Late Mesozoic–Cenozoic sedimentary basins of active continental margin of Southeast Russia: paleogeography, tectonics, and coal–oil–gas presence

Abstract

Various settings took place during the Late Mesozoic: divergent, convergent, collisional, and transform. After mid-Jurassic collision of the Siberian and Chinese cratons, a latitudinal system of post-collision troughs developed along the Mongol-Okhotsk suture (the Uda, Torom basins and others), filled with terrigenous coal-bearing molasse. The dispersion of Pangea, creation of oceans during the Late Jurassic are correlated to the emergence of the East Asian submeridional rift system with volcano-terrigenous coal-bearing deposits (the Amur-Zeya basin). At that time, to the east there existed an Andean-type continental margin. Foreland (Upper Bureya, Partizansk, and Razdolny) and flexural (Sangjiang-Middle Amur) basins were formed along the margin of the rigid massifs during the Late Jurassic to Berriasian. During the Valanginian-mid-Albian an oblique subduction of the Izanagi plate beneath the Asian continent occurred, producing a transform margin type, considerable sinistral strike slip displacements, and formation of pull-apart basins filled with turbidites (the Sangjiang-Middle Amur basin). The Aptian is characterized by plate reorganization and formation of epioceanic island arcs, fore-arc and back-arc basins in Sakhalin and the Sikhote-Alin (the Alchan and Sangjiang-Middle Amur basins), filled with volcanoclastics. During the mid-Albian a series of terranes accreted to the Asian continental margin. By the end of the Albian, the East Asian marginal volcanic belt began to form due to the subduction of the Kula plate beneath the Asian continent. During the Cenomanian–Coniacian shallow marine coarse clastics accumulated in the fore-arc basins, which were followed by continental deposits in the Santonian–Campanian. From the Coniacian to the Maastrichtian, a thermal subsidence started in rift basins, and continental oil-bearing clastics accumulated (the Amur-Zeya basin). Widespread elevation and denudation were dominant during the Maastrichtian. This is evidenced by thick sediments accumulated in the Western Sakhalin fore-arc basin. During the Cenozoic, an extensive rift belt rmade up of a system of grabens, which were filled with lacustrine–alluvial coal–and oil-bearing deposits, developed along the East Asian margin.