A Permian-Triassic(P-Tr) boundary section of continuous carbonate facies, which well recorded the biotic and environmental processes through the great P-Tr transition in the shallow non-microbialite carbonate facies, has been studied in Yangou, Leping County, Jiangxi Province. The P-Tr sequence is well correlated with the Meishan section according to the conodont biostratigraphy and the excursion of carbon isotopes. A series of high-resolution thin-sections from the P-Tr boundary carbonate rocks at the Yangou section are studied to explore the interrelation between environmental change and biological evolution during the transitional time. Six microfacies have been identified based upon the observation of the thin-sections under a microscope on the grains and matrix and their interrelation. Combined with the data of fossils and carbon isotopes, Microfacies 4(MF-4), coated-grain-bearing foraminifer oolitic sparitic limestone, and Microfacies 6(MF-6), dark shelly micritic limestone, should be the different responses to the two episodes of mass extinction and environmental events that can be correlated throughout South China and even over the world. The oolitic limestone of MF-4 is the first finding from the latest Permian strata in South China and it might be a proxy of an unusual environmental condition of high pCO2, low sulfate concentration and of microbial blooming in the aftermath of the latest Permian mass extinction. The micritic limestone of MF-6 containing rich micro-gastropods and ostracods probably represents the blooming event of disaster taxa in the earliest Triassic environment. The microfacies analysis at the Yangou section can well reveal the episodic process of the biological evolution and environmental change in the shallow non-microbialite carbonate facies throughout the great P-Tr transition, thus the Yangou section becomes an important complement to the Meishan section.
Various environmental changes were associated with the Permian-Triassic mass extinction at 252.2 Ma. Diverse unusual sediments and depositional phenomena have been uncovered as responses to environmental and biotic changes. Lithological and detailed conodont biostratigraphic correlations within six Permian-Triassic boundary sections in South China indicate rapid fluctuations in carbonate deposition. Four distinct depositional phases can be recognized:(1) normal carbonate deposition on the platform and slope during the latest Permian;(2) reduced carbonate deposition at the onset of the main extinction horizon;(3) expanded areas of carbonate deposition during the Hindeodus changxingsensis Zone to the H. parvus Zone; and(4) persistent mud-enriched carbonate deposition in the aftermath of the Permian-Triassic transition. Although availability of skeletal carbonate was significantly reduced during the mass extinction, the increase in carbonate deposition did not behave the same way. The rapid carbonate depositional changes, presented in this study, suggest that diverse environmental changes played key roles in the carbonate deposition of the Permian-Triassic mass extinction and onset of its aftermath. An overview of hypotheses to explain these changes implies enhanced terrestrial input, abnormal ocean circulation and various geobiological processes contributed to carbonate saturation fluctuations, as the sedimentary response to large volcanic eruptions.
Li TianJinnan TongDavid BottjerDaoliang ChuLei LiangHuyue SongHaijun Song
国际地层委员会三叠系分会(Subcommission on Triassic Stratigraphy,简称STS)成立后的第一件工作就是建立全球统一的三叠纪年代地层划分方案.以国际地质对比规划项目IGCP-4(特提斯地区的三叠系)所取得的研究成果为基础,经过STS专家的深入研讨,采用投票表决的方式于1991年确定了将三叠系划分为3统7阶的国际年代地层格架.随后的焦点集中于各阶界线层型剖面和点位(Global Stratotype Section and Point,简称GSSP)的选定工作.但时至今日只确定了3个阶的GSSP,而且只有三叠系底界,即印度阶底界的GSSP获得的研究最多,且应用广泛;另外2个阶(拉丁阶和卡尼阶)底界的GSSP仍以传统的菊石作为首选定义标志,其推广可应用性还待实践检验.其他4个阶的界线层型选定工作正在推进中,但都存在一些困难,其中尤以奥伦尼克阶界线层型的选定工作面临重大挑战.鉴于国际年代地层研究工作所面临的困境,全国地层委员会组织专家于2000年提出了中国的年代地层划分和建阶方案,并在全国范围开展研究和推广应用.由于三叠纪时期中国处于从海向陆的重要转折时期,海、陆相地层在中国都有广泛发育,因此提出了海、陆相两套中国三叠纪年代地层划分和建阶方案.经过十多年的建阶研究和应用实践,中国三叠纪年代地层建阶方案逐步得以改进和完善,促进了中国三叠纪地层规范化研究,为相关科学研究和实践应用奠定了基础,也推动了国际相关领域的科学研究.
