Structural characteristics of the KPR-CBR triple-junction inferred from gravity and magnetic interpretations,Philippine Sea Plate

The intersection of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge (KPR) and the Central Basin Rift (CBR) of the West Philippine Basin (WPB) is a relic of a trench-trench-rift (TTR) type triple-junction, which preserves some pivotal information on the cessation of the seafloor spreading of the WPB, the emplacement and disintegration of the proto-Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) Arc, and the transition from initial rifting to steady-state spreading of the Parece Vela Basin (PVB). However, the structural characteristics of this triple-junction have not been thoroughly understood. In this paper, using the newly acquired multi-beam bathymetric, gravity, and magnetic data obtained by the Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology, China Geological Survey, the authors depict the topographic, gravity, and magnetic characteristics of the triple-junction and adjacent region. Calculations including the upward continuations and total horizontal derivatives of gravity anomaly are also performed to highlight the major structural features and discontinuities. Based on these works, the morphological and structural features and their formation mechanisms are analyzed. The results show that the last episode amagmatic extension along the CBR led to the formation of a deep rift valley, which extends eastward and incised the KPR. The morphological and structural fabrics of the KPR near and to the south of the triple-junction are consistent with those of the western PVB, manifesting as a series of NNE-SSW- and N-S-trending ridges and troughs, which were produced by the extensional faults associated with the initial rifting of the PVB. The superposition of the above two reasons induced the prominent discontinuity of the KPR in deep and shallow crustal structures between 15°N–15°30′N and 13°30′N–14°N. Combined with previous authors’ results, we propose that the stress produced by the early spreading of the PVB transmitted westward and promoted the final stage amagmatic extension of the CBR. The eastward propagation of the CBR destroyed the KPR, of which the magmatism had decayed or ceased at that time. The destruction mechanism of the KPR associated with the rifting of the PVB varies along strike the KPR. Adjacent to the triple-junction, the KPR was destroyed mainly due to the oblique intersection of the PVB rifting center. Whereas south of the triple-junction, the KPR was destroyed by the E-W-directional extensional faulting on its whole width.©2021 China Geology Editorial Office.     

Characteristics of gravity and magnetic fields and deep structural responses in the southern part of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge

The southern part of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge (KPR) is located at the conjunction of the West Philippine Basin, the Parece Vela Basin, the Palau Basin, and the Caroline Basin. This area has extremely complex structures and is critical for the research on the tectonic evolution of marginal seas in the Western Pacific Ocean. However, only few studies have been completed on the southern part, and the geophysical fields and deep structures in this part are not well understood. Given this, this study finely depicts the characteristics of the gravity and magnetic anomalies and extracts information on deep structures in the southern part of the KPR based on the gravity and magnetic data obtained from the 11th expedition of the deep-sea geological survey of the Western Pacific Ocean conducted by the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey, China Geological Survey using the R/V Haiyangdizhi 6. Furthermore, with the data collected on the water depth, sediment thickness, and multichannel seismic transects as constraints, a 3D density model and Moho depths of the study area were obtained using 3D density inversion. The results are as follows. (1) The gravity and magnetic anomalies in the study area show distinct zoning and segmentation. In detail, the gravity and magnetic anomalies to the south of 11°N of the KPR transition from high-amplitude continuous linear positive anomalies into low-amplitude intermittent linear positive anomalies. In contrast, the gravity and magnetic anomalies to the north of 11°N of the KPR are discontinuous and show alternating positive and negative anomalies. These anomalies can be divided into four sections, of which the separation points correspond well to the locations of deep faults, thus, revealing different field-source attributes and tectonic genesis of the KPR. (2) The Moho depth in the basins in the study area is 6–12 km. The Moho depth in the southern part of KPR show segmentation. Specifically, the depth is 10–12 km to the north of 11°N, 12–14 km from 9.5°N to 11°N, 14–16 km from 8.5°N to 9.5°N, and 16–25 km in the Palau Islands. (3) The KPR is a remnant intra-oceanic arc with the oceanic-crust basement.which shows noticeably discontinuous from north to south in geological structure and is intersected by NEE-trending lithospheric-scale deep faults. With large and deep faults F3 and F1 (the Mindanao fault) as boundaries overall, the southern part of the KPR can be divided into three zones. In detail, the portion to the south of 8.5°N (F3) is a tectonically active zone, the KPR portion between 8.5°N and 11°N is a tectonically active transition zone, and the portion to the north of 11°N is a tectonically inactive zone. (4) The oceanic crust in the KPR is slightly thicker than that in the basins on both sides of the ridge, and it is inferred that the KPR formed from the thickening of the oceanic crust induced by the upwelling of deep magma in the process of rifting of remnant arcs during the Middle Oligocene. In addition, it is inferred that the thick oceanic crust under the Palau Islands is related to the constant upwelling of deep magma induced by the continuous northwestward subduction of the Caroline Plate toward the Palau Trench since the Late Oligocene. This study provides a scientific basis for systematically understanding the crustal attributes, deep structures, and evolution of the KPR.©2021 China Geology Editorial Office.     

利用多波束回波强度进行中太平洋潜鱼海山底质分类

中、西太平洋海山区是富钴结壳的重要富集区,钙质远洋沉积、碳酸盐岩沉积及重力作用引起的滑塌沉积是海山山顶和斜坡的主要沉积类型,它们的空间分布规律对于富钴结壳的分布至关重要.在国内首次利用EM122多波束回波强度资料对中太平洋潜鱼海山进行了底质类型研究,对回波强度资料进行处理和统计分类,并与浅地层剖面和地质取样结果对比,分析得出了4种底质类型,即富钴结壳、钙质远洋沉积、碳酸盐岩基底及碎屑流沉积.这几种底质类型具有不同的回波强度特征,其中富钴结壳区表现为均一的回波强度高值特征;钙质远洋沉积区表现为均一的回波强度低值特征,二者回波强度值相差约20 dB.结果显示潜鱼海山山顶仅局部发育钙质远洋沉积,大部分为碳酸盐岩基底出露区,山顶边缘及侧翼山脊处为主要的富钴结壳分布区.此外,该海山存在3处较大规模的重力滑塌沉积区,主要为碎屑流沉积.      

Current-topography interactions at mid-ocean seamounts and the impact on pelagic ecosystems

Ocean currents impinging on topographic obstacles such as seamounts create a high level of variability in mesoscale physical oceanography. In the N Pacific, for example, the structure of the Kuroshio and its extension differ significantly E and W of the Emperor Seamount chain, and eddy fields detected downstream may be attributed to seamount effects. Nearfield effects of seamounts have been theoretically predicted for several decades but only recently has theory been confirmed by observation. Taylor columns, quasi-stationary eddies over seamounts, alter flow patterns and thus have impacts on both benthos on seamounts and on the biota in water overlying the seamount. SE Hancock Seamount, located at the N end of the Hawaiian Ridge (29°47′N; 179°04′E), has a summit depth of 265 m. This seamount is located near the subtropical front and is at the southerly extent of productive seamounts where trawl fisheries have existed in the past. The pelagic ecosystem in the upper 200 m over the seamount clearly differs from waters at control stations at distances of 10's of kilometers away as shown by plankton and midwater trawl hauls and hydroacoustic transects conducted during 1984 and 1985. Over the seamount, hydroacoustic transects show a significantly higher biomass of scatterers as compared to control stations. Sampling these scattering layers with small midwater trawls demonstrates high densities of a resident micronekton fauna dominated by the sternoptychid fish “Maurolicus muelleri” and the mysid “Gnathophausia longispina”; these taxa were virtually absent from the control stations, were oceanic micronekton, particularly larger forms, were generally in higher abundance than at the seamount stations. Similarly, ichthyoplankton abundance differs above the seamount and at reference stations. In summer sampling, larval fishes were less abundant over the seamount whereas in winter the abundance was greater there. The differences in distribution and abundance of both micronekton and ichthyoplankton are significant and consistently observed, suggesting that physical or biological processes at the seamount have important effects on the pelagic ecosystem. Hypotheses concerning current — topography interactions, exclusion of vertical migrators, and predation by resident micronekton and fishes can be used to explain the observed effects. Seamounts and other areas of complex topography are frequently sites of highly productive ecosystems; the S Emperor and N Hawaiian Ridge seamounts provide a good example, with a catch of approximately one million tons of boarfish in ten years. The interaction of ocean currents and complex topography may play an important role in this high productivity, as demonstrated in the high biomass of lower trophic levels in the seamount ecosystem. Interannual variability in the latitudinal position of the subtropical front and the strength of current flow over these seamounts may result in significant differences in mesoscale physical oceanography and therefore in the productivity of these ecosystems.     

西太平洋海域海山地形分形特征研究

对太平洋麦哲伦海山区、威克—马尔库斯海山区、马绍尔群岛、中太平洋海山区及莱恩群岛5个海山区的平顶海山与尖顶海山地形进行分形研究,结果表明两种类型海山地形具有不同的分形特征。海山形态投影覆盖法揭示平顶海山具有单分形的大尺度构造分形,尖顶海山具有大尺度构造分形和小尺度结构分形的双分形结构。海山等高线尺度法分形结果显示,同一海山区平顶海山分维值小于尖顶海山的;同一海山不同高程段等高线分维值基本保持稳定,垂向上具有明显的分段性,可以参考并使用它进行地貌垂向分带。     

Distribution, geometry, age and origin of overdeepened valleys and basins in the Alps and their foreland

Overdeepened valleys and basins are commonly found below the present landscape surface in areas that were affected by Quaternary glaciations. Overdeepened troughs and their sedimentary fillings are important in applied geology, for example, for geotechnics of deep foundations and tunnelling, groundwater resource management, and radioactive waste disposal. This publication is an overview of the areal distribution and the geometry of overdeepened troughs in the Alps and their foreland, and summarises the present knowledge of the age and potential processes that may have caused deep erosion. It is shown that overdeepened features within the Alps concur mainly with tectonic structures and/or weak lithologies as well as with Pleistocene ice confluence and partly also diffluence situations. In the foreland, overdeepening is found as elongated buried valleys, mainly oriented in the direction of former ice flow, and glacially scoured basins in the ablation area of glaciers. Some buried deeply incised valleys were generated by fluvial down-cutting during the Messinian crisis but this mechanism of formation applies only for the southern side of the Alps. Lithostratigraphic records and dating evidence reveal that overdeepened valleys were repeatedly occupied and excavated by glaciers during past glaciations. However, the age of the original formation of (non-Messinian) overdeepened structures remains unknown. The mechanisms causing overdeepening also remain unidentified and it can only be speculated that pressurised meltwater played an important role in this context.     

Asymmetric post-spreading magmatism in the South China Sea: based on the quantification of the volume and its spatiotemporal distribution of the seamounts

ABSTRACT

The volume of seamounts is an essential indicator of the intensity of mantle convection during the evolution of the oceanic lithosphere. Drilling and dredging samples suggest volcanic seamounts are widely distributed in the oceanic basin of the South China Sea, and most of them were formed after cessation of seafloor spreading. By using an SRTM15_PLUS Digital Elevation Model with a 15-arc-second grid, we developed a spatial filtering method based on the Top Hat Transform to extract seamounts. With a combined analysis of basalt dating results from previous studies and gravity anomaly data, an accurate estimation of seamount volume and its spatiotemporal distribution have been obtained. In addition to an asymmetric distribution of the seamounts with a larger volume in the northern flank, clusters of seamounts can be observed at certain locations in the abyssal plain. Due to the consistency between the distribution of the seamount volume and the seafloor spreading features in the South China Sea basin, we propose the ridge jump may induce additional partial melting zones which account for the larger number of seamounts developed in the northern flank while the re-orientation of the extension during seafloor spreading dominated the distribution of post-spreading magmatism. Similar to other marginal basins, magmas formed by spontaneous partial melting would migrate through weak lithosphere where the extension direction changed, resulting in post-spreading magmatism in those lithospheric weak zones.     

西太平洋地球动力学问题与未来大洋钻探目标

西太平洋区域是全球地质构造和海陆相互作用最活动的区域,经过50多年的大洋钻探研究,人们对西太平洋弧后海底扩张成因、俯冲工厂的动力学机制、地幔演化过程、发震带、热点岩浆活动、沉积古环境等都有了深入研究和分析,但是西太平洋边缘海盆具有很大的构造多样性和复杂性,仍然有很多的科学目标和科学问题有待进一步开展研究.本文详细分析了边缘海盆的大洋岩石圈演化特殊性,原位上地幔蛇纹岩化的程度,初始俯冲与初始扩张的形成机制,海台、海山、海岭、洋脊、洋隆的属性,洋中脊水热循环活动的强度及其对大洋岩石圈演化的影响,岩石圈共轭张裂与破裂模式与机制,大洋红层与异常沉积这7个方面的科学问题,并建议就流体地球化学剖面、海山岩浆剖面、穆绍海沟与加瓜海脊、Ayu海槽、卡罗琳海岭系统、Eauripik海岭、冲绳海槽、莫霍面这8个关键具体目标开展详细的地球物理刻画并提出具有全球意义的钻探建议,为今后实现中国领导的全球大洋钻探工作提供思路.      

Geochemistry of subducted metabasites exhumed from the Mariana forearc: Implications for Pacific seamount subduction

Seamounts on the drifting oceanic crust are inevitably carried by plate motions and eventually accreted or subducted. However, the geochemical signatures of the subducted seamounts and the significance of seamount subduction are not well constrained. Hundreds of seamounts have subducted beneath the Philippine Sea Plate following the westward subduction of the Pacific Plate since the Eocene (~52 Ma). The subducted oceanic crust and seamount materials can be exhumed from the mantle depth to the seafloor in the Mariana forearc region by serpentinite mud volcanoes, providing exceptional opportunities to directly study the subducted oceanic crust and seamounts. The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) expedition 366 has recovered a few metamorphosed mafic clasts exhumed from the Mariana forearc serpentinite mud volcanoes, e.g., the Fantangisña and Asùt Tesoru seamounts. These mafic clasts have tholeiitic to alkaline affinities with distinct trace elements and Nd-Hf isotopes characteristics, suggesting different provenances and mantle sources. The tholeiites from the Fantangisña Seamount have trace element characteristics typical of mid-ocean ridge basalt. The Pacific-type Hf-Nd isotopic compositions, combined with the greenschist metamorphism of these tholeiites further suggest that they came from the subducted Pacific oceanic crust. The alkali basalts-dolerites from the Fantangisña and Asùt Tesoru seamounts show ocean island basalt (OIB)-like geochemical characteristics. The OIB-like geochemical signatures and the low-grade metamorphism of these alkali basalts-dolerites suggest they came from subducted seamounts that originally formed in an intraplate setting on the Pacific Plate. The Pacific Plate origin of these metabasites suggests they were formed in the Early Cretaceous or earlier.Two types of OIBs have been recognized from alkali metabasites, one of which is geochemically similar to the HIMU-EMI-type OIBs from the West Pacific Seamount Province, and another is similar to the EMII-type OIBs from the Samoa Island in southern Pacific, with negative Nb-Ta-Ti anomalies and enriched Nd-Hf isotopes. Generally, these alkali metabasites are sourced from the heterogeneous mantle sources that are similar to the present South Pacific Isotopic and Thermal Anomaly. This study provides direct evidence for seamount subduction in the Mariana convergent margins. We suggest seamount subduction is significant to element cycling, mantle heterogeneity, and mantle oxidation in subduction zones.     

Reconstructing the basal thermal regime of an ice stream in a landscape of selective linear erosion: Glen Avon, Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland

The Cairngorm Mountain area of Scotland is a classic example of a landscape of selective linear glacial erosion, with sharp contrasts in the intensity of glacial erosion between the deeply incised troughs and valleys and the undulating high plateau. This article examines the Quaternary development of Glen Avon, a 200 m deep glacial trough set within the high plateau of the mountains. Evidence concerning the aggregate basal thermal regimes of the topographically controlled ice streams that formerly developed in this area is reconstructed from the geomorphological record, including bedforms indicative of wet-based, sliding ice and of dry-based ice frozen to its bed. This mapping indicates that basal sliding was not confined exclusively to the troughs but extended towards valley heads and on to parts of the plateau adjacent to troughs. The extent of basal sliding appears to have been greatest beneath pre-Late Devensian ice sheets. Basal ice temperatures are modelled under steady-state conditions for the last ice sheet at c. 18 ka BP. Basal thermal regimes are predicted using a reconstruction of the preglacial relief and for the current topography of the area. Convergent flow of ice through the preglacial valley system appears to have been sufficient to induce basal melting and therefore to initiate valley deepening. This effect is enhanced when the model is run across the present topography. Comparison of results of the geomorphological mapping and the modelling reveals significant differences between the actual and predicted extent of basal sliding outside the main ice stream. The overall conclusion is that many ice streams in mountainous terrain are inherited from the locations of preglacial valleys, which serve to accelerate ice flow and promote frictional heating beneath ice sheets.     

西秦岭北缘武山地区上白垩统沙漠相沉积特征

西秦岭广泛但不连续分布着一套晚白垩世红层地层。这套红层地层所代表的原型沉积盆地是西秦岭中生代陆内造山期发育的相互孤立的山间盆地拟或是整体统一红层盆地新生代以来地壳隆升侵蚀破坏的残留一直存在争议。这个争议问题即关乎到对西秦岭中生代末期的构造地貌状态的认识,也关乎到现今青藏高原东北缘新生代以来地壳隆升初始地质背景。通过对西秦岭北缘武山地区上白垩统红层沉积地层中发育的一套砖红色砂岩的沉积序列、沉积构造、粒度分布等宏观地质特征的较详细研究,结合对这套砂岩的矿物成分和显微结构以及石英颗粒SEM表面结构特征的研究,表明这套砖红色砂岩具有如下特征:1）发育典型的大型风成交错层理;2）粒度均匀,分选好,以中-细砂、极细砂组分为主,缺乏粉砂-黏土颗粒组分;3）石英颗粒磨圆度好,表面发育碟形和新月形坑、溶蚀坑、硅质薄膜等风成砂颗粒具有的独特表面特征。据此提出这套砖红色砂岩是典型的沙漠相沉积的新认识,并根据沙漠相沉积类型的识别标志将其分为沙丘沉积和丘间沉积两种沉积类型。秦岭北缘武山地区晚白垩世沙漠相沉积的存在,结合西秦岭腹地同时代的哈达铺、岷县西江等地分布在山顶面的晚白垩世红层地层中存在类似的沙漠相沉积分析,提出了西秦岭晚白垩世不仅处于干旱炎热气候环境,而且曾呈现出地形相对平缓的泛盆地构造地貌状态。这套红层沉积反映了西秦岭晚白垩世为统一红层沉积盆地而非孤立的山间盆地,现今多不连续分布在山顶面之上是新生代以来地壳不均匀隆升和侵蚀共同作用的结果。     

Synorogenic psammites: Major lithochemical features

Some lithochemical features of sandstone associations formed at the orogenic stage of the evolution of mobile belts are analyzed on the basis of literature and original data along with the wide application of discrimination diagrams. Psammites of the flysch and molasse formations of foreland basins, as well as sand-stones from intermontane troughs and postcollisonal grabens, are considered synorogenic sediments. Analysis of the chemical composition showed that sandstones were formed by the mixing of clastic material from heterogeneous (proximal included) source areas. In discrimination diagrams, the compositional fields of sandstones are variable, because they were derived from diverse igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks of different geodynamic settings. Hence, data based on the generally accepted discrimination diagrams cannot be considered as the single (decisive) argument for establishing the geodynamic nature of sandstones without the consideration of textural-structural features of rocks and the analysis of geological structure of sedimentary associations therein.     

Two contrasting magmatic types coexist after the cessation of back-arc spreading

Amongst island arcs, Izu–Bonin is remarkable as it has widespread, voluminous and long-lived volcanism behind the volcanic front. In the central part of the arc this volcanism is represented by a series of seamount chains which extend nearly 300 km into the back-arc from the volcanic front. These back-arc seamount chains were active between 17 and 3 Ma, which is the period between the cessation of spreading in the Shikoku Basin and the initiation of currently active rifting just behind the Quaternary volcanic front. In this paper we present new age, chemical and isotopic data from the hitherto unexplored seamounts which formed furthest from the active volcanic front. Some of the samples come from volcanoes at the western limit of the back-arc seamount chains. Others are collected from seamounts of various sizes which lie on the Shikoku Basin crust (East Shikoku Basin seamounts). The westernmost magmatism we have sampled is manifested as a series of volcanic edifices that trace the extinct spreading centre of the Shikoku Basin known as the Kinan Seamount Chain (KSC).Chemically, enrichment in fluid-mobile elements and depletion in HFSE relative to MORB indicates that the back-arc seamount chains and the East Shikoku Basin seamounts have a significant contribution of slab-derived material. In this context these volcanoes can be regarded as a manifestation of arc magmatism and distinct from the MORB-like lavas of the Shikoku back-arc basin. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages range from 15.7 to 9.6 Ma for the East Shikoku Basin seamounts, indicating this arc magmatism started immediately after the Shikoku Basin stopped spreading.Although the KSC volcanoes are found to be contemporaneous with the seamount chains and East Shikoku Basin seamounts, their chemical characteristics are very different. Unlike the calc-alkaline seamount chains, the KSC lavas range from medium-K to shoshonitic alkaline basalt. Their trace element characteristics indicate the absence of a subduction influence and their radiogenic isotope systematics reflect a mantle source combining a Philippine Sea MORB composition and an enriched mantle component (EM-1). One of the most remarkable features of the KSC is that their geochemistry has a distinct temporal variation. Element ratios such as Nb/Zr and concentrations of incompatible elements such as K₂O increase with decreasing age and reach a maximum at ca. 7 Ma when the KSC ceased activity.Based on the chemical and temporal information from all the data across the back-arc region, we have identified two contrasting yet contemporaneous magmatic provinces. These share a tectonic platform, but have separate magmatic roots; one stemming from subduction flux and the other from post-spreading asthenospheric melting.     

西准噶尔洋中海山及其俯冲带处地质效应

随着研究的不断深入,在中亚造山带(CAOB)不断有不同时代的洋岛玄武岩(OIB)被识别出来。在中亚造山带西南缘的西准噶尔地区的多条蛇绿混杂岩带中,也存在具有OIB特征的玄武岩。这些玄武岩呈枕状,与超基性岩、辉长岩、块状玄武岩、灰岩及紫红色硅质岩等紧密共生。地球化学研究表明枕状玄武岩均为碱性系列,具有较高的TiO2含量(大多>2.5%)、强烈富集轻稀土元素、无明显Nb、Ta负异常,与典型的OIB极为相似,认为其可能形成于大洋板内与地幔柱有关的海山环境。通过对海山的发展阶段分析认为,西准噶尔地区海山应该发展到爆炸海山阶段,因为其中发育大量的枕状熔岩。海山中火山岩或火山碎屑沉积物富集大离子亲石元素和高场强元素,海山的俯冲将对弧及弧后地区火山岩地球化学产生明显影响,而西准噶尔地区泥盆纪-石炭纪火山岩中恰恰存在海山的信号。因此,海山俯冲模式可能能更好地解释西准噶尔地区火山岩中存在OIB特征火山岩的成因。另外,海山俯冲还存在潜在的资源效应,因此应该寻找和研究古海山及火山岛链俯冲的迹象,将对进一步找金铜等矿提供可靠依据。     

Seamounts in the Central Indian Ocean Basin: indicators of the Indian plate movement

The study of seamount parameters in the tectonically most-complicated and least-understood Indian Ocean assumes importance since their properties vary as a function of tectonic setting, physics of lithosphere, conduit geometry and chemical composition of magma. More than 100 such seamounts ranging in summit height (h) from 300 to 2870 m, are indentified in the oceanic crust between Indian continent and Mid-Indian Ridge (MIR) and South-East Indian Ridge (SEIR). Most of the minor seamounts (h > 1000) are found in the southern part of the study area. Major seamounts (h < 1000 m) are roughly distributed in two groups—the northern group on Cretaceous Oceanic Crust and southern group on Pliocene-Miocene Oceanic Crust. On an average northern group seamounts (SM 1 to 6) are taller, wider and flatter than those from the southern group. These seamounts appear to be the result of continuous growth from tapped, moving magma chamber while stress depleted magma and inconsistent Indian Plate movement during Mid-Tertiary are attributed to the origin of southern group of smaller seamounts. Distribution and morphology of seamounts as a whole indicate their formation either from Reunion hotspot or from two separate hotspots in the geological past.     

Tectonic relief of Inner Asia between Tarim and Lake Valley

The relief of a vast area of western China and southern Mongolia was analyzed by methods of specialized morphometry to reveal structural and morphological features of recent tectonism. The tectonic relief of some part of the collisional system of Inner Asia, including the eastern Tien Shan, Govi Altay, and Bei Shan, is characterized by a general decrease in heights from west to east and a complicated system of domal ridges and intermontane troughs controlled by lenticular-rhombic faulting in the upper lithosphere. Submeridional transverse linear lows play an important role in the structure of the tectonic relief. It is likely that they are due to an irregular longitudinal flow of lithosphere blocks in the process of submeridional transverse compression. The structural signature of collisional geodynamics is traced eastward to the Ordos Province in a large meander of the Huang He and northward to the Hangayn Mountains, Tuva, and southern Gorny Altai. The predominance of domal deformations in young uplifts and no signs of their block desintegration suggest a crucial role of vertical tectonic motions largely responsible for the recent tectonic style of the eastern Tien Shan and Altay.     

Geochronology of the Tore-Madeira Rise seamounts and surrounding areas: a review

We present new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data for two of the Tore-Madeira Rise (TMR) volcanic seamounts. A sample from Tore East seamount on the northern part of the TMR yielded an ultra-precise age of 80.50 ± 0.13 Ma (2σ) that is similar within uncertainties to a published age obtained by U–Pb TIMS technique on titanites and zircons extracted from Tore NW seamount. Another sample from Isabelle seamount, located on the southern part of the TMR failed to produce a plateau age but yielded a minimum age estimate of >85 Ma. We filtered the published ages available on the TMR, the surrounding seamounts and the massifs of southwest Portugal to better understand the origin of this magmatic province. Together with this dataset, our new data suggest that: (1) a hypothetical Madeira hot-spot track spanning from Serra de Monchique on the continent to Madeira Archipelago is difficult to reconcile with the occurrence of several seamounts geographically located within or very close to this alleged hot-spot track yet being much older than the age predicted by the age trend.

(2) The geographical distribution and age pattern of the TMR and surrounding areas magmatism are still best explained by the interaction of a mantle melting anomaly emitting magma pulses and the different motion phases of the Iberia plate since 103 Ma.

     

Palynological evidence for a latest Carboniferous-Early Permian glaciation in Northern Ethiopia

Palynomorphs extracted from glacigenic sediments in Northern Ethiopia are latest Carboniferous-Early Permian in age. These sediments were hitherto thought to be either of Upper Ordovician or of Late Carboniferous-Early Permian age. The predominantly glaciolacustrine and glaciofluviatile sediments were deposited in glacial troughs and valleys that were eroded into Precambrian basement rocks and into Early Palaeozoic deposits, possibly equivalents of Upper Ordovician sediments in Eritrea. In the latest Carboniferous-Early Permian, glaciated uplands to the north of Ethiopia must have existed in Eritrea and/or in southern or central Saudi Arabia.     

Geophysical studies of the major sedimentary basins of the indian craton, their deep structural features and evolution

The peninsular shield of India is characterized by a number of intra-cratonic sedimentary basins of which the Cuddapah and Vindhyan Basins are conspicuous.The crescent-shaped Cuddapah Basin (~1400 m.y.) covering roughly 35,000 square kilometers in the southern peninsula and enclosing the Cuddapah formations (Precambrian) includes shallow marine shales, limestones, sandstones and quartzites. These sediments are overlain by the younger Kurnool formations of Vindhyan (Upper Precambrian) age in the western and northern marginal portions of the basin and are intruded by basaltic sils and dykes. The eastern margin of the basin is characterized by an overthrust with steeply folded beds, while in the remaining parts, the formations show a gentle eastward dip. Evidence for Recent epeirogenic movements is provided by geomorphic features and current seismicity.The Great Vindhyan Basin of north-central India covering more than 100,000 square kilometers encloses Vindhyan sediments including some marine shales and limestones in the lower parts and shallow-water deposits of red sandstones and shales in the upper parts. The beds are generally horizontal, but are strongly disturbed along the southern margin. There are intrusions of basaltic dykes and kimberlite pipes.The Gondwana basins (Upper Carboniferous to Jurassic) are relatively smaller cratonic units in Archaean faulted troughs.Gravity and magnetic investigations, both regional and detailed, supplemented by deep seismic sounding profiles in the Cuddapah Basin have brought out the deep structural features of the basin, including the Moho, indicating a total thickness of generally 5–8 km with a maximum thickness of sediments of nearly 12 km in the eastern part. The beds show both a layered structure in the horizontal and block structure in the vertical, disturbed by a low-angle thrust fault on the eastern margin. In the Vindhyan Basin, the gravity and magnetic data indicate about 5000 m of sediments in the central portions, with major, roughly faults over the western and southern margins.The deep structural features of these intra-cratonic basins, as indicated by the geophysical results, are discussed in relation to the geological theories proposed for their genesis and development.     

Fractal characteristics of resource quantity of cobalt crusts and seamount topography, the West Pacific

This paper presents the fractal distribution of topography of seamounts from the West Pacific and the resource quantity of cobalt crust therein. The cobalt resource quantity has three to four variable fractal dimensions, corresponding to the distinct slopes and water depths of the seamount. The multiple fractal property of resource quantity may have resulted from various factors, such as types and components of cobalt crusts and ages of oceanic crusts hosting the seamounts. Individual seamounts display complex topography and quantity of cobalt crust, both in the same and different regions. Translated from Acta Sedimentologica Sinica, 2006, 24(5): 705–713 [译自: 沉积学报]