欧洲大高加索厄尔布鲁斯山的形成与演化①

厄尔布鲁斯山位于土耳其板块俯冲至西徐亚板块之下而形成 的大高加索弧形构造带的弧顶部位,本身为晚更新世和全新世两个火山口组成的复式火山锥 。厄尔布鲁斯山隆升过程和机制可划分为4个阶段中生代板块俯冲形成大高加索相对隆起 区;新生代早期板块碰撞使大高加索成为强烈隆起区;新生代晚期发育了厄尔布鲁斯复式火 山锥,并使之成为欧洲最高峰;许多迹象表明,厄尔布鲁斯火山现代并未熄灭,厄尔布鲁斯 山以10 mm/a的速度继续隆升。     

Geochronology of Pliocene volcanism in the Dzhavakheti Highland (the Lesser Caucasus). Part 1: Western part of the Dzhavakheti Highland

Isotopic-geochronological study of the Pliocene magmatic activity in western part of the Dzhavakheti Highland (northwestern region of the Lesser Caucasus) is carried out. The results obtained imply that the Pliocene magmatic activity lasted in this part of the highland approximately 2 million years from 3.75 to 1.75–1.55 Ma. As is established, the studied volcanic rocks correspond in composition mostly to K-Na subalkaline and more abundant normal basalts. Time constraints of main phases in development of basic volcanism within the study region are figured out. We assume that individual pulses of silicic to moderately silicic volcanism presumably took place in the Dzhavakheti Highland about 3.2 and 2.5 Ma ago.     

Manifestations of miocene acid intrusive magmatism on the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus: First evidence from isotope geochronology

New isotope-geochronological data (K-Ar, Rb-Sr) provide tight geochronological constraints on the history of Late Cenozoic magmatism on the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus. Several previously unknown, rhyodacite intrusive bodies with an emplacement age of 6.9 ± 0.3 Ma (Late Miocene) are reported from the Kakheti-Lechkhumi regional fault zone in the Kvemo Svaneti-Racha area. Therefore, a pulse of acid intrusive magmatism took place in a period previously considered amagmatic in the Greater Caucasus. The petrological, geochemical, and isotopic data suggest that these rhyodacites are produced by crystallization differentiation of mantle-derived magmas, which are similar in composition to Miocene mafic lavas that erupted a few hundred thousand years later in the adjacent Central Georgian neovolcanic area. The presented results allow the conclusion that the volcanic activity within the Central Georgian neovolcanic area occurred at 7.2–6.0 Ma in two discrete pulses: (1) the emplacement of acid intrusions and (2) the eruption of trachybasaltic lavas. The emplacement of rhyodacite intrusions in the Kvemo Svaneti-Racha area marked the first pulse of young magmatism on the southern slope of the Main Caucasus range and simultaneously represented the second magmatic pulse (after granitoid magmatism of the Caucasian Mineral Waters region) within the entire Greater Caucasus.     

Geochronological scale and evolution of late Cenozoic magmatism within the Caucasian segment of the alpine belt

Results of the isotope-geochronological studies of the Late Cenozoic magmatism of Caucasus have been considered. The Neogene-Quaternary volcanic activity is found to have evolved during the last 15 m. y. being most intensive in the Middle-Late Pliocene. Within separate neovolcanic areas of the Caucasus region, magmatism was of a clearly discrete character when intense eruption periods interchanged with prolonged (up to several million years) times of quiet conditions. Four stages of young magmatism of the Caucasus are recognized: the Middle Miocene (15–13 Ma), the Late Miocene (9–5 Ma), the Pliocene (4.5–1.6 Ma), and the Quaternary (less than 1.5 Ma). However, for certain areas the time limits of these stages were shifted relative to each other and overlap the whole age range from the mid-Miocene to the end of the Quaternary period. Therefore, within the collision zone, the Neogene-Quaternary magmatism evolved almost continuously during almost the last 9 m. y., but in the time interval of 13–9 Ma in the Caucasian segment, volcanic activity was possibly low. No evidence of directed lateral migration of volcanic activity within the entire Caucasus region was found. At the same time, in the Lesser Caucasus the young magmatism commenced earlier (∼15 Ma), compared to the Greater Caucasus (∼8 Ma).     

Geochronology of Pliocene volcanism in the Dzhavakheti Highland (the Lesser Caucasus). Part 2: Eastern part of the Dzhavakheti Highland. Regional geological correlation

The results of isotopic-geochronological study of the Pliocene volcanic rocks in reference sections and volcanic edifices of eastern part of the Dzhavakheti Highland (the northwestern Lesser Caucasus) are considered. The isotopic-geochronological data obtained here are correlated with data on western part of the Dzhavakheti Highland, which have been considered in previous part of this work. Based on correlation, time spans of principal volcanic events of the Pliocene in the study region as a whole are determined, and general trends of the young magmatism evolution within the region are established. In sum, the isotopic-geochronological dates evidence that the Pliocene magmatism of the Dzhavakheti Highland developed practically without essential breaks during the period of about 2 Ma long, from 3.75 to 1.75–1.55 Ma ago. The areal basic volcanism that was most widespread at that time is divisible into five discrete phases according to the isotopic dates obtained. Comparatively short pauses, which separated these phases of magmatic activity, were a few hundreds thousand years long, not more. Chemical composition of moderately acidic to silicic volcanics, which are of a limited distribution in the Dzhavakheti Highland, and their age relations with basic lavas of the region suggest that they are most likely the differentiation products of parental basic mantle-derived magmas. The analyzed distribution of volcanic centers, which erupted basic lavas of the Dzhavakheti Highland, evidence that first two phases of basic magmatism were connected here with volcanic activity in southwestern part of the region (northern termination of the Egnakhag Ridge), whereas activity of volcanoes situated on the east, predominantly in water-shed part and on slopes of the submeridional Dzhavakheti Ridge, controlled development of the third and fourth phases. Consequently, magmatic activity of the Pliocene stage in history of the Neogene-Quaternary magmatism of the Dzhavakheti Highland laterally migrated from the west to the east, being controlled by development of regional submeridional extension zones. Volcanic ridges marking the latter are formed by volcanic edifices, which are amalgamated at their bases and have erupted lavas of close age and composition. The migration of volcanic activity can be described in terms of the “domino effect,” when cessation of volcanism in one zone led to formation of the other submeridional zone of extension and magmatic activity displaced from the west eastward in sublatitudinal direction. In general, evolution of the Pliocene magmatism of the Dzhavakheti Highland, was similar, despite the essential regional peculiarities, to the generalized trend of magmatism evolution in the continental rifts and intraplate zones of the “hot-spot” type.     

Geochronology and genesis of the young (Pliocene) granitoids of the Greater Caucasus: Dzhimara multiphase Massif of the Kazbek neovolcanic area

This paper reports an integrated petrological, geochronological, and isotopic geochemical study of the Pliocene Dzhimara granitoid massif (Greater Caucasus) located in the immediate vicinity of Quaternary Kazbek Volcano. Based on the obtained results, it was suggested that the massif has a multiphase origin, and temporal variations in the chemical composition of its granitoids and their possible sources were determined. Two petrographic types of granitoids, biotite-amphibole and amphibole, were distinguished among the studied rocks of the Dzhimara Massif belonging to the calc-alkaline and K-Na subalkaline petrochemical series. The latter are granodiorites, and the biotite-amphibole granitoids are represented by calc-alkaline granodiorites and quartz diorites and subalkaline quartz diorites. Geochemically, the granitoids of the Dzhimara Massif are of a “mixed” type, showing signatures of S-, I-, A-, and even M-type rocks. Their chemical characteristics suggest a mantle-crustal origin, which is explained by the formation of their parental magmas in a complex geodynamic environment of continental collision associated with a mantle “hot field” regime.

The granitoids of the Dzhimara Massif show wide variations in Sr and Nd isotopic compositions. In the Sr-Nd isotope diagram, their compositions are approximated by a line approaching the mixing curve between the “Common” depleted mantle, which is considered as a potential source of intra-plate basalts, and crustal reservoirs. It was suggested that the mantle source (referred here as “Caucasus”) that contributed to the petrogenesis of the granitoids of the Dzhimara Massif and most other youngest magmatic complexes of the region showed the following isotopic characteristics: ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ? 0.7041 ± 0.0001 and

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+ 4.1 ± 0.1 at ¹⁴⁷Sm/¹⁴⁴Nd = 0.105–0.114.

The Middle-Late Pliocene K-Ar ages (3.3–1.9 Ma) obtained for the Dzhimara Massif are close to the ages of granitoids from other Pliocene “neointrusions” of the Greater Caucasus. Based on the geochronological and petrological data, the Dzhimara Massif is formed during four intrusive phases: (1) amphibole granodiorites (3.75–3.65 Ma), (2) Middle Pliocene amphibole-biotite granodiorites and quartz diorites (～3.35 Ma), (3) Late Pliocene amphibole-biotite granodiorites and quartz diorites (～2.5 Ma), and (4) K-Na subalkaline biotite-amphibole quartz diorites (～2.0 Ma).The close spatial association of the Pliocene multiphase Dzhimara Massif and the Quaternary Kazbek volcanic center suggests the existence of a long-lived magmatic system developing in two stages: intrusive and volcanic. Approximately 1.5 Ma after the formation of the Dzhimara Massif (at ca. 400–500 ka), the activity of a deep magma chamber in this area of the Greater Caucasus resumed (possibly with some shift to the east).     

Age and Ore Matter Sources of Au-Sulfide Mineralization of the Tanadon Deposit,Republic of North Ossetia–Alania,Greater Caucasus

The results of geochronological, petrological–mineralogical, and isotope-geochemical studies of the Tanadon gold deposit in the Greater Caucasus (Republic of North Ossetia–Alania) have made it possible to determine the age of ore veins and identify ore matter sources of sulfide mineralization. The Tanadon deposit is localized in Paleozoic synmetamorphic granitic rocks at the southern margin of the epi-Hercynian Scythian Plate, which is included in the tectonic zone of the Main Caucasus Range. The orebodies are represented by quartz veins varying in thickness and containing complex sulfide mineralization (pyrite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, galena, sphalerite, stannite, cobaltite, and bismuthinite). Arsenopyrite is the main repository of invisible gold. Mineralogical data provide evidence for hydrothermal ore formation, which proceeded at least in two stages, giving rise to earlier pyrite + arsenopyrite and later galena + sphalerite + chalcopyrite mineral assemblages. The Tanadon deposit is a zone of intense young magmatic activity. Neointrusions widespread therein are related to the Early Pliocene Tsana Complex (trachyandesitic dikes, ~4.7 Ma in age) and to the Late Pliocene–Early Pleistocene Tepli Complex (dacitic necks, ~1.4 Ma). According to K–Ar dating of sericite from ore-bearing veins, the Tanadon deposit formed synchronously with Early Pliocene dikes of the Tsana Complex. The total duration of the hydrothermal process likely did not exceed hundreds of thousands of years. As follows from Pb-isotope-geochemical data, hydrothermal processes coeval with Early Pliocene magmatic activity, as well as geological relationships between ore-bearing veins and trachyandesitic dikes, show that the sulfide mineralization of the Tanadon deposit is genetically related to the intrusive Tsana Complex. The main source of ore components is represented by hydrothermal solutions produced in an Early Pliocene melt spot localized beneath the considered part of Greater Caucasus. In the adjacent territory of Georgia, a number of ore objects similar in structure and mineral composition to the Tanadon deposit are also genetically and spatially related to the intrusions of the Tsana Complex. Therefore, the Tsana Complex should be regarded as productive and the areas occupied by Early Pliocene intrusive bodies as promising for Au-bearing arsenopyrite and base-metal mineralization.     

Geochronology of eruptions and parental magma sources of Elbrus volcano,the Greater Caucasus: K-Ar and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope data

Complex geochronological and isotope-geochemical studies showed that the Late Quaternary Elbrus volcano (Greater Caucasus) experienced long (approximately 200 ka) discrete evolution, with protracted periods of igneous quiescence (approximately 50 ka) between large-scale eruptions. The volcanic activity of Elbrus is subdivided into three phases: MiddleNeopleistocene (225–170 ka), Late Neopleistocene (110–70 ka), and Late Neopleistocene-Holocene (less than 35 ka). Petrogeochemical and isotope (Sr-Nd-Pb) signatures of Elbrus lavas point to their mantle-crustal origin. It was shown that hybrid parental magmas of the volcano were formed due to mixing and/or contamination of deep-seated mantle melts by Paleozoic upper crustal material of the Greater Caucasus. Mantle reservoir that participated in the genesis of Elbrus lavas as well as most other Neogene-Quaternary magmatic rocks of Caucasus was represented by the lower mantle “Caucasus” source. Primary melts generated by this source in composition corresponded to K-Na subalkali basalts with the following isotopic characteristics: ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.7041 ± 0.0001, ƒ_Nd = +4.1 ± 0.2, ¹⁴⁷Sm/¹⁴⁴Nd = 0.105–0.114, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 18.72, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.62, and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 38.78. The temporal evolution of isotope characteristics for lavas of Elbrus volcano is well described by a Sr-Nd mixing hyperbole between “Caucasus” source and estimated average composition of the Paleozoic upper crust of the Greater Caucasus. It was shown that, with time, the proportions of mantle material in the parental magmas of Elbrus gently increased: from ∼60% at the Middle-Neopleistocene phase of activity to ∼80% at the Late Neopleistocene-Holocene phase, which indicates an increase of the activity of deep-seated source at decreasing input of crustal melts or contamination with time. Unraveled evolution of the volcano with discrete eruption events, lacking signs of cessation of the Late Neopleistocene-Holocene phase, increasing contribution of deep-seated mantle source in the genesis of Elbrus lavas with time as deduced from isotope-geochemical data, as well as numerous geophysical and geological evidence indicate that Elbrus is a potentially active volcano and its eruptions may be resumed. Possible scenarios were proposed for evolution of the volcano, if its eruptive activity were to continue.     

K-Ar dating of quaternary volcanics: Methodology and interpretation of results

The K-Ar method and its modifications play a unique role in the geochronology of young volcanic rocks, which has important fundamental and economic aspects. This method provides an opportunity for dating Quaternary rocks, from the oldest (1–2 Ma) to the most recent ones (<30 ka). This paper discusses physical and geochemical prerequisites for the use of the K-Ar method in the solution of this problem. The key factor providing favorable proportions of radiogenic and nonradiogenic ⁴⁰Ar for the K-Ar system in volcanic rocks is the low solubility of argon (0.n–0.0n ppb) in silicate melts and crystallizing rocks and minerals. The sources and controlling factors of errors in the K-Ar dating of young rocks were evaluated in detail. The main analytical problem in the K-Ar dating of young rocks is concerned with the conditions and methods of measurements of very low (0.0n–0.00n ppb) contents of radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar accompanied by much higher (by a factor of 3–10 or even more) contents of nonradiogenic ⁴⁰Ar. The main stages in the development of the K-Ar method in Russia and other countries that provided a solution to this problem are described. We describe the analytical mass spectrometer system and method designed in the Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, which allowed us to carry out for the first time in Russia systematic studies on the geochronology of Quaternary volcanics up to late Pleistocene-Holocene age. The main characteristics of the method are the absolute sensitivity of measurements (5 × 10^?3 A/Torr) and background signal levels for argon isotopes (3 × 10^?3 ng ⁴⁰Ar and 1 × 10^?5 ng ³⁶Ar). The problems of excess radiogenic argon and variations in the initial ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratio in young volcanics are discussed. The results of an investigation of the distribution of K-Ar isotopes among various constituents of young volcanics and the corresponding approach to the choice of material (geochronometer) for analysis are presented. This approach is illustrated by the example of geochronological results for three volcanic centers of the Caucasus differing in the time of occurrence and duration of the active phase: Elbrus, Samsari, and Aragats. A tentative regional time scale was proposed for Neogene-Quaternary magmatic events. This scale generalized the available data for the Greater and Lesser Caucasus and embraces the period from the late Miocene (8.5 Ma) to the late Neopleistocene-Holocene (<35 ka). An interesting feature of the young magmatism of the Caucasus is the synchronous occurrence of distinctive types of volcanic activity in particular volcanic areas. An important prognostic aspect related to the proposed time scale of the young magmatism of the Caucasus is the evidence that the most recent stage of volcanic activity, the youngest occurrences of which were dated at a few thousands to tens of thousands of years, is not yet finished.     

The age of young intrusions of Tsana Complex (Greater Caucasus) and isotope-geochemical evidence for their origin from hybrid magmas

This paper presents isotope-geochronological and petrological study of granitoids of the potentially ore-bearing (Au–As–Sb–Sn–Mo) Early Pliocene Tsana Complex, which are confined to the Main Caucasus fault zone (upthrow fault) in the central part of the Greater Caucasus Range. The Tsurungal and Karobi groups of magmatic bodies are distinguished based on spatial criterion. The Tsurungal group includes three small granite—granodiorite massifs (Tsurungal, Chorokhi, and Toteldash) and numerous acid and intermediate dikes in the upper reaches of the Tskhenistsqali River (Kvemo Svaneti, Georgia). The Karobi group comprises three subvolcanic rhyodacite bodies located in the upper reaches of the Chashuri River (Zemo Racha, Georgia) and numerous N–S-trending trachyandesite dikes near the axial zone of the Main Caucasus Range. The K-Ar and Rb-Sr isotope dating shows that the granitoid massifs and dike bodies of the Tsana Complex were formed in two different-age pulses of the Pliocene magmatism: phase I at 4.80 ± 0.15 and phase II at 4.15 ± 0.10 Ma. All hypabyssal rocks of the Karobi group, unlike those of the Tsurungal Group, were formed during the first pulse. Petrographic studies in combination with geochemical data indicate that most of the granitoids of the Tsana Complex are hybrid rocks (I-type post-collisional granites) and were derived through mixing of deep-seated mantle magmas with acid melts obtained by the upper crustal anatectic melting in the Main Caucasus fault zone. The granitoids of the Tsurungal Group define basic to acid evolution (diorite–granodiorite–granite–two-mica granite) possibly caused by both crystallization differentiation and increasing role of crustal contamination in the petrogenesis of the parental magmas of these rocks. This conclusion is also confirmed by the differences in the Sr isotope composition between granitoids of the early (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.7053) and late (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.7071) phases of the Tsana Complex. Main trends in spatiotemporal migration of magmatic activity in the central part of the Greater Caucasus in the Pliocene–Quaternary time were established using obtained and earlier published isotope-geochronological data.     

拉萨市堆龙德庆县却桑地区早中三叠世查曲浦组层序厘定及其构造意义

拉萨却桑地区的原早中三叠世查曲浦组由下部碳酸盐岩和上部火山岩组成,下部碳酸盐岩产丰富的化石,时代为早—中三叠世,上部火山岩无古生物和年代学资料,根据叠置关系作为查曲浦组上部,时代也为早—中三叠世,并且成为该地区经典地层层序而被广泛引用。最近在原查曲浦组上部火山岩段玄武质安山岩中获得248Ma±4Ma的锆石SHRIMP U-Pb年龄,厘定原查曲浦组上部火山岩时代为早三叠世,原查曲浦组存在倒转,火山岩段应位于碳酸盐岩段之下,其下与列龙沟组整合过渡,证明该区二叠系与三叠系是连续沉积的,进一步说明早三叠世该区存在岩浆活动。查曲浦组层序的厘定对探讨冈底斯地区构造演化过程具有重要意义。     

Stages of recent volcanism and problems of their correlation with landscape formation in the central Caucasus

The article presents a first comparison of the isotopic ages of Pliocene–Quaternary volcanic rocks of the Greater Caucasus with the time of creation of various forms of the modern relief. The latter are associated with lava flows and volcanic centers identified from the study of neotectonic movements, geomorphology, and glacial stages. It is demonstrated that the results of chronological subdivision of lava flows using geomorphological and neotectonic methods, in comparison with the isotopic data, generally agree with each other in this area and ensure more reliable dating of glaciation epochs in the Greater Caucasus. Despite the overall similarity of the data, some contradictions have been revealed and possible causes are considered.     

辽宁宽甸地区辽河群里尔峪组基性火山岩锆石U-Pb年代学及其地质意义

辽东古元古代构造带内辽河群的形成时代及其演化一直是学者研究的热点.本文对宽甸地区里尔峪组变沉积岩夹层的基性火山岩进行锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb年代学研究.7件基性火山岩样品的锆石分为岩浆锆石和变质锆石.测年结果显示代表岩石成岩年龄的岩浆活动有2期:2 150~2 130 Ma、2 050~2 020 Ma,结合本区出露的酸性火山岩,表明宽甸地区辽河群形成时代至少处于2.17~2.03 Ga.获得的5件斜长角闪岩变质年龄显示变质作用发生在1 900 Ma以后,持续时间比较长为1 870~1 780 Ma;进一步可分为3个阶段1 870~1 861 Ma、1 845~1 842 Ma、1 790~1 780 Ma,变质作用峰期为~1 850 Ma,属于本区古元古代第2个强烈的变质峰期,第3阶段与~1 800 Ma左右的变质事件一致.变质闪长岩（D015）脉体形成时代为1 314±24 Ma,斜长角闪岩（D1465-1）变质年龄为1 290±21 Ma,这是首次在辽东地区识别出中元古代岩浆和变质事件,结合辽西和冀北地区1 320~1 380 Ma岩浆活动,认为这些事件是华北板块对Columbia超大陆的裂解过程的响应.      

东天山雅满苏组火山岩LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb定年及其地质意义

报道了东天山觉罗塔格构造带中雅满苏组火山岩的地球化学特征和年代学结果,通过岩石学、同位素年代学及地球化学研究显示: (1)雅满苏组火山岩由玄武岩、安山岩、英安岩、流纹岩以及火山碎屑岩组成,以钙碱性系列为主.火山岩地球化学特征及捕获锆石年龄指示雅满苏组火山岩形成于具有古老基底的陆源弧环境; (2)东天山觉罗塔格构造带雅满苏组火山岩LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb谐和年龄为东段348.0±1.7 Ma(MSWD=1.15)、中段335.9±2.4 Ma(MSWD=1.03)、西段334.0±2.5 Ma (MSWD=1.02),雅满苏组火山岩整体形成于早石炭世,但东段形成时间早于西段; (3)东天山雅满苏岛弧带形成时期东段早于中段和西段,东天山石炭纪时的俯冲事件可能是由东部先开始,依次到中部、西部,俯冲形式类似于"剪刀"闭合的过程.      

青藏高原羌塘中部果干加年山一带晚三叠世花岗岩的特征拉萨市堆龙德庆县却桑地区早中三叠世查曲浦组层序厘定及其构造意义

拉萨却桑地区的原早中三叠世查曲浦组由下部碳酸盐岩和上部火山岩组成,下部碳酸盐岩产丰富的化石,时代为早—中三叠世,上部火山岩无古生物和年代学资料,根据叠置关系作为查曲浦组上部,时代也为早—中三叠世,并且成为该地区经典地层层序而被广泛引用。最近在原查曲浦组上部火山岩段玄武质安山岩中获得248Ma±4Ma的锆石SHRIMP U-Pb年龄,厘定原查曲浦组上部火山岩时代为早三叠世,原查曲浦组存在倒转,火山岩段应位于碳酸盐岩段之下,其下与列龙沟组整合过渡,证明该区二叠系与三叠系是连续沉积的,进一步说明早三叠世该区存在岩浆活动。查曲浦组层序的厘定对探讨冈底斯地区构造演化过程具有重要意义。     

Iranian ultrapotassic volcanism at ~11 Ma signifies the initiation of post‐collisional magmatism in the Arabia–Eurasia collision zone

Ultrapotassic rocks are a common, but volumetrically minor, hallmark of post‐collisional magmatism along the Alpine–Himalayan orogenic belt. Here, we document the occurrence of ultrapotassic volcanic rocks from the Eslamy peninsula, NW Iran in the Arabia–Eurasia collision zone. Our results indicate that magma genesis involved melting of phlogopite‐ and apatite‐bearing peridotites in the sub‐continental lithospheric mantle at ~11 Ma. These peridotites likely formed by metasomatism involving components derived from subducted sediments during Neotethyan subduction. The ~11 Ma ultrapotassic volcanism was preceded by a magmatic gap of ~11 Ma after the cessation of arc magmatism in NW Iran and Armenia, thus likely representing the initiation of post‐collisional magmatism. The age coincides with the onset of collision‐related magmatic activity and topographic uplift in the Caucasus–Iran–Anatolia region, and also with other regional geological events including the closure of the eastern Tethys gateway, the end of Arabian underthrusting and the start of escape tectonics in Anatolia.     

Chronology of Magmatic Activity and Petrologic–Mineralogical Characteristics of Lavas of Kazbek Quaternary Volcano,Greater Caucasus

The paper presents detailed isotope-geochronological, geological, and petrologic–mineralogical data on lavas of one of the greatest Quaternary magmatic area in the Greater Caucasus, the Kazbek neovolcanic center, including polygenetic Kazbek stratovolcano and a number of subordinate volcanic cones in its vicinities. The research was conducted based on a representative collection of more than 150 geological samples that characterize most of the volcanic cones and lava flows of different age, some of which were known previously, and other were discovered by the authors. The high-precision K–Ar data obtained on these materials make it possible to reproduce the evolutionary history of youngest magmatism at the Kazbek center and evaluate the total duration of this evolution at ~450 ka. The magmatic activity was subdivided into four phases (at 460–380, 310–200, 130–90, and <50 ka) with long-lasting interludes in between. Because the latest eruptions occurred in the Kazbek vicinity in the Holocene, this volcano is regarded as potentially active. The volcanic rocks of the Kazbek center make up a continuous compositional succession of basaltic (trachy)andesite–(trachy)andesite–dacite and mostly belong to the calc–alkaline series. The principal petrographic characteristics of the rocks and the composition of their phenocryst minerals are determined, mineral assemblages of these minerals are distinguished in the lavas of different type, and the temperature of the magmatic melts is evaluated. A principally important role in the petrogenesis of the Kazbek youngest magmas is proved to have been played by fractional crystallization and replenishment of mafic melts in the magmatic chambers beneath the volcano, which resulted in their mixing and mingling with the residual dacite melt and the origin of high-temperature hybrid andesite lavas. The comprehensive geological studies, involving interpretation of high-resolution satellite images, allowed the authors to compile the first detailed (1: 25 000) volcanologic map of the Kazbek center and a geochronologic chart supplemented with a stratigraphic column, which illustrate the origin sequence of the volcanic vents and their lava flows, geological relations between them, as seen in reference geological sections, and variations in the composition of the magmatic products with time.     

吉林延边和龙地区泉水村组火山岩锆石U—Pb定年、地球化学特征及其地质意义

通过对延边地区泉水村组火山岩的岩相学、年代学以及地球化学研究来约束该地区的构造演化。泉水村组火山岩分为两段,上段为流纹岩、流纹质凝灰岩、流纹质角砾岩,下段为安山岩、安山质角砾岩。整体为两个喷发旋回,呈爆发相-喷溢相的持续。锆石U—Pb测年表明流纹质凝灰岩形成年龄为(115. 5±5. 3) Ma,为早白垩世晚期,其地球化学特征表明原始岩浆来源于地壳的部分熔融;安山岩地球化学特征显示其岩浆源区是地幔楔由于遭受俯冲流体交代作用从而发生部分熔融,同时有较多地壳物质的混染,表现出活动大陆边缘构造背景下岩浆岩的特征。结合其他证据推断古太平洋板块至少在早中侏罗世就已经向吉黑东部开始俯冲,晚侏罗世—早白垩世早期俯冲作用消减,早白垩世晚期又发生强烈俯冲。     

Early Pleistocene magmatism in the central part of the Greater Caucasus

An isotope-geochronological study of young magmatism in the central part of the Greater Caucasus (Kazbek neovolcanic area) on the territory of Russia and Georgia has been carried out. It was proved for the first time that, in the Early Pleistocene, there was a separate impulse of magmatic activity in this area. The area of endogenic activity for the period identified was contoured on the basis of the integrated isotope-geochronological, petrological-geochemical, and geological data. It has been shown that the Early Pleistocene volcanism inherits the area of Neogene volcanism in the Kazbek region and, therefore, presents the final impulse of the second (Pliocene) stage of the Late Cenozoic magmatism. Thus, Early Pleistocene volcanism was not a precursor of Late Quaternary magmatism as the latter has other spatial patterns of the location of volcanic centers.     

Major events in evolution of the Kazbek neovolcanic center,Greater Caucasus: Isotope-geochronological data

The products of the activity of the Late Quaternary Kazbek neovolcanic center in the Greater Caucasus are studied by isotopic-geochronological methods. It is found that the youngest magmatism evolved during the last 400–450 k.y. over four discrete phases: 395–435, 200–250, 90–120, and less than 50 ka. The petrological-geochemical and published isotopic data point to the mixed mantle-crustal origin of the Kazbek lavas with the leading role of crystallization differentiation of deep magmas and assimilation of the crustal material. We recorded two episodes (～100 and less than 50 ka) of replenishment of the subsurface magmatic chamber under the Kazbek center by the main mantle melt and its mixing with the relict dacite magma that led to the formation of highly mobile hybrid andesite lavas and served as a trigger of the renewal of volcanic activity. Reactivation of the mantle source of the Kazbek center at the end of the Neopleistocene and the Holocene age of the last eruptions indicate the potential danger of this region because of the renewal of the volcanic activity. The medium Devdoraki copper deposit is located in the vicinity of the Kazbek volcano. It represents a unique polychronous, currently evolved ore-magmatic system that originated in the Jurassic.