Early Cambrian ocean mixing recorded by phosphorite successions in the Nanhua Basin, South China

Phosphorite successions in the nearshore Meishucun section and the offshore Gezhongwu section of the Nanhua Basin, South China, were investigated to decipher the circulation pattern of the early Cambrian ocean. The 539–535 Ma phosphorites from the Meishucun section contain authigenic phosphorus-rich mineral aggregates (collophanite grains) with much lower bio-limiting elements, Zn, Cd and Ni, than those from the Gezhongwu section. In contrast,...