Permo-Triassic plume magmatism of the Kuznetsk Basin,Central Asia: geology,geochronology, and geochemistry

The Kuznetsk Basin is located in the northern part of the Altai–Sayan Folded Area (ASFA), southwestern Siberia. Its Late Permian–Middle Triassic section includes basaltic stratum-like bodies, sills, formed at 250–248 Ma. The basalts are medium-high-Ti tholeiites enriched in La. Compositionally they are close to the Early Triassic basalts of the Syverma Formation in the Siberian Flood basalt large igneous province, basalts of the Urengoi Rift in the West Siberian Basin and to the Triassic basalts of the North-Mongolian rift system. The basalts probably formed in relation to mantle plume activity: they are enriched in light rare-earth elements (LREE; La_n = 90–115, La/Sm_n = 2.4–2.6) but relatively depleted in Nb (Nb/La_PM = 0.34–0.48). Low to medium differentiation of heavy rare-earth elements (HREE; Gd/Yb_n = 1.4–1.7) suggests a spinel facies mantle source for basaltic melts. Our obtained data on the composition and age of the Kuznetsk basalts support the previous idea about their genetic and structural links with the Permian–Triassic continental flood basalts of the Siberian Platform (Siberian Traps) possibly related to the activity of the Siberian superplume which peaked at 252–248 Ma. The abruptly changing thickness of the Kuznetsk Late Permian–Middle Triassic units suggests their formation within an extensional regime similar to the exposed rifts of Southern Urals and northern Mongolia and buried rifts of the West Siberian Basin.     

Geochemistry and petrogenesis of basalts from the West Siberian Basin: an extension of the Permo–Triassic Siberian Traps, Russia

New major and trace element data for the Permo–Triassic basalts from the West Siberian Basin (WSB) indicate that they are strikingly similar to the Nadezhdinsky suite of the Siberian Trap basalts. The WSB basalts exhibit low Ti/Zr (50) and low high-field-strength element abundances combined with other elemental characteristics (e.g., low Mg#, and negative Nb and Ti anomalies on mantle-normalised plots) typical of fractionated, crustally contaminated continental flood basalts (CFBs). The major and trace element data are consistent with a process of fractional crystallisation coupled with assimilation of incompatible-element-enriched lower crust. Relatively low rates of assimilation to fractional crystallisation (0.2) are required to generate the elemental distribution observed in the WSB basalts. The magmas parental to the basalts may have been derived from source regions similar to primitive mantle (OIB source) or to the Ontong Java Plateau source. Trace element modelling suggests that the majority of the analysed WSB basalts were derived by large degrees of partial melting at pressures less than 3 GPa, and therefore within the garnet-spinel transition zone or the spinel stability field.

It seems unlikely that large-scale melting in the WSB was induced through lithospheric extension alone, and additional heating, probably from a mantle plume, would have been required. We argue that the WSB basalts are chemically and therefore genetically related to the Siberian Traps basalts, especially the Nadezhdinsky suite found at Noril'sk. This suite immediately preceded the main pulse of volcanism that extruded lava over large areas of the Siberian Craton. Magma volume and timing constraints strongly suggest that a mantle plume was involved in the formation of the Earth's largest continental flood basalt province.     

Mantle Plumes and Their Geologic Manifestations

This paper interprets the conditions of plume formation with a focus on interpretations of origin at the core-mantle boundary. We also discuss important geological manifestations including formation of alkaline-basalt oceanic islands, kimberlite pipes, and plateau-basalt fields. The paper concentrates on the Siberian traps that formed between 249 and 245 Ma, one of the world's largest known plateau-basalt fields, and on the magmatic zonation and ore mineralization associated with the field and that are interpreted as forming from a Siberian mantle plume. One part of the field consists of undifferentiated low-K tholeiite basalts in the Tunguska syncline and contains only minor associated ore deposits. Major, unique Cu-Ni and PGE deposits are associated with differentiated alkaline basalt and with mafic-ultramafie intrusions in the northwestern Siberian platform. Angara-Ilim-type magnetite deposits occur in the southern part of the plateau-basalt province and are related to interaction of mafic magmas with overlying carbonate and evaporite sedimentary rocks. Permian and Triassic alkaline granitoid and bimodal magmatic rocks occur in fold-and-thrust belts that frame the southern, southwestern, and northwestern margins of the main trap area. The paper also presents new geochemical and geochronological data for A-granites for the Taymyr region that are synchronous with traps. For both the southern and northern framing areas, porphyry Cu deposits interpreted as derived from a mantle-crust system are associated with subalkaline and alkaline granitoids.     

亚洲3个大火成岩省(峨眉山、西伯利亚、德干)对比研究

峨眉山(～260 Ma)、西伯利亚(～250 Ma)和德干(～66 Ma)大陆溢流玄武岩是世界上3个重要的大火成岩省.大火成岩省至少具有4个通常被用于识别古地幔柱的标志:(1)先于岩浆作用的地表隆升;(2)与大陆裂谷化和裂解事件相伴;(3)与生物灭绝事件联系密切;(4)地幔柱源玄武岩的化学特征.虽然这3个大火成岩省都是来源于原始地幔柱,但是它们的地球化学特征有本质上的差异,反映其地幔柱曾与不同的上地幔库相互作用.(1)峨眉山和西伯利亚大陆溢流玄武岩的母岩浆,在上升过程中经受了与地球化学上和古老克拉通岩石圈地幔相同的上地幔库(EM1型幔源)的相互作用;(2)而德干大火成岩省没有受到地壳(或岩石圈)混染的原生玄武岩则显示地幔柱和EM2之间的Sr-Nd同位素变化.这种差异有可能制约了3个大火成岩省的成矿潜力.峨眉山和西伯利亚大火成岩省含有世界级岩浆矿床,而德干大火成岩省则不含矿.     

Hotspots and mantle plumes: global intraplate tectonics, magmatism and ore deposits

Summary Intraplate tectono-magmatic phenomena, including the emplacement of layered intrusions, and the giant dyke swarms, anorogenic (hotspot) volcanism, oceanic plataeux, rifting processes, basin formation, and geomorphological features are discussed in the context of the mantle plume theory. A review of the relationships between mantle plumes and ore deposits focuses on direct links, proxied by the emplacement of mafic-ultramafic magmas (e.g. PGE and Ni–Cu sulphides associated with flood basalts) and indirectly in rift systems where high geothermal gradients are set up in the crust above the plume, induce large scale circulation of hydrothermal fluids, which result in the generation of a wide range of ore deposits. Peak periods in the deposition of iron formations coincide with plume events in the Archeaen and Proterozoic. Passive margins, which evolve from continental breakups and triple junctions, host abundant mineral and hydrocarbon resources.     

Modelling of thermochemical plumes and implications for the origin of the Siberian traps

Thermochemical plumes form at the base of the lower mantle as a consequence of heat flow from the outer core and the presence of local chemical doping that decreases the melting temperature. Theoretical and experimental modelling of thermochemical plumes show that the diameter of a plume conduit remains practically constant during plume ascent. However, when the top of a plume reaches a refractory layer, whose melting temperature is higher than the melt temperature in the plume conduit, a mushroom-shaped plume head develops. Main parameters (melt viscosity, ascent time, ascent velocity, temperature differences in the plume conduit, and thermal power) are presented for a thermochemical plume ascending from the core–mantle boundary. In addition, the following relationships are developed: the pressure distribution in the plume conduit during the ascent of a plume, conditions for eruption-conduit formation, the effect of the P–T conditions and controls on the shape and size of a plume top, heat transfer between a thermochemical plume and the lithosphere (when the plume reaches the bottom of a refractory layer in the lithosphere), and eruption volume versus the time interval t₁ between plume formation and eruption. These relationships are used to determine thermal power and time t₁ for the Tunguska syneclise and the Siberian traps as a whole.

The Siberian and other trap provinces are characterized by giant volumes of lavas and sills formed a very short time period. Data permit a model for superplumes with three stages of formation: early (variable picrites and alkali basalts), main (tholeiite plateau basalts), and final (ultrabasic and alkaline lavas and intrusions). These stages reflect the evolution of a superplume from the ascent of one or several independent plumes, through the formation of thick lenses of mantle melts underplating the lithosphere and, finally, intrusion and extrusion of differentiated mantle melts. Synchronous syenite–granite intrusions and bimodal volcanism abundant in the margins of the Siberian traps are the result of melting of the lower crust at depths of 65–70 km under the effect of plume melts.     

Sources of basaltoid magmas in rift settings of an active continental margin: Example from the bimodal association of the Noen and Tost ranges of the Late Paleozoic Gobi-Tien Shan rift zone, southern Mongolia

The bimodal volcanoplutonic (basalt-peralkaline rhyolite with peralkaline granites) association of the Noen and Tost ranges was formed 318 Ma ago in the Gobi-Tien Shan rift zone of the Late Paleozoic-Early Mesozoic central Asian rift system, the development of which was related to the movement of the continental lithosphere over a mantle hot spot. A specific feature of the Late Paleozoic rifting was that it occurred within the Middle-Late Paleozoic active continental margin of the northern Asian paleocontinent. Continental margin magmatism was followed after a short time delay by the magmatism of the Gobi-Tien Shan rift zone, which was located directly in the margin of the paleocontinent. Such a geodynamic setting of the rift zone was reflected in the geochemical characteristics of rift-related rocks. The distribution of major elements and compatible trace elements in the rift-related basic and intermediate rocks corresponds to a crystallization differentiation series. The distribution of incompatible trace elements suggests contributions from several sources. This is also supported by the heterogeneity of Sr and Nd isotopic compositions of the rift-related basaltoids: ε_Nd(T) ranges from 4.4 to 6.7, and (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)₀, from 0.70360 to 0.70427. The geochemical characteristics of the rift-related basaltoids of the Noen and Tost ranges are not typical of rift settings (negative anomalies in Nb and Ta and positive anomalies in K and Pb) and suggest a significant role of the rocks of a metasomatized mantle wedge in their source. In addition, there are high-titanium rocks among the rift-related basaltoids, whose geochemical characteristics approach those of the basalts of mid-ocean ridges and ocean islands. This allowed us to conclude that the compositional variations of the rift-related basaltoids of the Noen and Tost ranges were controlled by three magma sources: the enriched mantle, depleted mantle (high-titanium basaltoids), and metasomatized mantle wedge (medium-Ti basaltoids). The medium-titanium basaltoids were formed in equilibrium with spinel peridotites, whereas the high-titanium magmas were formed at deeper levels both in the spinel and garnet zones. It terms of geodynamics, the occurrence of three sources of the rift-related basaltoids of the Noen and Tost ranges was related to the ascent of a mantle plume with enriched geochemical characteristics beneath a continental margin, where its influence caused melting in the overlying depleted mantle and the metasomatized mantle wedge. The formation of rift-related andesites in the Noen and Tost ranges was explained by the contamination of mantle-derived basaltoid melts with sialic (mainly sedimentary) continental crustal materials or the assimilation of anatectic granitoid melts.     

Magmatic systems of large continental igneous provinces

Large igneous provinces (LIPs) formed by mantle superplume events have irreversibly changed their composition in the geological evolution of the Earth from high-Mg melts (during Archean and early Paleoproterozoic) to Phanerozoic-type geochemically enriched Fe-Ti basalts and picrites at 2.3 Ga. We propose that this upheaval could be related to the change in the source and nature of the mantle superplumes of different generations. The first generation plumes were derived from the depleted mantle, whereas the second generation (thermochemical) originated from the core-mantle boundary (CMB). This study mainly focuses on the second (Phanerozoic) type of LIPs, as exemplified by the mid-Paleoproterozoic Jatulian–Ludicovian LIP in the Fennoscandian Shield, the Permian–Triassic Siberian LIP, and the late Cenozoic flood basalts of Syria. The latter LIP contains mantle xenoliths represented by green and black series. These xenoliths are fragments of cooled upper margins of the mantle plume heads, above zones of adiabatic melting, and provide information about composition of the plume material and processes in the plume head. Based on the previous studies on the composition of the mantle xenoliths in within-plate basalts around the world, it is inferred that the heads of the mantle (thermochemical) plumes are made up of moderately depleted spinel peridotites (mainly lherzolites) and geochemically-enriched intergranular fluid/melt. Further, it is presumed that the plume heads intrude the mafic lower crust and reach up to the bottom of the upper crust at depths ～20 km. The generation of two major types of mantle-derived magmas (alkali and tholeiitic basalts) was previously attributed to the processes related to different PT-parameters in the adiabatic melting zone whereas this study relates to the fluid regime in the plume heads. It is also suggested that a newly-formed melt can occur on different sides of a critical plane of silica undersaturation and can acquire either alkalic or tholeiitic composition depending on the concentration and composition of the fluids. The presence of melt-pockets in the peridotite matrix indicates fluid migration to the rocks of cooled upper margin of the plume head from the lower portion. This process causes secondary melting in this zone and the generation of melts of the black series and differentiated trachytic magmas.     

Petrology and age of granitoids of the Aturkol Massif,Gorny Altai: Contribution in the problem of formation of intraplate granitoids

Geological, mineralogical, petrographic, geochemical, and geochronological data are reported for granitoids of the Aturkol Massif (Gorny Altai). It is shown that it was formed in within-plate setting in the Early Triassic, nearly simultaneously with flood basalts of the Kuznetsk Basin and alkalic basite and lampropyre dike swarms in the western Altai-Sayan Fold Region. At the same time, the mineralogical-petrographic, geochemical, and isotope characteristics of the considered granitoids are close to those of I-type granites. Intraplate signatures (elevated HFSE and REE) are recognized only in the least silicic rocks (granosyenites). Obtained data suggest mantle–crustal nature of the granitoids. They were formed by mixing of lamprophyre magmas with high pressure (>10 kbar) crustal melts derived from a mixed source consisting mainly of N-MORB-type metabasites with insignificant admixture of high-Ti basalts and metasedimentary rocks. The contribution of mantle component in the granitoids was insignificant (<20%). Proposed petrogenetic mechanism can provide the formation of large volumes of granitoid magmas with “crustal” geochemical and isotope signatures in an intraplate setting.     

Flood basalts and metallogeny: The lithospheric mantle connection

Continental flood basalts, derived from mantle plumes that rise from the convecting mantle and possibly as deep as the core–mantle boundary, are major hosts for world-class Ni–Cu–PGE ore deposits. Each plume may have a complex history and heterogeneous composition. Therefore, some plumes may be predisposed to be favourable for large-scale Ni–PGE mineralisation (“fertile”).Geochemical data from 10 large igneous provinces (LIPs) have been collected from the literature to search for chemical signatures favourable for Ni–PGE mineralisation. The provinces include Deccan, Kerguelen, Ontong Java, Paraná, Ferrar, Karoo, Emeishan, Siberia, Midcontinent and Bushveld. Among these LIPs, Bushveld, Siberia, Midcontinent, Emei Mt and Karoo are “fertile”, hosting magmatic ore deposits or mineralisation of various type, size and grade. They most commonly intruded through, or on the edges of, Archaean–Paleoproterozoic cratonic blocks. In contrast, the “barren” LIPs have erupted through both continental and oceanic crustal terranes of various ages.Radiogenic isotopic signatures indicate that almost all parental LIP magmas are generated from deep-seated mantle plumes, and not from the more widespread depleted asthenospheric mantle source: this confirms generally accepted plume models. However, several important geochemical signatures of LIPs have been identified in this study that can discriminate between those that are “fertile” or “barren” in terms of their Ni–PGE potential.The fertile LIPs generally contain a relatively high proportion of primitive melts that are high in MgO and Ni, low in Al₂O₃ and Na₂O, and are highly enriched in most of the strongly incompatible elements such as K, P, Ba, Sr, Pb, Th, Nb, and LREE. They have relatively high Os contents (≥ 0.03 to 10 ppb) and low Re/Os (< 10). The fertile LIP basalts display trends of Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic variation intermediate between the depleted plume and an EM1-type mantle composition (and thus could represent a mixing of these two source types), and have elevated Ba/Th, Ba/Nb and K/Ti ratios. These elemental and isotopic signatures suggest that interaction between plume-related magmas and ancient cratonic lithospheric mantle with pre-existing Ni- and PGE-rich sulfide phases may have contributed significantly to the PGE and Ni budget of the fertile flood basalts and eventually to the mineralisation. This observation is consistent with the location of fertile LIPs adjacent to deep old lithospheric roots (as inferred from tectonic environment and also seen in global tomographic images) and has predictive implications for exploration models.Barren LIPs contain fewer high-MgO lavas. The barren LIP lavas in general have low Os contents (mostly ≤ 0.02 ppb) with high Re/Os (10–≥ 200). They show isotopic variations between plume and EM2 geochemical signatures and have high Rb/Ba ratios. These signatures may indicate involvement of deep recycled material in the mantle sources or crustal contamination for barren LIPs, but low degrees of interaction with old lithospheric-type roots.     

Siberian meimechites: origin and relation to flood basalts and kimberlites

Here we combine petrological-geochemical and thermomechanical modeling techniques to explain origin of primary magmas of both Maimecha–Kotui meimechites and the Gudchikhinskaya basalts of Norilsk region, which represent, respectively, the end and the beginning of flood magmatism in the Siberian Trap Province.We have analyzed the least altered samples of meimechites, their olivine phenocrysts, and melt inclusions in olivines, as well as samples of dunites and their olivines, from boreholes G-1 and G-3 within the Guli volcanoplutonic complex in the Maimecha–Kotui igneous province of the northern Siberian platform. The Mn/Fe and Ni/MgO ratios in olivines indicate a mantle peridotite source of meimechites. Meimechite parental magma that rose to shallow depths was rich in alkalis and highly magnesian (24 wt.% MgO), largely degassed, undersaturated by sulfide liquid and oxidized. At greater depths, it was, likely, high in CO₂ (6 wt.%) and H₂O (2 wt.%) and resulted from partial melting of initially highly depleted and later metasomatized harzburgite some 200 km below the surface. Trace-element abundances in primary meimechite magma suggest presence of garnet and K-clinopyroxene, in the mantle source and imply for genetic link to the sources of the early Siberian flood basalts (Gudchikhinskaya suite) and kimberlites. The analyzed dunite samples from the Guli complex have chemistry and mineralogy indicating their close relation to meimechites.We have also computed thermomechanical model of interaction of a hot mantle plume with the shield lithosphere of variable thickness, using realistic temperature- and stress-dependent visco-elasto-plastic rocks rheology and advanced finite element solution technique.Based on our experimental and modeling results we propose that a Permian–Triassic plume, with potential temperature of about 1650 °C transported a large amount of recycled ancient oceanic crust (up to 15%) as SiO₂-supersaturated carbonated eclogite. Low-degree partial melting of eclogite at depths of 250–300 km produced carbonate-silicate melt that metasomatized the lithospheric roots of the Siberian shield. Further rise of the plume under relatively attenuated lithosphere (Norilsk area) led to progressive melting of eclogite and formation of reaction pyroxenite, which then melted at depths of 130–180 km. Consequantly, a large volume of melt (Gudchikhinskaya suite) penetrated into the lithosphere and caused its destabilization and delamination. Delaminated lithosphere that included fragments of locally metasomatized depleted harzburgite subsided into the plume and was heated to the temperatures of the plume interior with subsequent generation of meimechite magma. Meimechites showed up at the surface only under thicker part of the lithosphere aside from major melting zone above because otherwise they were mixed up in more voluminous flood basalts. We further suggest that meimechites, uncontaminated Siberian flood basalts and kimberlites all shear the same source of strongly incompatible elements, the carbonated recycled oceanic crust carried up by hot mantle plume.     

SHRIMP Zircon U‐Pb Dating of Alkaline Dykes in the Pobei Area,Beishan Rift,Xinjiang Autonomous Region,China: Implications for Tectonic Setting and Mantle Plume Events

In the Beishan rift in the eastern Tianshan orogen, Xinjiang Province, a N-S-trending dyke swarm is present in the Pobei area. The swarm cuts through the 270–290 Ma mafic-ultramafic intrusions associated with Ni-Cu sulphide mineralization. These mafic-ultramafic intrusions are typically found along E-W major faults in the Tianshan orogenic belts. We report SHRIMP U-Pb dating of zircons from a dyke of alkaline composition, which yielded a mean age of 252±9 Ma. Alkaline dykes of the same age are found in the Altay region of Siberia. This age is younger than the 270–290 Ma intraplate magmatic events that produced the mafic-ultramafic intrusions in the region, but in general agreement with the 250–260 Ma Permian plume event that gave rise to the Siberian traps and the Emeishan flood basalts in SW China. We suggest that there is a link between the Emeishan event and the dyke swarm in the Beishan rift and that the intraplate magmatism at 270–290 Ma reflects an early stage of mantle plume activity. The N-S trending dyke swarm in the Beishan rift may represent a later stage in the evolution of mantle plume activity in the NW and SW of China. We also speculate that in Beishan rift and possibly elsewhere in the Tianshan region, the dykes fed basaltic volcanism, whose products have since been eroded due to the strong uplift of the Tianshan orogen as a result of the India-Eurasia collision in the Cenozoic.     

阿尔泰东部新生代火山岩的地球化学特点及构造环境

新疆三大山系均有新生代火山岩,其中南部西昆仑、阿尔金山及天山托云等地的新生代火山岩比较发育,在新疆东北部地区的阿尔泰哈拉乔拉一带也发育新生代的陆内喷发火山岩。这套火山岩虽然面积不是很大,但具有大陆溢流玄武岩的特点。在地球化学上也具有典型热点成因洋岛玄武岩或其它地幔柱成因玄武岩的特点,如TiO2含量高大于2%、轻稀土元素和不相容元素显著富集等。表明新疆北部特别是阿尔泰造山带东部演化到新生代以后,有向裂陷拉张方向演化的趋势,标志着一个新的大地构造演化阶段的到来。     

Petrological and mineralogical features of volcanic rocks from the central Kuznetsk Basin (southern Siberia)

The Kuznetsk Basin volcanic rocks are close in age (from 252.3 ± 0.6 to 246.2 ± 1.4 Ma) to the traps of the West Siberian Plate and Siberian craton, which formed as a result of the Permo-Triassic plume activity. The geologic and petrographic features evidence that the andesitic basalts exposed in the Karakan and Elbak quarries are effusive rocks; most of them are andesitic basalts, and the rest are trachyandesitic basalts. The mineral composition is as follows: olivine Fo_59–66, plagioclase An_47–60, and clinopyroxene En_47–42Fs_25–12Wo_42–33; Mg# = 82–63. Using the COMAGMAT 3.5 program, the magma crystallization conditions during the andesitic-basalt formation were determined: 1109–1105 ºC, buffer QFM-NNO. The studied rocks are enriched in LREE ((La/Yb)_ch = 4.7–7.5) and are depleted in HREE ((Sm/Yb)_ch = 2.0–2.8). A specific geochemical feature of the rocks is strong Nb, Ta, Ti, and Eu negative anomalies ((La/Nb)_PM = 4.5–1.6, (La/Ta)_PM = 3.2–2.0, Eu/Eu? = 0.7) and a positive U anomaly on their normalized element patterns; ?_Nd(T) varies from +2.3 to +3.1. The HREE depletion of the Kuznetsk Basin volcanic rock points to the presence of garnet in the mantle source during their generation. The low Mg# indicates that the parental melts are not of the primary-mantle genesis but are probably the product of differentiation in deep-seated intermediate magma chambers.     

Platinum group elements in Permo-Triassic volcanics in West Siberia (the first data)

The first data on PGE contents in the volcanic rocks of the West Siberian Plate are presented. Analysis has shown that most of the studied rocks have clarke contents of these elements. Rocks from the central areas of paleorift valleys are enriched in ΣPGE (2.0–32.0 ppb), particularly in Pt (0.1–24.2 ppb) and Pd (0.3–8.0 ppb), which might be related to the action of plume. The magmatic PGE pattern confirms the earlier conclusions about the mantle genesis of the studied rocks.     

塔里木西南缘棋盘河乡玄武岩锆石U-Pb年代学和地球化学研究

通过对塔西南棋盘河乡尤勒巴斯地区玄武岩进行了LA-ICP-MS 锆石 U-Pb同位素研究。获得锆石²⁰⁶ Pb/²³⁸ U同位素年龄为298.3±2.8 Ma(MSWD=2.6), 代表玄武岩的结晶年龄。本次研究的玄武岩具有高的Ti、Nb: Ti/Y为513.86~577.35、Nb含量为28×10^-6~35.7×10^-6、La/Nb为5.06~6.25以及低的Zr/Nb比值(10~10.86), 表明该玄武岩的形成与富集岩石圈地幔有关。而相对低的Nb/U(近30)和Ce/Pb(近15)比值, 指示研究区玄武岩来自大陆岩石圈或受一定程度的地壳混染。尤勒巴斯地区玄武岩具有高TiO₂和P₂O₅, 富集轻稀土和Rb、Ba, 指示具有地幔柱的地球化学成分特征。基于塔里木地区大规模的火山岩喷发以及富集不相容元素的地球化学特征和岩相古地理特征支持, 塔西南玄武岩可能是由地幔柱火山作用, 或由于地幔柱的供热和上升导致富集的岩石圈地幔部分熔融而形成。     

哀牢山—金沙江构造带白马寨铜镍硫化物矿床Ⅰ号含矿岩体铂族元素地球化学特征及其构造意义

白马寨I号岩体是哀牢山—金沙江构造带白马寨Cu-Ni矿区内最大的一个含矿基性—超基性岩体,从中心向边缘依次由含矿橄榄岩、矿化辉石岩和辉长岩3个相带组成环状体。从中心相到边缘相,岩石中SiO2、TiO2、Al2O3、CaO、Na2O和K2O含量逐渐增加,TFe、MgO含量降低;稀土元素中w(∑REE)、w(LREE)/w(HREE)逐渐增加,δEu由负异常到正异常演变;微量元素具有大离子亲石元素和高场强元素逐渐增加、强亲岩浆元素逐渐降低的演变特征。铂族元素配分模式为Pt-Pd型,w(Pt)/w(Pd)比值为0.32~0.68,介于富硫化物拉斑玄武岩(0.38)和原始上地幔(1.36)之间,以及稀土元素配分模式、微量元素蛛网图和铂族元素配分模式中不同岩石配分曲线的相似性揭示3个相带不同岩石之间的高度一致性,展示基性—超基性岩形成于玄武质岩浆演化、熔离及岩浆一次性侵入、分异成岩成矿的特征。矿区内地层层序稳定,岩体与沉积岩之间的侵入接触关系及w(Zr)-w(Y)-w(Nb)图解说明白马寨岩体形成于陆内环境。岩体的低Ti含量、Th强烈正异常和含矿橄榄岩负Eu异常,以及w(Th)/w(Ta)比值、w(Th)/w(Nb)比值和w(Pd)/w(Pt)比值及Ir族元素配分曲线明显不同于峨眉山玄武岩和典型的地幔柱玄武岩,而与大陆裂谷玄武岩非常相近,说明白马寨I号岩体形成于大陆裂谷环境。     

Permo–Triassic intraplate magmatism and rifting in Eurasia: implications for mantle plumes and mantle dynamics

At the transition from the Permian to the Triassic, Eurasia was the site of voluminous flood-basalt extrusion and rifting. Major flood-basalt provinces occur in the Tunguska, Taymyr, Kuznetsk, Verkhoyansk–Vilyuy and Pechora areas, as well as in the South Chinese Emeishen area. Contemporaneous rift systems developed in the West Siberian, South Kara Sea and Pyasina–Khatanga areas, on the Scythian platform and in the West European and Arctic–North Atlantic domain. At the Permo–Triassic transition, major extensional stresses affected apparently Eurasia, and possibly also Pangea, as evidenced by the development of new rift systems. Contemporaneous flood-basalt activity, inducing a global environmental crisis, is interpreted as related to the impingement of major mantle plumes on the base of the Eurasian lithosphere. Moreover, the Permo–Triassic transition coincided with a period of regional uplift and erosion and a low-stand in sea level. Permo–Triassic rifting and mantle plume activity occurred together with a major reorganization of plate boundaries and plate kinematics that marked the transition from the assembly of Pangea to its break-up. This plate reorganization was possibly associated with a reorganization of the global mantle convection system. On the base of the geological record, we recognize short-lived and long-lived plumes with a duration of magmatic activity of some 10–20 million years and 100–150 million years, respectively. The Permo–Triassic Siberian and Emeishan flood-basalt provinces are good examples of “short-lived” plumes, which contrast with such “long lived” plumes as those of Iceland and Hawaii. The global record indicates that mantle plume activity occurred episodically. Purely empirical considerations indicate that times of major mantle plume activity are associated with periods of global mantle convection reorganization during which thermally driven mantle convection is not fully able to facilitate the necessary heat transfer from the core of the Earth to its surface. In this respect, we distinguish between two geodynamically different scenarios for major plume activity. The major Permo–Triassic plume event followed the assembly Pangea and the detachment of deep-seated subduction slabs from the lithosphere. The Early–Middle Cretaceous major plume event, as well as the terminal–Cretaceous–Paleocene plume event, followed a sharp acceleration of global sea-floor spreading rates and the insertion of new subduction zone slabs deep into the mantle. We conclude that global plate kinematics, driven by mantle convection, have a bearing on the development of major mantle plumes and, to a degree, also on the pattern of related flood-basalt magmatism.     

Signatures of the source for the Emeishan flood basalts in the Ertan area： Pb isotope evidence

The Emeishan flood basalts can be divided into high-Ti (HT) basalt (Ti/Y>500) and low-Ti (LT) basalt (Ti/Y<500). Sr, Nd isotopic characteristics of the lavas indicate that the LT- and the HT-type magmas originated from distinct mantle sources and parental magmas. The LT-type magma was derived from a shallower lithospheric mantle, whereas the HT-type magma was derived from a deeper mantle source that may be possibly a mantle plume. However, few studies on the Emeishan flood basalts involved their Pb isotopes, especially the Ertan basalts. In this paper, the authors investigated basalt samples from the Ertan area in terms of Pb isotopes, in order to constrain the source of the Emeishan flood basalts. The ratios of 206Pb/204Pb (18.31–18.41), 207Pb/204Pb (15.55–15.56) and 208Pb/204Pb (38.81–38.94) are significantly higher than those of the depleted mantle, just lying between EM I and EM II. This indicates that the Emeishan HT basalts (in the Ertan area) are the result of mixing of EMI end-member and EMII end-member.     

From initiation to termination: a petrostratigraphic tour of the Ethiopian Low-Ti Flood Basalt Province

Continental flood basalts (CFBs), thought to preserve the magmatic record of an impinging mantle plume head, offer spatial and temporal insights into melt generation processes in large igneous provinces (LIPs). Despite the utility of CFBs in probing mantle plume composition, these basalts typically erupt fractionated compositions, suggestive of significant residence time in the continental lithosphere. The location and duration of residence within the lithosphere provide additional insights into the flux of plume-related magmas. The NW Ethiopian plateau offers a well-preserved stratigraphic sequence from flood basalt initiation to termination, and is thus an important target for study of CFBs. This study examines modal observations within a stratigraphic framework and places these observations within the context of the magmatic evolution of the Ethiopian CFB province. Data demonstrate multiple pulses of magma recharge punctuated by brief shut-down events, with initial flows fed by magmas that experienced deeper fractionation (lower crust). Broad changes in modal mineralogy and flow cyclicity are consistent with fluctuating changes in magmatic flux through a complex plumbing system, indicating pulsed magma flux and an overall shallowing of the magmatic plumbing system over time. The composition of plagioclase megacrysts suggests a constant replenishing of new primitive magma recharging the shallow plumbing system during the main phase of volcanism, reaching an apex prior to flood basalt termination. The petrostratigraphic data sets presented in this paper provide new insight into the evolution of a magma plumbing system in a CFB province.