Sequence stratigraphy, paleogeography, and coal accumulation regularity of major coal-accumulating periods in China

摘要

There are 9 major coal-accumulating periods during geological history in China,including the Early Carboniferous,Late Carboniferous-Early Permian,Middle Permian,Late Permian,Late Triassic,Early-Middle Jurassic,Early Cretaceous,Paleogene and Neogene.The coal formed in these periods were developed in different coal-accumulating areas(CAA)including the North China,South China,Northwest China,Northeast China,the Qinghai–Tibet area,and China offshore area.In this paper,we investigated depositional environments,sequence stratigraphy,lithofacies paleogeography and coal accumulation pattern of five major coal-accumulating periods including the Late Carboniferous to Middle Permian of the North China CAA,the Late Permian of the South China CAA,the Late Triassic of the South China CAA,the Early-Middle Jurassic of the North and Northwest China CAA,and the Early Cretaceous in the Northeast China CAA.According to distribution of the coal-bearing strata and the regional tectonic outlines,we have identified distribution range of the coal-forming basins,sedimentary facies types and coal-accumulating models.The sequence stratigraphic frameworks of the major coal-accumulating periods were established based on recognition of a variety of sequence boundaries.The distribution of thick coals and migration patterns of the coal-accumulating centers in the sequence stratigraphic framework were analyzed.The lithofacies paleogeography maps based on third-order sequences were reconstructed and the distribution of coal accumulation centers and coal-rich belts were predicted.