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Variabilities of carbonate δ13C signal in response to the late Paleozoic glaciations, Long’an, South China

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Abstract

An integrated study of biostratigraphy, microfacies, and stable carbon isotope stratigraphy was carried out on the late Famennian-early Asselian carbonates of the Long’an section in Guangxi, South China. Stable carbon isotope studies in the Long’an section have revealed four major positive shifts of δ13C values in the Carboniferous strata in South China. The first shift occurred in the Siphonodella dasaibaensia zone in the Tournaisian, with an amplitude of 4.19‰. The second shift occurred near the Visean/Serpukhovian boundary, with an amplitude of 2.63‰. The third shift occurred in the Serpukhovian, with an amplitude of 3.95‰. The fourth shift occurred in the Kasimovian, with an amplitude of 3.69‰. Furthermore, there were several brief positive δ13C shifts during the late Famennian to early Tournaisian. All of these shifts can be well correlated globally, and each corresponds to sea-level regressions in South China and Euro-America, indicating increases in ocean primary productivity and global cooling events. Chronologically, the four major positive excursions of δ13C, together with several brief positive δ13C shifts that were observed during the late Famennian to the early Tournaisian, correspond to the well-accepted Glacial I, II, and III events.

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Acknowledgements

This paper has received both technical and financial supports respectively from the National Basic Research Program of China under the State Key Laboratory of Geological Process and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) (No. KZ11K312), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41702366) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 3142018004)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Bing Yang & Xionghua Zhang

  2. Cores and Samples Centre of Natural Resources, Langfang, 065201, China

    Bing Yang & Haodong Xia

  3. State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Wenkun Qie & Xing Huang

  4. School of Safety Engineering, North China Institute of Science and Technology, Langfang, 065201, China

    Yi Wei

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Yang, B., Zhang, X., Qie, W. et al. Variabilities of carbonate δ13C signal in response to the late Paleozoic glaciations, Long’an, South China. Front. Earth Sci. 14, 344–359 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-019-0781-9

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