Element mobility during continental collision: insights from polymineralic metamorphic vein within UHP eclogite in the Dabie orogen

Metamorphic dehydration and partial melting are two important processes during continental collision. They have significant bearing on element transport at the slab interface under subduction‐zone P–T conditions. Petrological and geochemical insights into the two processes are provided by a comprehensive study of leucocratic veins in ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks. This is exemplified by this study of a polymineralic vein within phengite‐bearing UHP eclogite in the Dabie orogen. The vein is primarily composed of quartz, kyanite, epidote and phengite, with minor accessory minerals such as garnet, rutile and zircon. Primary multiphase solid inclusions occur in garnet and epidote from the both vein and host eclogite. They are composed of quartz ± K‐feldspar ± plagioclase ± K‐bearing glass and exhibit irregular to negative crystal shapes that are surrounded by weak radial cracks. This suggests their precipitation from solute‐rich metamorphic fluid/melt that involved the reaction of phengite breakdown. Zircon U–Pb dating for the vein gave two groups of concordant ages at 217 ± 2 and 210 ± 2 Ma, indicating two episodes of zircon growth in the Late Triassic. The same minerals from the two rocks give consistent δ¹⁸O and δD values, suggesting that the vein‐forming fluid was directly derived from the host UHP eclogite. The vein is much richer in phengite and epidote than the host eclogite, suggesting that the fluid is associated with remarkable concentration of such water‐soluble elements as LILE and LREE migration. Garnet and rutile in the vein exhibit much higher contents of HREE (2.2–5.7 times) and Nb–Ta (1.8–2.0 times) than those in the eclogite, indicating that these normally water‐insoluble elements became mobile and then were sunken in the vein minerals. Thus, the vein‐forming agent would be primarily composed of the UHP aqueous fluid with minor amounts of the hydrous melt, which may even become a supercritical fluid to have a capacity to transport not only LILE and LREE but also HREE and HFSE at subduction‐zone metamorphic conditions. Taken together, significant amounts of trace elements were transported by the vein‐forming fluid due to the phengite breakdown inside the UHP eclogite during exhumation of the deeply subducted continental crust.     

Response of seismically isolated structures to rocking‐type excitations

In this paper, the origin of rocking‐type excitations and their effects on the response of base isolated structures are studied. In particular, the role of kinematic interaction in the determination of the rocking excitation is highlighted. The cases of surface foundations subjected to horizontally propagating waves, as well as of embedded foundations under vertically incident shear waves are examined. The validity of the kinematic interaction based on the rigid base mat assumption is discussed. It is shown that, in the case of classical horizontal isolation, rocking input may amplify significantly the response of the lower non‐isolated modes. The examination of full three‐dimensional isolation and active and semi‐active control methods demonstrates the efficacy of these methods to improve the performance of seismically isolated structures subjected to rocking excitations. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The control of maturity and kerogen type on quantitative analytical pyrolysis data

Quantitative pyrolysis-gas chromatography has been performed on 96 kerogen samples isolated from 17 wells on the Norwegian Continental shelf. Petrographic and bulk geochemical measurements were also performed on the samples, and a combined data set of 117 variables for each sample was analysed using principal components analysis (PCA). This approach provides an objective and reproducible means of kerogen characterisation, which can be easily automated. In addition to objective kerogen characterisation and facile visualisation of facies and maturity related chemical trends, the method has the potential to allow objective prediction of key geochemical parameters such as maturity level from pyrogram data.     

花垣县李梅地区早寒武世清虚洞期碳酸盐岩中的风暴沉积

扬子地台东南缘的花垣李梅地区,早寒武世晚期清虚洞组钙质风暴岩分布广泛,表现为层数众多,剖面类型丰富,识别标志清楚,颇具特色。风暴作用强度和侵蚀力按地层层序自下而上有由弱到强的规律性变化,与本区清虚洞期陆棚浅滩化演变过程相对应。早寒武世晚期的风暴事件与本区岩相、岩性的分布,均有密切联系。     

西藏羊八井地热田水热蚀变

本文对羊八井地热田钻扎ZK-201、ZK-301和ZK-308的岩心进行了较系统的蚀变矿物学、岩石学和流体包体研究。划分出6个蚀变矿物共生组合及蚀变分带,讨论了蚀变过程中岩石化学变化的特点,并推测了蚀变的温度和酸碱度条件。研究表明,热田曾处于极度的活动状态,最高温度达220-240℃,由于冷水的入侵,热田在目前钻探所及范围已冷却了50-70℃。蚀变矿物分布模式表明,目前热田流体主通道位于北部,热田进一步的开发应以寻找北部深部高温流体为主。     

西秦岭北缘断裂带地震活动特征及近期发展趋势

本文讨论了西秦岭北缘断裂带在青藏高原东北部三次地震活动高潮幕和两次地震活动低潮幕中的作用和特点,以及地震活动的时空强特征和近期发展趋势。     

Active tectonics of the Himalaya

The Himalayan mountains are a product of the collision between India and Eurasia which began in the Eocene. In the early stage of continental collision the development of a suture zone between two colliding plates took place. The continued convergence is accommodated along the suture zone and in the back-arc region. Further convergence results in intracrustal megathrust within the leading edge of the advancing Indian plate. In the Himalaya this stage is characterized by the intense uplift of the High Himalaya, the development of the Tibetan Plateau and the breaking-up of the central and eastern Asian continent. Although numerous models for the evolution of the Himalaya have been proposed, the available geological and geophysical data are consistent with an underthrusting model in which the Indian continental lithosphere underthrusts beneath the Himalaya and southern Tibet. Reflection profiles across the entire Himalaya and Tibet are needed to prove the existence of such underthrusting. Geodetic surveys across the High Himalaya are needed to determine the present state of the MCT as well as the rate of uplift and shortening within the Himalaya. Paleoseismicity studies are necessary to resolve the temporal and spatial patterns of major earthquake faulting along the segmented Himalayan mountains.     

Structure and subduction processes along the Oregon-Washington margin

Seismic reflection and refraction data off Washington and Oregon are used to determine the style of sediment deformation and to infer the physical properties of accreted sediments on the lower slope. Onshore-offshore seismic refraction data off Washington are used to determine the location of the trench, or where the plate bending starts.We find that off Washington the subduction zone is characterized by a trench whose physiographic expression is buried under several kilometers of sediments and is tens of kilometers landward of the lower slope, which is accreting seaward as the result of the offscraping of sediments.Seismic reflection data support previous observations that offscraping occurs along seaward and landward dipping thrust faults. Refraction data indicate that a sediment package thrust up along a seaward dipping fault (off Washington) was not measurably changed in velocity with respect to a Cascadia basin section. However a package uplifted by thrusting along a landward dipping fault (off Oregon) did have increased velocity. It is suggested that the increased velocities off Oregon could be the result of erosion and exposure of more deeply buried and compacted sediments, rather than the result of dewatering due to tectonic stress. Off Washington the sensitivity of velocity to porosity and resolution of the seismic method does not preclude dewatering due to tectonic stress, but it does limit the degree of dewatering.In the deeper parts of the lower slope section off Washington and Oregon velocities as high as 3 to 4 km/sec are found. Heat flow data indicate that the temperatures in this high velocity regime are greater than 100°C. It is hypothesized that lithification related to clay diagenesis may be partly responsible for the high velocities, rather than simply compaction. It also appears that the high velocity sediments are subducted while the unlithified low velocity sediments are offscraped.     

云南腾冲山寨盆地水下冲积扇特征及对砂锡的控矿作用

水下冲积扇是山间谷地被堵截堰塞,山麓堆积进入水盆地的一种特殊“相”,以重力流堆积为主体,间夹湖沼和上迭河流沉积。熔岩流多次堵塞增高,堰塞坝的侵蚀和盆地的沉积充填,这三种因素综合作用的结果,形成了具有一定厚度的不同沉积类型组合。各类沉积因其搬运分选机制不同而形成不同的聚锡能力,决定了对砂锡的控矿作用。     

怀安蔓菁沟早前寒武纪高压麻粒岩混杂岩带地质特征、岩石学和同位素年代学

华北克拉通北缘中段怀安蔓菁沟高压麻粒岩混杂岩带产在太古宙怀安杂岩南缘与花岗岩带交界处,由高压基性麻粒岩、辉长质麻粒岩、英云闪长质麻粒岩和少量夕线石榴片麻岩相间排列的席状岩层构成,岩层间被高应变带或剪切带分隔。高压基性麻粒岩是石榴辉石麻粒岩。据石榴石斑晶内包裹的早期矿物(Cpx+Q)估算的早期高压变质作用条件:T=800℃,P>1.4GPa。环绕斑晶的后成合晶反应边矿物组合(P1+Opx+Hb+Cpx)的变质条件为:T=820℃,P为0.7～0.9GPa。全岩Sm-Nd等时线年龄2.65Ga,矿物Sm-Nd等时线年龄1.82Ga,锆石U-Pb一致线年龄1.83Ga。高压基性麻粒岩的原岩代表晚太古代陆壳的最下部,大约在2.7Ga从上地幔分异出来,可能经壳下垫托作用加在早期陆壳底部,随后经历高压变质作用。早元古代晚期,由于地壳规模的大型逆冲作用,使其上升,并经受褶皱形变、剪切推覆和退变质等作用的改造,形成高压麻粒岩混杂岩带。