Clumped isotope thermometry determines diagenetic origin of the crystalline dolomite

Clumped isotope thermometry determines diagenetic origin of the crystalline dolomite | 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 Article Clumped isotope thermometry determines diagenetic origin of the crystalline dolomite Jiakai Hou, Guangyou Zhu, Hongbin Li, Lizhen Wang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7244432/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The origin of widespread crystalline dolomite deposits in the Cambrian strata of southwestern China is a longstanding open question. Here, we use a suite of petrology and geochemical methods to investigate the occurrence of crystalline dolomites in the Middle-Upper Cambrian Xixiangchi Formation within the Sichuan Basin. Four texturally distinct dolomite types (D1-D4) were identified, spanning micritic to medium crystalline morphologies. Clumped isotope measurements can potentially provide better constraints for the origin of crystalline dolomite. Still, most of the Cambrian crystalline dolomites experienced burial temperatures above the limits of preservation of Δ 47 . Prior bond reordering kinetics models predicted that dolomite Δ 47 values could be preserved at ambient temperatures lower than 120–150 ℃ for tens of million years. However, before being uplifted to the current depth of 4.5–5.5 km, the dolomites of the Xixiangchi Formation experienced high temperature up to 230 ℃ during the late deep burial process. Samples from the Sichuan basin are expected to be partially reordered and yield significant Δ 47 fractionation. The Δ 47 evolution of the crystalline dolomites was predicted with the exchange/diffusion model under the constraints of independent thermal history reconstruction and Δ 47 values. By integrating the corrected δ 18 O fluid -T Δ47 data, trace element composition, C-O-Sr isotope data, and crystal structure characteristics of dolomite, we propose that the dolomitization fluid of Xixiangchi Formation is mainly the contemporaneous seawater of the Cambrian, with crystal ordering evolution controlled by burial temperature and fluid-rock interaction dynamics. Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science Earth and environmental sciences/Solid earth sciences Crystalline dolomite Clumped isotope Dolomitization Xixiangchi formation Sichuan basin Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 19 Dec, 2025 Reviews received at journal 16 Dec, 2025 Reviews received at journal 05 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Oct, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 10 Aug, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 05 Aug, 2025 Editor invited by journal 05 Aug, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 01 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 01 Aug, 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. 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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-7244432","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":498267034,"identity":"b04211fd-f170-4a64-bf23-415f9ee82e7e","order_by":0,"name":"Jiakai Hou","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAuElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHACNgaJAzY8/PwNpGlJk5GccYAULQwHDtsYNCQQqV7evfnYA4sz53kMGA4wfviYQ4QWwzPH0g0kbtzmMWduYJacuY0YLTNyzCQkPtzmsWw4wMbMS5SW+W9AWs7xGBxIIFKLvAQPUMuNAyRoMeBJS5OQOJPMIznjYDNxfpFvP3xMWuKYnT0/f/PBDx+JsuUAAwOzBJjJ2ECEepAtQHWMH4hTOwpGwSgYBSMVAAAr/TYfAnTwagAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jiakai","middleName":"","lastName":"Hou","suffix":""},{"id":498267035,"identity":"33264580-df96-41ff-970a-01e161fcb305","order_by":1,"name":"Guangyou Zhu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Yangtze University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Guangyou","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhu","suffix":""},{"id":498267036,"identity":"07e35ec6-fab7-45c0-9f8e-63419280160c","order_by":2,"name":"Hongbin Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"China University of Petroleum (Beijing)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hongbin","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":498267037,"identity":"134c7632-7405-4397-8d5e-3fe8bf07ea85","order_by":3,"name":"Lizhen Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lizhen","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-29 14:38:18","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7244432/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7244432/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":89063883,"identity":"236b9de3-a538-4092-8552-94a0bba2b054","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-14 10:09:31","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2408742,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7244432/v1_covered_2e0b9c3b-1b33-4485-940d-1ca9ecfecccb.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Clumped isotope thermometry determines diagenetic origin of the crystalline dolomite","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Crystalline dolomite, Clumped isotope, Dolomitization, Xixiangchi formation, Sichuan basin","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7244432/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7244432/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe origin of widespread crystalline dolomite deposits in the Cambrian strata of southwestern China is a longstanding open question. Here, we use a suite of petrology and geochemical methods to investigate the occurrence of crystalline dolomites in the Middle-Upper Cambrian Xixiangchi Formation within the Sichuan Basin. Four texturally distinct dolomite types (D1-D4) were identified, spanning micritic to medium crystalline morphologies. Clumped isotope measurements can potentially provide better constraints for the origin of crystalline dolomite. Still, most of the Cambrian crystalline dolomites experienced burial temperatures above the limits of preservation of Δ\u003csub\u003e47\u003c/sub\u003e. Prior bond reordering kinetics models predicted that dolomite Δ\u003csub\u003e47\u003c/sub\u003e values could be preserved at ambient temperatures lower than 120\u0026ndash;150 ℃ for tens of million years. However, before being uplifted to the current depth of 4.5\u0026ndash;5.5 km, the dolomites of the Xixiangchi Formation experienced high temperature up to 230 ℃ during the late deep burial process. Samples from the Sichuan basin are expected to be partially reordered and yield significant Δ\u003csub\u003e47\u003c/sub\u003e fractionation. The Δ\u003csub\u003e47\u003c/sub\u003e evolution of the crystalline dolomites was predicted with the exchange/diffusion model under the constraints of independent thermal history reconstruction and Δ\u003csub\u003e47\u003c/sub\u003e values. By integrating the corrected δ\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003eO\u003csub\u003efluid\u003c/sub\u003e-T\u003csub\u003eΔ47\u003c/sub\u003e data, trace element composition, C-O-Sr isotope data, and crystal structure characteristics of dolomite, we propose that the dolomitization fluid of Xixiangchi Formation is mainly the contemporaneous seawater of the Cambrian, with crystal ordering evolution controlled by burial temperature and fluid-rock interaction dynamics.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Clumped isotope thermometry determines diagenetic origin of the crystalline dolomite","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-08-14 08:10:07","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7244432/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-12-19T14:27:37+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-12-16T13:20:30+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-12-05T18:57:47+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"151675627094914380833691213011897987458","date":"2025-10-15T18:30:34+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"95414021788730066953597960081950846474","date":"2025-10-15T13:27:15+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"143920161637328687038284299292388993786","date":"2025-10-15T00:54:17+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"335646671045063824287410625347368338592","date":"2025-10-14T21:04:42+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-08-10T10:36:25+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-08-05T07:31:16+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-08-05T07:05:31+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-08-02T02:36:18+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2025-08-02T02:31:52+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"76232a37-63e5-48ba-b8d1-5ec5ec68e563","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 14th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":52925295,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science"},{"id":52925296,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Solid earth sciences"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-01-08T06:53:52+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-08-14 08:10:07","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7244432","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7244432","identity":"rs-7244432","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}