The Role of Aga Khan Rural Support Programme in Rural Development in the Karakorum, Hindu Kush ＆ Himalayan Region： Examples from the Northern Mountainous Belt of Pakistan

Pakistan is predominantly a mountainous country where rural development activities are characterised by inconsistency, politically motivated short-term projects without proper feedback. Since the inception of the country, the top-down approach has been followed, and the same development plans that were formulated for the plain areas have been extended to the mountains without any modification. In doing so, neither the participation of the local communities was cared for, nor the mountain specificities were considered in the planning process. Moreover, the representation of the local inhabitants was improper and contradictory to the facts. This biased approach has been one of the main causes for the failure of development projects carried out by different agencies of the Government. Contrary to the perception of the state authorities, the mountain communities proved to be more open to accept new approaches and demonstrated the capacity and capability of being a dependable development partner. In this paper, a detailed account of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme （AKRSP） has been presented to assess and evaluate the approach followed by this non-governmental organisation （NGO）, and the response of the local inhabitants as collaborators in the development process. The achievements of the AKRSP from project planning, implementation and monitoring can be adopted as a model for rural development not only in the plains, but also in the mountainous areas of the developing countries in the world.     

Detrital zircon provenance of Neoproterozoic to Cenozoic deposits in Iran: Implications for chronostratigraphy and collisional tectonics

Ion-microprobe U–Pb analyses of 589 detrital zircon grains from 14 sandstones of the Alborz mountains, Zagros mountains, and central Iranian plateau provide an initial framework for understanding the Neoproterozoic to Cenozoic provenance history of Iran. The results place improved chronological constraints on the age of earliest sediment accumulation during Neoproterozoic–Cambrian time, the timing of the Mesozoic Iran–Eurasia collision and Cenozoic Arabia–Eurasia collision, and the contribution of various sediment sources of Gondwanan and Eurasian affinity during opening and closure of the Paleotethys and Neotethys oceans. The zircon age populations suggest that deposition of the extensive ~ 1 km-thick clastic sequence at the base of the cover succession commenced in latest Neoproterozoic and terminated by Middle Cambrian time. Comparison of the geochronological data with detrital zircon ages for northern Gondwana reveals that sediment principally derived from the East African orogen covered a vast region encompassing northern Africa and the Middle East. Although most previous studies propose a simple passive-margin setting for Paleozoic Iran, detrital zircon age spectra indicate Late Devonian–Early Permian and Cambrian–Ordovician magmatism. These data suggest that Iran was affiliated with Eurasian magmatic arcs or that rift-related magmatic activity during opening of Paleotethys and Neotethys was more pronounced than thought along the northern Gondwanan passive-margin. For a Triassic–Jurassic clastic overlap assemblage (Shemshak Formation) in the Alborz mountains, U–Pb zircon ages provide chronostratigraphic age control requiring collision of Iran with Eurasia by late Carnian–early Norian time (220–210 Ma). Finally, Cenozoic strata yield abundant zircons of Eocene age, consistent with derivation from arc magmatic rocks related to late-stage subduction and/or breakoff of the Neotethys slab. Together with the timing of foreland basin sedimentation in the Zagros, these detrital zircon ages help bracket the onset of the Arabia–Eurasia collision in Iran between middle Eocene and late Oligocene time.     

Timing of UHP metamorphism in the Hong’an area,western Dabie Mountains,China: evidence from zircon U–Pb age,trace element and Hf isotope composition

The Hong’an area (western Dabie Mountains) is the westernmost terrane in the Qinling-Dabie-Sulu orogen that preserves UHP eclogites. The ages of the UHP metamorphism have not been well constrained, and thus hinder our understanding of the tectonic evolution of this area. LA-ICPMS U–Pb age, trace element and Hf isotope compositions of zircons of a granitic gneiss and an eclogite from the Xinxian UHP unit in the Hong’an area were analyzed to constrain the age of the UHP metamorphism. Most zircons are unzoned or show sector zoning. They have low trace element concentrations, without significant negative Eu anomalies. These metamorphic zircons can be further subdivided into two groups according to their U–Pb ages, and trace element and Lu–Hf isotope compositions. One group with an average age of 239 ± 2 Ma show relatively high and variable HREE contents (527 ≥ Lu_N ≥ 14) and ¹⁷⁶Lu/¹⁷⁷Hf ratios (0.00008–0.000931), indicating their growth prior to a great deal of garnet growth in the late stage of continental subduction. The other group yields an average age of 227 ± 2 Ma, and shows consistent low HREE contents and ¹⁷⁶Lu/¹⁷⁷Hf ratios, suggesting their growth with concurrent garnet crystallization and/or recrystallization. These two groups of age are taken as recording the time of prograde HP to UHP and retrograde UHP–HP stages, respectively. A few cores have high Th/U ratios, high trace element contents, and a clear negative Eu anomaly. These features support a magmatic origin of these zircon cores. The upper intercept ages of 771 ± 86 and 752 ± 70 Ma for the granitic gneiss and eclogite, respectively, indicate that their protoliths probably formed as a bimodal suite in rifting zones in the northern margin of the Yangtze Block. Young Hf model ages (T _DM1) of magmatic cores indicate juvenile (mantle-derived) materials were involved in their protolith formation. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

北大别白垩纪镁铁－超镁铁岩的铂族元素地球化学研究

采用镍锍火试金法结合ICP-MS分析了12个北大别白垩纪镁铁-超镁铁岩样品的Ir,Ru,Rh,Pt和Pd的含量,结果显示铂族元素（PGE）的含量较低,原始地幔标准化后的PGE分布模式呈正斜率型,PPGE相对原始地幔略微亏损,而IPGE强烈亏损,Pd/Ir值远高于相应的地幔比值。这些镁铁-超镁铁岩中PGE的强烈分异是地幔低程度的部分熔融过程中,PPGE主要受硫化物控制,而Ir则存在于非硫化物相如尖晶石,可能还有合金之中造成的。同时,铂族元素的分布特征表明这些镁铁-超镁铁岩是岩浆结晶分异的产物。     

台湾山地的雨影效应及其表现

台湾岛的雨量受台湾山地的雨影效应影响明显,各地各月随着风向的不同,雨量表现出很大的差异。福建沿海一线存在着一个雨量低值区,主要是由于该地带所处的地理位置及地形条件所决定,与台湾山地的雨影效应无关。     

大别山南部宿松群的组成及形成时代

在前人工作基础上,根据对大别山南部的区域地质调查和同位素年代学测定,对宿松群的组成和形成时代进行了研究。进一步论证了宿松群可解体为以变质侵入岩为主的蒲河杂岩和变质沉积岩为主的宿松岩群两部分。前者主要分别在原宿松群虎踏石组和蒲河组的范围内,组成岩石变花岗片麻岩和斜长角闪岩为主,其原岩主要为形成于新元古代的花岗岩类和基性侵入岩;后者主要分布在原宿松群大新屋组和柳萍组范围内,组成岩石主要为变质碎屑岩和化学沉积岩,可分为大新屋岩组和柳坪岩组,是不整合在古元古代二长花岗片麻岩之上,时代为中元古代早期。     

大别山的变质碰撞混杂岩——以东部为例

大别山是中国东部中朝大陆板块与扬子大陆板块之间的碰撞造山带。具有薄皮构造的性质。组成两个碰撞大陆之间的滑脱（冲断剪切）带的岩石就是碰撞混杂岩组合。大别山由于剥露较深,仰冲壳楔完全被剥蚀,超高压变质带大面积出露,识别出碰撞混杂岩组合是对大别山进行几何分析的必要步骤。大别山碰撞混杂岩组合可分为南北两部分。北部为条带状片麻岩-超镁铁岩组合,南部为云母斜长片麻岩-榴辉岩组合,这两个组合的大部分都经历过超高压变质作用。它们的共同特点是具有宏观的＂碎斑结构＂和混杂作用。罗田穹隆是造山过程中早期形成的双冲式背斜,最后在造山晚期因东西向缩短的叠加而形成穹隆。     

大别山黄石-六安反射地震剖面新的地质解释

在大别山黄石至六安反射地震剖面上有很多近水平的反射体,表明大别山中心部位的中、下地壳内也有近水平的分层性。反映有流变性和动力学方面的差异,与大型薄皮构造理论对岩石圈性质的认识一致,因而在其运动过程中应服从薄皮构造的运动规律。结合以往对大别山区划分的岩石一构造组合,在前人对此反射地震剖面所作的地质解释的基础上,对反射地震剖面作了较为详细的地质解释,并建立了大别山造山带在此剖面上的两维几何结构。剖面南部为造山过程中形成的背斜构造。地表15km深度内为由碰撞混杂岩组成的扬子与中一朝大陆之间的主滑脱带。剖面中部为造山期后的侵入体。剖面北部为主滑脱带的根带（通常认为的缝合带）,根带被中生代形成的晓天磨子潭断裂带切割。剖面最北端为变质复理石中略晚于主滑脱带的反向冲断带。推溺l下地壳的断开距离在扬子大陆俯冲时（三叠纪前）规模较大,然后逐渐缩小,直至保留到今天的规模。     

大别地块东南缘逆冲滑脱构造体系及其对金矿的控制作用

大别地块自晚元古代以来主要经受了自北而南的推挤,并且发生了两次较强烈的南移运动,造成了地块前线逆冲滑脱构造体系。特别是中生代的推挤和滑移,不仅构造变形强烈,而且还伴有热事件,大别地块东南缘郯－庐断裂南延部分和广济－宿松平移－推覆型韧性剪切带均是＂热线构造＂,它们提供了深层次岩浆活动的通道。本区岩石以绿片岩－角闪岩相变质岩为主,含金背景值高,逆冲滑脱构造和韧性剪切带的活动与金元素的活化、迁移和富集创造了良好的条件。     

大别杂岩中混合岩的矿物空间分布研究

介绍了矿物空间分布研究的基本原理及两种统计方法(接触频数法和线切法)。作者对混合岩矿物空间分布的研究表明:(1)前人提出的统计方法存在方法上的缺陷和应用上的局限性,作者推导出矿物接触类型的概率公式;(2)部分浅色体中矿物显示聚集分布的特征,而绝大部分的浅色体中矿物具有分散分布的特点。结合质量平衡和地球化学研究认为:大别杂岩中主体混合岩成因机制是重熔和交代作用。