Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb dating on plagiogranite from Kuerti ophiolite in Altay,North Xinjiang

The geochronological study on ophiolites is of great interest due to its tectonic significance. Previous studies have shown that ophiolites can form in various tectonic settings including middle ocean ridge, island arc, forearc and backarc basins; most of them are found in the suprasubduction zone[1,2]. Although the hypothesis that high SiO2 and low K2O granitoid rocks in ophiolites are produced by the fractional crystallization of mafic magma has been proved by experimental simulations[3,4],…     

Forming age and tectono-petrogenises of the Jiugequan ophiolite in the North Qilian Mountain, NW China

The Jiugequan ophiolite is one of the representative ophiolite fragments in the Early Paleozoic orogenic belt of the North Qilian Mountain. It has been drawn much attention and extensively studied in recent years. In this study, ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U-Pb dating was carried out for zircons from isotropic gabbro from the Jiugequan ophiolite. Eighteen analyses yield a relatively consistent apparent ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages from 480 to 508 Ma with a weighted mean age of 490±5 Ma (MSWD=1.06), which is believed to be the crystallization age of the gabbro and thus the forming age of the Jiugequan ophiolite. Major and trace element geochemical study indicates that the diabase-basalts from the Jiugequan ophiolite have N-MORB and E-MORB characteristics with some subduction-related signatures. The petrological, geochemical and chronological data enable us to conclude that the Jiugequan ophiolite is most likely to be formed at a spreading center of back-arc basin during the early Ordovician, while the ancient Qilian oceanic plate subducted northwards. The acquisition of forming age and determination of tectonic setting for Jiugequan ophiolite provide significant constraints on the evolution of intra-oceanic subduction system in the North Qilian orogenic belt during the Early Paleozoic era.     

Os isotopic evidence for a carbonaceous chondritic mantle source for the Nagqu ophiolite from Tibet and its implications

Early-crystallizing chromian spinel(Cr-spinel) in the Nagqu ophiolite has high Os and low Re contents,and it is resistant to alteration during serpentinization,weathering and metamorphism.The chemical composition of primitive magma is preserved in Cr-spinel,which makes it suitable for determining the initial Os-isotope composition of the mantle source.This study presents Cr-spinel Os isotopes and zircon U-Pb ages for cumulate dunite and gabbro,respectively,in the same cumulate section of the ophiolite at Nagqu in Tibet.The results shed light on the formation and evolution of lithospheric mantle.The Nagqu ophiolite is located in the central part of the Bangong-Nujiang suture zone.It is a remnant of the Neotethyan oceanic crust,and contains cumulate dunite and gabbro.Zircon from the gabbro yielded a weighted mean 206 Pb/238 U age of 183.7±1 Ma.Cr-spinel exhibits Os values of 0.2 to 0.3,suggesting that the mantle source for the dunite is similar to that of carbonaceous chondrites.Thus,the Tibetan lithosphere is primarily a relic of Tethyan oceanic lithosphere,which has formed by the transformation of the normal asthenospheric mantle in the Mesozoic.This is the first study to combine the spinel Os isotopes with accurate zircon U-Pb ages to constrain the geochemical characteristics of the mantle source for the ophiolite.     

Opening of the Longmu Co–Shuanghu–Lancangjiang ocean:constraints from plagiogranites

This paper reports new zircon U-Pb ages,and Hf isotope and whole-rock major and trace element data for Cambrian plagiogranites from the Tuobeiling ophiolite in central Qiangtang,Tibetan Plateau.Zircon SIMS and LAICP-MS U-Pb dating of the plagiogranites yield weighted mean ages of 504.8±4.2 and 491.6±1.5 Ma,respectively.The zircons from plagiogranites exhibit positive eHf(t)values(ranging from 11.46 to 15.16),indicating that the plagiogranites are derived from depleted mantle.These plagiogranites are characterized by high SiO2and Na2O,low K2O,low REE contents,and flat REE distribution patterns.These rocks have geochemical compositions typical of oceanic plagiogranite and,considered along with their petrography and field relationships,are interpreted to have derived from anatexis of hydrated amphibolites by ductile shearing during transports of the oceanic crust.The formation age of such type of plagiogranite is slightly younger than that of the associated section of oceanic crust.Thus the new results from these plagiogranites suggest that the Longmu Co–Shuanghu–Lancangjiang ocean had probably opened before the Middle Cambrian.     

西藏朗县蛇绿混杂岩中变辉绿岩和变玄武岩的年代学和地球化学

对西藏雅鲁藏布缝合带东段朗县混杂岩中的辉绿岩和玄武岩进行了岩石学、地球化学和SHRIMP锆石年代学研究.在早侏罗世(大约191 Ma B.P.)和侏罗纪最晚期到白垩纪最早期(大约146～148 Ma B.P.)分别有2幕岩浆活动;侵入于191.4±3.7 MaB.P.的变辉绿岩,是迄今为止在雅鲁藏布蛇绿混杂岩带发现的最...     

Sm-Nd isochron age of ophiolite along northern margin of Altun Tagh Mountain and its tectonic significance

An ophiolite belt is exposed to the northern edge of Altun Tagh Mountain. Geochronological researches were made on gabbro and basalt. Sm-Nd isochron age of gabbro is (829 ± 60) Ma, while the age of gabbro mixed basalt is (949 ± 62) Ma. The dating of Sm-Nd isochron proves that ophiolite formed in (829 ± 60) Ma, which implies that the northern half of Tarim (or north Tarim Block) had been separated by an ocean from the southern half of Tarim and Qaidarn (or south Tarim Block) until (829 ± 60) Ma. The south Tarim Block could accrete to the north Tarim Block at the beginning of Sinian, thereby forming the north Altun Tagh suture. The Sinian system would be the first cover on the amalgamated Tarim craton.     

Geochronology and Nd and Pb isotope characteristics of gabbro dikes in the Luobusha ophiolite, Tibet

We report a combined internal and whole-rock Sm-Nd isochron age, and Nd and Pb isotopic data for gabbro dikes of the Luobusha ophiolite in Tibet. The Sm-Nd isochron of data for two whole rocks and plagioclase and clinopyroxene separates from one of the rocks yields a Middle Jurassic age of (177±31) Ma (with an initial ε_Nd(t) = +8), which provides a significant bound on the time of formation of the Luobusha ophiolite. The Nd and Pb isotopic characteristics of the dike indicate an Indian-Ocean-type isotopic affinity, and we conclude that the Luobusha ophiolite formed in an oceanic setting during the Middle Jurassic.     

Northernmost paleo-tethyan oceanic basin in Tibet: Geochronological evidence from40Ar/39Ar age dating of Dur’ngoi ophiolite

Whole rock⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age dating has been conducted on a basalt sample from Dur’ngoi ophiolite, Qinghai Province, which was reported to be the northernmost paleo-tethyan oceanic basin in Tibet. A high temperature plateau age (345.3±7.9 Ma) with an isochorn age (336.6±7.1 Ma) has been obtained, representing the eruption time of oceanic crust. Considering related geological settings, the new age provides constraints on the northernmost paleo-tethyan suture zone in Tibet and the tectonic evolution of Paleo-tethys in Northeast Tibet and adjacent areas.     

SHRIMP U-Pb dating and Hf isotopic analyses of zircons from the mafic dyke swarms in central Qiangtang area, Northern Tibet

In the ＂Central Uplift＂ of Qiangtang, Northern Tibet, a large scale of mafic dyke swarms extended in E-W direction. Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb dating on two representative samples of diabase dyke yield weighted mean ages of 284 ± 3 Ma and 302 ± 4 Ma, respectively, suggesting they emplaced in the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian. Zircon ^176Hf/^177Hf ratios range from 0.282852 to 0.283041, with ,εHf（t） values of ＋12.1 to ＋12.2 and Hf modal （TDM） ages of ～440-460 Ma. These data indicate that these mafic dykes were mainly derived from the depleted mantle. In addition, geochemical data suggest that these mafic dyke swarms are of intra-plate origin. Therefore, the mafic dyke swarms represent products during the extensional process associated with the opening of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean in the area.     

Discovery of eclogite and its geological significance in Qiangtang area, central Tibet

Eclogites have been found in the margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau respectively since the 1990s. First Eocene eclogite from Himalayan belt was discov- ered in Kaghan valley, northern Pakistan in 1991, in which coesite was identified[1,2]. Then two eclog…     

Age of Bangong Lake SSZ ophiolite constraints the time of the Bangong Lake－Nujiang Neo-Tethys

The Bangong Lake ophiolite is located in the westernmost part of the Bangong Lake-Nujiang River suture zone. It is a tectonic mélange consisting of numerous individual blocks of peridotite, pillowed and massive lavas and mafic dykes with SSZ-type ophiolitic geochemical affinity formed at the end of a Wilson circle. The SHRIMP U-Pb ages of the co-magmatic zircon domains from one gabbroic dyke (Sample 01Y-155) range from 162.5±8.6 Ma to 177.1±1.4 Ma with an average of 167.0±1.4 Ma (n = 12, MSWD = 1.2), suggesting that the subduction of the Bangong Lake Neo-Tethyan Ocean started before the Middle Jurassic. It is inferred that the tectonic transform from spreading to subduction of the Neo-Tethyan Ocean began before the Middle Jurassic in the Bangong Lake area.     

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.     

Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb geochronology and petrogenesis of the plagiogranites from the Lagkor Lake ophiolite, Gerze, Tibet, China

Field relationship, along with petrographical, petrological, and geochemical characteristics, and zircon populations, indicates that the plagiogranites from the Lagkor Lake ophiolite in the Bangong-Nujiang suture zone (~ 20 km south of Gerze County, central Tibet, China), derived from anatexis of hydrated gabbros by ductile shearing during transport of the oceanic crust. Therefore, this kind of plagiogranite is coeval to or little later than the spreading of the oceanic crust. Zircon SHRIMP age of 166 ± 2.5 Ma for the plagiogranites indicates that an oceanic basin existed in the western part of the Bangong-Nujiang zone in the Middle Jurassic.     

西秦岭光头山花岗岩锆石U-Pb年代学及其地质意义

光头山花岗岩体出露于勉略缝合带北侧, 主要由英云闪长岩和二长花岗岩组成。英云闪长岩表现为片麻状构造, 局部英云闪长岩糜棱岩化形成花岗质糜棱岩。而二长花岗岩在糜棱岩带形成之后侵位, 含有少量的石榴石,弱的片麻状到块状构造。LA-ICPMS 锆石原位U-Pb同位素定年结果表明, 光头山岩体为两个阶段侵位, 糜棱岩化英云闪长岩( 样品GT18-01)的侵位结晶年龄是221±6Ma, 而二长花岗岩(样品GT11-01)的结晶年龄是199±4Ma,代表了晚期二长花岗岩形成的时代。结合区域构造背景和前人研究的地球化学特征, 早期的英云闪长岩可能在勉略洋盆闭合前的岛弧发育阶段侵位, 代表了洋壳俯冲的弧岩浆活动的产物。然后扬子地台与秦岭微陆块拼合, 形成勉略缝合带。约199Ma秦岭主造山期同碰撞岩浆活动形成了晚期(石榴石)二长花岗岩。因此, 勉略洋盆闭合和勉略缝合带形成时期大约为221～199Ma 。     

A new interpretation of the tectonic setting and age of meta-basic volcanics in the Ondor Sum Group, Inner Mongolia

The Ondor Sum Group in the central Inner Mongolia is mainly composed of meta-basic volcanics intercalated with ferruginous quartzite and quartz schist, and has been interpreted as slices of oceanic crust or an ophiolite suite of the Early Paleozoic or much older ages. This paper presents new LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating and geochemical data for the meta-basic volcanics. The results show that zircons in the meta-basic volcanics were derived from complicated sources, most of which may be captured by basic magma from the country rocks or other sources. They yield a large age range from the Late Archean to Early Mesozoic with the youngest age group between 246 and 261 Ma, constraining the protolith of the meta-basic volcanics formed in the Late Permian to Early Triassic. The meta-basic volcanics have an affinity to E-MORB in geochemistry, and also a similarity toward OIB, representing a tectonic setting of limited intra-continental ocean basin. This limited basin might have been related to the continuous extension of the area since the Early Permian and finally closed in the Early Mesozoic.     

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.     

北祁连西段熬油沟——-二只哈拉达坂蛇绿岩的形成环境和时代

熬油沟蛇绿岩是北祁连造山带西段最具代表性的蛇绿岩残片之一。运用SHRIMPⅡ锆石U-Pb法, 对北祁连造山带西段的熬油沟和二只哈拉达坂两地出露的细粒辉长岩和粒玄岩进行了精确同位素测年。采自熬油沟剖面的细粒辉长岩样品 ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U年龄数据分布在一个很小的范围(490~508 Ma), 其加权平均年龄为501±4 Ma (MSWD=1.09); 采自二只哈拉剖面的粒玄岩样品年龄值稍小, ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U加权平均年龄为495±4 Ma (MSWD=0.98)。结合详细的野外调查、矿物化学和地球化学研究, 认为熬油沟?二只哈拉达坂蛇绿岩构造破坏严重, 其中基性岩浆岩代表早?中寒武世的北祁连洋壳。与新元古界朱龙关群碳酸盐岩和砂泥岩整合产出 的玄武岩不能作为蛇绿岩的喷出岩系列, 而有可能是震旦纪的大陆溢流玄武岩, 代表新元古代全球Rodinia大陆裂解的岩浆产物。     

福建泉州蛇绿岩及其构造肢解

长乐-南澳断裂带北段分布的一系列基性——超基性岩块可以区分出四类岩石:变质橄栏岩、超镁铁质堆积杂岩、堆晶层状辉长岩和块状辉长岩,它们组成了泉州蛇绿岩,属科迪勒拉型,代表早期边缘海盆地或弧间盆地的上部地幔和洋壳。早白垩世晚期,闽台微大陆与闽浙中生代火山弧碰撞拼贴过程中,泉州蛇绿岩被构造肢解,形成 NW 向逆冲就位的长基超基性推覆岩席和 SE 向剪切逆冲就位的青兰山辉长岩岩块。构造肢解的泉州蛇绿岩构成了深层弧前混杂带。     

Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb dating for olivine gabbro at Wangmuguan in the Beihuaiyang zone and its geological significance

In the Neoproterozoic, a large-scale magmatic activ- ity took place in the northern margin of the South China Block, with ages in a range of 700―800 Ma[1―4]). A systematic zircon U-Pb dating for bimodal metaigneous rocks in the Dabie-Sulu orogen yields ages of 758 ± 15 Ma[5], typifying rift magmatism along the northern margin of the South China Block during the middle Neoproterozoic. In addition, there is a widespread oc- currence of volcanic tuff interlayers around 635 Ma with the se…     

Sm-Nd isotope study and dating on Honguleleng ophiolite in Xinjiang, China

A study of the Sm-Nd isotope composition of Honguleleng ophiolite in Xinjiang, China, isochron age ((626±25)Ma),ε_Nd(t) =8.40,and its model age (T _DM ^Nd ) in the range of 1 180–1 208 Ma, indicates that the ophiolite was formed in the late stage of the Upper Sinian. In combination with its facies association, petrochemistry, REE patterns, trace elements and associated chromites orebodies, it is believed that the Honguleleng ophiolitic magma derived from the LREE-enriched, self-depleted mantle source and formed at paleo-ocean ridge. This ophiolite is a relic of an oceanic crust within the collision zone.