African linkage of Precambrian Sri Lanka

New age and isotopic data show that the high-grade basement rocks of Sri Lanka were not linked to the Archaean granulite domain of southern India but experienced their main structural and metamorphic development during the Pan-African event some 950 to 550 Ma ago. This occurred when West Gondwana and East Gondwana collided to form one of the longest collisional structures in the Supercontinent — the Mozambique belt that extends from Mozambique to Ethiopia and Sudan. A major tectonic boundary, interpreted as a thrust zone, divides the Highland/Southwestern Complex in the central part of Sri Lanka from the Vijayan Complex in the E and SE. The former is interpreted to represent the remnant of a once extensive passive margin extending west, in a Gondwana reconstruction, via Madagasgar to Tanzania and Mozambique. The Vijayan Complex may have been part of a separate continental margin plutonic assemblage, and its collision with the Highland/ Southwestern Complex marks the final amalgamation of East and West Gondwana into a supercontinent some 550 Ma ago. The Sri Lankan granulites cannot be correlated with the distinctly older granulites of the Eastern Ghats belt of India, and this suggests that Sri Lanka was situated close to the SE coast of Madagascar in a Gondwana reconstruction.

---

Zusammenfassung Neue Isotopen- und Altersdaten aus dem metamorphen Grundgebirge von Sri Lanka zeigen, daß dieses Gebiet nicht, wie vielfach vermutet, Teil des archaischen Granulitkomplexes von Südindien war, sondern seine strukturelle und metamorphe Entwicklung während der panafrikanischen Orogenèse zwischen ca. 950 Ma und ca. 550 Ma hatte. Diese Orogenèse ist das Resultat der Kollision zwischen West-Gondwana (Afrika und Südamerika) und Ost-Gondwana (Südindien, Australien und Antarktis) und führte zur Bildung eines der längsten Kollisionsgürtel des Superkontinentes, dem Mosambik-Gürtel, der sich von Mosambik bis nach Äthiopien und in den Sudan erstreckt. Der West- und Zentralteil Sri Lankas mit den Wanni und Highland/Southwestern Komplexen wird vom Vijayan Komplex im Osten und Südosten durch eine Überschiebungszone getrennt, die möglicherweise eine Sutur darstellt. Die Gesteine im Westen und in den Highlands werden als der Rest eines ehemals weiträumigen passiven Kontinentalrandes interpretiert, zu dem wohl auch die lithologisch ähnlichen Abfolgen der hochmetamorphen Gebiete in Mosambik, Tansania und Madagaskar gehörten. Der Vijayan Komplex war wohl Teil der separaten plutonischen Suite eines aktiven Kontinentalrandes, und seine Kollision mit dem Highland/ Southwestern Komplex markiert das endgültige Verschweißen von West- und Ost-Gondwana zu einem Superkontinent vor ca. 550 Ma. Die Granulite Sri Lankas können nicht mit den deutlich älteren Granuliten des Gürtels der Eastern Ghats in Südost Indien korreliert werden sondern ähneln eher den hochgradigen Gesteinen in Südost Madagaskar. Damit ist die Lage Sri Lankas nahe Madagaskar in einer Gondwana Rekonstruktion wahrscheinlicher als nahe der Südostküste Indiens.

---

Résumé De nouvelles données isotopiques et géochronologiques montrent que les roches métamorphiques du socle du Sri Lanka ne constituent pas, comme on l'a souvent cru, une partie du complexe granulitique archéen de l'Inde méridionale, mais qu'elles ont vécu leur propre histoire tectono-métamorphique au cours de l'orogenèse panafricaine, entre 950 et 550 Ma. Cette orogenèse est le résultat de la collision entre le Gondwana occidental (Afrique et Amérique du Sud) et le Gondwana oriental (Inde du sud, Australie et Antarctique) et constitue une des plus grandes chaînes de collision du Supercontinent: la chaîne du Mozambique, qui s'étend du Mozambique jusqu'au Soudan et en Ethiopie. Un contact tectonique majeur, interprété comme un charriage, sépare le »Highland/South-western Complex« (partie centrale du Sri Lanka) du »Vijayan Complex« (partie est et sud-est). Le premier de ces complexes est interprété comme un reste d'une ancienne marge passive de grande étendue, à laquelle appartenaient aussi les séries lithologiquement analogues du domaine très métamorphique du Mozambique, de Tanzanie et de Madagascar. Le «Vijagan Complex« a pu être une partie d'un ensemble plutonique séparé de marge active; sa collision avec le »Highland/Southwestern Complex« marque la réunion finale en un super-continent il y a quelque 550 Ma, des Gondwanas oriental et occidental. Les granulites du Sri Lanka ne peuvent pas être corrélées avec celles de la chaîne des Eastern Ghats (Inde du sud-est) qui sont nettement plus anciennes; elles se rapprochent plutôt des roches très métamorphiques du sud-est de Madagascar. On en déduit que la position du Sri Lanka, dans une reconstruction du Gondwana, devait être plus proche de Madagascar que de la côte sud de l'Inde.

---

, , , , , , .. 950 550 . — — — . , , . - - - , , , . , , , , , . , , , - 550 . - - , , - . , - , - .

     

Zircon U–Pb and Hf isotopic study of gneissic rocks from the Chinese Altai: Progressive accretionary history in the early to middle Palaeozoic

Gneissic rocks in the Chinese Altai Mountains have been interpreted as either Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks or Precambrian basement. This study reports geochemical and geochronological data for banded paragneisses and associated gneissic granitoids collected along a NE–SW traverse in the northwestern Chinese Altai. Petrological and geochemical data suggest that the protoliths of the banded gneisses were possibly immature sediments with significant volcanic input and that the gneissic granitoids were derived from I-type granites formed in a subduction environment. Three types of morphological features can be recognized in zircons from the banded gneisses and are interpreted to correlate with different sources. Zircons from five samples of banded paragneiss cluster predominantly between 466 and 528 Ma, some give Neoproterozoic ages, and a few yield discordant Paleoproterozoic to Archean ages. Zircon Hf isotopic compositions indicate that both juvenile/mantle and crust materials were involved in the generation of the source rocks from which these zircons were derived. In contrast, zircons occur ubiquitously as elongated euhedral prismatic crystals in the four samples of the gneissic granitoids, and define single populations for each sample with mean ages between 380 and 453 Ma. The general absence of Precambrian inheritance and positive zircon ?Hf values for these granitoids suggest insignificant crustal contribution to the generation of the precursor magmas. Our data can be interpreted in terms of a progressive accretionary history in early to middle Palaeozoic times, and the Chinese Altai may possibly represent a magmatic arc built on a continental margin dominated by Neoproterozoic rocks.     

Zircon M257 ‐ a Homogeneous Natural Reference Material for the Ion Microprobe U‐Pb Analysis of Zircon

We introduce and propose zircon M257 as a future reference material for the determination of zircon U‐Pb ages by means of secondary ion mass spectrometry. This light brownish, flawless, cut gemstone specimen from Sri Lanka weighed 5.14 g (25.7 carats). Zircon M257 has TIMS‐determined, mean isotopic ratios (2s uncertainties) of 0.09100 ± 0.00003 for ²⁰⁶pb/²³⁸U and 0.7392 ± 0.0003 for ²⁰⁷pb/²³⁵U. Its ²⁰⁶pb/²³⁸U age is 561.3 ± 0.3 Ma (unweighted mean, uncertainty quoted at the 95% confidence level); the U‐Pb system is concordant within uncertainty of decay constants. Zircon M257 contains ～ 840 μg g^?1 U (Th/U ～ 0.27). The material exhibits remarkably low heterogeneity, with a virtual absence of any internal textures even in cathodoluminescence images. The uniform, moderate degree of radiation damage (estimated from the expansion of unit‐cell parameters, broadening of Raman spectral parameters and density) corresponds well, within the “Sri Lankan trends”, with actinide concentrations, U‐Pb age, and the calculated alpha fluence of 1.66 × 10¹⁸ g^?1. This, and a (U+Th)/He age of 419 ± 9 Ma (2s), enables us to exclude any unusual thermal history or heat treatment, which could potentially have affected the retention of radiogenic Pb. The oxygen isotope ratio of this zircon is 13.9%o VSMOW suggesting a metamorphic genesis in a marble or calc‐silicate skarn.     

Indigenous resource management and external development interventions in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka: From conflicts to synergies?

An argument is presented that environmental problems in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka are caused, among other reasons, by conflicts between the exogenously influenced modern strategy of land resources management, and the incompatibility of the modern approach with aspects of the physical environment. This conclusion is obtained through a comparative analysis of both strategies using an actor-oriented methodology. Concerning the potential of indigenous technologies under present-day conditions it is argued that the rationale guiding them is highly relevant and has actually been internalized into the vocabulary of many development interventionists because negative effects of the dominant development discourse are becoming obvious. A shift in power relations (including the acceptance of local knowledge within innovative development ventures) is required if the potential of the indigenous strategy is to be tapped. It remains an open question whether this power shift can take place from within the development enterprise alone.Many thanks to Jayantha Perera, Heidi Stutz and Ben Wisner for critical comments on a first draft of this paper.     

Infrared extinction of heavy ion irradiated and amorphous olivine,with applications to interstellar dust

A smooth surface layer of highly disordered olivine, (Mg, Fe)₂SiO₄, has been produced by exposure of polished, natural olivine to a dose of 5×10¹⁶ cm^–2 of 1.5 MeV neon ions from a Van de Graaff accelerator. The dielectric functions of the disordered silicate in the wavelength range from 8 to 30 m have been determined from analysis of specular reflectance data, and extinction for Rayleigh particles of such disordered olivine has been calculated. Extinction measurements for amorphous olivine smoke collected on a substrate are also presented. The small particle extinctions of both kinds of structurally disordered olivine are shown to agree well with the main features of the absorption and emission spectra from interstellar grains in the 10 and 20 m region.     

The age and source of late Hercynian magmatism in the central Alps: evidence from precise U−Pb ages and initial Hf isotopes

This study presents U–Pb ages for zircon, titanite, allanite and epidote, and initial Hf isotopic compositions for zircon of Upper Carboniferous granites, diorites and syenites from the Aar massif, central Alps. The rocks were emplaced during three magmatic pulses after Hercynian collisional tectonics: (A) a shoshonitic-ultrapotassic series at 334±2.5 Ma; (B) scattered diorites and granites at 308–310 Ma; and (C) a high-K cale-alkaline granite batholith at 298±2 Ma. Inheritance of old zircons is negligible among all three groups. The Southern Aar granite, in contrast, is a syn-tectonic, probably ca. 350 Ma old granite that contains large amounts of inherited Precambrian zircons. Alpine metamorphism caused weak lead loss in many analyzed zircon fractions, but left the titanite U–Pb system undisturbed: thorites were almost completely reset by Alpine and recent lead loss. Mineral isochrons defined by titanite, allanite, epidote and apatite yield initial Pb isotopic compositions that are in agreement with the model values of Stacey and Kramers. Initial Hf isotopic compositions range from _Hf=–8 to +3.5. The data follow a trend of increasing _Hf with decreasing age. The _Hf versus element concentration relationships suggest mixing between a mantle and a crustal component. These relationships can be explained in terms of generation of the melts from a subcontinental mantle that had been enriched during subduction events at about 1 Ga and by 300 Ma had developed an isotopic signature distinct from that of MORB-type mantle. Further contamination of the melts occurred during ascent and differentiation in the crust. This late Hercynian magmatism can be related to post-collisional strike-slip tectonics.     

Tripartite climate reversal in Central Europe 5600-5300 years ago

The history of variations in water level of Lake Constance, as reconstructed from sediment and pollen analysis of a sediment sequence from the archaeological site of Arbon-Bleiche 3, shows an abrupt rise in lake level dendrochronologically dated to 5375 yr ago (5320 yr relative to AD 1950). This event, paralleled by the destruction of the Neolithic village by fire, provoked the abandonment of this prehistoric lake-shore location established in the former shallow bay of Arbon-Bleiche, and was the last of a series of three episodes of successively higher lake level, the first occurring at 5600-5500 cal yr B.P. The dendrochronologically dated rise event was synchronous with an abrupt increase in atmospheric ¹⁴C. This supports the hypothesis of an abrupt climate change forced by varying solar activity. Moreover, the three successive episodes of higher lake level between 5600 and 5300 cal yr B.P. at Arbon-Bleiche 3 coincided with climatic cooling and/or changes in moisture conditions in various regions of both hemispheres. This period corresponds to the mid-Holocene climate transition (onset of the Neoglaciation) and suggests inter-hemispheric linkages for the climate variations recorded at Arbon-Bleiche 3. This mid-Holocene climate reversal may have resulted from complex interactions between changes in orbital forcing, ocean circulation and solar activity. Finally, despite different seasonal hydrological regimes, the similarities between lake-level records from Lake Constance and from Jurassian lakes over the mid-Holocene period point to time scale as a crucial factor in considering the possible impact of climate change on environments.