Ordovician volcanism of the Peloritan Mountains (Sicily): Implications for evolution of Palaeozoic basins in the Calabrian-Peloritan Arc

The palaeontologically dated Ordovician associations of the Peloritan Mountains consist of metasilts, metapelites, calc-schists and metavolcanic rocks. These rocks form a portion of a terrigenous-volcanic-carbonate sequence of Cambro-Ordovician to Carboniferous age. This Palaeozoic sequence occupies the lower tectonic position in a Variscan orogen, affected by later Alpine deformation. The upper portion of this orogen is formed by low to high grade metamorphic rocks and some rare magmatic rocks. The Ordovician section of the sequence is divisible into a lower part (probably Arenigian), characterized by frequent and extensive within-plate alkaline metabasalts, and an upper part characterized by metadacites and metarhyolites intercalated with metasediments, commonly carbonates. The chemical characteristics of the metavolcanic rocks and the composition and structure of the metasediments indicate the persistence of tensional conditions during the Lower Ordovician. In contrast, the Upper Ordovician was marked by reducing tension, stagnation of basaltic magmas at different crustal levels, and consequent formation of dacitic and rhyolitic melts by partial melting of the surrounding crust. A comparison of the Ordovician sequences of the Peloritan Mountains with those of the Calabrian Palaeozoic basins shows several geodynamic similarities. Among other circum-Mediterranean basins, only that of north-western Bulgaria shows good analogies.     

The Bocchigliero Palaeozoic sequence in the context of the Calabrian–Peloritan Hercynian Range (Italy)

The Calabrian–Peloritan Hercynian Range includes three weakly metamorphosed Palaeozoic sequences cropping out in north-eastern Sila (Bocchigliero sequence), southern Sila, Serre and Aspromonte (Stilo sequence), and in the Peloritan Mountains (Peloritan sequence). The work reported here considers the Bocchigliero sequence and comprises part of a geological, petrological and geochemical research programme on the Palaeozoic evolution of the Calabrian–Peloritan Arc. The Bocchigliero sequence constitutes the lower tectonic unit of the Hercynian Caiabrian–Peloritan Range and is overthrusted by the metamorphic Mandatoriccio Unit. The Bocchigliero sequence is a terrigenous–carbonate–volcanic association, is affected byclow grade metamorphism, contains Cambro-Ordovician fossils and extends in age from the Cambrian to the Devonian. The terrigenous material is represented by meta-arenites and metapelites (Cambrian–Devonian); the volcanics include metatuffites (Cambrian and Ordovician), metabasalts (Cambro-Ordovician), metaandesites and metarhyolites (Ordovician and Siluro-Devonian); limestone beds are present in the Devonian. It is believed that the Palaeozoic Bocchigliero basin formed in the Cambrian on a continental crust in which the rocks constituting today's Mandatoriccio Unit were located at 3–8 km depth. The crustal thinning in the Cambro-Ordovician led to fracturing and upwelling of alkaline within-plate basaltic magmas, whereas in the Ordovician the thinning took place under conditions of higher plasticity. In this latter period an increase in temperature resulting from mantle upwelling produced crustal partial melts of andesite and rhyolite composition. In addition, this thermal uprise was responsible for regional metamorphism characterized by low pressures and by the absence of penetrative deformation. The effects of this metamorphism are well developed in the rocks of the Mandatoriccio Unit. In the Silurian and Devonian, progressive closing of the basin took place. The Palaeozoic sequence was then subjected to Variscan low pressure–low temperature metamorphism and Alpine deformation.     

Timing of the progress granite,Larsemann hills: Additional evidence for early Palaeozoic orogenesis within the east Antarctic Shield and implications for Gondwana assembly

The Progress Granite is one of numerous S‐type granitoid plutons exposed in the Larsemann Hills region, southwest Prydz Bay, east Antarctica. The granite was emplaced into a migmatitised pelitic to felsic paragneiss sequence during a regional high‐grade transpressional event (D₂) that pre‐dates high‐grade extension (D₃). SHRIMP (II) U‐Pb dating for two occurrences of the Progress Granite from D₂ and D₃ structural domains gives ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of 516.2 ± 6.8 Ma and 514.3 ± 6.7 Ma, respectively. These ages are interpreted as crystallisation ages for the Progress Granite and confirm Early Palaeozoic orogenesis in the Larsemann Hills region. This orogen appears to have evolved during continental convergence and is probably responsible for widespread radiogenic isotopic resetting and the near‐complete exhumation of the adjacent northern Prince Charles Mountains which evolved during a ca 1000 Ma event. The identification of a major Early Palaeozoic orogen in Prydz Bay allows tentative correlation of other domains of Early Palaeozoic tectonism both within the east Antarctic Shield and other, once contiguous, Gondwana fragments and illustrates the potential complexity inherent within intercratonic mobile belts. One such possibility, tentatively offered here, suggests a continuous belt of Early Palaeozoic tectonism from Prydz Bay eastward to the West Denman Glacier region and into the Leeuwin complex of Western Australia.     

秦岭造山带早古生代蛇绿岩的多阶段演化: 从岛弧到弧间盆地

秦岭商-丹缝合带是分隔北秦岭早古生代造山带和南秦岭晚古生代造山带的地质界线,其中的丹凤蛇绿岩被认为代表了秦岭地区早古生代的洋壳残片。迄今,前人已经提出多种模式来解释丹凤蛇绿岩成因和构造背景(如:岛弧、洋岛和成熟的大洋等)。然而,这些单一的构造演化模式却很难解释两个基本事实:(1)不同类型镁铁质岩(如N-MORB、E-MORB和IAT等)的穿时性分布;(2)几乎所有的早古生代镁铁质岩都显示出多种构造环境的叠加。对陕西太白鹦鸽嘴地区一条具有较完整层序的蛇绿岩剖面研究发现,剖面中存在HTI型(TiO2:1.21%～1.56%)和LTI(TiO2:0.09%～0.35%)两种类型的镁铁质岩(包括玄武岩和辉长岩),HTI型镁铁质岩具有LREE亏损,没有Nb、Ta负异常等的E-MORB特征;LTI具有LREE富集,Nb、Ta负异常的IAT特征。地球化学显示二者的源区均为北秦岭岩石圈地幔楔。本文获得鹦哥嘴蛇绿岩两个LTI型辉长岩锆石U-Pb年龄分别为523.8±1.3Ma和474.3±1.4Ma。认为秦岭早古生代蛇绿岩应是SSZ环境下多阶段演化的结果:第一阶段:约524Ma,秦岭洋盆向北俯冲开始。俯冲板片的脱水作用使熔融温度降低,形成的流体交代地幔楔,在北秦岭南缘产生了一个不成熟的岛弧;第二阶段:先存岛弧裂开阶段,约524～474Ma。秦岭洋壳的持续俯冲,在先形成的岛弧上拉张出了弧间盆地,形成了主要由轻稀土亏损、高Ti拉斑玄武岩和辉长岩组成的E-MORB型岩石组合;第三阶段:弧前盆地闭合阶段,474Ma之后。在这个阶段新生的弧间盆地闭合,俯冲洋壳携带的深海沉积物与北秦岭岩石圈地幔楔相互作用形成了北秦岭李子园的玻安岩。秦岭早古生代蛇绿岩的多阶段成因是典型特提斯构造域演化特征在秦岭地区的重现。     

Multiepisodic evaporite sedimentation as an indicator of palaeogeographical evolution in foreland basins (South‐eastern Pyrenean basin,Early–Middle Eocene)

Extensive deposition of marine evaporites occurred during the Early–Middle Eocene in the South‐eastern Pyrenean basin (north‐east Spain). This study integrates stratigraphic and geochemical analyses of subsurface data (oil wells, seismic profiles and gravity data) together with field surveys to characterize this sedimentation in the foredeep and adjacent platform. Four major evaporite units were identified. The oldest was the Serrat Evaporites unit, with a platform‐slope‐basin configuration. Thick salina and sabkha sulphates accumulated on the platform, whereas resedimented and gravity‐derived sulphates were deposited on the slope, and salt and sulphates were deposited in the deep basin. In the subsequent unit (Vallfogona evaporites), thin sulphates formed on the platform, whereas very thick siliciclastic turbidites accumulated in the foredeep. However, some clastic gypsum coming from the platform (gypsarenites and gypsum olistoliths) was intercalated in these turbidites. The following unit, the Beuda Gypsum Formation developed in a sulphate platform‐basin configuration, where the topography of the depositional surface had become smooth. The youngest unit, the Besalú Gypsum, formed in a shallow setting. This small unit provides the last evidence of marine influence in a residual basin. Sulphur and oxygen isotope compositions are consistent with a marine origin for all evaporites. However, δ³⁴S and δ¹⁸O values also suggest that, except for the oldest unit (Serrat Evaporites), there was some sulphate recycling from the older into the younger units. The South‐eastern Pyrenean basin constitutes a fine example of a foreland basin that underwent multiepisodic evaporitic sedimentation. In the basin, depositional factors evolved with time under a structural control. Decreasing complexity is observed in the lithofacies, as well as in the depositional models, together with a diminishing thickness of the evaporite units.     

Palaeozoic synorogenic sedimentation in central and northern Australia: A review of distribution and timing with implications for the evolution of intracontinental orogens

The Palaeozoic Alice Springs Orogeny was a major intraplate tectonic event in central and northern Australia. The sedimentological, structural and isotopic effects of the Alice Springs Orogeny have been well documented in the northern Amadeus Basin and adjacent exhumed Arunta Inlier, although the full regional extent of the event, as well as lateral variations in timing and intensity are less well known. Because of the lack of regional isotopic data, we take a sedimentological approach towards constraining these parameters, compiling the location and age constraints of inferred synorogenic sedimentation across a number of central and northern Australian basins. Such deposits are recorded from the Amadeus, Ngalia, Georgina, Wiso, eastern Officer and, possibly, Warburton Basins. Deposits are commonly located adjacent to areas of significant basement uplift related to north‐south shortening. In addition, similar aged orogenic deposits occur in association with strike‐slip tectonism in the Ord and southern Bonaparte Basins of northwest Australia. From a combination of sedimentological and isotopic evidence it appears that localised convergent deformation started in the Late Ordovician in the eastern Arunta Inlier and adjacent Amadeus Basin. Synorogenic style sedimentation becomes synchronously widespread in the late Early Devonian and in most areas the record terminates abruptly close to the end of the Devonian. A notable exception is the Ngalia Basin in which such sedimentation continued until the mid‐Carboniferous. In the Ord and Bonaparte Basins there is evidence of two discrete pulses of transcurrent activity in the Late Devonian and Carboniferous. The sedimentological story contrasts with the isotopic record from the southern Arunta Inlier, which has generally been interpreted in terms of continuous convergent orogenic activity spanning most of the Devonian and Carboniferous, with a suggestion that rates of deformation increased in the mid‐Carboniferous. Either Carboniferous sediments have been stripped off by subsequent erosion, or sedimentation outpaced accommodation space and detritus was transported elsewhere.     

Zircon U-Pb ages,geochemistry, and Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotopic compositions of the Pinghe pluton,Southwest China: implications for the evolution of the early Palaeozoic Proto-Tethys in Southeast Asia

The geological record of the Neoproterozoic to early Palaeozoic Proto-Tethyan Ocean in Southeast Asia is not clear. To better constrain the evolution of the Proto-Tethys, we present new geochronology, geochemistry, and petrology of the late Cambrian to Ordovician Pinghe pluton monzogranite from the Baoshan block, western Yunnan, southwest China. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analyses of four zircon samples yield ages of 482–494 and 439–445 Ma for the pluton, interpreted as two episodes within one magmatic event accompanying the whole process of subduction–collision–orogeny between buoyant blocks and oceanic crust of the Proto-Tethys. The monzogranite belongs to the strong peraluminous, high-K, calc-alkaline series and shows characteristics of both I-type and S-type granitic rocks. It is characterized by extremely high Rb/Sr and Rb/Ba but low TiO₂, MgO, FeOt, and CaO/Na₂O ratios. The monzogranite is also moderately enriched in light rare earth elements (LREEs), depleted in heavy rare earth elements (HREEs), lacks HREE fractionation, and has strongly negative Eu (Eu/Eu* = 0.06–0.49), Ba, Nb, Ta, Sr, and Ti anomalies. Whole-rock ε_Nd(t) and ε_Hf(t) values range from ?8.7 to ?11.6 and ?5.55 to ?9.58, respectively. Nd and Hf two-stage model ages range from 1.66 to 2.06 Ga and 2.14 to 3.00 Ga, respectively, with variable radiogenic ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb_(t) (16.547–18.705), ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb_(t) (15.645–15.765), and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb_(t) (38.273–38.830). These signatures suggest that the monzogranite magma was derived from partial melting of heterogeneous metapelite, which was generated from Neoarchean to Palaeoproterozoic materials mixed with basaltic magma. The monzogranite magma underwent crystallization differentiation of plagioclase, K-feldspar, and ilmenite. Magmatism to form the Pinghe pluton occurred in a post-collisional setting. Based on the comparison of coeval granites throughout adjacent regions (e.g. Himalayan orogen, Lhasa Terrane, and parts of Gondwana supercontinent), we propose that the Baoshan block was derived from the northern Australian Proto-Tethyan Andean-type active continental margin of Gondwana and experienced subduction of the Proto-Tethyan oceanic crust and accretion of an outboard micro-continent. The Pinghe pluton could have formed when a subducting oceanic slab broke off during collision.     

Diachronous evolution of volcano-sedimentary basins north of the Congo craton: Insights from U–Pb ion microprobe dating of zircons from the Poli, Lom and Yaoundé Groups (Cameroon)

Ion microprobe U–Pb dating of zircons from Neoproterozoic volcano-sedimentary sequences in Cameroon north of the Congo craton is presented. For the Poli basin, the depositional age is constrained between 700–665 Ma; detrital sources comprise ca. 920, 830, 780 and 736 Ma magmatic zircons. In the Lom basin, the depositional age is constrained between 613 and 600 Ma, and detrital sources include Archaean to Palaeoproterozoic, late Mesoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic (1100–950 Ma), and Neoproterozoic (735, 644 and 613 Ma) zircons. The Yaoundé Group is probably younger than 625 Ma, and detrital sources include Palaeoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic zircons. The depositional age of the Mahan metavolcano-sedimentary sequence is post-820 Ma, and detrital sources include late Mesoproterozoic (1070 Ma) and early Neoproterozoic volcanic rocks (824 Ma). The following conclusions can be made from these data. (1) The three basins evolved during the Pan-African event but are significantly different in age and tectonic setting; the Poli is a pre- to syn-collisional basin developed upon, or in the vicinity of young magmatic arcs; the Lom basin is post-collisional and intracontinental and developed on old crust; the tectono-metamorphic evolution of the Yaoundé Group resulted from rapid tectonic burial and subsequent collision between the Congo craton and the Adamawa–Yade block. (2) Late Mesoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic inheritance reflects the presence of magmatic event(s) of this age in west–central Africa.     

Geochronology and provenance of detrital zircons from late Palaeozoic strata of central Jilin Province,Northeast China: implications for the tectonic evolution of the eastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt

Here we present new U–Pb and Hf isotopic data for detrital zircons obtained from six samples of late Palaeozoic units from central Jilin Province, Northeast China, and use these data and sedimentary formations to constrain the late Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the eastern segment of the southern margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. The majority of the detrital zircons from the six samples are euhedral–subhedral and exhibit oscillatory zoning, indicating a magmatic origin. Zircons from sandstones in the Devonian Wangjiajie and Xiaosuihe formations yield seven main age populations (399, 440, 921, 1648, 1864, 1911, and 2066 Ma) and two minor age populations (384 and 432 Ma), respectively. Zircons from a quartz sandstone in the Carboniferous Luquantun Formation yield four age populations (~332, 363, 402, and 428 Ma), and zircons from quartz sandstones of the Permian Shoushangou, Fanjiatun, and Yangjiagou formations yield age populations of 265, 369, 463, 503, and 963 Ma; 264, 310, 337, 486, and 529 Ma; and 262, 282, 312, 338, 380, 465, and 492 Ma, respectively. These data, together with the ages of magmatic zircons from interbedded volcanics and biostratigraphic evidence, as well as analysis of formations, give rise to the following conclusions. (1) The Wangjiajie and Xiaosuihe formations were deposited in an extensional environment during Middle and Middle–Late Devonian time, respectively. The former was sourced mainly from ancient continental material of the North China Craton with minor contributions from newly accreted crust, while the latter was sourced mainly from newly accreted crust. (2) The Luquantun Formation formed in an extensional environment during early–late Carboniferous time from material sourced mainly from newly accreted crust. (3) The Shoushangou, Fanjiatun, and Yangjiagou formations formed during a period of rapid uplift in the late Permian, from material sourced mainly from newly accreted crust.     

Cambrian granitic gneiss within the central Qiangtang terrane,Tibetan Plateau: implications for the early Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Gondwanan margin

ABSTRACT

The Tibetan Plateau is located in the eastern Himalayan–Alpine orogen, an area where previous research has focused on ophiolites and a high-pressure metamorphic belt, whereas comparatively little research has been undertaken on the Tibetan basement. Cambrian granitic gneiss crops out in the Duguer area of the South Qiangtang terrane in northern Tibet and yields zircon laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U–Pb ages of 502–492 Ma, providing insight into the possible existence of basement rocks within the South Qiangtang terrane. The granitic gneisses are geochemically similar to high-K, calc-alkaline S-type granites, and Hf isotopic analysis of zircons within the gneisses yields negative εHf(t) values (–7.4 to – 1.1) and old zircon Hf model ages (T_DM^C = 1757–1406 Ma). These granitic gneisses were generated by partial melting of ancient pelitic rocks, and the resulting melts were contaminated by a small amount of mantle-derived material. Combining our new data with previous research, we conclude that these Cambrian granitic gneisses developed in a post-collisional tectonic setting after Pan-African tectonism. This suggests that the South Qiangtang terrane might have the same early Palaeozoic crystalline basement as the Lhasa, Himalaya, Baoshan, Gongshan, and Tengchong terranes.     

Detrital-zircon geochronology of Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in the Hangay–Hentey basin, north-central Mongolia: Implications for the tectonic evolution of the Mongol–Okhotsk Ocean in central Asia

Understanding the development of the Central Asian Orogenic System (CAOS), which is the largest Phanerozoic accretionary orogen in the world, is critical to the determination of continental growth mechanisms and geological history of central Asia. A key to unraveling its geological history is to ascertain the origin and tectonic setting of the large flysch complexes that dominate the CAOS. These complexes have been variably interpreted as deep-marine deposits that were accreted onto a long-evolving arc against large continents to form a mega-accretionary complex or sediments trapped in back-arc to fore-arc basins within oceanic island-arc systems far from continents. To differentiate the above models we conducted U–Pb geochronological analyses of detrital-zircon grains from turbidites in the composite Hangay–Hentey basin of central Mongolia. This basin was divided by a Cenozoic fault system into the western and eastern sub-basins: the Hangay Basin in the west and Hentey basin in the east. This study focuses on the Hentey basin and indicates two groups of samples within this basin: (1) a southern group that were deposited after the earliest Carboniferous ( 339 Ma to 354 Ma) and a northern group that were deposited after the Cambrian to Neoproterozoic ( 504 Ma to 605 Ma). The samples from the northern part of the basin consistently contain Paleoproterozoic and Archean zircon grains that may have been derived from the Tuva–Mongol massif and/or the Siberian craton. In contrast, samples from the southern part of the basin contain only a minor component of early Paleozoic to Neoproterozoic zircon grains, which were derived from the crystalline basement bounding the Hangay–Hentey basin. Integrating all the age results from this study, we suggest that the Hangay–Hentey basin was developed between an island-arc system with a Neoproterozoic basement in the south and an Andean continental-margin arc in the north. The initiation of the southern arc occurred at or after the early Carboniferous, allowing accumulation of a flysch complex in a long-evolving accretionary complex.     

Osumilite–melt interactions in ultrahigh temperature granulites: phase equilibria modelling and implications for the P–T–t evolution of the Eastern Ghats Province,India

The exposed residual crust in the Eastern Ghats Province records ultrahigh temperature (UHT) metamorphic conditions involving extensive crustal anatexis and melt loss. However, there is disagreement about the tectonic evolution of this late Mesoproterozoic–early Neoproterozoic orogen due to conflicting petrological, structural and geochronological interpretations. One of the petrological disputes in residual high Mg–Al granulites concerns the origin of fine‐grained mineral intergrowths comprising cordierite + K‐feldspar ± quartz ± biotite ± sillimanite ± plagioclase. These intergrowths wrap around porphyroblast phases and are interpreted to have formed by the breakdown of primary osumilite in the presence of melt trapped in the equilibration volume by the melt percolation threshold. The pressure (P)–temperature (T) evolution of four samples from three localities across the central Eastern Ghats Province is constrained using phase equilibria modelling in the chemical system Na₂O–CaO–K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O–TiO₂–Fe₂O₃ (NCKFMASHTO). Results of the modelling are integrated with published geochronological results for these samples to show that the central Eastern Ghats Province followed a common P–T–t history. This history is characterized by peak UHT metamorphic conditions of 945–955 °C and 7.8–8.2 kbar followed by a slight increase in pressure and close‐to‐isobaric cooling to the conditions of the elevated solidus at 940–900 °C and 8.5–8.3 kbar. In common with other localities from the Eastern Ghats Province, the early development of cordierite before osumilite and the peak to immediate post‐peak retrograde reaction between osumilite and melt to produce the intergrowth features requires that the prograde evolution was one of contemporaneous increasing pressure with increasing temperature. This counter‐clockwise (CCW) evolution is evaluated for one sample using inverse phase equilibria modelling along a schematic P–T path of 150 °C kbar^?1 starting from the low P–T end of the prograde P–T path as constrained by the phase equilibria modelling. The inverse modelling is executed by step‐wise down temperature reintegration of sufficient melt into the residual bulk chemical composition at the P–T point of the 1 mol.% melt isopleth at each step, representing the melt remaining on grain boundaries after each prograde drainage event, to reach the melt connectivity transition (MCT) of 7 mol.%. The procedure is repeated until a plausible protolith composition is recovered. The result demonstrates that clastic sedimentary rocks that followed a CCW P–T evolution could have produced the observed mineral assemblages and microstructures preserved in the central Eastern Ghats Province. This study also highlights the role of melt during UHT metamorphism, particularly its importance to both chemical and physical processes along the prograde and retrograde segments of the P–T path. These processes include: (i) an increase in diffusive length scales during the late prograde to peak evolution, creating equilibration volumes larger than a standard thin section; (ii) the development of retrograde mineral assemblages, which is facilitated if some melt is retained post‐peak; (iii) the presence of melt as a weakening mechanism and the advection of heat by melt, allowing the crust to thicken; and (iv) the effect of melt loss, which makes the deep crust both denser and stronger, and reduces heat production at depth, limiting crustal thickening and facilitating the transition to close‐to‐isobaric cooling.     

P–T evolution of kyanite eclogite from the Pirin Mountains (SW Bulgaria): implications for the Rhodope UHP Metamorphic Complex

A new occurrence of kyanite eclogite in the Pirin Mountains of southwestern Bulgaria within the rocks belonging to the Obidim Unit of the Rhodope Metamorphic Complex is presented. This eclogite provides important information about the peak–pressure conditions despite strong thermal overprint at low pressure. Textural relationships, phase equilibrium modelling and conventional geothermobarometry were used to constrain the metamorphic evolution. Garnet porphyroblasts with inclusions of omphacite (up to 43 mol.% Jd), phengite (up to 3.5 Si p.f.u.), kyanite, polycrystalline quartz, pargasitic amphibole, zoisite and rutile in the Mg‐rich cores (X_Mg = 0.44–0.46) record a prograde increase in P–T conditions from ～2.5 GPa and 650 °C to ～3 GPa and 700–750 °C. Maximum pressure values fall within the stability field of coesite. During exhumation, the peak–pressure assemblage garnet + omphacite + phengite + kyanite was variably overprinted by a lower pressure one forming symplectitic textures, such as diopside + plagioclase after omphacite and biotite + plagioclase after phengite. The development of spinel (X_Mg = 0.4–0.45) + corundum + anorthite assemblage in the kyanite‐bearing domains at ～1.1 GPa and 800–850 °C suggests a thermal overprint in the high‐pressure granulite facies stability field. This thermal event was followed by cooling at ～0.8 GPa under amphibolite facies conditions; retrograde kelyphite texture involving plagioclase and amphibole was developed around garnet. Our results add to the already existing evidence for ultra high pressure (UHP) metamorphism in the Upper Allochthon of the Rhodope Metamorphic Complex as in the Kimi Unit and show that it is more widespread than previously known. Published age data and field structural relations suggest that the Obidim Unit represents Variscan continental crust involved into the Alpine nappe edifice of the Rhodopes and that eclogite facies metamorphism was Palaeozoic, in contrast to the Kimi Unit where age determinations suggest a Jurassic or Cretaceous age for UHP metamorphism. This implies that UHP metamorphism in the Upper Allochthon of the Rhodopes may have occurred twice, during Alpine and pre‐Alpine orogenic events, and that two independent HP/UHP provinces of different age overlap in this area.     

四川盆地中部中侏罗统沙溪庙组沉积期古环境与古气候演化——以永浅1井为例

四川盆地中部中侏罗统沙溪庙组沉积期古环境与古气候研究对揭示该时期盆内的沉积格局、重建古地理及油气形成与演化具有重要的理论和实践意义。本文以四川盆地中部永浅1井的47件泥岩样品为研究对象,通过主微量元素的变化特征恢复研究区沙溪庙组沉积期的古环境与古气候演化过程。研究结果表明,Sr/Ba比值、Rb/K2O比值、Ca/Mg比值和Ca/(Ca+Fe)比值指示川中地区中侏罗统沙溪庙组沉积期整体为淡水环境,但在沙溪庙组一段沉积中、晚期出现了短暂的水体盐度升高;V/(V+Ni)比值、U/Th值、V/Cr比值与Ni/Co比值指示沙溪庙组沉积期整体为间歇暴露的浅水氧化环境,局部为弱氧化或还原环境;C值、CIA值和Rb/Sr比值等指标显示,沙溪庙组沉积期古气候总体为温暖湿润的气候环境,但期间发生波动性干旱,在温暖湿润和半干旱—半湿润之间频繁波动。多元地球化学参数为川中地区中侏罗统沙溪庙组沉积期的古气候演化和区域性古气候对比提供了新的证据。     

Enigmatic sedimentary–volcanic successions in the central European Variscides: a Cambrian/Early Ordovician age for the Wojcieszów Limestone (Kaczawa Mountains,SW Poland) indicated by SHRIMP dating of volcanic zircons

Metamorphosed volcanic and sedimentary successions in the central European Variscides are, in many areas, poorly biostratigraphically constrained, making palaeotectonic interpretations uncertain. In such instances, geochronological data are crucial. Sensitive high resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) dating of volcanic zircons from a quartz–white mica schist (interpreted as deformed metavolcaniclastic/epiclastic rock) within the stratigraphically controversial Wojcieszów Limestone of the Kaczawa Mountains (Sudetes, SW Poland), near to the eastern termination of the European Variscides, has yielded an age of 498 ± 5 Ma (2σ error), corresponding to late Cambrian to early Ordovician magmatism in that area and constraining the depositional age of the limestones. The new SHRIMP data are not consistent with the recent revision of the age of the Wojcieszów Limestone based on Foraminifera findings that ascribed them to a Late Ordovician—Silurian or even younger interval. They are though, consistent with sparse macrofossil data and strongly support earlier interpretations of the lower part of the Kaczawa Mountains succession as a Cambrian–Early Ordovician extensional basin‐fill with associated initial rift volcanic rocks, likely emplaced during the breakup of Gondwana. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Elemental and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic geochemistry of Late Paleozoic volcanic rocks beneath the Junggar basin, NW China: Implications for the formation and evolution of the basin basement

The basement beneath the Junggar basin has been interpreted either as a micro-continent of Precambrian age or as a fragment of Paleozoic oceanic crust. Elemental and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic compositions and zircon Pb–Pb ages of volcanic rocks from drill cores through the paleo-weathered crust show that the basement is composed mainly of late Paleozoic volcanic rock with minor shale and tuff. The volcanic rocks are mostly subalkaline with some minor low-K rocks in the western Kexia area. Some alkaline lavas occur in the central Luliang uplift and northeastern Wulungu depression. The lavas range in composition from basalts to rhyolites and fractional crystallization played an important role in magma evolution. Except for a few samples from Kexia, the basalts have low La/Nb (<1.4), typical for oceanic crust derived from asthenospheric melts. Zircon Pb–Pb ages indicate that the Kexia andesite, with a volcanic arc affinity, formed in the early Carboniferous (345 Ma), whereas the Luliang rhyolite and the Wucaiwan dacite, with syn-collisional to within-plate affinities, formed in the early Devonian (395 and 405 Ma, respectively). Positive ε_Nd(t) values (up to +7.4) and low initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotopic ratios of the intermediate-silicic rocks suggest that the entire Junggar terrain may be underlain by oceanic crust, an interpretation consistent with the juvenile isotopic signatures of many granitoid plutons in other parts of the Central Asia Orogenic Belt. Variation in zircon ages for the silicic rocks, different Ba, P, Ti, Nb or Th anomalies in the mafic rocks, and variable Nb/Y and La/Nb ratios across the basin, suggest that the basement is compositionally heterogeneous. The heterogeneity is believed to reflect amalgamation of different oceanic blocks representing either different evolution stages within a single terrane or possibly derivation from different terranes.     

U–Pb dating of plutonic rocks involved in the nappe tectonic in southern Cameroon: consequence for the Pan-African orogenic evolution of the central African fold belt

TIMS-ID and SIMS U–Pb dating on zircons from metaplutonic rocks involved in the Pan-African nappe of southern Cameroon allow definition of three groups of subduction-related intrusions: group-I intrusions represented by the Masins metagabbro in the Lomie region yielded 666 ± 26 Ma; group-II intrusions represented by the Mamb metasyenogabbro and the Yaoundé pyriclasite yielded ca. 620 Ma and are broadly coeval with the deposition of the Yaoundé metasediments; group-III intrusions represented by the Elon augen metagranite and the Ngaa Mbappe metamonzodiorite yielded ca. 600 Ma. The onset of the nappe tectonics occurred under high-grade conditions in the range 616 to 610 Ma and continued around 600 Ma with the emplacement of the shallowest nappes. Finally, the construction of southern Cameroon proceeded by a multi-stage evolution characterized by a long-lived development of magmatic arcs associated with rapid opening and closure of sedimentary marginal basins in relation to a northward subduction.     

Reactions and textures in grossular–wollastonite–scapolite calc–silicate granulites from Maligawila, Sri Lanka: evidence for high-temperature isobaric cooling in the meta-sediments of the Highland Complex

Grossular–wollastonite–scapolite calc–silicate granulites from Maligawila in the Buttala klippe, which form part of the overthrusted rocks of the Highland Complex of Sri Lanka, preserve a number of spectacular coronas and replacement textures that could be effectively used to infer their P–T–fluid history. These textures include coronas of garnet, garnet–quartz, and garnet–quartz–calcite at the grain boundaries of wollastonite, scapolite, and calcite as well as calcite–plagioclase and calcite–quartz symplectites or finer grains after scapolite and wollastonite respectively. Other textures include a double rind of coronal scapolite and coronal garnet between matrix garnet and calcite. The reactions that produced these coronas and replacement textures, except those involving clinopyroxene, are modelled in the CaO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–CO₂ system using the reduced activities. Calculated examples of T–X_CO2 and P–X_CO2 projections indicate that the peak metamorphic temperature of about 900–875 °C at a pressure of 9 kbar and the peak metamorphic fluid composition is constrained to be low in X_CO2 (0.1<X_CO2<0.30). Interpretation of the textural features on the basis of the partial grids revealed that the calc–silicate granulites underwent high-temperature isobaric cooling, from about 900–875 °C to a temperature below 675 °C, following the peak metamorphism. The late-stage cooling was accompanied by an influx of hydrous fluids. The calc–silicate granulites provide evidence for high-temperature isobaric cooling in the meta-sediments of the Highland Complex, earlier considered by some workers to be confined exclusively to the meta-igneous rocks. The coronal scapolite may have formed under open-system metasomatism.     

Quechua II contraction in the Ayacucho intermontane basin: Evidence for rapid and episodic Neogene deformation in the Andes of central Perú

In the Ayacucho basin of central Perú the regional Quechua II contractional deformation is bracketed by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar isotopic age determinations to a maximum duration of about 300,000 years, and probably less than 150,000 years, centered on 8.7 Ma. The strongly deformed Huanta Formation beneath the Quechua II angular unconformity was deposited during a period of extension that began before 9.05 ± 0.05 Ma. Deposition of a thick succession of alluvial fan deposits interbedded with flows of basaltic andesite in the Tingrayoc Member continued up to about 8.76 ± 0.05 Ma with the later part of the sedimentary record reflected by lacustrine deposits of the Mayocc Member. The upper limit on contractional deformation is constrained by an age of 8.64 ± 0.05 Ma on a unit of tuff near the base of the Puchcas volcanics, which in places was deposited upon near-vertical beds of the Huanta Formation. The Ayacucho Formation was deposited, locally unconformably, upon the Puchcas volcanics beginning slightly before 7.65 ± 0.10 Ma.Extended periods of neutral to tensional stress interrupted by rapid well-developed pulses of contractional deformation demonstrate the episodic behavior of Andean orogeny in Perú. The very short duration for the Quechua II event implies that driving forces for episodic deformation may be related to coupling along the orogen boundaries and strain accumulation and release mechanisms in the continental crust instead of much longer-term variations in the configuration of converging plates.     

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.