Revisiting Sustainable Development of Dry Valleys in Hengduan Mountains Region

Dry valleys are a striking geographic landscape in Hengduan Mountains Region and are characterized by low rainfall, desert type of vegetation and fragile environment. Past efforts and resources have been concentrated mainly on rehabilitation of degraded ecosystem and fragile environment, particularly reforestation, while socio-economic development has been largely overlooked. Despite successes in pocket areas, the overall trend of unsustainability and environmental deterioration are continuing. It is important to understand that uplift of the Tibetan Plateau is the root cause of development of dry valleys, and development and formation of dry valleys is a natural process. Human intervention has played a secondary role in development of dry valleys and degradation of dry valleys though human intervention in many cases has speeded up environmental degradation of the dry valleys. It is important to understand that dry valleys are climatic enclaves and an integrated approach that combines rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems and socio-economic development should be adopted if the overall goal of sustainable development of dry valleys is to be achieved. Promotion of niche-based cash crops, rural energy including hydropower, solar energy, biogas and fuelwood plantation is recommended as the priority activities.     

西秦岭温泉花岗岩体岩石学特征及岩浆混合标志

温泉花岗岩体由酸性端元的寄主岩石和暗色微细粒镁铁质包体群及基性岩墙群组成。无岩浆混合作用或岩浆混合作用较弱区段，寄主岩石以似斑状二长花岗岩为主．显示正常的花岗岩结构构造岩浆混合作用强烈区段。岩石的异常结构构造十分发育．矿物之间自形程度差异显著．常见包晶反应、包含结构、交代边、熔蚀边、交代蚕食的港湾状结构构造及交代缝合线、矿物镶边、斜长石异常环带和矿物残留等，多见指示岩浆混合的标志性矿物针状磷灰石。暗色微粒包体中多见寄主二长花岗岩中的捕掳晶。包体的形态、结构构造以及与寄主岩石强烈地成分交换等均是岩浆混合作用的标志。     

湖南骑田岭花岗岩及其暗色微粒包体的地球化学与壳幔岩浆的混合作用

骑田岭岩体是南岭地区燕山早期具幔源组分贡献的花岗岩典型代表。其主体岩性为角闪黑云二长花岗岩和(角闪石)黑云正长花岗岩,其中发育暗色微粒包体和由暗色矿物组成的团块或条带。暗色微粒包体具有岩浆混合的大部分岩相学证据。如包体的浑圆状外形、塑性形变、冷凝边、斜长石An的“双峰式”分布、似环斑长石、针状磷灰石等。包体属于准铝质(A/KNC=0.72～1.00,平均0.85)钾玄岩系列岩石,寄主岩石为准铝或弱过铝质(A/KNC=0.89～1.06,平均0.97)高钾钙碱性系列的岩石。二者在主量和微量元素上表现出岩浆混合成因的演化趋势。包体与寄主岩石的同位素组成具趋同性,它们的ISr和εNd(t)值分别为0.71041～0.71263、-6.9～-5.3和0.70854～0.71416、-9.2～-5.1,均表现出壳幔混源花岗岩类岩石的特点。包体K-Ar年龄为152Ma,与其寄主岩石的形成年龄(155～161Ma)接近,显示岩浆混合作用发生的时间大致为晚侏罗世早期。对包体及其寄主岩石产出的构造背景和地球化学特征的综合分析表明,该岩体中的暗色微粒包体是在伸展作用的大地构造背景下,上涌的幔源基性岩浆及其诱发的长英质酸性岩浆混合作用的产物。     

湘东北中生代基性岩脉岩石地球化学及构造意义

湘东北中生代发育以辉绿岩类和煌斑岩类为代表的基性岩脉,属陆内拉斑玄武岩系,部分煌斑岩属于碱性系列。岩石富集LREE,δEu负异常不明显,其形成主要受软流圈地幔部分熔融作用制约。煌斑岩类微量元素总体上具有洋岛玄武岩(OIB)岩浆源区特征,富集Nd、P、Cs而K、Rb、Sr、U、Th等富集程度不明显,Ta、Nb略有富集。辉绿岩类表现出Ta、Nb、Ti亏损,但LILE并不富集,反映地壳混染程度的增强。基性岩脉形成于陆内拉张带的构造环境,岩浆活动未受到中生代大洋板块俯冲的影响。基性岩脉在时、空及物质组成上与湘东南玄武质岩石基本一致,属于整个湘东南岩石圈拉张-减薄带的一部分。     

岩浆混合作用——来自甘肃北山的野外证据

在 1∶2 5万马鬃山幅区调填图和方法研究工作中 ,通过观察到的一些与岩浆混合模式相关的现象 ,指出暗色微粒镁铁质包体是岩浆混合作用的有利证据 ,讨论了与花岗岩侵入体相关的镁铁质小岩体混合成因的可能性 ,认为岩浆混合作用在造山带岩浆活动中是一种极为普遍的现象。     

Aeromagnetic signatures over western Marie Byrd Land provide insight into magmatic arc basement, mafic magmatism and structure of the Eastern Ross Sea Rift flank

Aeromagnetic signatures over the Edward VII Peninsula (E7) provide new insight into the largely ice-covered and unexplored eastern flank of the Ross Sea Rift (RSR). Positive anomalies, 10–40 km in wavelength and with amplitudes ranging from 50 to 500 nT could reveal buried Late Devonian(?)–Early Carboniferous Ford Granodiorite plutons. This is suggested by similar magnetic signature over exposed, coeval Admiralty Intrusives of the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM). Geochemical data from mid-Cretaceous Byrd Coast Granite, contact metamorphic effects on Swanson Formation and hornblende-bearing granitoid dredge samples strengthen this magnetic interpretation, making alternative explanations less probable. These magnetic anomalies over formerly adjacent TAM and western Marie Byrd Land (wMBL) terranes resemble signatures typically observed over magnetite-rich magmatic arc plutons. Shorter wavelength (5 km) 150 nT anomalies could speculatively mark mid-Cretaceous mafic dikes of the E7, similar to those exposed over the adjacent Ford Ranges. Anomalies with amplitudes of 100–360 nT over the Sulzberger Bay and at the margin of the Sulzberger Ice Shelf likely reveal mafic Late Cenozoic(?) volcanic rocks emplaced along linear rift fabric trends. Buried volcanic rock at the margin of the interpreted half-graben-like “Sulzberger Ice Shelf Block” is modelled in the Kizer Island area. The volcanic rock is marked by a coincident positive Bouguer gravity anomaly. Late Cenozoic volcanic rocks over the TAM, in the RSR, and beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet exhibit comparable magnetic anomaly signature reflecting regional West Antarctic Rift fabric. Interpreted mafic magmatism of the E7 is likely related to mid-Cretaceous and Late Cenozoic regional crustal extension and possible mantle plume activity over wMBL. Magnetic lineaments of the E7 are enhanced in maximum horizontal gradient of pseudo-gravity, vertical derivative and 3D Euler Deconvolution maps. Apparent vertical offsets in magnetic basement at the location of the lineaments and spatially associated mafic dikes and volcanic rocks result from 2.5D magnetic modelling. A rift-related fault origin for the magnetic lineaments, segmenting the E7 region into horst and graben blocks, is proposed by comparison with offshore seismic reflection, marine gravity, on-land gravity, radio-echo sounding, apatite fission track data and structural geology. The NNW magnetic lineament, which we interpret to mark the eastern RSR shoulder, forms the western margin of the “Alexandra Mountains horst”. This fundamental aeromagnetic feature lies on strike with the Colbeck Trough, a prominent NNW half-graben linked to Late Cretaceous(?) and Cenozoic(?) faulting in the eastern RSR. East–west and north–north–east to NE magnetic trends are also imaged. Magnetic trends, if interpreted as reflecting the signature of rift-related normal faults, would imply N–S to NE crustal extension followed by later northwest–southeast directed extension. NW–SE extension would be compatible with Cenozoic(?) oblique RSR rifting. Previous structural data from the Ford Ranges have, however, been interpreted to indicate that both Cretaceous and Cenozoic extensions were N–S to NE–SW directed.     

太行山南段早元古代基性脉岩的~(40)Ar-~(39)Ar年代学及其构造意义

针对华北克拉通中部地区(即Zhaoetal.(2001)称之的中部带)内元古代未变形变质基性岩墙群重要组成部分的太行山南段基性岩脉开展了较为系统的40Ar-39Ar年代学研究,研究结果表明:区内三条NWW或NNE走向的基性岩脉(99JX-16、99JX-65、99JX-71)在>80%的39Ar累积量基础上分别给出了1765.3±1.1Ma,1774.7±0.7Ma,1780.7±0.5Ma的坪谱年龄。1781～1765Ma的年龄限定了区内基性岩脉的侵位年龄,该年龄也一致于恒山NWW向未变形基性岩脉1769.1±2.5Ma的单颗粒锆石U-Pb年龄。上述资料较好地约束了华北陆块早元古代基性岩脉的形成年龄。这为深入理解华北陆块1800Ma左右的热构造事件和华北早前寒武纪构造演化提供新的年代学资料。     

西准噶尔紫苏花岗岩成因岩石学研究

紫苏花岗岩呈岩体形式侵入于石炭纪地层中．又为碱长花岗岩侵入．紫苏花岗岩由斜方辉石、单斜辉石、铁橄榄石、条纹长石、石英组成．以正εNd为特征(εNd= 4．8- 5．8)矿物组成、结构和野外产状表明：这些紫苏花岗岩是火成成因的．温压计算估测其结晶条件是T=700～800℃，P=420～575kPa．紫苏花岗岩中有小的富云母包体和巨大的条带状捕虏体．前被认为是残留体，后与其围岩．火山碎屑岩相当．残留体中较低的εNd正值(εNd= 2．6- 3．5)要求新生的下部地壳是紫苏花岗岩的主要源岩：来自这些源岩的紫苏花岗岩的母岩浆在结晶前与一些来自于亏损地幔中的融体混合．该地区体积巨大的碱性花岗岩可能也来自相同的岩浆源，只不过它是在较浅的地壳深度上结晶的．     

Processing and interpretation of the gravity field of the East African Rift: implication for crustal extension

Compilation of new and existing gravity data were undertaken to assess the nature of the crust beneath the East African Rift System. Using 3D gravity modeling code crustal model of gravity profiles across two sectors of the rift were computed. The results are discussed in light of the structure of the rift system.The results of the 3D modeling of gravity profiles across the two rift zones revealed northward thinning of the crust. The maximum crustal attenuation occurs beneath the Afar depression, indicating the Afar rift undergoes an intense fragmentation of the crust resulting from faulting and magmatic activity. However, our computed crustal thickness below the Afar depression falls within an upper bound compared to elsewhere below tectonically active rift zones. This can be explained in terms of crustal accretion resulting from an impact of the Afar mantle plume since 30 Ma ago.The residual gravity obtained using high-cut filtering techniques reveals significant density contrast between the northern and southern sectors of the rift. The northern part of the rift is characterized by regular patterns of positive gravity anomalies, which can be interpreted in terms of a zone of crustal thinning through which relatively dense materials have intruded the overlying crust. In contrast, south of the Main Ethiopian Rift, the anomalies are characterized by random patterns and low amplitudes. The along-rift-axis variation in gravity anomalies implies that the style of crustal deformation changed progressively, beginning with regionally distributed crustal deformation, such as the one we observe within the more juvenile and wider southern segment of the rift, to localized deformation within the active and narrow rift zones of the northern sector of the Ethiopian Rift. We suggest that the key parameters controlling along-rift-axis variation in gravity anomalies are the rate of crustal extension, faulting and magmatic activities.     

Timing of Magma Mixing in the Gangdisě Magmatic Belt during the India-Asia Collision： Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb Dating

Abstract  Abundant mafic microgranular enclaves (MMEs) extensively distribute in granitoids in the Gangdisê giant magmatic belt, within which the Qüxü batholith is the most typical MME‐bearing pluton. Systematic sampling for granodioritic host rock, mafic microgranular enclaves and gabbro nearby at two locations in the Qüxü batholith, and subsequent zircon SHRIMP II U‐Pb dating have been conducted. Two sets of isotopic ages for granodioritic host rock, mafic microgranular enclaves and gabbro are 50.4±1.3 Ma, 51.2±1.1 Ma, 47.0±1 Ma and 49.3±1.7 Ma, 48.9±1.1 Ma, 49.9±1.7 Ma, respectively. It thus rules out the possibilities of mafic microgranular enclaves being refractory residues after partial melting of magma source region, or being xenoliths of country rocks or later intrusions. Therefore, it is believed that the three types of rocks mentioned above likely formed in the same magmatic event, i.e., they formed by magma mixing in the Eocene (c. 50 Ma). Compositionally, granitoid host rocks incline towards acidic end member involved in magma mixing, gabbros are akin to basic end member and mafic microgranular enclaves are the incompletely mixed basic magma clots trapped in acidic magma. The isotopic dating also suggested that huge‐scale magma mixing in the Gangdisê belt took place 15–20 million years after the initiation of the India‐Asia continental collision, genetically related to the underplating of subduction‐collision‐induced basic magma at the base of the continental crust. Underplating and magma mixing were likely the main process of mass‐energy exchange between the mantle and the crust during the continental collision, and greatly contributed to the accretion of the continental crust, the evolution of the lithosphere and related mineralization beneath the portion of the Tibetan Plateau to the north of the collision zone.