Tectonic histories between Alba Patera and Syria Planum, Mars

Syria Planum and Alba Patera are two of the most prominent features of magmatic-driven activity identified for the Tharsis region and perhaps for all of Mars. In this study, we have performed a Geographic Information System-based comparative investigation of their tectonic histories using published geologic map information and Mars Orbiter Laser Altimetry (MOLA) data. Our primary objective is to assess their evolutional histories by focusing on their extent of deformation in space and time through stratigraphic, paleotectonic, topographic, and geomorphologic analyses. Though there are similarities among the two prominent features, there are several distinct differences, including timing deformational extent, and tectonic intensity of formation. Whereas Alba Patera displays a major pulse of activity during the Late Hesperian/Early Amazonian, Syria Planum is a long-lived center that displays a more uniform distribution of simple graben densities ranging from the Noachian to the Amazonian, many of which occur at greater distances away from the primary center of activity. The histories of the two features presented here are representative of the complex, long-lived evolutional history of Tharsis.     

北部湾涠洲岛橄榄岩中熔体包裹体——大陆岩石圈地幔交代作用的新证据

根据北部湾涠洲岛晚更新世火山岩中尖晶石二辉橄榄岩的矿物化学和形成条件推测,它们是来自地下约40km-50km的大陆岩石圈地幔样品。涠洲岛地幔橄榄岩中同时出现高硅（64％～68％）和低硅（49％～57％）两种熔体成分,它们普遍富碱、Al2O3和H2O、CO2等挥发组分（2％-5％）。研究认为,两种熔体存在不同的成因机制。高硅熔体可能与软流圈上升的玄武质岩浆和斜方辉石反应或下地壳物质循环进入地幔后的部分熔融有关。低硅熔体直接提供了富硅熔体与橄榄石发生交代作用的证据。这可以用富SiO2熔体＋Ol→贫SiO2熔体＋Opx反应解释,其结果是消耗橄榄石生成斜方辉石。涠洲岛橄榄岩中两种熔体的发现,进一步提供了发生在大陆岩石圈地幔流（熔）体与橄榄岩交代作用的普遍性、复杂性,以及地幔熔体多样性的新证据。     

大陆亚碱性火山岩的成因多样性：以敦化—密山和东宁火山岩带为例

对东北牡丹江海浪、鸡西鸡林、东宁老黑山三处亚碱性玄武岩类进行了柏A卜”Ar定年和元素与Sr-Nd-Pb同位素组成研究,结果显示,始新世海浪（玄武）安山岩属钙碱性系列,相对富硅碱,贫铁钙,高度富集Rb、Ba、Sr,亏损Th、U、Nb、Ta,富集LREE及极低的HREE含量,与五大连池钾质火山岩相近的同位素组成（^206Pb／^204Pb=16．56～16．66,^207Pb／^204Pb=15．44—15．47,^208Pb／^204Pb=36．80—36．95;ISr=0．704882～0．705564;εNd=-4．05～2．29）,表明来源于较厚的、受交代作用影响的含石榴石富集（LoMu）岩石圈地幔;中中新世鸡林拉斑玄武岩分布极为局限,辉石斑晶发育骸晶结构,富铁、钙、钛,不亏损Nb、Ta,富集Ba、Sr,REE相对平坦,HREE高于OIB,Sr、Nd同位素组成相似于Samoa岛玄武岩,显示源区除软流圈成分外,还有EMII富集组分的加入;晚中新世老黑山拉斑玄武岩,低碱低钾,LREE轻度富集,Nb、Ta不明显亏损,同位素比值与镜泊湖一带中新世碱性玄武岩范围一致,主要来源于软流圈并与富集岩石圈（EMI）发生过相互作用。地幔源区经历了古近纪富集地幔源到中新世软流圈组分增多的演化。东北新生代拉斑玄武岩不同的地球化学特征为认识大陆拉斑玄武岩成因的多样性提供了有益启示。     

南海新生代碱性玄武岩中橄榄石的矿物化学及南海的地幔潜在温度

南海新生代玄武岩中橄榄石斑晶颗粒相对较小(0.2～0.6mm),自形-半自形,有熔蚀现象,不具橄榄石捕虏晶所特有环状裂隙、变形结构。基质中橄榄石微晶粒径0.01～0.05mm,多数已完全伊丁石化。早期结晶出来的橄榄石并未受到重力分异的影响,而被寄主岩浆携带继续向地表运移,在此上升过程中与寄主岩浆发生了有限的相互作用,少数橄榄石颗粒保留有弱成分分带现象。利用呈弱成分分带现象的橄榄石斑晶的核、幔部的Fo组分与寄主岩浆的X_(Fe)值对南海底潜在地幔温度进行了估算,结果表明南海的潜在地幔温度平均值为1661℃,位于典型热点的地区夏威夷(1688℃)和冰岛(1637℃)之间,南海的潜在地幔温度与正常洋中脊地幔潜在温度之间的差值(186℃～208℃)也位于夏威夷(213℃～235℃)和冰岛地区(162℃～184℃)之间,表明南海地区下的地幔可能存在热量异常,支持了根据地球物理学和岩石地球化学的信息所提出的南海地区存在地幔柱的观点。     

Multi-stage melt–rock interaction in the Mt. Maggiore (Corsica, France) ophiolitic peridotites: microstructural and geochemical evidence

Spinel and plagioclase peridotites from the Mt.Maggiore (Corsica, France) ophiolitic massif record a composite asthenosphere–lithosphere history of partial melting and subsequent multi-stage melt–rock interaction. Cpx-poor spinel lherzolites are consistent with mantle residues after low-degree fractional melting (F = 5–10%). Opx + spinel symplectites at the rims of orthopyroxene porphyroclasts indicate post-melting lithospheric cooling (T = 970–1,100°C); this was followed by formation of olivine embayments within pyroxene porphyroclasts by melt–rock interaction. Enrichment in modal olivine (up to 85 wt%) at constant bulk Mg values, and variable absolute REE contents (at constant LREE/HREE) indicate olivine precipitation and pyroxene dissolution during reactive porous melt flow. This stage occurred at spinel-facies depths, after incorporation of the peridotites in the thermal lithosphere. Plagioclase-enriched peridotites show melt impregnation microtextures, like opx + plag intergrowths replacing exsolved cpx porphyroclasts and interstitial gabbronoritic veinlets. This second melt–rock interaction stage caused systematic chemical changes in clinopyroxene (e.g. Ti, REE, Zr, Y increase), related to the concomitant effects of local melt–rock interaction at decreasing melt mass, and crystallization of small (<3%) trapped melt fractions. LREE depletion in minerals of the gabbronoritic veinlets indicates that the impregnating melts were more depleted than normal MORB. Preserved microtextural evidence of previous melt–rock interaction in the impregnated peridotites suggests that they were progressively uplifted in response to lithosphere extension and thinning. Migrating melts were likely produced by mantle upwelling and melting related to extension; they were modified from olivine-saturated to opx-saturated compositions, and caused different styles of melt–rock interaction (reactive spinel harzburgites, vs. impregnated plagioclase peridotites) depending on the lithospheric depths at which interaction occurred. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Mantle petrology and mineralogy of the Thetford Mines Ophiolite Complex

The Ordovician Thetford Mines ophiolite complex (TMOC) formed by boninite-fed seafloor-spreading, probably in a fore-arc environment. The mantle section is dominated by foliated harzburgite (≤ 5–6% clinopyroxene), cut by dunitic (± chromitite cores) and orthopyroxenitic veins and dykes. Contrasting structures, textures and mineral compositions allow us to subdivide the mantle. The granular-textured rocks of the Duck Lake Block (DLB) have two steeply-dipping foliations. The older foliation strikes NW, is sub-perpendicular to the Moho, and is interpreted to have resulted from upflow of the asthenosphere beneath the spreading ridge. This fabric is overprinted by a 2nd ductile foliation striking ENE, oriented sub-parallel to the Moho, which we interpreted as having formed by crust–mantle shear as the lithosphere migrated away from the spreading ridge. The DLB mantle has a limited range of spinel Cr# (100Cr / (Cr + Al) = 51–71). Comparison with experimentally determined residual spinel compositions (equilibrium melting) implies a maximum loss of 27–38% melt if the protolith had a fertile MORB mantle composition. However, interstitial-textured clinopyroxene may have high TiO₂ (< 0.04wt.%) and Na₂O (< 0.27wt.%), and some interstitial spinel has higher TiO₂ (< 0.09wt.%), suggesting interaction with (or crystallization from) an “impregnating” melt. Interstitial tremolitic amphibole also indicates the passage of late hydrous fluids. The harzburgite in the Caribou Mountain Block (CMB) has a porphyroclastic texture, with a strong, locally mylonitic foliation striking roughly N–S, parallel to the orientation of seafloor-spreading related paleo-normal faults in the crust. These fabrics and textures imply a colder, lithospheric deformation, possibly related to tectonic denudation (oceanic core complex). This would explain problematic lava/mantle contacts, favour infiltration of seawater, serpentinization, and reduced fO₂ conditions. The CMB mantle shows a wider range of mineral compositions than the DLB, with spinel Cr# (28–86) implying ≤ 15–45% of equilibrium melting. Locally higher TiO₂ in spinel (< 0.05wt.%) and clinopyroxene (< 0.11wt.%), a local rimward decrease in spinel Cr#, clinopyroxene Cr#, and olivine Fo-content, and traces of interstitial amphibole, are attributed to the circulation of an evolved hydrous melt during peridotite deformation. This suggests that the lower limit to the extent of melting inferred for the CMB (15%), established on the basis of Al-rich spinel rims and neoblasts, is probably too low. On the other hand, the higher inferred degree of depletion of the CMB is probably unaffected by the metasomatic overprint and is a more robust conclusion.     

Crustal accretion and dynamic feedback on mantle melting of a ridge centred plume: The Iceland case

A major consequence of the interaction of a plume with an oceanic ridge is the enhanced melt production and associated crust generation. In the case of Iceland crustal thickness as large as 20 to 40 km has been reported. Crustal seismic velocities are high, and have to be explained by thermal or chemical effects. In the first part of the paper we address the question whether extraction of melt out of the plume beneath a slowly spreading ridge and deposition of extracted basalt volumes at the surface produces a dynamic feedback mechanism on mantle melting. To study this question we solve the convection equations for a ridge centred plume with non-Newtonian rheology including melting, melt extraction associated with deposition of cold crust at the surface of the model, and using a simplified approach for compaction. The assumption of cold crust is justified if the thickness of each deposited basaltic layer is less than roughly 1 km. Depending on the buoyancy flux of the plume, crustal thicknesses between 10 and 40 km are modelled, showing characteristic dipping structures resembling the rift-ward dipping basaltic layers of East- and Western Iceland. Comparing the resulting crustal thickness and magma generation rate with models in which the dynamic effect of crust deposition has been suppressed indicates, that melt generation beneath a slowly spreading ridge is considerably damped by the dynamic feedback mechanism if the plume buoyancy flux exceeds 400 to 600 kg/s. Based on the observed crustal thickness of Iceland our models predict a plume buoyancy flux of 1140 kg/s.In the second part we study the accretion of the Icelandic crust by a thermo-mechanical model in more detail based on the Navier–Stokes-, the heat transport and the mass conservation equations including volumetric sources. Hot (1200 °C) molten crustal material is injected into the newly forming crust with a constant rate at different crustal source regions: a) deep, widespread emplacement of dykes and sills including crustal underplating, b) magma chambers at shallow to mid-crustal level, and c) surface extrusions and intrusions in fissure swarms at shallow depth connected to volcanic centres. We identify the material from the different source regions by a marker approach. Varying the relative dominance of these source regions, characteristic crustal structures evolve, showing shallow dipping upper crustal layers with dip angles between 10 and 15°. The thermal structure of the crust varies between cold crust (shallow-source region dominating) and hot crust (deep-source region dominating). We use observations of maximum depth of seismicity to constrain the depth of the 650 °C isotherm and seismological inferences on the lower crust to constrain temperatures in that region. The best agreement with our models is achieved for crust formation dominated by deep dykes and underplating with a considerable influence of magma chamber accretion.     

Seismicity, gravity anomalies and lithospheric structure of the Andaman arc, NE Indian Ocean

The Andaman arc in the northeastern Indian Ocean defines nearly 1100 km long active plate margin between the India and Burma plates where an oblique Benioff zone develops down to 200 km depth. Several east-trending seismologic sections taken across the Andaman Benioff Zone (ABZ) are presented here to detail the subduction zone geometry in a 3-D perspective. The slab gravity anomaly, computed from the 3-D ABZ configuration, is a smooth, long-wavelength and symmetric gravity high of 85 mGal amplitude centering to the immediate east of the Nicobar Island, where, a prominent gravity “high” follows the Nicobar Deep. The Slab-Residual Gravity Anomaly (SRGA) and Mantle Bouguer Anomaly (MBA) maps prepared for the Andaman plate margin bring out a double-peaked SRGA “low” in the range of − 150 to − 240 mGal and a wider-cum-larger MBA “low” having the amplitude of − 280 to − 315 mGal demarcating the Andaman arc–trench system. The gravity models provide evidences for structural control in propagating the rupture within the lithosphere. The plate margin configuration below the Andaman arc is sliced by the West Andaman Fault (WAF) as well as by a set of sympathetic faults of various proportions, often cutting across the fore-arc sediment package. Some of these fore-arc thrust faults clearly give rise to considerably high post-seismic activity, but the seismic incidence along the WAF further east is comparatively much less particularly in the north, although, the lack of depth resolution for many of the events prohibits tracing the downward continuity of these faults. Tectonic correlation of the gravity-derived models presented here tends to favour the presence of oceanic crust below the Andaman–Nicobar Outer Arc Ridge.     

Deformation mechanisms in a continental rift up to mantle exhumation. Field evidence from the western Betics,Spain

The identification of the structures and deformation patterns in magma-poor continental rifted margins is essential to characterize the processes of continental lithosphere necking. Brittle faults, often termed mantle detachments, are believed to play an essential role in the rifting processes that lead to mantle exhumation. However, ductile shear zones in the deep crust and mantle are rarely identified and their mechanical role remains to be established. The western Betics (Southern Spain) provide an exceptional exposure of a strongly thinned continental lithosphere, formed in a supra-subduction setting during Oligocene-Lower Miocene. A full section of the entire crust and the upper part of the mantle is investigated. Variations in crustal thickness are used to quantify crustal stretching that may reach values larger than 2000% where the ductile crust almost disappears, defining a stage of hyper-stretching. Opposite senses of shear top-to-W and top-to-E are observed in two extensional shear zones located close to the crust-mantle boundary and along the brittle-ductile transition in the crust, respectively. Where the ductile crust almost disappears, concordant top-to-E-NE senses of shear are observed in both upper crust and serpentinized mantle. Late high-angle normal faults with ages of ca. 21 Ma or older (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar on white mica) crosscut the previously hyper-stretched domain, involving both crust and mantle in tilted blocks. The western Betics exemplify, probably better than any previous field example, the changes in deformation processes that accommodate the progressive necking of a continental lithosphere. Three successive steps can be identified: i/a mid-crustal shear zone and a crust-mantle shear zone, acting synchronously but with opposite senses of shear, accommodate ductile crust thinning and ascent of subcontinental mantle; ii/hyper-stretching localizes in the neck, leading to an almost disappearance of the ductile crust and bringing the upper crust in contact with the subcontinental mantle, each of them with their already acquired opposite senses of shear; and iii/high-angle normal faulting, cutting through the Moho, with related block tilting, ends the full exhumation of the mantle in the zone of localized stretching. The presence of a high strength sub-Moho mantle is responsible for the change in sense of shear with depth. Whereas mantle exhumation in the western Betics occurred in a backarc setting, this deformation pattern controlled by a high-strength layer at the top of the lithosphere mantle makes it directly comparable to most passive margins whose formation lead to mantle exhumation. This unique field analogue has therefore a strong potential for the seismic interpretation of the so-called “hyper-extended margins”.