Mud volcanoes, olistostromes and Argille scagliose in the Mediterranean region

Tectonic and sedimentary mélanges, rocks with block-in-matrix fabric often referred to as 'chaotic', are widespread in the circum-Mediterranean collisional orogenic belts as well as in submerged Mediterranean Arcs. These rock types have been defined originally as 'Argille scagliose' (Bianconi, 1840) and 'olistostromes' (Flores, 1955, 1959) in the outcrops of the Apennine chain (Italy). Both terminology and concepts have undergone a rather complex evolution through time owing to the gradual recognition of similar chaotic bodies in all the circum-Mediterranean orogenic belts. Submarine mud volcanoes of the Mediterranean region, also composed by block-in-matrix, more commonly referred to as mud breccias, have a much younger history. These mud breccias were discovered in 1981 and, since then, a growing number of sea-going geophysical and geological expeditions have allowed the recognition of a major mud volcano belt in the Eastern Mediterranean and of a number of mud diapirs and mud volcano fields from the Black Sea to the Gulf of Cadiz. Structural, textural and genetic similarities between the mud breccias of the Mediterranean mud volcanoes and the olistostromes and Argille scagliose of the Apennines were noted from the very beginning, but the matter has not been the focus of any detailed study. In this paper, the use of the terms in the geological literature is analysed, the distribution of these rock units in the Mediterranean region explored and the assumed genetic processes are identified in order to formulate a common genetic model that can be applied to the evolution of the circum-Mediterranean sedimentary basins.     

The Northern Carpathians plate tectonic evolutionary stages and origin of olistoliths and olistostromes

The olistostromes formed in Northern Carpathians during the different stages of the development of flysch basins, from rift trough post-rift, orogenic to postorogenic stage. They are known from the Cretaceous, Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene and Early Miocene flysch deposits of main tectonic units. Those units are the Skole, Subsilesian, Silesian, Dukla and Magura nappes as well as the Pieniny Klippen Belt suture zone. The oldest olistoliths in the Northern Carpathians represent the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous rifting and post-rifting stage of the Northern Carpathians and origin of the proto-Silesian basin. They are known from the Upper Jurassic as well as Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous formations. In the southern part of the Polish Northern Carpathians as well as in the adjacent part of Slovakia, the olistoliths are known in the Cretaceous- Paleocene flysch deposits of the Pieniny Klippen Belt Zlatne Unit and in Magura Nappe marking the second stage of the plate tectonic evolution - an early stage of the development of the accretionary prism. The most spectacular olistostromes have been found in the vicinity of Haligovce village in the Pieniny Klippen Belt and in Jaworki village in the border zone between the Magura Nappe and the Pieniny Klippen Belt. Olistoliths that originated during the second stage of the plate tectonic evolution occur also in the northern part of the Polish Carpathians, in the various Upper Cretaceous-Early Miocene flysch deposits within the Magura, Fore-Magura, Dukla, Silesian and Subsilesian nappes. The Fore-Magura and Silesian ridges were destroyed totally and are only interpreted from olistoliths and exotic pebbles in the Outer Carpathian flysch. Their destruction is related to the advance of the accretionary prism. This prism has obliquely overridden the ridges leading to the origin of the Menilite-Krosno basin.

In the final, postcollisional stage of the Northern Carpathian plate tectonic development, some olistoliths were deposited within the late Early Miocene molasse. These are known mainly from the subsurface sequences reached by numerous bore-holes in the western part of the Polish Carpathians as well as from outcrops in Poland and the Czech Republic.

The largest olistoliths (kilometers in size bodies of shallow-water rocks of Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous age) are known from the Moravia region. The largest olistoliths in Poland were found in the vicinity of Andrychów and are known as Andrychów Klippen. The olistostromes bear witness to the processes of the destruction of the Northern Carpathian ridges. The ridge basement rocks, their Mesozoic platform cover, Paleogene deposits of the slope as well as older Cretaceous flysch deposits partly folded and thrust within the prism slid northward toward the basin, forming the olistostromes.     

内蒙古平安地元古代构造混杂岩的发现与地质意义

正研究区位于内蒙古东部天山镇西平安地地区,古生代大地构造位置由南向北可划分为华北板块、白乃庙岛弧和索伦—林西缝合带(图1)。Xiao等(2015)和Jian等(2012)等认为温都尔庙—柯丹山—西拉木伦蛇绿混杂岩带是华北板块和西伯利亚板块的缝合带,研究区则位于该混杂岩带以南白乃庙岛弧一侧。     

Structured serpentinite melanges of the Koryak-Kamchatka fold system

The Kuyul, Taigonos, and Upper Khatyrka structured serpentinite melanges at the Pacific continental margin of Northeast Asia considered in this paper are diverse in tectonic setting, age, and geological history. They are characterized by an ordered internal structure expressed in regular arrangement of rock blocks different in composition. These blocks make up mappable tectonic sheets deformed into complex, nappe-related folds. Difference in the block composition of particular sheets is often combined with different composition of serpentinite matrix. The structured melanges of Cape Povorotny (Taigonos Peninsula) and the Kuyul Terrane were formed during accretion of oceanic complexes to a suprasubduction zone and their subsequent juxtaposition. The Upper Khatyrka melange comprises oceanic, island-arc, and marginal-sea complexes. The study of structured melanges makes it possible to ascertain the history of continental accretion and transformation of the oceanic crust. The combination of ordering and chaotic structure allows us to consider structured melanges as manifestations of nonlinear geodynamics.     

Petrogenesis of Franciscan glaucophane schists and associated metamorphic rocks,California

Rocks of the glaucophane-schist facies are widely though irregularly developed in the Franciscan formation of California. Minerals critical of the facies are lawsonite, aragonite, jadeite and omphacitic pyroxenes associated with quartz; amphiboles of the glaucophane-crossite series are almost ubiquitous. The most widely distributed rock, occurring over areas of many square kilometers, is jadeite-lawsonite metagraywacke, commonly veined with aragonite. More spectacular, but occurring mainly in isolated blocks are coarse-grained glaucophane-lawsonite Schists of many kinds. Commonly, but by no means invariably, they are closely associated with bodies of serpentinite. Also common in the vicinity of serpentinite masses are blocks of amphibolite and eclogite.All the metamorphic rocks are considered to be Franciscan sediments and basic volcanics metamorphosed and metasomatized in the deep levels of a folded geosynclinal prism. Experimental data on the stability fields of jadeite-quartz, aragonite, and lawsonite show that the glaucophane-schist facies represents metamorphism at pressures of between 5 and 10 kb and temperatures of 150–300° C. Such conditions could develop at depths greater than 15 km provided a very low geothermal gradient (10°/km) were maintained. The metagray-wackes are considered to represent a regional response to such conditions.The role of serpentinites in glaucophane-schist metamorphism is discussed in terms of a tentatively proposed model: — In very deep levels — perhaps at depths as great as 30 km, bodies of hot ultramafic magma develop restricted aureoles' in which temperatures of 400–600° C are maintained fer perhaps 100–1000 years. The products of metamorphism, which also involves desilication under the influence of the ultramafic magma, are eclogite and amphibolite. Later, and perhaps at higher levels serpentinization of the now solid ultramafic masses (near 400° C), causes renewed metamorphism at lower grades. Marginal development of glaucophane Schists and prehnite and hydrogarnet rocks, and retrogressive alteration of eclogite and amphibolite to glaucophane-schist assemblages is attributed to this period.     

滇西北点苍山蛇绿混杂岩的发现及意义

点苍山西坡李子坪村分布有较多橄榄岩，围岩是一套中浅变质岩系，其中有斜长角闪岩、变质钠长花岗岩。这些岩石的岩相学、岩石化学及地球化学均显示蛇绿混杂岩特征，暗示点苍山西坡有古特提斯洋壳的残片存在。     

Mud diapirism: the origin of melanges in accretionary complexes?

Chaotic melange deposits, a mixture of blocks in a clay matrix, have commonly been attributed to the mechanism of submarine slumping. In the oceans at the present day slumping does not occur on a sufficiently large scale to produce the quantities of melange seen in ancient accretionary complexes. In modern accretionary complexes, massive shale diapirism produces large volumes of melange, and is an entirely adequate mechanism to account for melanges in ancient complexes.     

Origin and significance of olistostromes in the evolution of orogenic belts: A global synthesis

Olistostromes (sedimentary mélanges) represent the products of ancient submarine mass transport processes. We present a comparative analysis of the occurrences and internal structures of these sedimentary mélanges at a global scale with a focus on the Circum-Mediterranean, Appalachian and Circum-Pacific regions, and discuss their formation and time-progressive evolution in different tectonic settings. Lithological compositions, stratigraphy, and structural features of olistostromes reflect the operation of an entire spectrum of mass transport processes during their development through multi-stage deformation phases. The general physiography and tectonic setting of their depocenters, the nature, scale and rate of downslope transformation mechanisms, and global climatic events are the main factors controlling the internal structure and stratigraphy of olistostromes. Based on the tectonic settings of their formation olistostromes are classified as: (i) passive margin, (ii) convergent margin and subduction–accretion, and (iii) collisional and intra-collisional types. Systematic repetitions of these different olistostrome types in different orogenic belts provide excellent markers for the timing of various tectonic events during the Wilson cycle evolution of ocean basins. Olistostromes are best preserved in paleo active margins, covering vast areas of thousands of km², where they underwent significant downslope translation, up to hundreds of kilometers. Incorporation of olistostromes into subduction–accretion complexes and orogenic belts takes place during discrete episodes of tectonic events, and their primary (sedimentary) fabric may be commonly reworked and overprinted by subsequent phases of tectonic and metamorphic events. We apply the basic nomenclature of structural geology, sedimentology and basin analysis in studying the internal structure, lithological makeup, and mechanisms of formation and extraordinary downslope mobility of olistostromes.     

Methane flux from miniseepage in mud volcanoes of SW Taiwan: Comparison with the data from Italy,Romania, and Azerbaijan

Mud volcanoes (MVs) are considered important methane (CH₄) sources for the atmosphere; gas is not only released from macro-seepage, i.e., from craters and visible gas bubbling manifestations, but also from invisible and pervasive exhalation from the ground, named miniseepage. CH₄ flux related to miniseepage was measured only in a few MVs, in Azerbaijan, Italy, Japan, Romania and Taiwan. This study examines in detail the flux data acquired in 5 MVs and 1 “dry” seep in SW Taiwan, and further compares with other 23 MVs in Italy, Romania and Azerbaijan. Miniseepage from the six manifestations in SW Taiwan MVs and seeps annually contribute at least 110 tons of methane directly to the atmosphere, and represents about ∼80% of total degassing during a quiescent period. Combining miniseepage flux and geo-electrical data from the Wu-shan-ding MV revealed a possible link between gas flux and electrical resistivity of the vadose zone. This suggests that unsaturated subsoil is a preferential zone for shallow gas accumulation and seepage to the atmosphere. Besides, miniseepage flux in Chu-huo everlasting fire decreases by increasing the distance from the main gas channeling zone and molecular fractionation (methane/ethane ratio) is higher for lower flux seepage, consistently with what observed in other MVs worldwide. Measurements from Azerbaijan, Italy, Romania, and Taiwan converge to indicate that miniseepage is directly proportional to the vent output and it is a significant component of the total methane budget of a MV. A miniseepage vs. macro-seepage flux equation has been statistically assessed and it can be used to estimate theoretically at least the order of magnitude of the flux of miniseepage for MVs of which only the flux from vents was evaluated, or will be evaluated in future. This will allow a more complete and objective quantification of gas emission in MVs, thus also refining the estimate of the global methane emission from geological sources.     

秦岭勉县—略阳地区的构造混杂岩及其意义

秦岭造山带勉县长坝和略阳横现河地区发现的混杂岩均由不同性质的构造岩块和基质组成，混杂岩基质为受到不同变质作用的泥质岩或砂岩，属泥沙质混杂岩；构造岩块包括原地岩块和外来岩块两种基本类型，岩块大小不一，成分和形态复杂，在混杂岩中分布无序，两地区混杂岩普遍受到不同程度的褶皱变形和剪切作用，并且与两侧岩层以剪切带接触，综合研究表明长坝，横现河混杂岩明显区别于沉积成因的滑塌堆积，具典型构造混杂岩的性质特点，是勉略板块缝合带的重要标志。     

Formation conditions of Upper Eocene olistostromes and retro-overthrusts at the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus

The paper considers age, formation conditions, and tectonic setting of Upper Eocene olistostromes of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus. The formation of olistostromes resulted from the contribution of coarse-clastic material to the Late Eocene basin, which was related to the erosion of thrusted sheets of the Racha–Vandam cordillera of the Gagra–Java zone of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus and concomitant multiple catastrophic landslide processes. In the Early Pliocene (Rodanian folding phase), Upper Eocene olistostromes along with nappes of the flysch zone were thrust to the south. In the pre- Quaternary (Valakh) folding phase, due to intense shortening, olistostromes in the frontal part of nappes were squeezed, displaced to the north, and thrust with the formation of retro-overthrust, fragments of which remain as isolated blocks (klippen) inside the flysch zone.     

Low-grade blueschist facies metamorphism of metagreywackes, Franciscan Complex, northern California

Abstract Metagreywackes in the Eastern Belt of the Franciscan Complex contain the assemblage: Qtz + Ab + Lws + Chl + Ph + Pmp + Fgl + Hem ° Cal/Arg or compatible subassemblages. Blue amphibole first appears in the westernmost part of the belt and pumpellyite is absent in the eastern part. The compositions of the coexisting minerals and the nature of the continuous reactions in these low-grade blueschists suggest that the distribution of blue amphibole and pumpellyite in the Eastern Belt of the Franciscan Complex reflects differences of effective bulk composition rather than differences in physical conditions of metamorphism. In rocks lacking pumpellyite, white mica may be essential to the growth of blue amphibole, but carbonate plays only a limited role. The continuous reaction that limits the appearance of blue amphibole and the disappearance of coexisting pumpellyite has the general form: Pmp + Chl + Ab + Qtz + Hem + H₂O + FeMg_-1= Fgl + Lws. This reaction requires significant hydration as pressure increases in order to produce blue amphibole. Most of the Eastern Belt of the Franciscan Complex formed in limited ranges of temperature and pressure, which are estimated to be 240—280° C, 6.5-7.5 kbar. Pressures in the westernmost part of the area were about 1 kbar lower than in the east. Pressures of about 8.5-10 kbar are estimated for tectonic blocks that contain sodic clinopyroxene.     

北祁连石灰沟奥陶纪中堡群滑塌堆积特征及其古地理环境意义

北祁连永登县石灰沟作为奥陶纪中堡群命名地,历来是研究北祁连奥陶纪构造演化的理想场所。依据实测地层剖面,石灰沟奥陶纪中堡群可以划分为上、下两段:下段以中基性火山岩、火山碎屑岩为主;上段以出现大量碳酸盐岩、硅质岩、粉砂岩,夹中基性火山碎屑岩为特征。野外调查过程中发现,中堡群上段发育多层硅质岩,其层内发育强烈的构造变形。经岩石组合、地层序列、沉积相、火山喷发相、变形特征及空间组合关系研究,认为该套特殊的沉积层系为典型的滑塌堆积。根据滑塌堆积的内部结构特征及火山-沉积相序等分析,初步判断其形成于靠近岛弧的深水盆地环境,具多岛洋构造背景。这将为恢复和建立北祁连造山带奥陶纪沉积环境和古地理演化提供可靠依据,也为进一步研究北祁连奥陶纪沟-弧-盆体系空间格局提供了重要沉积学佐证。     

Origin of Franciscan blueschist-bearing melange at San Simeon,central California coast

Block-in-matrix melanges at San Simeon have been variously interpreted as deformed olistostromes or as subduction-channel flow melanges. Detailed examination shows that seven types can be distinguished, with transitions among them. All contain exotic clasts of greenstone, chert, and more rarely blueschist, in addition to greywacke; the same materials also occur as blocks metres to tens of metres in diameter immersed in melange. The seven types are (1) bedded conglomerate, (2) structureless conglomerate, (3) mud-matrix conglomerate, (4) sandy block melange, (5) broken formation, (6) mud-matrix melange without deformational fabric, and (7) sheared melange. Types (1)–(3) are clearly sedimentary in origin. Types (4) and (5) were formed from unconsolidated sediment, most likely by down-slope sliding, and transitional types suggest that the mud-matrix melange (6) formed in the same way. Sheared melange (7) was formed by low-temperature post-consolidational deformation of all other types, which produced shear bands and a crude scaly fabric.

Kinematic indicators of shear direction are rare, but assuming the fabric and shear bands are coeval, the shear direction and sense can be determined from the angular relationship between the two planar fabrics. Most shear planes are gently dipping, with normal-sense displacements of a few centimetres to tens of centimetres. Shear directions are highly variable, with the highest concentrations between WNW and S. This suggests that the main phase of shearing took place during a phase of approximately vertical shortening and horizontal extension, rather than during accretion. Post-accretionary dextral shearing on NNW-trending vertical planes, and sinistral shear on a variety of trends, are likely related to Neogene transform tectonics. The simplest interpretation of these relationships is that the disrupted character of the melanges formed primarily by sliding down the trench inner slope of unconsolidated sediment, including clasts and blocks of previously accreted and exhumed greenstone, chert, and blueschist. The deformational fabric is largely unrelated to the disruption, and was formed during late-stage extension in the accretionary wedge.     

CO2-poor composition of the fluid attending Franciscan and Sanbagawa low-grade metamorphism

Previous phase equilibrium and oxygen isotopic researches on the high-pressure, low-temperature metamorphic rocks of the Franciscan and Sanbagawa blueschist type terranes have demonstrated the near ubiquity of a fluid at high (≈ total) pressure and its oxygen-rich nature during metamorphism. The coexistence of quartz with a CaCO₃ polymorph instead of wollastonite, and of sphene rather than rutile + quartz + calcium carbonate in these rocks places narrow, rather low limits on the partial pressures of CO₂, as computed in this note; equilibrium calculations indicate that the mole fraction of carbon dioxide in the fluid must have been less than about 0.04 in the Sanbagawa terrane and less than 0.01 in the Franciscan terrane. The rocks are not sulfated or strongly oxidized, hence the only other likely component which could comprise the balance of this phase is H₂O. Evidently metamorphism in the Sanbagawa belt and particularly in the Franciscan terrane must have taken place in the presence of a highly aqueous fluid.     

Perspectives on the roles of melanges in subduction accretionary complexes: A review

Melanges play three principal, overlapping roles in the architecture of subduction accretionary complexes (SACs) during and after SAC formation. First, tectonic melanges serve as zones of concentrated deformation within and below the accreted rocks that are assembled during the subduction-accretion process. These melanges facilitate preservation of inter-melange, less deformed, accretionary units (AUs). Beneath the trench side of the SAC, the initial deformation zone along the decollement at the top of the down-going plate is marked by non-melange, tectonically dismembered formations or thinner units of scaly rock and breccia that separate accreted rocks above from the subducting rocks below. Olistostromal rocks may be incorporated into the decollement here. In the mid-arc to inner-arc areas of the SAC, exotic block-bearing mélanges develop in zones of tectonic fragmentation and mixing of accreting ocean plate stratigraphy, in mud diapirs, and along out-of-sequence faults, some of which facilitate uplift of high-pressure rocks and serpentinite-matrix mélanges. Second, after accretion, the sedimentary, tectonic, diapiric, and polygenetic mélange units serve as single block or sheet architectural AUs (or subunits within larger accreted AUs) of the SAC. Diapiric melanges and sedimentary olistostromal mélanges formed in and above SAC fault blocks, respectively, may become incorporated into the SAC during ongoing deformation and become architectural units, as well. Third, melanges serve as post-subduction stress guides that focus shear strain during continuing and post-accretion deformation of SACs, allowing ongoing modification of the SAC during progressive deformation of the orogen. Examples of each type of role reveal the importance of all three processes in the current architecture of outer orogenic belts.     

内蒙古温都尔庙地区首次识别出古生代蛇绿混杂岩

正研究区位于内蒙古苏尼特右旗温都尔庙地区(图1),是古生代存在于西伯利亚板块与华北板块之间的古亚洲洋闭合之后形成的索伦山-西拉木伦对接带的重要组成部分(Zhang et al.,2014;潘桂棠等,2016)。本文是在1∶5万区调工作的基础上~(1),应用洋板块地质学(OPG)理论及造山带填图方法,     

阿尔金红柳沟蛇绿混杂岩中MORB与OIB组合的地球化学证据

阿尔金红柳沟地区早古生代蛇绿混杂带中含有地幔橄榄岩、辉长辉绿岩、细碧化玄武岩、硅质岩、复理石等岩石组合。笔者研究证实，该地区蛇绿岩中变基性岩具有过渡型洋中脊玄武岩（T－MORB）的特征，并发现蛇绿岩在混杂带中与洋岛玄武岩（OIB）共生。在球粒陨石标准化的稀土元素配分图上，T－MORB型变基性岩配分型式为平坦型；OIB中TiO2含量高，近3％，富集高场强元素Nb、Ta等，稀土元素配分型式为轻稀土富集型。MORB和OIB组合的出现说明早古生代时，该地区存在过洋盆。这一组合可与北祁连进行对比。