The internal deformation of the Peridotite Nappe of New Caledonia: A structural study of serpentine-bearing faults and shear zones in the Koniambo Massif

We present a structural analysis of serpentine-bearing faults and shear zones in the Koniambo Massif, one of the klippes of the Peridotite Nappe of New Caledonia. Three structural levels are recognized. The upper level is characterized by a dense network of fractures. Antigorite and polygonal serpentine form slickenfibers along fault planes with distinct kinematics. As a result, the upper level keeps the record of at least two deformation events, the first associated with the growth of antigorite (WNW-ESE extension), the second with the growth of polygonal serpentine (NW–SE compression). The lower level coincides with the ‘serpentine sole’ of the nappe, which consists of massive tectonic breccias overlying a layer of mylonitic serpentinites. The sole records pervasive tangential shear with top-to-SW kinematics and represents a décollement at the base of the nappe. The intermediate level is characterized by the presence of several meters-thick conjugate shear zones accommodating NE–SW shortening. Like the sole, these shear zones involve polygonal serpentine and magnesite as the main syn-kinematic mineral phases. The shear zones likely root into the basal décollement, either along its roof or, occasionally, around its base. Compared to top-to-SW shearing along the sole, the two deformation events recorded in the upper level are older.The three structural levels correlate well with previously recognized spatial variations in the degree of serpentinization. It is therefore tempting to consider that the intensity of serpentinization played a major role in the way deformation has been distributed across the Peridotite Nappe. However, even the least altered peridotites, in the upper level, contain so much serpentine that, according to theoretical and experimental work, they should be nearly as weak as pure serpentinite. Hence, no strong vertical gradient in strength due to variations in the degree of serpentinization is expected within the exposed part of the nappe. Our proposal is that strain localization along the serpentine sole results from the juxtaposition of the nappe, made of weak serpentinized peridotites, against the strong mafic rocks of its substratum. This interpretation is at odds with the intuitive view that would consider the nappe, made of peridotites, as stronger than its basement.     

The ultramafic flora of the Santa Elena peninsula,Costa Rica: A biogeochemical reconnaissance

The Santa Elena peninsula in the northwest of Costa Rica protrudes about 30 km westwards into the Pacific Ocean, and measures about 8–16 km in a north–south direction. Several geological studies have been carried out since 1953, showing that much of the peninsula is made up of peridotite, cut by mafic dykes. Only one previous brief examination appears to have been made of the vegetation in relation to the composition of the soils. We present here the results of a survey of some soils and plants of the eastern part of the peridotite massif, in which 73 plant specimens representing 51 identified species were collected and analyzed. The soils sampled all showed extreme ultramafic characteristics: Fe 10–16%, Mg 4–16%, Ca 0.5–1.4%; Ni 3000–7500 mg/kg, Cr 1400–3650 mg/kg, Co 150–325 mg/kg. The plants collected include several from genera such as Arrabidaea, Chamaesyce, Helicteres, Hyptis, Lippia, Oxalis, Polygala, Turnera and Waltheria that are also represented on ultramafics elsewhere in the Americas (e.g. Cuba, Puerto Rico, Brazil). Few of the species appear to be endemic to Costa Rica or to the ultramafics of Santa Elena. None of the specimens collected exhibited hyperaccumulation of nickel, the highest Ni concentration being 275 mg/kg in Buchnera pusilla.     

Delineation of a large ultramafic massif embedded within a major SW Pacific suture using gravity methods

Gravity studies have delineated the largest ultramafic massif in New Zealand, embedded within a buried major SW Pacific crustal suture zone. This suture records terrane collision onto the Gondwana margin during the Mesozoic and separates a forearc terrane from an outboard accretionary prism terrane. It can be traced throughout the length of New Zealand as the Junction Magnetic Anomaly and contains the Permian Dun Mountain Ophiolite Belt, which in the South Island of New Zealand is characterized by a string of isolated ultramafic massifs in a sheared matrix of serpentinite and sediment. Our analysis reveals a steep gravity gradient at the suture boundary which is attributed to a newly recognised density contrast (0.1 Mg m^− 3) between terranes of the forearc and the accretionary prism. The massif itself is marked by the occurrence of a strong, elongate residual gravity anomaly (+ 120 g.u.) extending 50 km along the suture and coincident with the Junction Magnetic Anomaly. It is modelled, at its southern end, as a dense, 15 km wide source body, extending to at least 6 km in depth. In conjunction with detailed aeromagnetic data, this modeling indicates the presence of a spindle-shaped ultramafic massif, analogous to, but larger than similar bodies found within the Dun Mountain Ophiolite Belt elsewhere. This fabric of sheared serpentinites enclosing ultramafic massifs therefore extends at least the length of New Zealand and probably beyond. In part it may result from accretion of asperities in the subducting plate, but it is also due to disruption of larger ultramafic bodies during subsequent strike-slip motion, which caused the remarkable linearity of the Dun Mountain Belt. Given the common occurrence of the plate tectonic processes involved, it is likely that such structures can be found in other regions around the world using similar geophysical potential field methods.     

超基性岩中锆石年龄的特征和意义——以西南天山UHP蛇纹岩中锆石U-Pb年龄为例

超基性岩本身难以生长锆石的特性,使得研究其中的锆石需要特别谨慎。超基性岩中的锆石虽然具有多解性,但是锆石也携带了很多演化信息。产出不同地质背景的超基性岩,其中的锆石特征不同。本文总结现有的研究实例表明:(1)经历高温高压变质作用的石榴橄榄岩通常通过交代作用获得锆石,且锆石能够记录峰期变质时代,其中的继承锆石较少,可能在高温高压条件下,继承锆石发生分解重结晶;(2)大洋蛇绿岩型超基性岩和地幔岩捕掳体中通常具有年龄分布很广的锆石年龄特征,锆石年龄峰值通常与区域上构造事件相吻合,为捕掳晶锆石。接下来本文以西南天山超高压(UHP)蛇纹岩为例,对其锆石年龄进行解释。西南天山蛇纹岩为经历过超高压变质作用的大洋蛇绿岩型超基性岩,2个蛇纹岩样品中锆石的阴极发光图像分析和SIMS U-Pb定年分析结果显示,西南天山UHP蛇纹岩中的锆石包含捕掳晶锆石和变质锆石,捕掳晶锆石的年龄为2.1~1.0Ga,对应该区变泥质岩中碎屑锆石记录的年龄峰值。409~537Ma可能代表了蛇纹岩原岩结晶时代。区域上的变质压力峰期年龄(~320Ma)在蛇纹岩中没有记录,仅有1颗锆石记录了309±5Ma的近峰期时代。270~155Ma的退变质时代在西南天山蛇纹岩中出现较广,这与榴辉岩中出现的退变年龄相吻合,代表了折返过程中较为普遍的后期热液事件。基于对超基性岩中锆石特征的初步了解,结合西南天山蛇纹岩的研究实例,认为通过研究锆石的年代学,结合锆石矿物化学、包体矿物学、同位素地球化学等特征,不仅可以提供年代学信息,还可以对超基性岩的来源和演化过程进行解析。     

藏北昂吾地区超基性岩的蛇纹石化和磁铁矿化过程及影响因素

班公湖-怒江缝合带广泛分布超基性岩及蛇纹石化超基性岩,已有研究表明它们与区域成矿关系密切,其蛇纹石化过程使一些元素活化并具有一定的成矿潜力。位于班-怒带中段的昂吾地区蛇纹石化超基性岩主要矿物成分有橄榄石、单斜辉石、铬铁矿、利蛇纹石、磁铁矿和绿泥石等,原岩恢复表明该超基性岩为单辉橄榄岩。镜下鉴定、背散射电子图像、能谱成分分析和电子探针分析结果显示单辉橄榄岩的蛇纹石化及蚀变过程可分为三个阶段:(Ⅰ)以形成相对富铁蛇纹石(Mg#=75～88)为主,基本无磁铁矿析出;(Ⅱ)形成相对富镁的蛇纹石(Mg# 90),析出磁铁矿;(Ⅲ)蛇纹石进一步蚀变成绿泥石。热力学模拟及多组分矿物相平衡图表明,在蛇纹石化过程中,昂吾地区超基性岩中的辉石脱硅致使反应体系SiO_2活度升高,限制了磁铁矿的生成。同时也发现,在利蛇纹石稳定存在的温度区间内(100～300℃),本研究的蛇纹石化体系温度倾向高值区,不利于磁铁矿的析出。进而探讨了原岩成分、反应体系SiO_2活度及温度等因素对蛇纹石化过程中磁铁矿析出的影响。本研究有助于理解班-怒带内超基性岩的蛇纹石化过程及磁铁矿化机制。     

塔里木瓦吉里塔格超镁铁质隐爆角砾岩铂族元素和微量元素地球化学特征及其岩石成因探讨

本文对塔里木盆地二叠纪大火成岩省中瓦吉里塔格地区超镁铁质隐爆角砾岩进行了铂族元素(PGE)和主、微量及稀土元素分析和研究。结果显示,隐爆角砾岩中Os、Ir、Ru、Rh、Pt和Pd含量分别为0.36×10-9～1.08×10-9、0.23×10-9～0.44×10-9、0.29×10-9～0.92×10-9、0.11×10-9～0.18×10-9、1.88×10-9～3.16×10-9和1.39×10-9～3.52×10-9,均低于原始地幔,与夏威夷苦橄岩相似。该岩石的Pd/Ir比值在3.6～11.9之间,PGE分配模式呈一条正倾斜的曲线,表现出一定程度的分异,具有非俯冲背景下产生的基性-超基性岩的PGE配分特点。略高于原始地幔但变化较小的Cu/Pd比值(5.1×104～12.1×104)表明其岩浆在上升侵位过程中并没有发生明显的饱和硫化物熔离作用,而岩浆源区在部分熔融过程中可能有少量残留的硫化物存在。隐爆角砾岩全岩的IPGE元素与MgO之间基本上呈正相关,而PPGE元素与MgO之间则略成负相关或无明显相关性,指示PGE的分异主要受到橄榄石结晶分异作用的控制。地球化学特征显示隐爆角砾岩的稀土元素总量高度富集(964.1×10-6～1299×10-6)和轻、重稀土强烈分馏((La/Yb)N=45.88～64.90),且微量元素蛛网图上大离子亲石元素富集和Nb、Ta的轻微亏损以及Zr、Hf的明显贫化,表明岩石可能遭受一定程度的地幔交代作用影响。但是,角砾与胶结物具有相近的PGE特征表明交代作用对PGE的影响并不大,暗示PGE可能主要赋存于禁锢在硅酸盐矿物内的硫化物包裹体中。     

Platinum and palladium mobility in supergene environment: The residual origin of the Pirogues River mineralization, New Caledonia

Eluvial concentration of platinum-group minerals (PGM) has developed in the south of New Caledonia, from the weathering of a mafic and ultramafic cumulate. The platinum/palladium (Pt/Pd) ratio evolution from the bottom to the top of the weathering profile indicates a chemical mobilization of Pd in supergene environment. The examination by scanning electron microscopy of the residual PGM collected in the weathering profile and their chemical characterization by electronic microprobe show a preservation of the structure and chemical signature (in the core of the grains) of the fresh PGM. This clearly demonstrates that the PGM studied here are residual and are affected by dissolution process.     

Calculated mineral equilibria for eclogites in CaO–Na2O–FeO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2–H2O: application to the Pouébo Terrane, Pam Peninsula, New Caledonia

The high- P , medium- T  Pouébo terrane of the Pam Peninsula, northern New Caledonia includes barroisite- and glaucophane-bearing eclogite and variably rehydrated equivalents. The metamorphic evolution of the Pouébo terrane is inferred from calculated P–T  and P–T  – X H2O pseudosections for bulk compositions appropriate to these rocks in the model system CaO–Na₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O. The eclogites experienced a clockwise P–T  path that reached P ≈19  kbar and T  ≈600  °C. The eclogitic mineral assemblages are preserved because reaction consequent upon decompression consumed the rocks' fluid. Extensive reaction occurred only in rocks with fluid influx during decompression of the Pouébo terrane.     

Mineralogical and geochemical implications of weathering rates in coastal dunes and beach sands close to a volcanic rock source in the western Gulf of Mexico,Mexico

Coastal dune (CD) and beach sand samples were mineralogically and chemically studied to assess the weathering rates in a coastal area surrounded by the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB). The study area is a narrow coastal plain with sub-humid warm weather and vigorous coastal dynamics located in the Western Gulf of Mexico (WGM). Our results show that the grain size parameters remain homogeneous along nine CD and beach sites, probably due to the hydrodynamic mechanisms prevailing in the area, i.e. wind deflation, longshore currents, and waves. The minerals found in the CD and beach sands are enriched in recycled, highly corroded monocrystalline quartz (Qm), with loss of plagioclase (P) and olivine (ol), with ilmenite fractions (op) especially in the northern sites. The geochemical data show that the sands are controlled by the exhumation of the TMVB rocks composed of a high volcanic lithic content with lathwork, microlithic, and negligible vitric textures. These volcanic fractions are in agreement with the presence of lavas of calc alkaline, andesite, Na-alkaline lavas, and rhyolite tuffs derived from the TMVB. Significant Spearman Rank Correlations (SRCs) resulted from high silica, titanium, iron, magnesium, calcium, vanadium, chromium, cobalt, associated with the presence of Qm, ilmenite, clinopyroxene, shell fragments, and volcanic lithics. Monocrystalline quartz enrichments, compared to a quartz dilution effect (<Qm; < Qm) at the northern and southern beach sites, reflect the vigorous coastal dynamics. The presence of ilmenite lag deposits in the northern sites indicate that high energy hydrodynamic conditions prevail at the site. The rare earth element (REE) patterns support the mineralogical and compositional framework of the CD and beach sands as part of the TMVB exhumation. We used various chemical indices such as the Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA), the Chemical Index of Weathering (CIW), the Plagioclase Index of Alteration (PIA), and the Weathering Index of Plagioclase (WIP). The WIP values reflect the depletion of mobile elements such as Ca, Na, K, and enrichment of Qm at the northern beach sites, e.g. the Istirinchiá site. The CIA/WIP ratio of 2.13 indicates intermediate weathering under warm climatic conditions and recycling of CD and beach sands.     

花岗岩风化程度的化学指标及微观特征对比——以香港九龙地区为例

据香港九龙3个不同工程场地取得的149件不同级别的风化花岗岩样品的化学分析结果,用统计学方法,从反映岩石风化程度的18项化学指标中选取9项进行了分析计算.对其结果及其与风化程度分级的关系的研究表明有4种指标比较理想.通过对样品微观特征的观察研究和矿物成分、微孔隙率以及综合显微岩石指标(Ip)进行了描述和定量分析,发现其中一些指标有一定相关性.这些化学指标和微观特征相关的统计值在一定程度上可定量表征花岗岩的风化程度,即:随风化作用进行,碱、碱土金属组分逐渐淋失,脱硅、富铝铁化作用逐渐加强;相应地,先是钠长石风化成高岭石,其次为云母和钾长石的风化.粘土矿物所占体积百分比随风化程度增高而变大,至残积土(Ⅵ级)时已达50%左右;Ip指标值下降,微孔隙率增高.文章综合出各个风化级别的指标变化范围及平均值供花岗岩分布区花岗岩风化野外调查和研究工作参考.     

Fractionation of bulk rock composition due to porphyroblast growth: effects on eclogite facies mineral equilibria, Pam Peninsula, New Caledonia

Chemically zoned porphyroblasts in metamorphic rocks indicate that diffusional processes could not maintain equilibrium conditions on a grain scale during porphyroblast growth or establish it afterwards. An effect of this inability to maintain equilibrium is the progressive removal of elements forming garnet cores from any metamorphic reaction that occurs at the porphyroblast boundaries or in the matrix of the rock. To examine this effect on mineral assemblages, the Bence–Albee matrix correction was applied to X‐ray intensity maps collected using eclogite samples from northern New Caledonia in order to determine the chemical composition of all parts of the sample. The manipulation of these element maps allows a quantitative analysis of the fractionation of the bulk rock composition between garnet cores and the matrix. A series of calculated equilibrium‐volume compositions represents the change in matrix chemistry with progressive elemental fractionation as a consequence of prograde garnet growth under high‐P conditions. Pressure–temperature pseudosections are calculated for these compositions, in the CaO–Na₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O system. Assemblages, modal proportions and mineral textures observed in the New Caledonian eclogites can be closely modelled by progressively ‘removing’ elements forming garnet cores from the bulk rock composition. The pseudosections demonstrate how chemical fractionation effects the peak metamorphic assemblage, prograde textures and the development of retrograde assemblages.     

Late Holocene paleoenvironment in northern New Caledonia, southwestern Pacific, from a multiproxy analysis of lake sediments

Lithostratigraphic and palynological analysis of two cores recovered from the ‘Grand Lac’ (New Caledonia), combined with 35 ¹⁴C AMS dates, yields a paleoenvironmental record spanning the last 2000 yr. The lithology is represented mainly by clayey or laminated layers. A catastrophic event, which is marked by very coarse deposits, occurred probably between ca 1070-960 cal yr B.P. and possibly is associated with an unusually severe La Niña event. Before and after this event, a similar combination of the two main sediment types is recorded. The repeated alternation of laminated and clayey layers is interpreted as the response to local hydrologic forcing, which may reflect a shift from relatively wet to relatively drier conditions, respectively. Variable amount of micro-charcoal is detected all along the profile. Without additional evidence, notwithstanding the initial local human settlement documented since ca 2900 ¹⁴C yr B.P., micro-charcoal occurrence and variability cannot be linked directly to an anthropogenic origin. No distinct palynological zonations in relation to the lithology are observed, and the vegetation changes may only represent minor transitions across environmental limits.     

Lateritization processes of ultramafic rocks in Cretaceous times: The fossil weathering crusts of mainland Greece

The lateritic weathering crusts exposed in mainland Greece were developed on ophiolitic ultramafic lithologies during lower Cretaceous times. The lateritic profile consists of four zones: bedrock, saprolite clay (nontronite) and goethitic. The profiles show large variations in thickness, continuity, mineralogy and chemical characteristics. They are broadly similar to clay nickel laterite deposits. The uppermost gravelly ferruginous sector was eroded and the material reworked and redeposited partly on the lateritic crust. Silcrete layers, characteristic of groundwater silcretes, were formed into the clay and goethitic zones. Significant supergene nickel enrichments occur in the clay and saprolite zones, indicating that water moved downward to a very low water table. The structure and mineralogy of the weathering crusts indicates that environmental conditions were likely to have been dominated by alternating wet and dry periods.     

Mineral fibres and environmental monitoring:A comparison of different analytical strategies in New Caledonia

Covered by ultrabasic units for more than a third of its surface,the New Caledonia(South West Pacific)is one of the largest world producers of Ni-ore from lateritic deposits.Almost all outcrops of geological units and open mines contain serpentine and amphibole,also as asbestos varieties.In this geological context,in which weathering processes had a great contribution in the production and dispersion of mineral fibres into the environment,the development of a routinely analytical strategy,able to discriminate an asbestiform fibre from a non-harmful particle,is a pivotal requisite.However,the acquisition of all these parameters is necessary for determining the risk associated to fibres exposition.A multidisciplinary routinely approach,based on the use of complementary simply-to-use but reliable analytical methods is the only possible strategy.In addition,the instrumental apparatus must be easily transportable on the field,directly on the mining site.The employment of specialized tools such as Polarized Light Microscopy associated to Dispersion Staining method(PLM/DS)and portable Raman spectroscopy for identification of environmental asbestos,are proved extremely effective in the improvement of the performance and rapidity of data acquisition and interpretation.Both PLM/DS and handheld Raman devices confirmed to be discriminant in the detection and characterization of asbestos fibres for both serpentine and amphibole.Furthermore,these techniques proved extremely effective even in the presence of strongly fibrous and altered samples.     

Sr,Nd,Pb and trace element systematics of the New Caledonia harzburgites:Tracking source depletion and contamination processes in a SSZ setting

The New Caledonia ophiolite(Peridotite Nappe)consists primarily of harzburgites,locally overlain by mafic-ultramafic cumulates,and minor spinel and plagioclase lherzolites.In this study,a comprehensive geochemical data set(major and trace element,Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes)has been obtained on a new set of fresh harzburgites in order to track the processes recorded by this mantle section and its evolution.The studied harzburgites are low-strain tectonites showing porphyroclastic textures,locally grading into protomylonitic textures.They exhibit a refractory nature,as attested by the notable absence of primary clinopyroxene,very high Fo content of olivine(91-93 mol.%),high Mg#of orthopyroxene(0.91-0.93)and high Cr#of spinel(0.44-0.71).The harzburgites are characterised by remarkably low REE concentrations(<0.1 chondritic values)and display"U-shaped"profiles,with steeply sloping HREE(DyN/YbN=0.07-0.16)and fractionated LREE-MREE segments(LaN/SmN=2.1-8.3),in the range of modern fore-arc peridotites.Geochemical modelling shows that the HREE composition of the harzburgites can be reproduced by multi-stage melting including a first phase of melt depletion in dry conditions(15%fractional melting),followed by hydrous melting in a subduction zone setting(up to 15%-18%).However,melting models fail to explain the enrichments observed for some FME(i.e.Ba,Sr,Pb),LREE-MREE and Zr-Hf.These enrichments,coupled with the frequent occurrence of thin,undeformed films of Al2 O3,and CaO-poor orthopyroxene(Al2O3=0.88-1.53 wt.%,CaO=0.31-0.56 wt.%)and clinopyroxene with low Na2 O(0.03-0.16 wt.%),Al2 O3(0.66-1.35 wt.%)and TiO2(0.04-0.10 wt.%)contents,point to FME addition during fluid-assisted melting followed by late stage metasomatism most likely operated by subductionrelated melts with a depleted trace element signature.Nd isotopic ratios range from unradiogenic to radiogenic(-0.80<εNdi≤+13.32)and negatively correlate with Sr isotopes(0.70257≤87Sr/86Sr≤0.70770).Pb isotopes cover a wide range,trending from DMM toward enriched,sediment-like,compositions.We interpret the geochemical signature displayed by the New Caledonia harzburgites as reflecting the evolution of a highly depleted fore-arc mantle wedge variably modified by different fluid and melt inputs during Eocene subduction.     

Long-term simulations of thermal and hydraulic characteristics in a mountain massif: The Mont Blanc case study, French and Italian Alps

 The use of hydrothermal simulation models to improve the prediction of water inflows in underground works during drilling is tested in the Mont Blanc tunnel, French and Italian Alps. The negative thermal anomaly that was observed during the drilling of this tunnel in 1960 is reproduced by long-term, transient hydrothermal simulations. Sensitivity analysis shows the great inertia of thermal phenomena at the massif scale. At the time of tunnel drilling, the massif had not reached thermal equilibrium. Therefore, a set of simulation scenarios, beginning at the end of the last glacial period, was designed to explain the anomaly encountered in the tunnel in 1960. The continuous cooling of alpine massifs due to infiltration of waters from the surface has occurred for 12,000 years and is expected to continue for about 100,000 years. Comparisons of water-discharge rates simulated in the tunnel with those observed indicate that this hydrothermal method is a useful tool for predicting water inflows in underground works. Received, May 1998 · Revised, March 1999 · Accepted, April 1999     

与碱性岩有关的浅成低温热液型金矿特征与控矿因素——以巴布亚新几内亚波尔盖拉金矿为例

与碱性岩有关的浅成低温热液型金矿在全球特别是环太平成矿带中具有重要意义,波尔盖拉金矿位于新几内亚造山带内较为典型的该类型金矿床。矿床的矿化与碱性的波尔盖拉侵入杂岩体有关,矿化主要发育在岩体与白垩纪Chim组的接触部位,矿化作用分为2期,矿化形态主要为脉状和角砾岩矿化,成矿物质和成矿流体具有明显的岩浆来源的特征。与成矿有关的波尔盖拉杂岩体侵入时代为5.99Ma,与成矿时间一致,并来源于被交代富集型的上地幔,该类碱性岩浆对于金的富集具有重要的意义。通过总结该类矿床的控矿因素和找矿标志为中国企业在该地区寻找同类型金矿提供参考。     

U–Pb zircon dating of post-obduction volcanic-arc granitoids and a granulite-facies xenolith from New Caledonia. Inference on Southwest Pacific geodynamic models

In New Caledonia, the occurrence of one of the World’s largest and best-exposed subduction/obduction complex is a key point for the understanding of the geodynamic evolution of the whole Southwest Pacific region. Within the ophiolite, pre-and post-obduction granitoids intrude the ultramafic allochthon and provide new time constraints for the understanding of obduction processes. At 27.4 Ma, a new East-dipping subduction generated the active margin magmatism along the western coast of the island (Saint-Louis massif). At 24.3 Ma, the eastward shift of the magma activity and slightly different geochemical features (Koum-Borindi massif) was either related to the older slab break-off; or alternatively, due to the eastward migration of the mantle wedge following the collision of the eastern margin of the Low Howe rise. Finally, the occurrence of a granulite-facies xenolith in the Koum-Borindi massif with comparable 24.5 Ma U–Pb zircon age and isotopic features (initial ε_Nd = 5.1) suggests that these evolved magmas were generated within the lithospheric mantle beneath a continental crust of normal thickness. Geochronological evidence for continuous convergence during the Oligocene infers an East-dipping Eocene-Oligocene subduction/obduction system to have existed in the Southwest Pacific from the d’Entrecasteaux zone to the North Island of New Zealand.     

东波超镁铁岩体:西藏雅鲁藏布江缝合带西段一个甚具铬铁矿前景的地幔橄榄岩体

东波超镁铁岩体产在雅鲁藏布江缝合带的西段,与周边白垩纪沉积岩地层和火山岩以断层接触.航磁资料显示该岩体约400km2规模,地表出露连续,地下有一定延深.超镁铁岩体由亏损的地幔橄榄岩组成,主要有高镁的方辉橄榄岩、纯橄岩和少量二辉橄榄岩.方辉橄榄岩和二辉橄榄岩中橄榄石和斜方辉石属高镁型,分别为Fo=89.5～91.5和Mg#=90～91.5.但二辉橄榄岩中的Al2O3和CaO含量明显高于方辉橄榄岩.方辉橄榄岩中单斜辉石Mg#=92～95,二辉橄榄岩的Mg#=92～93,两者的值也重叠.二辉橄榄岩中的Al2O3和CaO含量要明显高于方辉橄榄岩.这些均为阿尔卑斯型地幔橄榄岩的典型特征.纯橄岩中的橄榄石Fo=92～93.2,其斜方辉石和单斜辉石的Mg#=～93,但Al2O3和CaO的含量比方辉橄榄岩和二辉橄榄岩的低.三种岩石的成分变化规律,反映了地幔部分熔融程度的差异.二辉橄榄岩铬尖晶石的Cr#值20～30,反映为典型深海橄榄岩特征,指示MOR环境.与其不同的是,方辉橄榄岩的铬尖晶石的Cr#=20～75,指示MOR和SSZ两者兼有环境.岩石的原始地幔标准化的REE和微量元素蛛网图模式支持了上述的认识.东波地幔橄榄岩中的岩石学特征与产有大型铬铁矿床的罗布莎地幔橄榄岩可对比,岩体中已多处发现块状铬铁矿石,其铬铁矿的Cr2O3含量56％～59％,表明东波是寻找铬铁矿大矿和富矿甚具前景的一个超镁铁岩体.     

New insights into the history and origin of the southern Maya block,SE México: U–Pb–SHRIMP zircon geochronology from metamorphic rocks of the Chiapas massif

The histories of the pre-Mesozoic landmasses in southern México and their connections with Laurentia, Gondwana, and among themselves are crucial for the understanding of the Late Paleozoic assembly of Pangea. The Permian igneous and metamorphic rocks from the Chiapas massif as part of the southern Maya block, México, were dated by U–Pb zircon geochronology employing the SHRIMP (sensitive high resolution ion microprobe) facility at Stanford University. The Chiapas massif is composed of deformed granitoids and orthogneisses with inliers of metasedimentary rocks. SHRIMP data from an anatectic orthogneiss demonstrate that the Chiapas massif was part of a Permian (∼ 272 Ma) active continental margin established on the Pacific margin of Gondwana after the Ouachita orogeny. Latest Permian (252–254 Ma) medium- to high-grade metamorphism and deformation affected the entire Chiapas massif, resulting in anatexis and intrusion of syntectonic granitoids. This unique orogenic event is interpreted as the result of compression due to flat subduction and accretionary tectonics. SHRIMP data of zircon cores from a metapelite from the NE Chiapas massif yielded a single Grenvillian source for sediments. The majority of the zircon cores from a para-amphibolite from the SE part of the massif yielded either 1.0–1.2 or 1.4–1.5 Ga sources, indicating provenance from South American Sunsás and Rondonian-San Ignacio provinces.