山西宁武贾家窑隆起-挠褶构造研究

山西宁武贾家窑隆起-挠褶构造带呈北东向展布,长约18km,宽约5km。形成于燕山期运动末期。属于大同口泉山隆升-挠褶构造带的南延部分。构造带中心是隆起,一侧是断层,另一侧是挠褶。而且马家沟组灰岩折叠成轴面近水平的尖棱S褶皱。它是挠褶构造带边部的重力构造。形成该类构造的本质是大陆隆起,大陆隆起的核心是垂向作用力在起主导作用,而非水平挤压。水平挤压形成推土机推土式构造。无论垂直隆升还是水平挤压,所形成的构造均是A型构造或AB型构造。     

Structure and evolution of a passive margin in a compressive environment: Example of the south-western Alps-Ligurian basin junction during the Cenozoic

We focus on the northern Ligurian margin, at the geological junction of the subalpine domain and the Ligurian oceanic basin, in order (1) to identify the location of the southern limit of the Alpine compressive domain during the Cenozoic, and (2) to study the influence of a compressive environment on the tectonic and sedimentary evolution of a passive margin.Based on published onshore and offshore data, we first propose a chronology of the main extensional and compressional regional tectonic events.High-resolution seismic data image the margin structure down to ∼3 km below seafloor. These data support that past rifting processes control the present-day margin structure, and that 2800-4000 m of synrift sediment was deposited on this segment of the margin in two steps. First, sub-parallel reflectors indicate sediment deposition within a subsident basin showing a low amount of extension. Then, a fan-shaped sequence indicates block tilting and a higher amount of extension. We do not show any influence of the Miocene Alpine compression on the present-day margin structure at our scale of investigation, despite the southern subalpine relief formed in the close hinterland at that time. The southern front of the Miocene Alps was thus located upslope from the continental margin.Finally, a comparison with the Gulf of Lions margin suggests that the tectonic influence of the Alpine compression on the rifting processes is restrited to an increase of the subsidence related to flexure ahead of the Alpine front, explaining abnormally high synrift thicknesses in the study area. The Alpine environment, however, has probably controlled the sedimentary evolution of the margin since the rifting. Indeed, sediment supply and distribution would be mainly controlled by the permanent building of relief in the hinterland and by the steep basin morphology, rather than by sea-level fluctuations, even during the Messinian sea-level low-stand.     

Theoretical basis and numerical simulation of parallel seismic test for existing piles using flexural wave

This paper presents theoretical analysis of the parallel seismic (PS) method for evaluating existing piles using the flexural mode wave exited by a horizontal impact on the lateral surface of a pile. A simplified theoretical model of the flexural wave for PS method was established to elaborate the theoretical basis. A correction factor was then obtained and proposed to correct the pile depth obtained from the PS method, thus providing a more accurate estimation. A three dimension (3-D) finite element (FE) model was developed and the existence of the flexural waves on branch F(1, 1) in the pile shaft has been verified. Two time domain methods were used to calculate the flexural wave velocity in the pile. One was based on the pile tip reflection signal using a model where pile head reflection was minimized, and another method used the slope of the upper fitted line in the PS test. The flexural wave velocities from both methods match well with the predicted flexural wave group velocity determined from the dispersion curve of a 1-D rod embedded in the soil. The accuracy in estimation of pile tip depth is improved by applying the correction factor. A series of parametric studies were carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of using flexural wave for PS test and the correction factor proposed in this study.     

The effective elastic thickness of the lithosphere in the collision zone between Arabia and Eurasia in Iran

The effective elastic thickness, T_e, has been calculated in the collision zone between Arabia and Eurasia in Iran from the wavelet coherence. The wavelet coherence is calculated from Bouguer anomalies and topography data using the isotropic fan wavelet method, and gives T_e values between 14.2 and 62.2 km. The lower value is found in the Central Iranian Blocks and the East Iranian Belt which are bounded by several large strike-slip faults with lithospheric origin. The higher value occurs in the east of the South Caspian Sea Basin. The resulting T_e map shows positive and negative correlation with shear wave velocity and surface heat flow, respectively. A comparison between the seismogenic thickness (T_s) and T_e in Iran suggests that T_e > T_s. Results of the load ratio in Iran indicate that in most of the study area surface loads are much more prevalent than subsurface loads, except in the Central Iranian Blocks and NW of Iran. Intermediate to low T_e values in Iran were inherited from multiple rifting and orogenic activities from Late Precambrian (∼650 Ma) to present day which are not only reflected in thin and warm lithosphere but also an increasing seismicity rate.     

Foredeep submarine fans and forebulge deltas: orogenic off-loading in the underfilled Karoo Basin

Third-order sequence stratigraphic analysis of the Early Permian marine to continental facies of the Karoo Basin provides a case study for the sedimentation patterns which may develop in an underfilled foreland system that is controlled by a combination of supra- and sublithospheric loads. The tectonic regime during the accumulation of the studied section was dominated by the flexural rebound of the foreland system in response to orogenic quiescence in the Cape Fold Belt, which resulted in foredeep uplift and forebulge subsidence. Coupled with flexural tectonics, additional accommodation was created by dynamic loading related to the process of subduction underneath the basin. The long-wavelength dynamic loading led to the subsidence of the peripheral bulge below base level, which allowed for sediment accumulation across the entire foreland system.A succession of five basinwide regressive systems tracts accumulated during the Artinskian (5 My), consisting of foredeep submarine fans and correlative forebulge deltas. The progradation of submarine fans and deltaic systems was controlled by coeval forced and normal regressions of the proximal and distal shorelines of the Ecca interior seaway respectively. The deposition of each regressive systems tract was terminated by basinwide transgressive episodes, that may be related to periodic increases in the rates of long-wavelength dynamic subsidence.     

The crustal structure of the Eastern Alps from a combination of 3D gravity modelling and isostatic investigations

The transition between European and Adriatic crust is an important feature related to the plate collision that formed the European Alps. The diversity of seismic and geological information allows the construction of two alternative 3D density models, which both match the observed gravity field. Different seismic experiments suggest a thickness for the Adriatic crust between 30 and 40 km. The thick crust model requires an unusually dense lower crust (>3050 kg/m³) to reproduce the observed Bouguer anomaly. To evaluate the two alternative models, the isostatic implications of the geometry and density distribution within both 3D models are investigated, using local (Airy) and regional (Vening Meinesz) isostasy.Airy isostatic investigations show that the Eastern Alps are not isostatically compensated and the residuals correlate strongly with exposed geological formations. Subsequently, subsurface loading is an important factor controlling isostatic processes. The different geometry and densities in the two 3D models imply different loading at the crust–mantle boundary. The subsurface loads calculated from the 3D density models were used to estimate regional isostasy by a convolution method. In general, small rigidity values (D<10×10²¹ Nm) are determined for the Eastern Alpine lithosphere. In the model with a 40-km-thick Adriatic crust, high flexural rigidities are inferred for the Adriatic plate (>100×10²¹ Nm), but these values are unusual for an active orogenic region. The results point to the interfingering of European and Adriatic crust that results in the squeezing of European crust between Adriatic crust and mantle with additional contamination by mantle material.     

The Mediterranean Messinian salinity crisis: an Apennine foredeep perspective

Owing to its expanded stratigraphic sections, the Apennine thrust belt offers the opportunity to better understand the evaporitic and post-evaporitic Messinian events. A physical stratigraphic framework of Messinian deposits, based on facies analysis and basin-wide correlation of key surfaces and sedimentary cycles, is presented. It is shown that the Messinian Apennine foredeep had marginal basins with shallow-water primary evaporites and deeper basins where resedimented evaporites accumulated under relatively deep-water conditions. Like many other Mediterranean examples, primary shallow-water evaporites of Apenninic marginal basins show evidence for subaerial exposure and erosion. However, the development of such an erosional surface does not correspond to the deposition of primary evaporites in the deepest part of the basin(s); here, the unconformity can be traced towards the base of resedimented evaporites or to a level within them, implying that the deeper basins of the Apennine foredeep never underwent desiccation during the Messinian salinity crisis, but rather received the eroded marginal evaporites. This fact, usually overlooked, raises important questions about the deep desiccation model of the Mediterranean.     

Tectonic control on fluvial styles: the Balfour Formation of the Karoo Basin, South Africa

The Balfour Formation represents a fully fluvial succession of late Late Permian–earliest Triassic age which accumulated in the foredeep of the Karoo Basin during the overfilled phase of the foreland system. The lack of a coeval marine environment within the limits of the preserved Karoo Basin provides an opportunity to study the stratigraphic cyclicity developed during a time when accommodation was solely controlled by tectonics. The Balfour stratigraphy is composed of a succession of six third-order fluvial depositional sequences separated by subaerial unconformities. They formed in isolation from eustatic influences, with a timing controlled by orogenic cycles of loading and unloading. Sediment accumulation took place during stages of flexural subsidence, whereas the bounding surfaces are related to stages of isostatic uplift. The vertical profile of all sequences displays an overall fining-upward trend related to the gradual decrease in topographic slope during orogenic loading. At the same time, an upward change in fluvial styles can be observed within each sequence, from initial higher to final lower energy systems. The actual fluvial styles in each location depend on paleoslope gradients and the position of the stratigraphic section relative to the orogenic front. Proximal sequences show transitions from braided to meandering systems, whereas more distal sequences show changes from sand-bed to fine-grained meandering systems. The average duration of the Balfour stratigraphic cycles was 0.66 My, i.e. six cycles during 4 My. No climatic fluctuations are recorded during this time, with the long-term climatic background represented by temperate to humid conditions.     

Newly found Tunglo Active Fault System in the fold and thrust belt in northwestern Taiwan deduced from deformed terraces and its tectonic significance

We found active faults in the fold and thrust belt between Tunglo town and the Tachia River in northwestern Taiwan. The surface rupture occurred in 1999 and 1935 nearby the study area, but no historical surface rupture is recorded in this area, suggesting that the seismic energy has been accumulated during the recent time. Deformed fluvial terraces aid in understanding late Quaternary tectonics in this tectonically active area. This area contains newly identified faults that we group as the Tunglo Fault System, which formed after the area's oldest fluvial terrace and appears at least 16 km long in roughly N–S orientation. Its progressive deformations are all recorded in associated terraces developed during the middle to late Quaternary. In the north, the system consists of two subparallel active faults, the Tunglo Fault and Tunglo East Fault, striking N–S and facing each other from opposite sides of the northward flowing Hsihu River, whose course may be controlled by interactions of above-mentioned two active faults. The northern part of the Tunglo Fault, to the west of the river, is a reverse fault with upthrown side on the west; conversely the Tunglo East Fault, to the east, is also a reverse fault, but with upthrown side on the east. Both faults are marked by a flexural scarp or eastward tilting of fluvial terraces. Considering a Quaternary syncline lies subparallel to the east of this fault system, the Tunglo Fault might be originated as a bending moment fault and the Tunglo East Fault as a flexural slip fault. However, they have developed as obvious reverse faults, which have progressive deformation under E–W compressive stress field of Taiwan. Farther south, a west-facing high scarp, the Tunglo South Fault, strikes NNE–SSW, oblique to the region's E–W direction of compression. Probably due to the strain partitioning, the Tunglo South Fault generates en echelon, elongated ridges and swales to accommodate right-lateral strike–slip displacement. Other structures in the area include eastward-striking portion of the Sanyi Fault, which has no evidence for late Quaternary surface rupture on this fault; perhaps slip on this part of Sanyi Fault ceased when the Tunglo Fault System became active.     

Miocene tectono-sedimentary evolution of the eastern external Betic Cordillera (Spain)

An interdisciplinary study of Miocene successions in the eastern External Betic Zone (South Iberian Margin) was carried out. Evidences of syn-sedimentary tectonic activity were recognized. The results enabled a better reconstruction of the stratigraphic architecture (with an improved chronostratigraphic resolution) in the framework of the Miocene foredeep evolution of the eastern EBZ. Two main depositional sequences were dated as uppermost Burdigalian-upper Serravallian p.p. and middle-upper Tortonian. p.p., respectively. The vertical and lateral diversification of lithofacies associations and thicknesses resulted from the syn-depositional tectonic complexity of the area. A great variety of sedimentary depositional realms is due to different subsidence rates, and the growing of anticlines and synclines during the Langhian p.p.-Serravallian. After a regression with an early Tortonian erosional gap, platform to hemipelagic realms developed during the middle Tortonian. The end of the sedimentation coincided with the emplacement of an important olisthostrome-like mass consisting of Triassic material related to either the development of thrust systems or diapirs emerged in the middle-late Tortonian, during the nappe emplacement. Correlations with other external sectors of the Betic Chain, and the external domains of the Rif, Tell, and northern Apennine Chains highlighted a similar Miocene foredeep evolution during the building of these orogens.