Cambrian-Ordovician sequence stratigraphy on the northern Tarim Platform and its correlation with Yangtze Platform and North China Platform

The Cambrian and Ordovician on the northern Tarim Platform are mainly composed of carbonates. On the basis of detailed outcrop analysis, the sequence stratigraphic system of the Cambrian-Ordovician in the northern Tarim Platform is outlined in this paper. Altogether 35 third-order sequences, 12 supersequences, 4 supersequence sets and 2 megasequences are recognized. The characteristics of the major sequence boundaries have been documented with an integrated examination of outcrop, seismic and borehole data, and the ages of these sequence boundaries have been calibrated through the combination of sequence stratigraphy with biostrati-graphy. It is discovered that there is good correlation of the sequence stratigraphy of the Cambrian-Ordovician among Tarim, Yangtze and North China platforms. This may illustrate that the development of the Cambrian-Ordovician carbonate sequences in these three platforms is mainly controlled by regional or global sea level changes. This forms the theoretical basis for the construction of high-resolution chronostratigraphic system of the Cambrian-Ordovician in the three platforms in China.