Experimental modeling of mantle metasomatism coupled with eclogitization of crustal material in a subduction zone

Alteration of mantle wedge rocks under the influence of fluids and melts is a poorly known subduction-zone process. It was experimentally modeled using various materials analogous to the crust (glaucophane schist and amphibolite) and mantle (olivine and olivine + orthopyroxene) under the P-T conditions (800°C and 29 kbar) corresponding to a hot subduction zone. Schist or amphibolite was loaded into the lower part of a capsule and underwent partial (10–90%) eclogitization during the experiment with the formation of omphacite, garnet, and quartz, sometimes coexisting with Ca-Na amphibole and orthopyroxene. The eclogitization was accompanied by the release of aqueous fluid, which dissolved minerals and products of partial melting of the schist. Ascending fluid flows transported major components into the overlying peridotite. This resulted in the formation of a garnet-phlogopite-orthopyroxene reaction zone at the base of the peridotite layer; this zone accumulated Si and K, which was practically absent in the starting materials. The gain of Si, Al, and CO₂ and loss of Mg resulted in the growth of new minerals in the olivine material: garnet, orthopyroxene, and magnesite. Under natural conditions, such a change would have been described as dunite transformation to garnet-bearing harzburgite. The experiments showed that the mineral and chemical composition of the suprasubduction mantle strongly depends on the transfer of components from a downgoing lithospheric slab.     

Active continental subduction and crustal exhumation: the Taiwan orogeny

ABSTRACT A tectonic model of active continental subduction followed by crustal exhumation is proposed to explain the orogeny in Taiwan. The subducted crust is represented by a low-velocity zone dipping eastwards beneath the major part of Taiwan, while the exhumed crust is marked by a high-velocity bulge, high heat flow and absence of seismicity beneath the eastern Central Range. The boundary between the subducted and exhumed crust has been identified from surface geology and analyses of thermal history across the Central Range. The dynamic force that has been driving the exhumed crust is identified by results from focal mechanisms, structural geology and geodetic survey in the eastern Central Range. Such a tectonic model may provide a good explanation for the evolution of the Taiwan Orogeny, as well as an active case for studying other long-extinct systems of continental subduction and exhumation.     

俯冲带蛇纹岩的变质过程

俯冲带蛇纹岩是俯冲带流体的重要来源,特别是其深部脱水作用对地幔动力学影响深远,是研究俯冲带约80~200km深度范围的地球动力学的关键,因此研究蛇纹岩的变质作用过程及其相关特征矿物(组合)的温压稳定范围具有重要意义。蛇纹岩具有简单的矿物(组合):蛇纹石类、硅镁石类、磁铁矿、氢氧镁石、绿泥石、橄榄石、透辉石、角闪石、滑石等,并且这些矿物(组合)对温压变化不敏感从而很难用来判定蛇纹岩所经历的变质演化轨迹。近几十年来,研究者通过实验岩石学和野外地质观察,主要研究了蛇纹石类矿物和硅镁石类矿物的温压稳定范围,并且试图使用这些特征矿物(组合)来判定俯冲带蛇纹岩的峰期变质条件。本文总结了蛇纹岩中这些主要矿物的温压稳定范围和相关变质反应,并且以中国西南天山蛇纹岩为例,展示使用特征矿物(组合)和叶蛇纹石Al等值线判定蛇纹岩峰期温压条件在实际岩石中的应用。另外,早期对叶蛇纹石的研究表明:随着温压条件的变化,叶蛇纹石的晶体结构会发生相应的调整。表现为单位晶胞内硅氧四面体的个数(m值)发生变化:温度升高,m值变小;压力升高,m值变大,这个发现在高压实验和天然样品中得到了一定程度的验证。本文利用已知峰期温压范围的叶蛇纹石样品分别采用粉末制样法和离子减薄制样法,进行透射电镜测试(TEM)样品的m值,并通过统计的方法获得叶蛇纹石的m值的峰值。结果显示叶蛇纹石的m值的峰值在一定程度上可以用以指示温压条件。本文提出可以用矿物组合、叶蛇纹石Al等值线和叶蛇纹石m值峰值相结合的方法确定蛇纹岩的变质温压条件和P-T轨迹。     

Orogens and slabs vs. their direction of subduction

Subduction zones appear primarily controlled by the polarity of their direction, i.e., W-directed or E- to NNE-directed, probably due to the westward drift of the lithosphere relative to the asthenosphere. The decollement planes behave differently in the two end-members. In the W-directed subduction zone, the decollement of the plate to the east is warped and subducted, whereas in the E- to NNE-directed, it is ramping upward at the surface. There are W-directed subduction zones that work also in absence of active convergence like the Carpathians or the Apennines. W-directed subduction zones have shorter life (30–40 Ma) than E- or NE-directed subduction zones (even longer than 100 Ma). The different decollements in the two end-members of subduction should control different PTt paths and, therefore, generate variable metamorphic assemblages in the associated accretionary wedges and orogens. These asymmetries also determine different topographic and structural evolutions that are marked by low topography and a fast `eastward' migrating structural wave along W-directed subduction zones, whereas the topography and the structure are rapidly growing upward and expanding laterally along the opposite subduction zones. The magmatic pair calc-alkaline and alkaline–tholeiitic volcanic products of the island arc and the back-arc basin characterise the W-directed subduction zones. Magmatic rocks associated with E- or NE-directed subduction zones have higher abundances of incompatible elements, and mainly consist of calc-alkaline–shoshonitic suites, with large volumes of batholithic intrusions and porphyry copper ore deposits. The subduction zones surrounding the Adriatic plate in the central Mediterranean confirm the differences among subduction zones as primarily controlled by the geographic polarity of the main direction of the slab. The western margin of the Adriatic plate contemporaneously overridden and underthrust Europe toward the `west' to generate, respectively, the Alps and the Apennines, while the eastern margin subducted under the Dinarides–Hellenides. These belts confirm the characters of the end-members of subduction zones as a function of their geographic polarity similarly to the Pacific subduction zones.     

Geodynamic regimes of intra-oceanic subduction: Implications for arc extension vs. shortening processes

40% of the subduction margins of the Earth are intra-oceanic. They show significant variability in terms of extension and shortening. We investigated numerically the physical controls of these processes using a 2D petrological-thermo-mechanical intra-oceanic subduction model with spontaneous volcanic arc growth and deformation. We varied the fluid- and melt-related weakening, the ages of both the subduction slab and the overriding plate, the subducting plate velocities, and the cohesive strength of rocks. Three main geodynamic regimes were identified: retreating subduction with opening of a backarc basin, stable subduction, and advancing, compressive subduction. The main difference between these regimes is the degree of rheological coupling between plates, which is governed by the intensity of rheological weakening induced by fluids and melts. Retreating subduction regimes require plate decoupling, which results from strong weakening due to both fluids and melts. Spreading centers nucleate either in forearc or in intraarc regions. Episodic trench migration is often due to variations of plate coupling with time, which is caused by (fore) arc deformation. Stable subduction regime with little variation in the trench position forms at an intermediate plate coupling and shows a transient behavior from the retreating to advancing modes. The advancing subduction regime results from strong plate coupling. At the mature stage, this subduction mode is associated with both partial fragmentation and subduction of the previously serpentinized forearc region. Forearc subduction is typically associated with a magmatic pulse, which is caused by dehydration of subducted serpentinized forearc fragments. Our models demonstrate distinct differences in thermal and lithological structure of subduction zones formed in these different geodynamic regimes. Results compare well with variations observed in natural intra-oceanic arcs.     

Shear zone vs folding origin for spiral inclusion trails in the Canton Schist

The three-dimensional geometry of spiral inclusion trails from the Canton Schist were measured to determine whether the spirals were a product of porphyroblast rotation within a shear zone, or porphyroblast growth during a series of overprinting fold events. The spiral inclusion trails are composed of three separate, sub-planar inclusion trail surfaces occupying texturally distinct parts of the porphyroblasts. These surfaces are correlated across a >10 km² area using textural criteria and relative timing. Measured patterns of inclusion trail orientation and asymmetry suggest they did not form by porphyroblast rotation within a non-coaxial shear zone. Rather, the porphyroblasts grew during three successive overprinting fold events (F₂–F₄), and the spiral inclusion trails represent the accumulated curvature associated with folding of successive axial plane foliations. The data show that spiral garnets are not peculiar to shear zones, and can form by overprinting crenulations and folds. This is consistent with the common occurrence of spiral garnets in multiply-deformed, regionally metamorphosed fold belts.     

Recent geodynamics of the Kuril subduction zone

The collected GPS/GLONASS data allow us to reveal new information on the recent geodynamics of the Kuril Island arc. The maximum deformation stress accumulates in the southern and northern parts of the study area, while a long fading transition process of postseismic motions is observed in the central segment of the Kuril arc as a result of the 2006–2007 great Simushir earthquakes of M _w = 8.3 and M _w = 8.1. We have succeeded in revealing the recent interplate coupling geometry of the Pacific and the North American lithospheric plates and also in estimating the seismic potential of different segments of the Kuril subduction zone.     

Geochemical and geochronological constraints on the origin of the Sabzevar ophiolites (NE Iran): forced far-field subduction initiation in the upper-plate of the Neo-Tethys subduction zone

The Sabzevar ophiolites, located at the northern margin of the Central-East Iranian microcontinent (CEIM), are part of the Mesozoic-Paleogene Neotethyan suture zone developed along the Alpine-Himalayan convergence zone. These ophiolites consist mostly of oceanic lithospheric remnants, covered by early Campanian-late Maastrichtian volcano-sedimentary successions. A distinctive characteristic of the Sabzevar ophiolites is the occurrence of mafic dike swarms (gabbros, gabbronorites and diorites) with forearc-arc-tholeiitic geochemical signature, intruding the mantle section. Occurrence of orthopyroxene, development of pegmatitic texture, crystallization of clinopyroxene prior to plagioclase, and the presence of anorthite-rich plagioclase imply relatively high H₂O content in the magmatic plumbing system. Rare plagiogranites (tonalite and trondhjemite compositions) show geochemical features compatible with a supra-subduction setting, whereas late (hornblende-bearing) gabbro dikes show a within-plate signature. The bimodal geochemical affinity (subduction vs. intraplate) is also attested by clinopyroxene compositions. The gabbroic, plagiogranitic and gabbronoritic samples yield Early Cretaceous SHRIMP zircon U-Pb ages of 96.7 ± 1, 98 ± 1 and 94 ± 1 Ma, respectively. A progression from tholeiitic MORB-like to more depleted high-Mg andesite and eventually alkaline affinities is here proposed, framing the magma evolution as generated in an evolving forearc setting that post-dated (of at least 9 Myr) the formation of the metamorphic sole during the infant stages of subduction of the Sabzevar Ocean.A scenario of far-field forced subduction initiation of the Sabzevar Ocean is proposed as consequence of propagation of the residual stresses transmitted from the Arabia-Eurasia convergence zone across the CEIM during Cretaceous times (Albian-Campanian).     

Quaternary volcanism near the Valley of Mexico: implications for subduction zone magmatism and the effects of crustal thickness variations on primitive magma compositions

The Valley of Mexico and surrounding regions of Mexico and Morelos states in central Mexico contain more than 250 Quaternary eruptive vents in addition to the large, composite volcanoes of Popocatépetl, Iztaccíhuatl, and Nevado de Toluca. The eruptive vents include cinder and lava cones, shield volcanoes, and isolated andesitic and dacitic lava flows, and are most numerous in the Sierra Chichináutzin that forms the southern terminus of the Valley of Mexico. The Chichináutzin volcanic field (CVF) is part of the E-W-trending Mexican Volcanic Belt (MVB), a subduction-related volcanic arc that extends across Mexico. The crustal thickness beneath the CVF (∼50 km) is the greatest of any region in the MVB and one of the greatest found in any arc worldwide. Lavas and scoriae erupted from vents in the CVF include alkaline basalts and calc-alkaline basaltic andesites, andesites, and dacites. Both alkaline and calc-alkaline groups contain primitive varieties that have whole rock Mg#, MgO, and Ni contents, and liquidus olivine compositions (≤Fo₉₀) that are close to those expected of partial melts from mantle peridotite. Primitive varieties also show a wide range of incompatible trace element abundances (e.g. Ba 210–1080 ppm; Ce 25–100 ppm; Zr 130–280 ppm). Data for primitive calc-alkaline rocks from both the CVF and other regions of the MVB to the west are consistent with magma generation in an underlying mantle wedge that is depleted in Ti, Zr, and Nb and enriched in large ion lithophile (K, Ba, Rb) and light rare earth (La, Ce) elements. Extents of partial melting estimated from Ti and Zr data are lower for primitive calc-alkaline magmas in the CVF than for those from the regions of the MVB to the west where the crust is thinner. The distinctive major element compositions (low CaO and Al₂O₃, high SiO₂) of the primitive calc-alkaline magmas in the CVF indicate a more refractory mantle source beneath this region of thick crust. In contrast, primitive alkaline magmas from the CVF and other regions of the MVB show compositional similarities to intraplate-type alkali basalts erupted behind the arc in the Mexican Basin and Range province. These similarities are consistent with the hypothesis that slab-induced convection in the mantle wedge beneath the MVB causes advection of asthenospheric mantle from behind the arc to the region of magma generation. Trace element systematics of primitive magmas in the MVB reveal substantial variability in both the extent of mantle wedge enrichment by subduction processes and in the composition of mantle heterogeneities that are related to previous extraction of alkaline to sub-alkaline basaltic melts. Received: 23 June 1998 / Accepted: 23 December 1998     

大别山下地壳岩石及其深俯冲

本文对大别山下地壳岩石的主要组成及其变质岩石学和年代学特征进行了系统总结,并首次报道了作者等最近在罗田穹隆中发现的镁铁质下地壳岩石俯冲变质成因的榴辉岩及其有关片麻岩的 SHRIMP 锆石 U-Pb 同位素年代学的最新研究成果。大别山这种不寻常的镁铁质下地壳俯冲成因榴辉岩为研究大陆深俯冲和陆壳物质再循环以及对地幔不均一性的影响提供了重要对象和可能性。根据阴极发光图像及矿物包体组合,罗田榴辉岩中继承锆石可分为两种即具有岩浆结晶环带的岩浆锆石和含有石榴子石 紫苏辉石 斜长石等麻粒岩相变质矿物包体的变质锆石,而且这两种继承锆石常具有舍石榴子石 绿辉石等榴辉岩相矿物包体的增生边。SHRIMP U-Pb 定年结果表明,继承岩浆锆石的~(206)Pb/~(238)U 年龄为791±9Ma、含麻粒岩相矿物包体的继承变质锆石的~(206)Pb/~(238)U 年龄为794±10Ma、含榴辉岩相矿物包体的锆石增生边的~(206)Pb/~(238)U 年龄值为212±10Ma。罗田榴辉岩的围岩——含石榴子石英云闪长质片麻岩中锆石的 CL 图像具有特征的核-幔-边结构即表现为继承岩浆锆石核-高压变质幔-退变质增生边,高压变质幔给出罗田片麻岩中印支期高压变质的精确年龄为218±3Ma。因此,罗田榴辉岩的原岩时代与早期麻粒岩相变质时代一致,均为晚元古代,证明华南陆块北缘晚元古代岩浆板底垫托的存在。而且,大别山下地壳岩石参与了印支期大陆深俯冲,但与南大别带具有不同的折返过程即前者经历了麻粒岩相退变质过程。此外,北大别带榴辉岩的印支期峰期变质时代(212±4Ma)比南大别带年轻(226±3Ma),这可用大陆叠瓦式深俯冲模式来解释。     

俯冲带脱碳和固碳作用过程

俯冲带作为联系地表和地球深部系统的纽带,不仅是将地表碳带入地球深部的主要通道,也是地表物质和地球深部物质发生交换的重要场所.俯冲作用可以将地表碳以有机碳或无机碳酸盐矿物等形式带入地球深部,再通过火山作用或去气作用返回到地表系统.俯冲带深部碳循环控制着地表碳通量变化,对于研究全球气候变化和地球宜居环境具有重要意义.本文结...     

A lunar rock of deep crustal origin: sample 76535

Lunar sample 76535 is a coarse-grained troctolitic granulite exhibiting a texture indicative of long annealing times. It is composed of homogeneous crystals of plagioclase (58 per cent, An₉₆), olivine (37 per cent, Fo₈₈) and bronzite (4 per cent, En₈₆).Chromian spinel-bronzite-diopside (Wo₄₆En₅₀Fs₄) symplectic intergrowths commonly occur along olivine-plagioclase boundaries and as tiny inclusions within olivine grains. These symplectites apparently formed by a reaction of the type:

$\text{OI + An + Chromite → Opx + Cpx + Al-Mg-chromite}$

. The reaction is related to the experimentally determined reaction

$\text{OI + An = Opx + Cpx + Sp}$

of Kushiro and Yoder (1966). The enstatite content of the diopside coexisting with the bronzite indicates equilibration at about 1000°C. Thermodynamic calculations for 1000°C indicate that the symplectites formed at a minimum pressure of about 0.6 kb. Low alumina contents of the pyroxenes indicate equilibration near this minimum pressure.Clusters of the same assemblage found in the symplectic intergrowths, but containing accessory metal, troilite, Ca-phosphates, baddeleyite, plagioclase and/or K-feldspar occur sporadically throughout the rock. These apparent late stage products crystallized in the low temperature-high pressure region discussed above.Phase relations of co-existing metal phases indicate that the rock cooled at a few tens of degrees/my, corresponding to depths of 10–20 km below the lunar surface, in agreement with the above pressure estimate.We infer that 76535 represents an original cumulate deposited at a depth between about 10 and 30 km. The last liquid crystallized in the relatively high pressure-low temperature field opx + cpx + Al-Mg-chromite. Cooling was extremely slow and accompanied by extensive chemical and textural re-equilibration. Reaction to form the symplectites occurred during the late stages of re-equilibration.     

Structure and seismicity of the Aegean subduction zone

Tomographic results show the presence of a high-velocity anomaly dipping north beneath the Aegean Sea (Hellenic arc), down to a depth of at least 600 km. This anomaly is interpreted as the image of the subducting lithosphere of the African plate. No deep seismicity, however, is associated with this downgoing slab, although this would be expected on the basis of the age of the downbending lithosphere (approximately 100 Myr) and the inferred duration of the present ongoing episode of subduction. Using a thermo-mechanical model for the subduction zone we find that the non-stationary input of the subduction zone-both in convergence rate and in thermal structure of the downgoing lithosphere - adequately accounts for both the presence of a velocity anomaly associated with a slab and the absence of deep seismicity. The non-stationarity follows from the large-scale tectonic setting of the Eastern Mediterranean basin.     

俯冲带的锂同位素特征

近年来,由于分析手段的不断改进,锂同位素的精确测试才得以实现。锂以其分馏大、中度不相容、易随流体迁移、地表环境与地幔锂同位素特征差异明显等优势,被认为是极具潜力的示踪元素。目前,锂同位素在壳幔物质循环、风化作用、岩浆作用、流体(热液)活动等方面研究中已得到广泛的应用,其中又以俯冲带锂同位素的研究程度最高。本文主要从锂同位素分馏机理、俯冲带锂的行为特征、岛弧岩浆的锂同位素研究以及深俯冲作用过程中锂的行为等方面总结了当前国内外锂同位素的研究进展。     

北祁连山古大洋俯冲带高压变质岩研究评述

北祁连山是中国研究古板块构造和俯冲带的经典地区,肖序常先生在此进行了开创性的研究工作。该俯冲带记录了490~440Ma的高压变质年龄,是目前世界上最老的大洋冷俯冲带之一。较系统地总结了北祁连造山带的研究历史、近年来在高压变质岩及相关岩石研究领域的最新进展,并根据详细的矿物学、岩石学、地球化学和同位素年代学资料,对本区大洋扩张、俯冲和大陆碰撞造山的构造演化过程进行了新的透视和评述。     

Variations in lithospheric conductivity in the Kamchatka subduction zone

The revealed regularities in the behavior of the electric conductivity of the geological medium on the Shipunskii Peninsula are in qualitative agreement with the seismicity variations in the Kamchatka region. The possible nature of variations in deep conductivity is considered.     

The formation of mantle phlogopite in subduction zone hybridization

Extrapolation and extension of phase equilibria in the model system KAlSiO₄-Mg₂SiO₄-SiO₂-H₂O suggests that at depths greater than 100 km (deeper than amphibole stability), hybridism between cool hydrous siliceous magma, rising from subducted oceanic crust, and the hotter overlying mantle peridotite produces a series of discrete masses composed largely of phlogopite, orthopyroxene, and clinopyroxene (enriched in Jadeite). Quartz (or coesite) may occur with phlogopite in the lowest part of the masses. The heterogeneous layer thus produced above the subducted oceanic crust provides: (1) aqueous fluids expelled during hybridization and solidification, which rise to generate in overlying mantle (given suitable thermal structure) H₂O-undersaturated basic magma, which is the parent of the calc-alkalic rock series erupted at the volcanic front; (2) masses of phlogopite-pyroxenites which melt when they cross a deeper, high-temperature solidus, yielding the parents of alkalic magmas erupted behind the volcanic front; and (3) blocks of phlogopite-pyroxenites which may rise diapirically for long-term residence in continental lithosphere, and later contribute to the potassium (and geochemically-related elements) involved in some of the continental magmatism with geochemistry ascribed to mantle metasomatism.     

柴北缘东段奥陶纪埃达克岩-富Nb玄武岩:对大陆深俯冲之前大洋俯冲及地壳增生的启示

在柴北缘东段识别出早古生代埃达克岩-富Nb玄武岩的火山岩组合。埃达克岩富Na₂O、贫K₂O,K₂O/Na₂O比值介于0.14~0.43之间;高Sr（614×10^-6~1043×10^-6）,但亏损Y（3.26×10^-6~14.1×10^-6）和Yb（0.33×10^-6~1.46×10^-6）,具有高的Sr/Y比值（44~282）;富集Sr、Ba等大离子亲石元素,亏损Nb、Ta、Ti等高场强元素及Cr、Ni、Co、V等相容元素。富Nb玄武岩富Na₂O、贫K₂O、高TiO₂,其Nb含量较高,介于16.9×10^-6~17.9×10^-6之间,具有高的Nb/Ta、Nb/U、（Nb/La）_N比值,同时富集高场强元素。埃达克岩锆石U-Pb定年得到453±4Ma和457±4Ma的结晶年龄。锆石ε_Hf（t）范围较大,介于3.40~13.23之间,对应的二阶段模式年龄t_DM2介于1059~566Ma之间,显示以新生物质为主的特征。综合研究表明柴北缘东段埃达克岩可能为岛弧环境下俯冲的南祁连大洋板片部分熔融的产物。板片来源的埃达克质熔体交代或与上覆地幔楔橄榄岩反应,导致被交代的地幔橄榄岩部分熔融而形成富Nb玄武质岩浆。柴北缘东段埃达克岩-富Nb玄武岩火山岩组合的厘定表明南祁连洋可能直到~455Ma之前并未完全闭合,同时表明俯冲大洋板片的部分熔融可能是柴北缘早古生代地壳增生的一种重要方式。     

俯冲带榴辉岩的变形作用及其对恢复俯冲-折返过程的意义

榴辉岩是大洋和大陆俯冲带的重要岩石类型,在研究俯冲带的形成过程、热结构、壳幔相互作用等方面有重要意义。通过对天然和实验样品中石榴子石、绿辉石等矿物的变形特征、变形机制、变形影响因素等的综合分析,系统总结了高压变质带中榴辉岩矿物显微和超微变形研究的进展,探讨了榴辉岩的变形特征对恢复俯冲与折返过程的意义及一些尚待解决的问题。