Long-term cycles of the Solar System concealed in the Mesozoic sedimentary basin record

Mounting evidence indicates that the orbital period of the solar system’s movement through the Milky Way has had a controlling effect on processes of the Earth’s system throughout the Phanerozoic. To decipher the response of a given terrestrial basin’s rhythms to galactic dynamics, for the first time, we report long-term cycles recorded in the Mesozoic Ordos Basin (Central China). The astronomical time scale (ATS) was established for each successive sedimentary sequence, and the duration of unconformity episodes was estimated based on the chronological constraints. Using this timescale, time-series analysis of the deposition rate is carried out through the Mesozoic Ordos Basin, which reveals compelling periodicities of 93, 33, 9, 3–5, and 2.4 Myr. The radial solar system motions around the galactic centre and plate tectonic cycles act cooperatively to impact the magmatic tempo of the Qinling orogenic belt and the 93-Myr depositional cycle of the Mesozoic Ordos Basin. The Mesozoic 33-Myr cycle is a sedimentary response to the half-period of the solar system’s vertical oscillation about the galactic plane. A rational explanation is that galactic oscillation affects mantle convection, which is responsible for periodic asthenospheric upwelling and ultimately controls the vertical crust oscillation of the Ordos Basin. Mesozoic 9-Myr and the higher-frequency 3–5 and 2.4-Myr depositional cycles can be sedimentary responses to the Earth’s orbital eccentricity, which affected the temporal variation in depositional environments in the Ordos Basin. Apart from the galactic-geologic correlations, long-term cycles recorded within a sedimentary basin should also consider the tectonically driven mechanisms at these timescales. This framework provides a new perspective for revealing the astronomical origin of Earth’s rhythms.