Pyritization and Preservation Model of Chrysophyte Cyst Fossils in Shales during the Triassic Carnian Pluvial Episode, Ordos Basin, China: Evidence from Cyclostratigraphy, Radiometric Dating and Geochemical Analyses

Abstract

Chrysophyte cyst fossils were widely pyritized and preserved in black shales from the seventh member (Ch7 Mbr) of the Yanchang Formation in the Ordos Basin. The age, pyritization, and preservation model of these fossils have not been studied previously. In this study, the astronomical orbital cycles of the Ch7 Mbr were determined based on the gamma ray series of the Yan56 and Zhen 421 wells. An astronomical time scale (ATS) analysis revealed that the depositional duration of Ch7 Mbr was approximately 5 Ma. According to the 206Pb/238U radiometric dating of zircons using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (La-ICP-MS), the tuffs at the bottom of Ch7 Mbr were crystallized at 234 Ma, which served as a geological anchor. The ages of three submembers in Ch7 Mbr were estimated at 234.0–232.4 Ma, 232.4–230.8 Ma, and 230.8–229.1 Ma based on ATS analysis. In addition, chrysophyte cyst fossils were well preserved by pyritization in the Ch7 Mbr black shales. There were six types of microscopic morphologies with different pores, collars, and surface ornamentation under scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The age of the chrysophyte cyst fossils was at least 233.6 Ma in the Triassic Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE) based on the 405 kyr tuned ATS. Moreover, the paleoredox conditions in Ch7 Mbr were reconstructed, and a preservation model of chrysophyte cyst fossils was established based on geochemical analyses. Fossil pyritization was caused by bacterial sulfate reduction near the water-sediment interface under suboxic to anoxic environmental conditions. Pyritization was initiated on the walls of the chrysophyte cysts by the formation of microcrystalline pyrite. Because of the gradual pyritization of the chrysophyte cyst wall, the organic matter in the interior of the fossil was well preserved.