Demise of an extensive biostromal microbialite in the Furongian (late Cambrian) Chaomidian Formation, Shandong Province, China

摘要

This study focuses on an extensive biostromal microbialite (10-20 m in thickness and over 6,000 km 2 in area) and the overlying grainstones in the Furongian Chaomidian Formation, Shandong Province, China in order to understand the demise of the microbialite. The microbialites are characterized by centimeter-to decimeter-scale maze-like maceria structures and/or chaotic mesostructures. According to the megastructures of microbialites and the proportion of non-microbial carbonate sediment, the biostromal microbialite is generally divided into the lower and the upper parts, separated by a distinct surface. The lower part is laterally continuous and generally flat-bedded, whereas the upper part shows variable domal megastructures and locally co-occurs with abundant non-microbial carbonate sediment. The entire microbialite bed is sharply overlain by grainstone-dominated deposits via an erosion surface which is either irregular with significant relief or flat with hematitic coating. The lower part of the biostromal microbialites with flat-bedded megastructures most likely deposited contemporaneously during sea-level highstand in the early middle Furongian, as evinced by well-correlated flat-bedded units separated by distinct bounding surfaces. The microbialites formed regional topographic variation, generally deepening toward southeast. The flat-bedded microbialites were drowned by subsequent rapid rise in sea level. In the topographic highs, the microbialites caught up with sea-level rise, forming large-scale domal megastructures. In the topographic lows, however, domal microbialites formed together with abundant non-microbial sediment, which were frequently reworked by storm-induced waves and currents. Subsequent deposition and migration of coarse-grained non-microbial sediment during sea-level rise terminated the entire microbialites.