Evolution of the Western Margin of Australia during the Rodinian and Gondwanan Supercontinent Cycles

The proto-Darling Fault zone and its successor, the Darling Fault, extend for 1, 000 km along the western continental margin of Australia and appear to have been active at several periods during the geological past. Deformation commenced at 2,570 Ma and affected Late Archaean granitoids along the western margin of the Yilgarn Craton. Much of the later activity reflects events related to the accretion and breakup associated with the Rodinia and Gondwanaland supercontinent cycles.In the north, rocks of the Northampton and Mullingarra Complexes form part of a high-grade Grenvillian orogenic belt lying to the west of the Darling Fault, referred to as the Pinjarra Orogen. They underwent granulite facies metamorphism 1080 Ma ago and form part of the global collisional event that resulted in the amalgamation of Rodinia. These rocks extend southward beneath Phanerozoic sedimentary cover (the Perth Basin), where they are constrained to the east by the Darling Fault and to the west by the Dunsborough Fault, the latter marking the eastern boundary of the Leeuwin Complex.The Leeuwin Complex is a fragment of Pan-African crust that has traditionally been considered part of the Pinjarra Orogen. It is composed predominantly of upper amphibolite to granulite facies felsic orthogneisses derived from A-type, anorogenic granitoids. Conventional and SHRIMP U-Pb zircon geochronology has established that the granitoids evolved between 780 Ma and 520 Ma and were metamorphosed at 615 Ma. These events are equated with rifting associated with the breakup of Rodinia. Sm-Nd whole rock data support the juvenile nature of the crust and provide no evidence for the involvement of pre-existing Archaean continental material.During the Phanerozoic, the Dunsborough and Darling Faults were reactivated, as normal faults defining the inner arm of a major rift system within Eastern Gondwanaland and controlling sedimentation in the Perth Basin that now overlies the Grenvillian terrane. Major normal movement on the Darling Fault ceased by the Late Jurassic and it appears that continental breakup in the Early Cretaceous occurred along fractures closely related to the western boundary of the Leeuwin Complex that defined the eastern margin of the outer arm of the rift system. Breakup between Australia and Greater India commenced at 132 Ma and was followed by eruption of the Bunbury Basalt at 130 Ma and 123 Ma. This possibly resulted from hot spot activity beneath Eastern Gondwanaland and may have been a reflection of the Kerguelen plume, though the evidence is equivocal.It is argued from the petrographic, geochemical and isotopic characteristics, together with the likely contiguity of the Eastern Gondwanaland continents since the assembly of Rodinia, that the Leeuwin Complex evolved within an intracrustal rift and is not an exotic terrane. It is distinct from adjacent portions of the Pinjarra Orogen and should be considered a separate terrane. It is recommended that use of the term ‘Pinjarra Orogen’ be confined to rocks recording the Grenvillian events, thereby excluding those rocks (the Leeuwin Complex) that evolved during the later Pan-African orogeny.     

Tectonic controls on sediment provenance evolution in rift basins: Detrital zircon U–Pb and Hf isotope analysis from the Perth Basin,Western Australia

The role of tectonics in controlling temporal and spatial variations in sediment provenance during the evolution of extensional basins from initial rifting to continental breakup and passive margin development are not well established. We test the influence of tectonics in a rift basin that has experienced minimal uplift but significant extension throughout its history: the Perth Basin, Western Australia. We use published zircon U–Pb and Hf isotope data from basin inception through to continental drift and complement this with new data from samples deposited synchronously with the continental breakup of eastern Gondwana. Three primary source regions are inferred, namely the Archean Yilgarn Craton to the east, the Paleo- and Mesoproterozoic Albany–Fraser–Wilkes Orogen to the south and east, and the Mesoproterozoic and Ediacaran–Cambrian Pinjarra Orogen underlying the rift basin and comprising the dominant crustal components to the west and southwest. From mid-Paleozoic basin inception to Early Cretaceous breakup of eastern Gondwana, drainage in the Perth Basin was primarily north- to northwest-directed as evidenced by the dominant Mesoproterozoic detrital zircon cargo, paleodrainage patterns and paleocurrent directions. Thus, provenance was primarily parallel to the rift axis and perpendicular to the extension direction, particularly during periods of thermal subsidence. During episodes of mechanical extension, detrital zircon ages are polymodal and consistently dominated by Paleo- and Mesoproterozoic grains derived from the Albany–Fraser–Wilkes Orogen, but with significant Archean and Neoproterozoic inputs from the rift margins. It is inferred that during mechanical extension the rate of subsidence exceeded sediment supply, which generated basin-margin scarps and enhanced direct input from the rift shoulders. Detrital zircon spectra from temporally-equivalent samples at the rift margin and in the rift axis reveal that distinct sedimentary routing operated on the flanks. In summary, sediment provenance in the Perth Basin (and probably other rift basins) is tectonically controlled by: (1) extension direction, (2) episodes of mechanical extension (rift) or thermal subsidence (post-rift), and (3) proximity to rift axis or rift margin.     

Role of transverse strike-slip faults in the structure of the Karpinsky Ridge and their kinematics

The segmented structure of the Karpinsky Ridge is determined by NE-trending transverse strikeslip faults with offsets of approximately 30–40 km. The newly recognized Pribrezhny Fault and the well-known Agrakhan Fault are the largest. A new correlation scheme for structural elements of the ridge’s eastern segment and its underwater continuation is proposed with account of offset along the Pribrezhny Fault. According to this scheme, the Semenovsky Trough rather than the Dzhanai Trough is an onshore continuation of the underwater Zyudevsky Trough. The uplift located south of the Zyudevsky Trough is correlated with the Promyslovy-Tsubuk Swell offset along the Pribrezhny Fault. In turn, this uplift is displaced along the right-lateral strike-slip fault that coincides with the Agrakhan Fault. The transverse faults were formed during the Early Permian collision related to the closure of the basin, which was presumably underlain by the oceanic crust. The faults were active during the Early Triassic rifting and Late Triassic inversion. Judging from the map of the surface of the Maikop sediments, the Agrakhan Fault does not cross the Terek-Caspian Trough. Bending arcwise, the fault joins a system of right-lateral strike-slip faults that border the Daghestan Wedge in the east. A system of rightlateral strike-slip faults may also be traced along the western coast of the Caspian Sea. The Agrakhan Fault as a northern element of this system functioned mostly in the Late Paleozoic-Early Mesozoic in connection with the formation of the fold-thrust structure of the Karpinsky Ridge. In the east the faults of the southern segment bound the Caucasus syntaxis of the Alpine Belt; they have retained their activity to the present day.     

Evolution of the eastern margin of Korea: Constraints on the opening of the East Sea (Japan Sea)

We interpreted marine seismic profiles in conjunction with swath bathymetric and magnetic data to investigate rifting to breakup processes at the eastern Korean margin that led to the separation of the southwestern Japan Arc. The eastern Korean margin is rimmed by fundamental elements of rift architecture comprising a seaward succession of a rift basin and an uplifted rift flank passing into the slope, typical of a passive continental margin. In the northern part, rifting occurred in the Korea Plateau that is a continental fragment extended and partially segmented from the Korean Peninsula. Two distinguished rift basins (Onnuri and Bandal Basins) in the Korea Plateau are bounded by major synthetic and smaller antithetic faults, creating wide and considerably symmetric profiles. The large-offset border fault zones of these basins have convex dip slopes and demonstrate a zig-zag arrangement along strike. In contrast, the southern margin is engraved along its length with a single narrow rift basin (Hupo Basin) that is an elongated asymmetric half-graben. Analysis of rift fault patterns suggests that rifting at the Korean margin was primarily controlled by normal faulting resulting from extension rather than strike-slip deformation. Two extension directions for rifting are recognized: the Onnuri and Hupo Basins were rifted in the east-west direction; the Bandal Basin in the east–west and northwest–southeast directions, suggesting two rift stages. We interpret that the east–west direction represents initial rifting at the inner margin; while the Japan Basin widened, rifting propagated southeastward repeatedly from the Japan Basin toward the Korean margin but could not penetrate the strong continental lithosphere of the Korean Shield and changed the direction to the south, resulting in east–west extension to create the rift basins at the Korean margin. The northwest–southeast direction probably represents the direction of rifting orthogonal to the inferred line of breakup along the base of the slope of the Korea Plateau; after breakup the southwestern Japan Arc separated in the southeast direction, indicating a response to tensional tectonics associated with the subduction of the Pacific Plate in the northwest direction. No significant volcanism was involved in initial rifting. In contrast, the inception of sea floor spreading documents a pronounced volcanic phase which appears to reflect asthenospheric upwelling as well as rift-induced convection particularly in the narrow southern margin. We suggest that structural and igneous evolution of the Korean margin, although it is in a back-arc setting, can be explained by the processes occurring at the passive continental margin with magmatism influenced by asthenospheric upwelling.     

西拉木伦河断裂在松辽盆地下部的延伸

西拉木伦河断裂作为华北板块与西伯利亚板块的最终缝合线,其西段的展布较为明确,但其东段尤其是在松辽盆地下部的延伸一直没有定论.本文通过对松辽盆地西部边界嫩江-八里罕断裂、中央断裂构造性质的研究,证实它们都具有左行走滑剪切的特征,据此初步提出了西拉木伦河断裂在松辽盆地下部被嫩江-八里罕断裂和中央断裂左行错移的认识.结合已报道的松辽盆地基底高精度锆石年龄数据,松辽盆地南部重力异常特征、MT剖面以及地壳和岩石圈厚度特征,认为西拉木伦河断裂在松辽盆地下部沿开鲁-通辽-科尔沁左翼中旗-长春-线展布.     

Different modes of the Late Cretaceous–Early Tertiary inversion in the North German and Polish basins

Several selected seismic lines are used to show and compare the modes of Late-Cretaceous–Early Tertiary inversion within the North German and Polish basins. These seismic data illustrate an important difference in the allocation of major zones of basement (thick-skinned) deformation and maximum uplift within both basins. The most important inversion-related uplift of the Polish Basin was localised in its axial part, the Mid-Polish Trough, whereas the basement in the axial part of the North German Basin remained virtually flat. The latter was uplifted along the SW and to a smaller degree the NE margins of the North German Basin, presently defined by the Elbe Fault System and the Grimmen High, respectively. The different location of the basement inversion and uplift within the North German and Polish basins is interpreted to reflect the position of major zones of crustal weakness represented by the WNW-ESE trending Elbe Fault System and by the NW-SE striking Teisseyre-Tornquist Zone, the latter underlying the Mid-Polish Trough. Therefore, the inversion of the Polish and North German basins demonstrates the significance of an inherited basement structure regardless of its relationship to the position of the basin axis. The inversion of the Mid-Polish Trough was connected with the reactivation of normal basement fault zones responsible for its Permo-Mesozoic subsidence. These faults zones, inverted as reverse faults, facilitated the uplift of the Mid-Polish Trough in the order of 1–3 km. In contrast, inversion of the North German Basin rarely re-used structures active during its subsidence. Basement inversion and uplift, in the range of 3–4 km, was focused at the Elbe Fault System which has remained quiescent in the Triassic and Jurassic but reproduced the direction of an earlier Variscan structural grain. In contrast, N-S oriented Mesozoic grabens and troughs in the central part of the North German Basin avoided significant inversion as they were oriented parallel to the direction of the inferred Late Cretaceous–Early Tertiary compression. The comparison of the North German and Polish basins shows that inversion structures can follow an earlier subsidence pattern only under a favourable orientation of the stress field. A thick Zechstein salt layer in the central parts of the North German Basin and the Mid-Polish Trough caused mechanical decoupling between the sub-salt basement and the supra-salt sedimentary cover. Resultant thin-skinned inversion was manifested by the formation of various structures developed entirely in the supra-salt Mesozoic–Cenozoic succession. The Zechstein salt provided a mechanical buffer accommodating compressional stress and responding to the inversion through salt mobilisation and redistribution. Only in parts of the NGB and MPT characterised by either thin or missing Zechstein evaporites, thick-skinned inversion directly controlled inversion-related deformations of the sedimentary cover. Inversion of the Permo-Mesozoic fill within the Mid-Polish Trough was achieved by a regional elevation above uplifted basement blocks. Conversely, in the North German Basin, horizontal stress must have been transferred into the salt cover across the basin from its SW margin towards the basins centre. This must be the case since compressional deformations are concentrated mostly above the salt and no significant inversion-related basement faults are seismically detected apart from the basin margins. This strain decoupling in the interior of the North German Basin was enhanced by the presence of the Elbe Fault System which allowed strain localization in the basin floor due to its orientation perpendicular to the inferred Late Cretaceous–Early Tertiary far-field compression.     

1214 ± 5 Ma dyke from the Darling Range,southwestern Yilgarn Craton,Western Australia

High thorium euhedral, twinned and elongate zircons from the felsic part of a mafic dyke located in the Archaean Yilgarn Craton approximately 30 km northeast of Perth and approximately 2 km east of the Darling Fault, have consistent 207 Pb/ 206 Pb ages of 1214 ± 5 Ma. This age is interpreted as the age of dyke emplacement and is identical, within the uncertainties, with other U–Pb dyke ages reported for the southwest Yilgarn Craton. The present result extends the known occurrence of ca 1210 Ma dykes to the western margin of the Yilgarn Craton and confirms earlier conclusions that a major mafic dyke emplacement occurred throughout the southern Yilgarn Craton during a short‐lived magmatic pulse at ca 1210 Ma.     

The variation of crustal stretching and different modes of rifting along the Australian southern continental margin

The southern margin of Australia is a passive continental margin, formed during a Late Jurassic–Cretaceous rifting phase. The development of this passive margin is mainly associated with extensional processes that caused crustal thinning. In this work, we have measured the amount of extension and the stretching factor (β factor) across seven transect profiles approximately evenly distributed across the margin. The obtained results show that the amount of extension and the β factor along the margin vary from west to east. The lowest amount of extension, low–intermediate β factors and a very narrow margin are observed in the western part with 80 km of extension and is underlain mostly by the Archean Yilgarn Craton and the Albany–Fraser Orogen. The Gawler Craton in the centre of the south Australian margin is another region of low extension and low–intermediate β factor. The largest amount of extension (384 km) and the largest β factor (β = 1.88) are found in the eastern part of the passive margin in an area underlain by Phanerozoic Tasman Orogen units. Our results imply that there is a strong control of the age and thickness of the continental lithosphere on the style of rifting along the Australian passive margin. Rifting of old and cold lithosphere results in a narrow passive margin, with the formation of relatively few faults with relatively wide spacing, while rifting of younger, warmer lithosphere leads to wide rifting that is accommodated by a large number of faults with small spacing.     

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。     

Magmatism at continental passive margins inferred from Ambient‐Noise Phase‐velocity in the Gulf of Aden

Non‐volcanic continental passive margins have traditionally been considered to be tectonically and magmatically inactive once continental breakup has occurred and seafloor spreading has commenced. We use ambient‐noise tomography to constrain Rayleigh‐wave phase‐velocity maps beneath the eastern Gulf of Aden (eastern Yemen and southern Oman). In the crust, we image low velocities beneath the Jiza‐Qamar (Yemen) and Ashawq‐Salalah (Oman) basins, likely caused by the presence of partial melt associated with magmatic plumbing systems beneath the rifted margin. Our results provide strong evidence that magma intrusion persists after breakup, modifying the composition and thermal structure of the continental margin. The coincidence between zones of crustal intrusion and steep gradients in lithospheric thinning, as well as with transform faults, suggests that magmatism post‐breakup may be driven by small‐scale convection and enhanced by edge‐driven flow at the juxtaposition of lithosphere of varying thickness and thermal age.     

The Thrace Basin: stratigraphic and tectonic-palaeogeographic evolution of the Palaeogene formations of northwest Turkey

The Palaeogene deposits of the Thrace Basin have evolved over a basement composed of the Rhodope and Sakarya continents, juxtaposed in northwest Turkey. Continental and marine sedimentation began in the early Eocene in the southwest part, in the early-middle Eocene in the central part, and in the late Lutetian in the north-northeast part of the basin. Early Eocene deposition in the southern half of the present Thrace Basin began unconformably over a relict basin consisting of uppermost Cretaceous–Palaeocene pelagic sediments. The initial early-middle Eocene deposition began during the last stage of early Palaeogene transtension and was controlled by the eastern extension (the Central Thrace Strike–Slip Fault Zone) of the Balkan-Thrace dextral fault to the north. Following the northward migration of this faulting, the Thrace Palaeogene Basin evolved towards the north during the late Lutetian. From the late Lutetian to the early Oligocene, transpression caused the formation of finger-shaped, eastward-connected highs and sub-basins. The NW–SE-trending right-lateral strike–slip Strandja Fault Zone began to develop and the Strandja Highland formed as a positive flower structure that controlled the deposition of the middle-upper Eocene alluvial fans in the northern parts of the Thrace Palaeogene Basin. Also, in the southern half of the basin, the upper Eocene–lower Oligocene turbiditic series with debris flows and olistostrome horizons were deposited in sub-basins adjacent to the highs, while shelf deposits were deposited in the northern half and southeast margin of the basin. At least since the early Eocene, a NE-trending magmatic belt formed a barrier along the southeast margin of the basin. From the late Oligocene onwards, the Thrace Palaeogene Basin evolved as an intermontane basin in a compressional tectonic setting.     

Plate-driven extension and convergence along the East Gondwana active margin: Late Silurian–Middle Devonian tectonics of the Lachlan Fold Belt,southeastern Australia

The Werner deconvolution technique for automatic analysis of magnetic data is a powerful tool for the interpretation of magnetic profiles. In particular, the technique is a valuable aid to the interpretation of deep crustal structures beneath the continental margin which frequently lie below the penetration of all but the most high-powered seismic reflection tools. Inverse modelling of selected simple geological structures (buried scarp, graben, half-graben) confirms that the interface model is valuable in delineating the tops of magnetic bodies, while the thin sheet model gives an indication of the depth extent of the bodies. In the case of horizontal sheets in contact (simulating oceanic spreading anomalies), the thin sheet model delineates the boundary, while the interface model gives estimates which are too shallow.

As an illustration of the value of the Werner deconvolution method in regional marine studies, the magnetic basement in the Great Australian Bight (GAB) has been mapped using a set of magnetic profiles; seismic data in the GAB is of limited use in this mapping. Interpretation of the profiles confirms earlier assessments that there is a minimum of 10 km of sediment beneath the Ceduna Terrace (Great Australian Bight Basin), 3 km beneath the Eyre Terrace (Eyre Sub-basin), 6 km in the Duntroon Embayment, 3 km in the Polda Trough, and 4 km beneath the continental rise. The most prominent basement structure in the GAB is the east-west-trending scarp which delineates the northern flank of the Eyre Sub-basin, GAB Basin, and Polda Trough. The gross linearity of this escarpment for 1000 km and the fact that it appears to mark a northern boundary to the extensional basins of the margin suggests that continental extension in the pre-Middle Jurassic took place preferentially south of an old (Precambrian) lineament in the Gawler Block. Polda Trough sediments are probably included in fault-blocks underlying the northern part of the GAB Basin. The interpretation supports the concept of northwest-southeast extension prior to Late Cretaceous breakup.     

The structure,depositional style and accumulation characteristics of continental margin with diachronous breakup in the northern South China Sea

ABSTRACT

A typical diachronous breakup developed in the South China Sea (SCS); the breakup has been unequivocally identified, and gradually decreases in age from NE to SW. To illustrate the influence of a diachronous breakup on hydrocarbon accumulation, we used seismic profiles from CNOOC, and analysed crustal extension characteristics, sedimentary style and source rock accumulation. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) Because of the diachronous breakup in the SCS, various tectonic units developed in different positions on the northern continental margin with different degrees of extension. The Pearl River Mouth Basin (PRMB) is closer to the central sea basin of the SCS and has been affected by regional tension stress for a longer time. Tectonic units of proximal domain, necking zone, and distal margin types developed, and the crust structure thinned from the land towards the sea. The Qiongdongnan Basin (QB) is closer to the Southwest Sub-basin. There are symmetrical proximal domains on the southern and northern sides of the QB, with a necking zone in the central part. It presents as an abandoned passive continental margin. (2) The PRMB exhibited rifted cells first, followed by canyon type extensional faulting and horizontal axial transportation, and then by a longitudinal shelf-slope sedimentary style. But the QB has only rifted cells and canyon type faulting stages, no longitudinal shelf-slope sedimentary stage. The major source rocks in the northern SCS become younger from east to west, and the sedimentary facies change from lacustrine facies to marine-continental transitional facies. (3) The diachronous breakup process ultimately affecting oil and gas migration and accumulation process. The PRMB is dominated by deep-water shelf break accumulation with deep-water fan reservoir bodies. The QB is dominated by canyon type accumulation with channels.     

Crustal structure and evolution of the southern Vøring Basin and Vøring Transform Margin, NE Atlantic

The dominantly passive volcanic Vøring and Møre Margins, NE Atlantic, are separated by the 200 km long Vøring Transform Margin (VTM). The southern Vøring Basin and the VTM have been studied by use of four regional Ocean Bottom Seismograph (OBS) profiles, combined by gravity modelling. The models demonstrate a complex pattern of magmatism along the transform margin. The distribution of magmatism seems to be related to the existence and trend of a lower crustal 8+ km/s body, interpreted as eclogitized rocks, present in the southern Vøring Basin. Early Tertiary breakup related magmatic ‘leakage’ across the Continent–Ocean-Transition (COT) appears to be facilitated where this layer is absent. These results support earlier workers who have concluded that the Jan Mayen Fracture Zone originated from a Caledonian zone of weakness. We propose that partly eclogitized rocks were uplifted into the lower crust close to this zone during the Caledonian orogeny and that this body acted as a barrier to magma emplacement during the Late Cretaceous–Early Eocene phase of rifting/breakup. The eclogitized terrain also appears to have caused northeastward channeling of the Late Cretaceous–Early Tertiary intrusions within the Vøring Basin. An up to 10 km thick pre-Cretaceous sedimentary basin in the southern Vøring Basin may be genetically related to the NS-trending Late Paleozoic and Mesozoic rift basins in North-East Greenland.     

Tectonic evolution of the Anadyr Basin,northeastern Eurasia,and its petroleum resource potential

The published data on the sedimentation conditions, structure, and tectonic evolution of the Anadyr Basin in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic are reviewed. These data are re-examined in the context of modern tectonic concepts concerning the evolution of the northwestern Circum-Pacific Belt. The re-examination allows us not only to specify the regional geology and tectonic history, but also to forecast of the petroleum resource potential of the sedimentary cover based on a new concept. The sedimentary cover formation in the Anadyr Basin is inseparably linked with the regional tectonic evolution. The considered portion of the Chukchi Peninsula developed in the Late Mesozoic at the junction of the ocean-type South Anyui Basin, the Asian continental margin, and convergent zones of various ages extending along the Asia-Pacific interface. Strike-slip faulting and pulses of extension dominated in the Cenozoic largely in connection with oroclinal bending of structural elements pertaining to northeastern Eurasia and northwestern North America against the background of accretion of terranes along the zone of convergence with the Pacific oceanic plates. Three main stages are recognized in the formation of the sedimentary cover in the Anadyr Basin. (1) The lower portion of the cover was formed in the Late Cretaceous-Early Eocene under conditions of alternating settings of passive and active continental margins. The Cenomanian-lower Eocene transitional sedimentary complex is located largely in the southern Anadyr Basin (Main River and Lagoonal troughs). (2) In the middle Eocene and Oligocene, sedimentation proceeded against the background of extension and rifting in the northern part of the paleobasin and compression in its southern part. The compression was caused by northward migration of the foredeep in front of the accretionary Koryak Orogen. The maximum thickness of the Eocene-Oligocene sedimentary complex is noted mainly in the southern part of the basin and in the Central and East Anadyr troughs. (3) The middle Miocene resumption of sedimentation was largely related to strike-slip faulting and rifting. In the Miocene to Quaternary, sedimentation was the most intense in the central and northern parts of the Anadyr Basin, as well as in local strike-slip fault-line depressions of the Central Trough. Geological and geophysical data corroborate thrusting in the southern Anadyr Basin. The amplitude of thrusting over the Main River Trough reaches a few tens of kilometers. The vertical thickness of the tectonically screened Paleogene and Neogene rocks in the southern Main River Trough exceeds 10 km. The quantitative forecast of hydrocarbon emigration from Cretaceous and Paleogene source rocks testifies to the disbalance between hydrocarbons emigrated and accumulated in traps of petroleum fields discovered in the Anadyr Basin. The southern portion of the Anadyr Basin is the most promising for the discovery of new petroleum fields in the Upper Cretaceous, Eocene, and Upper Oligocene-Miocene porous and fracture-porous reservoir rocks in subthrust structural and lithological traps.     

Geologic Control on Hydrothermal Activities in the Okinawa Trough

Revealing the controlling effect of geological structure on seafloor hydrothermal activities is of great significance in understanding the formation mechanism of hydrothermal system and searching for seafloor sulfide resources. This article summarized the topography and faults, crustal structure, gravity and magnetic field, heat flow and magmatism in the middle and southern Okinawa Trough, as well as the general characteristics of hydrothermal field distributions and hydrothermal products. By comparing the Okinawa Trough with the Manus Basin, Mariana Trough, North Fiji Basin and Lau Basin with different rock basements and extension stages, we generalized some specific geological characteristics of the Okinawa Trough, including the transitional crustal nature, low extension degree, high heat flow value, extremely thick sediments, and bimodal volcanism. The hydrothermal activities in the Okinawa Trough are controlled by fault structures, magmatism, and spreading rate, and at the same time, are affected by basement rock types and sediment covers. In the middle and southern parts of the trough, two group of faults that are parallel and perpendicular to the strike of the back-arc basin promote the fluid circulation, and large-scale magmatic activity provides sufficient heat for the hydrothermal system. In addition, the interaction of fluids with the widespread silicic volcanic rocks and thick sediments leads to the enrichment of organic matter, CO ₂, and metals such as Ag and Au in the hydrothermal products. According to the extension rate and geological features of the Okinawa Trough, we believe that the Okinawa Trough has potential to have new hydrothermal fields discovered and we speculate that new hydrothermal fields most possibly exist in the regions influenced by ridge subduction as well as the neo-volcanic zones closed to the island arc.     

Tectonic evolution of the Qumran Basin from high-resolution 3.5-kHz seismic profiles and its implication for the evolution of the northern Dead Sea Basin

The Dead Sea Basin is a morphotectonic depression along the Dead Sea Transform. Its structure can be described as a deep rhomb-graben (pull-apart) flanked by two block-faulted marginal zones. We have studied the recent tectonic structure of the northwestern margin of the Dead Sea Basin in the area where the northern strike-slip master fault enters the basin and approaches the western marginal zone (Western Boundary Fault). For this purpose, we have analyzed 3.5-kHz seismic reflection profiles obtained from the northwestern corner of the Dead Sea. The seismic profiles give insight into the recent tectonic deformation of the northwestern margin of the Dead Sea Basin. A series of 11 seismic profiles are presented and described. Although several deformation features can be explained in terms of gravity tectonics, it is suggested that the occurrence of strike-slip in this part of the Dead Sea Basin is most likely. Seismic sections reveal a narrow zone of intensely deformed strata. This zone gradually merges into a zone marked by a newly discovered tectonic depression, the Qumran Basin. It is speculated that both structural zones originate from strike-slip along right-bending faults that splay-off from the Jordan Fault, the strike-slip master fault that delimits the active Dead Sea rhomb-graben on the west. Fault interaction between the strike-slip master fault and the normal faults bounding the transform valley seems the most plausible explanation for the origin of the right-bending splays. We suggest that the observed southward widening of the Dead Sea Basin possibly results from the successive formation of secondary right-bending splays to the north, as the active depocenter of the Dead Sea Basin migrates northward with time.     

阿尔金断裂新生代构造活动的两阶段性——来自地震属性分析的证据

自新生代以来,柴达木盆地西北缘各构造单元受青藏高原持续挤压和阿尔金断裂走滑的影响,构造变形复杂,发育有多种不同性质,不同规模的断裂.地震属性技术是三维(3D)地震资料解释和构造分析的可靠依据,有助于客观、准确的揭示断裂的空间分布情况,是复杂地区地质解释的重要工具.本文利用地震属性技术,对位于阿尔金断裂南侧柴达木盆地西部的小梁山背斜深、浅层进行详细的断裂解译,发现该地区深部发育早期EW向逆冲断层;晚期由于阿尔金断裂大规模走滑的作用,形成由深部引发的NW向“楔形”逆冲断层,深部NW向断层的活动引发浅层的滑脱褶皱.综合分析认为阿尔金断裂新生代的活动分为早期隆升形成EW向斜向逆冲断层,晚期走滑运动发育控制现今背斜形态的NW向断层,具有两阶段活动的特点.     

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.     

Structural characteristics of the Suez rift margins

Field study of the Hadahid Block (the eastern margin of the central half-graben of the Suez rift) indicates two listric normal faults at its eastern and western boundaries, the rift-bounding fault and the Hadahid Fault, respectively. These faults were affected by two episodes of movement. The earlier movement (at the initial, Neogene rift opening) led to equal displacements on the two faults whereas the later movement (at the mid-Clysmic event, l7 Ma ago) caused the Hadahid Fault to bound the deep part of the central half-graben. A similar conclusion is also reached for the western margin of the southern half-graben of the rift (Esh El Mellaha and Zeit Blocks). The two listric faults bounding the margin blocks in these two oppositely tilted half-grabens (Hadahid and Esh El Mellaha Blocks) join at depth into a ramp-flat detachment. This geometry of the rift-bounding faults represents an intermediate stage in the evolution of rift basins. It is preceded by the early rifting stage where extension is less and oppositely tilted half-grabens are formed (e.g. the ancestral Red Sea-Gulf of Suez rift). Increased extension at later stages leads to the prevailance of one system of detachment instead of oppositely dipping detachments of adjacent half-grabens. The central and southern Red Sea have perhaps had this geometry before the onset of seafloor spreading.