Carboniferous Post-collisional Rift Volcanism of the Tianshan Mountains, Northwestern China

The Tianshan Carboniferous post-collisional rift volcanic rocks occur in northwestern China as a large igneous province. Based on petrogeochemical data, the Tianshan Carboniferous post-collisional rift basic lavas can be classified into two major magma types: (1) the low-Ti/Y type situated in the eastern-central Tianshan area, which exhibits low Ti/Y (<500), Ce/Yb (<15) and SiO2 (43-55%), and relatively high Fe2O3T (6.4-11.5%); (2) the high-Ti/Y type situated in the western Tianshan area, which has high Ti/Y (>500), Ce/Yb (>11) and SiO2 (49-55%), and relatively low Fe2O3T (5.8-7.8%). Elemental data suggest that chemical variations of the low-Ti/Y and high-Ti/Y lavas cannot be explained by fractional crystallization from a common parental magma. The Tianshan Carboniferous basic lavas originated most likely from an OIB-like asthenospheric mantle source (87Sr/86Sr(t) ≈ 0.703-0.705, εNd(t) ≈ +4 to +7). The crustal contamination and continental lithospheric mantle have also contributed significantly to the formation of the basic lavas of the Tianshan Carboniferous post-collisional rift. The silicic lavas were probably generated by partial melting of the crust. The data of this study show that spatial petrogeochemical variations exist in the Carboniferous post-collisional rift volcanics province in the Tianshan region. Occurrence of the thickest volcanics dominated by tholeiitic lavas may imply that the center of the mantle-melting anomaly (mantle plume) was in the eastern Tianshan area at that time. The basic volcanic magmas in the eastern Tianshan area were generated by a relatively high degree of partial melting of the mantle source around the spinel-garnet transition zone, whereas the alkaline basaltic lavas are of the dominant magma type in the western Tianshan area, which were generated by a low degree of partial melting of the mantle source within the stable garnet region, thus the basic lavas of the western Tianshan area might have resulted from relatively thick lithosphere and low geothermal gradient.     

Physical modelling of deformation in the Tasman Orogenic Zone

Structural vergence within the Western Subprovince of the Lachlan Fold Belt is towards the hinterland rather than the foreland, in contrast to many well-known orogenic belts. High angle-reverse faults and upright folds verge eastwards, away from the Australian craton, towards the inferred centre of orogenic and magmatic activity. We designed a series of analogue models to test the anomalous vergence in the western Lachlan Fold Belt, particularly the interaction of a stable Australian craton with Tasman Line geometry, interacting with weaker oceanic or transitional lithospheric material. We found consistently that vergence direction in the models was towards the hinterland, not the foreland, as in the western Lachlan Fold Belt, irrespective of the way the model was deformed. Strength gradients between the oceanic and cratonic lithosphere control the deformation patterns. An important result of the models is that they demonstrate that fold belts with different vergences can be generated without the requirement of subducting oceanic lithosphere.     

青藏及邻区新生代火山活动及构造演化

青藏高原是现今地球动力学和地质演化研究的一个热点。该区火山活动受中 -新生代以来高原深部地球物理 -化学反应的控制 ,是多种因素相互作用所表现的形式和结果。本区既有富钾质的 (主导 ) ,也有富钠质的火山岩 (次要 ) ;既有喷发熔岩流 (主导 ) ,也有一些浅源上侵的次火山岩体 ;火山活动发育在古近纪、新近纪与第四纪 ,而最强烈的发生在中新世期间。本区钠质和钾质两类火山岩在形成环境和时代上有很大的差异 :前者一般发育在古新世—始新世 (6 0～ 4 0MaBP) ,而后者主要形成在渐新世—中新世 (30～ 10MaBP) ;存在着钠质—钾质—酸性次火山岩的演化过程 ;大体上可划分为西羌塘、北羌塘、可可西里、中昆仑、西昆仑等 5个火山岩省。本文对比了青藏高原及邻区甘肃礼县和云南三岩区 (金沙江北段、腾冲和滇东南地区 )新生代火山岩的岩石组合、同位素年代学以及地球化学特征 ,大量的证据表明 ,这些火山岩形成在原始地幔、或“壳 -幔过渡带”或陆壳基底等源区。在实际考察和综合研究的基础上 ,探讨了岩石圈的区域构造特征及其与高原隆升的关系等     

由卫星和航空磁测成果推断中国岩石圈的磁性特征

根据前人所得卫星和航磁异常解释结果，作者的综合研究表明：(1)在塔里木、四川和松辽盒地，地壳呈强磁性，至少可分为两层，上层磁化强度为1A／m，下层为2A／m或更强一些。在上述盆地中央，地幔顶部约10km厚，也是强磁性的，此外，在南中国海，地壳和地幔顶部也是强磁性的，卫星磁异常的源位于上述部位。(2)西藏高原，中国东南沿海一带以及其他一些褶皱带之下，地壳是弱磁性的，磁性层在地表以下30km以内，磁化强度约0.66A/m。特别要指出的是，在东南沿海一带，磁性层底面和莫霍面重合，而居里等温面恰在莫霍面之下，因此这个带可能是Wasilewsky PJ等提出的“莫霍面是一个磁性界面”的一例。     

Study on Eogene Basalts: Implication of the Deep Process over the Bohaiwan Basin Evolution

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The effects of the spinel—garnet phase transition on the formation of rifted sedimentary basins

We have examined the effects of the spinel-garnet phase transition on subsidence of extensional sedimentary basins. For a constant positive Clapeyron slope ( dP/dT ), the phase boundary moves downwards in the syn-rift and upwards in the post-rift phase. For a non-linear Clapeyron curve ( dP/dT > 0 above 900°C and dP/dT < 0 below 900°C), theory predicts for the reaction of the spinel-garnet phase transition, the direction of phase boundary movement is dependent on the stretching factor, the position of the Clapeyron curve and the lithospheric thickness. A smaller syn-rift and larger post-rift subsidence are predicted for a deeper phase boundary and a thicker lithosphere. The model with a non-linear Clapeyron curve is applied to the subsidence histories of a young extensional basin (Gulf of Lion) and an old continental margin (eastern Canada). The observed syn-rift uplift and the larger post-rift subsidence can be reasonably explained by this model, where the optimum depth of the phase boundary for eastern Canada (˜90 km) is consistent with the estimate from seismic observations and is larger than that for the Gulf of Lion (˜ 50 km). The depth of the spinel-garnet phase boundary is sensitive to the composition of mantle rocks and increases with the extraction of basaltic components from the lithosphere, compatible with our result that the phase boundary is deeper for an older and thicker lithosphere. Thus the surface movement associated with the rifting for these areas may reflect the chemical evolution of the continental lithosphere.