Long‐distance fluid migration defines the diagenetic history of unique Ediacaran sediments in the East European Craton

The diagenetic history of the Ediacaran sedimentary rocks in the East European Craton (EEC) over the area extending from Arkhangelsk (Russia) in the north to Podolia (Ukraine) in the south was revealed by means of the XRD characterization and K–Ar dating of clay fractions, mudstone porosity measurements and organic geochemistry investigations. Mudstone porosity measurements produced direct evidence of shallow maximum burial of the Ediacaran sediments on the craton (Russia, Lithuania, Belarus, Volyn), not exceeding 1.5 km, and much deeper burial at the cratonic margin, in Podolia and Poland. In general, illitization of smectite and biomarker indices indicates more advanced diagenesis at the cratonic margin. K–Ar dating of authigenic illite–smectite and aluminoceladonite revealed the Palaeozoic age of mineral diagenesis (ca. 450–300 Ma) both on the craton and its margin, with older ages generally observed in the north. When the maximum palaeotemperatures were evaluated from illite–smectite and biomarkers, based on the calibrations from the conventional burial diagenetic sections, a major mismatch was detected for the cratonic area: 100°C–130°C from illite––smectite and tens of ^oC lower from the lipid biomarkers. This diagenetic pattern was interpreted as the result of short‐lasting (in ky scale) pulses of potassium‐bearing hot fluids migrating from the Caledonian and Variscan orogens deep in the craton interior, effectively promoting illitization in porous rocks without altering the organic matter. Analogous short pulses of fluids were responsible for numerous diagenetic phenomena, including Mississippi Valley‐Type ore deposits, in the American Midwest, in front of the Appalachians. K–Ar dating indicates that the entire Proterozoic sedimentary cover of the Great Unconformity on the EEC remained untouched by measureable post‐sedimentary changes until the early Palaeozoic, thus for over 1000 My, which is an unprecedented finding.