Provenance and sedimentary environment of the Mesoproterozoic Honghongzhuang Formation in northern part of North China

In order to further explore the provenance and sedimentatary environment of mud shale in the Mesoproterozoic Hongshuizhuang Formation of northern China, samples were collected from outcrops of the Qinghe section of Honghongzhuang Formation for elementary geochemical testing and analysis. The results show that the sediments were not only from terrigenous clastics but also from marine sediments. The results of Y/Ho and ΣREE relationship diagram analysis show that the source proportion of seawater sediments is 10%-20%. In addition, the distribution pattern of rare earth elements and the Ce and Eu anomalies indicate the involvement of volcanic hydrothermal activity in the sediment source. Mo-EF/U-EF analysis results show that Hongshuizhuang is a sedimentary environment of Marine non-stationary basin, and the evolution of redox conditions in the sedimentary period is as follows:in the period of the Lower Member deposition of Hongshuizhuang Formation, the water body was in a strong reductive anaerobic-sulfurization environment; while, during the period of its Upper Member deposition, the reduction degree of water decreased and the environment was anaerobic. It is concluded that the provenance composition and sedimentary environment evolution of the Honghongzhuang Formation are closely related to the sedimentary tectonic setting.