Precambrian basement character of Yemen and correlations with Saudi Arabia and Somalia

The Precambrian basement of Yemen occupies a key location in the Pan-African orogen of Gondwana. This paper reviews geological, isotopic and geochronological data and presents new Pb- and Nd-isotope data which help define distinct gneiss terranes within this basement, constraining correlations of these terranes with neighbouring regions of Saudi Arabia and Somalia. Existing whole-rock Pb- and Nd-isotopic data are also summarised. These data should facilitate a more objective assessment of the contribution of the Yemen Precambrian to Cenozoic magmatism associated with the opening of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.     

Metamorphism and tectonics of a Pan-African terrain in southeastern Sinai

The Precambrian crystalline basement of Sinai represents a low-pressure metamorphic terrain intruded by large volumes of granitic rock. Based on detailed fieldwork, a general assessment of the metamorphic and tectonic history of the Wadi Kid area, southeastern Sinai, is presented. Three lithostratigraphic units can be traced over the whole area; the Umm Zariq Formation (arkoses, greywackes, pelites), the Tarr Formation (dolomitic-calcareous rocks) and, unconformably overlying the previous two units, the Heib Formation (flows, pyroclastics, conglomerates). D₁ deformation of this 3.5 km thick sequence resulted in upright folds, with changing strike of the axial planes from NE to NW across the area. Low-grade conditions prevailed during this phase. D₂ produced recumbent folds and a subhorizontal cleavage, leading to transposition of D₁ structures in the higher grade parts of the area. Metamorphism reached its peak conditions around D₂. Pressures are estimated at 2.5–3.5 kb, whereas temperatures vary from 450–660°C. In the central Wadi Kid area, garnet, staurolite, cordierite and andalusite occur in metapelitic rocks. Highest grade rocks are syn-D₂ andalusite—K-feldspar gneiss diapirs. Metamorphic zones are shallow dippin and form a domed pattern. Most of the metavolcanics and the syntectonic and late tectonic plutonic rocks belong to the calc-alkaline suite.The Kid Group sediments and volcanics were deposited in a shallow basin and subaerially, respectively, probably on older sialic basement. This basement is at present not exposed because post-orogenic uplift directly after the Pan-African event was relatively small (3–6 km). Metamorphism and the D₂ formation phase can both be related to a rising (mafic?) diapir. The Sinai Peninsula may have been a continental margin or a cratonized, mature island arc, in Late Proterozoic times.     

塔里木克拉通基底古隆起构造-热事件及其结构与演化

通过盆地内部锆石U-Pb测年分析表明,塔里木克拉通基底存在2950～ 3100Ma、2100 ～ 2400Ma、1900～2000Ma、1300～1600Ma、900 ～ 950Ma、700～800Ma、540 ～ 560Ma、400～ 500Ma和270～290Ma等9期构造-热事件.中央航磁异常带井下花岗岩锆石SHRIMP U-Pb年龄测定发现1908.2±8.6Ma前寒武纪基底,表明盆地内部可能存在古元古代构造-热事件形成的古老花岗岩基底.结合新的地质与地球物理资料综合分析,塔里木盆地前寒武纪具有不同年代、不同类型的基底结构,北部为中-新元古代中浅变质岩基底、中部为古元古代花岗岩基底、南部为新元古代早-中期岩浆岩与变质岩基底、东南部为遭受早志留纪区域变质改造的变质岩基底.井震结合发现塔里木盆地寒武系/前寒武系发育广泛分布的大型不整合,形成塔北与塔南两大前寒武纪基底古隆起,可能与550Ma“泛非运动”相关.塔里木盆地基底古隆起主要经历5期演化,古元古代中期形成克拉通化基底,新元古代早期形成统一的变质结晶基底,寒武纪沉积前两大基底古隆起形成,加里东晚期五大基底古隆起基本定型,海西期以来发生局部调整改造.     

Regional tectonic and megadepositional cycles of the Paleozoic of northwestern and central Saudi Arabia

The Paleozoic succession of the Greater Arabian basin is severely affected by series of major tectonic and climatic events which have caused major stratigraphic breaks and pronounce facies change. The major tectonic movements have resulted in dividing the succession into pronounced megatectonic and depositional cycles. In more tectonically active areas, the succession is less preserved and boundaries between the cycles are more complicated due to longer periods of erosion by later movements and/or nondeposition. Minor stratigraphic breaks within the megacycles subdivide the cycles into smaller subcycles. Following the stabilization of the Arabian–Nubian shield, the Gondwana shelf went through a gentle uplift and tilt probably related to the Assyniyc tectonic movements and thick siliciclastics of the Saq and Qasim Formations were deposited. During Late Caradocian and following the deposition of the Qasim Formation, the area went through a gentle uplift and tilt probably related to the Taconic tectonic movements. Thick succession of the Qasim and Saq Formations were eroded and deep paleovalleys incised in the two formations and underlying basement. The movements were followed by drop of sea level due to glaciation events. Glacial and periglacial deposits of the Zarqa and/or Sarah Formations filled paleovalleys and rest on older units from Ordovician to Precambrian. The third main event occurred during Late Silurian where the preexisting successions, mainly on paleohighs, were affected by tectonic movements synchronous with the Acadian tectonic phase of the Caledonian tectonic movements. The Early Devonian Tawil Formation unconformably rests on eroded Silurian and Late Ordovician deposits of the Sharawra, Qusayba (Qusaiba), and Sarah Formations in the Qusayba Depression in central Arabia. The forth main event is a regional movement contemporaneous with the Hercynian tectonic movement which has reached its maximum phase in the Late Carboniferous. Earlier successions from Carboniferous to Precambrian were affected and the Permo-Carboniferous Shajra Formation unconformably rests on all underlying Paleozoic rock units toward the central Arabia arch and other paleohighs. The Shajra rests on the Devonian Jawbah (Jubah), Jawf (Jauf) and Tawil formations, the Silurian Sharawra, Qusayba, and Uqlah formations, the Ordovician Zarqa/Sarah, and Qasim formations, the Cambro-Ordovician Saq Formation, and finally rests on Precambrian Basement complex in Central Arabia. The tectonic movements played important role in shaping the structural framework of Arabia. The Paleozoic succession included source, reservoir, and seal rocks. Oil and gas have been discovered in sandstone and limestone reservoirs in these rocks in several oilfields in the basin.     

Neoproterozoic tectonic synthesis of Uruguay

Neoproterozoic–lower Palaeozoic successions in the Brasiliano fold belts are described and a brief synthesis of these terranes is presented in order to erect a tectonic framework for this region. Tectonic events that occurred around the Río de La Plata craton were diachronous and reflected successive stages of the Brasiliano orogenic cycle. They took place in mobile belts that constituted part of the Gondwana supercontinent. The most thoroughly investigated Neoproterozoic sections are located in the eastern and southeastern regions of Uruguay. The Dom Feliciano Belt shows a tectonic evolution from back-arc to foreland basin characterized by fold-and-thrust, thick-skinned belts developed during the Brasiliano/Pan-African orogenic cycle. The most conspicuous features were late-tectonic high-K calc-alkaline granitoids, HT-LP metamorphism, significant displacements along shear zones, and post-tectonic granitoids. The final stage was characterized by post-collisional basins (molassic sequences) and extensional magmatism related to a phase of crustal stretching. Several lithotectonic units are present as basement inliers in the Dom Feliciano Belt: these include a low-to-medium metamorphic grade sequence (the Zanja del Tigre Formation), granitoids and gneisses (the Campanero Unit), high-grade basement of the Cerro Olivo Complex (Palaeoproterozoic or Neoproterozoic), and a low-metamorphic grade orogenic belt (the Rocha Formation). This paper provides a simplified tectonic map of eastern Uruguay, which we use to describe tectonic evolution from Precambrian to early Palaeozoic time.     

肯尼亚地质矿产资源特征及找矿远景

通过对肯尼亚地层、构造、岩浆岩及矿产资源分布与特征的研究,认为肯尼亚基础地质工作程度总体偏低,缺乏系统的成矿规律研究。地层单元大致可分为前寒武系变质基底、上古生—中生界沉积岩系和新生界火山岩沉积岩系3类,大地构造位于非洲中东部泛非构造运动所形成的莫桑比克带上,区内经历了多期次构造岩浆活动。优势矿产资源为金、铜、煤和铁矿,其中金矿主要赋存于肯尼亚西南部地区前寒武系绿岩带和西部地区的莫桑比克带内,铜矿主要在肯尼亚裂谷两侧莫桑比克带内,煤矿主要蕴含于东南部地区的古生界上石炭统—二叠系页岩中。此外,肯尼亚油气资源潜力巨大,陆域产油地层主要为中新统中深湖相厚层泥岩,图尔卡纳湖及周边地区为重点勘探区域。     

Petrology and geochemistry of sandstones in the southern Benue Trough of Nigeria： Implications for provenance and tectonic setting

Petrographic and geochemical analyses of three Cretaceous lithostratigraphic sandstone units were undertaken to constrain their provenance and tectonic setting. Petrographic analysis showed that there are differences in composition between the three sandstone bodies, which can be attributed to differences in provenance relief, transport distance and geology of the terrain. Composition of the three lithostratigraphic sandstone bodies fall within the craton interior field.
Framework mode and chemical features indicated their derivation from basaltic volcanics, source rocks during the early rifting stage, and felsic, intermediate and mafic igneous source rocks located at the southeast basement complex terrain, with minor sedimentary components from the uplifted and folded older Cretaceous strata.
The chemical composition of the sandstones is mainly related to source rocks, chemical weathering conditions and transport agents. The source rocks were derived mainly from the southeastern Precambrian basement of Nigeria. Through examination of the sandstones, the tectonic setting was modeled. The Benue Trough belongs to a continental sedimentary basin of the passive margin type.
The tectonic evolution from Albian to Maastrichtain of the trough is contributed to the difference in framework mode and chemical composition of the sandstones. The evolution of the basin was reconstructed in terms of sandstone petrology and geochemistry. The tectonic evolution can be subdivided into three stages from the petrology and geochemistry data. The first stage covers Albian; the second stage the Turonian-Coniacian, and the third stage the Campanian-Maastrichtain. These are the three mega discontinuities in the sandstone composition among these three stages. These three discontinuities signify the influence of tectonism.     

喜马拉雅地体的泛非-早古生代造山事件年龄记录

喜马拉雅地体是55±10Ma以来印度陆块与欧亚大陆碰撞而形成的增生地体,位于其中的高喜马拉雅与特提斯-喜马拉雅构造单元的变质基底主要由角闪岩相的富铝变质沉积岩和花岗质片麻岩组成。对两类岩石中锆石的SHRIMPU-Pb测年结果表明,除了记录了20Ma以来的构造事件年龄外,主要保存了529-457Ma的变形和变质事件记录,另外还保存了更早期(>835Ma)的年龄信息。根据20Ma以来崛起的喜马拉雅挤出岩片中包含早期强烈褶皱和向南的斜向逆冲构造以及伴随的角闪岩相变质作用记录,结合岩石测年所获得的大量泛非-早古生代年龄和奥陶纪底砾岩的发现,说明曾位于南半球印度陆块北部的变质基底岩石经历过泛非-早古生代造山事件,同位素年代学数据表明:(1)原始喜马拉雅山是泛非-早古生代造山事件的产物;(2)印度陆块早-中元古代变质基底的再活化在原始喜马拉雅山形成中起重要的作用;(3)现在的喜马拉雅山是在泛非-早古生代造山事件基础上再造山的结果。     

华北克拉通的变质沉积岩及其克拉通的构造划分

早前寒武纪花岗质岩年龄统计结果显示,华北克拉通经历了3.8,3.3,2.9,2.5和1.8~1.9 Ga等多个旋回才从陆核成长为陆台,与之对应沉积岩也由少变多,大约以500 Ma为一周期。由于沉积作用出现在成陆间歇期,所以二者在时间上相间互补,其状如同显生宙超大陆裂解和拼合的周期交替。这一现象不但是地壳演化的普遍规律,而且也可反过来用沉积岩反映陆壳的演化。然而,早前寒武纪尤其是太古宙的沉积岩毕竟太少,无法用来恢复当时古陆块的面貌,但古元古代的特别是陆缘沉积的孔兹岩,尽管已进入下地壳并成为克拉通基底的组成,则以保存甚多、分布延续,使其重塑克拉通的拼合成为可能。已有的华北克拉通的构造划分方案多种多样,但以陆缘沉积的古元古代孔兹岩作为地块的边界,理当最能反映当时古陆块的面貌。因此,以孔兹岩为主要依据,并综合考虑岩石组合、构造环境、变质p-T轨迹、同位素年龄、以及不变质的沉积盖层等地质特征,将华北克拉通主体从西往东划分为：鄂尔多斯地块 / 晋蒙弧形拼合带 / 冀鲁豫地块 /（郯庐断裂）/ 胶辽地块群等构造单元,所得到的不同于以往的构造轮廓,显示华北陆台并非一统的太古宙克拉通,而是吕梁运动拼合成的古元古代大陆。     

华北中部造山带南缘华山地区太华变质杂岩中锆石U-Pb定年

华山太华变质杂岩出露于华北克拉通中部造山带最南缘,区内斜长角闪片麻岩呈"透镜状"或"似层状"产出于黑云斜长片麻岩或TTG片麻岩中。大多数含有石榴子石变斑晶的变质岩中,保留了至少3期变形形迹和3个阶段的变质矿物组合。本文对斜长角闪片麻岩和黑云斜长片麻岩中的锆石,进行了SIMS和LA-ICP-MSU-Pb定年。斜长角闪片麻岩的岩浆锆石年龄为2.29Ga,表明其原岩形成于古元古代。斜长角闪片麻岩、黑云斜长片麻岩中的变质锆石及锆石变质增生边年龄为1.94～1.82Ga,表明华山地区比华北克拉通中部造山带中段及北段其他地区普遍记录的约1.85Ga的变质事件,不仅早了约0.1Ga,且变质事件持续达0.1Ga之久。这说明华北中部造山带前寒武纪期间的构造-变质事件是一个比较漫长的复杂过程。     

微陆块属性厘定的依据——以中亚造山带南缘中段为例

造山带中残存有许多前寒武纪地质体,其中一些被当作前寒武纪基底用于探讨所在微陆块的大地构造属性。由于微陆块属性对于造山带结构和演化具有重要意义,以及所讨论的前寒武纪地质体蕴含地球早期历史演化信息,对微陆块属性的厘定成为造山带研究的重点和难点问题之一。笔者等以中亚造山带南缘中段的微陆块为例,总结梳理了微陆块厘定的相关依据：岩石组合和变质变形特征,碎屑锆石谱峰显示的源区时代特征,地质事件序列,前寒武纪地壳演化信息,继承锆石、捕获锆石和古生代侵入体同位素显示的深源地壳信息,以及地球物理等方面的特征。由于不同学者采用的厘定依据不同,对微陆块属性认识争论不断,即使相同依据也有一定的差异,从而影响对造山带结构和演化的认识。基于以上原因,笔者等认为前寒武纪基底的亲缘性探讨不仅要注重岩石组合和形成时代,还要在精细野外解剖和高精度年代学工作基础上,注意其变质—变形特征、接触关系、源区时代特征、岩石成因和构造环境、地壳增生信息和深源地壳信息等的综合对比分析,以得到较全面依据,探讨其构造属性。当获得一组前寒武纪地质体信息时,可先进行同构造单元内对比,再与其他构造单元对比。当特征相异时则需进行构造单元拆分或考虑构造就位的可能（包括但不限于推覆体、走滑外来体、俯冲刮削的构造岩片）;当特征相似时,可能指示了相同微陆块的裂解或破坏或者不同的微陆块共同经历了相似的前寒武纪演化历程。     

Tectono-geomorphic development of intra-continental Cenozoic depressions within Cretaceous rocks of the Interior Homocline,Central Arabia

Intra-continental depressions occurred in Central Arabia, within the evaporite-bearing Sulaiy Formation, and extends for over 550 km along N-S arcuate belt, passing through eastern Ar Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They mark Jurassic/Cretaceous contact within the Interior Homocline of Central Arabia, accommodating Neogene and Quaternary deposits. Two en echelon major depressional areas were discovered, the northern major depressional area and the southern major depressional area. The first depressional area occurs between Al Artawiyah and Ad Dilam towns, following the arcuate Jurassic/Cretaceous contact. It contains five depressions: N-S Al Artwaiyah depression; NW-SE Ath Thumamah depression, northeast of Riyadh; NW-SE Jinadriyah depression, east of Riyadh; E-W Al Kharj depression; and N-S Ad Dilam depression. All five depressions seems to be formed by tectonic and subsequent geomorphic events, except for Al Artawiyah and Jinadriyah depression, which developed mainly by tectonic events. Southern major depressional area steps over to southwest of Ad Dilam, and occurs from Hawtat bani tamim to Layla towns. This Hawtah-Layla major depression trends N-S, and Cretaceous units strike NNE, which is a slightly oblique relationship, suggesting expression of deep-seated structures. Tectonic features were part of the Alpine-Himalayan orogeny, developing during Eocene. They followed by a geomorphic event (karsts and subsequent collapse) that took place during Mid Pleistocene. Ad Dilam depression is a surface expression of three oil and gas fields, while the southern major depression between Hawtat Bani Tamim and Layla towns is a surface expression of four oil and gas fields. Yet, other several depressional areas are also accommodating Quaternary desert sediments, and they contain economic resources, which therefore, worth further detailed studies.     

澜沧江构造带南段变质岩系锆石U-Pb年代学及构造涵义

澜沧江构造带南段的古老变质岩系因临沧花岗岩基的大面积出露而呈零星分散状出露,该地区是否存在前寒武纪结晶基底和变质岩系的精确时代以及澜沧江构造带变质岩系的变质时限等问题还不是很清楚。本文以变质岩系为研究对象,挑选出锆石颗粒进行U-Pb SHRIMP定年,获得锆石核部U-Pb年龄是1802Ma、1404Ma、1092Ma、906~961Ma、812Ma和727~623Ma,时代为古元古代、中元古代和新元古代,揭示研究区存在前寒武纪的结晶基底,三叠纪(~230Ma)发育区域性岩浆作用事件,破坏改造了其结晶基底;昌宁-耈街剖面近澜沧江岸边花岗质片麻岩的锆石U-Pb谐和年龄为73.9±1.8Ma(MSWD=1.3,N=6),记录澜沧江构造带变质岩经历了晚白垩世变质事件。综合研究认为澜沧江构造带南段存在区域性前寒武纪结晶基底,构造带中昌宁段之变质岩系的变质时间为晚白垩世(85~74Ma),并一直持续到36Ma,约32Ma之后构造带发生走滑运动,变质事件明显早于走滑运动事件。     

Proto-Tethyan remnants in northwest Iran: Geochemistry of the gneisses and metapelitic rocks

The Iran continental crust was metamorphosed, intruded by granitoid magmas, folded and faulted during the Late Precambrian by the Pan-African Orogeny. The basement complex in the Takab Complex (northwest Iran) consists of gneisses, amphibolites, pelitic schists, meta-ultramafic and calc-silicate rocks. Geochemically, the protoliths of the Takab gneisses are slightly peraluminous and medium to high-potassic with calc-alkaline affinity. These gneisses may have been emplaced in volcanic arc tectonic setting. Furthermore, the metapelitic protolith is shale deposited in an active continental margin setting. All these characteristics, and presence of paleo-suture zone and ophiolitic rocks (i.e. serpentines, meta-mafic and meta-ultramafic rocks) around the high grade metamorphic rocks suggest that a continental-margin magmatic arc (Andean-type) formed the Takab Precambrian basement. The basement complexes are extensively overprinted by the Pan-African Orogeny and younger igneous events; this supports the inference that Early Cambrian orogenesis in the Takab Complex region of northwest Iran marks one of the fundamental lithospheric boundaries within Gondwana which belonged to a greater Late Neoproterozoic–Early Paleozoic orogenic system that was active along the Proto-Tethyan margin of the Gondwana supercontinent, extending at least from its Arabian margin to the Himalayan margin of the Indian subcontinent.     

Tectonic evolution of the West Kunlun Orogenic Belt along the northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau:Implications for the assembly of the Tarim terrane to Gondwana

The West Kunlun orogenic belt(WKOB) along the northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau is important for understanding the evolution of the Proto-and Paleo-Tethys oceans. Previous investigations have focused on the igneous rocks and ophiolites distributed mostly along the Xinjiang-Tibet road and the China-Pakistan road, and have constructed a preliminary tectonic model for this orogenic belt. However, few studies have focused on the so-called Precambrian basement in this area. As a result, the tectonic affinity of the individual terranes of the WKOB and their detailed evolution process are uncertain. Here we report new field observations, zircon and monazite U-Pb ages of the "Precambrian basement" of the South Kunlun terrane(SKT) and the Tianshuihai terrane(TSHT), two major terranes in the WKOB. Based on new zircon U-Pb age data, the amphibolite-facies metamorphosed volcanosedimentary sequence within SKT was deposited during the late Neoproterozoic to Cambrian(600-500 Ma), and the flysch-affinity Tianshuihai Group, as the basement of the TSHT, was deposited during the late Neoproterozoic rather than Mesoproterozoic. The rock association of the volcano-sedimentary sequence within SKT suggests a large early Paleozoic accretionary wedge formed by the long-term lowangle southward subduction of the Proto-Tethys Ocean between Tarim and TSHT. The amphibolitefacies metamorphism in SKT occurred at ca. 440 Ma. This ca. 440 Ma metamorphism is genetically related to the closure of the Proto-Tethys Ocean between Tarim and the Tianshuihai terrane, which led to the assembly of Tarim to Eastern Gondwana and the final formation of the Gondwana. Since the late Paleozoic to early Mesozoic, the northward subduction of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean along the HongshihuQiaoertianshan belt produced the voluminous early Mesozoic arc-signature granites along the southern part of NKT-TSHT. The Paleo-Tethys ocean between TSHT and Karakorum closed at ca. 200 Ma, as demonstrated by the monazite age of the paragneiss in the Kangxiwa Group. Our study does not favor the existence of a Precambrian basement in SKT.     

Jebel al Abyad: A recent alkalic volcanic complex in western Saudi Arabia

Arabia, a supposedly aseismic plate, has been the site of extensive alkalic volcanism during the past 10 m.y. The products of this activity, which extend intermittently from Syria to south central Saudi Arabia, are strongly alkalic and primarily basic in composition. Examination of specimens from the Jebel al Abyad area in Saudi Arabia, which displays a particularly wide variety of rock types, suggests the parental melt moved rapidly from depth to high level chambers where most of the chemical variation was produced by crystal fractionation. N-S dilational fissures of regional extent seem to have allowed the melt easy and rapid egress and a low degree of partial melting in the mantle could account for the high total alkalis content. The high K/Rb ratio, which also characterizes the granitic rocks of the underlying Precambrian basement, is thought to reflect a source mantle particularly low in rubidium.     

Palynological evidence for a latest Carboniferous-Early Permian glaciation in Northern Ethiopia

Palynomorphs extracted from glacigenic sediments in Northern Ethiopia are latest Carboniferous-Early Permian in age. These sediments were hitherto thought to be either of Upper Ordovician or of Late Carboniferous-Early Permian age. The predominantly glaciolacustrine and glaciofluviatile sediments were deposited in glacial troughs and valleys that were eroded into Precambrian basement rocks and into Early Palaeozoic deposits, possibly equivalents of Upper Ordovician sediments in Eritrea. In the latest Carboniferous-Early Permian, glaciated uplands to the north of Ethiopia must have existed in Eritrea and/or in southern or central Saudi Arabia.     

A geological excursion in the Wadi Fatima area, near Jiddah, Saudi Arabia

Wadi Fatima, east of jiddah on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia, is a microcosm of the geology of the jiddah area. Rocks ranging in age from 800-million-year-old metamorphic rocks to Tertiary lava flows are exposed, and illustrate the geological richness of western Saudi Arabia. The valley is a major south-west-trending fault zone that has been active since Precambrian times. A major Tertiary dyke swarm in the vicinity of Wadi Fatima is related to the opening of the Red Sea as the African-Arabian landmass split apart.     

新疆富蕴地区前寒武纪地层的物质组成及其构造变形特征

新疆西北部阿尔泰地区发育一套片岩、片麻岩,从境内铁列克以东的塔乌乃萨孜一带向东南延伸到蒙古阿尔泰山南坡,统称冲乎尔-青河构造建造带。该带以特殊的构造位置和复杂的变形变质特征,成为研究阿尔泰造山带发展、演化的重要热点之一。通过对新疆西北部阿尔泰地区变质岩(前寒武纪地层)的物质组成、变形变质方面的资料收集和分析研究,区域地层对比等,按构造-岩石(地层)单位进行了划分。认为该套地层经受过中深层次的区域动力热流变质作用,变质达角闪岩相,是阿尔泰地区前寒武系基底的组成部分,其中的古元古代克木齐岩群和中元古代苏普特岩群变形具有多期次和多层次的特征,不同构造层次的变形均保留了丰富的构造变形形迹。     

The Dorn gold deposit in northern Victoria Land,Antarctica: Structure,hydrothermal alteration,and implications for the Gondwana Pacific margin

The Dorn gold deposit in northern Victoria Land, Antarctica is a fault related gold-only deposit and it represents the first described occurrence of gold mineralization in Paleozoic terranes of the Antarctic continent. The deposit is hosted in lower greenschist facies Middle Cambrian metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks of the Bowers terrane. Gold-bearing veins are located in a brittle–ductile reverse high-strain zone, which was produced by transpressional deformation that overprints the structures of the Cambrian–Ordovician Ross Orogeny. The vein system is surrounded by a hydrothermal alteration zone that is as much as 300-m-wide, where the host rocks are partially to completely transformed into Fe–Mg carbonate-rich rocks with different degrees of replacement of the original mineralogy and texture.The type of host rock, the temperature estimates for mineralization from 290–320 °C, the quartz dominant vein system with sulfides and Fe-rich carbonates, and the controlling structures linked to a convergent margin tectonic setting together suggest that this mineralized vein system can be classified as an orogenic gold deposit. Close analogies are found with deposits of the Stawell zone in western Victoria, which is consistent with the correlation between units and hydrothermal events in northern Victoria Land and southeastern Australia.