Structural style and deformation mechanism of the southern Dabashan foreland fold-and-thrust belt, central China

The Daba Mountains define the southern margin of the East Qinling orogenic belt, and form the boundary of the Sichuan basin in the north and northeast. The Daba Mountains can be divided into two structural belts by the NW-striking Chengkou fault, namely the northern Dabashan thrust-nappe belt and the southern Dabashan foreland fold-and-thrust belt. The southern Dabashan fold-and-thrust belt is a southwestward extruding thin-skinned thrust wedge, showing obvious belted change in deformation style and deformation intensity along the dip direction, and can be divided further into three sub-belts, i.e. the imbricate thrust sub-belt characterized by imbricate stepped-thrust sheets, the thrust-fold sub-belt characterized by the combination of the equally-developed thrusts and related folds, and the detachment-fold sub-belt characterized by box folds and closed overturned-isoclinal folds on the outcrops. Several kinds of structures have been recognized or inferred, including imbricate thrust system, passive-roof duplex (triangle zone), fault-related folds, back-thrust system and pop-up structure. The NE-SW compressive stress from the Qinling orogenic belt and detachment layers in the covering strata are the two most important determinants of deformation style. After the collision between the North China block and Yangtze block at the end of the Middle Triassic, the northward intracontinental subduction along the southern edge of the Qinling orogenic belt was initiated, which led to the corresponding southward thrusting in the upper crust. The thrusting propagated towards the foreland through the Jurassic and extended to the southernmost part of the southern Daba Mountains around the end of the Early Cretaceous, with thrusting deformation to be preferentially developed along major detachment layers and progressing upwards from the Lower Sinian through the Lower Cambrian and Silurian to Middle-Lower Triassic. Translated from Geotectonica et Metallogenia, 2006, 30(3): 294–304 [译自: 大地构造与成矿学]     

Astronomical time scale for the Middle Oxfordian to Late Kimmeridgian in the Swiss and French Jura Mountains

Detailed investigation of facies and sedimentary structures reveals that, during the Middle Oxfordian to Late Kimmeridgian, the shallow carbonate platform of the Swiss and French Jura Mountains recorded high-frequency sea-level fluctuations quite faithfully. The cyclostratigraphic analysis within the established biostratigraphic and sequence-chronostratigraphic framework implies that the resulting hierarchically stacked depositional sequences formed in tune with the orbital cycles of precession (20 kyr) and eccentricity (100 and 400 kyr). The astronomical time scale presented here is based on the correlation of 19 platform sections and 4 hemipelagic sections from south-eastern France where good biostratigraphic control is available. The cyclostratigraphic interpretation suggests that the interval between sequence boundaries Ox4 and Kim1 (early Middle Oxfordian to earliest Kimmeridgian) lasted 3.2 myr and that the Kimmeridgian sensu gallico has a duration of 3.2 to 3.3 myr. The astronomical time scale proposed here is compared to time scales established by other authors in other regions and the discrepancies are discussed. Despite these discrepancies, there is a potential to estimate the durations of ammonite zones and depositional sequences more precisely and to better evaluate the rates of sedimentary, ecological and diagenetic processes. Editorial handling: Hanspeter Funk, Helmut Weissert, Stefan Bucher     

Responses of streamflow to climate change in the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang: A case study of the Toutun River basin

A case study on the responses of streamflow to climate change in the Toutun River basin was carried out based on data analysis of streamflow, precipitation, and temperatures during the past 50 years.Temporal series of the streamflow change in the Toutun River basin was analyzed and tested using the Mann-Kendall nonparametric test. Results revealed that the annual runoff of the Toutun River had been in a monotonic decreasing trend for the past 50 years. Compared with the 1950s and 1960s, the annual runoff in the 1990s decreased by 4.0×105 m3 and 7.2×105 m3. The precipitation did not show monotonic trend during the past 50 years, but the annual temperature increased by 1.12℃ since the 1950s. Further data analysis indicated that the monthly runoff of the Toutun River decreased significantly from August to October, with precipitation displaying the similar pattern of seasonal change. Analysis suggests that the reduction of streamflow in the Toutun River basin is possibly caused by the seasonal change of precipitation, especially the precipitation reduction in summer, and temperature increases.     

Subduction of Continental Crust in the Early Palaeozoic North Qaidam Ultrahigh-Pressure Metamorphic Belt, NW China:Evidence from the Discovery of Coesite in the Belt

Coesite was discovered as inclusions in zircon separates from pelitic gneiss associated with a large eclogite body in the North Qaidam ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) terrane. Some graphite inclusions were also found. This finding suggested the occurrence of in-situ UHP metamorphism and that the terrane was most likely recrystallized at pressures below the diamond stability field. It supported other previous indirect UHP evidence, such as polycrystalline quartz inclusions in eclogitic garnet, quartz lamellae in omphacite and P-T estimates for both eclogite and garnet peridotite. The U-Pb and Sm-Nd ages of the North Qaidam eclogite indicated that subduction of continental crust occurred in the Early Palaeozoic, which probably recorded a collision between the Sino-Korean and Yangtze plates.     

On Continent-Continent Point-Collision and Ultrahigh-Pressure Metamorphism

Up to now it is known that almost all ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphism of non-impact origin occurred in continent-continent collisional orogenic belt, as has been evidenced by many outcrops in the eastern hemisphere. UHP metamorphic rocks are represented by coesite- and diamond-bearing eclogites and eclogite facies metamorphic rocks formed at 650-800℃ and 2.6-3.5 GPa, and most of the protoliths of UHP rocks are volcanic-sedimentary sequences of continental crust. From these it may be deduced that deep subduction of continental crust may have occurred. However, UHP rocks are exposed on the surface or occur near the surface now, which implies that they have been exhumed from great depths. The mechanism of deep subduction of continental crust and subsequent exhumation has been a hot topic of the research on continental dynamics, but there are divergent views. The focus of the dispute is how deep continental crust is subducted so that UHP rocks can be formed and what mechanism causes it to be subducte     

Discovery of Radiolarian Fossils from the Aiketik Group at the Western End of the South Tianshan Mountains of Chinaand Its Implications

The Aiketik Group, distributed at the western end of the South Tianshan Mountains, China, is an important lithostratigraphic unit involved in the South Tianshan orogen. It is separated from the adjacent rocks by faults. Generally, the geologists ascribed it to the Upper Carboniferous according to Pseudostaffella sp., Profusulinella sp. and Fusulinella sp. found from the limestone and sandy limestone of Aiketik. Our radiolarian fossils were obtained from the chert samples collected from the Haladaok section located at the upper Tuoshihan River. The fossils mainly include Albaillella undulata Deflandre, Albaillella paradoxa Deflandre, Albaillella sp. aff. A. paradoxa Deflandre, Albaillella sp. cf. A. deflandrei Gourmelon, Albaillella sp., Albaillella excelsa Ishiga, Kito and Imoto (?), Belowea variabilis (Ormiston et Lane), Callella cf. C. parvispinosa Won, Entactinia cf. E. tortispina Ormiston et Lane, Entactinia aff. E. tortispina Ormiston et Lane, Entactinia variospina Won, Entactinia sp., Eostylodicty     

小兴安岭黑大公路沿线多年冻土分布及退化状态

黑大公路沿线多年土主要分布于黑河－北安段，属小兴安岭岛状多年冻土区，该区存在的多年冻土是晚全新世寒冷时期的产物，现处于欧亚多年冰土南界边缘，多年冻土发育在低洼、地表积水、塔头草生长茂密、草炭和泥炭发育的沼泽化湿地当中，沼泽湿地独特的热交换特性决定了其中发育的多年冻土处于退化的最晚阶段，冻土的退化在自然条件下可能依赖于由于至上的地下热流。多年冻土的地温剖面表现为零梯度曲且冰土温度接近于0℃，由此决定了多年冻土对人为活动干扰的敏感性。     

小兴安岭地区黑河-北安段多年冻土分布特征

对于寒区公路工程，查清冻土工程地质条件是至关重要的，利用地质雷达和探孔来研究多年冻土的分布，为路基设计和处理提供依据，研究结果表明，黑北段分布有17段岛状年冻土，总长度为3．165km，主要分布于沼泽化湿地、泥炭层和草炭层极为发育低洼地带、多年冻土上限约1．5－2．0m，多年冻土厚度3－6m，主要发育有多冰冻土、富冰冻土、饱冰冻土，多年冻土地温较高，热稳定性较差，多年冻土处于强烈的退化状态。     

阿尔金山东端花岗片麻岩中3.6Ga锆石的地质意义

本文报道首次用单颗粒锆石U Pb同位素测年技术在我国西北阿尔金山东端古老花岗片麻岩中发现36 0 5± 43Ma的锆石。这是塔里木地块存在始太古代基底的重要证据 ,对研究该地区的地壳演化及其与我国东部和全球其他古老地块的对比研究具有重要的意义。     

北祁连石居里地区Cu(Zn)-S矿床地质特征及综合成矿模式

文章主要论述了北祁连山西段石居里矿田内Ⅵ号沟、Ⅷ号沟、九个泉等矿床的基本地质特征，并与北祁连山东段老虎山地区银硐沟、猪嘴哑吧等矿床对比。结合其早古生代构造演化历史、古洋脊或弧间、弧后拉张环境确定矿床类型，将上述3个矿床归属为蛇绿岩Cu(Zn）－S型矿床（类塞浦路斯型）。建立综合成矿模式的基本要求：（1）矿床具有一定的时控性，有一定的含矿层位；（2）生长性断裂的积极参与；（3）海底火山喷发、喷气中心与次级盆地双向控制；（4）多元热流体成矿系统。