Geophysical survey of Precambrian terranes in SW Lleyn,Caernarvonshire, Wales

The geology of southwest Lleyn comprises two Late Precambrian terranes: the Gwna Mélange in the west and the Sarn Complex in the east, separated by the Lleyn Shear Zone. The location of the terrane boundary is poorly constrained due to the limited exposure. We undertook a ground magnetic survey and also measured four gravity profiles with the original intention of investigating the cause of a positive aeromagnetic anomaly previously recorded close to the terrane boundary at grid reference [SH 2200 3000]. This ‘Sarn anomaly’ appears to be associated with a shallow body within the Sarn Complex, which is known to be a heterogeneous plutonic igneous unit. Of greater interest was the identification of a much larger-amplitude magnetic anomaly striking roughly N–S for over 7 km close to the mapped position of the Lleyn Shear Zone. It can be modelled as a near-vertical discontinuous body of overall dyke-like form, and is too narrow to have been resolved by the aeromagnetic survey. We discovered a previously unreported outcrop of gabbro at Brynhunog Bach [2100 3127] located on this high-amplitude ‘Brynhunog anomaly’. It seems likely that the whole anomaly is due to a gabbroic body which is an original constituent of the Sarn Complex, but an alternative possibility is that it is a later intrusion along the Lleyn Shear Zone. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Position of the Blyb Complex in the pre-Mesozoic crustal structure of the Front Range Zone in the Northern Caucasus

A number of Variscan nappe complexes were recognized in the Late Mesozoic structure of the Front Range Zone of the Greater Caucasus in the 1970s. They consist predominantly of greenstone units and override one another in a consecutive order. The only exception is the upper, Atsgara Nappe, which is composed of crystalline schists, amphibolites, and microgneisses. Crystalline schists, gneisses, amphibolites, and other rocks of the so-called Blyb Complex occur at the base of the nappe packet. The affinity of crystalline rocks of the Blyb Complex to one of the upper Variscan nappes is substantiated in this paper. The Middle Paleozoic rocks, which originally were located below the Blyb Complex in the Front Range structure, overrode its rocks along the surface of the Blyb Thrust Fault in the Early Triassic. Since that time, the crystalline rocks of the Blyb Complex have occupied the lowermost position in the structure of the Front Range. The absence of Upper Paleozoic rocks in the footwall of the thrust fault is due to the fact that, in the Late Paleozoic, the area underlain by the Blyb Complex was an inlier and a source of clastic material. The hanging wall of the Blyb Thrust Fault may be traced farther southward into the Main Range Zone, where it most likely consists of the Laba Group and other rocks. As has been established previously, the lower portion of the Laba Group consists of analogues of the Middle Paleozoic successions of the Front Range Zone, while its upper portion consists of crystalline schists of the Lashtrak Nappe, which occupy a position similar to that of the Atsgara Nappe metamorphic rocks. These relationships suggest that the rock complexes of the Front Range Zone could have undergone repeated displacements due to post-Variscan (Indosinian) tectonic events and overrode crystalline rocks in the Main Range Zone and more easterly areas. Owing to the uplift of the Central Caucasus, they are now eroding. The difference in the metamorphic grade of the Blyb Complex and the rocks of the Atsgara and Marukha nappes is due to the fact the Blyb Complex lies close to the root zones of nappes or belongs to different nappe sheets. The Blyb Thrust Fault pertains to the Indosinian faults that played the main role in the formation of the Front Range structure.     

Découverte des roches à affinité ophiolitique dans la chaîne panafricaine au Cameroun : les talcschistes de Ngoung, Lamal Pougue et Bibodi Lamal

Outcrops of talc schists extending over >1 km have been discovered within the garnet- and muscovite-bearing mica schist of the Pan-African belt near Yaoundé (Cameroon). Mineralogical studies show that a metamorphism of the upper greenschist facies was prolonged by hydrothermal reactions. This latter led to the transformation of hornblendites into talc schists. Chemically, talc schists and relicts of hornblendite remind ultrabasic rocks, and REE patterns point to E-MORB and peridotite. It is thus suggested that the talc schists and relicts of hornblendite may correspond to slices of a dismembered Pan-African ophiolite set. To cite this article: C. Nkoumbou et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

P–T and structural evolution during exhumation of high-T, medium-P basement rocks in the Barberton Mountain Land, South Africa

The P–T evolution of amphibolite facies gneisses and associated supracrustal rocks exposed along the northern margin of the Paleo to MesoArchean Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa, has been reconstructed via detailed structural analysis combined with calculated K(Mn)FMASH pseudosections of aluminous felsic schists. The granitoid‐greenstone contact is characterized by a contact‐parallel high‐strain zone that separates the generally low‐grade, greenschist facies greenstone belt from mid‐crustal basement gneisses. The supracrustal rocks in the hangingwall of this contact are metamorphosed to upper greenschist facies conditions. Supracrustal rocks and granitoid gneisses in the footwall of this contact are metamorphosed to sillimanite grade conditions (600–700 °C and 5 ± 1 kbar), corresponding to elevated geothermal gradients of ～30–40 °C km^?1. The most likely setting for these conditions was a mid‐ or lower crust that was invaded and advectively heated by syntectonic granitoids at c. 3230 Ma. Combined structural and petrological data indicate the burial of the rocks to mid‐crustal levels, followed by crustal exhumation related to the late‐ to post‐collisional extension of the granitoid‐greenstone terrane during one progressive deformation event. Exhumation and decompression commenced under amphibolite facies conditions, as indicated by the synkinematic growth of peak metamorphic minerals during extensional shearing. Derived P–T paths indicate near‐isothermal decompression to conditions of ～500–650 °C and 1–3 kbar, followed by near‐isobaric cooling to temperatures below ～500 °C. In metabasic rock types, this retrograde P–T evolution resulted in the formation of coronitic Ep‐Qtz and Act‐Qtz symplectites that are interpreted to have replaced peak metamorphic plagioclase and clinopyroxene. The last stages of exhumation are characterized by solid‐state doming of the footwall gneisses and strain localization in contact‐parallel greenschist‐facies mylonites that overprint the decompressed basement rocks.     

Petrology of an Arc-Oceanic Crust Contact Zone in the Laohushan Back-arc Basin, the Eastern Section of the North Qilian Mountains, NW China

A contact zone sandwiched between an arc and an oceanic crust was discovered in the Laohushan area in the present study. It consists of a series of north-dipping imbricated thrust sheets and is exposed on the surface as a narrow arcuate belt, which extends for about 30 km in an E-W direction and measures about 1-3 km wide. Lithologically, it can be divided into four subzones. Subzone 1 consists of meta-andesite and metasandstone; subzone 2, psammitic schists; subzone 3, psammitic and pelitic schists, quartz diorite and hornfelses; and subzone 4, metagabbro, epidote amphibolite and pelitic schists. The metamorphism has the following grading sequence: low greenschist facies in subzone 1 → high greenschist facies in subzone 2 →low amphibolite facies in subzone 3→ epidote amphibolite facies in subzone 4. Petrographic and geochemical evidence shows that rocks in subzones 1, 2 and 3 are arc rocks, whereas those of subzone 4 are oceanic crustal rocks. The metamorphic mineral assemblages and especially miner     

Sequence of Early Precambrian metamorphic events in the southern Prince Charles Mts., Eastern Antarctica

The results of geological study of the mountain framework of the southern part of the Lambert Glacier, Mawson Escarpment, Eastern Antarctica, are discussed. The studied territory is of key importance for understanding the regional geological history. The Ruker and the Lambert rock complexes have been distinguished at the Mawson Escarpment. The former is subdivided into the Mawson and Menzies groups. The polymetamorphic rocks of the Mawson Group comprise granite gneiss, orthopyroxene gneiss, and crystalline schists dated at >3000 Ma combined with tectonic wedges and blocks of the variegated sequence with ultramafic (komatiitic) rocks. The find of those rocks allows us to suggest that an ancient granite-greenstone domain existed in the territory of the Prince Charles Mts.; this domain is retained only as tectonic wedges amongst granite gneisses of the Mawson and Menzies groups composed of polymetamorphic terrigenous rocks with basic sills. The following sequence of metamorphic mineral assemblages in the Menzies Group has been established: (1) And-Crd ± St, (2) Ky-St-Grt-Bt-Ms, (3) Sil-Grt-Crd. The andalusite-type metamorphism of rocks pertaining to the Menzies Group probably has the same age as greenschist metamorphism of rocks belonging to the Collaboration Group (2917 ± 82–2878 ± 65 Ma at Mt. Ruker). The formation of kyanite-staurolite mineral assemblage (mounts Stinear, Maguire, Rymill; South Mawson Escarpment) might be related to a metamorphic event dated at 2400–2350 Ma. The formation of sillimanite-garnet and sillimanite-cordierite assemblages with staurolite relics correlates in time with emplacement of the MacColly granite 600–500 Ma ago. Polymetamorphic rocks of the Lambert Complex are migmatites and gneisses, often with orthopyroxene relics. Blocks of ultramafic rocks are localized amongst granite gneisses. The superimposed metamorphism of amphibolite and granulite facies took place 1800 Ma ago. The model Nd age of ultramafic rocks (2500 Ma) is treated as the time of emplacement of magma into the rocks of the Lambert Complex. Isotopic and geochemical evidence for Early Paleozoic granulite-facies metamorphism is known.     

The youngest blueschist belt in SW Japan: implication for the exhumation of the Cretaceous Sanbagawa high-P/T metamorphic belt

The tectonic evolution of the Northern Shimanto belt, central Shikoku, Japan, was examined based on petrological and geochronological studies in the Oboke area, where mafic schists of the Kawaguchi Formation contain sodic amphibole (magnesioriebeckite). The peak P–T conditions of metamorphism are estimated as 4–4.5 kbar (15–17 km depth), and 240–270 °C based on available phase equilibria and sodic amphibole compositions. These metamorphic conditions are transitional between blueschist, greenschist and pumpellyite–actinolite facies. Phengite K–Ar ages of 64.8 ± 1.4 and 64.4 ± 1.4 Ma were determined for the mafic schists, and 65.0 ± 1.4, 61.4 ± 1.3 and 63.6 ± 1.4 Ma for the pelitic schists. The metamorphic temperatures in the Oboke area are below the closure temperature of the K–Ar phengite system, so the K–Ar ages date the metamorphic peak in the Northern Shimanto belt. In the broad sense of the definition of blueschist facies, the highest‐grade part of the Northern Shimanto belt belongs to the blueschist facies. Our study and those of others identify the following constraints on the possible mechanism that led to the exhumation of the overlying Sanbagawa belt: (i) the Sanbagawa belt is a thin tectonic slice with a structural thickness of 3–4 km; (ii) within the belt, metamorphic conditions varied from 5 to 25 kbar, and 300 to 800 °C, with the grade of metamorphism decreasing symmetrically upward and downward from a structurally intermediate position; and (iii) the Sanbagawa metamorphic rocks were exhumed from ～60 km depth and emplaced onto the Northern Shimanto metamorphic rocks at 15–17 km depth and 240–270 °C. Integration of these results with those of previous geological studies for the Sanbagawa belt suggests that the most probable exhumation mechanism is wedge extrusion.     

Metamorphic zonal sequences of pelitic schists and gneisses from the area around Kandra (Jharkhand): Constraints from field and textural relationship

The pelitic schists of the area around Kandra, Singhbhum district, Jharkhand belong to the Chaibasa Formation of the Singhbhum Group, which constitute a part of the youngest Precambrian orogenic cycle of the Singhbhum region. Structurally, the area represents the Singhbhum anticlinorium and is overlain by Dalma traps which form the synclinorium towards the north of the area around Kandra. This area mainly consists of medium to high grade rocks belonging to greenschist and amphibolite facies. These rocks are folded in the E-W trending doubly plunging folds (F₁) overturned towards the south with low plunges and superposed by cross-folds (F₂). The spatial distribution of the index minerals in the pelitic schists of the area shows Barrovian type of metamorphism. Four isograds, viz. biotite, garnet, staurolite and sillimanite have been delineated by the first appearance of the index minerals and also by isograd reactions. The textural relation suggests that sillimanite is formed from staurolite consumption reaction instead of kyanite consumption.     

柴北缘鱼卡地区达肯大坂岩群的地质特征与构造环境

柴达木北缘鱼卡河地区的达肯大坂岩群可划分为斜长角闪岩岩组和片岩岩组。斜长角闪岩岩组主要由变质基性火山岩和碎屑岩组成,火山岩的地球化学特征指示为岛弧环境构造;片岩岩组分布在柴达木山西南侧,为一套陆源碎屑岩建造。该岩群遭受了三幕构造变形,前两幕褶皱变形是造山作用的产物,具有近似的北西-南东向或北北西向的褶皱枢纽,近共轴褶皱叠加的构造样式指示了北东-南西向挤压收缩的动力学背景。达肯大坂岩群遭受中压高绿片岩相-角闪岩相的变质,变质程度往北东方向递减,可与其南柴达木盆地一侧的高压-超高压变质带构成双变质带。结合最近从达肯大坂岩群中获得的锆石年龄,推断该岩群形成于大陆边缘的弧后盆地,时代为新元古代晚期-早古生代,是柴北缘早古生代造山带的重要组成部分。     

用陆块旋转解释藏东南渐新世-中新世伸展作用——来自点苍山及邻区变质核杂岩的证据

沿红河断裂带(RRFZ)分布的点苍山变质核杂岩是一个不完整的变质核杂岩,它由两个特征迥异的单元组成,包括被同构造二长花岗岩侵入角闪岩相构造岩组成的下盘和绿片岩相的拆离断层带。下盘岩石包括具有高温构造组合,具有指示左行走滑剪切运动方向的L型糜棱岩或LS型糜棱岩。拆离断层带是一个上盘向E到SE伸展剪切的低温剪切带,由具有剪应变和压应变的典型S-L糜棱岩构成。低温构造岩也包括发育于下盘的几个糜棱岩化似斑状二长花岗岩侵入体。变质核杂岩与西侧覆盖未变质的中生代沉积岩并置,东部受第四纪断层作用影响为沿洱海分布的更新世-全新世沉积盆地。通过对点苍山变质核杂岩的构造研究,结合邻区变质核杂岩的地质年代学及古地磁学分析,我们认为:位于东南亚红河断裂和实皆断裂带之间的扇形区域内出现的变质核杂岩与渐新世-中新世时期区域性伸展作用有关,而伸展作用是由印支地块的差异性旋转产生的,其原因是由于约33Ma开始斜向俯冲的印度板块的顺时针旋转和回退所致。     

郯庐断裂带南段张八岭群变质岩的原岩时代及其构造意义

大别造山带东缘郯庐断裂带上分布着绿片岩相变质的张八岭群。对于它们的原岩时代长期没有同位素年代学数据,而其变形与变质原因也一直没有明确的认识。本次工作中选择了该带上8处张八岭群变火山岩进行了锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb定年。结果表明,它们的原岩时代为748~750 Ma,属于新元古代中期的南华纪,为扬子板块下部盖层而非前人认为的变质基底。结合张八岭群的变形与变质特征及前人白云母40Ar/39Ar定年结果,并与大别造山带进行对比,本文认为大别造山带东南缘张八岭群的变形与变质是造山带内俯冲与折返的结果,而其东缘郯庐断裂带内张八岭群的变形与变质是碰撞造山期该断裂带左行走滑活动所致。这些认识再次为郯庐断裂带起源于华北与扬子板块的碰撞过程中提供了重要的证据,也支持其造山期起源于陆内转换断层或斜向汇聚边界。     

Mineral Chemistry and Pressure-Temperature Evolution of Two Contrasting High-pressure-Low-temperature Belts in the Chonos Archipelago, Southern Chile

The Chonos Metamorphic Complex forms part of a belt of low-grademetamorphic rocks in the Chilean Coastal Cordillera that areinterpreted as Palaeozoic–Mesozoic accretionary complexes.It comprises metapsammopelitic schists, metabasites and meta-ironstonesoccurring in two contrasting units. Special attention duringmicroprobe study of key samples was given to the chemical zonationof minerals. Subsequently, conventional geothermobarometry andthat using thermodynamic calculations were applied. The Easternbelt comprises rocks that are metamorphosed to pumpellyite–actinolitefacies conditions and show a low degree of deformation withwell-preserved sedimentary and igneous structures. Maximum P–Tconditions were around 5·5 kbar and 250–280°C.The rocks of the Western belt are characterized by a transitionbetween greenschist and albite–epidote–amphibolitefacies metamorphism and show a penetrative tectonic transpositionfoliation S₂ formed close to the pressure maximum. Maximum P–Tconditions vary around 8–10 kbar and 380–500°Coverstepping the stilpnomelane + phengite stability. High pressuresin this belt are confirmed by regionally distributed phengiteswith high Si contents up to 3·5 Si per formula unit.Regional distribution of maximum temperatures is reflected bythe composition of actinolitic hornblendes within the metabasites.In a garnet-bearing metabasite of the Western belt, oscillatorygrowth zoning of garnet was observed. The composition of correspondingmineral inclusions suggests that a prograde P–T path duringgarnet growth evolved from 7·5 kbar and 375°C toabout 9·4 kbar and 500°C. Late garnet grew synkinematicallywith penetrative deformation. The retrograde P–T pathin the rocks of the Western belt is constrained by the compositionof mainly late strain-free minerals and involves slight coolingduring decompression. Both belts are part of a subduction system.The apparent P–T gap between the belts is due to theirjuxtaposition during exhumation. The Eastern belt constitutesthe transition towards the backstop system of the accretionaryprism that is represented by the Western belt, whereas the absenceof very low grade rocks west of the Western belt is attributedto tectonic erosion, which was possibly caused by subductionof a ridge. KEY WORDS: Chonos Metamorphic Complex; accretionary complex; high-pressure–low-temperature metamorphism; oscillatory garnet zonation; phengite; P–T paths     

Geologic correlation between the Neoproterozoic Sergipano belt (NE Brazil) and the Yaoundé belt (Cameroon, Africa)

The Yaoundé belt (Cameroon) and the Sergipano belt (NE Brazil) belonged to a major and continuous Neoproterozoic orogen at the northern margin of the ancient Congo-São Francisco craton. The Yaoundé belt comprises schists, quartzites, gneisses and migmatitic gneisses grouped into three domains; the low-grade Mbalmayo Group in south and the medium- to high-grade Yaoundé and Bafia Group in north. The Sergipano belt is divided into six domains, the three southernmost of which are mostly made up of clastic and chemical metasedimentary rocks whereas the others are more diverse with a migmatite–gneiss complex, and two metavolcanicplutonic complexes. In general, the two belts show structural vergence and decrease of metamorphic grade towards the craton; three main deformation phases are recognized in the Sergipano belt in contrast with two described in the Yaoundé belt. The minimum age of Pan-African-Brasiliano collision in the Sergipano belt is constrained at 628 ± 12 Ma on syn-collision granites, whereas in the Yaoundé belt collision took place between 620 and 610 Ma, i.e. the age of granulite facies metamorphism. Sm–Nd isotope geochemistry and U–Pb age dating indicate that most clastic metasedimentary rocks in both belts were derived from sources to the north and, to a lesser degree, from the cratons to the south.     

Metamorphic rocks of the Araya Peninsula,Eastern Venezuela

Two grades of metamorphism, both subfacies of the greenschist facies of regional metamorphism, were mapped on the Araya Peninsula: 1. the quartzalbite-epidote-almandine subfacies, consisting mainly of a sequence of garnet and kyanite quartz-mica schists, interlayered with quartzites; and 2. the quartzalbite-muscovite-chlorite subfacies, which consists of chloritic phyllites, quartzmica schists and phyllites, metaconglomerates, calcareous quartz-mica schists, limestones and marbles, and calcareous epidote schists of volcanic origin. The two subfacies are separated by faults. The probable age of these rocks ranges from Triassic(?)-Jurassic to Lower and Middle Cretaceous. Serpentinites intrude rocks of the lower metamorphic grade, and are interpreted as tectonically emplaced. The foliation of these rocks is highly folded by mesoscopic folds, whose axes trend east-northeast and which are overturned to the south-southeast. Lineations parallel to the fold axes and thrusting to the south-southeast are common. These structures reflect a macroscopic structure of antiforms and synforms, all affected by a dominant north-northwest to south-southeast tectonic transport. A system of high-angle or vertical longitudinal faults crosses the peninsula from west-southwest to east-northeast. Evidence of recent strike-slip movement was found, although vertical movement has also been important along these faults. Two tectonic styles exist in the metamorphic rocks. The older one is characterized by compression and thrusting in a south-southeast direction. The younger one is represented by longitudinal faults oriented in an east-northeast direction, with vertical and strike-slip movement. They probably reflect the eastward movement of the Caribbean region with respect to South America.     

Constraints of U-Pb zircon dating on the evolution of the Nan-Uttaradit suture zone in northern Thailand

Nan-Uttaradit suture zone in northern Thailand is a narrow N-S trending and discontinuous ophiolite belt along the Nan River (Barr and MacDonald, 1987). It was interpreted as the Paleo-Tethys oceanic remnants that separate Shan-Thai (Sibumasu) terrane and Indo-china terrane (Bunopas, 1981; Hada, 1999), and rein-terpreted as the boundary of Sukhothai (or Simao) terrane and the Indochina terrane that representing a segment of the back-arc basin (Barr and MacDonald, 1991; Ueno and Hisada, 2001; Metcalfe, 2006; Ferrari et al., 2008; Sone and Metcalfe, 2008). This zone is dominated by Carboniferous to Permian Pha Som Metamorphic Complex (Hess and Koch, 1975). The Pha Som Metamorphic Complex consists of several tectonostratigraphic slices of volcanic rocks, schists, meta-greywacke, serpentinite and bedded chert. And it is in fault contact with Pak Pat volcanic rocks. Both of Pha Som Metamorphic Complex and Pak Pat volcanic rocks are covered by the Upper Triassic and the Juras-sic red sandstones with angular unconformity. Previ-ous studies mainly focused on the amalgamation epi-sodes of the Sukhothai terrane and Indochina terrane. The Late Carboniferous to Early Permian age of the opening of the basin was proposed by some authors (Singharajwarapan and Berry, 2000; Metcalfe, 2006; Ferrari et al., 2008) on the basis of the regional strati-graphy, different dating of cherts, and schists from the Pha Som Metamorphic Complex.     

Ultrahigh Pressure Metamorphism and Tectonic Evolution of Southwestern Tianshan Orogenic Belt,China: A Comprehensive Review

Recently, a huge ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) metamorphic belt of oceanic‐type has been recognized in southwestern (SW) Tianshan, China. Petrological studies show that the UHP metamorphic rocks of SW Tianshan orogenic belt include mafic eclogites and blueschists, felsic garnet phengite schists, marbles and serpentinites. The well‐preserved coesite inclusions were commonly found in eclogites, garnet phengite schists and marbles. Ti‐clinohumite and Ti‐chondrodite have been identified in UHP metamorphic serpentinites. Based on the PT pseudosection calculation and combined U‐Pb zircon dating, the P‐T‐t path has been outlined as four stages: cold subduction to UHP conditions before ～320 Ma whose peak ultrahigh pressure is about 30 kbar at 500oC, heating decompression from the Pmax to the Tmax stage before 305 Ma whose peak temperature is about 600oC at 22kbar, then the early cold exhumation from amphibolite eclogite facies to epidote‐amphibolite facies metamorphism characterized by ITD PT path before 220 Ma and the last tectonic exhumation from epidote amphibolite facies to greenschist facies metamorphism. Combining with the syn‐subduction arc‐like 333‐326 Ma granitic rocks and 280‐260 Ma S‐type granites in the coeval low‐pressure and high‐temperature (LP‐HT) metamorphic belt, the tectonic evolution of Tianshan UHP metamorphic belt during late Cambrian to early Triassic has been proposed.     

Multistage metamorphism and deformation in high‐pressure metabasites of the northern Adula Nappe Complex (Central Alps,Switzerland)

Metabasites from the northern Adula Nappe Complex (ANC) display a complex microstructural evolution recording episodes of deformation and metamorphic re‐equilibration that were obliterated in the surrounding phengite‐bearing schists. Pre‐D1 and D1 deformation episodes are preserved as mineral inclusions within garnet cores of some amphibole‐bearing eclogites and record high‐temperature greenschist‐/amphibolite‐facies conditions. D2 produced an eclogite‐facies foliation which developed at 580 ± 70°C and 19 ± 3 kbar. D3 was a composite deformation episode which can be divided into three sub‐episodes D3m, D3a and D3b which occurred as the metamorphism evolved from post‐eclogitic high‐pressure and low‐temperature conditions through to amphibolite‐facies conditions at 590 ± 30°C and 11.7 ± 1.3 kbar. The D3 deformation episode was responsible for the development of the S3 regional‐scale foliation in the surrounding schists, whilst D4 caused the development of an S4 greenschist foliation. The composite nature of the D3 episode indicates that rocks of the northern ANC experienced a protracted post‐eclogitic structural reworking and that the current structure of this part of the Alps is a late‐Alpine feature. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Petrologic, isotopic, and radiometric age constraints on the origin and tectonic history of the Malino Metamorphic Complex, NW Sulawesi, Indonesia

The Malino Metamorphic Complex (MMC) is located at the western end of the north arm of Sulawesi. It consists of mica schists and gneisses (derived from proximal turbidite and granitoid protoliths), with intercalations of greenschist, amphibolite, marble, and quartzite, forming an E-W elongated dome-like structure bounded on all sides by faults. The age of the MMC is constrained between Devonian and Early Carboniferous. This Paleozoic age, the presence of Archean and Proterozoic inherited zircons, and the isotopic signature of the mica schists and gneisses indicate that the terrane was derived from the New Guinea-Australian margin of Gondwana. Similarities with basement rocks in the Bird’s Head suggests a common origin. Greenschists forming a discontinuous selvage (metamorphic carapace) around the complex were derived from adjacent autochthonous Paleogene formations. The rocks of the MMC show a Barrovian-type progression from greenschist through epidote-amphibolite to amphibolite facies. P–T estimations suggest a depth of burial of up to 27–30 km. K/Ar and 40Ar/39Ar cooling ages of 23–11 Ma, and a 7 Ma age for unconformably overlying volcanic rocks, indicate that the complex was exhumed during the Miocene. Two tectonic scenarios are considered: 1. the continental fragment docked with Sulawesi during the Mesozoic and was exhumed as a metamorphic core complex during the Miocene; 2. it was subducted beneath the north arm during the late Oligocene and then rapidly returned back to the surface.     

The Yermakovsky deposit,Western Transbaikal Region,Russia: Isotopic and geochemical parameters and sources of beryllium-bearing granitoids and other rocks

An isotopic study of igneous and metamorphic rocks has been carried out at the Yermakovsky bertrandite-phenakite-fluorite deposit. It has been established that the model age of the schists pertaining to the Zun-Morino Formation is 1360–1260 Ma. In Nd and Sr isotopic composition, these schists deviate from the isotopic composition of the continental crust and are close in this respect to the enriched mantle reservoir (EM-II). The model age of carbonate rocks of the Zun-Morino Formation is 1330–1020 Ma. The Middle Riphean model age of the Zun-Morino Formation is interpreted as the age of its protolith. According to the Sr and Nd isotopic data, all preore igneous rocks (granitic dikes, gabbroic rocks, and gneissose granite of the Tsagan Complex) were formed with the participation of continental crustal material. Synore basic dikes, alkali leucogranite stock, and syenite intrusion are considered to be mixtures of mantle components (DM+HIMU) and various continental crustal components (Tsagan gneissose granite, crystalline schists, the mean composition of granitoids of the Angara-Vitim batholith as an estimate of average composition of the regional continental crust). Synore igneous rocks are genetically cognate and related to the magmatic activity in the Western Transbaikal Rift Zone presumably formed in the Triassic under effect of a mantle plume.     

Back-arc basin assemblages in Kohistan,Northern Pakistan

Abstract

The east central part of the Kohistan magmatic arc is made up principally of the Jaglot Group. From bottom to top it consists of I) paragneisses and schists intercalated with amphibolites and calc-silicates (Gilgit Formation), II) Gashu-Confluence Volcanics (GCV) and III) the Thelichi Formation comprising a volcanic base (Majne volcanics) and turbidites, marble, volcanoclastic sediments and lava flows. Metamorphic grade varies up to the sillimanite zone. The GCV are correlated with the Chalt volcanics and the Thelichi Formation with the Yasin Group. Other lithologies include the Chilas Complex, the Kohistan Batholith and part of the Kamila Amphibolite. Metavolcanics show a broad range in chemical composition. Geochemical parameters used to specify the tecto-nomagmatic regime suggest affinities of both island arc and MORB-like back-arc basin basalts. Kohistan can be divided into three tectonic zones, I) the southern (Kamila) zone comprises amphibolitized basalts, and mafic and ultramafic rocks, II) the central Chilas Complex, and III) the northern (Gilgit) zone i.e., the Jaglot Group. Previous tectonic models considered the southern two zones as the crust of a Cretaceous island arc. This investigation concludes that only the southern zone represents a true island arc. The Jaglot Group derives from back-arc basin assemblages and the Chilas Complex is a magmatic diapir emplaced in the back-arc basin.