Excess Ar-free phengite in ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks from the Lago di Cignana area, Western Alps

Ar/Ar analyses of phengites and paragonites from the ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks (zoisite–clinozoisite schist, garnet–phengite schist and piemontite schist) in the Lago di Cignana area, Western Alps were carried out with a laser probe step-heating method using single crystals and a spot dating method on thin sections. Eight phengite and two paragonite crystals give the plateau ages of 37–42 Ma with 96–100% of ³⁹Ar released. Each rock type also contains mica crystals showing discordant age spectra with age fractions (20–35 Ma) significantly younger than the plateau ages. Phengite inclusions in garnet give ages of 43.2 ± 1.1 Ma and 44.4 ± 1.5 Ma, which are significantly older than the spot age (36.4 ± 1.4 Ma) from the matrix phengites, and the plateau ages from the step-heating analyses. Inclusion ages (43 and 44 Ma) are consistent with a zircon SHRIMP age (44 ± 1 Ma) in this area. These results suggest that the oceanic materials that underwent a simple subduction related UHPM, form excess ⁴⁰Ar-free phengite and that the peak metamorphism is ca. 44 Ma or little older. We suggest that matrix phengites experienced a retrogression reaction changing their chemistry contemporaneously with deformation related to the exhumation of rocks releasing significant radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar from the crystals. This has lead to the apparent ages of the matrix phengites that are significantly younger than the inclusion age.     

Very fast exhumation of high-pressure metamorphic rocks with excess Ar and inherited Sr, Betic Cordilleras, southern Spain

In order to attempt to further constrain the age of the early Alpine tectonic evolution of the Mulhacén Complex and to explore the influence of inherited isotopes, micas from a small number of well-characterised rocks from the Sierra de los Filábres, with a penetrative tectonic fabric related to the exhumation of eclogite-facies metamorphic rocks, were selected for ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and Rb–Sr dating.

A single phengite grain from an amphibolite yielded an ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar laser step heating plateau age of 86.9±1.2 Ma (2σ; 70% ³⁹Ar released) and an inverse isochron age of 86.2±2.4 Ma with an ³⁶Ar/⁴⁰Ar intercept within error of the atmospheric value. Induction furnace step heating of a biotite separate from a gabbro relic in an eclogite yielded a weighted mean age of 173.2±6.3 Ma (2σ; 95% ³⁹Ar released). These ages are diagnostic of excess argon (⁴⁰Ar_XS) incorporation, as they are older than independent age estimates for the timing of eclogite-facies metamorphism and intrusion of the gabbros. ⁴⁰Ar_XS incorporation probably resulted from restricted fluid mobility in the magmatic rocks during their metamorphic recrystallisation.

Rb–Sr whole-rock–phengite ages of graphite-bearing mica schists from Paleozoic rocks (Secano unit) show a dramatic variation (66.1±3.2, 40.6±2.6 and 14.1±2.2 Ma). An albite chlorite mica schist from the Mesozoic series of the Nevado–Lubrín unit has a whole-rock–mica–albite age of 17.2±1.9 Ma, which is within error of an ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau age published previously and of the youngest Rb–Sr age of the Paleozoic series obtained in this study. The significant spread in Rb–Sr ages implies that progressive partial resetting of an older isotopic system has occurred. The microstructure of the samples with pre-Miocene Rb–Sr ages reveals incomplete recrystallisation of white mica and inhibited grain growth due to the presence of graphite particles. This interpretation agrees with previously published, disturbed and slightly dome-shaped ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age spectra that may point similarly to the presence of an older isotope component. The progressively reset Rb–Sr system is a relic of Variscan metamorphism of the Paleozoic series of the Mulhacén Complex. In contrast, the origin of the ca. 17.2 Ma old sample from the Mesozoic series precludes any isotopic inheritance, in agreement with its pervasive tectono-metamorphic recrystallisation during the Miocene.

Exhumation of the eclogite-facies Mulhacén Complex occurred in two stages with contrasting rates of about 22.5 mm/year during the early phase and 9–10 mm/year during the late phase; the latter with a cooling rate in the order of 330 °C/Ma.     

延边海沟金矿床石英流体包裹体激光探针40Ar/39Ar测年与成矿背景

海沟金矿为一大型贫硫化物石英脉型金矿床,长期以来其形成时代一直存在争议,致使矿床成因研究受到较大影响,成矿预测等方面研究进展缓慢。采用石英流体包裹体的⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar激光探针定年法对该金矿床进行了精细的年代学测定,获得主成矿阶段石英流体包裹体的⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar正、反等时线年龄分别为（170±20） Ma和（172±16） Ma,MSWD分别为0.31和0.35,⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar比值分别为298±4和299±4;进一步剔除接近大气的成分点和过剩氩高的成分点,计算获得等时线年龄为（170±38） Ma（⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar Int.=299±10）和（165±52） Ma（⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar Int.=303±23）。结合已有同位素年代学研究成果,进一步明确了海沟金矿床主成矿期发生在早侏罗世晚期,成矿作用与中生代库拉板块向亚洲板块俯冲、特别是由此引发的华北板块东缘与兴蒙造山带东段的强烈拼贴并诱发的岩石圈加厚、减薄作用密切相关。     

Strain partitioning and preservation of Ar/Ar ages during Variscan exhumation of a subducted crust (Malpica–Tui complex, NW Spain)

The Malpica–Tui complex (NW Iberian Massif) consists of a Lower Continental Unit of variably deformed and recrystallized granitoids, metasediments and sparse metabasites, overridden by an upper unit with rocks of oceanic affinities. Metamorphic minerals dated by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method record a coherent temporal history of progressive deformation during Variscan metamorphism and exhumation. The earliest stages of deformation (D1) under high-pressure conditions are recorded in phengitic white micas from eclogite-facies rocks at 365–370 Ma. Following this eclogite-facies peak-metamorphism, the continental slab became attached to the overriding plate at deep-crustal levels at ca. 340–350 Ma (D2). Exhumation was accompanied by pervasive deformation (D3) within the continental slab at ca. 330 Ma and major deformation (D4) in the underlying para-autochthon at 315–325 Ma. Final tectonothermal evolution included late folding, localized shearing and granitic intrusions at 280–310 Ma.

Dating of high-pressure rocks by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method yields ages that are synchronous with published Rb–Sr and Sm–Nd ages obtained for both the Malpica–Tui complex and its correlative, the Champtoceaux complex in the French Armorican Massif. The results indicate that phengitic white mica retains its radiogenic argon despite been subjected to relatively high temperatures (500–600 °C) for a period of 20–30 My corresponding to the time-span from the static, eclogite-facies M1 peak-metamorphism through D1-M2 eclogite-facies deformation to amphibolite-facies D2-M3. Our study provides additional evidence that under certain geological conditions (i.e., strain partitioning, fluid deficiency) argon isotope mobility is limited at high temperatures, and that ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology can be a reliable method for dating high pressure metamorphism.     

Distinct brief major events in the Karoo large igneous province clarified by new Ar/Ar ages on the Lesotho basalts

Recent mineral separate ages obtained on the Karoo large igneous province (southern Africa) suggest that the province was built by several distinct magmatic pulses over a rather long period on the order of 5–6 Ma concerning the main erupted volume [Jourdan, F., Féraud, G., Bertrand, H., Kampunzu, A.B., Tshoso, G., Watkeys, M.K., Le Gall., B., 2005. The Karoo large igneous province: Brevity, origin, and relation with mass extinction questioned by new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age data, Geology 33, 745–748]. Although this apparently atypical province is dated in more detail compared to many other large igneous provinces, volumetrically important areas still lack sufficient high-quality data. The timing of the Karoo province is crucial as this event is correlated with the breakup activity of the Gondwana supercontinent. The Lesotho basalts represent a major lava sequence of the province, but have not yet been precisely dated by systematic analysis of mineral separates. We analyzed plagioclase separates from five lava flows encompassing the complete 1.4-km-thick Lesotho sequence from top to bottom using the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method. We obtained five plateau and mini-plateau ages statistically indistinguishable and ranging from 182.3 ± 1.6 to 181.0 ± 2.0 Ma (2σ). We derived an apparent maximum duration for this event of  0.8 Ma by neglecting correlated errors embedded in the age uncertainties.

A critical review of previous ages obtained on the Lesotho sequence [Duncan R.A., Hooper, P.R., Rehacek, J., Marsh, J.S., Duncan, A.R., 1997. The timing and duration of the Karoo igneous event, southern Gondwana. Journal of Geophysical Research 102, 18127–18138] shows that groundmass analyses are unreliable for high-resolution geochronology, due to alteration and ³⁹Ar recoil effects. Discrepancy between our ages and a previous plagioclase age at  184 Ma obtained by the later workers is tentatively attributed to the heterogeneity of the monitor used and/or cryptic excess ⁴⁰Ar. The current age database suggests that at least three temporally and spatially distinct brief major events (the Lesotho and southern Botswana lava piles and the Okavango dyke swarm) are so far recognized in the Karoo province. Identification of brief and volumetrically important Karoo magmatic events allows detecting the migration of the Karoo magmatism and potentially the stress regime that affected the southern African lithosphere at this time. A filtered compilation of 60 ages obtained with homogeneous intercalibrated standards suggests a shorter duration for the main pulses of the magmatism between 3 and 4.5 Ma, compared to a whole province duration of  10 Ma, between  182 and  172 Ma.     

Metamorphic K-Feldspar in Low-grade Metasediments from the Ogcheon Metamorphic Belt in South Korea

Metamorphic K-feldspar was found in the low-grade pelitic rocks from the Ogcheon metamorphic belt in South Korea. It occurs as extremely fine-grained crystals (5-15 mm in width and 15-25 mm in length) closely associated with fine-grained muscovite and biotite. Their micro structural relations by X-ray mapping analyses using an electron-probe microanalyzer strongly suggest that K-feldspar has grown directly from the matrix phases as a stable phase coexisting with muscovite and biotite during the Ogcheon metamorphism. The phengite component in muscovite indicates about 4.2 kbar at 400°C, suggesting intermediate P/T type of metamorphism. Muscovite separates of two size fractions, 2-4 and 4-8 mm, give K-Ar ages of 153.4±3.3 and 156.7±3.4 Ma, respectively. The biotite separate is 156.5±3.3 Ma in age. Coarse-grained biotite crystal (ca. 0.5 mm) often occurs and it was analyzed by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method using a laser probe step heating technique. It gives a plateau age of 158.2±0.5 Ma that is the same as the K-Ar muscovite and biotite ages. These data, including the previous works, suggest that intermediate P/T type of Ogcheon metamorphic belt exhumed in Middle Jurassic with the dextral strike-slip fault movement.     

Rise and fall of the Eastern Great Indonesian arc recorded by the assembly, dispersion and accretion of the Banda Terrane, Timor

New age, petrochemical and structural data indicate that the Banda Terrane is a remnant of a Jurassic to Eocene arc–trench system that formed the eastern part of the Great Indonesian arc. The arc system rifted apart during Eocene to Miocene supra-subduction zone sea floor spreading, which dispersed ridges of Banda Terrane embedded in young oceanic crust as far south as Sumba and Timor. In Timor the Banda Terrane is well exposed as high-level thrust sheets that were detached from the edge of the Banda Sea upper plate and uplifted by collision with the passive margin of NW Australia. The thrust sheets contain a distinctive assemblage of medium grade metamorphic rocks overlain by Cretaceous to Miocene forearc basin deposits. New U/Pb age data presented here indicate igneous zircons are less than 162 Ma with a cluster of ages at 83 Ma and 35 Ma. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages of various mineral phases from metamorphic units all cluster at between 32–38 Ma. These data yield a cooling curve that shows exhumation from around 550 °C to the surface between 36–28 Ma. After this time there is no evidence of metamorphism of the Banda Terrane, including its accretion to the edge of the Australian continental margin during the Pliocene. These data link the Banda Terrane to similar rocks and events documented throughout the eastern edge of the Sunda Shelf and the Banda Sea floor.     

辽宁阜新排山楼金矿的40Ar/39Ar成矿年龄

排山楼大型金矿床产于辽西高级变质太古宙花岗岩-绿岩带中,受绿岩中、上部层位的基性-中酸性火山岩系和东西向韧性剪切带控制。容矿岩石主要是变质安山质-英安质火山岩类。为解决主矿体的形成时代,选取含金石英细脉浸染状矿石中的石英测定了⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar年龄为2105.2±10.4Ma。谱线特征为马鞍型,其底坪年龄为石英的结晶年龄。由此提出排山楼金矿的成因主要与吕梁期的东西向韧性剪切带有关。     

大兴安岭北段嘎拉山伸展滑脱构造

嘎拉山大型伸展滑脱构造发育在大兴安岭北段东坡,带内发育倾向SE的剪切面理,普遍发育层间揉皱、眼球状构造、低角度正断层、鞘褶皱和窗棂构造以及云母鱼、旋转残斑、石英条带等各种韧性变形显微组构,变形温度为300～400 ℃。各种宏观和微观不对称褶皱和线理等指向标志显示嘎拉山伸展构造为一指向SE的伸展滑脱构造。通过对剪切变形带中的花岗质片麻岩和大理岩的白云母⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar同位素测年获得144～147 Ma的坪年龄,该年龄代表了伸展剪切变形的形成时间。结合区域上变质核杂岩的研究,认为嘎拉山伸展构造的形成机制很可能与鄂霍茨克造山运动使地壳加厚崩塌,导致大兴安岭地区发生区域性伸展有关。     

黔东桂北加里东期两类构造变形特征与成因机制探讨

早古生代加里东运动造成华南强烈的构造变形,此次构造运动在黔东桂北地区主要表现为都匀运动和广西运动两幕。综合构造变形与沉积环境的研究认为,都匀运动作为局部的构造运动在凯里-三都断裂以西的黔中南地区影响明显;广西运动源于扬子地块和华夏地块沿江山-绍兴断裂带陆内挤压作用,形成自南东向北西的挤压应力的远程效应,向NW影响的范围止于凯里-三都断裂带。两幕构造运动在时空格局联合影响下形成了以断裂为界的两类构造特征：断裂以西主要受都匀运动的影响,发育EW向平缓褶皱、正断层等构造;断裂以东主要受广西运动的影响,发育NE向的褶皱、剪切带等构造。采自高武地区NE向韧性剪切带中的样品,其白云母⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar测年坪年龄为(416.4±1.8) Ma,等时线年龄为(417.7±1.8) Ma;采自黎平地区NE向劈理带中的样品,其绢云母⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar测年坪年龄为(426.5±2.3) Ma,等时线年龄为(437±10) Ma,这些变形年龄代表了广西构造运动发生的时限。     

Cretaceous isochron ages from K–Ar and Ar / Ar dating of eclogitic rocks in the Tso Morari Complex, western Himalaya, India

The Tso Morari Complex, which is thought to be originally the margin of the Indian continent, is composed of pelitic gneisses and schists including mafic rock lenses (eclogites and basic schists). Eclogites studied here have the mineral assemblage Grt + Omp + Ca-Amp + Zo + Phn + Pg + Qtz + Rt. They also have coesite pseudomorph in garnet and quartz rods in omphacite, suggesting a record of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism. They occur only in the cores of meter-scale mafic rock lenses intercalated with the pelitic schists. Small mafic lenses and the rim parts of large lenses have been strongly deformed to form the foliation parallel to that of the pelitic schists and show the mineral assemblages of upper greenschist to amphibolite facies metamorphism. The garnet–omphacite thermometry and the univariant reaction relations for jadeite formation give 13–21 kbar at 600 °C and 16–18 kbar at 750 °C for the eclogite formation using the jadeite content of clinopyroxene (X_Jd = 0.48).

Phengites in pelitic schists show variable Si / Al and Na / K ratios among grains as well as within single grains, and give K–Ar ages of 50–87 Ma. The pelitic schist with paragonite and phengite yielded K–Ar ages of 83.5 Ma (K = 4.9 wt.%) for paragonite–phengite mixture and 85.3 Ma (K = 7.8 wt.%) for phengite and an isochron age of 91 ± 13 Ma from the two dataset. The eclogite gives a plateau age of 132 Ma in Ar/Ar step-heating analyses using single phengite grain and an inverse isochron age of 130 ± 39 Ma with an initial ⁴⁰Ar / ³⁶Ar ratio of 434 ± 90 in Ar/Ar spot analyses of phengites and paragonites. The Cretaceous isochron ages are interpreted to represent the timing of early stage of exhumation of the eclogitic rocks assuming revised high closure temperature (500 °C) for phengite K–Ar system. The phengites in pelitic schists have experienced retrograde reaction which modified their chemistry during intense deformation associated with the exhumation of these rocks with the release of significant radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar from the crystals. The argon release took place in the schists that experienced the retrogression to upper greenschist facies metamorphisms from the eclogite facies conditions.     

Helium isotopes provide no evidence for deep mantle involvement in widespread Cenozoic volcanism across Central Asia

Small-volume alkali basaltic volcanism has occurred intermittently for the past + 30 My across a vast area of thick continental crust from southern Siberia, through Mongolia to northeast China. With a lack of evidence for Basin-and-Range-type crustal extension or rifting, models to explain the widely dispersed, yet long-lived, volcanism tend to favour involvement of one or more mantle plume(s). We examine the range of ³He/⁴He isotope values in olivine phenocrysts from basalts, and their entrained mantle xenoliths, from Hamar Daban in southern Siberia, and Hangai in central Mongolia, in order to examine whether upwelling lower mantle appears to be present beneath central Asia and thus test the validity of the plume model for this region. Our results show that the maximum ³He/⁴He value for the Siberian basalts is 8.12 ± 0.2R_a, and the maximum value for Mongolian basalts is 9.5 ± 0.5R_a. These values suggest that there is no significant contribution from a high ³He/⁴He primordial component that would strongly argue a lower mantle source. Overlap with commonly reported values for MORB leads us to propose that the source of the magmatism derives from the shallow asthenosphere. Alternative models to a deeply sourced mantle plume that may be able to explain the magmatism include: a shallow thermal anomaly confined to the upper mantle but either fed laterally or caused by thermal blanketing of the large Asian landmass; replacement or delamination of the lowermost lithosphere in response to tectonic stresses; or large-scale mantle disturbance or overturn caused by a protracted history of subduction beneath central Asia that ended regionally with the Jurassic closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean, but continues further afield with the present Indo-Asia collision.     

K-Ar、40Ar/39定年中尼尔值和初始氩比值

K-Ar、⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar定年中, 用以计算囚禁⁴⁰Ar绝对量的⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar, 称为初始氩比值.现代大气中的初始氩比值叫尼尔值, 为295.5.K-Ar、⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar定年的表观年龄都是在假设初始氩比值与现代大气中的尼尔值一致的基础上得到的.事实证明, 地球样品的初始氩比值不总是尼尔值, 因此这种假定不可靠, 尤其在对年轻样品进行K-Ar、⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar定年时, 会带来错误的表观年龄结果.对于K-Ar、⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar精细年代学, 特别对于年轻样品和低钾含量样品, 只有初始氩比值才对定年研究有意义, 而初始氩比值只能通过⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar等时线法求得.所以严格地讲, 只有等时线年龄才是可靠的.结合实验流程, 本文分析了⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar定年中为什么大多数等时线获取的初始氩比值接近尼尔值, 一是因为常规⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar坪年龄的计算方法, 二是因为吸附氩的干扰.初始氩比值的一致性, 被用来证明样品同位素同源和封闭特性, 对年龄数据的精度及可靠性有非常大的影响, 尤其是年轻样品.因此, 在⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar定年中要选取氩同位素初始比值一致的同源样品, 并在实验流程中尽量克服样品吸附气体.本文对传统⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar方法中坪年龄、年龄坪的意义提出了质疑, 对提高⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar定年的精度具有重要意义, 并使之能够应用到极年轻的火山岩定年中.     

内蒙古扎鲁特旗地区中侏罗统塔木兰沟组的厘定

扎鲁特旗地区发育的一套中性火山岩,前人曾将其置于二叠纪“大石寨组”、“青凤山组”,缺少古生物资料和测年数据.本次1：25万区域地质调查,在原1：20万划分的“大石寨组”、“青凤山组”的安山岩中采集了同位素测年样品,采用全岩激光⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar法测年,对火山岩样品进行了年代学研究,结果表明火山岩年龄为（172.7±2.0）~（165.2±1.3）Ma.鉴于这套火山岩地层岩石组合特征清楚,时代依据充分,在区域上具有一定的延展性和可填图性,故将这套火山岩地层重新厘定为中侏罗统塔木兰沟组.     

Syngenetic inclusions of yimengite in diamond from Sese kimberlite (Zimbabwe) — evidence for metasomatic conditions of growth

Syngenetic inclusions of yimengite K (Cr, Ti, Mg, Fe, Al)₁₂O₁₉, a potassium member of the magnetoplumbite mineral group, have been recorded in an octahedral macrodiamond from the Sese kimberlite (50 km south of Masvingo, Zimbabwe). One yimengite inclusion carries lamellae of chromite suggesting peridotitic diamond paragenesis. The diamond and inclusions were studied in situ in a plate polished parallel to (011). Cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging has shown blue colour and octahedral zonation of the diamond, lack of cracks and the location of five yimengites in different growth zones. Nitrogen (N) contents (at. ppm) in the diamond determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) steadily decrease from 576 (core) to 146 (rim). N aggregation (%1aB) is correspondingly 40% in the core and 30% in the rim. Hydrogen (H) content is high in the core, moderate in the intermediate and very high in the rim zones. Four yimengites were dated using the laser ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method. Three inclusions yielded total gas ages that agree with, or are younger than, or within error of, the Sese kimberlite eruption age (538±11 Ma) but may be compromised by gas loss. One inclusion, with the highest tapped interface gas yield, gave a total gas age of 892±21 Ma that is a likely minimum yimengite age. Time–T °C constraints from N aggregation systematics give a range of possible ages from kimberlite eruption date back to Archean and do not resolve the variable results of the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating. Compared with the published chemistry of yimengite from kimberlites, inclusions from the Sese diamond contain higher Al, Mg, and Sr and have lower concentration of Fe³⁺. The chondrite-normalised REE pattern of the yimengite shows enrichment in LREE and depletion in HREE, but LREE/HREE fractionations are lower than for lindsleyite–mathiasite series mantle titanates and rather similar to the REE concentrations in kimberlite and lamproite rocks. It is suggested that Sese yimengite formed in the lithospheric mantle from metasomatism of chrome spinel by a fluid rich in Ti, K, Ba and LREE.     

The Anarak, Jandaq and Posht-e-Badam metamorphic complexes in central Iran: New geological data, relationships and tectonic implications

The Anarak, Jandaq and Posht-e-Badam metamorphic complexes occupy the NW part of the Central-East Iranian Microcontinent and are juxtaposed with the Great Kavir block and Sanandaj-Sirjan zone. Our recent findings redefine the origin of these complexes, so far attributed to the Precambrian–Early Paleozoic orogenic episodes, and now directly related to the tectonic evolution of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean. This tectonic evolution was initiated by Late Ordovician–Early Devonian rifting events and terminated in the Triassic by the Eocimmerian collision event due to the docking of the Cimmerian blocks with the Asiatic Turan block.

The “Variscan accretionary complex” is a new name we proposed for the most widely distributed metamorphic rocks connected to the Anarak and Jandaq complexes. This accretionary complex exposed from SW of Jandaq to the Anarak and Kabudan areas is a thick and fine grain siliciclastic sequence accompanied by marginal-sea ophiolitic remnants, including gabbro-basalts with a supra-subduction-geochemical signature. New ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages are obtained as 333–320 Ma for the metamorphism of this sequence under greenschist to amphibolite facies. Moreover, the limy intercalations in the volcano-sedimentary part of this complex in Godar-e-Siah yielded Upper Devonian–Tournaisian conodonts. The northeastern part of this complex in the Jandaq area was intruded by 215 ± 15 Ma arc to collisional granite and pegmatites dated by ID-TIMS and its metamorphic rocks are characterized by some ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar radiometric ages of 163–156 Ma.

The “Variscan” accretionary complex was northwardly accreted to the Airekan granitic terrane dated at 549 ± 15 Ma. Later, from the Late Carboniferous to Triassic, huge amounts of oceanic material were accreted to its southern side and penetrated by several seamounts such as the Anarak and Kabudan. This new period of accretion is supported by the 280–230 Ma ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages for the Anarak mild high-pressure metamorphic rocks and a 262 Ma U–Pb age for the trondhjemite–rhyolite association of that area. The Triassic Bayazeh flysch filled the foreland basin during the final closure of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean and was partly deposited and/or thrusted onto the Cimmerian Yazd block.

The Paleo-Tethys magmatic arc products have been well-preserved in the Late Devonian–Carboniferous Godar-e-Siah intra-arc deposits and the Triassic Nakhlak fore-arc succession. On the passive margin of the Cimmerian block, in the Yazd region, the nearly continuous Upper Paleozoic platform-type deposition was totally interrupted during the Middle to Late Triassic. Local erosion, down to Lower Paleozoic levels, may be related to flexural bulge erosion. The platform was finally unconformably covered by Liassic continental molassic deposits of the Shemshak.

One of the extensional periods related to Neo-Tethyan back-arc rifting in Late Cretaceous time finally separated parts of the Eocimmerian collisional domain from the Eurasian Turan domain. The opening and closing of this new ocean, characterized by the Nain and Sabzevar ophiolitic mélanges, finally transported the Anarak–Jandaq composite terrane to Central Iran, accompanied by large scale rotation of the Central-East Iranian Microcontinent (CEIM). Due to many similarities between the Posht-e-Badam metamorphic complex and the Anarak–Jandaq composite terrane, the former could be part of the latter, if it was transported further south during Tertiary time.     

New age constraints for a short pulse in Ross orogen deformation triggered by East–West Gondwana suturing

Constraints on the timing of deformation within the Antarctic Ross orogenic belt are important for understanding early Paleozoic tectonic activity accompanying the assembly of Gondwana. One of the best areas for constraining the tectonic evolution of the Ross orogenic belt is the Holyoake Range in the central Transantarctic Mountains where previous work shows an abrupt change in the stratigraphic succession of the Cambrian Byrd Group possibly related to the inception of tectonism within the orogen at  515 Ma. To further constrain deformational timing, we conducted ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar analyses on magmatic phases of the Holyoake Gabbro, which cross-cuts folded Lower Cambrian Shackleton Limestone of the Byrd Group. Our analyses yield average ages of 506.7 ± 3.6 Ma (2 sigma; MSWD = 0.9) and 504.1 ± 2.4 Ma (2 sigma; MSWD = 1.3) for hornblende from the early and late magmatic phases, respectively. Deformation of the Shackleton Limestone therefore occurred prior to 506.7 ± 3.6 Ma, which is  12 m.y. after the siliciclastic drowning of the carbonate platform inferred to record the start of Ross tectonism in the central Transantarctic Mountains. On a regional scale, the data are consistent with a short pulse of deformation, which was probably related to global plate motion changes following final suturing of East and West Gondwana.     

黑龙江省嫩江地区科洛杂岩隆升时代

科洛杂岩出露于黑龙江省嫩江县大兴安岭北段,构造解析指示其为一大型伸展滑脱构造,整体反映杂岩体向南东伸展滑脱的特征。依据杂岩体显微构造特征,推测科洛地区伸展滑脱变形带变形温度约为300～450 ℃。滑脱带中变形花岗片麻岩样品中黑云母单矿物的 ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar 年龄为118.39～117.37 Ma,指示伸展滑脱带形成时代为早白垩世晚期。结合大兴安岭地区中生代岩浆活动特征和南北变质核杂岩对比研究,认为大兴安岭整体经历了早白垩世中晚期的快速隆升,形成一系列变质核杂岩,发育大规模伸展变形作用,与松辽盆地坳陷期具有良好的耦合关系。     

北秦岭二郎坪岩群两侧韧性剪切带的构造变形及其意义

北秦岭二郎坪岩群南、北两侧分别被朱夏韧性剪切带和瓦乔韧性剪切带与秦岭岩群和宽坪岩群分开,这两条韧性剪切带对二郎坪弧后盆地的演化起着十分重要的作用。本文对这两条剪切带进行了详细的几何学、运动学和⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar年代学研究。几何学和运动学分析结果指示瓦乔剪切带具有由北向南逆冲剪切的运动学特征,而朱夏剪切带早期具有由南向北逆冲的运动学特征,而后期又发生右行走滑活动。对瓦乔剪切带和朱夏剪切带内的糜棱岩中白云母进行了⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar法定年,结果指示瓦乔剪切带逆冲活动发生在387±1.7 Ma,朱夏韧性剪切早期逆冲发生在晚古生代,后期右行走滑的年龄为146±2.8 Ma。综合两条剪切带的构造变形特征和年代学数据,结合前人的地质资料,本文认为二郎坪弧后盆地曾沿着瓦乔剪切带和朱夏剪切带发生双向式俯冲。     

Aluminous granulites from the Pulur complex, NE Turkey: a case of partial melting, efficient melt extraction and crystallisation

In the Pulur complex, NE Turkey, a heterogeneous rock sequence ranging from quartz-rich mesocratic gneisses to silica- and alkali-deficient, Fe-, Mg- and Al-rich melanocratic rocks is characterized by granulite-facies assemblages involving garnet, cordierite, sillimanite, ilmenite, ±spinel, ±plagioclase, ±quartz, ±biotite, ±corundum, rutile and monazite. Textural evidence for partial melting in the aluminous granulites, particularly leucosomes, is largely absent or strongly obliterated by a late-stage hydrothermal overprint. However, inclusion relations, high peak P–T conditions, the refractory modes, bulk and biotite compositions of the melanocratic rocks strongly support a model of partial melting. The melt was almost completely removed from the melanocratic rocks and crystallised within the adjacent mesocratic gneisses which are silica-rich, bear evidence of former feldspar and show a large range in major element concentrations as well as a negative correlation of most elements with SiO₂. Peak conditions are estimated to be ≥800 °C and 0.7–0.8 GPa. Subsequent near-isothermal decompression to 0.4–0.5 GPa at 800–730 °C is suggested by the formation of cordierite coronas and cordierite–spinel symplectites around garnet and in the matrix. Sm–Nd, Rb–Sr and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar isotope data indicate peak conditions at 330 Ma and cooling below 300 °C at 310 Ma.