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High-Precision Astronomical Time Scale for the Late Ordovician-Early Silurian and Its Temporal Constraints on the End-Ordovician Mass Extinction
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ChunJu HUANG1, RuiYao ZHANG2, ShengHui DENG3, Zheng WANG1, RanRan ZHANG1, JianHao LIANG1
Acta Sedimentologica Sinica | 2026, 44(4) : 1215 - 1237
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Acta Sedimentologica Sinica | 2026, 44(4): 1215-1237
High-Precision Astronomical Time Scale for the Late Ordovician-Early Silurian and Its Temporal Constraints on the End-Ordovician Mass Extinction
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ChunJu HUANG1, RuiYao ZHANG2, ShengHui DENG3, Zheng WANG1, RanRan ZHANG1, JianHao LIANG1
Affiliations
  • 1.State Key Laboratory of Geomicrobiology and Environmental changes, Hubei Key Laboratory of Critical Zone Evolution, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
  • 2.College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Hubei Normal University, Huangshi, Hubei 435002, China
  • 3.PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, Beijing 100083, China
Published: 2026-08-10 doi: 10.14027/j.issn.1000-0550.2026.004
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Objective The Late Ordovician to Early Silurian represents a critical transition in Earth's history, characterized by the Hirnantian glaciation and the end-Ordovician mass extinction event. However, significant uncertainties persist in the chronostratigraphic framework for this interval, limiting our understanding of the mechanisms driving biotic extinction and climatic evolution. This study aims to establish a high-resolution absolute astronomical time scale for the Late Ordovician-Early Silurian through the integration of cyclostratigraphy and isotopic geochronology, providing robust temporal constraints for major geological events. Methods Three sections (Shuanghe in Chang-ning, Sichuan; Anwen in Qijiang, Chongqing; and Wangjiawan in Yichang, Hubei) were selected as study sites. High-resolution elemental data (Si, Fe, Ca, Al, Rb/Sr, etc.) were analyzed using AnalySeries and Acycle software to identify Milankovitch cycle signals. Sedimentation rates were estimated using the COCO/eCOCO and TimeOpt methods to construct floating astronomical time scales. CA-ID-TIMS zircon U-Pb dating was conducted on volcanic ash beds to obtain absolute age anchors, enabling precise conversion from the depth domain to the time domain. Results (1) Stable sedimentary cycles corresponding to 405-kyr and ~100-kyr long and short eccentricity cycles were identified in the XRF elemental series. Floating astronomical time scales of 12.2 Myr, 10.3 Myr, and 2.75 Myr were established for the Shuanghe section, Anwen section, and Wangjiawan section, respectively. (2) Given the most complete geological record preserved in the Shuanghe section, the ages of the Ordovician/Silurian (O/S) boundary and the base of the Hirnantian stage, calibrated to 442.34 ± 0.22 Ma and 443.78 ± 0.22 Ma respectively through cyclostratigraphic analysis combined with U-Pb dating of volcanic ash beds (Shuanghe section: 438.47 ± 0.17 Ma), can serve as a candidate for future international chronostratigraphic standards. (3) The duration of the Hirnantian stage is 1.44 Myr at the Shuanghe section, but only ~0.41 Myr at the Wangjiawan section, suggesting that a sedimentary hiatus may exist in the Wangjiawan section. (4) Paleoclimatic proxies and sea-level changes exhibited long-period fluctuations of 1.2 Myr and 2.4 Myr. Conclusions The high-precision astronomical time scale established in this study significantly improves the accuracy of the chronostratigraphic framework for the Late Ordovician-Early Silurian, revealing the rapid onset of the end-Ordovician mass extinction. Astronomical cycles played a significant role in driving climate-environmental evolution during this interval, providing key temporal constraints for understanding the triggering mechanisms of the end-Ordovician mass extinction.

cyclostratigraphy  /  astrochronology  /  Ordovician-Silurian transition  /  mass extinction  /  zircon U-Pb dating
ChunJu HUANG, RuiYao ZHANG, ShengHui DENG, Zheng WANG, RanRan ZHANG, JianHao LIANG. High-Precision Astronomical Time Scale for the Late Ordovician-Early Silurian and Its Temporal Constraints on the End-Ordovician Mass Extinction[J]. Acta Sedimentologica Sinica, 2026 , 44 (4) : 1215 -1237 . DOI: 10.14027/j.issn.1000-0550.2026.004
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China(42172039)
Year 2026 volume 44 Issue 4
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doi: 10.14027/j.issn.1000-0550.2026.004
  • Receive Date:2026-01-26
  • Online Date:2026-09-02
  • Published:2026-08-10
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History
  • Received:2026-01-26
  • Revised:2026-02-10
  • Accepted:2026-02-14
Funding
National Natural Science Foundation of China(42172039)
Affiliations
    1.State Key Laboratory of Geomicrobiology and Environmental changes, Hubei Key Laboratory of Critical Zone Evolution, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
    2.College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Hubei Normal University, Huangshi, Hubei 435002, China
    3.PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, Beijing 100083, China
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表12种不同金属材料的力学参数

Family
属数
Number of
genus
种数
Number of
species
占总种数比例
Percentage of
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Genus
种数
Number of
species
占总种数比例
Percentage of total
species (%)
鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae 2 11 5.26 鹅膏菌属 Amanita 10 4.78
小菇科 Mycenaceae 2 12 5.74 丝盖伞属 Inocybe 5 2.39
多孔菌科 Polyporaceae 8 14 6.70 蜡蘑属 Laccaria 5 2.39
红菇科 Russulaceae 3 23 11.00 小皮伞属 Marasmius 6 2.87
小菇属 Mycena 11 5.26
光柄菇属 Pluteus 5 2.39
红菇属 Russula 17 8.13
栓菌属 Trametes 5 2.39
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