Geology and geochemistry of metabasalts of Shimoga schist belt,Dharwar Craton: implications for the late Archean basin development

The late Archaean Shimoga schist belt in the Western Dharwar Craton, with its huge dimensions and varied lithological associations of different age groups, is an ideal terrane to study Archean crustal evolution. The rock types in this belt are divided into Bababudhan Group and Chitradurga Group. The Bababudhan Group is dominated by mafic volcanic rocks followed by shallow marine sedimentary rocks while the Chitradurga Group is dominated by greywackes, pillowed basalts, and deep marine sedimentary rocks with occasional felsic volcanics. The Nb/Th and Nb/La ratios of the studied metabasalts of the Bababudhan Group indicate crustal contamination. They were extruded onto the vast Peninsular Gneisses through the rifting of the basement gneiss. The Nb/Yb ratios of high-magnesium basalts and tholeiitic basalts of Chitradurga Group suggest the enrichment of their source magma. Based on the flat primitive mantle-normalized multi-element plot with negative Nb anomalies and Th/Ta-La/Yb ratios, the high-magnesium basalts and tholeiitic basalts are considered to have erupted in an oceanic plateau setting with minor crustal contamination. The high-magnesium basalts and tholeiitic basalts formed two different pulses of same magma type, in which the first pulse of magma gave rise to high-magnesium basalts which were derived from deep mantle sources and underwent minor crustal contamination en route to the surface, while the second pulse of magma gave rise to tholeiitic basalts formed at similar depths to that of high-magnesium basalts and escaped crustal contamination. The associated lithological units found with the studied metavolcanic rock types of Bababudan and Chitradurga Groups of Dharwar Supergroup of rocks in Shimoga schist belt of Western Dharwar Craton confirm the mixed-mode basin development with a transition from shallow marine to deep marine settings.     

Archaean greenstone belt from the Central African Republic (Equatorial Africa)

The Bandas belt, one of two prominent Archaean greenstone belts in the Central African Republic (Equatorial Africa), is ca. 250 km long. At the southernmost part of the belt, a metasedimentary—metavolcanic rock suite is preserved only in brachysynclines. The suite can be divided into two lithostratigraphic units. The lower unit is composed predominantly of volcanic rocks, while the upper one contains mainly metasedimentary rocks. The volcanic rocks, which are part of a sequence ca. 3600 m thick, can be sub-divided according to stratigraphic position, lithology and geochemistry into three groups. The lowermost group includes low-K tholeiitic basalts depleted in light REE. The second group consists of tholeiitic basalts with light REE-enriched patterns and the third, uppermost, group includes andesites, which are similar in several respects to Recent calc-alkaline andesites.The tholeiitic basalts of the first two groups are probably related to different upper mantle sources. The andesites of the third group were produced either by fractional crystallization from a basaltic magma enriched in light REE or equilibrium melting of eclogite or garnet amphibolite.     

Possibility of identification of back-arc paleobasins from high-grade orthometamorphite rocks: Evidence from basic crystalline schists of the Slyudyanka crystalline complex,South Baikal region

The Slyudyanka crystalline complex is located within the composite Khamar-Daban metamorphic terrane, the part of the Central Asian fold belt. Geochemical composition of the basic crystalline schists of the Slyudyanka Group (subterrane) metamorphosed under the high-temperature subfacies of the granulite facies suggests that their protoliths were tholeiitic basalts. Their geochemical signatures are intermediate between mid-ocean ridges and island arc basalts, best approximating back-arc basin basalts. The types of the metamorphic rocks of the Slyudyanka Group and their combination in sequences also most correspond to accumulation in back-arc basins. It was concluded that the high-grade metavolcanic rocks retain main geochemical signatures of protoliths, which allows the reconstruction of their paleogeodynamic settings, including back-arc basins.     

Oceanic and riftogenic metavolcanic associations of greenstone belts in the northwestern part of the Sharyzhalgai Uplift, Baikal region

The Onot and Bulun terranes are confined to the Sharyzhalgai Uplift in the southwestern margin of the Siberian craton. They consist of alternating blocks and nappes of Paleoarchean tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite complex and supracrustal metasedimentary-volcanogenic rocks of greenstone belts (GSB). The lower part of the Onot GSB is made up of a bimodal association of aporhyolite microgneisses with subordinate amphibolites, while the upper part consists of amphibolites associated with banded iron formation, metapelites, dolomitic marbles, and magnesites. The Urik GSB in the Bulun block comprises three rock associations: (1) garnet amphibolites and amphibolites alternating with kyanite-bearing mica schists and quartzite schists; (2) garnet-bearing biotite and amphibole crystalline schists with tectonic lenses of garnet amphibolites; (3) biotite and amphibole-biotite orthogneisses and biotite plagiogneisses. The microgneisses (metarhyolitoids) of the Onot belt are correlated with within-plate volcanic rocks and A-type granites. The composition of the amphibolites corresponds to high-Mg low-Ti tholeiitic basalts. The formation of metavolcanic rocks of the Onot GSB was related to the rifting of the Paleoarchean continental crust, which is supported by the formation of felsic metavolcanic rocks from an ancient tonalite source and by the geochemical signatures of crustal contamination of metabasalts. The amphibolites of the Urik GSB are subdivided into three petrogeochemical types. The first and second types correspond to high-and low-Mg tholeiitic basalts and have practically flat multielement patterns. The amphibolites of the third type correspond to subalkaline leucobasalts. Two types of orthogneisses are comparable with intermediate-acid volcanic rocks of the andesite-dacite and adakite series. In terms of geochemistry, the metamafic volcanic rocks of the Urik GSB represent the rocks of the oceanic crust. Oceanic settings of their formation are confirmed by an association of metavolcanic rocks with abyssal distal siliceous-argillaceous deposits. The formation of two types of intermediate-acid metavolcanic rocks of andesite-dacite and adakite associations, as well as garnet-bearing paraschists, was presumably related to subduction settings.     

Geochemical discrimination of metabasalt rocks of the Fan–Karategin transitional blueschist/greenschist belt, South Tianshan, Tajikistan: seamount volcanism and accretionary tectonics

The Fan–Karategin metamorphic belt, South Tianshan, Tajikistan, is regarded to be an ancient subduction–accretionary complex and is composed of three tectonostratigraphic units which display lithologies consistent with different tectonic settings. The mafic schists, which make up the major part of the older unit of the belt, contain both alkali and tholeiitic metabasalts. On the basis of rare-earth and other immobile element characteristics, the alkali metabasalts are akin to within-plate ocean island basalts, whereas the tholeiitic metabasalts resemble E-type MORB. The association is interpreted to have been formed on seamount-like structures under a within-plate plume. Bedded cherts and marbles in the unit are regarded as ancient pelagic sediments and carbonate caps developed upon basaltic seamounts, respectively. Dismemberment of the seamount-related basalts and pelagic sediments and the high-P/low-T prograde metamorphism of the unit rocks up to transitional blueschist/greenschist facies was the result of paleoseamount submergence into a subduction zone. This unit is tectonically overlain by arc-derived metavolcanic unit and a disrupted, mainly clastic unit of Upper Ordovician–Lower Silurian age. Metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks of the two upper units have geochemical characteristics compatible with subduction-related origin. The lithological assemblages of the individual units and their juxtaposition suggest an origin involving collision–accretionary processes. The Fan–Karategin belt is a subduction–accretionary complex which formed during subduction of oceanic crust under a volcanic arc and was subjected to tectonic juxtaposition and imbrication of seamount, deep-sea, trench and volcanic arc sequences.     

Geochemistry and Petrogenesis of Amphibolites, Kolar Schist Belt, South India: Evidence for Komatiitic Magma Derived by Low Percentages of Melting of the Mantle

The Kolar Schist Belt of the Dharwar Craton of South India isan Archean greenstone belt dominated by metavolcanic rocks.The mafic metavolcanic rocks occur as komatiitic and tholeiiticamphibolites. The komatiitic amphibolites occur along the marginsof the N–S trending, synformal belt. They are much lessabundant than the tholeiitic amphibolites and have 14 to 21–3wt. per cent MgO. The komatiitic amphibolites from the west/centralpart of the belt have two distinctive REE patterns: (1) thoseenriched in the middle to light REE but depleted in Ce relativeto Nd; and (2) those with patterns that are convex up, i.e.depleted in both light and heavy REE, although more depletedin the light REE. Associated tholeiites have light REE depletedto flat REE patterns. Komatiitic and tholeiitic amphibolitesfrom the eastern part of the belt have enriched light REE patterns. The tholeiitic amphibolites from the Kolar Schist Belt are similarto the TH I and TH II types of Archean tholeiites of Condie(1981). The komatiitic amphibolites are similar to komatiitesand komatiitic basalts of Barberton Mountainland, but have higherFeO and TiO2 abundances and lower Yb/Gd ratios. The petrogenetic interpretations for these rocks are based primarilyon a modification of the MgO-FeO diagram of Hanson & Langmuir(1978), and modelling of Zr, Ni and REE. All of the rocks haveundergone some fractionation. While the modelling does not giveaccurate temperatures, pressures, compositions and extents ofmelting of the mantle sources for the various amphibolites,it does present an approach which can be used for estimatingthese parameters. For example, the komatiitic amphibolites appearto be derived from melts generated by 10 to 25 per cent meltingof the mantle over a range of depths and temperatures greaterthan 80 km and 1575?C. The variation in the P-T conditions ofmagma generation is possibly due to adiabatic melting in mantlediapirs with a range of FeO/MgO ratios. If the tholeiitic amphibolitesare derived from similar mantle sources (it is not clear thatthey are), their parent melts may have been generated by similarextents of melting, but at depths of less than 80 km. The komatiiticamphibolites from the west central part of the belt were generatedfrom light REE depleted mantle, whereas those from the easternpart of the belt appear to have been generated from light REEenriched mantle. The sources for the komatiitic amphibolitesin both areas were significantly enriched in FeO relative topyrolite. Thus, a light REE depleted and a light REE enrichedsource appear to have provided mafic volcanics with similarmajor element chemistry to this belt during its evolution.     

Tectonic significance of mafic volcanic rocks in a Mesozoic sequence of the Menderes Massif, West Turkey

The Mesozoic platform sequence of the Menderes Massif consists of thick succession of detrital and carbonate rocks. In this sequence there are mafic metavolcanic rocks at two different levels. The first level of mafic metavolcanic intercalations is in the Late Triassic detrital-rich series located in the ÇaltayL Formation, which is the lowermost unit of the Mesozoic platform. The second level of the mafic metavolcanic rocks is located in the Late Cretaceous-(?)Paleocene Selçuk Formation laying on top of the platform sequence. The ÇaltayL Formation, which is composed of mica-schists, thinly-bedded cherts, calc-schist and mafic volcanic intercalations unconformably overlie the BayLndLr Formation, which consists of mica-schists, phyllites, and white quartzites of Palaeozoic or probably older age. The mafic volcanic rocks in the ÇaltayL Formation are alkaline basalts with within plate characteristics and are formed during an intraplate extension. The ÇaltayL Formation is conformably overlain by the KayaaltL Formation represented by calc-schists, dolomitic marbles, and rudist- and emery-bearing massive marbles in ascending order. The Selçuk Formation overlies the KayaaltL Formation and consists of a mica-schist matrix with allochthonous blocks of mafic volcanic rocks, metaperidotites, metagabbros and massive marbles. The mafic volcanic rocks in the Selçuk Formation are tholeiitic basalts and are petrologically similar to mid-oceanic basalts. The geological and geochemical characteristics of the mafic metavolcanic rocks in the ÇaltayL Formation indicate that during the Late Triassic, the Menderes platform was segmented, probably by the opening of a branch of the Neotethyan Ocean. Between the Late Triassic and the Late Cretaceous, the Menderes carbonate platform was built up. During the Latest Cretaceous-Early Paleocene, a slab of oceanic crust obducted on this platform and provided slices of mafic metavolcanic rocks into the Selçuk Formation.     

Geochemistry of Archaean volcanic rocks from Iron Ore Supergroup, Singhbhum, eastern India

Mafic-ultramafic rocks of Archaean age constitute a significant component of the Eastern Indian Craton. These occur in two different modes. In the eastern belt these occur as a long, linear enclave within the Singhbhum granite and the primary banding in them is subvertical. In the more extensive western belt along the periphery of the Singhbhum granite, the disposition of the primary banding is subhorizontal. The major rock type in both the belts is meta-basalt with minor peridotitic komatiite and basaltic komatiite occurring in the eastern belt. Rare ultramafic rocks with cumulate textures are present in both the belts. The larger volume of the basaltic rocks preclude the possibility of their being derived by fractional crystallization of the high-MgO components. On the basis of trace element and REE characters the rocks may be classified into three groups. One of the groups shows a tholeiitic trend and include samples mostly from the eastern belt while the second consisting mostly of samples from the western belt shows a calc-alkaline trend. The third group includes samples having elemental ratios intermediate between these two groups. Zr/Nb ratios for the tholeiitic and calc-alkaline samples are different suggesting their sources to be different. The tholeiitic samples have been generated from a source having chondritic REE characters, while the calc-alkaline samples have been generated from a source with LREE enriched character. The high-MgO components in both the groups are suggested to represent high degrees of melting compared to the basalts in each group. It is further suggested that the tholeiitic basalts have been generated relatively early from a chondritic source. Down-buckling of this material has added LREE enriched melts to the source, thereby changing its character into a LREE enriched one. Melting of a source with such changed character has subsequently produced the calc-alkaline melts. Rocks with variable but intermediate characters between these two groups have been generated as a result of contamination between these two groups.     

Geochemistry of Archean Metavolcanic Rocks from Kadiri Schist Belt, Andhra Pradesh, India

The basic volcanic group exposed in the Kadiri schist belt includes high Mg-basalt, basalt, basaltic andestite and dacite. The basalts are tholeiitic in composition and high Mg-basalts, basaltic andesites and dacites show calc-alkaline affinity. Major and trace element characteristics suggest that the volcanic suite has been derived from an initial tholeiitic magma which has given rise to an early basaltic type and a later calc-alkaline type of rocks. An island arc and active continental margin tectonic setting was inferred for these rocks.     

Geology and geochemical patterns of the Birimian gold deposits, Ghana, West Africa

A major gold province of the world exists in the Proterozoic Birimian and Tarkwaian supracrustal rocks of West Africa. The bulk of the gold comes from the primary lode occurrences of the Birimian rocks of Ghana (formerly The Gold Coast). Birimian lithofacies is characterised by subaqueous fine-grained sediments with bimodal volcanic material. Metasedimentary rocks include phyllites and metawackes. Metavolcanic rocks are predominantly tholeiitic basalts. Komatiites and banded iron formations (BIF) are absent.Gold is in 5 parallel, evenly spaced, more than 300 km long, northeast-trending volcanic belts separated by basins containing pyroclastic and meta-sedimentary units. The most prominent is the Ashanti volcanic “greenstone” belt, which hosts the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation mines at Obuasi (more than 800,000 kg Au since 1896), the Billiton Bogosu Gold mine at Bogosu, and the State Gold Mining Corporation mines at Prestea, Bibiani and Konongo.Gold, ranging from 2 to 30 ppm, is in quartz veins of laterally extensive major orebodies which deeply penetrate fissures and shear zones at contacts between metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks. The veins consists mainly of quartz with carbonate minerals, green sericite, carbonaceous partings and metallic sulfides and arsenides of Fe, As, Zn, Au, Cu, Sb, and Pb. Gold occurs in carbonate fillings in fractured quartz veins. Country rocks, which contain rutile, anatase and granular masses of leucoxene, along ore channels, have been hydrothermally altered to carbonates, sericite, silica and sulfide minerals. Fluid inclusion evidences suggest that mineral deposition took place at about 350°C and 140 bar from dilute aqueous solutions. Timing deduced from ore textures, however, show complex multi-stage mineralization events, with higher temperature minerals commonly having formed later than lower temperature ones. Geochemical studies of materials produced by tropical processes, especially soils, are essential in prospecting poorly exposed terranes of west Africa. Trace and major element distributions at mines and mineral occurrences can indicate mineralization otherwise difficult to detect.This paper highlights the features of the Ghanaian gold deposits that may aid the current search for new deposits along the gold belts. Exploration based on geochemistry is highly important, but should be integrated with data from accompanying geological, lithologic, mineralogical, and structural studies.     

The geochemistry of mafic metavolcanics: implications for the origin of the Devonian massive sulfide deposits at Zlaté Hory,Czechoslovakia

Mafic metavolcanic rocks in the area of the Zlaté Hory massive sulfide deposits are interpreted as convergent plate-margin basalts and basaltic andesites metamorphosed to the greenschist facies. According to the major- and trace-element compositions the metabasites exhibit island-arc tholeiitic to low-K, calc-alkaline composition.Approximately 50% of samples of maifc metavolcanics studied have a salient negative anomaly of Ce in chondrite-normalized REE patterns. The Ce-depleted greenschists are thought to represent hydrothermally altered equivalents of metabasites of island-arc tholeiitic composition. The alteration was accompanied by the sulfide mineralization. That is indicated by enrichment in Ba and S together with correlation of the Ce/Ce* values and CO₂ abundances in the Ce-depleted rocks. The Ce anomaly may be caused by alteraton of ore-forming, seawaterderived solutions. The occurrence of Ce-depleted greenschists supports the hypothesis of the volcanogenic origin of the ore deposits in the Zlaté Hory area.     

Geochemical and Sm–Nd isotope–geochemical patterns of metavolcanic rocks,diabase, and metagabbroids on the northeastern flank of the South Mongolian–Khingan orogenic belt

The first results of geochemical and Sm–Nd isotope–geochemical studies of metavolcanic rocks, metagabbroids, and diabase of the Nora-Sukhotino terrane, the least studied part of the South Mongolian–Khingan orogenic belt in the system of the Central Asian orogenic belt are reported. It is established that the basic rocks composing this terrane include varieties comparable with E-MORB, tholeiitic, and calc-alkaline basalt of island arc, calc-alkaline gabbro-diabase, and gabbroids of island arcs. Most likely, these formations should be correlated with metabasalt and associated Late Ordovician gabbro-amphibolite of the Sukdulkin “block” of the South Mongolian–Khingan orogenic belt, which are similar to tholeiite of intraplate island arcs by their geochemical characteristics.     

Geochemistry of the Yandal belt metavolcanic rocks,Eastern Goldfields Province,Western Australia

Archaean felsic metavolcanic rocks occur throughout the Yandal belt in the north of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia where they are most abundant in the higher parts of the stratigraphy. With the exception of the Spring Well Sequence at the southern end of the belt, these rocks are typically dacites showing geochemical affinities with Archaean high‐Al trondhjemite‐tonalite‐dacite (TTD) suites. They have high Sr, Al₂O₃, and (La/Yb)_N; low Y, Nb, Zr and heavy rare‐earth elements (HREE); and lack a significant Eu anomaly. In contrast, broadly coeval mafic volcanic rocks have flat REE patterns and trace‐element compositions more typical of modern backarc basin basalts. The Spring Well Sequence is readily distinguished lithologically and geochemically from the remainder of the Yandal belt. Spring Well basaltic andesites are geochemically similar to modern calc‐alkaline arc magmas, i.e. negative Nb–Ta anomalies and enrichment of both large‐ion lithophile elements (LILE) and light rare‐earth elements (LREE). Andesites and rhyolites, both abundant in the Spring Well Sequence, have elevated LILE relative to high field strength elements, and moderate to strong negative Nb, Ta, Sr and Ti anomalies. Rhyolites have low Sr/Y and relatively flat REE patterns ((La/Yb)_N = 4.2–5.0). The chemistry and lithostratigraphic associations of the Yandal belt, with the exception of the Spring Well area, suggest a similarity with the Kalgoorlie Terrane, which is supported by published geochronological data. In contrast, the abundance of rhyolite, distinctive calc‐alkaline chemistry and ca2690 Ma age of the Spring Well Sequence suggests a possible association with ca2692 Ma bimodal calc‐alkaline arc‐rift sequence at Teutonic Bore and similar rocks at Melita and Jeedamya, 150 km south of Spring Well. The abundance of TTD dacite and tholeiitic basalt throughout the Yandal belt suggests magma generation from both decompression partial melting of mantle peridotite to produce backarc tholeiitic magma, and partial melting of subducted oceanic lithosphere to produce high‐Al dacite‐tonalite magma. Based on field relationships of the lithological associations, spatial geochemical patterns and published geochronological data, a shallow, west‐dipping subduction model is postulated for the Yandal belt. In this model, widespread tholeiitic basalt and TTD dacite volcanic sequences are thought to have formed in a backarc basin west of a predominantly submerged continental margin volcanic arc. The dominance of dacite in the upper stratigraphy of the Yandal belt could indicate the development of a secondary volcanic ridge or arc in this basin. The Spring Well Sequence is interpreted to occupy the northern preserved portion of the primary arc, remnants of which now extend south through Teutonic Bore to the Melita and Jeedamya volcanic centres. South of Spring Well, volcanic sequences become distinctly bimodal with basalt and high silica rhyolite suggesting an increasing influence of arc extension toward the south.     

Criteria for the identification of ancient volcanic arcs

Characteristic features of recent volcanic arcs must be preserved in the rock record to be useful in determining the magmatic affinities of metavolcanic rocks. This paper reviews criteria suggested by others, and proposes new criteria for the recognition of ancient volcanic arc complexes. Major element abundances, which discriminate magma types in recent volcanic rocks, are very susceptible to modification during low-grade metamorphism, and therefore are of limited value for determining magmatic affinities of altered volcanic rocks. Ti and Zr, Cr and the rare-earth elements, are only slightly affected by low-grade metamorphism. These elements show distinctive trends that allow ocean-floor basalts to be discriminated from most volcanic arc basalts. Clinopyroxene phenocrysts are commonly the only unaltered remnant phase present in metavolcanic rocks. Compositions of clinopyroxene phenocrysts from a suite of fractionated volcanic rocks can be employed as a petrogenetic indicator, because each magma series displays a distinctive CaFeMg trend during differentiation. The much greater abundance of pyroclastic volcanic rocks versus flows in modern volcanic are sequences is a preservable criterion for identifying ancient volcanic arcs. Interbedded with the pyroclastic volcanic rocks are thick deposits of graywackes and mudstones. The volcanic arc deposits are overprinted by high-temperature/low-pressure metamorphism. Parallel to and on the seaward side of the volcanic arc metamorphic belt is a belt of low-temperature/high-pressure metamorphic rocks. These two metamorphic belts comprise a paired metamorphic belt that is diagnostic of Pacific-type convergent plate margins. These criteria together distinguish volcanic arc deposits from other volcanic—sedimentary deposits.     

Geochemistry and origin of the Archean Prince Albert Group volcanics,western Melville Peninsula,Northwest Territories,Canada

Major and trace element data on the Archean metavolcanic rocks of the Prince Albert Group (PAG), Northwest Territories. Canada, are reported. The following major groups were found, based on combined field and geochemical evidence: ultramafic flows; basaltic rocks, predominantly tholeiites; andesites; heavy REE depleted dacites; and rhyolites.The ultramafic and basaltic rocks are relatively normal Archean volcanics except for the downward bowed REE patterns of the tholeiitic basalts. The andesites, dacites and rhyolites, however, are not typical of Archean terrains. Comparisons between the andesites of the PAG and other Archean and more recent ones show that those of the PAG are most similar chemically to modern high-K andesites. REE patterns in these rocks suggest that partial melting of assemblages with significant garnet are an unlikely source but it is not possible to ascribe their origin to any simple process. Partial melting of a garnet-poor mafic granulite is an acceptable source for the heavy REE depleted dacites. The geochemical characteristics of the rhyolites cannot be explained by partial melting of a mafic source or by fractional crystallization from the daeites. It is suggested that these rocks originated by partial melting of pre-existing sialic crust.     

中国东南部晚中生代-新生代玄武岩与壳幔作用

中国东南部的火山活动在早中生代时期仅有很小规模,晚中生代最早的、较大规模的岩浆活动始于中侏罗世早期,至早白垩世是火山岩浆活动的鼎盛期,在近100个Ma的时间内形成了大面积分布的晚中生代火山-侵入岩,而在新生代则以面积较小的玄武岩浆喷出活动为主,局限分布于沿海一带。以晚中生代湘南、赣南和闽西南的近EW向火山岩带和浙、闽沿海地区的近NNE向火山岩带,以及新生代近NNE向火山岩带为研究对象,对这些火山岩的地球化学特征对比研究,结合时空分布,讨论了它们的起源及其与壳幔相互作用的关系,以及它们形成的构造环境,其结果显示,EW向晚中生代火山岩带（180～170Ma）的西段玄武岩独立产出,且明显属碱性系列;而中段和东段玄武岩和流纹岩伴生,其中的玄武岩均为亚碱性系列的拉斑玄武岩。它们形成于板内拉张构造环境,是中国东南部特提斯构造域向太平洋构造域转换、晚中生代大规模岩浆作用的序幕。研究表明,该火山岩带自西向东表现出不同程度的壳幔相互作用,玄武岩在成岩过程中有少量陆壳组分加入。NNE向晚中生代火山岩带（130～90Ma）主要为流纹质岩石,安山岩和玄武岩很少。即使是双峰式火山岩也以酸性岩为主,玄武岩仅占全部火山岩体积的30％以下。其中的玄武岩主要属钙碱性系列,少数属拉斑系列。它们形成于火山弧构造环境,是中国东南部受太平洋构造域影响发生大规模火山岩浆作用的主旋律。其中玄武岩岩浆成分受到了较高程度的陆壳物质混染,同时代的中性火山岩是由底侵的玄武岩岩浆和陆壳物质来源的酸性岩浆发生岩浆混合作用而形成的,反映了强烈的壳幔相互作用。NNE向新生代火山岩带,分布在浙闽沿海,以碱性系列玄武岩为主,均含幔源包体,并受NNE向大陆边缘断裂构造的控制。它们形成于板内裂谷环境,是中国东南沿海由晚中生代火山弧构造环境转换为新生代板内裂谷环境的标志,起源于软流圈地幔,并有EMII岩石圈地幔的混合组分,但基本没有受到陆壳物质的混染。     

The geology and petrology of the metavolcanic rocks of the Kvakhona Formation of the Sredinnyi Range crystalline massif in Kamchatka

The metavolcanic rocks of the Kvakhona Formation exposed on the western slopes of the Sredinnyi Range metamorphic massif are represented by two sequences. The lower sequence occupying the most part of the exposed formation is dominated by porphyric and aphyric clinopyroxene-plagioclase metabasalts and their tuffs with subordinate metapicritic basalts, metaandesites and their tuffs, and metadacites. The latter form isolated bodies in the northern part of the Kvakhona exposures. The upper sequence is composed of metaandesites, metabasalts, and their tuffs intercalated with terrigenous rocks (siltstones, sandstones, and carbonate graywacke) and metadacite bodies. The rocks were subjected to intense metamorphism under the greenschist facies conditions (t = 250–420°C, P _s around 1 kbar) with the replacement of clinopyroxene phenocrysts (or their clasts in the tuff varieties) by actinolite, chlorite, and epidote, while plagioclase phenocrysts are replaced by albite, muscovite, chlorite, and epidote. In the metabasalts enriched in ore minerals, clinopyroxene is replaced by very thin veinlets and the finest grains (about 20–30 μm) of Ca-Na and Na amphiboles (winchite, ferrowinchite, glaucophane, and ferroglaucophane). The groundmass of the rocks (or tuff cement) consists of variable combinations of titanite, magnetite, chlorite, epidote, silpnomelane, and albite. The metabasalts of the formation belong to the high-Fe and often high-Ti rocks, which makes them similar to the tholeiitic basalts of mid-ocean ridges or rifting zones. The metaandesites and metadacites also preserved an elevated Fe content and belong to calc-alkaline series rocks typical of island arcs and active continental margins. It is suggested that the primary rocks of the Kvakhona Formation were formed within volcanic centers on the floor of a vast Cretaceous epicontinental marginal basin, which accumulated thick sequences of terrigenous rocks. The detrital material for these rocks was supplied from the northeastern Asian continent. The geological and geochemical data testify to the similarity of the Kvakhona metavolcanic rocks and the greenstone altered volcanic rocks of the Pensantain Range of Western Kamchatka, which are dated by the U-Pb SHRIMP method at 90–100 Ma. The protolith of the metavolcanic rocks of the Kvakhona Formation was presumably formed within the same age interval.     

Geochemistry,origin, and nature of metamorphic rocks of the Batomga granite-greenstone terrane (Aldan Shield)

Two series of volcanic rocks with different petrochemical affinities-calc-alkaline and komatiitetholeiitic series-were identified as protoliths for the Early Proterozoic metamorphic rocks of the Batomga granite-greenstone terrane. The metavolcanic rocks of the calc-alkaline series comprise metabasalts, metaandesites, metadacites, and metarhyolites. The distribution of the trace element abundances in the felsic metavolcanic rocks is similar to that of the Archean grey gneisses from the platform basements, thus suggesting a similar petrological mechanism for the formation of their protoliths. The protoliths for the komatiite-tholeiitic metavolcanic rocks include komatiite and tholeiite basalts. The chemical behavior of the tholeiites tends to support the fractionation of primary high-Mg basaltic magmas in a transient magma chamber at low pressures. The variations in the Nb, Y, and Zr contents of the metatoleiites indicate the derivation of their parental magmas from a plume-related source.     

Geochemistry and Crustal Evolution of Volcano-sedimentary Successions and Orthogneisses in the São Gabriel Block, Southernmost Brazil — Relics of Neoproterozoic Magmatic Arcs

Precambrian metaplutonic rocks of the São Gabriel block in southernmost Brazil comprise juvenile Neoproterozoic calc-alkaline gneisses (Cambaí Complex). The connection with associated (ultra-)mafic metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks (Palma Group) is not well established. The whole complex was deformed during the Brasiliano orogenic cycle. Both metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks as well as metaplutonic rocks of the Cambaí Complex have been sampled for geochemical analyses in order to get constraints on the tectonic setting of these rocks and to establish a tectonic model for the São Gabriel block and its role during the assembly of West-Gondwana. The major element compositions of the igneous rocks (Palma Group and Cambaí Complex) indicate a subalkaline character; most orthogneisses have a calc-alkaline chemistry; many metavolcanic rocks of the Palma Group show signatures of low-K tholeiitic volcanic arc basalts. Trace element data, especially Ti, Zr, Y, Nb, of most igneous samples from both the lower Palma Group and the Cambaí Complex indicate origin at plate margins, i.e., in a subduction zone environment. This is corroborated by relative enrichment in LREE, low contents of Nb and other high field strength elements and enrichment in LILE like Rb, Ba, and Th. The data indicate the possible existence of two suites, an oceanic island arc and a continental arc or active continental margin. However, some ultramafic samples of the lower Palma Group in the western São Gabriel block indicate the existence of another volcanic suite with intra-plate character which possibly represents relics of oceanic island basalts (OIB). Trace element data indicate contributions from andesitic to mixed felsic and basic arc sources for the metasedimentary rocks. The patterns of chondrite- and N-MORB-normalized spider diagrams resemble the patterns of the igneous rocks, i.e., LILE and LREE enrichment and HFS depletion. The geochemical signatures of most igneous and metasedimentary samples and their low (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_t ratios suggest only minor contribution of old continental crust.A geotectonic model for the São Gabriel block comprises east-ward subduction and following accretion of an intra-oceanic island arc to the eastern border of the Rio de la Plata Craton at ca. 880 Ma, and westward subduction beneath the newly formed active continental margin between ca. 750 and 700 Ma. The São Gabriel block represents relics of an early Brasiliano oceanic basin between the Rio de la Plata and Kalahari Cratons. This ocean to the east of the Rio de la Plata Craton might be traced to the north and could possibly be linked with Neoproterozoic juvenile oceanic crust in the western Brasília belt (Goiás magmatic arc).     

滇西南昌宁—孟连构造带火山岩地层学研究

昌宁—孟连构造带火山岩非常发育,是重要的含矿岩系。在构造带南段,火山岩统称为依柳组,北段统称为平掌组下段,以往时代均归属早石炭世。本文工作表明,该区火山岩可分为两套:一套为早石炭世火山岩,分布于该构造带西部,以拉斑玄武岩系列为主,代表大洋中脊、洋岛残留物,仍称为依柳组;另一套为晚二叠世火山岩,分布于构造带中、东部,以碱性玄武岩系列为主,可能属亚速尔型洋岛火山岩范畴,而非大洋蛇绿岩套,新命名为老厂组。