Mesozoic-Cenozoic tectonics and geodynamics of Altai, Tien Shan, and Northern Kazakhstan, from apatite fission-track data

Apatite fission-track (AFT) thermochronological modeling as a diagnostic tool for periods of stability (peneplanation) and tectonic activity (orogeny) has been broadly used in tectonic studies of Central Asia in recent years. We discuss more than 100 AFT ages of samples from the Kyrgyz Tien Shan and Altai and compare them with AFT data from northern Kazakhstan. Geological, geomorphological, and AFT data indicate intense activity in the Late Cenozoic Eurasian continental interior. The impact from the India-Eurasia collision on the northern Tien Shan, Altai, and northern Kazakhstan regions showed up at 11, 5, and 3 Ma, respectively, as a result of stress propagation into the continent, with the ensuing reactivation and mountain growth. We hypothesize that a distant effect of the Late Cenozoic India-Eurasia collision was to rejuvenate Paleozoic fault zones and to deform the Mesozoic sedimentary cover north of the collision front as far as the West Siberian Plate. The reactivation facilitated formation of tectonic oil and gas traps. The activity in northern Central Asia under the effect of the Indian indentation into Eurasia appears to continue and may evolve to include uplift of southern West Siberian plate with uplift.     

中亚地区中生代以来的地貌巨变与岩石圈动力学

中亚地区的地貌自中生代以来发生过两次巨变：一次是青藏高原的隆起,另一次是中生代中国东部高原及其西侧共存的中亚准平原的兴衰。青藏高原的隆起引起了全球气候和中亚环境的巨变。对此,自80年代以来开展的国际合作已经在地质学和地球物理学等研究领域取得了丰硕的成果。不过,在解释高原隆升-气候变化-剥蚀作用的相互关系方面仍存歧见。相比之下,中亚地区中生代的地貌巨变尚属新的研究课题。人们认识到,中亚地区在中侏罗世至新近纪曾存在一个准平原,而在中国东部则存在一个中生代高原。这一中生代地貌巨变引发出许多新的思考,如：为什么这一中生代准平原能保存长达150 Ma？中国东部高原是怎样形成的,又是怎样消失的？这两次地貌巨变及其相关的岩石圈动力学将是“TOPO?CENTRAL?ASIA”这一国际岩石圈计划项目的研究主题。     

地文期与地文期研究

在20世纪初期至中期,地文期研究帮助解决了中国新生代地形发育和地层划分的相对时序难题。由于W.M.Davis侵蚀循环学说适用于追溯作整体抬升的高原的“构造运动、过程和阶段”发育特征,所以,如今地文期研究对取得青藏高原隆起历史证据、寻求云贵高原喀斯特发育历史与高原地文发育各阶段间的对应关系,以及重建新生代早期中国地理环境等重要理论与实践问题都具有重要意义。随着地球科学的发展与科学技术的进步,侵蚀循环在理论和方法上应当作些相应补充和修正:侵蚀期所对应的堆积物———初始冲积、断块抬升区边缘的相关沉积,以及年代学问题等,均需要作进一步的研究。     

Denudation history of the Southeastern Highlands of Australia

The low-relief summit plateaus (high plains) of the Southeastern Highlands are remnants of a widespread peneplain that was initially uplifted in the mid-Cretaceous and reached its current elevation in the Miocene–Pliocene. There are two mutually exclusive scenarios for the origin of the high plains: an uplifted peneplain originally formed by long-term denudation through the Mesozoic and late Paleozoic, contrasting with creation by ～1.5 km of erosion following the mid-Cretaceous uplift (based on fission track data). The hypothesis of a Mesozoic peneplain is consistent with the low relief of the high plains, the ca 200 Ma available to form the peneplain, and the pre-late Mesozoic oxygen-isotope composition of secondary kaolinites in weathering profiles on the high plains. If the ca 30 Ma cooling event recorded by the fission track data is due to ～1.5 km of denudation, then the high plains peneplain formed in the Late Cretaceous–early Paleogene, close to sea-level, and was uplifted in the early Paleogene, because evidence from basalts and fossil floras shows that the high plains surface was moderately elevated in the Eocene. This scenario is difficult to reconcile with the long-term erosion necessary to form such an extensive peneplain, the lack of sedimentary evidence for early Paleogene uplift, and the relatively small reduction in elevation (～250 m) that would have resulted from ～1.5 km of erosion (because the crust in this area is in isostatic equilibrium). Furthermore, extensive Cretaceous–early Paleogene denudation should have removed the pre-late Mesozoic secondary kaolinites present in weathering profiles in the highlands. There is no evidence that the Mesozoic peneplain was buried by kilometres of sediment and then exhumed in the Cretaceous–early Paleogene. I therefore conclude that the high plains of the Southeastern Highlands are the remnants of a Mesozoic peneplain uplifted in the mid-Cretaceous and again in the Miocene–Pliocene.     

晚新生代地壳构造运动研究

通过地球表面清、新的构造地貌与现代水文网记录, 研究晚新生代年轻地壳构造运动。研究发现高原-山带-盆地排列有序形影相依的定式, 与现代水文网的演化相辅相成, 揭示高原边缘山带本质上就是高原边缘流水深切割的产物。论证了于晚中新世时期全球曾准平原化, 发育了全球统一的准平原, 散布全球不同高度的高原面、齐平山顶面与盆地底面时代相当可广泛对比。现代构造地貌演化始于导致晚中新世准平原面分裂解体的上新世以来, 同时证明晚新生代地壳构造运动属垂直拱曲块断差异升降构造运动, 仅在某些特定部位局部派生次级不同规模的引张构造变形和层间滑动薄皮挤压构造变形。现代水文网发育经历了上新世-早更新世属盆地向心水系伴以河湖相沉积, 以及中更新世以来串珠状水系与相关的河流相沉积, 两套地层呈假整合或不整合, 明确记录了晚新生代地壳构造运动进程的两个主要阶段。约近70~80万年的中更新世以来, 新一轮强烈的地壳的差异升降构造运动, 显著的改造了已有的格局。自俄罗斯远东山地, 经蒙古高原和青藏高原至印度西北阿拉瓦利山, 地球表面规模最雄伟的、分开太平洋水系与北冰洋水系的亚洲巨型分水岭的出现, 标志新兴的全球现代构造地貌与水文网的形成, 奠定了今日构造地貌与水文网的景观。研究表明, 大陆与大洋晚中新世全球统一准平原面一脉相承, 晚新生代地壳构造运动完全可以对比。深入系统研究年轻的晚新生代地壳构造运动不仅有实用价值, 同时也有重要的科学意义, 特别是为探究全球构造运动本质和地球动力学提供了一个新的视角。      

华北盆地埋藏地貌面与油气藏

华北盆地白垩纪以来的地层中蕴藏着8个不同尺度的地文期。每个地文期都由初期的侵蚀面—河床滞留物质、早期的粗粒物质、中—晚期的细粒物质和末期的风化壳组成。华北盆地有2个埋藏地貌面——准平原和风化壳,分别位于基底拗陷区和基底隆起区的基岩面上。溶洞、孔洞、孔隙、裂隙十分发育的地貌面与地文期初期的侵蚀面、早期的粗粒物质堆积相互重叠的地区,为石油、天然气的储集提供了理想的场地。     

Erosion of a high‐altitude,low‐relief area on the Korean Peninsula: implications for its development processes and evolution

The processes involved in the development of high‐altitude, low‐relief areas (HLAs) are still poorly understood. Although cosmogenic nuclides have provided insights into the evolution of HLAs interpreted as paleo‐surfaces, most studies focus on estimating how slowly they erode and thereby their relative stability. To understand actual development processes of HLAs, we applied several techniques of cosmogenic nuclides in the Daegwanryeong Plateau, a well‐known HLA in the Korean Peninsula. Our denudation data from strath terraces, riverine sediments, soils, and tors provide the following conclusions: (1) bedrock incision rate in the plateau (~127 m Myr^?1) is controlled by the incision rate of the western part of the Korean Peninsula, and is similar to the catchment‐wide denudation rate of the plateau (~93 m Myr^?1); (2) the soil production function we observed shows weak depth dependency that may result from highly weathered bedrock coupled with frequent frost action driven by alpine climate; (3) a discrepancy between the soil production and catchment‐wide denudation rates implies morphological disequilibrium in the plateau; (4) the tors once regarded as fossil landforms of the Tertiary do not reflect Tertiary processes; and (5) when compared with those of global paleo‐surfaces (<20 m Myr^?1), our rapid denudation rates suggest that the plateau cannot have maintained its probable initial paleo landscape, and thus is not a paleo‐surface. Our data contribute to understanding the surface processes of actively eroding upland landscapes as well as call into question conventional interpretations of supposed paleo‐surfaces around the world. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geomorphology and tectonics of the Dorrigo Plateau,N.S.W.

The Dorrigo Plateau is covered by basalt, which is a remnant of the 18 Ma old Ebor Volcano. The centre of this volcano is an intrusion in the Bellinger Valley. The volcano was erupted on a palaeoplain of moderate relief. Subsequent uplift and tilting led to erosion of the Nambucca Beds, together with much of the volcano, and creation of a major escarpment, part of the Great Escarpment of eastern Australia. In this area the Great Escarpment is younger than 18 Ma.     

地文期及其在新生代黄土和古地理研究中的意义

侵蚀循环理论和地文期理论是地貌学的重要的基本理论。中国大陆在古近纪之前构造比较稳定,以低平的准平原地貌为主。白垩纪末至古近纪初,喜马拉雅运动拉开了序幕,中国的古地理环境发生了巨大的转变,逐步形成了高原、高山和盆地构成的复杂地貌景现。侵蚀循环和地文期理论是研究上述地质历史的有效方法和重要手段。在讨论侵蚀循环问题的一些新认识、新思考的基础上．初步探讨地文期在中国新生代黄土和古地理环境研究中的意义,希望加强研究并使其发挥更大的作用。     

甘肃期准平原结束时代的古地磁年龄

本文根据兰州烟洞沟剖面的磁性地层学研究指出,甘肃期准平原面结束时代应不晚于１．７ＭａＢ．Ｐ．,代表了兰州盆地在地质演经过程中一个非常重要的侵蚀期。