Otway Continental Margin Transect: Crustal architecture from wide‐angle seismic profiling across Australia's southern margin

The Otway Basin in southeastern Australia formed on a triangular‐shaped area of extended continental lithosphere during two extensional episodes in Cretaceous to Miocene times. The extent of the offshore continental margin is highlighted by Seasat/Geosat satellite altimeter data. The crustal architecture and structural features across this southeast Australian margin have been interpreted from offshore‐onshore wide‐angle seismic profiling data along the Otway Continental Margin Transect extending from the onshore Lake Condah High, through the town of Portland, to the deep Southern Ocean. Along the Otway Continental Margin Transect, the onshore half‐graben geometry of Early Cretaceous deposition gives way offshore to a 5 km‐thick slope basin (P‐wave velocity 2.2–4.6 km/s) to at least 60 km from the shoreline. At 120 km from the nearest shore in a water depth of 4220 m, sonobuoy data indicate a 4–5 km sedimentary sequence overlying a 7 km thick basement above the Moho at 15 km depth. Major fault zones affect the thickness of basin sequences in the onshore area (Tartwaup Fault Zone and its southeast continuation) and at the seaward edge of the Mussel Platform (Mussel Fault). Upper crustal basement is interpreted to be attenuated and thinned Palaeozoic rocks of the Delamerian and Lachlan Orogens (intruded with Jurassic volcanics) that thin from 16 km onshore to about 3.5 km at 120 km from the nearest shore. Basement rocks comprise a 3 km section with velocity 5.5–5.7 km/s overlying a deeper basement unit with velocity 6.15–6.35 km/s. The Moho shallows from a depth of 30 km onshore to 15 km depth at 120 km from the nearest shore, and then to about 12 km in the deep ocean at the limits of the transect (water depth 5200 m). The continent‐ocean boundary is interpreted to be at a prominent topographic inflection point 170 km from shore at the bottom of the continental slope in 4800 m of water. P‐wave velocities in the lower crust are 6.4–6.8 km/s, overlying a thin transition zone to an upper mantle velocity of 8.05 km/s beneath the Moho. Outstandingly clear Moho reflections seen in deep‐marine profiling data at about 10.3 s two‐way time under the slope basin and continent‐ocean boundary place further strong controls on crustal thickness. There is no evidence of massive high velocity (>7 km/s) intrusives/underplate material in the lower crust nor any synrift or early post‐rift subaerial volcanics, indicating that the Otway continental margin can be considered a non‐volcanic margin, similar in many respects to some parts of the Atlantic Ocean margins e.g. the Nova Scotia ‐ Newfoundland margin off Canada and the Galicia Bank off the Iberian Peninsula. Using this analogue, the prominent gravity feature trending northwest‐southeast at the continent‐ocean boundary may indicate the presence of highly serpentinised mantle material beneath a thin crust, but this has yet to be tested by detailed work.     

Stratigraphic evolution of the nearshore to fluvial plain of the Upper Cuyo Group,Neuquén,Argentina

The upper portion of the Cuyo Group in the Zapala region, south‐eastern Neuquén Basin (Western Argentina), encompasses marine and transitional deposits (Lajas Formation) overlain by alluvial rocks (Challacó Formation). The Challacó Formation is covered by the Mendoza Group above a second‐order sequence boundary. The present study presents the stratigraphic framework and palaeophysiographic evolution of this Bajocian to Eo‐Calovian interval. The studied succession comprises the following genetic facies associations: (i) offshore and lower shoreface–offshore transition; (ii) lower shoreface; (iii) upper shoreface; iv) intertidal–subtidal; (v) supratidal–intertidal; (vi) braided fluvial to delta plain; (vii) meandering river; and (viii) braided river. The stratigraphic framework embraces four third‐order depositional sequences (C1 to C4) whose boundaries are characterized by the abrupt superposition of proximal over distal facies associations. Sequences C1 to C3 comprise mostly littoral deposits and display well‐defined, small‐scale transgressive–regressive cycles associated with fourth‐order depositional sequences. Such high‐frequency cycles are usually bounded by ravinement surfaces associated with transgressive lags. At last, the depositional sequence C4 delineates an important tectonic reorganization probably associated with an uplift of the Huincul Ridge. This is suggested by an inversion of the transport trend, north‐westward during the deposition of C1 to C3 depositional sequences (Lajas Formation) to a south‐west trend during the deposition of the braided fluvial strata related to the C4 depositional sequence (Challacó Formation).     

一种适用于高放废物地质处置数据管理的多源信息分类与编码体系

综合考虑高放废物地质处置多源信息的数据特点,按照学科专题领域划分原则,同时兼顾GIS等信息技术在新兴领域中的应用,形成了一套适用于高放废物地质处置数据管理的多源信息分类与编码体系。该体系遵循相关国际或国家基础信息标准及废物处置等行业标准,同时采用面向对象程序设计与兼顾GIS分析的思想,有利于更大程度地满足核技术领域信息共享需求。     

苏鲁造山带区域地壳山根结构特征

本利用苏鲁大别造山带及其邻区的三维P波速度资料,详细对比研究了苏鲁与大别超高压变质带莫霍面深度和深部P波速度结构分布特征。结果表明,尽管苏鲁、大别超高压变质带都具有上地壳明显高速且上凸;中地壳增厚;下地壳埋藏较深且下凹等共同的P波速度结构特征,与大别地区相比较,苏鲁超高压变质带还存在着独特的区域性特征。从地貌上看,苏鲁地区山脉已经基本消失。苏鲁超高压变质带的地壳厚度为32～33公里,深于其周围地区2～3公里,但是莫霍面下凹程度远不如大别地区,造山带地壳山根已逐步趋向消失。苏鲁地区上地壳P波速度高于大别,比其周围地区约快1～1．2km/s,有可能显示了该区有更多高速、高密度的超高压变质岩折返到上地壳与地表的岩石物性效果。大别造山带山脉依然存在,莫霍面下凹更明显,沿NWW向串状残留地壳山根最深为37～38公里,深于其周围地区3～4公里。对比研究结果表明,由于区域构造运动的作用,苏鲁大别造山带中的不同地段,在其造山、演化过程中也存在着差别。苏鲁的造山运动起始虽略晚于大别,但结束的更快,比大别更早进入了造山运动的后期。分析促使苏鲁造山运动进程加速的主要构造原因可能有两点,郯庐断裂带的左旋走滑运动以及通过中国华北区域的大范围NW-SE向扩张应力场的影响。大区域构造背景加速了苏鲁造山带地表高山侵蚀过程的同时,随着山根浮力的不断减弱,地壳深部山根逐渐趋向消失。地壳速度结构特征有可能反映了苏鲁造山带的地壳山根随着地表山脉的侵蚀而减弱,趋向消失的过程。     

非海相沉积层序的成因和构型特征

根据东部盆地的地质、地球物理特征,初步对非海相层序地层学应用研究进行了总结.非海相沉积层序的形成要素,既有外旋回、又有自旋回,构造和气候因素很重要,强调了环境因素.沉积基准面在海上为海平面,在陆上为潜水面、湖平面、河流平衡剖面.相对基准面的周期性变化引起了可容纳空间的周期性变化,并由之形成了一系列旋回式的层序.大多数情况下内陆基准面的变化不受海平面变化的控制,在全球最大海泛期有某种联系.湖盆小而沉积速率高,形成层序的频率高于海相.以沾化凹陷为依据,提出了5种层序构型特征:冲积-河湖型,(半)盐湖-淡水湖泊过渡型,海流-深湖型,半深湖-缓坡型,河流-冲积平原型.在盆地主要发育期,断阶式坡折对沉积体系有明显的控制作用.除低水位扇外,低水位楔是构成隐蔽圈闭或复合圈闭的有利场所。     

Stratigraphic evolution of an outcropping continental slope system, Tres Pasos Formation at Cerro Divisadero, Chile

Depositional slope systems along continental margins contain a record of sediment transfer from shallow‐water to deep‐water environments and represent an important area for natural resource exploration. However, well‐preserved outcrops of large‐scale depositional slopes with seismic‐scale exposures and tectonically intact stratigraphy are uncommon. Outcrop characterization of smaller‐scale depositional slope systems (i.e. < 700 m of undecompacted shelf‐to‐basin relief) has led to increased understanding of stratigraphic packaging of prograding slopes. Detailed stacking patterns of facies and sedimentary body architecture for larger‐scale slope systems, however, remain understudied. The Cretaceous Tres Pasos Formation of the Magallanes Basin, southern Chile, presents a unique opportunity to evaluate the stratigraphic evolution of such a slope system from an outcrop perspective. Inherited tectonic relief from a precursor oceanic basin phase created shelf‐to‐basin bathymetry comparable with continental margin systems (～1000 m). Sedimentological and architectural data from the Tres Pasos Formation at Cerro Divisadero reveal a record of continental margin‐scale depositional slope progradation and aggradation. Slope progradation is manifested as a vertical pattern exhibiting increasing amounts of sediment bypass upwards, which is interpreted as reflecting increasing gradient conditions. The well‐exposed, seismic‐scale outcrop is characterized by four 20 to 70 m thick sandstone‐rich successions, separated by mudstone‐rich intervals of comparable thickness (40 to 90 m). Sedimentary body geometry, facies distribution, internal bedding architecture, sandstone richness and degree of amalgamation were analysed in detail across a continuous 2·5 km long transect parallel to depositional dip. Deposition in the lower section (Units 1 and 2) was dominated by poorly channellized to unconfined sand‐laden flows and accumulation of mud‐rich mass transport deposits, which is interpreted as representing a base of slope to lower slope setting. Evidence for channellization and indicators of bypass of coarse‐grained turbidity currents are more common in the upper part of the > 600 m thick succession (Units 3 and 4), which is interpreted as reflecting increased gradient conditions as the system accreted basinward.     

Sequence Stratigraphy of the Permian--Triassia Boundary Section of Changxing, Zhejiang, Southern China

Three third-order sequences and about one hundred high-frequency cycles or Milankovitchcycles within the Late Permian Changxingian to Early Triassic Griesbachian are identified in theMeishan Section of Changxing, Zhejiang Province, southern China, the candidate stratotype sec-tion of the global Permo-Triassic boundary, based on a detailed study of the biological,ecological and high-resolution allochthonous cyclic events, microfacies and depositional systems.Furthermore, the stacking pattern of the depositional systems across various Changxingian andGriesbachian sedimentary facies of the Lower Yangtze and the sequence stratigraphic frameworkare outlined with the Meishan section as the principal section. In this paper the habitat types offossil biota are applied to semiquantitative palaeobathymetry and the study of relative sea levelchanges.     

A sequence stratigraphic model for an intensely bioturbated shallow-marine sandstone: the Bridport Sand Formation, Wessex Basin, UK

The Bridport Sand Formation is an intensely bioturbated sandstone that represents part of a mixed siliciclastic‐carbonate shallow‐marine depositional system. At outcrop and in subsurface cores, conventional facies analysis was combined with ichnofabric analysis to identify facies successions bounded by a hierarchy of key stratigraphic surfaces. The geometry of these surfaces and the lateral relationships between the facies successions that they bound have been constrained locally using 3D seismic data. Facies analysis suggests that the Bridport Sand Formation represents progradation of a low‐energy, siliciclastic shoreface dominated by storm‐event beds reworked by bioturbation. The shoreface sandstones form the upper part of a thick (up to 200 m), steep (2–3°), mud‐dominated slope that extends into the underlying Down Cliff Clay. Clinoform surfaces representing the shoreface‐slope system are grouped into progradational sets. Each set contains clinoform surfaces arranged in a downstepping, offlapping manner that indicates forced‐regressive progradation, which was punctuated by flooding surfaces that are expressed in core and well‐log data. In proximal locations, progradational shoreface sandstones (corresponding to a clinoform set) are truncated by conglomerate lags containing clasts of bored, reworked shoreface sandstones, which are interpreted as marking sequence boundaries. In medial locations, progradational clinoform sets are overlain across an erosion surface by thin (<5 m) bioclastic limestones that record siliciclastic‐sediment starvation during transgression. Near the basin margins, these limestones are locally thick (>10 m) and overlie conglomerate lags at sequence boundaries. Sequence boundaries are thus interpreted as being amalgamated with overlying transgressive surfaces, to form composite erosion surfaces. In distal locations, oolitic ironstones that formed under conditions of extended physical reworking overlie composite sequence boundaries and transgressive surfaces. Over most of the Wessex Basin, clinoform sets (corresponding to high‐frequency sequences) are laterally offset, thus defining a low‐frequency sequence architecture characterized by high net siliciclastic sediment input and low net accommodation. Aggradational stacking of high‐frequency sequences occurs in fault‐bounded depocentres which had higher rates of localized tectonic subsidence.     

基于地层结构组合的第四纪地质单元划分研究——以皖江经济带沿江丘陵平原区为例

为支撑地质条件复杂地区的水文地质、工程地质和环境地质调查研究,在皖江经济带沿江丘陵平原区通过系统分析第四纪地层的岩性、结构、构造等组合,以地貌以及第四系成因、沉积相和沉积物物源为指标,结合已有区域第四纪研究成果以及年代地层和岩石地层划分标准,进行皖江沿江丘陵平原区“第四纪地质单元”划分,共划分出冲积-湖积平原地质单元、洪积-坡积岗地地质单元和残积-剥蚀丘陵地质单元3个一级地质单元,总结了7种类型第四纪地层结构组合及其特征,为区域水文地质和工程地质调查与研究奠定了基础。     

Influence of carbonate facies on fault zone architecture

Normal faults on Malta were studied to analyse fault propagation and evolution in different carbonate facies. Deformation of carbonate facies is controlled by strength, particle size and pore structure. Different deformation styles influence the damage characteristics surrounding faults, and therefore the fault zone architecture. The carbonates were divided into grain- and micrite-dominated carbonate lithofacies. Stronger grain-dominated carbonates show localised deformation, whereas weaker micrite-dominated carbonates show distributed deformation. The weaker micrite-dominated carbonates overlie stronger grain-dominated carbonates, creating a mechanical stratigraphy. A different architecture of damage, the ‘Fracture Splay Zone’ (FSZ), is produced within micrite-dominated carbonates due to this mechanical stratigraphy. Strain accumulates at the point of juxtaposition between the stronger grain-dominated carbonates in the footwall block and the weaker micrite-dominated carbonates in the hanging wall block. New slip surfaces nucleate and grow from these points, developing an asymmetric fault damage zone segment. The development of more slip surfaces within a single fault zone forms a zone of intense deformation, bound between two slip surfaces within the micrite-dominated carbonate lithofacies (i.e., the FSZ). Rather than localisation onto a single slip surface, allowing formation of a continuous fault core, the deformation will be dispersed along several slip surfaces. The dispersed deformation can create a highly permeable zone, rather than a baffle/seal, in the micrite-dominated carbonate lithofacies. The formation of a Fracture Splay Zone will therefore affect the sealing potential of the fault zone. The FSZ, by contrast, is not observed in the majority of the grain-dominated carbonates.