Silurian collisional suturing onto the southern margin of the North China craton: Detrital zircon geochronology constraints from the Qilian Orogen

The Qilian Orogen of north western China records mid-Paleozoic collisional suturing of arc and continental blocks onto the south western margin of the North China craton. Silurian strata from the retroarc foreland basin mark the transition from ocean closure and northward subduction to the initiation of collision suturing. Detrital zircons were analysed from the western and eastern parts of the basin and show a spectrum of ages from Archean to Paleozoic with major age concentrations at around 2.5 Ga, 1.6 Ga, 1.2 Ga, 0.98 Ga, 0.7 Ga and 0.45 Ga. Archean age grains are derived from the North China craton, whereas the Central Qilian Bloc, which lies to the south provides the likely source for the bulk of the Proterozoic detritus. Paleozoic grains are restricted to Early Silurian samples from the western part of the basin and are considered to have been derived from the magmatic arc related to ocean closure and ultimate collision of the Central Qilian Belt with the North China craton.     

Paleozoic tectonism on the East Gondwana margin: Evidence from SHRIMP U–Pb zircon geochronology of a migmatite–granite complex in West Antarctica

The Fosdick Mountains migmatite–granite complex in West Antarctica records episodes of crustal melting and plutonism in Devonian–Carboniferous time that acted to transform transitional crust, dominated by immature oceanic turbidites of the accretionary margin of East Gondwana, into stable continental crust. West Antarctica, New Zealand and Australia originated as contiguous parts of this margin, according to plate reconstructions, however, detailed correlations are uncertain due to a lack of isotopic and geochronological data. Our study of the mid-crustal exposures of the Fosdick range uses U–Pb SHRIMP zircon geochronology to examine the tectonic environment and timing for Paleozoic magmatism in West Antarctica, and to assess a correlation with the better known Lachlan Orogen of eastern Australia and Western Province of New Zealand.NNE–SSW to NE–SW contraction occurred in West Antarctica in early Paleozoic time, and is expressed by km-scale folds developed both in lower crustal metasedimentary migmatite gneisses of the Fosdick Mountains and in low greenschist-grade turbidite successions of the upper crust, present in neighboring ranges. The metasedimentary rocks and structures were intruded by calc-alkaline, I-type plutons attributed to arc magmatism along the convergent East Gondwana margin. Within the Fosdick Mountains, the intrusions form a layered plutonic complex at lower structural levels and discrete plutons at upper levels. Dilational structures that host anatectic granite overprint plutonic layering and migmatitic foliation. They exhibit systematic geometries indicative of NNE–SSW stretching, parallel to a first-generation mineral lineation. New U–Pb SHRIMP zircon ages for granodiorite and porphyritic monzogranite plutons, and for leucogranites that occupy shear bands and other mesoscopic-scale structural sites, define an interval of 370 to 355 Ma for plutonism and migmatization.Paleozoic plutonism in West Antarctica postdates magmatism in the western Lachlan Orogen of Australia, but it coincides with that in the central part of the Lachlan Orogen and with the rapid main phase of emplacement of the Karamea Batholith of the Western Province, New Zealand. Emplaced within a 15 to 20 million year interval, the Paleozoic granitoids of the Fosdick Mountains are a product of subduction-related plutonism associated with high temperature metamorphism and crustal melting. The presence of anatectic granites within extensional structures is a possible indication of alternating strain states (‘tectonic switching’) in a supra-subduction zone setting characterized by thin crust and high heat flow along the Devonian–Carboniferous accretionary margin of East Gondwana.     

Polymetamorphism, zircon growth and retention of early assemblages through the dynamic evolution of a continental arc in Fiordland, New Zealand

The Marguerite Amphibolite and associated rocks in northern Fiordland, New Zealand, contain evidence for retention of Carboniferous metamorphic assemblages through Cretaceous collision of an arc, emplacement of large volumes of mafic magma, high‐P metamorphism and then extensional exhumation. The amphibolite occurs as five dismembered aluminous meta‐gabbroic xenoliths up to 2 km wide that are enclosed within meta‐leucotonalite of the Lake Hankinson Complex. A first metamorphic event (M1) is manifest in the amphibolite as a pervasively lineated pargasite–anorthite–kyanite or corundum ± rutile assemblage, and as diffusion‐zoned garnet in pelitic schist xenoliths within the amphibolite. Thin zones of metasomatically Al‐enriched leucotonalite directly at the margins of each amphibolite xenolith indicate element redistribution during M1 and equilibration at 6.6 ± 0.8 kbar and 618 ± 25 °C. A second phase of recrystallization (M2) formed patchy and static margarite ± kyanite–staurolite–chlorite–plagioclase–epidote assemblages in the amphibolite, pseudomorphs of coronas in gabbronorite, and thin high‐grossular garnet rims in the pelitic schists. Conditions of M2, 8.8 ± 0.6 kbar and 643 ± 27 °C, are recorded from the rims of garnet in the pelitic schists. Cathodoluminescence imaging and simultaneous acquisition of U‐Th‐Pb isotopes and trace elements by depth‐profiling zircon grains from one pelitic schist reveals four stages of growth, two of which are metamorphic. The first metamorphic stage, dated as 340.2 ± 2.2 Ma, is correlated with M1 on the basis that the unusual zircon trace element compositions indicate growth from a metasomatic fluid derived from the surrounding amphibolite during penetrative deformation. A second phase of zircon overgrowth coupled with crosscutting relationships date M2 to between 119 and 117 Ma. The Early Carboniferous event has not previously been recognized in northern Fiordland, whereas the latter event, which has been identified in Early Cretaceous batholiths, their xenoliths, and rocks directly at batholith margins, is here shown to have also affected the country rock. However, the effects of M2 are fragmentary due to limited element mobility, lack of deformation, distance from a heat source and short residence time in the lower crust during peak P and T. It is possible that many parts of the Fiordland continental arc achieved high‐P conditions in the Early Cretaceous but retain earlier metamorphic or igneous assemblages.     

塔中地区志留系碎屑锆石测年及其地质意义

志留系是塔里木盆地第一套砂岩储层广泛分布的沉积盖层,其沉积来源与成因对志留纪构造演化及周边造山带的研究具有重要意义。塔中地区3个志留系样品的碎屑锆石LA?ICP?MS U?Pb定年研究表明,志留系具有比较集中的二期物源年龄：南华纪中期、古元古代中期。碎屑锆石测定的年龄表明塔中志留系物源均来自前寒武纪,塔中东部源区方向的塔南隆起基底在奥陶纪已隆升成为蚀源区。大量的新元古代中期锆石年龄表明塔里木板块在新元古代时期可能与Rodinia超大陆具有相似的聚合与裂解演化史。     

The δ13C–δ18O variations in marble in the Hida Belt,Japan

Marble has a great potential to understand a history of various geological events occurring during tectonic processes. In order to decode metamorphic–metasomatic records on C–O isotope compositions of marble at mid-crustal conditions, we conducted a C–O–Sr isotope study on upper amphibolite-facies marbles and a carbonate–silicate rock from the Hida Belt, which was once a part of the crustal basement of the East Asian continental margin. Carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of calcite from marbles (Kamioka area) and a carbonate–silicate rock (Wadagawa area) show a large variation of δ¹³C [VPDB] and δ¹⁸O [VSMOW] values (from −4.4 to +4.2 ‰ and +1.6 to +20.8 ‰, respectively). The low δ¹³C values of calcites from the carbonate–silicate rock (from −4.4 to −2.9 ‰) can be explained by decarbonation (CO₂ releasing) reactions; carbon–oxygen isotope modeling suggests that a decrease of δ¹³C strongly depends on the amount of silicate reacting with carbonates. The occurrence of metamorphic clinopyroxene in marbles indicates that all samples have been affected by decarbonation reactions. All δ¹⁸O values of calcites are remarkably lower than the marine-carbonate values. The large δ¹⁸O variation can be explained by the isotope exchange via interactions between marble, external fluids, and/or silicates. Remarkably low δ¹⁸O values of marbles that are lower than mantle value (~+5 ‰) suggest the interaction with meteoric water at a later stage. Sr isotope ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.707255–0.708220) might be close to their protolith values. One zircon associated with wollastonite in a marble thin-section yields a U–Pb age of 222 ± 3 Ma, which represents the timing of the recrystallization of marble, triggered by H₂O-rich fluid infiltration at a relatively high-temperature condition. Our isotope study implies that the upper amphibolite-facies condition, like the Hida Belt, might be appropriate to cause decarbonation reactions which can modify original isotope compositions of marble if carbonates react with silicates.     

Ubiquitous post-peak zircon in an eclogite from the Kumdy-Kol,Kokchetav UHP-HP Massif (Kazakhstan): Significance of exhumation-related zircon growth and modification in continental-subduction settings

U–Pb geochronological, trace-element and Lu–Hf isotopic studies have been made on zircons from ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) mafic eclogite from the Kumdy-Kol area, one of the diamond-facies domains of the Kokchetav Massif (northern Kazakhstan). The peak eclogitic assemblage equilibrated at > 900 °C, whereas the bulk sample composition displays light rare-earth element (LREE) and Th depletion evident of partial melting. Zircons from the eclogite are represented by exclusively newly formed metamorphic grains and have U–Pb age spread over 533–459 Ma, thus ranging from the time of peak subduction burial to that of the late post-orogenic collapse. The major zircon group with concordant age estimates have a concordia age of 508.1 ±4.4 Ma, which corresponds to exhumation of the eclogite-bearing UHP crustal slice to granulite- or amphibolite-facies depths. This may indicate potentially incoherent exhumation of different crustal blocks within a single Kumdy-Kol UHP domain. Model Hf isotopic characteristics of zircons (ε_Hf(t) +1.5 to +7.8, Neoproterozoic model Hf ages of 1.02–0.79 Ga) closely resemble the whole-rock values of the Kumdy-Kol eclogites and likely reflect in situ derivation of HFSE source for newly formed grains. The ages coupled with geochemical systematics of zircons confirm that predominantly late zircon growth occurred in Th–LREE-depleted eclogitic assemblage, that experienced incipient melting and monazite dissolution in melt at granulite-facies depths, followed by amphibolite-facies rehydration during late-stage exhumation-related retrogression.     

Sedimentary records of the late Early Cretaceous compressional setting in the South China block: A case study of the Xingning Basin,Guangdong Province

Recently, some scholars have proposed that the South China Block (SCB) was controlled by a compressive tectonic regime in the middle–late Early Cretaceous, challenging the belief that the SCB was under an extensional setting during the Cretaceous. The Early Cretaceous tectonic setting constraint in the SCB can offer vital insight to clarify the Mesozoic subduction history of the Paleo-Pacific. Therefore, to determine the SCB tectonic regime during the Early Cretaceous, this study investigated sedimentary rocks from the Lower Cretaceous Heshui Formation in the Xingning Basin, a foreland basin located in the southeastern SCB. Provenance analysis was performed using sandstone modal analysis, sandstone geochemical characteristics, and detrital zircon geochronology. Based on the results, we discussed basin sediment sources and the SCB tectonic regime during the Early Cretaceous. The results showed that the maximum Heshui Formation depositional age was 103 Ma ± 1.6 Ma in the Early Cretaceous Albian. Detrital framework modes and geochemical characteristics of sandstone indicated that Heshui Formation's source rocks were granites and sedimentary rocks. The detrital zircon U–Pb ages could be classified into two major and four subordinate age populations. The Wuyi Terrane to the north and southeast coastal regions to the east were the primary potential Heshui Formation source areas. However, the lower and upper sandstones are different in the peak ages, ~437 and ~146 to 104 Ma, respectively, indicating that the major source area shifted from the Wuyi Terrane to the southeastern coastal regions during the late Early Cretaceous. The sandstone modal analysis results indicated that the source area comprised mainly collisional–orogenic material. The SCB was under a compressive tectonic regime during the late Early Cretaceous and this compression action continued until at least 103 Ma ± 1.6 Ma.     

阴山—燕山北麓富碱侵入岩体的岩石地球化学特征、锆石SHRIMP U-Pb年龄及构造意义

本文研究的达茂旗黄合少、察哈尔右后旗古城和河北尚义县八道沟岩体位于华北克拉通北缘阴山—燕山北麓,索伦缝合带以南,沿近东西方向展布。主要岩石类型为正长岩、二长岩和石英二长岩。岩石地球化学研究表明其SiO2含量59. 08%~66. 52%, Al2O3= 15. 34%~21. 67%,A/CNK<1。属于准铝质中性岩范畴。全碱含量（Na2O+K2O）均在8%以上,在岩石的碱度率AR—SiO2图解上大多数样品落入碱性与过碱性区域,里特曼指数σ值从3. 73~10. 83均位于碱性或过碱性系列,属于碱性岩。岩体的微量元素以富集大离子亲石元素（LILE）如Rb、Ba和Sr等,亏损高场强元素（HFSE）如Ti、P、Nb和Ta等为特征。岩石稀土元素特征显示富集轻稀土元素（LREE）,亏损重稀土元素（HREE）并且轻重稀土元素分馏比较明显的特征。除极个别样品外,岩石具有Eu负异常（δEu= 0. 35~0. 91）。通过对察哈尔右后旗古城正长岩体和河北尚义县八道沟富碱侵入岩体的高精度测年研究,获得其SHRIMP锆石U- Pb年龄分别为413. 2±3. 3~415. 0±5. 9 Ma和366. 8±5. 2~372. 3±4. 7 Ma,表明其均为古生代泥盆纪富碱侵入岩浆活动的产物。结合前人关于阴山—燕山北麓其它富碱侵入岩体（内蒙古固阳东高家村碱性正长岩体、黄合少碱性正长岩和冀北水泉沟碱性杂岩体 ）的研究成果,推断在华北克拉通北缘阴山—燕山北麓一带,可能存在一条东西方向展布的晚古生代泥盆纪富碱侵入岩带。根据该岩带岩石地球化学特征,以及Ta/Yb—Th/Yb与Zr/Nb—Zr/Nb—Y/Nb判别图推测其岩浆物质来源可能与富集地幔有关,按照成岩温压环境指示,其形成深度位置约为下地壳,岩浆上升侵位过程中明显受到地壳物质的混染。依据前人关于碱性岩特征的研究,结合本文研究岩体的岩石化学特征和及Rb—Nb+Y构造判别图解指示,推测岩体形成于张性构造环境,可能与古生代志留纪末兴蒙造山带南部发育的白乃庙岛弧带和华北克拉通发生弧—陆碰撞后的伸展背景相关。     

阿尔金南缘冰沟南组火山岩锆石U-Pb年龄及其前寒武纪构造演化意义

在阿尔金南缘玉苏普阿勒克塔格北侧出露的冰沟组火山岩为一套与滨浅海相细粒陆源碎屑岩和碳酸盐岩共生的中基性火山岩,主要岩石类型有蚀变熔结凝灰岩、安山质凝灰熔岩和强蚀变玄武安山岩。该火山岩作为Columbia超大陆裂解阶段的物质记录,对其年代学和产出的地质构造背景的探讨,有助于探讨阿尔金南缘前寒武纪构造演化过程。LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb同位素年代学研究结果显示,强蚀变玄武安山岩样品具有两组锆石年龄,第一组年龄分别为944. 7±6. 4 Ma(n=8,MSWD=0. 057)和951. 2±6. 3 Ma(n=12,MSWD=0. 042),测点位于锆石震荡环带上,显示了典型的岩浆锆石的特征,代表火山岩的形成时代,属青白口纪早期;第二组年龄介于446±5～458±4Ma,与区域高压—超高压岩石的原岩的退变质时代(～450 Ma)一致,可能代表受该期陆壳深俯冲/折返事件改造。另外,228±6 Ma、229±4 Ma和130±1 Ma的年龄信息,可能代表火山岩还遭受了晚三叠世和早白垩世构造热事件改造。构造背景分析表明,该火山岩形成于板内裂谷环境,对应于Columbia超大陆裂解阶段的晚期,之后索尔库里群沉积盆地由拉张转换到汇聚的构造背景,转为Rodinia超大陆汇聚阶段。结合区域地质特征和该火山岩年龄信息,进一步制约了阿尔金南缘Columbia超大陆裂解和Rodinia超大陆汇聚的时限分别为945～1602 Ma和871～945 Ma。     

河南嵩县土地庙沟铅锌矿床有关的花岗岩体LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb测年和Hf同位素特征及其地质意义

土地庙沟铅锌矿床是豫西南铅锌银多金属成矿区域的重要组成部分。本文以与土地庙沟铅锌矿床成矿关系密切的栗扎树岩体为研究对象,利用LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb测年和Hf同位素分析方法,探讨岩体成岩时代及其与矿床成矿时空相关性。岩体测得的LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb年龄加权平均值分别为141.6±1.3Ma（样品YZY-G07）、135.5±1.6Ma（样品YZY-G08）、116.2±1.2Ma（样品YZY-G01）,Hf同位素分析二阶段模式年龄为1724Ma~2244 Ma,表明成岩物质主要来源于地壳,并结合矿床特征,与栾川-维摩寺断裂北侧的合峪、伏牛山、太山庙相比,从早到晚,140Ma、135Ma、117Ma均有较好的对应关系。根据形成于140Ma左右的花岗岩浆活动,结合岩石地球化学、矿床地质特征、同位素特征等资料,并与华北克拉通南缘南泥湖矿田的成矿构造热事件对比,可推断出矿床为早白垩世早期同一构造-岩浆-流体成矿事件的产物,为矿山企业勘查找矿提供了科学依据。