滇西南团梁子岩组分异石英脉锆石U-Pb年龄——晚三叠世澜沧江构造带区域变质变形的时代制约

在滇西南澜沧江构造带东侧、扬子板块西缘中元古代团梁子岩组含有大量的平行于区域面理(S2)的构造热液石英脉,利用LA-ICP-MS对3件石英脉和1件绿片岩中的锆石进行~(206)U/~(238)Pb测年,获得3组明显的组合年龄:395～461Ma、240～260Ma和222～228Ma,大部分集中于222～228Ma。对比研究表明,区域上2期变质变形(M_1D_1、M_2D_2)与获得的锆石年龄有较好的对应性,早期的变质变形(M_1D_1)形成于早古生代(395～461Ma)原特提斯洋盆向东俯冲阶段;晚期的2期变质变形(M_(2a)D_(2a),M_(2b)D_(2b))发生于晚古生代—中生代早期(240～260Ma)古特提斯洋盆向东俯冲阶段和晚三叠世早期(222～228Ma)古特提斯洋盆闭合阶段。晚三叠世早期变质变形(M_(2b)D_(2b))构造热液发生在临沧花岗岩侵位和弧陆碰撞型忙怀组火山岩(229～235Ma)之后,早于小定西组/芒汇河组拉伸期火山岩(210～222Ma),是古特提斯洋与扬子陆块碰撞后的应力松弛阶段俯冲岩片快速折返的证据,同时也反映了古特提斯洋盆在晚三叠世早期之前已经关闭。     

Origin,age, and significance of deep‐seated granulite‐facies migmatites in the Barrow zones of Scotland,Cairn Leuchan,Glen Muick area

Petrological modelling of granulite‐facies mafic and semipelitic migmatites from Cairn Leuchan, northeast Scotland, has provided new constraints on the pressure (P) and temperature (T) conditions of high‐grade metamorphism in the type‐locality Barrow zones. Phase diagrams constructed in the Na₂O–CaO–K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O–TiO₂–O₂ system have constrained the P?T conditions of peak metamorphism in the Glen Muick region of the upper sillimanite zone (Sill+Kfs) to have been at least ～840°C at ～9 kbar (high‐P granulite facies). These conditions are ～120°C and ～3 kbar higher than those recorded by lower sillimanite zone (Sill+Ms) units located only a few kilometres away to the southeast at Glen Girnock, indicating the presence of a significant thermal and barometric high exposed within the Scottish Dalradian, and supporting previous suppositions of a potential tectonic break between the two regions. U–Pb zircon geochronology performed on these mafic migmatites produced ages of c. 540–470 Ma from grains with both igneous and metamorphic morphological characteristics. Their basaltic protoliths likely formed during a period of volcanism dated at c. 570 Ma, associated with passive‐margin extension prior to the onset of Iapetus Ocean closure, and high‐grade metamorphism and partial melting is interpreted to have taken place at c. 470 Ma, synchronous with sillimanite‐grade metamorphism recorded elsewhere in the Dalradian. These high‐grade Cairn Leuchan lithologies are interpreted as representing a fragment of Grampian Terrane lower crust that was exhumed via displacement along a steeply dipping tectonic discontinuity related to the Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament, and are not pre‐Caledonian Mesoproterozoic basement, as suggested by some previous studies. Veins within some mafic migmatites in the Cairn Leuchan area, composed almost entirely (>80%) of garnet, with minor quartz, plagioclase, amphibole, and clinopyroxene, are interconnected with leucosomes and are interpreted to represent former garnet‐bearing melt segregations that have been locally drained of almost all melt. Thus, mafic components of the lower crust, currently underlying relatively lower grade metasediments exposed to the southeast, may represent a potential source rock for widely documented, post‐orogenic felsic plutons, sills, and dykes that occur throughout the Grampian Terrane.     

Structures associated with superimposed inhomogenous shearing of basic dykes from Finnmark, Norway

Metadolerites within the Olderfjord Nappe of the Kalak Nappe Complex of North Norway show a wide range of structural relationships. During D₂ simple shear rotated the dykes from an initially orthogonal relationship towards parallelism with the sedimentary layering and boudinaged those dykes that rotated to within 25° of the sedimentary layering. During D₃ dykes which had been rotated to within 5° of the layering were folded; those lying between 5° and 25° were boudinaged whilst those at angles between 25° and 75° had folds developed against their margins. At higher angles of discordance little evidence of D₂ or D₃ deformation has been observed.In other thrust sheets within the Kalak Nappe Complex metabasites have generally been sheared into parallelism with the compositional banding. By comparison with the Olderfjord Nappe the average D₂ shear strain within the Kalak Nappe Complex ranges between 5 and 10. The anomalous preservation of high angle discordant relationships in the Olderfjord Nappe reflects the preservation of a large scale low-strain block (mega-boudin) within the nappe; samples taken from the mega-boudin are more suitable for geochemical analysis for tectonic setting discrimination.     

Bulk finite tectonic strain estimates from the deformation of neptunian dykes

Large sedimentary dykes, which penetrate down through their host sediments for several metres, are described from the Late Precambrian Dalradian sediments of Islay in the southwest Scottish Highlands. The sediments and their neptunian dykes have suffered a single penetrative deformation which produced a slaty cleavage during the evolution of the Islay nappe. Ratios of the three principal finite strains are calculated for the bulk or large-scale, homogeneous deformation of the sediments and their neptunian dykes using the method of Borradaile and Johnson (1973) and a new, more general method. Since the neptunian dykes result from the infilling of fractures in already consolidated sediments, subsequent considerable volume changes are unlikely to have occurred. Accepting constant volume post-diagenetic deformation the bulk tectonic strain is shown to have, in round figures: 70% shortening normal to slaty cleavage and extensions of 50% and 120% within the cleavage. The deformation accompanying the slaty cleavage lies within the field of true flattening.     

Deformation history of the Naraku Batholith,Mt Isa Inlier,Australia: Implications for pluton ages and geometries from structural study of the Dipvale Granodiorite and Levian Granite

Plutons of the Naraku Batholith were emplaced into Proterozoic metasediments of the northern portion of the Eastern Fold Belt of the Mt Isa Inlier during two intrusive episodes approximately 200 million years apart. Structural relationships and geochronological data suggest that the older plutons (ca 1750 Ma) are contemporaneous with granites of the Wonga Batholith to the west. The Dipvale Granodiorite and the Levian Granite represent these older intrusive phases of the Naraku Batholith, and both contain an intense tectonic foliation, S₁, which is interpreted to have formed during the north‐south shortening associated with D₁ of the Isan Orogeny. The geometry of S₁ form surfaces at the southern end of the Dipvale Granodiorite, and of the previously unrecognised sheeted contact, defines a macroscopic, steeply south‐southwest‐plunging antiform, which was produced by the regional D₂ of the Isan Orogeny. S₁ form surfaces in the Levian Granite define open F₂ folds with wavelengths of several hundred metres. The structural age of emplacement of the Dipvale Granodiorite and the Levian Granite is interpreted to be pre‐ or syn‐ the regional D₁. An intense foliation present in some of the younger (ca 1505 Ma) granites that comprise the bulk of the Naraku Batholith is interpreted to represent S₃ of the Isan Orogeny. Foliations commonly have similar styles and orientations in both the pre‐D₁ and younger plutons. This emphasises the simplicity with which regional fabrics can be, and probably have been, miscorrelated in the Eastern Fold Belt, and that the classification of granites in general on the basis of structural and geometric criteria alone is fraught with danger.     

Late Caledonian dyke-swarms in Southern Scotland: New field,petrological and geochemical data for the Wigtown Peninsula,Galloway

Several hundred, dominantly NE-trending dykes invade Silurian flysch sediments of the Wigtown Peninsula. The most basic dykes are K-rich biotite-lamprophyres, hornblende-lamprophyres and appinites ('diorites' of previous maps). More acidic (qz and cm normative) dykes include restricted andesitic compositions ('porphyritcs', c. 57 per cent SiO₂) and a continuum from dacitic to rhyolitic compositions ('acid porphyrites' and 'porphyries', c. 63–71 per cent SiO₂). The relative abundance of basic to intermediate + acidic dykes, based on examination of 180 thin sections and 70 new whole-rock analyses, is approximately 7:1. The biotite- and hornblende-lamprophyres are distinct in chemistry and distribution, biotite-lamprophyres being confined to the south of the Peninsula. Neither type has any compositional equivalent among the plutonic rocks of the area. Porphyrite and porphyry dykes do not represent simple lamprophyre fractionates, but may be derived from at least two (intermediate and acidic) parent magmas, which may represent crustally-contaminated lamprophyre or entirely separate crustal melts. Emplacement of all dyke compositions was apparently episodic through Wenlock to early Devonian times (c. 425-395 Ma). Early dykes post-date the main deformation (D₁) but predate minor (D₂) folding, both D₁ and D₂ being related to thrusting. On the current accretionary model for the Southern Uplands, this implies that dyke emplacement commenced before the end of accretion in a compressional tectonic regime—scarcely consistent with the moderate (up to 6 per cent) crustal extension represented by the dykes. The geochemistry of the lamprophyres requires a deep mantle origin several hundred kilometres behind any subduction zone. This suggests that the 'lapetus suture', at the time of dyke emplacement, was much farther south than its currently inferred position and places the Southern Uplands in a back-arc situation.     

The tectono‐metamorphic evolution of the very low‐grade hangingwall constrains two‐stage gneiss dome formation in the Montagne Noire (Southern France)

The Montagne Noire in the southernmost French Massif Central is made of an ENE‐elongated gneiss dome flanked by Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks. The tectonic evolution of the gneiss dome has generated controversy for more than half a century. As a result, a multitude of models have been proposed that invoke various tectonic regimes and exhumation mechanisms. Most of these models are based on data from the gneiss dome itself. Here, new constraints on the dome evolution are provided based on a combination of very low‐grade petrology, K–Ar geochronology, field mapping and structural analysis of the Palaeozoic western Mont Peyroux and Faugères units, which constitute part of the southern hangingwall of the dome. It is shown that southward‐directed Variscan nappe‐thrusting (D₁) and a related medium‐P metamorphism (M₁) are only preserved in the area furthest away from the gneiss dome. The regionally dominant pervasive tectono‐metamorphic event D₂/M₂ largely transposes D₁ structures, comprises a higher metamorphic thermal gradient than M₁ (transition low‐P and medium‐P metamorphic facies series) and affected the rocks between c. 309 and 300 Ma, post‐dating D₁/M₁ by more than 20 Ma. D₂‐related fabrics are refolded by D₃, which in its turn, is followed by dextral‐normal shearing along the basal shear zone of both units at c. 297 Ma. In the western Mont Peyroux and Faugères units, D₂/M₂ is largely synchronous with shearing along the southern dome margin between c. 311 and 303 Ma, facilitating the emplacement of the gneiss dome into the upper crust. D₂/M₂ also overlaps in time with granitic magmatism and migmatization in the Zone Axiale between c. 314 and 306 Ma, and a related low‐P/high‐T metamorphism at c. 308 Ma. The shearing that accompanied the exhumation of the dome therefore was synchronous with a peak in temperature expressed by migmatization and intrusion of melts within the dome, and also with the peak of metamorphism in the hangingwall. Both, the intensity of D₂ fabrics and the M₂ metamorphic grade within the hangingwall, decrease away from the gneiss dome, with grades ranging from the anchizone–epizone boundary to the diagenetic zone. The related zonation of the pre‐D₃ metamorphic field gradients paralleled the dome. These observations indicate that D₂/M₂ is controlled by the exhumation of the Zone Axiale, and suggest a coherent kinematic between the different crustal levels at some time during D₂/M₂. Based on integration of these findings with regional geological constraints, a two‐stage exhumation of the gneiss dome is proposed: during a first stage between c. 316 and 300 Ma dome emplacement into the upper crust was controlled by dextral shear zones arranged in a pull‐apart‐like geometry. The second stage from 300 Ma onwards was characterized by northeast to northward extension, with exhumation accommodated by north‐dipping detachments and hangingwall basin formation along the northeastern dome margin.     

Cleaved clasts in Dalradian conglomerates: possible evidence for Neoproterozoic compressional tectonism in Scotland and Ireland?

Cleaved metasedimentary clasts are present in stratigraphically and geographically distinct conglomerates in the Argyll and Southern Highland Groups of the Neoproterozoic Dalradian succession in the SW Scottish Highlands and NW Ireland. The significance and relationships of these clasts are that: (1) they were unequivocally reworked and deposited by sedimentary processes; (2) their internal foliation is probably due to contractional deformation that pre‐dates regional Caledonian fabrics; and (3) most of the cleaved clasts are only moderately deformed psammites and pelites and thus cannot be construed as having been derived from extensional mylonites. These conclusions, coupled with the generally accepted inferences that the Dalradian succession post‐dates Grenville deformation (c. 1100–1000 Ma) and pre‐dates early Palaeozoic Caledonian deformation (c. 470 Ma) and that the lowermost exposed Dalradian rocks, the Grampian Group, are truncated by a c. 806 Ma shear zone, imply that the clasts must have been foliated during an episode of mid‐Neoproterozoic contractional deformation. The clasts may thus represent further evidence in support of the contentious c. 870–800 Ma Knoydartian orogeny and thereby further render as equivocal interpretations that the Neoproterozoic tectonostratigraphic evolution of the Scottish Highlands and NW Ireland is a record of long‐lived ‘episodic’ extensional tectonism. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The application of stress path and critical state analysis to sediment deformation

The importance of consolidation, compression and shear as deformation mechanisms in uncemented sediments is discussed and the critical state concept is introduced as a unifying model for these aspects of deformation. From the critical state and the law of effective stress, the concepts of burial and tectonic stress paths are introduced with reference to the development of growth faults in an unlithified sediment undergoing simultaneous burial and extension. It is demonstrated that particulate deformation mechanisms can be important at burial depths of several kilometres, especially if the sediment is overpressured, and that deformation of this type will influence the geometry and nature of the structures produced. A model for the geometry and spacing of growth faults developed in unlithified sediments is proposed utilizing stress path and critical state concepts.     

Geological observations in high‐grade mid‐Proterozoic rocks from Else Platform,northern Prince Charles mountains region,east Antarctica

Granulite facies rocks on Else Platform in the northern Prince Charles Mountains, east Antarctica, consist of metasedimentary gneiss extensively intruded by granitic rocks. The dominant rock type is a layered garnetbiotite‐bearing gneiss intercalated with minor garnet‐cordierite‐sillimanite gneiss and calc‐silicate. Voluminous megacrystic granite intruded early during a mid‐Proterozoic (ca 1000 Ma) granulite event, M₁, widely recognized in east Antarctica. Peak metamorphic conditions for M₁ are in the range of 650–750 MPa at ～800°C and were associated with the development of a gneissic foliation, S₁ and steep east‐plunging lineation, L₁. Strain partitioning during progressive non‐coaxial deformation formed large D₂ granulite facies south‐dipping thrusts, with a steep, east‐plunging lineation. In areas of lower D₂ strain, large‐scale upright, steep east‐plunging fold structures formed synchronously with the D₂ high‐strain zones. Voluminous garnet‐bearing leucogneiss intruded at 940 ±20 Ma and was deformed in the D₂ high‐strain zones. Textural relationships in pelitic rocks show that peak‐M2 assemblages formed during increasing temperatures via reactions such as biotite + sillimanite + quartz ± plagioclase = spinel + cordierite + ilmenite + K‐feldspar + melt. In biotite‐absent rocks, re‐equilibration of deformed M₁ garnet‐sillimanite‐ilmenite assemblages occurred through decompressive reactions of the form, garnet + sillimanite + ilmenite = cordierite + spinel + quartz. Pressure/temperature estimates indicate that peak‐M₂ conditions were 500–600 MPa and 700±50°C. At about 500 Ma, north‐trending granitic dykes intruded and were deformed during D₃‐M₃ at probable upper amphibolite facies conditions. Cooling from peak D₃‐M₃ conditions was associated with the formation of narrow greenschist facies shear zones, and the intrusion of pegmatite. Cross‐cutting all features are abundant north‐south trending alkaline mafic dykes that were emplaced over the interval ca 310–145 Ma, reflecting prolonged intrusive activity. Some of the dykes are associated with steeply dipping faults that may be related to basin formation during Permian times and later extension, synchronous with the formation of the Lambert Graben in the Cretaceous.     

Elevated lateral stress in unlithified sediment, Midcontinent, United States—geotechnical and geophysical indicators for a tectonic origin

Indirect and direct geotechnical measurements revealed the presence of high lateral earth pressure (K_o) in shallow, unlithified sediment at a site in the northernmost Mississippi embayment region of the central United States. Results from pile-load and pressuremeter tests showed maximum K_o values greater than 10; however, the complex geologic environment of the Midcontinent made defining an origin for the anomalous K_o based solely on these measurements equivocal. Although in situ sediment characteristics indicated that indirect tectonic or nontectonic geologic mechanisms that include transient overburden loads (e.g., fluvial deposition/erosion, glacial advance/retreat) and dynamic shear loads (e.g., earthquakes) were not the dominant cause, they were unable to provide indicators for a direct tectonic generation. Localized stresses induced anthropogenically by the geotechnical field tests were also considered, but ruled out as the primary origin. A high-resolution shear-wave (SH) reflection image of geologic structure in the immediate vicinity of the test site revealed compression-style neotectonism, and suggested that the elevated stress was a tectonic manifestation. Post-Paleozoic reflectors exhibit a Tertiary (?) structural inversion, as evidenced by post-Cretaceous fault displacement and pronounced positive folds in the hanging wall of the interpreted faults. The latest stratigraphic extent of the stress effects (i.e., all measurements were in the Late Cretaceous to Tertiary McNairy Formation), as well as the relationship of stress orientation with the orientation of local structure and regional stress, remain unknown. These are the subjects of ongoing studies.     

Indentation of a free‐falling lance penetrometer into a poroelastic seabed

A solution is developed for the build‐up, steady and post‐arrest dissipative pore fluid pressure fields that develop around a blunt penetrometer that self‐embeds from freefall into the seabed. Arrest from freefall considers deceleration under undrained conditions in a purely cohesive soil, with constant shear strength with depth. The resulting decelerating velocity field is controlled by soil strength, geometric bearing capacity factors, and inertial components. At low impact velocities the embedment process is controlled by soil strength, and at high velocities by inertia. With the deceleration defined, a solution is evaluated for a point normal dislocation penetrating in a poroelastic medium with a prescribed decelerating velocity. Dynamic steady pressures, P_D, develop relative to the penetrating tip geometry with their distribution conditioned by the non‐dimensional penetration rate, U_D, incorporating impacting penetration rate, consolidation coefficient and penetrometer radius, and the non‐dimensional strength, N_D, additionally incorporating undrained shear strength of the sediment. Pore pressures develop to a steady peak magnitude at the penetrometer tip, and drop as P_D=1/x_D with distance x_D behind the tip and along the shaft. Peak induced pressure magnitudes may be correlated with sediment permeabilities, post‐arrest dissipation rates may be correlated with consolidation coefficients, and depths of penetration may be correlated with shear strengths. Together, these records enable strength and transport parameters to be recovered from lance penetrometer data. Penetrometer data recorded off La Palma in the Canary Islands (J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 2000; 101 :253) are used to recover permeabilities and consolidation coefficients from peak pressure and dissipation response, respectively. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Recognizing soft-sediment structures in deformed rocks of orogens

Soft-sediment deformation structures are common on passive continental margins, in trenches at subduction zones, and in strike-slip environments. Rocks from all these tectonic environments are incorporated into orogens, where soft-sediment deformation structures should be common. However, recognizing soft-sediment structures is difficult where superimposed tectonic structures are present. In seeking characteristic features of soft-sediment deformation, it is important to separate questions that relate to physical state (lithified or unlithified) from those that address the overall kinematic style (rooted or gravity driven). One recognizable physical state is liquefaction, which produces sand that has much lower strength than interbedded mud. Hence structures which indicate that mud was stronger than adjacent sand at the time of deformation can be used as indicators of soft-sediment deformation. These include angular fragments of mud surrounded by sand, dykes of sand cutting mud, and most usefully, folded sandstone layers displaying class 3 geometry interbedded with mud layers that show class 1 geometry. All these geometries have the potential to survive overprinting by later superimposed tectonic deformation; when preserved in deformed sedimentary rocks at low metamorphic grade they are indicators of liquefaction of unlithified sediment during deformation.     

Time‐scale of deformation and intertectonic phases revealed by P–T–D–t relationships in the orogenic middle crust of the Orlica‐Śnieżnik Dome,Polish/Czech Central Sudetes

A section of the orogenic middle crust (Orlica‐?nie?nik Dome, Polish/Czech Central Sudetes) was examined to constrain the duration and significance of deformation (D) and intertectonic (I) phases. In the studied metasedimentary synform, three deformation events produced an initial subhorizontal foliation S1 (D₁), a subsequent subvertical foliation S2 (D₂) and a late subhorizontal axial planar cleavage S3 (D₃). The synform was intruded by pre‐, syn‐ and post‐D₂ granitoid sheets. Crystallization–deformation relationships in mica schist samples document I_1–2 garnet–staurolite growth, syn‐D₂ staurolite breakdown to garnet–biotite–sillimanite/andalusite, I_2–3 cordierite blastesis and late‐D₃ chlorite growth. Garnet porphyroblasts show a linear Mn–Ca decrease from the core to the inner rim, a zone of alternating Ca–Y‐ and P‐rich annuli in the inner rim, and a Ca‐poor outer rim. The Ca–Y‐rich annuli probably reflect the occurrence of the allanite‐to‐monazite transition at conditions of the staurolite isograd, whereas the Ca‐poor outer rim is ascribed to staurolite demise. The reconstructed P–T path, obtained by modelling the stability of parageneses and garnet zoning, documents near‐isobaric heating from ~4 kbar/485 °C to ~4.75 kbar/575 °C during I_1–2. This was followed by a progression to 4–5 kbar/580–625 °C and a subsequent pressure decrease to 3–4 kbar during D₂. Pressure decrease below 3 kbar is ascribed to I_2–3, whereas cooling below ~500 °C occurred during D₃. In the dated mica schist sample, garnet rims show strong Lu enrichment, oscillatory Lu zoning and a slight Ca increase. These features are also related to allanite breakdown coeval with staurolite appearance. As Lu‐rich garnet rims dominate the Lu–Hf budget, the 344 ± 3 Ma isochron age is ascribed to garnet crystallization at staurolite grade, near the end of I_1–2. For the dated sample of amphibole–biotite granitoid sheet, a Pb–Pb single zircon evaporation age of 353 ± 1 Ma is related to the onset of plutonic activity. The results suggest a possible Devonian age for D₁, and a Carboniferous burial‐exhumation cycle in mid‐crustal rocks that is broadly coeval with the exhumation of neighbouring HP rocks during D₂. In the light of published ages, a succession of telescoping stages with time spans decreasing from c. 10 to 2–3 Ma is proposed. The initially long period of tectonic quiescence (I_1–2 phase, c. 10 Ma) inferred in the middle crust contrasts with contemporaneous deformation at deeper levels and points to decoupled P–T–D histories within the orogenic wedge. An elevated gradient of ~30 °C km^?1 and assumed high heating rates of c. 20 °C Ma^?1 are explained by the protracted intrusion of granitoid sheets, with or without deformation, whereas fast vertical movements (2–3 Ma, D₂ phase) in the crust require the activity of deformation phases.     

The boyndie syncline,a D1 structure in the Dalradian of Scotland

The structure of the Dalradian rocks of the Banffshire coast has been re-examined. It is shown that D₁ structures face upwards along the entire section and the major Boyndie Syncline (Sutton and Watson 1956) must also be of D₁, age and not D₃ as proposed by Johnson (1962). D₂ structures are developed in the west, most strongly in the Portsoy Group and Cowhythe Gneiss where they may be related to the Portsoy Thrust (Elles 1931). East of the Cowhythe Gneiss D₂ structures are not developed but D₃ structures are of local importance. Porphyroblast growth is considered to be post-D₁, pre-D₃ related to the ‘active’ D₂ deformation in the west (Barrovian) and to the ‘static’ D₂ interval in the east (Buchan). The wider implications of these conclusions for Dalradian structure are briefly considered.     

Interplay between stress permutations and overpressure to cause strike‐slip faulting during tectonic inversion

Field data from an orogenic foreland and an orogenic belt (the Mesozoic rocks of southern England and the Umbria‐Marche Apennines of Italy respectively) indicate the following. Firstly, stress evolution during the tectonic cycle, between maximum compressive stress (σ₁) being vertical during extension and least compressive stress (σ₃) being vertical during contraction, can involve phases when the intermediate compressive stress (σ₂) is vertical, promoting strike‐slip deformation. Secondly, variations in the relative magnitudes of the stress axes are caused by variations in overburden and tectonic forces. Thirdly, overpressure can develop because of compaction during burial, and, as overburden is reduced during uplift and erosion, the vertical stress (σ_V) reduces but fluid pressure (P_f) remains approximately constant. Brittle deformation, including transient strike‐slip faults, reverse‐reactivated normal faults and normal‐reactivated thrusts, is preferentially developed in overpressured areas because high P_f promotes faulting.     

Geochemical and Nd isotope composition of detrital sediments on the north margin of the South China Sea: provenance and tectonic implications

A major re‐organization of regional drainages in eastern Tibet and south‐western China took place in the Cenozoic as deformation from the growing Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau affected an increasingly wider area. The effects of these changes on the regional sediment routing systems is not well constrained. This study examines the geochemical and Nd signatures of sedimentary rocks from the Ying‐Qiong and Nanxiong basins on the northern margin of the South China Sea to constrain and identify any significant changes in sediment source. Upper Cretaceous to Lower Eocene sedimentary rocks in the Nanxiong Basin show higher Th/Sc, La/Sc, Th/Cr and Th/Co ratios and lower Eu/Eu* ratios than PAAS (post‐Archaean Australian Shale), which indicates that Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks of the South China Block were the main basin sediment source. In contrast, Oligocene to Pleistocene sedimentary rocks of the Ying‐Qiong Basin show an abrupt change in these trace‐element ratios between 16·3 and 10·4 Ma, indicating a mid‐Miocene shift in provenance. ɛ_Nd values from the Ying‐Qiong Basin (range = −11·1 to −2·1) reinforce this, with pre‐13·8 Ma sedimentary rocks having average ɛ_Nd of −5·6 (range = −2·1 to −7·4), and post‐13·8 Ma sedimentary rocks having average ɛ_Nd of −9·3 (range = −8·7 to −11·1). During the Oligocene, the centre of rifting transferred south and basins on the north margin of the South China Sea experienced rapid subsidence. Further uplift and erosion then exposed Mesozoic and Cenozoic granites that supplied large amounts of granitic detritus, especially to the Ying‐Qiong Basin. Then a change occurred at ca 13 Ma resulting in less input from local sources (i.e. the fault blocks formed by Mesozoic‐Cenozoic tectonics and magmatism) to an increasing contribution of older continental material, mostly from Indochina to the west of the South China Sea.     

Discriminating between pore‐filling load and bed‐structure load: a new porosity‐based method,exemplified for the river Rhine

Sediments contained in the river bed do not necessarily contribute to morphological change. The finest part of the sediment mixture often fills the pores between the larger grains and can be removed without causing a drop in bed level. The discrimination between pore‐filling load and bed‐structure load, therefore, is of practical importance for morphological predictions. In this study, a new method is proposed to estimate the cut‐off grain size that forms the boundary between pore‐filling load and bed‐structure load. The method evaluates the pore structure of the river bed geometrically. Only detailed grain‐size distributions of the river bed are required as input to the method. A preliminary validation shows that the calculated porosity and cut‐off size values agree well with experimental data. Application of the new cut‐off size method to the river Rhine demonstrates that the estimated cut‐off size decreases in a downstream direction from about 2 to 0·05 mm, covariant with the downstream fining of bed sediments. Grain size fractions that are pore‐filling load in the upstream part of the river thus gradually become bed‐structure load in the downstream part. The estimated (mass) percentage of pore‐filling load in the river bed ranges from 0% in areas with a unimodal river bed, to about 22% in reaches with a bimodal sand‐gravel bed. The estimated bed porosity varies between 0·15 and 0·35, which is considerably less than the often‐used standard value of 0·40. The predicted cut‐off size between pore‐filling load and bed‐structure load (D_c,p) is fundamentally different from the cut‐off size between wash‐load and bed‐material load (D_c,w), irrespective of the method used to determine D_c,p or D_c,w. D_c,w values are in the order of 10^?1 mm and mainly dependent on the flow characteristics, whereas D_c,p values are generally much larger (about 10⁰ mm in gravel‐bed rivers) and dependent on the bed composition. Knowledge of D_c,w is important for the prediction of the total sediment transport in a river (including suspended fines that do not interact with the bed), whereas knowledge of D_c,p helps to improve morphological predictions, especially if spatial variations in D_c,p are taken into account. An alternative to using a spatially variable value of D_c,p in morphological models is to use a spatially variable bed porosity, which can also be predicted with the new method. In addition to the morphological benefits, the new method also has sedimentological applications. The possibility to determine quickly whether a sediment mixture is clast‐supported or matrix‐supported may help to better understand downstream fining trends, sediment entrainment thresholds and variations in hydraulic conductivity.     

Discrete proterozoic structural terranes associated with low-P, high-T metamorphism, Anmatjira Range, Arunta Inlier, central Australia: tectonic implications

Structural overprinting relationships indicate that two discrete terranes, Mt. Stafford and Weldon, occur in the Anmatjira Range, northern Arunta Inlier, central Australia. In the Mt. Stafford terrane, early recumbent structures associated with D_1a,_1b deformation are restricted to areas of granulite facies metamorphism and are overprinted by upright, km-scale folds F_1c), which extend into areas of lower metamorphic grade. Structural relationships are simple in the low—grade rocks, but complex and variable in higher grade equivalents. The three deformation events in the Mt. Stafford terrane constitute the first tectonic cycle (D₁-D₂) deformation in the Weldon terrane comprises the second tectonic cycle. The earliest foliation (S_2a) was largely obliterated by the dominant reclined to recumbent mylonitic foliation (S_2b), produced during progressive non-coaxial deformation, with local sheath folds and W- to SW-directed thrusts. Locally, (D_2d) tectonites have been rotated by N—S-trending, upright (F_2c) folds, but the regional upright fold event (F_2d), also evident in the adjacent Reynolds Range, rotated earlier surfaces into shallow-plunging, NW—SE-trending folds that dominate the regional outcrop pattern.The terranes can be separated on structural, metamorphic and isotopic criteria. A high-strain D₂ mylonite zone, produced during W- to SW-directed thrusting, separates the Weldon and Mt. Stafford terranes. 1820 Ma megacrystic granites in the Mt. Stafford terrane intruded high-grade metamorphic rocks that had undergone D_1a and D_1b deformation, but in turn were deformed by S_1c, which provides a minimum age limit for the first structural—metamorphic event. 1760 Ma charnockites in the Weldon terrane were emplaced post-D_2a, and metamorphosed under granulite facies conditions during D_2b, constraining the second tectonic cycle to this period.Each terrane is associated with low-P, high-T metamorphism, characterized by anticlockwise P—T—t paths, with the thermal peaks occurring before or very early in the tectonic cycle. These relations are not compatible with continental-style collision, nor with extensional tectonics as the deformation was compressional. The preferred model involves thickening of previously thinned lithosphere, at a stage significantly after (>50 Ma) the early extensional event. Compression was driven by external forces such as plate convergence, but deformation was largely confined to and around composite granitoid sheets in the mid-crust. The sheets comprise up to 80% of the terranes and induced low-P, high-T metamorphism, including migmatization, thereby markedly reducing the yield strength and accelerating deformation of the country rocks. Mid-crustal ductile shearing and reclined to recumbent folding resulted, followed by upright folding that extended beyond the thermal anomaly. Thus, thermal softening induced by heat-focusing is capable of generating discrete structural terranes characterized by subhorizontal ductile shear in the mid-crust, localized around large granitoid intrusions.     

Geochemistry of Late Mesozoic mafic dykes in western Fujian Province of China： Sr-Nd isotope and trace element constraints

The Bancun diabase dyke and the Bali hornblende gabbro dyke in western Fujian Province were emplaced in the Early and Late Cretaceous periods, respectively; the former is designated to calc-alkaline series and the latter to K-high-calc-alkaline rock series. Both the dykes are characterized by such geochemical characteristics as high Al and Na2O>K2O. As for the Bancun dyke, Al2O3=16.32%–17.54% and K2O/Na2O=0.65–0.77; as for the Bali dyke, Al2O3=16.89%–17.81% and K2O/Na2O=0.93–0.99. Both the Bancun and Bali mafic dykes are relatively enriched in LILE and LREE, but depleted in HSFE, displaying the geochemical characteristics of continental marginal arc, with high initial Sr isotopic ratios and low εNd (t) values. The (87Sr/86Sr)i ratios of the Bancun diabase dyke are within the range of 0.708556–0.70903 and their εNd (t) values vary between -6.8 and -6.3; those of the Bali hornblende dyke are within the range of 0.710726–0.710746 and their εNd (t) values are -4.7– -4.9, showing the characteristics of enriched mantle EM II. The isotope and trace element data showed that the mafic dykes have not experienced obvious crustal contamination, and metasomatism caused by subduction fluids is the main factor leading to LILE and LREE enrichments. The enriched mantle is the source region for the mafic dykes, and mixing of subduction fluid metasomatized enriched mantle and EM II-type mantle constituted the mantle source region of both the Bancun and Bali mafic dykes. Upwelling of the asthenosphere mantle provided sufficient heat energy for the generation of magmas. In accordance with the discrimination diagram of their tectonic settings as well as their trace element geochemical characteristics, it is considered that the dykes both at Bancun and Bali possess the characteristics of continental marginal arc, revealing the tectonic environment of formation of the mafic dykes, the continental dynamic background as an intraplate tensional belt in which the mafic dykes were emplaced. Meanwhile, it is also indicated that the tensional tectonic stress mechanism is responsible for the formation of the mafic dykes in western Fujian Province.