Lithospheric gravitational instability beneath the Southeast Carpathians

The Southeast corner of the Carpathians, known as the Vrancea region, is characterised by a cluster of strong seismicity to depths of about 200 km. The peculiar features of this seismicity make it a region of high geophysical interest. In this study we calculate the seismic strain-rate tensors for the period 1967–2007, and describe the variation of strain-rate with depth. The observed results are compared with strain-rates predicted by numerical experiments. We explore a new dynamical model for this region based on the idea of viscous flow of the lithospheric mantle permitting the development of local continental mantle downwelling beneath Vrancea, due to a Rayleigh–Taylor instability that has developed since the cessation of subduction at 11 Ma. The model simulations use a Lagrangean frame 3D finite-element algorithm solving the equations of conservation of mass and momentum for a spatially varying viscous creeping flow. The finite deformation calculations of the gravitational instability of the continental lithosphere demonstrate that the Rayleigh–Taylor mechanism can explain the present distribution of deformation within the downwelling lithosphere, both in terms of stress localisation and amplitude of strain-rates. The spatial extent of the high stress zone that corresponds to the seismically active zone is realistically represented when we assume that viscosity decreases by at least an order of magnitude across the lithosphere. The mantle downwelling is balanced by lithospheric thinning in an adjacent area which would correspond to the Transylvanian Basin. Crustal thickening is predicted above the downwelling structure and thinning beneath the basin.     

Granite subduction: Arc subduction, tectonic erosion and sediment subduction

Continental growth has been episodic, reflecting the episodic nature of mantle dynamics as well as surface dynamics of the Earth, the net result of which is exhibited by the present mantle with two huge reservoirs of TTG rocks, one on the surface continents and the other on the D″ layer on the Core-Mantle Boundary (CMB). During the early half of the Earth history, the felsic continental crust on the surface which formed in an intra-oceanic environment has mostly been subducted into the deep mantle, except in the rare case of parallel arc collision. The growth history of continental crust shows that with its simultaneous formation, a considerable amount must have also been subducted. Such ongoing subduction processes can be seen in the western Pacific region, through tectonic erosion, arc subduction, and sediment-trapped subduction.     

Oscillatory zoning in eclogitic garnet and amphibole,Northern Serpentinite Melange,Cuba: a record of tectonic instability during subduction?

Exotic blocks of eclogite from distant localities along the Northern Serpentinite Melange of Cuba have comparable P–T histories that include high‐pressure prograde sections (450–600 °C, >15 kbar) associated with subduction of oceanic lithosphere, and retrograde sections within the albite–epidote amphibolite facies (<500 °C, <10 kbar) related to melange uplift. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and Rb/Sr cooling ages (118–103 Ma) of one of the blocks indicate pre‐Aptian subduction and Aptian–Albian uplift. Detailed X‐ray imaging and profiling further reveals that minerals in these eclogite blocks (notably garnet and amphibole) display subtle but well defined oscillatory zoning that developed along the prograde trajectory of the rocks, previous to attainment of peak eclogitic conditions. The chemistry (e.g. coupled changes of Mg# and Mn in garnet, and of Si, Ti, Al and Na in amphibole) and geometry (euhedral to anhedral shapes) of the oscillations can be interpreted in terms of subtle fluctuations in P–T during the general prograde subduction‐related metamorphic path. A (near‐) equilibrium model is presented for the formation of oscillations at near peak conditions by means of recurrent dissolution‐growth reaction processes. This model for near‐peak conditions, and the chemical signatures of earlier oscillations (notably in amphibole), suggest that episodes of retrogression (upward movement?) affected parts of the subducting slab. It is proposed that these retrograde episodes record the tectonic rupture of the subducting slab and, probably, of the upper plate mantle, either due to the intrinsic dynamic behaviour of subduction systems or to the effects of the plate‐tectonic rearrangement of the Caribbean region during the Early Cretaceous.     

Lithospheric deformation under pre- and post-seismic stress fields along the Nicobar–Sumatra subduction margin during 2004 Sumatra mega-event and its tectonic implications

A high-resolution study was carried out under pre-seismic (i.e., static) and post-seismic stress fields (i.e., dynamic) in a space–time frame along the Nicobar–Sumatra margin. The study reveals that the descending lithosphere records minimum stress obliquity, predominant thrust movement, and down-dip least compressive stress axis under static stress field in northwest Sumatra (sector III). The imbalance between down-dip component of slab pull force and viscous resistive force possibly caused cyclic stress loading in compressive field around the flexing zone ( 25 km), and that undergone brittle failure through generation of mega-thrust event on 26th December' 2004. A sharp decrease in stress obliquity towards north (sector II), redressing of least compressive stress axes from horizontal to down-dip direction, and increasing thrust movements under dynamic stress field account for continued upward shortening of the lithosphere. The weak thinner zone (i.e., between  159 and  217 km depth), an age-discontinuity portion, possibly was collapsed through rapid enhancement of stress-induced weakening and strain localization following the 2004 Sumatra mega-shock. It is also well appreciated in the literature that such shallow disruption of the lithosphere is inevitable in the upper mantle, if the slab is weakened or broken there, and this phenomenon is not uncommon below the Sumatra.     

中国岩石圈构造单元

笔者根据地壳表层构造与深部构造相结合原则,提出岩石圈构造单元划分应遵循的6条原则。根据地质和地球化学,特别是地球物理场所显示的特征,以贺兰山—川滇南北构造带为界,初步把中国大陆及邻近海域划分为中亚岩石圈构造域和东亚岩石圈构造域2个一级岩石圈构造单元,并进一步划分出6个二级构造单元:西域岩石圈块体、青藏岩石圈块体、松辽岩石圈块体、华北岩石圈块体、华南岩石圈块体、南海岩石圈块体,分别阐述了它们的地质、地球物理、地球化学主要特征。最后,就岩石圈构造单元划分的几个问题进行了探讨,提出一些看法。     

Deep subduction and mantle heterogeneities

The globe-encircling isotopic anomaly centred on latitude 30°S defined from the geochemistry of mid-ocean ridge and particularly intraplate basalts has been previously shown to be correlative with degree-2 features of the Earth's geoid. The same region appears to show a correlation with zones of low seismic velocities, perhaps indicative of heated rocks, which persist to at least the transition zone between the upper and lower mantle. That the basalts in this anomalous region are derived by diapiric uprise from a mantle reservoir of old deeply subducted materials is favourably demonstrated by olivine and clinopyroxene-controlled partial melting trends on geochemical discrimination diagrams.     

中国西北大陆岩石圈类型、岩石学结构及其意义

根据西北地区的地质和地球物理特征,区分出中国西北大陆以准噶尔和塔里木为代表的克拉通型岩石圈和造山带型岩石圈,而造山带型岩石圈又可以区分为以额济纳旗为代表的古生代造山带型岩石圈(老物质新结构)和包括天山、阿尔泰山、昆仑山在内的新生代造山型岩石圈(老物质新结构);依据岩石学方法、壳幔演化模型和造山带形成过程以及地震波速与岩石化学成分之间的关系,建立相应类型岩石圈的壳幔岩石学结构,讨论了不同岩石圈类型的壳幔物质结构、地壳和岩石圈地幔厚度的地质含义及其找矿意义.     

Misattributed tsunami: Chile, Sumatra and the subduction model

Tsunami intensity is poorly correlated with earthquake magnitude. The distribution of aftershocks that immediately followed the 2010 Maule (Chile), the 2004 Sumatra–Andaman and the 2005 Nias (Indonesia) events supports the view that faulting within an accretionary wedge or an outer rise can sometimes disrupt the seafloor more effectively than a megathrust even if the associated seismicity is minor. Monitoring offshore faults would thus seem an effective way to supplement modes of tsunami early warning which hinge on instrumental earthquake detection or wave height and period.     

Mesozoic transpression,transtension, subduction and metallogenesis in northern and central California

Middle Paleozoic to Middle Jurassic terrane assemblies in the Klamaths and Sierran Foothills consist of mafic–ultramafic complexes + fine‐grained terrigenous strata derived from previously accreted continental‐margin belts. Sutured oceanic terranes reflect c. 230 Myr of margin‐parallel slip involving chiefly transtension and transpression. Quartzofeldspathic clastic rocks and blueschists ± eclogites are very rare. Little devolatilization occurred at magmagenic depths; hence, coeval hydrothermal ore deposits and granitoids are uncommon. In contrast, nearly head‐on Cretaceous subduction of the Farallon plate generated the massive Klamath–Sierra Nevada volcanic–plutonic arc, reflecting dewatering of the eastward descending oceanic lithosphere in the magmagenic zone. Immature Great Valley forearc and Franciscan trench deposits shed from the arc record c. 70 Myr. of rapid crustal growth. Au‐bearing solutions rising from magmagenic depths, exsolved from plutons, and expelled from heated wall rocks were mobilized attending arc construction. Precipitation of gold‐bearing quartz veins occurred where H₂O + CO₂‐bearing fluids encountered major geochemical discontinuities in the wall rocks.     

Relations between subduction, slab heating, slab dehydration and continental growth

The hydrated altered basalts of the oceanic crust, if subducted, could release large volumes of water during their phase transformations and partial melting reactions. If heat from shear strain recrystallizations largely heats the altered basaltic layer, only a 2 km thick layer could be heated significantly before the slab reaches 80–125 km depth. Most of the released waters should be driven into the deeper but cooler regions at the slab and andesitic-tonalitic partial melts should form in the heated altered basalt layer. Large volumes of water initially at the surface could be added to the mantle and tonalitic partial melts could be lost from the oceanic crust and added to the continental plate and could account for continental growth.     

岩石圈减薄与成矿关系的不均一性

结合实际工作中的体会,提出和讨论了＂岩石圈减薄与成矿关系的不均一性＂这一有意义的科学问题。岩石圈减薄导致岩石圈中分布不均一的金、钼、钨等成矿元素被消耗带出至地壳中成矿,是中国东部金、钼、钨大规模成矿的基本机制;华北地块岩石圈减薄对金、钼、钨大规模成矿的贡献时限始自构造转折开始时而终至岩浆富集地幔源向亏损地幔源转化期,即可能在163～136 Ma至117～80 Ma期间;岩石圈在时间和空间上的不均一减薄可能是地壳中不同类型的金、钼、钨等矿床和矿集区时空分布差异性的重要原因。     

Review on Lithospheric Diamonds and Their Mineral Inclusions

Diamonds and their mineral inclusions are valuable for studying the genesis of diamonds, the characteristics and processes of ancient lithospheric mantle and deeper mantle. This has been paid lots of attentions by geologists both at home and abroad. Most diamonds come from lithospheric mantle. According to their formation preceded, accompanied or followed crystallization of their host diamonds, mineral inclusions in diamonds are divided into three groups: protogenetic, syngenetic and epigenetic. To determine which group the mineral inclusions belong to is very important because it is vital for understanding the data’s meaning. According to the type of mantle source rocks, mineral inclusions in diamonds are usually divided into peridotitic (or ultramafic) suite and eclogitic suite. The mineral species of each suite are described and mineralogical characteristics of most common inclusions in diamonds, such as olivine, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, garnet, chromite and sulfide are reviewed in detail. In this paper, the main research fields and findings of diamonds and their inclusions were described: ①getting knowledge of mineralogical and petrologic characteristics of diamond source areas, characteristics of mantle fluids and mantle dynamics processes by studying the major element and trace element compositions of mineral inclusions; ②discussing deep carbon cycle by studying carbon isotopic composition of diamonds; ③determining forming temperature and pressure of diamonds by using appropriate assemblages of mineral inclusions or single mineral inclusion as geothermobarometry, by using the abundance and aggregation of nitrogen impurities in diamonds and by measuring the residual stress that an inclusion remains under within a diamond ; ④estimating the crystallization ages of diamonds by using the aggregation of nitrogen impurities in diamonds and by determine the radiometric ages of syngenetic mineral inclusions in diamonds. Genetic model of craton lithospheric diamonds and their mineral inclusion were also introduced. In the end, the research progress on diamonds and their inclusions in China and the gap between domestic and international research are discussed.     

大陆造山运动：从大洋俯冲到大陆俯冲、碰撞、折返的时限——以北祁连山、柴北缘为例

北祁连山和柴北缘是典型的早古生代大陆造山带,分别发育有北祁连山大洋型俯冲缝合带和柴北缘大陆型俯冲碰撞带.作为早古生代大洋冷俯冲的典型代表,北祁连山经历了从新元古代-寒武纪大洋扩张、奥陶纪俯冲和闭合及早泥盆世隆升造山的过程.高压变质岩变质年龄为490～440Ma,证明古祁连洋经历了至少50m．y．的俯冲过程.柴北缘超高压变质带是大陆深俯冲的结果,岩石学、地球化学和同位素年代学表明,柴北缘超高压变质带中榴辉岩的原岩分别来自洋壳和陆壳两种环境.高压/超高压变质的蛇绿岩原岩的年龄为517±11Ma,与祁连山蛇绿岩年龄一致.榴辉岩早期的变质年龄为443～473Ma,与祁连山高压变质年龄一致,代表大洋地壳俯冲的时代,而柯石英片麻岩和石榴橄榄岩所限定的超高压变质时代为420～426Ma,代表大陆俯冲的年龄.从大洋俯冲结束到大陆俯冲最大深度的转换时间最少需要20m．y．.自420Ma起,俯冲的大洋岩石圈与跟随俯冲的大陆岩石圈断离,大陆地壳开始折返,发生隆升和造山.北祁连山和柴北缘两个不同类型的高压-超高压变质带反映了早古生代从大洋俯冲到大陆俯冲、隆升折返的造山过程.     

Passive margin evolution, initiation of subduction and the Wilson cycle

We have constructed finite element models at various stages of passive margin evolution, in which we have incorporated the system of forces acting on the margin, depth-dependent rheological properties and lateral variations across the margin. We have studied the interrelations between age-dependent forces, geometry and rheology, to decipher their net effect on the state of stress at passive margins. Lithospheric flexure induced by sediment loading dominates the state of stress at passive margins. This study has shown that if after a short evolution of the margin (time span a few tens of million years) subduction has not yet started, continued aging of the passive margin alone does not result in conditions more favourable for transformation into an active margin. Although much geological evidence is available in support of the key role small ocean basins play in orogeny and ophiolite emplacement, evolutionary frameworks of the Wilson cycle usually are cast in terms of opening and closing of wide ocean basins. We propose a more limited role for large oceans in the Wilson cycle concept.     

岩石圈地幔中的金刚石及其矿物包裹体的研究进展

金刚石及封存于其中的矿物包裹体对于研究金刚石的成因以及古老岩石圈地幔、超深地幔的性质和地幔过程具有重要的研究意义,是国内外地质学家们的研究热点。大多数金刚石来源于岩石圈地幔,根据包裹体相对于寄主金刚石形成的时间可分为先成包裹体、同生包裹体和后生包裹体,包裹体属于哪种类型直接关系到数据所代表的意义,根据包裹体源区的岩石类型,通常将包裹体分为P/U型和E型,介绍了2种类型包裹体包含的矿物种类,并对出现较多的橄榄石、单斜辉石、斜方辉石、石榴石、铬铁矿和硫化物包裹体的矿物学特征进行了详细描述,归纳了金刚石及其矿物包裹体的主要研究方向:包裹体矿物的化学成分、金刚石的碳同位素组成、金刚石形成的温度、压力及年龄,综述了克拉通岩石圈地幔金刚石及其矿物包裹体的成因,总结了我国金刚石中包裹体的研究成果,分析了国内研究工作与国际上的差距。     

Lithospheric growth at margins of cratons

Deep seismic reflection profiles collected across Proterozoic–Archean margins are now sufficiently numerous to formulate a consistent hypothesis of how continental nuclei grow laterally to form cratonic shields. This picture is made possible both because the length of these regional profiles spans all the tectonic elements of an orogen on a particular cratonic margin and because of their great depth range. Key transects studied include the LITHOPROBE SNORCLE 1 transect and the BABEL survey, crossing the Slave and Baltic craton margins, respectively. In most cases, the older (Archean) block appears to form a wedge of uppermost mantle rock embedded into the more juvenile (Proterozoic) block by as much as 100–200 km at uppermost mantle depths and Archean lithosphere is therefore more laterally extensive at depth than at the surface. Particularly bright reflections along the Moho are cited as evidence of shear strain within a weak, low-viscosity lower crustal channel that lies along the irregular top of the indenting wedge. The bottom of the wedge is an underthrust/subduction zone, and associated late reversal in subduction polarity beneath the craton margin emerges as a common characteristic of these margins although related arc magmatism may be minor.     

Fossil flat-slab subduction beneath the Illinois basin, USA

The Illinois basin is one of several well-studied intracratonic sedimentary basins within the North American craton whose formational mechanisms and subcrustal structure are not well understood. We study the S-velocity structure of the upper mantle beneath the Illinois basin and its surrounding area through seismic tomography. We utilize continental scale waveform data of seismic S and surface waves, enhanced by regional earthquakes located near the Illinois basin. Our 3D tomographic model, IL05, confirms the existence of a slow S-velocity structure in the uppermost mantle beneath the Illinois basin region. This anomalously slow region exists from the base of the crust to depths of  90 km, and is slower than the North American cratonic average by about 200 m/s. This anomalous uppermost mantle beneath the Illinois basin is underlain by a faster lithosphere, typical of the surrounding craton, to depths of  200 km. Excluding the formation of the Reelfoot Rift, this area of North American has been stable for over 1.0 Gy. Thus, we do not expect thermal anomalies from before that time to persist into present day S-velocity anomalies and we consider a delamination origin as an explanation of Illinois basin subsidence unlikely. We cannot rule out that the slow mid-lithosphere beneath the Illinois basin is caused by an uppermost mantle enriched by a deep, but weak plume. We attribute the slow mid-lithosphere to the presence of either oceanic, hydrous crust, or, a relatively cool mantle wedge with preserved hydrous minerals in the Illinois basin's uppermost mantle, related to a fossilized flat subduction zone.     

Lithospheric flexure, uplift and expected horizontal strain rate in the Pannonian Carpathian region

The Apuseni Mountains are located between the Pannonian Basin and the Transylvanian Basin along a direction of SE convergence with the Carpathian belt. A flexural model based on the cylindrical bending of a semi-infinite, isostatically supported, thin elastic plate is here examined with the Apuseni playing the role of flexural bulge, and under the assumption that the plate is deforming under the action of a vertical shear force and a bending moment applied at the end of the plate, beneath the Carpathians. The model yields estimates of the plate thickness ranging between 13 and 14.5 km, depending on the assumed density contrast between crust/sediments and mantle providing buoyancy. The vertical shear force which is necessary to bend the plate is in the range between 60 and 300 × 10¹¹ N m^− 1, depending on the assumed density contrast. This force is shown to be modelled by a gravitational ‘slab pull’ force, using model parameters derived from seismic tomography. If the height of the flexural bulge, after correction for erosion, is allowed to increase, the model yields an estimate of the horizontal strain rate at the top of the bulge. For example, 5 mm/yr vertical change of the flexural bulge of a 14 km thick plate results in a horizontal deformation rate of approximately 7 nanostrain/yr at the top of the bulge, a value which is at the threshold of sensitivity of continuous GPS measurements. Different vertical rates will change the horizontal strain rate almost proportionally.     

Metamorphic evolution of a subduction complex, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

A subduction complex composed of ocean floor material mixed with arc-derived metasediments crops out in the Elephant Island group and at Smith Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, with metamorphic ages of 120–80 Ma and 58–47 Ma, respectively. Seven metamorphic zones (I–VII) mapped on Elephant Island delineate a gradual increase in metamorphic grade from the pumpellyite–actinolite facies, through the crossite–epidote blueschist facies, to the lower amphibolite facies. Geothermometry in garnet–amphibole and garnet–biotite pairs yields temperatures of about 350 °C in zone III to about 525 °C in zone VII. Pressures were estimated on the basis of Si content in white mica, Al₂O₃ content in alkali amphibole, Na^M4/Al^IV in sodic-calcic and calcic amphibole, Al^VI/Si in calcic amphibole, and jadeite content in clinopyroxene. Mean values vary from about 6–7.5 kbar in zone II to about 5 kbar in zone VII. Results from the other islands of the Elephant Island group are comparable to those from the main island; Smith Island yielded slightly higher pressures, up to 8 kbar, with temperatures estimated between 300 and 350 °C. Zoned minerals and other textural indications locally enable inference of P–T –t trajectories, all with a clockwise evolution. A reconstruction in space and time of these P–T –t paths allows an estimate of the thermal structure in the upper crust during the two ductile deformation phases (D₁ & D₂) that affected the area. This thermal structure is in good agreement with the one expected for a subduction zone. The arrival and collision of thickened oceanic crust may have caused the accretion and preservation of the subduction complex. In this model, D₁ represents the subduction movements expressed by the first vector of the clockwise P–T–t path, D₂ reflects the collision corresponding to the second vector with increasing temperature and decreasing pressure, and D₃ corresponds to isostatic uplift accompanied by erosion, under circumstances of decreasing temperature and pressure.