Astronomical Forcing of Palaeo‐Water Level Fluctuations of Western North China Craton During the Late Palaeozoic

ABSTRACT Reconstruction of palaeo‐water level fluctuation has shown geoscientific significance for deciphering the hydrological evolution and sedimentary evolution in North China Craton (NCC) during the Late Palaeozoic. However, poorly constrained geochronology and understudied driving mechanisms have impeded a deeper comprehension of hydrological circulation. In this study, we established an astronomical time scale (ATS) of a Late Palaeozoic sequence of western NCC, spanning from ~275.842 ± 1.2 Ma to ~284.414 ± 1.2 Ma. We reconstructed the fluctuation of water level in the western NCC during the Late Palaeozoic by a sedimentary noise model. The ~2.4‐Myr eccentricity cycle was presented in both modelling resutls and Mn/Fe ratio through time series analysis. We speculated that the transition from in‐phase to anti‐phase between reconstructed water level variations and global sea level variations in ~2.4‐Myr rhythm indicated the changes in hydrological circulation, suggesting a shift from marine to terrestrial environment.