Regional stress and structure in relation to brown coal open cuts of the Latrobe Valley,Victoria

An interpretation of the origins of folds and joints, which affect the Tertiary Brown Coal Measures of the Latrobe Valley, leads to the proposal that the geological structures have been formed under a regional Late Tertiary NNW‐SSE compressive stress. Considerations of the pattern of measured in situ stresses and of interpreted stresses, derived from earth movements around open cuts and from earthquakes, indicate that a regional NNW‐SSE compressive stress is still in existence in the SE part of Australia at the present time.

It is proposed that the consistencies in the stress orientations reflect consistencies in the Late Tertiary to Recent global movements of the Australian plate.     

Carboniferous palaeogeography of the Yarrol and New England Orogens,eastern Australia

During the Carboniferous Period the Yarrol and New England Orogens comprised an active depositional margin east of cratonised parts of Australia. Patterns of deposition within the orogens were probably controlled by dextral shear systems believed responsible for tectonism and the positions of the various depositional elements (volcanic chain, shelf, slope and basin, pull‐apart troughs and graben), and global changes in sea level. These patterns are illustrated by a series of non‐palin‐spastic palaeogeographic reconstructions.

In the Early Carboniferous, similar patterns of deposition existed within the western volcanic chain, marine shelf, and eastern slope and basin provinces of both orogens. Sediments were deposited in two cycles. They range from volcanic fluvial and marine sandstone to siltstone, mudstone and turbidites. Complex depositional patterns within shelfal regions are shown in detailed palaeogeographic reconstructions.

This uniform pattern changed during the latest Visean and Namurian, with the uplift of the New England Arch, subsidence of a non‐marine graben (Werrie Trough) to the west, and development of a new shelf in the east. The Werrie Trough received volcanics as well as fluvial and glacigene sediments, and the shelf marine sandstone and siltstone. The Yarrol Orogen was unaffected by tectonism but there was a change in provenance.

Late in the Carboniferous the Yarrol Orogen was restructured by the intrusion of granitoids into the former volcanic chain, and development of the Yarrol and North D'Aguilar Troughs as probable pull‐apart basins. In the New England Arch, deformation and metamorphism were followed by intrusion of S‐type granitoids. A comparable episode of deformation and metamorphism affected the southeastern part of the Yarrol Orogen at the end of the Carboniferous Period. This partial cratonisation of the mobile zone was a prelude to widespread basin formation during the Permian Period.     

Origin and evolution of Lord Howe Island,Southwest Pacific Ocean

Lord Howe Island is the eroded remnant of a large shield volcano. Tholeiitic lavas of the North Ridge Basalt comprise the main shield building phase and were erupted about 6.9 Ma ago. The Boat Harbour Breccia probably formed within the throat of the volcano and, together with the North Ridge Basalt, is intruded by numerous basaltic dykes, which grade into a cone sheet complex near the main vent. Large scale collapse of the summit area of the volcano produced a caldera which was filled rapidly by lavas of the Mount Lidgbird Basalt some 6.4 Ma ago, bringing to a close the volcanic history of Lord Howe Island. The shield volcano thus was built during a short interval in the late Miocene.

Palaeomagnetic data show that the North Ridge Basalt and the Mount Lidgbird Basalt were erupted during periods when the geomagnetic field had normal polarity, and that their formation was separated by at least one interval of reversed polarity when the dykes and cone sheets were emplaced. The directions of magnetisation for the lavas and intrusives are such that, palaeomagnetically, no movement of Lord Howe Island is detected since its formation.

Lord Howe Island is the subaerial part of a large seamount which lies at the southern end of a northerly‐trending line of volcanic seamounts extending for more than 1000 km. The Lord Howe seamount chain probably was produced by movement of the Australian lithospheric plate over a magma source or hot spot located below the plate within the upper mantle. Other data suggest that the Australian plate is moving N at about 6 cm/a and from this it is predicted that the seamount underlying Nova Bank, at the northern end of the chain, was constructed by volcanic activity about 23 Ma ago. Similarly, if volcanism were to occur now in the Lord Howe seamount chain we predict that its location would be about 400 km S of Lord Howe Island.     

Chloritoid and staurolite stability: implications for metamorphism in the Archaean Yilgarn Block, Western Australia

Abstract The stability of quartz-chloritoid-staurolite-almandine-cordierite and aluminium silicates is used to constrain both metamorphic conditions and pressure-temperature trajectories for two localities within the 2700 Ma Archaean Yilgarn Block in Western Australia. Available experimental data are used to calculate thermodynamic data for a self-consistent set of equilibria between these minerals. A lower amphibolite facies locality from the margin of a lower strain area contains assemblages including quartz-chloritoid-staurolite-garnet-biotite with altered cordierite replacing chloritoid, quartz-staurolite-andalusite, and quartz-cordierite-andalusite-biotite. This locality was heated to 530–560°C in the andalusite field, at 4.2 kbar. A sample from a mid- to upper-amphibolite facies, highly strained locality contains relict staurolite enclosed by andalusite, in turn replaced by cordierite and muscovite with biotite and sillimanite in the matrix. The assemblage was heated isobarically from conditions near the maximum experienced by the lower grade locality of 560°C at 4.2 kbar to temperatures in excess of the andalusite-sillimanite transition but within the quartz plus muscovite stability field (600–650°C). The higher grade locality is close to a granitoid dome and sections based on gravity profiles reveal that this locality is underlain by granitoid at shallow depths. The higher grade metamorphism apparently reflects superposition of the thermal aureole on regional metamorphic conditions similar to those in the lower grade areas.     

An indirect lead isotope age determination of gold mineralization at the Corinthia mine,Yilgarn Block,Western Australia

The Corinthia lode‐gold deposit in amphibolite‐facies greenstone belt rocks in the Southern Cross Province of the Archaean Yilgarn Block contains a largely undeformed pegmatite dyke emplaced during the last phases of movement along the Fraser's‐Corinthia shear zone. Gold mineralization and shear zone development were synchronous, and a Pb‐Pb isochron age of 2620 ±6 Ma for pegmatite emplacement either indirectly dates mineralization, or places a minimum age constraint on the timing of mineralization. This age is in accord with a broadly synchronous dominant episode of Archaean lode‐gold mineralization throughout the Yilgarn Block.     

Ages of internal granitoids in the Southern Cross region,Yilgarn Craton,Western Australia,and their crustal evolution and tectonic implications

Southern Cross, where gold deposits are sited in narrow greenstone belts surrounding granitoid domes, was one of the earliest gold mining centres in Western Australia. SHRIMP U–Pb zircon and Pb‐isotope studies of the largest granitoid dome, the Ghooli Dome (80 × 40 km), provide important constraints on the crustal evolution and structural history of the central part of the Archaean Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia, which includes Southern Cross. The north‐northwest‐south‐southeast‐oriented ovoid Ghooli Dome has a broadly concentric foliation that is subhorizontal or gently dipping in its central parts and subvertical along its margins. Foliated granitoids in the dome are dated at ca 2724 ± 5 and 2688 ± 3 Ma using the SHRIMP U–Pb zircon and Pb–Pb isochron methods, respectively. These new data, together with the published SHRIMP U–Pb zircon age of 2691 ± 7 Ma at another locality, 20 km from the centre of the Koolyanobbing Shear Zone, suggest that the Ghooli Dome was emplaced at ca 2.72–2.69 Ga. Because the Ghooli Dome and the other domes, which are enveloped by narrow greenstone belts, are cut by the >650 km‐long and 6–15 km‐wide Koolyanobbing Shear Zone, the ca 2.69 Ga age is interpreted as the maximum age of the last major movement on this structure. The pre‐2.69 Ga history, if any, of the shear zone remains unknown. The shear zone is intruded by an undeformed porphyritic granitoid which has a SHRIMP U–Pb zircon age of 2656 ± 4 Ma. This age is, thus, the minimum age of major movement along this shear zone. Post‐gold mineralisation pegmatitic‐leucogranite from the Nevoria gold mine has a SHRIMP U–Pb zircon age of 2634 ± 4 Ma, with xenocrystic zircon cores of ca 2893 ± 6 Ma, constraining the minimum age of gold mineralisation there to ca 2.63 Ga. The ca 2.72–2.69 Ga granitoids also contain ca 2.98 and 2.78 Ga xenocrystic zircon cores, suggesting an extensive crustal prehistory for their source. Whereas there is a general temporal relationship between the periods of older (ca 3.0 Ga) and younger (ca 2.80 and 2.73 Ga) volcanism and the older (2.98, 2.78 and 2.72–2.69 Ga) granitoid intrusions, there is no known volcanism temporally associated with the 2.65–2.63 Ga granitoid intrusions in the Yilgarn Craton. Other heat sources and/or tectonic processes, required for the generation of these intrusions, are interpreted to be related to a lithospheric delamination event related to continental collision.     

华南大陆深部探测与综合研究

华南主要构造特征为欧亚大陆边缘地壳生长和大陆增生。华南为一联合大陆，前寒武系基底由太古宙与元古宙岩石组成，元古宙有科马提玄武质绿岩和堇青石花岗绿岩。地壳的地球化学组成，从长尺度的时间函数上观察，具前进演化趋势，为原始→亏损→富集地幔→大陆地壳。核－慢分异发生在地球历史早期，而大陆的增生一直持续到现在。大陆边缘裂解构造是华南构造演化的主要形式，幕式地幔柱构造是该区地壳生长的主要动力机制。扬子－特提斯构造域为稳定、冷的地幔块，太平洋构造域为活动的热地幔软块。     

Correlation between the Wonominta and the Broken Hill Blocks in western New South Wales: Evidence from Nd isotope studies of metasediments

Nd isotope studies of the oldest metasedimentary rocks from the Wonominta Block, western New South Wales reveal that these samples have a model age (T_DM) of 1780–2010 Ma, slightly younger than that of low‐grade Willyama Supergroup metasediments (1920–2160 Ma), and significantly younger than those ages previously reported from high‐grade rocks of the Broken Hill Block (2200–2300 Ma). These differences have important implications for tectonic reconstruction in this region and support a model of transitional tectonics from the Broken Hill to Wonominta Blocks, as suggested by earlier geochemical studies of mafic rocks. Those studies revealed that the mafic rocks from the basal sequence of the Wonominta Block may have formed in a back‐arc basin, developed from a propagating rifting, an environment contiguous to that in which Willyama Supergroup was deposited. These results also carry significant implications for tectonic reconstruction of eastern Australia.     

First record of 1.2 Ga quartz dioritic magmatism in the Archaean Yilgarn Craton,Western Australia,and its significance

Farming of southern bluefin tuna in South Australia currently contributes to more than 30% of the value of the aquaculture production in Australia. This study investigated the natural sedimentary setting of the area designated for this important industry in coastal waters off Port Lincoln, and explored the links between the natural distribution of sediments and potential environmental effects and risks to the industry. Sediments were mostly composed of poorly sorted silts and fine sands, predominantly skeletal remains of carbonate-secreting organisms. The contribution of plankton to the organic matter remaining in the sediments was calculated to be in excess of 80% using concentration-dependent stable-isotope mixing models. An erosional area was identified south of Rabbit Island where sediments contained up to 50% siliciclastic material, grainsize distributions were better sorted and coarser, and organic carbon and total nitrogen contents were very low. In contrast, deeper waters north of Cape Donington were identified as a depocentre for fine sediments, which contained organic matter levels twice those elsewhere in the region despite the extremely high carbonate contents (>80%). The heavier stable isotopic signature of nitrogen suggested that this organic matter comprised a greater fraction of weathered components, probably advected to the area by suspended and bedload transport. This local variability of sediment characteristics in the farming zone suggests that the benthic assimilative capacity of farmed sites will depend on their location. Wastes from pens located south of Rabbit Island in particular are likely to be quickly winnowed out by wave and tidal action. These pens are also less likely to be affected by resuspension of fine sediments that might be associated with unusually severe storms.     

Age constraints to the relationships between magmatism, metamorphism and tectonism in the Aracena metamorphic belt, southern Spain

 The Aracena metamorphic belt (AMB), southwest Iberian peninsula, is characterized by the following geological elements: (a) a high-temperature/low-pressure (HT/LP) metamorphic belt a few kilometres wide and more than 200 km long; (b) a linear belt of oceanic amphibolites with a low-pressure inverted metamorphic gradient; (c) crustal-scale ductile shear zones; and (d) mafic, noritic intrusions of high-Mg andesite (boninite) composition. The relationships between these elements led to the proposal of a model of ridge subduction for this sector of the Hercynian belt of Europe. This interpretation is supported by the age relationships displayed between the main rock units considered representative of the main tectonic and petrological processes responsible for the geological elements mentioned previously. The results of a geochronological study (Ar–Ar, Rb–Sr and Sm–Nd) clearly support a Late Paleozoic tectonic evolution at an active continental margin. The time evolution of the metamorphism in the oceanic domain, ranging from 342.6±0.6 Ma in the west to 328.4±1.2 Ma in the east, over a distance of 70 km along the metamorphic belt, support a tectonic model of triple-junction migration responsible for the creation at depth of a slab-free window with decisive consequences for the thermal evolution of the region. The origin of the linear metamorphic belt of HT/LP regime may be explained by the migration along a continental margin of a punctual thermal anomaly induced by the creation of a triple-junction at the continental margin. Received: 9 March 1998 / Accepted: 9 December 1998     

Paleodrainage and fault development in the southern Perth Basin,Western Australia during and after the breakup of Gondwana from 3D modelling of the Bunbury Basalt

The evolution of faults and paleodrainage patterns on the southwestern Australian passive margin during and after the breakup of Gondwana in the Early Cretaceous remains poorly understood. This contribution investigates the fault and paleodrainage evolution in the southern Perth Basin with the use of the ‘Bunbury Basalt’, the only lava flows known to be synchronous with continental breakup. New aeromagnetic data have been integrated with well intersections and outcrop constraints to establish the first 3D model of the Bunbury Basalt. The model reveals that flows are up to 100 m thick and are predominantly confined to two north–south-trending paleovalleys and their tributaries situated in the Bunbury Trough in the southern Perth Basin. The Donnybrook Paleovalley flow ponded in a paleovalley proximal to the Darling Fault and is truncated by the two later flows within the Bunbury Paleovalley, which is positioned centrally in the Bunbury Trough. Offsets of the Bunbury Basalt have been used to identify new northeast- and northwest-trending faults in the southern Perth Basin, and broad folding is interpreted as a consequence of drag into the Darling and Busselton faults. The model has been used to determine post-basalt net displacements for the Darling and Busselton faults of 370 and 210 m, respectively, and <175 m for the northeast and northwest-trending faults. The source vents for the Bunbury Basalt were probably located at extensional jogs at intersections between the Darling Fault and subordinate oblique faults. These results challenge the views on longstanding quiescence of the post-breakup western Australian passive margin.     

High abundance of early Archaean grains and the age distribution of detrital zircons in a sillimanite-bearing quartzite from Mt Narryer, Western Australia

SHRIMP U–Pb analyses are reported for a detrital zircon population from a sample of sillimanite-bearing quartzite from the Narryer sedimentary succession in the Narryer Terrane of the northwestern Yilgarn Craton. The detrital zircons define two distinctive age groups, an older group from 4000 Ga to 4280 Ma and a younger group from 3750 to 3250 Ma. The abundance of older group zircons of about 12% far exceeds the abundance of about 2% reported in the first discovery of ancient zircons in a quartzite from the Narryer metasediments, and is equivalent to the abundance of >3900 Ma zircons in metaconglomerate sample W74 from the Jack Hills, confirmed by new measurements reported in this paper. Most analyses of the Narryer and the Jack Hills detrital zircon populations are discordant. The Jack Hills zircon analyses are dominated by strong recent Pb loss whereas the Narryer zircon analyses have had a more complex history and have experienced at least one Pb loss event, possibly associated with the high-grade metamorphism at ca. 2700 Ma, and a further disturbance of the U–Pb systems during relatively recent times. Although the number of analyses is limited and many of the zircon analyses are discordant, the age distributions of the older (>3900 Ma) zircons from the Narryer and Jack Hills samples are different, suggesting a complex provenance for the ancient zircons. The distribution of ages in the younger population of Mt Narryer zircons is similar to that reported for zircons from the surrounding Meeberrie gneiss, supporting previous suggestions that zircons from the gneisses or their precursors were a major contributor to the detrital zircon suite. The younger zircon population from Jack Hills sample (W74), lacks the strong age peak from 3600 to 3750 Ma present in the Narryer zircon population, and conversely the strong zircon age group at ca. 3350–3500 Ma in the Jack Hills population is only weakly represented in the Narryer zircon population. The age distributions for the Narryer and the Jack Hills zircon populations are taken as benchmarks for comparing zircon populations from quartzite occurrences elsewhere in the Yilgarn Craton.     

Precambrian fossils from the Hamersley range,Western Australia,and their use in stratigraphic correlation

The palaeontology, correlation and sedimentation of the Proterozoic sequence in the Hamersley Range, Western Australia, are discussed. Fossil calcareous algal growths, such as stromatolites and onkolites are described, as well as possible medusoid impressions. These indicate shallow water accumulation of the sediments and provide evidence of the extensive existence of plant and animal life in the Late Precambrian of Western Australia.

Distinctive stromatolites are shown to characterize various levels in the Proterozoic succession. A descending sequence of stromatolite assemblages is proposed denoted by:

• Collenia frequens—Conophyton cf. inclinatum

• Collenia australasica—C. undosa

• C. cf. kona—C. brockmani

• C. sp. aff. multiflabella.

Emphasis is placed on the possible significance of these calcareous algae for correlation and age subdivision of the Proterozoic of Western Australia and its relation to other Precambrian successions.     

鄂尔多斯盆地周缘地壳形成与演化历史:来自锆石U-Pb年龄与Hf同位素组成的证据

锆石U-Pb定年及Hf同位素测定结果表明,鄂尔多斯盆地周缘的华北板块北缘、兴蒙造山系及扬子板块-秦岭-大别-苏鲁造山带等构造单元系统具有明显不同的形成与演化历史。华北板块北缘锆石年龄平均值为1 837 Ma,最强烈的岩浆活动出现于2 200~1 800 Ma,该期锆石约占全部的40%;次为强烈的岩浆活动在2 800~2 200 Ma,其众数在全部锆石中约占30%;1 500~1 200 Ma、500~100 Ma这两个阶段形成的锆石在全区所占比例各约为15%。华北板块北缘最突出的特征是基本不含1 000~700 Ma期间形成的锆石,>3 000 Ma的锆石在全区分布极为有限。锆石Hf同位素亏损地幔模式年龄表明华北板块北缘平均值为2.55 Ga,较U-Pb平均年龄老,说明2 200~1 800 Ma期间形成的锆石含有较多的古老地壳再循环组分。Hf亏损地幔模式年龄最强峰值约为2.8 Ga,与全岩Nd亏损地幔模式年龄的峰值相一致,Hf模式年龄为3.0~2.25 Ga的颗粒占全部的近95%,证明华北板块北缘的地壳增生主要在太古宙至古元古代期间。Hf同位素亏损地幔模式年龄>3.0 Ga的锆石颗粒所占比例不到0.1%,另外近5%锆石的模式年龄分布于中元古代。晚古生代-中生代所形成的锆石均是先存地壳组分,尤其是中元古代增生地壳的熔融作用形成。兴蒙造山系中锆石U-Pb年龄平均值为497 Ma,最强峰分布于石炭纪(约320 Ma),石炭纪-二叠纪末(350~250 Ma)形成的锆石所占比例达30%以上。新元古代至早古生代(600~440 Ma)形成的锆石占全部锆石的55%以上,而中元古代末-新元古代期间(1 200~600 Ma)形成的锆石在全区仅占4%。中元古代以前形成的锆石非常有限,说明该区最早形成的地壳组分在兴蒙造山系的形成过程中较充分地参与到后期的岩浆作用过程中。兴蒙造山系中锆石相应的Hf同位素亏损地幔模式年龄平均为1.13 Ga,明显较相应的U-Pb年龄老,最强峰值出现于约0.6 Ga。Hf亏损地幔模式年龄为0.7~0.28 Ga的颗粒在兴蒙造山系所占比例达57%,证明该区最强烈的地壳增生发生于新元古代至古生代期间。Hf同位素亏损地幔模式年龄分布于1.5~0.7 Ga的锆石在全区约占38%,说明此期间也是该区地壳较强烈的增生期。Hf亏损地幔模式年龄大于1.5 Ga的锆石所占比例不到5%,古生代以后兴蒙造山系也基本没有明显的地壳增生。扬子与秦岭-大别-苏鲁造山带构造单元中的锆石U-Pb年龄平均为799 Ma,年龄为1 300~750 Ma的锆石在全部锆石中约占70%。晚古生代-燕山期形成的锆石约占20%。年龄在3 500~2 650 Ma、2 118~1 680 Ma的锆石在该区各约占5%。结合扬子与秦岭-大别-苏鲁造山带平均为1.56 Ga的Nd亏损地幔模式年龄特征,说明1 300~750 Ma期间该区较强烈的岩浆作用事件中有较多的古老地壳组分加入其中。锆石U-Pb年龄及Hf同位素组成均说明鄂尔多斯盆地周缘各构造单元具有不同的形成演化历史。地壳是幕式增长的,但各构造单元每幕发生的时间、强度存在明显差别。因此,由盆地中不同时代地层中碎屑锆石U-Pb年龄及Hf同位素组成及全岩Nd同位素特征的系统研究可反演盆地物源供给与周围构造单元之间的关系。     

Multistage deformation of linked fault systems in extensional regions: An example from the northern Perth Basin,Western Australia

Linked fault systems identified in the northern portion of the onshore Perth basin comprise north‐striking normal faults, the dominant structures in the basin, and hard linkages—east‐striking transfer faults. The former are either divided into segments of distinctive character by, or terminate at, the transfer faults. The fault systems were initiated by west‐southwest‐east‐northeast extension in the Early Permian but were reactivated by subsequent rifting with approximately east‐west extension in the Jurassic. They were also reactivated by the oblique extension of northwest‐southeast orientation associated with Gondwana continental breakup in the Late Jurassic ‐ earliest Cretaceous. In addition to reactivation, older structures of the linked fault families controlled the development of younger fractures and folds. During the oblique extension, the linked fault systems define releasing bends, characterised by a rollover anticline in the hangingwall of the Mountain Bridge Fault, and restraining bends where contractional folds are sites of major commercial hydrocarbon fields in the basin.     

中央亚洲活动带多岛海地质演化与砂岩型铀矿时空定位模式

中央亚洲活动带是世界上重要的铀成矿带之一,我国的天山-阴山-燕山以北地区正处于此带内。文章以成熟陆壳控矿理论和多岛海地质构造演化理论为基础,在系统分析该成矿带不同构造单元古生代岩石地球化学特征及其反映的大地构造属性的基础上,探讨了该带地壳成熟度及其对后期砂岩型铀矿成矿作用的影响,并建立了相应的砂岩型铀矿时空定位模式。     

4D architecture and tectonic evolution of the Laverton region,eastern Yilgarn Craton,Western Australia

The Laverton region, located in the eastern Yilgarn Craton (EYC) Western Australia, is second only to the Kalgoorlie region for gold endowment. The integration of high-density, potential-field data, regional- and camp-scale seismic reflection data, regional- and mine-scale structural analysis, and geochronologically-constrained stratigraphy, provided new insights into the 4D architecture and tectonic evolution of Laverton region.     

Neoarchaean impact spherule layers in the Fortescue and Hamersley Groups,Western Australia: stratigraphic and depositional implications of re-correlation

Previously, two layers containing impact melt spherules, the Wittenoom spherule layer and the Carawine spherule layer, exposed in the main outcrop area and Oakover River area, respectively, of the Neoarchaean?–?Palaeoproterozoic Hamersley Basin of Western Australia, were correlated. Subsequent discovery and study of the Jeerinah spherule layer in the main outcrop area, as well as a new Carawine spherule layer exposure now suggest that the Carawine and Jeerinah spherule layers are correlates. The previous Wittenoom?–?Carawine correlation was based on the presence of spherules and sedimentological consistency: both layers comprise sediment gravity flows, and the Wittenoom spherule layer was interpreted as the downflow equivalent of the Carawine layer. However, the Jeerinah spherule layer also consists of sediment gravity flows, which could be related to the Carawine layer. Since all three layers reflect events triggered by oceanic impacts, these similarities are not surprising, but they do eliminate sedimentology as a correlation tool. However, two compositional trends suggest that the Carawine and Jeerinah layers are correlates: (i) the textures of their spherules are very similar and are distinctly different from the Wittenoom layer; and (ii) only the Carawine and Jeerinah layers contain irregular impact melt particles. The latter observation is strong evidence as irregular particles are unknown in any other early Precambrian spherule layers in Western Australia. While triggered by the same impact, it is unlikely that the Carawine and Jeerinah spherule layers were deposited by the same sediment gravity flows, as they contain very different intraclast populations.     

Temporal links between pluton emplacement,garnet granulite metamorphism,partial melting and extensional collapse in the lower crust of a Cretaceous magmatic arc,Fiordland, New Zealand

Garnet granulite facies mid‐to lower crust in Fiordland, New Zealand, provides evidence for pulsed intrusion and deformation occurring in the mid‐to lower crust of magmatic arcs. ²³⁸U‐²⁰⁶Pb zircon ages constrain emplacement of the ～595 km² Malaspina Pluton to 116–114 Ma. Nine Sm‐Nd garnet ages (multi‐point garnet‐rock isochrons) ranging from 115.6 ± 2.6 to 110.6 ± 2.0 Ma indicate that garnet granulite facies metamorphism was synchronous or near synchronous throughout the pluton. Hence, partial melting and garnet granulite facies metamorphism lasted <5 Ma and began within 5 Ma of pluton emplacement. Garnet granulite facies L‐S tectonites in the eastern part of the Malaspina Pluton record the onset of extensional strain and arc collapse. An Sm‐Nd garnet age and thermobarometric results for these rocks directly below the amphibolite facies Doubtful Sound shear zone provide the oldest known age for extension in Fiordland at ≥112.8 ± 2.2 Ma at ～920 °C and 14–15 kbar. Narrow high Ca rims in garnet from some of these suprasolidus rocks could reflect a ≤ 1.5 kbar pressure increase, but may be largely a result of temperature decrease based on the Ca content of garnet predicted from pseudosections. At peak metamorphic conditions >900 °C, garnet contained ～4000 ppm Ti; subsequently, rutile inclusions grew during declining temperature with limited pressure change. Garnet granulite metamorphism of the Malaspina Pluton is c. 10 Ma younger than similar metamorphism of the Pembroke Granulite in northern Fiordland; therefore, high‐P metamorphism and partial melting must have been diachronous for this >3000 km² area of mid‐to‐lower crust. Thus, two or more pulses of intrusion shortly followed by garnet granulite metamorphism and extensional strain occurred from north to south along the axis of the lower crustal root of the Cretaceous Gondwana arc.     

川西和川东北地区差异构造演化及其对陆相层系天然气成藏的影响

川西和川东北地区处于扬子地台西北缘,均具有褶皱冲断带-前陆盆地的二元结构,其构造特征具一定相似性。根据地震资料解释和典型气藏解剖,再结合前人研究成果,分析了川西和川东北地区构造演化差异性及其对各自成藏特征的影响,结果表明：川西地区主要受龙门山造山带影响,从印支期中晚期开始发育前陆盆地,之后主要受燕山中晚期和喜马拉雅期构造运动的影响;而川东北地区从燕山早期开始发育前陆盆地,之后在燕山中期和晚期受大巴山、米仓山和雪峰山联合作用影响,最后大巴山造山带在喜马拉雅期的强烈活动使其最终定型。上述差异构造演化对川西和川东北地区陆相层系的成藏特征的影响主要表现在4个方面：烃源岩的发育、输导体系的形成、气藏的保存和天然气成藏过程。川西地区主要发育须家河组烃源岩,形成了以NE向和SN向断裂及其伴生裂缝为主的输导体系,多期构造运动形成的大型通天断裂影响了山前断褶带气藏的保存,成藏经历了印支晚期、燕山中期、晚期和喜马拉雅期4个关键时刻。川东北地区发育须家河组和下侏罗统两套烃源岩,输导体系以NW向断裂为主,隆升剥蚀和大型断裂造成了山前断褶带较差的保存条件,成藏经历了燕山中期、燕山晚期和喜马拉雅期三个关键时刻。