Mica Inclusions inside Host Mica Grains from the Sutlej Section of the Higher Himalayan Crystallines, India—Morphology and Constrains in Genesis

Abstract: Biotite and muscovite inclusions inside mica host minerals from the Sutlej section of the Higher Himalayan Crystalline were studied under an optical microscope. These inclusions formed possibly by local recrystallization of mica grains during regional prograde metamorphism, with some affected by top-to-SW shear leading to parallelogram shapes. Recrystallization may have been assisted by solution transfer along the cleavage planes of the host grains. The relative competency of deformed phyllosilicate inclusions with the same or different composition to the host depends on the size and orientation of (001) cleavage planes of the inclusions relative to the host. Shearing of mica inclusions led to their parallelogram geometries within the contained mica inclusions. Some of the sheared inclusions deflect cleavage planes in the host minerals and define flanking microstructures. Trapezoid-shaped inclusions are a new finding that deserves more attention for their genesis. These structurally anisotropic inclusions did not originate from sub-grains, secondary infillings or retrogression. These inclusions are also not related to pseudomorphism, isomorphism, folding of the bulk rock etc. Some of the inclusions formed by recrystallization of the host mineral during top-to-SW ductile shear.     

Early subduction–exhumation and late channel flow of the Greater Himalayan Sequence: implications from the Yadong section in the eastern Himalaya

Based on metamorphic studies of the Yadong high-pressure (HP) granulite and multiple thermochronological investigations of granitoids from both upper and lower parts, the Yadong section in the eastern Himalaya constrains the Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS). The Yadong HP granulite, located at the top of the GHS, underwent a peak-stage HP granulite facies metamorphism and two stages of retrograde metamorphism. Granulite and hornblende facies retrograde metamorphism took place at 48.5 and 31.8 Ma, respectively, marking the time of exhumation of the subducted Indian slab to lower and middle crustal levels. Subsequently, an average young zircon U–Pb age obtained from the Yadong HP granulite indicated that this unit was captured by its surroundings in a partially molten condition at 16.9 Ma. In addition, three granitoids from both the lower and the upper parts of the GHS yielded biotite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of 11.0, 11.3, and 11.5 million years. These consistent ages suggest that the GHS along the Yadong section was laterally extruded and synchronously cooled to ～300°C at ～11.3 Ma. Furthermore, the granitic gneisses yield apatite fission track ages of ～7 million years, documenting the cooling of the GHS to ～110°C. A two-stage model describes the Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the GHS: (1) the Indian slab had subducted under Tibet before ～55 Ma, and was exhumed to the lower crust (50-40 km) at 48.5 Ma, and to the middle crust (22-15 km) at 31.8 Ma; and (2) the partial melting occurred at middle crustal levels during the period 31.8 to 16.9 Ma, causing channel flow. In the late stage, the GHS was laterally extruded by ductile mid-crustal flow during the period 16.9 to ～7 Ma, characterized by a fast cooling rate of ～2 mm per year.     

Enrichment of Mantle-derived Fluids in the Formation Process of Granitoids: Evidence from the Himalayan Granitoids around Kunjirap in the Western Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Taking the Himalayan granitoids around Kunjirap in the western Qinghai-Tibet plateau as an example, the authors present in this paper the characteristics of the granitoids rich in mantle-derived fluid components and discuss their rock-forming mechanism. The research results indicate that the rock assemblage of the studied granitoids involves diopside syenite-diopside granite-biotite (monzonitic) granite, consisting mainly of K-feldspar, oligoclase, quartz, iron-phlogolite, diopside and edenite. The rocks are rich in mantle-derived fluid components of volatiles including F, alkali metal elements such as K, Na, Rb, Sr and Ba, and radiogenic heat-producing elements such as U and Th. They were generated by the influx of mantle-derived fluids into the lower crust to give rise to partial melting during the lithosphere thinning in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau.     

Partitioning of the Cretaceous Pan-Yangtze Basin in the central South China Block by exhumation of the Xuefeng Mountains during a transition from extensional to compressional tectonics?

The formation of a series of intermountain basins is likely to indicate a geodynamic transition, especially in the case of such basins within the central South China Block (CSCB). Determining whether or not these numerous intermountain basins represent a division of the Cretaceous Pan-Yangtze Basin by exhumation of Xuefeng Mountains, is key to understanding the late Mesozoic to early Cenozoic tectonics of the South China Block (SCB). Here we present apatite fission track (AFT) data and time–temperature modeling in order to reconstruct the evolution history of the Pan-Yangtze Basin. Fourteen rock samples were taken from a NE–SW-trending mountain–basin system within the CSCB, including, from west to east, the Wuling Mountains (Wuling Shan), the south and north Mayang basins, the Xuefeng Mountains (Xuefeng Shan) and the Hengyang Basin. Cretaceous lacustrine sequences are well preserved in the south and north Mayang and Hengyang basins, and sporadically crop out in the Xuefeng Mountains, whereas Paleogene piedmont proluvial–lacustrine sequences are only found in the south Mayang and Hengyang basins. AFT results indicate that the Wuling and Xuefeng mountains underwent rapid denudation post-84 Ma, whereas the south and north Mayang basins were more slowly uplifted from 67 and 84 Ma, respectively. Following a quiescent period from 32 to 19 Ma, both the mountains and basins have been rapidly denuded since 19 Ma. Both the AFT data and sedimentary facies changes suggest that the Cretaceous deposits that cover the south–north Mayang and Hengyang basins through to the Xuefeng Mountains define the Cretaceous Pan-Yangtze Basin. Integrating our results with tectonic background for the SCB, we propose that rollback subduction of the paleo-Pacific Plate produced the Pan-Yangtze Basin, which was divided into the south–north Mayang and Hengyang basins by the abrupt uplift and exhumation of the Xuefeng Mountains from 84 Ma to present, apart from a period of tectonic inactivity from 32 to 19 Ma. This late Late Cretaceous to Paleogene denudation resulted from movement on the Ziluo strike–slip fault, which formed due to intra-continental compression most likely associated with the Eurasia–Indian plate subduction and collision. Sinistral transpression along the Ailao Shan–Red River Fault at 34–17 Ma probably transformed this compression to the extrusion of the Indochina Block, and produced the quiescent window period from 32 to 19 Ma for the mountain–basin system in the CSCB. Therefore, the initiation of exhumation of the Xuefeng Mountains at 84 Ma indicates a switch in tectonic regime from Cretaceous extension to late Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic compression.     

Thermochronological record of Middle–Late Jurassic magmatic reheating to Eocene rift-related rapid cooling in the SE South China Block

We investigate the Mesozoic–Cenozoic thermal history of the Daxi region (central SE South China Block) to evaluate the influence of the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific oceanic plate beneath the SE South China Block along the block's southeast margin on the tectonothermal evolution of the upper plate. We apply a multi-chronological approach that includes U-Pb geochronology on zircon, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating on muscovite and biotite from granitic rocks as well as fission-track and (U-Th-Sm)/He analyses on zircon and apatite from granitic and sedimentary rocks. The Heping granite, located in the Daxi region, has a magmatic age of ca. 441 Ma. The biotite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of ca. 193 Ma for the Early Jurassic Shibei granite and ca. 160 Ma for the Late Jurassic Fogang granite, respectively, reflect magmatic cooling. The Triassic Longyuanba granite yielded a muscovite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of ca. 167 Ma, recording heating to ≥ 350 °C induced by nearby intrusion of Middle Jurassic granites. Zircon fission-track and (U-Th-Sm)/He ages from Lower Carboniferous–Lower Jurassic sandstones (140–70 Ma) record continuous cooling during the Cretaceous that followed extensive Middle–Late Jurassic magmatism in the Daxi region. Cretaceous cooling is related to exhumation in an extensional tectonic setting, consistent with lithospheric rebound due to foundering and rollback of the subducted Paleo-Pacific oceanic plate. Apatite fission-track (53–42 Ma) and (U-Th-Sm)/He ages (43–36 Ma), and thermal modelling document rapid cooling in the Paleocene–Eocene, which temporally coincides with continental rifting in the SE South China Block in the leadup to the opening of the South China Sea.     

Post-emplacement kinematics and exhumation history of the Almora klippe of the Kumaun–Garhwal Himalaya,NW India: revealed by fission track thermochronology

International Journal of Earth Sciences - Tectonically transported crystalline thrust sheet over the Lesser Himalayan meta-sedimentary zone along the Main Central Thrust (MCT) is represented by...     

Ultrarapid exhumation of ultrahigh-pressure diamond-bearing metasedimentary rocks of the Kokchetav Massif,Kazakhstan?

The diamond-bearing, ultrahigh-pressure Kokchetav Massif recrystallized at eclogite-facies conditions deep in the mantle at 180-km depth at 535±3 Ma, and yet new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages suggest that it may have been exhumed to crustal depths (as indicated by closure of mica to Ar loss) by ∼529 Ma. These data indicate a possible exhumation rate of tens of kilometers per million years, i.e., a rate that is comparable to rates of horizontal plate motion and subduction.     

Micro faunal assemblages in the Ordovician – Silurian successions from the Pin Valley of Tethys Himalaya, India

The Spiti basin together with the Zanskar basin forms the largest basin among the Tethyan Himalayan successions and forms one of the best-developed sec-tions in the Tethyan Tibetan belt. The basin is one of the classical areas, which depicts a continuous fos-siliferous Palaeozoic - Mesozoic successions. The present studies are focused on the Ordovician and Si-lurian successions of the Pin valley of the Spiti basin. Pin valley exposes richly fossiliferous lithological successions from Neoproterozoic to Cretaceous; therefore, it is an ideal section for the detail paleobi-ological and geological studies.     

Exact timing of granulite metamorphism in the Namche-Barwa,eastern Himalayan syntaxis: new constrains from SIMS U–Pb zircon age

Zircon grains separated from 2 granulites from the eastern Himalaya were investigated by Raman spectroscopy, cathodoluminescence imaging, and secondary ion mass spectrometry. These grains have a thin homogeneous rim and an oscillatory inner zone domain with or without a relict inherited core. Garnet, kyanite, and rutile inclusions were identified within only the rim domain of zircon grains, indicating that the rim had formed during peak granulite-facies metamorphism. U–Pb zircon data record three distinct age populations: 1,805 Ma (for the inherited core), ca. 500 Ma (oscillatory inner zone), as well as 24–25 Ma and ca. 18 Ma (for the metamorphic rim). These new precision ages suggest that the peak metamorphic age for the HP granulite is at ca. 24–25 Ma, and subsequent amphibolite-facies retrograde metamorphism occurred at ca. 18 Ma.     

Evolution of continental crust of the Aravalli craton,NW India,during the Neoarchaean–Palaeoproterozoic: evidence from geochemistry of granitoids

Neoarchaean–Palaeoproterozoic granitoids of the Aravalli craton, represented by four plutons with different ages, viz. Gingla (2.6–2.4 Ga), Ahar River (2562 Ma), Untala (2505 Ma), and Berach (2440 Ma) granitoids, are classified into three suites: TTG-like, Sanukitoid, and High-K Granitoid suite, all exhibiting negative Nb and Ti anomalies. The TTG-like suite is characterized by high contents of SiO₂, Na₂O, and LREEs, high (La/Yb)_N, low contents of K₂O, MgO, Cr, and Ni, and low (Dy/Yb)_N, suggesting that this suite formed by partial melting of a subducted basaltic slab without interacting with a mantle wedge. In contrast, the calc-alkaline Sanukitoid suite is marked by a high content of LILEs and mantle-compatible elements, which indicate that this suite formed by partial melting of a slab-fluid metasomatized mantle wedge in a subduction-related arc environment. On the other hand, the High-K Granitoid suite is characterized by high contents of SiO₂ and K₂O, and low contents of Na₂O, MgO, Cr, and Ni with variable Eu anomaly, along with high (La/Sm)_N and (La/Yb)_N, and low (Dy/Yb)_N and Nb/Th. Some high-K granitoids also exhibit A-type characteristics. These features indicate that the High-K Granitoid suite formed by melting of crustal rocks. Early Neoarchaean continental crust formation reflected a slab-melting-dominated magmatic process as evidenced by the TTG-like suite, whereas Palaeoproterozoic petrogenesis was governed by the interaction of slab melt with mantle wedge as demonstrated by the Sanukitoid suite. The High-K Granitoid suite formed during the waning stages of subduction. This study reveals that granitic rocks of the Aravalli craton evolved from slab melting in the Neoarchaean to melting of mantle wedge in the Palaeoproterozoic. Melting of older crust led to the formation of the High-K Granitoid suite.     

The metamorphic evolution of migmatites from the Ötztal Complex (Tyrol,Austria) and constraints on the timing of the pre-Variscan high-T event in the Eastern Alps

Within the Ötztal Complex (ÖC), migmatites are the only geological evidence of the pre-Variscan metamorphic evolution, which led to the occurrence of partial anatexis in different areas of the complex. We investigated migmatites from three localities in the ÖC, the Winnebach migmatite in the central part and the Verpeil- and Nauderer Gaisloch migmatite in the western part. We determined metamorphic stages using textural relations and electron microprobe analyses. Furthermore, chemical microprobe ages of monazites were obtained in order to associate the inferred stages of mineral growth to metamorphic events. All three migmatites show evidence for a polymetamorphic evolution (pre-Variscan, Variscan) and only the Winnebach migmatite shows evidence for a P-accentuated Eo-Alpine metamorphic overprint in the central ÖC. The P-T data range from 670–750 °C and < 2.8 kbar for the pre-Variscan event, 550–650 °C and 4–7 kbar for the Variscan event and 430–490 °C and ca. 8.5 kbar for the P-accentuated Eo-Alpine metamorphic overprint. U-Th-Pb electron microprobe dating of monazites from the leucosomes from all three migmatites provides an average age of 441 ± 18 Ma, thus indicating a pervasive Ordovician-Silurian metamorphic event in the ÖC.     

Complexity in hydro-seismicity of the Koyna–Warna region,India

Koyna–Warna region in western India is known to be the largest case of the reservoir-triggered seismicity in the world with M6.3 earthquake in 1967. This region continues to be seismically active even after 45 years with occurrences of earthquakes up to M5.0. The porous crustal rocks of Koyna–Warna region respond to changes in the prevailing stress/strain regime. This crustal section is highly fractured and is being fed by rivers and reservoirs. It is also subjected to fluctuating plate boundary forces and significant gravity-induced stresses due to crustal inhomogeneities. These changes induce variations in the water level in bore wells before, during and after an earthquake, and their study can help in understanding the earthquake genesis in the region. The ongoing seismicity thus requires understanding of coupled hydrological and tectonic processes in the region. Water table fluctuations are a reflection of the ongoing hydro-tectonics of the region. The fractal dimension of water levels in the bore wells of the region can be used as measure of the nonlinear characteristics of porous rock, revealing the underlying complexity. In this paper, we present values of correlation dimensions of the water level data in the bore wells using the nonlinear time series methodology. The spatiotemporal changes in the fractal dimensions have also been determined. The results show that hydro-seismically the region behaves as a low-dimensional nonlinear dynamical system.     

Largest Ediacaran discs from the Jodhpur Sandstone,Marwar Supergroup,India: Their palaeobiological signi?cance

Ediacaran discs from the Jodhpur Sandstone of the Marwar Supergroup, Rajasthan, exhibit a wide size ranging from a few millimetres to 75 cm in diameter. Exceptionally large size of the discs in these rocks represent the largest reported so far from any Ediacaran assemblage. Although, larger medu-soid discs have been reported from USA, they are from the middle Cambrian and even younger rocks. Presence of microbial mats and weed-like structures with well preserved hold fasts and horizontal rhizome-like structures in association with some of these large-sized discs support their animal affinity, which probably feed on this weed-like vegetations. This association also supports their benthic habitat. Unlike the general trend of sudden increase in size of organisms in Ediacaran period and further decrease in size during Cambrian, these discs continued increasing in size in Cambrian also.     

Post-collisional rapid exhumation and erosion during continental sedimentation: the example of the late Variscan Salvan-Dorénaz basin (Western Alps)

The Salvan-Dorénaz intramontane basin formed between ca. 308–293 Ma as an asymmetric graben along crustal-scale transtensional fracture zones within the Aiguilles-Rouges crystalline massif (Western Alps) and represents a feature of the post-collisional evolution of the Variscan orogens. It contains 1.5–1.7 km of continental clastic deposits which were eroded from granitic, volcanic, and metamorphic rocks. Textural and compositional immaturity of the sandstones, and the numerous lithic fragments with low chemical and physical stability suggest only short-range transport. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar analyses of detrital muscovite are interpreted to represent cooling of the crystalline basement below the respective closure temperatures. Ages from detrital muscovite range between ca. 280–330 Ma. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar white mica plateau ages from granitic boulders range between 301–312 Ma and suggest rapid cooling. The very short time interval recorded between the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar cooling ages and the stratigraphic age of the host sediment suggests that considerable portions of the upper crust were removed prior to the formation of the basin. Late Variscan granitic boulders document surface exposure and erosion of Late Carboniferous granites during early stages of the infilling of the basin. Therefore, unroofing of basement units, magmatic activity, and formation of the fault bounded Salvan-Dorénaz basin were acting concomitantly, and are highly suggestive of extensional tectonics. When compared with other orogens, this situation seems specific to the Variscan, especially the exclusively young ages of detrital material, however, modern analogous may exist.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article if you access the article at . A link in the frame on the left on that page takes you directly to the supplementary material.     

Structural and Chronological Evidence for the India-Eurasia Collision of the Early Paleocene in the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis, Namjagbarwa

The eastern Himalayan syntaxis in Namjagbarwa is a high-grade metamorphic terrain formed by the India-Eurasia collision and northward indentation of the Indian continent into Asia. Right- and left-lateral slip zones were formed by the indentation on the eastern and western boundaries of the syntaxis respectively. The Dongjug-Mainling fault zone is the main shear zone on the western boundary. This fault zone is a left-lateral slip belt with a large component of thrusting. The kinematics of the fault is consistent with the shortening within the syntaxis, and the slipping history along it represents the indenting process of the syntaxis. The Ar-Ar chronological study shows that the age of the early deformation in the Dongjug-Mainling fault zone ranges from 62 to 59 Ma. This evidences that the India-Eurasia collision occurred in the early Paleocene in the eastern Himalayan syntaxis.     

Two layer model of lithospheric compression and uplift/exhumation in an intracratonic setting: an example from the Cooper–Eromanga Basins,Australia

Seismic reflection profiles indicate the compressive nature of the structural style associated with the major uplift events in the Cooper–Eromanga Basins. Inversion geometries and reactivated features attest to a period of compression during Late Triassic–Early Jurassic times. In the Eromanga Basin, compressional structural styles associated with Late Cretaceous–Tertiary are apparent. Many of the Late Cretaceous–Tertiary structures coincide with exhumation highs in Late Cretaceous–Tertiary times. The two-layer lithospheric compression model is considered as the most complete explanation of both the uplift of areas subject to compression and crustal thickening, and of the regional uplift of areas not subject to any apparent Late Cretaceous–Tertiary compression. In the model, compression and thickening in the lower lithosphere is decoupled and laterally displaced from that in the upper crust. Thickening of the mantle lithosphere without thickening of the overlying crust can account for the initial subsidence then uplift of not inverted platform areas. The opening of the Tasman Sea and the Coral Seas can lead to stress transmission in the interior of the continent. These stresses are likely to generate uplift but cannot explain the distribution of uplift in areas not subject to compression.