Neocene and Quaternary extent and geometry of the subducted Pacific Plate beneath North Island, New Zealand: Implications for Kaikoura tectonics

The extent and geometry of the obliquely subduced oceanic Pacific Plate beneath North Island, New Zealand, for five million year intervals through the mid-Miocene to Quaternary, are presented in a series of maps and cross-sections. These show that the subducted plate progressively increased its extent from NE to SW beneath the North Island, and in the more northern regions where it was first emplaced, concomitantly increased its dip from 10° to 50°.The changing extent and geometry of the subducted slab has been established from the age pattern of orogenic andesites and from the geochemical K₂O-h parameter of depth of magma generation. The radiometric dates show a migration of the volcanic front back towards the trench at an average rate of 20 km/My. The trenchward migration is explained by a model of increasing slab dip which is corroborated by the K₂O data calibrated against the presently active arc (Taupo Volcanic Zone). With the exception of northern Coromandel Peninsula, the andesitic magmas were generated at 85–100 km depth. The interpretation of the dates adopted here indicates that the subducted slab originated at the NE-SW trending Kermadec-Hikurangi Trench, and implies a different and much simpler evolution of the Australia-Pacific plate boundary in the vicinity of North Island than other recent models.Subduction geometry has been found elsewhere to be a principal influence upon the state of stress and deformational style in an over-riding plate. The possibility is explored that the timing, nature and pattern of the Neogene to Quaternary Kaikoura Orogeny in North Island is due to this influence. Apart from the effect of oblique subduction in eastern North Island, there is an accord between the onset of deformation and the emplacement sequence of the shallow slab beneath North Island, and between the change in subduction geometry and a progressive north to south change in northern North Island from compression to extension.     

Isotope spectroscopy

The measurement of isotopic ratios provides a privileged insight both into nucleosynthesis and into the mechanisms operating in stellar envelopes, such as gravitational settling. In this article, we give a few examples of how isotopic ratios can be determined from high‐resolution, high‐quality stellar spectra. We consider examples of the lightest elements, H and He, for which the isotopic shifts are very large and easily measurable, and examples of heavier elements for which the determination of isotopic ratios is more difficult. The presence of ⁶Li in the stellar atmospheres causes a subtle extra depression in the red wing of the ⁷Li 670.7 nm doublet which can only be detected in spectra of the highest quality. But even with the best spectra, the derived ⁶Li abundance can only be as good as the synthetic spectra used for their interpretation. It is now known that 3D non‐LTE modelling of the lithium spectral line profiles is necessary to account properly for the intrinsic line asymmetry, which is produced by convective flows in the atmospheres of cool stars, and can mimic the presence of ⁶Li. We also discuss briefly the case of the carbon isotopic ratio in metal‐poor stars, and provide a new determination of the nickel isotopic ratios in the solar atmosphere. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

流体替代技术在北黄海盆地中生界含烃储层识别中的应用

北黄海盆地中生界勘探目的层以陆相碎屑岩储层为主,埋藏较深,受沉积压实和胶结成岩作用的影响,储层物性较差,含油气有利储层识别难度较大。利用流体替代技术,依据已建立的岩石物理模型,结合实际流体温度、压力等参数,对特定泥质含量、孔隙度条件下储层弹性响应特征随不同流体饱和度的变化规律进行正演计算,从而建立了含油气有利储层的弹性参数刻画范围。研究结果表明,对于孔隙度＞8%的物性相对较好的砂岩储层,其中含水的弹性属性与含油的弹性属性有一定的差别,而储层中含气的弹性属性与含油的弹性属性差别较为明显。因此,在研究区可以应用测量的纵波阻抗和模拟的纵横波速比建立含烃储层的解释框架,并利用叠前反演技术对研究区内物性较好有利储层作出预测。