Thermal structure of the Alboran Domain in the Rif (northern Morocco) and the Western Betics (southern Spain). Constraints from Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material

In the Rif (northern Morocco) and the Western Betics (southern Spain), the Alboran Domain forms a complex stack of metamorphic nappes including mantle peridotites (Beni Bousera and Ronda). We present in this paper new temperature data obtained in the Alboran Domain based on Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material (RSCM thermometry). In the lower metamorphic nappes of the Alboran Domain (lower Sebtides–Alpujárrides) temperature ranges from > 640 °C at the base of the metapelitic sequence to 500 °C at the top. The relationships between field isotherms and nappe structure show that peak temperatures were reached during strong ductile thinning of these nappes whereas they partly postdate this main episode in the Rif. In the upper nappes of the Alboran Domain (Ghomarides–Maláguides), generally supposed to be only weakly metamorphosed, temperatures range from ～500 °C at their base down to < 330 °C at the top. This temperature gradient is consistent with progressive Cenozoic resetting of K–Ar and ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar ages. These nappes were thus affected by a significant thermal metamorphism, and the available age data in the underlying Sebtides–Alpujárrides show that this metamorphism is related to the metamorphic evolution of the whole Alboran Domain during the Late Oligocene–Early Miocene. Such thermal structure and metamorphic evolution can be explained by generalized extension in the whole Alboran Domain crustal sequence. At a larger scale, the present thermal structure of the Alboran Domain is roughly spatially consistent around the Beni Bousera peridotites in the Rif, but much more affected by late brittle tectonics around the Ronda peridotites in the Western Betics. Therefore, on the basis of the observed thermal structure, the metamorphic evolution of the Alboran Domain can be interpreted as the result of the ascent of hot mantle units contemporaneous with thinning of the whole lithosphere during an Oligo‐Miocene extensional event. The resulting structure has however been dismembered by late brittle tectonics in the Western Betics.     

Analyses d’ouvrages

New structural data and P–T estimates of syn-deformational assemblages within the Beni Bousera peridotites and their crustal envelope are used to explain their Alpine exhumation. The Beni Bousera peridotites occur as thin sheets within high grade crustal units of the lower Sebtides (inner Rif, Morocco) and are composed of weakly deformed spinel lherzolite in the core of the massif and garnet-spinel mylonite at the rim. The main foliation trajectories in both the peridotites and overlying crustal units show systematic rotation towards their mutual contact, indicating a kilometer-scale top to the NW shearing with a dextral component along this crust/mantle contact. Widespread top to the NW shear criteria within the crustal units overlying the peridotite support this feature. Available ages constrain the development of the main foliation in both the peridotites and crustal rocks between 25 and 20 Ma. New P–T data from the peridotites show that deformation occurs during decompression from ≈ 22 kbar, 1050°C to ≈ 9-15 kbar, 800°C. As a consequence, exhumation of the Beni Bousera peridotites takes place during the Oligo-Miocene lithosphere thinning in the footwall of a lithospheric extensional shear zone. The exceptional preservation of garnet within the mylonitic peridotites results from rapid cooling of the border of the massif due to the juxtaposition with colder crustal rocks along this shear zone. Uplifting of the hot mantle rocks simultaneously induces high temperature metamorphism in the overlying crustal units. These new findings allow us to reconstruct the deformation history of the Beni Bousera region and the Alboran domain in the framework of the western Mediterranean geodynamics during the last 40 Myrs.     

Late Hercynian–Mesozoic thinning in the Alboran domain: metamorphic data from the northern Rif, Morocco

In the Alboran domain, two crustal-thickening late-orogenic extension cycles are superposed. The importance of the late Alpine thinning of the Alpujarride-Sebtide crustal section on top of the Beni Bousera peridotites is discussed here in metamorphic petrological terms. The Alpine metamorphism operated first under a HP–LT gradient, and reached the eclogite facies in the Permian–Triassic phyllites, before retrogression under a high geothermal gradient. A contrasting, higher temperature metamorphism characterizes the pre-Permian section, reaching the HP-granulite facies at the bottom of the crustal section. By reference to the western European setting, the granulites relate to the Hercynian orogeny, as supported by the isotopic ages of the enclosed, armoured monazite crystals. Thus, thinning of an overthickened crust might have occurred there during the late Hercynian extension and Tethyan opening, before being reactivated during the late Oligocene.     

Garnet variety and zircon ages in UHP meta-sedimentary rocks from the Jubrique zone (Alpujárride Complex,Betic Cordillera,Spain): evidence for a pre-Alpine emplacement of the Ronda peridotite

The Ronda peridotite is a group of lherzolite slabs (1.5 to 2 km thick) in southern Spain. Despite clear evidence that pre-Alpine events affected pre-Permo-Triassic units from the Alborán domain (internal zone of the Betic-Rif Cordillera, Spain, and Morocco), numerous papers continue to emphasize Alpine metamorphic and structural evolution. Here, we evaluate the pre-Cenozoic evolution of the Ronda peridotite by reporting new petrographic and U–Pb SHRIMP zircon dating of meta-sedimentary rocks from the Jubrique zone (Alpujárride Complex, Betic Cordillera, Spain) directly overlying the Ronda peridotite. Field inspection and petrographical study revealed generalized migmatitic textures and a gradual transition mainly defined by garnet content (from ~30 to <3 wt.%) and size (from 1.5 cm to <0.5 mm) in the overlying granulite-gneiss sequence, suggesting that most garnet grew as a consequence of the peridotite emplacement. Garnet shows notable variations in composition and inclusion types, which are interpreted as reflecting different stages of garnet growth. Diamond-bearing garnets are only well-preserved in gneisses from the uppermost part of the sequence, whereas the large garnets from rocks overlying the peridotite mainly record later thermal events. SHRIMP zircon dating indicates two age peaks at 330 ± 9 and 265 ± 4 Ma. The oldest age characterizes rims overgrowing detrital cores and reflects an early Hercynian metamorphism; the younger age characterizes zircon with magmatic oscillatory zoning, reflecting anatexis. On the basis of these data and of previous dating of monazite included in the large garnets, we conclude that the peridotite was emplaced either shortly before or during early Hercynian times, ~330 Ma.     

Process of serpentinization in the ultramafic massif of Beni Bousera (internal Rif,Morocco)

The Beni Bousera massif forms part of the Sebtide units in the internal Rif Mountain (Morocco). It is mainly composed of mantle peridotites surrounded by crustal metamorphic rocks (kinzigites, micaschists, and schists). The serpentinization affects all of peridotite massif to various degrees. Serpentinization is concentrated at the top of the peridotites, along the mylonitized zone, and in the NE part of the massif. It is manifested by the formation of mesh and hourglass textures along the tectonic foliation in the highly serpentinized peridotites; and brecciated texture in the least serpentinized peridotites. Pyroxene minerals are still intact hosting few serpentine veins. These petrographic features are consistent with the geochemical data, marked by the increasing of LOI and decreasing of MgO and FeO toward the top of the massif and Aaraben fault. The Raman characterization of serpentine with the brecciated mesh and hourglass textures correspond to lizardite type whereas the serpentine with the vein texture is formed by lizardite + chrysotile.     

Preservation of old U–Th–Pb ages in shielded monazite: example from the Beni Bousera Hercynian kinzigites (Morocco)

Four samples from the metamorphic aureole around the Beni Bousera ultramafic massif were studied in detail for U–Th–Pb electron microprobe dating on monazite. The samples include three meta-sedimentary granulites (kinzigites), collected at variable distance from the peridotites, and one kyanite-bearing leucosome in the kinzigite. Two types of monazite were identified in thin section, using SEM. The main population consists of interstitial grains, 20–70  μ m in size, while the second population consists of small grains (<20  μ m), included in garnet. A total of 64 U–Th–Pb electron microprobe measurements on 53 monazite crystals were undertaken. Most crystals have a Pb content lower than the Pb detection limit, indicating that they crystallized, or were reset, during a young event, probably Cainozoic in age. Few crystals, all entirely included in garnet, have Hercynian age, the best estimate of which is 284±27 Ma. This is a direct demonstration of the shielding effect of garnet for the U–Th–Pb system in monazite. The grains in inclusion in garnet are not reset by the post-Hercynian events, despite the high temperature reached at this time (>850 °C). Thus, the monazite closure temperature depends on its textural position in the host rock. The data also show that a Hercynian event occurred in the Beni Bousera granulitic metapelites, which equates with a high- P , high- T  event. The emplacement of the peridotite in the Cainozoic may be linked a low- P , high- T  event, followed by a low- P , low- T  retrogression. These two events reset the U–Th–Pb system in almost all monazite grains, except for the few crystals shielded by garnet.     

Fission track thermochronology of the Beni Bousera peridotite massif (Internal Rif,Morocco) and the exhumation of ultramafic rocks in the Gibraltar Arc

The Beni Bousera peridotite massif and its metamorphic surrounding rocks have been analyzed by the fission track (FT) method. The aim was to determine the cooling and uplift history of these mantle and associated crustal rocks after the last major metamorphic event that dates back to the Lower Miocene–Upper Oligocene time (～22–24 Ma). The zircon FT analyses give an average cooling—i.e., below 320 °C—age of ～19.5 Ma. In addition, the apatite FT data give an average cooling—i.e., below 110 °C—age of ～15.5 Ma. Taking into account the thermal properties of the different thermochronological systems used in this work, we have estimated a rate of cooling close to 50 °C/Ma. This cooling rate constrains a denudation rate of about ～2 mm year^?1 from 20 to 15 Ma. These results are similar to those determined in the Ronda peridotite massif of the Betic Cordilleras documenting that some ultrabasic massifs of the internal zones of the two segments of the Gibraltar Arc have a similar evolution. However, Burdigalian sediments occur along the Betic segment (Alozaina area, western Betic segment) unconformably overlying peridotite. At this site, ultramafic rock was exposed to weathering at ages ranging from 20.43 to 15.97 Ma. Since the Beni Bousera peridotite was still at depth until 15.5 Ma, we infer that no simple age projection from massif to massif is possible along the Gibraltar Arc. Moreover, the confined fission track lengths data reveal that a light warming (～100 °C) has reheated the massif during the Late Miocene before the Pliocene–Quaternary tectonic uplift.     

Alpine and pre-Alpine magmatism in the root-zone of the western Central Alps

 The highest grade of metamorphism and associated structural elements in orogenic belts may be inherited from earlier orogenic events. We illustrate this point using magmatic and metamorphic rocks from the southern steep belt of the Lepontine Gneiss Dome (Central Alps). The U-Pb zircon ages from an anatectic granite at Verampio and migmatites at Corcapolo and Lavertezzo yield 280–290 Ma, i.e., Hercynian ages. These ages indicate that the highest grade of metamorphism in several crystalline nappes of the Lepontine Gneiss Dome is pre-Alpine. Alpine metamorphism reached sufficiently high grade to reset the Rb-Sr and K-Ar systematics of mica and amphibole, but generally did not result in crustal melting, except in the steep belt to the north of the Insubric Line, where numerous 29 to 26 Ma old pegmatites and aplites had intruded syn- and post-kinematically into gneisses of the ductile Simplon Shear Zone. The emplacement age of these pegmatites gives a minimum estimate for the age of the Alpine metamorphic peak in the Monte Rosa nappe. The U-Pb titanite ages of 33 to 31 Ma from felsic porphyritic veins represent a minimum-age estimate for Alpine metamorphism in the Sesia Zone. A porphyric vein emplaced at 448±5 Ma (U-Pb monazite) demonstrates that there existed a consolidated Caledonian basement in the Sesia Zone. Received: 23 May 1995/Accepted: 12 October 1995     

Zircon U–Pb geochronology of Ordovician magmatism in the polycyclic Ruitor Massif (Internal W Alps)

Among the Middle Penninic basements of the Internal NW-Alps, the Ruitor massif shows the best preserved remnants of pre-Permian metamorphic rocks. Their Barrovian-type mineral associations are somewhat masked by the greenschist to blueschist Alpine metamorphism of Tertiary age. Four Ruitor gneisses have been analysed, showing geochemical characters of granitoids from orogenic zones. Zircon morphology also suggests magmatic protoliths and a crustal source; some of the morphological zircon types suggest anatectic granites. The first U-Pb ages on zircon for this massif have been obtained concurrently through conventional multigrain and ion microprobe dating. Two metavolcanic rocks at 471LJ and 468ᆪ Ma could be slightly older than the porphyritic augen gneisses at 465ᆟ and 460lj Ma. Regional data from the other Internal basement massifs suggest that the Variscan event is poorly recorded, except in Ruitor-type units. Ruitor and Sapey gneisses belonged to the same unit (Nappe des Pontis), which was affected by a 480-450-Ma event including volcanism and anatexis and ended with a late calc-alkaline granite emplacement at 460-450 Ma. The distribution of Variscan basement units roughly parallels Alpine zonation.     

柴北缘从大洋俯冲到陆陆碰撞:来自开屏沟造山带M型橄榄岩的证据

造山带幔源（M型）橄榄岩虽然在高压/超高压变质带分布不多,但由于其来自俯冲板块上覆的岩石圈地幔,因此是研究俯冲隧道内俯冲板片与地幔楔之间相互作用的重要对象,对于还原超高压变质带的演化有重要意义.柴北缘鱼卡榴辉岩-片麻岩区边部附近的开屏沟存在一套橄榄岩,其岩石类型、成因、时代等都缺乏研究.对开屏沟橄榄岩全岩的主量和微量元素及铂族元素、橄榄石主量元素、锆石U-Pb年龄和Hf同位素进行了研究.结果显示,其全岩具有高的Mg#、Mg/Si和Ni值,同时表现出亏损难溶的HFSE和HREE,轻微富集LILE和LREE中与流体活动性相关的元素;橄榄石具有较高的Fo值（90.11~92.77）与NiO含量（0.32%~0.45%）、低的CaO含量（< 0.02%）;PGEs的球粒陨石标准化配分模式与交代橄榄岩和残留橄榄岩近似;两组变质锆石年龄为459.5±3.6 Ma和417.5±2.7 Ma,对应的ε_Hf（t）值为-0.71~9.45和-11.96~-1.20,分别反映了洋壳流体（或早期大陆俯冲板片流体）和陆壳流体交代的性质和时限.开屏沟橄榄岩来源于俯冲带上覆地幔楔,遭受了不同来源流体不同程度的交代作用而获得地壳特征,同时为柴北缘大洋俯冲到陆陆碰撞的构造演化提供了新证据.      

造山带橄榄岩岩石学与构造过程:以松树沟橄榄岩为例

造山带橄榄岩不仅是地幔地球化学,而且是造山带形成与演化过程研究的主要对象.造山带橄榄岩主要有3种类型:（1）阿尔卑斯型橄榄岩,即岩石圈地幔构造-热侵位就位于造山带浅部地壳的橄榄岩;（2）前期层状基性-超基性堆晶岩经俯冲变质形成的橄榄岩;（3）蛇绿岩型橄榄岩.松树沟糜棱岩化橄榄岩及其相关高级变质岩详细的岩石学和地球化学研究发现这些橄榄岩记录了洋岩石圈形成到角闪岩相变质的全过程.即1 000~800 Ma洋岩石圈形成阶段,主要形成纯橄岩; < 800~500 Ma洋-陆转换即陆岩石圈演化阶段,岩石圈被交代形成大量方辉橄榄岩;500~480 Ma快速深俯冲和榴辉岩相变质阶段;460~335 Ma角闪岩相退变质阶段,此阶段在松树沟橄榄岩中形成大量富镁的直闪石类矿物,包括透闪石、阳起石和镁闪石.由此可见,蛇绿岩型造山带橄榄岩能够记录造山带形成与演化的全过程,通常会经历4个形成和演化阶段:（1）洋岩石圈（蛇绿岩）形成阶段,形成纯榄岩;（2）洋-陆转换阶段,陆岩石圈演化阶段,岩石圈受交代形成方辉橄榄岩;（3）岩石圈深俯冲,榴辉岩相变质;（4）俯冲板片抬升至角闪岩相时退变质,此时在橄榄岩中形成富镁的直闪石类矿物.不同造山带中蛇绿岩型橄榄岩的区别可能只是俯冲深度和退变质程度不同而已.最后,蛇绿岩一定要强调是什么时代的蛇绿岩.同时,造山带进变质作用产物经常会被后期抬升过程中退变质作用彻底改造,这应该引起重视.      

Genesis of garnet peridotites in the Sulu UHP belt: Examples from the Chinese continental scientific drilling project-main hole, PP1 and PP3 drillholes

The main hole (MH), and pre-pilot holes PP1, and PP3 of the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Project (CCSD) penetrated three different garnet peridotite bodies in the Sulu ultrahigh pressure (UHP) metamorphic belt, which are 80 m, 120 m, and 430 m thick, respectively. The bodies occur as tectonic blocks hosted in eclogite (MH peridotite) and gneisses (PP1 and PP3 peridotites). The peridotites in the MH are garnet wehrlites, whose protoliths were ultramafic cumulates based on olivine compositions (Fo_79-89) and other geochemical features. Zoned garnet and omphacite (with 4-5 wt.% Na₂O) are typical metamorphic minerals in these rocks, and, along with P-T estimates based on mineral pairs, suggest that the rocks have undergone UHP metamorphism. SHRIMP U-Pb isotope dating of zircon from the garnet wehrlite yielded a Paleozoic protolith age (ca. 346-461 Ma), and a Mesozoic UHP metamorphic age (ca. 220-240 Ma). The peridotites in PP1 consist of interlayered garnet (Grt)-bearing and garnet-free (GF) peridotite. Both types of peridotite have depleted mantle compositions (Mg# = 90-92) and they display transitional geochemical features. The intercalated layers probably reflect variations in partial melting rather than pressure variations during metamorphism, and the garnets may have been formed by exsolution from orthopyroxene during exhumation. These peridotites were probably part of the mantle wedge above the subduction zone that produced the UHP metamorphism and thus belonged to the North China Block before its tectonic emplacement. The exhumation of the subducted Yangtze Block brought these mantle fragments to shallow crustal levels. The ultramafic rocks in PP3 are dominantly dunite with minor garnet dunite. Their high Mg# (92-93) and relatively uniform chemical compositions indicate that they are part of a depleted mantle sequence. The presence of garnet replacing spinel and enclosing pre-metamorphic minerals such as olivine, clinopyroxene and spinel suggests that these rocks have undergone progressive metamorphism. SHRIMP U-Pb isotope dating of zircon from these rocks yielded two age groups: 726 ± 56 Ma for relic magmatic zircon grains and 240 ± 2.7 Ma for the newly formed metamorphic zircon. The older group is similar in age to granitic intrusions within the Dabie-Sulu belt, suggesting that the PP3 garnet peridotite may record the early emplacement of the peridotite into the crust. The younger dates coincide with the age of UHP metamorphism during continent-continent collision between the Yangtze and North China Blocks, suggesting that these peridotites were subducted to depths equivalent to the coesite facies and later exhumed. Thus, the garnet peridotites in the CCSD cores include both ultramafic rocks that existed originally in the subducted plate and rocks from the mantle wedge above the subducted plate, i.e., part of the North China Block.     

Origin of eclogite and garnet pyroxenite from the Moldanubian Zone of the Bohemian Massif, Czech Republic and its implication to other mafic layers embedded in orogenic peridotites

Summary The granulite terrane of the Czech part of the Gf?hl unit includes numerous small bodies of mantle derived peridotite, some of which contain layers or lenses of eclogite and garnet pyroxenite. These eclogitic rocks have generally been considered to be high-pressure crystal cumulates formed in the upper mantle. We present new analyses of whole-rock major and trace element contents for three kynanite-quartz eclogite samples taken from the Nové Dvory garnet peridotite body. Integrating these data with previously published analyses from the literature on eclogitic rocks from this terrane, we demonstrate that a magnesian group of eclogites, including these three new samples, were originally formed as cumulus gabbros, which were later transformed to eclogites in the mantle. A gabbroic origin for some mafic layers (Type II) has been advocated for other orogenic peridotites, such as Beni Bousera (Morocco), Ronda (Spain), and Horoman (Japan). By comparing these sets of data with those from the Bohemian Massif, we propose a simple method of identifying groups of metagabbros by utilizing MgO-normalization in oxide ratio plots for whole-rock major element analyses.     

Oxygen Thermobarometry of Orogenic Lherzolite Massifs

The oxidation state has been determined for spinel peridotitesfrom 13 orogenic lherzolite massifs including Beni Bousera,Ronda, and 11 smaller massifs in the French Pyrenees. The oxygenfugacity (f_o2) was calculated for 67 samples from microprobeanalyses using a set of secondary spinel standards to correctthe ferric iron content in the spinels. The utility of thismethod is confirmed by the good agreement between the calculatedvalues and those determined by Mossbauer spectroscopy on 28samples. The spinel peridotites of Ronda and Beni Bousera are relativelyreduced, averaging -11 and -1.5 log units relative to fayalite-magnetite-quartz(FMQ) respectively, which is in agreement with values from abyssalperidotites and mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) glasses. The Pyreneanmassifs are relatively oxidized and are intermediate between the abyssal peridotites and continentalxenolith suites. No systematic gradients are observable. Instead,variations of up to 2 log units in f_o2 occur at a localizedscale. This type of variation is also observed for trace elementsand radiogenic isotopes. The harzburgites at Beni Bousera recordthe most reduced conditions. Local oxidation coincides withthe appearance of amphibolc, indicating that metasomatizingfluids or melts are generally oxidized compared with the hostperidotites. Partial re-equilibration in the plagioclase peridotitefades has occurred at Ronda, causing the spinels to become Crrich. Re-equilibration is extremely heterogeneous. Mild oxidationappears to attend the crystallization of fine-grained plagioclase. The similarity in fo₂ values at Beni Bousera and Ronda indicatesa fairly uniform oxidation state at a scale of {small tilde}200 km. This scale of homogeneity is also observed in the Pyrenees,where no significant variation in f_o2 is apparent along 200km of strike in the Northern Pyrenean Zone.     

A dynamic model of the structural evolution of the Hercynian Pyrenees

The structural history of the Hercynian Pyrenees is considered with respect to the relationships between the metamorphism and the successive deformations, the characteristics and mode of emplacement of the gneissic and anatectic cores of the metamorphic domes, the migmatization and the intrusions of plutonic and basic and ultrabasic rocks.The metamorphism can be shown to have progressed upwards with time, attaining the presently exposed levels just before, during and a short time after the major penetrative regional deformation.The intrusion of major plutonic, anatectic and gneissic massifs, which has determined the metamorphic domes in country rocks, was roughly synchronous with the progression of the metamorphism, but seems to have continued later in the uppermost levels.The basic and ultrabasic rocks uplifted by the intrusion of the anatectic cores of the metamorphic domes have been deformed and foliated by the major regional penetrative deformation, thus showing that their intrusion predated this deformation in the lowermost levels.These results, together with the presently available sedimentological data, lead us to propose a dynamic model of the tectonic evolution of the Hercynian Pyrenees.The first step was a crustal extension and thinning, attaining its maximum during Frasnian time, marked in the upper levels by a “ horst and graben” controlled sedimentation and in the lower crust by intrusions of basic magmas and the onset of the very low-pressure metamorphism and anatexis characteristic of the Hercynian Pyrenees.The second step was a crustal shortening marked by large-scale crustal thrusting followed by widespread regional penetrative deformation. The flysch troughs formed in front of the progressing and emerging thrusts. In lower levels, the thrusts are believed to have controlled the progressive ascent of the plutonic and anatectic magmas which continued their uplift and emplacement during major penetrative regional deformation in the actual mesozone and probably after it in the uppermost levels.     

A Lost Realm in the Internal Domains of the Betic-Rif Orogen (Spain and Morocco): Evidence from Conglomerates and Consequences for Alpine Geodynamic Evolution

The Malaguide-Ghomaride Complex is capped by Upper Oligocene-Aquitanian clastic deposits postdating early Alpine orogenesis but predating the main tectonic-metamorphic evolution, end of nappe emplacement, unroofing, and exhumation of the metamorphic units of the Betic-Rif Orogen. Two conglomerate intervals within these deposits are characterized by clasts of sedimentary, epimetamorphic, and mafic volcanic rocks derived from Malaguide-Ghomaride units and by clasts of acidic magmatic and orthogneissic rocks of unknown provenance, here studied. Magmatic rocks originated from late-Variscan two-mica cordierite-bearing granitoids and, subordinately, from aplitic dikes. Orthogneisses derive from similar plutonic rocks but are affected by an Alpine metamorphic overprint evolving from greenschist (T=510&j0;-530 degrees C and P=5-6 kbar) to low-temperature amphibolite facies (T>550&j0;C and P<3 kbar). Such a plutonic rock suite is unknown in any Betic-Rif unit or in the basement of the Alboran Sea, and the metamorphic evolution in the orthogneisses is different from (and older than) that of Alpujarride-Sebtide rocks to which they were formerly ascribed. Magmatic and metamorphic rocks very similar to those studied characterize the basements of some Kabylia and Calabria-Peloritani units. Therefore, the source area is a currently lost continental-crust realm of Calabria-Peloritani-Kabylia type, located to the ESE of the Malaguide-Ghomaride Domain and affected by a pre-latest Oligocene Alpine metamorphism. Increasingly active tectonics transformed this realm into rising areas from which erosion fed small subsiding synorogenic basins formed on the Malaguide-Ghomaride Complex. This provenance analysis demonstrates that all these domains constituted a single continental-crust block until Aquitanian-Burdigalian times, before its dispersal around nascent western Mediterranean basins.     

A two‐stage exhumation of the Variscan crust: U–Pb LA‐ICP‐MS and Rb–Sr ages from Greater Kabylia,Maghrebides

The significance and role of major shear zones are paramount to understanding continental deformation and the exhumation of deep crustal levels. LA‐ICPMS U–Pb dating of monazites, combined with Rb–Sr analyses of biotites, from an anatectic metapelite from Greater Kabylia (Algeria) highlights the history of shear zone development and the subsequent exhumation of deep crustal levels in the internal zones of the Maghrebides. Monazites give an age of 275.4 ± 4.1 Ma (2σ) dating the thermal peak coeval with anatexis. This age is identical to those recorded in other crystalline terranes from south‐easternmost Europe (i.e. South Alpine and Austro‐Alpine domains) that suffered crustal thinning during the continental rifting predating the Tethys opening. Rb–Sr analyses of biotites yield a cooling age of 23.7 ± 1.1 Ma related to the exhumation of the buried Variscan crust during the Miocene as an extrusive slice, roughly coeval with the emplacement of nappes, and shortly followed by lithospheric extension leading to the opening of the Alboran sea.     

Deformation history and exhumation process of the Horoman Peridotite Complex, Hokkaido, Japan

The Horoman Peridotite Complex is an Alpine-type orogenic peridotite massif in the Hidaka metamorphic belt, Hokkaido, Northern Japan. Because of wide exposure and extremely limited serpentinization, the complex provides important information on uplift and emplacement processes of an Alpine-type peridotite massif into the crust. Based on microstructures, the massif can be divided into five structural units parallel to the lithological layering as follows; (1) Equigranular Zone, (2) Internal Shear Zone (ISZ), (3) Transition Zone, (4) Porphyroclastic Zone and (5) Basal Shear Zone (BSZ). A top-to-the-north sense of shear deformation in the Porphyroclastic Zone and the Basal Shear Zone implies that the Horoman Peridotite Complex had uplifted from the upper mantle to the lower crust along a northward dipping extensional shear-zone systems. After incorporation of the mantle peridotite with lower crustal rocks, the upper part of the massif (i.e. the Equigranular Zone and the Internal Shear Zone) was overprinted by a top-to-the-south sense of shear deformation that was comparable with the sub-horizontal displacement of the crustal granulite sequences in the Hidaka metamorphic belt under transpressive tectonic environment.     

The hercynian chain in Sardinia (Italy)

Abstract

A new geodynamic model for the Sardinian segment of the Hercynian chain is presented. The improvement of knowledge regarding several geological, metamorphic, magmatic and geochronological aspects of the Sardinian Palaeozoic basement, mainly achieved in the last few years, allows us to propose a more complete picture of its evolution.

The occurrence of remnants of an oceanic suture along a major tectonic lineament in northern Sardinia, as well as the products of Ordovician calc-alkaline magmatism, testifies to the presence, during the Lower Paleozoic, of an ancient (Precambrian- Cambrian) oceanic domain and its consumption along an Andean- type subduction zone. The following Carboniferous continental collision caused crustal stacking with Barrovian metamorphism and southward-migrating deformation from the suture zone toward the foreland.

Early Carboniferous Culm-type facies sediments, deposited in the outermost zone of the chain, imply that continental collision took place earlier in the internal zone, from Late Devonian or Early Carboniferous.

The collisional orogenic wedge experienced ductile extension during the Late Carhoniferous as a result of gravitational collapse of the thickened continental crust.

Extensional tectonism enhanced the uplift of the chain and some regions underwent tectonic denudation or LP/HT metamorphism and somewhere anatexis. The emplacement of calc-alkaline batholiths and the development of Late Carboniferous - Early Permian molasse basins occurred during extension that prolonged throughout the Permian.     

A U-Pb zircon,and Rb-Sr and U-Th-Pb whole-rock study of a polymetamorphic terrane in the central Alps,Switzerland

U-Pb analyses of zircons from the southern paragneiss zone of the Gotthard massif in the central Alps indicate these rocks were derived from one or more source areas ≧ 1400 m.y. old and were strongly affected by both the Caledonian and Hercynian orogenies. Rb-Sr whole-rock analyses also appear to reflect the Hercynian event while Rb-Sr analyses of a metamorphic inclusion and a boudin indicate that these small-scale samples were affected by the Alpine orogeny. U-Pb whole rock data appear to reflect only the Hercynian event; these data, when corrected for primordial lead, furthermore yield an upper concordia intercept of 4500 m.y., possibly resulting from a U-Pb fractionation very early in the history of the earth. A more refined three-stage U-Pb evolution model yields an age of about 4480 m.y. rather than 4500 m.y. for this hypothesized early terrestrial differentiation. Geologically these data emphasize that: 1) the southern paragneiss zone of the Gotthard massif contains metasediments which have experienced the Caledonian orogeny and are at least 400 m.y. old; 2) the Hercynian episode in this region was pervasive indeed; and 3) the Alpine orogeny affected the Rb-Sr and U-Pb whole rock systems to a far lesser degree than the preceding orogenic episodes and apparently did not affect the U-Pb zircon systems investigated at all.