Characteristics of Pore Structure and Gas Content of the Lower Paleozoic Shale from the Upper Yangtze Plate, South China

This study is predominantly about the differences in shale pore structure and the controlling factors of shale gas content between Lower Silurian and Lower Cambrian from the upper Yangtze plate, which are of great significance to the occurrence mechanism of shale gas. The field emission scanning electron microscopy combined with Particles (Pores) and Cracks Analysis System software, CO2/N2 adsorption and the high-pressure mercury injection porosimetry, and methane adsorption were used to investigate characteristics of overall shale pore structure and organic matter pore, heterogeneity and gas content of the Lower Paleozoic in southern Sichuan Basin and northern Guizhou province from the upper Yangtze plate. Results show that porosity and the development of organic matter pores of the Lower Silurian are better than that of the Lower Cambrian, and there are four main types of pore, including interparticle pore, intraparticle pore, organic matter pore and micro-fracture. The micropores of the Lower Cambrian shale provide major pore volume and specific surface areas. In the Lower Silurian shale, there are mesopores besides micropores. Fractal dimensions representing pore structure complexity and heterogeneity gradually increase with the increase in pore volume and specific surface areas. There is a significant positive linear relationship between total organic carbon content and micropores volume and specific surface areas of the Lower Paleozoic shale, and the correlation of the Lower Silurian is more obvious than that of the Lower Cambrian. The plane porosity of organic matter increases with the increase in total organic carbon when it is less than 5%. The plane porosity of organic matter pores is positively correlated with clay minerals content and negatively correlated with brittle minerals content. The adsorption gas content of Lower Silurian and Lower Cambrian shale are 1.51–3.86 m3/t (average, 2.31 m3/t) and 0.35–2.38 m3/t (average, 1.36 m3/t). Total organic carbon, clay minerals and porosity are the main controlling factors for the differences in shale gas content between Lower Cambrian and Lower Silurian from the upper Yangtze plate. Probability entropy and organic matter plane porosity of the Lower Silurian are higher than those of Lower Cambrian shale, but form factor and roundness is smaller.

Low-Ti gabbroic pluton in Dali, SW China: new evidence for back-arc lithospheric melting inducing the early-stage magmatism of the Emeishan large igneous province

The latest studies proved contribution of the Emeishan mantle plume (the widely-regarded origin of the Emeishan LIP in the western Yangtze Plate. LIP: large igneous province) to the Palaeo-Tethys subduction. However, whether the Palaeo-Tethys subduction oppositely affected the formation of the Emeishan LIP remains poorly understood. Here, we report geochronological, petrological, geochemical and isotopic studies of a gabbroic intrusion in this LIP, located in Jiangwei, the Dali area. The gabbro has a weighted mean SHRIMP U-Pb age of ∼262 Ma. Key geochemical features include Nb, Ta and Ti depletion; Th, U and Sr enrichment, low light/heavy rare earth element ratios and ∼0.707 87Sr/86Sr(t) and ∼-0.21 εNd(t) values. We conducted pMELTS thermodynamic modeling and batch melting calculations to evaluate the origin and evolution of the gabbro, based on real components of low-Ti picrites and xenolith of the Yangtze lithosphere. The results support 3% melting of a hydrated spinel peridotite source from the Yangtze lithosphere can produce magma equivalent to the gabbro components. Integrating this conclusion with tectonic background of the western Yangtze Plate and volcano-stratigraphic record of the Emeishan LIP, we infer the early-stage magmatism of the Emeishan LIP was triggered by Paleo-Tethys back-arc extension with fluid modification from subductional slab.Supplementary material:https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5433267

Lithospheric structure of Hubei Province, central China, from Rayleigh wave tomography: insight into the spatial contact relationship between the Yangtze Plate and the eastern Qinling-Dabie orogenic belt

SUMMARY Knowledge about the spatial contact relationship between the Yangtze Plate and the eastern Qinling-Dabie orogenic belt can not only provide a scientific basis for the exploration of mineral resources, disaster prevention and earthquake prediction in the region, but also play an important role in reconstructing the geological process of the central orogenic belt. Hence, high-resolution lithospheric velocity model is essential to address these geological problems. In this study, using waveform data from 48 stations in Hubei Province and adjacent regions, central China, we invert for a 3-D S-wave velocity structure model of the crust and upper mantle from Rayleigh wave tomography. Our model reveals the complex subduction pattern of the Yangtze Plate to the north and the thrust-nappe tectonics of the Qinling-Dabie orogenic belt along the Mianlue suture with different scales and different deformation strengths. In addition, in the central part of Hubei Province, the local Yangtze slab has been broken into several pieces, among which the upwelling low-velocity anomalies appear. Moreover, the southern margin of the Dabie orogenic belt has undergone thrusting-nappe movement, and a series of associated structures are formed in the northern margin of the middle Yangtze platform. The contact zone between the two blocks in this area is composed of a series of thrust faults with dextrorotation slip component. Finally, based on the 3-D S-wave velocity image of Hubei Province and its vertical cross-section profiles along three different directions, three dynamic models are proposed to explain the spatial contact relationship between the Yangtze Plate and the eastern Qinling-Dabie orogenic belt in different regions.