Ophiolites of Iran: Keys to understanding the tectonic evolution of SW Asia: (I) Paleozoic ophiolites

Iran is a mosaic of Ediacaran–Cambrian (Cadomian; 520–600 Ma) blocks, stitched together by Paleozoic and Mesozoic ophiolites. In this paper we summarize the Paleozoic ophiolites of Iran for the international geoscientific audience including field, chemical and geochronological data from the literature and our own unpublished data. We focus on the five best known examples of Middle to Late Paleozoic ophiolites which are remnants of Paleotethys, aligned in two main zones in northern Iran: Aghdarband, Mashhad and Rasht in the north and Jandagh–Anarak and Takab ophiolites to the south. Paleozoic ophiolites were emplaced when N-directed subduction resulted in collision of Gondwana fragment “Cimmeria” with Eurasia in Permo-Triassic time. Paleozoic ophiolites show both SSZ- and MORB-type mineralogical and geochemical signatures, perhaps reflecting formation in a marginal basin. Paleozoic ophiolites of Iran suggest a progression from oceanic crust formation above a subduction zone in Devonian time to accretionary convergence in Permian time. The Iranian Paleozoic ophiolites along with those of the Caucausus and Turkey in the west and Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Tibet to the east, define a series of diachronous subduction-related marginal basins active from at least Early Devonian to Late Permian time.     

Traversing nature's danger zone: getting up close with Sumatra's volcanoes

The Indonesian island of Sumatra, located in one of the most active zones of the Pacific Ring of Fire, is characterized by a chain of subduction‐zone volcanoes which extend the entire length of the island. As a group of volcanic geochemists, we embarked upon a five‐week sampling expedition to these exotic, remote, and in part explosive volcanoes (SAGE 2010; Sumatran Arc Geochemical Expedition). We set out to collect rock and gas samples from 17 volcanic centres from the Sumatran segment of the Sunda arc system, with the aim of obtaining a regionally significant sample set that will allow quantification of the respective roles of mantle versus crustal sources to magma genesis along the strike of the arc. Here we document our geological journey through Sumatra's unpredictable terrain, including the many challenges faced when working on active volcanoes in pristine tropical climes.     

Geochronology of West Indonesia and its implication on plate tectonics

The results of radiometric dating of granitic rocks around Kotanopan near the west coast of Central Sumatra indicate an average age of 45 million years.Granites from the Lassi Mass in the Padang Highlands, Central Sumatra, and the Lampong Mass, South Sumatra, possess radiometric ages of ca. 112 and ca. 88 m.y., respectively. Granites and other rocks from the offshore areas north of Java indicate an average age of 100 m.y.Late Cretaceous granitic rocks are present in the islands of the Sunda Shelf namely Anambas (ca. 86 m.y.), Tembelan (ca. 85 m.y.) and Natuna (ca. 75 m.y.).Late Paleozoic granites possessing ages of ca. 276–298 m.y. are encountered in the basement rocks near Djambi, South Sumatra.The outcome of this radiometric age dating proves to be significant for it permits a fresh analysis of the geological evolution of Indonesia based on the plate-tectonics concept.The Tertiary volcano-plutonic arc exposed along the west coast of Sumatra can be traced to the south coast of Java. The corresponding subduction zone can be found in the islands west of Sumatra and the submarine ridge south of Java.The Late Cretaceous plutonic belt of Sumatra does not continue to Java but passes north of it, running however parallel to the subduction zone of Java. These two zones merge in the Meratus Mountains of Southeast Kalimantan.Sumatra was already a volcano-plutonic arc during Permian time, suggesting that since this Period the margins of at least four lithospheric plates have remained near the side of the active Sumatran arc.The presence of Permian volcanic and granitic rocks in the Malay Peninsula and West Kalimantan, and the results of the radiometric age determination of granitic rocks from the islands situated in the Sunda Shelf area, point to the existence of other Permian and Cretaceous volcano-plutonic arcs east and north of the arcs previously described in Sumatra and Java. Thus a double volcano-plutonic arc with opposing Benioff zones must have existed during Permian and Cretaceous time in this area.The Schwaner Mountains of West Kalimantan are considered to be the place where volcano-plutonic arcs of different ages have merged together. The correlative subduction zones have to be sought in the so-called Danau Formation of West Kalimantan and the northern part of the Kuching zone, the Sibu zone of Serawak situated north of the Schwaner Mountains.The evolution and complex geology of the western part of Indonesia can only be understood by the supposition of the existence of megaplates and sub-plates generated from spreading centers situated in the Indian Ocean and presumably in the area of the South China Sea, respectively.     

Assessment of flexural analysis applied to the Sumatra-Java subduction zone

Indian Ocean subduction zone is one of the most active plate margins of the globe as evident from its vast record of great magnitude earthquake and tsunami events. We use Bouguer admittance (Morlet isostatic response function) in Sumatra-Java subduction zones comprising both the subduction and over-riding plates to determine the lithospheric mechanical strength variations. We determine effective elastic thickness (T _e ) for five oceanic windows (size 990 × 990 km²) by analyzing the admittance using Bouguer gravity and bathymetry data. The results show bimodal T _e values < 20 km for Sumatra and 20−40 km for Java. The lower bimodal values obtained for Sumatra appears to correlate well with the zones of historical seismicity. This is in sharp contrast with Java subduction zone, which shows higher T _e values (20–40 km) and apparently associated with low magnitude earthquakes. We suggest a strong and wide interseismic coupling for Sumatra between the subducting and over-riding plates, and deeper mantle contributing to low strength, shallow focus — high magnitude seismicity and vice versa for Java, leading to their seismogenic zonation.     

Tectonics of the ophiolite belt from Naga Hills and Andaman Islands,India

The ophiolitic rocks of Naga Hills-Andaman belt occur as rootless slices, gently dipping over the Paleogene flyschoid sediments, the presence of blue-schists in ophiolite melange indicates an involvement of the subduction process. Subduction was initiated prior to mid-Eocene as proved by the contemporaneous lower age limit of ophiolite-derived cover sediment as against the accreted ophiolites and olistostromal trench sediment. During the late Oligocene terminal collision between the Indian and Sino-Burmese blocks, basement slivers from the Sino-Burmese block, accreted ophiolites and trench sediments from the subduction zone were thrust westward as nappe and emplaced over the down-going Indian plate. The geometry of the ophiolites and the presence of a narrow negative gravity anomaly flanking their map extent, run counter to the conventional view that the Naga-Andaman belt marks the location of the suture. The root-zone of the ophiolite nappe representing the suture is marked by a partially-exposed eastern ophiolite belt of the same age and gravity-high zone, passing through central Burma-Sumatra-Java. The ophiolites of the Andaman and Naga Hills are also conventionally linked with the subduction activity, west of Andaman islands. This activity began only in late Miocene, much later than onland emplacement of the ophiolites; it further developed west of the suture in its southern part. Post-collisional northward movement of the Indian plate subparallel to the suture, also developed leaky dextral transcurrent faults close to the suture and caused Neogene-Quatemary volcanism in central Burma and elsewhere.     

Lead Isotopic Steep-Dipping Zone and Mineralization—An Example from Mineral Deposits Concentrated Area in East Qinling,China

INTRODUCTIONBecause of the inhomogeneity of material composition andtexture in the earth lithosphere,on the margins of differentearth blocks often exists the change of geochemicalcharacteristic values and geophysical gradients. The Pb-isotopetopological diagram which divides different Pb-isotopeprovinces within Chinese continent shows (Zhu,1995) thatsome margins of the Proterozoic basement or boundaries ofancient plates are presented as geochemical steep-dippingzones. The Pb-isotopic co…     

Geochemical patterns from local to global

The historical development of geochemical exploration is, in a sense, a process of progressive enlargement of areal coverage by exploration projects and progressive widening of sampling space. Along with this process, a hierarchy of geochemical patterns from small to large is gradually discovered and understood. In this paper, we try to summarize systematically the whole hierarchy of geochemical patterns from local, regional, provincial, megaprovincial to global, using examples obtained in China.Local anomalies (various types of dispersion halos, trains and fans) within areas not exceeding a few km², can be delineated when sampling is done with very close intervals in limited areas. Regional anomalies within areas of tens to hundreds km² and threshold values lower than local anomalies can be identified only when large areas of more than thousands of km² are mapped with wider space sampling. Geochemical provinces with areas of thousands or tens of thousands of km² can be discovered if even larger areas, of more than tens or hundreds of thousands of km², are covered with very low density sampling. More than millions of km² should be covered in order to discover geochemical megaprovinces somewhere in the world. Such megaprovinces are often associated with extraordinarily large mineral resources. If ultra-low density geochemical mapping can be carried out across national boundaries on a continental or global scale, we could find even broader geochemical patterns which will reflect the global tectonic features.The classification of geochemical patterns according to their sizes is necessary because it will be extremely useful in planning sampling layout in order to hit targets of certain size ranges. This in turn is arranged in different geochemical projects for achieving specific aims.     

西藏班公湖—怒江缝合带中段东巧地幔橄榄岩岩石成因及构造环境分析

东巧蛇绿岩位于班公湖—怒江缝合带中段,根据地理位置特征并以强玛镇为中心将东巧岩体划分为东西两个岩体。其中西岩体相对面积较大,由地幔橄榄岩、枕状玄武岩、辉长辉绿岩等组成;而东岩体面积较小,仅含地幔橄榄岩部分,各个不同单元之间呈断层接触关系。对东巧地幔橄榄岩开展岩石学、矿物学及地球化学研究发现:(1)东巧地幔橄榄岩以方辉橄榄岩为主,纯橄岩所占比例较小,约15%。豆荚状铬铁矿主要呈条带浸染状赋存在厚层且延伸较远的纯橄岩中。(2)东巧地幔橄榄岩中单斜辉石含量小于3%,矿物地球化学和全岩地球化学特征显示其来源于尖晶石相地幔源区的部分熔融,且部分熔融程度较高,估算在22%～28%,高于深海地幔橄榄岩的部分熔融程度(10%～22%)。(3)东巧地幔橄榄岩中的副矿物铬尖晶石Cr#值较高大于60,全岩具有U型球粒陨石标准化稀土元素配分模式,同时Rb、U、Zr和Sr相对富集,Hf和Nb相对亏损。全岩的地球化学特征指示了俯冲带之上的残余地幔与流体/熔体发生了反应,致使轻稀土元素以及部分微量元素选择性富集。综合东巧地幔橄榄岩的矿物化学组成成分以及全岩的地球化学特征,认为东巧地幔橄榄岩形成于大洋中脊的扩张环境中,后受到洋内俯冲作用的影响,导致俯冲带之上高度部分熔融的地幔橄榄岩与流体/熔体发生相互作用。     

Characteristics of Lower Crustal Granulite Xenoliths from the East Qinling Orogenic Belt and Their Tectonic Significance

The Tongbai granulites are present mainly as xenoliths in granodioritic gneisses. The xenoliths with a zircon age of 470Ma are older than the host rocks of granodioritic gneisses which yield a zircon age of 435Ma. It is suggested that the granulites were transported from the lower crust to the upper level along with granodioritic magma. Geothermometrical and geobarometrical studies based on the coexisting minerals (Opx-Cpx and Opx-Gar) show that the granulites were crystallized at 818 –840 °C and 9.5−9.8 × 10⁸ Pa corresponding to the lower crust. Tectonically, the Shangdan suture zone constitutes the boundary between the North China and Yangtze plates. The zone is char acterized by the occurrence of ophiolites in the western part and by that of granulites in the eastern part. So the western part marks the upper crustal level of the Qinling belt, while the eastern part represents the exposure of a deeper level. The results of isotopic dating and the geochemical characteristics of the xenoliths are consistent with those of metatholeiites of the ophiolites in the western part. Therefore, it is assumed that both ophiolites found in the west and granulites found in the east all represent the remnants of the ancient Qinling ocean plate. The difference is that the ophiolites are pieces of obducted fragments from the ocean floor during the subduction in the Early Palaeozoic. However, in the Tongbai area, when the ocean floor was subducting towards the lower crust, it underwent a granulite fades metamorphism. Subsequently, granodioritic magma formed by partial melting trapped some fragments of granulite upwards. This project was jointly granted by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and Stiftung Volkswagenwerk of Germany     

Low-density geochemical mapping in Hungary

Guidelines for a low-density geochemical survey were described in 1990 by the Western European Geological Surveys. A low-density geochemical survey of Hungary was carried out in 1991–1995. The results are useful for future surveys and for the IGCP 360 project ‘Global Geochemical Baseline’. In regions with well-developed drainage systems in Hungary, 196 catchment basins of approx. 400 km² were delineated and flood-plain deposits sampled at their outlets. The samples were taken from 0 to 10 cm and from 50 to 60 cm depths. Samples were analysed by ICP-AES and AAS techniques in two laboratories. A Geochemical Atlas of Hungary is in preparation that will show the distribution of 25 elements in the two sampled layers. Maps for the lower layer represent regional geochemical baseline values and a geochemical subdivision of the country (maps showing the distribution of element associations) was made on the basis of factor variables. Maps constructed from the data of the upper sampling level show us the present state of contamination of the surface. The results of this survey have contributed to the establishment of guidance values for soils prepared by the Hungarian Ministry of the Environment in 1995. Safe levels were established for As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn and regional environmental loads plotted. Differences between the median values of the two levels are generally small. However, the concentrations of certain elements like P, Pb and S are significantly greater in the upper layer reflecting contamination from agriculture. In certain regions, the rate of sedimentation was fairly fast such that the environmental effects of ore mining in Transylvania and southern Slovakia as well as those of heavy industry in northern Hungary can be observed in samples from the lower level. The main factor controlling the geochemical pattern in Hungary is the predominance of young (Pleistocene or Miocene) clastic sediments at the surface. Approx. 90% of the surface is covered by these young sediments. This kind of survey has the disadvantage of not providing enough contrast to differentiate geologically dissimilar areas but it has the advantage to provide regional surface background geochemical data and it helps to outline areas of possible surface contamination. Based on the results of this survey we conclude that it would be much better to sample smaller, but geologically homogeneous areas in mountainous terrain to obtain data characteristic of the geochemical background of lithologic units. This approach would mean a sampling density of a few tens of km²/sample for hilly areas, and a few hundred km²/sample for lowland areas.     

内蒙古索伦山地区蛇绿岩岩石单元地质特征、就位机制及时限

内蒙古索伦山地区出露蛇绿岩,其研究对探讨古亚洲洋演化具有重要意义。对内蒙古索伦山地区蛇绿岩进行了系统的调查和研究,探讨了其就位机制与时限。 结合索伦山蛇绿岩地质特征和区域地质背景综合分析,认为研究区蛇绿岩组合包括地幔与洋壳组分。索伦山地区蛇绿岩存在较为完整的蛇绿岩组合模式,出露地幔岩石组合为蛇纹石化纯橄榄岩、蛇纹石化二辉-方辉橄榄岩、橄榄辉石岩和硅化碳酸盐化蚀变超基性岩(风化壳)等。蛇绿岩组合中洋壳组分为辉长岩、辉绿岩、玄武岩和硅质岩。蛇绿岩就位机制划分为4种,即碰撞仰冲型、增生底垫型、俯冲剥离型和角流型。其中,俯冲剥离型就位机制表现为岩石组合齐全完整的特征,产出形态为岩块、岩片,其中岩块、岩片与基质为构造断层接触;在俯冲带近大陆一侧常形成岛弧岩浆岩等特征。索伦山蛇绿岩地质特征与俯冲剥离型就位机制特征完全相符,故索伦山蛇绿岩就位机制大致为洋中脊俯冲剥离型。根据大洋岩石圈形成之后在10 Ma之内就位这一原则,结合索伦山地区辉长岩SHRIMP锆石U Pb年龄为(2807±53) Ma,认为索伦山蛇绿岩就位时限在270 Ma左右。     

Suprasubduction zone ophiolite formation along the periphery of Mesozoic Gondwana

Neotethyan suprasubduction zone ophiolites represent anomalous oceanic crust developed in older host basins during trench rollback cycles and later entrapped in orogenic belts as a result first of trench-passive margin and then continent–continent collisions. The Middle Jurassic Mirdita zone ophiolites in northern Albania constitute a critical transition between the dominantly mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-related Early Jurassic Alpine–Apennine ophiolites in the west and supra-subduction zone (SSZ)-generated Cretaceous Eastern Mediterranean ophiolites in the east. The previously recognized Western- and Eastern-type ophiolites in the Mirdita zone display significant differences in their internal structure and pseudostratigraphy, but their geochemical affinities are more gradational in contrast to the earlier claims that these ophiolites may have formed in different tectonic settings at different times. Crosscutting relations of dike intrusions in the Eastern-type ophiolites indicate changes in the chemistry of magmatic plumbing systems from basaltic to andesitic, dacitic, rhyodacitic, and boninitic compositions through time and from west to east. The chemostratigraphy of the extrusive sequence in the Western-type ophiolites shows that the MORB-like tholeiitic rocks display a significant decrease in their TiO₂ contents and Zr concentrations stratigraphically upward, although their ε_Nd(T) values (+ 7.3 to + 6.9) show minor variation. The basaltic andesites in the upper 100 m of the Western extrusive sequence have island arc tholeiite (IAT)-like chemical characteristics (low-Ti, lower HFSE and HREE distribution, significant LREE depletion and higher Co, Ni, and Cr contents) that signify increased subduction influence in magma/melt evolution. The Eastern-type extrusive rocks range in composition from basaltic andesite to andesite, dacite and rhyodacite stratigraphically upward mimicking the temporal changes in the sheeted dikes, and they display constant Zr ( 50 ppm) but significantly varying Cr contents. The TiO₂ contents of their pyroxenes are < 0.3 wt.%, and their ε_Nd(T) values decrease from + 6.5 in the lower parts to  + 3.1 in the uppermost section of the sequence. Farther east in the extrusive sequence the youngest boninitic lavas and dikes have ε_Nd(T) values between − 1.4 and − 4.0. These chemical variations through time point to a mantle source increasingly contaminated by subduction-derived aqueous fluids and sediments, which were incorporated into the melt column beneath an extending protoarc–forearc region. Slab retreat and sinking played a major role in establishing asthenospheric upwelling and corner flow beneath the forearc mantle that in turn facilitated shallow partial melting of highly depleted harzburgitic peridotites, producing boninitic magmas. This chemical progression in the Mirdita zone ophiolite volcanism is similar to the temporal variations in magma chemistry documented from very young intraoceanic arcs built on recently generated backarc crust (i.e., South Sandwich arc). The Western and Eastern-type ophiolites in the Mirdita zone are therefore all subduction-related with the subduction zone influence in the lavas increasing stratigraphically upward as well as eastwards, suggesting a west-dipping slab geometry. The Mirdita zone and the Western Hellenic ophiolites in the Balkans were produced within a marginal basin that had evolved between the Apulian and Pelagonian microcontinents, and were subsequently emplaced onto their passive margins diachronously through different collisional processes.     

辽西豆荚状铬铁矿的发现及其意义

在辽西建平新太古代变质基底构造混杂带内首次识别出豆荚状铬铁矿。铬铁矿石显示特征的豆荚状构造、褶皱条带、透镜构造、豆状构造、拉长网孔构造等，它们可以与蛇绿岩内典型的豆荚状铬铁矿进行对比。依据同位素年龄制约，辽西豆英状铬铁矿形成于2．50Ga前后。结合该区已报道的新太古变基性火山岩具有大洋拉斑玄武岩成分特点、并广泛发育新太古代高压麻粒岩，可以认为辽西地区新太古代期间曾发生大规模的板块俯冲及碰撞作用过程。     

新疆金地球化学块体内资源潜力预测及找矿方向探讨

新疆地域广大，成矿地质和地球化学条件极好，有着巨大的找矿潜力．据统计，在新疆已知岩金矿床中。有70％是通过区域化探直接或间接发现的．本以谢学锦院士1995年提出的地球化学块体理论为指导，利用区域化探信息系统和新疆已有区域化探数据，从地球块体角度对新疆金矿进行了资源潜力预测和找矿方向探讨．全疆共圈定金地球化学块体27个，并对各金地球化学块体基本特征及其与已知金矿的对应关系进行了剖析．研究表明。金地球化学块体规模及浓集度越大、块体结构越复杂，其金资源量和资源潜力就越大；反之越小．在综合研究基础上。按金资源量由大到小的顺序，将新疆各地区金资源潜力大小和金矿主攻地区排序为西天山、东天山、西准噶尔、阿尔泰、西昆仑、东准噶尔和阿尔金地区．     

Delineation of geochemical blocks for undiscovered large ore deposits using deep-penetrating methods in alluvial terrains of eastern China

Many large ore deposits have been discovered in eastern China along the Circum-Pacific Rim. However, alluvium, which covers most of the terrain, prevents a complete assessment of the mineralization potential by geological and conventional geochemical approaches. Two deep-penetrating geochemical methods—collection of nanoscale metals in earthgas (NAMEG) and selective leaching of mobile forms of metals in overburden (MOMEO) have been used to investigate the possibility to delineate geochemical blocks generated from large ore deposits buried by alluvial terrains. A wide-spaced sampling was carried out in an area of approximately 250 000 km² at density of one sample per 400–800 km². The soil samples were subjected to MOMEO leaching and were analyzed for Au, Ag, Cu, Pb, Zn, Fe, and Mn by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The earthgas samples were analyzed for 17 elements by INNA. The results show that water-extractable metals by MOMEO processing can give prominent expression to concealed deposits and can delineate large-scale geochemical anomalies in the alluvial terrains. The distribution of gold in earthgas is situated along the largest deep fault systems and the concentration centers distribute in the secondary faults on the both sides of the deep fault systems.     

National-Scale Geochemical Mapping Projects in China

Regional, national and global scale geochemical mapping projects have been carried out in China since the late 1970s, due to the development of cost‐effective, low detection limit analytical methods. These projects have provided a huge mass of high‐quality, informative and comparable data for mineral resource exploration and are now making contributions to environmental assessment. In this paper, four national‐scale geochemical mapping projects are described. (1) The Regional Geochemistry‐National Reconnaissance Project (RGNR project), which is China's largest national geochemical mapping project, has covered 6 million km² of upland regions since 1978. Generally, stream sediment samples were collected at a density of 1/km² and four samples were composited into one sample and analysed for thirty‐nine elements. (2) The deep‐penetrating geochemical mapping project (DEEPMAP Project) has been conducted since 1994 in covered terrains, including sedimentary basins, at a density of 1 sample per 100 km² with thirty to seventy elements determined per sample. In the past 10 years, an area of approximately 800 000 km² has been covered and this project has played an important role in finding sandstone‐type uranium deposits in basins. (3) The seventy‐six geochemical element mapping project (76 GEM project) has been carried out since 1999 and involved the collection of stream sediment samples from the RGNR project targets which were analysed for seventy‐six elements. Samples from each 1:50 000 map sheet were composited into one analytical sample (approximately one composite sample per 400 km²). Approximately 1 million km² have been surveyed to date. (4) The multi‐purpose eco‐geochemical mapping project has been conducted since 1999 in Quaternary plain areas for environmental and agricultural applications. Surface soils (depths from 0–20 cm) were collected at a density of one sample per km², and four samples were composited into one for analysis. Deep soils (from a depth of 150 to 200 cm) were collected at a density of one sample per 4 km² and four samples were composited into one analytical sample. All the composite samples were analysed for fifty‐four elements.     

Babu (SW China)‐Cao Bang (NE Vietnam) Ophiolite Complex: Implications for Tectonic Evolution between South China and the Indochina Block

The convergence process between South China and the Indochina Block is still controversial. A large number of igneous rocks scattered along the current China‐Vietnam border provide a good opportunity to investigate the tectonic evolution. Babu ophiolites, cropping out in the southeastern Yunnan province (SW China), consist primarily of metaperidotite, serpentinite, pillow basalt (metabasalt), gabbro, metadiabase. Most of them are fault contacted and strongly sheared, especially between metaperidotite/serpentinite and metabasalt. U‐Pb zircon analyses yield an Early Permian formation age of ～278 Ma. Basalts and metagabbros show light rare earth elements (LREEs)‐depleted and heavy rare earth elements (HREEs)‐flat REE patterns, and large ion lithophile elements (LILEs)‐depleted primitive‐normalized spider diagrams without Nb‐Ta anomalies, which is similar to N‐MORB. Metaperidotites have low initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os (0.122‐0.126) and γOs values, and indicate that they were derived from a depleted mantle source. Relative low (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)i and high εNd(t) values of basalts and metagabbros also support their DMM origin. The petrological, geochemical and isotope characteristics suggest that Babu ophiolites were N‐MORB‐type and represent remnants of an Early Permian oceanic crust. Mafic‐ultramafic rocks exposed in Cao Bang area (NE Vietnam) have recently been considered as dismembered Paleotethyan ophiolites instead of were genetically linked to the Emeishan Large Igneous Province. U‐Pb zircon analyses suggest an Early‐Middle Permian age (274 ±18 Ma) for the formation of ultramafic rocks. Both whole rock geochemistry and Cr‐spinel mineral chemistry show MORB‐like characteristics. Field observations suggest that Babu and Cao Bang ophiolite complex structurally overlie Middle‐Triassic deposits, and form a tectonic mélange zone. It developed from the subduction of a Paleotethyan subsidiary ocean basin between the South China and Indochina blocks until their collision..     

西藏泽当蛇绿岩玄武岩SHRIMP锆石U-Pb年龄 及其地质意义

雅鲁藏布江缝合带中各蛇绿岩体的准确定年对待提斯洋演化和青藏高原隆升的研究具有重要意义.泽当蛇绿岩是雅鲁藏布江缝合带东段最大的蛇绿岩块体,关于其形成年龄目前仍存在不同的认识.通过SHRIMP锆石U-Pb测年得到蛇绿岩中玄武岩的形成年龄为154.9Ma±2.0Ma(95％置信度,MSWD=0.98).蛇绿岩中的玄武岩是洋脊扩张的产物,其形成年龄代表了扩张事件的时间,也代表了蛇绿岩的形成时代.结合已有的雅鲁藏布江缝合带蛇绿岩的形成年龄,该年龄进一步反映出雅鲁藏布江缝合带蛇绿岩形成时间具有东早西晚的特点.泽当蛇绿岩与含有埃达克质英云闪长岩的泽当岛弧火成岩基本为同期形成的.地球化学特征显示定年的玄武岩形成于俯冲带之上,且具有指示洋内俯冲环境的地球化学特征.因此,泽当SSZ型蛇绿岩可能形成于洋内俯冲机制.     

加拿大拜韦尔特半岛金-铜矿集区成矿地质背景与矿床特征

拜韦尔特半岛矿产资源主要包括铜、金和石棉,区域地层和构造是控制矿床形成、发展和叠加改造的主要因素。这些矿产资源主要赋存在拜韦尔特海洋带达利吉带圣母玛利亚亚带的早奥陶世潜次火山岩中,包括起源于超俯冲作用带的蛇绿岩套和火山岩盖层。其蛇绿岩套超镁铁堆积岩的热液蚀变岩中产出石棉,火山成因的块状硫化物型(VMS型)铜±金矿产在基性和双峰式火山岩中,金矿产在基性和超基性的热液蚀变岩中。而蛇绿岩套火山岩盖层中则产出与条带状含铁建造(BIF)有关的后生金矿,石英脉型或相关的交代型矿床则大多赋存在蚀变和变形的基性岩中。拜韦尔特半岛的构造样式和几何结构非常复杂。     

四川盆地区域化探扫面工作方法初步研究

四川盆地可分为川东平行岭谷区、盆周低山丘陵区、川中丘陵区、川西平原区。论述了各区的采样对象及采样点密度。川东平行岭谷区及盆周低山区的化探成果对寻找非金属矿产及某些金属矿产效果显著。川中典型区土壤地球化学资料，能为农业、环境等多目标服务，对农业区划、科学施肥、合理种植、土壤改良等提供了重要的地球化学依据。证实了川西平原油气化探方法的有效性。