Microstructural evolution of the Seridó Belt, NE-Brazil: the effect of two tectonic events on development of c-axis preferred orientation in quartz

The polyphase evolution of the Seridó Belt (NE-Brazil) includes D₁ crust formation at 2.3–2.1 Ga, D₂ thrust tectonics at 1.9 Ga and crustal reworking by D₃ strike-slip shear zones at 600 Ma. Microstructural investigations within mylonites associated with D₂ and D₃ events were used to constrain the tectono-thermal evolution of the belt. D₂ shear zones commenced at deeper crustal levels and high amphibolite facies conditions (600–650 °C) through grain boundary migration, subgrain rotation and operation of quartz c-prism slip. Continued shearing and exhumation of the terrain forced the re-equilibration of high-T fabrics and the switching of slip systems from c-prism to positive and negative a-rhombs. During D₃, enhancement of ductility by dissipation of heat that came from syn-D₃ granites developed wide belts of amphibolite facies mylonites. Continued shearing, uplift and cooling of the region induced D₃ shear zones to act in ductile-brittle regimes, marked by fracturing and development of thinner belts of greenschist facies mylonites. During this event, switching from a-prism to a-basal slip indicates a thermal path from 600 to 350 °C. Therefore, microstructures and quartz c-axis fabrics in polydeformed rocks from the Seridó Belt preserve the record of two major events, which includes contrasting deformation mechanisms and thermal paths.     

Influence of Changes in the Prevailing Synoptic Conditions on the Response of Aerosol Characteristics to Land- and Sea-Breeze Circulations at a Coastal Station

The changes in the response of near surfaceaerosol properties to land- and sea-breezecirculations, associated with the changes in the prevailing synoptic meteorological conditions, are examined for a tropical coastal station. Aerosol properties are nearly similar in both the breeze regimes (land and sea) during seasons of marine airmass while they are distinct during seasons of continental airmass. As the prevailing winds shift from continental to marine and the ambient weather changes from winter conditions to the humid monsoon season, the submicron mode, which dominated the aerosol mass-size distribution, is largely suppressed and the dominance of the super micron mode increases. During periods of continental air mass (winter), the aerosol loading is significantly higher in the land-breeze regime, (particularly in the submicron range) but as the winds shift to marine, the loading initially becomes insensitive to the breeze regimes and later becomes higher in the sea-breeze regime, particularly in the super micron range.     

Triaxial stress state deep in orogenic belts: an example from Turkey

A rare metachert pebble containing amphibole grains with microboudin structures in a wide range of orientations provides an opportunity to perform stress analysis in two orthogonal orientations on the foliation surface. The sample was analysed by the microboudin method to infer the triaxial stress state during microboudinage. Stress parameters proportional to the far-field differential stress were determined for sodic amphibole grains in the two orientations. The ratio of the stresses in the two orthogonal orientations (σ₁−σ₂)/(σ₁−σ₃) was calculated to be 0.64, indicating that σ₂ lies closer to the midpoint between σ₁ and σ₃ than to σ₃.     

Quartz and feldspar zoning in the eastern Erzgebirge volcano-plutonic complex (Germany, Czech Republic): evidence of multiple magma mixing

Zoned quartz and feldspar phenocrysts of the Upper Carboniferous eastern Erzgebirge volcano-plutonic complex were studied by cathodoluminescence and minor and trace element profiling. The results verify the suitability of quartz and feldspar phenocrysts as recorders of differentiation trends, magma mixing and recharge events, and suggest that much heterogeneity in plutonic systems may be overlooked on a whole-rock scale. Multiple resorption surfaces and zones, element concentration steps in zoned quartz (Ti) and feldspar phenocrysts (anorthite content, Ba, Sr), and plagioclase-mantled K-feldspars etc. indicate mixing of silicic magma with a more mafic magma for several magmatic phases of the eastern Erzgebirge volcano-plutonic complex. Generally, feldspar appears to be sensitive to the physicochemical changes of the melt, whereas quartz phenocrysts are more stable and can survive a longer period of evolution and final effusion of silicic magmas. The regional distribution of mixing-compatible textures suggests that magma mingling and mixing was a major process in the evolution of these late-Variscan granites and associated volcanic rocks.

Quartz phenocrysts from 14 magmatic phases of the eastern Erzgebirge volcano-plutonic complex provide information on the relative timing of different mixing processes, storage and recharge, allowing a model for the distribution of magma reservoirs in space and time. At least two levels of magma storage are envisioned: deep reservoirs between 24 and 17 km (the crystallisation level of quartz phenocrysts) and subvolcanic reservoirs between 13 and 6 km. Deflation of the shallow reservoirs during the extrusion of the Teplice rhyolites triggered the formation of the Altenberg-Teplice caldera above the eastern Erzgebirge volcano-plutonic complex. The deep magma reservoir of the Teplice rhyolite also has a genetic relationship to the younger mineralised A-type granites, as indicated by quartz phenocryst populations. The pre-caldera biotite granites and the rhyodacitic Schönfeld volcanic rocks represent temporally and spatially separate magma sources. However, the deep magma reservoir of both is assumed to have been at a depth of 24–17 km. The drastic chemical contrast between the pre-caldera Schönfeld (Westfalian B–C) and the syn-caldera Teplice (Westfalian C–D) volcanic rocks is related to the change from late-orogenic geotectonic environment to post-orogenic faulting, and is considered an important chronostratigraphic marker.     

The influence of stress history on the grain size and microstructure of experimentally deformed quartzite

Deformation of middle crustal shear zones likely varies with time as a result of the stress build-up and release associated with earthquakes and post-seismic deformation, but the processes involved and their microstructural signature in the rock record are poorly understood. We conducted a series of experiments on quartzite at 900 °C to characterize microstructures associated with changes in stress and strain rate, and to investigate the feasibility of carrying out grain size piezometry in natural rocks that experienced analogous changes. Differential stress (referred to simply as “stress”) was varied in two-stage experiments by changing strain rate and by stopping the motor and allowing stress to relax. The two-stage samples preserve a microstructural record that can be interpreted quantitatively in terms of stress history. The microstructure associated with a stress increase is a bimodal distribution of recrystallized grain sizes. The smaller grains associated with the second deformation stage accurately record the stress of the second stage, and the surviving coarse grains remain similar in size to those formed during the earlier stage. The transient microstructure associated with stress decrease is a “partial foam” texture containing a larger concentration of stable 120° triple junctions than occur in samples deformed at a relatively constant strain rate. Our results indicate that microstructures preserved in rocks that experienced relatively simple, two-stage deformation histories can be used to quantitatively assess stress histories.Grain growth rates during deformation are similar to rates observed in previous isostatic growth experiments, supporting theoretical approaches to recrystallized grain size, such as the wattmeter theory (Austin and Evans, 2007), that incorporate static growth rates. From an analysis of the experimental data for quartz recrystallized grain size, we find: 1) Recrystallized grain size quickly reaches a value consistent with ambient deformation conditions. We argue that this explains a good match between average grain sizes predicted by the wattmeter after complete recrystallization and the recrystallized grain sizes of the experiments. 2) The present formulation of the wattmeter overestimates the rates at which porphyroclasts recrystallize by as much as an order of magnitude, and 3) owing to problems with extrapolation of grain growth data for quartz, the wattmeter is not presently applicable to natural samples deformed at low temperatures. We present a simplified flow law for quartz, and suggest that the change in slope of the quartz piezometer at high stress (regime 1) is related to a switch to a linear viscous rheology.     

Short-lived polyphase deformation during crustal thickening and exhumation of a collisional orogen (Ribeira Belt,Brazil)

The Ribeira Belt (Brazil) is a Neoproterozoic collisional-related feature that was located in a south-central position in West Gondwana. We present quantitative data on finite strain, flow vorticity and deformation temperatures for the Curitiba Terrane, a major segment of the southern Ribeira Belt. Six deformation phases (D₁-D₆) related with crustal thickening and exhumation were recognized. D₁ and D₂-related microstructures are preserved exclusively within porphyroblasts, in part grown during stages of high-pressure (∼9–12 kbar) isobaric heating after crustal thickening. D₃ phase was active from peak metamorphism attained in contrasting crustal levels (810–400 °C), to the early stage of exhumation (500–400 °C), as indicated by petrological, microstructural and quartz c-axis fabric evidence. Kinematic vorticity results indicate that the SL₃ mylonitic fabric resulted from a simple shear-dominated deformation related with westward thrusting. North-verging overturned D₄ folds with E-W-trending subhorizontal axes derived from a pure shear-dominated deformation. Regional D₅ open folds with subvertical axes and NNE-SSW-trending traces were produced by indentation tectonics. D₆ phase comprises retrograde orogen-parallel transcurrent shear zones related with scape tectonics. Geochronological data indicate that D₃-D₆ phases occurred between 584 and 580 Ma, suggesting a fast exhumation rate of ∼8 mm/year for the deepest rocks from the southern Ribeira Belt.     

延边开山屯花岗闪长岩-石英闪长岩体年代学、地球化学特征及对古太平洋板块俯冲作用时限的制约

近年来古太平洋构造域的构造演化备受学者关注。本文报道的延边开山屯地区花岗闪长岩-石英闪长岩体LAICP-MS U-Pb年龄表明其形成时间为早侏罗世早期(198±1Ma),所采样品可根据Zr/Hf值分为高Zr/Hf值组花岗闪长岩和低Zr/Hf值组石英闪长岩。高Zr/Hf值组花岗闪长岩起源深度浅,富集Rb、Th、U、K等大离子亲石元素(LILEs),贫Nb、Ta、Ti等高场强元素(HFSEs),具壳源岩浆的特点。低Zr/Hf值组为壳源岩浆与来自深部的亏损地幔岩浆混合而成,岩石亏损Nb、Ta、Zr、Hf、Ti等高场强元素,具有典型的弧型岩浆地球化学特征。岩体中存在细粒闪长质包体,镜下可见针柱状磷灰石。开山屯岩体属钙碱性系列岩石,结合前人资料,认为其与该地区同时代火成岩组成北-东向分布的早侏罗世活动大陆边缘型火成岩带,而位于该带西侧的小兴安岭-张广才岭地区存在同时代弧后拉张带,两者构成典型的大陆弧与弧后拉张带模型,共同揭示了早侏罗世早期古太平洋板块对东北地区的俯冲作用。     

Advances and Issues in Luminescence Dating of Loess Deposits in Arid Central Asia

High-resolution loess deposits are widely distributed in Arid Central Asia (ACA) and provide important records associated with dust transportation, paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic evolution. The chronology is the foundation of the research into loess deposits as an environmental archive. In recent decades, the gradually developed optical dating method has been increasingly matured and become an important approach to establishing the loess-paleosol sequences. Here, we summarized and discussed previous work on loess chronology mainly based on optical dating approach in ACA. The following understandings have been listed: ① In comparison with optical dating method, the suitable material for ¹⁴C dating is uncommon in ACA. However, the dating range of luminescence dating is more extensive, and the dating materials are accessible. Thus, the optical dating is widely applicable in the establishment of loess framework in this area. ② Until now, the quartz Single Aliquot Regeneration (SAR) method can be applied to the establishment of loess-paleosol sequence since last glacial period. But several issues remain unaddressed. For example, the Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) signal sensitivity of quartz grains are low in some areas. Furthermore, the results of OSL dating of different grain sizes within a single sample are inconsistent in some areas. The solution of these problems still requires more methodological research. ③ The post-IR IRSL (pIRIR) and multiple elevated temperature stimulation (MET-pIRIR) protoCols of feldspar have basically overcome the anomalous fading issue in the traditional IRSL dating process. In ACA, the framework since MIS 7 can be established with K-feldspar luminescence dating method. Compared with quartz luminescence characteristics, the K-feldspar luminescence signals are more sensitive and exhibit a high saturation level. In specific applications, it is necessary to establish the age frame according to the luminescence sensitivity, the age of samples or other factors.     

湘东桐木山云英岩型锡矿床锡石及共生石英中流体包裹体研究

桐木山云英岩型锡矿床是湘东锡田锡多金属矿田中一个典型矿床,在详尽的野外考察、矿石结构观察以及流体包裹体岩相学研究的基础上,采用流体包裹体组合的研究方法,利用冷热台、激光拉曼等测试手段,对矿床中锡石中流体包裹体进行直接测定,同时开展与锡石共生的石英及切割矿体的后期石英脉石英中流体包裹体对比研究。结果显示,锡石中流体包裹体的组分、均一温度、盐度与共生的石英存在明显差异,表明锡石与石英形成的P-T-X条件不同。切割矿体的石英脉为成岩成矿后流体作用的产物。与锡石形成相关的流体为中高温、中低盐度的Na Cl-H_2O流体体系,与石英形成相关的流体为复杂的含碳流体。流体体系的冷却作用及流体与围岩的反应可能是导致锡石沉淀的主要因素,与石英形成相关的流体在演化过程中则经历了明显的流体不混溶作用。     

鲁北新生代隐伏火山岩及其石油地质意义

鲁北新生代隐伏火山岩可划分为3个喷发期6个亚期,9种火山岩岩石类型和同期侵入的辉绿岩。它们形成在近大陆边缘的板内裂谷型盆地,对于富有机质生油岩的沉积、各种储集体的形成、多种含油圈闭类型的形成以及有机质成熟向烃类转化都是非常有利的。作为储集岩主要有玄武安山岩、辉绿岩和湖底玄武质凝灰岩。储油空间主要为次生孔隙和裂缝。火山岩及其有关岩石在本区不仅形成了特殊的油气藏,而且还可作为盖层、封堵层、披复构造的基岩,因此对石油地质勘探有重要意义。