Salt tectonics in the Cap Boujdour Area,Aaiun Basin,NW Africa

Seismic reflection data indicate the Moroccan salt basin extends to the Cap Boujdour area in the Aaiun Basin. Two salt diapir structures have been identified and several areas of collapsed strata indicate probable salt removal at the shelf edge. The presence of salt in this area correlates to the conjugate southern George's Bank Basin and the Baltimore Canyon area, and it is suggested that the salt extends southward from the known salt diapir province in the George's Bank Basin southward to the Great Stone Dome. The paucity of salt diapirs is attributed to the thick carbonate and anhydrite sequence, which was deposited soon after salt deposition that inhibited halokinesis. The presence of salt along this large segment of the Atlantic margin should increase its hydrocarbon potential with traps created around salt diapirs and provision of migration pathways from deep potential source rocks in the early Cretaceous and Jurassic strata to shallower levels.     

Ramifications of high in-situ temperatures for laboratory testing and inferred stress states of unlithified sediments – A case study from the Nankai margin

The recovery of drill cores involves changes in pressure and temperature conditions, which inevitably alter the mechanical properties of unlithified sediments. While expansion from unloading after core recovery is well studied, the effects from cooling on standard geotechnical tests are commonly neglected. Along the central portion of the Nankai margin sediments were recovered from high in-situ temperatures of up to 110 °C during IODP Leg 190. So far, the interpretation of the consolidation state of the Lower Shikoku Basin facies (LSB) entering the accretionary Nankai margin is ambiguous. Results from laboratory consolidation tests at room temperature show high pre-consolidation stresses. These were interpreted as hardening caused by cementation, while the field-based porosity vs. depth trend points towards normal consolidation. As an explanation for this discrepancy, the change of the mechanical properties by cooling from in-situ to laboratory conditions is proposed. In this paper, the results of a thermo-mechanical model are compared to published field data. This comparison suggests that the observed hardening is at least partially an artefact from cooling during core recovery, and that the strata may be considered normally consolidated to slightly overconsolidated. The latter can be explained by minor cementation or the influence of secondary consolidation. The results suggest that cooling from high in-situ temperatures may be important for the interpretation of the consolidation state of other sedimentary successions elsewhere.     

Occurrence of pockmarks on the Ortegal Spur continental margin,Northwestern Iberian Peninsula

A total of 445 pockmarks were observed on the upper continental slope of the northwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula (the Ortegal Spur area) by swath bathymetric and ultrahigh resolution seismic data. The pockmarks are U-, V- and W-shaped and have terraces or indentations in cross-section, and are dish-shaped (circular to oval) in plan view. They occur on the surface of the seabed and buried within the Plio-Quaternary and Neogene sediments. Four types of pockmarks were identified and mapped on the basis of their plan-view and cross-section morphology: regular, irregular, asymmetric and composite. The concentration of pockmarks is attributed to seepage of fluids migrating up-dip from deeper parts of the sedimentary basin. A linear high-density concentration with a NNW to N, NE and ESE trend of pockmarks is observed above inferred basement faults that do not affect the Quaternary succession. These pockmarks are thus caused by seepage of thermogenic gas and/or other pore fluids from deeper Late Cretaceous units, and their distribution may help to improve our understanding of the fluid system and migration regime in this part of the Galicia continental margin.     

Thermal regime of the northwest Indian rifted margin – Comparison with predictions

We use a simple approach to estimate the present-day thermal regime along the northwestern part of the Western Indian Passive Margin, offshore Pakistan. A compilation of bottom borehole temperatures and geothermal gradients derived from new observations of bottom-simulating reflections (BSRs) allows us to constrain the relationship between the thermal regime and the known tectonic and sedimentary framework along this margin. Effects of basin and crustal structure on the estimation of thermal gradients and heat flow are discussed. A hydrate system is located within the sedimentary deep marine setting and compared to other provinces on other continental margins. We calculate the potential radiogenic contribution to the surface heat flow along a profile across the margin. Measurements across the continental shelf show intermediate thermal gradients of 38–44 °C/km. The onshore Indus Basin shows a lower range of values spanning 18–31 °C/km. The Indus Fan slope and continental rise show an increasing gradient from 37 to 55 °C/km, with higher values associated with the thick depocenter. The gradient drops to 33 °C/km along the Somnath Ridge, which is a syn-rift volcanic construct located in a landward position relative to the latest spreading center around the Cretaceous–Paleogene transition.     

Seismic stratigraphy and subsidence analysis of the southern Brazilian margin (Campos,Santos and Pelotas basins)

The Campos, Santos and Pelotas basins have been investigated in terms of 2D seismo-stratigraphy and subsidence. The processes controlling accommodation space (e.g. eustacy, subsidence, sediment input) and the evolution of the three basins are discussed. Depositional seismic sequences in the syn-rift Barremian to the drift Holocene basin fill have been identified. In addition, the subsidence/uplift history has been numerically modeled including (i) sediment flux, (ii) sedimentary basin framework, (iii) relation to plate-tectonic reconfigurations, and (iv) mechanism of crustal extension. Although the initial rift development of the three basins is very similar, basin architecture, sedimentary infill and distribution differ considerably during the syn-rift sag to the drift basin stages. After widespread late Aptian–early Albian salt and carbonate deposition, shelf retrogradation dominated in the Campos Basin, whereas shelf progradation occurred in the Santos Basin. In the Tertiary, these basin fill styles were reversed: since the Paleogene, shelf progradation in the Campos Basin contrasts with overall retrogradation in the Santos Basin. In contrast, long-term Cretaceous–Paleogene shelf retrogradation and intense Neogene progradation characterize the Pelotas Basin. Its specific basin fill and architecture mainly resulted from the absence of salt deposition and deformation. These temporally and spatially varying successions were controlled by specific long-term subsidence/uplift trends. Onshore and offshore tectonism in the Campos and Santos basins affected the sediment flux history, distribution of the main depocenters and occurrence of hydrocarbon stratigraphic–structural traps. This is highlighted by the exhumation and erosion of the Serra do Mar, Serra da Mantiqueira and Ponta Grossa Arch in the hinterland, as well as salt tectonics in the offshore domain. The Pelotas Basin was less affected by changes in structural regimes until the Eocene, when the Andean orogeny caused uplift of the source areas. Flexural loading largely controlled its development and potential hydrocarbon traps are mainly stratigraphic.     

南海西北陆缘新型多金属结核的发现及意义

近年南海西北陆缘西沙东北海域发现大型多金属结核,尽管其外观与大洋结核别无二致,具有个体大、外部形态规整、层状结构清晰的特点,但其地球化学组成与大洋多金属结核存在明显差别:TMn/TFe的比值小,仅为0.73,富Fe、Si、Al、稀土元素而贫Mn、Cu、Co、Ni。Be同位素质谱法测年和钙质超微生物地层学方法研究表明,结核生长速度达7.41～15.38 mm/Ma,远大于大洋多金属结核的平均生长速率和以前发现于南海北部的多金属结核。依据其综合特征,初步认定其为边缘海区域赋存的一种新型多金属结核。该类型结核所蕴含丰富的边缘海区域古海洋、古气候、古环境信息,有助于探讨新生代末期青藏高原隆升、东亚季风加强、北半球冰期发生等重大地质事件所引起的区域沉积响应。     

阿尔泰南缘东段变形岩石磁组构分析

磁组构是指岩石磁化率的各向异性,磁组构方法已经被广泛应用于构造变形分析。阿尔泰南缘东段地区岩石磁组构特征是磁各向异性度P值大,反映本区总体韧性剪切变形强烈。萨尔布拉克—科克萨依脆性劈理化带和玛因鄂博韧性剪压构造带的E>0占优势,磁面理发育,部分样品磁线理发育,反映变形以压扁变形为主,主压应力方向为NE(NEE)向,伴随弱的左行剪切;达拉维孜—阿热勒托别韧性流变构造带和锡泊渡—富蕴深层次变晶糜棱岩带E>0和E<0均存在,磁面理和磁线理均发育,反映以剪切变形为主;其中达拉维孜—阿热勒托别构造带主压应力方向为NE(NEE)向,为左行剪切,而锡泊渡—富蕴构造带主压应力方向为SN向,为右行剪切。在达拉维孜—阿热勒托别构造带中的哈腊苏铜矿和卡拉先格尔—老山口一带一些叠加蚀变矿化的强变形岩石的P值明显减小,说明在韧性变形之后发生过矿化热液作用导致磁化率各向异性发生了均一化。结合区域构造分析,可以认为萨尔布拉克—科克萨依构造带、达拉维孜—阿热勒托别构造带和玛因鄂博构造带构成一个完整的板块碰撞聚合带,而锡泊渡—富蕴构造带可能为在古生代期间被强烈改造的具有前震旦纪结晶基底的微大陆的残留(或断片)。     

大陆解体与被动陆缘的演化

火山型被动陆缘是大陆解体过程中形成的一类陆缘类型,其演化过程与活动陆缘一样复杂多变。随着近年来对大陆解体过程与被动陆缘演化的深入研究,对其沉积过程、岩浆活动以及变质作用研究都有了很大的进展。陆壳减薄解体的过程有许多不同的模式,不对称的简单剪切模式可能是火山型被动陆缘的成因,其机制是软流圈隆起的最大位置从剖面上看与地壳减薄最大位置不在一条垂线上,造成软流圈上升的岩浆在解体的大陆一侧形成火山型被动陆缘。被动陆缘的沉积建造由两套沉积物组成,一套是大陆解体的裂谷阶段所形成的陆相沉积物和双模式火山岩组合,另一套是稳定陆缘的复理石组合;岩浆作用中基性岩类反应了物质直接源于上地幔的主要特点,并有部分受到地壳混染的特征;变质作用中高温低压环境主要发生在裂谷作用阶段,其特点反映了大陆解体过程中随着时间的增温和减压过程,而拆离伸展阶段则被脆性变形所代替。     

柴北缘元古宙鹰峰环斑花岗岩及其共生岩石的地球化学特征、成因及地质意义

中元古代鹰峰岩体的主体是环斑花岗岩,与其共生的岩石有石英闪长岩-奥长花岗岩和辉绿岩。环斑花岗岩高碱（Na2O＋K2O=8.49%～9.39%）、富钾（K2O/Na2O=1.12～1.43）,铝近饱和,高铁镁比值[（ΣFeO）/MgO=4.91～7.19];富Rb、Ba、Ga、Th、Zr、Nb、Ta,贫Cr、Ni、V;高ΣREE（392.24×10-6～594.76×10-6）,稀土元素强分异[（La/Lu）N=12.67～17.09],弱铕负异常（δEu=0.58～0.78）,显示碱性花岗岩的特征,与密云环斑花岗岩相似。石英闪长岩-奥长花岗岩具钙碱性系列岩石的特征;与环斑花岗岩相比,其Rb、Ba、Ga、Nb、Ta、Th、Hf、Zr低,而Ni、Cr、V高;ΣREE较低（ΣREE=77.04×10^-6～129.85×10^-6）,轻重稀土分异明显,但（La/Lu）N的比值较小（11.62～14.06）,铕异常更弱（δEu=0.69～0.93）。辉绿岩具低碱、高ΣFeO的特征,属拉斑玄武质,与洋中脊拉斑玄武岩相比,K2O等不相容元素高,具大陆拉斑玄武质的特征。辉绿岩的ISr（1776Ma）为0.7066,εNd（1776Ma）为＋3.6,环斑花岗岩的ISr（1776Ma）为0.7181,εNd（1776Ma）为-5.5,显示辉绿岩起源于年轻的地幔,花岗质岩浆主要源自古老的地壳。综合分析显示,这些侵入岩形成于伸展背景,是北半球中元古代非造山环斑花岗岩的成员之一,在加里东期卷入到柴北缘造山带的古老地壳中。这在世界上提供了一个古老克拉通及环斑花岗岩卷入古生代造山带的一个实例。     

基于GPS的青藏块体东北缘近期地壳水平运动与变形研究

以"中国地壳运动观测网络"工程1999-2001年GPS观测数据以及"大陆强震机理与预测"国家基础研究项目青藏块体东北缘GPS网1999,2001,2003年的观测资料为基础,应用GAM IT/GLOBK软件对数据进行精密解算,获得了青藏块体东北缘1999-2001年相对于鼎新基准站以及欧亚板块的水平运动速度场。结合板块构造以及大地动力学理论,对青藏块体进行了块体的划分,分析了块体间的相互作用,并进一步分析了该地区的地壳水平运动特征,得出了以下结论:(1)GPS技术用于地壳运动的监测是可行的;(2)1999-2001年期间,祁连-海原断裂带GPS运动位移与地质结果十分吻合;(3)印度板块与欧亚板块的碰撞以碰撞后印度大陆继续以50 mm/a的速度向北推进是青藏块体东北缘的运动动力;(4)甘青块体西部子块体以北东向挤压运动为主;东部子块体主要表现为以海原断裂带为北边界的顺时针旋转为主;(5)鄂尔多斯块体存在逆时针旋转运动,其旋转速度在块体西南侧的六盘山断裂带一带最大,向北至块体西北部明显减小。