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Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology xxx (2016) xxxxxx

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Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/palaeo

Evidence for rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate in South China at

the beginning of Early Triassic
Baozhu Deng a, Yongbiao Wang a,, Adam Woods b,, Sheng Li a, Guoshan Li a, Weihan Chen a
a
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
b
Department of Geological Sciences, California State University, Fullerton, CA 92834-6850, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: 'Anachronistic facies' are sedimentary features and fabrics that are very common in the early history of the Earth,
Received 31 December 2015 but mainly occur following mass extinctions during the Phanerozoic. Anachronistic facies are typically found in
Received in revised form 3 June 2016 carbonates, commonly have a microbial origin, and reect an unusual oceanic chemistry. The aftermath of the
Accepted 6 June 2016
end-Permian mass extinction is one of the periods when anachronistic facies were common and occur in sedi-
Available online xxxx
mentary rocks from around the world. In South China, different types of anachronistic facies appear in an orderly
Keywords:
succession over time. Microbialites are often the rst anachronistic sediments that formed after the end-Permian
Anachronistic facies mass extinction in shallow platform settings, and are subsequently followed by oolites and oncolites, which are
End-Permian mass extinction sometimes intercalated with vermicular limestones. Because different types of anachronistic facies represent dif-
Sea level change ferent depositional environments, this succession pattern in the strata records the evolution of marine environ-
Calcium carbonate supersaturation ments following the end-Permian mass extinction. Based on sedimentological analysis of the Yangjiawan section,
Earliest Triassic Hunan Province, South China, this study suggests that the transition from microbialite to oolitic limestone was
associated with a rise of sea level and an increase in hydrodynamic energy; the shift from oolite to oncolite re-
ects a sustained, rapid rise of sea level. The occurrence of vermicular limestone is considered to be the product
of an ephemeral, restricted environment. Anachronistic facies reach a thickness of 75 m at the Yangjiawan
section, while over nearly the same time interval, argillaceous limestone reaches a thickness of only 40 cm of
Beds 2729 at the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) section at Meishan in Zhejiang Province. This dif-
ference in thickness indicates strongly elevated sedimentation rates in shallow-water platform settings after the
end-Permian mass extinction. High rates of carbonate precipitation are indicative of calcium carbonate supersat-
uration within shallow watermasses, which may have resulted from the upwelling of alkaline, anoxic deep wa-
ters, accompanied by high rates of evaporation as a consequence of extremely high temperatures at the time.
Nevertheless, it is the global sea-level rise in the Early Triassic that provided the accommodation space necessary
for the precipitation of the great thickness of anachronistic carbonate sediments at the Yangjiawan section.
2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction of anachronistic facies. Anachronistic facies are primarily preserved in

The term anachronistic facies was originally assigned to at-
pebble conglomerates (Sepkoski et al., 1991), but subsequent works
on a variety of anomalous sediments or biosedimentary structures,
such as intraclastic limestone (Wignall and Twitchett, 1999), wrinkle
structure (Pruss et al., 2004; Mata and Bottjer, 2009), microbialite
(Baud et al., 2007), carbonate seaoor precipitate (Woods et al.,
1999), vermicular limestone (Zhao et al., 2008), and oolite (Groves
and Calner, 2004; Li et al., 2013, 2015; Woods, 2013; Deng et al.,
2015), have broadened the scope of sedimentary features and fabrics
Corresponding authors.
E-mail addresses: wangyb@cug.edu.cn (Y. Wang), awoods@fullerton.edu (A. Woods).
carbonate sediments, although some types (i.e., microbially induced
sedimentary structures) also occur in marine and terrestrial siliciclastic
successions (Chu et al., 2015; Tu et al., 2016; Xu et al., in press). These
unusual biosedimentary structures usually reect extraordinary envi-
ronmental conditions in ancient oceans and are frequently associated
with microbial activity. Because increasing evidence indicates that
microbially induced processes are involved in ooid formation (Pacton
et al., 2012; Li et al., 2013, 2015; Woods, 2013; Diaz et al., 2015), wide-
spread Lower Triassic ooids have also been regarded as anachronistic
facies in recent studies (Groves and Calner, 2004; Li et al., 2013; Deng
et al., 2015). Anachronistic facies are very common in sedimentary
rocks in the Precambrian, Cambrian, and Ordovician (Sepkoski et al.,
1991) and have decreased remarkably since then. Similar sedimentary
structures and fabrics, however, appear in the aftermaths of major

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.06.007
0031-0182/ 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: Deng, B., et al., Evidence for rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate in South China at the beginning of Early Triassic,
Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.06.007
2 B. Deng et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology xxx (2016) xxxxxx
mass extinction events (Whalen et al., 2002; Sheehan and Harris, 2004;
Calner, 2005; Baud et al., 2007). Owing to their indication of peculiar
global environmental conditions, anachronistic facies are a hot topic in
geobiology and carbonate sedimentology (Wignall and Twitchett,
1999; Woods et al., 1999; Pruss et al., 2005; Zhao et al., 2008; Kershaw
et al., 2012; Chen and Benton, 2012; Wu et al., 2014; Kershaw, 2015).
Anachronistic facies change in type and richness in the sedimentary
record, reecting the evolution of the marine environment over geolog-
ic history. However, it is still difcult to conrm the origins of some
anachronistic facies and their usefulness as environmental indicators
because of the lack of modern analogues, as well as their absence for
much of Phanerozoic history. For example, the origin of vermicular
limestone still remains enigmatic (Zhao et al., 2008; Woods, 2014),
although various formation mechanisms have been proposed (Baud,
1976; Huang, 1984; Jiang et al., 1992; Qian, 1995; Pruss et al., 2004;
Zhao et al., 2008).
The newly found Yangjiawan section of Hunan Province, South
China, contains a sequence of anachronistic limestones that overlies
the end-Permian mass extinction horizon, and includes (in stratigraphic
order) a microbialite, vermicular limestone, oolite, and oncolite unit.
These different types of anachronistic facies are interpreted to have
formed under different water depths and hydrodynamic conditions
and were deposited during the global transgression following the end-
Permian mass extinction. Therefore, these unusual facies and fabrics
provide an excellent opportunity to compare the conditions under
which each of the different types of anachronistic facies formed. The de-
positional cycles composed of oolites and oncolites are well-developed
in the stratigraphic succession, which provides good examples to dis-
tinguish between oncoids and ooids in Lower Triassic depositional
environments.
Anachronistic facies are mostly produced under marine conditions
with waters that are supersaturated with respect to calcium carbonate
(Riding, 2000; Arp et al., 2001), and therefore possess high rates of sed-
imentation. High rate of carbonate precipitation often leads to great
thicknesses of anachronistic sediments during marine transgressions
when sea level rises (Kershaw et al., 2011). In comparison with other
areas, anachronistic facies at the Yangjiawan section exhibit a greater
variety and a greater thickness of anachronistic limestones, providing
new insight into the uctuations of sea level following the end-
Permian mass extinction.
2. Geological and stratigraphic settings
The South China block was located near the equator during the Early
Triassic; its western shelf was adjacent to the Paleo-Tethys Ocean,
and the eastern margin was open to western Panthalassa (Fig. 1A).
The Yangtze platform was the principle carbonate setting on the
South China block, which was restricted by the Cathaysian Landmass
(Oldland) to the east and the Kamdian Landmass (Oldland) to the
west. The Yangjiawan section is located in Cili County of Hunan
Province, and was paleogeographically situated in the central part of
the Yangtze platform (Fig. 1B) (Feng et al., 1997).
Upper Permian to Lower Triassic strata are well exposed in the
Yangjiawan section. The Late Permian stratigraphic sequence is com-
posed of sponge reef limestone in the lower part and algae-foraminifer
bioclastic limestone in the upper part. The end-Permian mass ex-
tinction led to the disappearance of most marine species and was
followed by the formation of a 75-m-thick sequence of anachronistic
limestone. A variety of anachronistic facies, including microbialite,
oolite, oncolite, and vermicular limestone, occur in this interval
(Fig. 2). Microbialite was the rst to form, immediately after the
end-Permian mass extinction, and was subsequently succeeded by
oolitic and oncolitic limestones that are intercalated with vermicular
limestone. The microbialites can be subdivided into thrombolites in
the lower part and stratiform stromatolites in the upper part. The
microbialites are terminated by the rst appearance of small ooids
Please cite this article as: Deng, B., et al., Evidence for rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate in South China at the beginning of Early Triassic,
Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.06.007
(11.5 mm in diameter) which are overlain by thin-bedded vermicular
limestone. The upper part of the anachronistic limestone succession
consists of many depositional cycles, each of which is made up of
small ooids (mostly b1.2 mm in diameter), large ooids (23 mm in
diameter), and oncoids. Thin-bedded argillaceous limestone overlies
the anachronistic carbonates (Fig. 2).
The end-Permian mass extinction boundary, characterized by a
sharp and irregular surface, is located between the algaeforaminifer
bioclastic limestone of the Upper Permian Changxing Formation and
the overlying microbialite unit of the Lower Triassic Daye Formation.
The conodonts Hindeodus parvus and Isarcicella staeschei, which are in-
dicative of the early Griesbachian (Early Triassic) in age, were discov-
ered in the middle of the microbialite, and within the vermicular
limestone, respectively, in the adjacent Kangjiaping section (Wang
et al., 2009), implying that the PTr boundary is located at a horizon
3.5 m above the mass extinction boundary, and that most of the anach-
ronistic limestone was deposited during the Early Triassic.
3. Types of anachronistic limestone
3.1. Microbialites
An 8-m-thick microbialite succession formed directly on the
Changhsingian bioclastic limestones with a sharp contact between the
two units. The microbialites can roughly be classied into 3-m-thick
thrombolites in the lower part and 5-m-thick stratiform stromatolites
in the upper part (Fig. 2). The stratiform stromatolites are intercalated
with skeletal grainstone that contains microgastropods, ostracodes, bi-
valves, and calcareous tubeworms. These fossils are less diverse but
more abundant (Fig. 3) when compared with the communities that
were present in the area prior to the end-Permian mass extinction.
Most fauna in the skeletal grainstones are considered to be disaster spe-
cies that became abundant following the end-Permian mass extinction
and are widespread in South China (Jiang et al., 2010; He et al., 2012;
Hautmann et al., 2015; Yang et al., 2015a, 2015b).
3.2. Microbial oolitic limestone
Oolites comprise two stratigraphic intervals. The lowermost oolite
directly caps the underlying stratiform stromatolites, while the second
oolitic limestone occurs within the upper part of the succession and
contains several depositional cycles that include oncoids.
The lowermost oolite is 4.5 m thick and is composed primarily of
well-sorted ooids ranging from 1 to 1.5 mm in diameter (Fig. 4AB).
Most ooids are spherical, with interstices lled with sparry cement
and no micritic matrix. Most ooid nuclei are too small to identify, al-
though some are likely microfossil fragments; well-preserved fossils
are rarely seen in the lowermost oolite.
The second oolite unit contains depositional cycles in which ooids
alternate with oncoids; the ooids may be small or large in diameter.
The small ooids resemble the ooids from the lowermost portion
of the study interval that directly cap the underlying microbialite
(diameter ranges from 11.5 mm), but the larger ooids look distinctly
different with regards to their texture. The large ooids average 23 mm
in diameter and usually contain abundant microgastropods or bi-
valve fragments that served as nuclei for the ooids (Fig. 4C). The
upper oolitic limestones were deposited on a lime mud-rich sea oor
rich that also resulted in the formation of minor numbers of oncoids
(Fig. 4D).
3.3. Vermicular limestone
Thin-bedded vermicular limestone, ~ 1 m thick, was deposited on
the top of the lowermost oolite but disappears at the beginning of
the depositional cycles of oolites and oncolites. In outcrop, the ver-
micular limestone comprises dark gray wormlike vermicular bodies
 B. Deng et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology xxx (2016) xxxxxx 3

Fig. 1. Earliest Triassic global paleogeography (A) (base map from Golonka, 2002), and Early Triassic paleogeography of the South China Block (B) (modied from Feng et al., 1997).

distributed intricately on bedding planes and light-colored micritic
matrix (Fig. 5). Previous study shows that the vermicular bodies are
made up of nearly homogeneous micrite, but the micritic matrix is
relatively rich in clay minerals (up to 20%) (Qian, 1995). Horizontal
laminae (~ 2 mm thick) are locally formed in the vermicular lime-
stone; no distinct bioclasts are found in vermicular limestone.
Although multiple studies have been carried out on vermicular lime-
stone, explanations of its origin remain controversial, which include
chemical coacervation, bioturbation, and mechanical hypotheses
(Baud, 1976; Huang, 1984; Jiang et al., 1992; Qian, 1995). Previously
documented Triassic vermicular limestones are mainly distributed in
the middle-upper part of the Lower Triassic (Huang, 1984; Feng,
1988; Jiang et al., 1992; Qian, 1995; Pruss et al., 2005; Zhao et al.,
2008), and a few examples have also been found in the Middle Triassic
(Baud, 1976; Jaglarz and Uchman, 2010). Lower Triassic vermicular
limestones from the Three Gorges area, South China, are typically
found above oolite (Zhao et al., 2008), but in the Yangjiawan section,
they are intercalated with oolitic limestone, suggesting a relatively ear-
lier occurrence.
3.4. Oncolitic limestone
Oncoids, composed of a central nucleus and an outer, irregular cortex,
are mainly distributed in the upper part of the stratigraphic succession,
where eld investigations reveal 68 depositional cycles with a total
thickness of 12 m. Each of the cycles consists of a lowermost layer of
oolitic limestone consisting of small ooids, an overlying horizon of oolitic
limestone comprised of large ooids, and an uppermost oncolitic lime-
stone (Fig. 2). The oncoids are irregularly ellipsoidal to spherical in
shape and range from 4 to 12 mm across the long axis. The space between
the oncoids is lled with small intraclasts or bioclasts but lack micritic
matrix; the oncoids are cemented by sparry calcite (Fig. 6). It is worth-
while to note that the nuclei of some oncoids consist of small ooids rather
than fossil fragments, implying that they nucleated on the ooids (Fig. 6).

Please cite this article as: Deng, B., et al., Evidence for rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate in South China at the beginning of Early Triassic,
Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.06.007
4 B. Deng et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology xxx (2016) xxxxxx

Fig. 2. Stratigraphic succession and types of anachronistic facies in the Yangjiawan section, Cili area, South China.

4. Evolution of anachronistic limestones in relation to changes in
sea level
The post-extinction carbonate sedimentation in shallow platforms
of South China commonly began with the growth of microbialites,
followed by the formation of oolitic limestone afterwards. This anach-
ronistic interval is typically overlain by thin-bedded argillaceous
limestones. However, the Yangjiawan section is unique in that the
anachronistic facies possess a greater thickness (~ 75 m for the
Yangjiawan locality as opposed to a few meters at other localities)
and more varieties in terms of anachronistic facies types, including
microbialite, oolitic limestone, vermicular limestone, and oncolitic
limestone. This anachronistic interval is overlain by thin-bedded argilla-
ceous limestone at the top of the sequence (Fig. 2). Various types
of anachronistic sediments represent frequent changes in water
depth and hydrodynamics, although all of the anachronistic facies at
Yangjiawan were deposited in shallow-water environments. Strati-
graphic correlation shows that the anachronistic facies sediments
at Yangjiawan were deposited during the transgression that followed
the end-Permian regression (Yin et al., 2014). The great thickness of
anachronistic facies and their evolution are therefore the result of the
combined consequence of enhanced sea-level rise and high sedimenta-
tion rates with respect to carbonate.
During the Changhsingian (Late Permian), abundant benthic organ-
isms inhabited shallow platform environments in the Yangjiawan area.
Most of these organisms disappeared above the sequence boundary that
denotes the end-Permian great regression (Yin et al., 2014). This consid-
erable regression led to the erosion of the carbonate platform, forming
irregular weathering surfaces. Similar phenomena of terrestrial erosion
or karstication can be widely seen elsewhere in South China (Wu et al.,
2006; Liu et al., 2007; Wignall et al., 2009; Collin et al., 2009; Yang et al.,
2011). The weathered surfaces are assumed to roughly correspond to
the mass extinction horizon because of the notable decrease in biodiver-
sity across this boundary. The weathered surface, however, formed after
the end-Permian mass extinction event.
Microbialites immediately overlie the weathered surface and cover
nearly the entire lowermost Triassic shallow-water carbonate platform
that was present in South China at the time (Wang et al., 2005; Kershaw
et al., 2007; Yang et al., 2011). These microbialites appear to have been
widespread, as they have been documented at the same stratigraphic
horizon in many other localities around the world (Baud et al., 2007;
Kershaw et al., 2012) and were likely due to an initial transgression in

Please cite this article as: Deng, B., et al., Evidence for rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate in South China at the beginning of Early Triassic,
Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.06.007
 B. Deng et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology xxx (2016) xxxxxx 5

in subtidal environments, while stratiform stromatolites are often in-

Fig. 3. Microbialite overlying the mass extinction boundary at the Yangjiawan locality,
South China. The dashed yellow line shows the boundary between thrombolite (below)
and skeletal grainstone (above). The yellow arrows indicate microgastropods, the red
arrows indicate bivalves, and the white arrow indicates tubeworms. (For interpretation
of the references to color in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version
of this article.)
the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction. At the Yangjiawan
section, the microbialite succession is composed of a 3-m-thick
thrombolite layer, which is overlain by a 5-m-thick layer composed of
stratiform stromatolites. Thrombolites are commonly inferred to form
ferred to have formed in intertidal settings (Glumac and Walker,
1997; Feldmann and McKenzie, 1998; Jahnert and Collins, 2012). There-
fore, the transgression was very rapid at rst, ooding the previously
exposed carbonate platform, and led to subtidal deposition, and the
growth of the thrombolites. The transition from thrombolites to strati-
form stromatolites reects a relative decrease in water depth, implying
that the precipitation rates of the microbialites outpaced sea-level rise.
Rapid inlling of accommodation space continued throughout deposi-
tion of the microbialite and led to a succession of microbialite types
that represent shallowing and a relative regression in spite of a global
increase in sea level (Embry, 1988; Hallam, 1992; Yin and Tong, 1996;
Hallam and Wignall, 1999; Vrard et al., 2015).
The lowermost oolite, about 4 m thick, was accumulated immediate-
ly after microbialite and represents a rapid change in depositional envi-
ronment (Fig. 7A). The ooids that occur in the lowermost horizon are
small in size (mostly ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 mm), and well sorted.
The oolite is rich in sparry calcite but absent in micritic matrix, indi-
cating turbulent shoal environments. The transition from microbialite
to oolite reects an intensication of hydrodynamics, although water
depth remains uncertain. The modern settings where ooids are depos-
ited are typically microtidal, with a tidal range between 0 and 2 m
(Eisma, 1997), and include areas like the Persian Gulf, Shark Bay, and
Joulters Cay in the Bahamas. Therefore, at least 4 m of sea-level rise is
necessary in order to provide accommodation space for the precipita-
tion of a 4-m-thick oolite.
Vermicular limestone was deposited in a 1-m-thick layer following
deposition of the lowermost oolite (Fig. 7B). Considering the existence
of horizontal bedding and the high argillaceous content of the unit,
the vermicular limestone is interpreted to have formed under quieter
conditions than the lower oolite. Previous work demonstrates that
some vermicular limestones occur in middle and outer carbonate
ramps facies under open water (Qian, 1995; Pruss et al., 2005; Zhao
et al., 2008); therefore, the water depth implied by the vermicular

Fig. 4. Lower Triassic oolite following the end-Permian mass extinction in Yangjiawan section, Cili area, South China. AB, Oolite directly overlying the microbialite. CD, Oolite composed
of large ooids that occur in depositional cycles. A, C, Field photographs. B, D, Thin-section photomicrographs under plane-polarized light. The yellow arrows indicate microgastropods and
the red arrows indicate bivalves, both of which serve as nuclei of the large ooids. (For interpretation of the references to color in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version
of this article.)

Please cite this article as: Deng, B., et al., Evidence for rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate in South China at the beginning of Early Triassic,
Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.06.007
6 B. Deng et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology xxx (2016) xxxxxx

Fig. 5. Lower Triassic vermicular limestone deposited following the end-Permian mass extinction at the Yangjiawan locality of South China. A, Bedding-plane structure of the vermicular
limestone, eld photograph. B, Bedding structure in vermicular limestone, polished surface perpendicular to bedding. The dark part represents wormlike vermicular bodies, and light-
colored part represents micrite matrix.

limestone in the Yangjiawan section is deeper when compared with
that under which the oolites were deposited. The vermicular limestone
does not extend laterally to the Daluokeng section (He et al., 2012) that
is about 2 km to the east of the Yangjiawan section (Fig. 7B). During the
Late Permian, the Daluokeng section was located in a marginal platform
setting where a sponge reef was well developed. Therefore, deposition
of vermicular limestone was restricted to behind the platform margin
(Fig. 7B); the absence of vermicular limestone from marginal platform
settings indicates that this interval of vermicular limestone deposition
was probably the result of sedimentation in a restricted platform setting
that resulted from the presence of a barrier created by the rapid accu-
mulation of an oolitic shoal along the eastern platform margin.
After deposition of the vermicular limestone, the facies suddenly
shifted to an interval composed of many depositional cycles of alter-
nating oolitic limestone and oncolitic limestone (Fig. 7C). This lithologic
change reects a shift away from quiet-water environments and the

Fig. 6. Lower Triassic oncolite at the Yangjiawan section, Cili area, South China. Note: most oncoids are composed of a central ooid nuclei and an outer, irregular cortex, indicating that
oncoid growth nucleated onto the ooids; interstices between the large oncoids is lled with small oncoids whose nuclei are commonly bivalve or gastropod fragments. The oncoids are
cemented by sparry calcite and micritic matrix is absent.

Please cite this article as: Deng, B., et al., Evidence for rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate in South China at the beginning of Early Triassic,
Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.06.007
 B. Deng et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology xxx (2016) xxxxxx 7

Fig. 7. Depositional model of Lower Triassic anachronistic facies at the Yangjiawan locality of South China (modied from Wang et al., 1997; He et al., 2012). a, tidal at siliciclastic deposits.
b, Upper Permian bioclasitc limestone. c, slope deposits. d, microbialites. e, oolitic limestone. f, vermicular limestone. g, oncolitic limestone. h, basinal mudstone. A, Deposition of the
microbialites and the subsequent lowermost oolite following the end-Permian mass extinction. B, Vermicular limestone was deposited behind the platform margin following deposition
of the lowermost oolite due to a barrier created by the rapid accumulation of an oolitic shoal. C, Depositional cycles of alternating oolitic limestone and oncolitic limestone following
deposition of the vermicular limestone, reecting a shift away from quiet-water environments, and the reappearance of turbulent shoal environments.

reappearance of turbulent shoal environments. Each depositional cycle
consists of layers of well-sorted small ooids, large ooids, and oncoids
in ascending sequence. The small ooids are similar to that from the
lower oolitic limestone in terms of size; in contrast, the intertices be-
tween the large ooids are micrite-rich and occur with rare oncoids.
Therefore, the increase of ooid size and the occurrence of micritic matrix
between the allochems may indicate a rise of sea level and a decrease in
water energy. Interestingly, microgastropods commonly act as the nu-
cleus of the large ooids, indicating that deeper water is more favorable
for the microgastropods than shallow-water environments that would
have been affected by extremely high temperatures during the Early
Triassic (Sun et al., 2012). This hypothesis is also supported by Lower
Triassic anachronistic facies from seamount environments from the
Tibetan Plateau (Deng et al., 2015). Oncolites capping each cycle are
considered to have formed in deeper water than the oolitic limetone,
and represent high energy, intertidal to shallow subtidal environments
(Flgel, 2010). Benthic organisms are abundant because of more favor-
able conditions in deeper water environments, and their shell frag-
ments sometimes serve as nuclei for the oncoids. However, most
oncoids at the study section nucleated onto spherical ooids, as opposed
to fossil grains. The ooids that serve as nuclei exhibit regular concentric
laminae that are clearly different from the outer irregular laminae of
the oncoids, and reect oncoid growth onto the previously formed
ooids. The occurrence of oncoids with ooids as nuclei indicates rapid
deepening, in which the ooids stopped moving as hydrodynamics
weakened, and oncoid corticies grew onto the substrate provided by
the ooids.
Deposition of the 70-m-thick anachronistic limestone terminated
when the thin-bedded argillaceous limestone began to be deposited.
The argillaceous thin-bedded limestone is widely distributed in South
China (Wang et al., 2005; Ezaki et al., 2008), reecting continued trans-
gression and the expansion of deeper marine environments. An increase
of argillaceous material in the overlying sedimentary rock implies inten-
sication of terrestrial input due to the loss of land vegetation at this
time (Yu et al., 2015). Thus, it is proposed that the temporal disappear-
ance of anachronistic limestones was controlled by the intensication of
continental weathering and detrital inputs in that time.
On the basis of the above analysis, we conclude that the evolution of
various types of anachronistic facies is closely linked to shifting water
depths that was governed by the combination of sea-level rise (Fig. 8)
and sedimentation rate. Although continental subsidence can lead to in-
crease of accommodation space and allow deposition of anachronistic
facies, the relatively stable tectonic environments that existed within
the Yangtze platform during the Early Triassic suggest that subsidence
was minimal (Feng et al., 1997). Thrombolites were deposited rst
as the result of the rapid rise in sea level at the beginning of the trans-
gression. However, the growth rates of the thrombolites was higher
than that of sea-level rise, which led to a relative shallowing of water
depth and the formation of the stratiform stromatolites. However, as
the rate of sea-level rise intensied, waters deepened and became

Please cite this article as: Deng, B., et al., Evidence for rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate in South China at the beginning of Early Triassic,
Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.06.007
8 B. Deng et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology xxx (2016) xxxxxx

Fig. 8. Evolution of Lower Triassic anachronistic limestones, variation in sea-level at the Yangjiawan section, and biostratigraphic correlation with the Meishan section, South China (GSSP).
Conodont zonation for the Meishan section is based on Chen et al. (2015). Conodont zonation for the Yangjiawan section is revised after previous studies of the nearby Kangjiaping section
(Wang et al., 2009, 2016), which is located about 1 km to the west of the Yangjiawan section, and contains the same stratigraphic sequence of anachronistic limestones. I, Supratidal zone.
II, Intertidal zone. III, Subtidal zone.

more agitated, and the rst, lowermost oolite formed. The ooids accu-
mulated more readily on the eastern platform margin, which may
have resulted in the formation of an ooid shoal that acted as a barrier,
as well as the formation of the quiet-water environments that led to
the deposition of vermicular limestone behind the shoal. The quiet-
water environment shifted back to turbulent conditions based on the
lateral expansion of the upper oolitic limestones, which may have
been sourced from the eastern barrier shoal, or may have precipitated
independently. The next stage is characterized by the cyclic deposition
of oolites and oncolites. At the beginning of each cycle, small ooids
were formed rst due to the shallow turbulent environment but were
succeeded by larger ooids that accumulated under deeper conditions
that allowed micritic matrix to settle between the grains, and nally
growth of the oncoids. The similar depositional cycles reect a continu-
ously rising sea level that deepened rapidly and led to the formation of a
great thickness of anachronistic limestone at the Yangjiawan section.
Precipitation of calcium carbonate also occurred quickly, due to super-
saturation of lowermost Triassic shallow environments.
5. Discussion
Anachronistic facies reach a thickness of 75 m at the Yangjiawan
section and exhibit nearly the same sequence of anachronistic lime-
stones as the Kangjiaping section, which is located about 1 km to the
west. Therefore, the conodont zonation from the Kangjiaping section
(Wang et al., 2009, 2016) is also applied to the studied succession
at Yangjiawan (Fig. 8). Biostratigraphic evidence from the adjacent
Kangjiaping section suggests that the rst appearance of Hindeodus
parvus is calibrated to the middle of the microbialite, while Isarcicella
staeschei should be placed within the vermicular limestone. The lower
part of the microbialite and eroded strata at the Yangjiawan section cor-
responds to Beds 2527b of the GSSP Meishan section in eastern China
(Chen et al., 2015), where the PalaeofusulinaColaniella foraminiferal
zone may extend to the Clarkina yini conodont zone (Fig. 8). Meanwhile,
the upper part of the microbialite, the lowermost oolite, and the lower
part of the vermicular limestone are most likely equivalent to Beds
27c27d, at Meishan, although recent studies have argued that the

Please cite this article as: Deng, B., et al., Evidence for rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate in South China at the beginning of Early Triassic,
Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.06.007
 B. Deng et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology xxx (2016) xxxxxx
rst occurrence of Hindeodus parvus in Meishan might not correspond
to its rst appearance datum (Brosse et al., 2015, 2016). The upper
part of the vermicular limestone and the cyclic oolitic and oncolitic
limestones thus correlate with Beds 2829 of the Isarcicella staeschei
and Isarcicella isacica conodont zones in the Meishan section. Therefore,
considering the degree of erosion, we interpret the anachronistic facies
interval to be equivalent to Beds 2729 of the GSSP Meishan.
During the PermianTriassic interval, the Meishan section was lo-
cated in a distal ramp setting (Chen et al., 2015). Radioisotopic dates
show that the 20-cm-thick sequence of Beds 2728 (Yin et al., 2001)
formed within approximately 60 kyr (Burgess et al., 2014). Given a sim-
ilar depositional rate for the argillaceous limestone, Bed 29, the 20-cm-
thick argillaceous limestone, was also likely deposited within 60 kyr.
Beds 2729 therefore were deposited over a period of ~ 120 kyr. As
mentioned already, the coeval anachronistic limestone in Yangjiawan
is 75 m thick (Fig. 8), indicating a much higher sedimentation rate in
shallow carbonate platform setting. The high carbonate sedimentation
rate likely resulted from supersaturation of seawater with respect to cal-
cium carbonate (Riding, 2000), which may be interpreted as a conse-
quence of strong evaporation under high atmospheric temperatures
(Sun et al., 2012). Nevertheless, it seems unlikely that calcium carbonate
supersaturation could be induced by high temperatures alone because
of well-mixed seawater in open platform environments. Furthermore,
geochemical data indicate a sharp, negative carbon isotope excursion
from the initiation of microbialite deposition, which implies the intro-
duction of lighter 12C from a deep oceanic reservoir (Luo et al., 2011).
Therefore, the upwelling of highly calcium carbonate saturated, anoxic
deep waters seems a likely explanation of the origin of the great thick-
ness of anachronistic limestones at the Yangjiawan locality (Grotzinger
and Knoll, 1995; Knoll et al., 1996; Kershaw et al., 2007; Woods et al.,
1999). Upwelling of the anoxic deep waters brought an excess of
12
C-enriched bicarbonate ion into shallow environments (Kershaw
et al., 2007; Kershaw, 2015). Upon mixing of upwelled alkaline deep
waters and shallow oxygenated waters on shallow marine shelf, calcium
carbonate became supersaturated and rapidly precipitated due to CO2
degassing (Woods et al., 1999; Kershaw, 2015).
The studied anachronistic facies sediments consist mainly of micro-
bial, oolitic, and oncolitic limestones. These types of anachronistic facies
are produced mostly in intertidal and subtidal habitats (Flgel, 2010).
Given most intertidal regimes have a tidal range between 0 and 2 m,
continuous rise of sea level is necessary for the formation of great thick-
ness of anachronistic limestone at the Yangjiawan locality. Thus, depo-
sition of 75 m of anachronistic limestone roughly account for a 75 m
rise of sea level over 0.12 million years in the earliest Triassic (Burgess
et al., 2014), with an average rate at least 0.625 m/ka. This value
is about 6 times the average depositional rate of the pre-extinction
bioclastic limestone, which is 210 m thick but represents the sedimen-
tation duration of over 1.97 myr of the Changhsingian (Cohen et al.,
2013). Lower Triassic anachronistic limestones in south Turkey, primar-
ily microbialite and oolite, are very similar to those from South China,
but they possess a thickness of ~ 40 m (Baud et al., 2005), which also
suggests a continuous rise in sea level (Kershaw et al., 2011), but of a
lesser magnitude. Different thicknesses of anachronistic facies therefore
represent local variations in the rising magnitudes of sea level, which
may have resulted from regionally superimposed subsidence or uplift
when sea level rose (Kershaw et al., 2011).
The earliest Triassic (Griesbachian) was a period of global sea-level
rise (Haq et al., 1987; Embry, 1988; Hallam, 1992; Yin and Tong, 1996;
Hallam and Wignall, 1999; Vrard et al., 2015). Worldwide sea-level
changes are predominantly affected by tectonic activity and the melting
and freezing of glaciers and ice sheets (Donovan and Jones, 1979;
Hallam, 1992). Tectonic processes can alter the volumetric capacity of
the ocean basins by changing the volume of oceanic ridges, which re-
sults in sea-level change; supercontinent fragmentation will generate
new ocean crust and cause sea level to rise. Conversely, cooling ocean
crust and continental collision will cause sea level to fall (Hallam,
Please cite this article as: Deng, B., et al., Evidence for rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate in South China at the beginning of Early Triassic,
Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.06.007
9
1992). Although the Pangea formed in the Late Carboniferous and lasted
until the end of the Triassic (Stampi et al., 2013), the post-Variscan
extensional events occurred during the Early Triassic, resulting in the
opening of marginal oceanic basins as a consequence of extension in
the upper crust (Stampi and Kozur, 2006; Vrard et al., 2015). Temper-
ature rose rapidly across the PermianTriassic boundary, by 15 C, from
21 to 36 C over 0.8 million years (Joachimski et al., 2012; Sun et al.,
2012), which likely led to rising sea levels as a result of thermal expan-
sion of seawater. Therefore, the cause of world-wide sea-level changes
during the Griesbachian is primarily the result of tectonic activity com-
bined with thermal expansion of seawater.
6. Conclusions
The studied anachronistic facies sediments in South China include
microbial, oolitic, vermicular, and oncolitic limestones, which occur in
ascending order following the end-Permian mass extinction. Such a
stratigraphic succession was likely controlled by changes in water
depths that resulted from the combined impact of sea-level rise and
high sedimentation rates. Microbialites are believed to grow in inter-
tidal environments during the initial deepening stage of the Early
Triassic transgression, whereas the sudden appearance of the lower-
most oolite reects a transition from tidal at to a turbulent, shallow-
water shoal. Local development of horizontal bedding in vermicular
limestones indicates a relatively quiet depositional environment,
which may have resulted from restriction by the rapid accumulation
of an oolitic shoal along the eastern platform margin. The second set
of oolites above the vermicular limestone are clearly larger in size but
contain micrite matrix, reecting the alternation of strong hydrody-
namics and a relatively quiet environment during the expansion of the
transgression. Most oncoids that occur within depositional cycles with
oolitic limestones were precipitated on the surfaces of the ooids, possi-
bly implying a very rapid sea-level rise. The 75-m-thick anachronistic
facies were likely deposited within 120 kyr based on a correlation with
the 40-cm-thick interval of Beds 2729 of the GSSP Meishan, suggesting
a much higher sedimentation rate (0.625 m/ka) in shallow platform
than that in deeper settings. The high rates of carbonate precipitation re-
ect highly supersaturated conditions with respect to calcium carbonate
in marine environments that are induced by extremely high tempera-
tures and upwelling of alkaline anoxic deep waters during the Early
Triassic. The great thickness of shallow anachronistic limestones indi-
cates a continuous rise in sea level following the end-Permian mass ex-
tinction, which provides the necessary accommodation space for the
rapid precipitation of the anachronistic limestones. This large magnitude
of sea-level rise correlates with the world-wide transgression during the
Griesbachian (earliest Triassic), which may have resulted from tectonic
activity and thermal expansion of seawater due to high atmospheric
temperatures at the time.
Acknowledgments
This study was jointly supported by the NSFC grant (41572001), the
111 project (B08030), and National Training Programs of Innovation
and Entrepreneurship for undergraduates (201410491003). We thank
Thomas J. Algeo and Zhongqiang Chen for their helpful suggestions
that substantially improved the quality of the manuscript.
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