Unexpected Jurassic to Neogene vertical movements in ‘stable’ parts of NW Africa revealed by low temperature geochronology

In Morocco, it is generally considered that post‐Hercynian vertical movements were limited to the Atlas system, the passive continental margin and the Rif. Apatite FT and He ages from the Moroccan Meseta (Rehamna and Zaer Massif) document instead two episodes of subsidence and exhumation in Jurassic‐Early Cretaceous and during the Late Cretaceous to Neogene. The Meseta subsided to >3 km depth during the Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic and was exhumed to the surface before the Late Cretaceous, during the rift and post‐rift stages of Central Atlantic opening. Erosion of the exhuming rocks is responsible for a thick package of terrigenous sands found in the Moroccan offshore and elsewhere along the NW Africa margin. About 1 km of subsidence affected the Meseta during the Late Cretaceous to Eocene. During the Neogene, these areas were brought back to the surface in association with bimodal folding with wavelengths of 100–150 km and >500 km.     

Meso-Cenozoic geodynamic evolution of the Paris Basin: 3D stratigraphic constraints

3D stratigraphic geometries of the intracratonic Meso-Cenozoic Paris Basin were obtained by sequence stratigraphic correlations of around 1 100 wells (well-logs). The basin records the major tectonic events of the western part of the Eurasian Plate, i.e. opening and closure of the Tethys and opening of the Atlantic. From earlier Triassic to Late Jurassic, the Paris Basin was a broad subsiding area in an extensional framework, with a larger size than the present-day basin. During the Aalenian time, the subsidence pattern changes drastically (early stage of the central Atlantic opening). Further steps of the opening of the Ligurian Tethys (base Hettangian, late Pliensbachian;...) and its evolution into an oceanic domain (passive margin, Callovian) are equally recorded in the tectono-sedimentary history. The Lower Cretaceous was characterized by NE–SW compressive medium wavelength unconformities (late Cimmerian–Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary and intra-Berriasian and late Aptian unconformities) coeval with opening of the Bay of Biscay. These unconformities are contemporaneous with a major decrease of the subsidence rate. After an extensional period of subsidence (Albian to Turonian), NE–SW compression started in late Turonian time with major folding during the Late Cretaceous. The Tertiary was a period of very low subsidence in a compressional framework. The second folding stage occurred from the Lutetian to the Lower Oligocene (N–S compression) partly coeval with the E–W extension of the Oligocene rifts. Further compression occurred in the early Burdigalian and the Late Miocene in response to NE–SW shortening. Overall uplift occurred, with erosion, around the Lower/Middle Pleistocene boundary.     

Thermochronological evidence for Mesozoic–Tertiary tectonic evolution in the eastern Sardinia

Apatite fission‐track analyses on samples from eastern Sardinia document a complex tectonic history, whose reconstruction is problematic because of the reactivation of faults and structures at different times from Jurassic to Miocene. The oldest ages (150–154 Ma) have been detected on the southern margin of the Gulf of Orosei and are related to the extensional tectonics that characterize the European passive margin during Early and Middle Jurassic times. Thermal modelling of these data allows reconstruction of the burial history of the Mesozoic basin and estimation of a sedimentary thickness of 2000 m. Part of these sediments was eroded during the following uplift, documented by mid‐Cretaceous fission‐track ages. A further exhumation episode of Eocene age has been revealed by fission‐track data on granite samples, and has been inferred to be related to the Alpine orogenic phase. This tectonic episode caused the exhumation of crustal blocks bound by faults that were finally reactivated during the Late Oligocene–Early Miocene.     

鄂尔多斯盆地构造沉降特征及对盆地成因的启示

构造沉降作为盆地成因研究中的重要组成部分,对其特征进行分析有助于盆地成因的解析。本次通过对鄂尔多斯盆地内5口典型探井的多期不整合所代表的的剥蚀厚度进行恢复,结合去压实矫正模型以及平均密度、平均古水深等参数的确定,较为精确地刻画出了鄂尔多斯盆地不同构造单元自早寒武世至今的构造沉降特征,同时结合裂谷盆地瞬时拉张模型、裂后热坳陷模型以及前陆盆地挠曲模型对构造沉降曲线进行了模拟,对盆地成因进行分析。鄂尔多斯盆地中寒武世—中生代末期主要由早古生代沉降旋回、二叠—三叠纪沉降旋回与侏罗—白垩纪沉降旋回组成。其中岩石圈热冷却作用引起的沉降贯穿全地质时期。早古生代沉降旋回中,中寒武世的加速沉降主要体现在盆地南部,沉降机制为岩石圈伸展减薄,中奥陶世马家期为全盆地尺度的加速沉降,沉降机制仍为岩石圈伸展减薄。二叠—三叠纪沉降旋回中,晚二叠世—早-中三叠世为该旋回的加速沉降期,该期加速沉降具有多幕裂陷的特征。侏罗—白垩纪沉降旋回中,中侏罗世盆地南部处于缓慢沉降期,沉降机制为岩石圈热冷却作用,晚侏罗世—早白垩世,除伊盟隆起,盆地整体处于加速沉降期,沉降机制为前陆盆地引起的挠曲沉降。     

Jurassic extension and Cenozoic inversion tectonics in the Asturian Basin,NW Iberian Peninsula: 3D structural model and kinematic evolution

We constructed a geological map, a 3D model and cross-sections, carried out a structural analysis, determined the stress fields and tectonic transport vectors, restored a cross section and performed a subsidence analysis to unravel the kinematic evolution of the NE emerged portion of the Asturian Basin (NW Iberian Peninsula), where Jurassic rocks crop out. The major folds run NW-SE, normal faults exhibit three dominant orientations: NW-SE, NE-SW and E-W, and thrusts display E-W strikes. After Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic thermal subsidence, Middle Jurassic doming occurred, accompanied by normal faulting, high heat flow and basin uplift, followed by Upper Jurassic high-rate basin subsidence. Another extensional event, possibly during Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous, caused an increment in the normal faults displacement. A contractional event, probably of Cenozoic age, led to selective and irregularly distributed buttressing and fault reactivation as reverse or strike-slip faults, and folding and/or offset of some previous faults by new generation folds and thrusts. The Middle Jurassic event could be a precursor of the Bay of Biscay and North Atlantic opening that occurred from Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, whereas the Cenozoic event would be responsible for the Pyrenean and Cantabrian ranges and the partial closure of the Bay of Biscay.     

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.     

Late-orogenic vertical movements within the arc of the SW Alps and Ligurian Alps

Mainly on the basis of seismic data, we reconstruct magnitude and timing of Miocene to Present vertical movements in the region of the Savigliano basin, an up to 4 km thick succession of Neogene to Quaternary sediments accumulated inside the Alpine arc at the western termination of the Po Plain. We focus, in particular, on the margins of the basin which are the link between the mountain range and the subsiding basin. Seismic data from these regions allow for the definition of upward and downward vertical movements (uplift-exhumation and subsidence) with a spatial and temporal resolution which cannot be attained by other methods. The eastern, southern and western margins of the Savigliano basin display very different geometries of the sedimentary bodies and, therefore, document different vertical movements during Miocene to Present times. The eastern part of the Savigliano basin, and the regions to the E, experienced subsidence followed by exhumation. The southern margin of the basin, in the Cuneo area, was much more stable with Miocene to present formations all pinching-out close to the present day outcropping position of the basement-sedimentary cover contact. In the W, seismic sections record a stage of tilting until the Burdigalian, followed by generalized subsidence which affected also the adjacent regions of the SW Alps. The overall pattern of vertical movements is essentially controlled by the NW-ward migration of a syncline–anticline couple with the synclinal axis presently located in the center of the Savigliano basin. The width of the folds is in the order of 30–60 km (1/2 wavelength). In map view, the trace of the fold axes changes from N–S in the Savigliano basin to E–W in the Alessandria basin.     

Exhumation History of the Xining Basin Since the Mesozoic and Its Tectonic Significance

The Xining Basin is located in the northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, and its continuous Cenozoic strata record the entire uplift and outgrowth history of the Tibetan Plateau during the Cenozoic. The newly obtained apatite fission track data presented here shows that the Xining Basin and two marginal mountain ranges have experienced multiphase rapid cooling since the Jurassic, as follows. In the Middle–Late Jurassic, the rapid exhumation of the former Xining Basin resulted from collision between the Qiangtang Block and the Tarim Block. During the Early–Late Cretaceous, the former Xining Basin underwent a tectonic event due to marginal compression, causing the angular unconformity between the Upper and Lower Cretaceous. In the Late Cretaceous to the Early Cenozoic, collision between the Qiangtang Block and the Lhasa Block may have resulted in the rapid exhumation of the Xining Basin and the Lajishan to the south. In the Early Cenozoic(ca. 50–30 Ma), collision between the Indian and Eurasia plates affected the region that corresponds to the present northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. During this period, the central Qilian Block rotated clockwise by approximately 24° to form a wedge-shaped basin(i.e., the Xining Basin) opening to the west. During ca. 17–8 Ma, the entire northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau underwent dramatic deformation, and the Lajishan uplifted rapidly owing to the northward compression of the Guide Basin from the south. A marked change in subsidence occurred in the Xining Basin during this period, when the basin was tectonically inverted.     

北黄海盆地构造运动学解析

以最新的地质 地球物理资料和北黄海盆地构造几何学特征为基础,采用盆地反演模拟与宏观分析相结合的方法,系统解析了北黄海盆地的构造运动学特征。研究表明,北黄海盆地在中、新生代时期经历了水平伸展、水平挤压、相对平移(走滑)以及垂直差异升降等几种运动型式,其中,水平伸展运动和垂直差异升降运动是北黄海盆地构造运动及形成演化的主体。水平伸展运动可以划分为J3-K1、E2和E3三个主要“伸展事件”,并控制着盆地的成盆演化,其南北向伸展强度均东强西弱,东西向最大伸展强度自中生代到新生代由东向西迁移。水平挤压运动主要有晚白垩世和渐新世末-中新世初期两期。相对平移(走滑)运动伴随水平伸展运动和水平挤压运动发生,使多数NNE向、NW向断裂具有相对压扭或张扭平移(走滑)性质,其中尤以NNE向断裂更为明显。垂直差异升降运动具有“幕式”渐进之特点,晚侏罗世、早白垩世、始新世、渐新世以及中新世中晚期以来为沉降期,其中尤以始新世的沉降速率最大,晚白垩世、古新世、中新世早期为抬升剥蚀期;盆地的中、新生代沉降作用具有明显的自东向西迁移规律:东部坳陷以中生代沉降作用最为显著,中部坳陷主沉降期为始新世,而西部坳陷的快速沉降主要发生在始新世,并一直持续到渐新世。     

Vergleich von marokkanischen Kreide-Küstenaufschlüssen und Tiefseebohrungen (DSDP): Stratigraphie,Paläoenvironment und Subsidenz an einem passiven Kontinentalrand

In comparison to other regions round the North Atlantic, good exposures in the Moroccan coastal basins offer an excellent opportunity to study the Mesozoic development of a passive continental margin including the relationship between oceanic and coastal sediments and datum levels of the pelagic fossils. From south to north, the Cretaceous sediments of the coastal basins of Tarfaya, Agadir, Essaouira and at the margin of the Meseta are described and compared with each other regarding macro- and microfauna, sedimentology, and paleoenvironment. For the mainly marine 2500 m resp. 1700 thick Cretaceous sequences of Agadir and Essaouira, a correlation of ammonite and foraminiferal zones is proposed. Probably both sections were formed in one basin, but certain facies differences were caused by different water depths since Middle Cretaceous times. Most of the early Cretaceous sediments of the Tarfaya region in the south and of the Meseta in the north are of continental origin. Late Cretaecous sediments of these regions reveal, however, principal differences, especially in view of the macrofauna. On the Meseta, the macrofauna is typical of the Mediterranean faunal province, whereas the Tarfaya fauna is characterized by north-boreal elements. This is explained by the influence of upwelling in connection with the initiation of an oceanic deep-sea circulation, which also can be traced into the Agadir section. As a result, already during Turonian times, here bituminous marls with chert layers are deposited. These are missing farther to the north, but later nannomarls, chalk, chert layers and, in addition, locally phosphates are formed there, too. Generally, during the Cretaceous period, a tendency towards decreasing sedimentation rates and a relative increase of the percentage of pelagic components such as planktonic foraminifera in the local sediment can be observed, indicating a sharp decrease of the terrigeneous influx and a landward transgression of the oceanic water mass. If the global eustatic curve for the Cretaceous oceans is compared to the local bathymetric curves of the Moroccan coastal basins, one can distinguish between local phenomena and global events (Turonian and Campanian transgressions). In comparing the Cretaceous sections of DSDP sites 370 and 137 with the Agadir sequence on the continent, an attempt is made to reveal the development of the marginal North Atlantic, related to an increase of the paleodepth and the influence of the CCD. At Cape Bojador, in a transect across the continental margin from inland wells to the upper rise (DSDP site 397), the subsidence history of the uniformly subsiding ?marginal basin“ is derived. In the Jurassic, the rates of subsidence as well as those of sedimentation reach the order of magnitude of about 100 m/million years. The early Cretaceous subsidence increases up to 140 m/million years. As a result, sedimentation soon cannot keep pace, the water depth at the outer margin increases, and the shelf edge and continental slope are formed. In the last 100 million years, the subsidence decreases more or less exponentially. For the well subdivided Cretaceous sequences of the coastal basins described above, the interrelationship between subsidence, paleowaterdepth, and sedimentation rate has been worked out in more detail.     

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.     

Tectonic evolution of the Malay Peninsula

The Malay Peninsula is characterised by three north–south belts, the Western, Central, and Eastern belts based on distinct differences in stratigraphy, structure, magmatism, geophysical signatures and geological evolution. The Western Belt forms part of the Sibumasu Terrane, derived from the NW Australian Gondwana margin in the late Early Permian. The Central and Eastern Belts represent the Sukhothai Arc constructed in the Late Carboniferous–Early Permian on the margin of the Indochina Block (derived from the Gondwana margin in the Early Devonian). This arc was then separated from Indochina by back-arc spreading in the Permian. The Bentong-Raub suture zone forms the boundary between the Sibumasu Terrane (Western Belt) and Sukhothai Arc (Central and Eastern Belts) and preserves remnants of the Devonian–Permian main Palaeo-Tethys ocean basin destroyed by subduction beneath the Indochina Block/Sukhothai Arc, which produced the Permian–Triassic andesitic volcanism and I-Type granitoids observed in the Central and Eastern Belts of the Malay Peninsula. The collision between Sibumasu and the Sukhothai Arc began in Early Triassic times and was completed by the Late Triassic. Triassic cherts, turbidites and conglomerates of the Semanggol “Formation” were deposited in a fore-deep basin constructed on the leading edge of Sibumasu and the uplifted accretionary complex. Collisional crustal thickening, coupled with slab break off and rising hot asthenosphere produced the Main Range Late Triassic-earliest Jurassic S-Type granitoids that intrude the Western Belt and Bentong-Raub suture zone. The Sukhothai back-arc basin opened in the Early Permian and collapsed and closed in the Middle–Late Triassic. Marine sedimentation ceased in the Late Triassic in the Malay Peninsula due to tectonic and isostatic uplift, and Jurassic–Cretaceous continental red beds form a cover sequence. A significant Late Cretaceous tectono-thermal event affected the Peninsula with major faulting, granitoid intrusion and re-setting of palaeomagnetic signatures.     

Jurassic uplift and erosion of the northeast Queensland continental margin: evidence from (U–Th)/He thermochronology combined with U–Pb detrital zircon age spectra

Abstract

The Jurassic–Cretaceous Great Artesian Basin is the most extensive, and largest volume, sedimentary feature of continental Australia. The source of its mud-dominated Cretaceous infill is attributed largely to contemporary magmatism along the continental margin to the east, but the source of its Jurassic infill, dominated by quartz sandstone, remains unconstrained. This paper investigates the question of a Jurassic sediment source for the northern part of the basin. Jurassic uplift and exhumation of the continental margin crustal sector to the east provided the primary Jurassic sediment source. (U–Th)/He data are presented for zircon and apatite from Pennsylvanian to mid Permian granitoids of the Kennedy Igneous Association distributed within the northern Tasmanides between the Townsville and Cairns regions and for coeval granites of the Urannha batholith from the Mount Carlton district (N Bowen Basin), also within the northern Tasmanides. The data from zircon indicate widespread Jurassic exhumation of a crustal tract located to the east of the northern Great Artesian Basin and largely occupied by rocks of the Tasmanides. Detrital zircon age spectra for samples of the Jurassic Hutton and Blantyre sandstones from the northeastern margin of the Great Artesian Basin show their derivation to be largely from rocks of the northern Tasmanides. In combination, the detrital age spectra and (U–Th)/He data from zircon indicate exhumation owing to uplift generating appreciable physiographic relief along the north Queensland continental margin during the Jurassic, shedding sediment westward into the Great Artesian Basin during its early development. A portion of (U–Th)/He data for zircon are consistent with late Permian–mid Triassic exhumation within the Tasmanides, attributable to the influence of the Hunter--Bowen Orogeny. Evidence of Cretaceous and Paleocene exhumation episodes is also indicated for some samples, mainly by apatite (U–Th)/He analysis, consistent with data previously published from fission track studies. Overall, new data from the present study reveal that the exhumation related to Jurassic regional uplift and the subsequent erosional reworking of the northeast Australian continental margin is critical for the evolution and development of the northern side of the Great Artesian Basin in eastern Australia. Apart from this, another two previously suggested Permian–Triassic and Cretaceous exhumation and uplift episodes along the northeast Australian continental margin are also confirmed by the dataset of this study.

1. KEY POINTS

2. U–Pb detrital zircon ages of sandstone samples from the northeastern Eromanga Basin reveal Paleozoic (480–280 Ma) and Proterozoic (1800–1400 Ma) age clusters.

3. (U–Th)/He zircon and apatite dating results of granitoids samples from Cairns, Townsville and the Mount Carlton districts are dominated by Jurassic (198–164 Ma) and Permian–Triassic (272–238 Ma) age clusters.

4. Combination of above two datasets proves the regional uplift-driving Jurassic exhumation episode in the northeast Australian continental is vital for the development of the northern Great Artesian Basin.

     

Structural Evolution and Hydrocarbon Potential of the Upper Paleozoic Northern Ordos Basin, North China

The hydrocarbon potential of the Hangjinqi area in the northern Ordos Basin is not well known, compared to the other areas of the basin, despite its substantial petroleum system.Restoration of a depth-converted seismic profile across the Hangjinqi Fault Zone(HFZ) in the eastern Hangjinqi area shows one compression that created anticlinal structures in the Late Triassic, and two extensions in ~Middle Jurassic and Late Early Cretaceous, which were interrupted by inversions in the Late Jurassic–Early Early Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous, respectively.Hydrocarbon generation at the well locations in the Central Ordos Basin(COB) began in the Late Triassic.Basin modeling of Well Zhao-4 suggests that hydrocarbon generation from the Late Carboniferous–Early Permian coal measures of the northern Shanbei Slope peaked in the Early Cretaceous, predating the inversion in the Late Cretaceous.Most source rocks in the Shanbei Slope passed the main gas-migration phase except for the Hangjinqi area source rocks(Well Jin-48).Hydrocarbons generated from the COB are likely to have migrated northward toward the anticlinal structures and traps along the HFZ because the basin-fill strata are dipping south.Faulting that continued during the extensional phase(Late Early Cretaceous) of the Hangjinqi area probably acted as conduits for the migration of hydrocarbons.Thus, the anticlinal structures and associated traps to the north of the HFZ might have trapped hydrocarbons that were charged from the Late Carboniferous–Early Permian coal measures in the COB since the Middle Jurassic.     

中、上扬子北部盆-山系统演化与动力学机制

中国南方中生代经历了中国大陆最终主体拼合的陆缘及其之后的陆内构造演化。晚古生代末期,在秦岭—大别山微板块与扬子板块之间存在向西张口的洋盆,即勉略古洋盆。中三叠世末期开始,扬子板块相对于华北板块发生自南东向北西的斜向俯冲碰撞作用,扬子北缘晚三叠世至中侏罗世发育陆缘前陆褶皱逆冲带与前陆盆地系统。晚侏罗世至早白垩世,中国东部的大地构造背景发生了重要的构造转变,中、上扬子地区处于三面围限会聚的大地构造背景。在这种大地构造格局下,中、上扬子地区晚侏罗世至早白垩世发育陆内联合、复合构造与具前渊沉降的克拉通内盆地系统。自中侏罗世末期开始,扬子北缘前陆带与雪峰山—幕阜山褶皱逆冲带经历了自东向西的会聚变形过程及盆地的自东向西的迁移过程和收缩过程。扬子北缘相对华北板块的斜向俯冲导致在中扬子北缘的深俯冲及超高压变质岩的形成。俯冲之后以郯庐断裂—襄广断裂围限的大别山超高压变质地块在晚侏罗世向南强逆冲,致使扬子北缘晚三叠世至中侏罗世前陆盆地被掩覆和改造。     

Latest Triassic to Early Jurassic Thrusting and Exhumation in the Southern Ordos Basin,North China: Evidence from LA‐ICP‐MS‐based Apatite Fission Track Thermochronology

The contractional structures in the southern Ordos Basin recorded critical evidence for the interaction between Ordos Basin and Qinling Orogenic Collage. In this study, we performed apatite fission track(AFT) thermochronology to unravel the timing of thrusting and exhumation for the Laolongshan-Shengrenqiao Fault(LSF) in the southern Ordos Basin. The AFT ages from opposite sides of the LSF reveal a significant latest Triassic to Early Jurassic time-temperature discontinuity across this structure. Thermal modeling reveals at the latest Triassic to Early Jurassic, a ~50°C difference in temperature between opposite sides of the LSF currently exposed at the surface. This discontinuity is best interpreted by an episode of thrusting and exhumation of the LSF with ~1.7 km of net vertical displacement during the latest Triassic to Early Jurassic. These results, when combined with earlier thermochronological studies, stratigraphic contact relationship and tectono-sedimentary evolution, suggest that the southern Ordos Basin experienced coeval intense tectonic contraction and developed a north-vergent fold-and-thrust belt. Moreover, the southern Ordos Basin experienced a multi-stage differential exhumation during Mesozoic, including the latest Triassic to Early Jurassic and Late Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous thrust-driven exhumation as well as the Late Cretaceous overall exhumation. Specifically, the two thrust-driven exhumation events were related to tectonic stress propagation derived from the latest Triassic to Early Jurassic continued compression from Qinling Orogenic Collage and the Late Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous intracontinental orogeny of Qinling Orogenic Collage, respectively. By contrast, the Late Cretaceous overall exhumation event was related to the collision of an exotic terrain with the eastern margin of continental China at ~100 Ma.     

柴达木盆地及邻区侏罗纪原型盆地恢复及油气勘探前景

侏罗系是柴达木盆地最重要的源储层系之一。通过野外地质、剖面实测、地震解释、显微构造分析等大量系列资料的综合应用与分析,认为研究区自中生代以来,经历了印支期右行逆冲-走滑构造运动、早—中侏罗世伸展运动、早白垩世北西-南东向挤压及新生代南北向挤压运动,它们与早侏罗世至中侏罗世早期(小煤沟组至大煤沟组)在NE向伸展应力场作用下形成的断陷盆地、中侏罗世晚期至晚侏罗世(彩石岭组—洪水沟组)热力沉降坳陷盆地、早白垩世南北向挤压坳陷盆地密切相关。侏罗纪原型盆地发育三类沉积边界,即盆缘不整合边界(缓坡型和陡坡型边界)、盆内正断层边界、后期逆断层改造边界。不同的现存盆地边界类型对原型盆地恢复的作用不同。侏罗纪盆地以东昆仑构造带为界具有"北陆南洋"的古地理格局,柴达木地区的侏罗纪盆地主要发育在沿岸造山带和岛弧带的山前坳陷以及薄弱的柴北缘加里东俯冲碰撞带之上,形成相对分隔的独立盆地群。柴达木早、中、晚侏罗世原型盆地的分布因受到古特提斯洋向北偏东方向的俯冲作用和阿尔金断裂左旋走滑作用的影响,其沉积中心和沉积范围呈现出从早到晚向东北方向逐渐迁移的规律。早侏罗世盆地的沉积沉降中心主要位于柴北缘西部的冷湖—马海一带,中侏罗世盆地的沉积沉降中心主要位于柴北缘中段的大柴旦—怀头他拉一带,而晚侏罗世盆地的沉积沉降中心主要位于德令哈—乌兰一带。     

Cenozoic development of northern Svalbard based on thermochronological data

Northern Svalbard represents a basement high surrounded by the Norwegian‐Greenland Sea/Fram Strait, Eurasian Basin, the Barents Shelf and the onshore Central Tertiary Basin (CTB). Published apatite fission track (AFT) data indicate Mesozoic differential, fault‐controlled uplift and exhumation of the region. Thermal history modelling of published and new AFT and (U–Th–Sm)/He ages of 51–153 Ma in the context of regional stratigraphy and geomorphology implies at least two, possibly three, uplift and exhumation stages since late Mesozoic, separated by episodes of subsidence and sediment deposition. Late Cretaceous/Palaeocene exhumation and subsequent burial appear to be related with the transition of compressional to transpressional collision of Svalbard and Greenland during the Eurekan Orogeny. Renewed exhumation since the Oligocene probably results from passive margin formation after the separation of Svalbard and Greenland, when a new offshore sedimentary basin opened west of Svalbard. Final uplift since the Miocene eventually re‐exposed the palaeosurface of northern Svalbard.     

Late Cretaceous extension and Palaeogene rotation-related contraction in Central Anatolia recorded in the Ayhan-Büyükkışla basin

The configuration and evolution of subduction zones in the Eastern Mediterranean region in Cretaceous time accommodating Africa–Europe convergence remain poorly quantitatively reconstructed, owing to a lack of kinematic constraints. A recent palaeomagnetic study suggested that the triangular Central Anatolian Crystalline Complex (CACC) consists of three blocks that once formed an ~N–S elongated continental body, underthrusted below ophiolites in Late Cretaceous time. After extensional exhumation and upon Palaeogene collision of the CACC with the Pontides of the southern Eurasian margin, the CACC broke into three fragments that rotated and converged relative to each other. Here, we date the extension and contraction history of the boundary between two of the rotating massifs of the CACC by studying the Upper Cretaceous–Palaeogene Ayhan–Büyükk??la basin. We report an ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of an andesite at the base of the sequence to show that the deposition started in an E–W extensional basin around 72.11 ± 1.46. The basin developed contemporaneously with regional exhumation of the CACC metamorphics. The lower basin sedimentary rocks were unconformably covered by mid-Eocene limestones and redbeds, followed by intense folding and thrust faulting. Two balanced cross-sections in the study area yield a minimum of 17–27 km of post-mid-Eocene ~N–S shortening. We thus demonstrate the Cenozoic compressional nature of the K?r?ehir–Ni?de-H?rkada? block boundary and show that the extensional exhumation of the CACC predates collision-related contraction. A plate kinematic scenario is required to explain these observations that involves two Late Cretaceous–Palaeogene subduction zones to the north and south of the CACC, for which we show a possible plate boundary configuration.     

Late Jurassic-Cretaceous fluvial evolution of central Africa: Insights from the Kasai-Congo Basin,Democratic Republic Congo

The Congo Basin in central Africa is one of the largest intracratonic sedimentary basins in the world. The geological knowledge of Congo Basin is mainly based on studies from the central part of the basin (“Cuvette Centrale”). We present the results of sedimentary provenance investigations of the Jurassic–Cretaceous strata from the southwestern part of the basin, called the Kasai region. This study combines sandstone petrography with U-Pb and Lu-Hf analyses of detrital zircons to assess the stratigraphy, sedimentary provenance and drainage history of the Upper Jurassic-Cretaceous strata in the Kasai region. The stratigraphy is subdivided into a single Upper Jurassic unit (J1) and four Cretaceous units (C1–C4). Petrographically, sandstones from all units except the conglomeratic C3 are texturally and compositionally mature, dominated by quartzarenite and subarkosic compositions. These characteristics can be attributed to considerable recycling of older sedimentary strata and crustal sources, along with long distance fluvial and aeolian processes. The analyses of fifteen detrital zircon samples from the Upper Jurassic–Cretaceous strata yielded mainly Archean and Proterozoic zircons. This result suggests that sandstones are likely sourced from the underlying Archean-Paleoproterozoic Congo–Kasai Craton and from nearby Proterozoic mobile belts, particularly the Irumide and Lufilian Belts to the south of the basin. The dominance of Archean and Proterozoic detrital zircons in Upper Jurassic–Cretaceous strata suggests that the Kasai portion of the Congo Basin experienced exhumation and erosion, which is possibly associated with far-field reactivation of Archean and Proterozoic structures during and following Gondwana rifting in the late Mesozoic. A large fluvial drainage network sourced from the south of the basin, is interpreted to have developed across central Africa during the Late Jurassic–Cretaceous. This fluvial system is believed to have flowed northward across the Congo Basin and ultimately drained into a wrench fault system called the Central African Shear Zone, which extends in an ENE direction from the Gulf of Guinea through Cameroon into Sudan and Kenya.