Structure and Evolution of the Belomorian–Severodvinsk Shear Zone in the Late Proterozoic and Phanerozoic,East European Platform

Geotectonics - The tectonics, morphological features, and development stages of the Belomorian‒Severodvinsk shear zone (northwestern part) found in the East European Platform are considered....     

Structural–Kinematic Parageneses and Dynamic Evolution Model of the Baltic–Mezen Shear Zone in the Phanerozoic,the Northwestern Part of the East European Platform

Geotectonics - The tectonic features of the Baltic–Mezen shear zone that developed along the border of the Fennoscandian Shield and the Russian Plate in the north of the East European...     

First results of U–Pb dating of detrital zircons from the Ordovician clastic sequences of the Sol-Iletsk Block,East European Platform

The first LA–ICP–MS U–Pb isotopic ages of detrital zircons from the Ordovician sandstones of the Sol–Iletsk Block (well 2–Ordovician), located at junction of the East European Platform with the Pre-Caspian Basin and the Pre-Uralian foredeep, are presented. Two detrital zircons with well-defined ages of 561 ± 4 and 570 ± 5 Ma were found in sample K15–501. They confirm the Ordovician age of the sandstones, which earlier had been defined on the basis of seismic–stratigraphic and lithological correlations. The age distribution of the detrital zircons indicates the significant role of Late Precambrian rocks as provenance sources. However, those rocks still remain unknown in the Early Precambrian basement of the Volga–Ural part of the EEP.     

Rare earth elements and Rb–Sr and Sm–Nd systematics in the peat bog iron ore and moss of the NW East European Platform

Spectra of the REE distribution in the Quaternary–Recent peat bog ore of southern Karelia and Leningrad region are characterized by La_N/Yb_N < 1.0, presence of positive Eu and negative Ce anomalies, and higher Y enrichment (relative to Ho and Dy) because of the REE sorption by Fe-bearing minerals in acid boggy waters. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio is 0.7175 in iron oxyhydroxides of the Somino deposit (Leningrad region) and 0.7283 in the Polovinkino ore (southern Karelia). The ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratio in them is 0.511844 and 0.511617, respectively.     

Tectonic map of the Vendian–Lower Paleozoic structural stage of the Lena–Tunguska petroleum province,Siberian Platform

A new version of the tectonic map for the Vendian–Lower Paleozoic structural stage of the Lena–Tunguska petroleum province is presented. The map is based on the electronic structure map at a scale of 1:1,000,000, which was the first to be compiled for the uppermost Vendian within the study area. However, no tectonic zonation was made for the deep-buried Meso-Cenozoic Yenisei–Khatanga and Vilyui depressions. The principles and methodology of mapping are given. The study presents spatial, morphological, and quantitative characteristics of the major and large structures.     

Organic geochemistry and petroleum potential of Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits of the Yenisei–Khatanga regional trough

We present results of geochemical studies of organic matter of the Jurassic–Cretaceous deposits in the west of the Yenisei–Khatanga regional trough. The studies were carried out on a representative set of well cores by a complex of modern organic-geochemistry methods (determination of organic-carbon content in rocks, pyrolysis, estimation of the carbon isotope composition in the kerogen of rocks, extraction, liquid and gas–liquid chromatography, and chromato-mass spectrometry). Based on the distribution of biomarkers in the studied bitumens and pyrolysis of rocks, two groups of the samples were recognized: with terrigenous (type III) and marine (type II) organic matter. The terrigenous bitumens are characterized by a low hydrogen index (HI) and a predominance of hydrocarbons C₂₉ among steranes and C₁₉ and C₂₀ among tricyclanes. The marine bitumens, revealed in stratigraphic analogs of the Bazhenovo Formation and in the Malyshevka, Nizhnyaya Kheta, and Shuratovka Formations, show an even distribution of sterane homologues and a predominance of medium-molecular tricyclanes. The Pr/Ph and C₃₅/C₃₄ ratios and the presence of diahopanes testify to the burial of organic matter in suboxidizing sea coast environments. In the Yanov Stan (J₃–K₁), Gol’chikha (J₂–K₁), and, to a lesser extent, Malyshevka (J₂), Nizhnyaya Kheta, and Shuratovka (K₁) Formations, we have recognized widespread stratigraphic levels with marine organic matter of rocks. Its contents and degree of maturity permit these rocks to be considered oil-generating.     

Accretionary Tectonics in the Neoproterozoic History of the Larsemann Hills and Adjacent Areas, East Antarctica

ForaPrecambriancratoncomposedofcompositeterranes,orblocks,andbelts,whichexperiencedcomplexpolyphasedeformationandmetamorphism,thefinaltectonothermaleventismoresignificantthantheearlieronesinthelightofplatetectonics,becausethefinaltectonothermaleventresultedfromamalga-mationofthecraton.Although,generally,aworkinghypothesisofpolyphasedeformationandmetamorphismiswidelyappliedtoahigh-gradeterrane,dis-cernmentofitsfinaltectonothermalepisodeisvitaltounderstandingitsgeologicalhistory.Inrecentyears,an…     

Features of the Structure and Development of the Southeastern Part of the East European Platform and the Caspian Basin in the Late Precambrian‒Early Paleozoic

Geotectonics - The geological and sedimentological interpretation of several time and deep seismic profiles within junction zone of the Volga‒Ural area of the East European Platform,...     

Podolian,Saxonian and baltic plates – Teisseyre–Tornquist Line and the edge of the East European Craton

In the area of the Central Europe three large continental scale tectonic units meet together, namely Precambrian East European Craton (EEC) to the northeast, Variscan West European Platform (WEP) terranes to the southwest, and younger Alpine Carpathian arc in the south. The reference structure of the Central Europe is a sharp edge of the East European Craton. In the area of Poland the south-western margin of the EEC is marked as Teisseyre–Tornquist Zone (TTZ), which continues to the north as Sorgenfrei–Tornquist Zone (STZ). Teisseyre–Tornquist Zone (TTZ) — earlier Teisseyre Line, Tornquist Line or Teisseyre–Tornquist Line (TTL), is a term created in commemoration of Polish geologist Wawrzyniec Teisseyre and German geologist and paleontologist Alexander Tornquist. At the turn of XIX and XX century, they noticed a fundamental difference in the geology of platform cover between the rigid East European Platform and its more mobile southwestern forefield (Teisseyre, 1893, 1903; Tornquist, 1908, 1910). From the very beginning the TTL was conceived as a linear feature (fault or fault zone) marking the southwestern boundary of the EEC. Contrarily, the Trans–European Suture Zone (TESZ) is a term coined by Asger Berthelsen for an assemblage of suspect terranes boarded by the East European Craton and the Variscan orogeny. It is not a linear structure, but a terrane accretion zone, 100–200 km wide. Both terms, TTL and TESZ, should not be mistaken, as is the case on many maps concerning the problem (Dadlez et al., 2005). The edge of the craton is a major lithospheric structure, which appears to be a deep-seated boundary reaching at least down to a depth of about 200 km as shown by tomographic analysis of shear wave velocity structure of the mantle under Europe. Another indication of the deep-seated nature of this zone was obtained from observations of earthquakes and explosions located in Europe. To explain the observed blockage of energy from regional seismic events by TTZ, the structural anomaly between eastern and western Europe must reach at least down to a depth of about 200 km. Continental scale tectonic units of the Central Europe are clearly visible in the crustal structure, Moho depth map, and also gravity, magnetic and heat flow maps.     

The Neoproterozoic–Phanerozoic section of the Anabar–Lena province: structural framework,geological model,and petroleum potential

Much work at A.A. Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics (Novosibirsk) has been done to synthesize geological and geophysical data from the Siberian Arctic and Arctic shelf. Namely, seismic-geological modeling and petroleum potential assessment have been performed for the Neoproterozoic–Phanerozoic section of the Anabar–Lena province in the northern Sakha Republic (Yakutia). The results include seismic-geological division, a set of structural maps, and structural, paleotectonic, and facies analysis. The study shows that Riphean, Vendian, Cambrian, and Permian sequences are of interest in terms of petroleum potential; oil and gas may accumulate in traps of different types.     

Tectonics of the Southern Ocean Passive Margins in the Africa–East Antarctica Region

Geotectonics - Based on geological and geophysical data for the conjugate Africa–East Antarctica margins, the peculiarities of preparation of the breakup of central Gondwana are discussed....     

Technogenic-tectonic earthquakes of the Dnieper–Donets aulacogen

The Mikhnevo Seismic Group of the Institute of Geosphere Dynamics, Russian Academy of Sciences (IGD RAS), and the Malin mini-group in the region of the Dnieper–Donets aulacogen, within which prospecting and mountain-explosion works were carried out from 2007 to 2015 on industrial scales, recorded a series of seismic events. Special attention has been focused on analysis of the nature of three earthquakes in 2015. Application of the spectral discrimination method log(Pg/Lg) and cross-correlation tools allowed us to identify the seismic events in 2015 as a special technogenic-tectonic type.     

Geochemistry and isotopic ages of granitoids of the Bashkirian Mega-Anticlinorium: Evidence for several pulses of tectono–magmatic activity at the junction zone between the Uralian orogen and East European Platform

The study provides the first evidence for post-Riphean phases of granite emplacement in the Bashkirian Mega-Anticlinorium (BMA) at the boundary between the East European Platform and Uralian orogen. The tectono-thermal activity in the BMA is well-constrained by emplacement of the Kusa–Kopan plagiogranitoid intrusion (660 Ma) and late gneiss–granites of the Yurma complex (540 Ma). The geochemical features of these rocks are transitional between within-plate rift and orogenic suites. It was shown that the Paleozoic stage of the BMA was marked by emplacement of granites of the Kialim massif (314 Ma) and Semibratka complex (300 Ma). The age and geochemical features of these rocks are similar to those of Carboniferous granites of the Uralian orogen, which are interpreted to mark the end of subduction and beginning of collision. This similarity suggests that the BMA was adjoined to the Uralian orogen in the Carboniferous and Paleozoic granite emplacement in both structures was the result of their common geological evolution and protoliths of a similar geochemical composition.     

Lower–Middle Devonian rocks at junction of the Volga–Ural anteclise,Ural foredeep,and North Caspian basin: Lithology and perspectives of petroleum potential

New data on the stratigraphy and lithology of the Lower–Middle Devonian rocks at junction of the Volga–Ural anteclise, Ural foredeep, and North Caspian basin are reported. Facies maps are also presented for the Takatinian, Koiva–Vyazov, Eifelian, and Givetian stages of the region evolution. The paleogeographic evolution and structural zonation of the basin in the Early–Middle Devonian are discussed. The evolution of carbonate buildups (Akbulak and Saraktash) in connection with their possible petroleum potential is examined.     

Stratigraphic Correlation of Permian–Triassic Red Beds,Moscow Basin,East European Platform: First Detrital Zircon U–Pb Dating Results

Doklady Earth Sciences - The results of U–Th–Pb LA-ICP-MS dating of detrital zircons collected from the Permian–Triassic red beds of the Moscow Basin are presented....     

Tectonics,magmatism, and mineralization of Circum–Balkash–Junggar area in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt

ABSTRACT

The Circum–Balkhash–Junggar area, including mostly Kazakhstan, NW China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Mongolia, occupies an important tectonic position of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) (Figure 1). Tectonically, this vast area records the complicated geodynamic processes, among which the most prominent stages are the formation of the U-shaped Kazakhstan Orocline and its interactions with adjacent Altai (Altay), Junggar (West Junggar, Junggar Basin, and East Junggar), and Tianshan orogenic collages in the Palaeozoic, bearing large-scale mineral deposits. The formation of the Late Palaeozoic mineral deposits is related to the tectonic evolution of the Devonian and Carboniferous–Permian volcano-magmatic arcs in the region. However, the link between the metallogeny and the evolution of the volcano-magmatic arcs is not well understood and existing geodynamic models have not explained satisfactorily the mechanism of the huge metallogenic belt. Therefore, this special issue focuses on the formation of the Late Palaeozoic porphyry Cu deposits and their link to the tectonic evolution of the Devonian and Carboniferous–Permian volcano-magmatic arcs with emphasis on comparative studies across the international borders.     

Diagnostics of the Beginning of Agricultural Development of the Northwest of the East European Plain by Spore–Pollen Spectra

Doklady Earth Sciences - The problems of diagnostics of the beginning of agrarian development of coniferous–broad-leaved forests in northwestern European Russia and its specificity regarding...     

Devonian ultramafic lamprophyre in the Irkineeva–Chadobets trough in the southwest of the Siberian Platform: Age,composition, and implications for diamond potential prediction

The results of geochronological, mineralogical, petrographical, and geochemical study of the Ilbokich ultramafic lamprophyre are reported. The specific features in the mineral and chemical compositions of the studied ultramafic lamprophyre indicate that it can be regarded as a variety similar to aillikite, while other differences dominated by K-feldspar can be referred to damtjernite. According to Rb–Sr analysis, ultramafic lamprophyre dikes intruded at the turn of the Early and Middle Devonian, about 392 Ma ago. This directly proves the existence of Early Paleozoic alkali–ultramafic magmatism in the northern part of the southwest Siberian Platform. A finding of Devonian alkali–ultramafic lamprophyre is of dual predictive importance. On the one hand, it is indicative of the low probability of finding large diamond-bearing deposits in close association with aillikite. On the other hand, it can be indicative of a possible large Devonian diamond province in the studied territory, where diamondiferous kimberlite is structurally separated from aillikite.