浙江长兴二叠系和三叠系界限地层的碳同位素

研究海相碳酸盐岩的碳和氧同位素已有三十多年,积累了数千个数据,其目的在于研究古海洋碳和氧同位素的演变。在此期间,一部分研究者认为,海相碳酸盐岩的δ¹³C值在0±2范围内变化,未表现出与地质时代相关的变化趋势(Clayton和Degens,1959;Degens和Epstein,1962;Keith和Weber,1964;Galimov,1965;Becker和Clayton,1972;Schidlowski等,1975)。但是,另一些学者,如Jeffery等(1955),Baertschi(1975),Compston(1960),Weber(1967),Garrels和Parry(1974)却认为,海相碳酸盐岩的δ¹³C值随地质时代而有规律地变化。     

河北宽城地区中元古代高于庄组碳酸盐岩碳氧同位素特征

对河北宽城地区中元古代高于庄组碳酸盐岩的碳氧同位素进行了测定和原始性验证,表明其原始组分保存良好。δ13C、δ18O值分布范围和平均值分别为-5.03‰～0.07‰、-9.92‰～-4.12‰和-0.90‰、-6.58‰,整体上稍低于前人测定的天津蓟县剖面和北京十三陵剖面数据。分析认为:研究区δ13C值主要受有机碳氧化与有机碳的埋藏速率因素影响,有机碳的埋藏速率与蓝绿藻等生物数量关系密切,藻类繁盛的时期一般都具有较高的δ13C值,藻类稀少的时期则具有较低的δ13C值。在浅水潮坪环境中,δ13C值与海平面的变化呈正相关关系;研究区δ18O值则主要受海平面变化影响,与之呈负相关关系;研究区古盐度Z值主要介于120～125之间,相关性分析表明Z值不仅反映氧同位素组成,也反映了碳同位素组成,δ18O和δ13C均与沉积介质的盐度有关,其变化趋势是盐度越大,其δ值越高。     

古生代海洋碳同位素演化

本文给出对中国古生代海相碳酸盐岩地层的系统的碳同位素研究结果。对密集地采自寒武纪、奥陶纪、泥盆纪、石炭纪和二叠纪5个海相碳酸盐岩地层剖面的681个样品作了碳同位素研究。所得到的古生代海相碳酸盐岩地层δ¹³C值长趋势演化的模式表明,从寒武纪(δ¹³C平均为-0.3‰)到石炭纪(3‰)和二叠纪(3.4‰)逐渐富集¹³C.此变化模式与古生代有机碳的埋藏数量有关,或许与大洋中脊体系的体积变化有关。     

寒武纪生物爆发前的死劫难海洋

白垩纪/第三纪界线研究揭示,界线事件留下铱异常和碳同位素异常信息(Alvarez,1980;Hsü et al., 1982)。近来,二叠纪/三叠纪界线粘土中也发现了Ir-δ¹³C双异常(SunYiyin et al.,1984)。     

扬子地台灯影组碳酸盐岩中的硫和碳同位素记录

扬子地区灯影组的海相碳酸盐岩地层不仅记录了当时海水的碳同位素变化，也保存了海水的硫同位素记录，能够通过测定所提取的微量硫酸盐的硫同位素组成来获得。灯影组碳酸盐岩中微量硫酸盐的δ^34S值大部分在 20.0‰～ 38．7‰之间变化，碳酸盐岩的δ^13C值变化在 0．5‰～ 5．0‰之间。除灯影组顶、底界线处外，δ^34S和δ^13C值总体上变化幅度较小，大体上呈逐渐降低的变化趋势。灯影组碳酸盐岩中连续的硫、碳同位素记录分别反映了同期海水中溶解硫酸盐和碳酸盐的硫、碳同位素的变化特征。灯影组微量硫酸盐和碳酸盐岩的同位素特征，意味着灯影期海洋中具有高的生物产率和有机碳埋藏速率；除了顶底界线处，具有相对稳定的古气候条件和古海洋环境。灯影期海水的δ^34S值和δ^13C值同时呈逐渐降低的变化趋势，可能是由海洋深部水体逐渐氧化所致。     

碳酸盐岩C,O,Sr同位素组成在古气候、古海洋环境研究中的应用

碳酸盐岩C,O,Sr同位素研究是地球化学重要的示踪手段之一,它可以为研究古气候、古环境的变化提供定量的依据.研究结果表明:δ(13C)的高值对应海平面的上升和有机碳埋藏速率的增加,δ(13C)的低值则对应了海平面的下降和有机碳埋藏速率的降低;87Sr/86Sr比值与海平面变化呈负相关性;δ(18O)常作为判断碳酸盐是否受后期变化的标志之一.用海相碳酸盐岩C,O,Sr同位素示验古气候,古海洋环境,一般要求(Mn/Sr)＜-10×10-3,δ(13C)与δ(18O)不呈正相关关系.     

鄂尔多斯奥陶系碳酸盐岩碳氧同位素特征及其意义*

鄂尔多斯古生代海相地层沉积厚度巨大。鄂尔多斯奥陶系碳酸盐岩的碳氧同位素组成受后期成岩作用影响较小,基本保留了原始海洋的同位素组成： δ¹³C值分布于-7.30‰～2.26‰之间,均值-0.30‰;δ¹⁸O值分布于-13.14‰～-1.94‰之间,均值-6.38‰,碳氧同位素组成与全球基本一致。区域上,鄂尔多斯西缘具有相对较高的δ¹³C值,南缘次之,而东缘最低。纵向上,碳同位素组成逐渐增重,并在中晚奥陶世发生明显的正向偏移,δ¹³C均值由马家沟组的-0.36‰增加到平凉组的0.15‰,至背锅山组增加至0.68‰。碳同位素的区域分布差异表明鄂尔多斯西缘水体相对较深,南缘次之,东缘相对较浅,由早奥陶世至晚奥陶世水体逐渐加深,碳同位素组成反映的海平面变化趋势与沉积相演化一致。鄂尔多斯西南缘中晚奥陶世碳同位素组成的正向偏移,标志着较高的生产力和有机碳埋藏率,具有重要的石油地质学意义,西南缘的平凉组/乌拉力克组和背锅山组是下古生界最重要和有效的烃源岩层。     

浙江省常山县上震旦统西峰寺组碳酸盐的δ13C和δ18O测定

作者对浙江省常山县三里亭北九家坞的上震旦统剖面的碳酸盐系统采集的54个样品,作了碳、氧稳定同位素的分析。其中δ¹³C除4个外几乎全为正值,平均值2.16%,这与前人提到过的文德期以δ¹³C负迁移为特征的结论不符。离散变为9.0。最大负峰值出现在剖面近中部的磷块岩层中,可能与海流状况的剧变有关。δ¹⁸O除最末两个为小的正值外,几乎全为负值。     

燕山地区1.6～1.0Ga时期碳酸盐岩碳、氧同位素组成、演化及其地质意义

依据实测的燕山地区(1.6～1.0Ga)高于庄组—景儿峪组114个碳、氧同位素数据,研究、讨论了中、新元古界碳酸盐岩碳、氧同位素组成、演化及其地质意义。研究表明,燕山中、新元古界由下至上的地层序列上,碳、氧同位素表现明显的旋回性演化特征,二者多显正相关关系;δ13C在-3‰～3‰区间低幅、高频振荡;δ18O则表现为-2‰～-8‰的高幅、高频波动;δ13C值的增大与沉积环境由潮间向潮下演变、海平面上升、海水变淡、生物量增多相关;降低的δ13C多代表潮间—潮上环境。高于庄组瘤状灰岩及洪水庄组页岩δ13C为低负值,代表最大海泛期沉积。氧同位素组成和变化指示研究区总体为咸化环境,杨庄组上部和雾迷山组下部古海水盐度最高,之后盐度逐渐降低,至雾迷山组上部又有所升高。研究区与天津蓟县和北京十三陵地区的中、新元古代碳酸盐岩碳、氧同位素组成与演化表现出明显的相似性,反映了它们共同受燕山裂陷槽发育的控制;同时,与北美Belt超群和俄罗斯乌拉尔里菲期碳酸盐岩碳、氧同位素组成、演变的高度协同性,又说明了中、新元古代碳酸盐岩中碳、氧同位素组成、演化响应于全球古海洋背景和地球化学条件。     

四川广元上寺剖面二叠系栖霞组沉积碳库与有机碳埋藏

通过比对四川广元上寺剖面二叠系栖霞组碳同位素变化,探讨了该区烃源岩发育的古生态环境。 由于二叠纪高CO₂ 浓度背景使得古海洋海水中相对富集¹³C ,因此二叠纪海相沉积的四川广元上寺剖面栖霞组碳 酸盐岩碳同位素均为正值。广元上寺剖面栖霞组底部向上碳酸盐岩碳同位素逐渐正偏,显示从栖霞组底部沉积 时期开始海平面逐渐上升,向相对缺氧沉积环境过渡。栖霞组中部古海洋生产力增高,使得总有机碳同位素正 偏。受总有机碳同位素波动的影响,碳同位素分馏值( ∈_TOC)在整个栖霞组波动频繁。根据平衡状态下碳循环 有机碳埋藏分数模型,计算了整个栖霞组有机碳埋藏分数,结果显示有机碳埋藏分数 (f_org)在整个栖霞组都较 高,符合二叠纪的碳埋藏在整个显生宙处于最高阶段的地质背景。栖霞组中部高 TOC含量层位对应 f_org逐渐增 高,反映f_org 与有机碳沉积的保存环境密切相关,说明利用古海洋生产力和 f_org 的变化,可在一定程度上指示原始 碳埋藏量的变化。     

Oceanographic and climatic implications of the Palaeocene carbon isotope maximum

We have compared detailed planktonic and benthonic foraminiferal carbon and oxygen isotope records from the Palaeocene and early Eocene successions at DSDP Site 577 (Shatsky Rise, North Pacific), a composite section derived from DSDP Leg 74 sites (Walvis Ridge, South Atlantic) and a composite section from ODP Leg 113 sites (Maud Rise, Weddell Sea). The δ¹³C records of Palaeocene and early Eocene Foraminifera at Site 577 and the Leg 74 sites show that an increase in δ¹³C values in surface waters at 64 Ma (end of Zone P1) resulted in increased vertical carbon isotope gradients (δ¹³C) between surface and deeper dwelling planktonic foraminifera, and between surface-dwelling planktonics and benthonic foraminifera which became progressively steeper until the iniddle Late Palaeocene (Zone P4). This steepening also occurs in the latest Palaeocene of the composite Leg 113 section and can be explained by an increase in surface ocean productivity. This increase in productivity probably resulted in an expansion of the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). Benthonic δ¹³C values increased during the late Palaeocene in Site 577 and the composite Leg 74 section, suggesting that the Palaeocene carbon isotope maximum was composed of both within-ocean reservoir (increased surface water productivity) and between-reservoir (organic carbon burial) ftactionation effects. The benthonic δ¹³C increase lags the surface ocean δ¹³C increase in the early Palaeocene (63–64 Ma) suggesting that surface water productivity increase probably led an increase in the burial rate of organic carbon relative to carbonate sedimentation. Moreover, inter-site δ¹³C comparisons suggest that the locus of deep to intermediate water formation for the majority of the Palaeocene and the earliest Eocene was more likely to have been in the high southern latitudes than in the lower latitudes. Oxygen isotope data show a decline in deeper water temperatures in the early and early late Palaeocene, followed by a temperature increase in the late Palaeocene and across the PalaeoceneEocene boundary. We speculate that these changes in deeper water temperatures were related to the flux of CO₂ between the oceans and the atmosphere through a mechanism operating at the high southern latitudes.     

Isotopic composition (δ<Superscript>13</Superscript>C and δ<Superscript>18</Superscript>O) and genesis of carbonates from the famennian manganiferous formation of Pai-Khoi

The results of isotope-geochemical studies of carbonates of different mineral types from manganese and host rocks of the Famennian manganiferous formation of Pai-Khoi are reported. Kutnahorite ores are characterized by δ¹³C values from–6.6 to 1.3‰ and δ¹⁸O from 20.0 to 27.4‰. Rhodonite–rhodochrosite rocks of the Silovayakha ore occurrence have δ¹³C from–5.2 to–2.9 and δ¹⁸O from 25.4 to 24.3‰. Mineralogically similar rocks of the Nadeiyakha ore occurrence show the lighter carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions: δ¹³C from–16.4 to–13.1 and δ¹⁸O from 24.8 to 22.5‰. Similar isotopic compositions were also obtained for rhodochrosite–kutnahorite rocks of this ore occurrence: δ¹³C from–13.0 to–10.4‰ and δ¹⁸O from 24.6 to 21.7‰. Siderorodochrosite ores differ in the lighter oxygen and carbon isotopic compositions: δ¹⁸O from 18.7 to 17.6‰ and δ¹³C from–10.2 to–9.3‰, respectively. In terms of the carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions, host rocks in general correspond to marine sedimentary carbonates. Geological-mineralogical and isotope data indicate that the formation of the manganese carbonates was related to the hydrothermal ore-bearing fluids with the light isotopic composition of oxygen and carbon dissolved in CO₂. The isotopic features indicate an authigenic formation of manganese carbonates under different isotopegeochemical conditions.     

Strontium and carbon isotope stratigraphy of the Late Jurassic shallow marine limestone in western Palaeo-Pacific,northwest Borneo

Strontium and carbon isotope stratigraphy was applied to a 202 m-thick shallow marine carbonate section within the Late Jurassic Bau Limestone at the SSF quarry in northwest Borneo, Malaysia, which was deposited in the western Palaeo-Pacific. Strontium isotopic ratios of rudist specimens suggest that the SSF section was formed between the latest Oxfordian (155.95 Ma) and the Late Kimmeridgian (152.70 Ma), which is consistent with previous biostratigraphy. The δ¹³C_carb values of bulk carbonate range from −0.10 to +2.28‰ and generally show an increasing upward trend in the lower part of the section and a decreasing upward trend in the upper part of the section. A comparable pattern is preserved in the δ¹³C_org isotope record. Limestone samples of the SSF section mainly preserve the initial δ¹³C_carb values, except for the interval 84–92 m, where an apparent negative anomaly likely developed as a result of meteoric diagenesis. Comparing with the Tethyan δ¹³C_carb profile, a negative anomaly in the lower SSF section can be correlated with the lowered δ¹³C values around the Oxfordian/Kimmeridgian boundary. In addition, δ¹³C_carb values of the Bau Limestone are generally ∼1‰ lower than the Tethyan values, but comparable with the values reported from Scotland and Russia, located in Boreal realm during the Late Jurassic. This suggests that either the Tethyan record or the other records have been affected by the δ¹³C values of regionally variable dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). The Late Jurassic δ¹³C_DIC values are thought to have been regionally variable as a result of their palaeoceanographic settings. This study shows that δ¹³C chemostratigraphy of the Palaeo-Pacific region contributes to an improved understanding of global carbon cycling and oceanography during this time period.     

Carbon and oxygen stable isotopes in the middle-upper miocene and lower pliocene carbonates of the Eastern Paratethys (Kerch-Taman Region): Palaeoenvironments and post-sedimentation changes

C and O isotope composition of Middle-Upper Miocene and Lower Pliocene carbonates from Kerch-Taman Region (Eastern Paratethys) have been studied in order to reconstruct palaeoenvironmental variability and post-sedimentation changes. The δ¹³C and δ¹⁸О values of the Upper Sarmatian to Lower Pliocene organogenic carbonates reflect the desalinization of paleobasins, global Late Miocene Cooling, and increase in seasonal temperature fluctuations. Isotopic composition of the Middle Sarmatian organogenic carbonates was strongly influenced by evaporation processes, high bioproductivity, and local submarine methane emissions. Warm climate and low bioproductivity together with unstable hydrological regime during the Late Chokrakian and the Karaganian times influenced the isotope composition of primary carbonates. Calcite shell of Spiratella sp. (δ¹³C =–0.4‰ and δ¹⁸О =–0.4‰) from Tarkhanian sediments was formed in warm marine environment. Dolomitization prevails over other secondary mineralization in the studied carbonate rocks. Two groups of secondary dolomites that are characterized by negative and positive δ¹³C values have been recognized. Lowe δ¹³C values (up to–31.4‰) in dolomites indicate the influence of both dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) from oxidized organic matter (С_org) and methane. Dolomites with positive δ¹³C values (7.0 and 7.8‰) associat with migration of CO₂- and CH₄-containing saline groundwater.     

浙江省常山县上震旦统西峰寺组碳酸盐的δ13C和δ18O测定

 作者对浙江省常山县三里亭北九家坞的上震旦统剖面的碳酸盐系统采集的54个样品,作了碳、氧稳定同位素的分析。其中δ¹³C除4个外几乎全为正值,平均值2.16%,这与前人提到过的文德期以δ¹³C负迁移为特征的结论不符。离散变为9.0。最大负峰值出现在剖面近中部的磷块岩层中,可能与海流状况的剧变有关。δ¹⁸O除最末两个为小的正值外,几乎全为负值。     

Carbon isotope chemostratigraphy and implications of palaeoclimatic changes during the Cisuralian (Early Permian) in the southern Urals,Russia

In order to meet the requirements for potential GSSPs in the Cisuralian Series (Early Permian), isotopic chemostratigraphy from the Carboniferous/Permian boundary to middle Artinskian using bulk carbonates was investigated under high-resolution biostratigraphical and new geochronologic constrains from three GSSP candidate sections at Usolka, Kondurovsky and Dal'ny Tulkas in the southern Urals, Russia. A gradually increasing trend in carbonate carbon isotope (δ¹³C) has been observed in the interval from the base of Asselian to early Sakmarian, which is generally consistent in timing with the increasing development of Glacial III or P1 from the latest Carboniferous to early Sakmarian (Early Permian) which prevailed in southern Gondwana. An excursion with double negative shifts in δ¹³C value is present around the Asselian/Sakmarian boundary in both the Usolka and Kondurovsky sections, which may have great potential to serve as chemostratigraphical marks for intercontinental correlation. The following highly positive excursion of δ¹³C in early Sakmarian indicates the maximium expansion of Glacial III or P1. The negative δ¹³C shift in the middle Sakmarian is possibly related to the quick collapse of Glacial III or P1 on the Gondwanaland. This negative shift is largely correlative with those documented in other areas of Russia, the North American Craton and South China, but further precise biostratigraphical and geochronologic constrains are neccessary to confirm this global signal. The late Sakmarian is characterized by a strong oscillation stage of δ¹³C, which probably indicates a complex climate transition marked by smaller alternating glacial–interglacial transitions during Glacial P2 superimposed on an overall warming trend. The sharp negative δ¹³C shift around the Sakmarian/Artinskian boundary at the Dal'ny Tulkus section is difficult to interpret. This is followed by long-term low values (<?10‰) during the most part of Artinskian Stage. We suggest that the deeply depleted δ¹³C values in the Artinskian at the Dal'ny Tulkas section might result regionally from the enhanced input of organic carbon after the melt-out of ice sheets and the subsequent degradation and isotopic refractionation of the microbial chemosynthetic processes on the buried organic matter.     

Duration and synchroneity of the largest negative carbon isotope excursion on Earth: The Shuram/Wonoka anomaly

Carbonate δ¹³C values provide a useful monitor of changes in the global carbon cycle because they can record the burial ratio of organic to carbonate carbon. The most pronounced isotope excursions in the geologic record occur during the Neoproterozoic and have assumed a central role in the interpretation of biogeochemical events preceding the Ediacaran and Cambrian radiations. The most profound negative carbon isotope excursion is best recorded in the Ediacaran-aged Shuram Formation of Oman and has potential equivalents worldwide including the Wonoka Formation of South Australia and other sections in China, India, Siberia, Canada, Scandinavia and Brazil. All these excursions are less well understood than those in the Phanerozoic because of their unusual magnitude, long duration (> 1 Ma) and the difficulty in correlating Neoproterozoic basins to confirm independently that they do indeed record global change in the mixed ocean reservoir. Alternatively, these δ¹³C anomalies could reflect diachronous diagenetic processes. Currently none of these excursion are firmly time constrained and critical to their interpretation is a coherent reproducibility and synchroneity at the global ocean scale. Here we use available strontium isotope record as an independent chronometer to test the timing and synchroneity of the Shuram δ¹³C and its potential equivalents. The use of the ⁸⁶Sr/⁸⁷Sr ratio allows the reconstruction of a coherent, global δ¹³C record calibrated independently against time. The calibrated δ¹³C curve indicates that the Shuram negative anomaly spans several tens of millions of years and reaches values below −10‰. This carbon isotopic anomaly therefore represents a meaningful oceanographic event that fundamentally challenges our understanding of the carbon cycle as defined in the Phanerozoic.     

Application of carbon isotope chemostratigraphy to the Renison dolomites,Tasmania: A Neoproterozoic age

This study uses carbon isotope chemostratigraphy to propose an age for the Success Creek Group and Crimson Creek Formation in the absence of any direct radiometric dates, palaeomagnetic or reliable palaeontological data. The δ¹³C values were determined for the least‐altered dolomite samples. Suitable samples were selected on the basis of grainsize, cathodoluminescence petrography, most enriched δ¹⁸O values (> ‐2%o) low Mn/Sr ratios and low Fe and Mn concentrations. The average least‐altered, most ¹³C‐enriched dolomicrite samples in the youngest (No. 1) dolomite horizon are + 4.6%o. This is typical of Neoproterozoic (but not Cambrian) carbonates. The δ¹³C values of all dolomite samples in the succession are significantly positive (up to + 7.5%o) and the excursion characteristic of the Proterozoic/Cambrian boundary has not been observed. The lack of negative δ¹³C values in all dolomite samples studied also suggests an absence of correlatives of Sturtian and Varanger tillites in the dolomite successions. The δ¹³C values in all three dolomite horizons suggest a Neoproterozoic age between about 820 to 570 Ma (Cryogenian to Neoproterozoic III) on the current global compilation carbon isotope curves. This age for the Success Creek Group and Crimson Creek Formation, inferred from carbon isotope chemostratigraphy, can be substantiated by other evidence. The age of the Renison dolomites is constrained by K‐Ar dates of 708 ± 6 Ma from detrital muscovite in the underlying Oonah Formation and 588 ± 8 and 600 ± 8 Ma from doleritic rock in a lithostratigraphic equivalent of the Crimson Creek Formation from the Smithton Basin. Furthermore, acritarchs and the stromatolite Baicalia cf. B. burra also suggest a Neoproterozoic rather than Cambrian age.     

Carbon, oxygen, strontium, and sulfur isotopic compositions in late Precambrian rocks of the Patom Complex, central Siberia: Communication 2. Nature of carbonates with ultralow and ultrahigh δ13C values

The Patom Complex is characterized by a unique association of carbonate rocks with ultralow (≤8‰) and ultrahigh (>6‰) δ¹³C values. The thickness, stable isotopic composition along the strike, and lithological and geochemical parameters suggest that these rocks could not form as a result of short-term local events or epigenetic processes. Ultralow δ¹³C values (less than ?8‰) in carbonate rocks of the Zhuya Group, which substantially exceed all the known negative C isotope anomalies in thickness (up to 1000 m) and amplitude (δ¹³C = ?10 ± 2‰), point to sedimentation under conditions of extreme “contamination” of water column by oxidized isotopically light organic (hereafter, light) carbon. The decisive role in this contamination belonged to melting and oxidation of huge volumes of methane hydrates accumulated in sediments during the powerful and prolonged Early Vendian glacial epoch. The accumulation of δ¹³C-depleted carbonates was preceded by the deposition of carbonates with anomalously high δ¹³C values. These carbonates formed at high rates of the burial of organic matter and methane in sediments during periods when the sedimentation basin consumed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and organic carbon was conserved in sediments.     

Organic Carbon Isotope Geochemistry of the Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation, South China

The Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation on the Yangtze Platform, South China, documents a sedimentary succession with different sedimentary facies from carbonate platform to slope and to deep sea basin, and hosts one of the world-class phosphorite deposits. In these strata, exquisitely preserved fossils have been discovered： the Weng＇an biota. This study presents carbon isotope geochemistry which is associated paired carbonate and organic matter from the Weng＇an section of a carbonate platform （shelf of the Yangtze Platform, Guizhou Province） from the Songtao section and Nanming section of a transition belt （slope of the Yangtze Platform, Guizhou Province） and from the Yanwutan section （basin area of the Yangtze Platform, Hunan Province）. Environmental variations and bio-events on the Yangtze Platform during the Late Neoproterozoic and their causal relationship are discussed. Negative carbon isotope values for carbonate and organic carbon （mean δ^13Corg = -35.0‰） from the uppermost Nantuo Formation are followed by an overall increase in δ^13C up-section. Carbon isotope values vary between -9.9‰ and 3.6‰ for carbonate and between -35.6‰ and -21.5‰ for organic carbon, respectively. Heavier δ^13Ccarb values suggest an increase in organic carbon burial, possibly related to increasing productivity （such as the Weng＇an biota）. The δ^13C values of the sediments from the Doushantuo Formation decreased from the platform via the slope to basin, reflecting a reduced environment with minor dissolved inorganic carbon possibly due to a lower primary productivity. It is deduced that the classical upwelling process, the stratification structure and the hydrothermal eruption are principally important mechanisms to interpret the carbon isotopic compositions of the sediments from the Doushantuo Formation.