Han, Shujun;
Löhr, Stefan C;
Abbott, April N;
Baldermann, Andre;
Shields, Graham A;
Cui, Huan;
Kaufman, Alan J;
... Yu, Bingsong; + view all
(2024)
Authigenic clay mineral constraints on spatiotemporal evolution of restricted, evaporitic conditions during deposition of the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters
, 626
, Article 118524. 10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118524.
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Abstract
The carbonate-rich shelf facies of the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation (South China) have produced a broad array of microfossil and isotope proxy records which underpin much of our understanding of environmental change and biospheric evolution during this key time period. Recent reports of locally abundant authigenic, Mg-rich saponite clay in the Yangtze Gorges Area hint at potentially widespread evaporitic conditions in a lagoonal setting. Despite the implications for interpretation of proxy records and the environmental setting of early metazoans, the spatiotemporal extent of restricted, evaporitic conditions across the Yangtze Block remains largely unexplored. Here we use mineralogical and petrographic techniques to document the spatial and stratigraphic distribution of authigenic clay minerals across seven sites, representing a transect from shallow proximal shelf to deep basinal settings. Our results demonstrate the widespread and persistent occurrence of authigenic saponite in proximal shelf settings, whereas talc is identified at more distal shelf sites, consistent with Mg-clay authigenesis in an evaporitic lagoon with spatially variable detrital aluminosilicate input. Slope and basinal sites contain no Mg-clays and are instead characterized by abundant authigenic illite, consistent with an open marine setting. Stratigraphically, illite was found in the basal cap carbonate and uppermost Doushantuo Formation, with Mg-clays only present in the interval in-between, suggesting gradual development of an extensive carbonate rimmed lagoon over the Yangtze shelf that restricted seawater exchange, followed by stronger marine influence due to erosion of the carbonate rim and subsequent marine transgression. We conclude that restricted, evaporitic conditions were much more expansive than previously assumed, potentially providing favorable conditions for the Doushantuo Biota. Further, the widespread presence of authigenic clays across the shelf supports the case for enhanced reverse weathering before the advent of biosilicification.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Authigenic clay mineral constraints on spatiotemporal evolution of restricted, evaporitic conditions during deposition of the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118524 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118524 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | authigenic clay, Ediacaran, Doushantuo Formation, restricted lagoon, evaporitic condition |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Earth Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10184592 |
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