SHRIMP monazite and zircon geochronology of high-grade metamorphism in New Zealand

Ion microprobe dating of zircon and monazite from high-grade gneisses has been used to (1) determine the timing of metamorphism in the Western Province of New Zealand, and (2) constrain the age of the protoliths from which the metamorphic rocks were derived. The Western Province comprises Westland, where mainly upper crustal rocks are exposed, and Fiordland, where middle to lower crustal levels crop out. In Westland, the oldest recognisable metamorphic event occurred at 360–370 Ma, penecontemporaneously with intrusion of the mid-Palaeozoic Karamea Batholith (c. 375 Ma). Metamorphism took place under low-pressure/high-temperature conditions, resulting in upper-amphibolite sillimanite-grade metamorphism of Lower Palaeozoic pelites (Greenland Group). Orthogneisses of younger (Cretaceous) age formed during emplacement of the Rahu Suite granite intrusives (c. 110 Ma) and were derived from protoliths including Cretaceous Separation Point suite and Devonian Karamea suite granites. In Fiordland, high-grade paragneisses with Greenland Group zircon age patterns were metamorphosed (M1) to sillimanite grade at 360 Ma. Concomitant with crustal thickening and further granite emplacement, M1 mineral assemblages were overprinted by higher-pressure kyanite-grade metamorphism (M2) at 330 Ma. It remains unclear whether the M2 event in Fiordland was primarily due to tectonic burial, as suggested by regional recumbent isoclinal folding, or whether it was due to magmatic loading, in keeping with the significant volumes of granite magma intruded at higher structural levels in the formerly contiguous Westland region. Metamorphism in Fiordland accompanied and outlasted emplacement of the Western Fiordland Orthogneiss (WFO) at 110–125 Ma. The WFO equilibrated under granulite facies conditions, whereas cover rocks underwent more limited recrystallization except for high-strain shear zones where conditions of lower to middle amphibolite facies were met. The juxtaposition of Palaeozoic kyanite-grade rocks against Cretaceous WFO granulites resulted from late Mesozoic extensional deformation and development of metamorphic core complexes in the Western Province.     

Distribution of rutile in metamorphic rocks and implications for placer deposits

Pelitic units in the eastern Great Smoky Mountains of the North Carolina Blue Ridge contain rutile grains only in kyanite and higher zones. Adjacent non-pelitic rocks do not contain rutile at kyanite grade but commonly contain sphene. Detrital rutile breaks down at metamorphic grades lower than those at which metamorphic rutile forms. Similarly, pelitic rocks in southeastern Connecticut contain rutile grains above, but not below, the sillimanite isograd. Most non-pelitic rocks there contain rutile only in the hypersthene zone. The slight difference in behavior of rutile in the two terranes is attributed primarily to a slight difference in calcium content of the pelites. In both areas, rutile commonly appears first as inclusions in garnet. Geologic maps showing metamorphic and stratigraphic or compositional information should be useful as prospecting tools for placer deposits. A variety of rocks at granulite facies and pelitic rocks of the upper amphibolite facies contain rutile and these could provide an extensive source for rutile in rutile placer deposits.     

贺兰山——阿拉善地区下、中前寒武系的划分对比及其变质、成矿作用特征

据近期成果,贺兰山—阿拉善地区出露的巨厚变质杂岩可划分为中太古界贺兰山群和叠布斯格群(其全岩Rb—Sr等时年龄为3108.3和3218.8Ma),上太古界阿拉善群和下元古界的赵池沟群、阿拉坦敖包群;它们具不同的变质矿物共生组合,太古界变质岩属低压高温变质的麻粒岩相;下元古界为低—低中压区域动力(热流)变质的绿片岩相岩石。太古界有较强的混合岩化、花岗岩化作用,并蕴藏有铁、石墨、矽线石、刚玉等多种矿产。     

U–Pb zircon study of tectonically bounded blocks of 2940–2840 Ma crust with different metamorphic histories,Paamiut region,South-West Greenland: implications for the tectonic assembly of the North Atlantic craton

New fieldwork, map interpretation, petrography and single zircon U–Pb geochronology has allowed the identification of different crustal blocks in the Paamiut region, in the southern portion of the West Greenland Archaean Craton. Changes of metamorphic grade from only amphibolite facies to granulite facies (some subsequently retrogressed) corresponds with zones of Archaean high strain ductile deformation ± mylonites. U–Pb zircon dates are presented for the TTG (tonalite, trondhjemite, granodiorite) protoliths from each block in the Paamiut region, and the southern portion of the previously identified Tasiusarsuaq terrane lying to the north. The southern part of the Tasiusarsuaq terrane contains 2880–2860 Ma TTG rocks and underwent amphibolite facies metamorphism. Structurally underneath the Tasiusarsuaq terrane to the south is the Sioraq block containing 2870–2830 Ma TTG rocks partly retrogressed from granulite facies. Structurally underneath and to the south is the Paamiut block, dominated by 2850–2770 Ma granodioritic rocks that have only undergone amphibolite facies metamorphism. Also structurally overlying the Paamiut block, but cropping out separately from the Sioraq block, is the Neria block. This appears to be dominated by 2940–2920 Ma gneisses that have been totally retrogressed from granulite facies and strongly deformed. In the southernmost part of the region the Neria block overlies the greenschist to lowermost amphibolite facies Sermiligaarsuk block that contains the ⩾2945 Ma Tartoq Group. Rocks from all the blocks record ancient loss of Pb from zircons and some new zircon growth at 2820 Ma, interpreted to indicate a high grade metamorphic event at that time, including granulite facies metamorphism in the Sioraq and Neria blocks. The blocks of different metamorphic grade are interpreted to have moved to their current positions after the 2820 Ma metamorphism, explaining the change in metamorphic history across some mylonites and ductile shear zones which deform and retrogress granulite facies textures. The juxtaposed blocks and their contacts were subsequently folded under amphibolite facies conditions. The contacts are cut by undeformed Palaeoproterozoic dolerite dykes which post-date amphibolite facies metamorphism. These results, together with previously published data from the Godthåbsfjord region (north of Paamiut) shows that the North Atlantic Craton in West Greenland from Ivittuut in the south to Maniitsoq in the north (∼550 km) consists of a mosaic of ductile fault-bounded packages that attained their present relative positions in the late Archaean.     

青藏高原拉萨地体北部的前寒武纪变质作用及构造意义

青藏高原南部拉萨地体中分布的角闪岩相至麻粒岩相变质岩一直被认为是前寒武纪变质基底,但并没有获得可靠的年代学证据。本文运用原位锆石U-Pb定年方法,在拉萨地体北部那果地区的变质岩中获得了约720Ma的变质年龄,从而证明拉萨地体北部在新古元代经历了角闪岩相变质作用和近同期的岩浆作用。基于这一成果和在拉萨地体中、南部高级变质岩中陆续获得的中、新生代变质年龄,对拉萨地体变质作用的时、空变化及其成因进行了初步探讨。     

Multi-stage metamorphism by progressive accretion of continental blocks,example from the Western Hindu Kush

Basement rocks from the Western Hindu Kush preserve evidence of multiple metamorphic and magmatic events that occurred along the boundary between the Archean–Proterozoic Afghan Central and Afghan–Tajik Blocks. To verify the different metamorphic stages or events, mineral textures and phase equilibria in metamorphic basement rocks and their age relations to magmatic episodes have been investigated. Quartzofeldspathic gneiss and migmatite with lenses of amphibolite (with assumed Proterozoic age for their metamorphism) are intruded by the Triassic Hindu Kush granitoid batholith and small Cretaceous and Oligocene granite intrusions. The age of thermal overprint (210–170 Ma) by the Triassic batholith is confirmed by new monazite data. Both Triassic and Cretaceous granitoids and surrounding basement rocks underwent subsequent metamorphism up to epidote–amphibolite facies. The degree of this metamorphism increases southward at the contact to the Kabul Block, which under-plates the Western Hindu Kush from the south. An early Miocene age was obtained by Pb–Th analyses in thorite and huttonite, which are close or slightly younger than the Oligocene granite in this area. The Cretaceous meta-granodiorite near the border with the Kabul Block contains xenoliths of granulite facies rocks that could come from the Neoarchean granulite facies basement of the Kabul Block. The multi-stage metamorphic and magmatic evolution classifies the Hindu Kush mountain belt as a long-lived suture zone that was active since the early Palaeozoic. The results of this study support the interpretation about possible relations of the Afghan Central Blocks to the southern margin of Eurasia during the evolution of Para- and Neotethys.     

Petrological and chronological characteristics of medium-high grade metamorphic rocks in Gonjo area,southeastern margin of Qamdo block,eastern Tibet.SCIEI北大核心CSCD

青藏高原东缘的昌都地块是连接青藏高原腹地和藏东南三江-印支地区的关键区域,发育有较完整的晚古生界,以三叠系、侏罗系-白垩系广泛分布为特色;但其前寒武纪基底岩系出露较少,主要以宁多岩群(Pt_(1-2)Nd.)和草曲群(Pt_(3)C)为代表。本文针对昌都地块东南缘贡觉地区出露的一套被前人称为“宁多岩群”的中深变质岩系,开展了系统的野外地质调查、显微薄片分析、锆石U-Pb年代学等研究工作,认为该套中深变质岩系属于一套变质杂岩,其岩石组合既包括了原岩沉积时代不早于奥陶纪的片麻岩、变粒岩和大理岩等副变质岩,又包含了原岩时代分别为中二叠世的斜长角闪岩和中三叠世花岗质片麻岩等正变质岩。其原岩时代特征与昌都地块北缘的宁多岩群有较大差别,不应当归属为昌都地块的前寒武纪结晶基底。结合片麻岩的变质新生云母类矿物Ar-Ar测年数据和变质后期侵入的闪长玢岩脉锆石U-Pb年龄,认为贡觉地区出露的中深变质岩的变质时代为ca.260~244Ma(P_(2)-T_(2))。该期发生在昌都地块东南缘的角闪岩相变质作用,是金沙江古特提斯洋向西俯冲-碰撞的构造响应。     

Petrogenesis of Eclogites in the Light of Punctuated Metamorphic Evolution in Dabie Terrane，China

Ｐｅｔｒｏｇｅｎｅｓｉｓ　ｏｆ　Ｅｃｌｏｇｉｔｅｓ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　Ｌｉｇｈｔ　ｏｆ　ＰｕｎｃｔｕａｔｅｄＭｅｔａｍｏｒｐｈｉｃ　Ｅｖｏｌｕｔｉｏｎ　ｉｎ　Ｄａｂｉｅ　Ｔｅｒｒａｎｅ，Ｃｈｉｎａ￥ＹｏｕＺｈｅｎｄｏｎｇ；ＨａｎＹｕｊｉｎｇ；ＺｈｏｎｇＺ...     

Granulite facies thermal aureoles and metastable amphibolite facies assemblages adjacent to the Western Fiordland Orthogneiss in southwest Fiordland, New Zealand

In southwest New Zealand, a suite of felsic diorite intrusions known as the Western Fiordland Orthogneiss (WFO) were emplaced into the mid to deep crust and partially recrystallized to high‐P (12 kbar) granulite facies assemblages. This study focuses on the southern most pluton within the WFO suite (Malaspina Pluton) between Doubtful and Dusky sounds. New mapping shows intrusive contacts between the Malaspina Pluton and adjacent Palaeozoic metasedimentary country rocks with a thermal aureole ～200–1000 m wide adjacent to the Malaspina Pluton in the surrounding rocks. Thermobarometry on assemblages in the aureole indicates that the Malaspina Pluton intruded the adjacent amphibolite facies rocks while they were at depths of 10–14 kbar. Similar P–T conditions are recorded in high‐P granulite facies assemblages developed locally throughout the Malaspina Pluton. Palaeozoic rocks more than ～200–1000 m from the Malaspina Pluton retain medium‐P mid‐amphibolite facies assemblages, despite having been subjected to pressures of 10–14 kbar for > 5 Myr. These observations contradict previous interpretations of the WFO Malaspina Pluton as the lower plate of a metamorphic core complex, everywhere separated from the metasedimentary rocks by a regional‐scale extensional shear zone (Doubtful Sound Shear Zone). Slow reaction kinetics, lack of available H₂O, lack of widespread penetrative deformation, and cooling of the Malaspina Pluton thermal anomaly within c. 3–4 Myr likely prevented recrystallization of mid amphibolite facies assemblages outside the thermal aureole. If not for the evidence within the thermal aureole, there would be little to suggest that gneissic rocks which underlie several 100 km² of southwest New Zealand had experienced metamorphic pressures of 10–14 kbar. Similar high‐P metamorphic events may therefore be more common than presently recognized.     

Metamorphism and tectonic evolution of the Lancang paired metamorphic belts, south-western China

Abstract The Lancang metamorphic terrane consists of an eastern low- P/T belt and a western high- P/T belt divided by a N–S-trending fault. Protoliths of both units are mid–late Proterozoic basement and its cover. The low- P/T belt includes the Permian Lincang batholith, related amphibolite facies rocks of the Damenglong and Chongshan groups, and Permo-Triassic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks. Most whole-rock Rb–Sr isochron and U–Pb zircon ages of the Lincang batholith are in the range 290–279 and 254–212 Ma, respectively. Metamorphism of the low- P/T belt reaches upper amphibolite with local granulite facies (735°C at 5 kbar), subsequently retrogressed at 450–500°C during post-Triassic time. The high- P/T rocks grade from west to east from blueschist through transitional blueschist/greenschist to epidote amphibolite facies. Estimated P–T conditions follow the high- P intermediate facies series up to about 550–600°C, at which oligoclase is stable. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau age of sodic amphibole in blueschist is 279 Ma.
The paired metamorphic belts combined with the spatial and temporal distribution of other blueschist belts lead us to propose a tentative tectonic history of south-east Asia since the latest Precambrian. Tectonic juxtaposition of paired belts with contrasting P–T conditions, perhaps during collision of the Baoshan block with south-east Asia, suggests that an intervening oceanic zone existed that has been removed. The Baoshan block is a microcontinent rifted from the northern periphery of Gondwana. Successive collision and amalgamation of microcontinents from either Gondwana or the Panthalassan ocean resulted in rapid southward continental growth of c. 500 km during the last 200 Ma. Hence, the Lancang region in south-east Asia represents a suture zone between two contrasting microcontinents.     

Xes-Xen thermochronology of the Rayner metamorphic complex,Enderby Land (East Antarctica,Molodezhnaya Station Area)

The Xe_s-Xe_n dating of zircons from rocks of the Rayner Complex of the Enderby Land at the Molodezhnaya Station area (coast of the Alasheyev Bight) yielded age estimates of 550 ± 50 and 1040 ± 30 Ma. The metamorphic rocks of the Rayner Complex record two main events: first, the crystallization of the magmatic protoliths of charnockitic and enderbitic gneisses and, second, superimposed structural and metamorphic alterations under conditions transitional from the amphibolite to granulite facies (metamorphism manifested regionally in the rocks of the Rayner Complex). The most reliable Xe_s-Xe_n age estimates for magmatic zircons from the charnockitic and enderbitic gneisses correspond to the Grenville stage of the development of the Rayner Complex (～1.0 Ga). The Xe isotopic systematics of metamorphic zircons reflect a pan-African stage in the evolution of the Rayner Complex (600–550 Ma). Pan-African events are reflected in the U-Xe isotope system in two cases: if metamorphic zircons crystallized at the same time (which probably resulted in the formation of a plateau in the Xe_s-Xe_n age spectrum) and if the initial isotopic systems were disturbed (which resulted in a decrease in apparent age toward low-temperature gas fractions). It is important that secondary alterations and a decrease in apparent ages to 600–550 Ma affected only those components (i.e., caused xenon release only from those traps) that were unstable under the maximum metamorphic temperatures and yielded T _cl values lower than 750°C (conditions transitional from the amphibolite to granulite facies). At a higher xenon retention, “primary” isotopic systems are preserved. Consequently, the age of metamorphism transitional between the amphibolite and granulite facies can be estimated at 600–550 Ma on the basis of Xe_s-Xe_n dating. In general, the results of our study indicate that the age of regional metamorphism of the Rayner complex at the Molodezhnaya area is approximately 600–550 Ma rather than ～1.0 Ga, as was previously supposed.     

中国与蒙古之地质

东昆仑中部缝合带清水泉一带发育石榴斜长紫苏麻粒岩、紫苏辉石黑云母石榴子石麻粒岩、石榴二辉斜长麻粒岩和石榴单斜辉石麻粒岩,它们与混合岩化黑云母石榴子石变粒岩、黑云母辉石变粒岩、石墨大理岩、含透辉石透闪石大理岩、透辉石大理岩、黑云斜长角闪岩和片麻岩等高级变质岩系以及纯橄岩、辉橄岩、橄长岩、辉长岩、辉绿岩和玄武岩等共同构成蛇绿混杂岩。麻粒岩相变质作用的温压条件为T=760~880℃,p=830~1200MPa,为高温中高压麻粒岩相变质作用,估算其形成深度为40~45km。麻粒岩相变质作用的SHRIMP锆石U-Pb年龄为(507·7±8·3)Ma。清水泉地区蛇绿岩形成于~520Ma,到~508Ma时俯冲至地下40~45km深处而发生中高压麻粒岩相变质作用,然后发生构造折返而剥露至地表。证实了清水泉高级变质岩和基性—超基性岩片是形成于早—中寒武世的蛇绿混杂岩,标志一个古生代早期的非常重要的板块汇聚边界,这对于进一步研究东昆仑造山带构造演化、乃至中国西部大地构造格局具有非常重要的意义。     

Constraints on the early metamorphic evolution of Broken Hill, Australia, from in situ U-Pb dating and REE geochemistry of monazite

The Broken Hill Pb-Zn deposit, New South Wales Australia, is hosted in granulite facies gneisses of the Southern Curnamona Province (SCP) that have long been known to record a polydeformational and polymetamorphic history. The details of this potentially prolonged tectonothermal history have remained poorly understood because of a historical emphasis on conventional (i.e. grain mount) U-Pb zircon geochronology to reveal details of the sedimentary, magmatic and metamorphic history of the rock that crops out in the vicinity of the city of Broken Hill. An alternative approach to unravelling the metamorphic history of the granulite facies gneisses in and around Broken Hill is to date accessory minerals, such as monazite, that participate in sub-solidus metamorphic reactions. We have taken advantage of the high spatial resolution and high sensitivity afforded by SHRIMP monazite geochronology to reconstruct the early history of the metamorphic rocks at Broken Hill. In contrast to previous studies, in situ analysis of monazite grains preserved in their original textural context in polished thin sections is used. Guided by electron microprobe X-ray maps, SHRIMP U-Pb dates for three distinct monazite compositional domains record pulses of monazite growth at c. 1657 Ma, c. 1630 Ma and c. 1602 Ma. It is demonstrated that these ages correspond to monazite growth during lower amphibolite facies, upper amphibolite facies and granulite facies metamorphism, respectively. It is speculated that this progressive heating of the SCP crust may have been driven by inversion of the upper crust during the Olarian Orogeny that was pre-heated by magmatic underplating at c. 1657 Ma.     

北秦岭造山带的早古生代多期变质作用

北秦岭造山带的秦岭岩群以高级变质岩石为特征,主要包括少量榴辉岩、高压麻粒岩和区域上广泛分布的麻粒岩-角闪岩相变质岩石。年代学研究显示秦岭岩群中不同岩石记录了多期变质作用。已有的定年资料给出北秦岭官坡地区的榴辉岩的年龄为500Ma左右,代表榴辉岩相的变质时代。结合岩相学资料,对两个高压麻粒岩样品的SHRIMP和LA-ICPMS U-Pb测定分别获得504±7Ma 和506±3Ma的年龄,应代表高压麻粒岩相变质时代。这表明高压麻粒岩和相邻的榴辉岩有相近的变质时代,但形成在造山带中不同的构热造环境中。西峡地区的角闪二辉麻粒岩的U-Pb定年给出两组早古生代年龄,一组为440±2Ma,可能代表了中低压麻粒岩相的变质时代,另一组为426±1Ma,应代表区域角闪岩相的变质时代。桐柏山北部的石榴二辉麻粒岩的U-Pb定年数据给出436±1Ma的年龄,为中压麻粒岩相的变质时代。这些资料表明北秦岭造山带经历了早奥陶世的俯冲和地壳增厚作用,并在晚志留世遭受了广泛的巴罗式区域变质作用。     

Basement massifs in the Appalachians: their role in deformation during the Appalachian Orogenies

Basement is constituted of rocks which belong to a previous orogenic cycle which have been reactivated and incorporated into a younger cycle. Basement massifs may be classified according to their relative position in an orogen as external or internal massifs. They may also be categorized according to their role in deformation, as thrust-related, fold-related and composite massifs. All Appalachian external massifs were transported following their removal from the overridden edge of the ancient North American continental margin. Most of the internal massifs are also probably transported, but several (Pine Mountain and Sauratown Mountains) may be present as windows exposing parautochthonous basement beneath the main thrust sheet. The latter reside immediately west of the low (west) to high (east) gravity gradient which probably outlines the old edge of Grenvillian crust. Reactivated crustal material generated during early Palaeozoic orogeny plays the same mechanical role in reactivation as basement from the previous Grenville cycle. The domes of the Bronson Hill anticlinorium cored with Ordovician or older gneisses illustrate this behaviour. Basement (Grenville) massifs are distributed throughout the Appalachians as a belt of external massifs (Blue Ridge, Reading Prong, Hudson and Berkshire Highlands, Green Mountains, and Long Range Mountains) along the western edge of the crystalline metamorphic core. Additionally, internal massifs are also present (Pine Mountain belt, Tallulah Falls and Toxaway domes, Sauratown Mountains anticlinorium, State Farm gneiss dome, Baltimore Gneiss domes, Mine Ridge anticline, and Chain Lakes massif). Basement internal massifs probably served to localize thrusts by causing them to ramp over and around the massifs. Their antiformal shape may in part be as much related to thrust mechanics as to folding.     

Response of detrital zircon and monazite,and their U–Pb isotopic systems,to regional metamorphism and host‐rock partial melting,Cooma Complex,southeastern Australia

Progressive Early Silurian low‐pressure greenschist to granulite facies regional metamorphism of Ordovician flysch at Cooma, southeastern Australia, had different effects on detrital zircon and monazite and their U–Pb isotopic systems. Monazite began to dissolve at lower amphibolite facies, virtually disappearing by upper amphibolite facies, above which it began to regrow, becoming most coarsely grained in migmatite leucosome and the anatectic Cooma Granodiorite. Detrital monazite U–Pb ages survived through mid‐amphibolite facies, but not to higher grade. Monazite in the migmatite and granodiorite records only metamorphism and granite genesis at 432.8 ± 3.5 Ma. Detrital zircon was unaffected by metamorphism until the inception of partial melting, when platelets of new zircon precipitated in preferred orientations on the surface of the grains. These amalgamated to wholly enclose the grains in new growth, characterised by the development of {211} crystal faces, in the migmatite and granodiorite. New growth, although maximum in the leucosome, was best dated in the granodiorite at 435.2 ± 6.3 Ma. The combined best estimate for the age of metamorphism and granite genesis is 433.4 ± 3.1 Ma. Detrital zircon U–Pb ages were preserved unmodified throughout metamorphism and magma genesis and indicate derivation of the Cooma Granodiorite from Lower Palaeozoic source rocks with the same protolith as the Ordovician sediments, not Precambrian basement. Cooling of the metamorphic complex was relatively slow (average ～12°C/10⁶y from ～730 to ～170°C), more consistent with the unroofing of a regional thermal high than cooling of an igneous intrusion. The ages of detrital zircon and monazite from the Ordovician flysch (dominantly composite populations 600–500 Ma and 1.2–0.9 Ga old) indicate its derivation from a source remote from the Australian craton.     

Metamorphic patterns and SHRIMP zircon ages of medium‐to‐high grade rocks from the Tongbai orogen,central China: implications for multiple accretion/collision processes prior to terminal continental collision

The Qinling‐Tongbai‐Dabie‐Sulu orogenic belt comprises a Palaeozoic accretion‐dominated system in the north and a Mesozoic collision‐dominated system in the south. A combined petrological and geochronological study of the medium‐to‐high grade metamorphic rocks from the diverse Palaeozoic tectonic units in the Tongbai orogen was undertaken to help elucidate the origins of Triassic ultrahigh‐pressure metamorphism and collision dynamics between the Sino‐Korean and Yangtze cratons. Peak metamorphic conditions are 570–610 °C and 9.3–11.2 kbar for the lower unit of the Kuanping Group, 630–650 °C and 6.6–8.9 kbar for the upper unit of the Kuanping Group, 550–600 °C and 6.3–7.7 kbar for the Erlangping Group, 770–830 °C and 6.9–8.5 kbar for the Qinling Group and 660–720 °C and 9.1–11.5 kbar for the Guishan complex. Reaction textures and garnet compositions indicate clockwise P–T paths for the amphibolite facies rocks of the Kuanping Group and Guishan complex, and an anticlockwise P–T path for the granulite facies rocks of the Qinling Group. Sensitive high‐resolution ion microprobe U–Pb zircon dating on metamorphic rocks and deformed granite/pegmatites revealed two major Palaeozoic tectonometamorphic events. (i) During the Silurian‐Devonian (c. 440–400 Ma), the Qinling continental arc and Erlangping intra‐oceanic arc collided with the Sino‐Korean craton. The emplacement of the Huanggang diorite complex resulted in an inverted thermal gradient in the underlying Kuanping Group and subsequent thermal relaxation during the exhumation. Meanwhile, the oceanic subduction beneath the Qinling continental arc produced magmatic underplating and intrusion, leading to granulite facies metamorphism followed by a near‐isobaric cooling path. (ii) During the Carboniferous (c. 340–310 Ma), the northward subduction of the Palaeo‐Tethyan ocean generated a medium P/T Guishan complex in the hangingwall and a high P/T Xiongdian eclogite belt in the footwall. The Guishan complex and Xiongdian eclogite belt are therefore considered to be paired metamorphic belts. Subsequent separation of the paired belts is inferred to be related to the juxtaposition of the Carboniferous eclogites with the Triassic HP metamorphic complex during continental subduction and exhumation.     

Deep in the Heart of Dixie: Pre-Alleghanian Eclogite and HP Granulite Metamorphism in the Carolina Terrane, South Carolina, USA

The central part of the Carolina terrane in western South Carolina comprises a 30 to 40 km wide zone of high grade gneisses that are distinct from greenschist facies metavolcanic rocks of the Carolina slate belt (to the SE) and amphibolite facies metavolcanic and metaplutonic rocks of the Charlotte belt (to the NW). This region, termed the Silverstreet domain, is characterized by penetratively deformed felsic gneisses, granitic gneisses, and amphibolites. Mineral assemblages and textures suggest that these rocks formed under high‐pressure metamorphic conditions, ranging from eclogite facies through high‐P granulite to upper amphibolite facies. Mafic rocks occur as amphibolite dykes, as metre‐scale blocks of coarse‐grained garnet‐clinopyroxene amphibolite in felsic gneiss, and as residual boulders in deeply weathered felsic gneiss. Inferred omphacite has been replaced by a vermicular symplectite of sodic plagioclase in diopside, consistent with decompression at moderate to high temperatures and a change from eclogite to granulite facies conditions. All samples have been partially or wholly retrograded to amphibolite assemblages. We infer the following P‐T‐t history: (1) eclogite facies P‐T conditions at ≥ 1.4 GPa, 650–730 °C (2) high‐P granulite facies P‐T conditions at 1.2–1.5 GPa, 700–800 °C (3) retrograde amphibolite facies P‐T conditions at 0.9–1.2 GPa and 720–660 °C. This metamorphic evolution must predate intrusion of the 415 Ma Newberry granite and must postdate formation of the Charlotte belt and Slate belt arcs (620 to 550 Ma). Comparison with other medium temperature eclogites and high pressure granulites suggests that these assemblages are most likely to form during collisional orogenesis. Eclogite and high‐P granulite facies metamorphism in the Silverstreet domain may coincide with a ≈570–535 Ma event documented in the western Charlotte belt or to a late Ordovician‐early Silurian event. The occurrence of these high‐P assemblages within the Carolina terrane implies that, prior to this event, the western Carolina terrane (Charlotte belt) and the eastern Carolina terrane (Carolina Slate belt) formed separate terranes. The collisional event represented by these high‐pressure assemblages implies amalgamation of these formerly separate terranes into a single composite terrane prior to its accretion to Laurentia.     

抚顺南部早前寒武纪变质杂岩的地质事件序列

抚顺南部早前寒武纪变质杂岩是华北克拉通北缘辽北-吉南早前寒武纪变质地块的一个重要组成部分,主要由浑南群石棚子组角闪岩相变质火山岩、火山碎屑岩及相伴生的沉积岩等表壳岩系和侵位于其中的石英闪长质片麻岩、英云闪长质-奥长花岗质-花岗闪长质(TTG)片麻岩和花岗闪长岩-二长花岗岩-钾长花岗岩岩石组合组成。LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb同位素分析结果显示,侵位于表壳岩中的石英闪长质片麻岩样品12LN39-3的岩浆结晶年龄为2571±7Ma,指示存在老于该年龄的表壳岩系。英云闪长质片麻岩样品12LN04-1和奥长花岗质片麻岩样品13LB49-3的岩浆结晶年龄分别为2544±4Ma和2550±10Ma,记录了一期重要的英云闪长质-奥长花岗质片麻岩侵位事件。斜长角闪岩(样品12LN25-2)的岩浆结晶的最小年龄为2530±5Ma,指示另一火山喷发阶段。晚期钾长花岗岩样品12LN01-1和奥长花岗质片麻岩样品12LN27-1分别侵位于2522±4Ma和2518±23Ma,说明它们的岩浆作用发生于同一时期。而采自于晚期未变形侵入体的石英闪长岩样品12LN30-2的岩浆结晶年龄为2496±18Ma,与上述表壳岩和深成侵入体的主要变质作用(2510~2470Ma)同期发生。这些年代学结果表明,抚顺南部地区新太古代大规模的铁镁质火山喷发作用在大于2571±7Ma已经发生,紧接着2571±7Ma发生石英闪长质岩浆侵位,在2550±10Ma~2544±4Ma之间发生英云闪长质-奥长花岗质岩浆侵位。接下来铁镁质火山再度喷发(~2530±5Ma),随后为钾长花岗岩和奥长花岗质岩浆的侵位(2522±4Ma~2518±23Ma)。晚期为角闪岩相变质作用时期(2510~2470Ma),伴随一定规模的石英闪长岩侵位。