CHARACTERIZATION AND FORMATION MECHANISM OF THE CENTRAL UPLIFT OF THE QIANGTANG BASIN

The Qiangtang basin is located between Kekexili-Jingshajiang suture belt and Bangong-Lujiang suture belt, and is divided into the north part and south part by the central uplift that has no crop out of Mesozoic strata. When the Jinshajiang Ocean was closed, the subducting plate was subducted southward. In the central part of the Qiangtang basin, the cushioning effect of the asthenosphere resulted in the thermal doming of the mantle and subsequent large-scale anatexis. Mantle source materials and antectic materials were upwelled and extruded into the middle crust, leading to the thickening of the middle crust and the heating and weakening of the middle to upper crust, and resulting in the rapid deformation (detachment) and tectonic erosion, and in the isostatic uplifting and the formation of metamorphic core complex. The upwelling of anatectic materials would further enhance the buoyant repercussion, which would combine with the side stress due from extrusion in resulting in the formation of an extension     

RESPONSE OF TRIASSIC SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY OF LOWER YANGTZE TO THE COLLISION BETWEEN THE YANGTZE PLATE AND THE NORTH CHINA PLATE

The characteristics of the Triassic sequences developed in the Lower Yangtze area display some great changes in both environment and climate. The change of environment was a transition from marine to continent via alternating environments. The change of climate was a transition from tropic （torrid） to warm and wet climate via subtropic dry climate. The type variations of the sequences were from the marine sequences to the continental sequences, corresponding to the changes of environments and climates. Sequence 1 is a type II of sequence of mixed elastic and carbonate sediments; sequence 2 is a type I of sequence of carbonate platform; sequence 3 is a type I of sequence of carbonate tidal flat-salt lagoon, sequence 4 is a type iI of sequence of lacustrine within marine layers, and sequence 5 is a sequence of lacustrine-swamp. The development, distribution and preservation of those sequences reveal the tectonic controls and their changes in the background. The collision between the Yangtze plate and the North China plate was a great geological event in the geological history, but the timing of the collision is still disputed. However, the characteristics of Triassic sequence stratigraphy and sea level changes in the Lower Yangtze area responded to this collision. The collision started at the beginning of middle Triassic and the great regression in the Lower Yangtze area started 22Ma earlier than those in the world. The tectonic conditions occurred before and during the collision controlled the development of sequences and type changes.     

EARTHQUAKE FOCAL MECHANISM AND ITS TECTONIC SIGNIFICANCE ALONG THE TWO SIDES OF THE RED RIVER FAULT ZONE

The Red River Fault Zone is a gigantic slide-slip fault zone extending up to 1000km from Tibet to South China Sea. It has been divided into the north, central and south segments according to the difference of the geometry, kinetics, and seismicity on the land, but according to the contacted relationship between the old pre-Cenozoic block in Indochina Peninsula and the South China block, the Red River Fault Zone was divided into two parts extending from land to ocean, the north and south segments. Since the Tertiary, the Red River Fault Zone suffered first the sinistral movement and then the dextral movement. The activities of the north and the south segments were different. Based on the analysis of earthquakes and focal mechanism solutions, earthquakes with the focus depths of 0-33km are distributed over the whole region and more deep earthquakes are distributed on the northeastern sides of the Red River fault. Types of faulting activities are the thrust in the northwest, the normal in the north and the     

MULTISTAGE SUPERIMPOSED DEFORMATION AND THEEVOLUTION OF THE NORTHEASTERN MARGIN OF YANGTZE BLOCK

Multistage superimposed deformation has been discussed systematically based on the progress of the stratigraphic sequences of the northeastern margin of Yangtze Block. The new-discovered first stage deformation of those sequences occurred from the middle Triassic to the end of early Jurassic together with development of regional folding, which was resulted from the deep detachment shearing tending toward NW-WNW. The folds dip to east and fall down toward west, and were superimposed by the main stage folding. Thereafter, a series of folds were developed with axes trending toward northeast. Consequently normal folds occurred on the normal limbs while overturned fold on the overturned limbs during the first stage folding. The detachment or thrust was form edfrom late Jurassic to early Cretaceous. Due to the uplifting of Dabie and the Wannan Mountains in the north and south sides, the bi-directional thrusting belt was formed by gravity flowing from the Mountains toward the center of the basin along the north side of Xuancheng and south side of Guichi. The deformation geodynamics was discussed simply based on the newly recognized information about the tectonic evolution.     

STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NIUSHOU MOUNTAIN AND ITS GEOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE IN CENTRAL NINGXIA

There are many thrust-related structures occurring in the Paleozoic strata of the Niushou Mountain in the central part of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The fault-related folds are the typical structures in this area. Based on the analysis about these structures and their relationships, the processes by which these structures of the Miboshan Formation were formed are reconstructed, and the strata underwent about three stages of deformation: (1) horizontal shortening, (2) folding, and (3) thrusting. And the fact that the Niushou Mountain is the leading edge of an old thrust sheet was proved, the Niushou Mountain, the Daluo Mountain and the Xiaoluo Mountain together constitute the front part of this old thrust zone, so the Niushou Mountain and the Ordovician strata in the central and southern parts of Ningxia now are likely allochthons. In the period from middle Ordovician to Devonian, the areas of the central and southern Ningxia belonged to the back-arc foreland basin of North Qilianshan orogen, which was adjacent to the continent in the north. In the later part of the early Paleozoic period, the Niushou Mountain was formed after the closure of the back-arc foreland basin.     

IN CELEBRATION OF THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF XI''''AN INSTITUTE OF GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES

In order to strengthen geological researches and to concentrate superiorforces on solving major and important problems in key geological researchprojects, the Ministry of Geology decied to amalgamate the institutes ofShaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai and Xinjiang Provinces (AutonomousRegions), and in October, 1962 the Northwest Institute of Geological Sciences,affiliated then to the Ministry of Geology, was officially established     

ON THE EXISTENCE OF THE SHUANGTSüAN SERIES AND ITS TRIASSIC FLORA IN HSISHAN OR THE WESTERN HILLS OF PEIPING

During the summer of 1932,Y.S.Chi made a detailed study of thegeology of the Mentoukou (门头溝) and Sanchiatien (三家店) area of Hsishan,or the Sanchiatien Sheet~2 of the Ordnance Map in the scale 1 to 25,000.The     

ON THE EXISTENCE OF THE SHUANGTSüAN SERIES AND ITS TRIASSIC FLORA IN HSISHAN OR THE WESTERN HILLS OF PEIPING

During the summer of 1932,Y.S.Chi made a detailed study of thegeology of the Mentoukou (门头溝) and Sanchiatien (三家店) area of Hsishan,or the Sanchiatien Sheet~2 of the Ordnance Map in the scale 1 to 25,000.The     

PALAEOZOIC TECTONIC PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF THE CATHAYSIA IN EASTERN ZHEJIANG AND NORTHERN FUJIAN, CHINA

Based on the data about sedimentary facies and palaeogeography, this paper proves the existence of the Cathaysia (the part in eastern Zhejiang and northern Fujian, the same hereinafter) and makes a survey about its palaeogeography since Sinian Period. It also discusses the evolution of the tectonic environment of this region during Phanerozoic Eon, according to the features such as the composition of sandstones derived from the old land and alkalinity of volcanic rocks and so on. Continuous uplifting was maintained in Cathaysia during Sinian Period and Paleozoic Era, typically with no significant tectono-magmatic activity being observed. Its northwestern margin belongs to the type of passive continental margin during the middle and late phase of Caledonian Cycle. It showed the characteristics of a steady continent in late Paleozoic era, but was turned quickly into an active continental margin after the middle Jurassic period.     

GEOCHEMISTRY AND TECTONIC ENVIRONMENT AND RESERVOIR FORMATION OF MANTLE-DERIVED NATURAL GAS IN THE SONGLIAO BASIN, NORTHEASTERN CHINA

During several decades of exploration, a number of mantle-derived natural gas pools have been discovered in the vicinities of deep faults in the Songliao Basin, northeastern China. The natural gas in these pools has a δ 13C1 value of-16.5‰ to -24.2‰, a reversed arrangement in the amount of carbon isotopes in methane and its endogamous products (namely, Δ13c1 ＞Δ13c2 ＞Δ13c3 ＞Δ13c4 ), a 3He/4He value of 1.97 to 2.34× 10-6, and an 40Ar/36Ar value of 1063 to 1949. This indicates a mantle source for the natural gas. The trace elements Cd, In, Te and Re, never found in organic-sourced hydrocarbons, are highly enriched in certain crude oils from the Basin; respectively, concentrations of these elements were found to be 751, 28, 16 and 323 times the average crustal values in China, and this also supports a mantle-derived natural gas origin. The characteristics of mantled-derived magmatic rocks,hydrothermal fluids and gaseous fractions distributed in and near the deep Songliao Basin faults indicate that rifting tectonics is providing the mechanisms for this outgassing of the mantle. Deep extensional(normal) faults provide pathways for upward movement of these materials, and in the Songliao Basin,these deep riff fault zones are associated with reservoir occurrence and cap rock seals, forming good sites for accumulation of mantle-derived natural gas. Furthermore, a layer of low velocity, low density and high conductivity in the deep crust has been identified as a potential reservoir for mantle-derived natural gas.     

GIS-BASED STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EARTHQUAKES AND ACTIVE FAULTS IN SHANGHAI AND ITS ADJACENT OFFSHORE REGION, EAST CHINA

The relation between earthquakes and active faults in Shanghai and its adjacent offshore region is quantitatively evaluated using GIS-based buffer and overlay analysis techniques. Statistics on the distance from the epicenter of an earthquake to its nearest active fault suggest that most earthquakes in the study are aoccurred within 10 to 20 km of major active faults. The strikes of active faults have significant influences on the occurrence of earthquakes. The NE-NNE-striked faults are less active than NW-NNW- or EW-striked faults. Along the NW-NNW- or EW-striked faults, the frequency of earthquakes is much higher than that along NE-NNE-striked faults. The time of fault activity has some degree of influence on the earthquakes. The newer the faults, the higher the frequency of earthquakes within the zone of the faults.     

MULTI-ARC BASIN SYSTEM OF THE KUNLUN OROGENICBELT AND PAN-CATHYSIAN CONTINENTAL ACCRETION

After Rodinia supercontinent was disintegrated in Late Proterozoic, an ocean, namely, Tethys Ocean, occurred between Gondwana continental group and Pan-Cathaysian continental group from Late Proterozoic to Mesozoic. From Early Paleozoic to Mesozoic, Tethys Ocean was subducted toward Pan-Cathaysian block group, which results in backarc expansion, arc-land collision and forearc accretion. When the backarc basin expands and reaches the small oceanic basin, ophiolite melange will be generated. As accretion had already occurred in the south of the continental margin in the earlier stage, the succeeding backarc expansion and the frontal arc position were migrated toward south correspondingly. Therefore, multiple ophiolite belts and magmatic rock belts occurred, and show a trend of decreasing age from north toward south. As the continental margin was split and migrated toward south and reached a high latitude position, i.e., with the shortening and subduction of oceanic crust, the sedimentary bodies at high latitude was accreted continuously toward low latitude area together with the formation of oceanic island, mixing of cold-type and warm-type organism was generated. Moreover, blocks split and separated from Pan-Cathaysian or Gondwana continental group cannot traverse the oceanic median ridge and joins with another continental block. As a result, the Kunlun belt on the SW margin of the Pan-Cathaysian land was resulted from the multi-arc orogenesis such as the backarc seabed expansion, arc-arc collision, arc-land collision oceanic bed, and the continuous southward accretion process.     

THRUST NAPPE STRUTRUE IN THE JINGGANG MOUNTAIN：CHARACTERISTICS AND SIGNIFICANCE FOR PROSPECTION OF ORE DEPOSITS

Nappe structure, as was first discovered by the authors during the regional geological survey at the scale of 1:50,000 in The Jinggang Mountain, is mainly comprised of a series of NNE-NE-striking thrust fault zones and thrust sheets among them. Sinian, Cambrian, Ordovician, Devonian, Carboniferous, Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous strata are involved in the thrust nappe system. The nappe structure is of the type of duplex structures formed as a result of the earlier stage migration from SE to NW and late stage migration from E to W of sedimentary cover or basement strata. Formation of the nappe structure in the studied area involves two main epochs: Early Yanshanian and Late Yanshanian to Early Himalayan. The mineral deposits and the buried coalfields in the area, especially the latter, are extensively controlled by the nappe structure.     

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN P-T CONTITIONS OF TWO PHASES OF TAN-LU STRIKE-SLIP SHEAR ZONES AND DELAMINATION OF OROGENIC BELTS ON THE EASTERN MARGIN OF THE DABIE MOUNTAINS

The Tan-Lu fault zone joins the Dabie Mountains on its eastern margin, and offsets the Dabie and Sulu orogenic belts sinistrally for about 500 kin. On the basis of calculation of temperature and pressure experienced by the two phases of the fault zone as well as the thermo-chronological information on mylonite from the earlier and later Tan-Lu fault zones on the eastern margin of the Dabie Mountains, this paper discusses the delamination history and uplifting magnitudes of the Dabie Mountains from earlier Jurassic to earlier Cretaceous. From mineral assemblages, mineral deformation and muscovite-chlorite geothermometry calculation, it is known that the temperature experienced by the two phases of Tan-Lu fault zones are between 40℃ and 450℃, and the confining pressures are between 0.25Gpa and 0.36GPa for the earlier shear zones and 0.24-0.39GPa for the late shear zones. According to the geobarometry of Si-in-phengite and by considering shear heating and tectonic over-pressure, it is concluded that the maximum formation depths for the two phases of the ductile shear zones are not more than 12 kin. Differential formation depths for the two phases of shear zones are 1-2 km at most. At about 190 Ma and 128 Ma, the Tan-Lu fault zone experienced two phases of cooling events. During this period, the eastem margin of the Dabie Mountains experienced a tectonic calm period and no uplifting. According to information from the Tan-Lu fault zone, the uplifting magnitudes of the Dabie orogenic belts are not more than 12 km during the earlier Cretaceous.     

GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EARLY MESOZOIC GRANODIORITES AND THEIR TECTONIC IMPLICATIONS

The early Mesozoic granodiorites (ca. 165 Ma) in the northeastern Hunan Province (NEH) have SiO2=65.4-69.65%, K2O/Na2O=0.95-1.38 and K2O Na2O＞6%, A/CNK=0.96-1.13 and belong to metaluminous high-K calc-alkaline series. They are characterized by LREE and LILEs enrichment, and HFSE depletion with slightly negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu*=0.62-0.90). The initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios are in range from 0.711458 to0.717461, and εNd values vary from -9.4 to -12.3, distinct from those of the contemporaneous granodiorites mantle-derived from the Southeastern Hunan Province (SEH) (87Sr/86Sr(i)=0.707962～0.710396, εNd(t)=-6.98～-2.30).By contrast, such signatures are roughly similar to those of the neighboring other Mesozoic granitic plutons (Eu/Eu*=0.30-0.70; 87Sr/86Sr ＞0.710; εNd = -12 to -16) in South China Block (SCB), which have been interpreted as the remelting products of Precambrian basement. The Proterozoic lower-middle crust is an important contributor to the petrogenesis of these early Mesozoic granodiorites in the NEH. An intracontinental extension setting is present in the northeastern Hunan Province at that time due to the demand of enough thermal transfer.     

CHARACTERIZATION OF DEFORMATION AND X-RAY PETROFABRICS IN THE MIDDLE PART OF THE WAHONGSHAN FAULT ZONE, QINGHAI PROVINCE, NORTHWESTERN CHINA

The Wahongshan fault zone in Qinghai province is one of the most important faults in westem China. In this paper, deformation and X-ray petrofabrics have been studied in the middle segment of the fault. The results show that the formation of the fault zones can be divided into two major stages: ductile shear deformation stage and brittle deformation stage. The early stage ductile shearing leads to the formation of the NW-NNW trending mylonite zones along the fault, which is intensely cut by the late-formed brittle faults. X-ray petrofabrics of rocks near the faults indicate that the minerals in the tectonites show a great degree of orientation in the alignment. The quartz, which is a very important mineral in the tectonites, is deformed by basal face gliding or near basal face gliding, and sometimes by prismatic face sliding, which indicates that the rocks are deformed in epithermal to mesothermal or mesothermal environment, and the dynamic recrystallization also plays an important role in the formation     

SEDIMENTARY PATTERN OF PROTOTYPE BASIN IN THE DEPOSITION PERIOD OF LAIYANG FORMATION AND THE ADVANTAGEOUS AREAS FOR OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION OF JIAOLAI BASIN

1 Introduction As a Mesozoic relict terrestrial basin controlled and reformed by fracture activities in themiddle to late stage in Mesozoic, Jiaolai basin is situated in the middle of the Ludong uplift, beingoverthrusted upon Jiaobei uplift in the north, adjoining Jiaonan uplift in the south atWulian-Rongcheng fracture, being connected to Tanlu fracture belt in the west, with its NE partextending into the Yellow Sea and connecting to Qianliyan uplift at Qianliyan fracture. Due totec…     

NUMERICAL GEODYNAMIC MODELLING OF COUPLED MECHANO-THERMO-HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES AND ITS APPLICATION IN PREDICTIVE EXPLORATION IN THE FENGHUANGSHAN ORE FIELD, TONGLING

Mineralisation is the result of the coupled multi-geodynamic processes in the crust. The coupled mechano-thermo-hydrological （MTH） processes are the basic physical processes that govern the location of the hydrothermal mineralization, which can be simulated in the computer by using of the numerical codes, such as FLAC. The numerical modeling results can be used not only to explain the features of existing ore deposits, but also to predict the fhvorable mineralization locations. This paper has summarized the basic equations describing coupled MHT processes in the water-saturated porous rocks, the principles of FLAC, and its application to the MHT processes related to copper mineralization in the Fenghuangshan ore field. We used the FLAC to simulate the syn-deformation cooling and fluid flowing evolution after the intrusion was emplaced and solidified. The modeling results suggest a most prospective exploration area where the subsequent exploration supported the prediction and the test bore hole disclosed the high quality copper ore bodies in the target, demonstrating a positive role of the numerical MTH modeling in facilitating predictive ore discovery.     

DETACHMENT FAULT IN DINGGYE AREA IN THE MIDDLE PART OF THE HIMALAYAN OROGEN

Dinggye lies in the middle part of the Himalayan Orogen. A lot of low angle extension detachment faults have been developed in Dinggye area and some of them make up the main body of the South Tibet Detachment System. On the whole, the extension direction of all the detachment faults is perpendicular to the strike of the Himalayan Orogen. Each detachment fault has its distinct characteristics. Mylonite was extensively developed in the detachment faults and can be divided into a variety of types such as siliceous mylonite, felsic mylonite, granite mylonite, protomylonite, crystallization mylonite and so on. On the basis of our field survey works, these detachment faults can be classified according to their locations into three units listed as follows: (1) In the northern part of the study area, the detachment faults occur on large scale and in orbicular shape, and form the middle layer of the metamorphic core complexes. (2) In the southern part of the study area, the detachment faults occur in linear shape that is parallel to the Himalayan Orogen and has a stable attitude, and have undergone two phases of development. In the first phase, the Rouqiechun Group rocks were formed and make up the hanging wall, while in the second phase the Jiachun Group rocks were formed and make up the hanging wall. (3) In the southeastern part of the study area, the detachment faults strike nearly along southeast direction in a stable way and some of these detachment faults were distorted by the late-formed faults and folds. Furthermore, in the southwestern part of the study area, the ductile shear zones are parallel to the detachment faults.     

SEDIMENTARY RESPONSES TO THRUSTING AND STRIKE-SLIPPING OF LONGMEN SHAN ALONG THE EASTERN MARGIN OF TIBETAN PLATEAU AND IMPLICATIONS FOR ACCRETION OF CIMMERIAN CONTINENTS AND INDIA/EURASIA COLLISION

1. Introduction A central goal of stratigraphic studies of foreland basins is to discern which of the possible controls is responsible for vertical trends. In many cases, the primary interest has been to determine the time of deformation in the mountain belt from strata in the foreland basin (Jordan et al., 1988). Traditionally, an active tectonic phase was presumed to cause high relief, and then an immediate flux of coarse sediment into the basin, which produced conglomerates (Longwell, 193…