Yunpeng Dong

Laser-ICP-MS U–Pb zircon ages and geochemical and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic compositions of the Niyasar plutonic complex, Iran: constraints on petrogenesis and tectonic evolution

We conducted geochemical and isotopic studies on the Oligocene–Miocene Niyasar plutonic suite in the central Urumieh–Dokhtar magmatic belt, in order better to understand the magma sources and tectonic implications. The Niyasar plutonic suite comprises early Eocene microdiorite, early Oligocene dioritic sills, and middle Miocene tonalite + quartzdiorite and minor diorite assemblages. All samples show a medium-K calc-alkaline, metaluminous affinity and have similar geochemical features, including strong enrichment of large-ion lithophile elements (LILEs, e.g. Rb, Ba, Sr), enrichment of light rare earth elements (LREEs), and depletion in high field strength elements (HFSEs, e.g. Nb, Ta, Ti, P). The chondrite-normalized rare earth element (REE) patterns of microdiorite and dioritic sills are slightly fractionated [(La/Yb)n = 1.1–4] and display weak Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.72–1.1). Isotopic data for these mafic mantle-derived rocks display ISr = 0.70604–0.70813, ϵNd (microdiorite: 50 Ma and dioritic sills: 35 Ma, respectively) = +1.6 and −0.4, TDM = 1.3 Ga, and lead isotopic ratios are (206Pb/204Pb) = 18.62–18.57, (207Pb/204Pb) = 15.61–15.66, and (208Pb/204Pb) = 38.65–38.69. The middle Miocene granitoids (18 Ma) are also characterized by relatively high REE and minor Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.77–0.98) and have uniform initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.7065–0.7082), a range of initial Nd isotopic ratios [ϵNd(T)] varying from −2.3 to −3.7, and Pb isotopic composition (206Pb/204Pb) = 18.67–18.94, (207Pb/204Pb) = 15.63–15.71, and (208Pb/204Pb) = 38.73–39.01. Geochemical and isotopic evidence for these Eocene–Ologocene mafic rocks suggests that the magmas originated from lithospheric mantle with a large involvement of EMII component during subduction of the Neotethyan ocean slab beneath the Central Iranian plate, and were significantly affected by crustal contamination. Geochemical and isotopic data of the middle Miocene granitoids rule out a purely crustal-derived magma genesis, and suggest a mixed mantle–crustal [MASH (melting, assimilation, storage, and homogenization)] origin in a post-collision extensional setting. Sr–Nd isotope modelling shows that the generation of these magmas involved ∼60% to 70% of a lower crustal-derived melt and ∼30% to 40% of subcontinental lithospheric mantle. All Niyasar plutons exhibit transitional geochemical features, indicating that involvement of an EMII component in the subcontinental mantle and also continental crust beneath the Urumieh–Dokhtar magmatic belt increased from early Eocene to middle Miocene time.

Sedimentary fill history of the Huicheng Basin in the West Qinling Mountains and associated constraints on Mesozoic intracontinental tectonic evolution

The Qinling Orogenic Belt is divided commonly by the Fengxian-Taibai strike-slip shear zone and the Huicheng Basin into the East and West Qinling mountains, which show significant geological differences after the Indosinian orogeny. The Fengxian-Taibai fault zone and the Meso-Cenozoic Huicheng Basin, situated at the boundary of the East and West Qinling, provide a natural laboratory for tectonic analysis and sedimentological study of intracontinental tectonic evolution of the Qinling Orogenic Belt. In order to explain the dynamic development of the Huicheng Basin and elucidate its post-orogenic tectonic evolution at the junction of the East and West Qinling, we studied the geometry and kinematics of fault zones between the blocks of West Qinling, as well as the sedimentary fill history of the Huicheng Basin. First, we found that after the collisional orogeny in the Late Triassic, post-orogenic extensional collapse occurred in the Early and Middle Jurassic within the Qinling Orogenic Belt, resulting in a series of rift basins. Second, in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, a NE-SW compressive stress field caused large-scale sinistral strike-slip faults in the Qinling Orogenic Belt, causing intracontinental escape tectonics at the junction of the East and West Qinling, including eastward finite escape of the East Qinling micro-plate and southwest lateral escape of the Bikou Terrane. Meanwhile, the strike-slip-related Early Cretaceous sedimentary basin was formed with a right-order echelon arrangement in sinistral shear zones along the southern margin of the Huicheng fault. Overall during the Mesozoic, the Huicheng Basin and surrounding areas experienced four tectonic evolutionary stages, including extensional rift basin development in the Early and Middle Jurassic, intense compressive uplift in the Late Jurassic, formation of a strike-slip extensional basin in the Early Cretaceous, and compressive uplift in the Late Cretaceous.

The basic dyke swarms in the Wudang block and its geological significance

The basic dyke swarms, which have been deformed and metamorphosed, are widespread in the Wudang block. They are geochemicaiiy characterized by the continental tholeiites, and their Sm-Nd isochron age is (782 ±164) Ma. All of these indicate that there was an ancient continental block In the Proterozoic and a rifting occurring on this continental block during ±800 Ma.

Geochemistry of enclaves and host granitoids from the kashan granitoid complex, central iran: Implications for enclave generation by interaction of cogenetic magmas

The major and trace elements and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes of Miocene host granitoid rocks and their mafic microgranular enclaves (MMEs) were studied to understand the petrogenesis of MMEs in the Kashan complex, which is part of the Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic belt (Iran). The host rocks consist of quartz-diorite and tonalite associated with a dioritic intrusion. The enclaves show microgranular texture and the same mineralogy as their respective host with plagioclase, quartz and biotite. MMEs have a diorite to quartz-diorite composition and show geochemical characteristics mostly between their granitoid host and the diorite intrusion. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns of all samples are moderately fractionated [(La/Yb)N=2.1 to 12.9]. The MMEs display in part small negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu*=0.54 to 0.99), with enrichment of LILE and depletion of HFSE. The enclaves show emplacement depth of ~4 to 6 km which is comparable with the host rocks. Moreover, the Hornblende-plagioclase equilibrium temprature of MMEs yields average temperatures of 795°C which is slightly higher than the host ones. Identical mineral compositions and Nd-Sr-Pb isotopic features of MME-host granitoid pairs indicate interactions and parallel evolution of MME and enclosing granitoid in the Kashan plutons. Additionally, the geochemical and isotopic investigations of host and dioritic intrusions suggest a common source for their genesis. A thermal anomaly induced by underplated basic magma into a hot crust would have caused partial melting in the lower crust to generate Kashan granitoid rocks.

Ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism in the Helanshan complex of the Khondalite Belt, North China Craton: Petrology and phase equilibria of spinel-bearing pelitic granulites

Handling Editor: Donna Whitney Abstract To better understand the formation of ultrahigh‐temperature (UHT) metamorphic rocks, we present a detailed petrological study of the recently discovered spinel‐ bearing garnet–sillimanite granulites in the Helanshan complex of the Khondalite Belt in the North China Craton. In calculated P–T pseudosections, isopleths of grossular content in the peak assemblage field of garnet+K‐feldspar+sillimanite+spinel+ilmenite+quartz+melt suggest that the metamorphic peak occurred at ∼960–1,030°C and 6.3–7.3 kbar. Using ternary feldspar thermometry, a minimum temperature limit of the peak metamorphic conditions is calculated to be ∼910– 955°C at 6.5 kbar, with a weighted mean of ∼940°C. Thus, all these results point to a very steep geothermal gradient well into the UHT field. In addition, a clockwise P–T evolution is determined, which involves pre‐Tmax decompression followed by nearly isobaric cooling. Based on these newly discovered UHT pelitic granulites, which do not contain index minerals typically considered diagnostic of UHT metamorphism, and the high‐P pelitic granulites exposed in the Helanshan and Qianlishan complexes, we propose that the Khondalite Belt is an ultrahot metamorphic orogen formed by collision between the Yinshan and Ordos Terranes. The style of this continental collision was rather different from Phanerozoic collisions, but was similar to the two‐sided hot collision model during the Proterozoic. Two‐sided hot collision involves shallow slab breakoff during collision, which leads to extension and the development of a wide plateau‐like orogen, which is underlain by melt‐bearing mantle that maintains a hot environment at the collision zone.

The Oligocene Reifnitz tonalite (Austria) and its host rocks: implications for Cretaceous and Oligocene–Neogene tectonics of the south-eastern Eastern Alps

Abstract In the south-eastern Eastern Alps, the Reifnitz tonalite intruded into the Austroalpine metamorphic basement of the Wörthersee half-window exposed north of the Sarmatian–Pliocene flexural Klagenfurt basin. The Reifnitz tonalite is dated for the first time, and yields a laser ICP-MS U–Pb zircon age of 30.72±0.30 Ma. The (U–Th–Sm)/He apatite age of the tonalite is 27.6 ± 1.8 Ma implying rapid Late Oligocene cooling of the tonalite to ca. 60 °C. The Reifnitz tonalite intruded into a retrogressed amphibolite-grade metamorphic basement with a metamorphic overprint of Cretaceous age (40Ar/39Ar white mica plateau age of 90.7 ± 1.6 Ma). This fact indicates that pervasive Alpine metamorphism of Cretaceous age extends southwards almost up to the Periadriatic fault. Based on the exhumation and erosion history of the Reifnitz tonalite and the hosting Wörthersee half window formed by the Wörthersee anticline, the age of gentle folding of Austroalpine units in the south-eastern part of the Eastern Alps is likely of Oligocene age. North of the Wörthersee antiform, Upper Cretaceous–Eocene, Oligocene and Miocene sedimentary rocks of the Krappfeld basin are preserved in a gentle synform, suggesting that the top of the Krappfeld basin has always been near the Earth’s surface since the Late Cretaceous. The new data imply, therefore, that the Reifnitz tonalite is part of a post-30 Ma antiform, which was likely exhumed, uplifted and eroded in two steps. In the first step, which is dated to ca. 31–27 Ma, rapid cooling to ca. 60 °C and exhumation occurred in an E–W trending antiform, which formed as a result of a regional N–S compression. In the second step of the Sarmatian–Pliocene age a final exhumation occurred in the peripheral bulge in response to the lithospheric flexure in front of the overriding North Karawanken thrust sheet. The Klagenfurt basin developed as a flexural basin at the northern front of the North Karawanken, which represent a transpressive thrust sheet of a positive flower structure related to the final activity along the Periadriatic fault. In the Eastern Alps, on a large scale, the distribution of Periadriatic plutons and volcanics seems to monitor a northward or eastward shift of magmatic activity, with the main phase of intrusions ca. 30 Ma at the fault itself.