Permian plate margin volcanism and tuffs in adjacent basins of west Gondwana: Age constraints and common characteristics

Increasing evidence of Permian volcanic activity along the South American portion of the Gondwana proto-Pacific margin has directed attention to its potential presence in the stratigraphic record of adjacent basins. In recent years, tuffaceous horizons have been identified in late Early Permian–through Middle Permian (280–260 Ma) sections of the Paraná Basin (Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay). Farther south and closer to the magmatic tract developed along the continental margin, in the San Rafael and Sauce Grande basins of Argentina, tuffs are present in the Early to Middle Permian section. This tuff-rich interval can be correlated with the appearance of widespread tuffs in the Karoo Basin. Although magmatic activity along the proto-Pacific plate margin was continuous during the Late Paleozoic, Choiyoi silicic volcanism along the Andean Cordillera and its equivalent in Patagonia peaked between the late Early Permian and Middle Permian, when extensive rhyolitic ignimbrites and consanguineous airborne tuffaceous material erupted in the northern Patagonian region. The San Rafael orogenic phase (SROP) interrupted sedimentation along the southwestern segment of the Gondwana margin (i.e., Frontal Cordillera, San Rafael Basin), induced cratonward thrusting (i.e., Ventana and Cape foldbelts), and triggered accelerated subsidence in the adjacent basins (Sauce Grande and Karoo) located inboard of the deformation front. This accelerated subsidence favored the preservation of tuffaceous horizons in the syntectonic successions. The age constraints and similarities in composition between the volcanics along the continental margin and the tuffaceous horizons in the San Rafael, Sauce Grande, Paraná, and Karoo basins strongly suggest a genetic linkage between the two episodes. Radiometric ages from tuffs in the San Rafael, Paraná, and Karoo basins indicate an intensely tuffaceous interval between 280 and 260 Ma.     

Deglaciation sequences in the Permo-Carboniferous Itararé Group, Paraná Basin, southern Brazil

The Late Carboniferous–Early Permian Itararé Group is a thick glacial unit of the Paraná Basin. Five unconformity-bounded sequences have been defined in the eastern outcrop belt and recognized in well logs along 400 km across the central portion of the basin. Deglaciation sequences are present in the whole succession and represent the bulk of the stratigraphic record. The fining-upward vertical facies succession is characteristic of a retrogradational stacking pattern and corresponds to the stratigraphic record of major ice-retreat phases. Laterally discontinuous subglacial tillites and boulder beds occur at the base of the sequences. When these subglacial facies are absent, deglaciation sequences lie directly on the basal disconformities. Commonly present in the lowermost portions of the deglaciation sequences, polymictic conglomerates and cross-bedded sandstones are generated in subaqueous proximal outwash fans in front of retreating glaciers. The overlying assemblage of diamictites, parallel-bedded and rippled sandstones, and Bouma-like facies sequences are interpreted as deposits of distal outwash fan lobes. The tops of the deglaciation sequences are positioned in clay-rich marine horizons that show little (fine-laminated facies with dropstones) or no evidence of glacial influence on the deposition and likely represent periods of maximum ice retreat.     

The application of FAMM (Fluorescence Alteration of Multiple Macerals) analyses for evaluating rank of Paraná Basin coals, Brazil

Combining vitrinite reflectance (VR) and fluorescence alteration of multiple macerals (FAMM) analyses provide insights into the chemical nature of vitrinites (i.e., perhydrous vs. orthohydrous vs. subhydrous compositions) in Permian Gondwana coals of the Paraná Basin, Brazil. The FAMM-derived equivalent VR (EqVR) values and relationships with VR can be determined according to calibration curves based largely on Permian Gondwana coals of eastern Australia.The analytical results indicate that vitrinites in the Paraná Basin coals studied generally range from orthohydrous to perhydrous, with interpreted VR suppression ranging up to 0.2% absolute for the most perhydrous case. The EqVR values of the Santa Catarina coals, which range from about 0.85% to 0.95% differ from VR values by about 0.10–0.15% absolute, potentially having significant implications on coal utilization.The causes of vitrinite reflectance suppression in the Paraná Basin coals are as yet poorly understood, but are likely to be related to a combination of factors.     

Coal petrology of coal seams from the Leão-Butiá Coalfield, Lower Permian of the Paraná Basin, Brazil — Implications for coal facies interpretations

In the Leão-Butiá Coalfield, Rio Grande do Sul the coal seams occur in the Rio Bonito Formation, Guatá Group, Tubarão Supergroup of the Paraná Basin, Brazil and are of Permian (Artinskian–Kungurian) age.This study is the first detailed investigation on the coal petrographic characterization of the coal-bearing sequence in relation to the depositional settings of the precursor mires, both in terms of whole seam characterization and in-seam variations. The study is based on the analyses of nine coal seams (I2, CI, L4, L3, L2, L1, S3, S2, S1), which were selected from core of borehole D-193, Leão-Butiá and represent the entire coal-bearing sequence.The interpretation of coal facies and depositional environment is based on lithotype, maceral and microlithotype analyses using different facies-critical petrographic indices, which were displayed in coal facies diagrams. The seams are characterized by the predominance of dull lithotypes (dull, banded dull). The dullness of the coal is attributed to relatively high mineral matter, inertinite and liptinite contents. The petrographic composition is dominated by vitrinite (28–70 vol.% mmf) and inertinite (> 30 vol.% mmf) groups. Liptinite contents range from 7 to 30 vol.% (mmf) and mineral matter from 4–30 vol.%. Microlithotypes associations are dominated by vitrite, duroclarite, carbominerite and inertite. It is suggested that the observed vertical variations in petrographic characteristics (lithotypes, microlithotypes, macerals, vitrinite reflectance) were controlled by groundwater level fluctuations in the ancient mires due to different accommodation/peat accumulation rates.Correlation of the borehole strata with the general sequence-stratigraphical setting suggests that the alluvial fan system and the coal-bearing mudstone succession are linked to a late transgressive systems tract of sequence 2. Based on average compositional values obtained from coal facies diagrams, a deposition in a limno-telmatic to limnic coal facies is suggested.     

Hierarchy of tectonic control on stratigraphic signatures: Base-level changes during the Early Permian in the Paraná Basin, southernmost Brazil

The Lower Permian sedimentary succession of the Paraná Basin in southernmost Brazil has an overall transgressive sedimentation regime, recorded by a clear retrogradation of the facies belt. However, important depositional strike-orientated variations and regional inversions occur in the sedimentation regime along the paleo-shoreline (i.e., along-strike) of the basin. At the regional scale, a huge source area was uplifted by the end of the Artinskian in the north and caused regression; the southern part of the study area increasingly was transgressed by the epicontinental sea (= regional inversion). This important tectonic overprint on the stratigraphic signature of the basin’s infill has a tectonic origin. The variable sedimentation regime along the paleo-shoreline is controlled by the structural framework of the basement, which is formed by several crustal blocks with different responses to tectonic strain induced by terrain accretion on the occidental margin of Gondwana during the Permian. Stratigraphic data indicate that during the Early Permian, there were at least two differential subsidence and uplift events, one by the end of the Sakmarian–Artinskian and another during the Late Artinskian–Kungurian.     

Geology of Santa Rita Coal Basin, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Data on the sedimentology, stratigraphy, palynology, coal petrography and geochemistry of the Santa Rita Coal Basin, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, are presented. The investigations were carried out on samples obtained from drill cores of the sedimentary rocks of Tubarão Supergroup, Lower Permian of Paraná Basin.The sequence comprises more than 10 coal layers, three sets of which — SR₁, SR₂ and SR₃ — are correlated with the SB+MB, I₁F and I₂B+I₃B coal seams, respectively, of the Charqueadas Coal Basin, southwest of Santa Rita. The lower, as well as the upper contacts of the sedimentary sequences are transitional and very difficult to trace.The Itararé sequences (basal group) comprise pelites, conglomerates and sandstones. The pelites are the most representative lithologies. The overlying Rio Bonito Formation comprises pelites and coal seams with subordinate para- conglomerates.Palynological analysis has unravelled a rich microfloristic association with a predominance of specimens related to the Infraturma laevigati, apiculati and cingulicavati of the Turma Triletes (Pteridophyta) either in the coal seams or in the associated rocks. Monosaccites, Disaccites and Striatiti (Gymnospermae) are accessory forms in the palynological assemblage. Botryococcus and algae-like elements are less abundant.Comparative studies of cuticular fragments collected from boreholes N₃ and P₄ showed better preservation and greater concentration in the latter, which may indicate that borehole N₃ is located closer to the margin of the swamp.Reflectance measurements ranging from 0.43 Rr% to 0.50 Rr% allow the coal seams to be classified as sub-bituminous B and A, according to the ASTM classification. Microlithotype analyses have shown the predominance of carbominerite, trimacerite and vitrite. Vitrinite is the most prominent maceral group (20–50%), inertinite and exinite are subordinate. The mineral content is about 40%.Results from geochemical analyses, from either coal or associated pelites, show the association of boron and vanadium with the organic matter; gallium is related to the inorganic material.The available sedimentological, palaeontological and petrographical data suggest a paludal environment related to swamps and the coal seams present characteristics of “reed” moor limnotelmatic facies of an authochthonous/hypautochthonous origin.     

New chondrichthyans from the Irati Formation (Early Permian,Paraná Basin), Brazil: origin,paleoenvironmental and paleogeographical considerations

Three genera, known by dorsal finspine, are reported from conglomeratic sandstone at the base of the Lower Permian (Kungurian) Irati Formation (Paraná Basin) near Rio Claro, São Paulo State, Brazil, noteworthy for the great richness of vertebrate fossils. The fossils include: (1) the previously known Sphenacanthus with the species Sphenacanthus sanpauloensis and an indeterminate species; (2) the Permian – Carboniferous genus Amelacanthus; (3) a new indeterminate Chondrichthyes. These fossils are found together with: continental, fresh-water and salt-water vertebrates. The analysis of this assemblage allows inference about the origin of Paraná Basin Chondrichthyes as well as reconstruction of the paleoenvironment and the possible geographic isolation of these fishes during the Permian in Brazil.     

Ice flow direction during late Paleozoic glaciation in western Paraná Basin, Brazil

The recent discovery of ice-striated surfaces associated with the late Paleozoic Aquidauana Formation suggests that glaciers coming from southwest Africa reached westernmost parts of the Paraná Basin in central Brazil. Abrasion features were developed by glaciers moving from SSE towards NNW, mainly on an unconsolidated bed. These records expand to about 1,050,000 km², the coverage of the late Paleozoic glaciation in the region of the Paraná Basin in Western Gondwana.

Resumen

A recente descoberta de superfícies estriadas associadas à Formação Aquidauana, de idade permocarbonífera, sugere que as geleiras provenientes do sudoeste da África alcançaram as porções ocidentais da Bacia do Paraná, na região central do Brasil. As feições de abrasão foram geradas pelo deslocamento de geleiras de SSE para NNW, principalmente sobre substrato inconsolidado. Estes novos registros evidenciam que a glaciação neopaleozóica cobriu uma área de pelo menos de 1.050.000 km² na região ocupada pela Bacia do Paraná no Gondwana Ocidental.     

西藏当雄纳龙晚古生代裂谷盆地的识别及其意义

西藏冈底斯构造带是冈瓦纳大陆北部边缘的重要组成部分，经历了特提斯演化的全过程，并在中生代发育的典型的多岛弧－盆地系统。笔者根据冈底斯构造带中部纳龙地区晚古生代发育的沉积相类型、火山岩组合以及古生物等方面的资料，首次提出当雄纳龙盆地在中二叠世栖霞期具有裂谷盆地性质，揭示出冈底斯地区在二叠纪已转化为活动大陆边缘，为研究西藏冈底斯地区弧－盆系统的形成过程及晚古生代的区域构造特征古地理格局提供了重要的资料。     

Vertebrate dinoturbation from the Caturrita Formation (Late Triassic, Paraná Basin), Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil

The Caturrita Formation is a lithostratigraphic unit that comprises the Ladinian–Eonorian sequence of the Paraná Basin. It has been interpreted as deposits of alluvial plains and meandering rivers. Purported fossil tracks found in this formation at Faxinal do Soturno County, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, are concave circular-shaped structures, with a laminar deformation. Some show digitiform projections, and at least three are aligned. They are interpreted as a disruption of the substrate homogeneity caused by bioturbation of tetrapods. In some of these there is a distinct color pattern — more reddish than the surrounding substrate. This is interpreted as a result of differential diagenesis. The features remain enigmatic tracks but were probably made by prosauropod dinosaurs, the dominant terrestrial herbivore group from the end of the Triassic in Gondwana strata.     

Catastrophic floods as a possible cause of organic matter accumulation giving rise to coal, Paraná Basin, Brazil

Gondwana coals of the Rio Bonito Formation (Paraná Basin) in Southern Brazil have generally large ash yields, so they could be better called coaly siltstones than coal. In addition, hummocky cross stratification (HCS) was found in several coal beds of the Rio Bonito Formation throughout the basin. In this formation, the frequent and close relationship between facies involving rocks generated by subaqueous gravity flows (diamictites) and coal itself provides an excellent depositional model based on resedimentary processes acting during deposition, as well as a stratigraphic rearrangement of the present units.In the State of Rio Grande do Sul (southern part of Paraná Basin), coals are actually prodelta deposits related to delta-front diamictite and conglomeratic sandstone with sigmoidal bedding. Coal-forming organic sediments would come from trees plucked by the floods, as indicated by the wood logs floating in the diamictite, and reworking of previous peat accumulations. Every coal layer is covered generally by paleosoil siltstones, which represent colonization at the top of the catastrophic flood deposit, ending a sedimentary cycle.In case of Brazilian coal settings, several authors recognized deltas (fan deltas or braid deltas). Here is particularly considered the general environment as a salted interior sea (lago mare, Hsü et al. sense).The present study will refer to three important lithostratigraphic units in the Carboniferous–Early Triassic cycle: the Itararé Group, the Rio Bonito Formation, and the Palermo Formation.Although the preferential mode of occurrence of HCS in shallow marine environments indicates a genesis attributed to storm action, other causes, such as catastrophic flooding, have been advanced. Mutti et al. [Mem. Sci. Geol. 48 (1996) 233] described flood-dominated deltaic systems with thick conglomerate, sandstone, and pelitic deposits, derived from small- to medium-scale fluvial systems and mountain-bordered drainage basins adjacent to the sea. In such settings, seaward sediment flow can increase dramatically when weather conditions can supply water in such amounts to produce catastrophic floods. Thick and laterally extensive sandstone lobes with HCS are the fundamental depositional elements of fan deltas and other river-dominated delta systems.Diamictites and coal together could be a result from Jökullhlaups—an Icelandic term for glacial outburst flood—in case of catastrophic floods coming from a melting mountain glacier, similar to the Columbia River Valley Scablands (15,000 BP) and in modern Iceland examples.     

Sedimentary facies of a glacially influenced continental succession in the Pennsylvanian Jericho Formation, Galilee Basin, Australia

Recent work on the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age in eastern Australia has shown the Joe Joe Group in the eastern Galilee Basin, Queensland, to be of critical importance as it is one of few records of Pennsylvanian glacial activity outside South America. This paper presents detailed sedimentological data, from which the Late Palaeozoic environment of the region is reconstructed and which, consequently, allows for robust comment on the broader Gondwanan glaciation. The Jericho Formation, in the lower Joe Joe Group, was deposited in an active extensional basin in lacustrine to fluvial environments, during the mid‐Namurian to early Stephanian. The region experienced a cool climate during this time, and polythermal mountain or valley‐type glaciers periodically advanced into the area from highlands to the north‐east. The Jericho Formation preserves a suite of proglacial to terminal glacial facies that is characterized by massive and stratified diamictites deposited from debris flows, massive and horizontally laminated conglomerates and sandstones deposited from hyperconcentrated density flows, laminated siltstones with outsized clasts and interlaminated siltstone/conglomerate deposited through ice‐rafting into lakes, and sedimentary dykes and breccias deposited through overpressurization of groundwater beneath permafrost. Non‐glacial facies are dominated by fluvial sandstones and lacustrine/overbank siltstones. The glacigenic rocks of the Jericho Formation are confined to discrete packages, recording three separate glacial advances during the latest Namurian to late Westphalian. This arrangement is consistent with the temporal distribution of glacigenic rocks from around the remainder of Australia and Gondwana, which supports the theory that glacial deposits occurred in discrete intervals. The Joe Joe Group is a key succession in the world in this context as, at this time, eastern Australia provides the only unequivocal evidence of a Namurian/Westphalian glaciation outside South America. The continuous record of sedimentation through the Pennsylvanian and Early Permian is indicative of significant warming between glacial intervals, which is difficult to reconcile with the development of long‐lived, cold‐based ice sheets across the supercontinent.     

吐哈盆地及邻区早二叠世沉积特征与构造发育的耦合关系

通过对不同露头剖面和探井资料的分析,在吐哈盆地及邻区区分出三种不同类型沉积相：（1）裂谷型海相火山喷发沉积相;（2）裂谷型陆相火山喷发沉积相;（3）造山带磨拉石相;不同沉积相特征并结合构造分析认为,早二叠世在吐哈及邻区存在二种不同类型的盆地,即前陆盆地和裂谷盆地,同时,还探讨了大陆一大陆碰撞带上两种不同类型盆地的形成机理。     

Lower Cretaceous deposit reveals first evidence of a post-wildfire debris flow in the Kirkwood Formation,Algoa Basin,Eastern Cape,South Africa

The Algoa Basin is an onshore rift basin filled by an Upper Mesozoic non-marine and shallow marine sedimentary sequence. The middle unit of this clastic succession is assigned to the Lower Cretaceous Kirkwood Formation, known to host a wealth of plant and animal fossils together with poorly documented lignites, amber and charcoal clasts. This study is motivated by the growing interest in the impact of wildfires on the palaeoenvironment during the high-oxygen, Cretaceous world. It has been hypothesised that frequent and severe Cretaceous wildfires triggered large-scale non-marine denudation events, altering the sedimentation dynamics and influencing the evolution of ecosystems. In order to investigate this phenomenon, charcoal-bearing sedimentary rocks and plant fossil assemblages of the Kirkwood Formation have been studied at the Bezuidenhouts River locality, ∼50 km north of Port Elizabeth (Eastern Cape, South Africa).Detailed field observations of the sedimentary facies suggest that deposition occurred in a meandering fluvial environment with mature, vegetated floodplains. Depositional trends within a charcoal-rich bed (i.e., stratification, flattening and decrease in charcoal clast size down-current) indicate that a charcoal-rich debris flow, linked to a post-wildfire flood event, became diluted by fluvial flow. Palaeocurrent indicators (e.g., orientation of fossil logs) suggest unidirectional currents from SW to NE, which are somewhat inconsistent with the previously reported regional palaeocurrent directions in the Kirkwood Formation.To gain insights into the fire-influenced dynamics of the Early Cretaceous ecosystems, the macro-plant fossil assemblages of the Kirkwood Formation were considered, with reference to the responses of modern plant analogues to wildfire. Of the plant orders reported from macrofossils of the Kirkwood Formation, the Cycadales, Pinales and Filicales, are known to have produced large woody or fibrous trunks and stems, or in the case of the Bennettitales more densely branched, divaricate architectures, and are likely to have provided the bulk of fuel for wildfires, with fern elements dominating groundcover niches. The particular role of these plants in the Early Cretaceous wildfire palaeoecology of the Algoa Basin is a topic for an ongoing study, but the Bezuidenhouts River locality appears to record the aftermath of a severe crownfire that led to mass tree mortality.     

Smaller gold deposits in the Archean Rio das Velhas greenstone belt, Quadrilátero Ferrífero, Brazil

The Quadrilátero Ferrífero is a classic gold province on a global scale, with hundreds of individual gold occurrences in the Archean greenstone belt comprising the Rio das Velhas Supergroup. There are numerous small gold deposits, including Faria, Esperança III, Bicalho, Bela Fama, Juca Vieira, Brumal, Boa Vista, Fernandes, Moita, Roça Grande, Bico de Pedra and Pari, as well as the world-class deposits of Morro Velho and Cuiabá. All these deposits, whether large or small, are structurally controlled and related to either shear zones or folds. Extensive down-plunge continuity is a consistent feature of the deposits. In the Rio das Velhas greenstone belt, six main styles of gold mineralization are recognized. These are deposits hosted within: (1), Lapa seca (e.g., Morro Velho, Bicalho, Bela Fama), (2), Banded iron formations (e.g., Cuiabá, São Bento, Raposos, Faria, Brumal, Roça Grande), (3), Quartz veins (e.g., Juca Vieira, Fernandes), (4), Disseminated sulfides with quartz veinlets (e.g., Moita), (5), Amphibolites (e.g., Pari), and (6), Disseminated to massive base-metal sulfides (e.g., Bico de Pedra). The first four types of deposits are epigentic (orogenic) gold deposits, similar to those found in greenstone belts worldwide. The last two are unusual types of gold deposit, peculiar to the Quadrilátero Ferrífero. Bico de Pedra is a polymetallic Au–Ag–Zn–Pb–Cu deposit related to an aplite intrusion, whereas Pari is a stratiform Au-bearing-banded iron formation metamorphosed to epidote–amphibolite metamorphic facies.     

Paleogeography of the upper Paleozoic basins of southern South America: An overview

The paleogeographic evolution of Late Paleozoic basins located in southern South America is addressed. Three major types of basins are recognized: infracratonic or intraplate, arc-related, and retroarc. Intraplate basins (i.e., Paraná, Chaco-Paraná, Sauce Grande-Colorado, and La Golondrina) are floored by continental or quasi-continental crust, with low or moderate subsidence rates and limited magmatic and tectonic activity. Arc-related basins (northern and central Chile, Navidad–Arizaro, Río Blanco, and Calingasta–Uspallata basins and depocenters along Chilean Patagonia) show a very complex tectonic history, widespread magmatic activity, high subsidence rates, and in some cases metamorphism of Late Paleozoic sediments. An intermediate situation corresponds to the retroarc basins (eastern Madre de Dios, Tarija, Paganzo, and Tepuel-Genoa), which lack extensive magmatism and metamorphism but in which coeval tectonism and sedimentation rates were likely more important than those in the intraplate region. According to the stratigraphic distribution of Late Paleozoic sediments, regional-scale discontinuities, and sedimentation pattern changes, five major paleogeographic stages are proposed. The lowermost is restricted to the proto-Pacific and retroarc basins, corresponds to the Mississippian (stage 1), and is characterized by shallow marine and transitional siliciclastic sediments. During stage 2 (Early Pennsylvanian), glacial–postglacial sequences dominated the infracratonic (or intraplate) and retroarc basins, and terrigenous shallow marine sediments prevailed in arc-related basins. Stage 3 (Late Pennsylvanian–Early Cisuralian) shows the maximum extension of glacial–postglacial sediments in the Paraná and Sauce Grande-Colorado basins (intraplate region), whereas fluvial deposits interfingering with thin intervals of shallow marine sediments prevailed in the retroarc basins. To the west, arc-related basins were dominated by coastal to deep marine conditions (including turbiditic successions). In the Late Cisuralian (stage 4), important differences in sedimentation patterns are registered for the western arc-related basins and eastern intraplate basins. The former were locally dominated by volcaniclastic sediments or marine deposits, and the intraplate basins are characterized by shallow marine conditions punctuated by several episodes of deltaic progradation. Finally, in the Late Permian (stage 5), volcanism and volcaniclastic sedimentation dominated in basins located along the western South American margin. The intraplate basins in turn were characterized by T–R cycles composed of shallow marine, deltaic, and fluvial siliciclastic deposits.     

Gondwana and Cathaysian blocks,palaeotethys sutures and cenozoic tectonics in South-east Asia

The Triassic Indosinian Orogeny followed extinction of the Palaeotethys Ocean resulting in suturing of Gondwana affinity and Cathaysian blocks.The Gondwana affinity Sinoburmalaya block of Peninsular Malaysia, characterized by Carboniferous—Permian mudstones containing glacial dropstones and sparse fauna and flora, is traced extensively into Sumatra. This mudstone facies is flanked on the east by a sandstone-dominated facies and by carbonate localized in the Kinta Valley. The muddy and sandy facies both begin with a basal Carboniferous condensed red bed sequence, which unconformably overlies the older formations of Sinoburmalaya. Both facies also demonstrate a Late Permian conformable transition into overlying limestone. The Cathaysian block of East Malaya is characterized by Late Permian Gigantopteris flora and fusulinid limestones associated with andesitic volcanism. It is similar but not identical to the West Sumatra Carboniferous—Permian block, characterized by Early Permian volcanism, fusulinid limestones and early Cathaysian Jambi flora.The South to SSE trending central Peninsular Malaysian Triassic orogenic belt swings south-east from Singapore to Bangka, then east to Billiton. The Palaeotethys suture (Bentong—Raub Line) forms the western margin of this belt and is therefore unlikely to continue south along the Palaeogene Bengkalis Graben, which transects the north-west—south-east orogenic fabric of Sumatra.The oroclinal bending of the Indosinian Orogen, from a north-west—south-east grain in Sumatra to a northerly grain through Peninsular Malaysia, is attributed to the Palaeocene collision of India and its subsequent indentation into Eurasia. The bending was accomplished by clockwise rotation and right-lateral shear parallel to the orogenic grain. The Mesozoic Palaeotethyan sutures were transformed into Palaeocene and younger shear zones. The outer zones of the orocline experienced pull apart tectonics (Andaman Sea and Sumatra basins) while the inner part (East Malaya to Billiton), being compressional, lacks Cenozoic basins.     

The Paranapanema Lithospheric Block: Its Importance for Proterozoic (Rodinia, Gondwana) Supercontinent Theories.

This work considers the tectonics of the southeastern portion of the South American Platform based on new geological and geophysical grounds. For the last decade, only three (Amazonic, São Francisco and La Plata) of the many other cratonic blocks have been attributed/remarked to the South America portion for most of the usual Rodinia reconstitutions. The possibility of the existence of other blocks has rarely been mentioned. The postulation of the presence of a considerable Paleoproterozoic (pre-Brasiliano) fragment as part of Paraná Basin basement is highly probable. In order to infer the basement structure of Paraná Basin, previous to the sedimentation process, an isostatic modeling was applied to a large-scale gravity survey looking to correlate topographic and gravity anomalies caused by sub-surface loads. The Bouguer anomaly obtained from the gravity survey represents the crustal contribution of crystalline basement, in addition to the sedimentary and volcanic layers of the basin. Following the isostatic modeling and the basin load stripping, the residual anomaly allows observing similarities between the basement gravity signature and outcropping units. Besides, the stress pattern of the two earlier events obtained through the back stripping analysis presents a geographically coincident maximum, and a new E-SE high emerging for the second event, suggesting continuous change of the stress field as a precursor for South American plate rotation. The evident correlation between gravity highs and main attenuation suggests the presence of some pre-existing suture zones. The weakened lithosphere during Ordovician and Carboniferous provided the magma conduits to form in Early Cretaceous tectonic stress field pattern. The resultant mosaic of gravity blocks and the main faults site give support to the presence of this cratonic Proterozoic unit, here on referred to as the Paranapanema Block, which had been neglected in most of the models reported for the reconstruction of Gondwana (and Rodinia).     

峨眉山大火成岩省对四川盆地油气储层的控制作用研究

四川盆地具有演化历史长、沉积盖层厚度大、油气资源丰富等特点,是我国大型含油气盆地之一。上扬子地区中、晚二叠世之间的峨眉山地幔柱活动改变了四川盆地古地理格局,造成地壳的快速抬升,盆地西南地区地壳抬升幅度最大,呈现古剥蚀高地,往北东方向的影响逐渐减弱,从而导致沉积环境自西南向北东由单一的海相依次转变为陆相、海陆过渡相至海相沉积。本文讨论了峨眉山大火成岩省的形成过程及对四川盆地油气储层的影响,认为峨眉山大火成岩省对四川盆地油气储层的影响主要体现在两个阶段、3种影响作用方式。两个阶段是指中二叠世末期和晚二叠世—早三叠世时期。3种方式是指峨眉山地幔柱导致的地壳抬升对下伏中二叠统灰岩储层的改造作用,表现为地幔柱核心区(大理—永仁)中二叠世地层发育风化壳岩溶型储层;峨眉山大火成岩省的火山喷发旋回对火山岩储层的空间发育的控制作用,发育了火山岩储层;峨眉山地幔柱活动控制的晚二叠世盆地构造格架对上覆沉积储层的控制作用,导致了峨眉山地幔柱外围伸展区(川东北—西北)发育海槽,控制了晚二叠世礁滩相沉积的发育等。峨眉山大火成岩省的形成过程不仅形成了优质的火山岩储层,同时也影响了沉积岩相的空间分布、改造了下伏碳酸盐岩的孔隙特征,进而控制了四川盆地的油气储层。