High slip rate for a low seismicity along the Palu-Koro active fault in central Sulawesi (Indonesia)

In eastern Indonesia, the Central Sulawesi fault system consists of complex left-lateral strike-slip fault zones located within the triple junction area between the Pacific, Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates. Seismicity in Central Sulawesi documents low-magnitude shallow earthquakes related, from NW to SE, to the NNW-trending Palu-Koro (PKF) and WNW-trending Matano fault zones. Study of the active fault traces indicates a northward growing complexity in the PKF segmentation. Left-lateral displacement of 370 ± 10 m of streams incised within fans, whose deposition has been dated at 11 000 ± 2300 years, yields a calculated PKF horizontal slip rate of 35 ± 8 mm yr⁻¹. This geologically determined long-term slip rate agrees with the far-field strike-slip rate of 32–45 mm yr⁻¹ previously proposed from GPS measurements and confirms that the PKF is a fast slipping fault with a relatively low level of seismicity.     

U–Pb,Re–Os,and <Superscript>40</Superscript>Ar/<Superscript>39</Superscript>Ar geochronology of the Nambija Au-skarn and Pangui porphyry Cu deposits,Ecuador: implications for the Jurassic metallogenic belt of the Northern Andes

New U–Pb, Re–Os, and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates are presented for magmatic and hydrothermal mineral phases in skarn- and porphyry-related ores from the Nambija and Pangui districts of the Subandean zone, southeastern Ecuador. Nambija has been one of the main gold-producing centers of Ecuador since the 1980s due to exceptionally high-grade ores (average 15 g/t, but frequently up to 300 g/t Au). Pangui is a recently discovered porphyry Cu–Mo district. The geology of the Subandean zone in southeastern Ecuador is dominated by the I-type, subduction-related, Jurassic Zamora batholith, which intrudes Triassic volcanosedimentary rocks. The Zamora batholith is in turn cut by porphyritic stocks, which are commonly associated with skarn formation and/or porphyry-style mineralization. High precision U–Pb and Re–Os ages for porphyritic stocks (U–Pb, zircon), associated prograde skarn (U–Pb, hydrothermal titanite), and retrograde stage skarn (Re–Os, molybdenite from veins postdating gold deposition) of the Nambija district are all indistinguishable from each other within error (145 Ma) and indicate a Late Jurassic age for the gold mineralization. Previously, gold mineralization at Nambija was considered to be Early Tertiary based on K–Ar ages obtained on various hydrothermal minerals. The new Jurassic age for the Nambija district is slightly younger than the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and Re–Os ages for magmatic–hydrothermal minerals from the Pangui district, which range between 157 and 152 Ma. Mineralization at Nambija and Pangui is associated with porphyritic stocks that represent the last known episodes of a long-lived Jurassic arc magmatism (∼190 to 145 Ma). A Jurassic age for mineralization at Nambija and Pangui suggests that the Northern Andean Jurassic metallogenic belt, which starts in Colombia at 3° N, extends down to 5° S in Ecuador. It also adds a new mineralization style (Au-skarn) to the metal endowment of this belt. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Characteristics of late Cenozoic volcanism along the Archibarca lineament from Cerro Llullaillaco to Corrida de Cori, northwest Argentina

The Archibarca lineament is one of several NW–SE-trending transverse lineaments that cut across the Central Andes of Argentina and Chile. Central Andean, Late Miocene–Quaternary subduction-related volcanism is mainly restricted to a 50-km-wide arc forming the approximately N–S axis of the Cordillera, but extends along the transverse lineaments for up to 200 km to the SE. Lineaments are interpreted to be deep-seated, long-lived basement structures or anisotropies, which can control the localization of magmatism and, in some cases, magmatic–hydrothermal ore deposits (e.g., the Escondida porphyry Cu deposit, Chile). As a first step towards exploring the regional-scale controls on magmatism and related mineralization exerted by such structures, the styles of volcanism and near-surface hydrothermal activity along a segment of the Archibarca lineament in the Puna of northwest Argentina are described here. Volcanic structures have been mapped and sampled along a 50-km transect from Cerro Llullaillaco, a large medium-K dacitic Quaternary stratovolcano, to Corrida de Cori, a range of Pliocene–Pleistocene high-K andesitic vents. Apart from a southeastward increase in K content and the predominance of dacitic lavas at Cerro Llullaillaco, the geochemical affinity of late Cenozoic volcanic rocks varies little in time or space. This uniformity extends further SE to Cerro Galán, where published data closely match the results from the study area. In detail, trace element compositions reveal the localized (in both time and space) effects of crustal contamination (recognized as Th>10 ppm), and depth of fractionation (1/Yb>0.7 ppm⁻¹, reflecting garnet residue). Explosive volcanic rocks such as ignimbrites show the strongest indications of crustal contamination, whereas the Cerro Llullaillaco dacite lavas mostly record significant garnet fractionation. Other lavas from the Llullaillaco area, including one flow from Cerro Llullaillaco, do not show garnet control, suggesting that different batches of magma stalled and fractionated at different levels in a thick (60-km) crust prior to eruption. The youngest volcanism in the Corrida de Cori area is represented by olivine–phyric basaltic andesite cinder cones and flows. The ascent of these relatively primitive magmas appears to have been controlled by late Quaternary normal faults, which directly tapped deeply derived melts. The Corrida de Cori volcanic range has experienced intense fumarolic alteration with deposition of abundant sulfate and native sulfur (previously mined at Mina Julia). Deeper levels of hydrothermal alteration have been sampled by an ignimbrite erupted from Cerro Escorial, which, among other lithic clasts, contains numerous fragments of vein quartz. Fluid inclusions in this quartz record evidence for a boiling, high-salinity fluid, which may represent a link between a high temperature magmatic–hydrothermal system at depth (i.e., a porphyry-type system) and shallow-level fumarolic activity. An ignimbrite erupted from Cerro Escorial preserves textures such as internal wave forms between flow units and surface wave morphologies at its distal limits that indicate flow as a series of dense turbulent pulses, which interdigitated and interfered with one another. Lithic lag breccias occur near the base of the flow proximal to the vent, but no air-fall deposits are preserved, probably due to transport of ash far from the vent by strong, high-altitude winds.     

Travels of the Cache Creek Terrane: a paleomagnetic, geobarometric and Ar/Ar study of the Jurassic Fourth of July Batholith, Canadian Cordillera

The Middle Jurassic Fourth of July Batholith and cross-cutting mafic dikes have been studied geochronologically, geobarometrically and paleomagnetically to estimate subsequent tectonic motion of the Cache Creek Terrane (CCT) in the northern Canadian Cordillera. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar hornblende ages from a granodiorite phase are similar to U–Pb zircon ages and indicate rapid cooling of the batholith upon intrusion, suggesting that the magnetization age is coincident with the 173-Ma crystallization age. Argon ages of biotite from the granodiorite and two mafic dikes have similar ages of 165 Ma, which dates cooling through 280 °C.Aluminum-in-hornblende geobarometry indicates differential uplift of the batholith across a north–south fault zone along Atlin Lake with >6 km more uplift on its eastern side. Also, the eastern side has been tilted downward to the south–southwest by 9°.Combined paleomagnetic data from 20 granitoid and 11 mafic dike sites yield an in situ paleopole at 55°W, 63°N (d_p=5°, d_m=5°) and a tilt-corrected paleopole at 81°W, 55°N (d_p=5°, d_m=6°). Compared to the 173-Ma reference pole for the North American craton, the tilt-corrected pole suggests a significant southward translation of 16.1±3.7° and a significant clockwise rotation of 107±7°. The translation estimate is similar to the Jurassic Teslin Crossing pluton in the Stikine Terrane, however, the rotation estimate is very different. This could indicate that the Cache Creek Terrane was at a similar latitude of the Stikine Terrane, but the two were not yet amalgamated.     

Short life-span of the ore-forming system at the Porgera gold deposit, Papua New Guinea: laser 40Ar/39Ar dates for roscoelite, biotite, and hornblende

The Porgera gold deposit, Papua New Guinea, is associated with sodic-alkalic, hypabyssal intrusions of alkali basaltic to mugearitic composition. The intrusions were emplaced into Cretaceous mudstones and siltstones in the latest Miocene, and both igneous and sedimentary rocks are mineralized. Three types of veins occur: (1) magnetite-sulfide - Au-carbonate veins; (2) base-metal sulfide - Au-carbonate veins; and, economically most important, (3) quartz-roscoelite-Au veins and breccias. Magmatic hornblende and biotite, hydrothermal biotite from alteration selvages associated with the magnetite-sulfide - Au veins, and roscoelite were dated using the laser ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar step-heating technique. Magmatic biotite yielded a date of 5.99ǂ.11 Ma (2C error; MSWD=3.7), and two samples of magmatic hornblende provided dates of 6.35ǂ.23 Ma (MSWD=1.0) and 6.3ǂ.7 Ma (MSWD=2.6). Hydrothermal biotite provided a date of 5.98ǂ.13 Ma (MSWD=2.7), and analyses of two roscoelite samples yielded dates of 5.92ǂ.09 Ma (MSWD=2.0) and 5.92ǂ.17 Ma (MSWD=2.0). The date of the magmatic biotite is interpreted to represent the age of the intrusions more accurately than the hornblende dates because small amounts of excess ⁴⁰Ar were present in the hornblende samples. The date for hydrothermal biotite is interpreted to be the age of the alteration associated with the magnetite-sulfide - Au veins (the paragenetically earliest veins), and thus reflects the age of the onset of the mineralizing activity at Porgera. Based on the two dates for roscoelite, the age of the main ore deposition event is interpreted to be 5.92ǂ.08 Ma. The apparent ages for the intrusive and the mineralizing events are thus identical within error, and suggest that the magmatic and ore-forming system at Porgera was short-lived.     

Les sillons plissés du Burundien supérieur dans la chaı̂ne Kibarienne d'Afrique centrale

The Kibaran belt that extends all over the central Africa, from the Katanga to the southern Uganda, straddles the African great lakes area. The Kibaran stratigraphy is one of the most debated questions. Some geologists favoured two different systems: the Ruzizian system (1800–2000 Ma) and the Burundian or Kibaran system (1600–960 Ma). Some others favoured a single Burundian system with large areas granitised and metamorphosed during several Burundian tectonic events and with a lot of sedimentary fold belts of the Burundian age. Recent geological data and new remote sensing interpretations allow us to favour the second hypothesis but with a major disconformity within the Burundian system which is separating the Upper and the Lower Burundian. To cite this article: M. Villeneuve, J. Chorowicz, C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).     

Panafrican to Hercynian deformations in the Mauritanides and tectonic significance of gravity anomalies

The Mauritanides-Rokelides chain, which extends along the western margin of the West-African craton, is characterized by roughly northward structural trends and, at least for the northern two thirds, eastward thrusting of large amplitude. The style and timing of deformation change from south to north along the chain. In Sierra Leone, Guinea and southeastern Senegal (the Rokelides), the main event is attributed to the Panafrican orogeny, apparently with only limited thrusting. The belt of gravity highs associated with that part of the orogen is interpreted as a west dipping suture zone. In northeastern Senegal and central Mauritania, this Panafrican event is masked by Caledonian and Hercynian events, which resulted in strong folding and far-travelled thrusting. The positive gravity anomaly, closely parallel to the belt, records the trace of the collision of two continental blocks (a Taconian event?). In northern Mauritania and south Morocco, the age of emplacement of large nappes is Hercynian and their geodynamic interpretation requires that a trench or ocean has closed farther west, presumably beneath the eastern U.S. Atlantic Coastal Plain.     

Biogeochemical processes affecting the distribution and vertical transport of hydrocarbon residues in the coastal Mediterranean

Sediments, sediment trap material, dominant surface plankton and collected fecal material were sampled concurrently with surface seawater in a coastal Mediterranean ecosystem and analyzed for non-volatile hydrocarbons and chlorinated hydrocarbons. Results showed consistent partitioning of hydrocarbon classes between dissolved and particulate phases of surface waters which appeared to be related to component solubility and particle availability. Analysis of biological materials showed the biota were important not only in packaging residues into large, fast sinking particles, but also in modifying the composition of components through metabolism and selective incorporation into body tissues and feces. Apparent sedimentation rate was calculated by analysis of ²¹⁰Pb in sediment core samples and used to estimate average deposition rates of organics to the sea/sediment interface. The flux of particles through 100 m, as measured in the trap material in this sampling interval, was sufficient to balance most of the petroleum input to the sediments but accounted for only 17% of the average flux of PCBs to the sediments, and virtually none of the more soluble chlorinated hydrocarbon flux. Vertical transport via large fecal material compared to average background particles was seasonally low corresponding to a seasonal minimum in plankton biomass in late summer. Results show that hydrocarbon residues transported long distances away from input sources are highly modified, pointing to the geochemical significance of physical-chemical partitioning between seawater phases, incorporation into organisms and fecal material and biological/chemical degradation.