Identification of Mesoproterozoic zircons in a Triassic dolerite from the Liaodong Peninsula,Northeast China

Evolution of mantle and crust in all blocks of China and their relationship with the surrounding blocks are re-lated to amalgamation and breakup of the supercontinents. Studies on the Mesoproterozoic Grenvillian orogeny and the configuration of Neoproterozoic Rodinia provide the most important advances to the ideas of continental crustal growth and configuration of plates[1,2]. Recent studies show that there are geological records of assembly and breakup of Rodinia in the Cathaysia and Yang…     

Mineralizing age of the Rushan lode gold deposit in the Jiaodong Peninsula：SHRIMP U-Pb dating on hydrothermal zircon

Knowledge of the mineralizing timing is fundamen-tal to understand the genesis of mineral deposits, and ex-act time spectrum of mineralization is essential to com-prehending the relationship among the genesis of en-dogenic hydrothermal deposits, regional tectonic-magma-tism event and the geodynamics of mineral deposits. The Jiaodong or eastern Shandong gold province islocated in the southeastern margin of the North Chinacraton, and belongs to the Mesozoic circum-Pacific oro-genic gold system…     

Zircon U-Pb ages of olivine pyroxenite xenolith from Hannuoba: Links between the 97—158 Ma basaltic underplating and granulite-facies metamorphism

U-Pb zircon dating by LA-ICP-MS andSHRIMP for one olivine pyroxenite yields complex agepopulations including Mesozoic ages of 97-158 Ma and 228±8.7 Ma, Early Paleozoic ages of 418--427 Ma, Paleoprotero-zoic age of 1844±13 Ma, Neoarchean age of 2541±54 Ma andmiddle Archean age of 3123±4.4 Ma. The 97--158 Ma and228±8.7 Ma zircons show typical igneous oscillatory zona-tion in CL images, suggesting two episodes of magmaticevents. Overlapping of the 97-158 Ma ages with that ofgranulite xenoliths indicates that the Mesozoic granu-lite-facies metamorphism was induced by heating from thebasaltic underplating at the base of the lower crust. Bothprocesses lastcd at least from about 158 to 97 Ma. Ages of 418--427 Ma could be records of the subduction of Mongoliaoceanic crust under the North China craton. Ages of 1.84 Ga,2.54 Ga and 3.12 Ga correspond to the three importantcrust-mantle evolutionary events in the North China craton,and imply preservation of Precambrian lower crust in thepresent-day lower crust.     

SHRIMP U-Pb zircon dating of the Ordos Basin basement and its tectonic significance

SHRIMP U-Pb zircon 207 Pb/206 Pb ages were obtained from two drill cores from the basement of the Ordos Basin.A garnet-sillimanite-biotite-plagioclase gneiss(QI1-1) from the western Ordos Basin basement yielded an average age of 2031 10 Ma.Based on the mineral assemblages,the source material of the gneiss is speculated to be pelitic-felsic system.A gneissic two-mica granite(Long1-1) from the eastern Ordos Basin basement yielded an average age of 2035 10 Ma.The zircons from both samples exhibit magmatic growth pattern.The shapes of the zircons suggest that the zircons should crystallize from a granitic of felsic volcanic terrain.The ages and the characters of zircons are consisitent with the other researches in the Ordos Basin and indicate that the basement of the Ordos Basin had experienced an intensive magmatic epsode during the late Paleoproterozoic period.The date from this study suggest the possible existences of a Paleoproterozoic mobile tectonic belt in the region.The reconstruction of such a belt is critical for understanding the tectonomagmatic evolution of the western block of the North China Craton.     

Geochronologic and petrochemical evidence for the genetic link between the Maomaogou nepheline syenites and the Emeishan large igneous province

The Maomaogou nepheline syenite is located at the inner zone of the Emeishan large igneous province and exhibits intrusive contact with the Emeishan basalts. SHRIMP U-Pb dating on zircons from this syenite yields an age of 261.6±4.4 Ma, in agreement with the age of the Panzhihua layered intrusion and the eruption age of the Emeishan basalts as constrained by stratigraphic data. Geochemical data fur-ther suggest that the Maomaogou syenite has a source analogue to the Emeishan basalt, and may have been formed by partial melting of gabbroic cumulates underplated in the lower crust. As s result, tem-poral and spatial relationships and petrogenetic constraints provide evidence for the genetic link be-tween basalts, mafic/ultramafic and intermediate/acidic intrusives in the Panxi area.     

SHRIMP U-Pb zircon dating for the dacite of the Sangxiu Formation in the central segment of Tethyan Himalaya and its implications

The Tethyan Himalaya is located between the In-dus-Yarlung Zangbo suture zone to the north and HigherHimalayan crystallines to the south, paleogeographicallybelonging to the northern margin of “Greater India”. TheSangxiu Formation is used to define a series of specialstrata with rich volcanic interbeds, and is only distributedto the southeast of Yangzuoyong Co within 200 km×50 km along the eastern part of central Tethyan Hima-laya[1]. Based on overlapped relationships of strata andfos…     

SHRIMP U-Pb zircon geochronology and its implications on the Xilin Gol Complex,Inner Mongolia,China

The Xilin Gol Complex was referred to the meta-morphic rocks exposed near Daqing Pasturage, east of Xilinhot, for the first time by the Hebei Geological Survey in 1958[1]. Similar metamorphic rocks have been increas-ingly identified in the Xilin Gol-Xiwuqi-Balinyouqi re-gion since then. They all are collectively grouped into the Xilin Gol Complex and considered as a part of the Bao- yintu Group (Pt1by)[1]. However, the timing of its deposi-tion and subsequent deformation and metamorphi…     

Determination of U-Pb age and rare earth element concentrations of zircons from Cenozoic intrusions in northeastern China by laser ablation ICP-MS

Using the in situ zircon U-Pb dating method of LA-ICPMS, we analyzed the 31 Ma old SHRIMP U-Pb age of the Yongsheng nepheline syenite from southern Jilin Province under different spot sizes. The obtained ages are comparable with that of SHRIMP in both accuracy and precision. The age is also identical to that of the Yinmawanshan gabbro from the Liaodong Peninsula within error. Both the Yongsheng nepheline syenite and the Yinmawanshan gabbro represent the youngest known exposed intrusions in northeastern and even eastern China. The results indicate the Eocene mantle-derived magmatic underplating, and the rapid crustal uplifting of this region since 30 Ma. The analyses also document extremely high LREE concentrations and relatively fiat REE patterns for the zircons from the Yongsheng nepheline syenite, which represent a new type of zircon REE pattern.     

Zircon U-Pb geochronology of basement metamorphic rocks in the Songliao Basin

Zircon LA-ICP MS U-Pb dating of six metamorphic rocks and a metagranite (breccia) from southern basement of the Songliao Basin are reported in order to constrain the formation ages of basement. The basement metamorphic rocks in the Songliao Basin mainly consist of metagabbro (L45-1), amphibolite (SN117), metarhyolitical tuff (G190), sericite (Ser) schist (N103), chlorite (Chl) schist (T5-1), biotite (Bi)-actinolite (Act)-quartz (Q) schist (Y205), and metagranite (L44-1). The cathodoluminesence (CL) images of the zircons from metagabbro (L45-1) and metagranite (L44-1) indicate that they have cores of magmatic origin and rims of metamorphic overgrowths. Their U-Pb isotopic ages are 1808±21 Ma and 1873±13 Ma, respectively. The zircons with oscillatory zoning from amphibolite (SN117) and Chl schist (T5-1), being similar to those of mafic igneous rocks, yield ages of 274 ± 3.4 Ma and 264 ± 3.2 Ma, re-spectively. The zircons from metarhyolitical tuff (G190) and Ser schist (N103) display typical magmatic growth zoning and yield ages of 424 ± 4.5 Ma and 287 ± 5.1Ma, respectively. Most of zircons from Bi-Act-Q schist (Y205) are round in shape and different in absorption degree in the CL images, implying their sedimentary detritals. U-Pb dating yield concordant ages of 427 ± 3.1Ma, 455 ± 12 Ma, 696 ± 13 Ma, 1384±62 Ma, 1649±36 Ma, 1778±18 Ma, 2450±9 Ma, 2579±10 Ma, 2793±4 Ma and 2953±14 Ma. The above-mentioned results indicate that the Precambrian crystalline basement (1808―1873 Ma) exists in the southern Songliao Basin and could be related to tectonic thrust, and that the Early Paleozoic (424―490 Ma) and Late Paleozoic magmatisms (264―292 Ma) also occur in the basin basement, which are consistent with the ages of the detrital zircons from Bi-Act-Q schist in the basement.     

Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb ages of the “Xinghuadukou Group” in Hanjiayuanzi and Xinlin areas and the “Zhalantun Group” in Inner Mongolia, Da Hinggan Mountains

A report is presented of SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating data of meta-igneous and meta-sedimentary rocks of the Xinghuadukou Group(Xinlin-Hanjiayuanzi area,Heilongjiang Province)and meta-volcanic rocks of the Zhalantun Group(Zhalantun district,Inner Mongolia).The SHRIMP analyses show that the meta-igneous rocks from the Xinghuadukou Group formed at 506±10―547±46 Ma,belonging to Early-Middle Precambrian,whereas the meta-sedimentary rocks yielded detrital zircons,with ages of 1.0―1.2,1.6―1.8 and 2.5―2.6 Ga,indicative of deposition age at least<1.0 Ga. Meta-basic volcanic rocks from the Zhalantun Group have a formation age of 506±3 Ma.These data suggest that both the Xinghuadukou and Zhalantun Groups formed during Cambrian and/or Neoproterozoic time,rather than Paleoproterozoic time as previously thought.Early Precambrian inherited zircons in the meta-igneous rocks and numerous Precambrian detrital zircons in the meta-sedimentary rocks imply that these rocks were formed proximal to older crust.It is inferred that the Xinghuadukou and Zhalantun Groups represent Cambrian and/or Neoproterozoic vol- cano-sedimentary sequences formed in an active continental margin setting.     

～4.1 Ga xenocrystal zircon from Ordovician volcanic rocks in western part of North Qinlin80rosenic Belt

High-precision U-Pb dating by in situ LA-ICP-MS yields an age of 4079±5 Ma for a xenocrystal zircon from Ordovician volcanics of the Caotangou Group in western part of the North Qinling Orogenic Belt. As a result, the North Qinling Orogenic Belt becomes one of a few localities in the world that contain Hadean age records （4276±6 Ma and 4404±8 Ma detrital zircons from Jack Hill of the Yilgarn craton, 4016 Ma Acasta gneisses of the Wopmay Orogeny and Burang quartzite with detrital zircon of 4103 Ma in Tibet）. It is also the first report of the Hadean age in Phanerozoic volcanics. The finding of the 4.1 Ga xenocrystal zircon provides not only the geochronological record of the oldest crustal materials in China, but also the condition for further search for rocks forming in the region during the early time of the Earth＇s evolution. Thirty-six zircon U-Pb dates from the Ordovician volcanic rocks are subgrouped into seven generations that represent different tectono-magmatic events in the North Qinling Orogenic Belt. Among them, two periods of 0.9--1.5 Ga and 0.4--0.5 Ga are consistent with Mesoproterozoic and Early Paleozoic orogenies, respectively.     

SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating for two episodes of migmatization in the Dabie orogen

Zircon CL imaging and SHRIMP U-Pb dating were carried out for migmatite in the Dabie orogen. Zircons from the Manshuihe migmatite show clear core-rim structures. The cores display sector or weak zoning and low Th/U ratios of 0.01 to 0.17, indicating their precipitation from metamorphic fluid. They yield a weighted mean age of 137±5 Ma. By contrast, the rims exhibit planar or nebulous zoning with relatively high Th/U ratios of 0.35 to 0.69, suggesting their growth from metamorphic melt. They give a weighted mean age of 124±2 Ma. Zircons from the Fenghuangguan migmatite also display core-rim structures. The cores are weakly oscillatory zoned or unzoned with high Th/U ratios of 0.21 to 3.03, representing inherited zircons of magmatic origin that experienced different degrees of solid-state recrystallization. SHRIMP U-Pb analyses obtain that its protolith was emplaced at 768±12 Ma, consistent with middle Neoproterozoic ages for protoliths of most UHP metaigneous rocks in the Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt. By contrast, the rims do not show significant zoning and have very low Th/U ratios of 0.01 to 0.09, typical of zircon crystallized from metamorphic fluid. They yield a weighted 206Pb/238U age of 137±4 Ma. Taking the two case dates together, it appears that there are two episodes of zircon growth and thus migmati-tization at 137±2 Ma and 124±2 Ma, respectively, due to metamorphic dehydration and partial melting. The appearance of metamorphic dehydration corresponds to the beginning of tectonic extension thus to the tectonic switch from crustal compression to extension in the Dabie orogen. On the other hand, the partial melting is responsible for the extensional climax, resulting in formation of coeval migmatite, granitoid and granulite. They share the common protolith, the collision-thickened continental crust of mid-Neoproterozoic ages.     

Repeated modification of lithospheric mantle in the eastern North China Craton: Constraints from SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating of dunite xenoliths in western Shandong

Four dunite xenoliths from the Tietonggou intrusion of western Shandong,China,were subjected to SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating to constrain timing of the North China Craton(NCC) destruction,a topic of much controversy.Cathodoluminescence images revealed that 15 of the 18 zircon grains from the xenoliths display striped absorption.The rest showed oscillatory growth zoniation.All the zircons had variable contents of Th(49-3569 ppm;average,885 ppm) and U(184-5398 ppm;average,1277 ppm),and variable Th/U ratios(0.15-2.04).These zircon characteristics indicate a magmatic origin.The zircon age data can be divided into five groups:131-145,151-164,261-280,434-452,and 500-516 Ma.Group I(131-145 Ma) is consistent with timing of formation of the Tietonggou high-Mg diorites.Group II(151-164 Ma) is similar in age to Middle-Late Jurassic magmatism in the eastern NCC,which included both mantle-derived and intensive crust-derived magmatism.Group III(261-280 Ma) is similar in age to the Emeishan large igneous province,and Group IV(434-452 Ma) is similar in age to Paleozoic high-silica magmatism in the eastern NCC.Group V(500-516 Ma) may correspond to the global Pan-African event.Results indicate repeated modification of lithospheric mantle in the eastern NCC,and suggest that the most intensive modification occurred in the late Mesozoic(131-164 Ma).     

Single zircon LAM－ICPMS U－Pb dating of Guidong complex （SE China） and its petrogenetic significance

Because of the strong effects of the Caledonian and Indosinian orogenies and Yanshanian magmatism since early Paleozoic time, different types of granites and ore deposits occur widely in the Nanling region of SE China[1]. The Guidong complex is situated at the border between the South Jiangxi—North Guangdong post-Caledonian orogenic belt and the Hercynian-Indosinian belt, which is constrained by an E-W regional deep fault (Guidong-Da- dongshan deep fault) and therefore is elongated nea…     

黑龙江金厂金矿花岗斑岩锆石地球化学、U-Pb年代学及地质意义

为确定与金厂金矿成矿有关的岩浆类型、活动时限和构造背景,采用LA-ICP-MS技术对研究区花岗斑岩开展了锆石U-Pb年龄及原位微区微量元素测定。结果表明:锆石环带发育,wTh/wU值>0.4,具有岩浆锆石特征;锆石年龄分布于220Ma和103～123Ma 2个区间,代表了2期岩浆事件;对2种锆石分别命名为捕获岩浆锆石和新生岩浆锆石;锆石的地球化学和年龄信息显示捕获岩浆锆石的原岩为早三叠世花岗岩;锆石微量元素信息暗示花岗斑岩是早三叠世花岗岩高度熔融结晶分异、侵位于浅部氧化环境而形成,这一过程导致新生岩浆锆石负Eu异常程度降低。新生锆石加权平均年龄为(113.5±3.8)Ma,与成矿年龄一致,据此认为早白垩世的岩浆事件是金厂金矿成矿事件的直接原因,成矿背景为太平洋板块俯冲后的岩石圈伸展。     

Comparison of SHRIMP U-Pb dating of monazite and zircon

Monazite dating is an important technique in geochronological studies. However, monazite U-Pb dating by SHRIMP is much less popular than zircon in geochronological applications. This paper compares the results of SHRIMP U-Pb dating of monazites and zircons separated from two granite samples, indicating that monazite SHRIMP U-Pb dating at the Beijing SHRIMP Centre is feasible and provides identical results within error.     

4.1 Ga old detrital zircon in western Tibet of China

4.1 Ga old detrital zircon was found by SHRIMP U-Pb dating for quartz schist from Buring County in western Tibet, Southwest China. This is the oldest zircon U-Pb age found in China so far. The detrital zircon is a zircon of magmatic origin because its Th/ U ratios are 0.76 to 0.86. Two dates older than 4.0 Ga were measured only in one grain. U-Pb ages of 35 measured spots in 24 zircons can be subdivided into 6 groups, corresponding to at least 6 episodes of magmatic activity in the target area. The present results provide an important geochronological constraint on the geological evolution of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.     

SHRIMP U-Pb zircon age of tuff from the Kunyang Group in central Yunnan： Evidence for Grenvillian orogeny in South China

Whether or not Grenvillian orogeny occurred in South China still remains highly controversial because high-quality,discriminating data are lacking,and therefore,the key to resolve this matter is to find datable volcanic and/or sedimentary rocks related to Grenvillian orogeny. Such rocks are apparently present in the Fuliangpeng Member from the lower-middle part of Kunyang Group in central Yunnan; here the unit is more than 100 m thick and consists of andesitic ignimbrite,tuffite,terrigeous clastic rocks and carbonates. These volcanic rocks,developed south of the Sibao fold-thrust belts,represent the earliest calc-alkaline volcanic activity in late Precambrian time from central Yunnan and are coeval with both a change in sedimentary facies from detritus to carbonates and the beginning of seismite development elsewhere. Two samples for SHRIMP analysis were collected from this volcanic unit. Sample G3-29-2,from the bottom of Fuliangpeng Member,is an ignimbrite,and about 100 zircon crys-tals recovered from it have euhedral shapes and display relatively simple sector zonation under cathodoluminescent (CL) imaging,suggesting a magmatogenic origin. Twenty-five of the zircons were analyzed and a weighed-mean U-Pb age of 1032±9 Ma was obtained. Sample G3-29-3 from uppermost part of Fuliangpeng Member is a tuffite,and many rounded,evidently detrital zircons were recovered. Nine of these zircons were analyzed,and the oldest single-grain U-Pb zircon age is 1938±26 Ma,im-plying that Paleoproterozoic basement developed in Cathaysia. The dating result,combined with the geotectonic research on the Fuliangpeng Member,leads us to conclude that late Mesoproterozoic orogenic volcanic activity occurred in the western part of South China,and that the related collision of Yangtze and Cathaysian cratons was an integral part of the assembly of Rodinia.     

The recognizing of ca. 1.95 Ga tectono-thermal eventin Kongling nucleus and its significance for the evolution of Yangtze Block, South China

Some 1.95 Ga metamorphism of high-grade Archean rocks in Kongling terrain, continental nucleus of Yangtze Block, South China, are recognized by Sm-Nd dating. This event is further confirmed by the ages of single zircon SHRIMP U-Pb and K-Ar analyses of TTG and (or) paragneisses, and intrusions of potassic-granitic batholith in the region. The coincidence in period between the high-grade metamorphism in the Kongling area and the creation of major basement rocks of its neighborhoods of the Yangtze Block around the Kongling Archean nucleus makes it a favorable explanation for their tectonic connections that, in the whole Yangtze Block there was some tectono-thermal event of ca. 2.0—1.8 Ga, which resulted in the formation of unitive Yangtze basement.     

SHRIMP U-Pb geochronology of the zircons from the Precambrian basement of the Qilian Block and its geological significances

Origin and tectonic evolution of the Qilian Precambrian basement on NW China were investigated using zircon U-Pb ages with collaborating stratigraphic and paleontological evidence. Zircon grains were separated from two schists, two granitic gneisses and one mylonized gneiss and dated with SHRIMP. Seventy percent of sixty-one detrital zircon ages from two schists ranges from 0.88 Ga to 3.09 Ga, mostly within 1.0 Ga to 1.8 Ga with a peak at 1.6 Ga to 1.8 Ga, and twenty percent varies from 2.0 Ga to 2.5 Ga. A few falls in the Archean and Neoproterozoic periods. The two granitic gneisses were dated 930±8 Ma and 918±14 Ma, whereas the mylonized granitic gneiss was dated 790±12 Ma. These ages represent two periods of magmatisms, which can be correlated with the early and late stages of magmatisms associated with the Jinningian movement on the Yangtze Blocks. The results from this and previous studies indicate that the ages of the Precambrian detrital zircons from the Qilian Block are widely distributed in the Proterozoic era, distinct from the North China Block which was stable in the Neo-Mesoproterozoic era. By contrast, the age histograms of the detrital zircons from the Qilian Block is similar to those from Precambrian basement of the Yangtze Craton. Therefore, it is suggested that the Qilian Block had a strong affinity toward the Yangtze Craton and might belong to the supercontinent Gondwana in the Neoproterozoic time. This inference is supported by Nd model age (TDM), stratigraphic, and paleontological evidence. It is further considered that the Qilian Block was rifted from the supercontinent Gondwana during late Sinian to form an isolated continent in the Proto-Tethyan Ocean, moving towards the Alaxa Block in the North China Craton. The part of Proto-Tethyan Ocean between the Qilian and Alaxa Blocks should correspond to the so-called Paleo-Qilian Ocean. Following the closure of the Paleo-Qilian Ocean in the early Paleozoic, the Qilian Block collided with the Alaxa Block to form the North Qilian Orogenic Belt. Based on this tectonic explanation, the North Qilian ophiolites should represent parts of lithosphere from the Proto-Tethyan Ocean. Lithological and geochronological evidence also indicates that the Qilian Block underwent continental reactivation possibly induced by the deep northward subduction of the North Qaidam Block in early Paleozoic time.