The gravity field of the U.S. Atlantic continental margin

Approximately 39,000 km of marine gravity data collected during 1975 and 1976 have been integrated with U.S. Navy and other available data over the U.S. Atlantic continental margin between Florida and Maine to obtain a 10 mgal contour free-air gravity anomaly map. A maximum typically ranging from 0 to +70 mgal occurs along the edge of the shelf and Blake Plateau, while a minimum typically ranging from −20 to −80 mgal occurs along the base of the continental slope, except for a −140 mgal minimum at the base of the Blake Escarpment. Although the maximum and minimum free-air gravity values are strongly influenced by continental slope topography and by the abrupt change in crustal thickness across the margin, the peaks and troughs in the anomalies terminate abruptly at discrete transverse zones along the margin. These zones appear to mark major NW—SE fractures in the subsided continental margin and adjacent deep ocean basin, which separate the margin into a series of segmented basins and platforms. Rapid differential subsidence of crustal blocks on either side of these fractures during the early stages after separation of North America and Africa (Jurassic and Early Cretaceous) is inferred to be the cause of most of the gravity transitions along the length of margin. The major transverse zones are southeast of Charleston, east of Cape Hatteras, near Norfolk Canyon, off Delaware Bay, just south of Hudson Canyon and south of Cape Cod.Local Airy isostatic anomaly profiles (two-dimensional, without sediment corrections) were computed along eight multichannel seismic profiles. The isostatic anomaly values over major basins beneath the shelf and rise are generally between −10 and −30 mgal while those over the platform areas are typically 0 to +20 mgal. While a few isostatic anomaly profiles show local 10–20 mgal increases seaward of the East Coast Magnetic Anomaly (ECMA: inferred to mark the ocean-continent boundary), the lack of a consistent correlation indicates that the relationship of isostatic gravity anomalies to the magnetic anomalies and the ocean—continent transition is variable.Two-dimensional gravity models have been computed for two profiles off Cape Cod, Massachusetts and Cape May, New Jersey, where excellent reflection, refraction and magnetic control appear to define 10 and 12 km deep sedimentary basins beneath the shelf, respectively and 10 km deep basins beneath the rise. The basins are separated by a 6–8 km deep basement ridge which underlies the ECMA and appears to mark the landward edge of oceanic crust. The gravity models suggest that the oceanic crust is between 11 and 18 km thick beneath the ECMA, but decreases to a thickness of less than 8 km within the first 20–90 km to the southeast. In both profiles, the derived crustal thickness variations support the interpretation that the ECMA occurs over the ocean-continent boundary. The crust underlying the sedimentary cover appears to be 12 to 15 km thick on the landward side of the ECMA and gradually thickens to normal continental values of greater than 25 km within the first 60 to 110 km to the northwest. Multichannel seismic profiles across platform areas, such as Cape Hatteras and Cape Cod, indicate the ocean-continent transition zones there are much narrower than profiles across major sedimentary basins, such as the one off New Jersey.     

Geological events during the early formation of a passive margin

The concept of plate tectonics implies that the normal sea floor spreading stage is preceded by a sequence of events associated with the break-up of continental crust. Thus, evidence of the early development of “non-failed” rifts is to be found at passive continental margins. Of special interest is the question of the extent of the continental crust and the structural and compositional changes associated with the change in crustal type. In addressing these topics, we have focused attention on the Norwegian margin between the Jan Mayen and Senja fracture zones (66°–70°N) in an attempt to understand its history of rifting and early sea floor spreading. p ]The southern part of this rifted margin is characterized by a wide shelf and the marginal Vøring Plateau interrupts a gentle slope at a level of about 1500 m. However, the margin becomes progressively narrower towards the north and a typical narrow shelf and steep slope emerge off the Lofo—tenVesterålen Islands (Fig. 1). In a reconstructed pre-opening configuration (Talwani and Eldholm, 1977) the narrowest part of the juxtaposed EastGreenland margin is found in the south and a wide shelf and slope corresponds to the Lofoten-Vesterålen margin.The most prominent structural element is a buried basement high underneath the Vøring Plateau. The high is bounded landward by the Vøring Plateau Escarpment, a major structural boundary which defines typical changes in the geophysical parameters. These are: (1) a sudden increase of depth to acoustic basement; (2) changes in the velocity-depth function; (3) a gravity gradient; and (4) a magnetic edge anomaly separating sea-floor spreading type anomalies from a quiet zone on the landward side (Talwani and Eldholm, 1972). These observations were interpreted in terms of a sharp ocea—ncontinent crustal transition along the escarpment with sea-floor spreading commencing between anomaly 24 and 25 time (56–58 m.y. B.P.). Alternatively, the concept of ancient oceanic crust landward of this escarpment and the possible existence of continental crust under the outer basement high have been argued and we refer to Eldholm et al. (1979) for a detailed discussion.     

Geophysical signatures over and around the northern segment of the 85°E Ridge,Mahanadi offshore,Eastern Continental Margin of India: Tectonic implications

The nature and origin of the subsurface 85°E Ridge in the Bay of Bengal has remained enigmatic till date despite several theories proposed by earlier researchers. We reinterpreted the recently acquired high quality multichannel seismic reflection data over the northern segment of the ridge that traverses through the Mahanadi offshore, Eastern Continental Margin of India and mapped the ridge boundary and its northward continuity. The ridge is characterized by complex topography, multilayer composition, intrusive bodies and discrete nature of underlying crust. The ridge is associated with large amplitude negative magnetic and gravity anomalies. The negative gravity response across the ridge is probably due to emplacement of relatively low density material as well as ∼2–3 km flexure of the Moho. The observed broad shelf margin basin gravity anomaly in the northern Mahanadi offshore is due to the amalgamation of the 85°E Ridge material with that of continental and oceanic crust. The negative magnetic anomaly signature over the ridge indicates its evolution in the southern hemisphere when the Earth’s magnetic field was normally polarized. The presence of ∼5 s TWT thick sediments over the acoustic basement west of the ridge indicates that the underlying crust is relatively old, Early Cretaceous age.The present study indicates that the probable palaeo-location of Elan Bank is not between the Krishna–Godavari and Mahanadi offshores, but north of Mahanadi. Further, the study suggests that the northern segment of the 85°E Ridge may have emplaced along a pseudo fault during the Mid Cretaceous due to Kerguelen mantle plume activity. The shallow basement east of the ridge may have formed due to the later movement of the microcontinents Elan Bank and Southern Kerguelen Plateau along with the Antarctica plate.     

南海中部和北部海域重力异常特征与地壳构造关系

1976年,中国科学院南海海洋研究所与国家海洋局南海分局共同协作使用“向阳红”五号海洋调查船,利用西德GSS-2型海洋重力仪和我国的CHHK-1型核子旋进式磁力仪,在南海珠江口外海域(北纬22°—17°、东经113°50′—115°10′),进行约3000公里的海洋重力、磁力和测深。设计的测线方向为南北向,测线距为10海里。     

塔里木盆地孔雀河地区寒武-奥陶系沉积相与沉积体系

孔雀河地区位于塔里木盆地东北缘，有较好的油气勘探前景．依据地震地层学、层序地层学的方法原理，以地震资料为基础，结合钻井、地表露头资料分析，认为该区寒武一奥陶系主要发育台缘斜坡相、浅水陆棚相、深水陆棚相、陆棚斜坡相、半深海盆地相、深海槽盆地相、大陆坡相带及海底扇亚相．在对沉积相序、沉积相平面展布、沉积演化等沉积体系研究基础上，综合考虑了该区的古地理环境、沉积相平面组合规律及控制因素，建立了孔雀河地区寒武一早奥陶世的沉积相模式．     

Seismic refraction study of the continental edge off the eastern united states

Three long, strike-parallel, seismic-refraction profiles were made on the continental shelf edge, slope and upper rise off New Jersey during 1975. The shelf edge line lies along the axis of the East Coast Magnetic Anomaly (ECMA), while the continental rise line lies 80 km seaward of the shelf edge. Below the unconsolidated sediments (1.7–3.6 km/sec), high-velocity sedimentary rocks (4.2–6.2 km/sec) were found at depths of 2.6–8.2 km and are inferred to be cemented carbonates. Although multichannel seismic-reflection profiles and magnetic depth-to-source data predicted the top of oceanic basement at 6–8 km beneath the shelf edge and 10–11 km beneath the rise, no refracted events occurred as first arrivals from either oceanic basement (layer 2, approximately 5.5 km/ sec) or the upper oceanic crust (layer 3A, approximately 6.8 km/sec). Second arrivals from 10.5 km depth beneath the shelf edge are interpreted as events from a 5.9 km/sec refractor within igneous basement. Other refracted events from either layers 2 or 3A could not be resolved within the complex second arrivals. A well-defined crustal layer with a compressional velocity of 7.1–7.2 km/sec, which can be interpreted as oceanic layer 3B, occurred at 15.8 km depth beneath the shelf and 12.9 km beneath the upper rise. A well-reversed mantle velocity of 8.3 km/sec was measured at 18–22 km depth beneath the upper continental rise. Comparison with other deep-crustal profiles along the continental edge of the Atlantic margin off the United States, specifically in the inner magnetically quiet zone, indicates that the compressional wave velocities and layer depths determined on the U.S.G.S. profiles are very similar to those of nearby profiles. This suggests that the layers are continuous and that the interpretation of the oceanic layer 3B under the shelf edge east of New Jersey implies progradation of the shelf outward over the oceanic crust in that area. This agrees with magnetic anomaly evidence which shows the East Coast Magnetic Anomaly landward of the shelf edge off New Jersey and with previous seismic reflection data which reveal extensive outbuilding of the shelf edge during the Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous, probably by carbonate bank-margin accretion.     

Crustal structure of the Levant Basin, eastern Mediterranean

A seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection experiment was undertaken in the Levant Basin, eastern Mediterranean. Two roughly east–west profiles extend from the continental shelf of Israel toward the Levant Basin. The northern profile crosses the Eratosthenes Seamount and the southern profile crosses several distinct magnetic anomalies. The marine operation used 16 ocean bottom seismometers deployed along the profiles with an air gun array and explosive charges as energy sources. The results of this study strongly suggest the existence of oceanic crust under portions of the Levant Basin and continental crust under the Eratosthenes Seamount. The seismic refraction data also indicate a large sedimentary sequence, 10–14 km thick, in the Levant Basin and below the Levant continental margin. Assuming the crust is of Cretaceous age, this gives a fairly high sedimentation rate. The sequence can be divided into several units. A prominent unit is the 4.2 km/s layer, which is probably composed of the Messinian evaporites. Overlying the evaporitic layer are layers composed of Plio–Pleistocene sediments, whose velocity is 2.0 km/s. The refraction profiles and gravity and magnetic models indicate that a transition from a two layer continental to a single-layer oceanic crust takes place along the Levant margin. The transition in the structure along the southern profile is located beyond the continental margin and it is quite gradual. The northern profile, north of the Carmel structure, presents a different structure. The continental crust is much thinner there and the transition in the crustal structure is more rapid. The crustal thinning begins under western Galilee and terminates at the continental slope. The results of the present study indicate that the Levant Basin is composed of distinct crustal units and that the Levant continental margin is divided into at least two provinces of different crustal structure.     

Morphology and geology of the continental shelf and upper slope of southern Central Chile (33°S–43°S)

The continental shelf and slope of southern Central Chile have been subject to a number of international as well as Chilean research campaigns over the last 30 years. This work summarizes the geologic setting of the southern Central Chilean Continental shelf (33°S–43°S) using recently published geophysical, seismological, sedimentological and bio-geochemical data. Additionally, unpublished data such as reflection seismic profiles, swath bathymetry and observations on biota that allow further insights into the evolution of this continental platform are integrated. The outcome is an overview of the current knowledge about the geology of the southern Central Chilean shelf and upper slope. We observe both patches of reduced as well as high recent sedimentation on the shelf and upper slope, due to local redistribution of fluvial input, mainly governed by bottom currents and submarine canyons and highly productive upwelling zones. Shelf basins show highly variable thickness of Oligocene-Quaternary sedimentary units that are dissected by the marine continuations of upper plate faults known from land. Seismic velocity studies indicate that a paleo-accretionary complex that is sandwiched between the present, relatively small active accretionary prism and the continental crust forms the bulk of the continental margin of southern Central Chile.     

Geology and tectonics of the northeast Russian Arctic region,based on seismic data

The structure of the sedimentary cover and acoustic basement in the northeastern Russian Arctic region is analyzed. Beneath the western continuation of the North Chukchi trough and Vil’kitskii trough, a Late Caledonian (Ellesmere) folded and metamorphozed basement is discovered. It is supposed that Caledonides continue further into the Podvodnikov Basin until the Geofizikov branch. A large magnetic anomaly in the Central Arctic zone has been verified by seismostratigraphic data: the acoustic basement beneath the Mendeleev (and partially Alpha) Ridge is overlain by trapps. Wave field analysis showed that the acoustic basement of the Lomonosov Ridge has folded structure, whereas beneath the Mendeleev Ridge, the sporadic presence of a weakly folded stratum of Paleozoic platform deposits is interpreted. It is supposed that the Caledonian and Late Cimmerian fold belts in the periphery of the Arctida paleocontinent appeared as a result of collision between arctic continental masses and southern ones. After Miocene extension and block displacements identified from appearance of horsts, grabens, and transverse rises both on the shelf and in the ocean, a general subsidence took place and the present-day shelf, slope, and the deepwater part of the Arctic Ocean formed.     

Crustal structure of Fiordland, New Zealand

A generalised crustal structure of Fiordland is proposed.Detailed mapping in part of Western Fiordland has led to the recognition of a basement granulite facies lower crustal material, probably Precambrian in age) separated by a regional thrust zone from a cover sequence (amphibolite facies gneisses, of Lower Paleozoic age). With the recognition of the basement—cover relationship and the aid of aeromagnetic anomalies Fiordland has been divided into four, generally north-northeast trending, regions. The Western Fiordland region is composed chiefly of basement rocks. The Central Fiordland and Southwestern Fiordland regions are made up predominantly of amphibolite and greenschist-facies metasediments and gneissic granodiorites of the cover sequence, which in Central Fiordland have a regional dip to the east, off the basement. The Eastern Fiordland region is characterised by a series of basic, intermediate and acid intrusive rocks. The more prominent magnetic anomalies in Eastern Fiordland, Southwestern Fiordland, and a large anomaly off the coast of Western Fiordland, are all considered to be caused by intrusive bodies. The presence of a positive gravity anomaly over Western Fiordland, coupled with a gravity low offshore, is consistent with the lower crust being uplifted and exposed in this area. Continuing shallow and intermediate-depth seismic activity beneath Fiordland, as well as the large size of the gravity anomaly, suggest that tectonic forces are currently acting to maintain Western Fiordland at its unusually high level.Fiordland thus displays a cross-section of continental crust: Precambrian(?) metaigneous granulites in the lower crust; Lower Paleozoic metasedimentary amphibolitefacies gneisses and melted equivalents in the middle crust; Mesozoic intrusives, and overlying Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments in the upper crust.     

Origin of the northern Indus Fan and Murray Ridge, Northern Arabian Sea: interpretation from seismic and magnetic imaging

The nature and origin of the sediments and crust of the Murray Ridge System and northern Indus Fan are discussed. The uppermost unit consists of Middle Miocene to recent channel–levee complexes typical of submarine fans. This unit is underlain by a second unit composed of hemipelagic to pelagic sediments deposited during the drift phase after the break-up of India–Seychelles–Africa. A predrift sequence of assumed Mesozoic age occurring only as observed above basement ridges is composed of highly consolidated rocks. Different types of the acoustic basement were detected, which reflection seismic pattern, magnetic anomalies and gravity field modeling indicate to be of continental character. The continental crust is extremely thinned in the northern Indus Fan, lacking a typical block-faulted structure. The Indian continent–ocean transition is marked on single MCS profiles by sequences of seaward-dipping reflectors (SDR). In the northwestern Arabian Sea, the Indian plate margin is characterized by several phases of volcanism and deformation revealed from interpretation of multichannel seismic profiles and magnetic anomalies. From this study, thinned continental crust spreads between the northern Murray Ridge System and India underneath the northern Indus Fan.     

Crustal structure and nature of emplacement of the 85°E Ridge in the Mahanadi offshore based on constrained potential field modeling: Implications for intraplate plume emplaced volcanism

An integrated interpretation of multi-channel seismic reflection, gravity and magnetic datasets belonging to northern most part of the 85°E Ridge in the Mahanadi offshore is carried out to study the crustal structure and mode of its emplacement. The basement structure map of the ridge reveals that it is 130–150 km wide and is composed of an eastern high which appears as a continuous, broad and smooth topographyand the western high characterized by several steep isolated highs. The seismic velocities reported for the first time over the ridge indicate several sedimentary sequences ranging in velocities between 1.6 and 4.0 km/s above the acoustic basement top. The salient aspects of the sedimentary velocities are; a low velocity layer (2.6–3.2 km/s) within the Cretaceous sequence in the intervening depressions encompassing the flank region, and a regionally widespread higher velocity layer (3.5–3.8 km/s) belonging to the Eocene–Oligocene section overlying the ridge. A layer having a velocity of 4.2–4.7 km/s probably made of volcanoclastic rocks is observed immediately below the acoustic basement. The sediment isopach maps presented here for three major horizons are used to compute the 3-D sediment gravity effect to obtain a crustal Bouguer anomaly map of the region. Detailed analysis of the gravity and magnetic anomaly maps clearly demonstrates the continuity of ridge up to the Mahanadi coast at Chilka Lake. Seismically constrained gravity and magnetic models indicate that the ridge is composed of volcanic material that was emplaced on continental crust in the shelf-slope areas and over the oceanic crust in the deep offshore areas. The modeled crustal structure below the ridge further indicates volcanic emplacement of the ridge on a relatively younger lithosphere. We propose two alternative models for the emplacement of the ridge.     

Palynology of seafloor samples collected by the 1911–14 Australasian Antarctic expedition: Implications for the geology of coastal East Antarctica

Fifty‐three sea‐floor samples close to Antarctica collected by Douglas Mawson during the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911–1914 have beeen analysed for recycled palynomorphs. The distribution of the recycled microfossils provides a broad guide to the position of hidden sedimentary sequences on the Antarctic continental margin.

The samples were dredged off the East Antarctic coast between 91°E and 146°E. In three distinct ‐areas, concentrations of recycled palynomorphs suggest the presence nearby of eroding sedimentary sequences. Near the western edge of the Shackleton Ice Shelf the recycled suite suggests Early to Late Permian, Late Jurassic to mid‐Cretaceous, and Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary sediments, with evidence for marine influence only in the Tertiary. Samples from the outer edge of the continental shelf and slope east of Cape Carr indicate Early Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary sequences, and the same age span is suggested by samples from the western side of the Mertz Glacier Tongue; in this area radio echosounding has suggested that inland sedimentary basins intersect the coast.

The sedimentary sequence predicted for the Shackleton Ice Shelf area probably faced the open Indian Ocean, at least since the Mesozoic. Cretaceous sequences predicted for the other localities occur at points on the Antarctic coast where they would be expected on the basis of most reconstructions. The area east of Cape Carr has as its conjugate’ coast part of the Great Australian Bight Basin; that off the Mertz Glacier, the area west of the Otway Basin. At both these areas on the southern Australian margin thick Cretaceous rift‐valley sequences occur.     

A two-stage evolution of Visakhapatnam-Paradip shelf,east coast of India,from magnetic studies

A detailed analysis of bathymetry and magnetic data of Visakhapatnam-Paradip shelf, east coast of India revealed three major structural lineaments over the shelf/slope of the area. Models derived from the anomalies associated with the trends indicate that trend A represents horst and graben type continental basement while trend B is due to a series of dyke intrusions. Trend C off Chilka lake forms the northward extension of 85°E lineation from deep sea Bengal Fan. A two stage evolution of the eastern continental margin of India has been inferred from the study of this part of the margin, viz., the rift stage evidenced by dyke intrusions of reverse polarity located within the inner part of the shelf and post-rift stage characterized by vertical tectonics in the form of a horst and graben type continental basement. The hotspot related aseismic 85°E ridge further complicated the tectonics of this part of the area.     

Sedimentary basins of the atlantic margin of North America

Scismic exploration has identified eight distinct basin structures along the North American Atlantic continental margin forming a chain of elongate depocenters parallel to the continental slope and interrupted by transverse basement arches and impinging oceanic fracture zones. From south to north these are: South Florida—Bahamas Basin bounded on the north by Peninsular Arch and Bahama Escarpment fracture zone; Blake Plateau Basin with Cape Fear Arch and the impinging Great Abaco and Blake Spur fracture zones; Baltimore Canyon Trough bounded by the Long Island Platform and impinging Kelvin fracture zone; Georges Bank Basin with the bounding Yarmouth Arch; Scotian Shelf Basin with Scartarie and Canso Ridges and impinging Newfoundland Ridge fracture zone; Grand Banks Troughs and the intervening horst ridges; and the East Newfoundland Basin separated by Cartwright Arch and the impinging Gibbs fracture zone from the Labrador Shelf Basin.All the basins are characterized by great depths to basement filled with from 7 to 14 km of possible Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments. Basement faulting controls the basins' boundaries and the faults have affected the overlying sediments. The major boundary faults of the basins undoubtedly formed during the initial rifting of the Atlantic margin in the Jurassic or perhaps Triassic. However, throughout the Mesozoic and Cenozoic these basement faults have moved in response to different orientations of stress and strain rates produced by continued spreading of the Atlantic Ocean. As a result, the basement faults of the Atlantic Margin were apparently influenced by at least three different local stress systems, spatially overlapping but temporally independent. These are the east—west extensional Atlantic Ocean stress system, the northwest—southeast extensional White Mountain stress system, and the north-south extensional Labrador Sea stress system.Some consequences of this basic tectonic setting were differential cross-strike tilts of the basin blocks with each basin moving somewhat independent of its neighbor. The resulting buildup of the basins' sedimentary geometries reflect these tectonic tilts and varying strain rates. Correlations are found between changes in orientation and rates of Atlantic sea-floor spreading with observed major sedimentary events such as progradations, planar bedding episodes, reef platform development, regressive hiatuses, and transgressions. An understanding of this marginal geosyncline could yield a model with predictability.     

Marine geophysical evidence for former expansion and flow of the Greenland Ice Sheet across the north‐east Greenland continental shelf

High‐resolution swath bathymetry and TOPAS sub‐bottom profiler acoustic data from the inner and middle continental shelf of north‐east Greenland record the presence of streamlined mega‐scale glacial lineations and other subglacial landforms that are formed in the surface of a continuous soft sediment layer. The best‐developed lineations are found in Westwind Trough, a bathymetric trough connecting Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden Gletscher and Zachariae Isstrøm to the continental shelf edge. The geomorphological and stratigraphical data indicate that the Greenland Ice Sheet covered the inner‐middle shelf in north‐east Greenland during the most recent ice advance of the Late Weichselian glaciation. Earlier sedimentological and chronological studies indicated that the last major delivery of glacigenic sediment to the shelf and Fram Strait was prior to the Holocene during Marine Isotope Stage 2, supporting our assertion that the subglacial landforms and ice sheet expansion in north‐east Greenland occurred during the Late Weichselian. Glacimarine sediment gravity flow deposits found on the north‐east Greenland continental slope imply that the ice sheet extended beyond the middle continental shelf, and supplied subglacial sediment direct to the shelf edge with subsequent remobilisation downslope. These marine geophysical data indicate that the flow of the Late Weichselian Greenland Ice Sheet through Westwind Trough was in the form of a fast‐flowing palaeo‐ice stream, and that it provides the first direct geomorphological evidence for the former presence of ice streams on the Greenland continental shelf. The presence of streamlined subglacially derived landforms and till layers on the shallow AWI Bank and Northwind Shoal indicates that ice sheet flow was not only channelled through the cross‐shelf bathymetric troughs but also occurred across the shallow intra‐trough regions of north‐east Greenland. Collectively these data record for the first time that ice streams were an important glacio‐dynamic feature that drained interior basins of the Late Weichselian Greenland Ice Sheet across the adjacent continental margin, and that the ice sheet was far more extensive in north‐east Greenland during the Last Glacial Maximum than the previous terrestrial–glacial reconstructions showed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Post-subduction margin structures along Boyd Strait, Antarctic Peninsula

The Pacific margin of the Antarctic Peninsula to the southwest of the Hero Fracture Zone (HFZ) is a former subducting margin which became inactive following the arrival of ridge crest segments of the Antarctic–Phoenix ridge at the margin during the Tertiary. In contrast, the part of the margin to the northeast of the HFZ remains active. Tertiary convergence was approximately perpendicular to the margin and ongoing motion is thought to have the same orientation. A new seismic reflection profile running along Boyd Strait, just northeast of the landward projection of the HFZ, shows major structural components similar to those typically observed along the margin to the southwest of the HFZ. In order of increasing proximity to the margin, these components are: the inner shelf, the shelf basin, the mid-shelf basement high (MSBH), and the outer shelf. The continuation of the post-subduction margin structures to the active margin suggests that the boundary between crust with passive and active margins characteristics is not sharply defined. Our postulated scenario for tectonic evolution along Boyd Strait is that: (1) before the arrival of the last ridge crest segment to the southwest of the HFZ, the inner shelf and the shelf basin were part of a Cretaceous–Tertiary arc and forearc area, (2) after the arrival, thermal effects resulting from interaction of the ridge crest with the margin just southwest of the HFZ lead to the formation of the MSBH to the northeast, but MSBH uplift in Boyd Strait did not prevent concurrent cross-shelf sediment transport contributing to development of an extensive outer shelf on the seaward flank of the MSBH, (3) Recent extension in Bransfield Strait, a marginal basin to the northeast of the landward projection of the HFZ, has caused about 10 km of seaward deflection in the strike of the part of the MSBH to the northeast of the projection of the HFZ.     

Basement configuration of KG offshore basin from magnetic anomalies

Marine magnetic anomalies along three representative profiles falling between shelf break and continent–ocean boundary in the offshore Krishna–Godavari basin were quantitatively interpreted for understanding the nature and structure of the magnetic basement using inversion technique. The interpretation of the anomalies shows that the magnetic basement lies deeper than the base of the sediments, i.e., acoustic basement identified by the seismic studies. This interpretation also shows that the magnetic basement is faulted along the NW–SE direction with the upthrown side lying to the north of the anomaly trend of this region. The coincidence of magnetizations observed through the present interpretation with that of charnockites of neighbouring EGMB and onshore K–G basin areas indicates that EGMB geology (charnockites, granitic gneiss, etc.) extends up to COB in the offshore K–G basin.     

基于重磁异常的新生代丽水—椒江凹陷基底分布特征研究

丽水—椒江凹陷位于东海陆架盆地西南部,是在中生代残留盆地基础上发育起来的新生代具有典型东断西超特点的断陷,是油气勘探的新区域。区域地质条件复杂、构造叠加、沉积厚度大,地震勘探无法获得较好的反射数据,因此采用面积广、深度大的重磁数据结合地震数据来描述基底构造和火成岩岩性特征,通过重磁数据的阶跃边界识别技术划分区域断裂。丽水—椒江凹陷内断裂呈北东向分布,控制凹陷的形状,且断裂作用使凹陷形成多个小型次凹,断陷特征明显。中—新生代火成岩具有较高的重磁异常,结合质量较好的地震剖面来获得地层、火成岩及岩性分布特征,并建立了多联通域地层的计算公式。区域内中—古生界较为发育,但凹陷内中—新生代火成岩侵入较少,不会对于油气构造造成大的破坏,因此该凹陷具有良好的油气前景。     

坦桑尼亚滨海盆地陆坡峡谷沉积特征及其控制因素*

东非陆缘深水盆地具有巨大油气资源潜力,但对陆坡峡谷沉积特征研究较少,制约有利储集层预测。本研究利用三维地震资料,对东非坦桑尼亚滨海盆地陆坡峡谷开展精细研究。结果表明:(1)研究区陆坡发育多条大型海底峡谷;上陆坡处,坡度较陡,峡谷内以侵蚀作用为主,沉积物主要局限在褶皱推覆带的翼部;褶皱推覆带之外的下陆坡区,坡度变缓,峡谷末端发育席状砂质沉积及砂泥混杂的碎屑流沉积,同时在峡谷北侧发育向北延伸的泥质漂积体;在陆坡边缘,发育海底滑塌,形成块体搬运沉积。(2)峡谷沉积受陆源物质供给、褶皱推覆带、北大西洋底流以及陆坡边界断层等因素控制。受东非裂谷海域分支活动影响,研究区陆架窄、陆坡陡,陆源物质可迅速通过陆架,进入陆坡峡谷:与河流相连的峡谷,物源充足、规模较大,有沉积物发育而没有与河流直接相连的峡谷物源有限、规模较小,峡谷内无明显沉积;褶皱推覆带通过改变海底地形来控制峡谷内沉积分布,褶皱翼部发育沉积,核部则以侵蚀为主;褶皱推覆带外,北大西洋底流与峡谷末端重力流发生交互作用,细粒物质被搬运至峡谷北岸形成漂积体;陆坡边缘断层活跃,峡谷被断层切割,形成断崖,并引发海底滑塌,陆坡处不发育水道及朵体沉积,陆源物质通过峡谷被搬运至更深的深海盆地内。