Significance of interdune deposits and bounding surfaces in aeolian dune sands

Bounding surfaces and interdune deposits provide keys for detailed interpretations of the development, shape, type, wavelength and angle of climb of aeolian bedforms, as well as overall sand sea conditions. Current alternate interpretations of bounding surfaces require very different, but testable models for sand sea deposition. Two perpendicular traverses of Jurassic Entrada Sandstone, Utah, reveal relations among cross-strata, first-order bounding surfaces, and horizontal strata. These field relations seem explicable only as the deposits of downwind-migrating, climbing, enclosed interdune basins (horizontal strata) and dune bodies consisting of superimposed smaller crescentic dunes (cross-stratified deposits). A 1.7 km traverse parallel to the palaeowind direction provides a time-transgressive view showing continuous cosets of cross-strata, first-order bounding surfaces and interdune deposits climbing downwind at an angle of a few tenths of a degree. Changes occur in the angle of climb, cross-strata structure, and interdune deposits; these reflect changes in depositional conditions through time. A 1.5 km traverse perpendicular to the palaeowind direction provides a view at an instant in geological time showing first-order bounding surfaces and interdune deposits forming flat, laterally discontinuous lenticular bodies. The distribution of interdune sedimentary structures in this traverse is very similar to that of some modern interdune basins, such as those on Padre Island, Texas. Hierarchies of bounding surfaces in an aeolian deposit reflect the bedform development on an erg. The presence of three orders of bounding surfaces indicates dune bodies consisting of smaller, super-imposed dunes. The geometry of first-order bounding surfaces is a reflection of the shape of the inter-dune basins. Second-order bounding surfaces originate by the migration of the superimposed dunes over the larger dune body and reflect individual dune shape and type. Third-order bounding surfaces are reactivation surfaces showing stages in the advance of individual dunes. The presence of only two orders of bounding surfaces indicates simple dunes. Modern and Entrada interdune deposits show a wide variety of sediment types and structures reflecting deposition under wet, damp, and dry conditions. Interdune deposits are probably the best indicators of overall erg conditions and commonly show complex vertical sequences reflecting changes in specific depositional conditions.     

A classification of mineral systems,overviews of plate tectonic margins and examples of ore deposits associated with convergent margins

In this contribution I presents definitions of mineral systems, followed by a proposed classification of mineral deposits. The concept of mineral systems has been tackled by various authors within the framework of genetic models with the aim of improving the targeting of new deposits in green field areas. A mineral system has to be considered taking into account, by and large, space-time patterns or trends of mineralisation at the regional scale, their tectonic controls and related metallogenic belts. This leads to a suggested classification of mineral systems, together with a summary of previous ideas on what is, without doubt, a kind of “mine field”, because if a classification is based on genetic processes, these can be extremely complex due to the fact that ore genesis usually involves a number of interactive processes. The classification presented is based on magmatic, magmatic-hydrothermal, sedimentary-hydrothermal, non-magmatic, and mechanical-residual processes.An overview of plate tectonics (convergent and divergent margins) is discussed next. Convergent plate margins are characterised by a tectonic plate subducting beneath a lower density plate. Convergent plate margins have landward of a deep trench, a subduction–accretion complex, a magmatic arc and a foreland thrust belt. An important feature is the subduction angle: a steep angle of descent, is exemplified by the Mariana, or Tonga–Kermadec subduction systems, conducive to porphyry-high-sulphidation epithermal systems, whereas in an intra-arc rift systems with spreading centres is conducive to the generation of massive sulphide deposits of kuroko affinity. A shallower subduction zone is the domain of large porphyry Cu–Mo and epithermal deposits. The implications of this difference in terms of metallogenesis are extremely important. Continent–continent, arc–continent, arc–arc, amalgamation of drifting microcontinents, and oceanic collision events are considered to be a major factor in uplift, the inception of fold-and-thrust belts and high P metamorphism. Examples are the Alpine–Himalayan orogenic belt formed by the closure of the Tethys oceanic basins and the great Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), a giant accretionary collage of island arcs and continental fragments. The closing of oceanic basins, and the accretion of allochthonous terranes, result in the emplacement of ophiolites by the obduction process. Divergent plates include mid-ocean ridges, passive margins and various forms of continental rifting. At mid-ocean spreading centres, magma chambers are just below the spreading centre. Once the oceanic crust moves away from the ridge it is either consumed in a subduction zone, or it may be accreted to continental margins, or island arcs. Spreading centres also form in back arc marginal basins. Transform settings include transtensional with a component of tension due to oblique divergence, transform or strike–slip sensu stricto and transpressive with a component of compression due to oblique convergence. Strike–slip faults that form during extensional processes lead to the formation of pull-apart basins.Mineral systems that form at convergent margins, the topic of this special issue, are succinctly introduced in Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, Table 4, Table 5, Table 6, Table 7, as follows: principal geological features of selected mineral systems at convergent plate margins and back-arcs (Table 1); their recognition criteria (Table 2); principal geological features of selected ore deposits of back-arc basins and post-subduction rifting (Table 3) and of subduction-related magmatic arcs (Table 4), their respective recognition criteria (Table 5); accretionary and collisional tectonics and associated mineral systems (Table 6); principal geological features and associated mineral systems of transform faults (Table 7).     

Carbonate pond deposits related to semi-arid alluvial systems: examples from the Tertiary Madrid Basin, Spain

Carbonate pond deposits occur associated with alluvial sediments in Miocene sequences of the Madrid Basin, central Spain. The ponds developed near the basin margins, either in floodplain environments (north) or mud-flat settings (south). Three main facies assemblages are recognized: (1) floodplain/mud-flat, (2) palaeosols and (3) pond deposits. In the northern part of the basin, ponds developed on the floodplain of terminal fluvial systems. The floodplain facies are typically red mudstones with interbedded sandstones and siltstones. Palaeosols associated with the ponds show a pedofacies relationship, the maturity of soils increasing with distance from the main channel. Carbonate pond deposits consist mainly of limestones, which display typical ‘palustrine’features. The formation and further accumulation of carbonate in the ponds took place in periods of reduced clastic sediment input and it is suggested that recharge into the pond areas was mainly from groundwater. In the south, ponds developed on mud-flats located between sheet-flood-dominated alluvial fans and evaporite lakes. Mud-flat facies consist of red mudstone that exhibits evidence of progressive soil development near both edges and beneath the carbonate pond lenses. Carbonate in the ponds is mainly dolomite and comprises two subfacies, mottled and laminated dolomicrites. This mineralogy, together with the presence of gypsum crusts below and in the lower part of the carbonate body, suggests higher evaporation rates and/or more saline waters filling the ponds in this part of the basin. In spite of differences in depositional setting and, to some extent, climatic conditions between the two areas of the basin, both facies associations and the sequential arrangement of the ponds show strong similarities that allow the proposal of a facies model for carbonate pond deposits related to semi-arid alluvial systems. The sequences recognized from the pond deposits record a set of facies clearly different to those forming in swampy lakes associated with many permanent fluvial systems developed in more humid climates.     

青藏高原碰撞造山带Pb-Zn-Ag-Cu矿床新类型:成矿基本特征与构造控矿模型

地处青藏高原东、北缘的兰坪、玉树及沱沱河地区,广泛发育包括金顶超大型矿床在内的大量新生代Pb、Zn、Cu多金属矿床.这些矿床均产于该高原东缘晚碰撞构造转换环境,主体赋存于第三纪前陆盆地内部,以沉积岩容矿,与岩浆活动无关,受逆冲推覆构造系统控制,显著区别于世界已知的各类以沉积岩容矿的贱金属矿床.研究表明,伴随印度.亚洲大陆碰撞造山而产生一系列逆冲断裂系,将前陆盆地侧缘的中生代地层切割成叠置的构造岩片,并推覆叠置于盆地沉积地层之上,形成单冲式或对冲式逆冲推覆构造系统,并控制了Pb-Zn-Ag-C矿床的形成与发育.根据逆冲推覆构造控矿式样和矿化特征,可以识别出4种矿床式:①产于逆冲推覆构造系统前锋带"构造穹隆 岩性圈闭"内的金顶式Zn-Pb矿床;②受控于前锋带冲起构造的河西.三山式Pb-Zn-Ag-Cu矿床;③产于主逆冲断裂带派生的次级断层或平移断层内的富隆厂式Ag-Cu或Cu矿床;④产于主逆冲断裂上盘灰岩层间破碎带内的东莫扎抓式Pb-Zn矿床.这些矿床的矿体多受不同级次的断裂控制,多孔砂岩、白云岩化灰岩及构造破碎带是有利矿化部位.多数矿体显示开放空间充填成矿特点,少数显示层控性,属后生成矿.金属矿物组合主要为低Fe闪锌矿 方铅矿 黄铁矿组合及低温Cu硫化物(黝铜矿系列为主) Ag硫化物(辉银矿、黝银矿、汞银矿) 方铅矿±闪锌矿组合,脉石矿物组合主要为方解石±重晶石±萤石±白云石±天青石,局部见沥青.成矿流体以盐水体系为主,盐度w(NaCleq)变化于1%～28.0%之间,成矿温度较低,通常在80～190 ℃,显示盆地卤水±大气降水的特点.逆冲推覆构造系统对矿床的控制主要体现在:其深部拆离滑脱带可能是流体流长距离侧向迁移的优选通道,主逆冲断裂是成矿流体垂向运移和向上排泄的主要途径,浅部各类样式的逆冲构造是流体汇聚的主要场所.成矿物质以盆地沉积岩贡献为主,部分可能来自幔源岩石.矿床金属组合可能与成矿流体迁移-汇聚过程中流经岩石的性质有关:矿区发育灰岩建造时,出现Zn-Pb(Zn多于Pb)矿化;若发育碎屑岩建造,尤其是红层,则出现Cu-Ag(-Pb)矿化.因此,笔者将这种逆冲推覆构造控制的新类型矿床称之为造山型Pb-Zn-Ag-Cu矿床,其成矿模式可表述为:伴随着印度-亚洲大陆持续碰撞,青藏高原东、北缘中生代构造岩片向盆地中央推覆并置,形成单冲式或对冲式逆冲推覆构造系统,流体从造山带沿拆离滑脱带长距离向前陆盆地方向运移,运移过程中淋滤围岩的金属物质,通过主逆冲断裂垂向沟通,进入浅部各式逆冲构造部位从而形成不同样式的矿床.经综合分析,提出了青藏高原东、北缘受逆冲推覆构造控制的贱金属矿床的勘查要素.     

Advances in our understanding of the gem corundum deposits of the West Pacific continental margins intraplate basaltic fields

Recent discoveries over the last decade of new gemfields, exploitation of new and existing deposits, and application of relatively new techniques have greatly increased our knowledge of the basalt-derived gem sapphire–ruby–zircon deposits. In this paper we focus on the Late Mesozoic to Cenozoic intraplate basaltic fields of the West Pacific continental margins. We review advances made in understanding the genesis of these deposits, based on the application of newer techniques. We also critically review existing data on the gem corundum deposits, in order to further refine a model for their origin.In some of the intraplate basaltic fields, corundum-bearing xenoliths have been found showing a range of PT formation conditions from 790 °C at 0.85 GPa to as much as 1100 to 1200 °C at 1.0 to 2.5 GPa. Although most magmatic sapphires contain syngenetic inclusions of columbite-group phases, zircon, spinel and rutile, some contain additional nepheline and K-feldspar, suggesting crystallization from more undersaturated alkaline magma while the Weldborough field of NE Tasmania also contains molybdenite and beryl, suggesting at least some interaction with more fractionated ‘granitic-type’ magmas. There is a large range in PT conditions calculated for the metamorphic rubies (from 780 to 940 °C, through 800 to 1150 °C up to 1000 to 1300 °C). Fluid/melt inclusion studies on magmatic corundums generally suggest that they formed in a CO₂-rich environment from a ‘syenitic’ melt under a range of T conditions from 720 to 880 °C up to 1000 to 1200 °C. Oxygen isotope studies reveal that typical magmatic corundums have values of + 4.4 to 6.9‰, whereas metamorphic corundums from the same basaltic host have lower values of + 1.3 to 4.2‰.Geochronological studies have shown that some fields produced a simple eruptive and zircon/corundum crystallization event while others had multiple eruptive events but only one or two zircon crystallization events. For a few fields, some corundums/zircons crystallized in storage regions and then remained relatively inert for periods of 200 to 400 Ma without significant change before transport to the surface in the Cenozoic. Tectonic studies of the Australian region suggest that many of the corundums crystallized from magmas related to episodic basaltic volcanism in a tectonic regime of extension, associated with the opening of the Tasman and Coral Seas. For the Asian region, the magmatic–polygenetic corundums within the basaltic fields largely crystallized in a tectonic regime of distributed E–W extension, whereas the metamorphic-metasomatic corundums crystallised in a transpressional regime associated with the collision of the Indian Plate with the Eurasian Plate (e.g., [Garnier, V., Giuliani, G., Maluski, H., Ohnenstetter, D., Deloule, E., 2003. Ar–Ar and U–Pb ages of marble-hosted ruby deposits from Central and South-east Asia. Geophysical Research Abstracts 5, 03751; Garnier, V., Giuliani, G., Ohnenstetter, D., and Schwarz, D., 2004. Les gisements de corindon: classification et genese. Les placers a corindon gemme. Le Regne Mineral 55, 7-47; Garnier, V., Ohnenstetter, D., Giuliani, G., Maluski, H., Deloule, E., Phan Trong, T., Pham Van, L., Hoang Quang, V., 2005a. Age and significance of ruby-bearing marble from the Red River Shear Zone, Northern Vietnam. Canadian Mineralogist 43, 1315–1329]).     

A New typification scheme of postsedimentation transformations of terrigenous deposits of continents and their margins with allowance for geodynamic factors

Previous studies of postsedimentation and deep rock transformations (the diagenetic, catagenetic, and anchimetamorphic stages) by the author and other Russian lithologists are revised by evaluating the different types of zoning of authigenic mineral formation within terrigenous complexes of different ages in definite structural-tectonic units of continents and their margins. It was emphasized that an intrarock aqueous fluid phase played a dual role in authigenic mineral formation: (1) it served as a medium for internal redistribution of sedimentogenic components or (2) as a carrier of external material. Indicator features of its own newly formed (A ₁) and allogenic (A ₂) authigenic minerals are given. It was shown that the background subsidence lithogenesis (SL) of the sedimentary sequence provides the formation of A ₁ varieties in the sequence, whereas the prevalence of A ₂ marks the superimposed or secondary alterations (SAs) of sedimentary rock. A combination of SL and SA features is demonstrated for different structures: syneclises and anteclises of cratons, rifts, fore troughs, orogens, and others. The SL and SA formation is determined by definite numerous exogenic and endogenic factors, which are often obliterated but integrated by geodynamic settings and geological evolution of sedimentary complexes. According to this conclusion, a new typification scheme of post-sedimentation transformations was proposed on the paleogeodynamic basis.     

扬子板块周缘MVT型铅锌矿床闪锌矿微量元素组成特征与指示意义:LA-ICPMS研究

扬子板块周缘铅锌多金属成矿带内分布着数以百计的沉积岩容矿型铅锌矿床,它们不仅是我国主要的铅锌矿产地,同时也是重要的稀散元素(Ge、Ga等)生产基地。本次研究采用LA-ICPMS技术分别测定了扬子板块西南缘的会泽铅锌矿床、金沙厂铅锌矿床、大梁子铅锌矿床,扬子板块北缘的马元铅锌矿床以及扬子板块东南缘的凤凰茶田锌(铅)汞矿床中闪锌矿的微量元素组成,以揭示闪锌矿中微量元素(稀散元素)的富集规律和赋存状态,并为矿床成因类型的厘定及稀散元素矿产资源综合利用提供更多依据。LA-ICPMS微量元素测定结果显示闪锌矿中不同微量元素(稀散元素)分布不均匀,但这些矿床中闪锌矿总体以富集稀散元素Ge、Ga、Cd,贫In、Se、Tl、Te为特征,其Fe、Mn含量要明显低于与岩浆热液有关的高温闪锌矿,指示了扬子板块周缘铅锌矿床可能形成于中-低温成矿流体,而与岩浆热液无直接的成因联系,此外这些矿床中闪锌矿富Ge贫In的特征与其他的密西西比河谷型铅锌矿床(MVT)一致。同时,本次研究综合分析了闪锌矿中不同微量元素(稀散元素)之间的相关关系,并与闪锌矿微量元素LA-ICPMS时间分辨率特征相结合,研究表明:这些铅锌矿床中稀散元素Ge可能主要通过3Zn2+?Ge4++2(Cu+,Ag+)和2Zn2+?Ge4++□(晶体空位)的替代方式进入闪锌矿,Ga在闪锌矿中富集机理主要为2Zn2+?(Cu,Ag)++(Ga,As,Sb)3+。此外,为进一步揭示不同成因类型铅锌矿床中稀散元素的富集规律,本文还系统对比了全球范围内不同类型铅锌矿床闪锌矿的稀散元素(均为LA-ICPMS数据)组成特征,并初步探讨了造成不同成因闪锌矿中稀散元素(Ge、Ga和In)差异性富集的主要控制因素,研究表明:(1) Ge在中低温盆地卤水成矿系统(MVT和SEDEX矿床)和岩浆-火山热液成矿系统(浅成脉状铅锌矿床和VMS矿床)形成的闪锌矿中均可能富集成矿,但中低温浅成脉状矿床中Ge的富集程度要明显高于高温脉状矿床,指示了成矿温度是控制闪锌矿中Ge富集的一个重要因素。(2)铅锌矿床闪锌矿中In主要为岩浆来源,In倾向于在成矿温度较高的岩浆及火山热液成因铅锌矿床中富集成矿,而壳源的MVT和SEDEX型铅锌矿床中闪锌矿均贫In。可见除形成温度外,成矿物质来源是决定闪锌矿是否富In的关键因素。(3)除矽卡岩型铅锌矿床外,其他不同成因类型、不同形成温度的铅锌矿床中闪锌矿均可能富Ga。矽卡岩型铅锌矿床闪锌矿具有明显的贫Ga、Ge的特征,这可能是由于矽卡岩化过程中稀散元素Ga、Ge大量进入早期矽卡岩矿物,进而导致了成矿流体以及随后形成的闪锌矿中Ga、Ge的贫化。综上所述,闪锌矿中稀散元素富集与否和富集程度受成矿物质来源、成矿流体性质以及流体演化过程等多因素的综合控制。(4)扬子板块周缘铅锌矿床闪锌矿的微量元素(稀散元素)组成特征指示了它们形成于中低温成矿环境,稀散元素的富集规律与其它MVT型铅锌矿床类似。     

扬子地块西北缘及西南缘卡林型金矿的有机质地质地球化学

扬子地块西北缘，西南缘卡林型金矿床的有机碳含量为０．０５％－８．７３％。含金建造形成的环境不同，其改造成的金矿床的有机碳含量不同；矿化主岩的岩性不同，基有机碳的含量不同。由浊积岩型含金建筑改造成的卡林型金矿床，其干酪根属Ⅱ型酪根，原始有机母质属还原环境沉积的海相菌藻类生物演化成的腐泥型有机质。     

地块角区及边缘带有利成矿的板壳力学解释

“三角形地域及隆起边缘带有利成矿”反映了已知矿床集中区与大地构造单元特定部位间的联系。采用考虑横向剪切的Reissner平板理论和李国豪解斜板问题的弯曲应力解析算法，计算结果表明，在斜板角区及边缘带出现明显的弯曲应力集中。这种模拟与现象间的一致性，说明板壳力学对于研究区域构造及其与矿床分布间关系的适用性。叙述了斜板弯曲应力分布的一般形式及其在河南西部找矿预测中的应用。     

华北克拉通南北缘三叠纪钼矿化类型、特征及地球动力学背景

华北克拉通南北缘是中国最重要的钼成矿带,特别是近年来在南北缘陆续发现了大量的钼矿床,显示了巨大的钼资源前景。其中三叠纪钼矿床的不断发现引人注目。在华北克拉通北缘及邻区三叠纪钼矿床在空间上总体呈EW向展布,矿床产出受区域东西向断裂控制,钼矿床的形成与三叠纪酸性侵入体关系密切,多产于花岗岩体中、斑岩体内外接触带或附近,矿床类型包括斑岩型和石英脉型。在华北克拉通南缘及邻区,三叠纪钼矿床总体上呈NW向展布,受区域NW向断裂控制,钼矿床的形成与晚三叠世酸性侵入体及碳酸盐脉有关,矿床产于斑岩体内及附近,矿床类型包括斑岩型、石英脉型及碳酸盐脉型。成矿年代学研究表明,华北克拉通北缘及邻区三叠纪钼矿主要形成于248~220Ma,而南缘及邻区三叠纪钼矿床主要形成于226~210Ma。其对应的成矿动力学背景为印支期华北板块与西伯利亚板块同碰撞造山过程和扬子板块与华北板块同碰撞造山过程。     

Petroliferous basins at continental margins of Paleozoic paleoseas: Communication 1. Petroliferous basins at margins of Iapetus and Panthalassa

Although large marine basins governing the fabric of our planet in the Paleozoic disappeared later (whether or not they were oceans is a debatable issue), sedimentary basins formed at continental margins at that time played a crucial role as depositories of various fossil minerals, including ores, salts, phosphorites, coal, bauxites, and construction materials. Many of these basins are oil- and gas-bearing structures. Their oldest representatives are confined to margins of Proterozoic/Paleozoic paleoseas (Iapetus and Panthalassa), whereas other basins appeared after opening of the Central Asian, Uralian, and Rheic (Paleotethys) deep-marine basins. Study of specific features of the sedimentary cover of such basins, rock composition therein, rocks and associated oil- and gas-bearing systems revealed that the Paleozoic planet was divided into two parts: Gondwana, with the major portion confined to high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere; and other smaller near-equatorial continents. This pattern significantly governed the composition and mode of post-sedimentary transformations of natural reservoirs, as well as age and spatial distribution of the major hydrocarbon (HC) source sequences. Most Paleozoic oil- and gas-bearing basins make up specific belts because of their confinement to continental margins in paleoseas of that time.     

Continental margins: Global belts of oil and gas accumulation

Most of recent oil- and gas-bearing basins are incorporated in the group of five belts of oil-and-gas accumulation. They are confined to continent/ocean transition zones, which existed in the Cenozoic. Three belts (Tethyan, Gondwanan, and Laurasian) are latitudinal structures that include continental margins in the Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic oceans. The other two belts are elongated in the N-S direction and located in the western and eastern peripheral parts of the Pacific Ocean. Taken together, they unite basins with 75 to 80% of oil reserves discovered to date in our planet.     

Accretion of oceanic plateaus at continental margins: Numerical modeling

The accretion of oceanic plateaus has played a significant role in continental growth during Earth's history, which is evidenced by the presence of oceanic island basalts (OIB) and plume-type ophiolites in many modern orogens. However, oceanic plateaus can also be subducted into the deeper mantle, as revealed by seismic tomography. The controlling factors of accretion versus subduction of oceanic plateaus remain unclear. Here, we investigate the dynamics of oceanic plateau accretion at active continental margins using a thermo-mechanical numerical model. Three major factors for the accretion of oceanic plateaus are studied: (1) a thinned continental margin of the overriding plate, (2) “weak” layers in the oceanic lithosphere, and (3) a young oceanic plateau. For a large oceanic plateau, the modes of oceanic plateau accretion can be classified into one-sided and two-sided subduction–collisional regimes, which mainly depend on the geometry of the continental margin (normal or thinned). For smaller-sized seamounts, accretion occurs only if all three factors are satisfied, of which a thinned continental margin is the most critical. Possible geological analogues for the two-sided subduction–collisional mode include the Taiwan orogenic belt and subduction of the Ontong Java Plateau. The accretion model for small oceanic plateaus applies to the Nadanhada Terrane in Northeast China.     

Structural geometry of orogenic gold deposits: Implications for exploration of world-class and giant deposits

With very few exceptions, orogenic gold deposits formed in subduction-related tectonic settings in accretionary to collisional orogenic belts from Archean to Tertiary times. Their genesis, including metal and fluid source, fluid pathways, depositional mechanisms, and timing relative to regional structural and metamorphic events, continues to be controversial. However, there is now general agreement that these deposits formed from metamorphic fluids, either from metamorphism of intra-basinal rock sequences or de-volatilization of a subducted sediment wedge, during a change from a compressional to transpressional, less commonly transtensional, stress regime, prior to orogenic collapse. In the case of Archean and Paleoproterozoic deposits, the formation of orogenic gold deposits was one of the last events prior to cratonization. The late timing of orogenic gold deposits within the structural evolution of the host orogen implies that any earlier structures may be mineralized and that the current structural geometry of the gold deposits is equivalent to that at the time of their formation provided that there has been no significant post-gold orogenic overprint. Within the host volcano-sedimentary sequences at the province scale, world-class orogenic gold deposits are most commonly located in second-order structures adjacent to crustal scale faults and shear zones, representing the first-order ore-forming fluid pathways, and whose deep lithospheric connection is marked by lamprophyre intrusions which, however, have no direct genetic association with gold deposition. More specifically, the gold deposits are located adjacent to ～10°-25° district-scale jogs in these crustal-scale faults. These jogs are commonly the site of arrays of ～70° cross faults that accommodate the bending of the more rigid components, for example volcanic rocks and intrusive sills, of the host belts. Rotation of blocks between these accommodation faults causes failure of more competent units and/or reactivation and dilation of pre-existing structures, leading to deposit-scale focussing of ore-fluid and gold deposition.Anticlinal or antiformal fold hinges, particularly those of 'locked-up' folds with ～30° apical angles and overturned back limbs, represent sites of brittle-ductile rock failure and provide one of the more robust parameters for location of orogenic gold deposits.In orogenic belts with abundant pre-gold granitic intrusions, particularly Precambrian granitegreenstone terranes, the boundaries between the rigid granitic bodies and more ductile greenstone sequences are commonly sites of heterogeneous stress and inhomogeneous strain. Thus, contacts between granitic intrusions and volcano-sedimentary sequences are common sites of ore-fluid infiltration and gold deposition. For orogenic gold deposits at deeper crustal levels, ore-forming fluids are commonly focused along strain gradients between more compressional zones where volcano-sedimentary sequences are thinned and relatively more extensional zones where they are thickened. World-class orogenic gold deposits are commonly located in the deformed volcano-sedimentary sequences in such strain gradients adjacent to triple-point junctions defined by the granitic intrusions, or along the zones of assembly of micro-blocks on a regional scale. These repetitive province to district-scale geometrical patterns of structures within the orogenic belts are clearly critical parameters in geology-based exploration targeting for orogenic gold deposits.     

Continental margins: Global belts of oil-and-gas accumulation,Laurasian belt

Most recent oil-and-gas-bearing (petroliferous) basins are members of one of the five oil-and-gas accumulation belts confined to the Mesozoic and Cenozoic continent/ocean transition zones. The Laurasian belt includes continental margins in the northern Atlantic and Arctic oceans that accommodate several large petroliferous basins.     

Lithospheric growth at margins of cratons

Deep seismic reflection profiles collected across Proterozoic–Archean margins are now sufficiently numerous to formulate a consistent hypothesis of how continental nuclei grow laterally to form cratonic shields. This picture is made possible both because the length of these regional profiles spans all the tectonic elements of an orogen on a particular cratonic margin and because of their great depth range. Key transects studied include the LITHOPROBE SNORCLE 1 transect and the BABEL survey, crossing the Slave and Baltic craton margins, respectively. In most cases, the older (Archean) block appears to form a wedge of uppermost mantle rock embedded into the more juvenile (Proterozoic) block by as much as 100–200 km at uppermost mantle depths and Archean lithosphere is therefore more laterally extensive at depth than at the surface. Particularly bright reflections along the Moho are cited as evidence of shear strain within a weak, low-viscosity lower crustal channel that lies along the irregular top of the indenting wedge. The bottom of the wedge is an underthrust/subduction zone, and associated late reversal in subduction polarity beneath the craton margin emerges as a common characteristic of these margins although related arc magmatism may be minor.