Geomorphological and sedimentological features in Quaternary fluvial systems affected by solution-induced subsidence (Ebro Basin, NE-Spain)

The Quaternary evolution and the morpho-sedimentary features of some of the most important rivers in Spain (Ebro and Tagus rivers among others) have been controlled by subsidence due to alluvial karstification of the evaporitic bedrock. The subsidence mechanism may range from catastrophic collapse to slow sagging of the alluvium by passive bending. In the Ebro Basin, the mechanisms and processes involved in karstic subsidence were studied through the analysis of present-day closed depressions as well as through old subsidence depressions (palaeocollapses and solution-induced basins) and associated deformations recorded in the Quaternary alluvial sediments. The Gállego–Ebro river system is presented as a case study of channel adjustments and geomorphic and sedimentary evolution of fluvial systems in dissolution-induced subsidence areas. In this fluvial system, evaporite dissolution during particular Quaternary time intervals (namely early and middle Pleistocene) have lead to the development of a solution-induced basin, approximately 30 km-long by 8 km-wide, filled by Quaternary deposits with a total thickness in excess of 190 m. The main river response to balance the subsidence in the alluvial plain was aggradation in the central reach of the subsiding area, and degradation both in the upstream reach and in the valley sides where alluvial fans and covered pediments may prograde over the fluvial sediments. The main sinking areas are recognized in the sedimentary record by anomalous thickenings in the alluvial deposits and fine-grained sediments deposited in backswamp and ponded areas.     

华北地区中奥陶统蒸发盐岩溶解坍塌角砾岩化作用

华北地区中奥陶统下马家沟组第二、四段及上马家沟组第三段广泛分布着三层角砾岩。角砾岩系由蒸发盐溶解致使其白云岩夹层及残留蒸发盐岩沉陷坍塌所形成。这是一个复杂的过程,可划分为四个阶段:1.蒸发盐岩层塑性变形和矿物相的转变导致原生沉积构造破坏和部分角砾岩化;2.形成具蒸发盐和白云石基质的角砾岩;3.形成具白云石基质的角砾岩;4.形成细-粗晶石灰岩、角砾灰岩。     

华南陆块液体钾、锂资源的区域成矿背景与成矿作用初探

中国华南陆块江汉盆地的江陵凹陷和潜江凹陷以及江西吉泰盆地等裂谷盆地,在白垩纪—古近纪时期,发育了大量的蒸发岩,并形成了富含钾、锂、铷、铯、溴、碘、硼元素的卤水,这些高价值元素的含量多达到工业利用品位或综合利用品位,资源潜力巨大。这些资源的富集区域分布于华南陆块与新华夏裂谷构造的交汇处,同时也是华南花岗岩省与新华夏裂谷玄武岩的分布区。通过对该区域大地构造、火成岩、古气候、古地理特征与全球海侵事件等综合分析,同时结合盆地卤水化学成分的研究,作者提出华南陆块(地区)的中生代—新生代盆地(群)可能是液体钾、锂、铷、铯、溴、碘、硼资源的成矿区;成矿物质受到白垩纪—古近纪火山活动带来的深部物质及海侵事件带来的海水等多源补给,前者主要带来锂、钾、铷、铯等,后者带来钾及溴、碘等。华南盆地卤水中钾、锂等元素的富集是内生与外生地质动力作用的结果,即构造-火成岩-海侵-干旱气候耦合作用的结果,成矿作用过程可以归结为裂谷沉积成矿,主要形成富钾、锂卤水;埋藏阶段这些卤水通常转移到孔隙发育的碎屑岩、玄武岩及断裂带内保存,形成盆地深层卤水矿床。     

库车盆地古近系-新近系蒸发岩沉积旋回识别及对比

库车盆地古近纪-新近纪发育巨厚的蒸发岩沉积,根据蒸发岩沉积旋回的变化,即由于盐湖水体
从淡-咸-盐-咸-淡的旋回变化,相应地沉积物发生由碎井的屑岩-膏岩-盐岩-膏岩-碎屑岩的变化。考
虑钻井的分布位置及其剖面在时代上的完整性,选取盆地中 13口井的钻井剖面进行沉积旋回识别和对比,共识
别出 5个蒸发岩沉积旋回,其中库姆格列木群两个,苏维依组一个,吉迪克组两个。通过对比,确立了以东秋8井剖面为库车盆地蒸发岩沉积旋回对比的标准剖面,初步分析认为,盆地蒸发岩沉积旋回的沉积区迁移特征,
应受盆地基底控制和南北向构造挤压应力变化的影响。古近系蒸发岩主要分布在盆地西部,新近系吉迪克组沉
积时期,盆地西北部转为陆源碎屑岩沉积 （ 西南部发育少量蒸发岩） ,而东部发育巨厚的蒸发岩,显示出东西分
带的特点。在始新世末印度板块和欧亚板块碰撞的远距离效应影响下,库车盆地自苏维依组沉积时期蒸发岩沉
积中心就已经开始迁移,迁移中心一分为二,自盆地北西分别向南、向东移动,形成两个沉积区,吉迪克组沉
积时期在上述两个沉积区继续发育盐岩、膏岩沉积。     

A molecular stratigraphic approach to palaeoenvironmental assessment and the recognition of changes in source inputs in marls of the Mulhouse Basin (Alsace, France)

Principal components analysis (PCA) has been used to investigate changes in concentrations of the components of the hydrocarbon fractions extracted from 71 marl samples, selected to cover two total organic carbon (TOC) maxima in the lower part of the Salt IV formation, a Lower Oligocene evaporitic sequence from the Mulhouse Basin, France. The analysis indicates that the fractions can be ascribed as lying between two end member distributions. The changes in these distributions are gradual, suggesting that they resulted from fairly gradual changes in the depositional palaeoenvironment. These changes are related to increased algal productivity associated with the evolution of a restricted lacustrine environment through to one with a greater marine influence. Systematic variations in the concentrations of selected components relative to the TOC profile point to a repeated sequential evolution in the biological assemblage during deposition of the sequence.     

辽宁古元古代地体中富电气石岩石的成因：蒸发岩硼源的证据

辽宁东部古元古界底部地层(南辽河群)中赋存着大型的硼酸盐矿床，含矿层位中广泛分布含电气石的变粒岩和电英岩。空间上这些含电气石的岩石与硼酸盐有着密切的联系，电气石可以作为区域硼矿找矿的标志。已有研究结果表明，该地区的硼酸盐矿床是变质蒸发岩成因。本研究对该区不同产状的电气石和硼酸盐的地质特征，全岩和矿物成分、硼同位素组成进行了分析。本区的电气石包括层状和脉状两大类，而电气石的富集与硼酸盐关系密切，电英岩往往分布在硼酸盐矿体的上盘。而矿体的下盘一般不产出富电气石的岩石。当长英质脉体穿过硼酸盐矿体时，脉体中往往会富集电气石。含电气石岩石的全岩地球化学分析表明，它们的REE及其他微量元素特征以及相关性关系与周围不含电气石的同类岩石十分相似，反映出一种成因上的联系。本区电气石主要属于镁电气石一铁电气石系列，靠近硼矿体的电气石比远离硼矿体的电气石更加富镁，有着更高的Mg／Fe比值。电气石和硼酸盐的硼同位素成分分析显示出二者在同位素组成上的相似性，前者比后者的δ^11B稍低，这可能是由于热液活动过程中同位素分馏的结果。电气石的硼同位素组成在空间上显示出变化规律：远离硼酸盐矿体的电气石的δ^11B值(-5．2‰- 3．6‰)比矿体附近的电气石低(平均 10．5‰)。以上空间和成分上的关系表明硼酸盐可能是形成电气石主要的硼来源，电气石是在热液过程中通过淋滤下伏含硼蒸发岩中的硼形成含硼热液，在与上覆沉积物交代过程中形成含电气石岩石。电气石的条带是热液顺层选择交代的结果。本区电气石与硼酸盐的关系表明，层状电气石可以通过含硼热液交代的方式形成。变质地体中的层状电气石岩石的出现可能与变质蒸发岩有关。这一认识对区域硼矿勘查工作和变质地体的沉积环境分析有借鉴意义。     

A quantitative analysis of the desiccation and re-filling of the Mediterranean during the Messinian Salinity Crisis

Notwithstanding the great deal of attention that the Messinian evaporites of the Mediterranean region have received from an observational point of view, there is, to date, no consensus as to their mechanism of formation. We aim to contribute to the investigation through a quantitative analysis of the processes of desiccation and re-filling. These processes are thought to have played a role in particular during the deposition of the upper part of the evaporite sequence. We calculate the evolution of sea level and average salinity based on both the present-day geometry and a paleogeographic reconstruction and assess the sensitivity to variations in the freshwater budget. Our results support previous inferences that desiccation and re-filling are fast; desiccation occurs on a time scale of 3-8 kyr, re-filling probably even faster. Equilibrium sea levels imply that most water has gone from the western basin while a significant water column remains in the eastern basin. Whether or not the eastern basin reaches the level of halite saturation depends critically on, in particular, the freshwater budget. The fast rate of desiccation and re-filling imply that temporal differences in the onset of salt precipitation between western and eastern basin and between marginal basins and basin centres are below the resolution of (astronomical) dating. Also, when Atlantic sea level periodically varied from below to above the level of the intervening sill, the Mediterranean basin will have responded with repeated desiccation and re-filling. Fast re-filling is found to require only a small connection to the Atlantic Ocean. This, in combination with the previous results, suggests the Mediterranean is unlikely to attain stable intermediate water levels.     

沉积型天青石矿床的地质特征及其成因探讨

沉积型天青石矿床和蒸发岩类 ,特别是石膏的沉积密切相关 ,含矿地层主要是纹层状叠层石或藻灰岩。天青石中硫、锶同位素值和海水硫、锶同位素值相近。在蒸发条件下海水浓缩到一定浓度时 ,产生天青石沉积 ,或是富锶的硫酸型晶间卤水和钙碳酸盐反应 ,形成交代型天青石。天青石主要分布于蒸发盐盆地的边缘部位 ,位于钙碳酸盐和钙硫酸盐沉积的过渡带     

Architecture of the evaporite accumulation and salt structures dynamics in Tiddlybanken Basin,southeastern Norwegian Barents Sea

An extensive, reprocessed two‐dimensional (2D) seismic data set was utilized together with available well data to study the Tiddlybanken Basin in the southeastern Norwegian Barents Sea, which is revealed to be an excellent example of base salt rift structures, evaporite accumulations and evolution of salt structures. Late Devonian–early Carboniferous NE‐SW regional extensional stress affected the study area and gave rise to three half‐grabens that are separated by a NW‐SE to NNW‐SSE trending horst and an affiliated interference transfer zone. The arcuate nature of the horst is believed to be the effect of pre‐existing Timanian basement grain, whereas the interference zone formed due to the combined effect of a Timanian (basement) lineament and the geometrical arrangement of the opposing master faults. The interference transfer zone acted as a physical barrier, controlling the facies distribution and sedimentary thickness of three‐layered evaporitic sequences (LES). During the late Triassic, the northwestern part of a salt wall was developed due to passive diapirism and its evolution was influenced by halite lithology between the three‐LES. The central and southeastern parts of the salt wall did not progress beyond the pedestal stage due to lack of halite in the deepest evaporitic sequence. During the Triassic–Jurassic transition, far‐field stresses from the Novaya Zemlya fold‐and‐thrust belt reactivated the pre‐salt Carboniferous rift structures. The reactivation led to the development of the Signalhorn Dome, rejuvenated the northwestern part of the salt wall and affected the sedimentation rates in the southeastern broad basin. The salt wall together with the Signalhorn Dome and the Carboniferous pre‐salt structures were again reactivated during post‐Early Cretaceous, in response to regional compressional stresses. During this main tectonic inversion phase, the northwestern and southeastern parts of the salt wall were rejuvenated; however, salt reactivation was minimized towards the interference transfer zone beneath the centre of the salt wall.     

Early and pervasive dolomitization by near-normal marine fluids: New lessons from an Eocene evaporative setting in Qatar

The upper Palaeocene–lower Eocene Umm er Radhuma Formation in the subsurface of Qatar is dominated by subtidal carbonate depositional packages overlain by bedded evaporites. In Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, peritidal carbonate depositional sequences with intercalated evaporites and carbonates in Umm er Radhuma have been previously interpreted to have been dolomitized via downward reflux of hypersaline brines. Here, textural, mineralogical and geochemical data from three research cores in Qatar are presented which, in contrast, are more consistent with dolomitization by near-normal marine fluids. Petrographic relationships support a paragenetic sequence whereby dolomitization occurred prior to the formation of all other diagenetic mineral phases, including chert, pyrite, palygorskite, gypsum, calcite and chalcedony, which suggests that dolomitization occurred very early. The dolomites occur as finely crystalline mimetic dolomites, relatively coarse planar-e dolomites, and coarser nonplanar dolomites, all of which are near-stoichiometric (50.3 mol% MgCO₃) and well-ordered (0.73). The dolomite stable isotope values (range −2.5‰ to +1‰; mean δ¹⁸O = −0.52‰) and trace element concentrations (Sr = 40 to 150 ppm and Na = 100 to 600 ppm) are compatible with dolomitization by near-normal seawater or mesohaline fluids. Comparisons between δ¹⁸O values from Umm er Radhuma dolomite and the overlying Rus Formation gypsum further suggest that dolomitization did not occur in fluids related to Rus evaporites. This study provides an example of early dolomitization of evaporite-related carbonates by near-normal seawater rather than by refluxing hypersaline brines from overlying bedded evaporites. Further, it adds to recent work suggesting that dolomitization by near-normal marine fluids in evaporite-associated settings may be more widespread than previously recognized.