Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 July 2002
A Nd isotope map of early Cambrian epeiric basins has been inferred from the Nd isotopic signature recorded in phosphatic Small Shelly Fossils. The most radiogenic εNd(t) values characterize water reservoirs along the Avalonian and Cadomian belts, while εNd(t) values of −10 to −20 were obtained in Laurentia and East Gondwanan Australia and China. Such a distribution of Nd isotope signatures results from the different provenance of early Cambrian epeiric seas: juvenile magmatic arcs and/or cordilleran for Mongolia, Siberia, Iberia and adjacent terranes, and cratonic sources for Laurentia and East Gondwana. Biogenic apatite of Small Shelly Fossils may be a useful tool for mapping of Nd isotope composition and documenting water mass exchange between discrete basins.