Mineralized and unmineralized calderas in Spain; Part II, evolution of the Rodalquilar caldera complex and associated gold-alunite deposits

The Rodalquilar caldera complex is located in the western part of the Cabo de Gata volcanic field in southeastern Spain and is the first documented example of epithermal gold-alunite mineralization within a caldera in Europe. The Rodalquilar caldera is an oval collapse structure having a maximum diameter of 8 km and formed at 11 Ma from eruption of the Cinto ash-flow tuff. The oval Lomilla caldera, with a diameter of 2 km, is nested within the central resurgent dome of the older Rodalquilar caldera. The Lomilla caldera resulted from the eruption of the Lazaras ash-flow tuff which was ponded within the moat of the Rodalquilar caldera. The last phase of volcanic activity in the caldera complex was the emplacement of hornblende andesite flows and intrusions. This magmatic event resulted in structural doming of the caldera, opening of fractures and faults, and provided the heat source for the large hydrothermal systems which deposited quartz-alunite type gold deposits and base metal vein systems. The gold-alunite deposits are enclosed in areas of intense acid sulfate alteration and localized in ring and radial faults and fractures present in the east wall of the Lomilla caldera. Like other acid-sulfate type deposits, the Rodalquilar gold-alunite deposits are closely related in time and space to porphyritic, intermediate composition magma emplaced along caldera structures but unrelated to the caldera forming magmatic system.     

Mafic pyroclastic flows at Santa Maria (Gaua) Volcano, Vanuatu: the caldera formation problem in mainly mafic island arc volcanoes

At Santa Maria Volcano (New Hebrides island arc), extensive ash and scoria flow deposits overlie the mainly effusive, pre-caldera cone. Hydromagmatic features characterize these deposits, the composition of juvenile clasts ranges from basalt to acid andesite/dacite (SiO₂= 51–63.6%) with a dominant basaltic composition. The stratigraphic position of this pyroclastic series and its spatial distribution around a 8.5 km × 6 km wide caldera provide evidence of a relationship between this series and the caldera formation. In addition, these pyroclastic deposits are co-genetic to parasitic cones and lava flows developed along faults concentric to the caldera. Both series result from a compositionally layered magma reservoir, the subordinate differentiated magmas being the result of fractional crystallization from the basalts. A model of caldera formation which implies a large hydromagmatic eruption at the central vent and minor magma withdrawal by flank eruptions is proposed. This model emphasizes the importance of mafic hydroclastic eruptions in the caldera forming event and contradicts a model implying only quiet subsidence, a process often proposed for the formation of calderas in island are volcanoes of mainly mafic composition.     

浙闽地区叶蜡石矿床成矿规律研究

叶蜡石矿床是一种重要的非金属矿产,主要分布于东南沿海地区侏罗纪—白垩纪的中酸性火山岩地层中,受控于区域大规模断裂和伸展断陷盆地。文章对中国内外叶蜡石矿床的地质和矿产特征进行了综合分析,总结了浙闽地区叶蜡石矿床特征和成因。浙闽地区叶蜡石矿床的赋矿原岩为流纹质火山碎屑岩和凝灰岩等,具有高硅高铝的特点。矿床成因类型主要包括火山热液交代型和火山热液充填型。结合泰顺龟湖、青田周村和山口等典型叶蜡石矿床的实例研究,文章揭示了火山热液交代型叶蜡石矿床普遍发育硅化、叶蜡石化、明矾石化、黄铁矿化的垂直分带特征,中酸性火山岩组分在热液作用下发生交代、分解,使铝有规律的富集成矿;火山热液充填型叶蜡石矿床围岩蚀变分带不明显,从围岩中淋滤、萃取的硅铝组分沿着构造裂隙运移,在有利的空间成矿。因此,笔者认为侏罗纪—白垩纪中酸性火山岩与凝灰岩、区域断裂带和火山岩带、围岩蚀变垂直分带以及陡峭山峰是叶蜡石矿的重要找矿标志。     

Spatial autocorrelation of Neogene-Quaternary lava along the Snake River Plain,Idaho, USA

The sequence of eruption, spatial pattern, and spatio-temporal relationships among the Neogene-Quaternary rhyolitic and basaltic lava along the Snake River Plain (SRP) in Idaho are analyzed applying the spatial methods of global and local Moran’s I, standard deviational ellipse, and Ripley’s K-function. The results of the analyses by the Moran’s I and K-function methods indicate a higher spatial autocorrelation, hence clustering, of rhyolitic lava compared to the more dispersed basaltic lava in each center of eruption along the SRP. The clustered nature of rhyolitic lava around each caldera either reflects the original spread and large thickness of the rhyolitic lava, or the absence of younger cover strata or lava like the distribution of rhyolite in the present caldera at the Yellowstone National Park. The standard deviational ellipses (SDEs) of the lavas indicate that younger basaltic lava that erupted from newer calderas overlapped older rhyolitic and basaltic lava as the position of the Yellowstone hotspot progressively migrated to the northeast along the SRP. The less eccentric SDEs of rhyolitic lava in each caldera probably reflect the original caldera-scale spread of viscous felsic lava, compared to the more eccentric and larger SDEs of basaltic lava which represent basalt’s wider and more directed spread due to its higher fluidity and ability to flow longer distances along the trend of the SRP. The alignment of the long axes of the lava SDEs with the trend of the Eastern SRP and the trend of systematic spatial overlap of older lava by successively younger basaltic lava corroborate the previously reported migration of the centers of eruption along the ESRP as the Yellowstone hotspot migrated to the northeast.     

中国东南沿海晚白垩世长屿火山的活动过程与古环境意义SCIEI北大核心CSCD

火山是唯一能够直接反映地球深部存在岩浆的地球动力学现象,对于地球气候演变和宜居性具有重要影响。相比年轻火山,古老火山因其活动过程完整、且可能剥蚀出露多阶段火山喷发产物及岩浆通道、岩浆房等,从而为揭示火山岩浆系统演化和火山活动过程提供重要的研究窗口。本文选择中国东南沿海晚白垩世长屿破火山为研究对象,对其开展火山地质、岩石学、年代学及地球化学研究,以期揭示其火山活动历史及其对中国东南沿海白垩纪古环境的启示意义。长屿火山出露面积约100km^(2),呈近圆形分布,具有较厚的火山地层厚度(总厚度约570m),类似于破火山内的火山堆积特点。由早至晚三个喷发阶段形成的流纹质角砾凝灰岩都显示了典型的火山碎屑流相的特点,发育典型的条纹斑状结构,但表现出不同的晶屑、玻屑及岩屑含量以及熔结程度等岩相学特征,反映火山喷发从初始到高峰、再到减弱的过程,最后岩浆沿火山通道侵出形成流纹斑岩穹隆,标志着火山活动的结束。长屿火山的火山碎屑流式喷发伴随着快速的岩浆房塌陷,以及缺少普林尼式空落堆积,反映了火山活动发生在伸展的构造背景。系统的LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb年代学研究获得了不同阶段火山岩一致的形成年龄(97~96Ma),暗示它们具有较短的形成时限,是由同期火山岩浆活动先后喷发形成的。长屿火山岩高的SiO_(2)含量(67%~76%)以及分异的锆石微量元素地球化学特征,表明喷发岩浆来自晶粥提取的熔体,并有晶粥来源晶体的混入。此外,我们在长屿火山岩中发现了南洋杉型丝炭化木(贝壳杉型木属),暗示晚白垩世中国东南沿海地区可能为温暖湿润的亚热带山地气候环境,表明中国东南沿海白垩纪大规模火山活动,在古武夷山脉以东地区形成了地形高耸的海岸山脉。     

Petrogeochemical aspects of the Late Cretaceous and Paleogene ignimbrite volcanism of East Sikhote-Alin

The chemical and trace-element features of the Late Cretaceous and Early Paleogene ignimbrite complexes of East Sikhote Alin are discussed. The Turonian-Campanian volcanic rocks of the Primorsky Complex compose linear structure of the Eastern Sikhote Alin volcanic belt. They are represented by crystalrich rhyolitic, rhyodacitic, and dacitic S-type plateau ignimbrites produced by fissure eruptions of acid magmas. The Maastrichtian-Paleocene volcanic rocks occur as isolated volcanic depression and caldera structures, which have no structural and spatial relations with the volcanic belt. This period is characterized by bimodal volcanism. The Samarginsky, Dorofeevsky, and Severyansky volcanic complexes are made up of basalt-andesite-dacite lavas and pyroclastic rocks, while the Levosobolevsky and Siyanovsky complexes are comprised of rhyolitic and dacitic tuffs and ignimbrites. Petrogeochemically, the felsic volcanic rocks are close to the S-type plateau ignimbrites of the Primorsky Complex. The Paleocene-Early Eocene silicic volcanics of the Bogopolsky Complex are represented by S- and A-type dacitic and rhyolitic tuffs and ignimbrites filling collapsed calderas. The eruption of A-type ferroan hyaloignimbrites occurred at the final stage of the Paleogene volcanism (Bogopolsky Complex). The magmatic rocks show well expressed mineralogical and geochemical evidence for the interaction between the crustal magmas and enriched sublithospheric mantle. It was shown that the revealed differences in the mineralogical and geochemical composition of the ignimbrite complexes are indicative of a change in the geodynamic regime of the Asian active continental margin at the Mesozoic-Cenozoic transition.     

Tectonostratigraphic history of the Neogene Maimará basin,Northwest Argentina

This paper presents the tectonostratigraphic evolution of the Maimará Basin and explores the relationship between the clastic sediments and pyroclastic deposits in the basin and the evolution of the adjacent orogeny and magmatic arc. The sedimentary facies in this part of the basin include, in ascending order, an ephemeral fluvial system, a deep braided fluvial system and a medial to distal ephemeral fluvial system. We interpret that Maimará Formation accumulated in a basin that has developed two stages of accumulation. Stage 1 extended from 7 to 6.4 Ma and included accelerated tectonic uplift in the source areas, and it corresponds to the ephemeral fluvial system deposits. Stage 2, which extended from 6.4 to 4.8 Ma, corresponds to a tectonically quiescent period and included the development of the deep braided fluvial system deposits. The contact between the Maimará and Tilcara formations is always characterized by a regional unconformity and, in the study area, also shows pronounced erosion.Rare earth element and other chemical characteristics of the tuff intervals in the Maimará Formation fall into two distinct groups suggesting the tuffs were erupted from two distinct late Miocene source regions. The first and most abundant group has characteristics that best match tuffs erupted from the Guacha, Pacana and Pastos Grandes calderas, which are located 200 and 230 km west of the study area at 22º-23º30′S latitude. The members the second group are chemically most similar to the Merihuaca Ignimbrite from the Cerro Galán caldera 290 km south-southwest of the studied section. The distinctive geochemical characteristics are excellent tools to reconstruct the stratigraphic evolution of the Neogene Maimará basin from 6.4 to 4.8 Ma.     

Petrogenesis and tectonic setting of the peralkaline Pine Canyon caldera, Trans-Pecos Texas, USA

The Pine Canyon caldera is a small (6–7 km diameter) ash-flow caldera that erupted peralkaline quartz trachyte, rhyolite, and high-silica rhyolite lavas and ash-flow tuffs about 33–32 Ma. The Pine Canyon caldera is located in Big Bend National Park, Texas, USA, in the southern part of the Trans-Pecos Magmatic Province (TPMP). The eruptive products of the Pine Canyon caldera are assigned to the South Rim Formation, which represents the silicic end member of a bimodal suite (with a “Daly Gap” between 57 and 62 wt.% SiO₂); the mafic end member consists primarily of alkali basalt to mugearite lavas of the 34–30 Ma Bee Mountain Basalt. Approximately 60–70% crystallization of plagioclase, clinopyroxene, olivine, magnetite, and apatite from alkali basalt coupled with assimilation of shale wall rock (M_a/M_c = 0.3–0.4) produced the quartz trachyte magma. Variation within the quartz trachyte–rhyolite suite was the result of 70% fractional crystallization of an assemblage dominated by alkali feldspar with subordinate clinopyroxene, fayalite, ilmenite, and apatite. High-silica rhyolite is not cogenetic with the quartz trachyte–rhyolite suite, and can be best explained as the result of  5% partial melting of a mafic granulite in the deep crust under the fluxing influence of fluorine. Variation within the high-silica rhyolite is most likely due to fractional crystallization of alkali feldspar, quartz, magnetite, biotite, and monazite. Lavas and tuffs of the South Rim Formation form A-type rhyolite suites, and are broadly similar to rock series described in anorogenic settings both in terms of petrology and petrogenesis. The Pine Canyon caldera is interpreted to have developed in a post-orogenic tectonic setting, or an early stage of continental rifting, and represents the earliest evidence for continental extension in the TPMP.     

Epithermal mineralization controlled by synextensional magmatism in the Guazapares Mining District of the Sierra Madre Occidental silicic large igneous province,Mexico

We show here that epithermal mineralization in the Guazapares Mining District is closely related to extensional deformation and magmatism during the mid-Cenozoic ignimbrite flare-up of the Sierra Madre Occidental silicic large igneous province, Mexico. Three Late Oligocene–Early Miocene synextensional formations are identified by detailed volcanic lithofacies mapping in the study area: (1) ca. 27.5 Ma Parajes formation, composed of silicic outflow ignimbrite sheets; (2) ca. 27–24.5 Ma Témoris formation, consisting primarily of locally erupted mafic-intermediate composition lavas and interbedded fluvial and debris flow deposits; (3) ca. 24.5–23 Ma Sierra Guazapares formation, composed of silicic vent to proximal ignimbrites, lavas, subvolcanic intrusions, and volcaniclastic deposits. Epithermal low-to intermediate-sulfidation, gold–silver–lead–zinc vein and breccia mineralization appears to be associated with emplacement of Sierra Guazapares formation rhyolite plugs and is favored where pre-to-synvolcanic extensional structures are in close association with these hypabyssal intrusions.Several resource areas in the Guazapares Mining District are located along the easternmost strands of the Guazapares Fault Zone, a NNW-trending normal fault system that hosts most of the epithermal mineralization in the mining district. This study describes the geology that underlies three of these areas, which are, from north to south: (1) The Monte Cristo resource area, which is underlain primarily by Sierra Guazapares formation rhyolite dome collapse breccia, lapilli-tuffs, and fluvially reworked tuffs that interfinger with lacustrine sedimentary rocks in a synvolcanic half-graben bounded by the Sangre de Cristo Fault. Deposition in the hanging wall of this half-graben was concurrent with the development of a rhyolite lava dome-hypabyssal intrusion complex in the footwall; mineralization is concentrated in the high-silica rhyolite intrusions in the footwall and along the syndepositional fault and adjacent hanging wall graben fill. (2) The San Antonio resource area, underlain by interstratified mafic-intermediate lavas and fluvial sandstone of the Témoris formation, faulted and tilted by two en echelon NW-trending normal faults with opposing dip-directions. Mineralization occurs along subvertical structures in the accommodation zone between these faults. There are no silicic intrusions at the surface within the San Antonio resource area, but they outcrop ∼0.5 km to the east, where they are intruded along the La Palmera Fault, and are located ∼120 m-depth in the subsurface. (3) The La Unión resource area, which is underlain by mineralized andesite lavas and lapilli-tuffs of the Témoris Formation. Adjacent to the La Unión resource area is Cerro Salitrera, one of the largest silicic intrusions in the area. The plug that forms Cerro Salitrera was intruded along the La Palmera Fault, and was not recognized as an intrusion prior to our work.We show here that epithermal mineralization is Late Oligocene to Miocene-age and hosted in extensional structures, younger than Laramide (Cretaceous-Eocene) ages of mineralization inferred from unpublished mining reports for the region. We further infer that mineralization was directly related to the emplacement of silicic intrusions of the Sierra Guazapares formation, when the mid-Cenozoic ignimbrite flare-up of the Sierra Madre Occidental swept westward into the study area about 24.5–23 Ma ago.     

Geological, mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of zeolite deposits associated with borates in the Bigadiç, Emet and Kirka Neogene lacustrine basins, western Turkey

The Bigadiç, Emet and Kirka lacustrine basins of western Turkey may be considered as Tibet-type graben structures that were developed during the Miocene within the Izmir-Ankara suture zone complex. The volcanic-sedimentary successions of these basins are made up of mudstone, carbonate (limestone and dolomite) and detrital rocks, and also of crystal or vitric tuffs about 135 to 200 m thick. The Degirmenli (Bigadiç), Emirler (Bigadiç) Köpenez (Emet) and Karaören (Kirka) tuffs constituting the zeolite deposits are situated beneath four borate deposits (colemanite, ulexite, borax). The most abundant diagenetic silicate minerals are K- and Ca-clinoptilolites in the zeolite deposits, and Li-rich trioctahedral smectites (stevensite, saponite and hectorite) and K-feldspar in the borate deposits. In the Degirmenli, Emirler. Köpenez and Karaören deposits, the following diagenetic faciès were developed from rhyolitic glasses rich in K and poor in Na: (glass + smectite), (K-clinoptilolite + opal-CT), (Caclinoptilolite + K-feldspar ± analcime ± quartz) and (K-feldspar+analcime+quartz). K-feldspar which is also rarely associated with phillipsite (Karaören) and heulandite (Degirmenli and Karaören), succeeds clinoptilolite and precedes analcime in these diagenetic facies where dioctahedral smectites, opal-CT and quartz are the latest minerals. No diagenetic transformations exist between clinoptilolite, K-feldspar and analcime that were formed directly from glass. The lateral facies distributions resulted from the differences in salinity and pH of pore water trapped during deposition of the tuffs, but vertical distributions in vitric tuffs seem to have been controlled by the glass/liquid ratio of the reacting system and the permeability or diffusion rate of alkali elements. The Bigadiç, Emet and Kirka zeolite deposits which were formed in saline basins rich in Ca and Mg ions, show similar chemical changes, i.e. loss of alkalis and gain in alkaline-earth elements that have taken place during the diagenetic transformation of rhyolitic glasses to dioctahedral smectites or clinoptilolite. The absence of sodic zeolites such as mordenite, erionite, chabazite and silica-rich phillipsite is mainly due to the very high K/Na ratio of the starting materials rather than initial alkaline conditions or high Na content in lake waters.     

An attempt to analyze the development of geology as a science

The Eocene (42 to 41 Ma) El Salvador porphyry copper deposit in the Indio Muerto district, northern Chile (26° 15′ S Lat.), formerly thought to have formed at the culmination of a 9-m.y. period of episodic magmatism, is shown by new mapping, U-Pb and K-Ar geochronology, and petrologic data to have formed during the younger of two distinct but superposed magmatic events-a Paleocene (～63 to 58 Ma) and an Eocene (44 to 41 Ma) event. In the district, high-K Paleocene volcano-plutonic activity was characterized by a variety of eruptive styles and magmatic compositions, including a collapse caldera associated with explosive rhyolitic magmatism (El Salvador trapdoor caldera), a post-collapse rhyolite dome field (Cerro Indio Muerto), and andesitic-trachyandesitic stratovolcanos (Kilometro Catorce-Los Amarillos sequence). Pre-caldera basement faults were reactivated during Paleocene volcanism as part of the collapse margin of the caldera. Beneath Cerro Indio Muerto, where the porphyry Cu deposit subsequently formed, the intersection of two major basement faults and the NNE-striking rotational axis of tilted ignimbrites of the Paleocene El Salvador caldera localized emplacement of post-collapse rhyolite domes and peripheral dikes and sills. Subsequent Eocene rhyolitic and granodioritic-dacitic porphyries intruded ~14 m.y. after cessation of Paleocene magmatism along the same NNE-striking structural belt through Cerro Indio Muerto as did the post-collapse Paleocene rhyolite domes. Eocene plutonism over a 3-m.y. period was contemporaneous with NW-SE-directed shortening associated with regional sinistral transpression along the Sierra Castillo fault, lying ～10 km to the east. Older Eocene rhyolitic porphyries in the Indio Muerto district were emplaced between 44 and 43 Ma, and have a small uneconomic Cu center associated with a porphyry at Old Camp. The oldest granodioritic-dacitic porphyries also were emplaced at ～44 to 43 Ma, but their petrogenetic relation to the rhyolitic porphyries and younger granodioritic-dacitic porphyries in the district is unclear. The main porphyry Cu-Mo-related granodioritic-dacitic stocks in Quebrada Turquesa on Cerro Indio Muerto intruded, cooled, and were mineralized within ～1 m.y. between 42 and 41 Ma. Volumetrically minor late- to post-mineral porphyries are slightly more mafic than earlier granodioritic-dacitic porphyries, a compositional trend possibly repeated on several scales and more than once over the 3-million-year Eocene magmatic history of the Indio Muerto district. This compositional trend requires either addition of basaltic material into an open-system silicic magma chamber or tapping of progressively deeper levels of a vertically zoned magma chamber. Eocene porphyry magmas were more hydrous and their residual source mineralogy richer in garnet than the relatively anhydrous Paleocene rocks, whose source was rich in pyroxene. The presence of inherited zircons in Paleocene and Eocene rocks requires interaction with crustal rocks of Paleozoic and/or Proterozoic age.

Paleocene and Eocene igneous rocks in the Indio Muerto district were emplaced during distinct magmatic-tectonic events that are unrelated, although spatially associated. The districtscale Paleocene and Eocene eruptive styles and geochemical and mineralogic characteristics mimic characteristics of similar-aged igneous rocks throughout northern Chile (20°30′ S Lat. to 27° S Lat.), attesting to the regional nature of the Paleocene and Eocene events. Porphyry Cu mineralization in the district furthermore is associated not only with an Eocene granodioriticdacitic (42 to 41 Ma) complex, but also with one of an older Eocene (44 to 43 Ma) rhyolitic porphyry, implying that a long period of precursor magmatism is not required for generation of the El Salvador porphyry Cu-Mo deposit. Rather, the episodic magmatism preceding porphyry Cu mineralization reflects repeated structural localization through time of superimposed highlevel volcano-plutonic complexes in an active magmatic arc.     

Tropical/subtropical Upper Paleocene–Lower Eocene fluvial deposits in eastern central Patagonia,Chile (46°45′S)

A succession of quartz-rich fluvial sandstones and siltstones derived from a mainly rhyolitic source and minor metamorphic rocks, located to the west, represent the first Upper Paleocene–Early Eocene deposits described in Chilean eastern central Patagonian Cordillera (46°45′S). This unit, exposed 25 km south of Chile Chico, south of lago General Carrera, is here defined as the Ligorio Márquez Formation. It overlies with an angular unconformity Lower Cretaceous shallow marine sedimentary rocks (Cerro Colorado Formation) and subaerial tuffs that have yielded K–Ar dates of 128, 125 and 123 Ma (Flamencos Tuffs, of the Divisadero Group). The Ligorio Márquez Formation includes flora indicative of a tropical/subtropical climate, and its deposition took place during the initial part of the Late Paleocene–Early Eocene Cenozoic optimum. The underlying Lower Cretaceous units exhibit folding and faulting, implying a pre-Paleocene–Lower Eocene contractional tectonism. Overlying Oligocene–Miocene marine and continental facies in the same area exhibit thrusts and normal faults indicative of post-Lower Miocene contractional tectonism.     

Crustal-scale magmatic systems during intracontinental strike-slip tectonics: U, Pb and Hf isotopic constraints from Permian magmatic rocks of the Southern Alps

The Southern Alps host volcano-sedimentary basins that formed during post-Variscan extension and strike-slip in the Early Permian. We present U–Pb ages and initial Hf isotopic compositions of magmatic zircons from silicic tuffs and pyroclastic flows within these basins, from caldera fillings and from shallow intrusions from a 250 km long E–W transect (Bozen–Lugano–Lago Maggiore) and compare these with previously published data. Basin formation and magmatism are closely related to each other and occurred during a short time span between 285 and 275 Ma. The silicic magmatism is coeval with mafic intrusions of the Ivrea-Verbano Zone and within Austroalpine units. We conclude that deep magma generation, hybridisation and upper crustal emplacement occurred contemporaneously along the entire transect of the Southern Alps. The heat advection in the lower crust by injected mantle melts was sufficient to produce crustal partial melts in lower crustal levels. The resulting granitoid melts intruded into the upper crust or rose to the surface forming large caldera complexes. The compilation of Sr and Nd isotopic data of these rocks demonstrates that the mantle mixing endmember in the melts may not be geochemically enriched but has a depleted composition, comparable to the Adriatic subcontinental mantle exhumed to form the Tethyan sea floor during Mesozoic continental breakup and seafloor spreading. Magmatism and clastic sedimentation in the intracontinental basins was interrupted at 275 Ma for some 10–15 million years, forming a Middle Permian unconformity. This unconformity may have originated during large-scale strike-slip tectonics and erosion that was associated with crustal thinning, upwelling and partial melting of mantle, and advection of melts and heat into the crust. The unconformity indeed corresponds in time to the transition from a Pangea-B plate reconstruction for the Early Permian to the Late Permian Pangea-A plate assembly (Muttoni et al. in Earth Planet Sci Lett 215:379–394, 2003). The magmatic activity would therefore indicate the onset of >2,000 km of strike-slip movement along a continental-scale mega-shear, as their model suggests.     

Intra- and extra-caldera volcaniclastic facies and geomorphic characteristics of a frequently active mafic island–arc volcano, Ambrym Island, Vanuatu

Ambrym is one of the most voluminous active volcanoes in the Melanesian arc. It consists of a 35 by 50 km island elongated east–west, parallel with an active fissure zone. The central part of Ambrym, about 800 m above sea level, contains a 12 kilometre-wide caldera, with two active intra-caldera cone-complexes, Marum and Benbow. These frequently erupting complexes provide large volumes of tephra (lapilli and ash) to fill the surrounding caldera and create an exceptionally large devegetated plateau “ash plain”, as well as sediment-choked fluvial systems leading outward from the summit caldera. Deposits from fall, subordinate base surge and small-volume pyroclastic (scoria) flows dominate the volcaniclastic sequences in near vent regions. Frequent and high-intensity rainfall results in rapid erosion of freshly deposited tephra, forming small-scale debris flow- and modified grain flow-dominated deposits. Box-shaped channel systems are initially deep and narrow on the upper flanks of the composite cones and are filled bank-to-bank with lapilli-dominated debris flow deposits. These units spill out into larger channel systems forming debris aprons of thousands of overlapping and anastomosing long, narrow lobes of poorly sorted lapilli-dominated deposits. These deposits are typically remobilised by hyperconcentrated flows, debris-rich stream flows and rare debris flows that pass down increasingly shallower and broader box-shaped valleys. Lenses and lags of fines and primary fall deposits occur interbedded between the dominantly tabular hyperconcentrated flow deposits of these reaches. Aeolian sedimentation forms elongated sand dunes flanking the western rim of the ash-plain. Outside the caldera, initially steep-sided immature box-canyons are formed again, conveying dominantly hyperconcentrated flow deposits. These gradually pass into broad channels on lesser gradients in coastal areas and terminate at the coast in the form of prograding fans of ash-dominated deposits. The extra-caldera deposits are typically better sorted and contain other bedding features characteristic of more dilute fluvial flows and transitional hyperconcentrated flows. These outer flank volcaniclastics fill valleys to modify restricted portions of the dominantly constructional landscape (lava flows, and satellite cones) of Ambrym. Apparent maturity of the volcanic system has resulted in the subsidence of the present summit caldera at a similar rate to its infill by volcaniclastic deposits.     

Failure mechanisms and development of catastrophic rockslides triggered by precipitation and open-pit mining in Emei,Sichuan, China

Two deadly rockslides, triggered by heavy precipitation and open-pit mining, were reported in Emei County, Sichuan Province, China, from 2011 to 2015. About 6.0 million m³ of rock detached from the upper slopes, pushed the pre-sliding deposits, and hit the opposite mountains at average velocity of 18 to 36 km/h. Detailed field investigation, geological mapping, and UAV aerial photographic interpretation are presented to analyze the failure mechanisms of the events. The results suggest that the high-speed consequent bedding rockslides were triggered by the failure of rock mass, which were influenced by the engineering activities and climate change. Key contributive factors were weathered and fragmented basalts that were affected by open-pit mining and frequent blasting, as well as the weak underlying tuffs with swell-shrink potential. Persistent rainfall was the direct trigger in initiating and reactivating the landslide. Water affected the slope stability by increasing the slope material’s unit weight and penetrating into joints and cracks to make the tuffs degrade and causing a reduction in effective stress. The mechanisms for the two landslide events are a high-speed regressive consequent bedding (RCB) rockslide in 2011 and a reactivated high-speed advancing consequent bedding (ACB) rockslide in 2015. This paper can provide an insight into large-scale consequent bedding rockslides associated with the interaction between the rainfall and open-pit mining slopes instabilities.     

新疆西天山大型铁矿床石炭纪控矿火山机构及成矿模式

新疆西天山阿吾拉勒成矿带发育一系列大型海相火山岩型铁矿床,是我国十大重要金属矿产资源接替基地之一,备受关注。该成矿带石炭纪火山活动强烈,前人已经识别出该成矿带东段的区域艾肯达坂破火山口,且查岗诺尔、智博、敦德、备战等大型铁矿床均赋存于下石炭统大哈拉军山组火山岩中,其形成受火山机构控制。然而,迄今为止,这些矿床尚未确立具体的火山机构,矿床与矿区发育的火山机构关系有待查明;此外,与查岗诺尔、智博、备战等矿床包含单一的铁元素不同,敦德矿床具有Fe-Zn-Au元素组合,其原因尚不清楚。在前人研究基础上,通过野外地质剖面观察和测量,结合室内研究和遥感解译工作,我们认为阿吾拉勒成矿带东段的4个大型铁矿床均独自发育石炭纪与成矿有关的火山机构,且不同矿床,其火山机构的特点及其演化各不相同。其中,查岗诺尔矿区发育圆形破火山口,面积约为10km2,矿床位于破火山口北缘,矿体赋存于破火山口环状断裂系中;智博矿区发育椭圆形破火山口,面积约为15km2,矿床位于破火山口西南部,矿体赋存于经多次塌陷的破火山口环状断裂系中;敦德矿区发育椭圆形破火山口,面积约为6km2,矿床位于破火山口的中部,矿体赋存于火山通道及其附近的环状和放射状断裂系中;备战矿区发育椭圆形火山口,面积约为4km2,矿床位于火山口北缘,矿体赋存于环状断裂系中。可见,只有敦德矿床的矿体赋存于火山通道断裂系中,其余矿床的矿体均赋存于火山机构环状断裂系中;高渗透性的火山机构断裂系为成矿流体迁移和金属沉淀提供了有利的空间,是铁矿体形成的关键控矿因素和赋矿部位。此外,这些铁矿床的成矿年龄(319～304Ma)滞后于容矿火山岩的年龄(328～319Ma),矿体与围岩界线多为渐变关系;成矿作用以热液作用为主,其中,敦德矿区发育单一的热液成矿作用,具有Fe-Zn-Au元素组合,其它矿床成矿作用复杂,包括热液成矿作用、沉积成矿作用和可能的岩浆熔体成矿作用,仅发育有Fe元素。基于此,可将阿吾拉勒成矿带东段的海相火山岩型铁矿床进一步划分为两个亚类,即火山通道型铁多金属矿床(敦德)和火山边缘型铁矿床(查岗诺尔、智博、备战);成矿模式包括火山通道相热液富集铁多金属成矿模式和火山边缘相沉积-热液富集铁成矿模式。     

The Acampamento Velho Formation,a Lower Cambrian Bimodal Volcanic Package: Geochemical and Stratigraphic Studies from the Cerro Do Bugio,Perau and Serra De Santa Bárbara (Caçapava Do Sul,Rio Grande Do Sul,RS - Brazil)

During the late stages of the Brasiliano orogenic cycle (Lower Cambrian), the Camaquã Basin was gradually filled by the alkaline-trending, bimodal volcanic rocks of the Acampamento Velho Alloformation. This volcanic package consists of two facies associations: the lower one composed of andesites and basaltic andesites, and the upper one of rhyolitic rocks. The rhyolitic association comprises alternating pyroclastic rocks (lapilli, tuffs and welded tuffs) in the middle section and flows at the top. Geochemical evidence, especially trace elements and REE, confirmed the stratigraphic succession proposed herein for the volcanic rocks, as well as their co-genetic relationships and the fractional crystallization of the felsic sequence. The Acampamento Velho Formation seems to have been generated in an extensional regime preceding the collision of the Rio de la Plata and Kalahari continental plates. This extensional regime probably occurred during subduction of the Adamastor oceanic plate beneath the Rio de la Plata plate in a retroarc setting.     

响溪金矿区成矿地质特征与找矿方向分析

响溪金矿区周边出露黄茅园复式岩体、中华山岩体和其它隐伏岩体等,岩浆多期次活动。岩体与周边围岩金丰度值高,NE向张扭性断层贯穿岩体与围岩,围岩中发育NW向劈理化带是外接触带矿床的容矿构造。建议加强岩体及贯穿岩体的NE向断层的含矿性研究是寻找内接触带矿床的突破口,外接触带矿床主要需加强平行劈理化带的找矿,已知矿区要加强走向上的浅部控制。     

Origin, age and stratigraphic significance of distal fallout ash tuffs from the Carboniferous–Permian continental Saar–Nahe Basin (SW Germany)

Thin, widespread, fallout tuff layers interbedded within fluvio-lacustrine successions of the Carboniferous-Permian Saar-Nahe Basin provide important tephrostratigraphic markers. In addition, radiogeochronometric data derived from the tuffs serve as calibration points for the adjustment to regional chronostratigraphy and to numerical time scales. The Pappelberg-Tuff in the Meisenheim Formation (Glan Group) has been dated by U/Pb zircon SHRIMP technique at 297.0Dž.2 Ma. Taking the Carboniferous/Permian boundary at 296 Ma, the Meisenheim Formation coincides approximately with this boundary. Consequently, underlying strata, lithostratigraphically regarded as the basal part of the 'Rotliegend', chronostratigraphically belong to the Upper Carboniferous. Bed thicknesses, grain size and sorting characteristics of the tuffs and the absence of contemporaneously emplaced volcanics within the Saar-Nahe Basin point to an extrabasinal derivation of the wind-drifted volcanic ash. Decreasing grain sizes of juvenile pyroclastic particles towards the north suggest source areas south of the basin within 300 km distance. The majority of the tuffs are rhyolitic to rhyodacitic and indicate petrographic and geochemical affinities to Moldanubian S-type granitoids, in particular to highly differentiated two-mica granites, and related volcanic effusives. Within the time frame considered here, such potential source rocks were emplaced in the northern and central Black Forest (SW Germany) and the northern Vosges (E France) at 100-150 km distance south of the Saar-Nahe Basin.     

Geothermal-type alteration in a burial metamorphosed volcanic pile, central Chile

Abstract The Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary volcanic sequences in the Chilean Andes are affected by burial metamorphism. For example, in central Chile (between 32°30'and 35°S), the Abanico Formation, a folded upper Cretaceous to Palaeogene unit composed of basic lavas, tuffs and ash flows of intermediate composition and volcaniclastic sandstones, is characterized by heulandite- to laumontite-bearing zeolite facies assemblages in its upper part passing with depth to prehnite–pumpellyite facies assemblages.
However, at c . 33°30'S in the Abanico Hill area, located just east of a graben at Santiago (the longitudinal Central Valley), the alteration pattern is unrelated to stratigraphic depth. It is characterized by a lateral increase in grade defined by assemblages with yugawaralite (reported for the first time in the Andes) laumontite, then wairakite ± epidote, and finally with abundant epidote successively closer to the graben boundary. This pattern was formed in a palaeogeothermal system with a high- T and a very low- P gradient. Geothermal alteration has also been inferred from the border zone of a Neogene caldera in the Abanico Hill area, and from the western fault boundary of the graben.
These expressions of geothermal alteration, together with the occurrence of caldera structures, the huge volume of ignimbrites and numerous epithermal precious metal deposits of late Cretaceous and Tertiary age in central and northern Chile, suggest that fossil geothermal systems of this age are probably common features in the Chilean Andes.