40Ar/39Ar Geochronology of Volcanic and Intrusive Rocks in the Papandayan Metallic Prospect Area,West Java,Indonesia

This study presents new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages on the volcanic and intrusive rocks from the Papandayan metallic district in West Java, Indonesia. The vein system in the Arinem area, one of the prospective areas in the district, has been considered as an epithermal gold–silver–base metal deposit, however, no published age results are available for the host volcanic rocks in the district. The ages of these rocks are critical in terms of their association with mineralization and are important to understand the evolution of volcanism in the region, which has implications for mineral exploration in the district. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages of two typical basalt and one andesite samples of the Jampang Formation volcanic rocks yielded ages of 11.65 ± 0.52 Ma, 18.15 ± 0.46 Ma and 7.69 ± 0.05 Ma, respectively. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of three intrusive rock samples from Gunung Halang diorite, Gunung Lingga diorite, and Gunung Buligir fine‐grained quartz diorite yielded ages of 12.98 ± 0.20 Ma, 10.81 ± 0.15 Ma, and 7.37 ± 0.05 Ma, respectively. The age of the youngest fine‐grained diorite (Gunung Wayang dike) is 3.95 ± 0.03 Ma. An ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age obtained from adularia in the Arinem mineralized vein (18.30 ± 0.20 Ma) is older than the age of altered basalt sample of this study (11.65 ± 0.52 Ma) and the K–Ar illite ages of the Arinem vein (9.4 ± 0.3 Ma and 8.8 ± 0.3 Ma) which resulted from a previous study. The age results suggest that the Papandayan district may have experienced multiple hydrothermal and mineralization events. This study, therefore, provides crucial age data to support future mineral exploration in the district.     

The tectonic evolution of Cenozoic extensional basins,northeast Brazil: Geochronological constraints from continental basalt 40Ar/39Ar ages

The Boa Vista and Cubati Basins, Paraíba, Brazil, are NW–SE extension-related intracratonic basins that resulted from tectonic stresses after the opening of the South Atlantic. These basins contain lacustrine fossiliferous sediments, bentonite beds, and basalt flows that preserve Cenozoic continental records. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages for six whole-rocks from two distinct basaltic flows underlying the sediments in the Boa Vista basin are 27.3 ± 0.8 and 25.4 ± 1.3 Ma, while three grains from a basaltic flow overlying the sediments yield 22.0 ± 0.2 Ma. The sediments at the nearby Cubati Basin are overlain by a basalt flow with ages of ∼25.4 Ma. Three whole-rocks from an NE–SW-trending trachytic dyke cross cutting the sediments at the Boa Vista Basin yield ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of ∼12.45 ± 0.06, 12.59 ± 0.07, and 12.58 ± 0.07 Ma. Three whole-rocks from a nearby volcanic plug (Chupador) yield an age of 23.4 ± 0.1 Ma. The geochronological results combined with stratigraphic correlations between the two basins allow bracketing the age of the main sedimentary and bentonic units within the Boa Vista and Cubati Basins between 25.5 ± 1.3 and 24.9 ± 0.1 Ma. The ages, combined with field observations reveal that the formation of the Boa Vista and Cubati basins is associated with mantle-derived magmas channelled through reactivated Precambrian shear zones. Our geochronological results suggest that a temporal link with the Fernando de Noronha and Saint Helena hot spots can be excluded as possible sources of the Boa Vista and Cubati magmas. Rather, the extensional tectonics in the 30–20 Ma interval, long after Gondwana break-up, may be associated with the re-activation of continental-scale shear zones that channelled small batches of mantle-derived magmas.     

Evolution of calc-alkaline magmas of the Okhotsk-Chukotka volcanic belt

Petrological, geochemical, and isotope geochronological aspects of the evolution of calc-alkaline magmatism were investigated in the Western Okhotsk flank zone, the Okhotsk segment, and the Eastern Chukchi flank zone of the Okhotsk-Chukotka volcanic belt (OCVB). The OCVB is a tectonotype of continental margin volcanic belts comprising much greater volumes of felsic ignimbritic volcanics compared with mature island arcs (MIA, Kuril-Kamchatka and Aleutian) and the Andean continental margin. The volcanic rocks of continental margin volcanic belts (OCVB and Andean belt) are enriched in K, Ti, and P compared with the rocks of MIA and show a trend toward the field of high-potassium calc-alkaline series. Primitive andesite varieties (Mg# > 0.6) were not yet found in the OCVB, but there are relatively calcic varieties unknown in Andean-type structures and a significant fraction of moderately alkaline rocks, which are not typical of MIA. Variations in trace and major element characteristics in the basalts and andesites of the OCVB were interpreted as reflecting the competing processes of assimilation/mixing and fractional crystallization during the evolution of the parental basaltic magma. Significant lateral variations were established in the composition of the mantle sources of calc-alkaline magmas along the OCVB over more than 2500 km. The initial isotopic ratios of Sr, Nd, and Pb in the volcanics of the Okhotsk segment are relatively depleted and fall near the mixing line between PREMA and BSE. The magma source of the Western Okhotsk flank zone is most enriched and approaches EMI, whereas that of the central and eastern Chukchi zones contains an admixture of the EMII component. The geochronological characteristics of all the main stages of OCVB magmatism were comprehensively studied by U-Pb SHRIMP and ID-TIMS zircon dating (86 samples) and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar analysis (73 samples). In general, a discontinuous character was established for the OCVB magmatism from the middle Albian to the early Campanian (106–77 Ma). The volcanism is laterally asynchronous. There are several peaks of volcanism with modes at approximately 105, 100, 96, 92.5, 87, 82, and 77 Ma. The Coniacian-Santonian peaks correspond to the most extensive stages of the middle and late cycles of felsic volcanism. A decreases and a hiatus in magmatic activity were reconstructed for the end of the Cenomanian and the beginning of the Turonian. The volcanism was terminated by plateau basalts with ages of 76–78 Ma, which mark a change in the geodynamic setting from frontal subduction to the regime of a transform margin with local extension in zones normal to the slip direction. A catastrophic character of eruptions with rather narrow ranges of volcanism (<2 Myr) were established taking into account new reliable age estimates for some individual large calderas. The accumulation rate of volcanic materials in such structures was up to 0.15–0.36 km³/yr and even higher.     

40Ar/39Ar geochronology of the Neogene-Quaternary Harrat Al-Madinah intercontinental volcanic field,Saudi Arabia: Implications for duration and migration of volcanic activity

New ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages, based on incremental heating techniques for groundmass separates of 25 samples, are presented for the Harrat Al-Madinah volcanic field, part of Harrat Rahat in the north western part of the Arabian plate. This area is an active volcanic field characterized by the occurrence of two historical eruptions approximately in 641 and 1256 AD. Field investigations of the main volcanic landforms indicate dominantly monogenetic strombolian eruptions, in addition to local more explosive eruptions. The lavas consist mainly of olivine basalt and hawaiite flows with minor evolved rocks of mugearite, benmoreite, and trachyte that occur mainly as domes, tuff cones and occasionally as lava flows. Previous K/Ar dating shows that the Harrat Al-Madinah lava flows and associated domes comprise seven units spanning an age range of ca. 1.7 Ma–Recent. The new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age determinations confirm, to a great extent, the previously obtained K/Ar ages in the sense that no major systematic biases were found in the general stratigraphy of the different flow units. However, the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages show that volcanism in this area began in the Neogene (∼10 Ma) and continued to Recent, with the most voluminous eruptions occurring in the Quaternary. Neogene volcanism occurred in at least three pulses around 10, 5 and 2 Ma, whereas Quaternary volcanism produced at least seven units reflecting lava flow emplacement in the time period of 1.90 Ma–Recent. Thus, the whole duration of volcanic activity in the Harrat Al-Madinah (10 Ma–Recent) appears much longer than that previously identified. The longevity of volcanism in the same part of the moving Arabian plate and absence of evidence for uni-directional migration of volcanic activity indicate that there is no fixed plume beneath this region. The NNW-trending distribution of the volcanic vents is parallel to the Red Sea, and suggests their origin is related to periodic extensional episodes along the reactivated Red Sea fault system.     

Correlation of Upper Cretaceous strata from Lima Peaks area to Madison Range, southwestern Montana and southeastern Idaho, USA

An⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 85.81 Ma±0.22 my was obtained on sanidine from a volcanic procellanite bed near the top of the 2135+m-thick Upper Cretaceous Frontier Formation in the Lima Peaks area of southwestern Montana. This early Santonian age, combined with previously determined age data including a palynological age of Cenomanian for the lower Frontier at Lima Peaks, and a U-Pb isotopic date of about 95 Ma for the base of the Frontier Formation in the eastern Pioneer Mountains north of the Lima Peaks area, provides an age range for the nonmarine formation. In the Madison Range, farther east in southweastern Montana, this age range corresponds to marine strata of not only the Frontier Formation, but also the overlying Cody Shale and Telegraph Creek Formation, a sequence that totals less than 760 m thick.The Upper Cretaceous marine formations of the madison Range are closely zoned by molluscan faunas that are well constrained with radiometric dates. The⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 85.81 Ma±0.22 my at Lima Peaks is bracketed by radiometric dates for theScaphites depressus—Protexanites bourgeoisianusbiozone and the overlyingClioscaphites saxitonianus—Inoceramus undulatopilcatusbiozone of the Western Interior. Fossils of both of these biozones are present in the Cody Shale and the Telegraph Creek Formation in the Madison Range. The Telegraph Creek contains two units of volcanic ash that are approximate time equivalents of the volcanic procellanite of the Lima Peaks area. Clasts in the conglomerate of the upper part of the Frontier in the Lima Peaks area were shed during the initial stages of uplift of the Blacktail-Snowcrest Highlands which rose to the north. The dated porcellanite lies above the conglomerates and indicates that the uplift was initiated by middle or late Coniacian, 87–88 Ma.     

40Ar/39Ar geochronology and palynology of the Cerro Negro Formation,South Shetland Islands,Antarctica: A new radiometric tie for Cretaceous terrestrial biostratigraphy in the Southern Hemisphere

The upper part of the Jurassic‐Cretaceous Byers Group, exposed on Byers Peninsula in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, consists of 1.4 km of non‐marine strata assigned to the Cerro Negro Formation. Silicic pyroclastic units close to the base of the formation have yielded new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of 120.3 ± 2.2 Ma on plagioclase from one horizon, and 119.4 ± 0.6 and 119.1 ± 0.8 Ma on biotite and plagioclase from a second horizon. Plagioclase from a welded ignimbrite close to the topmost exposed part of the formation has given an ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 119 ± 3.0 Ma. These ages indicate that the Cerro Negro Formation was deposited during a relatively short period in early Aptian times. The identification of palynomorph taxa has enabled us to propose correlations for the Cerro Negro Formation with spore/pollen zonations of South America and Australia. The presence of Interulobites pseudoreticulatus, Appendicisporites and F. wonthaggiensis in the Cerro Negro Formation supports correlation with the Interulobites‐Foraminisporis and the lower part of the tectifera‐corrugatus zones in southern South America. The presence of Foraminisporis asymmetricus and other palynomorphs suggests correlation with the Cyclosporites hughesii Interval Zone of early to late Aptian age in Australia. These data represent a valuable addition to the few radiometric ties available for Mesozoic terrestrial palynostratigraphy in the Southern Hemisphere.     

Influence of dissolution/reprecipitation reactions on metamorphic greenschist to amphibolite facies mica 40Ar/39Ar ages in the Longmen Shan (eastern Tibet)

Linking ages to metamorphic stages in rocks that have experienced low‐ to medium‐grade metamorphism can be particularly tricky due to the rarity of index minerals and the preservation of mineral or compositional relicts. The timing of metamorphism and the Mesozoic exhumation of the metasedimentary units and crystalline basement that form the internal part of the Longmen Shan (eastern Tibet, Sichuan, China), are, for these reasons, still largely unconstrained, but crucial for understanding the regional tectonic evolution of eastern Tibet. In situ core‐rim ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar biotite and U–Th/Pb allanite data show that amphibolite facies conditions (~10–11 kbar, 530°C to 6–7 kbar, 580°C) were reached at 210–180 Ma and that biotite records crystallization, rather than cooling, ages. These conditions are mainly recorded in the metasedimentary cover. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages obtained from matrix muscovite that partially re‐equilibrated during the post peak‐P metamorphic history comprise a mixture of ages between that of early prograde muscovite relicts and the timing of late muscovite recrystallization at c. 140–120 Ma. This event marks a previously poorly documented greenschist facies metamorphic overprint. This latest stage is also recorded in the crystalline basement, and defines the timing of the greenschist overprint (7 ± 1 kbar, 370 ± 35°C). Numerical models of Ar diffusion show that the difference between ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar biotite and muscovite ages cannot be explained by a slow and protracted cooling in an open system. The model and petrological results rather suggest that biotite and muscovite experienced different Ar retention and resetting histories. The Ar record in mica of the studied low‐ to medium‐grade rocks seems to be mainly controlled by dissolution–reprecipitation processes rather than by diffusive loss, and by different microstructural positions in the sample. Together, our data show that the metasedimentary cover was thickened and cooled independently from the basement prior to c. 140 Ma (with a relatively fast cooling at 4.5 ± 0.5°C/Ma between 185 and 140 Ma). Since the Lower Cretaceous, the metasedimentary cover and the crystalline basement experienced a coherent history during which both were partially exhumed. The Mesozoic history of the Eastern border of the Tibetan plateau is therefore complex and polyphase, and the basement was actively involved at least since the Early Cretaceous, changing our perspective on the contribution of the Cenozoic geology.     

江西冷水坑矿区构造-岩浆活动的年代学约束

江西省冷水坑矿区火成岩-构造演化一直缺少系统的年代学制约.作者运用LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb和40Ar/39Ar测年技术,对冷水坑矿区两套火山岩地层(打鼓顶组和鹅湖岭组)、含矿花岗斑岩和主推覆断层F2进行了年代学测试,结果表明,打鼓顶组流纹质含角砾熔结凝灰岩形成于160.8±1.9Ma,鹅湖岭组合角砾熔结凝灰岩则具有间歇性和多期喷发特点,其最初活动时间为159Ma,而主体形成于146.6±2.2Ma;矿区含矿花岗斑岩与打鼓顶组、鹅湖岭组几乎同期形成,年龄介于163.6 ±2.1Ma～154.3±3.0Ma之间;研究区构造活动起始时间不晚于加里东期,推覆断层F2中保留有40Ar/39Ar年龄为398.5±2.6Ma的构造活动痕迹,中生代重新复活,导致震旦系叠覆于鹅湖岭组之上,年龄晚于146.6Ma,可能对含矿斑岩体起破坏作用.     

40Ar/39Ar geochronological constraints on the age and evolution of the Permo-Triassic Emeishan Volcanic Province,Southwest China

The biostratigraphically constrained Permo-Triassic Emeishan Volcanic Province (EVP), extending over wide areas in southwest China, has been recently considered as a Large Igneous Province contemporaneous with the Siberian Traps and the siliceous tuffs at the P–T boundary in South China. We report the first ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages on this igneous province. Minimum ages have been obtained on phenocrystic plagioclase of the Emeishan basalt, which has undergone a pervasive metamorphism, most likely during subsequent tectonization as a consequence of terrane amalgamation. Comparison between the Ar–release spectra obtained on clear vs. cloudy plagioclase indicates a 40–30 Ma sericite resetting time. A minimum apparent age of 246 ± 4 Ma for plagioclase from a plagiogranite, a late-differentiate of the Panzhihua Layered Complex, and an age of 254 ± 5 Ma for phlogopite from a pyroxenite near Lake Erhai, provide the first absolute age constraint on this igneous province. Additional Ar–Ar age measurements on post-Emeishan alkaline and mafic magmatism yielded 104 ± 2 and 100 ± 2 Ma for an alkaline complex near Panzhihua, and 42 ± 1 Ma for a gabbro sill emplaced near the Ertan Dam. Further study is still needed to determine the age of the Emeishan volcanic emission accurately, and to test the validity of the assumed short duration of the eruption.     

40Ar/39Ar and U–Pb SHRIMP dating of Aptian tuff cones in the Aisén Basin,Central Patagonian Cordillera

Surtseyan tuff cones of the Baño Nuevo Volcanic Complex erupted in shallow marine water during the waning stage of the Aisén Basin, the northern part of the Austral Basin of the Central Patagonian Cordillera. This volcanic complex was emplaced within the Hauterivian to early Aptian Apeleg Formation, the youngest sedimentary unit of this basin, whilst the sediments were still wet. Three new Ar/Ar dates (amphibole) and one U–Pb SHRIMP date (zircon) from this complex yielded concordant early Aptian ages of 122–121 Ma. These data agree with the contact relationships between the Apeleg Formation and the tuff cones. These dates also agree with those of early Aptian ammonites collected from the Apeleg Formation 100 km south of the study area, which represent the youngest fossils identified in this unit. Aptian to Albian subaerial volcanic rocks of the Divisadero Group, paraconformably overlie the Apeleg Formation. The emplacement of the Baño Nuevo Volcanic Complex pre-dates the disappearance of the Aisén Basin.     

New Discovery of the Early Cretaceous Volcanic Rocks on the Barton Peninsula, King George Island,Antarctica and Its Geological Significance

Ages determined with the 40Ar/39Ar isotopic system affirms the Early Cretaceous volcanic activity in the Barton Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica. Two specimens of basaltic andesite collected from the lowermost volcanic sequence of the peninsula were irradiated and analyzed in different experiments, yielding an identical age spectrum, and two magmatic thermal events of the Early Cretaceous (120.4± 1.6 Ma, 119± 1 Ma) and Early Tertiary (53.1± 1.5 Ma, 52± 1 Ma) are distinguished. The former is interpreted to represent the primary cooling age of basaltic andesite, whereas the latter is the thermal reset age caused by the intrusion of granitic pluton. These new ages clearly indicate that volcanism was active during the Early Cretaceous on the Barton Peninsula and that intensive hydrothermal alteration and mineralization of Mesozoic volcanic rocks resulted from Tertiary magmatism.     

Exhumation processes during post-collisional stage in the Variscan belt revealed by detailed 40Ar/39Ar study (Tanneron Massif, SE France)

Detailed ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology on single grains of muscovite was performed in the Variscan Tanneron Massif (SE France) to determine the precise timing of the post-collisional exhumation processes. Thirty-two plateau ages, obtained on metamorphic and magmatic rocks sampled along an east–west transect through the massif, vary from 302 ± 2 to 321 ± 2 Ma, and reveal a heterogeneous exhumation of the lower crust that lasted about 20 Ma during late Carboniferous. In the eastern part of the massif, the closure of the K–Ar isotopic system is at 311–315 Ma, whereas in the middle part of the massif it closes earlier at 317–321 Ma. These cooling paths are likely to be the result of differential exhumation processes of distinct crustal blocks controlled by a major ductile fault, the La Moure fault that separates both domains. In the western part of the massif, the ages decrease from 318 to 303 Ma approaching the Rouet granite, which provides the youngest age at 303.6 ± 1.2 Ma. This age distribution can be explained by the occurrence of a thermal structure spatially associated to the magmatic complex. These ages argue in favour of a cooling of the magmatic body at around 15 Ma after the country rocks in the western Tanneron. The emplacement of the Rouet granite in the core of an antiform is responsible for recrystallization and post-isotopic closure disturbances of the K–Ar chronometer in the muscovite from the host rocks. These new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages clearly outline that at least two different processes may contribute to the exhumation of the lower crust in the later stage of collision. During the first stage between 320 and 310 Ma, the differential motion of tectonic blocks limited by ductile shear zones controls the post-collisional exhumation. This event could be related to orogen parallel shearing associated with crustal-scale strike-slip faults and regional folding. The final exhumation stages at around 300 Ma take place within the tectonic doming associated to magmatic intrusions in the core of antiformal structures. Local ductile to brittle normal faulting is coeval to Upper Carboniferous intracontinental basins opening.     

40Ar/39Ar age pattern associated with differential uplift along the Eastern Highlands shear zone,Cape Breton Island,Canadian Appalachians

The Eastern Highlands shear zone in Cape Breton Island is a crustal scale thrust. It is characterized by an amphibolite-facies deformation zone ∼5 km wide formed deep in the crust that is overprinted by a greenschist-facies mylonite zone ∼1 km wide that formed at a more shallow level. Hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages on the hanging wall decrease towards the centre of the shear zone. In the older zone (over 7.8 km from the centre), the ages are between ∼565 and ∼545 Ma; in the younger zone (within 4.5 km of the centre), they are between ∼425 and ∼415 Ma; and in the transitional zone in between, they decrease abruptly from ∼545 to ∼425 Ma. Pressures of crystallization of plutons in the hanging wall, based on the Al-in-hornblende barometer and corresponding to depth of emplacement, increase towards the centre of the shear zone and indicate a differential uplift of up to ∼28 km associated with movement along the shear zone. The age pattern is interpreted to have resulted from the differential uplift. The pressure data show that rocks exposed in the younger zone were buried deep in the crust and did not cool through the hornblende Ar blocking temperature (∼500°C) until differential uplift occurred. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages in the zone (∼425–415 Ma) thus date shear zone movement or the last stage of it. In contrast, rocks in the older zone were more shallowly buried before differential uplift and cooled through the blocking temperature soon after the emplacement of ∼565–555 Ma plutons in the area, long before shear zone movement. The transitional zone corresponds to the Ar partial retention zone before differential uplift. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age pattern thus reflects a Neoproterozoic to Silurian cooling profile that was exposed as a result of differential uplift related to movement along the shear zone. A similar K–Ar age pattern has been reported for the Alpine fault in New Zealand. It is suggested that such isotopic age patterns can be used to help constrain the ages, kinematics, displacements and depth of penetration of shear zones.     

Tectonometamorphic evolution of Seram and Ambon,eastern Indonesia: Insights from 40Ar/39Ar geochronology

The island of Seram, eastern Indonesia, experienced a complex Neogene history of multiple metamorphic and deformational events driven by Australia–SE Asia collision. Geological mapping, and structural and petrographic analysis has identified two main phases in the island's tectonic, metamorphic, and magmatic evolution: (1) an initial episode of extreme extension that exhumed hot lherzolites from the subcontinental lithospheric mantle and drove ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism and melting of adjacent continental crust; and (2) subsequent episodes of extensional detachment faulting and strike-slip faulting that further exhumed granulites and mantle rocks across Seram and Ambon. Here we present the results of sixteen ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar furnace step heating experiments on white mica, biotite, and phlogopite for a suite of twelve rocks that were targeted to further unravel Seram's tectonic and metamorphic history. Despite a wide lithological and structural diversity among the samples, there is a remarkable degree of correlation between the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages recorded by different rock types situated in different structural settings, recording thermal events at 16 Ma, 5.7 Ma, 4.5 Ma, and 3.4 Ma. These frequently measured ages are defined, in most instances, by two or more ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages that are identical within error. At 16 Ma, a major kyanite-grade metamorphic event affected the Tehoru Formation across western and central Seram, coincident with ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism and melting of granulite-facies rocks comprising the Kobipoto Complex, and the intrusion of lamprophyres. Later, at 5.7 Ma, Kobipoto Complex rocks were exhumed beneath extensional detachment faults on the Kaibobo Peninsula of western Seram, heating and shearing adjacent Tehoru Formation schists to form Taunusa Complex gneisses. Then, at 4.5 Ma, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages record deformation within the Kawa Shear Zone (central Seram) and overprinting of detachment faults in western Seram. Finally, at 3.4 Ma, Kobipoto Complex migmatites were exhumed on Ambon, at the same time as deformation within the Kawa Shear Zone and further overprinting of detachments in western Seram. These ages support there having been multiple synchronised episodes of high-temperature extension and strike-slip faulting, interpreted to be the result of Western Seram having been ripped off from SE Sulawesi, extended, and dragged east by subduction rollback of the Banda Slab.     

Cassiterite LA-MC-ICP-MS U/Pb and muscovite 40Ar/39Ar dating of tin deposits in the Tengchong-Lianghe tin district,NW Yunnan,China

The Tengchong-Lianghe tin district in northwestern Yunnan, China, is an important tin mineralization area in the Sanjiang Tethyan Metallogenic Domain. There are three N–S trending granite belts in the Tengchong-Lianghe area, with emplacement ages ranging from Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous and Early Cenozoic. Tin mineralization is spatially associated with these granitic rocks. However, the petrogenetic link between the tin deposits and the host granites is not clear because of the lack of age data for the tin mineralization. We investigate the possibility of direct dating of cassiterite from three typical tin deposits in the Tengchong-Lianghe tin district, using laser ablation multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS). In situ LA-MC-ICP-MS dating of seven cassiterite samples from the Lailishan (LLS-1 and LLS-2), Xiaolonghe (XLH, WDS, DSP, and HJS), and Tieyaoshan (TYS) tin deposits yielded well-defined ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb–²³⁸U/²⁰⁷Pb isochron ages. To assess the accuracy of the in situ U/Pb dating of cassiterite, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of coexisting muscovite (in samples LLS-1, DSP, and TYS) was also performed. The cassiterite in situ U/Pb ages (47.4?±?2.0, 71.9?±?2.3, and 119.3?±?1.7 Ma, respectively) are in excellent agreement with the coexisting muscovite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages (48.4?±?0.3, 71.9?±?1.4, and 122.4?±?0.7 Ma, respectively). The U/Pb ages of cassiterite combined with the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of muscovite indicate that there are three tin mineralization events in this district: the Lailishan tin deposit at 47.4?±?2.0 to 52?±?2.7 Ma, the Xiaolonghe tin deposit at 71.6?±?2.4 to 3.9?±?2.0 Ma, and the Tieyaoshan tin deposit at 119.3?±?1.7 to 122.5?±?0.7 Ma. These ages are highly consistent with the zircon U/Pb ages of the host granites. It is su.ggested that the Cretaceous tin mineralization might have taken place in a subduction environment, while the Early Tertiary tin metallogenesis was in a postcollisional geodynamic setting.     

Detrital K‐feldspar 40Ar/39Ar Ages: Source Constraints of the Lower Miocene Sandstones in the Pearl River Mouth Basin,South China Sea

The South China Sea began to outspread in the Oligocene. A great quantity of terraneous detritus was deposited in the northern continental shelf of the sea, mostly in Pearl River Mouth Basin, which constituted the main paleo-Pearl River Delta. The delta developed for a long geological time and formed a superimposed area. Almost all the oil and gas fields of detrital rock reservoir distribute in this delta. Thirty-three oil sandstone core samples in the Zhujiang Formation, lower Miocene (23–16 Ma), were collected from nine wells. The illite samples with detrital K feldspar (Kfs) separated from these sandstone cores in four sub-structural belts were analysed by the high-precision 40Ar/39Ar laser stepwise heating technique. All 33 illite 40Ar/39Ar data consistently yielded gradually rising age spectra at the low-temperature steps until reaching age plateaus at mid-high temperature steps. The youngest ages corresponding to the beginning steps were interpreted as the hydrocarbon accumulation ages and the plateau ages in mid-high temperature steps as the contributions of the detrital feldspar representing the ages of the granitic parent rocks in the provenances. The ages of the detrital feldspar from the Zhujiang Formation in the four sub-structural belts were different: (1) the late Cretaceous ages in the Lufeng 13 fault structural belt; (2) the late Cretaceous and early Cretaceous-Jurassic ages in the Huizhou 21 buried hill-fault belt; (3) the Jurassic and Triassic ages in the Xijiang 24 buried hill-fault belt; and (4) the early Cretaceous – late Jurassic ages in the Panyu 4 oil area. These detrital feldspar 40Ar/39Ar ages become younger and younger from west to east, corresponding to the age distribution of the granites in the adjacent Guangdong Province, Southern China.     

大巴山西段上奥陶统-下志留统五峰组-龙马溪组斑脱岩锆石U-Pb年龄及其地质意义

扬子板块北缘大巴山地区上奥陶统-下志留统地层中斑脱岩较发育。笔者对大巴山西段陕西紫阳麻柳和四川万源皮窝乡上奥陶统五峰组-下志留统龙马溪组剖面的斑脱岩进行采样,开展了高精度锆石U-Pb测年,首次在该地区获得了445.1±3.5Ma和446.1±7.2Ma的锆石U-Pb年龄,限定了五峰组-龙马溪组地层沉积年龄,为扬子板块北缘大巴山地区奥陶系-志留系界线附近火山喷发事件、地层年代学研究提供了依据。本文所获得的年龄数据与秦岭-大别山造山带奥陶纪岩浆弧形成时间同步,略晚于华北克拉通西南缘奥陶系斑脱岩(449.0~465.8Ma),其火山活动可能与古秦岭洋壳向北的俯冲有关,火山凝灰质可能源自沿古秦岭洋盆北缘的火山弧喷发。中奥陶世晚期至早志留世早期,多幕次的高频火山喷发事件影响了当时海洋化学条件、碳循环波动、气候变冷和生物辐射脉动,造成了晚奥陶世末期的冰川启动和生物集群绝灭。     

新疆西准噶尔卡拉岗组火山岩40Ar-39Ar年龄

对新疆西准噶尔盆地萨吾尔地区卡拉岗组3个火山岩样品(英安岩、玄武岩和流纹岩)进行了⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar精确测年,获得英安岩坪年龄为283±2Ma(2σ),玄武岩加权平均年龄为281.2±3.0Ma(2σ),流纹岩坪年龄为280±2Ma(2σ),因此确定该组火山岩形成于距今283～280Ma,为早二叠世亚丁斯克期火山活动的产物。     

Magmatic-hydrothermal evolution of the Cretaceous Duolong gold-rich porphyry copper deposit in the Bangongco metallogenic belt,Tibet: Evidence from U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology

The Duolong gold-rich porphyry copper deposit was recently discovered and represents a giant prospect (inferred resources of 4–5 Mt fine-Cu with a grade of 0.72% Cu; 30–50 t fine-gold with a grade of 0.23 g/t Au) in the Bangongco metallogenic belt, Tibet. Zircon SHRIMP and LA-ICP-MS U–Pb geochronology shows that the multiple porphyritic intrusions were emplaced during two episodes, the first at about 121 Ma (Bolong mineralized granodiorite porphyry (BMGP) and barren granodiorite porphyry (BGP)) and the second about 116 Ma (Duobuza mineralized granodiorite porphyry (DMGP)). Moreover, the basaltic andesites also have two episodes at about 118 Ma and 106 Ma, respectively. One andesite yields an U–Pb zircon age of 111.9 ± 1.9 Ma, indicating it formed after the multiple granodiorite porphyries. By contrast, the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 115.2 ± 1.1 Ma (hydrothermal K-feldspar vein hosted in DMGP) reveals the close temporal relationship of ore-bearing potassic alteration to the emplacement of the DMGP. The sericite from quartz-sericite vein (hosted in DMGP) yields a ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 115.2 ± 1.2 Ma. Therefore, the ore-forming magmatic-hydrothermal evolution probably persisted for 6 m.y. Additionally, the zircon U–Pb ages (106–121 Ma) of the volcanic rocks and the porphyries suggest that the Neo-Tethys Ocean was still subducting northward during the Early Cretaceous.