Genesis of excess argon in phengite and significance of40Ar-39Ar age spectra for omphacite: A case study on UHP eclogite of South Dabie Terrain, China

The Ar-Ar dating of phengite and omphacite in ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) eclogite of Bixiling and Hengchong in the South Dabie Terrain shows that the content range of excess argon is as high as (0.4–1.3)×10⁸ mol · g1. The genesis of the excess argon is discussed. The Ar-Ar age spectra of omphacite could not support the opinion that the UHP metamorphism occurred in Caledon epoch and pre-Caledon epoch.     

Genesis of excess argon in phengite and significance of 40Ar-39Ar age spectra for omphacite: A case study on UHP eclogite of South Dabie Terrain, China

The Ar-Ar dating of phengite and omphacite in ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) eclogite of Bixiling and Hengchong in the South Dabie Terrain shows that the content range of excess argon is as high as (0.4-1.3)×10-8 mol.>g-1. The genesis of the excess argon is discussed. The Ar-Ar age spectra of omphacite could not support the opinion that the UHP metamorphism occurred in Caledon epoch and pre-Caledon epoch.     

Porphyry Cu-Mo deposits in the eastern Xing’an-Mongolian Orogenic Belt: Mineralization ages and their geodynamic implications

The eastern Xing’an-Mongolian (Xing-Meng) Orogenic Belt (XMOB) is one of the important areas of porphyry copper (Cu)-molybdenum (Mo) deposits in China. However, studies on the exact ages of mineralization and their geodynamic significance are very limited. In this study, granodioritic rocks from the Duobaoshan Cu deposit and Daheishan Mo deposit were selected to make zircon SHRIMP U-Pb analyses in order to constrain their mineralization ages. Geochronological data indicate that two episodes of mineralization took place in the Duobaoshan Cu deposits. The granodiorite related to the Duobaoshan porphyry Cu deposit was formed in the Early Paleozoic with zircon U-Pb age of 485±8 Ma, whereas the granodiorites related to the Sankuanggou skarn-type Cu deposit were emplaced in the Jurassic with zircon U-Pb ages of 176±3 and 177±3 Ma. In the Daheishan area of Jilin Province, the emplacement age of the granodiorite porphyry related to the porphyry Mo deposit was dated at 170±3 Ma, and the unmineralized monzogranite at 178±3 Ma. Therefore, two episodes of Cu-Mo mineralization were developed in the eastern XMOB, at ~485 Ma and ~175 Ma, respectively. Based on the geological history and spatial-temporal distribution of the granitoids in northeastern (NE) China, it is proposed that the Duobaoshan Cu deposit was related to the collision of the Xing’an and Erguna blocks in the Early Paleozoic, and the Sankuanggou Cu and Daheishan Mo deposits were related to subduction of the Paleo-Pacific plate during the Jurassic.     

40Ar-39Ar ages of the Louzidian-Dachengzi ductile shear zone near Chifeng, Inner Mongolia and their tectonic significance

The Louzidian normal fault occurs as the eastern detachment fault of the Kalaqin metamorphic core complex. Field observations and microstructural analyses reveal that the Louzidian-Dachengzi ductile shear zone developed in its lower-plate was genetically related to sinistral strike-slips and extensional faulting. Two samples from this ductile shear zone yield ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar plateau ages of 133 Ma (Bi) and 126 Ma (Kp), which are concordant with their isochron ages. The plateau age of 133 Ma (Bi) records the formation age of the ductile shear zone. The inconsistent relationship between the earlier strike-slip ductile shear zone and the later normal fault makes the Kalaqin Quasi-metamorphic core complex distinctive from Cordilleran metamorphic core complex. These ages provide important geochronological data for putting constraints on the formation age and genesis of such ductile shear zones.     

40Ar/39Ar ages and stable isotopes of supergene jarosite from the Baiyin VHMS ore field,NE Tibetan Plateau with paleoclimatic implications

Supergene jarosite is widely distributed in weathering profiles derived from hypogene sulfide ores.Precise40Ar/39Ar dating and determination of hydrogen and oxygen isotopes of supergene jarosite can not only place tight constraints on the timing and history of continental weathering and supergene enrichment of sulfide ore deposits,but also shed significant insights into paleoclimatic conditions and tectonic uplift responsible for the weathering.In this paper,we present a preliminary study of40Ar/39Ar geochronology and stable isotope geochemistry of supergene jarosite from the early Paleozoic Zheyaoshan volcanic-hosted massive sulfide deposit of the Baiyin ore field located in the eastern portion of the Qilian Mountain along the northeastern(NE)margin of the Tibetan Plateau in an attempt to better understand the climatic conditions prevailed during the pervasive weathering in the region.Jarosite from the Zheyaoshan mining area occurs either as gravels within alluvial deposits over low-relief flat-top hills or cm-wide veins crosscutting weathered sulfide ores or their wall rocks.The gravels consist of massive jarosite aggregates with tabular crystal morphology and contain 8.21 wt%–8.31 wt%K2O on average.Two jarosite grains extracted from the gravels(08-02-2 and 08-02-5)yield well-defined40Ar/39Ar plateauages of 37.1±0.3 and 41.2±0.4 Ma(2r),respectively.They have dD values of-133%and-156%,and d18OSO4values of 2.6%and 2.5%.The vein-type jarosite consists of hexagonal pyramid crystals and contains much lower K2O,averaging at 2.44 wt%–2.72 wt%.Two jarosite veins(06-16-3 and 06-16-4)yield similar plateau ages of 3.2±0.1 and 3.3±0.1 Ma(2r),respectively.These jarosite veins have dD values of-158%and-160%,and d18OSO4values of 2.8%and 2.5%.The40Ar/39Ar ages indicate that sulfide ores of the Zheyaoshan deposit must have been brought to the surface since the late Eocene,and subsequently subjected to prolonged oxidation and supergene enrichment.The precipitation and preservation of jarosite in weathering profiles indicate that arid–semiarid climatic conditions must have been prevailed since the late Eocene.The hydrogen and oxygen isotopes of the jarosite further point to variation of climatic conditions in the area,with the Pliocene being slightly cooler relative to the late Eocene.Given that weathering profiles overlying sulfide ore deposits are widely distributed along the Qilian Mountain,systematic studies of40Ar/39Ar geochronology and stable isotope geochemistry of jarosite-group minerals from these profiles would provide valuable information on the timing and evolution of regional tectonic uplift,paleoclimatic changes,and supergene mineralization in this mountainous belt along the NE edge of the Tibetan Plateau.     

Contact and hybrid zone hotspots and evolution of birds in the Middle East

The Middle East is an important contact zone for a considerable number of bird taxa from the western and eastern Palearctic and from the great Saharo-Sindian desert belt.Using WORLDMAP software,we analyzed the geographical distribution of secondary contact zones for parapatric species pairs of birds in the Middle East.We identified 56 species(29 species pairs)that make contact in the Middle East.The species pairs belong to three orders,i.e.Falconiformes,Piciformes,and Passeriformes.Almost half(46%)of these species pairs hybridize in their contact zones.Although contact zones occur over a large part of northern Middle East,spatially they were not evenly distributed.Contact zone richness was highest in the mountain ranges south of the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus.The hottest hotspots,where up to nine bird species pairs occur sympatrically,are situated in north-eastern Iran and Azerbaijan.We discuss the relevance of these hotspots for improving our understanding of the biogeography and evolution of the avifauna in the Middle East.     

40Ar-39Ar dating and geological implication of auriferous altered rocks from the middle-deep section of Q875 gold-quartz vein in Xiaoqinling area, Henan, China

The 40Ar-39Ar age method is employed in this work to analyze the aurif erous altered rocks from the middle-deep section of the Q875 gold-quartz vein in the Xiaoqinling area, and the results show that the main gold deposition of the Q875 occurred in ca. 128-126 Ma. As a typical gold-bearing quartz vein in this gold-rich area, the age data obtained from the Q875 also constrain on the metal logenic time of the lode gold deposits developed in the same geological settings . This geochronological study supplies new evidence for further understanding the timing of gold mineralization, the genesis of gold deposits and the geodynamic settings in Xiaoqinling area.     

Opening of the Tethys in southwest China and its significance to the breakup of East Gondwanaland in late Paleozoic:Evidence from SHRIMP U-Pb zircon analyses for the Garzêophiolite block

SHRIMP U-Pb zircon analyses for a gabbro sample from the Garzê ophiolite block yielded a mean²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 292 ±4 Ma, which indicated that the spreading time of the Garzê-Litang Tethys was most likely at the earliest Permian. Combined with previous studies, we suggest that the opening of the Tethys in southwest China was derived from breakup of the East Gondwanaland in the late Paleozoic.     

Late Cenozoic high-resolution magnetostratigraphy in the Kunlun Pass Basin and its implications for the uplift of the northern Tibetan Plateau

The Kunlun Pass Basin, located in the middle of the eastern Kunlun Mountains, received relatively continuous late Cenozoic sediments from the surrounding mountains, archiving great information to understand the deformation and uplift histories of the northern Tibetan Plateau. The Kunlun-Yellow River Movement, identified from the tectonomorphologic and sedimentary evolution of the Kunlun Pass Basin by Cui Zhijiu et al. （1997, 1998）, is roughly coincident with many important global and Plateau climatic and environmental events, becoming a crucial time interval to understand tectonic-climatic interactions. However, the ages used to constrict the events remain great uncertainty. Here, we present the results of detailed magnetostratigraphy of the late Cenozoic sediments in the Kunlun Pass Basin, which show the basin sediments were formed between about 3.6 Ma and 0.5 Ma and the Kunlun-Yellow River Movement occurred at 1.2 to ～0.78 Ma. The lithology, sedimentary facies and lithofacies associations divide the basin into five stages of tectonosedimentary evolution, indicating the northern Tibetan Plateau having experienced five episodes of tectonic uplifts at ～3.6, 2.69-2.58, 1.77, 1.2, 0.87 and ～0.78 Ma since the Pliocene.     

Mixing events between the crust- and mantle-derived magmas in Eastern Kunlun: Evidence from zircon SHRIMP Ⅱ chronology

Granitoidswidelyoccurincontinentalcrustandareusuallygeneratedinresponsetocontinentalgrowthandassociatedcrust-mantleinteraction.Granitoidscanbepro-ducedthroughdifferentways,ofwhichmagmamixinghasdrawnspecialattentionbecauseofitsprofoundbear-ingsoncrust-mantleinteractionandcontinentalgeody-namics[1].Themostdistinctfeatureforgranitoidsformedbymagmamixingisprobablytheoccurrenceofmaficmicrogranularenclaves(MMEs).Sofar,originforMMEsisstillhotlydebated,andavailablehypothesesconsidertheMMEsas(1)ref…     

<Superscript>40</Superscript>Ar/<Superscript>39</Superscript>Ar geochronology constraints on hydrocarbon accumulation and destruction periods in the Bankeng paleo-reservoir in the southern margin of the middle Yangtze block

The exact determination of isotopic ages of hydrocarbon accumulation,reconstruction and destruction periods using traditional isotopic dating methods is complex because of the small numbers of minerals that correlate with hydrocarbons.The quantitative and direct study of hydrocarbon geochronology is therefore an important scientific problem for isotope geochronology and petroleum geology.This study obtains two isotopic ages from a quartz vein sample associated with bitumen in a reverse fault located in the ...     

<Superscript>40</Superscript>Ar/<Superscript>39</Superscript>Ar isochron ages of lawsonite blueschists from Jiuquan in the northern Qilian Mountain,NW China,and their tectonic implications

Using laser ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating method, we have gotten the metamorphic ages of lawsonite blueschist and epidote blueschist from Jiuquan, northern Qilian Mountain, NW China. The high quality laser ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of glaucophane from lawsonite blueschist gives an isochron age of 413±5 Ma. The isochron age obtained from phengite in epidote blueschist is 415±7 Ma. These data, combining with peak metamorphic P-T conditions and regional geological setting, allow us to infer that the lower limit of the ages of the prograde subduction metamorphism from lawsonite blueschist facies to epidote blueschist facies occurred at ca. 413–415 Ma, which also suggests that the formation of lawsonite blueschist in the northern Qilian Mountain maybe resulted from the corner flow in the cold subduction zone. This study shows that the final closing time of the northern Qilian remnant oceanic basin is about 413–415 Ma, which also represents the convergent age between the North China Craton and the Qaidam block.     

Geochemistry and zircon U-Pb ages of granulite xenolith from Tuoyun basalts, Xinjiang： Implications for the petrogenesis and the lower crustal nature beneath the southwestern Tianshan

The continental lithosphere growth mainly includes the horizontal accretion at the plate boundaries and vertical accretion within the plate[1]. Mafic magmatic materials, as the products of crust-mantle interaction[2,3], became more and more important in studying the formation and evolu- tion of the lower crust. The previous geologic researcheson Tianshan, extending nearly 2500 km from east to west, and the neighbor area were mainly focused on the Paleozoic collision structure[4 ― 6], Mesozoi…     

大兴安岭北部漠河韧性剪切带白云母40Ar-39Ar年龄及地质意义

漠河韧性剪切带位于大兴安岭北部上黑龙江盆地内.作者对该韧性剪切带糜棱岩中自云母样品进行了40Ar-30Ar法测定年龄工作,获得了(120.6±1.1)Ma的坪年龄和(121.7±1.5)Ma的39Ar/36Ar-40Ar/39Ar等时线年龄,表明其形成于早白垩世.结合韧性剪切带特征,笔者认为漠河韧性剪切带与蒙古-鄂霍茨克造山带的造山过程有关,形成于蒙古-中朝板块与西伯利亚板块之间的陆-陆碰撞造山阶段的晚期或后碰撞期间.早白垩世期间,蒙古-鄂霍茨克造山带进入后碰撞阶段,发生大规模左行走滑运动,使位于蒙古-鄂霍茨克缝合带南部的中国东北地区,乃至华北北部发生了向东的挤出、逃逸,辽西、冀北、冀西北和京西地区的晓中生代右行走滑和逆冲、推覆构造是蒙古-鄂霍茨克中生代造山过程的远程效应.因此,蒙古-鄂霍茨克造山带造山过程对中国东北及华北地区中生代期间的构造演化具有重要影响.     

四川盆地西部上三叠统须家河组物质来源：碎屑锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb年龄研究

对四川盆地西部晚三叠世须三期须家河组碎屑长石石英砂岩和须四期砂岩中碎屑锆石进行了U-Pb定年。分析研究表明:1川西西部都江堰地区沉积物样品具四个主要年龄峰分别为245 Ma、460 Ma、773 Ma和1 836 Ma;川西北部广元地区样品具四个主要年龄峰分别为245 Ma、452 Ma、834 Ma和1 850 Ma;2结合碎屑锆石U-Pb测年特征,表明川西盆地北段广元地区和中段都江堰地区须家河组上部和下部年代学以及地球化学信息一致,主要显示吕梁期(峰值1 836 Ma、1 950 Ma和1 850 Ma),晋宁末期(峰值为865 Ma和834 Ma),加里东期(峰值为460 Ma和452 Ma)和海西-印支期年龄峰(峰值为245Ma),反映两个地区具有相似物源;3结合碎屑锆石U-Pb年龄与周源造山带对比分析,海西-印支期碎屑物质来源于秦岭造山带;加里东期是秦岭造山带的主要造山阶段,秦岭造山带为该阶段提供物源;晋宁末期是扬子克拉通岩浆活动最活跃时期,扬子克拉通为该阶段碎屑物质主要源区;吕梁期碎屑锆石,主要来自其北缘的华北克拉通。     

ISEA reversed event in the Cretaceous Normal Super-chron （CNS）： ^40Ar／^39Ar dating and paleomagnetic results

ThegeomagneticfieldwasfoundtobeofnormalpolarityforalongtimeduringtheCretaceousbyHelsleyandSteiner[1]andthiswaslaternamedasCretaceousNormalSuperchron(CNS)[2].TheCNSlastedalmost37Ma(120—83Ma).Severalabnormalgeologicalevents,suchasanoceanicanoxicevent,alargenumberofvol-canismandglobalclimaticwarmingduringtheCNShavebeenreported[3—11].Thishasledtomanyquestionsbeingraised.IsittruethattheEarthsmagneticfielddidnotreverseatallintheCNS?Ifitdidreverse,howmanytimesandwhendidthishappen?Istherea…     

Palaeoproterozoic Khondalite Belt in the western North China Craton： New evidence from SHRIMP datin8 and Hf isotope composition of zircons from metamorphic rocks in the Bayan Ui-Helan Mountains area

Zircom U-Pb age and Hf isotope analyses were made on gneissic granite and garnet-mica two-feldspar gneiss from the Helanshan Group in the Bayan Ul-Helan Mountains area, the western block of the North China Craton (NCC). Zircons from the gneissic granite commonly show core-mantle-rim structures, with magmatic core, metamorphic mantle and rim having ages of 2323±20 Ma, 1923±28 Ma and 1856±12 Ma, respectively. The core, mantle and rim show similar Hf isotope compositions, with single-stage depleted mantle model ages (TDM1) of 2455 to 2655 Ma (19 analyses). Most of the detrital zircons from the garnet-mica two-feldspar paragneiss have a concentrated U-Pb age distribution, with a weighted mean 207Pb/206Pb age of 1978±17 Ma. A few detrital zircons are older (2871 to 2469 Ma). The age for metamorphic overgrown rim was not determined because of strong Pb loss due to their high U content. The zircons show large variation in Hf isotope composition, with TDM1 ages of 1999 to 3047 Ma. In com- bination with previous studies, the main conclusions are as follows: (1) protolith of the khondalite se- ries in the Helanshan Group formed during Palaeoproterozoic rather than the Archaean as previously considered; (2) The results lend support to the contention that there is a huge Palaeoproterozoic Khondalite (metasedimentary) Belt between the Yinshan Mountains Block and the Ordos Block in the Western Block of NCC; (3) The widely-distributed bodies of early Palaeoproterozoic orthogneisses in the Khondalite Belt might be one of the important sources for detritus material in the khondalite series; (4) Collision between the Yinshan Block, the Ordos Block and the Eastern Block occurred in the same tectonothermal event of late Palaeoproterozoic, resulting in the final assembly of the NCC.