Sedimentary record of the northward flight of India and its collision with Eurasia (Ladakh Himalaya,India)

Abstract

— Stratigraphic and petrographic analysis of the Cretaceous to Eocene Tibetan sedimentary succession has allowed us to reinterpret in detail the sequence of events which led to closure of Neotethys and continental collision in the NW Himalaya.

During the Early Cretaceous, the Indian passive margin recorded basaltic magmaüc activity. Albian volcanic arenites, probably related to a major extensional tectonic event, are unconformably overlain by an Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene carbonate sequence, with a major quartzarenite episode triggered by the global eustatic sea-level fall at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary. At the same time, Neotethyan oceanic crust was being subducted beneath Asia, as testified by calc-alkalic volcanism and forearc basin sedimentation in the Transhimalayan belt.

Onset of collision and obduction of the Asian accretionary wedge onto the Indian continental rise was recorded by shoaling of the outer shelf at the Paleocene/Eocene boundary, related to flexural uplift of the passive margin. A few My later, foreland basin volcanic arenites derived from the uplifted Asian subduction complex onlapped onto the Indian continental terrace. All along the Himalaya, marine facies were rapidly replaced by continental redbeds in collisional basins on both sides of the ophiolitic suture. Next, foreland basin sedimentation was interrupted by fold-thrust deformation and final ophiolite emplacement.

The observed sequence of events compares favourably with theoretical models of rifted margin to overthrust belt transition and shows that initial phases of continental collision and obduction were completed within 10 to 15 My, with formation of a proto-Himalayan chain by the end of the middle Eocene.     

Late Cretaceous oceanic crust and Early Tertiary foreland basin development, Euboea, Eastern Greece

In northern Euboea (Eastern Greece), Late Cretaceous platform carbonates of the Pelagonian Zone pass depositionally upwards into Maastrichtian hemipelagic limestones, possibly reflecting a rifting event in the adjacent Neotethys. This is followed by a c. 1 km-thick unit of siliciclastic turbidites, debris flows and detached limestone blocks. Thrust intercalations of ophiolitic rocks comprise altered pillow basalts and ultramafic rocks with ophicalcite. Calcite veins in sheared serpentinite contain planktonic foraminifera and the ophicalcite is directly overlain, with a depositional contact, by Globotruncana-bearing pelagic limestones and calciturbidites of Maastrichtian age. The ophiolitic rocks are interpreted as Late Cretaceous oceanic crust and mantle, that formed at a fracture zone, or rifted spreading axis within a Neotethyan, Vardar basin to the east. During the Early Tertiary (Palaeocene–Eocene), the Neotethyan basin began to close, with development of a subduction-accretion complex, mainly comprising sheared, trench-type sandstones, associated with ophiolitic slices. In response to trench/margin collision, the Pelagonian carbonate platform foundered and limestone debris flows and olistoliths were shed into a siliciclastic foreland basin. Suturing of the Neotethyan ocean basin then resulted in westwards thrusting of oceanic units over the foreland basin, thrusting of slices of inferred Late Cretaceous Pelagonian carbonate platform slope and large-scale recumbent folding.     

Subduction,ophiolite genesis and collision history of Tethys adjacent to the Eurasian continental margin: new evidence from the Eastern Pontides,Turkey

This paper presents several types of new information including U–Pb radiometric dating of ophiolitic rocks and an intrusive granite, micropalaeontological dating of siliceous and calcareous sedimentary rocks, together with sedimentological, petrographic and structural data. The new information is synthesised with existing results from the study area and adjacent regions (Central Pontides and Lesser Caucasus) to produce a new tectonic model for the Mesozoic–Cenozoic tectonic development of this key Tethyan suture zone.

The Tethyan suture zone in NE Turkey (Ankara–Erzincan–Kars suture zone) exemplifies stages in the subduction, suturing and post-collisional deformation of a Mesozoic ocean basin that existed between the Eurasian (Pontide) and Gondwanan (Tauride) continents. Ophiolitic rocks, both as intact and as dismembered sequences, together with an intrusive granite (tonalite), formed during the Early Jurassic in a supra-subduction zone (SSZ) setting within the ?zmir–Ankara–Erzincan ocean. Basalts also occur as blocks and dismembered thrust sheets within Cretaceous accretionary melange. During the Early Jurassic, these basalts erupted in both a SSZ-type setting and in an intra-plate (seamount-type) setting. The volcanic-sedimentary melange accreted in an open-ocean setting in response to Cretaceous northward subduction beneath a backstop made up of Early Jurassic forearc ophiolitic crust. The Early Jurassic SSZ basalts in the melange were later detached from the overriding Early Jurassic ophiolitic crust.

Sedimentary melange (debris-flow deposits) locally includes ophiolitic extrusive rocks of boninitic composition that were metamorphosed under high-pressure low-temperature conditions. Slices of mainly Cretaceous clastic sedimentary rocks within the suture zone are interpreted as a deformed forearc basin that bordered the Eurasian active margin. The basin received a copious supply of sediments derived from Late Cretaceous arc volcanism together with input of ophiolitic detritus from accreted oceanic crust.

Accretionary melange was emplaced southwards onto the leading edge of the Tauride continent (Munzur Massif) during latest Cretaceous time. Accretionary melange was also emplaced northwards over the collapsed southern edge of the Eurasian continental margin (continental backstop) during the latest Cretaceous. Sedimentation persisted into the Early Eocene in more northerly areas of the Eurasian margin.

Collision of the Tauride and Eurasian continents took place progressively during latest Late Palaeocene–Early Eocene. The Jurassic SSZ ophiolites and the Cretaceous accretionary melange finally docked with the Eurasian margin. Coarse clastic sediments were shed from the uplifted Eurasian margin and infilled a narrow peripheral basin. Gravity flows accumulated in thrust-top piggyback basins above accretionary melange and dismembered ophiolites and also in a post-collisional peripheral basin above Eurasian crust. Thickening of the accretionary wedge triggered large-scale out-of-sequence thrusting and re-thrusting of continental margin and ophiolitic units. Collision culminated in detachment and northward thrusting on a regional scale.

Collisional deformation of the suture zone ended prior to the Mid-Eocene (~45?Ma) when the Eurasian margin was transgressed by non-marine and/or shallow-marine sediments. The foreland became volcanically active and subsided strongly during Mid-Eocene, possibly related to post-collisional slab rollback and/or delamination. The present structure and morphology of the suture zone was strongly influenced by several phases of mostly S-directed suture zone tightening (Late Eocene; pre-Pliocene), possible slab break-off and right-lateral strike-slip along the North Anatolian Transform Fault.

In the wider regional context, a double subduction zone model is preferred, in which northward subduction was active during the Jurassic and Cretaceous, both within the Tethyan ocean and bordering the Eurasian continental margin.     

中昆仑北部地区构造地层学初步研究

中昆仑北部造山带可分为 5个构造地层区 :白干湖、求勉雷克、大九坝、祁漫塔格南缘和祁漫塔格北缘。白干湖和求勉雷克构造地层区出露前寒武纪变质结晶基底 ;早古生代期间 ,祁漫塔格洋沿鸭子泉—阿特阿特坎河断裂向北西俯冲碰撞 ,在祁漫塔格北缘沉积了古海沟岛弧浊积岩、晚泥盆世蛇绿混杂岩 ,在祁漫塔格南缘被动大陆边缘上发育晚泥盆世前陆磨拉石沉积 ;晚古生代早期 ,昆中求勉雷克地区简单剪切滑覆 ,在祁漫塔格南、北缘形成浅海相沉积 ,而大九坝地区由于断层高角度伸展 ,沉积了一套海相碳酸盐岩建造 ;晚古生代晚期 ,特提斯洋沿昆中断裂斜向俯冲 ,在大九坝出露了托库孜达坂蛇绿混杂岩和早二叠世前陆盆地堆积 ;晚三叠世陆相火山岩出露于祁漫塔格山南缘。     

Late Cretaceous tectonic switch from a Western Pacific‐ to an Andean‐Type continental margin evolution in East Asia,and a foreland basin development in NE China

The early Cretaceous structure of NE China was a result of slab‐rollback‐driven extensional tectonics, characteristic of Western Pacific‐type continental margins. Oblique docking of a microcontinent along the Asian active margin in the early Late Cretaceous induced a compressional stress regime that brought about an Andean‐type continental margin development. Partitioning of contractional–transpressional strain across NE China produced a retroarc foreland basin system, comprising, from east to west, an orogenic wedge, a foredeep (Songliao basin), a forebulge (Great Xing'an Range) and a back‐bulge depozone (Hailar and Erlian basins). A sub‐circular lacustrine depozone in the pre‐existing Songliao basin evolved into a NNE‐trending depocentre near the forebulge and acquired a westward flowing fluvial–deltaic drainage system during the Campanian. Development of this retroarc foreland basin system signals a significant tectonic switch from a Western Pacific‐type to an Andean‐type continental margin evolution in the geological history of East Asia.     

藏南古近纪甲查拉组物源分析及其对印度-欧亚大陆碰撞启动时间的约束

位于特提斯喜马拉雅北亚带的江孜地区古近纪甲查拉组角度不整合于晚白垩世宗卓组之上,系该地区最高(时代最晚)海相地层。运用岩石学和地球化学方法对其进行分析研究结果表明该组物源区主要为近源再旋回造山带,岩屑的母岩类型主要是岩浆弧成因的中性、中酸性安山质火山岩。新生代以前,特提斯喜马拉雅属于印度板块的被动大陆边缘,从特提斯喜马拉雅南亚带向北亚带显示了一种从浅水陆棚到深水盆地的变化,在侏罗-白垩纪时其陆源碎屑物主要是成熟度极高的石英砂岩,所以甲查拉组的碎屑物质只能来源于当时的冈底斯弧地区,所获有限的古水流证据也指示了这一点。从欧亚大陆侵蚀下来的碎屑物质被带到原印度大陆地区沉积,暗示该区的特提斯洋壳已经完全消失,印度与欧亚大陆在特提斯喜马拉雅中、东部产生了初始的陆-陆碰撞,其碰撞的启动时间为甲查拉组开始沉积的65 M a±。     

From foredeep to orogenic wedge-top: The Cretaceous Songliao retroforeland basin,China

Songliao Basin, the largest Mesozoic intracontinental nonmarine basin in eastern China, initiated during the latest Jurassic as a backarc extensional basin; rifting failed and thermal cooling controlled subsidence through the early Late Cretaceous. Integrating 2-D and 3D reflection seismic and borehole data with regional geological studies, we interpret sedimentary sequence and structural patterns of the Coniacian-Maastrichtian fill of Songliao Basin as defining a retroforeland basin system developed after 88 Ma (marked by the T11 unconformity in the basin), including (1) significant increase in the thickness of the Nenjiang Formation eastward towards orogenic highlands of the Zhangguangcai Range and the convergent continental margin; (2) a shift of detrital provenance in the basin from north to southeast; and (3) propagation of E-W shortened structures, increasing eastward in amplitude, frequency, and degree of inversion toward the orogen. During latest Cretaceous, foreland basin fill progressively deformed, as the foredeep evolved to a wedge-top tectonic setting, marked by the basin-wide T04 unconformity within the upper Nenjiang Formation at 81.6 Ma. Much of the basin was brought into the orogenic wedge and eroded by the end of the Cretaceous. Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous backarc rifting of uncratonized basement comprised of accreted terranes likely facilitated and localized the foreland. Synrift normal faults reactivated and extensively inverted as thrust faults are prominent in the eastern 1/3 of the basin, whereas folds developed above detachments in shaley early post-rift strata dominate the western 2/3 of the basin. Songliao foreland development likely was driven by changing plate dynamics and collision along the Pacific margin after 88 Ma.     

Break Up of Australia-India-Madagascar Block, Opening of the Indian Ocean and Continental Accretion in Southeast Asia With Special Reference to the Characteristics of the Peri-Indian Collision Zones

Linear belts of Gondwana basins developed in the Indian continent since Late Palaeozoic along favoured sites of Precambrian weak zones like cratonic sutures and reactivated mobile belts. The Tibetan and Sibumasu - West Yunnan continental blocks, that were located adjacent to proto-Himalayan part of the Indian continent, rifted and drifted from the northern margin of the East Gondwanic Indo-Australian continent, during Late Palaeozoic, when the said northern margin was under glacial or cool climatic condition and rift-drift tectonic setting. The Indo-Burma-Andaman (IBA), Sikule, Lolotoi blocks were also rifted and drifted from the same northern margin during Late Jurassic. This was followed by the break-up of the Australia-India-Madagascar continental block during the Cretaceous. The activity was associated with hot spot related volcanism and opening up of the Indian Ocean. The Late Cretaceous and Tertiary phases of opening of the Arabian Sea succeeded the Early Cretaceous phase of opening of the Bay of Bengal, part of the Indian Ocean. The Palaeo- and Neo-Tethyan sutures in Tibet, Yunnan, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam reveal the complex opening and closing history of the Tethys. The IBA block rotated clockwise from its initial E-W orientation because of 90°E and adjacent dextral transcurrent fault movements caused due to faster northward movement of the Indian plate relative to that of Australia. The India-Tibet terminal collision during Early-Middle Eocene initiated Himalayan orogenesis and contemporaneously there was foreland basin development that was accompanied with sporadic but laterally extensive continental-flood-basalt (CFB) type and related volcanism. The Paleogene rocks of the Himalayan foreland basin are involved in tectonism and are mostly concealed under older rocks.

The Mesozoic-Early Eocene ophiolite terrane on IBA does not represent the eastern suture of the Indian plate but occurs as klippe on IBA, caused due to oblique collision between Sibumasu and IBA during Late Oligocene. Post-collisional indentation of Y-shaped Indian continent into the Asian collage produced Himalayan syntaxes, clockwise rotation of the Sibumasu block which was then sutured to the Tibetan and SE Asian blocks, and tectonic extrusion of the Indochina block along the Ailao Shan Red River (ASRR) shear zone. Highly potassic magmatic rocks were emplaced during Late Palaeogene at the oroclinally flexed marginal parts of the South China continental lithosphere. These magmatic bodies were dislocated by the ASRR left lateral shear zone soon afterwards. Petrogenetic and tectonic processes that generated the Eocene CFB volcanics at the Himalayan foreland basin may have also produced Late Palaeogene magmatism from outer parts of the Namche-Barwa Syntaxis. Their site-specific location and time sequence suggest them to be genetically related to the India-Asia collision process and Indian continent's indentation-induced syntaxial buckling. Deep mantle-reaching fractures were apparently produced during India-Asia terminal collision at the strongly flexed leading brittle edge of the Indian continental lithosphere, and possibly later in time at the outer oroclinally bent marginal parts of the rigid South China continental lithosphere, generating typical magma.

The subduction zone that developed along the western margin of IBA due to oblique convergence between the IBA and the Indian plate is still active. The northern end of IBA ultimately collided with the NE prolongation of the Indian continent and was accreted to it during Mio-Pliocene. The Shillong massif was uplifted and overthrust over the Bengal Basin located over its passive margin to the south, whereas, the Eocene distal shelf sediments of IBA were overthrust over the Tertiary shelf of the Indian continent.     

华南地区加里东期前陆盆地演化过程中的沉积响应

华南地区从震旦纪至早古生界经历了从洋盆的形成、直至转换成前陆盆地的过程。被动大陆边缘阶段，在扬子陆块的东南边缘构成了2次从碎屑岩陆架到碳酸盐台地的沉积序列，一次为震旦纪；另一次为寒武纪至早奥陶世。从中奥陶世至志留纪末，华南洋关闭、形成前陆盆地系统。它由前陆推覆体、前陆前渊、前陆隆起和隆后盆地4部分组成。前陆推覆体细分为根带、中带、前锋带。随着推覆体的上叠式的逆冲，形成外前渊盆地（钦防一带）和内前渊盆地（湘西、黔东南）。当前陆推覆体向克拉通推进时，前陆隆起也逐渐向后退。此带表现出一个海平面相对上升的过程，形成碳酸盐缓坡。随着推覆体进一步逆冲，前缘隆起继续隆升，且露出水面，使其后的隆后盆地转变为半局限环境。晚志留世末，前陆盆地回返，海水从东向西逐渐退出扬子大陆。     

The Misis–Andırın Complex: a Mid-Tertiary melange related to late-stage subduction of the Southern Neotethys in S Turkey

The Mid-Tertiary (Mid-Eocene to earliest Miocene) Misis–Andırın Complex documents tectonic-sedimentary processes affecting the northerly, active margin of the South Tethys (Neotethys) in the easternmost Mediterranean region. Each of three orogenic segments, Misis (in the SW), Andırın (central) and Engizek (in the NE) represent parts of an originally continuous active continental margin. A structurally lower Volcanic-Sedimentary Unit includes Late Cretaceous arc-related extrusives and their Lower Tertiary pelagic cover. This unit is interpreted as an Early Tertiary remnant of the Mesozoic South Tethys. The overlying melange unit is dominated by tectonically brecciated blocks (>100 m across) of Mesozoic neritic limestone that were derived from the Tauride carbonate platform to the north, together with accreted ophiolitic material. The melange matrix comprises polymict debris flows, high- to low-density turbidites and minor hemipelagic sediments.The Misis–Andırın Complex is interpreted as an accretionary prism related to the latest stages of northward subduction of the South Tethys and diachronous continental collision of the Tauride (Eurasian) and Arabian (African) plates during Mid-Eocene to earliest Miocene time. Slivers of Upper Cretaceous oceanic crust and its Early Tertiary pelagic cover were accreted, while blocks of Mesozoic platform carbonates slid from the overriding plate. Tectonic mixing and sedimentary recycling took place within a trench. Subduction culminated in large-scale collapse of the overriding (northern) margin and foundering of vast blocks of neritic carbonate into the trench. A possible cause was rapid roll back of dense downgoing Mesozoic oceanic crust, such that the accretionary wedge taper was extended leading to gravity collapse. Melange formation was terminated by underthrusting of the Arabian plate from the south during earliest Miocene time.Collision was diachronous. In the east (Engizek Range and SE Anatolia) collision generated a Lower Miocene flexural basin infilled with turbidites and a flexural bulge to the south. Miocene turbiditic sediments also covered the former accretionary prism. Further west (Misis Range) the easternmost Mediterranean remained in a pre-collisional setting with northward underthrusting (incipient subduction) along the Cyprus arc. The Lower Miocene basins to the north (Misis and Adana) indicate an extensional (to transtensional) setting. The NE–SW linking segment (Andırın) probably originated as a Mesozoic palaeogeographic offset of the Tauride margin. This was reactivated by strike-slip (and transtension) during Later Tertiary diachronous collision. Related to on-going plate convergence the former accretionary wedge (upper plate) was thrust over the Lower Miocene turbiditic basins in Mid–Late Miocene time. The Plio-Quaternary was dominated by left-lateral strike-slip along the East Anatolian transform fault and also along fault strands cutting the Misis–Andırın Complex.     

上扬子克拉通北部晚古生代-中三叠世大陆边缘盆地的形成与演化

上扬子克拉通北部晚古生代-中三叠世的沉积盆地是在勉-略洋盆南侧发展起来的被动大陆边缘盆地, 在泥盆纪-中二叠世以稳定沉降为主, 向北以碳酸盐岩缓坡与台地向勉略洋盆过渡; 中二叠世末期受峨眉地裂运动影响形成隆坳相间的格局; 早-中三叠世构造体制由伸展变为挤压, 沉积建造由开阔海碳酸盐岩台地逐渐向半局限台地、半封闭海湾膏盐湖相以及陆相碎屑岩含煤岩系过渡.该陆缘盆地经历了晚三叠世上扬子北缘前陆盆地、中侏罗世-早白垩世川西、川北前陆盆地, 以及晚白垩世至今构造残留盆地的改造.其中, 晚三叠世须三-须六期上扬子北缘前陆盆地的前缘隆起大致沿汶川、剑阁和万源一线分布.热年代学分析结果表明, 汶川、剑阁和万源一线以南的上二叠统烃源岩在早中生代始终处于埋藏增温状态, 只是自晚白垩世才进入抬升降温阶段, 呈"同代"烃源岩的特征; 而汶川、剑阁和万源一线以北的龙门山、米仓山和大巴山山前冲断地区, 上二叠统烃源岩则围绕生烃窗经历了多次增温和降温过程, 热演化历史复杂, 呈"隔代"烃源岩的特征.因此, 对于上扬子克拉通北部晚古生代-中三叠世陆缘盆地的勘探, 汶川、剑阁和万源一线以南比其北侧更有利.     

Tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Upper Prealpine nappe (Switzerland and France): nappe formation by Late Cretaceous-Paleogene accretion

Abstract

The Upper Prealpine nappe of the Swiss and French Prealps consists of a composite stack of various tectonic slivers (Gets, Simme, Dranse and Sarine sub-nappes, from top to bottom). The structural superposition and stratigraphic content of the individual sub-nappes suggests a successive stacking at the South Penninic/Adriatic transition zone during the Late Cretaceous and Early Paleogene. The present paper deals with two aspects. (1) new data obtained from the Complexe de base Series of the Dranse sub-nappe which underlies the Helminthoid Sandstone Formation, and (2) the development of a geodynamic accretionary model for the Upper Prealpine nappe stacking.

The Complexe de base Series reveals a succession of black shales at the base, grading upward into variegated red/green and red shales which were deposited in an abyssal plain environment starved of clastic input. It is overlain by the Helminthoid Sandstone Formation. The combined analysis of planktic and agglutinated benthic foraminifera and comparisons with other Tethyan series suggest an Albian to Campanian age of the Complexe de base succession. Tectonic transport of the abyssal plain segment into a trench environment allowed for the stratigraphic superposition by the Helminthoid sandstone sequence. The present findings combine well with the general scheme of the Upper Prealpine nappe stack and several single results on parts of the nappe stack. We take that opportunity to present a comprehensive model for the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Upper Prealpine nappe.

We suggest that Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous asymmetric (?) extension at the South Penninic-Adriatic margin created an extensional alloehthon. Later during the mid-Cretaceous, the start of convergence drove the obduction of oceanic crust on the northern margin of the extensional allochthon. The resulting ophiolitic/continental source supplied clasts to the trench basin in front (Manche turbidite series), and the backarc basin (Mocausa Formation) and abyssal plain (Perrières turbidite series) to the South. During Middle to Late Coniacian the main Adriatic margin was thrusted over the obductionrelated mixed belt and established an incipient accretionary prism containing the former trench, backarc and abyssal plain basin fill series. During this stage the Gueyraz (melange) Complex formed, which separates the trench series from the retroarc and abyssal plain formations. On top of the incipient accretionary prism a forearc basin developed hosting the Hundsrück Formation. The frontal abyssal plain formation (Complexe de base) still received few turbiditic intercalations. From Campanian time on, the forearc basin was bypassed and deposition of the Helminthoid Sandstone Formation occurred on the Complexe de base succession. During the Maastrichtian the abyssal plain and trench fill succession (Dranse nappe) was accreted to the incipient wedge, and in front of a newly active buttress, the Gurnigel trench basin was established. Another accretionary event during latest Paleocene/earliest Eocene added parts of that trench series to the base of the wedge (Sarine nappe). During the Late Eocene the accretionary wedge and remaining trench fill series (Gurnigel nappe) were thrusted en-bloc over the Middle Penninic limestone nappes and partly overtook the latter. Continued shortening of the resulting nappe pile and out-of-sequence thrusting accomplished the overriding of the Middle Penninic units over the former South Penninic Gurnigel trench series (inversion of palaeogeographic domains).     

一幕完整的前陆盆地构造演化的地层记录:库车坳陷下白垩统

位于库车坳陷东部天山山前KZ露头的下白垩统为一套前渊带的充填沉积,包括卡普沙良群和巴什基奇克组两个粗-细-粗的沉积旋回,每个旋回底部的亚格列木组和巴什基奇克组底部均发育一套砾质粗碎屑沉积体.塔北隆起为前隆单元.从天山山前至塔北隆起,地层几何形态从卡普沙良群北厚南薄的强不对称楔型转变为巴什基奇克组北薄南厚的弱不对称楔型,且塔北隆起北斜坡带地震剖面显示卡普沙良群地层南部剥蚀强烈,而巴什基奇克组地层剥蚀位于北部,总体反映盆地由卡普沙良群时期北部沉降、南部抬升转变为巴什基奇克组时期北部抬升、南部沉降的构造反转现象,分别与前陆盆地逆冲构造活动期、宁静期的基底变形特征相一致.因此,卡普沙良群、巴什基奇克组两个的沉积旋回分别为逆冲构造活动期、宁静期的盆地充填记录,两个旋回底部的砾质粗碎屑沉积体分别为逆冲活动开始(岩石圈挠曲沉降)、逆冲活动停滞(岩石圈回弹隆升)的沉积响应.总之,库车坳陷下白垩统记录了一幕完整的前陆盆地构造演化过程.     

Adria,the African promontory,in mesozoic Mediterranean palaeogeography

The orogenic belts encircling the present-day Adriatic Sea are the deformed Mesozoic continental margin of an area known as Adria, the outline of which began to take shape during Middle Triassic continental rifting. Early Jurassic oceanic rifting was usually close to, but not coincident with, sites of earlier continental rifting. The Triassic rifted zones were usually incorporated into the continental margin of Adria, profoundly influencing its subsequent development. The Mesozoic platform/basin morphology of this margin can be correlated along the length of the belt.Palaeomagnetic data from autochthonous outcrops of the foreland of Adria do not indicate relative rotation and moreover suggest that this foreland has moved in coordination with Africa since the Early Mesozoic. Seismic soundings indicate that thick Mesozoic sedimentary sequences which can be correlated with sections on the African platform are continuous beneath the eastern Mediterranean seas. The concept of Adria as having behaved as a promontory of the African plate is tested by correlation of the main tectonic events in the belt with the spreading history of the Atlantic. The simplest model which adequately accounts for available data comprises a continuous Mesozoic continental margin from the Magrebids of Tunisia, through the Apennines, Alps, Dinarides and Hellenides to the alpine belt of Turkey. This margin was the southern margin of the Mesozoic Tethys and its foreland was more or less continuous with the African platform. Some structural and geochemical features of the double ophiolitic belt on the eastern side of Adria may be explained in terms of more external oceanic branches giving a more diversified continental margin of Adria. The present undulations of the Periadriatic belt are mainly a product of Late Cretaceous to recent deformation, which severely modified the shape of this margin by continental collision and by subsequent development of back-arc features.     

Provenance of the Bosnian Flysch

Sandwiched between the Adriatic Carbonate Platform and the Dinaride Ophiolite Zone, the Bosnian Flysch forms a c. 3000 m thick, intensely folded stack of Upper Jurassic to Cretaceous mixed carbonate and siliciclastic sediments in the Dinarides. New petrographic, heavy mineral, zircon U/Pb and fission-track data as well as biostratigraphic evidence allow us to reconstruct the palaeogeology of the source areas of the Bosnian Flysch basin in late Mesozoic times. Middle Jurassic intraoceanic subduction of the Neotethys was shortly followed by exhumation of the overriding oceanic plate. Trench sedimentation was controlled by a dual sediment supply from the sub-ophiolitic high-grade metamorphic soles and from the distal continental margin of the Adriatic plate. Following obduction onto Adria, from the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition onwards a vast clastic wedge (Vranduk Formation) was developed in front of the leading edge, fed by continental basement units of Adria that experienced Early Cretaceous synsedimentary cooling, by the overlying ophiolitic thrust sheets and by redeposited elements of coeval Urgonian facies reefs grown on the thrust wedge complex. Following mid-Cretaceous deformation and thermal overprint of the Vranduk Formation, the depozone migrated further towards SW and received increasing amounts of redeposited carbonate detritus released from the Adriatic Carbonate Platform margin (Ugar Formation). Subordinate siliciclastic source components indicate changing source rocks on the upper plate, with ophiolites becoming subordinate. The zone of the continental basement previously affected by the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous thermal imprint has been removed; instead, the basement mostly supplied detritus with a wide range of pre-Jurassic cooling ages. However, a c. 80 Ma, largely synsedimentary cooling event is also recorded by the Ugar Formation, that contrasts the predominantly Early Cretaceous cooling of the Adriatic basement and suggests, at least locally, a fast exhumation.     

Late Triassic rifting and Jurassic–Cretaceous passive margin development of the Southern Neotethys: evidence from the Adıyaman area,SE Turkey

Evidence of rifting and continental break-up to form the S Neotethys is found within the volcanic-sedimentary Koçali Complex. This is a folded, thrust-imbricated succession that includes lavas, volcaniclastic sediments, pelagic carbonates, radiolarites and manganiferous deposits. Interbedded ribbon cherts contain radiolarians of Late Triassic to Late Jurassic age. The lower part of the succession of Mid?-Late Triassic age (Tarasa Formation) is dominated by enriched mid-ocean ridge basalt (E-MORB). The overlying Late Triassic to Mid-Jurassic interval (Konak Formation) is characterised by intercalations of ocean island basalt and E-MORB. Taking account of structural position, the basalts erupted within the outer part of a continent–ocean transition zone. Continental break-up probably occurred during the Late Triassic (Carnian–Norian). Early to Mid-Jurassic lavas and volcaniclastic sediments record volcanism probably after continental break-up. In addition, the Karadut Complex is a broken formation that is located at a relatively low structural position just above the Arabian foreland. Pelagic carbonates, redeposited carbonates and radiolarites predominate. Radiolarians are dated as Early to Mid-Jurassic and Late Cretaceous in age. The pelagic carbonates include planktic foraminifera of Late Cretaceous age. The Karadut Complex resulted from the accumulation of calcareous gravity flows, pelagic carbonate and radiolarites in a relatively proximal, base-of-slope setting. After continental break-up, MORB and ophiolitic rocks formed within the S Neotethys further north. Tectonic emplacement onto the Arabian platform took place by earliest Maastrichtian time. Regional interpretation is facilitated by comparisons with examples of Triassic rifting and continental break-up in the eastern Mediterranean region and elsewhere.     

Geochemistry,detrital zircon geochronology and Hf isotope of the clastic rocks in southern Tibet: Implications for the Jurassic-Cretaceous tectonic evolution of the Lhasa terrane

In order to reconstruct tectonic evolution history of the southern margin of Asia (i.e., Lhasa terrane) before the India-Asia collision, here we present a comprehensive study on the clastic rocks in the southern Lhasa terrane with new perspectives from sedimentary geochemistry, detrital zircon geochronology and Hf isotope. Clasts from the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous sedimentary sequences (i.e., Yeba and Chumulong Formations) display high compositional maturity and experienced moderate to high degree of chemical weathering, whereas those from the late Early-Late Cretaceous sequences (Ngamring and Shexing Formations) are characterized by low compositional maturity with insignificant chemical weathering. Our results lead to a coherent scenario for the evolution history of the Lhasa terrane. During the Early-Middle Jurassic (∼192-168Ma), the Lhasa terrane was speculated to be an isolated geological block. The Yeba Formation is best understood as being deposited in a back-arc basin induced by northward subduction of the Neo-Tethys ocean with sediments coming from the interiors of the Lhasa terrane. The Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Lhasa-Qiangtang collision resulted in the formation of a composite foreland basin with southward-flowing rivers carrying clastic materials from the uplifted northern Lhasa and/or Qiangtang terranes. During the late Early-Late Cretaceous (∼104-72Ma), the Gangdese magmatic arc was uplifted rapidly above the sea level, forming turbidites (Ngamring Formation) in the Xigaze forearc basin and fluvial red beds (Shexing Formation) on the retro-arc side. At the end of Late Cretaceous, the Lhasa terrane was likely to have been uplifted to high elevation forming an Andean-type margin resembling the modern South America before the India-Asia collision.     

Extensional tectonic activity in the cratonward parts (peripheral bulge) of the Ganga Plain foreland basin,India

Flexural subsidence of the Indian lithosphere created the foreland basin in front of the emerging Himalayan mountain belt. The continued northward push of the Indian plate and thrust sheet loading in the Himalayan orogen caused an up-warping along its cratonward margin, in the form of a regional gentle bulge. In the cratonward peripheral bulge small-scale to moderate size deformation features, e.g., gentle folds (up-arching of the sediment layers), extensional normal faults and uplifted tilted blocks, and incised river channels with 20-60-m-high cliffs, developed. Cliff sections of many rivers in this cratonward part of the foreland basin expose deposits of latest Pleistocene-Holocene age and show evidences of active tectonics in the last few thousand years: vertical uplift leading to deep incision of the river system, development of prominent fractures cutting through the sedimentary succession, bending and tilting of the strata, and tilted blocks. In the Late Quaternary relaxation phase of the Himalayan orogen-foreland, there is increased vertical tectonic activity in the region of the peripheral bulge. The vertical uplift in this part of the Ganga Plain foreland basin caused the rivers (including the axial rivers) to make further deep incision without shifting from their courses. During periods of increased tectonic activity in the Himalayan region, i.e., the addition of thrust slices more rapidly, probably caused the maximum down-bending in the proximal part of the Ganga plain foreland basin. The high amplitude and asymmetric nature of this foreland basin is partly controlled by extensional tectonism.     

大别山东南麓中新生代碎屑岩地球化学特征及其对物源的制约

位于大别山东南麓的安庆-潜山地区中新生代碎屑岩比较发育,主元素分析表明,砂岩主要为杂砂岩,其次是岩屑砂岩和长石砂岩。根据主元素、微量元素和稀土元素特征值分析结果,中、上三叠统和下、中侏罗统的源岩来源广泛,属于大陆岛弧、活动大陆边缘和被动大陆边缘构造背景,可能反映了前陆盆地物源的二元特征。古近系源岩主要为活动大陆边缘和大陆岛弧构造环境,说明物源仅来自大别山造山带。稀土元素比值及相关系数分析揭示,中晚三叠世黄马青群的源岩主要为宿松群的长英质片岩、浅粒岩以及大别杂岩,侏罗纪磨山组大致类似于大别群的花岗片麻岩,罗岭组与大别群比较类似。显示大别山造山带在中晚三叠世已经隆升并遭受剥露。     

松辽盆地北部姚家组底部不整合面的发育特征及形成机制初探

松辽盆地北部姚家组底部的不整合面（T_1-1界面）为区域性不整合面,这一不整合面标志的隆升事件不仅控制了地层分布和层序划分,而且把盆地的坳陷阶段分为湖侵特征各不相同的两个亚阶段.姚一段的剥蚀区主要见于松辽盆地的东部和北部,反映造成这一隆升的挤压应力场来自其东南,与东亚大陆边缘移置地体的拼贴有关.松辽盆地是一个与燕山造山作用耦合发育的内陆盆地,坳陷（裂后热沉降）阶段的盆地发育受制于两个造山作用：西侧大兴安岭的热隆升和其东的东亚大陆边缘的地体拼贴引起的斜向汇聚-剪切造山作用.