Collision leading to multiple-stage large-scale extrusion in the Qinling orogen: Insights from the Mianlue suture

The geologic framework of the Phanerozoic Qinling–Dabie orogen was built up through two major suturing events of three blocks. From north to south these include the North China craton (including the north Qinling block), the Qinling–Dabie microblock, and the South China craton (including the Bikou block), separated by the Shangdan and Mianlue sutures. The Mianlue suture zone contains evidence for Mesozoic extrusion tectonics in the form of major strike–slip border faults surrounding basement blocks, a Late Paleozoic ophiolite and a ca. 240–200 Ma thrust belt that reformed by 200–150 Ma thrusts during A-type (intracontinental) subduction. The regional map pattern shows that the blocks are surrounded by complexly deformed Devonian to Early Triassic metasandstones and metapelites, forming a regional-scale block-in-matrix mélange fabric. Five distinct tectonic units have been recognized in the belt: (1) basement blocks including two types of Precambrian basement, crystalline and transitional; (2) continental margin slices including Early Paleozoic strata, and Late Paleozoic fluviodeltaic sedimentary rocks, proximal and distal fan clastics, reflecting the development of a north-facing rift margin on the edge of the South China plate; (3) out of sequence oceanic crustal slices including strongly deformed postrift, deep-water sedimentary rocks, sheeted dikes, basalts, and mafic–ultramafic cumulates of a Late Paleozoic ophiolite suite, developing independent of the rift margin in a separate basin; (4) out-of-sequence island-arc slices; (5) accretionary wedge slices. All the tectonic units were deformed during three geometrically distinct deformation episodes (D₁, D₂ and D₃ during 240–200 Ma). Units 2–4 involved southward thrusting and vertical then southward extrusion of about 20 km of horizontal displacement above the autochthonous basement during the D₁ episode. Thrust slices 20 km south of the Mianlue suture are related to this vertical extrusion due to the same rock assemblages, ages and kinematics. The D₂ and D₃ episodes folded all the units in a thick-skinned style about east–west (D₂) and west–northwest (D₃) axes in the Mianlue suture zone. An early foreland propagating sequence of accretion of Late Paleozoic rocks deposited above the Yangtze craton is not involved in D₁ deformation but is temporally equivalent to the D₂ and D₃ deformation in the Mianlue suture. Two stages of strike–slip faulting mainly occurred at the end of D₂ and D₃, respectively. During D₂ deformation, the Bikou block was obliquely indented to the ESE into the Mianlue suture, rather than being thrust over the Mianlue suture from the north as a part of the Qinling–Dabie microblock. During D₃ deformation, however, the Bikou block was bounded by the south boundary fault of the Mianlue suture, and the Yangpingguan fault on the south. These faults are coeval strike–slip faults, but of opposite senses, and accommodated minor southwestward extrusion of the Bikou block into Songpan–Ganze orogen. The other basement blocks north of the Mianlue suture were extruded eastward by about 20 km of lateral displacement, based on the offset of the Wudang dome, during the D₃ episode due to the northeastward indentation of the Hannan complex of the South China craton. Post-D₃ emplacement of granite, cutting across the strike–slip faults such as the Mianlue suture, provides a minimum age of 200 Ma for D₃ deformation. Therefore, based on insights from the evolution of the Mianlue suture, the D₂ and D₃ episodes in the Mianlue suture and its neighbors are not responsible for and associated with the two-stage extrusion of the Dabie UHP-HP terranes from the Foping dome to the present erosional surface (more than 350 km).     

The Mesoarchean emergence of modern-style subduction

Well-preserved volcanic sequences span the Paleoarchean to Neoarchean evolution of the Pilbara Craton, in northwestern Australia. This region provides the best physical evidence bearing on the stage of Earth's history when modern-style tectonic processes began. Paleoarchean assemblages in the eastern nucleus of the craton (the 3.51–3.24 Ga Pilbara Supergroup) show few features that can reasonably be interpreted as evidence for modern-style subduction processes. Incompatible trace element-enriched felsic volcanic horizons show geochemical evidence for the interaction between mafic magmas and crust, but this evidence, on its own, can equally well be interpreted in terms of either a subduction-enriched mantle source or local and limited assimilation of felsic crust into the voluminous tholeiitic magmas that dominate the Pilbara Supergroup. Viewed in context within the thick autochthonous and consistently upward-younging Pilbara Supergroup, these felsic units are most likely related to the same plume-dominated processes that formed the basalts that dominate the supergroup. It is very unlikely that modern-style plate tectonic processes played any role in the Paleoarchean evolution of the Pilbara Craton, although some form of non-uniformitarian (e.g. flat) subduction process may have operated.In stark contrast, the Mesoarchean units of the West Pilbara Terrane and the late-tectonic basins that cover that boundary between the West and East Pilbara Terranes, show clear evidence for modern-style convergent margin processes. Igneous rocks in this belt, which flanks the old eastern cratonic nuclei, have enriched geochemical signatures that cannot be accounted for by crustal contamination. This region is also characterised by a linear magmatic and structural fabric, by the presence of lithologically and geochronologically exotic belts, and by the presence of a broad belt of isotopically more juvenile crust. The collective strength of these arguments provides compelling evidence that a modern-style oceanic arc fringed the East Pilbara Terrane at 3.12 Ga and accreted to that terrane by 2.97 Ga. These assemblages mark the minimum age for the birth of modern-style plate subduction process.     

Effect of Overpressure on Rock Frame and Its Implications for Overpressure Evolution

Overpressure is a hot topic in the study of sedimentary basins. It is important in generation,maturation migration,and accumulation of hydrocarbon,but the effects of overpressure on rock frame have not been investigated. In this study,experiments were carried out to study the effects of overpressure on rock frame structures using five core samples from the Junggar basin,Northwest China. The deformations and velocities for the samples were measured at different effective pressures related to non-equilibrium compaction and fluid expansion overpressure mechanisms. The results show that the effect of overpressure on rock frames gradually increases when the effective pressure drops down to a certain value (called critical pressure). Moreover,non-equilibrium compaction mechanism has more effects on rock frames than fluid expansion mechanism under the same effective pressure. Furthermore to study rock frame structural changes,we use Kuster and Toks?z's expressions to simulate the effective aspect ratios of inclusions α (penny shapes) for different effective pressures. The results show that the α decreases dramatically when the effective pressure decreases from the critical pressure. Changes of α can be interpreted as responses to the rock frame changes when grains conform one another by rotating and self-adjusting. However,different mechanisms of overpressure have different effects on rock frames. The rock frame can be affected more easily by overpressure in shallow regions generated by non-equilibrium compaction mechanism. Once this kind of rock frames are preserved after overpressure releases to a normal hydrostatic pressure,they can be identified by their specific rock frame characters. This method provides a new way to study overpressure release and fluid migration and accumulation.     

哈萨克斯坦楚-萨雷苏盆地热兹卡兹甘地区构造运动与沉积演化

本文基于对楚-萨雷苏盆地热兹卡兹甘地区的构造运动、相应动力学机制、沉积地层的研究,对楚-萨雷苏盆地盆地上古生界沉积演化做了阐述,提出了热兹卡兹甘地区晚古生代经历了早中泥盆世火山盆地—晚泥盆世(成盆初期)滨海冲积平原、局限台地—早石炭世(海侵期)台地、台缘斜坡、陆棚—中晚石炭世(海退期)海陆交互相三角洲—早二叠世(干旱气候期)干盐湖—晚二叠世盐湖的沉积演化。     

近44年来我国西北地区干湿特征分析

利用我国西北地区1960—2003年131个测站降水和小型蒸发皿蒸发量资料, 综合考虑降水和蒸发这两个水分平衡最关键的分量构造了降水蒸发均一化干湿指数, 进而研究了西北地区干湿的时空演变特征。结果表明:一致性异常是西北地区近44年干湿特征的最主要空间分布模态; 西北地区干湿异常特征主要分为西风带气候区型, 高原气候区型和季风气候区型; 整个西北地区及其西风带气候区、高原气候区年干湿特征呈较为显著的变湿趋势, 大约在20世纪70年代中期均发生了由干向湿的突变, 而季风气候区表现为变干趋势, 并且在90年代前期发生了由湿向干的突变; 整个西北地区及各分区近44年来主要以年代际周期振荡为主。     

Photobleaching of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in rainwater

Significant photodegradation of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in rainwater was observed after exposure to simulated sunlight. Fluorescence excitation emission spectra (EEMS) of precipitation revealed the presence of four major peaks all of which degraded upon photolysis with the greatest loss in the region characteristic of marine CDOM. Photobleaching of absorbance also occurred in the wavelength region between 250 and 375 nm with the greatest loss of absorbance in the upper end of the UV-A region near 275 nm. There was a strong positive correlation between absorbance loss and total integrated fluorescence loss suggesting these optical properties and the degree to which they are photobleached in rainwater are directly related. The quantum yield of CDOM photodegradation in rainwater decreased dramatically with increasing wavelength and decreasing energy of incoming radiation with the average quantum yield at 325 nm approximately an order of magnitude greater than at 460 nm. The similarity of photolytic response between rainwater and Cape Fear estuarine CDOM indicates that some fraction of the compounds that make up rainwater CDOM may be derived from surface sources and/or that the processes that produce or modify humic-like substances in the atmosphere result in similar types of compounds as non-atmospheric processes.     

克拉通盆地构造转折区中-新生界构造特征及其控藏意义——以鄂尔多斯盆地西南部镇泾地区延长组为例

基于三维地震、测井、岩矿测试等资料，分析了镇泾地区中生界断裂体系特征与成因，结合源岩热演化与储层物性反演结果，恢复了长8段油气成藏的动态演化过程，探讨了中生代以来构造活动对长8段油气成藏的影响作用。研究认为鄂尔多斯盆地内部镇泾构造转折区构造变形受盆地边缘影响明显，发育复杂断裂体系，构造特征及演化对油气藏的形成与分布有重要控制作用。结果表明：（1）中生界北西向、北东东向、近东西向3组断裂发育，平面上呈雁列式带状展布，剖面上为高陡产状且小断距错动。印支期北西向主断裂走滑明显，中、晚燕山期北东向断裂活动加强，喜山期北东东向次级断裂密度增大，并派生大量剪切裂隙。（2）长8段油藏经历了晚三叠世储集层、烃源岩层初始沉积形成，早白垩世初期少量低熟油近源充注形成岩性油藏，早白垩世末成熟油快速输导形成受断层及裂缝控制的构造-岩性油气藏，晚白垩世以来早期油藏调整等4个阶段。（3）印支运动控制了烃源岩及储层展布范围，I类北西向走滑断裂控制了镇泾地区中生界构造格局；中、晚燕山运动加速烃源岩热演化进程，并改善储层物性，II类断裂活动，为烃类输导提供垂向通道；喜山运动使先存中生界断裂活动，控制油气调整范围及油藏差异富集；其中北东东向II类张性或张扭性断裂导流性能好，是最为有效的富油断层。     

Early Cretaceous sedimentary provenance and structural evolution of the central Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone,Iran: implications for palaeogeographic reconstructions of the northern Neo-Tethyan margin

ABSTRACT

The Early Cretaceous was an important epoch in the evolution of the Earth system in which major tectonic episodes occurred, especially along the Alpine–Himalayan belt. The paucity of reliable palaeogeographic data from the central segment of this geological puzzle, however, hampers the reconstruction of a panoramic view of its Early Cretaceous palaeogeography and geodynamic setting. Here we present multidisciplinary provenance data from Lower Cretaceous strata of the overriding plate of the Neo-Tethyan subduction zone (the Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone; SSZ, of central Iran), including structural, basin-fill evolution, petrographic and geochemical analyses. Sandstone provenance analysis of Lower Cretaceous red beds suggests the occurrence of sub-mature litho-quartzose sandstones attributed to an active continental arc margin in convergent setting predominantly derived from plutonic, quartzose sedimentary and metamorphic rocks exposed in the central SSZ. Weathering indices indicate moderate chemical weathering in the source area which may be related to close source-to-sink relationships or arid climate. Our palaeogeographic reconstructions and original geological mapping indicate that the erosion of uplifted basement rocks exposed in horst blocks provided the sediment sources for the syn-extensional deposition of uppermost Jurassic–lowermost Cretaceous conglomerates and Lower Cretaceous siliciclastic red beds within a continental retro-arc basin during initiation of the ‘Neo-Tethys 2?. The polyphase tectonic reactivation along the principal fault of the study area controlled the syn- and post-extensional tectonostratigraphic evolution that reflect the corresponding mechanical decoupling/coupling along the northern Neo-Tethyan plate margin.     

The Byers Basin: Jurassic-Cretaceous tectonic and depositional evolution of the forearc deposits of the South Shetland Islands and its implications for the northern Antarctic Peninsula

ABSTRACT

This paper addresses the Jurassic–Cretaceous stratigraphic evolution of fore-arc deposits exposed along the west coast of the northern Antarctic Peninsula. In the South Shetland Islands, Upper Jurassic deep-marine sediments are uncomformably overlain by a Lower Cretaceous volcaniclastic sequence that crops out on Livingston, Snow and Low islands. U-Pb zircon ages are presented for the upper Anchorage Formation (153.1 ± 1.7 Ma) and the Cape Wallace granodiorite of Low Island (137.1 ± 1.7 Ma) as well as ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of 136–139 Ma for Low Island andesites. Data are also presented for a U-Pb age of 109.0 ± 1.4 Ma for the upper volcanic succession of Snow Island. In combination with published stratigraphy, these data provide a refined chrono- and litho-stratigraphic framework for the deposits herein referred to as the Byers Basin. Tentative correlation is explored with previously described deposits on Adelaide and Alexander islands, which could suggest further continuation of the Byers Basin towards the south. We also discuss possible correlation of the Byers Basin with the Larsen Basin, a sequence that shows the evolution of foreland to back-arc deposits more or less contemporaneously with the fore-arc to intra-arc evolution of the Byers Basin.     

黔西北地区龙马溪组页岩有机质和脆性矿物的控缝机制

页岩"甜点"层段中有机质和脆性矿物对裂缝的发育具有极为重要的控制作用，揭示并把握裂缝萌生、发育和演化的机理与规律，对于压裂目标层段的优选以及页岩气增产和稳产具有极为重要的工程实践价值。以黔西北地区龙马溪组页岩为例，通过地化测试、岩石力学实验以及扫描电镜，深入剖析和揭示了"甜点"层段中与有机质和脆性矿物相关的控缝机制，并结合数值模拟实验展现了"甜点"层段中裂缝的形成和演化的完整过程。研究结果表明，有机质和脆性矿物的同步富集为裂缝的发育和演化提供了重要的物质基础，其中裂缝趋向于沿着有机质形成的结构面传播，有机质的孔隙结构对裂缝具有较为明显的诱导机制。在外力作用下，内在积累的能量转化为脆性矿物的变形和变位，脆性矿物含量越高者裂缝发育能力越强，裂缝发育程度越高。数值模拟实验呈现了一种由于有机孔隙和脆性矿物所导致的应力集中从而诱发裂缝萌生和演化的整个过程。该研究成果可为深化认识裂缝的成因机理以及压裂施工过程中相关压裂参数的调整提供一定的借鉴与参考。