The Sarmatia megablock as a fragment of the Vaalbara supercontinent: Correlation of geological events at the Archean‒Paleoproterozoic transition

The results of correlation between geological events in the period of 2.8?2.0 Ga provide grounds to assume that the Sarmatia lithospheric megablock definable in the southern part of the East European Craton belonged to the ancient Vaalbara supercontinent consisting of the Pilbara and Kaapvaal cratons. In the period of 2.8?2.6 Ga, all of them represented fragments of the continental crust consolidated at approximately 2.8 Ga and subjected to continental rifting, which was accompanied by intense basite volcanism. In the period of 2.50?2.45 Ga, these three cratons were characterized by similar tectonic settings and accumulation of banded iron formations. Precisely these banded iron formations of the largest Transvaal, Hamersley, Kursk, and Kremenchug?Krivoi Rog iron ore basins accumulated in the period of 2.50?2.45 Ga in a single oceanic basin serve as a basis for adequate paleotectonic reconstructions of the Vaalbara supercontinent. In the period of 2.45?2.20 Ga, all three cratons were subjected to a long-lasting break in sedimentation followed by activation of continental rifting with terrigenous sediment deposition, which terminated with basite volcanism ca. 2.2 Ga. These events gave start to the Vaalbara breakup, which represented a multistage process with alternating divergence and convergence phases of supercontinent fragments until the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe, Pilbara and Yilgarn, and Sarmatia and Volgo-Uralia cratons, respectively, became eventually united.     

Shear-zone controlled basins in the Blouberg area, Northern Province, South Africa: syn- and post-tectonic sedimentation relating to ca. 2.0 Ga reactivation of the Limpopo Belt

The extent of the deposition and of the preservation of the Blouberg Formation and Waterberg Group was at least partially controlled by brittle reactivation along the Palala Shear Zone. The Palala Shear Zone in the Blouberg area (Northern Province, South Africa) is characterised by granulite-grade gneiss, and formed by sinistral transpressional collision between the Southern Marginal Zone (Kaapvaal Craton) and the Central Zone of the Limpopo Belt. The Limpopo collision is thought to have occurred either at 2.0 Ga or at 2.7 Ga with reactivation at 2.0 Ga. Deposition of the Blouberg Formation was characterised by syn-sedimentary tectonism, which is reflected by a sudden upward coarsening in sedimentary rocks, and by the presence of a strongly folded and thrusted lower member. Bedding orientations and slickenside lineation orientations suggest that vergence was towards the south, and such a tectonism can be inferred to have produced a highland area to the north, bound on the southern margin by the southern strand of the Melinda Fault. The presence of an inferred northerly upland area is supported by palaeocurrent directions and the preservational extent of the Setlaole and Makgabeng Formations of the Waterberg Group (post-Blouberg Formation). The extent and stratigraphy of the overlying Mogalakwena Formation suggests that these strata onlapped northwards over the denuding highlands. Younger Sibasa basalts of the Soutpansberg Group have been dated at ca. 1.85 Ga. Blouberg and Waterberg strata can therefore be interpreted as syn- and post-tectonic sedimentary rocks, respectively, following a ca. 2.0 reactivation event along the Palala Shear Zone. It is difficult to reconcile the succession of geological events at Blouberg with a ca. 2.0 Ga Limpopo orogeny, and thus sedimentary strata in the study area support a 2.7 Ga date for Limpopo collision, with syn-Blouberg tectonism relating to ca. 2.0 reactivation within the previously assembled Limpopo Belt.     

Is the Ventersdorp Rift System of Southern Africa related to a continental collision between the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe Cratons at 2.64 Ga ago?

Rocks of the Ventersdorp Supergroup were deposited in a system of northeast trending grabens on the Kaapvaal Craton approximately 2.64 Ga ago contemporary with a continental collision between the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe Cratons. We suggest that it was this collision that initiated the Ventersdorp rifting. Individual grabens strike at high angles toward the continental collision zone now exposed in the Limpopo Province where late orogenic left-lateral strike-slip faulting and anatectic granites are recognized. We relate the Ventersdorp rift province to extension in the Kaapvaal Craton associated with the collision, and see some analogy with such rifts as the Shansi and Baikal Systems associated with the current India-Asia continental collision.     

胶北地体地壳演化：玲珑黑云母花岗岩继承锆石U-Pb年龄、微量元素和Hf同位素证据

胶北地体晚侏罗世下地壳重熔的玲珑黑云母花岗岩大面积出露,其中残留有大量继承锆石,记录了多期热事件,为复杂的地壳演化过程提供了重要线索。论文通过分析玲珑黑云母花岗岩中继承锆石的U-Pb年龄、微量元素和Hf同位素组成,探讨了胶北地体的地壳演化历史。结果显示胶北地体前寒武纪经历了~2.9Ga和~2.7Ga两期主要的地壳生长事件,~2.5Ga和2.2~1.8Ga两期地壳重熔改造事件,~2.5Ga和1.95~1.8Ga两期变质事件。~2.9Ga的岩浆作用形成于岛弧环境,~2.7Ga岩浆活动与下地壳基性物质的部分熔融有关,~2.5Ga发生的岩浆和变质事件与地幔柱底侵作用有关,并有同时期的表壳岩组合-胶东岩群形成。~2.1Ga地壳处于拉张状态,伴有与裂谷活动有关的双峰式岩浆作用,荆山群和粉子山群开始沉积,而后1.95~1.8Ga发生碰撞造山运动,胶北所有早前寒武纪岩石单元卷入此次事件,并发生变质作用。自此之后,直至二叠纪末,胶北处于岩浆活动的沉寂期,但于~1.7Ga和~1.0Ga发生沉积作用,形成芝罘群和蓬莱群。二叠纪末扬子板块向北俯冲于华北克拉通之下,并于三叠纪与华北克拉通发生陆陆碰撞作用,致使扬子板块北缘新元古代花岗岩发生超高压变质,形成苏鲁超高压变质带,之后超高压变质岩发生折返。玲珑黑云母花岗岩复杂的继承锆石组成可能表征了前寒武纪岩石卷入陆-陆碰撞事件而发生再循环作用。     

大青山地区2.5 Ga紫苏花岗岩——对深熔石榴花岗岩成因模式的启示

华北克拉通北缘西部陆块早前寒武纪基底分布广泛,现有的研究普遍认为经历 2.5 Ga,2.45~2.37 Ga,1.95 Ga和1.85 Ga变质热事件影响。华北克拉通北缘阴山陆块中2.5 Ga的紫苏花岗岩研究已经成为了揭示华北克拉通北缘早前寒武纪构造演化的一个热点,但孔兹岩带中却鲜少有新太古代晚期构造热事件的相关报道。近年来,相继从大青山地区的孔兹岩带石榴黑云母片麻岩中分辨出一期具有2.45~2.37 Ga变质锆石年龄的大青山表壳岩,同时出露与其成因关系密切的深熔石榴花岗岩,但其深熔成因的模式存在争议。本文对大青山地区新发现的新太古代晚期紫苏花岗岩、石榴花岗岩及其围岩的野外空间产出关系和锆石年代学进行对比分析,为探究深熔石榴花岗岩成因模式提供重要的启示。     

大青山地区2.5 Ga紫苏花岗岩——对深熔石榴花岗岩成因模式的启示

华北克拉通北缘西部陆块早前寒武纪基底分布广泛,现有的研究普遍认为经历 2.5 Ga,2.45~2.37 Ga,1.95 Ga和1.85 Ga变质热事件影响。华北克拉通北缘阴山陆块中2.5 Ga的紫苏花岗岩研究已经成为了揭示华北克拉通北缘早前寒武纪构造演化的一个热点,但孔兹岩带中却鲜少有新太古代晚期构造热事件的相关报道。近年来,相继从大青山地区的孔兹岩带石榴黑云母片麻岩中分辨出一期具有2.45~2.37 Ga变质锆石年龄的大青山表壳岩,同时出露与其成因关系密切的深熔石榴花岗岩,但其深熔成因的模式存在争议。本文对大青山地区新发现的新太古代晚期紫苏花岗岩、石榴花岗岩及其围岩的野外空间产出关系和锆石年代学进行对比分析,为探究深熔石榴花岗岩成因模式提供重要的启示。     

Earth''s earliest continental lithosphere, hydrothermal flux and crustal recycling

The Kaapvaal craton in southern Africa and the Pilbara craton of northwestern Australia are the largest regions on Earth to have retained relatively pristine mid-Archaean rocks (3.0–4.0 Ga).The Kaapvaal craton covers about 1.2×10⁶ km², and varies in lithospheric thickness between 170 and 350 km. At surface, the craton can be subdivided into a number of Archaean sub-domains; some of the subdomains are also well defined at depth, and local variations in tomography of the lithosphere correspond closely with subdomain boundaries at surface.The Archaean history of the Kaapvaal craton spans about 1 Gyr and can be conveniently subdivided into two periods, each of about the same length as the Phanerozoic. The first period, from circa 3.7-3.1 Ga, records the initial separation of the cratonic lithosphere from the asthenosphere, terminating with a major pulse of accretion tectonics between 3.2 and 3.1 Ga, which includes the formation of “paired metamorphic belts”. This period of continental growth can be compared to plate tectonic processes occurring in modern-day oceanic basins. However, the difference is that in the mid-Archaean, these oceanic processes appear to have occurred in shallower water depths than the modern ocean basins. The second period, from circa 3.1-2.6 Ga, records intra-continental and continental-edge processes: continental growth during this period occurred predominantly through a combination of tectonic accretion of crustal fragments and subduction-related igneous processes, in much the same way as has been documented along the margins of the Pacific and Tethys oceans since the Mesozoic.The intra-oceanic processes resulted in small, but deep-rooted continental nucleii; the first separation of this early continental lithosphere could only have occurred when the mean elevation of mid-oceanicridges sank below sea-level. Substantial recycling of continental lithosphere into the mantle must have occurred during this period of Earth history. During the second period, at least two large continental nucleii amalgamated during collisional processes which, together with internal chemical differentiation processes, created the first stable continental landmass. This landmass, which is known to have been substantially bigger than its present outline, may have been part of the Earth's first supercontinent.The oldest known subdomains of the craton include the oceanic-like rocks of the Barberton greenstone belt. The comagmatic mafic-ultramafic rocks (3.48–3.49 Ga) of this belt represent a remnant of very early oceanic-like lithosphere (known as the Jamestown Ophiolite Complex), which was obducted, approximately 45 Ma after its formation, onto a volcanic arc-like terrain by processes similar to those which have emplaced modern ophiolites at convergent margins of Phanerozoic continents. The early metamorphic history, metamorphic mineralogy, oxygen isotope profiles and degree of hydration of the 3.49 Ga Jamestown Ophiolite Complex are similar to present day subseafloor hydrothermal systems. The ratio of ΔMg to ΔSi for hydrothermally altered igneous rocks, both present day and Archaean, are remarkably uniform at −5(±0.9) and the same as that of hydrothermal fluids venting on the present-day East Pacific Rise. This observation suggests that the process of Mg exchange for Si in hydrothermal systems was commonplace throughout Earth's history.The chemistry of vent fluids and hydrothermally altered igneous rocks was combined with an inventory of ³He in the mantle to model Earth's total hydrothermal flux. An Archaean flux (at 3.5 Ga) of about 10 times present day was accompanied by a correspondingly greater abundance of Mg(OH), SiO₂, carbonate and Fe---Mn metasomatic rock types as well as massive sulphides. Assuming a constant column of seawater since the Archaean, the average residence time of seawater in the oceanic crust was 1.65−8.90×10⁵ years in the Archaean. Assuming that ³He and heat are transported from the mantle in silicate melts in uniform proportions, the model stipulates that accretion of oceanic crust decreased from about 3.43−6.5×10¹⁷ g/yr to a present-day rate of 0.52−0.8×10¹⁷ g/yr, with a drop in heat flow from 1.4−2.6×10²⁰ cal/yr to 2.1−3.2×10¹⁹ cal/year.The total amounts of SiO₂ and Fe mobilised in marine hydrothermal systems since 3.5 Ga is less than their masses in the present exosphere reservoirs (crust, hydrosphere, atmosphere). The total amounts of Mg, K, CO₂, Ca and Mn are greater than their respective masses in exosphere reservoirs; therefore, they must have been recycled into mantle. The total mass of recycled hydrothermal components is small compared to the mass of the mantle. The flux of volatiles in hydrothermal systems is large compared to their volume in the atmosphere suggesting that the CO₂ and O₂ budgets of the atmosphere have been influenced by hydrothermal processes, especially in the Archaean.     

Geochemistry and detrital zircon records of the Ruyang-Luoyu groups,southern North China Craton:Provenance,crustal evolution and Paleo-Mesoproterozoic tectonic implications

Paleo-to Mesoproterozoic sedimentary rocks in the southern margin of the North China Craton(NCC)are represented by the Ruyang and Luoyu groups.We studied the sedimentary rocks from the Yunmengshan and Beidajian formations of the Ruyang Group and the Cuizhuang and Sanjiaotang formations of the Luoyu Group.Detrital zircon grains from these formations have U–Pb age populations of 3.64–3.31 Ga,2.96–2.86 Ga,2.72–2.59 Ga,2.56–2.47 Ga,2.45–2.0 Ga,1.99–1.85 Ga and 1.84–1.65 Ga.The geochemical features of the sedimentary rocks suggest that some of the sediments were sourced from intermediate to felsic magmatic rocks.The age groups of the detrital zircon are roughly consistent with the tectono-thermal events in the southern margin of the NCC.The Hf isotopic compositions of detrital zircon from the sedimentary rocks in Ruyang and Luoyu groups suggest that significant crustal growth and reworking of the NCC took place during the Neoarchean and early-to mid-Paleoproterozoic,while crustal reworking at the Paleoarchean and late-Paleoproterozoic,and crustal growth at the Mesoarchean.We suggest the depositional times of the Ruyang Group and Luoyu Group are constrained to no older than 1.75–1.7 Ga and 1.7–1.65 Ga,respectively.Formation of late-Paleoproterozoic basins related to the strike slip and extrusion tectonics that cross-cut the NCC during the late Paleoproterozoic(<1.75 Ga),and the late Paleoproterozoic sedimentation once isochronous developed in the southern margin of the NCC through the Taihang region of the interior NCC and linked the Yanshan–Liaoxi regions of the northern NCC.     

Neoarchean (2.5-2.8 Ga) crustal growth of the North China Craton revealed by zircon Hf isotope: A synthesis

The crustal growth of the North China Craton(NCC) during the Neoarchean time(2.5—2.8 Ga) is a hotly controversial topic,with some proposing thai the main crustal growth occurred in the late Neoarchean (2.5—2.6 Ga),in agreement with the time of the magmatism,whereas others suggest that the main crustal accretion took place during early Neoarchean time(2.7—2.8 Ga),consistent with the time of crustalformation of other cratons in the world.Zircon U-Pb ages and Hf isotope compositions can provide rigorous constraints on the time of crustal growth and the evolution and tectonic division of the NCC.In this contribution, we make a comprehensive review of zircon Hf isotope data in combination with zircon U-Pb geochronology and some geochemistry data from various divisions of the NCC with an aim to constrain the Neoarchean crustal growth of the NCC.The results suggest that both 2.7—2.8 Ga and 2.5—2.6 Ga crustal growth are distributed over the NCC and the former is much wider than previously suggested.The Eastern block is characterized by the main 2.7—2.8 Ga crustal growth with local new crustal-formation at 2.5—2.6 Ga,and the Yinshan block is characterized by～2.7 Ga crustal accretion as revealed by Hf-isotope data of detrital zircons from the Zhaertai Group.Detrital zircon data of the Khondalite Belt indicate that the main crustal growth period of the Western block is Paleoproterozoic involving some～2.6 Ga and minor Early- to Middle-Archean crustal components,and the crustal accretion in the Trans-North China Orogen(TNCO) has a wide age range from 2.5 Ga to 2.9 Ga with a notable regional discrepancy.Zircon Hf isotope compositions,coupled with zircon ages and other geochemical data suggest that the southern margin may not be an extension of the TNCO,and the evolution and tectonic division of the NCC is more complex than previously proposed,probably involving multi-stage crustal growth and subduction processes.However, there is no doubt that 2.7—2.8 Ga magmatism and crustal-formation are more widely distributed than previously considered,which is further supported by the data of zircons from Precambrian lower crustal rocks, overlying sedimentary cover,modern river sediments and Late Neoarchean syenogranites.     

Unraveling one billion years of geological evolution of the southeastern Amazonia Craton from detrital zircon analyses

Despite representing one of the largest cratons on Earth, the early geological evolution of the Amazonia Craton remains poorly known due to relatively poor exposure and because younger metamorphic and tectonic events have obscured initial information. In this study, we investigated the sedimentary archives of the Carajás Basin to unravel the early geological evolution of the southeastern Amazonia Craton. The Carajás Basin contains sedimentary rocks that were deposited throughout a long period spanning more than one billion years from the Mesoarchean to the Paleoproterozoic. The oldest archives preserved in this basin consist of a few ca. 3.6 Ga detrital zircon grains showing that the geological roots of the Amazonia Craton were already formed by the Eoarchean. During the Paleoarchean or the early Mesoarchean (<3.1 Ga), the Carajás Basin was large and rigid enough to sustain the formation and preservation of the Rio Novo Group greenstone belt. Later, during the Neoarchean, at ca. 2.7 Ga, the southeastern Amazonia Craton witnessed the emplacement of the Parauapebas Large Igneous Province (LIP) that probably covered a large part of the craton and was associated with the deposition of some of the world largest iron formations. The emplacement of this LIP immediately preceded a period of continental extension that formed a rift infilled first by iron formations followed by terrigenous sediments. This major change of sedimentary regime might have been controlled by the regional tectonic evolution of the Amazonia Craton and its emergence above sea-level. During the Paleoproterozoic, at ca. 2.1 Ga, the Rio Fresco Group, consisting of terrigenous sediments from the interior of the Amazonia Craton, was deposited in the Carajás Basin. At that time, the Amazonian lithosphere could have either underwent thermal subsidence forming a large intracratonic basin or could have been deformed by long wavelength flexures that induced the formation of basins and swells throughout the craton under the influence of the growing Transamazonian mountain belt.     

U–Pb geochronology of the southern Brasília belt (SE-Brazil): sedimentary provenance, Neoproterozoic orogeny and assembly of West Gondwana

The Brasília belt borders the western margin of the São Francisco Craton and records the history of ocean opening and closing related to the formation of West Gondwana. This study reports new U–Pb data from the southern sector of the belt in order to provide temporal limits for the deposition and ages of provenance of sediments accumulated in passive margin successions around the south and southwestern margins of the São Francisco Craton, and date the orogenic events leading to the amalgamation of West Gondwana.Ages of detrital zircons (by ID–TIMS and LA-MC-ICPMS) were obtained from metasedimentary units of the passive margin of the São Francisco Craton from the main tectonic domains of the belt: the internal allochthons (Araxá Group in the Áraxá and Passos Nappes), the external allochthons (Canastra Group, Serra da Boa Esperança Metasedimentary Sequence and Andrelândia Group) and the autochthonous or Cratonic Domain (Andrelândia Group). The patterns of provenance ages for these units are uniform and are characterised as follows: Archean–Paleoproterozoic ages (3.4–3.3, 3.1–2.7, and 2.5–2.4 Ga); Paleoproterozoic ages attributed to the Transamazonian event (2.3–1.9 Ga, with a peak at ca. 2.15 Ga) and to the ca. 1.75 Ga Espinhaço rifting of the São Francisco Craton; ages between 1.6 and 1.2 Ga, with a peak at 1.3 Ga, revealing an unexpected variety of Mesoproterozoic sources, still undetected in the São Francisco Craton; and ages between 0.9 and 1.0 Ga related to the rifting event that led to the individualisation of the São Francisco paleo-continent and formation of its passive margins. An amphibolite intercalation in the Araxá Group yields a rutile age of ca. 0.9 Ga and documents the occurrence of mafic magmatism coeval with sedimentation in the marginal basin.Detrital zircons from the autochthonous and parautochthonous Andrelândia Group, deposited on the southern margin of the São Francisco Craton, yielded a provenance pattern similar to that of the allochthonous units. This result implies that 1.6–1.2 Ga source rocks must be present in the São Francisco Craton. They could be located either in the cratonic area, which is mostly covered by the Neoproterozoic epicontinental deposits of the Bambuí Group, or in the outer paleo-continental margin, buried under the allochthonous units of the Brasília belt.Crustal melting and generation of syntectonic crustal granites and migmatisation at ca. 630 Ma mark the orogenic event that started with westward subduction of the São Francisco plate and ended with continental collision against the Paraná block (and Goiás terrane). Continuing collision led to the exhumation and cooling of the Araxá and Passos metamorphic nappes, as indicated by monazite ages of ca. 605 Ma and mark the final stages of tectonometamorphic activity in the southern Brasília belt.Whilst continent–continent collision was proceeding on the western margin of the São Francisco Craton along the southern Brasília belt, eastward subduction in the East was generating the 634–599 Ma Rio Negro magmatic arc which collided with the eastern São Francisco margin at 595–560 Ma, much later than in the Brasília belt. Thus, the tectonic effects of the Ribeira belt reached the southernmost sector of the Brasília belt creating a zone of superposition. The thermal front of this event affected the proximal Andrelândia Group at ca. 588 Ma, as indicated by monazite age.The participation of the Amazonian craton in the assembly of western Gondwana occurred at 545–500 Ma in the Paraguay belt and ca. 500 Ma in the Araguaia belt. This, together with the results presented in this work lead to the conclusion that the collision between the Paraná block and Goiás terrane with the São Francisco Craton along the Brasília belt preceded the accretion of the Amazonian craton by 50–100 million years.     

华北陆块的构造格局及其演化

华北陆块是由陆核→地块(体)→联合地块逐渐生长、增大、拼合形成的。根据大量的地质构造、地层岩石、同位素年代学、含矿特征、地球化学、地球物理等多方面的信息,华北陆块可划分为辽吉、燕辽、阴山、晋冀、豫皖、阿拉善前寒武纪地块和鲁西、胶北前寒武纪地体,鄂尔多斯、华北中新生代盆地,共10个构造单元。华北陆块是多地块拼(缝)合形成。据现有的岩石记录,始太古代-中太古代主要是陆核生成阶段,不排除在早期有绿岩带形成;新太古代主要是花岗岩-绿岩带的生成阶段,花岗岩-绿岩带环绕地核周边形成地块,是华北陆块结晶基底的主要生长时期;古元古代是联合地块的形成阶段,多个地块(体)拼合形成联合地块;中元古代是稳定环境下的拉伸阶段,沿陆块南北两缘形成三大裂谷系(燕辽、狼山—渣尔泰、熊耳山—西阳河);新元古代-古生代陆块形成稳定环境的沉积盖层,除南北两缘外,内部很少有岩浆活动;中-新生代陆块大部分地区为活动大陆边缘的环境,出现大规模的构造-岩浆活动。     

U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotope record of detrital zircon grains from the Limpopo Belt - Evidence for crustal recycling at the Hadean to early-Archean transition

Detrital zircon grains from Beit Bridge Group quartzite from the Central Zone of the Limpopo Belt near Musina yield mostly ages of 3.35-3.15 Ga, minor 3.15-2.51 Ga components, and numerous older grains grouped at approximately 3.4, 3.5 and 3.6 Ga. Two grains yielded concordant Late Hadean U-Pb ages of 3881 ± 11 Ma and 3909 ± 26 Ma, which are the oldest zircon grains so far found in Africa. The combined U-Pb and Lu-Hf datasets and field relationships provide evidence that the sedimentary protolith of the Beit Bridge Group quartzite was deposited after the emplacement of the Sand River Gneisses (3.35-3.15 Ga), but prior to the Neoarchean magmatic-metamorphic events at 2.65-2.60 Ga. The finding of abundant magmatic zircon detritus with concordant U-Pb ages of 3.35-3.15 Ga, and ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf of 0.28066 ± 0.00004 indicate that the Sand River Gneiss-type rocks were a predominant source. In contrast, detrital zircon grains older than approximately 3.35 Ga were derived from the hinterland of the Limpopo Belt; either from a so far unknown crustal source in southern Africa, possibly from the Zimbabwe Craton and/or a source, which was similar but not necessarily identical to the one that supplied the Hadean zircons to Jack Hills, Western Australia. The Beit Bridge Group zircon population at >3.35 Ga shows a general εHf_t increase with decreasing age from εHf_3.9Ga = −6.3 to εHf_3.3-3.1Ga = −0.2, indicating that Hadean crust older than 4.0 Ga (T_DM = 4.45-4.36 Ga) was rejuvenated during magmatic events between >3.9 and 3.1 Ga, due to a successive mixing of crustal rocks with mantle derived magmas. The existence of a depleted mantle reservoir in the Limpopo’s hinterland is reflected by the ∼3.6 Ga zircon population, which shows εHf_3.6Ga between −4.6 and +3.2. In a global context, our data suggest that a long-lived, mafic Hadean protocrust with some tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite constituents was destroyed and partly recycled at the Hadean/Archean transition, perhaps due to the onset of modern-style plate tectonics.     

鄂尔多斯地块基底研究新的思考与认识

鄂尔多斯地块基底岩芯岩石组合、花岗片麻岩的锆石U-Pb年龄、Hf同位素和全岩Nd同位素组成以及航磁异常和地壳速度结构特征表明,该地块中部沿大同-华池基底断裂带存在一航磁异常梯度带,沿该带南缘发育一条2.2～2.0Ga古元古代弧岩浆活动带,并经历了1.96～1.85Ga的变质作用改造,与东缘中部带古元古代中晚期构造演化过...     

Metallogenesis of Precambrian gold deposits in the Wutai greenstone belt:Constrains on the tectonic evolution of the North China Craton

The Wutai greenstone belt in central North China Craton(NCC) hosts a number of Precambrian gold deposits and ore occurrences. Based on the host rock association, these can be divided into Banded Iron Formation(BIF), meta-volcano-sedimentary and meta-conglomerate types. The two former types formed during ~2.5-2.3 Ga and the third one at ~1.85 Ga. The characteristics of these Precambrian gold deposits are broadly similar with those of the orogenic gold deposits. Based on available geochronological data, here we reconstruct the major tectonic events and their relationship with gold mineralization in the Wutai-Hengshan-Fuping region during Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic as follows.(1)~2.6-2.5 Ga: widespread intrusion of tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite(TTG) magmas in the Hengshan terrane and Fuping continental arc, formation of the Wutai volcanic arc in the southern margin of Hengshan terrane with granitoids emplacement, and the Hengshan-Wutai intra-oceanic arc accretion to the Fuping arc at the end of Neoarchean.(2) ~ 2.5-2.3 Ga: the subduction of Hengshan arc from north leading to persistent magmatism and orogenic gold mineralization.(3)~2.2-2.1 Ga:extension leading to the formation of graben structure in the Wutai and Fuping region, deposition of the Hutuo and Wanzi Group sediments, formation of placer gold through erosion of the orogenic gold deposits.(4)~2.2-2.0 Ga: widespread magmatism in the Wutai-Hengshan-Fuping region.(5)~1.95-1.8 Ga: regional metamorphism associated with collision of the Western and Eastern Blocks of the NCC and associated orogenic gold deposits. The multiple subduction-accretion-collision history and subsequent deep erosion has significantly affected most of the Precambrian gold deposits in the Wutai greenstone belt.     

The Karelian Craton in the Paleoproterozoic: New paleomagnetic data

New paleomagnetic data on Paleoproterozoic complexes of the Central Karelian and Vodlozero terranes of the Karelian Craton were obtained. A new key paleomagnetic pole (1.98 Ga) was calculated for rocks of the Vodlozero terrane. The positions of Central Karelian and Vodlozero terranes 1.98 Ga ago in subtropical and moderate latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, respectively, were reconstructed. The latitudinal difference (1.98 Ga) between the positions of Central Karelian and Vodlozero terranes supports the existence of oceanic basins between separate terranes of the Karelian Craton.     

华北克拉通古元古代地质记录及其构造意义

华北克拉通上存在广泛的古元古代地质记录,尤其是构造岩石组合和同位素年龄资料,显示克拉通上可能存在多条古元古代的汇聚拼合带：如鄂尔多斯地块与华北东部-阴山地块之间的拼合造山带、华北东部地块与狼林地块之间的胶辽造山带以及华北克拉通北缘的安第斯型汇聚边界等。华北克拉通中部地区的古元古代锆百年龄数据统计,显示出2．3～24Ga、20～22Ga和18～1．95Ga三组年龄值,暗示华北克拉通古元古代可能存在两个演化阶段：其中古元古代末期（18～1．95Ga）的造山事件已得到了广泛认可,并认为-9全球Columbia超大陆汇聚事件相关;而2.3～2.4Ga、2.00～2.2Ga所代表的构造热事件的性质和意义尚不明确。我国古元古代末期有关陆块汇聚的构造热事件以及其后的裂解事件群和地层学记录,与新的国际前寒武纪地质年代表建议的古-中元古代界线一致,这将促进我国特别是古-中元古代的前寒武纪研究。     

Geochronological and isotopical review of pre-Devonian crustal basement of the Colombian Andes

Under the flatlands east of the Andes, the crustal basement is exposed in a few places, composed mainly of the Mitú migmatitic complex and the Parguaza granite, whose ages range between 1.78 and 1.45 Ga. Extensive outcrops of high-grade metamorphic rocks are found in several places. Two metamorphisms are dated between 1.2–1.1 and 1.0–0.9 Ga. They are considered blocks that formed during the Grenville orogeny and have Sm–Nd T_DM model ages of 1.87–1.47. The Andaquí terrane is formed mainly by the Garzón Massif, composed of granulites, migmatites, and granites, and the metamorphic rocks of the Sierra de la Macarena, which are covered by undeformed Cambrian sediments. It is believed that after the Grenville orogeny, this unit remained attached to the Amazonic Craton. All the other areas grouped in the Chibcha terrane, though they formed during the Grenville orogeny, are believed to have remained either as part of another continental block or dispersed islands to be amalgamated to the Amazonic Craton during the Lower Paleozoic orogeny, which in the Quetame Massif is dated between the Silurian and Devonian and is named the Quetame orogenic event.     

A Kaapvaal craton debate: Nucleus of an early small supercontinent or affected by an enhanced accretion event?

Incorporation of the Kaapvaal craton within a speculative Neoarchaean–Palaeoproterozoic supercontinent has long been debated, and this idea provides a potential solution to solving the apparently enigmatic provenance of the huge quantities of gold within the famous Witwatersrand auriferous deposits of Kaapvaal. Within a framework of a postulated Neoarchaean “Kenorland” (“northern”; present-day reference) supercontinent, we examine possible “southern” cratons that may have been contiguous with Kaapvaal: Pilbara, Zimbabwe, Dharwar, São Francisco, Amazon, Congo. Brief reviews of their basic geology and inferred evolution in syn-Witwatersrand basin times (c. 3.1–2.8 Ga) show no obvious support for any such supercontinental amalgamations. An alternative idea to explain a measure of gross similarity amongst several Neoarchaean cratons is through global events, such as a c. 3125–3000 Ma cratonic-scale erosive event interpreted for both Pilbara and Kaapvaal, and a much more widespread magmatic event at c. 2760–2680 Ma. We postulate that a global superplume event at c. 3.0 Ga included a plume beneath the Kaapvaal cratonic nucleus, thus halting any subduction around that terrane due to the thermal anomaly. Such a speculative global magmatic event is assumed to have enhanced production of juvenile oceanic crust at mid-ocean ridges, including those “offshore” of the thermally elevated Kaapvaal nucleus. Intra-oceanic obduction complexes may have built up fairly rapidly under such conditions, globally, and once the plume event had abated, “normal” plate tectonics would have resulted in composite (greenstone-tonalite, possibly also including granite) terranes accreting with nuclei such as Kaapvaal. This enhanced plume-related cratonic growth can be seen as a rapid accretion event. Formation of the envisaged ophiolite complexes possibly encompassed deformation-related first-order concentration of gold, and once accretion occurred around Kaapvaal's nucleus, from north and west (present-day frame of reference), a second-order (deformation-related) gold concentration may have resulted. The third order of gold concentration would logically have occurred once placer systems reworked detritus derived from the orogens along the N and W margins of Kaapvaal. Such conditions and placer gold deposits are known from many Neoarchaean cratons. The initial source of gold was presumably from the much hotter Mesoarchaean mantle and may have been related to major changes in Earth's tectonic regime at c. 3.0 Ga. The unique nature of Kaapvaal is probably its early stabilization, enabling formation of a complex flexural foreland basin system, in which vast quantities of placer sediments and heavy minerals could be deposited, and preserved from younger denudation through a unique post-Witwatersrand history.     

Evidence for Mesoproterozoic collision,deep burial and rapid exhumation of garbenschiefer in the Namaqua Front,South Africa

Metamorphic provinces such as the^1 Ga Grenvillian,~400 Ma Caledonide and Triassic Qinling Provinces often contain rocks with high-pressure assemblages such as eclogites,which formed at mantle depths in subduction zones.These are evidence of the accretion of terranes by subduction of oceans and collision to form large tectonostratigraphic provinces.The Mesoproterozoic Namaqua-Natal Province comprises a number of terranes thought to have been assembled by plate-tectonic processes,but they have generally yielded metamorphic pressures below 5 kbar,corresponding to<20 km,crustal depths,lacking evidence for subduction processes.The Kaaien Terrane in the Namaqua Front contains two large garbenschiefer units with the unusual paragenesis garnet-hornblende-epidote-white mica-plagioclase-ilmenite-quartz.Their protoliths are graywackes influenced by andesitic volcanism during their deposition at^1870 Ma,in a passive margin of the Rehoboth Province or Kaapvaal Craton.Prograde garnet growth dated at 1165
5 Ma culminated in peak metamorphic conditions of 645
30C and 10.4
0.7 kbar,corresponding to 40 km depth.This is attributed to subduction of these rocks before collision between the overriding arc-related Areachap Terrane,the Kaaien Terrane and the Kaapvaal-Rehoboth cratonic block during the Namaqua orogeny.Exhumation of the garbenschiefer slabs was followed by rapid cooling,as the 1143
5 Ma argon dates of hornblende and white mica,with closure temperatures^540C and^440C respectively,are the same within error.This was probably due to tectonic juxtaposition of the garbenschiefer slab with much cooler rock units.The exhumation was accommodated along the Trooilapspan-Brakbosch Shear Zone due to ongoing transpression.Other components of the Namaqua Front have distinctly different P-T-t paths,exemplified by greenschist metamorphism in the 1300 Ma Wilgenhoutsdrift Group,and medium-pressure metamorphism in the Areachap Terrane.They were juxtaposed by late-tectonic uplift and transpressional movements.The^40 km depth of garbenschiefer peak metamorphism is the deepest yet found in the Namaqua-Natal Province and strengthens the plate tectonic model of accretion by collision of terranes at the end of a Wilson cycle.The high pressure paragenesis of the garbenschiefer was preserved due to its location in the Namaqua Front,whereas most other parts of the Namaqua-Natal Province were overprinted by 1100–1020 Ma thermal events after the collision events.