Zhongxian Zhao

Retrograde Reactions of an Ultrahigh-Pressure Metamorphic Spinel Pyroxenite Lens, Northeast Sulu UHP Terrane, Eastern China

A ~5 cm thick garnet-rich layer, with relict spinel grains in its center, is intercalated within garnet pyroxenite at Rongcheng. Both the garnetite layer and the host garnet pyroxenite underwent the same P-T evolution, but exhibit quite different mineral assemblages, microtextures, and associated mineral reactions. Microtextures and mineral compositions confirm our previous suggestion that the Rongcheng garnet pyroxenite recrystallized from a spinel pyroxenite cumulate derived from a gabbroic magma. The present study concludes that: (1) The garnet-rich layer resulted from a net transfer reaction between primary spinel and clinopyroxene, Ca1.5(FeMg)0.5 Si2O6 + (FeMg)Al2O4 + TiO2 = Ca1.5(FeMg)1.5Al2(Si2Ti)O12, and mass-balance reactions between clinopyroxene end-members, 2[Ca0.75(FeMg)0.25][(FeMg)0.5Al0.5] (Si1.5Al0.5)O6 = Ca1.5(FeMg)1.5Al2Si3O12, under UHP conditions that produced garnet-I. (2) Garnet-I decomposed during exhumation of the UHP terrane, leading to the assemblage of Grt-II + Ilm + Cpx-II + Amp; ilmenites were partially released to the relict spinel along micro-fractures to form intergrowths of Spl-I + Ilm. A corona assemblage of Cpx-II + Spl-II + minor Amp developed along contacts between garnet and relict Spl-I at ~890°C and ~9 kbar. And (3), during a later stage of retrogression, aqueous fluid infiltrated heterogeneously through the garnet-rich layer, leading to the formation of hydrous minerals. Parageneses and mineral compositional maps suggest that Ti may have substituted for Si and entered the T site in the garnet structure, represented by a garnet component such as M3Al2[Si(3-x)Tix]O12, in addition to the commonly suggested M2+Ti4+ → 2Al3+ substitution (forming the garnet component M3-0.5x[Al2-xTix]Si3O12). Heterogeneous microtextures and mineral compositions indicate that the domain equilibrium was controlled by mass transfer at least at the mineral-grain scale due to various degrees of fluid infiltration.

The Red River sediment budget in the Yinggehai and Qiongdongnan basins, northwestern South China Sea, and its tectonic implications

ABSTRACT The rapid uplift of the Tibetan plateau, the intense movement of the Ailao Shan-Red River Shear Zone (ARSZ), and the related climate change during the Cenozoic Indo-Asian collision have been widely studied; however, their timings varied considerably due to different data and methods used. As these events have been documented in the Red River sediment that came from the eastern Tibetan plateau and the Red River region and eventually deposited in the offshore Yinggehai and Qiongdongnan basins, here these events can be explored by calculating and analysing the Red River sediment budget, especially in the Qiongdongnan basin based on dense seismic profiles and wells. Results show that the Red River sediment mainly accumulated in the Yinggehai basin and the west part of the Qiongdongnan basin, and there are three sedimentary accumulation peaks in the Red River sediment budget during ~29.5–21, ~15.5–10.5, and ~5.5–0 Ma. By further comparing with previous studies on the timings of these events, it is inferred that the first sedimentary peak, prior to the onset of the monsoon intensification (~22 Ma), was probably driven by an intense left-lateral movement of the ARSZ in ~29.5–21 Ma. The second peak (~15.5–10.5 Ma), however, reflects a rapid uplift of the Tibetan plateau after the cessation of the left-lateral strike slip of the ARSZ. The third peak (~5.5–0 Ma) is most likely linked with a right-lateral movement of the ARSZ and the related climate change. Overall, the Red River sediment budget from the offshore Yinggehai and Qiongdongnan basins provides an important constraint on the timings of these tectonic events as well as the related climate change during the Cenozoic Indo-Asian collision.

The evolution of the slope breaks in Qiongdongnan Basin and their controlling factors

Qiongdongnan Basin (QB) experienced three main tectonic stages in the Cenozoic: rifting, thermal subsidence, and accelerated subsidence. Corresponding to these stages, the slope breaks also underwent three different evolutionary stages, which differed in space and time between the east and west of QB. Structural slope breaks developed during the rifting stage in the Paleocene. Transitional sedimentary strata without obvious slope break developed in the neritic environment during the thermal subsidence stage in the Neocene. Sedimentary slope breaks and gentle slope zone without slope break developed during the accelerated subsidence stage. The sedimentary slope breaks could be further classified into progradational and aggradational types, the starting points of which varied in space and time. Spatially, the progradational sequences in the Ledong and Lingshui sags started at the north of today’s deep central basin, distant from the basin edge. In the Songnan and Baodao sags, the aggradational sequences were close to the sag edge and essentially controlled by the underlying major boundary faults. Temporally, sedimentary slope breaks developed early in the east and late in the west and were initially partitioned and eventually unified. Fault activity controlled the types and ending time of structural slope breaks during the rifting stage, while tectonic subsidence controlled the time and places of progradational slope breaks during the accelerated subsidence stage. Sediment supply controlled the superposition patterns of the sedimentary sequences of the sedimentary slope breaks. It is suggested that the evolutionary history of the slope breaks has been primarily affected by the southward transition of the South China Sea ocean ridge, the westward collision of the Philippine Sea Plate, and the dextral strike-slipping of the Red River Fault.