Shear-zone controlled basins in the Blouberg area, Northern Province, South Africa: syn- and post-tectonic sedimentation relating to ca. 2.0 Ga reactivation of the Limpopo Belt

The extent of the deposition and of the preservation of the Blouberg Formation and Waterberg Group was at least partially controlled by brittle reactivation along the Palala Shear Zone. The Palala Shear Zone in the Blouberg area (Northern Province, South Africa) is characterised by granulite-grade gneiss, and formed by sinistral transpressional collision between the Southern Marginal Zone (Kaapvaal Craton) and the Central Zone of the Limpopo Belt. The Limpopo collision is thought to have occurred either at 2.0 Ga or at 2.7 Ga with reactivation at 2.0 Ga. Deposition of the Blouberg Formation was characterised by syn-sedimentary tectonism, which is reflected by a sudden upward coarsening in sedimentary rocks, and by the presence of a strongly folded and thrusted lower member. Bedding orientations and slickenside lineation orientations suggest that vergence was towards the south, and such a tectonism can be inferred to have produced a highland area to the north, bound on the southern margin by the southern strand of the Melinda Fault. The presence of an inferred northerly upland area is supported by palaeocurrent directions and the preservational extent of the Setlaole and Makgabeng Formations of the Waterberg Group (post-Blouberg Formation). The extent and stratigraphy of the overlying Mogalakwena Formation suggests that these strata onlapped northwards over the denuding highlands. Younger Sibasa basalts of the Soutpansberg Group have been dated at ca. 1.85 Ga. Blouberg and Waterberg strata can therefore be interpreted as syn- and post-tectonic sedimentary rocks, respectively, following a ca. 2.0 reactivation event along the Palala Shear Zone. It is difficult to reconcile the succession of geological events at Blouberg with a ca. 2.0 Ga Limpopo orogeny, and thus sedimentary strata in the study area support a 2.7 Ga date for Limpopo collision, with syn-Blouberg tectonism relating to ca. 2.0 reactivation within the previously assembled Limpopo Belt.     

Thermo-tectonic history of Ryoke Basement in Hohi volcanic zone, northeast Kyushu, Japan: Constraints from fission track thermochronology

Abstract Apatite and zircon fission track ages from Ryoke Belt basement in northeast Kyushu show late Cretaceous, middle to late Eocene, middle Miocene and Quaternary groupings. The basement cooled through 240 ± 25°C, the closure temperature for fission tracks in zircon, mainly during the interval 74-90 Ma as a result of uplift and denudation, the pattern being uniform across northeast Kyushu. In combination with published K-Ar ages and the Turonian-Santonian age of sedimentation in the Onogawa Basin, active suturing along the Median Tectonic Line from 100-80 Ma, at least, is inferred. Ryoke Belt rocks along the northern margin of Hohi volcanic zone (HVZ) cooled rapidly through ∼100°C to less than 50°C during the middle Eocene to Oligocene, associated with 2.5-3.5 km of denudation. The timing of this cooling follows peak heating in the Eocene-Oligocene part (Murotohanto subbelt) of the Shimanto Belt in Muroto Peninsula (Shikoku) inferred previously, and coincides with the 43 Ma change in convergence direction of the Pacific-Eurasian plate and the demise of the Kula-Pacific spreading centre. Ryoke Belt rocks along the southern margin of HVZ have weighted mean apatite fission track ages of 15.3 ± 3.1 Ma. These reset ages are attributed to an increase in geothermal gradient in the middle Miocene combined with rapid denudation and uplift of at least 1.4 km. These ages indicate that heating of the overriding plate associated with the middle Miocene start of subduction of hot Shikoku Basin lithosphere extended into the Ryoke Belt in northeast Kyushu. Pleistocene apatite fission track ages from Ryoke Belt granites at depth in the centre of HVZ are due to modern annealing in a geothermal environment.     

Colors and collision rates within the Kuiper belt: problems with the collisional resurfacing scenario

We present a numerical check of the collisional resurfacing (CR) hypothesis proposed to explain the observed color diversity within the Kuiper Belt (where surface reddening due to space weathering is counteracted by regular resurfacing of neutral material after mutual collisions). Deterministic simulations are performed in order to estimate the relative spatial distribution of kinetic energy received by collisions, , for a population of target Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) embedded in a swarm of impactors distributed within the belt. Four different impactor disks have been considered, depending on the excitation and the external limit of the belt and the density of the scattered KBOs (SKBOs) population. The obtained results are compared to the relative color index distribution within the observed Kuiper Belt, in order to derive possible similarities between the high vs low objects spatial distribution in our simulations and the bluer vs redder KBOs distribution in the “real” Kuiper Belt. Such similarities are found for several important features, in particular the general correlations between highly impacted objects and high rms excitation and low perihelion q values that are in good agreement with equivalent correlations found for the bluest objects of the observed belt. Nevertheless, simulations disagree with observations on two crucial points. (1) The plutinos are significantly more collisionally affected than the rest of our test KBO population, whereas there is no observed tendency toward bluer plutinos. (2) There is always a much stronger correlation between and eccentricities than inclinations, whereas observations show just the opposite feature. The presence of numerous SKBO impactors could significantly damp these problematic features, but cannot erase them. Whether these contradictions invalidate the whole CR scenario or not remains yet uncertain, since the physical processes at play are still far from being fully understood and the sample of available observational data is still relatively limited. But it seems nevertheless that the scenario might not hold in its simple present form.     

The Palaeozoic tectono-metallogenic evolution of the northern Tasman Fold Belt System, Australia: Interplay of subduction rollback and accretion

The Tasman Fold Belt System in eastern Australia provides a record of the Palaeozoic geological history and growth of the Australian continent along the proto-Pacific margin of Gondwana inboard of an extensive and long-lived subduction system. The Hodgkinson and Broken River provinces represent prominent geological elements of this system and together form the northern Tasman Fold Belt System. Geochronological age dating of the timing of gold formation in the Amanda Bel Goldfield in the Broken River Province and the Hodgkinson Goldfield in the Hodgkinson Province provides constraints on the occurrence of a deformation and mineralisation episode in the Late Devonian–Early Carboniferous. Integration of these newly-obtained data with petrogenetic constraints and a time–space evaluation of the geological evolution of the Hodgkinson and Broken River provinces, as well as other terranes in the northern Tasman Fold Belt System, allows for the development of a geodynamic model for the Palaeozoic evolution of the northern Tasman Fold Belt System. Our model indicates that three cycles of extension–contraction occurred during the Palaeozoic evolution of the northern Tasman Fold Belt System. Episodes of extension were controlled by rollback of the subduction system along the proto-Pacific margin of Gondwana, whereas episodes of contraction resulted from accretion following the arrival of positively buoyant segments (i.e., micro-continental blocks/oceanic plateaus) at the subducting trench.Our composite interpretative model on the geodynamic evolution of the northern Tasman Fold Belt System integrates the timing of the development of mineral deposits throughout this part of the system and provides a significant advancement in the understanding of Palaeozoic geodynamics along the margin of Gondwana in northeast Australia and allows comparison with the southern part of the Tasman Fold Belt System.     

Prediction of acid mine drainage generation potential in selected mines in the Ashanti Metallogenic Belt using static geochemical methods

Acid mine/rock drainage (AMD/ARD) is the biggest environmental threat facing the mining industry. This study investigates AMD/ARD possibilities in three mines in the Ashanti Belt, using acid base accounting (ABA) and net acid generation pH (NAGpH) tests. Twenty-eight samples of rock units and mine spoil from these mines were collected for ABA and NAGpH tests. Two tailing dumps at Prestea and Nsuta were confirmed by both methods as acid generating with NAGpH of 4.5 and 4.6 and neutralization potential ratio values of 4.38 and 4.60, respectively. Six other samples are classified as potentially acid generating using a variety of established classification criteria. The rest of the samples either exhibited very low sulphur and carbonate content or had excess carbonate over sulphur. Consistency between results from ABA and NAGpH tests validates these tests as adequate tools for preliminary evaluation of AMD/ARD possibilities in any mining project in the Ashanti Belt.     

辽北地区早石炭世变质火山岩年代学和地球化学特征:对华北板块北缘东段构造演化的启示

华北板块北缘东段分布的构造混杂岩带为研究古亚洲洋的演化提供了重要的依据,"下二台岩群"作为该构造混杂岩带的重要组成部分,其形成时代和构造属性仍存在争议。详细的研究表明下二台地区变质火山岩原岩包括流纹岩、英安岩、安山岩,为一套钙碱性火山岩,属于准铝质-弱过铝质岩石,根据岩相学和地球化学特征将其分为变质酸性火山岩和变质中性火山岩;二者均相对富集轻稀土元素,亏损重稀土元素,轻重稀土元素分馏明显,Eu负异常不明显,但变质中性火山岩稀土总量低于变质酸性火山岩,变质酸性火山岩明显亏损Sr、P元素,结合野外产出面积和高场强元素相关性特征,认为二者不是同一基性岩浆分异的产物。变质火山岩锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb年龄为341～348Ma,代表其原岩结晶年龄。变质酸性火山岩原始岩浆来自于地壳物质的部分熔融,变质中性火山岩原始岩浆来自于俯冲带附近岩石圈地幔,并遭受了地壳物质的混染,二者均形成于活动大陆边缘火山弧环境。最新研究成果表明"下二台岩群"由不同时代、不同构造环境下形成的地质单元叠置混杂而成,称其为"下二台"构造杂岩更为准确。下二台地区变质火山岩表明在早石炭世初,古亚洲洋板块已经南向俯冲,在华北板块北缘形成活动大陆边缘弧环境,早石炭世变质火山岩原岩为这一俯冲阶段的产物。     

Upper Silurian–Middle Devonian radiolarian zones of the Yokokurayama and Konomori areas in the Kurosegawa Belt, Southwest Japan

Five radiolarian zones, from the Upper Silurian to Middle Devonian, are discriminated from the tuffaceous successions of the Joryu and Nakahata Formations of the Yokokurayama Group of the Yokokurayama area and the Konomori area in the Kurosegawa Belt, Southwest Japan. The definition of the zones is based on the first appearance biohorizon of the characteristic species. The zones are the Pseudospongoprunum sagittatum, Futobari solidus, Trilonche (?) sp. A, Glanta fragilis and Protoholoeciscus hindea zones, in ascending order. The preliminary age assignments for the zones are discussed on the basis of the comparison with other previous documented faunas. The age determination of the formations suggests the presence of unconformities and the episodic sedimentation of the tuffaceous strata in the Yokokurayama Group.     

Inclusion-trail geometry of albite porphyroblasts in a fold structure in the Sambagawa Belt, central Shikoku, Japan

The orientation of straight inclusion trails within albite porphyroblasts from basic schists has been measured around a north-closure fold, in the Besshi district of the Sambagawa Belt, central Shikoku, Japan. The porphyroblasts are aligned with their longest dimension parallel to both the subhorizontal, east–west-directed mineral lineation and to the fold axis. There is a systematic variation in inclusion-trail geometry between the upper (northern) and lower (southern) fold limbs. The shear sense deduced from quartz c-axis fabrics is top-to-the-west in the upper limb and top-to-the-east in the lower limb. Based on observed variations in porphyroblast inclusion trails, the structural history can be modelled as follows: (i) shear flow caused east–west stretching and folding of the metamorphic zonation; (ii) east–west ductile shear resulted in opposing senses of shear in the upper and lower limbs as the eclogite body situated in the core of the fold was extruded to the east.     

大别造山带核部典型燕山期花岗岩岩浆演化的p—T轨迹

本文根据相图和多种地质温压计确定了大别造山带核部典型花岗岩岩浆的源区,岩浆房和固结成岩阶段的温度和压力,并建立了区内岩浆演化的ｐ－Ｔ轨迹。该轨迹表明：（１）石鼓尖侵入岩浆上升能力最强,上升的最小距离为２５ｋｍ;（２）天堂寨侵入岩岩浆上升能力也较强,上升的最小距离为５ｋｍ,（３）九资河侵入岩的上升能力最弱,上升距离小于３ｋｍ。（４）石鼓尖和天堂寨岩体为异地侵入体,九资河岩体是一个原地－半原地花岗岩体     

黑龙江省金厂金矿床J0矿体流体地球化学研究

黑龙江省东宁县金厂金矿床是最新发现的特大型金矿床,目前探获黄金资源量86吨,它位于中亚造山带东端的吉黑成矿带,是与中生代中酸性岩浆活动有关的复杂成矿系统,矿化类型可能包括了斑岩型、爆破角砾岩型、浅成低温热液型.研究表明,高丽沟J0号矿体为爆破角砾岩型,热液成矿过程经历了早、中、晚3个阶段,分别形成以石英-黄铁矿、多金属硫化物-石英和碳酸盐为代表的矿物组合,中阶段矿物含自然金最多,次为早阶段矿物.初始成矿流体系统为高温、高盐度、高氧逸度、富CO2的岩浆热液;经减压沸腾,CO2等挥发分大量逸出,流体温度、盐度和氧逸度下降,导致大量金属硫化物及自然金快速沉淀;大气降水混入导致晚阶段流体低温、低盐度、贫CO2,对成矿贡献甚微.总体而言,成矿流体盐度高(11.70%～37.81%NaCl.eq),成矿作用发生在中-高温(238.3～425.7℃)的浅成环境(深633m～2736m).岩浆-流体成矿系统富CO2应发育于大陆碰撞造山带的伸展构造背景,而非大洋板块俯冲诱发的岩浆弧背景.