Tectonic Evolution of the Palaeo——Tethys in Changning——Menglian Belt and Adjacent Regions,Western Yunnan

The Changning - Menglian belt , located between the Baoshan - Gengma massif and the Simao - Lincang massif in Western Yunnan , preserves the complete record of a suture zone and the most continuous record of deep water sedimentation , representing the main branch of the Palaeo - Tethys polyisland ocean in the Hercynian - Indo-sinian stage .This belt could be further subdivided into three tectono - lithofacies zones . In the east zone , terrigenous elastics , argillaceous ,marl-argillaceous and silicate sedi-ments lie on the metamorphosed Early Palaeozoic base ment in concealed unconformity , representing deep water sediments on a passive continental margin . The central zone , although the basement rocks are absent from outcropping here , includes a contemporary complex of various sedimentary types , among them one type is of deep ocean sediments represented by radiolarian bedded chert , appearing from at least early Early Devonian to the Middle Triassic . Another type includes pure carbonates of the Early Carboniferous to the Late Permian , a type of shallow water carbonate platform on seamount or oceanic plateau within an ocean basin . In the west zone , the Permo - Carboniferous terrigenous elastics , argillaceous and silicate sediments appear again -representing the passive continental slope sedimentation in the east of the Baoshan - Gengma massif .As the Permo-Carboniferous rock types,sedimentary environments and palaeontological characters of the east and west zones are quite similar , we hold that these two zones were originally formed all on the eastern continental slope of the Baoshan - Gengma massif , and were separated due to eastward thrust later in the Indosinian orogeny . Intense thrust compacting also resulted in tectonic melange in the central zone , which is displayed by shallow water carbonates overlapping on or embedded in deep water volcanics . In the Lancangjiang belt , the Permo - Carboniferous are very complicated in sedimentary types which include island arc volcanics , deep water turbidites, silicolites and shallow water carbonates , representing the active continental margin in the west of the Simao massif. Whether there existed by Early Permi an, a Lincang magma tic arc still awaits further evidence . From the Late Permian,both the Changning-Meng-lian belt and the Lancangjiang belt experienced important sedimentary and volanic events which took place contemporaneously or penecontemporaneously but with different characters . Evidence for the Lincang magmatic arc began to be apparent , and the turbidite deep water basin in the Lancangjiang belt closed . Nevertheless , the Palaeo - Tethys oceanic basin , represented by the Changning - Menglian suture zone , existed until the Mid-dle Triassic . In the Late Triassic . massifs of Baoshan -Gengma ,Simao - Lincang ,collided and aggregated ,resulting in the disappearance of the Palaeo - Tethys ocean .

Possible link between long-term and short-term water injections and earthquakes in salt mine and shale gas site in Changning,south Sichuan Basin, China

Late at night on 17 June 2019,a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Shuanghe Town and its surrounding area in Changning County,Sichuan,China,becoming the largest earthquake recorded within the southern Sichuan Basin.A series of earthquakes with magnitudes up to 5.6 occurred during a short period after the mainshock,and we thus refer to these earthquakes as the Changning M6 earthquake sequence(or swarm).The mainshock was located very close to a salt mine,into which for^3 decades fresh water had been extensively injected through several wells at a depth of 2.7–3 km.It was also near(within^15 km)the epicenter of the 18 December 2018 M5.7 Xingwen earthquake,which is thought to have been induced by shale gas hydraulic fracturing(HF),prompting questions about the possible involvement of industrial activities in the M6 sequence.Following previous studies,this paper focuses on the relationship between injection and seismicity in the Shuanghe salt field and its adjacent Shangluo shale gas block.Except for a period of serious water loss after the start of cross-well injection in 2005–2006,the frequency of earthquakes shows a slightly increasing tendency.Overall,there is a good correlation between the event rate in the Shuanghe area and the loss of injected water.More than 400 M≥3 earthquakes,including 40 M≥4 and 5 M≥5 events,had been observed by the end of August 2019.Meanwhile,in the Shangluo area,seismicity has increased during drilling and HF operations(mostly in vertical wells)since about 2009,and dramatically since the end of 2014,coincident with the start of systematic HF in the area.The event rate shows a progressively increasing background with some fluctuations,paralleling the increase in HF operations.More than 700 M≥3 earthquakes,including 10 M≥4 and 3 M≥5 in spatially and temporally clustered seismic events,are correlated closely with active fracturing platforms.Well-resolved centroid moment tensor results for M≥4 earthquakes were shown to occur at very shallow depths around shale formations with active HF,in agreement with some of the clusters,which occurred within the coverage area of temporary or new permanent monitoring stations and thus have been precisely located.After the Xingwen M5.7 earthquake,seismic activity in the salt well area increased significantly.The Xingwen earthquake may have created a unidirectional rupture to the NNW,with an end point close to the NW-trending fault of the Shuanghe earthquake.Thus,a fault in the Changning anticline might have terminated the fault rupture of the Xingwen earthquake,possibly giving the Xingwen earthquake a role in promoting the Changning M6 event.

α-and β-diversity Change of Late Ordovician Hirnantia Fauna of Changning,Sichuan,Southwest China

A continuous Ordovician-Silurian boundary section from the upper Wufeng Formation through the Kuanyinchiao Formation to the lower Lungmachi Formation has been carefully measured and collected at Shuanghe of Changning, southern Sichuan Province. For the first time, the temporal changes of α- and β-diversities of the Hirnantia fauna have been discussed in great detail. The general trend of brachiopod diversity change, increasing upward, is consistent with the regional trend of the Yangtze Platform, which had been controlled by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. However, the sudden drop of diversity for a short period in the upper Kuanyinchiao Formation might have been controlled by environmental factors rather than normal faunal turnover. Synecological analysis using numerical methods recognizes two brachiopod-dominated associations of the Hirnantia fauna, the Dalmanella-Kinnella Association and the Mirorthis Association, both living in an offshore, deeper water environment corresponding to BA3-upper BA4, particularly lower BA3.

Tectonic and geological setting of the earthquake hazards in the Changning shale gas development zone, Sichuan Basin, SW China

Hydraulic fracturing is a key technology in shale gas extraction,whether hydraulic fracturing induces earthquakes has become a hot topic in the public and the focus of scholars’research.The urgency of shale gas mining and the catastrophic nature of earthquakes highlight the urgent need to study this issue.The Changning anticline at the southern margin of the Sichuan Basin is a key area for shale gas exploitation.Taking this as an example,this paper applies the velocity model of the study area to reposition the M5.7 magnitude earthquake on December 16,2018 and the M5.3 magnitude earthquake on January 03,2019 and their aftershock sequence in this area.Using shale gas exploration drilling and reflection seismic data to carry out structural analysis,and recovering the tectonic geological setting of earthquake occurrence by restoring the formation process of the Changning anticline,to further explore the seismic mechanism.Our results show that the Changning anticline is a large basement fault-bend fold,and the displacement of the fault forming the anticline is 18 km,and the Changning anticline absorbs 33%of the fault slip.The Silurian Longmaxi Formation of the Changning anticline experienced larger-parallel shearing along underlying basement faults,forming a micro-fracture system.The footwall ramp of the basement fault is reactivated at present,earthquakes in this area mostly occur along the footwall ramp of the basement fault and above and below it.The anticlinal and synclinal hinge zones are also the earthquake concentration areas,but the earthquake magnitude decreases upwards along the kink-band,and small earthquakes below M2.0 occur in the Silurian Longmaxi Formation.So far,the earthquake in the Changning anticline mainly occurred in the southern limb of the anticline,which is a natural earthquake formed along the footwall ramp of the basement fault.The earthquakes in the Changning area are possible related to the geo-tectonic setting for the southeast outward compression of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at present,the moderate or large-scale earthquakes in the southwest Sichuan Basin are mainly due to the reactivation during late Quaternary of the earlier formed faults.It is suggested to carry out scientific monitoring of seismic activities in shale gas development zones.

Three-dimensional Geometry and Kinematics of the Changning Anticline in the Southern Sichuan Basin

In this study,we aim to clarify the structural characteristics and deformation process of the Changning anticline.We carefully interpret 38 two-dimensional(2D)seismic profiles in the study area and establish three-dimensional(3D)geometric and quantitative kinematic models of the Changning anticline.This study shows that the basement fault controls the formation of the Changning anticline.The fault slope of the main fault in the basement shows’steep in the upper and gentle in the lower’structural characteristics vertically,possessing obvious segmentary characteristics transversely and presents the overall characteristics of’steep in the east and gentle in the west’.Further analysis shows that the Changning anticline proceeds west and terminates at the boundary defined by current surface features but gradually disappears westward across the Mt.Huaying fault zone.Furthermore,we identified that deformation of the Changning anticline began during the early Yanshanian movement period.Under compressional stress from the southeast,the anticline slid forward along the basement fault until the end of the Yanshanian movement period,when the dominant WNW-ESE structure gradually emerged.Since the Himalayan movement period,a series of NE-trending structures have been formed in the anticline,owing to multi-directional compressive stress.

Research of the Activity of Earthquakes Induced by Water Injection of Salt Mining in Changning County,Sichuan Province

According to information from on-the-spot investigations, the tectonics of salt mining areas and digital seismic records, we studied the activity of earthquakes induced by water pumping in and out of the salt mines in Shuanghe town, Changning county, Sichuan Province. The study found that the rates of water injection and extraction in the Shuanghe salt mining region were evenly matched before April 2006 and earthquake activity was stable. On the other hand, shallow small and moderate earthquake numbers increased sharply after the water injection rate became much larger than the water extraction rate. Large injection over a long time may causes the permeation of water through pre-existing small fractures and micro-cracks in the Changning anticlinal and accelerate the rupture of micro tectonic formations in nearby regions, inducing small earthquake swarm activity. The Q value calculated by using digital earthquake records indicates a relatively inhomogeneous medium in this area. The results of the accurate location of small earthquakes show that sources are relatively shallow and are concentrated at a depth of 2km to 3km. Focal mechanism solutions reveal a normal dip-slip character of shallow earthquakes. All of these show certain characteristics of earthquake activity induced by water injection.