The Palaeoproterozoic Kangerluluk gold–copper mineralization (southeast Greenland): Pb and Nd isotopic constraints on its timing and genesis

The Ketilidian Mobile Belt (KMB) in South Greenland is dominated by the Palaeoproterozoic Julianehåb Batholith (1,850–1,770?Ma) and is bordered by supracrustal sequences. The batholith is composed of granite, granodiorite, tonalite, diorite and subordinate gabbro and appinite and formed in a juvenile magmatic arc. The supracrustal rocks consist of psammites, pelites and subordinate, interstratified mafic volcanic rocks. A Rapakivi granite suite (1,755–1,735?Ma) intrudes them. Gold is an important metal in the KMB and occurs in various settings and element associations. Here, emphasis is placed on the Kangerluluk Cu–Au mineralization in the eastern part of the mobile belt. It is hosted within a remnant supracrustal succession dominated by redundant pillowed basalts. Structurally, a syn-volcanic association with gold can be distinguished from one that is clearly related to crosscutting quartz veins. In between, calc-silicate formation in the volcanic rocks occurred contemporaneously with a pervasive sericitization (bleaching) of leucocratic granitoids that are intrusive into the volcanic sequence. Bulk rock and mineral (sulfide) Pb isotope data are comparable in the Pb isotope space. The data define two groups of mineralization where one group is characterized by relatively higher ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb at given ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios than the other. Pb stepwise leaching (PbSL) dating experiments performed on garnet and epidote associated with both groups of mineralization confirm the offset in the Pb isotope data. With the geochronological information from PbSL, the results indicate: (1) the initial gold mineralization was genetically related to metalliferous fluids associated with the emplacement of late intrusive stages of the Julianehåb Batholith (1,800–1,770?Ma); and (2) local remobilization of the initial mineralization (1,700–1,750) involved a Pb isotopically evolved fluid, which tentatively can be correlated with the intrusion of the Rapakivi granites in the area. Radiogenic Pb was not only found in altered host rocks but also in various sulfides, suggesting that fluids may have percolated through and/or originated from uranium-bearing graphitic schists which are abundant in the sedimentary package of the KMB. Lead isotopic results suggest that the Rapakivi granites may have supplied heat for renewed circulation of fluids within the supracrustal rock pile.     

Microtextures, geochemistry and geochronology of authigenic xenotime: constraining the cementation history of a Palaeoproterozoic metasedimentary sequence

An ≈ 26 m thick unit of phosphatic sandstone and black shale (the Phosphatic Unit) in the Palaeoproterozoic Mount Barren Group of south-western Australia contains abundant authigenic xenotime crystals showing well-preserved diagenetic textures. Despite extensive regional deformation and thermal metamorphism, the peak of which occurred at ≈ 1205 Ma, the Phosphatic Unit was preserved as a low-strain envelope because of its pre-compaction carbonate and phosphate cementation. In situ U–Pb geochronology of xenotime reveals four discrete age populations at 1693 ± 4, 1645 ± 3, 1578 ± 10 and 1481 ± 21 Ma. When integrated with petrography, the age data place a timeframe on: (i) sediment deposition; (ii) phosphogenesis; (iii) diagenetic cement infilling; (iv) diagenetic pyrite formation; (v) secondary porosity generation; (vi) hydrocarbon migration; (vii) burial compaction; and (viii) hydrothermal alteration, up until peak thermal metamorphism. Xenotime growth at ≈ 1693 Ma occurred prior to compaction, whereas xenotime growth at ≈ 1645 Ma occurred during burial. Xenotime growth at ≈ 1580 Ma and at ≈ 1480 Ma appears to be the far-field record of thermotectonic events associated with intracontinental extension and magmatism recorded elsewhere in Australia. Geochemical analysis, integrated with geochronology, shows a systematic increase in MREE/HREE in xenotime crystals with decreasing age and with increasing stratigraphic depth. Coupled with a decrease in xenotime abundance and age with depth, it suggests that: (i) the main focus of porosity infilling was at the top of the Phosphatic Unit and progressed downwards over the > 200 Myr period of porosity infilling, and (ii) the changes in xenotime REE chemistry may be due to an influx of MREE from increasing amounts of dissolved apatite or changes, with respect to REE solubility, in the physiochemical nature of the fluids with burial depth.     

广西桂中坳陷东缘早石炭世斜坡相层序地层研究

本文以桂中坳陷东缘斜坡相区早石炭世象州崖脚、运江剖面为主要研究对象,开展了桂中坳陷东缘斜坡相区早石炭世层序地层的划分和对比研究。根据斜坡相区三级层序的发育特点,将巴平组划分为5个三级层序(CSQ1~5),5个三级层序构成石炭系下部的二级层序。斜坡相区与台地相区早石炭世层序地层的划分基本一致,可实现相互对比。通过区内沉积层序的对比,建立了桂中坳陷东缘层序地层格架,探讨了该区下石炭统的海平面变化规律。     

The variation of crustal stretching and different modes of rifting along the Australian southern continental margin

The southern margin of Australia is a passive continental margin, formed during a Late Jurassic–Cretaceous rifting phase. The development of this passive margin is mainly associated with extensional processes that caused crustal thinning. In this work, we have measured the amount of extension and the stretching factor (β factor) across seven transect profiles approximately evenly distributed across the margin. The obtained results show that the amount of extension and the β factor along the margin vary from west to east. The lowest amount of extension, low–intermediate β factors and a very narrow margin are observed in the western part with 80 km of extension and is underlain mostly by the Archean Yilgarn Craton and the Albany–Fraser Orogen. The Gawler Craton in the centre of the south Australian margin is another region of low extension and low–intermediate β factor. The largest amount of extension (384 km) and the largest β factor (β = 1.88) are found in the eastern part of the passive margin in an area underlain by Phanerozoic Tasman Orogen units. Our results imply that there is a strong control of the age and thickness of the continental lithosphere on the style of rifting along the Australian passive margin. Rifting of old and cold lithosphere results in a narrow passive margin, with the formation of relatively few faults with relatively wide spacing, while rifting of younger, warmer lithosphere leads to wide rifting that is accommodated by a large number of faults with small spacing.     

塔里木板块西北缘石炭纪层序地层及海平面变化探讨

塔里木板块西北缘石炭纪时期为一典型的被动大陆边缘 ,通过对本区石炭纪沉积层序及相对海平面变化研究 ,识别出不同类型的层序界面 (SB1,SB2 ) ,并据此划分了 4个二级沉积层序—超层序(Super sequence)和 8个三级沉积层序 (Sequence) ,且在区域上或全球范围内基本上可以对比。但由于所在大地构造位置不同 ,其沉积背景条件差异很大 ,因而在不同地区可以形成不同样式、不同数量的沉积层序 ,海平面变化表现形式也存在差别。     

Quaternary coastal lithofacies,sequence development and stratigraphy in a passive margin setting,North Carolina and Virginia,USA

Lithofacies analysis is fundamental to unravelling the succession of depositional environments associated with sea‐level fluctuations. These successions and their timing are often poorly understood. This report defines lithofacies encountered within the north‐eastern North Carolina and south‐eastern Virginia Quaternary section, interprets their depositional environments, presents a model for coastal depositional sequence development in a passive margin setting and uses this understanding to develop the stratigraphy and Quaternary evolutionary history of the region. Data were obtained from numerous drill cores and outcrops. Chronology was based on age estimates acquired using optically stimulated luminescence, amino acid racemization, Uranium series and radiocarbon dating techniques. Geomorphic patterns were identified and interpreted using light detection and ranging imagery. Since lithofacies occurrence, distribution and stratigraphic patterns are different on interfluves than in palaeo‐valleys, this study focused on interfluves to obtain a record of highstand sea‐level cycles with minimal alteration by fluvial processes during subsequent lowstands. Nine primary lithofacies and four diagenetic facies were identified in outcrops and cores. The uppermost depositional sequence on interfluves exhibits an upward succession from shelly marine lithofacies to tidal estuarine lithofacies and is bounded below by a marine ravinement surface and above by the modern land surface. Older depositional sequences in the subsurface are typically bounded above and below by marine ravinement surfaces. Portions of seven depositional sequences were recognized and interpreted to represent deposition from late middle Pleistocene to present. Erosional processes associated with each successive depositional sequence removed portions of older depositional sequences. The stratigraphic record of the most recent sea‐level highstands (Marine Isotope Stage 5a and Marine Isotope Stage 3) is best preserved. Glacio‐isostatic adjustment has influenced depositional patterns so that deposits associated with late Quaternary sea‐level highstands (Marine Isotope Stages 5c, 5a and 3), which did not reach as high as present sea‐level according to equatorial eustatic records, are uplifted and emergent within the study area.     

西藏西部与班公湖特提斯洋盆俯冲相关的火成岩年代学和地球化学

对青藏高原西北部班公湖缝合带开展了野外地质调查,初步查明区内缝合带至少包含日土和狮泉河-改则两条蛇绿岩带。在两条蛇绿岩带北侧发现各有两期岛弧型岩浆岩发育,且形成时间严格对应。岩石地球化学分析表明,班公湖缝合带岛弧型岩浆岩的共同特征是富集大离子不相容元素Rb、Th、K和Pb;强烈亏损高场强元素Nb、Ta和Ti;Ba在微量元素蛛网图中总是相对亏损,这些特征说明班公湖地区存在两条俯冲带。从演化序列看,俯冲初期岩石属中钾钙碱性系列,之后岛弧岩浆作用向高钾钙碱性系列演变。锆石U—PbLA—ICPMS定年结果表明,北面的日土俯冲带洋壳俯冲从辉长岩墙开始,时代为（165．5±1．9）Ma（MSWD=1．16）,在159Ma时岛弧岩浆作用规模增大,形成小型的花岗岩基;南面的狮泉河-改则俯冲带一开始俯冲（（166．4±2．0）Ma,MSWD=3．0）就有较大规模的石英闪长岩体侵入,之后岩浆作用减弱,到159．4Ma时只有一些小体积的花岗斑岩和闪长玢岩侵入。根据岛弧岩浆作用规模,认为班公湖中特提斯洋盆的俯冲一开始是以狮泉河俯冲带为主,之后狮泉河俯冲带的俯冲作用逐渐减弱。到晚侏罗世初（159Ma）北面的日土俯冲带成为洋壳俯冲的主体。鉴于两条岛弧火成岩带在空间配置上都位于由基性-超基性岩构成的蛇绿岩带北侧,地球化学上显示陆缘弧特征,因此,认为班公湖中特提斯洋盆应该是在中侏罗世晚期（约166Ma）沿日土和狮泉河两条俯冲带同时向北俯冲,构造属性上可能不是一个统一的大洋,而是包含了多个局限性洋盆。     

Cenozoic basin evolution of the Central Patagonian Andes: Evidence from geochronology,stratigraphy, and geochemistry

The Central Patagonian Andes is a particular segment of the Andean Cordillera that has been subjected to the subduction of two spreading ridges during Eocene and Neogene times. In order to understand the Cenozoic geologic evolution of the Central Patagonian Andes, we carried out geochronologic(U-Pb and⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar), provenance, stratigraphic, sedimentologic, and geochemical studies on the sedimentary and volcanic Cenozoic deposits that crop out in the Meseta Guadal and Chile Chico areas(～47°S). Our data indicate the presence of a nearly complete Cenozoic record, which refutes previous interpretations of a hiatus during the middle Eocene-late Oligocene in the Central Patagonian Andes. Our study suggests that the fluvial strata of the Ligorio Marquez Formation and the flood basalts of the Basaltos Inferiores de la Meseta Chile Chico Formation were deposited in an extensional setting related to the subduction of the Aluk-Farallon spreading ridge during the late Paleocene-Eocene. Geochemical data on volcanic rocks interbedded with fluvial strata of the San Jose Formation suggest that this unit was deposited in an extensional setting during the middle Eocene to late Oligocene. Progressive crustal thinning allowed the transgression of marine waters of Atlantic origin and deposition of the upper Oligocene-lower Miocene Guadal Formation. The fluvial synorogenic strata of the Santa Cruz Formation were deposited as a consequence of an important phase of compressive deformation and Andean uplift during the early-middle Miocene. Finally, alkali flood basalts of the late middle to late Miocene Basaltos Superiores de la Meseta Chile Chico Formation were extruded in the area in response to the suduction of the Chile Ridge under an extensional regime. Our studies indicate that the tectonic evolution of the Central Patagonian Andes is similar to that of the North Patagonian Andes and appears to differ from that of the Southern Patagonian Andes, which is thought to have been the subject of continuous compressive deformation since the late Early Cretaceous.     

Tracing a late Mesozoic magmatic arc along the Southeast Asian margin from the granitoids drilled from the northern South China Sea

Abstract

The granitoid suites encountered by drilling in the northern South China Sea (SCS) remain important for understanding the evolution of the late Mesozoic Southeast Asian continental margin. They comprise a range of rock types including diorite, tonalite, granodiorite, monzogranite and syenogranite with SiO₂ spanning 56.4–76.8%. Newly acquired secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) U–Pb ages of samples from 14 boreholes indicate two key magmatic episodes: Late Jurassic (161.6–148.2 Ma) and Early Cretaceous (136.5–101.7 Ma). Jurassic magmatism probably began in late Middle Jurassic time, documented by the dates of inherited zircons. The granitoids are dominated by metaluminous to weakly peraluminous I-type granites, are transitional between magnesian and ferroan, and encompass calc-alkaline, high-K calc-alkaline, and shoshonitic series. The geochemical signatures suggest that these granitoids were mostly generated in a normal continental arc environment. Notable features of the I-type samples are well-defined negative Nb–Ta–Ti anomalies typical of arc-related magmas. Taken together, the late Mesozoic arc granites of the SCS, the accretionary wedge of the Palawan terrane to the southeast, and the zone of lithospheric extension north of the SCS throughout Southeast China, define a southeast-to-northwest trench-arc-backarc architecture for the late Mesozoic Southeast Asian continental margin whose geodynamic setting is related to subduction of the Palaeo-Pacific slab beneath the Asian continent. Two key subduction episodes are recognized, one in Late Jurassic and the other in Early Cretaceous time.     

From rifting to spreading in the eastern Gulf of Aden: a geophysical survey of a young oceanic basin from margin to margin

A geophysical survey in the eastern Gulf of Aden, between the Alula–Fartak (52°E) and the Socotra (55°E) transform faults, was carried out during the Encens–Sheba cruise. The conjugate margins of the Gulf are steep, narrow and asymmetric. Asymmetry of the rifting process is highlighted by the conjugate margins (horst and graben in the north and deep basin in the south). Two transfer fault zones separate the margins into three segments, whereas the present‐day Sheba Ridge is divided into two segments by a transform discontinuity. Therefore segmentation of the Sheba Ridge and that of the conjugate margins did coincide during the early stages of oceanic spreading. Extensive magma production is evidenced in the central part of the western segment. Anomaly 5d was identified in the northern and southern parts of the oceanic basin, thus confirming that seafloor spreading in this part of Gulf of Aden started at least 17.6 Ma ago.     

Late Permian and Early Triassic evolution of the Northern Indian margin: carbon isotope and sequence stratigraphy

Abstract

The Northern part of Great-India underwent an early rifting phase in the late Paleozoic, just at the end of the large scale Gondwanian glaciation. The beginning of the rifting processes is marked by large hiatus and discontinuities (para- conformities) between the early or middle Paleozoic sedimentary succession and the discontinuous middle-late Permian Traps and transgressive sediments. The Northern Indian passive margin consists of the present High and Lower Himalaya and a small part of the Indian craton and their sedimentary cover. The Permian rift shoulder is located in the Higher Himalaya, with part being in the underthrusted Lower Himalaya. The rim basin (landward of the shoulder) is well developed in the Pottawar- Salt Range area. From the rifting to the beginning of the drifting stages (early late Permian to late early Triassic time), the sedimentary evolution is characterised by three transgressive- regressive (T-R) second order cycles, two in the late Permian and one in the early Triassic. The break-up of the rift occurred during the second cycle (late Dzhulfian).

In the Salt Range area, these three T-R cycles have been subdivided in eight third order sequences, five sequences for the upper Permian and three for the lower Triassic.

At the end of Permian, hiatuses, gaps and local erosion of part of the margin are direct consequences of a first order relative sea-level fall; this is also the time of the largest extinction event of the Phanerozoic that deeply affected the carbonate productivity and the stratal patterns. With the following worldwide sea-level rise, a rapid and large scale transgression occurred in the early Triassic, well dated and recorded on the whole margin. High rate thermal subsidence gave way to generalized pelagic deposits about 2 My after the transgression.

Profiles of whole rock inorganic carbon and oxygen isotopes from Guryul Ravine and Palgham sections in Kashmir, Nammal Gorge and Landu sections in Trans Indus Ranges (Pakistan), Thini Chu section in Kali Gandaki Valley, Central Nepal are presented in connection with the sequence stratigraphic analysis. The upper Permian record of high positive δ¹³C values are closely correlated with the second order T-R cycles and the third order sequences. The results presented in this study confirm the drastic drop of δ¹³C from the high positive values that characterised the upper Permian to lower values in the lower Triassic time. Stratigraphic correlation problems in the lower Triassic using carbon isotope geochemistry are briefly discussed. A positive δ¹³C excursion of 4–5% near the Smithian - Spathian substages boundary is observed for the first time. The δ¹⁸O values of samples from all the sections display major variations suggesting that the oxygen isotope record has been significantly affected by meteoric diagenesis, deep burial diagenesis or/and monsoon signature.     

Quaternary interaction of cryospheric and oceanographic processes along the central‐east Greenland margin

The east Greenland margin has been influenced by oceanographic and cryospheric processes since the late Miocene, when the southwards flow of the East Greenland Current (EGC) initiated and ice sheets first advanced across the margin. However, the relative importance of these processes, and their influence on the sedimentation of the margin through time remains poorly understood. High‐resolution single‐channel seismic, chirp sub‐bottom profiles and swath bathymetry data were acquired along the middle/lower slope and proximal basinal area off Liverpool Land, central‐east Greenland margin. In this study, seismic‐stratigraphical and morphological analyses allowed us to distinguish between the major sedimentary processes that influenced this margin during the Quaternary. The stratigraphical architecture reveals mass transport deposits (MTDs) related to glacially influenced down‐slope sedimentation. These are intercalated with buried contourite systems associated with bottom‐current controlled along‐slope sedimentation. The distribution of the MTDs suggests the influence of two distinct ice‐stream systems. Initial phases of down‐slope deposition during the early‐middle Quaternary appears to be related to distal deposition fed by an ice stream from the Scoresby Sund area in the south. Shallow sedimentary processes, together with morphological analysis of the sea floor, show that the most recent activity of down‐slope processes during the latest Quaternary has occurred in the north, linked to an ice stream from the Kong Oscar Fjord area. These observations document a temporal shift in the relative dominance of the Scoresby Sund and Kong Oscar Fjord ice‐stream systems. The glacial influence on the margin has been interrupted by periods of stronger activity of along‐slope bottom‐current flow, demonstrating that the EGC periodically controlled sedimentation on the continental margin.     

塔里木板块北缘活动陆缘型侵入岩带的岩石学与地球化学

在塔里木板块北缘,断续出露一条侵入岩带,总长度800多公里。岩石组合是橄榄辉长岩-辉长岩-辉长闪长岩-闪长岩-石英闪长岩-花岗岩。各种类型岩石的化学组成显示了清晰的钙碱性岩浆演化趋势。稀土元素配分曲线均为轻稀土富集型,而且,重稀土元素配分曲线相对平坦。Sr、K、Rb、Ba、Th等大离子亲石元素强烈富集,而Ta、Nb、Zr、Hf、Ti等高场强元素显著贫化。这些岩石学与地球化学特征均证明,该侵入岩带形成于活动大陆边缘。     

Petrology and geochemistry of Camiguin Island, southern Philippines: insights to the source of adakites and other lavas in a complex arc setting

Camiguin is a small volcanic island located 12 km north of Mindanao Island in southern Philippines. The island consists of four volcanic centers which have erupted basaltic to rhyolitic calcalkaline lavas during the last ∼400 ka. Major element, trace element and Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic data indicate that the volcanic centers have produced a single lava series from a common mantle source. Modeling results indicate that Camiguin lavas were produced by periodic injection of a parental magma into shallow magma chambers allowing assimilation and fractional crystallization (AFC) processes to take place. The chemical and isotopic composition of Camiguin lavas bears strong resemblance to the majority of lavas from the central Mindanao volcanic field confirming that Camiguin is an extension of the tectonically complex Central Mindanao Arc (CMA). The most likely source of Camiguin and most CMA magmas is the mantle wedge metasomatized by fluids dehydrated from a subducted slab. Some Camiguin high-silica lavas are similar to high-silica lavas from Mindanao, which have been identified as “adakites” derived from direct melting of a subducted basaltic crust. More detailed comparison of Camiguin and Mindanao adakites with silicic slab-derived melts and magnesian andesites from the western Aleutians, southernmost Chile and Batan Island in northern Philippines indicates that the Mindanao adakites are not pure slab melts. Rather, the CMA adakites are similar to Camiguin high-silica lavas which are products of an AFC process and have negligible connection to melting of subducted basaltic crust. Received: 27 February 1998 / Accepted: 27 August 1998     

Recognizing OIB and MORB in accretionary complexes: A new approach based on ocean plate stratigraphy,petrology and geochemistry

We present a new approach for recognizing the origin of accreted basaltic rocks based on ocean plate stratigraphy (OPS), and on the petrology and geochemistry of basalts from mid-oceanic ridges (MORB) and oceanic islands (OIB) using examples from four accretionary complexes (AC) in SW Japan: Akiyoshi, Mino–Tamba, Chichibu and Shimanto. The key to the problem is the model of OPS, which includes an association of igneous and sedimentary rocks that form on an oceanic plate during its travel from a mid-oceanic ridge to a subduction zone. We propose the reconstruction of the tectonic settings of basalts according to their relationships with associated OPS sediments, their petrogenesis and their geochemical features. Five types of OPS are recognized in the accretionary complexes of SW Japan: (1) sandstone/shale; (2) sandstone/shale and chert; (3) sandstone/shale, chert and MORB; (4) sandstone/shale, chert, MORB and gabbro (± peridotite); (5) seamount OPS including OIB, cap carbonates, slope clastics and basal shale/chert. The alkaline, tholeiitic or calc-alkaline composition of basaltic melts, which are typical of oceanic islands, mid-oceanic ridges and island-arcs, respectively, can be identified by the sequence in crystallization of their major phenocrysts, i.e. olivine (ol), clinopyroxene (cpx) and plagioclase (pl), and by their compositions. Alkaline and calc-alkaline mafic lavas are characterized by an ol → cpx → pl succession, whereas tholeiitic melts by their ol → pl ± cpx succession. Titanium-rich minerals, e.g., Ti–augite, kaersutite, Ti–biotite, are typical of alkaline lavas. The application of geochemistry-based tectonic discrimination diagrams is also a powerful tool, if not supported by geological and petrological data, may result in confusion due to magma contamination, post-magmatic alteration, and secular change of mantle thermal conditions. We propose that a direct comparison of normalized multi-element patterns and key binary plots from older volcanic rocks with their modern analogues provides a more viable and reliable method of basalt discrimination. Our OPS–petrology–geochemistry method allows us to confirm the above conclusions that the lavas of the Akiyoshi, Mino–Tamba and Southern Chichibu AC formed in oceanic islands, because they are associated with seamount OPS sediments, crystallized from ol to cpx and pl, contain Ti–augite and kaersutite and are enriched in TiO₂, LREE and Nb. In this paper we present geochemical data from the Inuyama basalts of the Mino–Tamba AC and from the Toba complex in the huge Mikabu greenstone belt of the Chichibu AC. The Inuyama basalts are in contact with Jurassic pelagic cherts, but their geochemical features are confusing; they contain phenocrysts of ol, Ti–augite and kaersutite and therefore probably formed in seamounts. The Toba volcanic rocks are a part of the huge ophiolite belt; they have flat to slightly LREE-enriched REE patterns, are characterized by an ol → cpx succession of phenocrysts and they plot in the OIB field in binary plots suggesting they formed in an oceanic plateau.     

Thermotectonic evolution of a rifted continental margin: fission track evidence from the Kangerlussuaq area, SE Greenland

Fission track analyses of apatites from sediments, Precambrian gneisses and Caledonian to Tertiary intrusive rocks from the Kangerlussuaq region reveal its post-Caledonian thermotectonic history. Inland the history involves cooling to temperatures within the high temperature part of the apatite annealing interval and slow cooling (or reheating) continued in Cretaceous times through this interval. Apatites from coastal areas between Kangerlussuaq and Tasiilaq reveal only Tertiary cooling. In Tertiary times cooling accelerated after the main intrusive phase in the Tertiary. The evolution is taken as evidence for a general uplift/erosion since Caledonian times probably disturbed by basin formation and sedimentation and reheating due to magmatic activity. Thermal subsidence of the rift shoulders following the opening of the adjacent oceanic basin is not indicated. Annealing patterns inland of the plume centre in the Kangerlussuaq provide no evidence for the earlier movement of the plume from a westerly direction.     

Genesis of lithium pegmatites from the leinster granite margin,southeast ireland: Geochemical constraints

Extensive and economically-important lithium pegmatites have been described from the eastern flank of the large S-type peraluminous Leinster Granite batholith in southeast Ireland. This flank area is also the locus of a major dip-slip ductile shear zone which was active during emplacement of the Tullow Lowlands pluton of the batholith. All the known bedrock occurrences of lithium pegmatite are contained within this marginal deformation zone. Most previous studies have suggested derivation of the lithium pegmatites by fractionation from the Leinster Granite itself, though none are conclusive. More recently, an anatectic model has been proposed whereby the pegmatites were derived by melting of Li-rich sediments adjacent to the batholithic contact. Our investigation has been concerned with a detailed study of the Rb-Sr isotope systematics and trace element geochemistry of the pegmatites and their host granitoids in an attempt to resolve the problem of pegmatite genesis. The results suggest a strong geochemical and temporal coherence between the Leinster Granite and the lithium pegmatites. A model is proposed in which Li enrichment in residual magmas may be linked to the development of muscovite instead of biotite in the Leinster Granite itself. The Li excluded from entry to biotite then accumulates in highly mobile, low-viscosity pegmatitic fluids which migrate into the marginal shear zone of the Tullow Lowlands pluton where they crystallize at considerably lower temperatures.     

Palynology of some Cretaceous mudstones from southeast Aswan,Egypt: significance to regional stratigraphy

The basal mudstones from the El-Nom borehole in the Gebel Abraq area in southern Egypt have yielded a diverse and relatively well preserved terrestrial palynoflora that includes Balmeisporites holodictyus, Crybelosporites pannuceus, Foveotricolpites gigantoreticulatus, Nyssapollenites albertensis, Retimonocolpites variplicatus and Rousea delicipollis. These suggest an Albian–Cenomanian age and deposition in a fluvio-deltaic environment; no marine phytoplankton is reported. The fern-dominated palynoflora and the overwhelming presence of kaolinitic clays suggest a warm, humid palaeoclimate. According to available knowledge, the mudstones in the Gebel Abraq area, equivalents of the so-called “Timsah Formation”, might be correlated with an older rock unit, the Maghrabi Formation, based on the new palynological age assessment. This new definition of local stratigraphy implies that the Bernice sheet of geological map of Egypt [Klitzsch, E., List, F., Pöhlmann, G., 1987. Geological map of Egypt, sheet NF 36 NE Bernice, 1: 500 000. Conoco and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, Cairo] ought to be reconsidered.     

The transition from rifting to sea-floor spreading within a magma-poor rifted margin: field and isotopic constraints

We provide new geological and isotope geochemical constraints on the evolution from continental rifting to sea-floor spreading along a segment of the Jurassic Tethyan margin exposed in the Platta and Err nappes (eastern Central Alps). Field observations show that the ocean–continent transition zone is characterized by oceanward-dipping detachment faults leading to the exhumation of subcontinental mantle rocks subsequently intruded by gabbro bodies and dolerite dikes, and covered by pillow basalts and radiolarites. Zircons extracted from gabbros and albitite yield concordant U–Pb ages of 161 ± 1 Ma; their initial ɛ_Hf (+ 14.4 to + 14.9) as well as bulk rock ɛ_Nd values of from gabbros and basalts (+ 7.3 to + 9.5) point to a MORB-type depleted mantle source. These data suggest that the onset of magmatic activity coincides with the latest phase of mantle exhumation along low-angle detachment faults and may be controlled by upwelling asthenosphere beneath a zone of exhumed continental mantle.     

Ediacaran mafic magmatism recorded in Cambrian eclogites of the Ross orogen,Antarctica: Implications for the Neoproterozoic rifting episodes along the Pacific-Gondwana margin

We report the first finding of Ediacaran mafic magmatism in northern Victoria Land of the Ross orogen, Antarctica, based on ca. 600–590 Ma magmatic zircon cores in Cambrian eclogites. The mafic magmatism could be either linked to ca. 615–590 Ma incipient convergent margin magmatism in central segment of the Ross orogen, or ca. 600–580 Ma continental rift-related volcanism widespread in eastern Australia. The latter is preferred based on the trace-element compositions distinctive from those of arc-related basalts and the depleted mantle-like Hf isotopic compositions of zircon. Our results suggest dual rifting episodes during both the Ediacaran and Cryogenian (ca. 670–650 Ma) in the East Antarctic margin, correlative with those in eastern Australia. A spatial distribution of coeval rifting and subduction along the Ediacaran margin of East Antarctica is readily accounted for by rift inheritance; the upper- and lower-plate geometry resulting from detachment and transform faulting.