Gondwana to Asia： Fourth International Symposium

The international symposium as titled above was held in Fukuoka, Japan from 8 to 10 November 2007. It was supported by seven organizations such as Kyushu University, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, IGCP 512, etc. The same symposium was held by the International Association for Gondwana Research in collaboration with Gondwana-related scientific projects in Chouchong, South Korea （2004）, Beijing （2005）, and Hong Kong （2006）.     

Paleotectonic Setting of Dongyan Group of Middle and Upper Proterozoic in Central Fujian Province

The central Fujian Province, situated on the juncture of paleo-uplift of Wuyishan, Yongmei Late Paleozoic depression and the eastern volcanic rift-fanlting zone, is mainly composed of the outcropped metamorphic basements in the Middle-Late and Early Proterozoic, which constitute two upper and lower giant thick formations of Precambrian volcanic-sedimentary cycles, respectively. The formation of Dongyan Group is an important Middle-Upper Proterozoic component, and the Dongyan Group is directly related to massive sulfide deposit in this area. In recent years, plenty of lead, zinc, copper, silver and gold deposits have been found and explored. The Precambrian paleorift setting of the central Fujian Province served as a favorite metallogenic background for the formation of large- and superlargescale volcanic massive sulfide (VMS) lead and zinc polymetal deposits. The Dongyan Group consists chiefly of a set of ancient volcanic sedimentary formations that are composed mainly of greenschist. Its major lithologic types comprise greenschist, marble, quartzite and granofels class including various components. The metamorphic rocks of Dongyan Group are the main composition of Middle and Upper Proterozoic volcanic-sedimentary cycle. The original rock of Dongyan Group, a stable rock association, is volcanic sedimentation and normal marine sedimentation. But the original volcanic rocks, basic and acid, are bimodal. The volcanic rocks were formed in the extensional continental rift setting.     

Delimitation of the Paranapanema Proterozoic block： A geophysical contribution

This study focuses on the basement structure of the Paraná Basin in South America, based on geological and geophysical data. It is a large intracratonic basin formed from the Late Ordovician until the Cretaceous,when a sequence of continentalflood basalts eruptions covered the entire basin, preceding the break-up of Western Gondwana. Isostatic modeling was applied to large gravity surveys comprising more than 12,000 gravity stations. The residual Bouguer anomaly pattern,representing the crustal contribution of the crystalline basement, as well as the sedimentary and volcanic layers of the basin, reveals similarities between the basement gravity signature and the exposed rock. The stress patterns of the Late Ordovician and Cretaceous tectonic events present a geographically coincident maximum,and the correlation between gravity highs and the main attenuation (beta factor) suggests the presence of some preexistent suture zones. The resultant mosaic of gravity blocks and the location of major faults give support to the presence of an important Proterozoic cratonic feature, here referred to as Paranapanema block.     

Third Workshop of IGCP 450：Proterozoic Sediment-hosted Base Metal Deposits of Western Gondwana

The third workshop of the IGCP 450 project “Proterozoic Sediment-hosted Base Metal Deposits of Western Gondwana” washeld at the Don Bosco Theologicum Center, Lubumbashi (D.R.Congo) from 14 to 24 July 2003.     

Terrane Processes at the Pacific-margin of Gondwana （TAPMOG）

Although the terrane concept emerged from the study of northern hemisphere active continental margins and orogenic belts, it is largely in the Southern Hemisphere, in particular in relation to the Gondwana supercontinent, where it has seen its fullest flowering. New data continue to emerge, and new models and techniques are being actively developed. For these reasons, “Terrane Processes at the Pacific-margin of Gondwana”     

超大陆和超大陆旋回、冈瓦纳组成及特提斯演化

本文对超大陆、超大陆旋回、冈瓦纳及特提斯问题进行了论述，认为陆块是不断组合、拼接与裂解和扩散的，也就是超大陆演化．这种演化过程与威尔逊旋回相关．冈瓦纳大陆在元古宙并未构成统一的大陆体．而是在元古宙末一古生代初才拼合成统一的冈瓦纳大陆．特提斯洋的发生、发展和消亡都与中国大陆各块体的发展与演化有着密切的关系．     

The Geochemical Evolution of the Proterozoic Continental Crust in Northwestern Jiangxi and Western Zhejiang,China

The pertochemistry and Sm-Nd isotopic compositions and the geochemical characteristics of REE,U,Th,etc..in the Late Proterozoix and Early Palaeozoic strata in northwestern Jiangxi and western Zhejiang provinces are described in this paper.It seems to be sure that the middle Proterozoic strata of southeastern China are low in the degree of matrration .The strata contain much mantle-derived material.At the end of Late Proterozoic there was an abrupt turn with respect to the crustal geochemical evolution of the eastern part of South China .Since then ,the geochemical environment has undergone a change from a simple reducing environment to a complex oxidizing-reducing environ-ment, which would be geochemically beneficial to the formation of Late Sinian to Early Cambrian U-bearing formations.     

Distribution Characteristics of Gold and Other Trace Elements in the Proterozoic Lengjiaxi Group,Northeastern Hunan Province

Systematic geochemical studies of the Proterozoic Lengjiaxi Group in northeastern Hunan Province suggest that the Lengjiaxi Group is a Au-As-Sb-W association-type Au-bearing turbidite formation.The contents of Au,As,Sb,W,Cr,Mn,Pb and Zn in the turbidite formation are more than two times as high as the average contents of trace elements in the upper continental crust.The low abundance of Ag and the close correlation between Au and As are two important characteristic features.In the Au-bearing turbidite formation the enrichment of gold is due to the extensive occurrence of Au-bearing pyrites.Higher contents of Au,W,Sb and Ag in the greywacke indicate that they also exist in the form of heavy minerals.Au,Ag,As,Sb,W and REE in the Au-bearing turbidite formation have a close genetic relation with the chemistry of the gold deposits.     

North Gondwana mid-Palaeozoic bioevent／biogeography in relation to crustal dynamics （Final report for IGCP 421）

IGCP 421—““““““““North Gondwana mid-Palaeozoic bioevent/biogeography patterns in relation to crustal dynamics““““““““—was directed towards analysis of bioevents (especially global extinctions and recoveries), major variation in biodiversity, and change in biogeographic differentiation along the North Gondwana continental margin during the mid-Palaeozoic. Incidental to this was integration of these data with the biofacies/lithofacies database for the region in pursuit of increased precision in stratigraphic alignments and improved palaeogeographic and palaeoclimatologic syntheses.     

Cyclic Sequences, Events and Evolution of the Sino-Korean Plate, with a Discussion on the Evolution of Molar-tooth Carbonates, Phosphorites and Source Rocks

This paper gives an account of the research that the authors conducted on the cyclic sequences, events and evolutionary history from Proterozoic to Meso-Cenozoic in the Sino-Korean plate based on the principle of the Cosmos-Earth System. The authors divided this plate into 20 super-cyclic or super-mega-cyclic periods and more than 100 Oort periods. The research focused on important sea flooding events, uplift interruption events, tilting movement events, molar-tooth carbonate events, thermal events, polarity reversal events, karst events, volcanic explosion events and storm events, as well as types of resource areas and paleotectonic evolution. By means of the isochronous theory of the Cosmos-Earth System periodicity and based on long-excentricity and periodicity, the authors elaborately studied the paleogeographic evolution of the aulacogen of the Sino-Korean plate, the oolitic beach platform formation, the development of foreland basin and continental rift valley basin, and reconstructed the evolution     

从罗迪尼亚到冈瓦纳超大陆——对新元古代超大陆研究几个问题的思考

概略介绍了中—新元古代罗迪尼亚和冈瓦纳超大陆研究工作取得的主要进展 ,简要总结了中国中部年轻造山带和相邻克拉通区新元古代早期陆块汇聚和嗣后所发生的裂解地质记录的特征和时代 ,指出中国新元古代重大热构造事件所发生的时间滞后于北美格林威尔造山运动 ,二者不是同一时代。同时根据中国西部已获得的不少 60 0～ 5 0 0Ma之间的同位素年代学信息 ,强调不应忽视泛非期超大陆事件对我国西部地区的影响。在研究中国大陆新元古代地质时 ,应通过比较大地构造地质学的研究 ,立足于中国的实际 ,重视全球构造研究 ,推进超大陆研究工作     

The boring billion? – Lid tectonics, continental growth and environmental change associated with the Columbia supercontinent

The evolution of Earth＇s biosphere,atmosphere and hydrosphere is tied to the formation of continental crust and its subsequent movements on tectonic plates.The supercontinent cycle posits that the continental crust is periodically amalgamated into a single landmass,subsequently breaking up and dispersing into various continental fragments.Columbia is possibly the first true supercontinent,it amalgamated during the 2.0-1.7 Ga period,and collisional orogenesis resulting from its formation peaked at 1.95-1.85 Ga.Geological and palaeomagnetic evidence indicate that Columbia remained as a quasi-integral continental lid until at least 1.3 Ga.Numerous break-up attempts are evidenced by dyke swarms with a large temporal and spatial range; however,palaeomagnetic and geologic evidence suggest these attempts remained unsuccessful.Rather than dispersing into continental fragments,the Columbia supercontinent underwent only minor modifications to form the next supercontinent （Rodinia） at 1.1 -0.9 Ga; these included the transformation of external accretionary belts into the internal Grenville and equivalent collisional belts.Although Columbia provides evidence for a form of ‘lid tectonics’,modern style plate tectonics occurred on its periphery in the form of accretionary orogens.The detrital zircon and preserved geological record are compatible with an increase in the volume of continental crust during Columbia＇s lifespan; this is a consequence of the continuous accretionary processes along its margins.The quiescence in plate tectonic movements during Columbia＇s lifespan is correlative with a long period of stability in Earth＇s atmospheric and oceanic chemistry.Increased variability starting at 1.3 Ga in the environmental record coincides with the transformation of Columbia to Rodinia; thus,the link between plate tectonics and environmental change is strengthened with this interpretation of supercontinent history.     

超大陆研究进展

本文初步综述了超大陆研究的一些新成果。超大陆的拼贴和裂解一般与地球深部作用有关；各超大陆旋回的持续时间不一，不具周期性。Rodinia超大陆形成于中元古代晚期的格伦威尔造山期（1050Ma），后在新元古代晚期（725Ma）裂解。在新元古代早期，塔里木地块可能与澳大利亚的Kimberley地区相连，华南地块位于东澳大利亚和劳伦古陆之间而华北地块与劳伦古陆西北角和西伯利亚相邻；到新元古代末，这三个地块都从Rodinia超大陆中分离出来，在寒武纪至泥盆纪时与冈瓦那大陆的澳大利亚边缘靠近。冈瓦纳超大陆是在Rcdinia超大陆解体后，由太古-元古代克拉通重新组合，并有中元古代活动带碎块的拼贴而成，其完成聚合的时间大约是早古生代（约500Ma）。     

IGCP 499： Devonian land-sea transitional settings

Introduction A workshop and field trip of the International Geoscience Programme （IGCP） project 499 entitled Devonian Land-Sea Interaction： Evolution of Ecosystems and Climate （DEVEC） was organized between April 23rd and 30th in Tripoli, Libya. A one day symposium in Tripoli was followed by a field trip to the Awaynat Wanin Area of the Southern Ghadamis Basin, west of Libya. The excursion, which was guided by Jean-Noel Proust, CNRS, Universite de Rennesl, and Milad Ben Rahuma, Libyan Petroleum Institute （LPI）, attracted participants from Australia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Libya, and U.K.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987113001576

The observation is made that there are very strong similarities between the supercontinents Columbia, Rodinia and Pangea. If plate tectonics was operating over the past 2.5 billion years of Earth history, and dominated by extroversion and introversion of ocean basins, it would be unusual for three superconti-nents to resemble one another so closely. The term＇strange attractor＇ is applied to landmasses that form a coherent geometry in all three supercontinents. Baltica, Laurentia and Siberia form a group of＇strange attractors＇ as do the elements of East Gondwana （India, Australia, Antarctica, Madagascar）. The elements of ＂West Gondwana＂ are positioned as a slightly looser amalgam of cratonic blocks in all three super-continents and are referred to as ＇spiritual interlopers＇. Relatively few landmasses （the South China, North China, Kalahari and perhaps Tarim cratons） are positioned in distinct locations within each of the three supercontinents and these are referred to as＇lonely wanderers＇. 〈br〉 There may be several explanations for why these supercontinents show such remarkable similarities. One possibility is that modern-style plate tectonics did not begin until the late Neoproterozoic and horizontal motions were restricted and a vertical style of ＇lid tectonics＇ dominated. If motions were limited for most of the Proterozoic, it would explain the remarkable similarities seen in the Columbia and Rodinia supercontinents, but would still require the strange attractors to rift, drift and return to approximately the same geometry within Pangea. 〈br〉 A second possibility is that our views of older supercontinents are shaped by well-known connections documented for the most recent supercontinent, Pangea. It is intriguing that three of the four ＇lonely wanderers＇ （Tarim, North China, South China） did not unite until just before, or slightly after the breakup of Pangea. The fourth＇lonely wanderer＇, the Kalahari （and core Kaapvaal） craton has a somewhat unique Archean-age geology compared to its nearest neighbors in Gondwana, but very similar to that in western Australia.     

Sm／Nd Evolution of Upper Mantle and Continental Crust：Constraints on Gowth Rates of the Continental Crust

A new approach to the investigation of the Sm/Nd evolution of the upper mantle directly from the data on lherzolite xenoliths is described in this paper.It is demonstrated that the model age TCHUR of an unmetasomatic iherzolite zenolith ca represent the mean depletion age of its mantle source, thus presenting a correlation trend between f^Sm/Nd and the mean depletion age of the upper mantle from the data on xenoliths.This correlation trend can also be derived from the data on river suspended loads as well as from granitoids.Based on the correlation trend mentioned above and mean depletion ages of the upper mantle at various geological times, an evolution curve for the mean f^Sm/Nd value of the upper mantle through geological time has been established.It is suggested that the upwilling of lower mantle material into the upper mantle and the recycling of continental crust material during the Archean were more active ,thus maintaining fairly constantf^Sm/Nd and εNd values during this time period. Similarly ,an evolution curve for the mean f^Sm/Nd value of the continental crust through geological time has also been established from the data of continental crust material.In the light of both evolution curves for the upper mantle and continental crust ,a growth curve for the continental crust has been worked out ,suggesting that :(1)about 30%(in volume )of the present crust was present as the continental crust at 3.8 Ga ago ;(2)the growth rate was much lower during the Archean ;and (3)the Proterozoic is another major period of time during which the continental crust wsa built up .