Constraining the mid-crustal channel flow beneath the Tibetan Plateau: data from the Nielaxiongbo gneiss dome,SE Tibet

Gneiss domes involving the South Tibetan Detachment System provide evidence for crustal extension simultaneous with shortening. The Nielaxiongbo gneiss dome is composed of a metamorphic complex of granitic gneiss, amphibolite, and migmatite; a ductilely deformed middle crustal layer of staurolite- or garnet-bearing schist; and a cover sequence of weakly metamorphosed Triassic and Lower Cretaceous strata. The middle crust ductilely deformed layer is separated from both the basement complex and the cover sequence by lower and upper detachments, respectively, with a smaller detachment fault occurring within the ductilely deformed layer. Leucogranites crosscut the basement complex, the lower detachment, and the middle crustal layer, but do not intrude the upper detachment or the cover sequence. Three deformational fabrics are recognized: a N–S compressional fabric (D₁) in the cover sequence, a north- and south-directed extensional fabric (D₂) in the upper detachment and lower tectonic units, and a deformation (D₃) related to the leucogranite intrusion. SHRIMP zircon U–Pb dating yielded a metamorphic age of ～514 million years for the amphibolite and a crystallization age of ～20 million years for the leucogranite. Hornblende from the amphibolite has an ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 18 ± 0.3 million years, whereas muscovites from the schist and leucogranite yielded ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages between 13.5 ± 0.2 and 13.0 ± 0.2 million years. These results suggest that the basement was consolidated at ～510 Ma and then exhumed during extension and silicic plutonism at ～20 Ma. Continuing exhumation led to cooling through the 500°C Ar closure temperature in hornblende at ～18 Ma to the 350°C Ar closure temperature in muscovite at ～13 Ma. The middle crustal ductilely deformed layer within gneiss domes of southern Tibet defines a southward-extruding ductile channel, marked by leucogranites emplaced into migmatites and amphibolites. We propose a model involving thinned upper crust for the initial extension of the Tibetan Plateau in the early Miocene.     

K-Ar法地质年龄标准物质ZBJ角闪石的定值结果

为了满足K-Ar定年中K和40Ar*分析的质量监控及Ar-Ar法样品在反应堆照射时中子通量监测的需要,我国氩同位素年代学工作者研制了一个K-Ar法年龄标准物质ZBJ角闪石,它采自北京房山花岗闪长岩体。它的40Ar-39Ar阶段加热分析结果表明:40Ar*在矿物晶格中保存均匀稳定,年龄谱平坦,39Ar析出量高达97%。这些证据充分表明该黑云母结晶以后未受过热扰动,40K-40Ar*同位素计时体系封闭良好。坪年龄为133.3±0.6Ma,总气体年龄为134.4±1.4Ma,36Ar/40Ar-39Ar/40Ar反等时线年龄为133.2±0.8Ma,40Ar/36Ar初始值为297.6±4.8,此值与(40Ar/36Ar)a大气氩丰度比(295.5±0.5)处于同一范围,表明样品不含过剩氩。这几个年龄值的一致性,说明该样品具有良好的均匀性和稳定性,它作为K-Ar和Ar-Ar法地质年龄标准物质是适合的。ZBJ角闪石均匀性检验结果表明:在0.05显著性水平下经统计学方法检验,证明K和40Ar*的F分布值小于F临界值,说明该样品是均匀的。国内8个实验室参加了ZBJ角闪石K含量和40Ar*含量的定值分析,经统计学方法检验,结果显示全部定值数据都服从正态分布并具等精度。在置信概率为0.95时,40Ar*和K含量的相对标准偏差都小于1%。两个特性量值定值分析结果的一致值(认定值)和不确定度分别为:40Ar*=(2.464±0.018)×10-10mol/g,K=(1.027±0.008)%,K-Ar年龄(标准值)=133.3±1.5Ma(2σ)。此标准物质纯度为98.1%,粒度为0.15～0.30mm,总重量为740g,缩分成最小样品单元共100瓶,每瓶7.4g,可供我国K-Ar和Ar-Ar法同位素年代学实验室使用37年。     

Excess and Radiogenic Argon in High-Pressure Mylonites of the Tan-Lu Fault Zone, Eastern China

Bulk separates of porphyroclastic phengite, neoformed phengite and their mixtures from the Tan-Lu HP mylonites overprinted on the Sulu UHP rocks were analyzed with the 40Ar/39Ar step heating method. Two samples of the neoformed phengite from ultramylonite give 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages of 209.9±1.8 Ma and 214.3±1.8 Ma, which are interpreted as representing cooling times of the TanLu sinistral faulting, and provide geochronological evidence for the syn-orogenic faulting of the Tan-Lu fault zone. The results show that the phengite formed during the retrograde eclogite-facies mylonitization was not contaminated with excess argon and can be used for dating the deformation. Argon closure in previous K-bearing minerals with excess argon under a retrograde HP dry condition is considered to be the reason for lack of excess argon incorporation in the neoformed phengite. Five porphyroclastic phengite samples yield 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages ranging from 666±12 Ma to 307.1±3.3 Ma, which are interpreted as being contaminated with excess argon. Two mixture samples with plateau ages of 239.4±2.1 Ma and 239.3±2.0 Ma show upward-convex age spectra caused by the mixture of older porphyroclastic phengite with excess argon incorporation and younger neoformed phengite without excess argon incorporation. It is demonstrated that excess argon introduced from the previous UHP metamorphism is still preserved in the pre-existing phengite after the Tan-Lu eclogite-facies mylonitization. The intense deformation under HT and HP conditions cannot erase excess argon in the previous phengite totally due to restricted fluid activities. These porphyroclastic phengite previously contaminated with excess argon cannot be used for dating the later HP deformation. This indicates that deformation under a HP dry condition does not play an important role in removing previous 40Are in phengite.     

Cooling of a Late-Syn Orogenic Pluton: Evidence from Laser K-feldspar Modelling of the Carion Granite,Madagascar

Since the late 1980s, it has been hypothesized that the wide range of apparent argon ages seen within single K-feldspar samples might be due to a distribution of diffusion domain sizes within the mineral. To test and apply this idea, an analytical technique that combines conventional laboratory degassing experiments (resistance heating) with numerical inversion procedures has been developed to extract cooling history information from feldspars. A key part of the method involves careful control of temperature in the laboratory to constrain the diffusion parameters of the feldspar samples. In our study, we have K-feldspar data from single crystals that mimic the types of data seen in classic resistance heater fusion experiments. Our step-heating data are based on using a continuous argon-ion laser with no direct control on temperature. However, with only a single added free parameter in the model, we show that it is possible to analyze this data in the multi-domain style, and make some simple inferences on the nature of the cooling history of the Carion pluton in central Madagascar. The Carion granitic pluton in central Madagascar was intruded into warm continental crust following orogenic events related to the final amalgamation of Gondwana. U-Pb SHRIMP dating of the pluton yields an emplacement age of 532.1 ± 5.2 Ma followed by relatively slow cooling as constrained by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages on hornblende, biotite and K-feldspar. Four hornblende samples yielded a mean ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 512.7 ± 2.6 Ma. A biotite sample yielded an age of 478.9 ± 1.0 Ma and modeled K-feldspar ages show cooling from 350° C at 466 Ma to 100° C by 410 Ma. Collectively, the data suggest that the pluton cooled from 850° C at 532.1 ± 5.2 (U-Pb zircon) Ma to 500° C at 512.7 ± 2.6 Ma (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar hornblende), or approximately 18 °C/Ma slowing to ∼4 °C/Ma between 512 Ma and 478 Ma and finally to about 3°C/Ma between 478 and 410 Ma.     

A new understanding of Demala Group complex in Chayu Area,southeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: Evidence from zircon U-Pb and mica 40Ar/39Ar dating

The Chayu area is located at the southeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. This region was considered to be in the southeastward extension of the Lhasa Block, bounded by Nujiang suture zone in the north and Yarlung Zangbo suture zone in the south. The Demala Group complex, a set of high-grade metamorphic gneisses widely distributed in the Chayu area, is known as the Precambrian metamorphic basement of the Lhasa Block in the area. According to field-based investigations and microstructure analysis, the Demala Group complex is considered to mainly consist of banded biotite plagiogneisses, biotite quartzofeldspathic gneiss, granitic gneiss, amphibolite, mica schist, and quartz schist, with many leucogranite veins. The zircon U-Pb ages of two granitic gneiss samples are 205 ± 1 Ma and 218 ± 1 Ma, respectively, representing the ages of their protoliths. The zircons from two biotite plagiogneisses samples show core-rim structures. The U-Pb ages of the cores are mainly 644 –446 Ma, 1213 –865 Ma, and 1780 –1400 Ma, reflecting the age characteristics of clastic zircons during sedimentation of the original rocks. The U-Pb ages of the rims are from 203 ± 2 Ma to 190 ± 1 Ma, which represent the age of metamorphism. The zircon U-Pb ages of one sample taken from the leucogranite veins that cut through granitic gneiss foliation range from 24 Ma to 22 Ma, interpreted as the age of the anatexis in the Demala Group complex. Biotite and muscovite separates were selected from the granitic gneiss, banded gneiss, and leucogranite veins for ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating. The plateau ages of three muscovite samples are 16.56 ± 0.21 Ma, 16.90 ± 0.21 Ma, and 23.40 ± 0.31 Ma, and the plateau ages of four biotite samples are 16.70 ± 0.24 Ma, 16.14 ± 0.19 Ma, 15.88 ± 0.20 Ma, and 14.39 ± 0.20 Ma. The mica Ar-Ar ages can reveal the exhumation and cooling history of the Demala Group complex. Combined with the previous research results of the Demala Group complex, the authors refer that the Demala Group complex should be a set of metamorphic complex. The complex includes not only Precambrian basement metamorphic rock series, but also Paleozoic sedimentary rock and Mesozoic granitic rock. Based on the deformation characteristics, the authors concluded that two stages of the metamorphism and deformation can be revealed in the Demala Group complex since the Mesozoic, namely Late Triassic-Early Jurassic (203 –190 Ma) and Oligocene –Miocene (24 –14 Ma). The early stage of metamorphism (ranging from 203 –190 Ma) was related to the Late Triassic tectono-magmatism in the area. The anatexis and uplifting-exhumation of the later stage (24 –14 Ma) were related to the shearing of the Jiali strike-slip fault zone. The Miocene structures are response to the large-scale southeastward escape of crustal materials and block rotation in Southeast Tibet after India-Eurasia collision.©2021 China Geology Editorial Office.     

扬子地块西南缘大红山群石榴白云母-长石石英片岩的白云母40Ar-39Ar定年及其地质意义

大红山群是扬子地块西南缘出露的古元古代结晶基底,主要经历了绿片岩相-低角闪岩相变质作用.本研究对大红山群老厂河组变质中酸性岩和变质沉积岩——石榴白云母-长石石英片岩中的白云母进行了40Ar-39Ar测年,得到三个样品的坪年龄和40Ar/39Ar等时线年龄结果较统一,坪年龄代表的变质年龄分别为837.7±4.2Ma、839.6±4.2Ma和844.2±4.2Ma.变质沉积岩和变质中酸性岩的变质时代类似,均介于837～845Ma.大红山群变质基性岩中变质锆石的U-Pb定年年龄为849±12Ma(杨红等,2012),40Ar-39Ar测年数据与锆石定年数据相结合,说明大红山群古元古代结晶基底中的火山岩和沉积岩均在新元古代经历了同期变质作用,其主期低角闪岩相变质作用发生于新元古代837～850Ma.结合前人发表的扬子西缘～750Ma的变质年龄,扬子西缘从北向南的区域变质作用时限可扩展到750 ～850Ma.此外,扬子西缘存在750～850Ma的岩浆事件,本文研究结果说明,扬子地块西缘在新元古代不仅发生了大规模岩浆作用,也发生了750～850Ma的区域变质作用,扬子西缘存在新元古代的岩浆-变质事件.岩浆事件与变质事件之间可能存在相关性,即新元古代岩浆作用引起了扬子西缘的区域动力热流变质作用.     

Recognition of extraneous argon components through incremental-release 40Ar39Ar analysis of biotite and hornblende across the Grenvillian metamorphic gradient in southwestern Labrador

${}^{40}\text{Ar}{}^{39}\text{Ar}$ incremental-release ages have been determined for 15 hornblende and 20 biotite concentrates separated from rocks collected across the garnet and kyanite zones of Grenvillian metamorphism in southwestern Labrador. Most hornblende spectra from the kyanite zone are slightly discordant, with low-temperature increments yielding ages older than the ca 1000 Ma date suggested for culmination of Grenvillian metamorphism in the area. However, all the hornblende concentrates record well-defined plateau ages. These range from 968 to 905 Ma across the kyanite zone and date times of diachronous post-metamorphic cooling. The discordant spectra are interpreted to result from low-temperature liberation of excess ⁴⁰Ar components from grain margins. Two hornblende concentrates from the garnet zone display very discordant spectra (total-gas ages of 2100 and 3017 Ma) in which incremental dates systematically decrease during analysis. This pattern of discordance suggests that excess argon components are inhomogeneously distributed throughout these hornblende grains.Most biotites from the garnet and kyanite zones record total-gas or plateau ages in excess of 1000 Ma (2066-857 Ma), reflecting the widespread presence of excess argon components. Because most of the ${}^{40}\text{Ar}{}^{39}\text{Ar}$ age spectra are internally concordant, the ratios of excess ⁴⁰Ar relative to radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar must have been uniform in the various gas fractions liberated from each sample. This is also reflected in the inability of isotope correlation diagrams to differentiate between excess, radiogenic, and atmospheric argon components. The biotite total-gas or plateau dates show marked local variation. This is interpreted to indicate that the biotite grains were in contact with a post-metamorphic intergranular vapor phase that was characterized by large and variable ${}^{40}\text{Ar}{}^{36}\text{Ar}$ ratios. Such ratios most likely resulted from widespread diffusion of the argon liberated from adjacent Archean basement gneisses during the Grenvillian metamorphic overprint.     

Spatially correlated anomalous Ar/Ar “age” variations in biotites about a lithologic contact near Simplon Pass, Switzerland: a mechanistic explanation for excess Ar

Forty-four biotite samples collected about a lithologic contact between pelite and amphibolite were analyzed for ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and demonstrate the importance of bulk Ar diffusivity and system geometry—factors not usually considered in the interpretation and collection of ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age data. The resulting ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar apparent ages range from 11.30 ± 0.05 Ma to 17.90 ± 0.10 Ma. The ages (and excess argon contents) are spatially and lithologically correlated. The pelite samples all yield ages clustering around ∼12 Ma, the age expected for cooling through biotite closure (∼360°C) in this region of the Alps. Ages in the amphibolite biotites are older, showing a smooth trend between 15 Ma at the contact with the pelite to 18 Ma, 34 cm from the contact. This data shows that characterization of the Ar closure age for biotite in a given system should not rest on a single sample, as otherwise irresolvable differences in age between samples within the same outcrop can exist. A generalized mechanistic model for excess argon is presented. The presence (or absence) of excess Ar depends on an intrinsic system parameter, τ_T, the transmissive timescale, which is the characteristic time for ⁴⁰Ar to escape through the local intergranular transporting medium (ITM) to some sink for argon. To prevent buildup of geochronologically significant excess ⁴⁰Ar, τ_T must be very short relative to the true closure age of the mineral. A FORTRAN code including radiogenic Ar production, diffusive loss of Ar from biotite, and bulk Ar diffusion through the ITM has been developed. Application of numerical modeling suggests that the time-averaged effective bulk diffusivity, D_eff^Ar, in the biotite-amphibolite rock during early retrograde cooling is 2.2 ± 1.0 × 10⁻⁸ m²/yr (assuming steady state conditions) - the first such measurement available. Numerical modeling also provides information about the transmissivity and geologic history specific to the field site, including a drop in D_eff^Ar at 15.5 ± 1.0 Ma. The timing of this drop is related to coincident rheological changes and the onset of rapid exhumation of the nappe stack.     

Ar/Ar Single Grain Dating and Mineral Chemistry of Hornblendes South of the Red River Shear Zone (Vietnam): New Evidence for Early Proterozoic Tectonothermal Event

The pre-Mesozoic metamorphic belt runs parallel to the Day Nui Con Voi - Red River shear zone in Vietnam to the south. The belt is mainly composed of hornblende gneisses, amphibolite lenses and mica-schists. Five hornblendes from a gneiss and an amphibolite were analyzed chemically and chronologically by Electron Probe Micro Analysis (EPMA) and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar methods. EPMA analyses show that hornblendes in the gneiss and the amphibolite have significant amount of edenite component and similar average composition. However, the recalculated Fe³⁺ content is significantly heterogeneous in a thin section while total Fe is nearly the same among the analyses. The rim of each crystal is higher in Fe³⁺/(Fe³⁺ + Fe²⁺) than the core. These chemical and petrological features suggest that the hornblendes have suffered significant oxidation, in particular, largely in the gneiss.

⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar analyses showed that the gneiss has a significant variation of plateau ages (2089±14, 1977±19 and 1873±13 Ma) among three hornblende grains, whereas the amphibolite gives the same plateau ages (2056±14 and 2044±21 Ma) for two grains. All grains of both samples have excess ages in the first few fractions at low temperatures and partial-loss ages between the excess and plateau spectra. The Ca/K ratios indicate some disturbed phases for the lower temperature spectra but the partial-loss ages are also derived from hornblende phase. These facts suggest that hornblende in the gneiss has experienced partial argon loss by oxidation and/or thermally activated argon diffusion process. However, the gneiss and the associated amphibolite have preserved the early Proterozoic tectono-metamorphic event in the hornblende crystals except for their rims, giving new evidence for the early Proterozoic event within the pre-Mesozoic metamorphic belt (northern Vietnam) south of the Red River shear zone in Indochina.     

Tectonometamorphic evolution of the Sebadani eclogitic metagabbro and the Sambagawa schists, central Shikoku, Japan: 40Ar/39Ar mineral age constraints

Abstract The Sambagawa metamorphic belt exposed in central Shikoku records a high-P–T metamorphic event. It is represented by the Oboke nappe and structurally overlying, internally imbricated, Besshi nappe complex. These major structural units are in ductile thrust contact. A melange is developed along a ductile internal tectonic contact within the Besshi nappe complex. Tectonic emplacement of a high-T enclave (Sebadani eclogite) in the melange zone resulted in the development of a contact metamorphic aureole within the host Sambagawa rocks. ³⁶Ar/⁴⁰Ar versus ³⁹Ar/⁴⁰Ar isotope correlation ages recorded by hornblende from the Sambagawa basic schists which surround the Sebadani enclave are 83.4 ± 0.3 Ma (within contact aureole) and 83.6 ± 0.5 Ma (outside aureole). ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages recorded by muscovite from the same samples are 87.9 ± 0.3 and 89.3 ± 0.4 Ma. Amphibole from the amphibolite within the Sebadani enclave records isotope correlation ages of 93.7 ± 1.1 and 96.5 ± 0.7 Ma (massive interior) and 84.6 ± 1.2 Ma (marginal shear zone). Amphibole within the massive amphibolite is significantly higher in X_Mg than that within the host Sambagawa basic schists. The older ages recorded by amphibole within the Sebadani enclave are interpreted to date cooling through somewhat higher closure temperatures than which characterize the more Fe-rich amphibole in surrounding schists. The younger amphibole age recorded within the marginal shear zone probably indicates that crystallization of amphibole continued until cooling through the relatively lower amphibole closure temperatures. These results, together with the previously published ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of the Sambagawa schists, suggest: (i) metamorphic culmination occurred in the Besshi nappe complex at c. 100–90 Ma; (ii) at c. 95 Ma the Besshi nappe complex was internally imbricated and tectonic enclaves were emplaced; (iii) at c. 85 Ma, the composite Besshi nappe was rapidly exhumed and tectonically emplaced over the Oboke nappe (which attained peak metamorphic conditions at c. 75 Ma); (iv) the Besshi and Oboke nappe complexes were further exhumed as a coherent tectonic unit and unconformably overlain by the Eocene Kuma Group at c. 50 Ma.     

大兴安岭地区德尔布干断裂带北段构造年代学研究

德尔布干断裂带是大兴安岭隆起西侧NE向的重要断裂带,处在海拉尔-拉布达林-根河盆地西缘,是著名德尔布干成矿区东南边界断裂带.为了确定德尔布干断裂带运动性质、活动时间,深入探讨该断裂带与中生代海拉尔-拉布达林-根河盆地及大兴安岭盆山格局、认识德尔布干断裂带多金属矿床成因等问题,本文应用锆石SHRIMP和云母40Ar/39Ar定年技术,分别对断裂带内的细粒黑云母花岗岩侵入体、韧性变形的花岗闪长质片麻岩、白云母石英片岩,进行了同位素年代学研究.其中花岗闪长质片麻岩岩浆型锆石SHRIMP谐和年龄300.6±9.3Ma,为花岗闪长质片麻岩海西期的侵位年龄;而花岗闪长质片麻岩中黑云母40Ar/39Ar坪年龄是130.9±1.4Ma,白云母石英片岩的白云母40Ar/39Ar坪年龄是115.6±1.6Ma,代表早白垩世伸展构造变形年龄;细粒黑云母花岗岩侵入体岩浆型锆石SHRIMP谐和年龄130.1±1.4Ma,为同伸展构造变形侵位的岩浆事件.上述地质年代说明德尔布干断裂带是早白垩世(110～130Ma)该区最年轻的重大伸展构造变形产物.控制NE向大兴安岭隆起和中生代海拉尔-拉布达林-根河等火山沉积盆地的发育格局、以及中生代以来的地壳演化与成矿类型.     

土耳其Pütürge变质地体晚白垩世岩浆作用与变质作用的年代学研究

Pütürge变质地体位于新特提斯构造带南部的土耳其Anatolia逆冲推覆构造带内,形成于欧亚板决与阿拉伯板块之间晚白垩纪碰撞造山事件.Pütürge变质地体主要由变质泥质片岩及片麻岩、花岗质片麻岩、石英岩、角闪岩和大理岩组成,发育类似巴罗型递增变质带的变质带序列,变质程度达高绿片岩相至低角闪岩相.此前该变质地体一直缺乏精确的年代学约束,为此我们采用了二次离子质谱锆石U-Pb测年方法和黑云母40Ar/39 Ar测年方法,对该变质地体进行了年代学研究.结果表明,区内花岗片麻岩原岩形成于84.2±1.1Ma,变质泥质片麻岩中黑云母40Ar/39 Ar年龄所代表的变质时代为83.21±0.1Ma.这说明早白垩世期间岩浆侵入事件不久,Pütürge变质地体就发生了区域变质作用.     

Nature and timing of the Solonker suture of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt: insights from geochronology and geochemistry of basic intrusions in the Xilin Gol Complex,Inner Mongolia,China

The Solonker suture zone of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) records the final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. The nature and timing of final collision along the Solonker suture has long been controversial, partly because of an incomplete record of isotopic ages and differing interpretations of the geological environments of key tectonic units. The Xilin Gol Complex, consisting of strongly deformed gneisses, schists and amphibolites, is such a key tectonic unit within the CAOB. Lenticular or quasi-lamellar amphibolites are dispersed throughout the complex, intercalated with biotite–plagioclase gneiss. Both rock types experienced amphibolite-facies metamorphism. The protolith of the amphibolite is a basic rock that intruded into the biotite–plagioclase gneiss at 319 ± 4 Ma based on LA-ICPMS zircon U–Pb dating. The basic intrusion was sourced from a modified magma that experienced crystal fractionation and was admixed with slab-derived fluids. The slab-derived fluids, which formed during Early Paleozoic oceanic subduction along the north-dipping Sonidzuoqi–Xilinhot subduction zone, mixed with the magma source and produced subduction-related geochemical signatures superimposed on volcanic arc chemistry. After Early Paleozoic oceanic subduction and arc-continent collision, a transient stage of extension occurred between 313 and 280 Ma in the Sonidzuoqi–Xilinhot area. Deformation and recrystallization during the switch from compression to extension and reheating by the later magmatic intrusions reset the isotope systems of minerals in the Xilin Gol Complex, recorded by a 312.2 ± 1.5 Ma biotite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age from biotite–plagioclase gneiss, a 309 ± 12 Ma zircon intercept age and a 307.5 ± 3.5 Ma hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age from amphibolites in the complex. There was an arc/forearc-related marine basin at the southern margin of the Xilin Gol Complex during the Permian. The closure of the oceanic basin led to Late Paleozoic–Middle Triassic north-dipping subduction beneath the Xilin Gol Complex and induced the amphibolite-facies metamorphism of the complex. The final suturing of the Solonker zone occurred from 269 to 231 Ma. This latest amphibolite-facies metamorphism with pressures of 0.31–0.39 GPa and temperatures of 620–660 °C was recorded at 263.4 ± 1.4 Ma to the Xilin Gol Complex, as indicated by the hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age from the amphibolites, as well as several zircon ages of 260 ± 3–231 ± 3 Ma. The Xilin Gol Complex documented the progressive accretion of a single, long-lived subduction system at the southern margin of the south Mongolian microcontinent from the Early Paleozoic (~452 Ma) to Middle Triassic (~231 Ma). The CAOB shows protracted collision prior to final suturing.     

河北滦平周台子条带状铁矿地质特征、围岩时代及其地质意义

河北滦平县周台子铁矿位于华北克拉通北缘,是产于前寒武纪单塔子群变质岩系中的鞍山式铁矿,具有条带状铁建造(BIF)特征。矿石主要呈条带状构造,有的呈条纹和致密块状构造。矿石类型主要以石英磁铁矿型为主,含铁介于30%~35%。前寒武纪变质岩是矿床的主要围岩,出露有黑云母(角闪)斜长片麻岩和斜长角闪岩,局部见花岗片麻岩。原岩恢复表明,黑云母(角闪)斜长片麻岩的原岩为英安岩-流纹岩,斜长角闪岩原岩为玄武岩。花岗片麻岩的SiO₂含量大于56%,MgO含量小于3%,Al₂O₃含量大于15%,Sr含量大于500×10^-6,Yb含量均小于1.9×10^-6,轻重稀土元素分异明显,重稀土元素强烈亏损,并且Eu负异常不明显,表明该片麻岩具埃达克质岩石的地球化学特征。锆石U-Pb定年结果显示出几组年龄,分别是2512±21Ma, 2452±9.6Ma,2394±55Ma。大体看,2512Ma代表了火山喷发和周台子铁矿BIF沉淀年龄,2452Ma左右的锆石年龄代表了TTG质花岗片麻岩的侵位结晶年龄,2394Ma锆石年龄代表了周台子铁矿经历了一次变质作用,并对原有的岩石和矿石进行了改造。锆石Hf同位素特征显示斜长角闪岩和TTG质片麻岩的岩浆源区受到过古老地壳物质的混染。周台子铁矿构造环境可能是与裂谷有关的张性环境。     

Diachronous Palaeoproterozoic deformation and metamorphism in the Committee Bay belt,Rae Province,Nunavut: insights from 40Ar–39Ar cooling ages and thermal modelling

Regional‐scale ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar data presented in this paper reveal significant across‐strike and along‐strike age differences in the Committee Bay belt (CBb), Rae Province, Nunavut, Canada, that complement variations in observed monazite ages. ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar hornblende ages are c. 1795, 1775, and 1750 Ma in the western, eastern and central parts of the Prince Albert Group (PAG) domain respectively. The migmatite domain and Walker Lake intrusive complex are characterized by c. 1750–1730 ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar hornblende ages without significant along‐strike variation. The ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar data provide important constraints on the cooling history and on thermal modelling that elucidates the controls on diachroneity and metamorphic patterns within the belt. In the western CBb, prograde monazite growth occurred 26 ± 10 Myr earlier in the migmatite domain (1864 ± 9 Ma; peak P–T = 5 kbar?700 °C) than in the PAG domain (1838 ± 5 Ma; peak P–T = 5 kbar?580 °C). Calculations indicate that this earlier monazite growth results from tectonic thickening of higher heat productivity Archean lithologies in the migmatite domain, which undergoes more rapid prograde heating than the less radiogenetic and lower grade rocks of the PAG domain. Granite generation via biotite dehydration melting at 800 °C and 20 km depth is predicted to occur c. 1835 Ma, in agreement with geochronological constraints. The tectonic burial of crustal domains with contrasting radiogenic properties also explains the general congruence of lower to upper amphibolite facies metamorphic zones generated during the two main orogenic cycles (i.e. M₂–D₁ and M₃–D₂). The modelled timing of prograde monazite growth in the migmatite domain suggests that D₂ tectonic thickening began at 1872 ± 9 Ma, some 8 ± 3 Myr before monzazite growth, coeval with the inferred time of collision of the Meta Incognita terrane with the southern Rae Province. Along‐strike diachroneity, reflected in 25 Myr younger monazite and ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar hornblende ages in the eastern relative to the western PAG domain, cannot be accounted for by heat productivity contrasts along the belt. Instead the younger deformation and metamorphism in the eastern CBb was driven by its proximity to the eastern promontory of the Superior Province which collided with the Rae Province at c. 1820 Ma. The ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar data presented here support the interpretation that the youngest monazite in the CBb crystallized at c. 1790 Ma in the central CBb when this part of the belt was downfolded into a gentle synformal structure while the western part of the belt cooled through ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar hornblende closure. The results of this study illustrate the important influence of contrasting rock properties on the thermal evolution of orogenic belts and on the temporal record of this evolution.     

U‐Pb Geochronological and Thermochronological Time–Temperature Constraints of 40Ar/39Ar Hornblende Reference Material HB3gr

Hornblende from the Lone Grove Pluton, Llano Uplift, Texas, has served as an irradiation reference material in ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar studies for decades. In order to evaluate the apparent age bias that currently exists between the U‐Pb and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar systems, zircon and titanite were dated by isotope dilution‐thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (ID‐TIMS) from the same rock from which the hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar reference material HB3gr is derived. Zircon U‐Pb data indicate initial crystallisation at 1090.10 ± 0.16 Ma (2s), a date that is 1.7% older than the accepted K‐Ar date (1072 ± 14 Ma, 2s) for HB3gr; an offset that exceeds the typical 0.5–1% bias between the two systems, though remaining within uncertainty due to the large uncertainties in the ⁴⁰K decay constant. Zircon data are presented using both EARTHTIME tracers ET535 and ET2535 and are statistically indistinguishable. Single grain titanite analyses range between 1082 ± 0.75 and 1086 ± 0.81 Ma (2s) and are interpreted to record the subsequent cooling following crystallisation at rates between 30 and 50 °C Ma^?1. This is supported by the observation that hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates corrected for decay constant bias are resolvably younger than the zircon U‐Pb date and in good agreement with titanite U‐Pb dates, permitting the conclusion that both titanite U‐Pb and hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar systems provide a record of cooling.     

Hornblende Ar/Ar geochronology across terrane boundaries in the Sveconorwegian Province of S. Norway

Hornblende incremental heating ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data were obtained from augen gneiss and amphibolite of the Sveconorwegian Province of S. Norway. In the Rogaland-Vest Agder and Telemark terranes, four pyroxene-rich samples, located close (≤ 10 km) to the anorthosite-charnockite Rogaland Igneous Complex, define an age group at 916 + 12/ − 14 Ma and six samples distributed in the two terranes yield another group at 871 + 8/ − 10 Ma. The first age group is close to the reported zircon U---Pb intrusion age of the igneous complex (931 ± 2 Ma) and the regional titanite U---Pb age (918 ± 2 Ma), whereas the second group overlaps reported regional mineral Rb---Sr ages (895-853 Ma) as well as biotite K---Ar ages (878-853 Ma). In the first group, the comparatively dry parageneses of low-P thermal metamorphism (M2) associated with the intrusion of the igneous complex are well developed, and hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages probably record a drop in temperature shortly after this phase. In other hornblende + biotite-rich samples, with presumably a higher fluid content, the hornblende ages are probably a response to hornblende-fluid interaction during a late Sveconorwegian metamorphic or hydrothermal event. A ca 220 m.y. diachronism in hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages is documented between S. Telemark (ca 870 Ma) and Bamble (ca 1090 Ma). Differential uplift between these terranes was mostly accommodated by shearing along the Kristiansand-Porsgrunn shear zone. The final stage of extension along this zone occurred after intrusion of the Herefoss post-kinematic granite at 926 ± 8 Ma. On the contrary, the southern part of the Rogaland-Vest Agder and Telemark terranes share a common cooling evolution as mineral ages are similar on both sides of the Mandal-Ustaoset Line the tectonic zone between them. The succession within 20 m.y. of a voluminous pulse of post-tectonic magmatism at 0.93 Ga, a phase of high-T-low-P metamorphism at 0.93-0.92 Ga, and fast cooling at a regional scale ca 0.92 Ga, suggests that the southern parts of Rogaland-Vest Agder and Telemark were affected by an event of post-thickening extension collapse at that time. This event is not recorded in Bamble.     

Tectonic evolution of Proterozoic rocks in the Cimarron Mountains, northern New Mexico, USA

Abstract Portions of three Proterozoic tectonostratigraphic sequences are exposed in the Cimarron Mountains of New Mexico. The Cimarron River tectonic unit has affinities to a convergent margin plutonic/volcanic complex. Igneous hornblende from a quartz diorite stock records an emplacement pressure of 2–2.6 kbar. Rocks within this unit were subsequently deformed during a greenschist facies regional metamorphism at 4–5 kbar and 330 ± 50° C. The Tolby Meadow tectonic unit consists of quartzite and schist. Mineral assemblages are indicative of regional metamorphism at pressures near 4 kbar and temperatures of 520 ± 20° C. A low-angle ductile shear zone separates this succession from gneisses of the structurally underlying Eagle Nest tectonic unit. Gneissic granite yields hornblende pressures of 6–8 kbar. Pelitic gneiss records regional metamorphic conditions of 6–7 kbar and 705 ± 15° C, overprinted by retrogression at 4 kbar and 530 ± 10° C. Comparison of metamorphic and retrograde conditions indicates a P–T path dominated by decompression and cooling. The low-angle ductile shear zone represents an extensional structure which was active during metamorphism. This extension juxtaposed the Tolby Meadow and Eagle Nest units at 4 kbar and 520° C. Both units were later overprinted by folding and low-grade metamorphism, and then were emplaced against the Cimarron River tectonic unit by right-slip movement along the steeply dipping Fowler Pass shear zone. An argon isotope-correlation age obtained from igneous hornblende dates plutonism in the Cimarron River unit at 1678 Ma. Muscovite associated with the greenschist facies metamorphic overprint yields a ⁴⁰ Ar/³⁹ Ar plateau age of 1350 Ma. By contrast, rocks within the Tolby Meadow and Eagle Nest units yield significantly younger argon cooling ages. Hornblende isotope-correlation ages of 1394–1398 Ma are interpreted to date cooling during middle Proterozoic extension. Muscovite plateau ages of 1267–1257 Ma appear to date cooling from the low-grade metamorphic overprint. The latest ductile movement along the Fowler Pass shear zone post-dated these cooling ages. Argon released from muscovites of the Eagle Nest/Tolby Meadow composite unit, at low experimental temperatures, yields apparent ages of c. 1100 Ma. Similar ages are not obtained north-east of the Fowler Pass shear zone, suggesting movement more recently than 1100 Ma.     

Rapid Variscan exhumation and the role of magma in core complex formation: southern Brittany metamorphic belt, France

ABSTRACT The high-grade migmatitic core to the southern Brittany metamorphic belt has mineralogical and textural features that suggest high-temperature decompression. The chronology of this decompression and subsequent cooling history have been constrained with ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹ Ar ages determined for multigrain concentrates of hornblende and muscovite prepared from amphibolite and late-orogenic granite sheets within the migmatitic core, and from amphibolite of the structurally overlying unit. Three hornblende concentrates yield plateau isotope correlation ages of c. 303–298 Ma. Two muscovite concentrates record well-defined plateau ages of c. 306–305 Ma. These ages are geologically significant and date the last cooling through temperatures required for intracrystalline retention of radiogenic argon. The concordancy of the hornblende and muscovite ages suggest rapid post-metamorphic cooling. Extant geochronology and the new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data suggest a minimum time-integrated average cooling rate between c. 725 °C and c. 125 °C of c. 14 ± 4°C Ma^-1, although below 600 °C the data permit an infinitely fast rate of cooling. Mineral assemblages and reaction textures in diatexite migmatites suggest c. 4 kbar decompression at 800–750 °C. This must have pre-dated the rapid cooling. Emplacement of two-mica granites into the metamorphic belt occurred between 345 and 300 Ma. The youngest plutons were emplaced synkinematically along shallow-dipping normal faults interpreted to be reactivated Eo-Variscan thrusts. A penetrative, west-plunging stretching lineation developed in these granites suggests that extension was orogen-parallel. Extension was probably related to regional uplift and gravitational collapse of thermally weakened crust during constrictional (escape) tectonics in this narrow part of the Variscan orogen. This followed slab breakoff during the terminal stages of convergence between Gondwana and Laurasia; detachment may have been consequent upon a change in kinematics leading to dextral displacement within the orogen. Dextral ductile strike-slip displacement was concentrated in granites emplaced synkinematically along the South Armorican Shear Zone. Rapid cooling is interpreted to have resulted from tectonic unroofing with emplacement of granite along decollement surfaces. The high-grade migmatitic core of the southern Brittany metamorphic belt represents a type of metamorphic core complex formed during orogen-parallel extensional unroofing and regional-scale ductile flow.     

Metamorphic evolution of the Attic Cycladic Metamorphic Belt on Naxos (Cyclades, Greece) utilizing 40Ar/39Ar age spectrum measurements

Abstract ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age spectrum analysis of phengite separates from Naxos, part of the Attic Cycladic Metamorphic Belt in Greece, indicates that cooling following high-pressure, low- to medium-temperature metamorphism, M₁, occurred about 50 Ma ago. Phengite has ⁴⁰Ar* gradients that suggest that part of the scatter observed in conventional K–Ar ages was caused by diffusion of radiogenic argon from the minerals during a younger metamorphism, M₂. In central Naxos, this metamorphism (M₂) has overprinted the original mineral assemblages completely, and is associated with development of a thermal dome. Excellent ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateaus at 15.0 ± 0.1 Ma, 11.8 ± 0.1 Ma, and 11.4 ± 0.1 Ma, obtained on hornblende, muscovite and biotite, respectively, from the migmatite zone, indicate that relatively rapid cooling followed the M₂ event, and that no significant thermal overprinting occurred subsequent to M₂. Toward lower M₂ metamorphic grade, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages of hornblendes increase to 19.8 ± 0.1 Ma; concomitantly the proportion of excess ⁴⁰Ar in the spectra increases as well. We propose that the peak of M₂ metamorphism occurred beween 15.0 and 19.8 Ma ago. K–Ar ages of biotites from a granodiorite on the west coast are indistinguishable from those found in the metamorphic complex, and hornblende K–Ar ages from the same samples are in the range 12.1–13.6 Ma. As the latter ages are somewhat younger than most ages obtained from the metamorphic complex, intrusion of the granodiorite most likely followed the peak of the M₂ metamorphism. The metamorphic evolution of Naxos is consistent with rapid crustal thickening during the Cretaceous or early Tertiary, causing conditions at which supracrustal rocks experienced pressures in the range 900–1500 MPa. Transition to normal crustal thicknesses ended the M₁ metamorphism about 50 Ma ago. The M₂ metamorphism and granodiorite intrusion occurred during a period of heat input into the crust, possibly related to the migration of the Hellenic volcanic ar°C in a southerly direction through the area.