The onset of the Ediacaran Nama Group sedimentation in Namibia?

The final stage of the Proterozoic, the Ediacaran, shields fascinating insights on the development and dispersal of complex metazoans related to dramatic compositional changes in the atmosphere and hydrosphere.  Alternating sequences of siliciclastic and carbonate rocks of the Namibian Nama basin record the final stage of the Ediacaran and contain a vast amount of soft-bodied fauna, as well as some of the first biocalcifying organisms. However, the sparsity of ash beds at the base of the Nama group, preclude accurate and precise constraints on the onset of the Ediacaran biota in Nama group and correlation with chemo stratigraphic records worldwide.  

Due to the scarcity of ash layers, we apply U-Pb dating to carbonate rocks especially from the lower stratigraphic sections of the Nama Group combining the spatial resolution of LA-ICP-MS and the high-precision ID-TIMS U-Pb dating. The combination with mineralogical and geochemical techniques (d¹³C, d¹⁸O, XRD, SEM, EPMA, CL imaging, LA trace element transects, Raman spectroscopy, clumped isotope thermometry, QEMSCAN, SIMS) enables us to better understand the nature of the analyzed carbonates to distinguish between more pristine and diagenetic phases.

This study elaborates on the potential and limitations of carbonate U-Pb dating for improved stratigraphic correlation on these ancient pre-Cambrian marine carbonates from the Nama Group.