Integration of Deep-time Digital Data for Mapping Clusters of Porphyry Copper Mineral Deposits

正1 Introduction PCDs are generated in continental arcs in response to plate converging processes (subduction and collision)(Hou et al.,2009;Richards,2013).It is generally accepted that the formation of PCDs is associated with igneous activities either originating from lower crust or upper mantle,with contributions of crusts during the evolution of continental lithosphere,especially in association with plate convergence.These igneous activities are often episodic with intermittency and anomalous high magmatic     

Crustal Structure and Chemical Composition of the Dabie Orogenic Belt

1. IntroductionRegional geochemistry is becoming an effective means to reveal regional crustal evolution. Many researchers have explored the evolution of continental lithosphere, crust-mantle interaction and mineralization setting by studying the structure and composition of the continental crust over various regions (Weaver and Tarney, 1984; Taylor and Mclennan, 1985; Shaw et al., 1986; Li et al., 1990; Gao et al., 1990; Zhang et al., 1994). The Qinling-Dabie Orogenic Belt, which travers…     

Two-dimensional Numerical Modeling Research on Continent Subduction Dynamics

Continent subduction is one of the hot research problems in geoscience. New models presented here have been set up and two-dimensional numerical modeling research on the possibility of continental subduction has been made with the finite element software, ANSYS, based on documentary evidence and reasonable assumptions that the subduction of oceanic crust has occurred, the subduction of continental crust can take place and the process can be simplified to a discontinuous plane strain theory model. The modeling results show that it is completely possible for continental crust to be subducted to a depth of 120 km under certain circumstances and conditions. At the same time, the simulations of continental subduction under a single dynamical factor have also been made, including the pull force of the subducted oceanic lithosphere, the drag force connected with mantle convection and the push force of the mid-ocean ridge. These experiments show that the drag force connected with mantle convection is critical fo     

Implications of εNd—La／Nb,Ba／Nb,Nb／Th Diagrams to Mantle Heterogeneity—Classification of Island—arc Basalts and Decomposition of EMII Component

A group of εNd/Nb,Ba/Nb,Nb/Th diagrams are used to study mantle heterogeneity.Island-arc basalts(IAB) are distributed in a triangle of these diagrams. Three end-member components (the MORB-type depleted mantle, the fluid released from subducted oceanic crust and the sediments from the continental crust) of the source of IAB may be displayed in these diagrams. Two types of IAB are identified .They are of the two-component type (with little continental sediments), such as the basalts from Aletians and New Britain ,and the three-compeonent type, such as those from Sunda, Lesser Antilles and Andes. In addition ,the EMII type mantle-derived rocks may also be divided into two groups. One is exemplified by continental flood basalts and some peridotite xenoliths, similar to IAB, with high La/Nb and Ba/Nb and low Nb/Th ratios, The other includes the Samoa-type oceanic island basalts, with low La/Nb and Ba/Nb and high Nb/Th ratios. The corresponding two sub-components of EMII are EMIIM, which is related to the metasomatism of lithosphere mantle by fluids released from the subducted oceanic crust, and EMIISR, related to the intervention of recycling continental sediments into the convective mantle.     

Ophiolites as Archives of Recycled Crustal Material Residing in the Deep Mantle

Deeply subducted lithospheric slabs may reach to the mantle transition zone(MTZ,410-660 km depth)or even to the core–mantle boundary(CMB)at depths of~2900km.Our knowledge of the fate of subducted surface material at the MTZ or near the CMB is poor and based mainly on the tomography data and laboratory experiments through indirect methods.Limited data come from the samples of deep mantle diamonds and their mineral inclusions obtained from kimberlites and associated rock assemblages in old cratons.We report in this presentation new data and observations from diamonds and other UHP minerals recovered from ophiolites that we consider as a new window into the life cycle of deeply subducted oceanic and continental crust.Ophiolites are fragments of ancient oceanic lithosphere tectonically accreted into continental margins,and many contain significant podiform chromitites.Our research team has investigated over the last 10 years ultrahigh-pressure and super-reducing mineral groups discovered in peridotites and/or chromitites of ophiolites around the world,including the Luobusa(Tibet),Ray-Iz(Polar Urals-Russia),and 12 other ophiolites from 8orogenic belts in 5 different countries(Albania,China,Myanmar,Russia,and Turkey).High-pressure minerals include diamond,coesite,pseudomorphic stishovite,qingsongite(BN)and Ca-Si perovskite,and the most important native and highly reduced minerals recovered to date include moissanite(Si C),Ni-Mn-Co alloys,Fe-Si and Fe-C phases.These mineral groups collectively confirm extremely high?pressures(300 km to≥660 km)and super-reducing conditions in their environment of formation in the mantle.All of the analyzed diamonds have unusually light carbon isotope compositions(δ13C=-28.7 to-18.3‰)and variable trace element contents that*d i stinguish them from most kimberlitic and UHPmetamorphic varieties.The presence of exsolution lamellae of diopside and coesite in some chromite grains suggests chromite crystallization depths around380 km,near the mantle transition zone.The carbon isotopes and other features of the high-pressure and super-reduced mineral groups point to previously subducted surface material as their source of origin.Recycling of subducted crust in the deep mantle may proceed in three stages:Stage 1–Carbon-bearing fluids and melts may have been formed in the MTZ,in the lower mantle or even near the CMB.Stage 2–Fluids or melts may rise along with deep plumes through the lower mantle and reach the MTZ.Some minerals,such as diamond,stishovite,qingsongite and Ca-silicate perovskite can precipitate from these fluids or melts in the lower mantle during their ascent.Material transported to the MTZ would be mixed with highly reduced and UHP phases,presumably derived from zones with extremely low f O2,as required for the formation of moissanite and other native elements.Stage 3–Continued ascent above the transition of peridotites containing chromite and ultrahigh-pressure minerals transports them to shallow mantle depths,where they participate in decompressional partial melting and oceanic lithosphere formation.The widespread occurrence of ophiolite-hosted diamonds and associated UHP mineral groups suggests that they may be a common feature of in-situ oceanic mantle.Because mid-ocean ridge spreading environments are plate boundaries widely distributed around the globe,and because the magmatic accretion of oceanic plates occurs mainly along these ridges,the on-land remnants of ancient oceanic lithosphere produced at former mid-ocean ridges provide an important window into the Earth’s recycling system and a great opportunity to probe the nature of deeply recycled crustal material residing in the deep mantle     

What Happened in the Trans-North China Orogen in the Period 2560-1850 Ma？

The Trans-North China Orogen （TNCO） was a Paleoproterozic continent-continent collisional belt along which the Eastern and Western Blocks amalgamated to form a coherent North China Craton （NCC）. Recent geological, structural, geochemical and isotopic data show that the orogen was a continental margin or Japan-type arc along the western margin of the Eastern Block, which was separated from the Western Block by an old ocean, with eastward-directed subduction of the oceanic lithosphere beneath the western margin of the Eastern Block. At 2550-2520 Ma, the deep subduction caused partial melting of the medium-lower crust, producing copious granitoid magma that was intruded into the upper levels of the crust to form granitoid plutons in the low- to medium-grade granite-greeustone terranes. At 2530-2520 Ma, subduction of the oceanic lithosphere caused partial melting of the mantle wedge, which led to underplating of mafic magma in the lower crust and widespread mafic and minor felsic volcanism in the arc, forming part of the greenstone assemblages. Extension driven by widespread mafic to felsic volcanism led to the development of back-arc and/or intra-arc basins in the orogen. At 2520-2475 Ma, the subduction caused further partial melting of the lower crust to form large amounts of tonalitic-trondhjemitic-granodioritic （TTG） magmatism. At this time following further extension of back-arc basins, episodic granitoid magmatism occurred, resulting in the emplacement of 2360 Ma, -2250 Ma 2110-21760 Ma and -2050 Ma granites in the orogen. Contemporary volcano-sedimentary rocks developed in the back-arc or intra-are basins. At 2150-1920 Ma, the orogen underwent several extensional events, possibly due to subduction of an oceanic ridge, leading to emplacement of mafic dykes that were subsequently metamorphosed to amphibolites and medium- to high-pressure mafic granulites. At 1880-1820 Ma, the ocean between the Eastern and Western Blocks was completely consumed by subduction, and the dosing of the ocean led to the continent-arc-continent collision, which caused large-scale thrusting and isoclinal folds and transported some of the rocks into the lower crustal levels or upper mantle to form granulites or eclogites. Peak metamorphism was followed by exhumation/uplift, resulting in widespread development of asymmetric folds and symplectic textures in the rocks.     

EFFECTIVE ELASTIC THICKNESS OF THE LITHOSPHERE - A REVIEW

1. IntroductionThe mechanical property of the lithosphere with respect of its flexural rigidity or effective elastic thickness is one of the important aspects for understanding the dynamic properties of the oceanic and the continental lithosphere. It is commonly agreed that the oceanic lithosphere behaves as a thin elastic plate in response to applied loading over geological time (e.g., Walcott, 1970; Watts and Cochran, 1974), and that the depth to the 450 °C isotherm defines the effective e…     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987112000874

<正>1.Introduction The continental crust,covering nearly a third of the Earth's surface,is dominantly made up of granites and granodiorites(Rudnick and Gao, 2003).Although the vast majority of these granitoids are amphiboleand /or biotite-bearing,orthopyroxene-bearing granitoids form a minor but important component of the lower continental crust in many high-grade terrains(e.g.,Bohlender et al.,1992;Kilpatrick and Ellis,1992;Sheraton et al.,1992;Berger et al.,1995;Zhou et al., 1995;Peucat et al.,1996;Duchesne and Wilmart,1997;Hughes et al.,1997;Prame.1997;Frost et al.,2000;Janasi,2002;Mendes     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987111001125

<正>Greenstone belts of the eastern Dharwar Craton,India are reinterpreted as composite tectonostratigraphic terranes of accreted plume-derived and convergent margin-derived magmatic sequences based on new high-precision elemental data.The former are dominated by a komatiile plus Mg-tholeiitic basalt volcanic association,with deep water siliciclastic and banded iron formation(BIF) sedimentary rocks.Plumes melted at90 km under thin rifted continental lithosphere to preserve inlraoceanic and continental margin aspects.Associated alkaline basalts record subduction-recycling of Mesoarchean oceanic crust,incubated in the asthenosphere.and erupted coevally with Mg basalts from a heterogeneous mantle plume.Together.komaliites-Mg basalts-alkaline basalts plot along the Phanerozoic mantle array in Th/Yb versus Nb/Yb coordinate space,representing zoned plumes,establishing that these reservoirs were present in the Neoarchean mantle. Convergent margin magmatic associations are dominated by tholeiitic to calc-alkaline basalts eompositionally similar to recent intraoceanic arcs.As well,boninitic flows sourced in extremely depleted mantle are present,and the association of arc basalts with Mg-andesites-Nb enriched basalts-adakites documented from Cenozoic arcs characterized by subduction of young(20 Ma),hot,oceanic lithosphere. Consequently.Cenozoic style "hot" subduction was operating in the Neoarchean.These diverse volcanic associations were assembled to give composite terranes in a subduction-accretion orogen at～2.1 Ga,coevally with a global accretionary orogen at ~2.7 Ga,and associated orogenic gold mineralization. Archean lithospheric mantle,distinctive in being thick,refractory,and buoyant,formed complementary to the accreted plume and convergent margin terranes.as migrating arcs captured thick plumeplateaus. and the refractory,low density.residue of plume melting coupled with accreted imbricated plume-arc crust.     

Granitic Magmatism in Eastern Tethys Domain (Western China) and their Geodynamic Implications

Western China locates in the eastern section of the Tethys domain, granitic rocks in this region with variable formation ages and geochemistry record key information about the crust-mantle structure and thermal evolution during the convergent process of Tethys. In this study, we focus on some crucial granitic magmatism in the western Yangtze, Qinling orogen, and western Sanjiang tectonic belt, where magma sequence in the convergent orogenic belt can provide important information about the crust-mantle structure, thermal condition and melting regime that related to the evolution processes from Pre- to Neo-Tethys. At first, we show some features of Pre-Tethyan magmatism, such as Neoproterozoic magmatism (ca. 870–740 Ma) in the western margin of the Yangtze Block were induced by the assembly and breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent. The complication of voluminous Neoproterozoic igneous rocks indicated that the western Yangtze Block underwent the thermodynamic evolution from hot mantle-cold crust stage (ca. 870–850 Ma) to hot mantle and crust stage (ca. 850–740 Ma). The Neoproterozoic mantle sources beneath the western Yangtze Block were progressively metasomatized by subduction-related compositions from slab fluids (initial at ca. 870 Ma), sediment melts (initial at ca. 850 Ma), to oceanic slab melts (initial at ca. 825–820 Ma) during the persistent subduction process. Secondly, the early Paleozoic magmatism can be well related to three distinctive stages (variable interaction of mantle-crust to crustal melting to variable sources) from an Andeans-type continental margin to collision to extension in response to the evolution of Proto-Tethys and final assembly of Gondwana continent. Thirdly, the Paleo-Tethys magmatism, Triassic granites in the Qinling orogenic display identical formation ages and Lu-Hf isotopic compositions with the related mafic enclaves, indicate a coeval melting event of lower continental crust and mantle lithosphere in the Triassic convergent process and a continued hot mantle and crust thermal condition through the interaction of subducted continental crust and upwelling asthenosphere. Finally, the Meso- and Neo-Tethyan magmatism: Early Cretaceous magmatism in the Tengchong Block are well responding to the subduction and closure of Bangong-Nujiang Meso-Tethys, recycled sediments metasomatized mantle by subduction since 130 Ma and subsequently upwelling asthenosphere since ca. 122 Ma that causes melting of heterogeneous continental crust until the final convergence, this process well recorded the changing thermal condition from hot mantle-cold crust to hot mantle and crust; The Late Cretaceous to Early Cenozoic magmatism well recorded the processes from Neo-Tethyan ocean slab flat subduction, steep subduction, to initial collision of India-Asia, it resulted in a series of continental arc magmatism with enriched mantle to crustal materials at Late Cretaceous, increasing depleted and/or juvenile materials at the beginning of early Cenozoic, and increasing evolved crustal materials in the final stage, implying a continued hot mantle and crust condition during that time. Then we can better understand the magmatic processes and variable melting from the mantle to crust during the evolution of Tethys, from Pre-, Paleo-, Meso-, to Neo-, both they show notably intensive interaction of crust-mantle and extensive melting of the heterogeneous continent during the final closure of Tethys and convergence of blocks, and thermal perturbation by a dynamic process in the depth could be the first mechanism to control the thermal condition of mantle and crust and associated composition of magmatism.     

Progress in the Study of Deep Profiles of Tibet and the Himalayas (INDEPTH)

This paper introduces 8 major discoveries and new understandings with regard to the deep structure and tectonics of the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau obtained in Project INDEPTH, They are mainly as follows. (1) The upper crust, lower crust and mantle lithosphere beneath the blocks of the plateau form a "sandwich" structure with a relatively rigid-brittle upper crust, a visco-plastic lower crust and a relatively rigid-ductile mantle lithosphere. This structure is completely different from that of monotonous, cold and more rigid oceanic plates. (2) In the process of north-directed collision-compression of the Indian subcontinent, the upper crust was attached to the foreland in the form of a gigantic foreland accretionary wedge. The interior of the accretionary wedge thickened in such tectonic manners as large-scale thrusting, backthrusting and folding, and magmatic masses and partially molten masses participated in the crustal thickening. Between the upper crust and lower crust lies a large detachment (e.g     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987115001516

The Semail ophiolite of Oman and the United Arab Emirates(UAE) provides the best preserved large slice of oceanic lithosphere exposed on the continental crust,and offers unique opportunities to study processes of ocean crust formation,subduction initiation and obduction.Metamorphic rocks exposed in the eastern UAE have traditionally been interpreted as a metamorphic sole to the Semail ophiolite.However,there has been some debate over the possibility that the exposures contain components of older Arabian continental crust.To help answer this question,presented here are new zircon and rutile U-Pb geochronological data from various units of the metamorphic rocks.Zircon was absent in most samples.Those that yielded zircon and rutile provide dominant single age populations that are 95-93 Ma,partially overlapping with the known age of oceanic crust formation(96.5-94.5 Ma),and partially overlapping with cooling ages of the metamorphic rocks(95-90 Ma).The data are interpreted as dating high-grade metamorphism during subduction burial of the sediments into hot mantle lithosphere,and rapid cooling during their subsequent exhumation.A few discordant zircon ages,interpreted as late Neoproterozoic and younger,represent minor detrital input from the continent.No evidence is found in favour of the existence of older Arabian continental crust within the metamorphic rocks of the UAE.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987110000071

<正>The lithospheric structure of China and its adjacent area is very complex and is marked by several prominent characteristics.Firstly,China's continental crust is thick in the west but thins to the east,and thick in the south but thins to the north.Secondly,the continental crust of the Qinghai—Tibet Plateau has an average thickness of 60—65 km with a maximum thickness of 80 km,whereas in eastern China the average thickness is 30—35 km,with a minimum thickness of only 5 km in the center of the South China Sea.The average thickness of continental crust in China is 47.6 km,which greatly exceeds the global average thickness of 39.2 km.Thirdly,as with the crust,the lithosphere of China and its adjacent areas shows a general pattern of thicker in the west and south,and thinner in the east and north.The lithosphere of the Qinghai—Tibet Plateau and northwestern China has an average thickness of 165 km, with a maximum thickness of 180—200 km in the central and eastern parts of the Tarim Basin,Pamir, and Changdu areas.In contrast,the vast areas to the east of the Da Hinggan Ling—Taihang—Wuling Mountains,including the marginal seas,are characterized by lithospheric thicknesses of only 50—85 km.Fourthly,in western China the lithosphere and asthenosphere behave as a "layered structure", reflecting their dynamic background of plate collision and convergence.The lithosphere and asthenosphere in eastern China display a "block mosaic structure",where the lithosphere is thin and the asthenosphere is very thick,a pattern reflecting the consequences of crustal extension and an upsurge of asthenospheric materials.The latter is responsible for a huge low velocity anomaly at a depth of 85—250 km beneath East Asia and the western Pacific Ocean.Finally,in China there is an age structure of "older in the upper layers and younger in the lower layers" between both the upper and lower crusts and between the crust and the lithospheric mantle.     

Crustal Accretion and Reworking within the Khanka Massif: Evidence from Zircon Hf Isotopes of Phanerozoic Granitoids

The Central Asian Orogenic Belt(CAOB)is one of the largest Phanerozoic accretionary orogen.(Windley et al.,1990,2007;Jahn et al.,2000a,b,c;Yakubchuk,2002,2004;Xiao et al.,2003,2004).It is the optimal study area for revealing the accretion and reworking processes of the continental crust.The Khanka Massif is located in the most eastern part of the CAOB,and mainly crops out in the territory of Russia,with a small segment in NE China.In addition,a large number of multi-stage granitic rocks are formed in geological evolution in this area,recording amounts of information about crustal accretion and reworking processes(De Paolo et al.,1991;Rudnick,1995;Wu et al.,2011).In view of this,this paper uses the spatial-temporal variations of trace elements and zircon Hf isotopic compositions of phanerozoic granitoids within the Khanka Massif as a case to reveal the crustal accretion and reworking processes of micro continental massifs from the orogenic belt,further to understand the formation and evolution processes and mechanisms of the global continental crust.According to the statistics of zircon U-Pb ages of granitoids in the Khanka Massif,indicate that the granitic magmatisms in the Khanka Massif have eleven peaks:492 Ma,460 Ma,445Ma,430Ma,425Ma,302Ma,287Ma,258Ma,249 Ma,216Ma and 213Ma,it can be divided into eight main stages:Late Cambrian,Middle-Late Ordovician,Middle Silurian,Late Carboniferous,EarlyPermian,Middle-Late Permian—Early Triassic,Late Triassic-Early Jurassic,Early Cretaceous.The Phanerozoic granitoids in Khanka massif are selectedinthispaperasasuiteof granodiorite-monzogranite-syenogranite.TheSi O2contents of the Phanerozoic granitoids exceed 65%,and has high Al2O3,low Mg#,TFe2O3,Cr,Co and Ni contents.This suggests that mixture with mantle-derived magma did not occur,and it should be a typical crustal source(Lu and Xu,2011).Combined with evident characteristics of light rare-earth elements(LREEs)and large ion lithophile elements(LILEs)enrichment,and heavy rare-earth elements(HREEs)and high field-strength elements(HFSEs)loss,we suggest that the primary magma was derived by partial melting of lower crustal material(Xu et al.,2009),and geochemical properties of the Phanerozoic granitoids essentially reflect the nature of the magmatic source region.According to the temporal variation of zircon Hf isotopic data of Phanerozoic granitioids,zircon Hf isotopic compositions of Phanerozoic granitoids have a obvious correlation with age.With the decrease of formation time ofthePhanerozoicgranitoids(Late Cambrian~Middle-LateOrdovician~Middle Silurian~EarlyPermian~Middle-LatePermian–Early Triassic~Late Triassic-Early Jurassic),εHf(t)values of zircons gradually increase,whereas their TDM2 ages gradually decrease(Paleoproterozoic–Neoproterozoic),suggesting that the generation of granitic magmas from the Khanka Massif could have experienced the change from the melting of the ancient crust to the juvenile crust during Paleozoic to Mesozoic.According to the sample location,it can be found thatεHf(t)values of Phanerozoic granitoids have the tendency to decrease with latitude increase,showing that components of the ancient continental crust gradually increase from south to north.However,at the same latitude range,theεHf(t)values of Phanerozoic granitoids also inconsistent.Taken together,these differences reveal the horizontal and vertical heterogeneity of the lower continental crust within the Khanka Massif.According to the relative probability of two-stage model(TDM2)ages of zircon Hf isotope from Phanerozoic granitoids within the Khanka massif,it could be divided into three stages:(1)Late Paleoproterozoic(2)Mesoproterozoic(3)Neoproterozoic.It reveals that the main part of the continental crust within the Khanka MassifwereformedinLate Paleoproterozoic–Neoproterozoic.The Phanerozoic granitoids in the Khanka Massif reworked from the source rockswithdifferent ages(Paleoproterozoic–Mesoproterozoic–Neoproterozoic).     

Petrological and Re-Os Isotopic Constraints on the Origin and Tectonic Setting of the Cuobuzha Peridotite, Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone, SW Tibet, China

The Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone(YZSZ)in southern Tibet includes the remnants of Neotethyan oceanic lithosphere and marks a major suture between the Indian Plate to the south and the Lhasa Terrane of Tibet to the north(Dupuis et al.,2005;Yang et al.,2011).In the western part of the YZSZ,the Northern and the Southern sub-belts form two sub-parallel zones of mafic–ultramaficrockassemblageswithoverlapping crystallization ages(Xiong et al.,2011;Hebért et al.,2012;Liu et al.,2015).The upper mantle section of the Cuobuzha ophiolite in the northern sub-belt of the Yarlung–Zangbo Suture Zone(YZSZ)in SW Tibet comprises mainly clinopyroxene(cpx)–rich and depleted harzburgites.Spinels in the cpx-harzburgites show lower Cr#values(12.6–15.1)than the spinels in the harzburgites(26.1–34.5),and the cpx-harzburgites display higher heavy rare earth element concentrations than the depleted harzburgites.The harzburgites have subchondritic Os isotopic compositions(0.11624–0.11699),whereas the cpx-harzburgites have suprachondritic 187Os/188Os ratios(0.12831–0.13125)with higher Re concentrations(0.380-0.575 ppb).The cpx-harzburgites plot in a Re vs.Al2O3 diagram as a result of subsequent addition of Re following the last partial melting event that occurred during mid-ocean ridge melt evolution processes(Uysal et al.,2015).Although these geochemical and isotopic signatures suggest that both peridotite types in the ophiolite represent mid-ocean ridge type upper mantle units,their melt evolution trends reflect different mantle processes.The cpx-harzburgites formed from low-degree partial melting(~5%)of a primitive mantle source,and they weresubsequently modified by melt–rock interactions in a mid-ocean ridge environment.The depleted harzburgites,on the other hand,were produced by re-melting of the cpx-harzburgites,which later interacted with MORB-or island arc tholeiite(IAT)-like melts(Fig.1)possibly in a trench-distal backarc spreading center.Our new isotopic and geochemical data from the Cuobuzha peridotites confirm that the Neotethyan upper mantle had highly heterogeneous Os isotopic compositions as a result of multiple melt production and melt extraction events during its seafloor spreading evolution.     

MULTI-ARC BASIN SYSTEM OF THE KUNLUN OROGENICBELT AND PAN-CATHYSIAN CONTINENTAL ACCRETION

After Rodinia supercontinent was disintegrated in Late Proterozoic, an ocean, namely, Tethys Ocean, occurred between Gondwana continental group and Pan-Cathaysian continental group from Late Proterozoic to Mesozoic. From Early Paleozoic to Mesozoic, Tethys Ocean was subducted toward Pan-Cathaysian block group, which results in backarc expansion, arc-land collision and forearc accretion. When the backarc basin expands and reaches the small oceanic basin, ophiolite melange will be generated. As accretion had already occurred in the south of the continental margin in the earlier stage, the succeeding backarc expansion and the frontal arc position were migrated toward south correspondingly. Therefore, multiple ophiolite belts and magmatic rock belts occurred, and show a trend of decreasing age from north toward south. As the continental margin was split and migrated toward south and reached a high latitude position, i.e., with the shortening and subduction of oceanic crust, the sedimentary bodies at high latitude was accreted continuously toward low latitude area together with the formation of oceanic island, mixing of cold-type and warm-type organism was generated. Moreover, blocks split and separated from Pan-Cathaysian or Gondwana continental group cannot traverse the oceanic median ridge and joins with another continental block. As a result, the Kunlun belt on the SW margin of the Pan-Cathaysian land was resulted from the multi-arc orogenesis such as the backarc seabed expansion, arc-arc collision, arc-land collision oceanic bed, and the continuous southward accretion process.     

Carboniferous foraminifers from the lower part of Paleo-Tethyan seamount-type carbonates in the Changning-Menglian Belt, western Yunnan, Southwest China

The Changning-Menglian Belt in West Yunnan, Southwest China is well-known as a closed remnant of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean in East Asia (Wu et al., 1995; Liu et al., 1996). It is delineated to the east with the Lincang Massif by the Changning-Shuangjiang Fault and to the west with the Baoshan Block by the Kejie-Nandinghe Fault, and is generally subdivided into three zones: east, central, and west zones. In the central zone, various kinds of oceanic rocks such as harzburgite, cumulate websterite, gabbro, both mid-oceanic ridge basalt and oceanic island basalt, Devonian-Triassic radiolarian chert, and Carbonifer-ous-Permian massive and huge carbonates with basaltic effusives as their pedestal are exposed (Liu et al., 1991, 1996; Wu et al., 1995; Ueno et al., 2003). These Central zone rocks are now interpreted to have been emplaced as nappes structurally overlying the East and West zones, which are considered as consisting mainly of passive margin sediments of the Baoshan Block (Wu, 1991; Ueno et al., 2003).     

Ophiolites and Intra-Oceanic Island Arc Assemblages of Eastern Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand

Throughout the Phanerozoic the eastern margin of Gondwana and related fragments such as New Caledonia and New Zealand that are now dispersed from it grew through the addition of ophiolites and associated intra-oceanic island arc assemblages.Exactly how and why this occurred remains controversial with two main competingmodelsreferredtoaseither‘quantum’or‘accordion’tectonics.The quantum model envisages continental growth through the additional of discrete intra-oceanic assemblages analogous to contemporary tectonic settings in Taiwan,Timor and Papua New Guinea(Aitchison and Buckman,2012).The alternative regards eastern Australia as the type example of a different style of convergent plate margin referred to as an‘extensional accretionary orogeny’(Collins,2002).The oldest Phanerozoic ophiolites and intra-oceanic island arc assemblages are of Cambrian age and are widely reported from the Lachlan Fold Belt in the eastern Australian states of Victoria and NSW(Spaggiari et al.,2003;Greenfield et al.,2011).Similar rocks are also known from Mount Read in Tasmania(Berry and Crawford,1988;Crawford and Berry,1992;Mulder et al.,2016),the Weraerai terrane and its correlatives in the New England orogen further east in northeastern NSW(Aitchison et al.,1994;Aitchison and Ireland,1995)and Queensland,the Takaka terrane in NW Nelson,New Zealand(Münker and Cooper,1999)and the Bowers terrane in Northern Victoria Land,Antarctica(Weaver et al.,1984;Münker and Crawford,2000;Rocchi et al.,2011;Palmeri et al.,2012).The Late Ordovician saw the development of the intra-oceanic Macquarie island arc(Glen et al.,1998;Glen et al.,2007).This system contains important economic mineral deposits.The way in which these arcrocks developed and were juxtaposedagainst a surrounding suite of Lachlan Fold Belt,eastern Australia remains the subject of investigation(see Aitchison and Buckman,2012 for discussion).In a similar area,enigmatic rocks of the Tumut ophiolite also crop out(Graham et al.,1996;Belousova et al.,2015).Further to the east in the New England orogeny Siluro-Devonian rocks of the Gamilaroi terrane and it’s along strike correlatives near Mt Morgan in Queensland represent another intra-oceanic island arc assemblage emplaced onto the Gondwana margin in the Late Devonian(Aitchison and Flood,1994;Offler and Murray,2011).The Late Carboniferous-Permian saw development of significant intra-oceanic island arc and ophiolitic complexes remnants of which crop out in New Zealand,eastern Australia,and New Caledonia.These include the Brook Street terrane(Spandler et al.,2005;Mc Coy-West et al.,2014)and Dun Mountain Ophiolite Belt in New Zealand(Coombs et al.,1976;Stewart et al.,2016),the Gympie terrane in southeast Queensland(Waterhouse and Sivell,1987;Sivell and Waterhouse,1988)and the Koh terrane in New Caledonia(Meffre et al.,1996;Ali and Aitchison,2002).The youngest on-land association of ophiolitic and intra-oceanic island arc rocks in the region is of Eocene age.Ultramafic rocks are well exposed in New Caledonia where they structurally overlie continental rocks of Gondwana margin affinity that,in the northeast of the island,have experienced eclogite facies metamorphism(Aitchison et al.,1995).The emplacement of these rocks was a widespread regional event with potentially correlative rocks exposed in Papua New Guinea(Parrot and Dugas,1980)as well as Northland and East Cape in New Zealand(Whattam et al.,2005;Whattam et al.,2008).     

Petrogenesis of Triassic Mafic Complexes with MORB/OIB Affinities from the Western Garzê-Litang Ophiolitic Mélange, Central Tibetan Plateau

There is a general consensus that most ophiolites formed above subduction zones(Pearce,2003),particularly during forearc extension at subduction initiation(Shervais,2001;Stern,2004;Whattam and Stern,2011)."Supra-Subduction zone"(SSZ)ophiolites such as the well-studied Tethyan ophiolites,generally display a characteristic sequential evolution from mid-oceanic ridge basalts(MORBs)to island arc tholeiities(IATs)or bonites(BONs)(Pearce,2003;Dilek and Furnes,2009,2011),which were generated in sequence from the decompression melting of asthenospheric mantle and partial melting of subduction-metasomatized depleted mantle(Stern and Bloomer,1992;Dilek and Furnes,2009;Whattam and Stern,2011).However,ophiolites with MORB and/or oceanic-island basalt(OIB)affinities are rare,and their origin and tectonic nature are poorly understood(Boedo et al.,2013;Saccani et al.,2013).It is interesting that the composition of these ophiolites from the central Tibetan Plateau(CTP)is dominated by MORBs and minor OIBs and a distinct lack of IATs and BONs,which is inconsistent with most ophiolites worldwide(Robinson and Zhou,2008;Zhang et al.,2008).But the generation and tectonic nature of these ophiolites are still controversial.*In this study,we present new geochronological,mineralogical and Sr-Nd isotopic data for the Chayong and Xiewu mafic complexes in the western Garzê-Litang suture zone(GLS),a typical Paleo-Tethyan suture crossing the CTP(Fig.1).The Triassic ophiolite in the western GLS has been described by Li et al.(2009),who foundthat it mainly consists of gabbros,diabases,pillow basalts and a few metamorphic peridotites.The ophiolite has been tectonically dismembered and crops out in Triassic clastic rocks and limestones as tectonic blocks.The Chayong and Xiewu mafic complexes are generally regarded as important fragments of the Triassic ophiolites(e.g.,Jin,2006;Li et al.,2009).Zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb ages of234±3 Ma and 236±2 Ma can be interpreted as formation times of the Chayong and Xiewu mafic complexes,respectively.The basalts and gabbros of the Chayong complexexhibitenrichedMORB(E-MORB)compositional affinities except for a weak depletion of Nb,Ta and Ti relative to the primitive mantle,whereas the basalts and gabbros of the Xiewu complex display distinct E-MORB and OIB affinities.The geochemical features suggest a probable fractionation of olivine±clinopyroxene±plagioclase as well as insignificant crustal contamination.The geochemical and Sr-Nd isotopic data reveal that the Chayong mafic rocks may have been derived from depleted MORB-type mantle metasomatized by crustal components and Xiewu mafic rocks from enriched lithosphericmantlemetasomatizedbyOIB-like components.The ratios of Zn/Fet,La/Yb and Sm/Yb indicate that these mafic melts were produced by the partial melting of garnet+minor spinel-bearing peridotite or spinel±minor garnet-bearing peridotite.We propose thatback-arcbasinspreadingassociated with OIB/seamount recycling had occurred in the western GLS at least since the Middle Triassic times,and the decompression melting of the depleted MORB-type asthenospheremantleandpartialmeltingof sub-continental lithosphere were metasomatized by plume-related melts,such as OIBs,which led to the generation of the Chayong and Xiewu mafic melts.