Modern freshwater microbialite analogues for ancient dendritic reef structures

Microbialites are organosedimentary structures that can be constructed by a variety of metabolically distinct taxa. Consequently, microbialite structures abound in the fossil record, although the exact nature of the biogeochemical processes that produced them is often unknown. One such class of ancient calcareous structures, Epiphyton and Girvanella, appear in great abundance during the Early Cambrian. Together with Archeocyathids, stromatolites and thrombolites, they formed major Cambrian reef belts. To a large extent, Middle to Late Cambrian reefs are similar to Precambrian reefs, with the exception that the latter, including terminal Proterozoic reefs, do not contain Epiphyton or Girvanella. Here we report the discovery in Pavilion Lake, British Columbia, Canada, of a distinctive assemblage of freshwater calcite microbialites, some of which display microstructures similar to the fabrics displayed by Epiphyton and Girvanella. The morphologies of the modern microbialites vary with depth, and dendritic microstructures of the deep water (> 30 m) mounds indicate that they may be modern analogues for the ancient calcareous structures. These microbialites thus provide an opportunity to study the biogeochemical interactions that produce fabrics similar to those of some enigmatic Early Cambrian reef structures.     

Biodiversity of Early-Middle Ordovician acritarchs and sea level changes in South China

Acritarchs are organic-walled cysts of unicellular pro- tists that cannot be assigned to any known group of or- ganisms. Most acritarchs are probably the resting cysts of marine eukaryotic phytoplankton. Because of their small size, abundance and diversity, as well as widespread distri- bution, acritarchs are very useful in biostratigraphic cor- relation, as well as paleobiogeographic and paleoenviron- mental studies. Furthermore, they represent the fossil re- cord of the base of the marine fo…     

湖北兴山中寒武统覃家庙群微生物岩及其古环境意义

通过野外考察及对岩石光面的观察,发现湖北兴山古洞口剖面中寒武统覃家庙群微生物岩的类型主要为波状-半球状叠层石,少量为凝块石。显微镜下观察发现叠层石及凝块石中保存有蓝绿菌类丝状微生物Girvanella,依据Girvanella丝状体在微生物岩中的赋存状态,认为覃家庙群的微生物岩是由底栖微生物群落的钙化和粘结、捕获等共同作用形成的。此外,古洞口剖面中寒武统微生物岩的宏观形态和巨型构造及其伴生的碳酸岩沉积相,指示其形成环境位于深潮下带和浅潮下带。通过对比研究,发现扬子地块表现出的中寒武世微生物岩再繁盛现象具有全球性,推测后生动物的匮乏或衰退是其主要控制因子,反映了生物礁结构由元古代的叠层石礁演变为显生宙的后生生物礁的重要转折。     

Calcimicrobialite after end-Permian mass extinction in South China and its palaeoenvironmental significance

Calcimicrobialites, which could be correlated to the layer 27 in Meishan section according to the Hindeodus parvus, occur abruptly on the end-Permian mass extinction boundary in South China. Microbialites mainly distribute on the top of reef facies or shallow carbonate platforms, thinning into deep facies. All the microbialites discovered are composed of micrite and coarse crystal digitate carbonate or patch carbonate. Microfossils usually dominate in the microbialites, and small gastropods, bivalves and ostracodes can also be found. This fossil assemblage represents a simple but particular remanent biota after the end-Permian mass extinction on the top of reefs or shallow carbonate platforms.Abrupt occurrence of microbialites above the mass extinction boundary is the ecological response to the end-Permian global event in reef or shallow carbonate facies. Many studies have been done on the Permian-Triassic boundary and event in deep water facies sections or middle to lower shelf facies sections. However, the calcimicrobialites in South China are mainly located above reef facies or shallow carbonate platform facies. It will surely be helpful for people to know more about the different responses in different depths of ancient marine environment during the transition between Permian and Triassic by the study of petrology,palaeontology and palaeoecology of the calcimicrobialites.     

Extinction pattern of reef ecosystems in latest Permian

Studies of two Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) sections on top of a Changhsingian reef in Ziyun, Guizhou Province, southwestern China indicate that the end-Permian mass extinction of reef ecosystems occurred in two steps. The first step is the extinction of all stenotropic organisms such as calcisponges and fusulinids in the latest Permian (in the Clarkina yini conodont zone). The biota after the first extinction is simple, comprising eurytropic organisms including microgastropods, ostracods, and some small burrowing organisms, or only algal mats. At the beginning of the Early Triassic (i.e. the beginning of the Hindeodus parvus zone), the environments became anoxic, and the microgastropod dominated biota or algal mats disappeared, which constituted the second episode of the mass extinction. The biota after the second extinction comprises small spherical microproblematica, some kinds of specialized organisms tolerant of anoxic or oxygen-poor conditions. As the environments became oxygenated, the specialized biota was replaced by a microgastropod-dominated simple biota. When the environmental conditions improved further, the simple biota was replaced by a diverse biota with normal-sized ammonoids, bivalves, and gastropods, representing restoration of normal oceanic condi- tions. Comparison with PTB sections in Dolomites, Italy and Meishan, Zhejiang Province shows that non-reef ecosystems had a similar first episode of mass extinction in the latest Permian. In the case that oceanic anoxia happened, non-reef ecosystems had a second extinction episode similar to that of reef ecosystems.     

Environmental determinants of extinction selectivity in the fossil record

The causes of mass extinctions and the nature of biological selectivity during extinction events remain central questions in palaeobiology. Although many different environmental perturbations have been invoked as extinction mechanisms, it has long been recognized that fluctuations in sea level coincide with many episodes of biotic turnover. Recent work supports the hypothesis that changes in the areas of epicontinental seas have influenced the macroevolution of marine animals, but the extent to which differential environmental turnover has contributed to extinction selectivity remains unknown. Here I use a new compilation of the temporal durations of sedimentary rock packages to show that carbonate and terrigenous clastic marine shelf environments have different spatio-temporal dynamics and that these dynamics predict patterns of genus-level extinction, extinction selectivity and diversity among Sepkoski's Palaeozoic and modern evolutionary faunae. These results do not preclude a role for biological interactions or unusual physical events as drivers of macroevolution, but they do suggest that the turnover of marine shelf habitats and correlated environmental changes have been consistent determinants of extinction, extinction selectivity and the shifting composition of the marine biota during the Phanerozoic eon.     

Hydrogen sulphide release to surface waters at the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary

Animal-like multicellular fossils appeared towards the end of the Precambrian, followed by a rapid increase in the abundance and diversity of fossils during the Early Cambrian period, an event also known as the 'Cambrian explosion'. Changes in the environmental conditions at the Precambrian/Cambrian transition (about 542 Myr ago) have been suggested as a possible explanation for this event, but are still a matter of debate. Here we report molybdenum isotope signatures of black shales from two stratigraphically correlated sample sets with a depositional age of around 542 Myr. We find a transient molybdenum isotope signal immediately after the Precambrian/Cambrian transition. Using a box model of the oceanic molybdenum cycle, we find that intense upwelling of hydrogen sulphide-rich deep ocean water best explains the observed Early Cambrian molybdenum isotope signal. Our findings suggest that the Early Cambrian animal radiation may have been triggered by a major change in ocean circulation, terminating a long period during which the Proterozoic ocean was stratified, with sulphidic deep water.     

瓮安生物群中"内陷式动物原肠胚化石"的同步辐射无损成像及其亲缘关系的重新解释

 贵州瓮安埃迪卡拉纪陡山沱组(635—551Ma)的磷酸盐化动物胚胎化石作为全球已知最古老的多细胞动物化石记录,为研究后生动物的起源及早期演化过程提供了精美的实证材料.在传统扫描电子显微成像的基础上,结合同步辐射相位衬度显微断层成像技术,对瓮安生物群中以前报道的"内陷式动物原肠胚化石"的立体标本进行了比较形态学和解剖学研究.结果显示,贵州瓮安陡山沱组磷酸盐化内陷式动物原肠胚化石很可能是多细胞藻类,并非动物胚胎.     

Geochemical significance of the relative enrichment of pristane and the negative excursion of δ^13CPr across the Permian-Triassic Boundary at Meishan, China

Changes in the distribution of isoprenoid hydrocarbons and in δ^13Ckero or δ^13Cpr across the section from the Changxing Formation to the lower Yinkeng Formation at Meishan （the GSSP of PTB） are studied, in which a relative enrichment of pristane and a sharp shift in both δ^13Ckero and δ^13Cmole near the boundary are revealed. A possible mechanism for the abnormal accumulation of pristane near PTB is suggested： Lipids in some marine animals and their metabolites, rich in pristane, can be preserved and accumulate in some suitable depositing facies under certain special conditions, such as the catastrophic death of animals and/or developing of an anoxic water column, and thus the pristane enrichment occurs in the sediment. The occurrences of isoprenoid enrichment and high Pr/Ph ratios have been found in other typical marine anoxic sediments accompanied by mass extinction in various extent during the most important geological periods, such as Late Ordovician, end of Devonian, Early Jurassic and Late Cretaceous. These occurrences support to a certain extent the above mechanism that interprets the genesis of a high Pr/Ph ratio in some typical marine anoxic sediments. The synchronous sharp negative shifts in δ^13Cmole, δ^13Ckero and δ^13Ccarb from Beds 24 to 26 of the Meishan profile indicate that a sudden and strong variation of carbon source in the atmosphere-ocean system occurred during the quick but equable evolution from the end-Permian to Early Triassic, and the coupling between the pristane enrichment and negative shift in δ^13Ckero and δ^13CPr may well indicate the importance of the release of methane hydrates and marine anoxia in the end-Permian mass extinction.     

塔里木盆地玉北地区中-下奥陶统碳酸盐岩成岩作用类型及演化

为恢复塔里木盆地玉北地区中?下奥陶统碳酸盐岩的成岩演化历史, 通过岩芯观察、薄片观察、地球化学分析等工作, 针对溶蚀作用、白云石化作用、硅化作用和破裂作用等开展研究, 并将成岩历史划分为4个阶段。由于海平面的波动, 地貌高部位在相对海平面较低时短暂地暴露在地表, 以颗粒结构为主的灰岩在沉积后不久发生准同生溶蚀作用, 形成顺层发育的溶洞及结构选择性溶孔等。主要发育于早成岩阶段的白云石化作用增强了岩石的抗压实压溶能力, 有利于孔洞的保存; 此外, 早成岩阶段的加里东中?晚期及海西早期构造运动导致裂缝较为发育, 但由于经历了复杂的压实及胶结作用过程, 裂缝多呈封闭或充填状态, 未形成有效的储集空间。中成岩阶段的热液活动以产出具波状消光和鞍形结构的白云石和黄铁矿为特征, 热液活动总体上较弱, 对先期形成的孔洞和裂缝具有轻微的充填破坏作用。晚成岩阶段的硅质流体及钙质流体活动部分地充填早期的孔洞, 在区域内对储层具有破坏作用; 晚成岩阶段的海西晚期及喜山期裂缝活动弱于早成岩阶段的裂缝活动, 但由于经历的成岩改造作用较弱, 这些晚期裂缝多为开启状态, 在喜山期油气调整阶段具有一定的输导和储集作用。     

安徽东至早奥陶世红花园组生物礁:奥陶纪生物大辐射前的微生物礁

通过对安徽东至建新剖面红花园组的生物礁、微生物岩进行研究,发现蓝绿菌类Girvanella在生物礁中大量分布,是生物礁的主要造礁成分.其他造礁生物包括瓶筐虫、石海绵、腹足类、腕足类、棘皮类等.Girvanella以散乱分布、包壳、组成内碎屑以及与海绵伴生等4种方式在本区生物礁中存在,并且在生物礁成礁过程中以生物本体矿化作用及粘结、捕获颗粒的作用形成生物礁格架;瓶筐虫及石海绵为生物礁中的居住者,因此,生物礁性质为瓶筐虫/石海绵-微生物礁,微生物起到了主要的造礁作用.此外红花园组典型含生物礁沉积序列是由底部的生屑灰岩基底、中部的海绵层(少量微生物岩)及顶部的微生物岩组成的.通过与其他地区同时代生物礁的对比发现,东至建新剖面红花园组中瓶筐虫/石海绵-微生物礁的发育及微生物的繁盛是全球性的,是由于底栖生物扰动对潮下带微生物发育影响尚未彰显造成的.     

A new discovery of macroscopic fossils from the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation in the Yangtze Gorges area

The Ediacaran section in the Yangtze Gorges area, South China, is one of the most important in the worldand contains abundant fossils[1-4]. The earliest discov- ery of macrofossils in 1984, including macroscopic algal fossils from the uppermost Doushantuo…     

The genome of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum

The social amoebae are exceptional in their ability to alternate between unicellular and multicellular forms. Here we describe the genome of the best-studied member of this group, Dictyostelium discoideum. The gene-dense chromosomes of this organism encode approximately 12,500 predicted proteins, a high proportion of which have long, repetitive amino acid tracts. There are many genes for polyketide synthases and ABC transporters, suggesting an extensive secondary metabolism for producing and exporting small molecules. The genome is rich in complex repeats, one class of which is clustered and may serve as centromeres. Partial copies of the extrachromosomal ribosomal DNA (rDNA) element are found at the ends of each chromosome, suggesting a novel telomere structure and the use of a common mechanism to maintain both the rDNA and chromosomal termini. A proteome-based phylogeny shows that the amoebozoa diverged from the animal-fungal lineage after the plant-animal split, but Dictyostelium seems to have retained more of the diversity of the ancestral genome than have plants, animals or fungi.     

新型明胶纳米纤维毡的制备及其细胞培养

以水为溶剂通过静电纺丝法制备出了新型明胶纳米纤维。结果表明，当明胶的质量分数为33%和体系温度为40℃时，所得明胶纳米纤维毡具有均匀多孔的微观形貌，纤维直径分布在120～210nm。用质量分数为1.5%的1-(3-二甲氨基丙基)-3-乙基碳二亚胺（EDC）/N-羟基琥珀酰亚胺（NHS）的乙醇/水溶液对纤维毡进行交联，所得明胶纳米纤维毡中纤维的形态得到较好的保持，且其焓值降低，耐热性和力学性能均有所提高。将制备的明胶纳米纤维毡进行牙周基质细胞（PDLCs）培养实验，初步的结果表明PDLCs能够在该纳米纤维毡上粘附、伸展和繁殖。     

Formation of the 'Great Unconformity' as a trigger for the Cambrian explosion

The transition between the Proterozoic and Phanerozoic eons, beginning 542?million years (Myr) ago, is distinguished by the diversification of multicellular animals and by their acquisition of mineralized skeletons during the Cambrian period. Considerable progress has been made in documenting and more precisely correlating biotic patterns in the Neoproterozoic-Cambrian fossil record with geochemical and physical environmental perturbations, but the mechanisms responsible for those perturbations remain uncertain. Here we use new stratigraphic and geochemical data to show that early Palaeozoic marine sediments deposited approximately 540-480?Myr ago record both an expansion in the area of shallow epicontinental seas and anomalous patterns of chemical sedimentation that are indicative of increased oceanic alkalinity and enhanced chemical weathering of continental crust. These geochemical conditions were caused by a protracted period of widespread continental denudation during the Neoproterozoic followed by extensive physical reworking of soil, regolith and basement rock during the first continental-scale marine transgression of the Phanerozoic. The resultant globally occurring stratigraphic surface, which in most regions separates continental crystalline basement rock from much younger Cambrian shallow marine sedimentary deposits, is known as the Great Unconformity. Although Darwin and others have interpreted this widespread hiatus in sedimentation on the continents as a failure of the geologic record, this palaeogeomorphic surface represents a unique physical environmental boundary condition that affected seawater chemistry during a time of profound expansion of shallow marine habitats. Thus, the formation of the Great Unconformity may have been an environmental trigger for the evolution of biomineralization and the 'Cambrian explosion' of ecologic and taxonomic diversity following the Neoproterozoic emergence of animals.     

The role of microbial mats in the production of reduced gases on the early Earth.

The advent of oxygenic photosynthesis on Earth may have increased global biological productivity by a factor of 100-1,000 (ref. 1), profoundly affecting both geochemical and biological evolution. Much of this new productivity probably occurred in microbial mats, which incorporate a range of photosynthetic and anaerobic microorganisms in extremely close physical proximity. The potential contribution of these systems to global biogeochemical change would have depended on the nature of the interactions among these mat microorganisms. Here we report that in modern, cyanobacteria-dominated mats from hypersaline environments in Guerrero Negro, Mexico, photosynthetic microorganisms generate H2 and CO-gases that provide a basis for direct chemical interactions with neighbouring chemotrophic and heterotrophic microbes. We also observe an unexpected flux of CH4, which is probably related to H2-based alteration of the redox potential within the mats. These fluxes would have been most important during the nearly 2-billion-year period during which photosynthetic mats contributed substantially to biological productivity-and hence, to biogeochemistry-on Earth. In particular, the large fluxes of H2 that we observe could, with subsequent escape to space, represent a potentially important mechanism for oxidation of the primitive oceans and atmosphere.     

淮南矿区岩溶发育特征及其富水规律

本文在对淮南矿区奥陶系发育、分布特征分析的基础上,探讨了奥灰岩富水性规律与奥灰岩性、岩溶发育和分布及充填情况、裂隙发育情况及构造(主要为断层)之间的相关关系,初步揭示了奥灰岩的富水规律,为系统研究淮南矿区奥陶系岩溶发育规律和矿井奥灰水的防治提供了理论依据。     

Astronomical pacing of methane release in the Early Jurassic period

A pronounced negative carbon-isotope (delta13C) excursion of approximately 5-7 per thousand (refs 1-7) indicates the occurrence of a significant perturbation to the global carbon cycle during the Early Jurassic period (early Toarcian age, approximately 183 million years ago). The rapid release of 12C-enriched biogenic methane as a result of continental-shelf methane hydrate dissociation has been put forward as a possible explanation for this observation. Here we report high-resolution organic carbon-isotope data from well-preserved mudrocks in Yorkshire, UK, which demonstrate that the carbon-isotope excursion occurred in three abrupt stages, each showing a shift of -2 per thousand to -3 per thousand. Spectral analysis of these carbon-isotope measurements and of high-resolution carbonate abundance data reveals a regular cyclicity. We interpret these results as providing strong evidence that methane release proceeded in three rapid pulses and that these pulses were controlled by astronomically forced changes in climate, superimposed upon longer-term global warming. We also find that the first two pulses of methane release each coincided with the extinction of a large proportion of marine species.     

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.     

Dating hydrocarbon generation and migration based on bitumen reflectance

On the basis of thermal maturation theories of organic matter in sediments and an improved Karweil’s method, a method for dating hydrocarbon generation and migration by means of bitumen reflectance has been suggested. A few representative boreholes in the Tazhong Area of the Tarim Basin was investigated by this method. The results indicate that the three phases of bitumen from the Tazhong Area formed during Middle and Late Ordovician, Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary, and Late Tertiary, respectively. This implicates that there were three phases of hydrocarbon generation and migration occurring in this area during geological history. This study provided a new idea for the geological application of geochemical data of bitumen.