Neoproterozoic calc‐alkaline peraluminous granitoids of the Deleihimmi pluton,Central Eastern Desert,Egypt: implications for transition from late‐ to post‐collisional tectonomagmatic evolution in the northern Arabian–Nubian Shield

The widely distributed late‐collisional calc‐alkaline granitoids in the northern Arabian–Nubian Shield (ANS) have a geodynamic interest as they represent significant addition of material into the ANS juvenile crust in a short time interval (∼630–590 Ma). The Deleihimmi granitoids in the Egyptian Central Eastern Desert are, therefore, particularly interesting since they form a multiphase pluton composed largely of late‐collisional biotite granitoids enclosing granodiorite microgranular enclaves and intruded by leuco‐ and muscovite granites. Geochemically, different granitoid phases share some features and distinctly vary in others. They display slightly peraluminous (ASI = 1–1.16), non‐alkaline (calc‐alkaline and highly fractionated calc‐alkaline), I‐type affinities. Both biotite granitoids and leucogranites show similar rare earth element (REE) patterns [(La/Lu)_N = 3.04–2.92 and 1.9–1.14; Eu/Eu* = 0.26–0.19 and 0.11–0.08, respectively) and related most likely by closed system crystal fractionation of a common parent. On the other hand, the late phase muscovite granites have distinctive geochemical features typical of rare‐metal granites. They are remarkably depleted in Sr and Ba (4–35 and 13–18 ppm, respectively), and enriched in Rb (381–473 ppm) and many rare metals. Moreover, their REE patterns show a tetrad effect (TE_1,3 = 1.13 and 1.29) and pronounced negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.07 and 0.08), implying extensive open system fractionation via fluid–rock interaction during the magmatic stage. Origin of the calc‐alkaline granitoids by high degree of partial melting of mafic lower crust with subsequent crystal fractionation is advocated. The broad distribution of late‐collisional calc‐alkaline granitoids in the northern ANS is related most likely to large areal and intensive lithospheric delamination subsequent to slab break‐off and crustal/mantle thickening. Such delamination caused both crustal uplift and partial melting of the remaining mantle lithosphere in response to asthenospheric uprise. The melts produced underplate the lower crust to promote its melting. The presence of microgranular enclaves, resulting from mingling of mantle‐derived mafic magma with felsic crustal‐derived liquid, favours this process. The derivation of the late‐phase rare‐metal granites by open system fractionation via fluid interaction is almost related to the onset of extension above the rising asthenosphere that results in mantle degassing during the switch to post‐collisional stage. Consequently, the switch from late‐ to post‐collisional stage of crustal evolution in the northern ANS could be potentially significant not only geodynamically but also economically. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

SHRIMP zircon dating and Sm/Nd isotopic investigations of Neoproterozoic granitoids, Eastern Desert, Egypt

There is an increasing evidence for the involvement of pre-Neoproterozoic zircons in the Arabian–Nubian Shield, a Neoproterozoic crustal tract that is generally regarded to be juvenile. The source and significance of these xenocrystic zircons are not clear. In an effort to better understand this problem, older and younger granitoids from the Egyptian basement complex were analyzed for chemical composition, SHRIMP U–Pb zircon ages, and Sm–Nd isotopic compositions. Geochemically, the older granitoids are metaluminous and exhibit characteristics of I-type granites and most likely formed in a convergent margin (arc) tectonic environment. On the other hand, the younger granites are peraluminous and exhibit the characteristics of A-type granites; these are post-collisional granites. The U–Pb SHRIMP dating of zircons revealed the ages of magmatic crystallization as well as the presence of slightly older, presumably inherited zircon grains. The age determined for the older granodiorite is 652.5 ± 2.6 Ma, whereas the younger granitoids are 595–605 Ma. Xenocrystic zircons are found in most of the younger granitoid samples; the xenocrystic grains are all Neoproterozoic, but fall into three age ranges that correspond to the ages of other Eastern Desert igneous rocks, viz. 710–690, 675–650 and 635–610 Ma. The analyzed granitoids have (+3.8 to +6.5) and crystallization ages, which confirm previous indications that the Arabian–Nubian Shield is juvenile Neoproterozoic crust. These results nevertheless indicate that older Neoproterozoic crust contributed to the formation of especially the younger granite magmas.     

The timing of migmatization in the northern Arabian–Nubian Shield: Evidence for a juvenile sedimentary component in collision‐related batholiths

Collision‐related granitoid batholiths, like those of the Hercynian and Himalayan orogens, are mostly fed by magma derived from metasedimentary sources. However, in the late Neoproterozoic calcalkaline (CA) batholiths of the Arabian–Nubian Shield (ANS), which constitutes the northern half of the East African orogen, any sedimentary contribution is obscured by the juvenile character of the crust and the scarcity of migmatites. Here, we use paired in situ LASS‐ICP‐MS measurements of U–Th–Pb isotope ratios and REE contents of monazite and xenotime and SHRIMP‐RG analyses of separated zircon to demonstrate direct linkage between migmatites and granites in the northernmost ANS. Our results indicate a single prolonged period of monazite growth at 640–600 Ma, in metapelites, migmatites and peraluminous granites of three metamorphic suites: Abu‐Barqa (SW Jordan), Roded (S Israel) and Taba–Nuweiba (Sinai, Egypt). The distribution of monazite dates and age zoning in single monazite grains in migmatites suggest that peak thermal conditions, involving partial melting, prevailed for c. 10 Ma, from 620 to 610 Ma. REE abundances in monazite are well correlated with age, recording garnet growth and garnet breakdown in association with the prograde and retrograde stages of the melting reactions, respectively. Xenotime dates cluster at 600–580 Ma, recording retrogression to greenschist facies conditions as garnet continued to destabilize. Phase equilibrium modelling and mineral thermobarometry yield P–T conditions of ~650–680°C and 5–7 kbar, consistent with either water‐fluxed or muscovite‐breakdown melting. The expected melt production is 8–10 vol.%, allowing a melt connectivity network to form leading to melt segregation and extraction. U–Pb ages of zircon rims from leucosomes indicate crystallization of melt at 610 ± 10 Ma, coinciding with the emplacement of a vast volume of CA granites throughout the northern ANS, which were previously considered post‐collisional. Similar monazite ages (c. 620 Ma) retrieved from the amphibolite facies Elat schist indicate that migmatites are the result of widespread regional rather than local contact metamorphism, representing the climax of the East African orogenesis.     

Variable Phanerozoic thermal history in the Southern Canadian Shield: Evidence from an apatite fission track profile at the Underground Research Laboratory (URL), Manitoba

Analysis of a 1.15 km deep apatite fission track (AFT) thermochronology profile at the Underground Research Laboratory (URL), in the southwestern Canadian Shield suggests two Phanerozoic heating and cooling episodes indicating significant, previously unsuspected, Phanerozoic heat flow variations. Phanerozoic temperature and heat flow variations are temporally associated with burial and erosion of the Precambrian crystalline shield and its overlying Phanerozoic successions, which are now eroded completely. Maximum Phanerozoic temperatures occurred in the late Paleozoic when the geothermal gradient is estimated to have been ~ 40-50 °C/km (compared to a present day gradient of ~ 14 ± 2 °C/km) and the sedimentary cover was ~ 800-1100 m thick. Our thermal history models, confirm regional stratigraphic relationships that suggest that the Paleozoic succession was completely eroded prior to beginning of Mesozoic sedimentation. A second heating phase occurred during Late Cretaceous-Paleogene burial when the geothermal gradient is estimated to have been ~ 20-25 °C/km and the Mesozoic and Cenozoic succession was ~ 1200 to 1400 m thick. The Phanerozoic thermal history at the URL site shows a pattern similar to that inferred previously for the epicratonic Williston Basin, the centre of which lies several 100 km to the west. This implies a common regional thermal history for cratonic rocks underlying both the basin and the currently exposed shield. It is suggested that the morphotectonic differences between the Williston Basin and the exposed shield at the URL are due to a dissimilar thermomechanical response to a common, but more complicated than previously inferred, Phanerozoic geodynamic history. The two Phanerozoic periods of variations in geothermal gradient (heat flow) were coeval with epeirogenic movements related to the deposition and erosion of sediments. These paleogeodynamic variations are tentatively attributed to far-field effects of orogenic processes occurring at the plate margin (i.e. the Antler and the Cordilleran orogenies) and the associated accumulation of cratonic seaway sedimentary sequences (Kaskaskia and Zuni sequences).     

Age constraints on the formation and emplacement of Neoproterozoic ophiolites along the Allaqi–Heiani Suture, South Eastern Desert of Egypt

Ophiolites are key components of the Neoproterozoic Arabian–Nubian Shield (ANS). Understanding when they formed and were emplaced is crucial for understanding the evolution of the ANS because their ages tell when seafloor spreading and terrane accretion occurred. The Yanbu–Onib–Sol Hamed–Gerf–Allaqi–Heiani (YOSHGAH) suture and ophiolite belt can be traced  600 km across the Nubian and Arabian shields. We report five new SHRIMP U–Pb zircon ages from igneous rocks along the Allaqi segment of the YOSHGAH suture in southernmost Egypt and use these data in conjunction with other age constraints to evaluate YOSHGAH suture evolution. Ophiolitic layered gabbro gave a concordia age of 730 ± 6 Ma, and a metadacite from overlying arc-type metavolcanic rocks yielded a weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 733 ± 7 Ma, indicating ophiolite formation at  730 Ma. Ophiolite emplacement is also constrained by intrusive bodies: a gabbro yielded a concordia age of 697 ± 5 Ma, and a quartz-diorite yielded a concordia age of 709 ± 4 Ma. Cessation of deformation is constrained by syn- to post-tectonic granite with a concordia age of 629 ± 5 Ma. These new data, combined with published zircon ages for ophiolites and stitching plutons from the YOSHGAH suture zone, suggest a 2-stage evolution for the YOSHGAH ophiolite belt ( 810–780 Ma and  730–750 Ma) and indicate that accretion between the Gabgaba–Gebeit–Hijaz terranes to the south and the SE Desert–Midyan terranes to the north occurred as early as 730 Ma and no later than 709 ± 4 Ma.     

Melonite group minerals and other tellurides from three Cu–Ni–PGE prospects, Eastern Desert, Egypt

Melonite group minerals and other tellurides are described from three Cu–Ni–PGE prospects in the Eastern Desert of Egypt: Gabbro Akarem, Genina Gharbia and Abu Swayel. The prospects are hosted in late Precambrian mafic–ultramafic rocks and have different geologic histories. The Gabbro Akarem prospect is hosted in dunite pipes where net-textured and massive sulfides are associated with spinel and Cr-magnetite. Michenerite, merenskyite, Pd–Bi melonite and hessite occur mainly as inclusions in sulfides. Typical magmatic textures indicate a limited role of late- and post-magmatic hydrothermal processes. At Genina Gharbia, ore forms either disseminations in peridotite or massive patches in hornblende-gabbro in the vicinity of metasedimentary rocks. Actinolitic hornblende, epidote, chlorite and quartz are common secondary silicates. Sulfide textures and host rock petrography suggest a prolonged late-magmatic hydrothermal event. Michenerite, merenskyite, Pd–Bi melonite, altaite, hessite, tsumoite, sylvanite and native Te are mainly present in secondary silicates. The Abu Swayel prospect occurs in conformable, lens-like mafic–ultramafic rocks in metasedimentary rocks and along syn-metamorphic shear zone. The sulfide ore and host rocks are metamorphosed (amphibolite facies; 550 to 650 °C, 4 to 5 kbar) and syn-metamorphically sheared. Melonite group minerals are represented by merenskyite and Pd–Bi melonite. Other tellurides comprise hessite, altaite and joséite-B. Melonite group minerals and tellurides occur as inclusions in mobilized sulfides and along cracks in metamorphic garnet and plagioclase.The different geological history of the three prospects permits an examination of the role played by magmatic, late-magmatic and metamorphic processes on the mineralogy of melonite group minerals and diversity of tellurides. The contents of PGE and Te in the ore and temperature of crystallization control the mineralogy and compositional trends of the melonite group minerals. Crystallization of the melonite group minerals over a wide range of temperatures in a Te-rich environment enhances the elemental substitutions. Merenskyite dominates the mineralogy of the group at low Te activity, while Pd–Bi melonite is the common phase at high Te activity.     

ASTER spectral ratioing for lithological mapping in the Arabian–Nubian shield, the Neoproterozoic Wadi Kid area, Sinai, Egypt

The Neoproterozoic Wadi Kid metamorphic belt in southeastern Sinai in Egypt represents a structurally and metamorphically complex assemblage of metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks folded into a series of ENE–WSW-trending antiforms and synforms. Geological mapping in this region is challenging, primarily due to difficult access, complexity of structures, and lack of resolution and areal integrity of lithological differentiation using conventional mapping techniques. Spectral ratioing of selected bands of Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data of the area, in synergy with geological field observation, proved effective in resolving geological mapping problems in the region. A new ASTER band-ratio image 4/7-4/6-4/10 is applied successfully for lithological mapping in the Wadi Kid area, showing improvement over previous techniques in detailing the main rock units. These are gneiss and migmatite, amphibolite, volcanogenic sediments with banded iron formation, meta-pelites, talc schist, meta-psammites, meta-acidic volcanics, meta-pyroclastics volcaniclastics, albitites and granitic rocks. Validating the use of the new ASTER band-ratio image relied on both calculating statistical optimum index factor (OIF) and matching interpreted lithological boundaries to field data and previously published geologic maps. The adopted ASTER band-ratio image demonstrates the benefit of using ASTER remote sensing data in lithological mapping of the Wadi Kid area and therefore for lithological mapping in the Arabian–Nubian shield and other arid areas.     

The thermal history of the eastern Officer Basin (South Australia): evidence from apatite fission track analysis and organic maturity data

The eastern Officer Basin in South Australia contains a Neoproterozoic to Devonian succession overlain by relatively thin (<500 m) Permian, Mesozoic and Tertiary deposits. Within the basin fill, there are several major unconformities representing uncertain amounts of erosion. Three of these surfaces are associated with regional deformational events. Regional unconformities formed between 560 and 540 Ma (Petermann Ranges Orogeny), approximately 510–490 Ma (Delamerian Orogeny), 370–300 Ma (Alice Springs Orogeny), 260–150 Ma; and 95–40 Ma. AFTA® results from 13 samples of Neoproterozoic, Cambrian and Permian sedimentary rocks in five wells (Giles-1, Manya-2, -5 and -6 and Lake Maurice West-1) show clear evidence for a number of distinct thermal episodes. Results from all samples are consistent with cooling from the most recent thermal episode beginning at some time between 70 and 20 Ma (Maastrichtian–Miocene). AFTA results from Giles-1 indicate at least two pre-Cretaceous thermal episodes with cooling beginning between 350 and 250 Ma (Carboniferous–Permian) and between 210 and 110 Ma (Late Triassic–Albian). Results from Manya-2, -5 and -6 and Lake Maurice West-1 show evidence for at least one earlier higher temperature event, with cooling from elevated paleotemperatures beginning between 270 and 200 Ma (Late Permian to Late Triassic). These episodes can be correlated with other cooling/erosional events outside the study area, and the AFTA-derived paleotemperatures are consistent with kilometre-scale erosion for each of the episodes identified. Integration of the AFTA data with organic thermal maturation indicators (MPI) in the Manya and Giles-1 wells suggests that the Cambrian and Neoproterozoic successions in the northern part of the study area reached peak maturation prior to the Permian, while limited data from Lake Maurice West-1 allows peak maturation to have occurred as young as the Late Permian to Late Triassic thermal episode revealed by AFTA. The approach outlined in this study is relevant to all ancient basins as it emphasises the importance of understanding events associated with neighbouring regions. The thermal history of the Officer Basin, as with most other ancient basins, has been strongly affected by significant tectonic events throughout its history, even though younger deposits are not preserved in the basin itself. The recognition of these younger events, and the implications of these events for the depositional history, is important as it allows identification of the best regions for preservation of early generated hydrocarbons, and in some cases, suggests areas where generation of hydrocarbons could have occurred more recently than previously thought.     

Magmatic unmixing in spinel from late Precambrian concentrically-zoned mafic–ultramafic intrusions, Eastern Desert, Egypt

Spinel is widespread in the ultramafic core rocks of zoned late Precambrian mafic–ultramafic complexes from the Eastern Desert of Egypt. These complexes; Gabbro Akarem, Genina Gharbia and Abu Hamamid are Precambrian analogues of Alaskan-type complexes, they are not metamorphosed although weakly altered. Each intrusion is composed of a predotite core enveloped by pyroxenites and gabbros at the margin. Silicate mineralogy and chemistry suggest formation by crystal fractionation from a hydrous magma. Relatively high Cr₂O₃ contents are recorded in pyroxenes (up to 1.1 wt.%) and amphiboles (up to 1.4 wt.%) from the three plutons. The chrome spinel crystallized at different stages of melt evolution; as early cumulus inclusions in olivine, inclusions in pyroxenes and amphiboles and late-magmatic intercumulus phase. The intercumulus chrome spinel is homogenous with narrow-range of chemical composition, mainly Fe³⁺-rich spinel. Spinel inclusions in clinopyroxene and amphibole reveal a wide range of Al (27–44 wt.% Al₂O₃) and Mg (6–13 wt.% MgO) contents and are commonly zoned. The different chemistries of those spinels reflect various stages of melt evolution and re-equilibration with the host minerals. The early cumulus chrome spinel reveals a complex unmixing structures and compositions. Three types of unmixed spinels are recognized; crystallographically oriented, irregular and complete separation. Unmixing products are Al-rich (Type I) and Fe³⁺-rich (Type II) spinels with an extensive solid solution between the two end members. The compositions of the unmixed spinels define a miscibility gap with respect to Cr–Al–Fe³⁺, extending from the Fe³⁺–Al join towards the Cr corner. Spinel unmixing occurs in response to cooling and the increase in oxidation state. The chemistry and grain size of the initial spinel and the cooling rate control the type of unmixing and the chemistry of the final products. Causes of spinel unmixing during late-magmatic stage are analogous to those in metamorphosed complexes. The chemistry of the unmixed spinels is completely different from the initial spinel composition and is not useful in petrogenetic interpretations. Spinels from oxidized magmas are likely to re-equilibrate during cooling and are not good tools for genetic considerations.     

塔里木北缘前寒武基底隆升剥露史：来自磷灰石裂变径迹的证据

库鲁克塔格隆起位于塔里木盆地北缘,广泛出露前寒武基底岩石。辛格尔村附近出露的太古宙杂岩,包括灰色片麻岩、角闪岩、片岩、混合岩和大理岩。新元古代地层出露在库鲁克塔格隆起西部的兴地、西山口、辛格尔和杀马山附近,不整合在古元古代和中元古代的片麻岩、角闪岩和片岩之上,并被早古生代的地层不整合。因此,该地区是了解塔里木盆地前寒武基底热演化史的理想地区。本研究的目的是为了探索：①塔里木基底岩石最初于何时剥露于地表？②塔里木基底剥露以后是否经历过再次埋藏和剥露？③塔里木基底岩石构造热演化过程对大陆边缘不同构造事件的响应。为了获取塔里木北缘剥露史和冷却过程信息,我们开展了裂变经迹的研究。含磷灰石的样品采自库鲁克塔格隆起的兴地断裂两侧。样品池年龄介于146．0±13．4和67．6±6．7Ma之间,平均经迹长度介于．11．79±0．14和13．89±0．27μm之间。根据样品年龄和样品所处的构造位置,样品可以分为3组。A组样品包括F2、F3、F4、F5和F8,裂变经迹表观年龄约100～110Ma,通常位于未遭断层变形的地区。B组样品包括F7、D和F10,裂变经迹表观年龄小于80Ma,构造上位于断层上盘并靠近断层。c组样品F11具有最大的裂变经迹表观年龄146．0±13．4Ma。热模拟表明,库鲁克塔格地区的隆升剥露作用可以划分为四期,分别是早侏罗世晚期（180Ma）、晚侏罗世-早白垩世（144～118Ma）、晚白垩世早期（94～82Ma）和新生代晚期（约10Ma）。裂变经迹记录的库鲁克塔格多阶段隆升作用,是对亚洲南缘多期地体碰撞增生的响应。     

Denudation history of the Snowy Mountains: Constraints from apatite fission track thermochronology

Apatite fission track thermochronology from Early Palaeozoic granitoids centred around the Kosciuszko massif of the Snowy Mountains, records a denudation history that was episodic and highly variable. The form of the apatite fission track age profile assembled from vertical sections and hydroelectric tunnels traversing the mountains, together with numerical forward modelling, provide strong evidence for two episodes of accelerated denudation, commencing in Late Permian—Early Triassic (ca 270–250 Ma) and mid‐Cretaceous (ca 110–100 Ma) times, and a possible third episode in the Cenozoic. Denudation commencing in the Late Permian—Early Triassic was widespread in the eastern and central Snowy Mountains area, continued through much of the Triassic, and amounted to at least ～2.0–2.4 km. This episode was probably the geomorphic response to the Hunter‐Bowen Orogeny. Post‐Triassic denudation to the present in these areas amounted to ～2.0–2.2 km. Unambiguous evidence for mid‐Cretaceous cooling and possible later cooling is confined to a north‐south‐trending sinuous belt, up to ～15 km wide by at least 35 km long, of major reactivated Palaeozoic faults on the western side of the mountains. This zone is the most deeply exposed area of the Kosciuszko block. Denudation accompanying these later events totalled up to ～1.8–2.0 km and ～2.0–2.25 km respectively. Mid‐Cretaceous denudation marks the onset of renewed tectonic activity in the southeastern highlands following a period of relative quiescence since the Late Triassic, and establishes a temporal link with the onset of extension related to the opening of the Tasman Sea. Much of the present day relief of the mountains resulted from surface uplift which disrupted the post‐mid‐Cretaceous apatite fission track profile by variable offsets on faults.     

中新生代库车-南天山盆山系统隆升历史的裂变径迹证据

通过对库车河剖面中新生界砂岩中碎屑磷灰石裂变径迹分析测试,得出磷灰石样品可分为3组,分别反映库车盆地边缘或其物源区天山的剥露冷却。对测试数据分析和热史模拟表明,南天山及库车盆地在中新生代经历了3次主要隆升事件,且山盆隆升时间上具有差异性的特点。从142Ma南天山开始隆升,使天山地区从准平原化状态开始盆山分异;96~75Ma为晚白垩世开始的盆地与天山共同经历的区域性隆升;54~30Ma为天山与盆地边缘差异隆升阶段,是盆山边界处盆地基底向天山方向的阶梯式抬升所导致的。     

Transpressive Structures in the Ghadir Shear Belt,Eastern Desert,Egypt: Evidence for Partitioning of Oblique Convergence in the Arabian‐Nubian Shield during Gondwana Agglutination

Transpressional deformation has played an important role in the late Neoproterozoic evolution of the ArabianNubian Shield including the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt. The Ghadir Shear Belt is a 35 km-long, NW-oriented brittleductile shear zone that underwent overall sinistral transpression during the Late Neoproterozoic. Within this shear belt, strain is highly partitioned into shortening, oblique, extensional and strike-slip structures at multiple scales. Moreover, strain partitioning is heterogeneous along-strike giving rise to three distinct structural domains. In the East Ghadir and Ambaut shear belts, the strain is pure-shear dominated whereas the narrow sectors parallel to the shear walls in the West Ghadir Shear Zone are simple-shear dominated. These domains are comparable to splay-dominated and thrust-dominated strike-slip shear zones. The kinematic transition along the Ghadir shear belt is consistent with separate strike-slip and thrustsense shear zones. The earlier fabric(S1), is locally recognized in low strain areas and SW-ward thrusts. S2 is associated with a shallowly plunging stretching lineation(L2), and defines ～NW-SE major upright macroscopic folds in the East Ghadir shear belt. F2 folds are superimposed by ～NNW–SSE tight-minor and major F3 folds that are kinematically compatible with sinistral transpressional deformation along the West Ghadir Shear Zone and may represent strain partitioning during deformation. F2 and F3 folds are superimposed by ENE–WSW gentle F4 folds in the Ambaut shear belt. The sub-parallelism of F3 and F4 fold axes with the shear zones may have resulted from strain partitioning associated with simple shear deformation along narrow mylonite zones and pure shear-dominant deformation in fold zones. Dextral ENEstriking shear zones were subsequently active at ca. 595 Ma, coeval with sinistral shearing along NW-to NNW-striking shear zones. The occurrence of upright folds and folds with vertical axes suggests that transpression plays a significant role in the tectonic evolution of the Ghadir shear belt. Oblique convergence may have been provoked by the buckling of the Hafafit gneiss-cored domes and relative rotations between its segments. Upright folds, fold with vertical axes and sinistral strike-slip shear zones developed in response to strain partitioning. The West Ghadir Shear Zone contains thrusts and strikeslip shear zones that resulted from lateral escape tectonics associated with lateral imbrication and transpression in response to oblique squeezing of the Arabian-Nubian Shield during agglutination of East and West Gondwana.     

Geochemistry and geochronology of the Neoproterozoic Pan-African Transcaucasian Massif (Republic of Georgia) and implications for island arc evolution of the late Precambrian Arabian–Nubian Shield

The Transcaucasian Massif (TCM) in the Republic of Georgia includes Neoproterozoic–Early Cambrian ophiolites and magmatic arc assemblages that are reminiscent of the coeval island arc terranes in the Arabian–Nubian Shield (ANS) and provides essential evidence for Pan-African crustal evolution in Western Gondwana. The metabasite–plagiogneiss–migmatite association in the Oldest Basement Unit (OBU) of TCM represents a Neoproterozoic oceanic lithosphere intruded by gabbro–diorite–quartz diorite plutons of the Gray Granite Basement Complex (GGBC) that constitute the plutonic foundation of an island arc terrane. The Tectonic Mélange Zone (TMZ) within the Middle-Late Carboniferous Microcline Granite Basement Complex includes thrust sheets composed of various lithologies derived from this arc-ophiolite assemblage. The serpentinized peridotites in the OBU and the TMZ have geochemical features and primary spinel composition (0.35) typical of mid-ocean ridge (MOR)-type, cpx-bearing spinel harzburgites. The metabasic rocks from these two tectonic units are characterized by low-K, moderate-to high-Ti, olivine-hypersthene-normative, tholeiitic basalts representing N-MORB to transitional to E-MORB series. The analyzed peridotites and volcanic rocks display a typical melt-residua genetic relationship of MOR-type oceanic lithosphere. The whole-rock Sm–Nd isotopic data from these metabasic rocks define a regression line corresponding to a maximum age limit of 804 ± 100 Ma and εNd_int = 7.37 ± 0.55. Mafic to intermediate plutonic rocks of GGBC show tholeiitic to calc-alkaline evolutionary trends with LILE and LREE enrichment patterns, Y and HREE depletion, and moderately negative anomalies of Ta, Nb, and Ti, characteristic of suprasubduction zone originated magmas. U–Pb zircon dates, Rb–Sr whole-rock isochron, and Sm–Nd mineral isochron ages of these plutonic rocks range between  750 Ma and 540 Ma, constraining the timing of island arc construction as the Neoproterozoic–Early Cambrian. The Nd and Sr isotopic ratios and the model and emplacement ages of massive quartz diorites in GGBC suggest that pre-Pan African continental crust was involved in the evolution of the island arc terrane. This in turn indicates that the ANS may not be made entirely of juvenile continental crust of Neoproterozoic age. Following its separation from ANS in the Early Paleozoic, TCM underwent a period of extensive crustal growth during 330–280 Ma through the emplacement of microcline granite plutons as part of a magmatic arc system above a Paleo-Tethyan subduction zone dipping beneath the southern margin of Eurasia. TCM and other peri-Gondwanan terranes exposed in a series of basement culminations within the Alpine orogenic belt provide essential information on the Pan-African history of Gondwana and the rift-drift stages of the tectonic evolution of Paleo-Tethys as a back-arc basin between Gondwana and Eurasia.     

Late Cretaceous reactivation of major crustal shear zones in northern Namibia: constraints from apatite fission track analysis

Namibia's passive continental margin records a long history of tectonic activity since the Proterozoic. The orogenic belt produced during the collision of the Congo and Kalahari Cratons in the Early Proterozoic led to a zone of crustal weakness, which became the preferred location for tectonism during the Phanerozoic. The Pan-African Damara mobile belt forms this intraplate boundary in Namibia and its tectonostratigraphic zones are defined by ductile shear zones, where the most prominent is described as the Omaruru Lineament–Waterberg Thrust (OML–WT). The prominance of the continental margin escarpment is diminished in the area of the Central and Northern Zone of the Damara belt where the shear zones are located. This area has been targeted with a set of 66 outcrop samples over a 550-km-long, 60-km-broad coast-parallel transect from the top of the escarpment in the south across the Damara sector to the Kamanjab Inlier in the north. Apatite fission track age and length data from all samples reveal a regionally consistent cooling event. Thermal histories derived by forward modelling bracket this phase of accelerated cooling in the Late Cretaceous. Maximum palaeotemperatures immediately prior to the onset of cooling range from ca. 120 to ca. 60 °C with the maximum occurring directly south of the Omaruru Lineament. Because different palaeotemperatures indicate different burial depth at a given time, the amount of denudation can be estimated and used to constrain vertical displacements of the continental crust. We interpret this cooling pattern as the geomorphic response to reactivation of basement structures caused by a change in spreading geometry in the South Atlantic and South West Indian Oceans.     

Early Tertiary paleo-thermal effects in Northern England: reconciling results from apatite fission track analysis with geological evidence

The Paleozoic Lake District Block in northwest England has traditionally been thought of as tectonically stable since the Late Paleozoic, receiving only small thicknesses of Late Paleozoic to Mesozoic cover (although some workers have put forward different views). Apatite fission track analysis (AFTA) data from outcrop samples across the region reveal Early Tertiary paleotemperatures around 100 °C, requiring kilometre-scale Late Paleozoic and Mesozoic cover, removed during Tertiary uplift and erosion. With no evidence for elevated basal heat flow in NW England during the Early Tertiary, and no a priori justification for invoking it, earlier studies favoured an explanation involving burial by up to 3 km of overburden removed during Tertiary uplift and erosion. This conclusion was met with scepticism by many workers, and provoked a range of comments and criticisms, with a variety of alternative interpretations put forward, although these are also open to criticism. Results from the West Newton-1 hydrocarbon exploration well on the northern flank of the Lake District gave the first indication of a possibly more realistic interpretation, involving a combination of elevated heat flow and more restricted burial, but some aspects of the interpretation of these data were equivocal. More detailed sampling was therefore undertaken, in order to shed more light on the origin of the elevated Early Tertiary paleotemperatures observed across NW England. New AFTA data in outcrop samples from different elevations around Sca Fell (characterised by the highest elevations in the Lake District with the summit of Scafell Pike at 978 m asl) define an Early Tertiary paleogeothermal gradient of 61 °C/km, and require around 700 m of section removed from the summit during Tertiary uplift and erosion. These results, together with those from the West Newton-1 well, provide strong support for an interpretation involving Early Tertiary paleogeothermal gradients between 50% and 100% higher than present-day values, providing clear evidence of elevated basal heat flow during the Early Tertiary, contrary to earlier assumptions. Combined with amounts of section removed during Tertiary exhumation varying between 0.7 km (from mountain peaks) and 1.5–2 km (from coastal plains and glacial valleys near sea level) over the region, this interpretation finally provides a geologically plausible mechanism for the origin of the observed Early Tertiary paleo-thermal effects in NW England.     

阿尔金-祁连山晚新生代隆升-剥露过程——来自岩屑磷灰石裂变径迹热年代学的制约

阿尔金-祁连山位于青藏高原北缘, 其新生代的隆升-剥露过程记录了高原变形和向北扩展的历史, 对探讨高原隆升动力学具有重要意义。本文采用岩屑磷灰石裂变径迹测年分析, 利用岩屑的统计特征限定阿尔金-祁连山新生代的隆升-剥露过程。磷灰石裂变径迹测试结果表明, 阿尔金-祁连山地区存在4个阶段的抬升冷却: 21.1~19.4 Ma、13.5~10.5 Ma、9.0~7.3 Ma、4.3~3.8 Ma。其中, 4.3~3.8 Ma抬升冷却事件仅体现在祁连山地区, 9.0~7.3 Ma抬升冷却事件在区内普遍存在, 且9.0~7.3 Ma隆升-剥露造就了现代阿尔金-祁连山的地貌。区域资料分析表明, 9~7 Ma(或者8~6 Ma)期间, 青藏高原北缘、东缘, 甚至整个中国西部地区发生了大规模、区域性的抬升, 中国现今"西高"的构造地貌形态可能于当时开始形成。阿尔金-祁连山地区4期抬升冷却事件与青藏高原的隆升阶段有很好的对应关系, 应该是对印度-欧亚板块碰撞的响应。     

Thermal history of Canadian Williston basin from apatite fission-track thermochronology—implications for petroleum systems and geodynamic history

Apatite fission track (AFT) thermochronology has been applied to a composite depth profile of Precambrian basement rocks underlying the Phanerozoic Canadian Williston Basin. Thermal histories derived from the AFT data record cycles of heating and cooling which follow the pattern of regional burial history, but which also indicate major temporal and geographic variations in the timing and degree of maximum Phanerozoic temperatures. These variations in the thermal history were not previously recognised from organic maturity indicators and subsidence models. Specifically, our study suggests a late Paleozoic heat flow anomaly with a geographic extent closer to that of Middle Devonian–Carboniferous Kaskaskia subsidence patterns than to that of the Williston Basin proper. This thermal anomaly has both economic and geodynamic significance. The recognition that potential Upper Cambrian–Lower Ordovician petroleum source rocks became fully mature during the late Paleozoic distinguishes that petroleum system from others that entered the main hydrocarbon generation stage in latest Cretaceous and Paleogene time. The late Paleozoic heat flow anomaly suggested from the AFT data implies a geodynamic coupling between inelastic Kaskaskia subsidence and previously inferred late Paleozoic lithospheric weakening. While the temporally varying heat flow model is preferred, the lack of independent constraints on the maximum thickness of upper Paleozoic strata precludes the outright rejection of the previous constant heat flow model. The AFT data provide important new constraints on the evolution of the epicratonic Williston Basin and its geodynamic models.     

苏鲁超高压变质岩的构造热历史：中国大陆科学钻探工程(CCSD)主孔（MH）和先导孔（PP2）的磷灰石裂变径迹约束

本文包括中国大陆科学钻（CCSD）主孔（MH）0~5000m和先导孔（PP2）0~1000m的磷灰石裂变径迹分折结果,先导孔PP2的裂变径迹表观年龄变化范围为79.5±5.1~50.4±6.2Ma,主孔的裂变径迹表观年龄变化范围为98.6±17.0~2.9±2.0Ma,主孔在4200m以下,磷灰石样品中实际上已不存在自发裂变径迹,表明裂变径迹时钟已经“置零”。实验资料表明,裂变径迹表观年龄值随样品深度的增加而逐渐减少,直到一定深度,即达到磷灰石的裂变径迹封闭温度（~120℃）以后,年龄值为零。根据主孔0~2000m和先导孔0~1000m的裂变径迹年龄剖面,作为一级近似,计算出超高压变质岩体在90~30Ma期间,平均隆升速度为~35m/Ma。对主孔测定了9个样品的约束径迹（Confined track）长度,样品约束径迹平均长度的变化范围约为13.1~7.4μm,总的变化趋势是：约束径迹平均长度随样品深度的增加而逐渐减少。样品的约束径迹长度分布都具有双峰型特征。根据裂变径迹年龄和约束径迹长度的资料,应用计算机模拟得到了样品的时间-温度（t-T）轨迹。结果表明,岩体从早白垩世（~120Ma）快速冷却以后,在晚白垩世和始新世又经历了两次加热作用,始新世末岩体所达到的温度大约是80℃,随后岩体则一直上升和缓慢冷却到现今所处的位置。在最后~30Ma岩体的平均隆升速度为~53m/Ma。