Coalification history of the Stephanian Ciñera-Matallana pull-apart basin,NW Spain: Combining anisotropy of vitrinite reflectance and thermal modelling

The Stephanian Ciñera-Matallana Basin of NW Spain comprises 1,500 m of alluvial to lacustrine coal-bearing sediments, which were deposited in a late Variscan transtensional/transpressional pull-apart setting. The relationship between coalification pattern and rock deformation was evaluated by measurements of the anisotropy of vitrinite reflectance (AVR). The AVR ellipsoids reveal both pre-tectonic elements related to the bedding fabric and syn-tectonic elements related to folding, producing biaxial ellipsoid shapes with the maximum reflectance parallel to fold axes. The mean coalification gradient for the Stephanian succession is about 0.62 %Rr/km. Calculations of the mean palaeo-geothermal gradient are presented on the basis of three different empirical equations. A palaeo-geothermal gradient of 85 °C/km is considered the most realistic, with an overburden of about 1,000 m. 1-D numerical modelling of the burial history results in two possible scenarios, the most preferable involving a palaeo-heat flow of 150 mW/m² and an overburden of ca. 1,050 m. These results indicate that maximum coalification was related to a localised but high palaeo-heat flow/-geothermal gradient. The anisotropy of vitrinite reflectance highlights the interactive and transitional nature of sedimentary compaction and rock deformation on the maturation of organic material within strike-slip fault zones.     

The pioneer work of Bernard Kübler and Martin Frey in very low-grade metamorphic terranes: paleo-geothermal potential of variation in Kübler-Index/organic matter reflectance correlations. A review

Low-temperature metamorphic petrology occupies the P?CT field between sedimentary and metamorphic petrology. Two important pillars of low-temperature metamorphism are coal petrology and clay mineralogy. When low temperature petrology was established bridging a hiatus between the two classical geological disciplines of sedimentary geology and metamorphic petrology, geologists faced a need for the usage of different terminology tenets. Martin Frey and Bernard Kübler were two pioneers in low-grade metamorphic petrology. They focused their research on clarifying the relationships of clay mineralogy and organic petrology to metamorphic pressure (P) and temperature (T) conditions. The ultimate aim of M. Frey and B. Kübler was to establish a correlation between clay indices and organic parameters for different geodynamic setting and therefore for various pressure?Ctemperature (P?CT) conditions occurring in low grade metamorphic terranes. For this purpose, a special attention was addressed to the correlation between the Kübler-Index (KI) and vitrinite reflectance (VR). All these efforts are dedicated to estimate the P?CT conditions and thus to gain insight into the geodynamic evolution of low-grade metamorphic terranes. B. Kübler and M. Frey honored here concentrated their studies to the Helvetic Central Alps area. The very low-grade Helvetic domain is therefore of basic interest of this paper. Ensuing the extensive compilation of data from the Helvetic domain, a reinterpretation of Kübler and Frey??s research is presented in the light of last decade??s scientific progress. A comprehensive dataset available enables to discriminate many factors influencing the Kübler-Index and organic-matter reflectance alongside to time, temperature and pressure. The correlation is restricted to the KI and organic matter reflectance (mostly VR) because most of the studies used both methods. Organic matter reflectance (OMR) includes data from vitrinite reflectance and bituminite reflectance measurements. Geodynamics has important control on the KI/VR (OMR) correlation. Tectonic units having a similar geodynamic evolution are featured by the comparable KI/OMR trends, related to the particular paleo-geothermal conditions. Obviously the KI/OMR correlations provide a mean to characterise geothermal gradients and metamorphic very-low-grade pressure?Ctemperature conditions. In terranes where high deformations rates are reported, exceeding the high anchizone conditions, strain promotes the kinetic effects of temperature and pressure on the KI versus OMR ratio.     

Natural and artificial radioactivity levels and hazards of soils in the Kücük Menderes Basin,Turkey

In this study, natural and artificial radionuclide activity concentrations in surface soils of Kücük Menderes Basin have been measured using gamma spectroscopy. The soil samples were collected from agricultural lands in the Kücük Menderes Basin in Turkey. The activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs in the soils were found to be range of 12.63 ± 2.28–72.51 ± 11.23, 11.45 ± 2.4–58.12 ± 4.76, 234.8 ± 14.85–1058.52 ± 24 Bq kg^?1 dw and 2.31 ± 0.18–7.75 ± 1.14 Bq kg^?1, respectively. The natural gamma radioactivity of the terrestrial radionuclides in soil samples and the gamma absorbed dose rate, the annual effective dose equivalent, the radium equivalent activity, the external hazard index, were calculated and compared with the international recommended values.     

Description and recognition of potassic-richterite,an amphibole supergroup mineral from the Pajsberg ore field,Värmland,Sweden

Mineralogy and Petrology - Potassic-richterite, ideally AKB(NaCa)CMg5TSi8O22W(OH)2, is recognized as a valid member of the amphibole supergroup (IMA-CNMNC 2017–102). Type material is from the...     

Application of sulfur and carbon isotopes to oil–source rock correlation: A case study from the Tazhong area,Tarim Basin,China

Up until now, it has been assumed that oil in the Palaeozoic reservoirs of the Tazhong Uplift was derived from Upper Ordovician source rocks. Oils recently produced from the Middle and Lower Cambrian in wells ZS1 and ZS5 provide clues concerning the source rocks of the oils in the Tazhong Uplift, Tarim Basin, China. For this study, molecular composition, bulk and individual n-alkane δ¹³C and individual alkyl-dibenzothiophene δ³⁴S values were determined for the potential source rocks and for oils from Cambrian and Ordovician reservoirs to determine the sources of the oils and to address whether δ¹³C and δ³⁴S values can be used effectively for oil–source rock correlation purposes. The ZS1 and ZS5 Cambrian oils, and six other oils from Ordovician reservoirs, were not significantly altered by TSR. The ZS1 oils and most of the other oils, have a “V” shape in the distribution of C₂₇–C₂₉ steranes, bulk and individual n-alkane δ¹³C values predominantly between −31‰ to −35‰ VPDB, and bulk and individual alkyldibenzothiophene δ³⁴S values between 15‰ to 23‰ VCDT. These characteristics are similar to those for some Cambrian source rocks with kerogen δ¹³C values between −34.1‰ and −35.3‰ and δ³⁴S values between 10.4‰ and 21.6‰. The oil produced from the Lower Ordovician in well YM2 has similar features to the ZS1 Cambrian oils. These new lines of evidence indicate that most of the oils in the Tazhong Uplift, contrary to previous interpretations, were probably derived from the Cambrian source rocks, and not from the Upper Ordovician. Conversely, the δ¹³C and δ³⁴S values of ZS1C Cambrian oils have been shown to shift to more positive values due to thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR). Thus, δ¹³C and δ³⁴S values can be used as effective tools to demonstrate oil–source rock correlation, but only because there has been little or no TSR in this part of the section.     

Age and Chemistry of Miocene Volcanic. Rocks from the Kiraz Basin of the Küçük Menderes Graben: Its Significance for the Extensional Tectonics of Southwestern Anatolia,Turkey'

Neogene volcanic rocks and granitoid plutons are among the most important geological components of western Turkey. Although they are voluminous north of the Gediz Graben, they are very scarce to the south, where volcanic rocks occur as isolated small exposures in a small number of localities. The Kiraz Basin of the Küçük Menderes Graben is a key locality, in which Tertiary volcanic rocks crop out at three locations. These rocks have been chemically analysed and dated (³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar whole rock and biotite analyses) in order to understand their tectonic setting of emplacement and its relation to the wider structure of western Anatolia. Whole rock and biotite ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar ages vary between 13.9 ± 0.2 Ma and 14.6 ± 0.2 Ma.

The Kiraz volcanic rocks are calc-alkaline, with a compositional range from basaltic andesite to dacite. They are strongly enriched in the light ion lithophile elements (LILE) and have chemistries typical of lavas erupted in subduction-related settings. Their close association with rift-bounding faults suggests eruptions via conduits flanking grabens in an extensional environment. The difference in chemical composition and age between the Kiraz volcanic rocks and the slightly older calc-alkaline volcanic rocks north of the Gediz Graben is attributed to their relatively younger ages and greater proximity to the Aegean Arc. Their calc-alkaline chemistry reflects magma generation influenced by the slab descending beneath this arc and eruption/emplacement in an extensional setting.     

Recognition and implication of tectonic loading-induced reheating in the northern Variscan front (Belgium and northern France), based on an illite Kübler index and oxygen isotope study

Illite Kübler index (KI) and oxygen isotope (brachiopods and micrites) investigations have been performed on more than 300 Frasnian limestones sampled in one borehole and numerous outcrops in the Dinant Synclinorium (Belgium, northern France) of the northern Variscan front. The illite Kübler index and ¹⁸O data of a 3-km-thick, tectonically repeated Frasnian series from the Focant borehole are compared with their surrounding surface correspondents and document in-situ reheating induced by Variscan tectonic loading, which post-dated sedimentary burial alteration. The boundary between these two thermal processes (sedimentary burial and tectonic loading) on the Focant profile corresponds to an important location where the heat induced by the tectonic loading was equivalent to that Frasnian strata suffered during maximum sedimentary burial. Mainly based on this knowledge and on a former conodont colour alteration index study, the thickness of the eroded thrust sheet in the Focant area is estimated to be around 3,000 m. Oxygen isotopic exchange in these Frasnian closed carbonate systems, occurring under highest-grade diagenesis and anchimetamorphism, records two events. Brachiopods present a quite different and more homogeneous pattern, due to their higher resistance to heat alteration. These thermal events caused both ¹⁸O records to become increasingly lighter than the presumed original seawater signature. The comparison between KI and ¹⁸O profiles indicates that illite KI analysis is more appropriate than ¹⁸O in highlighting the temperature variations in the burial metamorphism at the periphery of orogenic belts.     

Age relationships in supracrustal sequences of the northern part of the Murchison Terrane,Archaean Yilgarn Craton,Western Australia: A combined field and zircon U–Pb study

Mapping carried out in the northern Murchison Terrane of the Archaean Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia, shows that correlation of units between isolated greenstone belts is very difficult and an informal stratigraphic subdivision is proposed where the greenstone sequences have been divided into a number of assemblages. The assemblages may not necessarily be time equivalent throughout the region. The lower units (Assemblages 1–3) consist of ultramafic, mafic and intermediate volcanic rocks deposited without significant breaks in volcanism. Felsic volcanic packages (Assemblage 4) are conformable with underlying units, but are spatially restricted. Discordant units of graphitic sedimentary rocks are developed along major crustal structures (Assemblage 5). SHRIMP and conventional U–Pb study of zircons reveal that felsic volcanic rocks of Assemblage 4 in the Dalgaranga Greenstone Belt were emplaced at 2747 ± 5 Ma, whereas those in the adjacent Meekatharra — Mt Magnet Greenstone Belt range in age from 2762 ± 6 to 2716 ± 4 Ma. The age of emplacement of a differentiated gabbro sill in the Dalgaranga Greenstone Belt at 2719 ± 6 Ma places a maximum age on major folding in the belt. The presence of 2.9–3.0 Ga inherited zircons in some of the felsic volcanic rocks indicates contamination with, or reworking of, underlying 3 Ga sialic crust. This distinguishes the Murchison Terrane from the central parts of the Eastern Goldfields terranes to the south, where there is no evidence for a 3 Ga imprint in zircons from volcanic or granitic rocks, and also from the Narryer Gneiss Terrane to the north and west, which is composed of older gneisses and granitoids. The ca 2.76–2.71 Ga felsic volcanism in the Murchison Terrane is significantly older than 2.71–2.67 Ga felsic volcanism in the Eastern Goldfields lending support to models advocating assemblage of the craton by terrane accretion.     

Plio-Quaternary evolution of the Küçük Menderes Graben Southwestern Anatolia,Turkey

The Küçük Menderes Graben (KMG) is part of the horst-graben system of southwestern Anatolia (Turkey), bounded by the Bozda? horst in the north and the Ayd?n horst in the south. The Plio-Quaternary evolution of the KMG has been evaluated using the nature of the Miocene-Quaternary fill sediments and palaeostress analysis of slip data measured in different parts of the graben.

The graben is composed of five subbasins—the Kiraz, Ödemi?, Bay?nd?r, Da?k?z?lca-Torbal? and Selçuk—that are connected to each other through narrow Quaternary troughs. The Da?k?z?lca, Kiraz and Selçuk basins bear Miocene and younger sequences whereas the other subbasins are largely filled by Quaternary sediments. The maximum thickness of the Quaternary fill reaches about 270 m in the Ödemi? and Bay?nd?r subbasins.

The calculated slip results indicate multidirectional extension, three successive deformational periods, and possible counterclockwise rotation in the KMG during the post-Miocene period. The first phase was a strike-slip regime under N-S compression, followed by a second phase of deformation which resulted in ENE-WSW extension with strike-slip components. The final phase of deformation was NE-SW extension which constituted the final evolution of the KMG.

The graben gained its present morphological configuration via the onset of E-W-trending, high-angle normal faulting imposed on the regionwide synformal structure during the Plio-Quaternary. The KMG evolved as a result of rifting during the Plio-Quaternary which followed Late Miocene unroofing of the Menderes Massif and the evolution of the Büyük Menderes and Gediz grabens.     

Hydrocarbon volume optimization using improved net-to-gross estimates through core-log calibration of the “Akar field,” Niger Delta

Net to gross (NTG) is an important parameter in evaluating the volumes of hydrocarbon in place (VHIP) in reservoirs, and proper evaluation of this parameter will lead to significant accuracy in the estimated reserves. The use of conventional petrophysical log evaluations often does not provide sufficient resolution for net sand analysis of reservoirs, especially in laminated reservoir rocks. The uncertainties associated with log-derived net-to-gross estimates arise from the petrophysical shale volume (V _sh) cutoffs used in deriving the net sand count over a reservoir interval. One way of improving the net-to-gross estimates is by using a model that calibrates log-derived net to gross to a core equivalent, which is the more accurate representation of net sand counts. In this study, a model for calibrating log-derived net to gross to a core equivalent based on genetic units and facies associations of reservoir rocks in three wells (wells 7, 36, and K008) was established. Ultraviolet core photographs show a good contrast between hydrocarbon-stained sandstones and shales, and combining it with white light-slabbed core images facilitated a manual net sand count of the core photographs on a bed-by-bed basis. Petrophysical shale volume (V _sh) cutoff derived from two volumes of shale indicators was applied to generate net sand counts, which were used to get log-derived net-to-gross values. Then, the net to gross from core images and petrophysical clay volume (V _sh) analysis were compared by facies associations, and this comparison yielded a reliable core-calibrated net-to-gross model, which reduces the uncertainties in net-to-gross values estimated from V _sh cutoffs. The results show that for the distributary channel sands, net to gross derived using V _sh cutoff results in an underestimation of net to gross by about 6–10 % when compared with the core-calibrated net to gross, while for the upper shoreface units, V _sh cutoff overestimates net to gross by about 7–10 % when compared to its core-calibrated equivalent.     

Coal correlation and intrabasinal differential subsidence — A case study from the Barakar Formation of Talchir Gondwana Basin,Orissa

In case of autocyclic sedimentation, direct relationship exists between net thickness of strata and number of coal cycles. Many of the coal basins including coal bearing Gondwana basins of India are good examples of autocyclic sedimentation, in which the cyclicity is attributed to intrabasinal differential subsidence of the basin floor. In the present work an attempt has been made to quantify the intrabasinal subsidence in a part of the Barakar Formation of the Talchir Gondwana basin. Eight undisturbed intervals were delineated in the Barakar stratigraphy. During different phases of sedimentation, different parts of the study area subsided with varying magnitudes. The areas of maximum subsidence accommodated thicker sediment column in comparison to the areas of slow subsidence rate.     

Progress in the Gondwanan Carboniferous–Permian palynology and correlation of the Nilawahan Group of the Salt Range,Pakistan: A brief review

This paper comprises of two sections. The first section describes challenges in the Carboniferous–Permian Gondwanan stratigraphic palynology, and progress in techniques such as presence of the ‘rare-marine intervals’, and ‘radiometric dating’ in some Gondwanan successions, e.g., South Africa, Australia and South America, as tools to confidently calibrate these palynozones. The second section describes developments in the palynological work on the Carboniferous–Permian Nilawahan Group of the Salt Range, Pakistan, and summarises their correlation with the coeval succession of the Gondwana continents and with the Russian/International stages.     

Detrital zircon geochronology of the Lützow-Holm Complex,East Antarctica: Implications for Antarctica–Sri Lanka correlation

The Lützow-Holm Complex (LHC) of East Antarctica has been regarded as a collage of Neoarchean (ca. 2.5 Ga), Paleoproterozoic (ca. 1.8 Ga), and Neoproterozoic (ca. 1.0 Ga) magmatic arcs which were amalgamated through the latest Neoproterozoic collisional events during the assembly of Gondwana supercontinent. Here, we report new geochronological data on detrital zircons in metasediments associated with the magmatic rocks from the LHC, and compare the age spectra with those in the adjacent terranes for evaluating the tectonic correlation of East Antarctica and Sri Lanka. Cores of detrital zircon grains with high Th/U ratio in eight metasediment samples can be subdivided into two dominant groups: (1) late Meso- to Neoproterozoic (1.1–0.63 Ga) zircons from the northeastern part of the LHC in Prince Olav Coast and northern Sôya Coast areas, and (2) dominantly Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic (2.8–2.4 Ga) zircons from the southwestern part of the LHC in southern Lützow-Holm Bay area. The ca. 1.0 Ga and ca. 2.5 Ga magmatic suites in the LHC could be proximal provenances of the detrital zircons in the northeastern and southwestern LHC, respectively. Subordinate middle to late Mesoproterozoic (1.3–1.2 Ga) detrital zircons obtained from Akarui Point and Langhovde could have been derived from adjacent Gondwana fragments (e.g., Rayner Complex, Eastern Ghats Belt). Meso- to Neoproterozoic domains such as Vijayan and Wanni Complexes of Sri Lanka, the southern Madurai Block of southern India, and the central-western Madagascar could be alternative distal sources of the late Meso- to Neoproterozoic zircons. Paleo- to Mesoarchean domains in India, Africa, and Antarctica might also be distal sources for the minor ∼2.8 Ga detrital zircons from Skallevikshalsen. The detrital zircons from the Highland Complex of Sri Lanka show similar Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic (ca. 2.5 Ga) and Neoproterozoic (ca. 1.0 Ga) ages, which are comparable with those of the LHC, suggesting that the two complexes might have formed under similar tectonic regimes. We consider that the Highland Complex and metasedimentary unit of the LHC formed a unified latest Neoproterozoic suture zone with a large block of northern LH–Vijayan Complex caught up as remnant of the ca. 1.0 Ga magmatic arc.     

The high PT stability of apatite and Cl partitioning between apatite and hydrous potassic phases in peridotite: an experimental study to 19 GPa with implications for the transport of P,Cl and K in the upper mantle

High PT experiments were performed in the range 2.5–19 GPa and 800–1,500°C using a synthetic peridotite doped with trace elements and OH-apatite or with Cl-apatite + phlogopite. The aim of the study was (1) to investigate the stability and phase relations of apatite and its high PT breakdown products, (2) to study the compositional evolution with P and T of phosphate and coexisting silicate phases and (3) to measure the Cl-OH partitioning between apatite and coexisting calcic amphibole, phlogopite and K-richterite. Apatite is stable in a garnet-lherzolite assemblage in the range 2.5–8.7 GPa and 800–1,100°C. The high-P breakdown product of apatite is tuite γ-Ca₃ (PO₄)₂, which is stable in the range 8–15 GPa and 1,100–1,300°C. Coexisting apatite and tuite were observed at 8 GPa/1,050°C and 8.7 GPa/1,000°C. MgO in apatite increases with P from 0.8 wt% at 2.5 GPa to 3.2 wt% at 8.7 GPa. Both apatite and tuite may contain significant Na, Sr and REE with a correlation indicating 2 Ca²⁺=Na⁺ + REE³⁺. Tuite has always higher Sr and REE and lower Fe and Mg than apatite. Phosphorus in the peridotite phases decreases in the order P_melt ≫ P_grt ≫ P_Mg2SiO4 > P_cpx > P_opx. The phosphate-saturated P₂O₅ content of garnet increases from 0.07 wt% at 2.5 GPa to 1.5 wt% at 12.8 GPa. Due to the low bulk Na content of the peridotite, ^[8]Na^[4]P^[8]M²⁺ ₋₁ ^[4]Si₋₁ only plays a minor role in controlling the phosphorus content of garnet. Instead, element correlations indicate a major contribution of ^[6]M^2+[4]P^[6]M³⁺ ₋₁ ^[4]Si₋₁. Pyroxenes contain ~200–500 ppm P and olivine has 0.14–0.23 wt% P₂O₅ in the P range 4–8.7 GPa without correlation with P, T or X_Mg. At ≥12.7 GPa, all Mg₂SiO₄ polymorphs have <200 ppm P. Coexisting olivine and wadsleyite show an equal preference for phosphorus. In case of coexisting wadsleyite and ringwoodite, the latter fractionates phosphorus. Although garnet shows by far the highest phosphorus concentrations of any peridotite silicate phase, olivine is no less important as phosphorus carrier and could store the entire bulk phosphorus budget of primitive mantle. In the Cl-apatite + phlogopite-doped peridotite, apatite contains 0.65–1.35 wt% Cl in the PT range 2.5–8.7 GPa/800–1,000°C. Apatite coexists with calcic amphibole at 2.5 GPa, phlogopite at 2.5–5 GPa and K-richterite at 7 GPa, and all silicates contain between 0.2 and 0.6 wt% Cl. No solid potassic phase is stable between 5 and 8.7 GPa. Cl strongly increases the solubility of K in hydrous fluids. This may lead to the breakdown of phlogopite and give rise to the local presence in the mantle of fluids strongly enriched in K, Cl, P and incompatible trace elements. Such fluids may get trapped as micro-inclusions in diamonds and provide bulk compositions suitable for the formation of unusual phases such as KCl or hypersilicic Cl-rich mica.     

Assessing the vulnerability of social–environmental system from the perspective of hazard,sensitivity, and resilience: a case study of Beijing,China

Despite a recent increase in the number of vulnerability analyses there has been relatively little discussion of vulnerability assessment of social–environment system, especially when they face multiple hazards. In this study, we developed an applicable and convenient method to assess vulnerability of social–environment system at a regional scale. Vulnerability is quantified by measuring three critical elements (i.e. hazards, sensitivity, and resilience) through some key variables. The results showed that vulnerability is high in Miaofeng Mountain in Mengtougou District, the hills of Pinggu County and the riparian zones of the lower courses of the Beiyun and Yongding Rivers; but low in the city of Beijing and the southwestern part of the Fangshan District. Areas of very high, high, medium, and low-vulnerability account for 6.19, 25.48, 33.06, and 35.27% of the total area, respectively. The degree of vulnerability decreases in a northwest direction in mountainous areas and declines from watercourses to riparian zones along a lateral direction in the plain. Some adaptive strategies are also proposed.