A chert-phosphorite unit from the Sugetbrak section in the Tarim Basin was analyzed for rare earth elements(Ce,Eu),redox sensitive proxies,and carbon isotopic compositions(??13C carb and??13C org)in the lower Yurtus Formation of the Early Cambrian period.Redox sensitive element ratios(Th/U,V/Cr,Ni/Co,and V/Sc)were employed to determine the palaeoenvironmental conditions during this period.The ratios indicated that the depositional environment of the chert-phosphorite-black shale unit ranged from suboxic to anoxic.Negative Ce and positive Eu anomalies in the chert-phosphorite assemblages of the studied Yurtus Formation indicated the existence of a redox-stratified ocean,similar to that of South China.Overturn or upward expansion of the deep water-mass probably reached the shallow marine zone after the formation of the Yurtus phosphorites.The characteristics of the negative Ce anomaly may be due to phosphoritic inheritance from the Ce-depleted signature of the overlying water column.Subsequent hydrothermal inputs and reduced detrital supplies of the deep water caused by the upwelling affected certain redox sensitive elements in the sedimentary basin.??13C carb and??13C org negative excursions in the Yurtus chert-phosphorite unit may be related to a transgression phase when episodic basinal upwelling moved12C-and P-rich waters from the pelagic basin floor to the continental shelf.Although carbon isotopic compositions in the Yurtus chert-phosphorite assemblages may have suffered from diagenetic alteration,they can be used to probe diagenetic conditions.Multi-proxy geochemical studies indicated that the??13C carb values of the Yurtus chert-phosphorite assemblages might be considered reflections of a predominantly suboxic environment that was subsequently affected by hydrothermal inputs due to the upwelling.
YAO ChunYanMA DongShengDING HaiFengZHANG XiaoYongHUANG Hui
The upper Qigeblaq Formation （Fm） dolostones and the Yurtus Fm phosphatic cherts, black shales, limestones, and dolostones are widely distributed in the Precambrian/Cambrian transitional succession of the Aksu-Wushi area. Negative δ13C excursion above the Yurtus Fm/ Qigeblaq Fm boundary was determined in this study. The pronounced negative carbon isotope excursion occurs in the phosphatic chert layers at the bottom of the Cambrian Yurtus Fm, below which the first appearance of the Asteridium- Heh＇osphaeridium-Comasphaeridium （AHC） acritarch assemblage zone. The δ13C curve of the lower part of the Yurtus Fm in the Aksu-Wushi area was found to be correlated with the early Cambrian δ13C curves of the Zhujiaqing Fm （Daibu Member）, the lower part of the Yanjiahe Fm on the Yangtze Platform in China, the lower Tal Fm in India, the Sukharikha Fm in Siberia, and the upper part of the Tsagaan Oloom Fm in Mongolia through biostigraphy. The lower part of the Yurtus Fm in the Tarim Basin is at the Nemakit-Daldynian stage, and the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary of the Aksu-Wushi area may be located in the phosphatic chert unit which just below the first appearance AHC acritarch assemblage zone. The negative δ13C excursion （N1） across the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary in the studied section may have resulted from oceanic overturning and sea level rise.
