藏南邛多江地堑的晚新生代沉积地层及对南北向裂谷形成时代的初步限定

邛多江地堑构成了藏南近南北向裂谷带最东侧的错那-沃卡裂谷中段,是由地堑西缘高角度正断层主控的半地堑式断陷盆地。详细的地质、地貌调查表明,该地堑内主要充填有晚新生代以来的多套河湖相、冰碛及冰水沉积地层。河湖相地层底部以黏土和粉砂为主,上部以砾石层为主,向上砾石砾径逐渐变大,顶部为早更新世冲积砾石层;冰碛主要发育于地堑中部山前地带,构成宽缓的冰碛台地或者终碛垄、侧碛堤。地层的测年结果表明,该区主要发育两套晚新生代河湖相地层,早期沉积时代早于5Ma,晚期为晚第四纪;而冰碛及冰水沉积的时代主要为中更新世。综合该区地质地貌、沉积和构造等分析结果表明,早期的河湖相沉积与盆地发生初始裂陷后的主边界正断层发生强烈垂直活动有关,而晚期的河湖相沉积主要形成于盆地后期萎缩过程中,成因可能与中更新世以来的冰川堰塞湖有关。由于邛多江地堑受控于西侧主边界正断层,早期沉积应晚于其初始裂陷时代。因此,进一步综合现有年龄数据资料认为,藏南近南北裂谷的初始裂陷时代应早于5~10Ma,但晚于约15Ma。     

New paleomagnetic constraints on rift basin evolution in the northern Himalaya mountains

The late Cenozoic sediments in the rift basins in the northern Himalaya Mountains document important information about the uplift and deformation of the most active tectonic region in the Tibetan Plateau. However, these sediments have not been precisely dated, hindering our ability to address the basin development and termination associated with a series of uplifts in the southern Tibetan Plateau. Here, we report a detailed magnetostratigraphic study on the fluvio - lacustrine sedimentary sequence of the Dati Formation bearing abundant Hipparion forstenae fossils in the Dati Basin in the northern frontal region of the Himalaya Mountains. The 195 m – thick section yielded six normal and seven reversed polarity zones that correlate well with Chrons C3An.1r to C4r.2r of the geomagnetic polarity time scale, constraining the section age to ~8.6 – ~6.2 Ma. Together with the magnetostratigraphic results from other rift basins in the region, these results indicate that the horizons bearing the Hipparion fossils were deposited during the age interval of 7.1–6.5 Ma in the northern Himalaya Mountains. The regional tectonic activity and comprehensive magnetostratigraphic and sedimentologic comparisons suggest that the evolution of the rift basins in the northern Himalaya Mountains has involved three major stages since the late Cenozoic, i.e., (1) ~10.0–8.0 Ma, onset of the basins with fan delta facies; (2) ~8.0–3.0 Ma, expansion of the basins with mainly lacustrine facies; (3) ~3.0–1.7 Ma, shrinking and termination of the basins with alluvial fans. The basin evolutionary history indicates an accelerated tectonic uplift of the Himalaya Mountains at ~10.0 Ma, and two deformational events at ~3.0 Ma and at ~1.7 Ma.     

Early Cenozoic Tectonics of the Tibetan Plateau

Geological mapping at a scale of 1:250000 coupled with related researches in recent years reveal well Early Cenozoic paleo-tectonic evolution of the Tibetan Plateau. Marine deposits and foraminifera assemblages indicate that the Tethys-Himalaya Ocean and the Southwest Tarim Sea existed in the south and north of the Tibetan Plateau, respectively, in Paleocene-Eocene. The paleooceanic plate between the Indian continental plate and the Lhasa block had been as wide as 900km at beginning of the Cenozoic Era. Late Paleocene transgressions of the paleo-sea led to the formation of paleo-bays in the southern Lhasa block. Northward subduction of the Tethys-Himalaya Oceanic Plate caused magma emplacement and volcanic eruptions of the Linzizong Group in 64.5-44.3 Ma, which formed the Paleocene-Eocene Gangdise Magmatic Arc in the north of Yalung-Zangbu Suture (YZS), accompanied by intensive thrust in the Lhasa, Qiangtang, Hoh Xil and Kunlun blocks. The Paleocene-Eocene depression of basins reached to a depth of 3500-4800 m along major thrust faults and 680-850 m along the boundary normal faults in central Tibetan Plateau, and the Paleocene-Eocene depression of the Tarim and Qaidam basins without evident contractions were only as deep as 300-580 m and 600-830 m, respectively, far away from central Tibetan Plateau. Low elevation plains formed in the southern continental margin of the Tethy-Himalaya Ocean, the central Tibet and the Tarim basin in Paleocene-Early Eocene. The Tibetan Plateau and Himalaya Mts. mainly uplifted after the Indian-Eurasian continental collision in Early-Middle Eocene.     

Cretaceous to Cenozoic evolution of the northern Lhasa Terrane and the Early Paleogene development of peneplains at Nam Co,Tibetan Plateau

Highly elevated and well-preserved peneplains are characteristic geomorphic features of the Tibetan plateau in the northern Lhasa Terrane, north–northwest of Nam Co. The peneplains were carved in granitoids and in their metasedimentary host formations. We use multi-method geochronology (zircon U–Pb and [U–Th]/He dating and apatite fission track and [U–Th]/He dating) to constrain the post-emplacement thermal history of the granitoids and the timing and rate of final exhumation of the peneplain areas. LA-ICP-MS U–Pb geochronology of zircons yields two narrow age groups for the intrusions at around 118 Ma and 85 Ma, and a third group records Paleocene volcanic activity (63–58 Ma) in the Nam Co area. The low-temperature thermochronometers indicate common age groups for the entire Nam Co area: zircon (U–Th)/He ages cluster around 75 Ma, apatite fission track ages around 60 Ma and apatite (U–Th)/He ages around 50 Ma. Modelling of the thermochronological data indicates that exhumation of the basement blocks took place in latest Cretaceous to earliest Paleogene time. By Middle Eocene time the relief was already flat, documented by a thin alluvial sediment sequence covering a part of the planated area. The present-day horst and graben structure of the peneplains is a Late Cenozoic feature triggered by E–W extension of the Tibetan Plateau. The new thermochronological data precisely bracket the age of the planation to Early Eocene, i.e. between ca. 55 and 45 Ma. The erosional base level can be deduced from the presence of Early Cretaceous zircon grains in Eocene strata of Bengal Basin. The sediment generated during exhumation of the Nam Co area was transported by an Early Cenozoic river system into the ocean, suggesting that planation occurred at low elevation.     

Geomorphic and chronometric evidence for high lake level history in Gahai Lake and Toson Lake of north‐eastern Qaidam Basin,north‐eastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Palaeoshorelines, highstand lacustrine sediments and lakeshore terraces are preserved around saline lakes in the arid Qaidam Basin. Previous research indicates that the chronology of a mega‐paleolake in the Qaidam Basin during the late Pleisotocene is controversial. Here we report quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) age estimates of highstand lacustrine sediments, shoreline features and geomorphic exposures that contribute to a revision of the lake level history of Gahai and Toson lakes in the north‐eastern Qaidam Basin, on the northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP) margin. The results imply that: (i) high lake levels at Gahai and Toson lakes based on quartz OSL dating occurred at 85–72, 63–55, 31, 5.4 and 0.9–0.7 ka, probably corresponding to periods of warm and wet climate; (ii) periods of high lake levels are almost synchronous with other lakes on the QTP (e.g. Qinghai and Namco lakes), with the highest late Pleistocene levels occurring during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 5; and (iii) highstand phases on the QTP are out of phase with those of low‐latitude lakes in the southern hemisphere, possibly driven by solar insolation variability in the low‐latitude region. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Isotopic Chronological Study of the Huangsha‐Tieshanlong Quartz Vein‐ Type Tungsten Deposit and Timescale of Molybdenum Mineralization in Southern Jiangxi Province,China

The Huangsha-Tieshanlong quartz-vein tungsten polymetallic ore deposit, located in the northern Pangushan-Tieshanlong tungsten ore field in eastern Ganxian-Yudu prospecting areas of the Yushan metallogenic belt, is a well-known tungsten deposit in southern Jiangxi province, China. SHRIMP-determined dating of zircons from the Tieshanlong granite yields ages of 168.1±2.1 Ma (n=11, MSWD=1.3). Rhenium and osmium isotopic dating of molybdenite from the Huangsha quartz-vein tungsten deposit determined by ICP-MS yields a weighted average ages of 153±3 Ma and model ages of 150.2±2.1 Ma – 155.4±2.3 Ma. The age of the Huangsha tungsten deposit is 10 to 15 Ma later than the Tieshanlong granite, which shows that there might have been another early Late Jurassic magmatic activity between 150 and 160 Ma, a process which is closely related with tungsten mineralization in this area. The Tieshanlong granite, the Huangsha tungsten deposit and the Pangushan-Tieshanlong ore field were all formed around 150–170 Ma, belonging to products of a Mesozoic second large-scale mineralization. According to the collected molybdenite Re-Os dating results in southern Jiangxi province, the timescale of the associated molybdenum mineralization is 2–6 Ma in the tungsten deposit and the timescale of independent molybdenum mineralization is 1–4 Ma, implying the complexity of tungsten mineralization. Times of molybdenum mineralization are mainly concentrated in the Yanshanian, which includes three stages of 133~135 Ma, 150–162 Ma, and 166–170 Ma, respectively. The 150–162 Ma-stage is in accordance with ages of large-scale W-Sn mineralization, which is mainly molybdenum mineralization characterized by associated molybdenum mineralization with development of an even greater-intensity independent molybdenum mineralization. Independent molybdenum mineralization occurred before and after large-scale W-Sn mineralization, which indicates that favorable prospecting period for molybdenum may be in Cretaceous and early late Jurassic.     

河套地区新生代湖泊演化与“吉兰泰-河套”古大湖形成机制的初步研究

研究发现,河套地区在距今5～6万年前存在一个统一的"吉兰泰-河套"古大湖,覆盖吉兰泰和河套盆地的大部分地区。本研究试图依据钻孔资料和湖泊沉积物的测年结果,讨论新生代以来河套盆地的湖泊演化和古大湖的形成机制。结果表明,新生代以来,特别是早更新世以来吉兰泰盆地和河套平原的3个坳陷盆地就已经处于湖泊环境,但没有证据显示存在统一的湖泊。湖泊沉积及其OSL测年显示,"吉兰泰-河套"古大湖大约在距今10万年前后开始发育,至距今5～6万年之前湖面达到海拔1080m上下,随后湖泊衰退。我们认为,鄂尔多斯高原东北边缘距今12万年前后开始的快速构造隆升,可能导致了晋陕峡谷黄河外流受阻,最终在河套盆地积水形成统一湖泊,末次冰期中期(深海氧同位素3阶段)相对湿润的气候环境进一步促进了"吉兰泰-河套"古大湖的发育。     

Abnormal disappearance of Duoqing Co lake between November 2015 and April 2016, due to far-field aseismic creeping of the southern Yadong-Gulu rift of Tibet,triggered by the 2015 Ms 8.1 Nepal earthquake

ABSTRACT

Duoqing Co is a 60 km² outflow lake in the N-trending Pagri graben, located at the southern end of the Yadong-Gulu rift in Tibet. The water in this lake suddenly disappeared between November 2015 and April 2016, closely following the Ms 8.1 (Mw 7.8) Nepal earthquake in April 2015. Both, geomorphological and remote sensing data indicate the existence of blind faults striking NNE along the east boundary of Duoqing Co lake. There were also several nearly NE-trending extensional cracks preserved in the dried lakebed, apparently formed in response to creeping deformation of the underlying rock. Based on field studies and analysis of meteorological and remote sensing data, it is suggested that this phenomenon cannot be explained by evaporation linked to climate change nor can it be related to human activity. Instead, it is considered that the lake water drained through the extensional cracks formed in the lakebed as it responded to the far-field effects of the 2015 Nepal earthquake. It is proposed that a shift in regional tectonics occurred as a result of the Nepal earthquake, causing a sharp increase in stress accumulation along the seismically locked Bhutan–Sikkim zone on the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT) fault, which was accommodated by the extension of the Pagri graben in the southern Yadong-Gulu rift. It is believed that the crust may have reached a critical stress-state that resulted in strain hardening and brittle failure throughout the region along the Bhutan–Sikkim segment of the MHT. If so, considering the high potential for tectonic activity along the segment of the MHT, it may be worth paying attention to deformational changes and potential geomorphological precursors that might appear in the seismically locked Bhutan–Sikkim gap to predict future earthquakes.     

The relationship between hydrocarbon accumulation and Mississippi Valley‐type Pb‐Zn mineralization of the Mayuan metallogenic belt,the northern Yangtze block,SW China: Evidence from ore geology and Rb‐Sr isotopic dating

The coexistence of Pb‐Zn deposits and oil/gas reservoirs demonstrates that a close genetic connection exists between them. The spatiotemporal relationship between Pb‐Zn mineralization and hydrocarbon accumulation is the key to understanding this genetic connection. The Mayuan large‐scale Pb‐Zn metallogenic belt is composed of a number of Mississippi Valley‐type (MVT) Pb‐Zn deposits that were recently discovered on the northern margin of the Yangtze Block, China. It is hosted in the dolostone of the Sinian (Ediacaran) Dengying Formation (Z₂dn). In addition to the abundant bitumen in the Mayuan Pb‐Zn metallogenic belt, the paleo‐oil reservoir and the MVT Pb‐Zn deposit overlap in space. In this study, two precise ages of 468.3 ± 3.8 Ma and 206.0 ± 6.5 Ma were obtained via the Rb‐Sr isotopic dating of galena and sphalerite from the Mayuan Pb‐Zn metallogenic belt, respectively. The early metallogenic age of 468.3 ± 3.8 Ma is similar to the previously published age of 486 ± 12 Ma. The age of 206.0 ± 6.5 Ma is consistent with the age of the metallogenic event that occurred at 200 Ma in the Upper Yangtze Pb–Zn metallogenic province of the Sichuan‐Yunnan‐Guizhou polymetallic zone, which is located on the southwest margin of the Sichuan Basin, suggesting that the metallogenic effects of this period were regional in scale in the peripheral areas of the Sichuan Basin. Previous studies have shown that two periods of hydrocarbon accumulation occurred in the oil/gas reservoir that coexists with the Pb‐Zn deposits in the study area. The Pb‐Zn mineralization at 468.3 ± 3.8 Ma occurred during the first period of hydrocarbon accumulation, while the second mineralization at 206.0 ± 6.5 Ma occurred during the transformation of the paleo‐oil reservoir to a paleogas reservoir. The spatial relationship between the paleo‐oil/‐gas reservoir and the MVT Pb‐Zn deposits and the temporal relationship between mineralization and hydrocarbon accumulation show that a close genetic relationship exists between the MVT Pb‐Zn mineralization and hydrocarbon accumulation. Analysis of metals in the source rocks forming the paleo‐oil/‐gas reservoirs show that source rocks which formed paleo‐oil/‐gas reservoirs may have provided metals for Pb‐Zn mineralization. Both the paleo‐oil/‐gas reservoirs and Pb‐Zn mineralizing fluids had the same origin.     

Mesozoic to Cenozoic tectono‐metamorphic history of the South Pamir–Hindu Kush (Chitral,NW Pakistan): Insights from phase equilibria modelling,and garnet–monazite petrochronology

The Karakoram–Hindu Kush–Pamir and adjacent Tibetan plateau belt comprise a series of Gondwana‐derived crustal fragments that successively accreted to the Eurasian margin in the Mesozoic as the result of the progressive Tethys ocean closure. These domains provide unique insights into the thermal and structural history of the Mesozoic to Cenozoic Eurasian plate margin, which are critical to inform the initial boundary conditions (e.g. crustal thickness, structure and thermo‐mechanical properties) for the subsequent development of the large and hot Tibetan–Himalaya orogen, and the associated crustal deformation processes. Using a combination of microstructural analyses, thermobarometry modelling and U–Th–Pb monazite and Lu–Hf garnet geochronology, the study reappraises the metamorphic history of exposed mid‐crustal metapelites in the Chitral region of the South Pamir–Hindu Kush (NW Pakistan). This study also demonstrates that trace elements in monazite (especially Y and Dy), combined with thermodynamical modelling and Lu–Hf garnet dating, provides a powerful integrated toolbox for constraining long‐lived and polyphased tectono‐metamorphic histories in all their spatial and temporal complexity. Rocks from the Chitral region were progressively deformed and metamorphosed at sub‐ and supra‐solidus conditions through at least four distinct episodes from the Mesozoic to the Cenozoic. Rocks were first metamorphosed at ~400–500°C and ~0.3 GPa in the Late Triassic–Early Jurassic (210–185 Ma), likely in response to the accretion of the Karakoram during the Cimmerian orogeny. Pressure and temperature subsequently increased by ~0.3 GPa and 100°C in the Early‐ to Mid Cretaceous (140–80 Ma), coinciding with the intrusion of calcalkaline granitic plutons across the Karakoram and Pamir regions. This event is interpreted as the record of crustal thickening and the development of a proto‐plateau within the Eurasian margin due to a long‐lived episode of slab flattening in an Andean‐type margin. Peak metamorphism was reached in the Late Eocene–Early Oligocene (40–30 Ma) at conditions of 580–600°C and ~0.6 GPa and 700–750°C and 0.7–0.8 GPa for the investigated staurolite schists and sillimanite migmatites respectively. This crustal heating up to moderate anatexis likely resulted in the underthrusting of the Indian plate after a NeoTethyan slab‐break off or to the Tethyan Himalaya–Lhasa microcontinent collision and subsequent oceanic slab flattening. Near‐isothermal decompression/exhumation followed in the Late Oligocene (28–23 Ma) as marked by a pressure decrease in excess of ~0.1 GPa. This event was coeval with the intrusion of the 24 Ma Garam Chasma leucogranite. This rapid exhumation is interpreted to be related to the reactivation of the South Pamir–Karakoram suture zone during the ongoing collision with India. The findings of this study confirm that significant crustal shortening and thickening of the south Eurasian margin occurred during the Mesozoic in an accretionary‐type tectonic setting through successive episodes of terrane accretions and probably slab flattening, transiently increasing the coupling at the plate interface. Moreover, they indicate that the south Eurasian margin was already hot and thickened prior to Cenozoic collision with India, which has important implications for orogen‐scale strain‐accommodation mechanisms.     

中祁连木里盆地古近系ESR年龄及地质意义

对中祁连木里盆地新生代红层进行ESR测年,获得了祁连山地区新生代红层沉积时代及构造变形年代学数据.研究表明,中祁连木里盆地内沉积了巨厚的新生代红层,较好地记录了祁连山隆升历史.盆地最老的新生代地层为始新世由湖相沉积组成的火烧沟组,ESR年龄为40.2～35.3 Ma,与上覆沉积时代为32.6～24.3 Ma的渐新世河湖相沉积组成的白杨河组呈角度不整合接触.构造变形特征与沉积环境的变化说明始新世末与渐新世初木里地区发生了构造变形和山脉的隆升,与祁连山地区新生代早期的隆升有很好的对应关系.     

西藏双湖古近纪唢呐湖组碎屑锆石U-Pb年龄与古海拔高度

青藏高原北部古近纪晚期大面积发育唢呐湖组湖相沉积,主要为砖红色、棕色、灰白色泥灰岩、泥岩、粉砂岩互层,夹石膏层和灰岩,广泛出露于羌塘中部、可可西里、东昆仑南部,形成时代为41.1±0.8~32.5!0.3Ma,向可可西里东部过渡为雅西错群。对双湖采坑唢呐湖组上部湖相沉积地层进行详细观测和系统取样,对泥灰岩和粘土岩样品选碎屑锆石作LA-MC-ICP-MS U-Pb同位素测年,对不同层位泥灰岩、粘土岩、灰岩样品作碳、氧同位素分析,结合区域地质相关资料,良好揭示了碎屑锆石来源、沉积地貌环境及古海拔高度。双湖采坑唢呐湖组碎屑锆石绝大部分为岩浆锆石,统计分析碎屑锆石U-Pb年龄,发现存在4期峰值,分别为280~200Ma、780~830Ma、1920~1790Ma、2600~2360Ma;对比区域地质和岩浆岩测年资料,推断晚二叠世—三叠纪(280~200Ma)碎屑锆石主要来自于羌中隆起岩浆岩,新元古代中期(~800Ma)、古元古代晚期(~1800Ma)、太古宙末期—古元古代初期(~2500Ma)碎屑锆石主要来自于东昆仑造山带。双湖采坑碎屑锆石部分测点U-Pb同位素呈线性分布,交点年龄及谐和年龄为1883!51~1837!12Ma、2483!24~2520!37Ma,对应东昆仑造山带早前寒武纪2期岩浆热事件年龄。根据唢呐湖组湖相沉积空间分布和碎屑锆石U-Pb年龄统计分布,推断青藏高原北部古近纪晚期发育自北向南流动的古水系,古洪流将东昆仑造山带出露地表的前寒武纪基底岩浆锆石自北向南长距离搬运,汇聚于双湖古湖盆并沉积于唢呐湖组。根据双湖采坑唢呐湖组湖相沉积碳同位素和氧同位素,估算双湖古湖盆35~34Ma古海拔高度为3427~3510m,这与应用Airy均衡模式根据地壳厚度和密度变化估算的古海拔高度在误差范围内基本吻合。     

A two‐stage exhumation of the Variscan crust: U–Pb LA‐ICP‐MS and Rb–Sr ages from Greater Kabylia,Maghrebides

The significance and role of major shear zones are paramount to understanding continental deformation and the exhumation of deep crustal levels. LA‐ICPMS U–Pb dating of monazites, combined with Rb–Sr analyses of biotites, from an anatectic metapelite from Greater Kabylia (Algeria) highlights the history of shear zone development and the subsequent exhumation of deep crustal levels in the internal zones of the Maghrebides. Monazites give an age of 275.4 ± 4.1 Ma (2σ) dating the thermal peak coeval with anatexis. This age is identical to those recorded in other crystalline terranes from south‐easternmost Europe (i.e. South Alpine and Austro‐Alpine domains) that suffered crustal thinning during the continental rifting predating the Tethys opening. Rb–Sr analyses of biotites yield a cooling age of 23.7 ± 1.1 Ma related to the exhumation of the buried Variscan crust during the Miocene as an extrusive slice, roughly coeval with the emplacement of nappes, and shortly followed by lithospheric extension leading to the opening of the Alboran sea.     

福贡地区石炭系地层可能属于拉萨地块:来自碎屑锆石年龄谱的指示

欧亚与印度大陆的碰撞使得印度大陆的北东角强烈挤入欧亚大陆内部,形成东构造结,其引发的强烈变形将南羌塘地块、北羌塘地块、拉萨地块、保山地块、兰坪-思茅地块以及地块之间的缝合带挤压于很窄的范围内,造成青藏高原腹地与其东南缘之间构造单元划分、对比困难。滇西福贡地区位于青藏高原东南缘,东构造结影响范围内,是三江造山带及青藏高原相关地块的汇聚处。福贡地区石炭系岩石组合表明其形成于较为稳定的浅海相沉积环境中,具有被动大陆边缘沉积特征。三件石炭系二云母石英片岩碎屑锆石表面年龄数据(194个有效分析点)形成五个主要年龄区间:2550~2400Ma、1800~1550Ma、1200~1080Ma、1000~850Ma和600~480Ma,峰值分别为~2502Ma、~1724Ma、~1120Ma、~886Ma和~512Ma。对比其他地块同时代地层的碎屑锆石年龄谱表明,福贡地区石炭系可能是拉萨地块的一部分,与腾冲地块一样,属于其南延部分。结合中新生代岩浆岩带的构造连续性,我们认为,印度板块东北角向北、北东方向的强烈挤压导致拉萨地块及冈底斯岩浆岩带弯曲、缩颈、并发生分离与旋转。     

Tectonically‐controlled Evolution of the Late Cenozoic Nihewan Basin,North China Craton: Constraints from Stratigraphy,Mineralogy, and Geochemistry

The Late Cenozoic basins in the Weihe–Shanxi Graben, North China Craton are delineated by northeast-striking faults. The faults have, since a long time, been related to the progressive uplift and northeastward expansion of the Tibetan Plateau. To show the relation between the basins and faults, two Pliocene–Pleistocene stratigraphic sections(Chengqiang and Hongyanangou) in the southern part of the Nihewan Basin at the northernmost parts of the graben are studied herein. Based on the sedimentary sequences and facies, the sections are divided into three evolutionary stages, such as alluvial fan-eolian red clay, fan delta, and fluvial, with boundaries at ~2.8 and ~1.8 Ma. Paleocurrent indicators, the composition of coarse clastics, heavy minerals, and the geochemistry of moderate–fine clastics are used to establish the temporal and spatial variations in the source areas. Based on features from the middlenorthern basin, we infer that the Nihewan Basin comprises an old NE–SW elongate geotectogene and a young NW–SE elongate subgeotectogene. The main geotectogene in the mid-north is a half-graben bounded by northeast-striking and northwest-dipping normal faults(e.g., Liulengshan Fault). This group of faults was mainly affected by the Pliocene(before ~2.8–2.6 Ma) NW–SE extension and controlled the deposition of sediments. In contrast, the subgeotectogene in the south was affected by northwest-striking normal faults(e.g., Huliuhe Fault) that were controlled by the subsequent weak NE–SW extension in the Pleistocene. The remarkable change in the sedimentary facies and provenance since ~1.8 Ma is possibly a signal of either weak or strong NE–SW extension. This result implies that the main tectonic transition ages of ~2.8–2.6 Ma and ~1.8 Ma in the Weihe–Shanxi Graben are affected by the Tibetan Plateau in Pliocene–Pleistocene.     

Middle‐Late Pleistocene Glacial Lakes in the Grand Canyon of the Tsangpo River,Tibet

Many moraines formed between Daduka and Chibai in the Tsangpo River valley since Middle Pleistocene. A prominent set of lacustrine and alluvial terraces on the valley margin along both the Tsangpo and Nyang Rivers formed during Quaternary glacial epoch demonstrate lakes were created by damming of the river. Research was conducted on the geological environment, contained sediments, spatial distribution, timing, and formation and destruction of these paleolakes. The lacustrine sediments 14C (10537±268 aBP at Linzhi Brick and Tile Factory, 22510±580 aBP and 13925±204 aBP at Bengga, 21096±1466 aBP at Yusong) and a series of ESR (electron spin resonance) ages at Linzhi town and previous data by other experts, paleolakes persisted for 691~505 kaBP middle Pleistocene ice age, 75–40 kaBP the early stage of last glacier, 27–8 kaBP Last Glacier Maximum (LGM), existence time of lakes gradually shorten represents glacial scale and dam moraine supply potential gradually cut down, paleolakes and dam scale also gradually diminished. This article calculated the average lacustrine sedimentary rate of Gega paleolake in LGM was 12.5 mm/a, demonstrates Mount Namjagbarwa uplifted strongly at the same time, the sedimentary rate of Gega paleolake is more larger than that of enclosed lakes of plateau inland shows the climatic variation of Mount Namjagbarwa is more larger and plateau margin uplifted more quicker than plateau inland. This article analyzed formation and decay cause about the Zelunglung glacier on the west flank of Mount Namjagbarwa got into the Tsangpo River valley and blocked it for tectonic and climatic factors. There is a site of blocking the valley from Gega to Chibai. This article according to moraines and lacustrine sediments yielded paleolakes scale: the lowest lake base altitude 2850 m, the highest lake surface altitude 3585 m, 3240 m and 3180 m, area 2885 km2, 820 km2 and 810 km2, lake maximum depth of 735 m, 390 m and 330 m. We disclose the reason that previous experts discovered there were different age moraines dividing line of altitude 3180 m at the entrance of the Tsangpo Grand Canyon is dammed lake erosive decay under altitude 3180 m moraines in the last glacier era covering moraines in the early ice age of late Pleistocene, top 3180 m in the last glacier moraine remained because ancient dammed lakes didn’t erode it under 3180 m moraines in the early ice age of late Pleistocene exposed. The reason of the top elevation 3585 m moraines in the middle Pleistocene ice age likes that of altitude 3180 m. There were three times dammed lakes by glacier blocking the Tsangpo River during Quaternary glacial period. During other glacial and interglacial period the Zelunglung glacier often extended the valley but moraine supplemental speed of the dam was smaller than that of fluvial erosion and moraine movement, dam quickly disappeared and didn’t form stable lake.     

Zircon U‐Pb Dating on Granitoids from the Northern South China Sea and its Geotectonic Relevance

Zircon U-Pb ages of 163.8–100.4 Ma and 146.6–134.5?Ma are obtained for the granitoids from the Pearl River mouth basin, and from southern Guangdong Province, respectively. These new dating data accord well with the crystallization ages of Yanshanian granitoids broadly in the Nanling. The active continental margin of South China, as revealed by a combination of zircon U-Pb data, underwent a key granitoid-dominated magmatism in 165–100?Ma. Its evolution varied temporally, and spatially, registering under control of the paleo-Pacific slab subduction. The granitoids that occurred in 165–150?Ma broadly from the South China Sea to the Nanling are preferably related to two settings from volcanic-arc to back-arc extension, respectively. The activities of Cretaceous granitoids migrated from the southeastern Guangdong (148–130?Ma) to the Pearl River Mouth basin (127–112?Ma), corresponding to the model of a retreating subduction. The subduction-related granitoid magmatism in South China continued until 108–97?Ma. A tectonic transformation from slab-subduction to extension should occur at ~100?Ma.     

Cenozoic Magmatism and Tectonic Framework of Western Yunnan, China: Constrained from Geochemistry, Sr–Nd–Pb Isotopes and Fission Track Dating

Western Yunnan is composed of several extruded continental microblocks that were generated by the oblique collision between the Indian and Asian continents during the Cenozoic. In this study, the magmatic and tectonic frameworks of western Yunnan in the Cenozoic were analyzed based on geochemistry, Sr–Nd–Pb isotopes, and apatite/zircon fission track dating. Magmatism during the Cenozoic in western Yunnan was then divided into three distinctive episodes: alkali granite rocks produced from 55 to 46 Ma were derived from the anatexis of crustal materials; bimodal igneous rocks formed between 37 and 24 Ma were possibly derived from an EMII mantle with a contribution from continental materials; and intermediate–basic volcanic rocks produced in the Tengchong microblocks since ~16 Ma are considered to be generated by the partial melting of the upper mantle that was induced by the pulling apart of the dextral Gaoligong strike–slip fault system. Moreover, fission track analysis of apatite and zircon indicates that the regional crustal uplift in western Yunnan possibly began at ~34 Ma, with accelerated annealing occurring at ~24 Ma, ~13 Ma, and ~4 Ma. During the past 24 Ma, the average denudation rate was ~0.32 mm/yr for the faulted block controlled by the Chongshan–Lancang River fault. However, crustal uplift has been relatively gentle in places lacking influence from strike–slip shear zones, with an average denudation rate of ~0.2 mm/yr. Combined with strike–slip shear and block rotation in the Cenozoic, the tectonic evolution of western Yunnan since ~45 Ma can thus be divided into four stages occurring at 45–37 Ma, 37–24 Ma, 24–13 Ma, and 13–0 Ma.     

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.     

Changing lake dynamics and sequence stratigraphy of synrift lacustrine strata in a half-graben: an example from the Triassic Ischigualasto–Villa Unión Basin, Argentina

Well‐exposed Triassic rift strata from the Ischigualasto–Villa Unión Basin (NW Argentina) include a 80 to ca 515 m thick lacustrine‐dominated package that can be correlated across a half‐graben using key stratigraphic surfaces (sequence boundaries, lacustrine flooding surfaces and forced regressive surfaces). The characteristics of the synrift lacustrine fill in different parts of the half‐graben have been examined and the mechanisms controlling sedimentation inferred. A variety of sedimentary environments are recognized including; volcaniclastic floodplain, mildly saline lake and playa lake, offshore lacustrine, delta front to fluvial‐dominated and wave‐dominated deltas, distributary and fluvial channel, and interdistributary bay. The succession can be divided into four stratigraphic sequences (SS1 to SS4), the oldest of which (SS1) contains volcaniclastic, fluvial and saline lake deposits; it is thickest close to the western border fault zone, reflecting more rapid subsidence here. Accommodation exceeded sediment and water input during SS1. The second and third sequences (SS2 and SS3) mark the onset of widespread lacustrine sedimentation, reflecting a balance between accommodation creation and water and sediment fluxes. Sequences SS2 and SS3 are represented by offshore meromictic lacustrine and deltaic deposits, the latter mostly sourced from the flexural and southern axial margins of the half‐graben. The presence of stacked parasequences bound by lacustrine flooding surfaces is related to climatically induced lake‐level fluctuations superimposed on variable rates of subsidence on the controlling rift border fault zone. The youngest sequence (SS4) is represented by the deposits of littoral lacustrine and shallow shelf deltas distinguished by a change in lithofacies, palaeocurrents and sandstone composition, suggesting a switch in sediment supply to the footwall margin to the NW. The change in the sediment source is related to reduced footwall uplift, the possible presence of a relay ramp and/or supply from a captured antecedent drainage network. During SS4, the rate of creation of accommodation was exceeded by the sediment and water discharge. The stratigraphic evolution of lacustrine strata in the half‐graben was mainly controlled by tectonic processes, including subsidence rate and the growth and evolution of the border fault zone, but changing climate (inducing changes in water balance and lake level) and autocyclic processes (delta lobe switching) were also important.