The geomorphological features and continuity of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge (KPR)

The Philippine Basin,surrounded by a series of oceanic trenches,is an independent deep ocean basin in the West Pacific Ocean.Its middle part is divided into three marginal sea sub-basins by the Kyushu-Palau and West Mariana Ridges,namely,the West Philippine Basin,the Shikoku and Parece Vela Basins and the Mariana Trough.This paper,through the analysis of the geomorphologic features and gravity and magnetic characteristics of the basin and identification of striped magnetic anomalies,suggests that the entire Philippine Basin developed magnetic lineation of oceanic nature,and therefore,the entire basin is of the nature of oceanic crust.The basin has developed a series of special geomorphic units with different shapes.The KPR runs through the entire Philippine Basin.From the view of geomorphologic features,the KPR is a discontinuous seamount chain (chain-shaped seamounts) and subduction beneath the Japanese Island arc at the Nankai Trough which is the natural boundary between the basin and the Japanese Island arc.At the positions of 25 N,24 N,23 N and 18 N,obvious discontinuity is shown,which belongs to natural topographic discontinuity.Therefore,the KPR is topographically discontinuous.     

马里亚纳“沟−盆”深水沉积环境稀土元素特征与物源约束

通过对西太平洋帕里西维拉海盆东南部的C-P19柱状样和马里亚纳海沟南坡的L3柱状样进行粒度和稀土元素地球化学分析,探讨了二者物源的异同。结果表明:研究区沉积物的稀土元素含量基本不受沉积物粒度控制,主要受控于物源变化。物源判别结果指示二者的物源具有同源性,其中西马里亚纳海脊剥蚀下来的火山物质对研究区的物质来源贡献最大。火山物质中的重矿物可以影响到稀土元素的含量,例如锆石的含量和稀土元素总量(ΣREY)的相关系数可达0.86。来自中国内陆黄土的陆源风尘物质对两个研究区的物源供给也有一定贡献,但其贡献程度较小。由于马里亚纳海沟南坡更加远离大陆且纬度更低,其接受的亚洲风尘也比帕里西维拉海盆和挑战者深渊更少。此外,南极底层水流经研究区,对海盆和海沟的沉积物都造成一定影响,而且在马里亚纳海沟南坡更加活跃,因而帕里西维拉海盆东南部的沉积物比马里亚纳海沟南坡更易于保存。     

The 16°40′ S triple junction in the North Fiji Basin (SW Pacific)

During the last three years, the North Fiji Basin (SW Pacific) has been intensively studied on three oceanographic cruises carried out by French, American and Japanese ships. One of the main goals of these cruises was to study by means of precise SeaBeam, SEAMARC II, seismic and magnetic surveys, the active spreading system and its associated hydrothermal processes. The North Fiji basin, bounded by the major Pacific and Indo-Australian plates, shows a complex polyphased tectonic evolution. One of the last phases of this evolution is the functioning since 3 Ma of a NS spreading center in the axial part of the basin. The tectonic instability of the area resulted in a permanent rearrangement of the ridge axis. Among others, the 16°40′ S triple junction is one of the major manifestations of such an instability. Sinistral strike-slip motion 1 Ma ago, along the North Fiji Fracture Zone induced the change in direction of two segments of the axis from NS to N15 and N160. The first segment is characterized by a typical spreading ridge similar to various parts of the EPR, while the second shows an atypical ‘en echelon’ fan-shape opening. The N15 and N160 ridges converging with the North Fiji Fracture Zone constitute the 16°40′ S Ridge-Ridge-Fracture Zone triple junction. The detailed morphologic and kinematic study of this junction allows us to understand one of the mechanisms of the deformation in the North Fiji basin.     

Kinematic model of the opening of the Canadian Basin, Arctic Ocean

The initial configuration of the Arctida Craton was reconstructed from a complex geological-geophysical analysis of the anomalous magnetic field of the Canadian Basin in the Arctic Ocean. The modern version of the bottom geochronology indicates that the first stage of the formation of the Canadian Basin in the Arctic Ocean was related to extension and rifting in the Arctida Craton in the Kimmeridgian. The transformation of rifting into spreading presumably occurred during chron M22Ar (151 Ma). The second stage was related to the opening of the Canadian Basin within chrons M22Ar-M19 (151–145 Ma). The next stage of the opening of the basin was marked by a 100-km jump of the spreading axis to the east. This stage ended after chron M5 (130 Ma ago). At the fourth (Late Cretaceous) stage, extension spanned the Southern Canadian Basin with the formation of large igneous province.     

Giant Megamullion in the Parece Vela Backarc Basin

We present results of high-resolution bathymetric studies of the extinct intermediate-spreading Parece Vela Basin in the northwestern Pacific, where we have identified an extremely large mullion structure, here termed a giant megamullion. We find that the giant megamullion is nearly an order of magnitude larger than the similar structures in the slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge (`megamullions'). The giant megamullion has slightly elevated mantle Bouguer anomaly, and yields serpentinized peridotites and gabbros, suggesting that they are exposing oceanic crust and upper mantle. An off-axis rugged `chaotic terrain' was also identified in the Parece Vela Basin. The terrain consists of isolated and elevated blocks capped by corrugated axis-normal lineations, and associated deeps. We thus interpret it as analogues to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge megamullions. We propose that amagmatic tectonics producing the giant megamullion and the chaotic terrain occupied a significant part in crustal construction in the Parece Vela Basin evolution.     

Oceanic crustal structure and tectonic origin of the southern Kyushu-Palau Ridge in the Philippine Sea

A new high-resolution velocity model of the southern Kyushu-Palau Ridge(KPR) was derived from an activesource wide-angle seismic reflection/refraction profile. The result shows that the KPR crust can be divided into the upper crust with the P-wave velocity less than 6.1 m/s, and lower crust with P-wave velocity between 6.1 km/s and 7.2 km/s. The crustal thickness of the KPR reaches 12.0 km in the center, which gradually decreases to 5.0–6.0 km at sides. The velocity structure of the KPR is simil...     

Structural patterns and tectonic history of the Bauer microplate, Eastern Tropical Pacific

The Bauer microplate was an independent slab of oceanic lithosphere that from 17 Ma to 6 Ma grew from 1.4 × 10⁵ km² to 1.2 × 10⁶ km² between the rapidly diverging Pacific and Nazca plates. Growth was by accretion at the lengthening and overlapping axes of the (Bauer-Nazca) Galapagos Rise (GR) and the (Pacific-Bauer) East Pacific Rise (EPR). EPR and GR axial propagation to create and rapidly grow the counter-clockwise spinning microplate occurred in two phases: (1) 17–15Ma, when the EPR axis propagated north and the GR axis propagated south around a narrow (100- to 200-km-wide) core of older lithosphere; and (2) 8–6 Ma, when rapid northward propagation of the EPR axis resumed, overlapping ∼400 km of the fast-spreading Pacific-Nazca rise-crest and appending a large (200- to 400-km-wide) area of the west flank of that rise as a ‘northern annex’ to the microplate. Between 15 and 8 Ma the microplate grew principally by crustal accretion at the crest of its rises. The microplate was captured by the Nazca plate and the Galapagos Rise axis became extinct soon after 6 Ma, when the south end of the Pacific-Bauer EPR axis became aligned with the southern Pacific-Nazca EPR axis and its north end was linked by the Quebrada Transform to the northern Pacific-Nazca EPR axis. Incomplete multibeam bathymetry of the microplate margins, and of both flanks of the Pacific-Bauer and Bauer-Nazca Rises, together with archival magnetic and satellite altimetry data, clarifies the growth and (counter-clockwise) rotation of the microplate, and tests tectonic models derived from studies of the still active, much smaller, Easter and Juan Fernandez microplates. Our interpretations differ from model predictions in that Euler poles were not located on the microplate boundary, propagation in the 15–8 Ma phase of growth was not toward these poles, and microplate rotation rates were small (5°/m.y.) for much of its history, when long, bounding transform faults reduced coupling to Nazca plate motion. Some structures of the Bauer microplate boundary, such as deep rift valleys and a broad zone of thrust-faulted lithosphere, are, however, similar to those observed around the smaller, active microplates. Analysis of how the Bauer microplate was captured when coupling to the Pacific plate was reduced invites speculation on why risecrest microplates eventually lose their independence.     

雅浦–马里亚纳海沟连接处地貌特征研究

雅浦海沟是西太平洋“沟–弧–盆”体系的重要组成部分。在雅浦海沟北部,雅浦海沟与马里亚纳海沟呈典型的垂直相交。本文对该海域的地貌进行了详细的研究。结果表明,两条海沟连接处附近,海沟的水深、形态、剖面等都发生明显变化,且具有分段性,两侧斜坡上拥有隆起、凹陷、断裂等地貌,这些特征与海沟连接处特殊的俯冲位置具有密切的联系;通过地貌特征和板块扩张速度判断,20 Ma前帕里西维拉海盆扩张中心应位于137°35′34″E附近,雅浦海沟很可能是由帕里西维拉海盆暴露出来的扩张中心转变而成。     

Okinawa Trough genesis: structure and evolution of a backarc basin developed in a continent

The Okinawa marginal basin was opened by crustal extension into the Asian continent, north of the Taiwan collision zone. It is located behind the Ryukyu Trench subduction zone and the Ryukyu active volcanic arc. If we except the Andaman Sea, the Okinawa Trough is the only example of marginal backarc basin type, opened into a continent at an early stage of evolution. Active rifting and spreading can be observed. Synthesis of siesmic reflection, seismic refraction, drilling, dredging and geological field data has resulted in interpretative geological cross sections and a structural map of the Ryukyu-Okinawa area. The main conclusions of the reconstruction of this backarc basin/volcanic arc evolution are. (1) Backarc rifting was initiated in the volcanic arc and propagated along it during the Neogene. It is still active at both ends of the basin. Remnants of volcanic arc are found on the continental side of the basin. (2) There was synchronism between opening and subsidence of the Okinawa Trough and tilting and subsidence of the forearc terrace. The late Miocene erosional surface is now 4000 m below sea-level in the forearc terrace, above the trench slope. Retreat and subsidence of the Ryukyu trench line relative to the Asian continental plate, could be one of the causes of tilting of the forearc and extension in the backarc area. (3) A major phase of crustal spreading occurred in Pliocene times 1.9 My ago in the south and central Okinawa Trough. (4) En échelon rifting and spreading structures of the central axes of the Okinawa Trough are oblique to the general trend of the arc and trench. The Ryukyu arc sub-plate cannot be considered as a rigid plate. Rotation of 45° to 50° of the southern Ryukyu arc, since the late Miocene, is inferred. The timing and kinematic evolution of the Taiwan collision and the south Okinawa Trough opening suggest a connection between these two events. The indentation process due to the collision of the north Luzon Arc with the China margin could have provoked: lateral extrusion; clockwise rotation (45° to 50° according to palaeomagnetic data) and buckling of the south Ryukyu non-volcanic arc; tension in the weak crustal zone constituted by the south Ryukyu volcanic arc and opening of the south Okinawa Trough. Similar lateral extrusions, rotations, buckling and tensional gaps have been observed in indentation experiments. Additional phenomena such as: thermal convection, retreating trench model or anchored slab model could maintain extension in the backarc basin. Such a hypothetical collision-lateral backarc opening model could explain the initiation of opening of backarc basins such as the Mariana Trough, Bonin Trough, Parece Vela — Shikoku Basin and Sea of Japan. A new late Cenozoic palaeogeographic evolution model of the Philippine Sea plate and surrounding areas is proposed.     

A 33 Ma lithostratigraphic record of tectonic and paleoceanographic evolution of the South China Sea

The 853 m thick sediment sequence recovered at ODP Site 1148 provides an unprecedented record of tectonic and paleoceanographic evolution in the South China Sea over the past 33 Ma. Litho-, bio-, and chemo-stratigraphic studies helped identify six periods of changes marking the major steps of the South China Sea geohistory. Rapid deposition with sedimentation rates of 60 m/Ma or more characterized the early Oligocene rifting. Several unconformities from the slumped unit between 457 and 495 mcd together erased about 3 Ma late Oligocene record, providing solid evidence of tectonic transition from rifting/slow spreading to rapid spreading in the South China Sea. Slow sedimentation of 20–30 m/Ma signifies stable seafloor spreading in the early Miocene. Dissolution may have affected the completeness of Miocene–Pleistocene succession with short-term hiatuses beyond current biostratigraphical resolution. Five major dissolution events, D-1 to D-5, characterize the stepwise development of deep water masses in close association to post-Oligocene South China Sea basin transformation. The concurrence of local and global dissolution events in the Miocene and Pliocene suggests climatic forcing as the main mechanism causing deep water circulation changes concomitantly in world oceans and in marginal seas. A return of high sedimentation rate of 60 m/Ma to the late Pliocene and Pleistocene South China Sea was caused by intensified down-slope transport due to frequent sea level fluctuations and exposure of a large shelf area during sea level low-stands. The six paleoceanographic stages, respectively corresponding to rifting (33–28.5 Ma), changing spreading southward (28.5–23 Ma), stable spreading to end of spreading (23–15 Ma), post-spreading balance (15–9 Ma), further modification and monsoon influence (9–5 Ma), and glacial prevalence (5–0 Ma), had transformed the South China Sea from a series of deep grabens to a rapidly expanding open gulf and finally to a semi-enclosed marginal sea in the past 33 Ma.     

四国海盆起源与沉积环境演化

四国海盆位于西太平洋最大的边缘海——菲律宾海的东北部，是太平洋板块向欧亚板块俯冲而形成的一个目前已不活动的弧后盆地，具有高的热流值和洋壳裂开历史，并且具有双翼不对称扩张模式。其磁条带具有“东西不对称、南北不对等”的特点，从而造成四国海盆“北宽南窄、东凸西平”的地形、地貌特征。四国海盆具有典型的弧后盆地沉积特征，主要包括半远洋沉积、火山碎屑沉积和少量的远洋沉积。在早中新世、中中新世、晚中新世、上新世、更新世盆地发育的不同阶段，都有一定的岩相组合特征，并反映了当时的沉积环境。中中新世在盆地的北部和东部，晚中新世在盆地的北部、东北部，上新世和更新世在盆地的北部、东北部和西北部均发育有碎屑沉积。由于中更新世南海海槽的形成及其对物源的阻隔作用，在盆地北部发育了远洋粘土和钙质生物沉积。中中新世，盆地的北部、东侧和西侧均有火山活动发育，晚中新世仅在东部岛弧区有火山活动；上新世仅盆地的北部有少量的火山活动，晚更新世火山活动在盆地北部发育。     

High-resolution plate reconstruction of the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge

We use recently acquired magnetic and SeaBeam bathymetric data to examine the spreading rates and plate boundary geometry of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge 30°–36° S. Using a statistically rigorous estimation of rotation poles we develop a precise spreading history of the African—South American plate boundary. The total opening rate for 1–4.23 Myr (Plio-Pleistocene) is nearly constant at 32.3 ± 1 km Myr^–1. The spreading rate apparently is faster in the Late Miocene (7.3-5.3 Myr), though this may reflect inaccuracies in the geomagnetic time scale. The rotation poles enable a plate boundary reconstruction with an accuracy of 2–3 km. The reconstructions also show that the plate boundary geometry underwent several changes since the late Miocene including the growth of one ridge segment from 40 to 105 km in length, and the reorientation of another ridge segment which has spread obliquely from 7 to 1 Myr. Pole calculations using both right- and left-stepping fracture zones show an offset of 1–2 km between the deepest, most linear part of a fracture zone trough and the former plate boundary location. The high-resolution plate kinematics suggests that the plate boundary, as a whole, evolves 2-dimensionally as prescribed by rigid plates. On a local scale, asymmetric accretion, asymmetric extension, small lateral ridge jumps (< 3 km), and intra-segment propagation result in minor plate boundary adjustments and deformation to the rigid plates.     

The formation and tectonic evolution of Philippine Sea Plate and KPR

The Philippine Sea Plate has an extremely special tectonic background. As an oceanic plate, it is almost entirely surrounded by subduction zones with complex internal tectonic features. On the basis of enormous published literature, this paper offers a comprehensive overview of the tectonic and evolution history of the Philippine Basin and the Kyushu-Palau Ridge (KPR) in the Philippine Sea Plate, and discusses the geological features of KPR. Referring to relevant definitions of various "ridges" stipulated in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, so the KPR is believed to be a remnant arc formed during the opening of the Parece Vela and Shikoku Basins in the Philippine Sea Plate. It is a submarine ridge on oceanic plate rather than a submarine elevation. And thus, it is not a natural component of the Japan continental margin.     

The East Pacific Rise and its flanks 8–18° N: History of segmentation,propagation and spreading direction based on SeaMARC II and Sea Beam studies

SeaMARC II and Sea Beam bathymetric data are combined to create a chart of the East Pacific Rise (EPR) from 8°N to 18°N reaching at least 1 Ma onto the rise flanks in most places. Based on these data as well as SeaMARC II side scan sonar mosaics we offer the following observations and conclusions. The EPR is segmented by ridge axis discontinuities such that the average segment lengths in the area are 360 km for first-order segments, 140 km for second-order segments, 52 km for third-order segments, and 13 km for fourth-order segments. All three first-order discontinuities are transform faults. Where the rise axis is a bathymetric high, second-order discontinuities are overlapping spreading centers (OSCs), usually with a distinctive 3:1 overlap to offset ratio. The off-axis discordant zones created by the OSCs are V-shaped in plan view indicating along axis migration at rates of 40–100 mm yr^–1. The discordant zones consist of discrete abandoned ridge tips and overlap basins within a broad wake of anomalously deep bathymetry and high crustal magnetization. The discordant zones indicate that OSCs have commenced at different times and have migrated in different directions. This rules out any linkage between OSCs and a hot spot reference frame. The spacing of abandoned ridges indicates a recurrence interval for ridge abandonment of 20,000–200,000 yrs for OSCs with an average interval of approximately 100,000 yrs. Where the rise axis is a bathymetric low, the only second-order discontinuity mapped is a right-stepping jog in the axial rift valley. The discordant zone consists of a V-shaped wake of elongated deeps and interlocking ridges, similar to the wakes of second-order discontinuities on slow-spreading ridges. At the second-order segment level, long segments tend to lengthen at the expense of neighboring shorter segments. This can be understood if segments can be approximated by cracks, because the propagation force at a crack tip is directly proportional to crack length.There has been a counter-clockwise change in the direction of spreading on the EPR between 8 and 18° N during the last 1 Ma. The cumulative change has been 3°–6°, producing opening across the Orozco and Siqueiros transform faults and closing across the Clipperton transform. The instantaneous present-day Cocos-Pacific pole is located at approximately 38.4° N, 109.5° W with an angular rotation rate of 2.10° m.y.^–1 This change in spreading direction explains the predominance of right-stepping discontinuities of orders 2–4 along the Siqueiros-Clipperton and Orozco-Rivera segments, but does not explain other aspects of segmentation which are thought to be linked to patterns of melt supply to the ridge axis.There are 23 significant seamount chains in the mapped area and most are created very near the spreading axis. Nearly all of the seamount chains have trends which fall between the absolute and relative plate motion vectors.     

Preliminary K-Ar geochronology of lavas from southern Lau Basin

In this short note, we report the ages of five lava samples from a segment of the Eastern Lau Spreading Center (ELSC) and three samples from the Valu Fa Ridge (VFR) in the southern Lau Basin. These samples were collected in situ from the axes and flanks of the spreading centers in the basin. These ages provide a key to better understanding the spreading mode, crustal formation and overall tectonic evolution of the basin. Except for two basaltic andesites and one andesite, the lavas analyzed are basalts. The ages of the lavas from ELSC range from (1.45 ± 0.15) Ma to (0.74 ± 0.04) Ma whereas those from VFR range from (0.50 ± 0.06) Ma to (0.32 ± 0.27) Ma, and the basalts give the oldest ages. The relatively younger ages of the VFR lavas are consistent with proposed tectonic evolution of the southern Lau Basin, i.e., VFR is a propagating extension of ELSC. The occurence of older lavas close to or on spreading axes in the southern Lau Basin implies the complex tectonic evolution of the basin. These results underscore a need for further detailed geophysical and geological studies in the southern Lau Basin, in order to better clarify the crustal accretion tectonic evolution in this area.     

西太平洋雅浦-卡罗琳海区海山多尺度地形特征

海山地形的多尺度特征研究,有助于理解海山形成与演化过程中的地貌过程,并为深入认识俯冲带地球动力过程提供新的线索。本文基于中国科学院海洋研究所“科学”号科考船近年来在雅浦-卡罗琳海区采集的高分辨率海底地形数据,利用统计学及频谱分析等方法,分析了研究区42座海山的形态及地形粗糙度特征,并对海山地形多尺度特征及其成因开展研究。结果表明,雅浦-卡罗琳海区不同构造环境下形成的海山群,在海山的形态参数和多尺度地形特征等方面存在显著差异。相比于索罗尔海槽,帕里西维拉海盆中的海山具有更大的宽高比与更小的平坦度。两区域内海山形态参数具有不同的线性相关关系,表明区域内海山存在不同的形态演化过程。对帕里西维拉海盆中海山地形的频谱分析显示,其大尺度特征信号不显著,意味着该区域内海山地形受小尺度地貌过程的影响更大。索罗尔海槽中海山的粗糙度与海山体积具有线性相关性,可能与不同海山形成过程的差异有关,较早形成的海山受到了更多构造活动及小尺度地貌过程的影响,进而形成了更加粗糙的表面特征。     

Age of the Scan Basin (Scotia Sea)

Integrated geological and geophysical analysis of the anomalous magnetic field along with the previously unpublished profiles of Spanish expeditions onboard the R/V Hesperides and international databases of geomagnetic data processed in the context of the global tectonics concepts made it possible to identify paleomagnetic anomalies C11–C15 and compile the first map of the bottom geochronology of the Scan Basin. Unlike in earlier known publications, the paleoaxis of spreading does extend northeast, but approximately at an angle of 345°. According to calculations, spreading began 35.294?35.706 Ma ago during chron C15r, and the spreading paleoaxis was abandoned 29.527?29.970 Ma ago during chron C11n.2n. Thus, the destruction of the American–Antarctic bridge in the region joining the Bruce and Discovery banks with formation of oceanic crust in the Scan Basin started about 36 Ma ago. Regular spreading of the bottom has been continuing for about 6 Ma at a average rate close to 1.8 cm/year.     

Early Eocene sea floor spreading and continent-ocean boundary between Jan Mayen and Senja fracture zones in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea

Sea floor spreading anomalies in the Lofoten-Greenland basins reveal an unstable plate boundary characterized by several small-offset transforms for a period of 4 m.y. after opening. North of the Jan Mayen Fracture Zone, integrated analysis of magnetic and seismic data also document a distinct, persistent magnetic anomaly associated with the continent-ocean boundary and a locally, robust anomaly along the inner boundary of the break-up lavas. These results provide improved constraints on early opening plate reconstructions, which include a new anomaly 23-to-opening pole of rotation yielding more northerly relative motion vectors than previously recognized; and a solution of the enigmatic, azimuthal difference between the conjugate Eocene parts of the Greenland-Senja Fracture Zone if the Greenland Ridge is considered a continental sliver. The results confirm high, 2.36–2.40 cm yr^–1, early opening spreading rates, and are consistent with the start of sea floor spreading during Chron 24r. The potential field data along the landward prolongations of the Bivrost Fracture Zone suggest that its location is determined by a Mesozoic transfer system which has acted as a first-order, across-margin tectono-magmatic boundary between the regional Jan Mayen and Greenland-Senja Fracture Zone systems, greatly influencing the pre-, syn- and post-breakup margin development.     

帕里西维拉海盆西北部表层沉积物中粘土矿物的分布特征及物源分析

提要应用X射线衍射(XRD)方法对菲律宾海帕里西维拉海盆西北部的257个表层沉积物样品<2μm粘土组分进行了分析。结果表明,本研究区粘土矿物的组合特点是伊利石含量最高(平均含量47%),蒙皂石含量次之(平均含量35%),高岭石和绿泥石含量均很低(平均含量小于10%)。根据该区表层粘土矿物中伊利石、蒙皂石相对含量的分布,可以大体上分为两种含量组合类型,据此也可以划分出两个组合分区:Ⅰ.富伊利石分区,主要位于帕劳海脊和帕里西维拉海沟之间的大部分区域的地形平坦处;Ⅱ.富蒙皂石分区,主要位于研究区东部帕里西维拉海沟附近和南部零星区域。根据粘土矿物的平面分布特征,结合个别样品的扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和X射线能谱(EDS)分析,认为伊利石主要来源于研究区以西陆地及周边岛屿。伊利石的化学指数和结晶度指数表明,伊利石形成于物理风化较强的气候环境并可能与中国内陆黄土有关系,区内大部分蒙皂石具有富铁并含少量镁的特征,基性火山物质的蚀变是其主要成因,高岭石和绿泥石以陆源为主;风力的吹扬是研究区伊利石物质来源的主要输送方式,洋流作用对粘土矿物,尤其是蒙皂石矿物的分布具有一定影响。     

Crustal structure and tectonic provinces of the Riiser-Larsen Sea area (East Antarctica): results of geophysical studies

About 16,000 km of multichannel seismic (MCS), gravity and magnetic data and 28 sonobuoys were acquired in the Riiser-Larsen Sea Basin and across the Gunnerus and Astrid Ridges, to study their crustal structure. The study area has contrasting basement morphologies and crustal thicknesses. The crust ranges in thickness from about 35 km under the Riiser-Larsen Sea shelf, 26–28 km under the Gunnerus Ridge, 12–17 km under the Astrid Ridge, and 9.5–10 km under the deep-water basin. A 50-km-wide block with increased density and magnetization is modeled from potential field data in the upper crust of the inshore zone and is interpreted as associated with emplacement of mafic intrusions into the continental margin of the southern Riiser-Larsen Sea. In addition to previously mapped seafloor spreading magnetic anomalies in the western Riiser-Larsen Sea, a linear succession from M2 to M16 is identified in the eastern Riiser-Larsen Sea. In the southwestern Riiser-Larsen Sea, a symmetric succession from M24B to 24n with the central anomaly M23 is recognized. This succession is obliquely truncated by younger lineation M22–M22n. It is proposed that seafloor spreading stopped at about M23 time and reoriented to the M22 opening direction. The seismic stratigraphy model of the Riiser-Larsen Sea includes five reflecting horizons that bound six seismic units. Ages of seismic units are determined from onlap geometry to magnetically dated oceanic basement and from tracing horizons to other parts of the southern Indian Ocean. The seaward edge of stretched and attenuated continental crust in the southern Riiser-Larsen Sea and the landward edge of unequivocal oceanic crust are mapped based on structural and geophysical characteristics. In the eastern Riiser-Larsen Sea the boundary between oceanic and stretched continental crust is better defined and is interpreted as a strike-slip fault lying along a sheared margin.