A high-pressure folded klippe at Tehuitzingo on the western margin of an extrusion zone,Acatlán Complex,southern México

High-pressure (HP) rocks at Tehuitzingo, on the western margin of the HP belt within the Paleozoic Acatlán Complex (southern México), occur in a klippe that was thrust over low-grade clastic rocks. The youngest detrital zircon cluster in the low-grade rocks yielded U-Pb ages of 481 ± 16 Ma, which provide an older limit for deposition. The HP rocks are composed of metabasites, serpentinite, granite (482 ± 3 Ma) and mica schist (youngest concordant detrital zircon: 433 ± 3 Ma). The schist and granite are inferred to be high-grade equivalents of lower Paleozoic, low-grade rocks exposed elsewhere in the Acatlán Complex, from which they are inferred to have been removed by subduction erosion. Mineral analyses indicate that the subducted rocks underwent HP metamorphism and polyphase deformation at depths of ~ 50 km (~ 16 kbar and 750 °C: eclogite facies). Subsequent retrogression passed through epidote-amphibolite to greenschist facies, which was synchronous with W-vergent thrusting over the low-grade clastic rocks. Deposition of the low-grade rocks and thrusting are bracketed between either 481–329 Ma (Ordovician-Mississippian), and was followed by F₃ synformal folding. Cooling through ca. 385 °C is indicated by 329 ± 1 and 316–317 ± 2 Ma, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar muscovite plateau ages in HP rocks, which are 5–17 my younger than those of the adjacent Piaxtla eclogites suggesting younger exhumation. The petrology, P-T conditions and ages of the Piaxtla Suite is consistent with an extrusion channel within the Acatlán Complex along the active western margin of Pangea during the Carboniferous. Detrital zircon populations in the low-grade psammite (ca. 481, 520–650, 720, 750, 815, 890, 1050 and 2750 Ma) and the HP schist (ca. 457–480, 534, 908, 954–1150, 1265, 1845 and 2035 Ma) indicate derivation from the Ordovician Acatlán granitoids, Neoproterozoic Brasiliano orogens, 900–750 Ma Goiás arc (Amazonia), 1–1.3 Ma Oaxaquia, and more ancient sources in Oaxaquia/Amazonia.     

Lu-Hf geochronology of Mississippian high-pressure metamorphism in the Acatlán Complex,southern México

Since the first discovery of eclogite in the Acatlán Complex in southern México, the age of the high-pressure metamorphism has been a matter of debate. Several attempts to date high-pressure metamorphic rocks of the Acatlán Complex have been made using the U-Pb and ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar methods. The resulting dates, however do not correspond unambiguously to the time of eclogite facies metamorphism. In this study, the age of high-pressure metamorphism in the Acatlán Complex has been determined by Lu-Hf garnet-whole rock geochronology. This paper presents four high precision, 4- to 7-point garnet-whole rock isochrons of amphibolitized eclogite from the Piaxtla Suite and the Asís Lithodeme, in the Acatlán Complex. The four dates agree within uncertainties, yielding a weighted mean of 352.5 ± 1.6 Ma, which we interpret to be the age of eclogite facies metamorphism in the Piaxtla Suite and the Asís Lithodeme, marking active subduction in the Acatlán Complex in the Carboniferous. Mississippian high-pressure metamorphism in turn, might be related to the closure of the Rheic Ocean and the assembly of Pangea.     

Mafic forearc cumulates and associated rocks in the central high-pressure belt of the Acatlán Complex of southern México: geochemical constraints

The high-pressure (HP) Piaxtla Suite at Tehuitzingo contains peridotites, gabbros, and serpentinized peridotites, as well as granitoids and metasedimentary rocks. The HP mafic rocks are characterized by low SiO₂ (38–52 wt.%) and high Mg# (～48–70), Ni (100–470 ppm), and Cr (180–1750 ppm), typical of cumulate compositions. Trace elements and rare earth element (REE) primitive mantle-normalized patterns display generally flat profiles, indicative of derivation from a primitive mantle with two distinct patterns: (1) gabbroic patterns are characterized by a positive Eu anomaly, low REE abundances, and slightly depleted high REE (HREE) relative to low REE (LREE), typical of cumulus olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase; and (2) mafic-intermediate gabbroic patterns exhibit very flat profiles characteristic of olivine and clinopyroxene as cumulus minerals. Their Nb/Y and Zr/TiO₂ ratios suggest a subalkaline character, whereas low Ti/V ratios indicate that the Tehuitzingo cumulates are island arc tholeiitic basalts that resemble modern, immature oceanic, forearc magmas. These cumulates have high values of ? _Nd(t) = 5.3–8.5 and ¹⁴⁷Sm/¹⁴⁴Nd = 0.18–0.23, which renders calculations of model ages meaningless. Our data are consistent with the Tehuitzingo arc rocks being part of a tectonically extruded Devonian–early Carboniferous arc developed along the west margin of Gondwana.     

Geochemistry and Sm–Nd isotopic systematics of Ediacaran–Ordovician,sedimentary and bimodal igneous rocks in the western Acatlán Complex,southern Mexico: Evidence for rifting on the southern margin of the Rheic Ocean

Ordovician igneous rocks in the western Acatlán Complex (Olinalá area) of southern Mexico include a bimodal igneous suite that intrudes quartzites and gneisses of the Zacango Unit, and all these rocks were polydeformed and metamorphosed in the amphibolite facies during the Devono-Carboniferous. The Ordovician igneous rocks consist of the penecontemporaneous amphibolites, megacrystic granitoids and leucogranite, the latter dated at ca. 464 Ma. Geochemical and Sm–Nd data indicate that the amphibolites have a differentiated tholeiitic signature, and that its mafic protoliths formed in an extensional setting transitional between within-plate and ocean floor. The amphibolites are variably contaminated by a Mesoproterozoic crustal source, inferred to be the Oaxacan basement exposed in the adjacent terrane. The most primitive samples have εNdt (t = 465 Ma) values significantly below that of the contemporary depleted mantle and were probably derived from the sub-continental lithospheric mantle. The megacrystic granites were most probably derived by partial melting of an arc crustal source (similar to the Oaxacan Complex) and triggered by the ascent of mafic magma from the lithospheric mantle. Sm–Nd isotopic signatures suggest that metasedimentary rocks from Zacango Unit were derived from adjacent Oaxacan Complex. Trace elements relationships (e.g. La/Th vs. Hf) and REE patterns suggest provenance in felsic-intermediate igneous rocks with a calc-alkaline signature. The Ordovician bimodal magmatism is inferred to have resulted from rifting on the southern flank of the Rheic Ocean and is an expression of a major rifting event that occurred along much of the northern Gondwanan margin in the Ordovician.     

Palaeozoic structures in the Xayacatlán area,Acatlán Complex,southern Mexico: transtensional rift‐ and subduction‐related deformation along the margin of Oaxaquia

The Xayacatlán area (eastern Mixteca terrane, southern Mexico) was previously inferred to preserve the Ordovician‐Silurian thrust contact between vestiges of the Iapetus Ocean and the para‐autochthon bordering Oaxaquia. Detailed remapping indicates that the rocks occur in four vertically‐bounded, NS fault blocks. The latter record the following tectonothermal events that post‐date Iapetus and occurred along the margins of the Rheic (1) and Pacific (2 and 3) oceans: (1) dextral transtension accompanying intrusion of an NS, tholeiitic dike swarm at ～442 Ma; (2) penetrative, greenschist‐facies deformation during the Mississippian related to extrusion of high‐pressure rocks; and (3) subgreenschist‐facies dextral transtension on NS faults during the generation of Middle Permian fabrics.     

Arc plutonism in a transtensional regime: the late Palaeozoic Totoltepec pluton,Acatlán Complex,southern Mexico

The ENE-trending, ca. 306–287 Ma, Totoltepec pluton is part of a Carboniferous–Permian continental magmatic arc on the western Pangaean margin. The 15 km?×?5 km pluton is bounded by two N–S Permian dextral faults, an E–W thrust to the south, and an E–W normal fault to the north. Thermobarometric data indicate that the main, ca. 289–287 Ma, part of the pluton was emplaced at ≤20 km depth and ≥700°C and was exhumed to 11 km and 400°C in 4 ± 2 million years. We have documented the following intrusive sequence: (1) the 306 Ma northern marginal mafic phase; (2) the 287 Ma main trondhjemitic phase; and (3) ca. 289–283 Ma sub-vertical dikes that vary from (a) N39E, undeformed with crystal growth perpendicular to the margins, through (b) ca. N50–73E, foliated and folded with sinistral shear indicators, to (c) N73–140E and boudinaged. The obliquity of the boundary between the folded and stretched dikes relative to the N–S dextral faults suggests sequential emplacement in a transtensional regime (with 20% E–W extension), followed by different degrees of clockwise rotation passing through a shortening field accompanied by sinistral shear into an extensional field. The ca. 289–287 Ma intrusion also contains a steep ENE-striking foliation and hornblende lineations varying from sub-horizontal to steeply plunging, probably the result of emplacement in a triclinic strain regime. We infer that magmatism ceased when some of the dextral motion was transferred from the western to the eastern bounding fault, causing thrusting to take place along the southern boundary of the pluton. This mechanism is also invoked for the rapid uplift and exhumation of the pluton between ca. 287 Ma and 283 Ma. The distinctive characteristics of the Totoltepec pluton should prove useful in identifying similar tectonic settings within continental arcs.     

New stratigraphic,geochronological, and structural data from the southern Guanajuato Mining District,México: implications for the caldera hypothesis

Abstract

The Cenozoic stratigraphy of the southern Guanajuato Mining District (GMD) was established 40 years ago. The existence of a caldera structure that produced the Cenozoic volcanic cover was postulated and the world-class silver ore deposit of the Oligocene age has been closely related to magmatism. In this context, we present a new geological map of the southern GMD, U–Pb and Ar–Ar ages of the volcanic units, and structural data for the Cenozoic faults. Our results document that the volcanic centre was active between ca. 33.5 Ma and ca. 31.3 Ma, coeval with NW–SE normal faulting. We propose that the Bufa, Calderones, and Cedro formations are stratigraphic units directly related to the volcanic centre. Although the younger Chichíndaro Rhyolite scarcely crops out within the study area, it appears to be more extensive outside of the study area, forming part of the rhyolitic volcanism of the Mesa Central of Mexico. In the study area, the Chichíndaro Rhyolite buries major faults, demonstrating that it was emplaced after the peak of faulting. The two main structures are the El Cubo and Veta Madre grabens; also there are several faulted and brecciated zones where silver–gold mineralization was emplaced. The extension direction changed from NE to NW producing normal faulting, reactivating older structures and allowing dike intrusion. The extensional phase continued to be active throughout the Oligocene. The age of the volcanic event and a new K–Ar age of the Veta Madre vein of 29.8 ± 0.8 Ma (K–Ar in adularia) indicate that the hydrothermal event began immediately after the emplacement of the Cedro Formation. The emplacement of the Chichíndaro Rhyolite allowed hydrothermal activity to be active for two million years or more.     

Exotic rifted passive margin of a back-arc basin off western Pangea: geochemical evidence from the Early Mesozoic Ayú Complex,southern Mexico

Recent detrital zircon studies of metamorphosed and polydeformed rocks of the early Mesozoic Ayú Complex in southern Mexico suggest an allochthonous origin along the western Pangean margin. Bulk-rock geochemistry of the ca. 170–200 Ma ortho-amphibolites suggests a composition ranging from alkalic and transitional basalts to normalized mid-ocean ridge basalt (N-MORB) tholeiites. Rare earth element (REE) patterns of alkaline basalts (Group I) are characterized by steep negative slopes, whereas transitional basalts (Group II) show moderate light REE (LREE) enrichment. Subalkalic Group III displays slight LREE enrichment and Group IV has relatively flat REE patterns with slight depletion in LREEs. Multiple trace element plots of Group III–IV amphibolites reveal strongly negative Nb–Ta anomalies caused by subduction zone contamination. Initial ?_Nd values (t = 190 Ma) of the amphibolites range from +9.01 to –2.16. Alkalic basalts have negative ?_Nd values, suggesting derivation from an older subcontinental mantle source (T _DM = 877 and 791 Ma). Group II–IV amphibolites have positive ?_Nd values ranging from +2.31 to +9.01, indicating a transition from an older to a relatively juvenile mantle source that is typical of a back-arc setting. The geochemistry of the metasedimentary rocks suggests derivation from an acid-arc source. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns are characterized by enriched LREEs, flat HREE, and negative Eu anomalies. Sm–Nd systematics indicate that most samples were derived from cratonic basement and plot within the Oaxacan Complex envelope with ?_Nd values (t = 195 Ma) ranging from –5.53 to –7.65. We interpret two samples with higher ?_Nd values (–1.42 and +1.06) to reflect the additional influence of a more juvenile component. The amphibolites and metasedimentary rocks of the Ayú Complex document back-arc activity and are inferred to be correlative with various western Mexican Triassic–Jurassic mafic suites and the Potosí fan that formed along the western rifted margin of Pangea.     

First lead isotopic data for cinnabar in the Almadén district (Spain): implications for the genesis of the mercury deposits

The Almadén district constitutes the largest and probably the most intriguing mercury concentration in the world. Two types of mineralization are recognized: 1) stratabound, of Lower Silurian age, well represented by the large Almadén deposit; and 2) fully discordant mercury deposits of minor importance in terms of size, and exemplified by the deposit of Las Cuevas. The latter ones can be found at different positions along the Almadén stratigraphic column. Both types of deposits are always associated with the so-called frailesca rocks (diatremes of alkali basaltic composition). This paper reports the first lead isotope compositions of cinnabar in the district. Whole samples and stepwise leaching cinnabar aliquots display relatively homogeneous isotopic compositions (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 18.112–18.460; ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.635–15.705; ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 38.531–38.826). Taken together with Jébrak et al.s (2002) pyrite lead isotope results, the new cinnabar isotopic data define a steep array trend on the ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb– ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb diagram, indicating a mixed contribution of lead and probably mercury from different sedimentary sources in the Almadén basin. The Almadén Hg deposits are related to a contemporaneous mafic magmatism that might have provided part of the mercury. Hydrothermal leaching of organic matter from sedimentary rocks and formation of Hg organic complexes enhanced metal solubility, promoting transport from and within the volcanic units.Editorial handling: M. Chiaradia     

Retrowedge-related Carboniferous units and coeval magmatism in the northwestern Neuquén province, Argentina

The studied Carboniferous units comprise metasedimentary (Guaraco Norte Formation), pyroclastic (Arroyo del Torreón Formation), and sedimentary (Huaraco Formation) rocks that crop out in the northwestern Neuquén province, Argentina. They form part of the basement of the Neuquén Basin and are mostly coeval with the Late Paleozoic accretionary prism complex of the Coastal Cordillera, south-central Chile. U–Pb SHRIMP dating of detrital zircon yielded a maximum depositional age of 374?Ma (Upper Devonian) for the Guaraco Norte Formation and 389?Ma for the Arroyo del Torreón Formation. Detrital magmatic zircon from the Guaraco Norte Formation are grouped into two main populations of Devonian and Ordovician (Famatinian) ages. In the Arroyo del Torreón Formation, zircon populations are also of Devonian and Ordovician (Famatinian), as well as of Late Neoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic ages. In both units, there is a conspicuous population of Devonian magmatic zircon grains (from 406?±?4?Ma to 369?±?5?Ma), indicative of active magmatism at that time range. The ε_Hf values of this population range between ?2.84 and ?0.7, and the TDM-(Hf) are mostly Mesoproterozoic, suggesting that the primary sources of the Devonian magmatism contained small amounts of Mesoproterozoic recycled crustal components. The chemical composition of the Guaraco Norte Formation corresponds to recycled, mature polycyclic sediment of mature continental provenance, pointing to a passive margin with minor inputs from continental margin magmatic rocks. The chemical signature of the Huaraco Formation indicates that a magmatic arc was the main provenance for sediments of this unit, which is consistent with the occurrence of tuff—mostly in the Arroyo del Torreón Formation and very scarcely in the Huaraco Formation—with a volcanic-arc signature, jointly indicating the occurrence of a Carboniferous active arc magmatism during the deposition of the two units. The Guaraco Norte Formation is interpreted to represent passive margin deposits of mostly Lower Carboniferous age (younger than 374?Ma and older than 326?Ma) that precede the onset of the accretionary prism in Chile and extend into the earliest stage of the accretion, in a retrowedge position. The Arroyo del Torreón and Huaraco formations are considered to be retrowedge basin deposits to the early frontal accretionary prism (Eastern Series) of Chile. The presence of volcanism with arc signature in the units provides evidence of a Mississippian magmatic arc that can be correlated with limited exposures of the same age in the Frontal Cordillera (Argentina). The arc would have migrated to the West (Coastal Batholith) during Pennsylvanian–Permian times (coevally with the later basal accretionary prism/Western Series). The source of a conspicuous population of Devonian detrital zircon interpreted to be of magmatic origin in the studied units is discussed in various possible geotectonic scenarios, the preferred model being a magmatic arc developed in the Chilenia block, related to a west-dipping subduction beneath Chilenia before and shortly after its collision against Cuyania/Gondwana, at around 390?Ma and not linked to the independent, Devonian–Mississippian arc, developed to the south, in Patagonia.     

Provenance of the Permo–Carboniferous sediments in the northern Alxa and its tectonic implications for the southernmost Central Asian Orogenic Belt

As the southernmost segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), the northern Alxa orogenic belt (NAOB) connects the southeastern and southwestern segments of the CAOB. The NAOB amalgamated with the closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean; however, the closure time of the Paleo-Asian Ocean is still on great debate. In this study, we reported new detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology and Hf–O isotopes for the Permo–Carboniferous sediments in the northern Alxa to constrain the provenance and its tectonic implications. The Permo–Carbonifereous Amushan Formation is composed of volcanic-carbonite-clastic rocks and was deposited in a shallow marine environment. Based on the zircon U–Pb geochronology, the Amushan Formation was deposited in the late Carboniferous to early Permian, but some outcrops of volcanic and clastic rocks in the Quaganqulu area were likely formed in the middle to late Permian. The integrated zircon age spectrum for the clastic rocks shows a wide range from late Archean to Paleoproterozoic, Mesoproterozoic (with a peak age at 1458 ​Ma), early Neoproterozoic (with peak ages of 988 ​Ma and 929 ​Ma), early Paleozoic (with a peak age at 447 ​Ma) and late Paleozoic (with a peak age at 294 ​Ma). Combined with the zircon Hf–O isotopes, the provenance was considered to be the Alxa Block, the Shalazhashan terrane and the Zhusileng–Hangwula block (and the southern Beishan orogenic belt). The multiple source regions to the south and north of the Paleo-Asian Ocean indicate the closure of this ocean before the late Carboniferous. The absence or small proportion of depositional age-approximated zircons in most samples makes their age spectra similar to extensional basins. Combined with the intra-plate volcanism, the deposits were considered to be formed in extensional settings. Accordingly, after the closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean, the NAOB stepped into an extensional stage.     

Trace-element geochemistry of transform-fault serpentinite in high-pressure subduction mélanges (eastern Cuba): implications for subduction initiation

The Sierra del Convento and La Corea mélanges (eastern Cuba) are vestiges of a Cretaceous subduction channel in the Caribbean realm. Both mélanges contain blocks of oceanic crust and serpentinite subducted to high pressure within a serpentinite matrix. The bulk composition of serpentinite indicates spinel-harzburgite and -herzolite protoliths. The samples preserve fertile protolith signatures that suggest low melting degrees. High concentration of immobile elements Zr, Th, Nb, and REE contents (from ~0.1 to ~2 CI-chondrite) point to early melt–rock interaction processes before serpentinization took place. Major- and trace-element compositions suggest an oceanic fracture-zone–transform-fault setting. A mild negative Eu anomaly in most samples indicates low-temperature fluid–rock interaction as a likely consequence of seawater infiltration during oceanic serpentinization. A second, more important, serpentinization stage is related to enrichment in U, Pb, Cs, Ba, and Sr due to the infiltration of slab-derived fluids. The mineral assemblages are mainly formed by antigorite, lizardite, and chlorite, with local minor talc, tremolite, anthophyllite, dolomite, brucite, and relict orthopyroxene. The local presence of anthophyllite and the replacements of lizardite by antigorite indicate a metamorphic evolution from the cooling of peridotite/serpentinite at the oceanic context to mild heating and compression in a subduction setting. We propose that serpentinites formed at an oceanic transform-fault setting that was the locus of subduction initiation of the Proto-Caribbean basin below the Caribbean plate during early Cretaceous times. Onset of subduction at the fracture zone allowed the preservation of abyssal transform-fault serpentinites at the upper plate, whereas limited downward drag during mature subduction placed the rocks in the subduction channel where they tectonically mixed with the upward-migrating accreted block of the subducted Proto-Caribbean oceanic crust. Hence, we suggest that relatively fertile serpentinites of high-pressure mélanges were witness to the onset of subduction at an oceanic transform-fault setting.     

Plio-Quaternary development of the Baklan–Dinar graben: implications for cross-graben formation in SW Turkey

In the Dnepr-Donets trough, salt domes having their origin in Devonian rocks were formed by four stages of cyclic tectonic activity from Late Devonian through Cretaceous. Three types of domes were formed: open piercement core, crypto-diapir, and crypto-diapiroid. - M. Russell.     

Linking Palaeozoic palaeogeography of the Betic Cordillera to the Variscan Iberian Massif: new insight through the first conodonts of the Nevado-Filábride Complex

International Journal of Earth Sciences - Graphite-rich metamorphic limestones included within low-grade black schists of the lowest Nevado-Filábride tectonic unit in the Sierra de Baza...     

Holocene relative shore-level changes and development of the Ģipka lagoon in the western Gulf of Riga

Holocene relative shore-level changes and development of the Ģipka palaeolagoon in the western Gulf of Riga are reconstructed using multiproxy analyses by combining litho-, biostratigraphical and chronological data with remote sensing and geophysical data. The results show the development of the Ģipka basin from the Ancylus Lake/Initial Litorina Sea coastal zone (before c. 9.1 cal. ka BP) to coastal fen (c. 9.1 to 8.4 cal. ka BP) and gradual development of the Litorina Sea lagoon (c. 8.4 to 4.8 cal. ka BP) and its transition to a freshwater coastal lake (c. 4.8 to 4.6 cal. ka BP), fen (c. 4.6 to 4.2 cal. ka BP), and river floodplain (since c. 4.2 cal. ka BP). The highest shorelines of the Ancylus Lake and Litorina Sea were mapped at an elevation of 12–11 and 9 m a.s.l., respectively. A new relative shore level (RSL) curve for the western Gulf of Riga was constructed based on RSL data from the Ģipka area and from nearby Ruhnu Island studied earlier. The reconstruction shows that the beginning of the last marine transgression in the western Gulf of Riga started at c. 8.4 cal. ka BP, and concurred with the 1.9 m RSL rise event recorded from the North Sea basin. Diatom analysis results indicate the existence of the Ģipka lagoon between c. 7.7 and 4.8 cal. ka BP, with the highest salinity c. 6.1 cal. ka BP. During the existence of the brackish lagoon, settlement sites of the Neolithic hunter–gatherer groups existed on the shores of the lagoon in the period c. 6.0 to 5.0 cal. ka BP.     

Geochemical distribution of arsenic,cadmium, lead and zinc in river sediments affected by tailings in Zimapán,a historical polymetalic mining zone of México

High arsenic (As) groundwater is widely distributed in northwestern Hetao Plain, an arid region with sluggish groundwater flow. Observed As concentration in groundwater from wells ranges from 76 to 1,093 μg/l. Most water samples have high total dissolved solids, with Cl and HCO₃ as the dominant anions and Na as the dominant cation. The major hydrochemical types of most saline groundwaters are Na–Mg–Cl–HCO₃ and Na–Mg–Cl. By contrast, fresh groundwaters generally belong to the Na–Mg–HCO₃ type. High concentrations of arsenic in shallow aquifers are associated with strongly reducing conditions, as evidenced by high concentrations of dissolved organic carbon, ammonium, as well as dissolved sulfide and Fe, dominance of arsenite, relatively low concentrations of nitrate and sulfate, and occasionally high content of dissolved methane (CH₄). High As groundwaters from different places at Hetao Plain experienced different redox processes. Fluoride is also present in high As groundwater, ranging between 0.40 and 3.36 mg/l. Although fluorosis poses an additional health problem in the region, it does not correlate well with As in spatial distribution. Geochemical analysis indicates that evapotranspiration is an important process controlling the enrichment of Na and Cl, as well as trace elements such as As, B, and Br in groundwater. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Petrology and P–T history of the Wutai amphibolites: implications for tectonic evolution of the Wutai Complex,China

The Wutai Complex represents the best preserved granite-greenstone terrane in the North China Craton. The complex comprises a sequence of metamorphosed ultramafic to felsic volcanic rocks, variably deformed granitoid rocks, along with lesser amounts of siliciclastic and carbonate rocks and banded iron formations. Petrological evidence from the Wutai amphibolites indicates four metamorphic evolutionary stages. The M₁ assemblage is composed of plagioclase+quartz+actinolite+chlorite+epidote+biotite+rutile, preserved as mineral inclusions in garnet porphyroblasts. The metamorphic conditions for this assemblage cannot be quantitatively estimated. The M₂ stage is represented by garnet porphyroblasts in a matrix of quartz, plagioclase, amphibole, biotite, rutile and ilmenite. P–T conditions for this assemblage have been estimated using the program Tweequ at 10–12 kbar and 600–650°C. The M₃ assemblage is shown by amphibole+plagioclase±ilmenite symplectic coronas around embayed garnets and yields P–T conditions of 6.0–7.0 kbar and 600–650°C. M₄ is represented by chlorite and epidote rimming garnet, chlorite rimming amphibole and epidote replacing plagioclase under greenschist-facies conditions of 400–500°C and relatively lower pressures. Taken together, the qualitative P–T estimates from M₁ and M₄ and the quantitative P–T estimates from M₂ and M₃ define a clockwise P–T path for the Wutai amphibolites.The estimated P–T path from the four stages suggests that the Wutai Complex underwent initial burial and crustal thickening (M₁+M₂), subsequent isothermal exhumation (M₃), and finally cooling and retrogression (M₄). This tectonothermal path, along with those of the Fuping and Hengshan complexes, which bound the southeast and northwest margins, respectively, of the Wutai Complex, is considered to record the early Paleoproterozoic collision between the eastern and western segments of the North China craton.     

Geochemistry of Lower Cretaceous limestones of the Alisitos Formation,Baja California,México: Implications for REE source and paleo-redox conditions

Measurement of the major and trace elements were carried out on the Lower Cretaceous limestones interbedded in the volcano-sedimentary Alisitos Formation, northwestern México to understand the source of rare earth elements (REEs) and paleo-redox conditions. The five limestone beds (from the base up, Unit 5 to Unit 9) of the Alisitos Formation show large variations in SiO₂ content (0.9–27.9%). A low concentration of CaO is observed in Unit 6 and Unit 8, and high content of CaO is observed in Unit 5, Unit 7 and Unit 9. The limestones are depleted in many trace elements with respect to Post-Archaean Australian Shale (PAAS), whereas Sr shows slight enrichment when compared to PAAS. The concentrations of ΣREE are higher in Unit 6 and Unit 8 (37.4 ± 7.5; 46.6 ± 19.4; respectively) than Unit5, Unit7, and Unit 9 (9.1 ± 3.2; 11.3 ± 9.4; 4.2 ± 2.5; respectively). The limestones of the Alisitos Formation show a non-seawater-like REE + Y pattern with positive Eu anomalies relative to PAAS (0.95–2.47). Variations in ΣREE, Al₂O₃, Zr, Sc, REE + Y patterns, and Y/Ho ratios are influenced mainly by the amount of terrigenous materials. The variations in the Eu/Eu*, La/Sc and La/Co suggest that the terrigenous materials included in the lower four limestone beds (from Unit 5, Unit 6, Unit 7 and Unit 8) were likely contributed by intermediate to felsic rocks whereas terrigenous materials from Unit 9 were derived from mafic to intermediate source rocks. The slightly negative to slightly positive Ce anomalies in the studied limestones resulted from variations in the bottom water oxygenation. This was also corroborated by V/Cr and Ni/Co ratios suggesting that the depositional environments experienced large fluctuations in oxygenation conditions ranging from oxic to anoxic conditions during the deposition of limestones of the Alisitos Formation.     

Palaeomagnetic assessment of plutons from the southern Peninsular Ranges batholith and the Jurassic Vizcaíno igneous suites,Baja California,México

ABSTRACT

We report geological and palaeomagnetic data from five discrete plutons in the southern part of the Peninsular Ranges batholith (PRB) and one pluton that is part of the Jurassic plutonic suite in the Vizcaíno peninsula. The PRB plutons are Cretaceous and belong to the Alisitos island arc. The Jurassic pluton intrudes a Triassic-Jurassic ophiolite.

Our study was designed to evaluate the palaeomagnetic homogeneity of the batholith from the Sierra San Pedro Mártir, at ~31°N, to about ~28.3°N. The Punta Prieta, Nuevo Rosarito, San Jerónimo, and La Rinconada plutons in the western zone of the PRB are characterized by magnetizations residing in magnetite. The Compostela pluton is emplaced in a transition zone and has a magnetization that resides in haematite. The five Cretaceous plutons yield a combined palaeopole at 80.3°N, 162.1°E, A₉₅ = 9.8°, N = 5 that after correcting for the opening of the Gulf of California rotates to 77.6°N, 173.6°E, the rotated pole being in angular distance of only 4.4° from the North America reference pole. The Jurassic San Roque pluton yields a mean 0.6°N, 306.1°E, A₉₅ = 9.2°, N = 10, which is discordant, showing a clockwise rotation of about 131° ± 16° and flattening of 9.5° ± 12.9° with respect to the 150 Ma cratonic reference palaeopole. The results suggest that the intrusion of the undeformed Cretaceous Punta Prieta to Compostela plutons (128.1 ± 1.4 and 100.5 ± 2.7 Ma, respectively) restricts tectonic accretion of the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous sequences to the North America margin to the time before mid-Cretaceous magmatism (~100 Ma) in the PRB near present latitude 28°N. Mesozoic and Cenozoic strike-slip faulting along the Vizcaíno margin can account for the 131° clockwise rotation of the San Roque pluton. Our results do not support significant latitudinal movement between Vizcaíno, the PRB, and mainland Mexico with the exception of the Neogene San Andreas Fault-related right lateral movement.