The Yarlung suture mélange,Lopu Range,southern Tibet: Provenance of sandstone blocks and transition from oceanic subduction to continental collision

With the aim of better understanding the history of ocean closure and suturing between India and Asia, we conducted a geologic investigation of a siliciclastic matrix tectonic mélange within the western Yarlung suture zone of southern Tibet (Lopu Range region, ~ 50 km northwest of Saga). The siliciclastic matrix mélange includes abundant blocks of ocean plate stratigraphy and sparse blocks of sandstone. Metapelite and metabasite blocks in the mélange exhibit lower greenschist facies mineral assemblages, indicating that they were not deeply subducted. We obtained detrital zircon U-Pb geochronologic and sandstone petrographic data from sandstone blocks in the mélange and sandstone beds from Tethyan Himalayan strata exposed to the south of the suture. The sandstones from both units are all similar in U-Pb detrital zircon age spectra and petrography to the nearby Tethyan Cretaceous–Paleocene Sangdanlin section, which records the earliest appearance (at ~ 59 Ma) of arc-affinity strata deposited conformably on Indian-affinity strata. Two Paleocene sandstones, one of which is a schistose block incorporated in the siliciclastic matrix mélange, yielded indistinguishable maximum depositional ages of ~ 59 Ma. Mesozoic Asian-affinity sandstone blocks previously documented in the siliciclastic matrix mélange 200–500 km along strike to the east are notably absent in the Lopu Range region. We documented a gradational transition in structural style from the block-in-matrix mélange in the northeast to the south-vergent Tethyan thrust belt in the southwest. Blocks of Tethyan Himalayan strata increase in size and the volumetric proportion of matrix decreases from northeast to southwest. We conclude that no arc-affinity sandstone blocks were incorporated into the subduction complex until India-Asia collision at ~ 59 Ma when the Xigaze forearc basin became overfilled and Tethyan Himalayan strata entered the trench. As collision progressed, there was a gradual transition in structural style from block-in-matrix mélange formation to imbricate-style thrust belt formation.     

Geology of the Talaud Islands, molucca sea collision zone, northeast Indonesia

The Talaud Islands lie at the northern margin of the collision zone between the Sangihe and Halmahera island arc systems. Rock units on Talaud are Neogene marine strata, basalt and andesite, tectonic mélange, and ophiolite. The units are exposed in N–S trending belts that are commonly separated by faults. The marine strata consist of tuffaceous siltstone, sandstone, shale and marl. They are strongly deformed by west-verging folds with wavelengths of 20–500 m. Volcanic rocks of island arc affinity are exposed on the east coast of Karakelang Island and appear to be interbedded with the lowermost marine strata. Tectonic mélanges contain blocks of serpentinite, gabbro, basalt, red middle Eocene chert and limestone, and greywacke turbidites. The blocks range in length from a few millimetres to hundreds of metres, and are enclosed in a scaly clay matrix. Several mappable slabs of ophiolite are separated by Tertiary strata or mélange. The dismembered ophiolites consist of serpentized peridotite, gabbro, spilites and cherts. Locally, the mélanges and ophiolites are thrust over the younger sedimentary rocks along east-dipping faults. The dominant eastward dips of mélange foliation, the westward vergence of structures in the Neogene strata, the Eocene ages of the cherts, and the Miocene age of the strata overlying the ophiolite slabs suggest that the ophiolites are pieces of Eocene or older oceanic crust (derived from a mid-ocean ridge or back-arc basin) and upper mantle that were emplaced as thrust slices into the lower slope of a west-facing arc during the Miocene and have been uplifted during arc—arc collision.     

藏北改则新生代早期逆冲推覆构造系统

藏北改则及邻区新生代早期发育大型逆冲推覆构造系统,由不同方向的逆冲断层、不同时代的构造岩片、不同规模的飞来峰和构造窗、不同类型的褶皱构造组成。羌塘中部发育羌中薄皮推覆构造,石炭系板岩和二叠系白云质灰岩自北向南逆冲推覆于上白垩统与古近系红层之上,形成大型逆冲岩席和弧形逆冲断层,原地系统古近纪红层下伏三叠系—侏罗系海相烃源岩。羌塘南部发育南羌塘薄皮推覆构造,导致班公—怒江蛇绿岩、三叠系—侏罗系海相地层及侏罗纪混杂岩自北向南逆冲推覆于古近纪红层与下白垩统海相沉积岩层之上,形成三条蛇绿岩片带、大量飞来峰和厚度较大的构造片岩。中新世早期火山岩层和湖相沉积呈角度不整合覆盖逆冲断层、褶皱构造和逆冲岩席,不整合面上覆火山岩年龄为23.7～19.1Ma,指示中新世早期改则及邻区基本结束了强烈逆冲推覆构造运动。估算羌中逆冲推覆构造的推覆距离约100～115km,南羌塘逆冲推覆构造的推覆距离约82～110km;新生代早期改则逆冲推覆构造系统近南北方向逆冲推覆总距离为182～225km,对应地壳缩短率为(50.3±2.7)%。     

Tectonic,diapiric and sedimentary chaotic rocks of the Rakhine coast,western Myanmar

The western margin of Myanmar is the northern extension the active Sunda (India-Eurasia) subduction zone. Coastal regions and offshore islands have remarkable exposures of chaotic rock terranes along wave-cut terraces that allow characteristics of tectonic, sedimentary and diapiric mélanges to be recognized. Tectonic shear zones (tectonic mélanges) contain fragments of Cretaceous ophiolites (chrome-spinel-bearing peridotites and radiolarian cherts) that are in contact with thrust packets of Eocene turbidite units (broken formations). The turbidites contain shale-rich beds that have been sheared during soft-sediment deformation (sedimentary broken formations) and are sandwiched between undeformed thick sandy beds. These are mass transport deposits (MTDs) that most likely formed during deposition of the initial detritus of the Himalayan orogenic zone, probably trench slope basins on the accretionary prism. The ophiolitic and turbiditic thrust slices have been exhumed and are currently being intruded by active mud volcanoes that bring fragments of units up from depth to the surface, forming diapiric mélanges. These diapiric mélange bodies contain only small fragments (<50 cm) that are randomly oriented and do not exhibit shear fabrics. Because the region lacks superimposed deformation characteristic of most orogenic belts, the origins of all three rock bodies can easily be distinguished.     

Character,genesis and tectonic setting of igneous rocks in the Sistan suture zone,eastern Iran

Igneous rocks in the Sistan suture zone have characteristics that can be correlated with important tectonic events. A Late Cretaceous ocean basin is recorded by ophiolites now exposed in numerous mélange zones. Subduction beneath the Afghan block is indicated by Late Cretaceous-Paleocene calc-alkaline volcanics. Collision of the Lut block with the subduction complex in the middle Eocene produced widespread deformation and was followed by the emplacement of late Eocene-early Oligocene calc-alkaline granitic batholiths that probably formed by widespread anatexis of marine sediments. A dominantly Oligocene magmatic event is represented by widespread alkaline volcanics and minor intrusions that appear to be related to major transcurrent faults. Miocene calc-alkaline activity was limited to sporadic volcanism in the north and minor intermediate intrusions farther south. These units are largely underformed and not related to any major faults. The youngest magmatic event is recorded by late Miocene-Pliocene mafic flows that are weakly alkaline, clearly related to right-lateral faults and probably were derived from a deep crustal or upper mantle source.     

The Nature of the Crustal Structure of the Eastern Anatolian Plateau,Turkey

The Eastern Anatolian Plateau (EAP) of Turkey, with an elevation ranging from 1700 to 2000 m, is located between the Eastern Pontide Arc to the north and the Arabian Platform to the south. In this region, pre-Maastrichtian tectonic units representing the crust crop out in only a few localities. As they are covered by Maastrichtian-Quaternary rock units, it is difficult to study the nature and mutual relationships of these pre-Maastrichtian tectonic units.

The palaeotectonic units of the EAP comprise two different levels in the present study: (1) The lower level consists of platform-type carbonates and their metamorphic equivalents. These units may represent the Taurus Platform and its metamorphic equivalents. (2) The upper level consists of an ophiolitic-mélange prism which is made up mainly of oceanic crust; the prism comprises a complex of ophiolite, ophiolitic mélange, and fore-arc deposits. This upper unit represents a subduction-accretion prism and may have originated partly from the North Anatolian Suture to the north, and partly from the South-eastern Anatolian Suture to the south.

Continental crustal rocks were thrust over by the ophiolitic mélange prism; thus outcrops of them are scarce in the region as they are exposed in tectonic windows through the ophiolitic thrust sheets. The pre-Maastrichtian tectonic units of the EAP are blanketed by Maastrichtian to Quaternary volcanic and sedimentary rock units; these sequences include successive transgressive and regressive intervals and overlie the palaeotectonic units along a pronounced unconformity. Olistostromal units are abundant in the Eocene sedimentary units and were derived from the ophiolites and ophiolitic mélange. The Maastrichtian-Quaternary cover is made up of collisional and post-collisional deposits across the whole region.

Although the EAP has been experiencing considerable N-S compression, it has not been affected by significant crustal thickening because of the strike-slip tectonic regime that is dominant in the region.     

Sedimentary record of the northward flight of India and its collision with Eurasia (Ladakh Himalaya,India)

Abstract

— Stratigraphic and petrographic analysis of the Cretaceous to Eocene Tibetan sedimentary succession has allowed us to reinterpret in detail the sequence of events which led to closure of Neotethys and continental collision in the NW Himalaya.

During the Early Cretaceous, the Indian passive margin recorded basaltic magmaüc activity. Albian volcanic arenites, probably related to a major extensional tectonic event, are unconformably overlain by an Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene carbonate sequence, with a major quartzarenite episode triggered by the global eustatic sea-level fall at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary. At the same time, Neotethyan oceanic crust was being subducted beneath Asia, as testified by calc-alkalic volcanism and forearc basin sedimentation in the Transhimalayan belt.

Onset of collision and obduction of the Asian accretionary wedge onto the Indian continental rise was recorded by shoaling of the outer shelf at the Paleocene/Eocene boundary, related to flexural uplift of the passive margin. A few My later, foreland basin volcanic arenites derived from the uplifted Asian subduction complex onlapped onto the Indian continental terrace. All along the Himalaya, marine facies were rapidly replaced by continental redbeds in collisional basins on both sides of the ophiolitic suture. Next, foreland basin sedimentation was interrupted by fold-thrust deformation and final ophiolite emplacement.

The observed sequence of events compares favourably with theoretical models of rifted margin to overthrust belt transition and shows that initial phases of continental collision and obduction were completed within 10 to 15 My, with formation of a proto-Himalayan chain by the end of the middle Eocene.     

Mélanges and disrupted rocks at the leading edge of the Humber Arm Allochthon,W. Newfoundland Appalachians: Deformation under high fluid pressure

The Humber Arm Allochthon was structurally emplaced onto the Laurentian margin in western Newfoundland during Taconian (Ordovician) and Acadian (Devonian) deformation. On Port au Port Peninsula, disrupted allochthonous rocks previously mapped as mélange and scaly shale include three mappable, variably disrupted, stratigraphic units; in addition, mixed rocks constitute mélange with much smaller area than previously mapped. At outcrop scale, a qualitative assessment of disruption distinguishes broken, but coherent stratigraphy from a more disrupted and mixed mélange unit. Within coherent regions, three generations of folds are probably related to Taconian, Acadian and Carboniferous deformation events. More disrupted regions show an average of ~24% blocks to 76% matrix with block sizes 0.5–158 cm. A new sampling technique allowed recovery of oriented mélange samples for thin-section. Multiple orientations of extensional fractures suggest approximately coaxial extension. Abundant carbonate and less common bitumen-filled veins suggest that high fluid pressure played a role in the emplacement of the Allochthon. High fluid pressure was probably also responsible for dewatering structures, sandstone dykes and partially brecciated carbonate beds. Map relationships, outcrop and thin-section scale observations lead to a reinterpreted structural history for western Newfoundland in which an early, Taconian, West Bay Thrust Sheet was rapidly emplaced onto the Laurentian margin. During emplacement, debris flows initially contributed igneous blocks to the allochthon, but the majority of fragmentation took place in an environment of horizontal tectonic extension promoted by high fluid-pressure that encouraged brittle fracture. The West Bay thrust sheet was subsequently overridden by the out-of-sequence Lourdes Thrust. Parts of the allochthon were probably re-imbricated in later events, but because of previous disruption, an organized imbricated thrust belt was not developed. At the tip of an advancing thrust wedge, a clear distinction between tectonic and surficial processes of mélange formation may not be possible.     

Geodynamic evolution of ophiolites from Albania and Greece (Dinaric-Hellenic belt): one, two, or more oceanic basins?

All the geological constraints for an exhaustive reconstruction of the Triassic to Tertiary tectonic history of the southern Dinaric-Hellenic belt can be found in Albania and Greece. This article aims to schematically reconstruct this long tectonic evolution primarily based on a detailed analysis of the tectonic setting, the stratigraphy, the geochemistry, and the age of the ophiolites. In contrast to what was previously reported in the literature, we propose a new subdivision on a regional scale of the ophiolite complexes cropping out in Albania and Greece. This new subdivision includes six types of ophiolite occurrences, each corresponding to different tectonic units derived from a single obducted sheet. These units are represented by: (1) sub-ophiolite mélange, (2) Triassic ocean-floor ophiolites, (3) metamorphic soles, (4) Jurassic fore-arc ophiolites, (5) Jurassic intra-oceanic-arc ophiolites, and (6) Jurassic back-arc basin ophiolites. The overall features of these ophiolites are coherent with the existence of a single, though composite, oceanic basin located east of the Adria/Pelagonian continental margin. This oceanic basin was originated during the Middle Triassic and was subsequently (Early Jurassic) affected by an east-dipping intra-oceanic subduction. This subduction was responsible for the birth of intra-oceanic-arc and back-arc oceanic basins separated by a continental volcanic arc during the Early to Middle Jurassic. From the uppermost Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous, an obduction developed, during which the ophiolites were thrust westwards firstly onto the neighboring oceanic lithosphere and then onto the Adria margin.     

Structural style of the Marathon thrust belt, West Texas

The Marathon portion of the Ouachita thrust belt consists of a highly deformed allochthonous wedge of Cambrian-Pennsylvanian slope strata (Marathon facies) that was transported to the northwest and emplaced over Pennsylvanian foredeep sediments. The foredeep strata in turn overlie early-middle Paleozoic shelfal sediments which are deformed by late Paleozoic basement-involved reverse faults. The Dugout Creek thrust is the basal thrust of the allochthon. Shortening in this sheet and overlying sheets is 80%. Steep imbricate faults link the Dugout Creek thrust to upper level detachments forming complex duplex zones. Progressive thrusting and shortening within the allochthon folded the upper level detachments and associated thrust sheets. The Caballos Novaculite is the most competent unit within the Marathon facies and controlled development of prominent detachment folds.Deeper imbricate sheets composed of the Late Pennsylvanian foredeep strata, and possibly early-middle Paleozoic shelfal sediments developed concurrently with emplacement of the Marathon allochthon and folded the overlying allochthon. Following termination of thrusting in the earliest Permian, subsidence and deposition shifted northward to the Delaware, Midland and Val Verde foreland basins.     

Stratigraphy and tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Upper Cretaceous–Tertiary sequence in the southern part of the Malatya Basin, East Anatolia, Turkey

The Malatya Basin is situated on the southern Taurus-Anatolian Platform. The southern part of the basin contains a sedimentary sequence which can be divided into four main units, each separated by an unconformity. From base to top, these are: (1) Permo-Carboniferous; (2) Upper Cretaceous–Lower Paleocene, (3) Middle-Upper Eocene and (4) Upper Miocene. The Upper Cretaceous–Tertiary sedimentary sequence resting on basement rocks is up to 700 m thick.The Permo-Carboniferous basement consist of dolomites and recrystallized limestones. The Upper Cretaceous–Lower Paleocene transgressive–regressive sequence shows a transition from terrestrial environments, via lagoonal to shallow-marine limestones to deep marine turbiditic sediments, followed upwards by shallow marine cherty limestones. The marine sediments contain planktic and benthic foraminifers indicating an upper Campanian, Maastrichtian and Danian age. The Middle-Upper Eocene is a transgressive–regressive sequence represented by terrestrial and lagoonal clastics, shallow-marine limestones and deep marine turbidites. The planktic and benthic foraminifers in the marine sediments indicate a Middle-Upper Eocene age. The upper Miocene sequence consists of a reddish-brown conglomerate–sandstone–mudstone alternation of alluvial and fluvial facies.During Late Cretaceous–Early Paleocene times, the Gündüzbey Group was deposited in the southern part of a fore-arc basin, simultaneously with volcanics belonging to the Yüksekova Group. During Middle-Late Eocene times, the Yeşilyurt Group was deposited in the northern part of the Maden Basin and the Helete volcanic arc. The Middle-Upper Eocene Malatya Basin was formed due to block faulting at the beginning of the Middle Eocene time. During the Late Paleocene–Early Eocene, and at the end of the Eocene, the study areas became continental due to the southward advance of nappe structures.The rock sequences in the southern part of the Malatya Basin may be divided into four tectonic units, from base to top: the lower allochthon, the upper allochthon, the parautochthon and autochthonous rock units.     

The Taraklı Flysch in the Boyali area (Sakarya Terrane,northern Turkey): Implications for the tectonic history of the IntraPontide suture zone

In the Boyal? area, northern Turkey, the tectonic units of the ?stanbul–Zonguldak Terrane and the IntraPontide suture zone are thrust over the deposits at the top of the Sakarya Terrane, known as Tarakl? Flysch. It consists of Early Maastrichtian–Middle Paleocene turbidite and mass-gravity deposits, whose source mainly corresponds to the ?stanbul–Zonguldak Terrane, and, with a lesser extent, to the IntraPontide suture zone. These deposits were sedimented in a foredeep basin developed during the convergence between Sakarya and Eurasian continental microplates. In the Late Paleocene–Early Eocene time span, the Tarakl? Flysch was deformed (D1 phase) during the closure of the foredeep basin. In the Miocene time, the strike-slip tectonics (D2 phase) related to the North-Anatolian fault produced further deformations of the Tarakl? Flysch.     

Sandstone provenance and tectonic evolution of the Xiukang Mélange from Neotethyan subduction to India–Asia collision (Yarlung-Zangbo suture,south Tibet)

The Xiukang Mélange of the Yarlung-Zangbo suture zone in south Tibet documents low efficiency of accretion along the southern active margin of Asia during Cretaceous Neotethyan subduction, followed by final development during the early Paleogene stages of the India–Asia collision. Here we present integrated petrologic, U–Pb detrital-zircon geochronology and Hf isotope data on different types of sandstone blocks in the Xiukang Mélange. Three groups of sandstone blocks with different provenance and depositional setting are distinguished by their petrographic, geochronological and isotopic fingerprints. Blocks of turbiditic quartzarenite originally sourced from the Indian continent were deposited in pre-Cretaceous time on the northernmost edge of the Indian passive margin and eventually involved into the mélange at the early stage of the India–Asia collision. Two distinct groups of volcaniclastic-sandstone blocks were derived from the central Lhasa block and Gangdese magmatic arc. One group was deposited in the trench and/or on the trench slope of the Asian margin during the early Late Cretaceous, and the other group in a syn-collisional basin just after the onset of the India–Asia collision in the Early Eocene. The largely erosional character of the Asian active margin in the Late Cretaceous is indicated by the scarcity of off-scraped trench-fill deposits and the relatively small subduction complex developed during limited episodes of accretion. The Xiukang Mélange was finally structured in the Late Paleocene/Eocene, when sandstone blocks of both Indian and Asian origin were progressively incorporated tectonically in the suture zone of the nascent Himalayan Orogen.     

The Wadi Zaghra metasediments of Sinai,Egypt: new constraints on the late Cryogenian–Ediacaran tectonic evolution of the northernmost Arabian–Nubian Shield

ABSTRACT

The La Tinta mélange is a small but singular ultramafic mélange sheet that crops out in eastern Cuba. It is composed of dolerite-derived amphibolite blocks embedded in a serpentinite matrix. The amphibolite blocks have mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-like composition showing little if any imprint of subduction zone component, similar to most forearc and MOR basalts worldwide. Relict Cr-spinel and olivine mineral chemistry of the serpentinized ultramafic matrix suggest a forearc position for these rocks. These characteristics, together with a hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 123.2 ± 2.2 Ma from one of the amphibolite blocks, suggest that the protoliths of the amphibolite blocks correspond to forearc basalt (FAB)-related rocks that formed during the earlier stage of subduction initiation of the Early Cretaceous Caribbean arc. We propose that the La Tinta amphibolites correspond to fragments of sills and dikes of hypoabyssal rocks formed in the earlier stages of a subduction initiation scenario in the Pacific realm (ca. 136 Ma). The forearc dolerite-derived amphibolites formed by partial melting of upwelling fertile asthenosphere at the beginning of subduction of the Proto-Caribbean (Atlantic) slab, with no interaction with slab-derived fluids/melts. This magmatic episode probably correlates with Early Cretaceous basic rocks described in Hispaniola (Gaspar Hernandez serpentinized peridotite-tectonite). The dikes and sills cooled and metamorphosed due to hydration at low pressure (ca. 3.8 kbar) and medium to high temperature (up to 720ºC) and reached ca. 500ºC at ca. 123 Ma. At this cooling stage, serpentinite formed after hydration of the ultramafic upper mantle. This process might have been favoured by faulting during extension of the forearc, indicating an early stage of dike and sill fragmentation and serpentinite mélanges formation; however, full development of the mélange likely took place during tectonic emplacement (obduction) onto the thrust belt of eastern Cuba during the latest Cretaceous.     

Armorican provenance for the mélange deposits below the Lizard ophiolite (Cornwall,UK): evidence for Devonian obduction of Cadomian and Lower Palaeozoic crust onto the southern margin of Avalonia

Devonian sedimentary rocks of the Meneage Formation within the footwall of the Lizard ophiolite complex in SW England are thought to have been derived from erosion of the over-riding Armorican microplate during collision with Avalonia and the closure of the Rheic Ocean. We further test this hypothesis by comparison of their detrital zircon suites with those of autochthonous Armorican strata. Five samples analysed from SW England (Avalonia) and NW France (Armorica) have a bimodal U–Pb zircon age distribution dominated by late Neoproterozoic to middle Cambrian (c. 710–518 Ma) and Palaeoproterozoic (c. 1,800–2,200 Ma) groupings. Both can be linked with lithologies exposed within the Cadomian belt as well as the West African craton, which is characterized by major tectonothermal events at 2.0–2.4 Ga. The detrital zircon signature of Avalonia is distinct from that of Armorica in that there is a much larger proportion of Mesoproterozoic detritus. The common provenance of the samples is therefore consistent with: (a) derivation of the Meneage Formation mélange deposits from the Armorican plate during Rheic Ocean closure and obduction of the Lizard Complex and (b) previous correlation of quartzite blocks within the Meneage Formation with the Ordovician Grès Armoricain Formation of NW France.     

金沙江缝合带西段蛇绿岩与弧火山岩成对性关系——来自地球化学和LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb年龄证据

对金沙江缝合带西段青海治多地区的多彩蛇绿混杂岩和当江荣中酸性岛弧火山岩进行了研究,野外地质剖面显示,蛇绿岩主要由辉长岩、堆晶辉长岩和玄武岩组成,缺少地幔橄榄岩单元。通过对蛇绿岩内部细粒辉长岩、基性熔岩的地球化学测试及堆晶辉长岩的LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb测年发现,基性熔岩可分为2种类型,即洋岛玄武岩OIB型和MORB-IAT型。前者并非蛇绿岩组分,为构造就位时带入;后者为过渡类型,具有典型洋中脊—岛弧蛇绿岩地球化学特征。辉长岩具有明显的TNT槽等岛弧信号,与类型二均属于蛇绿岩成分。测得的堆晶辉长岩中锆石U-Pb年龄为252.50Ma±0.58Ma(MSWD=0.95),是蛇绿岩的形成年龄。研究认为,多彩蛇绿岩与当江荣火山岩具有成对性关系,结合造山带沟—弧—盆体系构造格局,认为前者形成于岛弧偏海沟的弧前构造背景,是晚二叠世金沙江洋持续俯冲的产物。     

新疆吐尔库班套蛇绿混杂岩的发现及其地质意义

蛇绿岩作为残留洋壳的良好记录,对于研究古板块构造及其演化具有重要意义。新发现的吐尔库班套蛇绿混杂岩位于新疆阿尔泰布尔津南部,主要由超镁铁岩、辉长岩、辉绿岩、玄武岩、复理石建造等构成。其中辉长岩和片麻状花岗岩的锆石U Pb年龄在363～355 Ma,指示蛇绿岩的形成、洋壳俯冲时代在晚泥盆世晚期。岩石地球化学特征表明,该蛇绿岩套的镁铁超镁铁岩和玄武岩属低碱、低钛、富镁的拉斑玄武岩系列,具有较典型的幔源岩石特征,玄武岩形成于类似洋中脊的构造环境。混杂岩带中的片麻状花岗岩属于钠质的低钾岩石系列,形成于火山弧或同碰撞构造环境,亦为洋壳俯冲的结果。吐尔库班套蛇绿岩与科克森套、乔夏哈拉、布尔根蛇绿岩一起构成了沿额尔齐斯分布的蛇绿混杂岩带,构成了分割西伯利亚板块和哈萨克斯坦-准噶尔板块的斋桑-科克森套-南蒙古缝合带。     

金沙江缝合带弯岛湖蛇绿混杂岩带的岩石地球化学特征及其构造背景

弯岛湖蛇绿混杂岩带是金沙江缝合带西段的重要组成部分。蛇绿岩混杂于上三叠统变质碎屑岩夹变质火山岩中,成份主要为镁铁质-超镁铁质杂岩,岩石类型有变质橄榄岩、变质堆晶质辉长岩及其伴生的岛弧型花岗岩系。岩石化学及地球化学特征表明:蛇绿岩主要为低Ti(岛弧-弧后)型、富集型洋中脊(E-MORB)拉斑玄武岩;与之共(伴)生的基性喷出岩、辉绿岩脉属板内洋岛型裂谷型碱性玄武岩及其过渡类型系列。在变质辉长岩获得全岩Sm-Nd等时线年龄值为232±11Ma,代表了镁铁质-超镁铁质杂岩的形成年龄,可能为洋壳初始俯冲变质的时间。在蛇绿岩上覆的硅质岩中发现有中三叠世拉丁晚期至晚三叠世卡宁早期的放射虫化石,表明弯岛湖镁铁质-超镁铁质杂岩可能形成于中三叠世多岛洋盆或弧后盆地构造环境。     

Geochronology,geochemistry and tectonic implications of a new ophiolitic mélange in the northern West Junggar,NW China

The West Junggar, located in the southernmost part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), is a key region for understanding the Paleozoic evolution of the CAOB. Issues of the timing of initial subduction and tectonic unit connections in northern West Junggar still remain controversial. In this study, we report a new ophiolitic mélange named the E'min ophiolitic mélange in northern West Junggar. The tectonic blocks in the E'min ophiolitic mélange are mainly composed of serpentinized peridotite, serpentinite, gabbros, pillow basalts, and cherts, with a matrix consisting of highly deformed serpentinites. A gabbro exhibits a zircon SHRIMP U-Pb age of 476 ± 2 Ma, and the zircon grains have δ¹⁸O values similar to those of mantle zircons. Those basalt samples display depletions of light rare earth element (REE) relative to heavy REEs. They exhibit weak enrichment of Ba and Th, and moderate depletion of Nb and Ta. The basalts display similar geochemical characteristics to that of fore–arc basalts in the present-day fore–arc setting. The gabbros exhibit high MgO and compatible element contents, but low TiO₂, total REE and high field strength element (HFSE) contents. They exhibit light REE depletion, enrichment in large-ion lithophile elements, and depletion of HFSEs. The boninite-like geochemical patterns of the gabbros indicate that they were formed in a subduction-related environment, and were derived from an extremely depleted mantle source infiltrated by subduction-derived fluids and/or melts. The E'min ophiolitic mélange has a geochemical make-up similar to those of suprasubduction-zone (SSZ)-type ophiolites formed in a forearc setting. Hence, we propose that the E'min ophiolitic mélange formed in a forearc setting and may represent the initial subduction in northern West Junggar. Based on geochronological data, we propose that the E'min ophiolite, together with the Kujibai, Hoboksar and Hongguleleng ophiolites, formed during a similar period and comprise a huge E–W trending ophiolitic belt.