镁铁岩脉侵位机制及伴随变形

南澳的ＥＹＲＥ半岛位于ＧＡＷＬＥＲ克拉通南部，包含了ＧＡＷＬＥＲ克拉通太古界至中元古界结晶基底的主要部分，全区于１４２３Ｍａ克拉通化，此后除了局部的，较小的地壳运动外，一直是稳定的克拉通地块，研究区ＪＵＳＳＩＥＵ半岛为ＦＹＲＥ半岛南部的次级半岛，镁铁岩脉群以及韧性剪切糜棱岩带主要沿海岩分布，区内出露岩石变形复杂，脉岩强烈的布丁化并重结晶，围岩中的转换拉伸构造及转换挤压构造可追踪识别，基性岩浆的侵位是转换拉伸力和岩浆压力联合作用的结果，脉岩群的传播侵位(PROPAGATION)与转换拉伸作用(TRANSTENSION)密切相关。多次的转换拉伸与挤压作用，还导致镁铁岩脉边缘成为高应变带，并形成复杂的变形图案 此外，围岩中伴随的变形以次剪切带(SUBSHEAR ZONE)最为显著，是作动力学分析最好的匹配构造。     

Structural repetition of the Hutchison Group metasediments,Eyre Peninsula,South Australia

Progressive deformation of the Palaeoproterozoic Hutchison Group metasediments, eastern Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, accompanied the development of a ～200 km‐long suture, the Kalinjala Shear Zone. High‐strain structures that developed during the Kimban Orogeny preserved in this supracrustal sequence at Sleaford Bay, southern Eyre Peninsula are: (i) KF₁ sheath folds; and (ii) KD₂ tight folds and reverse shears. Basement Archaean Sleaford Complex gneisses are interpreted to have been thrust over their cover rocks. Interleaving of individual Hutchison Group units by imbricate shears and folds are suggested to have caused an estimated strike‐normal shortening of up to 50%. However, this calculation is of less significance than the >15:1 strike‐parallel elongation of the package during KD₁. Identical structural elements reported by earlier workers are also preserved in the stratigraphic type areas of the Hutchison Group, central Eyre Peninsula. Importantly, the stratigraphic Upper and Lower Middleback Jaspilites, in the Middleback Range, are reinterpreted as one unit structurally repeated by a kilometre‐scale KF₁ sheath fold. Imbricate KD₂ shear zones are inferred to have inverted original disconformities throughout the package. In light of these observations, we suggest that the currently constructed stratigraphic succession of the Hutchison Group should be regionally re‐examined, with a special focus in those areas less affected by the imbricate structures.     

Geology of the Acropolis prospect,South Australia,constrained by high-precision CA-TIMS ages

Abstract

Acropolis is an Fe-oxide–copper–gold prospect ～20?km from Olympic Dam, South Australia, and marked by near-coincident gravity and magnetic anomalies. Prospective Fe-oxide–apatite?±?sulfide veins occur in Mesoproterozoic and Paleoproterozoic volcanic and granitoid host units beneath unmineralised sedimentary formations. We have produced a geological map and history of the prospect using data from 16 diamond drill holes, including LA-ICPMS and high-precision CA-TIMS ages. The oldest unit is megacrystic granite of the Donington Suite (ca 1850?Ma). A non-conformity spanning ca 250 My separates the Donington Suite and felsic lavas and ignimbrites of the Gawler Range Volcanics (GRV; 1594.03?±?0.68?Ma). The GRV were intruded by granite of the Hiltaba Suite (1594.88?±?0.50?Ma) and felsic dykes (1593.88?±?0.56?Ma; same age as the Roxby Downs Granite at Olympic Dam). The felsic dykes are weakly altered and lack Fe-oxide–apatite–sulfide veins, suggesting that they post-date the main hydrothermal event. If correct, this relationship implies that the main hydrothermal event at Acropolis was ca 1594?Ma and pre-dated the main hydrothermal event at Olympic Dam. The GRV at Acropolis are the same age as the GRV at Olympic Dam and ca 3–7 My older than the GRV exposed in the Gawler Ranges. The gravity and magnetic anomalies coincide with sections through the GRV, Hiltaba Suite and Donington Suite that contain abundant, wide, Fe-oxide veins. The GRV, Hiltaba Suite and Donington Suite are unconformably overlain by the Mesoproterozoic Pandurra Formation or Neoproterozoic Stuart Shelf sedimentary formations. The Pandurra Formation shows marked lateral variations in thickness related to paleotopography on the underlying units and post-Pandurra Formation pre-Neoproterozoic faults. The Stuart Shelf sedimentary formations have uniform thicknesses.

1. KEY POINTS

2. Fe-oxide–apatite?±?sulfide veins are hosted by the Gawler Range Volcanics (1594.03?±?0.68?Ma), the Hiltaba Suite granite (1594.88?±?0.50?Ma) and Donington Suite granite (ca 1850?Ma).

3. The age of felsic dykes (1593.88?±?0.56?Ma) interpreted to be post-mineralisation implies that the main hydrothermal event at Acropolis was ca 1594?Ma.

4. The Gawler Range Volcanics at Acropolis are the same age as the Gawler Range Volcanics at Olympic Dam and ca 3 to 7 My older than the Gawler Range Volcanics exposed in the Gawler Ranges.

     

Relationships between magmatism and deformation in northern Yorke Peninsula and southeastern Proterozoic Australia

The ca 1600–1580 Ma time interval is recognised as a significant period of magmatism, deformation and mineralisation throughout eastern Proterozoic Australia. Within the northern Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, this period was associated with the emplacement of multiple phases of the Tickera Granite, an intensely foliated quartz alkali-feldspar syenite, a leucotonalite and an alkali-feldspar granite. These granites belong to the broader Hiltaba Suite that was emplaced at shallow crustal levels throughout the Gawler Craton. Geochemical and isotopic analysis suggests these granite phases were derived from a heterogeneous source region. The syenite and alkali-feldspar granite were derived from similar source regions, likely the underlying ca 1850 Ma Donington Suite and/or the ca 1750 Ma Wallaroo Group metasediments with some contamination from an Archean basement. The leucotonalite is sourced from a similar but more mafic/lower crustal source. Phases of the Tickera Granite were emplaced synchronously with deformation that resulted in development of a prominent northeast-trending structural grain throughout the Yorke Peninsula region. This fabric is associated with composite events resulting from folding, shearing and faulting within the region. The intense deformation and intrusion of granites within this period resulted in mineralisation throughout the region, as seen in Wheal Hughes and Poona mines. The Yorke Peninsula shares a common geological history with the Curnamona Province, which was deformed during the ca 1600–1585 Ma Olarian Orogeny, and resulted in development of early isoclinal and recumbent folds overprinted by an upright fold generation, a dominant northeast-trending structural grain, mineralisation, and spatially and temporally related intrusions. This suggests correlation of parts of the Gawler Craton with the Curnamona Province, and that the Olarian Orogeny also affected the southeastern Gawler Craton.     

Granite gneiss basement on Flinders Island,South Australia

A U–Pb zircon age of 1762 ± 11 Ma is reported for granite gneiss located on Flinders Island, South Australia. This age is identical, within analytical uncertainty, to a previously reported age for schists of the Price Metasediments located 100 km to the southeast on the southwestern coast of the Eyre Peninsula. The outcrop represents the only known country rock to the Early Mesoproterozoic Calca Granite (Hiltaba Suite) of Flinders Island, the largest island of the Investigator Group of islands, in the southwestern Gawler Craton. The stratigraphic name Investigator Granite Gneiss is proposed for this rock unit. The discovery of the Investigator Granite Gneiss now considerably increases the extent of known Late Palaeoproterozoic rocks on the eastern side of the peninsula. The outcrop was previously included with the considerably younger St Peter Suite granite‐monzogranite, and grouped together with other islands in the Investigator Group. This new dating suggests that the geology on the other islands may require revision. For the first time, detailed major and trace‐element geochemistry is supplied for the granite gneiss on Flinders Island.     

Geophysical constraints of shear zones and geometry of the Hiltaba Suite granites in the western Gawler Craton,Australia

The emplacement of the ca 1590–1575 Ma Hiltaba Suite granites records a large magmatic event throughout the Gawler Craton, South Australia. The Hiltaba Suite granites intrude the highly deformed Archaean‐Palaeoproterozoic rocks throughout the craton nuclei. Geophysical interpretation of the poorly exposed central western Gawler Craton suggests that the region can be divided into several distinct domains that are bounded by major shear zones, exhibiting a sequence of overprinting relationships. The north‐trending Yarlbrinda Shear Zone merges into the east‐trending Yerda Shear Zone that, in turn, merges into the northeast‐trending Coorabie Shear Zone. Several poorly exposed Hiltaba Suite granite plutons occur within a wide zone of crustal shearing that is bounded to the north by the Yerda Shear Zone and to the south by the Oolabinnia Shear Zone. This wide zone of crustal shearing is interpreted as a major zone of synmagmatic dextral strike‐slip movement that facilitated the ascent of Hiltaba Suite granite intrusions to the upper crust. The aeromagnetic and gravity data reveal that the intrusions are ～15–25 km in diameter. Forward modelling of the geophysical data shows that the intrusions have a tabular geometry and are less than 6 km deep.     

High-grade Paleoproterozoic reworking in the southeastern Gawler Craton,South Australia ∗

SHRIMP U–Pb geochronology and monazite EPMA chemical dating from the southeast Gawler Craton has constrained the timing of high-grade reworking of the Early Paleoproterozoic (ca 2450 Ma) Sleaford Complex during the Paleoproterozoic Kimban Orogeny. SHRIMP monazite geochronology from mylonitic and migmatitic high-strain zones that deform the ca 2450 Ma peraluminous granites indicates that they formed at 1725 ± 2 and 1721 ± 3 Ma. These are within error of EPMA monazite chemical ages of the same high-strain zones which range between 1736 and 1691 Ma. SHRIMP dating of titanite from peak metamorphic (1000 MPa at 730°C) mafic assemblages gives ages of 1712 ± 8 and 1708 ± 12 Ma. The post-peak evolution is constrained by partial to complete replacement of garnet–clinopyroxene-bearing mafic assemblages by hornblende–plagioclase symplectites, which record conditions of ～600 MPa at 700°C, implying a steeply decompressional exhumation path. The timing of Paleoproterozoic reworking corresponds to widespread deformation along the eastern margin of the Gawler Craton and the development of the Kalinjala Shear Zone.     

Reconstruction of the early Proterozoic stratigraphy of the Gawler Craton,South Australia

Detailed structural mapping on NE Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, has led to a revised stratigraphy and model of sedimentation for Early Proterozoic metasediments of the Gawler Craton. Four stages of deformation have been recognised; three stages are associated with the Kimban Orogeny (c. 1820–1580 Ma) and a fourth stage is known as the Wartakan Event (c. 1500–1450 Ma). The recognition of major D₂ folds has shown the previously used stratigraphy to be incorrect and has necessitated its revision. At the base of the sequence, unconformably overlying a 2300 Ma or older basement, is the Warrow Quartzite. A transgressive cycle of schist, dolomite (Katunga Dolomite) and iron formation (Lower Middleback Jaspilite) overlies the quartzite, and this is overlain in turn by a regressive semipelitic unit containing local amphibolites (Cook Gap Schist), and another transgressive iron‐formation bearing cycle (Upper Middleback Jaspilite). At the top of the sequence is the Yadnarie Schist. All units overlying the older basement to the top of the Yadnarie Schist are defined collectively as the Hutchison Group. The Middle‐back ‘Group’ consisting of units from the top of the Warrow Quartzite to the base of the Yadnarie Schist is redefined as the Middleback Subgroup. Sediments of the Hutchison Group were probably derived from 2300+ Ma rocks on western Eyre Peninsula and deposited on a shallow platform now oriented approximately N‐S.     

1.8–1.5-Ga links between the North and South Australian Cratons and the Early–Middle Proterozoic configuration of Australia

The Archaean and Early–Middle Proterozoic (1.8–1.5 Ga) terranes of the North Australian Craton and the South Australian Craton are separated by 400 km of ca. 1.33–1.10-Ga orogenic belts and Phanerozoic sediments. However, there is a diverse range of geological phenomena that correlate between the component terranes of the two cratons and provide evidence for a shared tectonic evolution between approximately 1.8 and 1.5 Ga. In order to honour these correlations, we propose a reconstruction in which the South Australian Craton is rotated 52° counterclockwise about a pole located at 136°E and 25°S (present-day coordinates), relative to its current position. This reconstruction aligns the ca. 1.8–1.6-Ga orogenic belts preserved in the Arunta Inlier and the Gawler Craton and the ca. 1.6–1.5-Ga orogenic belts preserved in the Mount Isa Block and the Curnamona Province. Before 1.5 Ga, the South Australian Craton was not a separate entity but part of a greater proto-Australian continent which was characterised by accretion along a southward-migrating convergent margin (ca. 1.8–1.6 Ga) followed by convergence along the eastern margin (ca. 1.6–1.5 Ga). After 1.5 Ga, the South Australian Craton broke away from the North Australian Craton only to be reattached in its current position during the ca. 1.33–1.10 Ga-Albany–Fraser and Musgrave orogenies.     

An overview of the relationship between granitoid intrusions and gold mineralisation in the Archaean Murchison Province,Western Australia

In the Archaean Murchison Province of Western Australia, granitoid batholiths and plutons that intruded into the ca. 2.7–2.8 Ga and ca. 3.0 Ga greenstone belts can be divided into three major suites. Suite I is a ca. 2.69 Ga monzogranite-granodiorite suite, which was derived from anatexis of old continental crust and occurs as syn-tectonic composite batholiths over the entire province. Suite II is a trondhjemite-tonalite suite (termed I-type) derived from partial melting of subducted basaltic crust, which intruded as syn- to late-tectonic plutons into the greenstone belts in the northeastern part of the province where most of the major gold deposits are situated. One of the Suite II trondhjemite plutons has a Pb−Pb isochron age of 2641±36 Ma, and one of the structurally youngest tonalite plutons has a minimum Pb−Pb isochron age of 2630.1±4.3 Ma. Suite III is a ca. 2.65–2.62 Ga A-type monzogranite-syenogranite suite which is most abundant in the largely unmineralised southwestern part of the province. Gold deposits in the province are mostly hosted in brittle-ductile shear zones, and were formed at a late stage in the history of metamorphism, deformation and granitoid emplacement. At one locality, mineralisation has been dated at 2636.8±4.2 Ma through a pyritetitanite Pb−Pb isochron. Lead and Sr isotope studies of granitoids and gold deposits indicate that, although most gold deposits have initial Pb isotope compositions most closely similar to those of Suite II intrusions, both Suite I and Suite II intrusions or their source regions could have contributed solutes to the ore fluids. These preliminary data suggest that gold mineralisation in the Murchison Province was temporally and spatially associated with Suite II I-type granitoids in the northeastern part of the province. This association is consistent with the concept that Archaean gold mineralisation was related to convergent-style tectonic settings, as generation of both Suite II I-type granitoids and hydrothermal ore fluids could have been linked to the dehydration and partial fusion of subducted oceanic crust, and old sialic crust or its anatectic products may also contribute solutes to the ore fluids. Integration of data from this study with other geological and radiogenic isotope constraints in the Yilgarn Block argue against direct derivation of gold ore fluids from specific I-type granitoid plutons, but favour a broad association with convergent tectonics and granitoid magmatism in the late Archaean.     

Age and significance of voluminous mafic–ultramafic magmatic events in the Murchison Domain,Yilgarn Craton

Mafic–ultramafic rocks in structurally dismembered layered intrusions comprise approximately 40% by volume of greenstones in the Murchison Domain of the Youanmi Terrane, Yilgarn Craton. Mafic–ultramafic rocks in the Murchison Domain may be divided into five components: (i) the ～2810 Ma Meeline Suite, which includes the large Windimurra Igneous Complex; (ii) the 2800 ± 6 Ma Boodanoo Suite, which includes the Narndee Igneous Complex; (iii) the 2792 ± 5 Ma Little Gap Suite; (iv) the ～2750 Ma Gnanagooragoo Igneous Complex; and (v) the 2735–2710 Ma Yalgowra Suite of layered gabbroic sills. The intrusions are typically layered, tabular bodies of gabbroic rock with ultramafic basal units which, in places, are more than 6 km thick and up to 2500 km² in areal extent. However, these are minimum dimensions as the intrusions have been dismembered by younger deformation. In the Windimurra and Narndee Igneous Complexes, discordant features and geochemical fractionation trends indicate multiple pulses of magma. These pulses produced several megacyclic units, each ～200 m thick. The suites are anhydrous except for the Boodanoo Suite, which contains a large volume of hornblende gabbro. They also host significant vanadium mineralisation, and at least minor Ni–Cu–PGE mineralisation. Collectively, the areal distribution, thickness and volume of mafic–ultramafic magma in these complexes is similar to that in the 2.06 Ga Bushveld Igneous Complex, and represents a major addition of mantle-derived magma to Murchison Domain crust over a 100 Ma period. All suites are demonstrably contemporaneous with packages of high-Mg tholeiitic lavas and/or felsic volcanic rocks in greenstone belts. The distribution, ages and compositions of the earlier mafic–ultramafic rocks are most consistent with genesis in a mantle plume setting.     

Evolution of the Mount Woods Inlier, northern Gawler Craton, Southern Australia: an integrated structural and aeromagnetic analysis

Structural mapping integrated with interpretation and forward modelling of aeromagnetic data form complimentary and powerful tools for regional structural analysis because both techniques focus on architecture and overprinting relationships. This approach is used to constrain the geometry and evolution of the sparsely exposed Mount Woods Inlier in the northern Gawler Craton. The Mount Woods Inlier records a history of poly-phase deformation, high-temperature metamorphism, and syn- and post-orogenic magmatism between ca. 1736 and 1584 Ma. The earliest deformation involved isoclinal folding, and the development of bedding parallel and axial planar gneissic foliation (S₁). This was accompanied by high-temperature, upper amphibolite to granulite facies metamorphism at ca. 1736 Ma. During subsequent north–south shortening (D₂), open to isoclinal south–southeast-oriented F₂ folds developed as the Palaeoproterozoic successions of the inlier were thrust over the Archaean nuclei of the Gawler Craton. The syn-D₂ Engenina Adamellite was emplaced at ca. 1692 Ma. The post-D₂ history involved shear zone development and localised folding, exhumation of metamorphic rocks, and deposition of clastic sediments prior to the emplacement of the ca. 1584 Ma Granite Balta Suite. The Mount Woods Inlier is interpreted as the northern continuation of the Kimban Orogen.     

Magmatism and metamorphism at ca. 1.45 Ga in the northern Gawler Craton: The Australian record of rifting within Nuna (Columbia)

U-Pb monazite and zircon geochronology and calculated metamorphic phase diagrams from drill holes in the northern Gawler Craton, southern Australia, reveal the presence of ca. 1.45 Ga magmatism and metamorphism. Magmatism and granulite facies metamorphism of this age has not previously been recognised in the Gawler Craton. The magmatic rocks have steep LREE-enriched patterns and high Ga/Al values, suggesting they are A-type granites. Calculated metamorphic forward models suggest that this event was associated with high apparent thermal gradients and reached pressures of 3.2 -5.4 kbar and temperatures of 775-815℃. The high apparent thermal gradients may reflect pluton-enhanced metamorphism, consistent with the presence of A-type granites. The recognition of ca. 1.45 Ga tectonism in the northern Gawler Craton is added to a compilation of ca. 1.50 -1.40 Ga magmatism, shear zone reactivation, rift basin development and isotope resetting throughout the South and North Australian Cratons that shows that this event was widespread in eastern Proterozoic Australia. This event is stylistically similar to ca. 1.45 Ga A-type magmatism and high thermal gradient metamorphism in Laurentia in this interval and provides further support for a connection between Australia and Laurentia during the Mesoproterozoic. The tectonic setting of the 1.50-1.40 Ga event is unclear but may record rifting within the Nuna(or Columbia) supercontinent, or a period of intracontinental extension within a long-lived convergent setting.     

Acraman – Bunyeroo impact event (Ediacaran), South Australia,and environmental consequences: twenty-five years on

Multidisciplinary research during the past 25 years has established that the Acraman impact structure in the 1.59 Ga Gawler Range Volcanics on the Gawler Craton, and an ejecta horizon found 240?–?540 km from Acraman in the ??580 Ma Bunyeroo Formation in the Adelaide Fold Belt and Dey Dey Mudstone in the Officer Basin, record a Late Neoproterozoic (Ediacaran) event of major environmental importance. Research since 1995 has verified Acraman as a complex impact structure that has undergone as much as 3?–?5 km of denudation and which originally had a transient cavity up to 40 km in diameter and a final structural rim possibly 85?–?90 km in diameter. The estimated impact energy of 5.2?×?10⁶ Mt (TNT) for Acraman exceeds the threshold of 10⁶ Mt nominally set for global catastrophe, and the impact probably caused a severe perturbation of the Ediacaran environment. The occurrence of the impact at a low palaeolatitude (12.5 +?7.1/???6.1°) may have magnified the environmental effects by perturbing the atmosphere in both hemispheres. These findings are consistent with independent data from the Ediacaran palynology of Australia and from isotope and biomarker chemostratigraphy that the Acraman impact induced major biotic change. Future research should seek geological, isotopic and biological imprints of the Acraman?–?Bunyeroo impact event across Australia and on other continents.     

“Wet” low angle subduction: a possible mechanism below the Tanzania craton 2 Ga ago

The hypothesis that much of the lithosphere of the Archaean Tanzania Craton was hydrated, by the dehydration of a buoyant subduction 2 Ga ago is presented in this study. Buoyant subduction is a potential mechanism for thermal erosion and metasomatism of extensive regions of the cold overlying continental lithosphere. This hypothesis could explain why the Tanzania Craton forms an undeformed island within the intensely deformed mobile belts. Furthermore, it would explain the formation of the eclogite and lherzolite bearing kimberlites within the Tanzania Craton far away from the trench. A buoyant, slow subduction is required because this would provide sufficient cooling from the overlying cratonic lithosphere and therefore the dipping slab could retain hydrous minerals such as antigorite in hydrated aureoles in peridotites. To test this hypothesis, the release of water during prograde metamorphism of a flat-subducting plate was modeled. It is shown that water can be transported ～800 km laterally, inboard of the trench, which is close to the north-south extension of the Archaean Tanzania Craton.     

U–Pb zircon,zircon Hf and whole-rock Sm–Nd isotopic constraints on the evolution of Paleoproterozoic rocks in the northern Gawler Craton

U–Pb zircon analyses from a series of orthogneisses sampled in drill core in the northern Gawler Craton provide crystallisation ages at ca 1775–1750 Ma, which is an uncommon age in the Gawler Craton. Metamorphic zircon and monazite give ages of ca 1730–1710 Ma indicating that the igneous protoliths underwent metamorphism during the craton-wide Kimban Orogeny. Isotopic Hf zircon data show that 1780–1750 Ma zircons are somewhat evolved with initial ε_Hf values –4 to +0.9, and model ages of ca 2.3 to 2.2 Ga. Isotopic whole rock Sm–Nd values from most samples have relatively evolved initial ε_Nd values of –3.7 to –1.4. In contrast, a mafic unit from drill hole Middle Bore 1 has a juvenile isotopic signature with initial ε_Hf zircon values of ca +5.2 to +8.2, and initial ε_Nd values of ～+3.5 to +3.8. The presence of 1775–1750 Ma zircon forming magmatic rocks in the northern Gawler Craton provides a possible source for similarly aged detrital zircons in Paleoproterozoic basin systems of the Gawler Craton and adjacent Curnamona Province. Previous provenance studies on these Paleoproterozoic basins have appealed to the Arunta Region of the North Australian Craton to provide 1780–1750 Ma detrital zircons, and isotopically and geochemically similar basin fill. The orthogneisses in the northern Gawler Craton also match the source criteria and display geochemical similarities between coeval magmatism in the Arunta Region of the North Australian Craton, providing further support for paleogeographic reconstructions that link the Gawler Craton and North Australian Craton during the Paleoproterozoic.     

An 40Ar–39Ar investigation of the Mertz Glacier area (George V Land,Antarctica): Implications for the Ross Orogen–East Antarctic Craton relationship and Gondwana reconstructions

George V Land (Antarctica) includes the boundary between Late Archean–Paleoproterozoic metamorphic terrains of the East Antarctic craton and the intrusive and metasedimentary rocks of the Early Paleozoic Ross–Delamerian Orogen. This therefore represents a key region for understanding the tectono-metamorphic evolution of the East Antarctic Craton and the Ross Orogen and for defining their structural relationship in East Antarctica, with potential implications for Gondwana reconstructions. In the East Antarctic Craton the outcrops closest to the Ross orogenic belt form the Mertz Shear Zone, a prominent ductile shear zone up to 5 km wide. Its deformation fabric includes a series of progressive, overprinting shear structures developed under different metamorphic conditions: from an early medium-P granulite-facies metamorphism, through amphibolite-facies to late greenschist-facies conditions. ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar laserprobe data on biotite in mylonitic rocks from the Mertz Shear Zone indicate that the minimum age for ductile deformation under greenschist-facies conditions is 1502 ± 9 Ma and reveal no evidence of reactivation processes linked to the Ross Orogeny. ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar laserprobe data on amphibole, although plagued by excess argon, suggest the presence of a ∼1.7 Ga old phase of regional-scale retrogression under amphibolite-facies conditions. Results support the correlation between the East Antarctic Craton in the Mertz Glacier area and the Sleaford Complex of the Gawler Craton in southern Australia, and suggest that the Mertz Shear Zone may be considered a correlative of the Kalinjala Shear Zone. An erratic immature metasandstone collected east of Ninnis Glacier (∼180 km east of the Mertz Glacier) and petrographically similar to metasedimentary rocks enclosed as xenoliths in Cambro–Ordovician granites cropping out along the western side of Ninnis Glacier, yielded detrital white-mica ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar ages from ∼530 to 640 Ma and a minimum age of 518 ± 5 Ma. This pattern compares remarkably well with those previously obtained for the Kanmantoo Group from the Adelaide Rift Complex of southern Australia, thereby suggesting that the segment of the Ross Orogen exposed east of the Mertz Glacier may represent a continuation of the eastern part of the Delamerian Orogen.     

Archean geodynamics in the Central Zone, North China Craton: constraints from geochemistry of two contrasting series of granitoids in the Fuping and Wutai complexes

The Archean to Paleoproterozoic Central Zone of the North China Craton is situated between the Eastern and Western Archean continental blocks and contains two contrasting series of Neoarchean granitoids: the 2523–2486 Ma tonalite−trondhjemite–granodiorite (TTG) gneisses in the Fuping Complex, and the 2555–2525 Ma calc-alkaline granitoids (tonalite, granodiorite, granite and monzogranite) in the Wutai Complex. The Fuping TTG gneisses most likely formed from partial melting of 2.7 Ga basalts at >50 km, with an involvement of 3.0 Ga crustal material. The Wutai granitoids have higher K₂O, LILE and Rb/Sr, but lower Sr/Y and La_N/Yb_N than the Fuping TTG gneisses, are characterized by Nd T_DM from 2.5 to 2.8 Ga and _Nd(t) from 0.49 to 3.34, and are derived from partial melting of a juvenile source at <37 km.The geochemistry of these two contrasting series of Neoarchean granitoids provides further evidence that the Wutai Complex originated and evolved separately from the Fuping Complex. The Wutai Complex most likely formed as an oceanic island arc with volcanism and synvolcanic granitoid intrusions at 2555–2525 Ma. The Wutai Complex was subsequently accreted onto the Eastern Archean Continental Block, and was probably responsible for crustal thickening and TTG magmatism at 2523–2486 Ma in the Fuping Complex (as part of the Taihangshan–Hengshan block), at the western margin of the Eastern Archean Continental Block.     

Early Mesoproterozoic bimodal plutonism in the southeastern Gawler Craton,South Australia

The Curramulka Gabbronorite on Yorke Peninsula, southeastern Gawler Craton has an emplacement age of 1589 ± 5 Ma. This is similar to previously determined ages for Arthurton Granite (1582 ± 7 Ma), Tickera Granite (ca 1600 – 1575 Ma), regional alteration, the Moonta – Wallaroo mineralisation (ca 1585 Ma) and localised deformation (Tiparra Deformation). Mesoproterozoic bimodal plutonism is interpreted to have resulted from mafic underplating, emplacement of mafic magmas during lithospheric attenuation and enhanced high heat flow assisting in melting of the lower crust to form the broadly A-type Arthurton and Tickera Granites. Plutonism either directly or indirectly created advective fluid-flow to form Cu – Au mineralisation in the Moonta – Wallaroo area. The nature and characteristics of Mesoproterozoic mafic bodies on the Gawler Craton are poorly known. The Curramulka Gabbronorite has a continental tholeiitic composition and igneous layering that is partly of cumulus origin but also contains magmatic segregations formed by fractionation. Some of these segregations have provided zircons for dating. This igneous layering is overprinted by two foliations of tectonic origin: the first is interpreted to be coeval with magma emplacement and the second with conjugate shearing accompanied by retrogression.     

Ages of internal granitoids in the Southern Cross region,Yilgarn Craton,Western Australia,and their crustal evolution and tectonic implications

Southern Cross, where gold deposits are sited in narrow greenstone belts surrounding granitoid domes, was one of the earliest gold mining centres in Western Australia. SHRIMP U–Pb zircon and Pb‐isotope studies of the largest granitoid dome, the Ghooli Dome (80 × 40 km), provide important constraints on the crustal evolution and structural history of the central part of the Archaean Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia, which includes Southern Cross. The north‐northwest‐south‐southeast‐oriented ovoid Ghooli Dome has a broadly concentric foliation that is subhorizontal or gently dipping in its central parts and subvertical along its margins. Foliated granitoids in the dome are dated at ca 2724 ± 5 and 2688 ± 3 Ma using the SHRIMP U–Pb zircon and Pb–Pb isochron methods, respectively. These new data, together with the published SHRIMP U–Pb zircon age of 2691 ± 7 Ma at another locality, 20 km from the centre of the Koolyanobbing Shear Zone, suggest that the Ghooli Dome was emplaced at ca 2.72–2.69 Ga. Because the Ghooli Dome and the other domes, which are enveloped by narrow greenstone belts, are cut by the >650 km‐long and 6–15 km‐wide Koolyanobbing Shear Zone, the ca 2.69 Ga age is interpreted as the maximum age of the last major movement on this structure. The pre‐2.69 Ga history, if any, of the shear zone remains unknown. The shear zone is intruded by an undeformed porphyritic granitoid which has a SHRIMP U–Pb zircon age of 2656 ± 4 Ma. This age is, thus, the minimum age of major movement along this shear zone. Post‐gold mineralisation pegmatitic‐leucogranite from the Nevoria gold mine has a SHRIMP U–Pb zircon age of 2634 ± 4 Ma, with xenocrystic zircon cores of ca 2893 ± 6 Ma, constraining the minimum age of gold mineralisation there to ca 2.63 Ga. The ca 2.72–2.69 Ga granitoids also contain ca 2.98 and 2.78 Ga xenocrystic zircon cores, suggesting an extensive crustal prehistory for their source. Whereas there is a general temporal relationship between the periods of older (ca 3.0 Ga) and younger (ca 2.80 and 2.73 Ga) volcanism and the older (2.98, 2.78 and 2.72–2.69 Ga) granitoid intrusions, there is no known volcanism temporally associated with the 2.65–2.63 Ga granitoid intrusions in the Yilgarn Craton. Other heat sources and/or tectonic processes, required for the generation of these intrusions, are interpreted to be related to a lithospheric delamination event related to continental collision.