About this Research Topic
Therefore, investigating the formation processes and developmental characteristics of fine-grained sedimentary rocks not only aids in understanding the climatic, environmental, and ecological changes in the Earth's critical periods, particularly in marine or lacustrine environments, but also facilitates the reconstruction of the evolutionary history of the Earth.
In this Research Topic, our focus is on the sedimentary processes and hydrodynamic mechanisms of shales and mudstones in different depositional settings. Additionally, diagenetic processes of these fine-grained rocks are another focal point of our attention. We also focus on the formation mechanisms of organic-rich shales, by reconstructing distinctive paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental conditions through the geochemical data recorded in these rocks, and interpreting the driving mechanisms behind climatic and environmental variations during critical geological periods.
This Research Topic encourages original research articles, perspectives, and reviews on the sedimentary processes and hydrodynamic mechanisms of shales and mudstones in different depositional settings. Themes of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Diagenetic processes of these fine-grained rocks;
• The formation mechanisms of organic-rich shales, by reconstructing distinctive paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental conditions through the geochemical data recorded in these rocks;
• The driving mechanisms behind climatic and environmental variations during critical geological periods.
Keywords: shale, mudstone, paleoenvironment, paleoclimate, sequence stratigraphy, depositional settings
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.