Composition,Characteristics,and Sedimentological Significance of the Microbial Carbonate Factory in Deep Time:A case study from the Yunmengshan section,Henan province,China
[Objective]The study of the"Carbonate Factory"emphasizes the specific effects of biological communi-ties on the carbonate production process and scale moderation,contributing to our understanding of large-scale car-bonate sedimentation.Although the concept and application of the"Carbonate Factory"have gained attention in car-bonate sedimentology,there is still a lack of systematic understanding of how to interpret the origin,developmental processes,and influencing factors of specific types of carbonate sedimentation in geological history,particularly in deep time.[Methods]This study investigated the Gushan Formation of the Cambrian Miaolingian in the Yunmeng-shan area(Henan Province)as an example of a microbial carbonate factory.A multi-scale grid-based quantitative evaluation method was used to describe the specific form,internal structure,and construction process of the carbon-ate factory.[Results]Our results show that benthic microbial communities were the primary builders of the microbial carbonate factory in the study area.They formed unique structures,including the stromatolite,thrombolite,leiolite,and microbial-induced sedimentary structure(MISS).Various particle types,including ooids,flat pebbles,and mi-crobialite breccias,were preserved within the microbial buildups.The development of the microbial carbonate facto-ries occurred episodically during the Guzhangian Age(Miaolingian)at relatively small scales(height of<1 m);how-ever,they extended widely in space and exhibited different macroscopic shapes such as subspherical,domical,and tabular.The internal structures of the microbial carbonate factories were made up of individual forms and vertical com-binations of composite forms.[Conclusions]By analyzing various factors influencing the development of these facto-ries,we found that higher nutrient levels may have played a crucial role in their development in the tide-flat environ-ment.Additionally,the flooding event during the Guzhangian led to the eventual closure of these factories.This study provides an ancient example,similar to the modern microbial carbonate factory of the Hamelin Pool in Australia,which is a good reference for understanding the types,characteristics and evolutionary patterns of Cambrian carbonate factories.
microbialitecarbonate sedimentation processnutritional conditionsGuzhangianNorth China Block
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