An east–west‐trending Quaternary tunnel valley in the south‐eastern North Sea and its seismic–sedimentological interpretation

A combination of a dense reflection seismic grid and up to 50‐m‐long records from sediment cores and cone penetration tests was used to study the geometry and infill lithology of an E–W‐trending buried tunnel valley in the south‐eastern North Sea. In relation to previously known primarily N–S‐trending tunnel valleys in this area, the geometry and infill of this 38‐km‐long and up to 3‐km‐wide valley is comparable, but its E–W orientation is exceptional. The vertical cross‐section geometry may result from subglacial sediment erosion of advancing ice streams and secondary incision by large episodic meltwater discharges with high flow rates. The infill is composed of meltwater sands and reworked till remnants on the valley flanks that are overlain by late Elsterian rhythmic, laminated, lacustrine fine‐grained sediments towards the centre of the valley. A depression in the valley centre is filled with sediments most likely from the Holsteinian transgression and a subsequent post‐Holsteinian lacustrine quiet‐water setting. The exceptional axis orientation of this tunnel valley points to a regional N–S‐oriented ice front during the late Elsterian. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geological and archaeological evidence of active faulting on the Martana Fault (Umbria–Marche Apennines,Italy) and its geodynamic implications

This paper examines the morphotectonic and structural–geological characteristics of the Quaternary Martana Fault in the Umbria–Marche Apennines fold‐and‐thrust belt. This structure is more than 30 km long and comprises two segments: a N–NNW‐trending longer segment and a 100°N‐trending segment. After developing as a normal fault in Early Pleistocene times, the N–NNW Martana Fault segment experienced a phase of dextral faulting extending from the Early to Middle Pleistocene boundary until around 0.39 Ma, the absolute age of volcanics erupted in correspondence to releasing bends. The establishment of a stress field with a NE–ENE‐trending σ₃ axis and NW–NNW σ₁ axis in Late Pleistocene to Holocene times resulted in a strong component of sinistral faulting along N–NNW‐trending fault segments and almost pure normal faulting on newly formed NW–SE faults. Fresh fault scarps, the interaction of faulting with drainage systems and displacement of alluvial fan apexes provide evidence of the ongoing activity of this fault. The active left‐lateral kinematic along N–NNW‐trending fault segments is also revealed by the 1.8 m horizontal offset of the E–W‐trending Decumanus road, at the Roman town of Carsulae. We interpret the present‐day kinematics of the Martana Fault as consistent with a model connecting surface structures to the inferred north‐northwest trending lithospheric shear zone marking the western boundary of the Adria Plate. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structural Analysis of the Luowei Orefield in Xidamingshan,Guangxi, China

Many types of hydrothermal deposits (e.g. W, Bi, Pb, Zn, Ag) are confined by faults and hidden granodiorite in the Luowei Orefield in Xidamingshan, Guangxi, China. The orebodies in the Luowei W–Bi deposit are predominantly layered and distributed along bedding in sandstones of the Cambrian Xiaoneichong Formation. The orebodies in the Lujing Pb–Zn deposit are controlled mainly by west‐south‐west (WSW)‐trending faults, and those in the Fenghuangshan Ag deposit are controlled mainly by west‐north‐west (WNW)‐trending faults, which were reverse faults during mineralization and were later reactivated as sinistral strike‐slip faults. The Luowei fault was formed postmineralization and resulted in sinistral displacement of the subsurface granodiorite and the Cambrian strata. A tectonomagmatic mineralization model of the Luowei Orefield is proposed, and the following conclusions were made. (i) Under a regional N–S compressive stress regime, WSW‐ and WNW‐trending reverse faults and N–S‐trending tensional fractures were formed. (ii) Magma intruded along the tensional fractures. Under the force of magmatic thermodynamics, mineralizing fluid migrated along bedding planes in sandstones and formed W–Bi orebodies at favorable sites. Some fluid migrated along WSW‐ and WNW‐trending faults to sites farther from the magma source, forming vein‐type Pb–Zn and Ag orebodies. (iii) After mineralization, under ~E–W compression, a NW‐trending left‐lateral slip fault was formed, cutting the subsurface granodiorite and orebodies. Concurrently, sinistral shear slip occurred on WNW‐trending ore‐controlling faults. However, the small displacement on these faults did not change the overall distributions of the rock mass and orebodies.     

N–S crustal shear system in the Bundelkhand massif: A unique crustal evolution signature in the northern Indian peninsula

The Bundelkhand massif, located in the northern part of the Indian shield, is a poly-deformed and poly-metamorphic terrain. This paper reports a new shear system developed throughout the massif in the form of N–S trending quartz veins that are sometimes quartzo-feldspathic and rarely granitic in composition. The veins are vertical and commonly occur in conjugate sets. This tectono-magmatic event appears to represent the youngest shear system of the massif as it cross-cuts all the earlier shear systems (E–W, NE–SE and NW–SE). Emplacement of this N–S vein system may have taken place due to extensional processes that developed some cracks along which siliceous magma was vertically emplaced. The complete absence of signature of the N–S event from the surrounding sedimentary cover of Vindhyan Supergroup, Bijawar and Gwalior Groups suggests that this shear system is pre-tectonic to the nearly E–W trending passive basins developed at the margins of the Bundelkhand craton. Further, several workers have considered the Bundelkhand massif as a part of the Aravalli craton. However, due to the absence of N–S, as well as the other (i.e., E–W, NW–SE and NW–SE), tectonic fabrics of the Bundelkhand massif in other cratons of the Peninsular India, and vice versa, makes the Bundelkhand block a separate and unique craton of its own and is not part of the Aravalli craton.     

Late Quaternary deformation features along the Anninghe Fault on the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau

On the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, the Anninghe, Zemuhe and Xiaojiang faults comprise a N–S-trending active left-lateral fault system extending more than 700 km. The northernmost Anninghe Fault extends for ∼200 km, consisting of two sub-parallel N–S trending strands. Along the western strand, the fault traces occur almost strictly along the broad and flat Anninghe valley, displacing high terraces, alluvial fans and tributary channels of the Anninghe River. The eastern strand, on the other hand, cuts through the steep mountain slopes, with prominent rectilinear upslope-facing scarps and shutter ridges against pounded fluvial sediments from the east. The displacements along the eastern strand are much larger than that along the western strand, indicating the eastern strand is the major fault absorbing the E–W shortening. This study demonstrates that the Anninghe Fault is now acting as a relief-building boundary fault and absorbing the E–W compression under the eastwards motion of the Tibetan Plateau. Accordingly, the Anninghe region is a topographic transition area from steep relief to low gradient topography. The variation in topographic gradient is consistent with the differing tectonic regime between southern and northern parts of the Tibetan Plateau.     

Faulted backfold versus reactivated backthrust: the role of inherited structures during late extension in the frontal Piémont nappes east of Pelvoux (Western Alps)

In the central part of the internal Western Alps, widespread multidirectional normal faulting resulted in an orogen-scale radial extension during the Neogene. We revisit the frontal Piémont units, between Doire and Ubaye, where contrasting lithologies allow analysing the interference with the N–S trending Oligocene compressive structures. A major extensional structure is the orogen-perpendicular Chenaillet graben, whose development was guided by an E–W trending transfer fault zone between the Chaberton backfold to the north and the Rochebrune backthrust to the south. The Chaberton hinge zone was passively crosscut by planar normal faults, resulting in a E–W trending step-type structure. Within the Rochebrune nappe, E–W trending listric normal faults bound tilted blocks that slipped northward along the basal backthrust surface reactivated as an extensional detachment. Gravity-driven gliding is suggested by the general northward tilting of the structure in relation with the collapse of the Chenaillet graben. The stress tensors computed from brittle deformation analysis confirm the predominance of orogen-parallel extension in the entire frontal Piémont zone. This can be compared with the nearby Briançonnnais nappe stack where the extensional reactivation of thrust surfaces locally resulted in prominent orogen-perpendicular extension. Such a contrasting situation illustrates how the main direction of the late-Alpine extension may be regionally governed by the nature and orientation of the pre-existing structures inherited from the main collision stage.     

Tectonics of the Northern Bresse region (France) during the Alpine cycle

Combining fieldwork and surface data, we have reconstructed the Cenozoic structural and tectonic evolution of the Northern Bresse. Analysis of drainage network geometry allowed to detect three major fault zones trending NE–SW, E–W and NW–SE, and smooth folds with NNE trending axes, all corroborated with shallow well data in the graben and fieldwork on edges. Cenozoic paleostress succession was determined through fault slip and calcite twin inversions, taking into account data of relative chronology. A N–S major compression, attributed to the Pyrenean orogenesis, has activated strike-slip faults trending NNE along the western edge and NE–SW in the graben. After a transitional minor E–W trending extension, the Oligocene WNW extension has structured the graben by a collapse along NNE to NE–SW normal faults. A local NNW extension closes this phase. The Alpine collision has led to an ENE compression at Early Miocene. The following WNW trending major compression has generated shallow deformation in Bresse, but no deformation along the western edge. The calculation of potential reactivation of pre-existing faults enables to propose a structural sketch map for this event, with a NE–SW trending transfer fault zone, inactivity of the NNE edge faults, and possibly large wavelength folding, which could explain the deposit agency and repartition of Miocene to Quaternary deformation.     

鄂尔多斯盆地中生代地层天然裂缝发育特征与构造应力场演化

鄂尔多斯是我国重要的油气盆地,而绝大多数油气储层都会受到天然裂缝的影响。文中通过野外系统观测和室内的统计分析, 详细描述了盆地中生代地层中的天然裂缝发育特征和主要控制因素, 为裂缝性油气藏勘探开发提供基础理论支持。通过研究得知, 盆内中生代地层中主要发育有6组裂缝： E-W向、 ENE-WSW向、 NE-SW向、 N-S向、 NNW-SSE向、 NNE-SSW向。其中E-W向、 ENE-WSW向和NE-SW向为系统裂缝; N-S向、 NNW-SSE向和NNE-SSW向为非系统裂缝。在裂缝组合中, 有两组正交裂缝系统（E-W向和N-S向, ENE-WSW向和NNW-SSE向）, 其中E-W向和N-S向裂缝构成的正交裂缝系统只出露于三叠和侏罗纪地层。同时, 还有两组共轭裂缝（ENE-WSW向和NNE-SSW向, ENE-WSW向和ESE-WNW向）, 其中ENE-WSW向和NNE-SSW向裂缝构成的共轭裂缝出露于整个中生代地层, 而另外一组只出露于上三叠统延长组中。此外, 裂缝间距分析表明： （1）裂缝间距与力学层厚之间的关联性相对较低; （2）E-W向和ENE-WSW向两组系统裂缝的发育强度好于N-S向非系统裂缝组; （3）岩层厚度越小, 对应裂缝密度则越大。（4）除了岩层厚度, 区域应力场对裂缝的发育具有很大的影响。研究区内裂缝主要形成于两期区域应力场： 第一期是晚侏罗世近E-W向的挤压应力场, 由古太平洋板块向欧亚板块的俯冲和碰撞作用所致; 第二期是新生代NE-SW向的挤压应力场, 由印度板块向欧亚板块的俯冲和碰撞作用所致。     

Fudzin-Iman lateral fault

The fault is 200 km in length, trending N 5°W., cutting the N 30° E-trending structure of the Sikhote-Alin Mountains. Correlation of northwesterly-dipping Paleozoic and Mesozoic sequences on either side of the fault show that the fault is vertical, with a left-lateral displacement of about 40 km. The youngest beds displaced are Senonian, dating the movement as Upper Senonian (a post-geosynclinal stage of the Sikhote-Alin development). — P. B. Ives     

Complete Tertiary exhumation history of the Menderes massif, western Turkey: an alternative working hypothesis

The main exhumation of the Menderes massif, western Turkey, occurred along an originally N‐dipping Datça–Kale main breakaway fault that controlled depositions in the Kale and the Gökova basins during the Oligocene – Early Miocene interval. The isostatically controlled upward bending of the main breakaway fault brings the lower plate rocks to the surface. In the Early Miocene, E–W‐trending N‐ and S‐dipping graben‐bounding faults fragmented the exhumed, dome‐shaped massif. The development of half grabens by rolling master fault hinges has allowed further exhumation of the central Menderes massif. After the Pliocene, high‐angle normal faults cut all of the previous structures. This model suggests that the Menderes massif is a single large metamorphic core complex that has experienced a two‐stage exhumation process.     

Geometry and kinematics of recent deformation in the Mondy–Tunka area (south-westernmost Baikal rift zone, Mongolia–Siberia)

We used satellite imagery and field data to investigate the south‐westernmost Baikal rift zone. We focus our study in the Mondy and Ikhe Ukhgun valleys, site of an Mw = 6.9 seismic event in 1950. Surface deformations are observed along the E–W‐trending Mondy strike‐slip fault and along the Ikhe Ukhgun thrust. The Mondy fault system is 80 km long and is composed of four segments 10–15 km long. These segments are characterized by subvertical planes with left‐lateral movements. The Ikhe Ukhgun thrust is 20 km long, dips 40° to the south and shows reverse movement with a left‐lateral component. These observations are consistent with the present‐day regional NNE–SSW compression and with the focal mechanism of the 1950 Mondy earthquake that was recently re‐evaluated. These features, like those observed in the Tunka basin, demonstrate a recent change of regional strain regime from transtension to transpression that we place before the Late Pleistocene.     

西藏安多-错那湖地堑的第四纪地质、断裂活动及其运动学特征分析

地表调查和初步的沉积物年代测试结果表明,晚第四纪期间,在安多-错那地堑中主要发育了分别形成于44.2kaB.P.和9～7kaB.P.左右的两套湖泊沉积物和约42kaB.P.以来的5套冲、洪积物。在安多-错那地堑的边界主要发育了包括安多南缘断裂、北缘断裂、错那湖东缘断裂和西缘断裂共4条第四纪正断层。其中活动强度最大的为安多北缘断裂,其第四纪最小垂直活动速率为0.24±0.02mm/a;其次为安多南缘断裂和错那湖东、西两侧边界断裂,它们的最小垂直速率分别为0.19mm/a,0.12～0.16mm/a和0.10～0.12mm/a。晚第四纪以来的断裂活动主要集中在平均垂直活动速率为0.41±0.22mm/a的安多北缘断裂带的西段。安多及邻区现今的地表构造格局及断裂带的几何学和运动学特征符合近南北向地壳缩短背景下由于近东西向伸展变形而引发的菱形断块发育模式。根据断层的活动速率估算结果,晚第四纪期间安多-错那地堑的平均伸展速率为0.25±0.15mm/a,而整个羌塘块体总的东西向伸展变形速率可能达到11±8mm/a。     

Synoblique convergent and extensional deformation and metamorphism in the Neoproterozoic rocks along Wadi Fatira shear zone, Northern Eastern Desert, Egypt

The Wadi Fatira area occurs at the southern margin of the Northern Eastern Desert (NED) of Egypt and is occupied by highly sheared metavolcanics tectonically alternated with banded iron formations and intruded by Barud tonalite–granodiorite, post-tectonic gabbroic and granitic intrusions. Detailed structural investigation showed that the schists and migmatitic amphibolites are formed by shearing in metavolcanics and syntectonic Barud tonalite–granodiorite due to movement along the Wadi Fatira shear zone (WFSZ). This shear zone starts as a NW–SE striking fault along Wadi Barud Al Azraq and the Eastern part of Wadi Fatira and turns to a E–W trending fault to the north of Wadi Fatira. Microstructural shear sense indicators such as asymmetric geometry of porphyroclasts such as σ-type and asymmetric folds deforming fine-grained bands which are frequently found around porphyroclasts indicate sinistral sense of shearing along the WFSZ. This shear zone is characterized by transitions from local convergence to local extension along their E–W and NW–SE trending parts, respectively. The NW–SE part of the WFSZ is of about 200 m in width and characterized by synmagmatic extensional features such as intrusion of synkinematic tonalite, creation of NE–SE trending normal faults, and formation of migmatitic amphibolites and schlieric tonalites. This part of the shear zone is metamorphosed under synthermal peak metamorphic conditions (725°C at 2–4 kbar). The E–W compressional part of the WFSZ is up to 3 km in width and composed of hornblende, chlorite, actinolite, and biotite schists together with sheared intermediate and acidic metatuffs. Contractional and transpressional structures in this part of the WFSZ include E–W trending major asymmetrical anticline and syncline, nearly vertical foliation and steeply pitching stretching lineations, NNE dipping minor thrusts, and minor intrafolial folds with their hinges parallel to the stretching lineation. P–T estimates using mineral analyses of plagioclase and hornblende from schists and foliated metavolcanics indicate prograde metamorphism under medium-grade amphibolite facies (500–600°C at 3–7 kbar) retrogressed to low-grade greenschist facies (227–317°C). The foliation in Barud tonalite–granodiorite close to the E–W part of the WFSZ runs parallel to the plane of shearing and the tonalite show numerous magmatic flow structures overprinted by folding and ductile shearing. The WFSZ is similar to structures resulted from combined simple shear and orthogonal shortening of oblique transpressive shear zones and their sense of movement is comparable with the characteristics of the Najd Fault System.     

Strain pattern represented by scarps formed during the earthquakes of October 2, 1915, Pleasant Valley, Nevada

The pattern of scarps developed during the earthquakes of October 2, 1915, in Pleasant Valley, Nevada, may have formed as a result of a modern stress system acting on a set of fractures produced by an earlier stress system which was oriented differently. Four major scarps developed in a right-stepping, en-echelon pattern suggestive of left-lateral slip across the zone and an extension axis oriented approximately S85°W. The trend of the zone is N25°E. However, the orientation of simple dip-slip on most segments trending approximately N20—40° E and a right-lateral component of displacement on several N- and NW-trending segments of the scarps indicate that the axis of regional extension was oriented between N50° and 70° W, normal to the zone.The cumulative length of the scarps is 60 km, average vertical displacement 2 m, and the maximum vertical displacement near the Pearce School site 5.8 m. Almost everywhere the 1915 scarps formed along an older scarp line, and in some places older scarps represent multiple previous events. The most recent displacement event prior to 1915 is interpreted to have occurred more than 6600 years ago, but possibly less than 20,000 years ago. Some faults expressed by older scarps that trend northwest were not reactivated in 1915, possibly because they are oriented at a low angle with respect to the axis of modern regional extension.The 1915 event occurred in an area of overlap of three regional fault trends oriented northwest, north, and northeast and referred to, respectively, as the Oregon—Nevada, Northwest Nevada, and Midas—Battle Moutain trends. Each of these trends may have developed at a different time; the Oregon—Nevada trend was possibly the earliest and developed in Late Miocene time (Stewart et al. 1975). Segments of the 1915 scarps are parallel to each of these trends, suggesting influence by older sets of fractures.     

Analysis of Remote Sensing Images of Ground Ruptures Resulting from the Kunlun Mountain Pass Earthquake in 2001

1 IntroductionOn November 14, 2001, a large earthquake of M-8.1(magnitude of 8.1) occurred to the west of the KunlunMountain Pass which bounds Xinjiang Uygur AutonomousRegion and Qinghai Province. The Chinese seismicnetwork measured the epicenter of this event to be locatedat 36.2°N, 90.9°E, 350 km away from Golmud City ofQinghai and 400 km from Ruoqiang County of Xinjiang.This is the largest earthquake in the Chinese mainland sincethe M-8.0 earthquake occurring in Damxung of Tibet…     

Comparison of surface slip and focal mechanism slip data along normal faults: an example from the eastern Gulf of Corinth,Greece

Focal mechanism and surface slip data are used to investigate whether kinematics are similar at depth and at the surface along an active normal fault in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece. We present a new database of slip data from the lateral termination of the South Alkyonides fault segment (SAFS) and the en échelon stepover between it and an adjacent fault, and use published data on surface slip and focal mechanism data pertaining to slip at depth during the 1981 Alkyonides earthquake sequence. The focal mechanisms exhibit similar fault plane orientations and kinematics to those measured at the surface. Within the stepover, both data sets show that contemporaneous c. N–S and c. E–W extension is being accommodated by c. E–W- and c. N–S-oriented normal faults, and the overall deformation is distributed oblate vertical flattening. The deviation of the surface slip direction from 350° increases with distance from the centre of the SAFS. The deviation of the focal mechanism T-axes from 350° fit well with the surface data, implying that the coseismic slip on the SAFS at depths of 7–10 km exhibits a similar kinematic pattern as that observed at the surface. Our results imply that it is critical to know the along-strike position of data on a fault if either focal mechanisms or surface slip are to be used to infer regional strain and stress trajectories.     

Arc plutonism in a transtensional regime: the late Palaeozoic Totoltepec pluton,Acatlán Complex,southern Mexico

The ENE-trending, ca. 306–287 Ma, Totoltepec pluton is part of a Carboniferous–Permian continental magmatic arc on the western Pangaean margin. The 15 km?×?5 km pluton is bounded by two N–S Permian dextral faults, an E–W thrust to the south, and an E–W normal fault to the north. Thermobarometric data indicate that the main, ca. 289–287 Ma, part of the pluton was emplaced at ≤20 km depth and ≥700°C and was exhumed to 11 km and 400°C in 4 ± 2 million years. We have documented the following intrusive sequence: (1) the 306 Ma northern marginal mafic phase; (2) the 287 Ma main trondhjemitic phase; and (3) ca. 289–283 Ma sub-vertical dikes that vary from (a) N39E, undeformed with crystal growth perpendicular to the margins, through (b) ca. N50–73E, foliated and folded with sinistral shear indicators, to (c) N73–140E and boudinaged. The obliquity of the boundary between the folded and stretched dikes relative to the N–S dextral faults suggests sequential emplacement in a transtensional regime (with 20% E–W extension), followed by different degrees of clockwise rotation passing through a shortening field accompanied by sinistral shear into an extensional field. The ca. 289–287 Ma intrusion also contains a steep ENE-striking foliation and hornblende lineations varying from sub-horizontal to steeply plunging, probably the result of emplacement in a triclinic strain regime. We infer that magmatism ceased when some of the dextral motion was transferred from the western to the eastern bounding fault, causing thrusting to take place along the southern boundary of the pluton. This mechanism is also invoked for the rapid uplift and exhumation of the pluton between ca. 287 Ma and 283 Ma. The distinctive characteristics of the Totoltepec pluton should prove useful in identifying similar tectonic settings within continental arcs.     

Near N–S paleo-extension in the western Deccan region,India: Does it link strike-slip tectonics with India–Seychelles rifting?

This is the first detailed report and analyses of deformation from the W part of the Deccan large igneous province (DLIP), Maharashtra, India. This deformation, related to the India–Seychelles rifting during Late Cretaceous–Early Paleocene, was studied, and the paleostress tensors were deduced. Near N–S trending shear zones, lineaments, and faults were already reported without significant detail. An E–W extension was envisaged by the previous workers to explain the India–Seychelles rift at ~64 Ma. The direction of extension, however, does not match with their N–S brittle shear zones and also those faults (sub-vertical, ~NE–SW/~NW–SE, and few ~N–S) we report and emphasize in this work. Slickenside-bearing fault planes, brittle shear zones, and extension fractures in meso-scale enabled us to estimate the paleostress tensors (directions and relative magnitudes). The field study was complemented by remote sensing lineament analyses to map dykes and shear zones. Dykes emplaced along pre-existing ~N–S to ~NE–SW/~NW–SE shears/fractures. This information was used to derive regional paleostress trends. A ~NW–SE/NE–SW minimum compressive stress in the oldest Kalsubai Subgroup and a ~N–S direction for the younger Lonavala, Wai, and Salsette Subgroups were deciphered. Thus, a ~NW/NE to ~N–S extension is put forward that refutes the popular view of E–W India–Seychelles extension. Paleostress analyses indicate that this is an oblique rifted margin. Field criteria suggest only ~NE–SW and ~NW–SE, with some ~N–S strike-slip faults/brittle shear zones. We refer this deformation zone as the "Western Deccan Strike-slip Zone" (WDSZ). The observed deformation was matched with offshore tectonics deciphered mainly from faults interpreted on seismic profiles and from magnetic seafloor spreading anomalies. These geophysical findings too indicate oblique rifting in this part of the W Indian passive margin. We argue that the Seychelles microcontinent separated from India only after much of the DLIP erupted. Further studies of magma-rich passive margins with respect to timing and architecture of deformation and emplacement of volcanics are required.     

小南沟金矿构造控矿特征及成矿预测

河南熊耳山地区的金矿大多产于NE向和近E-W向断裂中.近年来发现的小南沟金矿受控于近S-N向断裂,开拓了该地区金矿找矿的新思路.研究表明,近S-N向的控矿断裂为NNW向与NE向一组共轭断裂的复合成因,是在E-W向基底断裂的基础上发育形成的,成矿作用与区域成矿具有一致性.总结出NE向断裂有利成矿的断裂走向勘探标志,指出小南沟金矿的外围仍有良好的找矿条件,NNW向、NE向与NWW向断裂构造交汇部位有利成矿.小南沟主矿体存在向北的迅速侧伏,侧伏的原因与E-W向断层北倾以及NNW与NE向断层交汇线的向北侧伏有关.     

Late Paleozoic–Mesozoic tectonic evolution of the Trans-Altai and South Gobi Zones in southern Mongolia based on structural and geochronological data

The Trans-Altai Zone in southern Mongolia is characterized by thrusting of greenschist-facies Silurian oceanic rocks over Devonian and Lower Carboniferous volcano-sedimentary sequences, by E–W directed folding affecting the early Carboniferous volcanic rocks, and by the development of N–S trending magmatic fabrics in the Devonian–Carboniferous arc plutons. This structural pattern is interpreted as the result of early Carboniferous thick-skinned E–W directed nappe stacking of oceanic crust associated with syn-compressional emplacement of a magmatic arc. The southernmost South Gobi Zone represents a Proterozoic continental domain affected by shallow crustal greenschist-facies detachments of Ordovician and Devonian cover sequences from the Proterozoic substratum, whereas supracrustal Carboniferous volcanic rocks and Permian sediments were folded into N–S upright folds. This structural pattern implies E–W directed thin-skinned tectonics operating from the late Carboniferous to the Permian, as demonstrated by K–Ar ages ranging from ~ 320 Ma to 257 Ma for clay fractions separated from a variety of rock types. Moreover, the geographical distribution of granitoids combined with their geochemistry and SHRIMP U–Pb zircon ages form distinct groups of Carboniferous and Permian age that record typical processes of magma generation and increase in crustal thickness. The field observations combined with clay ages, the geochemical characteristics of the granitoids and their ages imply that the E–W trending zone affected by tectonism migrated southwards, leaving the Trans Altai Zone inactive during the late Carboniferous and Permian, suggesting that the two units were tectonically amalgamated along a major E–W trending strike slip fault zone. This event was related to late Carboniferous subduction that was responsible for the vast volume of granitoid magma emplaced at 300–305 Ma in the South Gobi and at 307–308 Ma in the Trans-Altai Zones. The formation and growth of the crust was initially due only to subduction and accretion processes. During the post-collisional period from 305 to 290 Ma the addition of heat to the crust led to the generation of (per-) alkaline melts. Once amalgamated, these two different crustal domains were affected by N–S compression during the Triassic and early Jurassic (185–173 Ma), resulting in E–W refolding of early thrusts and folds and major shortening of both tectonic zones.