Tectono-sequence stratigraphic analysis of the Lower Cretaceous Abu Gabra Formation in the Fula Sub-basin,Muglad Basin,southern Sudan

The Fula Sub-basin of the Muglad Basin of southern Sudan is an active-fault bounded basin with an area of approximately 3300 km². The Lower Cretaceous Abu Gabra Formation formed during the first of three rifting cycles. It can be subdivided into five 3rd-order sequences named SQA∼SQE from bottom to top, indicating five stages of tectonostratigraphy and tectonosedimentary evolution. The spatial distribution and temporal evolution of clastic depositional systems are described in this paper based on integrated analysis of seismic, core and well logging data. In the Abu Gabra Formation of the Fula Sub-basin, a variety of depositional systems are recognized, namely, fan delta, braided delta, delta, sublacustrine fan and lacustrine system. The Fula Sub-basin has undergone a complex and phased rifting evolution, and a high abundance of transfer zones developed, causing the resulting distribution and architecture of both the sequence and depositional system to be controlled by various types of transfer zones. The following three types of sequence architectures from northern to southern part of the Fula Sub-basin have been identified: simple dustpan-shaped sequence architecture in the north, transfer-zone sequence stratigraphic architecture in the middle and graben-shaped sequence architecture in the south. The sequence architecture is under the control of the large-scale central transfer zone, and nine models are built to study the effect of at least three categories of small-scale transfer zones on the depositional systems in the Fula Sub-basin. The small-scale transfer zones play significant roles in basin fill, primarily in controlling of the positions of deposit-input points. This study provides valuable insights into tectonic control of depositional systems and sequence architectures in a continental rift basin such as the Fula Sub-basin.     

Kaolinite deposition from moving suspensions: The roles of flocculation,salinity, suspended sediment concentration and flow velocity/bed shear

Understanding how mud moves and deposits is essential for conceptualizing the dynamic nature of surface environments and their ancient counterparts. Experimental study has largely been pursued by civil engineers, using kaolinite as an active ingredient. Yet, applying their data to the physical comprehension of mudstone sedimentology is hampered by multiple flume configurations between labs, and data sets tailored to specific engineering needs. The need for a better grasp of underlying processes is acute, given recent flume studies that show that moving suspensions form large bedload floccules, migrating floccule ripples and bed accretion under currents capable of moving sand grains. To advance mudstone sedimentology, integrated study of suspended sediment concentration, salinity and bed shear stress on the deposition of floccules is crucial. Described here is a set of tightly controlled experiments that explored suspended sediment concentrations from 70 to 900 mg/l, freshwater, brackish and marine salinities, flow velocities in the 5 to 50 cm/s range (equivalent to 0.01 to 0.58 Pa bed shear), measured the size of in-flow and bedload floccules, and the critical velocity of sedimentation that marks the onset of sustained bedload accumulation. The critical velocity of sedimentation of kaolinite clays is in the 26 to 28 cm/s flow velocity range (0.22 to 0.25 Pa), appears insensitive to a wide range of suspended sediment concentrations and salinities, and coincides with the formation of sand-size bedload floccules. Further decrease of flow velocity/bed shear stress is accompanied by a steady increase in the size of bedload floccules. Large bedload floccules appear to form in the high-shear basal part of the flow, a phenomenon requiring further investigation. Better understanding of the mechanisms that facilitate mud deposition from moving suspensions is critical for more realistic assessments of the depositional conditions of mud and mudstones, as well as for refining predictive models for the flux of fine-grained sediments across the Earth's surface.     

冲绳海槽西部陆坡地震相模式与沉积体系

对冲绳海槽西部陆坡上两个航次(95航次和99航次)共计2000多公里的单道地震资料进行分析和解译,对斜坡沉积环境下沉积体系发育、分布特征进行了研究。结果表明：a)冲绳海槽西部斜坡环境下,上新世以来的沉积层均不同程度的变形和错动;b)存在两种斜坡相地震反射模式——退覆模式和叠覆模式,这两种模式都反映了冲绳海槽西部陆坡得到充足的沉积物供给;c)斜坡环境下主要发育陆架边缘三角洲、重力流沉积和水道充填等沉积体系;d)沉积层发育特征表明,冲绳海槽西部陆坡具有北段坡度缓、沉积物供应丰富、构造相对不活跃,中段坡度陡、沉积物供应充足、构造活动强烈,南段坡度陡、沉积供应相对较少、构造和火山活动十分强烈3种主要沉积环境。西部陆坡的沉积特征也揭示了东海陆架向陆坡提供了大量碎屑沉积物质。     

Inertinite-rich Tertiary coals from the Zeya–Bureya Basin, Far Eastern Russia

Selected Tertiary coals from the Zeya–Buryea Basin, Far Eastern Russia, were investigated for aspects of their coal type, rank, depositional environment and post-depositional history. The coals have been examined in outcrop (lithotype logging), microscopically (maceral, reflectance and fluorescence), and geochemically (proximate analysis).Two laterally extensive coal-bearing horizons occur: one of Palaeocene age and the other of early Miocene age. The Palaeocene coals were investigated in active open-cut mines at Raichikhinsk and Yerkovtsi and the early Miocene deposit in an abandoned open-cut mine at Cergeyevka.Palaeocene coals at Raichikhinsk and Yerkovtsi were indistinguishable from each other macroscopically, microscopically, and geochemically. The deposits were sufficiently coalified that brightness logging could be undertaken. Dull coals, with numerous fusainous wisps, were dominant. Four dulling-up sequences, which represent stacked peat deposits, were observed at Raichikhinsk. At Yerkovtsi, only a small section of the middle of the seam, which was mostly dull and muddy coal, was investigated. Petrographically, these coals were dominated by inertinite group macerals, which is unusual in non-Gondwanan coals and rare in the Tertiary. Rank classification was problematic with volatile matter (VM) content of vitrain (daf), macroscopic appearance, and microscopic textures suggesting subbituminous B rank, but carbon content, moisture content and specific energy indicating a lignite rank.Notwithstanding complications of rank, estimates of the maximum-range burial depths were calculated. Taking the VM (daf) content of vitrain as 48%, burial depth estimates range from 900 m for a high geothermal gradient and long heating time to a maximum of 3300 m for a low geothermal gradient and short heating time. These estimates are maxima as the coal rank may be lower than implied by the VM.The Cergeyevka deposit is a soft brown coal. Limited sampling of the upper-most portion indicated a high moisture content (75% daf) and an unusual, hydrogen-rich geochemistry. Lack of identifiable liptinites using either reflected light or fluorescence microscopy suggested a significant bituminite component. Otherwise, the coals appear to be typical for the Tertiary. An estimate of 125 m maximum burial depth was obtained using the bed-moisture content of the coal, which is around the present burial depth.Comparison of present-day thicknesses with inferred burial depths suggests that at least 500 m of section is missing between the Palaeocene coals and the early Miocene coals.Palaeoenvironmental considerations suggest that fire played a significant role in the accumulation of the peats at Raichikhinsk and Yerkovtsi. At Cergeyevka, peat accumulation ended by drowning of the mire.Two tuff beds were recognised within the seam at Raichikhinsk and one in the seam at Yerkovtsi. Correlation of the tuff beds is uncertain but they should prove useful in regional coal seam correlation and interpreting coal depositional environments. Geochemical analysis by XRF was complicated by high loss-on-ignition (LOI) values. Despite extensive alteration, an acid igneous source is implied from the presence of free quartz and TiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratios of 0.02 to 0.05.     

Potential source rocks, organic geochemistry and thermal maturation in the southern depocenter (Kipourio–Grevena) of the Mesohellenic Basin, central Greece

The study area is the southern depocenter (depth > 4200 m) of the Mesohellenic Basin which extends between Kipourio and Grevena, central Greece. The Mesohellenic Basin is a Middle-Tertiary intramontane basin developed within the Hellenide orogen. Previous studies have focused on the depositional environments, configuration and hydrocarbon potential of the basin. In this paper we present additional geochemical and petrographic data from outcrop samples of the basin's southern depocenter, which is considered the most promising area, in terms of hydrocarbon prospectivity. A total number of thirty six samples were analysed: Rock-Eval pyrolysis, maceral analysis, vitrinite reflectance and thermal alteration index, bitumens extraction, liquid chromatography, and GC-MS. The samples were collected from deltaic deposits and submarine fan sediments of Late Eocene to Late Oligocene age. The TOC values of the analysed samples range between rich and very rich and the organic matter consists mainly of type III kerogen and the organic matter consider to be predominately gas prone. The thermal maturity assessed from T_max and vitrinite reflectance shows an immature stage of the organic matter along with the presence of layers having reached the very early mature stage. Vitrinite reflectance measurements and maturity calculations (applying the Lopatin modeling), reveal that the lower part of the depocenter sediments falls within the ‘oil window’. The extractable organic matter (EOM) (mg bitumens/g TOC) indicate the existence of samples (from deltaic deposits) with high ratio of transformation (EOM) (> 100 mg bitumen/g TOC). The GC and GC-MS analyses of the biomarkers indicate mainly the occurrence of terrestrial organic matter reflecting oxidizing conditions and both immature and very early mature stages. The results of the Rock-Eval pyrolysis and the distribution of the isoprenoids support the assumption of the input of an organic matter mixture.     

The Baganuur coal deposit, Mongolia: depositional environments and paleoecology of a Lower Cretaceous coal-bearing intermontane basin in Eastern Asia

The investigations involved geophysical, sedimentological, palynological, chemical and mineralogical studies, supported by field-based infrared spectrometry. The Baganuur Basin, Central Mongolia, is among the rift or pull-apart-basins, which subsided at the boundary between the Jurassic and the Lower Cretaceous in East Asia. During the Berriasian, peat accumulation began in the area under study in Central Mongolia. The palynoflora is akin to the Siberian palynological province. Based on the phytoclast assemblages and the ratios of total sulfur content to total organic content, marine transgressions into this intermontane basin may be ruled out. The coal interseam sediments were laid down prevalently under neutral to slightly alkaline conditions; only in some carbonaceous sediments, the pH of intrastratal solutions was lowered. Suboxic to anoxic conditions persisted during almost the entire Lower Cretaceous period in the Baganuur Basin. Based on the distribution of fining- and coarsening-upward sequences and the organic matter, the basin fill has been subdivided into seven depositional units (A: fluvial–swamp, B: fluvial–lacustrine, C: deltaic–fluvial, D: fluvial, E: fluvial–deltaic–lacustrine/floodplain (?), F: lacustrine–deltaic–swamp, G: swamp–fluvial). A conspicuous change in the fluvial–lacustrine regime and an increase in the sediment supply may be observed at the boundary between depositional units B and C. A strong uplift triggered the onset of an intensive delta sedimentation. Lithoclasts, heavy minerals (e.g., apatite, zircon, garnet, anatase, brookite, epidote, sphene, tourmaline) and phyllosilicates (e.g., kaolinite, smectite, mica, chlorite) attest to a mixing of detrital material. One provenance area was abundant in acidic plutonic rocks as shown by the granitic lithoclasts, the other in volcanic rocks, which produced the vitroclastic debris deposited as tephra fallout. Post-depositional alteration of the siliciclastic interseam sediments was favored by a distinctive facies association of transmissive and sealing horizons. It led to a re-deposition of Ca, U and Sr in the siliciclastics. Post-depositional alteration of the organic material converted it into lignite to subbituminous C coal.     

Basement-Cover Sequences within the UHP unit of the Dabie Shan

Field data define two lithologically distinct basement‐cover sequences within the ultrahigh‐pressure metamorphic (UHPM) unit of the Dabie Shan, eastern China. One of the cover units, the Changpu unit, comprises calc‐arenitic metasediments in stratigraphic contact with a basement consisting of gneisses of the Yangtze craton. The second cover unit, the Ganghe unit, consists of felsic‐intermediate metavolcanics and clastic metasediments. Basement exposure of the Ganghe unit is not known. Fold axes in the Ganghe unit are oblique to those of the Changpu unit, which are parallel to those of the Yangtze gneisses. Preservation of primary textures in some volcanic rocks, and tectonic separation from the Yangtze gneisses by a greenschist facies mylonite, support an interpretation of the Ganghe unit as a low‐strain domain. Protolith associations in the Ganghe and Changpu units are compatible with deposition in a rift setting and along a passive continental margin, respectively. A U–Pb single zircon age of 761 ± 33 Ma for volcanoclastic rocks of the Ganghe unit demonstrates a Neoproterozoic deposition age, concordant with inferred rifting at that time. Eclogite facies parageneses in the gneisses and both cover units, along with P–T data demonstrate regional UHPM in the Dabie Shan.     

Peat/coal type and depositional environment—are they related?

Four bogs in New Zealand were investigated in order to understand the relationship between peat type and depositional environment. This relationship is important because peat type translates into coal type, and coal types can ultimately be used to infer how and under what conditions the original peat bog formed. In our study, no correlation was found between peat type and depositional environment in the four bogs examined. Moreover, no correlation was found between peat type and either tectonic setting or climate. Water table level and degree of fluctuation are the only parameters which seem to have a good causative relationship on peat type.The bogs, Whangamarino, Moanatuatua and Kopouatai in the North Island and Sponge Swamp in the South Island, all have different depositional settings ranging from coastal plain, to fluvial-meandering and fluvial-braided river floodplain. We found no diagnostic peat types that would allow those different environments to be distinguished from studies of the peat. Data from other tropical and temperate climate peat bogs also support our contention that no diagnostic peat types can distinguish particular depositional settings. However, the level and variability of water table does have a correlation, one that is also seen in bogs elsewhere.From our observations, we infer that the validity of using maceral ratios (directly related to coal type) to indicate depositional environment should be questioned. At best, coal type only represents to what degree the original plant components were degraded, but not how they were degraded. To infer other parameters such as depositional environment, tectonic setting or climate, other data (e.g. distribution of surrounding sediment types, palynology, etc.) must be collected and assessed.     

Upper Oligocene–Miocene clinoforms of the foreland Austral Basin of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina: Stratigraphy, depositional sequences and architecture of the foredeep deposits

The Upper Oligocene–Miocene deposits of the foreland Austral Basin of Tierra del Fuego represent the youngest foredeep fill, developed in front of the adjacent fold and thrust belt. They consist of superbly exposed, sub-horizontal clastic successions of more than 600 m of sedimentary thickness. The study of 11 sections by means of facies analysis and sequence stratigraphic criteria enabled the identification of five depositional sequences (SI–SV), bounded by unconformities (dI-dV) involving hiatuses of different magnitudes. The basal sequence (SI) includes two members: A, mudstone dominated, deposited by cohesive flows; and B, glauconite-rich, sandstone dominated, deposited by episodic turbidity currents. The remaining sequences (SII–SV) are composed of complex arrangements of fine conglomerates, coarse- to fine-grained sandstones, and mudstones that were deposited mainly by hyperpycnal flows. The basal unconformities of the SI to SIV involve minor hiatuses, while that of the SV is a major order unconformity. Two types of clinofom geometries are recognized in the foredeep sequences. Type a clinoforms present a wedge shaped geometry and characterize the foredeep infill during the compressional tectonic regime. Regarding this clinoform type, SI is situated closer to the orogen and shows variations in the bedding dip with development of internal unconformities. SII to SIV are situated towards the foreland and are characterized by subhorizontal conformable beds of large lateral extension. Type b clinoforms, with sigmoidal geometry, show a clear northeast progradation related to a progressive foredeep fill under tectonic quiescence. This clinoform type characterizes the deposits in SV. The recognition of hyperpycnites and different types of clinoform geometries in these sequences incorporates new concepts in reservoir prospects, which are critical for the evaluation of the petroleum system in the Austral Basin.     

Depositional environment and geochemical characteristics of the Lower Carboniferous source rocks in the Marsel area,Chu-Sarysu Basin,Southern Kazakhstan

There are two sets of carbonate source rocks in the Lower Carboniferous layers in Marsel: the Visean (C₁v) and Serpukhovian (C₁sr). However, their geochemical and geological characteristics have not been studied systematically. To assess the source rocks and reveal the hydrocarbon generation potential, the depositional paleoenvironment and distribution of C₁v and C₁sr source rocks were studied using total organic carbon (TOC) content, Rock-Eval pyrolysis and vitrinite reflectance (Ro) data, stable carbon isotope data, gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis data. The data were then compared with well logging data to understand the distribution of high-quality source rocks. The data were also incorporated into basin models to reveal the burial and thermal histories and timing of hydrocarbon generation. The results illustrated that the average residual TOC contents of C₁v and C₁sr were 0.79% and 0.5%, respectively, which were higher than the threshold of effective carbonate source rocks. Dominated by type-III kerogen, the C₁v and C₁sr source rocks tended to be gas-bearing. The two source rocks were generally mature to highly mature; the average Ro was 1.51% and 1.23% in C₁v and C₁sr, respectively. The source rocks were deposited in strongly reducing to weakly oxidizing marine–terrigenous environments, with most organic material originating from higher terrigenous plants and a few aquatic organisms. During the Permian, the deep burial depth and high heat flow caused a quick and high maturation of the source rocks, which were subsequently uplifted and eroded, stopping the generation and expulsion of hydrocarbons in the C₁v and C₁sr source rocks. The initial TOC fitted by the △logR method was recovered, and it suggests that high-quality source rocks (TOC ≥ 1%) are mainly distributed in the northern and central local structural belt.