Quick Search:    advanced search

GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help

Petroleum Geoscience

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Nansheng, Q. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation

Tectono-thermal evolution of the Qaidam Basin, China: evidence from Ro and apatite fission track data

Key Lab for Petroleum Entrapment Mechanism of Ministry of Education and Research Center for Basin & Reservoir, Petroleum University, Beijing 102249, PR China

In the Qaidam Basin, on the Northeastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, the thermal evolution of western and northern sub-basins was analysed using apatite fission track (AFT) data and vitrinite reflectance data from 27 wells. This study shows that thermal gradients decreased during the evolution of the basin, but there existed some differences in thermal evolution between the west and north of the basin, due to different tectonic movements. The thermal gradients in Paleocene–Miocene in the west and in Jurassic times in the north were more than 30°C km^–1, exceeding present-day gradients. These thermal data can provide useful parameters for the study of the Qaidam Basin and Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Palaeotemperature data are the critical parameter for hydrocarbon generation calculations. The results in this study provide a foundation for hydrocarbon generation history modelling and petroleum resources assessment in the Qaidam Basin.

KEYWORDS: Burial history, subsurface temperature, paleotemperature, Qaidam Basin, fission track dating, vitrinite reflectance, thermal gradient

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Yin, Y. Dang, M. Zhang, M. W. McRivette, W. P. Burgess, and X. Chen Cenozoic tectonic evolution of Qaidam basin and its surrounding regions (part 2): Wedge tectonics in southern Qaidam basin and the Eastern Kunlun Range Geological Society of America Special Papers, January 1, 2007; 433(0): 369 - 390. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Q. Nansheng, Z. Ming, W. Xulong, and Y. Haibo Tectono-thermal evolution of the Junggar Basin, NW China: constraints from Ro and apatite fission track modelling Petroleum Geoscience, October 1, 2005; 11(4): 361 - 372. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]