Provenance and deformation history of the Eastern Thomson Orogen and implications for the Paleozoic evolution of the Tasmanides (Eastern Australia)

Abstract

Cambrian deformation associated with the Delamerian Orogeny is most evident in the Delamerian Orogen (southwestern Tasmanides) but has also been documented in the Thomson Orogen (northern Tasmanides). The tectonic evolution of the Thomson Orogen in the context of the Delamerian Orogeny is poorly understood. In particular, tectonostratigraphic relationships between the different parts of the Thomson Orogen (Anakie Inlier, Nebine Ridge, and southern Thomson Orogen) are still unclear. New detrital zircon data from the Nebine Ridge revealed an age spectrum that is consistent with published geochronological data from the Anakie Inlier. These results, in conjunction with petrographic observations and the interpretation of geophysical data, suggest that along the eastern part of the Thomson Orogen, the?～?NNE-trending Nebine Ridge represents the southward continuation of the?～?N–S-trending Anakie Inlier. New detrital zircon geochronological data are also presented for metasedimentary rocks from both sides of the Thomson–Lachlan boundary. The results constrain the maximum age of deposition (Ordovician–Devonian), and show that both sides of the Thomson–Lachlan boundary received detritus from a similar provenance. This might suggest that the Thomson–Lachlan boundary did not play a major role as a crustal-scale boundary prior to the Devonian. We speculate that transpressional deformation along this?～?E–W boundary, during the Early Devonian, was responsible for disrupting the original belt that connected the Delamerian Orogen (Koonenberry Belt) with the eastern Thomson Orogen (Nebine Ridge and Anakie Inlier).

1. Highlights

2. The Nebine Ridge is the southward continuation of the Anakie Inlier.

3. The Anakie Inlier and Nebine Ridge represent a northern segment of the Cambrian Delamerian–Thomson Belt.

4. ～E–W-trending crustal-scale structures at the southern Thomson Orogen were active during Devonian.

     

Rare earth element geochemistry of hydrothermal deposits from Southwest Indian Ridge

The REE compositions of hydrothermal deposits and basalt samples from the Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) were determined with ICP-MS.The results show that there are significant differences between different types of samples although all samples show relative LREE enrichment.The contents of REE in hydrothermal sulfides and alterated rocks samples are lower (from 7.036 × 10 6 to 23.660 × 10 6),while those in the white chimney deposits are relatively higher (ranging from 84.496 × 10 6 to 103.511 × 10 6).Both of them are lower than basalts.Chondrite-normalized REE distribution patterns show that sulfides and alterated rocks samples are characterized by significant positive Eu anomalies.On the contrary,white chimney deposits have obvious negative Eu anomalies,which may be caused by abundant calcite existing in the white chimney samples.Both the content and distribution pattern of REE in sulfides suggest that REE most possibly is originally derived from hydrothermal fluids,but influenced by the submarine reducing ore-forming environment,seawater convection,mineral compositions as well as the constraint of mineral crystallizations.     

东北太平洋Explorer Ridge热液羽状流位温浊度异常和物质能量通量估算

深海热液流体与周围海水之间存在明显的物理和化学差异,通过检测海水的位温浊度异常是探测深海热液活动的重要手段之一。本文采用"海底火山带项目（Submarine Ring of Fire 2002）"拖曳式温盐深测量仪数据资料,研究了东北太平洋Explorer Ridge热液场的水文特征及物质能量通量的释放。结果表明Explorer Ridge热液场热液羽状流中性浮力层所在深度范围约为1 600~1 900 m,距离海底的高度约为200 m,最大位温、盐度和浊度异常分别为0.04℃、0.004和0.18 NTU;中性浮力层热液羽状流帽呈椭圆结构,其长轴与洋中脊线重合,羽状流帽总面积约为27 km2;热液羽状流在中性层范围内存在明显的分层现象,通过经验公式计算得到Explorer Ridge热液场观测范围内热液喷口的总的浮力通量为6.19×10-2 m4/s3,平均值为2.063×10-2 m4/s3;总的体积通量为9.884×10-2 m3/s,平均值为3.295×10-2 m3/s;总的热通量为194.9 MW,平均值为64.967 MW。     

Propagation of hotspot volcanism driven flexure in oceanic crust – 85°E Ridge case study

The study focuses on the flexural down-warping of oceanic crust related to the Early Cretaceous hotspot volcanic chain in offshore East India, drawing from robust reflection seismic coverage of the 85°E Ridge and associated moats and arches. Seismic data image three moat-filling units including the basal pelagic, landslide and ponded units, representing the sedimentary record preceding, coeval and postponing flexure. Their stacking patterns allow one to understand the flexural history of the oceanic crust reacting to the volcanic load, in space and time. The flexural history of the oceanic crust can be divided into four stages. The first stage is the brittle faulting-assisted flexure reacting to the appearance of the load. It has a short wavelength and controls the development of moat undergoing deposition of the landslide unit. Then follows the long-wavelength flexure, when the arch starts to develop. The flexural arch formation prevents the landslide unit from covering it, while the moat keeps subsiding. The third flexure stage is a short-wavelength deformation when the moat and arch subside together. Accordingly, the syn-flexural landslide unit records an initial rapid and a later slower subsidence. The fourth flexure stage is characterized by the passive infill of moat by sediments of ponded unit, although limited isostatic adjustments can occur, accompanied by mass wasting.     

TEM investigations of South Atlantic Ridge 13.2°S hydrothermal area

According to the exploration contract about polymetallic sulfides in the SWIR （Southwest Indian Ridge） signed by China with the International Seabed Authority, to delineate sulfide minerals and estimate resource quantity are urgent tasks. We independently developed our first coincident loop Transient Electromagnetic Method （TEM） device in 2010, and gained the TEM data for seafloor sulfide at South Atlantic Ridge 13.2°S in June 2011. In contrast with the widely applied CSEM （Marine controlled-source electromagnetic） method, whose goal is to explore hydrocarbons （oil/gas） of higher resistivity than seawater from 102 to 103 m below the sea floor, the TEM is for low resistivity minerals, and the target depth is from 0 to 100 m below the sea floor. Based on the development of complex sulfide geoelectrial models, this paper analyzed the TEM data obtained, proposing a new method for seafloor sulfide detection. We present the preliminary trial results, in the form of apparent resistivity sections for both half-space and full-space conditions. The results cor- respond well with the observations of the actual hydrothermal vent area, and the detection depth reached 50-100m below the bed, which verified the capability of the equipment.     

New discovery of seafloor hydrothermal activity on the Indian Ocean Carlsberg Ridge and Southern North Atlantic Ridge—progress during the 26th Chinese COMRA cruise

The 26th Chinese COMRA (China Ocean Mineral Resources Research & Development Association) cruise was an important cruise. The Carlsberg Ridge (CR) of the Northwest Indian Ocean and the North Atlantic Ridge (NAR), in which less investigation has been carried out for hydrothermal activities, were investigated and studied during the first two legs of the 26th COMRA cruise. During the first leg, we found one hydrothermal activity field located in the CR at 3.5 -3.8 N on the Northwest Indian Ocean Ridge (NWIR), and sampled seafloor polymetallic sulfide deposits where only abnormalities were found before. During the second leg, we found a new hydrothermal anomaly field located in the NAR at 4 -7 N. The discovery of two hydrothermal and anomaly fields filled in the gap of hydrothermal investigation and study in the corresponding regions for China.     

Granitization and magmatic replacement in the contact aureole of the Yurchik gabbronorite massif (Ganal Ridge, Kamchatka)

It is shown that formation of high-temperature granulite-like rocks in the contact aureole of the Yurchik gabbronorite intrusion of the Ganal Ridge in East Kamchatka was caused by contact metamorphism, metasomatism, and local melting of the primary sedimentary-volcanogenic rocks of the Vakhtalkinskaya Sequence of the Ganal Group. The temperature in the inner part of the aureole reached 700–800°C and caused transformation of basic rocks into two-pyroxene-plagioclase, clinopyroxene-amphibole-plagioclase, and amphibole-plagioclase rocks, while sedimentary rocks were replaced by garnet-biotite and garnet-cordierite-biotite hornfelses. Locally, basic volcanic hornfelses were subjected to metasomatic alteration with the formation of bodies of biotite-orthopyroxene-plagioclase metasomatites. In the zones of the most intense fluid filtration, the metasomatites experienced local magmatic replacement resulting in the formation of biotite-orthopyroxene-plagioclase ± garnet migmatite veinlets and patches. Bodies of garnet enderbites were formed after sedimentary interlayers at temperatures of 700–800°C and a lithostatic pressure of 3.2–4.8 kbar. The comparison of the chemical composition of the Vakhtalkinskaya basic volcanics and the products of their transformation indicates that, in terms of chemistry, the metasomatic alterations and magmatic replacement correspond to siliceous-alkaline metasomatism (granitization) causing a subsequent and uneven influx of Si, Al, Na, K, Rb, Ba, Zr, Nb, and Cl and removal of Fe, Mg, Mn, Ca, and some trace elements (Cr, Co, Ti, Y, and S). The processes of metamorphism and metasomatism were presumably provoked by highly mineralized mantle fluids that were filtered through magmatic channels that served as pathways for gabbroid magma.     

Interest in geological and palaeontological curiosities by southern African non-western societies: A review and perspectives for future study

Compared with other parts of the world, the study of geomythology in southern Africa, and the associated documentation of non-western awareness of palaeontological and geological phenomena, is in an early phase. We focus on examples of rocks and fossils as items of special interest and curiosity, and we search for evidence of an indigenous palaeontology and geology. We review twenty-one sites or cases for which published accounts exist, and we describe a newly identified trilobite manuport site. In combination these sites provide various levels of evidence of palaeontological and geological awareness exhibited by non-western cultures in southern Africa, and how these cultures incorporated this knowledge into their understanding of their world. We anticipate that in time a diverse heritage of such ‘natural knowledge’ may become evident in southern Africa, aided in part by recognition of the possibility that rock art images may be associated with awareness of body fossils and trace fossils. We suggest ways in which further analysis may bolster this contention.     

新疆阿尔泰山西段乞格拉塔乌岩体LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb同位素年龄及其地质意义

新疆阿尔泰山西段发育的花岗岩体缺乏精确地锆石U-Pb同位素年龄资料。本次在乞格拉塔乌岩体中获得了425.1±4.4Ma的LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb同位素年龄数据,将其形成时代厘定为中志留世。岩石SiO_2含量在64.07%～73.77%之间,Al_2O_3含量为12.40%～15.71%, A/CNK值为1.02～1.10,全碱(ALK)含量为5.85%～7.93%,里特曼指数(σ)为1.62～2.24,具有弱过铝质、高钾钙碱性系列花岗岩特征;稀土总量介于166.3×10~(-6)～197.2×10~(-6)之间,轻、重稀土分馏明显,δEu值介于0.47～0.63之间,具明显负Eu异常。微量元素富集Rb、Th、U等大离子亲石元素及La、Ce、Sm等,亏损Nb、Zr等高场强元素及Sr、P、Ti等,具有低Sr高Yb的特征(Sr含量在93.7×10~(-6)～211×10~(-6),Yb含量在2.1×10~(-6)～3.9×10~(-6))。研究表明,古亚洲洋从奥陶纪开始向北俯冲,一直持续到晚古生代中晚期。早古生代末期形成的乞格拉塔乌岩体,既有俯冲环境特征,又显示了后碰撞花岗岩类特点,其复杂的成因可能与古亚洲洋存在洋中脊俯冲作用有关。     

Which water formed Australian sediment-hosted precious and potch opal?

The means and timing of the formation of Australian sediment-hosted precious opal remain a subject of continuing debate. In this study, the question of which water formed the opal is addressed by examination of rare earth element data for opals and host rocks. The available data, mainly for Lightning Ridge, NSW, suggest a positive Eu anomaly, relative to the neighbouring Sm and Dy, occurs in opals whereas no such anomaly was found for the weathered Cretaceous sediments hosting the opal. Such anomalies may be inherited from the source rock with a similar positive Eu anomaly or generated in situ by severe reduction. There is no indication of major reduction processes during the opal formation that could have led to such a Eu anomaly so this is likely inherited from a source rock. As the opal host rocks did not show this anomaly, the source rocks must be external to the opal fields. Calcite cements within rocks hosting the aquifers of the Eromanga and Surat basins of the Great Artesian Basin have been reported to have a positive Eu anomaly, which strongly suggests that opal was formed by upwelling Great Artesian Basin artesian waters. This work has also highlighted variations in trace-element concentrations in opals, which indicate significant variation in the source water composition during opal formation or different water sources were involved. Either of these is indicative of the source for the opal with its trace elements derived from external sources. These conclusions have significant implications to considerations of how opal formed, and hence, for the exploration for other deposits and to the chemistry and timing that led to the formation of opal.