Basement structure and sedimentary cover seismostratigraphy in the northern part of the Japan Basin in the region of the Tarasov Rise (Sea of Japan)

The results of continuous seismic profiling thermodynamics performed in the northern part of the Japan Basin in the region of the Tarasov Rise and the data of a micropaleontological examination of the diatom remains encountered in the sediment samples from the rise and continental slope are presented. In the area studied, the topography of the acoustic basement features a vast rise (plateau) buried under the sedimentary cover outlined by the depth contour 5.8 s. The plateau has a relatively smooth top surface crossed by a series of rises of the acoustic basement. The two largest rises are represented by the ridges of the Tarasov Rise. The plateau is separated from the continental slope by a depression in the acoustic basement with a depth up to 6.8 s. From the end of the Middle Miocene up to the beginning of the Paleocene, the region of the plateau represented an area of active volcanism; it coincided in time with the stage of subsidence of the floor of the acoustic basement depression. At the end of the Late Miocene, the ridges of the Tarasov Rise started to sink. In the Pliocene, this process accelerated, and, at the beginning of the Pleistocene, it stopped. In the Middle Miocene-Early Pleistocene time, the portion of the continental slope adjacent to the plateau remained stable and suffered no significant vertical movements.     

Composition and conditions for formation of neogene deposits at the Primorye continental slope in the area of Vladimir Bay in the Sea of Japan

The petrographic and micropaleontological studies of the rocks in the sedimentary cover of the Primorye continental slope in the area of Vladimir Bay in the Sea of Japan made it possible to establish that the sedimentary cover is represented in this area by two different facial complexes of Late Miocene rocks. The first facial complex consists of terrigenous rocks (siltstones, sandstones, and conglomerates) that were accumulated under relatively shallow-water conditions of the shelf and the uppermost part of the continental slope. The second one is formed by diatomaceous-clayey rocks under more deep-water conditions, mainly in the upper part of the continental slope. The carbonate nodules that are widely distributed among the deposits of the first complex but are also recorded in the second one were formed as a result of diagenetic processes in the terrigenous or silicious-terrigenous sediments that had been formed. With respect to their age, the Late Miocene deposits are characterized by a full succession of diatomaceous zones over 10.0–5.5 mln yr. The sediments of the first facial complex accumulated during the first third of the Late Miocene (10.0–8.5 mln yr), while those of the second began to accumulate somewhat later, but their accumulation continued until the late Miocene (9.2–5.5 mln yr).     

Volcanism and Tectonics of the Central Deep Basin,Sea of Japan

The paper presents the results of a study on the geomorphic structure, tectonic setting, and volcanism of the volcanoes and volcanic ridges in the deep Central Basin of the Sea of Japan. The ridges rise 500–600 m above the acoustic basement of the basin. These ridges were formed on fragments of thinned continental crust along deep faults submeridionally crossing the Central Basin and the adjacent continental part of the Primorye. The morphostructures of the basin began to submerge below sea level in the Middle Miocene and reached their contemporary positions in the Pliocene. Volcanism in the Central Basin occurred mostly in the Middle Miocene–Pliocene and formed marginal-sea basaltoids with OIB (ocean island basalt) geochemical signatures indicating the lower-mantle plume origin of these rocks. The OIB signatures of basaltoids tend to be expressed better in the eastern part of the Central Basin, where juvenile oceanic crust has developed. The genesis of this crust is probably related to rising and melting of the Pacific superplume apophyse.     

Sedimentation settings and evolution history of the Kuril Basin (Sea of Okhotsk) in the Cenozoic

A study of the rocks from the Cenozoic sedimentary cover of the Kuril Basin slopes revealed two sedimentation stages in this area: the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene and Late Miocene-Pleistocene, which are separated by erosion in the Middle Miocene. They are characterized by dominant siliceous and terrigenous sediments, respectively. The former largely accumulated in neritic settings, while the latter were deposited in the bathyal zone under a strong influence of explosive volcanism. The change in the sedimentation regime probably occurred in the Middle-Late Miocene during the formation of the slopes of the present-day Kuril Basin. The rocks constituting crustal blocks with a granite-metamorphic layer served as a source of terrigenous material for the Cenozoic sedimentary cover, which indicates the sialic nature of the underlying basement.     

Estimates of the temperatures of hydrocarbon generation in the region of the Sea of Okhotsk

Particular features of the tectonic structure and anomalous distribution of the geothermal, geomagnetic, and gravity fields in the region of the Sea of Okhotsk are considered. On the basis of heat flow data, the ages of large-scale structures in the Sea of Okhotsk are estimated at 65 Ma for the Central Okhotsk Rise and 36 Ma for the South Okhotsk Basin. The age of the South Okhotsk Basin is confirmed by the data on the kinematics and corresponds to a 50-km thickness of the lithosphere. This is in accordance with the thickness value obtained by magnetotelluric soundings. A comparative analysis of the model geothermal background and the measured heat flow values on the Akademii Nauk Rise is performed. The analysis points to an abnormally high (by approximately 20%) measured heat flow, which agrees with the high negative gradient of gravity anomalies. The estimates of the deep heat flow and the basement age of the riftogenic basins in the Sea of Okhotsk were carried out in the following areas: the Deryugin Basin (18 Ma, Early Miocene), the TINRO Basin (12 Ma, Middle Miocene), and the West Kamchatka Basin (23 Ma, Late Oligocene). The temperatures at the boundaries of the main lithological complexes of the sedimentary cover are calculated and the zones of oil and gas generation are defined. On the basis of geothermal, magnetic, structural, and other geological-geophysical data, a kinematic model of the region of the Sea of Okhotsk for a period of 36 Ma was calculated and constructed.     

Seismic stratigraphy and structure of the Northland Plateau and the development of the Vening Meinesz transform margin,SW Pacific Ocean

The Northland Plateau and the Vening Meinesz “Fracture” Zone (VMFZ), separating southwest Pacific backarc basins from New Zealand Mesozoic crust, are investigated with new data. The 12–16 km thick Plateau comprises a volcanic outer plateau and an inner plateau sedimentary basin. The outer plateau has a positive magnetic anomaly like that of the Three Kings Ridge. A rift margin was found between the Three Kings Ridge and the South Fiji Basin. Beneath the inner plateau basin, is a thin body interpreted as allochthon and parautochthon, which probably includes basalt. The basin appears to have been created by Early Miocene mainly transtensive faulting, which closely followed obduction of the allochthon and was coeval with arc volcanism. VMFZ faulting was eventually concentrated along the edge of the continental shelf and upper slope. Consequently arc volcanoes in a chain dividing the inner and outer plateau are undeformed whereas volcanoes, in various stages of burial, within the basin and along the base of the upper slope are generally faulted. Deformed and flat-lying Lower Miocene volcanogenic sedimentary rocks are intimately associated with the volcanoes and the top of the allochthon; Middle Miocene to Recent units are, respectively, mildly deformed to flat-lying, calcareous and turbiditic. Many parts of the inner plateau basin were at or above sea level in the Early Miocene, apparently as isolated highs that later subsided differentially to 500–2,000 m below sea level. A mild, Middle Miocene compressive phase might correlate with events of the Reinga and Wanganella ridges to the west. Our results agree with both arc collision and arc unzipping regional kinematic models. We present a continental margin model that begins at the end of the obduction phase. Eastward rifting of the Norfolk Basin, orthogonal to the strike of the Norfolk and Three Kings ridges, caused the Northland Plateau to tear obliquely from the Reinga Ridge portion of the margin, initiating the inner plateau basin and the Cavalli core complex. Subsequent N115° extension and spreading parallel with the Cook Fracture Zone completed the southeastward translation of the Three Kings Ridge and Northland Plateau and further opened the inner plateau basin, leaving a complex dextral transform volcanic margin.     

Neogene geological history of the Tohoku Island Arc system

The Pacific-type orogeny in the Tohoku Island Arc is discussed using marine geological and geophysical data from both Pacific and Japan Sea along the Tohoku region. The Tohoku Arc is divided into three belts; inner volcanic and sedimentary belt, intermediate uplifted belt and outer sedimentary trench belt. Thick Neogene sediments which are distinguished in several layers by continuous seismic reflection profiling occur on both sides of the intermediate belt. The dominant structural trend of the Neogene layers is approximately parallel to the coast line and to the axis of the Japan Trench and has a extension of approximately 100 km in each unit on the Pacific side. The trench slope break is an uplifted zone of Neogene layers. The structural trend of the upper continental slope and outer shelf is relative uplift of the landward side. Tilted block movement toward the west is the dominant structural trend on the Japan Sea side. Structural trends which can be seen in both the inner and outer belts may suggest horizontal compressional stress of east to west. Orogenesis and tectogenesis in the Tohoku Arc has been active since early Miocene or latest Oligocene. It may be implied that the Japan Trench was not present during Late Cretaceous to Paleogene, as is suggested by the volcanism of the Tohoku Arc. The basic framework of the present structure was formed during late Miocene to early Pliocene in both the inner and outer belts. Structural movements were reactivated during late Pleistocene.     

A seismo-stratigraphic analysis of glaciomarine deposits in the eastern Riiser-Larsen Sea (Antarctica)

Multichannel seismic data from the eastern parts of the Riiser-Larsen Sea have been analyzed with a sequence stratigraphic approach. The data set covers a wide bathymetric range from the lower continental slope to the abyssal plain. Four different sequences (termed RLS-A to RLS-D, from deepest to shallowest) are recognized within the sedimentary section. The RLS-A sequence encompasses the inferred pre-glacial part of the deposits. Initial phases of ice sheet arrival at the eastern Riiser-Larsen Sea margin resulted in the deposition of multiple debris flow units and/or slumps on the upper part of the continental rise (RLS-B). The nature and distribution of these deposits indicate sediment supply from a line or a multi-point source. The subsequent stage of downslope sediment transport activity was dominated by turbidity currents, depositing mainly as distal turbidite sheets on the lower rise/abyssal plain (RLS-C). We attribute this to margin progradation and/or a more focussed sediment delivery to the continental shelf edge. As the accommodation space on the lower rise/abyssal plain declined and the base level was raised, the turbidite channels started to backstep and develop large channel–levee complexes on the upper parts of the continental rise (RLS-D). The deposition of various drift deposits on the lower rise/abyssal plain and along the western margin of the Gunnerus Ridge indicates that the RLS-D sequence is also associated with increased activity of contour currents. The drift deposits overlie a distinct regional unconformity which is considered to reflect a major paleoceanographic event, probably related to a Middle Miocene intensification of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.     

Geology and volcanism of the underwater Vityaz Ridge (Pacific slope of the Kuril Island Arc)

This paper presents the results of geological studies carried out during the two marine expeditions of the R/V Akademik M.A. Lavrent’ev (cruises 37 and 41) in 2005 and 2006 at the underwater Vityaz Ridge. Dredging has yielded various rocks from the basement and sedimentary cover of the ridge within the limits of three polygons. On the basis of the radioisotope age determinations, petrochemical, and paleontological data, all the rocks have been subdivided into the following complexes: the volcanic ones include the Paleocene, Eocene, Late Oligocene, Middle Miocene, and Pliocene-Pleistocene; the volcanogenic-sedimentary ones include the Late Cretaceous-Early Paleocene, Paleogene undifferentiated, Oligocene-Early Miocene, and Pliocene-Pleistocene. The determination of the age and chemical composition of the rocks has enabled us to specify the formation conditions of the extracted complexes and to trace the geological evolution of the Vityaz Ridge. The presence of young Pliocene-Pleistocene volcanites allows one to come to a conclusion about the modern tectono-magmatic activity of the central part of the Pacific slope of the Kuril Islands.     

Slump structures in quaternary slope sediments of the northern Derbent Basin (Caspian Sea)

During Cruise 20–3 of the R/V Rift (April, 2006), the area that includes the shelf and slope of the Derbent Basin in the northern Middle Caspian was studied using the continuous seismoacoustic profiling method. In accordance with the previous standpoint, two Pleistocene deltaic complexes formed in the Enotaevian and Mangyshlakian time are defined in this area. The seismoacoustic records obtained for the northern slope of the Derbent Basin demonstrate the development of specific rootless exogenic-gravitational fold structures in the upper (～150–200 m) Quaternary part of the sedimentary sequence. The Quaternary section encloses angular unconformities indicating the pulsating mode of gravitational processes in the northern slope of the basin. South-dipping gravitational normal faults (and/or normal fault-related flexures) displacing the bottom surface and uppermost sedimentary layers (with vertical amplitudes up to 5–6 m) were defined in the southern part of the study area. Several impulses of the submarine slump structures predated and accompanied the deposition of the upper deltaic sequence (Mangyshlakian), although their most intense formation took place later during the Novocaspian (Holocene) time. Thus, the structural analysis of the seismoacoustic data revealed intense development of different-origin and different-age gravitational structures within the Quaternary sediments in the northern slope of the Derbent Basin. These results should be taken into consideration when designing, building, and operating submarine constructions in order to prevent potential natural hazards and reduce their consequences.     

Cenozoic sedimentary rocks on the northern slopes of the Kuril Deep-Water Basin (Sea of Okhotsk) and conditions of their formation

Sedimentary rocks from the northern slope of the Kuril Deep-Water Basin are examined. Four different-age lithological units are distinguished, and inferences about the probable conditions of their formation are made. The Paleogene-Lower Miocene deposits (lithological units I and II) are represented by the purest varieties of siliceous rocks, which implies their accumulation far away from the source areas under quiet hydrodynamical conditions of the waters. The composition of the microfossils suggests a relatively shallow-water marine basin. The Pliocene-Pleistocene deposits of lithological units III and IV were formed in an active hydrodynamical environment under conditions of synchronous explosive volcanism at bathyal depths. The presence of porcelanite outcrops on the continental slope of the basin, together with the micropaleontological data about the paleodepths of the sedimentation, allows us to assume that, in the region studied, the continental slope was formed as a result of vertical motions in the post-Middle Miocene time.     

南海中北部中新世陆坡凹陷沉积充填与古陆坡形态演变

对中德合作“南海地球科学联合研究”和“中国边缘海的形成演化及重大资源的关键问题”的有关航次获得的地震资料进行层序地层和沉积相解释,并结合前人的研究成果,对南海中北部陆坡凹陷的构造和沉积特征进行了研究.研究结果表明,南海中北部陆坡区凹陷的构造演化经历了裂陷期、裂陷-坳陷过渡期和坳陷期三个阶段,沉积环境经历了河流-湖泊、浅海和深海的演化过程,不同演化阶段形成不同的地形形态.南海中北部地形演变可分为三个阶段,即早第三纪、早中新世-中中新世中期和中中新世中期-现在,其中早中新世中期-中中新世中期的沉积充填使陆坡形态发生了重要的转变,这次转变基本上奠定了现代意义上的陆架-陆坡-海盆的格局.     

A geophysical survey of the Spitsbergen Margin and surrounding areas

New geophysical information including multichannel seismic profiling data obtained by the PGO Sevmorgeologia Ministry of Geology of the former USSR, Murmansk during 1984–1988 is discussed and interpreted in this study. The deep structure, sedimentary cover and stratigraphy of the Spitsbergen Continental Margin, considered to be a passive margin, i.e. divergent in the northern part and strike-slip in the western part, is described.Two genetically different types of plateaus on the continental margin, Yermak in the north and Spitsbergen (Vestnesa) in the west, have been identified.The entire extent of the continental slope of the northern part of the Spitsbergen Continental Margin in the Eurasia Basin is underlain by attenuated continental crust, while at the base of the Southwest Continental Margin, the oceanic crust along almost the entire extent is observed. The sedimentary cover, up to 10 km thick within the West Spitsbergen Continental Margin, is likewise observed. Within the North Spitsbergen Margin, however, it does not exceed 3.5 km in thickness.The extension and deposition within the West Spitsbergen Margin began in early Oligocene, while the rifting with accompanying sedimentation within the North Spitsbergen Continental Margin started probably in Early Cretaceous.     

Seismostratigraphy and sedimentation environment on the shelf and continental slope of Peter the Great Bay (Sea of Japan)

The results of a single channel seismic reflection survey and of a micropaleontological examination of diatom remains in bottom sediment samples on the shelf and continental slope of the Peter the Great Bay area are presented. The composition and age of the sedimentary layer were studied using integrated seismic, micropaleontological and geological data. The continental slope was formed not later than at the beginning of the Early Miocene. The slope is covered with Middle Miocene-Pliocene sediments. The sedimentary thickness on most of the slope is 0.2–0.4 s. The maximum thickness (0.8–1.0 s) is observed within the areas of submarine canyons and valleys. The thickness of the Early Miocene-Pliocene sediments on the shelf is 0.2–0.4 s. On the shelf break and in a southwest-trending trough of the acoustic basement, it increases up to 1.0 s. Two uncomformities were identified in the sediments of the shelf area. The proposed age of the upper uncomformity is 10.0–8.5 My B.P.; it represents the result of a global sea level fall. The age of the lower uncomformity is unknown.     

The Iváň Canyon,a large Miocene canyon in the Alpine-Carpathian Foredeep

During the latest Early Miocene a large drainage system developed in the Alpine-Carpathian Foreland transporting sediments through a prominent submarine canyon along the narrow corridor between the south-eastern Bohemian Massif and the Waschberg-Ždánice Unit. The canyon followed the Alpine-Carpathian Foredeep from Lower Austria towards the north and northeast into the Czech Republic. 3-D seismic data allow the mapping of this 600 m deep structure over a distance of 25 km and a width of 5 km. Despite its dimension, making it the largest submarine erosive and sedimentary structure of the Neogene Alpine-Carpathian Foredeep, this canyon has not been previously recognised. Herein, it is interpreted as shelf-indenting canyon that formed due to a combination of isostatic rebound along a terminating thrust front and sea-level change during the terminal Early Miocene.The canyon fill comprises reworked littoral deposits with a typical Early Miocene, tropical micro- and macrofauna. The exact timing of this refilling remains unclear. Smaller channel structures in surface outcrops, representing potential tributaries of the canyon, suggest a more or less synsedimentary filling soon after indention. Finally, the top part of the canyon was eroded around the Early/Middle Miocene boundary, probably related to a global 3rd order sea level drop, and caped by marine marls during the subsequent early Middle Miocene transgression. With the sudden onset of the subsidence of the Northern Vienna Basin during that time, the drainage system abruptly moved southward shedding its sediments into the newly opening Vienna Basin. This explains the rather abrupt abandonment of the huge canyon feature, whose fan deposits are unknown so far.     

Reef exploration in the East Sengkang Basin,Sulawesi, Indonesia

Reconnaissance seismic shot in 1971/72 showed a number of well defined seismic anomalies within the East Sengkang Basin which were interpreted as buried reefs. Subsequent fieldwork revealed that Upper Miocene reefs outcropped along the southern margin of the basin. A drilling programme in 1975 and 1976 proved the presence of shallow, gas-bearing, Upper Miocene reefs in the northern part of the basin. Seismic acquisition and drilling during 1981 confirmed the economic significance of these discoveries, with four separate accumulations containing about 750 × 10⁹ cubic feet of dry gas in place at an average depth of 700 m. Kampung Baru is the largest field and contains over half the total, both reservoir quality and gas deliverability are excellent. Deposition in the East Sengkang Basin probably started during the Early Miocene. A sequence of Lower Miocene mudstones and limestones unconformably overlies acoustic basement which consists of Eocene volcanics. During the tectonically active Middle Miocene, deposition was interrupted by two periods of deformation and erosion. Carbonate deposition became established in the Late Miocene with widespread development of platform limestones throughout the East Sengkang Basin. Thick pinnacle reef complexes developed in the areas where reef growth could keep pace with the relative rise in sea level. Most reef growth ceased at the end of the Miocene and subsequent renewed clastic sedimentation covered the irregular limestone surface. Late Pliocene regression culminated in the Holocene with erosion. The Walanae fault zone, part of a major regional sinistral strike-slip system, separates the East and West Sengkang Basins. Both normal and reverse faulting are inferred from seismic data and post Late Pliocene reverse faulting is seen in outcrop.     

Seismic stratigraphy of the western South Korea Plateau,East Sea: implications for tectonic history and sequence development during back-arc evolution

The western South Korea Plateau in the East Sea (Sea of Japan) is occupied by rifted continental fragments formed in association with the early phase of back-arc opening. The present study focuses on the seismic stratigraphy of the sedimentary succession and the underlying acoustic basement in this region, based on closely spaced multichannel seismic reflection profiles. The sedimentary succession occurs mainly within a series of subparallel basement troughs (grabens or half grabens) bounded by faulted continental blocks (horsts) or volcanic ridges, and commonly floored by extrusive volcanic rocks showing hyperbolic reflectors. These features are strongly suggestive of continental rifting accompanied by normal faulting, volcanic activity and high rates of basin subsidence. The sedimentary succession can be subdivided into four seismic units. Unit 1 is characterized by short and irregular high-amplitude reflectors and interpreted as a syn-rift deposit consisting of a non-marine volcanics/sediment complex in topographic lows. Units 2 and 3 formed in an open marine environment during the Middle Miocene to Early Pliocene, characterized by an onlap-fill and later draping marine sedimentary succession dominantly composed of hemipelagic sediments and turbidites with frequent intercalation of mass-flow deposits. Along the western margin of the plateau, these units were deformed under a compressional regime in the Early Pliocene, associated with the back-arc closing phase. Unit 4 (deposited since the Early Pliocene) comprises hemipelagic sediments and turbidites with evidence of sporadic slides/slumps.     

莫桑比克盆地构造演化与沉积充填特征

在阅读相关文献资料的基础上,分析了莫桑比克盆地的区域性幕式构造演化,并进一步总结归纳了其沉积充填特征。研究显示该盆地为东非边缘陆内裂谷盆地,以晚侏罗世破裂不整合面为界划分为断陷期及坳陷期,断陷期为陆相湖盆沉积充填,进入坳陷期后逐渐从海陆过渡相向浅海相和深水相演变。晚白垩世末和渐新世末两次构造抬升,使得盆地沉积环境及物源供应发生明显改变,也逐渐从深水相向滨浅海相或三角洲相演变。     

Continental margin off Sergipe and Alagoas, northeastern Brazil: A reconnaissance geophysical study of morphology and structure

The stable continental margin of northeastern Brazil is unusually narrow, probably because of the small size and tropical character of the drainage basins of the hinterland, and correspondingly low rates of land erosion and marine sedimentation. The continental shelf, which is mainly a marine erosion surface, is also remarkably shallow, either because of upwarping or, more probably, because of the ineffectiveness of Pleistocene marine erosional processes on steeply sloping continental margins. Sediment accumulation is confined to the Sāo Francisco delta, seaward of which are fossil (?) lagoonal deposits, and to a poorly developed nearshore sand prism.The margin formed by seaward progradation of sediment on a subsiding basement, but the present morphology of the continental slope reflects chiefly Pleistocene canyon cutting and mass gravitational movements of sediment, which have exposed older strata in the upper slope. Beneath the continental slope is a magnetic anomaly (like the slope anomaly off the eastern U.S.A.), probably caused by a deeply buried dike of oceanic basalt, and apparently associated with a buried ridge which may have formed the seaward margin of the Sergipe—Alagoas Basin during the early history of the South Atlantic. Similar structures may be typical of the narrow easternmost part of the Brazilian margin.     

Cross-section restoration and one-dimensional basin modeling of the Central Subbasin in the southern Kunsan Basin,Yellow Sea

The petroleum system of the Kunsan Basin in the Northern South Yellow Sea Basin is not well known, compared to other continental rift basins in the Yellow Sea, despite its substantial hydrocarbon potential. Restoration of two depth-converted seismic profiles across the Central Subbasin in the southern Kunsan Basin shows that extension was interrupted by inversions in the Late Oligocene-Middle Miocene that created anticlinal structures. One-dimensional basin modeling of the IIH-1Xa well suggests that hydrocarbon expulsion in the northeastern margin of the depocenter of the Central Subbasin peaked in the Early Oligocene, predating the inversions. Hydrocarbon generation at the dummy well location in the depocenter of the subbasin began in the Late Paleocene. Most source rocks in the depocenter passed the main expulsion phase except for the shallowest source rocks. Hydrocarbons generated from the depocenter are likely to have migrated southward toward the anticlinal structure and faults away from the traps along the northern and northeastern margins of the depocenter because the basin-fill strata are dipping north. Faulting that continued during the rift phase (∼ Middle Miocene) of the subbasin probably acted as conduits for the escape of hydrocarbons. Thus, the anticlinal structure and associated faults to the south of the dummy well may trap hydrocarbons that have been charged from the shallow source rocks in the depocenter since the Middle Miocene.