First U-Pb and Sm-Nd isotopic data on granitoids from the Devonian volcanic belt of Kazakhstan

First U-Pb zircon isotopic dates were obtained for rocks from the Devonian volcanic belt in Kazakhstan. The granodiorites of the Zhabden Massif (Karamendinskii Complex) were dated at 391 ± 1 Ma. The Sm-Nd isotopic system of a whole-rock granodiorite sample (?_Nd = 2.5) suggests a high percentage of mantle material in the initial granite melt, which is in good agreement with known data on granitoids in neighboring territories in Kazakhstan. With regard for the isotopic dates obtained for the granodiorites, the material of their source was separated from the mantle at 946 Ma.     

Platinum group elements in Permo-Triassic volcanics in West Siberia (the first data)

The first data on PGE contents in the volcanic rocks of the West Siberian Plate are presented. Analysis has shown that most of the studied rocks have clarke contents of these elements. Rocks from the central areas of paleorift valleys are enriched in ΣPGE (2.0–32.0 ppb), particularly in Pt (0.1–24.2 ppb) and Pd (0.3–8.0 ppb), which might be related to the action of plume. The magmatic PGE pattern confirms the earlier conclusions about the mantle genesis of the studied rocks.     

New data on the structure of the Kas Block in the basement of the West Siberian Plate

A new concept concerning the structure and stages of evolution of the Kas Block of the West Siberian Plate is stated in this paper. The Kas Block is traditionally considered to be a subsided western margin of the Siberian Platform. The new concept is based on the results of the interpretation of the geophysical data recently obtained along the reference and regional profiles in this territory. The geological interpretation of the deep dynamic sections obtained by reprocessing of the CDP seismic reflection records has been performed for the first time. The structural features of the Kas Block, as well as the character of its junction with the Siberian Platform and the Paleozoic framework, are discussed. The tectonic scheme of the territory and the scheme of the pre-Late Devonian surface of the Kas Block have been compiled. The Baikalian age of the basement of the Kas Block is substantiated. The Salairian allochthonous ophiolite-basalt tectonic nappe is localized for the first time within the sedimentary cover of the Kas Block. The available information allowed us to reconstruct the development of the western margin of the Siberian continent in the Riphean and Early Paleozoic before and after the Baikalian Orogeny, respectively. The informational background of the geological and geophysical interpretation involves the results of the CDP seismic reflection profiling, including the deep dynamic seismic sections and parameters of the P-wave velocities along the reference 1-SB seismic line and the regional Vostok 10, 12, 15, and 16 seismic lines; the results of the deep seismic and magnetotelluric soundings; the gravity measurements; the magnetic exploration; and the new coherent physical geological models.     

Clustering of groundwater chemistry data with implications for reservoir appraisal in West Siberia

Division of sedimentary strata according to groundwater chemistry is discussed with implications for petroleum reservoir potential. It is suggested to process multiparametric water chemistry data from West Siberia using formalized clustering techniques. The efficiency of this approach has been tested for Neocomian clinoform reservoirs with reference to regional-scale appraisal and subregional petroleum division.     

Fold deformations of the paleozoic basement roof in the Chunkurchak Trough,Kyrgyz Ala-Too Range

A structural–geological study has been performed on the northern slope of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too Range. Deformations of the peneplaned Paleozoic basement surface, structures of granite disintegration, and morphostructural manifestation of Late Cenozoic tectonic movements have been investigated. Based on the location of pre-Paleocene peneplain remnants with the retained weathering mantle partly overlapped by Paleocene–Miocene sedimentary complexes, we have reconstructed the morphology of the folded surface of the Chunkurchak Trough separated from the Chu Basin at the early Miocene. The dome–fold forms, the morphology and arrangement of which are controlled by disintegration of the basement, have been described for the basement surface. It has been established that granites are broken by systems of steeply dipping, fanshaped, and gently dipping faults and fractures. Variously oriented insignificant offsets along slickensides, as well as displacements deduced from the geometry of fracture intersections, are a result of volumetric cataclastic flow of rocks. The tectonic mobility of disintegrated granites, which are abundant in the Paleozoic–Precambrian basement, explains the complexity and scale of tectonic processes initiated by Cenozoic activation. In paleotectonic reconstructions, which take into consideration tectonic flow and the redistribution of basement masses, the estimates of Cenozoic relative rapprochement of the Chu Basin and the Kyrgyz Ala-Too Range decrease substantially to 4–6 km.     

First findings of dinocysts in the upper Oligocene Turtas formation in Southern Tyumen oblast (West Siberia)

A new occurrence of dinocysts Pseudokomewuia in continental Cenosoic (Oligocene–Miocene) rocks of the West Siberian plain is identified. A complex of palynomorphs with dominant microphytoplankton (dinocysts) was found for the first time in the lacustrine-marsh sediments of the south of Tyumen oblast. The variable composition of the complex with Pseudokomewuia aff. laevigata He and Pseudokomewuia aff. granulata He species is traced upward through the section. The layers that correspond to the maximum abundance of Pseudokomewuia (akme) are distinguished and correlated with sections studied previously, which are located in the Barabinsk lithofacial region. Sediments with dinocysts are compared with sediments of the same age from North America, Northern Europe, and Southern China.     

Callovian foraminiferal assemblages in West Siberia

The paper presents data on Callovian foraminiferal assemblages from several wells in two localities of the West Siberian plain (Shaim oil and gas district, northwestern West Siberia, and Mykhpai field, central West Siberia). The assemblages are compared and studied in terms of space and time changes of their stratigraphy, which can make basis for a more detailed zonal subdivision as more data become available. The taxonomic compositions of the assemblages are summarized in tables for specific wells to highlight their geographic variations.     

Geochemistry of granitoids from the basement of the Kuril island arc system

This paper reports the characteristics of granitoids from the Pacific slope of the Kuril island arc system, which were discovered by the authors during geological and geophysical operations in three cruises of the R/V Akademik M. Lavrent’ev. The major and trace element compositions of these rocks were determined, their role in the formation of the submarine Vityaz Ridge was evaluated, and they were compared with granitoids from the Brouton group of submarine volcanoes and xenoliths from Simushir Island and the Sea of Okhotsk. Granitoids from various structures of the basement of the Kuril island arc system are hypabyssal rocks derived from andesite magmas. Their common features are related to the formation on the continental crust under convergent geodynamic conditions involving compression due to the movement and subduction of the Pacific plate beneath the Asian continent. The problem of the basement of the Kuril island arc system was discussed, the composition and age of its rocks were determined, and the history of the geologic development of the Pacific slope of the arc starting from the Late Mesozoic was briefly described.     

Density modeling of the basement of sedimentary sequences and prediction of oil-gas accumulation: Evidence from South SakhAlin and West Siberia

The zones of deconsolidation and consolidation in the lower parts of the sedimentary cover and in the basement are considered as an important exploration indicator of oil-gas accumulation zones. The described zones are mapped using geodensity modeling (in a gravity field) in the MZ-PZ basement and Cretaceous deposits of South Sakhalin, as well as in the pre-Jurassic basement and plate complex of the central part of West Siberia. It was found that the most promising zones are confined to the Central Sakhalin Fault and Krasnoleninsk arch in Sakhalin and to the Visim megaswell in the West Siberian plate. Recent prospecting drilling revealed that deconsolidation zones are correlated with hydrocarbon reservoirs. The presented technique of geodensity modeling can be applied for petroleum-geological explorations of structures formed in different geological and tectonic settings.     

Source rocks in sedimentary basins of continental margins in the early paleozoic

During the Paleozoic, epochs with the relatively cold climate alternated with epochs marked by significant warming. Moreover, cooling epochs were characterized by the substantial sea level fall, while warming was accompanied by its rapid rise. In many basins located at margins of Laurentia, Baltica, and the North China continental block, such an alternation is reflected in the structure of sedimentary sequences and the lateral/vertical distribution of reservoirs, confining beds, and source rocks. Despite the fact that sediments with high concentrations of sapropelic OM accumulated in different periods, their distribution areas on continents and their margins became highly reduced during cold epochs, when these sediments filled mostly rift troughs and foreland basins. After the colonization of land by higher plant communities in the Carboniferous and Permian sediments deposited during cold epochs, the humic material became an important constituent of OM in the source rock sequences.