U-Pb dating of zircon grains from the ore-bearing plagioclase amphibolite in the Dashuigou Te deposit

The Dashuigou Te deposit is a unique independent one found in the world, and hosted in the plagioclase arnphibolite. The upper intercept age of single zircon from the arnphibolite can be considered to be the crystallization age of the source-rock of the amphibolite (tholeiitic basalt), while the lower intercept is nearly consistent with the time of the tectono-thermal event.     

AMS dating on glacial tills at the source area of the Urumqi River in the Tianshan Mountains and its implications

Using accelerating mass spectrometry (AMS) dating method, a dating has been made on the primary calcium carbonate in tills and secondary calcium carbonate coating on till gravel and the roche moutonnee formed since the Last Glaciation at the source area of the Urumqi River valley in the Tianshan Mountains, northwestern China. The results reveal that the carbonate content in the tills in this noncarbonate area is high enough to date by AMS, that the carbon in the coatings on the newly exposed roche moutons and in the modern till is modern carbon and so the¹⁴C dating results in the ancient till can represent the actual ages of the till formation, and that the warm period during the Holocene began as early as 6 500 a B. P. and lasted to 1 800 a B. P.     

Zircon U-Pb SHRIMP ages of high-pressure granulite in Yushugou ophiolitic terrane in southern Tianshan and their tectonic implications

Zircons from two high-pressure granulite samples from the Yushugou ophiolitic terrane, southern Tian shan have been investigated by cathodoluminescence, LA ICPMS and ion microprobe (SHRIMP) for their internal textures, trace elemental compositions and in situ dating. The weighted mean ages of these two samples are 392±7 and 390±11 Ma, respectively, representing the granulite-facies meta morphic age of the ophiolitic terrane, and indicating that the southern Tianshan ocean initiated its northward subduction since the early Devonian.     

Multi-stage evolution of gneiss from North Dabie： evidence from zircon U-Pb chronology

TTG gneiss is a common rock to outcrop in the northern part of the Dabie orogen, a few of which are closely associated with eclogites that experienced the Triassic ultrahigh pressure metamorphism. Although they were thermally metamorphosed by a large-scale magma activity in this region at the Early Cretaceous, it is unclear whether or not they are also affected by the Triassic metamorphism during continental subduction and exhumation. In order to resolve this issue, SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating was carried out for the host gneiss of eclogites in North Dabie. The results show that cores from the gneiss have an age of 746~.31 Ma, consistent with the protolith ages of granitic gneisses in the Dabie orogen. Zircon overgrowing with different U and Th concentrations give concordant ages of 212~21 and 120~11 Ma, respectively. Th/U ratios of overgrown zircons are both lower than 0.1, suggesting a metamorphic genesis. The present resuits suggest that the gneiss in North Dabie has the similar protolith ages of Neoproterozoic to those granitic gneisses elsewhere in the Dabie orogen, and experienced not only the Triassic metamorphism but also the thermal metamorphism due to the Early Cretaceous magmatism. This provides an important insight into the geodynamic evolution of gneissic rocks in the Dabie orogen.     

大别-苏鲁造山带超高压变质岩原岩性质:锆石氧同位素和U-Pb年龄证据

对大别-苏鲁造山带榴辉岩和花岗片麻岩中的锆石进行了激光氧同位素分析、单颗粒U-Pb年龄测定以及阴极发光观察, 其中氧同位素分析样品覆盖面积达到大约20000 km². 结果表明, 大多数锆石具有大的岩浆成因核和窄的变质增生边, 岩浆成因核具有新元古代年龄(700 ~ 800 Ma); 氧同位素比值变化较大 (-10.9‰ ~ +8.5‰), 但是大多数具有比地幔锆石低的δ¹⁸O值. 由于锆石的氧同位素组成不受亚固相高温热液蚀变和麻粒岩相变质作用的影响, 因此这些低δ¹⁸O榴辉岩和花岗片麻岩的原岩分别为低δ¹⁸O的基性和酸性岩浆, 对应于扬子板块北缘与新元古代裂谷构造有关的双模式岩浆活动. 这种大面积新元古代低δ¹⁸O岩浆活动与Rodinia超大陆裂解和全球性冰川作用(雪球地球事件)具有准同时性, 因此具有一定的成因联系. 早期基性岩浆沿扬子板块北缘裂谷构造带侵位, 岩浆作为热源引起冰川融化并引起裂谷带内部地表水深循环和热液蚀变, 导致深部地壳酸性围岩和基性岩的氧同位素比值发生显著降低. 而水化岩石由于其熔点降低出现重熔, 结果产生了新元古代时期的扬子板块北缘的大面积双模式低δ¹⁸O岩浆活动, 然后从中结晶出低δ¹⁸O锆石. 因此, 大别-苏鲁造山带超高压变质岩中的大规模氧同位素负异常是从其原岩新元古代低 δ¹⁸O岩浆继承过来的, 其成因与Rodinia超大陆裂解、雪球地球事件和裂谷岩浆活动相耦合的高温大气降水热液蚀变有关.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

北秦岭罗汉寺岩群锆石年龄及地质意义

目的准确测定北秦岭罗汉寺岩群辉长岩脉的形成时代,探讨其地质意义。方法采用激光剥蚀等离子质谱法,对辉长岩中锆石进行U-Pb同位素定年。结果辉长岩形成年龄为475 Ma±4 Ma。结论罗汉寺辉长岩脉的形成时代与北秦岭两条高压—超高压变质带和富水杂岩成岩时代接近或一致,它的形成很可能与北秦岭早古生代岛弧体系碰撞有关。