Heavy clastic minerals from the Far East island-arc complexes

The results of the study of heavy clastic minerals from the Cretaceous-Paleogene terrigenous complexes of Sikhote-Alin and Kamchatka, as well as from the Cenozoic sediments of the deepwater Vanuatu Trench, are summarized. The data obtained have been interpreted on the basis of their comparison with heavy mineral assemblages of recent sediments deposited in known geodynamic settings. It is shown that the heavy clastic minerals of sedimentary rocks, their relative quantities, and chemical compositions may serve as reliable indicators of different island-arc settings and magmatic processes; these indicators may also be used for identification of such settings in paleobasins of orogenic regions.     

Sapphirine-bearing granulites and related high-temperature metamorphic rocks from the Higo metamorphic terrane, west-central Kyushu, Japan

The Higo metamorphic unit in west-central Kyushu island, southwest Japan is an imbricated crustal section in which a sequence of units with increasing metamorphic grade from high (northern part) to low (southern part) structural levels is exposed. The basal part of the metamorphic sequence representing an original depth of 23–24  km consists mainly of garnet–cordierite–biotite gneiss, garnet–orthopyroxene gneiss, orthopyroxene-bearing amphibolite and orthopyroxene-bearing S-type tonalite. These metamorphic rocks underwent high amphibolite-facies up to granulite facies metamorphism with peak P – T  conditions of 720  MPa, 870  °C. In addition sapphirine-bearing granulites and related high-temperature metamorphic rocks also occur as tectonic blocks in a metamorphosed peridotite intrusion. The sapphirine-bearing granulites and their related high-temperature metamorphic rocks can be subdivided into five types of mineral assemblages reflecting their bulk chemical compositions as follows: (1) sapphirine–corundum–spinel–cordierite (2) corundum–spinel–cordierite (3) garnet–corundum–spinel–cordierite (4) garnet–spinel–gedrite–corundum, and (5) orthopyroxene–spinel–gedrite. These metamorphic rocks are characterized by unusually high Al₂O₃ and low SiO₂ contents, which could represent a restitic nature remaining after partial melting of pelitic granulite under the ultra high-temperature contact metamorphism at the peak metamorphic event of the Higo metamorphic unit. The metamorphic conditions are estimated to be about 800  MPa and above 950  °C which took place at about 250  Ma as a result of the thermal effect of the regional gabbroic rock intrusions.     

Unpairing metamorphic belts: P–T paths and a tectonic model for the Ryoke Belt, southwest Japan

Southwest Japan is divided into Outer and Inner Zones by the Median Tectonic Line (MTL), a major transcurrent fault. The Outer Zone is composed of the Sambagawa (high-pressure intermediate or high P/T type metamorphism), Chichibu and Shimanto Belts. In the Inner Zone, the Ryoke Belt (andalusite– sillimanite or low P/T type metamorphism) was developed mainly within a Jurassic accretionary complex. This spatial relationship between high P/T type and low P/T type metamorphic belts led Miyashiro to the idea that metamorphic belts were developed as ‘paired’ systems. Textural relationships and petrogenetically significant mineral assemblages in pelites from the Ryoke Belt imply peak P–T conditions of ≈5 kbar and up to 850 °C in migmatitic garnet–cordierite rocks from the highest-grade metamorphic zone. It is likely that the thermal anomaly responsible for metamorphism of the Ryoke Belt was related to a segment of the Farallon–Izanagi Ridge as it subducted under the eastern margin of the Asian continent during the Cretaceous. The sequence of mineral assemblages developed in pelites implies a metamorphic field gradient with shallow dP/dT slope, inferred to have been generated by a nested set of hairpin-like ‘clockwise’P–T paths. These P–T paths are characterized by limited prograde thickening, minor decompression at peak-T , and near-isobaric cooling, features that may be typical of P–T paths in low P/T type metamorphic belts caused by ridge subduction. A ridge subduction model for the Ryoke Belt implies that juxtaposition of the high-P/T metamorphic rocks of the Sambagawa Belt against it was a result of terrane amalgamation. Belt-parallel ductile stretching, recorded as syn-metamorphic, predominantly constrictional strain in both Ryoke and Sambagawa Belt rocks, and substantial sinistral displacement on the MTL are consistent with left-lateral oblique convergence. Diachroneity in fast cooling of the Ryoke Belt is implied by extant thermochronological data, and is inferred to relate to progressive SW to NE docking of the Sambagawa Belt. Thus, an alternative interpretation of ‘paired’ metamorphic belts in Japan is that they represent laterally contemporaneous terranes, rather than outboard and inboard components of a trench/arc ‘paired’ system. Amalgamation of laterally contemporaneous terranes during large translations of forearcs along continental margins may explain other examples of ‘paired’ metamorphic belts in the geological record.     

柴北缘牦牛山地区牦牛山组沉积相组合特征

柴达木盆地北缘牦牛山地区出露的牦牛山组是一套由冲积扇和扇三角洲相共同构成的陆相沉积组合,冲积扇相砾岩-粗砂岩组合主要分布于研究区SE侧,扇三角洲相砂岩-泥岩组合主要分布于研究区NW侧。古水流分析表明牦牛山组沉积物主要来自其SE侧古隆起,但后期扇三角洲相包含少量来自NW和NE向的沉积物。该套沉积组合序列特征与区域上分布在牦牛山西侧同时期形成的湖泊相、滨浅海相沉积共同表明,柴达木盆地北缘在晚志留-早泥盆世时期存在一NW向倾斜的古斜坡,且晚期北侧发生抬升。砾岩和砂岩碎屑组成与区域岩石组合类型对比表明,牦牛山组沉积碎屑物主要来自于滩间山群。沉积组合序列特征、碎屑组成和区域构造背景综合研究表明,牦牛山组可能为柴达木板块向北俯冲过程中形成的局部断陷盆地的充填物。     

40Ar/39 mineral ages from the Scituate Granite, Rhode Island: implications for Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal activity in New England

The alkalic Scituate Granite was emplaced into crystalline sequences within the New England Esmond–Dedham terrane in the Late Devonian ( c. 370 Ma). Variably recrystallized amphibole (iron-rich, hastingsite–hastingsitic hornblende) from four variably deformed samples of the pluton record south-westerly younging ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages ranging between 276 and 263 Ma. These are interpreted to date diachronous cooling through temperatures appropriate for intracrystalline retention of argon following late Palaeozoic orogenic activity. Iron-rich biotite concentrates from the samples record only slightly younger ages, and therefore suggest relatively rapid post-metamorphic cooling. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages indicate that the late Palaeozoic tectonothermal overprint was much more regionally pervasive than was previously considered. The apparent timing of this activity is similar to previous estimates for the chronology of high-grade metamorphism throughout the adjacent Hope Valley terrane and for phases of ductile movement on the intervening Lake Char–Honey Hill fault system.     

Cretaceous–Tertiary geology of the Gangdese Arc in the Linzhou area, southern Tibet

Knowledge of the Cretaceous–Tertiary history of upper crustal shortening and magmatism in Tibet is fundamental to placing constraints on when and how the Tibetan plateau formed. In the Lhasa terrane of southern Tibet, the widely exposed angular unconformity beneath uppermost Cretaceous–lower Tertiary volcanic-bearing strata of the Linzizong Formation provides an excellent geologic and time marker to distinguish between deformation that occurred before vs. during the Indo-Asian collision. In the Linzhou area, located  30 km north of the city of Lhasa, a > 3-km-thick section of the Linzizong Formation lies unconformably on Cretaceous and older rocks that were shortened by both northward- and southward-verging structures during the Late Cretaceous. The Linzizong Formation dips northward in the footwall of a north-dipping thrust system that involves Triassic–Jurassic strata and a granite intrusion in the hanging wall. U–Pb zircon geochronologic studies show that the Linzizong Formation ranges in age from 69 Ma to at least 47 Ma and that the hanging wall granite intrusion crystallized at  52 Ma, coeval with dike emplacement into footwall Cretaceous strata. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar thermochronologic studies suggest slow cooling of the granite between 49 and 42 Ma, followed by an episode of accelerated cooling to upper crustal levels beginning at  42 Ma. The onset of rapid cooling was coeval with the cessation of voluminous arc magmatism in southern Tibet and is interpreted be a consequence of either (1) Tertiary thrusting in this region or (2) regional rock uplift and erosion following removal of overthickened Gangdese arc lower crust and upper mantle or break-off of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic slab.     

基性麻粒岩造岩矿物微量元素再分配特征及其对变质历史的指示作用:以胶北地体高压麻粒岩为例

高级变质岩的变质历史是反演地壳构造-热事件的重要依据,然而高温扩散和重结晶作用能够改造造岩矿物中的主量元素分布,这对峰期变质温压条件的反演产生很不利的影响。相对于主量元素,微量元素,尤其是离子半径较大的REE,由于其在晶格中的扩散速率远小于主量元素,在高级叠加变质过程有可能记录前期变质作用。本文以胶北地体的高压基性麻粒岩为研究对象,通过详细的岩相学和矿物化学分析,初步解析了变质重结晶过程中的矿物微量元素再分配特征及其对变质作用的指示意义。岩相学上的证据表明这些样品经历了麻粒岩相变质和后期重结晶作用。单矿物的原位化学成分分析,峰期矿物石榴石、单斜辉石的主量元素Mg、Fe、Ca等二价阳离子分布均一,但部分稀土元素及微量元素则表现出钟形剖面环带分布,暗示主量元素遭受到成份扩散及重结晶所致的元素再分配,微量元素可记录峰期历史。结合主、微量元素温压计,我们分别估算了胶东基性高压麻粒岩的峰期(828℃、1.27GPa)和中压麻粒岩相退变质温压条件(810~840℃、0.6~1.0GPa),并推测其后期经历过角闪岩相退变质叠加。结合前人的年代学工作,我们认为该基性麻粒岩经历了近等温快速减压的变质历史。     

华北克拉通怀安陆块新太古代低铝和高铝TTG片麻岩的地球化学特征与成因

英云闪长岩-奥长花岗岩和花岗闪长岩(简称TTG)是太古宙高级变质地体的主要物质组成,对深入理解早期大陆生长及其机制具有重要的科学意义。目前,人们对其成因过程与机制仍有不同认识。本文以怀安陆块中广泛分布的TTG片麻岩为例,探讨其成因演化和机制。研究区位于华北克拉通中北部,主要由新太古代英云闪长岩及少量奥长花岗岩、花岗闪长岩组成。我们从该区识别出富硅富重稀土和负铕异常的低铝奥长花岗质片麻岩,形成时代与广泛分布的高铝TTG质片麻岩一致(锆石SHRIMP U-Pb年龄2.53Ga)。岩石地球化学数据显示,低铝奥长花岗质片麻岩的主量元素具有富SiO 2(76%~79%),低Al2O3(11.01%~12.61%)、CaO(1.27%~1.59%)、MgO(0.74%~0.24%)和Mg#(18~53)等特征,而广泛分布的高铝TTG岩系的主量元素含量变化大,例如,SiO 2=63%~77%、Al2O3=13.2%~17.77%、CaO=1.8%~5.78%、MgO=0.18%~3.84%和Mg#=35~64。微量元素方面,低铝奥长花岗质片麻岩具有Eu/Eu*负异常(除1个样品为弱正异常1.38外,其余样品分布在0.59~0.44),富集重稀土((La/Yb)N=4~7,(Gd/Yb)N=0.36~1.27),而高铝TTG岩系从弱负铕异常到正异常(Eu/Eu*=0.8~5.35),轻重稀土分馏明显((La/Yb)N=10~103、(Gd/Yb)N=1.97~5.72)。在微量蛛网图中二者的区别除重稀土明显存在区别外,低铝奥长花岗质片麻岩显示出Ba、Sr的相对亏损,而高铝TTG岩系则相反。二者Lu/Hf比值差异明显,低铝奥长花岗质片麻岩变化在0.1~0.16,而高铝TTG岩系变化在0.01~0.07。在Lu/Hf与相关元素以及SiO 2与相关元素哈克图解中,二者差异更加明显,表明它们之间不存在直接的成因联系。综合锆石U-Pb、Lu-Hf同位素特征以及岩石地球化学特征,我们认为低铝奥长花岗质片麻岩是低压下由新太古代新生基性地壳物质低程度部分熔融而成,源区残留矿物相以辉石+斜长石为主,岩浆可能存在过独居石的分异作用。高铝TTG岩系主要由新生基性地壳在相对高压下部分熔融而成,源区残留相以石榴石+辉石+角闪石以及无或少量斜长石为特征。岩浆经历过角闪石和辉石分离结晶作用,铕正异常增大的现象可能与斜长石堆晶有关。本区同时形成高铝和低铝TTG岩系的机制还需深入研究。俯冲机制、地幔柱机制以及二者共同作用等机制均能解释TTG的成因。依据本区同期还形成大量辉长质-闪长质岩浆和稍晚(2.5~2.45Ga)形成的钾质花岗岩类岩浆的侵入活动,我们认为本区高铝和低铝TTG岩系分别来自底侵作用导致的下地壳不同深度不同程度的部分熔融有关。引起底侵作用的机制可能与地幔柱或地幔柱与板块俯冲共同作用有关。     

The Alpine Rif Belt (Morocco): A Case of Mountain Building in a Subduction-Subduction-Transform Fault Triple Junction

—The Rif belt forms with the Betic Cordilleras an asymmetric arcuate mountain belt (Gibraltar Arc) around the Alboran Sea, at the western tip of the Alpine orogen. The Gibraltar Arc consists of an exotic terrane (Alboran Terrane) thrust over the African and Iberian margins. The Alboran Terrane itself includes stacked nappes which originate from an easterly, Alboran-Kabylias-Peloritani-Calabria (Alkapeca) continental domain, and displays Variscan low-grade and high-grade schists (Ghomarides-Malaguides and Sebtides-Alpujarrides, respectively), shallow water Mesozoic sediments (mainly in the Dorsale Calcaire passive margin units), and infracontinental peridotite slices (Beni Bousera, Ronda). During the Late Cretaceous?-Eocene, the Alboran Terrane was likely located south of a SE-dipping Alpine-Betic subduction (cf. Nevado-Filabride HP-LT metamorphism of central-eastern Betics). An incipient collision against Iberia triggered back-thrust tectonics south of the deformed terrane during the Late Eocene-Oligocene, and the onset of the NW-dipping Apenninic-Maghrebian subduction. The early, HP-LT phase of the Sebtide-Alpujarride metamorphism could be hypothetically referred to the Alpine-Betic subduction, or alternatively to the Apenninic-Maghrebian subduction, depending on the interpretation of the geochronologic data set. Both subduction zones merged during the Early Miocene west of the Alboran Terrane and formed a triple junction with the Azores-Gibraltar transform fault. A westward roll back of the N-trending subduction segment was responsible for the Neogene rifting of the internal Alboran Terrane, and for its coeval, oblique docking onto the African and Iberian margins. Seismic evidence of active E-dipping subduction, and opposite paleomagnetic rotations in the Rif and Betic limbs of the Gibraltar Arc support this structurally-based scenario.     

锡铁山片岩型铅锌矿床稀土元素成因标志

锡铁山(碳质)片岩型矿床具典型的"双层结构",笔者对层状矿体中硫化物、硅质岩及其围岩火山岩稀土元素分析表明,硫化物∑REE较低,在4.78×10-6～7.24×10-6之间,具明显负Eu异常,Ce异常总体不明显;硅质岩∑REE较高,在102.64×10-6～168.82×10-6之间,负Eu异常明显,Ce异常不明显;矿下中酸性火山岩的稀土元素总量普遍较高,负Eu异常明显,Ce异常不明显,矿上火山岩稀土元素组成变化较大,δEu值0.70～1.03(平均0.90),无明显Eu异常.分析认为,锡铁山(碳质)片岩型矿床是热水喷流-沉积作用的结果,成矿物质主要来自下伏火山岩及地壳深部.