Coloration and Environmental Significance of the Marine Red Bed from the Sowa Formation Carbonate in the Qiangtang Basin
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摘要: 目的 海相红层分布在地质历史时期各个阶段,被解读为特殊环境的产物,并引起广泛关注。 方法 西藏双湖县毕洛错出露的侏罗系索瓦组表现为红色碳酸盐岩,围绕其致色成因与沉积意义,综合采用沉积学、矿物学和地球化学方法展开探讨。 结果 通过对索瓦组野外沉积学和镜下薄片鉴定,发现岩石以鲕粒—球粒支撑灰岩为主,富含头足、双壳、苔藓虫、腹足及其他底栖生物碎屑,鲕核以生物碎屑和陆源石英碎屑为主,呈现高能滩相沉积特征;光谱学研究和扫描电镜显示,致红色原因主要为亚微米级—微米级半自形—他形晶的赤铁矿,致色矿物集中在鲕粒圈层结构中,胶结物基本不含致色矿物,说明同沉积过程与早期成岩时期,尤其是鲕粒和球粒形成时期表面微需氧嗜铁微生物,对致色铁的氧化起到了重要作用。另外,碳酸盐矿物的地球化学分析结果显示,岩石的红色度与陆源碎屑输入的通量具有正相关性,且呈现正Ce/Ce*异常、富中稀土式配分曲线的特征,代表了铁氧化物经历了还原性溶解后的重结晶作用。 结论 据此,研究重建了索瓦组红层致色过程:陆源含铁矿物输入为致红色提供了物质基础,在动荡水体的同沉积过程中,鲕粒表层开始以胶体形式附着Fe(III)。随后在早成岩过程中,还原性流体促使含铁矿物溶解,为嗜铁微生物提供游离状态的铁离子,使其重结晶,通过化学成因或生物成因最终形成羟基铁并致红色。Abstract: Objective Marine red beds are distributed across various stages in geological history, are often interpreted as products of special environments, and have attracted widespread attention. The Sowa Formation in the Jurassic Qiangtang Basin is a set of sedimentary rocks composed of clastic and carbonate mixed sediments. In the Sowa Formation exposed in Bilocuo, Shuanghu county, Tibet, the red beds are mainly composed of carbonate sediments. Methods This study explored the causes of th red color and significance in the deposition and diagenesis of the red beds based on sedimentological, mineralogical, and geochemical methods. Results Field sedimentology and downhole thin section identification of these red beds revealed that the rocks are composed of grain-supported limestone, with abundant debris from cephalopods, echinoderms, bivalves, bryozoans, gastropods, and other benthic organisms. Biogenic debris and terrestrial quartz debris are the main components of the ooids, which display characteristics of a high-energy beach environment. Spectroscopic studies and scanning electron microscopy indicate that the main cause of the red color is submicron- to micron-sized pseudo-hexagonal and tetragonal hematite crystals. The coloration minerals are concentrated in the ooid cortex structure, and the cementing material is virtually devoid of coloration minerals. This suggests that during early diagenesis, particularly during the formation of ooids and peloids, iron-loving microorganisms played an important role in capturing iron oxides. Furthermore, the geochemical analysis of carbonate minerals shows that the redness is positively correlated with the flux of terrestrial debris input. Additionally, it exhibits a positive Ce/Ce* anomaly (1.1-1.3) and a pattern of enriched-middle rare earth elements “bulge”, indicating that the iron oxides underwent reductive dissolution. Conclusions Based on these findings, the study reconstructed the red coloration process of these red beds. The input of terrestrial iron-bearing minerals provided the material basis for the red coloration, and then, during early diagenesis, reductive fluids dissolved the iron-bearing minerals, providing free iron ions for iron-loving microorganisms, allowing them to recrystallize and ultimately form hydroxyl iron and cause red coloration through chemical or biological processes.
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Key words:
- marine red bed /
- Qiangtang Basin /
- Sowa Formation /
- carbonate /
- hematite /
- rare earth elements (REE) /
- diagenesis
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图 6 扫描电镜下索瓦组红层岩石矿物组构特征以及元素(硅,钙和铁)平面能谱扫描显示图,微米—亚微米级赤铁矿聚合物分布于一些鲕粒的环带上
Figure 6. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) characteristics of the red limestone from the Sowa Formation and the spectrum of the elements (silicon, calcium and iron) showed that the micro⁃submicron hematite were distributed on the ring band of ooids and grains
图 7 扫描电镜下索瓦组红层岩石矿物组构特征以及元素(硅,钙和铁)平面能谱扫描显示图,微米—亚微米赤铁矿聚合物分布于一些鲕粒的环带上,生物碎屑内部没有明显致色铁元素的显示
Figure 7. SEM characteristics of the red limestone from the Sowa Formation and the spectrum of the elements (silicon, calcium and iron) were scanned, the micron⁃submicron hematite polymer was distributed on the ring band of some grains, there was no clear color⁃causing iron element inside the biological debris
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