The application of carbon and oxygen isotopes to the sequence stratigraphy of deep-water turbidites: An example from the Tianping section in Dayong, Hunan

The variations in carbon and oxygen isotopic values may be used to deduce the sea-level changes of deposi-tional environments and to study the sequence stratigraphy of deep-water turbidites. The correlation of the sea-level curve based on the outcrop sequence stratigraphy and carbon and oxygen isotopic curves for the Tianping section in Dayong, Hunan shows that:(1) the sea-level curve based on the outcrop sequence stratigraphy is in general agreement with the carbon and oxygen isotopic curves; (2) sea-level changes indicated by the carbon isotopic curve approximate to those based on the outcrop sequence stratigraphy, while the oxygen isotopic curve is in general agreement with those based on the outcrop sequence stratigraphy. Occasionally the opposite situations are present; (3) the carbon isotopic curve is more sensitative to sediment changes. The higher δ¹³C values may represent the fine-grained turbidites and deep-water sediments in the same cycles.