40Ar/39Ar and U–Pb dating of the Fish Canyon magmatic system,San Juan Volcanic field,Colorado: Evidence for an extended crystallization history

The ∼ 5000 km³ Fish Canyon Tuff (FCT) is an important unit for the geochronological community because its sanidine, zircon and apatite are widely used as standards for the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and fission track dating techniques. The recognition, more than 10 years ago [Oberli, F., Fischer, H. and Meier, M., 1990. High-resolution ²³⁸U–²⁰⁶Pb zircon dating of Tertiary bentonites and Fish Canyon Tuff; a test for age “concordance” by single-crystal analysis. Seventh International Conference on Geochronology, Cosmochronology and Isotope Geology. Geological Society of Australia Special Publication Canberra, 27:74], of a ≥ 0.4 Ma age difference between the U–Pb zircon ages and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar sanidine ages has, therefore, motivated efforts to resolve the origin of this discrepancy. To address this controversial issue, we initially performed 37 U–Pb analyses on mainly air-abraded zircons at ETH Zurich and nearly 200 ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar measurements on hornblende, biotite, plagioclase and sanidine obtained at the University of Geneva, using samples keyed to a refined eruptive stratigraphy of the FCT magmatic system.Disequilibrium-corrected ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages obtained for 29 single-crystal and three multi-grain analyses span an interval of ∼ 28.67–28.03 Ma and yield a weighted mean age of 28.37 ± 0.05 Ma (95% confidence level), with MSWD = 8.4. The individual dates resolve a range of ages in excess of analytical precision, covering ∼ 600 ka. In order to independently confirm the observed spread in zircon ages, 12 additional analyses were carried out at the Berkeley Geochronology Center (BGC) on individual zircons from a single lithological unit, part of them pre-treated by the “chemical abrasion” (CA) technique [Mattinson, J.M., 2005. Zircon U–Pb chemical abrasion (“CA-TIMS”) method: Combined annealing and multi-step partial dissolution analysis for improved precision and accuracy of zircon ages. Chemical Geology, 220(1–2): 47–66]. Whereas the bulk of the BGC results displays a spread overlapping that obtained at ETH, the group of CA treated zircons yield a considerably narrower range with a mean age of 28.61 ± 0.08 Ma (MSWD = 1.0). Both mean zircon ages determined at ETH and BGC are older than the ∼ 28.0 Ma ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar eruption age of FCT – even when considering the possibility that the latter may be low by as much as ∼ 1% due to a miscalibration of the ⁴⁰K decay constants – and is thus indicative of a substantial time gap between magma crystallization and extrusion. The CA technique further reveals that younger FCT zircon ages are likely to be associated with chemically unstable U-enriched domains, which may be linked to crystallization during extended magma residence or may have been affected by pre-eruptive and/or post-eruptive secondary loss of radiogenic lead. Due to their complex crystallization history and/or age bias due to Pb loss, the FCT zircon ages are deemed unsuitable for an accurate age calibration of FCT sandine as a fluence monitor for the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method.Even though data statistics preclude unambiguous conclusions, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of sanidine, plagioclase, biotite, and hornblende from the same sample of vitrophyric Fish Canyon Tuff supports the idea of a protracted crystallization history. Sanidine, thought to be the mineral with the lowest closure temperature, yielded the youngest age (28.04 ± 0.18 Ma at 95% c.l., using Taylor Creek Rhyolite [Renne, P.R. et al., 1998. Intercalibration of standards, absolute ages and uncertainties in ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating. Chemical Geology, 145: 117–152.] as the fluence monitor), whereas more retentive biotite, hornblende and plagioclase gave slightly older nominal ages (by 0.2–0.3 Ma). In addition, a laser step-heating experiment on a 2-cm diameter feldspar megacryst produced a “staircase” argon release spectrum (older ages at higher laser power), suggestive of traces of inherited argon in the system. Thermal and water budgets for the Fish Canyon magma indicate that the body remained above its solidus (∼ 700 °C) for an extended period of time (> 10⁵ years). At these temperatures, argon volume diffusion is thought to be fast enough to prevent accumulation of radiogenic Ar. If this statement were true, an existing isotopic record should have been completely reset within a few hundred years, regardless of the phase and initial age of the phenocryst. As these minerals are unlikely to be xenocrysts that were incorporated within such a short time span prior to eruption, we suggest that a fraction of radiogenic Ar can be retained > 10⁵ years, even at T ∼ 700 °C.     

40Ar–39Ar geochronology across Archean and Paleoproterozoic terranes from southeastern Guiana Shield (north of Amazonian Craton,Brazil): Evidence for contrasting cooling histories

A ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronological study was performed on amphibole and biotite from some representative units of distinct tectonic domains of the southeastern Guiana Shield, north of the Amazonian Craton, the Amapá Block and the Carecuru Domain. In the Amapá Block, an Archean continental block involved in the Transamazonian orogenesis (2.26–1.95 Ga), the investigated minerals, from rocks of the Archean high-grade basement assemblage, give only Paleoproterozoic ages, indicating their complete resetting during the Transamazonian orogenic event. Amphibole ages vary from 2087 ± 3 to 2047 ± 20 Ma, and biotite ages spread mainly between 2079 ± 18 and 2033 ± 13 Ma. In the Carecuru Domain, in which the geodynamic evolution is related to Paleoproterozoic magmatic arc setting during the Transamazonian event, calc-alkaline granitoids yield amphibole age of 2074 ± 17 Ma, and biotite ages of 1928 ± 19 Ma and 1833 ± 13 Ma.These data reinforce the importance of the Transamazonian orogenic cycle in the investigated area, and indicate that the rocks were not significantly affected by post-Transamazonian events. When coupled with available U–Th–Pb monazite and Pb–Pb zircon geochronological records and petro-structural observations, the new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data delineate contrasting cooling and exhumation histories for the tectonic domains. In the Amapá Block, the data suggest nearly vertical T–t paths that reflect fast cooling rates, which indicate tectonically controlled exhumation, related to collisional stages of the Transamazonian event, between 2.10 and 2.08 Ga. Conversely, in the Carecuru Domain, low cooling rates suggest that the arc-related granitoids underwent slow and monotonous cooling since their emplacement until reaching the biotite isotopic closure temperature.     

40Ar/39Ar dating of the Jiehe gold deposit in the Jiaodong Peninsula,eastern North China Craton: Implications for regional gold metallogeny

The Jiehe gold deposit, containing a confirmed gold reserve of 34 tonnes (t), is a Jiaojia-type (disseminated/stockwork-style) gold deposit in Jiaodong Peninsula. Orebodies are hosted in the contact zone between the Jurassic Moshan biotite granite and the Cretaceous Shangzhuang porphyritic granodiorite, and are structurally controlled by the NNE- to NE-striking Wangershan-Hedong Fault. Sulphide minerals are composed predominantly of pyrite with lesser amounts of chalcopyrite, galena, and sphalerite. Hydrothermal alteration is strictly controlled by fracture zones, in which disseminated sulfides and native gold are spatially associated with pervasive sericitic alteration. Mineralogical, textural, and field relationships indicate four stages of alteration and mineralization, including pyrite-bearing milky and massive quartz (stage 1), light-gray granular quartz–pyrite (stage 2), quartz–polysulfide (stage 3) and quartz–carbonate (stage 4) stages. Economic gold is precipitated in stages 2 and 3.The Jiehe deposit was previously considered to form during the Eocene (46.5 ± 2.3 Ma), based on Rb-Sr dating of sericite. However, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of sericite in this study yields well-defined, reproducible plateau ages between 118.8 ± 0.7 Ma and 120.7 ± 0.8 Ma. These ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages are consistent with geochronological data from other gold deposits in the region, indicating that all gold deposits in Jiaodong formed in a short-term period around 120 Ma. The giant gold mineralization event has a tight relationship with the extensional tectonic regime, and is a shallow crustal metallogenic response of paleo-Pacific slab subduction and lithospheric destruction in the eastern NCC.     

40Ar/39Ar geochronological constraints on the age and evolution of the Permo-Triassic Emeishan Volcanic Province,Southwest China

The biostratigraphically constrained Permo-Triassic Emeishan Volcanic Province (EVP), extending over wide areas in southwest China, has been recently considered as a Large Igneous Province contemporaneous with the Siberian Traps and the siliceous tuffs at the P–T boundary in South China. We report the first ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages on this igneous province. Minimum ages have been obtained on phenocrystic plagioclase of the Emeishan basalt, which has undergone a pervasive metamorphism, most likely during subsequent tectonization as a consequence of terrane amalgamation. Comparison between the Ar–release spectra obtained on clear vs. cloudy plagioclase indicates a 40–30 Ma sericite resetting time. A minimum apparent age of 246 ± 4 Ma for plagioclase from a plagiogranite, a late-differentiate of the Panzhihua Layered Complex, and an age of 254 ± 5 Ma for phlogopite from a pyroxenite near Lake Erhai, provide the first absolute age constraint on this igneous province. Additional Ar–Ar age measurements on post-Emeishan alkaline and mafic magmatism yielded 104 ± 2 and 100 ± 2 Ma for an alkaline complex near Panzhihua, and 42 ± 1 Ma for a gabbro sill emplaced near the Ertan Dam. Further study is still needed to determine the age of the Emeishan volcanic emission accurately, and to test the validity of the assumed short duration of the eruption.     

A multiple-approach radiometric age estimate for the Rotoiti and Earthquake Flat eruptions,New Zealand,with implications for the MIS 4/3 boundary

Pyroclastic fall deposits of the paired Rotoiti and Earthquake Flat eruptions from the Taupo Volcanic Zone (New Zealand) combine to form a widespread isochronous horizon over much of northern New Zealand and the southwest Pacific. This horizon is important for correlating climatic and environmental changes during the Last Glacial period, but has been the subject of numerous disparate age estimates between 35.1±2.8 and 71±6 ka (all errors are 1 s.d.), obtained by a variety of techniques. A potassium–argon (K–Ar) age of 64±4 ka was previously determined on bracketing lavas at Mayor Island volcano, offshore from the Taupo Volcanic Zone. We present a new, more-precise ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age determination on a lava flow on Mayor Island, that shortly post-dates the Rotoiti/Earthquake Flat fall deposits, of 58.5±1.1 ka. This value, coupled with existing ages from underlying lavas, yield a new estimate for the age of the combined eruptions of 61.0±1.4 ka, which is consistent with U–Th disequilibrium model-age data for zircons from the Rotoiti deposits. Direct ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age determinations of plagioclase and biotite from the Rotoiti and Earthquake Flat eruption products yield variable values between 49.6±2.8 and 125.3±10.0 ka, with the scatter attributed to low radiogenic Ar yields, and/or alteration, and/or inheritance of xenocrystic material with inherited Ar. Rotoiti/Earthquake Flat fall deposits occur in New Zealand in association with palynological indicators of mild climate, attributed to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 and thus used to suggest an age that is post-59 ka. The natures of the criteria used to define the MIS 4/3 boundary in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, however, imply that the new 61 ka age for the Rotoiti/Earthquake Flat eruption deposits will provide the inverse, namely, a more accurate isochronous marker for correlating diverse changes across the MIS 4/3 boundary in the southwest Pacific.     

U-Pb and Ar/Ar geochronological constraints on the exhumation history of the North Qinling terrane, China

The amphibolite facies grade North Qinling metamorphic unit forms the centre of the Qinling orogenic belt. Results of LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar amphibole and biotite dating reveal its Palaeozoic tectonic history. U-Pb zircon dating of migmatitic orthogneiss and granite dykes constrains the age of two possible stages of migmatization at 517 ± 14 Ma and 445 ± 4.6 Ma. A subsequent granite intrusion occurred at 417 ± 1.6 Ma. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages of amphibole ranging from 397 ± 33 Ma to 432 ± 3.4 Ma constrain the cooling of the Qinling complex below ca. 540 °C and biotite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages at about 330–368 Ma below ca. 300 °C. The ages are used to construct a cooling history with slow/non-exhumation during 517– 445 Ma, a time-integrated cooling at a rate < 2.5 °C/Ma during the period of 445–410 Ma, an acceleration of cooling at a rate of 8 °C/Ma from 397 Ma to 368 Ma, and subsequently slow/non-cooling from 368 to 330 Ma. The data show a significant delay in exhumation after peak metamorphic conditions and a long period of tectonic quiescence after the suturing of the North China and South China blocks along the Shangdan suture. These relationships exclude classical exhumation models of formation and exhumation of metamorphic cores in orogens, which all imply rapid cooling after peak conditions of metamorphism.     

Fluid inclusion geochemistry and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology constraints on the genesis of the Jianchaling Au deposit,China

The giant Jianchaling gold deposit is located in the Shaanxi Province, China. The mineralization is hosted by WNW-trending faults in the Mianxian-Lueyang-Yangpingguan (MLY) area. The mineralization can be divided into three stages based on mineralogical assemblages and crosscutting relationships of mineralized quartz veins. These stages, from early to late, are characterized by the mineral assemblage of: (1) quartz – coarse-grained pyrite – pyrrhotite – pentlandite – dolomite; (2) quartz – pyrite – gold – sphalerite – galena – carbonate – arsenopyrite – fuchsite; and (3) dolomite – calcite – quartz – fine-grained pyrite – realgar – orpiment.Three types of fluid inclusions have been recognized in this study based on petrographic and microthermometric measurements, including pure CO₂ and/or CH₄ (PC-type), NaCl-H₂O (W-type), and NaCl-CO₂-H₂O (C-type) fluid inclusions. These fluid inclusion types are present in quartz from the Stage 1 and 2 assemblages, whereas the Stage 3 quartz only contains W-type fluid inclusions. The Stage 2 assemblage is associated with the mineralization at the Jianchaling deposit. Fluid inclusions of Stage 1 quartz homogenize mainly between 250° and 360 °C, with salinities up to 15.6 wt.% NaCl equiv., whereas the Stage 3 dolomite with homogenization temperatures of 160° – 220 °C and salinities of 1.1–7.4 wt.% NaCl equiv. This indicates that the ore fluid system evolved from CO₂-rich, probably metamorphic hydrothermal to CO₂-poor, meteoric fluid. All three types of fluid inclusions can be observed in the Stage 2 quartz, suggesting that this heterogeneous association was trapped from a boiling fluid system. These inclusions homogenized at temperatures of 200°–250 °C and salinities of 1.2–12.4 wt.% NaCl equiv. The estimated trapping pressures of the fluid inclusions are between 117 and 354 MPa in Stage 1, suggesting an alternating lithostatic–hydrostatic fluid system, which was controlled by a fault-valve at the depth of ~ 12 km.Two fuchsite samples collected from the Stage 2 polymetallic-quartz veins yielded well-defined ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar isotopic plateau ages of 197 ± 2 and 194 ± 2 Ma, and ³⁹Ar/³⁶Ar-⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar normal isochrones of 198 ± 2 and 199 ± 2 Ma. This indicates that the mineralization at Jianchaling is Early Jurassic (ca. 198 Ma) in age. We propose that Jianchaling is an orogenic gold deposit, and formed during continental collision related to the northward subduction of the Mian-Lue oceanic plate during the Early Jurassic. We also conclude that the beginning of the continental collision between the Yangtze and the North China Cratons took place around 200 Ma.     

Paleo-Tethyan tectonic evolution of Lancangjiang metamorphic complex: Evidence from SHRIMP U-Pb zircon dating and 40Ar/39Ar isotope geochronology of blueschists in Xiaoheijiang-Xiayun area,Southeastern Tibetan Plateau

Blueschists are sporadically exposed as lenses within the Lancangjiang metamorphic complex, and represent unique components of the Paleo-Tethys. In this paper, we present geochemical and geochronological results of blueschists to decipher their origin and tectonic significance. The whole-rock geochemical analyses revealed strong similarities with ocean island basalt (OIB), and further discrimination diagrams confirm an affinity to a within-plate setting. Combined studies on blueschists using cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging, SHRIMP U-Pb dating of zircon domains and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of phengite and glaucophane provide evidence of their magmatic origin and metamorphic evolution. Slightly oscillatory zoned or compositionally homogeneous zircon grains/domains, as well as structureless zircon rims, yield ages from 231.6 ± 3.7 to 225.3 ± 4.8 Ma, recording the blueschist facies metamorphic event. In contrast, the captured zircon grains and cores with a major age peak at ~241 Ma as well as several minor older age peaks indicate the multiple provenance of the zircons. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar step heating analyses on single grains of phengite and glaucophane separated from blueschists yield plateau ages ranging from 242.5 ± 1.4 to 228.7 ± 1.5 Ma which are interpreted to reflect high-pressure metamorphism.This study provides geochemical and geochronological constraints on the tectonic evolution of the Paleo-Tethyan ocean, which was closed and subsequently subducted as a result of the collision of the Simao and Baoshan Blocks. During subduction in Trassic (243 to 225 Ma), the protoliths of blueschists underwent blueschist facies conditions.     

Genesis of the Dadonggou Pb–Zn deposit in Kelan basin,Altay, NW China: Constraints from zircon U–Pb and biotite 40Ar/39Ar geochronological data

The genesis of polymetallic deposits in southern Altay, NW China has been disputed between a syngenetic seafloor hydrothermal process and an epigenetic orogenic-type mineralization. The Dadonggou Pb–Zn deposit occurs as NW-trending veins in the Devonian Kangbutiebao Formation volcanic-sedimentary sequence in the Kelan basin, southern Altay. A set of integrated zircon U–Pb and biotite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronological data were applied to constrain the forming ages of the ores and their country rocks. Three samples of host volcanic rocks yielded weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of 397.1 ± 4.5 Ma, 391.7 ± 3.6 Ma and 391.1 ± 4.2 Ma, respectively, indicating that the Kangbutiebao Formation was deposited in a Devonian back-arc basin. Two biotite samples separated from the Pb–Zn-containing quartz veins yielded ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages of 205.9 ± 2.1 Ma and 204.3 ± 2.2 Ma, respectively, which represent the age of the Pb–Zn mineralization that is attributed to the closure of the Kelan back-arc basin and the Late Triassic orogeny. Combining the available geological and geochronological data, this contribution outlines the successive evolution from the development of a Devonian back-arc basin to the Late Triassic post-subduction orogeny, and proposes that the Dadonggou Pb–Zn deposit is an epigenetic orogenic-type deposit placed in the Late Triassic orogeny.     

40Ar/39Ar ages of flood basalt provinces in Russia and China and their possible link to global faunal extinction events: A cautionary tale regarding alteration and loss of 40Ar1

The hypothesis that the Permo–Triassic boundary (PTB) mass extinctions were caused by flood basalt volcanism in Russia (Siberian Traps) and/or China (the Emeishan Traps) is investigated from the point of view of time of occurrence (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages). Numerous published ages in the literature are rejected as good estimates of the time of crystallization. The filters applied in this respect are (a) statistical reliability of plateau/isochron sections of stepheating data and (b) the alteration state of the material that was dated. Alteration appears to be ubiquitous, unsurprising since most of the material dated was used without acid leaching – a procedure that is effective in yielding fresh(er) samples. Of ∼70 ages in the literature for the main pulse of Siberian Trap volcanism, less than ten prove to be reliable ages. Similar techniques applied to ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar for the Emeishan Traps, leaves only a single reliable age for the magmatic episode. These ages are compared to both published and new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages for the PTB as based on analysis of minerals from critical ash beds in China. There is good overlap in the ages (PTB – 250.0 ± 0.1 Ma, Siberian Trap lavas – 250.1 ± 0.4 Ma), lending credence to a genetic link between the formation of the Siberian Traps and the faunal extinction event at the PTB. A similar link for the formation of the Viluy Traps (Russia) and the Late Devonian extinction event is investigated; only a single reliable ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age is available for the Viluy Traps, and falls close to the interpolated age for the Frasnian–Fammenian boundary. The use of the unspiked K–Ar technique to yield accurate ages for such (altered) samples is questioned.A review of U–Pb data pertinent to these problems suggests a close temporal link between the formation of the Siberian Traps and the PTB. Comparison of U–Pb and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages for the PTB, raises questions about the accuracy of high precision sanidine ages, possibly resulting from very slow leakage of ⁴⁰Ar¹ from this mineral.     

An 40Ar–39Ar investigation of the Mertz Glacier area (George V Land,Antarctica): Implications for the Ross Orogen–East Antarctic Craton relationship and Gondwana reconstructions

George V Land (Antarctica) includes the boundary between Late Archean–Paleoproterozoic metamorphic terrains of the East Antarctic craton and the intrusive and metasedimentary rocks of the Early Paleozoic Ross–Delamerian Orogen. This therefore represents a key region for understanding the tectono-metamorphic evolution of the East Antarctic Craton and the Ross Orogen and for defining their structural relationship in East Antarctica, with potential implications for Gondwana reconstructions. In the East Antarctic Craton the outcrops closest to the Ross orogenic belt form the Mertz Shear Zone, a prominent ductile shear zone up to 5 km wide. Its deformation fabric includes a series of progressive, overprinting shear structures developed under different metamorphic conditions: from an early medium-P granulite-facies metamorphism, through amphibolite-facies to late greenschist-facies conditions. ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar laserprobe data on biotite in mylonitic rocks from the Mertz Shear Zone indicate that the minimum age for ductile deformation under greenschist-facies conditions is 1502 ± 9 Ma and reveal no evidence of reactivation processes linked to the Ross Orogeny. ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar laserprobe data on amphibole, although plagued by excess argon, suggest the presence of a ∼1.7 Ga old phase of regional-scale retrogression under amphibolite-facies conditions. Results support the correlation between the East Antarctic Craton in the Mertz Glacier area and the Sleaford Complex of the Gawler Craton in southern Australia, and suggest that the Mertz Shear Zone may be considered a correlative of the Kalinjala Shear Zone. An erratic immature metasandstone collected east of Ninnis Glacier (∼180 km east of the Mertz Glacier) and petrographically similar to metasedimentary rocks enclosed as xenoliths in Cambro–Ordovician granites cropping out along the western side of Ninnis Glacier, yielded detrital white-mica ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar ages from ∼530 to 640 Ma and a minimum age of 518 ± 5 Ma. This pattern compares remarkably well with those previously obtained for the Kanmantoo Group from the Adelaide Rift Complex of southern Australia, thereby suggesting that the segment of the Ross Orogen exposed east of the Mertz Glacier may represent a continuation of the eastern part of the Delamerian Orogen.     

Magmatic-hydrothermal evolution of the Cretaceous Duolong gold-rich porphyry copper deposit in the Bangongco metallogenic belt,Tibet: Evidence from U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology

The Duolong gold-rich porphyry copper deposit was recently discovered and represents a giant prospect (inferred resources of 4–5 Mt fine-Cu with a grade of 0.72% Cu; 30–50 t fine-gold with a grade of 0.23 g/t Au) in the Bangongco metallogenic belt, Tibet. Zircon SHRIMP and LA-ICP-MS U–Pb geochronology shows that the multiple porphyritic intrusions were emplaced during two episodes, the first at about 121 Ma (Bolong mineralized granodiorite porphyry (BMGP) and barren granodiorite porphyry (BGP)) and the second about 116 Ma (Duobuza mineralized granodiorite porphyry (DMGP)). Moreover, the basaltic andesites also have two episodes at about 118 Ma and 106 Ma, respectively. One andesite yields an U–Pb zircon age of 111.9 ± 1.9 Ma, indicating it formed after the multiple granodiorite porphyries. By contrast, the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 115.2 ± 1.1 Ma (hydrothermal K-feldspar vein hosted in DMGP) reveals the close temporal relationship of ore-bearing potassic alteration to the emplacement of the DMGP. The sericite from quartz-sericite vein (hosted in DMGP) yields a ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 115.2 ± 1.2 Ma. Therefore, the ore-forming magmatic-hydrothermal evolution probably persisted for 6 m.y. Additionally, the zircon U–Pb ages (106–121 Ma) of the volcanic rocks and the porphyries suggest that the Neo-Tethys Ocean was still subducting northward during the Early Cretaceous.     

Tectonometamorphic evolution of Seram and Ambon,eastern Indonesia: Insights from 40Ar/39Ar geochronology

The island of Seram, eastern Indonesia, experienced a complex Neogene history of multiple metamorphic and deformational events driven by Australia–SE Asia collision. Geological mapping, and structural and petrographic analysis has identified two main phases in the island's tectonic, metamorphic, and magmatic evolution: (1) an initial episode of extreme extension that exhumed hot lherzolites from the subcontinental lithospheric mantle and drove ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism and melting of adjacent continental crust; and (2) subsequent episodes of extensional detachment faulting and strike-slip faulting that further exhumed granulites and mantle rocks across Seram and Ambon. Here we present the results of sixteen ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar furnace step heating experiments on white mica, biotite, and phlogopite for a suite of twelve rocks that were targeted to further unravel Seram's tectonic and metamorphic history. Despite a wide lithological and structural diversity among the samples, there is a remarkable degree of correlation between the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages recorded by different rock types situated in different structural settings, recording thermal events at 16 Ma, 5.7 Ma, 4.5 Ma, and 3.4 Ma. These frequently measured ages are defined, in most instances, by two or more ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages that are identical within error. At 16 Ma, a major kyanite-grade metamorphic event affected the Tehoru Formation across western and central Seram, coincident with ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism and melting of granulite-facies rocks comprising the Kobipoto Complex, and the intrusion of lamprophyres. Later, at 5.7 Ma, Kobipoto Complex rocks were exhumed beneath extensional detachment faults on the Kaibobo Peninsula of western Seram, heating and shearing adjacent Tehoru Formation schists to form Taunusa Complex gneisses. Then, at 4.5 Ma, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages record deformation within the Kawa Shear Zone (central Seram) and overprinting of detachment faults in western Seram. Finally, at 3.4 Ma, Kobipoto Complex migmatites were exhumed on Ambon, at the same time as deformation within the Kawa Shear Zone and further overprinting of detachments in western Seram. These ages support there having been multiple synchronised episodes of high-temperature extension and strike-slip faulting, interpreted to be the result of Western Seram having been ripped off from SE Sulawesi, extended, and dragged east by subduction rollback of the Banda Slab.     

Molybdenite Re–Os and albite 40Ar/39Ar dating of Cu–Au–Mo and magnetite porphyry systems in the Yangtze River valley and metallogenic implications

The area of the Middle–Lower Yangtze River valley, Eastern China, extending from Wuhan (Hubei province) to western Zhenjiang (Jiangsu province), hosts an important belt of Cu–Au–Mo and Fe deposits. There are two styles of mineralization, i.e., skarn/porphyry/stratabound Cu–Au–Mo–(Fe) deposits and magnetite porphyry deposits in several NNE-trending Cretaceous fault-bound volcanic basins. The origin of both deposit systems is much debated. We dated 11 molybdenite samples from five skarn/porphyry Cu–Au–Mo deposits and 5 molybdenite samples from the Datuanshan stratabound Cu–Au–Mo deposit by ICP-MS Re–Os isotope analysis. Nine samples from the same set were additionally analyzed by NTIMS on Re–Os. Results from the two methods are almost identical. The Re–Os model ages of 16 molybdenite samples range from 134.7 ± 2.3 to 143.7 ± 1.6 Ma (2σ). The model ages of the five samples from the Datuanshan stratabound deposit vary from 138.0 ± 3.2 to 140.8 ± 2.0 Ma, with a mean of 139.3 ± 2.6 Ma; their isochron age is 139.1 ± 2.7 Ma with an initial Os ratio of 0.7 ± 8.1 (MSWD = 0.29). These data indicate that the porphyry/skarn systems and the stratabound deposits have the same age and suggest an origin within the same metallogenic system. Albite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of the magnetite porphyry deposits indicates that they formed at 123 to 125 Ma, i.e., 10–20 Ma later. Both mineralization styles characterize transitional geodynamic regimes, i.e., the period around 140 Ma when the main NS-trending compressional regime changed to an EW-trending lithospheric extensional regime, and the period of 125–115 Ma of dramatic EW-trending lithospheric extension.     

Rapid cooling of the Yanshan Belt,northern China: Constraints from 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology and implications for cratonic lithospheric thinning

The Yanshan Orogenic Belt is located in the northern part of the North China Craton (NCC), which lost ∼120 km of lithospheric mantle during Phanerozoic tectonic reactivation. Mesozoic magmatism in the Yanshan fold-and-thrust belt began at 195–185 Ma (Early Jurassic), with most of the granitic plutons being Cretaceous in age (138–113 Ma). Along with this magmatism, multi-phase deformational structures, including multiple generations of folds, thrust and reverse faults, extensional faults, and strike-slip faults are present in this belt. Previous investigations have mostly focused on geochemical and isotopic studies of these magmatic rocks, but not on the thermal history of the Mesozoic plutons. We have applied ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar thermochronology to biotites and K-feldspars from several Lower Cretaceous granitic plutons to decipher the cooling and uplift history of the Yanshan region. The biotite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of these plutons range from 107 to 123 Ma, indicating that they cooled through about 350 °C at that time. All the K-feldspar step-heating results modeled using multiple diffusion domain theory yield similarly rapid cooling trends, although beginning at different times. Two rapid cooling phases have been identified at ca. 120–105 and 100–90 Ma. The first phase of rapid cooling occurred synchronously with widespread extensional deformation characterized by the formation of metamorphic core complexes, A-type magmatism, large-scale normal faults, and the development of half-graben basins. This suggests rapid exhumation took place in an extensional regime and was a shallow-crustal-level response to lithospheric thinning of the NCC. The second phase of rapid cooling was probably related to the regional uplift and unroofing of the Yanshan Belt, which is consistent with the lack of Upper Cretaceous sediments in most of the Yanshan region.     

SHRIMP U–Pb and Ar–Ar geochronology of major porphyry and skarn Cu deposits in the Balkhash Metallogenic Belt,Central Asia,and geological implications

The Balkhash Metallogenic Belt (BMB) in Kazakhstan, Central Asia, with the occurrence of the super-large Kounrad and Aktogai, the large Borly porphyry Cu–Mo deposits, and the large Sayak skarn polymetallic ore-field, is one of the central regions of the Paleozoic Central Asian metallogenic domain and orogenic belt. In this study, newly obtained SHRIMP zircon U–Pb ages of nine samples and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of six mineral samples (inclding hornblende, biotite and K-feldspar) give more detailed constraints on the timing of the granitic intrusions and their metallogeny. Porphyritic monzonite granite and tonalite porphyry from the Kounrad deposit yield U–Pb zircon SHRIMP ages of 327.3 ± 2.1 Ma and 308.7 ± 2.2 Ma, respectively. Quartz diorite and porphyritic granodiorite from the Aktogai deposit yield U–Pb SHRIMP ages of 335.7 ± 1.3 Ma and 327.5 ± 1.9 Ma, respectively. Porphyritic granodiorite and granodiorite from the Borly deposit yield U–Pb SHRIMP ages of 316.3 ± 0.8 Ma and 305 ± 3 Ma, respectively. Diorite, granodiorite, and monzonite from the Sayak ore-field yield U–Pb SHRIMP ages of 335 ± 2 Ma, 308 ± 10 Ma, and 297 ± 3 Ma, respectively. Hornblende, biotite, and K-feldspar from the Aktogai deposit yield ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar cooling ages of 310.6 Ma, 271.5 Ma, and 274.9 Ma, respectively. Hornblende, biotite, and K-feldspar from the Sayak ore-field yield ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar cooling ages of 287.3 ± 2.8 Ma, 307.9 ± 1.8 Ma, and 249.8 ± 1.6 Ma, respectively. The new ages constrain the timing of Late Paleozoic felsic magmatism to ∼336 to ∼297 Ma. Skarn mineralization in the Sayak ore-field formed at ∼335 and ∼308 Ma. Porphyry Cu–Mo mineralization in the Kounrad deposit and the Aktogai deposit formed at ∼327 Ma, and in the Borly deposit at ∼316 Ma. The Late Paleozoic regional cooling in the temperature range of ∼600 °C to ∼150 °C occurred from ∼307 to ∼257 Ma.     

40Ar/39Ar age pattern associated with differential uplift along the Eastern Highlands shear zone,Cape Breton Island,Canadian Appalachians

The Eastern Highlands shear zone in Cape Breton Island is a crustal scale thrust. It is characterized by an amphibolite-facies deformation zone ∼5 km wide formed deep in the crust that is overprinted by a greenschist-facies mylonite zone ∼1 km wide that formed at a more shallow level. Hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages on the hanging wall decrease towards the centre of the shear zone. In the older zone (over 7.8 km from the centre), the ages are between ∼565 and ∼545 Ma; in the younger zone (within 4.5 km of the centre), they are between ∼425 and ∼415 Ma; and in the transitional zone in between, they decrease abruptly from ∼545 to ∼425 Ma. Pressures of crystallization of plutons in the hanging wall, based on the Al-in-hornblende barometer and corresponding to depth of emplacement, increase towards the centre of the shear zone and indicate a differential uplift of up to ∼28 km associated with movement along the shear zone. The age pattern is interpreted to have resulted from the differential uplift. The pressure data show that rocks exposed in the younger zone were buried deep in the crust and did not cool through the hornblende Ar blocking temperature (∼500°C) until differential uplift occurred. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages in the zone (∼425–415 Ma) thus date shear zone movement or the last stage of it. In contrast, rocks in the older zone were more shallowly buried before differential uplift and cooled through the blocking temperature soon after the emplacement of ∼565–555 Ma plutons in the area, long before shear zone movement. The transitional zone corresponds to the Ar partial retention zone before differential uplift. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age pattern thus reflects a Neoproterozoic to Silurian cooling profile that was exposed as a result of differential uplift related to movement along the shear zone. A similar K–Ar age pattern has been reported for the Alpine fault in New Zealand. It is suggested that such isotopic age patterns can be used to help constrain the ages, kinematics, displacements and depth of penetration of shear zones.     

Geology,geochemistry, and geochronology of Fe-oxide Cu (± Au) mineralization associated with Şamlı pluton,western Turkey

The Şamlı (Balıkesir) Fe-oxide Cu (± Au) deposit, one of several iron (+ Cu ± Au) deposits in western Turkey, is hosted by porphyritic rocks of the multi-phase Şamlı pluton and metapelitic–metadiabasic rocks of Karakaya Complex. Two successive mineralization events are recognized in the area as; i) early magnetite and sulfide and ii) late hematite–goethite-native copper (± Au). Alteration associated with the mineralization in Şamlı is characterized by four distinct mineralogical assemblages. They are, in chronological order of formation, (1) plagioclase–early pyroxene (± scapolite), (2) garnet–late pyroxene, (3) chlorite–epidote, and (4) chalcedony–calcite alteration. Geochemical, isotopic (Sr, Nd, O, S) and geochronological (Ar–Ar) data from alteration and magmatic rocks suggest a temporal and genetic link between the multiphase Şamlı pluton and the hydrothermal system that controls the Fe-oxide-Cu (± Au) mineralization. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology on hornblende and biotite separates of the Şamlı pluton yielded an age range between 23.20 ± 0.50 and 22.42 ± 0.11 Ma, overlapping with ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 22.34 ± 0.59 Ma from alteration.The close spatial and temporal associations of Şamlı mineralization with porphyritic intrusions, pervasive Ca-rich alteration (calcic plagioclase, andraditic garnet, diopsidic pyroxene, scapolite, and epidote) are considered as common features akin to calcic assemblages in typical IOCG deposits. Besides abundant low-Ti (≤ 0.5%) magnetite/hematite, high Cu–moderate Au (up to 8.82 ppm) association, structural control and lithologic controls of mineralization, low S-sulfide content (chalcopyrite > pyrite) in the deposit; and the derivation of causative magma from subduction-modified subcontinental lithospheric mantle under a transpressional to transtensional regime, are collectively considered as the features in favor of IOCG-type mineralization for the Şamlı deposit.     

Geology,fluid inclusion geochemistry,and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of the Wulasigou Cu deposit,and their implications for ore genesis,Altay, Xinjiang,China

The Wulasigou Cu deposit occurs as veins controlled by a NW-trending structure in a Devonian volcano-sedimentary basin of the Altay orogenic belt, Xinjiang, China. Igneous and sedimentary rocks exposed in the area have undergone greenschist-facies metamorphism. The ore-forming process can be divided into early, middle, and late stages, represented by, respectively, pyrite-quartz, polymetallic sulfide-quartz, and carbonate–quartz veins, veinlets, and/or replacement bodies. The early veins were deformed and brecciated during a compressional or transpressional event. The middle-stage veinlets filled fractures in the early-stage vein and alteration assemblages, and are undeformed, suggesting a tensional shear setting. The late-stage veinlets are mainly open-space fissure fillings that cut veins and replacement bodies formed in the earlier stages.Four types of fluid inclusions (FIs), including aqueous (W-type), mixed carbonic-aqueous (M-type), purely carbonic (C-type) and daughter mineral-bearing (S-type), have been identified in copper-related quartz and calcite from the Wulasigou deposit. The early-stage quartz contains M- and W-type primary FIs that completely homogenized at temperatures of 322–412 °C with low salinities of 0.9–6.5 wt.% NaCl equiv. In contrast, the late-stage quartz or calcite contains only the W-type FIs with homogenization temperatures of 101–234 °C, and salinities of 0.9–2.9 wt.% NaCl equiv. This indicates that the metallogenic system evolved from CO₂-rich, metamorphic to CO₂-poor, through input of meteoric fluids. All four types of FIs can only be observed in the middle-stage minerals, where they show evidence of vein formation during an episode of fluid immiscibility. These FIs homogenized at temperatures ranging mainly from 230 to 347 °C, with salinities clustering 2.7–10.2 wt.% NaCl equiv for the W-, M- and C-types, and 34.7–38.2 wt.% NaCl equiv for the S-type, respectively. The metal precipitation resulted from a decrease in copper solubility during the fluid immiscibility episode. The estimated trapping pressures for the middle-stage fluids are 1.55–3.55 kbar, suggesting an alternating lithostatic-hydrostatic fluid-system, controlled by fault-valve activity at a depth of 13–15.5 km.Muscovite separates from the middle-stage polymetallic-quartz veinlets yield a well-defined ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar isotopic plateau age of 219.41 ± 2.10 Ma, and an ³⁹Ar/³⁶Ar - ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar isochron age of 219.73 ± 2.17 Ma. This age postdates the final Paleo-Asia Ocean closure (at ca. 250 Ma) by about 30 Ma, and indicates that the Cu mineralization at Wulasigou has occurred in the Triassic continental collision setting. Hence, the Wulasigou Cu deposit may be the first example of orogenic lode Cu deposits formed in accretionary orogeny or continental collision.     

40Ar/39Ar mineral ages of eclogites from North Shahrekord in the Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone,Iran: Implications for the tectonic evolution of Zagros orogen

Eclogites are high-pressure/low-temperature metamorphic rocks and are regularly considered as an indicator of ancient subduction zones. Eclogites have recently been found in the North Shahrekord metamorphic complex (NSMC) of the Sanandaj–Sirjan zone and represent the only ones within the Zagros orogen. Their occurrence and timing are important for the reconstruction of convergence history and geodynamic evolution of the Neo-Tethys Ocean and Zagros orogen. White mica from the eclogites and an associated paragneiss give ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages ranging from 184.3 ± 0.9 to 172.5 ± 0.8 Ma and represent the age of cooling through the closure temperature for phengitic white mica. The NSMC also comprises the ductile NW–SE trending North Shahrekord Shear Zone (NSSZ), which is located in the northeast of the Main Zagros Reverse Fault. The NSMC consists mainly of various metasedimentary rocks, orthogneiss and small-sized bodies of metabasic rocks containing also the eclogites. Furthermore, pre-metamorphic granitoids represent part of the NSMC. The North Shahrekord eclogites are composed of garnet, omphacite, zoisite, Ca–Na amphibole, phengite and rutile. The highly deformed and metamorphosed granitoids yield hornblende and biotite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages 170.1 ± 0.9 Ma and 110.7 ± 0.3 Ma, respectively. According to the new age dating results of eclogites, the rocks are the oldest high-pressure metamorphic rocks in the Zagros orogenic belt testifying the Neo-Tethys Ocean subduction. Our new data indicate that the eclogites formed during Early Jurassic subduction of a Panafrican microcontinental piece from the northern margin of the Neo-Tethyan Ocean under the Central Iranian microplate. We suggest that initiation of subduction in Neo-Tethyan Ocean occurred a few million years prior to 184 Ma (Pliensbachian stage).