep water basin in South China was most likely an anoxic and ferruginous enrironment, which prevented metazoon from the evolution in the deep water basin. Our work offers an important reference to better understanding of the spatiotemporal occurrence and dynamic processes of the “Cambrian Explosion”.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2011CB808805) and China National Funds for Distinguished Young Scientists (41125009). Special thanks are given to Prof. Ping Luo at Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development for his support in sampling. We also thank Luhua Xie from Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) for his generous guidance in testing the δ 13Corg. Many thanks are also given to Dr. Yonglin Liu at Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, and to Dr. Yali Chen and Dr. Xiqiang Zhou at Institute of Geology and Geophysics, CAS for their contribution to the early stage of discussion. We also thank Profs. Daizhao Chen and Xuelei Chu for their kind instructions. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resource Research, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Yuyang Yuan, Chunfang Cai, Tiankai Wang, Lianqi Jia & Yan Chen

  2. College of Earth Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Yuyang Yuan, Tiankai Wang, Lianqi Jia & Yan Chen

  3. Nanjing Institute of Geological Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Lei Xiang

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  1. Yuyang Yuan
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  2. Chunfang Cai
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Correspondence to Chunfang Cai.

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Yuan, Y., Cai, C., Wang, T. et al. Redox condition during Ediacaran–Cambrian transition in the Lower Yangtze deep water basin, South China: constraints from iron speciation and δ 13Corg in the Diben section, Zhejiang. Chin. Sci. Bull. 59, 3638–3649 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-014-0483-3

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