Investigation of climatic conditions prior to the Sturtian glaciations is critical to understanding the trigger mechanism for the series of Neoproterozoic global glaciations. In this study, we report high-resolution chemical index of alteration (CIA) records in the sediments of South China prior to the Sturtian glaciation (820~720 Ma). Our results showed there occurred multiple climate cooling before the Sturtian glaciations in South China: (1) a series of episodic and possibly global climate cooling periods from ca. 750 Ma to 725 Ma, which also caused some diachronous regional glaciations; (2) a permanent climate cooling period between ca. 800 Ma and 770 Ma, probably contemporaneous to the global “Bitter Springs stage” δ13C negative excursion; (3) a climate cooling period between ca. 815 Ma and 810 Ma. The three stages of climate cooling are also supported by their correspondence to previously reported extremely low δ18O records of igneous/metamorphic minerals from South China. These climate cooling periods also coincide with the magmatism and rifting events in South China. We argue that tectonic movements were the primary control on the climate cooling before the Neoproterozoic global glaciations.
The Fulu iron formation (IF) is an iron-rich unit in the Neoproterozoic glacial successions, South China. The major element data suggest that the iron sources of the Fulu IF are derived from binary mixing from hydrothermal and detrital loads. The Fulu IF is characterized by slightly positive Eu anomalies similar to other Neoproterozoic IFs, indicating that a high-temperature hydrothermal input may contribute little to Neoproterozoic IFs. A shift from non-existent to slightly negative Ce anomalies of the Fulu IF indicates that the IF precipitated across an iron chemocline separating a weakly oxic surface ocean from an oxygen-depleted deep ocean.
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