New SHRIMP U–Pb zircon ages of granitic rocks in the Hida Belt,Japan: Implications for tectonic correlation with Jiamushi massif

Granitoids in the Hida region of Japan encompass two main rock types: younger type‐1 granites and older type‐2 granites. Sensitive high mass‐resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U–Pb zircon dating of older type‐2 granites collected from the Tateyama area show similar ages of 245 ± 2 Ma and 248 ± 5 Ma for two gneissose granites, while a significantly younger intrusion age of 197 ± 3 Ma was determined for the younger type‐1 granites collected from the Hayatsukigawa River which belongs to the Okumayama pluton. A felsic gneiss sample (07HI‐3) collected from the right bank of the Hayatsukigawa River yielded multiple complex ages at 330 ± 6 Ma, indicating the timing of the Hida regional tectono‐thermal events that formed the Hida gneisses; 243 ± 8 Ma, representing the timing of intrusion of the augen granite; and 220 Ma, indicating the timing of regional dextral ductile shearing that caused a repeated recrystallization of metamorphic rocks in the study area. Considering the geochronological data, the rock types and assemblages, basement, and Sr–Nd isotopic constraints, we propose that the Hida Belt separated from the Jiamushi massif, which is located in the eastern margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt.     

Late Carboniferous – Middle Permian arc/forearc‐related basin in Central Asian Orogenic Belt: Insights from the petrology and geochemistry of the Shuangjing Schist in Inner Mongolia,China

The Solonker Suture Zone is thought to record the terminal evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) in Inner Mongolia. However, two contrasting interpretations of the timing of suturing of the Solonker Suture Zone exist: (i) Permian to Early Triassic; and (ii) Middle Devonian or Late Devonian to Carboniferous. The Shuangjing Schist is exposed in the Linxi area along the Xar Moron Fault Zone, which marks the southern boundary of the Solonker Suture Zone in the eastern section of the CAOB, and thus provides insight into the timing of suturing of the Solonker Suture Zone. Detailed and systematic analysis of the petrology and geochemistry of the Shuangjing Schist shows that the Shuangjing Schist developed by greenschist facies prograde metamorphism of a volcanisedimentary rock series protolith. The volcanic parts of the Shuangjing Schist are a calc‐alkaline series with large volumes of intermediate members and subordinate acidic members. Volcanism occurred in a magmatic arc on the continental margin and was induced by subduction‐related magmatism resulting from mantle metasomatism. The sedimentary parts of the Shuangjing Schist reflect a transition from continental shelf to abyssal plain sedimentation. The formation of the Shuangjing Schist is suggested to be related to closure of an arc/forearc‐related ocean basin. The timing is constrained by a laser ablation inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP–MS) U–Pb magmatic zircon age of 298 ± 2 Ma from a carbonaceous biotite–plagioclase schist that was intruded by granite at 272 ± 2 Ma. In the Linxi area, southward subduction of the arc/forearc basin led to uplift, thickening, collapse, and erosion of the overriding continental crust. Collapse induced extension and widespread magmatism along the volcanic arc at the northern margin of the North China Craton. The closure of the arc/forearc‐related oceanic basin led to the formation of Late Permian to Middle Triassic collisional granites and the subsequent end of the collision of the Solonker Suture Zone.     

Role of southeastern Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone in the tectonic evolution of Zagros Orogenic Belt,Iran

Geological studies indicate that the southeastern Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone, located in the southeastern Zagros Orogenic Belt, is subdivided transversally into the Esfahan–Sirjan Block with typical Central Iranian stratigraphic features and the Shahrekord–Dehsard Terrane consisting of Paleozoic and Lower Mesozoic metamorphic rocks. The Main Deep Fault (Abadeh Fault) is a major lithospheric fault separating the two parts. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the role of the southeastern Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone in the tectonic evolution of the southeastern Zagros Orogenic Belt on the basis of geological evidence. The new model implies that Neo‐Tethys 1 came into being when the Central Iran Microcontinent split from the northeastern margin of Gondwana during the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian. During the Late Triassic a new spreading ridge, Neo‐Tethys 2, was created to separate the Shahrekord–Dehsard Terrane from Afro–Arabian Plate. The Zagros sedimentary basin was formed on a continental passive margin, southwest of Neo‐Tethys 2. The two ophiolitic belts of Naien–Shahrebabak–Baft and Neyriz were developed to the northeast of Neo‐Tethys 1 and southwest of Neo‐Tethys 2 respectively, related to the sinking of the lithosphere of the Neo‐Tethys 1 in the Late Cretaceous. It can be concluded that deposition of the Paleocene conglomerate on the Central Iran Microcontinent and Pliocene conglomerate in the Zagros Sedimentary Basin is directly linked to the uplift generated by collision.     

Recognition of an Early Triassic accretionary complex in the Nedamo Belt of the Kitakami Massif,Northeast Japan: New evidence for correlation with Southwest Japan

The Kitakami Massif of the Tohoku district, Northeast Japan, consists mainly of the South Kitakami Belt (Silurian–Cretaceous forearc shallow-marine sediments, granitoids, and forearc ophiolite) and the North Kitakami Belt (a Jurassic accretionary complex). The Nedamo Belt (a Carboniferous accretionary complex) occurs as a small unit between those two belts. An accretionary unit in the Nedamo Belt is lithologically divided into the Early Carboniferous Tsunatori Unit and the age-unknown Takinosawa Unit. In order to constrain the accretionary age of the Takinosawa Unit, detrital zircon U–Pb dating was conducted. The new data revealed that the youngest cluster ages from sandstone and tuffaceous rock are 257–248 Ma and 288–281 Ma, respectively. The Early Triassic depositional age of the sandstone may correspond to a period of intense magmatic activity in the eastern margin of the paleo-Asian continent. A 30–40 my interval between the youngest cluster ages of the sandstone and the tuffaceous rock can be explained by the absence of syn-sedimentary zircon in the tuffaceous rock. The new detrital zircon data suggest that the Takinosawa Unit can be distinguished as an Early Triassic accretionary complex distinct from the Early Carboniferous Tsunatori Unit. This recognition establishes a long-duration northeastward younging polarity of accretionary units, from the Carboniferous to Early Cretaceous, in the northern Kitakami Massif. Lithological features and detrital zircon spectra suggest that the Early Triassic Takinosawa Unit in the Nedamo Belt is comparable with the Hisone and Shingai units in the Kurosegawa Belt in Shikoku. The existence of this Early Triassic accretionary complex strongly supports a pre-Jurassic geotectonic correlation and similarity between Southwest and Northeast Japan.     

Rain‐induced deep‐seated catastrophic rockslides controlled by a thrust fault and river incision in an accretionary complex in the Shimanto Belt,Japan

To clarify the geological causes of rockslides induced by rainstorms in accretionary complexes, the geology and geomorphology of two large rockslides (volumes > 10⁶ m³) induced by the heavy rainfall of Typhoon Talas in the Shimanto Belt, Kii Mountains, Japan in 2011 are investigated. Our analysis reveals that thrusts with brittle crush zones controlled the occurrence of the rockslides. The properties and distribution of thrusts were poorly constrained before this study. Flooding during the rainstorm removed surface materials along rivers, allowing thorough geological mapping to be performed. Gravitationally deformed slopes were studied using GIS analysis of 1 m digital elevation models (DEMs) and fieldwork, and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, permeability, and direct shear tests were used to characterize the mineralogy and geotechnical properties of fault gouge. The Kawarabi thrust has a brittle crush zone up to 6 m thick and acts as the sliding surface for both landslides. The thrust dips 34° downslope and is cut by high‐angle faults and joints along one or both sides of each landslide body. Prior to failure, the upper part of the slope contained small scarps, suggesting that the slopes were already gravitationally deformed. The slope instability can be attributed to long‐term river erosion, which has undercut the slope and exposed the thrust at the base of the slope. The groundwater level, monitored in boreholes, suggests that the Kawarabi thrust is a barrier to groundwater flow. The weak and impermeable nature of the thrust played an essential role in the generation of gravitational slope deformation and catastrophic failure during periods of increased rainfall. Thrusts are a common feature of accretionary complexes, including in the Shimanto Belt, and the mechanism of slope failure stated above can be typical of rockslides in accretionary complexes and provide new insights into landslide disaster mitigation.     

Structure and age of lower structural unit of Taukha terrane of Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous accretionary prism,southern Sikhote–Alin

Specific data is presented on structure and age of the sedimentary formations within the lower structural unit (Erdagou Formation) in the Taukha terrane, southern Sikhote–Alin, Russia. According to lithological research of this unit exposed in the Benevka River area, the Erdagou Formation represents a deformed fragment of so‐called Oceanic Plate Stratigraphy sequence. The Erdagou Formation includes all lithological varieties of rocks from pelagic (cherts and clayey cherts) and hemipelagic (siliceous mudstones) up to oceanic‐margin (mudstones, siltstones, and turbidites) deposits. Based on the results of radiolarian biostratigraphic research of the rocks, the age of the cherts is from middle Oxfordian to the beginning of Berriasian. Transitive layers between cherts and terrigenous rocks (turbidites), namely siliceous mudstones, are early Berriasian in age. The lower part of the terrigenous section is characterized by late Berriasian–late Valanginian radiolarians. Taking these data into account, it is plausible that the accretion of the given part of the paleo‐oceanic plate occurred post‐Valanginian.     

Timing of dextral oblique subduction along the eastern margin of the Asian continent in the Late Cretaceous: Evidence from the accretionary complex of the Shimanto Belt in the Kii Peninsula, Southwest Japan

Paleomagnetic studies and hotspot track analyses show that the Kula Plate was subducted dextrally with respect to the Eurasian Plate from the Coniacian to Campanian. However, geological evidence for dextral subduction of the Kula Plate has not been reported from Southwest Japan. Studies of the Coniacian to lower Campanian Miyama Formation of the Shimanto Belt reveal that the mélange fabrics show a dextral sense of shear both at outcrop and microscopic scales. In addition, thrust systems at map-scale also show dextral shearing. Restored shear directions in the mélange indicate dextral oblique subduction of an oceanic plate. This indicates that the Kula Plate subducted dextrally along the eastern margin of Asia during the Coniacian to early Campanian. Combinations with other published kinematic and age constraints suggest that Southwest Japan experienced a change from sinistral to dextral and back to sinistral shear between 89–76 Ma. This history is compatible with global-scale plate reconstructions and places good constraints on the timing of plate boundary interaction with the Cretaceous East Asian margin.     

A deep section of accretionary complex: Susunai Complex in Sakhalin Island, Northwest Pacific Margin

Abstract A deep section of accretionary complex, the metamorphosed Susunai Complex, is observed on Sakhalin Is., Russia. High pressure part of pumpellyite-actinolite facies metavolcanics, metacherts and metapelites are well exposed and constitute a tectonic pile preserving primary structures related to underplating of the oceanic crust. Three stages of deformation, D₁ through D₃, suggest successive deformation during subduction, underplating and exhumation of the complex. Oceanic material in the complex is more abundant than other well documented ancient accretionary complexes (e.g. the Shimanto Belt in southwest Japan and the Ghost Rocks Formation in Alaska), which were shallowly underplated. At Susunai, deep down-stepping of a décollément has scraped off the upper part of the oceanic crust, primarily the pillowed basalt horizon. This down-stepping results from crustal weakening as overpressured water is released from the fractured oceanic crust during metamorphism.     

Episodic accretion and metamorphism of Jurassic accretionary complex based on biostratigraphy and K-Ar geochronology in the western part of the Mino-Tanba Belt, Southwest Japan

Abstract The low grade metamorphic Jurassic accretionary complex in the western part of the Mino-Tanba Belt, Southwest Japan, is a chaotic sedimentary complex which consists of argillaceous matrices with allochthonous blocks of chert, greenstone, siliceous mudstone, terrigenous sandstone and mudstone. The complex is divided into three distinct geologic units, Units I, II and III, with a tectonic boundary (thrust) between them, forming a pile-nappe structure. They have different features for lithologies, fossil age, metamorphic condition and K-Ar age. Microfossil researches revealed that their timings of accretion were in the early Early Jurassic ( ca 195 Ma) for Unit III, in the early Middle Jurassic ( ca 175 Ma) for Unit II and in the latest Late Jurassic (ca 147 Ma) for Unit I. On the other hand, K-Ar age determinations of white mica separated from pelitic rocks of the three units clarified that the subsequent subduction-related metamorphism was 23 million years after the accretion of each unit. These results strongly suggest that the accretionary and metamorphic process had taken place episodically with an interval of 20 to 28 million years during Mesozoic time in the western part of the Mino-Tanba Belt, Southwest Japan.     

Permian back‐arc extension in central Inner Mongolia,NE China: Elemental and Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf–O isotopic constraints from the Linxi high‐MgO diabase dikes

Early Permian (272 ± 2 Ma) diabase dikes from the Linxi area in central Inner Mongolia of NE China have high MgO (10.4 – 12.3 wt%), Cr (301 – 448 ppm) and Ni (167 – 233 ppm) concentrations, and show enrichments in large ion lithophile element (LILE) and light rare earth elements (REE) but depletions in high field strength element (HFSE, e.g., Nb and Ta), with depleted mantle‐type Sr [⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (i) = 0.70315 – 0.70362], Nd [ε_Nd (t) = +6.8 – +7.4], Pb [²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb (i) = 18.10 – 18.16] and zircon Hf [ε_Hf (t) = +14.7 – +19.1] isotopic compositions, but slightly higher zircon δ¹⁸O (5.2 – 6.0 ‰ with an average of 5.7 ‰) than normal mantle. The combined geochemical data indicate their derivation from a depleted mantle metasomatized by recycled crustal component. Elemental and isotopic modeling results suggest that the primary magma was produced through 5 % to 10 % melting of a depleted mantle, which contained approximately 1 % sediment fluid released from the subducted paleo‐Asian Ocean. Considering the widespread distribution of contemporaneous mafic rocks across the central Inner Mongolia, which show REE patterns from E‐MORBs to normal MORBs, we propose a petrogenetic link between the Early Permian mafic magmatism and a back‐arc extension in response to northward subduction of the paleo‐Asian Ocean. The Permian mafic magmatism and the new age constraints from the metamorphic and sedimentary records in this area tend to indicate the ultimate closure of the paleo‐Asian Ocean by the end of Paleozoic.     

Triassic mid-oceanic sedimentation in Panthalassa Ocean: Sambosan accretionary complex, Japan

Abstract   The Sambosan accretionary complex of southwest Japan was formed during the uppermost Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous and consists of basaltic rocks, carbonates and siliceous rocks. The Sambosan oceanic rocks were grouped into four stratigraphic successions: (i) Middle Upper Triassic basaltic rock; (ii) Upper Triassic shallow-water limestone; (iii) limestone breccia; and (iv) Middle Middle Triassic to lower Upper Jurassic siliceous rock successions. The basaltic rocks have a geochemical affinity with oceanic island basalt of a normal hotspot origin. The shallow-water limestone, limestone breccia, and siliceous rock successions are interpreted to be sediments on the seamount-top, upper seamount-flank and surrounding ocean floor, respectively. Deposition of the radiolarian chert of the siliceous rock succession took place on the ocean floor in Late Anisian and continued until Middle Jurassic. Oceanic island basalt was erupted to form a seamount by an intraplate volcanism in Late Carnian. Late Triassic shallow-water carbonate sedimentation occurred at the top of this seamount. Accumulation of the radiolarian chert was temporally replaced by Late Carnian to Early Norian deep-water pelagic carbonate sedimentation. Biotic association and lithologic properties of the pelagic carbonates suggest that an enormous production and accumulation of calcareous planktonic biotas occurred in an open-ocean realm of the Panthalassa Ocean in Late Carnian through Early Norian. Upper Norian ribbon chert of the siliceous rock succession contains thin beds of limestone breccia displaced from the shallow-water buildup resting upon the seamount. The shallow-water limestone and siliceous rock successions are nearly coeval with one another and are laterally linked by displaced carbonates in the siliceous rock succession.     

U–Pb zircon ages of the Nakanogawa Group in the Hidaka Belt,northern Japan: Implications for its provenance and the protolith of the Hidaka metamorphic rocks

Zircon U–Pb ages of two acidic tuff and two turbidite sandstone samples from the Nakanogawa Group, Hidaka Belt, were measured to estimate its depositional age and the development of the Hokkaido Central Belt, northeast Japan. In the northern unit, homogeneous zircons from pelagic acidic tuff from a basal horizon dated to 58–57 Ma, zircons from sandstone from the upper part of the unit dated to 56–54 Ma, and zircons from acidic tuff from the uppermost part dated to 60–56 Ma and 69–63 Ma. Both of the tuff U–Pb ages are significantly older than the youngest radiolarian fossil age (66–48 Ma). Therefore, the maximum depositional age of the turbidite facies in the northern unit is 58 Ma and the younger age limit, estimated from the fossil age, is 48 Ma. In the southern unit, homogeneous zircons from turbidite sandstone dated to 58–57 Ma. Thus the depositional age of this turbidite facies was interpreted to be 66–56 Ma from the fossil age, probably close to 57 Ma. Most of the zircon U–Pb ages from the Nakanogawa Group are younger than 80 Ma, with a major peak at 60 Ma. This result implies that around Hokkaido volcanic activity occurred mainly after 80 Ma. Older zircon ages (120–80 Ma, 180–140 Ma, 340–220 Ma, 1.9 Ga, 2.2 Ga, and 2.7 Ga) give information about the provenance of other rocks in the Hidaka Belt. It is inferred that the Nakanogawa Group comprises protoliths of the upper sequence of the Hidaka Metamorphic Zone, which therefore has the same depositional age as the Nakanogawa Group (66–48 Ma). The depositional ages of the lower sequence of the Hidaka Metamorphic Zone and the Nakanogawa Group are probably the same.     

Origin of the early Cenozoic belt boundary thrust and Izanagi–Pacific ridge subduction in the western Pacific margin

The belt boundary thrust within the Cretaceous–Neogene accretionary complex of the Shimanto Belt, southwestern Japan, extends for more than ~ 1 000 km along the Japanese islands. A common understanding of the origin of the thrust is that it is an out of sequence thrust as a result of continuous accretion since the late Cretaceous and there is a kinematic reason for its maintaining a critically tapered wedge. The timing of the accretion gap and thrusting, however, coincides with the collision of the Paleocene–early Eocene Izanagi–Pacific spreading ridges with the trench along the western Pacific margin, which has been recently re‐hypothesized as younger than the previous assumption with respect to the Kula‐Pacific ridge subduction during the late Cretaceous. The ridge subduction hypothesis provides a consistent explanation for the cessation of magmatic activity along the continental margin and the presence of an unconformity in the forearc basin. This is not only the case in southwestern Japan, but also along the more northern Asian margin in Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and Sikhote‐Alin. This Paleocene–early Eocene ridge subduction hypothesis is also consistent with recently acquired tomographic images beneath the Asian continent. The timing of the Izanagi–Pacific ridge subduction along the western Pacific margin allows for a revision of the classic hypothesis of a great reorganization of the Pacific Plate motion between ~ 47 Ma and 42 Ma, illustrated by the bend in the Hawaii–Emperor chain, because of the change in subduction torque balance and the Oligocene–Miocene back arc spreading after the ridge subduction in the western Pacific margin.     

Formation of chaotic rock units during primary accretion processes: Examples from the Miura–Boso accretionary complex, central Japan

Chaotic rock units exposed in the upper part of the accretionary complex preserve detailed tectonic information related to the periods before, during, and immediately after accretion. Based on the detailed survey in the upper Miocene Miura–Boso accretionary complex, central Japan, three types of chaotic rock units were identified on the basis of the grain sizes and characteristics of blocks and surrounding matrices. The chaotic rock units composed of silt matrices and sandy to pebbly blocks (Type 3) formed by gravity-driven slumping upon the seafloor. The slumping occurred contemporaneously with deposition of the Misaki and Nishizaki Formations within the Izu–Bonin forearc. Vertical variations in the direction of slump vergence represent successive changes from an initially flat seabed to tilting to the northwest and finally to the southeast. Slumping with a northwest vergence indicates landward tilting of the seafloor immediately prior to accretion, whereas vergence to the southeast reflects oceanward tectonic tilting that occurred once the sediments had crossed the deformation front. Other chaotic rock units that have matrices abundant in sand and pebbles (Types 1, 2) formed as a result of subsurface liquefaction and injection associated with large earthquakes that occurred during and after accretion of the sediments. These chaotic rock units are useful in examining surface/subsurface changes such as tectonic tilting of the seafloor and earthquake events during the initial accretion process.     

Two-stage model of incorporation of seamount and oceanic blocks into sedimentary melange: Geochemical and biostratigraphic constraints in Jurassic Chichibu accretionary complex, Shikoku, Japan

Abstract The significance of timing and formation of mélange in accretionary prisms, particularly concerning basaltic and related rocks and pelagic sediments, is exemplified in the Sawadani area of the Jurassic Chichibu accretionary complex in Shikoku, southwest Japan. Major and trace element geochemistry of the basaltic and related rocks indicates that all are of a hot-spot origin which produced a seamount. Most of the rocks have a trend of differentiation from an alkalic parental magma. The time relationship between the blocks and matrices of the mélange deduced from radiolarian fossil evidence and macro- to microscopic characteristics of contacts between different lithologies indicates two stages of mixing of materials in the seafloor. The first mixing occurred on the flank of the seamount in the pelagic environments in the Late Permian, and the second occurred on the trench floor or in the accretionary prism after the Early Jurassic. These two stages show respectively the geological phenomena of a seamount within the Izanagi-Kula plate and its incorporation into the Asian continental margin.     

Existence of multiple units with different accretionary and metamorphic ages in the Sanbagawa Belt,Sakuma–Tenryu area,central Japan

U–Pb ages of detrital zircons and white mica K–Ar ages are obtained from two psammitic schists from the western and eastern units of the Sanbagawa Metamorphic Belt located in the Sakuma–Tenryu area. The detrital zircons in the sample from the western unit (T1) show an age cluster around 95 Ma, and the youngest age in the detrital zircons is 94.0 ± 0.6 Ma. The detrital zircons in the sample from the eastern unit (T5) show a main age cluster in the Late Cretaceous with some older ages, and the youngest age in the detrital zircons is 72.8 ± 0.9 Ma. The youngest zircon ages restrict the older limit of the depositional ages of each sample. White mica K–Ar ages of T1 and T5 are 69.8 ± 1.5 Ma and 56.1 ± 1.2 Ma, respectively, which indicate the age of exhumation and restrict the younger limit on the depositional age of each sample. The results show that the western and eastern units were different in their depositional and exhumation ages, suggesting the episodic subduction and exhumation of the Sanbagawa Belt in the Sakuma–Tenryu area. These results also suggest simultaneous existence of subduction and exhumation paths of metamorphic rocks in the high‐P/T Sanbagawa Metamorphic Belt.     

Rapid evolution of the Eocene accretionary complex (Hyuga Group) of the Shimanto terrane in southeastern Kyushu, southwestern Japan

Abstract   Detailed geologic examination of the Eocene accretionary complex (Hyuga Group) of the Shimanto terrane in southeastern Kyushu revealed that the oceanic plate was composed of Paleocene to Lower Eocene mudstone and siliceous mudstone, lower Middle Eocene red mudstone, and mid-Middle Eocene trench-fill turbidite with siltstone breccia, successively overlying the pre-Eocene oceanic plate. This oceanic plate sequence was overlain by Upper Eocene siltstone. Deposition of the lower Middle Eocene red mudstone was accompanied by basalt flows and it is interbedded with continental felsic tuff, which indicates that the basalt and red mudstone were deposited near the trench just before accretion. The Hyuga Group has very similar geological structure to that of the chert–clastic complexes found in the Jurassic accretionary complexes in Japan: that is, a decollement fault formed in the middle of an oceanic plate sequence, and an imbricate structure formed only in the upper part of the sequence. Thus, it appears that the Hyuga Group was formed by the same accretionary process as the Jurassic accretionary complexes. No accretion occurred before the Middle Eocene, and the rapid accretion of the Hyuga Group was commenced by the supply of coarse terrigenous sediments in the mid-Middle Eocene, when the direction of movement of the Pacific Plate changed. The pre-Eocene oceanic basement and lower Middle Eocene volcanic activity suggest that the oceanic plate partly preserved in the Hyuga Group was very similar to the northern part of the present West Philippine Sea Plate.     

Strength and deformation behavior of the Shimanto accretionary complex across the Nobeoka thrust

A rapid reduction in sediment porosity from 60 to 70 % at seafloor to less than 10 % at several kilometers depth can play an important role in deformation and seismicity in the shallow portion of subduction zones. We conducted deformation experiments on rocks from an ancient accretionary complex, the Shimanto Belt, across the Nobeoka Thrust to understand the deformation behaviors of rocks along plate boundary faults at seismogenic depth. Our experimental results for phyllites in the hanging wall and shale‐tuff mélanges in the footwall of the Nobeoka Thrust indicate that the Shimanto Belt rocks fail brittlely accompanied by a stress drop at effective pressures < 80 MPa, whereas they exhibit strain hardening at higher effective pressures. The transition from brittle to ductile behavior in the shale–tuff mélanges lies on the same trend in effective stress–porosity space as that for clay‐rich and tuffaceous sediments subducting into the modern Nankai subduction zone. Both the absolute yield strength and the effective pressure at the brittle–ductile transition for the phyllosilicate‐rich materials are much lower than for sandstones. These results suggest that as the clay‐rich or tuffaceous sediments subduct and their porosities are reduced, their deformation behavior gradually transitions from ductile to brittle and their yield strength increases. Our results also suggest that samples of the ancient Shimanto accretionary prism can serve as an analog for underthrust rocks at seismogenic depth in the modern Nankai Trough.     

Northwest trending tectonic belt in the middle Yanshan Orogenic Belt of northeast Hebei Province,North China: Tectonic evolution and geochronology

1 An out-of-line northwest trending tectonic beltin the middle part of the Yanshan Orogenic Belt The tectonic framework of the intraplate YanshanOrogenic Belt is dominated by east-west and northeastextending structures as revealed by many geologists.There lies, however, a 100-km-long enigmatic out-of-line northwest extending tectonic complex in the mid-dle part of the Yanshan Orogenic Belt (fig. 1). Theresearch on the geometry, kinematics, timing of thiscomplex tectonic belt and its r…     

Petrochemistry and tectonic setting of mafic volcanic rocks in the Chon Daen–Wang Pong area,Phetchabun, Thailand

The mafic volcanic rocks and hypabyssal rocks in the Chon Dean‐Wang Pong area are possibly the southern extension of the western Loei Volcanic Sub‐belt, Northeast Thailand. They are least‐altered, and might have been formed in Permian–Triassic times. The rocks are commonly porphyritic, with different amounts of plagioclase, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, amphibole, Fe–Ti oxide, unknown mafic mineral, and apatite phenocrysts or microphenocrysts, and are uncommonly seriate textured. The groundmass mainly shows an intergranular texture, with occasionally hyalophitic, intersertal and ophitic–subophitic textures. The groundmass constituents have the same minerals as the phenocrysts or microphenocrysts and may contain altered glass. The groundmass plagioclase laths may show a preferred orientation. Chemically, the studied rock samples can be separated into three magmatic groups: Group I, Group II, and Group III. These magmatic groups are different in values for Ti/Zr ratios. The averaged Ti/Zr values for Group I, Group II, and Group III rocks are 83 ± 6, 46 ± 12, and 29 ± 5, respectively. In addition, the Group I rocks have higher P/Zr, but lower Zr/Nb relative to Group II and Group III rocks. The Group I and Group II rocks comprise tholeiitic andesite–basalt and microdiorite–microgabbro, while the Group III rocks are calc‐alkalic andesite and microdiorite. According to the magmatic affinities and the negative Nb anomalies on normal mid‐oceanic ridge basalt (N‐MORB) normalized multi‐element plot, arc‐related lavas are persuasive. The similarity between the studied lavas and the Quaternary lavas from the northern Kyukyu Arc, in terms of chondrite‐normalized rare earth element (REE) patterns and N‐MORB normalized multi‐element patterns, leads to a conclusion that the mafic volcanic rocks and hypabyssal rocks in the Chon Daen–Wang Pong area have been formed in a volcanic arc environment.