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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Earth Sci.

Sec. Structural Geology and Tectonics

Geochemical and Geophysical Constraints on Deep Fluid Activities in Sedimentary Basins: A study of Jimsar Sag in Junggar Basin

Provisionally accepted
Kun  DaiKun Dai1*Yan  XiaYan Xia1*Tianen  LiuTianen Liu1Hong  ZhangHong Zhang1Pan  FuPan Fu1Haowei  YuanHaowei Yuan2*Shiju  RenShiju Ren1Chang  LiuChang Liu1
  • 1CNPC Engineering Technology R & D Company Limited, Beijing, China
  • 2China Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute, Beijing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Deep fluids of the Earth are characterized by their unique physical and chemical properties, and they play important roles in various geological processes. Despite the importance of Earth's aqueous fluids in sedimentary basins, few techniques are currently available to directly trace their origins, especially for those in the deep mantle and lower crust. In this study, we report data about fluid fillings in forms of calcites in the fractures of the Jimsar Sag, Junggar Basin, including their trace elements, Nd-C-O isotopes, Sm-Nd isochron ages and fluid inclusion features. According to comprehensive analyses of rock acoustic emission and joint rose statistics, we suggest that there are mainly three episodes of tectonic-fluid activities. As indicated by the Sm-Nd isochron ages, NW tensile fractures and NEE shear fractures in the Jimsar Sag are filled by mantle magmatism-and lower crust magmatism-related fluids at 272.4 Ma and 189.5 Ma, respectively. Subsequently, the third episode of fluid filling occurs in the NNW shear fractures at 124.3 Ma. Specifically, we emphasizepinpoint that geophysical and geochemical methods should be combined to collectively constrain research on fluid activity episodes and fluid origins. Moreover, constraint on fluid activities in the deep Earth also relies on combination with regional tectonic evolution history and magmatism characteristics.

Keywords: Calcites, deep mantle and lower crust, Jimsar sag, Junggar Basin, tectonic-fluid activities

Received: 22 Nov 2025; Accepted: 08 Jan 2026.

Copyright: © 2026 Dai, Xia, Liu, Zhang, Fu, Yuan, Ren and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Kun Dai
Yan Xia
Haowei Yuan

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