Reconstruction of the mid-Devonian HP-HT metamorphic event in the Bohemian Massif (European Variscan belt)

Mid-Devonian high-pressure (HP) and high-temperature (HT) metamorphism represents an enigmatic early phase in the evolution of the Variscan Orogeny. Within the Bohemian Massif this metamorphism is recorded mostly in allochthonous complexes with uncertain relationship to the major tectonic units. In this regard, the Mariánské Lázně Complex (MLC) is unique in its position at the base of its original upper plate (Teplá-Barrandian Zone). The MLC is composed of diverse, but predominantly mafic, magmatic-metamorphic rocks with late Ediacaran to mid-Devonian protolith ages. Mid-Devonian HP eclogite-facies metamorphism was swiftly followed by a HT granulite-facies overprint contemporaneous with the emplacement of magmatic rocks with apparent supra-subduction affinity. New Hf in zircon isotopic measurements combined with a review of whole-rock isotopic and geochemical data reveals that the magmatic protoliths of the MLC, as well as in the upper plate Teplá-Barrandian Zone, developed above a relatively unaltered Neoproterozoic lithospheric mantle. They remained coupled with this lithospheric mantle throughout a geological timeframe that encompasses separate Ediacaran and Cambrian age arc magmatism, protracted early Paleozoic rifting, and the earliest phases of the Variscan Orogeny. These results are presented in the context of reconstructing the original architecture of the Variscan terranes up to and including the mid-Devonian HP-HT event.     

New constraints on the origin and age of Variscan eclogitic rocks (Ligurian Alps,Italy)

Gabbro and eclogite boudins are preserved within the amphibolites of the composite para- and ortho-gneiss Variscan basement of the Savona Crystalline Massif (Ligurian Briançonnais, Italy). Whole rock trace element patterns, low initial εNd (+5.4 to +8.8) data and trace element analyses on relict igneous clinopyroxene revealed that the mafic rocks were derived from depleted mantle melts, which most likely underwent crustal contamination during emplacement. Gabbros have a cumulus origin controlled by clinopyroxene and plagioclase segregation, whereas the eclogites represent evolved melts. U-Pb and trace element micro-analyses on zircons separated from one amphibolitised gabbro and one eclogite help to constrain coeval ages at ~468 Ma for their igneous protoliths. The occurrence of a few inherited zircons confirms the involvement of a crustal component in the petrogenesis of the mafic rocks. In the eclogite, concordant zircon ages younger than the protolith age testify to metamorphic re-crystallisation (or new growth) from about 420 to 305 Ma. Zircon textures and trace element compositions indicate that eclogite facies metamorphism occurred 392–376 Ma ago. The younger zircon portions yielding a mean Concordia age of 333 ± 7 Ma are related to equilibration or new growth during the post-eclogite, amphibolite-facies equilibration.     

青藏高原北羌塘榴辉岩质下地质及富集型地幔源区——来自新生代火山岩的岩石地球化学证据

利用岩石地球化学的方法，研究了北羌塘新生代火山岩，结果表明，北羌塘第三纪火山岩可区分为碱性（钾玄岩质）和高钾钙碱两套不同的火山岩组合，它们分别起源于一个特殊的，不均一的富集型上地幔和一个加厚陆壳的榴辉岩质下地壳，由于青藏陆块之下软流层物质的上涌而形成幔源碱性岩浆活动，而幔源岩浆在Mobo面的底侵作用又为下地壳中酸性高钾钙碱系列火山岩的起源提供了热动力条件，该区两套不同系列和源区类型的火山岩正是在这种特殊的构造环境中形成。     

西藏南部绒布地区基性岩脉岩石地球化学、年代学特征及地质意义

绒布地区位于西藏南部特提斯喜马拉雅构造域中段北缘,夹持于北侧邛多江断裂和南侧的绒布-古堆断裂之间。该地区发育大量的基性岩脉。通过岩石学、年代学及岩石地球化学等方面的研究,认为区内出露的基性岩脉类型为辉绿玢岩、辉长辉绿岩及辉长岩等。辉绿玢岩结晶年龄为137. 3±1. 6Ma,具有E-MORB的特征,未遭受岩石圈地幔或地壳混染,主要形成于大洋板内环境,受洋中脊源区的影响明显。辉长辉绿岩、辉长岩结晶年龄为147. 3±3. 6Ma,与时代接近的拉康组、桑秀组基性火山岩具有相同OIB的地球化学特征,带有岩石圈地幔物质混染的痕迹,形成于强烈拉伸的大陆边缘裂谷环境。晚侏罗世-早白垩世特提斯喜马拉雅被动陆缘处于强烈拉伸、岩石圈减薄的构造背景之下,OIB型辉长辉绿岩及辉长岩与措美大火成岩省诸多OIB型基性岩具有相似岩石成因,是大陆裂谷背景下Kerguelen地幔柱与岩石圈地幔相互作用的产物;而E-MORB型辉绿玢岩则可能是靠近大陆边缘的热点以下地幔柱与软流圈地幔相互作用的产生的岩浆沿区域深大断裂运移至大陆边缘侵位的结果。OIB型辉长辉绿岩、辉长岩的结晶年龄明显早于Kerguelen地幔柱活动的峰期(132Ma),可能是地幔柱早期活动的产物; E-MORB型辉绿玢岩的存在可作为目前对于措美大火成岩省基性岩脉类型的补充,对认识措美大火成岩省具有一定的意义。     

Garnet pyroxenite and eclogite in the Bohemian Massif: geochemical evidence for Variscan recycling of subducted lithosphere

High-temperature, high-pressure eclogite and garnet pyroxenite occur as lenses in garnet peridotite bodies of the Gföhl nappe in the Bohemian Massif. The high-pressure assemblages formed in the mantle and are important for allowing investigations of mantle compositions and processes. Eclogite is distinguished from garnet pyroxenite on the basis of elemental composition, with mg number <80, Na₂O > 0.75 wt.%, Cr₂O₃ < 0.15 wt.% and Ni < 400 ppm. Considerable scatter in two-element variation diagrams and the common modal layering of some eclogite bodies indicate the importance of crystal accumulation in eclogite and garnet pyroxenite petrogenesis. A wide range in isotopic composition of clinopyroxene separates [_Nd, +5.4 to –6.0; (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_i, 0.70314–0.71445; ¹⁸O_SMOW, 3.8–5.8%o] requires that subducted oceanic crust is a component in some melts from which eclogite and garnet pyroxenite crystallized. Variscan Sm-Nd ages were obtained for garnet-clinopyroxene pairs from Dobeovice eclogite (338 Ma), Úhrov eclogite (344 Ma) and Nové Dvory garnet pyroxenite (343 Ma). Gföhl eclogite and garnet pyroxenite formed by high-pressure crystal accumulation (±trapped melt) from transient melts in the lithosphere, and the source of such melts was subducted, hydrothermally altered oceanic crust, including subducted sediments. Much of the chemical variation in the eclogites can be explained by simple fractional crystallization, whereas variation in the pyroxenites indicates fractional crystallization accompanied by some assimilation of the peridotite host.     

Geochronology and Nd-Sr systematics of Lusatian granitoids: significance for the evolution of the Variscan orogen in east-central Europe

A variety of pre-Variscan granitoids and two Variscan monzogranites occurring in the central and western parts of the Lusatian Granodiorite Complex (LGC), Saxonia were dated by the single zircon evaporation method, complemented by whole rock Nd isotopic data and Rb-Sr whole rock and mineral ages. The virtually undeformed pre-Variscan granitoids constitute a genetically related, mostly peraluminous magmatic suite, ranging in composition from two-mica granodiorite, muscovitebearing biotite quartz diorite (tonalite) and granodiorite to biotite granodiorite and monozogranite. ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb isotopic ratios derived from the evaporation of single zircons separated from 13 samples representing the above rock types display complex spectra which document significant involvement of late Archaean to late Proterozoic continental crust in the generation of the granitoid melts. Mean ²⁰⁷/Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages for zircons considered to reflect the time of igneous emplacement range between 542 ± 9 and 587 ± 17 Ma, typical of the Cadomian event elsewhere in Europe, whereas zircon xenocrysts yielded ages between 706 ± 13 and 2932 ± Ma. Detrital zircons from greywackes intruded by the granitoids and found as xenoliths in them provided ages between 1136 ± 22 and 2 574 ± Ma. Rb-Sr whole rock data display good to reasonable linear arrays that, with one exception, correspond to the emplacement ages established for the zircons. Two post-tectonic Variscan monzogranites yielded identical ²⁰⁷/Pb/²⁰⁶Pb single zircon ages of 304 ± 14 Ma and record the end of Variscan granitoid activity in the LGC.The variations in Nd and Sr isotopic data of the Cadomian granitoids are consistent with an origin through the melting and mixing of Archean to early Proterozoic crust with variable proportions of mantle-derived, juvenile magmas. Such mixing may have occurred at the base of an active continental margin or in an intraplate setting through plume-related magmatic underplating. The LGC is interpreted here as a Cadomian (Pan-African) terrane distinct from adjacent Variscan and pre-Variscan domains, the origin of which remains obscure and which probably became involved in Palaeozoic terrane accretion late in the Variscan event.     

Contribution of magmatism,partial melting buffering and localized crustal thinning on the late Variscan thermal structure of the Agly massif (French Pyrenees)

Low pressure-high temperature (LPHT) metamorphism, with geothermal gradients in the order of 50–100°C/km, is a common feature of the late evolution of collisional orogens. These abnormal thermal conditions may be the results of complex interactions between magmatism, metamorphism and deformation. The Agly massif, in the French Pyrenees, preserves the metamorphic footprints of the late Variscan thermal structure of an almost continuous section from the upper and middle continental crust. The upper crust is characterized by a very high geothermal gradient of ~55°C/km, evolving from greenschist to amphibolite facies, while the middle crust, exposed in a gneissic core, exhibits granulite facies conditions with a near isothermal geothermal gradient (<8°C/km) between 740 and 790°C. The abnormal and discontinuous crustal geothermal gradient, dated at c. 305 Ma on syn-granulitic monazite by LA-ICP-MS, is interpreted to be the result of magmatic intrusions at different structural levels in the crust: the Ansignan charnockite (c. 305 Ma) in the deepest part of the gneissic core, the Tournefort granodiorite (c. 308 Ma) at the interface between the gneissic core and the upper crust and the Saint-Arnac granite (c. 304 Ma) in the upper section of the massif. The heat input from these magmas combined with the thermal buffering effect of the biotite dehydration-melting reaction resulted in the near isothermal geothermal gradient in the gneissic core (melt-enhanced geotherm). The higher geothermal gradient (>50°C/km) in the upper crust is only due to conduction between the hot middle crust and the Earth's surface. The estimated maximum finite pressure range suggests that ~10 to 12 km of crust are exposed in the Agly massif while the present-day thickness does not exceed 5–6 km. This pressure/depth gap is consistent with the presence of several normal mylonitic shear zones that could have contributed to the subtraction of ~5 km of the rock pile. Monazite U–Th–Pb ages carried out on monazite overgrowths from a highly mylonitized sample suggest that this vertical thinning of the massif occurred at c. 296–300 Ma. This later Variscan extension might have slightly perturbed the 305 Ma geothermal gradient, resulting in an apparent higher conductive geothermal gradient in the upper crust. Although the Agly massif has been affected by Cretaceous extension and Eocene Alpine compression, we suggest that most of the present-day thickness of the column rock was acquired by the end of the Palaeozoic.     

Middle and Late Carboniferous extension In the Variscan Belt: structural and petrological evidences from the Vosges massif (Eastern France)

Abstract

In the Moldanubian domain of the Vosges massif (INK France) euperimposition of three distinct crustal units has been attributed to Middle to Late Carboniferous thrusting. Л kinematic analysis of mierostuetures within each unit suggests that extension, following the formation of a Stack of nappes, is actually responsible for the bulk structure of this region. In order to estimate the related exhumation, the temperature and pressure evolution of the lowermost unit is investigated. It is characterised by (i) a prograde evolution within the stability field of kyanite, followed by (ii) a syn-kinematic, 3-4 kbar, near-isothermal decompression before (iii) cooling. Thermal modeling shows that the isothermal decompression may be related to rapid exhumation (> I mm.a^-1), which cannot be accounted for by erosion alone. Therefore, exhumation is best explained by extensional processes, possibly related to gravitational collapse of a thickened crust.     

Geochronology and geochemistry of Middle Devonian mafic dykes in the East Kunlun orogenic belt,Northern Tibet Plateau: Implications for the transition from Prototethys to Paleotethys orogeny

The tectonic transition from Prototethys to Paleotethys orogeny in the East Kunlun orogenic belt is not completely clear, and is a major unresolved geologic issue in Northern Tibet Plateau. Here, we present zircon geochronology, whole-rock elemental and zircon Hf isotopic geochemistry for newly discovered mafic dykes in the East Kunlun orogenic belt, to provide constraints on this issue. The studied mafic dykes are hornblende gabbros, consisting of hornblende (60–65 vol.%), plagioclase (15–25 vol.%) and augite and biotite (0–5 vol.%). LA–ICP–MS zircon U–Pb dating shows that these mafic dykes were emplaced at about 393 Ma. All the mafic dykes are characterized by high contents of CaO (8.82–11.48 wt.%), MgO (9.07–11.39 wt.%), V (275–336 ppm), Cr (370–467 ppm) and Ni (78.3–120 ppm), with high Mg# (63–67), flat CI-normalized REE distribution and depleted ?Hf(t) values (2.03–5.35), showing tholeiitic affinities and geochemical characteristics similar to those of mid-ocean ridge basalts. They were derived from low degree (about 5–15%) partial melting of a fertile spinel lherzolite source, which have been metasomatized by fluids introduced to the mantle by former subducted slab. The geologic–petrologic evidence suggests that the mafic dykes were emplaced in a shift tectonic setting related to continental rifting, which was caused by the extensional collapse related to the lithospheric thinning after the Prototethys orogeny. The delamination-induced thermal disturbance and extensional decompression triggered partial melting of the mantle and the emplacement of the mafic dykes. Combined with previous work, we propose that the Middle Devonian mafic dykes may be the early magmatic response to the transition from Prototethys to Paleotethys marking the opening of the Paleotethys in the East Kunlun orogenic belt.     

河南嵩山地区新太古代TTG质片麻岩的成因及其地质意义：来自岩石学、地球化学及同位素年代学的制约

河南嵩山地区位于华北克拉通南缘,是我国记录前寒武纪地质的典型地区之一。该区广泛出露新太古代TTG质片麻岩套,主要以英云闪长岩类为主,闪长岩类次之,测得的锆石SHRIMP年龄在2600~2500Ma。该套TTG质片麻岩富Na₂O(3%~7%)、SiO₂(>67%)、贫铁、镁,高的Na₂O/K₂O比值（多在1.5~5.2）,Al₂O₃=13.72%~16.37%,A/CNK=0.97~1.21,属英云闪长岩-奥长花岗岩系列,显示新太古代富铝型TTG岩石特征。岩石富Sr (平均433×10^-6),Rb/Sr比值(<0.5) 较低,Sr/Y比值高(平均165),Nb、Ta和Ti负异常,∑REE偏低,强烈分异((La/Yb) _N=27~150),基本无Eu异常,低的Nb/Ta(14左右)、La/Nb (平均约为7)比值及其它微量元素特征表明其与岛弧或大陆边缘弧玄武质岩石特征相似。全岩Nd同位素和锆石Hf同位素数据显示岩石源区是来自亏损地幔的约2.66Ga的初生地壳;Mg^#值变化较大反映存在地幔楔不同程度的混染。地球化学特征指示该岩浆是在较高温度和压力(约700~1000℃,>1.5Gpa)下由俯冲的含水玄武质洋壳部分熔融形成,残留相中有石榴石和角闪石而不含斜长石。嵩山地区TTG片麻岩的这种成因机制表明当时陆壳以水平方式增生,也说明在随后的2.5Ga左右微陆块碰撞拼合事件之前不同陆块之间很可能被一个古大洋所分隔。     

Geochronological and petrological constraints from the evolution in the Saxon Granulite Massif,Germany, on the Variscan continental collision orogeny

Controversy over the plate tectonic affinity and evolution of the Saxon granulites in a two‐ or multi‐plate setting during inter‐ or intracontinental collision makes the Saxon Granulite Massif a key area for the understanding of the Palaeozoic Variscan orogeny. The massif is a large dome structure in which tectonic slivers of metapelite and metaophiolite units occur along a shear zone separating a diapir‐like body of high‐P granulite below from low‐P metasedimentary rocks above. Each of the upper structural units records a different metamorphic evolution until its assembly with the exhuming granulite body. New age and petrologic data suggest that the metaophiolites developed from early Cambrian protoliths during high‐P amphibolite facies metamorphism in the mid‐ to late‐Devonian and thermal overprinting by the exhuming hot granulite body in the early Carboniferous. A correlation of new Ar–Ar biotite ages with published P–T–t data for the granulites implies that exhumation and cooling of the granulite body occurred at average rates of ~8 mm/year and ~80°C/Ma, with a drop in exhumation rate from ~20 to ~2.5 mm/year and a slight rise in cooling rate between early and late stages of exhumation. A time lag of c. 2 Ma between cooling through the closure temperatures for argon diffusion in hornblende and biotite indicates a cooling rate of 90°C/Ma when all units had assembled into the massif. A two‐plate model of the Variscan orogeny in which the above evolution is related to a short‐lived intra‐Gondwana subduction zone conflicts with the oceanic affinity of the metaophiolites and the timescale of c. 50 Ma for the metamorphism. Alternative models focusing on the internal Variscan belt assume distinctly different material paths through the lower or upper crust for strikingly similar granulite massifs. An earlier proposed model of bilateral subduction below the internal Variscan belt may solve this problem.     

冀北北岔沟门地区中生代侵入岩地质年代学和地球化学特征研究

北岔沟门地区广泛分布中生代侵入岩体.本文选取了该地区有代表性的8个岩体进行地质年代学和地球化学研究,旨在建立其年代格架并探讨岩石的成因演化.主要岩石类型为闪长玢岩、花岗闪长岩、石英二长岩、二长花岗岩、钾长花岗岩等.颗粒级锆石的U-Pb同位素测年数据表明所研究的岩体主要有三期早三叠世(245～250Ma)、晚侏罗世(140～147Ma)和早白垩世(125～137Ma).地球化学数据表明岩石普遍具有较高的钾含量、准铝质,主要属高钾钙碱性系列,部分为橄榄玄粗岩系列.岩石不同程度地显示轻稀土元素富集、高场强元素(HFSE)和大离子亲石性元素(LILE)解偶等特点.进一步的岩石地球化学研究表明区内侵入岩可划分为高BaSr和低BaSr两种类型,其中高BaSr型具有高Al2O3(≥15%)、Sr(≥400×10-6) 和低Y(≤18×10-6)、Yb(≤1.9×10-6),高的Na2O/K2O(>1), Sr/Y(>20)、La/Yb(≥10)比值;较高的Mg#(38.47～57.78)、具正的或弱的铕负异常等地球化学特征,这些特征与埃达克岩具有某些相似性;而低BaSr型岩石SiO2、K2O、Y、Yb含量相对较高、Al2O3、Sr、Ba含量相对较低、具明显的铕负异常等地球化学特征.尽管两类岩石在时空上密切共生,但可能具有不同的源区和成因机制.综合研究表明本区中生代侵入岩总体形成在加厚地壳的构造背景下,与底侵作用或壳幔相互作用有关.     

Evolution of the Neoproterozoic Delgo suture zone and crustal growth in Northern Sudan: geochemical and radiogenic isotope constraints

In the Delgo basement area of northern Sudan, low to medium grade metamorphosed volcanic, sedimentary and plutonic rocks are surrounded by high grade gneisses. A NNE-SSW trending suture zone can be defined by the lithological, chemical and structural characteristics of several distinct units. The early Proterozoic gneiss terrain is overlain by metasedimentary units, the metamorphism of which has been dated by the Sm-Nd whole rock-mineral technique (702 ± 27 Ma in the west, 592 ± 16 Ma in the east). In the central part, the Abu Sari volcanic rocks show geochemical signatures of formation at an arc, with a protracted tholeiitic, calc-alkaline and shoshonitic evolution. The overlying El Hamri ophiolite contains chemical features of a back-arc tectonic environments. The ophiolite was dated by the Sm-Nd whole rock method on metagabbros at 752 ± 48 Ma. The further extension of this oceanic basin into the Jebel Rahib in the south-west was dated at 707 ± 54 Ma (Sm-Nd whole rock and minerals).Widespread suite of syn-tectonic granitoid intrusives displays subduction-related characteristics. They where emplaced between 650 to 760 Ma (Pb-zircon evaporation method). Their Nd and Sr isotopic compositions indicate a changing pattern of island arc to active continental margin character along an east-west transect and suggest a west to north-west dipping subduction zone. All units were juxtaposed at the minimum age of 600 Ma and rearranged during an extensional event, which was dated by the Rb-Sr thin slab technique (546 ± 19 Ma) on a migmatite. The Delgo suture provides evidence of a complex terrane pattern in north-east Africa and crustal growth during the Pan-African event by the addition of oceanic material to pre-existing continental crust.     

Southern margin of the Variscan belt: the north-western Gondwana mobile zone (eastern Morocco and Northern Algeria)

Stratigraphic and structural correlations between the Palaeozoic massifs of eastern Morocco and northern Algeria allow three tectonic domains to be distinguished: (1) The cratonic zone, i.e. the West African platform which remained outside the Variscan chain and its peripherical margin (Moroccan Anti-Atlas and Algerian Ougarta); (2) a WSW-ENE trending zone, over 1500 km from Marrakech to Kabylia and Calabria (in their assumed Palaeozoic location). — This zone was characterized during the Late Palaeozoic by a continuous instability indicated by the development of successive turbiditic basins and a major orogeny at the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary; and (3) central and western Morocco, which corresponds to the external zones of the European Hercynides.The Marrakech-Kabylia zone separates the Variscan domain from the stable and undeformed West African craton. During Early Palaeozoic times it began as an extensive or transtensive zone. It has been deformed by the Late Devonian orogeny and by Carboniferous and Permian reactivation. The zone represents the southern limit of the Hercynian chain and is distinguished by its transcurrent regime throughout the Late Palaeozoic. Correspondence to: A. Piqué     

Structural,AMS and geochronological study of a laccolith emplaced during Late Variscan orogenic extension: the Rocles pluton (SE French Massif Central)

In the southern French Massif Central, the Rocles leucogranite of Variscan age consists of three petrographic facies; textural analysis shows that they experienced the same subsolidus deformation. New chemical U-Th-Pb dating on monazite yielded 324 ± 4 Ma and 325 ± 5 Ma ages for muscovite-rich and biotite-rich facies respectively. AMS-study results agree with petrostructural observations. The magnetic planar and linear fabrics, which correspond to the preferred orientation of biotite and muscovite, are consistent with the foliation and lineation defined by the preferred mineral orientation. This fabric developed during pluton emplacement. The accordance of this granite foliation with that observed in the host rock, suggests that the Rocles pluton is a laccolith, but its present geometry resulted from post-emplacement southward tilting due to the uplift of the Late Carboniferous Velay dome. Restoration of the primary geometry of the pluton and its country-rocks to a flat-lying attitude places the granite lineation close to the trend measured in other plutons of the area. This restoration further supports the interpretation of the Rocles laccolith as a pluton emplaced along a tectonic contact reactivated during the late-orogenic collapse of the Variscan Belt.     

新疆北山地区旋窝岭镁铁-超镁铁岩体的年代学、岩石矿物学和地球化学研究

新疆北山地区的旋窝岭岩体侵位于下石炭统红柳园组变质砂岩中,辉长岩的锆石SIMSU-Pb定年结果为260.7±2.0Ma,晚于区域上其它岩体的成岩年龄。该岩体由橄榄岩、橄长岩、橄榄辉长岩和辉长岩组成,岩石较新鲜,具有典型的包橄结构和辉长结构,各岩性中均可见斜长石,而斜方辉石仅在辉长岩中出现。橄榄石的Fo值在80～85之间,NiO含量介于0.1%～0.2%之间;单斜辉石主要为普通辉石和透辉石,斜方辉石为古铜辉石。这些镁铁质矿物和斜长石成分与全岩的地球化学特征具有很好的相关性,说明该岩体母岩浆的演化过程主要受控于结晶分异作用。全岩的MgO含量在9.5%～21.8%之间,具有平坦的稀土配分型式和正Eu异常以及微量元素Nb、Zr、Hf的负异常等。因此,旋窝岭岩体可能是在北山裂谷形成过程中由于岩石圈地幔高程度部分熔融形成的高镁玄武质岩浆分异演化的产物,具有一定的铜镍硫化物矿床的成矿潜力。     

Middle Miocene peralkaline ignimbrites in the Hermosillo region (Sonora, Mexico): Geodynamic implications

Scattered ignimbritic mesas crop out in the Hermosillo region (Sonora, Mexico). These rocks that have been dated at 12.5 Ma (Middle Miocene) have the petrography and chemical characteristics of comendites. Such a flare-up of peralkaline acidic volcanism, after a long period of subduction-related arc volcanism, emphasises an important change in the source of volcanism. It corresponds to the latest stage of continental extension prior to the marine invasion and the development of spreading centres in the Gulf of California. To cite this article: J. Vidal Solano et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

五台杂岩晚太古代花岗质岩石中斜长角闪岩包体的年代学和地球化学研究

华北克拉通中部造山带被认为是由东西部陆块碰撞而产生的陆陆碰撞带,而恒山-五台-阜平地区位于中部造山带的中部,是该地区最大也是最具代表性的基底岩石剖面。总体上,五台杂岩可以分为变质表壳岩和花岗质岩体两大类,前者又被划分为五台群和滹沱群,而后者可划分为2560~2520Ma侵位的强烈变形的闪长岩-英云闪长岩-奥长花岗岩-花岗闪长岩系列、2176~2084Ma侵位的弱变形的斑状正长-钾质花岗岩以及约1810Ma侵位的未变形的A型花岗岩。在晚太古代花岗岩中普遍发育有斜长角闪岩包体,它们在露头上不连续分布,呈绿色到黑色,强烈拉伸成扁条状或透镜状,直径一般在几米到十几米之间。根据地球化学特征恢复它们的原岩为拉斑玄武岩。锆石U-Pb定年结果表明它们的结晶时代为2.7Ga,变质时代为1.85Ga。全岩εNd(t)值为-3.1~+3.5,亏损地幔模式年龄为2.83~3.65Ga。原始地幔均一化蛛网图解上,斜长角闪岩具有明显的Nb、Ta和Ti的负异常,而在球粒陨石均一化稀土元素配分图解中它们具有轻稀土弱富集[(La/Yb)N=1.36~3.52]以及重稀土平坦[(Gd/Yb)N=0.94~1.38]的特征。地球化学以及同位素特征表明它们很可能来自于受到俯冲板片流体改造的轻度富集地幔中尖晶石二辉橄榄岩的部分熔融。更重要地,这些斜长角闪岩包体的锆石U-Pb年龄与全岩Nd亏损地幔模式年龄相似,都为27~28亿年左右,这说明在华北克拉通中部造山带很可能存在过大量的27亿年左右的新生地壳岩石,它们代表了一期重要的地壳生长事件。     

内蒙古固阳绿岩带三合明BIF型铁矿的形成时代、地球化学特征及地质意义

三合明BIF型铁矿位于华北克拉通西部陆块北缘,产出于固阳绿岩带。矿体赋存于新太古界色尔腾山群斜长角闪岩中。矿石主要呈粒状变晶结构、粒状-针柱状变晶结构,条带-条纹状构造;组成矿石的金属矿物主要为磁铁矿,非金属矿物主要为石英,次为角闪石等。对选自斜长角闪岩中的锆石进行SIMS U-Pb定年,具有核边结构、Th/U比大于0.4的锆石其核部给出了2562±14Ma的上交点年龄,可大致作为三合明BIF的形成时代。原岩恢复显示斜长角闪岩为正变质岩,Zr/Ti-Nb/Y图解显示为亚碱性玄武岩系列,Fe₂O₃^T+TiO₂-Al₂O₃-MgO图解落入高铁拉斑玄武岩区;斜长角闪岩主量元素特征与MORB相近,REE配分曲线和蛛网图都近于平坦,且介于N-MORB和E-MORB之间,LREE略微富集,Th、U相对亏损,Nb、Ta、Zr和Hf无明显异常;(La/Sm)_N和Nb/U分别为0.76和50,由此推断原岩可能为T-MORB。Ti-V、Th-Hf-Ta构造环境判别图解中,分别落入MORB和弧后盆地的重叠区、N-MORB区。结合T-MORB形成的构造环境以及前人提出的岛弧叠加地幔柱模式,本文认为三合明BIF形成于弧后盆地并有地幔柱叠加的构造环境。铁矿石化学组分主要为SiO₂、Fe₂O₃和FeO,较低的Al₂O₃(0.68%)、极低的TiO₂(0.04%)和HFSE表明只有极少量陆源碎屑物质的加入。铁矿石的球粒陨石标准化REE配分模式与固阳绿岩带底部的科马提岩极为相似,PAAS标准化的铁矿石REY配分模式与高温热液海水混合物相似,即LREE亏损,HREE富集((La/Yb)_SN=0.34),具有明显的正Eu异常(δEu=2.33)和微弱的正Y异常(δY=1.13),Y/Ho重量比29,摩尔比53。根据铁矿石兼具有与科马提岩和高温热液海水混合物相似的地球化学特征,本文推断海底高温热液淋滤科马提岩为三合明BIF型铁矿提供了大量的Fe和Si。     

Variscan relicts in Alpine high-P pelitic rocks from Samos (Greece): evidence from multi-stage garnet and its included minerals

Porphyroblastic garnet schists from northern Samos contain in their matrix the assemblage Ca‐rich garnet + phengite + paragonite ± chloritoid equilibrated at ～530 °C and ～19 kbar during early Tertiary metamorphism. These high‐pressure/low‐temperature (HP‐LT) metapelitic rocks also exhibit mineralogical and microstructural evidence of an older, higher temperature metamorphism. Large, centimetre‐sized Fe‐rich garnet showing growth zoning developed discontinuous, <0.5 mm thick, Ca‐rich and Mn‐poor overgrowths, compositionally matching small (<1 mm) high‐P matrix garnet. Because the discontinuous garnet rims are in textural and chemical equilibrium with Alpine high‐P minerals, the central parts of the garnet porphyroblasts were found to have formed prior to the Tertiary metamorphism. This is supported by electron microprobe U‐Th‐Pb dating of monazite inclusions yielding partly reset Variscan ages between 360 and 160 Ma. Monazite‐xenotime and garnet‐muscovite thermometry applied to inclusions in the pre‐Alpine garnet yielded temperatures of 600–625 °C (at 3–8 kbar). Prismatic Al‐rich pseudomorphs, possibly after kyanite/sillimanite, and inclusions in garnet composed of white K‐Na mica + quartz ± albite ± K feldspar, interpreted as possible replacements of an intermediate K‐Na feldspar, further support Variscan amphibolite facies conditions. The Samos metapelites thus experienced higher temperatures during the Variscan than during Alpine metamorphism. Diffusional relaxation was very limited between pre‐Alpine garnet and Alpine garnet; both were filled with Alpine garnet along overgrowths and fractures. Fluid‐mediated intergranular element transport, enhanced by deformation, appears crucial in transforming the Variscan garnet into a grossular richer composition during Alpine subduction‐zone metamorphism. At such conditions, dissolution–reprecipitation appears to be a much more effective mechanism for modifying garnet compositions than diffusion. Amphibolite facies conditions are typical for Variscan basement relics exposed in central Cycladic and Dodecanese islands as well as in eastern Crete. The Samos metapelites studied comprise a north‐eastern extension of these basement occurrences.