Geochemical characteristics of basalts related to incipient oceanization: The example from the Alpine‐Tethys OCTs

Basalts exposed in the Platta and Tasna nappes (SE Switzerland) derive from the Alpine‐Tethys ocean–continent transitions (OCT) and overlie subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). We show that the trace element signatures of these basalts differ from mid‐ocean ridge basalts (MORB). Two types of basalts occur in the OCT: a type‐1 showing a ‘garnet signature’ that can be modelled by the partial melting of the SCLM in the spinel stability field and a type‐2 characterized by an enrichment in incompatible elements that can be explained by the mixing between garnet‐pyroxenite‐derived melts and the melting of either a depleted MORB mantle or a refertilized SCLM. Based on the geological and geochemical observations, we propose that the basalts from the Alpine‐Tethys OCTs result from a poly‐phase magmatic system that carries an inherited SCLM signature. These basalts should therefore be referred to as OCT‐basalts rather than as MOR‐basalts.     

Crustal thickness,rift‐drift and potential links to key global events

Orogenic crustal thickening leads to increased continental elevation and runoff into the oceans, but there are fundamental uncertainties in the temporal patterns of thickening through Earth history. U‐Pb age and trace element data in detrital zircons from Antarctica are consistent with recent global analyses suggesting two dominant peaks in average crustal thickness from ~2.6 to 2.0 Ga and ~0.8 to 0.5 Ga. Shifts in marine carbonate ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios show two primary peaks that post‐date these crustal thickness peaks, suggesting significant weathering and erosion of global continental relief. Both episodes correlate well with zircon trace element and isotope proxies indicating enhanced crustal and fluid input into subduction zone magmas. Increased crustal thickness correlates with increased passive margin abundance and overlaps with snowball Earth glaciations and atmospheric oxygenation, suggesting a causal link between continental rift‐drift phases and major transitions in Earth's atmospheric and oceanic evolution.     

Some remarks on high-temperature—low-pressure metamorphism in convergent orogens

Many high-temperature–low-pressure (high- T –low- P ) metamorphic terranes show evidence for peak mineral growth during crustal thickening strain increments at pressures near the maximum attained during the heating–cooling cycle. Such terranes are not readily explained as the conductive response to crustal thickening since the resulting Moho temperatures would greatly exceed the crustal liquidus and because heating due to conductive equilibration on length scales appropriate to lithospheric-scale strains must greatly outlast the deformation. Consequently, high- T –low- P metamorphism may be generated during crustal thickening only when significant heat is advected within the crust, as for example may occur during the segregation of granitic melts. We show that without the addition of asthenospheric melts and at strain rates appropriate to continental deformation the conditions required for significant lower crustal melting during deformation are only likely to be attained if heat flow into the lower crust during crustal thickening is increased substantially, for example, by removing the mantle part of the lithosphere. A simple parameterization of lithospheric deformation involving the vertical strain on the scale of the crust, _c, and the lithosphere, ₁ respectively, allows the potential energy of the evolving orogen to be readily evaluated. Using this parameterization we show that an important isostatic consequence of the deformation geometries capable of generating such high- T –low- P metamorphism during crustal thickening (with _c1) is an imposed upper limit to crustal thicknesses which is much lower than for homogeneous deformations (f_c= f₁) for the same initial lithospheric configuration.     

The western segment of the suture between the Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks: constraints from inherited and co‐magmatic zircons from Permian S‐type granitoids in Guangxi,South China

The location of the suture between the Yangtze craton and the Cathaysia block is uncertain in the west. Three proposed locations for the western segment of the suture all go through Guangxi but are up to ~150 km apart. Inherited zircon crystals from the Darongshan Permian S‐type granitoid plutons, which are derived from the lower crust and occur north of the southernmost location for the suture, yield U–Pb ages with a major peak at ~960 Ma. The ε_Hf (t) values of the inherited zircons with ages around the major peak vary from +6.4 to ?23.4. The age distribution and Hf isotope variations of the inherited zircons are remarkably similar to those of Precambrian detrital zircon crystals from the western Cathaysia block but strikingly different from those of Precambrian detrital zircon crystals from the Yangtze craton. These results indicate that the western part of the suture is situated to the north of the Darongshan granitoid belt.     

Interplay between tectonics and compaction in a rift‐margin,lacustrine delta system: Miocene of the Eger Graben,Czech Republic

The Early Miocene Bílina Palaeodelta consists of fluvio‐deltaic and lacustrine clastics deposited along the south‐eastern margin of the extensional Most Basin, part of the Eger Graben in north Bohemia (Czech Republic). The Bílina succession shows evidence of repeated advances of an axial deltaic system across a thick accumulation of organic material and clay in the hangingwall of an active fault. Exposures up to ca 4·5 km long in the Bílina open‐cast mine help bridge the gap between seismic scale and typical outcrop scale of observation and thus allow the relationships between small‐scale and basin‐scale stratal geometries to be evaluated. The Bílina Palaeodelta deposits include sand‐dominated, fluvial channel fills and heterolithic sheets interpreted as delta plain strata, sand‐dominated mouth‐bar wedges and heterolithic sheets of prodeltaic deposits, passing distally into lacustrine clays. The depositional environment is interpreted as a fluvial‐dominated, mixed‐load, lacustrine delta with a high degree of grain‐size segregation at the feeder‐channel mouths. On the largest temporal and spatial scales, variable tectonic subsidence controlled the overall advance and retreat of the delta system. The medium‐term transgressive‐regressive history was probably driven by episodes of increased subsidence rate. However, at this temporal scale, the architecture of the deltaic sequences (deltaic lobes and correlative lacustrine deposits) was strongly affected by: (i) compaction of underlying peat and clay which drove lateral offset stacking of medium‐term sequences; and (ii) growth of a fault‐propagation fold close to the active Bílina Fault. At the smallest scale, the geometries of individual mouth bars and groups of mouth bars (short‐term sequences) reflect the interaction among sediment loading, compaction and growth faulting that produced high‐frequency relative lake‐level fluctuations and created local accommodation at the delta front.     

Metallogeny of accretionary orogens — The connection between lithospheric processes and metal endowment

Accretionary orogens throughout space and time represent extremely fertile settings for the formation and preservation of a wide variety of mineral deposit types. These range from those within active magmatic arcs, either in continental margin or intra-oceanic settings, to those that develop in a variety of arc-flanking environments, such as fore-arcs and back-arcs during deformation and exhumation of the continental margin. Deposit types also include those that form in more distal, far back-arc and foreland basin settings. The metallogenic signature and endowment of individual accretionary orogens are, at a fundamental level, controlled by the nature, composition and age of the sub-continental lithosphere, and a complex interplay between formational processes and preservational forces in an evolving Earth. Some deposit types, such as orogenic gold and volcanic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits, have temporal patterns that mimic the major accretionary and crustal growth events in Earth history, whereas others, such as porphyry Cu–Au–Mo and epithermal Au–Ag deposits, have largely preservational patterns. The presence at c. 3.4 Ga of (rare) orogenic gold deposits, whose formation necessitates some form of subduction–accretion, provides strong evidence that accretionary processes operated then at the margins of continental nuclei, while the widespread distribution of orogenic gold and VMS deposits at c. 2.7–2.6 Ga reflects the global distribution of accretionary orogens by this time.     

Recognizing soft-sediment structures in deformed rocks of orogens

Soft-sediment deformation structures are common on passive continental margins, in trenches at subduction zones, and in strike-slip environments. Rocks from all these tectonic environments are incorporated into orogens, where soft-sediment deformation structures should be common. However, recognizing soft-sediment structures is difficult where superimposed tectonic structures are present. In seeking characteristic features of soft-sediment deformation, it is important to separate questions that relate to physical state (lithified or unlithified) from those that address the overall kinematic style (rooted or gravity driven). One recognizable physical state is liquefaction, which produces sand that has much lower strength than interbedded mud. Hence structures which indicate that mud was stronger than adjacent sand at the time of deformation can be used as indicators of soft-sediment deformation. These include angular fragments of mud surrounded by sand, dykes of sand cutting mud, and most usefully, folded sandstone layers displaying class 3 geometry interbedded with mud layers that show class 1 geometry. All these geometries have the potential to survive overprinting by later superimposed tectonic deformation; when preserved in deformed sedimentary rocks at low metamorphic grade they are indicators of liquefaction of unlithified sediment during deformation.     

Mid‐Miocene initiation of E‐W extension and recoupling of the Himalaya

The Tibetan plateau is host to numerous ~N‐S striking graben that have accommodated E‐W directed extension. The development of these structures has been interpreted to reflect a variety of different geological processes including plateau collapse, oroclinal bending or mid‐to‐lower crustal flow. New ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar thermochronology and quartz c‐axis data from the Thakkhola graben of west‐central Nepal show that E‐W extension was ongoing at least locally by the early Miocene (ca. 17 Ma). Our new, and previously published chronologic information on the initiation of graben across the orogen shows that they typically developed immediately after cessation of the South Tibetan detachment system, a structural network that facilitated differential southward movement of the upper and middle crust. We interpret this fundamental switch in orogen kinematics to reflect recoupling of the middle and upper Himalayan crust such that the subsequent widespread flow of the mid‐to‐lower crust out of the system to the east forced brittle accommodation in the upper crust.     

Oblique oceanic opening and passive margin irregularity,as inherited in the Zagros fold‐and‐thrust belt

The Zagros fold‐and‐thrust belt of SW Iran represents deformation of the former Arabian passive margin since Permian–Triassic opening of the Neo‐Tethys ocean. The Zagros belt is characterized by a present‐day structural salient‐recess setting inherited from past marginal embayment‐promontory geometry, which was involved in discontinuous ophiolite obduction and diachronous continental collision. We examine outcrop‐scale Mesozoic extensional brittle tectonics, preserved as syn‐depositional normal faults within the folded strata, in terms of stress tensor inversion. The result is then integrated with belt‐scale isopach, seismic and topographical data to delineate the geometry of a major irregularity along the passive margin originating from oblique oceanic opening. The implication of this configuration within the tectonic framework of oceanic closure is discussed.     

Non‐uniqueness of critical state line in compression and extension conditions

Experimental evidence has indicated that the critical state line determined from undrained compression tests is not identical to that determined from undrained extension tests. The purpose of this paper is to investigate a modelling method that accounts for the non‐uniqueness of critical state lines in the compression and the extension testing conditions. Conventional elastic–plastic cap models can predict only a unique critical state line for the compression and the extension tests. A new micromechanical stress–strain model is developed considering explicitly the location of critical state line. The model is then used to simulate undrained triaxial compression and extension tests performed on isotropically consolidated samples with different over‐consolidated ratios. The predictions are compared with experimental results as well as that predicted by models with kinematic hardening of yield surface. All simulations demonstrate that the proposed micromechanical approach is capable of modelling the undrained compression and the undrained extension tests. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of viscous heating in Barrovian metamorphism of collisional orogens: thermomechanical models and application to the Lepontine Dome in the Central Alps

Thermal models for Barrovian metamorphism driven by doubling the thickness of the radiogenic crust typically meet difficulty in accounting for the observed peak metamorphic temperature conditions. This difficulty suggests that there is an additional component in the thermal budget of many collisional orogens. Theoretical and geological considerations suggest that viscous heating is a cumulative process that may explain the heat deficit in collision orogens. The results of 2D numerical modelling of continental collision involving subduction of the lithospheric mantle demonstrate that geologically plausible stresses and strain rates may result in orogen‐scale viscous heat production of 0.1 to >1 μW m^?3, which is comparable to or even exceeds bulk radiogenic heat production within the crust. Thermally induced buoyancy is responsible for crustal upwelling in large domes with metamorphic temperatures up to 200 °C higher than regional background temperatures. Heat is mostly generated within the uppermost mantle, because of large stresses in the highly viscous rocks deforming there. This thermal energy may be transferred to the overlying crust either in the form of enhanced heat flow, or through magmatism that brings heat into the crust advectively. The amplitude of orogenic heating varies with time, with both the amplitude and time‐span depending strongly on the coupling between heat production, viscosity and collision strain rate. It is argued that geologically relevant figures are applicable to metamorphic domes such as the Lepontine Dome in the Central Alps. We conclude that deformation‐generated viscous dissipation is an important heat source during collisional orogeny and that high metamorphic temperatures as in Barrovian type metamorphism are inherent to deforming crustal regions.     

碰撞造山带斑岩型矿床的深部约束机制

在印度-亚洲大陆碰撞过程中,俯冲板片断离触发了幔源岩浆底侵作用、下地壳部分熔融和冈底斯岩基带以及同岩基斑岩的产生.在此过程中,幔源岩浆分离结晶的产物、下地壳岩石部分熔融残余和地壳分异过程中下沉的镁铁质块体,构成了加厚下地壳.随着造山岩石圈的冷却和加厚下地壳重力不稳定性的增加,岩石圈拆沉作用触发了后碰撞斑岩型岩浆活动.与此相应,碰撞造山带斑岩型矿床可以形成于同碰撞和后碰撞两个不同的构造阶段.同碰撞成矿作用发生于岩基带形成时期,成矿物质主要来自于底侵幔源岩浆及更深部的含矿流体,其触发机制是俯冲板片的断离.后碰撞成矿作用发生于加厚下地壳冷却之后,成矿物质主要来自于新生矿源层和更深部的含矿流体,其触发机制为岩石圈拆沉作用.在同碰撞构造阶段,伴随着幔源岩浆的底侵作用,深部流体和幔源岩浆所含的成矿物质被注入到岩基岩浆中,与从岩基岩浆源区萃取的成矿物质汇聚在一起,一部分受岩基热的驱使上升成矿.由于流体中成矿元素的浓度强烈依赖于压力,另一部分成矿元素则滞留在难熔残余中形成新的矿源层.当发生岩石圈拆沉作用时,由此矿源层部分熔融形成的斑岩岩浆将相对富含成矿物质,导致碰撞造山带第二次成矿作用大爆发.     

Salt décollement and rift inheritance controls on crustal deformation in orogens

We investigate the factors that control the shortening distribution and its evolution through time in orogenic belts using numerical models. We present self‐consistent high‐resolution numerical models that simulate the inversion of a rift to generate an upper crustal antiformal stack, a wide outer pro‐wedge fold‐and‐thrust belt, characterised by a two‐phase evolution with early symmetric inversion followed by formation of an asymmetric doubly‐vergent orogen. We show that a weak viscous salt décollement promotes gravitational collapse of the cover. When combined with efficient erosion of the orogenic core and sedimentation in adjacent forelands, it ensures the thick‐skinned pro‐wedge taper remains subcritical, promoting formation of an upper crustal antiformal stack. Rift inheritance promotes a two‐phase shortening distribution evolution regardless of the shallow structure and other factors. Comparison to the Pyrenees strongly suggests that this combination of factors led to a very similar evolution and structural style.     

Thermochronological evidence for Mio‐Pliocene late orogenic extension in the north‐eastern Albanides (Albania)

New apatite and zircon (U–Th)/He and apatite fission‐track (FT) data allow constraining the timing of Miocene–Pliocene extensional exhumation that affected the central part of the Dinarides‐Albanides‐Hellenides orogen. Apatite (U–Th)/He ages in the northern and western Internal Albanides range from 57 to 17 Ma, contrasting to younger ages of 5.2–9.3 Ma in the eastern Internal Albanides. Eastward younging is also reflected in zircon (U–Th)/He ages varying from 101 Ma in the north‐western Internal Albanides to 19–50 Ma in the east, as well as in recently published apatite FT ages. Thermal history predictions with the new data point to a phase of rapid exhumation of the eastern Internal Albanides around 6–4 Ma, while the western Internal Albanides record slower continuous exhumation since the Eocene. This asymmetric exhumation pattern is most likely linked to extensional reactivation of NE–SW‐trending thrusts east of the Mirdita zone and within the Korabi zone of the eastern Internal Albanides.     

Faulted backfold versus reactivated backthrust: the role of inherited structures during late extension in the frontal Piémont nappes east of Pelvoux (Western Alps)

In the central part of the internal Western Alps, widespread multidirectional normal faulting resulted in an orogen-scale radial extension during the Neogene. We revisit the frontal Piémont units, between Doire and Ubaye, where contrasting lithologies allow analysing the interference with the N–S trending Oligocene compressive structures. A major extensional structure is the orogen-perpendicular Chenaillet graben, whose development was guided by an E–W trending transfer fault zone between the Chaberton backfold to the north and the Rochebrune backthrust to the south. The Chaberton hinge zone was passively crosscut by planar normal faults, resulting in a E–W trending step-type structure. Within the Rochebrune nappe, E–W trending listric normal faults bound tilted blocks that slipped northward along the basal backthrust surface reactivated as an extensional detachment. Gravity-driven gliding is suggested by the general northward tilting of the structure in relation with the collapse of the Chenaillet graben. The stress tensors computed from brittle deformation analysis confirm the predominance of orogen-parallel extension in the entire frontal Piémont zone. This can be compared with the nearby Briançonnnais nappe stack where the extensional reactivation of thrust surfaces locally resulted in prominent orogen-perpendicular extension. Such a contrasting situation illustrates how the main direction of the late-Alpine extension may be regionally governed by the nature and orientation of the pre-existing structures inherited from the main collision stage.