Sedimentology and foreland basin paleogeography during Taiwan arc continent collision

The Western foreland basin in Taiwan originated through the oblique collision between the Luzon volcanic arc and the Asian passive margin. Crustal flexure adjacent to the growing orogenic load created a subsiding foreland basin. The sedimentary record reveals progressively changing sedimentary environments influenced by the orogen approaching from the East. Based on sedimentary facies distribution at five key stratigraphic horizons, paleogeographic maps were constructed. The maps highlight the complicated basin-wide dynamics of sediment dispersal within an evolving foreland basin.The basin physiography changed very little from the middle Miocene (∼12.5 Ma) to the late Pliocene (∼3 Ma). The transition from a passive margin to foreland basin setting in the late Pliocene (∼3 Ma), during deposition of the mud-dominated Chinshui Shale, is dominantly marked by a deepening and widening of the main depositional basin. These finer grained Taiwan derived sediments clearly indicate increased subsidence, though water depths remain relatively shallow, and sedimentation associated with the approach of the growing orogen to the East.In the late Pleistocene as the shallow marine wedge ahead of the growing orogen propagated southward, the proximal parts of the basin evolved into a wedge-top setting introducing deformation and sedimentation in the distal basin. Despite high Pleistocene to modern erosion/sedimentation rates, shallow marine facies persist, as the basin remains open to the South and longitudinal transport is sufficient to prevent it from becoming overfilled or even fully terrestrial.Our paleoenvironmental and paleogeographical reconstructions constrain southward propagation rates in the range of 5–20 km/Myr from 2 Ma to 0.5 Ma, and 106–120 km/Myr between late Pleistocene and present (0.5–0 Ma). The initial rates are not synchronous with the migration of the sediment depocenters highlighting the complexity of sediment distribution and accumulation in evolving foreland basins.     

Rapid Eocene erosion,sedimentation and burial in the eastern Himalayan syntaxis and its geodynamic significance

The lower Bomi Group of the eastern Himalayan syntaxis comprises a lithological package of sedimentary and igneous rocks that have been metamorphosed to upper amphibolite-facies conditions. The lower Bomi Group is bounded to the south by the Indus–Yarlung Suture and to the north by unmetamorphosed Paleozoic sediments of the Lhasa terrane. We report U–Pb zircon dating, geochemistry and petrography of gneiss, migmatite, mica schist and marble from the lower Bomi Group and explore their geological implications for the tectonic evolution of the eastern Himalaya. Zircons from the lower Bomi Group are composite. The inherited magmatic zircon cores display ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages from ~ 74 Ma to ~ 41.5 Ma, indicating a probable source from the Gangdese magmatic arc. The metamorphic overgrowth zircons yielded ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages ranging from ~ 38 Ma to ~ 23 Ma, that overlap the anatexis time (~ 37 Ma) recorded in the leucosome of the migmatites. Our data indicate that the lower Bomi Group do not represent Precambrian basement of the Lhasa terrane. Instead, the lower Bomi Group may represent sedimentary and igneous rocks of the residual forearc basin, similar to the Tsojiangding Group in the Xigaze area, derived from denudation of the hanging wall rocks during the India–Asia continental collision. We propose that following the Indian–Asian collision, the forearc basin was subducted, together with Himalayan lithologies from the Indian continental slab. The minimum age of detrital magmatic zircons from the supracrustal rocks is ~ 41.5 Ma and their metamorphism had happened at ~ 37 Ma. The short time interval (< 5 Ma) suggests that the tectonic processes associated with the eastern Himalayan syntaxis, encompassing uplift and erosion of the Gangdese terrane, followed by deposition, imbrication and subduction of the forearc basin, were extremely rapid during the Late Eocene.     

Upper Neogene stratigraphy and tectonics of Death Valley — a review

New tephrochronologic, soil-stratigraphic and radiometric-dating studies over the last 10 years have generated a robust numerical stratigraphy for Upper Neogene sedimentary deposits throughout Death Valley. Critical to this improved stratigraphy are correlated or radiometrically-dated tephra beds and tuffs that range in age from > 3.58 Ma to < 1.1 ka. These tephra beds and tuffs establish relations among the Upper Pliocene to Middle Pleistocene sedimentary deposits at Furnace Creek basin, Nova basin, Ubehebe–Lake Rogers basin, Copper Canyon, Artists Drive, Kit Fox Hills, and Confidence Hills. New geologic formations have been described in the Confidence Hills and at Mormon Point. This new geochronology also establishes maximum and minimum ages for Quaternary alluvial fans and Lake Manly deposits. Facies associated with the tephra beds show that ∼3.3 Ma the Furnace Creek basin was a northwest–southeast-trending lake flanked by alluvial fans. This paleolake extended from the Furnace Creek to Ubehebe. Based on the new stratigraphy, the Death Valley fault system can be divided into four main fault zones: the dextral, Quaternary-age Northern Death Valley fault zone; the dextral, pre-Quaternary Furnace Creek fault zone; the oblique–normal Black Mountains fault zone; and the dextral Southern Death Valley fault zone. Post − 3.3 Ma geometric, structural, and kinematic changes in the Black Mountains and Towne Pass fault zones led to the break up of Furnace Creek basin and uplift of the Copper Canyon and Nova basins. Internal kinematics of northern Death Valley are interpreted as either rotation of blocks or normal slip along the northeast–southwest-trending Towne Pass and Tin Mountain fault zones within the Eastern California shear zone.     

Sedimentation and magmatism in the Paleoproterozoic Cuddapah Basin,India: Consequences of lithospheric extension

The Cuddapah Basin is one of many Proterozoic, intracontinental sedimentary basins across Peninsular India. The basin comprises several unconformity-bounded successions, the lowermost of which (the Papaghni Group and overlying Chitravati Group) are intruded by dolerite sills that contact metamorphosed their host rocks. A mafic-ultramafic sill from the base of the Tadpatri Formation in the Chitravati Group was previously dated at c. 1885 Ma, and interpreted to be part of a large igneous province (LIP). We have dated two samples of a felsic tuff from the upper part of the Tadpatri Formation at 1864 ± 13 Ma and 1858 ± 16 Ma; combining data from the two samples yields a weighted mean date of 1862 ± 9 Ma. Mafic sills intrude rocks stratigraphically above the tuffaceous beds, indicating that mafic magmatism continued until after c. 1860 Ma. Given that the sills intruded lithified rocks, some of the sills may be considerably younger than 1860 Ma. Mafic volcanic rocks are also known from below the unconformity at the base of the Chitravati Group, within the basal Papaghni Group (> c. 1890 Ma). Collectively, these data indicate that mafic sill emplacement spanned more than 30 myr so that it is likely to have been a protracted event or a series of events, and, therefore unlikely to represent a LIP. The time span for mafic magmatism is more compatible with episodic, lithospheric extension (passive rifting) during basin evolution than it is with a mantle plume (active rifting).     

High grade metamorphism of sedimentary rocks during Palaeozoic rift basin formation in central Australia

Exhumation of middle and lower crustal rocks during the 450–320 Ma intraplate Alice Springs Orogeny in central Australia provides an opportunity to examine the deep burial of sedimentary successions leading to regional high-grade metamorphism. SIMS zircon U–Pb geochronology shows that high-grade metasedimentary units recording lower crustal pressures share a depositional history with unmetamorphosed sedimentary successions in surrounding sedimentary basins. These surrounding basins constitute parts of a large and formerly contiguous intraplate basin that covered much of Neoproterozoic to early Palaeozoic Australia. Within the highly metamorphosed Harts Range Group, metamorphic zircon growth at 480–460 Ma records mid-to-lower crustal (~ 0.9–1.0 GPa) metamorphism. Similarities in detrital zircon age spectra between the Harts Range Group and Late Neoproterozoic–Cambrian sequences in the surrounding Amadeus and Georgina basins imply that the Harts Range Group is a highly metamorphosed equivalent of the same successions. Maximum depositional ages for parts of the Harts Range Group are as low as ~ 520–500 Ma indicating that burial to depths approaching 30 km occurred ~ 20–40 Ma after deposition. Palaeogeographic reconstructions based on well-preserved sedimentary records indicate that throughout the Cambro–Ordovician central Australia was covered by a shallow, gently subsiding epicratonic marine basin, and provide a context for the deep burial of the Harts Range Group. Sedimentation and burial coincided with voluminous mafic magmatism that is absent from the surrounding unmetamorphosed basinal successions, suggesting that the Harts Range Group accumulated in a localised sub-basin associated with sufficient lithospheric extension to generate mantle partial melting. The presently preserved axial extent of this sub-basin is > 200 km. Its width has been modified by subsequent shortening associated with the Alice Springs Orogeny, but must have been > 80 km. Seismic reflection data suggest that the Harts Range Group is preserved within an inverted crustal-scale half graben structure, lending further support to the notion that it accumulated in a discrete sub-basin. Based on palaeogeographic constraints we suggest that burial of the Harts Range Group to lower crustal depths occurred primarily via sediment loading in an exceptionally deep Late Cambrian to Early Ordovician intraplate rift basin. High-temperature Ordovician deformation within the Harts Range Group formed a regional low angle foliation associated with ongoing mafic magmatism that was coeval with deepening of the overlying marine basin, suggesting that metamorphism of the Harts Range Group was associated with ongoing extension. The resulting lower crustal metamorphic terrain is therefore interpreted to represent high-temperature deformation in the lower levels of a deep sedimentary basin during continued basin development. If this model is correct, it indicates that regional-scale moderate- to high-pressure metamorphism of supracrustal rocks need not necessarily reflect compressional thickening of the crust, an assumption commonly made in studies of many metamorphic terrains that lack a palaeogeographic context.     

Late Oligocene-early Miocene evolution of the Lunpola Basin,central Tibetan Plateau,evidences from successive lacustrine records

Widespread Cenozoic sediments in and around the Tibetan Plateau (TP) are thought to have played an important role in explaining the process of the India-Asia collision as well as its interactions with global and regional paleoclimate. However, high-resolution temporal frameworks of sedimentary sequences and controls on geological and climatic events are still absent. To study the abovementioned issues, we investigate the Oligocene-Miocene lacustrine sequences (the Dingqinghu Formation) of the Lunpola Basin, central TP. In this work, cyclostratigraphic analyses are conducted with gamma ray log and pollen data to establish a high resolution temporal framework ranging from ca. 25.4 to 18.0 Ma for the sections. Along these sections, sediment accumulation rates are calculated with orbital signals to monitor clastic input of the lake basin; elemental, palynological, and isotopic data are summarized to depict the paleoclimate and paleoelevation evolution of this drainage system. Integrating all these clues together, we sort out a chronological list of events including lake basin, tectonics, and paleoclimate: regional uplift took place at 23.7 Ma; simultaneously, a distinct lake-basin transition characterized by accelerated sediment accumulation rate is recognized; about 0.2 Ma later at 23.5 Ma, catchment scale drought occurred and maintained to the end of the sections. Our results demonstrate that paleoclimate did not impose decisive influence on the late Oligocene-early Miocene evolution of the lake basin; instead, regional uplift and its associated accelerated exhumation of the source area resulted in the lake-basin transition and paleoclimatic drought. After reviewing the Oligocene-Miocene sedimentary records distributed in and around the TP, we argue that the 23.7 Ma geological event of the Lunpola Basin is probably not a single case but a regional effect of a dramatic tectonic transition of the plateau.     

Isotopic ages for alkaline igneous rocks,including a 26 Ma ignimbrite,from the Peshawar plain of northern Pakistan and their tectonic implications

New isotopic ages on zircons from rocks of the Peshawar Plain Alkaline Igneous Province (PPAIP) reveal for the first time the occurrence of ignimbritic Cenozoic (Oligocene) volcanism in the Himalaya at 26.7 ± 0.8 Ma. Other new ages confirm that PPAIP rift-related igneous activity was Permian and lasted from ∼290 Ma to ∼250 Ma. Although PPAIP rocks are petrologically and geochemically typical of rifts and have been suggested to be linked to rifting on the Pangea continental margin at the initiation of the Neotethys Ocean, there are no documented rift-related structures mapped in Permian rocks of the Peshawar Plain. We suggest that Permian rift-related structures have been dismembered and/or reactivated during shortening associated with India–Asia collision. Shortening in the area between the Main Mantle Thrust (MMT) and the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) may be indicative of the subsurface northern extension of the Salt Range evaporites. Late Cenozoic sedimentary rocks of the Peshawar Plain deposited during and after Himalayan thrusting occupy a piggy-back basin on top of the thrust belt. Those sedimentary rocks have buried surviving evidence of Permian rift-related structures. Igneous rocks of the PPAIP have been both metamorphosed and deformed during the Himalayan collision and Cenozoic igneous activity, apart from the newly recognized Gohati volcanism, has involved only the intrusion of small cross-cutting granitic bodies concentrated in areas such as Malakand that are close to the MMT. Measurements on Chingalai Gneiss zircons have confirmed the occurrence of 816 ± 70 Ma aged rocks in the Precambrian basement of the Peshawar Plain that are comparable in age to rocks in the Malani igneous province of the Rajasthan platform ∼1000 km to the south.     

U–Pb detrital zircon geochronology and its implications: The early Late Triassic Yanchang Formation,south Ordos Basin,China

U–Pb detrital zircon geochronology has been used to identify provenance and document sediment delivery systems during the deposition of the early Late Triassic Yanchang Formation in the south Ordos Basin. Two outcrop samples of the Yanchang Formation were collected from the southern and southwestern basin margin respectively. U–Pb detrital zircon geochronology of 158 single grains (out of 258 analyzed grains) shows that there are six distinct age populations, 250–300 Ma, 320–380 Ma, 380–420 Ma, 420–500 Ma, 1.7–2.1 Ga, and 2.3–2.6 Ga. The majority of grains with the two oldest age populations are interpreted as recycled from previous sediments. Multiple sources match the Paleozoic age populations of 380–420 and 420–500 Ma, including the Qilian–Qaidam terranes and the North Qilian orogenic belt to the west, and the Qinling orogenic belt to the south. However, the fact that both samples do not have the Neoproterozoic age populations, which are ubiquitous in these above source areas, suggests that the Late Triassic Yanchang Formation in the south Ordos Basin was not derived from the Qilian–Qaidam terranes, the North Qilian orogenic belt, and the Qinling orogenic belt. Very similar age distribution between the Proterozoic to Paleozoic sedimentary rocks and the early Late Triassic Yanchang Formation in the south Ordos Basin suggests that it was most likely recycled from previous sedimentary rocks from the North China block instead of sediments directly from two basin marginal deformation belts.     

Detrital provenance evolution of the Ediacaran–Silurian Nanhua foreland basin,South China

We report here in-situ U–Pb and Hf isotopic results of detrital zircons from sixteen Cambrian–Silurian siliciclastic samples across the Nanhua foreland basin, South China. Together with published data from Ediacaran–Silurian sandstones in the region, we establish the temporal and spatial provenance evolution across the basin. Except for samples from northeast Yangtze, all other Ediacaran–Silurian samples exhibit a prominent population of 1100–900 Ma, moderate populations of 850–700 Ma and 650–490 Ma, and minor populations of 2500 Ma and 2000–1300 Ma, grossly matching that of crystalline and sedimentary rocks in northern India. Zircon Hf isotopes further reveal four episodes of juvenile crustal growth at 2.5 Ga, 1.8 Ga, 1.4 Ga and 1.0 Ga in the source regions. Utilizing the basin history and late Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic paleogeography of South China, we conclude that the Ediacaran–Cambrian sediments in the Nanhua foreland basin were mainly sourced from northern India and adjacent orogens, and the Ordovician–Silurian sediments were derived from both locally recycled Ediacaran–Cambrian rocks and eroded Cathaysian basement. The Wuyi–Yunkai late-orogenic magmatic rocks also contributed to the Silurian sediments in the basin. The upper-Ordovician to Silurian samples in northeast Yangtze received higher proportions of local Cryogenian (850–700 Ma) magmatic rocks which were uplifted during late-Ordovician to Silurian time. We speculate that there was an Ediacaran–Cambrian collisional orogen between South China and northern India, shedding sediments to the early Nanhua foreland basin. Far-field stress during the late stage of this collisional orogeny triggered the Ordovician–Silurian intraplate Wuyi–Yunkai orogeny in South China, and erosion of the local Wuyi–Yunkai orogen further provided detritus to the late Nanhua foreland basin.     

Tectono-thermal evolution of the Reed Bank Basin,Southern South China Sea

The Reed Bank Basin in the southern margin of the South China Sea is considered to be a Cenozoic rifted basin. Tectono-thermal history is widely thought to be important to understand tectonics as well as oil and gas potential of basin. In order to investigate the Cenozoic tectono-thermal history of the Reed Bank Basin, we carried out thermal modeling on one drill well and 22 pseudo-wells using the multi-stage finite stretching model. Two stages of rifting during the time periods of ∼65.5–40.4 Ma and ∼40.4–28.4 Ma can be recognized from the tectonic subsidence rates, and there are two phases of heating corresponding to the rifting. The reconstructed average basal paleo-heat flow values at the end of the rifting events are ∼60 and ∼66.3 mW/m², respectively. Following the heating periods, this basin has undergone a persistent thermal attenuation phase since ∼28.4 Ma and the basal heat flow cooled down to ∼57.8–63.5 mW/m² at present. In combination with the radiogenic heat production of the sedimentary sequences, the surface heat flow of the Reed Bank Basin ranges from ∼60.4 to ∼69.9 mW/m².     

Pliocene volcano-tectonics and paleogeography of the Turkana Basin,Kenya and Ethiopia

The distribution of hominin fossil sites in the Turkana Basin, Kenya is intimately linked to the history of the Omo River, which affected the paleogeography and ecology of the basin since the dawn of the Pliocene. We report new geological data concerning the outlet channel of the Omo River between earliest Pliocene and final closure of the Turkana Basin drainage system in the latest Pliocene to earliest Quaternary. Throughout most of the Pliocene the Omo River entered the Turkana Basin from its source in the highlands of Ethiopia and exited the eastern margin of the basin to discharge into the Lamu embayment along the coast of the Indian Ocean. During the earliest Pliocene the river’s outlet was located in the northern part of the basin, where a remnant outlet channel is preserved in basalts that pre-date eruption of the Gombe flood basalt between 4.05 and 3.95 Ma. The outlet channel was faulted down to the west prior to 4.05 Ma, forming a natural dam behind which Lake Lonyumun developed. Lake Lonyumun was drained between 3.95 and 3.9 Ma when a new outlet channel formed north of Loiyangalani in the southeastern margin of the Turkana Basin. That outlet was blocked by Lenderit Basalt lava flows between 2.2 and 2.0 Ma. Faulting that initiated either during or shortly after eruption of the Lenderit Basalt closed the depression that is occupied by modern Lake Turkana to sediment and water.Several large shield volcanoes formed east of the Turkana Basin beginning by 2.5–3.0 Ma, volcanism overlapping in time, but probably migrating eastward from Mount Kulal on the eastern edge of the basin to Mount Marsabit located at the eastern edge of the Chalbi Desert. The mass of the volcanic rocks loaded and depressed the lithosphere, enhancing subsidence in a shallow southeast trending depression that overlay the Cretaceous and Paleogene (?) Anza Rift. Subsidence in this flexural depression guided the course of the Omo River towards the Indian Ocean, and also localized accumulations of lava along the margins of the shield volcanoes. Lava flows at Mount Marsabit extended across the Omo River Valley after 1.8–2.0 Ma based on estimated ages of fossils in lacustrine and terrestrial deposits, and possibly by as early as 2.5 ± 0.3 Ma based on dating of a lava flow. During the enhanced precipitation in latest Pleistocene and earliest Holocene (11–9.5 ka) this flexural depression became the site of Lake Chalbi, which was separated from Lake Turkana by a tectonically controlled drainage divide.     

Evolution and provenance of Neoproterozoic basement and Lower Paleozoic siliciclastic cover of the Menderes Massif (western Taurides): Coupled U–Pb–Hf zircon isotope geochemistry

In the Menderes Massif (western Taurides) a Neoproterozoic basement comprising metasediments and intrusive granites is imbricated between Paleozoic platform sediments. U–Pb–Hf zircon analyses of Menderes rock units were performed by us using LA-ICP-MS. The U–Pb detrital zircon signal of the Neoproterozoic metasediments is largely consistent with a NE African (Gondwana) provenance. The oldest unit, a paragneiss, contains significant amounts (~ 30%) of Archean-aged zircons and εHf (t) values of about a half of its Neoproterozoic zircons are negative suggesting contribution from Pan-African terranes dominated by reworking of an old crust. In the overlying, mineralogically-immature Core schist (which is still Neoproterozoic), the majority of the detrital zircons are Neoproterozoic, portraying positive εHf (t) values indicating derivation from a proximal juvenile source, resembling the Arabian–Nubian Shield.The period of sedimentation of the analyzed metasediments, is constrained between 570 and 550 Ma (Late Ediacaran). The Core schist sediments, ~ 9 km thick, accumulated in less than 20 My implying a tectonic-controlled sedimentary basin evolved adjacent to the eroded juvenile terrane. Granites, now orthogneisses, intruded the basin fill at 550 Ma, they exhibit ± 0 εHf (t = 550 Ma) and T_DM ages of 1.4 Ga consistent with anatexis of various admixtures of juvenile Neoproterozoic and Late Archean detrital components. Granites in the northern Arabian–Nubian Shield are no younger than 580 Ma and their εHf (t) are usually more positive. This implies that the Menderes does not represent a straightforward continuation of the Arabian–Nubian Shield.The lower part of the pre-Carboniferous silisiclastic cover of the Menderes basement, comprises a yellowish quartzite whose U–Pb–Hf detrital zircon signal resembles that of far-traveled Ordovician sandstones in Jordan (including 0.9–1.1 Ga detrital zircons), supporting pre-Triassic paleorestorations placing the Tauride with Afro-Arabia. The detrital signal of the overlying carbonate-bearing quartzitic sequence indicates contribution from a different source: the majority of its detrital zircons yielded 550 Ma and ± 0 εHf (t = 550 Ma) values identical to that of the underlying granitic gneiss implying exposure of Menderes-like granites in the provenance.260–250 Ma lead-loss and partial resetting of the U–Pb system of certain zircons in both basement and cover units was detected. It is interpreted as a consequence of a Permian–Early Triassic thermal event preceding known Triassic granitoid intrusions.     

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.     

The Yanbian Terrane (Southern Sichuan Province,SW China): A Neoproterozoic arc assemblage in the western margin of the Yangtze Block

The magmatic and tectonic history of the Yangtze Block and its possible affinity with other Neoproterozoic arc terranes are important elements in the reconstruction of Neoproterozoic plate tectonics. The Yanbian Terrane in the western margin of the Yangtze Block is a typical arc assemblage composed of a flysch-type sedimentary sequence intruded by gabbroic and granodioritic plutons. The sedimentary sequence consists chiefly of tuffaceous material with interlayered chert, sandstone, and pillow basalts. Laser ablation ICP-MS U–Pb dating of detrital zircons from the sandstones yield ages as young as 840 Ma. The Gaojiacun and Lengshuiqing mafic intrusions are dated at 812 ± 3 Ma and 806 ± 4 Ma, respectively, using the SHRIMP zircon U–Pb technique. Geochemical data show that both the Gaojiacun and Lengshuiqing intrusions have arc signatures, with ɛNd(t) values of +1.5 to +6.0, initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of 0.705–0.706 and pronounced negative Nb–Ta and Zr–Hf anomalies. Their geochemical variations are best explained by fractional crystallization without major crustal contamination. The Yanbian Terrane represents a typical arc assemblage formed on the western edge of the Yangtze Block during Neoproterozoic time. The sedimentary sequence was deposited in an oceanic setting, probably in a back arc basin environment. The depleted, subduction-modified lithospheric mantle wedge above the subduction zone was the source of melts from which the mafic plutons were crystallized. This scenario suggests subduction of oceanic lithosphere eastward (present-day orientation) underneath the Yangtze Block.     

Hot lherzolite exhumation,UHT migmatite formation,and acid volcanism driven by Miocene rollback of the Banda Arc,eastern Indonesia

The northern Banda Arc, eastern Indonesia, exposes upper mantle/lower crustal complexes comprising lherzolites and granulite facies migmatites of the ‘Kobipoto Complex’. Residual garnet–sillimanite granulites, which contain spinel + quartz inclusions within garnet, experienced ultrahigh-temperature (UHT; > 900 °C) conditions at 16 Ma due to heat supplied by lherzolites exhumed during slab rollback in the Banda Arc. Here, we present U–Pb zircon ages and new whole-rock geochemical analyses that document a protracted history of high-T metamorphism, melting, and acid magmatism of a common sedimentary protolith. Detrital zircons from the Kobipoto Complex migmatites, with ages between 3.4 Ga and 216 Ma, show that their protolith was derived from both West Papua and the Archean of Western Australia, and that metamorphism of these rocks on Seram could not have occurred until the Late Triassic. Zircons within the granulites then experienced three subsequent episodes of growth – at 215–173 Ma, 25–20 Ma, and at c. 16 Ma. The population of zircon rims with ages between 215 and 173 Ma document significant metamorphic (± partial melting) events that we attribute to subduction beneath the Bird's Head peninsula and Sula Spur, which occurred until the Banda and Argo continental blocks were rifted from the NW Australian margin of Gondwana in the Late Jurassic (from c. 160 Ma). Late Oligocene-Early Miocene collision between Australia (the Sula Spur) and SE Asia (northern Sulawesi) was then recorded by crystallisation of several 25–20 Ma zircon rims. Thereafter, a large population of c. 16 Ma zircon rims grew during subsequent and extensive Middle Miocene metamorphism and melting of the Kobipoto complex rocks beneath Seram under high- to ultrahigh-temperature (HT–UHT) conditions. Lherzolites located adjacent to the granulite-facies migmatites in central Seram equilibrated at 1280–1300 °C upon their exhumation to 1 GPa (~ 37 km) depth, whereupon they supplied sufficient heat to have metamorphosed adjacent Kobipoto Complex migmatites under UHT conditions at 16 Ma. Calculations suggesting slight (~ 10 vol%) mantle melting are consistent with observations of minor gabbroic intrusions and scarce harzburgites. Subsequent extension during continued slab rollback exhumed both the lherzolites and adjacent granulite-facies migmatites beneath extensional detachment faults in western Seram at 6.0–5.5 Ma, and on Ambon at 3.5 Ma, as recorded by subsequent zircon growth and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages in these regions. Ambonites, cordierite- and garnet-bearing dacites sourced predominantly from melts generated in the Kobipoto Complex migmatites, were later erupted on Ambon from 3.0 to 1.9 Ma.     

Paleomagnetism of the late Cryogenian Nantuo Formation and paleogeographic implications for the South China Block

A new paleomagnetic pole position is obtained from the well-dated (636.3 ± 4.9 Ma) Nantuo Formation in the Guzhang section, western Hunan Province, and the correlative Long’e section in eastern Guizhou Province, South China. Remagnetization of the recent geomagnetic field was identified and removed for both sections. The hard dual-polarity, interpreted as primary, component of the Nantuo Formation, directs east–westward with medium inclinations, yielding an average pole of 9.3°N, 165°E, A₉₅ = 4.3° that, for the first time, passed a strata-bound reversals test. The new data are consistent with previously published paleomagnetic data of the Nantuo Formation from Malong county, central Yunnan Province, which passed a positive syn-sedimentary fold test. Together, these sites represent shallow- to deep-water sections across a shelf-to-basin transect centered at ∼33° paleolatitude. The sedimentary basin may have faced an expansive ocean toward the paleo-East. In the ∼750 Ma and ∼635 Ma global reconstructions, the South China Block (SCB) was best fitted in the northern hemisphere close to northwestern Australia. However, a direct SCB-northwestern Australia connection, inferred to have existed during the Early Cambrian–Early Devonian, had not formed by the time of ∼635 Ma.     

Ages (U–Pb SHRIMP and LA ICPMS) and stratigraphic evolution of the Neoproterozoic volcano-sedimentary successions from the extensional Camaquã Basin,Southern Brazil

During the Ediacaran, southern Brazil was the site of multiple episodes of volcanism and sedimentation, which are best preserved in the 3000 km² Camaquã Basin. The interlayered sedimentary and volcanic rocks record tectonic events and paleoenvironmental changes in a more than 10 km-thick succession. In this contribution, we report new U–Pb and Sm–Nd geochronological constraints for the 605 to 580 Ma Bom Jardim Group, the 570 Ma Acampamento Velho Formation, and a newly-recognized 544 Ma volcanism. Depositional patterns of these units reveal the transition from a restricted, fault-bounded basin into a wide, shallow basin. The expansion of the basin and diminished subsidence rates are demonstrated by increasing areal distribution and compressed isopachs and increasing onlap of sediments onto the basement to the west. The Sm–Nd isotopic composition of the volcanic rocks indicates mixed sources, including crustal rocks from the adjacent basement. Both Neoproterozoic and Paleoproterozoic sources are indicated for the western part of the basin, whereas only the older Paleoproterozoic signature can be discerned in the eastern part of the basin.     

Basin architecture and evolution in the Mount Isa mineral province,northern Australia: Constraints from deep seismic reflection profiling and implications for ore genesis

Deep seismic reflection profiling confirms that the Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic Mount Isa mineral province comprises three vertically stacked and partially inverted sedimentary basins preserving a record of intracontinental rifting followed by passive margin formation. Passive margin conditions were established no later than 1655 Ma before being interrupted by plate convergence, crustal shortening and basin-wide inversion at 1640 Ma in both the 1730–1640 Ma Calvert and 1790–1740 Ma Leichhardt superbasins. Crustal extension and thinning resumed after 1640 Ma with formation of the 1635–1575 Ma Isa Superbasin and continued up to ca. 1615 Ma when extensional faulting ceased and a further episode of basin inversion commenced. The 1575 Ma Century Pb–Zn ore-body is hosted by syn-inversion sediments deposited during the initial stages of the Isan Orogeny with basin inversion accommodated on east- or northeast-dipping reactivated intrabasinal extensional faults and footwall shortcut thrusts. These structures extend to considerable depths and served as fluid conduits during basin inversion, tapping thick syn-rift sequences of immature siliciclastic sediments floored by bimodal volcanic sequences from which the bulk of metals and mineralising fluids are thought to have been sourced. Basin inversion and fluid expulsion at this stage were entirely submarine consistent with a syn-sedimentary to early diagenetic origin for Pb–Zn mineralisation at, or close to, the seafloor. Farther east, a change from platform carbonates to deeper water continental slope deposits (Kuridala and Soldiers Cap groups) marks the position of the original shelf break along which the north–south-striking Selwyn-Mount Dore structural corridor developed. This corridor served as a locus for strain partitioning, fluid flow and iron oxide–copper–gold mineralisation during and subsequent to the onset of basin inversion and peak metamorphism in the Isan Orogeny at 1585 Ma. An episode of post-orogenic strike-slip faulting and hydrothermal alteration associated with the subvertical Cloncurry Fault Zone overprints west- to southwest-dipping shear zones that extend beneath the Cannington Pb–Zn deposit and are antithetic to inverted extensional faults farther west in the same sub-basin. Successive episodes of basin inversion and mineralisation were driven by changes in the external stress field and related plate tectonic environment as evidenced by a corresponding match to bends in the polar wander path for northern Australia. An analogous passive margin setting has been described for Pb–Zn mineralisation in the Paleozoic Selwyn Basin of western Canada.     

Contributions of zircon U–Pb geochronology to understanding the volcanic and sedimentary history of some Purāna basins,India

In this century, U–Pb ages of magmatic and detrital zircons, together with a few less accurate but fairly robust ages determined on monazite and baddeleyite, in the Purāna successions in India have established a few firm timelines that constrain the opening, closure, inversion, and provenance of the Purāna basins. The Cuddapah basin opened shortly before ca. 1900 Ma, the Vindhyan basin opened before ca. 1630 Ma, the Khariar basin likely opened ca. 1500 Ma, and the Chhattisgarh basin opened ca. 1400 Ma. The Marwar basin opened after ca. 750 Ma. The Chhattisgarh basin began to invert at ca. 1000 Ma and closed shortly thereafter. The Indravati and the Vindhyan basins closed ca. 1000 Ma. There are no other defensible geochronologic data to adequately constrain the opening and closure of other Purāna basins (e.g., Kaladgi, Badami, Bhima, Kurnool, Mallampalli, Albaka, Ampani, Sabari, and Kolhan). Neither the fossil record nor the biostratigraphy of these basins necessarily correspond to the chronology determined through radiometric measurements.The discovery of ca. 1000 Ma volcanic events in the Indravati and Chhattisgarh basins adds to the growing list of ca. 1000 Ma thermal disturbances in the Indian shield. Most of these events were likely the far field effects of the final assembly of Rodinia.     

Detrital mineral age,radiogenic isotopic stratigraphy and tectonic significance of the Cuddapah Basin,India

The Cuddapah Basin is one of a series of Proterozoic basins that overlie the cratons of India that, due to limited geochronological and provenance constraints, have remained subject to speculation as to their time of deposition, sediment source locations, and tectonic/geodynamic significance.Here we present 21 new, stratigraphically constrained, U–Pb detrital zircon samples from all the main depositional units within the Cuddapah Basin. These data are supported by Hf isotopic data from 12 of these samples, that also encompass the stratigraphic range, and detrital muscovite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data from a sample of the Srisailam Formation. Taken together, the data demonstrate that the Papaghni and lower Chitravati Groups were sourced from the Dharwar Craton, in what is interpreted to be a rift basin that evolved into a passive margin. The Nallamalai Group is here constrained to be deposited between 1659 ± 22 Ma and ~ 1590 Ma. It was sourced from the coeval Krishna Orogen to the east, and was deposited in its foreland basin. Nallamalai Group detrital zircon U–Pb and Hf isotope values directly overlap with similar data from the Ongole Domain metasedimentary rocks. Depositional age constraints on the Srisailam Formation are permissive with it being coeval with the Nallamalai Group and it was possibly deposited within the same basin. The Kurnool Group saw a return to Dharwar Craton derived provenance and is constrained to being Neoproterozoic. It may represent deposition in a long-wavelength basin forelandward of the Tonian Eastern Ghats Orogeny. Detrital zircons from the Gandikota Formation, which is traditionally considered a part of the Chitravati Group, constrain it to being deposited after 1181 ± 29 Ma, more than 700 Ma after the lower Chitravati Group. It is possible that the Gandikota Formation is correlative with the Kurnool Group.The new data suggest that the Nallamalai Group correlates temporally and tectonically with the Somanpalli Group of the Pranhita–Godavari Valley Basin, which is tightly constrained to being deposited at ~ 1620 Ma. These syn-orogenic foreland basin deposits firmly link the SE India Proterozoic basins to their orogenic hinterland with their discovery filling a ‘missing-link’ in the tectonic development of the region.