Main factors controlling the organic matter enrichment in the Lower Cambrian sediments of the Sichuan Basin, SW China

Abstract

The Lower Cambrian Qiongzhusi Formation contains more than 200 m of marine sediments mainly consisting of mudstone and black shales, which are widely accepted as the most important hydrocarbon source rocks of the Ediacaran–Cambrian giant gas field in the Sichuan Basin. The geochemical compositions of biomarkers and trace elements obtained from black shales at the bottom of the Qiongzhusi Formation were used to reconstruct the palaeoproductivity and palaeoenvironment and to determine the main factors controlling the deposition and preservation of this organic‐rich shales. Based on varieties of steroids and hopanoids compositions, multifarious palaeobios such as pelagophyceae, dinoflagellate, diatom (or its ancestor), sponges, and aerobic/anaerobic bacteria have been proved to evolve in the Early Cambrian in the Sichuan Basin. In addition, a relative high concentration of Cubio compared with modern oceanic palaeoproductivity proxies indicate a moderate to relatively high palaeoproductivity, which is favourable for the organic matter accumulation of this source rocks. Moreover, the evidence from biomarkers and trace element ratios suggest that the Lower Cambrian sediments were deposited under a non‐sulphurized anoxic condition, which provided a favourable preservation condition. The covariation among Porg, Cubio, and TOC shows that the palaeoproductivity is the main controlling factor for the high organic content of the black shales of the Qiongzhusi Formation.