Variation in Metamorphic Style along the Northern Margin of the Damara Orogen, Namibia

The northern margin of the Inland Branch of the Pan-AfricanDamara Orogen in Namibia shows dramatic along-strike variationin metamorphic character during convergence between the Congoand Kalahari Cratons (M₃ metamorphic cycle). Low-P contact metamorphismwith anticlockwise P–T paths dominates in the westerndomains (Ugab Zone and western Northern Zone), and high-P Barrovianmetamorphism with a clockwise P–T path is documented fromthe easternmost domain (eastern Northern Zone). The sequenceof M₃ mineral growth in contact aureoles shows early growthof cordierite porphyroblasts that were pseudomorphed to biotite–chlorite–muscoviteat the same time as an andalusite–biotite–muscovitetransposed foliation was developed in the matrix. The peak-Tmetamorphic assemblages and fabrics were overprinted by crenulationsand retrograde chlorite–muscovite. The KFMASH P–Tpseudosection for metapelites in the Ugab Zone and western NorthernZone contact aureoles indicates tight anticlockwise P–Tloops through peak metamorphic conditions of 540–570°Cand 2·5–3·2 kbar. These semi-quantitativeP–T loops are consistent with average P–T calculationsusing THERMOCALC, which give a pooled mean of 556 ± 26°Cand 3·2 ± 0·6 kbar, indicating a high averagethermal gradient of 50°C/km. In contrast, the eastern NorthernZone experienced deep burial, high-P/moderate-T Barrovian M₃metamorphism with an average thermal gradient of 21°C/kmand peak metamorphic conditions of c. 635°C and 8·7kbar. The calculated P–T pseudosection and garnet compositionalisopleths in KFMASH, appropriate for the metapelite sample fromthis region, document a clockwise P–T path. Early plagioclase–kyanite–biotiteparageneses evolved by plagioclase consumption and the growthof garnet to increasing X_Fe, X_Mg and X_Ca and decreasing X_Mncompositions, indicating steep burial with heating. The developedkyanite–garnet–biotite peak metamorphic parageneseswere followed by the resorption of garnet and formation of plagioclasemoats, indicating decompression, which was followed by retrogressivecooling and chlorite–muscovite growth. The clockwise P–Tloop is consistent with the foreland vergent fold–thrustbelt geometry in this part of the northern margin. Earlier formed(580–570 Ma) pervasive matrix foliations (M₂) were overprintedby contact metamorphic parageneses (M₃) in the aureoles of 530± 3 Ma granites in the Ugab Zone and 553–514 Magranites in the western Northern Zone. Available geochronologicaldata suggest that convergence between the Congo and KalahariCratons was essentially coeval in all parts of the northernmargin, with similar ages of 535–530 Ma for the main phaseof deformation in the eastern Northern Zone and Northern Platformand 538–505 Ma high-grade metamorphism of the CentralZone immediately to the south. Consequently, NNE–SSW-directedconvergent deformation and associated M₃ metamorphism of contrastingstyles are interpreted to be broadly contemporaneous along thelength of the northern margin of the Inland Branch. In the westheat transfer was dominated by conduction and externally drivenby granites, whereas in the east heat transfer was dominatedby advection and internally driven radiogenic heat production.The ultimate cause was along-orogen variation in crustal architecture,including thickness of the passive margin lithosphere and thicknessof the overlying sedimentary succession. KEY WORDS: Pan-African Orogeny; P–T paths; pseudosections; low-P metamorphism; contact metamorphism; Barrovian metamorphism     

Structural geometry of a thick‐skinned fold‐thrust belt termination: The Olary Block in the Adelaide Fold Belt,South Australia

The Olary Block comprises a set of Palaeoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic basement inliers that were deformed together with the Neoproterozoic sedimentary cover of the Adelaide Geosyncline during the ca 500 Ma Cambro‐Ordovician Delamerian Orogeny. Balanced and restored structural sections across this region show shortening of less than 20%. These basement inliers represent the interface between a region of thick‐skinned deformation bordering the Curnamona Craton to the north and a region of thin‐skinned deformation to the south and west in the Nackara Arc. The basement inliers represent upthrust segments of the subsided basin margin with the sedimentary package thickening to the south and to the west. Earlier formed extensional faults provided the major strain guides during Delamerian shortening. An early phase of east‐west shortening is interpreted to be synchronous with dextral strike‐slip deformation along basement‐relay structures (e.g. Darling River lineament). During progressive shortening the tectonic transport direction rotated into a northwest to north direction, coeval with the onset of the main phase of thin‐skinned fold deformation in the adjacent Nackara Arc.     

云南迪庆春都铜矿控矿地质条件

铜矿体赋存于印支期浅成-超浅成相的石英二长玢岩体内,具斑岩型矿床的蚀变特征,主要控矿因素为岩浆岩、岩浆侵位的地层、热液蚀变作用和构造裂隙等。是印支期甘孜-理塘洋向西俯冲造山晚期与超浅成斑（玢）岩密切有关的斑岩型铜矿床,矿区及外围具有较大的找矿潜力。     

库鲁克塔格兴地塔格群变质石英岩复杂锆石特征及指示意义

造山带内造山作用时限的划分是识别超大陆的重要依据.为找寻库鲁克塔格古元古代晚期造山作用与锆石微区特征间的联系,运用LA-ICP-MS技术分析了石英岩中64个锆石U-Pb同位素点.结果显示:∑REE=47×10-6～490×10-6(40个点,下同),570×10-6～1384×10-6(24);Th/U＜0.4(33)...     

中国东北地区泛非造山岩浆活动的记录:来自扎兰屯地区铜山组碎屑锆石年代学和Hf同位素的证据

本文报道了内蒙古扎兰屯地区铜山组的碎屑锆石U-Pb年代学和Hf同位素分析结果,首次发现中国东北地区记录了泛非造山岩浆事件,并探讨了中国东北微陆块的构造归属.年代学研究表明:(1)扎兰屯地区铜山组碎屑岩最年轻锆石年龄峰值为569 Ma,与泛非造山岩浆活动(东、西冈瓦纳大陆碰撞-拼贴事件)的时代一致;其他3个峰期年龄为87...     

东阿尔卑斯原-古特提斯构造演化

新生代阿尔卑斯是非洲和欧洲之间的陆陆碰撞造山带。强烈的造山作用使大量前中生代基底出露地表,尽管这些基底被强烈逆冲推覆和走滑叠置,但是仍保留较丰富的前中生代基底演化信息。结合近几年对东阿尔卑斯原-古特提斯的研究,本文梳理和重建了阿尔卑斯前中生代基底的构造格局,认为前阿尔卑斯基底受原特提斯、南华力西洋、古特提斯洋构造体系影响而经历了多期造山过程。新元古代-早古生代的原阿尔卑斯作为环冈瓦纳地块群的组成部分,受原特提斯洋俯冲的制约,是新元古-早古生代环冈瓦纳活动陆缘的组成部分,其中,海尔微-彭尼内基底组成外缘增生系统,包括卡多米期地壳碎片在内的陆缘弧/岛弧以及大量增生楔组成内缘增生系统。早奥陶世瑞亚克洋打开,随后原阿尔卑斯从冈瓦纳陆缘裂离,在泥盆纪-石炭纪受南华力西洋控制,海尔微-彭尼内-中、下奥地利阿尔卑斯从冈瓦纳分离。在早石炭世(维宪期)南阿尔卑斯(或与之相当的冈瓦纳源地块)与北部阿莫里卡地块群拼贴增生于古欧洲大陆南缘,共同组成华力西造山带(广义),华力西期缝合带保留在绍山-科尔山南侧。晚石炭世-早二叠世,阿尔卑斯受古特提斯洋的俯冲影响,在华力西造山带南侧形成安第斯山型活动大陆边缘,古特提斯洋在阿尔卑斯的演化至少持续到早三叠世,消亡遗迹保留在中奥地利阿尔卑斯基底的Plankogel杂岩中。     

Deformation correlations,stress field switches and evolution of an orogenic intersection: The Pan-African Kaoko-Damara orogenic junction,Namibia

Age calibrated deformation histories established by detailed mapping and dating of key magmatic time markers are correlated across all tectono-metamorphic provinces in the Damara Orogenic System.Correlations across structural belts result in an internally consistent deformation framework with evidence of stress field rotations with similar timing,and switches between different deformation events.Horizontal principle compressive stress rotated clockwise ~180°in total during Kaoko Belt evolution,and~135° during Damara Belt evolution.At most stages,stress field variation is progressive and can be attributed to events within the Damara Orogenic System,caused by changes in relative trajectories of the interacting Rio De La Plata,Congo,and Kalahari Cratons.Kaokoan orogenesis occurred earliest and evolved from collision and obduction at ~590 Ma,involving E-W directed shortening,progressing through different transpressional states with ~45° rotation of the stress field to strike-slip shear under NW-SE shortening at ~550-530 Ma.Damaran orogenesis evolved from collision at ~555-550 Ma with NW-SE directed shortening in common with the Kaoko Belt,and subsequently evolved through ~90°rotation of the stress field to NE-SW shortening at ~512-508 Ma.Both Kaoko and Damara orogenic fronts were operating at the same time,with all three cratons being coaxially convergent during the 550-530 Ma period;Rio De La Plata directed SE against the Congo Craton margin,and both together over-riding the Kalahari Craton margin also towards the SE.Progressive stress field rotation was punctuated by rapid and significant switches at ~530-525 Ma,~508 Ma and ~505 Ma.These three events included:(1)Culmination of main phase orogenesis in the Damara Belt,coinciding with maximum burial and peak metamorphism at 530-525 Ma.This occurred at the same time as termination of transpression and initiation of transtensional reactivation of shear zones in the Kaoko Belt.Principle compressive stress switched from NW-SE to NNW-SSE shortening in both Kaoko and Damara Belts at this time.This marks the start of Congo-Kalahari stress field overwhelming the waning Rio De La Plata-Congo stress field,and from this time forward contraction across the Damara Belt generated the stress field governing subsequent low-strain events in the Kaoko Belt.(2)A sudden switch to E-W directed shortening at ~508 Ma is interpreted as a far-field effect imposed on the Damara Orogenic System,most plausibly from arc obduction along the orogenic margin of Gondwana(Ross-Delamerian Orogen).(3)This imposed stress field established a N-S extension direction exploited by decompression melts,switch to vertical shortening,and triggered gravitational collapse and extension of the thermally weakened hot orogen core at ~505 Ma,producing an extensional metamorphic core complex across the Central Zone.     

Seismic evidence of Caledonian deformed crust and uppermost mantle structures in the northern part of the Trans-European Suture Zone, SW Baltic Sea

Collisional structures from the closure of the Tornquist Ocean and subsequent amalgamation of Avalonia and Baltica during the Caledonian Orogeny in the northern part of the Trans-European Suture Zone (TESZ) in the SW Baltic Sea are investigated. A grid of marine reflection seismic lines was gathered in 1996 during the DEKORP-BASIN '96 campaign, shooting with an airgun array of 52 l total volume and recording with a digital streamer of up to 2.1 km length. The detailed reflection seismic analysis is mainly based on post-stack migrated sections of this survey, but one profile has also been processed by a pre-stack depth migration algorithm. The data provides well-constrained images of upper crustal reflectivity and lower crustal/uppermost mantle reflections. In the area of the Caledonian suture, a reflection pattern is observed with opposing dips in the upper crust and the uppermost mantle. Detailed analysis of dipping reflections in the upper crust provides evidence for two different sets of reflections, which are separated by the O-horizon, the main decollement of the Caledonian deformation complex. S-dipping reflections beneath the sub-Permian discontinuity and above the O-horizon are interpreted as Caledonian thrust structures. Beneath the O-horizon, SW-dipping reflections in the upper crust are interpreted as ductile shear zones and crustal deformation features that evolved during the Sveconorwegian Orogeny. The Caledonian deformation complex is subdivided into (1) S-dipping foreland thrusts in the north, (2) the S-dipping suture itself that shows increased reflectivity, and (3) apparently NE-dipping downfaulted sedimentary horizons south of the Avalonia–Baltica suture, which may have been reactivated during Mesozoic normal faulting. The reflection Moho at 28–35 km depth appears to truncate a N-dipping mantle structure, which may represent remnant structures from Tornquist Ocean closure or late-collisional compressional shear planes in the upper mantle. A contour map of these mantle reflections indicates a consistent northward dip, which is steepest where there is strong bending of the Caledonian deformation front. The thin-skinned character of the Caledonian deformation complex and the fact that N-dipping mantle reflections do not truncate the Moho indicate that the Baltica crust was not mechanically involved in the Caledonian collision and, therefore, escaped deformation in this area.     

A possible Caledonide arm through the Barents Sea imaged by OBS data

The assembly of the crystalline basement of the western Barents Sea is related to the Caledonian orogeny during the Silurian. However, the development southeast of Svalbard is not well understood, as conventional seismic reflection data does not provide reliable mapping below the Permian sequence. A wide-angle seismic survey from 1998, conducted with ocean bottom seismometers in the northwestern Barents Sea, provides data that enables the identification and mapping of the depths to crystalline basement and Moho by ray tracing and inversion. The four profiles modeled show pre-Permian basins and highs with a configuration distinct from later Mesozoic structural elements. Several strong reflections from within the crystalline crust indicate an inhomogeneous basement terrain. Refractions from the top of the basement together with reflections from the Moho constrain the basement velocity to increase from 6.3 km s⁻¹ at the top to 6.6 km s⁻¹ at the base of the crust. On two profiles, the Moho deepens locally into root structures, which are associated with high top mantle velocities of 8.5 km s⁻¹. Combined P- and S-wave data indicate a mixed sand/clay/carbonate lithology for the sedimentary section, and a predominantly felsic to intermediate crystalline crust. In general, the top basement and Moho surfaces exhibit poor correlation with the observed gravity field, and the gravity models required high-density bodies in the basement and upper mantle to account for the positive gravity anomalies in the area. Comparisons with the Ural suture zone suggest that the Barents Sea data may be interpreted in terms of a proto-Caledonian subduction zone dipping to the southeast, with a crustal root representing remnant of the continental collision, and high mantle velocities and densities representing eclogitized oceanic crust. High-density bodies within the crystalline crust may be accreted island arc or oceanic terrain. The mapped trend of the suture resembles a previously published model of the Caledonian orogeny. This model postulates a separate branch extending into central parts of the Barents Sea coupled with the northerly trending Svalbard Caledonides, and a microcontinent consisting of Svalbard and northern parts of the Barents Sea independent of Laurentia and Baltica at the time. Later, compressional faulting within the suture zone apparently formed the Sentralbanken High.     

Stratigraphy,structure and tectonics of Lower Ordovician and Devonian strata of the central part of the Wonominta Block,western New South Wales

K‐Ar age determinations on granites from Central Queensland support the conclusions of field mapping, that the intrusives of the Anakie High are generally older than the rocks of the Drummond Basin. Results on granites from the Bowen‐Collinsville region indicate that they pre‐date most of the Bowen Basin sediments. Four ages are reported for basement rock from bore‐cores in the Great Artesian Basin. They confirm Precambrian basement to the south of the Mt. Isa‐Cloncurry area, and suggest possible Precambrian in the Long‐reach Spur. Two samples from the Nebine Ridge give Lower Carboniferous results. A previous report of Permian basement in the Surat Basin has been shown to be incorrect.