Work

Salt Range Formation of Pakistan Preserves Unique Record of Volcanic Fertilization During the Ediacaran Shuram Excursion

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT Thin, discontinuous, organic‐rich oil shale beds in the siliciclastic‐evaporitic Salt Range Formation (SRF) of Pakistan are of approximate Neoproterozoic to Cambrian age based on stratigraphic constraints. The beds are enriched (26–43 wt.% total organic carbon, TOC) in aliphatic organic matter (OM) of low thermal maturity despite their antiquity and position in the foreland fold‐thrust belt of the ongoing compressive Himalayan orogen. We here present a radiometric age constraint—a laser ablation‐inductively coupled‐plasma tandem mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS/MS) Rb/Sr isochron age of 568 ± 25 Ma (2σ) from volcanogenic biotite and K‐feldspar in SRF oil shale. The isochron age is imprecise but is supported by new carbonate carbon isotopic data from SRF marl showing extremely light δ 13 C values of −10.29 to −10.85‰ Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite (VPDB), linking SRF deposition to volcanic fertilization during the Shuram isotope excursion (~573–562 Ma) and an open connection to the global ocean reservoir.

Source: Terra Nova

DOI: 10.1111/ter.70054

Authors: Paul C. Hackley, Ryan J. McAleer, Jay M. Thompson, Brett J. Valentine, Imran Khan

Institutions: United States Geological Survey, Central South University

Language: English

Topic: Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils

Subfield: Paleontology

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,720

Funder: U.S. Geological Survey