The dominant driving force for supercontinent breakup: Plume push or subduction retreat?

Understanding the dominant force responsible for supercontinent breakup is crucial for establishing Earth's geodynamic evolution that includes supercontinent cycles and plate tectonics. Conventionally,two forces have been considered: the push by mantle plumes from the sub-continental mantle which is called the active force for breakup, and the dragging force from oceanic subduction retreat which is called the passive force for breakup. However, the relative importance of these two forces is unclear. Here we model the supercontinent breakup coupled with global mantle convection in order to address this question. Our global model features a spherical harmonic degree-2 structure, which includes a major subduction girdle and two large upwelling(superplume) systems. Based on this global mantle structure,we examine the distribution of extensional stress applied to the supercontinent by both subsupercontinent mantle upwellings and subduction retreat at the supercontinent peripheral. Our results show that:(1) at the center half of the supercontinent, plume push stress is ～3 times larger than the stress induced by subduction retreat;(2) an average hot anomaly of no higher than 50 K beneath the supercontinent can produce a push force strong enough to cause the initialization of supercontinent breakup;(3) the extensional stress induced by subduction retreat concentrates on a ～600 km wide zone on the boundary of the supercontinent, but has far less impact to the interior of the supercontinent. We therefore conclude that although circum-supercontinent subduction retreat assists supercontinent breakup, sub-supercontinent mantle upwelling is the essential force.     

塔里木北缘库鲁克塔格地区新元古代花岗岩LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb年龄、地球化学特征及其构造意义

采用LA-ICP-MS法分析了塔里木北缘库鲁克塔格一带二长花岗岩锆石U-Pb年龄,获得该二长花岗岩岩体的年龄为(832.3±3.3)Ma(MSWD=2.8,n=24)。岩石地球化学特征显示,二长花岗岩属于准铝质高钾钙碱性系列,为I型花岗岩。微量元素富集大离子亲石元素(LILE)Ba、K、Sr、U等,亏损高场强元素(HFSE)Nb、Ta、Ti、P等;稀土元素总体含量较低(29.88×10^-6~63.57×10^-6),具有弱Eu正异常(δEu=0.87~1.39),整体配分模式与下地壳一致。结合区域地质背景对岩浆岩地球化学特征进行综合分析,认为二长花岗岩形成于岛弧环境。区域构造演化特征指示832 Ma该区洋壳已经开始俯冲,使得这一地区的地壳加厚,同时地幔柱的上涌加热作用导致古老地壳物质发生部分熔融而形成该期花岗岩。     

梵净山区新元古界下部喀斯特不整合的确认及其地质意义

本文描述了梵净山区新元古界下部鸟叶组与甲路组之间的喀斯特不整合的空间分布、地质特征，从而进一步确认了它的存在；指出该不整合是格林威尔碰撞造山之后强烈隆升的产物，代表了Rodinia超大陆在新元古代裂解前地壳经历的隆起并遭受剥蚀侵蚀的历程，从而对研究该时期地层的空间变异、沉积环境，特别是探讨Rodinia超大陆岩相演化都具有重要的科学意义。     

龙胜地区镁铁质侵入体:年龄及其地质意义

对镁铁质侵入体进行了单颗粒锆石U-Pb年代学和Sm-Nd同位素示踪研究。结果表明:镁铁质侵入体是起源于长期亏损地幔源区的岩浆在760Ma侵位结晶的产物,其侵位过程中遭受地壳物质的混染。该年龄结果限定了丹洲群地层的沉积上限年龄,并为龙胜地区不存在蛇绿岩套的认识提供重要的年代学制约。镁铁质岩浆的形成、侵位可能与Rodinia超大陆～825Ma裂解之后的另一次裂解事件相联系。     

Rodinia超大陆构造演化研究的新进展和主要目标

概略评述了1997年以来国际上有关Rodinia超大陆构造演化问题的研究成果，并提出今后工作的主要目标。Rodinia超大陆的聚合造山发生在1300－1000Ma，基本形式表现为早期弧一陆碰撞和晚期陆－陆碰撞，并在1000－900Ma继以伸展作用。Rodinia超大陆的裂解发生于830Ma之后，但其过程具有明显的时，空分布不均一性，地幔柱可能是导致超大陆裂解的主要机制，大火成岩省”是地幔柱发育的关键性标志，已经初步证实裂解过程影响地球大气圈和水圈中二氧化碳的循环，进而改变晚前寒武纪的全球气候，控制生物圈的兴衰和岩石圈表层的碳酸盐，铁，锰和磷等沉积，这些现象可用“雪球化地球”（Snowball Earth)模式概括。     

梵净山区格林威尔期造山带与Rodinia超大陆

贵州梵净山区有保存完好、发育齐全的中元古代的地质记录 ,是扬子陆块晚前寒武地质研究的理想场所和重要窗口。现有地质和同位素年代学等资料表明 ,该区存在格林威尔期造山带 ,其形成时间为ca 10 0 0Ma±。它同原始江南造山带一起成为华南Rodinia超大陆的组成部分 ;对其进行探讨 ,必将促进我国Rodinia超大陆聚合、裂解及其演化的研究 ,并具有重大的科学意义。     

Onset of seafloor spreading in the Iapetus Ocean at 608 Ma: precise age of the Sarek Dyke Swarm, northern Swedish Caledonides

The Sarek Dyke Swarm (SDS) crops out in the Sarektjåkkå Nappe (SN) of the Seve-Kalak Superterrane in the northern Swedish Caledonides. The SN has two main components: (1) a 4–5 km thick succession of rift-related sedimentary rocks, which is intruded by (2) a suite of tholeiitic dykes (the SDS) constituting 70–80% of the nappe. The nappe was deformed during Caledonian thrusting, but dykes and sedimentary rocks in the interior of the eastern parts of the SN are preserved in a pristine state. The tholeiitic dykes of the SDS commonly occur in sheeted dyke complexes, and up to 11 successive generations can be identified from crosscutting relations. The SN represents the fossil continent–ocean transition between the Baltic craton and the Iapetus Ocean, marking the initiation of seafloor spreading. Bubble-shaped pods and veinlets of diorite are present in the SDS sheeted dyke complexes. The pods are absent in the oldest dykes, but the younger a dyke, the more frequent the pods. The diorite pods are the equivalent of gabbro pegmatites, and both cogenetic and coeval with the dykes. The rapid successive emplacement of tholeiitic magma raised the ambient temperature in the dyke complex, so that crystallization in the youngest dykes mimicked similar processes in gabbro plutons. Six zircon fractions, from the diorite pods including two single grains, were analysed geochronologically by the U–Pb thermal ionization mass spectrometry method. The data yield a linear array of points that are 0.4–0.8% normally discordant, indicating a crystallization age of 608±1 Ma (²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb=607.9±0.7 Ma, MSWD=0.33). This age is inferred to date the onset of seafloor spreading in the Iapetus Ocean along the Baltoscandian margin.     

早期碰撞造山过程与板块构造：前寒武纪地质研究的机遇和挑战

普遍认为修正后的板块构造模式仍适用于新太古代地质研究，但是早期板块构造过程与后期有明显差异，包括陆块规模、造山带类型、碰撞造山过程等。典型碰撞造山带在地史上的初次形成具有划时代的构造演化意义，涉及典型板块构造初始发生过程、最早超级大陆拼合、威尔逊旋回及板块碰撞造山过程等方面。华北中部保留一条近南北向的碰撞造山带（2 600~2 500 Ma BP），保留特征的巨型复式褶皱、不同层次推覆构造、蛇绿岩混杂带等。围绕华北中部造山带及其25亿年重大构造热事件的研究，对认识华北早期构造演化及其超大陆再造具有重要意义，也是早期板块构造研究的关键突破口之一，开展其不同地壳层次构造变形及其前陆盆地的研究，将深化早期板块边界及其造山过程的科学认识。     

中国与蒙古之地质

按照构造单元和构造阶段讨论中国和蒙古的演化史。中国前寒武纪地壳演化可分3大阶段:陆核的聚结(2·8Ga);原地台在吕梁运动中固结和侧向增生(1·8Ga);地台在晋宁运动中固化拼合成华夏超大陆(830Ma)。晋宁运动后,中国和蒙古以离散大陆和洋盆并存为特征,至早古生代末聚合为中国和北蒙古两个古大陆。晚古生代时,斋桑—南蒙古—兴安和乌拉尔—天山两大海域陆续消减,形成了海西期的主缝合带。中国蒙古各地块大致于印支运动末期(210Ma)重新聚合,成为劳亚超大陆,即二叠纪—三叠纪泛大陆北支的一部分。印支期后大阶段的特征是泛大陆裂解和大西洋扩张导致了环太平洋域的出现,这一新的构造型式使中国由南北部之间的差异转变为东西部之间的差异。中国东部,也包含蒙古在内,在中—新生代基本上处于张性构造状态,发育张裂盆地和大陆内部火山活动;而在中国西部,中—新生代的构造发展过程则表现为亲冈瓦纳诸地块陆续向北增生拼贴到古亚洲大陆之上。这个过程最终导致了青藏高原在中新世至第四纪的迅速上隆。     

LA-ICPMS U-Pb Ages of Zircon from Metaleucosomes, Olongbuluke Microcontinent, North Qaidam, and Implications on the Response to the Global Rodinia Supercontinent Assembly Event in NW China

INTRODUCTION The Olongbuluke microcontinent , which wasdisintegratedfromthe northern margin of the Qaidamblock (Lu,2002) ,is composed of a two-fold base-ment with cover strata . The lower basement is themedium- to high-grade Delingha complex and theDakendaban Group, and the upper is the low-gradeWandonggou Group. The Wandonggou Group of theupper basement experienced a Late Mesoproterozoicmetamorphic event (see Yu et al .,1994) ,consistentwith the early isotopic geochronological respo…