Changes In Depositional Environment Research Articles

Multi-Proxies Analysis of Organic Matter Accumulation of the Late Ordovician–Early Silurian Black Shale in the Lower Yangtze Region, South China

The evolutional process of palaeoceanic environment and its effect on the accumulation of organic matter during the Ordovician–Silurian transition in Lower Yangtze region has been overlooked compared to that in Upper Yangtze region of South China, although their paleogeographic settings were expected to be discrepant. This paper documents the marine depositional environment, paleoclimate, and sediment supply changes, and discusses their roles in controlling the organic matter enrichment in sedimentary rocks within the Ordovician–Silurian transition of the Lower Yangtze region, using the latest geochemical data of the continuous drilling core. The stratigraphic framework of the Ordovician–Silurian transition in the Lower Yangtze region is composed of two third-order sequences, each of which can be subdivided into a lower TST (transgressive systems tract) and an upper RST (regressive systems tract). TST1 represented an evident depositional transition stage which was marked by the ending of the underlying carbonate sediments and the initiation of the terrigenous clastic-dominated sediments. Geochemical proxies indicate that the relatively low productivity, dysoxic water column condition, and high sediment supply flux collectively resulted in inadequate organic matter hosted in deposits of the TST1. During the depositional period of RST1, the global sea level declined due to the Hirnantian glaciation age. The icehouse also caused the decrease in overall river flux and, thus, the terrigenous clastic sediment supply. The icehouse also strengthened the upwelling that occurred in the Lower Yangtze sea. The upwelling boosted the marine algae explosion through the delivery of abundant nutrients, which not only enhanced paleoproductivity but also led to an anoxic environment by oxygen consumption. Such high paleoproductivity, anoxic water column environment, and low sediment supply flux caused the deposition of organic-rich shale. The sea level rose during the TST2 due to the ending of an ice age. The relatively large water depth and high paleoproductivity associated with volcanic eruptions are the main factors that caused the enrichment of organic matter during this stage. During the deposition of RTS2, the increase of sediment supply flux resulted in a decrease in accommodation space and water depth and the dilution of organic matter in deposits, which was the primary constraint of organic matter accumulation.

Temporal variability in soil organic matter accretion rates in coastal deltaic wetlands under changing depositional environments

AbstractThe Mississippi River Deltaic Plain experiences high relative sea level rise, limited sediment supply, and high marsh edge erosion, leading to the substantial coastal wetland and stored soil organic matter (SOM) loss. The objective of this study was to understand the SOM accumulation rates over the past 1000 years related to the changes in the depositional environment in these highly eroding coastal wetlands. Soil cores (2 m) were collected from four sites in Barataria Basin, LA and analyzed for proportion of organic and mineral matter, total C, N, P, particle size, and stable isotopic composition (δ13C and δ15N), as well as 14C and 137Cs dating. The soil carbon stock in the 2 m depth (62.4 ± 2 kg m−2) was approximately 88% greater than the carbon stock in just the 1 m depth (33.1 ± 0.6 kg m−2) indicating a need for considering deeper soil profiles (up to 2 m) to estimate blue carbon stock in deltaic environments. The average vertical accretion rate for Barataria Basin was 8.1 ± 0.6 mm year−1 over 50 years. The long‐term (1000‐year time scale) C accumulation rate (39 g C m−2 year−1) was ∼14% of the short‐term accumulation rate (254 ± 19 g C m−2 year−1). Wetlands in Barataria Basin started as fresh marsh and transitioned over time to intermediate to brackish. These marshes were able to maintain relative elevation through the accumulation of organic matter and mud despite high relative rates of sea‐level rise. However, the high rates of edge erosion may limit these marshes to continue to sequester atmospheric carbon under accelerating sea level in the absence of restoration efforts.

Relationship between depositional environments and preservabilities of Holocene tsunami deposits on the Hidaka coast, Hokkaido, Japan

Rising sea levels and associated coastal topography changes are expected to increase coastal vulnerability to tsunamis. Reliable records of the periodicity of the most damaging tsunamis, with recurrence intervals of several centuries, are often incomplete. To understand the likelihood of coastal disasters that would be worsened by sea-level rise, as well as their possible occurrence leading to the actual extent of inland inundation, it is useful to examine the geological record of the mid-Holocene highstand periods to supplement the written archives. However, the formation and preservation potential of event layers depends heavily on the depositional environment resulting from coastal evolutions. This study attempted to reconstruct the depositional environment changes using diatom and chemical analyses on the Hidaka coast of Hokkaido, Japan, to examine the preservation of event layer archives.Following field investigations, we found three sand layers formed by extreme waves from field investigations. The relationship between the depositional environment and the timing of the event layer formation over the past 7000 years along the central Hidaka coast indicates that supratidal to freshwater marsh environments are the most suitable for preserving tsunami deposits in this region. Since sand layers in the distant areas from wave sources were not well preserved in upland (as at elevations above marsh environment) and saltmarsh environments, the time windows of preservation were very limited depending on the depositional environments with relative sea-level changes. On the other hand, in areas closer to the Kuril Trench, sand layers were preserved not very sensitive to the depositional environment, suggesting that the event archive length is related to the magnitude of tsunamis.

Coastal switching of dominant depositional processes driven by decreasing rates of Holocene sea-level rise along the macrotidal coast of Gochang, SW Korea

ABSTRACTDecreasing rates of eustatic sea-level rise during the Holocene accompanied the deposition of transgressive coastal deposits worldwide. However, unraveling how transgressive deposition varies in response to different rates of relative sea-level (RSL) rise is limited by the scarcity of long (10+ m) well-dated cores spanning the entire middle to late Holocene record along macrotidal coasts. To investigate the sedimentary response of this macrotidal coast to decreasing rates of RSL rise, we acquired four cores up to 32 m in length and Chirp seismic profiles along the west coast of Korea. Core sediments were analyzed in terms of sedimentary texture, structure, and facies. Nineteen optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and fourteen 14C accelerated mass spectrometry (AMS) ages constrain the timing of deposition of the sandy sediments. This relatively dense distribution of ages is used to determine how deposition rates changed through time. We also use a compilation of previously published RSL indices for the southwestern Korean coast in order to better constrain RSL changes through time. Results show that the evolution of the Gochang coastline switched from a tide-dominated environment to a wave-dominated environment during the latter stage of transgression as the rate of the sea-level rise decreased. Rugged antecedent topography likely led to the development of tidal currents and the formation of a tide-dominated tidal flat during rapid RSL rise from 10 to 6 ka. As the tidal channels filled with fine-grained sediments from 6 to 1 ka, tidal amplification likely waned leading to a greater role of wave energy in shaping the formation of the sandy open-coast tidal flat. Since 1 ka, wave-dominated environments formed sand-rich tidal beaches and flats. Decreasing changes in rates of the RSL rise resulted in changes in depositional environments from a tide-dominated intertidal flat to an open-coast tidal flat and finally a wave-dominated tidal beach. This study highlights the important role that rates of RSL rise play on not only sedimentation rates in a shelf setting but also playing a role in the switch from a tide-dominated to a wave-dominated setting.

A Miocene Nannofossil Biostratigraphic Case Study: Alaminos Canyon Block 627 and Mississippi Canyon Block 555, and Sedimentation Rates in the Gulf of Mexico

The Miocene sediments of 2 deep—water boreholes from the northern Gulf of Mexico, from Alaminos Canyon (AC) Block 627 and Mississippi Canyon (MC) Block 555, have been biostratigraphically analyzed using calcareous nannofossils, revealing changes in sedimentation rates and depositional environments between these 2 areas. High nannofossil abundance values and low sedimentation rates generally recorded in the Alaminos Canyon region suggest a condensed section during much of the Miocene, associated with a basinal environment. Mississippi Canyon exhibits lower nannofossil abundance and higher sedimentation rates compared to Alaminos Canyon during the majority of the Miocene. Increased sediment volumes are largely attributed to input from the Mississippi River. Sedimentation rate was calculated for both sites. In the AC Block 627 borehole, sedimentation rate ranged from 13 to 107 m/million years (my), and in the MC Block 555 borehole, it varied from 11 to 914 m/my. One major anomaly was a low observed sedimentation rate in the lowest portion of the section at MC Block 555, in the interval defined between the extinctions of Triquetrorhabdulus carinatus and Dictyococcites bisectus. This may reflect a hiatus or possible fault which has shortened the section.

Chemostratigraphic and mineralogical examination of the Kilwa Group claystones, coastal Tanzania: An alternative approach to refine the lithostratigraphy

The Cretaceous and Paleogene marine sedimentary rocks that crop out along southern coastal Tanzania have been the focus of the Tanzanian Drilling Project (TDP) since 2001. The comprehensive lithological and chronostratigraphic examination of over forty shallow cores by the TDP culminated in the formal definition of the Kilwa Group: a claystone-dominated succession comprising five formations deposited in middle to outer shelf and upper slope marine environments along a passive continental margin. Onshore, the TDP has cored important palaeoclimatic events within the Kilwa Group. Offshore, the group forms the reservoir and seal of several gas fields discovered in southern Tanzania.The formations of the Kilwa Group cored onshore, have been differentiated from each other largely by variations in subsidiary lithologies (sandstones and limestones), rather than by diagnostic characteristics of their dominant lithology (olive grey claystone). To test and refine the lithostratigraphy of the Kilwa Group, a forensic examination of the claystones using whole-rock inorganic geochemistry, mineralogical analysis and detailed biostratigraphy, is employed in this study.1210 core samples collected from 20 onshore TDP boreholes and 185 cutting samples acquired from three wells located in offshore in Blocks 1 and 4 are examined by inductively-coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, whole-rock and clay fraction X-ray diffraction analysis and heavy mineral analysis using Raman spectroscopy. The different methodologies are used to produce a claystone-based chemostratigraphic framework for the Kilwa Group that comprises three sequences, five packages and six units, and links the shallow subsurface rocks onshore to the deep subsurface stratigraphy offshore.The multidisciplinary geochemical and mineralogical approach reveals that variations in detrital quartz, feldspars (K and Na), heavy minerals, phosphatic minerals and clay minerals (particularly illite, smectite and kaolinite) are key for defining the claystone-based stratigraphy of the Kilwa Group. The variation in the abundance of these mineral through time highlight mostly temporal changes in depositional environment, chemical weathering and sediment provenance that occurred in Tanzania during the Cretaceous and Paleogene.Integration of the chemostratigraphic framework with detailed biostratigraphic information from the study sections and comparison with the published lithostratigraphy of the Kilwa Group onshore reveals that all three stratigraphic schemes are in broad agreement. Nevertheless, refinements are proposed based on the new chemostratigraphic results. It is suggested here that the top and base of the Kilwa Group is older than previously reported (base–Albian and intra-Rupelian, respectively, rather than the end of both stages) and in most cases, the geochemical data suggests that most of the Kilwa Group formations, as cored onshore, are thinner than formerly proposed. Only the Masoko and Lindi Formations are interpreted to be thicker than previously defined by the TDP.

Geological, geomorphological and structural characterization features of Al Bordi area, Libya

This study has been conducted on Al Bordy area, which lies between latitudes N31°48'16.51 N31°43'14.91and E25°00'18.09 E25°06'55.07 on the sea coast of eastern Libya, The area has specified geological features, where the different rock formation exhibit good exposures that give a clear view about the stratigraphic column. The exposed formations are Al Gaghbub, Al Faidiyah and Al Khowaymat. The target of study is to evaluate some characterization features e.g. lithology, stratigraphic analysis, fossil distribution, structural and tectonic setting. The technical simulation models and geographic information system (GIS) software have been applied to interpret some geologic structures such as faulting, fractures, cracks and folding as well as the effect of stresses on formation strata. The field observations and the obtained data revealed that the area has affected by variable geological factors and changes in depositional environments, in addition to tectonic movements that led to the formation of various structures such as anticline and syncline folds, normal faults and unconformities.

Sedimentation, tectonic subsidence and hydrocarbon maturation history of the Gabes-Tripoli Basin, western offshore, Libya

This study has been conducted on Al Bordy area, which lies between latitudes N31°48'16.51 N31°43'14.91and E25°00'18.09 E25°06'55.07 on the sea coast of eastern Libya, The area has specified geological features, where the different rock formation exhibit good exposures that give a clear view about the stratigraphic column. The exposed formations are Al Gaghbub, Al Faidiyah and Al Khowaymat. The target of study is to evaluate some characterization features e.g. lithology, stratigraphic analysis, fossil distribution, structural and tectonic setting. The technical simulation models and geographic information system (GIS) software have been applied to interpret some geologic structures such as faulting, fractures, cracks and folding as well as the effect of stresses on formation strata. The field observations and the obtained data revealed that the area has affected by variable geological factors and changes in depositional environments, in addition to tectonic movements that led to the formation of various structures such as anticline and syncline folds, normal faults and unconformities.

Clay stratigraphy of the Lambeth Group of borehole IOD8R

The clay mineralogy of the Lambeth Group is shown to be highly variable, demonstrating a strong correlation with palaeoenvironment. The principal causes of this variability are changes in intensity of contemporaneous weathering (pedogenesis) and possible input of volcanic tephra. Previous studies have suggested that smectite is the dominant clay throughout the Lambeth Group in the London Basin, but we show that this is not the case in borehole IOD8R. Absolute clay mineral abundances are also highly variable, reflecting changes in sediment grain size and environment of deposition. The engineering properties of the Lambeth Group are largely controlled by the distribution of clay minerals, and in particular, the abundance of smectite. The data we present for borehole IOD8R illustrate the importance of assessing the scale of variability of such factors as swelling clay abundance when planning and supervising a site investigation.

Depositional environment changes and organic matter accumulation of Pliensbachian-Toarcian lacustrine shales in the Sichuan basin, SW China

Pliensbachian-Toarcian lacustrine shales in the Sichuan basin is characterized by two organic matter-rich layers (Dongyuemiao and Da′anzhai members) interlayered with an organic matter-poor layer (Ma'anshan member). These are promising target layers for shale oil and gas in China, and they are also a terrestrial sedimentary record for the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE). Previous studies have mainly focused on this lacustrine shale only in the single inheritance sub-sag. Here, we studied the depositional environmental changes and their correlation with organic matter accumulation in the Pliensbachian-Toarcian lacustrine shale on the subaqueous paleo-uplift in the Sichuan basin based on lithofacies and geochemical analysis. We concluded that lake stratification and oxygen deficiency were gradually strengthened upward from Pliensbachian Dongyuemiao member to late Toarcian Da′anzhai member. However, primary productivity is reduced. Chemical weathering was strongest during the early Toarcian stage (Ma'anshan member). The organic matter accumulation in these lacustrine shales is closely related to environmental changes caused by the Sichuan basin’s tectono-sedimentary evolution and depositional conditions. The Pliensbachian Dongyuemiao member is consistent with high primary productivity and low terrigenous detrital input. In the case of the deposition of early Toarcian Ma'anshan member, the organic matter was difficult to preserve due to the high sedimentation rate and the lack of anoxic water conditions. However, the late Toarcian Da'anzhai member was primarily composed of chemical precipitation that was closely correlated with the climate changes during T-OAE. The organic matter accumulation in this member was positively correlated with salinity-induced stratification and elevated CO2 concentration.

Depositional Controls on Detrital Zircon Provenance: An Example From Upper Cretaceous Strata, Southern Patagonia

Understanding how depositional environments within a sedimentary system redistribute and sequester sediment is critical for interpreting basin-scale provenance trends. However, sedimentary source-to-sink models commonly examine temporal changes and do not consider how variation in sedimentation processes across a dispersal pathway may result in contrasting provenance signatures. In this paper, we demonstrate a down-paleoslope shift in detrital zircon provenance signatures correlated with shallow-marine lithofacies patterns from the Upper Cretaceous La Anita Formation and underlying continental slope lithofacies of the Alta Vista Formation (Magallanes-Austral Basin, southern Patagonia). New stratigraphic, sedimentologic, and lithofacies analysis results from the La Anita Formation suggest an upward shoaling succession, from a 1) storm-influenced shoreface, 2) fluvially dominated, wave-influenced delta, and a 3) high-energy, gravelly foreshore. Stratigraphic sections are paired with U-Pb detrital zircon sandstone samples (N = 20; n = 5,219), which provide both maximum depositional ages and provenance characteristics. While all samples contain abundant zircon derived from the Andean volcanic arc (ca. 145–75 Ma), the amount from both Jurassic distal volcanic massifs (ca. 188–162 Ma) and recycled orogenic sources exhumed during the advance of the Cretaceous fold-and-thrust belt (>200 Ma; 157–142 Ma) vary with changes in depositional environment. We argue that down-paleoslope, systematic enriching of local fold-and-thrust belt material within the La Anita Formation is reflective of progressive mixing of grains transported via shallow-marine processes, while distally enriched fluvio-deltaic transported zircons were sourced from large, regional catchments. This suggests that competition between transport processes across a shallow and marginal marine sequence of rocks affects the resulting provenance signatures recorded within a single stratigraphic succession. These data also detail the degree of sediment pathway connectivity between shallow-marine sources and deep-marine sinks. Detrital zircon results from muddy continental slope facies of the Alta Vista Formation are made up entirely locally derived material, while zircon results from deep-water, sand-rich channel facies of the Formation are indistinguishable from coeval fluvio-deltaic zircon signatures. This implies that continental shelf-to-slope connectivity in a sediment dispersal system, via submarine canyons or shelf-edge delta progradation, is necessary for detrital zircon distributions from the shallow-marine realm to propagate into the deeper marine.

A fossil diatom-based reconstruction of sea-level changes for the Late Pleistocene and Holocene period in the NW South China Sea

Marine transgressions-regressions have profoundly shaped marginal seas following global sea-level fluctuations driven by climate change. This study on a sedimentary core profile SO219/31-4 from the Beibu Gulf, northwestern South China Sea (SCS), reveals information about paleoenvironment, paleoceanography and paleoclimate changes through fossil diatom assemblages and grain size distributions during the last ca. 12900 cal. yr. BP. Eight local diatom assemblage zones were distinguished and assigned to paleoenvironmental fluctuations recording sea-level and depositional environment changes in eight stages, ca. 12900–11700 (stage 1), ca. 11700–9500 (stage 2), ca. 9500–7200 (stage 3), ca. 7200–5800 (stage 4), ca. 5800–3800 (stage 5), ca. 3800–2400 (stage 6), ca. 2400–800 (stage 7) and ca. 800–0 (stage 8), cal. yr. BP. After the low sea level of stage 1 within the last deglaciation, rapid increases in sea level in stages 2 and 3 were recorded as meltwater events pulse-1B and pulse-1C resulting in marine transgression rates of ca. 16 m/kyr and 8 m/kyr, respectively. The high sea level, above the present level, in stages 4 and 5, in the Middle Holocene Climatic Optimum period, was clearly documented by more significant open sea/tropical diatom species and coastal planktonic species percentages, respectively. The late Holocene regression of sea levels was marked by a pronounced reversion of diatom taphocoenosis, responding to neoglacial climate. Fossil diatom assemblages outlined responded to paleoclimate of global warming in the deglacial and early Holocene. This study provides additional insights into the late Pleistocene and Post-glacial history of a tropical-subtropical shallow water gulf, in the NW-SCS.

Geologic controls on groundwater salinity reversal in North Coles Levee Oil Field, southern San Joaquin Valley, California, USA

This paper documents a reversal in the groundwater salinity depth gradient in the North Coles Levee Oil Field in the San Joaquin Valley, California. Salinity, measured in mg/L, was mapped with water quality data from groundwater and oil and gas wells and salinity estimated from oil and gas well borehole geophysical logs using Archie's equation. The resulting three-dimensional salinity volume shows groundwater salinity increasing with depth through the Tulare and San Joaquin Formations to about 50,000 mg/L at 1100 m depth, then decreasing to 10,000–31,000 mg/L in the Etchegoin Formation at 1400 m depth. The high salinity zone occurs near the base of the San Joaquin Formation in sand lenses in shales that have been interpreted as representing a mudflat environment. The groundwater and produced water geochemistry show formation waters lie on the seawater dilution line, indicating the salinity structure is largely the result of dilution or evaporation of seawater and not due to water–rock interactions. Instead, changing depositional environments linked to decreasing sea level may be responsible for variably saline water at or near the time of deposition, leading to a salinity reversal preserved in connate waters. The steepness of the salinity reversal varies laterally, possibly due to post-depositional freshwater recharge allowed by thick sands, alternatively, by a change in connate water composition due to a lateral facies change present at the time of deposition. These results illustrate geologic and paleogeographic processes that drive the vertical salinity structure of groundwater in shallow alluvial basins.

Depositional Environment Changes during the Cenozoic in the Northeastern Margin of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

The uplift of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) during the late Cenozoic is thought to be one of the crucial factors controlling the Asian climate. However, the complex interaction between tectonics and climate change remains unclear. The carbon and oxygen isotopes and elementary geochemistry of rocks from the early Eocene Lulehe Formation to the Miocene Youshashan Formation in the northern margin of Qaidam Basin, shows important variations in the Rb/Sr, MgO/CaO, Sr/Cu, and V/Cr ratios, together with CMI and CIA, which are interpreted as reflecting relevant regional climate and environmental changes. Combining the above mentioned parameters, we reconstructed the evolution of the sedimentary environment in the Qaidam Basin. The climate is roughly divided into four stages: (1) warm and humid; (2) cold and dry; (3) alternations of cold and dry with warm and humid; and (4) cold and arid. At the same time, there are also minor short-term changes of dry, wet, cold, and warm in each stage. The early Eocene to Miocene climate changes in the Qaidam Basin were mainly affected by global climate changes, the uplift of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, and the long-lasting plate collision, but there was no continuous drought due to the uplift of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau. From the early Eocene to the late Miocene, the climate of the Qaidam Basin became warm and humid.

Depositional and diagenetic constraints on the quality of shale‐gas reservoirs: A case study from the Late Palaeocene of the Potwar Basin (Pakistan, Eastern Tethys)

Unconventional shale‐gas reservoir assessment concurs numerous exploration challenges, often related to their complex lithology, which reflects secular changes in depositional environment(s) as well as spatially variable diagenetic overprinting. This study combines a range of methods (sedimentological, petrographical, CL‐microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, TOC (total organic carbon), TON (total organic nitrogen) and δ13Corg and δ15Norg stable isotopes) to address the controls of lithofacies, palaeo‐depositional environment(s) and diagenesis on the shale‐gas reservoir potential of the Late Palaeocene Patala Formation in the Potwar Basin of Pakistan. This formation records sediment accumulation in a shallow, mixed siliciclastic‐carbonate shelf environment. Sedimentological and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analyses show that the formation is primarily composed of an alternation of carbonaceous, siliceous, calcareous and argillaceous mudstone lithofacies. Detrital assemblages, including grains of quartz, apatite, calcite, chlorite, as well as organic matter (OM) and clay minerals with auxiliary (authigenic) pyrite, dominate the formation. High terrigenous influx is represented by the abundance of siliciclastics and terrigenous OM. The δ13Corg and δ15Norg proxies reflect dysoxic to anoxic palaeo‐environmental conditions, which promoted preservation of mixed marine and terrigenous OM, a setting considered to be indicative for high shale‐gas potential. The organic‐rich siliceous and carbonaceous mudstone lithofacies are considered to be the most prospective intervals, while calcareous and argillaceous mudstones are considered least promising in terms of reservoir quality. Spatially variable eo‐, meso‐ and telo‐diagenetic features such as compaction, cementation, stylolitization, dissolution and re‐precipitation are superimposed upon the depositional fabric, which locally affected the reservoir quality of the Patala Formation. The results of this study strongly suggest that the organic‐ and quartz‐rich mudstone lithofacies constitute “sweet spots” whose occurrence in space and time may be traced to design a strategy for shale‐gas exploration in the Potwar Basin of Pakistan and in analogous settings elsewhere.

Orbitally-paced climate change in the early Cambrian and its implications for the history of the Solar System

The early Cambrian was a critical period of Earth history, marked by explosive diversification of metazoans and several profound changes in Earth's surface environments and global climate. A valid temporal framework for the early Cambrian Period and across the major bio-events is poorly constrained, and the key underlying forcings of million-year (Myr) scale sea-level variations in a greenhouse lacking polar ice sheets are still disputed. Here, the high-resolution gamma-ray logs (GR) and Fe/Al records are utilized to conduct cyclostratigraphic analysis of the early Cambrian Stage 2-Stage 3 Qiongzhusi Formation of the Well A borehole in South China. A ∼10.8 Myr-long high-resolution astronomical time scale across Stage 2-Stage 3 is developed by astronomical tuning of gamma-ray logs and Fe/Al series to the stable 405-kyr long-eccentricity cycles. The Myr-scale sea-level fluctuations in the early Cambrian greenhouse are reconstructed through the sedimentary noise modeling of the 405-tuned GR series and agree with sequence stratigraphic interpretations, lithofacies stacking patterns, and depositional environment changes. The antiphase correlation of filtered ∼1.5 Myr cycles of sedimentary noise curves with the ∼1.5 Myr obliquity modulation cycles demonstrates that the variations in land-ocean water exchange linked to changes in poleward moisture and heat transport dominated by ∼1.5 Myr obliquity modulation cycles may be a primary driver for eustasy during non-glacial early Cambrian period. A new resonance state in the early Cambrian Stage 2-Stage 3, manifested by ∼1.5 Myr eccentricity: ∼1.5 Myr obliquity, could be mainly associated with the Earth-Mars secular resonance and constrain the chaotic evolution of the Solar System in deep time. Two independent approaches are employed to reconstruct the history of Earth-Moon system characteristics, including the precession constant, the Earth-Moon distance and the day length. Our results enhance knowledge of the connection of Myr-scale sea-level variations to astronomically induced climate change under greenhouse climate and provide new empirical constraints on the chaotic motion of the Solar System and the evolution of the Earth-Moon System in deep time.

Biostratigraphic evidence for incremental tectonic development of early Cambrian deep-water environments in the Misty Creek embayment (Selwyn basin, Northwest Territories, Canada)

The early evolution of the Misty Creek embayment (MCE), a prominent, northwest-trending sub-basin of the economically important Selwyn basin, is poorly understood. The abrupt contact between Cambrian Stage 4 (traditional lower Cambrian) carbonate ramp strata of the Sekwi Formation and overlying Miaolingian (traditional middle Cambrian) deep-water, calciturbiditic strata of the Hess River Formation has been regarded as diachronous. This important transition, which marks the onset of long-lived, deep-water conditions in the MCE, remains unexplained. This study uses biostratigraphic data from a previously undescribed location in the MCE, existing biostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic data from the 1970s, and regional thickness patterns to characterise the sharp yet diachronous transition from lithofacies typical of the Sekwi Formation to those typical of the Hess River Formation. The dramatic change in depositional environments was diachronous yet non-gradational, precluding a eustatic cause. The change was geologically abrupt, probably through two extension-related subsidence events, with different geographic extents, which heralded the MCE’s long life as a deep-water basin. The onset of deep-water conditions in the MCE occurred semi-contemporaneously with other extension-related events that are recorded in the northern Canadian Cordillera, demonstrating that Cambrian Series 2 – Miaolingian was a time of widespread extension and subsidence along the western margin of Laurentia.

Sedimentary features and filling process of the Miocene gravity-driven deposits in Ledong area, Yinggehai Basin, South China Sea

The shallow marine channels and fans in the Yinggehai Basin have huge hydrocarbon exploration potential. The depositional features and filling processes of the submarine channel and fan system during 10.5–7.2 ma were studied based on seismic data, cores, well curves, and lab data. (1) Five depositional elements were recognized in the channel system, including PSC, MSC, DSC, levee, and abandonment fill, and the deposits show the typical sedimentary structure of debris flow. The filling process of the channel system was divided into three stages based on deposits supply intensity. The stages were made up of several filling units, and each unit possessed at least one complete channelized depositional succession. (2) The fan system was developed under the large-scale “U” shaped feeding canyon, and its filling process was divided into two stages, the shape and distribution were controlled by shelf break and syn-sedimentary faults in the early stage, and was influenced by the localized changes of paleogeomorphology in late stage. The influence factors for the development of gravity-driven systems were summarized into two levels: regional depositional environment changes and localized distinctive geologic settings. The former one controlled the development of shallow water gravity-driven deposits in the whole basin, mainly including rapid falling of sea-level, moderate subsidence rate, and stable deposits supply. The latter one controlled the morphology and distribution of depositional elements in gravity-driven systems. The pre-existing banded low terrain induced by blind faults controlled the shape of the confined channel, and variable faulting intensity in different segments of the syn-sedimentary fault and localized paleogeomorphology changes influenced the distribution of channels and inner fan in the fan system. The study of deposition features, internal architecture, and controlling factors may provide a reference for further exploration in this area and a deeper understanding of gravity-driven processes in shallow marine.

Changing Tropical Estuarine Sedimentary Environments with Time and Metals Contamination, Cest Coast of India

Estuaries are one of the major sub-environments of the coastal zone wherein freshwaters interact and mix with saline waters, and facilitate deposition of finer sediments, organic matter, and metals. Intertidal mudflat and mangrove sediment cores collected from estuaries along the central west coast of India were investigated for various sedimentological and geochemical parameters to understand the changes in the sedimentary depositional environments and various factors influencing the processes. Additionally, estuarine biota was examined to understand the bioaccumulation of metals with respect to bioavailability. The results indicated considerable changes in the depositional environments with time owing to sea-level changes; geomorphology of the estuaries; rainfall and river runoff; anthropogenic activities including construction of dams and bridges. The sediments in the estuaries are considerably polluted by metals and pose toxicity risks to the estuarine biota due to high metal bioavailability. Marine gastropods and mangrove plants act as prospective bio-indicators, and the bioremediation potential of mangroves for contaminated sediments was identified. Metal bioaccumulation in edible benthic biota can be harmful to the human health.

Depositional Environmental Evolution of Nyalindung Formation based on Paleontology Molluscan Study, Ciodeng Area, Sukabumi, West Java, Indonesia

This research was conducted to understand and identify changes in the depositional environment of the Nyalindung Formation in the Ciodeng area, Sukabumi, based on mollusk paleontology and lithological associations. Paleontological study of mollusks to interpret the depositional environment becomes important due to the scarcity or absence of foraminifera in mollusk bearing rocks. Foraminifera is commonly used to determine depositional environment. The results of this mollusk paleontology study and lithological associations show at least sixteen changes in depositional environment. The environmental changes range from rivers, mangroves, beaches, tidal areas, shallow marine nearby the coast, shallow open marine, and relatively deeper marine. The depositional environmental changes shown by this section might be related to tectonic activity and global sea level fall that occurred since the early Late Miocene to Pleistocene. The sedimentary units in this section are also characterized by predominant fluvial, mangroves, beach, and tidal in the upper layers.