Development characteristics of the third-order sequence of Upper Devonian–Lower Carboniferous shore-mixed shelf in Tarim Basin, NW China

Abstract

Based on the study of stratigraphic sedimentary facies of the prototype sedimentary basin formed in the Late Devonian to Permian Period in the Tarim Basin, the prototype sedimentary basin are divided into five order sequences according to the theory of sequence stratigraphy. It is considered that the Upper Devonian–Lower Carboniferous shore-mixing shelf in the lower part of the prototype sedimentary basin is a typical third-order sequence and a sequence development model is established. The third-order sequence is actually a transgression systems tract and highstand systems tract cycle assemblage, and the type I sequence (no lowstand systems tract) is a typical developmental mode of the third order sequence, and the identification mark is the existence of huge mudstone and limestone wedges from sea to land. The fifth-order parasequence is the basic sequence, which is a single cycle sequence. The thin layer limestone isochronous sediments, which are easy to be identified in the mixed shelf areas, are the isochronous sediments of the largest or secondary marine-flooding surface. The mixed shelf area belongs to the equilibrium sedimentary profile of internal and external sediments, and there is no condensed section. The inclined deposition phenomenon of extraneous source sediments in the sea area weakens or disappears in the mixed shelf area. The paleogeomorphology at the bottom of the third-order sequence is a terrace-slope break zone. This paleogeomorphological feature is not only the main reason for the sedimentary diachronism of Donghe sandstone, but also the main reason for the formation of the transgression-highstand fourth-order cyclic sequences of the Donghe sandstone section and its upper gravel-bearing sandstone section. Key words: shore, mixed shelf, Tarim Basin, prototype sedimentary basin, sequence stratigraphy, third-order sequence model