Cenozoic Plate interaction of the Australia and Philippine Sea Plates: “hit-and-run” tectonics

Recent studies in northwest New Guinea have shown the presence of at least two marginal basins of different age, both of which formed in back-arc settings. The older basin opened between the Middle Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, a remnant of which is now preserved as the New Guinea Ophiolite. Its obduction started at 40 Ma and it was finally emplaced on the Australian margin at 30 Ma. The younger basin was active during the Oligocene to Middle Miocene and was obducted in the Early Pliocene. Studies of the western edge of the Philippine Sea also reveal an important deformation of the Philippine arc in the Oligocene, which hitherto has remained unexplained. Using information from these systems, paleomagnetic results, kinematic reconstructions and geochemistry of the supra-subduction ophiolite, we present a plate model to explain the region's Eo–Oligocene development. We suggest that an extensive portion of oceanic crust extended the Australian Plate a considerable distance north of the Australian Craton. As Australia began its steady 7–8 cm/year northward drift in the Early Eocene, this lithosphere was subducted. Thus, the portion of the Philippine Sea Plate carrying the Taiwan–Philippine Arc to its present site may have actually been in contact with the ophiolite now in New Guinea and obduction led to deformation of the Philippine Sea Plate itself. Neogene Plate kinematics transported the deformed belt in contact with the Sunda block in the Late Miocene and Pliocene. This interpretation has implications for the origin for the Philippine Sea Plate and the potential incorporation of continental fragments against its boundaries.     

中国东部中新生代盆地成因及其地球动力学

中国东部大兴安岭－太行山－武陵山重力梯度带一线以东至太平洋西岩，大陆连缘中新生代盆地系的形成，中生代岩浆活动，盆地基本特征同Ｍｏｈｏ、岩石圈和软流圈及上地幔基本特征的内在联系等都表明，它们在时空和成因上有一定联系，可以纳入同一地球动力学过程之中，这种动力学机制可能与岩石圈界，地壳底界的拆离作用有关。     

Periodicity of magnetic intensities in magnetic anomaly profiles: the Cenozoic of the South Atlantic

Spectral analyses of several published magnetic anomaly profiles from Candé & Kent (1992a) were undertaken prior to analysing, in the same way, raw magnetic anomaly data from similar parts of the South Atlantic. It was found that similar and distinct medium and short wavelengths were present in both the published and raw data. When these are converted into the time domain using the average rate of spreading for each profile, these periodicities appear similar, possibly identical, to those expected from the long-term eccentricity orbital parameters (Fischer, DeBoer & Premoli Silva 1990). While such correlations are not necessarily causative, they suggest that magnetohydro-dynamical processes near the core-mantle boundary may be affected by gravitational changes due to planetary orbital perturbations.     

柴达木盆地西部新生代气候与地形演变

从孢粉植物分异及演变，干旱碎屑及膏盐沉积分布等方面，对柴达木盆地西部新生代气候与地形的演变进行了探讨。结果表明，盆地西部新生代两个极端干燥气候期（膏盐发育期）分别出现在始新世至渐新世及上新世至第四纪。前者与老第三纪行星环流控制下的副热带干燥带有关，而后者与青藏高原的隆升有关。早第三纪盆地西部及周围地区的地势不象以前所认为的那么低平。在第三纪，昆仑山比祁连山低。晚新生代盆地向北推移了７－１１个纬距。     

秦岭造山带新生代构造隆升与区域环境效应研究

据沉积，构造、地貌并结合地球物理资料综合研究认为，秦岭造山带新生代构造隆升是在中生代白垩纪晚期构造隆升基础上，于晚第三纪中新世迅速隆升，而早更新世早期则是新构造活动最强烈时期。秦岭造山带的新生代构造隆升的方式主要有地垒式、掀斜式、振荡式和翘板式4种。诱发这一地区新构造抬升的主要原因和动力学机制是华北地块自北而南，扬子地块自南而北相向向秦岭造山带之下陆内俯冲和秦岭地块深部软流圈抬升共同作用所致。     

~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar dating of shear deformation of the Xianshuihe fault zone in west Sichuan and its tectonic significance

TheNW-SEstrikingXianshuihefaultzoneslicesthesoutheasternTibetanPlateauandconnectssoutheastwardwiththeAnninghe-Zemuhe-Xiaojiangfaultzone,whichformahuge,activesinistralstrike-slipfaultzone(fig.1).ThisfaultzoneisanimportantseismicfaultineastTibet[1-5].EarthquakegeologystudiesandoffsetpatternsofyounggeologicalfeatureshaveshownthatlateQuaternarysinistralsliprateoftheXianshuihefaultzonereaches13mm/a[1,2].TheXianshuhefaultzoneconsistsoftwomainbranches,theDaofufaultbranchinthewestandtheXianshuih…     

Preliminary Study on Cenozoic Group and Fault Activity in the Sea Area Near the Yangtze River Mouth

By shallow seismic prospecting, the Cenozoic Group in the sea area near the Yangtze Rver Mouth can be divided into five seismic sequences. They correspond to the Quaternary,Pliocene, Upper Miocene, Lower Miocene and Eocene respectively. The Quaternary System covers all the detecting area. The Tertiary System overlaps and thins out from NE to SW. The sedimentary basement mainly consists of volcanic rock (J3) and acidic rock (r35). Paleogene or Late Cretaceous basins are not found there. The faults that have been detected are all normal faults. They can be divided into three groups (NE, NW, near EW) by their trend. The NE and NW-trending faults are predominant, and agree with aeromagnetic anomaly. Their length and displacement are larger than that of the EW-trending faults. The activity of the NEtrending faults is different in different segments. The SW segment is a Quaternary fault, the middle segment is a Neogene fault, The NE is Paleogene. But the segment of the NW-trending fault is not obvious. The average vertical displacement rate is about 0.015mm/a.     

滇西北新生代逆冲推覆构造

滇西北地区新生代逆冲推覆构造较为发育，从西到东可分出走向NS、相互平行的4带：澜沧江带，云岭带，石钟山带和剑川-洱源带。其中，澜沧江带与云岭带组成对冲格局，云岭带又与石钟山带组成反冲格局，石钟山带与剑川-洱源带又组成对冲格局。参与逆冲推覆的地层主要是中生代三叠系、侏罗系、白垩系及新生代云龙组、宝相寺组，推覆体由石炭系、二叠系、上三叠统岩石组成。逆冲推覆时间为喜马拉雅期。     

中国东部中新生代构造格局和岩浆岩带的形成与演化

在研究印支期秦岭-大别-苏鲁造山带的形成与地幔差速环流的基础上，系统综合了中国东部中新生代的基底构造对断裂构造的控制，深层构造对隆凹与断陷盆地的制约，伸展构造在陆内及陆缘外的表现，岩浆岩带的时空分布及展布特点等规律，依据中国东部中新生代构造格局与岩浆岩带在时空分布上的宽阔性、方向性、迁移性、分带性，特别是深层构造对浅层断裂构造、伸展构造的制约，以及岩浆岩带、隆起与盆地等自西向东迁移特点，提出其形成机制可能与强大地幔东向差速环流有关。     

(40)~Ar/(39)~Ar chronology and geochemistry of high-K volcanic rocks in the Mangkang basin, Tibet

Our two newly obtained high-quality 40Ar/39Ar ages suggest that the high-K volcanic rocks of the Lawuxiang Formation in the Mangkang basin, Tibet were formed at 33.5±0.2 Ma. The tracing of elemental and Pb-Sr-Nd isotopic geochemistry indicates that they were derived from an EM2 enriched mantle in continental subduction caused by transpression. Their evidently negative anomalies in HFSEs such as Nb and Ta make clear that there is an input of continental material into the mantle source. The high-K rocks at 33.5±0.2 Ma in the Mangkang basin may temporally, spatially and compositionally compare with the early one of two-pulse high-K rocks in eastern Tibet distinguished by Wang J. H. et al., implying that they were formed in the same tectonic setting.