Cenozoic sequence stratigraphy of the Kachchh Basin,India

The Kachchh sedimentary basin in the western continental margin of India is a peri-cratonic rift basin which preserves a nearly complete rock record from Middle Jurassic to Recent, punctuated by several stratigraphic breaks. The Cenozoic sediments exposed in the western part of the Kachchh mainland extend offshore into the present-day continental shelf. The unique feature of the outcropping area is a nearly complete, richly fossiliferous and easily accessible Cenozoic succession. Detailed field mapping and litho-biostratigraphic studies have made it possible to identify the chronostratigraphic units, map them in the field and extend the correlation into the offshore, aided by the development of continuously recognizable key biostratigraphic horizons and time boundaries. Detailed field mapping of key sections integrated with the litho-biostratigraphic information has helped in working out a sequence stratigraphic framework for the Cenozoic succession in the basin. The succession comprises a first-order passive margin sequence. Excellent biostratigraphic control has enabled identification of unconformities of various magnitudes which in turn have helped in mapping 5 second-order and four third-order sequences. Each sequence is discussed with respect to its extent, nature of sequence boundaries, sedimentary fill, key sequence stratigraphic surfaces and depositional setup, to understand the Cenozoic sequence stratigraphic architecture of the basin.     

Seismic geomorphology,architecture and genesis of Miocene shelf sand ridges in the Pearl River Mouth Basin,northern South China Sea

Multiple stages of large-scale shelf sand ridges, including the shoreface-attached and the offshore types, have developed in the Miocene successions on the mid-shelf region of the Pear River Mouth Basin, northern South China Sea. Utilizing a high-quality 3D seismic data set, accompanying 2D seismic profiles and well logs, the morphology, architecture and genesis of these shelf sand ridges have been systematically investigated in this study. The ridges are of very large scale, with the largest one having a maximum height of 64 m, a width of more than 20 km and a length of 37 km within the 3D survey area. Being mound-shaped, they also display obvious asymmetry character, with the ridge crest preferentially located on the SE side. Three main internal components, including the ridge front, central ridge and the ridge tail, have been recognized through careful anatomy analysis of the two most well-imaged ridges, each displaying distinct expressions on seismic amplitudes and geometries. In the plan view, most of the shelf sand ridges are generally NE–SW oriented and widening to the SW direction. Scouring features can also be clearly observed along the SW direction, including scour depressions and linear sandy remnants. On well logs, the shelf sand ridges are represented by an overall coarsening-upward pattern. Intervals with blocky sandstones are preferentially present on higher locations due to a differential winnowing process controlled by shelf topography.Plenty of evidence indicates that these ridges were primarily formed by the reworking of forced regressive or lowstand deltaic deposits under a persistent southwesterly flowing current during the subsequent transgression. This very current is a composite one, which is speculated to consist of winter oceanic current, SCSBK (South China Sea Branch of Kuroshio) intrusion onto the shelf and internal waves propagating from the Luzon Strait. Tidal currents might have contributed to the SE growth of the ridge. In response to the reglaciation of Antarctic ice-sheet and the closure of Pacific-Indian ocean seaway in the middle Miocene, the intensification of the North Pacific western boundary current was considered to have potential links to the initiation of the shelf sand ridges at ∼12 Ma. The development of shelf ridges was terminated and replaced by rapid deltaic progradation at ∼5.5 Ma.     

Morphology,sedimentary infill and depositional environments of the Early Quaternary North Sea Basin (56°–62°N)

The North Sea Basin has been subsiding during the Quaternary and contains hundreds of metres of fill. Seismic surveys (170 000 km²) provide new evidence on Early Quaternary sedimentation, from about 2.75 Ma to around the Brunhes-Matuyama boundary (0.78 Ma). We present an informal seismic stratigraphy for the Early Quaternary of the North Sea, and calculate sediment volumes for major units. Early Quaternary sediment thickness is > 1000 m in the northern basin and >700 m in the central basin (total about 40 000 km³). Northern North Sea basin-fill comprises several clinoform units, prograding westward over 60 000 km². Architecture of the central basin also comprises clinoforms, building from the southeast. To the west, an acoustically layered and mounded unit (Unit Z) was deposited. Remaining accommodation space was filled with fine-grained sediments of two Central Basin units. Above these units, an Upper Regional Unconformity-equivalent (URU) records a conformable surface with flat-lying units that indicate stronger direct glacial influence than on the sediments below. On the North Sea Plateau north of 59°N, the Upper Regional Unconformity (URU) is defined by a shift from westward to eastward dipping seismic reflectors, recording a major change in sedimentation, with the Shetland Platform becoming a significant source. A model of Early Quaternary sediment delivery to the North Sea shows sources from the Scandinavian ice sheet and major European rivers. Clinoforms prograding west in the northern North Sea Basin, representing glacigenic debris flows, indicate an ice sheet on the western Scandinavian margin. In the central basin, sediments are generally fine-grained, suggesting a distal fluvial or glacifluvial origin from European rivers. Ploughmarks also demonstrate that icebergs, derived from an ice sheet to the north, drifted into the central North Sea Basin. By contrast, sediments and glacial landforms above the URU provide evidence for the later presence of a grounded ice sheet.     

Structural evolution of Malay Basin,its link to Sunda Block tectonics

The Malay Basin is located offshore West Malaysia in the South China Sea, within north central region of 1st order Sunda Block. The basin developed partly as a result of tectonic collisions and strike-slip shear of the Southeast Asia continental slabs, as the Indian Plate collided into Eurasia, and subsequent extrusion of lithospheric blocks towards Indochina. The Sunda Block epicontinental earliest rift margins were manifested by the Palaeogene W–E rift valleys, which formed during NW–SE sinistral shear of the region. Later Eocene NW–SE dextral shear of (2nd order) Indochina Block against East Malaya Block rifted open a 3rd order Malay Basin. Developed within it is a series of 4th order N–S en-echelon ridges and grabens. The grabens and some ridges, sequentially, host W–E trending 5th order folds of later compressional episodes. The Malay Basin Ridge and Graben Model explains the multi-phased structural deformation which started with, the a) Pre-Rift Palaeo/Mesozoic crystalline/metamorphic Basement, b) Synrift phase during Paleogene, c) Fast Subsidence from Late Oligocene to Middle Miocene, d) Compressional inversion of first Sunda fold during Late Miocene, and e) Basin Sag during Plio-Pleistocene with mild compressional episodes. The subsequent Mio-Pliocene folding history of Malay Basin is connected to the collision of Sunda Block against subducting Indian–Australian Plate. This Neogene Sunda tectonics, to some degree after the cessation of South China Sea spreading, is due to the diachronous collision along the 1st order plate margins between SE Asia and Australia.     

Marine hydrocarbon source rocks of the Upper Permian Longtan Formation and their contribution to gas accumulation in the northeastern Sichuan Basin,southwest China

Identification of the main hydrocarbon source rocks of the large Puguang gas field (northeastern Sichuan Basin, southwest China) has been the subject of much discussion in recent years. A key aspect has been the lack of a comprehensive understanding of the development of hydrocarbon source rocks of the Upper Permian Longtan Formation, which had been thought to contain mainly coal seams and thick carbonate layers. In this paper, based on geological data from more than ten wells and outcrops and their related mineralogy and geochemistry, we investigated the depositional environment and main factors controlling organic matter enrichment in the Longtan Formation. We propose a model which combines information on the geological environment and biological changes over time. In the model, organic matter from prolific phytoplankton blooms was deposited in quiescent platform interior sags with rising sea-levels. During the Longtan period, the area from Bazhong to Dazhou was a platform interior sag with relatively deep water and a closed environment, which was controlled by multiple factors including syngenetic fault settling, isolation of submarine uplifts and rising sea-levels leading to water column stratification. Although the bottom water was anoxic, the phytoplankton were able to bloom in the well-lit upper euphotic zone thus giving rise to a set of sapropelic black shales and marlstones containing mostly algal organic matter with minor terrestrial contributions. As a consequence, these rocks have a high hydrocarbon generation potentials and can be classified as high-quality source rocks. The area from Bazhong to Dazhou is a center of hydrocarbon generation, being the main source of reservoired paleo-oils and presently discovered as pyrobitumen in the Puguang gas field. The identification of these source rocks is very important to guide future petroleum exploration in the northeastern Sichuan Basin.     

Warming and depth convergence of the Arctic Intermediate Water in the Canada Basin during 1985-2006

The warming of the Arctic Intermediate Water (AIW) is studied based on the analyses of hydrographic observations in the Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean during 1985-2006. It is shown that how the anomalously warm AIW spreads in the Canada Basin during the observation time through the analysis of the AIW temperature spatial distribution in different periods. The results indicate that by 2006, the entire Canada Basin has almost been covered by the warming AIW. In order to study interannual variability of the AIW in the Canada Basin, the Canada Basin is divided into five regions according to the bottom topography. From the interannual variation of AIW temperature in each region, it is shown that a cooling period follows after the warming event in upstream regions. At the Chukchi Abyssal Plain and Chukchi Plateau, upstream of the Arctic Circumpolar Boundary Current (ACBC) in the Canada Basin, the AIW temperature reached maximum and then started to fall respectively in 2000 and 2002. However, the AIW in the Canada Abyssal Plain and Beaufort Sea continues to warm monotonically until the year 2006. Furthermore, it is revealed that there is convergence of the AIW depth in the five different regions of the Canada Basin when the AIW warming occurs during observation time. The difference of AIW depth between the five regions of the Canada Basin is getting smaller and smaller, all approaching 410 m in recent years. The results show that depth convergence is related to the variation of AIW potential density in the Canada Basin.     

琼东南盆地深水区东区凹陷带结构构造及其演化特征

琼东南盆地深水区东区凹陷带,即松南—宝岛—长昌凹陷,位于琼东南盆地中央坳陷东端。在大量地震资料解释的基础上,对38条主要断层进行了详细分析。获得以下认识:(1)琼东南盆地深水区东区凹陷带平面上表现为近EW向展布的平行四边形,剖面结构表现为自西向东由半地堑—不对称的地堑—半地堑有规律变化。(2)琼东南盆地深水区东区凹陷带断裂系统可划分控制凹陷边界断层、控制洼陷沉积中心断层和调节性断层3类。(3)琼东南盆地深水区东区凹陷带古近纪时期受到太平洋板块俯冲和南海海盆扩张的双重影响,构造应力场发生NW—SE→SN转变。构造演化可划分为3个阶段:~32 Ma,应力场以区域性NW—SE向伸展为主,断裂系统以NE—SW向为主,控制凹陷边界;32~26 Ma,以南海海盆近SN向拉张应力场为主,断裂系统以NWW—SEE向为主,断层活动控制凹陷沉积中心;26~ Ma,区域性伸展与南海海盆扩张应力均逐渐减弱,NE—SW向和NWW—SEE向断裂继承性发育。(4)琼东南盆地深水区东区凹陷带内部主要断层在渐新统崖城组和陵水组沉积时期活动速率快,地形高差大、沉积水体深、沉积厚度大,控制了崖城组和陵水组的大规模沉积,有利于烃源岩的发育。圈闭以受断层控制的断鼻和断块为主,长昌主洼凹中隆起带发育2个最为理想的构造圈闭。     

琼东南盆地古近系沉降特征

在建立层序地层格架的基础上,对琼东南盆地古近系各个层位沉降史进行了回剥分析。研究表明,琼东南盆地古近系沉降中心不断迁移,沉积中心不断扩大,沉降速率随构造活动程度的变化而发生变化。琼东南盆地的12个凹陷可分为2个沉降梯队,西北及东南部总体上为非沉降区。通过选取各个凹陷中的典型点(最深位置)做出单点上的回剥模拟结果可知,琼东南盆地断陷期的3幕表现明显,构造沉降所占的比例逐渐减少,整体上琼东南盆地中央凹陷带东南区的沉降大于西北区。     

珠江口盆地西江凹陷南部文昌组层序地层及沉积体系研究

珠江口盆地西江凹陷南部包括两个相邻洼陷：西江36洼和番禺4洼,钻探结果却揭示了截然不同的油气勘探前景,其中,番禺4洼探明储量已过亿吨,而西江36洼却未有商业发现,导致勘探上对西江36洼烃源潜力有所顾虑。为了揭示这种差异油气地质条件产生的原因,亟待开展两个洼陷的对比研究。以主要烃源层系文昌组为切入点,通过开展精细的层序-沉积研究,进一步系统评估西江36洼烃源潜力。依据地震、钻井及分析化验等资料,在西江36洼与番禺4洼文昌组共识别了6个三级层序。西江36洼和番禺4洼文昌组发育扇三角洲、辫状河三角洲、湖底扇及湖泊沉积等沉积相类型,垂向上沉积相带具有旋回特征。伴随裂陷不同阶段和边界断层活动差异,陡坡带和缓坡带三角洲沉积体系规模呈现差异演化特征,而湖盆和半深湖-深湖相规模总体呈现出先增大后减小的规律。沉积相带在横向上也具有明显的迁移特征,表现为文六段时期先在西江36洼开始沉积,文五段开始再扩展到番禺4洼,同时文一段时期西江36洼湖盆已经消失,只在番禺4洼沉积充填。进一步对比两个洼陷各三级层序反映优质烃源岩条件的半深湖-深湖规模及物源供给量,结果显示在文六段至文四段时期两个洼陷烃源条件基本一致。鉴于该层段作为番禺4洼的主力源岩,其巨大的生烃潜力已经被勘探所证实,因此认为不能低估具有相似烃源条件的西江36洼生烃潜力。     

珠江口盆地番禺4洼文昌组基于层序地层格架约束下的优质烃源岩预测

珠江口盆地番禺4洼“小而肥”,目前的探明石油地质储量已超出早期估算的地质资源量,早期对烃源岩的认识不足可能是其主要原因,尤其是对优质烃源岩的分布范围仍缺少精确刻画,在很大程度上限制了对该洼陷勘探潜力的认知。以该难点问题为切入点,利用最新钻井和地震资料,采取层序地层学开展了番禺4洼烃源岩的预测工作。通过地震资料上识别的各种反射特征,结合区内已有钻井资料识别的旋回特征,将番禺4洼文昌组划分5个三级层序,进而建立了等时地层格架。在此基础上,综合运用地震沉积学最新技术手段,精细揭示了番禺4洼文昌组文三段优质烃源岩的分布范围。研究结果表明,番禺4洼优质烃源岩分布面积较为广泛,尤其在北次洼和西次洼,优质源岩面积均超过了以往预期。这一研究成果对本区和珠江口盆地油气勘探具有一定指导意义。