Cretaceous and Cenozoic cooling history across the ultrahigh pressure Tongbai–Dabie belt, central China, from apatite fission-track thermochronology

The crystalline terrane of the Tongbai–Dabie region, central China, comprising the Earth's largest ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) exposure was formed during Triassic collision between the Sino–Korean and Yangtze cratons. New apatite fission-track (AFT) data presented here from the UHP terrane, extends over a significantly greater area than reported in previous studies, and includes the (eastern) Dabie, the Hong'an (northwestern Dabie) and Tongbai regions. The new data yield ages ranging from 44 ± 3 to 142 ± 36 Ma and mean track lengths between 10 and 14.4 μm. Thermal history models based on the AFT data taken together with published ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar, K–Ar, apatite and zircon (U–Th)/He and U–Pb data, exhibit a three-stage cooling pattern that is similar across the study region, commencing with an Early Cretaceous rapid cooling event, followed by a period of relative thermal stability during which rocks remained at temperatures within the AFT partial annealing zone (60–110 °C) and ending with a possible renewed phase of accelerated cooling during Pliocene to Recent time. The first cooling phase followed large-scale transtensional deformation between 140 and 110 Ma and is related to Early Cretaceous eastward tectonic escape and Pacific back arc extension. Between this phase and the subsequent slow cooling phase, a transition period from 120 to 80 Ma (to 70 to 45 Ma along the Tan–Lu fault) was characterised by a relatively low cooling rate (3–5 °C/Ma). This transition is likely related to a tectonic response associated with the mid-Cretaceous subduction of the Izanagi–Pacific plate as well as lithospheric extension and thinning in eastern Asia. The present regional AFT age pattern is therefore basically controlled by the Early Cretaceous rapid cooling event, but finally shaped through active Cenozoic faulting. Following the transition phase the subsequent slow cooling phase pattern implies a net reduction in horizontal compressional stress corresponding to increased extension rates along the continental margin due to the decrease in plate convergence. Modelling of the AFT data suggests a possible Pliocene–Recent cooling episode, which may be supported by increased rates of sedimentation observed in adjacent basins. This cooling phase may be interpreted as a response to the far-field effects of the frontal India–Eurasia collision to the west. Approximate estimates suggest that the total amount of post 120 Ma denudation across the UHP orogen ranged from 2.4 to 13.2 km for different tectonic blocks and ranged from 0.8 to 9.7 km during the Cretaceous to between 1.7 and 3.8 km during the Cenozoic.     

Insights into Wasatch fault vertical slip rates using the age of sediments in Timpanogos Cave, Utah

Timpanogos Cave, located near the Wasatch fault, is about 357 m above the American Fork River. Fluvial cave sediments and an interbedded carbonate flowstone yield a paleomagnetic and U–Th depositional age of 350 to 780 ka. Fault vertical slip rates, inferred from calculated river downcutting rates, range between 1.02 and 0.46 mm yr^− 1. These slip rates are in the range of the 0–12 Ma Wasatch Range exhumation rate ( 0.5–0.7 mm yr^− 1), suggesting that the long-term vertical slip rate remained stable through mid-Pleistocene time. However, the late Pleistocene (0–250 ka) decelerated slip rate ( 0.2–0.3 mm yr^− 1) and the accelerated Holocene slip rate ( 1.2 mm yr^− 1) are consistent with episodic fault activity. Assuming that the late Pleistocene vertical slip rate represents an episodic slowing of fault movement and the long-term (0–12 Ma) average vertical slip rate, including the late Pleistocene and Holocene, should be  0.6 mm yr^− 1, there is a net late Pleistocene vertical slip deficit of  50–75 m. The Holocene and late Pleistocene slip rates may be typical for episodes of accelerated and slowed fault movement, respectively. The calculated late Pleistocene slip deficit may mean that the current accelerated Wasatch fault slip rate will extend well into the future.     

SHRIMP zircon U–Pb geochronological and whole-rock geochemical evidence for an early Neoproterozoic Sibaoan magmatic arc along the southeastern margin of the Yangtze Block

It has been generally accepted that the South China Block was formed through amalgamation of the Yangtze and Cathaysia Blocks during the Proterozoic Sibaoan orogenesis, but the timing and kinematics of the Sibao orogeny are still not well constrained. We report here SHRIMP U–Pb zircon geochronological and geochemical data for the Taohong and Xiqiu tonalite–granodiorite stocks from northeastern Zhejiang, southeastern margin of the Yangtze Block. Our data demonstrate that these rocks, dated at 913 ± 15 Ma and 905 ± 14 Ma, are typical amphibole-rich calc-alkaline granitoids formed in an active continental margin. Combined with previously reported isotopic dates for the  1.0 Ga ophiolites and  0.97 Ga adakitic rocks from northeastern Jiangxi, the timing of the Sibao orogenesis is thus believed to be between  1.0 and  0.9 Ga in its eastern segment. It is noted that the Sibao orogeny in South China is in general contemporaneous with some other early Neoproterozoic (1.0–0.9 Ga) orogenic belts such as the Eastern Ghats Belt of India and the Rayner Province in East Antarctica, indicating that the assembly of Rodinia was not finally completed until  0.9 Ga.     

Probing fault zone heterogeneity on the Nojima fault: Constraints from zircon fission-track analysis of borehole samples

Fission-track (FT) thermochronologic analysis was performed on zircon separates from rocks in and around the Nojima fault, which was activated during the 1995 Kobe earthquake. Samples were collected from the University Group 500 m (UG-500) borehole and nearby outcrops. FT lengths in zircons from localities > 25 m away from the fault plane as well as one 0.1 m away from the fault in the footwall are characterized by concordant mean values of  10–11 μm and unimodal distributions with negative skewness, which showed no signs of appreciable reduction in FT length. In contrast, those adjacent (< 3 m) to the fault at depths on the hanging wall side showed significantly reduced mean track lengths of  6–8 μm and distributions having a peak around 6–7 μm with rather positive skewness. The former pattern is interpreted to reflect cooling through the zircon partial annealing zone (ZPAZ), without later, partial thermal overprints. The latter indicates substantial track shortening due probably to secondary heating by a thermal event(s) that locally perturbed the geothermal structure. Modeled zircon FT length and age data of partially annealed samples from the UG-500 borehole revealed a cooling episode in the ZPAZ that started at  4 Ma within  3 m from the fault plane, whereas those from the Geological Survey of Japan 750 m borehole record cooling started at  31–38 Ma within  25 m from the fault. On the basis of one-dimensional heat conduction modeling as well as the consistency between the degree of FT annealing and the degree of deformation/alteration of borehole rocks, these cooling ages in both boreholes are interpreted as consequences of ancient thermal overprints by heat transfer or dispersion via fluids in the fault zone. Together with the zircon FT data of a pseudotachylyte layer recently analyzed, it is suggested that the present Nojima fault system was reactivated in the Middle Quaternary from an ancient fault initiated at  56 Ma at mid-crustal depths. Also shown is a temporal/spatial variation in terms of the thermal anomalies recorded in the fault rocks, implying heterogeneity of hot fluid flows in the fault zone.     

Structural and stratigraphical constraints on the kinematics history of the Southern Tan–Lu Fault Zone during the Mesozoic Anhui Province, China

The Tan–Lu Fault Zone (TLFZ) extends in a NNE–SSW direction for more than 2000 km in Eastern China. It has been considered either as a major sinistral strike-slip fault, as a suture zone or as a normal fault. We have conducted a structural analysis of the southern segment of this fault zone (STLFZ) in the Anhui Province. The ages (Triassic to Palaeocene) of the formations affected by the faults have been re-appraised taking into account recent stratigraphical studies to better constraint the ages of the successive stages of the kinematics of the STLFZ. Subsequently, the kinematics of the faults is presented in terms of strain/stress fields by inversion of the striated fault set data. Finally, the data are discussed in the light of the results obtained by previous workers.We propose the following history of the STLFZ kinematics during the Mesozoic. At the time of collision, a  NNE orientated Tan–Lu margin probably connected two margins located north of the Dabie and Sulu collision belts. During the Middle–Late Triassic, the SCB has been obliquely subducted below the NCB along this margin which has acted as a compressional transfer zone between the Dabie and Sulu continental subduction zones. The STLFZ has been initiated during the Early Jurassic and has acted as a sinistral transform fault during the Jurassic, following which the NCB/SCB collision stopped. A  NW-trending extension related to metamorphic domes was active during the basal Early Cretaceous ( 135–130 Ma); it has been followed by a NW–SE compression and a NE–SW tension during the middle–late Early Cretaceous ( 127 to  105 Ma, possibly  95 Ma); at that time the TLFZ was a sinistral transcurrent fault within the eastern part of the Asian continent. During the Late Cretaceous–Palaeocene, the STLFZ was a normal fault zone under a WNW–ESE tension.     

Constraining models of the tectonic setting of the giant Olympic Dam iron oxide–copper–gold deposit, South Australia, using deep seismic reflection data

In the Gawler Craton, the completeness of cover concealing the crystalline basement in the region of the giant Olympic Dam Cu–Au deposit has impeded any sufficient understanding of the crustal architecture and tectonic setting of its IOCG mineral-system. To circumvent this problem, deep seismic reflection data were recently acquired from  250 line-km of two intersecting traverses, centered on the Olympic Dam deposit. The data were recorded to 18 s TWT ( 55 km). The crust consists of Neoproterozoic cover, in places more than 5 km thick, over crystalline basement with the Moho at depths of 13–14 s TWT ( 40–42 km). The Olympic Dam deposit lies on the boundary between two distinct pieces of crust, one interpreted as the Archean–Paleoproterozoic core to the craton, the other as a Meso–Neoproterozoic mobile belt. The host to the deposit, a member of the  1590 Ma Hiltaba Suite of granites, is situated above a zone of reduced impedance contrast in the lower crust, which we interpret to be source-region for its  1000 °C magma. The crystalline basement is dominated by thrusts. This contrasts with widely held models for the tectonic setting of Olympic Dam, which predict extension associated with heat from the mantle producing the high temperatures required to generate the Hiltaba Suite granites implicated in mineralization. We use the seismic data to test four hypotheses for this heat-source: mantle underplating, a mantle-plume, lithospheric extension, and radioactive heating in the lower crust. We reject the first three hypotheses. The data cannot be used to reject or confirm the fourth hypothesis.     

Holocene activity of the Scilla Fault, Southern Calabria: Insights from coastal morphological and structural investigations

Integration of on-land and offshore geomorphological and structural investigations coupled to extensive radiometric dating of co-seismically uplifted Holocene beaches allows characterization of the geometry, kinematics and seismotectonics of the Scilla Fault, which borders the eastern side of the Messina Strait in Calabria, Southern Italy. This region has been struck by destructive historical earthquakes, but knowledge of geologically-based source parameters for active faults is relatively poor, particularly for those running mostly offshore, as the Scilla Fault does. The  30 km-long normal fault may be divided into three segments of  10 km individual length, with the central and southern segments split in at least two strands. The central and northern segments are submerged, and in this area marine geophysical data indicate a youthful morphology and locally evidence for active faulting. The on-land strand of the western segment displaces marine terraces of the last interglacial (124 to 83 ka), but seismic reflection profiles suggest a full Quaternary activity. Structural data collected on bedrock faults exposed along the on-land segment provide evidence for normal slip and  NW-SE extension, which is consistent with focal mechanisms of large earthquakes and GPS velocity fields in the region. Detailed mapping of raised Holocene marine deposits exposed at the coastline straddling of the northern and central segments supplies evidence for two co-seismic displacements at  1.9 and  3.5 ka, and a possible previous event at  5 ka. Co-seismic displacements show a consistent site value and pattern of along-strike variation, suggestive of characteristic-type behaviour for the fault. The  1.5–2.0 m average co-seismic slips during these events document M_e  6.9–7.0 earthquakes with  1.6–1.7 ka recurrence time. Because hanging-wall subsidence cannot be included into slip magnitude computation, these slips reflect footwall uplift, and represent minimum average estimates. The palaeoseismological record based on the palaeo-shorelines suggests that the last rupture on the Scilla Fault during the February 6, 1783 M_w = 5.9–6.3 earthquake was at the expected time but it may have not entirely released the loaded stress since the last great event at  1.9 ka. Comparison of the estimated co-seismic extension rate based on the Holocene shoreline record with available GPS velocities indicates that the Scilla Fault accounts for at least  15–20% of the contemporary geodetic extension across the Messina Strait.     

Mesozoic plutons of the Yidun Arc, SW China: U/Pb geochronology and Hf isotopic signature

The Yidun Arc is a Triassic volcanic arc located between the Songpan Garzê Fold Belt and the Qiangtang Block, southwest China. To constrain the age of a number of the major granitic plutons from the Yidun Arc, laser ablation ICP-MS U/Pb analysis of zircon was conducted. Hafnium isotope data was also acquired through laser-ablation multicollector ICPMS analysis of zircon, with the aim of gaining insight into the age and nature of the source region of the plutons. Three age groups have been identified from seven granite samples: Early–Middle Triassic ( 245 to 229 Ma), Late Triassic ( 219 to 216 Ma) and Cretaceous ( 105 to 95 Ma). Hafnium analysis shows the Triassic granites to have negative and variable ε_Hf values and Mesoproterozoic ( 1.6 Ga) depleted-mantle model ages, which is interpreted to reflect derivation from an isotopically heterogeneous, largely crustal source. The Cretaceous granite shows higher and less variable ε_Hf values and slightly younger model ages ( 1.3 Ga), and is interpreted to be derived from melting of a more homogeneous crustal source. A depleted-mantle model age of  1.5 Ga is calculated from the pooled Triassic and Cretaceous samples. The source region for these magmas may be tentatively correlated with Mesoproterozoic material of the Yangtze Craton, which has been suggested to underlie the Yidun Arc; however, further work is necessary to demonstrate this suggestion.     

Linking source and sink: Evaluating the balance between onshore erosion and offshore sediment accumulation since Gondwana break-up, South Africa

The geomorphic origin and evolution of the tectonically unique interior highland of southern Africa, the Kalahari Plateau, and its flanking low-lying coastal planes, remain largely unresolved because of a lack of regional quantitative analyses of its uplift and erosion history. Here we focus on the southern Cape, South Africa and link onshore denudation, based on new apatite fission track thermochronology results, to offshore sediment accumulation, using abundant well data and a seismic reflection profile. We attempt to relate source and sink in order to resolve some first order issues concerning timing of the exhumation and development of the topographic features of southern Africa. The volume of sediment accumulated off South Africa's south coast is calculated using 173 wells and a seismic reflection profile. A total, uncompacted, sediment volume of 268,500 km³ accumulated off South Africa's south coasts since  136 Ma, in the Outeniqua and Southern Outeniqua Basins. Accumulation volumes and rates were highest in the early Cretaceous (48,800 × 10⁴ km³ at  8150 km³/Ma from  136 to 130 Ma, and 57,500 × 10⁴ km³ at 5750 km³/Ma from  130 to 120 Ma) and mid–late Cretaceous (83,700 × 10⁴ km³ at 3200 km³/Ma from  93 to 67 Ma). Volumes and accumulation rates were lowest for the early–mid-Cretaceous (47,400 × 10⁴ km³ at 1750 km³/Ma from  120 to 93 Ma) and the Cenozoic (31,200 × 10⁴ km³ at 450 km³/Ma from  67 to 0 Ma). Although our analysis shows that the accumulated volume of offshore sediments does not match the calculated volume of onshore erosion, as quantified through apatite fission track thermochronology (e.g. Tinker, J.H., de Wit, M.J., Brown, R., 2008. Mesozoic exhumation of the 439 southern Cape, South Africa, quantified using apatite fission track thermochronology. Tectonophysics, doi: 10.1016/j.tecto.2007.10.009), the timing of increased sediment accumulation closely matches the timing of increased onshore denudation. This suggests that the greatest volumes of material were transported from source to sink during two distinct Cretaceous episodes, and that the processes driving onshore denudation decreased by an order of magnitude during the Cenozoic.     

Paleomagnetic constraints on the paleogeography and oroclinal bending of the Devonian volcanic arc in Kazakhstan

Numerical modelling, incorporating coupling between surface processes and induced flow in the lower continental crust, is used to address the Quaternary evolution of the Gulf of Corinth region in central Greece. The post-Early Pleistocene marine depocentre beneath this Gulf overlies the northern margin of an older (Early Pleistocene and earlier) lacustrine basin, the Proto Gulf of Corinth Basin or PGCB. In the late Early Pleistocene, relief in this region was minimal but, subsequently, dramatic relief has developed, involving the creation of  900 m of bathymetry within the Gulf and the uplift by many hundreds of metres of the part of the PGCB, south of the modern Gulf, which forms the Gulf's main sediment supply. It is assumed that, as a result of climate change around 0.9 Ma, erosion of this sediment source region and re-deposition of this material within the Gulf began, both processes occurring at spatial average rates of  0.2 mm a^− 1. Modelling of the resulting isostatic response indicates that the local effective viscosity of the lower crust is  4 × 10¹⁹ Pa s, indicating a Moho temperature of  560 °C. It predicts that the  10 mm a^− 1 of extension across this  70 km wide model region, at an extensional strain rate of  0.15 Ma^− 1, is partitioned with  3 mm a^− 1 across the sediment source,  2 mm a^− 1 across the depocentre, and  5 mm a^− 1 across the ‘hinge zone’ in between, the latter value being an estimate of the extension rate on normal faults forming the major topographic escarpment at the southern margin of the Gulf. This modelling confirms the view, suggested previously, that coupling between this depocentre and sediment source by lower-crustal flow can explain the dramatic development in local relief since the late Early Pleistocene. The effective viscosity of the lower crust in this region is not particularly low; the strong coupling interpreted between the sediment source and depocentre results instead from their close proximity. In detail, the effective viscosity of the lower crust is expected to decrease northward across this model region, due to the northward increase in exposure of the base of the continental lithosphere to the asthenosphere; in the south the two are separated by the subducting Hellenic slab. The isostatic consequences of such a lateral variation in viscosity provide a natural explanation for why, since  0.9 Ma, the modern Gulf has developed asymmetrically over the northern part of the PGCB, leaving the rest of the PGCB to act as its sediment source.     

Anatolian surface wave evaluated at GEOFON Station ISP Isparta, Turkey

We have studied seismic surface waves of 255 shallow regional earthquakes recently recorded at GEOFON station ISP (Isparta, Turkey) and have selected these 52 recordings with high signal-to-noise ratio for further analysis. An attempt was made by the simultaneous use of the Rayleigh and Love surface wave data to interpret the planar crust and uppermost mantle velocity structure beneath the Anatolian plate using a differential least-square inversion technique. The shear-wave velocities near the surface show a gradational change from approximately 2.2 to 3.6 km s^− 1 in the depth range 0–10 km. The mid-crustal depth range indicating a weakly developed low velocity zone has shear-wave velocities around 3.55 km s^− 1. The Moho discontinuity characterizing the crust–mantle velocity transition appears somewhat gradual between the depth range  25–45 km. The surface waves approaching from the northern Anatolia are estimated to travel a crustal thickness of  33 km whilst those from the southwestern Anatolia and part of east Mediterranean Sea indicate a thicker crust at  37 km. The eastern Anatolia events traveled even thicker crust at  41 km. A low sub-Moho velocity is estimated at  4.27 km s^− 1, although consistent with other similar studies in the region. The current velocities are considerably slower than indicated by the Preliminary Reference Earth Model (PREM) in almost all depth ranges.     

A late Quaternary paleotemperature record from Hanging Lake, northern Yukon Territory, eastern Beringia

The late Quaternary paleoclimate of eastern Beringia has primarily been studied by drawing qualitative inferences from vegetation shifts. To quantitatively reconstruct summer temperatures, we analyzed lake sediments for fossil chironomids, and additionally we analyzed the sediments for fossil pollen and organic carbon content. A comparison with the δ¹⁸O record from Greenland indicates that the general climatic development of the region throughout the last glaciation–Holocene transition differed from that of the North Atlantic region. Between  17 and 15 ka, mean July air temperature was on average 5°C colder than modern, albeit a period of near-modern temperature at  16.5 ka. Total pollen accumulation rates ranged between  180 and 1200 grains cm^− 2 yr^− 1. At  15 ka, approximately coeval with the Bølling interstadial, temperatures again reached modern values. At  14 ka, nearly 1000 yr after warming began, Betula pollen percentages increased substantially and mark the transition to shrub-dominated pollen contributors. Chironomid-based inferences suggest no evidence of the Younger Dryas stade and only subtle evidence of an early Holocene thermal maximum, as temperatures from  15 ka to the late Holocene were relatively stable. The most recognizable climatic oscillation of the Holocene occurred from  4.5 to 2 ka.     

Experimental frictional heating of coal gouge at seismic slip rates: Evidence for devolatilization and thermal pressurization of gouge fluids

High velocity (1 m/s) friction experiments on bituminous coal gouge display several earthquake-related phenomena, including devolatilization by frictional heating, gas pressurization, and slip weakening. Stage I is characterized by sample shortening and reduction in the coefficient of friction (μ) from  1 to 0.6. Stage II is characterized by high frequency ( 5 Hz) oscillations in stress and strain records and by gas emissions. Stage III is marked by rapid weakening (μ  0.1 to 0.35) and sample shortening, together with continued gas emissions. Stage IV produces stable stress records and continued weakness (μ  0.2), but without gas emission. Stage I shortening is due to compaction of the gouge and the weakening is attributed to mechanical or thermal effects. Stage II behavior is interpreted as due to coal gasification and fluctuations in fluid pressure, resulting in high frequency stick-slip type behavior. Dramatic reduction in shear stress in stage III is attributed to gas pressurization by pore collapse and corresponds to a frictional instability, analogous to nucleation of an earthquake. Microstructural observations indicate the deformation was brittle during stages I and II but ductile during stages III and IV. Time dependent finite element frictional heat models indicate the center of the samples became hot ( 900 °C) during stage II, whereas the edge of samples remained relatively cold (< 300 °C). Vitrinite reflectance of coal samples shows an increase in reflectance from  0.5 to  0.8% over the displacement interval 20–40 m (20–40 s), indicating that the reflectance responds to frictional heating on a short time scale. The energy expended per unit area in these low stress, large displacement experiments is similar to that of higher stress ( 50 MPa), short displacement ( 1 m) earthquakes ( 10⁷ J/m²).     

Brittle–ductile–brittle deformation during cooling of tonalite (Adamello, Southern Italian Alps)

Late- to post-magmatic deformation in slightly diachronous contiguous intrusions of the north-western Adamello batholith (Southern Alps, Italy) is recorded as, from oldest to youngest: (i) joints, (ii) solid-state ductile shear zones, (iii) faults associated with epidote-K-feldspar veins and (iv) zeolite veins and faults. Structures (ii) to (iv) are localized on the pervasive precursory network of joints (i), which developed during the earliest stages of pluton cooling. High temperature ( 500 °C), ductile overprinting of joints produced lineations, defined by aligned biotite and hornblende, on the joint surfaces and highly localized mylonites. The main phase of faulting, producing cataclasites and pseudotachylytes, occurred at  250 °C and was associated with extensive fluid infiltration. Cataclasites and pseudotachylytes are clustered along different E–W-striking dextral strike-slip fault zones correlated with the activity of the Tonale fault, a major tectonic structure that bounds the Adamello batholith to the north. Ductile deformation and cataclastic/veining episodes occurred at P = 0.25–0.3 GPa during rapid cooling of the batholith to the ambient temperatures ( 250 °C) that preceded the exhumation of the batholith. Timing of the sequence of deformation can be constrained by ³⁹Ar–⁴⁰Ar ages of  30 Ma on pseudotachylytes and various existing mineral ages. In the whole composite Adamello batholith, multiple magma pulses were intruded over the time span 42–30 Ma and each intrusive body shows the same ductile-to-brittle structural sequence localized on the early joint sets. This deformation sequence of the Adamello might be typical of intrusions undergoing cooling at depths close to the brittle–ductile transition.     

Analysis of crustal deformation in Luzon, Philippines using geodetic observations and earthquake focal mechanisms

We utilize regional GPS velocities from Luzon, Philippines, with focal mechanism data from the Harvard Centroid Moment Tensor (CMT) Catalog, to constrain tectonic deformation in the complex plate boundary zone between the Philippine Sea Plate and Eurasia (the Sundaland block). Processed satellite imagery and digital elevation models are used with existing gravity anomaly, seismicity, and geologic maps to define a suite of six elastic blocks. Geodetic and focal mechanism data are inverted simultaneously to estimate plate rotations and fault-locking parameters for each of the tectonic blocks and faults comprising Luzon. Major tectonic structures that were found to absorb the plate convergence include the Manila Trench (20–100 mm yr^− 1) and East Luzon Trough ( 9–15 mm yr^− 1)/Philippine Trench ( 29–34 mm yr^− 1), which accommodate eastward and westward subduction beneath Luzon, respectively; the left-lateral strike-slip Philippine Fault ( 20–40 mm yr^− 1), and its northward extensions, the Northern Cordillera Fault ( 17–37 mm yr^− 1 transtension), and the Digdig Fault ( 17–27 mm yr^− 1 transpression). The Macolod Corridor, a zone of active volcanism, crustal thinning, extension, and extensive normal and strike-slip faulting in southwestern Luzon, is associated with left-lateral, transtensional slip of  5–10 mm yr^− 1. The Marikina Fault, which separates the Central Luzon block from the Southwestern Luzon block, reveals  10–12 mm yr^− 1 of left-lateral transpression. Our analysis suggests that much of the Philippine Fault and associated splays are locked to partly coupled, while the Manila and Philippine trenches appear to be poorly coupled. Luzon is best characterized as a tectonically active plate boundary zone, comprising six mobile elastic tectonic blocks between two active subduction zones. The Philippine Fault and associated intra-arc faults accommodate much of the trench-parallel component of relative plate motion.     

Neoproterozoic crustal growth: The solid Earth system during a critical episode of Earth history

The behavior of the solid Earth system is often overlooked when the causes of major Neoproteozoic (1000–542 Ma) climate and biosphere events are discussed although  20% of the present continental crust formed or was remobilized during this time. Processes responsible for forming and deforming the continental crust during Neoproterozoic time were similar to those of the modern Earth and took place mostly but not entirely at convergent margin settings. Crustal growth and reworking occurred within the context of a supercontinent cycle, from breakup of Rodinia beginning  830 Ma to formation of a new supercontinent Greater Gondwana or Pannotia,  600 Ma. Neoproterozoic crust formation and deformation was heterogeneous in space and time, and was concentrated in Africa, Eurasia, and South America during the last 300 million years of Neoproterozoic time. In contrast, the solid Earth system was relatively quiescent during the Tonian period (1000–850 Ma). The vigor of Cryogenian and Ediacaran tectonic and magmatic processes and the similar timing of these events and development of Neoproterozoic glaciations and metazoa suggest that climate change and perhaps increasing biological complexity was strongly affected by the solid Earth system.     

Holocene climate variability and cultural evolution in the Near East from the Dead Sea sedimentary record

A comprehensive record of lake level changes in the Dead Sea has been reconstructed using multiple, well dated sediment cores recovered from the Dead Sea shore. Interpreting the lake level changes as monitors of precipitation in the Dead Sea drainage area and the regional eastern Mediterranean palaeoclimate, we document the presence of two major wet phases ( 10–8.6 and  5.6–3.5 cal kyr BP) and multiple abrupt arid events during the Holocene. The arid events in the Holocene Dead Sea appear to coincide with major breaks in the Near East cultural evolution (at  8.6, 8.2, 4.2, 3.5 cal kyr BP). Wetter periods are marked by the enlargement of smaller settlements and growth of farming communities in desert regions, suggesting a parallelism between climate and Near East cultural development.     

Cirque glacier activity in arctic Norway during the last deglaciation

Numerous cirques of the Lofoten–Vesterålen archipelago in northern Norway have distinct moraine sequences that previously have been assigned to the Allerød-Younger Dryas ( 13,400 to 11,700 yr BP) interval, constraining the regional distribution of the equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) of cirque and valley glaciers. Here we present evidence from a once glacier-fed lake on southern Andøya that contests this view. Analyses of radiocarbon dated lacustrine sediments including rock magnetic parameters, grain size, organic matter, dry bulk density and visual interpretation suggest that no glacier was present in the low-lying cirque during the Younger Dryas-Allerød. The initiation of the glacial retreat commenced with the onset of the Bølling warming ( 14,700 yr BP) and was completed by the onset of Allerød Interstade ( 13,400 yr BP). The reconstructed glacier stages of the investigated cirque coincide with a cool and dry period from  17,500 to 14,700 yr BP and a somewhat larger Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) advance possibly occurring between  21,050 and 19,100 yr BP.     

Age and origin of middle Neoproterozoic mafic magmatism in southern Yangtze Block and relevance to the break-up of Rodinia

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon age, geochemical and Sm–Nd isotopic data are reported for mid-Neoproterozoic volcanic rocks and mafic intrusions in northern Guangxi (Guibei) and western Hunan (Xiangxi) Provinces along the southern margin of the Yangtze Block. The mafic igneous rocks studied are generally synchronous, dated at  765 Ma. The least-contaminated dolerite samples from Xiangxi are characterized by high εNd(T) value of 3.3 to 5.3 and OIB-type geochemical features, indicating that they were derived from an OIB-like mantle source in a continental rift setting. The spilites and gabbros in Guibei show basaltic compositions transitional between the tholeiitic and calc-alkaline series. Despite depletion in Nb and Ta relative to La and Th, they have Zr/Sm = 27–35 and Ti/V = 30–40, affinitive to intraplate basalts. Their εNd(T) values are variable, ranging from − 1.2 to 3.2 for the spilites and from − 1.7 to 2.9 for the gabbros, suggesting that these spilites and gabbros crystallized from crustal-contaminated mafic magmas derived from a metasomatised subcontinental lithospheric mantle source. We conclude that the  765 Ma mafic magmatic rocks in Guibei and Xiangxi were formed in a single continental rift setting as part of the broadly concurrent  780–750 Ma rift magmatism over much of South China, which may be related to the plume activities during the breakup of Rodinia.     

Age constraints on the formation and emplacement of Neoproterozoic ophiolites along the Allaqi–Heiani Suture, South Eastern Desert of Egypt

Ophiolites are key components of the Neoproterozoic Arabian–Nubian Shield (ANS). Understanding when they formed and were emplaced is crucial for understanding the evolution of the ANS because their ages tell when seafloor spreading and terrane accretion occurred. The Yanbu–Onib–Sol Hamed–Gerf–Allaqi–Heiani (YOSHGAH) suture and ophiolite belt can be traced  600 km across the Nubian and Arabian shields. We report five new SHRIMP U–Pb zircon ages from igneous rocks along the Allaqi segment of the YOSHGAH suture in southernmost Egypt and use these data in conjunction with other age constraints to evaluate YOSHGAH suture evolution. Ophiolitic layered gabbro gave a concordia age of 730 ± 6 Ma, and a metadacite from overlying arc-type metavolcanic rocks yielded a weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 733 ± 7 Ma, indicating ophiolite formation at  730 Ma. Ophiolite emplacement is also constrained by intrusive bodies: a gabbro yielded a concordia age of 697 ± 5 Ma, and a quartz-diorite yielded a concordia age of 709 ± 4 Ma. Cessation of deformation is constrained by syn- to post-tectonic granite with a concordia age of 629 ± 5 Ma. These new data, combined with published zircon ages for ophiolites and stitching plutons from the YOSHGAH suture zone, suggest a 2-stage evolution for the YOSHGAH ophiolite belt ( 810–780 Ma and  730–750 Ma) and indicate that accretion between the Gabgaba–Gebeit–Hijaz terranes to the south and the SE Desert–Midyan terranes to the north occurred as early as 730 Ma and no later than 709 ± 4 Ma.