Stratigraphic architecture of the Neoproterozoic glacial rocks in the “Xiang-Qian-Gui” region of the central Yangtze Block, South China

Recently ,theinterestinglowlatitudeandlowaltitudeSnowballEarthhypothesis[1,2 ] iswidelyreco gnized ,and greatlystimulatingthestudyoftheNeoproterozoicglaciations ,whichmaybecloselyre latedtothewell knownEarlyCambrianbio radiationevent.By 1980 ,theNeoproterozoicglaciationinSouthChinaisbelievedtobedividedintotwoglaciationsandoneinterglaciation[3～ 5] ,namely ,theearlyChang’anGlaciation ,lateNantuoGlaciationandFu luInterglaciation .However ,thereweredifferentwaysofcorrelation ,themostobvious…     

Phosphatized biotas from the Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation on the Yangtze Platform

The Doushantuo Formation in South China was deposited after the Nantuo glaciation but before the evolution of complex Ediacaran metazoans. It contains multiple taphonomic windows, in its cherts, carbonaceous shales, and phosphorites, onto the late Neoproterozoic biosphere. The phosphatic window is unusually clear; Doushantuo phosphorites at Weng'an (Guizhou Province) are known to exquisitely preserve a multitude of single-celled eukaryotes, multicellular algae, and microscopic animals. Our recent survey reveals that, in addition to the now famous Weng'an locality, Doushantuo phosphorites at Baokang (Hubei), Chadian (Shaanxi), and Shangrao (Jiangxi) also contain diverse eukaryotes preserved at the cellular level. All these phosphorites were deposited in shallow-water environments, typically above fair weather wave base and close to ancient islands. Along with Doushantuo cherts and shales, these phosphorites give us a clearer and more complete picture of late Neoproterozoic biological evolution: there is a remarkable diversification of multicellular eukaryotes shortly after several Neoproterozoic glaciation events.     

Grenvillian orogeny in the Southern Cathaysia Block: Constraints from U-Pb ages and Lu-Hf isotopes in zircon from metamorphic basement

Metamorphic basement rocks in the Cathaysia Block are composed mainly of meta-sediments with different ages. New zircon U-Pb geochronological results from the meta-sedimentary rocks exposed in the Zengcheng and Hezi areas, southern Cathaysia Block, show that they consist dominantly of early Neoproterozoic （1.0-0.9 Ga） materials with minor Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic and late Neoproterozoic （0.8-0.6 Ga） components, suggesting that the detritus mostly come from a Grenvillian orogen. The youngest detrital zircon ages place a constraint on the deposition time of these sediments in Late Neoproterozoic. Zircon Hf isotopic compositions indicate that the Grenvillian zircons were derived from the reworking of Mesoproterozoic arc magmatic rocks and Paleoproterozoic continental crust, implying an arc-continent collisional setting. Single-peak age spectra and the presence of abundant euhedral Grenvillian zircons suggest that the sedimentary provenance is not far away from the sample location. Thus, the Grenvillian orogen probably preexisted along the southern margin of the Cathaysia Block, or very close to the south. Similarity in the ages of Grenvillian orogeny and the influence of the assembly of Gondwana in South China with India and East Antarctic are discussed, with suggestion that South China was more likely linked with the India-East Antarctica continents in Early Neoproterozoic rather than between western Laurentia and eastern Australia.     

新疆库鲁克塔格地区特瑞艾肯冰期时代的碎屑锆石年代学制约

通过对特瑞艾肯组冰碛岩顶部含砾粉砂岩的碎屑锆石年代学分析, 得到最年轻锆石的年龄为629±8 Ma, 代表特瑞爱肯冰碛岩的沉积时代上限。该年龄限定了特瑞爱肯冰期的结束时代, 并可与扬子板块的南沱冰期以及全球范围的Elatina冰期或Marinoan冰期对比。其余较老年龄集中分布在 718~887 Ma, 1822~2092 Ma 和2345~2613 Ma, 暗示库鲁克塔格地区前寒武纪的3 个主要岩浆活动时期。     

Neoproterozoic magmatic activity and global change

Neoproterozoic is a very important time in the history of the Earth, during which occurred supercontinent breakup, low-latitude glaciation, and biotic diversification.These concern a series of interdisciplinary studies involving ancient plate motion, climate change and life evolution, resulting in many forefront topics of general interest in the earth sciences. These include exact ages bracketing the Cryogenian System and glaciations, initial age and lasted duration of supercontinent breakup, dynamic reconstruction of China continents in supercontinental configurations, the nature of rift magmatism and extent of hydrothermal alteration, paleoclimatic implication of water-rock interaction and Iow-^18O magmatism, and relationship between supercontinental evolution and global change. A number of outstanding advances in the above aspects have being made by Chinese scientists, leaving many important issues to be resolved: (1)did the Cryogenian start at either 800 to 820 Ma or 760 to 780 Ma? (2) was South China in the supercontinental configuration located in either southeast to Australia or north to India? (3) are Paleoproterozoic to Archean ages of crustal rocks a valid parameter in distinguishing North China from South China? Available observations suggest that Neoproterozoic mantle superwelling occurred as conspicuous magmatism in South China but as cryptical magmatism in North China. Mid-Neoproterozoic mantle superplume event and its derived rift-magmatism would not only result in the supercontinental demise, but also play a very important role in the generation and evolution of the snowball Earth event by initiating the global glaciation, causing the local deglaciation and terminating the snowball Earth event.     

A carbon isotope challenge to the snowball Earth

The snowball Earth hypothesis postulates that the planet was entirely covered by ice for millions of years in the Neoproterozoic era, in a self-enhanced glaciation caused by the high albedo of the ice-covered planet. In a hard-snowball picture, the subsequent rapid unfreezing resulted from an ultra-greenhouse event attributed to the buildup of volcanic carbon dioxide (CO(2)) during glaciation. High partial pressures of atmospheric CO(2) (pCO2; from 20,000 to 90,000?p.p.m.v.) in the aftermath of the Marinoan glaciation (～635?Myr ago) have been inferred from both boron and triple oxygen isotopes. These pCO2 values are 50 to 225 times higher than present-day levels. Here, we re-evaluate these estimates using paired carbon isotopic data for carbonate layers that cap Neoproterozoic glacial deposits and are considered to record post-glacial sea level rise. The new data reported here for Brazilian cap carbonates, together with previous ones for time-equivalent units, provide estimates lower than 3,200?p.p.m.v.--and possibly as low as the current value of ～400?p.p.m.v. Our new constraint, and our re-interpretation of the boron and triple oxygen isotope data, provide a completely different picture of the late Neoproterozoic environment, with low atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and oxygen that are inconsistent with a hard-snowball Earth.     

Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb dating for olivine gabbro at Wangmuguan in the Beihuaiyang zone and its geological significance

In the Neoproterozoic, a large-scale magmatic activ- ity took place in the northern margin of the South China Block, with ages in a range of 700―800 Ma[1―4]). A systematic zircon U-Pb dating for bimodal metaigneous rocks in the Dabie-Sulu orogen yields ages of 758 ± 15 Ma[5], typifying rift magmatism along the northern margin of the South China Block during the middle Neoproterozoic. In addition, there is a widespread oc- currence of volcanic tuff interlayers around 635 Ma with the se…     

Sm-Nd isotopic compositions of Cambrian-Ordovician strata at the Jinggangshan area in Jiangxi Province: Tectonic implications

Whole-rock Sm-Nd isotopes were investigated for Cambrian-Ordovician strata from the Jinggangshan area between the Yangtze Block and Cathysia Block in South China. These strata were deposited as a greatly thick unit of muddy-sandy laminas with intercalated carbonate and organic carbon-bearing layers. They have low εNd（t） values of -13.9 to -7.9 and old Nd model ages of 1842 to 2375 Ma. In tDM-tStr diagram, they are far away from the concordant line but fall within the evolution zone of the Proterozoic crust of South China. This indicates that the Cambrian-Ordovician strata are mainly composed of matters eroded from ancient Paleoproterozoic crust that may mainly consist of continental-derived detrital sediments with high maturity in the Cathysia Block. However, the Ordovician Jueshangou Formation and Dui＇ershi Formation have εNd（t） values of -10.5 and -7.9 at the higher end of the above range and Nd model ages of 1842 to 2059 Ma at the lower end of the above range. This suggests involvement of more detritus that were eroded from the relatively juvenile crust from Late Paleoproterozoic to the Early Neoproterozoic. All the Nd model ages for the Cambrian-Ordovician sedimentary rocks in the Cathysia Block and the southeastern margin of the Yangtze Block are older than 1800 Ma, suggesting that no material from the Early Paleozoic depleted mantle-derived magmas was involved in these regions.     

Timing of the Wudangshan, Yaolinghe volcanic sequences and mafic sills in South Qinling: U-Pb zircon geochronology and tectonic implication

The Wudangshan, Yaolinghe volcanic-sedimentary sequences and doleritic-gabbroic sills comprise the largest exposed Precambrian basement in South Qinling. Zircons separated from 5 volcanic-pyroclastic samples of the Wudangshan Group, 2 volcanic samples of the Yaolinghe Group and one sample for the mafic sills were used for U-Pb dating by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry （LA-ICPMS）. The results reveal that the Wudangshan volcanic sequence was formed at （755±3） Ma （a weighted mean from the 5 samples, MSWD=0.47）, whereas the Yaolinghe volcanic suite and the mafic sill were crystallized at （685±5） （2 samples, MSWD=0.36） and （679±3） Ma （MSWD=1.6）, respectively, which are equal to each other within analysis errors. These ages are markedly younger than those previously documented for the rocks. The newly obtained ages for the Wudangshan and Yaolinghe Groups are Identical to those of the bottom Liantuo and slightly older than those of the Nantuo Formations, respectively, lower strata of the Nanhua （middle to late Neoproterozoic） stratotype section in eastern Three Gorges, Yangtze creton. A range of inherited magmatic zircons was recognized with ages of 830 to 780 Ma, which are typical of Neoprotzrozoic magmatisms recorded along the margins and interior of the Yangtze craton. Thus, there is Neoproterozoic basement comprising 830-780 Ma igneous suites in South Qinling; the inherited zircons were detrital sediments derived from the northern margin of the Yangtze craton. Accordingly, it is suggested that the South Qinling is a segment of the Yangtze creton before the Qinling Orogeny.     

Carbon and oxygen isotopes analyses for the Sinian carbonates in the Helan Mountain, North China

We conducted detailed studies of the Sinian carbonates from the Helan Mountain, Ningxia by both field investigation and laboratory analyses of carbon and oxygen isotopes. The carbon isotopic compositions of the Sinian Zhengmuguan Formation shows variations with regularity in the five studied sections, the δ ¹³C values all gradually decrease from bottom to top, with a total range from ?4.51‰ to 0.11‰, and the biggest negative excursion reaches up to ?6.88‰. In addition, abundant macro-body fossils were also found from the Tuerkeng Formation in this study, similar to those found from the Dengying Formation in the South China Block. This observation firmly constrained the age for the Zhengmuguan and Tuerkeng formations to the Sinian period. Here we interpreted that the Zhengmuguan Formation formed during a glacial period when the extremely cold climate substantially decreased the amount of burial of organic matter in the ocean and thus led to the general negative δ ¹³C excursion. The increasing δ ¹³C values in the Tuerkeng Formation dolomites imply the ending of the glacial period in the Zhengmuguan epoch, biological recovery and increase of organic matter burial in the ocean occurred during this period. Comparing our obtained carbon and oxygen isotopes of the Zhengmuguan and Tuerkeng formations with those of coeval carbonate successions from other places all over the world, the Zhengmuguang-aged glacial deposits might be deposited after the Gaskiers glaciation. This study provides important information for paleo-ocean, paleogeographic and biological evolution in the North China Block during the Ediacaran period and adds new carbon and oxygen isotopes data for the global Sinian carbon-oxygen isotopes dataset.     

Initial organic geochemical investigation on Late Neoproterozoic-Early Cambrian sediments in the Yangtze region, China

Totally 19 samples of typical Upper Proterozoic-Lower Cambrian sedimentary rocks were collected and analyzed for an organic geochemical investigation. Almost all these rocks have high TOCs, super-maturities and similar biomarker distribution. As an exception, however, the Sinian Nantuo Tillite shows much lower TOCs and little phytane and pristane in comparison with those in other strata, which implies a very faint photosynthetic process, and a restricted euphotic zone and quite limited sunlight within the sedimentary water column during the Sinian glaciation age in the western Yangtze region providing an evidence for palaeo-oceanic environment of the Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth age.     

δ13Ccarb and Ceanom excursions in the post-glacial Neoproterozoic and Early Cambrian interval in Guizhou,South China

Secular δ 13Ccarb and Ceanom profiles in the post-glacial Neoproterozoic and Early Cambrian interval are reported from Guizhou on the southeasten border of the Yangtze platform, South China. Overall, the δ 13Ccarb profile drifts to negative values in the post-glacial Nantuo and lower to middle Doushantuo Formations, and then to positive values in the upper Doushantuo and Dengying Formations of Neoproterozoic, followed by negative values in the Lower Cambrian Gezhongwu and Niutitang Formations. A detailed investigation of the relationship between the δ 13Ccarb and Ceanom profiles reveals that the main anoxic and oxic episodes are coupled with negative and positive δ 13Ccarb values, respectively. This may suggest a control of alternation between ocean stratification and mixing on variations in 13C abundance in the ancient ocean of the investigated areas.     

The Lantian biota: A new window onto the origin and early evolution of multicellular organisms

The Lantian biota at the Lantian Town of Xiuning County,Anhui Province,is preserved in black shales of the Ediacaran Lantian Formation.It yields some of the oldest known complex macroorganisms,including fan-shaped seaweeds and possible animal fossils with tentacles and intestinal-like structures reminiscent of modern coelenterates and bilaterians.The Lantian Lagerst tte sheds new light on the origin and early evolution of multicellular organisms in relatively quiet and deep environments soon after the Neoproterozoic Marinoan glaciation.The morphological complexity and diversity of early multicellular organisms may be closely related to sexual reproduction and alternation of generations.The fluctuation of oceanic redox conditions during this period may have played a role in the ecology and preservation of the Lantian biota.     

Geochemistry of Sinian tillites from Hunan Province, South China--A test of the Snowball Earth hypothesis

A glaciomarine succession of Neoproterozoic age (between 748～584 Ma) is widespread on the Yangtze Platform, South China. The deposition took place during an intermediate to low paleolatitude position of the Yangtze Platform. The Snowball Earth hypothesis offers an explanation for the occurrence of low-latitude tillites in general. It is based on records obtained of deposits underlying and overlying the tillites. In contrast, we focused on the tillites themselves by using geochemistry to obtain detailed information about the conditions during the glaciation. Of particular interest are environmental conditions, which are closely related to the climate development. Additionally, stable isotope geochemistry was used for a paleoclimate interpretation. The geochemical results of the Sinian glacial succession on the Yangtze Platform are compared to the predictions made by the Snowball Earth hypothesis.     

Occurrence of Neoproterozoic low-grade metagranite in the western Beihuaiyang zone,the Dabie orogen

Based on detailed field investigations and petrographic observations, we discovered Neoproterozoic-emplaced granite from the metavolcanics of the Dingyuan Formation in the western Beihuaiyang zone, the Dabie orogen. This study reports the results of zircon U-Pb dating and preliminary petrographic observations on two metagranite samples. The studied rocks experienced epidote-amphibolite facies metamorphism and strong structural deformation. Their U-Pb ages are 726 ± 6 and 758 ± 12 Ma, respectively, similar to those for the Luzhenguan complex in the eastern segment of the Beihuaiyang zone. In combination with previously determined 635 ± 5 Ma low-grade metagabbro, this study suggests the occurrence of at least two types of Neoproterozoic intrusive rocks in the Beihuaiyang zone, the northern margin of the South China Block (SCB): 726–758 Ma metagranite and 635 Ma metagabbro. These rocks occur within the metamorphosed Ordovician volcanic zone (originally named the Dingyuan Formation) and are in tectonic contact to each other, but they formed in different tectonic settings. The protolith ages for the Neoproterozoic low-grade metaigneous rocks are in good agreement not only with ages for two episodes of mid- and late-Neoproterozoic mafic and felsic magmatism in the Suizhou and Zaoyang area, Hubei Province, but also agree with protolith ages of ultrahigh-pressure metaigneous rocks in the Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt. In view of their tectonic relationships to country rocks, it appears that these Neoproterozoic low-grade rocks are exotic and they may have been detached and scraped from subducting SCB crust in the early Triassic during the initial continental subduction, and thrusted over Paleozoic metamorphosed rocks in the southern margin of the North China Block during continental collision.     

Geochronology and geochemistry of the Fangcheng Neoproterozoic alkali-syenites in East Qinling orogen and its geodynamic implications

Finding of Neoproterozoic syenites at Fangcheng in the northern Qinling region of the East Qinling orogen provides an important constraint on timing of tectonic transformation to extensional regime. The alkaline pluton consists mainly of nepheline syenite, aegirine syenite, and alkali-feldspar syenite. The syenites are of intermediate （SiO2 = 54%-62%）, rich in alkali （K2O＋Na2O = 12%-15%）, aluminum （Al2O3= 16.81%-23.26%） and large ion lithophile elements （LILE）, without any obvious Nb, Ta, Zr, and Hf anomalies. The Fangcheng syenites are geochemically characterized by relative enrichment of LREE, minor differentiation of HREE, significant negative Eu anomalies （Eu = 0.13-0.23）, less negative εNd（t） values of -1.37 to-3.90, young Nd model ages of 1364 to 1569 Ma, and high zircon saturation temperatures of 915 to 1044℃. The syenitic magmas probably originated from small proportion melting of upper mantle in an extensional regime of intraplate-anorogenic tectonic setting, and have been slightly contaminated by crustal materials during ascending and/or emplacement. LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating yields ages of 844.3±1.6 Ma （MSWD=0.86）, suggesting that the Fangcheng alkaline syenites formed in the early Neoproterozoic. They are the oldest Neoproterozoic alkaline rocks ever recognized in the Qinling orogen as well as in South China. This implies that the tectonic regime of the Qinling region would have transformed from post-collisional stretch to intraplate-anorogenic extension no later than 844 Ma.     

SHRIMP U-Pb geochronology of the zircons from the Precambrian basement of the Qilian Block and its geological significances

Origin and tectonic evolution of the Qilian Precambrian basement on NW China were investigated using zircon U-Pb ages with collaborating stratigraphic and paleontological evidence. Zircon grains were separated from two schists, two granitic gneisses and one mylonized gneiss and dated with SHRIMP. Seventy percent of sixty-one detrital zircon ages from two schists ranges from 0.88 Ga to 3.09 Ga, mostly within 1.0 Ga to 1.8 Ga with a peak at 1.6 Ga to 1.8 Ga, and twenty percent varies from 2.0 Ga to 2.5 Ga. A few falls in the Archean and Neoproterozoic periods. The two granitic gneisses were dated 930±8 Ma and 918±14 Ma, whereas the mylonized granitic gneiss was dated 790±12 Ma. These ages represent two periods of magmatisms, which can be correlated with the early and late stages of magmatisms associated with the Jinningian movement on the Yangtze Blocks. The results from this and previous studies indicate that the ages of the Precambrian detrital zircons from the Qilian Block are widely distributed in the Proterozoic era, distinct from the North China Block which was stable in the Neo-Mesoproterozoic era. By contrast, the age histograms of the detrital zircons from the Qilian Block is similar to those from Precambrian basement of the Yangtze Craton. Therefore, it is suggested that the Qilian Block had a strong affinity toward the Yangtze Craton and might belong to the supercontinent Gondwana in the Neoproterozoic time. This inference is supported by Nd model age (TDM), stratigraphic, and paleontological evidence. It is further considered that the Qilian Block was rifted from the supercontinent Gondwana during late Sinian to form an isolated continent in the Proto-Tethyan Ocean, moving towards the Alaxa Block in the North China Craton. The part of Proto-Tethyan Ocean between the Qilian and Alaxa Blocks should correspond to the so-called Paleo-Qilian Ocean. Following the closure of the Paleo-Qilian Ocean in the early Paleozoic, the Qilian Block collided with the Alaxa Block to form the North Qilian Orogenic Belt. Based on this tectonic explanation, the North Qilian ophiolites should represent parts of lithosphere from the Proto-Tethyan Ocean. Lithological and geochronological evidence also indicates that the Qilian Block underwent continental reactivation possibly induced by the deep northward subduction of the North Qaidam Block in early Paleozoic time.     

Extreme winds and waves in the aftermath of a Neoproterozoic glaciation

The most severe excursions in the Earth's climatic history are thought to be associated with Proterozoic glaciations. According to the 'Snowball Earth' hypothesis, the Marinoan glaciation, which ended about 635 million years ago, involved global or nearly global ice cover. At the termination of this glacial period, rapid melting of continental ice sheets must have caused a large rise in sea level. Here we show that sediments deposited during this sea level rise contain remarkable structures that we interpret as giant wave ripples. These structures occur at homologous stratigraphic levels in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Namibia and Svalbard. Our hydrodynamic analysis of these structures suggests maximum wave periods of 21 to 30 seconds, significantly longer than those typical for today's oceans. The reconstructed wave conditions could only have been generated under sustained high wind velocities exceeding 20 metres per second in fetch-unlimited ocean basins. We propose that these extraordinary wind and wave conditions were characteristic of the climatic transit, and provide observational targets for atmospheric circulation models.     

An early Ediacaran assemblage of macroscopic and morphologically differentiated eukaryotes

The deep-water Avalon biota (about 579 to 565 million years old) is often regarded as the earliest-known fossil assemblage with macroscopic and morphologically complex life forms. It has been proposed that the rise of the Avalon biota was triggered by the oxygenation of mid-Ediacaran deep oceans. Here we report a diverse assemblage of morphologically differentiated benthic macrofossils that were preserved largely in situ as carbonaceous compressions in black shales of the Ediacaran Lantian Formation (southern Anhui Province, South China). The Lantian biota, probably older than and taxonomically distinct from the Avalon biota, suggests that morphological diversification of macroscopic eukaryotes may have occurred in the early Ediacaran Period, perhaps shortly after the Marinoan glaciation, and that the redox history of Ediacaran oceans was more complex than previously thought.     

Triple oxygen isotope evidence for elevated CO2 levels after a Neoproterozoic glaciation

Understanding the composition of the atmosphere over geological time is critical to understanding the history of the Earth system, as the atmosphere is closely linked to the lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. Although much of the history of the lithosphere and hydrosphere is contained in rock and mineral records, corresponding information about the atmosphere is scarce and elusive owing to the lack of direct records. Geologists have used sedimentary minerals, fossils and geochemical models to place constraints on the concentrations of carbon dioxide, oxygen or methane in the past. Here we show that the triple oxygen isotope composition of sulphate from ancient evaporites and barites shows variable negative oxygen-17 isotope anomalies over the past 750 million years. We propose that these anomalies track those of atmospheric oxygen and in turn reflect the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (P(CO2)) in the past through a photochemical reaction network linking stratospheric ozone to carbon dioxide and to oxygen. Our results suggest that P(CO2) was much higher in the early Cambrian than in younger eras, agreeing with previous modelling results. We also find that the (17)O isotope anomalies of barites from Marinoan (approximately 635 million years ago) cap carbonates display a distinct negative spike (around -0.70 per thousand), suggesting that by the time barite was precipitating in the immediate aftermath of a Neoproterozoic global glaciation, the P(CO2) was at its highest level in the past 750 million years. Our finding is consistent with the 'snowball Earth' hypothesis and/or a massive methane release after the Marinoan glaciation.