A giant late Precambrian chert-bearing olistostrome discovered in the Bohemian Massif: A record of Ocean Plate Stratigraphy (OPS) disrupted by mass-wasting along an outer trench slope

An intriguing example of chert–graywacke olistostrome is exceptionally well preserved within the late Neoproterozoic to early Cambrian Blovice accretionary wedge, Bohemian Massif. The olistostrome exhibits a block-in-matrix fabric defined by chert blocks isolated within the graywacke matrix. The major and trace element composition indicates two distinct types of cherts that formed either in a hydrothermal pelagic or hemipelagic environment supplied with a distal terrigenous material. The former is documented by elevated contents of Fe, Co, Zn, Ni, and Ti whereas the latter by high Al₂O₃ contents, relatively lower La_N/Ce_N ratios, and higher Eu/Eu* and Ce/Ce* values. Based on these geochemical data integrated with field observations and detrital zircon U–Pb ages of the host graywackes (determined using laser ablation ICP-MS), a new model for the origin of chert–graywacke association is proposed. The cherts are interpreted as representing pelagic and hemipelagic members of the Ocean Plate Stratigraphy (OPS) that formed in a sedimentary basin, carried on top of a subducting plate towards the trench. While moving over the outer swell (rise), the chert basin was intensely fractured and disrupted into large blocks or slabs. Subsequent motion of the plate brought the blocks onto an outer trench slope where they became gravitationally unstable to slide down and mix in the trench with distal, ca. 580–570 Ma turbidites derived from the overriding plate. Finally, this chert–graywacke olistostrome was covered by younger, ca. 560–547 Ma trench-fill turbidites (devoid of chert blocks) and accreted to the accretionary wedge toe, deformed, buried, and exhumed back to the wedge surface. We propose that such an olistostrome composed of pelagic/hemipelagic chert blocks and terrigenous, arc-derived graywacke matrix represents a rarely documented case of submarine, outer trench slope mass-wasting deposits and may be considered a new type of subduction-related mélanges. We coin the term outer-trench-slope mélange.     

甘肃北山红山铁矿区硅质岩地球化学特征及其成因意义

甘肃北山地区红山铁矿区硅质岩与铁矿体紧密伴生,且有些硅质岩本身就是铁矿石。常量元素分析表明:硅质岩普遍具有高Si、高Fe、低Al特征,K2O含量普遍高于Na2O,且Fe/Ti值为57.14～218.74,(Fe+Mn)/Ti值为57.54～224.16,Al/(Al+Fe+Mn)值为0.05～0.14,均符合热水沉积硅质岩的特征,但存在少量陆源物质介入。稀土微量元素分析表明:硅质岩大部分微量元素相对于克拉克值亏损,稀土元素总量低,经北美页岩标准化后,Ce异常明显或微明显,Eu呈现明显的正异常,重稀土相对轻稀土富集;δCe值为0.93～1.05,平均为0.99;La/Ce值为0.43～0.49,平均为0.44,更接近于大陆边缘硅质岩的特征。综合以上地球化学特征,硅质岩具有明显的热水沉积成因属性,同时有陆源组分的加入,进而得出红山铁矿为与热水沉积成因有关的铁矿床,当时形成环境为大陆边缘环境。     

GEOLOGICAL AND GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND RELATED MINERALIZATION OF CHERT FORMATIONS IN SOUTH TIBET

There occur abundant cherts in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata in southern Tibet. Some of them possess characteristic hydrothermal structures such as layered, laminated, massive and breccia structures. Ratios of Al/（Al＋Fe＋Mn）, Co/Ni, Fe/Ti and TiO2-A1203 demonstrate that their origin is related to hydrothermal sedimentation. The chert formations have close relationship with Sb, Au and poly-metallic mineralization, and the ore-forming fluid show strong correlation with fossil hydrothermal water. There occur abundant cherts in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata in southern Tibet. Some of them possess characteristic hydrothermal structures such as layered, laminated, massive and breccia structures. Ratios of A1/（AI＋Fe＋Mn）, Co/Ni, Fe/Ti and TiO2-A1203 demonstrate that their origin is related to hydrothermal sedimentation. The chert formations have close relationship with Sb, Au and poly-metallic mineralization, and the ore-forming fluid show strong correlation with fossil hvdrothermal water.     

Germanium/silica ratios in diagenetic chert nodules from the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation,South China

Germanium/silica (Ge/Si) ratios of dolostone- and mudstone-hosted chert nodules from the Ediacaran (635–542 Ma) Doushantuo Formation in the Yangtze Gorges area, South China, are reported. These chert nodules typically have a calcite rim, a pyrite rim, and a silica core, the latter sometimes containing disseminated pyrite. The silica core was precipitated by early diagenetic replacement of carbonate and silty/muddy sediments. Two types of chert nodules are identified based on their mineralogy and geochemistry. Type-1 chert nodules are poor in disseminated pyrite in the silica core. They also have low Al, and show a strong positive correlation between Al contents and Ge/Si with a near-zero or negative intercept. In contrast, Type-2 chert nodules contain abundant disseminated pyrite in the silica core and show a weakly positive correlation between Ge/Si ratios and Al contents (with a large positive intercept on the Ge/Si axis). The Ge/Si of Doushantuo nodules are greater than those of Cretaceous deep-sea cherts, suggesting that the Ge/Si ratio of Ediacaran seawater/porewater was greater than the Cretaceous due to the more effective discrimination against Ge by inorganic opal precipitation relative to biogenic opal precipitation. The positive correlation between Ge/Si and Al can be interpreted using a mixing model with a pure chert (characterized by a low Ge/Si ratio) and an Al-rich endmember (characterized by a high Ge/Si ratio). The latter is most likely represented by a clay component, but the model-based estimate of the Ge/Si ratio inferred for the Al-rich (clay) endmember is much higher than that of Phanerozoic clay minerals. These high Ge/Si ratios for the clay endmember may be related to the generally high Ge/Si ratio of Ediacaran seawater, but could also be related to clay–organic matter interactions. Organic matter absorbed to clays could provide an additional source of Ge because certain organic molecules are known to have a high affinity for Ge due to their strong metal ion-chelating properties. The high Ge/Si ratio of the Al-rich endmember in Type-1 chert nodules suggests that Ge in porewaters from which these cherts precipitated may have been dominated by Ge–organic complexes. The low Ge/Si ratio inferred for the Al-rich endmember in Type-2 chert nodules is therefore taken to indicate that Ge was released from organic matter, perhaps due to anaerobic degradation of organic matter (accompanied by the formation of pyrite), and was redistributed between clay–organic endmembers and pure chert, resulting in a non-zero intercept in the Ge/Si vs. Al₂O₃ plots. These observations suggest that a strong terrestrial influence in a restricted sedimentary basin or a high content of dissolved organic carbon in Ediacaran seawater and porewater may have contributed to the dominance of Ge–organic complexes in the Doushantuo basin in the Yangtze Gorges area.     

安徽巢湖地区中二叠统栖霞组灰岩中燧石成因

安徽省巢湖地区中二叠统栖霞组以发育一套滨海沼泽－浅海碳酸盐台地环境为主的细碎屑岩至碳酸盐岩沉积建造为特征,灰岩中常见结核状及条带状燧石。燧石多为椭球状和串珠状,部分燧石与灰岩间发育宽约0.5 cm的过渡带。镜下观察灰岩为微晶生物碎屑灰岩;过渡带也多由微晶方解石组成,多数钙质生物壳体被石英充填或半充填,扫描电镜下可见方解石微溶、石英充填溶孔的现象;燧石主要为隐晶及微晶石英,生物碎屑类型与灰岩中基本一致,且多被石英交代。岩石学特征表明死亡的生物在腐烂降解过程中形成的有机酸抑制了碳酸钙的沉淀,并使部分生物碎屑及灰泥发生溶蚀,胶质二氧化硅沉淀,形成燧石结核。燧石中w(Al)/w(Al+Fe+Mn)平均值为0.63,远大于热水沉积硅质岩的最大值0.35;Fe/Ti平均值为9.5,小于热水成因的最小值20;Al-Fe-Mn三角图投点位于非热液成因区域;燧石中Al₂O₃含量平均值为0.20%,远高于MgO、Na₂O、K₂O的含量。分析认为,该区燧石结核的二氧化硅可能来源于陆源物质。     

Provenance and distribution of tethyan pelagic and hemipelagic siliceous sediments,pindos mountains,Greece

The broad range of time over which ribbon bedded cherts were deposited does not extend into the present marine environment, and no ribbon cherts have been recovered from the sea floor by the Deep Sea Drilling Project. The depositional environment of bedded cherts is difficult to determine, but extra-silicic impurities in the rock may offer clues about the provenance of the non-biogenic component. To test the usefulness of relative abundances of the extra silicic components in extracting information on the depositional environment of the chert, I analyzed the major element chemistry of chert samples from a broad range of environments including ophiolite-associated chert from the Franciscan Formation of California, deep-sea chert and porcellanite from the northwest Pacific (DSDP Leg 32), shallow pelagic shelf chert nodules from the Chalk of Britain, continental marginal basin chert from the Monterey Formation of California, and continental marginal basin chert from the Pindos Zone of Greece. The ratios FeO/A1₂O₃, TiO₂/A1₂O₃ and A1/A1+Fe+Mn were considered in detail. The interpretative logic is simple but empirically supported by observations of these ratio values at different depositional environments in the Pacific: A1 is concentrated most highly in continental material while Fe and Mn are more concentrated in pelagic sediments. FeO/A1₂O₃ can be used to differentiate between ophiolite associated chert and chert associated only with other sediments. TiO₂/A1₂O₃ is not a useful indicator, possibly because of the equalizing effect of widespread eolian transport. The A1/A1+Fe+Mn ratio was measured in detail in one stratigraphic section in central continental Greece. This ratio varied with the type of sediment admixture, decreasing in value after the influx of ophiolite debris-bearing sediments, even when their presence was undetectable in hand sample or under petrographic microscope.To help clarify the paleogeography of the main study area, the Pindos Zone, and to identify sources and dispersal patterns of extra-basinal materials, isopach maps of sedimentary facies of the Pindos were constructed. Superimposed directly upon the series of imbricated thrust slices that comprise the Pindos Zone, the maps are at best compressed pictures of the Pindos Sea Floor. Persistent regional variation of facies thicknesses over time suggests the existence of several smaller depressions surrounded by submarine highs in the Pindos Basin.     

Petrologic and Geochemical Characteristics and Origin of Gusui Cherts,Guangdong Province,China

The characteristic structures of the Precambrian cherts from the Gusui section, Guangdong ,Chi-na, include bedded structure ,laminated structure ,massive structure and pseudobrecciated structure.The chert is characterized by consistently low abundance of TiO2,Al2O3 and most trace elements.Howevver ,it is enriched in Ba,As,Sb,Hg and Se.In Al-Fe-Mn ternary diagrams,it falls into the “hydrothermal field“ .Correspondence analysis and factor analysis show that many elements show up in the factor that represents the leaching of country rocks by hydrothermal solutions,and are the very characteristic element association fo the geochemically anomalous South China basement.Petrologic and geochemical evidence suggests a hydrothermal origin for the chert.The chert may have been formed in a Precambrian fift or an extension zone developed within the Yunkai marginal geosyncline, with a fault system linking it to an unknown heat source at depth.     

The significance of cherts as markers of Ocean Plate Stratigraphy and paleoenvironmental conditions: New insights from the Neoproterozoic–Cambrian Blovice accretionary wedge,Bohemian Massif

The Ediacaran to early Cambrian Blovice accretionary complex, Bohemian Massif, hosts abundant chert bodies that formed on an oceanic plate and were involved in subduction beneath the northern margin of Gondwana. Field relationships of cherts to their host, their microstructure and elemental as well as isotopic compositions revealed diverse processes of chert petrogenesis reflecting depositional environment and position on the oceanic plate. The deep-water cherts formed through a hydrothermal precipitation of silica-rich gels on outer trench swell of the subducted slab with none or only minor addition of terrigenous material. On the contrary, the shallow-water cherts formed in lagoons on seamount slopes, and at least some of them represent a product of hydrothermal replacement of former carbonate and/or evaporite precursors. For both chert types, the hydrothermal fluids were of low temperature and continuous pervasive hydrothermal alteration of oceanic crust, together with an elevated Si content in Neoproterozoic seawater, served as the major source of silica. On the other hand, minor carbon enrichment in chert is mostly linked to variable incorporation of organic matter that was deposited on the seafloor. Rare earth element (REE) systematics of the cherts indicate predominantly oxygenated environment for the shallow-water cherts whereas the deep-water cherts were deposited in diverse redox conditions, depending on their distance from hydrothermal vent. Using these data, we demonstrate that the cherts once formed a part of Ocean Plate Stratigraphy (OPS) now dismembered and mixed with terrigenous siliciclastic material to form OPS mélanges. Combining our data with those from the existing literature, we show that cherts can serve as significant markers of OPS since the Archean, recording a complex interplay between seafloor-related volcanic (production of MORB- and OIB-like magmas) and sedimentary processes, hydrothermal activity at mid-ocean ridges and seamount chains as well as at outer slopes of subducting slabs. However, the cherts also exhibit a secular change in composition and petrogenesis most profoundly affected by an overturn in seawater silica cycle across the Precambrian–Phanerozoic boundary.     

K-feldspar rich shales from Jurassic bedded cherts in southeastern Slovenia

The study area in southeastern Slovenia is part of the transitional zone between the internal and the external Dinarides. Within Jurassic bedded cherts there are up to 2 cm thick shale intercalations, consisting of laminated, soft, fine-grained, green to brown material whose origin has been in question. In the majority of Tethyan cherts, the interbedded material is reported to be volcanogenic and/or terrigenous, although a detailed mineralogical analysis of the material is lacking. An XRD analysis confirmed the presence of quartz, illite, chlorite and K-feldspar, which is the prevailing component in some samples. Major and trace element data exclude both a volcanogenic and an hydrothermal origin. Several discrimination diagrams indicate the upper crustal terrigenous nature of shales and a biogenic silica source. The source material was probably from a Variscan crust, which at the time of deposition had already been weathered to kaolinite, and some sporadic muscovite. The MnO/Al₂O₃ ratio suggests a slow sedimentation rate of cherts and a faster one for shales, which probably settled from distal turbidity currents. The negative Ce anomaly indicates prolonged contact with ocean water. Sediments were deposited on a Tethyan passive margin, originally as silica-rich carbonate beds intercalated with mud. During late diagenesis, the mixing of marine and meteoric waters caused the further silicification of limestone and simultaneous potassium enrichment of shale which led to their alteration into illite or chlorite and, in sediments already rich in K-minerals, into K-feldspar.     

Biogeochemical Model and Simulation of the Effect of Precambrian Algae on the Formation Process of Certain Laminated Cherts

The source of silica in the formation of the Precambrian laminated cherts has long remained a problem to be solved. Through experiments on cherts and living blue-green algae, the authors found that the collected chert samples probably come from primary deposits, and there is a great biomass of fossil algae in chert, among which the filamentous algae can be compared with the living blue-green algae Oscillatoria, that a higher Pco_2 of the gas would be favourable for the increase of the biomass of living blue-green algae and consequently raises the pH value of the water body; and that lack of free oxygen and a higher concentration of SiO_2 in the water have no apparent influence on the biomass of blue-green algae. Based on the evidence above, a biogeochemical model concerning the origin of Precambrian laminated chert has been set up, in which the. photosynthesis of algae under the presumed atmospheric conditions of the Precambrian might raise the pH value of the water body and promote the dissolution of silicate minerals, thus providing a source of colloid SiO_2 for the formation of Precambrian laminated chert.Furthermore, a simulation experiment device has been designed successfully, which can control the temperature(30 ± 0.5°), Pco_2(50662.5 Pa) and Po_2(about zero Pa) of the gas, the rate of photosynthesis of algae and the movement of the water carrying opal. In the simulation experiments, separate measurements have been made on the rate of photosynthesis of algae, pH value and concentration of SiO_2 of the water body, with the results indicating that under the conditions similar to the presumed Precambrian atmosphere, the photosynthesis of algae can make the pH value of the water body go up steadily to over 9.7, leading to the dissolution of the silicate minerals, with the concentration of SiO_2 measured reaching as high as 84 mg/l. Finally, through the vaporation of water, a phenomenon of colloid floccilation has been observed.The simulation experiment has verified the proposed biogeochemical model illustrating the origin of Precambrian laminated chert. Moreover, the device and method of its kind may also be applied to the research on the relationship of the Precambrian algae with the formation of some other mineral deposits such as of Fe, Mn, U and carbonates.     

广西来宾蓬莱滩剖面中上二叠统硅质岩的地球化学特征及沉积背景

广西来宾地区中上二叠统广泛发育硅质岩,蓬莱滩剖面和铁桥剖面是本地区中上二叠统出露最好的剖面.本文对蓬莱滩剖面28件硅质岩(分别为中二叠统茅口组3件与上二叠统合山组25件)的主量和稀土元素进行了分析研究,并结合岩石学特征,认为:蓬莱滩剖面合山组硅质岩沉积于受到陆源物质影响的边缘海盆环境,它们的硅质主要来源于硅质生物,为生物成因;而其茅口组硅质岩则沉积于远离陆源物质影响的边缘海盆环境,它们的硅质主要来源于热液,为热液成因.通过与铁桥剖面的热液成因硅质岩的沉积背景对比研究,结果表明:中晚二叠世时期,来宾地区为富硅的边缘海盆环境,而陆源物质输入程度的差异是造成本地区形成不同成因硅质岩的主要因素.     

Petrogenesis of graphitic cherts in the Armorican segment of the Cadomian orogenic belt (NW France)

Graphitic cherts are interbedded within terrigenous sediments in the Cadomian orogenic belt of end-Proterozoic age. In the Armorican Massif (NW France), the graphitic cherts are of two types: massive cherts essentially composed of quartz (SiO₂ > 96%) and with rare sedimentary structures; laminated cherts containing up to 3·4% Al₂O₃ and 92–98% SiO₂. Sedimentary structures observed in the laminated cherts are indicative of a restricted hypersaline tidal or supratidal environment. The origins of both types of chert are to be found in the diagenetic processes of silification of terrigenous and mixed terrigenous-evaporitic facies. These processes, which could be mediated by the presence of organic matter, were controlled by the migration of the freshwater/saltwater mixing zone during periods of relative sea-level change. The proposed diagenetic origin for the cherts places a number of constraints on their use in the establishment of stratigraphic correlations.     

Differentiation of nelsonitic magmas in the formation of the ~1.74 Ga Damiao Fe–Ti–P ore deposit, North China

The ~1.74 Ga Damiao anorthosite complex, North China, is composed of anorthosite and leuconorite with subordinate melanorite, mangerite, oxide-apatite gabbronorite, perthite noritic (i.e., jotunitic) and ferrodioritic dykes. The complex hosts abundant vein-, pod- and lens-like Fe–Ti–P ores containing variable amounts of apatite (10–60 modal%) and Fe–Ti oxides. In addition to Fe–Ti–P ores, there are also abundant Fe–Ti ores which are closely associated with Fe–Ti–P ores in the deposit. Most of Fe–Ti–P ores are dominated by Fe–Ti oxides and apatite, devoid of silicate minerals, mineralogically similar to the common nelsonites elsewhere. In contrast, Fe–Ti ores are dominated by Fe–Ti oxides with minor apatite (<5 modal %). The parental magma of these ores, estimated from olivine and apatite compositions using mineral-melt partition coefficients, has composition similar to the ferrodioritic dykes. Fe–Ti–P ores have variable Fe–Ti oxides and apatite proportions, indicating that they are cumulates. Their simple assemblage of Fe–Ti oxides and apatite and local net-texture suggest that the Fe–Ti–P ores in Damiao have formed from nelsonitic melts immiscibly separated from the ferrodioritic magma during late-stage differentiation. Fe–Ti ores are also cumulates and have mineral compositions similar to Fe–Ti–P ores. The close association between Fe–Ti and Fe–Ti–P ores indicates that the Fe–Ti ores may have also formed from the nelsonitic melts. We proposed that differentiation of nelsonitic melts accompanied by gravity settling is responsible for the formation of Fe–Ti and Fe–Ti–P ores. Such a differentiation process in nelsonitic melts is well supported by variations of Sr, Y, Th, U, REE and Eu/Eu* of apatite in Fe–Ti–P ores. Using oxides/apatite ratio of 2:1 and compositions of apatite and calculated primary oxides, we estimate the composition of the nelsonitic melt as ~52.0 wt% Fe₂O₃t, ~18.5 wt% CaO, ~14.2 wt% P₂O₅, ~8.7 wt% TiO₂, ~4.0 wt% Al₂O₃ and ~1.1 wt% MgO with minor SiO₂, K₂O, Na₂O and F. Such a nelsonitic melt is suggested to be possibly conjugated with Si-rich melts compositionally similar to the Damiao jotunitic dykes (~50 wt% SiO₂ and ~15 wt% Fe₂O₃t) which may subsequently evolve to mangeritic rocks in Damiao. Our modeling also indicates that the onset of immiscibility occurs at a time when the evolved melt has ~44 wt% SiO₂, ~21 wt% Fe₂O₃t, ~3.0 wt% TiO₂ and ~2.6 wt% P₂O₅. High oxygen fugacity and phosphorous content in magmas may play important roles in the immiscibility of nelsonitic magmas, including promoting iron enrichments and widening the two-liquid field.     

Effect of the depositional environment on the compositional variations among the phosphorite deposits in Egypt

Late Cretaceous economic phosphorites from the Red Sea, Nile Valley, and Abu Tartur areas, Egypt, show distinct variations in the lithology of associated sediments, mineralogy of nonphosphatic constituents, and distributions of major and trace elements. In the Red Sea area, the phosphorite beds are intercalated with laminated black shales, and the nonphosphatic constituents are detrital quartz and calcite, ankerite, and pyrite cements. In the Nile Valley, the phosphorite beds are intercalated with chert, marl, and sandstone and the nonphosphatic constituents are detrital quartz and calcite and chalcedony cements. In the Abu Tartur Plateau, the phosphorite beds are intercalated with laminated black shales, and the nonphosphatic constituents are detrital quartz and ankerite and pyrite cements. The phosphorites studied also show distinct variations in major- and trace-element concentrations. The Abu Tartur phosphorites have higher contents of TiO₂, Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃, K₂O, Co, Nb, Pb, Sr, Th, Y, and Zr and lower SiO₂, Ba, and U contents as compared to those in the Red Sea and Nile Valley areas. The positive correlations between Al₂O₃ and TiO₂, K₂O, Nb, Y, and Zr suggest the detrital origin of these constituents.Similarity in the phosphatic constituents, which were derived from outside the depositional sites, and variations in the lithology of associated sediments and the mineralogy and geochemistry of the nonphosphatic constituents, which reflect the conditions at the depositional sites, suggest that the variations in the depositional environment of the phosphorites are the potential controlling factor of the compositional variations among these phosphorites. The abundance of black shales in the Red Sea and Abu Tartur areas, as well as the occurrence of ankerite and pyrite as cementing materials for the phosphatic constituents, might reflect reducing conditions in these areas, while the abundance of siliciclastic sediments and calcite and chalcedony cements suggests oxidizing conditions in the Nile Valley. The reducing conditions in the Red Sea and Abu Tartur areas were probably developed within the pre-existing depressions in a shelf environment. These depressions might have formed as a result of a change in the movements of the North Atlantic, Eurasian, and African Plates during the late Santonian, which led to transgressive inversion of rifts along northern Egypt and consequent folding in the continental interior. The higher contents of detrital components in the Abu Tartur phosphorites compared to the Red Sea and Nile Valley areas suggest more detrital inputs during the deposition of the phosphorites in Abu Tartur. The products of the diagenesis and weathering of these deposits also reflect the variations in the depositional conditions.     

Geochemistry of the Samarka terrane cherts (Sikhote-Alin) and the size of the accreted paleo-oceanic plate

We have studied the geochemistry of Late Triassic cherts from tectonic sedimentary complexes of different structural levels of the Samarka terrane. The results show that the contents and distribution patterns of major rock-forming oxides, trace elements, and REE in the cherts of the upper and lower structural levels are somewhat different, which is due to different facies environments of chert accumulation. In particular, the contents of Al₂O₃, TiO₂, and K₂O gradually decrease and the contents of Fe₂O₃ and MnO increase downsection. The contents of Zr, Rb, Hf, Th, and Cr, which were supplied into the bottom sediments with a terrigenous suspension of heavy-mineral fragments, are twice to ten-fold lower than their average contents in the upper crust. In contrast, the contents of Pb, Cu, and Ni, which got into the sediments mostly with metalliferous hydrothermal solutions, are rather high and even exceed their average contents in the middle and upper crust. That is, the contents of the first-group trace elements gradually decrease and the contents of the second-group trace elements increase from upper to lower structural level. The calculated negative Ce anomaly gradually decreases from lower (0.75) to upper (0.88) structural level. The geochemical parameters altogether indicate that the cherts accumulated in the same pelagic depositional environment but in its different parts. The Katen complex composing the lower structural level is the most remote from the continental margin, and the Amba-Matay complex forming the upper structural level is the most proximal. Based on the geochemical and biostratigraphic data and on the time of accretion of paleo-oceanic fragments, we have established the location of each complex within the not yet subducted oceanic plate and estimated the extensionof this plate. Throughout the Jurassic, about 6000 km of the oceanic lithosphere was subducted beneath the eastern margin of the Paleo-Asian continent and partly accreted to it.     

Geochemistry and origin of Dehoo manganese deposit,south Zahedan,southeastern Iran

Dehoo manganese deposit is located 52 km to the south of Zahedan in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, southeastern Iran. This deposit that lies in the central part of the Iranian Flysch Zone is lenticular in shape and lies above the micritic limestone-radiolarite cherts of the upper Cretaceous ophiolite unit. It is hosted within the reddish to brown radiolarite cherts and in places interlinks with them, so that the radiolarite chert packages play a key role for Mn mineralization in the region. Investigated ore-paragenetic successions and the geochemical characteristics of the Dehoo deposit were studied by means of major oxide, trace, and rare earth element (REE) contents that provide information as to the mineral origin. Strong positive correlations were found between major oxides and trace elements (Al₂O₃-TiO₂, r = 0.95; TiO₂-MgO, r = 0.94; Fe₂O₃-Al₂O₃, r = 0.90; MgO-Al₂O₃, r = 0.84; MgO-Fe₂O₃, r = 0.88; Fe₂O₃-TiO₂, r = 0.91; Fe₂O₃-K₂O, r = 0.74; Al₂O₃-K₂O, r = 0.69; Al₂O₃-V, r = 0.72; TiO₂-V, r = 0.73, and MgO-V, r = 0.69) that testify to the contribution of mafic terrigenous detrital material to the deposit. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns of all ore samples are characterized by negative Ce (0.06–0.15, average 0.10) and slightly positive Eu (0.29–0.45, average 0.36) anomalies. Based on ratios of Mn/Fe (average 56.23), Co/Ni (average 0.33), Co/Zn (average 0.38), U/Th (average 3.40), La/Ce (average 1.45), La_n/Nd_n (average 2.16), Dy_n/Yb_n (average 0.33), and light REE/heavy REE (average 8.40; LREE > HREE), as well as Ba (average 920 ppm) and total REE contents (average 6.96 ppm) negative Ce and positive Eu anomalies, Dehoo could be considered a predominantly submarine hydrothermal Mn deposit complemented by terrigenous detrital mafic material.     

桂北泗里口老堡组硅质岩的常量、稀土元素特征及成因指示

桂北泗里口老堡组为一套埃迪卡拉纪—寒武纪过渡时期（大约550～540 Ma）深水盆地沉积的硅质岩。它们的SiO2含量普遍高（平均93.8%）;Al2O3含量为0.17%～4.92%,沿剖面自下而上明显增加,上部超过2%;Al/(Al+Fe+Mn)比值多高于0.42;Fe/Ti比值大都小于16.3;Al2O3/( Al2O3+Fe2O3)比值多高于0.4,剖面上部样品的比值为0.8～0.9;Y/Ho比值为26.4～36.9,中、下部样品较高（多高于32）,上部样品的比值接近地壳值（27）;Eu/Eu*平均值为1.0,正异常不明显。剖面下部样品的∑REE含量低（15.9×10-6～27.1×10-6）,具有与现代海水相近的REE配分,没有正的Eu异常,不同于海底的热液流体和与其有关的碧玉的REE配分;中部样品的∑REE含量为26.2×10-6～49.4×10-6,由于所含陆源碎屑的增加,REE配分变得平坦,但仍有海水REE的某些特征;上部样品的∑REE含量为40.5×10-6～59×10-6,显示与平均页岩相似的平坦的REE配分,但∑REE含量仅为平均页岩的大约1/4～1/3。这些常量和稀土元素特征表明,海底热液和陆源碎屑都不可能成为泗里口老堡组硅质岩的重要物源。埃迪卡拉纪—寒武纪过渡时期华南深水盆地厚层硅质岩沉积反映了这一时期大气高CO2浓度,大量陆源化学风化的硅质流入海洋和大量生物的降解可能是造成这些硅质岩形成的基本原因。     

Petrology and geochemistry of chert on the marginal zone of Yangtze Platform,western Hunan,South China,during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition

The Ediacaran–Cambrian transition was one of the most critical intervals in Earth history. During this interval, widespread chert was precipitated, commonly as a stratal wedge in carbonates, along the southern margin of the Yangtze Platform, South China. The chert wedge passes into a full chert succession further basinward to the south‐east. Four lithotypes of chert are identified across the marginal zone in western Hunan: mounded, vein, brecciated and bedded chert. The mounded chert is characterized by irregular to digitiform internal fabrics, generally with abundant original vesicles and/or channels that mostly are lined by botryoidal chalcedony cements with minor quartz and barite crystals. The host chert (or matrix) of these mounds is dominated by amorphous cryptocrystalline silica, commonly disseminated with pyrite. The vein chert, with minor quartz locally, generally cross‐cuts the overlying dolostone and chert horizons and terminates under the mounded and/or bedded chert bodies. The brecciated chert commonly occurs as splayed ‘intrusions’ or funnel‐shaped wedges and cross‐cuts the topmost dolostones. The bedded chert, the most common type, generally is thin to medium‐bedded and laminated locally; it is composed of amorphous silica with minor amounts of black lumps. Microthermometry of fluid inclusions from vein and void‐lining minerals (mainly quartz and barite) revealed homogenization temperatures from 120 to 180°C for the trapped primary fluids. Compositionally, these chert deposits generally are pure, with SiO₂ > 92 wt%, and only minor Fe₂O₃ and Al₂O₃ contents, most of which show positive Europium anomalies in rare earth element patterns, especially for the mounded chert. All these data suggest that the marginal zone chert deposits resulted from a low‐temperature, silica‐rich hydrothermal system, in which the mounded chert was precipitated around the releasing vents, i.e. as silica chimneys. The vein and splayed brecciated chert, however, was formed along the syndepositional fault/fracture conduits that linked downward, while the bedded chert was precipitated in the quieter water column from the fallout of hydrothermal plumes onto the sea floor. These petrological and geochemical data provide compelling evidence and a new clue to the understanding of the extensive silica precipitation; rapid tectono‐depositional and oceanic changes during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition in South China.     

北祁连石灰沟奥陶纪碳酸盐岩—硅质岩形成的构造环境

北祁连造山带石灰沟奥陶纪硅质岩与碱性玄武岩、熔结凝灰岩、火山碎屑岩、泥岩、杂砂岩、砂屑灰岩、生物碎屑灰岩及生物礁共同构成了一个相对完整的海山组合序列。其中硅质岩中含有早—中奥陶世牙行刺化石,泥岩和砂岩中含有中—晚奥陶世三叶虫和笔石化石。硅质岩地球化学特征研究表明其源区为其形成提供了丰富的碎屑物质来源,从而表现为LREE富集,Eu^*_CN负异常特征; 这些硅质岩形成于陆缘环境,并非深海或洋中脊环境。     

信江盆地石炭纪硅质岩地球化学特征及沉积环境意义

在信江盆地中存在数层和石炭纪海相火山岩及其海底块状硫化物矿层相伴生,与石炭纪地层整合产出的层状硅质岩。由对硅质岩常量元素、微量元素、稀土元素、硅和氧同位素等地球化学特征研究表明,本区硅质岩具有一定的热水沉积硅质岩地球化学特征。在Al-Fe-Mn和Fe-Mn-(Ni+Co+Cu)三角图上,本区硅质岩属热水沉积硅质岩。由硅质岩MnO/TiO₂比值、δCe值和δ³⁰Si值分析表明,信江盆地石炭纪硅质岩的沉积环境主要为浅海。