Integration of outcrop and borehole image logs for high-resolution facies interpretation: example from a fluvial fan in the Ebro Basin, Spain

Electrical borehole image logs yield high-resolution information about variations in micro-resistivity along the borehole wall. To interpret these variations in terms of sedimentary structures and lithofacies types, calibration with real rock is needed. Normally, the only real rock available is core, and this only provides one-dimensional information. In this paper, the interpretation of fluvial facies types from borehole image logs was established by direct comparison with outcrops. Four fluvial facies associations were established in an outcrop study of a low net-to-gross fluvial succession: (i) meandering rivers, (ii) braided rivers, (iii) crevasse deltas, and (iv) crevasse splays. The lithofacies characteristics and palaeocurrent distributions of each fluvial facies association were established. Two 200 m deep wells were drilled behind the cliff face outcrops. One well was cored to a depth of 150 m and borehole image logs were recorded in both wells. The wells were correlated with the outcrop. The borehole image logs were analysed by their vertical colour succession and the dipmeter pattern. Image log facies were established, and these were interpreted in terms of the fluvial facies associations encountered in the corresponding outcrops. The study of borehole image logs yields a set of diagnostic criteria for a detailed fluvial facies interpretation and the establishment of depositional trends, and thus provides a powerful tool for the direct interpretation of fluvial facies in a reservoir setting.     

Architecture of an Oligocene fluvial ribbon sandstone in the Ebro Basin,North‐eastern Spain

Fluvial ribbon sandstone bodies are ubiquitous in the Ebro Basin in North‐eastern Spain; their internal organization and the mechanics of deposition are as yet insufficiently known. A quarrying operation in an Oligocene fluvial ribbon sandstone body in the southern Ebro Basin allowed for a three‐dimensional reconstruction of the sedimentary architecture of the deposit. The sandstone is largely a medium‐grained to coarse‐grained, moderately sorted lithic arenite. In cross‐section, the sandstone body is 7 m thick, occupies a 5 m deep incision and wedges out laterally, forming a ‘wing’ that intercalates with horizontal floodplain deposits in the overbank region. Three architectural units were distinguished. The lowest and highest units (Units A and C) mostly consist of medium‐grained to coarse‐grained sandstone with medium‐scale trough cross‐bedding and large‐scale inclined stratasets. Each of Units A and C comprises a fining‐up stratal sequence reflecting deposition during one flood event. The middle unit (Unit B) consists of thinly bedded, fine‐grained sandstone/mudstone couplets and represents a time period when the channel was occupied by low‐discharge flows. The adjoining ‘wing’ consists of fine‐grained sandstone beds, with mudstone interlayers, correlative to strata in Units A and C in the main body of the ribbon sandstone. In plan view, the ribbon sandstone comprises an upstream bend and a downstream straight reach. In the upstream bend, large‐scale inclined stratasets up to 3 m in thickness represent four bank‐attached lateral channel bars, two in each of Units A and C. The lateral bars migrated downflow and did not develop into point bars. In the straight downstream reach, a tabular cross‐set in Unit A represents a mid‐channel transverse bar. In Unit C, a very coarse‐grained, unstratified interval is interpreted as deposited in a riffle zone, and gives way downstream to a large mid‐channel bar. The relatively simple architecture of these bars suggests that they developed as unit bars. Channel margin‐derived slump blocks cover the upper bar. The youngest deposit is fine‐grained sandstone and mudstone that accumulated immediately before avulsion and channel abandonment. Deposition of the studied sandstone body reflects transport‐limited sediment discharges, possibly attaining transient hyperconcentrated conditions.     

准噶尔盆地玛湖凹陷夏子街扇区三叠系百口泉组沉积演化特征*

玛湖凹陷是准噶尔盆地最具规模的油气聚集带与勘探区,发育以砾岩为主、具有较强非均质性的粗粒沉积复杂地层。对粗粒沉积体的精细刻画有助于研究沉积体内部的非均质性特征。应用储层构型分析法,结合研究区岩心、测井、录井资料,对玛湖凹陷夏子街扇区三叠系百口泉组沉积体内部9个级次构型要素的几何形态、大小、方向以及相互之间的叠置关系进行了表征,识别出12种岩石相类型以及10种由岩石相组合而成的沉积微相类型。通过分析沉积微相在垂向、平面上的不同组合特征,扇体的类型受沉积环境影响发生变化,逐渐由冲积扇、河流扇转换为扇三角洲,整体反映了湖平面上升或沉积物供给量逐渐减小的沉积背景。分析夏子街扇区各期次的扇体特征,包括长轴、短轴距离、长轴短轴比、扇根与扇缘厚度变化、扇体坡度变化、扇体最大粒径变化等,认为扇体顺物源方向有以下变化趋势: 沉积物粒径大小随河道搬运逐渐减小,减小的幅度受扇体坡度影响,坡度越陡沉积物粒径减小的越快;河道数量减少,流量降低;河道沉积物在横向和纵向上的连通性逐渐降低;砂岩、砾岩厚度逐渐减小,泥岩厚度逐渐增加,湖相沉积变得较为发育。总结玛湖凹陷百口泉组的各期次扇体共可归纳出6种扇体模式: 冲积扇、冲积—河流扇、河流—末梢扇、河流扇—扇三角洲、扇三角洲、大型河流扇。     

Glauberite–halite association of the Zaragoza Gypsum Formation (Lower Miocene, Ebro Basin, NE Spain)

Glauberite is the most common mineral in the ancient sodium sulphate deposits in the Mediterranean region, although its origin, primary or diagenetic, continues to be a matter of debate. A number of glauberite deposits of Oligocene–Miocene age in Spain display facies characteristics of sedimentologic significance, in particular those in which a glauberite–halite association is predominant. In this context, a log study of four boreholes in the Zaragoza Gypsum Formation (Lower Miocene, Ebro Basin, NE Spain) was carried out. Two glauberite–halite lithofacies associations, A and B, are distinguished: association (A) is composed of bedded cloudy halite and minor amounts of massive and clastic glauberite; association (B) is made up of laminated to thin‐bedded, clear macrocrystalline, massive, clastic and contorted lithofacies of glauberite, and small amounts of bedded cloudy halite. Transparent glauberite cemented by clear halite as well as normal‐graded and reverse‐graded glauberite textures are common. This type of transparent glauberite is interpreted as a primary, subaqueous precipitate. Gypsum, thenardite or mirabilite are absent in the two associations. The depositional environment is interpreted as a shallow perennial saline lake system, in which chloride brines (association A) and sulphate–(chloride) brines (association B) are developed. The geochemical study of halite crystals (bromine contents and fluid inclusion compositions) demonstrates that conditions for co‐precipitation of halite and glauberite, or for precipitation of Na‐sulphates (mirabilite, thenardite) were never fulfilled in the saline lake system.     

Precambrian fluvial deposits: Enigmatic palaeohydrological data from the c. 2–1.9 Ga Waterberg Group, South Africa

Precambrian fluvial systems, lacking the influence of rooted vegetation, probably were characterised by flashy surface runoff, low bank stability, broad channels with abundant bedload, and faster rates of channel migration; consequently, a braided fluvial style is generally accepted. Pre-vegetational braided river systems, active under highly variable palaeoclimatic conditions, may have been more widespread than are modern, ephemeral dry-land braided systems. Aeolian deflation of fine fluvial detritus does not appear to have been prevalent. With the onset of large cratons by the Neoarchaean–Palaeoproterozoic, very large, perennial braided river systems became typical. The c. 2.06–1.88 Ga Waterberg Group, preserved within a Main and a smaller Middelburg basin on the Kaapvaal craton, was deposited largely by alluvial/braided-fluvial and subordinate palaeo-desert environments, within fault-bounded, possibly pull-apart type depositories.

Palaeohydrological data obtained from earlier work in the Middelburg basin (Wilgerivier Formation) are compared to such data derived from the correlated Blouberg Formation, situated along the NE margin of the Main basin. Within the preserved Blouberg depository, palaeohydrological parameters estimated from clast size and cross-bed set thickness data, exhibit rational changes in their values, either in a down-palaeocurrent direction, or from inferred basin margin to palaeo-basin centre. In both the Wilgerivier and Blouberg Formations, calculated palaeoslope values (derived from two separate formulae) plot within the gap separating typical alluvial fan gradients from those which characterise rivers (cf. [Blair, T.C., McPherson, J.G., 1994. Alluvial fans and their natural distinction from rivers based on morphology, hydraulic processes, sedimentary processes, and facies assemblages. J. Sediment. Res. A64, 450–489.]). Although it may be argued that such data support possibly unique fluvial styles within the Precambrian, perhaps related to a combination of major global-scale tectono-thermal and atmospheric–palaeoclimatic events, a simpler explanation of these apparently enigmatic palaeoslope values may be pertinent. Of the two possible palaeohydrological formulae for calculating palaeoslope, one provides results close to typical fluvial gradients; the other formula relies on preserved channel-width data. We suggest that the latter will not be reliable due to problematic preservation of original channel-widths within an active braided fluvial system. We thus find no unequivocal support for a unique fluvial style for the Precambrian, beyond that generally accepted for that period and discussed briefly in the first paragraph.     

Precession‐scale cyclicity in the fluvial lower Eocene Willwood Formation of the Bighorn Basin,Wyoming (USA)

Little is known about controls on river avulsion at geological time scales longer than 10⁴ years, primarily because it is difficult to link observed changes in alluvial architecture to well‐defined allogenic mechanisms and to disentangle allogenic from autogenic processes. Recognition of Milankovitch‐sale orbital forcing in alluvial stratigraphy would provide unprecedented age control in terrestrial deposits, and also exploit models of allogenic forcing enabling more rigorous testing of allocyclic and autocyclic controls. The Willwood Formation of the Bighorn Basin is a lower Eocene fluvial unit distinctive for its thick sequence of laterally extensive lithological cycles on a scale of 4 to 10 m. Intervals of red palaeosols that formed on overbank mudstones are related to periods of relative channel stability when gradients between channel belts and floodplains were low. The intervening drab, heterolithic intervals with weak palaeosol development are attributed to episodes of channel avulsion that occurred when channels became super‐elevated above the floodplain. In the Deer Creek Amphitheater section in the McCullough Peaks area, these overbank and avulsion deposits alternate with a dominant cycle thickness of ca 7·1 m. Using integrated stratigraphic age constraints, this cyclicity has an estimated period of ca 21·6 kyr, which is in the range of the period of precession climate cycles in the early Eocene. Previous analyses of three older and younger sections in the Bighorn Basin showed a similar 7 to 8 m spacing of red palaeosol clusters with an estimated duration close to the precession period. Intervals of floodplain stability alternating with episodes of large‐scale reorganization of the fluvial system could be entirely autogenic; however, the remarkable regularity and the match in time scales documented here indicate that these alternations were probably paced by allogenic, astronomically forced climate change.     

干湿气候交替与内陆湖盆河流扇砂体的形成与分布——以鄂尔多斯盆地延长组为例

鄂尔多斯盆地是我国陆上最主要的油气盆地之一,三叠系延长组是该盆地的主要含油层位。本文通过大量野外露头及钻井岩芯观察与实测,结合室内鉴定分析,系统研究了延长组沉积时的古气候环境及沉积特征,取得了如下认识：(1)延长组沉积时期,气候具有三分性：早期为干旱环境;中期转变为温暖潮湿气候环境,生物繁盛,是烃源岩发育的最有利时期;晚期再次转变为半干旱—半湿润气候环境;(2)受干旱气候控制,延长组早期与晚期无大面积汇水区存在,洪水事件主导了盆地中心地区大规模砂体的形成与分布,尤其洪水的接力搬运与多次分选可能是造成延长组砂岩粒级普遍较细的主因;(3)延长组发育干旱与潮湿两种环境沉积模式,前者以低位域河流扇体系为特征,后者以湖侵期河流-三角洲-湖泊-重力流体系为特色;(4)干旱环境低位域河流扇砂体与潮湿环境水进域富含有机质泥岩相匹配,形成了延长组“满盆含砂、满凹含油”的特征。该研究发展了大型坳陷湖盆的沉积模式,对丰富陆相盆地沉积理论认识及指导油气勘探实践均有积极意义。     

Stacked fluvial and tide-dominated estuarine deposits in high-frequency (fourth-order) sequences of the Eocene Central Basin, Spitsbergen

Eighteen coastal-plain depositional sequences that can be correlated to shallow- to deep-water clinoforms in the Eocene Central Basin of Spitsbergen were studied in 1 × 15 km scale mountainside exposures. The overall mud-prone (>300 m thick) coastal-plain succession is divided by prominent fluvial erosion surfaces into vertically stacked depositional sequences, 7–44 m thick. The erosion surfaces are overlain by fluvial conglomerates and coarse-grained sandstones. The fluvial deposits show tidal influence at their seaward ends. The fluvial deposits pass upwards into macrotidal tide-dominated estuarine deposits, with coarse-grained river-dominated facies followed further seawards by high- and low-sinuosity tidal channels, upper-flow-regime tidal flats, and tidal sand bar facies associations. Laterally, marginal sandy to muddy tidal flat and marsh deposits occur. The fluvial/estuarine sequences are interpreted as having accumulated as a series of incised valley fills because: (i) the basal fluvial erosion surfaces, with at least 16 m of local erosional relief, are regional incisions; (ii) the basal fluvial deposits exhibit a significant basinward facies shift; (iii) the regional erosion surfaces can be correlated with rooted horizons in the interfluve areas; and (iv) the estuarine deposits onlap the valley walls in a landward direction. The coastal-plain deposits represent the topset to clinoforms that formed during progradational infilling of the Eocene Central Basin. Despite large-scale progradation, the sequences are volumetrically dominated by lowstand fluvial deposits and especially by transgressive estuarine deposits. The transgressive deposits are overlain by highstand units in only about 30% of the sequences. The depositional system remained an estuary even during highstand conditions, as evidenced by the continued bedload convergence in the inner-estuarine tidal channels.     

Fluvial response to active extension: evidence from 3D seismic data from the Frio Formation (Oligo-Miocene) of the Texas Gulf of Mexico Coast, USA

Tectonic deformation of the land surface is known to influence the gradient, water and sediment discharge and the grain-size of modern fluvial systems. Any change in these variables alters the equilibrium of a fluvial system, potentially causing a change in channel morphology. 3D seismic data from the Tertiary (Miocene) age, Upper Frio Formation, Kelsey Field, South Texas, in the US are used to examine changing fluvial channel morphology through time during a period of active growth of a rollover anticline in the hangingwall of a normal fault (the Vicksburg Fault). The studied interval varies between 22 and 47 m thick, and spans several hundred thousand years. It consists of an alternation of fluvial sandstones, overbank mudstones and coal. Seismic extractions show the evolution of sinuous fluvial channels during a phase of growth fault activity. Prior to growth, a single sinuous channel is imaged. During growth, the fluvial system became decapitated by a developing rollover anticline, and a highly sinuous drainage network formed, with frequent avulsion events, headward propagation of streams and related stream capture. Increased channel sinuosity was spatially associated with increased avulsion frequency in the area down dip to the east of the rollover anticline, more than 10 km from the active fault. More than 25 m of relative accommodation developed on the flank of the growing rollover anticline compared with on the crest. The increased channel sinuosity is interpreted as reflecting an increase in longitudinal valley slope analogous to observations made in flume experiments and modern river systems. The increase in avulsion frequency is attributed to increased aggradation as the rivers adjusted back to equilibrium grade following the increase in slope.     

Recognition criteria,characteristics and implications of the fluvial to marine transition zone in ancient deltaic deposits (Lajas Formation,Argentina)

The seaward end of modern rivers is characterized by the interactions of marine and fluvial processes, a tract known as the fluvial to marine transition zone, which varies between systems due to the relative strength of these processes. To understand how fluvial and tidal process interactions and the fluvial to marine transition zone are preserved in the rock record, large‐scale outcrops of deltaic deposits of the Middle Jurassic Lajas Formation (Neuquén Basin, Argentina) have been investigated. Fluvial–tidal indicators consist of cyclically distributed carbonaceous drapes in unidirectional, seaward‐oriented cross‐stratifications, which are interpreted as the result of tidal modulation of the fluvial current in the inner part of the fluvial to marine transition zone. Heterolithic deposits with decimetre‐scale interbedding of coarser‐grained and finer‐grained facies with mixed fluvial and tidal affinities are interpreted to indicate fluvial discharge fluctuations (seasonality) and subordinate tidal influence. Many other potential tidal indicators are argued to be the result of fluvial–tidal interactions with overall fluvial dominance or of purely fluvial processes. No purely tidal or tide‐dominated facies were recognized in the studied deposits. Moreover, fluvial–tidal features are found mainly in deposits interpreted as interflood (forming during low river stage) in distal (delta front) or off‐axis (interdistributary) parts of the system. Along major channel axes, the interpreted fluvial to marine transition zone is mainly represented by the fluvial‐dominated section, whereas little or no tide‐dominated section is identified. The system is interpreted to have been hyposynchronous with a poorly developed turbidity maximum. These conditions and the architectural elements described, including major and minor distributary channels, terminal distributary channels, mouth bars and crevasse mouth bars, are consistent with an interpretation of a fluvial‐dominated, tide‐influenced delta system and with an estimated short backwater length and inferred microtidal conditions. The improved identification of process interactions, and their preservation in ancient fluvial to marine transition zones, is fundamental to refining interpretations of ancient deltaic successions.     

湖盆扇三角洲河口坝发育程度及粒度韵律特征:以滦平盆地桑园剖面下白垩统西瓜园组为例*

扇三角洲作为重要的油气储集场所,其成因单元类型及分布特征控制着油气的差异分布及采出效率。关于扇三角洲分流河道沉积特征已有共识,但河口坝沉积特征尤其是韵律特征尚存在争议。以滦平盆地桑园剖面下白垩统西瓜园组湖盆扇三角洲沉积体为例,通过人工实测及无人机观测相结合的方法,对河口坝沉积特征、尤其是韵律特征进行研究,利用水槽模拟实验阐明河口坝韵律特征的形成机理。结果表明,河口坝在整个剖面中占砂(砾)岩体的45.27%,分流河道和席状砂分别占53.42%和1.31%。河口坝在剖面上呈底平顶凸状,通常由多期增生体组成。当增生体主要由砂岩组成时,呈粒度反韵律特征; 而当增生体主要由砾岩组成时,呈粒度正韵律特征。河口坝整体韵律受控于增生体的垂向叠置样式,既可呈反韵律特征又可呈正韵律特征。当流量、沉积底形坡度等地质条件一定时,河口坝内部增生体韵律性主要受沉积物粒度控制。当沉积物粒度较细时,河口水流扩散模式为底床摩擦力主控,增生体呈现反韵律特征; 而当沉积物粒度较粗时,河口水流扩散模式为惯性力主控,河口坝增生体则呈现正韵律特征。     

湖盆扇三角洲河口坝发育程度及粒度韵律特征:以滦平盆地桑园剖面下白垩统西瓜园组为例*

扇三角洲作为重要的油气储集场所,其成因单元类型及分布特征控制着油气的差异分布及采出效率。关于扇三角洲分流河道沉积特征已有共识,但河口坝沉积特征尤其是韵律特征尚存在争议。以滦平盆地桑园剖面下白垩统西瓜园组湖盆扇三角洲沉积体为例,通过人工实测及无人机观测相结合的方法,对河口坝沉积特征、尤其是韵律特征进行研究,利用水槽模拟实验阐明河口坝韵律特征的形成机理。结果表明,河口坝在整个剖面中占砂(砾)岩体的45.27%,分流河道和席状砂分别占53.42%和1.31%。河口坝在剖面上呈底平顶凸状,通常由多期增生体组成。当增生体主要由砂岩组成时,呈粒度反韵律特征; 而当增生体主要由砾岩组成时,呈粒度正韵律特征。河口坝整体韵律受控于增生体的垂向叠置样式,既可呈反韵律特征又可呈正韵律特征。当流量、沉积底形坡度等地质条件一定时,河口坝内部增生体韵律性主要受沉积物粒度控制。当沉积物粒度较细时,河口水流扩散模式为底床摩擦力主控,增生体呈现反韵律特征; 而当沉积物粒度较粗时,河口水流扩散模式为惯性力主控,河口坝增生体则呈现正韵律特征。     

Fossil-Winged Fruits of Fraxinus(Oleaceae) and Liriodendron(Magnoliaceae) from the Duho Formation,Pohang Basin,Korea

Abstract: A total of 16 specimens of fossil-winged fruits were found from the Middle Miocene marine deposits, Duho Formation, Pohang Basin, Korea. They were identified into two structurally different groups: 15 specimens into a winged fruit of Fraxinus, and one specimen of Liriodendron. The most samaras (13 specimens) were identified as Fraxinus oishii, which is characterized by narrowly ovate or ovate–elliptic shapes that are 2.7–3.6 cm in length and 0.7–1 cm in width (l/w ratio=3.4–4). The apexes of the Fraxinus oishii samara are round or slightly emarginated, and a seed of the samara is always located at the base, of which the general shape is narrow rhombic-ellipsoidal. The seed is 1.2–2 cm long and 0.5–0.7 cm wide. Two specimens are different from the samara of Fraxinus oishii. They have a 6.6 length/width ratio (3.3 cm long and 0.5 cm wide), and thus, are temporarily classified into the Fraxinus sp. One specimen was recognized as a winged seed of Liriodendron meisenense. The wing is broadly lanceolate to elliptic in shape, has a smooth, acute apex, and is approximately 3 cm long and 0.7 cm wide. Samaras of Fraxinus oishii and Liriodendron meisenense were early reported from the Middle Miocene deposits from North Korea, but these specimens are the first discovery in South Korea. Further study of the Duho Formation may connect flora relationships between North and South Korea.     

断陷湖盆差异湖侵过程与层序格架下沉积体系特征响应: 以霸县凹陷古近系沙河街组为例*

断陷湖盆充填演化过程中发生的多期差异湖侵,控制了层序格架及其内部沉积体系类型和分布。基于霸县凹陷的三维地震资料,结合800口探井钻/测井、岩心及古生物等资料,在明确古近系湖盆演化过程的基础上,以沙河街组三段和一段为研究目标,分析差异湖侵作用过程中的层序结构及层序格架下的沉积差异特征。研究结果表明,沙三段沉积时期的缓慢湖侵过程中发育断坡—坡折层序结构,以多期退积型三角洲、扇三角洲沉积为主,形成厚层优质烃源岩。沙一段沉积时期的快速湖侵过程中,形成弯折—宽缓坡型层序结构样式,发育混积滩坝、小型近岸水下扇(扇三角洲)沉积。根据上述研究结果,认为断陷湖盆差异沉降控制了层序结构样式,古地貌和物源供给调节岩相的空间分布,湖盆不同演化阶段层序结构和沉积体系都存在显著的差异。在此基础上,建立差异湖侵作用下沉积体系特征的响应模型,可为同类型盆地中的油气勘探特别是岩性油气藏的勘探提供借鉴。     

Differential transgression of rift basin and characteristic response of sedimentary system within sequence framework: An example from the Paleogene Shahejie Formation in Baxian sag,Bohai Bay Basin

Multi-stage differential transgression controls sequence architecture and its sedimentary type and distribution during the tectonic evolution of lacustrine rift basin. Combined with the seismic data of the Baxian sag as well as drilling,logging,core and paleontological materials from 800 exploration wells,the study targeted the Members 1 and 3 of the Shahejie Formation to analyze sequence architecture and sedimentological difference within the sequence framework during the differential lake transgression,based on the investigation of the Paleogene lake basin evolution. The results showed that the fault slope-break slope architecture was well developed with back-stepping deltas and fan deltas during the slow lake transgression of the Member 3 of Shahejie Formation,in which forms thick high quality source rocks. The flexural-gentle slope architecture was well developed with mixed beach bar and small scale nearshore subaqueous fans(fan deltas)during the rapid transgression of the Member 1 of Shahejie Formation. The differential subsidence controlled the sequence architecture,paleogeomorphology and provenance supply,regulating the spatial lithological distribution. And there are significant differences in sequence architecture and sedimentary system during the different evolution stages of the lake basin. On this basis,the response model of sedimentary system characteristics under differential lacustrine transgression is established,which can be used for reference for oil and gas exploration,especially for lithologic oil and gas reservoir in the same type of basin.     

A new approach to the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene forms of the genus Apocricetus. Apocricetus alberti (Rodentia,Mammalia) from Venta del Moro (Cabriel Basin,Spain)

The species of the genus Apocricetus are considered to form the phyletic lineage A. aff. plinii (MN11)–A. plinii–A. alberti–A. barrierei–A. angustidens (MN16). Along this lineage, gradual morphological and biometrical changes occur, but not all the species are represented by rich populations. The assemblage of Apocricetus alberti from Venta del Moro is by far the most abundant collection of this species. This population shows a great morphological variability in some characters like the morphology of the anteroconid and the anterolophulids in m1 and the shape of the anterolophule in M1, with morphotypes that resemble both older and younger populations of Apocricetus. Along the phyletic lineage of Apocricetus, a change in the shape of m3 occurs, from predominantly subtriangular forms in the oldest populations to predominantly subrectangular in the youngest. To quantify this feature we use the posterior width of the molar and the anterior width/posterior width ratio, proposing five morphological categories, from extremely triangular to subrectangular.     

Braided rivers within an arid alluvial plain (example from the Lower Triassic,western German Basin): recognition criteria and expression of stratigraphic cycles

Based on a detailed sedimentological analysis of Lower Triassic continental deposits in the western Germanic sag Basin (i.e. the eastern part of the present‐day Paris Basin: the ‘Conglomérat basal’, ‘Grès vosgien’ and ‘Conglomérat principal’ Formations), three main depositional environments were identified: (i) braided rivers in an arid alluvial plain with some preserved aeolian dunes and very few floodplain deposits; (ii) marginal erg (i.e. braided rivers, aeolian dunes and aeolian sand‐sheets); and (iii) playa lake (an ephemeral lake environment with fluvial and aeolian sediments). Most of the time, aeolian deposits in arid environments that are dominated by fluvial systems are poorly preserved and particular attention should be paid to any sedimentological marker of aridity, such as wind‐worn pebbles (ventifacts), sand‐drift surfaces and aeolian sand‐sheets. In such arid continental environments, stratigraphic surfaces of allocyclic origin correspond to bounding surfaces of regional extension. Elementary stratigraphic cycles, i.e. the genetic units, have been identified for the three main continental environments: the fluvial type, fluvial–aeolian type and fluvial/playa lake type. At the time scale of tens to hundreds of thousands of years, these high‐frequency cycles of climatic origin are controlled either by the groundwater level in the basin or by the fluvial siliciclastic sediment input supplied from the highland. Lower Triassic deposits from the Germanic Basin are preserved mostly in endoreic basins. The central part of the basin is arid but the rivers are supplied with water by precipitation falling on the remnants of the Hercynian (Variscan)–Appalachian Mountains. Consequently, a detailed study of alluvial plain facies provides indications of local climatic conditions in the place of deposition, whereas fluvial systems only reflect climatic conditions of the upstream erosional catchments.     

北羌塘三叠系康鲁组沉积岩地球化学特征及其物源区和构造背景分析

沉积盆地中碎屑沉积岩的地球化学特征主要受物源区的制约。对北羌塘盆地三叠系康鲁组碎屑沉积岩进行全岩测试,分析表明,样品的成分变异指数(ICV)和化学蚀变指数(CIA)变化不大,反映其源区物质较新鲜,成熟度相对较低,化学风化作用较弱-中等。岩石SiO₂含量普遍较高,TFe₂O₃+MgO含量相对较高,但K₂O/Na₂O比值变化较大。微量元素标准化蛛网图与后太古代页岩和上地壳相似,且REE配分模式图显示富集LREE,δEu明显负异常以及δCe呈弱负异常。此外,Th/U、La/Sc、Th/Sc、Ba/Sr等微量元素比值以及TiO₂-Ni、La/Th-Hf、Co/Th-La/Sc和Th/Sc-La/Sc判别图表明沉积物物源具有浅源、长英质的特征。沉积岩的SiO₂-K₂O/Na₂O、La-Th、La/Y-Sc/Cr双变量图解和La-Th-Sc、Th-Sc-Zr/10、Th-Co-Zr/10三变量图解,以及Th/U、Rb/Sr等比值特征表明北羌塘三叠系康鲁组沉积砂岩的物源区构造背景以大陆岛弧为主,兼有大洋岛弧和被动大陆边缘构造背景特征。