Mesozoic neo-tethyan pre-orogenic deep marine sediments along the Indus–Yarlung Suture,Himalaya

Shelf, forereef and basin margin (slope) olistoliths (Exotic blocks of limestone) of Permian–Jurassic age are tectonically juxtaposed within the Triassic to Eocene age pre-orogenic, deep abyssal plain turbidites of the Lamayuru. The pre-collision tectonic setting and depositional environment of the limestone olistoliths can be reconstructed from within the neighbouring Zanskar range. The disorganized Ophiolitic Melange Zone, an association of different tectonic rock slivers of Jurassic–Eocene age, is tectonically underlain by the overthrusted Lamayuru Formation and tectonically overlain by the Nindam Formation. Tectonic slivers of Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous age red radiolarian cherts represent a characteristic lithotectonic unit of the Ophiolitic Melange Zone, those occurring near the contact zone with the Lamayuru Formation, were deposited within the neo-Tethyan deep-ocean floor of the Indian passive margin below the carbonate compensation depth. These tectonic slivers accumulated along the northern margin of the Indus–Yarlung Suture Zone of the Ladakh Indian Himalaya during subduction accretion associated with the initial convergence of the Indian plate beneath the Eurasian plate.     

The Yarlung–Zangbo paleo-ophiolite, southern Tibet: implications for the dynamic evolution of the Yarlung–Zangbo Suture Zone

The Yarlung–Zangbo Suture Zone, a major geological structure in Tibet, is well known as the locus of tectonic emplacement of the Tethyan ophiolites. Current models propose that most of the East Tethyan oceanic lithosphere was subducted within a single subduction zone, active during the Middle or Late Cretaceous, which was completed during the Paleogene collision between India and Asia. The Early Cretaceous sedimentary Giabulin Formation in southern Tibet, includes conglomeratic members that contain ultramafic and mafic plutonic pebbles, as well as radiolarian chert clasts, that record the erosion of oceanic lithosphere involved in a subduction event which occurred earlier than previously believed. Geochemical analyses, mineral chemistry, stratigraphic chronology, and sedimentary analysis, including source provenance, suggest that the pebbly conglomerate was formed through erosion of an unknown ophiolitic source that was geochemically distinguishable from the Xigaze ophiolites within the Yarlung–Zangbo Suture Zone, southern Tibet. We infer the existence of an older ophiolitic source, termed the Yarlung–Zangbo paleo-ophiolite, that was dismembered and eroded during an earlier subduction stage not taken into account in current models.     

The Bentong–Raub Suture Zone

It is proposed that the Bentong–Raub Suture Zone represents a segment of the main Devonian to Middle Triassic Palaeo-Tethys ocean, and forms the boundary between the Gondwana-derived Sibumasu and Indochina terranes. Palaeo-Tethyan oceanic ribbon-bedded cherts preserved in the suture zone range in age from Middle Devonian to Middle Permian, and mélange includes chert and limestone clasts that range in age from Lower Carboniferous to Lower Permian. This indicates that the Palaeo-Tethys opened in the Devonian, when Indochina and other Chinese blocks separated from Gondwana, and closed in the Late Triassic (Peninsular Malaysia segment). The suture zone is the result of northwards subduction of the Palaeo-Tethys ocean beneath Indochina in the Late Palaeozoic and the Triassic collision of the Sibumasu terrane with, and the underthrusting of, Indochina. Tectonostratigraphic, palaeobiogeographic and palaeomagnetic data indicate that the Sibumasu Terrane separated from Gondwana in the late Sakmarian, and then drifted rapidly northwards during the Permian–Triassic. During the Permian subduction phase, the East Malaya volcano-plutonic arc, with I-Type granitoids and intermediate to acidic volcanism, was developed on the margin of Indochina. The main structural discontinuity in Peninsular Malaysia occurs between Palaeozoic and Triassic rocks, and orogenic deformation appears to have been initiated in the Upper Permian to Lower Triassic, when Sibumasu began to collide with Indochina. During the Early to Middle Triassic, A-Type subduction and crustal thickening generated the Main Range syn- to post-orogenic granites, which were emplaced in the Late Triassic–Early Jurassic. A foredeep basin developed on the depressed margin of Sibumasu in front of the uplifted accretionary complex in which the Semanggol “Formation” rocks accumulated. The suture zone is covered by a latest Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous, mainly continental, red bed overlap sequence.     

Further evidence for 1.85 Ga metamorphism in the Central Zone of the North China Craton: SHRIMP U–Pb dating of zircon from metamorphic rocks in the Lushan area, Henan Province

This paper reports SHRIMP zircon U–Pb dating of Precambrian supracrustal and granitic rocks from the Lushan area, Henan Province, in the southern portion of the Central Zone (also referred to as the Trans-North China Orogen) of the North China Craton. A graphite–garnet–sillimanite gneiss (Sample TW0006/1) of the Shangtaihua ‘Group’ gives a range of inherited zircon ages from 2.73 to 2.26 Ga and a metamorphic zircon age of 1.84 ± 0.07 Ga. A garnet-bearing gneissic granitoid (Sample TWJ358/1), which is considered to intrude the Shangtaihua ‘Group’, gives a magmatic zircon age of 2.14 ± 0.02 Ga and a metamorphic zircon age of 1.87 Ga. The metamorphic zircon ages of 1.87–1.84 Ga obtained in this study indicate that an important tectonothermal event occurred at the end of the Paleoproterozoic in the Lushan area. This supports the southern continuation of a Central Zone in the North China Craton that workers have recently considered to result from continent–continent collision. It is also evident that the Shangtaihua ‘Group’ was formed during the Paleoproterozoic (between 2.26 and 2.14 Ga), and not during the Archean, as previously considered.     

Magnetic overprints in granitoids and metamorphic rocks from Limousin (France): evidence for Late Variscan rotations, crustal folding and tilting

Generally, the lack of bedding criteria in basement units hampers the interpretation of paleomagnetic results in terms of geotectonics. Nevertheless, this work demonstrates that successive remagnetizations recorded in Early Carboniferous metamorphic and plutonic units, without clear bedding criteria, can be used to constrain a polyphased tectonic evolution consisting of a regional clockwise rotation, followed by a folding phase, a tilting phase and a second regional clockwise rotation.Metamorphic, ultrabasic, tonalitic and granitic rocks from different parts of Limousin (western French Massif central; 45.5°N/1.25°E), which underwent metamorphism during Devonian–Early Carboniferous or were intruded in the Early–Middle Carboniferous, were sampled in order (a) to identify the magnetic overprinting phases and the related tectono-magmatic events and (b) to constrain the regional and plate tectonic evolution of Limousin. Paleomagnetic results from 32 new and 26 sites investigated previously show that at least 90% of the magnetization isolated in rocks older than 330 Ma are overprints. In agreement with results from adjacent areas of the Variscan belt, the major overprinting phases occurred: (a) in the last stages of the major exhumation phase [332–328 Ma; mean Virtual Geomagnetic Pole (VGP) “Cp”: 37°N/70.5°E], (b) during the post-collisional syn-orogenic extension (325–315 Ma; VGP “B”: 11°N/114°E), (c) in the Latest Carboniferous and Early Permian (VGP “A1”: 27°N/149°E) and (d) in the Late Permian (VGP “A”: 48°N/146°E). The Middle–Late Carboniferous overprints “Cp” and “B” are contemporaneous with emplacement of leucogranitic, crustal derived plutons, and probably result from the hydro-thermal activity related to the magmatism. The drift from “Cp” directions to “B” directions implies that after 330 Ma, Limousin underwent a clockwise rotation by 65°, together with the Central Europe Variscides. The “Bt” components, the VGPs of which deviate from the mean apparent polar wander path (APWP) of the belt, are interpreted as “B” overprints tilted during Late Variscan tectonics, that is, in the time range 325–315 Ma. The first and most important generation of “Bt” overprints was tilted during NW–SE folding associated with NE–SW shortening, updoming and emplacement of leucogranitic plutons. The second generation reveals southeastward tilting due to NE-striking normal faulting. The drift from “B” to “A1” directions implies that Limousin has participated to the second clockwise rotation by 40° of the whole belt in Westphalian times.     

Post-collisional crustal extension setting and VHMS mineralization in the Jinshajiang orogenic belt, southwestern China

The Jinshajiang orogenic belt (JOB) of southwestern China, located along the eastern margin of the Himalayan–Tibetan orogen, includes a collage of continental blocks joined by Paleozoic ophiolitic sutures and Permian volcanic arcs. Three major tectonic stages are recognized based on the volcanic–sedimentary sequence and geochemistry of volcanic rocks in the belt. Westward subduction of the Paleozoic Jinshajiang oceanic plate at the end of Permian resulted in the formation of the Chubarong–Dongzhulin intra-oceanic arc and Jamda–Weixi volcanic arc on the eastern margin of the Changdu continental block. Collision between the volcanic arcs and the Yangtze continent block during Early–Middle Triassic caused the closing of the Jinshajiang oceanic basin and the eruption of high-Si and -Al potassic rhyolitic rocks along the Permian volcanic arc. Slab breakoff or mountain-root delamination under this orogenic belt led to post-collisional crustal extension at the end of the Triassic, forming a series of rift basins on this continental margin arc. Significant potential for VHMS deposits occurs in the submarine volcanic districts of the JOB. Mesozoic VHMS deposits occur in the post-collisional extension environment and cluster in the Late Triassic rift basins.     

The significance of the Himalayan suture zone

The 2500 km long Himalayan Suture Zone is discussed within the widest structural frame, with new results obtained from a study of the Landsat pictures. The platform sediments from the Tethys or Tibetan Himalaya, north of the Main Central Thrust, Change northwards into a belt of Flysch sediments beginning in the Triassic and reaching the Paleocene. The belt is mixed with oceanic crust material such as volcanics, melanges and ultrabasic slabs, and is strongly tectonized: the Suture Zone. It is followed to the north by a conspicuous belt of Kailas Molasse, of Paleogene age and transgressing the late Cretaceous Transhimalayan plutons. They consist of five bodies, predominantly tonalitic, separated by structural anomalies that also cut the Suture Zone. The plutons are structurally controlled and related to the Himalayan Suture (Subduction belt?). They are followed to the north by the south Tibetan Nyenchen Tangla belt, bordered by large fault zones and characterized by frequent Paleogene acid volcanics. The Central Tibetan Chang Thang area is structurally most complex, contains some ultrabasic rocks related to large fault zones, and exposes a large subrecent basaltic volcanism with no structural control but reminiscent of a “hot spot”. The northern Kun Lun — Astin Tagh Paleozoic erogenic belt displays 200 km of rejuvenated fault zones, some older mantle fragments and subrecent volcanism.This structural aspect of Tibet, with internal older Suture Zones, younging southwards, contrasts with the Indian plate south of the Main Himalayan Suture. This Suture Zone is the only constant structural element all along the Alpine-Himalayan belt.     

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon ages of pyroclastic rocks in the Bansong Group, Taebaeksan Basin, South Korea and their implication for the Mesozoic tectonics

The Bansong Group (Daedong Supergroup) in the Korean peninsula has long been considered to be an important time marker for two well-known orogenies, in that it was deposited after the Songnim orogeny (Permian–Triassic collision of the North and South China blocks) but was deformed during the Early to Middle Jurassic Daebo tectonic event. Here we present a new interpretation on the origin of the Bansong Group and associated faults on the basis of structural and geochronological data. SHRIMP (Sensitive High-Resolution Ion MicroProbe) U–Pb zircon age determination of two felsic pyroclastic rocks from the Bansong Group formed in the foreland basin of the Gongsuweon thrust in the Taebaeksan Basin yielded ages of 186.3 ± 1.5 and 187.2 ± 1.5 Ma, respectively, indicating the deposition of the Bansong Group during the late Early Jurassic. Inherited zircon component indicates ca. 1.9 Ga source material for the volcanic rocks, agreeing with known basement ages.The Bansong Group represents syntectonic sedimentation during the late Early Jurassic in a compressional regime. During the Daebo tectonic event, the northeast-trending regional folds and thrusts including the Deokpori (Gakdong) and Gongsuweon thrusts with a southeast vergence developed in the Taebaeksan Basin. This is ascribed to deformation in a continental-arc setting due to the northwesterly orthogonal convergence of the Izanagi plate on the Asiatic margin, which occurred immediately after the juxtaposition of the Taebaeksan Basin against the Okcheon Basin in the late stage of the Songnim orogeny. Thus, the Deokpori thrust is not a continental transform fault between the North and South China blocks, but an “intracontinental” thrust that developed after their juxtaposition.     

A study of inherited zircons in granitoid rocks from the South Portuguese and Ossa-Morena Zones, Iberian Massif: support for the exotic origin of the South Portuguese Zone

Trace element and U–Pb isotopic analyses of inherited zircon cores from a sample of Gil Márquez granodiorite (South Portuguese Zone, SPZ) and Almonaster nebulite (Ossa-Morena Zone, OMZ, in the Aracena Metamorphic Belt) have been obtained using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. These data reveal differences in the age of deep continental crust in these two zones. Inherited zircon cores from the Ossa-Morena Zone range at 600±100 Ma, 1.7–2 Ga and 2.65–2.95 Ga, while those from the South Portuguese Zone range at 400–500 and 700–800 Ma. These data support the “exotic” origin of the South Portuguese Zone basement relative to the rest of Iberian Massif. The young ages of inherited zircon cores and Nd model ages of magmatic rocks of the South Portuguese Zone are comparable to results from granulite facies xenoliths and granitic rocks from the Meguma Terrane and Avalonia and support a correlation between the basement of the southernmost part of the Iberian Massif and the northern Appalachians.     

Late Permian–Middle Jurassic lithospheric thinning in Peru and Bolivia, and its bearing on Andean-age tectonics

Integrated studies and revisions of sedimentary basins and associated magmatism in Peru and Bolivia (8–22°S) show that this part of western Gondwana underwent rifting during the Late Permian–Middle Jurassic interval. Rifting started in central Peru in the Late Permian and propagated southwards into Bolivia until the Liassic/Dogger, along an axis that coincides with the present Eastern Cordillera. Southwest of this region, lithospheric thinning developed in the Early Jurassic and culminated in the Middle Jurassic, producing considerable subsidence in the Arequipa basin of southern Peru. This 110-Ma-long interval of lithospheric thinning ended 160 Ma with the onset of Malm–earliest Cretaceous partial rift inversion in the Eastern Cordillera area.The lithospheric heterogeneities inherited from these processes are likely to have largely influenced the distribution and features of younger compressional and/or transpressional deformations. In particular, the Altiplano plateau corresponds to a paleotectonic domain of “normal” lithospheric thickness that was bounded by two elongated areas underlain by thinned lithosphere. The high Eastern Cordillera of Peru and Bolivia results from Late Oligocene–Neogene intense inversion of the easternmost thinned area.     

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon geochronology and geochemistry of metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks in Northwestern Fujian, Cathaysia block, China: Tectonic implications and the need to redefine lithostratigraphic units

Northwestern Fujian Province is one of the most important Pre-Palaeozoic areas in the Cathaysia Block of South China. Metavolcano-sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks of different types, ages and metamorphic grades (granulite to upper greenschist facies) are present, and previously were divided into several Formations and Groups. Tectonic contacts occur between some units, whereas (deformed) unconformities have been reported between others. New SHRIMP U–Pb zircon ages presented here indicate that the original lithostratigraphy and the old “Group” and “Formation” terminology should be abandoned. Thus the “Tianjingping Formation” was not formed in the Archaean or Palaeoproterozoic, as previously considered, but must be younger than its youngest detrital zircons (1790 Ma) but older than regional metamorphism (460 Ma). Besides magmatic zircon ages of 807 Ma obtained from metavolcano-sedimentary rocks of the “Nanshan Formation” and 751–728 Ma for the “Mamianshan Group”, many inherited and detrital zircons with ages ranging from 1.0 to 0.8 Ga were also found in them. These ages indicate that the geological evolution of the study area may be related to the assembly and subsequent break-up of the Rodinia supercontinent. The new zircon results poorly constrain the age of the “Mayuan Group” as Neoproterozoic to early Palaeozoic (728–458 Ma), and not Palaeoproterozoic as previously thought. Many older inherited and detrital zircons with ages of 3.6, 2.8, 2.7, 2.6–2.5, 2.0–1.8 and 1.6 Ga were found in this study. A 3.6 Ga detrital grain is the oldest one so far identified in northwestern Fujian Province as well as throughout the Cathaysia Block. Nd isotope t_DM values of eight volcano-sedimentary and clastic sedimentary rock samples centre on 2.73–1.68 Ga, being much older than the formation ages of their protoliths and thus showing that the recycling of older crust played an important role in their formation. These rocks underwent high grade metamorphism in the early Palaeozoic (458–425 Ma) during an important tectono-thermal event in the Cathaysia Block.     

U–Pb dating of single detrital zircon grains from Mesozoic sandstone in the Beipiao Basin in the eastern Yan-Liao Orogenic Belt, China: provenance and correlation of tectonic evolution

Single grain U–Pb ages of sediments from the Beipiao Basin, Northeast China were conducted to determine the evolution of basin provenance. Zircons from a sandstone in the Upper Triassic Laohugou Formation yield a wide range of ages and, according to their U–Pb ages, fall into four groups: 209.3±4.0–304.2±4.9, 1565.5±71–2154±50, 2400±35–2499±9, 2512±11–2557±74 Ma. These ages indicate that the zircons were principally derived from Late Archean, Proterozoic and Late Paleozoic plutonic rocks. Intrusions in the Mongolian Accretion Belt and the northern margin of the North China Block (NCB) were probably the main source of the sediments in the basin, but the easterly Liaodong Block also provided minor detrital material, with lower U–Pb ages, during the Late Triassic. Most of the U–Pb ages from zircons collected from a sandstone in the Lower Jurassic Beipiao Formation range from 194.3±2.9 to 233.8±4.2 Ma, reflecting the major sediment source during the Early Jurassic. Zircons derived from Late Indosinian plutonic rocks increased, which suggests that the detritus was supplied mainly from the interior of the Yan-Liao Orogenic Belt, especially from the Liaodong Block. Late Indosinian zircons (200–230 Ma) were eroded and deposited in the Lower Jurassic Beipiao Formation, and this implies that intensive tectonic activation and uplift of the Yan-Liao Orogenic Belt in the Mesozoic commenced in the Late Indosinian.     

SHRIMP dating of the Permo-Carboniferous Jinshajiang ophiolite, southwestern China: Geochronological constraints for the evolution of Paleo-Tethys

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon dating of gabbro, anorthosite, trondhjemite and granodiorite from the Jinshajiang ophiolitic mélange of southwestern China provides geochronological constraints on the evolution of Paleo-Tethys. The ophiolitic mélange is exposed for about 130 km along the Jinshajiang River where numerous blocks of serpentinite, ultramafic cumulate, gabbro, sheeted dikes, pillow lavas and radiolarian chert are set in a greenschist matrix. A cumulate gabbro-anorthosite association and an amphibole gabbro have ages of 338 ± 6 Ma, 329 ± 7 Ma and 320 ± 10 Ma, respectively, which constrain the time of formation of oceanic crust. An ophiolitic isotropic gabbro dated at 282–285 Ma has the same age as a trondhjemite vein (285 ± 6 Ma) cutting the gabbro. These ages probably reflect a late phase of sea-floor spreading above an intra-oceanic subduction zone. At the southern end of the Jinshajiang belt, a granitoid batholith (268 ± 6 Ma), a gabbro massif (264 ± 4 Ma), and a granodiorite (adakite) intrusion (263 ± 6 Ma) in the ophiolitic mélange constitute a Permian intra-oceanic plutonic arc complex. A trondhjemite dike intruded serpentinite in the mélange at 238 ± 10 Ma and postdates the arc evolution of the Jinshajiang segment of Paleo-Tethys.     

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.     

Shyok Suture Zone,N Pakistan: late Mesozoic–Tertiary evolution of a critical suture separating the oceanic Ladakh Arc from the Asian continental margin

The Shyok Suture Zone (Northern Suture) of North Pakistan is an important Cretaceous-Tertiary suture separating the Asian continent (Karakoram) from the Cretaceous Kohistan–Ladakh oceanic arc to the south. In previously published interpretations, the Shyok Suture Zone marks either the site of subduction of a wide Tethyan ocean, or represents an Early Cretaceous intra-continental marginal basin along the southern margin of Asia. To shed light on alternative hypotheses, a sedimentological, structural and igneous geochemical study was made of a well-exposed traverse in North Pakistan, in the Skardu area (Baltistan). To the south of the Shyok Suture Zone in this area is the Ladakh Arc and its Late Cretaceous, mainly volcanogenic, sedimentary cover (Burje-La Formation). The Shyok Suture Zone extends northwards (ca. 30 km) to the late Tertiary Main Karakoram Thrust that transported Asian, mainly high-grade metamorphic rocks southwards over the suture zone.The Shyok Suture Zone is dominated by four contrasting units separated by thrusts, as follows: (1). The lowermost, Askore amphibolite, is mainly amphibolite facies meta-basites and turbiditic meta-sediments interpreted as early marginal basin rift products, or trapped Tethyan oceanic crust, metamorphosed during later arc rifting. (2). The overlying Pakora Formation is a very thick (ca. 7 km in outcrop) succession of greenschist facies volcaniclastic sandstones, redeposited limestones and subordinate basaltic–andesitic extrusives and flow breccias of at least partly Early Cretaceous age. The Pakora Formation lacks terrigenous continental detritus and is interpreted as a proximal base-of-slope apron related to rifting of the oceanic Ladakh Arc; (3). The Tectonic Melange (<300 m thick) includes serpentinised ultramafic rocks, near mid-ocean ridge-type volcanics and recrystallised radiolarian cherts, interpreted as accreted oceanic crust. (4). The Bauma–Harel Group (structurally highest) is a thick succession (several km) of Ordovician and Carboniferous to Permian–Triassic, low-grade, mixed carbonate/siliciclastic sedimentary rocks that accumulated on the south-Asian continental margin. A structurally associated turbiditic slope/basinal succession records rifting of the Karakoram continent (part of Mega–Lhasa) from Gondwana. Red clastics of inferred fluvial origin (‘molasse’) unconformably overlie the Late Palaeozoic–Triassic succession and are also intersliced with other units in the suture zone.Reconnaissance further east (north of the Shyok River) indicates the presence of redeposited volcaniclastic sediments and thick acid tuffs, derived from nearby volcanic centres, presumed to lie within the Ladakh Arc. In addition, comparison with Lower Cretaceous clastic sediments (Maium Unit) within the Northern Suture Zone, west of the Nanga Parbat syntaxis (Hunza River) reveals notable differences, including the presence of terrigenous quartz-rich conglomerates, serpentinite debris-flow deposits and a contrasting structural history.The Shyok Suture Zone in the Skardu area is interpreted to preserve the remnants of a rifted oceanic back-arc basin and components of the Asian continental margin. In the west (Hunza River), a mixed volcanogenic and terrigenous succession (Maium Unit) is interpreted to record syn-deformational infilling of a remnant back-arc basin/foreland basin prior to suturing of the Kohistan Arc with Asia (75–90 Ma).     

Formation, subduction, and exhumation of Penninic oceanic crust in the Eastern Alps: time constraints from Ar/Ar geochronology

New ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology places time constraints on several stages of the evolution of the Penninic realm in the Eastern Alps. A 186±2 Ma age for seafloor hydrothermal metamorphic biotite from the Reckner Ophiolite Complex of the Pennine–Austroalpine transition suggests that Penninic ocean spreading occurred in the Eastern Alps as early as the Toarcian (late Early Jurassic). A 57±3 Ma amphibole from the Penninic subduction–accretion Rechnitz Complex dates high-pressure metamorphism and records a snapshot in the evolution of the Penninic accretionary wedge. High-pressure amphibole, phengite, and phengite+paragonite mixtures from the Penninic Eclogite Zone of the Tauern Window document exhumation through ≤15 kbar and >500 °C at 42 Ma to 10 kbar and 400 °C at 39 Ma. The Tauern Eclogite Zone pressure–temperature path shows isothermal decompression at mantle depths and rapid cooling in the crust, suggesting rapid exhumation. Assuming exhumation rates slower or equal to high-pressure–ultrahigh-pressure terrains in the Western Alps, Tauern Eclogite Zone peak pressures were reached not long before our high-pressure amphibole age, probably at ≤45 Ma, in accordance with dates from the Western Alps. A late-stage thermal overprint, common to the entire Penninic thrust system, occurred within the Tauern Eclogite Zone rocks at 35 Ma. The high-pressure peak and switch from burial to exhumation of the Tauern Eclogite Zone is likely to date slab breakoff in the Alpine orogen. This is in contrast to the long-lasting and foreland-propagating Franciscan-style subduction–accretion processes that are recorded in the Rechnitz Complex.     

Permo–Triassic intraplate magmatism and rifting in Eurasia: implications for mantle plumes and mantle dynamics

At the transition from the Permian to the Triassic, Eurasia was the site of voluminous flood-basalt extrusion and rifting. Major flood-basalt provinces occur in the Tunguska, Taymyr, Kuznetsk, Verkhoyansk–Vilyuy and Pechora areas, as well as in the South Chinese Emeishen area. Contemporaneous rift systems developed in the West Siberian, South Kara Sea and Pyasina–Khatanga areas, on the Scythian platform and in the West European and Arctic–North Atlantic domain. At the Permo–Triassic transition, major extensional stresses affected apparently Eurasia, and possibly also Pangea, as evidenced by the development of new rift systems. Contemporaneous flood-basalt activity, inducing a global environmental crisis, is interpreted as related to the impingement of major mantle plumes on the base of the Eurasian lithosphere. Moreover, the Permo–Triassic transition coincided with a period of regional uplift and erosion and a low-stand in sea level. Permo–Triassic rifting and mantle plume activity occurred together with a major reorganization of plate boundaries and plate kinematics that marked the transition from the assembly of Pangea to its break-up. This plate reorganization was possibly associated with a reorganization of the global mantle convection system. On the base of the geological record, we recognize short-lived and long-lived plumes with a duration of magmatic activity of some 10–20 million years and 100–150 million years, respectively. The Permo–Triassic Siberian and Emeishan flood-basalt provinces are good examples of “short-lived” plumes, which contrast with such “long lived” plumes as those of Iceland and Hawaii. The global record indicates that mantle plume activity occurred episodically. Purely empirical considerations indicate that times of major mantle plume activity are associated with periods of global mantle convection reorganization during which thermally driven mantle convection is not fully able to facilitate the necessary heat transfer from the core of the Earth to its surface. In this respect, we distinguish between two geodynamically different scenarios for major plume activity. The major Permo–Triassic plume event followed the assembly Pangea and the detachment of deep-seated subduction slabs from the lithosphere. The Early–Middle Cretaceous major plume event, as well as the terminal–Cretaceous–Paleocene plume event, followed a sharp acceleration of global sea-floor spreading rates and the insertion of new subduction zone slabs deep into the mantle. We conclude that global plate kinematics, driven by mantle convection, have a bearing on the development of major mantle plumes and, to a degree, also on the pattern of related flood-basalt magmatism.     

北羌塘地区北缘上三叠统若拉岗日岩群地层特征及沉积环境

北羌塘地区北缘上三叠统若拉岗日岩群分布于北羌塘陆块与拉竹龙-金沙江缝合带之间的若拉岗日冲断带,以砂泥质复理石、中基性-超基性火山岩及大理岩组合为特征,夹晚二叠世灰岩岩片及蛇绿岩残块。岩石低-中级变质,构造变形强烈,顶底均被断层切割断失,为总体无序、局部有序的构造-地层体。若拉岗日岩群中基性火山岩具有洋岛和岛弧型成因,它是金沙江洋盆在晚三叠世向南俯冲,而在其南缘形成的岛弧带沉积。在若拉岗日岩群采获大量上三叠统常见的孢粉、腕足、双壳类生物化石,其玄武岩年龄值为201±4Ma(Ar-Ar法),时代属诺利期。     

Porphyry Cu–Au and associated polymetallic Fe–Cu–Au deposits in the Beiya Area, western Yunnan Province, south China

The Alkaline porphyries in the Beiya area are located east of the Jinshajiang suture, as part of a Cenozoic alkali-rich porphyry belt in western Yunnan. The main rock types include quartz-albite porphyry, quartz-K-feldspar porphyry and biotite–K-feldspar porphyry. These porphyries are characterised by high alkalinity [(K₂O + Na₂O)% > 10%], high silica (SiO₂% > 65%), high Sr (> 400 ppm) and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (> 0.706)] ratio and were intruded at 65.5 Ma, between 25.5 to 32.5 Ma, and about 3.8 Ma, respectively. There are five main types of mineral deposits in the Beiya area: (1) porphyry Cu–Au deposits, (2) magmatic Fe–Au deposits, (3) sedimentary polymetallic deposits, (4) polymetallic skarn deposits, and (5) palaeoplacers associated with karsts. The porphyry Cu–Au and polymetallic skarn deposits are associated with quartz–albite porphyry bodies. The Fe–Au and polymetallic sedimentary deposits are part of an ore-forming system that produced considerable Au in the Beiya area, and are characterised by low concentrations of La, Ti, and Co, and high concentrations of Y, Yb, and Sc.The Cenozoic porphyries in western Yunnan display increased alkalinity away from the Triassic Jinshajiang suture. Distribution of both the porphyries and sedimentary deposits in the Beiya area are interpreted to be related to partial melting in a disjointed region between upper mantle lithosphere of the Yangtze Plate and Gondwana continent, and lie within a shear zone between buried Palaeo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere and upper mantle lithosphere, caused by the subduction and collision of India and Asia.     

Tectonic implications of a paleomagnetic study of the Sarmiento Ophiolitic Complex, southern Chile

A paleomagnetic study was carried out on the Late Jurassic Sarmiento Ophiolitic Complex (SOC) exposed in the Magallanes fold and thrust belt in the southern Patagonian Andes (southern Chile). This complex, mainly consisting of a thick succession of pillow-lavas, sheeted dikes and gabbros, is a seafloor remnant of the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Rocas Verdes basin that developed along the south-western margin of South America. Stepwise thermal and alternating field demagnetization permitted the isolation of a post-folding characteristic remanence, apparently carried by fine grain (SD?) magnetite, both in the pillow-lavas and dikes. The mean “in situ” direction for the SOC is Dec: 286.9°, Inc: − 58.5°, α95: 6.9°, N: 11 (sites).Rock magnetic properties, petrography and whole-rock K–Ar ages in the same rocks are interpreted as evidence of correlation between remanence acquisition and a greenschist facies metamorphic overprint that must have occurred during latest stages or after closure and tectonic inversion of the basin in the Late Cretaceous.The mean remanence direction is anomalous relative to the expected Late Cretaceous direction from stable South America. Particularly, a declination anomaly over 50° is suggestively similar to paleomagnetically interpreted counter clockwise rotations found in thrust slices of the Jurassic El Quemado Fm. located over 100 km north of the study area in Argentina. Nevertheless, a significant ccw rotation of the whole SOC is difficult to reconcile with geologic evidence and paleogeographic models that suggest a narrow back-arc basin sub-parallel to the continental margin. A rigid-body 30° westward tilting of the SOC block around a horizontal axis trending NNW, is considered a much simpler explanation, being consistent with geologic evidence. This may have occurred as a consequence of inverse reactivation of old normal faults, which limit both the SOC exposures and the Cordillera Sarmiento to the East. The age of tilting is unknown but it must postdate remanence acquisition in the Late Cretaceous. Two major orogenic events of the southern Patagonian Andes, in the Eocene (ca. 42 Ma) and Middle Miocene (ca. 12 Ma), respectively, could have caused the proposed tilting.