Asymmetry in oceanic crustal structure of the South China Sea basin and its implications on mantle geodynamics

ABSTRACT

We investigated the oceanic crustal structure and lithospheric dynamics of the South China Sea (SCS) basin through a comprehensive analysis of residual gravity anomaly and bathymetry combined with seismic constraints and interpretation from geodynamic modelling. We first calculated the residual mantle Bouguer anomaly (RMBA) of the oceanic crustal regions of the SCS by removing from free-air gravity anomaly the predicted gravitational attractions of water-sediment, sediment-crust, and crust-mantle interfaces, as well as the effects of lithospheric plate cooling, using the latest crustal age constraints including IODP Expedition 349 and recent deep-tow magnetic surveys. We then calculated models of the gravity-derived crustal thickness and calibrated them using the available seismic refraction profiles of the SCS. The gravity-derived crustal thickness models correlate positively with seismically determined crustal thickness values. Our analysis revealed that the isochron-averaged RMBA are consistently more negative over the northern flank of the SCS basin than the southern conjugate for magnetic anomaly chrons C8n (~25.18 Ma) to C5Dn (~17.38 Ma), implying warmer mantle and/or thicker crust over much of the northern flank. Computational geodynamic modelling yielded the following interpretations: (1) Models of asymmetric and variable spreading rates based on the relatively high-resolution deep-tow magnetic analysis would predict alternating thicker and thinner crust at the northern flank than the southern conjugate, which is inconsistent with the observed systematically thicker crust on the northern flank. (2) Models of episodic southward ridge jumps could reproduce the observed N-S asymmetry, but only for crustal age of 23.6–20 Ma. (3) Southward migration of the SCS ridge axis would predict slightly thinner crust at the northern flank, which is inconsistent with the observations. (4) Models of higher mantle temperatures of up to 25–50°C or >2% less depleted mantle sources on the northern flank could produce large enough anomalies to explain the observed N-S asymmetries.     

一种基于有限元的岩石圈长期变形数值计算方法

有限单元法以其灵活性和精确性,成为固体地球科学中广为使用的数值方法。从短周期的地震活动到长周期的岩石圈变形、地幔对流,甚至行星演化,有限单元法几乎在固体地球科学的各个领域都占据着十分重要的位置。随着研究的深入,某些特定的地学问题给有限元计算带来挑战,尤其是岩石圈尺度大变形的数值计算,比如俯冲带的演化、剪切带中塑性流变导致的应力集中。基于显式有限元,尝试考虑粘弹塑性岩石圈大变形过程的数值计算。应用Marker-In-Cell（MIC）方法处理物质迁移。在描述基本原理和流程的基础上,对粘弹性变形、弹塑性变形、大变形过程及热传递过程等核心模块分别做了基准测试,而这四个模块是模拟岩石圈长期变形的关键。由测试结果和其他学者的（解析或数值）研究结果比对情况来看,受测试的核心模块基本达到了测试要求。可以预见,现有的基本算法可以满足研究岩石圈大变形的需要,进一步的具体研究工作将探讨这类问题。从科学问题层面讲,逐渐复杂的科学问题有利于数值模型的成熟。已达到基准测试的数值方法对下一步开展一些具体的地球动力学数值模拟研究有实际意义。     

大陆岩石圈强度研究

岩石圈强度或有效弹性厚度(Te)控制着岩石圈对长期负载的响应及其演化过程和空间构型,包含丰富的地球动力学信息,对解译地壳、岩石圈乃至地幔介质的力学性质和动力学过程及机理具有重要的科学意义。本文拟回顾从均衡概念的提出至今关于岩石圈强度研究的发展历程,重点从历史角度梳理岩石圈强度研究的沿革脉络、各种方法发展的逻辑关联,并对岩石圈强度与壳幔耦合、岩石圈有效弹性厚度与地震孕震层厚度的关系以及岩石圈有效弹性厚度各向异性等问题进行初步探讨。     

Archean–Ediacaran evolution of the Campos Gerais Domain — A reworked margin of the São Francisco paleocontinent (SE Brazil): Constraints from metamafic–ultramafic rocks

The Campos Gerais Domain (CGD) in southeastern Brazil is an approximately 180 km × 35 km area of Archean–Proterozoic rocks located southwest of the São Francisco Craton (SFC). The Archean–Paleoproterozoic evolution of the CGD — alongside its potential correlation with the SFC or other cratonic blocks in the region — is currently poorly-constrained. We present the results of systematic petrography, bulk-rock geochemistry, mineral chemistry and geochronology for a suite of scarcely studied mafic–ultramafic rocks from the CGD. We also provide a compilation of previously reported bulk-rock geochemical and spinel group mineral chemical data for mafic–ultramafic rocks throughout the CGD, and geochronological information for various lithotypes in the region. The CGD records a protracted Mesoarchean to Statherian (3.1–1.7 Ga) crustal evolution, which we interpret to share a common history with the southern SFC and their related reworked segments, suggesting that it is a westward extension of this cratonic terrain. The metavolcano-sedimentary rocks of the Fortaleza de Minas and Alpinópolis segments represent a Mesoarchean greenstone belt that is stratigraphically and chemically comparable to Archean greenstone belts worldwide, and that is broadly coeval with a local suite of tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) gneisses and migmatites. U-Pb SHRIMP zircon data from a subalkaline metagabbro yielded a concordia age of ca. 2.96 Ga, revealing a previously unrecognized phase of Archean magmatism in the CGD that can be chrono-correlated with metakomatiite and TTG generation elsewhere in the São Francisco paleocontinent. Our data contradict a hypothesis whereby the metavolcano-sedimentary rocks of the Jacuí-Bom Jesus da Penha and Petúnia segments represent an ophiolite, as previously suggested, instead presenting features that point to formation in association with a continental arc. Coupled with a U-Pb (SHRIMP) crystallization age of ca. 2.13 Ga recorded by zircon grains from a metaultramafic rock, these data highlight that a magmatic event was chrono-correlated with the main accretionary phase of the Minas Orogeny, and with the Pouso Alegre/Amparo and São Vicente complexes. Finally, a U-Pb (SHRIMP) concordia age of ca. 590 Ma — obtained from metamorphic-textured zircon grains from a metaultramafic rock — points to a late metamorphic overprint related to upper amphibolite conditions, brittle fault activation and the juxtaposition of crustal blocks in association with the latest stages of western Gondwana’s assembly in the southern SFC, with later retrogression to greenschist-facies.     

板块运动的机制与动力来源学术争鸣

目前人类对地球的认识仍很肤浅，无论国外还是国内对于地球动力学问题仍在探索过程中，Science杂志2005年公布的125个重大科学问题中的第10个问题是“地球内部是如何运行的”，提出地球动力来源还尚未解决。 2017年出版的《中国学科发展战略--板块构造与大陆动力学》认为板块构造理论虽然取得了巨大成功，但该学说依然存在其形成以来就存在的难题，即板块动力、板块起源及板块上陆三大问题，驱动板块运动的动力机制是最为重要的问题，也是亟待解决的问题。 研讨会分两个环节，一是主要观点报告环节，二是讨论争鸣环节。 在报告环节，涉及动力机制的主要有5位报告人，分别阐述了他们的主要观点。梁光河提出了新大陆漂移说，通过大量证据分析认为传统的海底扩张驱动大陆漂移的模式存在很多问题，很多地质和地球物理观测事实说明持续推动大陆漂移的动力不是海底的持续扩张，而是大陆板块后下方持续的岩浆上涌推动大陆板块向前漂移，那是一个自发的连锁反应。万天丰认为传统的海底扩张传送带模式很难解释大陆板块漂移速度远远大于地幔对流速度这个问题，提出了陨击说。陨石撞击诱发地幔底劈推动大陆板块运动这个新的驱动模式。唐春安提出了地球龟裂说，认为地球内部热能的积累与释放，使得地质历史上岩石圈地幔具有冷热交替的周期。毛小平分析认为，目前所提出的地球动力中，只有周向应力具有足够数量级的应力,可以推动板块运动；周向应力在岩石圈薄弱处释放从而产生地壳相对运动；长期以来解释不了的“地壳异常压力”其实就是周向应力，而可独立于重力的构造力、碰撞力并不存在。 在讨论争鸣环节，大家针对地壳运动的动力来源自由发言。梁光河指出万天丰提出的陨石撞击可以较好地解释超大陆裂解的初始动力，但不同意陨石撞击可以提供持续的大陆漂移的动力，以印度板块的北漂为例，因为地幔的巨大黏滞阻力，需要无数个陨石定点撞击印度板块后面才可能持续推动印度板块漂移。唐春安提出地球的锅盖效应，因此上地幔具有冷热周期，在热周期地壳才会大规模漂移，按照力学机制，大洋中脊和转换断层不可能是海底扩张产生的，应该是大陆漂移拉开产生的断裂系统。最后杨巍然总结发言，认为陨石撞击是一个重要因素，地球上的构造运动都可以归结为开合运动，海底扩张和大陆漂移都是存在的，地体构造也是科学的。研讨会取得的共识是：大陆的确存在大规模水平运动，传统的地幔对流传送带驱动模式存在很多与观测事实不符的问题，需要重新认识驱动机制和驱动力的问题，对板块俯冲问题多数持怀疑甚至反对的观点。其驱动力应该来自重力和地球内部热力，但它们之间是如何相互作用的，仍需要进行更深入的研究。     

Basin filling evolution of the central basins of Mallorca since the Pliocene

A new compilation of data from 436 drill cores using decompaction and backstripping techniques was used to reconstruct the basin filling history from the Pliocene until the present day in the Palma, Inca and Sa Pobla Basins on the island of Mallorca (Spain). Calcareous rocks dominate the source area and provide a limited amount of clastic input to the basins that has resulted in an average accumulation rate of between 5 and 20 m/Ma during the last 5.3 Ma. Carbonate sediment production dominated the basin filling history during early‐mid Pliocene, but during the Quaternary, the sedimentation processes in the Palma Basin were probably enhanced by an evolution in the drainage network that increased the sediment supply and the accumulated thickness caused by stream capture. However, the maximum sedimentation rate filling the depocentres of the three basins has been decreasing since the Pliocene, showing that not only the catchment transport efficiency but also the relative sea level have been controlling the sediment accumulation in these carbonate basins. The isopach cross‐sections support the idea that a palaeorelief was generated during the Messinian sea level drop and that heterogeneities were filled in from the Pliocene to the Quaternary. We conclude that the central basins of Mallorca were filled heterogeneously due to tectonic and geomorphic processes that controlled sediment transport and production, resulting in different average sedimentation thicknesses that decreased since the Pliocene as the accommodation space became filled and the relative sea level dropped.     

Formation Mechanism of High Quality Marine Source Rocks—Coupled Control Mechanism of Geological Environment and Organism Evolution

High quality marine source rock (HQMSR) is the key prerequisite for medium to large hydrocarbon accumulations. However, the forming mechanism remains unclear. On the basis of the in-vestigation for the geodynamic setting of the Middle-Upper Yangtze during the Early Cambrian in dif-ferent spatial scales and the analysis of trace elements, the main controlling factors of the development of high quality marine source rock are discussed, with specific consideration of the burial rate of the organic matter. The ...     

东准噶尔卡拉麦里地区金铜多金属成矿系统和地球动力学

卡拉麦里地区处于中亚—兴蒙成矿域东准噶尔成矿带的南段,晚古生代增生—碰撞过程明显、构造和岩浆活动强烈、矿产资源丰富。晚古生代增生—碰撞成矿作用集中在两个时期,卡拉麦里北缘至野马泉为主的泥盆纪和卡拉麦里构造带为主的早石炭世中晚期—二叠纪。本文在综合研究基础上,根据卡拉麦里地区晚古生代增生—碰撞过程的地球动力学和成矿特征,将成矿系统划分为:泥盆纪活动大陆边缘斑岩型金成矿系统,早石炭世中晚期后碰撞挤压—伸展转换阶段浅成低温热液—斑岩型金铜成矿系统,晚石炭世—二叠纪后碰撞伸展阶段造山型金铜成矿系统和岩浆热液型锡金成矿系统,以后3类为主。矿床组合包括:韧性剪切带型金矿、浅成低温热液型金矿、岩浆期后热液脉型金矿、斑岩型铜金矿、构造控制脉型铜矿和云英岩—石英脉型锡矿。认为该地区的泥盆纪活动大陆边缘成矿系统可能被晚石炭世—二叠纪后碰撞造山型金成矿系统所叠置而不易识别,后碰撞作用主导了该地区主要成矿系统,大陆岩石圈拆沉和软流圈地幔上涌产生的走滑伸展构造—壳幔岩浆作用—混合流体作用是卡拉麦里地区金属成矿作用的地球动力学机制。     

西藏日喀则地区白朗蛇绿岩中石榴辉石岩的岩石地球化学、年代学及其构造意义

白朗石榴辉石岩位于西藏南部雅鲁藏布江蛇绿岩带上,地处于日喀则地区白朗县境内,因其具有重要的大地构造位置和意义,得到了国内外诸多学者关注。国内外学者对该岩体的研究有助于深入剖析雅鲁藏布江蛇绿岩带的就位机制。本文以白朗石榴辉石岩为研究对象,其野外产出为构造岩块,围岩为没有变形特征的蛇纹石化地幔橄榄岩,早白垩世昂仁组和紫红色硅质岩也没有构造变质现象,且石榴辉石岩与蛇纹石化地幔橄榄岩间界限截然。通过对其进行岩石地球化学和年代学的研究,并结合大地构造动力学观点,认为西藏日喀则地区石榴辉石岩属钙碱性超基性岩,形成于无流体无水的稳定物理化学环境中,略亏损高场强元素Th、Ta、Nb等,锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb年龄为149.0±3.1Ma,且锆石εHf(t)平均值为+17.7,说明原始岩浆主要源于亏损地幔,且没有发生岩浆混染。总结:本文确定白朗石榴辉石岩原始岩浆来源于上地幔,并且该岩石的形成与印度板块和欧亚板块俯冲有关,但在该岩石形成过程中印度板块和欧亚板块没有发生陆陆碰撞。     

23届IUGG大会有关大地测量的最新进展

第23届国际大地测量与地球物理联合会综合性学术大会于2003年6月30日至7月11日在日本扎幌举行.介绍了这次大会中有关大地测量的最新发展.主要内容有国家和地区地心参考框架的建设与维护、地球重力场与大地水准面的精密测定、GPS及其应用、大地测量的基本理论与方法、地球动力学研究以及国际大地测量学会通过的新决议.