Late Permian–Triassic siliciclastic provenance,palaeogeography, and crustal growth of the Songpan terrane,eastern Tibetan Plateau: evidence from U–Pb ages,trace elements,and Hf isotopes of detrital zircons

In order to constrain the detrital provenance of the siliciclastic rocks, palaeogeographic variations, and crustal growth history of central China, we carried out simultaneously in situ U–Pb dating and trace element and Hf isotope analyses on 368 detrital zircons obtained from upper Permian–Triassic sandstones of the Songpan terrane, eastern Tibetan Plateau. Two groups of detrital zircons, i.e. magmatic and metamorphic in origin, have been identified based on cathodoluminescence images, zircon Ti-temperatures, and Th/U ratios. Our data suggest that the derivation of siliciclastic rocks in the Songpan terrane was mainly from the Qinling, Qilian, and Kunlun orogens, whereas the Yangtze and North China Cratons served as minor source areas during late Permian–Triassic times. The detrital zircons from Middle–Late Triassic siliciclastic rocks exhibit wide age spectra with two dominant populations of 230–600 Ma and >1600 Ma, peaking at ~1.8–1.9 Ga and ~2.4–2.5 Ga, suggestive of a derivation from the Qinling, Qilian, and Kunlun orogens and the Yangtze Craton being the minor source area. The proportions of detrital zircon populations from the northern Qinling, Qilian, and Kunlun orogens distinctly decreased during Middle–Late Triassic time, demonstrating that the initial uplift of the western Qinling occurred then and it could have blocked most of the detritus from the Qilian–northern Qinling orogens and North China Cratons into the main Songpan–Ganzi depositional basin. The relatively detrital zircon proportions of the Yangtze Craton source decreased during Early-Middle Late Triassic time, indicating that the Longmenshan orogen was probably being elevated, since the early Late Triassic and gradually formed a barrier between the Yangtze Craton and the Songpan terrane. In addition, our Lu–Hf isotopic results also reveal that the Phanerozoic magmatic rocks in central China had been the primary products of crustal reworking with insignificant formation of a juvenile crust.     

Palaeomagnetic assessment of plutons from the southern Peninsular Ranges batholith and the Jurassic Vizcaíno igneous suites,Baja California,México

ABSTRACT

We report geological and palaeomagnetic data from five discrete plutons in the southern part of the Peninsular Ranges batholith (PRB) and one pluton that is part of the Jurassic plutonic suite in the Vizcaíno peninsula. The PRB plutons are Cretaceous and belong to the Alisitos island arc. The Jurassic pluton intrudes a Triassic-Jurassic ophiolite.

Our study was designed to evaluate the palaeomagnetic homogeneity of the batholith from the Sierra San Pedro Mártir, at ~31°N, to about ~28.3°N. The Punta Prieta, Nuevo Rosarito, San Jerónimo, and La Rinconada plutons in the western zone of the PRB are characterized by magnetizations residing in magnetite. The Compostela pluton is emplaced in a transition zone and has a magnetization that resides in haematite. The five Cretaceous plutons yield a combined palaeopole at 80.3°N, 162.1°E, A₉₅ = 9.8°, N = 5 that after correcting for the opening of the Gulf of California rotates to 77.6°N, 173.6°E, the rotated pole being in angular distance of only 4.4° from the North America reference pole. The Jurassic San Roque pluton yields a mean 0.6°N, 306.1°E, A₉₅ = 9.2°, N = 10, which is discordant, showing a clockwise rotation of about 131° ± 16° and flattening of 9.5° ± 12.9° with respect to the 150 Ma cratonic reference palaeopole. The results suggest that the intrusion of the undeformed Cretaceous Punta Prieta to Compostela plutons (128.1 ± 1.4 and 100.5 ± 2.7 Ma, respectively) restricts tectonic accretion of the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous sequences to the North America margin to the time before mid-Cretaceous magmatism (~100 Ma) in the PRB near present latitude 28°N. Mesozoic and Cenozoic strike-slip faulting along the Vizcaíno margin can account for the 131° clockwise rotation of the San Roque pluton. Our results do not support significant latitudinal movement between Vizcaíno, the PRB, and mainland Mexico with the exception of the Neogene San Andreas Fault-related right lateral movement.     

A Mesoproterozoic palaeokarst on the North China Craton in the Xingcheng area of Liaoning Province,China: characteristics and significance on paleogeography

ABSTRACT

Palaeokarsts are rarely preserved and recognized from Precambrian strata. However, a Mesoproterozoic palaeokarst was recently discovered on the top of the Tuanshanzi Formation in Xingcheng, Liaoning Province, China. This palaeokarst recorded karstification fissures, three types of breccias and unique vadose filling. Four factors: no bedding fillings, vadose cements, restricted palaeokarst development, and the overlying beds without involved any karstification, supported this palaeokarst occurred before the deposition of the Dahongyu Formation. Relative sea-level changes and tectonic movement provided the essential external cause for this palaeokarst, which revealed the hiatus between the Dahongyu Formation and the Tuanshanzi Formation in the Yan-Liao Aulacogen of the North China Craton. This finding was significant and valuable for discussing the ‘Xingcheng Movement’ and unconformity contact relationships between the two formations observed around the basin. As the palaeokarst did not extend to the interior of the basin and the unconformity occurred mainly in the margins of basin, the significance of them is always underestimated. Nevertheless, this palaeokarst and other sedimentary features could represent an apparent transition of Yan-Liao Aulacogen basin evolved from rift to depression under the background of Supercontinent Columbia breakup.     

Stratigraphy and fluvial sedimentary facies of the Neocomian lower Strzelecki Group,Gippsland Basin,Victoria

The Strzelecki Group incorporates Berriasian to Albian, fluvial sediments deposited in the Gippsland Basin during initial rifting between Australia and Antarctica. Neocomian strata of the lowermost Strzelecki Group are assigned to the Tyers River Subgroup (exposed in the Tyers area) and the Rhyll Arkose (exposed on Phillip Island and the Mornington Peninsula). The Tyers River Subgroup incorporates two formations: Tyers Conglomerate and Rintoul Creek Formation. The latter is subdivided into the Locmany and Exalt Members. Ten fluvial sedimentary facies are identified in the lowermost Strzelecki Group: two gravelly facies; four sandy facies; and four mudrock facies. Associations of these facies indicate: (i) prevalence of gravelly braided‐river and alluvial‐fan settings during deposition of the Tyers Conglomerate; (ii) more sluggish, sandy braided to meandering fluvial systems during Locmany Member sedimentation; and (iii) a return to active, sandy, braided‐river settings for deposition of the Exalt Member. The Tyers Conglomerate and Rhyll Arkose rest on an irregular erosional surface incised into Palaeozoic rocks of the Lachlan Fold Belt. The overlying Rintoul Creek Formation incorporates more mature sediments where lithofacies associations varied according to base‐level change, variations in subsidence rates, and/or tectonic uplift of the principal sedimentsource terranes to the northwest.     

Trends in the training and employment of geoscientists in Australia from 1967 to 1978

There are now 14 universities and 8 colleges of advanced education in Australia with geology or earth science departments, which comprised 278 professional staff, 2020 undergraduates, and 556 graduate students in 1978. Academic staff, engaged in a wide range of research, represent less than 10 percent of the total number of Australian geoscientists. Almost all non‐academic employers (98 percent of the sample) presently accept a graduate with a B.Sc. (Hons) degree, while 85 percent accept a B.Sc pass degree. About 65 percent of non‐academic geologists work for industry, and the remainder are employed by government surveys and research organisations. Mining and mineral exploration employ 76 percent of the geologists in industry, followed by petroleum exploration with 11 percent. Geologists make up 83 percent of geoscientists in non‐academic employment, the remainder being geophysicists 15 percent and geochemists 2 percent. Information on vacancies available in early 1979 suggests that all the recent graduates would be absorbed by government and industry, and pointed to a resurgence in demand for qualified geoscientists. There has been striking growth in the number of consulting/contracting geological firms, with 65 firms employing 242 geoscientists replying to the 1978 census.     

河南省中二叠世山西期古地理特征*

河南省中二叠统山西组发育了一套以陆源碎屑含煤岩系为特色的滨海相、三角洲相沉积,是河南省晚古生代的重要含煤地层。基于地层厚度、砂泥比等值线的变化趋势分析以及指相化石和沉积组合类型的分布特征,可以确定出4种沉积相：潟湖（海湾）相、潮坪相、障壁岛相和三角洲相;划分出3种岩相区：三角洲泥岩及砂岩相区,海湾（潟湖）—潮坪粉砂岩及泥岩相区和障壁岛—潮坪—潟湖（海湾）砂岩及泥岩相区。当时的沉积古地理特征表现为：豫西南为伏牛古陆,豫西为中条古陆,总体地势呈北西高,南东低,中部有一水下隆起区;海水由西北向东南方向退去;物源主要来自盆地西侧的中条古陆;最大厚度沉积区位于东北部及东部。     

华南下扬子区下奥陶统仑山组:岩石学、地层学和古地理学*

华南地区下奥陶统仑山组为奥陶系最底部的岩石地层单位之一,其以大套白云岩为主要特征,广泛分布于下扬子区。通过对安徽池州洪家剖面仑山组的系统分析,并结合下扬子区多个相关剖面的资料,进一步确定仑山组岩性为白云岩、灰质白云岩和白云质灰岩,夹有部分亮晶颗粒灰岩和亮泥晶颗粒灰岩。整体上以亮晶生屑灰岩或泥晶生屑灰岩的出现作为仑山组顶界,在下扬子区内部、北部及东南部地区以白云质灰岩或灰质白云岩出现为其底界,而在下扬子区西南部大部分地区则以白云岩化出现为其底界。整个仑山组所含生物化石种类和数量较少,自下而上可建立5个牙形石带,分别是Monocostatus sevierensis带、Acanthodus lineatus-A. costatus带、Scolopodus? pseudoplanus带、Glyptoconus quadraplicatus带和Paltodus deltifer-Tripodus proteus带,推测其时代为早奥陶世特马豆克早期。仑山组主要形成于浅潮下带至深潮下带环境中,其地层总厚度和其中的白云岩厚度受到古地理因素的控制。通过岩石学特征分析,推断仑山组白云岩主要为准同生条件下的多种白云岩化作用叠加中等埋藏条件下的白云岩化形成。     

再论鄂尔多斯盆地寒武纪岩相古地理及沉积构造演化

鄂尔多斯盆地深部是目前我国石油领域研究的热点。在构造控制沉积的思想指导下,运用层序地层学理论,以野外露头观察、岩心观察、测井和地震剖面研究为基础,以单因素分析-综合编图为方法,以盆地寒武纪构造-沉积演化为主线,以储层-成藏为目标,首次编制了三级层序地层格架下的鄂尔多斯盆地寒武纪岩相古地理图。本区寒武纪具有一个由清水与浑水交替出现的碳酸盐岩缓坡向台地、局限台地演化的动态过程,而且古气候也有一个由干旱向相对潮湿演变的趋势。早期近南北分异,晚期近东西向分异。早期南部存在奥拉谷。中晚期除北部和西缘部分地区外,鄂尔多斯古陆基本被海水覆盖,完成了从陆到海的转变,形成了以陆表海浅水台地为主要特点的古地理格局。“古鄂尔多斯海”的形成是环境变化的转折点。晚期西部发生隆起,这是鄂尔多斯盆地“中央古隆起”的雏形。该隆起走向近南北,与奥陶纪中央古隆起范围基本相同。通过构造沉积-演化分析,首次明确了“中央古陆”最早的形成时间为寒武纪芙蓉世到早奥陶世,也明确了鄂尔多斯盆地寒武纪早期潮坪相为优势相带、而张夏组鲕粒滩具环陆分布特点、三山子多孔白云岩主要发生于寒武系上部,具有全区分布特点。怀远运动是寒武系顶部遭受风化剥蚀而发生岩溶作用的主因。祁连洋的俯冲作用是鄂尔多斯古陆发生变异的主要动力。怀远运动形成的寒武系顶部（包括部分下奥陶统）不整合面可能是最重要的深部勘探方向。     

西天山阿吾拉勒一带石炭系阿克沙克组风暴岩及其意义

西天山阿吾拉勒阔尔库一带早石炭世阿克沙克组以海相碳酸盐岩夹碎屑岩为主,发育典型风暴成因的竹叶状砾屑灰岩。风暴沉积构造主要有风暴侵蚀构造、风暴撕裂构造、风暴浪构造、风暴涡流构造及风暴期后快速沉积构造等。已识别出的风暴沉积类型有具块状层理的竹叶状砾屑灰岩,具递变层理的砾屑灰岩和砾屑砂岩,具丘状、洼状交错层理和平行层理的砂屑灰岩及生物碎屑砾屑粉砂质灰岩,具平行层理的砂屑灰岩、长石岩屑砂岩,具波痕交错层理的砂屑灰岩和砾屑粉砂质灰岩,具水平层理的粉屑灰岩和具块状或水平层理的生物碎屑砾屑粉砂质灰岩。新发现的风暴沉积,说明早石炭世该地区处于低纬度带陆棚浅水沉积环境,因而对于分析西天山石炭纪的古地理、古气候、古构造及板块的运动规律具有重要意义。     

Ambiguous biogeographical patterns mask a more complete understanding of the Ordovician to Devonian evolution of Japan

Fossil assemblages of the Ordovician to Devonian successions of Japan suggest complex temporal, environmental and geographical controls on their biogeographical signature. Thus, limited similarity at the species‐level between the trilobite, brachiopod and ostracod faunas of the South Kitakami, Hida‐Gaien and Kurosegawa terranes in part reflects the sporadic stratigraphic distribution of shelly fauna within these terranes. As a result, and with the exception of corals and pan‐tropical radiolarians, species‐level similarities are greater with other regions of East Asia and Australia than amongst the Japanese terranes. The Silurian faunas of the South Kitakami Terrane have affinities with North America, Europe, Central Asia and Australia, but there is no overriding signature to support proximity either to South China or Gondwana. Notably, brachiopod and trilobite faunas of the Middle Devonian suggest strong connections with North China. Trilobite, coral and ostracod faunas of the Hida‐Gaien Terrane show affinity, including at species level, with Siluro‐Devonian faunas from westerly‐situated palaeocontinents, especially those of Central Asian and European affinity, suggesting a continuation of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, or of its associated lithofacies. Greater diversity of groups such as ostracods and trilobites in this terrane may signal closer links with continental shelf faunas of East Asia. The dominant biogeographical signature of the Kurosegawa Terrane is from corals and trilobites, suggesting links with the Siluro‐Devonian of Central Asia, Australia and South China. The variable biogeographic signal of the Japanese faunas may reflect the lifestyles of organisms with different physiologies and larval dispersal mechanisms, as well as the relative incompleteness of the Japanese fossil record. The present state of knowledge of the faunas cautions against placing Japan in relative proximity to the North or South China plates, or of presenting the Japanese terranes as a unified island arc to the north of the South China Plate during the Early Palaeozoic.