Geological records showed that an important biological extinction event happened during the Early-Middle Cambrian transition period, but there are controversial views about its orign. In order to reveal the response of microbial community to the biotic crisis and the marine environment change，microfabrics and organo-minerals in the oncoid cortices formed in that period at the North China Platform were studied. The study revealed that abundant microbial fossils exist in the oncoids. Study of microfabrics and organomineralization patterns in the oncoid cortices suggested that the oncoids were likely formed in seawater with high alkalinity and active bacterial sulfate reduction(BSR). Rich pyrite framboids and purported heterotrophic remains in the cortices represented an anoxic bottom-water condition，and facies and depositional sequence analyses suggested a shallow shelf environment. A wide correlation indicated that the time-equivalent oncoids or related microbialites were widespread in the North China Platform，and also well recorded in some other continents or plates. This may imply an extensive bloom of microbial communities in the aftermath of terminal Early Cambrian biotic crisis，which was likely related to a pervasive anoxia in shallow marine environments caused by LIP(Large igneous province) eruptions，and subsequently global warming and invasion of anoxic deep seawater onto the shelves at that time. The broad distribution of oncoids and other related microbialites at the Early-Middle Cambrian transition may have reflected an ecological response and rapid expansion of microbial community to the high-stressed environments where benthic metazoans had been largely suppressed during the biotic crises.

The Early Carboniferous Visean plant fossils are reported for the first time from the upper part of the Ta′erbahatai Formation in northwestern Junggar，including Archaeocalamites scrobiculatus，Sublepidodendron grabaui，S. mirabile，S. cf. mirabile，Sublepidodendron sp.， Lepidodendropsis sp.， Mesocalamites sp., Sigillaria sp., Rhodeopteridium ?sp. and Knorria sp.. This floral assemblage demonstrates that the age of the Ta′erbahatai Formation can be extended to the Early Carboniferous. The uppermost Ta′erbahatai Formation and its overlaying Heishantou Formation are obviously diachronous on the basis of fossil evidences and contact relationships of strata. The age of the uppermost Ta′erbahatai Formation extends from the Tournaisian to Visean and the Heishantou Formation is from the Tournaisian to Serpukhovian. Deep-sea trace fossils preserved together with plant fossils indicate bathyal-abyssal environment in the Tarbgatay area during the early-middle Early Carboniferous，in contrast to the littoral and shallow marine conditions in the Jimunai area at the same time. The different sedimentary systems are largely attributed to the extensive transgression in northern Xinjiang and the subduction of the Irtysh-Zaysan Ocean Plate under the Kazakhstan Plate during the Early Carboniferous，which also account for the diachroneity of the uppermost Ta′erbahatai Formation and Heishantou Formation in northwestern Junggar.

As the distribution of Lamprotula fauna was controlled by climate and environment，the study on Lamprotula fauna might reconstruct the palaeoenvironment at that time. 13 species of the Holocene Unionidae fossils were found in Baiyangdian area of Hebei Province，which belonged to Lamprotula-Cuneopsis-Unio assemblage named as Baiyangdian Lamprotula fauna. Compared that fauna with the modern Lamprotula fauna living in Taihu Lake，Poyang Lake，Dongting Lake and their surrounding water in the Yangtze River downstream watersheds，and the Middle Holocene Lamprotula fauna found in Wangyin of Shandong Province and Xishuipo of Henan Province，they all belonged to the China-India Subrealm of Oriental Realm and in lacustrine environment in subtropical humid climate zone，although Baiyangdian Lamprotula fauna contained certain similar characteristics of the mentioned faunas with low diversity in assemblage during the early Middle Holocene. It was indicated that the north boundary of the North Subtropics and the Oriental Realm was located in Beijing-Tianjin area to the north of Baiyangdian，and extended westwards to Hetao area of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Shangyi Basin was formed in the Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous and mainly deposited a set of purple and celadon terrigenous clastic rocks，with a suit of thinner basaltic andesitic volcanic rock only found in the strata of the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. The provenance，catchment center and palaeoclimate were analysed through the systematic analysis of the sedimentary rocks, distribution characteristcs of sedimentary facies, palaeocurent，gravel components etc., and a evolution model of palaeogeography of Shangyi Basin was reconstructed. Meanwhile，based on previous study results，combining with the depositional and filling pattern of Shangyi Basin，the characteristics of peperite，dolerite and boundary faults were summarized and analysed，and Shangyi Basin was deduced to be an extensional faulted basin during the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous.

Based on cores observation，abundant and diverse sedimentary structures were found in the upper part of Member 4 of Paleogene Shahejie Formation(E s 4) in Lijin sag，Dongying Depression，Bohai Bay Basin. The main sedimentary structures of storm deposits identified included storm-erosional structures(scour surfaces，gutter casts and truncated structures)，storm-eddy structures(tear structures)，storm-gravity structures(graded bedding and blocky bedding)，storm-wave structures(hummocky cross-bedding，parallel bedding and wave ripples)，and penecontemporaneous deformation structures formed in the storm energy attenuated stage. An ideal vertical sedimentary sequence of storm deposits was constructed in the study area. It consisted ten lithofacies units, corresponding to three storm energy stages: Storm eddy stage，storm wave stage and storm energy attenuated stage. Storm deposits in the study area mainly developed between the fair-weather wave base and storm wave base，except type Ⅰ(in-situ erosion storm deposits)developed above the fair-weather wave base. According to comprehensive analysis，it was acknowledged that the storm energy，provenance，palaeotopography as well as lake level change were controlling factors of storm deposits，and the favorable developing conditions for these four types of storm deposits were analyzed.

Fluvial-marine transitional facies, including braided river delta and estuary-tide flat, were mainly developed in sags of Qiongdongnan Basin，northern South China Sea. Under the guide of high-resolution sequence stratigraphy theory，the Members 2 and 3 of Paleogene Lingshui Formation were divided into 2 long-term base-level cycles and 10 mid-term base-level cycles. Sedimentary characteristics and evolution of the Members 2 and 3 of Lingshui Formation were discussed under isochronous stratigraphic framework. Braided river delta, with unique stratification structures, rich mud lamina and abundant trace fossils, was mainly developed in the Member 3 of Lingshui Formation, and its evolutionary process could be divided into 3 stages: the early period dominated by fluvial activities(S1-S4)，the middle period affected by fluvial and tidal activities(S5-S6), and the late period dominated by tidal activities(S7-S8). During the depositional period of Member 2 of Lingshui Formation(S9-S10)，a comprehensive transgression happened in study area, resulted in more complicated sedimentary characteristics and process with more unique biogenic structures, which was interpreted as estuary-tide flat. According to this research，the relative sea level change was the controlling factor of base-level cycle and sedimentary evolution in Qiongdongnan Basin.

After the palaeomagenetism study on the 500 25 m deep Borehole CK3，which is located near the Xiaoshan volcanic dome of Haixing County on the western coast of Bohai Bay，it can be determined that this borehole has drilled through the strata since the Cochiti subchron of Gilbert polarity chron，with the basal horizon having an age of 4 38 Ma. Combining with ¹⁴ C dating data as well as stratigraphic relations，the total four periods of volcanic activities occurred at 2.12 Ma，1.34 Ma，35～70 ka and 10～15 ka，respectively. The comparison with the high-quality palaeomagenetism-studied boreholes on the coastal plain of the Bohai Bay indicated that the Huanghua Depression was overall tilted northeastwards during the Quaternary. The average grain-size change of sediments and the logging curves showed a good contrastive relationship and synchronicity. The comprehensive analysis of the sediment characteristics，sedimentary structures，log facies and particle sizes suggested that most of the drilled strata were floodplain deposits，and had rare lacustrine-limnetic sediments even in the interdistributary subfacies，while the deposits were mostly in a state of oxidation. All the three periods of transgressive strata since the Late Pleistocene were tidal flat deposits with the burial depth of basal horizons conformed to the entire western Bohai Bay，and could be subdivided based on marine oxygen isotope stages