ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Biogeochemistry
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1607571
This article is part of the Research TopicQuantitative Reconstruction of Marine Carbonate Production: From Modern to Deep-Time OceansView all 10 articles
Sequence stratigraphy and geometry of the carbonate platform in the Longwangmiao Formation (Toyonian), Cambrian, SW China
Provisionally accepted
- 1State Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, China University of Petroleum (East China),, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China
- 2School of Geoscience, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, Shandong Province, China
- 3State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing, China
- 4College of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing, China
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Carbonate platforms provide important sedimentary archives to recording paleoceanography and paleoenvironment. The aim of this study is to decipher the controls on platform evolution and its constraint to the chemostratigraphic correlation in Lower Cambrian at the eastern part of Yangtze Platform. Two third-order sequences (SQ1, SQ2) and six fourth-order sequences (PSQ1, PSQ2, PSQ3, PSQ4, PSQ5, PSQ6) were recognized in the Longwangmiao Formation. Thirteen lithofacies (Lf1-Lf13) and three facies associations (shoreface, upper offshore, lower offshore) were identified across the proximal to distal range of the platform. The correlation between logged outcrop sections suggest that the carbonate platform evolved from a homoclinal ramp in PSQ1 to a more distally deepened geometry in PSQ2, with this evolution driven by synsedimentary fault activity. From PSQ2 to 3, the geometry evolved from a ramp to a rimmed platform associated with the depleted δ13C values and increasing CIA index. Such a transition of platform geometry may be attributed to the enhance rate of carbonate production due to the intense weathering and nutrient input. The final evolution of the Eastern Yangtze Platform (PSQ4) seemed to have been driven by falling relative sea-level and resulted in the formation of a flat-topped morphology, associated with subaerial exposure and depleted in δ13C (LNE2). The two final sequences recognized in outcrop, PSQ5 and 6, are only recognized in the distal reaches of the deposit, and are interpreted to be “missed beats” in the sense that sea level did not transgress the platform top. This study suggests the importance of carbonate production driven by chemical weathering on the control of platform geometry and sequence stratigraphy.
Keywords: sequence stratigraphy, Platform geometry, Carbonate production, chemical weathering, Longwangmiao formation, South China
Received: 07 Apr 2025; Accepted: 27 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Gao and Zou. 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: Huoqing Gao, State Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, China University of Petroleum (East China),, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China
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