Late Caledonian Ductile Thrusting Deformation in the Central East Kunlun Belt, Qinghai, China and Its Significance: Evidence from Geochronology

A high-angle ductile thrusting deformation with top-to-the-north movement penetratively developed in the Proterozoic-Early Paleozoic metamorphic rocks along the Central East Kunlun belt. The deformed rocks suffered epidote-amphibolite facies metamorphism. On the basis of our previous study, we present more data in this paper to further support that the ducdle thrust deformation occurred in the later Caledonian and more detailed information about the deformation. A zircon U-Pb concordant age of 446±2.2 Ma of a deformed granodiorite in the ductile thrust zone was obtained and can be interpreted as the lower limit of the deformation. A syntectonically crystallized and also strongly deformed hornblende Ar/ Ar dating gives an Ar/Ar plateau age of 426.5±3.8 Ma, which represents the deformation age. A strongly orientated muscovite gives an Ar/Ar plateau age of 408±1.6Ma, representing the cooling age after the peak temperature, constraining the upper limit of the ductile thrust deformation. This ductile thru     

Crust-Mantle Interaction in Dabie Orogenic Belt, Central China： Geochemical Evidence from Late Cretaceous Basalts

It has been suggested that eclogites in the Dabie orogenic belt are exhumation prod-ucts, which had subducted into the deep-seated mantle and undergone ultra-high pressure meta-morphism during the Triassic. But no direct evidence supports this process except the calculated p-T conditions from mineral thermobarometem. The Late Cretaceous basalts studied in the pres-ent paper, however, have provided some geochemical evidence for crust-mantle interaction in the area. These basalts are distributed in Mesozoic faulted basins in central and southern Dabieorogenic belt. Since little obvious contamination from continental crust and differentiation-crys-tallization were observed, it is suggested, based on a study of trace elements, that the basaltsare alkaline and resultant from batch partial melting of the regional mantle rocks, and share thesame or similar geochemical features with respect to their magma source. In the spider diagram normalized by the primitive mantle, trace element geochemistry data show that their mantle sources are enriched in certain elements concentrated in the continental crust, such as Pb, K,Rb and Ba, and slightly depleted in some HFSE such as Hf, P and Nb. Pb-Sr-Nd isotopic com-positions further suggest the mantle is the mixture of depleted mantle (DM) and enriched one(EMI EMII). This interaction can .explain the trace element characteristics of basaltic mag-mas, i.e.,the enrichment of Pb and the depletion of Hf, P and Nb in basalts can be interpre-ted by the blending of the eclogites in DOB (enriched in Pb and depleted in Hf, P and Nd)with the East China depleted mantle (As compared to the primitive mantle, it is neither en-riched in Pb nor depleted in Hf, P and Nb). It is also indicated that the eclogites in the Dahieorogenic belt were surely derived from the exhumation materials, which had delaminated into thedeep-seated mantle. Moreover, the process subsequently resulted in compositional variation of the mantle (especially in trace elements and isotopes) , as revealed by the late mantle-derivedbasalts in the Dabie orogenic belt.     

Precise Timing of Caledonian Structural Deformation Chronology and Its Implications in Southeast Qilian Mountains, China

The middle Qilian orogenic belt and Lajishan orogenic belt, both of which were formed in the Caledonian, strike NW-SE direction across southeast Qilian Mountains and their basement consists of pre-Caledonian metamorphic rocks with lozenge-shaped ductile shear zones in the crystalline base- ment. The blunt angle between the conjugated ductile shear zones ranges from 104° to 114°, indicating approximate 210° of the maximum principal stress. The plateau ages of muscovite 40Ar/39Ar obtained from the mylonitized rocks in the ductile shear zones of Jinshaxia-Hualong-Keque massif within the middle Qilian massif are (405.1±2.4) Ma and (418.3±2.8) Ma, respectively. The chronology data confirm the formation of ductile shear zones in the Caledonian basement metamorphic rocks during the Cale- donian orogeny. Furthermore, on the basis of basement rock study, precise timing for the closing of the Late Paleozoic volcanic basin (or island-arc basin) and Lajishan ocean basin is determined. This pro- vides us a new insight into the closing of ocean basin in the structural evolution of orogenic belt.     

SHRIMP U-Pb Zircon Geochronology of the Xiaotongguanshan and Shatanjiao Intrusions and Its Petrological Implications in the TongUng Area, Anhui

Abstract  This paper determines the crystallization ages of the Xiaotongguanshan quartz monzodiorite and Shatanjiao quartz monzonite porphyry from the Tongling area using the SHRIMP zircon U‐Pb method. The crystallization age of the former is 142.8±1.8 Ma; that of the latter is 151.8±2.6 Ma. These data indicate that they were formed during the Late Jurassic (142.8 to 151.8 Ma). Zoned magma chamber was formed because of double diffusive convection. Therefore, the intrusive sequence of magma is generally from quartz monzonite through quartz monzodiorite to pyroxene monzodiorite, i.e. an inverted sequence.     

High Contents of Th and U in Late Orogenic Granitoids to Track Lithospheric Delamination：Evidence from Granitoids in Western Kunlun Orogenic Belt,China

Delamination occurs mainly in the lithospheric mantle,involving interaction with the asthenosphere,the process of which is hard to observe directly.our research on granitoids in the western kunlun orogenic belt,China,indicates that high conternts of the heat-producing elements Th and U may furnish lithospheric delamination with new evidence,At the same time,we have established the Th-SiO and U-SiO2 diagrams to discriminate delamination.     

Paleozoic Accretion-Collision Events and Kinematics of Ductile Deformation in the Eastern Part of the Southern-Central Tianshan Belt, China

The Tianshan range could have been built by both late Early Paleozoic accretion and Late Paleozoic collision events. The late Early Paleozoic Aqqikkudug-Weiya suture is marked by Ordovician ophiolitic melange and a Silurian flysch sequence, high-pressure metamorphic relics, and mylonitized rocks. The Central Tianshan belt could principally be an Ordovician volcanic arc; whereas the South Tianshan belt, a back-arc basin. Macro- and microstructures, along with unconformities, provide some kinematic and chronological constraints on 2-phase ductile deformation. The earlier ductile deformation occurring at ca. 400 Ma was marked by north-verging ductile shearing, yielding granulite-bearing ophiolitic melange blocks and garnet-pyroxene-facies ductile deformation, and the later deformation, a dextral strike-slip tectonic process, occurred during the Late Carboniferous-Early Permian. Early Carboniferous molasses were deposited unconformably on pre-Carboniferous metamorphic and ductilely sheared rocks, implying t     

The Geological Significance of the Deformation and Geochronology of the Xiaotian–Mozitan Shear Zone in the Dabie Orogenic Belt (East-Central China)

The Xiaotian–Mozitan Shear Zone(XMSZ) is the boundary of the Dabie High-grade Metamorphic Complex(DHMC) and the North Huaiyang Tectonic Belt. It was deformed in ductile conditions with a top-to-NW/WNW movement.Geothermometers applied to mineral parageneses in mylonites of the shear zone give a temperature range of 623–691°C for the predeformation and 515–568°C for the syndeformation, respectively, which indicates a retrograde process of evolution.A few groups of zircon U-Pb ages were obtained from undeformed granitic veins and different types of deformed rocks in the zone. Zircons from the felsic ultramylonites are all magmatic, producing a weighted mean 206 Pb/238 U age of 754 ± 8.1 Ma, which indicates the time of magmatic activities caused by rifting in the Neoproterozoic. Zircons from the granitic veins, cutting into the mylonites, are also of magmatic origin, producing a weighted mean 206 Pb/238 U age of 130 ± 2.5 Ma,which represents the time of regional magmatic activity in the Cretaceous. Zircons from the mylonitic gneisses are of anatectic-metamorphic origins and are characterized by a core-mantle interior texture, which yielded several populations of ages including the Neoproterozoic ages with a weighted mean 206 Pb/238 U age of 762 ± 18 Ma, similar to that of the felsic ultramylonites and the Early Cretaceous ages with a weighted mean 206 Pb/238 U age of 143 ± 1.8 Ma, indicating the anatectic metamorphism in the Dabie Orogenic Belt(DOB). Based on integrated analysis of the structure, thermal conditions of ductile deformation and the contact relations of the dated rocks, the activation time of the Xiaotian–Mozitan Shear Zone is constrained between ～143 Ma and 130 Ma, during which the DOB was undergoing a transition in tectonic regime from compression to extension. Therefore, the deformation and evolution of this shear zone plays an instrumental role in fully understanding this process. This research also inclines us to the interpretation of it as an extensional detachment, with regard to the tectonic properties of the shear zone. It may also be part of a continental scale extension in the background of the North China Block's cratonic destruction, dominated by the subduction and roll-back of the Paleo-Pacific plate, but more detailed work is needed in order to unravel its complicated development.     

Tectonic Subdivision of Dabie Orogenic Belt,Central China：Evidence from Pb Isotope Geochemistry of Late Mesozoic Basalts

It has long been debated that the Dabie orogenic belt belongs to the North China or Yangtze craton. In recent years, eastern China has been suggested, based on the Pb isotopic compositions of Phanerozoic ore and Mesozoic granitoid K-feldspar (revealing the crust Pb) in combination with Meso-Cenozoic basalts (revealing the mantle Pb), being divided into the North China and Yangtze Pb isotopic provinces, where the crust and mantle of the Yangtze craton are characterized by more radiogenic Pb. In this sense, previous researchers suggested that the pro-EW-trending Dabie crogenic belt with less radiogenic Pb in the crust was part of the North China craton. In this paper, however, the Late Cretaceous basalts in the central and southern parts of the Dabie orogenic belt are characterized by some more radiogenic Pb (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=17.936−18.349,²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=15.500−15.688,²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=38.399−38.775) and a unique U-Th-Pb trace element system similar to those of the Yangtze craton, showing that the Mesozoic mantle is of the Yangtze type. In addition, the decoupled Pb isotopic compositions between crust and mantle were considerably derived from their rheological inhomogeneity, implying a complicated evolution of the Dabie orogenic belt. The study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 49794043) and the Open Laboratory of Constitution, Interaction and Dynamics of the Crust-Mantle System, China.     

The Discovery of Diamond from the Zhimafang Pyrope Peridotite of the Sulu UHP Metamorphic Zone, East China, and Its Geological Implications

From Donghai County of Jiangsu Province to Rongcheng County of Shandong Province on the southern border of the Sulu orogen, there exposes an ultramafic belt, accompanied with an ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic zone. It can be further divided into the Xugou belt (the northern belt), and the Maobei-Gangshang belt (the southern belt). One grain of diamond has been discovered from the Zhimafang pyrope peridotite in the southern belt using the heavy mineral method. The diamond grain is 2.13 mm × 1.42 mm × 0.83 mm in size and weighs 9.4 mg. The occurrence of the diamond suggests that the Zhimafang pyrope peridotite xenolith is derived from the lithospheric upper mantle. The tectonic emplacement mechanism of the pyrope peridotite xenoliths in granite-gneisses is obviously different from those in kimberlite. The Sulu orogen was located on the active continental margin of the Sino-Korean craton in the Neoproterozoic. The relatively cold and water-bearing oceanic crustal tholeiite slab subducted beneath the lith     

Retrogressive Microstructures of the Eclogites from the Northern Dabie Mountains, Central China： Evidence for Rapid Exhumation

The ultrahigh-pressure eclogites from the northern Dabie Mountains in central China occurred as tectonic lens or blocks within granitic gneisses or meta-peridotites. Petrologic studies suggest that the studied eclogites experienced strongly retrogressive metamorphism and produced a series of characteristic retrogressive microstructures. The retrograde structures mainly include: (1) oriented needle mineral exsolution, e. g. , quartz needles in Na-clinopyroxene and rotile, clinopyroxene and apatite exsolution in garnet formed under decreasing pressure conditions during exhumation; (2) symplectite, especially, two generations of symplectites developed outside the garnet grains, which are called ““double symplectite““ here; (3) compositional zoning of minerals such as garnet and clinopyroxene; (4) minerals with a reaction rim or retrograde rim, e.g. , omphacite with a diopside rim, diopside with an amphibole rim and rutile with a rim of ilmenite. These retrograde textures, especially mineral zoning and symplectite, provide important petrologic evidence for the exhumation process and uplift of high-grade metamorphic rocks such as eclogite in the northern Dabie Mountains, indicating a rapid exhumation process.     

Early Paleozoic mantle evolution of East Kunlun Orogenic Belt in Qinghai,NW China: evidence from the geochemistry and geochronology of the Late Ordovician to Late Silurian mafic-ultramafic rocks in the Qimantag region

ABSTRACT

Subduction-related basaltic rocks in active continental margins should record information about the lithospheric mantle. Mafic rocks from the Qimantag region of the East Kunlun Orogenic Belt (EKOB), NW China, can be used to constrain the evolution of mantle sources. The Heishan basalts (445 Ma) and Xiarihamu gabbros (427 Ma) display distinct geochemical and isotopic features, with basalts yielding relatively lower Na₂O+K₂O (1.48–4.16 wt.%) and Mg^# (0.50–0.57) than gabbros (Na₂O+K₂O = 2.96–4.07 wt.%, Mg^# = 0.65–0.81). Although the basalts and gabbros show similar enrichment of LILE and depletion of HFSE, the gabbros have higher Th/Y and lower Sm/Th and Nb/U ratios than the basalts, indicative of derivation from a more enriched mantle source. The Heishan basalts have relatively positive εNd(t) values (+4.7 to +5.8) whereas the Xiarihamu gabbros have negative εNd(t) values ranging from ?5.5 to ?3.8. Crustal contamination played an insignificant role in the formation of the basalts and gabbros. Our data suggest that the basalts originated from a depleted mantle source, slightly enriched by subduction-related fluids, whereas the gabbros originated from an enriched mantle source. These findings support a subduction-related progressive lithospheric mantle enrichment model over ~20 Ma beneath the Qimantag region in the Early Palaeozoic.     

Geochronology Constraints on Transformation Age from Ductile to Brittle Deformation of the Shangma Fault and Its Tectonic Significance, Dabieshan, Central China

By a detailed investigation of geometry and kinematics of the Shangma (商麻) fault in Dabieshan (大别山),three different crust levels of extension movement have been recognized in sequence from the deep to the shallow:① low-angle ductile detachment shearing with top to the NW; ② low-angle normal fault with top to the NW or NWW in brittle or brittle-ductile transition domain; ③high-angle brittle normal fault with top to the W or NWW. Two samples were chosen for zircon U-Pb age dating to constrain the activity age of the Shangma fault. A bedding intrusive granitoid pegmatite vein that is parallel to the foliation of the low-angle ductile detachment shear zone of the country rock exhibits a lotus-joint type of boudinage deformation,showing syn-tectonic emplacing at the end of the ductile deformation period and deformation in the brittle-ductile transition domain. The zircon U-Pb dating of this granitoid pegmatite vein gives an age of (125.9±4.2) Ma,which expresses the extension in the brittle-ductile transition domain of the Shangma fault. The other sample,which is collected from a granite pluton cutting the foliation of the low-angle ductile detachment shear zone, gives a zircon U-Pb age of (118.8±4.1) Ma,constraining the end of the ductile detachment shearing. Then the transformation age from ductile to brittle deformation can be constrained between 126-119 Ma.Combined with the previous researches,the formation of the Luotian (罗田) dome,which is located to the east of the Shangma fault,can beconstrained during 150-126 Ma. This study gives a new time constraint to the evolution of the Dabie orogenic belt.     

青海省东昆仑成矿带铁矿成矿规律与找矿方向研究

东昆仑成矿带位于西域板块南缘活动带与华南板块接合部位,属昆祁秦缝合系的昆仑缝合带。区内由昆北、昆中及昆南三条呈近东西向到北西西向平行展布的区域深大断裂,构成东昆仑复杂的构造格局,由此划分出三大构造成矿单元,即东昆仑北带、中带、南带。这三条大断裂均为切穿地壳或岩石圈的区域性长期活动深大断裂,不仅构成各地质单元的边界和控制岩浆岩分布,也控制了东昆仑隆起、凹陷带沉积盆地及沉积建造的展布,与次级北西、北北西向和北东向断裂一起,把不同时代地层和部分岩体切割成规模不等的断块(条),同时不同级次的断裂构造作为成矿的导矿场和储矿场,为各类矿床的形成提供了良好的迁移通道和赋存空间。该区地层主要集中发育在前寒武纪、早古生界奥陶―志留纪、晚古生代石炭―二叠纪、中生界三叠纪及新生代几个时间段中。在区域分布上,昆中、昆北带出露地层较相近,昆南带与昆北和昆中带有显著差异,反映为不同地层分区。岩浆活动非常强烈而频繁,分布亦十分广泛,主要分布在昆仑山北坡断隆带和祁漫塔格地区,在昆仑山主脊形成著名的东昆仑山花岗岩带,昆仑山南坡出露少量中酸侵入岩。岩浆活动始于元古代,止于新生代,表现为间歇性的火山喷发与岩浆侵入频繁交替。岩性从基性、超基性到酸性均有出露。主要活动时代为加里东期、华力西期,其次为印支期、燕山期;兴凯期和前兴凯期主要以少量基性、超基性喷流活动。东昆仑成矿带是青海重要成矿带之一,东昆仑成矿带侵入岩、褶皱、断裂构造发育,岩浆活动频繁强烈,成矿地质条件十分优越,具有较大找矿潜力。该带也是青海省主要的工业矿床集中分布的地区,储量大,品位较高,矿产地集中,同时共伴生的多金属矿床也往往具有一定的规模。尤其是矽卡岩型和沉积变质型铁矿的绝大多数储量都集中在本带。铁矿床成因类型复杂多样,主要有与火山喷流沉积有关的喷流——沉积、热液交代变质改造型,沉积变质型和矽卡岩型,具备大型——超大型矿床的成矿条件。矿床多沿昆北、昆中和昆南深大断裂带分布,与次级构造及岩浆岩体关系密切。东昆仑西段是重要的大——超大型矿床找矿远景区,中段具有沉积变质型铁矿找矿前景,东段则是矽卡岩型铁矿床聚集区。该带铁矿资源量占全省的75.51%,铁矿共、伴生有用组分较多,可综合利用。接触交代型铁矿是目前开发的重点,此类型矿石质量较好,TFe品位一般在35%～55%,有害杂质硫、磷一般低于工业要求。特别是都兰、野马泉地区的铁矿多共、伴生有铅、锌、铜、金、银、锡、钴、铋、镉、硫铁矿等有益元素,需综合开发利用。由于共、伴生组分可综合利用,极大地提高了开发价值。     

东昆仑南地体苦海岩群副片麻岩锆石年代学研究

东昆仑南地体最古老的变质基底为苦海岩群,出露于苦海-温泉一带。采用LA-ICP-MS方法对苦海岩群副片麻岩中的锆石进行测试,得出苦海岩群副片麻岩的最大沉积时代为新元古代早期且在志留纪(423 Ma)遭受变质。通过与东昆仑北地体变质基底金水口岩群的锆石年龄谱对比,苦海岩群和金水口岩群的锆石年龄谱中都存在1 550~1 650 Ma、1 900~2 100 Ma、2 350~2 550 Ma的年龄段峰值,两岩群可能存在相似的物源区;年龄谱中最年轻的岩浆锆石峰值年龄分别为750~800 Ma和900~1 250 Ma,两岩群的最大沉积时代相近,分别为新元古代早期(Pt_3)、中元古代晚期-新元古代早期(Pt_(2-3));年龄谱中都存在400~450 Ma的变质年龄峰值,两岩群在志留纪均发生角闪岩相变质,说明它们在前志留纪有着相似的演化历史。即使昆南地体和昆北地体之间在早古生代期间存在洋盆,该洋盆也不会太大。     

Late Oligocene-Early Miocene Thrusting in Southern East Kunlun Mountains, Northern Tibetan Plateau

Southward thrusting occurred in Late Oligocene-Early Miocene in southern East Kunlun (昆仑) Mountains formed the South Kunlun thrust (SKT). Permian strata and Triassic rocks were thrusted over the Paleocene-Eocene red-beds of Fenghuoshan (风火山) Group and Oligocene brownish red conglomerate and sandstone of Yaxicuo (雅西错) Group along SKT faults, formed tectonic slices, low-angle thrust faults, multi-scaled outliers, and nappe structures in south of Middle Kunlun fault (MKF). In addition, SKT displacement or shortening is estimated to be ～(30-35) km across Dongdatan (东大滩) valley and East Wenquan (温泉) basin. 39Ar-40Ar dating of chlorite of ductile shear zone along front thrust fault indicates that SKT thrusting occurred at 26.5±2.7 Ma, and fission track dating of apatite from mylonitic granite in SKT gives the age 26±2 Ma, corresponding to initial time of rapid uplift of East Kunlun Mountains. Thrust faults and folds of SKT were covered unconformably by Late Miocene lacustrine strata, and major thrusting of SKT ended before 13.5-14.5 Ma according to regional chronological data in northern Tibetan plateau.     

东昆仑金水口地区格林威尔期超高温麻粒岩

格林威尔期构造事件是了解罗迪尼亚超大陆形成的关键。本文报道了东昆仑造山带东段金水口地区古生代花岗岩中新发现二辉麻粒岩包体,其峰期变质矿物组合为单斜辉石+紫苏辉石+钙长石+石英+磁铁矿。通过锆石U-Pb测年,我们确定二辉麻粒岩样品的峰期变质年龄为995±34Ma,并受到泥盆纪(～417Ma)构造热事件的叠加改造。利用单斜辉石-斜方辉石温压计估算出该区二辉麻粒岩变质峰期温度867～1079℃,压力46～89kbar,属于低压超高温变质的温压范围,可能形成于高地温梯度的岛弧环境。该二辉麻粒岩是首次在东昆仑地区发现的格林威尔期超高温麻粒岩,代表罗迪尼亚超大陆汇聚过程中低压高温变质的产物。该发现对了解东昆仑造山带前寒武纪基底的构造属性和起源有重要意义。     

东昆仑祁漫塔格虎头崖铅锌多金属矿区花岗岩年代学、地球化学及Hf同位素特征

虎头崖铅锌多金属矿床位于东昆仑祁漫塔格地区,矿区内中酸性侵入岩体广泛发育,且与成矿关系密切。LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb同位素年龄测试表明,虎头崖Ⅴ矿带外围花岗闪长岩形成时代为(224.3±0.6)Ma,Ⅷ号矿带矿体下部正长花岗岩形成时代为(239.7±0.8)Ma,岩体形成时代为中—晚三叠世。岩石地球化学表明,花岗闪长岩富钾贫钠(K2O/Na2O为2.02~2.88),无明显负Eu异常(δEu为0.68~1.06),富集Rb、Th、U、K等大离子亲石元素,明显亏损Nb、P、Ti等元素,属I型花岗岩;正长花岗岩具高硅、富碱、低铁镁、贫钙磷钛的特征,负Eu强烈(δEu为0.08~0.26),富集Rb、Th、U、K,亏损P、Ti、Ba、Sr,属高分异I型花岗岩;二者均形成于后碰撞构造背景;Hf同位素组成不均一,指示其经历了壳幔岩浆混合作用,幔源物质的加入可能带来了丰富的成矿物质。     

东昆仑造山带蛇绿岩矿物学特征及其岩石成因讨论

首次对东昆仑复合造山带不同时代蛇绿岩主要造岩矿物橄榄石、辉石、斜长石进行了系统的矿物化学研究 ,查明了不同蛇绿岩带在矿物成分上的差异 ,对清水泉蛇绿岩带和布青山蛇绿岩带单斜辉石、斜方辉石、斜长石进行了矿物稀土、微量元素的研究 ,阐明了矿物稀土、微量元素与全岩稀土、微量元素的关系 ,证明了在以辉石和橄榄石为主的橄辉岩中 ,单斜辉石的稀土元素基本上代表了全岩的稀土元素。根据地幔岩石中矿物成分特征 ,对不同蛇绿岩带地幔类型进行了讨论 ,并根据实测的辉石、斜长石分配系数 ,确定了清水泉蛇绿岩带玄武岩的部分熔融定量模拟