Permian–Triassic boundary microbialites (PTBMs) are commonly interpreted to be a sedimentary response to upwelling of anoxic alkaline seawater and indicate a harsh marine environment in the Permian–Triassic transition. However, recent studies propose that PTBMs may instead be developed in an oxic environment, therefore necessitating the need to reassess the paleoenvironment of formation of PTBMs. This paper is an integrated study of the PTBM sequence at Yudongzi, northwest Sichuan Basin, which is one of the thickest units of PTBMs in south China. Analysis of conodont biostratigraphy, mega- to microscopic microbialite structures, stratigraphic variations in abundance and size of metazoan fossils, and total organic carbon (TOC) and total sulfur (TS) contents within the PTBM reveals the following results: (1) the microbialites occur mainly in the Hindeodus parvus Zone but may cross the Permian–Triassic boundary, and are comprised of, from bottom to top: lamellar thrombolites, dendritic thrombolites and lamellar-reticular thrombolites; (2) most metazoan fossils of the microbialite succession increase in abundance upsection, so does the sizes of bivalve and brachiopod fossils; (3) TOC and TS values of microbialites account respectively for 0.07 and 0.31 wt% on average, both of which are very low. The combination of increase in abundance and size of metazoan fossils upsection, together with the low TOC and TS contents, is evidence that the Yudongzi PTBMs developed in oxic seawater. We thus dispute the previous view, at least for the Chinese sequences, of low-oxygen seawater for microbialite growth, and question whether it is now appropriate to associate PTBMs with anoxic, harsh environments associated with the end-Permian extinction. Instead, we interpret those conditions as fully oxygenated.

The reefs in the Xiannüdong Formation (Cambrian Series 2) are the oldest archaeocyathan–microbial bioconstructions in China, but the details of their microbial structures have not been previously described. However, a new section at Tangjiahe site, northern Sichuan Province, contains very well-preserved microbial fabrics that provide these details, and is described in this study. The Tangjiahe section contains three levels of reefal buildups that were constructed by a consortium of archaeocyaths and calcimicrobes in varying proportions. The lowest (oldest) reefal buildup is a calcimicrobial biostrome, possibly in the form of a wide mound with a low relief (unconfirmed due to outcrop limitation), which was formed by Epiphyton with rare small archaeocyaths, and is sandwiched by flat-pebble conglomerates. The middle reefal buildup is a high-relief calcimicrobial mound, enclosed by oolites, that was built by intergrown Renalcis and Tarthinia. Archaeocyath fossils are uncommon, and were bound into the framework by microbial carbonates. The uppermost (youngest) reefal buildup is a low-relief archaeocyathan mound lacking calcimicrobes but partly having microbially-clotted textures attached on archaeocyaths. Calcimicrobes built or aided archaeocyaths to form the framework of Tangjiahe reefs. The three buildups formed in low-energy lagoons behind ooid shoals, and the environment was nutrient-rich due to terrigenous influx from adjacent lands. Tangjiahe reefs thus resemble most Early Cambrian reefs, in settings consistent with eutrophic, calm environments, and are characterized by the domination or aid of calcimicrobial components in framework construction.

Amalgamation of the Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks in the context of Gondwana assembly in the early Paleozoic has been addressed for decades, but the far-field effects on the Yangtze Block during the amalgamation remain unclear. In this study, we outline the sequence stratigraphic framework of the Ordovician succession in the central-upper Yangtze Block and analyze provenance records in sandstone compositions, distributions, and detritus zircon U-Pb dating. The Ordovician succession in the central-upper Yangtze Block is subdivided into six third-order sequences, which were deposited mainly in a carbonate platform with restricted sediments in Tremadocian to early Floian stages, mixed terrigenous-carbonate deposits in mid- to late Floian stages, and open circulation sediments in Dapingian to middle Katian stages. These sequences show the central-upper Yangtze Block experienced syn-tectonic deformation with northeast-trending long-wavelength uplift and depression alternatively and the depocenter shifting from the east during Tremadocian to mid-Floian stages to the southwest in late Floian to early Hirnantian stages. Provenance data indicate that detritus in the Ordovician succession was mainly from the northern India and Kangdian paleohighland to the southwest of South China Block. Incorporating the depositional and deformation variations, we propose a retroarc foreland basin that was developed on the South China Block in response to final suturing between the South China Block and East Gondwana at Sanya suture zone. The South China Block was thus involved in the global tectonics of the Gondwana supercontinental cycle during the Ordovician.

Although the Ordovician petroleum exploration in the Sichuan Basin has been developed slowly for a long time, deepening the research of reservoir characteristics and genesis is still a robust way to accelerate it. This paper characterizes the Ordovician reservoirs in the central part of Sichuan Basin and analyzes their genesis based on cores, thin sections, well logs and drilling data. The results show the reservoirs concentrated in the Lower Ordovician Tongzi Formation, which consist mainly of sandy oolitic dolostones, bioclastic dolostones, fine crystalline dolostones, sandy dolomitized conglomerates, sandy dolostones and dolomite sandstone. The porosity types include interparticle pore, intraparticle pore, moldic pore, fracture and vug. Throats are mostly necked and flaky. The Tongzi Formation reservoirs mainly experienced three types of diageneses, including compaction, cementation and dissolution. The reservoir development was controlled by multiple factors of deposition, diagenesis and tectonics; the shoal facies is the basis, the penecontemporaneous dissolution and dolomitization are the main driving force, and the burial dissolution is the aid. The study can provide reference for deepening the Ordovician petroleum exploration and development in the Sichuan Basin.