Cyclic cold climate during the Nantuo Glaciation: Evidence from the Cryogenian Nantuo Formation in the Yangtze Block, South China

Abstract

Geological and paleomagnetic data indicate that the ice sheets might have extended to low-latitude regions in the Cryogenian (720–635 Ma). The ‘snowball Earth’ hypothesis proposed that the Earth was completely ice-covered during global glaciation. However, the glacial sedimentary record seems to contradict with the snowball Earth hypothesis. Detailed sedimentological investigations of the glacial deposits would provide the first-order constraint on the nature of global glaciation. The Nantuo Formation (∼654–635 Ma) in the Yangtze Block of South China has been correlated with the Marinoan snowball Earth. In this study, we conducted systematic sedimentological analyses of six sections/cores of the Nantuo Formation. Three facies associations were recognized: the proximal glaciomarine, distal glaciomarine, and non-glacial marine facies associations. The vertical stacking pattern of facies associations can be correlated among the five slope and basin sections, while their correlation with the shelf section remains obscure. Our data indicate two episodes of glaciation that are separated by an interglacial interval during the Nantuo Glaciation. The first glacial episode is recorded by successions of coarse-grained facies (e.g., massive diamictite) in the lower part of the Nantuo Formation. The re-appearance of massive diamictite in the middle to upper part of the Nantuo Formation indicates onset of the second glacial episode. These two glacial episodes were separated by a siltstone/shale sequence of several 10 s m thick, suggesting an interglacial period with limited influence from glaciation. The top of Nantuo Formation consists of alternative distal-glaciomarine and non-glacial marine facies associations, representing the deglacial sequence of the Nantuo Glaciation. The sedimentary facies analysis indicates that the cold climate during the Nantuo Glaciation may be cyclic. Finally, our sedimentary analysis confirms a lag between the deglaciation and precipitation of cap carbonate.