边缘海盆地的形成机制及其对中国东南地质研究的启示

虽然有关边缘海的成因解释有“捕获机制”、弧后扩张(被动、主动)机制、陆内应力传播机制等,但迄今尚未有一种机制能统一解释所有边缘海的成因。边缘
海的成因不仅是经典的沟-弧-盆二维剖面问题,而应是一个包括平面图上大陆板块的变形在内的三维问题。边缘海的研究能给我国东部、特别是东南地区地质研究提供有益的启示,它包括:慎重鉴别古岛弧、对变质带、古洋壳及洋盆规模;充分注意小块体之间的碰撞,古转换断层在本区晚中生代岩浆活动、大陆增生过程中起重要作用;相关盆地内的沉积物记录着丰富的大陆碰撞、造山作用的信息。     

中国东部中—新生代大陆构造的形成与演化

20世纪60年代提出的"威尔逊旋回"以关闭洋盆两侧板块的碰撞作为板块运动旋回的终结,然而板块构造学说"登陆"20多年来的实践说明这种认识是不全面的。大陆弥散而宽广的陆内变形说明洋盆闭合两侧板块的碰撞并未终止板内构造作用。古亚洲大陆形成后中国东部中—新生代广泛发育的板内构造变形、岩浆活动、克拉通内盆地的形成都和古亚洲大陆南、北,印度洋和北冰洋洋脊的持续扩张、西太平洋和菲律宾洋壳的俯冲相关。本文拟厘清中国东部中—新生代大陆构造形成与演化的重大事件、构造性质、形成背景及其时空展布:(1)晚海西—印支期古特提斯洋关闭陆块拼合碰撞古亚洲大陆雏形形成;(2)晚侏罗—早白垩世蒙古—鄂霍茨克海闭合,陆-陆碰撞古亚洲大陆形成,挤压逆冲推覆构造在陆内变形中形成高潮,西太平洋伊佐奈岐洋壳板块的斜俯冲叠加了自东而西的影响;(3)早白垩世晚期—古近纪加厚地壳-岩石圈减薄、转型,陆内伸展变形达到高潮,大陆克拉通泛盆地、准平原化;(4)始新世晚期—早中新世(40~23 Ma)太平洋板块运动转向对东亚大陆NWW向的挤压和印度洋脊扩张印—澳板块对古亚洲南部陆-陆碰撞挤压的叠加,形成中国东部新生的构造地貌;(5)中-上新世—早更新世受东亚—西太平洋巨型裂谷系和印度洋中脊扩张的叠加影响,中国东部岩石圈地幔隆升、地壳减薄,陆缘、陆内伸展变形相继形成边缘海、岛弧、裂谷型盆地和剥蚀高原地貌;(6)早更新世晚期(0.9~0.8 Ma)—晚更新世末(0.01 Ma)中国东部大陆构造地貌基本形成。     

西太平洋边缘海盆的主要特征及成因探讨

太平洋西缘分布着一系列边缘海盆，这些边缘海盆形态各异，构造多变，是地球上独特的构造－地貌单元，通过分析边缘海盆的地质和地球物理特征，并从地幔运动引起的地质作用出发，提出西太平洋边缘海盆是由地幔向东的蠕散和流动促使地壳拉张，变薄和破裂所致。     

Diffuse magnetic anomalies in marginal basins: Their possible tectonic and petrologic significance

Marginal basins, areas of oceanic lithosphere peripheral to large ocean basins, may be formed by several processes, but the young active marginal basins have the geophysical and geochemical characteristics of young normal oceanic lithosphere. We recognize two distinct tectonic settings in which new oceanic lithosphere may be formed in areas which would be termed marginal basins:

1. (1) Upwelling of fractional melts of mantle material from the region above subducted lithospheric slabs leads to the generation of new oceanic lithosphere behind island arcs. The general case for this tectonic setting involves random location of magma leaks and does not produce correlatable magnetic anomalies. In special cases, an orthogonal ridge—transform system may duplicate the magnetic patterns found on ocean-basin crust.

2. (2) The second tectonic setting develops on very long “leaky” transform faults separating spreading ridges. In areas where the transform has dislocated a block of continental crust, or an island arc, the map view of the resulting marginal basin may resemble the setting of a basin behind an active island arc. However, the “leaky” transform setting is unrelated to active plate convergence or to Benioff zones.

At “normal” ridge-crests, and possibly in some marginal basins, basalt is erupted on long linear magma leaks and rapid cooling forms thick lithosphere with correlatable linear magnetic anomalies. Some marginal basins have high thermal flux, spread slowly and may have thick sediment cover. Slow cooling, numerous point-source magma leaks and extensive hydrothermal alteration diminish magnetic intensities and cause diffuse magnetic patterns. The correlation problems caused by diffuse magnetic anomalies make interpretations of spreading rates and directions in young marginal basins a difficult, if not futile, task.It is likely that fragments of marginal-basin lithosphere form some of the ophiolite complexes; their recognition is critical to paleo-tectonic interpretations. The geochemical characteristics of marginal-basin basalts do not appear to be useful criteria for distinguishing them from ocean-ridge basalts. However, the abundance of short ridges and seamounts in many young marginal basins suggests that an abundance of seamount material, as well as differentiated volcanic and plutonic rocks, in ophiolites may be an indication of derivation from marginal-basin lithosphere.     

Plate kinematics, origin and tectonic emplacement of supra-subduction ophiolites in SE Asia

A unique feature of the Circum Pacific orogenic belts is the occurrence of ophiolitic bodies of various sizes, most of which display petrological and geochemical characteristics typical of supra-subduction zone oceanic crust. In SE Asia, a majority of the ophiolites appear to have originated at convergent margins, and specifically in backarc or island arc settings, which evolved either along the edge of the Sunda (Eurasia) and Australian cratons, or within the Philippine Sea Plate. These ophiolites were later accreted to continental margins during the Tertiary. Because of fast relative plate velocities, tectonic regimes at the active margins of these three plates also changed rapidly. Strain partitioning associated with oblique convergence caused arc-trench systems to move further away from the locus of their accretion. We distinguish “relatively autochthonous ophiolites” resulting from the shortening of marginal basins such as the present-day South China Sea or the Coral Sea, and “highly displaced ophiolites” developed in oblique convergent margins, where they were dismantled, transported and locally severely sheared during final docking. In peri-cratonic mobile belts (i.e. the Philippine Mobile Belt) we find a series of oceanic basins which have been slightly deformed and uplifted. Varying lithologies and geochemical compositions of tectonic units in these basins, as well as their age discrepancies, suggest important displacements along major wrench faults.We have used plate tectonic reconstructions to restore the former backarc basins and island arcs characterized by known petro-geochemical data to their original location and their former tectonic settings. Some of the ophiolites occurring in front of the Sunda plate represent supra-subduction zone basins formed along the Australian Craton margin during the Mesozoic. The Philippine Sea Basin, the Huatung basin south of Taiwan, and composite ophiolitic basements of the Philippines and Halmahera may represent remnants of such marginal basins. The portion of the Philippine Sea Plate carrying the Taiwan–Philippine arc and its composite ophiolitic/continental crustal basement might have actually originated in a different setting, closer to that of the Papua New Guinea Ophiolite, and then have been displaced rapidly as a result of shearing associated with fast oblique convergence.     

Characteristics of crustal variation and extensional break-up in the Western Pacific back-arc region based on a wide-angle seismic profile

The marginal sea and back-arc basins in the Western Pacific Ocean have become the focus of tectonics due to their unique tectonic location.To understand the deep crustal structure in the back-arc region, we present a 545-kmlong active-source ocean bottom seismometer(OBS) wide-angle reflection/refraction profile in the East China Sea.The P wave velocity model shows that the Moho depth rises significantly, from approximately 30 km in the East China Sea shelf to approximately 16 km in the axis of the Okinawa Trough.The lower crustal high-velocity zone(HVZ) in the southern Okinawa Trough, with V_p of 6.8–7.3 km/s, is a remarkable manifestation of the mantle material upwelling and accretion to the lower crust.This confirms that the lower crustal high-velocity mantle accretion is developed in the southern Okinawa Trough.During the process of back-arc extension, the crustal structure of the southern Okinawa Trough is completely invaded and penetrated by the upper mantle material in the axis region.In some areas of the southern central graben, the crust may has broken up and entered the initial stage of seafloor spreading.The discontinuous HVZs in the lower crust in the back-arc region also indicate the migration of spreading centers in the back-arc region since the Cenozoic.The asthenosphere material upwelling in the continent-ocean transition zone is constantly driving the lithosphere eastward for episodic extension, and is causing evident tectonic migration in the Western Pacific back-arc region.     

再论台湾造山带构造格架与演化过程SCIEI北大核心CSCD

台湾造山带是中新世晚期以来相邻菲律宾海板块往北西方向移动,导致北吕宋岛弧系统及弧前增生楔与欧亚大陆边缘斜碰撞形成的。目前该造山带仍在活动,虽然规模很小,但形成了多数大型碰撞造山带中的所有构造单元,是研究年轻造山系统的理想野外实验室,为理解西太平洋弧-陆碰撞过程和边缘海演化提供了一个独特的窗口。本文总结了二十一世纪以来对台湾造山带的诸多研究进展,讨论了其构造单元划分及演化过程。我们将台湾造山带重新划分为6个构造单元,由西至东分依次为:(1)西部前陆盆地;(2)中央山脉褶皱逆冲带;(3)太鲁阁带;(4)玉里-利吉蛇绿混杂岩带;(5)纵谷磨拉石盆地;(6)海岸山脉岛弧系统。其中,西部前陆盆地为6.5Ma以来伴随台湾造山带的隆升剥蚀形成沉积盆地。中央山脉褶皱逆冲带为新生代(57~5.3Ma)欧亚大陆东缘伸展盆地沉积物由于弧-陆碰撞受褶皱、逆冲及变质作用改造形成的。太鲁阁带是造山带中的古老陆块,主要记录中生代古太平洋俯冲在欧亚大陆活动边缘形成的岩浆、沉积和变质岩作用。玉里-利吉蛇绿混杂岩带和海岸山脉岛弧系统分别为中新世中期(~18Ma)以来南中国海板块向菲律宾海板块之下俯冲形成的岛弧和弧前增生楔,其中玉里混杂岩中有典型低温高压变质作用记录,变质年龄为11~9Ma;岛弧火山作用的主要时限为9.2~4.2Ma。纵谷磨拉石盆地记录1.1Ma以来的山间盆地沉积。台湾造山带的构造演化可划分为4个阶段:(a)古太平洋板块俯冲与欧亚大陆边缘增生阶段(200~60Ma);(b)欧亚大陆东缘伸展和南中国海扩张阶段(60~18Ma);(c)南中国海俯冲阶段(18~4Ma);(d)弧-陆碰撞阶段(<6Ma)。台湾弧-陆碰撞造山带是一个特殊案例,其弧-陆碰撞并不伴随着弧-陆之间的洋盆消亡,而是由于北吕宋岛弧及弧前增生楔伴随菲律宾海板块运动向西北方走滑,仰冲到欧亚大陆边缘,形成现今的台湾造山带。     

Marginal basins of the NW Pacific and Eastern Eurasia

ABSTRACT

The broad zone between old oceanic lithosphere of the NW Pacific and Eastern Eurasian continental lithosphere is home to a chain of marginal basins. Different from oceans, marginal basins are more influenced by the underlying subduction zone both geophysically and geochemically and are more likely to be blanketed by sediments from the nearby continent. This special issue collects 19 papers that explore the tectonic, magmatic, sedimentary and fluid activity features of marginal basins during rifting, spreading and post-spreading stages. Most papers in this special issue focus on South China Sea marginal basins, where abundant research provides interesting insights into how marginal sea basins evolve. Because South China Sea basins are fully evolved and their key features have not been overprinted by younger deformation, the results of this special issue are very useful for understanding the evolution of other marginal basins.     

Consolidation of the American Cordilleras

The continental margin orogenic systems of the western Americas are enormous features that formed along the Pacific margins of the North and South American plates during late Mesozoic through Cenozoic time. There has been considerable debate concerning their origin, and they are often compared with intra-oceanic fringing arc-trench systems more typical of the Australasian margins of the Pacific Ocean, in that both involve the subduction of oceanic lithosphere, often with similar convergent relative motion vectors. The onset of orogenesis in the two Cordilleras, as shown in reversal of sedimentary polarity from sources generally on the continent to sources along the Pacific margin, seems to date from shortly after emplacement of the oldest oceanic crust in that part of the Atlantic Ocaen east of each continent — i.e., about 170 Ma, or Middle Jurassic, in the case of the Central Atlantic, and about 135 to 100 Ma, or Early to mid-Cretaceous, in the case of the South Atlantic. These ages also seem to mark the onset of westward motion of the two continents over the Pacific Ocean basin and subsequent crustal thickening and uplift, with development of thrust belts, foreland basins, and foredeeps. Prior to this prolonged westward drift, both margins had been convergent for at least several hundred million years, but no massive mountain building had taken place. Instead, the margins were tectonically “neutral”, with typically submarine fringing arc-trench systems or shallow marine to continental margin arcs which stood “outboard” of shallow marine platformal shelves or basins whose main sedimentary polarity was from the continent. Although accretion of “suspect” terranes, high rates of convergence, and age of subducting lithosphere all may have influenced particularly local tectonic response and/or phases of orogenic activity in the two chains, the absolute motion of the two continental margins over the Pacific Ocean basin is considered to have been the dominant factor in Cordilleran tectonic evolution.     

Cenozoic uplift and subsidence in the North Atlantic region: Geological evidence revisited

The topographic evolution of the “passive” margins of the North Atlantic during the last 65 Myr is the subject of extensive debate due to inherent limitations of the geological, geomorphological and geophysical methods used for studies of uplift and subsidence. We have compiled a database of sign, time and amplitude (where possible) of topographic changes in the North Atlantic region during the Cenozoic (65–0 Ma). Our compilation is based on published results from reflection seismic studies, AFT (apatite fission track) studies, VR (vitrinite reflectance) trends, maximum burial, sediment supply studies, mass balance calculations and extrapolation of seismic profiles to onshore geomorphological features. The integration of about 200 published results reveal a clear pattern of topographic changes in the North Atlantic region during the Cenozoic: (1) The first major phase of Cenozoic regional uplift occurred in the late Palaeocene–early Eocene (ca 60–50 Ma), probably related to the break-up of the North Atlantic between Europe and Greenland, as indicated by the northward propagation of uplift. It was preceded by middle Palaeocene uplift and over-deepening of some basins of the North Sea and the surrounding areas. (2) A regional increase in subsidence in the offshore marginal areas of Norway, the northern North Sea, the northern British Isles and west Greenland took place in the Eocene (ca 57–35 Ma). (3) The Oligocene and Miocene (35–5 Ma) were characterized by regional tectonic quiescence, with only localised uplift, probably related to changes in plate dynamics. (4) The second major phase of regional uplift that affected all marginal areas of the North Atlantic occurred in the Plio-Pleistocene (5–0 Ma). Its amplitude was enhanced by erosion-driven glacio-isostatic compensation. Despite inconclusive evidence, this phase is likely to be ongoing at present.     

Tethyan, Mediterranean, and Pacific analogues for the Neoproterozoic–Paleozoic birth and development of peri-Gondwanan terranes and their transfer to Laurentia and Laurussia

Modern Tethyan, Mediterranean, and Pacific analogues are considered for several Appalachian, Caledonian, and Variscan terranes (Carolina, West and East Avalonia, Oaxaquia, Chortis, Maya, Suwannee, and Cadomia) that originated along the northern margin of Neoproterozoic Gondwana. These terranes record a protracted geological history that includes: (1) 1 Ga (Carolina, Avalonia, Oaxaquia, Chortis, and Suwannee) or 2 Ga (Cadomia) basement; (2) 750–600 Ma arc magmatism that diachronously switched to rift magmatism between 590 and 540 Ma, accompanied by development of rift basins and core complexes, in the absence of collisional orogenesis; (3) latest Neoproterozoic–Cambrian separation of Avalonia and Carolina from Gondwana leading to faunal endemism and the development of bordering passive margins; (4) Ordovician transport of Avalonia and Carolina across Iapetus terminating in Late Ordovician–Early Silurian accretion to the eastern Laurentian margin followed by dispersion along this margin; (5) Siluro-Devonian transfer of Cadomia across the Rheic Ocean; and (6) Permo-Carboniferous transfer of Oaxaquia, Chortis, Maya, and Suwannee during the amalgamation of Pangea. Three potential models are provided by more recent tectonic analogues: (1) an “accordion” model based on the orthogonal opening and closing of Alpine Tethys and the Mediterranean; (2) a “bulldozer” model based on forward-modelling of Australia during which oceanic plateaus are dispersed along the Australian plate margin; and (3) a “Baja” model based on the Pacific margin of North America where the diachronous replacement of subduction by transform faulting as a result of ridge–trench collision has been followed by rifting and the transfer of Baja California to the Pacific Plate. Future transport and accretion along the western Laurentian margin may mimic that of Baja British Columbia. Present geological data for Avalonia and Carolina favour a transition from a “Baja” model to a “bulldozer” model. By analogy with the eastern Pacific, we name the oceanic plates off northern Gondwana: Merlin (≡Farallon), Morgana (≡Pacific), and Mordred (≡Kula). If Neoproterozoic subduction was towards Gondwana, application of this combined model requires a total rotation of East Avalonia and Carolina through 180° either during separation (using a western Transverse Ranges model), during accretion (using a Baja British Columbia “train wreck” model), or during dispersion (using an Australia “bulldozer” model). On the other hand, Siluro-Devonian orthogonal transfer (“accordion” model) from northern Africa to southern Laurussia followed by a Carboniferous “Baja” model appears to best fit the existing data for Cadomia. Finally, Oaxaquia, Chortis, Maya, and Suwannee appear to have been transported along the margin of Gondwana until it collided with southern Laurentia on whose margin they were stranded following the breakup of Pangea. Forward modeling of a closing Mediterranean followed by breakup on the African margin may provide a modern analogue. These actualistic models differ in their dictates on the initial distribution of the peri-Gondwanan terranes and can be tested by comparing features of the modern analogues with their ancient tectonic counterparts.     

Combined tectonics and climate forcing for the widespread aeolian dust accumulation in the Chinese Loess Plateau since the early late Miocene

Currently mechanisms for the onset of the widespread aeolian dust accumulation in the Chinese Loess Plateau since 8–7 Ma remain elusive. In this study, we compile 11 records of climate (14–7 Ma) and tectonic activity of the Tibetan Plateau and its adjacent areas (15–6 Ma). The results suggest that strong tectonic activity in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau has produced massive debris and dust, which was deposited in the piedmont basins and reworked by weathering and fluviolacustrine erosion. At the same time, global cooling and uplift of the Tibetan Plateau over the period of 14–7 Ma intensified the East Asian winter monsoon and westerly winds (westerlies) while weakening the Asian summer monsoon, which led to the spread of dry land vegetation and aridification in interior China. Sediments in the piedmont basins were then exposed in the aridity and transported by the westerlies to the Chinese Loess Plateau and the North Pacific. We suggest that tectonic activity in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau and shifting global climate together triggered the widespread aeolian dust accumulation in the Chinese Loess Plateau and the North Pacific since 8–7 Ma.     

南海大陆边缘盆地构造演化差异性及其与南海扩张耦合关系

南海大陆边缘盆地由于边界条件的差异,不仅形成了不同类型的陆缘盆地,如离散型、走滑伸展型和伸展挠曲复合型,而且这些盆地构造演化存在明显的非同步性。这些陆缘破裂过程与南海扩张作用过程呈现明显不一致性。研究表明,南海扩张时期南海南、北大陆边缘均形成了一系列裂陷盆地,然而,南海南部、北部大陆边缘盆地裂陷作用结束时间不同,北部大陆边缘盆地裂陷作用结束于23 Ma或21 Ma,而南部大陆边缘盆地裂陷作用结束于15.5 Ma,显然北部大陆边缘盆地裂陷结束时间明显早于南部大陆边缘盆地。南海扩张停止后,南海南、北部陆缘仍表现出明显差异,北部陆缘仍以伸展作用为主,晚中新世以来出现快速沉降幕,而南海南部陆缘则以挤压作用为主,且其挤压时间及强度呈现南早北晚的特点,即南部曾母盆地明显早于南薇西盆地和北康盆地。南海南、北大陆边缘盆地形成演化的差异性,特别是构造转型差异变化,为新生代南海扩张的迁移性提供了有力的佐证,可以推断南海不同期次海盆扩张可能存在向南的突然跃迁。因此,本次研究梳理出的南海不同陆缘盆地张裂伸展的非同步性可为南海洋盆扩张演化过程解释提供新的证据。     

东亚西太平洋巨型裂谷体系岩石圈与软流圈结构及动力学

笔者根据地震面波层析成像结果，对欧亚大陆及西太平洋岩石圈和软流圈速度结构进行了研究，发现东亚至西太平洋间存在一巨型低速异常带，结合构造地质学、地幔岩石学、地球化学及其他地球物理特性的研究，确认该区存在巨型裂谷体系。该巨型裂谷体系的岩石圈和软流圈三维Vs速度结构与太平洋洋中脊、大西洋洋中脊和印度洋洋中脊及其邻区的岩石圈和软流圈地震Vs速度结构十分相似，而与东太平洋边缘现代板块俯冲带的岩石圈与软流圈Vs速度结构有显著差异。在进一步论述该区动力学特征后认为，该巨型裂谷体系是中生代中晚期以来岩石圈整体主动伸展变形，大型裂陷盆地形成，岩石圈强烈拆沉减薄，以及软流圈物质上涌加热引起的。边缘海是在大陆裂谷系形成基础上发展起来的，主导扩张期为中渐新世至中中新世（32－13Ma），这些边缘海在17－15Ma后停止扩张，因而未能将所有边缘海和洋中脊联通。据此划分出4期构造变形动力学演化阶段，现今东亚至西太平洋间大陆裂谷、边缘海与沟弧体系是新生代中晚期以来，邻区各板块构造相互作用叠加的结果。     

Structural Characteristics and Formation Dynamics: A Review of the Main Sedimentary Basins in the Continent of China

The formation and evolution of basins in the China continent are closely related to the collages of many blocks and orogenic belts. Based on a large amount of the geological, geophysical, petroleum exploration data and a large number of published research results, the basement constitutions and evolutions of tectonic–sedimentary of sedimentary basins, the main border fault belts and the orogenesis of their peripheries of the basins are analyzed. Especially, the main typical basins in the eight divisions in the continent of China are analyzed in detail, including the Tarim, Ordos, Sichuan, Songliao, Bohai Bay, Junggar, Qiadam and Qiangtang basins. The main five stages of superimposed evolutions processes of basins revealed, which accompanied with the tectonic processes of the Paleo–Asian Ocean, Tethyan and Western Pacific domains. They contained the formations of main Cratons(1850–800 Ma), developments of marine basins(800–386 Ma), developments of Marine–continental transition basins and super mantle plumes(386–252 Ma), amalgamation of China Continent and developments of continental basins(252–205 Ma) and development of the foreland basins in the western and extensional faulted basin in the eastern of China(205–0 Ma). Therefore, large scale marine sedimentary basins existed in the relatively stable continental blocks of the Proterozoic, developed during the Neoproterozoic to Paleozoic, with the property of the intracontinental cratons and peripheral foreland basins, the multistage superimposing and late reformations of basins. The continental basins developed on the weak or preexisting divisional basements, or the remnant and reformed marine basins in the Meso–Cenozoic, are mainly the continental margins, back–arc basins, retroarc foreland basins, intracontinental rifts and pull–apart basins. The styles and intensity deformation containing the faults, folds and the structural architecture of regional unconformities of the basins, responded to the openings, subductions, closures of oceans, the continent–continent collisions and reactivation of orogenies near the basins in different periods. The evolutions of the Tianshan–Mongol–Hinggan, Kunlun–Qilian–Qinling–Dabie–Sulu, Jiangshao–Shiwandashan, Helanshan–Longmengshan, Taihang–Wuling orogenic belts, the Tibet Plateau and the Altun and Tan–Lu Fault belts have importantly influenced on the tectonic–sedimentary developments, mineralization and hydrocarbon reservoir conditions of their adjacent basins in different times. The evolutions of basins also rely on the deep structures of lithosphere and the rheological properties of the mantle. The mosaic and mirroring geological structures of the deep lithosphere reflect the pre–existed divisions and hot mantle upwelling, constrain to the origins and transforms dynamics of the basins. The leading edges of the basin tectonic dynamics will focus on the basin and mountain coupling, reconstruction of the paleotectonic–paleogeography, establishing relationship between the structural deformations of shallow surface to the deep lithosphere or asthenosphere, as well as the restoring proto–basin and depicting residual basin of the Paleozoic basin, the effects of multiple stages of volcanism and paleo–earthquake events in China.     

Subduction,mega-shear systems and Late Palaeozoic basin development in the African segment of Gondwana

 Basins within the African sector of Gondwana contain a Late Palaeozoic to Early Mesozoic Gondwana sequence unconformably overlying Precambrian basement in the interior and mid-Palaeozoic strata along the palaeo-Pacific margin. Small sea-board Pacific basins form an exception in having a Carboniferous to Early Permian fill overlying Devonian metasediments and intrusives. The Late Palaeozoic geographic and tectonic changes in the region followed four well-defined consecutive events which can also be traced outside the study area. During the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous period (up to 330 Ma) accretion of microplates along the Patagonian margin of Gondwana resulted in the evolution of the Pacific basins. Thermal uplift of the Gondwana crust and extensive erosion causing a break in the stratigraphic record characterised the period between 300 and 330 Ma. At the end of this period the Gondwana Ice Sheet was well established over the uplands. The period 260–300 Ma evidenced the release of the Gondwana heat and thermal subsidence caused widespread basin formation. Late Carboniferous transpressive strike-slip basins (e.g. Sierra Australes/Colorado, Karoo-Falklands, Ellsworth-Central Transantarctic Mountains) in which thick glacial deposits accumulated, formed inboard of the palaeo-Pacific margin. In the continental interior the formation of Zambesi-type rift and extensional strike-slip basins were controlled by large mega-shear systems, whereas rare intracratonic thermal subsidence basins formed locally. In the Late Permian the tectonic regime changed to compressional largely due to northwest-directed subduction along the palaeo-Pacific margin. The orogenic cycle between 240 and 260 Ma resulted in the formation of the Gondwana fold belt and overall north–south crustal shortening with strike-slip motions and regional uplift within the interior. The Gondwana fold belt developed along a probable weak crustal zone wedged in between the cratons and an overthickened marginal crustal belt subject to dextral transpressive motions. Associated with the orogenic cycle was the formation of mega-shear systems one of which (Falklands-East Africa-Tethys shear) split the supercontinent in the Permo-Triassic into a West and an East Gondwana. By a slight clockwise rotation of East Gondwana a supradetachment basin formed along the Tethyan margin and northward displacement of Madagascar, West Falkland and the Gondwana fold belt occurred relative to a southward motion of Africa. Received: 2 October 1995 / Accepted: 28 May 1996     

Superplume, supercontinent, and post-perovskite: Mantle dynamics and anti-plate tectonics on the Core–Mantle Boundary

The Western Pacific Triangular Zone (WPTZ) is the frontier of a future supercontinent to be formed at 250 Ma after present. The WPTZ is characterized by double-sided subduction zones to the east and south, and is a region dominated by extensive refrigeration and water supply into the mantle wedge since at least 200 Ma. Long stagnant slabs extending over 1200 km are present in the mid-Mantle Boundary Layer (MBL, 410–660 km) under the WPTZ, whereas on the Core–Mantle Boundary (CMB, 2700–2900 km depth), there is a thick high-V anomaly, presumably representing a slab graveyard. To explain the D″ layer cold anomaly, catastrophic collapse of once stagnant slabs in MBL is necessary, which could have occurred at 30–20 Ma, acting as a trigger to open a series of back-arc basins, hot regions, small ocean basins, and presumably formation of a series of microplates in both ocean and continent. These events were the result of replacement of upper mantle by hotter and more fertile materials from the lower mantle.The thermal structure of the solid Earth was estimated by the phase diagrams of Mid Oceanic Ridge Basalt (MORB) and pyrolite combined with seismic discontinuity planes at 410–660 km, thickness of the D″ layers, and distribution of the ultra-low velocity zone (ULVZ). The result clearly shows the presence of two major superplumes and one downwelling. Thermal structure of the Earth seems to be controlled by the subduction history back to 180 Ma, except in the D″ layer. The thermal structure of the D″ layer seems to be controlled by older slab-graveyards, as expected by paleogeographic reconstructions for Laurasia, Gondwana and Rodinia back to 700 Ma.Comparison of mantle tomography between the Pacific superplume and underneath the WPTZ suggests the transformation of a cold slab graveyard to a large-scale mantle upwelling with time. The Pacific superplume was born from the coldest CMB underneath the 1.0–0.75 Ga supercontinent Rodinia where huge amounts of cold slabs had accumulated through collision-amalgamation of more than 12 continents. A high velocity P-wave anomaly on a whole-mantle scale shows stagnant slabs restricted to the MBL of circum-Pacific and Tethyan regions. The high velocity zones can be clearly identified within the Pacific domain, suggesting the presence of slab graveyards formed at geological periods much older than the breakup of Rodinia. We speculate that the predominant subduction occurred through the formation period of Gondwana, presumably very active during 600 to 540 Ma period, and again from 400 to 300 Ma during the formation of the northern half of Pangea (Laurasia). We correlate the three dominant slab graveyards with three major orogenies in earth history, with the emerging picture suggesting that the present-day Pacific superplume is located at the center of the Rodinian slab graveyard.We speculate the mechanism of superplume formation through a comparison of the thermal structure of the mantle combined with seismic tomography under the Western Pacific Triangular Zone (WPTZ), Laurasia (Asia), Gondwana (Africa), and Rodinia (Pacific). The coldest mantle formed by extensive subduction to generate a supercontinent, changes with time of the order of several hundreds of million years to the hottest mantle underneath the supercontinent. The Pacific superplume is tightly defined by a steep velocity gradient on the margin, particularly well documented by S-wave velocity. The outermost region of the superplume is characterized by the Rodinia slab graveyard forming a donut-shape. We develop a petrologic model for the Pacific superplume and show how larger plumes are generated at shallower depths in the mantle. We link the mechanism of formation of the superplume to the presence of the mineral post-perovskite, the phase transformation of which to perovskite is exothermic, and thus aids in transporting core heat to mantle, and finally to planetary space by plumes.We summarize the characteristics of tectonic processes operating at the CMB to propose the existence of an “anti-crust” generated through “anti-plate tectonics” at the bottom of the mantle. The chemistry of the anti-crust markedly contrasts with that of the continental crust overlying the mantle. Both the crust and the anti-crust must have increased in volume through geologic time, in close relation with the geochemical reservoirs of the Earth. The process of formation of a new superplume closely accompanies the process of development of anti-crust at the bottom of mantle, through the production of dense melt from the partial melting of recycled MORB, observed now as the ULVZ. When CMB temperature is recovered to near 4000 K through phase transformation, the recycled MORB is partially melted imparting chemical buoyancy of the andesitic residual solid which rises up from CMB, leaving behind the dense melt to sink to CMB and thus increase the mass of anti-crust. These small-scale plumes develop to a large-scale superplume through collision and amalgamation with time. When all recycled MORBs are consumed, it is the time of demise of superplume. Immediately above the CMB, anti-plate tectonics operates to develop anti-crust through the horizontal movement of accumulated slab and their partial melting. Thus, we speculate that another continent, or even a supercontinent, has developed through geologic time at the bottom of the mantle.We also evaluate the heating vs. cooling models in relation to mantle dynamics. Rising plumes control not only the rifting of supercontinents and continents, but also the Atlantic stage as seen by anchored ridge by hotspots in the last 200 Ma in the Atlantic. Therefore, we propose that the major driving force for the mantle dynamics is the heat supplied from the high-T core, and not the slab pull force by cooling. The best analogy for this is the atmospheric circulation driven by the energy from Sun.     

松辽盆地新生代构造演化对砂岩型铀矿成矿的控制作用——来自磷灰石裂变径迹的证据

本文针对松辽盆地北部隆起区的4个钻孔13件样品系统展开了磷灰石裂变径迹测试,揭示了松辽盆地新生代构造演化对砂岩型铀矿床的限制作用。13件磷灰石裂变径迹测试结果表明,松辽盆地北部晚白垩世以来的构造演化过程主要经历了3期快速隆升事件：①晚白垩世—始新世(71~48 Ma),期间以8~56 m/Ma的平均速率隆升,盆地北部整体呈抬升状态;②早渐新世—中新世(36~18 Ma),期间以24~49 m/Ma的平均速率隆升,盆地北部呈差异性抬升过程,第二期抬升事件隆升强度和持续时间较第一期抬升事件略低;③中新世 至今(18~0 Ma),期间以2~19 m/Ma的平均速率隆升,盆地北部缓慢抬升,构造活动较弱,三期构造抬升事件与太平洋板块俯冲速率和方向转向密切相关。结合前人低温热年代学数据,针对南部地区钱家店铀矿床成矿年代学成果研究发现,新生代以来的构造抬升事件伴生其后均成藏有砂岩型铀矿,砂岩型铀成矿与新生代构造密切相关,尤其与中新世末次隆升事件紧密相关,成矿过程延续至今。     

中国东部新生代沉积盆地演化

新生代, 中国东部大陆边缘系统总体受到来自印度、澳大利亚、菲律宾和太平洋板块向欧亚板块下部俯冲碰撞的作用, 在大陆边缘形成一系列边缘海盆地和断陷-坳陷盆地, 主要发育松辽、渤海湾、江汉、苏北、东海、珠江口和北部湾等盆地.基于中国东部沉积盆地的中生代构造背景分析和新生代盆地的分布特征, 对其中的7个主要沉积盆地进行了详细的沉积序列和构造演化分析.通过周缘板块和郯庐断裂的构造演化、火山活动、低温热年代学、气候演变等对比分析, 中国东部沉积盆地的演化可划分为3个阶段: 古新世-始新世、渐新世-早中新世和晚中新世-第四纪.      

Tectonic evolution of Cretaceous extensional basins in Zhejiang Province,eastern South China: structural and geochronological constraints

Widespread Cretaceous volcanic basins are common in eastern South China and are crucial to understanding how the Circum-Pacific and Tethyan plate boundaries evolved and interacted with one another in controlling the tectonic evolution of South China. Lithostratigraphic units in these basins are grouped, in ascending order, into the Early Cretaceous volcanic suite (K_1V), the Yongkang Group (K_1-2), and the Jinqu Group (K₂). SHRIMP U-Pb zircon geochronological results indicate that (1) the Early Cretaceous volcanic suite (K_1V) erupted at 136–129 Ma, (2) the Yongkang Group (K_1-2) was deposited from 129 Ma to 91 Ma, and (3) the deposition of the Jinqu Group (K₂) post-dated 91 Ma. Structural analyses of fault-slip data from these rock units delineate a four-stage tectonic evolution of the basins during Cretaceous to Palaeogene time. The first stage (Early to middle Cretaceous time, 136–91 Ma) was dominated by NW–SE extension, as manifested by voluminous volcanism, initial opening of NE-trending basins, and deposition of the Yongkang Group. This extension was followed during Late Cretaceous time by NW–SE compression that inverted previous rift basins. During the third stage in Late Cretaceous time, possibly since 78.5 Ma, the tectonic stress changed to N–S extension, which led to basin opening and deposition of the Jinqu Group along E-trending faults. This extension probably lasted until early Palaeogene time and was terminated by the latest NE–SW compressional deformation that caused basin inversion again. Geodynamically, the NW–SE-oriented stress fields were associated with plate kinematics along the Circum-Pacific plate boundary, and the extension–compression alternation is interpreted as resulting from variations of the subducted slab dynamics. A drastic change in the tectonic stress field from NW–SE to N–S implies that the Pacific subduction-dominated back-arc extension and shortening were completed in the Late Cretaceous, and simultaneously, that Neo-Tethyan subduction became dominant and exerted a new force on South China. The ongoing Neo-Tethyan subduction might provide plausible geodynamic interpretations for the Late Cretaceous N–S extension-dominated basin rifting, and the subsequent Cenozoic India–Asia collision might explain the early Palaeogene NE–SW compression-dominated basin inversion.