Metallogenic age and hydrothermal evolution of the Jidetun Mo deposit in central Jilin Province,northeast China: Evidence from fluid inclusions,isotope systematics,and geochronology

The Jidetun deposit is a large porphyry Mo deposit that is located in central Jilin Province, northeast China. The Mo mineralization occurs mainly at the edge of porphyritic granodiorite, as well as the adjacent monzogranite. Field investigations, cross-cutting relationships, and mineral paragenetic associations indicate four stages of hydrothermal activity. To determine the relationships between mineralization and associated magmatism, and better understand the metallogenic processes in ore district, we have undertaken a series of studies incluiding molybdenite Re–Os and zircon U–Pb geochronology, fluid inclusions microthermometry, and C–H–O–S–Pb isotope compositions. The molybdenite Re–Os dating yielded a well-defined isochron age of 168.9 ± 1.9 Ma (MSWD = 0.34) that is similar to the weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 173.5 ± 1.5 Ma (MSWD = 1.8) obtained from zircons from the porphyritic granodiorite. The results lead to the conclusion that Mo mineralization, occurred in the Middle Jurassic (168.9 ± 1.9 Ma), was spatially, temporally, and genetically related to the porphyritic granodiorite (173.5 ± 1.5 Ma) rather than the older monzogranite (180.1 ± 0.6 Ma). Fluid inclusion and stable (C–H–O) isotope data indicate that the initial H₂O–NaCl fluids of mineralization stage I were of high-temperature and high-salinity affinity and exsolved from the granodiorite magma as a result of cooling and fractional crystallization. The fluids then evolved during mineralization stage II into immiscible H₂O–CO₂–NaCl fluids that facilitated the transport of metals (Mo, Cu, and Fe) and their separation from the ore-bearing magmas due to the influx of abundant external CO₂ and heated meteoric water. Subsequently, during mineralization stage III and IV, increase of pH in residual ore-forming fluids on account of CO₂ escape, and continuous decrease of ore-forming temperatures caused by the large accession of the meteoric water into the fluid system, reduced solubility and stability of metal clathrates, thus facilitating the deposition of polymetallic sulfides.     

Dating of Late Pleistocene terrace deposits of the River Rhine using Uranium series and luminescence methods: Potential and limitations

Uranium-series dating of pedogenic carbonate crusts from fluvial gravels is tested using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) ages as references. OSL dating yielded ages of 30–15 ka and 13–11 ka, which correlate with the cold periods of the Last Glacial Maximum and the Younger Dryas. These ages are internally coherent and consistent with the geological background and are thus regarded as reliable. Most of the U/Th results scatter widely in the ²³⁰Th/²³²Th vs. ²³⁴U/²³²Th isochron diagram, making regression unrealistic. Semiquantitative age estimates from the data were found to be mostly older than the OSL ages and the geological context. It is suggested that a heterogeneous initial ²³⁰Th input, not relatable to a detrital component, is responsible for the observed discrepancies. This input may be due to bacterial activities and Th transport on organic colloids. It appears necessary to avoid samples where bacteria could have contributed to carbonate precipitation. Further, the relative importance of this problem decreases with sample age, so that U/Th dating of sinters is expected to be more reliable in the >100 ka age range.     

Accretion and exhumation at a Variscan active margin, recorded in the Saxothuringian flysch

The Saxothuringian flysch basin, on the north flank of the Central European Variscides, was fed and eventually overthrust by the northwestern, active margin of the Tepla-Barrandian terrane. Clast spectra, mineral composition and isotopic ages of detrital mica and zircon have been analyzed in order to constrain accretion and exhumation of rocks in the orogenic wedge. The earliest clastic sediments preserved are of early Famennian age (ca. 370?Ma). They are exposed immediately to the NW of the suture, and belong to the par-autochthon of the foreland. Besides ultramafic (?ophiolite) material, these rocks contain clasts derived from Early Paleozoic continental slope sediments, originally deposited at the NW margin of the Saxothuringian basin. These findings, together with the paleogeographic position of the Famennian clastics debris on the northwestern passive margin, indicate that the Saxothuringian narrow ocean had been closed by that time. Microprobe analyses of detrital hornblendes suggest derivation from the “Randamphibolit” unit, now present in the middle part of the Saxothuringian allochthon (Münchberg nappes). Detrital zircons of metamorphic rocks formed a little earlier (ca. 380?Ma) indicate rapid recycling at the tectonic front. The middle part of the flysch sequence (ca. early to middle Viséan), both in the par-autochthon and in the allochthon, contains abundant clasts of Paleozoic rocks derived from the northwestern slope and rise, together with debris of Cadomian basement, 500-Ma granitoids and 380?Ma (early Variscan) crystalline rocks. All of these source rocks were still available in the youngest part of the flysch (c. middle to late Viséan), but some clasts record, in addition, accretion of the northwestern shelf. Our findings permit deduction of minimum rates of tectonic shortening well in excess of 10–30?mm per year, and rates of exhumation of ca. 3?mm/a, and possibly more.     

川西石棉地区田湾与扁路岗岩体的锆石U-Pb定年

对扬子板块西缘石棉地区田湾闪长岩体与扁路岗花岗岩体开展了精细的单颗粒锆石Ｕ－Ｐｂ年代学研究。测试结果表明,田湾岩体中锆石的结晶年龄为８２３Ｍａ±１２Ｍａ,扁路岗岩体中锆石的结晶年龄为８７６Ｍａ±４０Ｍａ,表明石棉地区与扬子板块西缘其他地区一样,晋宁期岩浆活动也是相当强烈的。     

Radiolarian biostratigraphy in the Southern Bering Sea since Pliocene

Detailed radiolarian biostratigraphy in the Plio-Pleistocene was analyzed by using samples from IODP Site U1340 that was drilled to a core depth of 604 m in the southern Bering Sea. A total of 227 species belonging to 102 genera were identified. Based on the distributions of the radiolarian index species at Site U1340, five radiolarian zones since the Pliocene were established in the southern Bering Sea for the first time, and 25 radiolarian bioevents were recognized. Their ages were estimated on the basis of the age-depth plot that was constructed by the synthetical datum of the effective biostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic events. The radiolarian zones at Site U1340 were systematically compared with those in its adjacent regions since the late Early Pliocene, which further improved and interpreted the biostratigraphic datum as well as their correlations in the middle-high latitude of the North Pacific. In addition, the comparative results of radiolarian zones show that Botryostrobus aquilonaris Zone emended in this paper is equivalent to the upper part of the same zone defined by Hays, 1970, and Druppatractus irregularis-Dorydruppa bensoni Zone as well as Spongodiscus sp. Zone, newly proposed in this paper, are well correlated with Cycladophora sakaii Zone and Stylatractus universus Zone in the subarctic North Pacific, respectively.     

Glacial isostatic adjustment in 3-D earth models: Implications for the analysis of tide gauge records along the U.S. east coast

Tide gauge records of recent sea-level change along the U.S. east coast have received significant attention within the literature of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). Geographic trends in these tide gauge rates are not reduced by a GIA correction based on a commonly adopted radial viscosity profile (characterized, in particular, by a lower mantle viscosity 1−2×10²¹ Pa s), and this has led to speculation that the residual trends reflect contributions from neotectonics or oceanographic processes. While the trends can be significantly reduced by adopting an Earth model with a stiffer lower mantle, such a model appears to be incompatible with independent constraints from post-glacial decay times in Hudson Bay. We use a finite-element model of the GIA process to investigate whether 3-D viscosity variations superimposed onto the “common” radial viscosity profile may provide a route to reconciling the east coast sea-level trends. We find that the specific 3-D structure we impose has little impact on the geographic trends in the GIA-corrected rates. However, we do find that the imposed lateral variations in lower mantle viscosity introduce a nearly uniform upward shift of 0.5 mm/yr in GIA-induced sea-level rates along the U.S. east coast. Thus, inferences of regional (U.S. east coast) sea-level rise due to modern melting of ice reservoirs, based on tide gauge rates corrected using 1-D GIA models, may be significantly biased by this simplifying assumption.     

Geochronology,geochemistry, and mineralization of the granodiorite porphyry hosting the Matou Cu–Mo (±W) deposit,Lower Yangtze River metallogenic belt,eastern China

Porphyry and skarn Cu–Fe–Au–Mo deposits are widespread in the Middle and Lower Yangtze River metallogenic belt (MLYMB), eastern China. The Matou deposit has long been regarded as a typical Cu–Mo porphyry deposit within Lower Yangtze part of the belt. Recently, we identified scheelite and wolframite in quartz veins in the Matou deposit, which is uncommon in other porphyry and skarn deposits in the MLYMB. We carried out detailed zircon U–Pb dating and geochemical and Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic studies of the granodiorite porphyry at Matou to define any differences from other ore-related granitoids. The porphyry shows a SiO₂ content ranging from 61.85 wt.% to 65.74 wt.%, K₂O from 1.99 wt.% to 3.74 wt.%, and MgO from 1.74 wt.% to 2.19 wt.% (Mg^# value ranging from 45 to 55). It is enriched in light rare earth elements and large ion lithophile elements, but relatively depleted in Nb, Ta, Y, Yb and compatible trace elements (such as Cr, Ni, and V), with slight negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu^* = 0.88–0.98) and almost no negative Sr anomalies. Results of electron microprobe analysis of rock-forming silicate minerals indicate that the Matou porphyry has been altered by an oxidized fluid that is rich in Mg, Cl, and K. The samples show relatively low ε_Nd(t) values from −7.4 to −7.1, slightly high initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values from 0.708223 to 0.709088, and low ε_Hf(t) values of zircon from −9.0 to −6.5, when compared with the other Cu–Mo porphyry deposits in the MLYMB. Zircon U–Pb dating suggests the Matou granodiorite porphyry was emplaced at 139.5 ± 1.5 Ma (MSWD = 1.8, n = 15), which is within the age range of the other porphyries in the MLYMB. Although geochemical characteristics of the Matou and other porphyries in the MLYMB are similar and all adakitic, the detrital zircons in the samples from Matou suggest that Archean lower crust (2543 ± 29 Ma, MSWD = 0.25, n = 5) was involved with the generation of Matou magma, which is different from the other porphyries in the belt. Our study suggests that the Matou granodiorite porphyry originated from partial melting of thickened lower crust that was delaminated into the mantle, similar to the other porphyries in the MLYMB, but it has a higher proportion of lower crustal material, including Archean rocks, which contributed to the formation of the porphyry and related W-rich magmatic-hydrothermal system.     

Petrology,geochemistry and geochronology of the magmatic suite from the Jianzha Complex,central China: Petrogenesis and geodynamic implications

The intermediate–mafic–ultramafic rocks in the Jianzha Complex (JZC) at the northern margin of the West Qinling Orogenic Belt have been interpreted to be a part of an ophiolite suite. In this study, we present new geochronological, petrological, geochemical and Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic data and provide a different interpretation. The JZC is composed of dunite, wehrlite, olivine clinopyroxenite, olivine gabbro, gabbro, and pyroxene diorite. The suite shows characteristics of Alaskan-type complexes, including (1) the low CaO concentrations in olivine; (2) evidence of crystal accumulation; (3) high calcic composition of clinopyroxene; and (4) negative correlation between FeO^tot and Cr₂O₃ of spinels. Hornblende and phlogopite are ubiquitous in the wehrlites, but minor orthopyroxene is also present. Hornblende and biotite are abundant late crystallized phases in the gabbros and diorites. The two pyroxene-bearing diorite samples from JZC yield zircon U–Pb ages of 245.7 ± 1.3 Ma and 241.8 ± 1.3 Ma. The mafic and ultramafic rocks display slightly enriched LREE patterns. The wehrlites display moderate to weak negative Eu anomalies (0.74–0.94), whereas the olivine gabbros and gabbros have pronounced positive Eu anomalies. Diorites show slight LREE enrichment, with (La/Yb)_N ratios ranging from 4.42 to 7.79, and moderate to weak negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu¹ = 0.64–0.86). The mafic and ultramafic rocks from this suite are characterized by negative Nb–Ta–Zr anomalies as well as positive Pb anomalies. Diorites show pronounced negative Ba, Nb–Ta and Ti spikes, and typical Th–U, K and Pb peaks. Combined with petrographic observations and chemical variations, we suggest that the magmatism was dominantly controlled by fractional crystallization and crystal accumulation, with limited crustal contamination. The arc-affinity signature and weekly negative to moderately positive ε_Nd(t) values (−2.3 to 1.2) suggest that these rocks may have been generated by partial melting of the juvenile sub-continental lithospheric mantle that was metasomatized previously by slab-derived fluids. The lithologies in the JZC are related in space and time and originated from a common parental magma. Geochemical modeling suggests that their primitive parental magma had a basaltic composition. The ultramafic rocks were generated through olivine accumulation, and variable degrees of fractional crystallization with minor crustal contamination produced the diorites. The data presented here suggest that the subduction in West Qinling did not cease before the early stage of the Middle Triassic (∼242 Ma), a back-arc developed in the northern part of West Qinling during this period, and the JZC formed within the incipient back-arc.