Ordovician sedimentary evolution of the northeastern margin of the South China Block and its paleogeographic implication

Ordovician sedimentary evolution of the northeastern margin of the South China Block and its paleogeographic implication | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Ordovician sedimentary evolution of the northeastern margin of the South China Block and its paleogeographic implication Bo Hu, Xing Wei, Wei Xie, Min Li, Rizwan Sarwar Awan, Cheng Cheng, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7962711/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The South China Block is an essential area for global Ordovician research, characterized by a "platform-slope-basin" paleogeography that provides an excellent setting for investigating how different geological conditions influence sedimentary evolution. However, existing Ordovician paleogeographic models for the South China Block are relatively outdated and lack detailed sedimentary facies analysis. In addtion, current facies zone division are rough, and sedimentological research on the block's northeastern part remains insufficient, which collectively hinders a comprehensive understanding of its Ordovician sedimentary evolution and paleogeographic reconstruction. To address above issue, this study examines the sedimentary evolution of carbonate rocks from the northeastern margin of the South China Block (Chuzhou, Anhui Province). A total number of seventeen carbonate microfacies types were identified, which were grouped into seven facies associations representing seven distinct sedimentary environments. The evolution of these sedimentary environments in the study area can be divided into three phases: an inner ramp environment in the Early Ordovician, a middle ramp environment mainly in the Middle Ordovician, and an outer ramp environment in the Late Ordovician. The sedimentary evolution indicates an overall rising sea-level trend, with two apparent rises in the late Floian and the middle Dapingian. From the Dapingian to the Katian age, the study area did not exhibit sedimentary characteristics of a platform depositional environment, but instead dominated by deep-water sedimentary facies. Evidence for this deep-water setting-including increasing water depth, rising conodont diversity, and a shift in biogeographic provinces from shallow to deep water-demonstrates that the area differed significantly from previous classifications as a platform facies. The South China Block Ordovician Microfacies Sedimentary environment Palaeogeography Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 19 Feb, 2026 Editorial decision: Major Revision 19 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 30 Oct, 2025 First submitted to journal 27 Oct, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7962711","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":593933069,"identity":"ea7b57e3-6a76-465d-9440-f2308920ecf2","order_by":0,"name":"Bo 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