Lasing on pyroclastic rocks: A case study of <Superscript>40</Superscript>Ar/<Superscript>39</Superscript>Ar dating on Moshishan Group,eastern Zhejiang Province

It is difficult to date pyroclastic rocks, for almost all the dating methods, due to the multiple sources during their formation. ^40Ar/^39gAr incremental heating results on groundmass selected from the samples show that the age spectra are meaningless geologically. However, singe crystal total fusions of CO2 lasing on the sanidine separates could yield rational 4^40Ar/^39Ar results and distinguish their sources in this study. Timing on three formations of the Moshishan Group, after avoiding the exotic and altered grains by lasing on the single sanidine separate, was reported in this paper. The lowermost portion of the Chawan Formation gives an age of 113.7±0.3 Ma; the lower part of the Xishantou Formation was formed 116.4±0.4 Ma ago and the bottom of the Gaowu Formation took its shape at 118.4±0.4 Ma. These new ages are much younger than the previous ones, suggesting that these thick volcanic formations had been formed in very short durations.     

40Ar/39Ar同位素体系及其在地学上的应用

40Ar/39Ar同位素体系大体经历了3个技术阶段常规 40Ar/39Ar定年技术、40Ar/39Ar分步加热定年技术和40Ar/39Ar激光显微探针定年技术.研究表明可以通过大气中40Ar/39Ar比值随时间的变化窥探地球去气作用的时间和强度;40Ar/39Ar法不仅有助于研究岩浆冷却过程和花岗岩侵位机制等岩浆动力学的历史和壳幔演化,而且对研究热液成矿年龄也是很有效方法之一;在一定的地质条件下,沉积地层时代越老,40Ar/39Ar值越高;当今40Ar/39Ar年代法已为全球环境演变研究提供了一种强有力的工具.     

CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> gas emplacement age in the Songliao Basin: Insight from volcanic quartz <Superscript>40</Superscript>Ar-<Superscript>39</Superscript>Ar stepwise crushing

Due to a lack of suitable minerals, the gas/oil emplacement ages have never been accurately obtained before. CH₄-CO₂-saline- bearing secondary inclusions are found in quartz from the volcanic rocks of the Yingcheng Formation, the container rocks of the deep CO₂ gas reservoir in the Songliao Basin. The inclusion fluid was trapped into microcracks in quartz during the gas emplacement and accumulation, providing an optimal target for the ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar stepwise crushing technique to determine the CO₂ gas emplacement age. ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar dating results of a quartz sample by stepwise crushing yield a highly linear-regression isochron with an age of 78.4±1.3 Ma, indicating that the accumulation of the deep CO₂ gas reservoir in the Songliao Basin occurred in the late Cretaceous. This is the first time to report an exact isotopic age for a CO₂ gas reservoir, which indicates that the ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar dating can serve as a new technique to date the oil/gas emplacement ages.     

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…     

<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.     

On emplacement ages of lamproites in Zhenyuan County, Guizhou Province, China

Emplacement ages of lamproites that comprise lamproite and olivine lamproite in Zhenyuan County, Guizhou Province, China, have been constrained by the whole-rock Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr isochron methods and the whole rock K-Ar method. Intrusive activities of lamproites in the Sinantang area of Zhenyuan County, Guizhou Province, took place during the Late Cambrian, as indicated by the Sm-Nd isochron ages ( t ) = (503 ± 17) (2σ) Ma and by the Rb-Sr isochron ages ( t ) = (501.2 ± 4.6) (2σ) Ma. Intrusive activities of olivine lamproites at the Maping with Ⅱ-type diamond and Xitou in Zhenyuan County, Guizhou Province, took place from the Late Cambrian to the Early Ordovician, as evidenced by the Sm-Nd isochron ages ( t ) = (502 ± 27) (2σ) Ma and by the Rb-Sr isochron age ( t ) = (502 ± 27) (2σ) Ma. This suggests that the upwelling hot materials derived from the deep mantle were emplaced from the Late Cambrian to the Early Ordovician (503-497 Ma), while the time terminal of cooling of the geothermal event of magmatism-tectonism probably was at 442.64-435.54 Ma, as dated by the whole rock K-Ar method.     

Laser microarea analysis of40Ar-39Ar isochron age for Fanshan superlarge alunite deposit, Zhejiang Province, China

Laser micro area analysis 40 Ar 39 Ar isochron dating for pure alunite is first reported. Micro area 40 Ar 39 Ar isochron dating results revealed that the metallogenetic epoch of Fanshan superlarge alunite deposit is 74.50 Ma, and this age is 10-20 Ma later than that of regional volcanic activity. Moreover, the potential application of micro area analysis 40 Ar 39 Ar isochron dating method in metallogenetic epoch studies for nonmetal deposits is also discussed.     

Further support for a Cretaceous age for the feathered-dinosaur beds of Liaoning,China:New 40Ar÷39Ar dating of the Yixian and Tuchengzi Formations

We report new ⁴⁰Ar÷³⁹Ar dating results obtained from total fusion and incremental-heating analyses of sanidine and biotite from three tuffs found interbedded within the fossil-bearing deposits of Liaoning, northeast China. The first is a new sample of the Bed 6 Sihetun tuff from the Yixian Formation, previously dated by our team as middle Early Cretaceous, and recently considered by Lo et al., partially reset due to metamorphism from a nearby basaltic sill. The second is the Yixian Bed 9 tuff from Hengdaozi considered by Lo et al. to be unaffected by metamorphism and whose age, based on total fusion ⁴⁰Ar÷³⁹Ar dating of biotite, argues for a Jurassic age for the Yixian Formation. The third tuff is a previously undated tuff from the upper part of the underlying Tuchengzi Formation. Single crystal total fusion ⁴⁰Ar÷³⁹Ar analyses of the Sihetun sanidine showed homogeneous radiogenic Ar, Ca÷K ratios, excellent reproducibility and gave a mean age of 125.0±0.18 (1SD)±0.04 (SE) Ma. Single sanidine crystal total fusion ⁴⁰Ar÷³⁹Ar analyses of the Hengdaozi tuff gave a mean age of 125.0±0.19 (1SD)±0.04 (SE) Ma, which is indistinguishable from the Sihetun tuff. The Tuchengzi Formation tuff gave a mean age of 139.4±0.19 (1SD)±0.05 (SE) Ma. Detailed laser incremental-heating analyses of biotite from Sihetun, Hengdaozi, and Tuchengzi tuffs show disturbed Ar release patterns and evidence of trapped argon components. We conclude from these analyses that the total fusion dates on biotite by Lo et al. are erroneously old and isotopic dating of both biotite and sanidine from tuffs of the Yixian Formation point to a middle Early Cretaceous age. The upper part of the Tuchengzi Formation can be referred to the Early Cretaceous.     

Potash-rich volcanic rocks and lamprophyres in western Shandong Province: 40Ar-39Ar dating and source tracing

Highly precise ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar dating results demonstrate that the ages of potash-rich volcanic rocks in western Shandong Province are 114.7–124.3 Ma, and that of the lamprophyres is 119.6 Ma. The potash-rich volcanic rocks have relatively high (⁸⁷Sr÷⁸⁶Sr)_i ratios (0.708715–0.711418) and distinctly negative ε_nd values (−11.47–−17.54), and are enriched in radiogenic lead (²⁰⁶Pb÷²⁰⁴Pb=17.341−17.622, ²⁰⁷Pb÷²⁰⁴Pb=15.525−15.538, ²⁰⁸Pb÷²⁰⁴Pb = 37.563−37.684). Similarly, the lamprophyres also have quite low ε_nd values (−11.57–−19.64). Based on the fact that the Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic compositions of potash-rich volcanic rocks are very consistent with that of the clinopyroxene separates, and by integrating comprehensive analyses of their tectonic settings, and extensive comparisons of the Sr, Nd isotopic compositions with that of the related simultaneous rocks, it is concluded that the potash-rich volcanic rocks and lamprophyres in western Shandong Province were most possibly derived from the partial melting of enriched mantle which was caused by source contamination and metasomatism of subducted continental crustal materials.     

The v-v energy transfer of highly vibrationally excited states (I)

The relaxation of the highly vibrationally excited CO (v = 1–8) by CO₂ is studied by timeresolved Fourier transform infrared emission spectroscopy (TR FTIR). 193 nm laser photolysis of the mixture of CHBr₃ with O₂ generates the highly vibrationally excited CO(v) molecules. TR FTIR records the intense infrared emission of CO(v→v-1). The vibrational populations of each level of CO(v) have been determined by the method of spectral simulation. Based on the evolution of the time resolved populations and the differential method, 8 energy transfer rate constants of CO(v = 1–8) to CO₂ molecules areobtained: (5.7±0.1), (5.9±0.1), (5.2±0.2), (3.4±0.2), (2.4±0.3), (2.2±0.4), (2.0±0.4) and (1.8±0.6) (10¹⁴ cm³ · molecule⁻¹ · s⁻¹), respectively. A two-channel energy transfer model can explain the feature of the quenching of CO(v) by CO². For the lower vibrational states of CO, the vibrational energy transfers preferentially to the u³ mode of CO² For the higher levels, the major quenching channel changes to the vibrational energy exchange between CO(v→v-1) and the u¹ mode of CO².     

年轻火山岩激光40Ar/39Ar定年中的n值与MSWD值

激光熔蚀⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar等时线法是第四纪年轻火山岩样品精细定年的新方法, 该方法处于逐步完善过程中。针对怎样判定获得的年龄结果是否可靠的问题, 通过对数据处理过程中所用参数的分析, 认为样品属性是决定年轻火山岩精细定年结果质量和可靠性的关键因素, 与样品测试数n值相关的加权均方差MSWD(mean square weighted deviation)是判断同一样品各测试点的数据是否符合正态分布, 能否用来客观地评价测试结果, 进而评估样品是否适合进行相关测试, 结果是否可靠的重要指标。其次, 属于同一真实年龄值样品的MSWD在99.7%置信区间的取值范围可通过计算加以确认, 并提出对于表面年龄和等时线年龄数据, 必须定量地考察相应的MSWD值, 判定在具有足够样品测试数(足够大的n值)的情况下, 是否符合概率统计的正态分布, 确定样品是否对应同一年龄真实值。在MSWD值达不到理想值1.0的情况下, 可以利用表面年龄概率密度曲线, 区分测试样品内部包含的非同源或非等时或封闭不好体系的数据, 再结合MSWD与n值关系, 适量地去除部分偏离正态分布的测试数据, 识别出可能归属多个年龄真实值的测试数据组, 并以此计算不同数据组的反等时线年龄, 获得年轻火山岩喷发的准确年龄。     

Sm-Nd dating and Nd-Sr isotopic characteristics of the Shimian ophiolite suite, Sichuan Province

By measuring the Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr isotopic compositions of harzburgite and gabbro from Shimian ophiolite suite, we got the whole rock Sm-Nd isochron age of (938±30) Ma (2?), and the ??Nd of 7.6±0.8 (2?), which shows that the ophiolite was formed at the Early Neoproterozoic. The obvious change (0.70209-0.70708) of ISr values of the ophiolite is caused by the meteoric hydrothermal alteration. The high ? Nd values indicate that the primitive magma was derived from the intense depleted mantle reservoir. It is suggested that this area was in a back-arc basin environment during the Early Neoproterozic.     

Petrology and40Ar/39Ar isotopic ages of blueschists in Gangmar, central Qiangtang, northern Tibet

The petrology and mineral assemblages of blueschists in the Gangmar, central Qiangtang, northern Tibet were examined, which indicates that the metamorphic condition is high-pressure low-temperature. In this note, we reported the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating results of glaucophane from two blueschist samples. Their apparent ages are (275.0± 1.3) Ma and (287.6± 2.3) Ma and similar isochron ages are (275.0± 0.9) Ma and (282.4± 0.8) Ma, respectively. These isotopic datings show the high-pressure metamorphism occurring in Lower Permian. The ages also coincide with the evolution of Palaeo-Tethys ocean in Late Palaeozoic.     

Origin of middle Miocene leucogranites and rhyolites on the Tibetan Plateau: Constraints on the timing of crustal thickening and uplift of its northern boundary

Leucogranites play a significant role in understanding crustal thickening, melting within continental collisional belts, and plateau uplift. Field investigations show that Miocene igneous rocks from the Hoh Xil Lake area mainly consist of two-mica leucogranites and rhyolites. We studied the Bukadaban two-mica leucogranites and the Kekao Lake, Malanshan and Hudongliang rhyolites by zircon U-Pb, muscovite and sanidine 40Ar/39Ar geochronology, and whole-rock geochemical and Sr-Nd isotopic analysis. Results yielded crystallization and cooling ages for the Bukadaban leucogranites of 9.7±0.2 and 6.88±0.19 Ma, respectively. Extrusive ages of the Kekao Lake and Malanshan rhyolites are 14.5±0.8 and 9.37±0.30 Ma, respectively. All rocks are enriched in SiO2 (70.99%-73.59%), Al2O3 (14.39%-15.25%) and K2O (3.78%-5.50%) but depleted in Fe2O3 (0.58%-1.56%), MgO (0.11%- 0.44%) and CaO (0.59%-1.19%). The rocks are strongly peraluminous (A/CNK=1.11?1.21) S-type granites characterized by negative Eu anomalies (δ Eu=0.18-0.39). In also considering their Sr-Nd isotopic compositions (87Sr/86Sri=0.7124 to 0.7143; δ Nd (9 Ma) =-5.5 to -7.1), we propose that these igneous rocks were generated through dehydration melting of muscovite in the thickened middle or lower crust of northern Tibet. Melting was probably triggered by localized E-W stretching decompression in the horse tails of Kunlun sinistral strike-slip faults. Reactivation of the Kunlun strike-slip faults, accompanied by emplacement of leucogranite and eruption of rhyolite in the Hoh Xil Lake area, indicates that large-scale crustal shortening and thickening in northern Tibet mainly occurred before 15 Ma. In addition, these findings suggest that the northern Tibetan Plateau attained its present elevation (~5000 m) at least 15 Ma ago.     

^40Ar／^39Ar dating of Daqingshan thrust

The Daqingshan thrust system is an important part of the western segment of the Mesozoic Yinshan-Yanshan orogenic belt. Therefore, much attention has been paid to the thrusts due also to their large-scale and entirely devel-oped structural elements and typical structural styles. Studies and progress have been concentrated on the ge-ometry, kinematics, dating and dynamic mechanism of the thrust and thrusting. To date, there have been no reliable published isotopic data, however, on the dating…     

Behavior of argon gas release from manganese oxide minerals as revealed by <Superscript>40</Superscript>Ar/<Superscript>39</Superscript>Ar laser incremental heating analysis

Manganese oxides in association with paleo- weathering may provide significant insights into the multiple factors affecting the formation and evolution of weathering profiles, such as temperature, precipitation, and biodiversity. Laser probe step-heating analysis of supergene hollandite and cryptomelane samples collected from central Queensland, Australia, yield well-defined plateaus andconsistent isochron ages, confirming the feasibility dating very-fined supergene manganese oxides by 40Ar/39Ar technique. Two distinct structural sites hostingAr isotopes can be identified in light of their degassing behaviors obtained byincremental heating analyses. The first site, releasing its gas fraction at thelaser power 0.2-0.4 W, yields primarily 40Aratm, 38Aratm, and 36Aratm (atmospheric Ar isotopes). The second sites yield predominantly 40Ar* (radiogenic 40Ar),39ArK, and 38ArK (nucleogenic components), at ～0.5-1.0 W. There is no significant Ar gas released at the laser power higher than 1.0 W, indicating the breakdown of the tunnel sites hosting the radiogenic and nucleogenic components. The excellent match between the degassing behaviors of 40Ar*, 39ArK, and 38ArK suggests that these isotopes occupy the same crystallographic sites and that 39ArK lossfrom the tunnel site by recoil during neutron irradiation and/or bake-out procedure preceding isotopic analysis does not occur. Present investigation supports that neither the overwhelming atmospheric 40Ar nor the very-fined nature of the supergene manganese oxides poses problems in extracting meaningful weathering geochronological information by analyzing supergene manganese oxides minerals.     

^40Ar／^39Ar geochronological constraints on syn-orogenic strike-slip movement of Tan-Lu fault zone

Two phases of sinistral strike-slip ductile shear belts occur on the eastern margin of the Dabie orogenic belt. A muscovite ~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar plateau age of 128 Ma was obtained from mylonite in the later ductile shear zone. Three muscovite samples separated from mylonites of 3 localities in the earlier ductile shear belts yield ~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar plateau ages of 192.5±0.7 Ma, 189.7±0.6 Ma and 188.7±0.7 Ma, respectively. They are interpreted as cooling ages of the earlier sinistral strike-slip deformation. It is suggested that left-lateral displacement of the Tan-Lu fault zone started in a late stage of the collision orogeny in the Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt between the North and South China plates. Therefore, the earlier Tan-Lu fault zone was syn-orogenic strike-slip tectonics. The fault zone was used again for sinistral displacement during tectonic activities of peri-Pacific regime in Early Cretaceous. It is proposed that the fault zone occurred as a transform fault during the orogenic process.     

In situ simultaneous determination of trace elements, U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotopes in zircon and baddeleyite

This paper describes a combined method of simultaneously measuring U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotopes as well as trace elements in Phalaborwa baddeleyite and 91500, GJ-1, TEMORA-1 and SK10-2 zircons by means of Neptune MC-ICPMS and Agilent Q-ICPMS connected to a 193 nm excimer laser ablation system. Material ablated by laser was carried in different proportions into Q-ICPMS for U-Pb isotopic and trace elemental and MC-ICPMS for Lu-Hf isotopic compositions. Experiments indicate that different proportions of ablated material for the Q-ICPMS and MC-ICPMS （6：4, 5：5 and 4：6 respectively） do not show any bias for the zircon/baddeleyite U-Pb age, Lu-Hf isotope and trace elemental compositions within analytical errors. Using 40-60 μm spot size, the obtained U-Pb ages of Phalaborwa baddeleyite, 91500, GJ-1, TEMORA and SK10-2 zircons are 2065±15 （2σ, n=20）, 1063±6 （2σ, n=-19）, 613±6 （2σ, n=20）, 416±5 （2σ, n=20） and 32.6±0.5 （2σ, n=20） Ma, respectively. The ^176Hf/^177Hf ratios are 0.281231±24 （2SD, n=20）, 0.282310±35 （2SD, n=19）, 0.282028±34 （2SD, n=20）, 0.282687±34 （2SD, n=20） and 0.282752±53 （2SD, n=20）, respectively. The obtained trace elemental compositions are identical to the reference values. Therefore, this kind of technique makes it possible to simultaneously obtain the U-Pb age, Lu-Hf isotopes and trace elemental compositions of zircon and baddeleyite, which could be an important tool in solving problems in earth sciences.     

Trend, seasonal and diurnal variations of atmospheric CO2 in Beijing

The concentration of atmospheric CO₂ in Beijing increased rapidly at a mean growth rate of 3.7% · a⁻¹ from 1993 to 1995. After displaying a peak of (409.7±25.9) μmol · mol⁻¹ in 1995, it decreased slowly. Both the almost stable anthropogenic CO₂ source and increasing biotic CO₂ sink contribute to the drop of CO₂ concentration from 1995 to 2000. The seasonal variation of CO₂ concentration exhibits a clear cycle with a maximum in winter, averaging (426.8±20.6) μmol · mol⁻¹, and a minimum in summer, averaging (369.1±6.1) μmol·mol⁻¹. The seasonal variation of CO₂ concentration is mainly controlled by phenology. The mean diurnal variation of atmospheric CO₂ concentration for a year in Beijing is highly clear: daily maximum CO₂ concentration usually occurs at night, but daily minimum CO₂ concentration does in the daytime, with a mean diurnal difference more than 34.7 μmol·mol⁻¹. It has been revealed that the interannual variations of atmospheric CO₂ concentration in winter and autumn regulated the interannual trend of atmospheric CO₂, whereas the interannual variation of CO₂ concentration in summer affected the general tendency of atmospheric CO₂ in a less degree.