The Late Triassic Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE) witnessed enormous climate change closely associated with volcanic activity. However, the coupling relationship between volcanic activity and climate change, which may be linked to chemical weathering, has not yet been fully uncovered. We used lithium contents and isotopes of volcanic ash (VA)–bearing lacustrine shale to constrain their deposition pathways and response to climate changes, i.e., weathering intensity, during the Late Triassic era. Elevated δ ⁷ Li (i.e., >2.5‰) and low Li contents (i.e., 135 microgram per gram), alongside relatively low δ ⁷ Li (i.e., <0‰), likely implying waterborne VA dominated by intensified weathering under a super humidity climate. Hence, this study provides evidence for the differential VA-rich shale deposition model related to chemical weathering states synchronous with climate changes during the CPE period.

The success of shale oil exploration and production is highly dependent on the heterogeneous nature of the reservoir pore structure. Despite this, there remains limited research on the heterogeneity characteristics of pores at different scales in lacustrine shale oil reservoirs and the factors that impact them. This study aims to quantitatively characterize the multi-scale pore heterogeneity differences of the lacustrine shale found in the Funing Formation in Gaoyou Sag. Additionally, the study seeks to clarify the impact of the total organic carbon (TOC) and lithofacies type on pore structure heterogeneity. To achieve this, nitrogen adsorption, scanning electronic microscope (SEM), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), and other experimental means were adopted in combination with the fractal dimension model of FHH and capillary. The results show that the predominant lithofacies of the Funing Formation shale samples are mixed shale (MS) and siliceous shale (SS), with a limited presence of calcareous shale (CS). The micro-pores of lacustrine shale are dominated by inorganic mineral pores and fewer organic pores. Intragranular pores and clay mineral pores are two types of inorganic mineral pores that are widely found. Small pores (pore diameter < 50 nm) make up 89% of the pore volume (PV) and 99% of the specific surface area (SSA). The fractal dimensions D₁, D₂, and D₃ were calculated to characterize the roughness of the pore surface, the structural complexity of small pores, and the structural complexity of large pores (pore diameter > 50 nm), respectively. The increase in the total organic carbon (TOC) resulted in a decrease in the D₁, D₂, PV, and SSA, while connectivity showed a slight improvement. The fractal dimension of shale across all lithofacies followed the pattern: D₃ > D₂ > D₁. The pore structure is more complex than the pore surface, and the large pores showed a greater heterogeneity than the small pores. Among the three lithofacies, CS had the largest PV, SSA, D₁, and D₂, indicating the development of a more complex pore structure network. This expands the space required for shale oil occurrence. However, the connectivity of the CS lithofacies is the lowest among the three, which hinders shale oil production. Although the PV of SS is slightly lower than that of CS, its average pore diameter (AVE PD) and connectivity are significantly advantageous, making SS an ideal shale reservoir. This study provides an important reference for the reservoir evaluation required to better develop lacustrine shale oil around the world.

Significant amounts of unconventional oil and gas resources have been discovered in the Yanchang Formation of Ordos Basin. Shale layers deposited in Chang 7 member (divided into Chang 7-2 submember (C7-2SM) and Chang 7-3 submember (C7-3SM) and Chang 9 member (C9M)) are the main source rocks. Based on the comparison of mineralogical and geochemical characteristics, it is concluded that (1) in terms of mineralogical characteristics, the C7-3SM shale possesses the largest content of illite/smectite mixed layer and reducing minerals and the least quantity of quartz. The C9M shale shows the highest percentage of quartz and illite and the least amount of K-feldspar and Kaolinite. In C7-2SM and C9M shale, amorphous silica surrounded tightly by clay minerals is easily observed by the scanning electron microscopy. Besides the drilling orientation, the small content of quartz contributed to the lowest porosity for the C7-3SM shale. (2) In terms of geochemical characteristics, the C7-3SM shale exhibits high productivity due to type II₁ kerogen. The organic matter in the C7-2SM and C9M shale contains mainly type II₂ and possibly type III kerogen. The C9M shale exhibits the highest organic thermal maturity. The C7-3SM shale was formed in a relatively higher salinity of sedimentary water.