Age, origin and geodynamic significance of plagiogranites in lherzolites and gabbros of the Piedmont-Ligurian ocean basin

U-Pb zircon dating, Sr-Nd isotope tracing and major/trace/RE element analyses were performed to constrain the age, origin and geodynamic significance of plagiogranites that intrude lherzolites and gabbros in the Ligurian Alps and the Northern Apennines. In addition, a host Fe-diorite was investigated. Samples from the Ligurian Alps were collected from the Voltri Group and the Sestri-Voltaggio Zone, whereas the plagiogranites from the Northern Apennines were taken in the Bracco unit. All these units have been affected by Alpine metamorphism reaching eclogite facies in the Voltri Group, blueschist degree in the Sestri Voltaggio samples, and prehnite-pumpellyite facies in the Bracco Unit, which has additionally been affected by rodingitization.

U-Pb zircon ages of 150 ± 1, 153 ± 1 and ≈ 156 Ma were obtained, respectively, for two plagiogranites and the host Fe-diorite in the Ligurian Alps, and an age of 153 ± 1 Ma was determined for the plagiogranite in Northern Apennines. Inherited components in zircon and initial Pb in plagioclase indicate mixing of variously differentiated basaltic magmas with small amounts of roughly 1.7–2.1 Ga old continental crust material. REE patterns in both the plagiogranites and the host diorite are characterized by high REE abundance, and moderate LREE enrichment. Nd isotopic compositions lie in the range of N-MORB sources, yielding initial epsilon Nd values between + 8.8 and + 9.7, whereas Sr is isotopically heterogeneous. The geochemical pattern of the plagiogranites and the host Fe-diorite requires melting of a MORB-type mantle source that experienced LREE enrichment shortly before melting. The most likely explanation for such enrichment is the injection of melts derived by small degrees of melting from an adjacent mantle region. The basaltic, LREE-enriched parent magmas generated from this enriched domain have probably undergone up to about 72% of low-pressure fractional crystallization prior to their emplacement into the gabbro-peridotite complex.

The 156–150 Ma magmatism occurred in close relation to normal faulting, sedimentation of breccias, and detachment of the mantle complex from its overlying continental crust, followed by exposure on the ocean floor. This tectono-magmatic event in the Ligurian Alps and the Northern Apennines reflects rifting of the Adriatic-Iberian continental plate segment, preceding wider opening of the Piedmont-Ligurian ocean basin and pillow basalt deposition.     

Key geodynamic processes and driving forces of Tethyan evolution

Tethys tectonic system has experienced a long-term evolution history, including multiple Wilson cycles; thus, it is an ideal target for analyzing plate tectonics and geodynamics. Tethyan evolution is typically characterized by a series of continental blocks that separated from the Gondwana in the Southern Hemisphere, drifted northward, and collided and accreted with Laurasia in the Northern Hemisphere. During this process, the successive opening and closing of multistage Tethys oceans(e.g.,Proto...     

Thermal and chemical evolution of the terrestrial magma ocean

The Earth is likely to have experienced a magma ocean stage during accretion. Thermal and chemical evolution of magma ocean is investigated based on a one-dimensional two-phase-flow heat and mass transfer model. Differentiation at lower mantle pressure depends on the type of magma ocean and surrounding atmosphere. If the magma ocean is formed by the blanketing effect of a solar-type proto-atmosphere, extensive differentiation proceeds at lower mantle pressure. If the magma ocean is formed by the blanketing effect of an impact-induced steam atmosphere, no differentiation at lower mantle pressure is likely. If a very deep magma ocean is formed by a giant impact, whether differentiation proceeds at lower mantle pressure or not depends on grain size, viscosity of melt and/or properties of a transient atmosphere. On the contrary, chemical differentiation likely proceeds at upper mantle pressure irrespective of magma ocean type. A shallow magma ocean can remain for 100 200 My without any heating processes.     

Cenozoic geodynamic evolution of the Andaman–Sumatra subduction margin: Current understanding

The Andaman–Sumatra margin displays a unique set‐up of extensional subduction–accretion complexes, which are the Java Trench, a tectonic (outer arc) prism, a sliver plate, a forearc, oceanic rises, inner‐arc volcanoes, and an extensional back‐arc with active spreading. Existing knowledge is reviewed in this paper, and some new data on the surface and subsurface signatures for operative geotectonics of this margin is analyzed. Subduction‐related deformation along the trench has been operating either continuously or intermittently since the Cretaceous. The oblique subduction has initiated strike–slip motion in the northern Sumatra–Andaman sector, and has formed a sliver plate between the subduction zone and a complex, right‐lateral fault system. The sliver fault, initiated in the Eocene, extended through the outer‐arc ridge offshore from Sumatra, and continued through the Andaman Sea connecting the Sagaing Fault in the north. Dominance of regional plate dynamics over simple subduction‐related accretionary processes led to the development and evolution of sedimentary basins of widely varied tectonic character along this margin. A number of north–south‐trending dismembered ophiolite slices of Cretaceous age, occurring at different structural levels with Eocene trench‐slope sediments, were uplifted and emplaced by a series of east‐dipping thrusts to shape the outer‐arc prism. North–south and east–west strike–slip faults controlled the subsidence, resulting in the development of a forearc basins and record Oligocene to Miocene–Pliocene sedimentation within mixed siliciclastic–carbonate systems. The opening of the Andaman Sea back‐arc occurred in two phases: an early (～11 Ma) stretching and rifting, followed by spreading since 4–5 Ma. The history of inner‐arc volcanic activity in the Andaman region extends to the early Miocene, and since the Miocene arc volcanism has been associated with an evolution from felsic to basaltic composition.     

Effect of Antarctic ozone holes of 1988, 1989, and 1990 on lower latitudes of the southern hemisphere

The October depletions in the Antarctic ozone spread to lower latitudes in early November in 1988, in late November in 1989, and in late October in 1990. The depletions were 10-15% for latitudes up to 40°S and smaller thereafter, and almost negligible at 25°S and beyond. However, for the southern hemisphere, the normal seasonal changes at middle latitudes from October to December are much larger (about 20%). Also, there are superposed fluctuations of about 20% over a few (5-6) days.     

Recent geodynamic evolution of convergent plate margins and the reconstruction of fossil plate boundaries

Summary The discovery of paleoplates buried in the upper mantle leads to an interpretation of the subduction as a discontinuous process running in cycles and shifting the place of its operation in or against the direction of ocean floor spreading. This mechanism explains the distribution of calc-alkaline volcanism of different age in fossil convergent plate boundaries. The establishment of regular spatial correlation of the aseismic gap in the Wadati-Benioff zones with the distribution of calc-alkaline volcanism enables to reconstruct fossil plate boundaries and to define allochtonous terranes in apparently homogeneous continental plates. The hampering effect of the ocean floor morphology and of the fragments of continental plates approaching the trench, which substantially influences the rates of subduction and the geodynamic history of active continental margins in different domains along the trench, allows us to understand the complicated geological development of continental wedges in fossil convergent plate margins. The establishment of the segmented nature of active subduction zones and the dramatic morphology of the lower limit of the active subducted slab along the trench help us to interpret extensive lateral gaps in volcanic chains overlying active as well as fossil subduction zones.     

藏南地区中深源地震精确定深研究及其地球动力学含义

利用2004～2005年Hi-CLIMB计划架设在藏南日喀则附近由28台宽频带数字地震仪组成的二维台阵的地震记录,应用双差层析定位方法(TomoDD)对454个区域地震进行了精确重定位,共确定了340个地震的精确位置.发现区域震源深度呈明显的双层分布,其中有21 个地震的深度在50～80 km之间,与该地区的莫霍面深度相近.通过不同深度震源的理论地震图与实际地震图对比的方法,发现震源位置位于莫霍面上下地震图的震相存在明显差异,从而给出了存在地幔地震的直接观测证据.这一发现,对长期争论的地幔地震是否存在及大陆岩石圈流变结构的“三明治”模型有重要参考意义.     

Effect of wave-induced mixing on Antarctic sea ice in a high-resolution ocean model

Ocean Dynamics - In this study, we investigate how sea ice extent and thickness are affected by additional turbulent mixing from unbroken surface waves. This ‘surface wave mixing’ (SWM)...     

南海西北部上层海洋对连续台风的近惯性响应

文章基于2011年9～11月南海西沙潜标观测资料,研究了西沙海域上层海洋对连续台风Nesat(1117)和Nalgae(1119)过境的近惯性响应.结果表明:两个台风过境都产生了强烈的近惯性振荡,且台风路径右侧的近惯性流速明显大于左侧. Nesat引起的近惯性内波平均垂向相速度为0.25cm s^-1,垂向群速度为0.85m h-1,垂向波长为350m.Nalgae所引起的近惯性内波垂向相速度和群速度均小于Nesat,垂向波长仅为Nesat的1/2.两个台风引起的近惯性能量下传深度存在明显差异, Nalgae约为200m,而Nesat可下传至300m.产生这一差异的主要原因是Nesat引起的近惯性能量不易耗散,同时能够以较快的速度向深海传播.此外,两个台风引起的近惯性内波频率都存在明显的蓝移现象. Nesat引起的近惯性内波频率在100～150m深度受多普勒频移的影响明显增大;然而Nalgae引起的近惯性内波频率却在100～150m深度显著减小,这是由于两个台风过境期间,西沙海域背景场涡度差异所致.     

Upper ocean near-inertial response to the passage of two sequential typhoons in the northwestern South China Sea

Fifty-seven days of moored current records are examined, focusing on the sequential passage of Typhoons Nesat and Nalgae separated by 5 days in the northwestern South China Sea. Both typhoons generated strong near-inertial waves(NIW) as detected by a moored array, with the near-inertial velocity to the right of the typhoon path significantly larger than to the left. The estimated vertical phase and group velocities of the NIW induced by Typhoon Nesat are 0.2 cm s^-1 and 0.85 m h^-1, respectively,corresponding to a vertical wavelength of 350 m. Both the vertical phase and group velocities of the NIW induced by Typhoon Nalgae are lower than those of Typhoon Nesat, with the corresponding vertical wavelength only one-half that of Nesat. The threshold values of induced near-inertial kinetic energy(NIKE) of 5 J m^-3 reach water depths of 300 and 200 m for Typhoons Nesat and Nalgae, respectively, illustrating that the NIKE induced by Typhoon Nesat dissipated less with depth. Obvious blueshifts in the induced NIW frequencies are also detected. The frequency of NIW induced by Typhoon Nesat significantly increases at water depths of 100–150 m because of Doppler shifting, but decreases significantly at water depths of 100–150 m for Nalgae because of the greater influence of the background vorticity during the passage of Typhoon Nalgae.     

Layered Velocity Models of the Western Bohemia Region

A new robust and effective optimization algorithm – isometric algorithm – was used for the inversion of layered velocity models, with constant gradient in each layer, to find suitable 1-D models for the location of microearthquakes in the individual four subregions of the West Bohemian earthquake swarm region. Models which are considered as optimal yield the minimum sum of the absolute values of the travel-time residua in locating the whole group of earthquakes in the given subregion. The results obtained from the inversion of P and S waves and from P waves only are shown. For comparison, optimum homogeneous models derived by the grid search method, again using both P and S waves and P waves only, are given. The computations indicate that the models for the individual subregions differ from each other. For layered models the differences are more pronounced, as expected, in the upper parts, down to depths of about 5 km. In comparison with the subregions Nový Kostel and Plesná, the P and S wave velocities for subregion Lazy are relatively higher and the P and S velocities for subregion Klingenthal relatively lower. In the lower parts the differences are smaller and the velocities have practically identical gradients. The highest velocities were obtained for subregion Lazy and the lowest velocities for subregion Klingenthal, as well for the homogeneous models. The model that represents the whole swarm region was determined in a similar way. This model is compared with the previously published velocity-depth distribution, obtained from DSS profile VI/70 in the vicinity of the area under study.     

Underplating in the middle-lower Yangtze Valley and model of geodynamic evolution:Constraints from geophysical data

~~Underplating in the middle-lower Yangtze Valley and model of geodynamic evolution:Constraints from geophysical data1)East China petroleum Administration,1988(unpublished data). 1)Measurements of regional rock densities and magnetic parameters of Anhui Province(research report),Annul Geological and Mineral Bureau,1987(unpublished). 1)In this paper South China Block(SCB)includes the Yangtze block and Cathaysian block.In the Neoproterozoic the Yangtze block had been sutured to th…     

西太平洋俯冲板块对中国东北构造演化的影响及其动力学意义

中国东北地区在古生代期间以众多微陆块的拼合以及古亚洲洋的闭合为特征,其后又经历了中-新生代太平洋构造域及中生代蒙古-鄂霍茨克构造域的叠加与改造,以致东北地区的构造行迹显得极为复杂,而大兴安岭重力梯级带及其西部地区构造演化是否与西太平洋俯冲有关仍然存在争议.本研究利用分布于中国东北、华北地区以及韩国、日本等部分台网所接收的近震与远震走时数据获得了中国东北地区壳幔精细的三维P波速度结构.成像结果显示,太平洋板块持续西向俯冲,俯冲板片的前缘停滞在大兴安岭-太行山重力梯度带以东区域的地幔转换带之中;长白山火山区上地幔存在着显著的低速异常体,推测西太平洋板块的深俯冲脱水导致了上地幔底部岩石的熔点降低,从而形成了大范围的部分熔融物质上涌.通过分析上地幔的速度结构,我们认为由于太平洋板块的大规模西向深俯冲,在大地幔楔中发生板片脱水、低速热物质上涌等复杂的地球动力学过程;俯冲板片前缘带动上地幔中不均匀分布的地幔流强烈作用于上部的岩石圈,这对东北地区深部壳幔结构乃至大兴安岭重力梯级带的形成、演化有着重要的影响.

     

Regional and global effects of southern ocean constraints in a global model

Global ocean circulation models do not usually take high-latitude processes into account in an adequate form due to a limited model domain or insufficient resolution. Without the processes in key areas contributing to the lower part of the global thermohaline circulation, the characteristics and flow of deep and bottom waters often remain unrealistic in these models. In this study, various sections of the Bremerhaven Regional Ice Ocean Simulation model results are combined with a global inverse model by using temperature, salinity, and velocity constraints for the Hamburg Large Scale Geostrophic ocean general circulation model. The differences between the global model with and without additional constraints from the regional model demonstrate that the Weddell Sea circulation exerts a significant influence on the course of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current with consequences for Southern Ocean water mass characteristics and the spreading of deep and bottom waters in the South Atlantic. The influence of the Ross Sea is found to be less important in terms of global influences. However, regional changes in the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean are found to be of Ross Sea origin. The additional constraints change the hydrographic conditions of the global model in the vicinity of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in such a way that transport values, e.g., in Drake Passage no longer need to be prescribed to obtain observed transports. These changes not only improve the path and transport of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current but affect the meso- and large-scale circulation. With a higher (lower) mean Drake Passage transport, the mean Weddell Gyre transport is lower (higher). Furthermore, an increase (decrease) in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current leads to a decrease (increase) of the circum-Australian flow, i.e., a decrease (increase) of the Indonesian Throughflow.     

Magma evolution of Quaternary minor volcanic centres in southern Peru,Central Andes

Minor centres in the Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ) of the Andes occur in different places and are essential indicators of magmatic processes leading to formation of composite volcano. The Andahua–Orcopampa and Huambo monogenetic fields are located in a unique tectonic setting, in and along the margins of a deep valley. This valley, oblique to the NW–SE-trend of the CVZ, is located between two composite volcanoes (Nevado Coropuna to the east and Nevado Sabancaya to the west). Structural analysis of these volcanic fields, based on SPOT satellite images, indicates four main groups of faults. These faults may have controlled magma ascent and the distribution of most centres in this deep valley shaped by en-echelon faulting. Morphometric criteria and ¹⁴C age dating attest to four main periods of activity: Late Pleistocene, Early to Middle Holocene, Late Holocene and Historic. The two most interesting features of the cones are the wide compositional range of their lavas (52.1 to 68.1 wt.% SiO₂) and the unusual occurrence of mafic lavas (olivine-rich basaltic andesites and basaltic andesites). Occurrence of such minor volcanic centres and mafic magmas in the CVZ may provide clues about the magma source in southern Peru. Such information is otherwise difficult to obtain because lavas produced by composite volcanoes are affected by shallow processes that strongly mask source signatures. Major, trace, and rare earth elements, as well as Sr-, Nd-, Pb- and O-isotope data obtained on high-K calc-alkaline lavas of the Andahua–Orcopampa and Huambo volcanic province characterise their source and their evolution. These lavas display a range comparable to those of the CVZ composite volcanoes for radiogenic and stable isotopes (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr: 0.70591–0.70694, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd: 0.512317–0.512509, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 18.30–18.63, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 15.57–15.60, ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 38.49–38.64, and δ ¹⁸O: 7.1–10.0‰ SMOW), attesting to involvement of a crustal component. Sediment is absent from the Peru–Chile trench, and hence cannot be the source of such enrichment. Partial melts of the lowermost part of the thick Andean continental crust with a granulitic garnet-bearing residue added to mantle-derived arc magmas in a high-pressure MASH [melting, assimilation, storage and homogenisation] zone may play a major role in magma genesis. This may also explain the chemical characteristics of the Andahua–Orcopampa and Huambo magmas. Fractional crystallisation processes are the main governors of magma evolution for the Andahua–Orcopampa and Huambo volcanic province. An open-system evolution is, however, required to explain some O-isotopes and some major and trace elements values. Modelling of AFC processes suggests the Charcani gneisses and the local Andahua–Orcopampa and Huambo basement may be plausible contaminants.     

History of tectono-magmatic evolution in the Western Kunlun Orogen

Based on the statistical and analytical data on more than 170 isotopic ages published since the 1980s of magmatic rocks, metamorphic rocks, tectonites and ores from the Western Kunlun Orogen, and the characteristics of sedimentation, magmatism, metamorphism and tectonic activities in the region studied in conjunction with geological field investigations and necessary supplementary isotope data, five stages of tectono-magmatic evolution, i.e. Ar³-Pt ₂ ¹ tectono-magmatic active stage (I), pt ₂ ² stable stage (II), Pt ₃ ¹ -p₂ active stage (III), T₁-T₂ stable stage (IV), and T₃-Q active stage (V) can be distinguished in the Western Kunlun Orogen. Moreover, the tectono-magmatic active style and general trend, the characteristics of tectonic settings, etc. of each stage and substage in the region studied are also discussed. Project supported by the State Key Science and Technology Program (No. 305) for the Ninth Five-Year Plan Period of China.     

The structure of the oceanic crust off southern Peru determined from an ocean bottom seismometer

An oceanic crustal model has been produced for the Nazca plate south of the Nazca Ridge prior to subduction into the Peru-Chile Trench at 18°S latitude. Consistent delays of theP_n arrivals and a discontinuity in the tau-p curve indicate a low-velocity zone at the base of the crust. Observed upper mantle velocities are low; however, the mantle velocity increases with depth, at least to 20 km, to a value of 8.5 km/s. A possible petrological cause for the low-velocity zone is partially serpentinized peridotite; however, no clear refracted shear waves were observed to constrain this interpretation.     

Distribution, source and evolution of nitrate in a glacial till of southern Alberta, Canada

This paper addresses the distribution, origin and controls upon nitrate in a 30-km² area of the Interior Great Plains Region of southern Alberta, Canada. High concentrations of nitrate (> 100 mg l⁻¹ NO⁻₃-N) occurred in several isolated enclaves below the water table in brown weathered till. Nitrate concentrations of over 300 mg l⁻¹-N were encountered in groundwater samples collected from these enclaves. Low nitrate concentrations (< 1.1 mg l⁻¹ NO⁻₃-N) were also encountered in the weathered till upgradient and downgradient of the nitrate enclaves. Groundwater samples collected from the underlying grey nonweathered till and bedrock had NO⁻₃-N concentrations of < 1.1 mg l⁻¹.

Through the application of geochemical (NO⁻₃-N and NH⁺₄-N) studies, environmental isotope studies (tritium), microbial analyses (nitrifiers) and laboratory experiments, it was shown that the high nitrates found in the weathered till are the result of the oxidation of ammonium present within the tills. It is postulated that this oxidation occurred during the Holocene epoch when water tables were much lower than present-day levels (5–18 m, and 2 m below ground, respectively).

Through the use of Eh measurements, the enumeration of denitrifying bacteria and laboratory experiments, the potential for denitrification was shown to exist below the present-day water table in the weathered till as well as in the nonweathered till and bedrock. Isotopic data showed that less denitrification may be occurring within the nitrate enclaves than in adjacent downgradient areas.     

Tertiary and quaternary volcanism of the Erzurumkars area (Eastern Turkey): Geochronological data and geodynamic evolution

This paper presents new geochemical and geochronological data on the Neogene and Quaternary volcanic products from the area of Erzurum and Kars (Eastern Turkey).The affinity of most of the volcanic rocks concerned is calc-alkaline, with the exception of minor Quaternary alkaline rocks that outcrop in the Kars sector. Ages range from 8 m.y. to 1.3 m.y.The time-space distribution of the calc-alkaline volcanism in Eastern Turkey - NW Iran is characterized by a sudden northward jump, that occurred around 6 m.y. ago, from the Van-Erzurum Southern Belt to the Kars Northern Belt. Available data indicate that this northward migration of volcanism was due to changes in the subduction geometry of the Arabian plate under Eurasia.