Sulfide‐bearing palaeokarst deposits at Lune River Quarry,Ida Bay,Tasmania

The Lune River Quarry at Ida Bay, Tasmania exposes numerous palaeokarst features developed in the Ordovician Gordon Limestone. These palaeokarst features contain carbonate and siliciclastic deposits probably representing Late Devonian to early Late Carboniferous and Late Carboniferous karstification and sedimentation. Five facies of palaeokarst deposits are recognised, namely megabreccia, graded‐bedded carbonate, laminated sandstone/siltstone, diamictite/quartz‐lithic sandstone and coarse crystalline calcite. Pyrite, dolomite and sphalerite were emplaced in the palaeokarst deposits after the Carboniferous. These deposits are probably associated with a phase of hydrothermal cave development in Exit Cave, which adjoins the quarry. Pyrite weathering accounts for the abundance of gypsum speleothems and cave breakdown in Exit Cave.     

江汉平原及邻区海相碳酸盐岩的古岩溶特征及控制因素

对于露头剖面的观察、相关样品分析及钻井资料的研究表明,区内碳酸盐台地在形成、发展及消亡过程中,由于不同级次的相对海平面下降,台地沉积过程中断,出现暴露并伴随溶蚀作用,在台地埋藏后还受到地下热水的溶蚀改造。将区内古岩溶划分为同生期层间岩溶、裸露期古风化壳岩溶、埋藏期热水岩溶等三类。同生期层间岩溶多与相对短时间的海平面下降有关,以发育溶蚀残积物、溶孔(铸模孔)等为特征。裸露期古风化壳岩溶表现为台地长时间的暴露及溶蚀,一般可见明显的古风化壳岩溶垂向分带;埋藏期热水岩溶以非选择性溶蚀为特征。控制碳酸盐台地古岩溶发育的主要因素有气候、全球性海平面变化、古地形、古构造等因素。初步探讨了区内古岩溶与储层发育的关系。     

Palaeokarst development in a lower Frasnian (Devonian) platform succession,Canning Basin,northwestern Australia

Recognition of palaeokarst in the oldest exposed Devonian (Givetian ‐ lower Frasnian) platform successions of the Canning Basin reef complexes has eluded investigators for over forty years. The first evidence for palaeokarst, developed on microbial mud‐mounds in a single stratigraphic horizon, is documented and records an episode of exposure during early carbonate platform development. Surface palaeokarst features are scalloped surfaces, solution pits and a pipe, underlain by fenestral limestone with sediment‐filled fossil moulds and vugs. The platform succession has variably developed metre‐scale cycles which are composed predominantly of shallowing‐upward subtidal facies, with some cycles having fenestral peloidal mudstone caps. Changes in facies type and stratigraphic arrangement up the succession define two deepening‐upward units (～70 and 180 m thick), with the palaeokarst surface representing emergence following rapid shallowing at the top of the lower unit. The stratigraphic position of the palaeokarst between these two units suggests it may represent a sequence boundary. This may have been caused by a low‐magnitude eustatic fall or footwall‐uplift event superimposed on a rapidly subsiding basin margin.     

Late Dinantian palaeokarst of England and Wales: implications for exposure surface development

Palaeokarst is an important feature of late Dinantian exposure surfaces. Soil-filled depressions are widely developed. These are comparable to modern day solution dolines and were probably interspersed by areas of relatively bare limestone pavement. The palaeokarst primarily exhibits a smooth, mamillated to potholed surface form, consistent with its formation beneath a soil cover. Areas between the depressions have been extensively stylolitised and would likely have originally been characterized by small-scale fretted and sculpted karren forms typical of subaerial karstification. Palaeokarst pits making up the depressions are thought to have been initiated through stem-flow drainage from trees. Rain water, intercepted by the crown of the tree, was concentrated at specific sites on the emergent surface and dissolution beneath the trunk produced cylindrical pits that propagated vertically downwards. Trees responsible for concentrating drainage may also have enhanced the acidic nature of the rain water through leaching of organic acids from foliar and woody tissues. Downward propagation of the pits was limited to the uppermost 1–2 m and enlargement primarily occurred through lateral amalgamation of adjacent pits. Once initiated, continued development of the depressions would have been self perpetuating; the preferential accumulation of volcanic ash and organic matter enhancing water retention and encouraging further vegetation growth. In contrast, intervening areas would have been characterized by slow vertical denudation only. Karstification likely took of the order of a few hundred years in the case of potholed palaeokarstic surfaces formed solely by stem-flow drainage, to a few tens of thousands of years where the palaeokarst is more mature.     

The role of karst in the genesis of sulfur deposits, Pre-Carpathian region, Ukraine

 Most of exogeneous epigenetic sulfur deposits are clearly associated with intensely karstified carbonate and sulfate rocks. This paper demonstrates, using the Pre-Carpathian region as an example, that karstification is one of the most important processes controlling the formation of sulfur deposits. This is determined by a coincidence of some major prerequisites of these two processes. In the Podol'sky and Bukovinsky regions the Miocene aquifer system is well drained by erosion valleys; the giant network caves known here in gypsum formed under past artesian conditions. In the region of sulfur deposits, associated with the same karstified gypsum strata, true artesian conditions still prevail. Hydrogeologic data show that abundant cavities detected in the vicinity of sulfur deposits can be interpreted as having the same origin as the fossil caves of the Podol'sky and Bukovinsky regions. The current widespread belief that the gypsum/anhydrite stratum in the region is aquifuge separating the Miocene aguifers is inadequate. This belief caused much controversy with regard to the genetic interpretations of sulfur deposits in the region. Caves formed by the upward water flow through the gypsum/anhydrite stratum govern the water exchange between the aquifers within the aquifer system. A new karst model for the formation of sulfur deposits is suggested. It agrees well with the hydrogeological features of the Miocene sequence and with biogeochemical mechanisms of sulfur origin in low-temperature diagenetic environments. Received: 16 February 1995 · Accepted: 4 June 1996     

Intra‐messinian gypsum palaeokarst in the Northern Apennines and its palaeogeographic implications

A short intra‐Messinian continental period has been recognised in some North Italian gypsum areas, mostly under the form of palaeokarst deposits. This emersion appears to have occurred only locally, and is explained as caused by the intra‐Messinian tectonic phase and a major sea level lowering. Evidences of this palaeokarst are mostly small, although at some places the palaeontological content of its fillings is of great importance. The discovery near Zola Predosa (Bologna) of a new intra‐Messinian extensive karst system and of its infilling sheds new light on the importance of this karst episode.     

四川盆地东部黄龙组古岩溶地貌研究

作为川东地区最重要的天然气储集类型之一的石炭系黄龙组古岩溶型储层,业已引起众多油气地质工作者的重视。通过古岩溶作用标志识别和成因分析,采用残余地层厚度法、地貌法和印模法等技术手段对川东地区黄龙组古岩溶地貌进行恢复,从中划分出岩溶高地、岩溶斜坡和岩溶盆地三个岩溶地貌单元和峰丛、溶沟、落水洞、坡地、谷地、浅洼、残丘和槽地等微地貌单元,在平面上细分出七个典型的古岩溶地貌分区,并对分区内的岩溶地貌特征进行了研究,认为不同古岩溶地貌分区所处的地理位置及微地貌单元组成特征具有明显差异,从而直接影响到天然气藏的发育。在此基础上,对川东地区古岩溶及储层发育控制因素进行了分析,认为构造、气候、岩性、层位、古地形、古水文条件和不同的岩溶地貌形态影响和控制着古岩溶储层的发育与区域分布。上述研究成果将为川东石炭系古岩溶型储层评价与有利区带优选提供可靠依据。     

Ordovician Carbonate Reservoir Bed Characteristics and ReservoirForming Conditions in the Lungudong Region of the Tarim Basin

<正>Basic characteristics of Ordovician carbonate reservoir beds in the Lungudong region of northeastern part of the Tarim Basin are described in detail and the reservoir-forming conditions of oil and gas are preliminarily discussed in this paper by collecting and sorting out a large amount of data.The carbonate reservoir beds are mainly developed in open-platform and platform marginal facies;the reservoir beds have large changes in and low average values of physical property;the main type is fractured reservoir beds with the fracture-porous type second.The reservoir bed development is chiefly controlled by the distribution of sedimentary facies,tectonic activity and karstification. Whereas the accumulation and distribution of hydrocarbons in the region are controlled by an advantageous structural location,a good reservoir-caprock combination and a favorable transporting system,with the distribution characterized by zones horizontally and belts vertically,the oil and gas are mainly concentrated in areas with structural uplift,densely developed fractures,and surface karst,a vertical vadose zone,and a horizontal undercurrent belt of palaeokarst.     

A middle Proterozoic palaeokarst unconformity and associated sedimentary rocks, Elu Basin, northwest Canada

A major palaeokarst erosion surface is developed within the middle Proterozoic Elu Basin, northwestern Canada. This palaeokarst is named the sub-Kanuyak unconformity and truncates the Parry Bay Formation, a sequence of shallow-marine dolostones that were deposited within a north-facing carbonate platform under a semi-arid climate. The sub-Kanuyak unconformity exhibits up to 90 m of local relief, and also formed under semi-arid conditions when Parry Bay dolostones were subaerially exposed during a relative sea-level drop of about 180 m. Caves and various karren developed within the meteoric vadose and phreatic zones. Their geometry, size and orientation were largely controlled by northwest- and northeast-trending antecedent joints, bedding, and lithology. Near-surface caves later collapsed forming valleys, and intervening towers or walls, and plains. Minor terra rossa formed on top of highs. Karstification was most pronounced in southern parts of Bathurst Inlet but decreased northward, probably reflecting varying lengths of exposure time along a north-dipping slope. The Kanuyak Formation is up to 65 m thick, and partially covers the underlying palaeokarst. It consists of six lithofacies: (i) breccia formed during collapse of caves, as reworked collapse breccia and regolith; (ii) conglomerate representing gravel-dominated braided-fluvial deposits; (iii) sandstone deposited as braided-fluvial and storm-dominated lacustrine deposits; (iv) interbedded sandstone, siltstone and mudstone of sheet flood origin; (v) dolostones formed from dolocretes and quiet-water lacustrine deposits; and (vi) red-beds representing intertidal-marine mudflat deposits. Rivers flowed toward the northwest and northeast within karst valleys and caves; lakes were also situated within valleys; marine mudflat sediments completely cover the palaeokarst to the north. A regional correlation of the sub-Kanuyak unconformity with the intra-Greenhorn Lakes disconformity within the Coppermine homocline suggests that similar styles of karstification occurred over an extensive region. The Elu Basin palaeokarst, however, was developed more landward, and was exposed for a longer period of time than the Coppermine homocline palaeokarst.     

鄂尔多斯盆地西部奥陶系风化壳岩溶作用模式

鄂尔多斯盆地下古生界马家沟组顶部遭受长期风化剥蚀,形成了以膏云岩为主的风化壳岩溶储层。通过偏光显微和超微扫描电镜深入观察了（含）膏云岩的孔隙类型及充填规律,分析了其岩溶作用特点,研究了以膏云岩为主的岩溶作用特征与传统碳酸盐岩岩溶作用特征的区别,探讨了膏云岩发育区的岩溶作用模式。结果表明:硬石膏结核和石膏晶体以其强亲水性和远高于白云石、方解石的溶解度,极易率先吸水发生溶解形成组构选择性溶蚀孔隙,导致膏云岩层蜂窝状溶孔的形成。硬石膏的高溶解度和力学不稳定性使得研究区以膏云岩、白云岩和灰云岩互层的风化壳储层以膏模孔、扩溶膏模孔及与之伴生的胀缩微裂缝为主要储集空间,孔隙大小具有明显的自限性。岩性—（含）膏云岩和沉积微相—海平面低位期潮上带（含）膏云坪沉积是储层形成的先天物质基础和环境条件,并因此直接导致（含）膏云岩储层的成层分布特征。表层膏云岩首先遭受淡水淋滤形成蜂窝状溶孔,多层成层分布膏云岩这种独特的物理化学性质使风化壳内的岩溶水以弥散性渗透为主,这是膏云岩发育区岩溶作用特征和模式与碳酸盐岩产生重要差异的根本原因。     

下刚果盆地中新统重力流沉积演化及控制因素

针对下刚果盆地中新统重力流沉积演化及其控制因素认识不够明确的问题,利用下刚果盆地X区块丰富的三维地震、测井及岩心资料,在建立中新统层序格架的基础上,精细识别了重力流沉积单元类型,系统揭示了重力流沉积演化特征并探讨了其控制因素。区内中新统可划分为SQ1(下中新统)、SQ2(中中新统下段)、SQ3(中中新统上段)及SQ4(上中新统)等4个三级层序,主要发育块体搬运、重力流水道(包括侵蚀过路水道、受限侵蚀水道、弱受限侵蚀—加积水道)、天然堤及朵叶体等沉积单元。SQ1早期,重力流沉积多在拉张区呈NW—SE向分布,主导沉积单元为朵叶体。SQ2早期,重力流沉积分布较广(呈NW—SE向),主导发育弱受限侵蚀—加积水道。SQ3早期,重力流沉积在研究区北部呈NWW—SEE向发育且以受限侵蚀水道为主。SQ4早期,重力流沉积全区发育(E—W走向),主导发育侵蚀过路水道。SQ1～SQ4,重力流沉积总体北迁、进积。刚果河携带大量物源向深水搬运(气候变冷、构造隆升及海平面下降所致)是重力流沉积大规模进积的第一要素,陆缘结构(掀斜陆架和宽缓陆坡)及陆坡坡度变化(断层及盐构造所致)控制了沉积分散过程和砂体横向分布。该...     

The unconformity-related palaeokarst in the uppermost Ediacaran carbonate rocks in the northwestern Tarim Block,NW China: implication for sedimentary evolution during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition

ABSTRACT

The unconformity between the Ediacaran and Cambrian and its associated palaeokarst was well preserved within the Aksu area of the northwestern margin of the Tarim Block and provides new insights into the sedimentary evolution of the Tarim Basin during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition. In this contribution, the typical palaeokarst features in the uppermost Ediacaran dolostones at nine outcrops in the Aksu area were documented, including palaeocaves, cave-sediment infills, solution vugs, and pores. Large-scale collapsed breccia assemblages in palaeocaves indicate that strong karstification had occurred in the south belt from the Xiaoerburak to Kule sections. Karst characterized by small-scale caves and solution vugs at the Chigebrak and Kakebashi sections suggests that the karstification in the north belt was not stronger than that in the south belt. Whereas sparse solution pores and small vugs can only be observed at the Sugetbrak and Yuermeinak sections, demonstrating that the karstification was weak in the middle belt. Combined with the thickness of sediments in the base of the Cambrian which subsequently overlay on the Ediacaran–Cambrian unconformity, it is speculated that the palaeo-upland was probably located in the middle belt from the Sugetbrak to Yuermeinak sections and the slope was developed in the south and north belts during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition. The palaeokarst documented in the uppermost Ediacaran dolostones in the Aksu area illustrates an important sedimentary hiatus of the Tarim Block during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition, which might be due to the sea-level fall at the end of the Ediacaran.     

鄂尔多斯盆地中部前石炭纪岩溶古地貌恢复

鄂尔多斯盆地中部以碳酸盐岩为主夹蒸发岩的奥陶系马家沟组,经130余百万年的风化剥蚀及淋滤作用,风化壳古岩溶发育。在认识研究古地质图的基础上,选取马家沟组五段四亚段一小层底部的凝灰岩为标志层,完成了盆地中部前石炭纪岩溶古地貌图。自西向东,研究区可划分为四个岩溶古地貌单元或区块:岩溶高地、岩溶台地(坪)、岩溶盆地、岩溶台地与岩溶沟槽相间区块。岩溶高地地层向西翘倾,岩溶剥蚀面自西向东地层由老到新呈有序分布,西北角有7口井的地层已剥蚀至马五41以下,最西缘陕56井残顶已为马五7地层。岩溶台地是现今马家沟组天然气的主产区,地势相对较低且平缓,并在多个小层发育岩溶溶洞建造岩。     

Braided rivers within an arid alluvial plain (example from the Lower Triassic,western German Basin): recognition criteria and expression of stratigraphic cycles

Based on a detailed sedimentological analysis of Lower Triassic continental deposits in the western Germanic sag Basin (i.e. the eastern part of the present‐day Paris Basin: the ‘Conglomérat basal’, ‘Grès vosgien’ and ‘Conglomérat principal’ Formations), three main depositional environments were identified: (i) braided rivers in an arid alluvial plain with some preserved aeolian dunes and very few floodplain deposits; (ii) marginal erg (i.e. braided rivers, aeolian dunes and aeolian sand‐sheets); and (iii) playa lake (an ephemeral lake environment with fluvial and aeolian sediments). Most of the time, aeolian deposits in arid environments that are dominated by fluvial systems are poorly preserved and particular attention should be paid to any sedimentological marker of aridity, such as wind‐worn pebbles (ventifacts), sand‐drift surfaces and aeolian sand‐sheets. In such arid continental environments, stratigraphic surfaces of allocyclic origin correspond to bounding surfaces of regional extension. Elementary stratigraphic cycles, i.e. the genetic units, have been identified for the three main continental environments: the fluvial type, fluvial–aeolian type and fluvial/playa lake type. At the time scale of tens to hundreds of thousands of years, these high‐frequency cycles of climatic origin are controlled either by the groundwater level in the basin or by the fluvial siliciclastic sediment input supplied from the highland. Lower Triassic deposits from the Germanic Basin are preserved mostly in endoreic basins. The central part of the basin is arid but the rivers are supplied with water by precipitation falling on the remnants of the Hercynian (Variscan)–Appalachian Mountains. Consequently, a detailed study of alluvial plain facies provides indications of local climatic conditions in the place of deposition, whereas fluvial systems only reflect climatic conditions of the upstream erosional catchments.     

古岩溶盆地岩溶作用模式及古地貌精细刻画——以鄂尔多斯盆地东部奥陶系风化壳为例

鄂尔多斯盆地东部奥陶系风化壳天然气勘探的核心问题是寻找储层 ,关键技术是对古沟槽、古台地的识别。该区风化壳储层不发育有两方面的原因 :一是沉积相带不利 ;二是风化壳岩溶部位不利 ,属于岩溶洼地 ,溶蚀作用较弱 ,充填作用较强。鄂尔多斯盆地东部奥陶系风化壳古岩溶地貌为地势平坦、向东开口的半封闭岩溶盆地 ,这就为该区古风化壳岩溶的发育创造了相对于其他全封闭盆地更好的条件。将岩溶盆地划分为谷地、台地、残丘、沟槽、浅洼 5种三级地貌单元类型 ,东部发育 3个水平岩溶带 ,第三水平岩溶带距夷平面 70～ 85m。根据观察结果及地下水的渗流规律 ,提出深潜流溶蚀带—深泉排水模式 ,为岩溶盆地风化壳储集体的发育提供了另一种可能的溶蚀作用方式。岩溶盆地在中深埋藏期压释岩溶作用较强 ,有利于储集体孔渗的改善、上古生界烃类的带入、古台地边缘致密带的产生及圈闭的形成。综合利用地质、钻井、地震及测井手段精细刻画了神木—榆林地区奥陶系风化壳古地貌 ,结果表明该地区古台地规模适中、古沟槽较多 ,认为东部是较有利的勘探区带     

新疆叶城晚新生代山前盆地演化与青藏高原北缘的隆升--Ⅱ沉积相与沉积盆地演化

叶城盆地属于塔里木盆地的西南坳陷 ,在晚新生代沉积了巨厚的磨拉石建造。盆地的演化具有阶段性 ,反映了西昆仑山不断的隆升。中新世 ,盆地的沉积环境为曲流河和辨状河等河湖相环境 ,到上新世早期变为冲积扇的远端。晚上新世 (～ 3.6 Ma)开始 ,盆地的沉积环境发生了质的变化 ,沉积物以粗颗粒砾岩为主 ,沉积环境为干旱气候条件下的冲 -洪积扇近端。沉积相的变化 ,反映了昆仑山在晚上新世有强烈的隆升。     

鄂尔多斯盆地中部马五1亚段高分辨率层序地层格架中风化成岩模式和储层特征

以层序地层学理论为指导,研究了鄂尔多斯盆地中部奥陶系风化壳储层的层序地层特征,建立了马五₁亚段的高分辨率层序地层格架,在其内识别出了4个准层序;通过建立海平面变化与风化成岩（ 岩溶） 作用的关系模式,从成因上阐明了层间岩溶和后期高级别的风化成岩（ 岩熔） 作用的发生过程和控制因素,揭示了在碳酸盐岩高分辨率层序地层格架中,不同级别的海平面变化周期控制着不同级别的沉积层序和风化成岩（ 岩溶） 作用;分析了准层序与储层物性的关系,认为在鄂尔多斯盆地中部奥陶系风化壳储层中,准层序界面控制着层间岩溶的发育,是影响马五₁亚段风化壳储层性质的主要因素。     

A Mesoproterozoic palaeokarst on the North China Craton in the Xingcheng area of Liaoning Province,China: characteristics and significance on paleogeography

ABSTRACT

Palaeokarsts are rarely preserved and recognized from Precambrian strata. However, a Mesoproterozoic palaeokarst was recently discovered on the top of the Tuanshanzi Formation in Xingcheng, Liaoning Province, China. This palaeokarst recorded karstification fissures, three types of breccias and unique vadose filling. Four factors: no bedding fillings, vadose cements, restricted palaeokarst development, and the overlying beds without involved any karstification, supported this palaeokarst occurred before the deposition of the Dahongyu Formation. Relative sea-level changes and tectonic movement provided the essential external cause for this palaeokarst, which revealed the hiatus between the Dahongyu Formation and the Tuanshanzi Formation in the Yan-Liao Aulacogen of the North China Craton. This finding was significant and valuable for discussing the ‘Xingcheng Movement’ and unconformity contact relationships between the two formations observed around the basin. As the palaeokarst did not extend to the interior of the basin and the unconformity occurred mainly in the margins of basin, the significance of them is always underestimated. Nevertheless, this palaeokarst and other sedimentary features could represent an apparent transition of Yan-Liao Aulacogen basin evolved from rift to depression under the background of Supercontinent Columbia breakup.     

Groundwater Systems and Resources in the Ordos Basin,China

The Ordos Basin is a large-scale sedimentary basin in northwestern China. The hydrostratigraphic units from bottom to top are pre-Cambrian metamorphic rocks, Lower Paleozoic carbonate rocks, Upper Paleozoic to Mesozoic clastic rocks and Cenozoic deposits. The total thickness is up to 6000 m. Three groundwater systems are present in the Ordos Basin, based on the geological settings, i.e. the karst groundwater system, the Cretaceous clastic groundwater system and the Quaternary groundwater system. This paper describes systematically the groundwater flow patterns of each system and overall assessment of groundwater resources.     

Late Cenozoic tectonic activity and its significance in the Northern Junggar Basin,Northwestern China

The Dingshan area located in the northern part of the Junggar Basin of northwestern China is a significant prospect area for sandstone-type uranium deposits in China, where mainly Cenozoic rocks were deposited. The Cenozoic strata can be divided into four units according to the prior data and our own field observation. Sedimentary studies indicate that most Cenozoic strata were deposited under a hot and arid climate in a continental environment. The sedimentary facies are alluvial-fan, meandering-fluvial, and fluvio-lacustrine. Field investigation and interpretation of satellite images suggest that Cenozoic tectonics in the area is characterized by reactivation of early deep-seated thrusts, resulting in extensional fractures and formation of many small depressions in the shallow crustal level. Measurement of joint orientations suggests that regional shortening direction trends in north–south in the middle Pleistocene as indicated by the ESR (Electronic Spin Resonance) age of 0.1–0.4 Ma obtained from fault gouge and gypsum deposits. A four-stage sedimentation-tectonic evolution model of the northern Junggar Basin during the Late Cenozoic can be established based on reconstruction of sedimentary filling processes and Cenozoic tectonic movements. We suggest that landform evolution and groundwater movement are controlled by active tectonics, indicating that Late Cenozoic tectonic activities may also play important roles in the formation of sandstone-type uranium deposits. Therefore, a new metallogenic model for sandstone-type uranium deposits is proposed.