Geochronology of the medium to high-grade metamorphic units of the Peloritani Mts., Sicily

The Peloritani Mountains are a fragment of an orogen variably attributed to the Alpine or Hercynian orogeny. On the basis of ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar, U-Pb and Rb-Sr dating, the main metamorphism of the two medium–high grade metamorphic units, the Mela and Aspromonte Units, and most of the thrusting responsible for stacking the orogenic edifice are seen to be Hercynian. The main thrusting of the Aspromonte Unit over the lower grade units took place at 301±2 Ma. Brittle deformation during Tertiary reactivation of Hercynian thrust planes did not generate any rejuvenation of white micas in the studied sector. Our dataset shows a great complexity and we propose to unravel it by considering different levels of information. To first order, the Mela and Aspromonte Units differ in their metamorphic paths and their geochronological evolution. The Mela Unit shows generally younger ages (Carboniferous) than the Aspromonte Unit and, unlike the latter, was extensively retrogressed in greenschist facies. The Aspromonte Unit is itself geochronologically heterogeneous. Proterozoic ages are preserved both in titanite and in amphibole relics of one tectonic subunit; Devonian to Carboniferous amphibole ages are found in different other subunits; tertiary overprint is minor and spatially limited. We propose to consider the chronologically heterogeneous subunits as accreted pre-Hercynian terranes amalgamated late during the Hercynian orogeny. Micas in both units give scattered Mesozoic ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar and Rb-Sr ages, with evidence for heterochemical mica generations. We interpret them as a result of widespread hydrothermal circulation event(s). Tertiary overprint is generally absent, with the exception of a small area near Messina where biotite and muscovite underwent a complex recrystallisation history in the interval between 48 and 61 Ma.An erratum to this article can be found at     

Intercalibration of the Hb3gr Ar/Ar dating standard

The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating technique is based on the knowledge of the age of neutron fluence monitors (standards). Recent investigations have improved the accuracy and precision of the ages of most of the Phanerozoic-aged standards (e.g. Fish Canyon Tuff sanidine (FCs), Alder Creek sanidine, GA1550 biotite and LP-6 biotite); however, no specific study has been undertaken on the older standards (i.e. Hb3gr hornblende and NL-25 hornblende) generally used to date Precambrian, high Ca/K, and/or meteoritic rocks.In this study, we show that Hb3gr hornblende is relatively homogenous in age, composition (Ca/K) and atmospheric contamination at the single grain level. The mean standard deviation of the ⁴⁰Ar^?/³⁹Ar_K (F-value) derived from this study is 0.49%, comparable to the most homogeneous standards. The intercalibration factor (which allows direct comparison between standards) between Hb3gr and FCs is R_FCs^Hb3gr = 51.945 ± 0.167. Using an age of 28.02 Ma for FCs, the age of Hb3gr derived from the R-value is 1073.6 ± 5.3 Ma (1σ; internal error only) and ± 8.8 Ma (including all sources of error). This age is indistinguishable within uncertainty from the K/Ar age previously reported at 1072 ± 11 Ma [Turner G., Huneke, J.C., Podosek, F.A., Wasserburg, G.J., 1971. ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar ages and cosmic ray exposure ages of Apollo 14 samples. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 12, 19-35].The R-value determined in this study can also be used to intercalibrate FCs if we consider the K/Ar date of 1072 Ma as a reference age for Hb3gr. We derive an age of 27.95 ± 0.19 Ma (1σ; internal error only) for FCs which is in agreement with the previous determinations. Altogether, this shows that Hb3gr is a suitable standard for ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology.     

Ar/Ar geochronology of gold mineralization in Brasiliano strike-slip shear zones in the Borborema province, NE Brazil

⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology of muscovite and biotite grains genetically related to gold and Be–Ta–Li pegmatites from the Seridó Belt (Borborema province, NE Brazil) yield well-defined, reliable plateau ages. This information, combined with data about paragenetic and field relationships, reveals Cambro-Ordovician mineralization ages (520 and 500–506 Ma) for the orogenic gold deposits in the Seridó Belt. Biotite ages of 525±2 Ma, which represent the mean weighted results of the incremental heating analysis of six biotite single crystals, record the time of pegmatite emplacement and reactivation of Brasiliano/Pan-African strike-slip shear zones. These results, along with previous structural evolution studies, suggest that shear zones formed during the Brasiliano/Pan-African event were reactivated in the Upper Cambrian–Lower Ordovician. Mineralization occurs late in the history of the orogen.     

大兴安岭地区德尔布干断裂带北段构造年代学研究

德尔布干断裂带是大兴安岭隆起西侧NE向的重要断裂带,处在海拉尔-拉布达林-根河盆地西缘,是著名德尔布干成矿区东南边界断裂带.为了确定德尔布干断裂带运动性质、活动时间,深入探讨该断裂带与中生代海拉尔-拉布达林-根河盆地及大兴安岭盆山格局、认识德尔布干断裂带多金属矿床成因等问题,本文应用锆石SHRIMP和云母40Ar/39Ar定年技术,分别对断裂带内的细粒黑云母花岗岩侵入体、韧性变形的花岗闪长质片麻岩、白云母石英片岩,进行了同位素年代学研究.其中花岗闪长质片麻岩岩浆型锆石SHRIMP谐和年龄300.6±9.3Ma,为花岗闪长质片麻岩海西期的侵位年龄;而花岗闪长质片麻岩中黑云母40Ar/39Ar坪年龄是130.9±1.4Ma,白云母石英片岩的白云母40Ar/39Ar坪年龄是115.6±1.6Ma,代表早白垩世伸展构造变形年龄;细粒黑云母花岗岩侵入体岩浆型锆石SHRIMP谐和年龄130.1±1.4Ma,为同伸展构造变形侵位的岩浆事件.上述地质年代说明德尔布干断裂带是早白垩世(110～130Ma)该区最年轻的重大伸展构造变形产物.控制NE向大兴安岭隆起和中生代海拉尔-拉布达林-根河等火山沉积盆地的发育格局、以及中生代以来的地壳演化与成矿类型.     

Radiometric constraints on hydrothermal circulation in cooling granite plutons

Improved precision of radiometric dating of ore deposits can provide information about the thermal history of hydrothermal circulation in cooling plutons. In Jales a Hercynian porphyritic two-mica granite and pre-Ordovician mica schists are cut and intensely altered by the Campo gold-quartz vein. The unaltered granite must be younger than 320 ± 6 Ma, and gives mica Rb-Sr ages of 308.5 ± 2.4 (1) Ma (muscovite) and 294.5 ± 1.1 Ma (biotite). Alteration muscovites from the granite give a weighted mean Rb-Sr age of 308.1 ± 1.5 Ma, and a mean ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar age of 300.7 ± 2.8 Ma. Alteration muscovites from the mica schists give similar ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar ages, averaging 303.0 ± 2.8 Ma. The results suggest that circulation of the Campo mineralising fluids took place no more than 2–4 Ma after the granite cooled through the muscovite Rb-Sr closure temperature, about 500 °C, and that subsequent cooling to biotite closure at about 300 °C took place at less than 14°C/Ma. The mean cooling rate following emplacement was 15 to 25 °C/Ma. The most detailed comparable published data, for the Cornubian ore field, imply much faster cooling rates.     

Ar/Ar thermochronology of the Kampa Dome, southern Tibet: Implications for tectonic evolution of the North Himalayan gneiss domes

Structural and thermochronological studies of the Kampa Dome provide constraints on timing and mechanisms of gneiss dome formation in southern Tibet. The core of Kampa Dome contains the Kampa Granite, a Cambrian orthogneiss that was deformed under high temperature (sub-solidus) conditions during Himalayan orogenesis. The Kampa Granite is intruded by syn-tectonic leucogranite dikes and sills of probable Oligocene to Miocene age. Overlying Paleozoic to Mesozoic metasedimentary rocks decrease in peak metamorphic grade from kyanite + staurolite grade at the base of the sequence to unmetamorphosed at the top. The Kampa Shear Zone traverses the Kampa Granite — metasediment contact and contains evidence for high-temperature to low-temperature ductile deformation and brittle faulting. The shear zone is interpreted to represent an exhumed portion of the South Tibetan Detachment System. Biotite and muscovite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar thermochronology from the metasedimentary sequence yields disturbed spectra with 14.22 ± 0.18 to 15.54 ± 0.39 Ma cooling ages and concordant spectra with 14.64 ± 0.15 to 14.68 ± 0.07 Ma cooling ages. Petrographic investigations suggest disturbed samples are associated with excess argon, intracrystalline deformation, mineral and fluid inclusions and/or chloritization that led to variations in argon systematics. We conclude that the entire metasedimentary sequence cooled rapidly through mica closure temperatures at  14.6 Ma. The Kampa Granite yields the youngest biotite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of  13.7 Ma immediately below the granite–metasediment contact. We suggest that this age variation reflects either varying mica closure temperatures, re-heating of the Kampa Granite biotites above closure temperatures between 14.6 Ma and 13.7 Ma, or juxtaposition of rocks with different thermal histories. Our data do not corroborate the “inverse” mica cooling gradient observed in adjacent North Himalayan gneiss domes. Instead, we infer that mica cooling occurred in response to exhumation and conduction related to top-to-north normal faulting in the overlying sequence, top-to-south thrusting at depth, and coeval surface denudation.     

Kinematic reworking and exhumation within the convergent Alpine Orogen

Kinematic data from the internal zones of the Western Alps indicate both top-to-SE and top-to-NW shearing during synkinematic greenschist facies recrystallisation. Rb/Sr data from white micas from different kinematic domains record a range of ages that does not represent closure through a single thermal event but reflects the variable timing of synkinematic mica recrystallisation at temperatures between 300 and 450 °C. The data indicate an initial phase of accretion and foreland-directed thrusting at ca. 60 Ma followed by almost complete reworking of thrust-related deformation by SE-directed shearing. This deformation is localised within oceanic units of the Combin Zone and the base of the overlying Austroalpine basement, and forms a regional scale shear zone that can be traced for almost 50 km perpendicular to strike. The timing of deformation in this shear zone spans 9 Ma from 45 to 36 Ma. The SE-directed shear leads to local structures that cut upwards in the transport direction with respect to tectonic stratigraphy, and such structures have been interpreted in the past as backthrusts in response to ongoing Alpine convergence. However, on a regional scale, the top-to-SE deformation is related to crustal extension, not shortening, and is coincident with exhumation of eclogites in its footwall. During this extension phase, deformation within the shear zone migrated both spatially and temporally giving rise to domains of older shear zone fabrics intercalated with zones of localised reworking. Top-NW kinematics preserved within the Combin Zone show a range of ages. The oldest (48 Ma) may reflect the final stages of emplacement of Austroalpine Units above Piemonte oceanic rocks prior to the onset of extension. However, much of the top-to-NW deformation took place over the period of extension and may reflect either continuing or episodic convergence or tectonic thinning of the shear zone.⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data from the region are complicated due to the widespread occurrence of excess ⁴⁰Ar in eclogite facies micas and partial Ar loss during Alpine heating. Reliable ages from both eclogite and greenschist facies micas indicate cooling ages in different tectonic units of between 32 and 40 Ma. These ages are slightly younger than Rb/Sr deformation ages and suggest that cooling below ca. 350 °C occurred after juxtaposition of the units by SE-directed extensional deformation.Our data indicate a complex kinematic history involving both crustal shortening and extension within the internal zones of the Alpine Orogen. To constrain the palaeogeographic and geodynamic evolution of the Alps requires that these data be integrated with data from the more external zones of the orogen. Complexity such as that described is unlikely to be restricted to the Western Alps and spatially and temporally variable kinematic data are probably the norm in convergent orogens. Recognising such features is fundamental to the correct tectonic interpretation of both modern and ancient orogens.     

新疆铁木尔特铅锌铜矿床锆石U-Pb和黑云母40Ar/39Ar年代学及其矿床成因意义

新疆铁木尔特铅锌铜矿床位于阿尔泰造山带南缘克兰盆地内,矿体呈脉状产于康布铁堡组火山岩地层中.为准确厘定其成岩成矿时代,作者分别对矿区赋矿火山岩和含矿石英脉中的云母进行了年龄测定,获得2件火山岩样品的锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb年龄分别为396±5Ma和405±5Ma,2件黑云母样品的40 Ar/39 Ar坪年龄分别为240±2Ma和235±2Ma,相应的39Ar/36Ar-40Ar/36Ar等时线年龄分别为238±3Ma和233±3Ma,与坪年龄在误差范围内一致.据此,认为矿区内康布铁堡组火山岩形成于396～405 Ma,成矿作用发生于235～240Ma;成岩年龄早于成矿年龄约165Ma.因此,铁木尔特铅锌铜矿为典型的后生矿床,而不可能是同生VMS型矿床.考虑到成矿年龄稍晚于区域大规模变质作用(约250Ma),推测成矿作用与阿尔泰造山带碰撞造山作用有关.结合矿床地质特征和流体包裹体特征,认为铁木尔特铅锌铜矿为典型的陆陆碰撞体制下形成的造山型矿床.     

桂中都安钾镁煌斑岩金云母~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar年龄及其构造意义

右江褶皱带地处扬子陆块和华夏陆块的结合部位,区内广泛发育以基性-超基性岩墙群和超酸性岩脉为主的燕山晚期双峰式岩浆活动。对桂中都安地区的金云钾镁煌斑岩脉进行了金云母~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar法测年,斑晶和基质金云母样品均给出了较一致的坪年龄,分别为93.6±0.6Ma和92.9±0.6Ma,相应的等时线年龄分别为93.4±0.9Ma和92.7±0.8Ma,上述年龄代表了岩脉的侵位年龄。结合区内报道的同期年代学资料,进一步证明右江褶皱带及其周缘晚白垩世双峰式岩浆活动响应了华南地区燕山晚期的构造转换事件及随后大规模的岩石圈伸展减薄。     

北秦岭宽坪岩群变质沉积岩年代学及地质意义

宽坪岩群位于北秦岭造山带,主要由广东坪岩组斜长角闪岩、四岔口岩组云母石英片岩及谢湾岩组的大理岩组成。通过LA-MC-ICPMS锆石U-Pb测年研究,宽坪岩群谢湾岩组碎屑锆石年龄为400~3502 Ma,其中最年轻一组的²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U年龄在380~418 Ma,结合黑云母⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar（370.9±2.0）Ma的变质年龄,表明谢湾岩组形成在晚泥盆世。四岔口岩组碎屑锆石年龄介于512~3598 Ma,最年轻的一组锆石²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U年龄在512~549 Ma,其黑云母⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar变质年龄为（370.4±1.8）Ma,表明该组形成于512 Ma（早寒武世）之后,晚泥盆世之前,主体很可能形成于早古生代。宽坪岩群是由不同时代的地层和岩片构成,应该进一步解体。宽坪岩群物源来自华北陆块、秦岭造山带和扬子陆块。其变形变质时代为晚泥盆世,代表了北秦岭造山带碰撞造山的结束时代。     

U-Pb and Ar/Ar geochronological constraints on the exhumation history of the North Qinling terrane, China

The amphibolite facies grade North Qinling metamorphic unit forms the centre of the Qinling orogenic belt. Results of LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar amphibole and biotite dating reveal its Palaeozoic tectonic history. U-Pb zircon dating of migmatitic orthogneiss and granite dykes constrains the age of two possible stages of migmatization at 517 ± 14 Ma and 445 ± 4.6 Ma. A subsequent granite intrusion occurred at 417 ± 1.6 Ma. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages of amphibole ranging from 397 ± 33 Ma to 432 ± 3.4 Ma constrain the cooling of the Qinling complex below ca. 540 °C and biotite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages at about 330–368 Ma below ca. 300 °C. The ages are used to construct a cooling history with slow/non-exhumation during 517– 445 Ma, a time-integrated cooling at a rate < 2.5 °C/Ma during the period of 445–410 Ma, an acceleration of cooling at a rate of 8 °C/Ma from 397 Ma to 368 Ma, and subsequently slow/non-cooling from 368 to 330 Ma. The data show a significant delay in exhumation after peak metamorphic conditions and a long period of tectonic quiescence after the suturing of the North China and South China blocks along the Shangdan suture. These relationships exclude classical exhumation models of formation and exhumation of metamorphic cores in orogens, which all imply rapid cooling after peak conditions of metamorphism.     

Ar/Ar thermochronologic constraints on deformation, metamorphism and cooling/exhumation of a Mesozoic accretionary wedge, Otago Schist, New Zealand

Structural thickening of the Torlesse accretionary wedge via juxtaposition of arc-derived greywackes (Caples Terrane) and quartzo-feldspathic greywackes (Torlesse Terrane) at 120 Ma formed a belt of schist (Otago Schist) with distinct mica fabrics defining (i) schistosity, (ii) transposition layering and (iii) crenulation cleavage. Thirty-five ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar step-heating experiments on these micas and whole rock micaceous fabrics from the Otago Schist have shown that the main metamorphism and deformation occurred between 160 and 140 Ma (recorded in the low grade flanks) through 120 Ma (shear zone deformation). This was followed either by very gradual cooling or no cooling until about 110 Ma, with some form of extensional (tectonic) exhumation and cooling of the high-grade metamorphic core between 109 and 100 Ma. Major shear zones separating the low-grade and high-grade parts of the schist define regions of separate and distinct apparent age groupings that underwent different thermo-tectonic histories. Apparent ages on the low-grade north flank (hanging wall to the Hyde-Macraes and Rise and Shine Shear Zones) range from 145 to 159 Ma (n=8), whereas on the low-grade south flank (hanging wall to the Remarkables Shear Zone or Caples Terrane) range from 144 to 156 Ma (n=5). Most of these samples show complex age spectra caused by mixing between radiogenic argon released from neocrystalline metamorphic mica and lesser detrital mica. Several of the hanging wall samples with ages of 144–147 Ma show no evidence for detrital contamination in thin section or in the form of the age spectra. Apparent ages from the high-grade metamorphic core (garnet–biotite–albite zone) range from 131 to 106 Ma (n=13) with a strong grouping 113–109 Ma (n=7) in the immediate footwall to the major Remarkables Shear Zone. Most of the age spectra from within the core of the schist belt yield complex age spectra that we interpret to be the result of prolonged residence within the argon partial retention interval for white mica (430–330 °C). Samples with apparent ages of about 110–109 Ma tend to give concordant plateaux suggesting more rapid cooling. The youngest and most disturbed age spectra come from within the ‘Alpine chlorite overprint’ zone where samples with strong development of crenulation cleavage gave ages 85–107 and 101 Ma, due to partial resetting during retrogression. The bounding Remarkables Shear zone shows resetting effects due to dynamic recrystallization with apparent ages of 127–122 Ma, whereas overprinting shear zones within the core of the schist show apparent ages of 112–109 and 106 Ma. These data when linked with extensional exhumation of high-grade rocks in other parts of New Zealand indicate that the East Gondwana margin underwent significant extension in the 110–90 Ma period.     

The geological significance of 40Ar/39Ar and Rb–Sr white mica ages from Syros and Sifnos,Greece: a record of continuous (re)crystallization during exhumation?

The Attic‐Cycladic crystalline belt in the central Aegean region records a complex structural and metamorphic evolution that documents Cenozoic subduction zone processes and exhumation. A prerequisite to develop an improved tectono‐metamorphic understanding of this area is dating of distinct P–T–D stages. To evaluate the geological significance of phengite ages of variably overprinted rocks, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and Rb–Sr analyses were undertaken on transitional blueschist–greenschist and greenschist facies samples from the islands of Syros and Sifnos. White mica geochronology indicates a large age variability (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar: 41–27 Ma; Rb–Sr: 34–20 Ma). Petrologically similar samples have either experienced greenschist facies overprinting at different times or variations in ages record variable degrees of greenschist facies retrogression and incomplete resetting of isotopic systematics. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and Rb–Sr data for metamorphic rocks from both islands record only minor, localized evidence for Miocene ages (c. 21 Ma) that are well documented elsewhere in the Cyclades and interpreted to result from retrogression of high‐pressure mineral assemblages during lower pressure metamorphism. Field and textural evidence suggests that heterogeneous overprinting may be due to a lack of permeability and/or limited availability of fluids in some bulk compositions and that retrogression was more or less parallel to lithological layering and/or foliation as a result of, possibly deformation‐enhanced, channelized fluid ingress. Published and new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and Rb–Sr data for both islands indicate apparent age variations that can be broadly linked to mineral assemblages documenting transitional blueschist‐to‐greenschist‐ and/or greenschist facies metamorphism. The data do not record the timing of peak HP metamorphism, but may accurately record continuous (partial) resetting of isotopic systematics and/or (re)crystallization of white mica during exhumation and greenschist facies retrogression. The form of ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar phengite age spectra are complex with the lowest temperature steps yielding Middle to Late Miocene ages. The youngest Rb–Sr ages suggest maximum ages of 20.6 ± 0.8 Ma (Syros) and 22.5 ± 0.6 Ma (Sifnos) for the timing of greenschist facies overprinting. The results of this study further accentuate the challenges of interpreting isotopic data for white mica from polymetamorphic terranes, particularly when mixing of populations and/or incomplete resetting of isotopic systematics occurs during exhumation. These data capture the full range of isotopic age variations in retrogressed HP rocks documented in previous isotopic studies, and can be interpreted in terms of the geodynamic evolution of the Aegean.     

40Ar/39Ar evidence for the timing of Paleoproterozoic gold mineralisation at the Sandpiper Deposit,Tanami region,northern Australia

At the Sandpiper gold deposit in the Tanami region of northern Australia sericite is intimately intergrown with arsenopyrite in gold-bearing quartz veins and breccias, suggesting sericite crystallisation synchronous with gold-bearing fluid flow. This ore-stage sericite yields a ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau age of 1785 ± 32 Ma (2σ including both analytical and systematic uncertainties). Recalculation using revised and more precise values for the ⁴⁰K decay constants and the age of the Fish Canyon Sanidine standard shifts the age to 1794 ±12 Ma (2σ including all known uncertainties). Given the possibility of post-mineralisation isotopic resetting this age can be conservatively interpreted as a minimum constraint on the timing of gold deposition although, given local geological relationships and estimates for the argon retentivity of white mica, we consider complete isotopic resetting to be unlikely. The preferred interpretation is, therefore, that the sericite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age indicates the timing of gold mineralisation. Thesericite age accords with a limited dataset of ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb xenotime ages of ca 1800 Ma from other gold deposits in the Tanami region, interpreted as mineralisation ages. The agreement between independently derived ages from several gold deposits lends support for a widespread gold-mineralising event at ca 1800 Ma in the Tanami region.     

Ar loss in experimentally deformed muscovite and biotite with implications for Ar/Ar geochronology of naturally deformed rocks

The effects of deformation on radiogenic argon (⁴⁰Ar^∗) retentivity in mica are described from high pressure experiments performed on rock samples of peraluminous granite containing euhedral muscovite and biotite. Cylindrical cores, ∼15 mm in length and 6.25 mm in diameter, were drilled from granite collected from the South Armorican Massif in northwestern France, loaded into gold capsules, and weld-sealed in the presence of excess water. The samples were deformed at a pressure of 10 kb and a temperature of 600 °C over a period 29 of hours within a solid medium assembly in a Griggs-type triaxial hydraulic deformation apparatus. Overall shortening in the experiments was approximately 10%. Transmitted light and secondary and backscattered electron imaging of the deformed granite samples reveals evidence of induced defects and for significant physical grain size reduction by kinking, cracking, and grain segmentation of the micas.Infrared (IR) laser (CO₂) heating of individual 1.5-2.5 mm diameter grains of muscovite and biotite separated from the undeformed granite yield well-defined ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages of 311 ± 2 Ma (2σ). Identical experiments on single grains separated from the experimentally deformed granite yield results indicating ⁴⁰Ar^∗ loss of 0-35% in muscovite and 2-3% ⁴⁰Ar^∗ loss in biotite. Intragrain in situ ultraviolet (UV) laser ablation ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages (±4-10%, 1σ) of deformed muscovites range from 309 ± 13 to 264 ± 7 Ma, consistent with 0-16% ⁴⁰Ar^∗ loss relative to the undeformed muscovite. The in situ UV laser ablation ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of deformed biotite vary from 301 to 217 Ma, consistent with up to 32% ⁴⁰Ar^∗ loss. No spatial correlation is observed between in situ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age and position within individual grains. Using available argon diffusion data for muscovite the observed ⁴⁰Ar^∗ loss in the experimentally treated muscovite can be utilized to predict average ⁴⁰Ar^∗ diffusion dimensions. Maximum ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages obtained by UV laser ablation overlap those of the undeformed muscovite, indicating argon loss of <1% and an average effective grain radius for ⁴⁰Ar^∗ diffusion ?700 μm. The UV laser ablation and IR laser incremental ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages indicating ⁴⁰Ar^∗ loss of 16% and 35%, respectively, are consistent with an average diffusion radius ?100 μm. These results support a hypothesis of grain-scale ⁴⁰Ar^∗ diffusion distances in undeformed mica and a heterogeneous mechanical reduction in the intragrain effective diffusion length scale for ⁴⁰Ar^∗ in deformed mica. Reduction in the effective diffusion length scale in naturally deformed samples occurs most probably through production of mesoscopic and submicroscopic defects such as, e.g., stacking faults. A network of interconnected defects, continuously forming and annealing during dynamic deformation likely plays an important role in controlling both ⁴⁰Ar^∗ retention and intragrain distribution in deformed mica. Intragrain ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages, when combined with estimates of diffusion kinetics and distances, may provide a means of establishing thermochronological histories from individual micas.     

Compositional controls on <Superscript>40</Superscript>Ar/<Superscript>39</Superscript>Ar ages of zoned mica from a rare-element pegmatite

A high spatial resolution Ar–Ar dating study of compositionally zoned micas using UV laser extraction has been used to investigate the effect of composition and compositional boundaries upon argon diffusion in mica. The crystals are characterised by muscovite cores and Li–F–Rb–Cs-rich lepidolite rims produced by the interaction of a residual melt-vapour phase with the original muscovite during the late stages of pegmatite crystallisation. Single crystals exhibit dramatic intra-grain age variations, with a maximum range of 2,880–2,117 Ma. Backscattered electron images combined with UV-laser analyses reveal that apparent ages younger than 2,600 Ma are directly associated with the compositionally distinct rims, suggesting that Ar diffusion was faster in the lepidolite than in muscovite. Although it is not possible to be fully quantitative using the present data, it seems that argon diffusion rates in lepidolite are similar to those in biotite. Major rearrangements of the crystal structure needed to accommodate high concentrations of lithium, fluorine and large interlayer cations (Rb⁺, Cs⁺) in muscovite account for lower argon retentivity of the crystal rims. In most cases the age profiles show no disturbance at the compositional boundary, despite the transition from a di-octahedral to tri-octahedral mica, indicating that in general the boundaries do not act as fast diffusion pathways. However, in some cases there is a clear drop in ages at the compositional boundary, which acts as an effective sub-grain boundary. The difference between the two types may be related to the internal structure of the compositional boundaries or their degree of contact with the grain boundary network of the rock.     

40Ar-39Ar age of carbonatite-alkaline magmatism in Sung valley, Meghalaya, India

⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar analyses of one alkali pyroxenite whole rock and two phlogopite separates of calcite carbonatites from the Sung Valley carbonatite-alkaline complex, which is believed to be a part of the Rajmahal-Bengal-Sylhet (RBS) flood basalt province, yielded indistinguishable plateau ages of 108.8 ± 2.0Ma, 106.4 ± 1.3Ma and 107.5 ± 1.4Ma, respectively. The weighted mean of these ages, 107.2 ± 0.8 Ma, is the time of emplacement of this complex. This implies that Sung Valley complex and probably other such complexes in the Assam-Meghalaya Plateau postdate the main flood basalt event (i.e., the eruption of tholeiites) in the RBS province by ∼10Ma.     

Amphibole Ar/Ar Geochronology from the Okcheon Metamorphic Belt, South Korea and its Tectonic Implications

An understanding of the Okcheon Metamorphic Belt (OMB) in South Korea is central to unraveling the tectono-metamorphic evolution of East Asia. Amphibole-bearing rocks in the OMB occur as calcsilicate layers and lenses in psammitic rocks, in the psammitic rocks themselves, and in the mafic volcanic layers and intrusives. Most amphiboles fail to show ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages; those that do have ages ranging from 132 to 975 Ma. The disturbed age pattern and wide variation in ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages can be related to metamorphic grade, retrograde chemical reactions, excess Ar and amphibole composition. The oldest age (975 Ma) can be interpreted either as an old igneous or metamorphic age predating sedimentation or a false age caused by excess Ar. The youngest age of 132 Ma and the disturbed age pattern found in amphiboles from rocks located close to Jurassic granitoids are the result of retrograde thermal metamorphic effects accompanying intrusion of the granitoids. Some medium- or coarse-grained amphiboles in the calcsilicates are aggregates of fine-grained crystals. As a result, they are heterogeneous and prove to be readily affected by excess Ar. A disturbed age pattern in amphiboles from the calcsilicates occurring in the high-grade metamorphic zone may also be the product of excess Ar. On the other hand, the disturbed pattern of amphiboles present in the calcsilicates from the low-grade metamorphic zone could arise from both excess Ar and mixed ages. However, amphiboles from psammitic rocks and some calcsilicates in the high-grade metamorphic zone and in intrusive metabasites display real plateau ages of 237 to 261 Ma. The temperature conditions in the high-grade metamorphic zone were higher than the argon closing temperature for amphibole, and the amphiboles in this zone give plateau ages only when they are homogeneous in composition, lack excess Ar, and have not been thermally affected by intrusion of the granitoids. The unmodified ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages prove rather younger than the age of the Late Paleozoic metamorphic event of 280 to 300 Ma, but they are close to muscovite K-Ar ages of 263 to 277 Ma. These ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar amphibole ages are interpreted as the time of cooling that followed the main regional, intermediate-P/T metamorphic climax. The results demonstrate that interpretation of ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar amphibole ages in an area subjected to several metamorphic events can be accomplished only by undertaking a thorough tectono-metamorphic study, accompanied by detailed chemical analysis of the amphiboles.