LATE PALAEOZOIC PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL ASIA: A PALAEOBIOGEOGRAPHICAL APPROACH USING IMPROVED BIOSTRATIGRAPHY

中亚地区（阿富汗、乌兹别克斯坦、巴基斯坦、中国西北部、蒙古、阿尔泰地区）的化石资料表明，晚古生代古特提斯及其两侧陆架的生物地理格局在古纬度上存在显著差异，但这些格局的细节以及对加强同时期古地理模式的影响几乎是未知的。本项目将采用先进的统计方法分析晚古生代腕足类、珊瑚类、毛藻类动物的生物地理格局，并将生物地理信号与古地磁数据相结合，以约束中亚地区晚古生代地质演化模型。中亚是一个已知具有巨大自然资源潜力的广阔地区，但地质勘探很少。

Fossil data from Central Asia (Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, NW China, Mongolia, Altaids) indicate significant degree of palaeo-latitudinal variation in biogeographical patterns across the Palaeo-Tethys and its flanking shelves during Late Palaeozoic, but details of these patterns and implications for enhancing contemporaneous palaeogeographical models are virtually unknown. This project will analyse the biogeographical patterns of Late Palaeozoic brachiopod, coral, fusulinid faunas using advanced statistical methods, and integrate biogeographical signals with palaeomagnetic data to constrain models for the Late Palaeozoic geological evolution of Central Asia-a vast region that is known to bear enormous potential for natural resources but remains geologically little explored.