Studies on40Ar/39Ar thermochronology of strike-slip time of the Tan-Lu fault zone and their tectonic implications

Samples of mylonite, ultramylonite and phyllonite were collected from 5 localities in the Anhui part of the Tan-Lu fault zone for⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar chronological studies. Among them 4 samples from 3 localities on the eastern margin of the Dabie orogenic belt yielded⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages of 128 —132 Ma; and 2 samples from the western margin of the Zhangbalin uplift and eastern margin of the Bengbu uplift gave the same⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages of 120 Ma. Isochron analyses and other lines of evidence suggest that the data are reliable. The data are interpreted as cooling ages of sinistral strike-slip deformation of the Tan-Lu fault zone. The younger ages from the north might be related to slower strike-slip rising. These results indicate that the large-scale left-lateral displacement in the Tan-Lu fault zone took place in the Early Cretaceous, rather than in Late Triassic (Indosinian) as proposed by some geologists. Therefore, this fault zone is an intracontinental wrench fault rather than a transform fault or suture line developed during formation of the Dabie orogenic belt.     

鲁东胶莱盆地青山组火山岩的^40Ar—^39Ar定年——以五莲分岭山火山机构为例

以五莲分岭山火山机构为例，运用高精度的^40Ar－^39Ar定年技术，对胶莱盆地青山组火山岩的形成年龄进行了精确测定。结果表明。青山组第一旋回中偏碱性富钾火山岩的形成年龄为109．9±0．6Ma，第二旋回酸性流纹质火山岩形成年龄为108．2±0．6Ma，据此确定胶莱盆地青山组火山岩应为早白垩世岩浆活动的产物。根据该组火山岩在空间上具有自西向东年龄渐新的演变趋势，表明中生代伊泽奈崎板块向欧亚板块碰撞俯冲应是制约区内火山活动的主要动力因素。     

40Ar-39Ar age of carbonatite-alkaline magmatism in Sung valley, Meghalaya, India

⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar analyses of one alkali pyroxenite whole rock and two phlogopite separates of calcite carbonatites from the Sung Valley carbonatite-alkaline complex, which is believed to be a part of the Rajmahal-Bengal-Sylhet (RBS) flood basalt province, yielded indistinguishable plateau ages of 108.8 ± 2.0Ma, 106.4 ± 1.3Ma and 107.5 ± 1.4Ma, respectively. The weighted mean of these ages, 107.2 ± 0.8 Ma, is the time of emplacement of this complex. This implies that Sung Valley complex and probably other such complexes in the Assam-Meghalaya Plateau postdate the main flood basalt event (i.e., the eruption of tholeiites) in the RBS province by ∼10Ma.     

Paleomagnetic Constraints on Mineralization Age of the Nansatsu-type Gold Deposits in Southern Kyushu, Japan

Abstract: Two mineralization stages, stage I and stage II, have been identified from textural, mineralogical and crosscutting relationships in gold ore from the Nansatsu-type gold deposits of Kasuga, Iwato and Akeshi. Mineralization age of each stage in each deposit was determined with paleomagnetic methods on 432 specimens from 312 oriented samples. As results, mineralization ages of stage I of each deposit fall in the same period, the reversed polarity subchron of 4.18–3.58 Ma, and those of stage II are limited in the normal and reversed polarity subchrons of 3.58–3.22 Ma. Contrasting with previous results based only on K-Ar ages, our conclusion shows that these Nansatsu-type gold deposits were formed contemporaneously.     

甘肃南金山金矿床的~(40)Ar-~(39)Ar同位素年龄及其地质意义

南金山金矿是我国西北地区最重要的金矿床之一 ,矿床产于下石炭统白山组浅变质海相火山碎屑岩中。本文通过对金矿床中的蚀变绢云母进行了40 Ar 3 9Ar同位素年龄测定 ,获得了两组数据 ,分别为 2 5 0 .6±2 .8Ma和 2 32 .7± 4.1Ma ,说明南金山金矿的形成经历了两期成矿作用。     

Radiogenic isotopes in fluid inclusions

Radiogenic isotopes studied in fluid inclusions are still a limited field, with great potential for expansion as analytical techniques improve. The main limitation for Sr, Ar and He isotope work is the very small number of radiogenic atoms produced in a typical fluid inclusion. The requirements to analysts are correspondingly high. Examples show that isotopic tracing on fluid inclusion fluids can be a decisive tool in solving geological problems.     

Lateral migration,thermoluminescence chronology and colour variation of longitudinal dunes near Birdsville in the Simpson Desert,central Australia

The longitudinal dunes of the Simpson Desert, in the vicinity of Birdsville, have been reworked largely during the Holocene from dunes deposited up to 80000 years ago or earlier. The widespread asymmetry of these roughly northward-trending dunes, with steeper eastern faces and more gentle western faces, supports wind-rose data showing sand-transporting winds from the southwest obliquely intersecting the dunes. While this suggests a change in the wind pattern since the dune field was oriented, it does not indicate that the dunes are necessarily shifting leeward (eastward) as a consequence. It is hypothesized that the direction of migration is controlled by the extent to which the dunes are vegetated. Relatively well-vegetated dunes can accrete sand on their gentle stoss slopes and erode on their lee slopes causing them to shift westward and hence obliquely into the wind, a condition that probably prevails in wetter regions and during episodes of relatively humid climate. In contrast, in very dry areas or during arid phases, sand can move unimpeded up a sparsely vegetated stoss face and over the crest to form an avalanche or slip face on the lee side, thereby causing the dunes to shift eastward. Despite evidence that longitudinal dune crests can shift laterally to some extent, the dunes in the western part of the Simpson Desert have not migrated, either westward or eastward, more than 100m or so from their Pleistocene cores. Aeolian transport and partial or complete removal of iron cutans from around quartz grains results in dunes of widely varying colour yet of similar age.     

Timing and Processes of Ore Formation in the Qingchengzi Polymetallic Orefield, Northeast China: Evidence from 40Ar/39Ar Geochronology

The Qingchengzi orefield is a large polymetallic ore concentration area in the Liaodong peninsula,northeastern China,that includes twelve Pb-Zn deposits and five Au-Ag deposits along its periphery.The ore-forming age remains much disputed,which prevents the identification of the relationship between the mineralization and the associated magmatism.In this paper,we quantitatively present the feasibility of making ore mineral ~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar dating and report reliable ~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar ages of lamprophyre groundmass,K-feldspar and sphalerite from the Zhenzigou deposit.Direct and indirect methods are applied to constrain the timing of mineralization,which plays a vital role in discussing the contribution of multistage magmatism to ore formation.The low-potassium sphalerite yielded an inverse isochron age of 232.8±41.5 Ma,which features a relatively large uncertainty.Two lamprophyre groundmasses got reliable inverse isochron ages of 193.2±1.3 Ma and 152.3±1.5 Ma,respectively.K-feldspar yielded a precise inverse isochron age of 134.9±0.9 Ma.These four ages indicate that the mineralization is closely associated with Mesozoic magmatism.Consequently,regarding the cooling age of the earliest Mesozoic Shuangdinggou intrusion(224.2±1.2 Ma)as the initial time of mineralization,we can further constrain the age of the sphalerite to 224–191 Ma.These new and existing geochronological data,combined with the interaction cutting or symbiotic relationship between the lamprophyre veins and ore veins,suggest that the Pb-Zn-Au-Ag mineralization in the Qingchengzi orefield mainly occurred during three periods:the late Triassic(ca.224–193 Ma),the late Jurassic(ca.167–152 Ma)and the early Cretaceous(ca.138–134 Ma).This polymetallic deposits are shown to have been formed during multiple events coinciding with periods of the Mesozoic magmatic activity.In contrast,the Proterozoic magmatism and submarine exhalative and hydrothermal sedimentation in the Liaolaomo paleorift served mainly to transport and concentrate the ore-forming substances at the Liaohe Group with no associated Pb-Zn-Au-Ag mineralization.     

Gamma Emitters on Micro-Becquerel Activity Level in Air at Kraków (Poland)

The Petryanov air filters combined into half-year sets were analyzed for the presence of ⁴⁰K, ¹³⁷Cs and ²²Na by means of low-background gamma rays spectrometry. Each sample contains aerosols from more than 1 Mm³ of air. Samples were collected in ground level air at Kraków (Southern Poland) from 1996 to 2002. Activity concentrations of ⁴⁰K are almost constant with the mean of 14.7± 4.5 Bq m^–3. Activity concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs, which are on the level of single Bq m^{– 3} show exponential decrease with effective half-life time of 7.07± 0.77 years. The cosmogenic ²²Na shows a strong seasonal variation with significant different mean values activity concentration between 0.333± 0.095 Bq m^–3 and 0.137± 0.045 Bq m^–3, for summer and winter, respectively. Moreover, the activity ratio for two cosmogenic radionuclides: ²²Na and measured previously ⁷Be show also changes with statistically significant seasonal differences. The lower values were found during winters. The mechanisms which might govern this ratio are discussed. The conclusion is that transport of ²²Na during summer seems to be so much effective, that results in kind of relative depletion of stratosphere of this nuclide.     

The <Superscript>40</Superscript>Ar/<Superscript>39</Superscript>Ar geochronology constraint and geological significance of mylonites in Shangyi-Chicheng fault belt on the north of North China Craton

A dating of two biotite samples taken from the meso- and low-temperature mylonites within the Shangyi-Chicheng fault belt on the north of the North China Craton yields ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar isotopic ages of (399 ± 1) Ma and (263 ± 2) Ma, respectively. These data reflect an Early Devonian deformation and a Late Carboniferous retrograde metamorphism event along the fault, suggesting that the tectonic activities of the North China Craton in Paleozoic should be reconsidered.