Kalikorva structure and its position in the system of the northern Karelian greenstone belts: Geochemical and geochronological data

New geochemical data on volcanic rocks and the first U-Pb zircon ages for the Kalikorva structure made it possible to determine the time and conditions of their formation and constrain geodynamic models. The lower sequences of the Kalikorva structure is dominated by metatholeiites with high MgO, Cr, and Ni contents, high Mg#, and REE distribution patterns close to the mantle level. They contain rare komatiite interlayers and lenses of pyroxenites and peridotites and can be considered as products of the deep melting of mantle material. At the same time, the tholeiitic metabasalts bear island-arc signatures and are intercalated with metagraywackes and metadacites (adakites). This rock association could be formed under spreading conditions at the beginning of an island-arc regime. The upper sequence is dominated by metagraywackes and contains diverse rocks with both MORB (tholeiitic and komatiitic basalts) and island-arc (calc-alkaline andesite and dacites, subalkaline basalts, and picritic basalts) affinity, which is typical of back-arc basins. The U-Pb dating of zircons from the metadacites and detrital zircons from the metagraywackes of the Kalikorva structure yielded similar ages of 2785 ± 13 and 2766 ± 21 Ma, respectively. They coincide with the age of the late volcanic complex of the Hisovaara Group of the Hisovaara structure (2780 Ma). Both complexes include island-arc associations with subduction signatures and contain adakites, Nb-Ti basalts, and basaltic andesites. The metagraywackes and metadacites of the Chupa sequence of the Belomorian mobile belt are older than the similar rocks of the Kalikorva complex and have an age of 2870 ± 30 Ma. Ages of 2735 ± 20 Ma and 2720 ± 4 Ma were previously obtained for the metaandesites of the Kichany volcanogenic complex, which could be an even younger volcanic arc.     

Geochemical evidence for arc-type volcanism in the Aegean Sea: the blueschist unit of Siphnos, Cyclades (Greece)

Blueschists, eclogites, chlorite–actinolite rocks and jadeite-gneisses of the blueschist unit of Siphnos have been investigated for their geochemical composition. Their protolith nature is characterised and a geodynamic model for the pre-metamorphic evolution of these metavolcanic rocks is proposed on the basis of immobile elements, especially trace elements and rare earth elements (REE).

The protoliths of the eclogites are characterised as calc-alkaline basalts, andesites and Fe-rich tholeiites evolving in an island-arc setting. Trace element data indicate that subducted marine sediments were assimilated in the magma chamber, enriching the protoliths in LILE and Pb. Produced in the early stage of back-arc basin opening, a protolith with affinities to both island-arc and MORB formed the precursor of the chlorite–actinolite rocks. They were created by low degrees of partial melting of very primitive magmas, akin to spinel-peridotites and have affinities to boninites, probably through melting of the peridotitic mantle wedge. Tholeiitic basalts and andesites with N-MORB affinity, especially in their REE-patterns, were then produced by partial melting, possibly in an embryonic back-arc basin. These rocks were the protoliths of the blueschists of Siphnos. Their enrichment in some LILE and Pb indicates a N-MORB source contaminated by marine sediments, probably shales or other Pb-rich sediments. Because the jadeite-gneisses show affinities to MOR-granites and volcanic arc granites, intrusion of their protoliths in a back-arc environment is likely. The protoliths of the quartz-jadeite gneisses are rhyodacites/dacites and rhyolites, those of the glaucophane-jadeite gneisses were andesites.

The proposed geodynamic model, solely based on geochemical data, is consistent with geochemical data from neighbouring islands, though those rock units show much higher chemical variability. Consistent with geotectonic models, which are based on structural and geophysical data, the volcanic protoliths of the Siphnos blueschist unit reflect the transition from subduction to spreading environment and record in detail: subduction, formation of an island-arc, and the evolution of a back-arc basin.     

Geochemical characteristics of the Río Verde Complex,Central Hispaniola: Implications for the paleotectonic reconstruction of the Lower Cretaceous Caribbean island-arc

New geochronological, trace element and Sr–Nd isotope data for metabasalts, dolerites and amphibolites from the Río Verde Complex, Central Hispaniola, are integrated with existing geochemical data for mafic volcanic rocks and metamorphic derivatives from the Los Ranchos, Amina and Maimón Formations, giving new insights into magma petrogenesis and paleotectonic reconstruction of the Lower Cretaceous Caribbean island-arc–back arc system. U–Pb and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age data show that the Río Verde Complex protoliths were in part coeval with volcanic rocks of the Los Ranchos Formation (Upper Aptian to Lower Albian). The geochemical data establish the existence of gradients in trace element parameters (Nb/Yb, Th/Yb, Zr/Yb, Zr/Ba, and normalized Ti, Sm, Y and Yb abundances) and Nd isotope compositions from throughout Hispaniola, which reflect differences in the degree of mantle wedge depletion and contributions from the subducting slab. The Río Verde Complex mafic rocks and some mafic sills and dykes intruding in the Loma Caribe Peridotite, have a transitional IAT to N-MORB geochemistry and a weak subduction-related signature, and are interpreted to form in a rifted arc or evolving back-arc basin setting. The Los Ranchos, Amina and Maimón Formations volcanic rocks have arc-like characteristics and represent magmatism in the volcanic front. Trace element and Nd isotope modeling reproduce observed data trends from arc to back-arc and suggest that the variations in several geochemical parameters observed in a SW direction across the Caribbean subduction system can be explained from the progressively lower subduction flux into a progressively less depleted mantle source. The low Nb contents and high (ε_Nd)_i values in both arc and back-arc mafic rocks imply, however, the absence of a significant Lower Cretaceous plume enriched component. In order to explain these observations, a model of proto-Caribbean oceanic lithosphere subducting to the SW at least in the 120–110 Ma interval, is proposed to cause the observed magmatic variations in the Lower Cretaceous Caribbean island-arc–back-arc system. In this context, arc rifting and initial sea-floor spreading to form the Río Verde Complex protoliths occurred in the back-arc setting of this primitive island-arc, built on the NE edge of the Caribbean plate.     

Age and composition of dykes emplaced before and during the opening of the Tasman Sea—source implications

Abstract

Dykes are common in the wave-cut platforms along the coast from Newcastle to Sydney. According to some authors, they may be related to the opening of the Tasman Sea that commenced ca 84?Ma ago. However, there are few detailed radiogenic dating and geochemical studies to evaluate this. We attempt to resolve this by K–Ar dating of plagioclase in and geochemical studies of, basaltic dykes intruding Permo-Triassic sequences on the wave-cut platforms and Carboniferous and Permo-Triassic sequences inland. The plagioclase separated from the dykes give K–Ar ages ranging from 266 to 53?Ma with the majority older than 84?Ma indicating that most dykes were emplaced before the Tasman Seafloor formation. The dykes are generally mildly alkaline, high-Ti basalts; fewer are tholeiitic and calc-alkaline, low-Ti basalts. Strongly light rare earth element (LREE)-enriched patterns typify the former and flat, LREE-depleted or slightly to moderately enriched LREE patterns, the latter. High-Ti basalts have ocean-island-basalt-like and low-Ti basalts, calc-alkaline or mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-like patterns. Most high-Ti and some low-Ti basalts show plume-like characteristics, others N-type MORB and arc-like characteristics. Dykes intruding the Carboniferous sequences show a distinct contamination signature that could be crustal or due to subduction-related metasomatism of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle. The sources of the basaltic magmas vary substantially and in places changes with time. All alkali basalts are derived from enriched asthenospheric sources at varying depths (90–147?km) and most tholeiitic, low-Ti basalts have been extracted from asthenospheric and depleted asthenospheric–lithospheric sources indicating substantial compositional heterogeneity of the mantle. Further, Nd model ages varying from Neoproterozoic (940–580?Ma) to Paleozoic (460–370?Ma) suggest variation in the age of mantle sources for the basalts.     

Geochemical constraints on the origin of the late Jurassic proto-Caribbean oceanic crust in Hispaniola

The nature of the oceanic crust produced through rifting and oceanic spreading between North and South America during the Late Jurassic is a key element for the Caribbean plate tectonic model reconstruction. Located in the Cordillera Central of Hispaniola, the Loma La Monja volcano-plutonic assemblage (LMA) is composed of gabbros, dolerites, basalts, and oceanic sediments, as well as metamorphic equivalents, which represent a dismembered fragment of this proto-Caribbean oceanic crust. Petrologic and geochemical data show that the LMA have a relatively broad diversity in composition, which represent the crystallization products of a typical low-pressure tholeiitic fractionation of mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB)-type parental magmas, ranging from N- to E-MORB. Three geochemical groups have been distinguished in the volcanic sequence: LREE-flat to slightly LREE-enriched basalts of groups II and III occur interlayered in the lower stratigraphic levels; and LREE-depleted basalts of group I in the upper levels. Mantle melt modeling suggests that group III magmas are consistent by mixing within a mantle melt column of low-degree (<1%) melts of a deep garnet lherzolite source and high-degree (>15%) melts of a shallow spinel source, and groups II and I magmas are explained with moderate to high (14–18%) and very high (>20%) fractional melting degrees of a shallower spinel mantle source, respectively. Thus, upward in the volcanic sequence of the LMA, the magmas represent progressively more extensive melting of shallower sources, in a plume-influenced spreading ridge of the proto-Caribbean oceanic crust. Nb/Y versus Zr/Y systematics combined with recent plate tectonic model reconstructions reveal that Caribbean Colombian oceanic plateau fragments in Hispaniola formed through melting of heterogeneous mantle source regions related with distinct plumes during at least from Aptian–Albian (>96 Ma) to Late Campanian.     

Permian bimodal dyke of Tarim Basin, NW China: Geochemical characteristics and tectonic implications

This study reports for the first time the occurrence of bimodal dyke in the Shuigongtuan area of Bachu County, Tarim Basin, NW China. Here, quartz syenite porphyry and diabase dykes occur in direct contact showing bimodal feature. The quartz syenitic porphyry is metaluminous, enriched in K₂O + Na₂O (10–11 wt.%) and total rare earth elements (REE), with low Mg/(Mg + Fe) ratios, high LREE/HREE, and negative Eu anomalies. The chemical characteristics and tectonic discriminative diagrams show that the rocks have geochemical affinity with A-type granites. The diabase dyke shows 45–52 wt.% SiO₂ and Mg/(Mg + Fe) ratio in the range of, with high total REE, high LREE/HREE ratios and lack of Eu anomalies, broadly corresponding to tholeiitic composition. Based on low Y/Nb (as low as 0.4, and less than 1.2), enrichment in LILE and HFSE, and uniform Nb-enrichment patterns in spider diagram for the quartz syenitic porphyry, together with the geochemical patterns of the diabases, this biomodal association is interpreted to be derived from a mantle source and formed under typical within-plate environment. The quartz syenitic porphyry and diabase have Daly gap of 46 wt.%–67 wt.% in SiO₂, which is explained through formation under bimodal rifting. The quartz syenitic dyke probably formed during Early Permian (277 Ma) and has geochemical affinity with the Xiaohaizi syenitic body. We propose that magmas sourced from the mantle intruded into middle–upper crust and were emplaced as dykes, which indicate large-scale extension during the Permian in Tarim Basin. The bimodal dyke has genetic affinity with the huge volume of Permian basalts and igneous rocks (248–292 Ma) that occur in the Tarim Basin. The magmatism manifests the culmination of the major thermal event in the Tarim Basin.     

西准噶尔早泥盆世马拉苏组火山岩岩石成因研究

新疆西准噶尔北部地区的早泥盆世马拉苏组出露有少量富钠低钾的拉斑质中基性熔岩,这些分布于谢米斯台断裂北侧的玄武安山岩和玄武岩多呈夹层状断续产出于火山碎屑岩之中。马拉苏中基性熔岩的Mg#与主、微量元素协变关系及Th-Th/Nd图反映了其并非同源岩浆演化的结果。马拉苏火山岩中的玄武安山岩富集LILE、亏损HFSE,具有较高的Th含量及较低的Hf/Th和(Nb/Th)PM比值,显示出弧火山岩的地球化学特征。其中的玄武岩则具有略为平坦的稀土元素分配样式,较低的Th含量及较高的Hf/Th和(Nb/Th)PM比值,此同MORB地球化学特征极为相似;虽然其也显示有轻微的LILE富集、HFSE亏损,但是较高的La/Nb比值则暗示这同地壳或俯冲物质组分的卷入有关,且一系列构造环境判别图解也进一步印证了马拉苏组内的玄武岩应属似MORB基性熔岩。此外,两类岩石的高场强元素比值Zr/Nb、Hf/Ta同全球平均大洋中脊玄武岩的相应比值极为接近,反映了马拉苏组中基性火山岩的物质源区主体均为MORB地幔物质源区。La/Yb-Gd/Yb原始地幔标准化比值的模拟计算进一步显示了马拉苏组玄武安山岩与受改造(俯冲沉积物或地壳物质的混染)的石榴子石或尖晶石-石榴子石地幔橄榄岩物质源区的部分熔融作用有关,而似MORB型玄武岩则源自尖晶石地幔橄榄岩源区的部分熔融。结合区内同期的蛇绿岩、火山岩和碱性花岗岩的地球化学研究,我们可以进一步推断此类兼具有似MORB和弧火山岩地球化学特征的早泥盆世马拉苏火山岩应当是西准噶尔地块北部在早古生代受后期俯冲作用影响下经历弧后扩张形成的火山-岩浆地质记录。     

Age and origin of middle Neoproterozoic mafic magmatism in southern Yangtze Block and relevance to the break-up of Rodinia

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon age, geochemical and Sm–Nd isotopic data are reported for mid-Neoproterozoic volcanic rocks and mafic intrusions in northern Guangxi (Guibei) and western Hunan (Xiangxi) Provinces along the southern margin of the Yangtze Block. The mafic igneous rocks studied are generally synchronous, dated at  765 Ma. The least-contaminated dolerite samples from Xiangxi are characterized by high εNd(T) value of 3.3 to 5.3 and OIB-type geochemical features, indicating that they were derived from an OIB-like mantle source in a continental rift setting. The spilites and gabbros in Guibei show basaltic compositions transitional between the tholeiitic and calc-alkaline series. Despite depletion in Nb and Ta relative to La and Th, they have Zr/Sm = 27–35 and Ti/V = 30–40, affinitive to intraplate basalts. Their εNd(T) values are variable, ranging from − 1.2 to 3.2 for the spilites and from − 1.7 to 2.9 for the gabbros, suggesting that these spilites and gabbros crystallized from crustal-contaminated mafic magmas derived from a metasomatised subcontinental lithospheric mantle source. We conclude that the  765 Ma mafic magmatic rocks in Guibei and Xiangxi were formed in a single continental rift setting as part of the broadly concurrent  780–750 Ma rift magmatism over much of South China, which may be related to the plume activities during the breakup of Rodinia.     

“三江”义敦岛弧带玄武岩喷发序列与裂谷—岛弧转化

岩石-构造组合是恢复古板块构造历史的最有效手段之一,同时是表征古板块边界与板内环境的最重要的地质证据。本文拟从岩石-构造组合角度,通过对义敦岛弧带玄武岩,特别是前岛弧期玄武岩喷发序列、岩石组合、地球化学特征和其形成背景的研究,试图从较深层次上揭示岩浆-构造内在联系,探索义敦古岛弧的形成与发展。     

Cenozoic lithospheric extension induced magmatism in Southwest Japan

Island chains off western Kyushu are the surface exposure in the northern margin of the Taiwan–Sinzi Folded Zone that spreads along the arc–trench system in the back-arc side from SW Japan to Taiwan. Intermittent igneous activity between the Middle Miocene and Holocene occurred on these islands and widely covered or intruded sedimentary rocks of Early–Middle Miocene. Geochemistry of the volcanic rocks from the Hirado, Ikitsuki and Takushima islands believed to relate to the back-arc opening along the East China and Japan Seas shows a temporal change in source material. Submarine to sub-aerial volcanism occurred on Hirado Island at 15 Ma during the final opening stage of the East China Sea producing tholeiitic basalt and associated andesite–dacite. These eruptives show low incompatible element contents and high FeO*/MgO ratios and reflect a tholeiitic differentiation trend. High Sr and Pb and low Nd isotopic ratios suggest the involvement of EM2-like lithospheric mantle and crustal material in the formation of these syn-opening volcanic rocks. Post-opening alkali basalt volcanism occurred at 9–6 Ma on the islands is characterized by OIB-like higher large ionic lithophile elements (LILE) and high field strength elements (HFSE) compared to 15 Ma basalts in this region and Quaternary basalts along the volcanic front. They have variable range of incompatible element concentrations and ratios along with variable Sr, Pb and Nd isotopic ratios suggesting the involvement of both lithospheric and asthenospheric sources at variable melting degrees (from 4% to less than 15%). The observation that the isotopic compositions of Quaternary alkali basalts south of the studied area are even more depleted suggests an increase in the involvement of asthenospheric source with time.     

Petrology of a mantle-derived rhyolite, Hokkaido, Japan

The Miocene Kitami rhyolite, consisting of orthopyroxene and plagioclase-phyric lavas and dikes, occurs on the back-arc side of the Kuril arc with coeval basalts and Fe-rich andesites. Temperatures estimated from orthopyroxene–ilmenite pairs exceed 900°C. Although the whole rock compositions of the Kitami rhyolite correspond to S-type granites (i.e., high K, Al, large ion lithophile elements, and low Ca and Sr), Sr–Nd isotope compositions are remarkably primitive, and similar to those of the coeval basalts and andesites. They are distinct from those of lower crustal metamorphic rocks exposed in the area. Comparison of chondrite-normalized rare earth element (REE) patterns between the rhyolite and the basalts and andesites show that the rhyolite is more light REE enriched, but has similar heavy REE contents than the basalts. All rhyolites show negative Eu anomalies. The geochemical data suggest that did not formed by simple dehydration melting of basaltic rocks or fractional crystallization of basaltic magmas. The features of slab-derived fluids expected from recent high pressure experimental studies indicates that mantle wedge is partly metasomatized with “rhyolitic” materials from subducted slabs; it is more likely that very low degree partial melting of the metasomatized mantle wedge formed the rhyolite magma.     

Volcanic evolution of the marginal and interarc basins

Volcanic evolution of the interarc and marginal basins is analysed using the available data on volcanics from the presently existent and ancient back-arc basins of the western Pacific and Mediterranean. It is shown that in early (pre-spreading) stages of back-arc rifting, the character of volcanism is determined by “maturity” of the adjacent island arc. It is predominantly alkaline or mildly alkaline for back-arc basins related to the island-arcs with high-potash calc-alkaline and shoshonitic volcanism. The back-arc alkaline and mildly alkaline basalts strongly differ from the continental and oceanic rift volcanoes by constantly lower Ti, Nb and Zr contents. Because of these features these basalts are akin to the basaltic members of the island-arc volcanic series. As the latter, they are generally strongly enriched in K₂O and LIL elements, whereas Na₂O reveals comparatively small variability. With initiation of spreading a sharp depression of K₂O, LIL and light REE occurs in the axial basalts of back-arc basins, that progressively approach the MORB composition. But even tholeiites from the most evolved basins that underwent a considerable spreading reveal slight but detectable geochemical peculiarities, indicating their island-arc affinities. Origin of the low-Ti alkaline basaltic magmas of the active continental margins is discussed.     

Geochemistry and geochronology of the Neoproterozoic Pan-African Transcaucasian Massif (Republic of Georgia) and implications for island arc evolution of the late Precambrian Arabian–Nubian Shield

The Transcaucasian Massif (TCM) in the Republic of Georgia includes Neoproterozoic–Early Cambrian ophiolites and magmatic arc assemblages that are reminiscent of the coeval island arc terranes in the Arabian–Nubian Shield (ANS) and provides essential evidence for Pan-African crustal evolution in Western Gondwana. The metabasite–plagiogneiss–migmatite association in the Oldest Basement Unit (OBU) of TCM represents a Neoproterozoic oceanic lithosphere intruded by gabbro–diorite–quartz diorite plutons of the Gray Granite Basement Complex (GGBC) that constitute the plutonic foundation of an island arc terrane. The Tectonic Mélange Zone (TMZ) within the Middle-Late Carboniferous Microcline Granite Basement Complex includes thrust sheets composed of various lithologies derived from this arc-ophiolite assemblage. The serpentinized peridotites in the OBU and the TMZ have geochemical features and primary spinel composition (0.35) typical of mid-ocean ridge (MOR)-type, cpx-bearing spinel harzburgites. The metabasic rocks from these two tectonic units are characterized by low-K, moderate-to high-Ti, olivine-hypersthene-normative, tholeiitic basalts representing N-MORB to transitional to E-MORB series. The analyzed peridotites and volcanic rocks display a typical melt-residua genetic relationship of MOR-type oceanic lithosphere. The whole-rock Sm–Nd isotopic data from these metabasic rocks define a regression line corresponding to a maximum age limit of 804 ± 100 Ma and εNd_int = 7.37 ± 0.55. Mafic to intermediate plutonic rocks of GGBC show tholeiitic to calc-alkaline evolutionary trends with LILE and LREE enrichment patterns, Y and HREE depletion, and moderately negative anomalies of Ta, Nb, and Ti, characteristic of suprasubduction zone originated magmas. U–Pb zircon dates, Rb–Sr whole-rock isochron, and Sm–Nd mineral isochron ages of these plutonic rocks range between  750 Ma and 540 Ma, constraining the timing of island arc construction as the Neoproterozoic–Early Cambrian. The Nd and Sr isotopic ratios and the model and emplacement ages of massive quartz diorites in GGBC suggest that pre-Pan African continental crust was involved in the evolution of the island arc terrane. This in turn indicates that the ANS may not be made entirely of juvenile continental crust of Neoproterozoic age. Following its separation from ANS in the Early Paleozoic, TCM underwent a period of extensive crustal growth during 330–280 Ma through the emplacement of microcline granite plutons as part of a magmatic arc system above a Paleo-Tethyan subduction zone dipping beneath the southern margin of Eurasia. TCM and other peri-Gondwanan terranes exposed in a series of basement culminations within the Alpine orogenic belt provide essential information on the Pan-African history of Gondwana and the rift-drift stages of the tectonic evolution of Paleo-Tethys as a back-arc basin between Gondwana and Eurasia.     

Geotectonic evolution of the Western Cordillera of Colombia: New aspects from geochemical data on volcanic rocks

The Western Cordillera of Colombia (WCC) is part of the Basic Igneous Complex (BIC), which is one of the world's largest ophiolitic complexes, extending from Costa Rica through Panama and Colombia to Ecuador. Major and trace element data on 32 volcanic rocks from the central and northern parts of the Western Cordillera are presented; no data have been available to date for volcanic rocks from the northern parts of the Western Cordillera. Petrographical and geochemical investigations show that the rocks are altered and have undergone low-grade metamorphism. The subalkaline rocks are represented by tholeiitic basalts, calc-alkaline basic andesites, andesites, and one dacite. It is concluded that a mature oceanic island arc existed in the Cretaceous, in what is now the northern part of the Western Cordillera. The tectonics of the region, particularly the intensive imbrication of the chain, indicates the presence of a paleo-subduction zone with an oceanic island arc that accreted on the old continental margin. These new data, combined with new and previous data from the central part of the BIC of Colombia, suggest that volcanic rocks of the Western Cordillera can be interpreted as allochthonous slabs. These slabs were imbricated with back-arc and fore-arc sediments and tonalitic bodies during the closing of a back-arc basin in northwestern South America and accretion of an oceanic island arc. Oblique subduction accreted these different areas to the continental margin during Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary times. Two plate-tectonic models are proposed: a) development of the calc-alkaline volcanic rocks in the northern parts of the Western Cordillera, separated by tholeiitic rocks, formed along a transform fault represented by the tholeiitic basalts of the central and southern parts of the Western Cordillera; or b) development of an oceanic island arc along the Cretaceous continental margin of northwestern South America. In the central and southern parts of this island arc, accretion took place early and therefore only an island-arc tholeiitic suite was formed.     

Basalt geochemistry used to investigate past tectonic environments on Cyprus

Study of the geochemical fingerprints of four geologically distinct suites of volcanic rocks on Cyprus are used to sketch a tectonic history of the island. Lavas from the Mamonia complex resemble alkalic within-plate basalts; lower pillow lavas and diabases of the Troodos Massif have features both of ocean-floor and island-arc tholeiites and could have been erupted in an interarc basin; the upper pillow lavas of the Troodos Massif resemble primitive tholeiitic basalts from island arcs; lavas from the Kyrenia range resemble transitional to alkalic within-plate basalts. The low TiO₂ concentrations from the Troodos Massif may indicate a slow spreading rate. The Sr concentrations in the upper pillow lavas indicate an eruption at a maximum distance of 80 km above a Benioff zone. The results suggest formation of the Troodos Massif in the Campanian by spreading in an interarc basin followed by eruption of island-arc tholeiites. Obduction of continental material and ocean islands may have taken place in the Maestrichtian and Middle Miocene.     

Archaean greenstone belt from the Central African Republic (Equatorial Africa)

The Bandas belt, one of two prominent Archaean greenstone belts in the Central African Republic (Equatorial Africa), is ca. 250 km long. At the southernmost part of the belt, a metasedimentary—metavolcanic rock suite is preserved only in brachysynclines. The suite can be divided into two lithostratigraphic units. The lower unit is composed predominantly of volcanic rocks, while the upper one contains mainly metasedimentary rocks. The volcanic rocks, which are part of a sequence ca. 3600 m thick, can be sub-divided according to stratigraphic position, lithology and geochemistry into three groups. The lowermost group includes low-K tholeiitic basalts depleted in light REE. The second group consists of tholeiitic basalts with light REE-enriched patterns and the third, uppermost, group includes andesites, which are similar in several respects to Recent calc-alkaline andesites.The tholeiitic basalts of the first two groups are probably related to different upper mantle sources. The andesites of the third group were produced either by fractional crystallization from a basaltic magma enriched in light REE or equilibrium melting of eclogite or garnet amphibolite.     

Geochemistry and geodynamic significance of the dike series of the Aluchin ophiolite complex,Verkhoyansk-Chukotka fold zone,Northeast Russia

The Aluchin ophiolites represent a tectonomagmatic complex, the upper crustal part of which is made up of two dike series. One series includes diabases and gabbrodiabases, which are exposed in the Late Triassic Atamanov Massif (226 Ma) and subdivided into low-potassium, low and moderate-titanium varieties. In terms of rare-earth element (REE) distribution pattern, these rocks correspond to the mid-ocean ridge basalts (N-MORB). At the same time, trace element composition of some samples indicates the enrichment in subduction component (Ba, Th), as well as variable depletion in Ta, Nb and other high-field strength elements (HFSE), which leads us to conclude that these rocks were formed from melts similar to back-arc basin basalts (BABB) at a sufficiently mature stage of back-arc spreading. The diabases of other series form separate dike bodies (dike swarms) that cut across a mantle ultrabasic body in the northern part of the Aluchin Massif. The most part of these rocks reveal prominent island-arc signatures, primarily, REE and trace-element distribution patterns. At the same time, they are characterized by slightly elevated contents of titanium, nickel, and chromium, and low content of aluminum. On the basis of these data, the diabases of the Aluchin Massif can be regarded as BABB basalts with distinct island-arc characteristics, which are usually termed as arc-like member. The joint geochemical evolution of the two diabase series is well consistent with that of the rocks from different structures of the Mariana trough, which, together with compositional data, indicate that the studied dike series mark the initial and mature stages of the opening of the Late Triassic suprasubduction basin.     

Conditions of basalt formation in the Dzhida zone of the Paleoasian Ocean

Petrological and geochemical studies performed with invoking data on the compositions of clinopyroxenes have clarified the conditions of formation of Vendian-Cambrian basaltic complexes in the Dzhida zone of the Paleoasian Ocean (northern Mongolia and southwestern Transbaikalia). The research was based on a comparative analysis with reference igneous basaltic associations. Of special importance are our microprobe data on trace and rare-earth elements in clinopyroxenes from igneous rocks of different present-day geodynamic settings, namely, N-MORB (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Central Atlantic), OIB (Bouvet Island, South Atlantic), WPB (within-plate tholeiitic plateau basalts of the Siberian Platform), and boninites of ensimatic arcs (Izu-Bonin island arc, Pacific). The studies have shown that the paleo-oceanic structures in the district of the Urgol guyot formed during geodynamic processes under the impact of mantle plumes on oceanic spreading crust, which resulted in oceanic basaltic plateaus and within-plate oceanic islands. All these structures were later superposed by typical island-arc structure-lithologic associations. Formation of basalt complexes in the Dzhidot guyot district proceeded with a stronger effect of enriched plume melts of within-plate oceanic islands as compared with the Urgol guyot. This is evidenced from petrochemical and geochemical data showing the development of OIB-type magmatic systems on the oceanic basement. Data on clinopyroxenes confirm the participation of mantle plume in this process, which led to the evolution of magmas from typical oceanic basalts (MORB) to plateau basalts and OIB.     

新疆甜水海地块种羊场石炭纪火山岩年代学和地球化学:岩石成因和地质意义

甜水海地块西段的种羊场地区发育一套互层状产出的玄武岩-玄武安山岩-流纹岩,本文对其进行了岩石学、同位素年代学和地球化学研究。结果表明,流纹岩LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb定年获得三组年龄:343.5±4.1Ma表明火山岩的形成时代为早石炭纪,2439±26Ma和1988±36Ma说明甜水海地块存在前寒武纪结晶基底。其中玄武质岩石岩性从拉斑系列、钙碱性系列向碱性系列过渡,呈现出E-MORB(OIB)、大陆板内拉张和岛弧的混合特征,与典型弧后盆地Okinawa玄武岩有一定的差异,表明其可能是异常陆缘弧后盆地拉张裂解的产物。玄武质岩石和流纹岩的主量元素、稀土元素和微量元素比值对的差异表明它们不是同源岩浆演化的产物,玄武质岩石的源区为类似E-MORB(OIB)的岩石圈地幔,且发生了部分熔融,原始岩浆上升过程中经历了矿物分离结晶和地壳混染作用。流纹岩属于高硅高碱的钙碱性火山岩,是上地壳部分熔融的产物。种羊场早石炭纪火山岩可能代表了古特提洋西端早期扩张的记录,为西昆仑-喀喇昆仑地区晚古生代多岛洋格局提供了新的证据。     

Petrogenesis of tholeiite associations in Kudi ophiolite (western Kunlun Mountains, northwestern China): implications for the evolution of back-arc basins

The Kudi ophiolite in the western Kunlun Mountains comprises harzburgites, dunites, cumulate dunites, cumulate pyroxenites and gabbros, diabase dikes, and pillow and massive lavas, and are fragments of a supra-subduction zone (SSZ) ophiolite from the Early Paleozoic. The extrusive rocks can be classified into three groups of tholeiites: back-arc basin (BAB) tholeiites, low-Ti island arc tholeiites (IAT), and LREE-enriched IAT, as shown by their distinctive geochemical characteristics. The SSZ-type mantle peridotites, the cumulate complex with arc tholeiite affinity, and BABB-type diabase dikes and basalts constitute an upper mantle and crustal section of a back-arc basin formed by coupling of MORB-type mantle upwelling with fluid efflux from slab devolatilization. The low-Ti IAT are characterized by low Ti and HFSE, and slightly U-shaped or LREE-depleted chondrite-normalized REE patterns, and represent melts derived from a depleted mantle source region (extraction of BABB magma) modified compositionally by fluids and/or melts from the subducting lithospheric slab during propagation and extension of the back-arc basin. We interpret the LREE-enriched IAT as products of closure of the back-arc basin because an interaction between the parental magma of this IAT and the mantle peridotites (formerly the upper mantle of the basin) in a newly formed mantle wedge had occurred.