International Continental Scientific Drilling Project of the Songliao Basin: Terrestrial Geological Records of the Cretaceous Dinosaur Age

doi:10.13745/j.esf.sf.2024.1.4

Abstract

Abstract:

Over the past century the Earth has experienced continued warming, and it may enter a Greenhouse Earth state in the future with no ice at the poles. The Cretaceous was a typical Greenhouse period in deep time; thus, understanding the Cretaceous climate is important for interpreting past climate changes and predicting future trends. The ICDP (International Continental Drilling Program) Songliao Basin drilling project is the world's first continental scientific drilling project to penetrate the Cretaceous continental strata; it is aimed to investigate Cretaceous terrestrial climate and environmental changes, and to explore the mechanisms of massive terrestrial organic accumulation and enrichment. Spanning 16 years, this project achieves a continuous, complete 8187-meter core (recovery rate >97%, establishes a high-precision chronostratigraphic framework for the Cretaceous continental strata, reconstructs multi-temporal-scale terrestrial climate cycles and climate events during the Cretaceous period, reveals the mechanisms of Cretaceous sea-level fluctuations, and confirms marine incursion events in the Songliao Basin. This project has promoted global collaboration among geologists to study the Cretaceous greenhouse Earth, leading to a series of high-impact research achievements, and it has provided crucial scientific support for the sustainable development of oil and gas exploration in the Songliao Basin, generating significant social benefits and substantial international and domestic influence. This project represents a milestone in exploring deep-time Earth, and it is foreseeable that in the future, with the aid of scientific drilling, humans will continue to enhance their understanding of deep-time climatic and environmental evolution.

Key words: International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP), Songliao Basin, Cretaceous, paleoclimate, chronostratigraphic framework, marine incursion events

CLC Number:

P532
P534.53

WANG Chengshan, GAO Yuan, WANG Pujun, WU Huaichun, LÜ Qingtian, ZHU Yongyi, WAN Xiaoqiao, ZOU Changchun, HUANG Yongjian, GAO Youfeng, XI Dangpeng, WANG Wenshi, HE Huaiyu, FENG Zihui, YANG Guang, DENG Chenglong, ZHANG Laiming, WANG Tiantian, HU Bin, CUI Liwei, PENG Cheng, YU Enxiao, HUANG He, YANG Liu, WU Zhengxuan. International Continental Scientific Drilling Project of the Songliao Basin: Terrestrial Geological Records of the Cretaceous Dinosaur Age[J]. Earth Science Frontiers, 2024, 31(1): 412-430.

Figures/Tables 17

Fig.1 Global distribution of ICDP drilling sites. Modified from [3-4]. World map from http://bzdt.ch.mnr.gov.cn/.

Fig.2 Time span of continuous geological records obtained from ICDP paleoclimate research projects. Modified from [5].

Fig.3 The history of deep time and Quaternary climate evolution and prediction of future climate change. Modified from [8,14].

Fig.4 Global paleogeographic map showing the Late Cretaceous period (a) and the location of drilling sites, Songliao Basin (b). Modified from [24].

Fig.5 Comparison of sedimentation durations of typical terrestrial sedimentary basins worldwide. Modified from [27].

Fig.6 Profile A-A’ of the Songliao Basin and location of drilling sites. Modified from [25]. Profile location see Fig.4(b).

Fig.7 ϕ311-mm borehole core (a) and 40-m single barrel core (b) from the Songliao Basin drilling project

Fig.8 Comparison of core recovery rates and core lengths between the Songliao Basin drilling project and other ICDP projects. Modified from [4].

Fig.9 Changes in the chronostratigraphic framework of Songliao Basin before and after the implementation of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program

Fig.10 Climate change at different time scales. Modified from [59].

Fig.11 Paleoclimatic records of the Cretaceous Songliao Basin. Modified from [23,52,60⇓⇓⇓-64].

Fig.12 170-kyr unconventional rock cycle in the Qingshankou Formation in the Songliao Basin. Modified from [58].

Fig.13 Geological records of the Songliao Basin before and after the K-Pg boundary. Modified from [62,69-70].

Fig.14 Obliquity-forced aquifer-eustasy during the Late Cretaceous. Modified from [57].

Fig.15 Geochemical and paleontological records of marine incursion events in the Songliao Basin. Modified from [24,79⇓-81].

Fig.16 Water stratification models for the Western Interior Seaway of North America (a, b) and the Songliao Basin (c, d). Modified from [24].

Fig.17 Summary of academic papers published since the implementation of Songliao Basin drilling project (data from Web of Science)

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