Absolute paleogeographic reconstructions of the Siberian Craton in the Phanerozoic: A problem of time estimation of superplumes

The intraplate activity within the Siberian Craton in the Phanerozoic is related to continental migration above the hot spot agglomeration compared to the African superplume. The continuity of intraplate activity within this superplume testifies to its age identity to the antipodal to the Rodinian superplume that destroyed the Rodinia supercontinent. This allowed us to conclude that the African superplume has existed for no less than 1 Ga. Because the Rodinian and Pacific superplumes are compared, it may be gathered that superplumes are the most long-lived deep-seated structures of the Earth. Their relation to the formation of supercontinents probably reflects the antiphased activity caused by the thermostating effect and energy accumulation by superplumes when being overlapped by supercontinents. When analyzing the evolution and generation of modern continents, it is necessary to consider both processes related to the plate boundaries and the activity of superplumes determining the intraplate magmatism therein.     

Late paleozoic-Early Mesozoic within-plate magmatism in North Asia: traps, rifts, giant batholiths, and the geodynamics of their origin

A number of large areas of igneous provinces produced in North Asia in the Late Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic include Siberian and Tarim traps and giant rift systems. Among them, the Central Asian Rift System (CARS) has the most complicated structure, evolved during the longest time, and is a large (3000 × 600 km) latitudinally oriented belt of rift zones extending from Transbaikalia and Mongolia to Middle Asia and including the Tarim traps in western China. CARS was produced in the Late Carboniferous, and its further evolution was associated with the lateral migration of rifting zones; it ended in the Early Jurassic and lasted for approximately 110 Ma. CARS was produced on an active continental margin of the Siberian continent and is noted for largest batholiths, which were emplaced simultaneously with rifting. The batholiths are surrounded by rift zones and compose, together with them, concentrically zoned magmatic areas, with crustal (granitoid) magmatism focused within their central portions, whereas mantle (rift-related) magmatism is predominant in troughs and grabens in peripheral zones. The batholiths show geological and isotopic geochemical evidence that their granitoids were produced by the anatexis of the host rocks at active involvement of mantle magmas. Zonal magmatic areas of the type are viewed as analogues of large igneous provinces formed in the environments characteristic of active continental margins. Large within-plate magmatic provinces in North Asia are thought to have been generated in relation to the overlap of at least two mantle plumes by the Siberian continent during its movement above the hot mantle field. In the continental lithosphere, mantle plumes initiated within-plate magmatic activity and facilitated rifting and the generation of traps and alkaline basite and alkali-salic magmatic associations. Because of the stressed states during collision of various type in the continental margin, the mantle melts did not ascend higher than the lowest crustal levels. The thermal effect of these melts on the crustal rocks induced anatexis and eventually predetermined the generation of the batholiths.     

Grenvillian remnants in the Northern Andes: Rodinian and Phanerozoic paleogeographic perspectives

Grenvillian crust is encountered in several basement inliers in the northern Andes of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru and is also represented as a major detrital or inherited component within Neoproterozoic to Paleozoic sedimentary and magmatic rocks. This review of the tectonic and geochronological record of the Grenvillian belt in the northern Andes suggests that these crustal segments probably formed on an active continental margin in which associated arc and back-arc magmatism evolved from ca. 1.25 to 1.16 Ga, possibly extending to as young as 1.08 Ga.The lithostratigraphic and tectonic history of the Grenvillian belt in the northern Andes differs from that of the Sunsas belt on the southwest Amazonian Craton and from the Grenvillian belt of Eastern Laurentia. It is considered that this belt, along with similar terranes of Grenvillian age in Middle America and Mexico define a separate composite orogen which formed on the northwestern margin of the Amazonian Craton. Microcontinent accretion and interaction with the Sveconorwegian province on Baltica is a feasible tectonic scenario, in line with recent paleogeographic reconstructions of the Rodinian supercontinent. Although Phanerozoic tectonics may have redistributed some of these terranes, they are still viewed as para-autocthonous domains that remained in proximity to the margin of Amazonia. Paleogeographic data derived from Phanerozoic rocks suggest that some of the Colombian Grenvillian fragments were connected to northernmost Peru and Ecuador until the Mesozoic, whereas the Mexican terranes where attached to the Colombian margin until Pangea fragmentation in Late Triassic times.     

Phanerozoic mafic magmatism in the southern Siberian craton: geodynamic implications

The Phanerozoic history of mafic magmatism in the southern Siberian craton included three major events. The earliest event (～500 Ma) recorded in dolerite dikes occurred during accretion and collision at the early stage of the Central Asian orogen. Injection of mafic melts into the upper crust was possible in zones of diffuse extension within the southern Siberian craton which acted as an indenter. The Late Paleozoic event (～275 Ma) produced dikes that intruded in a setting of subduction-related extension at the back of the active continental margin of Siberia during closure of the Mongolia–Okhotsk ocean, as well as slightly older volcanics (290 Ma) in the Transbaikalian segment of the Central Asian orogen. Early Mesozoic magmatism in the southern Siberian craton resulted in numerous 240–250 Ma mafic intrusions in the Angara–Taseeva basin. The intrusions (Siberian traps) appeared as the subducting slab of the Mongolia–Okhotsk ocean interacted with a lower mantle plume. The post-Late Paleozoic ages of flood basalts (290–275 Ma) correspond to progressive northwestward (in present coordinates) motion of the slab beneath the southern craton margin which likely ceased after the slab had reached the zone of the Siberian superplume. Since its consolidation after the Early Mesozoic activity, the crust in the area has no longer experienced extension favorable for intrusion of basaltic magma.     

Construction of the Continental Asia in Phanerozoic: A Review

This is a review of the formation and tectonic evolution of the continental Asia in Phanerozoic.The continental Asia has formed on the bases of some pre-Cambrian cratons,such as the Siberia,India,Arabia,North China,Tarim,South China,and Indochina,through multi-stage plate convergence and collisional collages in Phanerozoic.The north-central Asia had experienced the expansion and subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean(PAO)in the early Paleozoic and the closure of the PAO in the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic,forming the PAO regime and Central Asian orogenic belt(CAOB).In the core of the CAOB,the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean(MOO)opened with limited expansion in the Early Permian and finally closed in the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous.The south-central Asia had experienced mainly multi-stage oceanic opening,subduction and collision evolution in the Tethys Ocean,forming the Tethys regime and Himalaya-Tibetan orogenic belt.In eastern Asia,the plate subduction and continental margin orogeny on western margin of the Pacific Ocean,forms the West Pacific regime and West Pacific orogenic belt.The PAO,Tethys,and West Pacific regimes,together with Precambrian cratons among or surrounding them,made up the major tectonic and dynamic systems of the continental Asia in Phanerozoic.Major tectonic events,such as the Early Paleozoic Qilian,Uralian,and Dunhuang orogeneses,the late Paleozoic East Junggar,Tianshan and West Junggar orogeneses,the Middle to Late Permian Ailaoshan orogeny and NorthSouth Lhasa collision,the early Mesozoic Indochina-South China and North-South China collisions,the late Mesozoic Mongolia-Okhotsk orogeny,Lhasa-Qiangtang collision,and intra-continental Yanshanian orogeny,and the Cenozoic IndoAsian,Arab-Asian,and West Pacific margin collisions,constrained the formation and evolution of the continental Asia.The complex dynamic systems have left large number of deformation features,such as large-scale strike-slip faults,thrustfold systems and extensional detachments on the continental Asia.Based on past tectonics,a future supercontinent,the Ameurasia,is prospected for the development of the Asia in ca.250 Myr.     

The relationship of the Cocos and Carnegie ridges: age constraints from paleogeographic reconstructions

Paleogeographic restorations for the oceanic crust formed by the Cocos-Nacza spreading center and its precursors were performed to reconstruct the history and ages of the submarine aseismic ridges in the Eastern Pacific Basin, the Carnegie, Coiba, Cocos, and Malpelo ridges. The bipartition of the Carnegie ridge reflects the shift from a precursor to the presently active Cocos-Nazca spreading center. The Cocos ridge is partly composed of products from the Galápagos hotspot but may also contain material from a second center of volcanic activity which is located approximately 600 km NE of Galápagos. The Malpelo ridge is a product of this second hotspot center, whereas the Coiba ridge probably formed at the Galápagos hotspot. The geometric relationship of the Cocos and Carnegie ridges indicates symmetric spreading and a constant northward shift of the presently active Cocos-Nazca spreading center.     

A reassessment of paleogeographic reconstructions of eastern Gondwana: Bringing geology back into the equation

In recent years several tectonic reconstructions have been presented for Australia–Antarctica break-up, with each putting the Australian plate in a different location with respect to Antarctica. These differences reflect the different datasets and techniques employed to create a particular reconstruction. Here we show that some of the more recent reconstructions proposed for Australia–Antarctica break-up are inconsistent with both our current knowledge of margin evolution as well as the inferred match in basement terranes on the two opposing conjugate margins. We also show how these incorrect reconstructions influence the fit of the Indian plate against Antarctica if its movement is tied to the Australian plate. Such errors can have a major influence on the tectonic models of other parts of the world. In this case, we show how the position of the Australia plate can predetermine the extent of Greater India, which is (rightly or wrongly) used by many as a constraint in determining the timing of India–Asia, or India–Island Arc collisions during the closure of Tethys. We also discuss the timing of Australia–Antarctica break-up, and which linear magnetic features are a product of symmetric sea-floor spreading versus those linear magnetic features that result from rifting of a margin. The 46 Ma to 84 Ma rotational poles previously proposed for Australia–Antarctica break-up, and confined to transitional crust and the continent–ocean transition zone, more likely formed during earlier stages of rifting rather than during symmetric sea-floor spreading of oceanic crust. So rotation poles that have been derived from magnetic anomalies in such regions cannot be used as input in a plate reconstruction. A new reconstruction of the Australia–Antarctica margin is therefore proposed that remains faithful to the best available geological and geophysical data.     

中国东部燕山期大规模岩浆活动与岩石圈减薄:与大火成岩省的关系

论述了大规模岩浆活动与岩石圈减薄的关系,指出软流圈地幔与地壳直接接触时,即岩石圈最大减薄时(岩石圈地幔厚度为0),岩石圈厚度等于地壳厚度。中国东部岩石圈最大减薄的时间在燕山期,在这之前和之后,岩石圈是厚的。讨论了中国东部大规模岩浆活动与板块俯冲的关系,认为中国东部燕山期岩浆活动与太平洋板块没有关系:中国东部不属于环太平洋构造带,不是安第斯型活动陆缘,中生代玄武岩不具有岛弧玄武岩的特征,从中酸性岩浆岩得不出岛弧的结论,从三叠纪开始的古太平洋板块扩张方向的演变也不支持板块向西俯冲的认识。认为中国东部燕山期大规模岩浆活动可能与超级地幔柱的活动有关,是一种新的大火成岩省类型。文中将大火成岩省分为两类:一类为B型大火成岩省,部分熔融发生在岩石圈底部,以发育玄武岩为特征;另一类为G型大火成岩省,部分熔融发生在下地壳底部,以发育大规模花岗质岩浆为特征。根据中国东部大规模岩浆活动的时空分布分出5个大火成岩省:鄂霍茨克(大兴安岭北端)、张广才岭—小兴安岭、华北—大兴安岭、华南和东部沿海大火成岩省。认为岩石圈减薄可以产生多种效应,是地壳演化的最重要的动力学因素,但唯独与地壳浅部的伸展事件无关。还评论了流行的岩石圈减薄的见解,认为流行的见解将岩石圈减薄定位在新生代(岩石圈厚80～120km)是似是而非的,不是科学的命题。     

Mesoproterozoic within-plate igneous province of the western urals: Main petrogenetic rock types and their origin

The Mesoproterozoic (1.38?C1.30 Ga) Kama-Belsk igneous province (KBP) was formed at the eastern margin of the East European Platform (EEP), in the Volga-Ural area and Bashkirian anticlinorium. It is made up of plutonic, volcanic, and subvolcanic (numerous dike and sill swarms) rocks of bimodal composition. KBP, as most of large igneous provinces, contains two geochemical types of basites: high-titanium (HTi) rocks with TiO₂ > 1.5 wt % and low-titanium (LTi) rocks with TiO₂ < 1.5?C2.0 wt %. They demonstrate zoned distribution, were derived from different mantle sources at different regimes of their partial melting. The high and low-titanium basites significantly differ in geochemical and isotopic (Sr, Nd, O) parameters. The HTi rocks are characterized by Ti/Y > 400, (Gd/Yb) _n = 1.62?C4.08, (Dy/Yb) _n = 1.31?C2.43; Nb/Nb* from 0.5 to 1.3, while the LTi rocks have Ti/Y < 400, (Gd/Yb) _n = 1.23?C1.51, (Dy/Yb)n = 1.01?C1.26, and Nb/Nb* from 0.3 to 0.9. The HTi rocks have ?_Nd(T) from + 1.3 to ?2.4, while the LTi rocks are characterized by ?_Nd(T) from + 0.5 to ?6.1. The oxygen isotopic composition ??18O is 5.0?C5.9?? in the LTi rocks and 7.0?? in the HTi picrobasalts. According to obtained estimates, the parental melts for the LTi type (Mg# = 0.76) are comparable with high-Mg primary melts inferred for within-plate picrites. The parental melts for the HTi type (Mg# = 0.69) had higher Fe contents, which in combination with lowered Al₂O₃ and elevated TiO₂, Na₂O, and P₂O₅ make these rocks similar to ferropicrites. The HTi melts were presumably derived by partial melting of a pyroxenite in equilibrium with garnet-bearing residue, whereas the LTi melts were generated from peridotite protolith and left spinel-bearing residuum. Both the varieties of the basites were contaminated mainly by Paleoproterozoic crustal material.     

Neogene diatoms from the Sandy Ridge section, Alaska Peninsula: Significance for stratigraphic and paleogeographic reconstructions

Fossil diatoms from the Milky River Formation of the Sandy Ridge section, Alaska Peninsula are analyzed. Data on stratigraphic distribution of diatoms and silicoflagellates are presented. Based on presence of stratigraphically important forms (Neodenticula kamtschatica, Thalassiosira oestrupii, Cosmiodiscus insignis), the assemblages studied are correlated with the North Pacific Cenozoic diatom zones. An assemblage similar to that of subzone “b” of the Neodenticula kamtschatica Zone (Barron and Gladenkov, 1995) indicates the latest Miocene-initial early Pliocene (5.5-4.8 Ma) age of its host deposits. Additional species of biostratigraphic importance (Thalassiosira temperei, Th. latimarginata, and others) refine ages of different parts of the section. In particular, age of stratigraphically lowest beds bearing Astarte (mollusks valuable for establishing the Bering Strait opening) were dated at 5.5-5.4 Ma. Some paleogeographic inferences are made from analysis of composition of the diatom assemblages.     

Important crustal growth in the Phanerozoic: Isotopic evidence of granitoids from east-central Asia

The growth of the continental crust is generally believed to have been essentially completed in the Precambrian, and the amount of juvenile crust produced in the Phanerozoic is considered insignificant. Such idea of negligible growth in the Phanerozoic is now challenged by the revelation of very large volume of juvenile crust produced in the period of 500 to 100 Ma in several orogenic belts. While appreciable volumes of juvenile terranes in North America (Canadian Cordillera, Sierra Nevada and Peninsular Range, Appalachians) have been documented based on Nd isotopic data, the mass of new crust formed in the East-Central Asian Orogenic Belt (ECAOB), eastern part of the Altaid Tectonic Collage, appears to be much greater than the above terranes combined. New and published Nd-Sr isotope data indicate that the Phanerozoic granitoids from the southern belt of the ECAOB (Xinjiang-West Mongolia-Inner Mongolia-NE China) as well as from Mongolia and Transbaikalia were generated from sources dominated by a depleted mantle component. These granitoids represent a significant growth of juvenile crust in the Phanerozoic. Although most plutons in this huge orogenic belt belong to the calc-alkaline series, the ECAOB is also characterized by the emplacement of voluminous A-type granites. The origin of these rocks is probably multiple and is still widely debated. However, the isotopic data (Sr-Nd-O) and trace element abundance patterns of A-type granites from the ECAOB clearly indicate their mantle origin. The evolution of the ECAOB and the entire Altaid Collage is most likely related to successive accretion of arc complexes. However, the emplacement of a large volume of post-tectonic A-type granites requires another mechanism—probably through a series of processes including underplating of massive basaltic magma, partial melting of these basic rocks to produce granitic liquids, followed by extensive fractional crystallization. The proportion of juvenile to recycled, as well as that of arc-related to plume-generated, continental crust remains to be evaluated by more systematic dating and isotope tracer studies.     

Crustally-derived granites in the Panzhihua region,SW China: Implications for felsic magmatism in the Emeishan large igneous province

In the Panxi region of the Late Permian (~ 260 Ma) Emeishan large igneous province (ELIP) there is a bimodal assemblage of mafic and felsic plutonic rocks. Most Emeishan granitic rocks were derived by differentiation of basaltic magmas (i.e. mantle-derived) or by mixing between crustal melts and primary basaltic magmas (i.e. hybrid). The Yingpanliangzi granitic pluton within the city of Panzhihua intrudes Sinian (~ 600 Ma) marbles and is unlike the mantle-derived or hybrid granitic rocks. The SHRIMP zircon U–Pb ages of the Yingpanliangzi pluton range from 259 ± 8 Ma to 882 ± 22 Ma. Younger ages are found on the zircon rims whereas older ages are found within the cores. Field relationships and petrography indicate that the Yingpanliangzi pluton must be < 600 Ma, therefore the older zircons are interpreted to represent the protolith age whereas the younger analyses represent zircon re-crystallization during emplacement. The Yingpanliangzi granites are metaluminous and have negative Ta–Nb_PM anomalies, low εNd_{(260 Ma)} values (? 3.9 to ? 4.4), and high I_Sr (0.71074 to 0.71507) consistent with a crustal origin. The recognition of a crustally-derived pluton along with mantle-derived and mantle–crust hybrid plutons within the Panxi region of the ELIP is evidence for a complete spectrum of sources. As a consequence, the types of Panxi granitoids can be distinguished according to their ASI, Eu/Eu*, εNd_(T), εHf_(T), T_Zr(°C) and Nb–Ta_PM values. The diverse granitic magmatism during the evolution of the ELIP from ~ 260 Ma to ~ 252 Ma demonstrates the complexity of crustal growth associated with LIPs.     

Paleozoic tholeiitic magmatism of the Kola province: Spatial distribution,age, and relation to alkaline magmatism

This paper focuses on the occurrences of tholeiitic magmatism in the northeastern Fennoscandian shield. It was found that numerous dolerite dikes of the Pechenga, Barents Sea, and Eastern Kola swarms were formed 380–390 Ma ago, i.e., directly before the main stage of the Paleozoic alkaline magmatism of the Kola province. The isotope geochemical characteristics of the dolerites suggest that their primary melts were derived from the mantle under the conditions of the spinel lherzolite facies. The depleted mantle material from which the tholeiites were derived shows no evidence for metasomatism and enrichment in high fieldstrength and rare earth elements, whereas melanephelinite melts postdating the tholeiites were generated in an enriched source. It was shown that the relatively short stage of mantle metasomatism directly after the emplacement of tholeiitic magmas was accompanied by significant mantle fertilization. In contrast to other large igneous provinces, where pulsed intrusion of large volumes of tholeiitic magmas coinciding or alternating with phases of alkaline magmatism was documented, the Kola province is characterized by systematic evolution of the Paleozoic plume–lithosphere process with monotonous deepening of the level of magma generation, development of mantle metasomatism and accompanying fertilization of mantle materials, and systematic changes in the composition of melts reaching the surface.     

中亚盆地群石炭-二叠纪岩相古地理恢复及演化

近十年来,尽管准噶尔盆地上古生界油气勘探不断获得突破,准噶尔周缘盆地也相继有油气显示,但北疆地区含油气盆地的宏观构造背景与中亚含油气盆地群的关系还不清楚,尤其缺少板块尺度的岩相古地理分析。因此深入分析中亚盆地群石炭-二叠系的构造-岩相古地理是十分必要的。本文充分调研中亚盆地群区域地质、油气地质资料,从中亚盆地群古板块、古地理环境分析准噶尔盆地与中亚盆地群的大地构造背景,并结合构造大剖面和岩相发育特征,对中亚盆地群石炭-二叠纪岩相古地理进行研究,研究结果表明：（1）中亚盆地群石炭-二叠系的岩相特征具有明显的东西分带性,西侧的滨里海盆地、图尔盖盆地和楚-萨雷苏盆地以碳酸盐岩发育为主要岩性特征,东侧的斋桑盆地、准噶尔盆地和三塘湖盆地以火山岩和砂泥岩为主要岩性特征;（2）石炭纪时期,中亚西侧盆地群处于低纬度,气温较高,具有较为稳定的台地环境,广泛沉积碳酸盐岩,而中亚东侧盆地群处于中-低纬度,多以岛弧相为主,沉积火山岩和碎屑岩;（3）二叠纪时期,中亚盆地群已由海相沉积转化为陆相沉积,晚二叠世,中亚盆地群整体遭受抬升剥蚀,地层缺失,普遍存在不整合特征;（4）中亚地区石炭-二叠系岩相上的湖相中心和残余洋盆可作为石炭-二叠系油气勘探的重点。     

Tectonics and magmatism in eastern South America and the Brazil basin of the Atlantic in the Phanerozoic

The magmatic and tectonic activity of eastern South America and the western South Atlantic shows that extension of the continental crust is the determinant factor of magmatism. Heating of the upper mantle is a necessary condition of its manifestation. Ascending plume material is a source of additional heat. In the Early Mesozoic, Eastern Brazil was situated above a large, ascending and probably ramifying plume, which has supplied heat and material since the Triassic, creating favorable conditions for continental magmatism. Magmatic activity continued, gradually waning, until the Neogene as evidence for long-term retention of heat energy beneath the continental lithosphere after the plume ascent. It has been shown that heated mantle material can be displaced from the continent to the ocean for a significant distance beneath the lithosphere with the formation of linear tectonomagmatic rises of the oceanic crust. The structural elements inherited certain directions on the continent and in the ocean, beginning from the Neoproterozoic. These directions were reactivated and continued to control the younger structural grain and magmatic activity. In Southeastern Brazil, these were the structural units striking in the southeastern (about 120° SE) and northeastern directions parallel to the continent-ocean boundary. In Northeastern Brazil, the W-E- and N—S-trending structural units are predominant. All these directions are manifested in oceanic structural units (Rio Grande, Vitória-Trindadi, Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco rises, etc.).