Subduction and terrane collision stabilize the western Kaapvaal craton tectosphere 2.9 billion years ago

Integrative models of crust and mantle structure, age, and growth of the oldest continental nuclei—the Archean cratons—are critical to understanding the processes that stabilize continental lithosphere. For the Kaapvaal craton of southern Africa, conflicting ages of stabilization have been derived from studies of its crust and underlying mantle. New U-Pb zircon geochronological data from the western Kaapvaal craton reveal that two older (3.7 to 3.1 billion year old) continental masses, the Kimberley and Witwatersrand blocks, were juxtaposed by a significantly younger, previously unresolved episode of subduction and terrane collision between 2.93 and 2.88 billion years ago. Geological evidence indicates that convergence was accommodated by subduction beneath the Kimberley block, culminating in collisional suturing in the vicinity of the present-day Colesberg magnetic lineament. The timing of these convergent margin processes is further shown to correlate with the strong peak in Re-Os age distributions of Kimberley block mantle peridotites, eclogites, and eclogite-hosted diamonds. These data thus support the petrogenetic coupling of continental crust and lithospheric mantle through a model of continental arc magmatism, subduction zone mantle wedge processing and terminal collisional advective thickening to form Archean continental tectosphere.     

秦岭造山带晚三叠世糜署岭岩体的岩石磁学及磁组构可靠性约束

近年来,针对秦岭造山带晚三叠世花岗岩体侵位机制的巨大争议,一些研究采用磁组构方法分析了岩体的内部组构特征及其与区域构造的关系,提出了具有重要意义的新认识.然而,目前这些研究均缺乏对岩体磁组构本质意义的分析,利用该方法约束岩体内部组构的可靠性并不十分清晰.针对这一问题,本文以秦岭造山带内具典型代表性意义的晚三叠世糜署岭花岗岩体为例,开展了该岩体的磁组构、岩石磁学、矿物形态组构和显微构造的综合研究.结果表明,糜署岭岩体的磁化率总体较低,属钛铁矿系列花岗岩.绝大部分样品的磁化率受控于顺磁性的黑云母等铁镁硅酸盐矿物,部分高磁化率样品包含了少量多畴磁铁矿等铁磁性组分的贡献,且随磁化率增大,铁磁性组分的贡献更为明显.样品的磁组构也主要是黑云母组构或由黑云母与磁铁矿的亚组构复合而成.由于样品中磁铁矿含量较低且与黑云母密切共生,磁组构与黑云母形态组构基本一致,因此,黑云母与磁铁矿的亚组构基本共轴.糜署岭岩体的磁组构本质上等同于黑云母组构,反映了黑云母等页硅酸盐矿物在岩体中的分布,可以有效的指示岩体的内部构造特征.宏观和显微构造观察还显示,糜署岭岩体的内部组构形成于岩浆侵位的晚期阶段,叠加了同岩浆期区域构造的关键信息,是从岩体构造角度开展区域构造演化的良好载体.     

Triassic mid-oceanic sedimentation in Panthalassa Ocean: Sambosan accretionary complex, Japan

Abstract   The Sambosan accretionary complex of southwest Japan was formed during the uppermost Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous and consists of basaltic rocks, carbonates and siliceous rocks. The Sambosan oceanic rocks were grouped into four stratigraphic successions: (i) Middle Upper Triassic basaltic rock; (ii) Upper Triassic shallow-water limestone; (iii) limestone breccia; and (iv) Middle Middle Triassic to lower Upper Jurassic siliceous rock successions. The basaltic rocks have a geochemical affinity with oceanic island basalt of a normal hotspot origin. The shallow-water limestone, limestone breccia, and siliceous rock successions are interpreted to be sediments on the seamount-top, upper seamount-flank and surrounding ocean floor, respectively. Deposition of the radiolarian chert of the siliceous rock succession took place on the ocean floor in Late Anisian and continued until Middle Jurassic. Oceanic island basalt was erupted to form a seamount by an intraplate volcanism in Late Carnian. Late Triassic shallow-water carbonate sedimentation occurred at the top of this seamount. Accumulation of the radiolarian chert was temporally replaced by Late Carnian to Early Norian deep-water pelagic carbonate sedimentation. Biotic association and lithologic properties of the pelagic carbonates suggest that an enormous production and accumulation of calcareous planktonic biotas occurred in an open-ocean realm of the Panthalassa Ocean in Late Carnian through Early Norian. Upper Norian ribbon chert of the siliceous rock succession contains thin beds of limestone breccia displaced from the shallow-water buildup resting upon the seamount. The shallow-water limestone and siliceous rock successions are nearly coeval with one another and are laterally linked by displaced carbonates in the siliceous rock succession.     

Geochemistry and LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating of the Dongjiahe ophiolite complex from the western Bikou terrane

The Dongjiahe ophiolite complex occurring in the western Bikou terrane that is composed chiefly of serpentinite, listwanitizational peridotite, gabbro, cumulus gabbro, and sub-alkaline meta-basalt, possesses a rock association of typical ophiolite sequence. The metaperidotite is depleted in light rare earth element (LREE), whereas the gabbro and meta-basalt from the studied ophiolite sequence, generated by the same parental magmas those have close affinity to the MORB (Mid-ocean ridge basalt), their REE and immobile elements patterns imply an ocean in the northern margin of the Yangtze plate during the Neoproterozoic period. The zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating for the gabbro yields a weighted mean age of 839.2±8.2Ma, suggesting that the basin occurred during the Neoproterozoic period.     

Geochemistry and LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating of the Dongjiahe ophiolite complex from the western Bikou terrane

The Dongjiahe ophiolite complex occurring in the western Bikou terrane that is composed chiefly of serpentinite, listwanitizational peridotite, gabbro, cumulus gabbro, and sub-alkaline meta-basalt, possesses a rock association of typical ophiolite sequence. The metaperidotite is depleted in light rare earth element (LREE), whereas the gabbro and meta-basalt from the studied ophiolite sequence, generated by the same parental magmas those have close affinity to the MORB (Mid-ocean ridge basalt), their REE and immobile elements patterns imply an ocean in the northern margin of the Yangtze plate during the Neoproterozoic period. The zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating for the gabbro yields a weighted mean age of 839.2±8.2Ma, suggesting that the basin occurred during the Neoproterozoic period.

     

青藏高原拉萨地块中部上三叠统多布日组沉积岩古地磁研究及其构造意义

拉萨地块晚古生代至早新生代期间的演化历史对理解青藏高原的形成和演化至关重要.本文报道了青藏高原中部申扎地区上三叠统多布日组沉积岩的古地磁学、岩石磁学和岩相学分析结果.岩石磁学结果显示红层、灰岩和灰绿色砂岩分别以赤铁矿,赤铁矿与磁铁矿,以及磁铁矿为主要载磁矿物.岩相学结果表明红层、灰岩和灰绿色砂岩中的磁性矿物主要为自生成因.对60个采点（602块样品）进行系统热退磁实验,结果揭示出多布日组沉积岩的特征剩磁方向在地理坐标系下为D_g=13.9°,I_g=38.9°（α_95g=0.9°）,在地层坐标系下为D_s=16.7°,I_s=8.4°（α_95s=1.5°）.进一步对其特征剩磁方向进行逐步褶皱展平检验,结果显示精度参数k的极大值在9.9%展平状态下最大,对应的特征剩磁方向为D=14.4°,I=35.9°（α₉₅=0.9°）,古地磁极为72.9°N,216.2°E（dp=0.6°,dm=1°）.这一古地磁极与拉萨地块54~47 Ma的古地磁极接近,表明其重磁化时间可能发生在54~47 Ma期间.结合前人获得的拉萨地块新生代早期古地磁数据以及同期的欧亚大陆古纬度数据,我们推断拉萨地块在56~44 Ma时相对欧亚大陆发生了1676±577 km的南北向构造缩短.

     

Seismic stratigraphy and sedimentation history of the East Mariana Basin,western Pacific

An interpretation of the seismic stratigraphy and sedimentation history of the East Mariana Basin has been made using recently collected seismic reflection and refraction data. This Mesozoic(?) age basin, between the Marshall Islands and the Mariana Trench, is subdivided into three regions. The central region with about 1000 m of sediment probably records Jurassic to Late Cretaceous sedimentation of a pelagic biogenic and clay-rich section overlain by a thick section of mainly Cenozoic carbonates shed from nearby volcanic platforms. A western region is characterized by a thinner sediment cover and a shallower acoustic basement with a similar sedimentation history except that the upper section is thinner as a consequence of fewer nearby volcanic highs. Extensive Late Cretaceous mid-plate volcanics apparently masks the lower section and forms acoustic basement. The shallower eastern region (east of 157.5°E) contains WNW-trending ridges which may be either fracture zones or high-amplitude abyssal hills. The sedimentation appears controlled by the same factors as in the other regions but the area was bypassed by most Cenozoic basin-filling turbidites because of its elevation.The isostatistically corrected basement depths between the three regions suggest that the crust in the east may be substantially younger than in the rest of the East Mariana Basin, perhaps Cretaceous in age. This requires the existence of a tectonic boundary within the basin.     

Discovery of Early Triassic conodonts in western Gangdisê and the establishment of the Tangnale Formation

Most geologists believe that there are no Early and Middle Triassic strata in the W. Gandisê stratigraphic subregion, but the present authors have found Early Triassic conodonts for the first time in the Shiquanhe area, including five conodonts genera (Form genera): Pachycladina, Neohindeodella, Cornudina, Hadrodontina and Hibbardella sp. etc. Then we affirm that Early Triassic deposits exist in the Gandisê stratigraphic subregion, and establish the Tangnale Formation. The conclusion is new important complementary basal data for Triassic stratigraphy division of Gangdisê, reconstructing palaogeography and studying Gangdisê from Paleozoic to Mesozoic island-arc evolution and transi-tion.     

利用接收函数方法研究西秦岭构造带及其邻区地壳结构

根据西秦岭构造带及其周边地区117个宽频带地震台站的高质量波形数据, 利用远震P波接收函数的H-k叠加方法, 求得地壳厚度和平均波速比. 通过分析地壳厚度、 波速比及其关系和接收函数CCP叠加剖面, 研究了该区域的地壳结构特征. 结果表明, 研究区域内地壳结构差异大, 呈过渡带特征. 地壳厚度总体上呈北北西向分布, 自西南向东北逐渐减小. 羌塘块体地壳厚度为72 km, 渭河盆地附近为39 km. 西秦岭构造带的地壳厚度为42—56 km, 南北向莫霍界面平坦. 研究区域P波与S波波速比平均为1.74, 其中西秦岭构造带平均为1.72. 较低的波速比主要分布在西秦岭构造带、 祁连山块体、 松潘—甘孜地块北部以及香山—天景山断裂区域, 这可能是由于含长英质酸性岩组分的上地壳叠置增厚而导致的. 该区域缺少超高波速比, 表明这一区域发生岩浆底侵或上地壳熔融的可能性很小. 综合分析表明, 西秦岭构造带及邻区的地壳结构主要是由于青藏高原隆升并在向东北向扩张中受到周边块体的阻挡而引起的地壳构造变形所致. 西秦岭构造带的莫霍界面变化和波速比分布与该构造带经历碰撞地壳增厚后的伸展走滑运动有关.     

Chronology and petrogenesis of the Hejiazhuang granitoid pluton and its constraints on the Early Triassic tectonic evolution of the South Qinling Belt

The Hejiazhuang pluton is located in the South Qinling Tectonic Belt(SQTB)in the north side of the Mianxian-Lueyang Suture Zone,and consists dominantly of granodiorites.LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating and Lu-Hf isotopic analyses reveal that these granodiorites of the Hejiazhaung pluton emplaced at~248 Ma,and show a large variation in zirconεHf(t)values from4.8 to 8.8.These granodiorite samples are attributed to high-K to mid-K calc-alkaline series,and characterized by high SiO2(66.6%–70.0%),Al2O3(15.04%–16.10%)and Na2O(3.74%–4.33%)concentrations,with high Mg#(54.2–61.7).All samples have high Sr(627–751 ppm),Cr(55–373 ppm)and Ni(17.2–182 ppm),but low Y(5.42–8.41 ppm)and Yb(0.59–0.74 ppm)concentrations with high Sr/Y ratios(84.90–120.66).They also display highly fractionated REE patterns with(La/Yb)N ratios of 18.9–34.0 and positive Eu anomalies(δEu=1.10–2.22)in the chondrite-normalized REE patterns.In the primitive mantle normalized spidergrams,these samples exhibit enrichment in LILEs but depletion in Nb,Ta,P and Ti.These geochemical features indicate that the granodioritic magma of the Hejiazhuang pluton was derived from the partial melting of hybrid sources comprising the subducted oceanic slab and sediments,and the melts were polluted by the mantle wedge materials during their ascent.The emplacement ages and petrogenesis of the Hejiazhuang pluton prove that the initial subduction of the Mianlue oceanic crust occurred at~248 Ma ago,and the SQTB was still under subduction tectonic setting in the Early Triassic.     

西秦岭温泉岩体的磁组构特征及其侵位机制意义

结合岩石磁学、磁化率各向异性度与区域构造分析了西秦岭温泉岩体的侵位机制及意义.温泉岩体的样品的平均磁化率k_m值总体很大,岩石磁学表明对于磁化率较低的样品,顺磁性矿物（如黑云母等）对磁化率的贡献较大,而少量铁磁性矿物（如磁铁矿等）可能作为剩磁载体.对于磁化率较高的样品,其主要载磁矿物为磁铁矿;花岗岩样品的校正磁化率各向异性度P_J总体小于1.2,显示了岩体为流动磁组构的特征,磁化率椭球体形态参数T总体大于0,扁率E总体大于1,以压扁椭球体为主;岩体的磁面理同磁线理相比更为发育,样品的磁面理普遍表现出围绕岩体边界分布的特点,且倾角较陡;而在岩体内部磁线理与磁面理分布相对散乱,定向性差,这一特征说明温泉岩体的磁组构主要由侵位时的侧向挤压作用形成的;虽然岩体的磁组构特征总体显示了N-NEE和SW向的挤压作用,但岩体侵位时由商丹缝合带闭合所产生的垂直于缝合带方向的挤压作用已相对较弱.本文认为,温泉岩体侵位时是一种弱挤压环境,或者是一种相对稳定的环境甚至可能是一种相对引张的背景,这与温泉岩体形成于后碰撞环境,秦岭造山带已演化至后碰撞拆沉作用发生的伸展阶段所反映的区域构造背景是一致的.     

High-frequency time-series of the dynamic sedimentation processes on the western shelf of the Mississippi River Delta

Multiple box cores were collected on the continental shelf in the Mississippi Deltaic Region adjacent to Southwest Pass and analyzed for particle reactive radionuclides ²³⁴Th and ⁷Be to examine seasonal sediment dynamics associated with variations of river discharge and hydrodynamics. Three stations located along a line west of Southwest Pass were cored and reoccupied in October, November, and December of 2003 and March, April, and May of 2004. High-frequency sampling (∼monthly) comparable to the short half-life of the radiotracers (²³⁴Th t_1/2=24.1 d; ⁷Be t_1/2=53.3) enabled us to isolate the relative influence that various forcing agents (river discharge, waves, currents) had on sediment inventories of ⁷Be and ²³⁴Th. In addition, the primary source of ⁷Be (fluvial) differs from ²³⁴Th (marine), providing further insight into processes affecting sediment transport and supply. Monthly ⁷Be inventories showed a significant positive relationship to river discharge (P=0.03) proximal to Southwest Pass. Sites further from Southwest Pass exhibited little to no relationship between ⁷Be inventories and river flow. At these sites, monthly ⁷Be inventories demonstrated a significant positive relationship with average wave orbital velocity (P<0.01). During our sampling period, the transport of ⁷Be-rich sediments to sites located on the middle to outer shelf were dependent on sea conditions not river discharge. Relatively high wave orbital velocities potentially allow particles to remain in suspension longer and travel further distances before initial deposition. In addition, ²³⁴Th inventories showed evidence of sediment focusing during periods of high wave orbital velocities.     

Phase equilibria and metamorphic evolution of garnet‐mica‐plagioclase gneisses from the Qiliping terrane in the western Dabie Orogen,central China

The extensive gneisses in the high‐pressure and ultrahigh‐pressure metamorphic terrane in the Dabie‐Sulu orogen usually show no evidence of eclogite‐facies metamorphism. The garnet‐mica‐plagioclase gneisses from the Qiliping region in the western Dabie Orogen, comprise garnet, phengite, biotite, plagioclase, quartz, rutile, ilmenite, chlorite, epidote, and hornblende. The garnet porphyroblasts, with inclusions of quartz, epidote, and rutile, exhibit slight compositional zonations, from core to mantle with an increase in pyrope and a decrease in spessartine, and from mantle to rim with a decrease in pyrope and grossular and an increase in spessartine. The high‐Si phengite indicates that the gneisses may be subjected to a high‐pressure metamorphism. By the P–T pseudosections calculated in a system NCKMnFMASHTO (Na₂O‐CaO‐K₂O‐MnO‐FeO‐MgO‐Al₂O₃‐SiO₂‐H₂O‐TiO₂‐O) for two representative samples, the metamorphic P–T path, reconstructed by the compositionally zoned garnet, shows that the prograde metamorphism is characterized by a temperature increase with a slight pressure increase from the conditions of 17.6 ± 1.5 kbar at 496 ± 15°C to the peak‐pressure ones of 21.8 ± 1.5–22.7 ± 1.5 kbar at 555 ± 15–561 ± 15°C; the early retrograde stage is dominated by decompression with a temperature increase to the maximum of 608 ± 15–611 ± 18°C at 10.3 ± 1.5–11.0 ± 1.5 kbar; and the late retrograde one is predominated by pressure and temperature decreases. The mineral assemblages in the prograde metamorphism are predicted to contain garnet, glaucophane, jadeite, lawsonite, phengite, quartz, rutile, and/or chlorite, which is different from those observed at present. Such high‐pressure metamorphism can partly be reconstructed by the P–T pseudosection in combination with the high‐Si phengite and garnet compositions in the core and mantle. This provides an important constraint on the subduction and exhumation of the terrane during the continent–continent collision between the Yangtze and Sino‐Korean cratons.     

影响松潘地区深反射地震数据品质的几种因素

深反射地震剖面技术是揭示岩石圈精细结构的有效手段,获得高质量的原始资料是揭示岩石圈精细结构探讨地球动力学过程的前提和基础.松潘地块地表条件和地下地质构造复杂,资料信噪比低.本文针对松潘地区地表地质条件、激发接收条件及环境等因素,通过实例数据对比分析影响该工区原始单炮记录品质的主要原因,为反射地震勘探数据采集工作提供几点参考和建议.     

松潘台拱背氡值资料变化分析

松潘拱背水氡值自1977年11月投入观测以来,其年变化规律呈现的是冬低夏高的形态。通过分析发现,汶川8．0级地震以前,水氡观测值既存在1～3年的中长期趋势变化又表现出3个月左右的短期变化,但临震突跳变化并不突出;而气氡观测值在地震孕育、发生和震后存在以短临突跳的方式相对应,变化幅度在50％以上。但由于观测时间短,这个认识有待进一步探讨研究。2007年底该台增上了数字化气氡观测仪器。通过总结反思,发现松潘台拱背观测水点氡观测值的变化与龙门山断裂带破坏性地震的孕育、发生有一定的对应关系,这些变化为今后研究地下水氡含量变化与附近地震的发生提供了一个很好的对应例子。松潘地震台的水氡和气氡观测值变化能较好地反映龙门山构造带应力积累和地震孕育信息。     

Geochemical and Pb-Sr-Nd isotopic compositions of granitoids from western Qinling belt: Constraints on basement nature and tectonic affinity

Geochemical and Pb-Sr-Nd isotopic compositions of five Indosinian granitoid intrusions from the western Qinling belt provide insights into basement nature and tectonic affinity. The results show that the western Qinling granitoids incline towards basic in their bulk chemical composition. The granitoids belong to high-K to shoshonitic series with K2O/Na2O=1.04-1.86 and are dominantly metaluminous with A/CNK=0.90-1.05 (most samples have A/CNK of <1.0). They have similar trace elemental compo- sitional patterns. In Sr-Nd isotopic compositions, they display some extent heterogeneity with Isr=0.70682-0.70845, εNd(t)=?4.85 to ?9.17 and TDM=1.26-1.66 Ga. They are characterized by high ra- diogenic Pb isotopic compositions. Their initial Pb isotopic ratios are 206Pb/204Pb=17.996-18.468, 207Pb/204Pb=15.565-15.677 and 208Pb/204Pb=38.082-38.587. Geochemical and Sr-Nd isotopic composi- tions reveal that magma for the granitoids was derived from partial melting of high-K (Rb) basaltic rocks, which might be formed in 900-1400 Ma. It is suggested that a large amount of the Proterozoic high-K (Rb) basaltic rocks, which underlie the Phanerozoic sedimentary cover, constitute the crustal basement of the western Qinling belt. Pb-Sr-Nd isotopic compositional comparison between the east- ern Qinling and the western Qinling Indosinian granitoids indicates that the crustal basement of the western Qinling is distinct from that of the eastern Qinling. The Baoji-Chengdu railway close to south-north orientation can be taken as an approximate boundary between both basements. The Pb-Nd isotopic compositional characteristics of the western Qinling granitoids suggest that the basement of the western Qinling belt has an affinity with the Yangtze block.     

Characteristics of the crustal and mantle structures across Lhasa terrane

The Himalayan-Tibetan orogen is the youngest and arguably most spectacular of all the continent-continent collisional belts on the Earth. There are not only north-south extrusions but also east-west extensions in the Tibetan Plateau. All these phenomena are the results of the Indian plate subducting into the Eurasia plate about 70 Ma ago     

Fluvial suspended sediment transfer and lacustrine sedimentation of recent flood turbidites in proglacial Eklutna Lake,western Chugach Mountains,Alaska

Suspended sediment delivery and deposition in proglacial lakes is generally sensitive to a wide range of hydrometeorologic and geomorphic controls. High discharge conditions are of particular importance in many glaciolacustrine records, with individual floods potentially recorded as distinctive turbidites. We used an extensive network of surface sediment cores and hydroclimatic monitoring data to analyse recent flood turbidites and associated sediment transfer controls over instrumental periods at Eklutna Lake, western Chugach Mountains, Alaska. Close to a decade of fluvial data from primary catchment tributaries show a dominating influence of discharge on sediment delivery, with various interconnections with other related hydroclimatic controls. Multivariate fluvial models highlight and help quantify some complexities in sediment transfer, including intra-annual variations, meteorological controls, and the influence of subcatchment glacierization. Sediments deposited in Eklutna Lake during the last half century are discontinuously varved and contain multiple distinctive turbidites. Over a 30-year period of stratigraphic calibration, we correlate the four thickest flood turbidites (1989, 1995, 2006, and 2012) to specific regional storms. The studied turbidites correlate with late-summer and early-autumn rainstorms with a magnitude of relatively instantaneous sedimentation 3–15 times greater than annual background accumulation. Our network of sediment core data captured the broad extent and sediment variability among the study turbidites and background sediment yield. Within-lake spatial modelling of deposition quantifies variable rates of downlake thinning and sediment focusing effects, and highlights especially large differences between the thickest flood turbidites and background sedimentation. This we primarily relate to strongly contrasting dispersion processes controlled by inflow current strength and turbidity. Sediment delivery is of interest for this catchment because of reservoir and water supply operations. Furthermore, although smaller floods may not be consistently represented, the lake likely contains a valuable proxy record of regional flooding proximal to major population centers of south-central Alaska including Anchorage.