On the geothermal regime of some tectonic units in Romania

Heat flow values of 33–58 mW m^–2 were found for the Transylvanian Depression, 45–57 mW m^–2 for the crystalline nucleus of the Eastern Carpathians, and 70–120 mW m^–2 for the Neogene volcanic area. Temperature-depth profile and some geophysical implications of the low values for the Transylvanian Depression are discussed, rendering evident clear-cut differences between this tectonic unit and other Noegene depressions. The heat flow values for the other two investigated tectonic units are usual ones for areas of their age.A preliminary map of the heat flow distribution over the Romanian territory is presented and its relation to other geophysical fields is discussed. A positive correlation was found between gravity and heat flow, and a negative one between crustal thickness and heat flow. A general conclusion could be drawn that the heat flow distribution over the Romanian territory seems to be governed by processes taking place in the upper mantle, rather than by the radioactive decay within the crust.     

塔里木盆地现今地热特征

地温梯度和大地热流是揭示盆地现今热状态的重要参数,它们对理解盆地的构造-热演化过程及油气资源评价等方面均具有重要意义.利用塔里木盆地约470口井的地层测试温度资料和941块岩石热导率数据,本文计算了塔里木盆地38个新的大地热流数据,进而揭示了该盆地现今地热分布特征.研究表明,塔里木盆地现今地温梯度变化范围为17～32 ℃/km,平均为22.6±3.0 ℃/km;大地热流变化范围为26.2～65.4 mW/m2,平均为43.0±8.5 mW/m2.与我国其他大中型沉积盆地相比,它表现为低地温、低大地热流的冷盆的热状态,但仍具有与世界上典型克拉通盆地相似的地热背景.整体而言,盆地隆起区地温梯度和热流相对较高,坳陷区地温梯度和热流则偏低.此外,我们还发现塔里木盆地现有的油气田区一般位于高地温梯度区域,这可能与下部热流体的向上运移和聚集有关.影响塔里木盆地现今地热特征的因素包括盆地深部结构、构造演化、岩石热物理性质、盆地基底构造形态和烃类聚集等.     

Geothermal regime and hydrocarbon kitchen evolution in the Jianghan Basin

The present geothermal gradient and terrestrial heat flow was calculated of 18 wells in the Jianghan Basin.Thermal gradient distribution of the Jianghan Basin was obtained based on data of systematical steady-state temperature and oil-test temperature.The basin-wide average thermal gradient in depth interval of 0-4000 m is 33.59℃/km.We report nine measured terrestrial heat flow values based on the data of detailed thermal conductivity and systematical steady-state temperature.These values vary from 41.9 to 60.9 mW/m 2 with a mean of 52.3±6.3 mW/m 2.However,thermal history analyses based on vitrinite reflectance(VR) and apatite fission track(AFT) data indicate that thermal gradient in the northern and southern Qianbei Fault reached its peak of ～36 and ～39℃/km respectively in the Middle Jurassic and the Oligocene,and it descended during the early Miocene to the present-time value.Furthermore,tectonic subsidence analysis reveals that the tectonic subsidence of the Jianghan Basin in the Cretaceous to early Miocene was characterized by synrift initial subsidence followed by the subsequent thermal subsidence.The thermal history and tectonic subsidence history of Jianghan Basin are of great significance to petroleum exploration and hydrocarbon source assessment,because they bear directly on issues of petroleum source rock maturation.Based on the thermal history and tectonic subsidence history,with the combination of geochemical and thermal parameters,the maturation and the hydrocarbon generation intensity evolution history of the P2d source rocks are modeled.The results show that the P2d source rocks are in a higher degree of maturation at present,and the Yuan’an and Herong sags are the two most important kitchens in the Late Jurassic,Xiaoban Sag is another most important kitchen during the Late Cretaceous to late Paleogene,and the Zhijiang and Mianyang sags are other two important hydrocarbon kitchens in the Late Cretaceous.The Mianyang Sag and Yichang Ramp are the favorable exploration targets in the future.This study may provide new insight for the understanding of the oil and gas exploration potential for the Jianghan Basin.     

渤海湾盆地冀中坳陷现今地热特征

渤海湾盆地冀中坳陷是我国最典型的潜山油气藏富集区.本文借助117口钻井地层测温资料和45块实测岩石热导率数据系统研究了冀中坳陷现今地温梯度、大地热流、热岩石圈厚度、岩石圈热结构等地热特征参数.研究表明,冀中坳陷0~3000 m统一深度现今地温梯度为20.8~41.0℃·km-1,平均值为31.6℃·km-1,比未校正值减小1~3℃·km-1;现今大地热流介于48.7~79.7 mW·m-2,平均值为59.2 mW·m-2.平面上,冀中坳陷现今地温梯度和热流由西向东(从盆地边缘向内部)逐渐增大,并且凸起区地温梯度和热流相对较高,而凹陷区则偏低,与基底地形起伏具有很好的对应关系.同时,冀中坳陷腹部高热流凸起区广泛分布地热田.冀中坳陷现今热岩石圈厚度为98~109 km,其岩石圈热结构为一典型的"冷壳热幔"型.本研究不仅对冀中坳陷油气勘探与地热能开发具有重要的指导意义,而且为深部岩石圈研究(华北克拉通破坏科学问题)提供了新依据.     

Environmental background of evolution from the paleolithic to neolithic culture in Nihewan Basin, North China

The relationship between the paleolithic-neolithic cultural transition and environmental evolvement has been a focus of the paleoanthropologists, archeologists, and Quaternary geologists in the world. The analysis result of the paleoanthropic living environment at Yujiagou site of Nihewan Basin in the north of China shows that the microlithic culture at the Yujiagou site occurred during the opening centuries of the last deglaciation and developed markedly in the continuous warm and dry climatic conditions from late period of last deglaciation to early postglacial. Moreover, it also shows that the neolithic culture at the Yujiagou site occurred in the early postglacial and developed rapidly in a warm and humid climatic condition in the Holocene Megathermal. Climate variation is an important factor leading to the paleolithic-neolithic cultural transition.     

Biotic evolution and its relation with geological events in the Proterozoic Yanshan Basin,North China

The Yanshan Basin,located in northern North China,underwent three primary stages in the Mesoproterozoic,and corresponding biotas have been summarized for each stage in the present study.The three stages are stage A(the lower part of the Changcheng Group which dominated by clastic sediments),stage B(the upper part of the Changcheng Group to the Jixian Group which characterized by carbonate sediments),and stage C(the upper part of the Jixian Group which dominated by clastic sediments).This paper will focus on the evolution of biota during stage B.Microbiota of the stage B exhibits a high level of diversity and abundance.Planktonic microfossils have various forms and complex decorations.Most microfossils are small.In stage B,there was great variation in the biotic abundance and diversity,the average diameter of spherical benthic microfossils,and the maximum diameter of the spherical microfossils.We analyzed these parameters and identified two typical biotic events,and both biotic events were corresponded with geological events.The first event occurred in the third member of the Dahongyu Formation.In this era,the maximum diameter of the silicified microfossils significantly increased,and large,spherical planktonic specimens are abundant.The flourishing of large organisms in the strata is presumably related to volcanic activity.The second event occurred in the third member of the Gaoyuzhuang Formation.During this era,the microfossil assemblage changed significantly.The changes correspond with a decline in stromatolites as well as the transformations of the carbon isotope ratios and the elemental geochemistry.     

Cenozoic extensional stress evolution in North China

Since the beginning of the Cenozoic, north China has been fragmented by intensive intracontinental rifting and extensional tectonics, which resulted in the formation of two extensional domains: the graben systems around the Ordos block in the west and North China Plain in the east. How to link this Cenozoic extensional tectonics to plate kinematics has long been an issue of debate. This paper presents updated results of fault slip data sets collected in different zones in north China and addresses the changes in the direction of extensional stresses over the Cenozoic. A chronology of three successive extensions has been established and provides evidence for constraining the timing and location of either subduction-induced back-arc tectonics along the western Pacific or collision-related extrusion tectonics in Tibet. The oldest NW–SE trending extension occurred concomitantly with the early Tertiary rifting phase, which was initiated in a back-arc setting associated with westward subduction of the Pacific plate under the Asia continent. North China had been subjected, during the Miocene, to regional subsidence with widespread basalt flow, and the direction of extension changed to NE–SW to NNE–SSW, consistent with the spreading direction of the Japan Sea. The dynamic origin of this extension is poorly understood. Since the latest Miocene or earliest Pliocene, north China has been dominated by NW–SE extension resulting in the formation and development of the elongate graben systems around the rigid Ordos block. This extensional phase is accompanied by counterclockwise rotation of blocks such as Ordos, Taihangshan Massif etc., which are bounded to south by the left-lateral strike-slip Qinling fault system. The overall Pliocene-Quaternary deformation in north China accommodates an ESE-ward extrusion of the south China block relative to the Gobi-Mongolia plateau, as the consequence of late-stage India–Eurasia convergence.     

New progresses on geothermal history of Turpan-Hami Basin, Xinjiang, China

A comprehensive study on geothermal history of the Turpan-Hami Basin by vitrinite reflectance, fluid inclusion geothermometry, apatite fission track and⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar dating displays that the main effects influencing geotemperature distribution are burial depth of the basement, heat flow, magmatic activities, as well as tectonic movement, having a rugulation to be higher in the east and north, lower in the west and south, as well as higher in the past and lower at the present. The heat of the mantle source and the Indo-China tectonic thermal event have extremely influenced maturation of source rocks of the upper Lower Permian and the Middle and Upper Triassic in the lndo-China epoch. While, the geothermal gradient and the weak tectonic geothermal event of the Early Yanshan Movement provided necessary heat for the maturation of source rock in coal-bearing strata of the Middle and Lower Jurassic.     

华北渤海湾盆地大震的构造特征

渤海湾盆地是地震活动强烈的地区，记载有7级以上大地震6次。前人对几次大震的具体构造条件已做过大量研究。笔者基于已有的工作，通过对盆地构造发育早第三纪断陷和晚第三纪以来拗陷两个阶段的不同构造后性和区域地震构造格局的分析，以及大震区构造的剖析，综合研究了大震的构造特征。其中最根本的是，盆地发育的断陷阶段因北西—南东向水平拉张作用，于地壳上部形成了由北北东—北东向太行山山前断裂带等大型拆离断裂拉张滑脱控制的伸展断裂系统；拗陷阶段受北东东—南西西向水平挤压，正发育着一套地壳共轭剪切破裂系统。前者与地震关系不大，后者对地震孕育和发生有着重要的控制作用。     

Numerical simulation of the detachment dynamics in North China Basin

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Thermal regime transition in eastern North China and its tectonic implication

Many evidences published in recent years reveal that the thickness,chemical composition and thermal state of lithosphere in eastern North China have ex-perienced dramatic transition during the Phanero-zoic.Comparative study[1—8]of early Paleozoic dia-mond-and xenoliths-bearing kimberlites to Cenozoic mantle peridotite xenoliths-bearing alkali basalts indi-cates that the early Phanerozoic lithosphere is thick and stable to depths within the diamond stability field(180–200km)with depleted ma…     

Time range of Mesozoic tectonic regime inversion in eastern North China Block

An important tectonic inversion took place in eastern North China Block(NCB) during Mesozoic, which caused a great lithosphere thinning, reconstruction of basin-range series, powerful interaction between mantle and crust, a vast granitic intrusion and volcanism, and large-scale metallogenic explosion. The time range of the Mesozoic tectonic regime inversion in the eastern North China Block is one of the key issues to understand mechanism of tectonic regime inversion. Our updated results for recognizing the time range are mainly obtained from the following aspects: structural analyses along northern and southern margins of the NCB and within the NCB for revealing tectonic inversion from compression to extension and structural striking from -EW to NNE; geothermic analyses of the eastern sedimental basins for a great change of thermal history and regime; basin analysis for basin inversion from compression to extension and basin migration from -EW to NNE; petrological and geochemical studies of volcanic roc     

Pleistocene magnetochronology of the fauna and Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin: Significance for environmental and hominin evolution in North China

The fluvio-lacustrine sequences in the Nihewan Basin of North China (known as the Nihewan Formation) are rich sources of Early Pleistocene Paleolithic sites and mammalian fossils (known as the Nihewan Fauna sensu lato), which offer an excellent opportunity to investigate the evolution of early humans and land mammals in East Asia. Also abundant mammalian fossils provide clues about the general environmental and climatic setting of early humans. Among the Nihewan Fauna (sensu lato), the Daodi Fauna is one of the most complete and oldest in the eastern Nihewan Basin: seven mammalian fossil-bearing layers in the Nihewan Formation have been described. Except for a biostratigraphy, however, precise age control on the Daodi Fauna has remained unavailable. Here we report a new magnetostratigraphic record that stringently constrains its age. The seven fossil-rich layers span an age range of ca 2.5–1.8 Ma between the Gauss–Matuyama boundary and the termination of the Olduvai polarity subchron. Combining our new and recently published paleomagnetic data, we further establish a Pleistocene magnetochronology of the fauna and Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin. Age ranges of about 2.5–0.5 Ma for the faunas and 1.7–0.3 Ma for the Paleolithic sites are deduced, which span most of the Pleistocene. The chronological framework and calculated proportions of mammals that were adapted to different environments indicate that mixed settings of dominant grasslands and subordinate forests continued at least from 2.5 to 0.5 Ma for early human occupation in the basin, similar to the mixed open savannah and woodland habitats of early humans in Africa. The Nihewan hominins consistently adopted a simple Oldowan-like technology (i.e., Mode 1 core and flake technologies) from at least ca 1.7 to 0.3 Ma. A more advanced Acheulean technology (Mode 2) has not been found in the Nihewan Basin, although it started to emerge in the Bose Basin of South China at ca 0.8 Ma. This implies that multiple groups of hominins distinguished by differential stone-tool-making capabilities may have coexisted in China after 0.8 Ma.     

Modeling the thermal evolution of an active geothermal system

Temperature inversions at shallow to moderate depths have been observed commonly in boreholes drilled in geothermal areas. The inversions result from thermal disequilibria generated by steam and/or hydrothermal fluids invading shallow horizontal, or sub-horizontal fractures, or permeable horizons, from a deep vertical, or sub-vertical feeder-fracture.Subsurface distribution of temperatures in Momotombo geothermal area of Nicaragua, Central America, indicates that the anomaly is generated by steam and water, convecting in a narrow feeder-fracture-zone located at the western edge of the field. The north-trending zone of the feeder-fracture is bound on the west by the area of massive, impermeable andesitic rocks, and is capped by an impermeable, approximately 300 m. thick silica-cap, which seals if from the ground surface. The thermal fluids penetrate a system of horizontal, or sub-horizontal fractures, extending east of the feeder-fracture beneath the silica cap. The flow of thermal fluids eastward through the system of the horizontal, or sub-horizontal fractures is generating a plume-like geothermal anomaly, which is expressed by the temperature inversion zone pervasive in the boreholes to the east of the feeder-fracture.A time-dependant model for a semi-infinite half-space (z > 0) in contact with a hot, well stirred, isotropic fluid flowing through an aquifer overlain by a finite space of constant thickness is solved for the data collected from the Momotombo geothermal boreholes. Curve fitting between the simulated and observed temperature/depth profiles suggests that the thermo-tectonic events which caused the present-day Momotombo hydrothermal system occurred approximately 5,500 years ago, following development of vertical, or subvertical fractures along a N5°E trending faultline. Hot fluids emerging from these fractures move eastward through a system of horizontal, or sub-horizontal fractures, with a velocity of 11 to 20 m/yr.     

Effect of projected climate change on the hydrological regime of the Yangtze River Basin,China

The hydrological response to the potential future climate change in Yangtze River Basin (YRB), China, was assessed by using an ensemble of 54 climate change simulations. The Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 simulations under two new Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 emission scenarios were downscaled and used to drive the Variable Infiltration Capacity hydrological model. This study found that the range of temperature changes is homogeneous for almost the entire region, with an average annual increase of more than 2 °C under RCP4.5 and even more than 4 °C under RCP8.5 in the end of the twenty first century. The warmest period (June–July–August) of the year would experience lower changes than the colder ones (December–January–February). Overall, mean precipitation was projected to increase slightly in YRB, with large dispersion among different global climate models, especially during the dry season months. These phenomena lead to changes in future streamflow for three mainstream hydrological stations (Cuntan, Yichang, and Datong), with slightly increasing annual average streamflows, especially at the end of twenty first century. Compared with the percentage change of mean flow, the high flow shows (90th percentile on the probability of no exceedance) a higher increasing trend and the low flow (10th percentile) shows a decreasing trend or lower increasing trend. The maximum daily discharges with 5, 10, 15, and 30-year return periods show an increasing trend in most sub-basins in the future. Therefore, extreme hydrological events (e.g., floods and droughts) will increase significantly, although the annual mean streamflow shows insignificant change. The findings of this study would provide scientific supports to implement the integrated adaptive water resource management for climate change at regional scales in the YRB.     

The current strain distribution in the North China Basin of eastern China by least-squares collocation

In this paper, the velocities of 154 stations obtained in 2001 and 2003 GPS survey campaigns are applied to formulate a continuous velocity field by the least-squares collocation method. The strain rate field obtained by the least-squares collocation method shows more clear deformation patterns than that of the conventional discrete triangle method. The significant deformation zones obtained are mainly located in three places, to the north of Tangshan, between Tianjing and Shijiazhuang, and to the north of Datong, which agree with the places of the Holocene active deformation zones obtained by geological investigations. The maximum shear strain rate is located at latitude 38.6°N and longitude 116.8°E, with a magnitude of 0.13 ppm/a. The strain rate field obtained can be used for earthquake prediction research in the North China Basin.     

Nature and secular evolution of the lithospheric mantle beneath the North China Craton

The Archean mantle lithosphere beneath the North China Craton(NCC) was transformed in the Mesozoic, leading to the craton destruction. Despite the significant breakthroughs in the craton studies, lithospheric transformation mechanisms are yet to be fully understood. Compositional variations of mantle-derived rocks and xenoliths provide insights into the nature of the mantle lithosphere before and after the craton destruction. The Paleozoic lithosphere of the NCC is ～200 km thick. It has a refractory mantle with an evolved isotopic signature. The Mesozoic mantle lithosphere was relatively fertile and highly heterogeneous. In the Cenozoic, the lithosphere in the eastern NCC is about 60–80 km thick. It has an oceanic-type mantle that is fertile in composition and depleted in the Sr-Nd isotopic signature. The Central Zone lithosphere is 100 km thick and has a double-layer mantle with an old upper layer and a new lower layer. The Western Block has a lithosphere of ～200 km thick. The lithospheric mantle beneath the southern and northern margins and eastern part of the NCC has been transformed significantly by peridotite-melt reactions due to the multiple subductions of adjacent plates since the Paleozoic. Paleo-Pacific subduction and the associated dynamic processes significantly alter the lithosphere based on the distribution of craton destruction. The involved mechanisms include mechanical intrusion of subduction plates, melt/fluid erosion, and local delamination. The lithospheric thinning of ～120 km is relevant to the continental extension caused by subduction plate rollback and trench retreat.     

Geothermal regime and geodynamics of the North Pacific Ocean

The distribution of heat flow in the North Pacific Ocean has been examined, and a map of geothermal and geomagnetic fields for the Bering Sea as it is known today has been made. Reliable data are lacking regarding the time of origin for features of oceanic and continental genesis in the Bering Sea, which is an obstacle to the study of geodynamic processes in the North Pacific. Heat flow data were used to yield numerical estimates for the age of seafloor features in the Bering Sea: the Kamchatka Basin (21 Ma), Shirshov Ridge (95 Ma for the northern part and 33 Ma for the southern), the Aleutian Basin (70 Ma), Vitus Rise (44 Ma), Bowers Ridge (30 Ma), and Bowers Basin (40 Ma). These age estimates are corroborated by combined geological, geophysical, and plate kinematic data. A thermochemical model of global mantle convection has been developed in order to perform a numerical simulation of the thermal process involved in the generation of extended regional features in the North Pacific (the Emperor Fracture Zone, Chinook Trough, etc.). The modeling suggests a plume-tectonic origin for these features, yielding the optimal model for the tectonic evolution of the North Pacific. An integrated geological and geothermal analysis leads to the conclusion that the northern and southern parts of the Shirshov Ridge are different, not only in geologic age, but also in tectonic structure. The northern part is of imbricated-thrust terrane origin, while the southern part is of ensimatic island-arc origin, similar to that of Bowers Ridge. The seafloor of the Aleutian Basin is an outlier of the Upper Cretaceous Kula plate where, in the Vitus Rise area, backarc spreading processes originated during Eocene time. The terminating phase of activity in the Bering Sea began about 21 Ma by spreading in the older seafloor of the Kamchatka Basin. We developed plate-tectonic reconstructions of evolution for the North Pacific for the times 21, 33, 40, and 70 Ma in the hotspot system based on age estimates for the seafloor features derived from heat flow data and modeling of the thermal generation of regional faults, as well as on an analysis of geomagnetic, tectonic, and geological data.     

Luminescence dating of the Huliu River terraces in the Nihewan Basin,North China

As one of the most important regions for early human occupation in East Asia, Nihewan Basin in North China is well-known for an abundance of archaeological sites with ages spanning the last 2 Ma. In recent 10 years, more than 27 new archaeological localities have been discovered from the Yuxian (sub-basin of Nihewan), and all of them are with no age control. The lack of reliable ages for these localities affects our understanding for the evolution of the stone-tool technology in the Nihewan Basin. As many localities were founded in the river terrace, the fluvial terrace sequence of the Huliu River (main river of the Yuxian) was investigated. Based on single-grain post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIRIR) procedure on potassium (K-) feldspar, our results reveal that the formation ages of three Huliu River terraces are 139.6–115.7, 19.7–5.5, and <0.9 ka, respectively. On the basis of these pIRIR ages, the formation of the fluvial terrace sequence may provide informative constraints on the human occupation in the Huliu River terrace in the Nihewan Basin, if a clear stratigraphic correlation is established between the archaeological sites and the dated terrace deposits.