The Leye carbonate platform in northwest Guangxi is a typical Paleozoic isolated carbonate platform in the northern part of the Youjiang Basin. The Upper Paleozoic in this platform consists almost completely of shallow water carbonates with a thickness of up to 3 000m，without significant terrestrial influx，and is in sharp contrast with the contemporary diversified facies of sediments on the shallow shelf in the north and with the deepwater chertargillaceous sediment assemblages in the surrounding areas. In this platform，two major facies types，the reefrelated grainstonepackstone assemblage along the margins and the wackestonemudstone assemblage in the backreef lagoon，can be recognized for the Upper Paleozoic. The architectures of the depositional sequences and the sedimentary characteristics of the Upper Paleozoic are mainly controlled by the base subsidence，sealevel eustacy and climate changes，along with the change of the carbonate production rate in the basin. The current study shows that the Leye platform was initially formed as a microterrane that was split from the southern margin of the Yangtze Platform and gradually slipped into the basin as intensive expansion and subsidence occurred in the Youjiang Basin in the Late Devonian. The Leye platform had experienced three stages in evolution during the Late Paleozoic: 1)a marginal carbonate platform(Early to Middle Devonian); 2)an isolated carbonate platform(Late Devonian to Middle Permian); and 3)a drowned carbonate platform(Late Permian to Early Triassic)，with the second stage being most prominent. This probably implies that during the Late Paleozoic, the Youjiang Basin had evolved from rifting to a small oceanic basin with intensive expansion and subsidence，while the southern margin of the Yangtze Platform experienced extension and breaking splitting. The formation and evolution of the Leye platform may have general significance and the suggested model may also be used for other isolated carbonate platforms in the northern part of the Youjiang Basin.

Previous studies have not determined the location of the catchment area of the Shanxi Formation and Member 8 of Xiashihezi Formation sediments in the Ordos Basin derived  from north and south provenaces. Thinsection analyses of sandstones from 4 outcrops and cores for 18 wells in the southern basin have been carried out in this study on the basis of understanding of the general data of the studied stratigraphic intervals in the Ordos Basin. The location of catchment area for the  sediments of the Shanxi Formation and Member 8 of Xiashihezi Formation is defined in the southern Ordos Basin based on the changes of feldspar content and other lithological characters，the characteristics of log curves and rock assemblages，and the facies analyses of across well profiles and outcrops. The “catchment area” refers the area where the rivers transporting the sediments from north and south provenances merge and it is the bordering area which separates the
earlyderived sediments from the north to the south. It lies roughly in eastwest direction. There are obvious differences in feldspar content between the north and south sides of the catchment area. It is put forward that there are “intersection parts” of sediments from the north and south in local places of the catchment area. The “intersection parts” mean the areas where the sediments from the north and south meet and intersect with each other，which are the connecting places of the sediments from the north and south. The intersection parts are located in the catchment area and separate  it into different parts. The siderite nodules formed in the early diagenetic stage under reduction conditions were found in the intersection parts of the Member 8 of Xiashihezi Formation. The palaeogeography of the southern basin during the deposition of the Shanxi Formation and Member 8 of Xiashihezi Formation was controlled by  sediments from both the north and south. The acrosswell sections show that the sedimentary facies belts have a symmetrical distribution on the north and south sides of the catchment area. The sedimentary units and facies belts include:1)the catchment area，with three intersection parts; 2)the delta facies belt on the south margin of the catchment area，including 3 deltas from the south provenance; 3)the delta facies belt on the north margin of the catchment area，including 45deltas from the north provenance; 4)the fluvial facies belts which are the transitional belts of north and south deltas. The depositional model for  the studied intervals in the study area in Ordos Basin is proposed.

Well logs,  outcrops and the principles of the sequence stratigraphy   have  been used to reconstruct sequence stratigraphic framework and to predict the coal distribution of the Upper Triassic coal measures in the Baoding Basin of western Yangtze platform(Sichuan Province). A total of 12 sequence boundaries and 11 fourthorder sequences have been identified in the succession above the No40 coal seam within the Daqiaodi Formation. With the evolution of the basin from a  faulting basin to a largescaled depressional basin，the rate of basin subsidence，thus the rate of new accommodation creation，was slowing down gradually and the coal accumulation had a tendency of strengthening first and then weakening. During the  early stage of the faulting basin，the coal accumulation was less evident and was restricted in a limited area. During the intermediate stage of the faulting basin(sequences Ⅳ-Ⅷ)，coal seams were mainly formed in the LST，near the initial transgressive surface，and in the midlate HST. The coal accumulation center was mostly located in the delta plain setting where a moderate rate of new accommodation creation was maintained. During the late stage of the faulting basin(sequences Ⅸ-XI)，the main coal seams were located in the late TST and early HST，both close to the maximum flooding surface. The coal accumulation center migrated to the depositional center of the basin where the  highest rate of new accommodation creation was kept.

 Based on the comprehensive analyses of seismic，wireline log and drilling data，core and analytical and testing results，integrated analyses have been carried out on the sedimentary facies of the Member 3 of Paleogene Dongying Formation and the sedimentary facies maps have been compiled. The lower part of Member 3 of Dongying Formation is dominated by fan delta，braided fluvial delta，lacustrine and sublacustrine fan facies. The braided fluvial delta of the lower part of Member 3 of Dongying Formation was developed in southwestern and northern areas of the Huanghekou Sag. The fan delta was developed in the south and north sides of the Bonan uplift. The semideep to deep lake was developed in the western deep sagging area and the sublacustrine fan in the semideep lake south of the B2 faulted uplift belt and most areas were dominated by shoreshallow lacustrine facies including shoreshallow lacustrine muddy bank and mixed bank. During the deposition of the upper part of Member 3 of Dongying Formation，braided fluvial delta facies was developed and mainly distributed in the southwestern and southern parts of the sag and the southern side of the D4 faulted uplift belt，fan delta was limited to the northern side of the Bonan uplift，and semideep to deep lacustrine facies was developed in the western deep sagging area which was dominated by shoreshallow lacustrine facies. The sandy beach bar was developed in the E-1-1—F-4-1 well area. The sandy beach bar is composed of gravelly coarse sandstones，gravelly medium grained sandstones and mediumfine grained sandstones with the detrital grains being dominated by quartz. Low angle cross bedding was developed. The shoreshallow lacustrine sandy beach bar microfacies is the favorable facies belt for high quality reservoir development.

The Lower Cretaceous Qingshuihe Formation in SN 31 well area in the Xiayan uplift of Junggar Basin is dominated by a set of interbedded sandstones and mudstones. Prior to this investigation, few studies had been carried out on the sedimentary facies and provenances. Based on the core observations，logging curves and analytical and testing data，the provenance was determined according to the clastic content，the thickness distribution of conglomerates，heavy mineral ZTR index and mudstone color zoningThe results show that the provenance during the deposition of the Member 1 of the Qingshuihe Formation in SN 31 well area is not a single one，while it   changed with time. The clastic content of the No1 interval  of the second sand zone of Member 1 of Qingshuihe Formation and the No3 interval  of the first sand zone indicated that the sediments were mainly derived from the southeastern and the northern provenances. During the deposition of the No1 interval  of the first sand zone，the provenance changed greatly. The southeastern provenance disappeared and its disappearance was mainly due to the tectonic movements during the late depositional period of the Member 1 of Qingshuihe Formation, which led to the topography changing from the earlier south higher and north lower topography to the north higher and south lower topography. The thickness distribution of conglomerates and heavy mineral ZTR index analyses also show similar characteristics. During the deposition of the Member 1 of Qingshuihe Formation，two main provenances existed in SN 31 well area. One is the southeastern source area and the other is the northern one. The two provenances had their own affecting regions. The impact of the northern provenance gradually increased and dominated the whole study area in the late period，while the southeastern provenance mainly had its controlling influence in the early period and disappeared in late period.

By the study of different kinds of dinosaur footprint fossils found in the dark mudstones and oil shales of the Xiguayuan Formation(Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous)  in Luanping Basin and the lithofacies characteristics of the dark mudstones and oil shales，the sedimentary environment of the dinosaur footprint fossils was analyzed. The dark mudstones  with dinosaur footprint fossils were deposited in semideep lake or front fan delta environments which indicated that the lake level changed frequently. During the dry season，the lake level fell，and the dark mudstones in deep lakesemideep lake facies exposed to the air. Some dinosaurs went to the lower part of the basin to drink water，and their footprints were left in the dark mudstones. Consequently, it is concluded that all the sandstone conglomerates interlayered in the dark mudstones and the salt rocks in the Paleogene continental faulted basins in eastern China are not formed by deep water gravity flow. The sedimentary models of the sandstone conglomerates and salt rocks interlayered in dark mudstones were established to show their origins.

To investigate the arsenic(As)and selenium(Se)content and evolution in different coal components of the coal measures of the Longtan Formation as well as its palaeoenvironmental significance during the early and middle periods of Late Permian(Lopingian)in southwestern China，the As and Se content were detected and analyzed  in the samples of raw coal，clarain，coal gangue and pyritic nodule which were collected from the main coal seams in southwestern China during the last 10 years，and the results were compared with that of the Taiyuan Formation and Shanxi Formation of Late Carboniferous and Early Permian in the North China Plate. The results show that the As and Se content of the  coal measures of Longtan Formation in the Late Permian in southwestern China changed greatly and the As and Se content is higher than that of the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian coals in the North China Plate；the As and Se content of the Late Permian clarain coals in southwestern China is higher than that of the channel sampling coals or raw coal and coal gangue，especially the As content of the Late Permian clarain(from 55 to 338 mg/kg，some reaches 89 mg/kg)is much higher in southwestern China. The As and Se content in the coals of Taiyuan Formation and Shanxi Formation of the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian in the North China Plate is contrary to southwestern China，that is, the As and Se content of the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian vitrain and clarain is very low. The As content ranges from 063 to 129 mg/kg，lower than that of the channel sampling coals or raw coal and the gangue in the North China Plate. The analysis indicates that the source of As and Se in the Late Permian coals in southwestern China is closely related with the organic component of coals，and the As and Se in coals is mainly derived from the coalforming paleoplants in southwestern China. The results also show that during the mass extinction of land species in the Late Permian，the land species food，namely, the plants had an increasing content of As and Se，and the content of the soluble As and Se in land environment or the peat
swamp also increased.

Early Ordovician and Early Silurian are the key periods for the evolution of tectonics and basin in the North Qilian Caledonian orogenic belts. The characteristics of trace and rare earth elements for the  sandstones from the Lower Ordovician Yingou Formation and Lower Silurian Angzanggou Formation in Jingtai area were presented. The greywacke samples(Cj1 and Cj3) from the Yingou Formation are  characterized by minimal Eu/Eu* and maximal values of  Th/Sc and REE. In contrast, the lithic sandstone samples(Cj13，Cj15 and Cj18)from the Yingou Formation，possess maximal Eu/Eu*，  minimal values of Th/Sc, ∑REE and La/Yb， and the greywacke samples of Angzanggou Formation have intermediate values of Eu/Eu*，Th/Sc and REE. Employing diverse plots of provenance and tectonic setting discrimination and multielement diagrams，this study shows that(1)the lower part of the Yingou Formation，represented by the greywacke samples of Cj1 and Cj3, was mainly derived from the recycled deposits and felsic sources in the upper continental crust with the tectonic setting being the continental margin and  the middleupper part of the Yingou Formation，represented by the lithic sandstone samples of Cj13，Cj15 and Cj18，from the maficintermediate andesitic sources in an island arc environment，with a probable tiny supply from continental margin materials;(2)with regard to the  Angzanggou Formation，it was deposited in a complex tectonic setting where the continental island arc，active continental margin and passive continental margin coexisted. The sediments were derived from mixed sources of maficintermediate volcanic arc，felsic rocks and recycled sedimentary rocks. The two suits of sandstones may be sourced from similar sources. The constraining on the sources of sandstones shows that(1)the potential source for furthermore, the greywacke samples were probably derived from the metasedimentary rocks of the Haiyuan Group lying in the southern margin of Alashan Block and other recycled terrigenous sediments with a comparable property to the former. The lithic fragments in the lithic sandstone samples are dominated by volcanic island arc materials and they are comparable with the maficintermediate volcanic rocks in the early stage of the Shihuigou Arc，which suggests that the Yingou Formation was deposited in an incipient backarc basin mirroring the action within the island arc;(2)the sediments in the  Angzanggou Formation were probably sourced from the metasedimentary rocks of Haiyuan Group in the south margin of Alashan Block，the island arc volcanic rocks with moderatehigh maturity in Shihuigou area and the island arc metavolcanic rocks of the Haiyuan Group. The Angzanggou Formation was deposited  in a retroarc basin，reflecting the tectonic setting with a hysteresis. 

The Member 2 of the Lower Permian Shanxi Formation in the eastern Ordos Basin is dominated by quartz sandstones，lithic quartz sandstones and lithic sandstones. The diagenesis includes burial compaction，pressolution，silical cementation，carbonate cementation and replacement，kaolinite cementation，matrix alternation and dissolution. Through the core observations and thin section analyses，combining with cathodoluminescence and scanning electron microprobe studies，seven types of single factor diagenetic facies are identified in the Member 2 of Shanxi Formation in eastern Ordos Basin.
 They are severe compaction facies，pressolutionquartz overgrowth facies，the kaolinite dissoluted alternation facies，the precipitating kaolinite facies，matrix filling facies，carbonate cementation and replacement facies and dissolution facies. Furthermore the planar superimposition was made and the favorable diagenetic facies for reservoir development was determined. The combination of pressolutionquartz secondary overgrowth and pseudomatrix dissolution  determined the favorable diagenetic facies belt of the Shanxi Formation. Highquality reservoirs in the Member 2 of the Shanxi Formation are distributed in Shaan 141 well area，Yu 37 well area，and ZizhouQingjian area. 

 A cylindrical structure，which is named as the icicle cast structure，was developed in the Quaternary clastic rocks in Qigequan area in western Qaidam Basin. According to the shape texture of the cylindrical structure and its relationship with other rocks，and by correlation with the studies of the similar structures，it is concluded that the origin of the cylindrical structure is related with the ice penitent. This kind of cylindrical structure can be named as the icicle cast structure. The icicle cast is cylindrical in shape and with diameter of 10～14cm and a height of 5～30 cm. Some show internal lamination while others not. The lamination is 0～15cm thick and is composed of mediumcoarse grained sandstones or finegrained conglomerate，gravelly mediumcoarse grained sandstones，sandstones and calcareous mudstones. It is inferred that the icicle cast is formed due to the icicle in the front part of the glacier plunging into the soft sediments and then being filled by the sediments after melting.

Using detailed description of deposits in six boreholes，grain size analysis data of sediment samples，results of previous studies on historical changes of the lower reaches of the Yellow River and dating results in the study area，we investigated the sedimentation characteristics and environmental changes in the floodplain of the lower reaches of the Yellow River from 602 BC to 11 AD. It is found that the ancient ground surface around 602 BC can be determined exactly by integrating the evidence such as changes in color，composition，texture，and grain size of the sediment samples from the boreholes in the study area，and the parameter Kd can also be used as a good indicator of the boundary. The sediments accumulated on the floodplain of the lower reaches of the Yellow River after 602 BC are mainly composed of light yellow，yellow，brown silt，sandy silt，and silty clay. They are characterized by poor sorting，with an average grain size of 331 to 612Φ，a positive or very positive skewness，and a medium，narrow，and very narrow kurtosis. From the upper reaches to the lower reaches of the Yellow River,the average grain sizes become finer，and standard deviation increases and kurtosis decreases，indicating a decrease of both hydrodynamic forces and sorting. The results of nonparameter analyses show that the deposits accumulated from 602 BC to 11 AD are markedly finer than those in the modern floodplain of the lower reaches of the Yellow River. The variations in the Kd value of deposit samples indicate that the hydrodynamic forces changed at least twice during the period from 602 BC to 11 AD.

The gestation and development of the Yellow River has provided an appropriate geographical environment for the formation of Chinese civilization and the Yellow River has become the cradle of ancient Chinese civilization. In historical periods，the channel of the lower  reaches of the Yellow River changed for 5 times. Based on the viewpoints of geology，the reasons for the 5 channel changes were analyzed，and the relationship between the channel change and the development of the Chinese Nation was also discussed. The current problems and their influences on the lower reaches of the Yellow River are proposed. It is concluded that the harmonious development between human being and nature is achieved, only when the balance between the natural supply capability of the Yellow River and the social productivity is maintained.