陕西省铝土矿地质特征及成矿规律

陕西省已知铝土矿产地主要分布于陕北的府谷县、渭北的铜川-韩城一带和陕南的西乡、镇巴、南郑地区;已知铝土矿都位于沉积间断面上,受地层层位控制,属滨海-浅海相沉积矿床。陕北和渭北铝土矿主要产于石炭系下统下部本溪组,陕南铝土矿主要产于二叠系上统吴家坪组底部王坡页岩段。成矿的地质构造条件是隆起区边缘。成矿物质来源既有基底碳酸盐岩的溶蚀分解物,也有陆源铝硅酸盐岩的风化分解物。气候条件是有利于使岩石中铝质析出的温暖潮湿条件。时间上有一个较长时间的沉积问断。对成矿有利的地形条件是古地形总体比较平缓,有利于铝硅酸盐风化物在缓慢的搬运过程中充分分解析出Al2O3。     

华北克拉通北缘寒武系层序地层划分

华北克拉通北缘寒武系碳酸盐岩作为区域油气勘探的重要目标,其沉积环境演化和层序地层格架的研究对区域地层及有利储层定位具有重要指导意义,也为华北地区寒武系油气勘探提供线索。以大量露头剖面实测分析为基础,结合典型井录井、测井、微观显微镜下分析以及地化测试等数据资料,在年代地层框架下进行旋回性地层分析研究,对华北克拉通北缘寒武系岩性、岩相以及地层叠置样式进行详细剖析,研究沉积趋势变化,总结寒武系层序地层划分样式。研究认为：在全球海平面变化控制下,华北地区自府君山组开始,发育广泛的由南向北的持续海侵,在陆源碎屑供给以及碳酸盐岩加积作用的相互制约下,华北地区表现为碳酸盐台地的形成-发展-镶边过程;以张夏组为界,中-下寒武统表现为缓坡-陆棚的沉积环境,上寒武统为具镶边的台地沉积背景;在不同层位不同层序边界类型（I型、Ⅱ型、Ⅲ型）的分隔作用下,将华北克拉通北缘寒武系划分为7个可区域性对比的三级层序,各三级层序高水位体系域多表现厚层清水碳酸盐岩沉积的特点,且受不同程度白云石化作用,成为区域寒武系重要的有利油气储集层。     

Mineralogical changes during intense chemical weathering of sedimentary rocks in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is situated in a subtropical to tropical climatic zone. A recently weathered crust has developed on sedimentary bedrock (sandstone, siltstone, shale and claystones) of Tertiary–Quaternary age. Weathered samples were collected from 16 sections totaling 68 samples and were analyzed mineralogically. The main primary minerals identified in the weathered crust of sedimentary rocks are quartz, plagioclase, K-feldspar, biotite, muscovite, sparse carbonate and epidote. The secondary minerals are kaolinite, illite, chlorite, gibbsite and goethite. Weathering initiated along the grain boundaries and cleavage planes of the minerals, forming small cloudy materials which were very difficult to identify. In the advanced stage of weathering, these cloudy materials have turned into secondary minerals. In region 1, high rain fall (7100 mm/yr) and monsoonic climate resulted in a kaolinite–gibbsite–goethite suite through the weathering of feldspars and biotite. The occurrence of gibbsite in the relatively elevated lands of Sylhet and Fe-kaolinite throughout the study areas is indicative of a humid–tropical climate during formation of the weathered crust.     

Transtensional deformation in the Lake Tahoe region, California and Nevada, USA

Dextral transtensional deformation is occurring along the Sierra Nevada–Great Basin boundary zone (SNGBBZ) at the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada microplate. In the Lake Tahoe region of the SNGBBZ, transtension is partitioned spatially and temporally into domains of north–south striking normal faults and transitional domains with conjugate strike-slip faults. The normal fault domains, which have had large Holocene earthquakes but account only for background seismicity in the historic period, primarily accommodate east–west extension, while the transitional domains, which have had moderate Holocene and historic earthquakes and are currently seismically active, primarily record north–south shortening. Through partitioned slip, the upper crust in this region undergoes overall constrictional strain.Major fault zones within the Lake Tahoe basin include two normal fault zones: the northwest-trending Tahoe–Sierra frontal fault zone (TSFFZ) and the north-trending West Tahoe–Dollar Point fault zone. Most faults in these zones show eastside down displacements. Both of these fault zones show evidence of Holocene earthquakes but are relatively quiet seismically through the historic record. The northeast-trending North Tahoe–Incline Village fault zone is a major normal to sinistral-oblique fault zone. This fault zone shows evidence for large Holocene earthquakes and based on the historic record is seismically active at the microearthquake level. The zone forms the boundary between the Lake Tahoe normal fault domain to the south and the Truckee transition zone to the north.Several lines of evidence, including both geology and historic seismicity, indicate that the seismically active Truckee and Gardnerville transition zones, north and southeast of Lake Tahoe basin, respectively, are undergoing north–south shortening. In addition, the central Carson Range, a major north-trending range block between two large normal fault zones, shows internal fault patterns that suggest the range is undergoing north–south shortening in addition to east–west extension.A model capable of explaining the spatial and temporal partitioning of slip suggests that seismic behavior in the region alternates between two modes, one mode characterized by an east–west minimum principal stress and a north–south maximum principal stress as at present. In this mode, seismicity and small-scale faulting reflecting north–south shortening concentrate in mechanically weak transition zones with primarily strike-slip faulting in relatively small-magnitude events, and domains with major normal faults are relatively quiet. A second mode occurs after sufficient north–south shortening reduces the north–south S_hmax in magnitude until it is less than S_v, at which point S_v becomes the maximum principal stress. This second mode is then characterized by large earthquakes on major normal faults in the large normal fault domains, which dominate the overall moment release in the region, producing significant east–west extension.     

Application of in vitro extraction studies to evaluate element bioaccessibility in soils from a transect across the United States and Canada

In vitro bioaccessibility tests (IVBA) are inexpensive, physiologically-based extraction tests designed to estimate the bioaccessibility of elements along ingestion exposure pathways. Published IVBA protocols call for the testing to be done on the <250-μm fraction of soil, as these particles are most likely to adhere to the hands of children and be ingested. Most IVBA in the literature to date have been applied to soil samples from highly contaminated sites or to spiked samples, and relatively little work has been done to evaluate bioaccessibility of elements in a wide variety of uncontaminated ‘background’ soils.In 2004, the US Geological Survey and the Geological Survey of Canada sampled soils along north–south and east–west transects across the two countries to test and refine sampling and analytical protocols recommended for the planned soil geochemical survey of North America. Samples were collected at 220 sites selected randomly at approximately 40-km intervals. The focus of the investigation presented in this paper was twofold: (1) to begin to examine variations in bioaccessibility of As, Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb in a number of ‘background’ (i.e., unpolluted) soils from around North America and (2) to determine if there are significant differences that would preclude using the standard size fraction of <2 mm for extraction with a simulated gastric fluid as an expeditious and inexpensive bioaccessibility screening tool for the large numbers of future samples to be collected by this continental-scale project. A subset of 20 soil samples collected along the north–south transect at a depth of 0–5 cm was used for this study. Two separate size fractions (<2 mm and <250 μm) were extracted using a simulated human gastric fluid consisting of a solution of HCl and glycine adjusted to a pH of 1.5. In general, the leachate results for the <2-mm size fraction were not substantially different than those for the <250-μm size fraction for concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb. Leachate concentrations for Cd, Ni and Pb appear to be controlled to some extent by the total concentration of the element in soil. Bioaccessibility of the elements in this study decreased in the order, Cd > Pb > Ni > As > Cr.     

热带地区碳酸盐岩上覆红色风化壳的成因机理及元素演化

开展热带岩溶地区红色风化壳元素地球化学演化规律研究,有助于丰富碳酸盐岩风化成土理论的认识。在越南北部选取典型的碳酸盐岩风化剖面,分析热带气候条件下碳酸盐岩上覆红色风化壳中主量元素的物质来源和演化特征。结果表明:无论Ti/Zr的元素比值分析,Hf-Zr、Nb-Ta及Sm-Nd的元素对协变分析,还是上地壳元素平均值(UCC)标准化分析,两个剖面的上覆风化壳均显示原地残积的特征,即两个剖面是碳酸盐岩的原位风化产物。碳酸盐岩风化成土过程中,CaO、MgO淋失明显,Al_2O_3和Fe_2O_3发生富集,显示两个剖面均经历较强的风化过程,但是白云岩和灰岩剖面有一定的分异特征。越南北部白云岩风化剖面从基岩到上部土层显示出稳定的Ti-Fe元素共富集特征,而灰岩剖面中Fe的增长速率明显超过Ti。白云岩上覆风化壳经历了强烈的风化作用,其脱硅作用弱于灰岩风化剖面,而富集铝的作用强于灰岩。迁移系数的演化规律说明两个剖面中长石成分(钾长石、钠长石等)或次生矿物(伊利石等)在风化成土过程中逐渐分解,同时Al、Fe、Si等稳定元素的在风化剖面中不断富集。     

GPS-derived strain in northwestern California: Termination of the San Andreas fault system and convergence of the Sierra Nevada–Great Valley block contribute to southern Cascadia forearc contraction

GPS-derived velocities (1993–2002) in northwestern California show that processes other than subduction are in part accountable for observed upper-plate contraction north of the Mendocino triple junction (MTJ) region. After removing the component of elastic strain accumulation due to the Cascadia subduction zone from the station velocities, two additional processes account for accumulated strain in northern California. The first is the westward convergence of the Sierra Nevada–Great Valley (SNGV) block toward the coast and the second is the north–northwest impingement of the San Andreas fault system from the south on the northern California coastal region in the vicinity of Humboldt Bay. Sierra Nevada–Great Valley block motion is northwest toward the coast, convergent with the more northerly, north–northwest San Andreas transform fault-parallel motion. In addition to the westward-converging Sierra Nevada–Great Valley block, San Andreas transform-parallel shortening also occurs in the Humboldt Bay region. Approximately 22 mm/yr of distributed Pacific–SNGV motion is observed inland of Cape Mendocino across the northern projections of the Maacama and Bartlett Springs fault zones but station velocities decrease rapidly north of Cape Mendocino. The resultant 6–10 mm/yr of San Andreas fault-parallel shortening occurs above the southern edge of the subducted Gorda plate and at the latitude of Humboldt Bay. Part of the San Andreas fault-parallel shortening may be due to the viscous coupling of the southern edge of the Gorda plate to overlying North American plate. We conclude that significant portions of the upper-plate contraction observed north of the MTJ region are not solely a result of subduction of the Gorda plate but also a consequence of impingement of the western edge of the Sierra Nevada–Great Valley block and growth of the northernmost segments of the San Andreas fault system.     

Balancing lateral orogenic float of the Eastern Alps

Oligocene to Miocene post-collisional shortening between the Adriatic and European plates was compensated by frontal thrusting onto the Molasse foreland basin and by contemporaneous lateral wedging of the Austroalpine upper plate. Balancing of the upper plate shortening by horizontal retrodeformation of lateral escaping and extruding wedges of the Austroalpine lid enables an evaluation of the total post-collisional deformation of the hangingwall plate. Quantification of the north–south shortening and east–west extension of the upper plate is derived from displacement data of major faults that dissect the Austroalpine wedges. Indentation of the South Alpine unit corresponds to 64 km north–south shortening and a minimum of 120 km of east–west extension. Lateral wedging affected the Eastern Alps east of the Giudicarie fault. West of the Giudicarie fault, north–south shortening was compensated by 50 to 80 km of backthrusting in the Lombardian thrust system of the Southern Alps. The main structures that bound the escaping wedges to the north are the Inntal fault system (ca. 50 km sinistral offset), the Königsee–Lammertal–Traunsee (KLT) fault (10 km) and the Salzach–Ennstal–Mariazell–Puchberg (SEMP) fault system (60 km). These faults, as well as a number of minor faults with displacements less than 10 km, root in the basal detachment of the Alps. The thin-skinned nature of lateral escape-related structures north of the SEMP line is documented by industry reflection seismic lines crossing the Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA) and the frontal thrust of the Eastern Alps. Complex triangle zones with passive roof backthrusts of Middle Miocene Molasse sediments formed in front of the laterally escaping wedges of the northern Eastern Alps. The aim of this paper is a semiquantitative reconstruction of the upper plate of the Eastern Alps. Most of the data is published elsewhere.     

Spatial patterns of Mesozoic facies relationships and the age of the Rhenish Lineament: a compilation

The age and the southern continuation of the Rhenish Lineament, and its relation to the Bressegraben has been an elusive problem for a long time. Sedimentological data are presented in this paper, which show that a major fault zone associated with the Rhenish Lineament extends southwards underneath the Jura Mountains of northern Switzerland. Mesozoic facies boundaries occur along this lineament and indicate that the Tertiary Upper Rhinegraben may be an ancient inherited structure, which was repeatedly reactivated during Mesozoic time. While reactivated Paleozoic faults seated in the basement are now known to play an important role in defining east–west trending facies boundaries and depocenters, north–south facies boundaries were attributed to autocyclic effects. This north–south component found in facies boundaries is now attributed to subsidence variations, which took place along the Rhenish Lineament. To distinguish increased local subsidence from eustatic sea level rise (i.e. development of accommodation space) it is necessary to reinterpret the sedimentary record accordingly. This study demonstrates that some sedimentary facies boundaries follow the Rhenish Lineament over the Paleozoic basins of northern Switzerland into the Bressegraben, thereby indicating an ancient structure, which had been reactivated during Mesozoic time. Sedimentological analysis shows that there is a relationship between facies boundaries, isopach anomalies, and basement structure.     

Factors controlling the mineralogy and geochemistry of the recent surface sediments of the Kalloni Gulf,Lesvos Island,Greece

Detailed chemical and mineralogical data are presented for 37 samples of surface sediments collected from the Kalloni gulf, (eastern half), Lesvos island, northern Greece. The sediments are largely carbonate-rich muds, though near the eastern and northern coast of the gulf higher proportions of biogenic and lithogenic sands and gravels occur. The main minerals are quartz, feldspar (andesine), clay minerals (montmorillonite, illite, Kaolinite) and the carbonate minerals (calcite, Mg-calcite, aragonite). The mathematical method of factor analysis was applied in order to explain the mineralogical and geochemical variations. These variations can be interpreted in terms of variations in provenance and depositional environment. Six factors were produced accounting for 83.6 % of the total data variance: (a) a Si-Al-Na-K-Ti-Rb-Ba-Y-Zr factor controlled by clays and detrital minerals such as feldspars and zircon opposed by a CaCO₂-Cu-Sc-Sr-La association (carbonate, minerals), (b) an organic carbon factor (C-Fe-Ce-Zn-Rb-Ni-Y-Nb), (c) a Fe-Mg-Cr-Ni factor representing control by peridotite, (d) a Ce-Nd-Fe-Ni-Zn-La factor controlled by silicate minerals, (e) a Al-Fe-Ti-P-V factor controlled by chlorite amphiboles or pyroxenes of volcanic or basaltic intrusions, (f) a Mn-Fe-Zn-factor controlled by iron-manganese oxides. Similarities in trace element composition among Kalloni gulf bottom sediments, and source lithologies indicate that the trace elements are derived from the adjacent landmasses. The AI/Ti ratio of the sediments is consistent with the terrigenous nature of sendimentation in the Kalloni gulf.     

The normative mineralogy of 10 soil profiles in Fennoscandia and north-western Russia

The mineralogical composition of soil horizons in different soil types of different ages was estimated by applying the NORMA software, which was developed originally for calculating the normative mineralogical composition of young podsols. Ten soil profiles from six sites in NW Russia, two in Finland, and one in NE Norway were sampled in 1999 as a part of the pilot phase of a large geochemical mapping project. Total element concentrations were determined from the <2 mm fraction by XRF from powdered pellets for Al, Ca, Cr, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, S, Si, Ti, and Zr, and for Ba by ICP-AES after HF+HClO₄ extraction. Extractable concentrations for Al, Ca, Cr, Fe, K, Mn, Mg, Na, P, S, Ti, Zr, and Ba were determined by ICP-MS or ICP-AES after aqua regia (a 1:3 mixture of strong HCl and HNO₃) extraction. Total C was determined using a thermal conductivity detector from a sample burned in an O₂ stream. The NORMA software was used to calculate the percentage of normative soluble minerals pyrite, apatite, titanite, calcite, biotite, chlorite, weathered albite, hydrous Al-silicate, goethite and soluble residue. The percentages of non-soluble normative minerals rutile, hornblende, K-feldspar, albite, anorthite, tremolite, wollastonite, kaolinite, magnetite, zircon, quartz, carbon (graphite), and non-soluble residue were calculated after soluble minerals.The calculated mineralogical composition of C-horizon samples in each profile reflected the known geological composition of the bedrock from which the soil parent material was derived during geological processes. Secondary minerals including goethite and hydrous Al-silicates, were detected in upper soil horizons reflecting the development of soils. Rather than age, the local bedrock geology together with the mineralogical composition and chemical properties of the parent material proved to be the controlling factor in the formation of secondary minerals. The results showed that the NORMA method can be used in defining the mineralogy of soil horizons in a large variety of soil types.     

青藏高原北羌塘地区晚三叠世地层展布和沉积型式

北羌塘盆地地处拉竹龙-金沙江缝合带和双湖构造混杂岩带之间,自北向南可划分出5个沉积相带/岩石地层单位：以砂泥质复理石-洋岛、岛弧型火山岩-大理岩岩石组合沉积为特征的若拉岗日群,以深水复理石盆地相沉积为特征的藏夏河组,以深水暗色细碎屑岩盆地相沉积为特征的结扎群,以开阔台地相/缓坡相碳酸盐岩沉积为特征的菊花山组,以三角洲相含煤碎屑岩系沉积为特征的土门格拉群.晚三叠世北羌塘盆地显示为南缓北陡的箕状沉积格局,盆地内充填物为南薄北厚的楔形沉积体,且双物源、沉降中心和沉积中心不一致,表明其具有前陆盆地的一系列沉积特征.     

Lithostratigraphy, basin development, base metal deposits, and regional correlations of the Neoproterozoic Nguba and Kundelungu rock successions, central African Copperbelt

The Neoproterozoic Katangan Supergroup comprises a thick sedimentary rock succession subdivided into the Roan, Nguba, and Kundelungu Groups, from bottom to top. Deposition of both Nguba and Kundelungu Groups began with diamictites, the Mwale/Grand Conglomérat and Kyandamu/Petit Conglomérat Formations, respectively, correlated with the 750 Ma Sturtian and (supposedly) 620 Ma Marinoan/Varanger glacial events. The Kaponda, Kakontwe, Kipushi and Lusele Formations are interpreted as cap-carbonates overlying the diamictites. Petrographical features of the Nguba and Kundelungu siliciclastic rocks indicate a proximal facies in the northern areas and a basin open to the south. The carbonate deposits increase southward in the Nguba basin. In the southern region, the Kyandamu Formation contains clasts from the underlying rocks, indicating an exhumation and erosion of these rocks to the south of the basin. It is inferred that this formation deposited in a foreland basin, dating the inversion from extensional to compressional tectonics, and the northward thrusting. Sampwe and Biano sedimentary rocks were deposited in the northernmost foreland basin at the end of the thrusting. The Zn–Pb–Cu and Cu–Ag–Au epigenetic, hypogene deposits occurring in Nguba carbonates and Kundelungu clastic rocks probably originate from hydrothermal resetting and remobilization of pre-existing stratiform base metal mineralisations in the Roan Group.     

REE Geochemical Study of the Permian—Triassic Marine Sedimentary Environment in Guizhou Province

This paper deals with the REE geochemical characteristics of Permian-Triassic marine carbonate rocks in Guizhou Province.It is found that there are two broad categories of strati-graphic units in the region studied in accordance with their ΣREE contents and REE distribu-tion patterns: one is characterized by LREE enrichment and slight Ce depletion,with the REE distribution patterns similar to those of North American shales,and the other featrures relative HREE enrichment and relatively remarkable Ce depletion,with the REE distribution patterns close to those of pelagic sediments.In terms of their different ΣREE contents,five types of stratigraphic units can be distinguished.Incorporation of detrital minerals,REE complexing ca-pability,oxidation-reduction conditions of the media are the main factors affecting the REE com-position and REE distribution patterns of marine carbonate rocks in the region studied.In the light of REE geochemical characteristics of carbonate rocks,coupled with sedimentary facies analysis,this paper discusses the characteristics of the Permian-Triassic marine sedimentary environment in Guizhou Province and its evolutional rules.     

鄂尔多斯盆地延长组长7沉积期物源分析及母岩类型研究

通过对鄂尔多斯盆地延长组长7砂岩的类型、轻重矿物特征、重矿物聚类分析及泥岩的地化特征研究,并结合盆地周边源区露头剖面的岩性组合资料,讨论了长7沉积期的物源方向,恢复各源区母岩性质。经研究表明:鄂尔多斯盆地长7沉积期存在五个方向物源,东北、西南为主要的物源方向,西北、南部作为次要物源方向;其中东北源区母岩以中基性岩浆岩、高级变质岩为主,西南源区母岩以白云岩、浅变质岩为主,西北源区母岩以沉积岩为主,浅变质岩次之,南部源区母岩以含灰岩、碎屑岩为主,浅变质岩次之;另外经讨论证实西部存在局限的物源供给区,母岩主要为白云岩。     

Seasonality of bedrock weathering chemistry and CO2 consumption in a small watershed, the White River, Vermont

The draw down of CO₂ from the atmosphere during mineral weathering plays a major role in the global budget of this greenhouse gas. Silicate minerals remove twice the CO₂ of carbonate minerals per mole of calcium in runoff during weathering. Bedrock weathering chemistry was investigated in the White River watershed of northeastern USA to investigate whether there are seasonal differences in carbonate and silicate weathering chemistry. Geographic Information Systems analyses of bedrock geology were combined with major element concentrations in river waters to gain an understanding of the consistency of mineral weathering during three seasons. The percent of carbonate mineralogy comprising the bedrock in tributaries of the White River varied from less than 5% to 45% by area. A mass balance calculation using major element concentrations in waters was applied to estimate the seasonal relationships between bedrock geology and bicarbonate flux. In all tributaries and the main stem of the White River the highest calculated percent of bicarbonate from carbonate mineral weathering was measured in the late fall. The results suggest that carbonate and silicate bedrock weathering processes are seasonally controlled. Thus single season sampling could not accurately represent an entire year's geochemical budget. In the White River, water samples obtained solely during the summer would consistently underestimate the total yearly source of bicarbonate from carbonate bedrock weathering. The same sample set would also provide data that would lead to an underestimation of the yearly atmospheric CO₂ draw down by bedrock weathering in the watershed. For example at four of the seven locations studied there was an almost two-fold difference between summer and spring calculated atmospheric CO₂ consumption rates.     

Tectonic Environments of Cenozoic Volcanic Rocks in China and Characteristics of the Source Regions in the Mantle

Extensive volcanism is one of the important features of Cenozoic geology in China.Based on temporal-spatial distribution,the volcanism was associated with three major different geological settings:1)the continental rift basalts in Northeast and North China;2)the tension-fault basalts on the continental margins of Southeast China; and 3) the collision-zone high-K volcanics in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and its vicinities.The characteristics of “depletion in the south and enrichment in the north“of the China continental mantle are strongly supported by isotopic evidence.The Cenozoic continental cal characters,into the following geochemical provinces:1)the depleted mantle in South China;2)the primary mantle in Northeast and NorthChina; 3)the hybrid and transi-tional mantle in the region of Shandong ,Anhui,Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang;4)the depleted mantle around the Bohai Bay and the Lower Liaohe River;5)the K-metasomatic enriched mantle in the northern part of Northeast China;and 6)the re-cycled enriched mantle in the ancient subduction zone in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and its surround-ings.These geochemical characteristics on a regional scale must be a reflection of the nature of lithosphere evolution.     

巴颜喀拉盆地长石头山二叠纪—三叠纪碳酸盐岩丘的沉积岩石学和地球化学特征

青海巴颜喀拉盆地长石头山二叠纪—三叠纪碳酸盐岩丘是由罕见的块状纯灰岩组成,灰岩具团块结构,由泥微晶方解石团块和栉状生长的泥微晶方解石胶结物组成,部分泥微晶方解石发生了重结晶作用。灰岩的矿物组成主要为方解石,平均含量达97%,化学成分除CaO外,其余均低于5‰。灰岩的5%HNO3可溶相（碳酸盐矿物）稀土元素页岩配分模式具...     

Tectonics of the Caucasus and adjoining regions: implications for the evolution of the Tethys ocean

The evolution of Tethys is analysed on the basis of ophiolitic geology, reconstruction of continental margins, and plate kinematics. The North Anatolian-Minor Caucasian-South Caspian ophiolitic belt is considered to be the major suture of Palaeozoic Tethys, dividing its southern carbonate shelf from the Pontian-Caucasian-Turanian active margin. The Caucasian part of the latter comprises the Transcaucasian island arc, the Great Caucasian small ocean basin, the Great Caucasian island arc and the Precaucasian marginal sea, each characterised by its own magmatic, metamorphic and sedimentary facies association typical of that tectonic environments. The North Anatolian branch of Tethys persisted throughout the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic, whereas eastwards the major oceanic tract shifted south into the Zagros zone.The Northern frame of Mesotethys comprises the Pontain-Caucasian and Nakhichevan-Iranian island arc systems, divided by the Minor Caucasian basin, a relict of Palaeotethys reduced to a narrow northern branch of the Mesozoic ocean. In the late Cretacaous-Palaeogene, the youngest southwestern branch of Tethys separated Taurus-Anatolia from the Arabian shelf. Its ‘old’ northern branches were closed in the Palaeogene. Northward subduction in the South Anatolia-Zagros intracontinental basin triggered Neogene calc-alkaline volcanism in the Pontides, Antolia, Caucasus and Iran.     

The Lower Changjiang (Yangzi/Yangtze River) metallogenic belt, east central China: intrusion- and wall rock-hosted Cu–Fe–Au, Mo, Zn, Pb, Ag deposits

The lower valley of Changjiang, from Wuhan of the Hubei Province in the west to Zhenjiang of the Jiangsu Province in the east, contains more than 200 polymetallic (Cu–Fe–Au, Mo, Zn, Pb, Ag) deposits and is one of the most important metallogenic belts in China. This metallogenic belt, situated at the northern margin of the Yangzi craton and bordered by the Dabieshan ultrahigh pressure metamorphic belt to the north, consists mainly of Cambrian–Triassic marine clastic sedimentary rocks and carbonate and evaporite rocks, which overlay a Precambrian basement and are intruded by Yanshanian (205 to 64 Ma) granitoid intrusions and subvolcanic complexes. Repeated tectonism from Late Proterozoic to Triassic resulted in extensively developed networks of faults and folds involving the Cambrian–Triassic sedimentary strata and the Precambrian basement. The Yanshanian granitoid intrusions and subvolcanic complexes in the Lower Changjiang metallogenic belt are characterized by whole-rock δ¹⁸O of +8‰ to +10‰, initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr of 0.704 to 0.708, and εNd^t from −10 to −17 and have been interpreted to have originated from mixing between juvenile mantle and old crustal materials. Also, the Yanshanian granitoids exhibit eastward younging and increase in alkalinity (i.e., from older calc–alkaline in the west to younger subalkaline–alkaline in the east), which are related to oblique collision between the Yangzi and Sino-Korean cratons and tectonic evolution from early compressional to late extensional or rifting regimes. Most polymetallic deposits in the Lower Changjiang metallogenic belt are clustered in seven districts where the Yanshanian magmatism is particularly extensive: from west to east, Edong, Jiurui, Anqing–Guichi, Luzhong, Tongling, Ningwu and Ningzhen. Mineralization is characterized by the occurrence of three distinct types of orebodies in individual deposits: orebodies in Yanshanian granitoid intrusions, skarn orebodies at the contact zones between the Yanshanian intrusions and Late Paleozoic–Early Mesozoic sedimentary rocks, and stratabound massive sulfide orebodies in the Late Paleozoic–Early Mesozoic sedimentary strata. The most important host sedimentary strata are the Middle Carboniferous Huanglong Formation, Lower Permian and Lower–Middle Triassic carbonate and evaporite rocks. The intrusion-hosted and skarn orebodies exhibit well-developed zonation in alteration assemblages, metal contents, and isotopic compositions within individual deposits, and apparently formed from hydrothermal activities related to the Yanshanian magmatism. The stratabound massive sulfide orebodies in the Late Paleozoic–Early Mesozoic sedimentary strata have long been suggested to have formed from sedimentary or volcano-sedimentary exhalative processes in shallow marine environments. However, extensive research over the last 40 years failed to produce unequivocal evidence for syngenetic mineralization. On the basis of geological relationships and isotope geochemical characteristics, we propose a carbonate-hosted replacement deposit model for the genesis of these stratabound massive sulfide orebodies and associated skarn orebodies. This model suggests that epigenetic mineralization resulted from interactions between magmatic fluids evolved from the Yanshanian intrusions with carbonate and evaporite wall rocks. Mineralization was an integral but distal part of the larger hydrothermal systems that formed the proximal skarn orebodies at the contact zones and the intrusion-hosted orebodies. The stratabound massive sulfide deposits of the Lower Changjiang metallogenic belt share many features with the well-studied, high-temperature, carbonate-hosted replacement deposits of northern Mexico and western United States, particularly with respect to association with small, shallow granitoid complexes, structural and stratigraphic controls on mineralization, alteration assemblages, geometry of orebodies, metal association, metal zonation and isotopic systematics.