中印度洋脊Edmond热液区黄铁矿的标型特征及其对海底成矿作用环境的指示

对中印度洋脊Edmond热液区的丘顶和丘坡进行电视抓斗取样,获得了大量的金属硫化物等热液作用产物样品。在进行细致的矿相学分析基础上,对硫化物中黄铁矿的标型特征及其演化进行了详细研究。结果表明,Edmond热液区的黄铁矿可分3种类型,其形态标型和成分标型分别具有以下特征:Ⅰ型:呈自形立方体状,S/Fe原子数比接近于2.00,微量元素具有高Cu,低Zn、As、Pb、Ni和Ag的特点,Cu/Zn值高,平均可达4.26;Ⅱ型:呈半自形立方体状,S/Fe原子数比平均2.03,具有高Zn、Co、低Cu的特点,Cu/Zn值(平均0.04)低;Ⅲ型:主要呈胶状、莓球状,S/Fe原子数比平均2.04,具有Ag、Pb、Zn、As元素富集的特点,Cu/Zn值介于前两者之间(平均1.09)。根据硫化物中矿物共生组合关系,认为这3类黄铁矿分别对应高温、中高温和低温成矿作用,黄铁矿的形态和成分能很好地指示热液区的成矿环境和成矿条件的演变。     

The Valley and Ridge Province of eastern Pennsylvania—stratigraphic and sedimentologic contributions and problems

Many contributions that have led to a better understanding of Appalachian geology have resulted directly from work in the folded Appalachian Mountain and Great Valley sections of the Valley and Ridge physiographic province of eastern Pennsylvania. Disagreements have been common since H.D. Rogers first described the geology of the area in 1858. Many differing opinions still exist regarding the stratigraphy, structural geology, geomorphology, and glacial geology. The rocks in the area, which range from Middle Ordovician to Late Devonian in age, are more than 25000 feet (7620 m) thick. This diversified group of sedimentary rocks was deposited in many different environments, ranging from deep sea, through neritic and tidal, to alluvial. In general, the Middle Ordovician through Lower Devonian strata are a sedimentary cycle related to the waxing and waning of Taconic tectonism. The sequence began with a greywacke-argillite suite (Martinsburg Formation) representing synorogenic basin deepening. This was followed by basin filling and pro-gradation of a sandstone-shale clastic wedge (Shawangunk Formation and Bloomsburg Red Beds) derived from the erosion of the mountains that were uplifted during the Taconic orogeny. The sequence ended with deposition of many thin units of carbonate, sandstone, and shale on a shelf marginal to a land area of low relief. Another tectonic-sedimentary cycle, related to the Acadian orogeny, began with deposition of Middle Devonian rocks. Deep-water shales (Marcellus Shale) preceded shoaling (Mahantango Formation) and turbidite sedimentation (Trimmers Rock Formation) followed by another molasse (Catskill Formation).     

Metamorphic evolution of oceanic gabbros: recrystallization from subsolidus to hydrothermal conditions in the MARK area (ODP Leg 153)

The 117.38 m of gabbroic core drilled during the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 153 at Sites 921 to 924 in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) between 23 °N and the Kane Fracture Zone, exhibits a remarkable primary compositional heterogeneity, such as magmatic layering, intrusive contacts and late magmatic veining, which express a succession of magmatic events. Textural indicators suggest that the cooling of the crystal mush occurred in a dynamic environment, with infiltration of progressively evolved liquids. Magmatic features include random shape fabric and magmatic lamination; the subsequent deformational overprint occurred in subsolidus conditions. The ductile deformation, generally concentrated in discrete domains of the gabbro, is associated with continuous re-equilibration of the metamorphic assemblages of (1) olivine + clinopyroxene + orthopyroxene + plagioclase + ilmenite + Ti-magnetite, (2) olivine + clinopyroxene + plagioclase + ilmenite + Ti-magnetite + red hornblende. At lower temperatures brittle deformation prevails and subsequent fractures control the development of metamorphic assemblages: (3) clinopyroxene + plagioclase + red brown hornblende + Ti-magnetite + magnetite (?) + ilmenite, (4) plagioclase + brown hornblende + Ti-magnetite + magnetite + hematite + titanite ± Ti-oxide, (5) plagioclase + green hornblende + magnetite + titanite, (6) plagioclase + actinolite + chlorite + titanite + magnetite, (7) albite + actinolite + chlorite + prehnite ± epidote ± titanite and (8) albite + prehnite + chlorite ± smectite. Assemblages 1 to 8 express increasing water/rock ratios and decreasing degrees of recrystallization.

During the ductile phase, red hornblende is stable and its abundance increases with deformation intensity, possibly as an effect of the introduction of hydrous fluids. During the brittle phase, water diffusion controls the development of the fracture-filling mineral assemblages and re-equilibration of the adjacent rock; temperatures decrease further, as demonstrated by mineral zoning and incompletely re-equilibrated assemblages. The lowest temperatures correspond to the development of hydrothermal assemblages.

Compared with oceanic gabbros from fast-spreading transform environments, high-temperature ductile phases (granulite and amphibolite) are well developed, whereas brittle phases are widespread, as microcracks, prevalent on fracturing associated with discrete veins.     

Oligo–Miocene seagrass‐influenced carbonate sedimentation along a temperate marine palaeoarchipelago,Padthaway Ridge,South Australia

Oligo–Miocene carbonates associated with the Padthaway Ridge form the southern margin of the Murray Basin, South Australia. The carbonates are a thin, somewhat condensed succession of echinoid and bryozoan‐rich limestones that record accumulation in the complex of islands and seaways and progressive burial of the Ridge through time. The rocks are grainy to muddy bioclastic packstones, grainstones and floatstones, composed of infaunal echinoderms, bryozoans, coralline algae and benthic foraminifera, with lesser contributions from molluscs and serpulid worms. Locally as much as half of these skeletal components are Fe‐stained, relict grains that imbue the lithologies with a conspicuous yellow to orange hue. This variably lithified succession is partitioned into metre‐scale, firmground‐bounded and hardground‐bounded beds textured by extensive Thalassinoides burrows. Dominant lithologies are interpreted as temperate seagrass facies. Limestones contain attributes indicative of both seagrass‐dominated palaeoenvironments and carbonate production and accumulation on unconsolidated, barren sandflat palaeoenvironments. Together these two depositional systems are thought to have generated a single multigenerational, amalgamated facies recording sedimentation within a complex temperate seagrass environment. Limestones overlying the Padthaway Ridge reflect a gradually warming climate, increasing water temperature and decreasing nutrient content, within the framework of a ridge gradually being buried in sediment. This succession from cool–temperate to warm–temperate to subtropical through time permits recognition of the relative influence of changing oceanography on a seagrass‐dominated shallow inter‐island sea floor. Criteria are proposed herein to enable future recognition of similar temperate seagrass facies in Cenozoic limestones elsewhere.     

Structure and tectonic evolution of the Southern Eurasia Basin, Arctic Ocean

Multichannel seismic reflection data acquired by Marine Arctic Geological Expedition (MAGE) of Murmansk, Russia in 1990 provide the first view of the geological structure of the Arctic region between 77–80°N and 115–133°E, where the Eurasia Basin of the Arctic Ocean adjoins the passive-transform continental margin of the Laptev Sea. South of 80°N, the oceanic basement of the Eurasia Basin and continental basement of the Laptev Sea outer margin are covered by 1.5 to 8 km of sediments. Two structural sequences are distinguished in the sedimentary cover within the Laptev Sea outer margin and at the continent/ocean crust transition: the lower rift sequence, including mostly Upper Cretaceous to Lower Paleocene deposits, and the upper post-rift sequence, consisting of Cenozoic sediments. In the adjoining Eurasia Basin of the Arctic Ocean, the Cenozoic post-rift sequence consists of a few sedimentary successions deposited by several submarine fans. Based on the multichannel seismic reflection data, the structural pattern was determined and an isopach map of the sedimentary cover and tectonic zoning map were constructed. A location of the continent/ocean crust transition is tentatively defined. A buried continuation of the mid-ocean Gakkel Ridge is also detected. This study suggests that south of 78.5°N there was the cessation in the tectonic activity of the Gakkel Ridge Rift from 33–30 until 3–1 Ma and there was no sea-floor spreading in the southernmost part of the Eurasia Basin during the last 30–33 m.y. South of 78.5°N all oceanic crust of the Eurasia Basin near the continental margin of the Laptev Sea was formed from 56 to 33–30 Ma.     

Neoproterozoic accretionary and collisional events on the western margin of the Siberian craton: new geological and geochronological evidence from the Yenisey Ridge

The geological, structural and tectonic evolutions of the Yenisey Ridge fold-and-thrust belt are discussed in the context of the western margin of the Siberian craton during the Neoproterozoic. Previous work in the Yenisey Ridge had led to the interpretation that the fold belt is composed of high-grade metamorphic and igneous rocks comprising an Archean and Paleoproterozoic basement with an unconformably overlying Mesoproterozoic–Neoproterozoic cover, which was mainly metamorphosed under greenschist-facies conditions. Based on the existing data and new geological and zircon U–Pb data, we recognize several terranes of different age and composition that were assembled during Neoproterozoic collisional–accretional processes on the western margin of the Siberian craton. We suggest that there were three main Neoproterozoic tectonic events involved in the formation of the Yenisey Ridge fold-and-thrust belt at 880–860 Ma, 760–720 Ma and 700–630 Ma. On the basis of new geochronological and petrological data, we propose that the Yeruda and Teya granites (880–860 Ma) were formed as a result of the first event, which could have occurred in the Central Angara terrane before it collided with Siberia. We also propose that the Cherimba, Ayakhta, Garevka and Glushikha granites (760–720 Ma) were formed as a result of this collision. The third event (700–630 Ma) is fixed by the age of island-arc and ophiolite complexes and their obduction onto the Siberian craton margin. We conclude by discussing correlation of these complexes with those in other belts on the margin of the Siberian craton.     

Variability and propagation of Labrador Sea Water in the southern subpolar North Atlantic

The variability of two modes of Labrador Sea Water (LSW) (upper and deep Labrador Sea Water) and their respective spreading in the interior North Atlantic Ocean are investigated by means of repeated ship surveys carried out along the zonal WOCE line A2/AR19 located at 43–48°N (1993–2007) and along the GOOS line at about 48–51°N (1997–2002). Hydrographic section data are complemented by temperature, salinity, and velocity time series recorded by two moorings. They have been deployed at the western flank of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) in the Newfoundland Basin during 1996–2004. The analysis of hydrographic anomalies at various longitudes points to a gradual eastward propagation of LSW-related signals, which happens on time scales of 3–6 years from the formation region towards the MAR. Interactions of the North Atlantic Current (NAC) with the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) close to Flemish Cap point to the NAC being the main distributor of the different types of LSW into the interior of the Newfoundland Basin. Comparisons between the ship data and the mooring records revealed that the mooring sites are located in a region affected by highly variable flow. The mooring time series demonstrate an elevated level of variability with eddy activity and variability associated with the NAC considerably influencing the LSW signals in this region. Hydrographic data taken from Argo profiles from the vicinity of the mooring sites turned out to mimic quite well the temporal evolution captured by the moorings. There is some indication of occasional southward flow in the LSW layer near the MAR. If this can be considered as a hint to an interior LSW-route, it is at least of minor importance in comparison to the DWBC. It acts as an important supplier for the interior North Atlantic, distributing older and recently formed LSW modes southward along the MAR.     

The Mid-atlantic Ridge (31°S–34°30′S): Temporal and spatial variations of accretionary processes

The ridge located between 31° S and 34°30′S is spreading at a rate of 35 mm yr⁻¹, a transitional velocity between the very slow (≤20 mm yr⁻¹) opening rates of the North Atlantic and Southwest Indian Oceans, and the intermediate rates (60 mm yr⁻¹) of the northern limb of the East Pacific Rise, and the Galapagos and Juan de Fuca Ridges. A synthesis of multi-narrow beam, magnetics and gravity data document that in this area the ridge represents a dynamically evolving system. Here the ridge is partitioned into an ensemble of six distinct segments of variable lengths (12 to 100 km) by two transform faults (first-order discontinuities) and three small offset (< 30 km) discontinuities (second-order discontinuities) that behave non-rigidly creating complex and heterogeneous morphotectonic patterns that are not parallel to flow lines. The offset magnitudes of both the first and second-order discontinuities change in response to differential asymmetric spreading. In addition, along the fossil trace of second-order discontinuities, the lengths of abyssal hills located to either side of a discordant zone are observed to lengthen and shorten creating a saw-toothed pattern. Although the spreading rate remains the same along the length of the ridge studied, the morphology of the spreading segments varies from a deep median valley with characteristics analogous to the rift segments of the North Atlantic to a gently rifted axial bulge that is indistinguishable from the shape and relief of the intermediate rate spreading centers of the East Pacific Rise (i.e., 21°N). Like other carefully surveyed ridge segments at slow and fast rates of accretion, the along-axis profiles of each ridge segment are distinctly convex upwards, and exhibit along-strike changes in relief of 500m to 1500 between the shallowest portion of the segment (approximate center) and the segment ends. Such spatial variations create marked along-axis changes in the morphology and relief of each segment. A relatively low mantle Bouguer anomaly is known to be associated with the ridge segment characterized by a gently rifted axial bulge and is interpreted to indicate the presence of focused mantle upwelling (Kuo and Forsyth, 1988). Moreover, the terrain at the ends of each segment are known to be highly magnetized compared to the centers of each segment (Carbotte et al, 1990). Taken together, these data clearly establish that these profound spatial variations in ridge segment properties between adjoining segments, and along and across each segment, indicate that the upper mantle processes responsible for the formation of this contrasting architecture are not solely related to passive upwelling of the asthenosphere beneath the ridge axis. Rather, there must be differences in the thermal and mechanical structure of the crust and upper mantle between and along the ridge segments to explain these spatial variations in axial topography, crustal structure and magnetization. These results are consistent with the results of investigations from other parts of the ridge and suggest that the emplacement of magma is highly focused along segments and positioned beneath the depth minimum of a given segment. The profound differences between segments indicate that the processes governing the behavior of upwelling mantle are decoupled and the variations in the patterns of axis flanking morphology and rate of accretion indicate that processes controlling upwelling and melt production vary markedly in time as well. At this spreading rate and in this area, the accretionary processes are clearly three-dimensional. In addition, the morphology of a ridge segment is not governed so much by opening rate as by the thermal structure of the mantle which underlies the segment.     

Tectonic core of a sedimentary drift: a potential ridge propagation feature beneath the Blake Outer Ridge

The Blake Outer Ridge is a 480–kilometer long linear sedimentary drift ridge striking perpendicular to the North American coastline. By modeling free-air gravity anomalies we tested for the presence of a crustal feature that may control the location and orientation of the Blake Outer Ridge. Most of our crustal density models that match observed gravity anomalies require an increase in oceanic crustal thickness of 1–3 km on the southwest side of the Blake Outer Ridge relative to the northeast side. Most of these models also require 1–4 km of crustal thinning in zone 20–30 km southwest of the crest of the Blake Outer Ridge. Although these features are consistent with the structure of oceanic fracture zones, the Blake Outer Ridge is not parallel to adjacent known fracture zones. Magnetic anomalies suggest that the ocean crust beneath this feature formed during a period of mid-ocean ridge reorganization, and that the Blake Outer Ridge may be built upon the bathymetric expression of an oblique extensional feature associated with ridge propagation. It is likely that the orientation of this trough acted as a catalyst for sediment deposition with the start of the Western Boundary Undercurrent in the mid-Oligocene.