Osmium isotope geochemistry in the Mackenzie River basin

The Cenozoic marine osmium isotope record is largely driven by changes in the continental input. We aid its interpretation by supplying direct measurements of present day riverine Os in known geological and environmental settings. We analyzed Os concentrations and isotopic ratios in the dissolved, suspended, and bed materials of the Mackenzie River in Canada and smaller rivers draining the Western Cordillera into the Pacific Ocean. Rhenium content was measured for suspended and bed materials to provide further constraint. Dissolved ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios range from 0.74 to 4.5 and are controlled to first order by age and lithology of the bedrock. The rivers draining Jurassic volcanic rocks are unradiogenic, as low as 0.74, and those draining the Precambrian Canadian Shield are radiogenic, as high as 3.5. The headwaters of the Mackenzie left bank tributaries draining metamorphic carbonates in the Eastern Cordillera and Paleozoic black and gray shales in the Transition zone and the Interior Platform are especially radiogenic (3.0-4.5) with relatively high concentrations of Os. These latter rivers are responsible for the Mackenzie being above world average in Os concentration and yield (mol Os/km²/year) as well as in ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os. The dissolved load is more radiogenic than the suspended or bed loads and constitutes a significant fraction of total fluvial Os.     

Typical basin-fill sequences and basin migration in Yanshan, North China ——Response to Mesozoic tectonic transition

Basin-fill sequences of Mesozoic typical basins in the Yanshan area, North China may be divided into four phases, reflecting lithosphere tectonic evolution from flexure (T3), flexure with weak rifting (J1+2), tectonic transition (J3), and rifting (K). Except the first phase, the other three phases all start with lava and volcaniclastic rocks, and end with thick coarse clastic rocks and/or conglomerates, showing cyclic basin development rather than simple cyclic rift mechanism and disciplinary basin-stress change from extension to compression in each phase. Prototype basin analysis, based on basin-fill sequences, paleocurrent distribution and depositional systems, shows that single basin-strike and structural-line direction controlling basin development had evidently changed from east-west to northeast in Late Jurassic in the Yanshan area, although basin group still occurred in east-west zonal distribution. Till Early Cretaceous, main structural-line strike controlling basins just turned to northeast by     

山东胶莱盆地形成的动力学条件及其与金成矿作用的相关性讨论

山东胶莱盆地位于胶东地区的胶北隆起区和胶南造山带之间,在大地构造位置上,位于叠置在华北板块和扬子板块的拼合带部位,它的周边被深断裂所围限和控制,因此属于一个断陷盆地。自晚侏罗世至晚白垩世,胶莱盆地经历了初始拉张、强烈拉张、稳定扩张和萎缩消亡的几个构造演化阶段。它的形成和发展与中生代库拉—太平洋板块向欧亚板块俯冲以及郯—庐断裂带的强烈活动的动力学背景密切相关。胶莱盆地在形成和发育过程中,对胶北隆起区的大规模金成矿作用中的控矿构造的时空演化、矿液上侵驱动转移、成矿热动力、成矿流体和金属来源等方面均有一定的贡献。     

Structure and Evolution of the East Antarctic Lithosphere: Tectonic Implications for the Development and Dispersal of Gondwana

Lithospheric evolution of the Antarctic shield is one of the keystones for understanding continental growth during the Earth's evolution. Architecture of the East Antarctic craton is characterized by comparison with deep structures of the other Precambrian terrains. In this paper, we review the subsurface structure of the Lower Paleozoic metamorphic complex around the Lützow-Holm area (LHC), East Antarctica, where high-grade metamorphism occurred during the Pan-African orogenic event. LHC is considered to be one of the collision zones in the last stage of the formation of Gondwana. A geoscience program named ‘Structure and Evolution of the East Antarctic Lithosphere (SEAL)’ was carried out since 1996-1997 austral summer season as part of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE). Several geological and geophysical surveys were conducted including a deep seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection survey in the LHC. The main target of the SEAL seismic transect was to obtain lithospheric structure over several geological terrains from the western adjacent Achaean Napier Complex to the eastern Lower Paleozoic Yamato-Belgica Complex. The SEAL program is part of a larger deep seismic profile, LEGENDS (Lithospheric Evolution of Gondwana East iNterdisciplinary Deep Surveys) that will extend across the Pan-African belt in neighboring fragments of Gondwana.     

合肥—潢川盆地南缘中生代冲积沉积及其构造意义

合肥—潢川盆地南缘中生代地层被划分为4个年代体（Chronsome）。年代体Ⅰ包括早侏罗世防虎山组和中晚侏罗世圆筒山组下部，由辫状河、曲流河以及滨一浅湖沉积体系组成，局限于盆地东端；年代体Ⅱ包括中晚侏罗世三尖铺组、朱集组和圆筒山组上部，下部为冲积扇沉积，中、上部为辫状河沉积，早期属于横向水流系统（南北方向），晚期是纵向水流系统（东西方向），近EW向的信阳—金寨—舒城断裂是其南部边界；年代体Ⅲ包括早白垩世早期凤凰台组、段集组、周公山组，前两组为冲积扇沉积，后者为辫状河和越岸沉积，粗碎屑明显向盆进积达数公里，南部边缘发育横向水流，而往盆地方向发育纵向水流。年代体Ⅳ为早白垩世晚期黑石渡组和陈棚组，南部边界是磨子潭晓天断裂和桐柏-商城断裂，断裂以伸展走滑为主，东段早期为冲积扇-扇三角洲沉积，晚期为深湖浊积岩沉积。晚白垩世沉积仅发育在西段局部地区，其余处于隆升状态。平行于大别山造山带的近EW向纵向断裂控制着年代体的南部边界，NE向郯城庐江断裂和商城麻城断裂控制着年代体侧向相的变化。合肥潢川盆地南缘沉积从东往西逐渐超覆，揭示大别造山带折返具有自东而西的递进特征。郯城—庐江断裂和商城—麻城断裂对年代体的发育有明显影响，郯城—庐江断裂控制着早侏罗世沉积，表明构造活动至少始于早侏罗世。     

Paleostress fields from calcite twins in the Pyeongan Supergroup, South Korea

Abstract   Paleostress fields of the Late Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic Pyeongan Supergroup that is distributed along the northeastern part of the Ogcheon Belt in South Korea were investigated using the calcite strain gauge (CSG) technique. Combining the results of this study with those of other studies investigating the relationship between twin strain, twin density and width, which are used as indicators of deformation conditions in the natural low-temperature deformation of limestone, it was estimated that calcite twins in the study area were probably formed at temperatures lower than 170°C. From two samples, two different principal paleostress directions were inferred from calcite twins, while only one direction was inferred from two other samples. This result suggests that deformation occurred during two or more different tectonic events in the Pyeongan Supergroup during the Mesozoic era. The maximum shortening axis was oriented in two directions, northeast–southwest and northwest–southeast, respectively, which coincide well with the paleostress directions inferred from the stress inversion for many fault sets. Combining the results of the paleostress analysis from this and other studies, we hypothesize that the directions of the maximum shortening axis in the Pyeongan Supergroup changed from northeast–southwest during the pre-Daebo orogeny period (Late Triassic period) to northwest–southeast during the syn-Daebo orogeny period (Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous period) in the Mesozoic era.     

Mesozoic to Tertiary tectonic history of the Mirdita ophiolites, northern Albania

Abstract In this paper, a summary of the tectonic history of the Mirdita ophiolitic nappe, northern Albania, is proposed by geological and structural data. The Mirdita ophiolitic nappe includes a subophiolite mélange, the Rubik complex, overlain by two ophiolite units, referred to as the Western and Eastern units. Its history started in the Early Triassic with a rifting stage followed by a Middle to Late Triassic oceanic opening between the Adria and Eurasia continental margins. Subsequently, in Early Jurassic time, the oceanic basin was affected by convergence with the development of a subduction zone. The existence of this subduction zone is provided by the occurrence of the supra‐subduction‐zone‐related magmatic sequences found in both the Western and Eastern units of the Mirdita ophiolitic nappe. During the Middle Jurassic, continuous convergence resulted in the obduction of the oceanic lithosphere, in two different stages – the intraoceanic and marginal stages. The intraoceanic stage is characterized by the westward thrusting of a young and still hot section of oceanic lithosphere leading to the development of a metamorphic sole. In the Late Jurassic, the marginal stage developed by the emplacement of the ophiolitic nappe onto the continental margin. During this second stage, the emplacement of the ophiolites resulted in the development of the Rubik complex. In the Early Cretaceous, the final emplacement of the ophiolites was followed by the unconformable sedimentation of the Barremian–Senonian platform carbonate. From the Late Cretaceous to the Middle Miocene, the Mirdita ophiolitic nappe was translated westward during the progressive migration of the deformation front toward the Adria Plate. In the Middle to Late Miocene, a thinning of the whole nappe pile was achieved by extensional tectonics, while the compression was still active in the westernmost areas of the Adria Plate. On the whole, the Miocene deformations resulted in the uplift and exposition of the Mirdita ophiolites as observed today.     

Petrogenesis and significance of early Yanshanian syenite-granite complex in eastern Nanling Range

According to the statistics for granitoid distribution map of 1/2000000 Nanling region[1], the granitoids in the Nanling region sum up an area of more than 170000 km2, occupying about one fifth of the entire Nanling region. Granitoid rocks in the Nanlingregion are mainly composed of monzogranites (occu- pying more than 84%), granodiorites (about 11%) and syenogranites (about 3%)[2]. There also exists a small amount of syenites (0.12%) with a sum area of about 94 km2[2]. However, nearly half …     

Origin of Mesozoic gold mineralization in South Korea

Abstract   The Mesozoic gold–silver deposits in South Korea are closely associated with the Mesozoic granitoids. The Jurassic gold–silver deposits can be distinguished from the Cretaceous ones in terms of occurrence, alteration style, gold fineness, associated mineral assemblage, fluid inclusion and stable isotopic compositions. The Jurassic deposits were formed in mesozonal environments related to deep-seated granitoids, whereas the Cretaceous ones were formed in epizonal environments related to shallow-level granitoids. The Jurassic auriferous deposits (about 165–145 Ma) show fluid characteristics typical of an orogenic-type gold deposit, and were probably generated in a compressional regime caused by an orthogonal convergence of the Izanagi oceanic plate into the Asiatic margin. However, strike-slip faults and caldera-related fractures, together with subvolcanic to volcanic activity, may have played an important role in the formation of Cretaceous gold–silver lode deposits (about 110–45 Ma) under a continental arc setting.     

Unconventional distribution of facies in a continental rift basin: the Pliocene–Pleistocene Mangas Basin, south-western New Mexico, USA

The Pliocene–Early Pleistocene Mangas Basin in SW New Mexico, USA, was a N–NW-trending full graben that changed southward to an eastward-tilted half graben. Unlike the facies distribution predicted in existing models, the half-graben part of the Mangas Basin was characterized by broad alluvial fans derived from the footwall scarp, smaller hangingwall-derived alluvial fans, and a shallow, closed lake (Lake Buckhorn) that locally lapped onto the hangingwall hills. The distribution of facies within the full-graben part of the Mangas Basin was also unlike that predicted in current models, primarily because of a broad belt of alluvial-fan sediment derived from the eastern footwall scarp and a narrow belt of axial-fluvial sediment adjacent to the western footwall scarp. The distribution of facies in the Mangas Basin does not appear to have been controlled by the eastward tilt of the floor of the half graben or ‘see-saw’ motion of the floor of the full graben, as predicted by existing models, but rather by the large size of the alluvial fans on the eastern side of the basin. These fans were derived from large, high-relief catchments on the footwall scarp of the Mogollon Mountains, the uplift of which began during Early Miocene. This example illustrates how earlier uplift and drainage development in a mountain range may influence facies distribution in a younger extensional basin.