Paleobiology of the Doushantuo Formation: Multiple Taphonomic Windows into the Late Neoproterozoic Biosphere

陡山沱组的古生物学：新元古代晚期生物圈的多重农学窗口本文将以中国南部新元古代陡山沱组为研究对象。陡山沱组是在一个关键的地质时期--可能是在新元古代气候危机之后，但在埃迪卡拉纪宏观动物辐射之前--在中国南部的扬子地台沉积的。众所周知，陡山坨组还包含三个保存在磷岩、硅质岩和碳质页岩中的异常清晰的挖掘窗。本研究的目的是通过对陡山沱组中磷化、硅化和碳质生物群的进一步研究，提高我们对多细胞生物圈早期演化的认识，通过比较和对比这些不同的割裂窗口，了解这些不同的割裂路径所造成的制约，并将陡山坨古生物学的研究扩展到深水相。为了了解陡山沱组的分布、沉积环境和古生物，Pi和他的同事们将在未来三年内对陡山沱组进行广泛的野外考察。

Paleobiology of the Doushantuo Formation: Multiple Taphonomic Windows into the Late Neoproterozoic BiosphereAbstractThis study will focus on the Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation (550 - 600 Ma) in South China. The Doushantuo Formation was deposited across the Yangtze Platform in South China during a critical geological time interval, - probably after the Neoproterozoic climatic crises but before the Ediacaran radiation of macroscopic animals. The Doushantuo Formation is also known to contain three extraordinarily clear taphonomic windows preserved in phosphorites, cherts, and carbonaceous shales. These complementary taphonomic windows allow us to understand the taphonomic bias associated with each taphonomic pathway and, in combination, they provide a more complete picture of the Neoproterozoic biosphere.The goals of this study is to improve our knowledge about the early evolution of multicellular organisms by further documenting phosphatized, silicified, and carbonaceous biotas in the Doushantuo Formation, to understand the constraints imposed by these different taphonomic pathways by comparing and contrast these taphonomic windows, and to expand the investigation of Doushantuo paleobiology into deep-water facies. The PI and his colleagues will conduct extensive fieldwork on the Doushantuo Formation in the next three years in order to understand its distribution, sedimentary environment, and paleobiology.