Continental rift systems and anorogenic magmatism

Precambrian Laurentia and Mesozoic Gondwana both rifted along geometric patterns that closely approximate truncated-icosahedral tessellations of the lithosphere. These large-scale, quasi-hexagonal rift patterns manifest a least-work configuration. For both Laurentia and Gondwana, continental rifting coincided with drift stagnation, and may have been driven by lithospheric extension above an insulated and thermally expanded mantle. Anorogenic magmatism, including flood basalts, dike swarms, anorthosite massifs and granite-rhyolite provinces, originated along the Laurentian and Gondwanan rift tessellations. Long-lived volcanic regions of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, sometimes called hotspots, originated near triple junctions of the Gondwanan tessellation as the supercontinent broke apart. We suggest that some anorogenic magmatism results from decompression melting of asthenosphere beneath opening fractures, rather than from random impingement of hypothetical deep-mantle plumes.     

玄武岩浆起源和演化的一些基本概念以及对中国东部中-新生代基性火山岩成因的新思路

以全球大地构造为背景讨论了玄武岩浆起源和演化的一些基本概念.这些概念的正确理解有助于合理解释各种环境中火成岩的形成机制,也有助于依据野外岩石组合来判别古构造环境.在此基础上结合已有资料和观察,对中国东部中生代岩石圈减薄及中-新生代基性火山岩成因提出了一些新解释.这些解释与地质观察相吻合,且符合基本的物理学原理.虽然中国东部基性火山活动可称为"板内"火山活动,但它实际上是板块构造的特殊产物.中国东部中生代岩石圈减薄是其下部被改造为软流层的缘故.这种改造是加水"软化"所致.水则源于中国东部地幔过渡带(410～660 km)内古太平洋(或其前身)俯冲板块脱水作用.其将岩石圈底部改造为软流层的过程,实际上就是岩石圈减薄的过程.因为软流层是地幔对流的重要部分,而大陆岩石圈则不直接参与地幔对流.中生代玄武岩具有εNd＜0的特征,说明其源于新近改造而成的软流层,亦即原古老岩石圈之底部.中国大陆北北东-南南西向的海拔梯度突变界线与东-西部重力异常,陆壳厚度变化,以及地幔地震波速变化梯度吻合.因此可将北北东-南南西向梯度线称为"东-西梯度界".该界东-西海拔高差(西部高原与东部丘陵平原),陆壳厚度差异(西部厚而东部薄)和100～150 km的深度范围地幔地震波速差异(西部快而东部慢),均受控于上地幔重力均衡原理.这表明西部高原岩石圈厚度＞150～200 km,而东部丘陵平原岩石圈厚度＜80km."遥远"的西太平洋俯冲带具有自然的地幔楔吸引作用.此吸引作用可引起中国东部"新生"软流层东流.软流层东流必将引起西部高原底部软流层的东向补给(流动).这一过程必然导致东移软流层的减压,即从西部的深源(岩石圈深度＞150～200 km处)到东部的浅源(岩石圈深度～80km处).东移软流层的减压分熔可合理解释具有软流圈地球化学特征(εNd＞0)的新生代中国东部基性火山活动及玄武岩的成因.这些对中国东部中-新生代地质过程的解释,将为更加细致的,以岩石学和地球化学为主的讨论所验证.     

Deep Mechanical Background for the Cenozoic Volcanism in the Tibetan Plateau

INTRODUCTION Volcanoesaremostlyobservedinoceanicridges,hotspotsandcontinentalriftzones(Hongetal.,2003),andarerarelyobservedincontinentalinteri ors.However,sincethevolcanoeswithintheconti nentinteriorscannotbeattributedtotheplate/block marginprocess,theydr…     

Timing of Magma Mixing in the Gangdisě Magmatic Belt during the India-Asia Collision： Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb Dating

Abstract  Abundant mafic microgranular enclaves (MMEs) extensively distribute in granitoids in the Gangdisê giant magmatic belt, within which the Qüxü batholith is the most typical MME‐bearing pluton. Systematic sampling for granodioritic host rock, mafic microgranular enclaves and gabbro nearby at two locations in the Qüxü batholith, and subsequent zircon SHRIMP II U‐Pb dating have been conducted. Two sets of isotopic ages for granodioritic host rock, mafic microgranular enclaves and gabbro are 50.4±1.3 Ma, 51.2±1.1 Ma, 47.0±1 Ma and 49.3±1.7 Ma, 48.9±1.1 Ma, 49.9±1.7 Ma, respectively. It thus rules out the possibilities of mafic microgranular enclaves being refractory residues after partial melting of magma source region, or being xenoliths of country rocks or later intrusions. Therefore, it is believed that the three types of rocks mentioned above likely formed in the same magmatic event, i.e., they formed by magma mixing in the Eocene (c. 50 Ma). Compositionally, granitoid host rocks incline towards acidic end member involved in magma mixing, gabbros are akin to basic end member and mafic microgranular enclaves are the incompletely mixed basic magma clots trapped in acidic magma. The isotopic dating also suggested that huge‐scale magma mixing in the Gangdisê belt took place 15–20 million years after the initiation of the India‐Asia continental collision, genetically related to the underplating of subduction‐collision‐induced basic magma at the base of the continental crust. Underplating and magma mixing were likely the main process of mass‐energy exchange between the mantle and the crust during the continental collision, and greatly contributed to the accretion of the continental crust, the evolution of the lithosphere and related mineralization beneath the portion of the Tibetan Plateau to the north of the collision zone.     

Evolution of the Magma Chamber beneath Usu Volcano since 1663: a Natural Laboratory for Observing Changing Phenocryst Compositions and Textures

We have investigated the evolution of an active silicic magma-feedingsystem beneath Usu volcano, Japan, where eight eruptions havebeen recorded since AD 1663. All magmatic products contain similartypes of plagioclase and orthopyroxene phenocrysts that consistof homogeneous cores with uniform compositions, and a zonedmantle that increases in size with time. The compositions ofplagioclase and orthopyroxene phenocrysts vary gradually andregularly with time, as do the bulk-rock compositions. The textureof these phenocrysts also changes systematically, caused byprogressive crystal growth, dissolution and diffusion. On thebasis of these observations, we conclude that the same magma-feedingsystem has persisted at Usu volcano since AD 1663. Compositionalvariation of magnetite phenocrysts differs from that of plagioclaseand orthopyroxene, because magnetite has large diffusion coefficientsand should represent magmatic conditions immediately beforethe eruption. Most pumices from Usu volcano contain two typesof magnetite phenocryst, each with a different composition andcrystallization temperature, indicating that two magmas mixedbefore each eruption (approximately several days before). Theend-members changed with time: rhyolite + basaltic andesite(1663); dacite ± rhyolite (1769, 1822, 1853); dacite± dacite (1977, 2000). The temperature of the magma apparentlyincreases with time, and the increase can be explained by sequentialtapping from a magma chamber with a thermal and chemical gradientin addition to injection of high-temperature magma. KEY WORDS: continuous existence of magma chamber; dacite; dissolution and diffusion of phenocrysts; magma mixing; magnetite     

Assimilation and Fractional Crystallization Controlled by Transport Process of Crustal Melt: Implications from an Alkali Basalt-Dacite Suite from Rishiri Volcano, Japan

Mechanisms of fractional crystallization with simultaneous crustalassimilation (AFC) are examined for the Kutsugata and Tanetomilavas, an alkali basalt–dacite suite erupted sequentiallyfrom Rishiri Volcano, northern Japan. The major element variationswithin the suite can be explained by boundary layer fractionation;that is, mixing of a magma in the main part of the magma bodywith a fractionated interstitial melt transported from the mushyboundary layer at the floor. Systematic variations in SiO₂ correlatewith variations in the Pb, Sr and Nd isotopic compositions ofthe lavas. The geochemical variations of the lavas are explainedby a constant and relatively low ratio of assimilated mass tocrystallized mass (‘r value’). In the magma chamberin which the Kutsugata and Tanetomi magmas evolved, a strongthermal gradient was present and it is suggested that the marginalpart of the reservoir was completely solidified. The assimilantwas transported by crack flow from the partially fused floorcrust to the partially crystallized floor mush zone throughfractures in the solidified margin, formed mainly by thermalstresses resulting from cooling of the solidified margin andheating of the crust. The crustal melt was then mixed with thefractionated interstitial melt in the mushy zone, and the mixedmelt was further transported by compositional convection tothe main magma, causing its geochemical evolution to be characteristicof AFC. The volume flux of the assimilant from the crust tothe magma chamber is suggested to have decreased progressivelywith time (proportional to t^–1/2), and was about 3 x 10^–2m/year at t = 10 years and 1 x 10^–2 m/year at t = 100years. It has been commonly considered that the heat balancebetween magmas and the surrounding crust controls the couplingof assimilation and fractional crystallization processes (i.e.absolute value of r). However, it is inferred from this studythat the ratio of assimilated mass to crystallized mass canbe controlled by the transport process of the assimilant fromthe crust to magma chambers. KEY WORDS: assimilation and fractional crystallization; mass balance model; magma chamber; melt transport; Pb isotope     

Episodic granite accumulation and extraction from the mid‐crust

The processes of long‐range granitic magma transfer from mid‐ and lower crustal anatectic zones to upper crustal pluton emplacement sites remain controversial in the literature. This is partly because feeder networks that could have accommodated this large‐scale magma transport remain elusive in the field. Existing granite ascent models are based largely on numerical and theoretical studies that seek to demonstrate the viability of fracture‐controlled magma transport through dykes or self‐propagating hydrofractures. In most cases, the models present very little supporting field evidence, such as sufficiently voluminous near‐ or within‐source magma accumulations, to support their basic premises. We document large (deca‐ to hectometre‐scale), steeply dipping and largely homogeneous granite lenses in suprasolidus (~5 kbar, ~750 °C) mid‐crustal rocks in the Damara Belt in Namibia. The lenses are surrounded by and connected to shallowly dipping networks of stromatic leucogranites in the well‐layered gneisses of the deeply incised Husab Gorge. The outcrops define a four‐stage process from (i) the initial formation and growth of large, subvertical magma‐filled lenses as extension fractures developed at high angles to the subhorizontal regional extension in relatively competent wall‐rock layers. This stage is followed by (ii) the simultaneous lateral inflation and (iii) subcritical vertical growth of the lenses to a critical length that (iv) promotes fracture destabilization, buoyancy‐driven upward fracture mobilization and, consequently, vertical magma transport. These field observations are compared with existing numerical models and are used to constrain, by referring to the dimensions of the largest preserved inflated leucogranite lens, an estimate of the minimum fracture length (~100 m) and volume (~2.4 × 10⁵ m³) required to initiate buoyancy‐driven brittle fracture propagation in this particular mid‐crustal section. The critical values and field relationships compare favourably with theoretical models of magma ascent along vertical self‐propagating hydrofractures which close at their tails during propagation. This process leaves behind subtle wake‐like structures and thin leucogranite trails that mark the path of magma ascent. Reutilization of such conduits by repeated inflation and drainage is consistent with the episodic accumulation and removal of magma from the mid‐crust and is reflected in the sheeted nature of many upper crustal granitoid plutons.     

PETROLOGY 1.IGNEOUS PETROLOGY

正20140707Bai Yunshan(Wuhan Center,China Geological Survey,Wuhan 430205,China);Duan Qifa Geological Characteristics and Tectonic Significance of Volcanic Rocks from Kenan Formation of the Upper Triassic in Zhahe Area,Southern Qinghai Province(Geology and Mineral Resources of South China,ISSN1007-3701,CN42-1417/P,29(2),     

东昆北成矿带冰沟南铜镍矿辉长岩地球化学特征

通过对东昆北成矿带冰沟南铜镍矿辉长岩的全岩地球化学进行分析,以确定该岩体的岩石成因及其形成的构造环境。冰沟南辉长岩SiO_2的含量为49.72%~51.58%,岩石系列为钙碱性。稀土元素球粒陨石分配模式为轻稀土略富集型,δEu为1.26~1.54,轻微正Eu异常。岩石富集大离子亲石元素(LILE)Rb、Ba、K,相对亏损P。岩体中的La/Sm、Th/La和Nb/U比值显示在就位过程中经历了一定程度的地壳混染。研究认为,岩体的岩浆源区为亏损地幔。结合区域演化,认为岩体形成于碰撞后伸展的背景。     

腾冲火山构造区马站岩浆囊地球物理特征的再探讨

云南腾冲火山盆地深部存在岩浆囊是人们关注的问题,多方面进行了大量的研究且存在不同意见。作者此前依据低电阻异常推断出位于小空山、大空山、黑空山等火山口的下部,深13~30 km范围内东西向25 km,南北向30km的低电阻率的岩浆囊,其东侧为大盈江断裂。文章利用反射地震、重力、航空磁测资料进一步探讨了岩浆囊的其他地球物理特征。由于火山喷发,不仅在火山口附近形成了局部物质亏损,而且,岩浆囊本身也亏损了岩浆物质,在重力上延图中滤去了表层的火山局部负重力异常后,呈现出大空山北侧的与低阻体相对应的负重力异常,这与岩浆囊高温熔融状态含水低密度物质有密切关系。整体的重力负异常印证了低阻岩浆囊的存在。腾冲马站岩浆囊的温度为397~651°C,平均温度为524°C,其主体中心部位不可能存在磁性体。对航磁资料的处理,消除表层火山岩影响后,仍然发现有较强磁异常,其平面投影范围与低阻体相近,推断磁异常是岩浆囊顶层,在15 km深度以上范围内,随着岩浆囊体温度逐步下降,当低于480°C以后会形成新的铁磁性矿物,因此,在囊体上层出现了范围与囊体相近的较强的磁性体。反射地震仅仅在浅部较清楚地观测到较连续的反射波界面,是浅部火山岩、含水层、以及花岗岩顶界面的反映。向深部反射界面很不连续推测是由于多次岩浆上涌,其喷发时间有先后,成分有差异,故岩浆囊物质的不均匀性,虽然由于含水、矿化、熔融体构成了低电阻的共性,可温度的不均匀,却又显示了不同期次岩浆成分有变化,由岩浆囊向地表的通道上,东部花岗岩下为高速,相对于较低温度的物质,在小空山、大空山和黑空山深部沿大盈江断裂带有东西两个大的隐伏花岗岩体之间是最新的火山喷发通道,具有相对低速的通道。