Interaction between basement detachment fault, rift onset unconformity, and overlying basin fills: An example from the Songliao basin of a Cretaceous active continental margin volcanic rift in northeast Asia

Abstract

How does a giant rift basin begin? No precise examples describe this issue. Based on 7108 m of continuous coring data recovered from the whole stratigraphy of the Songliao Basin (SLB), an attempt has been made to answer this question. Through comprehensive geological, geochemical and seismic research it has been found that there is a triangular extensional domain (TED) beneath the sedimentary cover in the basement at the rift center, from where the initial rupture of the giant rift was created. The basement detachment fault (DF), rift onset unconformity (ROU), and overlying basin fills are interrelated elements of a sedimentary basin and are the key to interpreting the geological archives recorded in the basin. The interaction processes between them determine the location of the basin center and the style of basement subsidence, which reflect the tectonic properties of the basin. This interaction may have a coevolutionary relationship with the deep magmatic activities beneath the basin. The basement of a basin typically consists of a series of strata that the lower strata age older. The uppermost basement sequence of the Triassic in the SLB is particularly important for the overlying basin formation and evolution. The surface topography controlled the thickness of the overlying Cretaceous cover. An ROU and DF developed at the top and bottom of the Triassic, respectively.The long-term uplift, denudation, and subsequent volcanic deposition may be common features of an ROU in a volcanic rift basin. More so, DF is the controlling factor for basin subsidence in the syn-rift stage of basin evolution. The frequent intrusive association with graben faults suggests that sublithospheric mantle flow may affect the accommodation space of the overlying basin by cutting the basement blocks via feeder dykes and shaping the graben pattern on top of the basement.