ESR and OSL dating of fossil-bearing deposits from Naracoorte Cave Complex palaeontological sites,south Australia

Little work has been undertaken on combined dating of sedimentary quartz grains using electron spin resonance (ESR) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) techniques in Australia. This study aims to assess the suitability of a combined ESR and OSL dating approach for establishing improved chronologies of Middle-Late Pleistocene deposits within the Naracoorte Cave Complex (NCC), South Australia. Here, we apply ESR and OSL dating in tandem to a series of samples collected from three different NCC sites: Whale Bone, Specimen and Alexandra cave. ESR quartz dating focuses on the multi-centre (MC) approach, which involves comparative evaluations of Al and Ti centre signals, while paired luminescence dating focuses on single-grain OSL analysis and includes examination of multi-grain averaging effects. The comparative ESR-OSL dating results exhibit broad agreement for deposits spanning 50–150 thousand years, with either the Ti–H or Al centre ages overlapping with paired OSL ages at 2σ in nearly all cases. MC ESR evaluations (Al v Ti–Li v Ti–H age assessments) indicate incomplete resetting of the bleachable Al centre signal for a small number of samples. Two-thirds of samples exhibit Ti–Li ages that are significantly older than corresponding Al centre ages, which is unexpected from a bleaching kinetics perspective and may indicate a broader reliability issue for Ti–Li palaeodose evaluation with these particular samples. Our findings: (i) support the applicability of both palaeodosimetric dating methods in this depositional setting; (ii) highlight the merits of applying combined ESR-OSL analyses in tandem, and; (iii) provide one of the first reliable evaluations of quartz ESR MC dating for samples with natural dose ranges as low as only a few tens of Gy. These results show that the Whale Bone, Specimen and Alexandra cave sites are temporally related and can be used to derive multi-site reconstructions of faunal assemblages and palaeoenvironmental history.     

Chronology of the Mediterranean sea-level highstand during the Last Interglacial: a critical review of the U/Th-dated deposits

Relative sea-level (RSL) evolution during Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 5 in the Mediterranean basin is still not fully understood despite a plethora of morphological, stratigraphic and geochronological studies carried out on highstand deposits of this area. In this review we assembled a database of 323 U/Th-dated samples (e.g. corals, molluscs, speleothems) which were used to chronologically constrain RSL evolution within MIS 5. The application of strict geochemical criteria to the U/Th samples indicates that only ~33% of data available for the Mediterranean Sea can be considered ‘reliable’. Most of these data (~65%) refer to the MIS 5e highstand, while only ~17% could be related to the MIS 5a. No attribution to MIS 5c can be unequivocally supported. Nevertheless, the resulting framework does not allow us to define a satisfactory RSL trend during the MIS 5e highstand and subsequent MIS 5 substages. Overall, the proposed selection of reliable/unreliable data would be useful for detecting areas where MIS 5 substage attributions are not supported by confident U/Th chronological data and thus the related reconstructions need to be revised. In this regard, the resulting framework calls for a reappraisal and re-examination of the Mediterranean records with advanced geochronological methodologies.     

柴北缘托莫尔日特地区变基性火山岩年代学、地球化学特征及地质意义

托莫尔日特-赛坝沟蛇绿混杂岩带位于柴北缘结合带东段,对该蛇绿混杂岩带中的变火山岩进行了系统的年代学及岩石地球化学研究。结果表明,变基性火山岩SiO₂含量为47.78%～50.01%,MgO含量为4.52%～9.36%,~TFeO含量为8.00%～14.94%,K₂O含量为0.04%～0.80%,Na₂O含量为1.02%～4.20%,具典型的拉斑玄武质岩浆特征。微量元素上表现出轻稀土元素弱亏损,富集大离子亲石元素,亏损Nb、Ta等高场强元素特征,表明该基性岩很可能形成于弧后盆地环境。LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb测年结果显示,变基性火山岩年龄为480.1±1.8 Ma。综合区域地质资料,认为原特提斯洋在早奥陶世已经开始了俯冲消减作用。     

激光探针等离子体质谱同时测定锆石微区铀—铅年龄及微量元素

建立了一种利用激光探针等离子体质谱技术同时原位测定锆石Ｐｂ－Ｐｂ及Ｐｂ－Ｕ年龄和２５个微量元素的快速分析方法。Ｐ的检出限为１４μｇ／ｇ,Ｓｃ的检出限为３μｇ／ｇ,Ｒｂ、Ｎｂ、Ｂａ稀土元素Ｎｄ、Ｇｄ、Ｄｙ、Ｅｒ及Ｙｂ的检出限为０．１￣０．３μｇ／ｇ,Ｐｂ的检出限０．５μｇ／ｇ,其它稀土元素及Ｓｒ、ｙ、Ｈｆ、Ｔａ、Ｔｈ和Ｕ的检出限为１０￣９０ｎｇ／ｇ。方法对绝大多数微量元素的相对标准偏差为５￣１５％;     

西藏八宿吉利地区新发现寒武纪变质花岗岩锆石U-Pb年龄、地球化学特征及其地质意义

八宿吉利地区寒武纪变质花岗岩位于曲扎湖-提卡一带,主要由变质二长花岗岩和变质花岗闪长岩组成。这一新发现对于认识和恢复原特提斯构造历史演化具有重要意义。锆石CL图像显示变质花岗岩锆石为岩浆成因。锆石LA-ICP-MS测年得出片理化变质二长花岗岩年龄为503.7±4.7Ma、变质花岗闪长岩年龄为494.7±3.4Ma,表明该岩体形成时代属于寒武纪。通过岩石地球化学分析,变质二长花岗岩SiO2含量介于69.87%~79.89%之间;变质花岗闪长岩SiO2含量介于66.63%~70.15%之间。前者Al2O3含量变化于12.36%~14.82%,Na2O含量为2.54%~7.16%,K2O含量为0.15%~5.95%,K2O/Na2O=0.02~2.34;后者Al2O3含量变化于14.66%~15.41%,Na2O含量为3.60%~5.63%,K2O含量为0.77%~2.78%,K2O/Na2O=0.14~0.77,属于钙碱性-碱性过铝质花岗岩。在侵入岩构造环境Rb-（Y+Nb）判别图解、Rb-（Yb+Ta）判别图解中,样品均落入"火山弧花岗岩"区域中,表明其形成于大陆边缘火山弧环境。结合锆石测年结果及区域地质背景分析,认为吉利地区变质花岗岩形成于冈瓦纳大陆裂离卡穷微陆块阶段,同时表明原特提斯洋形成最早时限可追溯至寒武纪。     

新疆哈巴河地区托库孜巴依金矿区两类含矿脉岩LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb年龄及其地质意义

新疆阿勒泰南缘托库孜巴依金矿属造山带型金矿,经历了沟弧盆体系、碰撞造山和后碰撞伸展多个演化阶段。矿区内辉长闪长岩脉和花岗斑岩脉较常见,且与金矿化关系密切。采用原位激光剥蚀同位素质谱(LA-ICP-MS)法对2期脉岩进行锆石U-Pb定年,获得花岗斑岩脉侵位年龄384.1Ma±1.5Ma和384.7Ma±1.2Ma,属中泥盆世弧前盆地演化阶段的产物;获得辉长闪长岩脉年龄295.3Ma±3.0Ma,应代表后碰撞伸展期辉长闪长岩脉的结晶年龄。2期脉岩的侵位往往继承了早期的构造部位和后期强韧性剪切的部位,均代表一期金矿化作用。     

北大巴山早古生代辉绿岩地球化学特征及其地质意义

对南秦岭北大巴山地区广泛分布的一套基性岩墙群中的辉绿岩进行采样,并进行了锆石U-Pb年代学、全岩地球化学分析。结果显示,岩石形成年龄为435～433 Ma,为早志留世晚期岩浆活动产物。这些辉绿岩具低硅、高碱、高钛的碱性岩特征。岩石微量及稀土元素具板内玄武岩特征,轻稀土元素相对富集,轻重稀土元素分异明显,富集不相容元素Ba、Nb、Ta,而K、Y、Yb相对亏损; K及Rb的负异常表明岩石源区残留角闪石或金云母,部分熔融模拟结果显示岩石起源于尖晶石角闪石岩高程度部分熔融。综合地球化学特征及前人研究结果,认为北大巴山地区在早古生代处于大规模伸展裂陷背景下,岩石圈的拉张诱发了低熔点的交代岩石圈地幔熔融,进而形成了这条碱性岩浆带。     

南祁连西北缘肃北红庙沟地区早奥陶世花岗岩年代学、地球化学特征及其地质意义

笔者对南祁连西北缘红庙沟地区发育的黑云二长花岗岩体进行了精细的年代学和地球化学研究。LA-ICP-MS测定结果表明,黑云二长花岗岩加权平均年龄为（479.7±3.4）Ma（MSWD=0.047）,岩体侵位时代为早奥陶世。在地球化学组成上,黑云二长花岗岩表现为过铝质（A/CNK=0.96~1.04）的Ⅰ型花岗岩特征,稀土元素总量相对较低（∑REE=67.55×10-6~83.07×10-6）,轻稀土相对富集,具Eu负异常;富集Rb、Ba和K等大离子亲石元素,亏损Sr和高场强元素（Nb、Ti、P）,显示弧岩浆特征。综合研究表明,本区早奥陶世黑云二长花岗岩是南祁连洋向祁连陆块俯冲过程中引起岛弧岩浆活动而形成的产物,记录了该时期重要的板块构造运动事件,为认识南祁连造山带的构造演化提供了有益资料和重要依据。     

甘肃巴谢剖面黄土-古土壤的光释光测年研究

光释光（OSL）测年是测定第四纪沉积物年龄的一种新技术。它通过单色光束激发使晶体中储存的电离辐射能释放出来。与热释光（TL）测年相比，OSL测年可以不考虑残留的OSL信号，而且测量具有简便、迅速且准确等优点。本文用细颗粒光释光技术对甘肃巴谢剖面的黄土-古土壤进行了测定，其测年结果与14C测年结果相吻合。这表明，光释光是一项极潜力的年代学技术。     

潍北平原地区全新世以来的海侵与海岸线变迁

末次冰期后,在全新世大暖期及区域沉降的影响下,渤海湾沿岸普遍发育海侵现象,位于莱州湾南岸的潍北平原区在经历全新世最大海泛面后,海水退却过程中留下了数条古海岸线,形成了多处贝壳堤、牡蛎礁等海岸带遗迹.研究区内新发现常家村、后柳家2处牡蛎礁,其14C年龄分别为(5130±30)a B.P.和(6030±30)a B.P.;...