Organic Petrological Studies on Immature Source Rocks

Organic petrology is a marginal science that is quite practicable. At present, it has developed into a routine research tool that is widely applied in petroleum exploration and assessment. Based on several years‘ research of the authors, this paper presents the advances in organic petrological studies on immature source rocks, including the classification and characteristics of macerals, the composition of macerals and types of organic matter, the abundance and evolution of organic matter, oil-prone macerals, hydrocarbon generation and expulsion. All these results show that organic petrology is of considerable value pertaining to its application in the assessment of immature oil and gas. The immature source rocks consist of various macerals with obvious heterogeneity, contain different hydrocarbon-generating macerals with different oil thresholds and oil peaks, and show a two-staged evolutionary pattern of organic matter.     

煤内生裂隙的成因

根据多年对煤层裂隙的几何形态、分布规律、性质、与煤层的组合关系等的研究，认为煤内生裂隙是在煤化作用过程中，由于脱水、脱挥发分、煤体积收缩作用产生或者是由于煤化作用生成的水、气体及温度升高，孔隙产生膨胀，形成异常高压产生的；裂隙的发育方向因受区域应力场的控制，区域上具有一致性，且走向与最大主应力方向一致；内生裂隙属于张性裂隙。     

藏东三江构造带云南段α石英热活化ESR定年与新生代构造事件

运用α石英热活化ESR定年法(HAESRDQ)对三江构造带云南段49件样品定年结果的分析发现，该方法所获测年数据与地质事实及其他测年方法定年结果吻合，表明是一种普遍适用于中—新生代地质事件定年的方法。同时，证实三江构造带云南段是新生代陆内褶皱造山带，大量具“层控”特征的有色贵金属矿床的成矿时代也是新生代。     

中国中央造山带内两个超高压变质带关系

中国中央造山带内至少发育两个超高压变质带,一个是南阿尔金-柴北缘-北秦岭超高压变质带,超高压峰期变质年龄为早古生代(500～400 Ma),代表扬子与中朝克拉通间的深俯冲和碰撞带;另一个是研究程度较高的大别-苏鲁超高压和高压变质带,峰期变质年龄主体是三叠纪(250～220 Ma),代表扬子克拉通内部的陆内大陆深俯冲和碰撞带。对东秦岭看丰沟及香坊沟的变质岩片详细岩石学和构造学研究以及先期造山带尺度的构造、岩石和年代学研究资料分析证明,南阿尔金-柴北缘-北秦岭超高压变质带,向东不能与大别-苏鲁超高压和高压变质带的任一部分相连,包括南大别和西北大别超高压及高压变质岩石。相反,大别-苏鲁超高压及高压变质带,向西经桐柏山,横过南襄盆地延伸到南秦岭的西峡及商南一带。仅在东秦岭-大别山范围内,两个超高压变质带分别位于南丹断裂系南北两侧,沿造山带近平行延展,之间被一系列以断裂或剪切带为边界的岩石构造岩片相隔,不能构成横贯中国中部统一的巨型超高压变质带。任何有关中国中央造山带构造格架及构造演化模型的建立,均应考虑其内部发育两个时代和功能不同的超高压变质带。     

莺歌海盆地成因及其大地构造意义

莺歌海盆地位于南海西北部 ,属 NW走向红河断裂带向南海海域的延伸。本文通过对盆地结构、沉降特征和构造 -沉积迁移过程的研究 ,提出莺歌海盆地在始新世—早渐新世期间属左旋扭张性断陷盆地 ,晚渐新世—早中新世的盆地演化阶段受到红河断裂带的左行剪切运动影响。莺歌海盆地的形成和演化历史反映了印藏板块碰撞过程对南海形成演化的影响历史     

Typical basin-fill sequences and basin migration in Yanshan, North China--Response to Mesozoic tectonic transition

Basin-fill sequences of Mesozoic typical basins in the Yanshan area, North China may be divided into four phases, reflecting lithosphere tectonic evolution from flexure (T3), flexure with weak rifting (J1+2), tectonic transition (J3), and rifting (K). Except the first phase, the other three phases all start with lava and volcaniclastic rocks, and end with thick coarse clastic rocks and/or conglomerates, showing cyclic basin development rather than simple cyclic rift mechanism and disciplinary basin-stress change from extension to compression in each phase. Prototype basin analysis, based on basin-fill sequences, paleocurrent distribution and depositional systems, shows that single basin-strike and structural-line direction controlling basin development had evidently changed from east-west to northeast in Late Jurassic in the Yanshan area, although basin group still occurred in east-west zonal distribution. Till Early Cretaceous, main structural-line strike controlling basins just turned to northeast by north in the studied area.     

Vicissitude of Sogo Nur and environmental-climatic change during last 1500 years

Lakes in arid zone are sensitive to climatic changes. The lacustrine sediment sequence in Sogo Nur has well and truly recorded climatic events such as the Sui-Tang Dynasty Warm Period, the Song-Liao Dynasty Cold Period, the Medieval Warm Period, the Little Ice Age and the 20th Century Warm Period. Commonly, the climate in warm Periods was relatively humid,accordingly the lake area extended and water level rose, and vice versa. Apart from climatic change, human activity is also an important factor of influencing lake vicissitude, and they played the dominant role alternatively during different periods; the factor of climatic change predominated in historical period, while since the beginning of the 20th century the utilization of water resources by human has became decisive.     

Mesozoic basin evolution and tectonic mechanism in Yanshan, China

The Mesozoic basins in Yanshan, China underwent several important tectonic transformations, including changes from a pre-Late Triassic marginal cratonic basin to a Late Triassic-Late Jurassic flexural basin and then to a late Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous rift basin. In response to two violent intraplate deformation at Late Triassic and Late Jurassic, coarse fluvial depositional systems in Xingshikou and Tuchengzi Formations were deposited in front of thrust belts. Controlled by transform and extension faulting, fan deltas and lacustrine systems were deposited in Early Cretaceous basins. The composition of clastic debris in Late Triassic and Late Jurassic flexural basins respectively represents unroofing processes from Proterozoic to Archean and from early deposited, overlying pyroclastic rocks to basement rocks in provenance areas. Restored protobasins were gradually migrated toward nearly NEE to EW-trending from Early Jurassic to early Late Jurassic. The Early Cretaceous basins with a NNE-trending crossed over early-formed basins. The Early-Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous basins were respectively controlled by different tectonic mechanisms.     

The influence of thermochemical convection on the fixity of mantle plumes

A general feature of both isochemical and thermochemical studies of mantle convection is that horizontal plume velocities tend to be smaller than typical convective velocities, however, it is not clear which system leads to a greater fixity of mantle plumes. We perform two- and three-dimensional numerical calculations and compare both thermochemical and isochemical cases with similar convective vigor to determine whether presence of a dense component in the mantle can lead to smaller ratios of horizontal plume velocity to surface velocity. We investigate different viscosity and density contrasts between chemical components in the thermochemical calculations, and we perform isochemical calculations with both free-slip and no-slip bottom boundary conditions. We then compare both visually and quantitatively the results of the thermochemical and isochemical calculations to determine which leads to greater plume fixity. We find that horizontal plume velocities for thermochemical calculations are similar to those from isochemical calculations with no-slip bottom boundary conditions. In addition, we find that plumes tend to be more fixed for isochemical cases with free-slip bottom boundary conditions for two-dimensional calculations, however, in three dimensions, we find that plume fixity is similar to that observed in thermochemical calculations.     

New palaeointensity results from Cretaceous basalt of Inner Mongolia, China

We present new Thellier-Thellier palaeointensity results from three cooling units (32 samples) of Inner Mongolia lava flows (91.7 Ma) emplaced during the Cretaceous Normal Superchron (CNS). Based on rock-magnetic and microscopy observations the magneto-mineralogy of all samples is determined to be primary and unaltered high-Ti titanomagnetite. Accepted palaeointensity determinations, obtained in the 80-200 °C temperature interval, are of good technical quality with positive standard partial thermoremanent magnetisation (pTRM) checks and pTRM-tail checks. Obtained palaeointensity estimates range from 14.7 to 28.0 μT, with virtual axial dipole moments (VADM) of 2.4 to 4.6 (× 10²² Am²). The data agree well with recently published results from the same region and, combining the two datasets, we obtain independent estimates from six different cooling units yielding a time-averaged VADM of 3.2 ± 1.6 (× 10²² Am²). These data suggest a relatively low dipole moment towards the end of the Cretaceous Normal Superchron.