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Sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of evaporites in the Middle Jurassic Buqu Formation of the Qiangtang Basin, Tibet, China

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Abstract

Qiangtang Basin is a large Mesozoic marine sedimentary basin located on the northern Qinghai-Tibet plateau. Multiple sets of evaporites were observed in the Middle Jurassic Buqu Formation through field outcrop description and thin sections analysis, so as to form the sets of evaporite–carbonate sedimentary sequences. The evaporites in the Buqu Formation are represented by gypsum and anhydrite rocks that contain minor secondary diagenetic features such as massive, rosette, chicken-wire, and satin spar gypsum. Two lithofacies association types were identified in the Buqu Formation, including sparry oolitic limestone–dolomite–gypsum/anhydrite and micrite–carbonaceous mudstone–gypsum/anhydrite. The former was deposited in an intertidal–supratidal (tidal flat) setting and the latter was deposited in a subtidal lagoon setting. Two depositional sequences were distinguished, including Buqu sequence 1 and Buqu sequence 2. Gypsum of the intertidal setting is mainly developed in a lowstand system tract in both Buqu sequences 1 and 2, while gypsum of the subtidal setting is mainly developed in a highstand system tract in Buqu sequence 2. Combining the measured evaporites thickness in the field with sedimentary facies analysis, the distribution of the Middle Jurassic Buqu Formation evaporites is clear in the Qiangtang Basin, which may serve as a local seal for oil and gas plays in this region.

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Modified from Li et al. 2009

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Modified from Tucker 1991)

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Acknowledgements

We thank Jiasheng Zhou, senior engineer, and Zhiwen Wang, senior engineer, from the Southern Exploration Division Company, SINOPEC, China, who provided guidance and help in the field. We thank LetPub (http://www.letpub.com) for its linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript. Our deepest gratitude goes to the editors and the anonymous reviewers for their careful work and thoughtful suggestions that have helped improve this paper substantially.

Funding was provided by Major State Basic Research Development Program (Grant No. 2012CB214802).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Energy Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoqun Yang, Tailiang Fan, Shuai Tang, Miaomiao Meng & Peng Hu

  2. Southern Exploration Division Company, SINOPEC, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of China

    Jixuan Li

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  1. Xiaoqun Yang
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  2. Tailiang Fan
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Correspondence to Xiaoqun Yang.

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Yang, X., Fan, T., Tang, S. et al. Sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of evaporites in the Middle Jurassic Buqu Formation of the Qiangtang Basin, Tibet, China. Carbonates Evaporites 32, 379–390 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13146-016-0324-3

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