ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Sedimentology, Stratigraphy and Diagenesis
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feart.2025.1632300
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in Sequence Stratigraphy Interpretation and Their ImplicationsView all 5 articles
Astronomical control on Upper Ordovician -Lower Silurian organic matter enrichment in South China
Provisionally accepted
- Sichuan Academy of Land Science and Technology (Sichuan Satellite Application Technology Center), Chengdu, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Astronomical forcing governed Late Ordovician-Early Silurian climate dynamics, yet high-resolution Astronomical Time Scales (ATS) and organic enrichment mechanisms during the end-Ordovician extinction remain poorly constrained. In this study, we integrated gamma ray (GR), δ¹³Corg, and chemical index of alteration (CIA) data from the Wufeng-Longmaxi formations (Weimohani section, South China) to establish a floating ATS tuned to 405-kyr eccentricity cycles, anchored to a Hirnantian U-Pb age (444.2 ± 1.6 Ma). This ATS constrains key stage durations (Hirnantian: 1.31 Myr; 432.19-444.01 Ma span) and confirms orbital control on eustasy: 1.2-Myr obliquity paced third-order icehouse-greenhouse transitions, while 405-kyr eccentricity drove fourth-order sea-level fluctuations.The CIA records demonstrate that obliquity-modulated thermohaline circulation enhanced nutrient flux to the Yangtze Shelf, with peak organic enrichment occurring during transitional climates (δ¹³Corg minima plus CIA maxima) rather than glacial extremes. These findings reveal a eustatic (orbital) dominance over tectonic controls and resolve the synergistic productivity-preservation balance governing organic matter accumulation.
Keywords: Astronomical cycles, Organic matter enrichment, Astronomical timescale, Sea-level change, thermohaline circulation, Late Ordovician extinction
Received: 20 May 2025; Accepted: 16 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yong, Hu, He, Liu, Zheng, Liu, Dong and Luo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jinjie Yong, Sichuan Academy of Land Science and Technology (Sichuan Satellite Application Technology Center), Chengdu, China
Shaoyong Hu, Sichuan Academy of Land Science and Technology (Sichuan Satellite Application Technology Center), Chengdu, China
Zhicheng Liu, Sichuan Academy of Land Science and Technology (Sichuan Satellite Application Technology Center), Chengdu, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.