Evidence from the Mesta half-graben, SW Bulgaria, for the Late Eocene beginning of Aegean extension in the Central Balkan Peninsula

The ENE-tilted Mesta half-graben contains a 3-km-thick section of Priabonian (Late Eocene) to Oligocene sedimentary and volcanic rocks that rest unconformably on basement metamorphic rocks along its west side. Basal strata dip 50–60° E and dip at progressively lower angles upward, indicating synrotational deposition. The southern part of the half-graben contains nested volcanic caldera complexes, formed during the deposition of the middle part of the sedimentary sequence, which have been rotated by about half the total rotation of the sedimentary succession. The half-graben is bounded on the east by a fault that steepens from more deeply exposed structural levels in the south (8–18° W) to shallower exposed structural levels in the north (70° W) and together with the rotation of Paleogene strata during deposition indicate the Mesta half-graben is underlain by a listric detachment fault, the Mesta detachment. Subhorizontal Middle Miocene strata that unconformably overlie tilted Paleogene strata yield an upper age limit to the extension. West and northwest of the Mesta half-graben are many other NNW-trending NE-tilted Paleogene half-grabens which we suggest are part of an important extended area in SW Bulgaria and eastern Macedonia that lies above one or more west-dipping detachment faults and date the beginning of Aegean extension in the southern Balkan region as at least as old as Priabonian. The Mesta detachment is oblique to the trend of a contemporaneous Paleogene magmatic arc in the southern Balkans and the origin of the detachment is probably related to gravitationally induced spreading of thickened hot arc crust and Hellenic trench roll back.     

Tectono sedimentary evolution of the Umm Ghaddah Formation (late Ediacaran-early Cambrian) in Jordan

The terrestrial Umm Ghaddah Formation of late Ediacaran-early Cambrian age was deposited in NE–SW elongated intracontinental rift system basins and sub-basins bounded by active listric half-graben faults. Basin fill consists of conglomerate facies association A, deposited in a fault-controlled transverse alluvial fan system that drained northwestward and graded laterally into sandstone facies association B, deposited by a braided river system flowing northeastward axial to the rift basin. The alluvial fan facies association was deposited by rock falls and non-cohesive debris flows of sediment gravity flow origin, and by sheetflood processes.The Umm Ghaddah Formation is dominated by a large-scale fining upward succession interpreted to reflect a gradual cessation of the Pan African Orogeny. Within this large-scale trend there are also minor fining and coarsening upward cycles that are attributed to repeated minor tectonic pulses and autocyclic shifting of the system.The distribution pattern of the Umm Ghaddah Formation and the underlying Ediacaran Sarmuj Conglomerates, Hiyala Volcaniclastics and Aheimir Volcanics in Jordan and adjacent countries in isolated extensional half-grabens and grabens formed during the extensional collapse phase of Arabia associated with the Najd Fault System seems to be unrelated to the present day Wadi Araba-Dead Sea transform fault system.     

Listric growth faults in the Kenya Rift Valley

Many of the major faults in the Kenya Rift Valley are curved in section, were active over considerable periods and form sets which are related in space and time. They can, therefore, be regarded as systems of listric growth faults. The Elgeyo Fault marks the western limit of rift structures at this latitude and displaces the basement surface by up to about 6 km. The Kamasia Hills are a block rotated above this fault plane. Movement on the Elgeyo Fault has been grossly continuous since at least 16 Ma ago but deposition of volcanics and sediments has generally kept pace with the growth of the escarpment. The Kaparaina Arch is a rollover anticline on the downthrown side of the Saimo Fault on the eastern side of the Kamasia Hills. On the eastern side of the rift, the block between the Bogoria and Wasages-Marmanet Faults has shown continued rotation since about 15 Ma. The Pleistocene lavas on the rift floor here show rollover into the Bogoria Fault and have formed a facing near the top of the escarpment. Area balancing calculations suggest depths to décollement of 25 km for the Elgeyo Fault, 6 km for the Saimo Fault and 12 km for the Bogoria Fault. The most direct evidence for the listric nature of the faults is provided by microearthquakes near Lake Manyara which appear to lie on fault planes connected to surface escarpments.     

Geomorphologic,stratigraphic and sedimentologic evidences of tectonic activity in Sone–Ganga alluvial tract in Middle Ganga Plain,India

The basement of the Ganga basin in the Himalayan foreland is criss-crossed by several faults, dividing the basin into several sub-blocks forming horsts, grabens, or half-grabens. Tectonic perturbations along basement faults have affected the fluvial regime and extent of sediment fill in different parts of the basin during Late Quaternary. The East Patna Fault (EPF) and the West Patna Fault (WPF), located in Sone–Ganga alluvial tract in the southern marginal parts of Middle Ganga Plain (MGP), have remained tectonically active. The EPF particularly has acted significantly and influenced in evolving the geomorphological landscape and the stratigraphic architecture of the area. The block bounded by the two faults has earlier been considered as a single entity, constituting a half-graben. The present investigation (by morpho-stratigraphic and sedimentologic means) has revealed the existence of yet another fault within the half-graben, referred to as Bishunpur–Khagaul Fault (BKF). Many of the long profile morphological characters (e.g., knick-zone, low width–depth ratio) of the Sone River at its lower reaches can be ascribed to local structural deformation along BKF. These basement faults in MGP lie parallel to each other in NE–SW direction.     

Morphotectonics of the Baikal rift valley,Eastern Siberia,USSR

The Baikal rift valley, the central segment of the Baikal rift zone located in southern East Siberia, consists of two large depressions separated by an interdepressional uplift. The thickness of the Neogene-Quaternary sediments filling in the depression amounts to 5 km (Logatchev and Florensov 1978). The interdepressional uplift consists of subsiding residual steps and active tilted horsts.The NW slope of the Baikal rift is controlled by a system of faults diverging to the N. This system comprises tectonic scarps (faceted ridge spurs), an inclined piedmont surface and a summit slope. The facets indicate the position of the main dip slip faults behind which longitudinal strike slip faults are distributed. Between the branching faults, the so-called intermediate steps are situated. Their subsidence and destruction result in expansion of the rift valley. Transformation of normal faults into listric faults is manifested in the tectonic topography in the areas of the residual and intermediate steps. The large dimensions of the Baikal rift valley are evidently due to its being confined to the faults striking NE-SW.     

Extensional tectonics and sedimentary response of the Early-Middle Cambrian passive continental margin, Tarim Basin, Northwest China

The fact that several half-grabens and normal faults developed in the Lower—Middle Cambrian of Tazhong(central Tarim Basin) and Bachu areas in Tarim Basin,northwest China,indicates that Tarim Basin was under extensional tectonic setting at this time.The half-grabens occur within a linear zone and the normal faults are arranged in en echelon patterns with gradually increasing displacement eastward.Extensional tectonics resulted in the formation of a passive continental margin in the southwest and a cratonic margin depression in the east,and most importantly,influenced the development of a three-pronged rift in the northeast margin of the Tarim Basin.The fault system controlled the development of platform-slope-bathyal facies sedimentation of mainly limestone-dolomite-gypsum rock-saline rock-red beds in the half-grabens.The NW-SE trending half-grabens reflect the distribution of buried basement faults.     

Architecture and early evolution of the Oslo Rift

A revised assessment of architecture and pre-rift fabric connections of the Oslo Rift has been undertaken and linked to a new appraisal of observations and data related to the initial phase of the rift evolution. In addition to half-graben segmentation, accommodation zones and transfer faults are readily identified in the linking sectors between the two main grabens and between graben segments. Axial flexures are proposed between facing half-grabens. The accommodation zones were generally sites of volcanism during rifting. Pre-rift tectonic structures played an influential role in the rift location and development. The deviant N-S axis of the Vestfold graben segment is viewed as related to pre-rift structural control through faults and shear zones. This area was probably a site of Proterozoic/Palaeozoic crustal and lithospheric attenuation.

Field evidence suggests that the rift started as a crustal sag with no apparent surface faulting in a flat and low-lying land at a time about 305–310 Ma. Volcanism, sub-surface sill intrusion and faulting started about simultaneously some time after the initial sag (300–305 Ma). Faulting and basaltic volcanism were initially localized to transfer faults along accommodation zones and a NNW-SSE transtensional zone along the eastern margin of the incipient Vestfold graben segment. This transtensional zone was probably created by right-lateral simple shear tracing pre-rift structures in response to a regional stress field with the tensional axis normal and the maximum compressional axis parallel to the NNE-SSW-trending rift axis.     

Morphological and structural relations in the Galilee extensional domain, northern Israel

The Lower Galilee and the Yizre'el Valley, northern Israel, are an extensional domain that has been developing since the Miocene, prior and contemporaneously to the development of the Dead Sea Fault (DSF). It is a fan-shaped region bounded in the east by the N–S trending main trace of the DSF, in the north by the Bet-Kerem Fault system, and in the south by the NW–SE trending Carmel Fault. The study area is characterized by high relief topography that follows fault-bounded blocks and flexures at a wavelength of tens of km. A synthesis of the morphologic–structural relations across the entire Galilee region suggests the following characteristics: (1) Blocks within the Lower Galilee tilt toward both the southern and northern boundaries, forming two asymmetrical half-graben structures, opposite facing, and oblique to one another. (2) The Lower Galilee's neighboring blocks, which are the Upper Galilee in the north and the Carmel block in the southwest, are topographically and structurally uplifted and tilted away from the Lower Galilee. (3) The southern half-graben, along the Carmel Fault, is topographically and structurally lower than the northern one. Combining structural and geological data with topographic analysis enables us to distinguish several stages of structural and morphological development in the region. Using a semi-quantitative evolutionary model, we explain the morpho-structural evolution of the region. Our results indicate that the Galilee developed as a set of two isostatically supported opposite facing half-grabens under varying stress fields. The southern one had started developing as early as the early Miocene prior to the formation of the DSF. The northern and younger one has been developing since the middle Pliocene as part of the extension process in the Galilee. Elevation differences between the two half-grabens and their bounding blocks are explained by differences in isostatic subsidence due to sedimentary loading and uplift of the northern half-graben due to differential influences of the regional folding.     

Comparison between the Galicia and Aquitaine margins

There is a great similarity between the Galicia margin and the Aquitaine margin (i.e. the Aquitaine Basin and the North Pyrenean zone). In particular, the timing of the rifting as well as the resulting structures (exposure of perodotite, tilted fault blocks, normal and transverse faults, half grabens) are practically the same. This comparison leads to the interpretation that the northern side of the Pyrenean fold belt is inherited from the Mesozoic deep passive margin of Europe. The Cenozoic thrust sheets and reverse faults of the northern Pyrenees zone are tentatively interpreted as former rift structures (tilted blocks and listric faults) which were removed during the convergence of the Iberian and European plates during the Paleocene and Eocene.     

Influence of syn-sedimentary faults on orogenic structure: examples from the Neoproterozoic–Mesozoic east Siberian passive margin

The east margin of the Siberian craton is a typical passive margin with a thick succession of sedimentary rocks ranging in age from Mesoproterozoic to Tertiary. Several zones with distinct structural styles are recognized and reflect an eastward-migrating depocenter. Mesozoic orogeny was preceded by several Mesoproterozoic to Paleozoic tectonic events. In the South Verkhoyansk, the most intense pre-Mesozoic event, 1000–950 Ma rifting, affected the margin of the Siberian craton and formed half-graben basins, bounded by listric normal faults. Neoproterozoic compressional structures occurred locally, whereas extensional structures, related to latest Neoproterozoic–early Paleozoic rifting events, have yet to be identified. Devonian rifting is recognized throughout the eastern margin of the Siberian craton and is represented by numerous normal faults and local half-graben basins.Estimated shortening associated with Mesozoic compression shows that the inner parts of ancient rifts are now hidden beneath late Paleozoic–Mesozoic siliciclastics of the Verkhoyansk Complex and that only the outer parts are exposed in frontal ranges of the Verkhoyansk thrust-and-fold belt. Mesoproterozoic to Paleozoic structures had various impacts on the Mesozoic compressional structures. Rifting at 1000–950 Ma formed extensional detachment and normal faults that were reactivated as thrusts characteristic of the Verkhoyansk foreland. Younger Neoproterozoic compressional structures do not display any evidence for Mesozoic reactivation. Several initially east-dipping Late Devonian normal faults were passively rotated during Mesozoic orogenesis and are now recognized as west-dipping thrusts, but without significant reactivation displacement along fault surfaces.     

Aspects of the structural evolution of the Lusitanian Basin in Portugal and the shelf and slope area offshore Portugal

The study provides a regional seismic interpretation and mapping of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic succession of the Lusitanian Basin and the shelf and slope area off Portugal. The seismic study is compared with previous studies of the Lusitanian Basin. From the Late Triassic to the Cretaceous the study area experienced four rift phases and intermittent periods of tectonic quiescence. The Triassic rifting was concentrated in the central part of the Lusitanian Basin and in the southernmost part of the study area, both as symmetrical grabens and half-grabens. The evolution of half-grabens was particularly prominent in the south. The Triassic fault-controlled subsidence ceased during the latest Late Triassic and was succeeded by regional subsidence during the early Early Jurassic (Hettangian) when deposition of evaporites took place. A second rift phase was initiated in the Early Jurassic, most likely during the Sinemurian–Pliensbachian. This resulted in minor salt movements along the most prominent faults. The second phase was concentrated to the area south of the Nazare Fault Zone and resulted here in the accumulation of a thick Sinemurian–Callovian succession. Following a major hiatus, probably as a result of the opening of the Central Atlantic, resumed deposition occurred during the Late Jurassic. Evidence for Late Jurassic fault-controlled subsidence is widespread over the whole basin. The pattern of Late Jurassic subsidence appears to change across the Nazare Fault Zone. North of the Nazare Fault, fault-controlled subsidence occurred mainly along NNW–SSE-trending faults and to the south of this fault zone a NNE–SSW fault pattern seems to dominate. The Oxfordian rift phase is testified in onlapping of the Oxfordian succession on salt pillows which formed in association with fault activity. The fourth and final rift phase was in the latest Late Jurassic or earliest Early Cretaceous. The Jurassic extensional tectonism resulted in triggering of salt movement and the development of salt structures along fault zones. However, only salt pillow development can be demonstrated. The extensional tectonics ceased during the Early Cretaceous. During most of the Cretaceous, regional subsidence occurred, resulting in the deposition of a uniform Lower and Upper Cretaceous succession. Marked inversion of former normal faults, particularly along NE–SW-trending faults, and development of salt diapirs occurred during the Middle Miocene, probably followed by tectonic pulses during the Late Miocene to present. The inversion was most prominent in the central and southern parts of the study area. In between these two areas affected by structural inversion, fault-controlled subsidence resulted in the formation of the Cenozoic Lower Tagus Basin. Northwest of the Nazare Fault Zone the effect of the compressional tectonic regime quickly dies out and extensional tectonic environment seems to have prevailed. The Miocene compressional stress was mainly oriented NW–SE shifting to more N–S in the southern part.     

辽河盆地东部凹陷北段构造样式形成机制

辽河盆地东部凹陷北段新生代盆地具下断上拗的双层结构,是伸展和走滑联合作用的断陷盆地。通过盆地的几何学、运动学、动力学分析表明:东部凹陷的形成可分为断陷期和拗陷期两个不同的阶段。在断陷期的过程中,伸展及走滑作用的影响程度是不同的。断陷早期以伸展作用为主,中期伸展和走滑联合作用,晚期以走滑作用为主。在这种独特机制作用下,不同时期断陷由不同类型的半地堑组成。断陷阶段早期构造样式主要为非旋转或旋转半地堑;中期主要为滚动半地堑及复式半地堑;晚期主要为走滑半地堑;拗陷是新生代盆地萎缩期的构造样式。不同时期构造样式的研究,实际上再现了构造样式的演化史,同时也是含油气系统成藏动态过程的研究前提。      

Differential exhumation in response to episodic thrusting along the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau

Thermochronological data from the Songpan-Ganze˛Fold Belt and Longmen Mountains Thrust-Nappe Belt, on the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau in central China, reveal several phases of differential cooling across major listric thrust faults since Early Cretaceous times. Differential cooling, indicated by distinct breaks in age data across discrete compressional structures, was superimposed upon a regional cooling pattern following the Late Triassic Indosinian Orogeny. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data from muscovite from the central and southern Longmen Mountains Thrust-Nappe Belt suggest a phase of differential cooling across the Wenchuan-Maouwen Shear Zone during the Early Cretaceous. The zircon fission track data also indicate differential cooling across a zone of brittle re-activation on the eastern margin of the Wenchuan-Maouwen Shear Zone during the mid-Tertiary, between 38 and 10 Ma. Apatite fission track data from the central and southern Longmen Mountains Thrust-Nappe Belt reveal differential cooling across the Yingxiu-Beichuan and Erwangmiao faults during the Miocene. Forward modelling of apatite fission track data from the northern Longmen Mountains Thrust-Nappe Belt suggests relatively slow regional cooling through the Mesozoic and early Tertiary, followed by accelerated cooling during the Miocene, beginning at ca. 20 Ma, to present day.

Regional cooling is attributed to erosion during exhumation of the evolving Longmen Mountains Thrust-Nappe Belt (LMTNB) following the Indosinian Orogeny. Differential cooling across the Wenchuan-Maouwen Shear Zone and the Yingxiu-Beichuan and Erwangmiao faults is attributed to exhumation of the hanging walls of active listric thrust faults. Thermochronological data from the Longmen Mountains Thrust-Nappe Belt reveal a greater amount of differential exhumation across thrust faults from north to south. This observation is in accord with the prevalence of Proterozoic and Sinian basement in the hanging walls of thrust faults in the central and southern Longmen Mountains. The two most recent phases of reactivation occurred following the initial collision of India with Eurasia, suggesting that lateral extrusion of crustal material in response to this collision was focused along discrete structures in the LMTNB.     

Oligocene–Miocene formation of the Haifa basin: Qishon–Sirhan rifting coeval with the Red Sea–Suez rift system

During mid-Oligocene to early-Miocene times the northeastern Afro-Arabian plate underwent changes, from continental breakup along the Red Sea in the south, to continental collision with Eurasia in the north and formation of the N–S trending Dead Sea fault plate boundary. Concurrent uplift and erosion of the entire Levant area led to an incomplete sedimentary record, obscuring reconstructions of the transition between the two tectonic regimes. New well data, obtained on the continental shelf of the central Levant margin (Qishon Yam 1), revealed a uniquely undisturbed sedimentary sequence which covers this time period. Evaporitic facies found in this well have only one comparable location in the entire eastern Mediterranean area (onland and offshore) over the same time frame — the Red Sea–Suez rift system. Analysis of 4150 km of multi and single-channel seismic profiles, offshore central Levant, shows that the sequence was deposited in a narrow basin, restricted to the continental shelf. This basin (the Haifa Basin) evolved as a half graben along the NW trending Carmel fault, which at present is one of the main branches of the Dead Sea fault. Re-evaluation of geological data onland, in view of the new findings offshore, indicates that the Haifa basin is the northwestern-most of a larger series of basins, comprising a failed rift along the Qishon–Sirhan NW–SE trend. This failed rift evolved spatially parallel to the Red Sea–Suez rift system, and at the same time frame. The Carmel fault would therefore seem to be related to processes occurring several million years earlier than previously thought, before the formation of the Dead Sea fault. The development of a series of basins in conjunction with a young spreading center is a known phenomenon in other regions worldwide; however this is the only known example from across the Arabian plate.     

Conceptual model and numerical simulation of the hydrothermal system in Hammam Faraun hot spring, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt

The tectonic position of Egypt in the northeastern corner of the African continent suggests that it may possess significant geothermal resources, especially along its eastern margin. The most of the thermal springs in Egypt are located along the shores of Gulf of Suez and Red Sea. These springs are probably tectonic or nonvolcanic origin associated with the opening of the Red Sea—Gulf of Suez rifts, where the eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez is characterized by superficial thermal manifestations including a cluster of hot springs with varied temperatures. Hammam Faraun area consists of the hottest spring in Egypt where the water temperature is 70°C. Conceptual as well as numerical models were made on the Hammam Faraun hot spring based on geological, geochemical, and geophysical data. The models show that the heat source of the hot spring is probably derived from high heat flow and deep water circulation controlled by faults associated with the opening of the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez rifts.     

东濮凹陷伸展连锁断层系统及其演化作用

东濮凹陷NNE向的主干基底断层向深部延伸与深层的拆离滑脱断层衔接在一起,与诱导出的调节断层以不同的方式连接,构成东濮凹陷的伸展连锁断层系统。东濮凹陷不同区段的连锁断层形态表现出不同的几何学和运动学特征。北区兰聊主断层面表现为相对较缓的平面式形态,伸展连锁断层系统总体上为多米诺式半地堑系。中区伸展连锁断层系统总体上表现为大型铲式正断层上盘的一个不对称的地堑。南区兰聊主断层面表现为坡坪式形态,断陷结构相对复杂。东濮凹陷伸展连锁断层系统的演化大体分为4期,不同区带伸展连锁断层系统演化模式不同,对古近系沉积和石油地质条件有较大的影响。     

Pre-salt to salt stratigraphic architecture in a rift basin: insights from a basin-scale study of the Gulf of Suez (Egypt)

We propose a basin-scale (～300 × 100 km) study of the pre-salt to salt sedimentary fill from the Suez rift based on outcrop and subsurface data. This study is a new synthesis of existing and newly acquired data using an integrated approach with (1) basin-scale synthesis of the structural framework, (2) stratigraphic architecture characterization of the entire Suez rift using sequence stratigraphy concepts, (3) lithologic maps reconstruction and interpretation, (4) isopach/depocenter maps interpolation to quantify sedimentary volumes, and (5) quantification of the sediment supply, mean carbonate and evaporite accumulation rates, and their integration into the rift dynamic. The Gulf of Suez is ca. 300-km-long and up to 80-km-wide rift structure, resulting from the late Oligocene to early Miocene rifting of the African and Arabian plates. The stratigraphic architecture has recorded five main stages of rift evolution, from rift initiation to finally tectonic quiescence characterized by salt deposits. Rift initiation (ca. 1–4 Myr duration): the Suez rift was initiated at the end of the Oligocene along the NNW-SSE trend of the Red Sea with evidences of active volcanism. Continental to lacustrine deposits only occurred in isolated depocenters. Sediment supply was relatively low. Rift widening (ca. 3 Myr duration): the rift propagated from south to north (Aquitanian), with first marine incursions from the Mediterranean Sea. The rift was subdivided into numerous depocenters controlled by active faults. Sedimentation was characterized by small carbonate platforms and associated sabkha deposits to the south and shallow open marine condition to the north with mixed sedimentation organized into an overall transgressive trend. Rift climax (ca. 5 Myr duration): the rift was then flooded during Burdigalian times recording the connection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The faults were gradually connected and reliefs on the rift shoulders were high as evidenced by a strong increase of the uplift/subsidence rates and sediment supply. Three main depocenters were then individualized across the rift and correspond to the Darag, Central, and Southern basins. Sedimentation was characterized by very large Gilbert-type deltas along the eastern margin and associated submarine fans and turbidite systems along the basin axis. Isolated carbonate platforms and reefs mainly occurred in the Southern basin and along tilted block crests. Late syn-rift to rift narrowing (ca. 4 Myr duration): during the Langhian, the basin recorded several falls of relative sea level and bathymetry in the rift axis was progressively reduced. The former reliefs induced during the rift climax were quickly destroyed as evidenced by the drastic drop in sediment supply. Stratigraphic reconstruction indicates that the Central basin was restricted during lowstand period; meanwhile, open marine conditions prevailed to the north and south of the Suez rift. The Central basin, Zaafarana, and Morgan accommodation zones thus acted as a major divide between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. During Serravalian times, the Suez rift also recorded several disconnections between the Mediterranean and Red seas as evidenced by massive evaporites in major fault-controlled depocenters. The Suez rift was occasionally characterized by N–S paleogeographic gradient with restricted setting to the north and open marine setting to the south (Red Sea). Tectonic quiescence to latest syn-rift (ca. 7 Myr duration): the Tortonian was then characterized by the deposition of very thick salt series (>1000 m) which recorded a period of maximum restriction for the Suez rift. The basin was still subdivided into several sub-basins bounded by major faults. The basin with a N-S paleogeographic gradient was totally and permanently disconnected from the Mediterranean Sea and connected to open marine condition via the Red Sea. The Messinian was also characterized by a thick salt series, but the evaporite typology and sedimentary systems distribution suggest a more humid climate than during Tortonian times. Pre-salt to salt transition was not sharp and lasted for ca. 4 Myr (Langhian-Serravalian). It was initiated as the result of the combined effect of (1) climatic changes with aridization and low water input from the catchments and (2) rift dynamic induced by plate tectonic reorganization that controlled the interplay between sea level and accommodation zones constituting sills.     

贝加尔湖滨奥里洪地区新构造特征及其成因模式初探

贝加尔裂谷带是全球典型的大陆裂谷带之一,新构造运动强烈。滨奥里洪地区是贝加尔裂谷带断裂发育最完好的地区。位于滨奥里洪中部的萨尔玛河谷和奥里洪门新构造运动非常强烈,萨尔玛河谷在地形上呈规则的折线状,而奥里洪门发育有两侧对称的湖湾。沿萨尔玛河谷发育有一组X型节理,而奥里洪门两侧发育有完好的断层三角面山,因此,萨尔玛河谷和奥里洪门可能是在早期追踪张裂的基础上发育起来的。滨奥里洪地区还发育有一系列NE和NW走向的次级断裂,它们的发育受滨海断裂铲式枢纽断层特征的控制。分析这些次级断裂的特征和性质,提出了与它们发育有关的三种作用力:①枢纽断层造成的NE-SW向局部拉张;②铲式断层的旋转效应产生反向滑动;③铲式断层的不均匀旋转产生剪切效应,并在此基础上对滨奥里洪地区的新构造运动过程作了概括和总结。     

南海地质构造与油气资源

文章对南海海盆的边缘构造、盆内的断裂构造以及岛弧与弧后盆地的构造特征进行了论述。指出南海海盆喜马拉雅期构造层、基底及盖层特点。根据陆缘扩张观点将珠江口盆地的沉积盖层在扩张型陆缘演化阶段划分为第1扩张旋回(K2-E13)、第2扩张旋回(E23-N11)和第3扩张旋回(N21),上述3个旋回控制着生、储．盖的分布。东沙断隆亦是如此。南沙断块区的礼乐断块盆地以及曾母地堑带的曾母地堑盆地和万安地堑盆地均具有含油气远景。     

Late Miocene normal faulting beneath the northern Nile Delta: NNW propagation of the Gulf of Suez Rift

The north Egyptian continental margin has undergone passive margin subsidence since the opening of Tethys, but its post-Mesozoic history has been interrupted by tectonic events that include a phase of extensional faulting in the Late Miocene. This study characterizes the geometry and distribution of Late Miocene normal faulting beneath the northern Nile Delta and addresses the relationship of this faulting to the north–northwestwards propagation of Red Sea–Gulf of Suez rifting at this time. Structural interpretation of a 2D grid of seismic reflection data has defined a Tortonian–Messinian syn-rift megasequence, when tied to well data. Normal fault correlations between seismic lines are constrained by the mapping of fault-related folds. Faults are evenly distributed across the study area and are found to strike predominantly NW–SE to NNW–SSE, with some N–S faults in the north. Faults are interpreted to be <10 km in length, typically in the range 3–6 km. This suggests that rifting in the northern Nile Delta did not proceed beyond a continental rift initiation phase, with distributed, relatively small-scale faults. This contrasts with the Gulf of Suez Rift, where faulting continued to a more evolved fault localization phase, with block-bounding faults >25 km in length. Results suggest that future studies could quantify fault evolution from rift initiation to fault linkage to displacement localization, by studying the spatial variation in faulting from the northern Nile Delta, south–southeastwards to the Gulf of Suez Rift.