A Late Cambrian positive carbon-isotope excursion in the Southern Appalachians; relation to biostratigraphy, sequence stratigraphy, environments of deposition, and diagenesis

Glumac, Bosiljka; Walker, Kenneth R.

doi:10.2110/jsr.68.1212

Cited by 90 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Apparent diachroneity of the onset and peak of the SPICE, discussed by Ahlberg et al (2009), is attributed to uncertainties in biostratigraphical resolution and variable sampling techniques. Consequently, this later marine regression does not appear to be strongly implicated in triggering the SPICE, and possible scenarios linked to regression (Glumac & Walker, 1998;Saltzman et al, 2004) involving increased sediment deposition and enhanced burial of carbon, or changes in the weathering patterns induced by exposure of shelf margins, seem less plausible explanations. In fact, evidence suggests that there is likely to be a stronger correlation between regression and lowering of δ 13 C (Ripperdan, 2002).…”

Section: Driving Mechanisms For Spicementioning

confidence: 96%

“…Here, thick black shales formed across a broad, poorly oxygenated shelf of no great depth, and span a much greater interval of time than represented by the SPICE alone (perhaps 25 Ma) (Thickpenny, 1984(Thickpenny, ,1987. Glumac and Walker (1998) and Saltzman et al (1998) suggested that ocean stratification and black shale formation might have been widespread in the late Cambrian, with the SPICE representing a short-lived pulse of enhanced 13 C burial controlled by weathering or biological productivity. Cowan et al (2003) suggested that very high sea-levels immediately prior to the SPICE could have fertilised the oceans through remobilising nutrients previously concentrated by protracted continental weathering of un-vegetated cratons.…”

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confidence: 99%

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The Furongian (late Cambrian) Steptoean Positive Carbon Isotope Excursion (SPICE) in Avalonia

Woods

Wilby

Leng

et al. 2011

JGS

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The Steptoean Positive Carbon Isotope Excursion (SPICE) of earliest late Cambrian (Furongian) age is identified in England. The excursion is found within a ca 145 m thick siliciclastic succession within the middle and higher part of the Outwoods Shale Formation of Warwickshire, and reaches a maximum δ 13 C org amplitude of 4.1‰ at values of -25.6‰. Biostratigraphical data show that the excursion occupies the greater part of the Olenus trilobite biozone, an equivalent of the Glyptagnostus reticulatus biozone that marks the base of the Furongian and coeval base of the Steptoean in North America. The amplitude of the excursion approaches that recorded in limestonedominated Laurentian successions, and is greater than that recently documented for organic-rich mudstones of palaeocontinental Baltica in southern Sweden. A minor positive excursion above the SPICE may equate with a similar excursion recognised in Siberia. The SPICE in the Outwoods Shale Formation seems closely linked to the widely recognised early Furongian eustatic sea level rise. There is no evidence in the English succession for slightly later regression, elsewhere considered coincident with the peak of the excursion and pivotal to some previous models explaining the SPICE.Keywords: Cambrian, Furongian, carbon isotope excursion, England, Avalonia Late Cambrian (Furongian) carbonate successions in many parts of the world (North America, Argentina, Siberia, Kazakhstan, China, Australia) contain an interval of markedly positive δ 13 C carb values, peaking at +5‰ (Saltzman et al., 2000;Kouchinsky et al., 2008). More recently, the same positive Carbon Isotope Excursion (CIE) has been identified in organic-rich mudstones of the Alum Shale Formation in southern Sweden, where δ 13 C org peak values are around -28‰ (with a maximum amplitude of around 2‰) (Ahlberg et al., 2009). This CIE, first recognised in the late Cambrian of North America by Brasier (1993) and confirmed as a global CIE by Saltzman et al. (1995), is termed the Steptoean Positive Carbon Isotope Excursion (SPICE) (Saltzman et al., 1998). We report here the occurrence of the SPICE in the Cambrian of central England, the first record in an Avalonian succession. The palaeogeographic setting of these mid-shelf clastic deposits contrasts with 1 areas where the SPICE has previously been identified (e.g. shallow carbonate shelf in North America; shallow, dysoxic-anoxic shelf in southern Sweden). This contrasting setting provides an opportunity to critically assess the likely driving mechanism(s) that created this global isotopic excursion.The SPICE is believed to have had a duration of about 4 Ma (Saltzman et al., 1998), although 3 Ma is probably a better estimate based on dates recently published by Peng and Babcock (2008). In common with other positive CIEs in the geological record, one interpretation of the SPICE is attributed to increased burial of organic carbon, that is enriched in isotopically light 12 C thus increasing the 13 C pool in the oceans. However, terrestrial weathering impacts relate...

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Section: Driving Mechanisms For Spicementioning

confidence: 96%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Furongian (late Cambrian) Steptoean Positive Carbon Isotope Excursion (SPICE) in Avalonia

Woods

Wilby

Leng

et al. 2011

JGS

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“…The carbon isotope excursion has been observed in several locations throughout the world, including Kazakhstan, China, Australia, Eastern and Western North America (Glumac and Walker, 1998;Saltzman et al, 1998). The widespread observation of this event is thought to have been due to a transient global shift in carbon and sulfur cycling, which coincided with a global trilobite extinction event and the spread of euxinic conditions throughout the ocean (Saltzman et al, 1998(Saltzman et al, , 2000Gill et al, 2011).…”

Section: Alum Shale: Late Cambrian Spicementioning

confidence: 99%

Selenium as paleo-oceanographic proxy: A first assessment

Mitchell

Mason

Cappellen

et al. 2012

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

114

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“…It was first reported at the Cambrian Steptoean Stage in the Great Basin of Western America [59]. Up till now, it has been documented in the basal strata of Paibian Stage (Furongian Series) developed in different sedimentary environments in Kazakhstan [15], China [50,53,60], Siberia [61], North America [55,59,62], Australia [63,64], South America [65], Europe [66] and Antarctica [67] (Figure 1). Therefore, it is considered to be a global Cambrian carbon cycle fluctuation and a paleoceanographic event that confirms intercontinental correlations between different biogeographic realms (Figures 1 and 5).…”

Section: The "Spice" Event At the Base Of The Paibian Stage And Furonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Significant carbon isotope excursions in the Cambrian and their implications for global correlations

Fan

Deng

Zhang

2011

Sci. China Earth Sci.

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A Late Cambrian positive carbon-isotope excursion in the Southern Appalachians; relation to biostratigraphy, sequence stratigraphy, environments of deposition, and diagenesis

Cited by 90 publications

References 49 publications

The Furongian (late Cambrian) Steptoean Positive Carbon Isotope Excursion (SPICE) in Avalonia

The Furongian (late Cambrian) Steptoean Positive Carbon Isotope Excursion (SPICE) in Avalonia

Selenium as paleo-oceanographic proxy: A first assessment

Significant carbon isotope excursions in the Cambrian and their implications for global correlations

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