The Geysers - Cobb Mountain Magma System, California (Part 1): U-Pb zircon ages of volcanic rocks, conditions of zircon crystallization and magma residence times

Combined U-Pb zircon and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar sanidine data from volcanic rocks within or adjacent to the Geysers geothermal reservoir constrain the timing of episodic eruption events and the pre-eruptive magma history. Zircon U-Pb concordia intercept model ages (corrected for initial ²³⁰Th disequilibrium) decrease as predicted from stratigraphic and regional geological relationships (1σ analytical error): 2.47 ± 0.04 Ma (rhyolite of Pine Mountain), 1.38 ± 0.01 Ma (rhyolite of Alder Creek), 1.33 ± 0.04 Ma (rhyodacite of Cobb Mountain), 1.27 ± 0.03 Ma (dacite of Cobb Valley), and 0.94 ± 0.01 Ma (dacite of Tyler Valley). A significant (∼0.2-0.3 Ma) difference between these ages and sanidine ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages measured for the same samples demonstrates that zircon crystallized well before eruption. Zircons U-Pb ages from the underlying main-phase Geysers Plutonic Complex (GPC) are indistinguishable from those of the Cobb Mountain volcanics. While this is in line with compositional evidence that the GPC fed the Cobb Mountain eruptions, the volcanic units conspicuously lack older (∼1.8 Ma) zircons from the shallowest part of the GPC. Discontinuous zircon age populations and compositional relationships in the volcanic and plutonic samples are incompatible with zircon residing in a single long-lived upper crustal magma chamber. Instead we favor a model in which zircons were recycled by remelting of just-solidified rocks during episodic injection of more mafic magmas. This is consistent with thermochronologic evidence that the GPC cooled below 350° C at the time the Cobb Mountain volcanics were erupted.     

Zircon dating of North Bohemian granulites, Czech Republic: further evidence for the Lower Carboniferous high-pressure event in the Bohemian Massif

U-Pb zircon and rutile multigrain ages and ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb zircon evaporation ages are reported from high-pressure felsic and metapelitic granulites from northern Bohemia, Czech Republic. The granulites, in contrast to those from other occurrences in the Bohemian Massif, do not show evidence of successive HT/MPLP overprints. Multigrain size fractions of nearly spherical, multifaceted, metamorphic zircons from three samples are slightly discordant and yield a U-Pb Concordia intercept age of 348 ± 10 Ma, whereas single zircon evaporation of two samples resulted in ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages of 339 ± 1.5 and 339 ± 1.4 Ma, respectively. A rutile fraction from one sample has a U-Pb Concordia intercept age of 346 ± 14 Ma. All ages are identical, within error, and a mean age of 342 ± 5 Ma was adopted to reflect the peak of HP metamorphism. Because rutile has a lower closing temperature for the U-Pb isotopic system than zircon, the results and the P-T data imply rapid uplift and cooling after peak metamorphism. The above age is identical to ages for high-grade metamorphism reported from the southern Bohemian Massif and the Granulite Massif in Saxony. It can be speculated that all these granulites were part of the same lower crustal unit in early Carboniferous, being separated later due to crustal stacking and subsequent late Variscan orogenic collapse.     

Understanding the pre-Variscan and Variscan basement components of the central Tauern Window, Eastern Alps (Austria): constraints from single zircon U-Pb geochronology

New single-grain and within-grain U-Pb zircon ages from the central Tauern Window help sorting out the time dimension among the various Variscan and pre-Variscan basement components that were strongly overprinted by Alpine orogeny. Single-grain isotope dilution (ID-TIMS) U-Pb zircon geochronology of three Basisamphibolit samples yield protolith formation ages of 351±2, 349±1 and 343±1 Ma. Laser ablation ICP-MS and ID-TIMS U-Pb detrital zircon dating of the Biotitporphyroblastenschiefer constrained the maximum time of sedimentation to between 362±6 Ma and 368±17 Ma. Paragneisses from the Zwölferzug yield maximum sedimentation ages from 345±5 Ma (ion microprobe data) to 358±10 Ma. Zircons from gabbroic clasts and detrital zircons from a meta-agglomerate from the Habach Phyllite give an upper intercept age of 536±8 Ma and a near-concordant age of 506±9 Ma, respectively. Hence, apart from the Habach Phyllite, the maximum sedimentation ages of the metasediments investigated range from Upper Devonian to Lower Carboniferous. Consequently, the Basisamphibolit, the Biotitporphyroblastenschiefer, and the paragneisses of the Zwölferzug form parts of the Variscan basement series. The Basisamphibolit (351-343 Ma) is distinct both in space and time of formation from the Zwölferzug garnet amphibolite (c. 486 Ma), which forms part of the pre-Variscan basement.     

Comparative geochronology in the reversely zoned plutons of the Bottle Lake Complex,Maine: U-Pb on zircons and Rb-Sr on whole rocks

The Bottle Lake Complex is a composite granitic batholith emplaced into Cambrian to Lower Devonian metasedimentary rocks. Both plutons (Whitney Cove and Passadumkeag River) are very coarse grained hornblende and biotite-bearing granites showing petrographic and geochemical reverse zonation. Two linear whole rock Rb/Sr isochrons on xenolith-free Whitney Cove and Passadumkeag River samples indicate ages of 379±5 m.y. and 381±4 m.y., respectively, in close agreement with published K-Ar ages for biotite from Whitney Cove of 377 m.y. and 379 m.y., and for hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar determinations from Passadumkeag River which indicate an age of 378±4 m.y. The initial Sr isotopic ratio for Whitney Cove is 0.70553 and for Passadumkeag River is 0.70414. A whole-rock isochron on a suite of xenoliths from the Passadumkeag River granite indicates a whole rock Rb-Sr age of 496±14 m.y., with an initial Sr isotopic ratio of 0.70262.Two types of zircon exhibiting wide petrographic diversity are evident in variable proportions throughout the batholith. One of these types is preferentially found in a mafic xenolith and it is widely dispersed in the host granites forming discrete grains and probably as inclusions in the other type of zircon. U-Pb analyses of zircons give concordia intercept ages of 399±8 m.y. for Whitney Cove, 388±6 m.y. for Passadumkeag River, 415 m.y. for a mafic xenolith in Passadumkeag River, and 396±32 for combined Whitney Cove and Passadumkeag River granite. The zircons show a spread of up to 20 m.y. in the ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages. Omitting the finest zircon fraction in the Passadumkeag River results in a concordia intercept age of 381±3 m.y., in better agreement with the whole-rock Rb-Sr and mineral K-Ar ages. For the Whitney Cove pluton, exclusion of the finest fraction does not bring the zircon age into agreement with the Rb-Sr data.Age estimates by the whole rock Rb-Sr, mineral K-Ar and Ar-Ar methods suggest that the crystallization age of the plutons is about 380 m.y., slightly younger than the U-Pb zircon intercept ages. A possible reason for this discrepancy is that the zircons contain inherited lead. Thus, zircon U-Pb ages might represent a mixture of newly developed zircon and older inherited zircon, whereas the Rb-Sr whole rock age (380 m.y.) reflects the time of crystallization, and the argon ages result from rapid cooling after emplacement.     

Evidence for an Early Archean component in the Middle to Late Archean gneisses of the Wind River Range,west-central Wyoming: conventional and ion microprobe U-Pb data

Gneissic rocks that are basement to the Late Archean granites comprising much of the Wind River Range, west-central Wyoming, have been dated by the zircon U-Pb method using both conventional and ion microprobe techniques. A foliated hornblende granite gneiss member from the southern border of the Bridger batholith is 2670±13 Ma. Zircons from a granulite just north of the Bridger batholith are equant and faceted, a typical morphology for zircon grown under high grade metamorphic conditions. This granulite, which may be related to a second phase of migmatization in the area, is 2698±8 Ma. South of the Bridger batholith, zircons from a granulite (charnockite), which is related to an earlier phase of migmatization in the Range, yield a discordia with intercept ages of about 2.3 and 3.3 Ga. However, ion microprobe analyses of single zircon grains indicate that this rock contains several populations of zircon, ranging in age from 2.67 to about 3.8 Ga. Based on zircon morphology and regional geologic relationships, we interpret the data as indicating an age of ≃3.2 Ga for the first granulite metamorphism and migmatization. Older, possibly xenocrystic zircons give ages of ≃3.35, 3.65 and ≃3.8 Ga. Younger zircons grew at 2.7 and 2.85 Ga in response to events, including the second granulite metamorphism at 2.7 Ga, that culminated in the intrusion of the Bridger batholith and migmatization at 2.67 Ga. These data support the field and petrographic evidence for two granulite events and provide some temporal constraints for the formation of continental crust in the Early and Middle Archean in the Wyoming Province.     

The Geysers-Cobb Mountain Magma System, California (Part 2): timescales of pluton emplacement and implications for its thermal history

Over 400 ion microprobe U-Pb isotopic ages measured for zircons extracted from 24 geothermal wells that penetrate the Geysers Plutonic complex (GPC) allow us to conclude that the entire known extent of the GPC crystallized during the early Pleistocene. Nine samples of the microgranite porphyry that forms the shallow cupola (100-1,500 m below sea-level, mbsl) of the GPC yield the oldest model U-Pb age (1.75 ± 0.01 Ma after correction for initial U series disequilibrium; errors 1σ). Twelve samples from the main intrusive phase (orthopyroxene-biotite granite) present at depths >1,250 mbsl define a crystallization age of 1.27 ± 0.01 Ma. This coincides with the age determined for a structurally and compositionally distinct body of granodiorite (1.25 ± 0.01 Ma; N = 5 samples) that is intruded over a similar depth range. Two petrographically distinct varieties of orthopyroxene-biotite granite yield ages of 1.46 ± 0.03 (GPC21-6000) and 1.16 ± 0.02 Ma (CA5636 74F 21; three samples). U-Pb zircon ages for dikes intruded in metagraywacke country-rocks overlap with those obtained from the main body of the GPC and include the youngest material identified (dike sample NEGU2 ST1-7700: 1.11 ± 0.03 Ma). Overall, the U-Pb results demonstrate that the main body of the GPC (∼300 km³) was emplaced and crystallized within the upper crust over a short time interval (0.2 Ma) that overlaps with zircon crystallization ages of overlying silicic volcanic units.     

U-Pb and Pb-Pb ages of zircons from basaltic eucrites: Implications for early basaltic volcanism on the eucrite parent body

We have undertaken petrologic and SHRIMP U-Th-Pb isotopic studies on zircons from basaltic eucrites (Yamato [Y]-75011, Y-792510, Asuka [A]-881388, A-881467 and Padvarninkai) with different thermal and shock histories. Eucritic zircons are associated with ilmenite in most cases and have subhedral shapes in unmetamorphosed and metamorphosed eucrites. Some zircons in highly metamorphosed eucrites with granulitic texture occur alone in pyroxene, and typically have rounded to subrounded shapes due to recrystallization. Superchondritic Zr/Hf ratios of eucritic zircons indicate that they crystallized from incompatible element-rich melts after crystallization of ilmenite. Concentrations of uranium and thorium in zircons in the unmetamorphosed eucrite Y-75011 are higher than those in metamorphosed eucrites.The U-Pb systems of eucritic zircons are almost concordant but some zircon grains show reverse discordance. Radiogenic lead-loss up to 48% from zircons is observed in the shock-melted eucrite Padvarninkai. The ²⁰⁷Pb-²⁰⁶Pb ages of zircon in Y-75011 (4550 ± 9 Ma, n = 5) are nearly identical, within analytical uncertainty, to the ages of zircons from the metamorphosed eucrite Y-792510 (4545 ± 15 Ma, n = 13), the highly metamorphosed eucrites A-881388 (4555 ± 54 Ma, n = 5) and A-881467 (4558 ± 13 Ma, n = 8), and the shock-melted eucrite Padvarninkai (4555 ± 13 Ma, n = 18). The averaged ²⁰⁷Pb-²⁰⁶Pb age of zircon from five eucrites analyzed in this study is 4554 ± 7 Ma (95% confidence limits, n = 49), indistinguishable from the averaged U-Pb age (4552 ± 9 Ma) of the same samples. Because of the high closure temperature of lead in zircon (T_closure = ∼1050°C with a cooling rate of 0.2°C/yr), the ²⁰⁷Pb-²⁰⁶Pb ages of eucritic zircon do not represent metamorphic ages but crystallization ages of extrusive lavas.This fact strongly suggests that volcanism of the eucrite parent body occurred at a very early stage of the Solar System history, 7-20 Ma after CAI formation (4567.2 ± 0.6 Ma), thus basaltic eucrites crystallized from parental magmas within a short interval following the differentiation of their parent body. The U-Pb ages of eucritic zircons are older than the U-Pb, Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr ages of some basaltic eucrites, which is consistent with differences in closure temperatures of each isotopic system, and suggests that thermal and shock metamorphism affected the isotopic systems of pyroxene, plagioclase and phosphates.     

阿尔泰小土尔根铜矿区岩体LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb定年及地质意义

小土尔根是近年来阿尔泰诺尔特盆地发现的首例斑岩铜矿床,其成岩成矿年代学的研究可以对矿床模型构建、区域成矿规律的总结提供制约。矿区侵入岩发育,矿化受花岗闪长斑岩控制,少部分赋存在地层中。文章利用LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb测年法对矿区岩体进行了成岩年代学研究。含矿花岗闪长斑岩、黑云二长花岗岩和花岗斑岩中锆石的206Pb/238U年龄的加权平均值分别为(401.0±2.9)Ma、(398.1±2.2)Ma和(400.5±2.0)Ma,为早泥盆世同一岩浆侵入活动形成的不同侵入岩。侵入岩年龄结合凝灰岩年龄,将矿区地层划归早泥盆世诺尔特组。含矿花岗闪长斑岩锆石U-Pb年龄限定小土尔根斑岩铜矿床成矿时代略晚于401 Ma,即矿床形成于早泥盆世。     

Zircons of igneous rocks at the Erdenetuin-Obo porphyry Cu-Mo deposit (Mongolia): U-Pb dating and petrological implications

The Erdenetuin-Obo porphyry Cu-Mo deposit was formed at the final stage of development of magmatic activity occasionally manifested in the Late Permian-Early Triassic in the period of at least 40 Ma. Early plutonic (host) and late ore-bearing porphyry intrusive complexes were formed in that period. The plutonic complex is multiphase, while the porphyry complex is polyrhythmical and multiphase within rhythms. The obtained data on the U-Pb isotopic composition (SHRIMP II) of zircons from unaltered rocks of the ore field are discussed: gabbro, diorite, and granodiorite of the plutonic complex and granodiorite-porphyry I and II of the first and second rhythms of the ore-bearing complex, respectively. Zircons of different age levels and genotypes were identified in the course of performed investigations. Gabbro are dominated by postmagmatic (superimposed) zircons with the datings of 239–225 Ma. The age of xenogenic zircon brought out from the basement rocks is estimated at 1146 ± 11 Ma. Zircons occur as magmatic and postmagmatic (superimposed) minerals dated 252–247, 244–233 Ma in diorite and 244–242, 239–224 Ma in granodiorite. The ages of postmagmatic zircons from diorite are partially overlapped by datings of magmatic zircons from granodiorite and granodiorite-porphyry. In the porphyry complex, the datings of magmatic zircons are 240–234 and 222–220 Ma in granodiorite-porphyries I and II, respectively. There are also inherited zircons with datings coinciding with those of magmatic zircons from precursor intrusive rocks. Datings of such zircons are 249–241 and 257–231 Ma for granodiorite-porphyries I and II, respectively. As a whole, zircon datings in all studied igneous rocks forming a virtually uninterrupted range in the period of 257–220 Ma allow us to suggest the relation of the ore magmatic system to the long-living constantly active deep source occasionally delivering melt to the upper levels.     

U-Pb zircon,monazite and Rb-Sr whole rock systematics of granitic gneiss and psammitic to semi-pelitic host gneiss from Glenfinnan,Northwestern Scotland

New U-Pb zircon data from a segregation pegmatite in the granitic gneiss at Glenfinnan yield discordant points which appear to be aligned along a chord on a concordia diagram with upper and lower intersection ages of 1,517±30 Ma and 556±8 Ma, respectively. The results are similar to published U-Pb zircon data from the granitic gneiss but the lower intersection age does not correspond to concordant ages of 455±3 Ma obtained for monazites from the segregation pegmatite and from paragneiss which hosts the granitic gneiss. The apparent U-Pb zircon chord also gives no indication of a 1,030±50 Ma (large sample) Rb-Sr whole rock isochron age for the granitic gneiss (Brook et al. 1976). A traverse of adjacent 5–8 cm thick slabs in the paragneiss yields a Rb-Sr errochron of 455±60 Ma which also does not agree with the U-Pb zircon lower intersection age. The scale of this Sr whole rock diffusion (ca. 10 cm) is not at variance with existing thermal, temporal and experimental constraints.A two episodic loss model has been applied to the zircon data from the segregation pegmatite, to the previously published zircon data on the granitic gneiss and to new U-Pb zircon data on the host paragneiss. The first lead loss event, if assumed to be in Grenville time, was computed to be strongest in the granitic gneiss and segregation pegmatite. For the three suites of zircon considered, primary ages converge in the 1,700–1,800 Ma range with a final disturbance event at ca. 490 Ma, i.e., close to a plausible prograde stage of Caledonian metamorphism.The zircons in both the granitic gneiss and the paragneiss are believed to have been derived from the ubiquitous early Proterozoic shields bordering the North Atlantic. Furthermore the above model is consistent with the hypothesis that the zircons in the granitic gneiss were largely derived from the paragneiss. However, the U-Pb zircon data are not inconsistent with new Sr-isotopic evidence which suggests an additional, possibly deeper source with lower ⁸⁷Sr/ ⁸⁶Sr ratios.     

中天山巴仑台地区变形花岗岩类LA-ICP-MS-U-Pb年代学及其构造意义

本文对巴仑台地区中天山南北边缘的变形花岗岩体进行了详细的锆石LA-ICP-MS-U-Pb年代学研究。中天山北缘花岗质片麻岩中岩浆锆石结晶年龄为630.0±5.0 Ma,代表了中天山微陆基底的新元古代岩浆事件年龄;其变质增生锆石边的年龄为440.9±3.3 Ma,精确限定了中天山北缘洋盆闭合与碰撞造山作用的时代为早志留世。中天山南缘糜棱岩化花岗闪长岩中岩浆锆石结晶年龄为389.5±3.2 Ma,指示出中天山南缘洋壳在中泥盆世向北俯冲形成陆缘岩浆弧;其变质增生锆石边的年龄为362.1±4.3 Ma,精确限定了中天山南缘洋盆闭合与碰撞造山作用的时代为晚泥盆世末期。研究结果还表明中天山微陆块具有年龄为2.5Ga和1.8Ga的古老结晶基底。     

Geochronology and Nd-Sr systematics of Lusatian granitoids: significance for the evolution of the Variscan orogen in east-central Europe

A variety of pre-Variscan granitoids and two Variscan monzogranites occurring in the central and western parts of the Lusatian Granodiorite Complex (LGC), Saxonia were dated by the single zircon evaporation method, complemented by whole rock Nd isotopic data and Rb-Sr whole rock and mineral ages. The virtually undeformed pre-Variscan granitoids constitute a genetically related, mostly peraluminous magmatic suite, ranging in composition from two-mica granodiorite, muscovitebearing biotite quartz diorite (tonalite) and granodiorite to biotite granodiorite and monozogranite. ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb isotopic ratios derived from the evaporation of single zircons separated from 13 samples representing the above rock types display complex spectra which document significant involvement of late Archaean to late Proterozoic continental crust in the generation of the granitoid melts. Mean ²⁰⁷/Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages for zircons considered to reflect the time of igneous emplacement range between 542 ± 9 and 587 ± 17 Ma, typical of the Cadomian event elsewhere in Europe, whereas zircon xenocrysts yielded ages between 706 ± 13 and 2932 ± Ma. Detrital zircons from greywackes intruded by the granitoids and found as xenoliths in them provided ages between 1136 ± 22 and 2 574 ± Ma. Rb-Sr whole rock data display good to reasonable linear arrays that, with one exception, correspond to the emplacement ages established for the zircons. Two post-tectonic Variscan monzogranites yielded identical ²⁰⁷/Pb/²⁰⁶Pb single zircon ages of 304 ± 14 Ma and record the end of Variscan granitoid activity in the LGC.The variations in Nd and Sr isotopic data of the Cadomian granitoids are consistent with an origin through the melting and mixing of Archean to early Proterozoic crust with variable proportions of mantle-derived, juvenile magmas. Such mixing may have occurred at the base of an active continental margin or in an intraplate setting through plume-related magmatic underplating. The LGC is interpreted here as a Cadomian (Pan-African) terrane distinct from adjacent Variscan and pre-Variscan domains, the origin of which remains obscure and which probably became involved in Palaeozoic terrane accretion late in the Variscan event.     

Evidence from zircon dating for existence of approximately 2.1 Ga old crystalline basement in southern Bohemia,Czech Republic

Zircon ages are reported for three Moldanubian amphibolite grade orthogneisses from the southern Bohemian Massif obtained by conventional U/Pb analyses. For two of these orthogneisses, conventional U/Pb data are supported by ion microprobe single zircon ages or single grain evaporation data. The amphibolite grade orthogneisses, occurring in three small tectonic lenses within the Varied Group close to the South Bohemian Main Thrust, are of tonalitic, granodioritic or quartz dioritic composition.Conventional bulk size fraction and ion microprobe analyses of nearly euhedral zircons from a metatonalite, erroneously interpreted as a metagreywacke in a previous study, yielded an upper Concordia intercept age of 2048 ± 12 Ma. The well preserved euhedral grain shapes of the zircons suggest crystallization from a magmatic phase, and the upper Concordia intercept age is now interpreted as reflecting a magmatic event at that time. The age of this rock is compatible with the conventional zircon data and the (²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb)^* single grain evaporation result from two further orthogneisses providing intrusion ages of 2 060 ± 12, 2 104 ± 1 and 2 061 ± 6 Ma, respectively. For one sample a concordant U/Pb age for sphene of 355 ± 2 Ma defines the age of amphibolite facies metamorphism. The upper Concordia intercept ages of three orthogneisses constitute the first direct evidence for the presence of early Proterozoic crust under the supracrustal cover in the southern part of the Bohemian Massif. Correspondence to: J. I. Wendt     

义敦岛弧措交玛岩体岩浆混合成因:镁铁质微粒包体的证据

义敦岛弧北部的措交玛岩基岩体主要由黑云母二长花岗岩和边部的花岗闪长岩组成。在黑云母二长花岗岩中存在有少量镁铁质微粒包体,其成分为闪长质,与寄主岩石接触关系从渐变到截然。在包体周围的寄主岩石中存在黑云母、角闪石自身的包含结构,角闪石包含黑云母,斜长石发育明显的溶蚀结构,核部斜长石被溶蚀成筛状,边部环带状斜长石溶蚀不明显,是基性岩浆注入到酸性岩浆中导致岩浆混合的结果。黑云母二长花岗岩具有更高的轻重稀土分异系数,闪长质包体轻重稀土分异系数较低,黑云母二长花岗岩和暗色闪长质微粒包体具有明显相似性的微量元素特征。寄主岩黑云母二长花岗岩锆石U-Pb年龄为236±1.9Ma,闪长质包体为235±3.9Ma,二者形成年代在误差范围内基本一致,可能为甘孜-理塘洋向西俯冲过程中,俯冲洋壳部分熔融形成的玄武质岩浆上涌底侵于壳-幔边界导致地壳的部分熔融形成酸性的黑云母二长花岗岩岩基。     

锡林浩特杂岩和蓝片岩的锆石U-Pb年代学及其对索仑缝合带演化的意义

报道了内蒙索仑缝合带附近的锡林浩特杂岩和苏左旗混杂带中蓝片岩块的锆石U-Pb年代学数据.锡林浩特杂岩中碎屑锆石来源复杂,从晚太古至晚古生代均有.最年轻的碎屑锆石U-Pb年龄为280～340Ma,与该区最年轻的弧岩浆岩年龄一致,表明该杂岩的原岩最终形成于晚古生代,而不是前寒武陆块残留.锡林浩特杂岩原岩的沉积源区主要是古生代的孤岩浆岩和部分裸露的前寒武陆壳,可能是弧前沉积建造.蓝片岩的锆石U-Pb年龄为318±5Ma(范围338～280Ma),这些锆石显示典型岩浆振荡环带结构,因此该年龄可能代表其原岩形成年龄,而其变质应该在280Ma之后.所以,锡林浩特杂岩和混杂带中蓝片岩块的变质变形作用可能发生在晚二叠,与索仑缝合带强烈的弧陆碰撞有关,暗示索仑缝合带的碰撞缝合时间在晚二叠,而不是许多人坚持的泥盆纪.     

An Early Cambrian granodiorite age from the pre-Andean basement of Tierra del Fuego (Chile): the missing link between South America and Antarctica?

Basement rocks of the Magellan basin at the Atlantic margin, in extra-Andean Tierra del Fuego (Chile), are predominantly formed of orthogneisses. They have been recovered only by drilling and their ages are mostly unknown. In this study, using the U-Pb method on zircons, age data have been obtained for a granodiorite gneiss from the basement of the Magellan basin near San Sebastian Bay close to the Chile–Argentina border. Data confirm that zircons of the granodiorite gneiss from the Gaviota 6 drill hole grew primarily during magmatic processes. The Concordia intercept age of unabraded zircons, 529±7.5 Ma, denotes the most probable time of intrusion. Abraded zircons revealed initial zircon growth at 549±6 Ma, probably under primary melt conditions and subsequent closed U-Pb system behaviour. The discordance of data points related to zircon re- and/or neo-crystallization attributed to metamict(?) cloudy domains is contemporaneous with Sr and Pb isotope homogenization in apatite and K-feldspar at 161.6±4.5 Ma. The contemporaneousness of total (Sr) or partial (Pb) equilibration of radiogenic isotopes in minerals of the granodiorite gneiss and formation of the nearly 2000 m thick Jurassic volcanic series leads to discussion of a fundamental heating of the lower crust at that time, controlled by the spatially distributed influx of a fluid phase. The Early Cambrian intrusion age of the precursor rock of the dated granodiorite gneiss suggests that basement rocks of Tierra del Fuego were generated contemporaneously with the Pampean orogenic cycle. The age of 529±7.5 Ma supports the idea of considering Tierra del Fuego as the ‘missing link’ between the Early Palaeozoic orogenic cycles of central and northwestern Argentina and the Late Cambrian/Early Ordovician Ross orogeny in central Antarctica.     

U-Pb zircon dating of mafic dykes and its application to the Proterozoic geological history of the Vestfold Hills,East Antarctica

The Vestfold Hills, one of several Archaean cratonic blocks within the East Antarctic Shield, comprises a high-grade metamorphic basement complex intruded by at least nine generations of Early to Middle Proterozoic mafic dykes. Extensive U-Pb ion microprobe (SHRIMP) analyses of zircons, derived predominantly from late-stage felsic differentiates of the mafic dykes, provide precise crystallisation ages for several dyke generations. These new ages enable constraints to be placed on both the history of mafic magmatism in the Vestfold Hills and the timing of the various interspersed Proterozoic deformation events. In addition to demonstrating the utility of zircons derived from felsic late-stage differentiates for the dating of co-genetic mafic dykes, this study also places doubt on previous wholerock Rb-Sr dating of mafic dyke suites in this and other areas of East Antarctica. The ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb zircon ages of 2241±4 Ma and 2238±7 Ma for the Homogeneous and Mottled Norites, respectively, provide a younger emplacement age for associated group 2 High-Mg tholeiite dykes than the whole-rock Rb-Sr date (2424±72 Ma) originally interpreted as the age of all high-Mg intrusives in the Vestfold Hills. Zircon ages of 1754±16 Ma and 1832±72 Ma confirm the previously defined Rb-Sr age of the group 2 Fe-rich tholeiites. Two later dyke generations, the group 3 and 4 Fe-rich tholeiites, are distinguished on the basis of field orientations and cross-cutting relationships, and yield zircon emplacement ages of 1380±7 Ma and 1241±5 Ma which also define minimum ages for two suites of lamprophyre dykes. Xenocrystic zircons within both felsic segregations and mafic dykes yield zircon ages of 2478±5 Ma to 2740 Ma, indicating the presence of Archaean crustal source rocks of this antiquity beneath the Vestfold Hills.     

Geochronology and geochemistry of a dyke–host rock association and implications for the formation of the Bavarian Pfahl shear zone, Bohemian Massif

To place constraints on the formation and deformation history of the major Variscan shear zone in the Bavarian Forest, Bavarian Pfahl zone, SW Bohemian Massif, granitic dykes and their feldspar-phyric massive host rock (so-called palite), zircons were dated by the U–Pb isotope dilution and Pb-evaporation methods. The dated samples comprise two host rocks and four dykes from a K-rich calc-alkaline complex adjoining the SW part of the Bavarian Pfahl shear zone. The palites, which appear to be the oldest magmatic rocks emplaced in the shear zone, yield ages of 334±3, 334.5±1.1 Ma (average ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb-evaporation zircon ages) and 327–342 Ma (range of U/Pb zircon ages) suggesting a Lower Carboniferous age for the initiation of the Pfahl zone. Absence of inherited older cores in all investigated zircons indicates that incorporation of crustal zircon material has played virtually no role or that the melting temperature was very high. Determination of the dyke emplacement age is complicated by partial Pb-loss in most of the fractions analysed. This Pb-loss can be ascribed to higher U content of the dyke zircons compared to those from host rock. Upper discordia intercept ages of the different dykes range from 322±5 to 331±9 Ma. The dykes are pre- to synkinematic with respect to penetrative regional mylonitisation along the Pfahl zone, and the upper intercept ages provide a maximum age for this tectonic event.     

Evaluation of Duluth Complex anorthositic series (AS3) zircon as a U-Pb geochronological standard: new high-precision isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry results

U-Pb zircon geochronology is increasingly called upon to achieve the resolution of absolute time at the 0.1% to 1% level for rocks of Phanerozoic to Hadean age. Doing so requires accurate calibration of the several methods (conventional isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry [ID-TIMS], Pb evaporation, high-resolution ion microprobe [e.g. SHRIMP], and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry [LA-ICPMS]) currently in use, in numerous laboratories, for the analysis of U and Pb isotopes in accessory minerals. Toward this end, the geochronological community would benefit from the establishment, distribution and widespread analysis of one or more standard reference materials. Among the candidates is natural zircon from the Duluth Complex anorthositic series of the Midcontinent Rift system of North America. These zircons, first dated by conventional ID-TIMS at 1099.1 ± 0.5 Ma, have been subsequently adopted as a geochronological standard by a number of high resolution ion microprobe facilities. A new and independent analysis of the systematics of a large set of single zircons (n = 27) from the same mineral separate yields indistinguishable ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb, upper intercept, and U-Pb concordia dates for the AS3 zircons. The concordia date, based on a subset of 12 concordant and equivalent zircons, of 1099.1 ± 0.2 Ma (±1.2 Ma considering systematic uncertainties in Pb/U tracer calibration and U decay constants) is indistinguishable from previously published results. We further document the absence of inherited Pb in the AS3 zircons, and discuss strategies for avoiding certain domains within the AS3 zircons exhibiting small amounts of radiation-induced, surface and fracture-correlated, recent Pb loss. Although the AS3 zircons do not represent the ideal (and elusive) homogeneous closed U-Pb system, we conclude that these and similar zircons from the Duluth Complex anorthositic series can provide a suitable geochronological reference standard for numerous U-Pb zircon analytical methods, given appropriate preparation guided by the results of this study. Our high-precision data set also serves as a useful confirmatory test of the currently accepted U decay constants.     

Pre-Variscan geological events in the Austrian part of the Bohemian Massif deduced from U–Pb zircon ages

In an attempt to elucidate the pre-Variscan evolution history of the various geological units in the Austrian part of the Bohemian Massif, we have analysed zircons from 12 rocks (mainly orthogneisses) by means of SHRIMP, conventional multi-grain and single-grain U–Pb isotope-dilution/mass-spectrometry. Two of the orthogneisses studied represent Cadomian metagranitoids that formed at ca. 610 Ma (Spitz gneiss) and ca. 580 Ma (Bittesch gneiss). A metagranite from the Thaya batholith also gave a Cadomian zircon age (567±5 Ma). Traces of Neoproterozoic zircon growth were also identified in several other samples, underlining the great importance of the Cadomian orogeny for the evolution of crust in the southern Bohemian Massif. However, important magmatic events also occurred in the Early Palaeozoic. A sample of the Gföhl gneiss was recognised as a 488±6 Ma-old granite. A tonalite gneiss from the realm of the South Bohemian batholith was dated at 456±3 Ma, and zircon cores in a Moldanubian metagranitic granulite gave similar ages of 440–450 Ma. This Ordovician phase of magmatism in the Moldanubian unit is tentatively interpreted as related to the rifting and drift of South Armorica from the African Gondwana margin. The oldest inherited zircons, in a migmatite from the South Bohemian batholith, yielded an age of ca. 2.6 Ga, and many zircon cores in both Moravian and Moldanubian meta-granitoid rocks gave ages around 2.0 Ga. However, rocks from the Moldanubian unit show a striking lack of zircon ages between 1.8 and 1.0 Ga, reflecting an ancestry from Armorica and the North African part of Gondwana, respectively, whereas the Moravian Bittesch gneiss contains many inherited zircons with Mesoproterozoic and Early Palaeoproterozoic ages of ca. 1.2, 1.5 and 1.65–1.8 Ga, indicating a derivation from the South American part of Gondwana.