Songbai Peng

Granulite facies metamorphic age and tectonic implications of BIFs from the Kongling Group in the northern Huangling anticline

We report preliminary results of a geochemical study on banded iron formations (BIFs) in the Zhaojiayangpo (赵家阳坡) area from the Kongling (崆岭) Group in the northern Huangling (黄陵) anticline, on the northern margin of the Yangtze craton. The CL (cathodoluminescence) images of zircons mostly have sector zoning, fir-tree zoning and patched zoning, and a few show core-rim textures with rims having patched zoning. The calculated formation temperatures using the Ti-in-zircon thermometer are 660–808 °C (714 °C in average), all indicating that the BIFs underwent granulite facies metamorphism. The age of zircons with granulite facies metamorphism is 1 990±14 Ma by LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating, indicating that there was a significant granulite facies tectonothermal event in the northern Huangling anticline in the Paleoproterozoic, which may be related with tectonic thermal events of the metamorphism caused by the assembly of the Columbia supercontinent with South China. Moreover, the REE pattern is characterized by depletion in LREE while relatively flat in HREE, LaN/YbN=0.26, with a positive Eu anomaly (Eu/Eu*=1.59), which reveals its hydrothermal sedimentation origin and it may have formed in the environment of submarine exhalation.

Sea-floor metamorphism recorded in epidosites from the ca. 1.0 Ga Miaowan ophiolite, Huangling anticline, China

The epidosites are interpreted to form in upflow zones at the base of ore-forming oceanic hydrothermal systems that vent as black smokers on the sea floor. This study presents new field, major and trace element, and oxygen isotope data for the recently discovered epidosites in the ca. 1.0 Ga Miaowan (庙湾) ophiolite located near the northern margin of the Yangtze craton. The epidosites occur mainly in the cores of strongly deformed, lensoidal amphibolites. Field observations, major and trace elements and oxygen isotopes suggest that the epidosites were formed by metasomatism of ocean floor basalts, diabase dykes, and gabbros during seafloor hydrothermal alteration.

New Research Progress on the Pre-Sinian Tectonic Evolution and Neotectonics of the Huangling Anticline Region, South China

In this paper the authors briefly introduce and review the new progress of the newly discovered Proterozoic Miaowan (庙湾) ophiolite and Neoproterozoic Huangling (黄陵) granitoids in the southern Huangling anticline in the Yangtze craton, and the tectonic evolution significance of assemblage and breakup of Rodinia and Columbia supercontinent in South China.

Geological features and deformational ages of the basal thrust belt of the miaowan ophiolite in the southern Huangling anticline and its tectonic implications

The stratigraphic, structural and metamorphic features of the basal thrust belt of the ca. 1.0 Ga Miaowan (庙湾) ophiolite in the southern Huangling (黄陵) anticline, show that it can be divided into three tectono-lithostratigraphic units from north to south: mélange/wildflysch rock units, flysch rock units, and sedimentary rock units of the autochthonous (in situ) stable continental margin. The three units underwent thrust-related deformation during emplacement of the Miaowan ophiolitic nappe, with kinematic indicators indicating movement from the NNE to SSW, with the metamorphic grade reaching greenschist-amphibolite facies. LA-ICP-MS U-Pb geochronology of zircons from granite pebbles in the basal thrust-related wildflysch yield ages of 859±26, 861±12 and 871±16 Ma; whereas monzonitic granite clasts yield an age of 813±14 Ma. This indicates that the formation age of the basal thrust belt is not older than 813±14 Ma, and is earlier than the earliest formation time of the majority of the Neoproterozoic Huangling granitoid intrusive complex, which did not experience penetrative ductile deformation. These results suggest that the northern margin of the Yangtze craton was involved in collisional tectonics that continued past 813 Ma. This may be related to the amalgamation of the Yangtze craton with the Rodinia supercontinent. Through comparative study of lithology, zircon geochronology, REE patterns between granodiorite and tonalite pebbles in the basal thrust-zone conglomerate, it can be concluded that the pebbles are the most similar to the Huanglingmiao (黄陵庙) rock-mass (unit), implying that they may have come from Huanglingmiao rock-mass. Zircon cores yield xenocrystic ages of 2 074±120 Ma, suggesting that the protolith of the Neoproterozoic Huangling granitoid intrusive complex may have originated from partial melting of older basement rocks, that is to say there may be Paleoproterozoic crystalline basement in the southern Huangling anticline. The ages of xenocrystic zircons in the granite pebbles in the basal-thrust conglomerate/wildflysch show a correlation with the age spectra from Australia, implying that the terrain that collided with the northern margin of the Yangtze craton and emplaced the Miaowan ophiolite at ca. 813 Ma may have been derived from the Australian segment of Rodinia.

Discovery of a Sheeted Dike Complex in the Northern Yangtze Craton and Its Implications for Craton Evolution

The Miaowan (庙湾) ophiolite is a highly dismembered ophiolitic complex cropping out near the northern margin of the Yangtze craton. The rocks of this complex consist of, from bottom to top, harzburgite tectonite locally containing podiform chromite, dunite, layered and isotropic gabbro, a sheeted dike complex (SDC), meta-pillow lavas with chert pods and layers, and tectonically intercalated marble. The SDC is a very important and significant part of the Miaowan ophiolitic sequence, and grades downward into gabbro and ultramafic rocks, and upward into meta-pillow lavas. Some dikes preserve one-way chilled margins, typical of extensional ophiolitic settings, whereas most preserve double chilled margins, in cases where the chilling direction can be determined. The SDC is mainly composed of meta-diabase (dolerite), meta-plagiogranite, and small amounts of meta-gabbro and ultramafic rocks. LA-ICP-MS zircon dating yields an upper intercept age of 1 026±79 Ma for one meta-plagiogranite, 1 043±23 Ma for a second meta-plagiogranite and 1 096±32 Ma for one meta-gabbro at the bottom of the SDC, suggesting formation of the SDC at circa 1 026–1 096 Ma, consistent with the recently determined formation age of the Miaowan ophiolite. Sparse geochemical data on the meta-diabase indicate that the protolith was a sub-alkaline, low-potassium tholeiite similar to mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB). The chondrite-normalized rare earth element (REE) patterns of the meta-diabase are generally flat ((La/Yb)N=0.56–0.94), with a slight depletion in LREE, but no obvious Eu anomalies. Given that the meta-plagiogranites show evidence of formation in a suprasubduction zone environment, we suggest that the basalts were originally island arc tholeiites, perhaps formed in an extensional forearc setting. The geochemistry of the meta-diabase and plagiogranite from the sheeted dikes, together with regional relationships, all agree with the previous interpretations that the Miaowan ophiolite formed in a suprasubduction zone setting.

SHRIMP Zircon U-Pb Ages and Geochemical Characteristics of the Neoproterozoic Granitoids in the Huangling Anticline and Its Tectonic Setting

SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating of the Neoproterozoic Maoping (茅坪) series (Sandouping (三斗坪) rock suite) granites exposed in the southern part of the Huangling (黄陵) anticline shows that the formation time of Sandouping biotite-hornblende tonalite intrusion, Jinpansi (金盘寺) hornblende-biotite tonalite intrusion, and Longtanping (龙潭坪) monzogranite are 863±9, 842±10, and 844±10 Ma, respectively. Their geochemical features include A/CNK=0.98–1.06, from metaluminous to weakly peraluminous, δ=1.37–1.53, Sm/Nd=0.17–0.24, and RbN/YbN=1.1–3.62. These indicate that the granite rocks are supersaturated SiO2 calc-alkaline granitoids. The characteristic of Sr-Nd isotopic composition is that the values of ɛNd(t) and ɛSr(t) are −12.4 to −11.0 and 20.2–32.2, respectively. It also suggests that the material source of the granite rocks mainly originated from the crust, and they formed in a volcanic arc tectonic environment. These facts suggest that the occurrence of Neoproterozoic granitoids in the southern part of the Huangling anticline should be related to an arc environment along an active continental margin caused by southward subduction of oceanic crust beneath the northern Yangtze craton, and the formation age is not later than 863 Ma.

Petrogenesis and Geotectonic Significance of Early-Neoproterzoic Olivine-Gabbro within the Yangtze Craton: Constrains from the Mineral Composition, U-Pb Age and Hf Isotopes of Zircons

The olivine-gabbroic rocks located at the Huangling anticline within the Yangtze Craton are dated at circa 857–854 Ma by LA-ICP-MS method. The rocks belong to the sub-alkaline series and consist of pyroxene (35%–40%), plagioclase (40%–45%), olivine (8%–10%) and spinel (3%–5%). Olivine has Fo values of 73–83 that is classified as chrysolite. Pyroxene has relative low contents of FeO (6.60 wt.%–8.23 wt.%) but high CaO (20.23 wt.%–21.25 wt.%) contents, however, plagioclase has high Al2O3 (31.78 wt.%–32.37 wt.%), CaO (16.08 wt.%–16.25 wt.%) and An (79–80) values, but low Na2O contents (1.95 wt.%–2.11 wt.%). Spinel are magnesioferrite with characteristics of high contents of MgO (13.65 wt.%–13.68 wt.%), FeO (23.27 wt.%–23.40 wt.%) and Al2O3 (62.43 wt.%–62.74 wt.%). Chemical compositions of these minerals are similar to those of gabbro rocks that were formed in the post-orogeny environment. The olivine-gabbro samples have negative zircon εHf values (-16.57±0.47) that resemble the mafic rocks in the same region, indicating that they are derived from the extremely enriched mantle source. On the compilation of documented Neoproterozoic mafic rocks in the Yangtze Craton, it is proposed that the mantle in the northern Yangtze Craton has experienced different degrees enrichment during the Neoproterozoic.

Discovery and Tectonic Significance of the Early Paleozoic Nuodong Ophiolite in the North-western Yunkai Massif, South China

deformed metabasalt, metadiabase and metapyroxenolite, located in the North-Western YunKai massif, South China, which are NE-SW distributed as tectonic slices in the lowgrade metamorphic strata. Geochemical studies of the metabasalt and metadiabase show that MgO=6.78% – LIU Songfeng, PENG Songbai, WU Changfeng and LIN Musen, 2015. Discovery and Tectonic Significance of the Early Paleozoic Nuodong Ophiolite in the North-western Yunkai Massif, South China. Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition), 89(supp. 2): 58-59.