Sedimentology and geochemistry of Carboniferous-Permian marine-continental transitional shales in the eastern Ordos Basin, North China

A continuously cored well covering the Carboniferous-Permian Benxi, Taiyuan, and Shanxi formations in the eastern Ordos Basin provides a rare window into environmental conditions of the marine-continental transitional strata. Integration of petrographic, mineralogical, and high-resolution geochemical data allows marine-continental investigating the depositional environment, organic abundance, detrital influx, paleoclimate, paleo-water salinity, and paleoredox conditions of transitional facies. The marine-continental transitional strata in the Upper Carboniferous to Lower Permian consist of complex interbedding of sandstone, shale, coal and limestone. TOC contents display a considerable change in the vertical direction, with high TOC content in coal, moderate TOC in shale, low TOC content in limestone and no noticeable TOC enrichment in sandstone. The Upper Carboniferous Benxi Formation is dominated by marine facies then changing into transitional facies. The Lower Permian Taiyuan Formation is characterized by multiple alternation of marine and transitional facies. Marine limestones are characterized by low detrital influx proxies, whereas transitional shales show high detrital influx input and oxic environment. The Lower Permian Shanxi Formation is a typical marine-continental transitional depositional system, which is characterized by complex interbedding of shales, sandstones and coals. Sandy intervals were deposited in deltaic and tidal flat environment and characterized by high Ti and Al content, low TOC (0.09–0.97%, avg. 0.31%), relatively low U/Th (0.11–0.32, avg. 0.17), showing limited influence of seawater. Shale intervals were deposited in a lagoonal environment with high TOC (0.94–40.64%, avg. 5.43%), Sr/Ba and trace elemental proxies values (U/Th, 0.18–3.27%, avg. 0.44%; MoEF, 0.95–32.3, avg. 8.56; UEF, 0.67–15.17, avg. 2.53). This study shows that high-resolution geochemical characteristics of elements could be reliable indicators for sedimentary facies analysis, and hence could provide broader implications for utilizing trace element geochemistry from marine-continental transitional periods in which sedimentary environment changes frequently and organic-rich sediment accumulated under varied conditions.