9th International Symposium on the Ordovician System, 7th International Graptolite Conference ＆ Field Meeting of the International Subcommission on Silurian Stratigraphy

The “9th International Symposium on the Ordovician System, 7th International Graptolite Conference & Field Meeting of the International Subcommission on Silurian Stratigraphy” commenced on August 12,2003, by receiving in San Juan City to all participants of the pre-symposia field trip through the Precordillera of Mendoza and San Juan provinces, western Argentina. On August 13, the field trip began with the purpose to show significant Lower Paleozoic outcrops from diverse settings of the Precordillera geological province. This fivedays excursion was led by Drs. S. H. Peralta.     

U–Pb Zircon Geochronology and Geochemistry of the Neoproterozoic Liujiaping Group Volcanics in the Northwest Margin of the Yangtze Block:Implications For the Breakup of the Rodinia Supercontinent

Investigation of the petrogenesis and the origin of zircons from the volcanic rocks of the Liujiaping Group of the back-Longmenshan tectonic belt in the northwest margin of the Yangtze Block is conducted by analysis of U–Pb geochronology and geochemistry. Results show that selected zircons are characterized by internal oscillatory zonings and high Th/U ratios(0.43–1.18), indicating an igneous origin. Geochronological results of LA–ICP–MS U–Pb dating of the Liujiaping Group zircons yield an age of 809 ± 11 Ma(MSWD = 2.2), implying that the volcanic rocks were formed in the Late Neoproterozoic. Geochemical analysis shows that the rocks are calc-alkaline, supersaturated in Al, and metaluminous to weakly peraluminous. Rare-earth elements are present at high concentrations(96.04–265.48 ppm) and show a rightward incline and a moderately negative Eu anomaly, similar to that of continental rift rhyolite. Trace element geochemistry is characterized by evident negative anomalies of Nb, Ta, P, Th, Ti, inter alia, and strong negative anomalies of K, Rb, Sr, et al. We conclude that the Liujiaping Group volcanic rocks resulted from typical continental crust source petrogenesis and were formed in a continental margin setting, which had no relation to subduction, and thus, were the products of partial melting of the lower crust due to crustal thickening caused by active continental margin subduction and arc–continent collision orogeny in the northwestern Yangtze Block and were triggered by the breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent during the Neoproterozoic.     

U–Pb Zircon Geochronology and Geochemistry of the Neoproterozoic Liujiaping Group Volcanics in the Northwest Margin of the Yangtze Block: Implications For the Breakup of the Rodinia Supercontinent

Investigation of the petrogenesis and the origin of zircons from the volcanic rocks of the Liujiaping Group of the back-Longmenshan tectonic belt in the northwest margin of the Yangtze Block is conducted by analysis of U–Pb geochronology and geochemistry. Results show that selected zircons are characterized by internal oscillatory zonings and high Th/U ratios (0.43–1.18), indicating an igneous origin. Geochronological results of LA–ICP–MS U–Pb dating of the Liujiaping Group zircons yield an age of 809 ± 11 Ma (MSWD = 2.2), implying that the volcanic rocks were formed in the Late Neoproterozoic. Geochemical analysis shows that the rocks are calc-alkaline, supersaturated in Al, and metaluminous to weakly peraluminous. Rare-earth elements are present at high concentrations (96.04–265.48 ppm) and show a rightward incline and a moderately negative Eu anomaly, similar to that of continental rift rhyolite. Trace element geochemistry is characterized by evident negative anomalies of Nb, Ta, P, Th, Ti, inter alia, and strong negative anomalies of K, Rb, Sr, et al. We conclude that the Liujiaping Group volcanic rocks resulted from typical continental crust source petrogenesis and were formed in a continental margin setting, which had no relation to subduction, and thus, were the products of partial melting of the lower crust due to crustal thickening caused by active continental margin subduction and arc–continent collision orogeny in the northwestern Yangtze Block and were triggered by the breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent during the Neoproterozoic.     

XX. General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics in Vienna,Austria, 11–24 August 1991

Report

XX. General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics in Vienna, Austria, 11–24 August 1991     

U–Pb zircon geochronology of the Ediacaran volcano-sedimentary succession of the NE Saghro inlier (Anti-Atlas,Morocco): Chronostratigraphic correlation on the northwestern margin of Gondwana

We report a new regional correlation for the Ediacaran succession in the Anti-Atlas belt on the northwestern margin of Gondwana, based on U-Pb LA-ICP-MS zircon geochronology of volcanic rocks in the NE edge of the Saghro inlier. The thick volcano-sedimentary succession comprises a diverse suite of rhyolitic-ignimbrite, basaltic to andesitic lava fields, rhyolitic lava, mafic hydroclastic complex, fallout and surge deposits, pyroclastic dyke, interbedded clastic sediment and subvolcanic bodies.Ten volcanic rocks yield crystallization ages ranging from 573 to 547 Ma, consistent with a lower and upper Ouarzazate Supergroup affinity respectively. Inherited zircon ages range from 623 Ma to 600 Ma, analogous to zircon peaks in the older volcano-sedimentary rocks of the Bou Salda, and Saghro groups in the Anti-Atlas, suggesting the continuity of the Saghro Group beneath the Ouarzazate Supergroup at the NE edge of the Saghro inlier.Rocks with a lower Ouarzazate Supergroup affinity include lithic-poor ignimbrites which yield ages of 573.6 ± 1.9 Ma, 571.8 ± 4.2 Ma, 571.3 ± 2.6 Ma, and 567.4 ± 2.9 Ma, two fallout deposits which yield ages of 563.5 ± 2.1 Ma and 569.2 ± 1.9 Ma, a surge deposit dated at 571.6 ± 2.8 Ma and a rhyolite lava dated at 562.5 ± 3.1 Ma. Two lithic-poor ignimbrites from the upper Ouarzazate Supergroup are dated at 557.3 ± 2.6 Ma and 547.9 ± 3.1 Ma.Volcanic activity at the NE edge of the Saghro inlier is related to West African Cadomian orogenic (WACadomian) activity between 620 and 560 Ma. During this period the Saghro and Bou Salda groups were deposited, followed by the lower Ouarzazate Supergroup. Later extension along the Gondwanan margin took place close to Ediacaran – Cambrian boundary, contemporaneous with upper Ouarzazate Supergroup deposition.     

LA-ICPMS U-Pb Ages of Zircon from Metaleucosomes, Olongbuluke Microcontinent, North Qaidam, and Implications on the Response to the Global Rodinia Supercontinent Assembly Event in NW China

INTRODUCTION The Olongbuluke microcontinent , which wasdisintegratedfromthe northern margin of the Qaidamblock (Lu,2002) ,is composed of a two-fold base-ment with cover strata . The lower basement is themedium- to high-grade Delingha complex and theDakendaban Group, and the upper is the low-gradeWandonggou Group. The Wandonggou Group of theupper basement experienced a Late Mesoproterozoicmetamorphic event (see Yu et al .,1994) ,consistentwith the early isotopic geochronological respo…     

Palaeogeography and crustal evolution of the Ossa–Morena Zone,southwest Iberia,and the North Gondwana margin during the Cambro-Ordovician: a review of isotopic evidence

Cambro-Ordovician palaeogeography and fragmentation of the North Gondwana margin is still not very well understood. Here we address this question using isotopic data to consider the crustal evolution and palaeogeographic position of the, North Gondwana, Iberian Massif Ossa–Morena Zone (OMZ). The OMZ preserves a complex tectonomagmatic history: late Neoproterozoic Cadomian orogenesis (ca. 650–550 Ma); Cambro-Ordovician rifting (ca. 540–450 Ma); and Variscan orogenesis (ca. 390–305 Ma). We place this evolution in the context of recent North Gondwana Cambro-Ordovician palaeogeographic reconstructions that suggest more easterly positions, adjacent to the Sahara Metacraton, for other Iberian Massif zones. To do this we compiled an extensive new database of published late Proterozoic–Palaeozoic Nd model ages and detrital and magmatic zircon age data for (i) the Iberian Massif and (ii) North Gondwana Anti-Atlas West African Craton, Tuareg Shield, and Sahara Metacraton. The Nd model ages of OMZ Cambro-Ordovician crustal-derived magmatism and Ediacaran-Ordovician sedimentary rocks range from ca. 1.9 to 1.6 Ga, with a mode ca. 1.7 Ga. They show the greatest affinity with the Tuareg Shield, with limited contribution of more juvenile material from the Anti-Atlas West African Craton. This association is supported by detrital zircons that have Archaean, Palaeoproterozic, and Neoproterozoic radiometric ages similar to the aforementioned Iberian Massif zones. However, an OMZ Mesoproterozoic gap, with no ca. 1.0 Ga cluster, is different from other zones but, once more, similar to the westerly Tuareg Shield distribution. This places the OMZ in a more easterly position than previously thought but still further west than other Iberian zones. It has been proposed that in the Cambro-Ordovician the North Gondwana margin rifted as the Rheic Ocean opened diachronously from west to east. Thus, the more extensive rift-related magmatism in the westerly OMZ than in other, more easterly, Iberian Massif zones fits our new proposed palaeogeographic reconstruction.     

Granitoids of the Pozdnestanovoy Complex of the Dzhugdzhur–Stanovoy Superterrane,Central Asia Fold Belt: Age,Tectonic Setting,and Sources

The geochemistry, geochronology, and isotope geochemical systematics (Nd, Sr, Hf, and Pb) of the granitoids of the Pozdnestanovoy complex of the Dzhugdzhur–Stanovoy superterrane of the Central Asia fold belt were investigated. It was shown that their age is Mesozoic (142–138 Ma) rather than Early Precambrian, as was previously supposed. The main sources of parental melts for these granitoids were the Neoarchean and Paleoproterozoic rocks of the lower continental crust of the Dzhugdzhur–Stanovoy superterrane and the rocks of the Late Paleozoic–Early Mesozoic continental crust of the Amur microplate. They were formed at depths of >40 km and temperatures of 700–800°C, most likely through the melting of mafic feldspar granulites under the conditions of aqueous fluid infiltration without any significant contribution from a juvenile heat source. The granitoids of the Pozdnestanovoy complex were emplaced during the closure of the eastern segment of the Mongolia–Okhotsk Ocean owing to the collision of the Siberian and Sino-Korean continents.     

The petrogenesis of 30–20 Ma basic and intermediate volcanics from the Mogollon-Datil Volcanic Field,New Mexico,USA

In the western USA calcalkaline magmas were generated hundreds of kilometres from the nearest destructive plate margin, and in some areas during regional extension several Ma after the cessation of subduction. The Mogollon-Datil Volcanic Field (MDVF) in southern New Mexico was a centre of active magmatism in the mid- to late-Tertiary, and a detailed field, petrographic and geochemical study has been undertaken to evaluate the relations between extensional tectonics and calcalkaline magmatism in the period 30–20 Ma. The rocks comprise alkalic to high-K calcalkaline lavas, ranging from basalt to high silica andesitc. Most of the basaltic rocks have relatively low HFSE abundances, elevated ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and low ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd, similar to many Tertiary basalts across the western USA, and they are inferred to have been derived from the continental mantle lithosphere. Two differentiation trends are recognised, with the older magmas having evolved to more calcalkaline compositions by magma mixing between alkalic basaltic andesites and silicic crustal melts, and the younger rocks having undergone 30–40% fractional crystallisation to more alkalic derivatives. The younger basalts also exhibit a shift to relatively higher HSFE abundances, with lower ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and higher ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd, and these have been modelled as mixtures between an average post-5 Ma Basin and Range basalt and the older MDVF lithosphere-derived basalts. It is argued that the presence of subduction-related geochemical signatures and the development of calcalkaline andesites in the 30–20 Ma lavas from the MDVF are not related to the magmatic effects of Tertiary subduction. Rather, basic magmas were generated by partial melting of the lithospheric mantle which had been modified during a previous subduction event. Since these basalts were generated at the time of maximum extension in the upper crust it is inferred that magma generation was in response to lithospheric extension. The association of the 30–20 Ma calcalkaline andesites with the apparently anorogenic tectonism of late mid-Tertiary extension, is the result of crustal contamination, in that fractionated, mildly alkaline, basaltic andesite magmas were mixed with silicic crustal melts, generating hybrid andesite lavas with calcalkaline affinities.