Meso-Cenozoic lithospheric thermal structure in the Bohai Bay Basin,eastern North China Craton

The Bohai Bay Basin is a region where part of the North China Craton has been thinned and destroyed. It has experienced two periods of crustal thinning that occurred during the Cretaceous and Paleogene, but investigations of its Mesozoic and Cenozoic lithospheric thermal structure are limited. Therefore, in this study,the distributions of mantle heat flow, crustal heat flow, and Moho temperatures during the Meso-Cenozoic are calculated based on analyses of the thermal history of the Bohai Bay Basin. The results indicate that the ratio of mantle heat flow to surface heat flow peaked during the late stages of the early Cretaceous and during the middle to late Paleogene. The corresponding mantle heat flow was more than 65% of the surface heat flow. Moho temperatures reached three peaks: 900-1100℃ in the late stages of the early Cretaceous;820-900℃ in the middle to late Paleogene; and(in the Linqing Depression, Cangxian Uplift, and Jizhong Depression) 770-810℃ during the early Neogene. These results reveal that the Bohai Bay Basin experienced significant geological change during the Cretaceous, including the transformation of lithospheric thermal structure from "cold mantle and hot crust" before the Cretaceous to "hot mantle and cold crust" after the Cretaceous. The results also indicate that the basin experienced two large-scale rifting events.Therefore, this work may provide the thermal parameters for further investigations of the geodynamic evolution of eastern China.

Paleo-oil reservoir pyrolysis and gas release in the Yangtze Block imply an alternative mechanism for the Late Permian Crisis

The causes of the global mass extinction that occurred around the Permian-Triassic boundary have been widely studied through the geological record and in various locations.The results show that volcanic activity was a key factor in initiating the crisis during the Late Permian.Compared to other thermal events triggered by volcanic activity,pyrolysis of petroleum in Pre-Permian reservoirs has rarely been suggested as a significant source of the greenhouse gases that caused the mass extinction.In this study,geochemical analysis is carried out of a huge paleo-oil reservoir in the Yangtze Block(YB),South China.The detection of mineral inclusions and pyrobitumens is evidence of rapid pyrolysis of accumulated oil in the Ediacaran reservoir.New evidence from hydrothermal minerals and the presence of domain mesophase in the pyrobitumen suggest that the pyrolysis process occurred abruptly and that greenhouse gases were rapidly released through venting pipes.The dating of such a complex geological event in this old and deeply buried reservoir is inevitably difficult and potentially unreliable.However,cross-validation of the multiple evidence sources,including hydrothermal minerals and domain mesophase,indicates that the rapid oil pyrolysis must have been driven by a major thermal event.Reconstruction of burial and thermal histories suggests that the thermal event was most likely to have been triggered by the Emeishan Large Igneous Province(ELIP),which was in a period of significant volcanic activity during the Late Permian.Massive volumes of gases,including methane,carbon dioxide,and possibly hydrogen sulfide,were released,causing a significant increase in greenhouse gases that may have contributed to global warming and the resulting mass extinction during the Late Permian Crisis(LPC).

地质学科未来5~10年发展战略:趋势与对策

当代地球科学的内涵和外延已经拓展到涵盖整个固体地球内部及外部层圈形成演化及与资源能源富集、生态环境变迁、地球宜居性和社会可持续发展相关的地球系统科学问题.随着人类社会经济高速发展,与地球相关的资源能源、气候环境、地质灾害等问题日益突出.为了适应新时代地球科学发展形势,在地球系统科学理论框架下,准确分析我国地球科学未来5~10年的发展趋势、明确战略目标和优先发展领域,不仅能够大力促进和强化我国地球科学的发展、赶超世界领先水平、早日实现从地质大国到地质强国的转变,而且对于保障国家矿产能源安全、助推国家经济建设和人类社会可持续发展具有重大意义.

Meso–Cenozoic Tectono-Thermal Evolution History in Bohai Bay Basin, North China

The thermal history of sedimentary basins is a key factor for hydrocarbon accumulation and resource assessment, and is critical in the exploration of lithospheric tectono-thermal evolution. In this paper, the Cenozoic thermal histories of nearly 200 wells and the Mesozoic thermal histories of 15 wells are modeled based on the vitrinite reflectance and apatite fission track data in Bohai Bay Basin, North China. The results show that the basin experienced Early Cretaceous and Paleogene heat flow peaks, which reveals two strong rift tectonic movements that occurred in the Cretaceous and the Paleogene in the basin, respectively. The thermal evolution history in Bohai Bay Basin can be divided into five stages including（1） the low and stable heat flow stage from the Triassic to the Jurassic, with the heat flow of 53 to 58 m W/m2;（2） the first heat flow peak from the Early Cretaceous to the middle of the Late Cretaceous, with a maximum heat flow of 81 to 87 m W/m2;（3） the first post-rift thermal subsidence stage from the middle of the Late Cretaceous to the Paleocene, with the heat flow of 65 to 74 m W/m2 at the end of the Cretaceous;（4） the second heat flow peak from the Eocene to the Oligocene, with a maximum heat flow of 81 to 88 m W/m2; and（5） the second thermal subsidence stage from the Neogene to present, with an average heat flow of 64 m W/m2.

Paleogeothermal Reconstruction and Thermal Evolution Modeling of Source Rocks in the Puguang Gas Field, Northeastern Sichuan Basin

The thermal history and organic matter maturity evolution of the source rocks of boreholes in the Puguang gas field were reconstructed. An integrated approach based on vitrinite reflectance and apatite fission track data was used in the reconstruction. Accordingly, the geothermal conditions of gas accumulation were discussed in terms of the geological features of reservoirs in the northeastern Sichuan Basin. The strata reached their maximum burial depth in the Late Cretaceous era and were then uplifted and denuded continuously to the present day. The geothermal gradient and heat flow in the Late Cretaceous era were approximately 30.0 °C/km and 66 mW/m2, respectively, which were both higher than those at present. The tectonothermal evolution from the Late Cretaceous era to the present is characterized by denudation and cooling processes with an erosion thickness of2.7 km. In addition to the Triassic era, the Jurassic era represents an important hydrocarbon generation period for both Silurian and Permian source rocks, and the organic matter maturity of these source rocks entered into a dry gas period after oil generation. The thermal conditions are advantageous to the accumulation of conventional and unconventional gas because the hydrocarbon generation process of the source rocks occurs after the formation of an effective reservoir cap. In particular, the high geothermal gradient and increasing temperature before the denudation in the Late Cretaceous era facilitated the generation of hydrocarbons, and the subsequent cooling process favored its storage.

Thermal Annealing Characteristics of Detrital Zircon Fission Track Obtained from Natural Borehole Samples

Previous studies proposed thermal simulation experiment to investigate the annealing characteristics of fission tracks in igneous zircon samples.However,basic research about detrital zircon fission track was relatively weak.This study discussed the initial track length,annealing temperature and annealing model of zircon fission track by using the measured track lengths obtained from natural borehole samples in the sedimentary basins with different thermal background.The results show that the initial track length of zircon fission track is 12.97 μm.The total annealing temperature(Ttotal) of zircon fission track derived from the evolutionary curve of the mean track lengths is approximately 400 ℃.The temperature ranges of 120-230 ℃ corresponds to the partial annealing zone(PAZ),and is lower than the range obtained through thermal annealing experiments.The annealing model is modified based on the measured track lengths.In addition,a functional formula about the mean track length,annealing temperature,and geological time is proposed,and the fitted values of track lengths consist with the measured track lengths in this study.By properly understanding the initial track length and annealing behavior of zircon fission track can provide a significant guidance for the study of hydrocarbon accumulation in sedimentary basins.

Study of the closure temperature of(U-Th)/He in detrital zircon obtained from natural evolution samples

Zircon(U-Th)/He thermochronometry was used as an effective indicator to study the thermal history of deep sedimentary basins with high temperatures.Zircon He ages and closure temperatures are very important parameters.In this paper,detrital zircon He closure temperature was studied by establishing the evolutionary pattern between zircon He ages and burial depth of borehole samples obtained from the Cenozoic strata in the Bohai Bay and Tarim basins,which have different thermal settings.The results show that the zircon He closure temperature of natural evolution samples is 200℃,which is higher than the temperature obtained from thermal simulation experiments(183℃).The temperature range of 140-200℃corresponds to the zircon helium partial retention zone.By properly understanding zircon He closure temperatures,zircon(U-Th)/He thermochronometry can provide a correct explanation of the He ages,and significant guidance in the study of the evolution of source rocks and the process of hydrocarbon accumulation in deep sedimentary basins.

Uplift and exhumation in the Tianshan,western China:New insights from detrital zircon morphology and thermochronology

The Tianshan in western China is rich in ore resources,but its tectonic uplift and exhumation history closely related to the resource exploration is still controversial.This study provides a new strategy to uncover the tectonic uplift processes in southern Tianshan by combining the morphological characteristics and thermochronological ages of detrital zircons in the Tarim Basin.The morphology of the Meso-Cenozoic detrital zircons in the Kuqa Foreland Basin,a secondary tectonic unit of the Tarim Basin,is dominated by three types of P,S,and G,and their average alkaline and temperature indexes are 668.0-677.2 and 347.6-413.5,respectively.Moreover,the U-Pb ages of these detrital zircons are primarily divided into two groups of 270-330 and 380-470 Ma.These features indicate that the Early Carboniferous-Early Permian and Middle Ordovician-Middle Devonian alkaline granites distributed in the South Tianshan and southern Central Tianshan were the main sources of the detrital zircons in the Kuqa Foreland Basin.The decomposition of the detrital zircon fission track ages further reveals that the provenances of the Kuqa Foreland Basin primarily consisted of the southern Central Tianshan,the eastern South Tianshan,and the central South Tianshan during Meso-Cenozoic.Among them,the eastern South Tianshan played a dominant role in the material supply.The synthesis of the decomposed zircon fission track(ZFT)ages and the lag-time evolution pattern indicated that the South Tianshan and the southern Central Tianshan mainly experienced five stages of tectonic uplifting that occurred in the Devonian,the Permian,the Middle Triassic-Middle Jurassic,the Cretaceous,and since the Miocene,respectively.They were related to the subduction of the South Tianshan Ocean northward to the bottom of the Central Tianshan,the compression and accretion after the closure of the South Tianshan Ocean,and a series of collisions between the Qiangtang-Lassa-India plates and the southern margin of the Eurasia plate in the Meso-Cenozoic,respectively.This study provides a new provenance analysis method,which was successfully applied in the Tianshan,and also develops a new way to study Central Asia’s tectonic evolution.

Quantitative reconstruction of formation paleo-pressure in sedimentary basins and case studies

Paleo-pressure reconstruction in sedimentary basins is one of the most important aspects of hydrocarbon accumulation research.In view of the advantages and disadvantages of the current methods for paleo-pressure research,a new method to reconstruct the paleo-pressure is presented in this paper.According to the geological background,quantitative analyses of the factors that might control overpressure were first conducted to clarify the contributions of each mechanism during different geological periods.Pressure evolution was reconstructed by fluid-compaction modelling with constraints imposed by the paleo-pressures obtained from fluid inclusions or differential stress methods.Determining the mechanisms responsible for overpressures during geological history is the basic prerequisite for paleo-pressure research.Thus,quantitative studies were conducted of the contributions of disequilibrium compaction,gas charging,oil cracking,temperature reduction,and tectonic uplift and subsidence to overpressures.Three case studies of paleo-pressure reconstruction were performed for the Sinian strata in the Sichuan Basin,Ordovician strata in the north uplift in the Tarim Basin and the Permian strata in the Sulige Gas Field in the Ordos Basin,where these three study sites are normally pressured,weakly over-pressured and abnormally low pressured at present,respectively.The new method developed in this paper is very important for the practical reconstruction of the paleopressure in marine strata and ancient strata in deep basins.