Pei FuPing

Zircon U-Pb geochronology of basement metamorphic rocks in the Songliao Basin

Zircon LA-ICP MS U-Pb dating of six metamorphic rocks and a metagranite (breccia) from southern basement of the Songliao Basin are reported in order to constrain the formation ages of basement. The basement metamorphic rocks in the Songliao Basin mainly consist of metagabbro (L45-1), amphibolite (SN117), metarhyolitical tuff (G190), sericite (Ser) schist (N103), chlorite (Chl) schist (T5-1), biotite (Bi)-actinolite (Act)-quartz (Q) schist (Y205), and metagranite (L44-1). The cathodoluminesence (CL) images of the zircons from metagabbro (L45-1) and metagranite (L44-1) indicate that they have cores of magmatic origin and rims of metamorphic overgrowths. Their U-Pb isotopic ages are 1808±21 Ma and 1873±13 Ma, respectively. The zircons with oscillatory zoning from amphibolite (SN117) and Chl schist (T5-1), being similar to those of mafic igneous rocks, yield ages of 274 ± 3.4 Ma and 264 ± 3.2 Ma, respectively. The zircons from metarhyolitical tuff (G190) and Ser schist (N103) display typical magmatic growth zoning and yield ages of 424 ± 4.5 Ma and 287 ± 5.1Ma, respectively. Most of zircons from Bi-Act-Q schist (Y205) are round in shape and different in absorption degree in the CL images, implying their sedimentary detritals. U-Pb dating yield concordant ages of 427 ± 3.1Ma, 455 ± 12 Ma, 696 ± 13 Ma, 1384±62 Ma, 1649±36 Ma, 1778±18 Ma, 2450±9 Ma, 2579±10 Ma, 2793±4 Ma and 2953±14 Ma. The above-mentioned results indicate that the Precambrian crystalline basement (1808–1873 Ma) exists in the southern Songliao Basin and could be related to tectonic thrust, and that the Early Paleozoic (424–490 Ma) and Late Paleozoic magmatisms (264–292 Ma) also occur in the basin basement, which are consistent with the ages of the detrital zircons from Bi-Act-Q schist in the basement.

LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating from granitoids in southern basement of Songliao basin: Constraints on ages of the basin basement

Seven LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb datings from granitoids in the southern basement of the Songliao basin were done in order to constrain the ages of the basin basement. The cathodoluminescence (CL) images of the zircons from seven granitoids indicate that they are euhedral-subhedral ones with striped absorption and obvious oscillatory zoning rims. The dating results show that a weighted mean 206Pb/238U age is 236±3 Ma for quartz diorite (sample No.T6-1) located in the western slope of the basin, that weighted mean 206Pb/238U ages are 319±1 Ma (2126 m) and 361±2 Ma (1994 m) for diorite (sample No.YC1-1) and granite (sample No.YC1-2) located in northern part of southeastern uplift of the basin, respectively, and that weighted mean 206Pb/238U ages are 161±5 Ma, 165±2 Ma, 165±1 Ma and 161±4 Ma for samples Q2-1, SN121, SN122, and SN72 granitoids located in southern part of southeastern uplift of the basin, respectively. The statistical results of ages suggest that the middle Jurassic granitoids constitute the main part of basement granitoids, and that the Hercynian and Indo-Sino magmatisms also occur in the basin basement. It is implied that the Songliao basin should be a rift one formed in the intracontinent or active continental margin settings in the late Mesozoic after the Middle Jurassic orogeny took place.

SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating and its geological significance of Chibaisong gabbro in Tonghua area, Jilin Province, China

SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating for Chibaisong No.1 gabbro in the Tonghua area, Jilin Province, is discussed in the paper. The cathodoluminescence (CL) images of the zircons indicate that they can be divided into two major types, i.e. euhedral-subhedral one with striped absorption and round one with obvious oscillatory zoning rims. The dating results of the zircons suggest that Chibaisong gabbro in the Tonghua area was formed at 134 ± 7Ma—the Early Cretaceous. The concordia ages of 2497 ± 13Ma, 787 ± 35Ma, 321 ± 10Ma, 217 ± 11Ma of zircons imply that the Tonghua area might geologically be located in the convergent region of the Yangtze Block (YB) and the North China Block (NCB) in the early Mesozoic and the zircons should be caught during magma intrusion. The existence of the Early Cretaceous basic dyke swarm in the Tonghua area shows that an intensive extensional environment occurred in the Early Cretaceous. It is suggested that the magmatism and lithospheric extension in the Tonghua area should be related to the subduction of the Pacific plate.