Evolution of Can-Etili(Canakkale-NW Turkey) lignite basin:Sedimentology,petrology,palynology and lignite characterization

This study examines the development and sedimentology of Can-Etili lignite basin in Biga Peninsula(NW Turkey) along with the palynologic and petrographic properties of the coals in this region.The CanEtili lignite basin discordantly overlies Oligocene-aged Can volcanics.The basin consists of caldera type sedimentation developed by the combined effects of volcanism and tectonics.The volcanic rocks forming the basement of the basin consist of andesitic,dacitic and basaltic lava flows as well as agglomerates,tuff and silicified tuffs,and kaolin which is their alteration product.The basement volcanic rocks cooled from high potassium and calc-alkaline magma.The trace element geochemistry of different rocks within the volcanics reveals that they are from a volcanic arc.The Can Formation contains lignites and consists of6 lithofacies representing alluvial,fluvial,marsh and lacustrine environments.These lithofacies are the lower volcanogenic conglomerate,the claystone,the lignite,the laminated organic claystone,the tuff intercalated sandstone-siltstone and the upper volcanogenic conglomerate.The lignite in the basin is limnic and is formed in a non-fluvial marsh and marsh-lake environment.An abundant percentage of vegetation(Engelhardia,Sapotaceae,Cyrillaceae) is compatible with temperate and subtropical climatic conditions in the basin during sedimentation of lignite.The coals of Can-Etili basin are humic with high sulfur content(6-6.5%average) mostly containing huminite compounds belonging to the class of lignitelow bituminous(C-A) coal.Their coalification rank is between 0.38%and 0.56%Ro.The coals are formed in limnic-limnotelmatic marsh zones based on their microlithotype components.The inorganic components of the coal mostly consist of pyrite and clay.The trace elements,As,Th,U and V,are higher than international coal standards.The coal quality is adversely affected by high sulfur content and sulfur driven trace element enrichments.The lignite reserve(possible-proved) of Can-Etili basin is greater than a hundred million tons,and the average coal seam thickness is 17 m.The lignite production in the basin is 3 mt/year and 1.8 million tons of this are used in the local thermal power plant.     

The genesis of Archean supracrustal rocks in the western Shandong Province of North China Craton: Constraints on regional crustal evolution

Archean greenstone belts are supracrustal sequences, the lower part of which is usually composed of voluminous ultramafic-mafic volcanics. Intermediate and acid volcanic rocks increase in abundance towards the upper domains. Greenstone belts constitute ~30% of the total volume of Archean cratons, and preserve significant information on the surface environment and magmatism in the early earth, which are useful in unraveling the nature of crustal formation and evolution. The western Shandong Province(WSP) is located at the eastern part of the North China Craton(NCC), where greenstone sequences formed at ~2.7 and ~2.5 Ga were well preserved. The early Neoarchean supracrustal rocks include komatiite-basalt sequence, some meta-sediments of the lower part of the Taishan Group and the Mengjiatun Formation. The volcanism had been correlated to mantle plume, which resulted in vertical crustal accretion. The late Neoarchean supracrustal rocks were composed of metamorphosed felsic volcano-sedimentary sequences and BIFs of the upper part of the Taishan Group and the Jining Group. The geochemical features of the meta-volcanics show calc-alkaline affinities, similar to modern arc-related magmatism, suggesting that the continental crust in the western Shandong Province witnessed horizontal plate movements at ~2.5 Ga. The metasediments and leucosomes in the Qixingtai area display regional upper amphibolite facies metamorphism and anatexis at 2.53–2.50 Ga, coeval with formation of large volumes of crustally-derived granites. These tectono-thermal events suggest that a unified continental crust was formed in the western Shandong Province at the end of Neoarchean.     

3450-m.y.-old volcanics in the Archaean layered greenstone succession of the Pilbara Block,Western Australia

Zircon U-Pb systems from a single block sample of columnar dacite from the early Archaean Warrawoona Group from the layered “greenstone” succession of the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, indicate an age of3452 ± 16 (2σ) m.y. This is interpreted as the age of the dacite, and is the oldest age so far determined from the Archaean of Australia. This confirms the antiquity of the Warrawoona Group and suggests a close age relationship between the Warrawoona Group in the Pilbara and the Onverwacht Group in South Africa.The Rb-Sr whole rock systems of the dacite have been disturbed since emplacement and indicate apparent ages that have no direct geological significance. This is in accord with previous published accounts of resetting of Rb-Sr whole rock ages determined on acid metavolcanics.     

Sedimentation and volcanism in a Permian arc-related basin,southern New Zealand

An exceptionally well-exposed, ancient, intra-arc basin in the Permian Takitimu Group of New Zealand contains 14 km of interbedded primary volcanic and marine volcaniclastic rocks of basaltic to rhyodacitic composition. These are the products of subaerial and submarine arc volcanism and closely associated turbidite sedimentation. The Takitimu oceanic arc/basin setting formed a dynamic closed sedimentary system in which large volumes of volcaniclastic material generated at the arc was rapidly redeposited in marine basins flanking the eruptive centres. Volcanism probably included (1) moderate- to deep-water extrusion of lava and deposition of hyaloclastite, (2) extrusive and explosive eruptions from shallow marine to marginally emergent volcanoes in or on the margin of the basin, and (3) Plinian and phreato-Plinian eruptions from more distant subaerial vents along the arc. Much of the newly erupted material was rapidly transported to the adjacent marine basin by debris flows, slumping and sliding. Hemipelagic sedimentation predominated on the outer margin of the basin, infrequently interrupted by deposition of ash from the most explosive arc volcanism and the arrival of extremely dilute turbidites. Turbidite sedimentation prevailed in the remainder of the basin, producing a thick prograding volcaniclastic apron adjacent to the arc. The volcaniclastic strata closely resemble classic turbidite deposits, and show similar lateral facies variations to submarine fan deposits. Study of such sequences provides insight into poorly understood processes in modern arc-related basins.     

Field and geochemical data bearing on the development of a mesozoic volcano-tectonic rift zone and back-arc basin in southernmost South America

A broad zone of dominantly subaerial silicic volcanism associated with regional extensional faulting developed in southern South America during the Middle Jurassic, contemporaneously with the initiation of plutonism along the present Pacific continental margin. Stratigraphic variations observed in cross sections through the silicic Jurassic volcanics along the Pacific margin of southernmost South America indicate that this region of the rift zone developed as volcanism continued during faulting, subsidence and marine innundation. A deep, fault-bounded submarine trough formed near the Pacific margin of the southern part of the volcano-tectonic rift zone during the Late Jurassic. Tholeiitic magma intruded within the trough formed the mafic portion of the floor of this down-faulted basin. During the Early Cretaceous this basin separated an active calc-alkaline volcanic arc, founded on a sliver of continental crust, from the then volcanically quiescent South American continent. Geochemical data suggest that the Jurassic silicic volcanics along the Pacific margin of the volcano-tectonic rift zone were derived by crustal anatexis. Mafic lavas and sills which occur within the silicic volcanics have geochemical affinities with both the tholeiitic basalts forming the ophiolitic lenses which are the remnants of the mafic part of the back-arc basin floor, and also the calc-alkaline rocks of the adjacent Patagonian batholith and their flanking lavas which represent the eroded late Mesozoic calc-alkaline volcanic arc. The source of these tholeiitic and calc-alkaline igneous rocks was partially melted upper mantle material. The igneous and tectonic processes responsible for the development of the volcano-tectonic rift zone and the subsequent back-arc basin are attributed to diapirism in the upper mantle beneath southern South America. The tectonic setting and sequence of igneous and tectonic events suggest that diapirism may have been initiated in response to subduction.     

Late Cretaceous uplift history of the Cretaceous volcanic arc in Southwest Japan: Provenance analysis of the Yuasa–Aridagawa basin based on U–Pb zircon ages

The Ryoke Metamorphic complex has undergone low‐P/T metamorphism and was intruded by granitic magmas around 100 Ma. Subsequently, the belt was uplifted and exposed by the time deposition of the Izumi Group began. The tectonic history of uplift, such as the timing and processes, are poorly known despite being important for understanding the spatiotemporal evolution of the Ryoke Metamorphic Belt. U–Pb zircon ages from sedimentary rocks in the forearc and backarc basins are useful for constraining uplift and magmatism in the provenance. U–Pb dating of detrital zircons from 12 samples (four sandstones and eight granitic clasts) in the Yuasa–Aridagawa basin, a Cretaceous forearc basin in the Chichibu Belt of Southwest Japan, gave mostly ages of 60–110 Ma. Granitic clasts contained in conglomerate suggest that granitic intrusions predate the formation of Coniacian and Maastrichtian conglomerate. Emplacement ages of granitic bodies originated from granitic clasts in Coniacian conglomerate are (110.2 ±1.3) Ma, (106.1 ±1.8) Ma, (101.8+5.8–3.8) Ma, and (95.3 ±1.4) Ma; for granitic clasts in Maastrichtian conglomerate, (89.6 ±1.8) Ma, (87.3+2.4–1.8) Ma, (85.7 ±1.2) Ma, and (82.7 ±1.2) Ma. The results suggest that detrital zircons in the sandstones were mainly derived from volcanic eruptions contemporaneous with depositional age, and plutonic rocks of the Ryoke Metamorphic Belt. Zircon ages of the granitic clast samples also indicate that uplift in the provenance began after Albian and occurred at least during the Coniacian to Maastrichtian. Our results, together with the difference of provenance between backarc and forearc basins suggest that the southern marginal zone of the Ryoke Metamorphic Belt was uplifted and supplied a large amount of clastic materials to the forearc basins during the Late Cretaceous.     

Geological and Hydrodynamical Examination of the Bathyal Tsunamigenic Origin of Miocene Conglomerates in Chita Peninsula, Central Japan

A conglomerate appears on a rocky coast called ??Tsubutega-ura Coast??, located on the southwestern coast near the southern tip of the Chita Peninsula, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan. The conglomerate belongs to Miocene sedimentary rocks termed the Morozaki Group. The conglomerate includes meter-scale boulders, indicating that it was formed by an extraordinary event. In the geological investigation, we observed that the conglomerate shows alternate changes of paleocurrent directions between seaward and landward. This feature is supposed to be formed by tsunami currents. In the hydrodynamical investigation, we obtained following results: (1) the lowest limit of a current velocity to move a boulder of about 3?m in diameter would be about 2?C3?m/s, (2) the speed of tsunami currents reproduced by tsunami simulation exceeds 3?m/s at 300?m in depth when the tsunami is generated by a gigantic earthquake with magnitude 9.0 or more, (3) the transport distance of the boulder would be several hundred?meters to several kilometers by one tsunami event caused by a gigantic earthquake. We conclude that tsunamis best explain the formation of the conglomerate deposited in upper bathyal environments about 200?C400?m depth, both from geological and hydrodynamical viewpoints.     

Role of southeastern Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone in the tectonic evolution of Zagros Orogenic Belt,Iran

Geological studies indicate that the southeastern Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone, located in the southeastern Zagros Orogenic Belt, is subdivided transversally into the Esfahan–Sirjan Block with typical Central Iranian stratigraphic features and the Shahrekord–Dehsard Terrane consisting of Paleozoic and Lower Mesozoic metamorphic rocks. The Main Deep Fault (Abadeh Fault) is a major lithospheric fault separating the two parts. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the role of the southeastern Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone in the tectonic evolution of the southeastern Zagros Orogenic Belt on the basis of geological evidence. The new model implies that Neo‐Tethys 1 came into being when the Central Iran Microcontinent split from the northeastern margin of Gondwana during the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian. During the Late Triassic a new spreading ridge, Neo‐Tethys 2, was created to separate the Shahrekord–Dehsard Terrane from Afro–Arabian Plate. The Zagros sedimentary basin was formed on a continental passive margin, southwest of Neo‐Tethys 2. The two ophiolitic belts of Naien–Shahrebabak–Baft and Neyriz were developed to the northeast of Neo‐Tethys 1 and southwest of Neo‐Tethys 2 respectively, related to the sinking of the lithosphere of the Neo‐Tethys 1 in the Late Cretaceous. It can be concluded that deposition of the Paleocene conglomerate on the Central Iran Microcontinent and Pliocene conglomerate in the Zagros Sedimentary Basin is directly linked to the uplift generated by collision.     

Strike–slip origin of Cretaceous Mazhan Basin, Tan-Lu Fault Zone, Shandong, east China

The Mazhan Basin, Shandong Province, China, is located between the main faults, F₃ and F₄, of the Tan-Lu Fault Zone. It is an elongated basin more than 60 km in length and 8 km in width and contains a series of typical continental sediments (the Upper Cretaceous Wangshi Group). This series was divided into three sedimentary facies associations: conglomerate facies association; sandstone facies association of alluvial fan to lake margin environment; and siltstone facies association of lacustrine origins. Their zonal distribution pattern may represent a contemporaneous heterotopic facies due to a lateral facies change from margins to axis of the basin. Their stratigraphic sequence becomes younger northward along the boundary faults. This suggests that the depocenter of the fan–lake system tends to migrate northward along F₃. From the asymmetric features (i.e. basin shape, lithofacies distribution, facies change) the Mazhan Basin can be explained by progressive subsidence at the Tangwu releasing bend of F₃ with sinistral strike–slip movement. Judging from the fission track (FT) ages from the Wangshi Group, it was concluded that a sinistral strike–slip movement along the main fault, F₃ of the Tan-Lu Fault in Shandong, has lasted until the Late Cretaceous. Its displacement is estimated to be larger than the migrated distance, 60 km, of the depocenter of the Mazhan Basin.     

Identification of the island-arc magmatic zone in the Lianghe-Raofeng-Wuliba area,south Qinling and its tectonic significance

Detailed studies indicate that a typical island-arc magmatic zone exists in the Lianghe-Raofeng-Wuliba area of south Qinling. This is characterized by continental marginal andesite and bimodal volcanic rock association which was formed in a rift environment within an oceanic island-arc. The island-arc magmatic zone is the product of Devonian-Carboniferous oceanic crust subduction and rifting of Mianlue ancient oceanic basin. The presence of the island-arc magmatic zone suggests that the Mianxian-Lueyang suture zone had extended to the Bashan arcuate area. The Sunjiahe volcanic rock association of the Xixiang Group formed in a volcanic-arc setting which should have a close relationship with Mianlue suture zone.     

Structural and economic aspect of the Vatukoula caldera,Fiji

The Vatukoula caldera is semi-elliptical in shape with the long axis trending north-easterly and occupies about 14 square miles of an undulating topographical basin located near the central north coast of Viti Levu, the largest island of the Fiji Group. The caldera formed when Tertiary basalts collapsed after prolonged explosion from a central vent area. The ensuing subsidence, which appears to have been cyclic, was accompanied by the deposition of andesitic volcanic material to form 5,000 to 7,000 feet of rhythmic tuffs, breccias and agglomerates partly under lacustrine conditions. The peripheral basalts were shattered during the stages of collapse forming a ring fault zone around the caldera. The depositional and subsidence stages were followed by an intrusive augite andesitic one from which extensive cone sheets formed in the caldera rocks. Radial and tangential dykes formed around the caldera in the peripheral basalts. After a time interval, the comparatively shallow central depression of the caldera received biotite andesitic pyroclastics and flows. Biotite andesite dykes followed a similar structural pattern to the augite andesitic ones. Finally, plug like bodies of porphyrite and monzonite intruded into the highly fractured zones, particularly the ring fault zone in the peripheral basalts. An important younger structural development with economic significance was the formation of a north-westerly shear system across the caldera. Flatly dipping structures formed in the peripheral basalts from the resettling of major blocks around the caldera. After the monzonite intrusions, epithermal mineralisers were liberated with economic amounts of gold in the form of telluride and auriferous pyrite. The mineralisers favoured the north-westerly shear system and, in the peripheral basalts, the accompanying flatly dipping structures. Thermal spring activity appears to mark the last phase of volcanicity.     

Identification of the island-arc magmatic zone in the Lianghe-Raofeng-Wuliba area,south Qinling and its tectonic significance

Detailed studies indicate that a typical island-arc magmatic zone exists in the Lianghe-Raofeng-Wuliba area of south Qinling. This is characterized by continental marginal andesite and bimodal volcanic rock association which was formed in a rift environment within an oceanic island-arc. The island-arc magmatic zone is the product of Devonian-Carboniferous oceanic crust subduction and rifting of Mianlue ancient oceanic basin. The presence of the island-arc magmatic zone suggests that the Mianxian-Lueyang suture zone had extended to the Bashan arcuate area. The Sunjiahe volcanic rock association of the Xixiang Group formed in a volcanic-arc setting which should have a close relationship with Mianlue suture zone.

     

Structure and development of the lower crust and upper mantle of Southwestern Japan: Evidence from petrology of deep-seated xenoliths

Abstract Basic and ultrabasic xenoliths included in Cenozoic alkali basalts from the Kibi and Sera plateaus, Southwest Japan, can be classified into five groups on the basis of mineral association and texture. Their equilibration P-T conditions estimated from paragenesis and mineral chemistry indicate that the dominant rock type from the lower crust to upper mantle changes with increasing depth as follows: (i) pyroxene granulite (Group V) and meta-sediments; (ii) garnet gabbro (Group 111) and corundum anorthosite (Group IV); (iii) spinel pyroxenite (Group 11); and (iv) spinel peridotite and pyroxenite (Group I). Groups I1 and I11 show a lower degree of recrystallization than Groups I and V, and have similarities in composition and mineral chemistry to host basalts. Based on these facts along with the P-T conditions of equilibration, Groups I1 and I11 are interpreted as formed from basaltic magma that intruded beneath the crust-mantle boundary at an early stage of the magmatism of the alkali basalts, where the lower crust and uppermost mantle had consisted of Group V and metasediments, and Group I, respectively. It follows that the crust has grown downward due to underplating of basaltic magma beneath the bottom of pre-existing crust. Group IV has commonly the same mineral assemblage, corundum + calcic plagioclase + aluminous spinel, and shows locally, nearby kyanite crystals, almost the same texture as fine-grained aggregates in a quartzite xenolith. The aggregates appear to have been formed by reaction between kyanite and host basalt, and accordingly Group IV is interpreted as formed by reaction between metasediments and basaltic magma at the time of the underplating. The Kibi, Sera and Tsuyama areas are distinguished from the areas nearby the Sea of Japan by the occurrence of the garnet gabbro and corundum anorthosite xenoliths, by the absence of the association of olivine + plagioclase in basic and ultrabasic xenoliths, and by the lower temperature of equilibration of basic xenoliths. From these facts it is stressed that in general the crust becomes thinner and geothermal gradient becomes higher towards the back-arc side. Such a regional variation in crustal structure must reflect the tectonic situation of Southwest Japan at the time of the magmatism of the alkali basalts, namely rifting and shallow-level magmatism at the back-arc side.     

祁连盆地第三纪沉积物磁性地层和岩石磁组构初步研究

祁连山山间盆地内的新生代沉积物是研究新生代以来祁连山构造演化的重要材料.本文以位于祁连山中部祁连盆地内的新生代沉积物为研究对象,利用磁性地层学方法结合碎屑颗粒裂变径迹定年方法获取其沉积时代框架,在此基础上,结合岩性变化与沉积环境变迁分析祁连山构造演化历史.野外实测剖面显示该盆地内的第三系可划分为下部砾岩组和上部砂岩组两大岩性单元.古地磁结果显示砾岩组的沉积时代约为10—14.3Ma.砾岩组沉积大约在14.3 Ma开始形成,指示祁连山14.3 Ma以来构造活动变强烈.磁组构结果显示砾石组顶部沉积形成时的受力方向与现今祁连盆地周缘断层分布所指示的应力方向一致,表明这些断层大约在10 Ma附近开始活动.我们的结果揭示祁连山中部山脉14.3 Ma以来尤其在10 Ma附近构造活动较强烈.这与过去低温热年代学所获得的祁连山山体的快速冷却年龄及祁连山两端大型盆地内的第三系所记录的构造事件发生的时间基本吻合.而砂岩组的古地磁结果并未通过褶皱检验,其古地磁记录发生了后期重磁化,无法获得地层的准确沉积年龄.     

Evidence of growth fault and forebulge in the Late Paleocene (∼57.9-54.7 Ma), western Himalayan foreland basin, India

The evolution of the Himalayan foreland is the result of continent-continent collision and related large-scale tectonics in the region. The initial foredeep basin sequences are exposed in limited areas of the western Himalaya, which makes these areas very significant in unraveling the earliest evolution of the foreland system. The basal interval of the Himalayan foredeep is exposed in the Jammu area (India), which preserves silicified breccia formed by the erosion of hanging walls of shallow faults. Two Paleocene sections are analyzed that suggest the existence of growth faults which developed in response to the India-Asia collision in the Late Paleocene (∼57.9-54.7 Ma). The pebble-size clasts and their derivation entirely from the basement demonstrate rapid sedimentation in response to rapid subsidence at the onset of basin evolution. The angular unconformity showing effects of erosion associated with a thin soil horizon may be due to a forebulge at the site of the unconformity. The reworked bauxite above this soil horizon demonstrates erosion of another forebulge from the cratonward side.     

Cenozoic basin development and its indication of plateau growth in the Xunhua-Guide district

The Xunhua, Guide and Tongren Basins are linked with the Laji Mountain and the northern West Qinling thrust belts in the Xunhua-Guide district. Basin depositional stratigraphy consists of the Oligocene Xining Group, the uppermost Oligocene-Pliocene Guide Group and the Lower Pleistocene. They are divided into three basin phases by unconformities. Basin phase 1 is composed of the Xining Group, and Basin phase 2 of the Zharang, Xiadongshan, Herjia and Ganjia Conglomerate Formations in the Guide Group, and Basin phase 3 of the Gonghe Formation and the Lower Pleistocene. Three basin phases all develop lacustrine deposits at their lower parts, and alluvial-braided channel plain depositional systems at upper parts, which constitute a coarsening-upward and progradational sequence. Basin deposition, paleocurrent and provenance analyses represent that large lacustrine basin across the Laji Mountain was developed and sourced from the West Qinling thrust belt during the stage of the Xining Group (Basin phase 1), and point-dispersed alluvial fan-braided channel plain deposition systems were developed beside the thrust and uplifted Laji Mountain and sourced from it, as thrusting migrated northwards during the stage of the Guide Group (Basin phase 2). Evolution of basin-mountain system in the study area significantly indicates the growth process of the distal Tibetan Plateau. The result shows that the Tibetan Plateau expanded to the northern West-Qinling at Oligocene (29–21.4 Ma) by means of northward folded-and-thrust thickening and uplifting and frontal foreland basin filling, and across the study area to North Qilian and Liupan Mountain at the Miocene-Pliocene (20.8–2.6 Ma) by means of two-sided basement-involved-thrust thickening and uplifting and broken foreland basin filling, and the distant end of Tibetan Plateau behaved as regional erosion and intermontane basin aggradational filling during the Pliocene and early Pleistocene (2.6–1.7 Ma).

     

Paleogeographic changes in central Honshu, Japan, during the late Cenozoic in relation to the collision of the Izu-Ogasawara Arc with the Honshu Arc

Abstract The northern tip of the Izu-Ogasawara Arc on the Philippine Sea plate collided with the central part of the Honshu Arc in the early Quaternary. The collision history is recorded in late Cenozoic strata that are distributed widely in central Japan. To reconstruct paleotopography during the collision process, paleogeographic maps of central Japan were drawn at six time slices during the late Cenozoic. These maps were made from paleodepth data that were inferred from benthic foraminiferal fossil assemblages. Sedimentological information was also added to the maps. The paleogeographic maps show several distinctive geological features. The paleodepth of the area between the Izu-Ogasawara Arc and the Honshu Arc changed quickly from deep-sea to shallow marine during the Quaternary by means of rapid deposition of large amounts of coarse-grained detritus. The conglomerate was first deposited in a trough as deep-sea fan deposits, and filled the trough until an alluvial fan was formed. Forearc basins of the Honshu Arc facing the collision area subsided from 3 to 1 Ma. Vertical movement of the basin was inferred from a strata thickness/paleodepth correlation graph. It is thought that the tectonic inversion seen in sedimentary basins in the Kanto and Tokai regions might be closely related to the change of motion of the Philippine Sea plate. However, a basin of the Ashigara area sunk continuously without interruption until 0.7 Ma. The collision event affected strongly distribution of deep-sea benthic foraminifera. Paleogeographic maps show that a deep trough appeared in the Ashigara area between 3 and 1.5 Ma. This trough may have served as a passage for the migration of deep-sea benthic foraminifera between the Pacific and the Philippine Sea. Cold water benthic foraminiferal species occur west of the Izu-Ogasawara ridge deposited in strata during the existence of the passage.     

Sequence framework of two different kinds of margins and their response to tectonic activity during the Middle-Late Triassic,Ordos Basin

Two kinds of margin respectively occur in the Ordos Basin during the Middle-Late Triassic (Yanchang Age), one is foreland margin developed under the background of flexural subsidence by thrusting intensively in the southwest margin, and the other is intracratonic basin margin by stable subsidence in northern and central parts of the basin. The Middle-Late Triassic Yanchang Formation can be divided into four regional third-order sequences, which are separated by gentle angular unconformity or regional erosion surface, made up of lowstand system tract (LST), expanding system tract (EST) and highstand system tract (HST) from lower to upper within a sequence. But there are distinct differences of the sequence framework between the southwest margin and northern and central parts of the basin. The southwest margin develops heavy conglomerate layer and unconformity as a result of orogeny by thrusting, and the intracratonic basin margin by stable subsidence in the northern and central parts grows aggradational sandstone, conglomerate in fluvio-delta system and parallel unconformity. The depositional framework of southwest margin reflects the tectonic evolution from flexural subsidence by thrusting to rebounded uplift. The formation of sequence boundary is related to the resilient uplift and erosion. The sequence stratigraphic framework and depositional system tract configuration in the foreland basin are controlled by structural activity of the fold and thrust belt, and the sequence succession reflects episodic thrusting of the Middle-Late Triassic toward the foreland basin. The sequence evolution in northern and central parts reflects the depositional succession of fluvio-delta system under intracratonic background, composed of coarse-grained sediment in braided channel deposit at the lower, meandering channel deposit in the middle and fine-grained sediment in the flood plain at the upper, dominated by lake level fluctuation. During the deposit of the LST in the intracraton basin, accommodation space is limited, and results in abundant fluvial sediment migration laterally, erosion and transport, forming laterally sandstone composite and aggradational deposit on the alluvial plain, which constitutes specific erosion unconformity boundary.

     

Sequence framework of two different kinds of margins and their response to tectonic activity during the Middle-Late Triassic,Ordos Basin

Two kinds of margin respectively occur in the Ordos Basin during the Middle-Late Triassic (Yanchang Age), one is foreland margin developed under the background of flexural subsidence by thrusting intensively in the southwest margin, and the other is intracratonic basin margin by stable subsidence in northern and central parts of the basin. The Middle-Late Triassic Yanchang Formation can be divided into four regional third-order sequences, which are separated by gentle angular unconformity or regional erosion surface, made up of lowstand system tract (LST), expanding system tract (EST) and highstand system tract (HST) from lower to upper within a sequence. But there are distinct differences of the sequence framework between the southwest margin and northern and central parts of the basin. The southwest margin develops heavy conglomerate layer and unconformity as a result of orogeny by thrusting, and the intracratonic basin margin by stable subsidence in the northern and central parts grows aggradational sandstone, conglomerate in fluvio-delta system and parallel unconformity. The depositional framework of southwest margin reflects the tectonic evolution from flexural subsidence by thrusting to rebounded uplift. The formation of sequence boundary is related to the resilient uplift and erosion. The sequence stratigraphic framework and depositional system tract configuration in the foreland basin are controlled by structural activity of the fold and thrust belt, and the sequence succession reflects episodic thrusting of the Middle-Late Triassic toward the foreland basin. The sequence evolution in northern and central parts reflects the depositional succession of fluvio-delta system under intracratonic background, composed of coarse-grained sediment in braided channel deposit at the lower, meandering channel deposit in the middle and fine-grained sediment in the flood plain at the upper, dominated by lake level fluctuation. During the deposit of the LST in the intracraton basin, accommodation space is limited, and results in abundant fluvial sediment migration laterally, erosion and transport, forming laterally sandstone composite and aggradational deposit on the alluvial plain, which constitutes specific erosion unconformity boundary.     

Paleocene large-scale normal faulting along the Median Tectonic Line, western Shikoku, Japan

Abstract   The Median Tectonic Line (MTL) in southwest Japan, a major east–west-trending arc-parallel fault, has been defined as the boundary fault between the Cretaceous Sambagawa metamorphic rocks and Ryoke granitic and metamorphic rocks, which are unconformably covered by the Upper Cretaceous Izumi Group. The juxtaposition by faulting occurred after the deposition of the Izumi Group. Based on detailed fieldwork and previous studies, the authors reconstruct the kinematic history along the MTL during the Paleogene period, which has not been fully understood before. It is noted that although the strata of the Izumi Group along the MTL dip gently, east–west-trending north-vergent folds with the wavelength of ∼300 m commonly develop up to 2 km north from the MTL. Along the MTL, a disturbed zone of the Izumi Group up to 400 m thick, defined by the development of boudinage structures with the transverse boudin axis dipping nearly parallel to the MTL, occurs. Furthermore, east–west-trending north-vergent folds with the wavelength of 1–5 m develop within the distance up to 60 m from the MTL. The disturbed zone with the map-scale north-vergent folds along the MTL, strongly suggests that they formed due to normal faulting with a top-to-the-north sense along the MTL. Considering that the normal faulting is associated with the final exhumation of the Sambagawa metamorphic rocks, and its juxtaposition against the Izumi Group at depth, this perhaps occurred before the denudation of the Sambagawa metamorphic rocks indicated by the deposition of the Lower Eocene Hiwada-toge Formation. Dynamic equilibrium between crustal thickening at depth (underplating) and extension at shallow level is a plausible explanation for the normal faulting because the arc-normal extension suggests gravity as the driving force.