Tectonic implications of new age data for the Meratus Complex of south Kalimantan, Indonesia

Cretaceous subduction complexes surround the southeastern margin of Sundaland in Indonesia. They are widely exposed in several localities, such as Bantimala (South Sulawesi), Karangsambung (Central Java) and Meratus (South Kalimantan).
The Meratus Complex of South Kalimantan consists mainly of mélange, chert, siliceous shale, limestone, basalt, ultramafic rocks and schists. The complex is uncomformably covered with Late Cretaceous sedimentary-volcanic formations, such as the Pitap and Haruyan Formations.
Well-preserved radiolarians were extracted from 14 samples of siliceous sedimentary rocks, and K–Ar age dating was performed on muscovite from 6 samples of schist of the Meratus Complex. The radiolarian assemblage from the chert of the complex is assigned to the early Middle Jurassic to early Late Cretaceous. The K–Ar age data from schist range from 110 Ma to 180 Ma. Three samples from the Pitap Formation, which unconformably covers the Meratus Complex, yield Cretaceous radiolarians of Cenomanian or older.
These chronological data as well as field observation and petrology yield the following constraints on the tectonic setting of the Meratus Complex.
(1) The mélange of the Meratus Complex was caused by the subduction of an oceanic plate covered by radiolarian chert ranging in age from early Middle Jurassic to late Early Cretaceous.
(2) The Haruyan Schist of 110–119 Ma was affected by metamorphism of a high pressure–low temperature type caused by oceanic plate subduction. Some of the protoliths were high alluminous continental cover or margin sediments. Intermediate pressure type metamorphic rocks of 165 and 180 Ma were discovered for the first time along the northern margin of the Haruyan Schist.
(3) The Haruyan Formation, a product of submarine volcanism in an immature island arc setting, is locally contemporaneous with the formation of the mélange of the Meratus Complex.     

下扬子天目山盆地火山岩锆石LA-ICP-MS定年及地质意义

天目山盆地是下扬子江南隆起带保存较完整的中生代火山盆地,中生代火山岩系岩性自下而上主要为流纹岩-英安岩-安山岩。对盆地内黄尖组下段流纹岩和英安岩分别进行了锆石 LA-ICP MS定年,分别获得了133．6±1．5 Ma（MSWD＝0．73）和135．0±2．1 Ma（MSWD＝0．78）的锆石U-Pb年龄,指示天目山盆地黄尖组火山岩时代为早白垩世。天目山盆地火山活动起始时间和长江中下游地区晚中生代火山活动基本一致,说明江南隆起带和长江中下游地区在早白垩世均处于强烈拉张环境。     

SHRIMP U–Pb ages of detrital zircons from the Early Cretaceous Nakdong Formation,South East Korea: Timing of initiation of the Gyeongsang Basin and its provenance

To constrain the depositional age of the lowermost Nakdong Formation in the Early Cretaceous Gyeongsang Basin, SHRIMP U–Pb age determination was carried out on zircon separates. The U–Pb compositions of detrital zircons from the Nakdong Formation yield a wide range of ages from the Archean to the Cretaceous but show a marked contrast in age distribution according to the geographical locations within the basin. The provenance of the southern Nakdong Formation is dominantly the surrounding Yeongnam Massif, which is composed of Paleoproterozoic metamorphic rocks and Triassic to Jurassic plutonic rocks, whereas the central to northern Nakdong Formation records significant sediment derivation from the Okcheon Metamorphic Belt, which is distributed to the northwest, in addition to the contribution from the Yeongnam Massif. It is suggested that the maximum depositional age of the Nakdong Formation is ca 127 Ma, based on its youngest detrital zircon age population. The onset of its deposition at 127 Ma coincided with the tectonic inversion in East Asia from a compressional to an extensional geodynamic setting, probably due to the contemporaneous change in the drift direction of the Izanagi Plate and its subsequent oblique subduction.     

Sedimentary records of the late Early Cretaceous compressional setting in the South China block: A case study of the Xingning Basin,Guangdong Province

Recently, some scholars have proposed that the South China Block (SCB) was controlled by a compressive tectonic regime in the middle–late Early Cretaceous, challenging the belief that the SCB was under an extensional setting during the Cretaceous. The Early Cretaceous tectonic setting constraint in the SCB can offer vital insight to clarify the Mesozoic subduction history of the Paleo-Pacific. Therefore, to determine the SCB tectonic regime during the Early Cretaceous, this study investigated sedimentary rocks from the Lower Cretaceous Heshui Formation in the Xingning Basin, a foreland basin located in the southeastern SCB. Provenance analysis was performed using sandstone modal analysis, sandstone geochemical characteristics, and detrital zircon geochronology. Based on the results, we discussed basin sediment sources and the SCB tectonic regime during the Early Cretaceous. The results showed that the maximum Heshui Formation depositional age was 103 Ma ± 1.6 Ma in the Early Cretaceous Albian. Detrital framework modes and geochemical characteristics of sandstone indicated that Heshui Formation's source rocks were granites and sedimentary rocks. The detrital zircon U–Pb ages could be classified into two major and four subordinate age populations. The Wuyi Terrane to the north and southeast coastal regions to the east were the primary potential Heshui Formation source areas. However, the lower and upper sandstones are different in the peak ages, ~437 and ~146 to 104 Ma, respectively, indicating that the major source area shifted from the Wuyi Terrane to the southeastern coastal regions during the late Early Cretaceous. The sandstone modal analysis results indicated that the source area comprised mainly collisional–orogenic material. The SCB was under a compressive tectonic regime during the late Early Cretaceous and this compression action continued until at least 103 Ma ± 1.6 Ma.     

New Lu-Hf and Pb-Pb age constraints on the earliest animal fossils

The Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation, South China, preserves a unique assemblage of early multicellular fossils and overlies rocks, which are thought to have formed during an ice age of global extent. The age of this formation is thus critical for understanding the important biological and climatic events that occurred towards the end of the Proterozoic Eon. Until now, direct dating of sedimentary formations such as the Doushantuo has been difficult and associated with large uncertainties. Here, we show that dating of Doushantuo phosphorites by a novel Lu-Hf dating method and conventional Pb-Pb geochronometry independently yield ages of 584±26 Ma and 599.3±4.2 Ma, respectively. These ages are in agreement with bio- and chemostratigraphical observations and show that the Doushantuo animal remains predate diverse Ediacaran fossil assemblages, making them the oldest unambiguous remains of metazoans currently known. Furthermore, the Pb-Pb age for the post-glacial Doushantuo rocks suggests that the Neoproterozoic glaciation in China might predate glacial rocks in Eastern North America commonly associated with the younger (Marinoan) of two major Neoproterozoic glaciations. The combination of Lu-Hf and Pb-Pb dating shows considerable potential for dating other phosphorite successions and future application of these methods could therefore provide further constraints on Proterozoic biological and environmental history.     

Detrital zircon geochronology of the Cretaceous Sindong Group,Southeast Korea: Implications for depositional age and Early Cretaceous igneous activity

The Sindong Group forms the lowermost basin‐fill of the Gyeongsang Basin, the largest Cretaceous nonmarine basin located in southeastern Korea, and comprises the Nakdong, Hasandong, and Jinju Formations with decreasing age. The depositional age of the Sindong Group has not yet been determined well and the reported age ranges from the Valanginian to Albian. Detrital zircons from the Sindong Group have been subjected to U–Pb dating using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The Sindong Group contains noticeable amounts of detrital magmatic zircons of Cretaceous age (138–106 Ma), indicative of continuous magmatic activity prior to and during deposition of the Sindong Group. The youngest detrital zircon age of three formations becomes progressively younger stratigraphically: 118 Ma for the Nakdong Formation, 109 Ma for the Hasandong Formation, and 106 Ma for the Jinju Formation. Accordingly, the depositional age of the Sindong Group ranges from the late Aptian to late Albian, which is much younger than previously thought. Lower Cretaceous magmatic activity, which supplied detrital zircons to the Sindong Group, changed its location spatially through time; it occurred in the middle and northern source areas during the early stage, and then switched to the middle to southern source areas during the middle to late stages. This study reports first the Lower Cretaceous magmatic activity from the East Asian continental margin, which results in a narrower magmatic gap (ca 20 m.y.) than previously known.     

~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar geochronology of the Faku tectonites:Implications for the tectonothermal evolution of the Faku block,northern Liaoning

As for the metamorphic rock series distributed on the “Faku Faulted Convex (FFC)”[1] of the northern Liaoning, the earliest geologic investigation divided it into the Langzishan, Dashiqiao and Gaixian forma-tions1) and considered it to be equivalent to the Liaohe Group in the eastern Liaoning, whereas Liaoning Bu-reau of Geology and Mineral Resources (LBGMR) included it into the Lower Proterozoic basement[1]. Recent 1︰50000 scale geological mapping2) reveals that this deformed and …     

<Superscript>40</Superscript>Ar/<Superscript>39</Superscript>Ar geochronology of the Faku tectonites: Implications for the tectonothermal evolution of the Faku block,northern Liaoning

For lack of reliable isotopic chronological data, the metamorphic rock series in the Faku region of northern Liaoning has long been regarded as the platform basement. Recent studies reveal that these deformed and metamorphosed rocks, with a variety of protoliths of plutonic intrusions and supracrustal volcanic and sedimentary rocks, were genetically related to later ductile shearing events, and they, together with the syntectonic intrusions, constituted the large-scale Faku tectonites. In this paper, we report new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data on hornblende, biotite, and K-feldspar from typical granitic mylonites in this suite of tectonites. The plateau age 256 Ma of FK53 hornblende and the high-temperature plateau age 262 Ma of Fk51-1 biotite should represent the cooling ages when the granites, formed as a result of Paleozoic oceanic crustal subduction beneath the continental crust or collision of multiple micro-continental blocks, were exhumed into shallow crustal levels. The plateau age 231 Ma of FK51-1 boitite and the apparent age 227 Ma of Fk51-2 K-feldspar are interpreted to record the time of ductile deformation occurring under greenschist facies conditions, i.e. the formation age of the Faku tectonites, while the age gradient from 197 Ma to 220 Ma of Fk51-2 K-feldspar probably record the subsequent stable uplift-cooling process. The tectonic exhumation event indicated by the plateau age 180 Ma of Fk51-2 K-feldspar may be associated with the onset of paleo-Pacific subduction beneath the North China plate. In addition, the U-Pb dating of FK54 zircon from later-intruded granite yields the age of crystallization of this super-unit intrusion at 159 Ma, thus establishing an upper limit for the formation age of the Faku tectonites, while the plateau age 125 Ma of Fk54 K-feldspar most likely corresponds to the rapid cooling and tectonic denudation event associated with the final collision between the Siberian plate and the North China plate. These isotopic ages provide important geochronological constraints for re-evaluating the tectonic essence of the Faku Faulted Convex and ascertaining the suturing boundary between the North China Platform and the Xingmeng Fold System.     

鄂尔多斯盆地东缘紫金山侵入岩热演化史与隆升过程分析

运用LA-ICP MS锆石U-Pb定年、角闪石和黑云母⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar定年、锆石和磷灰石裂变径迹(FT)分析等构造热年代学研究方法,探讨分析了鄂尔多斯盆地东缘紫金山侵入岩的热演化历史及其抬升冷却过程.紫金山侵入岩主要由次透辉二长岩和正长岩组成,锆石U-Pb测年给出的岩浆侵位-结晶年龄为136.7 Ma,角闪石和黑云母⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar测年获得的岩浆结晶-固结年龄集中在133.1~130.4 Ma,表明紫金山侵入岩主要形成于早白垩世的136.7~130.4 Ma.侵入岩T-t轨迹与磷灰石FT模拟热史路径综合揭示了鄂尔多斯盆地东缘紫金山侵入岩抬升冷却的三个构造热演化阶段:1) 136~120 Ma侵位岩浆结晶-固结阶段,岩体平均冷却速率高达52 ℃/Ma;2) 120~30 Ma岩体相对缓慢抬升冷却阶段,平均抬升冷却速率为2.5 ℃/Ma;3) 30 Ma以来岩体快速抬升冷却阶段,平均抬升冷却速率3.6 ℃/Ma,尤以近10 Ma以来的快速抬升冷却最为显著,抬升冷却速率接近7 ℃/Ma.结合区域构造动力学环境分析认为,鄂尔多斯盆地东缘的紫金山岩浆活动与华北克拉通早白垩世构造体制转换过程的大规模岩浆活动属于相同时期、统一构造作用的产物,早白垩世末期以来由慢到快的差异抬升过程主要受控于华北克拉通东部(古)太平洋体系与其西南部特提斯体系之间相互联合、彼此消长的构造作用.     

Jurassic integrative stratigraphy and timescale of China

The Jurassic stratigraphy in China is dominated by continental sediments. Marine facies and marine-terrigenous facies sediment have developed locally in the Qinghai-Tibet area, southern South China, and northeast China. The division of terrestrial Jurassic strata has been argued, and the conclusions of biostratigraphy and isotope chronology have been inconsistent.During the Jurassic period, the North China Plate, South China Plate, and Tarim Plate were spliced and formed the prototype of ancient China. The Yanshan Movement has had a profound influence on the eastern and northern regions of China and has formed an important regional unconformity. The Triassic-Jurassic boundary(201.3 Ma) is located roughly between the Haojiagou Formation and the Badaowan Formation in the Junggar Basin, and between the Xujiahe Formation and the Ziliujing Formation in the Sichuan Basin. The early Early Jurassic sediments generally were lacking in the eastern and central regions north of the ancient Dabie Mountains, suggesting that a clear uplift occurred in the eastern part of China during the Late Triassic period when it formed vast mountains and plateaus. A series of molasse-volcanic rock-coal strata developed in the northern margin of North China Craton in the Early Jurassic and are found in the Xingshikou Formation, Nandailing Formation, and Yaopo Formation in the West Beijing Basin. The geological age and markers of the boundary between the Yongfeng Stage and Liuhuanggou Stage are unclear. About 170 Ma ago, the Yanshan Movement began to affect China. The structural system of China changed from the near east-west Tethys or the Ancient Asia Ocean tectonic domain to the north-north-east Pacific tectonic domain since 170–135 Ma. A set of syngenetic conglomerate at the bottom of the Haifanggou or Longmen Fms. represented another set of molasse-volcanic rock-coal strata formed in the Yanliao region during the Middle Jurassic Yanshan Movement(Curtain A1). The bottom of the conglomerate is approximately equivalent to the boundary of the Shihezi Stage and Liuhuanggou Stage. The bottom of the Manas Stage creates a regional unconformity in northern China(about 161 Ma, Volcanic Curtain of the Yanshan Movement, Curtain A2). The Jurassic Yanshan Movement is likely related to the southward subduction of the Siberian Plate to the closure of the Mongolia-Okhotsk Ocean. A large-scale volcanic activity occurred in the Tiaojishan period around 161–153 Ma. Note that 153 Ma is the age of the bottom Tuchengzi Formation, and the bottom boundary of the Fifth Stage of the Jurassic terrestrial stage in China should have occurred earlier than this. This activity was marked by a warming event at the top of the Toutunhe Formation, and the change in the biological assembly is estimated to be 155 Ma. The terrestrial Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary(ca. 145.0 Ma) in the Yanliao region should be located in the upper part of Member 1 of the Tuchengzi Formation, the Ordos Basin in the upper part of the Anding Formation, the Junggar Basin in the upper part of the Qigu Formation, and the Sichuan Basin in the upper part of the Suining Formation The general characteristics of terrestrial Jurassic of China changed from the warm and humid coal-forming environment of the Early-Middle Jurassic to the hot, dry, red layers in the Late Jurassic. With the origin and development of the Coniopteris-Phoenicopsis flora, the Yanliao biota was developed and spread widely in the area north of the ancient Kunlun Mountains, ancient Qinling Mountains, and ancient Dabie Mountain ranges in the Middle Jurassic, and reached its great prosperity in the Early Late Jurassic and gradually declined and disappeared and moved southward with the arrival of a dry and hot climate.     

U-Pb zircon ages for the Luzhenguan Complex in northern part of the eastern Dabie orogen

The Dabie Mountain is the collisional orogenic belt between the North China Block and the Yangtze Block. As the eastern segment of the central-China orogenic belt, its tectonic framework is corresponding to the Qinling orogenic belt as a whole[1]. The NHB in northern part of Dabie Orogen is regarded as the joint belt between the Yangtze Block and the North China Block, and roughly corresponds to the north Qinling belt of the Qinling orogenic belt, which separated the Tongbai-Dabie hig…     

U–Pb dating of detrital zircon from Permian successions of the South Kitakami Belt,Northeast Japan: Clues to the paleogeography of the belt

The South Kitakami Belt in the northeast Japan is unique in presence of a thick Paleozoic–Mesozoic sedimentary rocks. The Permian sedimentary succession in the Maiya area of this belt is divided into the Nishikori, Tenjinnoki, and Toyoma formations, in ascending stratigraphic order. The Tenjinnoki Formation includes the Yamazaki Conglomerate Member containing granitic clasts. We performed U–Pb dating for detrital zircon of one sample of tuffaceous sandstone from the Nishikori Formation, six samples of sandstone from the Tenjinnoki and Toyoma formations, and five granitic clasts from the Yamazaki Conglomerate using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Our dating results show that the tuffaceous sandstone sample has two age peaks at 287 and 301 Ma for the Nishikori Formation, three age peaks at 320–300, 290, and 270 Ma for the Tenjinnoki and Toyoma Formation, and ages of 311, 300, and 270 Ma from granitic clasts of the Yamazaki Conglomerate. In addition, older ages of 452–435 and 380 Ma were obtained from some zircon grains of the sandstone and granitic clasts. Our results suggest igneous activity in these periods. The South Kitakami Belt's origin with respect to continental blocks has been discussed in regard of the margin of North China Block or South China Block. Based on the stratigraphic ages and timing of igneous activity, we conclude that during the Permian the South Kitakami Belt was located at the margin of the South Central Asian Orogenic Belt, near the Solonker-Xra Moron-Changchun suture and the North China Block in East Asia.     

The subduction of the Paleo‐Pacific Plate to the Jiamusi Block: Evidence from the Early Mesozoic sedimentary rocks of the eastern Jiamusi Block

In order to provide references of the subduction process of the Paleo‐Pacific Plate beneath the Jiamusi Block, this paper studied the clastic rocks of the Nanshuangyashan Formation using modal analysis of sandstones, mudstone elements geochemistry, and detrital zircon U–Pb dating. These results suggest the maximum depositional age of the Nanshuangyashan Formation was between the Norian and Rhaetian (206.8 ±4.6 Ma, mean standard weighted deviation (MSWD) = 0.17). Whole‐rock geochemistry of mudstone indicates that source rocks of the Nanshuangyashan Formation were primarily felsic igneous rocks and quartzose sedimentary rocks, which were mainly derived from the stable continental block and a magmatic arc. Detrital zircon analysis showed the Nanshuangyashan Formation samples recorded four main age groups: 229–204 Ma, 284–254 Ma, 524–489 Ma and 930–885 Ma, and the provenances were attributed to the Jiamusi Block and a Late Triassic magmatic arc near the study area. Furthermore, the eastern Jiamusi Block was a backarc basin, affected by the subduction of the Paleo‐Pacific Plate in the Late Triassic, but the magmatic arc related to the subduction near the study area finally died out due to tectonic changes and stratigraphic erosion.     

Sr–Nd isotopic systematics and geochemistry of intermediate plutonic rocks from Ikoma Mountains, Southwest Japan: evidence for a sequence of Mesozoic magmatic activity in the Ryoke Belt

Abstract The Ryoke Belt in the Ikoma Mountains, Nara Prefecture, Japan, is composed mainly of various granitic, intermediate and gabbroic rocks. Igneous activity in this area is divided into two periods, early–middle Jurassic and late Cretaceous, based on isotopic dating. The intermediate plutonic rocks in the Fukihata area are composed of two rock types: Kyuanji quartz diorite and Fukihata tonalite. Rb–Sr whole-rock isochron ages have been determined for both plutonic rocks. Their ages and initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios are as follows: the Kyuanji quartz diorite has an age of 161.0 ± 17.9 Ma with an initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of 0.70727 ± 0.00007, while the Fukihata tonalite has an age of 121.4 ± 24.6 Ma with an initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of 0.70753 ± 0.00020. Our chronological results indicate that the Kyuanji quartz diorite belongs to the Jurassic mafic rocks, such as the Ikoma gabbroic mass, while the Fukihata tonalite belongs to the early Cretaceous granitic rocks. Both these intermediate plutonic rocks have different chemical characteristics and were derived from different magmas.     

Emplacement age for the mafic-ultramafic plutons in the northern Dabie Mts. (Hubei): Zircon U-Pb, Sm-Nd and 40Ar/39Ar dating

The protoliths of mafic-ultramafic plutons in the northern Dabie Mts. (NDM) (Hubei) include pyroxenite and gabbro. The zircon U-Pb dating for a gabbro suggests that emplacement of mafic magma took place in the post-collisional setting at the age of 122.9(0.6 Ma. It is difficult to obtain a reliable Sm-Nd isochron age, due to disequilibrium of the Sm-Nd isotopic system. Two hornblende 40Ar/39Ar ages of 116.1(1.1 Ma and 106.6(0.8 Ma may record cooling of metamorphism in the mafic-ultramafic plutons in Hubei below 500(C. The hornblende 40Ar/39Ar ages for the mafic-ultramafic rocks in Hubei are evidently 15-25 Ma younger than those for the same rocks in Anhui, indicating that there is a diversity of the cooling rates for the mafic-ultramafic rocks in Hubei and Anhui. The difference in their cooling rates may be controlled by the north-dipping normal faults in the NDM. The intense metamorphism occurring in the mafic-ultramafic rocks in Hubei may result from the Yanshanian magmatic reheating and thermal fluid action induced by the Cretaceous migmatization. The geochemical similarity of these mafic-ultramafic rocks wherever in Hubei and Anhui may be attributed to the same tectonic setting via an identical genetic mechanism.     

Renewed profile of the Mesozoic magmatism in Korean Peninsula: Regional correlation and broader implication for cratonic destruction in the North China Craton

Widespread Mesozoic magmatism occurs in the Korean Peninsula (KP). The status quo is poles apart between the northern and southern parts in characterizing its distribution and nature, with the nearly absence of any related information in North Korea. We have the opportunity to have conducted geological investigations in North Korea and South Korea during the past ten years through international cooperation programs. This led to the revelation of a number of granitoids and related volcanic rocks and thus facilitates the comparison with those in East China and Japan. Mesozoic granitoids in the KP can be divisible into three age groups: the Triassic group with a peak age of ~220 Ma, the Jurassic one of ~190–170 Ma and the late Early Cretaceous one of ~110 Ma. The Triassic intrusions include syenite, calc-alkaline to alkaline granite and minor kimberlite in the Pyeongnam Basin of North Korea. They have been considered to form in post-orogenic settings related to the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) or the Dabie-Sulu Orogenic Belt (DSOB). The Jurassic granitoids constitute extensive occurrence in the KP and are termed as the Daebo-period magmatism. They correlate well with coeval counterparts in NE China encompassing the northeastern part of the North China Craton (NCC) and the eastern segment of the CAOB. They commonly consist of biotite or two-mica granites and granodiorites, with some containing small dark diorite enclaves. On one hand, Early Jurassic to early Middle Jurassic magmatic rocks are rare in most areas of the NCC, whilst Middle-Late Jurassic ones are not developed in the KP. On the other hand, both NCC and KP host abundant Cretaceous granites. However, the present data revealed contrasting age peaks, with ~130–125 Ma in the NCC and ~110–105 Ma in the KP. Cretaceous granites in the KP comprise the dominant biotite granites and a few amphibole granites. The former exhibit mildly fractionated REE patterns and zircon ε _Hf(t) values from -15 to -25, whereas the latter feature strongly fractionated REE patterns and zircon ε _Hf(t) values from -10 to -1. Both granites contain inherited zircons of ~1.8–1.9 or ~2.5 Ga. These geochemical characters testify to their derivation from re-melting distinct protoliths in ancient basement. Another Cretaceous magmatic sub-event has been entitled as the Gyeongsang volcanism, which is composed of bimodal calc-alkaline volcanic rocks of 94–55 Ma and granitic-hypabyssal granitic bodies of 72–70 Ma. Synthesizing the Mesozoic magmatic rocks across the KP, NCC and Japan can lead to the following highlights: (1) All Triassic granites in the NCC, KP and Japan have similar characteristics in petrology, chronology and geochemistry. Therefore, the NCC, KP and Japan tend to share the same tectonic setting during the Triassic, seemingly within the context of Indosinian orogensis. (2) Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous magmatic rocks in the NCC seem to define two episodes: episode A from 175 to 157 Ma and episode B from 157 to 135 Ma. Jurassic magmatic rocks in the KP span in age mainly from 190 to 170 Ma, whereas 160–135 Ma ones are rare. With the exception of ~197 Ma Funatsu granite, Jurassic magmatic rocks are absent in Japan. (3) Cretaceous granites in the KP have a peak age of ~110, ~20 Ma younger than those in the NCC, while Japan is exempt from ~130–100 Ma granites. (4) The spatial-temporal distribution and migratory characteristics of the Jurassic-Cretaceous magmatic rocks in Japan, KP, and NE China-North China indicate that the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific plate might not be operative before Late Cretaceous (~130–120 Ma). (5) Late Cretaceous magmatic rocks (~90–60 Ma) occur in the southwestern corner of the KP and also in Japan, coinciding with the metamorphic age of ~90–70 Ma in the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt of Japan. The magmatic-metamorphic rock associations and their spatial distribution demonstrate the affinities of sequentially subduction zone, island arc and back-arc basin from Japan to Korea, arguing for the Pacific plate subduction during Late Cretaceous. (6) This study raises another possibility that the Mesozoic cratonic destruction in the NCC, which mainly occurred during ~150–120 Ma, might not only be due to the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate, but also owe much to the intraplate geodynamic forces triggered by other adjacent continental plates like the Eurasian and Indian plates.     

Early Cretaceous tectonic events implied in the time-lag between the age of radiolarian chert and its metamorphic basement in the Bantimala area, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract The Bantimala Complex of South Sulawesi consists mainly of mélange, chert, basalt, ultramafic rocks and high pressure type metamorphic rocks. Well-preserved radiolarians were extracted from 10 samples of chert, and K-Ar age dating was done for muscovite from five samples of schist of the Bantimala Complex. The radiolarian assemblage from chert is assigned middle Cretaceous (late Albian-early Cenomanian) age, while the K-Ar age data from schist range from 132 Ma to 114 Ma except for one sample with rare muscovite. The radiolarian chert is unconformably underlain by schist in the Bantimala Complex. The stratigraphie relationship and the time lag of these two kinds of age data from chert and underlying schist suggest short-time tectonic events immediately followed by a quick waning tectonism in this region during the Albian-Cenomanian transgression.     

南海北部潮汕坳陷上白垩统盆地原型及其大地构造背景分析

潮汕坳陷MZ-1井揭示的中生界为深入分析南海北部晚中生代的构造演化提供了关键性的资料.基于MZ-1井的标定,开展了系统的地震剖面构造-地层解释,在中生代地层内识别出Tm30区域性不整合面,同位素定年确定该界面发育于早白垩世末至晚白垩世初,落实了潮汕坳陷上白垩统的分布.此外,在研究区西南部识别出大型的兴宁—东沙逆冲推覆带,主要由多条NW—SE向延伸、西倾的叠瓦状逆冲断层及其伴生的不对称褶皱组成,其明显控制了上白垩统厚度分布.由此可见,上白垩统构造层不具有张裂盆地的典型特征,因此南海北部主动陆缘向被动陆缘的转换不会早于晚白垩世末.研究认为,在南海地区特提斯残留洋盆关闭的总背景下,在约80 Ma时期,南海地块与华南陆块强烈碰撞挤压,在靠近碰撞带处的礼乐滩、潮汕坳陷西南部形成褶皱冲断构造体系,进而控制了潮汕坳陷晚白垩世周缘前陆盆地的发育.     

‘Thailand was a desert' during the mid‐Cretaceous: Equatorward shift of the subtropical high‐pressure belt indicated by eolian deposits (Phu Thok Formation) in the Khorat Basin,northeastern Thailand

The Tibetan Plateau is a key factor in controlling the present‐day climate and atmospheric circulation pattern in Asia. The pattern of atmospheric circulation after the uplift of the plateau is well known, whereas direct evidence is lacking regarding the nature of the circulation pattern prior to the uplift. The distribution of desert directly reflects the position of the subtropical high‐pressure belt, and the prevailing surface‐wind pattern recorded in desert deposits reveals the position of its divergence axis. Cretaceous eolian sandstone of the Phu Thok Formation is extensively exposed in the northern Khorat Basin, northeastern Thailand. We conducted a sedimentological study on this formation to reconstruct temporal changes in the latitude of the subtropical high‐pressure belt in low‐latitude Asia during the Cretaceous. Spatio‐temporal changes in the paleo‐wind directions recorded in the Phu Thok Formation reveal that the Khorat Basin mainly belonged to the northeast trade wind belt and subtropical high‐pressure belt was situated to the north of the Khorat Basin during the initial stages of deposition, shifted southward to immediately above the basin during the main phase of deposition, and then shifted northward again to the north of the basin during the final stages of deposition. The paleomagnetic polarity sequence obtained for the Phu Thok Formation comprises three zones of normal polarity and two of reversed polarity, correlating to chrons M1n to C34n of the geomagnetic polarity time scale. This result suggests that the Phu Thok Formation is mid‐Cretaceous in age (from c. 126 Ma to c. 99–93 Ma), similar to the age of eolian sandstone in the Sichuan Basin, southern China (the Jiaguan Formation). These results, in combination with paleo‐wind direction data, suggest the development of low‐latitude desert and an equatorward shift of the subtropical high‐pressure belt (relative to the present‐day) in Asia during the mid‐Cretaceous.     

U–Pb and fission‐track dating of a submarine pyroclastic rock from southwest Japan

The Okinoshima Formation crops out on Okinoshima Island and comprises a thick sequence (> 200 m) of pyroclastic rocks and alternating beds of sandstone and mudstone. Because Okinoshima Island is located between Honshu and Tsushima Island, the Okinoshima Formation potentially provides an important record of volcanism during the opening of the Japan Sea in northwest Kyushu, as well as a record of the formation of the present Genkai Sea region. In consideration of the lack of previous geochronological work, dating (fission‐track and U–Pb) of igneous zircons extracted from the Okinoshima Formation were undertaken and studied the clay mineral alteration in the pyroclastic material in order to reveal its thermal history. These data are used to constrain the age of the Okinoshima Formation and the present Genkai Sea region. Our results show that no thermal event has reset the fission‐track age after deposition of the pyroclastic rocks, and that the Okinoshima Formation was deposited at 16.2 Ma. The present Genkai Sea region is a deep‐sea basin, and its formation at 16.2 Ma was accompanied by submarine volcanism and rapid subsidence that marked the climactic stage of Japan Sea formation. After 16 Ma, the tectonic setting of the present Genkai Sea region changed from one of extension (related to the formation of the Japan Sea) to one of compression, with uplift occurring under the influence of the clockwise rotation of southwest Japan. Consequently, after 16 Ma the present Genkai Sea region became isolated from the forming processes of the Japan Sea.