New data on mantle seismicity of the Caspian region and their geological interpretation

The results of detailed seismological observations with bottom recording systems carried out in 2004 and 2006 near the Dagestan coast of the Middle Caspian are considered. The records of more than 550 micro- and weak earthquakes with M_L = 0.1–4.7 (M_LH = ?0.7 to 4.3) were obtained during 165 days of recording; a fifth of these earthquakes occurred in the upper mantle at a depth of 50–200 km. Over the entire period of instrumental recording since the 1930s, only 10 mantle earthquakes with M_LH = 3.5?6.3 have been recorded by on-land systems. The highest density of earthquake epicenters with source depths down to 50 km is established on the Middle Caspian coast between Derbent and Izberbash and in the adjacent water area. The mantle earthquakes with hypocenters at a depth of 60–80 km cluster beneath the western wall of the Derbent Basin, whereas deeper hypocenters are located beneath both the wall of this basin and the Middle Caspian coast. The sporadic mantle earthquakes recorded in 2004 (about 30 shocks), determined by a network of systems with a small aperture, depicted a zone plunging beneath the Greater Caucasus with indications of a peculiar “subduction” of the Scythian Plate beneath the Caucasus. Subsequent observations based on a more extensive network were carried out in 2006. They substantially changed the pattern of mantle earthquake hypocenters. According to this evidence, the sources of mantle earthquakes make up a dispersed cloud extended in the vertical direction beneath the Middle Caspian coast and water area, which may be regarded as a relic of tectonic activity of a bygone tectonic epoch. A comprehensive tectonic interpretation of the detected seismological phenomenon is given.     

Shallow-focus seismicity and tectonic structure of the Sea of Japan

The analysis of the available seismological data on the Sea of Japan region made it possible to prepare the first complete unified catalog of earthquakes with M ? 3.0 and h ? 60 km for the period of 1975–2010. Four maps of epicenters for different depth intervals (0–10, 11–20, 21–30, and 31–60 km) and three sublatitudinal sections 1° wide are constructed. The analysis includes the structural features and the probable tectonic nature of the seismoactive zone along the underwater margin or borderland of the Japan-Sakhalin island arc: the regional or, more exactly, megaduplex of compression faults determined by the crust sliding in the back part of the frontal deep-seated thrust. The crustal seismicity in the southeastern margin of the Korean Peninsula (the Sino-Korean Shield) is likely related to the Tsushima and Ullyndo faults. It is assumed that it may provoke block, potentially thsunamigenic landslides in the southern and eastern cirques of the Ullyndo Basin incised into the underwater delta of the Huanghe River.     

塔里木盆地地震剖面地质解释及其构造演化

从地震剖面显示塔里木盆地发育为手风琴式演化史,大体上形成三层"断-坳"结构:(l)震旦系的"断",古生界—三叠系的"坳";(2)侏罗系的"断",白垩系的"坳";(3)古近系的"断",新近系的"坳"。断陷与坳陷分别由拉张与挤压应力场所致,这种应力场的变化是由相邻洋壳板块俯冲倾角由小到大的变化所引起的。由于地壳的多旋回运动,多次发生构造沉积演变,构成了多套生储盖组合,多领域、多种圈闭类型的油气藏,从震旦系—古生界—中生界—新生界,各断陷-坳陷结构的盆地都具有可能形成油气藏的地质条件。     

煤田构造演化新解—从成煤盆地到赋煤构造单元

中国成煤盆地类型多样、后期改造强烈,绝大多数成煤盆地已遭受破坏解体,煤系现今分布范围与原型盆地相去甚远。针对中国煤田构造的上述特点,以成煤盆地研究为基础,建立了成煤盆地原型综合分类方案,划分了我国主要成煤期的成煤盆地类型。采用赋煤构造单元的概念表征现今煤系赋存特点,认为煤田构造格局的形成和演化就是成煤盆地原型经历不同程度改造,形成现今各类赋煤单元的过程。晚古生代以来,中国大陆经历了海西、印支、燕山和喜马拉雅四大构造旋回,多期性质、方向、强度不同的构造运动,使各成煤期形成的不同类型的成煤盆地遭受不同程度的改造,原型盆地分解破坏、叠合反转,煤系发生变形、变位、变质作用,形成不同级别和不同构造属性的赋煤构造单元,由此决定了煤炭资源的现今赋存状态。     

渤海湾新生代盆地的两种构造系统及其成因解释

渤海湾古近纪盆地可以划分为3个裂陷带和1个裂陷区，都分布在上地幔隆起部位。盆地构造变形可以分为伸展构造和走滑构造两个相对独立、相互关联的新生代构造系统。伸展卡句造由不同尺度的伸展断层和与伸展断层垂直或斜交的变换断层构成连锁断层系统，在盆地区具有分散的透人性特点，并控制着古近纪断陷的分布和演化。在伸展构造变形基础上叠加了3条北北东向—北东向右旋走滑断裂(带)，后者及其伴生构造组成盆地中的呈带状展布的新生代走滑构造系统。伸展构造是一种“水平层状的”薄皮构造。正断层向深部收敛或终止于中地壳内的拆离断层面上。走滑构造是一种“垂直带状的”厚皮构造。浅层的走滑断层以多种方式并入到深断裂带中。这两种构造系统是盆地区新生代时期主动裂陷和被动裂陷两种作用机制的具体表现。     

塔里木盆地古董山地区早二叠世古地磁特征 及其地质意义

通过对塔里木盆地内古董山地区早二叠世玄武岩的古地磁测定,揭示了1组高温特征剩磁分量。实验结果表明,其特征剩磁方向为：Dg=213.7°, Ig=26.9°,κg=19.7, N=9,α95=13.7°; Ds=217.7°, Is=-37.5°, κs=15.4,α95=13.6°,相对应的古地磁极位置为：53.2°N、 187.5°E,A95=12.3°,古纬度为21.0°N。由于采样剖面所获得的早二叠世古地磁结果全部为反极性特征,认为这一高温特征剩磁分量很可能代表了研究区早二叠世时期的原生特征剩磁。对比塔里木地块西北缘早二叠世的古地磁结果,认为研究地区与塔里木地块西北缘之间在古地磁误差范围内并未发生明显的相对构造运动。依据塔里木早二叠世古地磁极与哈萨克斯坦地块同时期古地磁极的一致性,结合二者的古生物资料,提出早二叠世时期塔里木地块可能已经与哈萨克斯坦地块碰撞相连,至晚二叠世,二者之间的海水完全退出,碰撞造山使得天山雏形基本形成。结合前人古地磁研究成果,对塔里木地块及周边主要块体早二叠世的古地理进行了重建。     

Plate tectonic interpretation of deep earthquakes between the Tonga-Lau and New Hebrides subduction zones

The existence of deep earthquakes between the Tonga and New Hebrides island arcs is explained as a result of activation of two buried remnants of paleosubduction zones beneath the Fiji Plateau. The activation is produced by deep collisions of lithospheric plates, with the active Tonga subduction as primary cause. The paleosubduction zones are tentatively coordinated with the extinct Pacific-Phoenix and Tasman Sea spreading centres.