GPS-measurements of recent crustal deformation in the junction zone of the rift segments in the central Baikal rift system

Based on multiyear measurements of present-day motions in the central area of the Baikal rift system, new data on the kinematics of horizontal motions, relative horizontal deformation rates, and rotation velocities in the area of junction of the South Baikal, North Baikal, and Barguzin rift basins have been obtained. This area is an intricate structure with two transfer zones: Ol’khon–Svyatoi Nos and Ust’-Barguzin.It is shown that crustal blocks are moving southeastward, normally to the structures of transfer zones and at an acute angle to the Baikal Rift strike, which corresponds to the right-lateral strike-slip extensional faulting along the major structure. The average horizontal velocities increase from 3.0 mm yr–1 in the northern South Baikal basin to 6.5 mm yr–1 in the Barguzin basin. The elongation axes prevailing in the study region are mainly of NW–SE direction. The areas of intense deformations are confined to structures with high seismic activity in the South Baikal and, partly, Barguzin basins. This confirms the existence of a present-day zone of the Earth’s crust destruction in the Baikal rift system, which is the most likely source of strong earthquakes in the future. Two zones with rotations in opposite directions are recognized in the rotation velocity field. Clockwise rotation is typical of structures of N–NE strike (Maloe More basin, southern North Baikal basin, Barguzin Ridge rise). Counterclockwise rotation is determined for NE-striking structures (northern South Baikal basin, southern Barguzin basin). In general, the obtained data show an intricate pattern of present-day horizontal dislocations and deformations in the area of junction of NE- and N–NE-striking rift structures. This suggests left- and right-lateral strike-slip faults, respectively, within them.     

The eastern boundary of the Baikal collisional belt: Geological,geochronological, and Nd isotopic evidence

New geological. geochronological, and Nd isotopic data are reported for the rocks occurring at the interfluve of the Barguzin, Nomama, and Katera rivers, where the main structural elements of the Early Paleozoic collisional system have been established. The strike-slip and thrust Tompuda-Nomama and Barguzin boundary sutures separate the Svetlaya and the Katera zones of the Baikal-Muya Belt from the Barguzin terrigenous-carbonate terrane. The age estimates of syntectonic (prebatholithic) gneissic granite and gabbrodiorite intrusive bodies (469 ± 4 and 468 ± 8 Ma, respectively) coincide with the age of collisional events in the Ol’khon, Southwest Baikal, and Sayan regions (480–470 Ma). A linear zone with zonal metamorphism and granite-gneiss domes dated at 470 Ma is revealed in the allochthonous fold-nappe packet of the Upper Riphean Barguzin Formation. This zone of Caledonian remobilization marks the collisional front between the Riphean structural units of the Barguzin Terrane consolidated 0.60–0.55 Ga ago and the Baikal-Muya Belt. New data allow us to recognize this zone as the northeastern flank of the Baikal Collisional Belt. The Nd isotopic data for the reference igneous complexes of the collisional zone indicate that the Late Riphean juvenile crust was involved in the Ordovician remobilization in the zone of conjugation of the consolidated Baikalian structural elements at the northeastern flank of the Baikal Belt and likely was a basement of the entire Barguzin Terrane or, at least, its frontal portion. The lateral displacements of the terranes to the northeast during the Early Ordovician collision were constrained by the rigid structural framework of the Baikalides in the Muya segment of the Baikal-Muya Belt, where the Riphean blocks were involved in strike-slip faulting and the Vendian-Cambrian superimposed basin underwent deformation. Finally, it may be concluded that the Early Ordovician was an epoch of collision, complex in kinematics, between heterogeneous blocks of the continental crust: the Baikalides of the Baikal-Muya Belt and polycyclic Barguzin-Vitim Superterrane.     

The Olkhon metamorphic terrane in the Baikal region: An Early Paleozoic collage of Neoproterozoic active margin fragments

We report data from the Khadarta, Khoboi, and Orso metamorphic complexes of the Olkhon terrane in the western Baikal region. High-grade rocks in the three complexes may have been derived from active continental margin rocks (island arc–backarc basin system). The backarc basin history possibly began at 840–800 Ma, according to SHRIMP-II U-Pb zircon ages of the Orso gneiss. Many tectonic units in the Olkhon terrane belonged to the active margin of the Barguzin microcontinent which rifted off the Aldan province of the Siberian craton in the early Neoproterozoic. The accretion of the microcontinent to the craton was accompanied by high-grade metamorphism recorded in the Khadarta and Khoboi granulites. The 507 ± 8 Ma and 498 ± 7 Ma SHRIMP-II U-Pb zircon ages of the latter complexes, respectively, may refer to the earliest evolution stage of the Olkhon metamorphic terrane. New data for the Olkhon terrane agree well with the ages of other high-grade complexes along the southern Siberian craton (Slyudyanka, Kitoikin, Derba) and correspond to the initiation of the Central Asian orogen. With these data, the Olkhon metamorphic terrane has been interpreted as an Early Paleozoic collisional collage of fragments of the microcontinent’s Neoproterozoic active margin.     

Prehistoric earthquakes and fault scarps in the Barguzin fault zone (Baikal Rift system)

We studied fault scarps produced by prehistoric earthquakes in the Barguzin fault zone and estimated the ages and the magnitudes of the scarp-forming events in each scarp segment from their structure, morphology, and scarp parameters. Morphological and structural data reveal two to four surface-rupturing events with displacement up to 5–9.5 m, and two events showed ¹⁴C ages of 4.5 and 9 kyr. The area of the Barguzin Fault may have experienced six 7.5 ≤ M < 8.0 earthquakes and two M ≥ 8.0 (8.0–8.2) events for the past 10–12 kyr.     

Late Paleozoic alkali-granitic magmatism of Tuva and its relation to intraplate activity within the Siberian paleocontinent

Geological, petrologeochemical, and geochronological studies of the rocks from the Shivei alkali-granitic pluton were conducted. A pluton about 500 km² in area is a part of the larger (more than 30 000 km²) Kaakhem magmatic area. The data obtained allow us to characterize the magmatic complex of the Shivei pluton as a bimodal association with picrobasalts, subalkali basalts, and subalkali and alkali granitic rocks differentiated from syenites to leucogranites. The SHRIMP_II zircon dating from quartz syenites and alkali granites indicate the Permian age of the pluton (293.8 ± 3.8 Ma and 297.1 ± 3.8 Ma, respectively). Mafic-alkali-granitic associations similar in age and type, which are traced in the meridional direction along the Eastern Sayan toward the Siberian Platform, were distinguished as the Eastern Sayan zone of the Late Paleozoic alkaline magmatism. Its location corresponds to the western periphery of the Angaro-Vitim batholite and fits well into the zonal structure of the Barguzin magmatic province. We relate the geodynamic position of the Barguzin province with the mantle plume that was overlapped by the edge of the Siberian Pale-ocontinent in the course of its Paleozoic migration above the African hot spot.     

The time length of formation of the Angara-Vitim batholite: Results of U-Pb geochronological studies

This paper describes the results of geochronological studies (U-Pb method over micro lots and single grains of zircon) of autochtonous and allochtonous granitoids of the Barguzinskii complex of the Angara-Vitim batolite of the petrotypical area in the basin of the Dzhirga and Kovyli rivers (tributaries of the Barguzin River). The age of crystallization of gneissose granitoids is 297 ± 5 Ma, and that of intrusive leucocratic biotite granites is 291 ± 1 Ma. The estimates of the age finalize the discussion on the age of granitoids of the Barguzin complex and cannot be considered as ??rejuvenated.?? The analyses of the geochronological data that have been obtained up to the present for granitoids of the Angara-Vitim batolite with the SHRIMP and U-Pb methods for large samples of zircons show that in the majority of cases they cannot be used for precise estimation of the age of their crystallization. The geochronological data obtained with use of the U-Pb method over micro samples and single grains of zircon allow one to make a conclusion on the formation of granitoids of the described complexes of the Angara-Vitim batholite that occurred within 303 ± 7?C281 ± 1 Ma. Thus, the time length of formation of the largest in the eastern segment of the Central Asian belt of the Angara-Vitim batholite is not more than 22 Ma (minimum 6 Ma), which allows us to consider it as a large granitic province and is a boundary condition for development of the geodynamic models of its formation.     

Comparative geochemistry of granitoids and metamorphic country rocks in the western Angara-Vitim batholith, western Baikal area

This paper presents materials of granitoids from the western Angara-Vitim batholith and the country gneisses and migmatites of the Talanchan Metamorphic Complex. The granitoids of the older intrusive phases of the Barguzin Complex are characterized by high dispersions in the contents of most trace element. The similarities in their trace-element signatures to those of metavolcanics of the Talanchan Group indicate that the latter could have served as a source of the granitoid melts. The increase in the K, Rb, Sn, Be, and REE contents from granitoids of the older phase of the Barguzin Complex to the main phase of this complex and further to the granites of the Zazin Complex is a result of melt fractionation which simultaneously became more uniform and acquired Eu minima. The group of calc-alkaline diorites is identical in composition to the metavolcanics and probably complements the latter. Metagabbro of normal alkalinity and synplutonic subalkali gabbro of the Oshurkov type are distinguished by composition and the relationships with the country gneisses and granitoids.     

Formation of the Ion Composition of the Barguzin River Waters (Lake Baikal Basin) under the Conditions of Saline Landscapes

Doklady Earth Sciences - The results of measuring the ion composition of the Barguzin River waters during periods of different water contents and assessments of hydrological factors of water flow...     

Composition,sources, and mechanisms of origin of rare-metal granitoids in the Late Paleozoic Eastern Sayan zone of alkaline magmatism: A case study of the Ulaan Tolgoi massif

The Ulaan Tolgoi massif of rare-metal (Ta, Nb, and Zr) granites was formed at approximately 300Ma in the Eastern Sayan zone of rare-metal alkaline magmatism. The massif consists of alkaline salic rocks of various composition (listed in chronologic order of their emplacement): alkaline syenite → alkaline syenite pegmatite → pantellerite → alkaline granite, including ore-bearing alkaline granite, whose Ta and Nb concentrations reach significant values. The evolution of the massif ended with the emplacement of trachybasaltic andesite. The rocks of the massif show systematic enrichment in incompatible elements in the final differentiation products of the alkaline salic magmas. The differentiation processes during the early evolution of the massif occurred in an open system, with influx of melts that contained various proportions of incompatible elements. The magma system was closed during the origin of the ore-bearing granites. Rare-metal granitoids in the Eastern Sayan zone were produced by magmas formed by interaction between mantle melts (which formed the mafic dikes) with crustal material. The mantle melts likely affected the lower parts of the crust and either induced its melting, with later mixing the anatectic and mantle magmas, or assimilated crustal material and generated melts with crustal–mantle characteristics. The origin of the Eastern Sayan zone of rare-metal alkaline magmatism was related to rifting, which was triggered by interaction between the Tarim and Barguzin mantle plumes. The Eastern Sayan zone was formed in the marginal part of the Barguzin magmatic province, and rare-metal magmas in it were likely generated in relation with the activity of the Barguzin plume.     

Basin structures and sediment accumulation in the Baikal Rift Zone: Implications for Cenozoic intracontinental processes in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt

In this paper we present a review of sedimentological, geomorphological, lithological, geochronological and geophysical data from major, minor and satellite basins of the Baikal Rift Zone (BRZ) and discuss various aspects of its evolution. Previously, the most detailed sedimentological data have been obtained from the basins of the central BRZ, e.g., Baikal, Tunka and Barguzin, and have been used by many scientists worldwide. We add new information about the peripheral part and make an attempt to provide a more comprehensive view on BRZ sedimentation stages and environments and their relations to local and regional tectonic events. A huge body of sedimentological data was obtained many years ago by Soviet geologists and therefore is hardly accessible for an international reader. We pay tribute to their efforts to the extent as the format of a journal paper permits. We discuss structural and facial features of BRZ sedimentary sequences for the better understanding of their sedimentation environments. In addition, we review tectono-sedimentation stages, neotectonic features and volcanism of the region. Finally, we consider the key questions of the BRZ evolution from the sedimentological point of view, in particular, correlation of Mesozoic and Cenozoic basins, bilateral growth of the Baikal rift, Miocene sedimentation environment and events at the Miocene/Pliocene boundary, Pliocene and Pleistocene tectonic deformations and sedimentation rates. The data from deep boreholes and surface occurrences of pre-Quaternary sediments, the distribution of the Pleistocene sediments, and the data from the Baikal and Hovsgol lakes sediments showed that 1) BRZ basins do not fit the Mesozoic extensional structures and therefore hardly inherited them; 2) the Miocene stage of sedimentation was characterized by low topography and weak tectonic processes; 3) the rifting mode shifted from slow to fast at ca. 7–5 Ma; 4) the late Pleistocene high sedimentation rates reflect the fast subsidence of basin bottoms.     

Age, composition of rocks, and geological setting of the Snezhnoe beryllium deposit: Substantiation of the Late Paleozoic East Sayan rare-metal zone, Russia

The Snezhnoe phenakite-beryl deposit is one of the highest-grade deposits in the Altai-Sayan beryllium province. This deposit is spatially associated with the alkali granite of the Ognit Complex and localized in the apical part of the granitic pluton. The trace element composition of granite, as well as of Be and Ta-Nb ores was studied. The Rb-Sr age of Be mineralization estimated at 305 Ma is consistent with the time of formation of numerous rare-metal alkali granitic plutons in the Eastern Sayan and the eastern Tuva. The region of these granitic plutons is outlined as the Late Paleozoic East Sayan rare-metal metallogenic zone specialized for Nb, Ta, Be, Li, Zr, Th, and REE mineralization. The East Sayan zone is localized in the marginal part of the Barguzin igneous province and is similar to the marginal zone of this province in composition of igneous associations and metallogenic specialization. The formation of the Barguzin igneous province and the East Sayan metallogenic zone is related to the evolution of the Late Carboniferous-Early Permian mantle plume.     

The Late Riphean–Paleozoic history of the Uda–Vitim island arc system in the Transbaikalian sector of the Paleoasian ocean

New structural, petrological, chemical, isotope, and paleomagnetic data have provided clues to the Late Riphean–Paleozoic history of the Uda–Vitim island arc system (UVIAS) in the Transbaikalian sector of the Paleoasian ocean, as part of the Transbaikalian zone of Paleozoids. The island arc system consists of three units corresponding to main evolution stages: (i) Upper Riphean (Late Baikalian), (ii) Vendian–Lower Paleozoic (Caledonian), and (iii) Middle–Upper Paleozoic (Hercynian). The earliest stage produced the base of the system composed of Late Riphean ophiolite (971–892 Ma, U-Pb) and volcanic (837–789 Ma, U-Pb) and sedimentary rocks (hemipelagic siliceous sediments and dolerite sills) which represent the Barguzin–Vitim oceanic basin and the Kelyana island arc. The main event of the second stage was the formation of the large UVIAS structure (over 150,000 km2) which comprised the Transbaikalian oceanic basin, the forearc and backarc basins, and the volcanic arc itself, and consisted of many volcanic-tectonic units exceeding 100 km² in area (Eravna, Oldynda, Abaga, etc.). Lithology, stratigraphy, major–element compositions, and isotope ages of Vendian–Cambrian volcanic rocks and associated sediments indicate strong differentiation of calc-alkaline series and the origin of the island arc system upon oceanic crust, in a setting similar to that of the today’s Kuriles–Kamchatka island arc system. The Middle–Upper Paleozoic stage completed the long UVIAS history and left its imprint in sedimentary and volcanic rocks in superposed trough basins. The rocks were studied in terms of their biostratigraphic and isotope age constraints, as well as major- and trace-element compositions, and were interpreted as products of weathering and tectonic-magmatic rework of the UVIAS units.     

西伯利亚克拉通南缘奥里洪地块麻粒相变质作用及构造意义

早古生代西伯利亚克拉通南缘发生了大规模的增生-碰撞造山运动,本文研究的地区--奥里洪地块记录了巴尔古津微板块与西伯利亚克拉通碰撞造山的事件.对奥里洪地块出露的两种典型的高级变质岩--石榴辉石岩和石榴黑云片麻岩的矿物成分分析和变质温压计算,表明它们都经历了麻粒岩相的峰期变质作用,峰期变质温度达到770～800℃,而压力曾达到1.0GPa左右:峰后的退变质作用仍具有较高的温度,但压力明显降低(700～730℃,0.065GPa和710～766℃,0.50GPa),显示了一个近等温降压(ITD)的顺时针P-T轨迹特征.石榴黑云片麻岩中变质锆石的原位LA-ICP-MS U-Pb定年表明,麻粒岩相峰期变质年龄为479±2Ma,而峰前变质可能在500Ma就已经开始.峰后的退变质作用很可能发生在475～460Ma之后.整个造山作用持续了至少35Ma.对比蒙古-图瓦地块及中国东北佳木斯-额尔古纳地块已厘定出的变质作用及岩浆活动年龄可以发现,西伯利亚克拉通南缘不同地区增生-碰撞造山作用发生的时间是不同的,奥里洪地区造山作用相对年轻.     

The U-Pb geochronology of the Mukhal alkaline massif (western Transbaikalia)

We present results of U-Pb (SHRIMP II) geochronological study of the rocks of the Mukhal alkaline massif in the Vitim alkaline province, western Transbaikalia. The available K-Ar and Rb-Sr dates for the alkaline rocks (Saizhen complex) of the Vitim province, including the Mukhal massif, vary over a broad range of values. The obtained age of crystallization of the Mukhal urtites refines the time when the regional alkaline magmatism began. The age of zircons and magmatic processes within the Barguzin area (315–275 Ma) is close to the peak of main events, which occurred between 295 and 275 Ma. These processes took place at the early stage of evolution of the Late Paleozoic rift system in Central Asia, whose activity was associated with the activity of mantle superplume.     

Late Cambrian-Ordovician tectonics and geodynamics of Central Asia

In the Late Cambrian-Ordovician, Gondwana-derived microcontinents such as Kokchetav, Altai-Mongolian, Tuva-Mongolian, and Barguzin, as well as the Kazakhstan-Tuva-Mongolian island arc or a system of island arcs were involved in intense accretion-collision processes in similar geodynamic settings on a vast territory of Central Asia — from West Kazakhstan to Lake Baikal. The processes were likely to be the result of a large rebuilding of the Earth’s crust possibly related to the increased mantle impact on the lithosphere as they were simultaneous to the opening of the Uralian and Mongolian-Okhotsk (Turkestan) Oceans. The 970–850 Ma breakup of Rodinia and the 760–700 Ma important tectonic events were followed by the Late Cambrian-Early Ordovician plume magmatism impulse at 500–480 Ma, which led to the opening of new oceans and accelerated the accretion of the Gondwana-derived blocks to the island arc and subsequent formation of an extended — more than 6000 km long — Kazakhstan-Baikal orogenic belt.     

Tectonic control on diagenesis in a foreland basin: combined petrologic and thermochronologic approaches in the Grès d’Annot basin (Late Eocene–Early Oligocene,French–Italian external Alps)

Combined petrographic study and apatite fission track analysis (apatite FTA) across the Grès d’Annot basin document maximum temperatures reached by this turbiditic sandstone formation, from around 60 °C at the SW basin margin up to around 200 °C below the Penninic frontal thrust, in relation to burial below the front of Alpine nappes. Increasing diagenetic grade across the basin is primarily expressed by the development of silica transfer by pressure solution and correlated porosity loss. We infer the nappe thickness profile, from the nappe front in the SW up to around 8–10 km in the NE. Apatite FTA dates exhumation of the Grès d’Annot during the Late Miocene, in relation to thrusting of the underlying Argentera and Barrot Palaeozoic massifs. This study illustrates the influence of thrust front propagation on foreland basin diagenesis and exhumation, and highlights potential implications for the evolution of sediment reservoir properties in this context.     

The elastic properties of the lithosphere beneath Scotian basin

To assess the possibility that the North Atlantic Ocean may subduct at Scotian basin east of Canada, we investigate the present compensation state of this deep basin. A Fourier domain analysis of the bathymetry, depth to basement and observed gravity anomalies over the oceanic area east of Nova Scotia indicates that the basin is not isostatically compensated. Moreover, the analysis emphasizes that in addition to the sediments, density perturbations exist beneath the basin. The load produced by the sediments and these density perturbations must have been supported by the lithosphere. We simulate the flexure of the lithosphere under this load by that of a thin elastic plate overlying an inviscid interior. It is shown that a plate with a uniform rigidity does not adequately represent the lithosphere beneath the basin as well as the oceanic lithosphere far from the basin, rather the rigidity of the lithosphere directly beneath the basin is about one to two orders of magnitude smaller than elsewhere. We relate this weakening to the thermal blanketing effects of the thick sediments and the fact that the lithosphere has a temperature-dependent rheology. We suggest that this weak zone would have a controlling effect on the reactivation of normal faults at the hinge zone of the basin, that were formed during the break-up of Africa and North America and were locked in the early stages after the break-up. The weak zone would facilitate reactivation of the faults if tensional stresses were produced by possible reorientation of the spreading direction of the North Atlantic Ocean in the future. The reactivation of the faults would create a free boundary condition at the hinge zone, allowing further bending of the lithosphere beneath the basin and juxtaposition of this lithosphere to the mantle beneath the continent. This may provide a favorable situation for initiation of slow subduction due to subsequent compressional forces.     

Late Paleozoic granitoids of western Transbaikalia: magma sources and stages of formation

Geochemical and geochronological studies of the main types of granitoids of the Angara-Vitim batholith (AVB) and granites of the Zaza complex in western Transbaikalia were carried out. U-Pb (SHRIMP-II) and Rb-Sr dating yielded the age of autochthonous gneiss-granites of the Zelenaya Griva massif (325.3±2.8 Ma), quartz syenites of the Khangintui pluton (302.3±3.7 Ma) and intruding leucogranites of the Zaza complex (294.4±1 Ma), monzonites of the Khasurta massif (283.7±5.3 Ma), and quartz monzonites of the Romanovka massif (278.5±2.4 Ma). The U-Pb and Rb-Sr dates show that the Late Paleozoic magmatism in western Transbaikalia proceeded in two stages: (1) 340–320 Ma, when predominantly mesocratic granites of the Barguzin complex, including autochthonous ones, formed, and (2) 310–270 Ma, when most AVB granitoids formed. We suggest that at the early stage, crustal peraluminous granites formed in collision geodynamic setting. At the late (main) stage, magmatism occurred in postorogenic-extension setting and was accompanied by the formation of several geochemical types of granitoids: (1) typical intrusive mesocratic granites of the Barguzin complex, similar to those produced at the first stage; (2) melanocratic granitoids (monzonitoids, quartz syenites), which were earlier dated to the early stage of the AVB evolution; (3) leucocratic medium-alkali (peraluminous) granites of the Zaza intrusive complex; and (4) some alkali-granite and syenite intrusions accompanied by alkaline mafic rocks. The diversity of granitoids that formed at the late stage of magmatism was due to the heterogeneous composition of crust protoliths and different degrees of mantle-magma participation in their formation.     

Thermochronology of the Chernorud granulite zone,Ol’khon Region,Western Baikal area

Structural-petrologic and isotopic-geochronologic data on magmatic, metamorphic, and metasomatic rocks from the Chernorud zone were used to reproduce the multistage history of their exhumation to upper crustal levels. The process is subdivided into four discrete stages, which corresponded to metamorphism to the granulite facies (500–490 Ma), metamorphism to the amphibolite facies (470–460 Ma), metamorphism to at least the epidote-amphibolite facies (440–430 Ma), and postmetamorphic events (410–400 Ma). The earliest two stages likely corresponded to the tectonic stacking of the backarc basin in response to the collision of the Siberian continent with the Eravninskaya island arc or the Barguzin microcontinent, a process that ended with the extensive generation of synmetamorphic granites. During the third and fourth stages, the granulites of the Chernorud nappe were successively exposed during intense tectonic motions along large deformation zones (Primorskii fault, collision lineament, and Orso Complex). The comparison of the histories of active thermal events for Early Caledonian folded structures in the Central Asian Foldbelt indicates that active thermal events of equal duration are reconstructed for the following five widely spiced accretion-collision structures: the Chernorud granulite zone in the Ol’khon territory, the Slyudyanka crystalline complex in the southwestern Baikal area, the western Sangilen territory in southeastern Tuva, Derbinskii terrane in the Eastern Sayan, and the Bayankhongor ophiolite zone in central Mongolia. The dates obtained by various isotopic techniques are generally consistent with the four discrete stages identified in the Chernorud nappe, whereas the dates corresponding to the island-arc evolutionary stage were obtained only for the western Sangilen and Bayankhongor ophiolite zone.     

Late Paleozoic gabbroids of western Transbaikalia: U-Pb and Ar-Ar isotopic ages,composition, and petrogenesis

We provide new isotope-geochronological evidence for the synchronous occurrence of Late Paleozoic basic and granitoid magmatism in western Transbaikalia; this is a strong argument for the contribution of mantle magmas to granitoid petrogenesis. The Late Paleozoic basic rocks originated from the phlogopite-garnet-bearing lherzolitic mantle, which melted under “hydration conditions.” The specific features of Late Paleozoic magmatism in western Transbaikalia were determined by the combination of the activity of a low-energy mantle plume with the final stage of the Hercynian orogeny in space and time. At the early stage of magmatism, during the formation of the Barguzin granites,the plume had only a thermal influence on the crustal rocks heated as a result of Hercynian fold-thrust deformations. The mixing of mantle basic and crustal salic magmas at different levels marked the transition from crustal to mixed (mantle-crustal) granites, which include all post-Barguzin complexes (probably, except for alkali granites). In the geologic evolution of Transbaikalia, the Late Paleozoic magmatism was postorogenic, but it was initiated and influenced by the mantle plume.