Crustal structure under the Sydney Basin and Lachlan Fold Belt,determined from explosion seismic studies

The Lachlan Fold Belt has the velocity‐depth structure of continental crust, with a thickness exceeding 50 km under the region of highest topography in Australia, and in the range 41–44 km under the central Fold Belt and Sydney Basin. There is no evidence of high upper crustal velocities normally associated with marginal or back‐arc basin crustal rocks. The velocities in the lower crust are consistent with an overall increase in metamorphic grade and/or mafic mineral content with depth. Continuing tectonic development throughout the region and the negligible seismicity at depths greater than 30 km indicate that the lower crust is undergoing ductile deformation.

The upper crustal velocities below the Sydney Basin are in the range 5.75–5.9 km/s to about 8 km, increasing to 6.35–6.5 km/s at about 15–17 km depth, where there is a high‐velocity (7.0 km/s) zone for about 9 km evident in results from one direction. The lower crust is characterised by a velocity gradient from about 6.7 km/s at 25 km, to 7.7 km/s at 40–42 km, and a transition to an upper mantle velocity of 8.03–8.12 km/s at 41.5–43.5 km depth.

Across the central Lachlan Fold Belt, velocities generally increase from 5.6 km/s at the surface to 6.0 km/s at 14.5 km depth, with a higher‐velocity zone (5.95 km/s) in the depth range 2.5–7.0 km. In the lower crust, velocities increase from 6.3 km/s at 16 km depth to 7.2 km/s at 40 km depth, then increase to 7.95 km/s at 43 km. A steeper gradient is evident at 26.5–28 km depth, where the velocity is about 6.6—6.8 km/s. Under part of the area an upper mantle low‐velocity zone in the depth range 50–64 km is interpreted from strong events recorded at distances greater than 320 km.

There is no substantial difference in the Moho depth across the boundary between the Sydney Basin and the Lachlan Fold Belt, consistent with the Basin overlying part of the Fold Belt. Pre‐Ordovician rocks within the crust suggest fragmented continental‐type crust existed E of the Precambrian craton and that these contribute to the thick crustal section in SE Australia.     

Regional stress and structure in relation to brown coal open cuts of the Latrobe Valley,Victoria

An interpretation of the origins of folds and joints, which affect the Tertiary Brown Coal Measures of the Latrobe Valley, leads to the proposal that the geological structures have been formed under a regional Late Tertiary NNW‐SSE compressive stress. Considerations of the pattern of measured in situ stresses and of interpreted stresses, derived from earth movements around open cuts and from earthquakes, indicate that a regional NNW‐SSE compressive stress is still in existence in the SE part of Australia at the present time.

It is proposed that the consistencies in the stress orientations reflect consistencies in the Late Tertiary to Recent global movements of the Australian plate.     

The parnell quartz monzonite: A proterozoic zoned pluton in the archaean pilbara block,Western Australia

The Parnell Quartz Monzonite in the Pilbara Block of Western Australia is a Proterozoic (1731 ± 14 Ma) pluton characterized by high modal K‐feldspar and a greater abundance of hornblende relative to biotite, as is typical of Phanerozoic monzonitic rocks in eastern Australia. The only geochemical features reflecting its setting in an Archaean terrain are high Na2O, Ni and Cr. The pluton is zoned, with an increase in K‐feldspar, quartz and biotite and a decrease in plagioclase and hornblende from margin to core. Chemically, this zoning is reflected by systematic variation of CaO, K₂O, Na₂O, Sr and Rb, but ferromagnesian elements have irregular trends, implying preferential extraction of feldspars relative to mafic minerals during differentiation of the magma. The unusual geochemical trends are explained by a model involving ‘in situ’ feldspar fractionation of a K‐rich residual liquid from a mafic crystalline mush.

A parent magma similar to the average rock composition of the pluton is deduced because high ferromagnesian trace element abundances preclude extensive fractionation of mafic minerals. Geochemical and isotopic constraints suggest that the ultimate source was chemically similar to a shoshonitic basaltic andesite, that must have been emplaced beneath the eastern margin of the Pilbara Block in the Early Proterozoic. Subsequent partial melting of this postulated underplated source at ～ 1700 Ma to produce the Parnell Quartz Monzonite was probably associated with tectonism in the Gregory Range Complex.     

Paleoproterozoic crustal evolution of the Tarim Craton: Constrained by zircon U–Pb and Hf isotopes of meta-igneous rocks from Korla and Dunhuang

The Tarim Craton is one of three large cratons in China. Presently, there is only scant information concerning its crustal evolutionary history because most of the existing geochronological studies have lacked a combined isotopic analysis, especially an in situ Lu–Hf isotope analysis of zircon. In this study, Precambrian basement rocks from the Kuluketage and Dunhuang Blocks in the northeastern portion of the Tarim Craton have been analyzed for combined in situ laser ablation ICP-(MC)-MS zircon U–Pb and Lu–Hf isotopic analyses, as well as whole rock elements, to constrain their protoliths, forming ages and magma sources. Two magmatic events from the Kuluketage Block at ∼2.4 Ga and ∼1.85 Ga are revealed, and three stages of magmatic events are detected in the Dunhuang Block, i.e., ∼2.0 Ga, ∼1.85 Ga and ∼1.75 Ga. The ∼1.85 Ga magmatic rocks from both areas were derived from an isotopically similar crustal source under the same tectonic settings, suggesting that the Kuluketage and Dunhuang Blocks are part of the uniform Precambrian basement of the Tarim Craton. Zircon Hf model ages of the ∼2.4 Ga magmatism indicate that the crust of the Tarim Craton may have been formed as early as the Paleoarchean period. The ∼2.0 Ga mafic rock from the Dunhuang Block was formed in an active continental margin setting, representing an important crustal growth event of the Tarim Craton in the mid-Paleoproterozoic that coincides with the global episode of crust formation during the assembly of the Columbia supercontinent. The ∼1.85 Ga event in the Kuluketage and Dunhuang Blocks primarily involved the reworking of the old crust and most likely related to the collisional event associated with the assembly of the Columbia supercontinent, while the ∼1.75 Ga magmatism in the Dunhuang Block resulted from a mixture of the reworked Archean crust with juvenile magmas and was most likely related to a post-collisional episode.     

Pyrite paragenesis and multiple sulfur isotope distribution in late Archean and early Paleoproterozoic Hamersley Basin sediments

The sulfur isotope record in late Archean and early Paleoproterozoic rocks is of considerable importance because it provides evidence for changes in early Earth atmospheric oxygen levels and potentially constrains the origin and relative impact of various microbial metabolisms during the transition from an anoxic to oxic atmosphere. Mass independently fractionated (MIF) sulfur isotopes reveal late Archean and early Paleoproterozoic sulfur sources in different pyrite morphologies in Western Australia's Hamersley Basin. Multiple sulfur isotope values in late Archean pyrite vary according to morphology. Fine grained pyrite has positive sulfur MIF, indicating a reduced elemental sulfur source, whereas pyrite nodules have negative sulfur MIF, potentially derived from soluble sulfate via microbial sulfate reduction. The Hamersley Basin δ³⁴S–Δ³³S record suggests that the extent of oxygenation of the surface ocean fluctuated through the Late Archean from at least 2.6 Ga, more than 150 million yr before the Great Oxidation Event. In the early Paleoproterozoic, there is less distinction between pyrite morphologies with respect to sulfur isotope fractionation, and pyrite from the Brockman Iron Formation trends toward modern sulfur isotope values. An important exception to this is the strong negative MIF recorded in layer parallel pyrite in Paleoproterozoic carbonate facies iron formation. This may suggest that deeper water hydrothermal environments remained anoxic while shallower water environments became more oxidised by the early Paleoproterozoic. The results of the current study indicate that sulfide paragenesis is highly significant when investigating Archean and early Paleoproterozoic multiple sulfur isotope compositions and sulfur sources.     

Crustal contaminants in the Permian Oslo Rift, South Norway: constraints from Precambrian geochemistry

During the late Paleozoic Oslo rifting event, the SW part of the Baltic Shield was penetrated by mantle-derived magmas from a depleted lithospheric or sublithospheric source. Along the way to their final emplacement, these magmas may have interacted with a heterogeneous continental crust, consisting of a mosaic of continental terranes, each with its unique composition and internal crustal history. Information on radiogenic isotope ratios and trace element distributions in the Precambrian terranes surrounding the rift can be used to define characteristic crustal components. These components may be used as endmembers in petrogenetic modelling of the Oslo Rift magmatic system. Based on available data, six endmember components can be identified, and (semi) quantitatively characterized in terms of Sr, Nd and Pb isotopes and selected trace elements. Data on the distribution of rock-types along the rift flanks allow estimates to be made of the relative importance of the components in different parts of the rift. Combining these data with petrological information may allow a realistic understanding of crust–magma interaction in the Oslo Rift magmatic system.     

云开元古宙眼球状花岗岩Sm—Nd和Rb—Sr同位素体系定年及其动力学意义

对云开核部韧性-流变剪切变形眼球状花岗岩石样品进行了全岩Sm-Nd、Rb-Sr同位素年龄测定,获得1414±68Ma的Sm-Nd等时线和490±36Ma的Rb-Sr等时线年龄,它们分别代表这套花岗岩的形成时代和加里东期韧性-流变剪切部分熔融构造热事件发生时间,表明云开地区不仅在加里东期发生造山运动,而且在中元古晚期发生了更为重要的构造—岩浆造山运动,其时代与全球性的格林威尔造山运动时间可以对比。     

内蒙古西北部宝音图群Sm—Nd和Rb—Sr地质年代学研究

内蒙古西北部的宝音图群由角闪岩相的变质地层组成。该群中斜长角闪片岩的Sm-Nd全岩等时线年龄为2485±128Ma,可代表宝音图群的形成年龄。等时线的ε_(Nd)(t)值为2.73±2.81,说明岩浆来源于亏损的地幔源区。相同样品的Rb-Sr全岩等时线年龄为623±36Ma,显然反映后期Rb-Sr体系重新均一化的强烈影响,因此该年龄被解释为变质年龄。上述结果表明宝音图群形成于古元古代早期,应属华北板块北缘已知的最古老岩石地层单位,并保留了新元古代末期构造—变质事件的记录。这些认识有助于查明华北板块北缘元古宙构造演化的历史。     

关于蓟县型中、上元古界沉积环境及内蒙地轴的性质

内蒙地轴和燕辽坳都是华北地台北缘的二级大地构单元,本文在对蓟县型中、上元古界沉积环境和对内蒙地轴演化历史的初步研究基础上,认为蓟县型中、上元古界沉积盆地于长城－蓟县期,在北部与广海相连,属于陆表海发展,在青白口期,由于北部逐渐抬升,该沉积盆地才具有陆内盆地性质,内蒙地轴在长城－蓟县期总体处于水下环境,青白口爰开始抬升为古陆,其大规模抬升可能是在古生代或更晚。     

辽西地区中元古代变质岩系的初步研究

辽西地区中元古代变质表壳岩包括石英岩、千枚岩-片岩、大理岩及细粒长英质片麻岩和少量阳起石片岩,为中酸性火山活动及钙碱性玄武岩活动之后的海进型沉积旋回,显示出一套较为连续的火山-沉积系列。变质深成岩以斜长花岗质片麻岩为主体。根据同位素测年、微古植物化石分析及与地层的接触关系等,厘定它们为中元古代产物。在中元古代该区经历了大陆边缘岛弧的形成、发展过程。