Paleo and Modern Stress Regimes of Central North Tabriz Fault, Eastern Azerbaijan Province, NW Iran

The North Tabriz fault is a segmented dextral fault in Northwest Iran, with a history of major destructive earthquakes that have repeatedly destroyed the city of Tabriz（current population 1.6 million）. The quiescence of the fault（last major temblor in 1854） and a lack of outcrop study have hampered stress analysis. Resolution of the stress states on the fault could be used for seismotectonic study along the North Tabriz fault and for understanding the geodynamics of the Arabia-Eurasia collision zone. Using fault-slip data collected from 88 localities in the fault system, we conducted an inversion analysis of this fault-slip data and analysis of the stratigraphic, geometric, and structural information. As a result, we confirmed that transcurrent deformation is prevalent on the North Tabriz fault and adjacent areas and is generally accomplished by predominant NW-SE-trending dextral and NE-SW-trending sinistral faults. Specifically, three separate tectonic episodes are recognised from the stress inversion data, consistent with the geologic data：（i） a post-Cretaceous and pre-Early Miocene compressional（Laramian） stress regime,（ii） an Early Miocene extensional stress regime, and（iii） modern tectonic episode with different local stress regimes（compressional and extensional） along the different segments of this fault.

Changes of Late Mesozoic Tectonic Regimes around the Ordos Basin(North China)and their Geodynamic Implications

A synthesis is given in this paper on late Mesozoic deformation pattern in the zones around the Ordos Basin based on lithostratigraphic and structural analyses. A relative chronology of the late Mesozoic tectonic stress evolution was established from the field analyses of fault kinematics and constrained by stratigraphic contact relationships. The results show alternation of tectonic compressional and extensional regimes. The Ordos Basin and its surroundings were in weak N-S to NNE-SSW extension during the Early to Middle Jurassic, which reactivated E-W-trending basement fractures. The tectonic regime changed to a multi-directional compressional one during the Late Jurassic, which resulted in crustal shortening deformation along the marginal zones of the Ordos Basin. Then it changed to an extensional one during the Early Cretaceous, which rifted the western, northwestern and southeastern margins of the Ordos Basin. A NW-SE compression occurred during the Late Cretaceous and caused the termination of sedimentation and uplift of the Ordos Basin. This phased evolution of the late Mesozoic tectonic stress regimes and associated deformation pattern around the Ordos Basin best records the changes in regional geodynamic settings in East Asia, from the Early to Middle Jurassic post-orogenic extension following the Triassic collision between the North and South China Blocks, to the Late Jurassic multi-directional compressions produced by synchronous convergence of the three plates （the Siberian Plate to the north, Paleo-Pacific Plate to the east and Lhasa Block to the west） towards the East Asian continent. Early Cretaceous extension might be the response to collapse and lithospheric thinning of the North China Craton.

End Late Paleozoic tectonic stress field in the southern edge of Junggar Basin

This paper presents the end Late Paleozoic tectonic stress field in the southern edge of Junggar Basin by interpreting stress-response structures （dykes, folds, faults with slickenside and conjugate joints）. The direction of the maximum principal stress axes is interpreted to be NW-SE （about 325°）, and the accommodated motion among plates is assigned as the driving force of this tectonic stress field. The average value of the stress index Rt is about 2.09, which indicates a variation from strike-slip to compressive tectonic stress regime in the study area during the end Late Paleozoic period. The reconstruction of the tectonic field in the southern edge of Junggar Basin provides insights into the tectonic deformation processes around the southern Junggar Basin and contributes to the further understanding of basin evolution and tectonic settings during the culmination of the Paleo- zoic.

Discussion on the dynamic mechanism of Great North China area based on the observed stress data

Based on the constrained data from the observed stress orientation and the observed stress regime, the tectonic stress fields of the Great North China area has been simulated by using the pseudo-3D finite element method. The results indicate that the stress fields in this area are basically controlled by the push forces coming from the Pacific Plate and from the Tibet Plateau, and the WNW-ward action from the Pacific Plate play a more important role in North China plain block. In addition to that, the stress field in this area is also partly formed by the extension action from the mantle upwelling in perpendicular at the basin margins.

Evolution of the Late Cenozoic Tectonic Stress Regime in the Tianshui Basin,Northeast Tibetan Plateau

The Tianshui Basin,located inside the western Qinling orogenic belt and northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau （Fig.1）,is a NE-trending Late Cenozoic basin,which documents the neotectonic response of the northeastward growth of Tibetan Plateau.

Numerical assessment of the mechanical stability in vertical,directional and horizontal wellbores

In this research the stability of wellbore is evaluated in seven different stress regimes and diverse orientations using FLAC3D software.The normalized yielded zone area(NYZA.i.e.,the ratio of surrounding yielded cross-sectional area to initial area of wellbore)is determined for different mud pressures as well as diverse orientations of wellbore.By means of MATLAB software the best curve is fitted to the recorded points and then the optimized mud pressure is calculated using these plots.The optimized orientation is selected considering these data.Finally the mud pressure resulted from this method was compared with the mud pressure obtained from the Mogi-Coulomb criterion and then with the fields data.The minimum allowable mud pressure obtained from the NYZA criterion is close to actual data and the value obtained from the Mogi-Coulomb criterion.Hence,the NYZA is considered to be an appropriate criterion for wellbore stability analysis.