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The thermal history of the Sichuan Basin, SW China: Evidence from the deep boreholes

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Abstract

The Sichuan Basin is a superimposition basin composed of terrestrial and marine sediments that is well known for its abundant petroleum resources. Thermal history reconstruction using paleogeothermal indicators, including vitrinite reflectance and thermochronological data, shows that different structural subsections of the Sichuan Basin have experienced various paleogeothermal episodes since the Paleozoic. The lower structural subsection comprising the Lower Paleozoic to Middle Permian (Pz-P2 successions experienced a high paleogeothermal gradient (23.0–42.6°C/km) at the end of the Middle Permian (P2, whereas the upper structural subsection comprising Late Permian to Mesozoic strata underwent a relatively lower paleogeothermal gradient (13.2–26.9°C/km) at the beginning of the denudation (Late Cretaceous or Paleocene in the different regions). During the denudation period, the Sichuan Basin experienced a successive cooling episode. The high paleogeothermal gradient resulted from an intensive thermal event correlated to the Emeishan mantle plume. The heat flow value reached 124.0 mW/m2 in the southwestern basin near the center of the Emeishan large igneous province. The low geothermal gradient episode with heat flow ranging from 31.2 to 70.0 mW/m2 may be related to the foreland basin evolution. The cooling event is a result of the continuous uplift and denudation of the basin.

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing, 102249, China

    ChuanQing Zhu & NanSheng Qiu

  2. College of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum, Beijing, 102249, China

    ChuanQing Zhu & NanSheng Qiu

  3. State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    ShengBiao Hu

  4. College of Geosciences, Yangtze University, Jinzhou, 434023, China

    Song Rao

  5. Exploration and Production Research Institute, SINOPEC, Beijing, 100083, China

    YuSong Yuan

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Zhu, C., Hu, S., Qiu, N. et al. The thermal history of the Sichuan Basin, SW China: Evidence from the deep boreholes. Sci. China Earth Sci. 59, 70–82 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-015-5116-4

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