Authigenic clay mineral evidence for restricted, evaporitic conditions during the emergence of the Ediacaran Doushantuo Biota

Abstract The Ediacaran Period witnessed major environmental change and an expansion of eukaryotic life following the Marinoan glaciation. Doushantuo Formation south China has furnished much our understanding Earth System biosphere evolution during this period, but its depositional setting–marine or non-marine–is still debated. Here we conduct mineralogical, petrographic geochemical analyses samples from lower in order to determine origin saponite clay minerals which are abundant interval. We find that morphology distribution clays suggest they pre-compaction, authigenic origin. infer sediments were deposited a restricted, mildly evaporitic lagoonal basin, offering additional constraints on setting into metazoan emerged. Further, findings confirm seawater favored reverse weathering, with marine formation likely representing important sink for various elements Precambrian.