Massive formation of early diagenetic dolomite in the Ediacaran ocean: Constraints on the "dolomite problem".

ABSTRACT: Paleozoic and Precambrian sedimentary successions frequently contain massive dolomicrite [CaMg(CO₃)₂] units despite kinetic inhibitions to nucleation and precipitation of dolomite at Earth surface temperatures (<60 °C). This paradoxical observation is known as the "dolomite problem." Accordingly, the genesis of these dolostones is usually attributed to burial-hydrothermal dolomitization of primary limestones (CaCO₃) at temperatures of >100 °C, thus raising doubt about the validity of these deposits as archives of Earth surface environments. We present a high-resolution, >63-My-long clumped-isotope temperature (T_Δ47) record of shallow-marine dolomicrites from two drillcores of the Ediacaran (635 to 541 Ma) Doushantuo Formation in South China. Our

SUBMITTER: Chang B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7321997 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature