Mafic forearc cumulates and associated rocks in the central high-pressure belt of the Acatlán Complex of southern México: geochemical constraints

The high-pressure (HP) Piaxtla Suite at Tehuitzingo contains peridotites, gabbros, and serpentinized peridotites, as well as granitoids and metasedimentary rocks. The HP mafic rocks are characterized by low SiO₂ (38–52 wt.%) and high Mg# (～48–70), Ni (100–470 ppm), and Cr (180–1750 ppm), typical of cumulate compositions. Trace elements and rare earth element (REE) primitive mantle-normalized patterns display generally flat profiles, indicative of derivation from a primitive mantle with two distinct patterns: (1) gabbroic patterns are characterized by a positive Eu anomaly, low REE abundances, and slightly depleted high REE (HREE) relative to low REE (LREE), typical of cumulus olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase; and (2) mafic-intermediate gabbroic patterns exhibit very flat profiles characteristic of olivine and clinopyroxene as cumulus minerals. Their Nb/Y and Zr/TiO₂ ratios suggest a subalkaline character, whereas low Ti/V ratios indicate that the Tehuitzingo cumulates are island arc tholeiitic basalts that resemble modern, immature oceanic, forearc magmas. These cumulates have high values of ? _Nd(t) = 5.3–8.5 and ¹⁴⁷Sm/¹⁴⁴Nd = 0.18–0.23, which renders calculations of model ages meaningless. Our data are consistent with the Tehuitzingo arc rocks being part of a tectonically extruded Devonian–early Carboniferous arc developed along the west margin of Gondwana.     

Neoproterozoic crustal growth at the margin of the East Gondwana continent – age and isotopic constraints from the easternmost inliers of Oman

ABSTRACT

The Jebel Ja’alan and Qalhat inliers of Oman represent the easternmost exposures in the Arabian peninsula of the Neoproterozoic basement associated with the East African Orogen (EAO) and the assembly of East and West Gondwana. These inliers expose tonalitic gneisses and metasediments intruded by granodiorites and granites of the Ja’alan batholith. Zircons from the gneisses yield U–Pb SIMS ages of ca. 900–880 Ma, which are interpreted as crystallization ages. These represent the oldest magmatic events associated with the closure of the Mozambique Ocean reported to date. Zircon of this age is also the dominant component in the metasediments. The Ja’alan batholith yields ages of ca. 840–825 Ma. Nd isotopes indicate that both the gneisses and the batholith range from juvenile to slightly more evolved, with ε_Nd(t) of +6 to +1.5 interpreted to reflect variable contamination by older, evolved continental material; this is also indicated by >900 Ma detrital zircon from the metasediments. The Nd data also contrast with the uniformly juvenile signature of younger, ca. 840 Ma, rocks of the Marbat region of southern Oman that lie structurally to the west. The Ja’alan and Qalhat inliers thus document eastward increasing age and continental influence, consistent with the progressive development of arc rocks onto the western margin of East Gondwana, although the location and nature of the eastern continental block remain elusive.     

麻山杂岩的两种变质作用及其与花岗岩的关系

在黑龙江佳木斯地块麻山杂岩中识别出麻山杂岩中具有两种类型的变质作用:早期局部的麻粒岩相变质作用(M1)和伴随的无水深熔作用(>530Ma),即狭义的麻山群高级变质作用,变质岩多以残留块体形式散布于后期混合岩或花岗岩之中;麻粒岩相变质之后由于广泛的岩浆活动,造成了强烈的混合岩化作用(500Ma)和相应大范围的晚期角闪岩相变质作用(M2)。角闪岩相和麻粒岩相变质并非带状递进变化,而是在时空上均有差异的两种变质作用。混合岩化过程中的富水流体对早期"干"岩石进行了明显的退变质改造,从而造成高级变质岩变质结构的复杂性。此外,含水花岗岩的侵位对先期麻粒岩相变质成因锆石同位素体系有重置作用,使得早期的变质年龄难以测定。麻山杂岩的变质-花岗岩关系与东南极普里兹带有类似之处,在变形-变质之后迅速发生了构造体系的转换,出现了新的岩浆活动,只是花岗岩发育强度有所不同,反映了两地构造演化细节上的差异。西伯利亚古陆南缘及中亚造山带内部的一些微陆块发生了与冈瓦纳陆块内泛非事件类似的构造-热-岩浆事件,因此,中亚造山带内部的佳木斯地块及其他类似的微陆块与冈瓦纳古陆边缘活动带具有相似的构造性质。     

青藏高原羌塘地区果干加年山—荣玛乡一带石炭纪—二叠纪古生物研究新进展

在羌塘中部大沙河-果干加年山剖面展金岩群中发现珊瑚化石赫氏鲍斯维耳剌毛虫Chatetes(Boswellia)heritschi Sokolov,说明展金岩群中存在晚石炭世的生物时代证据。但是该化石并不是属于冈瓦纳冷水生物区的,而是来自温水环境的特提斯型生物区。在荣玛乡黑石山剖面中发现大量中二叠世科化石,既出现典型的冈瓦纳相冷水生物,如Wannerophyllam、Monodiexo-dina等,也存在大量暖水型的生物,如田氏朱森Chusenella tieni Chen、散尔多希瓦格Schwagerina sanerduoensis Nieet Song、假孙氏假纺锤Pseudofusulina pseudosuni Sheng等。化石特征属于冈瓦纳相与特提斯相的混合类型。研究表明,羌塘中部的喀喇昆仑—龙木错—双湖一带是石炭纪、二叠纪冈瓦纳和特提斯生物混生区,不存在明显的生物大区界线。推测龙木错-双湖蛇绿岩带所代表的洋盆可能仅为特提斯南缘弧盆系统中的小盆地。     

Break Up of Australia-India-Madagascar Block, Opening of the Indian Ocean and Continental Accretion in Southeast Asia With Special Reference to the Characteristics of the Peri-Indian Collision Zones

Linear belts of Gondwana basins developed in the Indian continent since Late Palaeozoic along favoured sites of Precambrian weak zones like cratonic sutures and reactivated mobile belts. The Tibetan and Sibumasu - West Yunnan continental blocks, that were located adjacent to proto-Himalayan part of the Indian continent, rifted and drifted from the northern margin of the East Gondwanic Indo-Australian continent, during Late Palaeozoic, when the said northern margin was under glacial or cool climatic condition and rift-drift tectonic setting. The Indo-Burma-Andaman (IBA), Sikule, Lolotoi blocks were also rifted and drifted from the same northern margin during Late Jurassic. This was followed by the break-up of the Australia-India-Madagascar continental block during the Cretaceous. The activity was associated with hot spot related volcanism and opening up of the Indian Ocean. The Late Cretaceous and Tertiary phases of opening of the Arabian Sea succeeded the Early Cretaceous phase of opening of the Bay of Bengal, part of the Indian Ocean. The Palaeo- and Neo-Tethyan sutures in Tibet, Yunnan, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam reveal the complex opening and closing history of the Tethys. The IBA block rotated clockwise from its initial E-W orientation because of 90°E and adjacent dextral transcurrent fault movements caused due to faster northward movement of the Indian plate relative to that of Australia. The India-Tibet terminal collision during Early-Middle Eocene initiated Himalayan orogenesis and contemporaneously there was foreland basin development that was accompanied with sporadic but laterally extensive continental-flood-basalt (CFB) type and related volcanism. The Paleogene rocks of the Himalayan foreland basin are involved in tectonism and are mostly concealed under older rocks.

The Mesozoic-Early Eocene ophiolite terrane on IBA does not represent the eastern suture of the Indian plate but occurs as klippe on IBA, caused due to oblique collision between Sibumasu and IBA during Late Oligocene. Post-collisional indentation of Y-shaped Indian continent into the Asian collage produced Himalayan syntaxes, clockwise rotation of the Sibumasu block which was then sutured to the Tibetan and SE Asian blocks, and tectonic extrusion of the Indochina block along the Ailao Shan Red River (ASRR) shear zone. Highly potassic magmatic rocks were emplaced during Late Palaeogene at the oroclinally flexed marginal parts of the South China continental lithosphere. These magmatic bodies were dislocated by the ASRR left lateral shear zone soon afterwards. Petrogenetic and tectonic processes that generated the Eocene CFB volcanics at the Himalayan foreland basin may have also produced Late Palaeogene magmatism from outer parts of the Namche-Barwa Syntaxis. Their site-specific location and time sequence suggest them to be genetically related to the India-Asia collision process and Indian continent's indentation-induced syntaxial buckling. Deep mantle-reaching fractures were apparently produced during India-Asia terminal collision at the strongly flexed leading brittle edge of the Indian continental lithosphere, and possibly later in time at the outer oroclinally bent marginal parts of the rigid South China continental lithosphere, generating typical magma.

The subduction zone that developed along the western margin of IBA due to oblique convergence between the IBA and the Indian plate is still active. The northern end of IBA ultimately collided with the NE prolongation of the Indian continent and was accreted to it during Mio-Pliocene. The Shillong massif was uplifted and overthrust over the Bengal Basin located over its passive margin to the south, whereas, the Eocene distal shelf sediments of IBA were overthrust over the Tertiary shelf of the Indian continent.     

Protolith natures and U-Pb sensitive high mass-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) zircon ages of the metabasites in Hainan Island, South China: Implications for geodynamic evolution since the late Precambrian

Abstract Metabasites within the Paleozoic volcanic‐clastic sedimentary sequences in Hainan Island, South China, show large differences not only in the nature of protoliths, but also in zircon U‐Pb sensitive high mass‐resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) ages. The protoliths for the Tunchang area metabasites have intraoceanic arc geochemical affinities. In the east‐central island gabbroic to diabasic rocks and pillow lavas are also present, while the Bangxi area metabasites with back‐arc geochemical affinities in the northwest island consist of basaltic, gabbroic and/or picritic rocks. Three types of zircon domains/crystals in the Tunchang area metabasites are defined. Type 1 is comagmatic and yields concordant to approximately concordant 206 Pb/238 U ages ranging from 442.1 ± 13.7 Ma to 514.3 ± 30.2 Ma with a weighted U‐Pb mean age of 445 ± 10 Ma. Type 2 is inherited and yields a weighted 207 Pb/206 Pb mean age of 2488.1 ± 8.3 Ma. Type 3 is magmatic with a 207 Pb/206 Pb age of ca 1450 Ma. Magmatic zircons in the Bangxi area metabasites yield a weighted U‐Pb mean age of 269 ± 4 Ma. We suggest 450 Ma is the minimum age for crystallization of protoliths of the Tunchang area metabasites, because the age range of ca 440–514 Ma probably corresponds to both the time of igneous crystallization and the high‐temperature overprint. The presence of abundant inherited zircons strongly favors derivation of these rocks from a NMORB‐like mantle proximal to continental crust. A protolith age of ca 270 Ma for the Bangxi area metabasites probably records expansion of an epircontinental back‐arc basin and subsequent generation of a small oceanic basin. The presence of ophiolitic rocks with an age of ca 450 Ma, not only in Hainan Island, but also in the Yangtze block, highlights the fact that the South China Caledonian Orogeny was not intracontinental in nature, but characterized by an ocean‐related event.     

Age and kinematics of ductile deformation in the Cerro Durazno area, NW Argentina: Significance for orogenic processes operating at the western margin of Gondwana during Ordovician – Silurian times

The Cerro Durazno Pluton belongs to a suite of Paleozoic granitoid intrusions in NW-Argentina, that are central for understanding the tectonic setting of the western margin of Gondwana in Ordovician and Silurian times. The pluton and its host rocks were tectonically overprinted by metamorphic mineral shape fabrics formed under middle greenschist-facies metamorphic conditions and associated with the nearby Agua Rosada Shear Zone. Kinematic analysis of the shear zone based on the geometric relationship between individual segments of the shear plane and principal axes of mineral fabric ellipsoids indicates reverse-sense of shear with a minor component of left-lateral displacement. This is compatible with the kinematics of other ductile deformation zones in this area, collectively forming a network, which accomplished orogen-parallel extension in addition to vertical thickening. Using the Rb–Sr isotopic system, an undeformed pegmatite dike of the Cerro Durazno Pluton was dated at 455.8 ± 3.6 Ma and mineral fabrics of the Agua Rosada Shear Zone formed at middle greenschist-facies metamorphism gave deformation ages of 437.0 ± 3.8 Ma and 428.4 ± 4.5 Ma. Thus, tectonic overprint at low metamorphic grade occurred about 20–30 Ma after terminal magmatism in the Cerro Durazno area. Our data from the Cerro Durazno area and regional considerations suggest that the western margin of Gondwana was characterized by orogen-parallel extension in addition to crustal thickening as well as episodes of magmatism and ductile deformation that varied greatly in time and space.     

Sedimentary facies of a glacially influenced continental succession in the Pennsylvanian Jericho Formation, Galilee Basin, Australia

Recent work on the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age in eastern Australia has shown the Joe Joe Group in the eastern Galilee Basin, Queensland, to be of critical importance as it is one of few records of Pennsylvanian glacial activity outside South America. This paper presents detailed sedimentological data, from which the Late Palaeozoic environment of the region is reconstructed and which, consequently, allows for robust comment on the broader Gondwanan glaciation. The Jericho Formation, in the lower Joe Joe Group, was deposited in an active extensional basin in lacustrine to fluvial environments, during the mid‐Namurian to early Stephanian. The region experienced a cool climate during this time, and polythermal mountain or valley‐type glaciers periodically advanced into the area from highlands to the north‐east. The Jericho Formation preserves a suite of proglacial to terminal glacial facies that is characterized by massive and stratified diamictites deposited from debris flows, massive and horizontally laminated conglomerates and sandstones deposited from hyperconcentrated density flows, laminated siltstones with outsized clasts and interlaminated siltstone/conglomerate deposited through ice‐rafting into lakes, and sedimentary dykes and breccias deposited through overpressurization of groundwater beneath permafrost. Non‐glacial facies are dominated by fluvial sandstones and lacustrine/overbank siltstones. The glacigenic rocks of the Jericho Formation are confined to discrete packages, recording three separate glacial advances during the latest Namurian to late Westphalian. This arrangement is consistent with the temporal distribution of glacigenic rocks from around the remainder of Australia and Gondwana, which supports the theory that glacial deposits occurred in discrete intervals. The Joe Joe Group is a key succession in the world in this context as, at this time, eastern Australia provides the only unequivocal evidence of a Namurian/Westphalian glaciation outside South America. The continuous record of sedimentation through the Pennsylvanian and Early Permian is indicative of significant warming between glacial intervals, which is difficult to reconcile with the development of long‐lived, cold‐based ice sheets across the supercontinent.     

U-Pb zircon geochronology of late Neoproterozoic–Early Cambrian granitoids in Iran: Implications for paleogeography, magmatism, and exhumation history of Iranian basement

Eurasia has largely grown to its present enormous size through episodic addition of crustal blocks by recurring birth and demise of oceans such as Paleotethys and Neotethys. Excluding the Kopet Dagh Mountains in the northeast, crystalline basement rocks of various dimensions are exposed in all continental tectonic zones of Iran. These rocks have traditionally been viewed as continental fragments with Gondwanan affinity and summarily been assigned Precambrian or younger ages, despite the fact that evidence from isotopic dating has largely been lacking. This study presents new ion microprobe and thermal-ionization zircon U-Pb geochronological data from granitoids and orthogneisses from several locations in central Iran and the Sanandaj–Sirjan structural zones to determine crystallization ages and investigate the origin and continental affinity of these various crustal fragments. The resulting U-Pb crystallization ages for the granites and orthogneisses range from late Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian, matching the mostly juvenile Arabian–Nubian shield and Peri-Gondwanan terranes constructed after the main phase of Pan-African orogenesis. TIMS analyses of zircons with inherited cores from western Iran suggest that the Neoproterozoic crust of Iran might not be entirely juvenile, pointing to the potential presence of inherited older Proterozoic components as is common in the eastern Arabian shield. More importantly, the new zircon U-Pb crystallization ages unequivocally demonstrate that crystalline basement underlying the Sanandaj–Sirjan zone, central Iran, and the Alborz Mountains is composed of continental fragments with Gondwanan affiliation, characterized by wide spread late Neoproterozoic subduction-related magmatism. The exposure of these late Neoproterozoic–Early Cambrian basement rocks in the Iranian regions north of the Zagros is structurally controlled and linked to both large-scale crustal extension and exhumation during Mesozoic and Tertiary time as well as Tertiary collisional tectonics associated with the closure of Neotethys.     

Tectonic rotations in the Deseado Massif, southern Patagonia, during the breakup of Western Gondwana

Paleomagnetic investigation in the Deseado Massif, southern Patagonia, suggests that Triassic sedimentary rocks carry a latest Triassic to Jurassic remagnetization and that earliest Jurassic plutonic complexes carry a reversed polarity magnetization of thermoremanent origin. Despite uncertainties in the timing of the observed remanence in the Triassic rocks and the lack of paleohorizontal control on the plutonic complexes, comparison of the derived pole positions with the most reliable Late Triassic–Jurassic apparent polar wander paths indicates that the study areas underwent significant clockwise vertical-axis rotation. In contrast, paleomagnetic results from mid-Cretaceous rocks in the region indicate no rotation. The observed crustal rotations in the Deseado Massif are thus bracketed to have occurred between Jurassic and Early Cretaceous times, documenting southern Patagonian deformation during the breakup of Western Gondwana and then enlarging the regional record of clockwise rotations associated with this event. These results suggest a more complex than previously supposed tectonic evolution of this part of South America.