Eastern Paleo-Tethys Research Articles

Milankovitch and sub-Milankovitch cycles of the early Triassic Daye Formation, South China and their geochronological and paleoclimatic implications

The mass extinction at the end of Permian was followed by a prolonged recovery process with multiple phases of devastation–restoration of marine ecosystems in Early Triassic. The time framework for the Early Triassic geological, biological and geochemical events is traditionally established by conodont biostratigraphy, but the absolute duration of conodont biozones are not well constrained. In this study, a rock magnetic cyclostratigraphy, based on high-resolution analysis (2440 samples) of magnetic susceptibility (MS) and anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM) intensity variations, was developed for the 55.1-m-thick, Early Triassic Lower Daye Formation at the Daxiakou section, Hubei province in South China. The Lower Daye Formation shows exceptionally well-preserved lithological cycles with alternating thinly-bedded mudstone, marls and limestone, which are closely tracked by the MS and ARM variations. Power spectral, wavelet and amplitude modulation (AM) analyses of the ARM and MS series reveal strong evidence for the presence of Milankovitch to sub-Milankovitch frequencies dominated by precession index signal and 4–5ka cycles. Cycles expressed by variations in MS and ARM were likely controlled by changes in the input of fine-grained detrital magnetite, which in turn may have been driven by astronomically induced changes in monsoon intensity in the equatorial eastern Paleotethys during the Early Triassic greenhouse period.On the basis of the 100-ka tuning results, the astronomically constrained duration of the Induan stage is 1.16Ma, with the Griesbachian and Dienerian substages of 490ka and 670ka, respectively. The new astronomical time scale also provides time constraints for the conodont and bivalve biozones and the carbonate carbon isotope (δ13C) records of the Lower Triassic Daye Formation. Time constraints for the conodont biozones include 34ka for Hindeodus parvus, 24ka for Isarcicella staschei–I. isarcica, 366ka for Neogondolella planata–Ng. carinata, 66ka for Neogondolella discreta, 255ka for Neospathodus kummeli and 415ka for Neospathodus dieneri. The duration for the negative δ13C shift from high δ13C values near the Indun/Olenekian boundary to the lowest value in the Early Smithian is estimated as 430ka. Global comparison indicates that Milankovitch and 4–5ka sub-Milankovitch forcing depositional rhythms may have been common in tropical and sub-tropical carbonate platforms during the Early and Middle Triassic time. The ultimate control on the 4–5ka cycles may have been millennial-scale fluctuations in solar insolation.

Enhanced nitrogen fixation in the immediate aftermath of the latest Permian marine mass extinction

AbstractThe carbon (δ13Corg) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopic compositions of bulk organic matter were analyzed in two high-resolution Permian-Triassic transitional sections containing microbialite in south China. The results from these shallow-marine sections show that an abrupt negative shift in δ15N, from ∼+3‰ to ∼0‰, occurred immediately after the latest Permian mass extinction (LPE) in both sections, concurrent with a distinct negative shift in δ13Corg. The persistently low values of δ15N suggest that, following the LPE, microbial nitrogen fixation became the main source of biologically available nitrogen in the Nanpanjiang Basin and perhaps over a broader region of the eastern Paleotethys Ocean. Enhanced N fixation is probably indicative of the prevalence of stratified anoxic water masses characterized by intense denitrification and/or anaerobic ammonium oxidation at the time. Perturbation of the marine nitrogen cycle might have contributed to high temperatures following the main marine mass extinction through the release of the greenhouse gas N2O. The sharp declines in δ15N and δ13Corg may be ascribed to an abrupt change in shallow-water microbial communities, which differed in composition from contemporaneous deep-water communities.

Petrogenesis of late Triassic post-collisional basaltic rocks of the Lancangjiang tectonic zone, southwest China, and tectonic implications for the evolution of the eastern Paleotethys: Geochronological and geochemical constraints

The Xiaodingxi and Manghuihe volcanic sequences represent key components of the Lancangjiang igneous zone in southwest China. Their petrogenesis provides important constraints on the tectonic evolution of the eastern Paleotethys ocean. The basaltic rocks from the Xiaodingxi and Manghuihe sequences yield SHRIMP zircon U–Pb weighted mean ages of 214 ± 7 Ma and 210 ± 22 Ma, respectively, which is 15–20 Ma younger than the ages of the syn-collisional granite magmatism (230–241 Ma). Samples from the volcanic sequences are dominated by alkaline basalts and basaltic andesites, and can be geochemically classified into two groups. Group 1 samples, mainly from the Xiaodingxi sequence and the lower part of the Manghuihe sequence, are characterized by low MgO (1.49–7.50 wt.%) and Zr/Nb (9.4–15.3), and high Al 2O 3 (15.95–18.39 wt.%). They are enriched in LILE and LREE contents and depleted in HFSE, and have 87Sr/ 86Sr(t) ratios of 0.705473–0.706972, ε Nd(t) of − 1.47–0.75, and similar Pb isotopic compositions to the global average composition of pelagic sediments. In contrast, Group 2 samples from the middle–upper parts of the Manghuihe sequence have similar Al 2O 3 (16.62–18.23 wt.%) but higher MgO (8.08–11.74 wt.%) and Zr/Nb (15.9–23.9) than those of Group 1 samples. They exhibit relatively flat REE patterns, significantly negative Nb–Ta and Th–U anomalies and positive Sr anomalies. In comparison with Group 1, Group 2 samples show higher Cr, Ni contents and ε Nd(t) values (1.17–5.02), and lower 87Sr/ 86Sr(t) and Pb isotopic ratios (Δ8/4 = 43.2–59.8 and Δ7/4 = 11.8–19.8). The geochemical data suggest that Group 1 samples might be the differentiated product of primitive high MgO and low Al 2O 3 melts originating from a refractory modified mantle with the involvement of 5–10% recycled pelagic sediments. The parental magma for Group 2 samples may have been derived from a plagioclase-rich, garnet-free source comprising 80–85% fluid-metasomatized and 15–20% asthenospheric components. Based on all available data, a tectonic model involving eastward subduction in the Permian and collision in the Triassic can be proposed for the evolution of the eastern Paleotethys ocean. During the late Triassic, the progressive upwelling of the asthenospheric mantle, shortly after slab detachment, may have led to the melting of the metasomatized mantle wedge, resulting in the post-collisional Group 1 and Group 2 magmas.

Pennsylvanian brachiopods from the Geumcheon-Jangseong Formation, Pyeongan Supergroup, Taebaeksan Basin, Korea

We provide the first detailed systematic taxonomy and paleoecological investigation of late Paleozoic brachiopod faunas from Korea. Specifically, we focus on the brachiopods from the Geumcheon-Jangseong Formation, the lower part of the Pyeongan Supergroup in the Taebaeksan Basin. The formation yields a variety of marine invertebrate fossils, including brachiopods, molluscs, echinoderms, corals, fusulinids, and conodonts. Diverse brachiopods are described from six siliciclastic horizons of the formation at three localities, including 23 species belonging to 20 genera with two new species: Rhipidomella parva n. sp. and Stenoscisma wooi n. sp. Three brachiopod assemblages of the late Moscovian (Pennsylvanian) age are recognized based on their species compositions and stratigraphic distributions, namely the Choristites, Rhipidomella, and Hustedia assemblages. The brachiopod faunal composition varies within each assemblage as well as between the Assemblages, most likely reflecting local paleoenvironmental and hence paleoecological differences. The Choristites Assemblage includes relatively large brachiopods represented by Derbyia, Choristites, and Stenoscisma and may have inhabited open marine to partly restricted marine environments, whereas the Rhipidomella and Hustedia Assemblages consist of a small number of small-sized brachiopods living in lagoonal environments. The Choristites Assemblage shows a close affinity with Moscovian brachiopod assemblages in the eastern Paleo-Tethys regions, especially the Brachythyrina lata-Choristites yanghukouensis-Echinoconchus elegans Assemblage of North China, whereas the Rhipidomella and Hustedia assemblages both exhibit strong endemism.

Early Permian seafloor to continental arc magmatism in the eastern Paleo-Tethys: U–Pb age and Nd–Sr isotope data from the southern Lancangjiang zone, Yunnan, China

Southwestern Yunnan is a key region for the understanding of the complex geological evolution of the Paleo-Tethys and the Eurasia–Gondwana collision at the end of the Paleozoic. The southern Lancangjiang zone near the city of Jinghong at the Laotian border hosts MORB-like basaltic andesites and gabbros (Nanlianshan volcano–plutonic complex). Fine-grained gabbro with a U–Pb zircon age of 292±1 Ma and εNd(t) of 5.3 is indicative of early Permian sea-floor spreading. The Jinghong area also hosts small granodiorite intrusions which have U–Pb zircon ages of 284±1 Ma to 282±1 Ma, εNd(t) of −3.1 to −3.6, and initial Sr isotopic ratios of 0.709–0.710. The chemical and isotope signature of the granodiorite is characteristic for an arc setting and is similar to arc-like andesites from the same area. Both the earlier MORB-type magmatism and the granodiorite intrusions can be correlated in time and composition with ophiolites and trondhjemites several 100 km north and point to Permian subduction of oceanic crust between the Lincang Block and the Lanping–Simao Block. The regionally distributed peraluminous Triassic Lincang granite batholith marks the closure of the Paleo-Tethys. The northern Lincang granite gave a zircon U–Pb age of 239±1 Ma, similar to the Baimaxueshan granodioritic intrusion about 250 km north of the Lincang granite, which likely represents the northward extension of the Lincang granite. Nd-model ages range from 1.7 to 2.1 Ga and point to Paleoproterozoic basement which probably represents a fragment of the Yangtze Block. Our data suggest a complex Permo-Triassic history of continental rifting, subduction and collision at the southern border of the Yangtze Block.

Middle Permian radiolarians from Anmenkou, Chaohu, Northeastern Yangtze platform, China

AbstractThe biostratigraphy of the Middle Permian Gufeng Formation in the northeastern Yangtze platform is examined based on radiolarians. This study is concentrated on the Anmenkou section in the Chaohu area of Anhui Province, China. The Gufeng Formation is divided into the Phosphate Nodule‐bearing Mudstone Member (PNMM) and the Siliceous Rock Member (SRM) in ascending order. The former primarily consists of mudstone including abundant phosphate nodules, and the latter consists mainly of alternating beds of chert, siliceous mudstone and mudstone, with intercalations of porous chert. Ammonoids in the mudstone of the lower PNMM are Wordian. Chert, siliceous mudstone and mudstone of the SRM include abundant radiolarians with sponge spicule assemblages suggestive of the Wordian–Capitanian. Albaillellaria are predominant in the lower SRM, while Entactinaria and Spumellaria are predominant in the middle and upper SRM. These radiolarians correspond to three radiolarian assemblage zones: Pseudoalbaillella longtanensis–Pseudoalbaillella fusiformis, Follicucullus monacanthus, and Follicucullus scholasticus–Ruzhencevispongus uralicus. The assemblage of radiolarians and sponge spicule fauna suggests a depositional depth of 150–500 m. The radiolarian fauna of the Gufeng Formation is considered to be representative of the relatively shallow, tropical radiolarian fauna of the Middle Permian eastern Paleotethys.

Ophiolites from the Mianlüe Suture in the Southern Qinling and Their Relationship with the Eastern Paleotethys Evolution

Abstract The Mianlüe suture extends from Derni‐Nanping‐Pipasi‐Kangxian to the Lüeyang‐Mianxian area, then traverses the Bashan arcuate structure eastward to the Huashan region, and finally to the Qingshuihe area of the southern Dabie Mountains. From east to west, with a length of over 1500 km, the ophiolitic melangé associations are distributed discontinuously along the suture. The rock assemblages include ophiolite, island‐arc and oceanic island rock series, indicating that there existed a suture zone and a vanished paleo‐ocean basin. The Mianlüe paleo‐ocean basin experienced its main expansion and formation process during the Carboniferous‐Permian and closed totally in the Triassic. It belongs to the northern branch of the eastern paleotethys, separated from the northern margin of the Yangtze block under the paleotethys mantle dynamic system.