Uplift processes of the southern margin of the North China Block are of great significance for understanding interactions between the Qinling Orogenic Belt and the North China Basin. Based on sedimentary facies analysis,this paper studies the detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology and fission track chronology of the Permian Shihezi Formation in Luonan area,and discusses the source characteristics and uplift processes of the southern margin of the North China Block. It is expected to provide a sedimentary constraint for the subduction time of the Mianlue Ocean Basin and provide a possible source area for the Triassic recycled sediments in the southern North China Basin. The results show that the Permian Shihezi Formation in Luonan area experienced an upward change in sedimentary facies from alluvial fan to braided river,and then to delta. The sample from the lower part of the strata contains three groups of U-Pb ages,i.e.,353-280 Ma,1139-400 Ma,and 2620-1306 Ma. The fission track ages are decomposed into three peaks of 199 Ma,255 Ma,and 408 Ma. The sample from the upper part of the strata contains two U-Pb age groups,i.e.,339-259 Ma and 2655-1700 Ma,and the fission track ages were decomposed into three peaks of 205 Ma,268 Ma and 656 Ma. The results show that the southern margin of the North China Block received sediment from the Qinling Orogenic Belt during the early sedimentary period of the Shihezi Formation,but the sediments mainly came from the northern margin of the North China Block in the late depositional stage. The tectonic pattern had been transformed from high in the south to high in the north in this time. The initial uplift of the southern margin of the North China Block occurred during the Middle-Late Permian,which was related to the initial subduction of the Mianlue Ocean Basin,and became a potential provenance area to the Triassic strata in the south of the North China Basin.

North Africa,located on the northern margin of the Gondwana continent in Paleozoic era,is one of the important oil and gas enrichment areas worldwide,experiencing two rift-sag-foreland basin evolution cycles,namely the Paleozoic Gondwana and the Mesozoic Cenozoic Tethys. Based on a comprehensive analysis of publicly available geological data and oil and gas exploration data,this article identified three types of petroliferous basins in the North African region: cratonic superimposed sags,rifts,and passive margin related basins;summarized two basin evolution cycles: Gondwana and Tethyan basin-forming cycle;clarified the controlling role of tectonic evolution on basin types,basin structures,and the development of source,reservoir,and cap rocks. Under the influence of the global plate tectonic evolution,different regions in North Africa have gone through five stages of tectonic evolution: (1)late Proterozoic-early Cambrian basement assembly and rift stage;(2)Cambrian-Early Carboniferous intra-cratonic sag stage;(3)Late Carboniferous-Early Permian Hercynian orogenic stage;(4)Late Permian-Early Cretaceous rift stage; and (5)Late Cretaceous-Present Alpine orogenic stage. Marked by the Hercynian orogeny,the basin features cycles that consist of the Paleozoic Gondwana Cycle and the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Tethyan Cycle. The evolution of the basins in western North Africa are dominated both by the Gondwana and Tethyan cycles,forming superimposed sag basins, while the evolution of the eastern basins are dominated by the Mesozoic and Cenozoic Tethyan cycle,forming the Mesozoic and Cenozoic rift basins and passive continental margin basins. Controlled by the development differences of basins,the source rocks of the western superimposed sag basins are developed mainly in Silurian and Devonian,with including the Paleozoic and Triassic reservoirs. The regional cap rocks are Silurian shale and Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic evaporate. In comparison the source rocks of the eastern rift basins developed in Cretaceous,Paleogene,and Neogene,with pre-rift Paleozoic and syn-rift Mesozoic and Cenozoic reservoirs. The regional caprocks include the Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic evaporites rocks deposited in the rifting stages. Overall,the differential tectonic evolution in the North African controls the formation mechanism of petroliferous basins and the distribution of source,reservoir,and cap rocks.

Carboniferous-Permian period was the key tectonic transition period in the ocean-continental transition in the eastern Xinjiang region,during which multiple oceanic crust closure and continental collision occurred. Due to the complexities of ocean basin properties,trench-arc-basin subduction events and land-land collisions in the eastern Xinjiang region,there is insufficient understanding of the late Paleozoic stratigraphic framework comparison and sedimentary filling characteristics in the basin. The theory of active tectonic palaeogeography was used to restore the tectonic-sedimentary features of basin-mountain tectonic belt in the eastern Xinjiang region,and the tectonic-sedimentary environment of each tectonic stratigraphic unit was determined. The prototype basin restoration was carried out comprehensively and dynamically from the perspectives of sedimentary filling,tectonic evolution restoration and the peripheral tectonic environment. The results show that the eastern Xinjiang region experienced five stages of extension and convergence cycles: Early Carboniferous extension,late Early Carboniferous-early Late Carboniferous weak extension,late Late Carboniferous compression,early Early Permian extension,and late Early Permian compression. Subsequently,5 tectonic transformation processes occurred: Late Permian,Late Triassic,Late Jurassic,Late Cretaceous-Paleogene and Late Cenozoic. The reconstruction of the basin-mountain tectonic pattern reveals that the southern boundary of the Tuha Basin in the Carboniferous period is approximately 46-70 km south of the present basin-mountain boundary. The Kelameili Mountains in the northern part of the eastern Junggar Basin during the Carboniferous period were approximately 30 km north of the current boundary. The northern orogenic belt of the Santanghu Basin in the Carboniferous period has a boundary of about 55 km south of the current boundary. The sedimentary environment experienced a transition from the Carboniferous marine to the Early Permian marine-continental transitional phase,and then to Middle-Late Permian continental facies. During the Carboniferous period,the marine arc-related rift basins,rift marginal basins and rift basins were developed. During the early Permian,marine and continental rift basins were mainly developed. During the middle Permian period,continental depression basins were mainly developed. During the late Permian period,compressional depression basins developed. The analysis of basin-mountain tectonic patterns and tectonic palaeogeographic evolution of the Carboniferous-Permian strata in the eastern Xinjiang region lays a good foundation for exploring the reservoir formation conditions and source-reservoir combination distribution of the Carboniferous-Permian period in the main sedimentary basins of the eastern Xinjiang region.

The Huaiyuan Movement is an important tectonic event in the early Paleozoic of the North China Platform,resulting in a regional unconformity. Based on outcrop data,geological maps,drilling data and new seismic data,the identification marks,types and distributions of unconformities formed during the Huaiyuan movement in the Ordos Basin were analyzed. The results show that(1)sandy conglomerate and weathered crust developed near the unconformity surface;additionally,high acoustic time,high gamma values,high content of trace elements(U,Th and K),high thorium-uranium ratios,low resistivity,and low density of logging curves occurred near the unconformity surface. The seismic response of the unconformity is characterized by a strong phase,and there are obvious differences in amplitude intensity,frequency and continuity in the wave groups on both sides of the unconformity. In addition,the truncation point reflections can be observed in local domain. (2)The Huaiyuan movement caused both parallel-unconformity and low-angle cutting unconformity in the basin. The former was widely distributed in the basin and its periphery areas,and the latter was distributed near the paleo-uplift in the basin. (3)The Ordos Basin and its periphery areas were affected by three stages of the Huaiyuan tectonic movement: during the depositional period of the Zhangxia Formation in the Middle Cambrian,uplift first occurred in the southeast region of the basin and then moved to the northwest direction;at the end of the Sanshanzi Formation deposition period in the late Cambrian,paleo-uplifts developed in the basin,and they were subjected to erosion; at the end of the late Cambrian, before the Ordovician Majiagou Formation was deposited,the negative drift of carbon isotopes first occurred in the bottom layer of Majiagou Formation due to the influence of global sea level decline. These results provides a reference for the research of new fields of oil and gas exploration in Lower Paleozoic in the Ordos Basin.

Mahu sag,Shawan sag,and Pen-1 well west sag are the three major hydrocarbon rich sags in the west of Junggar Basin. Through the analysis of deep drilling wells,well logging,and deep reflection seismic profile data,these three sags were revealed to belong to the same depression in the early Permian,and the scope of the Western Depression of the Junggar Basin was determined accordingly. Three sets of regional unconformity surfaces were identified and three sets of structural layers were divided in the Permian to the upper Triassic within the Western Depression, i.e. ,the lower Permian structural layer,the middle Permian structural layer,and the upper Permian-Triassic structural layer. The fault related fold theory and balanced profile technique are used in the fine tectonic interpretation and tectonic evolution analysis. In combination with the previous analysis on thermal history and geochemical characteristics of volcanic rocks in the Junggar Basin,the tectonic evolution of the Western Depression in the Permian-Triassic period was mainly divided into three stages: the extensional rifting of the early Permian and the compression in the late Permian,the weak extensional depression of the Middle Permian,the compression uplift of the late Permian to Triassic period. The tectonic evolution of the western depression belt is spatiotemporally coupled with the anti-clockwise rotation of the western Junggar and Junggar Block. These results are of great significance for revealing the characteristics of the Junggar Basin during the Permian period and the evolution of intracontinental processes since the Permian period.

Hydrothermal sedimentary facies can be formed in rifted basins,mid-oceanic ridges,arc-basin system,as well as epeiric basins and intracontinental lacustrine basins. According to diagenetic and metallogenic modes,rock associations,and geochemical dynamic classifications,hydrothermal sedimentary lithofacies may be classified into hydrothermal syngenetic sedimentary lithofacies,hydrothermal quasi-syngenetic metasomatism lithofacies,hydrothermal syngenetic altered lithofacies,lithofacies of hydrothermal-blasting to hydraulic fracturing breccias,lithofacies of thermal brine quasi-syngenetic infiltration-metasomatism,and lithofacies of crytoexplosive to hydraulic fracturing breccias by hydrothermal fluids related to hydrothermal plume,including 17 types of tectonic lithofacies. All of them are of basic to establishment of independent tectonic mapping elements. The root,vent,center,proximate,and distal facies of the hrdrothermal fluid system have obvious tectonic lithofacies zonation and distribution in basins. However,all of them experienced deformations such as cataclastic rock facies,mylonite facies,and facies of the altered rocks related to thermal fluid reworking,overprinting,and reconstruction in intrcontinental orogens. After studies on deformation history and deformation-sieving of tectonic lithofacies,their tectono-palaeogeography units can be better understood. It may further help us to improve detecting buried tectonic lithofacies and mineral resource predication.

Field investigation affords the foundation of tectonic research. Palaeogeography and related sedimentary petrology,palaeontology stratigraphy and structural geology have played an important role in studying tectonics,which has been fully borne out by the excellent works of outstanding geologists,for example,Grabau,Huang Jiqing and Wang Hongzhen. However,since the 1990s,such careful and patient studies that need to be time-consuming and exert great effort have been overlooked because of the SCI-oriented evaluation system and adjustment of academic papers often guided by their numbers. Now a new stereotyped writing pattern that means geological datings+geochemical data+structural model is displaying its capabilities and growing into vogue. This is a very harmful current. The leaders of the academic circle must change its SCI-oriented policy and management thinking in order to dreverse this wrong trend and improve the scientific research environment.

The tectonic-depositional differentiation is a common phenomenon on the Earth surface. It takes place in the lithospheric components such as sedimentary basins,orogenic belts,and cratons. Sediments,fluids,energy,and forces are always changing and differentiating with each other on shallow,intermediate,and deep layers of the lithosphere. From a view of the material composition,spatio-temporal distribution,and mechanic processes,the paper discusses basic features of the tectonic-depositional differentiation in detail,taking the Chinese sedimentary basins as an example. It is defined as geomorphic differences on the Earth surface,which result from tectonic,thermal,gravitational processes,and mantle dynamics,which give rise to the variations in source,routing system,and deposition and fill. It takes place on variable scales that ranges from ocean-continent,basin-orogenic belt,uplift-sag,high-depression systems,to high-and-low relief geomorphic systems. The basement framework,strength,and moving style have marked controls upon the different scale of differentiation. The tectonic stress,gravitation,thermal stress,and mantle dynamics control the differential mechanisms. It exhibits the differentiation cycle with the geological evolution,transforming from rifts and depressions during the extension period into uplifts and sags during the compression period,especially for carbonate platforms changing from the rifted differential platform to the compressive unified platform. All these factors and mechanisms can be interlinked and play roles altogether in the geological spatio-temporal framework,giving multi-varied tectonic-depositional processes. It is a key basis to reconstruct the earth history,to boost the exploration of the ore deposits and resources,and to improve the habitable environments for humankind.

The Ordos Basin contains four main paleouplift structures in geological history, i.e., the Central,Ulager,Weihe,and Wushenqi Paleouplifts. This paper systematically analyzed the four paleouplifts with respect to stratigraphic distribution and tectonic evolution,and put forward a new concept of the Weihe Paleouplift. The four paleouplifts formed in different geological ages and regional tectonic environments,and it underwent different evolutionary processes: (1)The Central Paleouplift formed in the extensional tectonic setting of the Early Paleozoic,which was reversed and transformed into a depression subsidence area during the Indosinian period;(2)The Ulager Paleouplift is a long-term inherited uplift that has existed since the formation of the basin basement;different uplift subsidence occurred in the Cretaceous and Cenozoic and differentiated into different units of the present structure;(3)The Weihe Paleouplift formed in a regional compressive tectonic environment in the Cretaceous. It is also differentiated by differential uplift subsidence in the Cenozoic into different units of present structure;(4)The Wushenqi Paleouplift was an ancient topographic highland that existed in Precambrian,with no further development in the Early Paleozoic. Therefore,it was highlighted only in the Cambrian and disappeared rapidly after the Ordovician. The differences of reservoir control in paleouplifts are mainly as follows: (1)The paleouplift formed prior to and during the Paleozoic played a positive role in controlling facies,storage and source-storage configuration,and that the paleouplift later on from uplift to depression is beneficial to the evolution and accumulation of oil and gas,and reservoir formation;(2)The later uplift since the Cretaceous is mainly destructive to oil and gas accumulation,especially for Paleozoic natural gas reservoirs.

The Caledonian unconformity is an important interface for transformation of basin types in the Early Paleozoic North China plate. The discovery of Ordovician weathered crust and paleokarsts as the oil and gas reservoirs and aluminous mudstone gas reservoirs in the Benxi and Taiyuan formations in the Ordos Basin has promoted geologists to explore the Caledonian orogeny in the Paleozoic in this area. Based on a number of field outcrops,drilling and seismic data,the following understandings are obtained with respect to the identification marks,geography,structures and time variables of the unconformity formed by the orogeny. (1)The paleogeomorphic formed after the Caledonian orogeny can be roughly divided into the highland area of Etok Banner-Dingbian area,the geomorphic transition area of Shenmu-Jingbian-Fuxian and Wuzhong areas,and the low-lying and gently eastward inclined area in the Middle East. (2)The adjacent strata of the unconformity surface at the top of the Ordovician are in contact with different angles,and have the structure of “truncation(bottom)-integration(top)”,“truncation(bottom)-overlap(top)”,which is characterized by a high-angle unconformity of cutting and folding at the basinal edge,a low-angle unconformity from basinal edge to the basin,widely distributed parallel unconformity in the basin. (3)The unconformity in this area is also the main weathering crust interface formed between the Upper and Lower Paleozoic. The long-term sedimentary discontinuity and weathering and denudation have laid an environmental background for the development of aluminous mudstone in this area. Bauxite is not only an ideal caprock for the Lower Paleozoic gas reservoir,but also a favorable place for large-scale accumulation of natural gas in the Longdong exploration new area,which is worthy of attention.

The oldest continental crust material is 4.4 Ga detrital zircon from sedimentary rocks, and the oldest continental crust rocks are between 4.1 and 4.0 Ga with an outcrop area of ca.20 km². The old continental nuclei of 3.9-3.6 Ga were exposed in various cratons,whereas the growth peak of the continental crust was in 2.9-2.7 Ga,and the global stable continental crust formed at~2.5 Ga,which is termed as cratonization. The continental crust is represented by Tonalite-Trondhejmite-Granodiorite(TTG),accounting for ~70% of the ancient continental crust by volume. The ancient continents show a high-grade gneiss region-granite-greenstone belt pattern(dome-keel pattern),which is different from the Phanerozoic oceanic-continental pattern,suggesting a difference in tectonic regime. The volcanic sedimentary sequence is the greenstone belt surrounding the high-grade gneiss region in stratified syncline form,the latter being relatively low grade metamorphic or un-metamorphic. In the early evolution of the Earth,the continent or ocean came first,the mechanism of the formation and growth of the continental remain unclear,when the surface land began to emerge in sea water,and the relation state of the ocean and continent during the Archean period remain controversial. In the Paleoproterozoic period,the entire world was in the extended stage for a long time,and the thick rift deposits and the associated great oxidation events may be the earliest geological period to initiate the study of palaeogeography. Taking the North China Craton as an example,the evolution of continental crust is briefly introduced in this paper.