Review
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Na Li, Chao Li, Thomas J. Algeo, Meng Cheng, Chengsheng Jin, Guangyou Zhu, Junxuan Fan, Zongyuan Sun
Summary: During the Late Ordovician mass extinction, two pulses of faunal mortality occurred as a result of expanded marine euxinia, affecting both inner and outer Yangtze Sea. The less-studied outer Yangtze Sea sections show changes in marine redox conditions, chemical weathering rates, and primary productivity. The contraction and expansion of oceanic euxinia in response to continental weathering intensity and sulfate availability played a significant role in shaping marine redox variations and influencing the biotic crisis during this time period.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Andrew Yoram Glikson
Summary: The buried Deniliquin multiple-ring impact structure (DMS) in southeastern Australia, with a diameter of 520 km, is believed to have caused the Late Ordovician glaciation and mass extinction event. This event, known as the Hirnantian, is considered to be the result of the Deniliquin mega-impact event and is second only to the Permian-Triassic boundary extinction in severity. Geophysical evidence supports the impact origin of the DMS, including its distinct multiple-ring pattern, central magnetically quiet core, radial faults, and underlying mantle dome.
Article
Biology
Andrzej S. Wolniewicz, Yuefeng Shen, Qiang Li, Yuanyuan Sun, Yu Qiao, Yajie Chen, Yi-Wei Hu, Jun Liu
Summary: This study reports a new species - Prosaurosphargis yingzishanensis gen. et sp. nov. - from the Early Triassic of South China, representing the earliest known occurrence of the Sauropterygia clade. A phylogenetic analysis confirms saurosphargids as a part of sauropterygians, forming a clade with eosauropterygians and excluding placodonts. The classification of several Sauropterygia species from the Early and Middle Triassic, such as Atopodentatus, Hanosaurus, Majiashanosaurus, and Corosaurus, is also clarified.
Article
Geography, Physical
Juwan Jeon, Yue Li, Stephen Kershaw, Zhongyang Chen, Junye Ma, Jeong-Hyun Lee, Kun Liang, Shenyang Yu, Bing Huang, Yuandong Zhang
Summary: Microfacies analysis of upper Hirnantian carbonates in northeastern Guizhou province, China reveals the composition and biodiversity during this period, suggesting the presence of diverse warm-water biota. The development of these organisms may be attributed to localized favorable environmental conditions.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Shengchao Yang, Wenxuan Hu, Junxuan Fan, Yiying Deng
Summary: By analyzing and correlating the geochemical features of bentonites, this study established a set of new geochemical fingerprints for identifying invisible volcanic ash layers in shales. The study reconstructed volcanic activities and discussed the impact of volcanism on mass extinction and climate events.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Xu Dai, Zhiwei Yuan, Arnaud Brayard, Mingtao Li, Xiaokang Liu, Enhao Jia, Yong Du, Huyue Song, Haijun Song
Summary: The late Smithian crisis had a severe impact on nekto-pelagic organisms like ammonoids, triggering global biotic and environmental changes. In the Nanpanjiang Basin, the first major biotic crisis and turnover occurred during the late Smithian period, rather than at the Smithian/Spathian boundary. These biotic changes were concurrent with oxygen depletion, supporting the hypothesis that oceanic anoxia played a role in the late Smithian crisis along with climate cooling and oceanic acidification.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Chengsheng Jin, Zhiwei Liao, Gary G. Lash
Summary: The study suggests that fluctuations in redox conditions, in addition to commonly cited thresholds of bimetal ratios, may have influenced the redox trends during the Ordovician-Silurian transitional interval. The strong correlation between changing redox conditions and fossil distributions implies that dynamic and ferruginous conditions contributed to biotic crises. The coupling of total organic carbon (TOC) and redox proxies highlights the importance of prolonged anoxia or euxinia in the accumulation and preservation of organic matter.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Daniel L. Johnson, Theodore M. Present, Menghan Li, Yanan Shen, Jess F. Adkins
Summary: The dynamics of the marine sulfur cycle across the End-Permian Mass Extinction have been obscured by disagreement between sulfur isotopic records. New measurements of carbonate-associated sulfate delta S-34 reveal substantial variation and evidence for mixing within samples. This suggests that sedimentary redox oscillations may explain the heterogeneity in delta S-34 within many EPME carbonates.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Yangbo Lu, Jun Shen, Yuxuan Wang, Yongchao Lu, Thomas J. Algeo, Shu Jiang, Detian Yan, Qiyang Gou
Summary: The Late Ordovician mass extinction (LOME) occurred in two discrete pulses, linked to environmental stresses caused by the onset and termination of the Hirnantian Glaciation. Recent studies have suggested a potential connection between LOME and massive volcanism during the Ordovician-Silurian transition (OST), based on significant mercury anomalies in the South China region. However, the study finds that volcanic activity in South China during the OST was a regional phenomenon, and there is a discrepancy between the distribution of bentonite beds and the overall redox evolution in the region. Mercury isotope analysis suggests that seawater was the source of mercury enrichment during the OST. Therefore, the LOME may not have been caused by massive volcanism, but rather by long-term cooling, weathering, anoxia, and marine eutrophication.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Siqi Wu, Zhong-Qiang Chen, Chunmei Su, Yuheng Fang, Hao Yang
Summary: The Permian-Triassic mass extinction had a significant impact on marine ecosystems, leading to a dramatic loss of biodiversity in sponge populations. It was previously believed that there was an evolutionary gap for sponges during the Early Triassic. However, new research has identified putative keratose sponge consortia in microbialites near the Permian-Triassic boundary in South China, suggesting that sponges may have played an important role in constructing metazoan-microbial reefs during this time.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Yu Jiao, Lian Zhou, Thomas J. Algeo, Jun Shen, Lanping Feng, Yating Hu, Jinhua Liu, Liwei Chi, Minghui Shi
Summary: This study provides insights into the regional arc magmatism linked to volcanism in South China during the Permian-Triassic transition.
Article
Geography, Physical
Binsong Zheng, Chuanlong Mou, Xiuping Wang, Hongde Chen, Zhaohui Xiao
Summary: This study presents geochemical and pyrite morphological data from the Upper Permian-Lower Triassic shale succession in the Western Hubei Trough, supporting the significant role of regional tectonic activities in the hydrographic and redox evolution of the area, suggesting anoxia may not be the worldwide cause of the marine biocrisis. An extensive comparison between marine and terrestrial successions indicates that global warming in the Late Permian and global cooling in the Permian-Triassic transition may have affected the supply of freshwater to the ocean and fluctuations in seawater paleosalinity, with anomalous changes triggered by paleoclimate potentially playing a role in the biocrisis at the Permian-Triassic boundary.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yixin Cui, Bing Shen, Yuanlin Sun, Haoran Ma, Jieqiong Chang, Fangbing Li, Xianguo Lang, Yongbo Peng
Summary: The Frasnian-Famennian mass extinction event is characterized by two positive carbonate carbon isotope excursions and global deposition of black shale and bituminous limestone. Evidence from South China indicates a pulse of seafloor oxygenation at the F-F boundary, rather than pervasive oceanic anoxia.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Yu Liu, Yuanchun Li, Mingcai Hou, Jun Shen, Thomas J. Algeo, Junxuan Fan, Xiaolin Zhou, Qing Chen, Zongyuan Sun, Chao Li
Summary: The study suggests that sulfur-normalized Hg concentrations are the best proxy to assess Hg anomalies in Upper Ordovician sediments of the Yangtze Platform. The findings show that the dominant source of Hg in the study sections is terrigenous, rather than volcanic.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Yiying Deng, Junxuan Fan, Shengchao Yang, Yukun Shi, Zhengbo Lu, Huiqing Xu, Zongyuan Sun, Fangqi Zhao, Zhangshuai Hou
Summary: The middle-late Cambrian is an important transition period between the Cambrian Explosion and the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event. Detailed analysis of fossil records in South China has revealed a pattern of biodiversity events during this time, including extinctions, radiations, and fluctuations. These events seem to be related to changes in oceanic redox conditions.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Shu-han Zhang, Jun-xuan Fan, Chad A. Morgan, Charles M. Henderson, Shu-zhong Shen
Summary: This study examines the trilobite diversity pattern in the middle-late Cambrian of South China, constructing a high time-resolution species-level richness curve and identifying distinct changes in species diversity at different stages, as well as exploring trilobite evolutionary mechanisms associated with environmental changes and biotic competition.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yukun Shi, Xiangdong Wang, Junxuan Fan, Hao Huang, Huiqing Xu, Yingying Zhao, Shuzhong Shen
Summary: Recent study revealed a rapid increase of marine fauna species and genus richness during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age, lasting 41.2 million years and named as Carboniferous-earliest Permian Biodiversification Event (CPBE). The event included a slow increase episode and a main radiation episode, with most distinct patterns in fusulinid foraminifera and decreasing trends in nektonic conodonts and cephalopods, possibly related to marine environmental shifts caused by the Rheic Ocean closure.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yiying Deng, Junxuan Fan, Shuhan Zhang, Xiang Fang, Zhongyang Chen, Yukun Shi, Haiwen Wang, Xinbing Wang, Jiao Yang, Xudong Hou, Yue Wang, Yuandong Zhang, Qing Chen, Aihua Yang, Ru Fan, Shaochun Dong, Huiqing Xu, Shuzhong Shen
Summary: The study utilized high-resolution chronostratigraphy to reveal two major biological events in the early Paleozoic era: GOBE and LOME. GOBE started in the early Ordovician and ended at the Darriwilian boundary, consisting of two major radiation phases; while the Late Ordovician witnessed two extinction events resulting in a regional species loss of approximately 67%.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Review
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Xiang-dong Wang, Ke-Yi Hu, Yu-Kun Shi, Ji-Tao Chen, Sun-Rong Yang, Xun-Yan Ye, Xiao-Ming Li, Ying-Fan Song, Bo Chen, Xiao-Lin Chang, Le Yao, Yi-Chun Zhang, Jun-Xuan Fan, Shu-Zhong Shen
Summary: The Cimmerian continent is made up of blocks that were attached to Gondwana in different time periods, developing glacial sediments during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age. These blocks present a combination of warm and cool water sediments, lacking upper Carboniferous sediments and showing similarities to Australia and India/Pakistan. Additionally, they are characterized by the absence of upper Carboniferous sediments, making them significantly different from South China and other Tethyan regions.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Chenghu Zhou, Hua Wang, Chengshan Wang, Zengqian Hou, Zhiming Zheng, Shuzhong Shen, Qiuming Cheng, Zhiqiang Feng, Xinbing Wang, Hairong Lv, Junxuan Fan, Xiumian Hu, Mingcai Hou, Yunqiang Zhu
Summary: The establishment of the geoscience knowledge graph marks a new era in geoscience research, transitioning from traditional knowledge systems to computer-understandable and operable patterns driven by big data. It integrates various geoscience knowledge elements to construct a comprehensive geoscience knowledge representation model, and facilitates collaboration among global geoscientists to construct high-quality professional knowledge graph. This advancement not only deepens geoscience big data analysis but also drives the development of high-precision geological time scales and intelligent maps, leading to major theoretical breakthroughs in spatiotemporal big data research.
SCIENCE CHINA-EARTH SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Lei Jiang, Chunfang Cai, Lei Xiang, Junxuan Fan, Kaikai Li, Liulu Cai, Thomas J. Algeo, Feifei Zhang
Summary: This study investigates the sulfur isotopic variation of kerogen and pyrite in marine sections from the late Permian period in South China. The results show that oxidation of H2S in anoxic water leads to negative shifts in sulfur isotopes, and the pyritization process is slow below the sediment-water interface. In deep-water sections, microbial sulfate reduction is observed. The increase in sedimentation rates and organic matter inputs during the Permian-Triassic transition are likely contributing factors to the observed sulfur isotopic changes.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Shengchao Yang, Wenxuan Hu, Junxuan Fan, Yiying Deng
Summary: By analyzing and correlating the geochemical features of bentonites, this study established a set of new geochemical fingerprints for identifying invisible volcanic ash layers in shales. The study reconstructed volcanic activities and discussed the impact of volcanism on mass extinction and climate events.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Qiang Fang, Huaichun Wu, Shu-zhong Shen, Junxuan Fan, Linda A. Hinnov, Dongxun Yuan, Shihong Zhang, Tianshui Yang, Jun Chen, Qiong Wu
Summary: This study investigates the response of tropical climate to the late Paleozoic deglaciation, the Earth's first transition from icehouse to greenhouse. By analyzing deep marine carbonate records in South China, the study reveals the complex linkage between low and high latitudes during this transition. The results show that in the final stage of the Early Permian icehouse, the delivery of moisture from low to high latitudes was reduced, facilitating the development of tropical coal forests. In the greenhouse condition, a rise in atmospheric pCO(2) resulted in continental drying and ocean stagnation. Furthermore, obliquity cycles triggered ice-sheet expansion and increased tropical precipitation during the icehouse condition.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jitao Chen, Isabel P. Montanez, Shuang Zhang, Terry T. Isson, Sophia Macarewich, Noah J. Planavsky, Feifei Zhang, Sofia Rauzi, Kierstin Daviau, Le Yao, Yu-Ping Qi, Yue Wang, Jun-Xuan Fan, Christopher J. Poulsen, Ariel D. Anbar, Shu-Zhong Shen, Xiang-Dong Wang
Summary: Understanding the carbon perturbation events and their effects on the Earth system is crucial for studying how the Earth responds to abrupt warming. This study investigates an abrupt carbon perturbation and global warming event that occurred during a paleo-glacial state using an integrated proxy and modeling approach. The results show significant isotopic excursions coinciding with a doubling of atmospheric CO2 partial pressure and a biodiversity nadir. Earth system modeling suggests that widespread anoxic conditions during this global warming event can be attributed to enhanced thermocline stratification and increased nutrient fluxes.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Zongyuan Sun, Petr Storch, Junxuan Fan, Michael J. Melchin, Anna Suyarkova
Summary: The lower Aeronian graptolite species Rastrites longispinus longispinus Perner, R. approximatus Perner, R. peregrinus Barrande, R.? norilskensis Obut & Sobolevskaya, and Stavrites rossicus Obut & Sobolevskaya have been revised using material from China, the Czech Republic, Siberia, Canada and Spain, together with published data. A new biogeographical subspecies, Rastrites longispinus chenxui subsp. nov., is identified and is only found in China and Canada. Several junior synonyms are also recognized. The study supports the hypothesis of two graptolite palaeobiographical provinces in the early Aeronian and has significant implications for palaeogeographical interpretations.
PAPERS IN PALAEONTOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Yu Liu, Yuanchun Li, Mingcai Hou, Jun Shen, Thomas J. Algeo, Junxuan Fan, Xiaolin Zhou, Qing Chen, Zongyuan Sun, Chao Li
Summary: The study suggests that sulfur-normalized Hg concentrations are the best proxy to assess Hg anomalies in Upper Ordovician sediments of the Yangtze Platform. The findings show that the dominant source of Hg in the study sections is terrigenous, rather than volcanic.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2023)
Editorial Material
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Shuzhong Shen, Junxuan Fan, Xiangdong Wang, Feifei Zhang, Yukun Shi, Shuhan Zhang
JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Qiang Fang, Huaichun Wu, Shu-zhong Shen, Junxuan Fan, Linda A. Hinnov, Dongxun Yuan, Chuanzhen Ren, Maoyang Zhou, Shihong Zhang, Tianshui Yang, Yifei Zhang, Jun Chen, Qiong Wu, Mengkai Liu
Summary: In this study, a cyclostratigraphic analysis of the Tieqiao section in South China was conducted to investigate the climatic and biological responses during the late Paleozoic icehouse-to-greenhouse transition. The results show that variations in gamma rays reflecting continental weathering strength are paced by Milankovitch cycles. It was found that increased marine speciation was associated with elevated climatic humidity when Gondwana land was minimally glaciated, but as the glaciation weakened and tropical aridification continued, arid conditions and marine transgression at obliquity nodes led to a decrease in marine biodiversity.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Linna Zhang, Junxuan Fan, Bo Wang, Yuandong Zhang, Jianbo Liu, Hao Huang, Qing Chen
Summary: High-resolution, quantitative paleogeographical reconstruction based on geological big data and GIS is crucial for visualizing regional and global paleogeographical features and their evolution, as well as understanding the interaction of lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. This study collected and standardized a comprehensive dataset of 807 Ordovician sections in South China, and reconstructed lithofacies paleogeographical maps and stratigraphical thickness isopach maps for ten consecutive time intervals. Precise timing and processes of land-sea distribution and basin basement transformation were revealed, showing distinct paleogeographical processes among different terranes. The study recognized a new evolutionary process of the paleogeographical pattern in South China and provided insights into depositional centers, provenance regions, and the effects of tectonic movement and sea-level changes.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Linna Zhang, Zhangshuai Hou, Boheng Shen, Qing Chen, Shaochun Dong, Junxuan Fan
Summary: Paleobiogeography investigates the distribution of fossil organisms in geological history and its relationship with environmental factors. However, the scattered data and semantic heterogeneity make data queries, reuse, and sharing difficult. Knowledge graph provides a solution for organizing and mining paleobiogeographic information, enabling unrestricted data sharing.
JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCE
(2023)