Provenance System Analysis of the Nantun Formation of the Huhehu Sag in Hailar Basin

Huhehu Sag is a new battlefield for the future oil and gas exploration in the Hailar Basin. At present, exploration of this area stays at a low level and the understanding of the provenance system of the Nantun Formation is comparatively weak. So, to carry out the detailed depiction of the provenance system in the study area is significant for the sedimentary system reconstruction, for the prediction of reservoir distribution and favorable areas. Based on comprehensive analysis of paleogeomorphy, light-heavy mineral and seismic reflection features, sandstone thickness and sandstone percentage, this paper analyzes in detail the provenance system of the Nantun Formation in Huhehu Sag from various angles and levels. It shows that provenances of the Huhehu Sag mainly originated from the eastern Xilinbeier Salient and western Bayan Mountain Uplift. The provenances surrounding the lake basin converged to the center of the basin, among which, the steep slope belt and the gentle slope belt are the main provenances, and the southern uplift is a secondary one. The distribution framework of the provenance fundamentally determines the distribution rules of the depositional system and its sand body developing during the Nantun period.

Geochemistry and sedimentology of sediments in a short fluvial system,NW China:implications to the provenance and tectonic setting

Six outcrop sections in Fenghe River,Northwestern China,were sampled and analyzed.This study aims to determine provenance,tectonic setting,and source-area paleoweathering of the sediments of Fenghe River in combination of lithofacies analysis and bulk-rock geochemical data.The lithofacies in the studied area were classified as gravel,sand,and fine-grained clastic lithofacies,reflecting generally channel fill deposits,channel bar deposits,and over-bank deposits,respectively.The Chemical Index of Alteration(CIA),Plagioclase Index of Alteration(PIA),and Chemical Index of Weathering(CIW)values ranged 50.10–62.29,50.13–66.35,56.52–71.12,respectively,together with element ratios such as Rb/Sr,K/Na,Rb/K,Th/K,Rb/Ti,and Cs/Ti indicate that the source area was under a low to moderate chemical weathering condition probably in cold and semi-arid climates.Moreover,plot of SiO_(2)vs.(Al_(2)O_(3)+K_(2)O+Na_(2)O)suggests that the sediments were deposited in a semi-arid climate.Plots of Cr/Th vs.Th/Sc,TiO_(2)vs.Zr,La/Yb vs.rare earth element(REE),and La-Th-Sc ternary diagrams,along with the lithology,indicate that the sediments in Fenghe River were mainly originated from felsic igneous rocks.Major elements-based discrimination diagrams and Th-Sc-Zr/10 and La-Th-Sc ternary diagram of the samples indicates that the source rocks of Fenghe River developed in a composite active continental margin and continental island arc field.

Provenance of Conglomerate and Sandstone from Early Permian Shoushangou Formation in Xi Ujimqin,Inner Mongolia:Implications for Understanding Paleo-Asian Ocean Subduction

During the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian,a rift was formed by post-collisional extension after ocean closure or an island arc-related basin formed by Paleo-Asian Ocean(PAO)subduction in the Xi Ujimqin area.Nevertheless,the closure time of the PAO is still under debate.Thus,to identify the origin of the PAO,the geochemistry and U-Pb age of zircons were analyzed for the extra-large deep marine,polymict clastic boulders and sandstones in the Shoushangou Formation within the basin.The analyses revealed magmatic activity and tectonic evolution.The conglomerates include megaclasts of granite(298.8±9.1 Ma)and granodiorite porphyry(297.1±3.1 Ma),which were deposited by muddy debris flow.Results of this study demonstrated that the boulders of granitoids have the geochemistry of typical I-type granite,characterized by low Zr+Nb+Ce+Y and low Ga/Al values.The granitoid boulders were formed in island arc setting,indicating the presence of arc magmatism in the area that is composed of the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian subduction-related granitoid in southern Xi Ujimqin.Multiple diagrams for determining sedimentary provenance using major and trace elements indicate that Shoushangou sediments originated from continental island arc-related felsic rocks.Detrital zircon U-Pb age cluster of 330–280 Ma was obtained,indicating input from granite,ophiolite,Xilin Gol complex,and Carboniferous sources to the south.The basin was geographically developed behind the arc during the Early Permian period because the outcropped intrusive rocks in the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian form a volcanic arc.The comprehensive analyses of source areas suggest that Shoushangou sediments developed in a backarc basin in response to the northward subduction of the PAO.The backarc basin and intrusive rocks,in addition to previously published Late Carboniferous to Early Permian magmatic rocks of arc unit in Xilin Gol,confirm the presence of an Early Permian trencharc-basin system in the region,represented by the Baolidao arc and Xi Ujimqin backarc basin.This study highlights the importance and potential of combined geochemical and geochronological studies of conglomerates and sandstone for reconstructing the geodynamic setting of a basin.

Geochemistry and Sm-Nd systematics of the 1.67 Ga Buanji Group of southwestern Tanzania: Paleo-weathering, provenance and paleo-tectonic setting implications

We present major and trace and Nd-isotopic data of the^1.67 Ga Buanji Group of southwestern Tanzania in order to constrain the nature of their protolith and the intensity of chemical weathering in the source terranes and make inferences on the nature of climatic conditions during the late Paleoproterozoic in the region. Major and trace element contents of the shales from three stratigraphic formations are comparable to those of the post-Archaean Australian Shale(PAAS) and the average Proterozoic Shale(PS). They are characterized by enrichments in LREE relative to HREE((La/Yb)_(CN)=9.07-13.2;(Gd/Yb)cN = 1.51-1.85) and negative Eu anomalies(Eu/Eu~* = 0.61-0.81); features which are comparable to those of PAAS and PS, indicating upper continental sources. Provenance proxy ratios,together with abundances of Cr, Ni, Co and V that increase up-stratigraphy suggest a decreasing input of felsic detritus up-stratigraphy. Chemical Indices of Alteration(CIA) for the lower, middle and upper Buanji formations are 81. 76 and 79, respectively. These indices largely indicate intermediate(ca. 60-80)to extreme(>80) weathering intensities of the precursor rocks. These observations may suggest the prevalence of warm, humid climates during the late Paleoproterozoic in the region.The lower Buanji Formation yielded a depleted mantle Nd model age(T_(DM)) of 、2100 Ma which indicates an Eburnean parentage. T_(DM) ages of 2486-2155 Ma and 2535-2379 Ma obtained from middle and upper Buanji formations, respectively, suggest a progressive increase of sedimentary input from the Tanzania Craton up-stratigraphy. The Eburnean T_(DM) ages of the lower Buanji rocks are attributed to their derivation through denudation of a decaying topographic high composed predominantly of rocks that were generated during the Palaeoproterozoic Ubendian orogenesis, possibly in the realm of Columbian Supercontinent assembly. Overlapping T_(DM) ages between the middle and upper Buanji formations suggest multiple sources involving mixing of detritus from Archaean cratonic rocks and the Palaeoproterozoic Ubendian belt. However, the Archaean signal is relatively more pronounced in the upper Buanji Formation, suggesting sediments derivation from the craton, to the north of the basin. The middle Buanji Formation suggests more diverse protolith,given the relatively larger spread in the T_(DM) ages. The Nb/Ta, Zr/Sm and Ce/Pb ratios coupled with the negative Nb and Ta anomalies, relative to primitive mantle, suggest that the tectonic setting of the source rocks for the Buanji sediments was a subduction zone akin to that generating modern sland Arc Basalts. Thus, we suggest that the Buanji's palaeogeography is consistent with an extensional continental backarc basin during the late Paleoproterozoic.

Detrital Zircon Geochronology and Provenance of Metasedimentary Rocks from the Susong Complex Zone in the Dabie Orogen

The Susong complex zone is a relatively low-grade metamorphic unit located in the southern part of the Dabie orogen and preserves a variety of metasedimentary rocks,mostly with epidote-amphibolite facies.However,their depositional age,provenance and tectonic setting of sedimentary protolith remain controversial due to the lack of fossils,precise dating and integrated geochemical investigation.This study has conducted whole-rock elemental,and zircon U-Pb SHRIMP dating and Lu-Hf isotope analyses on three types of representative metasedimentary rocks including garnetbearing mica-quartz schist,graphite-muscovite-quartz schist and dolomitic marble from the Susong complex zone.The UPb SHRIMP dating data indicate that the sedimentary protolith of these rocks have the maximum depositional ages of less than 840-750 Ma and have various sedimentary provenances.In combination with zircon Lu-Hf isotope compositions,the provenance of the metasedimentary rocks in the region is for the first time documented to be mainly derived from four groups of magmatic rocks formed at~2.5 Ga,~2.0 Ga,~1.4 Ga and~0.8 Ga in response to four episodes of igneous activity in the northeastern margin of the Yangtze Block.The conventional geothermobarometry combined with rare metamorphic zircon ages indicate that the studied rocks underwent the Late Triassic continental subduction-related metamorphism with peak epidote-amphibolite facies conditions at P=0.34-0.91 GPa and T=427-532°C.In addition,results of the elemental contents(i.e.,La,Ce,Th andΣREE)and ratios(i.e.,Eu/Eu^(*)and La_(N)/Yb_(N))suggest that the protoliths of the metasedimentary rocks were mainly shales,wackes and limestones,most probably related to the Rodinia supercontinent rifting along the northern margin of the Yangtze Block during the Neoproterozoic.

New interpretation on the provenance changes of the upper Pinghu–lower Huagang Formation within Xihu Depression,East China Sea Shelf Basin

Both Pinghu and Huagang formations are important hydrocarbon reservoirs of the Xihu Depression in the East China Sea Shelf Basin.Clarifying the source suppliers and restoring source-to-sink transport routes are of great significance to the future petroleum and gas undertakings.Previous researchers were largely confined by either limitation of geological records,highly dependence on a singular method or low-precision dating techniques.Our study integrated heavy mineral assemblages,geochemical analyses and detrital zircon U-Pb dating to reconstruct multiple source-to-sink pathways,and to provide a better understanding on the provenance evolution for the upper Pinghu–lower Huagang depositions of the Xihu Depression.At least three major provenances have been confirmed and systematically investigated for their separate compositional features.The Hupijiao Uplift(or even farther northern area)was dominated by a major Paleoproterozoic population peaked at ca.1830 Ma along with minor Mesozoic clusters.The Haijiao Uplift to the west and the Yushan Low Uplift to the southwest,on the other hand,generate opposite U-Pb age spectra with apparently larger peaks of Indosinian and Yanshanian-aged zircons.To be noted,both Indosinian and Paleoproterozoic peaks are almost identical in proportion for the Haijiao Uplift.The overall sedimentary pattern of late Eocene-early Oligocene was featured by both spatial and temporal distinction.The Hupijiao Uplift was likely to cast limited impact during the late Eocene,whereas the broad southern Xihu Depression was transported by a large abundance of materials from the nearby Haijiao and Yushan Low Uplifts.The northern source substantially extended its influence to the farther south during the early Oligocene by delivering plentiful sediments of higher-degree metamorphic parent rocks.Combined with the proximal western and southwestern suppliers,the overall Xihu Depression was under control from both distant and local provenances.

The Aghajari (Upper Fars) Formation in the Folded Zagros Zone, Iran: Insights to Identify Facies, Architectural Elements, Fluvial Systems, Petrography and Provenance

The Aghajari Formation, called also the Upper Fars, develops throughout the Folded Zagros Zone and its thickness in the type section in southwest of Iran is 2966 meters. To analyze the sedimentary basin of this Formation, lithofacies, architectural elements and petrofacies of the related deposits in a section in southeast of Sarvestan in Fars Province of Iran with a thickness of 2221.45 meters were examined. Microscopically studying thin sections, the petrography and the occurrence of the deposits were determined. In this section, 16 lithofacies, 10 architectural elements and 2 sandstone petrofacies were identified. The lithofacies were divided into two major and minor groups, in which the major lithofacies consist of coarse-grained （Gh, Gp, Gt and Gm）, medium-grained （Sh, Sp, St, Sl, Sm, Sr and Ss and fine-grained ones （Fm, Fl and Fsm）, and the minor lithofacies were evaporative and mixed silisiclastic-carbonate. The identified architectural elements are CH, SB, GB, LA, DA, CR, CS, LV, LS, CH （FF） and FF. By combining evidences from facies analysis and architectural elements together, the Aghajari Formation was divided into three parts in which the related sedimentation environments, from top to bottom, are gravel, gravel-sand and fine-grained meandering river respectively. There have also been playas and shoreface in the lower part. Based on petrography, the sandstones of this formation were classified into two groups： litharenite and sublitharenite. The origin of these deposits （sandstones） was appointed to the recycled orogeny and the source of quartz is low and medium to high metamorphic rank. Using the field evidences, the paleocurrent direction was achieved indicating the direction of the paleocurrent from northwest to southeast at the time of deposition. It is hoped that these data can be used in the interpretation of the basin and reconstruction of the paleogeography in the local and regional scales.

Sedimentary Petrology Characteristics and Their Implications for Provenance of Flowerpot Basin Jurassic System in Yanqing County, Beijing

The characteristics of sedimentary petrology are significant in determining geological provenance. By using field outcrop observation and indoor identification of thin sections, the characteristics of Jurassic system Tuchengzi Formation clastic rocks exposed in the Beijing Yanqing “flowerpot” basin, which include rock types, clastic composition and cement type, etc. have been analyzed systematically to identify the provenance direction and tectonic setting and nature of the provenance. Research shows that the sedimentary rocks in this area belong to analluvial fan and braided river sedimentary rock system and include mainly conglomerates, lithic sandstone, and feldspathic lithic sandstone. The main compositions of the conglomerate are dolomite and limestone. Nearly 50% to 70% of the sandstones are mainly polycrystalline quartz;10% to 15% are feldspar;and 40% to 55% are composed of debris from mainly magmatic and metamorphic rocks. A Dickinson triangular diagram indicates that the provenance type in this area is recycled orogny evolving from clastic recycled orogeny such as a collisional orogenic belt to a transitional recycled orogeny. On the basis of the geographic position and tectonic setting, three types of provenance can be identified in the Jurassic system Tuchengzi Formation. The far source provenances are Archean erathem basement metamorphic rocks in the northern basin and granite or adamellite that intruded rocks of the Late Jurassic epoch of the Yanshanian period in the northeast. The nearby provenance is the Mesoproterozoic erathem Changchengian system and Jixianianian system dolomite in both the east and west.

Compositional characteristics of sediment from Jiaozhou Bay in North China and the implication to the provenance

Rare earth elements(REEs)can be used to trace source materials and identify their provenances,because of significant conservation and immobility during chemical alteration processes after erosion of materials from the provenance.This study focused on the temporal variation of REEs for columnar sediments from the mouth of Jiaozhou Bay in North China to understand the potential controls for the geochemical variations of sediments.Through extraction experiments,we identified that the residual fraction is the main host for REEs compared with other fractions(i.e.,exchangeable and carbonate fraction,easily reducible oxides fraction,reducible oxides fraction,magnetite fraction).REE ratios(e.g.,La_(N)/Sm_(N)and La_(N)/Yb_(N);N:normalized by chondrite)lack correlations with grain size or the chemical index of alteration(CIA),which is correlated with major elements.All these indicate that these REE variations reflect the varying contribution of source materials from different provenances instead of grain size or chemical weathering effects.REE ratios(e.g.,La_(N)/Sm_(N)and La_(N)/Yb_(N))remain relatively constant until the depth of roughly 40 cm(equivalent to the year 1995),and show obvious changes beyond this depth.Compared REE characteristics of Jiaozhou Bay with those of neighboring rivers and bedrocks,the relative contributions of Dagu River-Jiaolai River,and Licun River may have been increased during the sedimentary processes,which could be caused by the construction of reservoir and related change of aquaculture(e.g.,rapid accumulation of organic materials).

Clay mineral compositions in the surface sediment of the Chanthaburi coast(northeastern Gulf of Thailand)and their implications on sediment provenance

Clay mineral composition represents an important tracer of sediment source area,migration processes,and paleoclimatic conditions.Clay mineral analysis was performed on 15 surface sediment samples collected from the coast of Chanthaburi,Thailand.Results show that the composition of clay minerals in the study area differs substantially from that in surrounding regions of the Gulf of Thailand.The clay minerals of the Chanthaburi coast are dominated by kaolinite(~56%),followed by smectite(~21%),illite(~14%),and low concentrations of chlorite(~8%).The average illite chemistry index and crystallinity are 0.93 and 0.32,respectively.Comparative analysis of the clay mineral composition of surface sediments in several typical areas around the Gulf of Thailand indicated that the clays of the Chanthaburi coast are mainly derived from parent rock weathering in the small watersheds of the Chanthaburi and Welu rivers and the surrounding islands.Terrestrial input from the northern coast of the Gulf of Thailand(excluding the Mekong River)was previously considered negligible;however,the present results indicate that such input has impact on the eastern Gulf of Thailand.The warm humid climatic conditions in Southeast Asia are the primary factors that affect the strong chemical weathering in the study area,followed by the nature of the parent rock.

Study on the variation in and selection of Fraxinus mandshurica provenances and families in northeast China

Fraxinus mandshurica Rupr.is one of the main afforestation species in northeast China,and there is great demand for improved F.mandshurica varieties.The results of an investigation into and analysis of the growth traits of F.mandshurica provenances and families showed that there were significant differences in different periods.However,variations in growth traits decreased year by year.There was a significant negative correlation between tree heights of the provenances and sunshine hours in their areas of origin.The provenances of Xinglong,Hailin and Wuchang were selected based on the volume of 18-year-old trees.The average genetic gain from the selection of fast-growing provenances was 19.4%.Ten superior fast-growing families were selected.The average volume of the selected families was22.6%,higher than that of all families.The correlation coefficient between heights at 6-year-old and at 18a was 0.838for provenances,and between heights at 4-year-old and at 18-year-old was 0.303 for families.These results indicate that early selection for height in provenances or families could be performed at 6 years or 4 years,respectively.Early selection for DBH and volume in families could start at 8 years.

Multiple grain-size fraction analysis of heavy minerals and the provenance identification of sediments from the abandoned Huanghe River,eastern China

The quantitative analysis of sediment sources in a sink is an important scientific topic and challenge in provenance research.The characteristics of heavy minerals,combined with the geochemical constituents of detrital grains,provide a reliable provenance-tracing approach.We developed a mineral identification method to analyze the multiple grain-size fraction of sediments,from which the elemental geochemistry of hornblende was used to compare the characteristics of sediments from the Huaihe River and Huanghe(Yellow)River in eastern China.Elements that were statistically identified as being able to discriminate sediment provenance were employed to perform a quantitative analysis of the sources of sediments of the abandoned Huanghe River.Results reveal that the Huaihe River is characterized by a high amphibole content of>60%and that the Huanghe and abandoned Huanghe rivers have greater abundances of limonite and carbonate minerals compared with those of the Huaihe River.The contents of trace elements and rare earth elements in hornblende show that the sediments of the abandoned Huanghe River are similar to those of the Huanghe River but different from those of the Huaihe River.Furthermore,chemical mass balance was used to calculate the relative contributions of different provenances of sediment from the abandoned Huanghe River,and nine trace elements of hornblende were identified as discriminators of provenance.Approximately 2%of the hornblende in the abandoned Huanghe River is derived from the Huaihe River and 98%from the Huanghe River.Considering the proportion of hornblende in the total sediment,it is inferred that the contribution of Huaihe River sediment to the abandoned Huanghe River is approximately 0.5%.This study shows that mineral analysis using multiple grain-size fractions(within the wide range of 1Φto 6Φ)with assessment in elemental geochemistry of hornblende can characterize the provenance of fluvial material in coastal zones.

Early Cenozoic paleontological assemblages and provenance evolution of the Lishui Sag,East China Sea

The East China Sea Shelf Basin generated a series of back-arc basins with thick successions of marine-and terrestrial-facies sediments during Cenozoic.It is enriched with abundant oil and gas resources and is of great significance to the petroleum exploration undertakings.Therein,the Lishui Sag formed fan delta,fluvial delta and littoral-to-neritic facies sediments during Paleocene–Eocene,and the research on its sedimentary environment and sediment source was controversial.This study analyzed the paleontological combination characteristics,and conducted a source-to-sink comparative analysis to restore the sedimentary environment and provenance evolution of the Lishui Sag during Paleocene–Eocene based on the integration of detrital zircon U-Pb age spectra patterns with paleontological assemblages.The results indicated that Lishui Sag was dominated by littoral and neritic-facies environment during time corroborated by large abundance of foraminifera,calcareous nannofossils and dinoflagellates.Chronological analysis of detrital zircon U-Pb revealed that there were significant differences in sediment sources between the east and west area of the Lishui Sag.The western area was featured by deeper water depths in the Paleocene–Eocene,and the sediment was characterized by a single Yanshanian peak of zircon U-Pb age spectra,and mainly influenced from Yanshanian magmatic rocks of South China Coast and the surrounding paleo-uplifts.However,its eastern area partly showed Indosinian populations.In particular,the upper Eocene Wenzhou sediments were featured by increasingly plentiful Precambrian zircons in addition to the large Indosinian-Yanshanian peaks,indicating a possible impact from the Yushan Low Uplift to the east.Therefore,it is likely that the eastern Lishui Sag generated large river systems as well as deltas during time.Due to the Yuquan Movement,the Lishui Sag experienced uplifting and exhumation in the late stage of the late Eocene and was not deposited with sediments until Miocene.Featured by transitional-facies depositions of Paleocene–Eocene,the Lishui Sag thus beared significant potential for source rock and oil-gas reservoir accumulation.

Clay minerals and elemental composition of sediments on different sedimentary units in the northern East China Sea shelf:provenance tracing and genetic mechanism analysis

The composition,provenance,and genetic mechanism of sediment on different sedimentary units of the East China Sea(ECS)shelf are essential for understanding the depositional dynamics environment in the ECS.The sediments in the northern ECS shelf are distributed in a ring-shaped distribution centered on the southwestern Cheju Island Mud.From the inside to the outside,the grain size goes from fine to coarse.Aside from the“grain size effect”,hydrodynamic sorting and mineral composition are important restrictions on the content of rare earth elements(REEs).Based on the grain size,REEs,and clay mineral composition of 300 surface sediments,as well as the sedimentary genesis,the northern ECS shelf is divided into three geochemical zones:southwestern Cheju Island Mud Area(ZoneⅠ),Changjiang Shoal Sand Ridges(ZoneⅡ-1),Sand Ridges of the East China Sea shelf(ZoneⅡ-2).The northern ECS shelf is mostly impacted by Chinese mainland rivers(the Changjiang River and Huanghe River),and the provenance and transport mechanism of sediments of different grain sizes is diverse.The bulk sediments come primarily from the Changjiang River,with some material from the Huanghe River carried by the Yellow Sea Coastal Current and the North Jiangsu Coastal Current,and less from Korean rivers.Among them,surface sediments in the southwestern Cheju Island Mud Area(ZoneⅠ)come mostly from the Changjiang River and partly from the Huanghe River.It was formed by the counterclockwise rotating cold eddies in the northern ECS shelf,which caused the sedimentation and accumulation of the fine-grained sediments of the Changjiang River and the Huanghe River.The Changjiang Shoal Sand Ridges(ZoneⅡ-1)were developed during the early-middle Holocene sea-level highstand.It is the modern tidal sand ridge sediment formed by intense hydrodynamic action under the influence of the Yellow Sea Coastal Current,North Jiangsu Coastal Current,and Changjiang Diluted Water.The surface sediments mainly originate from the Changjiang River and Huanghe River,with the Changjiang River dominating,and the Korean River(Hanjiang River)influencing just a few stations.Sand Ridges of the East China Sea shelf(ZoneⅡ-2)are the relict sediments of the paleo-Changjiang River created by sea invasion at the end of the Last Deglaciation in the Epipleistocene.The clay mineral composition of the surface sediments in the study area is just dominated by the Changjiang River,with the North Jiangsu Coastal Current and the Changjiang Diluted Water as the main transporting currents.

Geochemical characteristics and provenance analysis of Lower Jurassic Badaowan Formation in Changji area of Xinjiang,China

Based on the field survey of Lower Jurassic Badaowan Formation(Fm.)in Changji area of Xinjiang,China,the authors studied the sedimentary environment and provenance characteristics using the analyses of stratigraphic profiles,sedimentary structures,petrography,zircon U-Pb chronology and geochemistry.The results show that Badaowan Fm.deposited in fluvial to swamp shallow-deeplacustrine sedimentary facies deposition.Contents of Sr and ratios of Sr/Cu,Sr/Ba,Th/U,SiO_(2)/Al_(2)O_(3),V/(V+Ni),V/Cr,and Cu/Zn together indicate that Badaowan Fm.was deposited in an oxygen-poor transitional freshwater environment,under humid climatic conditions.Geochemical characteristics and Q–F–L,Qm–E–Lt,Th–Co–Zr/10,La–Th–Sc,and Th–Sc–Zr/10 discrimination diagrams indicate that the tectonic setting of the source area was a continental island arc environment.Lithological composition,Th/U ratios,and Co/Th–La/Sc,La/Th–Hf,and La/Yb–REE discrimination diagrams show that the source rocks of Badaowan Fm.were upper-crust felsic volcanic rocks.U-Pb dating of detrital zircons yields ages of 1542.3±15.0 to 232.9±3.3 Ma and mostly in the ranges of 470–410 and 370–280 Ma.A comparison of these ages with the age data from different blocks of crystalline rock in Tianshan Mountains area reveals that the sedimentary rocks in the Badaowan Fm.were sourced predominantly from the central and subordinately from the southern Tianshan Mountains during Early Jurassic.

An integrated north–south paleo-Dadu-Anning River: New insights from bulk major and trace element analyses of the Xigeda Formation

The Xianshuihe-Anninghe fault extends SE–S and constitutes the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau.However,the Dadu River which is associated with the fault does not flow following the path,but makes a 90ºturn within a distance of 1 km at Shimian,heading east,and joins the Yangtze River,finally flowing into the East China Sea.Adjacent to the abrupt turn,a low and wide pass near the Daqiao reservoir at Mianning separates the N–S course of the Dadu River from the headwater of the Anning River which then flows south into the Yunnan Province along the Anninghe fault.Therefore,many previous studies assumed southward flow of the paleo-Dadu River from the Shimian to the Anning River.However,evidences for the capture of the integrated N–S paleo-Dadu-Anning River,its timing,and causes are still insufficient.This study explored the paleo-drainage pattern of the Dadu and Anning Rivers based on bulk mineral and geochemical analyses of the large quantities of fluvial/lacustrine sediments along the trunk of the Dadu and Anning Rivers.Similar with sands in the modern Dadu River,the Xigeda sediments also exhibit a granitoid affinity with the bulk major mineral compositions of quartz(>50%),anorthite(about 10%),orthoclase(about 5%),muscovite(about 5%),and clinochlore(about 4%).Correspondingly,bulk major elements show high SiO_(2),with all samples>60%,and some of them>70%,low TiO_(2)(≤0.75%),P_(2)O_(5)(≤0.55%),FeO*(≤5%),and relatively high CaO(1.02%–8.51%),Na_(2)O(1.60%–2.52%),and K_(2)O(2.17%–2.71%),with a uniform REE patterns.Therefore,synthesizing all these results indicate that these lacustrine sediments have similar material sources,which are mainly derived from its course in the Songpan-Ganzi flysch block,implying that the paleo-Dadu originally flowed southward into the Anning River and provided materials to the Xigeda ancient lake.The rearrangement of the paleo-Dadu River appears to be closely related to the locally focused uplift driven by strong activities of the XianshuiheXiaojiang fault system.

Geochemistry and depositional environment of fuchsite quartzites from Sargur Group,western Dharwar Craton,India

Meso-Neoarchean fuchsite quartzites are present in different stratigraphic positions of Dharwar Craton including the oldest(~3.3 Ga)Sargur Group of western Dharwar Craton.The present study deals with the petro-graphic and geochemical characteristics of the fuchsite quartzites from the Ghattihosahalli belt to evaluate their genesis,depositional setting and the enigma involved in the ancient sedimentation history.Their major mineral assemblages include quartz,fuchsite,and feldspars along with accessory kyanite and rutile.The geochemical com-positions are characterized by high SiO_(2),Al_(2)O_(3),low MgO,CaO,strongly enriched Cr(1326–6899 ppm),Ba(1165–3653 ppm),Sr(46–210 ppm),V(107–868 ppm)and Zn(11–158 ppm)contents compared to the upper continental crust(UCC).The UCC normalized rare earth element(REE)patterns are characterized by depleted light REE[(La/Sm)UCC=0.33–0.95]compared to heavy REE[(Gd/Yb)_(UCC)=0.42–1.65]with conspicuous positive Eu-anomalies(Eu/Eu^(*)=1.35–18.27)characteristic of hydrothermal solutions evidenced through the interlayered barites.The overall major and trace element systematics reflect a combined mafic-felsic provenance and suggest their deposition at a passive continental margin environ-ment.The comprehensivefield,petrographic,and geo-chemical studies indicate that these quartzites are infiltrated by Cr-richfluids released during high-grade metamorphism of associated ultramafic rocks.The Sargur and the subse-quent Dharwar orogeny amalgamated diverse lithounits from different tectonic settings,possibly leading to the release of Cr-richfluids and the formation of fuchsite quartzite during or after the orogeny.Thesefindings sug-gest a pre-existing stable crust prior to the Sargur Group and the link between orogenic events and various mineral deposits in the Dharwar Craton.

Detecting APT-Exploited Processes through Semantic Fusion and Interaction Prediction

Considering the stealthiness and persistence of Advanced Persistent Threats(APTs),system audit logs are leveraged in recent studies to construct system entity interaction provenance graphs to unveil threats in a host.Rule-based provenance graph APT detection approaches require elaborate rules and cannot detect unknown attacks,and existing learning-based approaches are limited by the lack of available APT attack samples or generally only perform graph-level anomaly detection,which requires lots of manual efforts to locate attack entities.This paper proposes an APT-exploited process detection approach called ThreatSniffer,which constructs the benign provenance graph from attack-free audit logs,fits normal system entity interactions and then detects APT-exploited processes by predicting the rationality of entity interactions.Firstly,ThreatSniffer understands system entities in terms of their file paths,interaction sequences,and the number distribution of interaction types and uses the multi-head self-attention mechanism to fuse these semantics.Then,based on the insight that APT-exploited processes interact with system entities they should not invoke,ThreatSniffer performs negative sampling on the benign provenance graph to generate non-existent edges,thus characterizing irrational entity interactions without requiring APT attack samples.At last,it employs a heterogeneous graph neural network as the interaction prediction model to aggregate the contextual information of entity interactions,and locate processes exploited by attackers,thereby achieving fine-grained APT detection.Evaluation results demonstrate that anomaly-based detection enables ThreatSniffer to identify all attack activities.Compared to the node-level APT detection method APT-KGL,ThreatSniffer achieves a 6.1%precision improvement because of its comprehensive understanding of entity semantics.

A new understanding of Jurassic provenance and sedimentary framework in northwestern Sikeshu Sag, Junggar Basin, China

For a basin or sag with low exploration maturity,the understanding of its provenance system and clastic distribution system is the key to the analysis of its sedimentary framework and further influence the decision making and deployment of exploration.This study analyzed the Jurassic provenance of the Sikeshu Sag based on the data from cores,well logging,and seismic survey.The analysis of seismic profile characteristics revealed that there is a remote possibility that the Chepaizi Uplift in the northern part serves as the main Jurassic provenance of the Sikeshu Sag.On the contrary,systematic indicative signs of provenance have developed in the study area,including west-to-east progradational reflection config-urations and composite mounded reflections that show bi-directional downlapping contact in both the south and north directions.These systematic indicative signs suggest that the denuded uplift area in the western part is the main Jurassic provenance in the study area.Controlled by the provenance in the western part,the study area shows an orderly distribution of paleosedimentary systems from west to east and from shallow to deep water.The paleosedimentary system mainly exhibits the following characteristics after undergoing later high-intensity transformation.(1)The western part is dominated by the subfacies of a braided river delta front and is composed of three microfacies including distributary channels,interdistributary bays,and sandbars;(2)The middle and eastern parts show a semi-deep lacustrine environment,where debris flow sedimentary systems of slumping origin or in deep can-yons,gullies and channels connected to the denudation area developed from west to east.These debris flow sedimentary systems jointly form the clastic sedimentary system under the control of western provenance.

The Impact of the Linked Factors of Provenance,Tectonics and Climate on Potash Formation:An Example from the Potash Deposits of Lop Nur Depression in Tarim Basin,Xinjiang,Western China

Potash deposits commonly accumulate in highly restricted settings at the final stage of brine evaporation. This does not mean that potash deposits are formed simply as a result of the evaporation concentration of seawater or lake water, but rather as a coupling result of particular provenance, tectonics and climate activities. In this paper, we focus on the formative mechanism of the potash deposits of Lop Nur depression in Tarim Basin to interpret the detailed coupling mechanism among provenance, tectonics and climate. In terms of the provenance of Lop Nur Lake, the water of the Tarim River which displays ＂potassium-rich＂ characteristics play an important role. In addition, the Pliocene and Lower-Middle Pleistocene clastic beds surrounding Lop Nur Lake host a certain amount of soluble potassium and thus serves as ＂source beds＂ for potash formation. During the late Pliocene, the Lop Nur region has declined and evolved into a great lake from the previous piedmont and diluvial fan area. Since the mid Pleistocene, the great-united Lop Nur Lake has been separated and has generated a chain system consisting of Taitema Lake, Big Ear Lake and Luobei Lake which has turned into the deepest sag in Lop Nur Lake. Dry climate in Lop Nur region has increased since the Pliocene, and became extreme at the late Pleistocene. The study implies that potash formation in Lop Nur Lake depends on the optimal combination of extreme components of provenance, tectonics and climate during a shorter-term period. The optimal patterns of three factors are generally characterized by the long-term accumulation and preliminary enrichment of potassium, the occurrence of the deepest sub-depression and the appearance of an extremely arid climate in Lop Nur region. These factors have been interacting synergistically since the forming of the saline lake and in the later stages strong ＂vapor extraction＂ caused by extremely arid climate is needed to trigger large scale mineralization of potash deposits.