Conflicting structural and geochronological data from the Ibituruna quartz-syenite (SE Brazil): Effect of protracted “hot” orogeny and slow cooling rate?

The Ibituruna quartz-syenite was emplaced as a sill in the Ribeira-Araçuaí Neoproterozoic belt (Southeastern Brazil) during the last stages of the Gondwana supercontinent amalgamation. We have measured the Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility (AMS) in samples from the Ibituruna sill to unravel its magnetic fabric that is regarded as a proxy for its magmatic fabric. A large magnetic anisotropy, dominantly due to magnetite, and a consistent magnetic fabric have been determined over the entire Ibituruna massif. The magmatic foliation and lineation are strikingly parallel to the solid-state mylonitic foliation and lineation measured in the country-rock. Altogether, these observations suggest that the Ibituruna sill was emplaced during the high temperature (~ 750 °C) regional deformation and was deformed before full solidification coherently with its country-rock. Unexpectedly, geochronological data suggest a rather different conclusion. LA-ICP-MS and SHRIMP ages of zircons from the Ibituruna quartz-syenite are in the range 530–535 Ma and LA-ICP-MS ages of zircons and monazites from synkinematic leucocratic veins in the country-rocks suggest a crystallization at ~ 570–580 Ma, i.e., an HT deformation > 35My older than the emplacement of the Ibituruna quartz-syenite. Conclusions from the structural and the geochronological studies are therefore conflicting. A possible explanation arises from ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar thermochronology. We have dated amphiboles from the quartz-syenite, and amphiboles and biotites from the country-rock. Together with the ages of monazites and zircons in the country-rock, ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar mineral ages suggest a very low cooling rate: < 3 °C/My between 570 and ~ 500 Ma and ~ 5 °C/My between 500 and 460 Ma. Assuming a protracted regional deformation consistent over tens of My, under such stable thermal conditions the fabric and microstructure of deformed rocks may remain almost unchanged even if they underwent and recorded strain pulses separated by long periods of time. This may be a characteristic of slow cooling “hot orogens” that rocks deformed at significantly different periods during the orogeny, but under roughly unchanged temperature conditions, may display almost indiscernible microstructure and fabric.     

Overprinted strike-slip deformation in the southern Valley and Ridge in Pennsylvania

Two major faults, over 32 km long and 6.4 km apart, truncate or overprint most previous folds and faults as they trend more northerly than the previous N25°E to N40°E fold trends. The faults were imposed as the last event in a region undergoing sequential counter-clockwise generation of tectonic structures. The western Big Cove anticline has an early NW verging thrust fault that emplaces resistant rocks on its NW limb. A 16 km overprint by the Cove Fault is manifested as 30 small northeast striking right-lateral strike-slip faults. This suggests major left-lateral strike-slip separation on the Cove Fault, but steep, dip-slip separation also occurs. From south to north the Cove Fault passes from SE dipping beds within the Big Cove anticline, to the vertical beds of the NW limb. Then it crosses four extended, separated, Tuscarora blocks along the ridge, brings Cambro-Ordovician carbonates against Devonian beds, and initiates the zone of overprinted right-lateral faults. Finally, it deflects the Lat 40°N fault zone as it crosses to the next major anticline to the northwest. To the east, the major Path Valley Fault rotates and overprints the earlier Carrick Valley thrust. The Path Valley Fault and Cove Fault may be Mesozoic in age, based upon fault fabrics and overprinting on the east–west Lat 40°N faults.     

黑龙江北部多宝山矿区奥陶系的岩石特征和构造意义

黑龙江北部多宝山矿区广泛发育奥陶系,因含有铜、钼矿源层而受到地质界的注意.本文概述了其生物地层和沉积特征,重点探讨了其火山岩的岩石化学特征.该套火山岩总体上属钙碱性系列,部分（主要是酸性岩）可能属拉斑玄武岩系.下旋回（窝里河组）火山岩以相对低K、La和Eu负异常为特征,总体属大陆边缘岛弧,局部显示出大洋岛弧安山岩的性质.上旋回（多宝山组）的弧则属大陆边缘岛弧与安第斯型山弧的过渡类型,部分地区可能有安第斯型山弧发育.分5个阶段重塑了该区奥陶纪大地构造演化,早古代洋壳向东偏北消减于布列亚一佳木斯地块之下,因后退式的消减而火山弧向西偏南迁移,构造线方向为北北西向.     

大陆地壳深熔作用中自由水的贡献——以高喜马拉雅淡色花岗岩为例

高喜马拉雅淡色花岗岩是印度与亚洲板块碰撞过程中,地壳深熔作用的产物.尽管自由水对高喜马拉雅淡色花岗岩形成的重要性已被多次报导,但仍存在许多争议.本研究汇编了高喜马拉雅淡色花岗岩的全岩地球化学数据,证明高喜马拉雅淡色花岗岩可以由脱水熔融形成和水致熔融形成.进一步通过热力学模拟获得锆石结晶,并与锆石Ti温度计比较,限定了不...     

Intracontinental Collisional Orogeny During Late Permian-Middle Triassic in South China: Sedimentary Records of the Shiwandashan Basin

Sedimentary response to an orogenic process is important for determining whether South China had compressional or extensional orogeny during the period from the Late Permian to the Middle Triassic besides the tectonic and magmatologic evidence. An intracontinental collision event took place between the Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks in the Late Permian. Beginning at the Late Triassic, the tectonic movement was completely changed in nature and entered a post-collisional extensional orogenic and basin-making process. This paper presents sedimentological evidence from the Late Permian to the Middle Triassic in the Shiwandashan basin at the southwestern end of the junction zone between the Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks.     

Seismic Activity in the Himalayan Orogenic Belt and Its Related Geohazards

Himalayan orogenic belt is the highest and largest continental collision and subduction zone on the Earth. The Himalayan orogenic belt has produced frequent large earthquakes and caused several geohazards due to landslides and housing collapse, having an impact on the safety of life and property along a length of over 2500 km. Here we took three earthquake clusters as examples, which occurred at Nepal Himalaya, eastern Himalayan syntaxis and western Himalayan syntaxis, respectively. Here we calculated the earthquake locations and fault plane solutions based on the waveform data recorded by seismic stations deployed in source areas by the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences. We found that at the Nepal Himalayan, the Main Himalayan Thrust is the major tectonic structure for large earthquakes to occur. At the eastern Himalayan syntaxis, most earthquakes are of the reverse or strike-slip faulting. The major tectonic feature is the combination of the NE-dipping thrust with the southeastern escape of the Tibetan plateau. At the western Himalayan syntaxis, intermediate-depth earthquakes are active. These observations reveal the geometry of the deep subduction of the continental plate with steep dipping angle.     

关于秦岭造山带

纪念老一代地球科学家李四光先生,思考地球科学与大地构造学的创新发展。文章以秦岭造山带为例思考大陆复合造山及其动力学,认知概括秦岭造山带基本属性与特质,探索认识中小多板块多期洋陆俯冲造山-陆-陆板块俯冲碰撞造山的板块复合造山,并又强烈叠加复合陆内造山,造成复杂组成与结构,形成立交桥式四维流变学分层的多层非耦合动态演化的大陆复合造山带模型,及其新的演化趋势动态和构成国家人类需求的成矿成藏物质财富与宜居的地表系统环境等,期望前瞻探索认知地球发展的未来。文章还就秦岭造山带几个有争议的问题,进行简要讨论,共求新的探索研究发展。期盼学习李四光先生学术理论精华,尤其在深化发展板块构造,探索认知大陆构造与动力学方面,创新发展地质力学,以宇宙太阳系视野探索地球动力学,推动大地构造新发展。      

Understanding the hydrological system dynamics of a glaciated alpine catchment in the Himalayan region using the J2000 hydrological model

This paper provides the results of hydrological modelling in a mesoscale glaciated alpine catchment of the Himalayan region. In the context of global climate change, the hydrological regime of an alpine mountain is likely to be affected, which might produce serious implications for downstream water availability. The main objective of this study was to understand the hydrological system dynamics of a glaciated catchment, the Dudh Kosi River basin, in Nepal, using the J2000 hydrological model and thereby understand how the rise in air temperature will affect the hydrological processes. The model is able to reproduce the overall hydrological dynamics quite well with an efficiency result of Nash–Sutcliffe (0.85), logarithm Nash–Sutcliffe (0.93) and coefficient of determination (0.85) for the study period. The average contribution from glacier areas to total streamflow is estimated to be 17%, and snowmelt (other than from glacier areas) accounts for another 17%. This indicates the significance of the snow and glacier runoff in the Himalayan region. The hypothetical rise in temperature scenarios at a rate of +2 and +4 °C indicated that the snowmelt process might be largely affected. An increase in snowmelt volume is noted during the premonsoon period, whereas the contribution during the monsoon season is significantly decreased. This occurs mainly because the rise in temperature will shift the snowline up to areas of higher altitude and thereby reduce the snow storage capacity of the basin. This indicates that the region is particularly vulnerable to global climate change and the associated risk of decreasing water availability to downstream areas. Under the assumed warming scenarios, it is likely that in the future, the river might shift from a ‘melt‐dominated river’ to a ‘rain‐dominated river’. The J2000 model should be considered a promising tool to better understand the hydrological dynamics in alpine mountain catchments of the Himalayan region. This understanding will be quite useful for further analysis of ‘what‐if scenarios’ in the context of global climate and land‐use changes and ultimately for sustainable Integrated Water Resources Management in the Himalayan region. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

燕山地区喜马拉雅期地壳运动划分及表现特征

摘要：在全面总结燕山地区新生代沉积相和厚度分析、地貌类型及特征、新生代岩浆活动、活动构造类型及特征、延（庆）涿（鹿）地堑盆地及其构造演化、地震地质分析以及大量的同位素年龄测试结果基础上,结合前人对邻区地壳运动划分的意见,系统地将燕山地区喜马拉雅期地壳运动划分为两期、三幕和三亚幕,为我国东部地区建立了一个比较完整的新生代地壳运动年表。