Regional Tectonic Synthesis of Eastern Mongolian People's Republic

EVERETT, J. R., O. R. RUSSELL, R. J. STASKOWSKI, S. P. LOYD, and V. M. TABBUTT, Earth Satellite Corporation, Rockville, MD

Geologic interpretation of 36 contiguous Landsat scenes covering the Nyalga, Choibalsan, Tamtsag, and Eastern Gobi basins of eastern Mongolia reveals many previously undetected structural features. Situated between the Siberian and North Sinic shield, the region is composed of continental, oceanic basin, and island arc microplates accreted onto the Siberian shield from the Precambrian to the middle of the Paleozoic. Even though the region was not directly involved in plate collision in post-late Paleozoic, collisional events in adjacent areas have profoundly influenced the structure of the area. Regional

extension during Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous produced numerous rift-related basins. Sediments that accumulated in these basins constitute the source and reservoir rocks for existing production. Later compression (probably related to collision of plates along the southern margin of the North China plate) has inverted many of the previous structural features, creating numerous faults and folds.

The present episode of deformation (east-west oriented left-slip faulting, conjugate right-slip faulting, and attendant east-west extension) is related to the collision and continued penetration of the Indian plate on the south edge of Eurasia. Satellite imagery provides a synoptic view that assists in recognizing and understanding the structural overprinting and allows one to infer relationships among untested structures and production in Mongolia and adjacent basins in China.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91004 © 1991 AAPG Annual Convention Dallas, Texas, April 7-10, 1991 (2009)