三峡“盖帽”白云岩的碳、硫稳定同位素研究及其成因探讨

新元古代南沱组冰碛层之上的“盖帽”白云岩在全球分布广泛, 碳稳定同位素表现出强烈的负偏移, 其成因被认为与甲烷的碳源有关。通过对湖北三峡庙河地区出露的“盖帽”白云岩的野外地质构造、碳 -氧稳定同位素和重晶石夹层的硫稳定同位素特征的研究, 发现除了明显的碳稳定同位素的负偏移之外, 重晶石的硫同位素值表现出明显的正偏移, 其数值可与现代海底甲烷喷气孔附近的自生重晶石矿物的同位素组成相对比, 进而认为“盖帽”白云岩的成因是末元古代“雪球”事件之后天然气水合物的释放与全球环境突变背景下的沉积产物。该研究成果将有助于对地史时期类似地质背景下古天然气水合物背景的识别和环境效应评价。     

Chemostratigraphy and lithological characters of Neoproterozoic cap carbonates from the Kuruktag Mountain, Xinjiang, western China

The Neoproterozoic Era includes some of the most largest ice ages in the geological history. The exact number of glaciations is unknown, though there were at least two events of global glaciation. Neoproterozoic glacial deposits in the Kuruktag Mountain, Xinjiang, western China have proven that there had occurred three discrete Neoproterozoic glaciations. Diamictite units occurred in the Bayisi, Tereeken, and Hankalchough formations, carbonate units were recognized among the diamictites and immediately overlied the Bayisi, Tereeken and Hankalchough diamictites. Carbonates at the top of the Bayisi Formation are characterized by the dolo-sility stones with negative δ13C values ranging from -4.10‰ to -8.17‰ (PDB), comparable to the Sturtian cap carbonates that overlie the Sturtian glacial deposits from other Neoproterozoic sequences. Carbonates overlying the Tereeken Formation are characterized by the pinkish cap dolostones (ca. 10 m thick) with negative δ13C values ranging from -2.58‰ to -4.77‰ (PDB), comparable to the Marinoan cap carbonates. The cap is also characterized by tepee-like structures, barite precipitates and pseudomorphous aragonite crystal fan limestones. Carbonates at the top of the Hankalchough Formation are characterized by subaerial exposure crust (vadose pisolite structure, calcareous crust structure) dolostones with negative δ13C values ranging from -4.56‰ to -11.45‰ (PDB) and the calcareous crust dolostones, implying that the Hankalchough cap carbonates differ from either the Sturtian or Marinoan cap carbonates in sedimentary environment and carbon isotopic composition. In addition, it is suggested the Hankalchough glaciation belongs to a terrestrial glaciation and it is the third largest glaciation during the Neoproterozoic period on the Tarim platform.     

新元古代晚期盖帽碳酸盐岩的成因与“雪球地球”的终结机制

新元古代晚期约635 Ma的地球发育了到达赤道附近的冰川作用，地质记录上表现为代表寒冷气候的冰期沉积杂砾岩，直接被代表温暖环境的碳酸盐岩层（常称盖帽碳酸盐岩）覆盖。由于盖帽碳酸盐岩奇特的岩石学和地球化学特征，引起了对其成因认识的巨大争论，提出了“雪球地球”和“甲烷渗漏”等假说。“雪球地球”假设可以解释一些令人困惑的地学现象，如低纬度和低海拔冰川沉积、盖帽碳酸盐岩、碳酸盐δ13C负漂移和条带状铁矿层等，但许多科学家对此提出了质疑。最近对盖帽碳酸盐岩的δ13C分析结果（最低达-41‰）、盖帽碳酸盐岩发育的类似现代冷泉碳酸盐岩沉积组构等似乎支持“甲烷渗漏”假说。     

On the reliability of stable carbon isotopes for Neoproterozoic chemostratigraphic correlation

The reliability of δ¹³C trends in Neoproterozoic carbonate-dominated successions for regional and global chemostratigraphic correlation is discussed. In the light of recent findings of a predominantly non-marine rare earth element and yttrium signature in most Neoproterozoic carbonates and a comparatively short oceanic residence time of carbon, trends towards enrichment in ¹³C seen in many of these carbonates are considered to reflect facies variations rather than temporal signals of ocean chemistry. Positive δ¹³C_Carb excursions are explained by elevated bioproductivity and/or increased evaporation in shallow marine, near-coastal, temporarily restricted depositional environments. Examples are provided that illustrate that C isotope trends can be highly ambiguous temporal markers and are in the absence of other chemostratigraphic data, such as Sr isotope ratios, and radiometric age control of only limited use for stratigraphic correlation. The overall enrichment in ¹³C recorded by most Neoproterozoic carbonates, except for those in close stratigraphic proximity to glacial deposits, is suggested to reflect a dominance of microbially mediated carbonate formation in the Neoproterozoic. This might explain why C isotope chemostratigraphy in Neoproterozoic successions is less reliable than in Phanerozoic successions in which carbonates are, with only few exceptions, biogenic products of shelly fossils.     

Low-latitude and multiple geomagnetic reversals in the Neoproterozoic Puga cap carbonate, Amazon craton

Palaeomagnetic study of the carbonates that ubiquitously cap glacial deposits may constrain the latitudinal extent of Neoproterozoic glaciations and the duration of the greenhouse recovery. We present the first palaeomagnetic data on the Neoproterozoic cap carbonates covering the Amazon craton, which are folded along the Paraguay Belt. Samples collected at deformed beds along the Paraguay Belt present a single‐polarity secondary magnetization acquired by the end of the Brasiliano orogeny (540–520 Ma). In the cratonic area, a dual‐polarity component was isolated in dolostones at the base of the sequence. The presence of a stratabound reversal stratigraphy along with high unblocking temperatures strongly suggest that this magnetization is primary. This result implies a low palaeolatitude (22+6/?5°) for the Amazon block just after deposition of Puga diamictites. In addition, the presence of multiple reversals across the first 20 m of the cap carbonate sequence suggests that their sedimentation must have spanned hundreds of thousands of years at least.     

Molar-tooth Carbonate Sequences and Sr Isotopes in the Neoproterozoic for Stratigraphic Correlation: Research in the Jilin-Liaoning-Xuzhou-Huaiyang Area of the Sino-Korean Plate and Its Correlation with the Yangtze Plate

Based on a study of Neoproterozoic carbonates in the Jilin-Liaoning-Xuzhou-Huaiyang area, especially its cyclic sequence stratigraphy and Sr isotopes, two maximum sea flooding events (at 820 Ma and 835 Ma) have been identified. The resulting isochronous stratigraphic correlation proves that these Precambrian strata were connected between the Qingbaikou and the Nanhuan systems with a time range from 750 Ma to 850 Ma. The disappearance of microsparite carbonate and coming of a glacial stage offer important evidence for worldwide stratigraphic correlation and open a window for further correlation of the stratigraphic successions across the Sino-Korean and Yangtze Plates. A new correlation scheme is therefore provided based on our work.     

Major shoreline retreat and sediment starvation following Snowball Earth

While cap dolostones are integral to the Snowball Earth hypothesis, the current depositional model does not account for multiple geological observations. Here we propose a model that rationalises palaeomagnetic, sequence‐stratigraphic and sedimentological data and supports rapid deglaciation with protracted cap dolostone precipitation. The Snowball Earth hypothesis posits that a runaway ice‐albedo can explain the climate paradox of Neoproterozoic glacial deposits occurring at low palaeolatitudes. This scenario invokes volcanic degassing to increase atmospheric greenhouse gases to a critical threshold that overcomes the albedo effect and brings the planet back from the ice‐covered state. Once this occurs, Earth should shift rapidly from a snowball to an extreme greenhouse. However, cap dolostone units overlying glacial sediments, typically interpreted as transgressive deposits, exhibit multiple magnetic reversals indicating they accumulated in >10⁵ years. By reviewing modern post‐glacial systems, sequence stratigraphic concepts and principles of sedimentology, we suggest that cap dolostones are not restricted to the transgression but rather represent sediment starvation following a major landward shoreline migration associated with the demise of Snowball Earth. Thus, the duration in which cap dolostone accumulated is not directly coupled to the timescale of the Snowball Earth deglaciation.     

从"全球冰川"到"雪球假说"——关于新元古代冰川事件的最新研究

新元古代冰期地层不同于显生宙冰期地层，近年来，一些学者提出了雪球假说，掀起了关于新元古代冰期环境特征与因演化的研究热潮，成为当前地学前沿的一个热门课题。本轮研究的一个突出特点，是它的高度综合性，涉及岩石圈，水圈，大气圈和生物圈，此外还牵攫到天体运行等学科。研究重点有新元古代冰川作用的低纬和低海拔特征。与Rodinia超大陆裂解的关系，冰室效应和温室效应的矛盾运动，海洋封冻的探索，碳酸盐岩岩帽的成因，碳，硫，锶等同位素的峰谷变化的环境含义，冰期地层中铁矿的成因，新元古代冰期的次数争议，雪球理论的数值模拟和冰期环境特征及其变化与生物演化，特别是与早寒武世生物大辐射的关系等。我国南方已成为研究新元古代冰期地层及其与寒武系生物大辐射关系的重要地区之一。     

Molar-tooth Carbonate Sequences and Sr Isotopes in the Neoproterozoic for Stratigraphic Correlation： Research in the JUin-Liaoning-Xuzhou-Huaiyang Area of the Sino-Korean Plate and Its Correlation with the Yangtze Plate

Based on a study of Neoproterozoic carbonates in the Jilin-Liaoning-Xuzhou-Huaiyang area, especially its cyclic sequence stratigraphy and Sr isotopes, two maximum sea flooding events (at 820 Ma and 835 Ma) have been identified. The resulting isochronous stratigraphic correlation proves that these Precambrian strata were connected between the Qingbaikou and the Nanhuan systems with a time range from 750 Ma to 850 Ma. The disappearance of microsparite carbonate and coming of a glacial stage offer important evidence for worldwide stratigraphic correlation and open a window for further correlation of the stratigraphic successions across the Sino-Korean and Yangtze Plates. A new correlation scheme is therefore provided based on our work.     

'Cap carbonates' and Neoproterozoic glacigenic successions from the Kimberley region, north-west Australia

The term ‘cap carbonate’ is commonly used to describe carbonate units associated with glacigenic deposits in Neoproterozoic successions. Attempts to use carbonate units as stratigraphic markers have been counfounded by inconsistent identification of ‘cap carbonates’ and a somewhat broad use of the term. Systematic sedimentological and geochemical analysis of carbonate rocks (mostly dolomite) associated with glacigenic deposits from the Neoproterozoic succession of the Kimberley region, north‐western Australia, shows that it is possible to characterize such units by their specific mineralogical, sedimentological, petrographic, geochemical and stratigraphic features. Hence, it is possible to differentiate true ‘cap carbonates’ from other carbonate units that are associated with glacigenic deposits. In the Kimberley successions two broad carbonate types are identified that reflect two stratigraphically distinct depositional realms. Carbonate rocks from the Egan Formation and Boonall Dolomite (the youngest carbonate units in the succession) are characterized by sedimentary components and features that are consistent with deposition on shallow platforms or shelves, analogous to Phanerozoic warm‐water carbonate platform deposits. In contrast, dolomite from the Walsh, Landrigan and Moonlight Valley Tillites preserves a suite of sedimentary and geochemical characteristics that are distinctly different from Phanerozoic‐like carbonate rocks; they are thin (ca 6 m), laterally persistent units of thinly laminated dolomicrite/dolomicrospar recording δ¹³C fluctuations from −1‰ to −5‰. These latter features are consistent with a ‘Marinoan‐style cap‐carbonate’ rock described from other Neoproterozoic successions. The similarity and broad distribution of these rocks in Australia, when considered within the context of genetic models suggesting a global oceanographic–atmospheric event, support their use as a lithostratigraphic marker horizon for the start of the Ediacaran Period at ca 635 Ma.     

Sedimentology and chemostratigraphy of the Bwipe Neoproterozoic cap dolostones (Ghana,Volta Basin): A record of microbial activity in a peritidal environment

Neoproterozoic glacial and post-glacial sediments from the Volta Basin (West Africa) form a stratigraphic ‘Triad’ of tillites, carbonates and cherts. The carbonates that cap the tillites were studied in detail at Bwipe (Ghana), in the western part of the basin. They are made of finely-laminated dolostones with well-preserved sedimentary features, suggesting that dolomite formation was penecontemporaneous of deposition in a warm, arid peritidal environment, with microbial activity. Rare-earth element distribution display seawater-like patterns. Redox-sensitive trace elements indicate suboxic conditions. High Ba/Al ratios can be related to high organic productivity. δ¹³C values are nearly constant at −3.7‰ and δ¹⁸O_PDB are about −6‰. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios range between 0.7061 and 0.7073. The δ¹³C signatures are nearly similar to those of coeval cap dolostones from the northern part of the Basin. The dolostones change upwards to limestones with secondary textures, as well as more negative δ¹³C and higher ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio. Therefore, only the dolostones witness the post-glacial conditions in seawater. It is proposed that, due to a bloom of microbial productivity following ice thaw, organic matter likely accumulated at the water–sediment interface and was consumed by sulphate-reducing bacteria, leading to the precipitation of δ¹³C-negative dolomite. This microbially mediated model is supported by present-day field evidence from hypersaline lagoons in Brazil and by previously published culture experiments. It is consistent with the sedimentological and geochemical data from the Ghana cap dolostones and can be applied to other Neoproterozoic cap dolostones worldwide.     

Palaeolatitude of glacial deposits and palaeogeography of Neoproterozoic ice ages

At the end of the Neoproterozoic, the Earth may have experienced important environmental changes, with a transition between two supercontinents (from Rodinia to Gondwana), extensive glaciations with ice caps reaching the Equator and the beginning of metazoan diversification. In such a context, the palaeomagnetic record can be used to constrain both the palaeogeography and the palaeoclimate (palaeolatitudinal distribution of glacial deposits). Here we present an up-to-date geochronological and palaeomagnetic database for the Neoproterozoic glacial deposits, including poles recently obtained on ‘cap carbonates’ from China, Oman, and Amazonia. The database comprises ten poles (from eight different cratons), obtained directly on the glacial deposits or on the overlying ‘cap carbonate’, and two other palaeolatitudes derived from reference poles coeval to well-dated glacial units in the same craton. The occurrence of glacial deposition at low latitudes (<30 °) is attested by some good-quality poles, two of them well dated at ∼740 and ∼635 Ma. Based on these poles and on reference poles obtained on igneous rocks, tentative palaeogeographic reconstructions for ∼750, ∼620, and ∼580 Ma (ages for which the database has limited but still sufficient entries) were performed in order to investigate the tectonic context within which the glacial events were produced.     

The snowball Earth hypothesis: testing the limits of global change

The gradual discovery that late Neoproterozoic ice sheets extended to sea level near the equator poses a palaeoenvironmental conundrum. Was the Earth's orbital obliquity > 60° (making the tropics colder than the poles) for 4.0 billion years following the lunar‐forming impact, or did climate cool globally for some reason to the point at which runaway ice‐albedo feedback created a `snowball' Earth? The high‐obliquity hypothesis does not account for major features of the Neoproterozoic glacial record such as the abrupt onsets and terminations of discrete glacial events, their close association with large (> 10‰) negative δ<sup>13</sup>C shifts in seawater proxies, the deposition of strange carbonate layers (`cap carbonates') globally during post‐glacial sea‐level rise, and the return of large sedimentary iron formations, after a 1.1 billion year hiatus, exclusively during glacial events. A snowball event, on the other hand, should begin and end abruptly, particularly at lower latitudes. It should last for millions of years, because outgassing must amass an intense greenhouse in order to overcome the ice albedo. A largely ice‐covered ocean should become anoxic and reduced iron should be widely transported in solution and precipitated as iron formation wherever oxygenic photosynthesis occurred, or upon deglaciation. The intense greenhouse ensures a transient post‐glacial regime of enhanced carbonate and silicate weathering, which should drive a flux of alkalinity that could quantitatively account for the world‐wide occurrence of cap carbonates. The resulting high rates of carbonate sedimentation, coupled with the kinetic isotope effect of transferring the CO₂ burden to the ocean, should drive down the δ¹³C of seawater, as is observed. If cap carbonates are the `smoke' of a snowball Earth, what was the `gun'? In proposing the original Neoproterozoic snowball Earth hypothesis, Joe Kirschvink postulated that an unusual preponderance of land masses in the middle and low latitudes, consistent with palaeomagnetic evidence, set the stage for snowball events by raising the planetary albedo. Others had pointed out that silicate weathering would most likely be enhanced if many continents were in the tropics, resulting in lower atmospheric CO₂ and a colder climate. Negative δ¹³C shifts of 10–20‰ precede glaciation in many regions, giving rise to speculation that the climate was destabilized by a growing dependency on greenhouse methane, stemming ultimately from the same unusual continental distribution. Given the existing palaeomagnetic, geochemical and geological evidence for late Neoproterozoic climatic shocks without parallel in the Phanerozoic, it seems inevitable that the history of life was impacted, perhaps profoundly so.     

新元古代帽碳酸盐岩中帐篷状构造的成因

帐篷构造是碳酸盐岩中的一种特殊沉积组构,因其倒“V”字形形态类似于帐篷(tepee)而得名,被认为是一种无成因意义的沉积组构。传统的帐篷构造在海相至陆相碳酸盐岩中都有发育,形态和胶结物的不同反映了沉积环境的变化,其成因为裂隙填充的胶结物结晶膨胀导致层面突起变形。新元古代帽碳酸盐岩中广泛发育有倒“V”字形的类似构造,但由于形态和成因上都和传统的帐篷构造有所区别,被称为“帐篷状构造”(te-pee-likestructure)。目前其成因解释主要有:“巨风暴潮波痕”、“甲烷气体渗漏”、“地下水侵位”和“晶体结晶”的假说。由于帐篷状构造的形成过程与机制和帽碳酸盐岩的成因密切相关,对帐篷状构造的进一步研究必将帮助我们对新元古代冰期结束机制的理解。     

Glacial diamictites of Serra Azul Formation (Ediacaran,Paraguay belt): Evidence of the Gaskiers glacial event in Brazil

Discontinuous outcrops of diamictites and siltstones are found above post-Marinoan carbonates from the Araras Formation and represent the record of a second glaciation in the northern Paraguay belt, Brazil. This new stratigraphic unit, named the Serra Azul Formation, varies in thickness between 250 and 300 m; it lies on top of dolomites of the Araras Group and is overlain by sandstones of the Raizama Formation. Massive diamictite, approximately 70 m thick, composes the basal unit (Unit A), followed by 200 m thick laminated siltstones (Unit B), which contain sparse intercalations of very fine-grained sandstone lenses. This new diamictite level is probably related to the Gaskiers Glaciation, with an age of approximately 580 Ma, and represents the youngest Neoproterozoic glacial event recorded in South America.     

Geochemical properties of Neoproterozoic “cap dolomites” in the Patom paleobasin and problem of their genesis

The characteristic feature of many Upper Neoproterozoic glacial sequences is their “cap carbonates” (CC) resting without visible unconformity upon glaciogenic diamictites. Such an unusual association, peculiar structures and textures, and negative δ¹³C values (approximately −4 ± 2‰) that are atypical of marine carbonates provoked long debates about the nature of these carbonates, which play an important role in the Snowball Earth hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, the Earth was entirely covered by ice during large-scale glaciations, and CC accumulation was related to the global change in geochemical processes. In this work, we discuss data on the chemical and isotopic (C, O, Sr) compositions of CCs, which overlie glacial sediments of the Nichatka and Bol’shoi Patom formations accumulated in different parts of the Neoproterozoic Patom paleobasin (Central Siberia). High concentrations of Fe (up to 6400 ppm), Mn (2320 ppm), and radiogenic Sr (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr₀ up to 0.7172) established in CCs indicates a strong influence of the continental flow. Extraordinary Snowball Earth conditions are not necessary for the accumulation of these rocks, geochemical and sedimentological properties of which may be explained by the discharge of thawing waters into partly or completely isolated near-glacier basin, their intermittent freezing, and/or washout of “frozen” carbonates from the surface of thawing glaciers. The peculiar thin-laminated texture of CC may be related to seasonal processes of climatic cycles. They were accumulated in the course of general (relatively long-term) depletion of the atmosphere and hydrosphere in ¹³C, which has nothing to do with the CC formation as a specific type of carbonate sediments. Amplitude and duration of the negative δ¹³C excursion in carbonates associated with the Lower Vendian glacial sediments (665–635 Ma) are appreciably lower than the negative anomaly in rocks of the Zhuya Group that likely correspond to the Shuram-Vonoka Event (∼560−580 Ma ago), which probably marks the crucial point in the Precambrian deglaciation: mass destabilization of methane hydrates and degradation of the Early Vendian psychrosphere in oceans.     

One,two or no record of late neoproterozoic glaciation in South-East Cameroon?

Severe climate changes culminating in at least three major glacial events have been recognized in the Neoproterozoic sedimentary record from many parts of the world. Supportive to the global nature of these climatic shifts, a considerable amount of data have been acquired from deposits exposed in Pan-African orogenic belts in southwestern and western Africa. By comparison, published data from the Pan-African belts in Central Africa are scarce. We report here evidence of possibly two glacial events recorded in the Mintom Formation that is located on the margin of the Pan-African orogenic Yaoundé belt in South-East Cameroon.In the absence of reliable radiometric data, only maximum and minimum age limits of 640 and 580 Ma, respectively, can at present be applied to the Mintom Formation. The formation consists of two lithostratigraphic ensembles, each subdivided in two members (i.e., in ascending stratigraphic order the Kol, Métou, Momibolé, and Atog Adjap Members). The basal ensemble exhibits a typical glacial to post-glacial succession. It includes diamictites comprising cobbles and boulders in a massive argillaceous siltstone matrix, and laminated siltstones followed by, in sharp contact, a 2 m-thick massive dolostone that yielded negative δ¹³C values (<?3‰ V-PDB) similar to those reported for Marinoan cap carbonates elsewhere. However, uncertainty remains regarding the glacial influence on the siliciclastic facies because the diamictite is better explained as a mass-flow deposit, and diagnostic features such as dropstones have not been seen in the overlying siltstones. The Mintom Formation may thus provide an example of an unusual succession of non-glacial diamictite overlain by a truly glacial melt-related cap-carbonate.We also report the recent discovery of ice-striated pavements on the structural surface cut in the Mintom Formation, suggesting that glaciers developed after the latter had been deposited and deformed during the Pan-African orogeny. Striations, which consistently exhibit two principal orientations (N60 and N110), were identified in two different localities, in the west of the study area on siltstones of the Kol Member, and in the east on limestones of the Atog Adjap Member, respectively. N60-oriented striae indicate ice flow towards the WSW. Assigning an age to these features remains problematical because they were not found associated with glaciogenic deposits. Two hypotheses can equally be envisaged, i.e., either the striated surfaces are correlated: (1) to the Gaskiers (or Neoproterozoic post-Gaskiers) glaciation and represent the youngest Ediacaran glacial event documented in the southern Yaoundé belt; or (2) to the Late Ordovician Hirnantian (Saharan) glaciation, thereby providing new data about Hirnantian ice flows in Central Africa.     

Neoproterozoic diamictites from the Itombwe Synclinorium, Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo: Palaeoclimatic significance and regional correlations

The Itombwe Synclinorium in the Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo contains a Neoproterozoic succession of greenschist facies metasedimentary rocks defined as the Itombwe Supergroup, dated between 1020 ± 50 and 575 ± 83 Ma. The Itombwe Supergroup unconformably overlies the Mesoproterozoic Kibaran belt and is subdivided into the Upper and Lower Kadubu Groups which are separated by a faulted tectonic contact. Graded, rhythmically repeated sequences of sandstones, greywackes, phyllites and shales indicate deposition as turbiditic sediment-gravity flows. Periods of basin anoxia are indicated by the presence of graphitic black shales. The Lower and Upper Kadubu Groups contain three stratigraphic levels of diamictites and lonestone-bearing iron-rich sedimentary rocks interpreted as glaciogenic strata, which broadly correlate with other Neoproterozoic glacial sequences in the Central African region and elsewhere around the world. Current stratigraphic and geochronological knowledge of these beds is insufficient to provide more accurate correlations.     

The relationship between the Neoproterozoic Noonday Dolomite and the Ibex Formation: New observations and their bearing on ‘snowball Earth’

The Neoproterozoic Ibex Formation (Death Valley region, California) is commonly interpreted as a coeval basinal facies to the Noonday Dolomite carbonate platform. However, in some areas (e.g., the Black Mountains, Death Valley), the Ibex Formation is found to rest on the eroded surface of the lower Noonday Dolomite and older units. Sediment-filled grikes root from the top of the eroded lower Noonday Dolomite, followed by the subsequent deposition of the Ibex Formation. Thus, the lower Noonday Dolomite is not considered coeval with all of the Ibex Formation as they are separated by a significant unconformity.At the type section in the Ibex Hills, the basal Ibex Formation commonly consists of polymict conglomerate and laminated mudstone; the upper surface of the mudstone is pierced by large angular clasts of underlying units, including distinctive lower Noonday Dolomite tubestone lithotypes. Here, a finely-laminated pink dolostone that records negative δ¹³C values caps the basal Ibex conglomerate.Several interpretations of the new observations are possible. The erosional unconformity upon which the Ibex is deposited may be glacio-eustatic in origin, the basal conglomerate would represent glaciogenic ice rafted debris, and the overlying dolostone is a classic cap carbonate (noted atop many Neoproterozoic glacial deposits worldwide). Combined with the record from underlying units, the Death Valley succession would then unambiguously record three discrete Neoproterozoic ice ages with cap carbonates in a single succession. Alternatively, the sequence boundary could represent local tectonic activity rather than glacioeustacy.     

Trace element distribution in Neoproterozoic carbonates as palaeoenvironmental indicator

A first study of REE + Y distribution in a variety of Neoproterozoic (Cryogenian and Ediacaran) carbonates from different settings in the Saldania, Gariep, Damara and West Congo Belts in southwestern and central Africa revealed systematic differences that can be explained by varying palaeoenvironmental factors. The majority of samples display relatively unfractionated, flat shale-normalised REE + Y patterns that cannot be ascribed solely to shale contamination but are interpreted as resulting from the incorporation of near-shore colloids, possibly related to Fe-oxihydroxide scavenging. Only few carbonate units yielded trace element distributions that conform to a typical seawater composition. Those carbonates that were affected by stratiform, syn-sedimentary hydrothermal mineralisation are distinguished by Eu anomalies. Considering the similarity in residence time between REE and carbon, the strong influence of river-born particles on the REE + Y distribution in the analysed carbonates casts considerable doubt over the usefulness of these carbonates for stratigraphic correlation of Neoproterozoic sediment successions based on carbon isotopes.