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Frontiers of Earth Science

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Front. Earth Sci.    2022, Vol. 16 Issue (4) : 949-962    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-022-0979-0
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Paleosalinity and lake level fluctuations of the 3rd Member of Paleogene Shahejie Formation, Chezhen Sag, Bohai Bay Basin
Long SUN1, Jinliang ZHANG1(), Yang LI2, Xue YAN1, Xuecai ZHANG3
1. Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
2. Hubei Key Laboratory of Petroleum Geochemistry and Environment, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China
3. Oil and Gas Exploration Management Center, Sinopec Shengli Oilfield, Dongying 257000, China
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Abstract

The Chezhen Sag, located in the north-western Jiyang Depression, is one of the most important oil-bearing sags in the Bohai Bay Basin. Due to the low degree of exploration in the sag, paleosalinity and sedimentary environment of the sag in the 3rd Member of Paleogene Shahejie Formation (Es3) is not clear. Recovering the paleosalinity and lake level fluctuations is helpful for understanding organic matter rich rocks sedimentation. Therefore, a detailed geochemical, mineralogical and paleontological analysis of the Es3 in the Chezhen Sag was conducted. Index like Sr/Ba ratios, B/Ga ratios, equivalent boron content and methods concluding Adams’ formula and Couch’s method were adopted to reveal the paleosalinity and lake level variations. The results indicate that the lower submember (Lower Es3) was deposited in a salt water with high salinity, accompanied by dry climate and transgression event. The middle submember (Middle Es3) and upper submember (Upper Es3) record a freshwater to brackish environment. The paleosalinity and paleoclimate changes are consistent with the global sea level variations. The type and content of sporopollen indicate a dry climate in Lower Es3, which further confirms the reliability of the reconstruction results of paleosalinity. Combined with the paleoclimate and previous marine paleontological evidence, we proposed that the high salinity period is associated with a high lake level and a large-scale transgression event in Lower Es3. According to salinities and corresponding Lake depths, we established a sedimentary environment variation model of the Es3 Member in Chezhen Sag.
Keywords Chezhen Sag      paleosalinity      paleoclimate      boron lake level     
Corresponding Author(s): Jinliang ZHANG   
Online First Date: 22 September 2022    Issue Date: 11 January 2023
 Cite this article:   
Long SUN,Jinliang ZHANG,Yang LI, et al. Paleosalinity and lake level fluctuations of the 3rd Member of Paleogene Shahejie Formation, Chezhen Sag, Bohai Bay Basin[J]. Front. Earth Sci., 2022, 16(4): 949-962.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/10.1007/s11707-022-0979-0
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/Y2022/V16/I4/949
Fig.1  Location (a), main structural units (b) and stratigraphic units (c) of the Chezhen Sag. (a) Structural location of the Chezhen Sag in the Bohai Bay Basin and its main structural sub tectonic units. (b) 2D seismic section at Line A?B. Geological surfaces of the seismic reflections: T0-boundary between the Minghuazhen Formation (Nm) and Guantao Formation (Ng); T1-boundary between the Guantao Formation (Ng) and Dongying Formation (Ed), which is also the surface between the Palaeocene and Eocene; T2-boundary between the Dongying Formation (Ed) and Shahejie Formation (Es); T3-surface between Es2 and Upper Es3; T4-surface between Upper Es3 and Middle Es3; T5-surface between Middle Es3 and Lower Es3; T6-surface between Lower Es3 and Upper Es4; T7-surface between Upper Es4 and Lower Es4; Tr-boundary between the Shahejie Formation (Es) and Majiagou Formation (Om), which is also the surface between the Paleogene and Ordovician. (c) The main stratigraphic units of the Shahejie Formation in the Chezhen Sag.
Well Sample Depth/m Member Lithology B/‰ Sr/‰ Ba/‰ Ga/‰ K2O/%
D651 D651-1 2387.4 Upper Es3 siltstone 97.9 288 525 24.5 3.29
C40 C40-1 2632.0 Upper Es3 mudstone 80.8 420 460 21.8 2.93
C40 C40-2 2653.5 Upper Es3 mudstone 96.3 370 453 24.2 3.16
C40 C40-3 2841.9 Middle Es3 mudstone 54.0 291 421 21.2 2.22
C40 C40-4 2855.1 Middle Es3 mudstone 43.6 313 425 19.2 2.00
G1 G1-1 3611.2 Lower Es3 mudstone 69.9 397 407 15.6 1.98
G1 G1-2 4101.2 Lower Es3 mudstone 69.2 678 397 14.5 1.37
D92 D92-1 2625.3 Lower Es3 siltstone 63.7 850 487 14.4 2.51
C663 C663-1 3883.0 Lower Es3 mudstone 69.8 610 267 12.2 1.52
Tab.1  Samples and content test results for selected elements in the study area
Number Sample Depth/m Member Test content/% Mixed-layer/%
S I + S I K Ch I/S in I + S
1 C40-1 2632.0 Upper Es3 0 49 42 5 4 11
2 C40-2 2653.5 Upper Es3 0 53 43 4 0 8
3 C40-3 2841.9 Middle Es3 0 64 33 3 0 19
4 C40-4 2855.1 Middle Es3 0 47 36 17 0 16
5 G1-1 3611.2 Lower Es3 0 26 69 5 0 16
6 G1-2 4101.2 Lower Es3 0 51 44 5 0 16
7 C663-1 3883.0 Lower Es3 0 54 36 10 0 12
Tab.2  Relative contents (%) of the minerals analyzed by X-ray diffraction in the study area
Fig.2  Equivalent boron content curve (Modified after Walker and Price, 1963).
Sample Member Sr/Ba B/Ga Ba/‰ Be/‰ Spa/‰ Spc/‰
D651-1 Upper Es3 0.55 4 252.93 206.30 13.11 /
C40-1 Upper Es3 0.91 3.71 234.40 183.43 10.88 11.32
C40-2 Upper Es3 0.82 3.98 259.03 208.10 13.29 12.67
C40-3 Middle Es3 0.69 2.55 206.76 149.81 7.59 8.2
C40-4 Middle Es3 0.74 2.27 185.30 131.24 5.78 7.25
G1-1 Lower Es3 0.98 4.48 236.71 176.86 10.24 8.7
G1-2 Lower Es3 1.71 4.77 297.07 209.98 13.47 9.6
D92-1 Lower Es3 1.75 4.42 395.22 268.02 18.65 /
C663-1 Lower Es3 2.28 5.72 390.33 269.55 18.71 10.31
Tab.3  Results of the paleosalinity analyses for the study area
Fig.3  Sr/Ba and B/Ga ratios of nine samples from the study area.
Fig.4  Equivalent boron content distribution in the study area.
Fig.5  XRD analyses of seven representative samples. S-montmorillonite, I-illite, K-kaolinite, and Ch-chlorite.
Fig.6  Absolute contents of the main sporopollen fossils in the study area.
Samples Depth/m Que. Ulm. Laboratory. Mom. Mel. Abi. Eph. Tax. Pin. Ced. Fer.
C40-1 2150 36 25 4 2 15 2 8 3 1
C40-2 2180 33 22 1 1 20 4 4 13 1
C40-3 2195 4
C40-4 2215 4 2 3
C40-5 2230 13 5 1 2 3 1
C40-6 2245 19 14 5 1 1 3 2 1 2
C40-7 2260 45 27 3 5 10 2 3 1
C40-8 2275 15 17 3 3 1 4 4 1
C40-9 2290 35 17 7 1 2 20 4 3 4
C40-10 2305 16 15 8 1 1 1
C40-11 2325 17 4 1 3 5 3 4 3 3 3 1
C40-12 2340 36 12 5 5 14 8 11 1 2
C40-13 2355 20 9 4 2 1 6 1 3 2
C40-14 2370 35 9 6 3 2 14 13 2 5 2 3
C40-15 2385 19 16 2 1 2 5 2
C40-16 2400 13 17 3 1 4 4 2 2
C40-17 2415 9 6 1 1 2 2 2 1
C40-18 2430 19 7 1 2 4 5 6 3 2 1
C40-19 2445 18 7 5 2 1 5 2 5 1
C40-20 2460 21 7 2 1 6 3 4 1
C40-21 2475 16 15 5 2 1 4 4 1 1
C40-22 2484 12 6 4 3 10 6 4 1
C40-23 2490 10 9 2 1 8 6 5 3 2
C40-24 2505 11 3 3 3 2 6 6 12 1
C40-25 2510 16 11 1 1 5 5 9 2
C40-26 2530 46 27 2 3 8 1 7 1 4
C40-27 2536 54 19 1 3 1 5 4 4 4
C40-28 2550 42 17 6 12 2 6 3 4
C40-29 2552 58 16 1 3 5 6 4 1 1
C40-30 2590 33 7 2 6 1 1
C40-31 2606 15 6 3 1 2 7 2 1 2
C40-32 2614 19 11 1 1 8 2 1
C40-33 2618 19 12 　 1 　 　 　 3 　 1 1
Tab.4  Absolute contents (grain) of several representative sporopollen in the study area
Fig.7  Relative contents of the main sporopollen fossils and paleoclimatic types in the study area.
Fig.8  Paleosalinity, paleoclimate and relative lake level changes in the study area.
Fig.9  Sedimentary environment variation model of the Es3 Member in the study area.
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