Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Thermal regime transition in eastern North China and its tectonic implication

  • Published:
Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The pre-Cenozoic formation in the Cenozoic depositon centres in eastern North China reached its maximum temperature at present, and the earlier paleo-temperature, therefore, has been overprinted, but the record of paleo-temperature by the vitrinite reflectance (R o) has not been overprinted by the later thermal events in the pre-Cenozoic formation located in the uplift or in the Paleozoic-Mesozoic residual basins out of the Cenozoic depositon centres. The reconstruction of paleo-temperature gradient and paleo-heat flow, based on the vitrinite reflectance in the Paleozoic and the Mesozoic structural layers in boreholes, indicated that the eastern North China was characterized by much higher paleo-temperature gradient (40–55°C/km) and heat flow (>80 mW/m2) during the Middle-Late Mesozoic than those in the Early Mesozoic and at present. The higher paleo-heat flow during the Middle-Late Mesozoic implies that the thickness of the “thermal” lithosphere at that time was just 50–55 km, it had been much thinned relative to the thickness (135–148 km) at the Early Mesozoic. The transition of near-surface thermal regime in eastern North China occurred around 110 Ma, and the corresponding deep tectonothermal processes should take place at ~160 Ma.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Griffin W. L., Zhang A. D., Reilly S. Y. et al., Phanerozoic evolution of the lithosphere beneath the Sino-Korean Craton, in: Mantle Dynamics and Plate Interactions in East Asia (eds. Flower M. E. J., Chung S. L., Lou C. H. et al.), AGU Geodynamic Series, 1998, 27: 107–126.

  2. Xu X. S., O’Reilly S. Y., Griffin W. L. et al., The nature of the Cenozoic lithosphere at Nushan, Central Eastern China, in Mantle Dynamics and Plate Interactions in East Asia ((eds. Flower M. E. J., Chung S. L., Lou C. H. et al.), AGU Geodynamic Series, 1998, 27: 167–195.

  3. Chi, J. S., Lu, F. X., Characteristics of kimberlites and Paleozoic lithosphere mantle in North China Plateform (in Chinese), Beijing: Science Press, 1966, 1–121.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Song, Y., Frey, F. A., Geochemistry of peridotite xenoliths in basalt from Hannuoba, eastern China: Implications for subcontinental mantle heterogeneity, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta (in Chinese), 1989, 53: 97–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Tatsumoto, M., Basu, A. R., Huang, W. K. et al., Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopes of ultramafic xenoliths in volcanic rocks of Eastern China: enriched components EM1 and EM11 in subcontinental lithosphere, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 1992, 113: 107–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Menzies M. A., Fan W. M., Zhang M., Palaeozoic and Cenozoic lithoprobes and the loss of >120 km of Archaean lithosphere, Sino-Korean craton, China ((eds. Prichard H. M., Alabaster T., Harris N. B. W. et al.), Magmatic Processes and Plate Tectonics, Geol. Soc. Spel. Pub., 1993, 76: 71–81.

  7. Fan, W. M., Zhang, H. F., Baker, J. et al., On and off the North China craton: where is the Archaean keel? J. Petrol., 2000, 41: 933–950.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Xu, Y. G., Thermo-tectonic destruction of the Archaean lithospheric keel beneath the sino-korean craton in China-Evidence, timing and mechanism, Phys. Chem. Earth (A), 200l, 26: 747–757.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Morgan P., The thermal structure and thermal evolution of the continental lithosphere, in: Structure and Evolution of the Continental Lithosphere ((eds. Pollack H. N., Murthy V. R.), Phys. Chem. Earth, 1984, 107–193.

  10. Xu, Y. G., Lin, C. Y., Shi, L. B. et al., Upper mantle geotherm for eastern China and its geological implications, Science in China, Series B, 1995, 38: 1482–1492.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Shi, L. B., Lin, C. Y., Chen, X. D., A xenolith-derived geotherm for the lower crust and uppe rmantle beneath Hanuoba area, Hebei province, China and its geologic implications, Seismology and Geology (in Chinese), 2000, 22(1): 37–46.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Wang, J. Y., Li, N. S., Wang, J. H. et al., Geothermics in China, Beijing: Seismological Press, 1996, 1–78.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Hu, S. B., He, L. J., Wang, J. Y., Heat flow in the continental area of China: a new data set, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2000, 179: 407–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Zhao, Y., Yang, Z. Y., Ma, X. H., Geotectonic transition from PaleoAsian system and PaleoTethyan system to paleopacific active continental margin in eastern China, Scientia Geologica Sinica (in Chinese), 1994, 29(2): 105–119.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Zhao, Y., The Mesozoic orogenies and tectonic evolution of the Yanshan area, Geological Review, 1990, 36(1): 1–13.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Deng, J. F., Mo, X. X., Zhao, H. L. et al., Lithosphere root/derooting and activation of the east China Continent, Geoscience (in Chinese), 1994, 8(3): 349–356.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Shao, J. A., Mu, B. L., He, G. Q. et al., Geological effects in tectonic superposition of Paleo-Pacific domain and Paleo-Asian domain in northern part of North China, Science in China, Series D, 1997, 40(6): 634–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Chen, M. X., Geothermics of Northern China (in Chinese), Beijing: Science Press, 1988, 1–124.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Yang, S. C., Temperature-Pressure Evironment in Oil-Gas-Bearing Area (in Chinese), Dongying: Petroleum University Press, 1993, 1–131.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Zhou, Z., Pan, C. C., Paleo-Temperature Analysis Methods and Their Application in Sedimentary Basins (in Chinese), Guangzhou: Guangdong Science and Technology Press, 1992, 1–67.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Waples, D. W., Time and Temperature in Petroleum Formation: Application of Lopatin’s Method to Petroleum Exploration, AAPG Bulletin, 1980, 64: 916–926.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Wood, D. A., Relationships between thermal maturity indices calculated using Arrhenius equation and Lopatin method: implications for petroleum exploration, AAPG Bulletin, 1988, 72: 115–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Sweeney, J. J., Burnham, A. K., Evaluation of a simple model of vitrinite reflectance based on chemical kinetics, AAPG Bulletin, 1990, 74: 1559–1570.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Bray R. J., Green P. F., Duddy I. R., Thermal history reconstruction using apatite fission track analysis and vitrinite reflectance: a case study from the East Midlands of England data from Alaska and the southern North Sea ((ed. Hardman R. S. P.), Exploration Britain: Geological Insights for the Next Decade, Geological Society of London Special Publication, 1992, 67: 3–25.

  25. Hu, S. G., Zhang, R. Y., Zhou, L. C., Methods of thermal history reconstruction for Oilgas basin, Explorationist (in Chinese), 1998, 3(4): 52–54.

    Google Scholar 

  26. O’Sullivan, P. B., Thermochronology, denudation and variations in palaeosurface temperature: a case study from the North Slope foreland basin, Alaska, Basin Research, 1999, 11: 191–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Hu, S. B., Wang, J. Y., Zhang, R. Y., Estimation of the amount of uplift and erosion across an unconformity using vitrinite reflectance data, Petroleum Exploration and Development (in Chinese), 1999, 26(4): 42–45.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Shi, X. B., Wang, J. Y., Luo, X. R., Discussion on the abilities of thermal indicators in reconstructing thermalhistory of sedimentary basin, Chinese Journal of Geophysics (in Chinese), 2000, 43(3): 386–392.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Allen, P. A., Allen, J. R., Basin Analysis: Principles and Applications, Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publicatons, 1990, 282–305.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Carslaw, H. S., Jaeger, J. C., Conduction of Heat in Solids, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1959, 1–256.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Rudnick, R. L., McDonough, W. F., O’Connell, R. J., Thermal structure, thickness and composition of continental lithosphere. Chemical Geology, 1998, 145: 395–411.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Ma, X. Y., Liu, C. Q., Liu, G. D., Xiangshui (Jiangsu Province) to Mandal (Nei Mongol) Geoscience Transect, Acta Geologica Sinica (in Chinese), 1991, 65(3): 199–215.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Jaupart, C., Mareschal, J. C., Cuillou-Frottier, L. et al., Heat flow and thickness of the lithosphere the Canadian Shield, J. Goephys. Res., 1998, 103: 15269–15286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Wang, Y., Wang, J. Y., Deng, J. F. et al., Heat flow constraint on the abundance of uranium, thorium and potassium in crust and lithosphere of the continental area of China, Progress in Geophysics (in Chiense), 2001, 16(3): 21–30.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Liu, G. D., The lithospheric structure and dynamics of China, Acta Geophysica Sinica (in Chinese), 1994, 37(Supp.): 65–81.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Zheng, J. P., Lu, F. X., O’Reilly, S.Y. et al., Mantle modification and replacement beneath east China: A study on clinopyroxenes of Laser ICPMS, Sciences in China, Series D, 2000, 30(4): 376–382.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Pasquale, V., Cabella, C., Verdoya, M., Deep temperatures and lithospheric thickness along the European Geotraverse, Tectonophysics, 1990, 176: 1–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Zhai, M. G., Fan, Q. C., Mesozoic replacement of bottom crust in North China Craton: an orogenic mantlecrust interaction, Acta Petrologica Sinica (in Chinese), 2002, 18(1): 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Gao, S., Zhang, B. R., Jin, Z. M. et al., Lower crustal delamination in the Qinling-Dabie orogenic belt, Science in China, Series D, 1999, 42(4): 423–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geology & Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100029, Beijing, China

    Fu Mingxi, Shengbiao Hu & Jiyang Wang

Authors
  1. Fu Mingxi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shengbiao Hu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jiyang Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shengbiao Hu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fu, M., Hu, S. & Wang, J. Thermal regime transition in eastern North China and its tectonic implication. Sci. China Ser. D-Earth Sci. 48, 840–848 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1360/03yd0098

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1360/03yd0098

Keywords

Search

Navigation