The Pleistocene vermicular red earth in South China signaling the global climatic change: The molecular fossil record  

作　　者：谢树成 易轶 刘育燕 顾延生 马振兴 林文姣 王先彦 刘刚 梁斌 朱宗敏 

机构地区：[1]Faculty of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China [2]Institute of Geological Survey of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang 330201, China

出　　处：《Science China Earth Sciences》2003年第11期1113-1120,共8页中国科学（地球科学英文版）

基　　金：the Ministry of Land and Resources of China(Grant No.200113900072);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.40232025); the Ministry of Education of China.

摘　　要：The trace molecular fossils identified in the Pleistocene vermicular red earth by using the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis include n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids, n-alkanols and n-alkan-2-ones. The variations of the n-alkane parameters appear to bear signifi-cant climate information, in striking contrast to the oxygen-bearing molecules (n-alkanoic acids and n-alkanols) believed to be more easily reworked by post-depositional processes. Of importance in paleoclimate reconstruction are the ratios of C27/C31 n-alkane indicative of the replacement of woody plants by grassy vegetation, and C15—21/C22—33 n-alkane representative of the relative abun-dance between microorganisms and higher plants. The profile trends of the two n-alkane ratios are comparable to the marine oxygen isotope record among stages 4—20. These molecular fossil re-cords implicate that the Pleistocene vermicular red earth widespread in South China was formed in coupling to the global climatic change and could be an important climate carrier.The trace molecular fossils identified in the Pleistocene vermicular red earth by using the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis include n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids, n-alkanols and n-alkan-2-ones. The variations of the n-alkane parameters appear to bear significant climate information, in striking contrast to the oxygen-bearing molecules (n-alkanoic acids and n-alkanols) believed to be more easily reworked by post-depositional processes. Of importance in paleoclimate reconstruction are the ratios of C27/C31 n-alkane indicative of the replacement of woody plants by grassy vegetation, and C15–21/C22–33 n-alkane representative of the relative abundance between microorganisms and higher plants. The profile trends of the two n-alkane ratios are comparable to the marine oxygen isotope record among stages 4–20. These molecular fossil records implicate that the Pleistocene vermicular red earth widespread in South China was formed in coupling to the global climatic change and could be an important climate carrier.

关 键 词：biomarker  paleosol  paleoclimate  MOLECULAR stratigraphy  MOLECULAR paleontology  Quaternary  China. 

分 类 号：P532[天文地球—古生物学与地层学]