Heterogeneity of Parent Rocks and Its Constraints on Geochemical Criteria in Weathering Crusts of Carbonate Rocks

Owing to the low contents of their acid-insoluble components, carbonate rocks tend to decrease sharply in volume in association with the formation of weathering crust. The formation of a 1 m-thick weathering crust would usually consume more than ten meters to several tens of meters of thickness of parent rocks. The knowledge of how to identify the homogeneity of parent rocks is essential to understand the formation mechanism of weathering crust in karst regions, especially that of thick-layered red weathering crust. In this work the grain-size analyses have demonstrated that the three profiles studied are the residual weathering crust of carbonate rocks and further showed that there objectively exists the heterogeneity of parent rocks in the three studied weathering crusts. The heterogeneity of parent rocks can also be reflected m geochemical parameters of major elements, just as the characteristics of frequency plot of grain-size distribution. Conservative trace element ratios Zr/Hf and Nb/Ta are proven to be unsuitable for tracing the heterogeneity of parent rocks of weathering crust, but its geochemical mechanism is unclear. The authors strongly suggest in this paper that the identification of the homogeneity of parent rocks of weathering crust in karst regions is of prime necessity.

Formation Mechanism of the High-quality Upper Paleozoic Natural Gas Reservoirs in the Ordos Basin

The upper Paleozoic natural gas reservoirs in the Ordos basin are generally characterized by a large gas-bearing area and low reserve abundance. On such a geological background, there still exist gas-enriched zones, with relatively high outputs, high reserve abundance and stably distributed gas layers. The gas-enriched layers with relatively high permeability （the lower limit permeability is 0.5×10^-3μm^2） are key factors for the enrichment and high output of natural gas. Based on core observation, analytic results of inclusions, and a great deal of drilling data, we proposed the following four mechanisms for the formation of high-quality reservoirs： （1） in the source area the parent rocks are mainly metamorphic rocks and granites, which are favorable to keeping primary porosity; （2） under the condition of low A/S （accommodation/sediment supply） ratios, sandstone complex formed due to multistage fluvial stacking and filling are coarse in grain size with a high degree of sorting, low content of mud and good physical properties; （3） early-stage recharge of hydrocarbons restricted compaction and cementation, and thus are favorable to preservation of primary pores; （4） microfractures caused by the activity of basement faults during the Yanshan Movement stage can not only improve the permeability of tight sandstones, but also afford vertical pathways for hydrocarbon gas migration.

Detrital K-feldspar^(40)Ar/^(39)Ar Ages:Source Constraints of the Lower Miocene Sandstones in the Pearl River Mouth Basin,South China Sea

The South China Sea began to outspread in the Oligocene. A great quantity of terraneous detritus was deposited in the northern continental shelf of the sea, mostly in Pearl River Mouth Basin, which constituted the main paleo-Pearl River Delta. The delta developed for a long geological time and formed a superimposed area. Almost all the oil and gas fields of detrital rock reservoir distribute in this delta. Thirty-three oil sandstone core samples in the Zhujiang Formation, lower Miocene （23-16 Ma）, were collected from nine wells. The illite samples with detrital K feldspar （Kfs） separated from these sandstone cores in four sub-structural belts were analysed by the high-precision 40Ar/39Ar laser stepwise heating technique. All 33 illite 40Ar/39Ar data consistently yielded gradually rising age spectra at the low-temperature steps until reaching age plateaus at mid-high temperature steps. The youngest ages corresponding to the beginning steps were interpreted as the hydrocarbon accumulation ages and the plateau ages in mid-high temperature steps as the contributions of the detrital feldspar representing the ages of the granitic parent rocks in the provenances. The ages of the detrital feldspar from the Zhujiang Formation in the four sub-structural belts were different： （1） the late Cretaceous ages in the Lufeng 13 fault structural belt; （2） the late Cretaceous and early Cretaceous-Jurassic ages in the Huizhou 21 buried hill-fault belt; （3） the Jurassic and Triassic ages in the Xijiang 24 buried hill-fault belt; and （4） the early Cretaceous - late Jurassic ages in the Panyu 4 oil area. These detrital feldspar 4~Ar/39Ar ages become younger and younger from west to east, corresponding to the age distribution of the granites in the adjacent Guangdong Province, Southern China.

Geochemistry and zircon U-Pb ages of the Oligocene sediments in the Baiyun Sag, Zhujiang River Mouth Basin

In this study,element geochemistry and zircon chronology are used to analyze the Oligocene sediments in the Baiyun Sag,Zhujiang River Mouth Basin.The experimental results are discussed with respect to weathering conditions,parent rock lithologies,and provenances.The chemical index of alteration and the chemical index of weathering values of mudstone samples from the lower Oligocene Enping Formation indicate that clastic particles in the study area underwent moderate weathering.Mudstone samples exhibit relatively enriched light rare earth elements and depleted heavy rare earth elements,"V"-shaped negative Eu anomalies,and negligible Ce anomalies.The rare earth element distribution curves are obviously right-inclined,with shapes and contents similar to those of post-Archean Australian shale and upper continental crust,indicating that the samples originated from acid rocks in the upper crust.The Hf-La/Th and La/Sc-Co/Th diagrams show this same origin for the sediments in the study area.For the samples from the upper Enping deltas,the overall age spectrum shows four major age peaks ca.59–68 Ma,98–136 Ma,153–168 Ma and 239–260 Ma.For the Zhuhai Formation samples,the overall age spectrum shows three major age peaks ca.149 Ma,252 Ma and 380 Ma.The detrital zircon shapes and U-Pb ages reveal that during Oligocene sedimentation,the sediments on the northwestern margin of the Baiyun Sag were supplied jointly from two provenances:Precambrian-Paleozoic metamorphic rocks in the extrabasinal South China fold zone and Mesozoic volcanic rocks in the intrabasinal Panyu Low Uplift,and the former supply became stronger through time.Thus,the provenance of the Oligocene deltas experienced a transition from an early proximal intrabasinal source to a late distal extrabasinal source.

Sediment supply mechanism and its influence on hydrocarbon accumulation in the Paleogene of the northern Huanghekou Sag,Bohai Bay Basin,China

Tectonic activity and sediment supply have significantly affected the rifted basin fillings and hydrocarbon accumulations.The Huanghekou Sag in the southeastern Bohai Bay Basin is a hydrocarbon rich sag and was bounded by the Bonan Uplift to the north in the Paleogene,which strongly affected sediment disribution and hydrocarbon accumulation in this region.The sediment supply mechanism of the Paleogene parent rocks in this area has not been revealed yet.Therefore,the Huanghekou Sag is a natural laboratory to reveal the relationship between the tectonic activties and hydrcoarbon accumulations in a rifted basin.In this study,the tectonic evolution characteristics of the Bonan Uplift in different geological periods are revealed during the main fault depression periods.Then,the direction of the provenance and distribution of the depositional system of the Bonan Uplift are analyzed based on the sedimentary system and mineralogy analysis.Finally,the sediment supply in the Bonan Uplift in different geological periods has been systematically studied.The results indicated that sediment supply is the dominant factor of hydrocarbon accumulation in the Paleogene in the Huanghekou Sag.During the Paleocene-Middle Eocene,extensive denudation occurred in the Bonan Uplift,sediments were mainly sourced from the Bonan Uplift in the northern margin of the Huanghekou Sag.During the Late Eocene to Early Oligocene,the Bonan Uplift had a large angle rotation and subsidence due to the strong rifting of the Bozhong Sag in the north,and the sand supply capacity was seriously reduced.Due to the different sediment supply in different geological periods,high quality reservoir and cap conditions were formed in the Paleogene in the central and northern parts of the Huanghekou Sag,which is conducive to the accumulation and preservation of oil and gas.