Carbon isotopic compositions of pore and matrix carbonates in carbonate nodules, and origin of carbonate formation

Carbon isotopes of pedogenic carbonate are often used to study paleoenvironments, but the existence of detrital carbonate changes the carbon isotopic composition. To develop an experimental method to determine existence of detrital carbonate in carbonate nodules, and to avoid it during isotope analysis, 23 pedogenic carbonate nodules in Miocene loess from the Loess Plateau of China were studied through micromorphology and carbon isotope analysis. The difference in carbon isotopic composition between matrix carbonate (B) and pore carbonate (A) (δ¹³C_(B-A)) ranges from 0.27‰ to 0.44‰ in nodules containing detrital carbonate and –0.16‰ to 0.13‰ in nodules where detrital carbonate is absent. The latter is within measurement error, but the former is beyond it. Here we propose an isotopic approach to determine if nodules contain detrital carbonate: if δ¹³C_(B-A) is within the measurement error, the nodules do not contain detrital carbonate, and vice versa. We suggest that it is better to analyze pore carbonate instead of matrix carbonate when using carbon isotope of carbonate nodules to reconstruct paleoenvironments.     

天水盆地古近纪地层年代及其意义

天水盆地位于青藏高原东北缘六盘山与西秦岭二重要构造带交汇处,该盆地充填的新生代沉积序列记录着该区构造变形历史,因此研究该盆地沉积记录对探讨青藏高原东北缘新生代构造活动事件具有重要意义.通过对天水盆地古近纪砾石层砂质透镜体中碎屑颗粒磷灰石裂变径迹热年代学研究,获得样品地层的最大沉积年龄为24.8士1.5 Ma.结合前人的工作,厘定该套古近纪地层最顶部地层年龄为22～24.8 Ma,并确定天水盆地古近纪沉积物源区在24.8 Ma左右发生了构造冷却事件,推断印度板块与欧亚大陆碰撞的远程效应在古近纪末-新近纪初已传递到青藏高原的最东北缘.     

雅鲁藏布江中下游流域地貌差异演化的岩屑磷灰石裂变径迹证据

以西藏米林派为分界点, 雅鲁藏布江中下游显示了截然不同的河流特性, 下游的雅鲁藏布大峡谷作为世界第一大峡谷, 围绕南迦巴瓦峰形成了马蹄形大拐弯, 与中游的宽谷河道显著不同. 分析了雅鲁藏布大峡谷上游米林河段和大峡谷下游地东河段的河床砂岩屑磷灰石裂变径迹(AFT)数据结果. 分析显示, 米林河段AFT年龄集中在10.7和26.8 Ma, 地东河段AFT显示年龄集中在2.5, 7.1和12.6 Ma. 由于河床砂岩屑是上游方向裂点向下到岩屑沉积点之间流域地质体经剥蚀和水流分选平均后的产物, 据此可以推定, 米林上游到加查河段流域的地质体和大峡谷下游地东以上到直白河段流域的地质体经历了不同的冷却历史. 从统计的结果上看, 米林以上到加查的中游河段地质体经历了两个不同阶段的冷却, 分别为10.7和26.8 Ma前后, 雅鲁藏布大峡谷所在流域地质体的冷却主要发生于2.5 Ma前后, 这一结果证实, 以南迦巴瓦峰为核心的东喜马拉雅构造结在2.5 Ma以来经历了快速和独特的构造地貌演化过程. 雅鲁藏布大峡谷与雅鲁藏布江中游河段的流域属于相同的大地构造单元, 即冈底斯岩带、雅鲁藏布缝合带和特提斯喜马拉雅带. 但是, 二者热史演化的迥然差异显示, 雅鲁藏布大峡谷河段流域地质体在2.5 Ma以来的冷却过程似乎不是区域构造作用的结果, 显示其可能与气候因素引起的强烈剥蚀作用密切相关.     

Paleoproterozoic basement beneath the southern Jiangxi Province: Evidence from U-Pb ages and Lu-Hf isotopes in zircons from the Doushui lamprophyre

This paper presents geochemical analyses of a lamprophyre intruding the Caledonian Doushui granite body in Shangyou County, southern Jiangxi Province. U-Pb dating and Hf-isotope analyses are espe-cially carried out for zircons from it. Petrological and geochemical features show that the lamprophyre belongs to a high-K, weakly alkaline pyroxene-biotite lamprophyre. It is characterized by high Mg# (0.74), Ni (253 μg/g) and Cr (893 μg/g) contents, and also enriched in incompatible elements, such as REE, Rb, Sr...     

Detrital zircon of 4.1 Ga in South China

One hadean zircon from the Cambrian sandstone in the southern part of South China has a U-Pb age of 4107±29 Ma with ε Hf(t) value similar to that of the homochronous depleted mantle and Hf model age of 4102±21 Ma.This demonstrates the existence of hadean crustal remnant in South China.A close match between the U-Pb age and Hf model age with the highly position ε Hf(t) value indicates the growth and immediate reworking of juvenile crust from the depleted mantle at ca 4.1 Ga.The prominent "Pan-African" and Grenville zircons derived from the exotic sources were also found in the sample,which indicates a linking between South China and Gondwana in the Cambrian period.The southern part of South China has complex histories of crustal growth and tectonic evolution.     

U-Pb ages and Hf isotopes for detrital zircons from quartzite in the Paleoproterozoic Songshan Group on the southwestern margin of the North China Craton

In situ U-Pb dating and Lu-Hf isotopic analysis were carried out for detrital zircons from quartzite in the Paleoproterozoic Songshan Group on the southern margin of the North China Craton （NCC）. The results provide further constraints on the crustal formation and evolution history of NCC. Four ^207Pb/^206Pb age populations were obtained from 99 analyses, with clusters at -3.40 Ga, 2.77-2.80 Ga, -2.50 Ga and 2.34 Ga, respectively. The 3.40 Ga old zircons have similar Hf isotopic compositions to those from Archean rocks in the Jidong and Anshan areas of NCC. However, crustal remnants older than 3.6 Ga have been identified in the southern margin of NCC, the South China Craton, the northwestern part of the Qinling Orogen and its adjacent area. Thus, it is not easy to trace the source rock from which the 3.40 Ge detrital zircons were derived. It can be inferred that the crustal remnants older than 3.40 Ga might have been widely distributed in the North China Craton. The 2.77-2.80 Ga zircons make up a relatively small proportion and have the highest εHf（t） values （up to 6.1±1.6）, consistent with the Hf isotopic composition of the depleted mantle at 2.83 Ga. Their single-stage Hf model age of 2.83 Ga is close to their crystallized age, suggesting that their source rocks were extracted from the contemporaneous depleted mantle. The -2.50 Ga zircon grains constitute about 85% of the total grain population and their Hf isotopic compositions indicate major growth of juvenile crust at -2.50 Ga but minor reworking of ancient crust. The youngest zircon dated in this study gave an U-Pb age of 2337±2.3 Ma, which can be considered the maximum depositional age of the formation of the Songshan Group.     

U–Pb ages and Hf isotopes for detrital zircons from quartzite in the Paleoproterozoic Songshan Group on the southwestern margin of the North China Craton

In situ U-Pb dating and Lu-Hf isotopic analysis were carried out for detrital zircons from quartzite in the Paleoproterozoic Songshan Group on the southern margin of the North China Craton (NCC). The re- sults provide further constraints on the crustal formation and evolution history of NCC. Four 207Pb/206Pb age populations were obtained from 99 analyses, with clusters at ~3.40 Ga, 2.77―2.80 Ga, ~2.50 Ga and 2.34 Ga, respectively. The 3.40 Ga old zircons have similar Hf isotopic compositions to those from Ar- chean rocks in the Jidong and Anshan areas of NCC. However, crustal remnants older than 3.6 Ga have been identified in the southern margin of NCC, the South China Craton, the northwestern part of the Qinling Orogen and its adjacent area. Thus, it is not easy to trace the source rock from which the 3.40 Ga detrital zircons were derived. It can be inferred that the crustal remnants older than 3.40 Ga might have been widely distributed in the North China Craton. The 2.77―2.80 Ga zircons make up a relatively small proportion and have the highest εHf (t) values (up to 6.1±1.6), consistent with the Hf isotopic composition of the depleted mantle at 2.83 Ga. Their single-stage Hf model age of 2.83 Ga is close to their crystallized age, suggesting that their source rocks were extracted from the contemporaneous depleted mantle. The ~2.50 Ga zircon grains constitute about 85% of the total grain population and their Hf isotopic compositions indicate major growth of juvenile crust at ~2.50 Ga but minor reworking of ancient crust. The youngest zircon dated in this study gave an U-Pb age of 2337±23 Ma, which can be considered the maximum depositional age of the formation of the Songshan Group.     

SHRIMP U-Pb geochronology of the detrital zircons from the Longshoushan Group and its tectonic significance

Sixty-two geologically meaningful U-Pb dates were obtained by using SHRIMP technique for the detrital zircons in three metasedimentary rocks from stratigraphically uppermost parts of the Longshoushan Group in the present study. Eighty percents of these dates range from 1.7 Ga to 2.2 Ga with a peak at 1.8-2.0 Ga and twenty percents from 2.3 Ga to 2.7 Ga. The youngest detrital zircon is dated at 1724±19 Ma which is interpreted as the maximum depositional age of the metasedimentary rocks. Therefore, the age for the diagenesis and lithification of the original sedimentary rocks of the Longshoushan Group before the metamorphism must be younger than 1724±19 Ma. Comparison of the age histograms of these detrital zircons with the ages of the igneous rocks on the surrounding older massifs suggests that the sediments of the Longshoushan Group were most likely derived from the Alaxa Block and Tarim Craton. This implies that the affinity between Alaxa Block and Tarim Craton was strong and that they might have been a unified craton during middle-early Proterozoic time.     

两种砂岩碎屑组分统计方法的比较

砂岩碎屑组分统计是确定岩石类型和物源区特征的主要方法之一,常常采用的方法有目估法、面积法、直线法和点计法。文章利用误差分析、相关性分析和Dickinson源区构造背景判别三角图,比较了直线法和点计法的差别;实验数据分析表明,2种方法测量结果之间存在的差异微小,对岩石类型以及物源区的判别不受影响。但是,点计法在砂岩碎屑组分统计中,具有简单、方便、省时的特点,可以广泛应用。     

Identification of 3.5 Ga detrital zircons from Yangtze craton in south China and the implication for Archean crust evolution

The LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating of hundreds of detrital zircon grains from the Sinian sandstones of Liantuo formation and tillites of Nantuo formation at Sanxia area in Yichang identified 3319?3508 Ma zircon grains. Their ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb and ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages show excellent agreement (concordia degree 99%?100%). Their CL images exhibit well-developed oscillatory zoning and the Th/U ratios are within 0.46?0.76, implying that they are igneous zircons which formed during middle-early Archean. These zircons are the oldest ones discovered in Yangtze craton until now. However, the detrital zircons with ages older than 3.3 Ga in the metamorphic rocks of Kongling group were not found by further investigation, which suggests the presence of crust older than high-grade metamorphic Kongling terrain in Yangtze craton.