Detachment within subducted continental crust and multi-slice successive exhumation of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks: Evidence from the Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt

Although tectonic models were presented for exhumation of ultrahigh-pressure （UHP） metamorphic rocks during the continental collision, there is increasing evidence for the decoupling between crustal slices at various depths within deeply subducted continental crust. This lends support to the multi-slice successive exhumation model of the UHP metamorphic rocks in the Dabie-Sulu orogen. The available evidence is summarized as follows： （1） the low-grade metamorphic slices, which have geotectonic affinity to the South China Block and part of them records the Triassic metamorphism, occur in the northern margin of the Dabie-Sulu UHP metamorphic zone, suggesting decoupling of the upper crust from the underlying basement during the initial stages of continental subduction; （2） the Dabie and Sulu HP to UHP metamorphic zones comprise several HP to UHP slices, which have an increased trend of metamorphic grade from south to north but a decreased trend of peak metamorphic ages correspondingly; and （3） the Chinese Continental Science Drilling （CCSD） project at Donghai in the Sulu orogen reveals that the UHP metamorphic zone is composed of several stacked slices, which display distinctive high and low radiogenic Pb from upper to lower parts in the profile, suggesting that these UHP crustal slices were derived from the subducted upper and middle crusts, respectively. Detachment surfaces within the deeply subducted crust may occur either along an ancient fault as a channel of fluid flow, which resulted in weakening of mechanic strength of the rocks adjacent to the fault due to fluid-rock interaction, or along the low-viscosity zones which resulted from variations of geotherms and lithospheric compositions at different depths. The multi-slice successive exhumation model is different from the traditional exhumation model of the UHP metamorphic rocks in that the latter assumes the detachment of the entire subducted continental crust from the underlying mantle lithosphere and its subsequent exhumation as a whol     

Process and mechanism of mountain-root removal of the Dabie Orogen—Constraints from geochronology and geochemistry of post-collisional igneous rocks

Systematical studies of post-collisional igneous rocks in the Dabie orogen suggest that the thickened mafic lower crust of the oro- gen was partially melted to form low-Mg# adakitic rocks at 143-131 Ma. Delamination and foundering of the thickened mafic lower crust occurred at 130 Ma, which caused the mantle upwelling and following mafic and granitic magmatic intrusions. Mig- matite in the North Dabie zone, coeval with the formation of low-Mg# adakitic intrusions in the Dabie orogen, was formed by partial melting of exhumed ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks at middle crustal level. This paper argues that the partial melting of thickened lower and middle crust before mountain-root collapse needs lithospheric thinning. Based on the geothermal gradient of 6.6~C/km for lithospheric mantle and initial partial melting temperature of ~1000~C for the lower mafic crust, it can be estimated that the thickness of lithospheric mantle beneath thickened lower crust has been thinned to 〈45 km when the thickened lower crust was melting. Thus, a two-stage model for mountain-root removal is proposed. First, the lithospheric mantle keel was partially removal by mantle convection at 145 Ma. Loss of the lower lithosphere would increase heat flow into the base of the crust and would cause middle-lower crustal melting. Second, partial melting of the thickened lower crust has weakened the lower crust and increased its gravity instability, thus triggering delamination and foundering of the thickened mafic lower crust or mountain-root collapse. Therefore, convective removal and delamination of the thickened lower crust as two mechanisms of lithospheric thin- ning are related to causality.     

Pressure sensitivity of olivine slip systems and seismic anisotropy of Earth's upper mantle

The mineral olivine dominates the composition of the Earth's upper mantle and hence controls its mechanical behaviour and seismic anisotropy. Experiments at high temperature and moderate pressure, and extensive data on naturally deformed mantle rocks, have led to the conclusion that olivine at upper-mantle conditions deforms essentially by dislocation creep with dominant [100] slip. The resulting crystal preferred orientation has been used extensively to explain the strong seismic anisotropy observed down to 250 km depth. The rapid decrease of anisotropy below this depth has been interpreted as marking the transition from dislocation to diffusion creep in the upper mantle. But new high-pressure experiments suggest that dislocation creep also dominates in the lower part of the upper mantle, but with a different slip direction. Here we show that this high-pressure dislocation creep produces crystal preferred orientations resulting in extremely low seismic anisotropy, consistent with seismological observations below 250 km depth. These results raise new questions about the mechanical state of the lower part of the upper mantle and its coupling with layers both above and below.     

The role of fluids in lower-crustal earthquakes near continental rifts

The occurrence of earthquakes in the lower crust near continental rifts has long been puzzling, as the lower crust is generally thought to be too hot for brittle failure to occur. Such anomalous events have usually been explained in terms of the lower crust being cooler than normal. But if the lower crust is indeed cold enough to produce earthquakes, then the uppermost mantle beneath it should also be cold enough, and yet uppermost mantle earthquakes are not observed. Numerous lower-crustal earthquakes occur near the southwestern termination of the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), an active continental rift in New Zealand. Here we present three-dimensional tomographic imaging of seismic velocities and seismic attenuation in this region using data from a dense seismograph deployment. We find that crustal earthquakes accurately relocated with our three-dimensional seismic velocity model form a continuous band along the rift, deepening from mostly less than 10 km in the central TVZ to depths of 30-40 km in the lower crust, 30 km southwest of the termination of the volcanic zone. These earthquakes often occur in swarms, suggesting fluid movement in critically loaded fault zones. Seismic velocities within the band are also consistent with the presence of fluids, and the deepening seismicity parallels the boundary between high seismic attenuation (interpreted as partial melt) within the central TVZ and low seismic attenuation in the crust to the southwest. This linking of upper and lower-crustal seismicity and crustal structure allows us to propose a common explanation for all the seismicity, involving the weakening of faults on the periphery of an otherwise dry, mafic crust by hot fluids, including those exsolved from underlying melt. Such fluids may generally be an important driver of lower-crustal seismicity near continental rifts.     

Active foundering of a continental arc root beneath the southern Sierra Nevada in California

Seismic data provide images of crust-mantle interactions during ongoing removal of the dense batholithic root beneath the southern Sierra Nevada mountains in California. The removal appears to have initiated between 10 and 3 Myr ago with a Rayleigh-Taylor-type instability, but with a pronounced asymmetric flow into a mantle downwelling (drip) beneath the adjacent Great Valley. A nearly horizontal shear zone accommodated the detachment of the ultramafic root from its granitoid batholith. With continuing flow into the mantle drip, viscous drag at the base of the remaining approximately 35-km-thick crust has thickened the crust by approximately 7 km in a narrow welt beneath the western flank of the range. Adjacent to the welt and at the top of the drip, a V-shaped cone of crust is being dragged down tens of kilometres into the core of the mantle drip, causing the disappearance of the Moho in the seismic images. Viscous coupling between the crust and mantle is therefore apparently driving present-day surface subsidence.     

25 years of continental deep subduction

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the discovery of coesite in metamorphic rocks of supracrustal origin. This initiated a revolution of the plate tectonics theory due to intensive studies of ultrahigh pressure metamorphism and continental deep subduction. The occurrence of coesite was first reported in 1984 by two French scientists, C. Chopin and D.C. Smith,     

Imaging the Indian subcontinent beneath the Himalaya

The rocks of the Indian subcontinent are last seen south of the Ganges before they plunge beneath the Himalaya and the Tibetan plateau. They are next glimpsed in seismic reflection profiles deep beneath southern Tibet, yet the surface seen there has been modified by processes within the Himalaya that have consumed parts of the upper Indian crust and converted them into Himalayan rocks. The geometry of the partly dismantled Indian plate as it passes through the Himalayan process zone has hitherto eluded imaging. Here we report seismic images both of the decollement at the base of the Himalaya and of the Moho (the boundary between crust and mantle) at the base of the Indian crust. A significant finding is that strong seismic anisotropy develops above the decollement in response to shear processes that are taken up as slip in great earthquakes at shallower depths. North of the Himalaya, the lower Indian crust is characterized by a high-velocity region consistent with the formation of eclogite, a high-density material whose presence affects the dynamics of the Tibetan plateau.     

Growth of early continental crust by partial melting of eclogite

The tectonic setting in which the first continental crust formed, and the extent to which modern processes of arc magmatism at convergent plate margins were operative on the early Earth, are matters of debate. Geochemical studies have shown that felsic rocks in both Archaean high-grade metamorphic ('grey gneiss') and low-grade granite-greenstone terranes are comprised dominantly of sodium-rich granitoids of the tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) suite of rocks. Here we present direct experimental evidence showing that partial melting of hydrous basalt in the eclogite facies produces granitoid liquids with major- and trace-element compositions equivalent to Archaean TTG, including the low Nb/Ta and high Zr/Sm ratios of 'average' Archaean TTG, but from a source with initially subchondritic Nb/Ta. In modern environments, basalts with low Nb/Ta form by partial melting of subduction-modified depleted mantle, notably in intraoceanic arc settings in the forearc and back-arc regimes. These observations suggest that TTG magmatism may have taken place beneath granite-greenstone complexes developing along Archaean intraoceanic island arcs by imbricate thrust-stacking and tectonic accretion of a diversity of subduction-related terranes. Partial melting accompanying dehydration of these generally basaltic source materials at the base of thickened, 'arc-like' crust would produce compositionally appropriate TTG granitoids in equilibrium with eclogite residues.     

Three-dimensional crustal velocity structure of P-wave in East China from wide-angle reflection and refraction surveys

The 3-D crustal structure of P-wave velocity in East China is studied based on the data obtained by wide-angle seismic reflection and refraction surveys.The results suggest that a deep Moho disconti-nuity exists in the western zone of the study region,being 35―48 thick.High-velocity structure zones exist in the upper crust shallower than 20 km beneath the Sulu and Dabie regions.The cause of high-velocity zones is attributable to high-pressure metamorphic(HPM) and ultra-high-pressure metamorphic(UHPM) terran...     

Crustal P-wave velocity structure in Lower Yangtze region： Reinterpretation of Fuliji-Fengxian deep seismic sounding profile

A deep seismic sounding profile in this paper, from Fuliji in Anhui Province to Fengxian of Shanghai City, is located at eastern China (Fig. 1). The field work was jointly accomplished by the Chinese Geological and Mineral Bureau, the China Seismological …     

U-Pb zircon age of the foliated garnet-bearing granites in western Dabie Mountains, Central China

U-Pb zircon dating on two foliated garnet-bearing granite samples in the western Dabie ultra-high-pressure (UHP) metamorphic unit yields concordant ages of (234±4) Ma and (227±5) Ma, respectively. These ages, following the UHP peak metamorphism, represent the magma emplacement ages for the foliated garnet-bearing granites. This, for the first time, shows that there are the Triassic granites in the Dabie Mountains. The foliated garnet-bearing granites resemble A-type granite in geochemical characteristics, indicating that they were formed in extensional geodynamic setting. The magma formation reflects a reheating event in the Dabie orogenic belt and it enhances the transfer of tectonic regime from collision into extension and promotes the rapid exhumation into lower crust for the UHP metamorphic rocks.     

Fine three-dimensional P-wave velocity structure beneath the capital region and deep environment for the nucleation of strong earthquakes

A detailed 3-D P-wave velocity model of the crust and uppermost mantle under the capitol region is determined with a spatial resolution of 25 km in the horizontal direction and 4-17 km in depth. We used 48750 precise P-wave arrival time data from 2973 events of local crustal earthquakes, controlled seismic explosions and quarry blasts. These events were recorded by 123 seismic stations. The data are analyzed by using a 3-D seismic tomography method. Our tomographic model provides new information on the geological structure and complex seismotectonics of this region. Different patterns of velocity structures show up in the North China Basin, the Taihangshan and the Yanshan Mountainous areas. The velocity images of the upper crust reflect well the surface geological, topographic and lithological features. In the North China Basin, the depression and uplift areas are imaged as slow and fast velocity belts, respectively, which are oriented in NE-SW direction. The trend of velocity anomalies is the same as that of major structure and tectonics. Paleozoic strata and Pre-Cambrian basement rocks outcrop widely in the Taihangshan and Yanshan uplift areas, which exhibit strong and broad high-velocity anomalies in our tomographic images, while the Quaternary intermountain basins show up as small low-velocity anomalies. Most of large earthquakes, such as the 1976 Tangshan earthquake (M 7.8) and the 1679 Sanhe earthquake (M 8.0), generally occurred in high-velocity areas in the upper to middle crust. However, in the lower crust to the uppermost mantle under the source zones of the large earthquakes, low-velocity and high-conductivity anomalies exist, which are considered to be associated with fluids, just like the 1995 Kobe earthquake (M 7.2) and the 2001 Indian Bhuj earthquake (M 7.8). The fluids in the lower crust may cause the weakening of the seismogenic layer in the upper and middle crust and thus contribute to the initiation of the large crustal earthquakes.     

Elastic wave velocity in rocks from Dabieshan and its constraints for lithospheric composition and crust-mantle recycling

P-and S-wave velocities in eclogites and granulites from the Dabie ultrahigh pressures (UHP) meta morphic belt, China, were measured at room temperature under the hydrostatic pressures up to 1.0 GPa. The ultrahigh pressure eclogites had the highest densities (3.3 ～ 3.6 g.cm-3) , high velocities and the lowest anisotropy (1.4%c ～ 2.6 % ) . The lowest densities (2.8 ～ 3.1 g. cm-3 ) and the highest Poisson' s ratios (0.28 ～ 0.29) were found in gran ulites, whereas the strongest anisotropies (6. 1 % ～8.4% ) were found in the high-pressure (HP) eclogites. Compari son of the velocities in rocks with that observed in the deep seismic sounding profile crossing Dabieshan suggests that e clogites might exist in the lower crust of Dabieshan, but the quantity might be small. The upper mantle has very similar velocities as the UHP eclogites and serpentinizated/water-bearing dunite. The formation of eclogite represents the crust mantle recycling processes. Crustal material is delaminated and sinks into the mantle by way of eclogite, whereas only a small part of the eclogite could return to the crust.     

Lithospheric thermal-rheological structures of the continental margin in the northern South China Sea

Thermal structures of three deep seismic profiles in the continental margin in the northern South China Sea are calculated, their "thermal" lithospheric thicknesses are evaluated based on the basalt dry solidus, and their rheological structures are evaluated with linear frictional failure criterion and power-law creep equation. "Thermal" lithosphere is about 90 km in thickness in shelf area, and thins toward the slope, lowers to 60-65 km in the lower slope, ocean crust and Xisha Trough. In the mid-west of the studied area, the lithospheric rheological structure in shelf area and Xisha Islands is of four layers: brittle, ductile, brittle and ductile. Because of uprising of heat mantle and thinning of crust and lithosphere in Xisha Trough, the bottom of the upper brittle layer is only buried at 16 km. In the eastern area, the bottom of the upper brittle layer in the north is buried at 20 km or so, while in lower slope and ocean crust, the rheological structure is of two layers of brittle and ductile, and crust and uppermost mantle form one whole brittle layer whose bottom is buried at 30-32 km. Analyses show that the characteristics of rheological structure accord with the seismic result observed. The character of rheological stratification implies that before the extension of the continent margin, there likely was a ductile layer in mid-lower crust. The influence of the existence of ductile layer to the evolution of the continent margin and the different extensions of ductile layer and brittle layer should not be overlooked. Its thickness, depth and extent in influencing continent margin's extension and evolution should be well evaluated in building a dynamic model for the area.     

Platinum-group elements for the Kudi ophiolite, western Kunlun

The analyses of PGE characteristics for the Kudi ophiolite, western Kunlun, are reported in this note. The Ir-depieted anomalous ancient upper mantle represented by the Kudi mantle peridotites had been percolated and mixed by remelted oceanic crust material from a supra-subduction zone, leaving the rocks relatively enriched in Pd. The PGE contents in the Kudi cumulate pyroxenites and gabbros vary from 2.4 to 23.94 ng/g, and the highest values are in pyroxenites. The Pd/lr ratios increase from the pyroxenites to the gabbros. The PGE patterns for the Kudi cumulate rocks are steeply positively sloped. The Pd enrichment in these rocks is similar to that in pyroxenites from the Thetford ophiolite and the Troodos ophiolite. The Kudi diabase and basalts have low PGE contents and positively sloped PGE patterns, and are comparable with the upper pillow lavas from the Troodos ophiolite, indicative of the environment of back-arc spreading center in a supra-subduction zone.     

山东地区地壳及上地幔结构研究

利用布设在山东省境内的宽频带流动地震观测台阵和国家地震局固定地震观测台站记录的地震数据, 应用接收函数和SKS波分裂方法, 研究山东地区的地壳与上地幔结构, 得到该区域的地壳厚度、地壳平均P波与S波的波速比以及SKS波分裂延迟的分布情况。结果表明, 山东地区地壳厚度范围为28~39 km; 胶南隆起的北段和南段以及鲁西隆起北侧济阳凹陷的地壳厚度小于32 km, 鲁西隆起下方的地壳比较厚。研究区 P波与S波的波速比主要分布在1.67~1.94之间, 鲁西隆起西南部和胶南隆起北段该比值小于1.75, 可能是由中上地壳增厚以及下地壳减薄和拆沉造成。鲁西隆起南北P波与S波的波速比差异反映地壳活动的差异。地幔物质的各向异性显示, 山东地区西部的地壳减薄和拆沉可能仍在进行。     

Metamorphic core complex formation by density inversion and lower-crust extrusion.

Metamorphic core complexes are domal uplifts of metamorphic and plutonic rocks bounded by shear zones that separate them from unmetamorphosed cover rocks. Interpretations of how these features form are varied and controversial, and include models involving extension on low-angle normal faults, plutonic intrusions and flexural rotation of initially high-angle normal faults. The D'Entrecasteaux islands of Papua New Guinea are actively forming metamorphic core complexes located within a continental rift that laterally evolves to sea-floor spreading. The continental rifting is recent (since approximately 6 Myr ago), seismogenic and occurring at a rapid rate ( approximately 25 mm yr-1). Here we present evidence-based on isostatic modelling, geological data and heat-flow measurements-that the D'Entrecasteaux core complexes accommodate extension through the vertical extrusion of ductile lower-crust material, driven by a crustal density inversion. Although buoyant extrusion is accentuated in this region by the geological structure present-which consists of dense ophiolite overlaying less-dense continental crust-this mechanism may be generally applicable to regions where thermal expansion lowers crustal density with depth.     

Post-collisional lithosphere delamination of the Dabie-Sulu orogen

The consistence between the first rapid cooling time (226-219 Ma) of the untrahigh pressure metamorphic (UHPM) rocks in the Dabie Mountains and the formation time (205-220 Ma) of the syncollisional granites in the Qinling and Sulu areas suggests that the first rapid cooling and uplift of the UHPM rocks may be related to breakoff of subducted plate. Therefore the second rapid cooling and uplift (180-170 Ma) of the UHPM racks needs a post-collisional lithosphere delamination which resulted in the granitic magmatism with an age of about 170 Ma. In addition, the rapid rising of the Dabie dome in the early Cretaceous (130-110 Ma) and the corresponding large-scale magmatism in the Dabie Mountains need another lithosphere delamination. The geochronology of the post-collis- ional mafic-ultramafic intrusions and geological relationship between the mafic-ultramafic intrusions and granites suggest that partial melting was initiated in the mantle, and then progressively developed in the crust, suggesting a mantle upwelling underneath the Dabie Mountains. The unusual fractional trend of the gabbros characterized by lower SiO2 content (46.24%) corresponding to lower MgO content (4.53%) and their typical geochemistry features of the lower crust suggest underplating of the mantle derived magma and interaction between the magma and lower crust before their intrusion. Lithosphere delamination could be the dynamic cause of the mantle upwelling and underplating. The seismic tomography results of the Dabie Mountains and adjacent areas clearly show lithosphere thinning below the north and south sides of the Dabie Mountains. Because there is no Cenozoic magma event in the Dabie Mountains, the lithosphere thinning may result from delamination of thickened lithosphere mantle after collision. In addition, both the lower velocity zone in the 40 km depth and the basin + dome + basin coupling relationship in the Dabie Mountains also suggest the lithosphere delamination and underplating on the two sides of the orogen.     

Characteristics and geological significance of olivine xenocrysts in Cenozoic volcanic rocks from western Qinling

Cenozoic volcanic rocks from the Haoti, Dangchang County of the western Qinling Mountains, contain a few clearly-zoned olivines. These olivines are relatively big in grain sizes and usually have cracks or broken features. Their cores have similar compositions (Mg#=90.4-91.0) to those for the peridotitic xenoliths entrained in host volcanic rocks and their rims are close to the compositions of olivine phenocrysts (Mg#=85.5-81.9). The CaO contents in these zoned olivines are lower than 0.1%. These features demonstrate that the clearly-zoned olivines are xenocrysts and disaggregated from mantle peridotites. The zoned texture was the result of the interaction between the olivine and host magma. Available data show that the volcanic rocks would have been derived from the mantle source metasomatized by subducted hydrathermally-altered oceanic crust. The formation of these Cenozoic volcanic rocks was perhaps related to the rapid uplift of the Tibetan Plateau.     

辽河盆地西部凹陷南区火山岩地球化学特征

辽河盆地西部凹陷南区的火山岩主要分布于中生界和下第三系,岩石类型多种多样。在岩石取心和岩石薄片不多的情况下,为了对本区火山岩准确定名,了解本区火山岩的地球化学特征以及岩浆的结晶分异等岩浆作用的形成和演化,对本区１２块火山岩的主元素分布（包括铬、钴、镍等微量元素分析）和７块火山岩的稀土元素进行了分析。本区中生界岩石类型主要为安山岩和碱流岩,而房身泡组主要是碱性玄武岩和玄武岩类,这表明在岩浆的演化过程中曾发生过橄榄石和辉石的结晶分异作用。本区火山岩应主要来自上地幔,而房身泡组源区相对较浅,可能有下地壳物质混人。