Influence of Neoproterozoic tectonic fabric on the origin of the Potiguar Basin,northeastern Brazil and its links with West Africa based on gravity and magnetic data

The Potiguar Basin is a ∼6,000 m thick aborted NE-trending rift that was formed during the Cretaceous in the continental margin of northeastern Brazil. Its ∼E–W-trending offshore faults form part of the successful continental margin rift that evolved into the South Atlantic Ocean. The region represents one of the most significant pre-Pangea breakup piercing points between eastern South America and West Africa. We used gravity, aeromagnetic, and geological data to assess the role of reactivated Precambrian shear zones and major terrain boundaries in the development of the Potiguar Basin from the Cretaceous to the Cenozoic. We also looked for possible links between these structures in northeastern Brazil and their continuation in West Africa. Our results indicate that the major fault systems of the Potiguar Basin were superimposed on the Precambrian fabric. Both gravity and magnetic maps show lineaments related to the shear zones and major terrain boundaries in the Precambrian crystalline basement, which also characterize the architecture of the rift. For example, the Carnaubais fault, the master fault of the rift system, represents the reactivation of the Portalegre shear zone, the major tectonic boundary between Precambrian terrains in the crystalline basement. In addition, part of the Moho topography is controlled by these shear zones and developed during the period of main rift extension in the Neocomian. The shear zones bounding the Potiguar rift system continue in West Africa around and underneath the Benue Basin, where fault reactivation also took place.     

利用S波接收函数研究华南块体的岩石圈结构

本文基于跨越华夏块体至四川盆地西部的130个线性流动地震台站及其附近90个固定台网台站的观测资料,采用S波接收函数波动方程叠后偏移方法,开展了华南大陆岩石圈结构研究.成像结果显示,研究区岩石圈结构复杂,不同构造单元之间差异显著,构造边界带附近小尺度变化强烈.150 km以上的厚岩石圈主要位于四川盆地,不足100 km的薄岩石圈主要分布于川东褶皱带和华夏块体.雪峰山下方岩石圈厚度显著增加,且以雪峰山为界岩石圈结构和性质存在着显著的东西差异.结合其它地球物理观测得到的地壳-上地幔结构信息,我们提出：（1）四川盆地还保留着厚而冷的克拉通岩石圈根,且岩石圈地幔具有结构分层特征;（2）雪峰山可能是扬子克拉通与华夏块体在西南部的边界;（3）雪峰山以东区域可能经历了岩石圈的减薄和改造,且华南岩石圈的减薄与华北相似,都主体发生在东部地区,造成现今南北重力梯度带两侧强烈的结构差异.研究结果为认识华南大陆的构造演化及其深部动力学提供了地震学约束.     

Structure and evolution of the sea floor south of South Africa

Geophysical results from the continental margin south of South Africa are consistent with a fault-controlled origin for the steep, linear continental slope. Accepting that the faulting was most probably of the shear type, caused by the transcurrent motion of the Falkland Plateau past South Africa, a model for the evolution of the sea floor adjacent to the margin is proposed. In this model the Agulhas Plateau is considered to be an oceanic feature, possibly an abandoned sea-floor spreading centre.     

Seafloor spreading history of the Agulhas Basin

Data gathered by recent “Islas Orcadas” cruises reveal the seafloor spreading pattern for a region south of the Agulhas/Falkland fracture zone system. The presence of a magnetic anomaly bight about the Agulhas Plateau indicates that the Agulhas Plateau may have developed at the site of a tectonic plate triple junction during the Late Cretaceous. A westward jump in the seafloor spreading center during the Late Maestrichtian (anomaly 34?31) reduced the offset across the Falkland/Agulhas fracture zone system and resulted in the formation of two conjugate aseismic ridges here described as the Meteor and Islas Orcadas Rises. The magnetic lineation pattern in the Agulhas Basin suggests that a tectonic plate (Malvinas Plate) existed during Campanian to Maestrichtian times. Relative rates of motion are calculated for Antarctica, South America, and Africa for the Late Cretaceous.     

南北地震带北段的远震P波层析成像研究

本文利用"中国地震科学台阵"探测项目在南北地震带北段布设的678个流动地震台站在2013年10月至2015年4月期间记录到的远震波形数据,经过波形互相关拾取到473个远震事件共130309条P波走时残差数据,通过远震层析成像研究获得了该区(30°N-44°N,96°E-110°E)下方0.5°×0.5°的P波速度扰动图像.结果显示,研究区下方P波速度结构显示强烈的不均一性和显著的分区、分块特征.岩石圈速度结构具有显著的东西差异:祁连、西秦岭和松潘甘孜地块组成的青藏东北缘地区显示明显的低速异常,而属于克拉通性质的鄂尔多斯地块和四川盆地则显示高速异常,表明东部克拉通块体对青藏高原物质的东向挤出起到了强烈的阻挡作用.阿拉善地块显示出弱高速和局部弱低速的异常并存的特征.阿拉善地块西部显示低速异常,而东部与鄂尔多斯相邻的地区显示高速异常,可能表明该地区的岩石圈的变形主要受到青藏高原东北缘的挤压作用.在鄂尔多斯和四川盆地之间的秦岭下方100~250 km深度上表现为明显的低速异常,表明该处可能存在软流圈物质的运移通道.鄂尔多斯北部的河套裂陷盆地下方在100~500 km深度内低速异常表现明显,说明该区有深部热物质上涌且至少来源于地幔过渡带.青藏东北缘上地幔显示低速异常且地幔过渡带中出现明显的高速异常,这种结构模式暗示了在青藏高原东北缘可能发生了岩石圈拆沉作用,而高速异常体可能是拆沉的岩石圈地幔.     

The Tantalite Valley shear zone — a major locus for igneous activity in Southern Namibia (South West Africa)?

The Tantalite Valley Shear Zone is a major Precambrian, southeast-trending tectonic lineament extending for some 500 km (possibly as much as 800 km) along strike in southern Namibia (South West Africa) and the northern Cape Province of South Africa. A minimum right-lateral displacement of 85 km has been estimated for this shear zone, which is one of a number with similar orientations found in southwestern Africa. The shear zones may represent slip-lines produced during continental collision about 1000–1300 m.y. B.P.The shear zones have acted as the locus for the intrusion of high-alumina tholeiitic magmas which have led to the development of a number of mafic to ultramafic complexes situated in or near the zones, and particularly the Tantalite Valley Shear Zone. Igneous activity and tectonism took place over an extended period of time and some bodies have been partly or completely metamorphosed to metagabbro or amphibolite.Three complexes have been studied in detail and they are geochemically distinct from each other, such that they cannot be related to one another by simple processes of fractionation although the rock types within any one complex may be so related. All show broad similarities in that they are depleted in lithophile elements (Ba, Rb, Sr, Nb, Zr) and enriched in nickel relative to similar basalts found elsewhere.     

青藏高原东北缘及邻区Rayleigh和Love波背景噪声层析成像

基于青藏高原东北缘及邻区流动密集地震台阵——喜马拉雅二期2013年12月至2015年8月期间的三分量连续波形数据,采用背景噪声成像方法获得了Rayleigh波周期为6~30 s和Love波6~25 s的二维相速度.6~12 s Rayleigh和Love波相速度在鄂尔多斯盆地及银川—河套地堑呈现明显的低速异常,而在西秦岭造山带和中亚造山带则显示高速异常.16~25 s的相速度同时受中下地壳及上地幔顶部速度结构和地壳厚度影响.此周期范围内,位于青藏高原的祁连地块和松潘甘孜地块北部呈现大范围相速度低速异常,青藏高原周边的鄂尔多斯和西秦岭造山带表现为高速异常.青藏高原与周边块体相速度的横向不均匀性,可能反映了构造活动或者地壳厚度的差异.此外,中亚造山带在周期16~20 s时,Rayleigh波相速度高低相间,但Love波大范围高速异常,两者差异可能反映了径向各向异性的影响.     

THE NORTHWARD GROWTH OF THE NORTHEASTERN TIBETAN PLATEAU IN LATE CENOZOIC: IMPLICATIONS FROM APATITE (U-Th)/He AGES OF LONGSHOU SHAN

Longshou Shan, located at the southern edge of the Alxa block, is one of the outermost peripheral mountains and the northeasternmost area of the northeastern Tibetan plateau. In recent years, through geochronology, thermochronology, magnetic stratigraphy and other methods, a large number of studies have been carried out on the initiation time of major faults, the exhumation history of mountains and the formation and evolution of basins in the northeastern Tibet Plateau, the question of whether and when the northeastward expansion of the northeastern Tibet Plateau has affected the southern part of the Alxa block has been raised. Therefore, the exhumation history of Longshou Shan provides significant insight on the uplift and expansion of the Tibetan plateau and their dynamic mechanism. The Longshou Shan, trending NWW, is the largest mountain range in the Hexi Corridor Basin, and its highest peak is more than 3 600m(with average elevation of 2800m), where the average elevation of Hexi Corridor is 1 600m, the relative height difference between them is nearly 2200m. This mountain is bounded by two parallel thrust faults: The North Longshou Shan Fault(NLSF)and the South Longshou Shan Fault(SLSF), both of them trends NWW and has high angle of inclination(45°~70°)but dips opposite to each other. The South Longshou Shan Fault, located in the northern margin of the Hexi Corridor Basin, is the most active fault on the northeastern plateau, and controls the uplift of Longshou Shan.Due to its lower closure temperature, the lower-temperature thermochronology method can more accurately constrain the cooling process of a geological body in the upper crust. In recent years, the low-temperature thermochronology method has been used more and more in the study of the erosion of orogenic belts, the evolution of sedimentary basins and tectonic geomorphology. In this study, the apatite (U-Th)/He(AHe) method is used to analyze the erosion and uplift of rocks on the south and north sides of Longshou Shan. 11 AHe samples collected from the south slope exhibit variable AHe ages between~8Ma and~200Ma, the age-elevation plot shows that before 13~17Ma, the erosion rate of the Longshou Shan is very low, and then rapid erosion occurs in the mountain range, which indicates that the strong uplift of Longshou Shan occurred at 13~17Ma BP, resulting in rapid cooling of the southern rocks. In contrast, 3 AHe ages obtained from the north slope are older and more concentrated ranging from 220Ma BP to 240Ma BP, indicating that the north slope can be seen as a paleo-isothermal surface and the activity of the north side is weak. The results of thermal history inverse modeling show that the South Longshou Shan Fault was in a tectonic quiet period until the cooling rate suddenly increased to 3.33℃/Ma at 14Ma BP, indicating that Longshou Shan had not experienced large tectonic events before~14Ma BP.
We believe that under the control of South Longshou Shan Fault, the mountain is characterized by a northward tilting uplift at Mid-Miocene. Our results on the initial deformation of the Longshou Shan, in combination with many published studies across the northeastern margin of the Tibetan plateau, suggest that the compression strain of the northeastern margin of the Tibetan plateau may expand from south to north, and the Tibetan plateau has expanded northeastward to the southern margin of the Alxa block as early as Mid-Miocene, making Longshou Shan the current structural and geomorphic boundary of the northeastern plateau.     

Sedimentary fill history of the Huicheng Basin in the West Qinling Mountains and associated constraints on Mesozoic intracontinental tectonic evolution

The Qinling Orogenic Belt is divided commonly by the Fengxian-Taibai strike-slip shear zone and the Huicheng Basin into the East and West Qinling mountains,which show significant geological differences after the Indosinian orogeny.The Fengxian-Taibai fault zone and the Meso-Cenozoic Huicheng Basin,situated at the boundary of the East and West Qinling,provide a natural laboratory for tectonic analysis and sedimentological study of intracontinental tectonic evolution of the Qinling Orogenic Belt.In order to explain the dynamic development of the Huicheng Basin and elucidate its post-orogenic tectonic evolution at the junction of the East and West Qinling,we studied the geometry and kinematics of fault zones between the blocks of West Qinling,as well as the sedimentary fill history of the Huicheng Basin.First,we found that after the collisional orogeny in the Late Triassic,post-orogenic extensional collapse occurred in the Early and Middle Jurassic within the Qinling Orogenic Belt,resulting in a series of rift basins.Second,in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous,a NE-SW compressive stress field caused large-scale sinistral strike-slip faults in the Qinling Orogenic Belt,causing intracontinental escape tectonics at the junction of the East and West Qinling,including eastward finite escape of the East Qinling micro-plate and southwest lateral escape of the Bikou Terrane.Meanwhile,the strike-slip-related Early Cretaceous sedimentary basin was formed with a right-order echelon arrangement in sinistral shear zones along the southern margin of the Huicheng fault.Overall during the Mesozoic,the Huicheng Basin and surrounding areas experienced four tectonic evolutionary stages,including extensional rift basin development in the Early and Middle Jurassic,intense compressive uplift in the Late Jurassic,formation of a strike-slip extensional basin in the Early Cretaceous,and compressive uplift in the Late Cretaceous.     

GEOMORPHIC FEATURES AND LATE QUATERNARY SLIP RATE OF THE SOUTHERN ZONGWULONG SHAN FAULT

With the continuous collision of the India and Eurasia plate in Cenozoic, the Qilian Shan began to uplift strongly from 12Ma to 10Ma. Nowadays, Qilian Shan is still uplifting and expanding. In the northern part of Qilian Shan, tectonic activity extends to Hexi Corridor Basin, and has affected Alashan area. In the southern part of Qilian Shan, tectonic activity extends to Qaidam Basin, forming a series of thrust faults in the northern margin of Qaidam Basin and a series of fold deformations in the basin. The southern Zongwulong Shan Fault is located in the northeastern margin of Qaidam Basin, it is the boundary thrust fault between the southern margin of Qilian Shan and Qaidam Basin. GPS studies show that the total crustal shortening rate across the Qilian Shan is 5~8mm/a, which absorbs 20% of the convergence rate of the Indian-Eurasian plate. Concerning how the strain is distributed on individual fault in the Qilian Shan, previous studies mainly focused on the northern margin of the Qilian Shan and the Hexi Corridor Basin, while the study on the southern margin of the Qilian Shan was relatively weak. Therefore, the study of late Quaternary activity of southern Zongwulong Shan Fault in southern margin of Qilian Shan is of great significance to understand the strain distribution pattern in Qilian Shan and the propagation of the fault to the interior of Qaidam Basin. At the same time, because of the strong tectonic activity, the northern margin of Qaidam Basin is also a seismic-prone area. Determining the fault slip rate is also helpful to better understand the movement behaviors of faults and seismic risk assessment.Through remote sensing image interpretation and field geological survey, combined with GPS topographic profiling, cosmogenic nuclides and optically stimulated luminescence dating, we carried out a detailed study at Baijingtu site and Xujixiang site on the southern Zongwulong Shan Fault. The results show that the southern Zongwulong Shan Fault is a Holocene reverse fault, which faulted a series of piedmont alluvial fans and formed a series of fault scarps.The 43ka, 20ka and 11ka ages of the alluvial fan surfaces in this area can be well compared with the ages of terraces and alluvial fan surfaces in the northeastern margin of Tibetan Plateau, and its formation is mainly controlled by climatic factors. Based on the vertical dislocations of the alluvial fans in different periods in Baijingtu and Xujixiang areas, the average vertical slip rate of the southern Zongwulong Shan Fault since late Quaternary is(0.41±0.05)mm/a, and the average horizontal shortening rate is 0.47~0.80mm/a, accounting for about 10% of the crustal shortening in Qilian Shan. These results are helpful to further understand the strain distribution model in Qilian Shan and the tectonic deformation mechanism in the northern margin of Qaidam Basin. The deformation mechanism of the northern Qaidam Basin fault zone, which is composed of the southern Zongwulong Shan Fault, is rather complicated, and it is not a simple piggy-back thrusting style. These faults jointly control the tectonic activity characteristics of the northern Qaidam Basin.     

中国三大地块的碰撞拼合与古欧亚大陆的重建

根据最新取得的华北地块的古地磁数据,并与目前收集到的按一定判据经过筛选的华南地块、塔里木地块、蒙古褶皱带与中亚褶皱带、西伯利亚板块以及稳定欧亚大陆的数据对比分析,对中国三大地块--华北、华南、塔里木地块的碰撞、拼合及其与北邻的西伯利亚板块的构造关系,进行了初步的讨论,并尝试作了古欧亚大陆的重建.     

The Migration Characteristics of Strong Earthquakes on the North-South Seismic Belt and Its Relation with the South Asia Seismic Belt

Migration of strong earthquakes （M≥ 7.0） along the North-South Seismic Belt of China since 1500 AD shows three patterns： Approximately equal time and distance interval migration from N to S, varied patterns of migration from S to N and grouped strong earthquake activity in a certain period over the entire seismic belt. Analysis of strong earthquakes in the past hundred years shows that the seismicity on the North-South Seismic Belt is also associated with strong earthquake activities on the South Asia Seismic Belt which extends from Myanmar to Sumatra, Indonesia. Strong earthquakes on the former belt often lag several months or years behind the quakes occurring on the later belt. So, after the occurrence of the December 26, 2004 Ms8.7 great earthquake off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, the possibility of occurrence of strong earthquakes on the North-South Seismic Belt of China cannot be ignored. The abovementioned migration characteristics of strong earthquakes are related to the northeastward collision and subduction of the India Plate as well as the interaction between the Qinghai-Xizang （Tibet） Plateau and the stable and hard Ordos and Alashan Massifs at its northeastern margin.     

青藏高原东北缘至鄂尔多斯地块壳幔电性结构及构造变形研究

为了获取青藏高原东北缘至鄂尔多斯地块的壳幔电性结构,研究祁连造山带、鄂尔多斯地块及六盘山构造带的构造变形,布设一条甘肃陇西至陕西黄陵的近东西向大地电磁测深剖面,获取了91个大地电磁测深点的响应.经过对全剖面观测资料的数据处理、分析及二维反演,获得了剖面壳幔电性结构模型.研究结果表明:剖面横向可划分为三个区块,分别对应祁连造山带、六盘山构造带与鄂尔多斯地块;祁连造山带东段可能残存沟弧盆体系的构造格架,青藏高原北东向生长可能是在这一先存格架上的叠加与改造;六盘山构造带壳幔结构复杂,以中地壳拆离断层为界,上地壳发育拆离断层系统而下地壳挤压缩短增厚;鄂尔多斯地块成层性较好,地块总体较为稳定,但局部经历了与地幔上涌相关的物质与结构再造.     

Lg Coda Q Variations across South America and their Relation to Crustal Evolution

Nine broadband seismograph stations in South America have provided 389 recordings of Lg coda with paths that cover most of the continent. Lg coda Q (Q0v) and frequency dependence <(eta)> values at 1 Hz, obtained from these records, were inverted using back-projection tomography to obtain regionalized maps of Q0 and <eta>. The entire western margin of the continent (the active Andean mountain belt) is typified by low Q0 (250–450), whereas broad regions of high Q0 (700–1100) span the central Brazilian shield and contiguous regions to the north and south. Intermediate Q0 (450–700) characterizes the northern Patagonia platform and most of the Atlantic shield. Reduced Q0 in the Atlantic shield may be related to tectonic or igneous activity that occurred during the breakup of Gondwanaland during the Jurassic period. This Q distribution is generally consistent with earlier studies where Q0 was found to be directly proportional to the time that has elapsed since the most recent episode of major tectonic or orogenic activity in any region. Reduced Q0 in the Patagonian platform may, however, be due to young sediments there. Q0 is slightly higher in two portions of the Andean belt (between latitudes 2.0°N and 10.0°S, and between latitudes 24.0°S and 34.0°S) than in other portions of the belt. These variations are consistent with results of earlier studies of body-wave attenuation and heat flow in the Andean mountain belt. Spatial variations of <eta> generally vary inversely with Q0v, being low (0.0–0.2) throughout a broad region centered in the central Brazil shield and extending to the northeastern coast. All surrounding regions except that to the northeast exhibit intermediate to high (0.4–0.8 and possibly higher) <eta> values. Possible biasing of Lg coda Q measurements by proximity to the transition between the South American and Pacific plates was examined using records from a station near that boundary and was found to be small.     

Geophysical characteristics of the Namaqua-Natal Belt and its boundaries, South Africa

A study of the available gravity, magnetic and geoelectrical data for the Proterozoic Namaqua-Natal Belt of South Africa shows that the boundaries of this tectonic province have distinct geophysical signatures. The southern boundary is marked by a large static field magnetic anomaly and a transition from electrically resistive to conductive crust. The northern margin of the belt is associated with a distinctive gravity signature. These geophysical signatures proved ideal to extrapolate and interpolate the boundaries of the Namaqua-Natal Belt, especially through areas where the transition is covered by Phanerozoic sediments. Numeraial modelling of the gravity data shows that a simple model of uplift in the Namaqua-Natal Belt associated with differential movement along a faulted transition to the older provinces can explain the gravity signature. This model is consistent with the development of the Namaqua-Natal Belt in its final stages as part of an Andean mountain belt with northward subduction and the associated trench south of the southern boundary of the belt. The Andean model of crustal development for this Proterozoic province is consistent with features such as the large quantity of calcalkaline magmatism, the low-pressure, high-temperature metamorphism, the metamorphic zonation and differential uplift along the northern margin, the major mantle derived contribution to the crust between 1300 and 1200 Ma ago and the deformational history.     

Basalt and tonalite from the Amami Plateau, northern West Philippine Basin: New Early Cretaceous ages and geochemical results, and their petrologic and tectonic implications

Abstract Basalts and tonalites dredged from the Amami Plateau in the northern West Philippine Basin have the geochemical characteristics of intraoceanic island arc rocks: low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.70297–0.70310), intermediate ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd (0.51288–0.51292), moderate light rare earth element (LREE) enrichment (La/Yb = 4.1–6.6) and high La/Nb (1.4–4.3). The incremental heating of hornblende from tonalites yielded well‐defined plateaus and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar isochron ages of 115.8 ± 0.5 Ma and 117.0 ± 1.1 Ma, while plagioclase yielded disturbed Ar release patterns, with ages ranging from 70 to 112 Ma. Taken together, these results show that the Amami Plateau was formed by subduction‐related magmatism in the Early Cretaceous period, earlier than indicated by prior K/Ar results. The results support tectonic models in which the West Philippine Basin was opened within a complex of Jurassic–Paleocene island arc terranes, which are now scattered in the northern West Philippine Basin, the Philippine Islands and Halmahera. The Amami Plateau tonalites and basalts have higher Sr/Y and lower Y and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr compared with younger tonalitic rocks from the northern Kyushu–Palau Ridge and the Tanzawa complex, which were formed by the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Philippine Sea Plate. Based on the geochemical characteristics of the basalts, the Early Cretaceous subduction zone that formed the Amami Plateau may have been the site of slab melting, which suggests that a younger and hotter plate was being subducted at that time. However, the Amami tonalites were probably formed from basaltic magma by fractional crystallization or by partial melting of basaltic arc crust, rather than by melting of the subducted slab.     

Absence of Archean basement in the South Kunlun Block: Nd-Sr-O isotopic evidence from granitoids

Abstract   The West Kunlun mountain range along the northwestern margin of the Tibetan Plateau is crucial in understanding the early tectonic history of the region. It can be divided into the North and South Kunlun Blocks, of which the former is considered to be part of the Tarim Craton, whereas consensus was not reached on the nature and origin of the South Kunlun Block. Samples were collected from the 471 Ma Yirba Pluton, the 405 Ma North Kudi Pluton and the 214 Ma Arkarz Shan Intrusive Complex. These granitoids cover approximately 60% of the Kudi area in the South Kunlun Block. Sr, Nd, and O isotope compositions preclude significant involvement of mantle-derived magma in the genesis of these granitoids; therefore, they can be used to decipher the nature of lower–mid crust in the area. All samples give Mesoproterozoic Nd model ages (1.1–1.5 Ga) similar to those of the exposed metamorphic complex of this block but significantly different from those of the basement of the North Kunlun Block (2.8 Ga). This indicates that the South Kunlun Block does not have an Archean basement, and, thus, does not support the microcontinent model that suggests the South Kunlun Block was a microcontinent once separated from and later collided back with the North Kunlun Block.     

Tectonic and stratigraphic significance of the Middle Ordovician carbonate breccias in the Ogcheon Belt, South Korea

Abstract Carbonate breccias occur sporadically in the Lower–Middle Ordovician Maggol Limestone exposed in the Taebacksan Basin in the northeastern part of the northeast–southwest‐trending Ogcheon Belt, South Korea. These carbonate breccias have been previously interpreted as intraformational or fault‐related breccias. Thus, little attention has been focused on tectonic and stratigraphic significance of these carbonate breccias. The present study, however, indicates that the majority of these carbonate breccias are solution–collapse breccias, which are causally linked to paleokarstification. Carbonate facies analysis in conjunction with conodont biostratigraphy suggests that an overall regression toward the top of the Maggol Limestone probably culminated in subaerial exposure of platform carbonates during the early Middle Ordovician (earliest Darriwilian). Extensive subaerial exposure of platform carbonates resulted in paleokarst‐related solution–collapse breccias in the upper Maggol Limestone. This subaerial exposure event is manifested as a major paleokarst unconformity at the Sauk–Tippecanoe sequence boundary elsewhere beneath the Middle Ordovician succession and its equivalents, most notably North America and North China. Due to its global extent, this paleokarst unconformity has been viewed as a product of second‐ or third‐order eustatic sealevel drop during the early Middle Ordovician. Although a paleokarst breccia zone is recognized beneath the Middle Ordovician succession in South Korea, the Sauk–Tippecanoe sequence boundary appears to be a conformable transgressive surface on the top of the paleokarst breccia zone in the upper Maggol Limestone. The paleokarst breccia zone beneath the conformable transgressive surface is represented by a thinning‐upward stack of exposure‐capped tidal flat‐dominated cycles that are closely associated with multiple occurrences of paleokarst‐related solution–collapse breccias. This paleokarst breccia zone was a likely consequence of repeated fourth‐ and fifth‐order sealevel fluctuations. It suggests that second‐ and third‐order eustatic sealevel drop may have been significantly tempered by substantial tectonic subsidence near the end of the Maggol deposition. The tectonic subsidence in the basin is also evidenced by the occurrence of coeval off‐platform lowstand siliciclastic quartzite lenses as well as debris flow carbonate breccias (i.e. the Yemi Breccia). With the continued tectonic subsidence, subsequent rise in the eustatic cycle caused drowning and deep flooding of carbonate platform, forming a transgressive surface on the top of the paleokarst breccia zone. This tectonic implication contrasts notably with the slowly subsiding carbonate platform model for the basin as has been previously interpreted. Thus, it is proposed that the Taebacksan Basin in the northeastern part of the Ogcheon Belt evolved from a slowly subsiding carbonate platform to a rapidly subsiding intracontinental rift basin during the early Middle Ordovician. The proposed tectonic model in the basin gives much better insight to unravel the stratigraphic response to tectonic evolution of the Ogcheon Belt, which remains an enigmatic feature in formulating a tectonic framework of the Korean peninsula. The present study also provides a good example that the falling part of the eustatic sealevel cycle may not produce a significant event in a rapidly subsiding basin where the rate of eustatic fall always remained lower than the rate of subsidence.     

南北地震带强震迁移特征及其与南亚地震带的联系

南北地震带1500年以来7级以上强震迁移显示出3种方式:由北往南大致等时距的迁移、由南往北多样式的迁移和一个时段内全带范围内的成组强震群发活动。从以往100年的强震活动分析,南北地震带的活动还与从缅甸至印尼苏门答腊的南亚地震带强震活动相关联,前者的强震往往滞后于后者几月至数年发生。因此,2004年12月26日苏门答腊岛西面海里发生8·7级大地震后南北地震带发生强震的可能性不能忽视。南北地震带上述多种强震迁移活动特征既与印度板块向NNE的碰撞、俯冲过程有关,也与青藏高原与其东北缘稳定、坚硬的鄂尔多斯和阿拉善块体的相互作用有关     

柴达木盆地北缘中新生代地层的磁组构特征及其沉积——构造学意义

柴达木盆地沉积地层记载着青藏高原东北部的构造演化信息.对该盆地路乐河地区上中生界—新生界地层系统采样,获得千余块定向岩心样品.岩石磁学研究表明样品中的磁性矿物主要为赤铁矿和磁铁矿;磁组构研究表明为初始沉积磁组构特征.磁组构特征指示了自中侏罗统大煤沟组(J2d)至早中新统下油砂山组(N12y)7个地层单位沉积时期,古水流方向共经历了4次阶段性的变化,表明柴达木块体相应地发生了4次旋转.在中—晚侏罗世块体逆时针旋转约22°;至早白垩世,块体又顺时针旋转约65°;在65.5～32 Ma期间块体旋转方向再次改变,逆时针旋转约63°;到32～13Ma阶段块体又发生约50°的顺时针旋转.柴达木块体的旋转及其方向的转换,可能与其南的羌塘块体、拉萨块体和印度板块阶段性北向碰撞挤压紧密相关.拉张环境与挤压环境的多次转换可能与中特提斯的关闭、新特提斯的张开和闭合、高原快速隆升后其边部松弛相联系.