Tectonic and geochemical characteristics and reserved conditions of a mantle source gas accumulation zone in eastern China

Along both sides of the Tancheng-Lujiang Fracture Zone in eastern China, a series of mantle source gas pools constitute a massive-scale tectonic accumulation zone in NNE direction, with the mantle geochemical characteristics of high concentrations of C0₂ and He, high³He/⁴He-⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratio system and high δ¹³Coo₂ ratios (the main frequency, -3.4%— 4.6%), showing no difference from the tectonic framework of the area. In the area, the tectonic environment is a rift formed as a result of diapiric mantle injection and crust thinning to form graben-type basins and lithospheric fractures. The mantle-derived volcanic rocks and inclusions are well-developed and a high geothermal zone (mantlesource) exists in the area. The characteristics of the three components (solid, liquid and gas) of mantle, concentrated all over the same tectonic space zone, show that the rift system is of a good tectonic environment or passage for mantle degassing and gas migration. The main types of the gas pools are volcano, fault-block, anticline, buried hill and so on, but most of them are combination traps closely related with fracture. For the mantle source gas pools, rift is an optimum tectonic region, and nearby lithospheric fracture, mantle source volcanic rocks or basement uplifts are a favourable structural location when reservoir-caprock association develops.     

Petrology of a new basalt occurrence in Hungary

Summary A new occurrence of basalt (minimum K/Ar age 57.9 ± 2.2 m.y.) is reported from Budaliget, near Budapest. Major and minor element concentrations show that the basalts are alkaline and potassic in nature ranging from olivine tholeiite to moderately undersaturated basanite. High mg-values and concentrations of Ni and Cr indicate that some of the samples may represent primary compositions. High pressure accidental xenoliths, xenocrysts and cognate megacrysts are frequent and the chemical zoning patterns of olivine and pyroxene phenocrysts indicate a complex evolution and polibaric conditions for the crystallization. The discovery of the new basalt occurrence is important from a geodynamical point of view: prior to the last two major geodynamical events (Plio-Pleistocene rifting with associated alkali basaltic volcanism and collision of microplates with associated Miocene calk-alkaline volcanism) the continental lithosphere below NE Transdanubia may have experienced another rifting period in the Paleocene or Upper Cretaceous.With 7 Figures     

The downstream gradation of particle sizes in the Squamish river,British Columbia

The exponential downstream decline in particle size predicted by Sternberg (1875) is examined within a highly active alpine fluvial environment, the gravel-bed Squamish River in southwestern British Columbia. Transect survey procedures for sampling within the coarse alluvial gravels are described in detail. Downstream trends for various particle size statistics, plotted with distance from a major sediment source, are considered according to two scenarios. Evaluation of overall trends indicates that the downstream expression derived by Sternberg (1875) is not the most appropriate; rather, curves are better described by power functions. This reflects a very rapid decline in particle size immediately downstream of the major sediment source. Secondly, evaluation of downstream trends in relation to channel planform determines that exponential functions with different coefficients describe adequately relations within individual planform reaches. There is insufficient evidence to suggest which of these two scenarios may be appropriate. Several lines of evidence suggest that the trends found are more the result of selective sediment transport phenomena than of abrasion, a condition attributed to channel competence within a system dominated by sediment-supply conditions.     

与时俱进,发展中国大地构造学

郯庐断裂带的起源时间与型式仍然存在着很大的分歧。最近在大别山东缘早白垩世左旋走滑韧性剪切带中 ,发现了早期左旋走滑韧性剪切带。其中三处早期糜棱岩中白云母分别给出了( 188.7± 0 .7)Ma、( 189.7± 0 .6 )Ma、( 192 .5± 0 .7)Ma的40 Ar/ 3 9Ar坪年龄 ,指示了同造山走滑热事件。前陆沉积与变形构造也表明该断裂带在华北与华南板块碰撞中就发生了活动。郯庐断裂带内的造山期构造及旁侧的前陆沉积与变形构造特征 ,指示断裂带同造山运动为转换断层型式 ,并将大别—苏鲁造山带左行错移了约 35 0km ,同时苏鲁造山带发生逆时针旋转。在早白垩世滨太平洋构造活动中 ,该断裂进一步向北延伸 ,发生了约 2 0 0km的左行平移。因而 ,该断裂带起源于华北与华南板块的碰撞之中 ,其同造山运动与这两大板块的碰撞过程相伴生     

一种新的 K-Ar定年方法：峰值比较法

K-Ar法定年技术经历了体积法和稀释法等不断趋于成熟，但对于年轻火山岩进行定年时，由于同位素质量分馏的影响，上述方法都具有不可克服的缺陷。随着质谱仪稳定度和精度的提高，直接建立氩同位素含量与峰强度之间的定量关系，从而不再使用稀释剂（ 38 Ar）成为可能，这就是 K-Ar定年的新方法：峰值比较法（或无稀释剂法）。该方法可以消除质量分馏作用带来的误差，对年轻火山岩定年具有重要意义。近代火山物质都含有初始氩，且有不同程度的质量分馏，其同位素比值落在质量分馏线上，这表明质量分馏作用影响 K-Ar定年的准确性，尤其是非常年轻的样品。通过精确测定样品的 38 Ar／ 36 Ar比值，可以准确扣除样品中的初始 40 Ar，从而得到放射成因 40 Ar含量。这种测量方法可以用于较老岩石、矿物样品的年龄测定，其结果与 K-Ar稀释法以及 40 Ar－ 39 Ar法相一致；更重要的是可以用于年轻样品的年龄测定，可以测 2～5ka的岩矿样品，对富钾矿物的测量误差小于 1ka；对老于 0．1Ma的样品，相对误差不大于 1．5％。介绍了峰值比较法的基本原理和测试过程，同时还讨论它的使用条件和定年范围。     

Syngenetic inclusions of yimengite in diamond from Sese kimberlite (Zimbabwe) — evidence for metasomatic conditions of growth

Syngenetic inclusions of yimengite K (Cr, Ti, Mg, Fe, Al)₁₂O₁₉, a potassium member of the magnetoplumbite mineral group, have been recorded in an octahedral macrodiamond from the Sese kimberlite (50 km south of Masvingo, Zimbabwe). One yimengite inclusion carries lamellae of chromite suggesting peridotitic diamond paragenesis. The diamond and inclusions were studied in situ in a plate polished parallel to (011). Cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging has shown blue colour and octahedral zonation of the diamond, lack of cracks and the location of five yimengites in different growth zones. Nitrogen (N) contents (at. ppm) in the diamond determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) steadily decrease from 576 (core) to 146 (rim). N aggregation (%1aB) is correspondingly 40% in the core and 30% in the rim. Hydrogen (H) content is high in the core, moderate in the intermediate and very high in the rim zones. Four yimengites were dated using the laser ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method. Three inclusions yielded total gas ages that agree with, or are younger than, or within error of, the Sese kimberlite eruption age (538±11 Ma) but may be compromised by gas loss. One inclusion, with the highest tapped interface gas yield, gave a total gas age of 892±21 Ma that is a likely minimum yimengite age. Time–T °C constraints from N aggregation systematics give a range of possible ages from kimberlite eruption date back to Archean and do not resolve the variable results of the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating. Compared with the published chemistry of yimengite from kimberlites, inclusions from the Sese diamond contain higher Al, Mg, and Sr and have lower concentration of Fe³⁺. The chondrite-normalised REE pattern of the yimengite shows enrichment in LREE and depletion in HREE, but LREE/HREE fractionations are lower than for lindsleyite–mathiasite series mantle titanates and rather similar to the REE concentrations in kimberlite and lamproite rocks. It is suggested that Sese yimengite formed in the lithospheric mantle from metasomatism of chrome spinel by a fluid rich in Ti, K, Ba and LREE.     

Tectono-thermal evolution of the India-Asia collision zone based on<Superscript>40</Superscript>Ar-<Superscript>39</Superscript>Ar thermochronology in Ladakh,India

New⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar thermochronological results from the Ladakh region in the India-Asia collision zone provide a tectono-thermal evolutionary scenario. The characteristic granodiorite of the Ladakh batholith near Leh yielded a plateau age of 46.3 ± 0.6 Ma (2σ). Biotite from the same rock yielded a plateau age of 44.6 ± 0.3 Ma (2σ). The youngest phase of the Ladakh batholith, the leucogranite near Himya, yielded a cooling pattern with a plateau-like age of ∼ 36 Ma. The plateau age of muscovite from the same rock is 29.8 ±0.2 Ma (2σ). These ages indicate post-collision tectono-thermal activity, which may have been responsible for partial melting within the Ladakh batholith. Two basalt samples from Sumdo Nala have also recorded the post-collision tectono-thermal event, which lasted at least for 8 MY in the suture zone since the collision, whereas in the western part of the Indus Suture, pillow lava of Chiktan showed no effect of this event and yielded an age of emplacement of 128.2 ±2.6 Ma (2σ). The available data indicate that post-collision deformation led to the crustal thickening causing an increase in temperature, which may have caused partial melting at the base of the thickened crust. The high thermal regime propagated away from the suture with time.     

Early Paleozoic Magmatism and Gold Mineralization in the Northern Aitun, NW China

Abstract This paper discusses the relationships between granitic magmatism and gold mineralization and the exhumation history of the Dapinggou gold deposit in northern Altun, NW China based on the geochronological data, including zircon U‐Pb ages, Rb‐Sr isochron age and ⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar dating and MDD modeling data. The main granitic magmatism age in this area is attained from the ID TIMS U‐Pb geochronology of zircons from the Kuoshibulak granite, the biggest granite in the northern Altun area, which gives a concordant age of 443±5 Ma in the Late Ordovician. Zircon ID TIMS U‐Pb geochronology of the West Dapinggou biotite granite west of the Dapinggou gold deposit gives concordant ages around 485±10 Ma, representing the early stage of Ordovician magmatism. The Rb‐Sr isochron age (487±21 Ma) of 6 quartz inclusion samples from quartz veins in this gold deposit is very close to that of the West Dapinggou granite. MDD modeling of step heating ⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar data of K‐feldspar from the same West Dapinggou biotite granite gives a rapid cooling history from 300°C to 150°C during 200–185 Ma. According to the age data and the geological setting of this area, we conclude that the Dapinggou gold deposit was formed at the early stage of the Early Paleozoic granitic magmatism in northern Altun, and exhumed in the Early Jurassic due to the normal faulting of the Lapeiquan detachment. The Early Paleozoic magmatism may provide heat source and produce geological fluids, which are very important for gold mineralization. Exhumation in the Mesozoic caused the uplift of the deposit towards the ground surface.     

南天山南缘晚泥盆世构造事件的^40Ar／^39Ar定年证据及其意义

南天山南缘前陆褶皱冲断带在独库公路范围内出露于铁力买提达坂一带,其构造岩片主体向南逆掩于塔里木盆地之上,构造样式以双向逆冲为特征。相关韧性剪切带中白云母矿物~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar同位素测年获坪年龄368±1Ma和等时线年龄368±6Ma。结合区域构造分析,这条作为南天山中央地块南部构造边界的大型复合式构造带,主要形成发育时限为晚泥盆世-早石炭世,并在二叠纪重新活动。前者可能是是南天山洋盆向北俯冲于伊犁地块之下的构造变形过程的痕迹,后者则可能是由伊犁-塔里木复合地体与北天山地块在晚石炭世-早二叠世发生碰撞而导致的构造变形。