Carboniferous–Permian Stratigraphy and Sedimentary Environment of Southeastern Inner Mongolia, China: Constraints on Final Closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

In this paper we discuss the timing of final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean based on the field investigations of the Carboniferous–Permian stratigraphic sequences and sedimentary environments in southeastern Inner Mongolia combined with the geology of its neighboring areas. Studies show that during the Carboniferous–Permian in the eastern segment of the Tianshan-Hinggan Orogenic System, there was a giant ENE–NE-trending littoral-neritic to continental sedimentary basin, starting in the west from Ejinqi eastwards through southeastern Inner Mongolia into Jilin and Heilongjiang. The distribution of the Lower Carboniferous in the vast area is sparse. The Late Carboniferous or Permian volcanic-sedimentary rocks always unconformably overlie the Devonian or older units. The Upper Carboniferous–Middle Permian is dominated by littoral-neritic deposits and the Upper Permian, by continental deposits. The Late Carboniferous–Permian has no trace of subduction-collision orogeny, implying the basin gradually disappeared by shrinking and shallowing. In addition, it is of interest to note that the Ondor Sum and Hegenshan ophiolitic mélanges were formed in the pre-Late Silurian and pre-Late Devonian respectively, and the Solonker ophiolitic mélange formed in the pre-Late Carboniferous. All the evidence indicates that the eastern segment of the Paleo-Asian Ocean had closed before the Late Carboniferous, and most likely before the latest Devonian (Famennian).     

RELOCATION OF MAIN SHOCK AND AFTERSHOCKS OF THE 2014 YINGJIANG MS5.6 AND MS6.1 EARTHQUAKES IN YUNNAN

Yingjiang area is located in the China-Burma border,the Sudian-Xima arc tectonic belt,which lies in the collision zone between the Indian and Eurasian plates.The Yingjiang earthquake occurring on May 30th,2014 is the only event above M_S6.0 in this region since seismicity can be recorded.In this study,we relocated the Yingjiang M_S5.6 and M_S6.1 earthquake sequences by using the double-difference method.The results show that two main shocks are located in the east of the Kachang-Dazhuzhai Fault,the northern segment of the Sudian-Xima Fault.Compared with the Yingjiang M_S5.6 earthquake,the Yingjiang M_S6.1 earthquake is nearer to the Kachang-Dazhuzhai Fault.The aftershocks of the two earthquakes are distributed along the strike direction of the Kachang-Dazhuzhai Fault (NNE).The rupture zone of the main shock of Yingjiang M_S6.1 earthquake extends northward approximately 5km.The aftershocks of two earthquakes are mainly located in the eastern side of the Kachang-Dazhuzhai Fault with a significant asymmetry along the fault,which differ from the characteristics of the aftershock distribution of the strike-slip earthquake.It may indicate that the Yingjiang earthquakes are conjugate rupture earthquakes.The non-double-couple components are relatively high in the moment tensor.We speculate that the Yingjiang earthquakes are related to the fractured zone caused by the long-term seismic activity and heat effect in the deep between Kachang-Dazhuzhai Fault and its neighboring secondary faults.Aftershock distribution of the Yingjiang M_S6.1 earthquake on the southern area crosses a secondary fault on the right of the Kachang-Dazhuzhai Fault,suggesting that the coseismic rupture of the secondary fault may be triggered by the dynamic stress of the main shock.     

龙门山南段飞来峰构造变形及形成演化

龙门山前山构造带中分布着大量的飞来峰。为了解其构造演化过程,主要通过分析研究龙门山南段白石-苟家飞来峰和金台山飞来峰内部及下覆地层的构造变形特征,确定出其至少经历了5个构造变形序列,并结合前人资料讨论龙门山南段飞来峰的形成和演化。     

基于序列参数的水库地震类型综合判定研究

收集整理了我国大陆东部地区44 组水库地震序列,其中震群型32 组,主余型和孤立型12 组。分别计算了44 组序列的h 值、b 值、归一化熵值K、能量均匀度U、地震发生方式参数ρ 等5 个序列参数。在95% 的置信水平下,对每一参数分震群型、主余型加孤立型两大类进行差异性检验。结果表明,h、U、ρ 值对水库地震序列类型的分类能力不强;b 值平均值虽存在一定差异,但数值分布范围有部分重叠;K 值差异性显著,K = 0. 35 可作为区分震群型与主余型加孤立型两类水库地震序列的判别指标。在此基础上,建立以上述5 个参数为自变量的Fisher 判别函数,用于序列类型的综合判定。结果显示,所有数据全部参与建立判别函数并进行回溯性内符判别检验,识别正确率为97. 6% ;利用32 组序列参数参与判别函数建立,另外10 组进行外推检验,识别正确率为100% ,表明上述综合判别方法具有较高的水库地震序列分类能力。     

Characteristics and genesis of diachronous Carboniferous volcano-sedimentary sequences: insights from geochemistry,petrology and U–Pb dating in the North Junggar basin,China

ABSTRACT

The subduction of oceanic lithosphere during the Carboniferous Period contributed to the formation of widely distributed subduction-related volcanic rocks within the Junggar basin. These volcanic rock associations contain significant clues for understanding the subduction of the Keramaili oceanic lithosphere and the filling of the remnant oceanic basin. Here, we report regional gravity and magnetic data, petrology, geochemistry, and U–Pb dating for Carboniferous volcanic rocks from the North Junggar basin (NJB). Using samples from well Y-1, we distinguish upper and lower volcanic sequences on the basis of selected geochemical data. An isochronous stratigraphic framework of Carboniferous volcano-sedimentary sequences is then constructed and the petrogenesis of these volcanic rocks is discussed. Finally, we propose an explanation for the genesis of these diachronous Carboniferous volcano-sedimentary sequences. The results show that various volcanic rocks are distributed in different areas of the NJB, and mainly consist of calc-alkaline basalt–andesite–dacite assemblages and alkaline basalt–basaltic andesite–andesite assemblages. The geochemical data also demonstrate a binary nature of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks. In the eastern NJB, the lower and upper volcanic sequences are formed during the early and late Carboniferous, respectively. However, all of these volcano-related sequences in the western of the NJB are formed during the late Carboniferous. These volcano-sedimentary sequences exhibit a ‘ladder-style’ of temporospatial evolution from east to west. The geochemical results also indicate that the upper volcanic rocks include island arc components formed in an extensional setting, whereas the lower volcanic rocks were derived from deep crustal cycling metasomatism by various mantle components in a continental arc environment. Earlier closure of the Keramaili oceanic basin and slab roll-back of the Junggar oceanic lithosphere in eastern versus western Junggar basin led to the formation of these diachronous volcano-sedimentary sequences.     

The Pleistocene terrace staircase of the River Thame, central-southern England, and its significance for regional stratigraphic correlation, drainage development, and vertical crustal motions

The Thame is one of the principal left-bank affluents of the Thames, the largest river in southern England; it joins the Upper Thames at Dorchester, ∼20 km downstream of Oxford. Its terraces include a younger group of four, which date from the late Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene, are disposed subparallel to the modern river, and represent drainage within the modern catchment. At higher levels there are three older terraces, the Three Pigeons, Tiddington and Chilworth terraces, which are assigned to MIS 16, 14 and 12. With much gentler downstream gradients, these are fragmentary remnants of much more substantial fluvial deposits, indicating a much larger river that was disrupted by the Anglian (MIS 12) glaciation. This interpretation supersedes an earlier view that the glacigenic deposits in the Thame headwaters correlate with the Blackditch terrace, the highest of the younger group, which has hitherto provided an argument that the glaciation in this region occurred in MIS 10. It is suggested that the headwaters of the pre-Anglian ‘Greater Thame’ river were located near Northampton and that the Milton Sands of that area represent an upstream counterpart of the Chilworth terrace deposits. It is envisaged that this early Middle Pleistocene drainage geometry, located between the Jurassic limestone and Chalk escarpments, developed as a result of the increase in uplift rates that followed the Mid-Pleistocene Revolution (MPR). It is suggested that before this time, including during the Early Pleistocene, the modern Thame catchment and adjacent regions drained southeastward through the Chalk escarpment, but these small rivers lacked the erosional power to cut through the Chalk in pace with the faster uplift occurring in the early Middle Pleistocene, and so became diverted to the southwest, subparallel to the Chalk escarpment, to form the pre-Anglian ‘Greater Thame’ tributary of the Upper Thames. The post-MPR uplift is estimated to decrease northwestward from 90 m in the Middle Thames to 75 m near the Thame-Thames confluence and to 65 m upstream of Oxford. The post-Anglian (post-450 ka) component of uplift decreases northward from 33 m near the Thame-Thames confluence to an estimated ∼20 m in the Northampton area; the relative stability of the latter area makes feasible the proposed correlation between the Milton Sands and the pre-Anglian River Thame. Limited post-Anglian uplift in the Northampton area is also inferred from the upstream convergence of the terraces of the modern rivers Nene and Great Ouse. These observed lateral variations in vertical crustal motions reflect lateral variations in crustal properties (including heat flow, crustal thickness, and thickness of underplating at the base of the crust) that are known independently. This study thus provides, for the first time, an integrated explanation of the Pleistocene drainage development across a large region of central-southern England.     

Stratigraphy of the Cenomanian–Turonian Oceanic Anoxic Event OAE2 in shallow shelf sequences of NE Egypt

Two shallow water late Cenomanian to early Turonian sequences of NE Egypt have been investigated to evaluate the response to OAE2. Age control based on calcareous nannoplankton, planktic foraminifera and ammonite biostratigraphies integrated with δ¹³C stratigraphy is relatively good despite low diversity and sporadic occurrences. Planktic and benthic foraminiferal faunas are characterized by dysoxic, brackish and mesotrophic conditions, as indicated by low species diversity, low oxygen and low salinity tolerant planktic and benthic species, along with oyster-rich limestone layers. In these subtidal to inner neritic environments the OAE2 δ¹³C excursion appears comparable and coeval to that of open marine environments. However, in contrast to open marine environments where anoxic conditions begin after the first δ¹³C peak and end at or near the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary, in shallow coastal environments anoxic conditions do not appear until the early Turonian. This delay in anoxia appears to be related to the sea-level transgression that reached its maximum in the early Turonian, as observed in shallow water sections from Egypt to Morocco.     

南海琼东南盆地新生代构造层序研究

基于南海琼东南盆地到目前为止还没有一个统一的构造层序划分方案的问题,在前人研究工作基础上,通过大量的二维地震构造层序闭合解释,从地震不整合面和构造发育特征识别出发,对新生代主要构造层序进行详细解剖。进一步结合对南海北部琼东南盆地新生代二维地震数据的精细综合分析,重新厘定了其新生代构造层序,并进行了构造层序的识别和划分。结果表明：按古构造运动面可将盆地充填序列划分为上、中、下三个构造层序,分别对应于盆地演化的三个阶段性。着重论述了三个构造层序的结构特征、叠加构造样式、构造层序发育特征、层序分布特征、沉积体系类型和盆地断裂演化序列之间的关系等,以期为今后的研究奠定基础。     

国内水文序列变异点分析方法及在各流域应用研究进展

变异点识别在区分气候变化和人类活动对水文过程的影响中具有十分重要的作用。近几十年来,国内水文序列变异点的研究逐渐发展,从最早的使用单一方法发展到由多种方法组成的水文序列变异点诊断系统和对部分方法的改进。同时,各种方法在中国各主要流域得到广泛应用,但是使用的方法不同,水文序列时间年限不同,得到的变异点的结果也不完全一致。本文将目前普遍采用的方法及在各流域的应用成果进行了系统总结,为今后水文序列变异点的方法改进及其在流域中的应用发展提供参考。     

Clay mineralogy as a tool for integrated sequence stratigraphic and palaeogeographic reconstructions: Late Oligocene–Early Aquitanian western internal South Iberian Margin,Spain

The different hydrodynamic behaviour of detrital clay minerals in the marine depositional environment allows assessment of relative sea‐level variations in the sedimentary record. Comparison of smectite and kaolinite:illite (S+K:I) changes with the global sea‐level curves and with the third‐order cycles of the eustatic curve for European basins allows assessment of the influence of global eustasy and local tectonics on sequence stratigraphy. In the South Iberian Margin, sedimentation took place both on open‐marine platforms and in deeper water areas. On this margin during the Late Oligocene to Early Aquitanian, the variations in sedimentation were caused not only by global eustasy but also by compressive tectonics. Correlations were made between the S+K:I cycles and the third‐order cycles for European basins, enabling the definition of four third‐order sedimentary sequences (here called C1, C2, C3, and A1) and two lower‐order sequences within C3 and A1 (here called C3a, C3b, A1a, and A1b) related to tectonic movements. High S+K:I values were observed during episodes of maximum flooding in each sequence and lower‐order sequence and in each succession, enabling changes in palaeocoastal morphology to be considered. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.