Subduction history of the Paleo-Pacific slab beneath Eurasian continent: Mesozoic-Paleogene magmatic records in Northeast Asia

This paper presents a review on the rock associations, geochemistry, and spatial distribution of Mesozoic-Paleogene igneous rocks in Northeast Asia. The record of magmatism is used to evaluate the spatial-temporal extent and influence of multiple tectonic regimes during the Mesozoic, as well as the onset and history of Paleo-Pacific slab subduction beneath Eurasian continent. Mesozoic-Paleogene magmatism at the continental margin of Northeast Asia can be subdivided into nine stages that took place in the Early-Middle Triassic, Late Triassic, Early Jurassic, Middle Jurassic, Late Jurassic, early Early Cretaceous, late Early Cretaceous, Late Cretaceous, and Paleogene, respectively. The Triassic magmatism is mainly composed of adakitic rocks, bimodal rocks, alkaline igneous rocks, and A-type granites and rhyolites that formed in syn-collisional to post-collisional extensional settings related to the final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. However, Triassic calc-alkaline igneous rocks in the Erguna-Xing’an massifs were associated with the southward subduction of the Mongol-Okhotsk oceanic slab. A passive continental margin setting existed in Northeast Asia during the Triassic. Early Jurassic calc-alkaline igneous rocks have a geochemical affinity to arc-like magmatism, whereas coeval intracontinental magmatism is composed of bimodal igneous rocks and A-type granites. Spatial variations in the potassium contents of Early Jurassic igneous rocks from the continental margin to intracontinental region, together with the presence of an Early Jurassic accretionary complex, reveal that the onset of the Paleo- Pacific slab subduction beneath Eurasian continent occurred in the Early Jurassic. Middle Jurassic to early Early Cretaceous magmatism did not take place at the continental margin of Northeast Asia. This observation, combined with the occurrence of low-altitude biological assemblages and the age population of detrital zircons in an Early Cretaceous accretionary complex, indicates that a strike-slip tectonic regime existed between the continental margin and Paleo-Pacific slab during the Middle Jurassic to early Early Cretaceous. The widespread occurrence of late Early Cretaceous calc-alkaline igneous rocks, I-type granites, and adakitic rocks suggests low-angle subduction of the Paleo-Pacific slab beneath Eurasian continent at this time. The eastward narrowing of the distribution of igneous rocks from the Late Cretaceous to Paleogene, and the change from an intracontinental to continental margin setting, suggest the eastward movement of Eurasian continent and rollback of the Paleo- Pacific slab at this time.     

Intra-arc opening and closure of a marginal sea: The case of the Guerrero Terrane (SW Mexico)

Abstract The pre-Oligocene structure of southwest Mexico, south of the trans-Mexico volcanic axis, is investigated from Taxco (Guerrero state, abbreviation: Gro) to the Pacific coast. Three volcano-sedimentary units are recognized; from east to west the calc-alkaline Teloloapan, tholeiitic Arcelia and calc-alkaline Zihuatanejo suites. Structural and stratigraphic data show that the Teloloapan volcanic arc, active during ?Late Jurassic and early Cretaceous, was built upon continental basement. The Teloloapan lavas are overlain by the Albian–Cenomanian Morelos platform carbonates and followed by the Upper Cretaceous Mexcala flysch. In contrast, the Arcelia pillow lavas are associated with sandstones and cherts of Albian-?Cenomanian age. The Zihuatanejo arc was also installed upon continental basement and its magmatic activity was in part coeval with Arcelia magmatism. Unlike the almost undeformed Zihuatanejo volcanic rocks, all the other volcanic units are involved in east-vergent thrusting and recumbent folding associated with ductile tectonics, as well as the Late Cretaceous Mexcala flysch overlying the Morelos platform carbonates. Contrasting with previous views, the present results do not support a major mid-Cretaceous thrusting event in the study area. The new geodynamic interpretation proposed here considers that the Arcelia rocks were formed in a marginal basin situated east of the Zihuatanejo arc. Closure of this basin in Paleocene times is responsible for the east vergent thrust tectonics in SW Mexico.     

The petrology and geochemistry of volcanic rocks from the Northern Harşit river area, Pontid Volcanic Province, Northeast Turkey

Two volcanic cycles can be distinguished, in the Pontid magmatic arc. They comprise an Upper Cretaceous, Lower Volcanic Cycle of which only the waning stage contains abundant pyroclastic rocks. The latter show spatial association to the fault pattern and are closely related to mineralisation. The overlying, early Tertiary, Upper Volcanic Cycle shows evidence of explosive vulcanicity in the Upper Basic Series. Dacites and rhyodacites are only locally developed and again show spatial association with the faulting.Comparison of the major and minor element chemistries of the two cycles demonstrates the clear separation into a lower tholeiitic and an upper calc-alkaline cycle. The rocks show similar chemistry to volcanic suites from island arcs in other areas.The origin of the tholeiitic magma is ascribed to melting of “dry” amphibolite during early subduction of Tethyan ocean floor beneath “Pontian Land”. This resulted in low K abundances and K/Rb ratios, and some Fe enrichment in the tholeiitic basalts.The calc-alkaline magma is thought to be derived from a later stage in the subduction process when melting of amphibole was joined by melting of biotite or phlogopite. The Upper Volcanic Cycle is thus enriched in K and shows no Fe enrichment due to a probable higher water content. The higher Cr and Ni contents of the Upper Volcanic Cycle, together with K, may imply some melting of lherzolite overlying the subducted slab.     

Evolution of the volcanism in the area of interaction between the arabian, anatolian and iranian plates (Lake van, Eastern Turkey)

Geological investigations of the Lake Van area (Eastern Turkey) have shown the coexistence of a calc-alkaline volcanism, active at least since Lower Miocene, with an alkaline one, beginning around 6 m.y. ago. The calc-alkaline volcanic activity is related to subduction of the Arabian plate under the Anatolian—Iranian continental mass. The alkaline volcanism, on the other hand, is attributed to the fragmentation of such a mass and to the divergent motion of the Anatolian and Iranian plates; a process which began in Upper Miocene as a consequence of the continental collision with Arabia.     

Fluvial to bay sequence stratigraphy and seismic facies of the Cretaceous to Paleogene successions in the MITI Sanriku‐oki well and the vicinities,the Sanriku‐oki forearc basin,northeast Japan

This paper describes the significant depositional setting information derived from well and seismic survey data for the Upper Cretaceous to Lower Eocene forearc basin sediments in the central part of the Sanriku‐oki basin, which is regarded as a key area for elucidating the plate tectonic history of the Northeast Japan Arc. According to the results of well facies analysis utilizing cores, well logs and borehole images, the major depositional environments were of braided and meandering fluvial environments with sporadically intercalated marine incursion beds. Seismic facies, reflection terminations and isopach information provide the actual spatial distributions of fluvial channel zones flowing in a north–south trending direction. The transgression and regression cycles indicate that the Upper Cretaceous to Lower Eocene successions can be divided into thirteen depositional sequences (Sequences SrCr‐0 to SrCr‐5, and SrPg‐1 to SrPg‐7). These depositional sequences demonstrate three types of stacking patterns: Types A to C, each of which shows a succession mainly comprising a meandering fluvial system, a braided fluvial system with minor meandering aspects in the upper part, and major marine incursion beds in the middle part, respectively, although all show an overall transgressive to regressive succession. The Type C marine incursion beds characteristically comprise bay center and tidal‐dominated bay margin facies. Basin‐transecting long seismic sections demonstrate a roll up structure on the trench slope break (TSB) side of the basin. These facts suggest that during the Cretaceous to Eocene periods, the studied fluvial‐dominated forearc basin was sheltered by the uplifted TSB. The selective occurrences of the Type C sequences suggest that when a longer‐scale transgression occurred, especially in Santonian and early Campanian periods, a large bay basin was developed, creating accommodation space, which induced the deposition of the Cretaceous Kuji Group along the arc‐side basin margin.     

Accretion and tectonic erosion processes revealed by the mode of occurrence and geochemistry of greenstones in the Cretaceous accretionary complexes of the Idonnappu Zone, southern central Hokkaido, Japan

The Cretaceous accretionary complexes of the Idonnappu Zone in the Urakawa area are divided into five lithological units, four of which contain greenstone bodies. The Lower Cretaceous Naizawa Complex consists of two lithologic units. The Basaltic Unit (B‐Unit) is a large‐scale tectonic slab of greenstone, consisting of depleted tholeiite similar to that of the Lower Sorachi Ophiolite (basal forearc basin ophiolite) in the Sorachi‐Yezo Belt. The Mixed Unit of Naizawa Complex (MN‐Unit) contains oceanic island‐type alkaline greenstones which occur as slab‐like bodies and faulted blocks with tectonically dismembered trench‐fill sediments. Repeated alternations of the two units in the Naizawa Complex may have been formed by the collision of seamounts with forearc ophiolitic body (Lower Sorachi Ophiolite) in the trench. The Upper Cretaceous Horobetsugawa Complex structurally underlies the Naizawa Complex in its original configuration, and it also contains greenstone bodies. Greenstones in the MH‐Unit occur as blocks and sedimentary clasts in a clastic matrix, and exhibit depleted tholeiite and oceanic‐island alkaline basalt/tholeiite chemistry. This unit is interpreted as submarine slide and debris flow deposits. Greenstones in the PT‐Unit occur at the base of several chert‐clastic successions. Most of the greenstones are severely sheared and show normal‐type mid‐ocean ridge basalt composition. The PT‐Unit greenstones are considered to have been derived from abyssal basement peeled off during accretion. The different accretion mechanism of the greenstones in the Naizawa and Horobetsugawa complexes reflects temporal changes in subduction zone conditions. Seamount accretion and tectonic erosion were dominant in the Early Cretaceous, due to highly oblique subduction of the old oceanic crust and minimal sediment supply. Whereas, thick sediments with minor mid‐ocean ridge basalt and olistostrome accreted in the Late Cretaceous, due to near‐orthogonal subduction of young oceanic crust with voluminous sediment supply.     

Thermal histories of Cretaceous basins in Korea: Implications for response of the East Asian continental margin to subduction of the Paleo‐Pacific Plate

Thermal histories of Cretaceous sedimentary basins in the Korean peninsula have been assessed to understand the response of the East Asian continental margin to subduction of the Paleo‐Pacific (Izanagi) Plate. The Izanagi Plate subducted obliquely beneath the East Asian continent during the Early Cretaceous and orthogonally in the Late Cretaceous. First, the Jinan Basin, a pull‐apart basin, was studied by illite crystallinity and apatite fission‐track analyses. Analytical results indicate that Jinan Basin sediment was heated to a maximum temperature of approximately 287°C by burial. The sediment experienced two cooling episodes during ca 95–80 Ma and after ca 30 Ma, with a quiescent period between them. A similar cooling pattern is recognized in the Gyeongsang Basin, the largest Cretaceous basin in Korea. The Jinan and Gyeongsang Basins were cooled mainly by exhumation between ca 95 and 80 Ma, but the former was exhumed slightly earlier than the latter by transpressional force due to the subduction direction change of the Izanagi Plate. Comparison of thermal history of Korean Cretaceous basins with those of granitoids in northeastern China and the accretionary complexes in southwestern Japan reveals that the Upper Cretaceous regional exhumation of the East Asian continental margin including the Korean peninsula during ca 95–80 Ma was facilitated by the subduction of the Izanagi–Pacific ridge, which migrated northeastwards with time, resulting in the end of regional exhumation at ca 80 Ma in this region.     

Subduction and retreating of the western Pacific plate resulted in lithospheric mantle replacement and coupled basin-mountain respond in the North China Craton

The North China Craton (NCC) witnessed Mesozoic vigorous tectono-thermal activities and transition in the nature of deep lithosphere. These processes took place in three periods: (1) Late Paleozoic to Early Jurassic (～170 Ma); (2) Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (160–140 Ma); (3) Early Cretaceous to Cenozoic (140 Ma to present). The last two stages saw the lithospheric mantle replacement and coupled basin-mountain response within the North China Craton due to subduction and retreating of the Paleo-Pacific plate, and is the emphasis in this paper. In the first period, the subduction and closure of the Paleo- Asian Ocean triggered the back-arc extension, syn-collisional compression and then post-collisional extension accompanied by ubiquitous magmatism along the northern margin of the NCC. Similar processes happened in the southern margin of the craton as the subduction of the Paleo-Tethys ocean and collision with the South China Block. These processes had caused the chemical modification and mechanical destruction of the cratonic margins. The margins could serve as conduits for the asthenosphere upwelling and had the priority for magmatism and deformation. The second period saw the closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk ocean and the shear deformation and magmatism induced by the drifting of the Paleo-Pacific slab. The former led to two pulse of N-S trending compression (Episodes A and B of the Yanshan Movement) and thus the pre-existing continental marginal basins were disintegrated into sporadically basin and range province by the Mesozoic magmatic plutons and NE-SW trending faults. With the anticlockwise rotation of the Paleo-Pacific moving direction, the subduction-related magmatism migrated into the inner part of the craton and the Tanlu fault became normal fault from a sinistral one. The NCC thus turned into a back-arc extension setting at the end of this period. In the third period, the refractory subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) was firstly remarkably eroded and thinned by the subduction-induced asthenospheric upwelling, especially those beneath the weak zones (i.e., cratonic margins and the lithospheric Tanlu fault zone). Then a slightly lithospheric thickening occurred when the upwelled asthenosphere got cool and transformed to be lithospheric mantle accreted (～125 Ma) beneath the thinned SCLM. Besides, the magmatism continuously moved southeastward and the extensional deformations preferentially developed in weak zones, which include the Early Cenozoic normal fault transformed from the Jurassic thrust in the Trans-North Orogenic Belt, the crustal detachment and the subsidence of Bohai basin caused by the continuous normal strike slip of the Tanlu fault, the Cenozoic graben basins originated from the fault depression in the Trans-North Orogenic Belt, the Bohai Basin and the Sulu Orogenic belt. With small block size, inner lithospheric weak zones and the surrounding subductions/collisions, the Mesozoic NCC was characterized by (1) lithospheric thinning and crustal detachment triggered by the subduction-induced asthenospheric upwelling. Local crustal contraction and orogenesis appeared in the Trans-North Orogenic Belt coupled with the crustal detachment; (2) then upwelled asthenosphere got cool to be newly-accreted lithospheric mantle and crustal grabens and basin subsidence happened, as a result of the subduction zone retreating. Therefore, the subduction and retreating of the western Pacific plate is the outside dynamics which resulted in mantle replacement and coupled basin-mountain respond within the North China Craton. We consider that the Mesozoic decratonization of the North China Craton, or the Yanshan Movement, is a comprehensive consequence of complex geological processes proceeding surrounding and within craton, involving both the deep lithospheric mantle and shallow continental crust.     

合肥盆地构造热演化的裂变径迹证据

运用裂变径迹分析方法,探讨分析了合肥盆地中新生代的构造热演化特征. 上白垩统和古近系下段样品的磷灰石裂变径迹（AFT）数据主体表现为靠近部分退火带顶部温度(±65℃)有轻度退火,由此估算晚白垩世至古近纪早期合肥盆地断陷阶段的古地温梯度接近38℃/km,高于盆地现今地温梯度(275℃/km).下白垩统、侏罗系及二叠系样品的AFT年龄(975～25Ma)和锆石裂变径迹(ZFT)年龄(118～104Ma)均明显小于其相应的地层年龄,AFT年龄－深度分布呈现冷却型曲线形态,且由古部分退火带、冷却带或前完全退火带及其深部的今部分退火带组成,指示早白垩世的一次构造热事件和其随后的抬升冷却过程. 基于AFT曲线的温度分带模式和流体包裹体测温数据的综合约束,推算合肥盆地早白垩世走滑压陷阶段的古地温梯度接近67℃/km. 径迹年龄分布、AFT曲线拐点年龄和区域抬升剥蚀时间的对比分析结果表明,合肥盆地在早白垩世构造热事件之后的104Ma以来总体处于抬升冷却过程,后期快速抬升冷却事件主要发生在±55Ma.     

河南灵宝盆地中新生代陆相地层的新划分与对比研究

灵宝盆地位于华北板块南缘与秦岭造山带之间,是豫西北一系列北东-南西向断陷盆地之一.盆地内沉积地层主体为一套厚约2000m陆相碎屑岩夹泥灰岩、薄煤层沉积.本文根据盆地内的恐龙蛋、介形虫、腹足类、哺乳动物化石及少量孢粉等,将地层自下而上划分为下白垩统枣窳组、上白垩统南朝组、古近系古新统-下始新统项城群、中始新统川口组、上始新统庄里坡组及新近系上-中新世（组名暂未定）等6个地层单元.研究表明：下、上白垩统之间及其与项城群之间为不整合或超覆,上中新统与川口组或庄里坡组为不整合接触,整个地层是一套河流相沉积、局部洪泛洼地或小浅湖相沉积.     

Magmatism and metamorphism in the Ladakh Himalayas (the Indus-Tsangpo suture zone)

Ladakh (India) provides a complete geological section through the northwestern part of the Himalayas from Kashmir to Tibet. Within this section the magmatic, metamorphic and geotectonic evolution of the northern Himalayan orogeny has been studied using petrographic, geochemical and isotope analytical techniques.The beginning of the Himalayan cycle was marked by large basaltic extrusions (Panjal Trap) of Permian to Lower Triassic age at the “northern” margin of the Gondwana continent (Indian Shield). These continental type tholeiitic basalts were followed by a more alkaline volcanism within the Triassic to Jurassic Lamayuru unit of the Gondwana continental margin.Lower Jurassic to Cretaceous oceanic crust and sediments (ophiolitic mélange s.s.) accompany the Triassic to Cretaceous flysch deposits within the Indus-Tsangpo suture zone, the major structural divide between the Indian Shield (High Himalaya) and the Tibetan Platform. So far, no relic of Paleozoic oceanic crust has been found.Subduction of the Tethyan oceanic crust during Upper Jurassic and Cretaceous time produced an island arc represented by tholeiitic and calc-alkaline volcanic rock series (Dras volcanics) and related intrusives accompanied by volcaniclastic flysch deposits towards the Tibetan continental margin.Subsequent to the subduction of oceanic crust, large volumes of calc-alkaline plutons (Trans-Himalayan or Kangdese plutons) intruded the Tibetan continental margin over a distance of 2000 km and partly the Dras island arc in the Ladakh region.The collision of the Indian Shield and Tibetan Platform started during the middle to upper Eocene and caused large-scale, still active intracrustal thrusting as well as the piling up of the Himalayan nappes. The tectonically highest of these nappes is built up of oceanic crust and huge slices of peridotitic oceanic mantle (Spongtang klippe).In the High Himalayas the tectonic activity was accompanied and outlasted by a Barrovian-type metamorphism that affected Triassic sediments of the Kashmir-Nun-Kun synclinorium up to kyanite/staurolite grade and the deeper-seated units up to sillimanite grade. Cooling ages of micas are around 20 m.y. (muscovite) and 13 m.y. (biotite). Towards the Indus-Tsangpo suture zone metamorphism decreases with no obvious discontinuity through greenschist, prehnite-pumpellyite to zeolite grade. Remnants of possibly an Eo-Himalayan blueschist metamorphism have been found within thrust zones accompanying ophiolitic mélange in the suture zone.     

Baguio Mineral District: An oceanic arc witness to the geological evolution of northern Luzon,Philippines

The Baguio Mineral District exposes rock formations that evince the geological and tectonic evolution of this district from a subduction‐related marginal basin to an island arc setting. Available onshore and offshore data are consistent with an Early (onset phase) to Middle (developed phase) Miocene arc polarity reversal from the east (termination of subduction along the proto‐East Luzon Trough) to the west (initiation of subduction along the Manila Trench). Geophysical modeling and geochemical data calculation showed a 30 ± 5 km crustal thickness for the mineral district. Subduction‐related multiple arc magmatism and ophiolite accretion contributed to crustal thickening. Recent information on the Oligo–Miocene Zigzag and Klondyke formations in the mineral district reveal that the marginal basin, where these rocks were deposited, has received eroded materials from adjacent terrains characterized by siliceous lithologies. Furthermore, adakitic rocks, high permeable zones and extensional zones which are exploration markers applied to identify possible mineralization targets, are prevalent in the mineral district. The geological evolution that the district had undergone mimics the evolution of island arcs worldwide in general and northern Luzon in particular.     

Tectonic accretion of a subducted intraoceanic remnant arc in Cretaceous Hokkaido, Japan, and implications for evolution of the Pacific northwest

Abstract   An accretionary complex, which contains fragments of a remnant island arc, was newly recognized in the Cretaceous accretionary terranes in Hokkaido, Japan. It consists of volcanics, volcanic conglomerate, intermediate to ultramafic intrusive rocks with island-arc affinity including boninitic rocks, accompanied by chert and deformed terrigenous turbidites. Compared with the results of modern oceanic surveys, the preserved sequence from island-arc volcanics to chert, via reworked volcanics, is indicative of intraoceanic remnant arc, because the sequence suggests an inactive arc isolated within a pelagic environment before its accretion. The age of a subducting oceanic crust can be discontinuous before and after a remnant-arc subduction, resulting in abrupt changes in accretion style and metamorphism, as seen in Cretaceous Hokkaido. Subduction of such an intraoceanic remnant arc suggests that the subducted oceanic plate in the Cretaceous was not an extensive oceanic plate like the Izanagi and/or Kula Plates as previously believed by many authors, but a marginal basin plate having an arc–back-arc system like the present-day Philippine Sea Plate.     

Japan Sea: a pull-apart basin?

Recent field work in the Hokkaido Central Belt and marine geology studies along the eastern margin of Japan Sea in addition to previously published data lead us to propose a new model of opening of the Japan Sea. The synthesis of both on-land and offshore structural data gives new constraints about the structural evolution of the system. The rhombohedral shape of the Japan Basin and the particular tectonic behaviour of the margins on both east and west sides can be explained by an early Eo-Oligocene rifting of a pull-apart basin accommodated along two large right-lateral shear zones, east of Korea and west of northeast Japan and Sakhalin. It is followed, during Upper Oligocene/Lower Miocene, by the main opening of the Japan Basin as a mega pull-apart. Then a back-arc spreading probably related to the subduction process, induced the creation of the Yamato and Tsushima Basins at the end of Lower Miocene and in Middle Miocene. Clockwise rotation of southwest Japan larger than 20° or major bending of Honshu mainland deduced from paleomagnetic studies is unlikely at this time. Since 1 or 2 My B.P. to Present, compression prevails along the eastern margin of the Japan Sea. The generation of marginal basins as pull-apart basins along intracontinental strike-slip faults is a mechanism which has been proposed by other authors concerning the South China Sea, the question then is whether the fragmentation of the Asiatic continent is an intracontinental deformation related process as proposed here or a subduction related one.     

Link between SSZ ophiolite formation, emplacement and arc inception, Northland, New Zealand: U–Pb SHRIMP constraints; Cenozoic SW Pacific tectonic implications

New U–Pb age-data from zircons separated from a Northland ophiolite gabbro yield a mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 31.6 ± 0.2 Ma, providing support for a recently determined 28.3 ± 0.2 Ma SHRIMP age of an associated plagiogranite and  29–26 Ma ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages (n = 9) of basalts of the ophiolite. Elsewhere, Miocene arc-related calc-alkaline andesite dikes which intrude the ophiolitic rocks contain zircons which yield mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of 20.1 ± 0.2 and 19.8 ± 0.2 Ma. The ophiolite gabbro and the andesites both contain rare inherited zircons ranging from 122–104 Ma. The Early Cretaceous zircons in the arc andesites are interpreted as xenocrysts from the Mt. Camel basement terrane through which magmas of the Northland Miocene arc lavas erupted. The inherited zircons in the ophiolite gabbros suggest that a small fraction of this basement was introduced into the suboceanic mantle by subduction and mixed with mantle melts during ophiolite formation.

We postulate that the tholeiitic suite of the ophiolite represents the crustal segment of SSZ lithosphere (SSZL) generated in the southern South Fiji Basin (SFB) at a northeast-dipping subduction zone that was initiated at about 35 Ma. The subduction zone nucleated along a pre-existing transform boundary separating circa 45–20 Ma oceanic lithosphere to the north and west of the Northland Peninsula from nascent back arc basin lithosphere of the SFB. Construction of the SSZL propagated southward along the transform boundary as the SFB continued to unzip to the southeast. After subduction of a large portion of oceanic lithosphere by about 26 Ma and collision of the SSZL with New Zealand, compression between the Australian Plate and the Pacific Plate was taken up along a new southwest-dipping subduction zone behind the SSZL. Renewed volcanism began in the oceanic forearc at 25 Ma producing boninitic-like, SSZ and within-plate alkalic and calc-alkaline rocks. Rocks of these types temporally overlap ophiolite emplacement and subsequent Miocene continental arc construction.     

A migration model of magmatism explaining a ridge subduction, and its details on a statistical analysis of the granite ages in Cretaceous Southwest Japan

A migration model of magmatism based on the granite ages in Southwest Japan is proposed to explain the ridge subduction beneath the Eurasia continent as the cause of the along-arc and across-arc youngings of the granite ages and the very high activity of the magmatism in the Cretaceous. For the construction of the magmatic model, the localities of the granite age samples are denoted by the cartesian coordinates X and Y, which are measured along and normal to the Median Tectonic Line (MTL), respectively, and their ages are set corresponding to the coordinate Z vertical to the X–Y plane. The age trend is then formulated by a regression plane of Z on X and Y, which inclines in both directions along and normal to the MTL, and approximates the ages with the very high multiple correlation coefficient 0.91. Evaluating the magmatic trend by such a method, various characteristics of the activities can be taken easily; for example, the isochronous line of the magmatism, which is an intersection of the regression plane and an arbitrary horizontal plane, is found to extend landward obliquely across the continental margin. The migrating rate of the isochronous line along the MTL is also taken to be 2.8 cm/year as a reciprocal of the inclination of the along-arc younging. The isochronous line is speculated to be the out-cropped manifestation of the subcrustal linear heat source. Such a migrating linear heat source is probably due to the subduction of an active ridge, the Kula (or Izanagi)–Pacific ridge in the Cretaceous. The migration model of magmatism harmonizes very well with the plates and the ridge motions in the East Asia area during the late Mesozoic. The ridge subduction is one of the important phenomena that explain the unusually active arc magmatism and the migrating slab window; it is important to grasp dynamically the geological messages issued from the system.     

The transition from calc-alkaline to potassic orogenic magmatism in the Aeolian Islands,Southern Italy

The Aeolian volcanic arc displays a wide range of magmatic products. Mafic lavas range from hypersthene normative calc-alkaline basalts to silica-undersaturated potassic absarokites, although the former are spatially and temporally dominant, consistent with the subduction-zone tectonic setting. In addition, intermediate and acidic members of the various fractionation series may be recognised. Large variations in trace element and isotope ratios accompany the rapid calc-alkaline to potassic transition, and it is argued that these may be largely explained in terms of subduction-zone mantle enrichment involving components derived from both basaltic ocean crust and subducted sediments. In addition, it seems that the mantle wedge itself was substantially heterogeneous prior to the onset of subduction zone processes. Not only are these subduction components similar to those proposed in a number of island arcs, but they also resemble those recognised in the ultra-potassic lavas of the Roman province, supporting recent subduction-related petrogenetic models of the Roman magmatism. Although subducted sediment plays an important role in the generation of some potassic magmatism, it is not uniquely responsible for K₂O-rich lavas, which are also produced without a large sediment contribution.     

大别造山带地壳结构反演及其动力学意义

大别造山带是全球最大的碰撞造山带之一,三叠纪时期,扬子板块深俯冲至地幔的200km处,经历了超高压变质作用。白垩纪早期,该造山带发生了强烈的伸展和垮塌,以及大规模的后造山地幔源岩浆侵入和火山活动。本研究收集了大别造山带及其邻区(29°~34°N、114°~119°E)的震相资料,采用双差层析成像技术,对大别造山带地壳结构进行反演,研究地壳结构与后造山地幔源岩浆侵入和火山活动之间的关系。结果显示,大别造山带中上地壳存在低速结构,该低速结构可能是熔融的幔源侵入物质,由于俯冲板片断裂,或下地壳/岩石圈发生拆沉,导致软流圈物质上涌至地壳底部、侵入地壳中,形成大别造山带地壳中的低速结构;同时,合肥盆地显示为低速区,可能是受浅部沉积层影响。研究中横切大别山的4条剖面显示,该地区下方存在北向倾斜高速结构,该高速结构可能是襄樊-广济断层,或者是扬子板块向华北板块下方俯冲的遗迹。     

Field and geochemical data bearing on the development of a mesozoic volcano-tectonic rift zone and back-arc basin in southernmost South America

A broad zone of dominantly subaerial silicic volcanism associated with regional extensional faulting developed in southern South America during the Middle Jurassic, contemporaneously with the initiation of plutonism along the present Pacific continental margin. Stratigraphic variations observed in cross sections through the silicic Jurassic volcanics along the Pacific margin of southernmost South America indicate that this region of the rift zone developed as volcanism continued during faulting, subsidence and marine innundation. A deep, fault-bounded submarine trough formed near the Pacific margin of the southern part of the volcano-tectonic rift zone during the Late Jurassic. Tholeiitic magma intruded within the trough formed the mafic portion of the floor of this down-faulted basin. During the Early Cretaceous this basin separated an active calc-alkaline volcanic arc, founded on a sliver of continental crust, from the then volcanically quiescent South American continent. Geochemical data suggest that the Jurassic silicic volcanics along the Pacific margin of the volcano-tectonic rift zone were derived by crustal anatexis. Mafic lavas and sills which occur within the silicic volcanics have geochemical affinities with both the tholeiitic basalts forming the ophiolitic lenses which are the remnants of the mafic part of the back-arc basin floor, and also the calc-alkaline rocks of the adjacent Patagonian batholith and their flanking lavas which represent the eroded late Mesozoic calc-alkaline volcanic arc. The source of these tholeiitic and calc-alkaline igneous rocks was partially melted upper mantle material. The igneous and tectonic processes responsible for the development of the volcano-tectonic rift zone and the subsequent back-arc basin are attributed to diapirism in the upper mantle beneath southern South America. The tectonic setting and sequence of igneous and tectonic events suggest that diapirism may have been initiated in response to subduction.     

Radiolarian‐based study on the fabric and the formation process of the Early Cretaceous mélange near Zhongba,Yarlung–Tsangpo Suture Zone,southern Tibet

The Yarlung–Tsangpo Suture Zone (YTSZ), as the southernmost and youngest among the sutures that subdivides the Tibetan Plateau into several east–west trending blocks, marks where the Neo‐Tethys was consumed as the Indian continent moved northward and collided against the Eurasian continent. Mélanges in the YTSZ represent the remnants of the oceanic plate through subduction and collision. Mélanges are characterized by a highly sheared volcanoclastic or siliceous mudstone matrix including blocks of chert, claystone, and basalt. Detailed radiolarian analyses are conducted on the mélange near Zhongba County. Macroscopic, mesoscopic, and microscopic observations are combined in order to elucidate the relationships among age, lithology, and structure of blocks in the mélange. Reconstructed ocean plate stratigraphy includes Lower Jurassic limestone within the chert sequence accumulated at a depth near the CCD (Unit 2), Upper Jurassic thin‐bedded chert interbedded with claystone deposited in the wide ocean basin (Unit 3), and Lower Cretaceous chert with siliceous mudstone (Units 4 and 5), representing the middle parts of ocean plate stratigraphy. The results highlight the fabric of brecciated chert on mesoscopic scale, which is thought to be due to localized overpressure. The formation of mesoscopic and microscopic block‐in‐matrix fabrics in the mélange is proposed for the chert and siliceous mudstone bearing different extents of consolidation and competence during the progressive deformation of accreted sediments at shallow‐level subduction.