Mesozoic–Cenozoic Volcanic Cycle and Volcanic Reservoirs in East China

There are widespread Mesozoic–Cenozoic terrestrial volcanic activities in East China, and they produced favorable geologic factors for the volcanic reservoirs. To reveal the spatio-temporal evolution of regional volcanisms and their tectonic setting, we subdivide Mesozoic–Cenozoic volcanic activities into 6 volcanic cycles(Ⅰ–Ⅵ), and summarize the temporal-spatial distribution, rock association and tectonic setting of each cycle. The Cycle I forms a post-orogenic intraplate bimodal volcanic association. The cycles Ⅱ and Ⅲ include arc volcanic associations formed in compressional and extensional subduction environments, respectively. The Cycle Ⅳ contains a post-orogenic arc bimodal association. The Cycle Ⅴ is a basaltic association of tholeiite series under initial rift setting, and the Cycle Ⅵ is basaltic association of alkaline series under typical rift setting. The volcanic strata between each cycle are bounded by regional unconformity. The above 6 volcanic cycles correspond to 6 sequential stages of tectonic evolutions from the Early Jurassic post-orogeny, the Mid-Jurassic–Cretaceous subduction of the paleo-Pacific Plate to the Cenozoic marginal rifting. According to the geological characteristics of volcanic reservoirs in different volcanic cycles, it is put forward that the Cycle Ⅴ is the major formation period of volcanic reservoirs in East China and should be the focus of exploration, and that the volcanic reservoirs of the Cycle Ⅳ are also worthy of attention.