Late Quaternary stratigraphic development in the lower Luni,Mahi and Sabarmati river basins,western India

This study reviews the Quaternary alluvial stratigraphy in three semi-arid river basins of western India i.e., lower Luni (Rajasthan), and Mahi and Sabarmati (Gujarat alluvial plains). On the basis of OSL chronologies, it is shown that the existing intra-valley lithostratigraphic correlations require a revision. The sand, gravel and mud facies are present during various times in the three basins, however, the fluvial response to climate change, and the resulting facies associations, was different in the Thar desert as compared to that at the desert margin; this makes purely lithostratigraphic correlations unviable. It is further shown that the rivers in the Thar desert were more sensitive to climate change and had small response times and geomorphic thresholds as compared to the desert-margin rivers. This is illustrated during the early OIS 1, when the Luni river in the Thar desert was dynamic and showed frequent variations in fluvial styles such as gravel bedload braided streams, sand-bed ephemeral streams and meandering streams, all followed by incision during the early Holocene. The coeval deposits in Sabarmati, however, only show a meandering, floodplain-dominated river. Late Quaternary alluvial deposits in these basins unconformably overlie some older deposits that lack any absolute chronology. Based on the facies types and their associations, and the composition and architecture of the multistoried gravel sheets in the studied sections, it is suggested that older deposits are of pre-Quaternary age. This hypothesis implies the presence of a large hiatus incorporating much of the Quaternary period in the exposed sections     

华北地台北缘拴马桩煤系

狼山—色尔腾山和大青山的拴马桩煤系曾被认为是分布于华北地台北缘“内蒙地轴”上的晚古生代纯陆相山间盆地沉积。新的研究证明，上述两地的拴马桩煤系的时代并不完全等同，也不是纯陆相地层，更不是同一盆地的含煤沉积     

江西省晚古生代海陆演化与成煤过程

根据江西省6655件上古生界沉积岩样品密度数据统计结果，建立了从陆相沉积到海相沉积其岩石密度增大的宏观模型，并用之分析了泥盆系、石炭系、二叠系和三叠系的密度空间分布特点及所表示的岩相古地理意义，由此探讨了江西省主要成煤期的陆、海分布轮廓，提出了石炭纪、二叠纪、三叠纪靠近古海的滨海盆地和三叠纪位于内陆的山间盆地是本区煤田聚集的有利地区。     

Evolution and palaeoenvironment of the Bauru Basin (Upper Cretaceous,Brazil)

The Bauru Basin was one of the great Cretaceous desert basins of the world, evolved in arid zone called Southern Hot Arid Belt. Its paleobiological record consists mainly of dinosaurs, crocodiles and turtles. The Bauru Basin is an extensive region of the South American continent that includes parts of the southeast and south of Brazil, covering an area of 370,000 km². It is an interior continental basin that developed as a result of subsidence of the central-southern part of the South-American Platform during the Late Cretaceous (Coniacian–Maastrichtian). This sag basin is filled by a sandy siliciclastic sequence with a preserved maximum thickness of 480 m, deposited in semiarid to desert conditions. Its basement consists of volcanic rocks (mainly basalts) of the Lower Cretaceous (Hauterivian) Serra Geral basalt flows, of the Paraná-Etendeka Continental Flood Basalt Province. The sag basin was filled by an essentially siliciclastic psammitic sequence. In lithostratigraphic terms the sequence consists of the Caiuá and Bauru groups. The northern and northeastern edges of the basin provide a record of more proximal original deposits, such as associations of conglomeratic sand facies from alluvial fans, lakes, and intertwined distributary river systems. The progressive basin filling led to the burial of the basaltic substrate by extensive blanket sand sheets, associated with deposits of small dunes and small shallow lakes that retained mud (such as loess). Also in this intermediate context between the edges (more humid) and the interior (dry), wide sand sheet areas crossed by unconfined desert rivers (wadis) occurred. In the central axis of the elliptical basin a regional drainage system formed, flowing from northeast to southwest between the edges of the basin and the hot and dry inner periphery of the Caiuá desert (southwest). Life in the Bauru Basin flourished most in the areas with the greatest water availability, in which dinosaurs, crocodiles, turtles, fish, amphibians, molluscs, crustaceans, and charophyte algae lived. The fossil record mainly consists of transported bones and other skeletal fragments. In the northeastern and eastern marginal regions fossils are found in marginal alluvial fan deposits, broad plains of braided streams and ephemeral alkaline water lakes. In the basin interior the fossil record is related to deposits in sand sheets with braided streams, small dunes, and shallow lakes. In the great Caiuá inner desert a few smaller animals could survive (small reptiles and early mammals), sometimes leaving their footprints in dune foreset deposits. The aim of this article is to present and link the basin sedimentary evolution, palaeoecological features and palaeontological record.     

Geologic and geomorphic controls of coal development in some Tertiary Rocky Mountain basins, USA

Previous investigations have not well defined the controls on the development of minable coals in fluvial environments. This study was undertaken to provide a clearer understanding of these controls, particularly in of the lower Tertiary coal-bearing deposits of the Raton and Powder River basins in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. In this region, large amounts of coals accumulated in swamps formed in the flow-through fluvial systems that infilled these intermontane basins. Extrabasinal and intrabasinal tectonism partly controlled the stratigraphic and facies distributions of minable coal deposits. The regional accumulation of coals was favored by the rapid basin subsidence coupled with minimal uplift of the source area. During these events, coals developed in swamps associated with anastomosed and meandering fluvial systems and alluvial fans. The extensive and high rate of sediment input from these fluvial systems promoted the formation of ombrotrophic, raised swamps, which produced low ash and anomalously thick coals. The petrology and palynology of these coals, and the paleobotany of the associated sediments, suggest that ombrotrophic, raised swamps were common in the Powder River Basin, where the climate during the early Tertiary was paratropical. The paleoecology of these swamps is identical to that of the modern ombrotrophic, raised swamps of the Baram and Mahakam Rivers of Borneo.     

西秦岭北缘武山地区上白垩统沙漠相沉积特征

西秦岭广泛但不连续分布着一套晚白垩世红层地层。这套红层地层所代表的原型沉积盆地是西秦岭中生代陆内造山期发育的相互孤立的山间盆地拟或是整体统一红层盆地新生代以来地壳隆升侵蚀破坏的残留一直存在争议。这个争议问题即关乎到对西秦岭中生代末期的构造地貌状态的认识,也关乎到现今青藏高原东北缘新生代以来地壳隆升初始地质背景。通过对西秦岭北缘武山地区上白垩统红层沉积地层中发育的一套砖红色砂岩的沉积序列、沉积构造、粒度分布等宏观地质特征的较详细研究,结合对这套砂岩的矿物成分和显微结构以及石英颗粒SEM表面结构特征的研究,表明这套砖红色砂岩具有如下特征:1）发育典型的大型风成交错层理;2）粒度均匀,分选好,以中-细砂、极细砂组分为主,缺乏粉砂-黏土颗粒组分;3）石英颗粒磨圆度好,表面发育碟形和新月形坑、溶蚀坑、硅质薄膜等风成砂颗粒具有的独特表面特征。据此提出这套砖红色砂岩是典型的沙漠相沉积的新认识,并根据沙漠相沉积类型的识别标志将其分为沙丘沉积和丘间沉积两种沉积类型。秦岭北缘武山地区晚白垩世沙漠相沉积的存在,结合西秦岭腹地同时代的哈达铺、岷县西江等地分布在山顶面的晚白垩世红层地层中存在类似的沙漠相沉积分析,提出了西秦岭晚白垩世不仅处于干旱炎热气候环境,而且曾呈现出地形相对平缓的泛盆地构造地貌状态。这套红层沉积反映了西秦岭晚白垩世为统一红层沉积盆地而非孤立的山间盆地,现今多不连续分布在山顶面之上是新生代以来地壳不均匀隆升和侵蚀共同作用的结果。     

西北内陆盆地的红层类型与砂岩型铀矿

本文在调研我国西北内陆盆地中的红层与砂岩型铀矿关系的基础上,提出了一个以沉积相和红化成因为基础的红层分类:把内陆盆地中的红层分为陆解阶段形成的冲积平原红层和浅湖红层;成岩后生阶段形成的河流冲积红层、三角洲红层和沙漠红层;以及表生风化阶段形成的溅泼红(次生红层)等6类红层。并依据这6类红层的特征、产出构造环境,以及含矿主岩到各类红层的Eh、pH、Th/U、Fc~(3+)/Fc~(2+)、Sr/Ba等地化特征值的变化,确定了它们与砂岩型铀矿的关系,即陆解阶段岩石红化时为开放环境,活性铀易于流失,对成矿不利;而成岩后生阶段,岩石红化时的环境为封闭系统,对成矿有利,能形成铀矿床。     

中国西北地区石炭纪沉积盆地分析

国内外百余年的油气资源普查勘探表明,沉积盆地分析是含油气盆地地质研究的核心。法国地质学家A. Perrodon(1980)在“石油地球动力学”一书中,开宗明义地提出“没有盆地,便没有石油”(Pas de bassin, Pas de Petrole)。在此以前,一位美国地质学家L.G. Wecks(1975)也认为:“盆地的分类是估计未发现油气资源量的基础”。一个地质历史发展较长的现今的沉积盆地,多数是由几个性质不同的原型沉积盆地叠合而成(如我国的塔里木、四川、鄂尔多斯等盆地),要剖析一个较复杂的叠合沉积盆地,应从其不同的原型沉积盆地分析入手。我国著名石油地质与大地构造学家朱夏在“论中国含油气盆地构造”(1986)一书中指出。“一     

Regional fluid flow and the genesis of Irish Carboniferous base metal deposits

The Irish carbonate-hosted base metal deposits have long been an enigmatic subclass of deposit. Some of the Irish deposits (Harberton Bridge, Allenwood) are clearly epigenetic, hosted in breccia pipes and have close affinities to Mississippi Valley-type deposits. Others, are characterised by stratabound and sometimes stratiform mineralisation (Abbeytown, Navan), while a third group is associated closely with concordant dolomitic breccias and cavity fill mineralisation at the base of carbonate mud mounds (Lisheen, Ballinalack). When the stratigraphic and textural evidence is reviewed, it is apparent that all of the base metal mineralisation occurred in already compacted sediments. Hence, mineralisation probably occurred at depths of at least several 100 m depth below the sea bed. The mineralisation occurred either during transtensional Lower Carboniferous basin development, or subsequently, during the onset of Variscan shortening. Fluids may have been derived from dewatering of Variscan-driven deformation to the south of the carbonate platform, with fluid flow through major fracture zones and basal clastic aquifers. Alternatively, high heat flow produced by Lower Carboniferous extension may have driven the mineralising system. Syn-genetic models are extremely difficult to sustain.     

新疆伊犁盆地的构造特征与形成演化

伊犁盆地是在天山造山带所夹持的微地块上发展演化而成的山间叠合盆地,其现今垂向结构为自下而上由中、新元古代变质基底、石炭纪裂谷火山岩系变形基底和二叠纪以来的盆地沉积岩系组成的３ 层结构,南北向剖面形态总体为两侧造山带相对向盆地逆冲的对冲构造几何学样式,伊犁盆地内则呈现为二山三盆的复杂次级山 盆构造组合。伊犁盆地的形成演化与天山造山带,尤其与其南北两侧相邻的不同性质造山带密切相关。伊犁地块和盆地的形成演化可概括为４ 个大的构造阶段和４ 个成盆期。现今的伊犁盆地正是不同成盆期的原型盆地复合叠置的综合产物。石炭－ 二叠纪和侏罗纪是伊犁山 盆构造系统的主造山成盆期。     

Mesozoic and cenozoic sandstone-hosted copper deposits in south China

Mesozoic and Cenozoic sandstone-hosted copper deposits in South China are confined to the variegated rock formation of the faulted basins, the intermontane basins and piedmont basins around a copper-bearing old land. The variegated rock formation is generally of fluviolacustrine delta facies, shore facies and shore-cauce facies. The ore bodies are stratiform, occurring in the light-coloured beds of the variegated rock formation. The mineralization comprises chalcocite, bornite, chalcopyrite, native copper, covellite, pyrite and hematite, showing obvious zonation. The associated profitable elements in the ore are mainly silver, lead, zinc, molybdenum, selenium and uranium. The copper deposits are believed to have been formed through three processes of enrichment, i.e. weathering (copper-bearing weathered crust was formed as a result), deposition (source bed formed) and diagenesis (ore body formed). The variegated rocks with Cu, Ag, Pb, Zn, U, Mo, Cl and organic carbon anormalies and a great deal of pyrite, distributed in the faulted basins around the Cu-bearing old land, are recognized as the most favourable area for copper ore exploration.     

论新疆北部石炭-二叠纪成煤大地构造

研究表明,本区现阶段的构造分区为:天山地洼区,准噶尔地洼区和阿尔泰地洼区,各区演化、发展各具特征,表明地壳演比的不平衡性和差异性,石炭—二叠纪分别处于地槽发展前期和后期,二者无论在沉积环境、古地理条件,还是在构造型式、岩浆活动强度上都存在明显的差异。前期形成的聚煤盆地属海相环境,受近东西、北西西向地槽构造系的控制,火山话动强烈,系典型的优地槽沉积;后期形成的聚煤盆地属海陆交替相、陆相环境,为山间坳陷型盆地,受地槽褶皱山系的控制,以快速升降运动和快速堆积为特色,盆地中沉积了巨厚的磨拉式建造。石炭—二叠纪的沉积环境和构造条件不利于聚煤作用的发生和持续进行,致使海盆边缘和陆盆中未能形成良好的含煤岩系。因此,新疆北部地槽区与华北地合区相反,石炭—二叠纪不是理想的成煤时期,地槽期的海盆和地槽褶皱带期的山间坳陷也不是理想的聚煤盆地,这为该区的大地构造条件所决定。     

中、新生代陆相沉积盆地砂岩型铀矿床流体作用研究

通过对中、新生代陆相沉积盆地典型砂岩型铀矿床实例分析,本文阐述了砂岩型铀矿床的分类特征及其与盆地流体演化的关系,以及盆地流体演化史分析在砂岩型铀矿床找矿中的重要性,同时对铀在流体中活化、迁移、沉淀机制及砂岩型铀矿床流体作用研究方法进行了探讨。     

中国中新生代地洼构造与油气矿藏

中新生代以来的地洼构造在中国陆壳上表现得特别活跃。这些地洼型的沉积盆地都蕴藏着大量的油气资源。作者认为,中国大陆夹持在太平洋和印度板块之间,这几个地质块体相互作用,使大陆抬升解体,形成滨太平洋外侧的近海大陆裂谷盆地;内侧的稳定沉降坳陷盆地;西北发育内陆山前坳陷盆地和山间盆地;青藏地区中生代为古特提斯海相沉积盆地和新生代发育陆相山间盆地。由于地质发展史不同,作者又进一步划分了东北、华北—中下扬子、华南、鄂尔多斯、四川、准噶尔、塔里木—柴达木和青藏等九个含油气盆地区。     

青藏高原上新世构造岩相古地理

在前人研究成果的基础上,划分出青藏高原及邻区上新世残留盆地共95个,探讨了青藏高原及邻区上新世构造岩相古地理演化。青藏高原上新世总体构造地貌格局主要受控于印度板块与欧亚板块沿雅鲁藏布江缝合带的碰撞及持续挤压,影响着青藏高原广大范围内的构造抬升。东北部昆仑山、祁连山地区是两大构造隆起蚀源区,两大山系夹持的柴达木盆地是高原东北部最大的陆内盆地,祁连山以北和以东地区则以盆山相间的格局接受周围山系的剥蚀物质,直到晚上新世(青藏运动"A"幕)高原东北部进一步强烈隆升,山间盆地抬升成为剥蚀区。新疆塔里木和青藏高原东部羌塘、可可西里地区主体表现为大面积的构造压陷湖盆-冲泛平原沉积区。高原东南部为一系列走滑拉分断裂运动形成的拉分盆地,上新世早期堆积洪冲积相砾岩,中期为湖泊、三角洲沉积,晚期随着山体的进一步抬升,盆地又接受冲洪积扇相砾岩堆积,并被河流侵蚀剥露。高原南部上新世多分布一些近南北向盆地,是响应高原隆升到一定程度垮塌而成的断陷盆地,同东南部拉分盆地类似,上新世沉积相也由早至晚分为3个阶段。恒河地区上新世由于喜马拉雅山的快速抬升,沉积以粗碎屑为主,形成狭长的西瓦利克群堆积。上新世青藏高原总体地势继承了中新世西高东低、南高北低的地貌特征,但地势高差明显较中新世增大。     

内蒙古拴马桩煤系海相动物化石的发现及其地质意义

石炭纪拴马桩煤系分布于内蒙古自治区色尔腾山及大青山一带，自下而上划分为下佘太组、上佘太组及拴马桩组。该煤系主要由陆源碎屑物质组成，总厚度大于１０００ｍ，长期以来认为它是陆相的山间盆地型沉积。近年来，作者在上、下佘太组中首次发现双壳类化石：Ｐｔｅｒｉｎｏｐｅｃｔｉｎｅｌａ，Ｓｃｈｉｚｏｄｕｓ，Ｓｅｄｇｗｉｃｋｉａ等共５属８种，为该煤系存在海相沉积提供了佐证。还从沉积学、地球化学、古生态学及古流向测量等方面，对其沉积相类型、石炭纪时期的古地理格局进行了分析与探讨     

Terrestrische Sedimente der Intermontanbecken im Iran

Noteworthy facts about terrestrial deposits which fill the Internal Basins in Iran have been studied mainly in the last decade. Hydrogeological investigations in more than 100 alluvial basins have been most informative for essential knowledge about the structure of and sedimentation in the extensive plains. The thickness of the alluvial deposits ranges in different amount. Its known maximum, above 500 m, is located in the area between Teheran and Karaj. By the example of Varamin Plain it is shown that the sedimentation has an unequivocal dependence on the recent drainage pattern. The trace of“Water veins” is very important for exploration of ground water. The“Veins” are ancient washes filled up with outwashed gravels which are covered later with younger fine grained materials. The occurrence of these highly permeable deposits can be found by means of sedimentological investigations.     

Characterization of alluvial bajada facies distribution using TM imagery

Automatic mapping techniques using multiband satellite image information have been used to study sediment grain‐size variations on an alluvial bajada. A previous study of sparsely vegetated alluvial surfaces in central‐western Argentina showed that the reflectivity recorded in seven‐band Landsat TM images is controlled by sediment composition, age and grain size. At diameters >4 mm, clast composition influences image information, while at grain sizes smaller than sand, clay mineralogy begins to influence spectral characteristics. The progressive increase in desert varnish and the loss of fine grain‐size fractions as a result of deflation cause the age influence. The bajada sedimentary environment is well suited for testing the influence of grain‐size variability on image recovery, as most drainage basins are small and sourced by a single geological unit, which produces compositionally homogeneous alluvial surfaces. Additionally, most drainage lines are active within intervals of 10–50 years, reducing the effect of surface ageing. Larger than average drainage basins produce oversized drainage lines that disrupt the bajada, generate individual alluvial fans and have slightly different compositions. Two typical bajadas were selected to map grain‐size characteristics using automatic classification techniques. The obtained classes were checked in the field, and grain‐size and compositional counts were completed. Although both bajadas are very different in composition, most grain‐size curves showed similar shapes, suggesting that deposition took place by the same process (hyperconcentrated flash floods). The values of the median and mean were consistent across the same class between both bajadas. Thus, unsupervised classification techniques are useful for mapping sediment grain size, although minor field control is needed. Image classes represent areas of similar grain size, which are elongated parallel to the mountain front in an active alluvial bajada, indicating a homogeneous distribution of sedimentary processes along strike. Changes in the width of image classes indicate different downstream fining rates closely related to the topographic gap and the slope change rate. In contrast to bajadas, alluvial fans have semi‐circular belts and a pie‐piece‐shaped area in which most active streams are located. Thus, unlike fans, bajadas lack autocyclic mechanisms for producing heterogeneous sedimentary sequences. The sedimentary log of an ancient bajada was measured in order to show the influence of allocyclic factors in the absence of autocyclicity.     

The characteristics, classification and origin of late Pleistocene fan deposits in the Cass Basin, Canterbury, New Zealand

The deposits comprising 'valley-side fans' in a small intermontane basin of the Southern Alps are classified as debris flow, water-laid, intermediate and mixed deposits on the basis of particle size and clast orientation characteristics. Five varieties of debris flow deposit are identified including unimodal and bimodal 'mudflow gravels'. The fans comprise mainly unimodal mudflow gravels which although apparently similar to the mudflow gravels described from montane and periglacial environments are coarser, have less silt and clay and are better sorted than the mudflow deposits described from semiarid alluvial fans. Additions of airborne silt and fine sand to the fan catchments during later stages of fan building gave rise to bimodal debris flow deposits which appear similar to gravels described from cold-climate fans in Tasmania and classed as water-laid deposits. Braided stream deposits were added to the depositional sequence towards the closing stages of fan building indicating that the fan had become 'wetter'. In many places, however, the youngest Pleistocene fan deposits are silt-rich mixtons reflecting a peak in loess deposition.